The Tantric Path of Indestructible Wakefulness

by Chogyam Trungpa

  The result of samsaric torment is very real. We are talking about our immediate experience, our state of mind right now—and this state could continue after our death as well. It is shocking, isn’t it?

  APPRECIATING THE TEACHER, THE TEACHINGS, AND YOUR OWN WORTHINESS

  These four reminders, or four ways of reversing one’s intention, are the beginning of the vajrayana teachings altogether. At this point, you have already gone through the preciousness and power of the hinayana and mahayana journeys, and now you are ready to hear and practice vajrayana. Therefore, devotion is very important.

  In order to relate with your free and well-favored human birth, you have to appreciate your teacher. It is like inviting Einstein to America to teach science: you appreciate his brilliance. Likewise, you appreciate the teacher, who brought you the preciousness of dharma. You realize that the teacher is the spokesperson or author of the dharma. You appreciate your teacher further because of the teachings on impermanence, the consequences of karma, and the torment caused by the wrongdoings of the samsaric world. At this point, you are extremely careful because you understand karmic cause and effect, and you are still more careful because of the possibility of ending up in the blockage of the lower realms. You see that only the guru principle can save you from torment.

  We practice the four reminders by having a greater sense of connection with the lineage, with the disciplines that are inspired by the lineage, and with our own discipline. Therefore, we begin to have devotion to the authentic guru, and we understand that studying with such an authentic guru is the only way that we can actually do these four practices properly, fully, and truly. We begin to realize that we are worthy people, and because we are worthy people, we find that our guru is also a worthy person.

  The four reminders are the footing, or the ground level, of how the new student of vajrayana first begins to find their way into the mandala.

  1. The Jewel Ornament of Liberation by Gampopa describes the eight unfavorable conditions as: (1) living in the hell realm, (2) the hungry ghost realm, or (3) the animal realm; (4) being a barbarian uninterested in spirituality, or (5) a long-life god attached to temporary happiness; (6) holding wrong views; (7) being born at a time when the Buddha is absent; and (8) being stupid and unable to express yourself. See Gampopa, The Jewel Ornament of Liberation, trans. Khenpo Konchog Gyaltsen (Ithaca, N.Y.: Snow Lion Publications, 1998).

  2. This should not be construed to mean that people with disabilities cannot practice the dharma. But at the same time, Tibetan pragmatism reminds us that real physical obstacles can arise at any time, making practice difficult. The point is to take advantage of our good circumstances while they last.

  3. The ten positive circumstances include five personal ones and five external ones. The five personal ones are: being human, being born in a country where one can meet holy persons, having all the senses, not reverting to evil deeds, and having devotion to the teachings. The five external circumstances are: that a Buddha has appeared in this world, that a Buddha has taught the dharma, that the dharma continues to be taught, that there are followers of the dharma, and that there is love and support from others.

  4. Alan Watts (1915–1973) was a pioneering and well-known popularizer of Buddhism and the Zen tradition. He was a prolific writer, and his books The Way of Zen and Beat Zen, Square Zen, and Zen brought an awareness of Zen to the larger public.

  5. For more on the Shambhala teachings on the path of warriorship and the cultivation of enlightened society, see Chögyam Trungpa, Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior (Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2009).

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  The Four Preliminaries

  The four preliminary practices are very important, but you cannot practice them without first receiving an initial vajrayana transmission. They cannot be done before you have a complete theoretical understanding of the tantric path. You have to be aware of the consequences, because all four of these practices are actual tantric practices. Prostrations and the repetition of the refuge formula are tantric practice, the repetition of the Vajrasattva mantra is tantric practice, and the mandala offering is tantric practice.

  HAVING UNDERSTOOD the four reminders and the five vajrayana sayings, we go back once again to shamatha discipline. But in this case, it is a much more vigorous discipline than sitting on a cushion and simply working with your breath. Here the practitioner works quite hard on the ngöndro, or preliminary practices. Ngön means “before” or “front,” and dro means “go”; so ngöndro means “that which goes before.” So before you go into vajrayana practice altogether, you need to complete a series of preliminary practices, or ngöndro.

  The four preliminary practices you need to complete are: 100,000 prostrations, 100,000 recitations of the refuge formula, 100,000 recitations of the Vajrasattva mantra, and 100,000 mandala offerings. Since each of these four is repeated 100,000 times, that makes 400,000 in all. In addition to these four preliminary practices, as further preparation for the vajrayana the practitioner engages in the practice of devotion, or guru yoga.1

  Photos 14a, b, and c. An example of a student performing a full prostration.

  PROSTRATIONS AND REFUGE

  In the first preliminary practice, you offer prostrations 100,000 times, and as you do so, you repeat the refuge formula 100,000 times. In the vajrayana, in addition to taking refuge in the Buddha, the dharma, and the sangha, you also take refuge in the gurus of the lineage, the yidams, and the protectors of the dharma.

  In Tibet, offering prostrations is a traditional practice. When you meet a teacher, the first physical gesture you make to express your dedication, devotion, respect, and commitment is to offer a prostration. It is also a way of introducing and presenting yourself. In the case of ngöndro, when you meet both the vajrayana teachings and the teacher, you offer 100,000 prostrations.

  At the point that you begin ngöndro practice, you should already have a thorough understanding of hinayana and mahayana, and a preliminary idea of what visualization practice is all about. You should have some idea of the visualized deity or samayasattva and the blessing deity or jnanasattva principles, and you should have the basic aspiration to connect with a yidam. You should also know something about the lineage you are joining and about the principle of abhisheka.

  Prostrations are connected with shamatha practice. Like shamatha, offering prostrations is a repetitious exercise, and you always come back to the same spot. At the same time, you are dealing with any irritations that arise. You have a body and you have to relate with your body, the same as you relate with the breath. In prostration practice, you are trying to burn up the fuel of restlessness. Although prostrations do not exactly develop calmness, they are working toward calmness. So they are correlated with the shamatha discipline of making sure that there is a sense of peace, harmony, and gentleness in us, because there is no arrogance and pride.

  The reason we do prostrations at the beginning of ngöndro, as the first thing, is to make sure that our pot is not upside down. In order to receive something inside, we have to turn our pot right-side up. If our pot is upside down, it is because we are arrogant and full of ego reservations. We are trying to maintain ourselves, so we do not want to put anything of anybody else’s inside. We are quite content with our emptiness, which is the wrong type of emptiness. So at this point, prostrations turn our pot right-side up 100,000 times.

  We make sure we have the pot right-side up by reversing our arrogance and pride and by surrendering. We might feel we have worked hard to become good at something. We may have come up with all sorts of credentials to present to the teacher and the teachings. Nonetheless, we have to let those credentials go in order to receive the vajrayana teachings. So we prostrate 100,000 times to make sure we have our pot right-side up.

  In prostration practice, you visualize the teachers of a particular lineage. It could be the lineage of the Gelukpas, the Sakyapas, the Kagyüpas, or the Nyingmapas. Some traditions have the lineage sitting on a tree, called a re
fuge tree; some traditions have the lineage sitting on big lotus petals; some traditions have the lineage sitting on clouds; and some traditions just have them sitting on each other’s heads, one on top of the other. But whatever the visualization may be, the idea is to develop a sense of the guru and the lineage. You can witness your lineage, and you can surrender yourself to the lineage and its wisdom. Prostrations and the refuge formula, which take place together, make up 200,000 of the 400,000 things that you count when you do ngöndro.

  In my tradition, you visualize the lineage in a refuge tree. The Kagyü lineage traditionally starts with Vajradhara at the top of the tree, representing the dharmakaya aspect of the guru. Below Vajradhara, you visualize all the teachers in the Kagyü lineage. You visualize yourself sitting in front of the refuge tree and prostrating to the lineage and to your teacher. When you visualize yourself sitting in front of the tree and prostrating to it, you are not visualizing in the sense of imagining, but you actually feel the presence of the gurus. They are right there, receiving your prostrations. So the fundamental idea is to develop a feeling of the guru, and a feeling of the lineage of teachers and the teachings to which they belong.

  Illustration 2. The Kagyü lineage refuge tree with the sixfold refuge formula.

  I take refuge in the glorious holy gurus—the kind root guru and the lineage teachers.

  I take refuge in the divine assembly of the mandala of yidams.

  I take refuge in the buddhas, those who are victorious, virtuous, and transcendent.

  I take refuge in the holy dharma.

  I take refuge in the noble sangha.

  I take refuge in the assembly of dakas, dakinis, dharmapalas, and protectors who possess the eye of wisdom.

  —Translated by the Vajravairochana Translation Committee under the guidance of Chögyam Trungpa.

  A sense of your samaya vow should be present in your awareness of visualizing the refuge tree. The samaya vow is very important. A teacher cannot present such a practice as prostrations at the hinayana level or the mahayana level. When you do prostrations, it has to be absolutely mahayana, which means vajrayana. You need to have a feeling of the sacredness of the guru and an understanding of the samaya principle in connection with the guru. You need to have guru awareness, and recognize that the lineage is made out of heavy-handed people by the hundreds of dozens who are very powerful. Your root guru or your personal guru is heavy-handed and personal, and the other gurus have multiplied by the hundreds, so they are heavier and more powerful. As the generations go upward, your imagination expands.

  VAJRASATTVA MANTRA

  The next preliminary practice is Vajrasattva mantra recitation. In Vajrasattva practice, you recite the one-hundred-syllable Vajrasattva mantra 100,000 times.2 By doing so, you are purifying yourself by identifying with Vajrasattva, which is a very powerful thing to do. Vajrasattva means “indestructible being,” and the deity Vajrasattva is associated with the dharmakaya and with purity.

  As with prostrations, unless you know the basics of tantra, you cannot do this practice. In particular, with Vajrasattva mantra you should be very familiar with the ideas of purity and immovability.

  In Vajrasattva practice, as you recite the mantra you visualize Vajrasattva emitting a milk-like amrita as the elixir of life and purity, which enters into your body and purifies your body as well as those of all sentient beings. So this practice involves not only the recitation of the mantra, but it also involves the visualization and your state of mind. Mantra practice occupies body, speech, and mind, all three of them at the same time. You do not have any spare parts left over, so you cannot occupy yourself with anything else. Your whole body, your whole being, is employed, so you do not have the time to reproduce bad karma at that point.

  Illustration 3. Vajrasattva (“Indestructible Being”).

  You do this second stage of ngöndro practice to acknowledge your shortcomings. Even if your pot is turned right-side up after the surrendering process of prostrations, it still might not be clean. Your pot might have some poison inside, so you might not be able to put anything into it, or cook food in it, or eat out of it. Therefore, you have to clean it properly.

  In order to do that, the proper dish-washing process is needed. By reciting the Vajrasattva mantra, you take the attitude 100,000 times that you are basically and intrinsically pure. You do this by identifying yourself with the intrinsic goodness and purity of Vajrasattva himself and the Vajrasattva mantra altogether. You also develop the vipashyana quality of general awareness of the environment. You are completely aware of your blockages and your habitual tendencies and neuroses, and through this practice you look into all that. You realize that even having surrendered your arrogance and pride, you still have more cleaning up to do.

  Purification plays a very important part in ngöndro. Such purification is not a question of how many mantra repetitions you do, but it is a question of continuity. When you take a shower, you do not ask how many water drops have to come along in order to clean your body. You do not regard the shower as a repetition of water drops, but just as a lot of water falling onto you. That is the approach. It is a question of volume, and of realizing that your body can be clean because you are basically not dirty. You may have temporary dirt and grease on your body because you have not washed for a while, but you can be as clean as the other people across the alleyway or next door.

  MANDALA OFFERING

  The first three preliminaries (prostrations, reciting the refuge formula, and reciting the Vajrasattva mantra) were connected with what to refrain from: arrogance, personal neurosis, obscurations, and so forth. The remaining two preliminary practices are connected with what to cultivate: the richness of the mandala-offering, and the devotion of guru yoga.3 These two practices are fundamentally a continuation of the previous disciplines.

  Photo 15. A simple mandala offering plate with heaps of rice signifying Mount Meru and the four continents.

  When we refrain from arrogance, we witness the impurities existing in us, and we begin to purify those problems. We discover our intrinsic purity by means of the Vajrasattva mantra. However, the notion of purity might leave us with some residue that we try to hold on to, which has to be overcome. So there is still something to be cultivated. What needs to be cultivated is further richness, the realization that we are capable of giving offerings. So the next preliminary practice is the offering of the mandala.

  In mandala practice, you are giving offerings to the lineage and to the spiritual teacher or vajra master. By doing so, you begin to attain the two accumulations: relative and absolute. The relative accumulation is material wealth, and the absolute accumulation is the attainment of yeshe, the possibility of sanity.

  In this preliminary practice, the mandala being offered is very simple. First you create a mandala in the form of heaps of rice on a round mandala-offering plate, representing the world; then you offer the mandala to the lineage, which is visualized in front of you. This way of depicting the world is quite ancient; the world is symbolized in the form of a central mountain called Mount Meru, which is surrounded by four continents.4

  The idea is that such a mandala has a global quality, like Japan being in Southeast Asia and Europe being in the West. So you are not just offering your mandala as a goodwill token to your lineage, but you have to give up everything. You have to give up the outer mandala, which is the physical, geographical setup; the inner mandala, which is your physical body; and the secret mandala, which is your emotions. The whole thing has to be given up.

  From the vajrayana perspective, you need to give your total world to the lineage, rather than a partial world. You need to be entirely generous. You might give up your last shirt and your last underpants to your guru, but that is not quite enough—you still have your body to give. The idea is that if you do not have any sense of the subtle world and subtle experience, if you have no identification with your yidam, then in the mandala offering you will just be giving a few of your things to somebody, rather than gi
ving the entire world and exposing yourself completely.

  The basic notion of mandala offering practice is to offer yourself completely to the lineage and to the spiritual friend or vajra master. This means you are offering even the offerer. You do not give with the hope that you will enjoy the elaborate gift you have made, or that you will enjoy any congratulations or thanks. You actually give the giver as well as the gift, so there is no one to receive thanks, no one to be appreciated, and no one to be congratulated for giving such a gift. That is a very important point. At the same time, there is still someone to count your mandala offerings on your mala. There is still rikpa, which could become both more relaxed and critical. So you do not have to give up your comptroller, but your policy maker could be let go.

  If you give a gift with something behind it, with an ulterior motive that you feel good about, then you are still planting habitual patterns in the back of your mind. You are not quite transcending conceptual mind, or lo. Therefore, you are once again accumulating conceptual seeds in your eighth consciousness, or alayavijnana. You are using the donations that you offer to your teachers as a part of your mental collection. But in the mandala offering, when you give gifts you should not expect anything in return. You simply give. Even in the hinayana or mahayana traditions, it is necessary that the style of your gift be an absolutely ideal one.