iii rd karmapa a treatise entitleda teaching on the essence of the tathagatas (the tathagatagarbha)

8/22/2019 III Rd Karmapa a Treatise EntitledA Teaching on the Essence of the Tathagatas (the Tathagatagarbha)

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The Third Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje

Venerable Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche

The Buddha Nature

Instructions on

A Treatise entitled: A Teaching on the Essence of the Tathagatas (The Tathagatagarbha)

by the Third Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje,

according to

An Illumination of the Thoughts of Rangjung (Dorje):

A Commentary to The Treatise that Teaches the Buddha Natureby Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye the Great

The Root Text

The Treatise entitled: A Teaching on the Essence of the Tathagatas

(The Tathagatagarbha)

by the Third Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje

Translated by Peter Roberts

I pay homage to all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

Though beginningless, it has an end.

It is pure by nature and has the quality of permanence.

It is unseen because it is obscured by a beginningless covering.

Like, for example, a golden statue that has been obscured.

That was taught (by the Buddha).

The element of the beginningless time

Is the location of all phenomena.

Due to its existence, there are all beings


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And also the attainment of nirvana.

(That was taught by the Buddha.)

All beings are Buddhas,

But obscured by incidental stains.

When those have been removed, there is Buddhahood.That is a quotation from a Tantra.

The element has no creator,

But is given this name because it retains its own characteristics.

Beginningless means that

There is nothing previous to it.

The time is that very instant.

It hasnt come from somewhere else.

Phenomena are explained to be

Samsara and nirvana appearing as a duality.This is named the ground of the latencies of ignorance.

The movement of mental events, correct thoughts

And incorrect thoughts are the cause of that arising (of samsara and nirvana).

The condition for their causes is taught to be the alaya (the universal ground).

The location is the Buddha nature.

Incorrect conceptualisation is completely located within the minds purity.

This purity that exists in that way

Exists, but is not seen due to ignorant conceptualisation.

Therefore, there is samsara.

If they are dispelled, there is nirvana,

Which is termed the end.

Beginning and end are dependent upon conceptualisation.

Mental events are like winds

That cause karma and kleshas to arise.

The (karma and kleshas) manifest the skandhas, dhatus,

Ayatanas, and all the phenomena of dualistic appearances.

Someone who strives for and discards these (appearances) is deluded.

What can be negated through rejecting your own projections?

What can be gained by acquiring your own projections?Isnt this belief in duality a fraud?

Though this understanding is taught as a remedy,

The understanding of non-duality is not truth.

It is not conception of non-conceptuality.

The understanding of emptiness gained through breaking down forms and so on,

Isnt it itself a delusion?

But it is taught so that attachment to things as real will cease.

There isnt anything that is either real or false.

The wise have said that everything is like the moons reflection on water.The ordinary mind is called


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The dharmadhatu and the Buddha nature.

The enlightened cannot improve it.

Unenlightened beings cannot corrupt it.

It is described by many names,

But its meaning cannot be known through verbal expression.

It is unceasing manifestation.

(It is taught) to have sixty-four qualities.

Though this is (just) a simplified description,

It is said that each of the sixty-four has millions (of qualities).

There are ten strengths:

(1) the knowledge of appropriate and inappropriate actions;

(2) the knowledge of the ripening of karma,

(3) of natures,

(4) aptitudes, and

(5) aspirations;

(6) the knowledge of the destinations of all paths,

(7) (the possession) of dhyana;

(8) divine sight,

(9) the memory of previous lives, and

(10) peace.

Due to those (ten strengths), there are the four fearlessnesses:

(1) teaching that one abides in enlightenment, within all phenomena,

(2) teaching the path,

(3) teaching cessation, and

(4) being beyond dispute.

Due to those causes there are these eighteen (distinct qualities):

(1) no error,

(2) no empty chatter,

(3) no forgetfulness,

(4) continuous meditation,

(5) the absence of a variety of identifications,

(6) the absence of an undiscriminating neutrality,

(7) the possession of an undeteriorating aspiration,

(8) diligence,

(9) mindfulness,

(10) samadhi,

(11) prajna,

(12) the wisdom that sees complete liberation,

(13)-(15) every action being preceded by wisdom, and

(16)-(18) time being unable to obscure.

If those thirty-two (qualities) are possessed, there is the dharmakaya.

In our present (state), we deny the (presence of the Buddha nature) and these qualities.

There is no understanding of it as it is.

The non-existent fabrications are conceived of as existent.

The completely true is not known.Thus we create our own torment.


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Oh! Understanding these qualities of the dharmakaya

To be true is the knowledge of truth,

But in their present state, beings with meagre ability

Reject the knowledge of truth and fabricate untruth,

Which is adopted by the agitation that follows it.

Through knowing (the Buddha nature) as it is

One obtains its powers.

There is nothing whatever to be removed;

There isnt the slightest thing that needs to be added.

The truth is truly seen.

If the truth is seen, there is complete liberation.

The element is devoid of the incidental impurities,

Which have the characteristic of being separate.

It is not devoid of the unsurpassable qualities,

Which have the characteristic of inseparability.

In (the Buddha nature) are the qualities of the two form kayas:

The thirty-two major and (eighty) secondary signs.

Those qualities that are attained are ones own body.

The body is not created by self, Phwya, Shiva, Brahma, external real particles,

Or by elements beyond experience.

When the impure development of the five senses,

When the (duality) of perceiver and perceived

Is purified, the name attainment is given.

Therefore, the purified nadis, vayus, and bindus are the pure form kayas.

The unpurified are the impure form kayas.

For example, the qualities of an encrusted

Beryl are not evident.

When it is cleaned with yak-hair cloth and salty-water,

And cleaned with vinegar and woollen cloth,

Purified, it becomes the jewel that fulfils all needs and desires.

In the same way, for the purpose of clearing away

The three encrustations of the kleshas, knowledge, and meditation

From the aquamarine of the mind,There is their total cessation through the paths of accumulation and juncture,

The seven impure bhumis and their pure bhumis.

When incorrect conceptualisation

Encounters correct conceptualisation,

Just as both (kindling-) sticks are burned by the fire, there is freedom from (both)

conceptualisations.

There is freedom from the concepts of elimination,

Remedies, suchness, and the idea of a result.

At that time, the flowers of the physical signs blossomIn the one who has the body of space.


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The three phases of impurity, both purity and impurity,

And of complete purity are respectively:

(The phases) of beings, Bodhisattvas, and the Tathagatas.

Though this is what is said, Buddhahood is not newly created.

As it was before, it is the same after.It is the changeless Buddha nature.

The change is becoming free of the stains.

If someone has the negative view

That the Buddha qualities have no cause,

Or conceive them not to be within oneself,

But created by external causes and conditions,

What difference is there between that and the eternalist and nihilist views of non-

Buddhists?

The apparent momentary birth and cessation of the mental events (of Buddhas)Correspond to the impure mental events (of beings).

If (the mental events of the Buddhas) were not like that,

The activity of the form kayas would cease.

However, they are not given the name mental events,

But (the name) discriminating wisdom.

The nature of material elements

Is (either) accompanied by clinging (or) their powerful essence is manifested.

There is no difference whatsoever in appearances

To the deluded and the undeluded.

The (only) difference is the presence or absence of clinging to dualism.

If that was not so,

How could the Buddhas apply their activity?

The examples of the wish-fulfilling jewel and so on

Are explained to represent the manifestation of non-conceptual power.

However, this does not exist solely within the beings of others.

If that were so, it would be the wisdom of other beings.

And if that were so, then wisdom would be delusion.

If one states that (wisdom) has attachment for its own appearances,

Then a mirror that has appearances within it

Would (also) have thoughts of attachment.

All the delusions that beings have

Appear to (a Buddhas) wisdom.

The wisdom is however unstained by the delusions.

For example, though the material elements

Appear to originate and cease within space,

Space is unstained, is without any origin or cessation.

In that same way, though the wisdom of the BuddhasEnters beings, it is not stained.


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It is not given the name delusion.

It is called (the wisdom of) accomplishment of action.

The mind that has the absence of the three obscurations

Is (the wisdom of) equality and it is peace.

Due to having love and great compassion (for beings)The sambhoga (kaya), etc., appears to them.

This is stated in order to refute those who say

That the attainment of Buddhahood is the same as the Hinayana (attainment).

Wisdom is the three permanences:

Permanence of nature is the dharmakaya;

Permanence of continuity is the sambhogakaya;

Uninterruptedness is the nirmanakaya.

There are three impermanences:

Mentally fabricated emptiness is impermanent;The mind of moving thoughts is impermanent;

The composite six consciousnesses are impermanent.

However, the three permanences are present.

The three impermanences are stains.

The three permanences are wisdom.

This is not the same as the Tirthika self,

Because that is a mental fabrication and (Buddha nature) is not.

This is not the same as the nirvana of the Shravakas and Pratyekabuddhas

Because (in that) all the qualities of the form kayas are not manifested.

This is not the same as the body of an (ordinary) being

Because it is not created due to the defilements.

It will not change back to the previous state

Because it has manifested exactly as it is.

There will never (again) be the appearance of the stains

Because there is freedom from differentiating conceptualisation.

Therefore, the mind, this Buddha,Is present now, but is not known.

(From the Sutralankara):

When there is realization, at that time,

Just as when the heat of metal ceases,

And conjunctivitis in the eyes cease,

Because Buddhahood (has occurred), one cannot say that

Mind and wisdom either exist or do not exist.

(From the Mahayanavimshika):

Because in the pristine meaning there is no birth,There is also no liberation there.


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Buddhahood is like space.

It has the same qualities as beings.

As this side and the opposite side are birthless,

The composites are truly empty.

This is the experience of omniscient wisdom.

(From the Uttaratantra)

It is subtle, so it is not the object of learning.

It is ultimate, so it is not the object of contemplation.

The dharmata is profound, so it is not the object of

Mundane meditation, and so on.

This experience of wisdom that knows itself,

This ultimate arises through trust in self-origination.

Oh! Because they do not understand this,

The children wander in the ocean of samsara!

Through the power of great Shakyamuni,

Of Manjushri, Maitreya, and Avalokiteshvara,

This was written by Rangjung Dorje.

May all beings have unmistaken knowledge

And full attainment of the Buddha nature!

This completes the definitive presentation of the Buddha nature,

which is the essence of the vajrayana.

SHUBHAM! (Auspiciousness!)

Introduction

In a prophecy, Naropa told Marpa that in his Lineage the pupils would be greater than their

teachers. The First Karmapa was Dusum Khyenpa and the Second Karmapa was Karma

Pakshi, who had greater power and more miraculous abilities than the First. Basically, both

the First and Second Karmapas were in essence the same, but it appeared as though Karma

Pakshi was more magnificent. In the same way, the Third Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje, had

even greater qualities of learning and miraculous abilities. There are seventeen Karmapas and

among them Rangjung Dorje was the greatest scholar. In fact, two Karmapas showed

immense learning, experience, and realization; they were Rangjung Dorje, the Third

Karmapa, and Mikyo Dorje, the Eighth Karmapa. Mikyo Dorje demonstrated great

knowledge and realization of the sutras, and Rangjung Dorje demonstrated great knowledge

and realization of the tantras.

Rangjung Dorje was a master of the Kalachakra teachings. He had the experience, realization,

and clear knowledge of the movements within the body, of the nadis (the channels), thevayus (the subtle winds), and the bindus (the subtle essences). He understood them quite


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clearly as they are taught in the tantras and composed the text, The Deep Inner Meaning -

Zabmo-Nangdon. Here he described all the highest tantras, the Anutaratantras, which are

comprised of the father, the mother, and the non-dual tantras. Since Rangjung Dorje had

mastered the Kalachakratantra, he understood astrology and therefore the movements of the

sun, moon, and stars on the basis of his knowledge of the nadis, vayus, and bindus within the

body. He therefore composed astrological texts based upon the Kalachakratantra, whichclearly explained the movements of celestial constellations. These texts are exceptional

because they illuminate the movements of the planets, solar system, lunar eclipses, etc.

Rangjung Dorje wrote two treatises, which are branches of the Zabmo Nangdon. These two

shastras are Transcending Ego: Distinguishing Consciousness from Wisdom and The

Teaching on the Tathagatagarbha, the text presented here. In the first shastra, the Glorious

Third Karmapa showed the difference between the various types of consciousness and

wisdoms; in the latter he showed how the Buddha nature is present within all living beings.

1. An Explanation of the Title

All living beings born in the world see it as their birthright and duty to experience happiness.

But they experience the suffering of ageing, sickness, and death. Alternating between surprise

and disappointment, the only liberation from anxieties arising from dual experiences that burn

continuously is recognizing and removing own imperfections and evolving instead of

remaining self-involved. His Holiness the Third Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje, therefore wrote

The Treatise entitled: A Teaching on the Essence of the Tathagatas (The Tathagatagarbha)

Let us look at the Sanskrit word tathagatagarbha, which is de dzhin gshegs pai snying po in

Tibetan, to understand well what letting go in order to release the true nature means, which is

the goal.The Sanskrit means the womb,garbha from the root wordgarbh, to conceive

(which in pure Sanskrit can also mean the interior, embryo, foetus) of the Tathagatas, i.e.,

the place from which they are born. Tathagata is comprised first of the syllable tatha,

which means in that manner, in that way, so, thus. The second half of the word has been

interpreted to be bothgata, gone, and agata, come, as the same result comes from the

combination oftatha with either word. However,gata as the conclusion of the compound

word normally has the meaning of to be something or somewhere, so that the term would

mean one is thus or like that. Therefore, although the Sanskrit can mean, to be in such(a state or condition), it has been glossed and translated literally as one who has come

and/or gone like (the previous Buddhas), i.e., a Buddha. The Chinese translation of the term

tatha followed the interpretation one come in that way, while the Tibetan de-bzhin-gshegs-

pa followed one gone in that way. The wordgarbha was translated into Tibetan assnyging-

po, which means essence, so that the Tibetan term literally means the essence of the

Tathagatas instead of the womb or embryo of the Tathagatas. The Standard English

translation of either the Sanskrit or Tibetan is Buddha nature.

The Third Karmapa wrote the treatise that explains the Buddha nature so that disciples and

pupils let go of the sense of being separated from the external world and give rise to and

manifest kindness and goodness instead. Rangjung Dorje taught about the essence of theTathagatas, one could also say Sugatas and called the treatise The Sugatagarbhashastra.


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Sugata means gone to bliss. In order to win the peace of bliss, it is necessary to follow in

the footsteps of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. In this regard, a spiritual teacher who has

attained wisdom and bliss can - through setting examples, presenting instructions, and

offering guidance - show the way. Can ordinary beings reach the same goal the Buddhas have

attained? Just as the Buddhas and Sugatas tread the path and have gone to bliss, every livingbeing can because the Buddha nature is innately ours.

The term Sugata refers to bliss, which, in turn, points to suffering and pain. The term

Tathagata, in contrast, means one gone like that or one gone thus. This means that when

a Bodhisattva has realized Buddhahood, he or she has not only gone to bliss but has naturally

manifested his or her true nature - bountiful virtues and values of lasting worth.

All living beings possess the Buddha nature, the pure essence. Everyone can attain a state of

bliss that opens and yields ineffable qualities. How? By meditating. There are the Dzogchen

and Mahamudra meditation instructions in the Buddhist Tradition. One needs to receive these

instructions from an authentic spiritual master and guide, someone who can reliably show theway. If one receives meditation instructions, understands them perfectly, and knows how to

practice, then no difficulties will arise. If one does not understand the instructions clearly,

then practice will be very difficult. This is the reason why the instructions on the Buddha

nature were given.

In the commentary to this text, Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye the Great stressed the

importance of knowing why one engages in meditation practice. The reasons are presented in

the teachings on the view, which is won by studying the texts. He stressed the significance of

practicing meditation with the correct view, otherwise one would resemble someone who tries

to climb a steep mountain cliff without any hands. Similarly, he compared someone who has

won certainty of the view but does not meditate with a rich person who hoards his wealth out

of miserliness. Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye wrote that if one practices both disciplines,

namely gains certainty of the view by studying the instructions and meditates properly, then a

disciple resembles a bird flying through the sky with two wings fully in tact. He tells us that

the right wing of the bird is meditation, the left wing is knowledge, and when both wings are

healthy the bird can fly freely. This is the reason why the Third Karmapa wrote the treatise on

the Buddha nature, so that living beings are inspired to attain unity with their own brilliant

treasure, ever present and true.

2. Why Shastras Were Written & Nine Categories of Shastras

In general, the discourses presented by Lord Buddha are collected in the Kangyur, The

Translation of the Buddhas Word, orsutras (Sanskrit for the Pali word sutta, scripture).

The three traditions of Buddhist scriptures are the Theravada, the Chinese, and the Tibetan. In

particular, the Chinese masters emphasized the sutras and criticized the shastras (bstan-bcos

in Tibetan), the written commentaries by Buddhist masters that are collected in the

Tangyur, The Translations of Teachings; they said that they are not valid. The Vajrayana

masters of Tibet always recognized and honoured the importance of the shastras because the

scholars who composed them did not write something different than Lord Buddhas words.The Tibetan version of the Tangyurconsists of more than 100 volumes.


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The vast collections of scriptures are named after the place where they were printed and

published. The complete Kangyur was first published in Beijing in 1411, the first Tibetan

edition was printed at Narthang in 1742 and consists of 98 volumes. The Narthang Tangyur

contains more than 3.600 texts with stories, commentaries on the tantras and sutras,

discussions on Vinaya and Abhidharma, logic, rhetoric, grammar, literature, biographies,painting, medicine, chemistry, and astrology. TheDerge Kangyurwas edited by Situ Panchen

Chokyi Jungney and was completed in 1744 by Tsultrim Rinchen. The Derge Collection was

printed at both the Printing Academy and Palpung Monastery in Derge, West Sichuan, the

latter treasured in most monasteries, hermitages, and temples in Tibet and Mongolia the most.

It was because of these collections of Buddhist wisdom that the Mahayana tradition survived

through many centuries, from the time that the translations began in the 8 th century until now.

Why were the shastras written? One reason why the shastras that are collected in the Tangyur

were written is because the Buddhas teachings are so vast and a beginner would find it very

tedious to gain an understanding of a specific topic from the original texts collected in the

Kangyur, which are not organized in an accessible way. The Buddha replied to individualswho asked questions in different places and under other circumstances, therefore the teachings

are answers to specific questions. Pupils living somewhere else asked other questions and

received different answers. The vast amount of teachings are therefore scattered throughout

the sutras and not organized according to topics in a single volume, so it is not possible for us

to learn what we wish to know from the many sutras. This is the reason why great masters

composed treatises in which they collected and compiled a subject matter from the various

sources into one text. A shastra deals with one subject found in many sutras. This is one

reason why the shastras are important and precious - a topic is accessible.

Furthermore, shastras clearly explain profound subjects. Some pupils think that only knowing

what the Buddha said suffices and have deep faith, while other pupils are more inquisitive.

For example, in The Prajnaparamitasutra we read, There are no eyes, no ears, no tongue

(). Some students have conviction in this statement and rely upon the Buddhas words.

Others wonder and seek explanations from qualified teachers. Scholars wrote texts to explain

the meaning and logically prove why such statements are true.

Another reason why shastras were written was to hinder a decline and distortion of the

precious teachings. Some sutras may be lost or not translated into Tibetan; other sutras only

contain certain answers to specific questions. In order to prevent degeneration of the

Buddhas words, a great master wrote a treatise in which the entire subject would be covered.

These are three reasons why Rangjung Dorje and other great masters wrote shastras.

There are many different kinds of shastras. Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye the Great defined

nine categories:

(1) Meaningless shastras are texts that, for example, go into detail to argue whether birds have

teeth or not. Such literature is of no help to anyone and does not encourage spiritual practice.

Studying them is of no help or benefit to anyone.

(2) Incorrect shastras convey wrong meanings. For instance, there are texts that try to explain

that if one dies in a war, one will attain liberation, but dying in anger and rage that every war

always entails is of no benefit to anyone at all.

(3) Meaningful shastras convey beneficial thoughts. Studying this type of treatise willdefinitely be good for oneself.


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(4) Deceptive shastras mislead people. There was once a king in ancient India who had a

beautiful daughter he wished to see married, so he wrote a text in which he said that things

happen for no reason at all and haphazardly. He argued that peas are round and thorns are

sharp without a cause, implying that even though his daughter grew up in a hothouse

atmosphere, there would be no reason to worry about marrying her.

(5) Heartless shastras are texts that have no compassionate message. Once I came across agroup of Hindu ascetics at the Marataka Caves who were sitting around a burning log and

inhaling the smoke. I asked them why they were doing this, and they answered that they were

practising asceticism as they had read. Now, a teaching of this kind only causes suffering for

such practitioners and does not help anyone at all.

(6) A shastra that instructs how to eliminate suffering is a treatise that shows how to become

free from the temporary suffering of conditioned existence and how to achieve lasting

freedom from discomfort and discontent.

(7) A shastra devoted to learning is a treatise that helps gain an understanding of a subject

matter.

(8) A shastra dealing with debate is a treatise that teaches how to discuss various opinions

through refutations and proof.(9) A shastra devoted to spiritual practice is a treatise that brings lasting benefit. Shastras

seven and eight offer temporary well-being, while number nine teaches how to practise so that

one gains reliable, beneficial results.

There are six types of shastras that one does not need: 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, and 8. One needs the

treatises that have a meaning, that show how to eradicate suffering, and that are devoted to

helping us practice: numbers 3, 6, and 9.

The tradition of writing shastras originated in India, where scholars would compile and

comment specific subjects presented in the sutras. In Tibet, another tradition arose and

developed. Masters would commence a commentary by first composing an outline of the

entire text they were presenting. Their treatises begin with a short summary, and then they

wrote a detailed explanation. This approach makes it easier for the teacher and for students. It

is difficult understanding an outline which summarizes an entire text, often referred to as

root texts, and that is also why shastras were written.

3. Homages in Traditional Texts

In the Buddhist tradition it is the custom when writing a treatise to begin with the name of the

treatise, then to pay homage, and often to pledge to write the treatise. This is done so that the

author doesnt encounter any obstacles while writing a book and so that the text presenting the

Buddhas words benefits others in the future without any hindrances. The supplication is

written with the wish that when it is finished and others study, contemplate, and meditate,

they will encounter no obstacles but will be able to master the training and practices that the

author hoped to convey.

First there is homage to the Three Jewels the Buddha as the teacher, the Dharma as the body

of teachings, and the Sangha as all noble friends assisting and accompanying one along theway. In Buddhism, it is recognized that a Buddha is someone who has achieved the state of


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realization through having gradually proceeded on the successive stages of the path. While on

the stages of the path he or she is a Bodhisattva. Therefore, there is the homage to the

Buddhas who have completed and to the Bodhisattvas who are on the path. The homage in the

Sutra Tradition that Noble Rangjung wrote to commence The Tathagatagarbhashastra reads,

I pay homage to all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

The homage that Shantideva wrote in The Bodhicharyavatara is,

To those who go in bliss, the Dharma they have mastered and to all their heirs,

To all who merit veneration, I bow down.

According to tradition, I shall now in brief describe

The entrance to the bodhisattva discipline.

(Shantideva, The Way of the Bodhisattva. A Translation of the Bodhicharyavatara . Translated from the Tibetanby the Padmakara Translation Group, Shambhala, Boston & London, 2002, page 33.)

A few verses from Shantidevas sincere offerings are,

To the buddhas, those thus gone,

And to the sacred Law, immaculate, supreme, and rare,

And to the Buddhas offspring, oceans of good qualities,

That I might gain this precious attitude, I make a perfect offering.

I offer every fruit and flower

And every kind of healing medicine;

And all the precious things the world affords,

With all pure waters of refreshment;

Every mountain, rich and filled with jewels;

All sweet and lonely forest groves;

The trees of heaven, garlanded with blossom,

And branches heavy, laden with their fruit.(Ibid., page 29.)

When paying homage, there is the understanding that the Buddha has two qualities. These two

qualities address the two sides of existence, being and becoming. The first side points to the

fact that ordinary living beings have the three negative kleshas (Sanskrit for mind poisons),

which are ignorance, aggression, and desire. The second aspect is that ordinary living beings

possess the pure qualities of knowledge and love for others, small in comparison to the mindpoisons. The positive qualities gradually manifest when a practitioner relies on the remedies

to decrease and eradicate the kleshas the moment they arise or before they grow. When the

negative kleshas have been eliminated, then there is attainment of Buddhahood, the state of a

perfect Buddha, which is enlightenment.

The Tibetan word for cleansed is sang, the first half of the name for Buddha. When all

faults have been removed, then the positive qualities manifest; they are wisdom, love, and

great compassion for all living beings. Love and compassion encourage and empower. All

qualities of being and becoming develop and increase through the cleansing process of

practice. The Tibetan word for developing and increasing is gyae, the second half of the

word for Buddha in Tibetan, Sang-gyae. That is why Sanggyae, Buddha, embodies the

purification of all negative tendencies and habits as well as the attainment of all beneficial


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qualities, which are then vast, gyae in Tibetan. Paying homage to Buddha is honouring and

revering the result of the path, the supreme state of perfection, which is enlightenment.

There is also the homage to the Bodhisattvas who are on the path, i.e., those progressing from

the state of an ordinary being to that of perfection. Bodhisattvas have three qualities, as the

connotation shows. The Tibetan term for the Sanskrit word bodhi has two syllables, changand chub. These two syllables mean, respectively, cleansed and attained. Just as the word

sang in the Tibetan name for Buddha, Sanggyae, cleansed means purified of the negative

kleshas described above. A Bodhisattva has not cleansed all kleshas yet since he or she is still

on the path, but gradually eliminates more and more while practicing the skilful methods of

the path. The second Tibetan syllable for the Sanskrit word bodhi is chub, which means, to

obtain (the positive qualities). A Bodhisattva unfolds more and more qualities of being while

he practices the stages of the path. In this way, a Bodhisattva develops qualities of purification

as well as attainment.

The Tibetan word for the Sanskrit term sattva in Bodhisattva issem-pa and means a hero, a

courageous and brave person. A practitioner of the Buddhadharma indeed needs courage inorder to eliminate his or her own faults that are impediments to pure qualities of being. In the

beginning, a practitioner needs confidence; he or she needs to know that it is possible to

remove negative kleshas and to manifest values of worth. A student needs confidence that

practicing the teachings Lord Buddha imparted will lead to the beneficial results of

purification and attainment, qualities a Buddha manifests freely and openly. A

Changchubsempa, a Bodhisattva, sincerely and diligently works with and realizes these three

values that beautify him or her: courage, purification, and realization, and he or she never

gives up.

In the past, texts that dealt with topics from the Abhidharma or higher knowledge began with

homage to the Bodhisattva Manjushri, who embodies wisdom. The sword he carriessymbolizes that he cuts the basic klesha of ignorance.

I bow to the youthful, gentle and brilliant Manjushri.

Texts written by Asanga in reliance upon instructions from Buddha Maitreya pay homage to

the coming Buddha with the line,

To the Guardian Maitreya we bow in supplication.

The homage that the Third Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje, wrote in The Mahamudra Monlam

Prayerbegins with the Sanskrit words Namo Guru because the teachings of the Buddha and

the commentaries written by scholars and Siddhas were translated from Sanskrit into Tibetan,

so it is to show that these teachings were not invented in Tibet but originated in India, the

home of Lord Buddha and the great Siddhas.

Namo Guru,

Lamas, Yidams and deities of the mandala.

Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in the ten directions and of the three times,

Please look upon me with compassion and bestow your blessings

So that my aspiration be fulfilled with your guidance.


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Namo Guru means homage to the Guru, homage to the teacher. This is written because

when one practices the Dharma, in particular meditation, one needs to rely upon a teacher for

instructions. If one meditates without a guide, the meditation may be faulty. In the same way

as one needs a guide to show the way to a place one wishes to visit, one can end up where one

didnt want to go without one. With a guide, it is easier taking the right road and it is more

likely that one will arrive at the destination one set out to reach. It is the same with thepractice of meditation. One needs a teacher because one has no experience. One needs

someone who can instruct, If you meditate in this way, then you will have that kind of

experience, and when you have that kind of experience, this is what you should do. Trying to

meditate without a guide may be all right but may go wrong. Even if everything goes well,

there are different ways of practicing meditation. There might be a long way, there might be a

short way, so one needs to have a teacher who has experience in meditation and who can

guide one in ones practice. This is important for the practice of meditation in general but

especially for Mahamudra and Dzogchen. That is why The Mahamudra Prayerbegins with

homage to the teacher.

Furthermore, the homage to all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas is a request for their blessings,which must always be made. Some people think that they dont need a blessing and that

whatever they achieve is their own making. But it isnt like that. Others may think that a

blessing gives them power and imparts an immediate transformation. But it is not like that

either. One receives the blessings from the Guru in terms of positive karma, so that one will

be able to gradually abandon ill will and increase the good, or that the one will be able to

diminish the kleshas in ones mind and enhance ones good motivation as well as ones love

and compassion for others as one has for kin. One only gains wisdom through ones own

efforts as well as through the blessings one receives, so there is a natural dependence. In The

Mahamudra Prayer, Rangjung Dorje also supplicated the Lamas and Yidams of the

Transmission Lineage who abide in the splendorous mandala. One prays to them, too, because

one has faith and wishes to receive their blessings. It is a wish, and wishes come true if one

has faith and sincerely tries.

A few lines from the homage Patrul Rinpoche wrote in The Words of My Perfect Teacher:

Venerable teachers whose compassion is infinite andUnconditional, I prostrate myself before you all.

Conquerors of the mind lineage, Vidhyadharas of the symbol lineage;

Most fortunate of ordinary beings who,

Guided by the enlightened ones, have attained the twofold goal Teachers of the three lineages, I prostrate myself before you.

In the expanse where all phenomena come to exhaustion, you

Encountered the wisdom of dharmakaya;

In the clear light of empty space you saw sambhogakaya Buddhafields appear;

To work for beings benefit you appeared to them in nirmanakaya form.

Omniscient Sovereign of Dharma, I prostrate myself before you.

(Patrul Rinpoche,Kungzang Lama i Shelung The Words of My Perfect Teacher,

Shambhala, Boston,

1998, page 3.


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What is fruition of ones efforts? Bringing appearances, which are generally experienced as

imperfect, to a pure level. The view won through studying the scriptures understands that

anything experienced is only relative. In truth, appearances have no real existence, are like

visions in a dream. Understanding the true essence of all things is experiencing their purity. It

is not through reciting mantras or through receiving some substance, which supposedly

possesses power, that impurity is transformed. It is through understanding that appearancesthemselves are not imperfect, but that clinging to things as real generates and increases the

confusion and suffering that the kleshas always entail.

What are impure and pure levels of being? Although things are in the absolute sense voidness

or the pure nature, on the relative level things manifest in reliance upon one another; they

depend upon each other; they originate, one from the other. Impure levels of being are

perceiving and believing that things are real and exist independently, whereas the true nature

of all things is emptiness. Appearances arent wrong; rather ones way of relating to them - as

though they were final and real - is mistaken. It is due to emptiness that things arise and cease

again and it is due to their unimpeded self-expression that they incessantly arise. On the

relative level, things appear but in truth are not existent, i.e., have no independent reality oftheir own. These two aspects only contradict each other as long as the interconnected nature

of all things is not understood. As a result, one perceives appearances and experiences and

hides from ones own limitations because one cannot see that things appear while not existing

independently, i.e., things seem to exist independently but dont. The right view attained

through studying, contemplating, and meditating the Buddhadharma is realizing that relative

appearances and their ultimate nature are not in opposition to each other but are the

inseparability of emptiness and self-expression, i.e., appearances are empty by nature,

continuously manifest, and do so uninterruptedly, the three permanent aspects of lasting

wisdom the dharmakaya, sambhogakaya, and nirmanakaya.

4. When Did Samsara Begin? When Will It End?

When did samsara begin? Always and ever, because it is beginningless. Following the

homage to all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, Rangjung Dorje tells us in The

Tathagatagarbhashastra ,



It is unseen because it is obscured by a beginningless covering,

Like, for example, a golden statue that has been obscured.




Due to its existence, there are all beings,

And also, the attainment of nirvana.




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When those have been removed, there is Buddhahood.

That is a quotation from Tantra.

Some students may think that the first sentence after the homage, Though beginningless, it

has an end, is quite strange and could argue that samsara must have a beginning somewhereand at some time. In fact, many people insist that anything and everything must have a

beginning. But this is not so. Let us look at the example of a flower. Where did the flower

originate? It came from a sprout, and the sprout grew from a seed. Where did the seed

originate? It came from last years flower, and last years flower came from a seed that was a

product of a previous years flower on and on, into the past. We clearly understand that

there is no beginning and will never be found, no matter how hard people try. Similarly, the

succession of lives in samsara has no beginning.

When will samsara end? Although never, Rangjung Dorje tells us, () it has an end. This

means that although there is no beginning, samsara has an end. How can this be? When one

attains Buddhahood through practice, then samsara ends. Other texts say that samsara isendless. How can that be? These statements seem to contradict each other. What they mean is

that for an individual samsara is beginningless but will eventually end. Since there are so

many living beings in samsara, it is, in fact, endless. This is the reason why samsara does end

and is endless at the same time it is endless in that there are innumerable beings in myriad

worlds entrenched too deeply in samsara to even sense that it is possible to experience relief.

In the second line of the shastra, Rangjung Dorje quoted the words of the Buddha from a

sutra,

It is pure by nature, and has the quality of permanence.

This means that the Tathagatagarbha, the Buddha nature, has two qualities. Some people think

that it is not faultless, but this is not so. It is immaculate and has no defect whatsoever. It is

also permanent, i.e., it is continuously present, at all times, and therefore has the quality of

permanence.

Four qualities of the Buddha nature have been presented: It is beginningless, ends samsara, is

by nature pure, and is permanent. One may wonder why it cannot be seen. The Karmapa tells

us that

It is unseen, because it is obscured by a beginningless covering.

That is to say, it is covered and therefore cannot be seen, the fifth characteristic of the

Tathagatagarbha, which is compared to a golden statue that has been concealed.

In the Uttaratantrashastra, Maitreyanatha presented the simile of someone possessing a piece

of gold that fell from his hands and was lost in the rubbish around his feet. One day an

impoverished man came along and built his shack on the mess. He lived there, atop the lump

of gold, destitute for food and clothes. The gold could not reveal itself, and the poor man

could not see it hidden in the dirt under his hut. A clairvoyant could, and one day someone

with such abilities walked by the shack. Out of compassion, he told the beggar that he only

needed to dig for the pure gold under his house and all his worries would stop. Yet, the poor

man first needed to believe what the clairvoyant had told him before he started digging for thetreasure he had been living on for such a long time. In the same way, all living beings have


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the Buddha nature, which - like gold - is changeless. As long as we are in samsara, we cannot

see it. The Buddha saw the Tathagatagarbha abiding within each and every one. Out of great

compassion, he taught about the Buddha nature, showed how to reveal it through practice, and

proved that no one is forced to suffer samsaras frustrations and woe. Yet, we need to believe

and trust him; then we are free to hear, contemplate, and practice the instructions in order to

realize the true nature abiding way down within. After unearthing the gold, samsara finallyends.

The Third Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje, generously encourages us by quoting the Buddha:






He tells us that there is the element of beginningless time, the element that is the essence ofthe Tathagatas, and that it has been present within since time without beginning. It is the

location of all magnificent qualities, too. It exists within all living beings, without exception,

and nobody is privileged before or above anyone else. Whoever practices the instructions that

Lord Buddha gave, can attain the final result, nirvana, because



When those have been removed, there is Buddhahood.


Rangjung Dorje is sharing a quotation from the The Hevajra Tantra with us, that all beings

are Buddhas, always already, because they have the precious Buddha nature which is

momentarily obscured by the kleshas, the incidental stains or negativities of the mind.

In the Madhyanathavibhanga - Distinguishing the Middle from the Extremes, Maitreyanatha

gave three examples that show in which way the Buddha nature is obscured and can be

purified again: Water is by nature pure but can be polluted by soil and dirt it can be

cleansed. Gold is by nature pure but can be discoloured on the surface it can sparkle again.

The sky is by nature pure but can be obscured by clouds it can and will be clear again.

Nagarjuna, the extraordinary Indian master of the first century A.D. who founded theMadhyamaka School, also dealt with this topic and presented the examples of the sun and

moon. He tells us that they are by nature bright and clear but can be covered by a veil of

clouds or dust or they can be concealed from our sight through eclipses. Similarly, the Buddha

nature is changeless and pure but can be obscured by the five kleshas (the incidental stains

or negativities of the mind), which are summarized as five: craving, desire, maliciousness,

laziness, and doubt. These stains can be eliminated. When the sun and moon shine brightly

again, they appear naturally and need not have been created anew. Just so in the text by

Maitreyanatha, Distinguishing the Middle from the Extremes: Once the pollution,

incrustations, and clouds have been removed, the natural purity of water, gold, and the sky,

respectively, appear naturally. Their purity is not created. Likewise, once the kleshas of the

mind have been removed, the purity of the Buddha nature manifests freely and radiantly. It isnot created anew.


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Rangjung Dorje stressed the importance of learning about the Buddha nature by offering

quotations from the sutras and tantras, to enhance ones trust and diligence towards

experiencing and manifesting the true nature abiding within. Many students tell me that they

practice so hard but do not really know why. It is important to want to practice, and that is

why Lord Buddha presented the teachings on the Tathagatagarbha. By having trust andconfidence in our true nature and knowing that the experience of delusion, suffering, and pain

can end, we are inspired to make friends with ourselves and others by unveiling the Buddha

nature that is always and already abiding within and through us.

5. Definitions of the Buddha Nature

We went through the introduction to The Tathagatagarbhashastra by Rangjung Dorje in the

chapter, When Did Samsara Begin? When Will It End? It is a summary of the quotations on

the Buddha nature from the sutras and tantra and introduces the contents of the shastra that the

Third Karmapa now offers in detail. The root text lists six definitions of the Buddha nature

given in the sutras.

I pay homage to all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.



It is unseen because it is obscured by a beginningless covering.Like, for example, a golden statue that has been obscured.







Beginningless

Beginningless means that

There is nothing previous to it.

The time is that very instant.

It hasnt come from somewhere else.

There is the element of beginningless time in all living beings, which is also the essence of the

Tathagatas. It is the place from which all wonderful qualities of being arise and already exists

within every living being without exception. This means that the one or other person does not

have a better chance of realizing his or her own true being.


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The word beginningless means that there is nothing previous to something, that nothing has

gone before. If there is a beginning, then there wasnt anything before. Time is therefore

described as ()that very instant, i.e., time is the present mind in this very instant. Its essence

is emptiness and its nature is clarity. When the essence and nature have been realized, the

ultimate is seen. One then realizes that the relative arises amid the vast expanse of the

ultimate. The true nature of the mind is just that and not beyond conditioned existence.

Many texts speak about four times. The first three refer to the past, present, and future,

which are relative truths because they are mental constructs, i.e., they are designated by the

mind. For example, the present day is called today, the past day yesterday - a negation of

the word today - and the coming day tomorrow, but there is nothing definite or

conclusive about these statements other than functionality. That is why there is beginningless-

ness, the fourth dimension. Whoever practices the teachings given by Lord Buddha can

achieve that recognition, since


But obscured by incidental stains.When those have been removed, there is Buddhahood.


Rangjung Dorje continued by presenting the next five definitions of the Buddha nature

according to the sutras. They are: element, phenomena, location, exists, and the end.

Element

The element has no creator,But is given this name because it retains its own characteristics.

The Tibetan term for element here is khams, the Sanskrit word is dhatu, a term frequently

used for the Buddha nature in the sutras and predates the usage of the term Tathagatagarbha.

So element refers to the beginningless Buddha nature, which is always and ever present

within all living beings. The definition of the term element in this context is therefore the

essence of the Tathagatas or Buddhas. Thus the essence of the Buddhas is the element

possessing all the magnificent qualities and characteristics of a Buddha. Who created it?

Nobody created it because it possesses its own qualities, i.e., the Buddha nature is replete with

the knowledge of a Buddha, the love of a Buddha, as well as the power and qualities of a

Buddhas body, speech, and mind. These qualities are present within each and everyone and

can manifest abundantly when obstacles have been removed.

Phenomena

Phenomena are explained to be

Samsara and nirvana appearing as a duality.

This is named the ground of the latencies of ignorance.

The movement of mental events, correct thoughtsAnd incorrect thoughts are the cause of that arising (of samsara and nirvana).


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The conditions for their causes are taught to be the alaya (the universal ground).

The translation of the Sanskrit term dharma is phenomena, chos in Tibetan. Two aspects of

phenomena are presented in this treatise and are dealt with together: samsara and nirvana. As

long as living beings are in a state of illusion they do not recognize the true nature of their

own minds and experience basic frustration of being a separate self, set apart from the worldas other than the self, which is samsara. When free from what causes that basic frustration,

then they experience the state of peace and bliss, which is nirvana. Although both samsara and

nirvana abound, they have no reality. As long as there is the delusion of samsara, there seem

to be two distinct states, samsara set apart from nirvana. The basis for experiencing separation

is called the ground of the latencies of ignorance.

The sutras teach that everything is empty of inherent existence. In the Prajnaparamitasutra,

for example, we read, There are no eyes, no nose, no tongue , (). In the shastras we learn

through logical reasoning why all phenomena are empty of an own existence. Great masters

like Chandrakirti offered proof why nothing has an inherent existence; Nagarjuna and

Shantarakshita presented further arguments why the sutras are true. By studying their bookswe gain conviction and certainty in the fact that all phenomena are devoid of inherent

existence. These teachings show us that all things are empty, which is ultimate reality, and

that things appear, which is relative reality. Emptiness does not mean that phenomena are a

vacuum like space or non-existent when they do appear and exist.

All things have a pure and an impure aspect, depending upon the view. The pure aspect of

living beings is the Buddha nature, which is the clear and lucid power of awareness that

everyone has. It is not a blank state. Maitreyanatha tells us in The Uttaratantrashastra that the

Buddha nature is the presence of clarity and omniscience. The Mahamudra instructions tell us

that the Buddha nature is not beyond the realm of the mind that possesses awareness and

conscientiousness. If one investigates where the mind is located whether inside or outside

the body one will never find it. Why? Because the mind as well as outer appearances have

no reality. This does not mean to say that nothing happens or exists. Things exist just because

the mind clearly perceives, understands, cognises, and knows.

When the mind is directed outwards, appearances can be recognized and known due to the

clear aspect of the mind; one does experience appearances but fails to simultaneously

recognize that the mind is empty. Minds essence is empty of an identity, its nature is clarity,

and its aspect is unceasing. It is due to the force of focusing on the clear and unceasing nature

of the mind that its empty essence isnt seen. Ignoring the minds essence is what Rangjung

Dorje referred to when he wrote about the ground of the latencies of ignorance. There is theground of the latencies of ignorance, the ground amid which all delusory appearances arise.

In the Kagyu Tradition, the essence of the mind that is seen through practice is called

ordinary mind, which means that nothing needs to be changed or manipulated to realize it;

one merely looks at the minds true nature in order to see it. Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche

called recognition of the true nature of the mind t-g-s, an abbreviation for the Tibetan term

tha-mal-gyi-shes-pa, which means ordinary mind. It is possible to directly see the nature of

ones own mind through the practice of Mahamudra or Dzogchen. Without insight, there is

the ground with all the latencies of ignorance. All delusory appearances, all correct and

incorrect thoughts, all conceptualisations arise within the ground. There is a very subtle

movement, referred to as winds, arising from conceptualising, from thinking, whichRangjung Dorje described in the lines,


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The movement of mental events, correct thoughts

And incorrect thoughts are the cause of that arising (of samsara and nirvana).

Again, first there is the ground of ignorance and from that there is the subtle movement

arising from conceptualisations, which in turn gives rise to the movements that stimulate themind. When a practitioner realizes the ground, then there is the wisdom, the power, and the

great compassion of a Buddha. As long as somebody does not recognize the ground, there is

delusion and all that follows. The ground of both delusion and liberation is called alaya, the

Sanskrit term for universal ground. The Tibetan translation for alaya is kun-gzhi, basis of

all. The Third Karmapa wrote,

The conditions for their causes is taught to be the alaya (the universal ground).

In classical Sanskrit, alaya means, home, house or abode, as in Himalaya, the abode of

snow. It is from the root-word ali, to come close to or to settle in. While in Buddhist

Hybrid Sanskrit it can mean a habitation, this term also has the meaning of a fundamentalor ever-enduring basis. The Sanskrit word therefore can also have the negative meaning of

attachment.

Another description of the Buddha nature is location, the location for both samsara and

nirvana.

Location

The location is the Buddha nature.

Incorrect conceptualisation is completely located within the minds purity.

Samsaric conceptualisations arise due to a deluded state of mind, and the basis of delusion is

the Buddha nature, which is also called the essence of the Jinas. The Jinas are the

victorious ones. The Tibetan is rgyal-bai-snying-po, the essence of the Jinas, which is

synonymous with de-gshegs-snying-po, Tathagatagarbha. The Sanskrit equivalent would be

jinagarbha. In the chapter, When Did Samsara Begin? When Will It End? the Third Karmapa

explained that everything is located within the Tathagatagarbha. As it is, there is the Buddha

nature as well as incorrect conceptualisations. Where is the basis for incorrect

conceptualisations? In the Buddha nature. There is no other condition for incorrect

conceptualisations than the Buddha nature.

Changcha Rilpai Dorje was a Gelug scholar who gave meditation instructions and spoke

about the time he was sitting on his mothers lap as a child and always looked for her

elsewhere, without realizing that she was so very near. His older brother told him, he turned

around and saw her. In the same way, we preside in the vast expanse of dharmata, the

Sanskrit term for Tibetan chos-nyid, the essence of reality, the completely pure nature that is

ever present. But we focus our attention on appearances that arise and seek truth elsewhere,

without realizing that it is ever so near. If we look inwards, we can see it. Even while deluded

or when so many thoughts dash through our mind, we are in the true nature we cannot everbe anywhere else.


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Exists

This purity that exists in that way

Exists, but is not seen due to ignorant conceptualisation.

The fifth description of the Buddha nature is that it exists in the present moment. One may

wonder whether it undergoes any changes or transformations. No, it does not. It is pure and is

always immaculate, but due to the delusions arising from the ground of ignorance we are not

able to see it. The example of gold was presented earlier, i.e., although gold may be buried

under the earth for thousands of years, it never undergoes a change but always remains pure.

The only reason why the gold is not seen is because the earth covers it. Likewise, although the

Buddha nature is always present, it never undergoes a change and always remains untouched.

The only reason why the true nature is not seen is because it is obscured by the thoughts

arising from ignorant conceptualisation, which is the nature of samsara.

The End

Therefore, there is samsara.

If they (incorrect conceptualisations) are dispelled, there is nirvana,

Which is termed the end.

Rangjung Dorje tells us that samsara ends in the sixth definition of the Buddha nature. When

conceptualisations arising out of samsara have been dispelled, then samsara ends. In The

Jewel Ornament of Liberation, Je Gampopoa wrote that the Buddha nature is all-pervasive.He compared it with oil concealed in a sesame seed, with butter in milk, with silver in silver-

ore. Although present, one only wins the oil by grinding the sesame seed; one only gets butter

by churning milk, silver by melting ore. In the same way, wisdom and compassion only

emerge when incorrect conceptualisations have been dispelled.

As long as living beings remain ignorant of their true nature, understanding and wisdom are

constrained. When samsaric involvement is eliminated, then the Buddha nature is directly

seen and limitless wisdom and compassion emerge and manifest radiantly. This wisdom is not

mixed or tainted with pride, anger, and the other kleshas. The nature of knowledge and

wisdom is love and great compassion for all living beings. Restricted love and compassion is

compared to a mother who has no arms to save her child from drowning in the torrents of ariver that has swept it away. The mother would be helpless without the arms of wisdom, the

child lost. The incomparable love and compassion of a wondrous Buddha are not like that. A

Buddha has abilities and strength. When the Buddha nature is directly seen and realized, then

there is unrestricted, limitless wisdom, compassion, and strength - the end of samsara.

6. How Does Samsara Arise?


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Before dealing with the invaluable qualities of the Buddha nature presented in The

Tathagatagarbha, it will be necessary to continue with the text in the sequence of its

presentation. The first chapters are entitled,Homages in the Traditional Texts, Why Shastras

Were Written & Nine Categories of Shastras, When Did Samsara Begin? When Will It End?

and What Are the Descriptions of the Buddha Nature? The Third Karmapa continued theteaching by explaining how samsara arises. He divided this chapter into three sections: How

samsara arises through incorrect thoughts, how the root of delusion arises through attachment

and aversion, and the remedy.

How samsara arises through incorrect thoughts

Beginning and end are dependent upon conceptualisation,

Mental events that are like winds,

That cause karma and kleshas to arise.

The (karma and kleshas) manifest the skandhas, dhatus,Ayatanas and all the phenomena of dualistic appearances.

Although there is no beginning or end to samsara, there appear to be a beginning and an end.

One is separated from the truth when one thinks that there is a beginning and an end; these

delusory thoughts give rise to the ground or latencies of ignorance. It is ignorance that

stimulates and gives rise to reactions, which are like airs or winds that are very subtle. It is

due to the ground of ignorance that there is the subtle appearance of illusion concerning

everything that arises, out of which the kleshas emerge.Klesha means pain, affliction and

distress. The Buddhist Sanskrit also means impurity and defilements. The Tibetan

translation nyon-mongs means physical or mental misery, distress, and misfortune. As a

standard term, it refers to various lists of ignorance, anger, envy, pride, craving, etc. When the

kleshas arise and reinforce the initial sensation, the chaotic forces that bring on frustration

increase, too.

What is the basic illusion? Perceiving and conceiving that phenomena are separated from the

self. It is because of attachment to a self and misinterpretation of others that pride,

jealousy, maliciousness, and further inadequate mental activities spring up and grow. The

process increases if it is not recognized and pacified. Karma is accumulated in the process,

both good and bad, due to mental activities that engage in trying to accomplish things to

validate the insufficient feeling of a self.Karma literally means action, though in other

contexts it can also mean duty and rite. The Tibetan translation is las, which meansactions. Good karma is created through love and compassion, negative karma through

ravaging emotions. The mental activities leave an imprint in the ground consciousness, the

alaya, where they are stored as latencies, which, in turn, stimulate and activate the five

skandhas, the eighteen dhatus, and twelve ayatanas. We learned that all things that appear, all

phenomena, are an assembly of parts and are in truth devoid of an own identity. Nothing

whatsoever is independent and therefore nothing has an own, inherent existence; all things are

a heap of various components and factors, are therefore not singular and, in any case, not

self-existent.

There are five skandhas of being. Skandha means the (psycho-physical) aggregates. In

general Sanskrit this has many meanings, including multitude, troop, aggregation, part,division, section, chapter. In Buddhism it refers to the five principal mental and physical


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constituents of a being: form, sensation, identification, mental events, and consciousness.

Form refers to any visible or tangible object. We think such things exist independently but

they dont; everything is a collection of many factors. The skandha of sensation refers to any

mental and physical irritation or feeling. The skandha of identification refers to perceiving

and judging an irritation. The skandha of mental activities means reacting to what was

identified. The skandha of consciousness is comprised of many factors and is explained ingreat detail in the book, Transcending Ego: Distinguishing Consciousness from Wisdom. The

Tibetan word for skandha isphung-po and literally means a heap but has the meaning of

aggregation.

There are eighteen dhatus, elements (of sensory perception), khams in Tibetan, that give

rise to the five skandhas. There are the six sense consciousnesses of sight, sound, smell, taste,

tactility, and mind. These six consciousnesses arise due to the six sense faculties and the six

objects that can be perceived: sights, sounds, smells, tastes, tactile objects, and thoughts.

There are twelve ayatanas, bases (of sensory perception). The Sanskrit means seat,

abiding, place, etymologically closely related to alaya. In Buddhist context, the sites, abodes,or supports of sensory experiences are the six sense faculties (the sixth being the mental

faculty) and their respective six objects. The Tibetan term is not a literal translation but is

made up of the two syllables birth and increase,skye-ched, in reference to sensory

experience. The inner bases of perception arise, develop, and increase. Relatively speaking,

the external objects are perceived by the internal minds, which arise and increase upon having

perceived an object fit to be perceived.

Experiencing the dual as unitary, and vice versa, depends upon the skandhas, dhatus, and

ayatanas, and all experiences are said to be like dreams. In a dream we see houses and places,

we experience joy and fear, whereas those appearances - that the mind believes to be real

while dreaming - do not exist. Similarly, dual apprehension arises in the mind, whereas the

Buddha nature is non-differentiate. Logic and reasoning prove that all things arise from the

mind. Yet we assume that what appears to the mind does not arise from the mind and treasure

the duality that there is something special about subjective experiences which distinguish it

from objective things. Therefore, the self is in conflict with other. Earlier, we saw that

nothing truly exists, that all things are by nature empty of inherent existence. Let us take the

hand as an example and seek its basis for imputation, its unitary reality. It is not hard

understanding that the thumb is not the hand, that the flesh and bones are not the hand either.

Does a hand exist independently of its fragments and parts? No. It is easy seeing that there is

no self-existing hand, no self-existing fingers, either, and no self-existing joints that do not

consist of fragmented parts, too. Yet we speak of a unitary whole as if things were singular,unique objects, independent, and free. In the same way, no object exists other than through the

mind that identifies and designates the assembly of many parts as a whole. Therefore, all outer

and inner appearances are mind, i.e., arise from the mind.

In meditation, we come to see that all external appearances are only mind. Then we meditate

on the minds essence by looking at its nature, eventually discovering that mind has no reality

either, that it is empty of an own existence. Following this practice, we meditate naturally

present emptiness and discover that emptiness is not a void but that it is the fullness of

perception that allows things to manifest and appear. It is called supreme, naturally present,

self-liberating emptiness.


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How the root of delusion arises through attachment and aversion

Someone who strives for and discards these (appearances) is deluded.

What can be negated through rejecting your own projections?

What can be gained by acquiring your own projections?

Isnt this belief in duality a fraud?

The glorious Third Karmapa explained how all things arise from the mind. If this is so, then

all actions arising from attachment and aversion are illusory. Being in a state of delusion,

appearances seem to be external and other than the mind. We think some appearances and

experiences are beneficial and experience others with fear. We saw that actions arising from

attachment and aversion are not only harmful but also wrong. When we realize that

everything is an appearance of the mind, then there is nothing to get rid of and nothing to be

won.

The remedy

Though this understanding is taught as a remedy,

The understanding of non-duality is not truth.

It is the conception of non-conceptuality.

The understanding of emptiness gained through breaking down forms, and so on,

Isnt it itself a delusion?

But it is taught so that attachment to things as real will cease.

It was taught that all dualistic appearances all things perceived as a self and as other than

the self are experienced wrongly, that no appearance has a true and self-existing reality.

Thinking that their essence is empty is a thought that has no reality either, i.e., this thought is

also a delusion.

Shantideva illustrated delusive thoughts: One may dream of having a child and think it truly

exists. Should it die in the dream, one would think it is dead. The thoughts of an existing as

well as of a deceased child in a dream are both false since there never was a child. Likewise,

thinking dualistic appearances exist is false and thinking that dualistic appearances do not

exist is false, too. Contemplating that everything has no true reality is a remedy against

clinging to what seems to be a discordance between appearances and experiences. The

Tibetan text actually addresses the realization directly by using the pronoun you,

Arent you yourself a delusion?

The great sage Saraha taught that clinging to things as real is stupid, but clinging to emptiness

is even more foolish. Then why are these teachings presented? Why does The

Prajnaparamitasutra teach, There are no eyes, no ears, no ()? Why are the instructions

about the lack of independent existence taught? To counteract clinging to what appears as

other than and foreign to the self.

Rangjung Dorje explained the difference between correct and incorrect thoughts profoundly

in The Tathagatagarbhashastra, showed how delusions arise, and in which way they have no

reality, whereby the thought that delusions have no reality is also an illusion. He concluded

this chapter with the lines:


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The wise have said that everything is like the moons reflection on water.

Allow me to repeat that a perceiver, the act of perceiving, and a perception have no true

reality but that they are not false either. This may be very hard to understand and seem

contradictory. Therefore Rangjung Dorje shared the image of a moons reflection on waterwith us. The reflection of the moon on the surface of a still lake is not the moon, but it would

be wrong thinking that the reflection is not that of the moon. The ordinary mind does not

cling to or channel delusory thoughts of chaotic forces and does not need to be changed.

Instead, the wise simply rest in the minds true nature and leave it just as it is, t-g-s,

ordinary, while it is ever so brilliant.


The wise have said that everything is like the moons reflection on water.

7. Why Did Rangjung Dorje Write The

Tathagatagarbhashastra?

The last section was a general introduction to the Buddha nature. Rangjung Dorje continuedby presenting detailed descriptions.

The ordinary mind is called

The dharmadhatu and the Buddha nature.

The enlightened cannot improve it.

Unenlightened beings cannot corrupt it.

It is described by many names,

But its meaning cannot be known through verbal expression.

The ordinary mind has many names. It is called dharmadhatu when the appearances of its

empty essence are meant. It is called the essence of the Sugatas, the Buddha nature,Tathagatagarbha when its clear and all-knowing brilliance is meant. Dharmadhatu is a

Sanskrit term, the Tibetan is chos-kyi-dbyings.

Dharma means, to hold, something held and prevented from falling. The Tibetan

equivalent, chos, has the connotation to correct, to remedy, to alter, which means that

one corrects something by removing imperfections and by developing values of worth. Is an

elimination of imperfections and a development of qualities possible? Yes. Dhatu means

space and refers to the expanse of space. It is truly possible to do so many things in the

vast expanse of space; we can stand, walk, or fly. Everything we are able to do would not be

possible without all-inclusive space - dharmadhatu, the vast expanse that does not impede the

elimination of shortcomings and the development of worth. The ordinary mind can work oneliminating faults and on developing positive qualities and that is why it is called


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dharmadhatu, the realm of dharmas, existents/phenomena or the realm of the truth, the

Buddhas teachings.

The term Tathagatagarbha, the Buddha nature, the essence of the Tathagatas, the

essence of the Jinas also defines the ordinary mind. Jina means victorious one, a victor,

i.e., one is victorious over anything that harms and one is a victor over any source ofnegativity and pain. It is the ordinary mind that can remove imperfections and that can

develop positive qualities. Many other names are synonymous with the Mahamudra

connotation ordinary mind. Dharmakaya refers to the experience of great bliss when

suffering has been overcome and prajnaparamita when confusion has been transcended.

Although there are many names, they all define the Buddha nature.

Lord Buddha described the true nature of the mind by using many other terms, for example,

ultimate wisdom. Although there are many names that describe the Buddha nature, it is

ineffable. But when speaking about it, nobody can say that it exists or that it does not exist

since it cannot be identified or designated in words. How can this be? It is beyond thought,

beyond conceptualisations, and can only be experienced directly through meditation.

The ordinary mind of an enlightened being and of a noble Bodhisattva on a high level of

realisation does not improve or alter the Buddha nature in any way. The ordinary mind of a

living being in samsara does not degrade, contaminate, or pollute it in any way. The Buddha

nature is changeless.

The five negative consequences that arise from having erroneous thoughts

There is a reason why the Third Karmapa wrote about the Buddha nature and why JamgonKongtrul Lodro Thaye the Great elucidated the shastra that discusses what had formerly only

been introduced. These teachings help eliminate the five negative consequences that arise

from having erroneous ideas. What are they?

(1) Despondency, the first fault that can arise from having wrong thoughts about the Buddha

nature, means losing hope. One may feel that one cannot eliminate the many shortcomings

one has and does not believe that one can develop noble qualities of being. The teachings on

the Buddha nature dispel despondency by showing that one truly has the strength to work on

reducing and eliminating any weaknesses or misgivings and that one has the ability to work

on developing and increasing values inherent within.

(2) Hurting beings less fortunate than oneself is the second fault that can arise from having

erroneous thoughts about the true. If one denies that others have the Buddha nature, one might

even think that there is nothing wrong with hurting those one considers low or inferior. In

some countries there is the caste-system and those born into what is considered a lower caste

are treated badly or are not even offered a chance to participate in a society that deems itself

fair and just. Some people are more learned than others and can mistakenly believe they will

achieve more than those who are less learned. In some countries men are considered superior

to women and even deprive them of humanitarian rights. The teachings on the Buddha nature

tell us that all living beings have the Buddha nature and that nobody is privileged, i.e., it is not

the case that some have the true nature and others do not.


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(3) Holding on to what is not true is the third fault that can arise from having erroneous ideas

about the true. Thinking that only the elite or rich are endowed with the Tathagatagarbha and

ignoring that everyone has it means fostering what is not true.

(4) Denying the Buddha nature is the fourth erroneous thought. It believes that the Buddha

nature does not even exist, that goodness is a myth. These teachings are presented to disseversuch pessimistic notions and negative ideas.

(5) Having pride of possessing a few qualities is the fifth wrong assumption. Someone may be

proud of having developed a few qualities and then looks down on others as less advanced.

However, if one knows that all living beings have the Buddha nature, then one sees that

nobody not even oneself - is better than anyone else. This fault is also eradicated through

these teachings.

Rangjung Dorje gave us these teachings so that we enter into sympathy through the act of

beneficent communication of awareness and conscientiousness.

8. Thirty-Two Unsurpassable Qualities of

the Dharmakaya

Rangjung Dorje described the qualities of the Buddha nature in general and continued with

the qualities of the unsurpassable dharmakaya in particular. He defined the virtuous qualities

of the three kayas precisely in The Tathagatagarbhashastra.

Its unceasing manifestation

(Is taught) to have sixty-four qualities,

Though that is (just) a simplified description.

It is said that each of the sixty-four has millions (of qualities).

The Buddha nature unremittingly manifests sixty-four invaluable qualities, a condensednumber in comparison to the real. Actually, each quality has millions. In general, the sixty-

four are divided into those of the dharmakaya and those of the two rupakayas. Rangjung

Dorje elaborated the thirty-two unsurpassable qualities of the dharmakaya.

The dharmakaya has thirty-two precious qualities, which are of the mind. They are defined as

the ten strengths, the four types of fearlessness, and the eighteen distinct qualities of a Buddha

only.

The ten strengths


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There are the ten strengths:

(1) the knowledge of appropriate and inappropriate actions;

(2) the knowledge of the ripening of karma, (3) of natures,

(4) aptitudes and (5) aspirations;

(6) the knowledge of the destinations of all paths, (7) (the possession) of dhyana,

(8) divine sight, (9) the memory of previous lives, and (10) peace.The ten strengths or powers are great abilities. They cannot be vanquished by anything. In

The Uttaratantrashastra, Natha Maitreya likened them to an indestructible vajra in that they

dispel ones own and others ignorance and misunderstandings. That is the reason why they

are so powerful. The ten strengths arise from having developed Bodhicitta, from having held

the Bodhicitta commitments, and from having become a Bodhisattva. Bodhicitta is the

genuine and precious motivation to attain the state of a Buddha for the welfare of all beings

living in the vast expanse of space. It is divided into relative and absolute Bodhicitta. Relative

Bodhicitta consists of the precepts of aspiration and the precepts of practice. Absolute

Bodhicitta is identical with our true being, the Buddha nature. I have explained the etymology

of the term bodhi in the section on homages. Citta is mind, so Bodhicitta means the

precious mind of awakening. Let us look at each of the ten strengths of the perfectly

established mind of awakening.

(1) Knowledge of appropriate and inappropriate actions is the first strength, which

understands that certain causes bring on specific results. It is thorough knowledge of the

interconnectedness between causes and results.

(2) Knowledge of the ripening of karma is the second strength, which means knowing the

results that ripen from actions. It is perfect foresight of the ripening of karma.

Sometimes four types of karma are discussed:- karma that will be seen, i.e., the result of an action will be experienced in the very same

lifetime that the action was performed.

- There is karma that will be experienced in the following lifetime, and

- karma that will be experienced after a number of lifetimes.

- Furthermore, t

iii rd karmapa a treatise entitleda teaching on the essence of the tathagatas (the tathagatagarbha)

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