The Tantric Path of Indestructible Wakefulness

by Chogyam Trungpa

  Mantra Practice

  An interesting example of this is mantra. In the lower tantras, the seed syllables of the five buddhas are: OM (), HUM (), TRAM (), HRIH (), and AH (). These seed syllables are complicated patterns of vowel and consonant sounds. In order to express the wholeness of the basic space of dharmadhatu, OM has to be manufactured from the sounds “ah,” “uh,” “mm.” Likewise, in order to express the vajra-like cutting qualities, you have to manufacture HUM, which is again very complicated. It is a combination of the sounds “ha” and “ah” and “u” and “mm.” So the whole approach is very much man-made and not very subtle.

  By comparison, let me give you an example of maha ati’s approach to those mantras. In maha ati, they are simply AH. The sound of AH is not particularly “ha” or “a”; it is between “ha” and “a.” AH is just the basic utterance before a word is formulated. You utter AH as a sound of apprehension or uncertainty, or as further inquiry, or in preparation for your statement.

  In terms of the five buddha-families, AH joined with the sound “mm” is connected with the buddha principle of OM. AH joined with “oom” is the equivalent of HUM. It is the sound of the vajra family. “Sh” plus AH (SHA) is the sound connected with the ratna family. “Sss” plus AH (SA) is the sound connected with the padma family. It is a sort of hiss that shows you that there is discriminating awareness taking place. “Mmm” plus AH (MA) is connected with the karma family of complete fulfillment of actions. And “huh” plus AH (HA) is the sound of laughter or joy, which is connected with fundamental dharmata, with dharmadhatu or dharmakaya. That HA encompasses all of these other sounds, making vajra laughter.

  These mantras are not conventional Sanskrit mantras; they were used exclusively by Indian practitioners of maha ati tantra. Maha ati practitioners did not go along with the scholastic or scholarly approach of regular Sanskrit; they were approaching mantra from an entirely different angle.

  THÖGAL

  Up to this point, all the practices have been trekchö. The next set of practices are thögal; this applies to a number of techniques, including what is called triple-space practice.

  Triple-Space Practice

  Triple-space practice is very slick and very powerful. It is not just dividing space into three sections, but it means that space is seen basically and in its own nature as having three attributes: dharmakaya, sambhogakaya, and nirmanakaya. The vastness of space, the richness of space, and the pragmatic aspect of space are all experienced.

  This is not just ordinary speculation, but you actually experience those three aspects. You experience the vastness of space and the sense of no boundary. You experience the playful aspect of space, in which there is no hope or fear, pleasure or pain, which is the best dance. And you experience the pragmatic aspect of space: the fact that space is hopeless, and it does not mean anything very much. In that triple-space experience, there is the inspiration for everything that you do in your lifetime; but at the same time that particular space is “So what?”

  Secret Mandala and the Three Torches

  A person who practices thögal would begin to catch the seed of the mandala that we have within us. The actual practice of this mandala is kept very secret, and one is not to publicize it to students. You cannot actually begin this practice unless you have received direct instructions from a vajra master on how to do it. So the idea at this point is simply to let you know that something like this actually happens.

  As the threefold-space experience begins to materialize in practical detail, fearlessness is unquestioned, and everything is seen as one’s personal experience. This leads to what are called the three torches: the self-existing torch, the torch of emptiness, and the torch of water.

  THE SELF-EXISTING TORCH. The first torch is the self-existing torch. One’s eyes are usually very shifty, and at the same time they are very personal and very powerful. With this torch, the experience of fearlessness and insightfulness and so forth bring about a relaxation of your eyesight: you begin to know how to use your two eyes properly. This experience of relating with your eyesight with a sense of freedom is known as the self-existing torch.

  THE TORCH OF EMPTINESS. The second torch is the torch of emptiness. This is an actual physiological experience in which you begin to see what are known as vajra chains in your vision. This has nothing to do with being psychic or having visions. It is just seeing the transparent rings that float through your vision. The technical term in the Tibetan tantric texts for these chains is dorje lugu gyü. Dorje means “indestructible,” and lugu means “lamb,” and gyü means “continuity”; so dorje lugu gyü means the “continuity of vajra chains,” which are like strings of lambs following one other. (The Tibetan word for “sheep” is lug, and the word for “lamb” is lugu, which is a loving way of saying “little sheep.”)

  THE TORCH OF WATER. The third torch is the torch of water, which refers to the physical eye as a bubble in the water. Here the student is instructed in the actual practice, which is to gaze at the moving chains and rings that pass through your vision, either from left to right or from right to left. This is called gazing at the chains.

  These chains, or dorje lugu gyü, are transparent; but strangely enough, if your state of mind is not actually in tune with them, you cannot see them. It is possible for anybody to develop the experience of dorje lugu gyü, but to do so you need a state of stability in your practice.

  Dorje lugu gyü are the visions that appear to you if your mind is completely relaxed, your body is relaxed, and there is exposure to light. You see these little chains, or optical illusions of little chains, floating down. According to the maha ati teachings, this is the seed of all the mandalas and of liberation itself. The rings you see are the basic mandala structure, and the chains you see are the seed syllables of the five buddha principles.

  In order to see these vajra chains, it has been recommended that you look at a lamp, a reflector, a weak haze, or a mirror. When you do so, you can see the chains begin to fall apart and form a visual mandala. The chains are always there, but you cannot see them unless you are relaxed and you have a particular light reflecting on your eye.

  At first these chains come down, and when you blink your eyes, they go up and come back down. But as your gaze becomes more relaxed and your state of mind becomes more relaxed, these visual images that were going down will stop. The rings become bigger, and the chains begin to fit into them, and the image begins to become level. The chains break into mandala structures of five, with a middle and the four cardinal directions. Seed syllables or buddha-family symbols begin to dawn and it has been said that you also begin to see tinges of the buddha-family colors. That seems to be the pattern. People do actually see these things, which is not particularly a big deal.

  Eyes as the Gates of Wisdom and Compassion

  In maha ati, you do not have to think in terms of seeing deities; what you see happens on a very real level. You do not have to figure out what these chains mean; they are simply chains that you see. It is very simple, and that is the problem. When we talk about vajra chains in maha ati, we are not talking about ideal chains or about symbolism—we are talking about seeing an actual chain. This is the kind of visual instruction that you can receive in maha ati. From this point of view, the maha ati tradition talks about the eyes as the gates of wisdom, or yeshe kyi go.

  The door of wisdom in our perceptions starts with our visual system. When we perceive light or when we see objects, we get feedback that is much more direct than the feedback we get from any of the other kinds of perception, like hearing, smelling, feeling, or tasting. This level of experience or nonexperience comes from a feeling of compassion. Here, compassion has the sense that we have to relate with our body, as well as relate to all that is expansive and spacious. It means that along with everything taking place on the spacious and expansive level, we have to relate with those rings.

  The rings provide a reference point. If your mind is confused, those patterns begin to jump around and drift d
own. But if there is a direct simplicity of mind, or trekchö, those designs begin to stay and wait for your perception. The way they manifest goes along with the state of your mind. These patterns are not just the rainbows and other spots of light that you see in your mind or your eyes. Seeing these vajra chains is a very special experience. It is a sort of transparent ripple that you perceive.

  You might be able to see similar patterns in certain kinds of light, but that is not the idea here. You will probably not be able to catch these chains at this point, because they do not stay long. They go zoom, zoom, zoom, like shooting stars, because your mind is so fast. They react to your mind like a speedometer.

  I also would not suggest that you try to see these chains as a hobby, particularly. You have to get into the practice properly, and that will take a long time. In order to observe the vajra chains, you first have to develop a sense of carelessness at the maha ati level; otherwise, they will not stop. When you have developed carelessness, noncaring, and spaciousness, they begin to slow down. In fact, they begin to work for you. So at this level you don’t care, but at the same time you do care.

  Form and Space

  The vajra chains cannot happen if there is greater space. But at the maha ati level, no space means space, basically speaking. It is a microcosmic-macrocosmic approach in which each contains the other simultaneously: the vajra chains, and the space for the vajra chains. The vajra is just a manifestation, and logically speaking, manifestation needs an environment. Generally, you cannot have form if there is no space, but in this case, form can function without space.

  If form has space, then form cannot happen; it becomes decay and death. When you begin to grow little pimples on your body, form is creating space, which is a sign of sickness. If you have been hit and you get a black eye, space swells up inside your skin, which is a sign of unhealthiness. So form needs no space, fundamentally speaking. But spacelessness at the maha ati level does not mean that there is either lots of space or that there is no space. Space is full, and fullness is space, so they go together. Form and space at this point are identical.

  Cutting Through Fundamental Spiritual Materialism

  Although your body has this enormous potential, it is a distorted version of that potential. But at the maha ati level, instead of seeing mandalas as purely theoretical, you begin to see actual mandalas happening in your state of mind. It is very direct, very practical, and very simple. That is the key to the attainment of enlightenment. Such a vision may be an optical illusion, one that is samsaric as well as nirvanic; but although it is an optical illusion, at the same time you are seeing a real visual samsara and real nirvanic promises. That is the point of maha ati being so literal and direct—you can actually do this. The idea is that you have a portable visual map wherever you go. There is something happening beyond spiritual materialism.

  There is a phrase, trek ma chö na thö mi gal, which means that if you have not cut through, you will not transcend the pass. In this phrase, trek and chö are the two syllables that form trekchö, or “cutting through,” ma is negation, and thö and gal are the syllables making up thögal, or “bypassing.”

  Cutting through seems to play a very important part in maha ati practice. If you have not cut through, you cannot see these visions. You will find yourself chasing these visions endlessly, and this does not get you anywhere. The point is not that you have to stop the visual images from going down, but that you have to develop a state of being in your mind that is beyond this. You need to develop a state of mind that is cutting through fundamental spiritual materialism. Beyond this, there is nothing to cut through.

  Maha ati practice is the product of the most highly refined of all Buddhist wisdom, apart from being able to watch the process of decay in your own body. But it is very difficult to use the state of bodily decay as a path, because you cannot go on very long watching your body decaying. So at this point, it is necessary to work with the experience of your body and your sense perceptions. There has to be something that is to blame for duality right at the beginning, when it first arises. If there are two, there has to be something to relate with the twoness; otherwise, you would not have anything to hang on to or develop. So that seems to be very much necessary.

  In working with these kinds of visions, the challenge is your own mind. That is why you first have to develop cutting through. In fact, we could say that the term cutting through comes from maha ati. The more you cut through, the more these chains wait for you or actually come back to you. These visions are connected with your brain and neurological system. It is a neurological experience, which has nothing to do with the moisture on your eyeballs. An actual visual mandala is physically, bodily there.

  I was thinking of getting some kind of scientific answer to why and how these things exist. I am sure that it is connected with the physical setup and speed of the brain. With this practice, you can actually see your own brain.

  Black Ati Practice

  Another thögal technique is called black ati practice. Black ati practice refers to the bardo retreat, the practice of being by oneself for seven weeks in darkness. The bardo retreat is the ultimate maha ati technique. In this practice, you are getting much closer to a sense of unorganized and unconditional space. That experience becomes much more relevant and real. Unorganized means there are no categories and no preparation. Unconditional means that preparations are not geared for the achievement of anything at all.

  Dissolving into a Rainbow Body

  Supposedly, anyone who actually attains this level will completely disappear at the end of their life. They attain what is called a rainbow body. So the ultimate experience of maha ati is the rainbow body. In mahamudra, this is called gyulü, or “illusory body,” which is one of the six yogas of Naropa. It is the same idea, but with two different ways of looking at the whole thing. In either case, the physical body dissolves into the elements; it does not exist.

  By dissolving your heart into nonexistence, your body becomes nonexistence, and finally your whole being becomes nonexistence. The only things that you leave behind when you die are your hair and your nails. The reason that is so is because, in spite of the emptiness, openness, and space, there is still compassion. Right from the time you took refuge and you took the bodhisattva vow, that strength of compassion has continued—and it still continues, and it carries you along. One cannot escape from bodhichitta, which is made out of compassion and wisdom together. Nobody can go against that.

  Therefore, something continues. Otherwise, this would not be known as the enlightened state; it would be something completely alien to enlightenment.

  SEDUCING THE MASTERS TO REMAIN

  Maha ati gurus who teach this, or who first presented the transmission, have to be beyond maha ati. But they could still be in bodies; otherwise, they could not show us how to do this. In other words, they have been requested not to pass away and leave only their nails and hair. That is why at the beginning of tantric texts, the consort always dances and sings songs, offering the pleasures of the five senses and asking the tathagata to teach tantra. There is a constant need to request to be taught and to seduce such teachers into the samsaric world.

  When masters remain in samsara, they can teach, but if they are in non-samsaric realms, they cannot teach anymore because they are in another world. So seduction plays a very important part. Maha ati masters are recommended to completely enjoy sense perceptions and sense pleasures. High maha ati teachers, if they are high maha ati teachers, must be hedonistic. The more sybaritic they are, the more love and compassion they have for their students. Such teachers are bringing themselves down instead of taking off to the whatever.

  For maha ati teachers, if there is no situation in which to teach, then from a sociological point of view, cessation is very wise. For that reason, the teachers of maha ati have to be seduced into teaching, and there needs to be pupils to seduce them. If there are no pupils to seduce them, such teachers might perish, because they do not want to be a nuisance t
o society. It is very cosmic and absolutely organic. If you do not water a plant, it perishes. It is as simple as that. It is very mechanical, in fact. That is why there is so much emphasis on enjoyment and on the sybaritic character of maha ati teachers.

  That sybaritic quality is brought out by the students. So for a maha ati teacher, the idea is that your projection has to maintain you, rather than you having to maintain yourself. That is the problem all along with ego: trying to maintain yourself independent of projections. But in this case, you are maintaining yourself because of the message coming from the projections, so it is an entirely different approach.

  Fundamentally, the maha ati teacher is the ultimate bodhisattva. The maha ati teacher is not even thinking in terms of being loving and compassionate, but their whole system is built from interaction with things, or from chemistry. That could be said to be the ultimate bodhisattva or bodhi mind.

  RELATING TO SYMBOLS

  Another maha ati practice involves seeing symbols and messages, not as coming to you from the mahamudra level, but as self-existing situations that you tune in to. As an example, suppose you are meeting a friend, and you arrive early. You feel the awkwardness of getting there too early and being a nuisance by arriving before your friend is ready. But there is no problem with that, because that situation could be utilized. Being too early fulfills some purpose in relating with your friend. For that matter, if you are too late, that also has a quality of skillfulness that is completely spontaneous.