THE FIRST DALAI LAMA
Translated, edited, and introduced by
Glenn H. Mullin
Preface vii
Introduction 1
CHAPTER ONE: The Thirteenth Dalai Lama's A Brief Guide to the Buddhist Tantras 21
CHAPTER Two: The Seventh Dalai Lama's Instructional Poem on the Stages in Practice of the Heruka Chakrasamvara Tantra 67
CHAPTER THREE: The Second Dalai Lama's Treatise on the Six Yogas of Niguma 83
CHAPTER FOUR: The Third Dalai Lama's The Tantric Yogas of the Bodhisattva of Compassion 15
CHAPTER FIVE: The Fourteenth Dalai Lama's Concerning the Kalachakra Initiation 175
CHAPTER Six: The First Dalai Lama's Notes on the Two Yogic Stages of Glorious Kalachakra 201
CHAPTER SEVEN: The Fifth Dalai Lama's Hayagriva-Sealed-in-Secrecy Methods for Healing (as read by the Great Thirteenth) 253
CHAPTER EIGHT: The Second Dalai Lama's The Two Yogic Stages of the Vajrabhairava Tantra with a commentary by Lama Lohzang Chinpa 289
CHAPTER NINE: The Second Dalai Lama's Living on the Essence of Flowers 317
CHAPTER TEN: A Tantric Prayer by the Eighth Dalai Lama 333
Notes 341
Suggested Reading 349
VER THE PAST TWO DECADES I have published almost a dozen books with Snow Lion on the lives and works of the early Dalai Lamas. As most readers will know, the present Dalai Lama, who was born in 1935, is the fourteenth in this line of illustrious reincarnations.
When I first started this project, almost nothing was known in the West about these extraordinary men. Coverage of them had been limited to a paragraph or two, or a page or two at best, in academic books on Tibetan cultural and political history. Even though many of these incarnations had written dozens of works on Buddhist philosophy, meditation, mysticism, and other enlightenment-related topics, and had also written hundreds of songs and poems, no significant text by any of them had ever been translated into English.
With each of these books I usually incorporated a traditional biography and a selection of their most accessible writings. Usually the selection would be on diverse subjects, in an attempt to convey the range and depth of these Buddhist teachers, from mystical poems to works on philosophy and tantric practice.
Most of these titles have been out of print for over a decade now. Sidney Piburn, my editor at Snow Lion, thought that it would be useful to bring out an anthology of some of the tantric works that I had used in that series. Tantric Buddhism is becoming better known in the West these days, but there is still a paucity of authentic translations from classical sources. The great popularity achieved by the early Dalai Lamas was due in part to the clarity and power of their tantric writings, so Sid's suggestion did not seem unreasonable. This volume is the result.
On the technical side, I have tried to keep footnotes to a bare minimum so as to allow the reader to enjoy the mood of the originals, rather than create the distraction of a constant barrage of "whispered asides." Moreover, I have also presented any Sanskrit and Tibetan terms that are used in a simplified "phonetic style" for ease in reading. For example, "Khedrup" looks far more palatable to me than does "mKhas-grub," and "Lobzang" seems more accessible than "bLo- bzang." Scholars should be able to easily reconstruct the more formal spellings if they wish to do so, whereas these formal spellings are irrelevant to the general enthusiast.
With Tibetan text titles, however, a system of easy phonetics would be inadequate. Therefore here I have used the formal system of transliteration.
Most Dalai Lamas wrote extensively on Tantric Buddhism. The material chosen for this anthology is intended as a mere sampling of their contribution, with the intent to give the reader a sense of the authentic tradition.
Glenn H. Mullin Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, March 7,20o6
THE LEGACY FROM BUDDHA SHAKYAMUNI
UDDHA TRAVELED and taught widely for some forty-five years after his enlightenment, and his audiences were diverse. Even though India at the time was a highly literate society, nothing of what he said was written down during his lifetime. Instead, various individuals were entrusted with memorizing the gist of each discourse. The work of transcribing his words took place only with the passage of generations.
Tibetans believe that this reluctance on the part of the Buddha and his immediate followers to commit the enlightenment teachings to paper, and instead to preserve them as oral traditions, was a purposeful strategy gauged to maintain the maximum fluidity and living power of the enlightenment experience. It only became necessary to write things down when the darkness of the changing times threatened the very survival of the legacy. An oral tradition becomes lost to history should its holders pass away without first passing on their lineages.
This intended fluidity, and the according safeguard against the establishment of an "enlightenment dogma," is perhaps best demonstrated by a verse that the Buddha himself said shortly before his death:
Do not accept any of my words on faith, Believing them just because I said them.
Be like an analyst buying gold, who cuts, burns, And critically examines his product for authenticity. Only accept what passes the test By proving useful and beneficial in your life. This simple statement empowered future generations of Buddhist teachers to accept and reject at will anything said by Buddha himself as well by his early disciples. If something that was said by them did not pass the test of personal analysis, one could simply discard it as being limited in application to particular times, people, or situations, and therefore as only contextually valid.
1. BUDDHA'S LEGACY OF EXOTERIC AND ESOTERIC TRANSMISSIONS
In his A Brief Guide to the Buddhist Tantras (translated in Chapter One of this volume) the Thirteenth Dalai Lama quotes two verses from the writings of the incomparable Lama Tsongkhapa:
There are two Mahayana vehicles For traveling to complete buddhahood: The Prajnaparamitayana and the profound Vajrayana. Of these, the latter greatly surpasses the former. This is as well known as the sun and moon.There are many people who know this fact And pretend to carry the tradition of the sages, Yet who don't search for the nature of the profound Vajrayana. If they are wise, who is foolish? To meet with this rare and peerless legacy And yet still to ignore it: How absolutely astounding!
As readers familiar with Tibetan spiritual culture will know, Lama Tsongkhapa (1357-1419) was the root guru of the First Dalai Lama (1391-1475). These verses, therefore, are relevant to the approach to Buddhism taken by all subsequent Dalai Lamas. And because the Dalai Lamas became Central Asia's foremost incarnation lineage, ascending in 1642 to the throne of combined spiritual and temporal leadership of Tibet, it could be said that the approach outlined above by Lama Tsongkhapa is now a hallmark of all schools of Tibetan Buddhism.
The term Prajnaparamitayana literally means "Perfection of Wisdom Vehicle," and refers to the ordinary, or exoteric, path to enlightenment as taught by the Buddha. Vajrayana literally means "Diamond Vehicle," and refers to the esoteric path. The present volume brings together various works by the Dalai Lamas on the latter of these two paths.
The former of the two is sometimes also referred to as the Sutrayana, or "Way of the Public Discourses," and the latter as the Guhyamantrayana, or "Way of Secret Mantra Practice." Here the words "mantra" and "tantra" have the same meaning. Thus in a general sense these two aspects of the Buddha's transmissions can also be referred to as "the Sutra Way" and "the Tantra Way."
The Thirteenth Dalai goes on to say, "The Vajrayana is to be practiced in secrecy and is not to be revealed to the spiritually immature. Therefore it is also known as `the secret path."'
Thus the Vajrayana lineages are generally taught in secret and only to those disciples who are sufficiently mature. This means that the disciples should have a high spiritual status achieved through trainings in previous lifetimes, or else should have ripened their minds in this lifetime by means of the preliminary trainings, as discussed by the Seventh Dalai Lama in his verse work of instruction in the Heruka Chakrasamvara tantric trainings (translated in Chapter Two of this volume).
The Thirteenth Dalai Lama continues, "There is no difference between the exoteric Prajnaparamitayana and esoteric Vajrayana in terms of the buddhahood that is attained, the bodhisattva attitude used as the basic motivating factor, nor the nature of the view of emptiness that is experienced. In these respects the terms `superior' and `inferior' do not apply. Nonetheless, the Vajrayana is superior in four ways."
He then lists the four as follows:
(a) Its manner of generating the experience of emptiness is implemented by the peerless means of inducing the wisdom of semblant mind isolation which arises through working with the coarse and subtle energies of the body and causing them to enter into, abide, and dissolve within the central channel. Thus the Vajrayana method of cultivating insight into emptiness is uncontrived.(b) It has a more vast reservoir of methods, such as the meditation on a causal form that is in accord with the nature of the Rupakaya to be attained.(c) Its path is quickly accomplished without hardship. On the Prajnaparamitayana many lifetimes of intense effort are required in order to attain the state of enlightenment, whereas on the Vajrayana full enlightenment can easily be achieved within this one short life.(d) Finally, it is fashioned especially for those of sharpest capacity, who are able to make quick progress along the path. We will see later just what he means by these statements.
2. THE EXOTERIC SUTRA PATH
As said above, the Buddhist legacy can be spoken of as having two facets: the Sutra Way, which is based on Buddha's public teachings; and the Tantra Way, which is based on his secret or restricted transmissions. This twofold classification was made in India during the early days of the Buddhist experience, and was adopted wholeheartedly by the Tibetans when Buddhism became the national spiritual tradition of the Land of Snows in the mid-seventh century.
Although some Indian masters chose one as opposed to the other of these two, most masters integrated both facets within their own continuum of practice. When this was the case, the Sutra Way was seen as a preliminary to and preparation for the Tantra Way.
In the early days of Buddhism in Tibet, the Tibetans seem to have held a stronger interest in the latter, perhaps because of Tibet's shamanic and somewhat esoterically-inclined past, and the more shamanic and esoteric language of the tantras. By the mid-eleventh century, however, the Indian model of the one being used as a preparation for the other had taken deep root, and during the fourteenth century became the official approach of all Tibetan schools.
Sometimes the Sutra transmissions are divided into three categories, known as the Tripitaka, or "Three Baskets," in accordance with the three essential trainings of the spiritual path: the Vinaya Pitaka, which has self-discipline as its focus; the Sutra Pitaka, which mainly addresses meditation; and the Abhidharma Pitaka, which addresses the subject of wisdom and the philosophy of enlightenment. These three trainings are the principal means whereby the practitioner works toward the goal of nirvana, which is freedom from karma and delusion. Their subjects are the three higher trainings: discipline, meditation, and wisdom. These three are the practical essence of all the exoteric teachings. The path comprises study, contemplation, and meditation-a threefold application that is pursued systematically both in terms of a daily regime and occasional lengthy meditation retreats.
In general it can be said that the Sutra Way views the human spiritual situation as being somewhat linear. For this reason the Sutra approach as discussed above is also known in Tibetan literature as gyu gyi lam, or "the path of causes." In the Sutra approach one looks at one's shortcomings and inner weaknesses, and works on the methods for systematically eradicating them; and one looks at one's lack of enlightenment, and engages in the spiritual practices that cause the enlightenment experience to arise. In brief, one sees oneself as an unenlightened person afflicted with the inner factors of the three emotional and cognitive distortions or poisons-anger, attachment, and ignorance of the true nature of the self-and regards the spiritual practices such as meditation and so forth as being the medicines for systematically curing these afflictions, until eventually full enlightenment is attained. In the Sutra view, many lifetimes of practice are required to accomplish this state of inner perfection.
3. THE TANTRA PATH
The tantras take a radically different approach. Rather than accept the conventional appearance of both one's own imperfections and those of the world, one instead sidesteps the conventional appearances altogether, and replaces them with the practice of lhayi naljor, or "deity yoga," with the word "deity" meaning "buddha." In brief, one cultivates the vision of oneself as a deity/buddha, others as tantric deities/buddhas, and the world as a sacred mandala.
The process begins with receiving tantric initiation. The First Dalai Lama puts it as follows in his Notes on the Kalachakra yogas (translated in Chapter Six):
One should first refine the mind by means of the ordinary Sutrayana methods. In specific, cultivate a definite understanding of the pure view of emptiness. Then seek out the complete initiations that ripen the mind and permit one to enter into the extraordinary Vajrayana path. Thereafter, as intensely as one cherishes one's life, one should cherish the disciplines and commitments of the Tantric path, as elucidated at the time of initiation. And the Seventh Dalai Lama puts it like this in his poem on the practice of the Heruka Chakrasamvara Tantra (translated in Chapter Two):
Having first trained in the foundation practices, Seek out a tantric master, embodiment of Buddha Vajradhara, Lord of the Sphere Beneath None; Gain the four ripening initiations And enter into the mystic mandala.The body transforms into a great vajra-mandala, And, in the inconceivable mansion of joyful repose, The real deity-the subtle mind held between the kiss of the male and female dropsManifests as the blood-drinking Male/Female in Union.The dakas and dakinis dance a blissful dance In the mystic channels and secret drops; Mundane perception is severed from consciousness And all emanations become ultimately pure. For this reason the Tantra Way is sometimes called trebu gi lam, or "The Path of the Result" (in sharp contrast to the Sutra appellation "The Path of Causes"). Here, rather than think of oneself as needing to generate the causes of enlightenment within oneself, one identifies immediately with resultant buddhahood.
In other words, on the Tantric path one adopts an attitude and lifestyle that borrow the essence of enlightenment, and proceeds accordingly. Deity yoga is the application used in order to make this approach successful. One tells oneself, "I am a buddha, you are a Buddha, the world is playful theater, and all activity is enlightened exchange." A bit like the "I'm ok, you're ok" pop psychology of the sixties, albeit with a bit more of a yogic tradition to support it.
As the Thirteenth Dalai Lama puts it in A Brief Guide to the Buddhist Tantras:
It is a special method for protecting the mind from the subtle instincts of the three appearances, in which one meditates in the mode of the resultant stage. This means that in the Vajrayana one conceives of oneself and all others as sharing in the four pure qualities of a fully accomplished buddha: perfect body, perfect speech, perfect mind, and perfect activities. Therefore it is also called "the resultant vehicle." Another passage in this text by the Thirteenth Dalai Lama reveals another unique facet of tantric practice:
Its manner of generating the experience of emptiness is implemented by the peerless means of inducing the wisdom of semblant mind isolation which arises through working with the coarse and subtle energies of the body and causing them to enter into, abide, and dissolve within the central channel. Thus the Vajrayana method of cultivating insight into emptiness is uncontrived.
In other words, a unique aspect of the tantric tradition is that it works with the chakras, nadis, subtle bodily chemistry, and subtle energies in order to induce extraordinary states of consciousness. Meditation is then performed on the basis of these exalted dimensions of body and mind.
The Seventh Dalai Lama puts it like this in his poem in Chapter Two:
The outer consort, in nature fire, Melts the life-drops that course Through the seventy-two thousand channels, Bringing them into the central channel, Giving rise to the four ineffable joys.Outside, all sensory movement of mind and energy ceases; Inside, mundane views, ignorance, and darkness disperse. Thus, by yoga even sleep is transformed Into the nature of Dharmakaya's clear light. And also elsewhere in the same poem:
By mentally reciting the secret mantras of the vajra dharmas Of entering, resting, and dispersing energy at the heart While controlling the life-drop made of five clear essences, The knots of ignorance are easily untied.The tip of the vajra is placed firmly in the lotus And mind as the syllable HUM is brought into the central channel; One drinks and drinks the essence of nectars And goes mad with innate joy unmoving.
By thus settling the mind in the subtle vajra letter And bringing the drop to the four chakras and sensory gates, One directly sees all aesthetic objects Found throughout the three worlds. And the First Dalai Lama puts it like this in his Notes on the Two Yogic Stages of Glorious Kalachakra (translated in Chapter Six):
First the vital energies passing through the four petals of the four intermediate directions at the heart chakra-the rupel, tsangpa, lhachin, and norlegyal energies-are successively arrested, beginning with those of the southeast channel and moving around to the northwest "petal." From this one experiences the four signs: those of smoke, a mirage, flickering (like that of) fireflies, and a butterlamp. Then beginning in the east and moving around to the west, the energies flowing through the channels of the cardinal directions are arrested. These are the equally-abiding, upward-flowing, all-pervading, and lu energies. One perceives the signs that are like (the appearance in the sky of the planet) kalagni, the moon, the sun, and (the planet) rahu.One then cuts off the flow of the life-sustaining and downward-moving energies that course above and below, thus experiencing the signs of lightning and the drop.This phase of the completion stage yogas, which gives rise to the experience of these signs of controlling the ten energies in the production of the (substitute) empty body, is made possible by the foundations that were laid earlier in the generation stage yoga. This involved the meditation on the eight shaktis, who were contemplated as being in the nature of the knots in the channels at the heart and navel, together with the petals of the chakra of bliss at the navel. In the generation stage yogas (these eight become ten by counting them together with) Kalachakra and Consort, (thus symbolizing the control over all ten energies). Here Kalachakra represents the element of space, and the Consort symbolizes primordial awareness. Their sexual union is the joining of the upper and lower apertures, and the union of the two principal energies.
4. TANTRA AND MANTRA
The word "tantra" literally means "stream" or "thread." Although different tantras present slightly different epistemologies, a common threefold approach is taken from the perspectives of basis, path, and result. When this is done, "basis" refers to the primordial thread or stream of reality that is present in both mind and matter at every moment of existence. That is to say, the thread of perfect being is always present. "Path" refers to the method for attuning to that primordial thread or stream of reality; and "result" refers to the complete integration or fulfillment that is the utter harmony of the radiance of the mind (selwa) and the presence of the experiences that arise within the mind (nangwa). Put in terms of Highest Yoga Tantra, enlightenment is the complete and unobstructed flow of awareness of the dance of bliss (dewa) and infinity (tongpa).
The Tantra Way is sometimes termed the Guhyamantrayana in Sanskrit, or "Vehicle of Secret Mantras." When this is done, the word "mantra" has the same referent as "tantra," although it is given a different etymology, with man meaning "mind" and tra meaning "to protect." The idea is that the tantric method comprises a yogic technology (tra) for protecting the mind (man) from the distorting influences of ordinary appearances. This allows the practitioner to rest within the natural perfection of uncontrived being in every sit uation, rather than get twisted into knots with the conventional appearances of things.
In a more simple sense, as anyone familiar with Indian-based traditions will know, a mantra is also a formula of syllables or words that is recited as part of a particular meditation technique. Every tantric deity has his or her own mantras, and the practitioner recites and meditates upon these at length, as a means of establishing a link with the primordial stream of inner being (i.e.,"tantra"). Each tantric system has a series of strict retreats associated with it, in which hundreds of thousands or even millions of the various mantras are recited. In the tantric retreat of the female buddha Arya Tara, for example, it is most common to recite four hundred thousand of the main mantra.
This is, however, only the outer meaning of the usage of the term "mantra." In a deeper sense, "mantra" refers to a yogic process that involves bringing together the subtle bodily energies until a state of bodily silence is achieved, a silence almost identical to the stillness of bodily functions at the time of death. This gives rise to an extremely subtle state of consciousness, similar to the moment-of-death consciousness and the experience of the after-death state. This subtle mind is then blended with the primordial stream of being, or tantra in its basis aspect, giving rise to the state of enlightenment, which is tantra in its resultant meaning.
The Second Dalai Lama writes in his The Two Yogic Stages of the Vajrabhairava Tantra (translated and with a commentary in Chapter Eight):
May I untie the knots at the heart, The knots in the central channel At the chakra called "wheel of truth By means of the supreme Mantra Yoga In conjunction with the vase-breathing And vajra-recitation techniques,
Thus experiencing the mystical intoxication Of the innate great bliss.May I engage in the sacred Samaya Yoga And the stages of the involution compression process, To unite skillfully with one of the two mudras And by absorption be led to ultimate mind isolation.May I dissolve all vital energies into the heart, Just like at the time of death the energies Dissolve into clear light. And may I perfect the absorption of illusory manifestation Of a form having the net of signs of perfection.Then by the Yoga of Pure Wisdom May that radiant form, immaterial as a rainbow, Be dissolved like a cloud into space, so that The actual clear light (which is) reality may be known And the seeds of grasping For true existence be extracted. 5. TANTRA AND MANDALA
As the Thirteenth Dalai Lama explains in A Brief Guide to the Buddhist Tantras, the Buddhist tantras are arranged into four categories. Each of these four categories has numerous tantric systems. Moreover, every tantric system has its own Mulatantra, or root tantric text, as well as subsequent and supplementary tantras, and commentaries by later masters. Each also has its manuals for daily practice and recitation, as well as retreat manuals, manuals for various "activities" (such as fire rites, etc.), and manuals for ritual application (such as healing, prosperity, etc.).
Moreover, each tantric system has its own lineage of transmission, descending through the generations through lines of masters who practiced, accomplished, and then transmitted it. In brief, every system represents a complete yogic path, and contains complete methodology for the attainment of enlightenment in one lifetime.
Every tantric system also has its own mandala. These are said to be of two aspects: supported, which refers to the mandala deity (or deities, when the mandala is more complex); and supporting, i.e., the cosmogram or residence that supports the deities. The former is the real nature of living beings, which refers to self and others, whereas the latter is the real nature of the environment or outer world in which self and others live.
Usually a tantric system is known by the name of the central deity of its supporting mandala.
6. TANTRA AND THE DOCTRINE OF THE THREE KAYAS
A doctrine central to both the Mahayana sutras and tantras is that of the three kayas: Dharmakaya, Sambhogakaya, and Nirmanakaya. This important idea discusses the mystery of what happens to a person's santana, or "stream of being," after he or she attains enlightenment. This aspect of the Buddha's teachings also ...
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