THE

Clear
Studies

en. e. Thirteenth Century rQzogs-chen Text

by

Christopher James Wilkinson

A THESIS
SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES
;r;'N PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS ',FOR THE
DEGREE OF
MASTER OF ARTS

DEPARTMENT OF RELIGIOUS STUDIES

ALBERTA
APRIL, 1988

J. Wilkinson 1988

Abstract
Clear Meaning: Studies on a 13th Century rpzogs-chen Text
Christopher James Wilkinson

is thesis is devoted to a

study of the history and

content of the Tantra of Great Unreified Clear Meaning or

sPros-bral Pon-gsal Chen-po'i rGyud in Tibetan (PBP).

The

PBP claims a very ancient history, asserting its origins to

be with the famed founder of the Great Perfection tradition
dGa-rab rPo-rje,
century C.E.
is believed

who is thought to have lived in the first

\

The PBP is a "treasure" (gter-ma) text, which

to

have been hidden in Tibet by the

teacher

Padmasambhava during the eighth century C.E. and discovered

by

Guru

Chos-kyi

dBang-phyug

in

the

thirteenth

century.

Guru Chos-dbang taught this text in the year 1257, and it

was written down by one of his disciples.

The PBP came to

be included in the great collection of Tantric texts known

as the Hundred Thousand Tantras Q!. the rNying-ma (rNying-ma
rGVJ19 __ 'bum),

and

is

found

in this collection today.

Hi

As

such,

the

PBD

represents

the

teachings

of

the

rNying-ma

school of Tibetan Buddhism in general, and their thirteenth

century manifestation in particular.
The essence of the

teaching of the PBD

living beings have a pure awareness

conceptual,
mind

uncontrived,

and

the

is

that all

which is non-

fundamental

state of the

This awareness is the fundamental ground on

which both the deluded experience of samsara and the pure

experience of nirvana are based.

When this awareness is

falsely intuited based on the primary ignorance of subjectobjf;!ct

duality

and

the

emotional

defilements

which arise

from this duality there is the experience of samsara.

When

this awareness is directly intuited it is Buddhahood itself.

The

history

of

the

PBD

is

fully

discussed

in

this

thesis, and a thematic study of the major points made in the

PBD is presented in the main body of the thesis.

The PBD

discusses

of

topics

rNying-ma school.
the
path,

Base

to

the

Buddhology

the

This thesis presents the PBD r s views on

delusion,

recognition,

vehicle.

fundamental

and

the

the

Buddha-kaya,

Great Perfection

wisdom,

the

(rDzogs-chen)

These are the major themes presented in the PBD.

This investigation provides an insight into the doctrines of

esoteric Buddhism as they are reflected in a primary text,
and

provides

an

insight

into

"treasure"

text

of

rNying-ma school in the thirteenth century in particular.

iv

the

Acknowledgments

I wish to express my deepest thanks to Dr. Eva Dargyay

for

her

constant

instruction,

advice,

support,

well

as

as

extensively from her book, .Ilut

Tibet.

thank

Dr.

proofreading

my

for

Leslie

encouragement and support.

for

guidance,

generosity,

permission

to

and
quote

Q.f Espteric Buddhism

Kawamura

for

his

in.

constant

lowe thanks to Windsor Viney

manuscr fpt.

want

to

thank

the

Religious Studies faculty at the University of Calgary for

much valuable instruction in the course of my studies.
would

also

government
program

like
of

where

to

express

Canada

for

studies

such

my

thanks

providing

furthered.

as

my

to
an

own

the people and

institution

are

promoted

and
and

Table of Contents

Page
Title Page . .

Approval Page . .

ii

Abstract . . . .

. . iii

Acknowledgements .

. . v

Table of Contents.

vi

Chapter
1.

History of the Text. . .

. . . . . . 1

Teaching of the PBD.

. . . . . . . . 3

The Colophon . . . . . . . . . .
Transmission of the PBD. . . .

....

11

. . .

24

Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

43

2.

Methodology. . .

3.

The Base .

4.

Delusion

73

5.

The Buddha-kaya. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

87

6.

Wisdom. . . . .

7.

The Path . . . . . . . . . . . .

....

vi

. . . . . . .

52

..

57

...

112
124

8.

Recognition

9.

The Great Perfection .

Conclusion . . . .

..

. .

10.

Bibliography, Works Cited . .

. ..

Appendix A . . . . . . . . . . .

vii

. .

. . 149
172
. . . 200

. .

. .

. 206
. 2'10

CHAPTER 1
History of the Text

7.b. Tantra

Wl.,Dop-gsal

Q.L Great Unreified Clear Meaning, or sProsChen-po' i

rGyud

in

the

Tibetan

language

(hereafter the PBD), 1 is a text belonging to the tradition

of esoteric Buddhism.

The text is a discussion on the view,

meditation, practice, and result of what it holds to be the

highest

path

Perfection.

of

Buddhism,

the

or

Great

Its intention is to explain how enlightenment

1 The PBD is contained in the rNying-ma rGyud-tbum. There

are currently two versions of the rNying-ma rGYQd-'bum
available.
These are: 1 ) Rnying. mc.1 Rgyud 'Bum.
A.
Collegti9n21 Treasured Tantras Translated during t.Wit Perigd
Q.t First Propagation Qi. Buddhism in . Tibet, ed. by Dingo
Khyentse Rimpoche (Thimpu, Bhutan: n.p. 1973) where the PBD
is found in volume Cha p.374-608, and 2)
Mtshams.....Brag
Manuscript. gi, :tb.!t B.nJ.n. b. Rgyud 'Bum, (Thimpu, Bhutan:
National Library, Royal
Bhutan,
1982) where
the PBD is found in volume XIII, p.1-296.
The version of
the PBD found in the 1982 edition of the
.rGyud....

is superior with regard' to spelling and sense, while

the 1973 version occasionally offers superior readings.
Bothhavebeenusedin preparation for this study.
Page
references to the PBD in this thesis refer to the 1982
version.
All transla.tlonsof the PBD in this thesis are my,
own.

can be instantly intuited by the practitioner ,wi thout his

relying on any kind of gradual development or cultivation of
spiritual qualities.

As a dialogue on the Great Perfection

the text rejects the common. Buddhist method of dealingw.lth

,tbeabsolute, for unllke more traditional Buddhist works the
PBD uses posltive language to describe the ultimate reality.
In fact,

the PBD presents an account of Buddhism that is

almost diametrically opposed to the traditional renderings.

of Buddhism in many ways.
It is the intention of this thesis to discuss. thePBD
I

will begin, by presenting the history of the

Then I

will discuss my methodology in analyzing the

in full.
text.
text.

I will then discuss the major themes presented in the

text.

Finally I

will conclude with aft summary of the

important. points in thePBD and the areas in which further

research is needed.
It is not the case that the ideas presented in the PBD
are new to Buddhism.
though

perhaps

not

Perfection teachings.

The PBD itself is a very old text,2

the

oldest

to

describe

the

Great

The transmission of the teachings of

the Great Perfection must certainly go back to the arising

of Tantr ic Buddhism in India, perhaps as early as the first
centuryC. E. 3

The teachings' of the Great Perfection'are

2 See p.21 of this thesis.

3 See p.33 of this thesis.

generally held to have been made immanent in this world by a

certain dGa' -rab rDo-rje,

It is not, however, from the historical Buddha

the Buddha.

who received them directly from

that dGa' -rab rDo-rje received the teachings, but

from the ultimate principle of Buddhahood itself --referred

to

in

the

PBD

as

rDo-rje

'Chang..

To

understand

the

historicity of the PBD it will. be useful to first examine

what the text itself says about its history.
information and a

Based on this

careful analysis. ofthe text scholarly

discussion of the claims made in the text will follow.

Teaching
To

get

an

immediate

insight into

the style of the

text, as well as to see what the text itself says about the
place and time that this teaching was given,

will now

quote extensively from the opening passage of the text:

In the Sanskrit language of India [this book

is] the:
Tilaka OUhakala, Trad" Tilaka DuhakalaTantra
Mahatantra.
In the Tibetan language it is the:

Chep-po'i rGyud

[In the English language it is:

Ib. Tantra

Meaning]

IU. Great Unrelfied Clear

Homage to the Body, Speech and Mind of the

Omniscient and Glorious Great rDo-rje 'Chang!

In the great'lnbuilt palace of the Thirty

Three (gods] (Tult ta) ab ides the ch ief of all

Gods."

He is surrounded by a retinue of subservient .

gods.

He stopped a confrontation which had

created

great

battle

among

the

asuras,4

then (gave] these sacred instructions

for establishing

bliss:

Dharma Sarya Tilaka AbSJIl Rupi.tikaya Triruka

Rusadup ihi .HAm.a,

Thus I have at one time heard:

T'heBlessedOne Great Dor-rje'Chang, who is

the actual intuition of sel f-awareness (Rang.tJr.g,

rTogs-pa) ,

whose

k5:ya S

the

force

4 Asuras are
one of the six classes of living beings . . in
Buddhist cosmology.
They are extremely envious of the
-splendors of the gods and are excessively devot.ed to battle.
For a full description seeSgam-po-pa, IbJt Jewel QrnamentgL
Liberation,
translated by Herbert Guenther;.
(Berkeley:
Shambhala, 1971), p.68.
5 Klya refers to the state of true being. This technical
term is discussed in detail in this thesis on p.I' .

(rtsal) of wisdom-- appears without a self

nature,

who

colors,

who,

lotus

exists

in a

variety< of bodily

in the pose of the equanimous

position,

acts

in

manner

which

,/

teaches the Kudradharma (phvag-rgya-chgs) for

he is the kaya

f wisdom" whose countenance

is brilliant clarity --unhindered in all the

ten directions, abides in the abode totally
pure by its own nature know,n as "Lotus Clear
Bl iss"

(Pad-ma

bDe,..gsal) .

It's

cause

is

through the arising of the force of wisdom in

unhinderedl ight.
colors.

It is caused by the five

Its shape is that ofa square.

Its

walls are formed from precious stones of the

I ts palace, is round.

five colors.

On the

outside

it

spokes.

It has towers.

Its center courtyard

of goddesses.

Its four doors have

is

full

is encircled by a wheel of four,

dismounting facilities.
such

requisites

The

vajra

surrounded

as

fence
by

It is endowed with

dakinis
at

lotuses.

of

its
All

many

kinds.

perimeter
this

is

appears

without a self nature, like a rainbow in the

atmosphere.
In "such a grand,celestialpalace abides
the Teacher .. the Blessed One, the Great rOo,..

rje

'Chang.

His

retinue,

the

unhindered.

force ofwlsdom, appears as the five families

The unhindered force of wisdom

also

[appears

as]

male

and

female

[Bodhi Jsattvas and male and female Wrathful

Ones.
is

The Lord of SecretsPhyag'""na rDo-rje

the

retinue

of

solici tators.

dGa' -rab

rDo-rje is the retinue of compilers.

There

are also the five kinds of dakinis,and these

five:

The

Pacifier

of

Purna.,

Wrath-faced

Woman,

the

.Woman,

Corpse

Eater

the

Single

the

Vajra

Crown Jewel

Shant!

with

his

rosary of sku.lls, and He with Wings of Vajra

Wind.

Each of these has his own retinue of

innumerable dakinis.
At that time the Lord of Secrets led the
retinue

in

making

seven-fold

circumambulation [of rDo-rje 'Chang].

s.itting.

down before

Secrets]

addressed

the

him,

[the

Teacher

Then,

Lord
with

of

these

words:
"0, 0 Blessed

One,

Great rDo-rje 'Chang,

you who have attained power. in the force of

the intuition (rtogs) of the meaning of selfawareness, [you who areJ the
three

kayas

dwelling

in

sel.f-perfected

the. mode

of

the

(you

.' Sambhogakaya,

are)

who

unreified

awareness, perfection in the Dharmakay.a, (you

who are] the unhindered force of flickering.
aris ing as the NirmanakSya," (you

( 'gyu-ba ),

who] in the way of the Sambhogakaya, are not

established by self nature , (you who) remove
both delu.si;onandconceptual ization, bringing
forth the benefi t

f 1 i v in9 beings:

Wben it

is near the moment of the Kaliyuga (snylqs-:ma' i-dus), the path which leads through . the
nine

vehicles

is very

lengthy.

The

five'

pois.ons of the obscurations. are very ripe in

the

continuum.

Pious

a'spirations

and

contemplation of doctrinal views are mentally

fabricated religion (blo-yi-chosh
request

I
n9S.9.)

the

sacred

instructions

of the Great Tantra of

Meaning,
sudden

the

instructions

enlightenment

Unreified Clear
which

real ize the way

of

the

cannot

be

instructionsl

the

f being','

instructions

which

objects,

(the

self-liberation no

matter

harmed
of

show

(cig,,-car)

Dharmaklya,. which
self-awareness,

(man,,-

by

how the two forces (of good and evil larise,

which demonstrate the great meaning- with the
lamp. .of words, which comprehend the meaning .'

8 ,',

when known

through

reading,

and

which are

decidedly certain through the connection of

words and meaning. 6
The presence of a Sanskrit name at the beginning of the
text should notbetaken as a certain sign that the text was
originally composed in Sanskrit.

It is possible that some

portions of the text are truly Banskri t in ori-gin,while the

possibility is very good that the. majority of the text is
,Tibetan in origin.
of

the

Sanskrit

offered

is

The Tibetan title is not a translation

title.

The

translation of

English
the

ti tie

Tibetan

that

title.

have
It

is

difficult to make sense of the Sanskrit title, except for

notlng,thatTJ.laka is the Sanskrit word for the Tibetan word
Thig....le. 7

In chapter one hundred twenty two of the PBD are

listed the various nameso,f the text. 8

has

the word Thig-le in it.

It is

None of these names

most

likely that this

Sanskrit title is as,purtous creation of the Tibetan writer.

It is also significant that no,' translator of the PRO into
Tibetan ismentloned in the colophon. 9
6 PBD, pp.1-4.
7 Lokesh Cha,ndra, " Tibetan,....SMskr.i.t
RlnsenBook Co., 1982),p.l029.

Dictionary,

(Kyoto:

8 The PBD offers, in total, seventeen diferent names for

itself. ,It also off&rs specific' reasons. for eacho,f these .
For a complete listing of the names of thePBD, see
names,.
appendix A.
9 See this thesis, p.l1ff.

In the openingpas.sagewe gain the inormationthat the

Tantra was promulga,ted when Indra, the ruler of the Tu:Hta
beaven, ,had conquered the demi-gods or asurasand required a
teaching for establishing bliss .

This unusualpassa,gewhich

precede,s the text of the Tantra itself is significant, for

in the dogma ,of trad,itional Buddhism, represented by texts
such as The

Jewel

OrnamentQt Liberation.

the

incapable of galningthe Buddhist teaching_ 10

gods

are

It is, also

significant tha,t Indra is not mentioned again lnthe entire

text.

The implication that it was due to the need of the

,highest god o'ftheworld that the Tantracame into the world

of men shows that the text wishes .. from, '., the . beginning, to
proclaim l,ts divine status. 11
It is only after this introductory passage that. we find
the

sign'iica,nt, , words

"ThllS

have I

at

one

time heard.,"

These are thewordswhicb formall,ybegln the Tantra. After

the

formal

beginning. of the Tantra weare told that the

Blessed One rDo-rje 'Chang lives ina great celestial palace

in a land called Lotus Clear Bliss, and this is the place
where the Tantra is actually taught.

Many other characters

are mentioned in this opening passage, but there are only

10 SeeSgam....po....pa, JewelQrpament,p.68.
11 On the difference . between mundane (' jig-rtea....pa,) and
supramundane. ('jig....rtep lu. 'das....pa) gods see D; S. Ruegg,
"On the Supramundane and the Divine in Buddhism, "
Tibet
Journal,
3-4.

10

two among those mentioned that are mentioned again.

These

are Phyag-narDo-rje, the solicitor or questioner, and dGa'rab rOo-rje, the compiler.
Phyag...na rDo-rie

In the actual body of the text

is identified with rOo-rje

.

the two names, are used J.nterchangjl.bl Y

rDo-rje

'Ozin-paare

two

Tibetan

Sanskrit name.Vajradhara. 12

'Dzin-pai and

rOo-rj e 'Chang and

translations

for

the

It therefore turns out that the

text of the PBD is a dialogue between . Vajradhara (rOo-rje

'Chang)

and

Vairadhara (rOo...rje

'Ozin..-pa).

In order .to

avoid confusion I have left the names in the Tibetanratber

than translate .. them into Sanskrit.
As I

have pointed out,

the text of tbe

PBD is a

dialogue between rOo-rje 'Chang and rOo-rje 'Ozin-pa.

Each

chapter begins with a question by rOo-rie 'Ozin-pa (Phyag-na

rDo-rie,

the. Lord o-f Secrets) which is followed by rOo-rje

, Chang's answer.

It is therefore the Lord of Secrets that

begins the Tantra withbisrequest for the paD to be taught.

It
central

is

immediately

impo.rtance to

beginning of the text.

apparent

that

many

subjects.

of

the ,- paD are mentionedr ightat - the

The request for, the teachings of

Instant Enlightenment and the comments <that the path-of the

nine vebicles is too lengthy are especially important.

From

the beglnning.tbe PBO proposes to - teach the path ,of ins:tant

enlightenment, and reJects all gradual methods of progress.
12 LokeshChandra, Dictionary. p.1285 and p.1298 .

11

These are .subjectsthat-will,be-dealtwitb in detail in this

thesis.

-IWL Colophon
Now that we know where, and, in _what company, the PBD
claims to have beentaugbt,
at the PBD's colophon.
describes
teaching

the
to

it will beworthwbile to look

The colophon at tbeendo,fthe text

transmission

its

being-

put

of

the

into

text

from

writing.

its

Here

first
is

colophon:
Ratna BUa Halla
This Tantra 2f :t.b..Great Clear Meaping2L

th!. Unification- of th!. Buddba(

,mNyam-.sbygrQsm.
which

Chep-mo'irGyud)

by

liberates

perceiving

it

is

oompletely finished.
Guhya

gTad

rGya

rGya

rGya/

gTad

rGya

rGyarGya/gTadr-Gya rGya rGya.

This

Great

Tantra

of

secret

saored

instructions wa's-complied by the-retinue of

compilers, dGa' -rab rDo-rje, -andsetfo-rth in
words and letters.

He explained it to Guru

'Jam-dpaclbShes-gnyen.
Guru

Singha.

He explained it to

He explained it to the Guru

of Orgyan, Padma.
I,

Padmasambhavao-f ---Org.yan,

dur,ing

tbe

the

12

degenerate time [of, thelastl

fivehu-ndred,

[years) have hidden' this Great Hotherofall

the Dharmas,
enjoined

this generator of all

and-

perfect

as

things,

self-treatise

(rang-gzhungh 7b!t. Great Taptra 21 UnreHiied . '

Clear. Meaning"
the

three

for the sake-of persons, with

endowments

fldaD::Qsum.."skyes..,bu) .

This meaning of the u-n:1fioatio& of sentient

beings and Buddha does . Dot rely on hearing,
thinking, or
its

It is .realized. by

teaching .'.

reco.llection.

and

is

clear

by

its

Its e.mpowerment is attained by

meeting. with-it, and liberation by perceiving

it.
A Dharma, which at,tains the result i;n this
way is like, a

wish-fulilling,.-jewel...

This

'secret treasure of Mind Treasure (thugs:=ater)

and Repeated T.reasure(yanq=aterJ 13 fills in
.incompletenessesandgathersthefragments .
This

harvest

practice,

of

encounter,

suitahle

is a jewel of the 'heart.

for

It is a

fruit. for the eye .

13 Fora full. discussion of "treasures" and tbedifferent
types tbereo'f-,seeTulku ThondupRinpoche, Hidden Teachings.
g!, Tibet, An Explanatiop of .thslTerma . Tradi,tion o :tbJt
Hying" cSchoQl g.f, Buddh;ksm, . (London':WisdomPubltcations,
1986).

13

mysel fam not

small in learning..

My

knowledge is equal to that of rDo-rje 'Chang.

Therefore tbisSecret Treasure of the Kind is
the

only

treasure be tween . the sk.y and .... the

earth.
Even

if

this

should

meet

w-ith

one

of

fortunate karma it [should be.] contemplated

in his mind for fifteenyears.

During the

pa,ssage

secret

of

this

(gsang-dam) and
of

samsara

time

for

the mind

[should

be]

given

certain meaning searched.

devotion

to

the

the

Guru.

up

vow

<b!.2.)

and

the

Give up life in
No,t

everyone, has

exemplary praise for the tbree(jewelsJ.

When

the . time arrives

the

fortunate

are

protected from those who. have attained it as

an oral

transmission (snyan--brgyudl for the

sake of 1 i v ingbeings .
Fearing.
supreme

the. decline

Tantra,

this

oftb1s

unexcelled

Tantra is

t-hreetreasure-troves 19ter-k,ha).

hidden

in

One is the

Northern Treasure atPraduntse.

It is hidden

in

It

the

heart

of

Vairocana.,

brought forth in the tiger year.

Repea,ted Tre'asurehidden here.
brought for,th in the snake-year

will

be

One is the'
It- will be
One is in

14

the

cave

of mKba-ri

dGye-rL

It will be

Drought ,forth lnthe monkey year.

Furthermore,
complete.

the mother' and son. are here

f

Further

Treasure are in the way of the son.

This is

because

The

three

Tantras

the potency of the mother is here

condensed .

The

8upremeTantra2.i,Clear

Meaning is in thewayo the mother.

This is

because

and

it

generates.

all

things

is

enjoined as a self-treatise.
In this'way it is profound, so it is a Mind
Treasure and is not taught at the rank of a
FurtherTreasure.
In this waytbe meaningof,the
of

Buddba, .' is. taug'ht

by .this;, ,so

may the,

Tafttra come to its place.

Some will

cover

it

by

the

darkness

of

Some will block it with the claw

commentary.

of interpretation.

Some will poison it with

the content .stomach of scriptural.quotatio.n.

Therefore

may

the

Pronounced

Transmission

(bka' -brgyq.d) find,. its own place.

If

it

mea,ning,

is

difficult

to

rely on the Guru..

accumulations

[0

interpret

the

Make a hundred

meritJandoffer mandalas,.

Examine. the similes minutely and apply them

15

to the>

'There. is only liberation by

.' examination.
May this meet with those possessing a mind'

compass!on.

and

knowledge

profound

of

,Why?

possessing,

,Because the essence of the

Secret. Mantra is' profound knowledge.

It,iGuhya

tltYs. rGya.

En Ma,HolThe pronoaftcement.of the,',Buddhas

of the three times' has . fallen ana' treasure
finder like me, Chos-dbang.A supreme Tantra
of

Essence

like

possession!

this

has

come

into

my

This is certainly the greatest

miracle amo,ng the great t

sNang-don Dad--seng of gZhu...snyereque,sted
(this

Tantra,l from the- Nirmanaka.yaChos-kyi

Lho-brag. in the year of the. snake, and wrote

it . dowltc.
this

By

may

the virtu&whicharisesfrom

this>

Tantra

of

all

things

continually liberate f 14,

It will be noted that this. colophon hasthr,ee. distinct
sections.

The

first

before ente,r1ng Tibet.

is

the account of its transmission

Here' we .are told that the compiler

mentioned "atthe beginning of the text, dGa ...rab rOo-rje,

14 PBD, p.286f.

16

composed,the-. PBD in words and Ie tters.

From dGal-rab rDo-

rj.etbe teaching .went,to . IJam.,.,dpa,lbSbes,-gnyell,. then to

,,/':-:\
'\,"'----.;/

Singha. andifinallyto Padmasambhava.

The next secotion o,f,

thecolophon;1s/Padmasambhavas account ,of how he hid the

texttnthree places so that its teaching WGuldnot decline,
with advlceregarding the finding andunderstandlng. of the
text.

Finally

there

is

the-- section

revelation. of thePBDln Tibet.

discussing-

the ...

Here we are - told that the

text came to GuruChos-dbang (Chos-kyi dBang..,.phyug) and was

iwri tten downbyhisstudentsNang-don Dad-seng.

tellsusthatdGa' -,rabrDo,...rjeput<the,PBD illtowriti'ng,and

the end of thecolophontellsustha.t
the text into ,.wri,t.ing..

Itis,pos-sible that. both,people.put

the text into words,. bu,t was "it the same . text exactly that
theY"wereconcerned with?
Tbe identif,ication, of the PBBasa"treasure tf
Is most signlfioant<here.

"Treasures" are sacred objects

and- particularly literary, works that are said to have been

hidden during the ., "early spread"> (snga.,.,dar) of Buddhlsm'ln
Tibet,

the eighth andninth>centuries C.E.,15 so that. tbey'

The coming" of Buddhism-to Tibet is cUvidedbyTibetan

into an
.... (snga;!"'"dar), repre.senting,,'
the period beforeAtil,a'callletoTi'bet( 1042, C.E. landa
"later spread" (phYl-dar),. represented by
Atiga came to Tibet.
See GuiseppeTuccl,.
Tibet.. . (Berkeley: Uni.versity
. Pres's,
,p.19;andp .250 .
15

17

might be rediscovered ina later period.

The,PBD claims, to

,have been hidden byPadmasambhava for this purpose.

One of the

features of the "'treasure" texts is that

:theyare oftenwr itten in "Dakinf

Script."

DakinI
script is
l

wr i:tingthat . can only be unders,toodby. the pers.on, who has

the karm:!c,conneGtionto, read it.
as

strange. scribblings.

The

To others lt may appear

te:xt of the "treasure'"

is

written,,>on wha,tare known as t1-yellow scrolls" (shgg-ser).. 16

Snob" scro:11s may not actually, be yellow"and they may. not
actnally

be

scrolls..

In

many

cases

the

contento a

treasure is nothing more thana small scrap. of paper with

strange writings on It.Thetreasure finder who uncovers
such a

"yellow scroll"

is though,tto have the abi;lityto

drawQuta,nentire "treasure," perhaps of great length, from

this myste.rious, writing...

The rationale forthi.s is that t'he

treasure finder is believed to have been one of the original

disciples of ,Padma,sambhava, in' a former-life, wherebe or she
receiv,edthe teaching of the treasure in full.
the

yellowscr.oll

the

memory

of

Uponfinding

tbi,s,. previou-slie . is

brought.fo-rth,.and the treasure finder is able to compose an

entire teachiDg . based.on it.
case

that

the

"treasure"

Of. course, it may .a-laG' be the,

found". ,is

in

fact .a . complete

manuscript." a partial manuscript, ar even some,other,object .

16 See Tulku, ThondupRi,npacbe,.HiddeR.,TeaqhiJlgs.,..pp.l03,

127, 237.

18

suahasan . image

ftheBuddba . 17

As the PBD is a "treasure" there 1s some difficulty in

arriving at what might be called anUr-text,wbether such a
text

might

himself,

represent

the

"yellow

the composition of dGa' -rab rDo-rje'

scroll" hidden by Padmasambbava and-'

found' by Guru Chos'-dbang, or even . the text as composed by

sNang-don Dad-seng.
that

the- PBD

The problem is compounded by ,the fact

remained- .asa copied

manuscript.. unt-il

the,

"compllationof the Hundred .TbousandTantras2!..tU.rHying-,ma

(rNying"",ma rGyud-'bum) begun .by Ratoa .. 9bing-pa ('1'403-1479)
and completed by 'Jigs-med gLlng-pa Cborn 1729).18

Tbere are

variations ln tbe text ofthe PBDln the different editions

of the -Hundred Thous.and Tantras"

rNy1ng..,.ma, yet these

amount to . nothing more thanminorvar1ants inreadingsand>

spel1ings. 19

It is safe to assume that we still possess the.

-texto.f tbe,P,BDas . Ratna gLlng-pahadit.

The stages of rev!sion that thePBD took between thefirst compositlon",ofdGa"'-rabrDo-rje and RatnagLing-pa' s
inc1 uding"lt 1nthe"Mundred'l'housand Tantras '. -.Q;! . t.bJl r,HyingII@.;

are difficult to determine.

The text of thePBD does

17 Ibid, p.77.
18 See Eva Dargyay, lb!llU.U.a Esoteric Buddhism. a%ibe.t,
(New ork:SaIMlel'"lfeiser', Inc.-,. 1978) p.7O; .pr.1-44....14':7.
Permirssio.n-to . q uote extensively from this work kindly
provided by Eva,/ Dargyay .. "
19 See this the&ls p.l,notel.
See.
EsgterlcBuddb,is.,pp.144ff, ,and 186f.

also Dargyay,

19

contain in it short fragments of a-mys,terious wr iting, which

canbeleentifled

as

"daklnT

ser ipt ... 2.0

'here

is

no

statementwbetberthesewritings are theorig.inal content of

- the

treasure,

or . whether-

there

was

more.

Also

considered is the fact that the questioner is

na rDo-r:Je

to

be

in thefirsttwo.-chapters ofthePBD while in

later chapters hels almost alwa.ys referred,toas the Lordof Secrets

or

rDo-rje

, Dzln-pa..

Anotber

eatureof the

firsttwochap-ters .ofthe,te,xt is thelr- discussion of the

"force of good" (bzaM"",rtsal) and the "force of evil" - (09an-

wins over evil,

yet after the second chapterthereis no

discus-sion-of - these poin-ts w-hatever.

evidence' that the first two chapters a.r.e.pe-rhaps earlier
-thaotherest of the volume.

Each cbapterof the PBD begins

with a. ques-tion from- the Lord of Secrets which 1s followed"

by

rDo-r:Je

'Chang'S

a-nswer.

progressi-onfr-omsu-bjectto
impression, that much

There
subj ect.

is

very

This

orderly

gives

the

f the text may representt-he teachings

o Guru Chos-dbangas given to his disciples and written ,. downbysNang-don Dad-seng.

The statements in the colophonthat this text "111sin
incomp.1:.etenesses and, gather.s the rag:Jnents"...i,s significant.
The words are put .intothe _. mouth of Padmasambhava.,which

20 PBD,. p.9l, 288.

20

would seem to indicate that there were missing portions even

duringtbe early.historyof tbetext.

Yet if we assume tbat

even this colophon was . the composi tion.,ofGuruChos-dbang

then', tbe . reference

would indicate that the

text was not

complete when it reached Gtl:!'.u.Cbos-dbang' s attention.,

The

statement tha'tthetext should be contemplated for fifteen

years<before; be,ingrevealed to the pUb1 icmay be taken as an
indi,cation. that the contents of the PBD were onGuruChosdbang' smindfora longtime before he taugbtsNang-don Dadseng.

The

statement that .sNang-don Dad-seng . wrote '. the

,t-eacblngs down is an indication: that Guru Chos-dbang did not

have a w,ritten ,text from,wbich.to.teac-h.
If we are not to ass'ume, that the PBD is a spurious
"treasure" we must assume that Guru Chos-dbang did in. fact
find,sometbing, which, wa-slater developed into the textof
the PBD.

There' is no 'way of knowing just wha-tit 'la,s that

Gur,Q< Chos-dba,ng.

but i,t is safe to assumetbat the

text as we havei t

represents both the findings,o Guru

Chos--dbangas well as bis own inspiration in teaching.

I will therefore not attempt to define an Ur-text of
the

PBD,

as

there

is

history to make such

not enough, evidence .of the text's

defini tion"pos,sible.

It will be

21 IbI.;GreatTreasure&!scov,eries
iB:.ll.'Chps;:dbapg
.. '
Chos-dbgng bi.,g!1ier-'bVUB9 ,Chen,....,' <manu'script copy kind-ly
made available to me'by Tu'lku Thondup,Rinpoche),p,.133.,
indicates that the PBD,was, one of the first eighteen major'
treasure ,discoveries 'of Guru' Chos-dbang, <but does not
indicate,' the details of the ,discovery.

21

sufficientfor'the-pu:rposes of thepresen'tstudy to take the

text as we have it contained in the Hundred Thousand, Tankas
Qt.

of the study.

some doubt> as

to whether, the

There may be

PBD. ,underwent. any serious,'

changes at . the, handsofmanuscript _. copie,rsbetween:bhe . time

These

errors

tend

to

be

1 imitad,' however,

to errors

in'

spelling,and, .no,t .toma,jor' rei.nterpreta tions of . . meaning,. so'

it is perhaps .. -safe to say that. the, principal form of the,
manuscriptremained the same during this time.

Thecolophon

informsu-s tbatthe text was. revealed,duringthe snake year,

which maybe ,taken .. lll' this case to be the year 1257 . 2.2

This

22 This dat-ecan be determined based on the,information

that Guru Chos....dbangwas born, in '1212.
The PBD,according
to "the Great Treasure DiscQyeries2.Lilwa. Qhos-,obaD9,p.133,
is one' of his firstmaj'or
which he .
began to make at the age of 22.
I f we allow" 15 years 0' .
contemplation. before theunveillng; of the . teaching .' this,
bringsus'tothe year 1249. The next'snake y,ear -after 1249
is 1257.
It is also possible that the text was revealed in
the snake year 1269, one year before Garg, Chos-dbang's
death.

..
thathewrotetbePBDdown lnthe snake year . If Guru Chosdbang'discoveredthe ,.textfifteenyear,s be,fore . . revealing it
it would> have been discovered in the tige,r year.. -- which
contradict,s the-prediction in the c010phonthat .. the text
wou,ldbe <uncovered-lnthe snake. year.
This would indicate .
that thewritlngdownof the, text by sNa'ng-.donDad-seng<-- -.
rathe-r, thantbeuncoveringby GuruChos-dbang-1sthe,
revealing of the ,text'pred,icted . in' tbe.colophalh
'lb1smay
also strengtbenthesapposition"that, l,t is
....
seng himself who is thetrueauethor,ofthe<PBD, thougbhe
was gu'ided by Guru' Chos,....dbang, in his composi,t.ion., See Eva
Dargyay" . Esoteric, 'Buddhi,slft!.,

Dharmasala.,H'. P., . India:'
c'

22

is tbeear-liestdate.thatmay safely be given to the PDD, as

the exact na,tu.reo the, teachIng handed dGwnfrom the. Indian
maste.rs toPadmasambhava canno tbedetermined.
The au-thority of the PBD doesnot come/.from, its being

"-

taughtbythehistoricalBuddha Sakyamuni.
itself, states.

that

"The

teachers

of

In fact the text

the

past..

such

as'

including the, nine. vehicles, . . as . the sudden penetration, -of'

awareness in -order to remedy the >obscurationso the six
classes 10f living beingsJ.,,23

Another passage states:

I, the gr.eatDor-rje 'Cbang, thepersonal

intuition of self-awareness,.. teach.wha.t; ha,s
.not been taught pt"eviously orbyano,ther, the
meaning

wb:ichdoes not dependo.n.hearing,

thinkl.ng, or meditating, the Dharma of 1 i ttle

toil. aru:! of eas-ein.understanding<the great
meaning,

. that . which ,teaches

penetration
awareness

of

the.

the

Dharmakay.a . of

suddea"
-self-

which

alb

inferior minds realize by the mer-eteaehing,"

which is the great-essential meaning..

Oi.

all

Library of. Tibetan Wer.ks;andArchives;. 1973),. p .. 37.

23PBD, . p. 9. The six classes of sentient beinqsare:ll
Gods, 2) Asuras,. 3JHuma,ns.,41 . Animals, 5). Hungry ghosts,
and, 6 ) Hel1 belngs...SeeSgam...po--pa,tlewel'Qrnament, pp.. 5S...
74.

23

the Dharma's,

which is the- root ofa11, the

vellic1esofsamsaraandnirvana, whlchis the

unification'

of,

transmis's'ion.,

sacred instruction,

satra""

and,

the essenoeofthe

awa,re,ness,the condensedmeaningwhlch severs

extremesandseversreiflcatlon. 24
The;, PBD,' therefore,.,." actuall: y.. teaches '.' a. doc,tr ineth'at i,t
,clalmswas,not ., taught.bythe h lstor lca18Qddha .

proclatmedbythe historical Buddha. be, a Buddhis,t text? The'"

,answerwlll
question.
the

depend> on

the

perspective of,the perso.n

The Theravadatradition.

Buddhawas

enlightenmen.t,

,taught:,

historical

0'"

in'

Buddhism'" holds"".that,

personage"

wbe gained'

and,pass,ed away intoni'rvaaa.

For

this tradition only the- teachings given. or authocized' 'by

tbis .histar ical .Buddha, can be . considered orthodox. 25
Mahayana, ,tradition. . there

are

believed

to

In.,,the

be '. i,nnu'Marable

Buddhas, . . the Buddba. Sakyamunl.being' only one .' among, them.- '
The

teachings of, any of these Buddhas could therefore be

24PBD, p.IO.
25 See JanetGyatso., "Signs, Memory, and-H.!story: A Tantric'
Buddhist
.Joqroa1gj, t.I:uL.
International AssQciation " gL Buddhist . Studies' (Madison),
pp. 7-3L See especially "pp. 9-11. -

24

considered

The

Vajrayanaalso

upholids

the

trad! tioD ofi,nnuaerable,Buddhas, ,but in-troducestheidea of

"

aqiaq,ibuddha, , ar 'supreme Buddha, that 'is thoU9bt torepresen,t

h

the

qu:inte,ssential

adibuddha

.real i ty

is' referred

to

fall

Buddbahood.

in" therNying-ma

Samantbabha,ora or the Al'l Good.

This

tradition as

ThePBD cla,ims that this

Samanthabhadra is none, other tha,nrDo-rje '. 'Chan9'bimsel'f.27

. In,thev,i,.wof

,Buddhism theteaehingsgive,n byt'he

a41buddhaa,re. mostautbori tative,

come

for they are thought to

from ,. the highest principle of Buddhabood,. and it is

this au,thortty that the PBD, cla,ims. , From,thils,perspective

it, is only 'fnfortuna te ' that thehisto'rical Buddha did, not
wb'lcb,rDo-rje"Cha,ftg presents in the

PBD;

it is no-cause, for questioning the. authority of the

teaohing.
From, a scholarly point" of view there is little rea SOft'

shoul,d'sufflcethat a

'.

text such. as the PBD is held to be

authoritative,.by a,tradition of,Buddblsm. ,The investlgation

of such> a text will only lead to a, deeper understanding-of,
"the '., branchof8uddbism,t'hat it represents.
transmission Q[, .:tti,., "'mll! "
I t wi 11 beuse,fnl" a,ttbispoint . to briefly discuss ,the, '
26lb.isi.

27 PBD",p.24'. ,

25

lives of the holders of tbe, transmission, as presentedby,the

text.

,,,At the opening of the PBD weare told that,1'Do-r je

'Chang is the actual intuition of

of wisdom,

the body

the "princi;ple of Buddhabood'

as represented. by

the threekayas.Yet intbethirty eighth.,..,cbapterof the

tantrawe'are g'iven, a shortbiogra,phy of Dorje Chang.
passage is so unusual that it1s worth quoting in full:
Tben againtbe Lord of Secrets addressed
(rOo"'1'je ',C.bang):
The

three

kayas

are

unbindered

compassion.. , SQ.> how do tbeyenact thepu;r,pose,

0 livingoe,ings?'

The Teacher . . gave.

Son of

Noble . Fami.ly.., 1 was

born. as a

child ,who had .reached tbeage ofeigbtyears.

Then, for .' aper.iod,of e.igh,t years I, turned the,'
y,beelofthe five wisdoms at tne life-tree of
.profound.knowledge..

By

11berated"

put

was

Intu,ltion,. I
into

the

was
true

insp11'at ion .
. Then,.

during .' thefirs't . eight.year.s,

came .. or,tb,as many.emana,tions .(Nirmana,) and

;wo,rked thepurpose [of 1iv1.ogoe1ngs J.

I, removed the; torment of suffer ing.for.the

first ret.inues(inlthe. abode,.Gfgods.I

This

26

'strung a silktbreadwith a rosary of .pearls,

then"turned,the wheel, to the ou,tside.

In

order to 'libera,te others by . compassion ,1 was','

-inspired in the meaning of enigmas (Idem-po) 28

Then againattbepeak of the Burning Fire

Hou'ntain, I

saw withcertainty,thetrnth . of

the Buddba.
appearance,
Then at

I eplainedthedhar.mas .of ,empty

the

Vulture

Mountai,n> the

secret and fabulous,

from' (mylHindfthugs.

Great

were released

[They were) wrapped

in the vessel of my throat, stretched out on"

the lotos ,of! my tOD9't8,i 'and: scattered for.th
.bythe consciousness with, the quality of five
explained.

aspects.

Awarepess29

in a

the

Cuckoo

'" gL.

melodious voice, possessing

the sixty branches [o,f a Buddha,' s v.oice h

cut off the doubt's and re,ifieations, of the

28 This, refer's ,,to the distinction- bet,ween def,lnit,ive

meaning
interpretable
Enigmas in .this' case, are interpr,etable presentat'ionsof the
,.teachi,ng,ratherthandirect .and .certai,pexpla,nations.
29.
.,
Tb,isis ashorttexbofsix, li,nes.
The' text'has beenstud'ied bySamten<Karmay'inhisart,icle
"'J.'heRdzogs..-.chen'fn its-Ea,rliest Text: A Hanu'script from>
Tun.....
..'

Kapstein' (eds:.) Sou,nding>m
Tibetan Clsdli;zatj,on ,(New Del,b,i:,Manohar, 1985) , "pp. 272-282.

27

retinue,' s minds ( bl2;)'.

In.my twent,yferth year, at my nirvana, I
explained, the
chems).

For

explained..
secondly

of mywlllfzhal....,.

the

the,

purpo,se

0'

followers

Unreified,. Clear:., Meanina,

'Total .. Yberation

(9Cig...,.sbes Kun...,.gljo.lJ 30 C, .. and thirdlytbe, Total

Ga,theping., "Precious Jewel.s fRin...,.CheR 1Jm::.,

1 put them down for,tbe.purpose,o .

,.yfollo-we-rs.,those

wbo

a-re

-without

the

fortune ofmeeting with me.,. .

I
three

likewise pu,t down. ,tbereliquary of the

kayas.

Speak

these

Then

(en,tered)

complete

words

fo,r the"sake. of

the,

i,future! H
Thus be .spoke.
From, the Great Tantra 2L Unreified.Clear
Meaning

this

is. the

thirty eightb cha'pter>

whichteacbes the mannero'ftheN.iroflakaya 's

30 This text is mentioned in the . hagiogr,aphyofGuru,Chos...,.,

-dbangtranslated by. Eva,Darg,yay.(Dargyay....Es9.teric Buddhism,
p.llO)'rw,herehereadsthetext to bi,'s'father.
It is not,
clear, however, whetberthistext was discovered by Guru"
I have been unable .toloeate any
Chos....dbangorby'another.
extantcopy.o.ftbetextitsel f.

31 It has not.beenposs.ible. to locate this text or to

deter.minewhe ther -or ,not i t !s s t illextaat

28

enacting tbepurcpose Coflivtng beingsl. 32

Tbisshort

"antobiographytt doe,s not ,inform, us of the

time or place. that rDo....,rie'Cbang< was born or give us any

historically soU>nd"informationas .to his life.
has

the

character of many

hagiographies, of

The story
Siddhas

or

spiritualtraining,and, does. not report any. contact. ,with a

"teacherofany,ki,nd.

It lssignificant .,that this biography,

fouRd,lnthe., ,PBll,. sta,testha.t the.PBD.was.taught, 'just before'

rDo-rje 'Chang. entered ca,mplete nirvana,i-ndicating that ,the
present

exposition.. of

complete nirvana.

the

PBD

was

preached> after

tn,is

This opens,the'questiono whether this

biography is in fact one of thefra,gments mentioned., la, the . . "

colopbon,.

for.!

it were an inbe,rent par,t of thePBD it

cou-ld'not.mentlon,thePBDas .hav ingheen taugbt,ln the past .

is

in

,tbisi,nforma,t-ion is found.
Al though,thls biography. of rDo-rje 'Chang:cmight.lead.

32PBD,p.78ff.
See e.g. Abhayadatta#, .BuddhaJs Lions.
Siddhas,
translated
by
James
(Berkeley: DbarmaPub:lisbing.:"19-79J.

33

,Robinson,

29

the" reader

rDo-rjewas

to

believe

that> he

.thef.,i-rstbuma,n

vas

at

some point a human

transmitter

of

the

Great

.Perfection(;r,Dzogs .....cben) teachings. 34 dGa-rabrOo-rje is held

by the PBD as

the redaetor of its teaehings.andtbe-fil"'st

one to ,writetbem down.

Eva DargyayLnthe

'B.ia.. 2.t,.Esoter Ie

.rDo....r.jewh!ch',readsas follows:
The

Lord, of "Secrets .' (gSanq-ba,i....bdag=oo)'

instructed tbe Holders of Wisdom.JRig.... 'dsin)

in Dbanalto'a . in Uddly,ana,. the

There

a .'. large .

was

.called bDe .,..byed-brtsegs -pa ;

contemporary'

i t was ,surreuaded

and"

Queen sNaIlCj,....ba ....g.sal-ba!,-.-,od-ldan.....II\a'

there.

Tbey,'badada09h.ter called" SudbaJltmi;:

. sbe, took the novice v.ows, and soon afterwards

the fu11. monastic v.ows.

maditatecJ,-

aboa$.,

SQdhar;majl ....togetber

the,,' ogaTantra

(rna,1....

byor-gyi....rgyud.).

a white man, had coma,.. .

wnowas.'t1tterly pur,e.andbeaot,ifaLHe held.

a crys,talves'sel w,biebhadtheletter!s

34 Dal'gyay, Esote,ric . . ByddhisL.p,.19.,

ifl

30

hiim,.svA'hiengravedupon. it.
Three, times . he,

set the" vessel .upon the cro,wn of her head,

and' light, then ,shone from, it.
',bappened,

she

Whiletbis

bebeldthetbreefoldworld

pe'rfectly and clearly.

Not, longa.ter ,.thls',

dream .the BhiksunI, -gave birth to' a true son

o,f the ,gods,..

She, however., was ve,ry asbamed'

and thus bad ,bad, thoughts:,

,was

born withou"t. a

"Since the child

fatherthewbole world

heap;, when ,this" conttnued > for thr,eedaysancfl"

the. chi,ld.,badnot

ye.td-ied,tbe

Bbiksun'I

'believedtbe ,infant an lncar,nation(sPrul-pa)
andtookhlmback into the bouse., .

All> the

gods and"spiEitscamei ,to pay., respe.ct, to the'

,was seven years old he asked bismotherto "be

allowed

to

dispute witb"the

Patfits,

the

scholars.
because of .biste,nder age.

'0

However , afterhe
;hestepped'.i'flfront..,.",

the .,ft,ve <hundred scholars ,who were9ues.,ts

31

now

th,e", ,scholars-' honoured,the, boy ,and,: gave

him

the,name,Praj.nabhava,

Belng"is

W.l,sdom..-"

"TheOne

V,ho'se-

Thaking,:, wno' < was

pleased ,. wi1:1hthi1-s, 'oecur,r;ence,,'"

very'

,hinL the '"

.name", sLob-dpon,. dGa,,'-rao, ,rDo....r;e;,under"tbls,

name

he, became,

fa,lRGus.,

Becaasehis"JDQ,t,her,

had once' thrown h1.., on ,the

also

known

as

he-"was

Ro-langs-bde-ba' ,or

Ro....langs,...' "

tbal.,..mdog, ,"Who,rose Happyfroa, -bheDust't or

"'The Ashy,...paleOne,wbo" rosefrom".,the,,[Ns:b.'"
In

terrible ,moua1:ain ',', ,ranges .,and"solitudes

where, the ,hungr,Y" spi,r'its

hordes,.
When,

he,-meditated

in;Jures

lnfidel

responsible,
space.

but"

years.

times...

mKba' .,.. '9r9 "'U

the.Hlndu,bel,le-fl"

king",tbenwanted.

appear -in,

thirt:v-two

the, 'earth"trembled- ,'seven

'lleret1e,nd
"He

for

<Pre,ta.)

the,

called:

TbeHindu' ".'

to, hold dGa,f-rab-rdo,.,.,.rje,

the

latter.

ascended . into

Because ,oftbis, eve,n,t",the, king . and

",>,his- "ento;tlrage became

reI igious

After ,: tbese 'asceti:c exerc1ses,.",dGa".-rab,-'

rde-rjeknew ,the<exo,teric,and,tbeesoteric '
path;

and

mCils,t".o,f,all""the, sixty.,..four by, a'

hundred. ""thousand "",verses' or "the ,rpzoqszcben."

rQo ....rje ....sems-dpa'r
Uncbangeability", ,wbose

the

Being

of
.

32

empowermen.t:,Cdbang,..,bskur,,) .
three

mKbal-'gro'!""c'ma,

he

TogetheJ!l- with.,, thecompiled

an, . . index

Cdkar::chags!l of . the sixty-fourbya,handred

thousand. r[)zoQS'!""c'ghen,verses;
three

years .

After

that

this task took

he

gr-oUBcl' , SI'tavana,

cremation

went. :to
where'

It is at this poi,nt, in,dGa!-rab' rDo-r;'e',

comes

into ,contact with.-

the
many'

lifethat'he

bShes,.-gnyeft",,'the,nex:t,

holder of the lineage,o,thePBD..

The accoun,t,J:n 'IKIU.H,;

g,L<Esoter1cBuddhilmJ.n,Tibet continues as0110ws:

follo.wing 'propheoy:
Buddbahoodgo..

to

,SitavanatJ'.
th,ilsadvice,' a'ndmetdGa,r -rab,..,rdo-r.jethere,. "
For, seventy-five-:year,s:
listened

to< dGa'-rab..,.,roo-r;e,'s, instructions.

lnthe ,Dharma.

After

'having

91v8nal1

tradit,ionsto' Jam.-dpal.-bles-gftyen, dGa' -rab..... '

35 Dargyay, Esp.tertc Buddn:ism.., p,.19-20.

For a,no,ther,'
accounJt ,of dGa""-rab rDo......r j:e's life with. slightvariation&,

. Publisbing,; 1,971, .. pp. l&2.,..186.,

33

Teacher

dGah-rab,...rdo-rje

appeared

middleofa. ma,ss of light,

i,n

surrounded

the
by

Spiritua.lBeings.(mKha.I .".,lgro''''ma).., He. handed';

. contain.ed,therJ)zogs.".chepverses.

He di vlded

these sixty...fourey a bundped,:thousand.verses

into. the, Three.. ,Sect-iOfts. " ,0 tbe.rDzogs-pa...' '.'
o

It

chen-po.

. . .36

is

possible'

historical
are

not

to

aseertain

the.

de'gree of

trttth, that 'lies bebind,these'stories, yet they,

tlsefuli,n

providingan

insightlnto

the

Buddbist

tradit.ioD" svlew of thebolders of the lineage of teaching ..

Eva Dargyayhas. proposed the year 52. E .., fordGa ...rabrDorje, 37 while, .Tartbang,Tulku" propo,ses theyea.reS5 C.E..for "his
birth. 38

A. If..

Hanson.-Barber arguest.hat<tbis.date, is. too'

early' and sU,gges,ts 550. C. E.

bim. 39

as a

more suitable, date .' for',

Hanson....Barber s method,s in, reaehing.tbis. date do Dot.

appear tobeent,irel.ysound,,40 wb,ilethe.firstcemtar,y,da,ting

Dargyay,. Esoteric: Buddhi.s.m#..p.21.

37 Dargya'Yi' Es,oterlc.Buddhj"Sm,.P .24.5 .

38 TartbangTulku.;.: . CrystaLHirrH,;- . . p.182.

39 A.W.

o-f, dGa l . fab, rao '

r:le, ff Journal.,S!t,tWl InterMtionalAssQciati.on.g,f: BtuidMst,
,Sbldies .. fffad.ison) VoL 9 'no. 2. 1986 .'p.5'5-63.
i

4.0' There al'>e two main weaknesses

to Hansen-Barber's
argament.. . Firrst,heucsesastandard';of "tair:ty-flveye'ar.
spacings>between.,..eachmaster andstudent..
It is poss'ible"
that a master,betbirty...five year,s older "tha'n.. bis.studenti

34

of dGa' -rab rDo-rie accords with the ac.counts provided. by"

the

Buddbist

For

tradiotton' ltself.

this

reasoni t; is

-furtherevidencebeeomesava ilable .

Tulku'repoJr'ts
Vajrasanain
Grub..,.pa.

tha,t

an

logi'c,., and

kno:wledgehe

from, a

India, and, was a

He ,was

philosophy"

he came

was

( MaDju6r,imI't.ral.

also

expert

village

j,ust west of

Brahma,n'" known as

inSansk,rit,linguistics,

art.
known, as

' Jam,.",(ipal.

bShes-gmyen>,

.TarthangTulku's. account then,. reports., the

same events qQG.te.d, above about. hi,smee,ting,. wi th.dGa:,f.,..rab.

rDo,...rj.e.. 41

Eva Dargyayplaces 'Jam,...(lpal bShes.,.gnye,n1sde'atb

',: in<theyea,r 3'42 C.S .42

'.Jam,...Q.pal,

student was SrI. Simbilb.

short biography, of h!s li'e is otloo.,1n: Eva"Dargyay's

2.i,Esotcr ic dBuddhisma Tlbe t .

It ,reads as follows :

but it is also possible -- and more likely -- that the

difference be greater or, lesser, perhaps very much so.
Secondl,y, Hansen,...Ba,rber invents two holders of the lineage
which 'the tradition does not know-of.
These "are a se-eond<
Vimalamltr,a.,,andanunknown,,person Hanson..-;Barber. does 'not.
""propose to,j;dentify.Heascribes thirty-five year intervals
for tbe,se, two ""lineage bolders,If, in, order,'to""suppot'his"
dating;, of . dGa.',-rab,rDo....rje in-the s,ix,thcentury,.,;, See'
. '
...IS.:i.4.
41 TartbangTu1ku..Cfystal'
4 2

E,oter icBuddhism".p.24,5.

35

In Chlnain the town So-khyam",a son full

virtuous
clear

father

andhis

intellec,t; this

wife

who were

of.

s'ODwas;.. tbe-T-eaeher

rIsimha.Atthe, age of fifteen ,he studied

grammar.

and

.10g1cano"

other

the,

usual;,

scholar,- one; night,. inthetown,.of.gSer;-g11ng.

Avalokite'.yara
prophesied:

to

appeared'"

him

and

"If you reallyasplrefor the

Buddbabood,thengo to Indiatotbecremation
ground, . 80-sa4311n9"""

The

'puthistrus t in,th is word.

ilJ'ha .-.
Since.he tbougbt

that tbeo.the,r\'l,anva,sbou,ld alao. be. studied ,

studiedtbe,exoter..ic a,nd., the asater iG '1'a-ntra

with, the .Teacher,.BbelakIrtL, .
the

vows

famonk,.

and

for ,three

years

o,practiced,asce.ticismaccording to the . .iUya

AdlROni,s'hed .. by,apr.ophecyrepeatedly, given., by

, Ayaloki.te'vara ,he set out to India.

-Because

. pain .and' hardship,, on the way. '.

36

Thus be came, safe,and,soundto the crema<t.i&a.,,'

grouftdSo...,sa...,gling... ,. "'bere.be met .the.great
Teacher'Jam-dpal-b'es-gnyen,whorbecause of
rIsimba's., entreaties,

accept-ed. him

asa

student.

FOr' twenty-five .years..the,Teaeher

belonging

to

it,

till

finallythe

dtssolvedin-amass ofl ight..

master

Wben, 'rlsl-mba
,

was engaged. with .tbe-deathlamentations r

'

the,:

form,af, the master.appeareclin.:,tbe sk,y and

instrueted ,hiHh bodily.

/-

He gave Sriscimba, a.

the Six Med:ttation ,Experiences-. (sGom...,nYaIls..."

After

the death of his master"

'r.I'simha.pract.lced til isdoctrl,neandreal ized

,the absolutely real (doD79yl::ading) .43

.' At this point in Sri Si,mha'sstory other character's,

become invo'lved,that, de, not fmmed,tately
Simhareturned<toCbina.

He wasinvited, to

atalat'ter date anddiedthereaftero,ne week' sstay .44

main studentswe.re . .v.i'mal'am.ltra Aand

His

45

43 Dargy.ay,Eso1berig,Budtlh4sm.".p.. 22,. Fora slightl.ylonger,

account of, his life see' Tarthang "TQlku, -Crystal Mirror,
p.188-191.
44 See, Bargyay,. EsoterigBuddhism.. pp.24...,5." .
45 lRisl.,p. 2.7.

37

C.E.,46 while Eva Dargyay remains'uncommittedo'n a,date. 4 ?

The. col'ophORr" o . . the:PB[)

.. Simba it,aug'btl

the text to Padmasambhava, . who was the a,ne, to bringth,is

'ite,acbing toT'!,bet. ..Padaa;salftbhava .1sa figureo,f outstanai ng
impoE,tanee.in 1:be ,n,iestory of Budd'hism,. in,'l'ibe;'b,.or it, is he'
f

who

is,. bel.ieved'

to

be,

responsible .for.thesucce-ss

Buddl):'iism. in. . that country. 48

of

Unlike,thei' previoUisgUr:US'" for'

whicn, we have only, .scanty >biograph,ical. ,informat.ion", . there

are ....aany.,yol.ulftes tnTibetan ,1 i-tera ture aevotedto . his1 ife . 49
These works.. ' are mach" too. le-ngthyto. be. included;" in the,
;presentstudy.'.inat is' importantforthepresent 'purpose is
to note that Padmasambhava,'vas invltedtoTibet, during the
re1gft .ofKhri-srong lDe-btsan

(reigned,7SS'-97

.instrQtaentali,nestablishiftg 8uddhi,sm there.

. . . was

It isbel ieved

46 Tarthang:.Tulku,.CrystalH"irro.r.p.18,8.
4 7 Dargy'ay, Esoter iC( BuddhA,sm" .p. 245.
48 See e.g. 'Bar1:hang.TQlku.". Crystal Hiprqr",p,. 14,0.
49
The following"are some of the more well known
blograph;les..of .Padma,sambhava:: The,bKa.',.-tbaASelzbraq....U",by .'.
'Y-r.9.ya
...n .9L....ii.'n9""'pa,....
g Llngzpa . .
sGrop.-mej' by,Padma,<gLingpaioo ,;andthe,'adma"
br"by
U....rgyan' .' gLi,ng....pa<s .
biogrsapby Q:.f,Padmasambbava was' tr'ans.lated . . . tnt-e... Pre'ncb by'
Gustave-Cbar.,lces.Toussa'int, as I.dL . . IU&:t...
PadM.. (PaI'is:
Librarire'Ernes$ 'Leroux r .... " 1933), and, ,translated .. fI'om,the,
Frencb into Engllsh 'by I\e,nneth Douglas and Gwendolyn Bays as
ld.a,AdLJrbe'l!o,t:ioQ:.U 'PadmasaaIjWay8,p,>,.(Berk'e'1ey:' Dhar,ma,
Pubelishlng, 1918+ 2 Nols .

the_,Pad"a . .

sm.

:r.u.

50 These .... dateasuppl,ied ,by.Sha;kabpa,...Tibe't,>6, .,Pol,i,ti@a,l"

HisTtory,'(-,NewHaven: ,Yale,Unlversi ty'Press,1967) ,p. 34.

Sh

38

by the, Tibetans that during. his stay In-Tibet he not only",

taught

val"ious

students aboutBuddb,ism,bllthld

teach'ing-:sthrGugAout" Tibet, under

temples,

inrive,rs

and lakes,

many'

the. eartb.,'in" rocks,. in-,

in

the, sky,.

etc. 51

"These'

biade'ft, ,teaehiings-.are'" kno'wn ," as "'treasures ".< g,terzM'). '

The,

.-,PBD lsone ,such ,treasure .

Padmasambbava,ls' knowD-,to ,have stfdied under, a certain .'Jam-.d-pal,bSbes-gnyen,t-he You'Dejer, ',who is believed to be the
reinca,rnation ,of the tJam-dpalbShes-gnyen mentioned above. 52
;

He is not kno,wn" to have,studied",with5rT Simhs i,nany Gf thetraditiona'l, accounts. 53

There

is an account ,which states'

tha-tPadmasambbava, ,ta-ugh1lSri5

by' Eva, Dar9yayas

,accounts

0,,

accoul'llt. is taken-

unr.ellable

In. l"igbt. o;f,

the" existil'lg

the.pr ino,i,pal trans,missiono;ftbe- rDzogs:cben .54

The, fact., tbat, , there, iSl'lOdirect conneetionbetweenJ

Padmas-ambhava- " and

irI,

5imha

the

l:n

reliable-existing

,accGuntsdees,aot-mea-n thatstlch aconnectionis.impossible.

It i s a common feature" o-f the teacbi-ngsof theVajray'lna-"
tbat they' ma,y be,handed. downinencoanters;o,f N,pure.,vision".;
(dag,..snang)

teaching

'l'hismeans

from a, master

t-nat

,a

long. dead

disciple
ina

51 5eeTu--l'kui'Jhondup"Rinpoebe

52 Dargyay, Eso:telic-'B!1dd,Msm, ,p.27 .

53 See Dargyay"Eso$eri,q'Buddhism,'p,.27
54 Dar.9ya;y'i .. Esot&JPic'Bud4hlg,,, ,p,.55.

can

direct

receive
spiritual

f""'-

39

encounter,. 55
tradition,

Suobtransmissions .'are

but

rather

are

taken

not

very

rej,ected

by' the,

seriously.

Tbe

colopnon'Qftbe PBD does 'not,s-tate that i t was received by

Padmasambbava,
transm;ission,

,in
in

. transmis's4on that

PBD,

this
this
0

way"
way

but

we

are

by

lnte'r,preting

able

the,

to explain., a

therw isemustbecons idered inaut,he,ntic.

during> ,his, .stayinT'i.bet in,tbee,J;gh,th' century'C. E.

GuruChos--dbang,discovered ,thi,s,teacbing,andtaught. it< to

his disciple .sNang.-aon, Dad.-seng,

Guru Cbos...dbang, wa,s . a. ver:y

teachei;ngsof

the

who wrote i t down.

famou,st'ransmittero. the

rHying,-ma". school,.

secondgr:ea:t> .Discoverer..-Kill9,*S.6

a-n.d',i:s .known

a,s, . the,

Eva, Dargyay i:n,her", lUJi&.,.Q!.

Esoteric Buddhi,sm, Ul"Tibe,t,.Ras, translated, a

Thus

biography"o.f

toolengtby" to be' qua ted in, full he,rei,57

t'herea,lso ex,ists,aUllbiogcaphy of hitmthatremainsto be

55 There, are numerous accounts,,of, sucheneounters.

For'"an
examp,le" see Dar'9ay" Esotep,iq.Budgh4sm"p" 4,8,.
Forabrlef
,:cJisQU,ss,!on of ,this type of' 'spiri,tual . trans.iss,ion see
Gyatso,' "Signs, Memory and His.tor.y, ," p . l0'.
See al'so 'Jh:llku', '
ThondupRlnpoche,Segre.:t Teachi.ngs ,p. 90
56 8eeDargyay, Eso,teric. Buddbi:sm..p. 104.,
57 .Dargyay, 'soter

. '.

40

,,,bls life.
Guru Chos-dbang,wa-s born: in"theyear 1212. 59

His. birth .'

He received an

was attended by. various miraculous-signs.

i.

,intensiveeducati-o,n ..roB\ a youncg age in literature, history,

and re;llgioustrad.!.tiGns.

At the ageofthirteenhehad'a

spiritual vision in wbl:cbbe. encountered Tara., Va;rasa.ttva,

and a

DakinI:.
He continued.torece ive large . numbers 0

important teachings:, and transmiss10n-s until the age "0'

treasores or :hidden:- teachings..

He" revealed eigh:teeamaj;or

treasu'res .a'nd nu-mer0Us.. mi.nor" 'treasures,.

He

prophesied" the:',

Mongol- invasion. of._.Tibet,a pr.ophecywhl.cb in fact came .to

pass in. i.' the year.. 1239. -60

Guru:-Cbos...dba,ng .not .only revealed

copious lyonmanyaspects a

'many .
BUddhistrellg;i,o.n.

He -d1ed

in.the. year 1270.

. Guru Ohos ...dbang",. is. known. to ba,ve bad"eight.." sp"iritua.}: .

sons, ,,61

yet the 'nameosNang.-don. Dac):-seng.doesnot'a,ppear:

58
gBang..,.phyus:;. (J(yichu-"Temp'1e-,..Paro,;
;(;yaltsen,1979). Two volumes

. Go,u, .
Bha-tan.:Ugyen-Tempal

59 Datesaccord-ing.toDarg-yay., EsqUerie Buddhism... p.103.,60 Dargyay, Eso-tericBuddhd"sm,p-.112.

61 DargyaY,.hgteric Bllddhi.sm,p.118.

41

There .is no further information on the transmiss,ion,of

thePBD',until ,its collection in the Huodred Thou,sandTaptras
Q.f

:th!it ,,' rNyinq,,..mabyRatna 'gLing-!"'pa" (14o-3.,..14Q9l. 62

gLing.,..pa

W&'S

Ratna, ....

a tre'asureinder himself, and, tbe"compiler o,f

the gr.eatcollection,,of rNyi,ng""ma . tantras.

Vithregardto

his compilation of. the rN,ying-ma.. Tantras.EvaDarg,yay has

presented ,tbefollowing account.
The, 'lDan--dkar""ma Catalogue, of the Kanjur'
states

tbattbe

esoteric

T'antras

of

the

Vajrayana(gsang.,..snaagsnana.,..rgygd) were not

included ,because
studied. by

they

were

non,-qualcified

dangerous

perso,nsl.

transmission of these books .

{if
The

and their

oral tradltion (l!m.sl)had become very sca'rce

and, preciou,s<, because, the.,Old'l'antras .o,fL the' .
First,Periodo,f

Transl,at,ions(snaa.,..'gyur,
were,not'taken into .' the"

collection of the Kanj\1<I'"dbKA,f-"gyurh

great

enthusiasm

searched

for

Vitb, .

Ratna-gl ing.,..paearnestly

t,hese

books

and,

the',oral .'

traditionsinalJ directions, 0' the compass,.

Finally, beoundthema;ln", bu,lk,o, .the , One,...,
,HQndred-,'l'housa,nd Tantras ("rGyud-"bum)at Zur-
'ug-pa...,l,uDg;.,He,knew that, lnKhams, dBus"or,

62. Dates' acco,rding.toDargy'ay,. Esoteric'Buddhism,;. ,p.144.,

42

gTsang,tbecomplete, ora-ltrad,!,tion,wa,s, not,'

handed dow,n, to: anybody witb, th.,exeeptio.D'of,
Mes.,-sgom"'"9tan"",bzang ""po, iDgTsang,.

.He .could,!'. "

not imag1ne that this oral tradl tionwas to

,-be' interrupted so soen. .lJ!be mas'te-r-Has -8gom,

in spite of his old age# taught and gave, him;

,the ins truct ions, ,sftowinggre,a t zeal indo In9
so fO.r a long,time""
compl1ed" the- One.".

Hundred....Thousand ,Tantras,

(rGud....,fbumJ

in,a

single ccollection", .at- the.,LbuD""'9r,ub....pho,-brang,'

(palace) .in Gru-sul.

At first he-wrote i tin

Indian . ink- bu-tclateron in golden tincture ..

Thereupon" he did,much,forthe.-di8sem:ina,tion<"
of t)lisoral

traditioll:.Tbanks, to Ratna ....

and great Discovero -'.

Concealed",'l'reasares,
--of

the

Vajrayana

ava,ilable

for' the

wish,.,..bestowi.Dg

even,-todaythe.Tantras .
(9saD9""&ngags ""'-9Yud )

are

Q,se.of,ever.ybody like, a

jewel

(clntauni,).

He, was,

e:xceedingly usefu1.to,- the whole ,rNYingzma....po' .'

Doctrine. 63
'lbispassage,shows, ,tllat,.the,te'achings, of ,the .rHying""ma,
tantras' bad, almost

fully,declineda,tthe -' time, of, Ratna

43

tral'lsmiss,ions . in"all
Ratna

of

Tibet.

edited, the

IttmdredThousandTantras

mate,rials he

compiled" in,tothe

U tbil rHying-rna or lbe preserved

them' jus,t, as he foundthe,ln,,,,

. It is nonetheless.> due to the

eforts' ,of Ratila,gLlng"""pa that tbePBD exists in the present

world and, is. a.val,lable for. study.,.
. The Huntkjed,Thousa'pdTantras of

been

handed down, since tbe,time, of Ra,tna",gLing.,..pa and ,exists in

severaleditions,.a.nd,eoples.Ai4

The PBD is ound"in, all. known,','

cop;ies' of tats, collection.

There' 'are '. no,known""colDIReatar-ies. ontbe,PBD.,
to

tbePBO, ar,ealso

accounts

Refer-enees '

lacking,in,tbe"ava!,lable' b,istorical,

0', ,the ,.transmiss,ion, .of

Buddhism, ,,In.. T,lbe$.

The

,present studylsperbapst'hefirst,exploration of thePBD in

letters s

.Coptepts

The . PSD contains .

pag.es.

ar:e di'vided .-.into, one., hundred twenty-three

chaptertitlesa're
chapter.

'recorded

in

the

chapters .

colophons

as, follows:

I. Tbe,Baste .Top,lcandtak,!ng:up thetoplc (p. l) .

2 ..
3.The,way ,0:be18g oftheBas& (p. 12).

lp.,9 l.

of

These,
The.
each

44

4 .>Tbe'exlstentlal,,;mode of tbe:Base andt'heGreatAppearance

of the Base, (p.1S) ..
5,. Thepartioulars of the Base (p.18).
6.
7-.

. the',Ba5e (p.19L

Thewayo Being

of the

Base

and" eft-titles;.

and, the

recogni:tion. oftheword-whicbsy-mbol,izesthe,made of,

"appearancefp. 2 2 l.
8. A

on the Base and, its recognition (,p,.,27L

9. Thecompleterecogn.itio,n of Wisdom(p .30) .

10. The, wordstha,t si-gnify ;w'isdo...".(,p.33).

11.' Thecom,ingforth;o,f' . the

force of awarenessa,nd,the

tota,lly",pure . force (p. 34) .

12. The words, wbis,h"symbelize:th1s, (p.3fH,.

13 Thefo,rce in,brle f (p .36)

14. The" ornament,andtbe,p,lay,(.p.37}.
15. The words ,for ffor,nament",and"play" I,D brief (p. 39).

16. The slgn,ifying; slmllesfor "ornament", and ,,,play" (p.40).

,,17.

Teaches thatl:nthe pure,. Base there -is, .nodelusionand;'

teaches the three bases,fordel,us,!on lnthe
appearanceo,fquality (p. 4,ll.'

1'8 .1.'becauseand ti,me ofde:lusion,fp .,45),

19. The conditian of deluslan,andtbede-lnslon of; the obj,ect

,duriog,the'ill,termediate 'kalpa, ,aloftg-with"the condit,ions
of the body (p.47l
. 20.' The,manner,bk..wbiieh,the

,bein<JSlis'es:tabl"isbed '(p.49).-

'. [of se,nt:ilen,t,

45

23.

Tbecharacteris,tics

of, the

elements, and,the>'wayof,-

arising and way of dissolving in 'combination, with tbe

,meaning (p.53) .
24..- Thethr,ee" aeons (.p,.55).
,25. The coming ,orth "of ,the two,RupakaYilsof compassio,n from
the Dbarmakay,a and, that the', twokayasdGnotexist in,

itself (p. 56) .

26. The, way theki'ya is clear as amudrl,'for the>discipleof
,"pro'found',kROwledge,,'and, its arising as "perfectioft and
knowledge in" the,kaya"oitbe', disciple (p'.,59;).
27. Tbeabodeofdwellingand thethr'O'fte(,p. 60 )
28. The.'expl,anatlon, of themeaning.ofa. throne, .(.p,. '61,h
29. ,The retinue

.theSambbogakaya (p. 61 ) .

30. The words which signify the SambbGgakaya, (p.63h

,31.

/L',begeneral ,characteristics 'and

conioinedwith,the femal,ecaRsorts

{p;...64l.

32 . ,'l'he retinue of the;Sambhogak1iya joined totbeessence of

mean1ng" ,(p.66)., ,
33. The way the liirmtnattaya comesforth in the world (p.68 )

,3,4. T,he divlsionsof thethree kayas (.p. 69) .

35.

The,words

which

signify

the . tbree

eftumerations,o,fthe k.yas (p. 72).

klyas

and

the.'

46

'Buddba"i.n ",brief {p. 75)

37.

The,

oftbe,', thl'ee kayas"

Buddha

the

,. and the way of purify ingthe

defilements (p .76)

1 lving be 1ngs ) (p. 78) .

39.

The

philosopbicalperspeet'ives ofthee-ight"vehieles

(p. 79).
40., The medLtations"oftheelgbt, velli,cles. (p.'82:l,.,
41. Theactlvi,tie'softhe'elghtvehicle,s (p. 84)
42.

The results of the, individual

(p ..

43.

The

vehicles;

tbe doors of

85)

recogn,i;tion, of the ,meaning,. of At!

together

with

questiGnsanda,nswers(p. 87) .
44.

The

recognition,of

the

tbreekayas

including. ',' the

,phenominaldlmens-ion,the Dbarmakaya ,Q,f awareness (p. 91).

45. Therecogn;itionofthe,i,ve aspects of

. l,()O"h

,46., ,The,pu,tt4ng in order ;.o.,f theeightaccuMUlatio,ns and then

their", reeogn.i.tion ".. (p" 10,2). '
47.

Goingbe'yond.thecaQseofsa,msara,., severing ltsroots

romthe,end,and recognizing ltlp.1(5).

48. Divid,ing" the three ,timesand, recogn,izing th.em (p.108').

47

51.The. s-aeredins,true,tionswbicb condense, the enter,tng lnto

recogAi.tioD..,(,p.>120:l .. "
52 . The viewin"ge'neral(,p .. 1211.
53. The view and its application,(,p.124,).
54 .The view i'n deta!1 (p .126) .
55. The graspiagof the ,one view in one life. (p,.. 138).
56.

The view"

medita,tic.A", ano"practicecombi:ned into, one'

Cp.142) .
57. The final settlemen'tof the view (p . 144.
58.

The

jo ining,with existence andabsencein, meditation,

andthe< cont,inua,l samadbi

fo,r averagemind1!k togetber:.

,withtts de,ftn!ng,enaracterist.ics .(p .147) .

The,' insp;j:ra,tionthat,,teachesconte'nt.and, . lack,of conten,'

meansoi meditation ..in de,tail '.

(.p.152).
60 . The ,'applied theory of med11:at10n (p .. 157l.
61. .T,be..,.qro,unos o-rer,ror in .meditation fp. 158)
62.

Tbe,cutting,;"off; of.tb&.. groQ'nds. forerrorin.meditatien, .'

(p.160)

63. The"practice, in condensed forRk(p .175,) ..

64.

The sacred.,instructio&s,Qf, applylng,equallythe . theory

of re1.ig1-on5 'practi.ce.toitselduring,tbe four,times
(p.178) .

65.

The practice of the joining,- in equality of the three

titftes(-p-. 179) .

66.' The",eighteen",.spberes"of, ,ac,tivityocf,H"ra.. ,p.180l.

48

6 7. The ,e,xperieace (p .180 )

68. learingdoabtsalld"obstruetions. (p.181l
69.,How theresulteomesfortb(p.181).
70.

The explanation, of the me,aning of a vehicle in .brief

(p.l81) .

71. The explanation ofthemenaing, of the view"

tbe words of

,teaehing(p. 182) .
72. The explanatlonofthemeaning . . .ofmed,itation. al.ong witb,,
the ,words
73.

fsignification (p .182 ) .

Thee,xplanation oftbe, meaningofnon-medi,tationaloDg"

-wlth tbewordsofproclamation (p. 183).

74,. The praotice in brief (.p.184). "

. 75. T,lle explanation of the, meaning of the resul t(p .185) .
76. The

individual

defini,tions

of

the

vehicles

and

the

. defini'Dg' charaote.ristics(p.187) .
77.

The way's of superio,rity,of the eight vehicles in brief"

(p.18S) .

78. The/meaning,.of thesupe,rior (p.190J. '

79.

The

superiority,

by

five

greatnesses', over, the eight

vehicles (p.191).
80.

Teaches. that .the

eight

vehicles

have

error

and'

obscuratlon., and < that, the; Ati doesno>t" bae erro.r,,and,

obscuration (p.195J.
81.

Anexpla,nation.of, grounds for error

and the.word.s of,,

sigD'ificat1onin brief(p.197).
82.

The

, summar:y,(ofthe

49

follow.iRgchapters 1 (p. 198) .

83. Theflveto-talitie's f,p.199J.
84.

Theexplanation"of . the .meaniag-of,, the, five total1 ties:

toge,ther,wlth the,ir.necessity (p. 202) .

85. The explanation . of.tbe,meaniug,,of"a,,Tantra. G:p.203.).

86. The vows andempower-ments.. of the measure of .' rLsing .ofa .'
Tantra (.p.204) .
87.

Clearly

teaches

the

explanationofthemeaningi:o

ie.powerffte,nt " (p. 21,0) .

88. 'l'besacred.commi-tments (p.210.).
89.

The explanation, afthe meanLngofa. sacredcomm!tment-

(p. 211) .

90,_ The:mandala.(p. 212).

91.

The self-nature ." ofsacred. aot10nis wi thout .. deeds.or

searching (p. 213) .

92. Worship, aoo.:yoga, .(p.215) ..

93.,Kant,raand,mudra fp.216).
94,. Retreat and! practice (.p.2181.
95 . The JHNe.greatnessesoftbe .tran&mis-s!on(p. -219) .
96. The explana.tionof the meaning of,thetra,nsmission (p. 219).
97.

The five neces.sar.ypurposes ofthesacred instruction

.(p. 220).

98. The meani,ng,.a,f the saar.ed instructions (p.. 222l ..

99. Puts the levels.,tbeperfeetions, and,the;fivepatbs in'
proper order ,and actuall yteaches the sta-qeso fthe
levels (p.,223).

50

'100 . 'Tbe ,mean!-Ing of a level (p .226) .

101. Tbe' result, the five . certain, paths

(p.

226).

102 Theexplana,tion of themeanln9 of a path (p. 228).

103.

Tbefour. paths of, practice, of

thete'Dperfections

Cp.228l.
1&4..

The,explanat:ion, of,the< mea,ning,of. the . per,fections, of..

.re,sul"tCp.230) .

105.. Themed tuma .(p

106.'.rhe".mea,n!.ng

f..appearanoein br ie,f(-p . 232) .

107. 'l'heourmodeso'fattachmen,t'<lh23Sl.
108. The fou,r i,nter;mediate states (p.236).

10'9. The div isio:n, betweenm,lnd",and" wi,sdom.. Cp.2'37-l.'

110.

The- cOIMd,tments,,;ofthe

ge,neral

char,acteristtcs

of

l'ihera,t!onandthe stqDs (.p. 240 ) .

11:1. The signsofdeatb1Dde,tail(p. 24'2h

112.Tbe res;ults. of the . intermediate state (p.244).

113.

Theabsence,(of a need] for liber,ation 1n those with'

eompletelysuper i-Cilrsenses andthedivisl-on oft'he
superior, a<Verage.. andinieriorof those wi,t!l'"average
senses, . ,t,hed'irect ,recogni tion o,fPossessi"ngtheFive
and

Pos-sess.ing., Perfeo,tion"

the

six

superknow:'ledgesr'i'
fo,rth,.and.the

individual:

division,,. 0,

-the

,Great.-

Posses-siag,.of.

.P erect-ion.(p .245) .
114. Tbemeaft>1;D.(jS) of.libera,tioD; and

115.

gene;r.al.assortment. of

similes

"..
toge.ther'",witban

51

expl,a,oati,onof tbelr meanings fp. 259).

116. The inspiration of n!r.vana,a,nd, the meanings: of the five
words.wbichsignifytt (p. 261).
117.. The"explanationof,tbemeaning,o,fnirvaBa,,( p .267 l
.l18 .,'lbe.meani,ng. ,ofthe eyefp. 268) .
119. Tbemeanlng'of the, four, extremes (.p.2.6&).,
',12'0,., Tbe' mean,ingof,tbeletters (,p.271).
121.

Bringstogethe,r.. the,,'sca,tered,., words"

causes"freedom,

from doubt, and clears, away tbe extreme of ,faults (p.272).

122. Thenames of the Tantra and offerl,ftgsofpraise(p'o280).
123. ConcludestbeTa,ntra (p.284).
Colophon ,.( 28:6,.

CHAPTER 2
Methodology

Tbe

fol.lowing,.:chapters ....ofthisthe,sls conststot a

.,themat.ics,tudy. of the ,most lmportant topics in tbePBD.

Tbe

PBD is a text attempting to comprehend every aS,pect of i,ts

view of tbeBuddbology,it,represents..

To"pFesent. ,a.full

analysis. of everytopi'c, i'D the PRO, wouldrequire c ,nobhia9""

less than",a,ninterlinear, commenta,r,y: andconcordance;o,fthe
'entire text., a .task that could well extend .into tbousandsof
pages..
subjects

For tbisreasonlhave foeused, on the principal

necessary

for

a compreheDsion; ,o-f, thePBDf,s .

'teaohings, tbose topics presentedrepeatedly andextensi vel y

througboutthe.,text.

The' PBD.prese.nts

topics, oftencrypticall,yandincomple,tely.,.'

many secondary
These topics I

.have; ,alluded to"butno,t discussed in detail.

The,following;chapters,tbereforeconsistofanaaalysis
ofthe,PBIHs;views:on,lJ.The-Base,.

...!fhe,A,tiyo,ga.

2)

()elU64-on,.

3,.),.

T.he,

4,)... ,.Wisdoa...,,.S)Tbe,,path,,6.),. Recogni,ti,Oft,. . anch7),.

It ,wo.uldcerta1nlybe ,desirable to ,d.iscusstbe

53

relationship the ide'aspre,sentedln the PBDbave to var iou,s

other

views

of

reality,.

sucbas, the

di,ffer,ent

Bu-Mbist

.scbools 'of t.fiought,andt,he.mys.ticall.i-teratureof tiheworld.

Such an enterprise woaldagalnrequire-detailed analy'sis
al80untlng to a fall thesis'foreacb topic cov,ered,.
in

preseatingth!s-

camprehensi-ve

information,.. is

to

v.iew, a.spossibleofa

M,ygoa,l

provide.

text

that. is

as
an.,

importan,t,repre.s.entation,( of,," esoteric Btlddh,!sm.. in.,genera1,. '

and its thirteenth .cent.ury mani,:estation
.. assume .my

.reader

to

be .familiar

. . , 1

"itb

.theundamental

concepts of the Buddhi.sttraditi.on,. a,nda&suRle< that, he or

she

is

able, to

draw

conclusions on . the

import off the

infot'lRationoI provide on-his orber o-wn part.

It ha.s not been,myconoern. to a s.certain the truth or
falsity o,f the

in.ormation con,talnedi,n thePBD. .1 have'

striven, ra.tber,. to provide tbereader withan .. ins,,igbt,in,to

the thOUigbt.:,o:. the: PBD .a-s..'accaratelyas.possible.,. dwlthouit"
prejud.ice as tolts greatness in or lack of splritualvalue.
Thi.s . info.rmation,should ..provide.. ..tbe..reader. witban.,aecurate"
i.nsighti.ntothe tbeoriesandoutlook of one of the greatest
movemen.ts. in

esater:ic

Buddhl,sm".

the

Great

Perfection

This study represents theflrsttime,the.PBD." hascome; .

to

the

attention.of

modern. scholarship,.

translations of tbePBDavailable.

There are

no

F-or.thisreason. it bas .

been necessary. to quote extensively fro.. the text iftiorder .

54

to provide' an accurate, picture of the . tex,t .itself,. .tnave ,"

augmen>ted,tbese,>'(Juo'katdi&ftS, from. the .. tex.t w4th,,,cla,rifying
remar'ks' .aOO' footnotes,., yet, ,.o,f.ten "I " have, 'allowed., the, tex,t, to'.
speak, . for

itself.

Ibavestriven topickaut the, most

appropriate quotations. from the PBD,, to expre,sstbesubj,ec,t.

at band .'.and.,. have .. provided,commeftitar.y and ,aaalysis!"in" order
to,make,,thesepointsmor,elucid.tomy reader.
All

translations.. in,,,, ,tllis,A:hesis,#

noted... are my own.

unless

otherwise

lnpreparat.ion.for .this, thesis I .have

prepari!d:a prelimblary" trans,latio,n,of"tbe, 'entire text

,Dr

Eva;J}argyay,.has',kinclly"read,i:his ,maaascrdptin,compal'isoft"

w,Um theo,riginal ''ribetant8'xt .

She' ,has of,reredaany,.useful

commentsandmllCh."good. advice. on, tec'hnicalpoints.

advice

,has

been

very

helpful

inarrivinq

at

Th,ts

su,itable

transla,tionsfortechnical term,s and identifying. important

passages,.,.
own,.

The, transl a,t ions. 'presented are Donetheless my

Aftyerror ormisunders.ta,nding..perpetrated.. by,taese

',' ,tremslatlansis "my ow,n respons.lbility, though . the reader can

be suretbat, I bavemade every a;'btemp,t:topresent, the. text
.lnas. accurate -and meaning fUrl a form as possible.
The met'bodologyof. my. 'trans,latioft .repr.esents.anefor.t
to avoldtbe two extremesofover-l"lteralness lntranslati:on
ando<Ver-interpretdveness i,n translatto:n". This,meansthat I
havestr,iven. to
succinctly..
, present

render> the

Tibetan, both accurately and"

1 have s:trlven, to

my,trans],ati.onsso ,tbat,an< educated> speaker: of.

55

.avo id ingover-lnte.rpret ivetranslatio,n I bavestrivento use

the .simple,stterms . possible to render' Tibetan.vocabular.y
items.
An

example,

of

what

consider

entitled' . 'Primorsiia,l<.ExPerience'"
Tibetan,.term,rig,.".paas. "the
awareness
Tibetan

its.
word

quality . ,,1
in,to,

over.-interpretive

where . be" translates . the

flash of knowing. that gives

This

me,thod. renders

nine, . En-g11:sb.. words.

single,

.he,n numerau,s;

technleal,termsare, found together, . , 1n.a texttbe resulting;.

overabundaRce..; o.fwordsin English, can'easily turn a single,
sentence into a longparagraph:.;
as

"awareness."

under.standabl,e to my reader ,
wbich .it is
The

text

found

i.tse1 f

I havetranslated theter'IR:'
.I

believe this word to be

and rely onthecon,telC'ts in

to elucidate' its more subtle meanings.'

often strives

to

gi,ve

meaning.. to

the,

tecbnicalterms it uses, and it is the co.ntext of the text

>i

the contents, ratherthan;,the

speculatlons atinterpreta,tion

in, the,translator,'smind,.

For this reason I have opted forsimplic,ity in expre,ss:ion

wi-th,

the . . . intention of

provid!ng. directly

accessible ".

1. Manjus.rimitra,.Primordial, ,. Experience.' tr.ans.), Hamkhal""

Norou .and Kennard-" M-pman"
<Boston: Shambha.la,:.1.987'),i
p.xxlii.

56

readable.
Thethema,tic analysis,of thePBDnow,follows.

The

oolophoao:E the PB9 , .as.ql1o,tedabove ,2.makespr-o,pbesies that

"some w,ill cover it w-itb the darkness of "GQmmentar,y.
will block it withthe claw,.ofinterpreta:tloa.

Some

Some. will"

:poison ,it ,wi th .thecontentstomacb 0 scrlpturalquo-tatiOfl.

I have made every attempt not to fulfill, thlspropbesy,in

thepre'sent 'study..- I

hopetha t , I

have

elas.ida,ted."the'

meanln<j;,Qf, the -.PBI) for . the Engl1sb,speaklngworld -rather

,thandarkened it, in ,a,nyway.

CHAPTER. 3,
TheBase

I t has

already been noted in ,theopening"pas,s&ge" o

this tbesd:sthat the,PBD;, g,ses;pos!:tive"1'8nguage,, ,to d1seu'ss

theul.'tlmate,reality,.l ''llhe PBD, usesa,largenumberof .'. terms '
in relat,ion, to the' .u:l,tlmatereali,ty(don....dam.).,de5pite the,
fact tbattheBud:cith1stit,raditlon, and the,PBDitsel, c1aim
tha:t.. the',ul,tima,te:reality
c09n1,t1Qn,.2

,is

u:nspeakab1e,.and,,'beyond,

ThePBDexplains. 1t5use'o sucb,terminola9yin>

the '4fo.l low ing ,sticeinc,ts tatement :

[The-

Base

(!D.h.i.ll

1s uaspeakable,. a,nd

" inconceivable, ,yet therels,ftoperfect.lypure

meaning-.,

other

1. This thesis.,. p.2.

-g.. Santideva,
verse,i2,where,'it,

. 2. See->e

/,,,

than

this.,

so

.-.

1t

.must

be

BOdhlsat.t.yaqaryayatara . ,.chapt-er nine';,"

preclaims".tbat '":fhe'>u11:i-mate.,[,ea111:y- ls
no,1:1:he' province o'f,the.,m,j;;nd" ... (dop,...dam,...plg-yi ..,..,spyod-.YUl-.mlp) .'
See alsoPBD.,.p.24.

58

spoken!
ThIs

z,tlM1stbeknown! 3

quo.tat.ion,

willingness

to

not . only

use

positive

points'

out

.language.. ', to

the

PRD's,

desc1'\ib&\ .. the

., ful:timat-e, itbrings:us .di-rectlyto.tbeaostfundamental te.zom

thePBD usesinrela.tion.

terms

to

ultima,te reality"

the Base

There is a deep . inter..."relationship betwee'n< all: the

the PBI>

understanding

uses
of

u'nderstand.tng,of the

on the., ultimate

one

most

. often

level.;

depends

and

an

u.pon.an

It is, however, neoessaryto

en4:erinto thesys,temat some point,andthePBD itself uses

tbe.Baseasi,tsownstartin.g point in th.isdlscusslon. 4
'l'bePBD"describes :the,Base bath nega.t,l:vely,deseFibing
what it is not, . and poslt.lvely" describingwhat iti,s.
will

firs.t

present. the

passages, that descrlbe,the.Base

. positively :
Before.' the realized intuit iOD < (rtp9sJ and.
de 1 Gslon( 'khpulJo.fsamsara . and, nirvana, it
transcended. both cause .-and. conciUtlon,. '50 it
lsself-arisen. S
It

isnon..."dual .,equi.l U:>riu.,.. creating,no,

good orevilanywhere . 6

3.P8D,p.24.
4. PBD; chapters threethr.ou.gb.eight..

5.PBI>, p.13.
6. PRO,

14.

59

The uncontrivedis the Base, so it iethe'

matrixo al.l,tba,t,is spontaneously.1"eal,ized'"
"andsel .,.a'1"ls1n9 . 1 t i stbe v ita! essence 0'
the

unadulterated,.. the,

al1 encompa,sslng:

meaning.., .,
It

is

the

uDcon.trived.mind'

of

perfect.

,pu'1"ity(byang-gbub""'Ums), .self-abiding. in .its

own way

being__ the pr imevalspontaBeously

reallzedt,reasucyof all :precioQsthings. 8

It is

the.essence'domeaning"o all. the

Dharmas . '.' of samsara, and,-,ni,rvana.Its,arislng'...

that"' it

is

arlsesf1".omthe

dimension. 0 :

. ,a.wa1"eness. 9
The essentialrea,li.ty . (aao-"",bp)o,f.tAe.-,Base" "
,is

"RPo-dualit-y .

,,,T.be

def,iD!,tionlstha,t

becau,se:itis the. matrix oal1thlngs it is

the

Base.

Furthermore

itlathe- supper-,t

o:f.both samsaraa.ndni-rvana .10

(The. Basel cleanses-ma:t,ter

it i,s

subsumed.. under., "awa,reness" which is, cleansed

7. PBD" .po; 14:. .

8. PBD,p .,16.

9. PBGi' p.17.
10.,PBO"p.18.

60

of

all

It .isclea,nsedof, ...

otberthings.,

-entltiesbecause

it

exists

in

It
appearance

'0 f

duality,

for

for, it is self-arising,...

the

empty

cleanses
it

the

is. w"ltbou,t

It cleanses hopes

and, fear,s., fo,rit is spontaneously real-ized.

It cleanses .def.ilements,. fO.I\lt is perfec,tly.
pure, .. ll
It is liberated from,:the conventionalit-ie;s,
of

samsara

and

nirvana,,.,
,

so

it

is

tbe,

Dharmak3y.a .12
There i,sno,tbing above it,. so it is g-reat.

primordial.

Everything"

arises

.from,

and,

appears from tt,.soit istheCreatorof All

(kun-byed) .

All

of

samsara

and-nirvana

is the Base. 13

It

d'ld

not

appear

ad,vent1tiously, and it istbeide,ntity ('bda9nJJl)of thepr imord,ia ll,y "exlstent<awareness,'

lI. PBD,. p.19.

,PBD,

p.23.

13. POO, p.2:3 .

61

io-.pa);,.

So

it

iSi'

w.1sdollh14
It transcends, the enumeration of Rupakaya
"Buddhas, .' andeverythingar ises

and

oomes

fortbfromreallzedi Intu'ition ,oflts meaning_

So

it

is' the

Ancestcn;,

(mes-:-po l

of

all

Its own;.essential nature isu,naefJ:leil,and,

lit

is

cl:ear ly

the, unhinder:ed .great.. sel,,...".:

.l.wainesoe.nce,Ocf,wisaom.Tbus'!.t isabove .all

tbl.ngs..,

and

it

is

the

u.ncDangJ:ng se1-.

appearaace" and.self-aspeE:tto, ,.awarenes,s.

So

it lsthe highest Buddha" Unebangi,ng.,Light,i

(lQJlMl-'.qyur-.ba) 16
All:samsara. afu5,nirvaftaarisef,rom,it, and,,
touc!l,u.ponit,so it is,theroat. 17
Everything.' is born, fr.omandconnected with,;
,this great Base, so it lsthe seed. 18
It is certain thattbe essential, nature:

,0,

tbeBase is.tbeself-.arislngolearandempty.
14.PBD, p.22.

15. PBD,

.16.,PBD, .p.24.
17

l8.PBD,.p.25.

62

There, 1s,no difference between the, arising",

and;

of certainknowleage,(witb,';

regard to Itl. 19
These passages, "can; be "summarized by noting that the;
,Base istbefuftdaaaental groandof being of.al1 reality,both
conditioned'

real<lty( sarns-ara;,).

.,(n"irvana) .

It

.is,te,aaporally

sucR-manifestation,.
rea:U,ty arises.

and

transcendent. reality
.' antecedent

-to

-all

It is also tbe>groundfrom.. wbich a,ll

In this, sense it is the creator of all

It is theultimate,principleof be.!'ng

the perspective, ofe,xper'ience it can/be, said, to. arise "froaa,

wisdom (ye...,she,s), '. aswisdomis the direct in-tul.tion of .pure .'
awareness itself.

Yet it does. net depend. in, allywayontbe'

perisanal .intuition;"01"' analysis. o,f . anyone."" it.preceding,even

tbeRupakaya
pr,inciple.

It

is,

in

fact"

the

highest.,

of Buddhahood itself, whether ,tbisistermedtbe,

20. For. a discus'sion,"o,f 'theterakUBrbyed and 'an ana.lysis of

the ultimatepr;lnciple as acreatoc' ofallreali,ty see .Eva,'
.Dacgyay,,theConcept ,of a 'Creator "God' ,in ,''!'antr ic
Buddhism,..".
. ..tha ,,InternationalAssociation (If'
Buddhist Studies, (Had'J;sonl,
8, Number' I;
p.3-1-

48.

21.. RopakayaBuddhasar,e ,Saddllas

the Sambbocgakaya
tef7ms,is'fo110d In.,this,thesis,p.90 .

.tbe.leveLo,f'
Adisc'lssion,.of.these

63

,
. 2 .2
.,
.
.
DharmakX,ya...
thehigbes,t
Buddha Unchanging.
Light,.
or the" .'

state of, en1'ightenedawareness;

to as . the,

mind,of perfect purity (byanq....chub':""kyi ....sems.)... Tt1sa1,so<

,forth.
These descri.ptions of; the Base may lead"thereaderto
reify.

it,

existent.

thinking,

that

the, Base

is

somethi,ng"

trn1"

ThePBDisverycareful ,nottopositsucha view,

hold.ing"thattbe,Base,; is beyond "tbe,'four,extrellle's, "wh;lch,

are existence, non-ex'!ste,nce;,; both; andne,itber..;23

That ls,

,to say that the Base is not an 'entity whose ex lstence ca,n be

whos,e,existence canneitherbe divorcedfroll\l.;,reality ,nor,

To

gain.

an, insigbt

in,to

I tdidnot arise

the 8u9atas;,.

points 'the

PBD's"

from tbe compas,sion of'

It was not born; ,from the,karma,

of '., sentient beings.

It was no tbornfromthe

five external elements.

23 . PBO,p.17.

these

64

the",

inner;.

discursive .

conceptual iza ti ODS , . (rnam",..rtoqJ.

by

affected

an

It. is not

individual's

path-wise

attitude. 24
It

bas

no

designation ofname< or
let basna" knowotng, .'

DO

realized

ignorance, nor ,delusion.

VAltioQS

"conceptualizations

tendencies .'. (bag:"'"'gbags,)

and"

mark,

The;

of"delws"lofl;.< and,',
the

dbarmas.of,

wisdom:,oroe", appearanee,.and,re,sult. aranot

distinguished: in the" Base,.,tbe

,wayof,being,{ofall ,reality]. 25
It isno1:es,tab,lished atbimeJs. beginnt,n9', '
or ,end" nor ,in"the,past, or futu,re.",

It has

. "notbing, whatever toaccompl ish, to take up or

reject, good ,or bad.
center I'

It has no, limit and ,no"

no, d,trection. or partial ity.

It is'

'uacontrl,ved"unadulterat.edessence,remaiaing
i,n, the .natural state, ,(9 n yug...ma). 26

It does not bold to, any, tr-atb,or.fal,sity;,.'

existenceor,.,non-existence, at all. 27

24

. PBD,

p. 13

25. PBD, p.,13.

26. ,PBD, p.14

2,7. PBD, p.,14.

65

It

is

without.

thought,.

and,w.ltbout
.... ,'.

dwell,lng

. or

..

It

permanence.

OF

cessation,

bas

no

no, ,unit o r

plur.ali ty .28
The six .classes . ,of sentient. be,ingsw,!,th"
their

various

the. k;iya.. >of

delusions.,

the

Victorious One,. the appearance 'Of,wi-sdo... and

the different vehicle,s.
includi,ng
establ:isbed,

the
on

aiBe '.

the

..

levels ..

Base:,

by

not
virtue

of

existi,ngi,n t-bewayof entities .29

It. has no exp.erieftOe,
entering ..

no,t.entering. it.

no
It ba.s no,

dispe:Fsion or non..,.d,ispers 10ft .Tl'lus .. it .. ..is 'not

,neoe.ssaryto seek! t .30
Ithas;no ..cause.,.&.tthe,fi,rst...
'bavean,entity 's cause.
at the 'middl,e .

PBO.. p.l5.

29.

PBD.. p. IS .

30. PBD, p. 15.

31. PBD.. p.16.

H:has Roconditions

It has no. rival .at,. the end,.

Thus it is unchanging. 31

28.

t,t,.does,. nnt

66

Thesestatements.make.itclear,. tbat.the PBD . does not

. hold. the Base to be an ontologlca11yver-ifiableobiect.
notion

tbat

statemen,ts
whether-

The

the . Base is primordia-lis elucidated,by the,

that

they

the Base' is beyond temporal.. boundaries,

be .in

the

past ortbe

futu-re..

Thus the'

statements. thatthe.Baseprecedesall otherreall.ty, .mas-t-be.

.unders.tood cG*jnitive ly<ra,t;ber .tbanbisetor lea11 y .

That is to

saytha-t.the . "time" wh,ioh "'precedes '. all" time .bothetranscends

and enco.apasses .thetemporal,process;.andthisp:rimordial
"time." lsthe locus. of the Ba-se.
'allc-ognitive

prooesses

the

.of

notions

appearanse,..

of .the .' mi.nd,wbether

existence,

abid.ing,

The Base is a1 so beyond

non,-..ex.istence,

non-abiding,

they

be

essence,

experience,

non-"

exper.!ence, etc . The. Base has no cause or conditlons 0.. any

. kind.
These statements represen-ttbe,attempt. to speak. about
the ultimate. real!tywo-ile Clt '" tbesame.timepreventfalse.
conceptions

from,

arising,

with

regard

to

it.

As

compos.ition.in.thetraditionof mystical Buddhism the. PBD

cannot,-however, .avoid some attempt to define and .ca-,tegorize.
the

Base., .

The

tension

i,.nheJr'ent.in

speak.ing- '" of

the"

unspeakable pervades.. the...'PBD,and.mast be accepted frolathe .

very begianing" ,in order t-oappreciatethe . i-deas -thatlt sets
fort.h.
Atone point the PBD<states:
has not. been defined..

"The limit"lofthe.,Base}.

. Know,ledge q(shes,.-pa)canno-t"separate'

67

it into sections. .,,32

in' . two ways. -

Ne:Be'tbeless,

Flpst .' it .makes. the distinction ,be.tween,the<'

existentialmoda.. ( 'dug....thSAl). of. the> Base and. "the

appearance of the Base"
itd!vide.s

Secondly.,

threedivlsions or types. 34

Tbe .PBD, defines the. esi.s-tentialmode of the Base and

the,appearance of. the . Base as the,Kaya of !ssentiality(DSI2::,
bg-nvid,""'kvi ....skuJ andtheAppe-araneeo,f Es,senti,ali'ky.

.and

states

that "as as1mi1e.,

they

exist,. Iike .the-s.key: and thesllR. ,,36With. regard to the Kaya

of Essentiality '. thePBD states the f-ollow,lng:
The

Kaye

of.

Essentiality ..is,

pre-fou-nd,,

>knowledge .(Shes-rab) which does not fall into

partiality.
the

It is nnbinderedwisdom.

spontaneousl.,

realized., Buddha ..

. penetrati.ng and insubstantial.

It 1s
It

is

It transoends

all theextremesofacrea-to,r. (byed-pa"...po),.

It

is uftOontr!ved,

and.. 'tra,pscend,s., all . .the

extreme,s' of exaggera,tion.aod"deprec:iation,,

32. PBD, p,. 17,.

33. P-BO, p.,,15..-18.
34. PBD,. p.18,.

35. ,PBD, p 16.

36. PBI);, . p .16,.

68

It is Qnadul;'te-ra.ted"...lt. is.

faulty.

extremes,.. 37
Witbregard,to the- Appearanoe ofEssent;ialitytbe. PBD .
states:
Tbe

obi ect - of

Essentiality

is

Cchgs-dbyings),
.fie-ld.

the

Appear.anee.

the phenomenal

Buddha

. lt ..hasno extreme nor center.

Ithas

no cardinal no.!l,secondar,y .

direction.-

totally

dimeDs-lon.

pure

no abo,venor

the

of

It-

has.

no '. plurali,ty

supporting ground, (rten.....sa).

nop,

. It isnota

materlal dharma,..

Whencpu-sbed."

it . equalizes

the, suppr.ession.

Wben,lifted,

it. equalizes

thear;is'ing:..

brilliantl"y, . olear."

penetrating:"" aoo"tota11y onh-i'ndereEh

It is

.' the.unrei-fieddiaension, the unehanging .space

(kloD9).38

The .poin.t.of this distinction is. that .altbo,ugbthe.. Base,

isbeyond,a11 d\l>allty, . from."the.,po,intof-viewo phenGJDenal
experience._,there

is

an, .apparent

difference; between"the

cente,r ofawaren&ss( yul.,..can,),and tbe.objectsof.<awareness,

(3all.)

Tl,estatementthat the.Appear-anceo f,Essential ity is

the phenomenal,dimensionrefers to the .appearance ,o;f.. obj ects

37. PBD,p.16.
38 .;<pao, .p .16

69

to the,awarene,ss,,'while t))eKi.ya--ofEssentiality refersto

the subjective sphere or center of awareness..,39
are

These two

fundamenta,lly .in,separable .... in. that each, depends. ,on the-

other,.

and

thePBD is,car,eful, to

point

out

that

"The'

Appearance:o Es.sentiali:ty. and tbeKaya lo Essent,ial,i.ty,),

.are spoken of ano,exempliied> In.,.this way as two (tn,lngs;],
yet,acaordingto ,the, hig'hestmeaning they are not two ,,40
The "three . typesof Base, mentioned in' the PBD" are:

1),

The, Total . Base .of, ,Primordial- Mean,lng"{-ve---dop",",,kyi---kuPcG,zhi.)

whieh,isgl;ossed as

"Thee.Base; of,To4:al ,Parity," 2l ,The

Total .Base which Gathers. the Kapy:Tbings(

;pal

tbeeight consaiousnesses

whieh aremixedw,lth karmictendencles,.and3lThe; Total

Ba,se -which is,tbe "Mean,tng

(gMs..,..pa....don..,..kyi..,.kun-

lsnotglossed. 41
The

PRO.. providesexplana.ti-on, ',fo,ronly

the first 0.

these. 42

Tb.f.s... explanation, ,intends,to .show: tbat"the, Total,

Base

Primordial. Meaning,

of

cannot ..' be

identified

with

anythi;ng,. .whetherlt bea dbarma. -of the phenomenal, ,:W&rld.or

of thetranscenden:trea;];i:ty.

In 'part,icular,,,,.,the,,PBD-,po,iDts:

Gut-thati-tlsfree' from

"t,he

,39. ,PBD,. p.15-19.

40. PBD,. p.17.

41.

PBD,. p.19.

42.

PRO., p.19.'

ei'CJh,taccuMu1at,ionsof

70

consciousness. 43

The text reads as follows:

It is without increase or decrease, so it

is liberated ,from-the Alayavii'nana (kun-gzhirnam-shes).

It has, no grasping-, to a self, so

it is liberated from the de'filed mind (nyon,mongs,-pa'i-yid).

duality,

It has no

subject-object

so it is liberated from, the, mental

consciousness (yid-kyi-rnam-shes).

It has no

birth or cessation.. so it is libera:ted,' from '

the

(sense]

doors. 44

consciousnesses. of,

the

five

Thus it is different (from all of

_them 1. 45
passages,-

This

refers,

according

consciousness
Buddhism.

to

to

the

the

eight

types

of

school

of

The statement that the Ba,se is liberated from

,.,- is most significant here, for ilayay,ij1iana

the Alayayiinana
may be

literally translated as

Base."

In

the Yogacara

"The, Consciousness o the

system the "AlayavijMna is

that

aspect oconsciousness in which, karmic traces are stored

43. PBD, ,p.19.

44. Thisreers to consciousnesses of the five senses, i.e.
eye-consciousness, ear-consciousness" tongue,-consciousness,
nose-consciousness, and skin-consciousness.

45. PBD, p.19.

46. See Nagao Gadjin, "On the Theory of Buddha-Body (Buddha,""

MB),"

Hay 1973.

%bit Eastern Buddhist, New Series, Vol. VI, No.1,

p.46.

71

and wbicbserves as, the . basic ground from which the other
forms. of consciousness arise. 47

Thls passage 'shows that the

PBll makes> a fundamental,, di,st:i:ne,tionbetween.:k..79Zhi"asthe,

wb,ich;, .gathers.. infor.ma-tioD:,' and,< hal!'bors karm!c

tendencies..

"Herbert, 'GU:entberelucidates this differentlation clearly:

Sanskrit

This

ilaya.

usua,ll y . ',

is

sai-dto .oonta,in or "store"the.,experlentially

initiated potentialities of, experienee.fbi51.::.

permanent/substratuJD,:,ha's been created.

dGe-l ugs""pa:

understand" .

by

The '

it

Collected, Works ,XV'II I 3, fo 1. '1bJ ;t,hebKa ' -

distinguisb'" between the

k--,., .

.. <'ijlaya::) as the ground. exbausting . itself

in being the ground, and,, not. being behind...or

o'vertheresto,;f real. tty.,

(alaya,,,,,yiioana,.) which is thefle,rst",

step

and the

in ,thedi-rec,tion,o,;f, concept.l1a-l,lza,tion

,and logical construction. 48

4'7. See .' Nagao Gadj:in, Ibid.. Also, see, Herbert ,Guenther, D!L'
"Revali2:mlg,i,Saraha , (Berkeley: Shambbala, 1973 ) ,p. 32.
48.

Gaen,the'r*"

Ibid..

n,.,1.3.

72

This opens thequestion,o,.wheether,t.he. second.t.ype.of

Base ment:ioned>in tbePBD..The, Total Base wllichGather.s the,,
Many Things, is in fact thei.layaviiiina_ for it is glossed

mentionech"

The <PBDisnotclearon tbis . po,int, ye't its

staotementt'battbls second Base is alleigbt consciousnesses

runs

counter

AlayaviiMna

to
in

the
the

Yogicara
eighth

view

or

which

puts

the'

bigbestposition. of

consciousness.

"Meani!ngof Existenoe , .is nei t'her .glossed,noraent1oned again

in thePBD.

An. explanat.ion ofits.slgnifi,cance> must await

discovery ofa>relatedtext tba,t d!scusses .tbesepointsmore

fully..
The PBD both-holds the Base as thefundamental gr.ound,
of all being and begins . itsexpos!,tion. ,wi.thadiscQssionof,
it.

The

PBD,alsoidentifiestbe

principle of Buddhahood.
if

the

Base is

Base. with. the

ultimate

The question of course follows:

BQddhaaood. as

wellasthe< groundo.fall

reality why. are no,t alll,iving'beiogs..

brgyud-pa, and "rNy,ing,..,ma,..,pa .are ..schooIs . of . Tibetan, Buddbis'lIh",

ThePBD
sc-hool. See thisthesis
p. 16.

CHAPTER 4:,

Delusion

At the' beginning '" of. chapter .. seventeen o,the PBD the:

:Lord 'o,fSecretsreques'bsa,nexplanatlonfor delusion. 1

rOo-

rje 'Chang'" begins .Ilis .. answer wit-b.the ol.lowi'Rg".statement:

Son of
Base

Hable.. FamiIy,.

is

unchanging.. . It, 1s

:..Buddhahood.

The,

primordial,.

It is tbeBlessed One"tbeGr-eat

rDo-rje 'Chang.
,deluded.

listen wel1J

Previously it ba,s:never:,been,

Presen,tly it lsnetdeluded.

It is

impossibletba,t it will, beoomedeluded.even.

intbe future,.
vital essence

It is like,. for examp.le., t.be,

of thesunhav!-ng no basis for

darkness" ora crystalappearcing. acoordi.ftgto.'

whatever . conditions
appears

1 PBD,p.42.

by

tbepower

it
of

meets.
its

clarity,

It
yet

74

no.tbing adberesto. oreovers .it.

In ethe ,same,way
w,bieb

does

t,he,. pro.found,knowledge

not . fall

lntoa

direction. is

perfect. Buddbahood:from,. the P-rotect,i,ve Base

(mgon"",po....gz,hil...

It, ls. fro..,, thebegi,nning.,

pure ( ka""'us.....daq.,)of . the del-usioD,.ofkarmic.

,tendencies...Where

1s

theeonvention

of

delusion in the undeluded Buddha?

However"

this" is not realized..

Just as

therels but one sun"

bu,t by. tbe pewerof..

perception.

(mthgng.....,bal

separa,te

sun' for'

each area appears,. so there is butone.self...,

awar;:eness wbich appears as thepluralltyof
both samsara, , and.; ni.r.valla...

Just as.campbor..

appears . as; Ebothl.medicine"andpoison,thau9h,

tbere...is. no.

. In -it betweenmedieiae.

and. poison,*",

. . Great."Appe.arance,Q-f

the Base does. not wave::r7fronktbe state, of

appears-.by the. power

[its] quall.ty.

of,

The quality of appearing. as

pl.ural also beeomesdeluded,.and. a .qua-lity.

arlsesasacfault. 2
Tb;is "passage. points, out . tha-ttheBaseremains . thesame-whether . "an individual.has ,enlightened

2 PBD,p. 42.

awareness

or

is

75

deluded.

The. Base,,.

conceived of dualisticall'y,

div idedinteitsesseneeand",its, appearance.

this

can'be

Bot:h e fthe,se
yet,'

is not. understoodand,living,;beings,co,ntinue, in the:

state of delusion.-

In this ease the Base, which is the

'ground o-fallreality,hasbecome dualistically concei.ved on

accoun-t
The

oftbe. defilement,s, of, a,ttachme-nt.. , a,versloft;"etc..

essence'

of

tbese

defilemeftts

is

,b,ypost4bi zation of reaIi ty , ,the essential dual i tyfr,om ,which

all otber,du'al&ty ,comesfortb..
In..

its

opening.,. statements,

on

the

Base

tbe:. 'PBD

,proclai-ms:
['.l'heBasel becomes obscured. by such things:
as ignorance,<- :perve,rse views .. ,. fa.tthl,essness,;,-
and laz'iness, but is free from, ,the, faults o
,the,.ex,tre'lI\esof,pe,raanencea'nd cessation, ,the
extreme-s: of

existence- ' and

eoarseawa,reness,

andsub:lect -obj,ect

(dual,ity) . 3
This poin;t bas, been ,'- expressedvery-cl-early. ,by Namkhai ,'. .,.
,Norbu,inh-j"sexpo,sition of the Great Perfectien,DlI.,Crystal

lWtu.,Ligbt: .
It Is called, the Basebeeause,itls there<
,from the

very

beg inn,lng,

"pure

and

se1 f-

76

perfected

and, " does

construc!ted,.

no,t

,have

to

be

It exis,ts in; every being" . a.Ad,.,.

',cannot<,be'destroyed, tboQgh the experience of

it is. lost wben.abeing,;enters in-to daalism".
It

is

thea

temporarily

obscured .'. by

the

iateraction of the,.nega,tive, mentalsta,tes . 0

the Passions', of:,.attaahment"and,aversion thact

vision.
objecti.fiedas a self-ex,istent tll.ing, it is a
.state, or condition ,of being .4
These
defilements

statements

point

out

the

role

played. by-. the

of ,attractioD,.> &versio-n,.. !gnora,nce"

etc.

in

the Base, is beyondall,,defilemen,t,how.can,d,'t be <,the: basis

..,' ,upon,wh.!ch,def:llement is established.

basis of defilement...
bases. of. defilement:,.
(UU) ,and3 )

ThePBDteaches that there are three

1)

Reality (.ghos"",pyid),'., 2,lTbe . mind,, .

Thebedy.{1Y..).

Tbefirst of ,these refers in

,particular to the objective sphere, 5 the second t.a a.wareness

(r.1g"",p9) "and t,beth!rd to the five lights. 6

4 Namkha,i.Nt>roo,
5lD!ltbs.Iiut .g,. ,Ligh!, (New;
York : Routledge &,KeganPaul ,1986), p. 57.

5 PBD,p.43 ..

6 The :five, lights are ,.. azure.,red,..white, green,;, ,aDd, .,. y<&I.10w"o'

77

The PBDexpla.ins,thesui,tability of these three bases,

forbeinq'basesof delusion in these words:
Reality
delusion

is

fit

to

('khEul

be
of

the

basis for

tbe

obj,ective

sphere,'for ,without awareness i t appears as a

materialtbing,..A,wareness is fit to be' the
basis

for

delus!onofthe mind)'

awareness . . has parrtiality..

The

for,mere,

five

lights

are fit to be tbebasis for delusion ,of the,;

boay,for, they M,ve, tbe,pa,r.tiali,ty ofcolo,r
and sbape. 7
The way tbat:these,.bases for

de-l,us,!o,n, ",are , developed,

,1nto deluslon ,itself . is.e,xplainedas follows:

1)

At

first: reali.ty

is empty,.

witbout

awareness.
aspects.

-At

conceptt1'alization,
forth,., .

These

.ql'asping,

the
and"
appear

'. tendenc1e,s
as

swell

lfthey

were

,essenceless.Tbis is ,taugbtastbebasis for

deluslon,o,tbe ,ob:ject,.
2)

At

fir st awarenes,s

1 lokers

( 'qyus}

In., the middle. gras.ping, '.

Theirrelat.ioftsbip-, "t&,the':body, and, ,to,. the "fivewisdomsi,s

.'. discQssed<inttlisthesis-onp .121 .
7 PBD., p,.4,4,.

78

towar,dstbe lum,j"ne,scenee. is,/born,.,

<,themefttatlon
flickers.

of. the

From,

this

mind

,At thee,ad"

(sems-kyi-vid)

men'tal

-(sems,.,..rtog ),ar ise i:nplural i ty.

conce,ptions
This teaches

tbe, Dasis for delusia,n, oitha mina.

3)

At.,.' firs,t, ,awareness;, >ari,ses fro., ,s,pace, ,

(kl,onq).,

Intbemiddle,reali,ty arises

space.

At

the

physical

constituents,

in

end. the ma,terialpsycbo,.,...,

CskaMbasl ',of

,form,,'

,appea,rbecause,o,fthetendencles towards this

(reality}.

This

teaches,

the ba;s!s '. for

delusion ,of the body. 8

Al"ltbree of .these anal'yses areexpressions-of-howa1 iving:beingaeparts,frolft-the,spber.e,of pure be ing;through,/
the igDO,rance.of duallstie,conceptions."

This delus'ionmay.

take as its object reality, . the m-lnd,;, or the,body,and.as

such. . these are the base,s of ignorance;., ,Prom,, tbisbasic,
ignorance, a,ll. c.ondltio,ned ..,existenae,including,.,our tempora,l","
w,orldand, ,the .sentie,ntbeingsthat live in it, -are fOl:',med.
The proceasby wh,ich.the worlais .for,medor, created is
alsodisonssedln ,the

PBO .T'hepassage

inquest.ion

describesi'how,, reali:tyisatfirst. pure.bu,ttben,: 'beoomes,,

obsculTed due.: ,to

obJectHiication, conceptua,],:.izat,ton, ,. and,

,graspi,ng.Jl'he ,;passage,readsas .follo.ws:

79

I,

(rOo-rde' '." Chang:},

will

explain-

the,"

cause (of del:usionJandthecondition of the'

'cause (of.,(jelusion).
awareness;.

The cause isu,nhi:ndered

The condition, . is. empty,reality

Aw.areness, .

characteristic
emptiness.

of.'

the

the'

Dharmakaya"

inseparable. .

from

is

awareness,

unobstructed pro,fGund...knowl.eage. , T,he.. .aeure., . .

,white, .r.ed, .yello,w,andgreenhold,iad ividual
Pure real tty, .. wbicb",abides:

characterlstics-. .',

lnit5Gwll cause, is ,seen li.ke&imirror.The

five.

arisings.

of

1DS8;> 9. arise likearainbow"j;,nthe,sky.

In

tbe, next

momeRt, theas.pec,ts

i,ma9ination,..

of the.

appear as an.. object.

Conceptual',i:zati&Dcomesforth. by grasping. to
theconditlon (o.f, emptyrealit.y J. .
At

this

cannot

be

moment

the..f,!ve

clear

due

to

natur.al
the

lights

discursi;ve

cenceptualizations of subject and object.

The, four

continents,

Ht . Meru,

and

the

. saal.li.slands.appear, like chunksaf ice on. a

lake < or Ch'il'llk:s, af.scum-,aD".yogurt., by. imeans
0,1'

tendencies

towards

the.

five

images.

80

The

egg. of

the

world, 10

froit, trees,

medicinal [herbs}, .flowers and

forests

born in

are

and wa,rmth.
world

the; potency

of

these,

In tbis.. way tbevessel of the'

[enters]. a

different .aeonafte.r

intermediate aeon.

the',

[The worldlis bornfram,

knowledge .
The

e99

ident.ity; of

of

the wo,;,l,d,.... whiah., has. the

tllafive

elementis'

earth;,

(of

water ,fIre, wind, and spaoe) is ..icmpure.

The

.this.
That

which

has

the

ident.tty 0'

both

attachment and aversion Isthe.support ofthe

,body. 11
The PBD, also discuss,esthe way sent.ien,t,beiog.scome
,fortbin tAe"wor 1<1 :
Just as .. w100 f1 ickers through t,he empty
sky ,..the, greatwindof themlnd (w,>eourses
everywhere.

By the. engagement. of the,eyes

the egg. of the world is perceived ..

By the

10- For a descr1ption.'of,the,-.e99tO ,theworld",see.Namk.b,j..",

.',Noirbu, ,.iU.Crysta1
. .1H g.i.'Ligbt,QR.,sa:t.. ,..p.60.
11 PBD.,pp. 48... 49,.

81

engageme:nb Q'f the mind" the egg,o the world,

is well. and,beautifully understood.

Bytbe

. ",engage.eat G.the face the mind 0' attaohment

dwells inooniunctlon w:ith,the<mlnd.

Sentient beings ripell.a,tthe,:rootto both
male

and

female.

Fromthefonr (types of 1

birtbs.,12 this is the, egg. born.

In

the

Base

constituents 1 3
great

the

five

psycho':"'"physical

are establi'shed,ln:, the five'

eleme,n,ts.

The 'aspect

of . the

five"

[elementsl whieh. comefromthe,sapport.. [or

Base]

is

compl.ete,; .so

cO.nstituents;,
elements14

the

the .psycho-:,pbysical .

sense

areestabl lshed.

bases,.

and

the

They are kno.w-ft',

.'as tbe sons' of ".men and ..f,r-iendso.fmen .

12 The four types. . of

birth,. are:
1 ) Eggebor.n ,.such, as
birds; 2)Womb-born, such as humans; 3 ) Adventitiously-born,
such as insects (wbichare believedtoar isef-romthe>dust);
and. 4 ) . M'iiracu 1'0 asl,y-oorn" such as incarnate- Buddhas,,' who appear . .drirectly.. tn't:<he wo,r1'8 without ,any normal" "birth. II
13 Tbe, five ps,yoho....physicalconsti,tuentsare: 1) . . Form,
CrUpal, 2) Feel-lngs
4
Impulses, (sa,sklra handSl Consciousness.(yij2:dl., See
Th,.
Stcherbatsky,. IU,;' ...CentralCopqeptioD .. _g,t Buddhl,smi
(Oelhi.:Hotilal.Banarsidass,19'70) ,.pp. 6-7.
14 Tlle .sense bases ..elvatana,) a,re,." the.- cognJ.tive. faculties:
and thelrob:Jects.

faculties.. the sixob:Jectsof these faculties, and the six
;>consc.iousnesses.See <Stcherbatsky, ib14,p. 6-10

82

The

untor-men,ted,

are bad.

grad.uall.y. becomes

the,

At last [they] touch the abode. of

Avici(hell) .15
These passages show that from tbe-point.,oviewof thee

come into existence with tbearising,,-othe defilemen:tso .attachment . and aversionwhich hav-e ignorance- at. the-irroot.
Thus both the experiencersandobiectsof experience thatconsti:tute"

inauthentic

being.. are

the -resalts, of-a, bas.ic

del us ion > whose -bas,ia - na.bllreis thedicbotomi.-zing,.ofreal i ty--

aversion -towards this. bi f_ureated-reality.The PBD' does not leave off- its anaIy,s,is of delusion
with these passages,. but a,lso presents a deeper analysis.of .delusion itself.ln this analysis thePBDdlsc-riminatestwo
sorts

of

delusion:

];)

skyes.. ..,pa,'i-ma...,riq--pal 16 ,
15 PBD.,- p.-50.
bel-Is of
pAi9.

Co-emergeRt.
and

The

2)

ignorance

(lban....

igDoranceof

fa-lse

The Avici bel.l-.i-s the lowest of the eighteen

i.t... ,

16 Saha1a..,.ayidya.
This, trans-Ia:tion
Guenther, who' says. witb,--.regard. toco-emergentw'ls,dome,tthe
opposite of our term): "The literal trans lati-on , of-the
Tibetan.. term Ihap-ciq,...,skyes...,pa, (Sanskrit .sahaia) would be
'aaemerge-nae ',and --,as --,such-it -,is expl ained -,by --.Padma --dk-ar -po,
Phyaq-chen - gan..,.mdzod.- , fol-s. 29a, ff..
Essenti,all,y - it -refers to the spontaneity and. total-i.tY -of- the experience in'
which, theapposites --such, as transcendence, and.. imminence"

83

'U,t,h

regard

to

the

first

ignorance"tbe,PBD, statest

of these,

t,he c:o...,emergent.

. "Theco-emer.gentigllorance

born together wi-tb, that. which i t

comes from.- H18:

. 1-5

The text

then.goesonto give a clearer explanation of the term:

.I fyou, ask. from wha.tei t

comes), i t is

from the Bas,e Grasping Awareness .

.T,f you ask

what andwhatdarise togetherl, it lsthe coemergentwisdom19 andignorance-.

If you ask

what lit is}, it is tbat by contrivance there

is ignorance . -toward .. tbe .. space.. o .uneolltrived,:
reall.ty.20

there

is, both wisdom, and ignorance,;. whieb., ar,isetogether ,

and that thismome,nt of cogni,tio.nrepresents a; .contrived,or

subject and, object,

thenoumenal, and. the phenomenal,
iind'ivislbly,blend.Tbetranslationof -this term by '1' lnne'
(K.
Shahidulclabland,'tbe innate' (D.L. Snel,lgrove) . is
,wrong."
QQ.. ll..,p.9n.
17 Thlstransla.tion. following. Nagao, Gadiin who translates
"thetermparikalpi ta (Tlb .kup:::brtags )asHimagifla tioa," bu t
speci fies'that "',' thi's .imag,ina-tion is- always'. fa1s'e,. See. Nagao',
Gadj,ln:r"'l'.he.,Buddbis,tWorldYiewasEl,uc'ida,ted in ,tlle Three Nature, TbeoJry.and,ItsSimiles ,.-"
Series,.
Vol. XYl,No.!;
Sprlng"1983.
pp.1-18.
See
'espec lal-1 yp. 2.
18, PBD, p.45.
19 See above .p. 82.. fn.16 .
20 PBD, pp.45-46.

84

false intu! tlon, of .tb&real.ity inquest-ion . ' Th,is coga,it.ion"

comes from, a

grasping., or

attaobmen:t' to",tbe, Base.

The

PBD ofer,s,i,tbe ,s,ima..le,ofa,n,. image, appearing, in a,mi,rror,

wherethemomenttbe object !splacedin front of the mirror
there,flection also arises .21
With regard"to . the second fo,rm of, ignorance, ..thePBD"
states:
The ignorance; offalseimag,inati.onis OOr-n,.'
in,.

subtle

and

coarseconeeptualizations

toward, an obj'e.ct.

It is

in" the.,mannero!

pJ:leviou.sand late.r,moments. 22
This is to say. that with this ignoranee,tbere:'may be an
.. awareness of an object whicb is then grasped upon to be some
par,ticular . . . tbing,.bythe .imagination" ,which, has no .grasp on
the true reality oftha,t thing.
The term parikalpita.. ,(,falseimagination.) isemplo,yedby
the YogacaEa, , school,ofBuddhism,.'wnere it is, one of' the

(trisvabMya'hThe PBD,does, ne-tu,se the

,,(J,tbert-wo .termsofthe threenaturetbeoryat any ,point .

An

under s tandi.ng, .o.f .. this. term .1n. its. traclit,!onal: Buddllis.t.-usage

will nonetheless be, . help,ful inga-ininginsig,h,t,.in.to this,
term.

Nagao.,.Gadj 1-n p.resents an excellent . discussion.of this

term- ' in,. his article... " The... Buddh!st,,Wo.rld,..,V!e'w. as.'Eluc1-da,ted.

21 PBD, p.45.
22 PBD, p,.. 45.

85

nei<thercontaminatednor purifi-ed, but rather

ju,st

neGtral,

like

However ..

research..."

world,; ,which '. a -

the

insofar

as

,'.

our

interaction wi.th this world occurs directly

reflection or self....consciousness-":'" that. is.,

insofar as we are Doty,et ,enlightened, to' its,

speak

of .this ,world

imagined nature;

it

a's
is

an

world

of

the

imaglnedworld.

Through-. our ,cognitio,ns, or discriminations"

or intellect"

weare. always; projecting some

ki'nd"o'f imagination (which is always. false

onto the world that isoriginally,neutr.al.

Thi,s .proj'ection; of.,falseimaginat.i.on,ckanges.
o.r"contaainates"th-e world,thinklngtbat it
is

the

rise

real

to

all

world.
forms

Thisattachment,gives
of

human-,

discontent,. ,conflict, defileme.nt"

In short..

suffering,
and,so,o-n,.,

this con-taminatedwarld to which",

samsara,whicb,
the, Budd,ha declared tobefull
,

86

of

suffering.

appears

upon

Theimagined'iworld,

then,

the .' change, .conversion,

or

ttlltAaboutof theworldfrom"a neutral, pure,

uncontami.na,t..ed.. s tate . to an '. impu're,,.imaq.ined,, ..
>con.taminated state. 23
These two sorts of del usion, are held by the PBI) to be
the causeofall concH tio,ned,e.xistence, anil i,n part,icu,latr.
the failure .to, intuit the Base in its true being.

From

.theseorms of i<jnoranceallthe deflle'mentscomefo.r.tb.,the

mater'ial, world andthe,bei.ng,switbinit arise, andsufering;
ensues.

",No.ne,theless,

'Dot

,re,al,but

is

expe'rien.t,iallyexistent. ,,24
Theaat of, going. beyond ,this ignorance" of." in.tutting.,
reality"i:nits

primorcUa,l.purity"

is. te,r.medr'.by

thePBD,

Before entering. a 01scuss1on"",0

recognition' ia, t'he ,PBD.,.boweve,r '"

it, will

be

helpful

to

elucidatetbePBIl:'::s views on the. nature of, .tbeBuddha" of

wisdom,," and,of . the

path.

This

fr,amework from, whichthe,PBD' s

willbe . more full y,under s toad.

23 Nagao Gadjin, ga.it..."p,.,.3 ..

24 PBD;

discuss,ion

will

lay

s'tatements, . . . Oft recogni.tion'

CHAPTERS
"The'.Baddba-kaya

The' ,PBD.is a Buddb.i,s.ttext,,, yet up.te tbe-present.tbe:re'

has been, almost no mention, of the Buddha"illc:thls thesis '+
'T-hewo-rdWA."has"however "occurred in v'ar ious .,quotations I
have madefromthe.PBD."

This section' of tbe the.sls will be

devoted to an explanation"o,fthePBD's,. understanding of the.,

.,Budd'ba andw,ill also ,cla,rify the,word,ma,.
There. is a close in,teJrrelationship.. between, thePBD',s.
",understanding ofBuddhaand of.wa,.

Beforetbisconnection

isdiscuss,ed.. however., it will be useful to disctlSS the,term

:lsW.so that it 'may be properly understood.
K.iils.ls a. Sanskroitword, andistranslated iDtothe,

Franklin

. l

Inh!s Buddhist. HvbridSanskrit9J.ctionanr

Edgerton

defines

&W,. as

"body, H

understandings of the term that designate

1 Loke'sh Chandra, ,po 129.

and

provides

it as both the

88

body of a
things,

person and the body of a

i.n

w.hich

"bundle,,'. or
used

in

.the

group ,of per.sons or

case, he. recommends,.the

.... 2

terms

He also points out. that this term is

Buddhist

technical

terms

Dha,rmakaya,

Sambbogakiu,andeUrmipak'lya. 3

Na9ao' Gadj:in,in.his. .exce1:1ent:,study .onthe . history. and>

mean'1119;o,.. the. te.rm.. kiya.. "On,the Theory o,f, "the Buddha".,.B0dy

Hany other
'authors .:and translators ..fo,ll,ow thist-ransIation as,well.

I-n

the trans}a'tlon.of Tibetan"t.ex;ts the word. "body" is often

used asa ,translationforthe worduy'."Thlsterm "&!l is in
Tibetan the, honorific term for the ward "lu.r. whi:,cb.doe.s in
fact mean "body."STheword "body" is
adequate.

term

translation . of

either.

the' 'l'ibe,tan

howeve.r,

H!!' or

the

HerbertGuentherco.mme,nts that "the'l'ibetan

alway,s,impl,ies.the,.dy,nam-ic., .character .of belng.andi.,,

ex lstlng;thestaticaspectof' body '.is ter:med1,wt. ,,6

This

statement strikes right at theheartof the; difficulty of

adequately translating UJl...

The problem becomes, compounded

2 Franklin Edgerton,. Buddhist Hybrid, Sanskrit Dictionary

(Delhi: ,MattIa! Ba'narsldass,1977), p.177.

3l:b.Jr4.
4 Nagao. Gadjin" " 'l'heBuddha.....bod.y,"

QQ.. .

w..

5 H.A. Jaschke', A. 'l'ibetan...English Digt.ionary,..

Routledge & KeganPaul Ltd ... 188l),p.21.
6 Herbert Guenther,. %IlstRoyal..
,.Sha-mbhala,:il973J i\p.:5"Rote .' 4.

(London,:'

Q;i Saraha:,(Berkeley:

89

ls:comblnedwithothertechnicaLterms,toformthe

words

CQharaaki'ya),

sPul..,.sku

CSambhQ.gaMya )"

fNirmavaki:ya'h..Nagao . Gadjin, .. translates

.and
these

terms ."Dharma.,...body," "Enjoyment".,body," and,."Transforma,tion.,...

body"
these

respectively.7
terms,

Tulku

"Ultimate

"Manifesting,,body . " 8
uses the terms

Thondup

body,"

Rinpoche

,translates

"Enjoy,ment body,"

and

Herbert. Guentherr., on" ,the other .hand,

"noetic being," "communicative being, "aad'

"9

Each

of

these

translations

advan-tages anddisadvantages.

of

The

kJl

or

w.a

has,

striking, point, to be

notedhere is that ,there is no consensus as to how .the ter,ms

should be translated.

This is in part, due to the lack of

te,rms :In,''Englisbthateasily lend themselves to encompassing

the, meani,ngs, of, the Sansk,rit and Tibetan, te,rms.
Guen,ther" '., in.
translate
translates
into, the<ir
these

. , sm4.Teaching21 Hargpa., has opted to

the
the

Tibetan

term" Hll,a,s

"kaya. "10

He

also

connected .technical, terms,men,tioned above

Sanskr it equivalents.

Sanskrit

Herbert

words,

for

He

they are

does not italicize

used as

the, work,i'neJ,,

7 HagaoGadj,in., gg..i.t.
8 Tulku ThondnpRinpocbe,

2Q.w..,

P.273-279.

9 H. Guen-ther,. Saraba. p. 5 note 4

Herbert Guenther,
L1a.. smslfeacbing, 2Llaropa...
(London:,Ox4:ordUniversity Press, 1963).

10

90

vocabulary of his study.

For my pre,senta,tion. of .' the.PBO,L,

have determinedthat.tbis is the best course to take, for it

avoids the difficulties inherent in eachof the.possibl-e
.. "Englis,btranslatlons ,and allows the reader to develop his or
her own compJ!'cehension of the true meanings of the,setel'ms.
ThePBO speaks of the Buddha as being, or havin9"two,
kayas"
kayas

(sku-gnyis)
referred

or

to

"three kayas lf

are

Rupakaya, (gzugs-sk u).

the

Oharmakaya

The. two
(chos-sku)

and, the

The

three kayasmentioned are thei'

These

are

not

actually

separate groupings. lnthe PBD,i for

the

RuPakayao the two kaya system is actually the Sambhogakaya

and

Nirmanakaya.-of
.

the

three -kayasystem

understood in.<tha,t, . theDhar,malGi'ya.,is thepu,r,e, noe,tic,. and

uDlllaAi:fest aspect, "of Buddhahood"wbile the twa Rupaki'yas are
man.ifest.aspects .o<Buddbahood . ,. . The 'difference ,between the'
two '. Rupakayas 1s that the. Sambhogakay,a. manifests only to
accompli.shed

spiritual

Enligh:tened.,'MincU

while

beings or

Bodhisattvas

(Bel.ngs

the Nirmanakaya,
manifests
.

of

in the

'mate-rial warld tanarmal 1 ivlng beings.

The PBD's discusslon.oftheBuddhais therefore found,
initsenameratiGn and clari ficationof thethreeJ{i"yas.
my

analysis

of, this discussion I

will

first

PBD's defi'nltions of the threetta'yas, then I

In
the

w'illdiscuss

some of the, terminologyc the,PBDuses, i,n rela,tionto the

thre.e kayas, a,nd,.finally 1,.' will .present.. a, detailed account,

91

of each of the kayas according to the PBO's statements on \

<these points .
In chapter" tbirty-fouroft.he PBD tbeLord', of Secrets
requests

an explanation of

the, three

kayas

from" ,rDo"",rje

,'Chang.rDo-",r;e 'Chang's answerbeginsasfo11ows:

The essence of the Dharmakaya 1s profound
knowledge which does not fa111nto pa,:-tia1ity
and ,. is
The,

essence

Character is.tic

Grasping-Wisdom,clea,rand

The

essence

of

.U<ftbi'-ftderedcompass ion.
The

definition

of

the

,pervasiveness and non-support

Dbarmakaya

is
.

Thedefinition of,the Sambhogakaya

is the

enjoyme,nt," (sambllogalof., the., pure ,realm: 'and

theripen.i.ng of thereti,nue.
Thedefini:tionof the Nirmanauya
is, that
,
unhindered 'compassion man,ifests. (nlrmina) as
"
It is the Nirmanakaya
many things.

because!t abides for a short while ..

the

Nirmanakaya

because

accordance (with ,theworldl.

it

It is

appears.

in

It 1sa1so, the

92

[formsl. 11 .
The

Buddha, is

often referred to as the Blessed, One

fBhagayan) ,,bothi'D the,P,BOand in ,the ,Buddhist tradition in

general.

The

Sanskrit

Tibetan as

word

Bhagavapistranslated into

das. 12

syllables,

which

me'an.

"possession"

(ldan),

and

This;T1betanword has three

1 iterally

"transcendence'"

"defeat"

Chapter

thirty-seven ofthePBD is devotedteanexplanat'ioBcof the,

,Buddha's ,th,ree kayasbasedon the three....,fold division of the
word, bcom,..,.ltian"..'das.
,', ,de .1,81 t10ns .'of '. ctheki'yas jus,tmentioned .
. The

DhaFmakaya.

destroys
Death.

is

. the

unbinde,red aBd . thus

Mara 13 of the Lord of

It has no marks and thus destroys the

Malta. of '. thepsycbo,...physicakconstitue,nts.

It,

isnon...dual andtbus destroys,tbeMara of the

passions.

It

destroys

them", by, its

very

nature.
The

,11fe1e'5s

( sroq,,,..medJ

five

11 PBD, pp.70-71.

12 Lokesh Chandra, pigtionary.. ,p.679,.

13 Mara,(Wiwl> is the force ofnega,tivity that attempts to'
prevent,sp1ritual progress andenligbtenment.
The,re ar;e

These'are:ll The Haraothe"
defiltements<k.l;eU,..,.m'lral!2) T'heMara ,0 f the psycho-physical
constituents
3)
The Ha1"a,o the Lord 0
Death
(mrtyu-mira);
and
4>
TbeDevaputra".,:Mfra,.
or
anthro.pomorpbici zed
"Evil
One'. "
See
F.
Edgerton,
.,0 ictionary, . p .430 .
<

93

(Sambhogalkayas, destroy the Naraof the Lord

of Death.
destroys

Wisdom ,is an, il,lusion,

the

Mara

cons t i tuents.

of

The

conceptuali.za,tio'D

and tbus

thepsyoho-.physical
mind,

( BIJl.)

destroys .

the

without,
Mara

of,

"passions ano, the ,Deva.putra ,Mara.

The

intuition, of. .the,

Hi,rmanakaya,,,

adamantinebeing' spur.posefu1ness

of

destroys

the Mara of the defilements and, 1 ikewisetbe,

.Devaputra Mara.

The Dbarmakaya is the Wide Door of Quality

and ).tbuspossesse,s ..
and

two

the,f.iv.ewisdoms1,4

lRupa lkayas.

The.

Sambhogakaya.

possesses. the marks a,nd., seaondac.y. marks., I t

possesses

the

wisdoms.

It

inspirat.ion
pO.ssesses

o,f

the

five

the. sixdbarmaso

'supernatural . perception.

1'belH,rmi'nauya

possesses miracles andmag'ic .

The

Dharmakaya

extremes,.

transcends

Tbe,Sambhogakaya.

subject and objec,t,

The

all the

Ni,r,ma,akay,a.

tra'Dscends

the ,dhat;.mas ,ofsamsa,ra,.,

possesses. great, profound"

knowledge,. 'and co,mpassionate. means,,. .and" thus

does not abide in .and transcends

1.4 The fi,ve wisdoms are discussed in this .,thesis. on, ,p.l'12ff.

94

of both samsar,aandnirvana. 15
The
Tibetan.

word

"Buddha,"

is

rendered

sangs-rgVa,s

in

The syllable sang,s,mea,ns,toremoveor clear away.

The syllab.lergvas . means to expand'" eropenupi.,16

ThePBD,

presentsthe<,threekayas in relation to these two terms that

makeup "Buddha,":
The

Dhar.makaya. removes

(sang.s)

all

the

dharmas of, marks, which ap.peardual,istically.

It expands ( rgvas) . the

self-clear non,,-,dua,l

'wisdom. ,The SambhogakayaremQves the dha,rmas

of samsar,a'.' '. It, expands. omniscience and the
greater good quality of the Dharmakaya.

The

Nirmanakaya,removes

perverse views.
It

all

and

deluded . appearance.

It

ignorance

removes

samsaraand

expa-nds

profound

knowledge, skillful means, ,a,nd, compassion. 17

Another analysis of the three kayas i,s with refer,enee
to their .purity.
The', Dharmakaya,in.'its-esse,ntia.l.i.t,y
defiled.

The

Sambhogakayais pure of.. the

defilements of what can be known, (shes-bya).

; The.,.N.irmanak'ay,a is ; pure ofthede,filements of
"
15 PBD, pp,.76.-78.
16 Jaschke" Qictionat:v ... p.571 & p.10-9-. '.'
17 PBD.,p. 77.

95

the

obscurations

[.of

aversion,

19norance, etc.) .18

The'se are .. the,definitionsof the, thr,ee,o)tiayas.fou'nd"in
the'

PBD.

The

PBD's

usage, of

these. terms

willnewbe

,elucidated so that the k'ayas,Rlay be better understood.

The first defin,itionof tbe,Dharmakayapresentedabove,
was that it .is "profoand, knowledge.that,.does not .fal1, into
par,tiality'8nd isnon-dual."

In the discussion of the Base,

under the divisions of ,. the existential, modeof. the Base and

the Great Appearance o,f the Base, the Kaya, of Essentiality
...sk u.. Sk t. syabhAV,ik.:-kAva)

existential

mode of theBase--

defined. as "profound,;

knowledge that .does notfallinto,par.,tiali-ty,..

terms
might

That"tbe

defi:.nedidentica;ll.y, ".

lead,ns" '. to, believe them" identical.

I,ndeed.. . Nagao

Gadjin in. his study of the BUddM...ki'va,sa,ys ,that these', two

terms" refer to the same . tbing .. 2Q

Howeve,r, the"PB9a,tone,

point defines- tbeDharmakayaastheGrea,t Appearanceo'f the

Bas&.,2l

This would indicate that .whiletbeSyabhaviki,Jt'iya,

is the existential mode afthe Base the Dharmakaya is the

Appearanceaf the Base.,

The,PBD isnotrconsistent 'on this

18 PBD., p .. 78.
19 See this thesis, p.67.
20 Nagao . Gad,j,in, Buddha-"k.a<Ya., .p .. 31.,
21 PBD" .p.,56.

96

poin,t, however, for Dharmakayais g,1ven. asa synonym for the

Base in its non-dual aspect as wel1. 22

ThePBD clarifies

the issue' to somedeg,ree in, stating that "at the time. [the
Dharmakaya] is not in.taited it is the Kaya of Es.sentiality.
At the time of intuition it is exactly the Dharmakaya. ,,23
This statement ." is helpful,- but also obfuscatestheissue
further,

fortbe K'aya of Essentiality astRe existe:at1al

mode of the Base is not subject

The PBD is'

.thereforenot conslst-entorclear regarrdingtbe relationship

of

the

and

Syabhayikakaya

the Dbarmak'i'ya..

On many occasions througbout the text the PBDspeaks of

"The DharmaJta:ya.- of self-awareness"
one occa-sion self,...,.awareness
are

said

to

be

identical. 2.4

literal transla,tlon for

translation

presents.

correct.

On

(ran9:-ri9') and the Dharmakaya

"Self-awareness" is a

the Tibetan word rang-rig.

the, , r 1sk

tha,tthe,

refers.

word. may

very
This
be

toself-referen;tlal

awareness, awareness which is not directed toward an object

but rather is aware of i tsown,beingaware.
same

as

introspective

22 This thesis, p.60.

23 PBD, p.99.
24 PBD, p.157.

awar,eness

in

This is not the

tha,t,

introspect!ve

97

makes them.i.tsobject.The '.

aw,areness"

'mlght be used to translaterang,..,rig, yet I have preferred to

stick as close to the Tibetan.ternk&s-,po:ssible despite the
,riskent-ailed.

r,t is hoped thatfalse understandings of the

term may. be prevented by thepres.ent explanation.

With
ka,as,

regard

to

the PBD holds

therelationshlp. bet-v'een

the

three'

that they are neither identical nor

different. 25
between. ,the tbreek'i'yas wblchtbe PBDdescrlbes asfollows:
The Sambhogakayais multiplied through the
Dharmakaya"

and this

is

taugh,t

to be

the

Nirmanakaya.
,

Qil>.26

The .,forty-two

Sambho.gakayas

transformatioDsof, the. light

the

From

Dbarmakaya.

playful

Nirmanakayas

are

(' od,..,'g,yur)of

their

speech.

explain

the
the

characteristics [of.realityJ,-inciUviduallyto
thes ix di.sciples. 27
25 PBD, p:.102.

26 PBD, p.75.
27 PBD, p.69. Theforty,.,..two Sambhogakayas are, discussed in;.
this thesis. onp.
The. six disciples are the disciples
of the
The gods.. MU.tas",

98

The

PBD presents

will be helpful

divisionof

the

three kayas

that

incunderstanding the relationships between,

them as well as to clarify the <PBD's own view of the three

kaya'S. 28

This division divides each of. the

turn into three more> kayas.

in

Thus for the Dharmakaya, there,

are .the- Dharmakaya,...,Dharmakaya"

the Dharmakaya,-Sambhogak'l"y-a ....

and the Dharmakaya,-Nirmanakay,a..

For the Sambhogakaya there
,
the.

. are

the '

Sambhogakaya"",Dharmakaya,

Sambbogakaya,-

and, tme .Sambhogakaya...Kirmanakaya, ..

N:irmanakaya .,

there

are

the

Nirmanakaya-Sambhogakaya,

Nirmanakaya-Dharmakaya,.

and

The PBDdoes not provide elucidation of" all nine af these

kayas,

but, describes most of them,.,

The description is as

ollows:
The

Dharmaki'ya-Dharmakaya'
from,

free

.al1

is

awareness

identifica,t ion.

is

awareness

The
wl,th

unhindered;, knewledge (mk,hyen...,.pa), oithe k'aya;

of

profound'"

knowledge,.

The

Dharmakaya-

is, thef1vekayas,whicbappear to

disciples.

These. are.. called,the,,

essence,

and,compassion.

true nature,

humans, animals., hungry ghosts, and: hell beings.

.'. pO.-pa, Jewek.Qp,oamept.pp. 55-74.
28 PBD,'p.70.

They
See 8g8m'"":

99

are also called the three, kayaswllich, abide

in the Base.
The Sambhogakaya.,.,.Sambhogakiiya,ls the four
. . {Buddha)

,The

,families.
the

is
Bodhi,sattvas.

male

Sambhogakayaand

These are called the

,threekayas setout in,aspects.

The

Nirmanakaya-Dharmakaya,
is
.

[Buddha]

the

fou,r"

The

.Sambhogakaya

is

the,

"male

and

female

Bodbisattvas.

The NirRnaki."ya-Nirmanakaya is

the I i9ht., rays of compassion.

These,'

are called the threekayas, which bring forth

compassion,. "'.
three' kayas
This

They are also. called the

which

subdue

description' defines, all

Sambhogakaya-,.Dharmakaya.,
discussedshortl,y.

living. beings. 29
nine

kayasexcept, the"

The four Buddhafami,l,ies",will ,be'

For the pr,esent it should be na.ted ,that,

the four, Buddha",amilies (rlqs...,.bzhi,). ,"are an.abbrevia.tion""o,f,

the five' Buddha ,fam.11ies (rigs.-lnqaJ,the di,fference< being'
that

in

the

four

family

system.

the

Vairocana and his family are disregarded.

are

central, figure

of

The Buddhas which

the lards of these five Buddha families are the ' five

kayas which" appear to d,tsciples.,

29 PBD,.pp.70-71.

This,allaws,presentation

100

of a diagram . sbowing.,.the.. relationshoips.betwee,n. these nine

kayas.

For the. sake of space Dharmakaya is shown as "D,"

"N":
D-Il.

0-8.

.............

D-N:..

S-S.
.

. . . . N-D . .

N-8. .

. S--N.

8-8 .

This table shows, that there is an overlap between.

the

three

levels.

kayas as
The

they are

subdi,vided,i,nto

their

nine

pos.ition.of., the. SambhogakayarDharmak8ya, has

beendeterm:inedbypostulating its place .in reference to the

definitions

provided.

for

the

other

eight

kayas

This

.prese.ntation of ,the three kayas as nine ..k'ayas is helpful for

seeingitheinterconnectedness of thethreekayas, yet it is
anI y inthisnl,ne-kayapr-esentat ionthat t,hed! f,fer-enti-atton
In the general body of the text the

is used in the PBD..

threekayas are not presented in this way.

the d'ifficul:ty, that a
example,

may

,refer

This introduces

reference:.to the Sambhogak'aya,

for

the .. Dhar.makaya-Sambhogakaya,

the

to

8ambbogakaya-Dharmakaya,.the
8ambhogakaya,-Nirmanakaya....
or
,

the.'

the

Nlrmanak'iya-:8ambhogakaya.
I

The element ofconfuslonthis creates is not resolved in the

PBO.

The"

reader

mGst

simply

iunde:rstandthe,three kayas

do

his

or

her

best

on .w:hateverlevelthe

to
PBD

101

presents.thematany ..particular point.

There is one paragraph. in the PBD whererDo-rj.e 'Chang
gives three concreteexampJ..es of how. .tbeBuddhas fit into
this nine kayasysitem.
I,

It reads as .foll.ows:

the

adamantine

as

This

. am

the

Thekayas such
are Sambhagaltaya-

N,irmanakayas...
as

being"

The six sages.. (thub'-Ri) such

rDo-rje

dGa'-rab

statement

informs

Nirmanakaya-

are

us

that

rDo-rJe

'Chang

is

manlfestiDgon the. level of the fiveBuddha.fam,1.1ies;wbich'

will be

discussed

shortly.

is. known as .the

Bodhisattva of Wisdom and as such is presented. on the level

...

_......

of theSambhogakaya.-Nirmanakaya; the level of Bodisattvas

dGa',...rab rDo-rje lsthe compiler of the PRO and is also held

to be the sage .for the class of huma,nbeings at the level of

--...
..... ....
.Nirmanak'aya-Nirmanakaya.

the

The

six

sages

are the.

manifestations of Buddhahoodthat appear in the. six locales

of

samsaric existence.

The six sages,

according to the

traditional rNying,.,.ma presentation, are:

1)

gods,

3)

2J Thags-bzang.-ris.for tbe asuras..

the huma-,as, 4) Seng.,.,.ge

Indra for the

,Sakyamunlfor.

for the animals, Sl sGrom.-bu

Iba-' barfor thehuRgry ghos ts , and

6)

the Dhacma-kingamafor

102

the hel1s. 31

The' PBD replaces. the Buddha Saityamuni w,ith

-rabrDo-rie as the .sage for the. humans.This indicates

tbe;primaeythe PBn places. on the first human expounder. of

the Grea,t. Perfection tradition over the historical founder
of the Buddhist religion.
In the definition of the three

'

just mentioned they were described as, the,. "essence,

nature,

and compassion."

noting that

The PBO elucidates tbispoint by

"the essence

true-nature (rapg-bzhin)
(tbugs-rjeJ is. the

true

(nao-boJ
is

is the Dharmakaya

the Sambhogakaya.

The

Compassion

These terms are: inddturn,

eluo!dated,as .fol lows :

The

essence

unadulterat.ed,

unereated,

unchang.ing."

uncontrived,

and.

na,tural1 y

It is the' great uncompoundedwisdom, .

pure.
the

is

sky-l ike

subject

reality,
,.

insubs,tantial ..

the
pure,

primordially

penetrating awareness.
The true-, nature is the grea,t wisdom which,
abides

in, the Base and is the. five wisdoms

which

grasp

characteristics.

It

is

31 This in.iormation, kindly prov,ided by.my Tibetan ,informant'

Khenpo: Palden Sberab, who is one of . themast,deeply learned
native scholars of the rNying-ma tradition living.
-",-,. p -'.. 72 ..
32 PBO'"
- -

'.

'

103

\111billc!lered" "just, as

I i9llt is clear in ' the

,(abo,vemen,tioned ) essence.
Compa,ssion ,is

in", its vital,essent,itali,ty.",

the fivekayas. 33
This quotation provides an insight into the . Dbarmakaya"
on its ,thr,ee levels.

The, five ,wisdoms will, be discussed in,

the followlng ,chapter of this thesis.

The fiv,e kayas and

the fiveBuddhafamilies,ofwbi,ah they are the lords will

,no,woe lnves t igated .
The Buddhas 0., the five fami.lies are presented in the
PBD as.Sambhogakaya Buddhas. 34
,however,

that

mani fest'

may

the
be

level
e1 ther

Sambbogakaya-Sambhogakaya,

It has already. been shown,

onwhlch
the
or

the

Buddha

families

Dharmakaya,-Nirmanak'aya,

the

the ,Nir.manakaya.,...Dha.rmakaya .

The PBO describes the ,Sambhogakaya as the ffking,ofkayas,,,35

for,

it

is

the

Sambhogakayatha,t actua.l,ly

initiates

the

dlsseminationof theteaoblng on the highest possible level.

The

Dharmak,aya

processes .'
such

is

unmanifest

and.

beyond

interaotive

The N-i,rmanakay,amanifests ,intheworld", and as

conforms, wi th

the

I imitations

inherent" in wor Idly

existence, thoughit is capable ofmiraculo\lsactivity,.

It

is the Sambhogakaya that is both manlfe,stand completely

33 PBD"

p.72.

34 PBD"

p.,6,4.

35 PBD, p. 65.

104

be,yond liimitatio,ns.
The PBDdescrib&s the origin of ,the Sambhogak;aya as
follows:
The

space

(klang)

and

Dharmakaya

reality

of

the

indivisible
as 1

islknown

Dense Array of Purity. 36

The,

The five vessels

Cbum"",pa) of self-luminescent wisdom appear as

unhindered

sprouts

appearance's
white,

of

yellow,

(myu""9u ),.

pure
red,

reality,

The
the

five
azure,

and green complete "the

unmixed' clear wisdom, (ma.,..'dres-9sal-ba' i.,..yeThe

five

kayas , are ,realized

amongst ,these five.

(places],

four'

from,',

They abide, in the five

di:rections

and

the.:

center. 37
Tbi-s passage.: informs ustha;t, from the Dharmakaya, in its
indivisible

connection

with

luminescent wisdoms come fort,h.

as light. of the, five colors.

reality

the

apparent

the

importance

self.,..

These five wisdoms manIfest

The five Sambhogaklyas come

forth as manifestations of this luminosity.

makes

five

of

the

five

This passage
wisdoms

understanding the lord,s, ofthefi:veBuddha,faml1ies.

in

A full

36 The Dense Arra.y 0' Purity is the name, of a"Buddba.,..,fleld

where the SambbQgakaya becomes apparent...
See Bod-rgya'
'" .Tshis::mdzodCbeft-po, Vo1.2,p.l103.
37 PBO"p.S9.

105

discussion of

the

relationships- to
the next chapter .

nature

the

five

of

the five wisdoms and

their

Sambhogakaya Buddha,s follows in,

At this point I want to ,draw atte,ntio,nto

the final statement in the above quotation,

that; the five

Buddhas abide in tbe four directions and the center.

"The four directions and the center" is

a reference to

the posltions in the mandala or interactive matrix.

Each of

the f!.ve Sambhogaki'yaBuddbasabidesi,n, one position of this

mal}9al,a. 38
this

The PBD devotes. f1vecha,pters,toadescri,ption.of

mangala in all

its,aspects. 39

The mandala in its

entirety contains forty,...two figures, which are referred to

as the forty-two Sambhogakayas. 40

The space available .does

38 The five tathagatas, the. lords of . the five Buddha" families,'

,are not a creation of the Tibetans, but are found in the
earliest Sanskrit Tantric literature. They are mentioned in
the Sidhanamila
(Baroda: GaekwadOriental Series, 1968)1n
the Kurgltulla-s'idhana
by
.thefi;ve;

jus,t;as does .tbe"PBD.;,The Arapachaoa""
sadhana 1n
the Si'dhanamalaalso
speaks of the five
ta
but considers them eminations, 0 f Manju,'r LThe
GUhyas4ddhi ,by Padmavajra ment;ions the; five Baddhas,'bu,t
,

(Amitabha l,and 5 Kulad'ya(AmoghasiddhihTbe Jnanasiddbi"

;bylndrabhut,i
Vajrayana'orks,Barada : Gaekwad
Or lenta;l Series" 1922) Ed. by Benoytosh'BhattacharYijlists,
the five tathaga,tas as in. the PBD.The Sahajas4ddhi,by
DombI'heruka (Baroda: Gaekwad Or ientil Series, tl'npubl ished
manuscript l lists these same five tathagatas under thena,me,
of
(Lords of the Families).
,The Adyayasiddhiof
Lakf,amkaralBaroda: UnpUblished
Malati',
Shendge,'pr'esentst,hesa.melisto ftathagatas .

39 PBD, chapters 26,...31.

40 See this thesis, p.97.

106

not allow a full. description of this ma,qalawith reference

to

the- indi,vidual, signifi-cance of each member.

shall

therefore pr.esent the . five Buddbas, whoa,rethe principal

figuresoftbe

mal}falaand,the, lords of the

five Buddha

famillesaloDg, with the, names and loca,tions o,f the other

members of themaDdala .

The PBDpresentsthe. fivema-in. figures of the mandpla

,.

as follows:
At

the

other)

center

Vairocana faces

all [the

four in the wisdom of all appearance

He appears as

(kun""snang,...ve-/ihes) .
Ratnasambhava,

Ami.ti'bha,.

Amoghas,iddhi..
heart.

and

;i

the

great

His mOOra is held at his own

He holds the

identity of the,five

colors. 41
Furt-her

in

the .-text the. -names of -these Buddbas .. are--

givenwi-th short glosses:

The onett-ayawhich,exists in lumi,nosit.y as
the

five

kayas

unchaftg,ing,

qua1itie.s,

withou,t

is

Vairocana.
He

He

is

br lngs forth good

partiality.,

so

he

is

Ratnasambha-va,.,. ,He is the, appearance' of. the

force

of

Amitl'bha
41 PBD, p .. 59.

compassion
is

the

kaya

unstained
without

by

faults:

limit.

He

107

accomp,lishesthe purpose of self and, others

.without

obstruction,

Amoghasiddbireaches

so

the

kaya

of

the 1: imito f . spiritual

action. 42
These passages make', i tclear that Vairocanaencompasses
all the Buddhas while the different aspects of his being are
manifested as the other four Buddhas.

It is for this reason

that the PBD alternately speaks of the four Buddha families .

and the. five B'-1ddha families.
the

families

Amitabha,.
the

of

Vairocana ..

and Amogbas iddbL

Ak.'obhya,

Ratnasambhav,a,

Tbe four Buddha families are,

secondar,y manifestations

of Vairocanaasthe, central

figure and. are thus Ak'obbya, Ratnasambha,va, Amitabha,and,

Amoghasiddb,i.
The PBD refers to the Buddha- fa'miliesby the names of
The,

Vajrayana

however, has separate names for these Budd,ha . families which

di ffer fromtbe .name's

of

Vairocana.

Ak'obhya's
Ratna

is

family.

is
the

ftheBuddhas .themsel ves .'1'hef,ami I y

referred
Vajra

to

as

Buddha

Ratnasambha,va's

family.

Amitabha's

the

is

family.
is., the
family.

Amoghasiddhi's is the Karma family. 43

42 PBD,.p.65.

See KeithcDowman,,. .a. Pancer" .(London:Routledge,'& Kegan

Pau.l" 1984h p .,193.
Also see MkbasGrub Rje, Intrg,duction
m :tM;.. Buddhist Tantrio Systems, trans. F. D. Lessing and A.

108

Each of these 1ve SambhogakayaBuddhas sits inun10n

w1thhlsconsort
himself

The male principle of the Buddha

15 referred. to

as

manifestation . of

method.. or

skill ful means (thabs) while the consort is a manl festa tion
of profound" knowled.ge

(shes-rabl .

Their being joined in

.sexual anlon,is anindicationo ftbeinseparab,il i ty of means

and ,profound knowl.edge . 44
The
the

five

female consorts fare joined to

Budd,bas ]

shadow.

T-hePBDstatesthis clearly:

like

body

and

(lwi,)

its

Thus the non-dual means and profound

know,ledge abidew,ith faces joined. 45

The PBD does not give a name, for Vairocana's consort,
nor does it describe any, Bodb,t-sattvas.iDhls reti.nue.Each
of the othet fourBuddhas,howeve,r, not only hasaconsol't
but hasaBodhlsattvaonbis leftand right.

Eachoithese

Bod-hisattvas in-. turn has a consort - The PBDspeaks of each"

Buddlla,w1th, his

consort and retinueasa heapedmWa.la,

khar).

Thus the oftemandala of-the five

q

Buddhasbecomesflve 'Modalas .
#

The PBD does not state any particular direction of the

:mandala

in

which

any

particular

Buddha

abides .

This

informa-tion cannot safely be -derived from outside ,sources,

Wayman: (Delhi: MotilalBanarsidass,. 1968) ,pp.119,147, 149.
44 PBD, p.60.
45 PBD, p. 60.

109

for the locations of. the five Buddhas vary intbedifferent

Tantric sysotems.
The consort of Akfobhya is Buddhalocani.
sits

witbhi,s consort Lisya,.

Onhls1eftsits

Maitreya

wirth

his

consort

Ratnasambhava is Kamak!.
with his consort Klla.
Dhupe .. ,

On his right ,.

Dhupe..

The

consor t

of

On his right sits Samantabhadra

-,
On his left sits Akasagarbhawi
th

The consort of Amitabhais pandaravasinI'.

On his

sits Avalokite'varawith,G'irtima.On his left, sits

,.,
Manjusr i
w,i thAloke.
The consort of Amoghasiddhi is'

On his right slts Vajrapani

, with Ghirti.

Samayatara.

On

.hisleft sitsSarvanivaranaviskambhinwithGante.

"

EacbBuddh'a,andBodhlsa,ttva . is also. Samantabhadra. 46

The . Buddhas are .thus identi,fiedwith the .pr imo.rdialBuddha
Cadibuddba).This Samantabhadrashould not be confused with
the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra, who sits at Ratnasambhava's
right.

Yair-ocana,

the

central BUddha,.

identifiedwlth Samantabhadra"
teacher

of

the

PBD,

rDo ....rje

he

1s

not

only

is none other thantbe,

'Ohang .. 41

The above quoted

passages indicates that the fourBuddhas are emanations of

Vairocana, yet in another passage it states that:
Vairocanasees "the,!r .faces and, knows their
inspiration.
46 PBD, p.74 ..

47 PBD, p.69.

Vairocanais

,and..

110

He is self-

has no appearance '. as another.

arising,
known

self-apparent,

by

himself.

self-rising,

His

own

force

and is
is not

c,reated ata,ny one point. 48

The mandala is protected. in each of the four quarte,rs,

by a gate,...keeper (sgo,...srung.). 49

Each gate-keeper alsoMsa

consort.,!',hesefigures are not named in thePBO.

e.

The total number of figures in the mandala. is said to'

be forty-two,

to that number.,

ment;ioned
consorts

yet it is difficu'lt to add,upthe cbarac,ters

make

ten.

The

consor.ts make sixteen.

consorts make eight .
figu.res..

If..

Buddhas

w,ith

their

eight, Bodhisattvas

with

their

,The

five

The four door-keepers with their

This adds up toatotal of thirty-four

however..

that

surround,

Vairocana and theircon'sorts, are counted twice:

once in,

their identities as

the

four

Buddhas

Ratnasambhava., Amitabha;.. and

Amoghasiddhi..etc. ;
,.Samantabhadra ,and

and

once

Saaantabhadr!,

in

their

the

identities.

total

number

as

does

PBOis no,t clear onthispo.int.

Nowherein,thePBD,does itrecommend.that,thj.,;s, ,maMa1a. '

of Sambhogakaya Buddhas be used as an 'object of medlta tion .
or

spir itualpractice.

appears

to

48- PBD, p. 59.

49 PBD, p.62.

be

simply

The
to

pur.pose

show the

for

this exposition,

waytbe

Samboogakaya,'

111

mandala

is

layed

out,.

The

importance

of

the

five

Sambhogakiya Buddhas inthePBo is most strongly felt In the

presentation of

their

relationships to the five

wisdoms.

'l'hiswll1be discussed in the next chapter.

It

remains

Nirmanakaya.

to

present

the

PBD' s

account. 0

the

The PBo is very quiet on tbispoint,bowever .

The six sages mentioned above are described as y,irmanakaya

Beyond this the PBD has almost nothing to say,

except

are',

they

manifestations of. compassion and that theybavetheability

to per form, miracles.

The lack of lengthy discussion 0' the

Nirmanakayas. in the PBDcan be attributed to. the importance.

placed

on

the

Sambhogakayaas

both, -the . origin

of

the

,teachbuj and ,the pure "mane! fe station of wisdom.

This comple.tesmy di,scus:siono
.threekayas.
discussion

the Buddha and. his

The threekayaswill be mentioned again in the

of

recognition;

where

the recognition of

the

three kayas is presented as a> fundamental insight intothe

definitive meaning of the BUddha'steachin9' and, neces,sary
for the el.iminationo.fdelnsio,n.

. The nature of. wisdom and,

the pathmust be discu!ssed first,

however;

for the PBO's

statements on these subjects will serve as a g,roundworkfrom

which recognition will. be .betterQnderstoed.

Wlsdom

preceding. portions

of this

thesis.

aspect of the PBD's presentation.

It is a

fundamental

This chapter is devoted

to an inquiry intothePBD's treatmento-f this subject.

ThePBDsometimesspeaks of wisdom as a single concept,
'but "most oftenwisdomis presented in a particula.raspect or
enu,meration..
throughout

The five wisdoms"

the

text.

:;J-

In

the

in particular, are mentioned

preceding chapter

Bugdha..,kaya it was shown that these

on the

five wisdoms are the,

ground froDl'whicb thefiveSambhog-ak.-aya,Buddbas arise..

In.

the discussion of the Base it was shown that . wisdom is, a

synonym .' for

the

Base .

Theses ta tementswi 11

now

be

clarified.
Just as the five families of Sambho9aka'yaBuddhas a,re;,
sald to be manifestations of Vairocana, the five wisdoms are
said to arise from the essential wisdom which, is known as

113

the Base abiding wisdom:,(gzhi ....

wisdoms"

are:

1)

The

wisdom" of

(chos...dbyings-ye-shes),
Ita....bu-ye-shes),

4)

The five

pbeno.menal

dimension

The mirror, like wisdom,(me ...1ong....

2)

The

3)

the

....ye...shesJ.

equality

wisdom

(mn'(am:-pyld-ye-

The\ distinction conceivi,ng., wisdomCsg....sor-rtoq.....

par i-ye-shes),

and

The

5)

.grub...pa i -ye ....shes . 1

When thePBD first discusses wisdom it presen'tstbese
five wisdoms as well as other wisdoms.,wblchareshown to be
elucidations
wisdom.

of

different

aspects

of

the

Base,

abiding"

ThePBD presents wisdom in thefollo,wi,ng phrases:

The essence of wisdom is tbati,tis clear
andnon....conceptual.
naturally

correlated
Dharmakay'a,.

Base

'pure

insubstantial

Furthermore,
abid1ng, .. wisdom
penetrating..

and

the

with

kaya

the
is
When

it

is

the,

When correlated, with awareness .

it ,1 stheessence (nao ....bo) .

Son of Noble Famlly, its existential mode
abi'des
with

as

the

correlated

light,
kaya
with

so when it is correlated

it

is

the

wisdom

Riipakaya.
it

is

the

When
five

character isticgrasping wisdoms (,mtshap....nyiddz in....pa i ....ye -shes)',

PBD, p.30.

114

The

mode

of

appe'arance

lis

that

it 1

.appears without an exterior or interior, thus

it is unobscured clear wisdom.
Fu.rthermore,

its

pure

nature

transcends

the extreme of permanence.

Its existential

,mode

,the

as

light

cessation.

transcends

extreme

of

Its Inodeof appearance is without

exteriorand.interior,.. so i t l s pure ofp the

extreme of subject and object.
This is the essence of wisdom ..
The

definition

knowledge

.cshes",,:,pa)

is
of

that

unmistaken.

the . meaning

which

exists from the primordial is wisdom.'

Ifall

samsaraand ni,rvanaappear

this great.,

pene trat lng,

insubstantlal
abiding wisdom.
empty

the

primordial.lypure,

awarene,ss,-

it

is

Base

i,t is the wisdom of the

dimensioD,.

The

empty .exists

as unhindered. awa,reness.,.
mirror.

awareness,
empty.

the

This (wisdom] abides in, the

phenome,nal..

from,

wisdom.,
and

this

This

empty

awareness,

thus" it is
itself

is

itself

is

As the empty and awareness are .not

divided they are the equality wisdom;.

The,

empty 'and aw,areness are wlthO-ut dual! ty and,

(yet) are ,known distinctly, thus there is the

115

distinction conceiving wi.sdom.Thewisdom of

insubstantial
thing..

awareness

is

nota

thus. there is the Wide

'Quality.

mater ial

0001'

of Good

Force (rtsal) comes orthwithout

any obstruction whatever .. without direction.

Thus tbereisthedeed accomplishing.iwisdom.

Kye MaHo! Son of Noble Family, thlssort

of knowledge

(shes-pa)

self-awareness
there is the

is aware of its own;

(rang=:ais""'raBg-r ig..,.,pa) ,

thus

wisdom.

There is no creator of [wisdomh tnusit

isthe self-arising wisdom.
There is no transcending its meaning# so
it is thet-ranscende;ntbeart wisdom.
To teach the,similes:
the

A simile

for

Base abiding;,wisdoDh is that it brings .

.fortheverything, like-a precious jewel.

The.:{sim.ilelforthe airror wisdom isth-at
it

is

like

sparkling. water-or

polished

>;mircor.
That for the equality wisdom is the. simile
for

the equaliity of the three times:

It is

like a r iver.
The simile for the' non-dualwisdom.is that
it is 1 ikegoldand yellow.

116

The simile for the distinction conceiving

wisdom is that it is like the,a,ri,singofthe
planets and stars at sea.
The

simile

for

the

deed

accomplishing-

wisdom is that it is like the wind and the,

sun.
The simile for the non-abiding, w,isdom,,,is
that it

is

like. the

moon

[reflected

onJ .'.

water.
The s imlle, for

these If-aware wisdom; is

thatl,tislikecrystal and light. 2

This .passageno,t,on1y mentions the five wisdoms,

it

also talks about other aspe.ets, of the, Base abiding. wisdom.

In the body of the text, however, 1t1s the five wisdoms
that

receive

the

identifies these

greatest
five

attention.

wisdoms and, their

passage

t,hat

interrelationsh,ip

follows:
The essence of awareness exists
the . empty,

thus

as '"

it is the emptines,sw1sdom
This

empty

awarenessitsel is unhindered clarity, so it

is

the

without. the

like
dualJ.,ty

wisdom.,
of

the

Awareness, is
emp,ty . and"the

clear;. these two are equal, so there is the

2. PBD, pp.31-33.

117

equality wisdom.

essence

of

this,

and

Awareness is the

from. theperspectiv&

(bltas) of the direction of the empty it is

clear as the emp.ty.
the

direction.

clarity.
direction

of

From
of

From .'. tbeperspeotlve of

clar! ty

it

exists

theperspectiv.e

non--dua11ty

it

is

of

as
the

non--dual.

Fromsuch,unhinder-ed,indi,vidual.aspects it is
the distinction oonceivingwlsdom.

Alldeeds

are unobstructedlyaccomllli,shed, by the force .

of

realizing

this. meaning;,

accomplishing wisdom.

it is the deed,

Non--intuition of these

five arises as the five poisons. 3

In this passage the wisdom of the pbenome'nal dimension
bas been replaced bytbe .emptinesswisdom.

This is in order

to elucidatetbe relationsh.ip,betweenawareness, emptiness,

and

clarity.

The

PBD.

is

generally

consistent< in

its

enumerationofthefive< wisdoms, with the exception of the

f1rstwisdomwhich is sometimes referred to as the wisdom of
the

phenomenal

wisdom.
avers.ion,

dimens.ionand ,some,times as

the

emptiness

The statement tha,tthe fivepoiso,ns( f attachme'at,

ignorance,

pride,

,and

jealousy)

are

the

intuition of thefive wisdoms, though not elaborated further

in the PBD, deserves further inquiry.

3. PBD, p.lOl.

118

The connection between the five wisdoms. and, the-five

pois.ons. is common to the traditions of, TantricBuddhlsm'O
Keith Dowman, has presented this connection in<his, book
Dancer. 4
wisdom

There he states that the poison connected with the

of

the . phenomenal

connectedwlth

,mir.ror

dimension

like

wisdom

is

ignorance.

. That .

is

aversion.

That

connected with the equality wisdom is pride..T'hatconnected

with, ,the. distinction conceiving wisdom. is attraction.

That

connectedwitbthe deed accomplishing wisdom is jealousy.

The PBD does not present any method of finding the five
wisdoms with,in .the five poisons, nor does it recommend any
practice that would turn the five poisons into wisdom.

It

does state, as above, that the five poisons are the fallure
to recognize or intultthe five wisdoms, which is delusion ..
The

five

Sambhogakaya, Buddhas,.

previous chapter,

as

mentioned

in the

are manifestations of the. fi.vewisdoms.

Thisrela,tionsh ip is described in the follow ingpassage from

the PBD:
All

things

awareness,

the

arise
single

and
essence,

appear
thus

from
it

is

also called "The Great All-Appearance". (Un=.

,soana:;eben-co).
good

quality,.

Self-awareness is unhindered
so

Great Self-ar ising.

4. Dowman,

Dancer, p.193.

it

is
It

explained as

"The

is Amlt'lbha,. e,ndowed

119

with

the

power

of

compassion.

unobstructed

profound

AmoghasiddhL

This

unchanging,

It

knowledge,

(awareness)

so is Aklobhya.

is

so

is

itself

is

The essence of

the five. kayas of profoand know,ledge is the

unobstructed non-dualemp,ty: awarenesswisdom.

In

...med-ve-shes). S

scattered references. throughout the text thePBD

corr-elates

the

wisdoms. 6

These pass.ages can be summarized by

Vairocana

is

. phenomenal

five

the

Sambhogakaya

manifestation

dimension

or

Buddhas

of

emptiness

the

with

the five

wisdom

wlsdom;

of

the

Ak/obhya

represents . the mirror like wisdom;. Ratna,sambhava represents

the equality
conceiving.

wisdom;

wisdom;

Amitaoha ." represen.ts .. thedisti,nctlon

and

Amoghasiddhi,

represents

the

deed

accomplishing wisdom.
In the discussion of the Sambhogakiya in the previous
chapter

this

indivisibility
manifests

as

of
the

thesis
real.fty
five

it

was
aBel

colors

shown .' tha,t

the

from

the

Dharmakayawisdom

of. light..

.manifesY as thefiveSambhogakaya Buddhas.

which

in

turn

Each wisdom and

SambbDgakaya Buddha is associated with a particular color o.f

light.

The simile used in the PBDfor tbisrelationsbipis

S. PBD, p.S7.
6. See' in particular PBD,pp.66-68.

120

that of a

crystal and the rainbow

held

in

the

it produces. 7

sunligllrt a rainbow

crystal

is

forth..

The rainbow is not . the same, as the crystal , nor can

it be' separa,ted from, the crystaL.,

is

When a
proj ected

The Dharmakaya is like

the crystal while the five Sambhogaki'yas are like the lightrays

that

issue

forth

from

it.

The

following

passage

clearly presents the relationships between the five wisdoms

,and.the five colors of light:
The

of the

wisdom of tbe,phenomenaldimens!on . as light

is clear, from

the state of the empty as azure.

The self-

luminescence of the mlrror wisdom is clear

from the state, of the unhindered as white.
The self-luminescence of the equality. wisdom'
is clear from the sta,te of ,the .inseparable as
yellow.

The

self,...luminescence ,of

the

all

conceiving wisdom is clear from the state of

the knowledge of thusness as red.

The se1f-

luminousity of the deed accomplishing w,isdom

is

clear

from

unbindered

space

as

green.

These five arise in the space of reality.8

Nowhere in thePBD, doe,s it state the actual colors of

7. PBD, p.116.
8.,PBD,p! 34.

121

the Sambhogabya Buddhas.

This information, maybe derived,

however, from the relationships of the wisdoms to the colors

and.

the

wisdoms

manifestation

of

to
the

Vairocana,

Buddhas.

wisdom

of

the

as

phenomena-I. dimension

would be azure.
white.

the

Akfobhya as mirror. like wisdom would be

Ratnasambbava

as

theequal.ity

wi.sdom. -wou-ld

be

ye.llow .,Am1tabha as the distinction conceiv.ingwisdom would

be red . . Amogha.siddbi;&s thedeedaccomplishingwisdemwGuld-

be green.
The

PBD

holds.. that

throughGut reality,
perceived.

In

water,

wind"

fire,

these

five

wisdoms aremanifest

though due to delusion they may not be

particular..

the five

elements

of ear-th,

and sky are in fact the five wisdoms.

ThepBDdoes not, however , correlate the elements with their

specific wisdoms.

The PBDalsoholds that the body ofa

human or other living being is in fact a conglomeration of

the five wisdoms in their nature as light.

This is stated

as follows:
Flesh a-nd bones are from white light.
bile and pus are from.yell0w light,.
and warmth are from red light.
from green light.

The'
Blood

Breath is

The comfort of the body is

from azure 1ight. 9

In the chapter on delusion it was pointed out that the.

9. PBD,. p.53.

122

body is one of the three bases for delusion.

The present

elucidation demonstratestha-t thebod,y,can.alsobe a basis

for

the

intuit,ioD,.o wisdom,. if it seen in. its nature, as

,li,ghtratbertban taken to be merely a material reality.

The PBD, also holds that the five wisdoms are actually
none other than the three kaya,s.

This is demonstrated-in

the following. passage:

There

is

no

division

between

the

five

wisdoms and the meaning. of the three kayas.

The empty aspect of reality, clear awareness,
and the non"", dual. aspect. are the- essence of .

the

The

two

l-Rupa.Jkayas

are,

unhindered force, and light comesforth,rom,'

,theunbinderedi-ndiv idual

aspects.

This

itself istbe essence of the Sambhogakaya .

The enactor of the purpose of living, being,s,
with compassion, the Nirmav-akaya, is the deed
accomplishing. w'isdom,.
five

wisdoms

are

The .. three -kayas and,

spontaneously realized in

the state of the Oharmakaya. IO

If

the

exposition

in

the

PBO-

reqUired

rational

consistencythis statement -would be-i,mpossible, for the five

wisdoms

have

already

been shown to manifest as the

five

Sambhogakaya-. Buddhas. If this passage,were,correlated-wi,th

lO. PBD, p.102.

123

the

previous

Ak'obhya,

statements

and

it

would, follow that

Ratnasambhav&

Amitabha would, be

are

in,

fact

Vairocana,

Dharmakayas,

the only Sambhogakaya,andAmoghasiddhi

. would be a Nirmanakaya.

Such a position ,runs Gounterto t,he

identification of the five Buddha,amiliesas manifesting' on

the Sambhogakaya level.

This statement must. ther,efore. be

taken to represent a totally different way of looking at the

wisdoms,

where
are

the

principle,s of emptiness,

held

to reflect cthe

clarity,

and,

true nature of pure

awareness .(theDha,rmakaya) ,the .ab!1 i ty todist ingu ish these

separate aspects represents the division otpure awareness
into aspects (the ..Sambhogakaya), and the fact that all deeds
issue forth from the state of pure awareness represents the
princi-pleof .compas,sionin action, (the

The fact that the five wisdoms ,can be seen in these two
different presentations must be taken as an-encouragement to
the reader not . to pigeon"""ho.le or relfy the five. wisdoms as
being definite "things .. "

In the chapter on recogni tion,I

willdiscU'sshow.the PRD advises the direct intuition of

the'se

wisdoms

in

oneself

as

means> for

eliminating

delusio:n.

First, however,

it is necessary to investigate,

the

presentation, of

the

PBD's

<their merits and -,faults.

different. Buddhist

paths,

CHAPTER.7
The Path

In-

the

preceding

fundamen-talconcepts

chapter

have

discussed

the

that are dealt with in the PBD.

It

remains to discuss thePBO's treatment of the Buddhist path,

the actual application. of the previously discussed themes to
the spiritual quest,

and a summary of the PBD's statements

regarding the higbe.st mode of. spiri tual being,

Perfection.

the Great

Tbischapterwil1 discuss the path.

The Va.jraya'natradition of Buddhism has beensubdlvided

in the Tibetan tradition into twomain bJ:'anches: 1) The "Old
School II (rnying..,..malwhichrep.resents . the Buddhisttraditicon"
in its early diffus.iop.
and,

2)

The.

"New

c. E .),

Schools" . (gsar,:",mal

which. represent

the

traditions prQmu1gate.d during the later spread.of Buddhism

in Tibet (10th century onwards C.E.).l

There are generally

1 On the Old and. New,'Scbools,. see this thesis, p.l6.

125

held to be three "New Schools."

the Sa-skya-pa, and the
There
School

is

and

the

These are the

fundamental

difference

between

the

Old

New Schools in their presentation> of the

tantric systems.

The New Schools present thetantrasunder

four subdivisions.

Tbese are: 1) Kriya-yoga, 2) Carya-yoga,

3) Yoga..-yoga, and 4)

The Old Scbool divldes

the Buddhisbpath into nine '. levels, referred to as vehicles

(tbeg""'oa"

Skt..

xina.).

Tbi.snlne vebicle, .system. does not.

limit itself to tbe tantric systems, but includes them,..

an, Old

School

subdivision
enumerated

text,

of
as

the

tbePBD maintains
Buddhist

follows:

Pratyeka'...buddha

1)

nine

This

paths.
The

the

Auditor

vebicle

division
2)

As.

is
The

3)Tbe Bodhisattvavehicle, 4) The

Kriya""y09a vehicle, 5JThe Carya..-yoga vehicle (which is also

known as Upa.-yoga), 6) The
yoga

8) The Anu-yoga .' vehicle, and 9 ) The Ati -yoga

vehicle

vehicle., 7 ) The Maba...

(which, is

also

known

as

the

Great

Perfection,

(rdzogs -chep) .
NamkbaiNorbu' has elucidated the ,status of tbeseviews
in the rNying ...maschoolvery clearly:
In the rNying ma pa school,
nine-fold

division

of

spiritual

there

isa

pursuits:

2 These four levels of tantra are thoroughly disctl'ssedin '

Mkhas.GrQb ,'Rje '5 IntroduQti2nm
Systems,Q.. U..,

126

the three ordinary pursuits,

men,

and

of

the

Pratyeka"..buddhas,

--

(Auditors)

Sravakas
and

of

tha>t of gods

the

and

Bodhisattvas;

the three outer tantras -- Kr iya, Carya, and

Yoga;

and

the

threeinne'r,

unsurpassable

'" por.soits -_. Hahayoga. Anuyoga. and

1,Among these, the three .ordinary
l

pr imar ily
(SP0Da

lam.);

primarily
lu);

teach."

the

the
way

the

way

pursuits

of. renunciation

three outer
of

Atiyoga"

tantras teach

purification

(sbvgnq

and the three inner tanb-asprimarily

the way of transformation( sgvur lH,). 3

The PBD refers to the first eigbt of these spiritual
pursuits as "the eight vehicles."

As a. text representing..

the At! yoga,. or Great Perfection, the.PBD is explicit in

rejecting these eight vehicles as a truly effective means to
realize

the

definltivemeaning. of . the Buddhis,t.teach.!ng.

Thefollowlng,passage makes this clear:

The

. Auditors,

Pratyekabuddha,s.,

Bodhisattvas,tbethree classes of Kriya, Upa

and Yoga [Tantrasl, and both generatlon[the
Mahayoga,} and perfection, [the Anu,yogal grasp,
the truth from a single direction.,

They are

3 Manjusrimitra, Primordial EXDer ience .. Trans. .Namkhai

Norbu anelKennard Lipman, , (Boston:
Shambhala..
1986) ,
introduction by Namkhai Norbu, p.x.

127

the

eight

views

which

go

astrological divination.
dualistic extremes.
wisdom

of

perverted,

together

The mind, holds to

They do not speak of the

Thus,

self-awareness.
for

with

they

fail

and

they

are

in

the

err

They are views which hold to, an

meaning.

attitude of a ttachedpostur 1ng . 4

Despite this statement,

thePBD does not ignore these

eight vehicles.

There isa considerable discussio'nof the

nature,

and effects of each view along with the

con,tent,

superiority of each view over

presentation

of

these

the ones preceding it.

vehicles

will

not

only

help

A
to

understandtherNying.-,ma sohool's del inea,tion of the various

versions o,f the Buddhist path, it will provide a ground-work
from- which

the

explanation of

the

Grea,t Perfection, will

become more meaningful.

The PBDdevotestenchaptersto an analysis of the nine
vehicles. 5

These chapters are devoted,todiscussions of the

vehicles w,ith referencetospecificpointsabol1t each one.

In

my

summary

separate
provide

of

statements
a

concise

these

statements

have

gathered,the

on each of the vehicles" ino,rderto

insight

into

perspective that thePBD offers.

each

vehicle

from., every

ThePBD does not discuss

4 PBD, p.SO.
S
Chapters 39, 40,. 41, 42, 43". 70, 76, 77, 79, and 80 of
thePBD are devoted to discussion of the nine vehicles.

128

every

vehicle

with

every

topic

presented,

yet

there

is

enough, information on each vehicle toprov ide an insight

iinto,what it is. 6
The present state. of scholarship, on the nine vehicles
of the rlfying':'"'ma> schoo.lis very limited.

For this reason I

will quote extensively fromthePBD on its discussion. of

these topics, preferring. to let the, PBD speak for itselon
this subject.

In. place of commentary and analysis I

ha,ve

,attempted toprovideclar i fying footnotes.

The first of the nine vebiclesis the Audltor vehicle.
These are thePBD's comments upon it:
The Auditor vehicle is so called because
(.its propou,nders) .positsabj-ecta,nd object as
;twotb:ings . I f 7
The Aud-ltor lvehlclel is superior to both
and

Further,
view

is

perverse

intuition.

if you ask how i t is super,ior., the

superior

because

it

selflessness of individuals.

intuits

the

The pract.ice is

superior because it enacts the ten virtues

for

one.'s own, purpose .

super ior because

The -attainment is

it is accomplished through,

My explication of the nine, vehicles relies entirely onthe PBD.For a summarized account of the nine vehicles see
Tucci, Religions 2i. Tibet,pp. 7-6-87.
6

7 .

p.l8L

129

the

four - [nobl.e,]

truths.

The

resul t

super-ior because it is the attainment

four

and,

pairs

eight

units

is

f the

such

as

Arhatship.8
The

graspable

is

clearly

the

relative

truth ( kun,,-rdzob) .

[ They 1 hold the ultimate

truth

be

{r

(don..,.dam)

to

the stuff of minate -

atoms. 9
Those
meditate

who

espouse

in

conception

this

the Audi,tor

way:,

toward

their

They
own

[vehicle]

generate
body,

the
the

,material psycho""'physical constituent, that it

is unclean matter.
body]

is

risky,

decomposed,.
of

longing

decaying,

rotten,

a,nd

They turn away from- . the extreme

for

constituent of form.

the

psycho,""'physical

They possess the twelve

branches of peaceful abiding, (zhi:=anas), and

reject the objects of the six consciousnesses

8 PBD, p.188.
The fo-ur pairs are the, same as the eight
units'.
They. are the attainments of Stream Winner (Srotl'apatti),
Once
Returner - (saktdagimiQJ,
Non-returner
(Anlgl"min), and Arhatship.
is subdivided
intotheobta,in,ing,ofthe state and, theen;Joyment of."i ts
fruits, wbichmakes a total of four pairs or eight units.
See
Etienne
Lamotte,
Histoire
Wi. Boud4hisme' Indien..
(Louvai,n: InstltutOriental lste, 1976), -.p. 51.
9 PBD,. p.. 80.

130

. along with conceptual izations .10

The
are

particalarsof

that

the Auditor practice

they give up steal ingand impu,re

sexual practices.

Theyg!ve up killing.

The

pure. practice of speech is practice without

lying, gossip, slander, and cruel words.
pure

practice

of

avar iciousness,.

the

mind

is. free

harmfulness,

and.

The
from

perverse.

v.lews.The tenvirtuesareenacted forone' 5

own purpose. 11
The resu1 t
thee.nd of

for the Audi tors is that when

. meditation, and practice has

been . reached the results of the four pairs

and eig-ht unitsripens. 12
This
ve,hicle.

concludes

the

PBO' 5

remarks

on

the

Auditor

The.PBD' 5 statements on the Pratyekabuddha ve,hicle

follow:
The

de finit.ion, -of

the

name

Pratyekabuddhas is that they are

of

the

because they practise witbthepowerof their

own skill.fulnes.s., without lookingtowar.d any

10
PBO,
p.82.
consciousnesses
of
co,nacio'usness"
11 PBO, p.84.
12 PBO,p.85.

The
the

six conseious,nesses
are
the
five
senses .and
the
"mind,...

131

other teacher. 13
The

view

of

the

Pratyekabuddhas

is

so

called because they say " the existence of the

subject is absent in theobject.,,14
The

Pratyekabuddhas are

superior to the

The . view is superior because it .

Aud.itors.

intuits selflessness in the s ingle.. direction

of tbe psy.cbo-pbysical constituent of form,
the

realm ofdharmas

activi ty

(chos...,.khams).The

is superior because
living,

purpose

it enacts

'beings

by

the'
some

disproportionate miracles on top of the ten

virtues.

The attainment is superior because

it is accomplished. through the strength of

skillfulness, without relying. on a friend in
virtue.

The resul t

because

it

is

is especially superior,

like

parrot

or

rhi-noceros.1 5
Tbe

v lew

certainly

posited
realizes

by thePratyekabuddhas
the

selflessness

of

individuals, just as the Auditors, but views

selflessness .in

13 PBD; p.187.
14 PBD, p.182.
15 PBD, p.188.

the, realm of dharmas ..ina

132

single

[Pratyekabuddtlas 1

direction.

hold

marks to be certain, thus they fall from the

"meanlng of the non-dual grea tbl iss. 16
Those

who

espouse

the

Pratyekabuddtla.

vehicle meditate in,th1s way:

that

from, such. things, as

first

one

finally

meets

They meditate

ignora,nce at the
with old, age

and

death. 17

They focus the mind. on their own

forehead,

then

hold

skeleton the size

there .
the

the

o,f

mind

on

a .white

thumb ,and rest

it

The,n they increase i tunti 1 they view

skeleton

in

full

size.

Then

they

gradu.allymeditate into cessation. 18

The practice of the Pratyekabuddba enacts
only part of the purpose of living beings by
means of a few incongruous miracles. 19
The result for the Pratyekabuddhas is that
',when the end of view, meditation and, .practice
has

been reached ',. the two kinds of desired,

fruition

are

obtained, . like a

parro.t or a

16 PBD, p.81.
17 This refers to the twelve-fold chain of interdependence.
See
Robinson ans: illill,ardJohnson, .:J1.Wl....,' Buddhi;st. '
ReI i9ion, (California, =, pickeason ,Publ isb'lngCo. ,1977) ,
I if..
f
31 ... 34. '. ''''''f.
pp'.'

..'\,t,


<;

18 PBD, p.82.
19 PBD, p.8,4.

133

rhinoceros for example. 20

This

concludes

Pratyekabuddhas.

the

The

PBD's

vehicle

statements

of

the

on

Bodhlsattvas

the
is.

explainedasfo1-1ows:
The

definit.iop,of

Bodhisattva' is
renu,nciation,

that

the, name

of

[Bodhisa.ttvas]

the

pas,se.ss

wisdom." compassion, and sacred

action in a state, of perfection, and declare,

the meaning of this to others. 21
The Bodhisattva is, so called because they
proclaim "the mind and- the, mind's aspects"
and they proclaim "the ul timatetrut.b, is in! .
the relative t.ruth ... 22
The

Bodhisattva

,Pratyekabuddha.
l.t realizes
The practice
the

purpose

is

super ior

to

the

The view is super ior because

the' two kinds of selflessness.

is superior because
[of

immeasurables. 23

others]

by

it enacts
the

four

The, attainment is superior

because i t is accomplished through the

ten

20 PBD, p.8S.
21 PBD, p.l8?
22 PBD, p.l82.
23
The four immeasarables are benevolence, compassion,
delight, and. equanimity.,
See Sgam...po-pa, Jewel,Qrnament"
p.234.

134

perfections. 24
because

result

The

it mounts

the

is

snperior

level of Total Light

(kun-tu- 1 odJ.25
The view of the Bodhisattva is the view
free from the two selves [of individuals and
of dharmas)

and es.pouses

the.properway.

the two truths in

The ultimate truth is viewed

as the mind, and the relative

truth is not

belittled,

i11ns10n

like

dream

or

for

[Th,is v lew 1 errs from the meaning..

example.

of the wisdom of non-dual grea.t bliss. 26

Those who espouse the Bodhi.sattva vehicle
meditate

in

this

way:

They meditate with,

mental desire on mind only (sems-tsam)., mind

itself

(sems-nyldl,andself-clarity.

They

meditate on the undivided truth of the middle

way "(dbu-rna) , like the center 0 the sky . 27
The

practice

of

the

24

Bodhisattva

is

the

Herbert Guenther lists the ten perfectlonsas follows:

liberality, 2) ethics and manners, 3) pat,ience,4)
strenuousness.,
5)
meditative
concentration,
6)
discrim4natill9: awareness, 7) beneficial expediency, 8)
devoted
resolution,
9)
p.ower,
and
10)
transcending
awareness. See Sgam....P?-pa, Jewelprnament, p.253 note 3.
1)

25 PBD, p.189.
26 PBD, p.8127 PBD, p.83.

135

four immeasurables>. [Bodhlsattvas l act mainly

for the purpose of others. 28
The result" for Bodbisattvas 1s that when
the end of view, medltationand practice ha,s
been reached the actual ten stages (bhumil 29
are gradually purified and then they posit
that they come to abide in the Total Light
(kun-tu- 'ad) .30
This completes . . the discussion of . the, three ou-ter, levels
ofspiritua1 practice from the PBD.

These are also known as

the levels of cau-se, because they take the perspective of

the causes of spiritual progress as their .basis.

Tbenext

six levels are the vehicles of effect, because they take the
resul,tof

the

path as ,the basis of thelr perspective. 31

ThePBD's description of the Kriya yoga is as follows:

The

definition of

the name o-f Kriya

is

that (its propounderslmainly teach ablution,

purification"

the

planets

and

the

co,nstellations. 32
The view,,ofthe KrTyais. so called because
28 PBD, p.84.
29 The ten stages of the Bodhisattva path are described in,
Sgam,....po-pa, Jewel-- -o.rnament,
30 PBD, p.85.
31 PBD, p.196.
32 PBD, p.187.

136

[its

propounders1

families

are

in

posit

that

the

accord. with .the

three

ultimate

truth in its entirety.33

The Kriya is superior to

iIl'7 view

the Bodbisattva.

is superior because it fUlly intuits

that the ultimate reality

views the self

is unborn and it

(W;Jsg,);wbich is relatively.

real, and the god (lbsJ, which!s wisdolfti, as .

subj.ect and lord.
becaus.e

it

purity. 34

The practice is superior

enacts

the

three

kinds

of

f:{c

atta,inment is superior because

/'

it . is .accomplished

throughthe

skillfalness.,. transformation,
(bv.iu-::-rlabs).

and

doors

of

blessings

result issupe.riorbecause

it is the attainment of the fru! tion o the

33 The, three Buddha families according' to the Kriyasystem

are the
famlly, the Padmafamily, and the Vaj ra
:family.
These arediscussedln detail In,Mkbas Grub Rj,e's
.Introdu.ctiopto t.lulBuddh ist Taptr ic Sys,tems, pp. 1() 1-135 .
34 The "three purities" (dag-pa..,.,gsum) are listed.-intheKun..,.,byed
rGyal..,.,poti

rNy-ing""M.' rGyud-' bum, '1973

edition), Vol. I, p.38 as the purities of the outer, inner,
and conceptual. HkhasGrubRje, however, lists three methods
of practlce(rather than. purity) usedin<,theKr,iyaTantra.
His descr ipt:ion, is as 0 110ws: "'l'herearethreemethodsof
procedu,re
(anusthli'na)
in
the
Kriya
Tantra,
namely,
meditation

accompanied by
muttering
(i..s.Qs),
meditation independent .. of
and accompl.ishment .. ,of .
slddb4 after appropriate servlce(
'
Systems .. ,p. 159.

137

three families. 35
The Kiri.ya view

is

tied up with attached,

posturing .. but does not waver from the state

of

the

without

non-conceptual
birth, or

emi .."rtgg)

cessation.

,which

is

It views the

[Bodhilsat"tvas in two aspects, as lords and

servants ..

It errs from the meaning of the

great bliss. 36

Those

who

espouse

meditate in thisway:

the

Kr iya

vehicle

Afterthe..gods . of the

empty ( stgng,..pali...,.lha-tshogs) have gone away

they,meditate that they possessthemudras of
the three . famil ies. 37
The practice of Krlya is pure behav lor in
the three:

External..

internal, and mater ial

(rdzas).38
The perfection of the result of Kriya is
the .reason, for

their

v iew

and meditation.

[Its practltionerslhold [this resu,l,tl, to, be

35 PBD,,' p. 189.
36 PBD, p.8l.
37 PBD, p.83. Thewordmqdra in thIs case may refer either
to the' "seaVI signified. by thehand-gesture,of the':lord of
the Buddha ,family or to . the Mother of the Buddha family , the
lord l s consort and hence his mu4ra. Ei,.t;betL meaning would,
nonetheless have a mystical ...,.- rather than worldly
significance.
38 PBD,p.84.

138

the essence of the three families and,three

They

doors.

mount

the

level

of

tDzin-pa. 39
This conclude,s the PBD-ts comments

0,0

Kr iya-yog'a "The

next level of tantra is known variously as Carya-yoga .and

Upa,..,.yoga.

The PBD uses the term Upa,..,.yoga, along,with its

derivative Upaya., for this level in every case.

The PBD,is

also relatively silent on tbesubject.ofUpa-yoga, hence the

smaller< numbe,r, of quotat.ions ...
,c'.'"'

",

The defJ:nition:ofthe name 0 ftbe

that the ir practice comes upward from below
and

their

view

is

turned

downwards

from

above. 40
The view of the Upaya-is so called because,

theyposltthetwo aspects {cha-gnyis:?

The Upa is superior
v iew
along

is

superior

with

practice

the

to

because
master

the Kriya.

1
('The

it v iews the god'

and

is superior because

servants.

The

it enacts the

purpo.se of,living beings via the existenGe

39 PBD, p.85.

40 PBD, p.187.
41 PBD,p-.182. This may refer to the two forms of practice
in the Carya Tantra, which according to Mkhas Grub Rje are
Yoga with images and Yoga wi thout images,. BuddhiSt Taptrig .
System,pp. 207-215.

139

and non.,-existence of marks.

is

superior

because

The- attainment

it

is

accomplished

through the four thusnesses (de,-kho,-na-nyid-

tWl1>

(42)
,""",,'

'i

"I

The Upaya espouses a view which does not

waver
and,

from

the state of the non..,.conceptual

is

from

free

cessation.

It

views

the

birth

two

and, '

types,

[Bodhilsattvas as brothers and", friends.

of
It

errs from the meaning of the undivided wisdom

of
This

great

concludes

bliss. 43
the

PBD's discussion of the Upa-yoga

vehicle. The Yoga vehicle follows.

The definition of the name Yoga is that
a,neu,ni tes one 'sbady, speech andmi-nd to the
i' ./t t

>";;'1 .. . /
natural state ' (rnal '-ma),
meaning.,',of which
i' ,f

is tlhefauramiliesofBuddhas .44
Those
nerve

who

use

channels

words
(r!&s.)

to
of

posit
the

the
mind

seven
are

explained tobe,(halders of] the Yoga view. 45

The Yoga, is superior to ,the Upa."

42 PBD;, p18S]
\._-""",,/

43 PBD, p. SI.
44 PBD, p. 187.
45 PBD, p. 182.

The view,

140

is

superior

because

it

views

the

relat!ve

reality. as being. in friendship with the god.

The practice is. superior becallse

it enacts

the four kinds of. sacred action (phrin...,1as,-rnamdmhi ). 46

The

attainment .is

super lor

because. it is the accomplishment of the four

kinds of n\Udras. 47
because

it

is

The result is superior

the

. Buddhahood of the five families .48

Those. who posit.. the Yoga vehicle meditate"
in

this

way:

enlightenment

After

the

five

aspects

(byana--chub""'rnam...,lnga)

passed away they meditate

of

have

that the, thirty--

seven possess the four mudras. 49

The, practice of the Yoga.. vehicle is made
to ena.ct the four kinds of. sacred, action, and

46 Inthe Bod...,rgyaTshig...,m4zgd Chep--mothese are listed in

Vol. 2., p.1771 as: 1) Peace (zhi...,ba), 2.) Productiontrgyas...,
'a), ,3) Power (gpang) , and 4') ,Wrath (drag --po) .
47 The four mudras are: 1) The Gpeat,Mudpa .. 2) The, Hudra,gL
Sacped Commitment,; 3) The.pharma Mudra.. and 4) The Karma,
Mudra.
These are d iscu'ssed e,xtensivelythrou'ghou,t Herbert
Guenther's Royal
gL Saraha.
Also see Mkha,s Grub Rje's
Buddhist Tantric Systems, pp.229--250.
48 PBD, p.1.89.

49 PBD, p.83.
The five aspects of enlightenment are
nowhere detailed in the PBD,nor does there appear to be an
available external reference.
The "thirty--seven" mentioned
are also mysterious in this regard.

141

.tbef0ur.thusnesses

50

The result of ,the Yoga. is that the thirtyseven are actually perfected by the blessing
(bYip""rlabs)
practice,

view, .

of
and

the

meditation,

and

kayas

are

three

spo.ntaneously realized by their ownnature. 51

This

completes.

vehicle.

The

the

PRDf s

elucidation

be.ginningwiththe

of

".

..-".- ..

the

three

of

the

inner

Yoga

tantras,

follows:

discus,sion

-,

The definition of the name.of tbeMahayoga

that

is

Meditative

it

chiefly

absorption,

the.

uses
skillful

three:

means,

and

profound knowledge in order to engage in the

meaning. 52
The,tt;hayoga \ is like the wide dominion of

The

forty-two

fifty-eight

(peaceful

[wrathful

deities)

deitiesJ,

etc.

and.,
are

explained as the view of the Mahayoga. 54

50 PRD, p.84.
5-1 PBD, p.86.

52 PRO, p.187.
53 PBD, p.l8!.
54 PBD, p.182.
The peaceful,and wra,thful deitle,s ,are
described in France sea Fremantle and Chogyam 'l'rungpafs
translation of Karma Lingpafs Tibetap
2i
Dead,
(Berkeley:Shambhala,1975),tbroughout.

142

The Maba ,is super lor to theoga, in four

I'

ways.

The view is superior because it views

one's

own 'body

victor ious
because

as

one.

it

the

The

enacts

mandala, oftha

practice is superior

the

purpose

of

living

beings by both union (. sbyor) and liberation

(sgroI).
it

The attainment is super iorbecause

is

through

both

profound knowledge',

skillful

means

and

The result is superior

because it is the mounting of the level of

Total Ligbt .55
Those who posit the Maba hold to marks.
[Its

propounders'

view}

is

also

unborn..

without. cessation, is non"..conceptual, andis

They view. the
(dbatii,,) and. sense bases
and

goddesses..

meaning
The

elements

(aYe tapas) as god,s

[This view! errs

from the

f the unreified .grea t bl iss. 56

meditation .of", the

Mabayoga

is

types

of

absorption have, gone

away

they

meditation of

widely-diffused

after

the

three

the

that

meditative
create

tbe

55 PBD, pp.189-190.
56 PBD, p.81.
thesis, p.81.

On the elements and sense bases see this

143

'byams)

peacefnl.and

.wrathful.

[dei-ties].

That which possesses the four mudrasis the

supreme .meditation. 57
The
which

practice
reaches

of

the

the

Mahayoga

is

action

limit of the purpose of

living beings through both skillful means and

profound knowledge. 5 $
The resul t

the Mahayoga is that. .. when-

the view and so forth.. have already come up,

and

the

perfected,:
realized

Great.

Mudra

has

already

(its practitioners]
-on

the

eleventh

been

are actually

level

of

Total

Light. 59
Tbis concludes; the. description of the; Mahayoga.
Mahayoga
while

is known.,as tbe stage of generation ( bskyed.....rimJ .

the

Anuyog8. is

(rdzogs.,-rimh 60

known

as

the

stage

of

perfe.ction

The.description.ofAnuyoga follows:

The definition of the perfection of Anu is

that it is perfectio.n. without generation and
isappl icationofthemeaning ofthis. 61

57 PBD, p.83.
58

The

PBD, p.84.

59 PBD., p. 86.
60 PBD, p.l89.
61 PBD, p.187.

144

The

Anuyoga

is

like

man, and

woman

performing intercourse. 62
expressing.

Words

perfection

gene,rationandwordswhich

without

speak

of

the

dimensionof reality and wisdom. refer to the "

view of the Anuyoga. 63
The Ana

issupe,rior to the Maba in . . four,

ways.

The

view

intui ts

that

the

wisdom

are

superior

is

superior

dimension of
The

because

it

enacts

dimension o,fenjoyment.

because

it

reallty

and

pra<:tice

is

wisdom

in

the

The attainment is

superior because it is the accomplisbment of.

the

five

psycho-physical: constituents,

the

five elements, and the. five Buddha,families

in, Father.,.,..Motber (yab,.,..yum)

Tbe,.re,sult,

i,s sUiper ior because it 1.5 the attainment of

the level oftheUnchanging",Lotus

Those who meditate by. positing the Anuyoga

claim

that

after

they

have

left

behind

proclamatlon of the e55ence(snying--:-po-brjod-

62 PBI), p.l8!.
63 PBD, p.l82.

64 PBD, p.l90.

145

the; .. psycho""phys,ical ,coDs;ti tuents . are , the'

ea.}

four 'mudra,s of the god;, like bubbles in water

or taking a clay reliquaryout,from, the, mold,
for example.
mere

They meditate on clarity fora

instant.

branches

of

divisions

After

they have entered the,

meditative

concentration,

the,

of

meditated in the same way.

They attain the

result whIch reaches the limit of the desired

.purpose. 65
The situation of practice for the Anuyoga
is that li,tspract,i tioner Jactsinthe way of
The

dimension

two

aspects

the'

freal i,ty and wisdomarelenacted J

without duality.66
/

The result of the, ,Anu is the need for . pure

views.

[Its practltioners,l mount the < level

of the totally perfect name;ofVajrasattva.

They

abide

on, the level of the Unchanging,

Lotus Possessor (ma ...chags=oad.,..ma=:can). 67

This concludes the PSD's discussion, of. the Anuyoga.

It

also concludes the discussion of . the eight, vehicles, which

-65 PSD, p.83.

66 PBD, p.84.
67 PBD, p.86.

146

. the

PBD

rej ects

as

meaning. (drana=4on)

representing. only

the

interpretable

of the, Buddha's teaching.

The ninth

level

is the Atiyoga. or Great Perfection, and it is this

level

of

.Buddhist

definitive.
Atiyoga

As

its

teaching

that

the

PBO

holds

to

be

the-. PSD-is intiJnate-ly concerned with the-

discussion of this

level

attention tbantheother levels.

receive-smuch' more

The remainder- of this

thesis will be an elucidation of this Great Perfection.

First,

in order to properly conclude this chapter, I

will present the statements made in the, _PBD regarding the

Atiyoga in its comparison with the other eight leve-Is.
the following chapter I
of

the

methods

recog.nition
thematic
statements

will present the PBD r s explanation

of

reaching.

(Uao..,..sprodl.

study . I

wlll

spiritual

In, the
present

regarding- the ._ ",iew,

result of the Atiyoga.

In

flnal

awareness

or

chapter of tbis

summary

of

the

PBD's

medl tation, pr-actice,

and

The final chapter of the thesis will

then contain concluding remarks.

The

PBD's

statements

regarding

the

Atiyoga

compariso-nwiththe other eight vehicles areas follows:

The, definition -of the . name of the .yoga-of
Great Perfection is engagement by way of the
non-dual.
and

the

All the. phenomenon of appearance

world

primordlall:y

[are
perfect

non..,..duaI

withl

Buddha,

the
the

in

147

- 6..8
Dharmakaya
The Atiyoga is like a great, garuda soa,r ing
in the sky.69
Words

expressing

the

transcendence

.of

deeds and searching, words which express the

self-arising

the

spontaneously

refer

to the view of

realized Buddha,

etc.

the Great Perfection. 70

The .At!
ways.
all

is superior

to theAnu

in four

The v lew is super ior because it views

appearance

and.

Dharmaka,ya .. Buddha.
because

the

Dharmakaya.

The

world

as

the

The practice is super ior

purpose

through

enacted

the

the

of

living

beings

blessing

of.

attainment

is

is
the

super,ior

becau'se it is accomplished without deeds or

search.ing.
mounts

The result is super ior because it

the

levels

beginning;

at

the

thirteenth, the Great Collection of the Wheel

('khor..,lo-tshogs-chen), on up to the, twentyfirst. 71
68 PBD, p.187.
69
p.18L
large eagle.

The,garuda iaa mythlcalbird, like a very

70 PBD, p.182.
71

PBD, p.190.

No reference to the thirteenth, level by

148

These statements on the . Great Perectionwillserveto

introduce

the

reader

to

level

the

of spiritual

understanding offered in the ,PBD.It will be noted that the

Atiyoga is held to be "beyond deeds and searching."

This

sta,tement indicates that from the .point of view of the Great

Perfection there is nothing. to. be done in order to attain
realization.

Nonetheless, thePBD does provide, inormat,ioDr

on how-to realize Buddba,hood.

"recognition,"

for according

This realization. is called

to

the

PBDi t

is

only

the

difference between recognizing all reality as Buddhahood and

failing to recognize this that makes the difference between
delusion and . intuiti,ve realization.,

Thus there is nothing,'

really to be done in an active sense, but one must recognize

the Buddhahood of oneself, others, and, real.ityas a whole in
order

to

comprehend

the

meaning

of

non"...searching .

The

following chapter is devoted to the PBD's elucidation, of

.,recogni tion .

this name nor . to . the higher levels up to thetwenty""'flrs.t is

available.

CHAPTER 8
Recognition

At the beginning, of the forty third chapter of the PBD,

the Lord of Secrets poses a question of fundamental import.
It reads as follows:
0, 0

Blessed One, rDo-rje 'Chang, if the

view, meditation, practice and final fruition

of the eight vehicles are such, what are the
stages of sacred instruction for entering the
meaning of the Ati?

All living and sentient

beings have the three kayas and five kinds of

wisdom in themselves as part of themselves
(rapg,-la-rang....cha.s),

so how

is

it that all

those individuals who enter the path do not

Int,uitthls?

Nothing but tbe external object

itself obscures reality;

they do not perceive

so how is it that

this?

beg rDo-rje

150

'Chang .to explain this. l

This"

question

fundamental
,everything
realize

strikes

problem
is

in Great

naturally

it?

right

rOo-rje

at

the

heart

of

Perfection philosophy.

the
If

pure Buddhahood why don't people

'Chang then goes on to explain that

beings do not recognize the true state of things and hence

wander

on .in

del us ion.

As

remedy

for

this

. presents ,what it calls "the seven recognitions."

the

intuitive

the PBO

It is with

realization of these recognitions that the

force of delusion can be cut off.

The PBO is generally a
discussion

of

language.

the

very clear text,

recognitions

will

not,

it

therefore,

resorts

yet

in its

to

cryptic

present

extensive

quotations from the PBO in this chapter, but will attempt to

express the content of each recognition with only occasional
quotations from the text. 2
The seven recognitions are recognition of:
elements,

2)

The three kayas,

eight consciousnesses,

5)

The

3)

1)

The five

The five wisdoms,

three

times,

6)

4)

The

The
four

recognitions, and 7) The outer, inner, and secret.

It should be understood right from the; beginning that
the PBO does not recommend; any active measures. for reaching
these recognitions.

Each of the recognitions. is., rather, a

1 PBD, pp.86-87.

2 The PBO's discussion on recognition is found on pp.9l ...

125.

151

description of its topic with the - proviso that when this

topic is

intuitively realized there will

delusion.

be release

from

This is in accordance with the PBD' s statements

that the Great Perfection is beyond deeds and searching.

The recognitions are therefore neither goals nor objects of
spiritual practice, but rather indications -of the state of
realization

itself.

This

is

expressed

clearly

in

the

follow ingquotation:
There

is nothing to do

for

the sake of

that which has been done from the primordial,

dwells

in

the

present,

and

is

unsought.

There is nothing to stop it. 3

II Recognition
The
one I s

Q.L :tb!l.

UK Elements,

first of. the seven recognitions

own essential nature

is. to recognize

in the true state of the five

elements.

The five elements are earth, water" fire", wind,

and sky.

The PBD divides each of the elements into its-

radiant

and

defiled

aspect.

The

elements is their nature as light.

radiant

aspect

of

the

The defiled aspect of

the elements is their concretization under the influence of

delusion -into matercial reality.

In the state of delusion

beings perceive the five elements as real entities.

W-ith

therecognit.ion of their true nature as light comes release

3 PBD, p.123.

152

from

this

delusion.

The

five

elements as hypostasis. of

reality are cut through.

In its description 'of, this . recognition. the,PBD first
points

out

that

real i ty

is

di fferentia ted

between

the

objects of the five senses, which are, the external world,

and

consciousness

world.

The

combinations

and, awareness,

true
of

light.

phenomenal dimension
conceptualizations
brought

into

concretized

objects

of

This

the

the

internal

five. senses

isreferred,to

as

are
the

It is w,hen.d'iscu:rsive.

based

play

into

which are

on

that

real

SUbject/object
the

entities.

duality

external

world

Reality

itself

are

becomes
is

both

external and internal, as this passage states:

In. pure
appearance.
and

reality

there

is

no

dualistic

It is taught as "both external

internal."

There

is

no

reificatlon

towards the meaning of reality; it is pure. 4

The

process

whereby

this pure reality is obfusc,ated

into deluded appearance is described as follows:

By

the

spreading

conceptualizations

forth

coarse

of

discursive

defilement

is

spread forth as the five kinds of elements.

From thesupreme,Mt.
the
4 'PBD, p. 92 ..

cosmos)

down

to

Mera at the center [of

small

rocks,, bits

of

153

earth and bits of wood it is spread forth as

the entlty of the earth element.
coarse.

Thus it is

From the ocean and great. rivers on

down to mere moistne.ss, mere wetness, and a

drop of water discurs,lve conceptualization is
spread forth as water.
From the
end ofl

Thus it is coarse.

burning-of the great fire at [the

the

rUbbing

aeon on down to

sticks

together

conceptualization

is

Thus it is coarse.
thecrossed-vaira

spread

the

spark of
discursive

forth' as

fire.

From the great wind of

on down

to the smallest breeze, movements are spread

forth

by

discursive

conceptualization

wind.

Thus it is coarse.

as

The four elements

obscure the empty unreified reality.5

When this process of delusion is recognized for what it
is an intuition. of reality, will come forth as light,.
light is none other
Therefore
there
wisdom.

by

is a

This

than the natare of the five wisdems..

intuiting

the

true

reality. of the elements

clear percep-tion of the nature of reality as

This is the recognition.of the elements.

I I Recognitionof .tb!t Three layas.

5 PBD, pp.92-93.

154

The

second

recognition

is

that

of

the three kayas.

This involves a recognition of each of the three

yet

the PBD also holds that an intuition of the Dharmakaya alone

automatically results in an intuition of all three kayas. 6
The recognition of the Dharmakaya is the intuition that
it is pure awareness

(rig.-pa).

This is stated . clearly in,

the 'PBD:
In the teaching of instant eni ightenment,,,
awareness and the Dharmakaya are taught as a
single essence.

The essence of self-

awareness and the Dharmakaya is empty.

is the empty reality.
itself

It

clear.

This

This empty essence is

abides

in

pure

self-

clarity . . The force of clarity comes forth as

the flickering wind and. the appearing light.
It arises as experience by the power of the
flickering.
force

of

perfectly

The

the

five

lights arise as

arising five

comprehend. the

wisdoms.
three

kayas;

the

These
the

Dharmakaya is clear andnon-conceptual. 7

This statement not only shows the PBD's identification
of awareness with the Dharmakaya,

it points out that the

three kayas are spontaneously realized in the Dharmakaya..

6 PBD, p.lOO.
7 PBD, p.96.

155

How is the Dharmakaya obscured?

The PBD informs us that:

When the phenomenaL. dimension is. obscured

by

subtle

and

coarse

de filements

the,

Dharmakaya is not recognized, so co-emergent

ignorance comes forth.
spread

forth

as

[This ig.norance 1 is
coarse

discursive

conceptualizations by causes and conditions.

By these conditions the meaning. of the three
kayas is not clear .

The meaning of reality

is also not clear and becomes spread forth as

The external object

coarseness.
obscured,

and

the

particulars

of

i tsel f
the

is

non-

deluded come forth in this way.8

It is the intuition that pure awareness is Buddhahood
itself that undercuts the process of delusion, and from this
a full intuition of all the three kayas will manifest.

The

recogni tion

are

of

the

Sambhogakaya

and

Nirmanakay.a

therefore dependent on a recognition of the Dharmakaya.

The Sambhogakaya is recognized to be the five families
of Buddhas,
wisdoms.

which are

in fact manifestations of the five

These five wisdoms are inherent in the Dharmakaya.

This is explained as follows:

The essence of the Sa.mbhogakaya .is . that it;
is realized to be the five kinds of wisdom in

8 PBD, p.97.

156

the

meaning

without

of

the

defilement

Dharmakaya

and

which

pure.

The

is
five

wisdoms which are the arising o.f the force of

the Dharmakayaarise as luminescence. 9
The PBD also. points out that "self-awareness possesses
the five wisdoms, and .luminescence itself arises as the five
lights,

thus

it

comes

forth

as

the

kayas

of

the

five

famil les . ,,10

What obscures the Sambhog.akaya?
Actually,
obscurant
ungiving

of

subtle
the

longing.

is

Sambhog.akaya.

(ma-ster)

obscuring

the

subtle

It

is the

defilement

against the perceptiono.f the Sambhogakaya. l1

When luminescence,. the clear aspect of the Dharmakaya,
is perceived as the five lights (azure, white, yellow, red,
and green) and these are intuited to be wisdom itself the
Sambhogakaya will be recognized.
The recognition of the Nirmanakaya depends on intuition

of the Dharmakayaand Sambhogakaya.

recognition

of

kaya
th e1rmana,
N" -

very

ThePBD describes the

br iefl y

with

words:
The arising. of the spontaneously realized

9 PBD, p.98.
10 PBD, p.98.
11 PBD, p.99.

these

157

luminescent light
awareness,

in clear and empty selfDharmakaya,

the

Sambhogakaya.

is

the

The arising of the force of

these twoto the face of the disciple appears

as

the

kaya

of

the

force

of

light

and

An appropr iate appearance ar ises

awareness.

for the six (classes ofl sentient beings, and

it appears as

the Nirmanakayas such as the

six sages. 12
informs

This> passage

us

that

the

Ni.rmanauya. is

manifestation ofawareness and wisdom, in a fo.rmappropriate

to

the

beings

of

samsara.

This

conform! ty

to

samsaric

existence is the manifestation of the Buddha's compassion.

Unl ike the information on the Dharmakaya and Sambhogakaya,
where practitioners may find their own awareness to be the
Dharmakaya and,tbeir perception of color to be the wisdom of
the

Sambbogakaya,

the

PBD

does

not

present

any

direct

indication that a practitioner may discover him or hersel f

to. bea Nirmana,kaya..lt is said,. on the other hand, that

with

the

intuition

of. the

Dha,rmak.'iya

will

come

full

reco.gnition of all, three kayas..This may be taken to be an

indication

that

with

the

intuition

Buddhahood itself is actually realized.

Buddhahood

yet

continues

to

of

the

Dharmakaya

One who realizes

remain in

the .world

of

158

appearance ma.y be said to be a Nirmanakaya, and it is in

this

sense

that

practitioners may

find

their status as

N.irmanakaya Buddhas .

Furthermore, the three kayas -- though not recognized -are

actually

present

in

ordinary living beings.

the

body,

speech. and, mind of

The following statement clarifies

this:
At the time the Dharmakaya is recognized
the three kayas are recognized.
why,

the

realized,

three

kayas

therefore

kayas are the body

mind

the

spontaneously

un-intuited
speech

(lwi,;),

At the

(Ud).

are

If you ask

three

(1l92Sl),

and

time of intuition the

three kayas arise at one time.

All three are

perfected at one time in the Dharmakaya..

If '.

you

is

ask

why,

it

is

because

it

spontaneously realized. 13 .
It is
present
Herber t

in this connection that it will be useful

the

definitions

Guenther.

of

the

three

kayas

offered

to
by

Dr. Guenther focuses on the three kayas

in their interrelationship with persons., and it is therefore

under the present discussion of recognition -- rather than
the previous chapter delineating the three kayas -- that I
offer his presentation.

13 PBD,p.lOO.

159

"Dharmak'aya

is a

experience of Being

term for

the

in one's own existence

in the sense that, BeiDgis an absolute

(Ull)

real i ty and val ue

The exper lence is

'ineffable' in the sense that any attempt to

conceptual i,ze

it

would

detract

from

validity of absoluteness by reducing

some

content

in

its

it to

mind,' which, is relative

other contents.

'Ineffable'

to

therefore does

notmeanthat'ineffabillty' is a quaIl tyof

Dharmakaya.

The experience of Being operates

,

through,
Nirmanakaya

(longs-sku)

Sambhogakaya
(spru1-sku) ,

both

of

and
them

referred to by the- termRUpakaya (gzugs-sku).

Sambhogakaya and Nirmanakaya are thus images

through which, we understand, our existential

value o,f Being.

In par ticu1ar, Sambhogakaya

is an empathetic experience- through which we

take

empathetic

Being,.

delight

Nirmanakaya

in

Dharmakaya

'expresses'

or
this

exper lence in-such away as to communicate it

to others.
for

Dharmakaya is also used as a term

Being-as-such

in

which

a1.1

that

is

participates and by virtue of it a,.14

14 Herbert Guenther, The Tantric lliJt Q.t Life, (Berkeley:
Sbambha1a,1972), pp.14&-149, note 13.

160

Dr. Guenther does not employ such terms used in the PBD
as "awareness," "light, "luminosity," etc.

Yetbisempbasis

on the threekayasas being.. directly related to the ground

of

experience

of

perso.n

is

in harmony with the PBD's

exegesis.

II Recogni tion 2L .tWit. [,J.n Wisdoms

The third recognition is that of the five wisdoms.

It

has already been pointed out in the chapter on wisdom that

the

five

wisdoms

represent

the

emptiness,

clarity,

non-

duality, differentiation, and manifest force of awareness.

It was also pointed out that the five wisdoms a,re in fact
the three kayas.
What obscures the five wisdoms?

The PBD states that

the five poisons of attachment, aversion, ignorance, pride,

and jealousy are the coarse obscurants of the five wisdoms.
Grasping

is the subtle obscurant.

Non"","recognition is the

very subtle obscurant. IS

The point of recognizing the five wisdoms, therefore,
is

to

distinguish

them

from

the

five

poisons.

This

discrimination amounts to recognition.

The PBD holds that both wisdom and the poisons arise
from the same fundamental state, which is called the Sel farising Wisdom.

1S PBD, p.10l.

Under the influence of non-recognition or

161

delusion these proceedings from the basic state of wisdom

are either identified with the five wisdoms or felt as the
poisons

which

hold

one

in

samsara. 16

When

there

is

recognition of the Self-arising Wisdom and understanding of

the differentiation between the five wisdoms and the five
poisons delusion is cleared away.

This is the recognition.

of wisdom.

ll. Recognitioq2i. .tb!!.EightCopsgiQusnesses

The

fourth

recognition

is

that

of

the

eight

consciousnesses.

These are the five consciousnesses of the

sense

the

faculties,

mental

consciousness

(Yid-kvi-rnam-

the defiled mind (nyon-mongs.,-kyi-yid), and the Total

,Base which gathers the many things .

In

the

chapter

on

the

Base,

the

Total

Base

which

gathers the many things was identified with all eight of the
,consciousnesses, while here -- at the point of recognition - it is identified only with the eighth consciousness.
The

PBD

explains

the

functions

of

the

consciou,snesses of the senses in the following passage:

Form

is

Attachment
beautiful

seen as
and

the object of the eye.

aversion

and ugly forms.

are .born

towards

In the same way

sound is the object of the ear; smell is the

object of the nose;
16 PBD, p.102.

taste is the object of

five

162

the tongue; touchables are the object of the

body,

etc.

[The consciousnessesl act 1 ike

servants, for they carry [their contents] to

the mental consciousne.ss, like being sent to
a lord. 17
The explanation of how sensory input is then processed
by the remaining three consciousnesses follows:
[Sense datal are carried to
"mind.

They

are

grasped

the defiled

firmly

by

such

defilements as attachment and aversion, like

a husband looks after a wife after acquiring
her.

By this they turn into tendencies

chags) .

The Total Base which gathers these

[tendencies], which is 1 ike a vessel, is the

Total Base which gathers the many things.
In relation to the five senses, the PBD speaks of the
five "doors."

The doors referred to are the sensory organs.

The sense consciousnesses seize hold of the data intercepted

by the sense

faculties and relay this information to the

mental consciousness.

The. defiled mind. then interprets the

data

five

in terms of the

defiled

poisons.

The tendencies this

interpretation harbors are held in the Total Base

which .gathers the many things.

It is clear, therefore, that theobiects of perception
17 PBD, p.103.

163

do

not become

until

interpreted. in. terms of subject and object

they are received by the mental consciousness, which

interprets its data in terms of internal and external.

is the fundamental- delusion of subject-object duality.

This
In

the realm of the defiled mind the poisons come into play,
and it is here that grasping at a true identity or "self"

with reference to the sense data and the receptor of

the sense da ta appears.

The consciousness that perpetuates

the tendencies towards this deluded vision of reality is the

Total Base which gathers the many things.
The recognition of the eight consciousnesses in nothing
more or

less

then an understanding

process takes place. 1S

clearly perceived

intuition of how this

When the workings of the mind are

there will no longer arise the grasping

attitude that delusion is inherent in reality.

The delusion

of the mind will dissolve upon recognition of the nature of

the mind. 19

I I Recognition g,tthe Three Times

The fifth recognition is that of the three times.

The

PBD holds that "the recognition through dividing the three

times

is

inconceivable

18 PBD, p.l04.
19 PBD, p.l05.
20 PBD, p.l08.

for

an

ordinary

person.,,20

164

Nonetheless

it

provides

teaching

on

this

subject.

The

recogn-ition of the three times is divided between the pure

knowledge of the three times and the timeless knowledge of
intuition. 2l
The two knowledges of the three times are explained as
follows:
If

the

knowledge

of the

three times

is

recognized there are the knowledge that the

past cuts off the future, the knowledge tha,t,
the

future

meets

with

the. past,

and

the

knowledge that the five sensory bases which

issue forth in the present are lost into the
object.

This

recollection
adventitious.
cuts

off

the

is

and

the

knowledge

conceptualization

that
are

The knowledge that the past

future

is recollected in. the

mind, which creates the past.

The knowledge

that theuture meets the past is recollected

in the mind of the future.
recollection

and

conceptual-ization

present is generated
five senses.

The adventitious
of

the

in the objects of the

These are the phenomena,

of samsara, and by the knowledge that these

three are adventi tious there come

2lpBD,. p.109.

forth the

165

three

times

which

grasping,

are selfless,

uncreated,

uncontaminated,

from

uncontrived,

self--arising,

from the primordial.

free

a-nd

abiding

Knowledge of. just this

is wisdom. 22
This passage represents the teaching on the three times
in full.

It is appareat that an intuitive awareness of the

past, present and future leads to the priJn(;)rdJ:al awareness

which is beyond ticme altogether.

This is the recognition of

the three times.

2l.RecognitionU

E.2Ju:. Recognitions

The sixth recognition is the four recognitions.

The

four recognitions are recognition . of the Dharmaka,ya, of the

Sambhogakaya, of the Nirmanakaya, and that thethreekayas

are without joining or separation.

Thisrecognitiondiffers

from that of the three kayas only in its presentat.ion.

In

this teaching. the PBD uses what it calls "the four signs of
(mtshon-pa .1 i -brda)

signification"

These

are:

1)

Vajrasattva'smirror, 2) A mask, 3) A house of light, and 4)

The sun.
given

to

The PBD offers a speech or lecture which should be

the

recognitions.

student

in

order

to

teach

each

of

these

The speech on Vajrasattva'smirror follows:

You

suitable

teaching),
22 PBD, p.I09.

student,

receptacle
listen

to

[for
me!

the
This

166

mirror

of

truly

the

the

mind,

this

Dharmakaya.

known?

Just

interior

to.

as
a

sel f-awareness

crystal,

How

there

is

no

the

must

known

exterior or interior.

not

this

be

exterior

or

must

crystal,.
be

is

Dharmaki'ya. of
to

have

no

Just as a crystal has

no front or back the Dharmakaya also has no

front

or

back.

penetrating
undefiled;

Jus.t

clarity
pure,

as
the

crystal

has

Dharmakaya.

is

and penetrating.

Just as

the unconditioned five lights are inside, so

this which has no interior, the three kayas,
abides

in

inner

clarity

penetrating Dharmakaya.

inside

the

You must know that

this is the empty with the vital essence of

wisdom.

A simile is that just as the five

lights arise on the outside from the inside

of

this

[crystal),

so

the

two

R"iipak'ayas

appear for the two [sorts ofl disciples;from

the Dharmakaya. 23
The presentation on the

Sambhogakaya, which uses the

mask as a simile, is as follows:

Son of Noble Family, listen to this !
instructions
23 PBD, p.lll.

on

the

The

Sambhogakayas are that

167

just as when a mask is shown in the face of a

mirror

yet

reality

is

appearance

the

mirror

is

pure

and

clear.

of

an

image

pure

and
Just

inside a

clear,
as

the

mirror

is

without self nature, so the appearance of the

five

kayas

in

the dimension of reality

is

withoutselfnature and abides in clarity. 24

The

speech on the

Nirma9akaya,

which should use

the

simile of a house of light yet in fact uses the simile of a

lamp reflected em water, is as follows:
Oh Son of Noble
Just

as

the

Family,

mirror

of

listen to this!

speech is pure and

clear at the time the N'irmanak-ayais applied

to signs and speech, just as the dimension of

the

lamps

clear

which

as

mirror,

the

are reflected on water

five

kayas

the

wisdom

is

clear

in the

face

is

of a

of sigRs(rtags,-kyi-yeas

light,

the-

as

Nirmanakaya. 25

The

lecture on the inseparabil i ty of the three kayas

finishes the four speeches.

Kye
certain!
24 PBD, p.112.
25 PBD, p.l12.

Ma,

Lord

of

Secrets,

take

it

as

Just as the essential nature of the

168

sun

is

together

with

its

light

rays"

the

Dharmakaya is ornamented by the compas.s iona te

Riipakaya.

Just as the light. rays of the sun

are free from dual i ty ,

from

the

primordial

the three kayas abide

without

joining

or

separation. 26
The PBD goes on to say that
there

is

Buddhahood..

(rNam-pa Kun-rig)

"when. this

is

so the Buddha Aware of All

is supreme.

intuited
Aspects

This is the, inspiration of

the four recognitions." 27

The fundamental difference between the presentation of
the recognition of the three kayas and the recognition of
the

four

recognitions

is that the latter uses similes to

elucidate its subject.

It is also apparent. that these four

speeches are actually intended to be delivered to students

by a guru. In this respect these passages are unique in the
PBD.

The paD does not provide any directions to the guru

for malting these presentations, yet it is not unlikely that

the guru would use such props as a crystal, a mirror, etc.
in del iver ingthese sermons.
The
outer,
inner,

last- of

the . seven recogni.tions

inner, and secre<t.

and

26 PBD, p.ll2.
27 PBD., p.l14.

secret

is

is

that of

the

"The recognition of the outer ..

the

final

settlement

of

the

169

recognitions.

It is applied to the meaningof,the view,. ,,28

The recognition of these is explained very concisely in the

PBD:
The

recognition

of

the

the

of

dimension.

The teaching. on the recognition

phenomenal

inner is the recognition of the two

Riipakayas.
of

the

is

recognition

of the

appearance,

outer

the

The teaching on the recogniti,on

secret

is

the

recognition

that

awareness is the Dharmakaya. 29

The PBD then offers a

unique passage..

It was said

above that the Atiyoga is beyond all deeds and searching and
that nothing can be done to acco>mplishwhat is complete from
the primordiaL

Nonetheless, in this one instance the PBD

does recommend action as a means to gain recognition.

passage reads as follows:
Show a crystal to the cloudless rising sun
and set out an icon (br is-sku).
crystal

to

the

sun,

and

set

where the. 1 ight spreads out.

crystal
look.
sky.
28 PBD, p.lIS.

29 PBD, p.lIS.

and the

icon hi t

Lift up the
out the

icon

When both the

the unmoving eye,

Look at the picture and look at the

You must look when. it enters the mind

The

170

that the su,nl ight

hits the crystal and the

icon has color and

Look at the sky

form.

which is empty of both eye and cloud.

is the

icon?

appear

to

What

The color and shape actually

the

eye-sense,

but

they

arise

without self-nature. 30
After this passage the PBD offers various explanations
of the three kayas, all of which conform to theinormation
already

provided

in

this

thesis.

An

example

is

the

following:
Through the aspect of awareness there is
the Dharmakay.a.
appearance

of

Thro\lghthe aspect.
light

by

means

of

the
the

unhindered aspect of form, its clarity, there

is the Sambhogakaya.
flickering
five

Through the aspect of

recollection

and

awareness

sense organs variously flicker

object.

the

in the

These are the Nirmanakayas. 3l

Eacbof the seven recognitions is intended to provide

an

insight

into

the

nature

Perfection tradition sees it.

of

reality

as

the Great

Upon gaining any or all of

these recognitions the follower is expected to have realized

the definitive. meaning of the Buddha's teaching.
30 PBD, p.116.
31 PBD, p.ll?

In the

171

discussion

of

Buddhist path
and result.

the

nine

vehicles .we

result.

seen that

each

is divided into view,. meditation, practice,

Upon gaining recognition. one has truly entered

the vehicle of the Great. Perfection.

discussed

have

in terms of its view,

The following chapter,

study of the PBD,

This vehicle is also

meditation,

practice,

and

the last in this thematic

will devoted to an exposition of these

aspec.ts of the Atiyoga.

CHAPTER 9
The Great Perfection

In

the

previous

fundamental .concepts

chapters

that

have

presented.

the' PBD is built upon.

the

In the

chapter on the nine vehicles I have shown the PBD's views on

the different Buddhist paths.
I

In the chapter on recognition.

have shown the PBD'sanalysis on- the true entrance into

the

highest

vehicle,

the

sudden

penetration. of

real i ty.

This highest vehicle, the ninth, is . the Atiyoga, also known

as

the Great Perfection.

The PBD is quite clear in its

statements> that recognition constitutes

Nonetheless,

large

and

important

the highest view.

part

of

the

PBD

is

devoted to a discussion of the view, meditation,. practice,

and results of the Great Perfection vehicle.
The Great Perfection vehicle is held by the PBD to be
the highest Buddhist path.
the

An elucidation of this path is

fundamental purpose of the PBD.

For this reason the

present. chapter is devoted to a prese.ntation ,ofthe view,

173

meditation,
according
previous
framework

practice,
to

the

The

PBD.

chapters
in

and results of the Great Perfection

of

this
the

which

information. provided in
thesis

PBDls

will

views

now serve

an

Atiyoga

as

the
a

can be

properly understood.
Concerning the relationship between recognition and the
view the PBO states the following:
At the occasion of recognition of the view
there is clarity.
intuition
why,

Upon recognition, realized

immediately arises.

it

is

the

penetration.

If you ask

teaching

Therefore

of

sudden

recognitio.n

is

extremely dear. l
Why is the view

50

important?

The PBO explains this as

follows:
Concerning the

teaching on the . necessary

purpose of the view:

The view is like an

eye; everything is clear.

for

persons

who

do

obtain Buddhahood.
impossible

to

ignorance.

If

not

It is impossible
have

the

view

to

Without the view it is

remove

the

darkness

one

practises

of

meditation

wi thout the view it will be to no purpose.

Engaging

1 PBD, p.135.

in

practice

without

the

view

is

174

devoid of a reason for practice.

view

it

is

impossible

the abode of samsara.

impossible

to

be

Withoutthe

to be liberated from
Without the view it is

liberated

from sUffering.,

Without the view it is impossible to obtain

the great bl iss.

There fore the requirement

of the view is extremely great. 2

Just what,

then,

is the view?

The PBD I S presentation

of the definition of the view is a follows:

The definition of the view is self-aware
wisdom (rang-rig.,-ye-shes).
said

because

it

"Self"

(tsn9,)

is

need not rely on another.

"Aware"(t.J.g,) is said because it is different

from

material

things..

Its

time is called

"primordial"(m) as it does not come forth

adventitiously.

This itself is the knowledge

of the meaning and the recognition. 3

This .statement is elucidated by the following remark:

By

lucid

intuition

of

the

apparent

reality of the phenomenal dimension and the

self-arising, self-aware Dharmakaya there is
the

view.

this

itself

is

suddenly

recognized there will arise in this or.dinary

2 PBD, p.130.
3 PBD, p.128

175

knowledge

(shes-pa)

startlement,

lucidity,

purity, thrill, distinctness, and holiness. 4

To condense several passages relating to the view it
may be said that awareness i tsel f is empty, in that, it can
be in no way defined, and clear, in that perception is its
quality.

The empty aspect of awareness and the clear aspect

are non-dual, in that the emptiness is i tsel f clear and the

clarity is
clarity,
The

itself empty.

. These three aspects, emptiness,

and non..,..duality,

manifest

force

of

can be conceived of separately.

this

awareness

is

action.

This

explanation represents the discussion of the five wisdoms,

and

the

five

wisdoms

-- which are manifestations of the

self-aware wisdom --are the essence of the view.

The five wisdoms are also the three kayas.

The empty,

clear, and non-dual aspects of awareness are the Dharmakaya.

The

distinction

Sambhogakaya.

of
The

these

qualities

manifes,t

force

of

awareness

is

the

of

awareness

is

the

.',Nirmanakaya .

Upon recognition that awareness is the .Dharmakaya there

is instant intuition of the five wisdoms and three }ka'yas.
This in,tuition is exactly the view.
This

intuition

of

abandonment of grasping,

the

view

also

amounts

the

for the view is intuited directly

and not in the manner of grasping or searching.

4 PBD, p.124.

to

With this

176

abandonment of grasping comes the disappearance of subjectobject duality and the five poisons.

This is expressed in

the PBD as follows:

When

there

externally

is

no

appear ing

longing

object

self-arislngawareness
called
The

"the

is

of

and

the

clear,

Dharmakaya of

meaning

for

the
inner

this

is

self-awareness."

everything

is.

known

by

possessing the bliss of not conceptualizing

the

empty and

the

clear,

subsequent grasping.

and

This

there

is

is no

called

"the

.Dharmakaya of awareness. ,,5

It is possible that the view be misunderstood.

Such a

misunderstand is called a "ground for error" (gol-sa) in the

PBD.

The PBD presents the ways that such misunderstandings

are eliminated by the view as follows:

The

ground

for

error

of

[a

belief

in}

cause and condition is cut off because [ the

view] is self-arising.

The ground fer error

of it being an entity is cut off because it

exists in the empty.

The ground for error of

it being empty is cut off because it exists

as clarity.
abiding

5 PBD, p.129.

The grou.nd for error of peaceful

( zhi -gnas )

is

cut

off

because,

177

awareness
error

is

The

penetrating.

of awareness

ground

for

being alone

is cut off

because clarity arises as light.

The ground

for error of the stage of generation is cut

off

because

[the

view)

abides

uncontr ived and uncontaminated.

as

the

The ground

for error of meditation is cut off because it

is clear, without joining or separation.

The

ground for error of hoping for some th i,ng else

is cut off because it is exactly itself.
ground

for

error

directions

is

cut

without direction.
the vehicles

card inal and secondary

off

because

it

arises

The ground for error of

is cut off because

root of everything.

The

it is the

The ground for error of

study and thinking is cut off because it is

intui"ted by the mere teaching.
are

Other errors

impGssibl.e because one knows one r sown

true essence. 6
These statements indicate that any hypo.stapization or
objectification of the view results in a misconception.
may be

thought,

given up.

then,

that these

faults must be actively

This would also be amistake, however, for i:tis

recognition itself -- and not any overt act -- that removes

6 PBD. pp.130-131.

178

misconceptions about the view.

The PBD states:

The purification of faults

is that they

are not purposefully abandoned.

Faults are

purified

their

by

the

intuition

of

own-

essence, just as darkness does not abide when

the sun rises, for example. 7
It ma,y also be thought that an individual who intuits
the view,
samsara.

and hence obtains Buddhahood, also departs from

The PBD does -not negate this possibility, but

offers another.insight into the situation:

An individual who knows and intuits these
things may exist in the abode of samsara but
the result,
[For

him]

the three kayas,

there

is

no

changing

meaninCj of the five wisdoms.

actual

is

perfected.
from

the

There is the

arising of the meaning of the self-

ar ising awareness.

By having not the least

bit of anguish one

is like a

great garuda

soaring in the sky.S

The ultimate. misconception, of the view, however, is not
in the

realm of

overt grasping.

It

is

the conceptual

holding of such concepts as Dharmakaya, clarity, emptiness,

etc. to refer to real things.

7 PBD, p.131.
8 PBD,;: p.137.

The summation of the view is

179

that it is totally beyond even, such concepts as Buddbahood.

ThePBD makes t-his very clear:
The essential Dharmakaya of awareness,. or
what is called "self-arising wisdom" is, from
the essence of self-awareness, the Dharmakaya
withoutsamsara and without n,!rvana; without
the

Base,

result;

without

the

without

path,

without

vehicles

and.

the

without

incUvlduals; wi thou t any Dharma or non -Dharma

whatever;

without

the

cause

and result

of

samsara; without any cause, which is taught

to be the two ignorances
the

four

result

and such things as

condi tlons, .whatever;

which

ignorance,.

is

without the.

attraction,

pride,

and

aversion,

jealousy;

without

defilements such as the five poisons; without

the six classes of samsara's sentient beings;
also without the five external elements, i.e.
without
and

earth,

wind;

even

designation.
world:]

or

Whatever.

without
the

pure

without fire
sky

is

mere

Thus there is no vessel {of the

contents
Samsara

through delusion.
nirvana.

water,

Buddha

[of
is

sentient
merely

beings.]

designated

There is nosamsara and no

through realiza.t.ion,

is designated
but in the essence of

180

meaning, the Dharmakaya, there is no removing

(sangs) and no increa-sing (rayas).

no- defeat

no possessing. <l.9M),

transcendence

(' das) ,

accomplishment,

Thus
There

(de-bzhin),
is

no

no

[and hence no Blessed

One (bcgm-ldan,...'das)].
no

There is

There is no purity,

no

being.

There

is no

no-

Gone

One

(asheas-pa).

Arahat

who

has

removed

the

defilements.
There is no abandoning to be abandoned, or
attaining to be attained.

There is not even

an atom of the name that is called "Buddha."

There

is

not

vehicles.

the

path

he

preaches or

the

There are no nine. vehicles, cause

and resul t, outer and

inner.

There

is no

path of means and. path of liberation.

There

[enlightenment],

nor

is

no

gradual

instantaneous

[enl ightenmentl.

There is no

medi tatton and non-meditation,

non-practice.

There

is

no

absorption,

meditative

practice and
go.d,

mandala,
i.

expansion

or

contraction.
There

is

appearance,
permanence,

no

existence,

empty,
cessation,

non,...existence,

single,
like,

plural,

dislike,

fame,

infamy, finding, not finding, . accomplishment,

181

non,.,.accomplishment,
expanding,

removing"

non,.-removing,

action, non-action,

and so on whatever. 9
These

statements

show

that

the

view

of

the

Great

Perfection is ultimately beyond even the three kayas,

five wisdoms,

and the nine vehicles.

In the highest view

there is not even a Buddha or Buddhahood.

the absence of the

the

There is also not

the wisdoms, etc.

The view of the

Atiyoga is totally beyond any defined reality whatever.

As

thePBD states:
Sim.iles,

characteristics,

recognition,
result"

view,

meditation,

delusion,

skillfulness,

are

practice,

intui tion,
mere

infer ior minds as a

conventions,

designations

and
for

suitable condition for

the path. lO
Thus the PBO, which set out from the beginning to, speak
of 'the unspeakable,
the highest view.
was

merely

to

now reasserts the inconceivability of

The information provided up to this point

accommodate

inferior

intellects,

while

the

intuition of the view of the Atiyoga is beyond even these

lofty subjects.
If, the view of the Atiyoga, is completely unspeakable,

9 PBD, pp.14S-146.

lOpBO, p.14S.

182

what can be said of the meditation of Atiyoga?

The PBD

presents the situation clearly:

The non-dual great bliss that I
'Chang]

[rDo-rje

teach is completely pure of all the

conventions of content and lack of content in

meditation.

For

knowledge who

intui ts the meaning of sel f-

awareness

one

there

is

separation .' from

bliss . . .

possessing

no

profound

joining

to

or

the state of non-dual great

This is taught for the purpose

of those with very sharp senses.

For those

individuals

knowledge

of

middling

profound

non-meditation is taught as meditation.

yogis whose
small

For

force of profound knowledge

non-meditation

is

taught

to

be

is

non-

Buddhahood. 11
This
teaching
meditation

passage

shows

meditation.
or

that
For

taught

to

the
as

nature of self-awareness.
is

there

be

the

are

three

superior
they

have

levels

there.

of

is

no

intuited

the

For the middling not meditating

true

meditation.

For

the

inferior

meditation is ,taught to be essential.

Therefore

the

PBD

does

not

concern

itself

with

providing teachings fo.rsuperior and middling. individuals.

11 PBD, p.148.

183

It is for the inferior that the PBD speaks of meditation at

all.

This teaching. intends to demonstrate that there is no

entering

or

leaving

the

state

Dharmakaya of self-awareness.

of

pure

Meditation,

reality,

the

in the view of

the PBD, is awareness of the all-encompassing, state of pure

being.

Thus

the

meditatio.n

of

the

understanding of the view of Atiyoga.

Atiyoga

is

the

The following passage

applies this view of med.itation to the activities of daily

life:
One

sits,

wavering

but

from

one

the

sits
state

appearance of reality.

simply
of

wi thout

the

One moves,

selfbut one

moves simply astbe unhindered self-nature of

the self.,..luminescence of wisdom,

just as a

butter lamp and the sun go along wi th the ir

sel f-appearance.

One

sleeps,

but

one

is

joined to the force of the Base through the

space of the unwavering state of reality, the
state

of

dissolves

penetrating
into

the

awareness,

natural

Base.

and

one
A.fter

defining marks are liberated into their own

place

tbeybecome

meaning.

the great joining to the

One gets up, but one gets up in the

unwavering state.

Awareness is self-arising.,

184

and is clear as the naturally unhindered. l2

The PBD is clear in stating that there is no joining to
or

separation

from

reality,

yet

in

one

constantly within the state of reality.

sense

one

is

This is exemplified

as follows:
No matter where a bird fl ies there is no
that

transcends

the sky.

No matter

where a fish swims it does not transcend the

water.

No> matter where a man goes he does

not transcend the. earth.

endowed who possess

Just so, the well-

intuition do not waver

from the state of reality. 13

The inferior, nonetheless, require some idea of what to
do in meditation.

The comments on this in the PBD vary, but

the following is an excellent example:

Son

of

Noble

meditated
There

is

Family,

pure

the

thing

perfected

to

be

Buddhahood.

is nothing other than the meaning of

this.

Self-awareness

Dharmakaya.
Awareness,

is

exactly

the

All arisings are self-a,rising.

the

Dharmakaya,

arises

as

the

empty,

the unhindered, the inseparability of

these

two,

12 PBD, p.150.
13 PBD, p.150.

the

unhindered

discriminative

185

awareness

which

knows

this,

and

the

unobstructedness of that, in short, the five

characteristics.

These five ar ise

as.

the.

fivewisdoms. 14
This explanation of meditation is in harmony with the
PBO's contention that the Atiyoga is beyond all deeds and
searching.

Nonetheless,.

the PBO does offeranexplanation

of meditation for the inferior.

This meditation is divided

into outer, inner, and secret.

It ma.yappearthat thePBO

is proposing a

type of deed for the spiritual path, which

would in turn mean that the practitioner is searching some

unattained goal.

This would be a misconce.ption, for it is

the PBD's contention . that the goal is not something to be

attained,

but

rather

immediate

present.

something
The

to

be

following

recognized
passage

in

makes

clear:
The

application

of

meditation

Ohar.makaya of sel f-awareness.

by the seven, recognitions.
disposition

as

is

the

confidence,.

It is intuited

and
it

if

this

is applied

If it is realized that awareness

Oharmakaya

the

spontaneously realized.

14 PBD, p.151.

the

It will enter the

meaning is continually clear

meditation.

is

three

kayas,

are

The five wisdoms are

the
this

186

also spontaneously realized. 15

What
secret,

are

the

then?

meditations

These

of

the

outer,

inner,

and

teachings are given. at the level of

content in-meditation, ra.ther than contentless med,ita.tion;

though in the . highest medita.tio.n.there is neither. content
nor lack of it.
The

outer

[meditation)

bod,y, speech, and mind

is relaxation of
It

is remaining in.

the state of giving up deeds. 16

This statement is very clear .
abandoning

straining

hence the view.

attitude

towards

meditation,

and

The inner meditation is more complicated.

It involves the nerve channels

The outer meditation is

winds (rlung), and

which are part of thetantric physiology- of a human'

being.

The passages -describing this meditation are obscure,

as are the passages relating the secret meditation.

It is

likely that these are techniques intended to be learned from

a guru who holds the transmission for this teaching.
native

expert

not

being

available,

have

Such a

attempted to

portray these techniques based only on the text of the PBD

15 PBD, p.157.
16 PBD, p.153.
17

is a technical term that is very hard to

On one level it refers to the semen. On another
level it represents the unified state of reality.
No
adequate translation is therefore available, for which
reason I have used the 'Tibetan term itself.

T!!9-le

187

itself.
The
doors

inner
of

[meditation]

the

winds

is

closing

the

in the nerve channels.

From the Thigle of the self-arising dimension

there is first the attraction for the world
of the body.

From this both upper and lower

nerve channels arise.

From thejoinlng of

the two [kinds of] nerve channels the knot of

the

nerve

channels

navel.

From

(rtsa-mdud)

this

the

becomes the

secondary

nerve

channels generate the splendor of the body.

From this the gathered entrails are expanded
in

the

heart.

From this

innards.

From

conceptualizations

there comes

these

ar ise.

the

discursive

From

these

the

nerve channels are conceptualized.

Whatever

appears

Uncreated .discursive
nakedly seen.

is

sel f-appearing.

conceptualizations

are

The conceptualization is not

enjoined, so the force of awareness does not

flicker

from

this.

The

profound

knowledge which intuits the presence of wind

is completely spread out.
skillful

means"

so

. abides in its own place.

utteringl

It is grasped by

non-conceptualization
On the occasion [of

and "Phat" the dead winds are

188

blownou t. 18
As I
is

have noted above, this passage is obscure.

required

is

not only a

What

thorough understanding of the

tantric physiology but instruction in the technique being

explained.

This

information

must await

the

release

of

further information in this area .

secret

The

meditation

called three methods.

throne,
the

2)

is

presented

These are:

under

These

do

not

are

The king. sits on the

1)

The minister is held in prison, and

public.

what

represent

3)

three

SUbduing
separate

techniques, but are rather combined into a single meditative

process.
the

The ins.tructions found on the secret meditation in

PBO are

cryptic,

nonetheless I

will present the key

passages so that the reader may gain some insight into this
technique.

rOo-rje

'Ozin-pa,

take

it well!

The

king is pure self-awareness, the Oharmak'iya.

The throne is this appearance as an object of
the naturally pure sky .

This is the Thigl.e

of the l.phenomena 1 ] dimension I s appearance as

an object.
from a self.
the

The meaning of just this is free

The totally pure dimension is

dwell ing-throne

awareness.
18 PBD, pp.153-154.

Now

the

for

the

wisdom

lamp of Bodhicitta is

189

joined to the pure and clear self-nature of

water.
Furthermore,

[ the

Dharmakaya.]

abides

by

its existential mode and is diffused by its

modeo.f appearing.
of

peregrine

It is just as the abode

falcon

abides

in

rock

mountain and all the [young falcons 1 stay at

the

door,

for

example.

Just

as

in. this

simile the wisdom of awareness abides in the

precious citta (mind).

Its true essence is

actually clear in the conception. . . .

Dwelling on the throne, the appearance of
wisdom, is the unhindered self-clarity of the
Thigle of great wisdom.
wisdom abides

in awareness,

clear in awareness.
real ized

The vital essence of

Tbigle

in

the

wisdom

is

Thus the . spontaneously

defeats

defining marks and

discursive conceptualization.
abides

and

unchanging,

In this way it
and

other

than

self-appearance there is no other-appearance.

The

king

abiding

on the

throne

is

that

awareness is primordially pure in the state

of the unchanging,

unreified dimension, and

is placed in the unwavering state from that

(dimens ion). . . .

190

Defining

marks

do

not

abide

[in

this

statel, so the eye looks at the center of the

sky.

The

door of the winds

in the nerve

channels is closed.
The

meditative

absorption

of

the

Bodhisattva abides in-between the Buddha and

sentient beings.
atmosphere.

Thus - the eye looks at the

The

contracted.

throat

is

slightly

The neck is placed on top of the

shoulder.

The three nerve channels squeeze

the-passage way of the winds.

The mental absorption and mind holding of
gods and men is for the most part a defined
mark.

The eye looks at the earth.

As

for this, the throat is sl ightly bent and the

neck must nearly touch the chest.
The minister is the mind
not arise above awareness,
force,

thus

it does

conceptualization.

It

conceptualization.
held

in

prison

not

It
and

above
go

is
is

has

It does

together
clear

like
no

enactor of what must be done,

It

i-s not

breath.

free

the wind-

from the body,

in

with
non-

minister

counselor

or

for example.
so there is

Awareness has a horse, so it is like

a minister.

l,t is li.kebeing held in prison,.

191

for it has reason for conceptual ization but

cannot move.
The five sense organs. are like subjects.
They are creators of karma.

At this

they do not conceptual ize clar ity,.

time

This is

like subduing the subjects. 19

These are
meditation.
is clear.

the PBDt s

statements regarding the secret

The difficulty in interpreting these passages

It will be observed that thePBD walks a very

fine line between recommending actual practices which will

further the disciple in his or her meditation and refraining
from

recommending

path.

any

deeds or searching as part of the

The meditation of the king sitting, on the

throne

basically represents the conjunction of the Dharmakaya with

the

phenomenal

dimension,

bringing

together

the

apparent

subject and object into a unity.

Holding the minister in

prison

allowing

seems

concep,tualize.

to

refer

Subdui-ng

to
the

not

public

seems

the

mind

to

to

refer

to

ignoring the data of the sense facul-ties duringmedi tation.

This

analysis

understanding

is
of

at

present

these

speculation,

meditative

and

techniques

final

must

await

further infor-mation.
The

meditation

fundamentally

of

the

Great

Perfection,

the recognition of the view

19 PBD,pp.155-157.

then,

is

in i tsapplied

192

aspect.

The particular techniqu.es taugh.tfor the. sake of

inferior individuals are methods of applying. the intuition

of the view to an actual meditative session.
The practice of the Great Perfection is nothing more or
less

than the continual application of the view.

beyond deeds and searching.

It is

Here follow some of the PBD's

statements of Atiyoga practice:

The practice which

is without taking up

and rejecting is without a cause for action,

thusltisthe supreme practice. 20
The practice. of self-aware wisdom is. like
a

mirror

of

precious

jewels,

for

example.

Wisdom is naturally unhindered, and the selfself-appearing

arising

acts

without

attraction or aversion. 21
The practice of the meaning of the view is
like a greatgaruda soaring in the sky.
enjoys

the

It

spont,aneous perfection free from

deeds. 22
The

statements

deeds or searching,

that

the practice

is

totally without

attraction or aversion, may lead the

reader to believe that any behavior is appropriate to the

20 PBD, p.162.
21 PBD, p.162"
22 PBD, p.162.

193

Great

Perfection.

The

PBO

speaks

out

against

this

perception in the following phrase:

The practice which is without recollection
(drap...pa) must not be contrived as the way of
yoga.

It acts

like a

mad elephant.

Yoga

acts in what is bliss, without desire for a

single

thing,

just

as

bee

relishes

flower. 23
As in the section on Atiyoga meditation, there exists
the tension in thePBO between speaking of no practice ...- as
the Atiyoga is beyond deeds and searching -- and actually
recommending something to do.

The PBO divides practice into

two levels, that for the superior and tha-tforthe middling.

and infer ior

Concerning the super ior the PBO states the

following:
The

practice

individual
view.

This

senses.
is

is

as

applied

to

an

intuition through the. highest

is

for

the

those

perfection of
at

one

view,

time.

sought from another,

23 PBD-, p.163.

is

with very sharp

Not being separated from- this state

practice

the

it

instantaneous

meditation

The -result

and

is not

so at that very mome.nt

enl ightenment

is

194

perfected. 24
With regard to middling and inferior individuals the
PBD prescribes what it calls the practice. of the four times
and the practice of the three times.
these

practices

is

cryptic,

The information on

and undoabtedlyreqaires the

explanation of a qualified native expert.

will

present

practices,

the

with

important

hopes. that

passages
the

For the present I

relating

insights

to

these

provided may be

supplemented by the future uncovering of more information.

The

four

times

are

the

past,

present,.

pri-rnordially pure time (ka-dag-Pa' i-dus).

future,

and

The PBO does not,

however, present the practice of the four times in terms of

this

division"

but

focuses on practice as

sleeping and waking up.

it relates

The text reads as follows:

Concerning the practice of the four times,

at the time of sl.eep the five forces [of the
senses]

are

condensed

into the Base.

The

five senses, the force of theBase,tbe clear

aspect of the Base,
external

object

which

senses is cut off.

of

relies

on

object

generates

poisons.

These,

at

time

sleep

gathered

are

so the

the

five

The dualistic appearance

and

24 PBD, p.163.

subject

are unhindered,

the
upo.n

the

the

five

of going to
Base's

clear

to

195

aspect.

Ordinary ignorance goes to sleep . .

If the recollection and conceptu'alization,

of a dream come forth or the recollection and
conceptualization of awaking come

forth at

the time the dream is purified or awakened,.

grasping to the recollection of the meaning
is

self-liberated.

according

to

the

instructions of sel f-clear awareness.

Thus

self-appearing appearance in its own place is

1 iberated

grasping;

and

if appe.arances are

spread forth by skillfulness the dream is cut

off.
The practice which 1 iberates grasping is
self-clear, like a butter lamp..
of

getting

dispersed.

up

the

Even

At the time

five objects are widely

though the

[ sense 1 obj ect appear

five

kinds of

. they are taught

to be called "their own selves" (rang-rang).

They are caused to be cut off, so the force
of

flickering

wind

is

the

object

and

appearance s force of form.

If conceptual.izations are bornthemeaning'
is recollected and non-grasping is born, thus
grasping is liberated.
Conceptualizations

are

not

put into the

196

object

of

there

is

grasping

and

When

liberation.
in

skillfulness

taking

up

the

practice conceptualizations decrease.

Self-awareness,
clear

without

the Dharmakaya,

chang1ng

in

the

is self-

four

time,s.

For example the essential nature of the sun

is not separated from clarity and exists in
accompaniment

with

it.

The

Dharmaki'ya of

awareness is like this. 25

It

is

not

entirely

clear

just

practice of the four times represents.

three

times

is

somewhat

less

obscure.

what

practice

this

The practice of the

Traditionally

the

three times are said to be the past, present, and future .

In this

practice

different.

of

the

three

times,

however,

they, are

The description of the practice of the three

times follows:
For

the

sake

of

sui table

receptacles

practice

of

this way:

the

individuals
for

three

the

times

who

are

teaching,

the

is enacted in

In the three times the Dharmakaya

of self-awareness is like the sun which is

not separated from cIaI' i ty.

Sel f-awareness

is not separated from clarity, but the power

of .non-recognition and evil tendencies brings

25 PBD, pp.164-165.

197

fortb obscuration to tbe cIaI.' ity .

Therefore

the practice of the three times is dear.

[The

three

sel f-clear

times are:]

1) The time when

sel f-awareness

composed,

2)

The

time

agitation

fromtbis,

is

equanimously

which
and

follows

3)

The

upon

time

of

discursive conceptualization at the rising up

of the

five

poisons.

separate

from

explained

to

the
be

These

three are not

Dharmakaya.

the

final

This

is

settlement

of

practice.
At
this

the

time

agitation.comes

equanimously

composed

clarity of the Dharmakaya,

forth

state

from

in

the

thatwbich comes

forth as the object is the appearance of (the

Dharmakayafs] force.

Conceptualizationwhicb

creates

grasping. is

Dharmakaya

of

recollecting.

so

self-awareness

is

self-

Thus conceptualizations which

grasp at a self are emptied out.

Tberefore

conceptual ization which creates grasping

liberated

to

the

its

own

place

in

is

the, self-

appearance of appearance. 26
This practice of the three times, then, appears to be a

26 PBD, p.166.

198

technique for identifying every moment of perception as the

Dharmakaya

itself.

When

the

intuited to be. the manifest

objects

of

the

senses

are

force of the Dharmakaya,.

the

phenomenal dimension, all grasping towards them, disappears

naturally.

In this way the practice

abandonment

of

the

defilements,

is not a

but rather a

conscious

recognition

that the objects of defiled consciousness are pure in their

own na ture.

Thus it is apparent

tha t the PBD doe s bel ieve

practice without deeds and searching is not only possible

but mandatory.
The result of the Atiyoga is nothing more or less than
the direct intuition of real i ty ,the five wisdoms and the
three

kayas.

explanation

The
of

the

PBD

does

resul t

of

not

present

an

extensive

the

Great Perfection.

concise passage sums up the result of the Atiyoga:

The teaching on the way of being [of the
resul t 1

is

that

real i ty

interior or exterior.

is

clear

without

Awareness is pervasive

wi thout interior or exter ior.

The non-dual

Oharmakaya

body

is

Self-clarity

the

abides

adamantine
in

the

state

wisdom

of

noo-

is

the

grasping.

Self-aware

Sambhogakaya..

The true nature. of the object

is the five vessels of the eye of wisdom.

In

appearance they are like the rainbow colors

of the

insubstantial

sky.

Inside of these

199

the five Nlrmanakayas are clear.

There is no

conceptualization

of

the

clarity,

butter lamp which is inside a pot.

like

The three

kayas abide in inner clarity without joining

or separation. 27
The result of the Atiyoga is the intuition of the three
kay-as,

and

view,

meditation,

Perfection

thus

all

is Buddhahood
practice,

amount

to

and

Dharmakaya

indivis ibill ty ,

is

result in totality.

and

27 PBD, p .. 179 .

result

finally

of

the

true

the

Great

being

and

This state of true being,

phenomenal

dime,nslon

the Base,

the

path,

in

their

and

the

This is Buddhahood itself, primordial,

present, and all-encompassing.

Great Perfection.

In actuality,

recognition of

continuing in this recognition.

the

i tsel f.

This is the summation of the

CHAPTER 10
Conclusion

This thesis has been devoted to a study of the history

and content of the Tantra- gL Great Unreified Clear Meaning
(PBO).

The PBO claims a very ancient history, asserting its

origi.ns to be with the famed founder of the Great Perfection

tradition dGa-rab rOo-rie who is thought to have lived in
the first century C. E.

The PBO is a "treasure" (gter-ma)

text, which is believed to have been hidden, in Tibet by the

teacher

Padmasa,mbhava

during

the eighth century C. E.. and

discovered by Guru Chos-kyidBang,..,.,phyug.in the thirteenth

century.

Guru Chos-dbang taught this text in the year 1257,

and it was

WI' i

tten down by one of his disciples.

The PBO

came to be included in the great collection of Tantrictexts

known as

the

today.

Hundred

rGyud""" bum>,
As

such,

Thousand
and

is

Tantras
found

g.i.

in

.t.htiL rNying-ma

this

collection

the PBO represents the teachings of the

rNying-ma.. school of Tibetan Buddhism in general, and their

201

thirteenth.centurymanifestation in particular.
The essence of the

teaching of the PBD

is that all

living beings have a pure awareness (rig-paJ which is non.".

conceptual,
mind

uncontrived,

and

the

fundamental state of the

This awareness is the fundamental ground on

which both the deluded experience of samsara and the pure

experience of nirvana are based.

In this sense awareness is

referred to as the Base, as it is thebasisof both samsara

When this awareness is.falsely intuited based

and nirvana.

on the primary ignorance of subject-object duality and the

,emotional defilements which arise from this duality there is
the experience of samsara.

When this awareness is directly

intuited it is Buddhahood itself.

The fundamental ground of awareness is referred to as '.
the

Base

abiding

wisdom, and

from

this

wisdom all

..manifestations of wisdom are thought to come forth.

speaks

of

five

wisdoms,

in

particular,

which

other

The paD
represent

awareness in its empty, clear, non-dual, and differentiated

aspects as well as its manifest force.

As this awareness is

nothing less that Buddhahood, the PBD also identifies

awareness

with

Dharmakaya.
also

the

highest

principle

of

Buddhahood,

pure
the

This awareness in its manifest form as wisdom

appears

as

the

manifest

forms

of

Buddha,

the

Sambhogakayaand Nirmanakaya .

In keeping with the doctrines of the rNying-maschool

the

PBD

speaks

of nine vehicles,

or

levels of spiritual

202

pursuit.

The

first

eight

of

these

are

rejected

as

representing only the interpretable mean,ing (drang-donl of

the Buddha's teaching, while the ninth, or Great Perfection,
is upheld as the definitive meaning, (nges-don) of Buddha's
teaching.

It is only on this ninth level that the teachings

of instant enlightenment are propounded.

This

instant

(ngo-sgrod)

in

enlightenment

the

PBO,

for

it

is

called

is

the

"recognition"

recognition

that

awareness itself is Buddhahood that liberates from samsara

instantly.

It

practitioner

actually

Perfection.

is

The

on

the

point

enters

Great

the

of

recognition

vehicle

Perfection

of

vehicle,

that

the
or

Great

Atiyog8,

consists in maintaining this recognition, which is in fact

the

view,

meditation,

practice

and

result

of this path.

That is to say that the view of Atiyoga is an understanding

that awareness is Buddhahood, the meditation and practice of
Atiyoga are methods of abiding in this understanding., and
the result of Atiyoga

is

the

state of Buddhahood itself,

pure awareness.
Thus

the

PBO

teaches

that

Buddhahood,

as

pure

awareness, is both the ground of all being and the result of

the spiritual path.

The purpose in explaining the path at

all is to overcome the delusion which prevents living beings

from

intuiting. the

perfect

reality

that

underlies

this

delusion.
The present study of the PBO opens the door for much

203

further research.
other

A study is needed, first of all, of any

"treasure"

determine

texts

whether

revealed

they

by

contain

Guru

Chos-dbang

similar

teachings to those found in thePBD.

or

to

identical

This study would also

do much to clarify many of the obscure points found in the

-PBD.
of

Such as study would

the

rNying-ma

century, as
PBD.
and

add to the knowledge of the state

school's

well as

Buddhology

clarify

in

the

thirteenth

the major themes found in the

The present study begins this effort in identifying.

examining

one

of

Guru

Chos-dbang' s

maj or

"treasure"

discoveries.
The PBD represents only one text in a vast store of
literature

devoted

to

the

Great

Perfection

tradition.

Almost none of this literature has been explored by Western

scholarship.
on

the

There remains a great deal of work to be done

history

and

development

Perfection tradition in general.

be

the

determination of

the

of

ideas

in

the

Great

Of special interest will

impact of

other

schools

of

Buddhism and historical events in Tibet upon this tradition.

This study depends on first developing specific information
about the Great Perfection as it appears throughout Tibetan
history.

The

present

study

is

intended

to

begin

this

investigation.
It

remains

to

be

determined

whether

the

concepts

expressed in such texts as the PBD are representations. of

pure Indian Buddhism transplanted into Tibet, whether there

204

are

original

Tibetan

developments

in

this

teaching,

and

whether Chinese influences might not also be present in this

tradition.
The relationship of Great Perfection thinking to other
schools of Buddhlst philosophy remains to be studied.

The

chapter on the nine vehicles in the present thesis begins

this study, yet there is certainly a great deal of research
to be done to clarify this relationship further.
As a treatise representing the esoteric branch of the
Buddhist tradition the teachings in the PBD might also be
compared

to

mystical

traditions

world and periods in history.

from

other

parts of the

Such a study will no doubt

require extensive knowledge of languages and history as well

as a
the

methodology that will allow honest interpretation of

differing

traditions.

and

similar

ideas

found

in

such

mystical

For the sake of scholars whose comprehension of

Tibetan is limited studies such as the present one will do

much to make the ideas of the Great Perfection available to
thinkers in comparative religious traditions.
Thus it can be seen that the present study of the PBD
represents
levels.

beginning.

to

major

investigation on many

It has been my purpose in presenting this analysis

of the PBD to begin this

investigation with an authentic

text representingtheGreat Perfection school ill general and

the "treasure" tradition in particular.

It is my hope that

the information provided in this study will not only stand

205

as a
will

starting point for my own research in this area but

also

serve as an encouragement to other scbolarsto

pursue in-depth knowledge of the Great Perfection tradition.

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Appendix A
Names of the PBD

The

one

(pp.280-283)
reasons

for

hundred
lists
these

twenty

the

PBD's

names.

second

chapter

several

names

The passage

of

the

along

PBD
with

in question is of

interest in identifying the PBD, and is included for this

purpose.

The passage in question follows:

"This Tantra g,L Great Unreified Clear Meaning ,(sPros-

m:.sl. Don-gsal Chen,.-po' i rGyud) of mine teaches the instant

enlightenment into the root of all dharmas, so it is taken
to be

The Great Tantra of Sudden Penetration of the Bs.9.i

(rTsa,...ba Car,...phgg rGyud-chen).

"It teaches the one knowledge [that brings] liberation
to all, so it is taken to be !lut Tantra

o.t

.t.WtGreat K!tY.

o.t

Further Teaching (Xang-tig IDe-mig Chen,...pg' i rGyud).

"It
i tsel f

is

the

unification into equality with Buddhahood

in the present,

so it is taken to be !lut Tantra

o.t

.t.Wt Great Unifficatign !n.t.o.Egual ity !!.ilhBuddhahggd (Sangs-

rgyas mNyamcsbyor

rGyud) ..

"It teaches without reification, the final settlement,

so

Great Tantra 2L Unreified Clear

it is taken to be

rGyud...,chen).

"It

teaches

the

recognition

which

shows

one' 5

true

nature to oneself, so it -is taken to be The Tantra g.f,

Great

Secret

Recognition

(gSang=ba'i

Ngo-sprod

Chen-po'i

rGyud) .
"It perfectly teaches the existential mode just as it
is,

so

it

is

Perfection

taken to be The Tantraof the Great Total

from

inside

the

Great

Perfection

(rDzogs-chen

. ,Na,pg,.,.nasYang-rOzogsChen.. . . po' i rGyud).

"It

teaches

. med! tattoo,
Unclefi.led

so

the
it

great

is

Primordial

undefiled. purity
to

Purity

be

The

(Dri,=med

of view and

Tantra

of

Great

Ka-dag

Chen?'""po'i

,rGyud) .
"It teaohes
qualit'ies,
Spontaneous

so

it

the spontaneous realization of faultsas.

taken

Real iza.t.ion

to

be

Great Tantra of Gr.eat

(lHun...,grub Chen-po,' irGyud....chen) .

It teaches the self.. . .a rising Wisdom arising in oneself, so it

is taken be to the The Tantra of .t.Wl Great Sel f . . . ar ising Qi.
Wisdom (Ye ....shes Rang-shar Cben-po' i rGyud).
"It clears away the gl--oom of

the darkness of ignorance

from the root, so it is taken to be The Tantra Qi.

Clearing Away of the Darkness of Ignorance
Cben...,po'i rGyud).

"

Great
Mun....sel

212

"It leaps forth from. the pit of all samsara, so it is

taken to be called The T.antra gl. the Great Leaping From the

f!.t. {Dong-sorng

i rGyud).

"It- cuts off all delusion at the root, so it is taken

to be called The
(t Khr-ul

T.antra which Cuts Delusion at

the Root

rTsad-:gcod rGyud).

"It gives liberation from the river of samsara with a

boat,

so it is taken to be called The Tantra g,!

g.f.Llberatlop (Gru-sgrol Chen-po' i rGyud).

"It

expels

the

fever

of

the obscurations

from, its

depths, so it is taken-to be called The Tantra g,! the Great

Supre.me- ppctor ( sHan-pa .ehe -,mchogrGyud) .
"It teaches
roots,

so it is taken to __ be

Defeat 2.L
"It
opening

the defeat of the

tW:a

four Karas. from the,ir

Great Tantra of

(gDud- t toms Chen-Do 'irGyud-chen) .

teache's

the

unexcelled' greaot .. meaning

through,

it up". so it is taken to be The Grea,t TaptraWhich

Opeps .. ta!LGreatForce <pTsal-chen. s,Prugs-pa t i rGyud-:ehen).

If