Perfect Freedom:
The Great Value of Being Human
Lama Zopa Rinpoche
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Chapter Six: Why We Need to Practice Tantra
First of all we need to practice tantra for the sake of
other sentient beings; this is the purpose of practicing
tantra. We need to plant the seed of the four kayas (svabhavikakaya,
dharmakaya, sambhogakaya and nirmanakaya) in our mind in
order to accomplish extensive works for sentient beings,
freeing them from all suffering and leading them to the sublime
happiness of enlightenment. Receiving the four Highest Yoga
Tantra initiations - vase, secret, wisdom and word initiations
- plants the seed of the four kayas and permits us to meditate
on and train our mind in the Highest Yoga Tantra path. By
giving the four perfect Highest Yoga Tantra initiations,
the qualified vajra guru definitely plants the seed of the
four kayas in the mind of the disciple.
Because of his compassion, a Mahayanist feels it is unbearable
that other sentient beings are in samsara, as if they are
caught in the center of a fire. He feels as if a spear has
gone into his own heart. Such a Mahayana practitioner wishes
to liberate all sentient beings from their obscurations and
lead them to enlightenment. He cannot stand the thought that
other sentient beings are obscured and in samsara; their
being in samsara even one hour, even one minute, is like
they are suffering for many aeons.
In order to quickly lead all sentient beings to enlightenment,
the only solution is for you yourself to achieve enlightenment,
the dharmakaya, in this very brief lifetime. By thinking
of what the dharmakaya is, you get an idea of the reasons
why you need to practice Highest Yoga Tantra. Dharmakaya
involves the subtle wind and subtle mind, which are the same
in essence but have different names because of their different
functions. The subtle mind of dharmakaya is completely purified
of subtle dual view, the appearance of true existence, the
obscurations to omniscience. This subtle mind abides in equipoise
meditation on emptiness forever, directly seeing the emptiness
of all existence without duality of subject and object, like
having poured water into water. At no time does this subtle
mind leave the object of emptiness.
Arhats and Arya bodhisattvas who are not practitioners of
Highest Yoga Tantra also possess wisdom directly perceiving
emptiness but it is a grosser wisdom, not the subtle mind
of dharmakaya. Even Arya bodhisattva practitioners of Highest
Yoga Tantra who have realized the clear light of meaning
directly perceive emptiness by submerging, or sinking, dual
view, not by cutting it off completely. They still have dual
view. During the time of equipoise meditation, while the
subtle mind is directly concentrated on emptiness, subtle
dual view has been submerged. They still have shedrip, the
obscurations to omniscience. Because of this, even the subtle
mind of such an Arya bodhisattva cannot meditate in equipoise
on emptiness forever, like having put water into water, without
needing to arise from that meditation. During the breaktimes
when he manifests in the illusory body, the submerged dual
view arises again and there is the appearance of true existence.
Dharmakaya is the subtle mind one-pointedly concentrating
on the emptiness of all existence by seeing it directly.
Dharmakaya is purified completely of even subtle dual view
- forever. This subtle mind sees emptiness one-pointedly
and directly all the time and is forever inseparable from
the emptiness of all existence, like having put water into
water. This is dharmakaya, and this is what has to be achieved.
In order to achieve dharmakaya, the immediate principal cause
has to be a similar subtle mind. A gross mind cannot be the
principal cause of dharmakaya; the principal cause has to
be a subtle mind. This is the whole point of why we need
to practice tantra in order to achieve enlightenment. The
transcendental wisdom of dharmakaya is completely pure subtle
mind one-pointedly concentrating on emptiness forever. It
is Buddha's holy mind.
The holy mind of dharmakaya is completely free from all stains,
even subtle dual view, but we cannot guide sentient beings
simply by abiding in dharmakaya. We need to manifest in the
rupakaya, which comprises the sambhogakaya and nirmanakaya.
(The unification of no-more learning is the unification of
the dharmakaya and rupakaya.) Because sentient beings have
different levels of mind, in order to guide each particular
sentient being, at different times we may need to manifest
in different forms: as a king, minister, beggar, virtuous
teacher, butcher, prostitute, judge.
At present, even as ordinary beings, our subtle mind is inseparable
from its vehicle, the subtle wind. They are always inseparable
and the same in essence. When the path to enlightenment is
completed, with cessation of all disturbing- thought obscurations
and obscurations to omniscience, the continuation of the
subtle mind becomes the dharmakaya and that of the subtle
wind becomes the pure illusory body. At the result time,
the holy mind and the holy body, the dharmakaya and the rupakaya,
are unified.
In order to achieve the unification of the holy mind of dharmakaya
and the holy body of rupakaya, the unification of no- more
learning, we must train our mind in its principal cause,
the unification of learning. This involves unification of
the subtle mind of clear light, which directly perceives
emptiness, and the pure illusory body, which has the thirty-two
major and eighty minor signs similar to a Buddha. To do this
we need to receive the fourth initiation, the word initiation,
which plants the seed to achieve the unification of no-more
learning and gives permission to meditate on the paths of
unification of learning and no-more learning.
In order to achieve the path of unification, we first need
to achieve separately the causes of this path, clear light
and illusory body. In order to achieve clear light, we should
receive the Highest Yoga Tantra wisdom initiation, which
plants the seed to achieve dharmakaya and permits us to meditate
on clear light. Clear light has two divisions: clear light
of example and clear light of meaning. Before achieving the
clear light of meaning, one achieves the clear light of example
and the impure illusory body. One first achieves the clear
light of example, which is a subtle mind that sees emptiness
mixed with dual view. Because of this dual view, one cannot
see emptiness directly.
After achieving the subtle mind of the
clear light of example, by continuing to develop this subtle
transcendental wisdom
realizing emptiness, one achieves the impure illusory body.
Why is this illusory body called "impure", and
the one you accomplish with the clear light of meaning "pure"?
The impure illusory body still has nyön-drip, disturbing-thought
obscurations, whereas the pure illusory body is free of these.
The clear light of meaning is the subtle mind that directly
sees emptiness by submerging subtle dual view and is the
main remedy to cut shedrip, the subtle dual view that is
the obscuration to omniscience. From the clear light of
meaning one achieves the pure illusory body and by alternately
developing
these, one achieves their unification. In order to generate
the path of the illusory body, we should receive the secret
initiation, which plants the seed of the sambhogakaya and
permits us to meditate on the illusory body.
To accomplish these paths of the illusory body and clear
light through receiving these secret and wisdom initiations,
we should train our mind in their preliminary, the graduated
path of generation. To meditate on the path of generation
we should receive the vase initiation, which plants the
seed of the nirmanakaya and permits us to train our mind
in the
generation stage. To achieve the realizations of clear
light and illusory body, we need to have the preliminary
gross
and subtle realizations of the generation stage.
Why Highest Yoga Tantra is the quickest path
Enlightenment cannot be achieved without receiving Highest
Yoga Tantra initiations and practicing tantra. This is why
at the end of the preparation for Highest Yoga Tantra initiations,
we generate happiness at having the opportunity to practice
tantra. In Paramitayana all the minds that directly realize
emptiness are gross minds. There is no subtle mind of clear
light perceiving emptiness through ceasing all the gross
minds that occur before the three visions, and even the more
subtle minds during the three visions. This subtle mind does
not exist in the Paramitayana.
When following the Paramitayana path, one has to accumulate
merit for three countless great aeons. After accumulating
this merit, when it is time to achieve enlightenment, one
takes the four actual Highest Yoga Tantra initiations and
receives the actual wisdom consort. However, by actualizing
the Highest Yoga Tantra path, one can finish accumulating
all this merit within one brief lifetime - even within a
few years. How is this possible? One general way, as His
Holiness explained, is through meditating on the four purities:
purity of body, place, enjoyments and actions. Doing the
meditations in the sadhanas, which contain the practice of
the four purities, is a skillful tantric method to complete
the accumulation of unbelievably extensive merit in a short
time. This is one explanation of how the practice of tantra
completes the works of purification and accumulation of merit
in such a short time.
However, I think the main reason is
that achievement of the impure illusory body helps one to
complete the three countless great aeons of merit. It is
this that enables one to achieve the unification of no-more
learning within this very brief lifetime, even within twelve
years, as did the previous great yogis.
The practitioner of the Highest Yoga Tantra path who has
realized the clear light of example has no worry at all that
he will be reborn in the lower realms. For such a person
there is no such thing as the lower realms. When one reaches
the higher levels of realization, dirty and clean, avoidance
and practice are the same. There is nothing to differentiate
between the hells and enlightenment, samsara and nirvana.
When you have reached these very high tantric realizations,
everything in the teachings becomes your own experience.
But if you have not reached this level and try to imitate
these experiences, saying that there is no difference between
good and bad karma, you become berserk.
When you achieve the clear light of example, there is a definite
possibility of achieving the clear light of meaning and enlightenment
in one very brief lifetime. In the clear light of example, "example" means
that for the completion stage practitioner of Highest Yoga
Tantra, the twenty-five absorptions, three visions and clear
light, which actually happen at the death-time for ordinary
people, occur exactly like this during the time of meditation.
With the subtle mind meditating on emptiness, this meditator
needs to cease the gross minds and even the more subtle minds
that occur during the white, red and dark visions.
The clear light of example, this subtle mind of transcendental
wisdom realizing emptiness, is called "the tantra mahamudra
realization of non-dual bliss and voidness." You can
see that without this realization you cannot reach the illusory
body or any other of these high attainments: clear light
of meaning, pure illusory body, unification of no-more learning.
Without the tantra mahamudra realization, there is no way
to achieve dharmakaya, no way to achieve enlightenment.
Since these gross minds have to be stopped to achieve even
the clear light of example, you can understand that there
is no way the gross consciousness can become the principal
cause of dharmakaya. The continuation of the tantra mahamudra
realization, the subtle transcendental wisdom concentrating
on emptiness, is the principal cause of dharmakaya. Dharmakaya
itself is the subtle transcendental wisdom completely purified
of even subtle dual view, which one-pointedly and inseparably
abides forever on the emptiness of all existence, like
pouring water into water. Dharmakaya is the completely
pure subtle
transcendental wisdom realizing absolute nature. When you
understand dharmakaya a little, you can understand the
subtle wind, which is the vehicle of this subtle mind.
The vehicle
of this subtle wisdom is the holy body of Buddha, completely
purified of both obscurations.
The blessings of the dakas and dakinis
During meditation, in order to experience the twenty-five
absorptions, three visions and clear light of example by
stopping the gross consciousness, the winds from all the
chakras and channels in the different parts of the body have
to enter the central channel, abide and absorb there. Different
signs accompany these processes. With absorption of the winds
into the central channel, the three visions and clear light
appear.
In order to make the subtle wind-mind function and have
control over the winds so that you can bring them into
the central
channel, your drops, chakras and winds need to be blessed
by the dakas and dakinis. The dakas and dakinis bless the
drops, chakras and winds in order to make them serviceable.
To have this happen you need to take Highest Yoga Tantra
initiation, as the other three tantras - Action, Performance
and Yoga - do not reveal the methods of the body mandala
and the very secret, profound meditations of dakas and
dakinis blessing the chakras. Only the Highest Yoga Tantra
path has
these practices.
In order to do body mandala practices, you need to take
Highest Yoga Tantra initiations, then practice the sadhanas,
training
your mind in these meditations every day. This is why
the long Vajrayogini and Tara Cittamani sadhanas, which
have
a body mandala, are so secret and precious. This is also
why Heruka practice is particularly precious, with many
meditators doing the long sadhana every day. In his tantric
teachings
Lama Tsongkapa explains the incredible importance of
this practice:
In order to experience the simultaneously-born bliss of
the completion stage, you need to concentrate one-pointedly
on the vajra body. To do this, the chakras and drops need
to be blessed by the dakas and dakinis. This is why meditation
on the body mandala is highly admired.
This is the very root. By taking initiations, doing body
mandala practices and receiving the blessing of the dakas
and dakinis, and practicing The Six Yogas of Naropa, you
can more quickly achieve the tantra mahamudra realization.
You are fortunate to have been born in this southern continent,
where there are the twenty-four holy places of Heruka,
with dakas and dakinis like the stars at night. If you
do a Highest
Yoga Tantra practice such as Heruka or Vajrayogini in this
southern continent, especially near the twenty-four holy
places in India, Nepal and Tibet, the dakas and dakinis
bless your chakras and drops so that you are able to
generate quickly
the tantra mahamudra realization of non-dual bliss and
voidness. You can then achieve the Vajradhara state either
in this
life or the next. Even if you do not complete the path
in this life, at least you can complete it in the intermediate
stage or in your next life. This is why this perfect human
rebirth is unbelievably precious. Even if you cannot complete
the tantric path in this life, you can be born in a pure
realm where you have the opportunity to practice, complete
the rest of the path and become enlightened. You have the
unbelievable opportunity to accomplish all this with this
perfect human rebirth - it is incredibly precious! Meditating on emptiness
Wherever there is existence, there is emptiness and everything
exists in dependence upon the valid mind. Another way of
saying this, which gives a different feeling, is that existence
exists from the side of the mind. This has great significance.
Things exist by depending on the valid mind of the subject.
Without depending on a valid mind, nothing can exist. There
is no way you can define an object as existing if it is not
an object of valid mind. Everything exists not only from
the side of the object, but from the side of the mind, the
subject. Samsara and nirvana, good and bad, enemy and friend:
the whole of existence exists in dependence upon the mind.
Without dependence upon the mind, there is no way anything
can exist.
Space cannot become earth. Something which is permanent cannot
become impermanent, because a permanent phenomenon does not
have its own cause. Let's say that you smash a brick into
pieces with a hammer, then into a powder and use the powder
to make a vase. As the brick does not exist any more, the
emptiness, or absolute nature, of that brick has also ceased.
While it is still a brick, the brick itself is shigpa, which
means in decay, or changing due to cause. At the end, when
the brick has been broken by the hammer, it is also shigpa.
However, the emptiness of the brick is not shigpa as it does
not change due to a principal cause, nor can it be stopped
by a condition.
When you make a vase with the powder, that vase becomes an
object of the valid mind. In dependence upon the base, that
particular shape, thought merely labels there on the base
- this is the subtle, critical point to understand. After
accumulating much merit, if a person is intelligent, fortunate
and, especially, experienced, he can understand this subtle
point without confusion. His understanding only makes him
have more faith in karma, the existence of virtue and non-virtue,
samsara and nirvana. This strong faith is an infallible sign
that a person has realization of emptiness.
At this point it is very easy to arrive at the extreme belief
that things do not exist. Thought merely labels there: "This
vase is existing." Each word has great meaning, particularly
there, or par in Tibetan. From the side of the mind, there.
When you hear the word there, the understanding that should
come in your mind is that nothing exists from its own side.
The vase does not exist from there, but on there, from the
side of the mind. It is clear that it exists by being merely
labelled there.
This book exists there; it exists by the mind merely labelling
there. When you hear this word there, you should understand
that there is a book on this base - not from the side of
the base, but from the side of the mind. This word gives
a very clear understanding that the book exists on that
base with a particular shape.
When meditating on emptiness, it is extremely important
not to miss any words, because each word can give an
incredible feeling. Each word is very clear, rich, neat,
powerful.
To
have an exact translation according to the Tibetan is
very important as each word is very powerful and gives
a very
clear understanding.
Everything comes from the mind
When all sentient beings become enlightened, there will
be no samsara, no six realms, no three lower realms with
hell, preta and animal beings. There will be the omniscient
mind of enlightenment. The stream of our consciousness -
actually, we are talking here about the subtle mind - never
ceases. Since the continuation of this subtle mind never
ceases, there is always dharmakaya. When everyone has removed
the two obscurations, there will be no such thing as samsara,
nor even the lower nirvana, which is mere release from the
bondage of karma and disturbing thoughts. You can understand
from this that enlightenment and samsara exist by depending
on the mind.
To use a simple example: While I am seeing someone as very
ugly and undesirable, another person may see him as very
enchanting and desirable. We are both seeing the same person
at the same time. This simple example shows that the way
things appear to me comes from my mind, according to my karma;
and how things appear to the other person comes from his
own mind and karma.
This way of thinking is very useful in controlling the dissatisfied
mind of attachment. While an object is appearing to you as
beautiful, try to be aware that you have created this beauty.
You have made it up. Your view, in which you believe one
hundred percent, is that this object exists from its own
side as beautiful. You believe that it is permanently beautiful.
At the same time as this object is appearing beautiful to
you, however, others may see it as ugly. Try to be aware
that there are different views of the object. This makes
it clear that your view of an object comes from your own
mind. How an object appears to you depends on your mind.
This helps you to understand generally your own karma and
also different karmas. If the way of making commentary on
an object, such as someone's face, were not dependent on
the mind and karma of the individual observer, there would
be no reason at all for the same object to appear differently
to different people.
Let's use Tibetan tea as an example. When they taste Tibetan
tea, Tibetans - and even some Westerners - experience a pleasant
taste, on which they label "delicious." The pleasant
feeling arises due to the person's previous karma and the
person then labels "delicious" on that feeling.
The delicious Tibetan tea exists in dependence upon the drinker's
mind labelling on that. Now, when some sophisticated Westerner
- particularly an American - comes along and you give them
the same tea with thick butter and salt, he feels that he
is drinking junk. That uncomfortable feeling also results
from the individual's own karma. The unpleasant taste is
the result of the person's previous karma and he labels "disgusting" on
that particular feeling. When the person drinks Tibetan tea,
it makes him want to vomit.
In The Great Lam Rim Commentary Lama Tsongkapa says that
sometimes when you eat fruit that is supposed to be sweet,
you unexpectedly find it tastes sour or bad. Lama Tsongkapa
explains that this is the result of covetousness, one of
the ten non- virtues.
The whole of existence, samsara and nirvana, depends on
a valid mind labelling on a valid base. Samsara comes
from the mind of ignorance not realizing the absolute
nature
of
the I. Samsara comes from the mind. These aggregates,
the container of many problems, come from ignorance hallucinated
as to the absolute nature of the I. Enlightenment, the
indestructible vajra holy body of Buddha free from all
suffering, comes
from the virtuous mind of method and wisdom. Everything
that exists comes from the mind. Without depending on
the
mind
knowing an object, or the knower (I am talking here about
the mind, not the person), there is no way an object
can exist. Anything that exists is empty of existing
without
depending on the mind.
A vase that we can use is empty of being a vase that
exists without depending on the base and the subject,
the mind.
And it is the same with all the rest of existence:
all the respective existents exist by depending on the
base
and the
mind that labels. They are empty of existing without
depending on the base and the mind. This emptiness
is the absolute
nature of existence. Therefore, wherever there is existence,
there is emptiness. Wherever there is emptiness, there
is Buddha, and there is dharmakaya, oneness with absolute
nature
forever, like having poured water into water. The qualities of the dharmakaya
Wherever there is dharmakaya, the holy mind of Buddha, there
is the vehicle of the subtle wind. The subtle mind and subtle
wind are the same in essence, simply having different labels
because of their different functions. Wherever Buddha's holy
mind is, there is Buddha's holy body. Understanding the details
about dharmakaya according to tantra gives you definite faith
that Buddha is on your crown, even if you have not visualized
him there. Even if you do not have a picture of Buddha in
your room, Buddha is there in the room at the altar. Wherever
you are, whether a clean or dirty place, Buddha is also there.
The teachings on Buddhist philosophy say: "There is
no place where Buddha does not exist. There is no place where
the mind cannot discover Buddha." This helps very much
to persuade your mind to practice Dharma and accumulate merit.
You may think that a statue or thangka is just a statue or
thangka, but it is the transcendental wisdom of dharmakaya,
which understands and directly sees absolute truth, as well
as conventional truth. This statue of Tara has two truths:
conventional and absolute. The Tara statue and the absolute
nature of it are objects of the holy mind of all the Buddhas.
It is covered by all the Buddhas' holy mind. It is only because
of our obscurations and defilements that we do not see that
all the Buddhas are abiding on this Tara statue. Whether
it is blessed or not, all the numberless Buddhas are living
on this Tara statue.
It is very good to remember the qualities of dharmakaya,
Buddha's holy mind, when offering even one stick of incense
or one bowl of water. Aware that all the Buddhas are abiding
on the statue, you make offerings to all the Buddhas and
generate secret bliss in all their holy minds, which is the
essence of the offering.
When Lama Atisha was circumambulating the stupa in Bodhgaya,
the statue of Tara and the ivory statue of Guru Shakyamuni
Buddha spoke to him, saying: "Great yogi, if you want
to achieve enlightenment quickly, you must practice bodhicitta." To
particular beings with thinner obscurations, these statues
give advice and predictions. Actually, I think the great
bodhisattva Kunnu Lama Rinpoche said that all the statues
around Bodhgaya stupa speak - not only the Tara statue on
the outside of the stupa. This means they have spoken in
the past when great yogis came on pilgrimage.
One or two years ago, one old lady from Tibet went on pilgrimage
to Nalanda, the great monastic university where thousands
of pandits such as Lama Atisha and Shantideva studied.
Now you can see only a few rooms; only a few piles of
stones
are left. This old Tibetan lady saw a life-sized Guru Shakyamuni
Buddha on a flat area at Nalanda, where there used to be
a Buddha statue. The statue is no longer there. However,
she did not see a statue of Buddha, but actually saw Buddha
for a short time, then it disappeared.
Kadampa Geshe Chagyulwa's life-story is always praised
because he was extremely obedient in correctly devoting
himself in
thought and action to his virtuous friend, Geshe Dolungpa.
Every morning when Geshe Chagyulwa cleaned his guru's
room, he collected the garbage in his robes, took it
downstairs
and threw it out. He served his guru in this way every
day. Even if Geshe Chagyulwa was offering a mandala,
with all
the grains piled up, as soon as he heard his guru's voice
calling him, he immediately stopped offering the mandala
and went to serve him.
One day after he had cleaned his guru's room, Geshe Chagyulwa
was taking the garbage down the steps. When he reached
the third step, suddenly he saw many Buddhas in nirmanakaya
aspect.
Normally he couldn't see even one Buddha, but on that
morning he suddenly saw many Buddhas right there. This
was a sign
that Geshe Chagyulwa's karmic obscurations had become
thinner because he had devoted himself correctly to
his guru.
It is only our own defilements and karmic obscurations
that block our seeing Buddha in our room. The Buddhas
are always
there. Continue to Next Section |
