ABOUT THE BOOK
The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma represents meditation master Chögyam Trungpa’s greatest contribution to Western Buddhism. This three-volume collection presents in lively, relevant language the comprehensive teachings of the Tibetan Buddhist path of the hinayana, mahayana, and vajrayana. This work will resonate with new students of Buddhism as well as the most senior students.
The second volume, The Bodhisattva Path of Wisdom and Compassion, presents the bodhisattva teachings of the mahayana. At this point, having trained and seen the benefits of looking within, the student begins to shift their focus outward to the broader world. Formal entry into the mahayana occurs with taking the bodhisattva vow. Mahayana practitioners dedicate themselves to the service of all sentient beings, aspiring to save them from sorrow and confusion, and vowing to bring them to perfect liberation. This stage of the path emphasizes the cultivation of wisdom through the view and experience of emptiness, or shunyata, in which all phenomena are seen to be unbounded, completely open, ungraspable, and profound. From the ground of shunyata, compassionate activity is said to arise naturally and spontaneously. In addition to mindfulness and awareness, the mahayanist practices lojong, or “mind training,” based on the cultivation of the paramitas, or “transcendent virtues”: generosity, discipline, patience, exertion, meditation, and prajna, or “knowledge.” As a component of lojong, tonglen, or “sending and taking,” is practiced in order to increase maitri, or loving-kindness. Other topics covered in detail in this volume include bodhichitta, skillful means, Buddha nature and basic goodness, Madhyamaka, the ten bhumis, the three kayas, and more.
CHÖGYAM TRUNGPA (1940–1987)—meditation master, teacher, and artist—founded Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado, the first Buddhist-inspired university in North America; the Shambhala Training program; and an international association of meditation centers known as Shambhala International. He is the author of numerous books including Shambhala: Sacred Path of the Warrior, Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism, and The Myth of Freedom.
JUDITH L. LIEF is an acharya, or senior teacher, in the Shambhala Buddhist lineage of Chögyam Trungpa.
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THE PROFOUND TREASURY OF THE OCEAN OF DHARMA
VOLUME ONE
The Path of Individual Liberation
VOLUME TWO
The Bodhisattva Path of Wisdom and Compassion
VOLUME THREE
The Tantric Path of Indestructible Wakefulness
Published in association with Vajradhatu Publications, a division of Shambhala Media. www.shambhalamedia.org.
VOLUME TWO
THE PROFOUND TREASURY OF THE OCEAN OF DHARMA
The Bodhisattva Path of Wisdom and Compassion
CHÖGYAM TRUNGPA
COMPILED AND EDITED BY
Judith L. Lief
SHAMBHALA • BOSTON & LONDON • 2013
Shambhala Publications, Inc.
Horticultural Hall
300 Massachusetts Avenue
Boston, Massachusetts 02115
www.shambhala.com
© 2013 by Diana J. Mukpo
Cover art: Maitreya. Japan, 14th century.
Frontispiece: Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche at Lake Louise, Canada, in formal Zen robes, holding a ritual scepter or nyoi (Jpn.). Photograph © Ray Ellis. Used with permission.
See Credits for further credits and permissions.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Trungpa, Chögyam, 1939–1987.
The profound treasury of the ocean of dharma / Chögyam Trungpa; compiled and edited by Judith L. Lief.—First Edition.
pages cm
Compilation of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche’s Vajradhatu Seminary teachings in three volumes.
Includes index.
eISBN 978-0-8348-2859-9 (eBook: vol. 2)
ISBN 978-1-59030-708-3 (hardcover: alk. paper; set)
ISBN 978-1-59030-802-8 (hardcover: alk. paper; vol. 1)
ISBN 978-1-59030-803-5 (hardcover: alk. paper; vol. 2)
ISBN 978-1-59030-804-2 (hardcover: alk. paper; vol. 3)
1. Buddhism—Doctrines. I. Lief, Judith L., editor of compilation. II. Title.
BQ4165.T75 2013
294.3’4—dc23
2012022795
CONTENTS
Editor’s Introduction
Pronunciation of Sanskrit and Tibetan
PART ONE Awakening the Heart
1. A Glimpse of Wakefulness
2. Love, Vision, and Warriorship
3. Doubt and Delight
PART TWO Buddha Nature
4. Enlightened Genes
5. Basic Goodness
PART THREE Preparing the Ground
6. Cultivating Wholesomeness
7. Expanding Your Practice
8. Cutting Ego Fixation
9. Awakening Your Enlightened Genes
10. The Spiritual Friend
PART FOUR Making a Commitment
11. Indestructible Wakefulness
12. Planting the Moon of Bodhi in Your Heart
13. Cultivating a Mahayana Mentality
14. The Seven Mahayana Exercises
15. Taking the Bodhisattva Vow
16. Becoming a Bodhisattva
17. Joining Profundity and Vastness
PART FIVE Emptiness and Compassion
18. Emptiness
19. Discovering a World beyond Ego
20. Emptiness and the Middle Way
21. Realizing the Emptiness of Ordinary Reality
22. Experiencing Reality in Its Fullest Sense
23. Contemplating Emptiness
24. Awakening Unfabricated Perception
PART SIX Bodhisattva Activity
25. Paramitas: Techniques of Nongrasping
26. Applying Emptiness to Everyday Life
27. Generosity
28. Discipline
29. Patience
30. Exertion
31. Meditation
32. Prajna
PART SEVEN Mind Training and Slogan Practice
33. Introduction to Mind Training
34. Undermining Aggression
35. Point One: The Preliminaries, Which Are a Basis for Dharma Practice
36. Point Two: Resting in Ultimate Bodhichitta
37. Point Two: Training in Relative Bodhichitta
38. Point Three: Transformation of Bad Circumstances into the Path of Enlightenment
39. Point Four: Showing the Utilization of Practice in One’s Whole Life
40. Point Five: Evaluation of Mind Training
41. Point Six: Disciplines of Mind Training
42. Point Seven: Guidelines of Mind Training
43. Additional Mind-Training Instructions
PART EIGHT The Bodhisattva’s Journey
44. The Paths and Bhumis
45. Very Joyful: The First Bhumi
46. The Second through Tenth Bhumis
47. Complete Radiance: The Eleventh Bhumi
Appendix 1: Never Forget the Hinayana
Appendix 2: The Practice of Oryoki
Appendix: 3: The Heart Sutra
Appendix 4: Prajna Dialogues
Appendix 5: Forty-Six Ways in
Which a Bodhisattva Fails
Appendix 6: The Root Text of the Seven Points of Mind Training
Appendix 7: Outline of Teachings
Glossary
Sources
Resources
About the Author
Credits
Index
E-mail Sign-Up
EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION
THE FOUNDATION OF HINAYANA AND THE TRANSITION TO THE MAHAYANA
The Bodhisattva Path of Wisdom and Compassion is the second of the three volumes of The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma. This volume focuses on the mahayana path. In the previous volume, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche presents the hinayana path of individual liberation, and in the final volume he introduces the vajrayana, or the path of complete awakening. By presenting the dharmic path as a natural progression that begins with the hinayana, expands into the mahayana, and reaches its fruition in the vajrayana, Trungpa Rinpoche provides the reader with a complete map of the spiritual journey from confusion to enlightenment.1
In teaching about the three stages of the path, Trungpa Rinpoche presented each stage as having its own integrity and power, and taught his students to see each stage as complete in its own right. He especially cautioned students not to denigrate the hinayana or skip the mahayana in favor of what they might consider the more powerful or exotic vajrayana, but to see the three stages, or yanas, as an interconnected whole, and as one continuous journey.
Trungpa Rinpoche went so far as to rouse his students from their sleep for a spontaneous talk late at night during the 1986 Seminary in order to drive this point home. In this pithy and impassioned talk, he remarked, “[The hinayana] is to be understood as the life force that carries on whether you are going through the hinayana, mahayana, or vajrayana. . . . The hinayana should be regarded as life’s strength.”2
Trungpa Rinpoche made it clear that hinayana teachings are not just introductory, but reverberate throughout the path; they are the foundation on which the entire path is built. The logic in beginning with the hinayana is that if you would like to help others, you must first be willing to work on yourself.
At the same time, although working on yourself is essential, according to Trungpa Rinpoche it is not enough. Sooner or later you need to start thinking about others. The world is vast and it needs help. Therefore, it is important to take the further step of entering the mahayana path of inseparable wisdom and compassion, and to balance your own individual training with service to others.
READING THE DHARMA
According to Trungpa Rinpoche, “You should try to connect what you study to your personal experience. Each aspect of the dharma is based on personal experience, so you can relate the dharma to what you experience on the spot.”3 So in studying these teachings, you could deepen your understanding by balancing your intellectual study with meditative practice and personal reflection. Scholarship without practice is of limited value, as is practice without scholarship; but the combination of the two is both powerful and transformative.
THE STRUCTURE OF VOLUME TWO: MAHAYANA
1. Awakening the Heart
The opening section of this volume is about the transition from hinayana to mahayana. There is an introduction to basic concepts of the mahayana, such as bodhichitta, the mind / heart of awakening; maitri, or loving-kindness; karuna, or the noble heart of compassion; and upaya, or skillful means. This section includes a discussion of the relationship between bodhichitta and tathagatagarbha, or buddha nature. Throughout this section, the reader is reminded of the essential importance of the hinayana, and particularly of shamatha and vipashyana (mindfulness and awareness practice) as preparation for entering the mahayana path.
2. Buddha Nature
This section focuses on the fundamental human qualities that make it possible for one to practice the mahayana. Trungpa Rinpoche refers to the innate tendency toward growth and awakening as “enlightened genes.” He also introduces the concept of “basic goodness,” the fundamental state of our consciousness before it is divided up into “I” and “other.” Although the potential for awakening may be hidden or stained, Trungpa Rinpoche points out that such stains are temporary and can be removed.
3. Preparing the Ground
In this section, having had a glimpse of the potential for awakening, one is given instructions on how to expand that glimpse and prepare oneself for making a formal commitment to the mahayana path. The reader is directed to draw upon and strengthen the hinayana training of mindfulness and awareness, and to develop sympathy and a deeper understanding of egolessness. In order to awaken one’s potential, or enlightened genes, four methods are explained: love, compassion, joy, and equanimity. At this point, it is essential to work with a mahayana teacher, known as a spiritual friend, or kalyanamitra.
4. Making a Commitment
Having prepared the ground, one is ready to make a formal commitment to the mahayana path, also referred to as the bodhisattva path. This section is about preparing for and taking this profound vow to liberate all beings. It introduces the concept of the bodhisattva, or awake being, as a compassionate warrior of awakening. There is a discussion of ultimate and relative bodhichitta, of the aspiration to become a bodhisattva, and the implications of following the mahayana path.
5. Emptiness and Compassion
This section is about the view of the mahayana, which is that of emptiness and compassion, or shunyata and karuna, which are said to be inseparable. It is about developing prajna, or transcendent knowledge. There is a detailed discussion of the egolessness of self and the egolessness of dharmas, or phenomena. In addition, the doctrine of the two truths, relative truth and ultimate truth, is introduced. There is an emphasis on contemplating emptiness as a way of awakening unfabricated perception, and therefore experiencing reality fully and completely, without fear or distortion.
6. Bodhisattva Activity
Once one has taken the bodhisattva vow and had a glimpse of emptiness, it is time to put one’s understanding into practice, and engage in bodhisattva activity. The way to do so is by means of six techniques of nongrasping, called paramitas, or transcendent virtues: generosity, discipline, patience, exertion, meditation, and prajna (knowledge). The six paramitas provide the bodhisattva with guidelines for both practice and daily life.
7. Mind Training and Slogan Practice
Here mind training, or lojong, is presented as a way to undermine aggression and awaken bodhichitta, both ultimate bodhichitta and relative bodhichitta. It includes a discussion of tonglen, or sending and taking, and the idea of exchanging oneself for others. In this section, Trungpa Rinpoche comments in detail on the fifty-nine slogans of mind training, which were compiled by Geshe Chekawa, and are attributed to the great Indian master Atisha.
8. The Bodhisattva’s Journey
This section gives a map of the bodhisattva’s journey from beginning to end. This is presented according to two related models: the five paths and the ten bhumis, or spiritual levels. The author concludes with a description of the eleventh bhumi, called “complete radiance,” the attainment of unsurpassable enlightenment.
NOTES ON FOREIGN TERMS AND DEFINITIONS
Tibetan, Sanskrit, and other foreign words and phrases are italicized on first appearance in these volumes. Tibetan terms are spelled phonetically in the body of the text. The glossary contains definitions of all terms, as well as transliterations of Tibetan terms. A special thank you to the Nalanda Translation Committee and to Ellen Kearney for preparing and editing the extensive glossary. Please see the Credits for a list of further acknowledgments.
DEDICATION
May the ever-expanding wisdom and compassion of the mahayana
Draw us out of our complacent self-concern
Into the liberating and challenging playground of the peaceful bodhisattva warrior.
May the world enjoy peace, and may all beings be freed from ignorance and suffering.
1. For a brief overview of the three yanas, see volume 1 of the Profound
Treasury, “Editor’s Introduction.”
2. See appendix 1, “Never Forget the Hinayana.”
3. “Egolessness and Compassion,” Vajradhatu Seminary, Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada, January–March 1980, talk 18.
PRONUNCIATION OF SANSKRIT AND TIBETAN
SANSKRIT
Sanskrit words may seem intimidating at first sight because they are so long. However, once they are broken into syllables, they are easy to pronounce. Sanskrit follows very regular rules and contains no “silent letters” such as those in English.
Vowels
In general, vowels are pronounced as in Italian or Spanish. Sanskrit makes a distinction between long and short vowels in the case of a, i, and u. However, in this text they are not represented differently. Therefore, it is acceptable always to pronounce them as if they were long:
a as in car.
i as in feet.
u as in loot.
The following vowels are always considered long in Sanskrit:
e as in day
ai as in pie
o as in go
au as in how
Consonants
Most consonants are pronounced as in English. The aspirated consonants (kh, gh, ch, jh, th, dh, th, dh, ph, bh) are pronounced as the consonant plus a noticeable aspiration of breath. In particular, note that the consonants th and ph are not pronounced as in the words thing and photo, but as in pothole and shepherd. The letter g is always pronounced hard as in go, never as in gem. The letter h is pronounced as a breathing sound at the end of a word.
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