BEYOND SERET

The Upadeśa of VairocanaOn the Practice and of the Great Perfection

Being a translation of:

Pa ṇ sgrub rnam kyi thugs bcud snying gi nyi ma

The Sun of My HeartA Hearty Elixir for Panditas and Siddhas

With the Tibetan

Translation by

Christopher Wilkinson

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical meansincluding information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author.The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote excerpts in a review. Published by Christopher WilkinsonCambridge, MA, USA Cover Image: Detail from first page of Tibetan manuscript.

Copyright © 2014 Christopher Wilkinson

All rights reserved.ISBN: 1503270041

ISBN-13: 978-1503270046

Contents

BEYOND SERETIntroductionDedicationAcknowledgementsAbout The Translator

The Sun of My Heart: A Hearty Elixir for Panditas and SiddhasPrologueThe Cuckoo of AwarenessShaking off the Grand SearchThe Soaring of the Magnificent GarudaMeditating on the BodhicittaThe Unfailing Royal Insignia: The Magnificent SkyThe Miraculous Occurrence of the Bodhicitta

The Tibetan Text

Introduction

The Changthang is a vast and desolate desert in the northern reaches of Tibet. It was on a tripto this arid region that Togden Rinpoche of Gangun, in Ladakh, was presented with a set of eightvolumes, a compilation of Tantric literature connected with Vairochana Raksita, a very famoustranslator active in Tibet in the Eighth century of our era. In 1971 Tashi Tashigangpa published aphoto-offset edition of this collection, under the title Vairo’i rGyud ‘bum, or The Hundred ThousandTantras of Vairochana.[1]

The Vairo’i rGyud ‘bum contains many texts that exhibit the same spelling and grammaticalpeculiarities we find in the Tun Huang literature, and it is reasonable that very ancient manuscriptsshould survive on the barren northern steppes of Tibet. It is difficult to do a careful dating of themanuscripts based on the photo-offset edition alone, but we may take it as remarkable that themanuscripts in this collection, many unique, have survived to this point.

All of the texts in these eight volumes represent Tantras that Vairochana had translated orassisted with, with the exception of a two titles: The Pan sgrub nying bcud thugs kyi nyi ma, or Sunof My Heart, which is placed at the very beginning of the entire collection, and the Bai ro ‘dra bag, abiography of Vairochana at the end of the eighth volume.[2] Many of the colophons in the Vairo’irgyud ‘bum do not explicitly state that Vairochana was the translator, while many do. Sun of My Heartis not presented as a translation and there is a colophon in which the writer bequeaths the text tosomeone named Palkyi Yeshe, one of Vairochana’s foremost disciples. So we may surmise that Sun ofMy Heart represents the writings of Vairochana himself, as given to Palkyi Yeshe.

Vairochana is most famous as the translator of the “Five Early Translations” (sNga ‘gyurlnga), the historical result of his having gone to India for King Trisong Detsen (ruled from 755 to797) in search of the Indian transmission of Sudden Enlightenment. This was during the generalperiod during which Tibetans were highly concerned with which would prevail: The GradualApproach represented by Kamalaśila from India, or the Sudden Approach represented by Hva shangMahayana from China, these arguments being known as the Samye Debates. It is recounted thatVairochana had some difficulties at the court of King Trisong Detsen after he had returned from India,and that he was exiled to Tsawarong.[3] We cannot know if his bearing an Indian transmission ofsudden enlightenment made him unpopular with those who wished to link the sudden position with theChinese. It is recorded that at the death of Trisong Detsen Vairochana came to court and swayed thedecision on the succession of the throne.[4]

Today, Vairochana’s work may be found in this Vairo’i rGyud ‘bum and in the manycompilations known collectively by the name of “rNying ma rgyud ‘bum,” or Hundred ThousandTantras of the Nyingma. Most of the works in the Vairo’i rGyud ‘bum are also found in one or moreversions of the rNying ma rgyud ‘bum, but several are not. In the case of Sun of My Heart, themanuscript found in the Vairo’i rGyud ‘bum is the only extant witness of the text.

The unique manuscript that is translated herein is written in the style of very archaic Tibetan,with vocabulary and grammatical forms similar to what we find in the dBa’ bzhad. The Sun of MyHeart consists of a prologue and a colophon holding together six discrete commentaries on the worksof the Five Early Translations and the Miraculous Occurance. Each separate chapter of Sun of MyHeart was clearly a free standing work at one time. The individual titles to the six commentaries andmuch colophonic material have been stripped off in the present witness of the manuscript. In the case

of the Magnificent Sky, some amount of material from the text itself has been lost from the end.

The index offered by Tashi Tashigangpa at the beginning of the volume presents the Sun of MyHeart as going from the beginning of the volume to page 172. The text, as we have it, sets up a scenefor the teachings on the six Tantras in a prologue, then there are the commentaries on the six Tantras.At the end, on page 104, there is a colophon and ending of The Sun of My Heart. The text that followsit has been stripped of its title, but on page 127 we find it’s full colophon, including title, author, andtranslator. It is immediately followed by a separate text that opens with a Sanskrit and Tibetan title. Ihave already documented another entry in this index that is in error due to pages missing in themanuscript.[5] It is clear that Tashigangpa’s index was not done in careful detail.

For your convienance, and to help insure that this unique manuscript not fail, I include theTibetan text as found in the photo-offset edition.

The Sun of My Heart stands as a premier contribution to contemplative literature. There is agrowing understanding in the world today of the Great Perfection, and many people wish for greaterknowledge of the Five Early Translations. In the present volume we have Vairochana’s owndescriptions on how to practice and meditate in this tradition. It is my sincere hope that you enjoy it.

Chris Wilkinson 2014

Dedication

To the memory of my teachers,

Most especially Dezhung Rinpoche,

Dilgo Kyentse Rinpoche,

Khetsun Zangpo Rinpoche,

Khenpo Palden Sherab,

Kalu Rinpoche,

And Geshe Ngawang Nornang,

As well as to

All teachers and students

Of the Great Perfection

Acknowledgements

First and foremost, I wish to thank my root teacher Dezhung Rinpoche for constantly bringing out thebest in me and encouraging me to pursue a comprehension of every branch of Buddhist learning. Itwas he who introduced me to Dilgo Kyentse Rinpoche, and through his recommendations enabled meto receive full empowerments, transmissions, and permissions in the areas of Mahā, Anu, and AtiYogas. With the highest regard I wish to thank Dilgo Kyentse Rinpoche, Khetsun Zangpo Rinpoche,and Khenpo Palden Sherab for their kind instruction and encouragement in my effort to translate theliterature of the rDzogs chen. There are many individuals, too many to name here, that have helped meover the years to become a qualified translator, in many ways. At this time I want to remember thekindness of Ngawang Kunga Trinlay Sakyapa, Dhongthog Rinpoche, H.H. Karmapa Rangjung RigpayDorje, Kalu Rinpoche, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Geshe Ngawang Nornang, David Ruegg, TurrellWylie, Gene Smith, Karen Lang, Anne MacDonald, Richard Solomon, Jack Hawley, David Jackson,Cyrus Stearns, Herbert Guenther, Eva Neumeier-Dargyay, Leslie Kawamura, Robert Thurman, PaulNietupski, Lou Lancaster, David Snellgrove, Jean-Luc Achard, Steve Landsberg, Moke Mokotoff,Tsultrim Alione, Carolyn Klein, Rob Mayer, Jonathan Silk, David White, Mark Tatz, Steve Goodman,and Kennard Lipman. The many people who have contributed to my understanding and ability to dothis work cannot be counted. I wish to thank everyone that has taken a kind interest in thesetranslations, however slight, for your part in making this work a reality.

About The Translator

Christopher Wilkinson began his career in Buddhist literature at the age of fifteen, taking refuge vows from his guru Dezhung Rinpoche.In that same year he began formal study of Tibetan language at the University of Washington under Geshe Ngawang Nornang andTurrell Wylie. He became a Buddhist monk, for three years, at the age of eighteen, living in the home of Dezhung Rinpoche while hecontinued his studies at the University of Washington. He graduated in 1980 with a B.A. degree in Asian Languages and Literature andanother B.A. degree in Comparative Religion (College Honors, Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa). After a two year tour of Buddhistpilgrimage sites throughout Asia he worked for five years in refugee resettlement in Seattle, Washington, then proceeded to theUniversity of Calgary for an M.A. in Buddhist Studies where he wrote a groundbreaking thesis on the Yangti transmission of the GreatPerfection tradition titled “Clear Meaning: Studies on a Thirteenth Century rDzog chen Tantra.” He proceeded to work on a criticaledition of the Sanskrit text of the 20,000 line Perfection of Wisdom in Berkeley, California, followed by an intensive study of Burmeselanguage in Hawaii. In 1990 he began three years’ service as a visiting professor in English Literature in Sulawesi, Indonesia, exploringthe remnants of the ancient Sri Vijaya Empire there. He worked as a research fellow for the Shelly and Donald Rubin Foundation forseveral years, playing a part in the early development of the famous Rubin Museum of Art. In the years that followed he became aResearch Fellow at the Centre de Recherches sur les Civilisations de l'Asie Orientale, Collège de France, and taught at the University ofCalgary as an Adjunct Professor for five years. He has published published sevel volumes of translations of Tibetan literature, and iscurrently engaged in further translations of classic Buddhist literature.

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The Sun of My Heart: A Hearty Elixir for Panditas andSiddhas

Prologue

I bow to the Blessed One, the All Good One, Spontaneously Perfected Great Bliss! The All Good One developed on the individual objectives of meditation on the Bodhicitta that

come from the five upadeśa on the Bodhicitta, the Miraculous Occurrence, and the upadeśa on the sixclasses of Tantra into a transmission of three disseminations,[6] so that there would be nourishmentfor people whose fortune and karma were ample, and gave the words to Garab Dorje. He transmittedthem aurally, for it is not appropriate that the potentates among Jambu Island’s gods and demons[7]hear it. They kept up a fierce seclusion in a cave in an isolated area. He explained it, and it meltedinto his mind as if it had become his heart, and he took a vow so that it would not entirely fail in thefuture.

Then, while at the meeting hall in Hahena Kuśa, the Master of Upadeśa Śrī Singga Prapata starteddoing some inappropriate practices. He was explaining Mind Section[8] upadeśa that he had overtlystolen to two Tibetans who were at the level of monkhood, for he had seen that the time had come touse the rites of upadeśa to train those who were in the land of Tibet, the land of snow.

First he spoke on the Cuckoo of Awareness,[9] and gave its words to them. Then, to give them anupadeśa that goes to the deeps, he gave them the words of Shaking Off the Grand Search.[10] Then, toshow them how to use this upadeśa’s viewpoint to cut their losses, he explained the Soaring of theMagnificent Garuda,[11] which touches on every topic, and he gave them its words. Then, becausethese upadeśa are highly profitable and dear, he gave them the words of Molten Gold within theStones.[12] Then, once he knew that these upadeśa would not fail but would prosper in the royaldominion of Tibet, he gave them the words of the Unfailing Royal Insignia: The Magnificent Sky.[13]Then, to show that the meaning of these upadeśa, which is primordial Buddhahood and is notlaborious, he gave them the words of the Miraculous Occurrence.[14]

The Cuckoo of Awareness

Now from among these, the section that is beneficial is the meditation that is in the auraltransmission of the Cuckoo, while this is actually a secreted upadeśa. This is why he explained it tothem in an aggressively penetrating way:[15]

First, we offer goods and services, the possessions that are dear to us, precious jewels, and ourheart’s most favored things, to our precious guru, who is like solid gold smeared with black alum.[16] When the signs that these have been given are evident, we make our request. When he sees them,he will decide. Then, this magnificent man who we have convinced will present us with the lineage ofthe great Victorious One.

This is how: To begin with, sentient beings have failed in their understanding of their perfectlypure nature,[17] so they suffer. So we must be regally empowered through taking a vow to be acaptain who will invest them with great freedom. On this point, we find in the Tantra on theBenevolent Cuckoo of Awareness:[18]

Ordinary individuals do not understand, For they have forsaken three understandings, So they are far from the three Bodies. So then, we should keep our minds free from attachments of any kind, and live in a

secluded area that will accommodate our two kinds of literature,[19] and work on what they mean.We must not use a worldly attitude that is emotionally problematic. This same Tantra states:

Hermits find sustenance in remote villages, cities, mountain ravines, monasteries and isolated

forests. Those who praise themselves and denigrate others, and are attached to being recognized andserved, are not wise. Their memories will certainly fail.

Then: Those who are endowed with the conditions that have been described will have already used

agreeable foods and spices to build a mighty heap of jewels. They will cleanse themselves, and on acomfortable mat that is just so, they will maintain their Bodhicitta, placing themselves in mentalequanimity, and so meditate, even if they don’t understand just how to do it.

Now, settling the mind has two aspects: The backward way and the sure. The backward way is to reject our understandings of the pathways of samsara and meditate that

we are free from their extremes. When we do this we are using a perspective that considers thingsdualistically, and this is a mistake. It is a clinging and holding on. This same Tantra states:

To relinquish extremes So as to understand the middle Separates the objects of our knowledge.

The sure has two aspects: The methods for settling and the clarification of obstructive

doubts. Regarding the settling of our minds in their natural state,[20] there is nothing that is in our

view, so there is nothing that we must think of as our meditation. We settle ourselves down withoutthinking of anything at all. The Tantra itself states:

Things to think about Are not to be thought of. Do not think about not thinking, Either. Not thinking about things Is the equanimity of thusness. It also says: In the way things truly are, There are no thoughts at all. If we are not under the control of sleep and torpor, We will rise up out from their bubble[21] Into great bliss. This also means that wisdom illuminates, so it is not something that does not exist.

Nothing whatsoever stops it, so our opinions are simply irrelevant. On the clarification of doubts, there are a few, whose minds are darkened and confused,

who ridicule those who engage their minds in Great Perfection meditation. They think that we seem tobe people who have nothing to do with our spare time. They consider this to be evidence that we donot engage in anything meaningful. They say these things, while there is no observable evidence. TheTantra itself proclaims:

Those who ridicule us, Saying that it is inappropriate For yogins to engage themselves

On this path of instantaneous applicationAre dull in their sensitivities,Impolite and common.

We reply to them that when we use meditation to throw our intellects into their natural state[22]

the essential thing is to be free from these complications that are simply different aspects of it. Realityas it is is essentially a state of spontaneity, so the extremes that make dualistic partitions, while theyseem to be spontaneously formed, are not. We also do not project any visualization of this, for it isfree from these extremes. The thing we call: “An extremely one-pointed mind,” is one where we havea correct understanding of an object, and is not some kind of visualization. For this reason, we have

nothing to teach that could be expressed as: “This experience resembles this idea.” The Tantra itselfsays:

This is not born, does not stop,And is not to be understood.So it does not abide the limitationsOf permanence and cessation.Through our awareness of wisdomWe are aware of our objectives.True self-awareness leaves nothingThat our thinking may acquire.The self-awareness of wisdomIs described like this.Vajrasattva cannot be symbolized. This kind of essentiality in our experience is not something that we essentially augment or hinder,

yet, from the point of view of those who have newly tasted it, our minds are, at first, incapable ofabiding in it, and when we start to get depressed or wild we experience what we call:“Disturbances.” These are the times that we discretely dwell in a vast inner space.[23] We use adiligence in which we have nothing to do, to make ourselves tired, while we do not give in to thepower of our thoughts. We meditate only for a short while, but we exert ourselves repeatedly. Then,we will get teachings, and for just that period of time that we aren’t depressed or wild we are borninto this space that we are talking about. We may exert ourselves just a little, and yet not be born intoit. This is merely due to our ideas about attainment. We simply exert ourselves a little, so that we willnot stray, even though we may be indifferent to it. This is an experience we become accustomed to,but then we become indifferent to it, too. If we take a long while to take up an argument about it, wewill get depressed.

In the past we did just five sessions of this meditation, counting three sessions for the day and thenat the start and end of each night. Now that our consciousness is no longer stolen by its objects ourminds do not engage them, no matter what conditions may occur. This is called: “An experience of theteachings.”

We use a magnificent equanimity to combine two sessions into one, and remain for just a while,for the duration of half a day. Then, even when our consciousness is scattered in confusion withreference to its objects, we do not engage them, but draw ourselves inward again, so that even whenwe are dreaming or in a feint our consciousness lands in the fertile fields of our awareness. This is anexperience that goes totally on to the end, so for half a day or a night we do not break out from stayingin it for as long as possible, untill we are able to do one session that lasts an entire day. At this pointwe extend the period, remaining there without inquiry into any true nature.

Now you may say that activities like these are in contradiction to the Great Perfection’s being freefrom tasks and searching. When you understand that no matter how much we search there is nothingthere, then even these searches will be done with true resolve,[24] for this is a practice that searchingdoes not disturb. The reason for this is that we do not postulate an agent. Our reasons are evidencedthroughout the General Transmission:[25]

The best equanimity

Is to be without grasping.When there is nothing to look for,Diseases are healed.The best accomplishmentIs to live spontaneously.Settling into our true nature[26]Is the path of happiness. Now the recognition that we are generating a multitude of problems is a contrivance. It is said: The variety of things and their true naturesAre not a duality, however. . . . Our essential reality is the spontaneity of the Bodhicitta. The true nature of entities is that they are

a perfect multitude. There is no duality, but this essential reality does not show. On this point, theTantra proclaims:

Spontaneity is like the shape of a bird.A multitude of forests have fruit treesWhere wild animals, deer,And sentient beings live,Despite their inconceivable differences. When we have not accustomed ourselves to the essential reality[27] of all things, we get wild. We

curse the sessions we have already done, that are passed, and our minds are scattered about what willcome. We give up our sessions, and continue to grow old. We are wild about the heroic minds weonce had, and how we did things long ago. In the present, we strive to imagine the meaning of thethree doors and the view, while our thoughts about the present are the musings of thieves and children,so we get wild.

You may say that we have not acclimatized ourselves to depression, and that is why we aredepressed. While these conditions prevail, meditators experience depression and other states ofmind, such as weariness and fatigue. We drink beer and play in lust. We are feverish and meditate inthe dark. We do not wake up from our troubled sleep. We recognize these things, and:

E Ma Ho! We must not generate regrets, and we must not get scattered with each amazing thought

or idea. In brief, ideas spread by themselves,So don’t stop them!Don’t attach yourself to or jump into them!Don’t do anything about cleaning up reality! This is discussed in the Tantra: These things cannot,

By their very nature,Be imagined,So let them all settle into thusness. They appear by themselves,And are pacified by themselves,So keep them in balance.Then it won’t be possibleTo fall into an accumulation of definitions. Once we have touched on the meaning of these things,No matter where we live,Or what we desire,We do not give upThe things we have stopped doing,And do not stop doing them,But take them up.This is the spontaneity of the All Good. This is an inspiration for those who know that our conceptual constructions are not contrived from

what is real. These are the holiest of methods.This being so, meditators that use knowledge along with actions do not block up their feelings and

problems. This is substantiated: Everything is brought togetherWithout conceptualizing it,So when we meditate on our feelings,What is the disease? It says this because when we have no feelings, we understand the holiness of feelings. But, you will say, those who embark on this kind of practice, where conceptual constructs are no

different than reality itself, must finish with it in their effort to eradicate the disease of searching forsomething. Here, we realize that all our labors are realized to be the Bodhicitta, spontaneously, so wedon’t need to look for it. This is how we eradicate the disease of searching for something. We do thiswith an attitude that there is nothing about any deed for us to take on or reject, so we let it go, and weabide in dhyāna meditation itself. This way, no matter what we do, we do not move away from ourinspiration. When we have completed this we are just like the Buddha. The Tantra itself states:

Through brilliantly abiding in dhyāna meditation,We are the same as the Buddha. And:

Without practicing the ten virtues,We wear the ornamentsOf the dominion of the Dharma. And: Undefined inspirationsDo not require meditation.This goes beyond having nothing to do,So we don’t look for a path. And: Guarded by the cuckoo,We don’t need anything else.Just as those who acquire the powersOf a mighty lordDo not depend on anyone else. The voice of the cuckooCaptivates the minds of other beings.Just as the supreme embodimentOf total perfectionCaptivates all things. And: You are tired of the exhausting search,So look for supreme enlightenment!There is not any time for you to find it!That would be likeA sheep being born out of a crocodile! If you want the freedomOf an eternally happy life,From me,The Victorious One who is eternally engaged,You must look to me,For I am the magnificent path of liberation! There really are no Dharma practices that are separate from this most excellent dhyāna meditation,

or that depart from its objectives.It suffices to say or exclaim: “Dhyāna, Dhyāna” to become a Buddha!Do not be attached to happiness. When sorrows do occur, they lack any identifying reality, so we

must maintain a supreme patience, without desiring to be free of them. There is nothing to seek out onthe four paths of practice, so we must not get lost in that state. We exert ourselves at meditation for along time, and, if we are not deficient in character, there will be heat and signs. Our obstructionsremove themselves, and karma does not stick to us. We call this: “The Illuminator of All Things, theAll Good.”

This most excellent dhyāna, moreover, is not some essential emptiness that lasts for just a day.[28]It is, in fact, the inspiration of the Omniscient Ones. Heat and signs occur by themselves.

External heat is a light and happy body.Inner heat is happy breathing.We do not feel it and it lasts for a long time.Secret heat is happy samadhi,And we land in our natural state,[29]Without looking for it. In the direct perception of samadhi there also occurs a vision of minute atoms and colors. The external signs are thatOur physical structure does not get sick,We do not feel it when flees eat us,We have neither good health nor bad health,Though we have no food,Our complexion shines clearly,And we can fly,Up to the full height of a banana tree. The internal are that the thoughts in our minds excel beyond any propigation of equanimity toward

the eight worldly Dharmas, and that a genuine equanimity finally dawns on us. We do not begrudgesamsara and karma. We have no trepidation about birth and death. Our hopes and fears are exhausted.No matter how fierce our sorrows may be, we do not make them out to be sorrows. We develop aspecial kind of compassion. We do not take joy in words. Moreover, the six supernatural cognitionsand the four miraculous powers rise up in us. On this point, the Tantra proclaims:

This is when we bring all things together,As if they were jewels.We are not agitated,Just as the sky is not.This happens by itself. Now the things that obstruct us are purified by themselves in that they are essentially All Good. An

example would be that the ripples on water that we do not disturb disappear by themselves. Theobstructions that we do not search for clear out by themselves. They were not brought about throughour resolve, and there is no action that will cleanse them.

And:

The magnificent fire of burning wisdomIs a shining light,So it burns throughoutBoth our dominion and our wisdom,Without our wanting it to.The past tense of the word BuddhaIs primordial Buddhahood! These words have also been given: The grasping at our dominionAs being nothing but our wisdomIs also purified by itself,For it doesn’t exist.It will suffice to explain thingsThrough the practices of the All Good.Once we expunge the disease of searching for something,The things that obstruct us will be cleared away. There are no contradictions here,For the meaning has not been lost.Apply it to your mind,Or whatever you revere,However it may be appropriate! As we stretch out the time this way, our wisdom will have a fruition in which we will be settled in

living spontaneously. For meditators, our own mind is similar to a wish fulfilling jewel, for it remainsprimordially as the genuine foundation for all our results, and is beyond any reckoning. This is whywe don’t look anywhere else. That it appears by itself means that we acquire it in a way thatresembles how a blind man opens his eyes and sees his own body’s posture, which had been there allalong. What this means is that we do not acquire it through any discipline. The Tantra itselfproclaims:

The level of natural abidingIs not sought out,And not worked on.It is beyond the perfect levelsOf Lotus Eyes and Total Light.We get the result spontaneously,For this level has been pureFrom the beginning. This, therefore, is what spontaneous meditation is. This is corroborated:

No matter what we practiceIn the state where our view, practice, samadhi,Cause, and result are one,Our views will be assertive,For we have already finished with these things. Our view, meditation, and practice are rendered separately, according to their names, but they are

essentially not different. This is because they are none other than the spontaneity of the Bodhicitta.For this reason, yogins of the Ati Yoga do not visualize the form of a person, for we are greatspirits[30] that have been stationed as leaders. This is a path of practice exclusively for meditatorswho work for the Dharma’s unique reality.[31] The projects of the Victorious One are indeedpractices for all sentient beings, for they are the noblest of the noble, the god of the gods, and theBuddha of the Buddhas, as well. In the totality that comes out of everything there is a magnificencethat is not a Buddha. From the Arhats on up to the Wheel of Letters, the Buddha of the GreatPerfection dwells in the meat of our hearts, which is different from adhering to some aspect of someposition.

Again, this is substantiated: The embodiment of the Victorious OneIlluminates and protects the multitude,No matter what,For the Victorious One is the totality of what is precious.This is how we eliminate hypocritical endeavors. Now the river of what it means to be without tasks is not dammed. It is called: “Enlightened

activity.” For once, those who are working on a causeFor doing things in the world,During the latter evil times,Who have been destroyed by logic,But speak about the transmission,Who wish to actually see their supreme objective,But are like monkeysWhen those who are knowledgeableOf these practices appear..They are knowledgeable and they are adept,But they do not hold toThe intentions of the scriptures.They struggle and struggle,And they hide.They hold to the Chinese method,[32]And just talk on their thrones.

They are tossed about by karma,And greeted by time. People who have the fortune to acquire thisWill be born and will be trained,And they will seeThat Garab,The manifest embodiment of the three lineages,Has elaborated the BodhicittaInto six miracles,[33]And has written commentaries for meditationFor six wise ones. This is, indeed, the sun of the Secret Heart.[34]It is a bird with a noble supernatural cognition.For the sensitive,Our own minds are the Buddha himself.When we care for them,We use these upadeśa for our livelihoods.For our rites,We maintain a noble desire and practice. Sa Phhag Śrī Thāma Ithī

Shaking off the Grand Search

The best eyes,The eyes of wisdom,See everything,But they do not look.Unshakable samadhi does not meditate or think at all.Connections that have held from the primordialHave no hope or wish at all.In the state of bountiful spontaneityThere are no fabricated hopes or fears. The dhyāna meditation referred to here is the dhyāna meditation for Bodhicitta: Shaking off the

Grand Search.[35]We start out by investigating gurus. We have to meditate to make decisions as we consider Masters

who do not have credentials, transmissions that resemble monkeys, erroneous idols and paths, and werelinquish them. So it has been proclaimed.

Do not rely on gurus that do not have upadeśa and the river of empowerment, whose virtues don’treach the measure, who are not praiseworthy.

It is said, however, that it is worth it to pawn off a jewel of inestimable price to acquire aprecious article of solid gold over which black alum has been smeared. This is an analogy.

A guru who has acquired the empowerments and transmissions of the Tantras into his person, whois honest and has inspired experience, a guru who flows with the intentions of the Tantras, whopossesses the virtues that are praised in the transmitted scriptures, a guru who follows the trail ofgreat compassion, is like gold that is smeared with black alum.

We may search him out by means of his words. If we have the karma to meet him, and we see thathe is a revealer of great treasures, we must use our higher thinking to please him, using differentialtreatment that is in keeping with the transmitted scriptures, and request the upadeśa. We have to seehim, and make our decision most carefully. We must take into account his problems and obstructions,from head to foot, as well as the intentions he envisions.

Now a student may be a holy person, but still must be moistened with the significance of theupadeśa. This is also evidenced in the General Transmission:[36]

We must take concern for anyoneWho sees the significance of these things,And who does not think about anything else.This is how we must maintain our dhyāna meditation! Furthermore, those in the class that have done this before must precede the others. We

must make it so that those with a great vastness of merit, and the troops of little ones whose roots ofvirtue are growing, will not stray in the future, so we must gather up the things that are necessary forour constitutions,[37] including medicine, medicinal manuals, and the implements used by doctors,and we must also gather up the requisites that accommodate our livelihoods, the requisites that will

sustain us when we are sick, and things that serve as conditions for our samadhi: the profoundclassics of the upadeśa, the implements used by yogins or gurus who are wise in experience, and wemust take time to maintain the prosperity of the land in our area, in keeping with our disposition.

Once we have gathered the requisites we must exhort those who live thereby and thelocale’s hungry spirits, so as to please them. This will stop them from interfering.

Then, although we may have started out and be moving forward, being people who haveinternalized freedom from tasks and searching, that have the power, we will seek to invigorate ourbodies on comfortable mats. We sit with our legs crossed over, our feet and hands conjoined, and ourjoints stretched straight. Our heads do not wiggle or twist. We keep our teeth, lips, and sensory organsstill.

We settle our minds on the objectives of our meditations, or else we do what is called: “Thedominion of the Dharma in which our understanding and our practice are non-dual,” of which thereare two aspects. Here, we abide in the magnificent direct perception of our inner self-awareness. Wedo not follow the thoughts and practices that are meaningful to the childish, which draw us outward,and we don’t draw inward with an inner sinking. This is the crossroads where we use the expansionand contraction of the intellect to settle ourselves. The Transmission[38] proclaims:

No matter which visualizations shine in your mind, Your understanding becomes engaged in an object. This is not the best samadhi. This is why the Victorious One proclaimed non-visualization. So it is a mistake to use visualizations to settle ourselves. You may think, then: “Well,

what sort of thing is this so-called: “Settling our intellects in certitude.” From the point where it[39]says: “Non-dual great bliss,” up to where it says: “The lord of all the Buddhas,” is about the view inwhich all things are understood to be primordial Buddhahood, which implies that our cause and itsfruition are not two things.

It being that our cause and its result are not divided, the Buddha and sentient beings are not twothings. It being that all things are truly equal, and that good and evil are not two things. It being thatwe are spontaneously perfected as great spirits,[40] ourselves and others are not two things. It beingthat the truly self-arising wisdom illuminates itself in all things, our dominion and our wisdom are nottwo things.

So when we achieve a certainty about separating ourselves from the objects we engage in there isthe great bliss of an extraordinary wholeness, in which there are no words for samsara whatever. Thisis the perspective we are to understand here.

This is not a planetary influence. It also differs from any denominator for Buddhahood. It makesway for the magnificence of Buddhahood to be absent or present in all things, and is the provenanceof all the Buddhas. Therefore, there is no particular dhyāna meditation in which we settle ourintellects. We do not settle our minds on conceptions or non-conceptions, on visualization or non-visualization, on remaining or non-remaining, or on anything. So we do not settle our minds onanything at all. This is not an observance of some planetary concern. No matter what is in our minds,whether wide or narrow, it remains there naturally, by itself. This is evidenced in the GeneralTransmission:

When we search for it,

We estimate primordial Buddhahood, Even though primordial Buddhahood is not a thought, There is no onset of an absence of thoughts, So the state in which we don’t think at all Is the supreme heart-essence of equanimity. We set ourselves down where we have no thoughts, and just stay there, without getting

lost in the forces of depression or wildness. We must not use the powers of lust and hatred in a hopeto remove these things, or in a desire to be stable. We must not crave or hate our thoughts. In theabsence of thinking, we have no reason to remove anything, so we must not let our minds bedissatisfied. As we sit naturally, without stopping or pursuing anything, our discontent becomessmaller, and our non-conceptual wisdom becomes clear naturally, without developing on hopes.

We set out with recognition of the faults of all internal and external things. Outwardly,during the times in which we place ourselves in equanimity, we let our minds be delighted aboutexternal things: the five positive qualities of the things we desire. So we spread ourselves out on thetrails of the external. When things occur within us, such as our conceptions about our inner channels,depressions, the things we make up in our minds, and our all-consuming search for meaning, concepts,practices, visualizations, quests, and the five things we desire or hate, these are called: “TheDominion of the Dharma.” They are, as an analogy, like rainbows and clouds in the sky.

This does not occur when we turn away from the self-luminous reality of our minds.Conceptualizing the levels where our concepts are born and swell up will not bring success. Whenour conceptions are based on the purity of their own level, they are primordially pure. We don’t evenhave a name for the total purity of the active fields[41] that are designated to be Buddhas and sentientbeings. Through primordial time this wisdom has occurred by itself, being illuminated by itself alone.So where would there be anything that could obstruct it, or that could be obstructed by it? These arecontrived problems, created by the intellects of those on the path. They don’t exist. This is why thereis the saying:

What contrivance could there be for the path? Once we know that there is nothing to contrive, we don’t look for problems. We won’t be

bothered, for there is nothing to reject. When we are not looking for virtuous qualities we won’t takeour contemplations and meditations to be faulty. When we do not follow these trails, we will havepeace through our own presence. This point is evidenced:

No matter what definitions we make With our conceptual constructions, These thoughts are themselves reality. When we know this, It will be unnecessary to meditate

On any dominion of the DharmaOther than this.

Now to take these things into our experience there is a practice of meditation. It is called:

“Engaging ourselves in the pathway of deceptive Dharma practices conceived of by the childish.” In

it, we allow the correct dhyāna meditation to fade away. These are practices that include the TenDharmas, by which we bore into our own dispositions. They are practices that do not address what ismeaningful, so they are deceptive. Now they certainly do give results when used for divination andforecasts, but they are not things that will make us truly enlightened, and they are obstructions. This isbecause we are searching for something. They are absent from, and are apart from, the path on whichwe move. We have no incentive to understand what they mean. We will not get any results from themthat are any different from the three worlds, so they are just searches and contemplations.

So you might ask: “Well then, what practices are there that are not mistaken?” When we have resolve,[42] anything that we practice will be effortless, this is true, but

here, great meditators will simply remain in dhyāna, and be totally fulfilled. For this reason, werequire no activities. Not only that, when we are looking for an objective, we are destabilized, and itis possible that our minds be stolen away, so we don’t practice any light or dark karmas. We simplyrefuse to depart from our natural state,[43] protecting our consciousness by not conceptualizinganything at all, and so we practice non-thought, non-attachment, and equanimity.

Now the indicators of experience for this kind of meditation are called: “The deceitfulpaths of Tirthakaras who conceptualize an ego or a self.” This experience is deviant because it is athought of an identity as a selfhood, which is what the Tirthakaras maintain.

Here, we are great people who throw our minds into our natural state.[44] We remove ourselvesfrom grasping at or being held to be a magnificent person who is aware. So we have no ideawhatever about our own clarity. We lack any experience that transcends speech and thought, and thisis what is called: “Experience of the uniqueness of reality.”

To augment it we are presented with a way that has these five: moving, acquiring,accommodating, firming, and reaching the end.

The signs for these are that our thoughts decrease a little, and become practice fields for us: Wesee colors, and the ten generative forces[45] of our senses are elevated. Our minds are consumed inbliss. We have an experience of being tapped on that resembles a goddess of the wind[46] tapping ona flower made of silken petals. Our bodies are light, and bliss is born in them. A joy is born in ourminds, which makes us feel that the three worlds are also joyous. We do not delight in words, but takejoy in meanings. We have special dreams. We are not attached to our own concerns, and when wemeditate for a long time we become joyful. There are more. We will get the signs of heat, and othersuch things that have been made famous in the scriptures. Some yogins will get them just as they aredescribed, but there will be some for whom it is not certain that we will get them just as they aredescribed.

The inner signs are described in a similar fashion. They include a decrease in our entrenchment inour positions, and a reduction in our emotional problems. We will not be obsessed about balancingthe Eight Worldly Dharmas, or about disagreeable birth places. We will have the strength of an ox,which we previously did not have, and we will enjoy our sorrows, inasmuch as they are our reality.We will use diligence at being without projects, and stretch it out a while, the result being that wewill shake off the search without working on it, without praying for it, without even doing anything.This is exactly what the spontaneous perfection described earlier means.

We don’t work toward this result by using the objectives we have been clinging to.Primordial Buddhahood has no name for samsara. The effulgence of primordial self-arising wisdomdoes not pray or hope to shake off samsara. This objective has nothing to do with accomplishing anyactivities. It is not anything other than a true self-awareness. So when we are ensconced in thisunderstanding we are on the level of being a Wisdom Guru for the three worlds, which are

primordial. This is a direct perception of reflexive awareness, and will be present by its very nature,for we will have already perfected our powers. This is what is called: “The result as it dawns on us.”

The magnificence of shaking off the grand quest, A dhyāna meditation that is free from activities, Was promulgated in the three worlds of darkness By the All Good Vajrasattva and Garab, As light rays for our hearts. To truly receive its meaning, Look for it in the ark of your own mind. Sho Phag Śrī Thām

The Soaring of the Magnificent Garuda

I bow to the Blessed One, Our Protector Mañjughośa! Just as the magnificent garuda soars through the sky

On perfect wings, Our true spirits move through the sky Without our seeking to spread ourselves out Or draw ourselves in, So I will teach the aural transmission In which the objectives of our practice are selfless And in which we do not get involved, Which is the finest of engagements, For it is the dhyāna meditation

In which we do not interact with our objects. Now the upadeśa on the Bodhicitta engage in every topic, but here I am exemplifying how a great

person who is to be praised for his good fortune is to bring them into his experience.He will make use of the views for his determinations, and use yogas to bring them into his

experience. When he uses the views to make a determination, his path must be without errors. So thefirst thing to do is to clarify the problems there are in deviance and with obstructions. Then we willhave an unmistaken view.

Now to start out, there are five topics. This is because worldly beings have nine grounds for

deviance and obstruction. When we are in fact attached to the objectives of our practice, we will beinvolved in perverted thoughts about real entities. We explain this here by saying that the true wisdomthat is not static and the true identity of both dharmas and persons are self-evident, so the objective ofour practice is not something to be split up.

When we have exhausted our attachments, the objects of our practice will be pure on their owngrounds, so there will be nothing to purify. They will be clear. The unchanging does not change, sothere is nothing to be attached to. The same thing is proclaimed in the Root itself:

There is no object to he held,And there is also no resting of the mind. So there are no objects that we can hold onto to rest our minds on, for they do not exist. This is

proclaimed in the Root itself. Secondly, to teach about the deviance and obstructions of the Auditors: They strive to annihilate

the self that people in general and the Tirthakaras uphold to consist of external particles that are mostsubtle along with internal consciousness[47] that is momentary. Here, these are a self-arising wisdomwhich is separate from these objectives of practice, so there is nothing to argue about. This is clear.

There is a proclamation that says:

They count the subtle particles beginning with one, But this is different from anything in the ten directions. Third, to teach about the Private Buddhas: They impart a view in which self-arising

wisdom transcends causes and results, and so cuts off dependently originated things at the root, andthis is the very thing that makes form into emptiness. Here, we do not relinquish them, for they arepure on their own grounds. Furthermore, in the true nature of the All Good, there are no such things asbirth or transfer at death, but there are the twelve branches of causes and conditions. This is why thisproclamation is evidenced:

This is imparted, and is described, symbolically. Forth, to teach about the deviant grounds of the Middle Way: Here, the two aspects of

truth have been indivisible, from the beginning, so we do not classify our scriptures, even by mereconvention, into two individual truths. The Middle Way is deviant when they divide the dharmas andthe dharma retainers into the relative and ultimate, and then they flow toward the superiority of theultimate. The dharmas are forever blended with the non-dharmas, and they are inseparable. It isproclaimed:

While they describe a so-called: “Ultimate Dharma,”

And a so-called: “Higher Abode,”They do not exist.

Fifth, to teach the deviance and obstruction of the Secret Mantra: Despite the fact that the

Bodhicitta has been spontaneously perfected from the primordial, and is free from extremes, bothgreat and small, by which samsara and nirvana are parted out, they look at material things as divinemandalas,[48] and use them for their meditations on generation. They are just the same as illusionistsand painters who look, by themselves, at the figures they themselves have made up, and this is thesource of their problems. Moreover, their proclamations, exegeses, visualizations, and visions arejust like paintings by illusionists. It has been proclaimed:

They use a wisdom that occurs to them And that they engage in, To sink into torpor, And through the power of these things They will be reborn. Now from among these, there are two that are not erroneous, and there are three topics on

them:

1. We determine the greater foundation[49] from which they appear, throughboth analogy and meaning.

2. We determine whether they are perverted views that have been taken to be

paths toward enlightenment.3. We demonstrate the essence of the view itself, which we distinguish from

the concerns of planetary influences. Now for the first of these, all dharmas have truly remained, since the primordial, in the Bodhicitta,

where samsara and nirvana are not a duality, and their differences are in a true balance, for theiressence can by no means be visualized. They appear to us as if they were wish fulfilling jewels, orthe waves on the ocean itself. They do not come or go, so we must make way for their appearance, nomatter what. This is proclaimed:

They have been present since the primordial.Like the ocean,And they instigate the appearanceOf multifaceted dharmas. We also encounter this statement in The Magnificent Garuda Tantra:[50] The pristinely pure rises out of pristine purity.Its perfection is exhausted in the ornamentation of pleasure.Its embodiment appears as a manifestation of its heart.It works for those who live.It works toward a magnificent objective.Both permanence and impermanence are surely its indicators. The second one is that because the six classes of living beings have reverted understandings, they

visually perceive the objective of their practice going backwards, while this is something that isuncontrived, unadulterated, and unchanging. Self-arising wisdom illuminates itself, so the pristinepath, the objective of which is the same as primordial Buddhahood, is not to be travelled over.Furthermore, while the six kinds of spirits[51] that are sentient beings do appear, we must understandthat they are on their first pathway.[52] It has been proclaimed:

When we understand this,It will be the reasonWe do not turn back on what it is. The third is the unmistaken view. It has two parts: The validation and the meaning.

Regarding the validation, these words have been proclaimed: The door of the heart is locked with iron. To speak out words is the key. This has two parts: Deviations and unmistakenness. As for the first, these words have

been proclaimed: In the effort to exemplify,

It is certainly appropriate to designate mere words. They will be demolished by logic, So they are like the child of a barren woman, And just like a rabbit’s horns. It will not be possible to prove them logically. And again: Grand masters of the secret mantra Whose numbers are not for counting, Make a thousand searches

For the precious jewel of enlightenment,Throughout the three worlds,But how will they ever find it?This is a ground for deviance.

So you may ask: “Well then, how will we understand this?” It will be understood through transmission and upadeśa. This has been said: This is difficult to make firm,Or to define,For it is distinct from any conventionalityThat we may speak.Words will not record it.It is not an objective for the practice of childrenAnd everyone else,But you will see its meaning hereThrough a teacher’s ascertained transmission,And from the upadeśa of your guru. This and what follows it were proclaimed so that this would be clear. Furthermore, the

scriptures[53] use well-known validations, which are to be practiced: Is this sentience existent?Or is it absent?Is it not single?Or is it plural?Does it appear?Or is it empty?Is this sentience Buddhahood?Or is it not Buddhahood?Does Buddhahood come fromSomething other than this?Or doesn’t it?

Questions like these that ask “what”Must be used to make decisionsWhile we converse. We must all practice along the trails of this proclamation. To the faces of those who maintain false understandings, we may ask whether things that we and

others hold as truths, the external and internal vessels and their contents, are permanent, whether theyare annihilated, whether they are discreet from both permanence and annihilation, or whether they arenot presented in the transmission.

Think! Practice your understanding! Analyze yourself and others, dharmas and persons, taking inand holding on. If we can prove that they are permanent, they can be topics that are also appropriatefor working with our wisdom and samadhi. If the basis of these is permanent, it will also cleanse ourobstructions. It will be able to make us fall from high status to horrible lives, and it will be able tomake us achieve the happiness of liberation from these horrible lives. For this reason it has beenproclaimed:

Birth and destruction do happen,So the end of a self is primordially absent. This is why they are not permanent. It is said: In the true state of spontaneous perfectionThere is no timeFor the changes of death and transference.What does not change is stable,Like gold. It will also not turn out that things are annihilated. By virtue of the fact that things that

exist do not turn out to be permanent, they will also not turn out to be annihilated. The existence ofsomething that is both permanent and annihilated is not presented in the transmission. Things that arenot annihilated will not turn out to be permanent. The existence of something that is both permanentand annihilated is not presented in the transmission. These theories turn out to be three heaps, andtalking about them cuts through our doubts.

If we approach them with the resolve of our own awareness, we ourselves and others are

indeed both permanent and annihilated, we are also discreet from these two, and something that isboth permanent and annihilated is presented in the transmission. You may ask how this is so. Thesethings are apparent to the Bodhicitta itself, so we have nothing whatever to reject. These words havebeen proclaimed:

This is indeed permanent. It is also annihilated. It is also impermanent. It is permanent,

But this permanence is impermanent. Further, these questions can be used to ask whether we ourselves and others are discreet

or not discreet from unity and plurality. If we are a unity, each living being that has a body, speech,mind, and the five psycho-physical constituents[54] exists as a dharma of plurality, but is also a unity.

You may say: “Well then, are they a plurality?” They are a unity in that they are conjoined by their very nature. Their unity is defined to

be impermanent, so they do exist as a plurality. But they are also not a unity, and they are also not aplurality, so what will we do with ourselves and others as material things?

So you may say: “Well then, do we exist discreetly from unities and pluralities?” We are not a unity, so it turns out that we are a plurality. But we are not a plurality, and it

won’t turn out that we are a unity, either. Nor are we non-existent. Nor are we discreet from these. Being discrete from both unity and plurality, or not being discreet, are both existent and

absent for each of us. As an analogy, this is like the multiple waves of the ocean and its waters beingof one flavor, it being that they are not separate. This being so, these words have been proclaimed:

They are indeed a unity. They are also a plurality. They are also discreet from being either a unity or a plurality. Their unity is also a unity, And their separateness is also a separateness. We will find resolution in keeping with this. It appears that there is a self and an other, but what is the thing that appears, and what is

the thing that does not appear? Moreover, is this something that is discreet from both appearance andemptiness, or is it something that appears while it appears and disappears when it disappears? Justwhat is it?

We conceptually analyze it. If its appearance resembles something, the appearance willbe permanent. So logically, this appearance cannot occur, which proves for sure that things willappear to us in conformity with whatever our minds are capable of thinking. So appearances do exist.

You may say: “Well then, there is a non-appearance!”This would be a contradiction to what appears to direct sensory perception in the present and

remains there. This would also result in the extreme of the annihilation of things that do not appear. You may say: “Well then, is this something that is discreet from both appearance and non-

appearance?”If something is discreet from both appearance and emptiness, there must be a sector that is discreet

from both appearance and emptiness which is not connected to them, but it turns out that there is nosuch place to be understood, so the reply is: “When something appears, it appears, and when it doesnot appear, it does not appear,” but we have the problem of there being things that are notdocumented.[55]

We must employ our resolve toward things that are discreet or not discreet from theextremes of permanence, annihilation, unity, plurality, appearance and emptiness, as well as theirindivisibility, for they are profound and difficult to account for. We must understand the pacification

of these things that we laud or ridicule as being existent or annihilated. Then you may say: “Well then, there is no means by which we may understand this, so

these words and letters are useless.” The means by which we understand this have been presented in the above. We understand

this through the transmission[56] and the upadeśa. These words have been proclaimed: Enlightenment, reality, and the rest,

Are denominators of differing nouns. And again: To speak out and say:“This is unborn,”Or to cling to it as a material thing,Are to be avoided. We use these and other proclamations to reach certitude. Still, after we ourselves and others have reached Buddhahood, do we exist? That would make it so that we are succeeding at samsara, which would eliminate the possibility of

ourselves and others becoming Buddhas, and it would become reasonable for the Buddha to haveemotional problems, sorrow, and thoughts. If this is Buddhahood, it would not be reasonable for allits faces to see, either.

If there is no samsara what use would it be to travel the path, cleanse our obstructions, and gatherour accumulations?

Well then, does samsara exist? Or is it made up? This is how it is: The base[57] is made out to be samsara. An analogy is that even though we may

wipe off a bronze bell,[58] it will not turn white. Although we strive at a practice, it will not cleanaway our obstructions or gather our accumulations, and we will not become Buddhas. That is thereply. We must work with resolution. These words were proclaimed:

The expression: “Primordial Buddhahood”Was uttered intentionally.If it were not, our views would be backwards,So we say it,Merely as a convention.That’s all. The expression: “Primordial Buddhahood” has an intentional necessity. Essentially, the existence,

absence, and inseparability of the Buddha and sentient beings are like the colors of a rainbow andlike the sky. When we make way for a presence that transcends our excessive speech and thoughts, wecreate these six extremes. This is why there is the proclamation:

Just as a magnificent garuda roams through the sky,Without impediment,The Buddha and sentient beings are non-dual.They are primordially the same.A great spirit is perfected spontaneously. This being so, we must understand and evaluate our essential status,[59] our true nature,[60] and

our great spirits,[61] so that we may ascertain them. We must maintain the resolve of the view.The meaning of this ascertainment is also to be talked about occasionally. Its meaning is just as in

the above. The sixth chapter of The Magnificent Garuda[62] proclaims: This self-arising realityIs free from the extremes of words.There is no object to be exemplified.It is beyond the written word.A magnificent garuda does not stay in the sky at all.Likewise, there is no heart-essence of how things areTo be attached to,And this is the true attachment. And also: The magnificent garuda does not stay in the sky.Just so, the true nature of the heart-essenceOf the magnificent Dharma does not tremble.It is deep. These and others demonstrate the indivisible and complete perfection of a higher spontaneity that

is unadulterated.Now the essence of the unmistaken view is a holy eye of brilliant understanding, a reflexive

clarity of self-arising wisdom. These words have been proclaimed: Omniscience is a self-awarenessThat occurs by itself.A yogin does not maintain self-awareness. This is what is called: “The self-aware view of an unadulterated and completely perfected

knowledge of every dharma.” It dawns on itself, is self-evident, and self-luminescent. When we havebecome resolute in this way we will hold to no objects. In this itself there is clarity. This view,therefore, has no subject who acquires it or object that it clings to. These words have beenproclaimed:

The view of the Ati YogaIs not a rejection,

For it is spontaneously perfect.It is inseparable from the dominion of the Dharma.This is the view that has no view.There is nothing to say, or view, or do.One who sees the unityIn this unadulterated complete perfectionWill have nothing to look for,And not reject anything at all.This is the best of views,For it lacks a subject and object duality,And is clear in itself. There are no words to say: “Look at it like this,” and there is nothing for our intellects to think

about it. When we so immerse ourselves in a resolve toward this view, we may speak about what wecall: “Meditation,” but it is difficult to use a subject and object duality to imagine what will be seenas an indicator of the unwavering mind, so this is to be clarified.

There are some who explain this by saying: “It is sufficient to understand it, for there is nothing tomeditate on.” They say that if we explain it, our view will be wrong, as in the above. They believethat there is nothing to meditate on when we have understood the truth, which is that there is nothing tounderstand and nothing to meditate on. If there is something to understand, how can a subject andobject duality of something to be understood and someone who understands it not result?

All the proclamations on meditation within the upadeśa simply teach that self-awareness is notexternal or internal, and so we meditate in this unwavering state alone. If we discontinue meditationin the Ati Yoga, how will we not become representatives of rejection and acquisition?

Now what we call: “Meditation” is presented under ten rubrics: The intended necessity,The words of ascertainment,The method of settling,The essence,The experience,The concern for fault-finding,The practice,The samaya,The wondrous virtues,And the problems. Now the intended necessity for dhyāna meditation has been described: One who sees the objective of the viewWill not think about anything else.We will crave it. And again:

As with the analogy of an udumvāra flower in the ocean,Those with Bodhicitta are one in a hundred.When we hold on without giving up,Being adept in our meditation,We will succeed. And again: If we didn’t have dhyāna meditation,It would be like waiting for our father,Who is out in the middle of the ocean,To arrive.It would be meaningless,And our heart’s essence would go dry. The words of ascertainment are: Self-awareness is beyond speech and thought.It is not separate from its own inconceivable domainThis is how we settle into bounteous awareness.This is called the application of dhyāna meditation. And again: Everything is the reflexive luminescence of self-awareness.Dharmas that are discreet or not discreetFrom the extremesAre by no means to be taken up eagerly.We do not impede or segregate anything.Conventionally, we call this: “Meditation.” Third, our method of settling: there is the way we settle our bodies, and the way we settle our

minds.Now the style in which we sit our bodies down has three aspects: The place for our dhyāna

meditation, the erroneous style of sitting our bodies down, and the way that is not erroneous.Now as for the place, the meditation and the thing we meditate on are, in reality, of a single

essence. These words are evidenced: Since the primordial,There have been no dharmas other than our minds,So there is no reality in reserveTo be meditated on,Yet our minds have, from the primordial,Never arisen,

And were not created,So where is this thing called: “Meditation”? A thing to be meditated on and an act of meditation can be proven, inasmuch as there is a person

and something that appears to be a Dharma, but since we cannot prove that this occurs, what is it thatwe call: “The resting place and support for a great meditator?” These words are evidenced:

All of these things are my embodiment.They are my speech.They are my mind. Where else would a meditator place his body, speech, and mind? That is how it is, even with

regard to the place. Again, there is evidenced: All of these thousand three thousands of worldsAre my own country.They are my dwelling place.They are my crystal palace. Now it is not as if there is a meditator sitting in a place, for the three thousand worlds are self-

awareness. These words are evidenced: To seclude one’s body in dhyāna meditationIs not a seclusion.The truth that our minds are in the skyIs the best seclusion.Our place of seclusion is our minds themselves.This is a yogin’s finest country. Again, there is evidenced: To hide our spirits[63] in mountain cavesIs not a crystal palace.The finest crystal palaceIs the vast palace of our own minds.The miraculous home that is a wish-fulfilling jewelHas no outside or inside,For it is in everything. The place the Victorious One resides is the holy place of natural reality, and this is where

meditators reside, as well. Also, the style we sit in does not shift away from the spontaneity of ourbodies, so resolute people make way for the reflexive luminescence of self-awareness as it pertainsto our bodies, speech, and minds. It has been proclaimed:

The sky has no contrivance,

And neither does our body.When we understand that our body is like an illusion,We do not contrive to sit erect or cross our legs.One who uses the three paths of practiceTo intuit his objectiveDoes not do anything intentionally,And has nothing to work on.Our bodies and minds are not generated,And they have no foundation.We remain like the sky,So there is nothing inside us to contrive. Now as for the errors pertaining to our bodies, it has been proclaimed: Our minds do not visualize anything at all,So when we hold on, in our minds,To the problems we have,So as to get rid of them,There is jealousy in this.Also, we might direct our intellectsToward the right objectives,Sitting erect with crossed legs,But we are contriving our physique,Doing whatever pleases us personally,And this develops into an addictionIn our bodies. You may say: “Well then, what is it?” The mass of our bodies, and likewise our minds, are primordially like this: They have no

root, so anything they may resemble does not endure, and we do not abide in it. There is just nocontradiction here. It is an inspiration.

As for the method for settling down in which we do not rest our intellects, our awarenesshas no exterior or interior, so when our minds digress out toward the external, we do not tether themor envision them to be an object. We pull ourselves together, and we don’t look. This is becauseeverything that is external or internal is the reflexive clarity of self-awareness. Furthermore, we donot shift around inside, for there is no abode to be searched for within ourselves. This is called: “Tohave no imaginations about our attachments to external objects, but to rejoice in these objects.” It hasbeen proclaimed:

Just as the magnificent garuda soars through the sky, We do not expand and we do not contract We are not afraid to be in the emptiness, And there are no dangers.

Also it has been proclaimed: Nothing is definite about the places we gather. This heart-essence is not to be conceptualized.

It is not hidden in the entirety of the Tantras.Those who practice enlightenment do not hold onto it,For it abides naturally in every single thing.

This has been proclaimed as well: Reality is not something to be thought on.It is the magnificence of the sky.It is discreet from all the thoughts we have about the sky.There is nothing to think about it,Our thoughts about the sky do not envision the sky.For it is not something for the imagination.We brilliantly leave every definition of the sky behind,Till there is nothing,Then, even in the skyThere is no sky.There is nothing about the sky to meditate on,So, with regard to the ineffable sky,We leave behind even the absence of anything to meditate on. So who meditates on what? When we have no grasping or thought, we are unshakable. Furthermore, this has been proclaimed: This is not anything whatever,Be it a mind or a dharma.When we are meditating,There is nothing whatever to meditate on. Again: There is nothing to think about,Other than the dhyāna meditation itself. This has been proclaimed as well: Omniscience is the best of meditations.Its true essence is unimaginable.In uniting with my body,

There is no enlightenment,And there is no meditation either. These words evidence that anything that we would do for a meditation is not the Great Perfection,

so we have nothing to meditate on at all. There is also not even a speck of non-meditation to bemeditated on. So what would we meditate on?

Those who desire to meditate do not understand the meaning of this, so they say: “Our experienceflows in a river.”

If this were so, their meditation would also be something that exists, so they would say: “Ourobject is reality, and we simply do not work on it in our minds, and this alone is named‘Meditation’.”

Don’t do this! Whatever reality is, it is just the mind. When they say: “We meditate on undisturbedself-clarity,” they are simply lacking a visualization that has some conventional designation. We mustcut thorough this.

The sky has no interior or exterior, so we don’t move around in it. Our minds do not expand orcontract. There is no stopping or encouraging of it. There is no avoiding or entering it. There are nohopes or fears in it. It is not lost or found. There is no clarity or non-clarity. There is nothing to bedone for the dhyāna meditations. When we strive for the details of the meaning of all these words, wewill understand, and when resolution dawns on us, we will not visualize reflexive clarity, for it doesnot move from itself.

As for the essence, this same source states: Appearances are like the great ocean.They are vast like the ends of the sky. When objects appear over there, but are not conceptualized over here, this is simply the

appearance of our attachments.Here, just as when a similitude of the planets and stars rises up in the ocean, one for whom the

water tastes the same does not think about these similitudes that are on the ocean’s waters. In the sameway, none of the dharmas has an outside or inside in terms of self-awareness, so we do notconceptualize our own luminosity. This is in the same way that colors, despite appearances, aremixtures of the five primary hues.

You may say: “This is how they appear,” but even if we don’t visualize them, their essenceremains the same.

The fifth verse in the sixth chapter of The Magnificent Garuda proclaims: The golden eyed children of the garuda,In a burning nest where the eggs have reached completion,Use the eggs themselves as remedies against nagas.Just so, the space[64] of the circle[65] is perfect,So it does not move.Samsara is the expansiveness of perfected space,And this is our embodiment as the Dharma.

So self-awareness is reflexively clear in its spontaneity. The magnificent garuda lives on the pathwayOf its flight through the air above,[66]But it does not stay there.There is no place to stay,And it is not attached.Just so, there is a magnificent dominionFor words of wisdom,But they do not stay there.There is happiness in not being attached. Awareness has no support or anything that supports it. It is reflexively clear without holding on or

being attached. These words have been proclaimed: Our minds do not bring forth truths and untruths.What can stop virtues from being seen as faults?Not to think about the significance of the truthIs the finest of inspirations. The same source proclaims: There is a great vastness.The great Dharmas are antidotes for the little ones.After we balance the aspect of envisioning the great,We become free from the things that are great and small. A meditator’s self-awareness has nothing to give up or take on, but is used as if it were a spear

spinning in the sky-mother. There is no holding onto or thought of a greater or lesser vehicle here.This is a reflexive clarity that is unadulterated and completely perfect. Again:

After we envision or do not envisionOur presence in the undefined sky,We become free from seeking .The sky that is our own minds,By its very nature,Is just the same. This is also proclaimed: The primordial mind itself is not permanent,Nor is it defined.It also has not remained in any undefined state,Since the primordial.What use would it be to talk about

The fact that it does not support any definitions? As for the errors pertaining to the essence, the same source proclaims: Those who wish to acquire direct perceptionPerpetually meditate on a cause.They are happy to be attached to their meditations,But will not get at the significanceOf the equanimity that is their cause. And again: The embodiment of the DharmaThat we conceptualize and meditate onDoes not have any special significance. The Mind Body[67] proclaims: Those who visualize an object,Using a forceful one-pointedness,Are not meditating on the unshakable clarityThat is the objective of their consciousness. They think that one-pointednessToward the objective of our consciousness,Which is the reflexive clarity of self-awareness,Is the best. They are excessiveIn that they do not visualize ordinary things.This is an obstruction and a deviance. Now to teach the experience. There is the erroneous, and there is the error-free. Now as for erroneous experience, these words have been proclaimed: You may say that so long as there is a profundityThat has no sign,We will crave for it to be clearWithin the state of our intellects.But any experience of the profoundThat is not a thoughtIs an experience,

And therefore is, in fact, a thought. There will be no discovery of that which is not to be conceptualized through any absence of

thought that we may experience. An analogy is the tastes that our tongues experience. They turn out tobe things that we subsequently take in and hold on to.

You may say: “Well then, what should we do?” This same source proclaims: This single body is totally pervasive,So there are no dharmas to be covered over.There are no ends to be reached.There is nothing to be written about its dominion.The play of the Dharma has no placeFor higher experiential tendencies.[68]It remains just as it isIn the totality of magnificent self-appearing objects. Reflexive awareness has no object. This resembles the way the tongue does not experience the

tongue’s own flavor. There is no higher experience of objects, so this is called: “The taste of theexperience of nourishing intent.”[69] On this point, there is another upadeśa that states that eventhough we might develop three, four, or five stages of experience, we have nothing to do with themhere, for our bodies would faint.

You may ask about the methods for developing a recognition of problems and how it is that we

obstruct the teachings intellectually. The five poisons rise up as a façade. Our six sensory doors diffuse toward their objects. The

disturbances of our inert tendencies arise naturally. There is the inner disturbance of our experiencingthe taste of dhyāna meditation. There is the disturbance of definitions. There is the disturbance ofmaking things up in our minds. There is the disturbance of taking on bad residences. There are thedisturbances brought about by force of the feelings that occur. There are many things to do, noise,mental conflict, friends, ridiculous discussions, support for gatherings, the impact of hungry ghosts, ofmeditating during periods when the wind is starting, delight in talking, subtle and coarseconceptualizing, great and small signs, running far and near, clear and unclear feelings, quick or slowoccurrences of feelings, our exertion in and delight for the nine Dharma Activities, our delight infame, our delight in the wisdom that comprehends things individually, and in complicated Dharmas.These are the twenty-four.

You may ask what it is that obstructs our clarity. Sinking into depression, not being freed by thespeech of the noble ones, conceptualizing our experience, attachment to the flavors of samadhi,hypocrisy in our three doors of body, speech, and mind, meditating in our own spirits on these four:emptiness, not conceptualizing anything at all, not dwelling on anything at all, and not visualizinganything at all, a darkened mind, sleep, blockages made under the influence of holding on andattachment, thoughts we make under the influence of wanting things to be permanent, doubt, distrust,

dualistic thinking, lack of upadeśa, hoping for clarity, hoping for stability, mental outpours that cast usinto the exterior, visualizations that draw us inward, not practicing our understandings, depending onease and relaxation, meditating on darkness, delight in practicing coitus, meditating on illusive thingsthat we may buy or acquire, drinking too much beer, depending on hot spots,[70] numerous hopes andfears, doing things to hinder or develop faults and virtues, purifications of our attitudes, problemswith our health, thinking that our minds are undisturbed, thinking about clarity, thinking abouthappiness, the misery in being worried that the signs of warmth and other such things have notoccurred, holding onto meanings as being sure things, the specific eradication of the views of others,and arrogance about our own views: these are the thirty-nine obstructions.

So you may ask what it is that obstructs non-duality. Forgetting our visualizations, laziness, sittingin idleness, laying on our bellies, not diagnosing our health, not knowing the measure of our sessions,not relying on sessions, relying on things that are disagreeable, shortening our inner state, andspeeding up our mental events:[71] These ten are general obstructions for all three: body, speech, andmind. They also obstruct us in combinations.

There are also other obstructions: The desire to generate warmth, the desire for signs to appear,the desire for supernatural cognitions to emerge, the desire to exhibit miracles, the hope that gooddream-signs will occur, the delight when the eight appearances of power[72] come forth, delight forthe eighteen objectives of demonic practices, meditation on the details of the thirteen branches of theRoot and their thirty-one minor features, and when the time to dwell on the path of practice emergeswe contrive that which has no contrivance.

The way of the lowly[73] is to contrive them as being remedies. Then there is the contrivance thatsplits them up between their differential cognitions. Then there is the contrivance that they areintentionally self-occurring and are pacified by themselves. It doesn’t matter which, these are alsoneither to be stopped nor taken on. Here, once we understand that ignorance is wisdom, why wouldwe contrive any obstruction to higher perception? Once we have entered into a resolve that theunderstandings of our conceptions are the self-luminescence of self-arising wisdom why would wecontrive obstructions to peaceful abiding? Since our understanding of both of them is one thing inreflexive awareness, why would we contrive an obstruction to their interaction? So think about thiscarefully.

Furthermore, since Atiyoga, the view of the Great Perfection, is not a planetary concern, whywould we need to clarify its meaning? Since our meditation does not include a search for signs thatare to be visualized, what would we seek to do to make it stable? Since everything is already in thenatural state of the lofty great spirit, and is not in any other understanding, what is there to contriveabout self-arising wisdom? Since there is no other remedy than self-arising wisdom, why search forits support? Since thought does not stop and has no reason or cause, reality is clearly a great spirit byitself, even though we do not work on it. Isn’t it? Since everything is wisdom, with no exterior orinterior, we are joyous and laughing, but what is there to laugh about? If there were not a great spiritof this sort, what basis would there be for the occurrence of depression or wildness? If they werepropagated only by the force of thoughts, how could problems come up in our meditation? What dothey come from? Where are they born?

There are indeed white and black clouds in the sky, while its natural state is empty. Do they movein from some place other than the sky? As in this analogy, while thoughts occur like clouds, it is notnecessary that they do so, for in reality awareness is self-illuminating. It is not something that iseternal or permanent within our thoughts. Reality appears, no matter what.

Thoughts, in their natural character, most certainly are an emptiness in which we maintain the most

supreme exceptionality, by their very nature.It is certainly true that I, the meditator, am also like that! But I, the meditator, and these thoughts are

both ultimately one, so I have no hatred or lack of hatred for these thoughts. I have grown used tothoughts since long ago, so I am satisfied with the feeling that there is movement in my nerves. Thereis ultimately no need to work on relinquishing and acquiring thoughts and non-thoughts as a whole.Thoughts work as conditions, so it also turns out that they are the reflexive clarity of awareness,which is just as is mentioned above.

So I have no anxiety about birth. I have no anger about my birth. I have no jealous worries aboutwhat will come in the future. I have no regrets about what has come up in the past. I do not give birthto a lusting for the reality of what things mean. I do not have a conceited attitude about knowledge orsamadhi. I separate the disharmonious from the friendly, so I have nothing to give up or acquire, and Ihave no delusions of misunderstanding. Regardless of which understandings or misunderstandingsmay occur, no one, at any time, will take hold of self-illuminating reflexive awareness and make itperfect, so I do not stray towards any lack of doing things intentionally with regard to the three times.

This same source says: Self-arising wisdomIs present in all thoughts.It is not contrived from some remedyThat does not existWithin the domain that is free from tasks. It is said: Wisdom is born out of thoughts themselves. And again: The sky does not give birth to thoughts,And these thoughts are, in themselves,Like the sky. It is said: All sentient beingsAre truly perfected Buddhas.So work it out in your mindThat you are a truly perfected Buddha. It is also said: As in the analogyIn which there within the natural state of the skyThe moon, and the sun, and the stars do appear,

But they abide as does the sky.In the sky-space of the mind itselfThere will appear the miracles of thought,But they will abide in the mind itself.This is how those who have yoga will see it. And: The source of the five poisons and all the restIs a natural state that manifests by itself,And pacifies itself. And: Regardless of whatever designations for the six doorsMay have come about,The natural state that is not a contrivance,And was not created,Has never been born,And therefore cannot be reversed. Once you know that thoughts are themselves reality it will be unnecessary to meditate on a

dominion of the Dharma that is anywhere else. Regarding the path of the practice of dhyāna meditation: All Dharmas are the great spirit’s body, speech, and mind, so what should practitioners on the path

of practice do? What must we do? Your own play will arise by itself in your own practice. How could that be? On the path of practice, in which we move from an