The Dzogchen Primer

by Marcia Schmidt

  Lady Tsogyal asked: What is the method of taking the vow of the secret way of taking refuge?

  The master replied: Prostrating to and circumambulating the master, present him with flowers. The disciple should assume the cross-legged posture and with compassion take the vow of cultivating bodhichitta for the benefit of self and others.

  Then, placing the gaze firmly in the sky and without moving the eyeballs, rest your awareness—vivid, awake, bright, and all-pervasive—free from fixation on perceiver or the perceived. That itself is the view possessing confidence, the meditation possessing experience, and the action possessing companionship! Thus it should be pointed out. Meditate then as mentioned above.

  This was the explanation of the secret way of taking refuge.

  The nirmanakaya master Padma said: This was my oral instruction in which the outer, inner, and secret teachings, the higher and lower views, and the vehicles of mantra and philosophy16 are condensed into a single root within the outer, inner, and secret way of taking refuge.

  When you apply it accordingly, you will turn toward Dharma practice, your Dharma practice will become the path, and your path will ripen into fruition. Princess of Kharchen, you should understand this to be so.

  This completes the teachings on practicing the taking of refuge as one’s path.

  Samaya. Seal, seal, seal.

  Adapted from Padmasambhava, Dakini Teachings (Boudhanath: Rangjung Yeshe Publications, 1999), “Refuge.”

  19

  THE INNERMOST REFUGE

  Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche

  Namo

  In the empty essence, dharmakaya,

  In the cognizant nature, sambhogakaya,

  In the manifold expression, nirmanakaya,

  I take refuge until enlightenment.

  —PADMASAMBHAVA

  Certain concepts in Buddhism are similar to the Western concept of an omniscient, omnipotent god. The closest thing to this “divinity” is the three kayas, dharmakaya, sambhogakaya, and nirmanakaya. Although we could call these three kayas “God,” that is not really necessary. I will now explain what these three kayas are.

  The first, dharmakaya, is all-pervasive like space; in actuality it is the unmistaken nature of our mind. Sambhogakaya is like the light of the sun, and is the cognizant quality of mind. Nirmanakaya is like the appearance of a rainbow in space, and acts for the welfare of all beings. Outwardly we can think of the three kayas as space, sunlight, and a rainbow, but the meaning of these symbols lies within our own mind.

  The Dharma teachings are structured as two aspects: means and knowledge, known in Sanskrit as upaya and prajña. The aspect of “means” is to visualize the buddhas in front of oneself and engage in different practices. The “knowledge” aspect is to realize that the buddhas are contained within our buddha nature, the essence of our mind. The reason it is possible for us to reach enlightenment is because the enlightened essence is already present in ourselves. The real buddha is the nature of our mind, the knowledge aspect.

  This in itself, however, is not enough, because the buddha nature is covered by obscurations. In order to remove the veils, we need the means, which provides a way to purify the obscurations and gather the two accumulations of merit and wisdom. A practice in which we think that the Buddha is outside ourselves, ignoring the buddha within, will by itself never bring complete enlightenment. If we expect the Buddha up there in the sky to give us all the common and supreme accomplishments, we are placing our hopes in an object external to ourselves. The ultimate deity is within our own mind. We attain enlightenment by recognizing our true nature and training in that recognition.

  All Dharma teachings have two aspects: the relative or superficial and the ultimate or real. Visualizing the Buddha as being outside ourselves is superficial and is not enough for enlightenment. The basis for awakening to enlightenment is to experience the buddha in ourselves. But the recognition of the real is nevertheless dependent upon the superficial, because it is by making offerings, purifying obscurations, and gathering the accumulations with the support of a buddha imagined outside that we can remove the obscurations and realize the buddha within.

  Taking refuge means to place our trust in the Buddha, the teacher. What he taught is called the Dharma, and the great practitioners who have followed those teachings are called the Sangha. If we look at ourselves right now, we can see that alone we lack the power to reach enlightenment. By placing our trust in the Three Jewels we receive blessings, which make it easier to realize accomplishment. But understand that the true basis for awakening to the state of enlightenment is found within ourselves.

  This potential for enlightenment is present as the nature of our own mind. To recognize that fact is the knowledge aspect. Then, in order to fully facilitate this recognition we apply the means—visualizing the Buddha, making praises, and performing different types of conceptual practices. The true path of the buddhas is the unity of means and knowledge. It is not sufficient to simply apply the means, thinking that a superior being is outside oneself and making offerings and praises to that outer image. Only by combining the two aspects of means and knowledge do we attain enlightenment.

  An ordinary example for the unity of means and knowledge is to bring together a person who knows how to make an airplane, the knowledge aspect, with all the materials for the airplane, the means. Having all the pieces of an airplane in itself is not enough. Neither is only having somebody who knows how to make one. It is only by combining the two that a plane that will actually fly can be made.

  According to Vajrayana, one combines the means as the development stage with the knowledge aspect as the completion stage. The development stage entails visualization—creating the image of the divine being—praises, apologies, offerings, and the other sections of the sadhana practice. The completion stage involves recognizing the nature of mind by looking into who visualizes, thus bringing the buddha nature into practical experience. The development stage is necessary because right now we are normal beings, and a normal being is unenlightened, unstable in the realization of the buddha nature. By ourselves we do not have complete power, so we ask for help from the buddhas and bodhisattvas. By offering the seven branches, for instance, we purify our obscurations, removing that which prevents us from gaining true insight. The knowledge aspect is the nature of our mind. Both means and knowledge are necessary. Each aids the other. Only utilizing the method is like gathering the husk without getting the corncob—it is not enough.

  Another example is when a person studies to become a Tibetan doctor. He starts with the knowledge aspect, learning how to identify different parts of the body, to diagnose diseases, what medicines to apply for a successful cure, and so forth. However, knowledge by itself is not sufficient to cure anybody; the doctor also needs the necessary medicines. So collecting the medicinal plants and blending the right concoctions is the means aspect. It is the combination of these two aspects, means and knowledge, that cures a sick person.

  The equivalent of “God” or a supreme being in Buddhism is called Samantabhadra, meaning the Ever-excellent. He is the primordial dharmakaya buddha. When Samantabhadra manifests on the sambhogakaya level he is called Vajradhara, the Vajra Holder. His nirmanakaya form is called Vajrasattva. There is an incredible number of gods and deities in Buddhism, but their basic source, where they manifest from, is the dharmakaya buddha Samantabhadra, the sambhogakaya buddha Vajradhara, and the nirmanakaya buddha Vajrasattva. Deities are not related to one another like a family relationship, with some being parents and others the offspring. Their body is self-existing, while their mind is pure wisdom, innate wakefulness.

  The self-existing body of dharmakaya is like space, totally beyond any constructs or concepts. The body of sambhogakaya is like rainbow light. The nirmanakaya, or tulku, manifests on a physical level in this world without departing from the state of the other two. One thousand nirmanakaya buddhas will appear during this world’s present period, which is known as the Good Aeon. Buddha Shakyamuni is th
e fourth of these one thousand. The nirmanakaya buddhas are first emanated and then reabsorbed. In the instance of Buddha Shakyamuni there were one billion emanations, meaning one billion simultaneous Buddha Shakyamunis in different realms.

  Everything appears out of the dharmakaya, out of Buddha Samantabhadra. The sambhogakaya itself is manifest from dharmakaya and is represented by the five buddha families. Out of sambhogakaya appear nirmanakayas, beings who manifest in order to benefit others. To benefit human beings, a buddha must appear in human form; therefore, the thousand buddhas of this aeon are human beings. Unless buddhas appear as human beings, how can we see them and receive teachings? We don’t perceive the sambhogakaya level and, needless to say, ordinary people do not perceive the dharmakaya level either. Nirmanakayas appear as teachers in flesh-and-blood form, just like Buddha Shakyamuni. These beings communicate the teachings, the Buddha Dharma. Since people have different capacities, there are three or nine different levels of teachings, generally known as the nine vehicles.

  These teachers are also called the tamers, while the various classes of beings—hell beings, hungry ghosts, animals, human beings, demigods, and gods—are called those to be tamed. Those who tame them are the emanations of the buddhas that appear in each of the six realms. A buddha is someone who has accomplished everything there is to accomplish for the benefit of himself. All his activity is aimed at accomplishing the welfare of others. A buddha appears only for others.

  The buddhas manifest in all the six realms, not just the human world. In the realm of gods the Buddha is called Shakra, the king of gods. Among the demigods he is called Taksang, among humans he is called Shakyamuni, among animals he is called Steadfast Lion, among the hungry ghosts he is called Flaming Mouth, and among the hellbeings he is called Dharmaraja. Most beings only perceive these buddha emanations as kings or rulers of their various realms.

  Nirmanakayas appear in four different ways. Created nirmanakayas are sacred images, like the three famous statues that were originally kept at the Bodh Gaya stupa, two of which are now in Lhasa. Then there is the supreme nirmanakaya, which, according to the sutras, is the Buddha Shakyamuni. The supreme nirmanakaya for the Vajrayana teachings is Padmasambhava, who manifested as one billion simultaneous Padmasambhavas. There are also the incarnated nirmanakayas, the great masters who in the Tibetan tradition are called tulkus. Finally there are the variegated nirmanakayas, which appear in many different forms in order to influence or benefit beings according to their needs. These can appear in an incredible variety of forms, including bridges or ships. Buddhas can appear in every possible form, in a way that lies far beyond the domain of ordinary people.

  Now I will explain the relationship between the three kayas. The dharmakaya is like space in that it accommodates the manifestations of the other two kayas. Space is all-encompassing: nothing appears or disappears outside of it; everything manifests and eventually disintegrates within infinite space. The sambhogakaya is like the sun, which appears in the sky and shines with unchanging brilliance. And the nirmanakaya is like the surface of water, which reflects the sun. One sun can simultaneously be reflected upon billions of surfaces of water; wherever there is water the reflection of the sun appears.

  Nirmanakaya manifests in all different ways, including the supreme, created, incarnated, and variegated nirmanakayas, without leaving dharmakaya and sambhogakaya, and in accordance with what is required to benefit beings. Nirmana means magically created, like a magical apparition. Those who have total mastery over life and death are not like us normal people, who cannot voluntarily leave and enter incarnations. Our rebirth is decided by the force of our karmic actions, but nirmanakayas are not bound by the law of karma. They are like a reflection of the sun. The sambhogakaya, which is like the sun shining in the sky, cannot appear outside space or without space; the two cannot be separated. Similarly, the sun’s reflection on the surface of water cannot appear without the sun. Although we give the three kayas three different names, they are in essence indivisible. This indivisibility of the three kayas is sometimes called the essence-kaya, the fourth kaya, which is the nature of our mind. The dharmakaya, sambhogakaya, and nirmanakaya depicted as being outside are merely symbols. What they refer to, the true meaning, is the nature of our own mind.

  Adapted from Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, Repeating the Words of the Buddha (Boudhanath: Rangjung Yeshe Publications, 1996), “The Innermost Refuge.”

  20

  A GUIDED MEDITATION

  Drubwang Tsoknyi Rinpoche

  As a support for and an enhancement of the Dzogchen training, I would like to introduce the practice of taking refuge as well as a traditional guru yoga. As the starting point, keep the pure motivation of the bodhisattva resolve, sit with a straight back, let your breathing flow freely, and for a short while leave your mind without fabrication, utterly uncontrived. First of all we need to improve our motivation by thinking, “For the benefit of all sentient beings, I will practice this meditation session.”

  Now imagine a lotus tree in the sky before you, with one branch or stem in the center and one in each of the four directions. On the central branch sits Padmasambhava in the form known as Nangzi Silnön, meaning the “glorious subjugator of all that appears and exists,” with his right hand holding a vajra. This is the most common way of depicting him. He is surrounded by all the masters of the Dzogchen lineage.

  On the branch in front of them are all the yidams, headed by Yangdag Heruka, and surrounded by all the deities of the Eight Sadhana Teachings. On the branch to his right is Buddha Shakyamuni, surrounded by an immense gathering of buddhas of the past, present, and future. On the branch behind him, imagine the sacred Dharma in the form of scriptures, each resounding with vowels and consonants like a humming beehive. On the branch to his left is Avalokiteshvara surrounded by all the noble Sangha, the sublime beings of both Mahayana and Hinayana. In short, imagine that in the sky before you are all the gurus, the yidams, the dakas and dakinis, the buddhas, the teachings, the enlightened practitioners, and all the Dharma protectors in a vast gathering, like cloud banks assembled vividly in the sky before you.

  Toward the external refuge, the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, make this supplication: “In this and in all future lives may I be under your protection; please grant your blessings that I may have the opportunity to reach liberation.” Let devotion fill your mind, through a sense of deep longing. Then, recite aloud the prayer of going for refuge:

  In the Buddha, the Dharma, and the supreme assembly,

  I take refuge until enlightenment.

  By the merit of generosity and so forth,

  May I attain buddhahood for the welfare of all beings.

  The visualization of the Dzogchen lineage over the head of Padmasambhava starts from above with Samantabhadra, then Vajrasattva, Garab Dorje, Vimalamitra, Guru Rinpoche, and so forth. The twenty-five disciples of Padmasambhava, the hundred major tertöns, and so forth are all vividly present around him, as are the yidams headed by Yangdag Heruka and all the other deities of the Eight Sadhana Teachings. In between, filling in all the spaces in the sky, are the dakas and dakinis. The gurus who are the sovereigns of all the buddha families, the yidam deities who are the source of accomplishments, and the dakinis who dispel all obstacles are vividly present as the inner objects of refuge.

  Let your longing and devotion arise from deep within you. Let the sun of devotion rise in the sky, and as it shines on the snow mountain of your heart, the blessings of the lineages will stream down like a river. Devotion is like sunlight that melts the ice, allowing the river of blessings to stream forth. The blessings of the three kayas of Padmasambhava’s essence and the blessings of the Three Roots are transferred into your own body, speech, and mind, where they pervade and transform your very being.

  After reciting the refuge prayer, imagine that the whole field of refuge dissolves into light, first moving in from the outside, then in a clock-wise manner. All the yidams dissolve into Yangdag Heruka, who dissolves into the buddhas
; then the buddhas dissolve into Buddha Shakyamuni; he dissolves into the Dharma scriptures; which dissolve into Avalokiteshvara—and finally, all of them dissolve into Padmasambhava, the main figure present in the sky before you, who remains as a single figure.

  Address yourself then to Padmasambhava, supplicating him as the single embodiment of the Three Jewels. In essence he is all the awakened ones of the past, all the buddhas of the future, and all the buddhas of the present. Thinking of him like this, supplicate him mentally.

  Imagine now that from the forehead of Padmasambhava, the white letter OM radiates a brilliant white light that touches your own forehead. Imagine that through this you are conferred the vase empowerment, the empowerment for practicing the development stage of deity yoga. The obscurations and negative karma you created with your body are purified, and the seed for realizing the nirmanakaya level is planted in your being.

  From the red letter AH in Padmasambhava’s throat, rays of beautiful red light shine forth and touch your own throat. Through this you receive the secret empowerment. Your obscurations and the negative karma created by your voice are purified, and you are empowered to practice the completion stage involving the channels and energies. The seed for realizing the sambhogakaya level is planted in your being.

  Now from the blue letter HUNG in Padmasambhava’s heart center, azure blue light streams forth and dissolves into your own heart center, purifying all mental obscurations and negative karma from all past lives. You are thus conferred the third empowerment of wisdom knowledge, empowering you to practice consort yoga, follow the phonya path, and become invested with the fortune to realize the dharmakaya level.