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The Tantric Path of Indestructible Wakefulness

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by Chogyam Trungpa




  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 third volume, The Tantric Path of Indestructible Wakefulness, presents the vajrayana teachings of the tantric path. The vajrayana, or “diamond vehicle,” also referred to as tantra, draws upon and extends the teachings of the hinayana and mahayana. As with the hinayana and the mahayana, the formal acceptance into the vajrayana is marked by a vow, in this case the samaya vow. There is an emphasis at this stage on the student-teacher relationship and on the quality of devotion. Generally, students must complete preliminary practices, called ngöndro, to prepare themselves for initiation into the vajrayana path before going further. Having done so, they then receive the appropriate empowerments to begin tantric practices. There are empowerment ceremonies of many kinds, called abhishekas. The vajrayana includes both form practices, such as visualizations and sadhanas (ritual liturgies), and formless practices based on allowing the mind to rest naturally in its inherent clarity and emptiness. Although on the surface, there is much greater complexity in tantric practices, the principles of mindfulness and awareness and the cultivation of compassion and skillful action continue to be of central importance.

  The tantric path requires complete engagement and fierce dedication. It is said to be a more rapid path, but it is also more dangerous. There is a quality of directness, abruptness, and wholeheartedness. Tantrikas, or vajrayana practitioners, recognize that the most challenging aspects of life, the energies and play of confused emotions and frightening obstacles, can be worked with as gateways to freedom and realization.

  Other topics covered in detail in this volume include the four reminders, the mandala principle, mahamudra, atiyoga, 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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  EKAJATI

  AH BHYO

  You wear a white cloud as raiment.

  In your right hand is the red heart of the transgressor of samaya.

  From your left hand you emanate in all directions

  A hundred iron wolves as aides.

  The single eye of dharmakaya manifests on your forehead.

  Your single fang pierces the heart of Mara.

  Your single breast nurtures supreme practitioners as your children.

  You are naked but for a tiger skin round your waist.

  When the practitioner is tormented by sloth

  Be an arrow of awareness.

  When the practitioner has lost the way

  Be a torch of meditation.

  When the practitioner is confused by doubt

  Sound the great trumpet of confidence.

  When the practitioner is attacked by enemies

  Be the wrathful, wild protector.

  Protect the teachings of Buddha.

  Cause the domain of the three jewels to prosper.

  Nurture the three sanghas as your children.

  Those who profess the tantras to all,

  Those who display arrogance as dharma,

  Those who have perverted views:

  By the miracles of the wrathful mamo,

  Fiercely seize their hearts with venomous anguish;

  Kill them and lead them to dharmadhatu.

  This was written by Chökyi Gyatso, the eleventh Trungpa.

  Translated by the Nalanda Translation Committee.

  Ekajati (Skt.: “One single lock of hair”) is a fierce protector of the higher tantric teachings. She protects the tantric practitioner and destroys those who pervert the dharma. Above her head is Samantabhadra, the primordial buddha. On the preceding page is an excerpt from a chant to the protector Ekajati composed by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche.

  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 THREE

  THE PROFOUND TREASURY OF THE OCEAN OF DHARMA

  The Tantric Path of Indestructible Wakefulness

  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: Samantabhadra with Consort courtesy of Helena and David Bolduc.

  Frontispiece: Photograph of Chögyam Trungpa outside Chateau Lake Louise,

  Alberta, Canada, the site of the 1979, 1980, and 1981 Vajradhatu Seminaries.

  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 978-0-8348-2860-5 (eBook: vol. 3)

  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 Approaching the Vajrayana

  Introduction

  1. The Dawning of the Great Eastern Sun

  2. The Transition to Vajrayana

  3. Entering the Diamond Path on a Solid Foundation

  4. Uncovering Indestructible Goodness and Wakefulness

  5. The Multifaceted Diamond Path

  6. Seven Aspects of Vajrayana: The Space before First Thought

  PART TWO The Teacher-Student Relationship

  7. The Role of the Guru or Vajra
Master

  8. The Root Guru as the Epitome of Freedom

  9. A Total Surrendering of Samsaric Logic

  10. The Power of Devotion

  PART THREE The Tülku Principle and the Trungpa Tülkus

  11. The Tülku Principle

  12. The Early Trungpas

  13. The Later Trungpas

  PART FOUR Essential Teachings

  14. Unconditional Ground

  15. Transcending Mental Concepts

  16. Fundamental Magic

  17. The Play of Space and Form

  18. The Eight States of Consciousness and the Trikaya Principle

  PART FIVE Complete Commitment

  19. Samaya: Making a Commitment

  20. Positive Entrapment

  21. The Different Types of Samaya

  22. Maintaining the Samaya Vow

  23. Enlightenment and Its Opposite

  24. Perfecting the Samaya Vow

  PART SIX The Mandala Principle

  25. The Sphere of Self-Born Wisdom

  26. The Mandala of the Five Buddha-Families

  27. The Outer Mandala

  28. The Inner Mandala

  29. The Secret Mandala

  PART SEVEN Preliminary Practices

  30. The Four Reminders

  31. The Four Preliminaries

  32. Guru Yoga

  PART EIGHT Empowerment

  33. Transmission

  34. Surrendering

  35. Entering the Vajra Mandala

  36. Stability, Luminosity, and Joy

  37. The Four Main Abhishekas

  PART NINE Vajrayana Practice

  38. Visualization and Sadhana Practice

  39. The Importance of a Nontheistic View

  PART TEN The Tantric Journey: Lower Tantra

  Kriyayoga: The Yana of Purity

  40. Kriyayoga: Trust in Reality

  41. Kriyayoga: Purification

  42. Kriyayoga: Empowerment

  43. Kriyayoga: Practice

  Upayoga: The Yana of Conduct

  44. Upayoga: Unadorned Perception

  45. Upayoga: Empowerment

  46. Upayoga: Practice

  Yogayana: The Yana of Union

  47. Yogayana: Complete Union

  48. Yogayana: Empowerments and Practice

  PART ELEVEN The Tantric Journey: Mahamudra

  Anuttarayoga: Highest Yoga

  49. The Great Symbol

  50. Devotion: The Essential Prerequisite for Mahamudra

  51. Taking a Fresh Look at the Phenomenal World

  52. Uniting with Open Space

  53. The Challenge of Keeping Samaya

  54. The Divisions of Anuttarayoga

  55. Manifesting Mahamudra

  56. Ground Mahamudra: Understanding Things as They Are

  57. Path Mahamudra: The Experience of Meditation

  58. Fruition Mahamudra: Realizing One’s Mind as Buddha

  PART TWELVE The Tantric Journey: Higher Tantra

  Mahayoga: The Yana of Great Union

  59. Mahayoga: The Dawning of the Wisdom of Self-Existence

  60. Mahayoga: Meditation and the Mandala Principle

  61. Mahayoga: The Eight Logos

  62. Mahayoga: Nondual Practice

  Anuyoga: The Yana of Passion

  63. Anuyoga: Joining Space and Wisdom

  64. Anuyoga: Empowerment

  65. Anuyoga: Practice

  66. Anuyoga: No Boundaries

  Atiyoga: The Great Completion

  67. Atiyoga: Continuous Awake

  68. Atiyoga: Primordial Enlightenment

  69. Atiyoga: Fathomless Mind

  70. Atiyoga: Mind, Space, and Instruction

  71. Atiyoga: Meditation Practices

  72. Atiyoga: Heightened Experience

  73. Atiyoga: Everything and Nothing

  Appendix 1: Kamalashila and the Great Debate

  Appendix 2: The Song of Lodrö Thaye

  Appendix 3: The Charnel Ground

  Appendix 4: Notecards

  Appendix 5: Outline of Teachings

  Glossary

  Sources

  Resources

  About the Author

  Credits

  Index

  E-mail Sign-Up

  EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION

  THE THIRD volume of The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma is a compilation of teachings on the view and practice of vajrayana. These teachings were primarily drawn from talks presented by the Vidyadhara Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche at his Vajradhatu Seminary programs from 1973 to 1986.1 However, in compiling these volumes, I realized that Trungpa Rinpoche assumed that students had a certain amount of background knowledge, which he did not repeat in the seminary teachings themselves, so I occasionally included material from additional sources to compensate for what might be missing

  In terms of the three progressive stages (Skt.: yanas) of the Tibetan Buddhist path—hinayana, mahayana, and vajrayana—the vajrayana teachings, or tantra, are considered to be supreme. In his lifetime, the Vidyadhara closely guarded these advanced teachings, sharing them only with students who already had a good foundation, both in terms of their intellectual understanding of Buddhist teachings and their experience of meditation practice. At the same time, the Vidyadhara made clear to his publisher Samuel Bercholz and to his editors that in the future he wanted his seminary teachings on the three stages of the path compiled into three volumes that would be publicly available as a resource for scholars and practitioners. And now, twenty-five years after his death, this project has finally come to completion. So it is with great excitement and some trepidation that we now offer these teachings to the broader world.

  The decision to publish the vajrayana seminary teachings was a weighty one, even though we knew that was the Vidyadhara’s intention. Previously, transcripts of the vajrayana seminary talks were restricted to senior students who had heard them directly, and even the transcripts of the hinayana and mahayana portions of the seminary were not generally available to anyone who had not attended at least one seminary program. In order to be accepted to attend a seminary, students were required to have completed several years of preparation, comprised of both intellectual study of the Buddhist tradition and meditation practice. And during the seminary, before being introduced to the vajrayana teachings, students needed to progress through the hinayana and mahayana practice periods and the study sessions, which took one month each. Only after students were soaked in these two yanas could they begin to study the vajrayana path. Finally, having completed their seminary training, students could then request to be formally accepted into the vajrayana by the Vidyadhara, and empowered to begin the vajrayana preliminary practices, or ngöndro.

 

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