reaffirming the ‘origins’ of mahamudra

7/24/2019 Reaffirming the Origins of Mahamudra

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S E R I E O R I E N T A L E R O M A

C V I

ASIAN HORIZONS

GIUSEPPE TUCCIS BUDDHIST, I NDI AN,

HIM ALAYAN AN D CENTR AL ASIAN STUDIES

Edited by A. A. DI CASTRO and D. TEMPLEMAN

M E L B O U R N E

2015


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i x

CONTENTS

Preface ............................................................................................................ xi

Introduction ....................................................................................................xv

PART I

1. Giuseppe Tucci, anti-Orientalist .................................................................3GUSTAVOBENAVIDES

2. A glimpse of some archives on Giuseppe Tuccis scientic expeditions

to Tibet: 19291939 .................................................................................. 16

FRANCESCODARELLI

3. The problem with folk: Giuseppe Tucci and the transformation of

folksongs into scientic artefacts.............................................................45

RUTHGAMBLE

4. A very useful lie: Giuseppe Tucci, Tibet, and scholarship under

dictatorship ..............................................................................................68

ALEXMCKAY

5. The thought of Giuseppe Tucci .............................................................83

FRANCESCOSFERRA

PART II

6. Reafrming the origins ofMahmudr.............................................. 113

GIOVANNIARCA

7. The implication of Giuseppe Tuccis work for epic and Puric studies.......175

GREGBAILEY

8. Merchants, mercenaries and monarchs: Christians in Safavid Iran ........ 184

JAMESBARRY

9. A survey of Sassanian seals ...................................................................197

ZOHREHBASERI

10. The Bodhisattva VajrapisLaghutantrakand the rotation

ofyogins: structure of the maalaand dynamic motion ...................... 210

CLAUDIOCICUZZA

11. Nibbna as the fruit of meritorious deeds in the Apadna......................229

CHRISCLARK


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x

12. Mapping the Buddhist sacred status of Triloknth................................. 241DIANACOUSENS

13. Goat heads and goddesses in Swt , Gandhra and Kashmir and

connected problems ................................................................................263

ANGELOANDREADICASTRO

14. The theory and practice of the Mandala: ritual and identity in

the Kabr Panth......................................................................................296

PETERFRIEDLANDER

15. Philosophical reasoning and spiritual practice: Giuseppe Tucci on

Buddhist philosophical systems ............................................................. 313

ANDREWMCGARRITY

16. The story of Bon in the Naxi Dongba religion ........................................348

CHRISTINEMATHIEU

17. Under the female gaze: Isabella Birds travels among the Tibetans ........409

ISABELLAOFNER

18. The creation of theism personied: a conceptual history of the

god-maker Avalokitevara...................................................................... 431

IAINSINCLAIR

19. Revising Tuccis sixteenthseventeenth century: new data on

Tibets Civil War (16031621) ................................................................ 479

DAVIDTEMPLEMAN

20. Google Earth @ Ghazni ......................................................................495

DAVIDTHOMAS

21. Rediscovering rainbow colour in the textile aesthetic of Bhutan ............ 529

ALATHEAVAVASOUR

22. The classical Arabs thought, Bayazid al-Ansari (15251572) and his

mystical workMaqsud al-Muminin: mysticism and Sunni orthodoxy

in the Pakhtun zone. ...............................................................................544

DENNISWALKER

23. Culturesof the body: medical pluralism, bacteria and Tibetan refugees .........585

TANYAZIVKOVIC

List of Illustations .........................................................................................597

Contributors ..................................................................................................605

Rome Oriental Series ....................................................................................609


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6

IOVANNI RCA

EFFIING TE "OIGINS OF

MAHMUDR

In the vast culural landscape two great spiritual traditions,

ahimudri and rDzogs chen, have crossed paths many and in many

ways. A debate about their origins, similarities and dierences developed

not later than the twelfth century and went on r ma hundreds of years .

Socio-political considerations, technical" aspects of the practice, insti

tutional esoteric" value of spiritual tranmission may all be considered

concurrent in this debate. What stands out in the texts preseed ad

commented on here, however, is the concern of the authors r

what can be deed as a spiritual itegrit" of the Mahimudri traditio.

The main reason r this concern seems to be the eectiveness of the

teaching itself, and the dierence any contamination" can make the

resuls of the relative spiritual practices. This, and not a judgement of

dierent teachings, was in ct the us of the debate on the origins" of

ahimudri.

MAHUDR, RZOGS CHEN, HAN AND THE UCCI LEGACY

The debate around the origins of ahimudri is closely connected to

the studies on the origins of rDzogs chen, to which Giuseppe Tucci hascontributed with his research. Tucci explored the possible connections

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etwee te Ciese Ch 'an ad rDzogs chen, reviewing and updating hisargumets when ew documents and translations became vailable.1 His

argumets on possible original links between Ch 'an ad rDzogs chen have

been the object of a variety of reactios : scolars have alternated acceptance,

resal and a varied mix of te two, according to teir inerpretations and the

evidence that became progressively available .2 The dculty of the subject

is clearly by the simple ct that the discussion is still alive today and

it does ot seem that a coclusive position can be easily reaced. s nevtable that new ndings and new evidences inrm newer and more

precise interpretations of texts and historical peomea: o pioeer scholarly

work can survive itact through time, cononted with new research other

scolars have been able to make, which oe build on the previous works.

What I think is more relevant, though, is that cci was able to identify

the ndamental element in a of views which

spaed may the gradualist and te on-graalist approach topaths, whic ecompassed interest i the Tantric traditions,

Tibetan Buddhism, te exus between Cinese and Taoism, and

Mogol socio-religious strategies. This approac is the same core element

whic is present in the around the origins of Mahimudr ad

its dierences with rDzogs chen, and is also the reason why it represents a

ndamental point in this article. It is repeatedly mentioned in the Sa skya

bka' bum, i rerence to a rDzogs chen of Chiese style". Tis Chinese

rDzogs chen" was apparently quite close to Ch 'an and possbly inuenced b

oter religious traditions as, r example, Taoism.

Evidence of a complex coexistence of dierent religious elements whose

origi is uncertain is provided by the ongoing research on the

in particular those related to Ch 'an and Tatric Buddhism.4

114

Initiay in Tcci 1 958: 1 02, with ater reections present in Tcci 1 988 :1 1 1 5

Among those who highighted the doctrinal simiarities between Ch an and rDzogs chen

we nd Water vans Wentz, amost at the same time of Giseppe Tcci's Minor Buddhist

Texts (Evans Wentz 1 954, 20 00); Ueyama Daishn (1 983); Jefey Broghton (1 983); Carmen

Meinert (2002) Among those more inclined to view a reatively more independent origin of

the two traditions, distancing themseves om Tcci's view, there are Per Kvaee (1983);

Samten Karmay (1 988); Raymond Robertson and Kenneth K Tanaka (1 992)

From the eighth century to at least the thirteenth century.

From the seminal work of Paul Demivile, Le Concile de Lhasa: un controverse sur le

quitisme entre bouddhistes de l 'Inde et de la Chine au VJe sicle d< ! 're chretinne


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r 6 G i v i A r

These show that the interactions between Chinese Buddhism and TibetanBuddhism included historical and doctrinal not only between

Ch 'an and rDzogs chen, but between Ch 'an and Tantra in general . Scholars

have dierent views about how and how much Ch 'an ideas were integrated

into Mahyoga Tantric teachings, and about the possible existence of a

proto-rDzogs chen" which absorbed Ch 'an ideas.5

The relevance that Tucci attributed to commonalities btween

rDzogs chen and Ch 'an not be overlooked, under-evalated ordisregarded, especially in light of the pronounced tendency to harmonise"

dierent Buddhist traditions that scholars now see as having been an mportant

phenomenon during the Sung rule (960-1279). The debate arnd the original

identities of these traditions and on the interactions between diere rms

of Buddhism and other religious is therere likely to remain open.

MAHUDR RZOGS CHEN

Mahmudr (Great Symbol" or Seal") is the Sanskrit name of a religious

tradton and of an ner, ndvdual state of sprtual realsato. dees

both a edtatoal, psychophyscal path ad ts al acheveent. Is corps

of teachgs ad technques s rooted n Tantrs, and ore speccall

into the Tantric practices of visualisation and transrmation. Its practices

have been widely incorporated into many Ind-Tibetan religious traditions

and beliefs .

rDzogs chen (Great Perction") is the Tibetan name of a religious

tradition which also represents an state of spiritual realisation.

Cosdered as the nal stage ofAnuyoga, it is also known as Atiyoga.

rDzogs chen is a self-liberating" path, where the initiation is

by a direct introduction" to the experiential knowledge of the practitioner 'satural state". Ths s generall dened with the ter rig pa or chos nyid

mngon sum (real dhrmat", or true condition of all dharma") and it is

(1952), to the research work of Robert Mayer and Cat Cantwell on early Tibetan

documents, among which is Early Tibetan Documents on Phurpafrom Dunhuang (2008).

See the opposing arguments provided by Meinert one side, ad Van Schaik and Dalton

on the other, regarding the interpretation of the commentary in document PT

9 9 (Menert 2002; Van Schaik & Dalton 2004).

Chn ng 200 1.

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considered a non-dual state of pure aareness, beyond any conditioningmental activities and emotions.

The need r stressing the distinctions beteen Mahimudri and rDzogs

chen has alays accompanied the coexistence of the to traditions in Tibetan

cultural history, the most obvious reason r this being the similarities

present in their systems.

The debate regardg the real or cttous nature ofthese smlartes has

produced an abundance of discordant interpretations, hich go many centuries back in time and are still present and a matter of discussion noadays.

Systems like Ch 'an, Mahiyoga and rDzogs chen undoubtedly do share

enough commonality to justify the interest of practitioners and scholars

attempting to investigate their respective origins and distinctive traits,7

though the questions regarding the relevance of late syncretism or remote,

common roots, are probably destined to remain mostly unansered.

The nuece of rDzogs chen on Mahimudri seems to be essentially dueto the lloing circumstances :

1 coexstence o te two sstes n te man tratona scoos o

etan Busm

2. nterretaton o te o an oter wrtten sources

3 sea casscato a teroo

4 ctua smartes

These ill be discussed in order belo.

Coexistence

The coexistence of Mahimudri and rDzogs chen has resulted in a certain

ber ofloaords, her ternology specc to one or the other sstehas been consistently used. At the same time, representatives of dierent

schools tend to adopt examples and concepts taken eely om both systems

hile delivering their teachings.

116

Rerring to stdies condcted by Meinert, van Schaik and Dalton, Kapstein and Dotson

(2007:xi) write: "(. . .) the creative evoltion of religious practices between China and Tibet

in multi ethnic Dunhang ( . . . where) trends sch as Ch 'an, Mahiyoga and rDzogs chenenjoyed a degree of idity prior to their codication as distinct systems of teaching

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For example, sometimes the same method has been called Mahmudr'by the rNying ma pa school and rDzogs chen" by the bKa' brgyud pa

and the other schools. This is simply due to the ct that the rNying ma pa

traditionally the term rDzogs chen" as a name r all their

hghest, ost portant practces, reectg how great was the regard

which they hold Atiyoga, which they consider the method

Another example is that in the Mahmudr teachng of bKa' brgyud pa

tradition there is a of to the state (of the mind)" that hasthe aim of introducing the disciples to the state of contemplation, to make

them understand the nature of the true Mahmudr. This state is expressed

using three words: essence, nature and rm", in a very similar way to

what we d rDzogs chen, where the same concept is expressed with the

words: essence, nature and energy" (ngo o rng bzhin and thugs rje)8

Both the rNyg a pa and bKa' brgyud pa had portat practtoers

of rDzogs chen and Mahmudr and these masters were of course

to examples and practices om both these traditions,

the overlapped ad ueced each other. Ths happeed regardless of

the ct that teachers did not always actually mix up" dierent teachings

and traditions, becse word borrowings, comparisons and parallelisms

were ofte supercally terpreted by the students and practtoers.

example of the practice of linking" Mahmudr and rDzogs chen, but

assimilating one teaching to the other, is well represented by the

llowing quote:

Tug te cmmn acceptance f the term thugs rje revlves arund the cncept f

"cmpassin (varibly rendered and interpreted), its meaning in rDzogs chen invlves

mre thn mercy nd cmpassinte etics, strngly implying te ideas f "energy,

"ptential energy, "activity, "dynamic rce, etc, as the reectins and rendering

f severl schlars suggest: N. Nrbu, Clemente 1 999:235; Acard 1 999: 1 1 1 (Nte 41);Gdman, Davidsn 1 992: 14; Berzin 2001 :7 Furthermre, the use fte wrd in the Klng

chen snying thig rter suggests te idea f a creative energy: "As it (thugs rje) is ceaseless,

it i s the bsis f varius manisttins, (m the gZhi lam 'bras bu' i smn lam, a srt

prayer f aspiratin attributed t 'Jigs med gling p nd included in the Klng chen snying

thig cycle). Terere, te term thugs rje is a gd example f Tibetan plysemy,

nd the umpteenth piece f evidence f the prevailing value f context in semantics. I d

agree tht, as pinted ut in dierent ways and degrees by the abve mentined schlars,

translating thugs rje s "cmpssin in sme specic rDzogs chen cntexts wuld

intrduce te idea f an eticlly inspired actin, whic is an element nt nctinllypresent Atiyga as part f its essentially self liberating and nn dual methd f practice .

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I te mn s clear, osere te essence o clart: ts s Mahmudrunon o o an clart.

I te mn reoces, osere te essence o leasure : ts s Atiyoga,

o o an leasure.

I e mn se osere e ce o e o: s sMahdamik,

unon o o an nowlee.

The qote beons to a ver short text, entted The Rened God ofthe Ora Teaching About the Practice of Understanding, and

Behing According to the Mahmur',9 written by an imortant master

of the 'Brug pa bka' pa schoo. Nag dban kun dga' bstan 'dzin

khams spru (1680-1728), ho had aso rNying ma a teachers (ike the

brothers gTer chen 'Gr med rDo rje and Lo chen Dhra Sr Kun dga'

bstan 'dzin, both om sMing 'gro gin monastery).

Three are reeant here: gsal stong, bestong and rig stong. Stong means void", emptiness", and it is sed in

counction ith three dierent words, resective meaning carit"

(gsal), peasre" (be) and knoedge" ig).10 The three resting

expressions conve the meanng of of void and carit", union of

vod and peasre" and non of vod and knoedge", cear denng

stong, the void, as ther common denominator.

What I nd nterestn s that gsal stong (nion of void and carit")

is eqated to Mahmur bde stong with rDzogs chen and rig stong

ith Mahmhyamika. An anaysis of the doctrina which

is at the basis of this shared connecton to nyat od dente be

interestin to prsue, bt we beond the imits of this short document.

I on bre notce here that ths mpes a stron coonat beteen

dierent teaching traditions, and the overa imression is that these are

perceived just as dierent aspects of one ath, each of them essentia

10

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Ngag dban kun dga' bstan 'dzin khams sprul, (Ngag dban kun dga' bstan 'dzin dge legs

dpal bzang po), Phyag ra chen po'i lta bsgom spyod gsum i nyams su Zen tshul zhal

gdams gser hun ma.

Na ro cos drug texts of the 'Brug pa dkar brgyud pa traditions: a collection of rare

texts on the Six Doctrines ofNaropa, 1 978, TBRC W2652 2393 . Also in the translation

by Dell'Angelo and Maglietti (1993)

The semantic value of these words (and ofrig pa in particular) is extremely wide, as well

as their dierent possible translations in English.


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Chapter 6 I I Giovanni Arca

corresponding to a type of experience. Interestingly, this is not obtainedthrough assimilation or juxtaposition; it is not syncretism but rather a kind of

essental classcaton of dierent sstes of practce, organsed accordng

to one's experience, any doctrinal belonging and practice.

Tantric Mahmdr and self-liberating Atiyoga are here considered as

connected expressions of qualitatively dierent experiences or planes"

of one and only realisation, sharing unyat as the common basis of all

phenomena (dhrma). Historical and doctrinal origins and aresimply not relevant here, as the author his of puriying",

rening" everythng o an exteror shell, to show what he beleves s

the golden" core of these teachings.

This text, and the passage quoted above in particular, represents

therere an ineresting example of how teachers eely created links

between dierent according to their on

experience and hat they thought more usel and eective r their

teachng purposes. Soetes these lnks could be justed n ters of

historical and doctrinal relations, other times they be the of a

more esoteric" understanding and others still were simply determined by

personal or reasons and convenience .

Although certainly not common in the dGe lugs pa tradition, rDzogs

chen had soe great representatves n that school too, like the rst Pa

chen Laa, Blo bzang chos ky rgal tshan (50-662) and te fth

Dalai Lama (16171682). It seems reasonable to suppose that rDzogs chen

had very probably other llowers among the dGe pa, particularly in

the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, not only of the

and ascendency of these leaders, but r the links that the teachings of

the Great Perction had with the "Mahmdr of the dGe pa", also

called dGa' lan phyag rgya chen po, expounded b the Pa chen Laa

in his work dGa' ldan bka' brgyd rin po che ' i phyag chen rtsa ba rgyal

ba'i gzhng lam (Root Text of the Precous dGe lgs-bKa' brgy1

Mahmdr: The Man Road of the Victorous Ones). As Kara

interestingly points out:

II The expression bka' brgyuds been interpreted both as the name ofbKa' rgyd school

and as "oral or "whispered transmission. In the rst case it wold indicate a combined

tradition, while the second interpretation wold rer to a specic dGe lgs tradition of

Mahimudri. The subject has been investigated by Roger R. Jackson (Newland 20 01 :1 5 ).

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Asi a n Studi es i n Ho n o ur ofG iuseppe Tuc c i a n d L egacy

rtn t or, te Pan cen Lama n ct rout an areayetae en teacn traton amon te Ge u a non

a dBen sa brnyan bud ane on om on-a-a. (. . . e

Pan-cen Lama yncrete te dBen sa brnyan brud t a oter

eoterc teacn o etan Bum (. . . For [m an oter ater

Ge u a mater o te 6t an 8t centure] , MP [Man ngag

lta ba'i phreng ba] contan te enune teacn o

an terere tey coner t to e te rnca or exounn teoctrne o rDzogs ch en c n ter ve eeay an to dGe

ldan bka' brgyud (sic passim).12

Thee doctrinal borrowings and sharing occurred amon all schools,

except the Sa skya pa, who never had any relevant, important rogs chen

master, and becase of this the Mahmudri teachings present in their

tradto have bee ess eced by rzos chen terminology, rerenceand contents.

We ca d aother exaple of how rogs chen eced

Mahimudri in the rNying ma pa school, here the explanation of the

prpose of Mahimudri is llowed by an introdction to the state of

Mahimudri, wherea in the Mahimudri tradition of the Sa kya pa

chool , there is ot evidet rm of introdction quite the oppoite,

it is expresly denied, as we can read in one of the text reented in thelowg pages S a pa :

nce te mn a no eence, o can tere e an ntroucton o

te

Ad aother text by Sa skya ata abbrevated as Sa pa"

hereaer):

1 2

13

120

en I am ae t, (o to ntrouce te nature o mn, accorn

to my ay (o I aner tat te mn a no eence

an tere notn to ntrouce.13

Karmay (2007:89).

Sa sa bka' 'bur, Vol 5: 416, 1 5 , ("Answers to questions of bKa' gdams pa nam mkha'bum)


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C a e 6 i v a i A a

S a pa's logc s ths case very basc, bt hs argets are spportedboth by the ct that this actally represents a daetal

of rDzogs chen, and by the absece of rDzogs chen ece the

Mahmudr of Sa skya traditio, provdig stregth to his

does ot seem irrelevant or icosistet. What he is ackowledgig here is

that the knowledge of the state mst arise alone, by itself, according to the

meanig of the ter lhag mthong,14 that is something which arises

he sole practce of zhi gnas,15 a consideration that is partly preset i thedGe pa school as well.16

This Introdctio to the state (of the mind)"17 s ct perctly jsted

and appropriate in the Atiyoga system, it the key r the immedite

recognitio of the adept's of the mind. All is i perct accord

with the essence of a totally non-graual path, where the step to obtain

the realsato" s sally cosdered a sgle oe. Whe Sa pa states

that he does ot recognise this as a valid practice, he is not saying that the

practice has o vale. he meas is that it is not cosistent with the

Mahmudr tradition, accordig to the teachigs of this syste that were

taght in the Sa skya pa school.

Because the two systems of Mahmudr and rDzogs chen were ot

coexstet the Sa skya pa tradto, Sa pa had o reaso to cor

what appeared to him as a clear borrowig om Atiyoga, or had he to

ded ay Sa skya i which thi s Itrodction" had bee sed as

part of the crriclar" Mahmudr teachigs of his school.

I thk there are sfcet reasos to cosder the presece of sch

a copoet within the Mahmudr system as a example of how

sycretis ca prodce contradictory reslts, that is the itrodctio of

a key eleent into a system based on progressive achieve

ets.

1 4

15

16

17

Lhag mthong literally means "seeing more and, as an extended meaning, can be (and has

been) interpreted, as "more clearly or "more introspectie, and "insightl.

That is, relaxing one's mind, bringing it into its natural state.

"When you hae thus won an imperturbable tranquillity, you must examine again and

again with discriminative and appreciatie acumen the existentiality of mind in itself and

strengthen your certainty about it (Guenther 1 966:92)

Often called rig pa' i ngo sprod ("introduction to the state of rig pa) in the rDzogs chenteachings. For the meaning ofrigpa see note 3

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A second, possible reason r some jxtapositions of Mahmudr and

rDzogs chen s te spercal apprecato of te doh (and to a lesser

extent, of te Songs of la ras pa), when tese are considered as a sort of

poetical description of the metod of the practice, and not as an expression

of its achievements .

We do not know enogh abot te legendary autors or protagonistsof these beatil and inspiring writings, bt te rerences we hve tell

s of people wo were in Tantric practices 1 8 of visalisation and

transrmation, progressing om one stage to another. The actions of

tese hagiographic heroes, whether or and

transgressive, ave captred te imagination of the readers, contribting

to te Mahmudr tradto a mage tat does ot reect ts atre. Tere

as been an assimilation of what is expressed in te doh as an extremespontaneity of practitioners singing of teir victorious acievement (after

what ad been probably a gradal and igly committed training), with

the immediate and apparently spontaneos, eortles s caracter ofrDzogs

chen, wose distinctive metod is precisely te opposite of a gradal path

and does not involve Tantric tecniqes of transrmation. 19

As Roger Jackson writes,

I ct, te preponerance of te evence . . .) cats tat araa,

Ka, a oa a rooe ecc oc racc, wc

were eeve cruca to t stener's at to attan te uate. 2 0

We can certainly make ypoteses regarding te reasons why the songs

attrbted to tese :gres were composed sc a way to sggest a sort

of careless, easy-going" listyl, as if all that mattered in achieving their

spirital goal was having n breaking all rles , while making n of tose

18

19

20

122

For example: Saraha (Guhyasamja T., Tib. gSang 'dus), Virpa (Hevajra T., Tib.

Kye' i rd rje), Tilopa (mainly Cakrasavara T., Tib. 'Khr l sdm pa), Mi la ras pa

(akrasavara T., Tib. 'Khr l sdm pa).

Nevertheless , it is quite common rrDzgs chenteachers to use many Tantric transrmation

methods during the training with their students. Not all of them, though, consider relevant

to distinguish these on a theoretical basis, well on the track of many of their predecessors.Jackson (2004: 29).


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Chatr 6 I I G i v a i r a

who did not. However, we actually do not know the context well enough toake denitive observations here.

we do not know what degree of editing these texts have undergone,

and so we cannot be certain to what lk and religious context they were

ost responsive.2 1 Secondly, whether the choice of style is dictated by

existent lk traditions and/or by accurately marketed propagation ais,

and to what degree, we do not know either. Thirdly, we can see that

use of negation is omnipresent the doh, as ell as a ore specicantiyogic" rhetoric, 22 but we are not able to lly how these

traits link with the overall context and how they were literary

devices and/or instructive elements of any possible Tantric didactics whose

we would certainly il to appreciate.

These traits have contributed to heighten the siilarities that the nal

stage of the Mahmudr Tantric practices has with the essence of the

rDzogs chen teachings, vouring an interpretation of the doh as esoteric

and symbolic instructions of a Great Perction" which does not need

else than an instantaneous and self-liberating recognition of one's

own This has misrepresented the Tantric gradual character of the

Mahmudr and this is precisely what Sa skya Paita strongly opposes.

Classifcation

One classication of the antras ight hae aso contributed to the

consion between elements ofMahmudr and rDzogs chen. The Tantras

classied as Anuttara Tantra in the Phyi sgyur, (New translation") are

21

22

"The spiritual doh and cary songs, themselves of lk origin, were composed by the

Tantric siddhas of India where they had turned out to be an apt medium to propagate their

doctrines, coating and veiling the esoteric message in allusive phrases and in a enigmaticlanguage ( ), rich in imagery and replete with double entendre and homonymous puns

Srensen (1990 15) And D. Templeman (1994 17 ) observes that "As thedohiwas primarily

a means of direct, authentic communication between master and disciples, it had to express

a truth in a way which would resonate within its listeners, rather than being

understood by them at a conceptual level only It had to t into a wide range of lk rhythms

and metres, as such songs had to travel into many cultural areas among unlettered people

whose most practical way of gaining the message might well have listening to such songs

"[he dohi songs] contain what we might regard as "antiyogic rhetoric, which may

leave us rther consed as to what the siddhas were promoting and what they weredenigrating (Jackson 2004:28)

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Asian Studies in Honour of Giuseppe Tucci and His Legacy

divided into Paternal, Maternal and sometimes Neutral or Non-dual",and are consdered equvalent to the ones classed as Internal antras n

the sNga sgyur (Old ranslation"), traditionally divided in Mahyoga,

Anuyoga and Atiyoga. To clarify what the element of consion

s n ths system of classicaton, I must very brey consder the two

stages" of bskyed rim and rdzogs rim. While the practice of bskyed rim

primarily consists in transrmations om an vision into a pure"

one (r example in a mla of deities, in which all beings manistthemselves as gods and goddesses), the practice of rdzogs rim mainly

deals with based on the energy"23 of the individual, based on

the channels", the akra and the pra. All antras contain instructions

on b oth bskyed rim and rdzogs rim but some, such as the CakrasaYvara

antra r example, explain mostly the rdzogs rim, though not excluding

the practices related to the bskyed rim. Other types of Tantras (such as

the Guhyasamja Tantra, a Tantra of the Anuttara classcaton)are mostly based on the bskyed rim transrmation practices and mainly

explain the methods through which all beings manist themselves as

gods, in the maala of their pure dimension".24

But there are also some antras, such as the Kalacakra Tantra, which

present a balanced way of practising bskyed rim and rdzogs rim; this

balance has been considered as being eutral, or Non-dual", and this

name has bee n used n the classcaton of such antras. he problem s

that if we assume that the eutral" antra is such precisely becuse its

practices of bskyed rim and rdzogs rim are balanced, it is not possible that

Atiyoga, which has neither bskyed rim nor rdzogs rim, be dented wth a

ethod based on ts balance. Unrtunately ths classicaton potentally

23

24

124

In te context f te Western studies on Tibetan Tantrism, te complex interaction ofrtsal,rl pa and gdangs (tree terms tat convey many dierent meanings and acceptations,

including "manistation, "resonance, "creative power'', "emanation, "function,

"re ection'', "strengt, "potency'', "action and "rce) is often simply translated as

"energy. Wen used to mean te dynamic, vital rce of te individual, "energy mainly

rers to rtsal; in relation to te practice of te metods of transrmation it rers to rol

gdangs can be dened as (Norbu, N 199 6:55 ) "te inerent condition of energy itself

as it really is, in any kind of manistation watsoever

An interesting example of te concrete, practical interrelation occurring between

Tantras as been provided by David Templeman (1992 3:71 ), who as igligted te"completion role of te Cakrasvara Tantra in relation to te Guhyasamija Tantra


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Chapter 6 II Giovanni Arca

leads towards this wrong understanding, because it has created theidea of some sort of reciprocity between the Neutral Tantra of the new

translation and the Atiyoga of the old translation.

Therere it presents an element of potential consion, which has

certainly not helped to clarify the distinctive elements of both the systems

of Mahmudr and rDzogs chen

Terinology

Another ctthat can be relatively consing is that not only Mahmudr

commonly mean both the Path and its state of realisation, but both

the names ofMahmudr and rDzogs chen are used with exactly the same

meaning when rerring to the highest level of the practice. More precisely,

in the tradition of the rNying ma pa school, Mahmudr means the aim, and

the result, of Mahyoga, and rDzogs chen the aim and result ofAnuyoga,while the other schools do not usually have this distinction and generally

dene te ghest level of te practce only as Mahmudr. Even though

what tey mea by ths s te al stage ofMahyoga, they actually use the

name Mahmudr to genercally dene te nal ad usurpassable result

of any sprtual path. But n the Tibeta Buddhist traditon te same al

result can be obtained through two dierent paths, one om Mahyoga

and the other om Anuyoga In ct, though the common goal or result canbe called Mahmudr, the paths are indeed dierent because it is true that

both Mahyoga and Anuyoga are based on the methods of

but the rst one deals wt the metod of gradual trasrmaton, practisg

bskyed rim and rdzogs rim, while the latter is non-gradual, meaning it

is not necessary to practise bskyed rim, step by step. This is because in the

Anuyoga system the base" of each individual is considered lhun grub, that

is self-percted" ab origine, ad so t is consdered sufcient to mantaa presence, without creating or developing anything. The Anuyoga system

is thus much closer to the rDzogs chen view of the practice, and in ct its

al stage s called Atiyoga, which is rDzogs chen25

25 A hypothesis of a possible, original liaison between Mahmudr and rDzogs chen has

been proposed by J. Dalton (2004 :1 30), according to whom the latter could have beenoriginated om the "stage of completion (rdzogs rim).

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A sin Horizons : Studies in o G iusepe Tucc i n d His L ec

Factual similarities

The similarities between Mahmudr and rDzogs chen, however, might not

only being derived om syncretic elements, misinterpretaton of the doh,

classcatory weaknesses and abguous termnoogy. In ct, f we rer

to Mahmudr as the method relatve to the nal stage of the antrc path

of transrmaton, t does actually present ctual afnties wth rDzogs

chen. These afntes, though, can be anly und n the copletonstage" (rdzogs rim) of the Anuttara Tantra or Tantras.26

Mahmudr and rDzogs chen mght aso share more than cassicatory

and terminological borders, r there is the possible presence of a Tantric

tradtion of Mahsddhas related to the Bon po rDzogs chen teachings,

to the Zhang zhung snyan rgyud.27 If research added rther

evdence and clarity to the rerences already provided by some scholars, 28

26

27

28

126

For the term rDzogs chen as an extension of rdzogs rim, see Karmay (2007:138)

A very usel bibliographical tool r the various editions of the Zhang zhung snyan

rgyuhas been recently provided by H. Blezer (201 1 :135 203)

D Snellgrove (1 986:103 104) writes: "There is no serious reason r doubting the existence

of the Bon sages who come within the historical period, and at the same time there is

no doubt of the Indian Buddhist origin of their philosophical theories and meditative

practices The Oral Traditions of Shang shung' belong to the class of teachings known as

the Great Perction' (rDzogs chen) Such teachings are common to the Old Order'(rNying ma) among Tibetan Buddhists and to certain llowers of Bon, and there would

seem to be a close connection between the Bon sages who practised them and the Indian

Buddhist yogins who were perhaps already spreading in Tibet unconventional teachings

of a non monastic kind during the royal period After the recount of a story connected to

Gyer spngs pa, a hng zhng pa Mahsiddha, Snellgrove adds:

"The willingness of the disciple to sacrice himself r his master, once he was

assred that his master wold be prepared to eat the esh of his corpse, belongs to

Indian Tantric tradition So too do the women, dressed in j ewellery and white clothes,

r they are the kinf (attendant goddesses) who administer to meditating yoginsJM Reynolds (2005:79 81) writes: "( ) in strictly historical terms, it may be asserted

that this Zhang zhung Nyan gyud derived om the oral precepts of a kind of Bonpo

Mahasiddha known by the name of Gyerpung Nangzher Lodpo (Gyer spungs snang

bzher lodpo), the disciple of another mysterious Mahasiddha, Tapihritsa, whom he

encountered in a series of visionary experiences This Gyerpungpa, ( ) who is almost

certainly historical, ( ) and hi s master probably l ived in the axial period of the eighth

century to which the Nyingmapas equally look back to as the Golden Age r the

establ ishing in Tibet of the teachings of their own tradition deriving om India, which

also Dzogchen Gyerpungpa was not a Central Tibetan however, but a Zhangzhung pa ( . ) From Gyerpungpa, an unbroken lineage of transmission can be traced


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this could open an interesting chapter on the wider presence of a Tantrismrelated tradition, well beyond the borders of the Indo-Tibetan

Moreover, early intermingling" between Mahyoga and rDzogs chen

has been already mentioned by researchers, as und in texts earlier than

the tenth ceury, in in theRdo rje sems dpa 'i zhus !an (Questions

and Answers of Vajrasattva), a Mahyoga text attributed to Gnyan dpal

dbyangs, n whch Karmay (2007:60) has shown there eist borrowings of

rDzogs ch en material om the Sbas pa' i rgum chung (The Small Collectiono Hidden Precepts). Dalton (2004:1-30) has also highlighted the emphasis

on the Mahyna term bodhicitta present in the early rDzogs chen texts,

and the connections of the Great with the Tantric ritual system

of the Dgongs pa dus pa' i mdo.

HE TEXTS

The six short texts presented belong to the Sa skya canon and were written

by three well known masters and scholars : Grags pa rgyal mtshan (1147-

1216), Sa skya Pa


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Asin Hrizns : in Hn ur Giu s Tu i nd His L

concurrent positions: as and learned masters we my supposetey lt te need to reafrm at tey ad bee taugt ad beieved was

te correct view; as religious and political leaders tey ad to identify and

clearly estabis te ofcia position of te istitutio tey represeted,

ensuring te integrity, consistency and continuity of their traditions.

te point of view of masters and guardians of te traditions,

te need to clearly identify te nature of te Mahimudri teachings was

especially lt in relation to rDzogs chen, wic undoubtedly presentsimilarities wit Phyag rgya chen po, some apparent and oter ctual, as

I ave previously argued.

1. Phyag ra chen po gespo btus man ngag

e rst text, Collection of Selected Instructions o te Mahimudri"

(ereafter rerred to as Grags pa 1), is te oldest document presentedin this study. Te autor, Grags pa rgyal mtsan (1147116), one of the

Great Five" of te Sa skya tradition, wrote it in the second alf of te

twelft century, but te instructions contained terein go back to Lama

Rdo rje gdan pa,29 live around te year 1000 CE.

e text describes a graual practice of visualisation-transrmation, in

wic te practitioner moves toward a state of natural relaxation, throug

te progressive puricatio of te ve mai passios, wic correspodto te Buddas of te ve miies30 te al pase of t practice all

29

30

128

Known aso as Aogavajra, and as one of the "hree antric Brothers (Nigua,

Sukhasiddhi and hisef).

he ve Buddha iies (rigs Inga), Vajra (rd rje i rigs, the Indestructibe), Ratna (rin

hen rigs, the Jewe), Pada (padma rigs, the Lotus), Kara (las kyi rigs, the Action) and

athgata (de bzhin gshegspa'i rigs,the Buddha), representthe ve aspects ofbuddhahood

and are aso equenty rerred to as the ve Dhyni (editationa) Buddhas, though theyare not caled by this name in Sanskrit or Tibetan sources . "Dhyani sees in ct a ter

of Western origin, possiby created by Brian Hodgson in the nineteenth century. Lopez

(2004:73) argues in this regard that "Hodgson's other major error was the introduction

of the ter "dhyni Buddha into the Buddhist exicon. he ve miies are

associated with their corresponding ve negative eotions (nyn mngs pa, Skt. klefo),

respectively hatred (zh sdang), pride (nga rgyal), desire ( dd chags), jealousy (hragdg) and stupidity (gti mug). Bdud 'jos (200 5:425) writes that "According to Kriyatantra

there are three miies : Tathagatha, and Vajra. rers to ur miies :

Tathagatha [the Buddha ily], Lotus, ajra, and a urth iy that combines theAction with the Jewel miy. (Sic r al Sanskrit transliteration in the quote.)


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C a e r 6 G i v a n n i r a

supports of meditation are gradually abandoned, until a state devid ofconcepts is reached.

In the ca se of a not the skills to achieve this state, the

text provides an explanation of the Prajprmit practice, which shold

be", as the author writes, known (to the reader) after having received the

third initiation". It is therere clear that the author assumes the readers of

these instructions he received the proper initiations, which shows that

these practices were included in a preliminary wider initiationcontext, without which they would not have had any sense.

As a sort of practical anology, the text with a very short

explanation of gtum mo, oe of the Sx Yogas of Nrop. A practce of

visualisation-transrmation of ayab yum31 then introduces some

concise instructions and explanations regarding te Tantric union, where

the sexual act becomes the

hs selecto of structos eds wth a explaato by Idrabht

regarding the proper r a practitioner of the Mahmudr.

Ths text clearly exemples the gradual ature of the etods coected

to what s deed as Phyag rgya chen po, at least around the twelfth century.

2. Phyag ra chenpo yan lag bdun dan i rtsa a

The text, entitled: Root text of the Mahmudr ofthe Seven(ereafter rerred to as Sa pa 1) s a root text by Sa skya Pata K

dga' rgyal tsha (11821251). Wrtte the rst half of the thrteeth

this short text the essence of the teaching and practice of

Mahmudr.

31 Te mystical union of the male (yab), and male (yum) is represented in te Ind Tibetan

Tantric iconography by the sexual embrace of two beings belonging to the highest realms of

existence and realisation. In the context ofndo Tibetan Tantrism the male represents the

wisdom (Skt.prajn) of the Enlightenment. The male is a symbol of the so called "skilll

means, trough wich the wisdom can actively manist in the world. Similarities but al so

dierences do exist with the Hindu Tantrism, as Faure (2003:124) highlights: "In Hindu

Tantrism, the god's "female energy, his kti, is personied as his male consort. The

same seems true in the case of the mudr, the sexual partner of Tibetan Tantric gods . As

Agehananda Bharati and Alex Wayman have pointed out, however, this male mudr,contrary to the kti, is a symbol ofprajn (wisdom).

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Asian Studies in ofGiuseppe Tucci andHis

Despite the poetical style being gentle, the author does not il to exercisehis well known tendency to clarify and qualify,32 applying it to explain his

point of view regarding the original of Mahmudr as a spiritual

path.

In ths second text we nd the rst direct menton of the two levels

of practice in the Mahmudr teaching method, bskyed rim (process of

creation/genertion) and rdzogs rim (stage of completion),33 which will be

equently mentioned in the llowing texts. These progressive levels areinherent to the practice of Phyag rgya chen po, and represent the main

structural" dierence between Mahmudr and rDzogs chen.

3. De 'i khrid yig yan lag bdun pa

The third text, entitled Commentary on the Mahmudr of the Seven

Levels" (hereaer rerred to as 'Phags pa 1), is a commentary to theprevious root text, written by pa blo gros rgyal mtshan (15-180),

discple and grandson of Sa skya Pa


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essece of at te text dees as o-dal realsato". s experetalno-dality is state ofMahmudr s , te al realsato, great

symbol" or great seal". e previos graual practice i seve is

a qite representatve example of te psycopsical tecqes

tat are sed to reac ts al state.

4 Phyag chen nyams fen

e rt text, etitled Te Practice of te Mahmudr" (ereafter

rerred to as 'Pags pa 2) is a sort root text also by pa. As

te prevos root text, e d some oter clarcatos abot te atre

of te Mahmudr metod ad abot te correct approac to its practce.

I particular, te metods of vsalisatio and recitation of matras are

explctly accepted as part of te pracce ad deed as beecal".

e ator oeteless speces tat tese atrc etods are jstmetods", meas", like an axle" joinig te weels of Mert ad Wisdom.

5 rTogs lan ran po 'i dris Ian

e ft text, ettled sers to te Qestos of rogs lda rgya po"

(ereafter referred to as Sa pa 2), s rtte by Sa skya Pata ad deals

wit r importat poits: te lta ba (visio") ofMahmudr ts atre,

its ibeta ame (Phyag rgya chen po), ad te levels of its practice.

partclar, Sa skya Pata observes tat te essetal metods relatg

to Mahmudr are ot preset in te Loer atras (Kriy ., Upa . ad

Yoga .). also metios te possibility of a istat awakeig" ito

te atenic wisdom ofMahmudr bt stresses tat sc a occurrece

is to be cosidered exceptioal ad tat its acievemet geerally

reqres te applcation of te metods ad te gradal progressio of tepractitoer.

6. rNal 'byor pa Phru ma pa la gdams pa

e sixt text, etitled Advice to te yogi Pr ma-pa" (ereafter rerred

to as Sa pa3), s rtte by Sa skya Pata. t explas o tese practces

can become obstacles r te practtioer, creatig a coditio worse ta

the iitial oe. e text is written i te rm of a dialoge, as wit te

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A sin Hrizn s: Stdis i n Hn r T i nd Ly

prevos Sa pa 2, ad t provdes qte drect asers to te qestosspposedly asked by a yogi, met drig a trip.

Te between Mahmudr and rDzogs chen s reafrmed

i all tese texts, maily rerring to te practices ad te

graual atre of te pat, wic are typical of te Tatric metods of

visalisation-trasrmatio to ic te teacigs of Mahmudr are

commoly cosidered to belong. A clear rerece to te preliminary

practices is in Grags pa 1 :

e renar ractces are not resent ere.

Te preliminary practices" (sngon 'gro) te ator rers to are tose

related to te accmlatio of merit ad wisdom. These are not rmally

preset i te rDzogs chen teacgs, c are tradtoally deed as a

pat of self-liberation ad, as sc, distict om te pat oftrasrmatio.34

s Karmay (2007: 107) qotes , examig te capter o rDzogs chen i

te bSam gtan mig sgron35

. . . te octrne of Atiyog, . . . ts nae s te reat Percton.

W? Becase t gves etae teacng t a ve to partng

rect o te rce o ts non-sogt sontanet

wt regar to a exstenta eeents. e o te sontaneos

essence, wc s te nerost treasr o a veces an tegreat niversa grater", is to be experience irect by self

awareness", t ot as a tg to e et n . I s to e ae

to te se-aareness".

d Meert (Kapste & Dotso 2007:2) otes rter tat

34

35

132

The essential aspect of Dzog chen has traditionally been related to an awakening

produced by a direct to one's own nature (ngo ang hog u spod pa),

without the recourse to transrmation practices of a gradual kind. This consideration

mainly stems om the rst verse (or "statement) of the "Three Vajra Verses (rd rj

shig gsum), attributed to the legendary rst master fzogs chen, dGa' rab rdo rje, also

known as the "Three Statements that Catch the Essential Points (shig gsum gnad bdeg)

or, more literally, the "Three Statements that Hit the Nail on the Head (going directly to

the heart of the matter).

Bsam gan mig sgon ("The Torch of the Eye of Meditation), by Gnubs chen Sangs rgyasye shes, possibly written around the tenth century.


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n te spontaneous percte sucness o te supree oga, oAtiyoga, a ara-s se-raate te perct an

pure spere o se-arsng prora gnoss. e are not separe

sougt as cause an uton ecause te are spontaneous percte.

spontaneit", self-awareness", spontaneousl percted

suchness", [no] case and all at the of transrmation

methods.The ct that Grags pa rgyal mtshan mentions the absence of the pre

liminar practices is a clear indicaton the were a common part of the

Mahmudr gradal path. With regard to this notion of gradualit"

though, it shold be noticed that even if, as part of the tradition originating

om the Yoga Tantras, Mahmudr inherits man of the gradal atures

hch ere specc to the stages f transmaton, not a practces

within Mahmudr sstem can be considered literall gradual". Thegradalit" of Mahmudr rers to the presence of the preliminar

practices , of the stages of bskyed rim and rdzogs rim, and of the practices

of gradal transrmation. Bt the borders between gradual" an non

grada" are r o beng xed.

Grags pa 1

In Grags pa 1 the instructions begin in ct with a non-graual

of Prajprmit, in a wa a correspondece to the Anuyoga

style of practice:

n nstant anst ourse as Prajprmit

withot an gradal of the deit's image, but llowed by a

progressve seqence of dened steps, here ghts of derent coorsare the means of specc transraton acts, changg all passons nto

wisdoms.

The practce is then conclded with a rther, clearl graual seqence

of subtractive" until al l mental dualism disappears:

en asor ourse nto te H, te 0 s asore nto te Ha, te Ha

nto te cresce, one nto te thig le, te thig le nto te n da an

te n da ssoves nto te state vo o concepts, an so ou etate.

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As n Horzo ns tu ds n Hon o ur of Gu s u n d L

The reason why the visalisation of Prajfprmit is obtained in atotally non-gradal manner might be that the considered the adept

already well trained in that practice, as a part of those preliminaries which,

being so ndamental and are not described. This seems to be

consistent with what llows at the end of the same instrctions, where the

adept advised to train more in the practice ofPrajnprmit, in case

he or she ds it difclt to reach a o-dal, o-cocetal coditio:

o o o ave e caa o ourse eo e oes,

earn (o prace) te suasaton o Prajnprmit, c o

so know, avn o recee te r ntaon.3 6

As a sort of revision", the method of oneself as

Prajnprmit is the briey desribed

All the instrctions contained in Grags pa are practices of

visalisation and transrmation, with a relevan degree of gradality.

Sa pal 1

I Sa pa 1 the gradal character of the istrctios ad their direct

connection with the Tantric tradition becomes neqivocally clear:

36

37

38

39

40

134

o ercty oan te 37 te ause r raymprovn te to auatons, 38 an te meo r reasn te

two Boes,39 one appes te cotepaton o te to ees,4 0 ten

The initiation "of the wisdom (Shes rab ye shes kyi dbang).

dBang bzh: the ur "Empowerments, or "Initiations, are the llowing: um

dbang, gSang ba' dbang, Shes rab ye shes kyi dbang, Tshig dbang rinpo che (Initiations

"o the vessel, "of the secret, "of the wisdom and "(precious empowerment) of the

voice (word).Wisdom and merit.

sKu gnyis: the dhrmakya and the rupakya, which includes the sambhogakya and

the nirmakya. Kya literally means "body, but can be interpreted as "aspect of

enlightenment.

Rm gnys: "the two levels. "Bskyed rim is bsed rim itself, concrete rdzogs rm is the

peacel and wrthl rlung, and the mind (cused) on one point (as in the) gum mo, etc.

Thus, by not becoming separated om these two, the blessing comes om the rm gnys

(bskyed rim and rdzogs rm). !Ta ba is like a method to clari these two. Mahmudr is

the na l wsdo which has been increased b these two (bskyed rim and rdzogs rm). Saskya bka bum, Vol.4:67, 1.3.


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C 6 II G i v n ni

one must become mar t te ractce o te Mahmudr cs te Wsom (comn) om tese.41

This is in accord with hat is more extensively expressed in another

point of the Sa skya canon:

Practcn bsed rim tout avn receve te rst ntaton;

ractcn te gtum mo, etc. tout te secon naton; metatn

te bss an te emtness te tr; ractcn te Mahmudr

etc., tout te an ben a mkhan po (abbot) tout te vos

o te ornaton, e tryn to tae a jee om te ea o a

snae, an t be te cause o one's on an oters' estructon.

erere, a se eoe sou eave tese (actons) r (om tem).42

And soon after we nd an even ore explct reference to the Tantrc,

gradual character of the aur teachins:

Narotaa sa: Recevn te ntaton an ractcn bsyed rim

an rdzogs rim s an arorate ractce but c beons to te

neae o Naro; ractcn bskyed rim an rdzogs rim an not avn

te s certany n contracton t te antra an aso

t our on customs [o te neae oNaroa]".43

Another closely related text is Common ronds of the Buddhas:

Method (as) and Knowledge (ses ra)".44

41

42

43

44

ome say tat tere s no uson nor non-uson. o become rease

t s not necessary to use a metos an cross a ats Nrjuna

The meaning and vlue of this "Wisdom, as well as its dependence om the two stages

of bskyed rim and rdzogs rim, are clearly stated in the tradition of the Sa skya pa schoo l:"(. . .) Our Mahmudr is the wisdom (ye shes) that comes om the initiation. And

om the prctice of the two rim pa comes the self arising wisdom. This realisation cn

e achieved during this li if one practices wisely the methods of the secret Tantra.

Otherwise, Buddh did not sy tht one can realise the Mahmudr. Bec ause of tis,

one should not commit to the practice of Mahmudr without initiations etc., but one

should practice according to the secret Tantric doctrine. (Sa skya bka' 'bum, Vol. 5:

30 8, . 14) .

Sa skya bka' 'bum, Vol. 5: .3 10, I . 12 .

Sa skya bka' 'bum, Vol. 5 : 3 17, I 5.Sa sa bka ' 'bum Vol. 5: 30 8, I . 2 .

135


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45

46

47

48

49

A s in Hor izo ns : Su dies in Hon o ur of Giu see Tu i n d His L e

attained libeation ealising only eta ba Padma 'byung gnas withthe bsed rim. Lhpa ealsed hmself wokng, Nagpopa45 with the

help of tuals, Goaka46 though the powe of the rlung, ava wth

the pactic ofgtum mo, Saaha with the Mahmudr, Togtseba47 with

the powe of blessng, Zhi ba lha48 eating, sleeping and going to the

tolet, Indabht lvng n luxuy and Bwapa49 became a siddha

ealising all kinds of inteelations. Theee, one must not slande

all these dieent methods and paths .

Listn to what I will explain about this .

Thee is no method (o path) to become a Buddha, witht the pesence

ofthabs ndshes rab Ts all siddha did not libeate themselves only by

this o that method. One is libeated ealising o inceasing the Wisdom

(e shes), which developed though the and though bsed

rim and rdzogs rim We cannot libeate ouselves only with the gtum

mo o with (the powe o blessings, and so on. One can libeate himself

gh the inteelation ofbsed rim and rdzogs rim, with the blessing

of eceiving initiation. bsKyed rim, rlung, gtum mo, etc., ae not

dieent m the othe two rim: the blessing comes om these, the !ta

ba is a pt of them, the Mahmudr is the uimate wisdom of these.

Indabht pactced the Mahmudr with the elaboate actions[behaviour], the pactice of the non-elaboate behavou s called

bhusuku So the Buddha said.

And the pactice absolutely not elaboated" is the teaching of the two

rim pa [bsed rim ad rdzogs rim] Fo this eason the actions ofall those

siddhas ae known as the conduct of Kun tu bzang po (Samantabhada)".

Usually known as Khapa, and often identied with Kcya.

Also known as Goakhnth.

Known with many vaiations of the names Ghadhai, Kolipa and Kodli .

The geat bodhisava and schola ntideva. his desciption is in accod with the meaning

of his othe name Bhusuku ("vagabond) and lows what Abhayadatta (op cit) writes.

antha descibes him vey dieently, as possessing extaodinay qualities aleady at

his birth (in his work dod kun byung, moe commonly known as ra gar chos 'byung,

"History of Buddhism in India), and only appaently behaving as a "bhusuku. Some

inteesting notes on the possible etymology of this tem can be und in antha ( 1970:217)Vipa.


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at 6 II Giovanni Arca

us, tout te unon o conton an cause, tere e no ote Bua, ut trou ts specc conecto t te mertorous

acts an trou te erence o te nterna nterreatons, one

ncreases an te Wsom (ye shes. s (appens) t te

erent metos.

For te oy o a sc person nees to eat r ut,

to et s mn ecomn open (to te ea) o eatn, at maeste erence s te o. n te sae ay tere are many erent

metos an ettn tem s os. But tnn tat ony (trou

te practce o tese specc metos one ca ecome a Bua,

s asoutey stup. For ts reason one sou mae a (necessary)

erts to receve te ntaton, c s necessary to y eveop

an (to receve te teacns o bskyed rim an rdzogs rim.

Another passage5 0 directly compares ahur and the ros hen

of Chinese style", rerrin to the teachins of Hwa Sha:

tere s not concepton one cannot aanon. one can aanon,

ut tout te presence o concepts, (ten) tere no reason y a

sentet cannot rease te Mahmudr. For ts reason, tere

are no n" or ron pats ean t Mahmudr. tere s

(ts type o conseraton) t s Mahmudr. erere, oneoes not te true Mahmudr, te utmate som, ten

s/er Mahmudr not o eyon te rDzogs chen o nese

type.1

One of the points more debated both in the dieret

ahur traditios as ell as in the comparison between ahur

and ros hen is the Introduction of the mid" sems k no spro). Saskya Pata states Sa pa 1 that ths practce does ot belog to what he

considered the ahur of Tantric heritae, opposi the well kow

arguets of the bKa' bryd pa ad Ny a pa schools , accorg to

50

51

Sa skya bka' 'bum, Vol. 5 309, l. 8.

"This distinguishes Tibetan (and its source: Indian), Buddhis om the peculiar Cinese

frm, the Hwa shang meditation, as it i s called in the Tibetan texts, here contemplationis said to consist in staring into empty space with a blank mind (Guenther 1992).

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An Horon ud n of G u u n d H

which Mahmdr teachings could have also been originated outside adente Tantrc contet.52 This consideration took into particular account

the idea that sGam po pa used the of the mind independently

om any Tantric and yogic practice of visuali sation and

as a more Stra stye" or derent" knd of nstructons . 53

The opposition to the idea of any sort of non-Tantric Mahmdr

contnues wth a specc rerence to the gradua path, hch should ead

the practitioner to realisation dierent several stages, or bhumi",using bskyed rim and rdzogs rim:

52

53

54

55

In te conton s as os: a erson o as ts

noege, n orer to ntegrate Samr anNirvn trs to acev

t s [or er] commtment te tes o conuct,54 eaorate,

non-eaorate an extremey non-eaorate, as t s expane n t

antras, an so crosng te Pat an te nterna bhumi(s),55 reatto ts ractce, otans te 1t bhumi o te Vajrara

Sa ska l stesses his conviction also in anothe text: "Fo the eleventh

How to intoduce the natue of the ind?' when (I) am asked this, accoding to

y way (of undestanding), (I sa that) the ind has no essence and that thee is nothing

to introduce. Thee is not thought no emo to ealise the piordial eptiness, the

emo' of the Sa skya bka' 'bum, Vol. 5: 416, I. 5, ("Answes to questions of

bKa' gdas pa na kha ' bu)."One of the special Geat S eal (phyag gya chen po: Mahmud) teachings which

sGa po pa was best known was his so called intoduction to the [natue o mind'

(sems kyi ngo spod), which the disciple was led to conont and diectl

the natue of hi s o he ind. sGa po pa is said to have given such Great Seal

instructions soetimes not as secet pecepts in connection with initiation

and special ogic pactice s, but athe as a based Great Seal instuction, o even

as a doctine going beyond both Sta and Tanta. Late citics such as S a ska Paita

aintained, howeve, that all true Geat Seal instuctions wee Mantayana teachings

that necessitated ll, al Tantric initiation into a mla These astes deniedin geneal the existence of any based o non Tantic Geat Seal, and in

they consideed the existence of an Mahyna doctine outside of the classes of

Pamityna and Mantayna to be impossible (D Jackson 1 994:2 3).

Spyod pa gsum: "the three conducts. "The Conduct is used to develop the two im pa

(bskyed im and dzogs im), with elaboation', without elaboation' and absolutel

without elaboation', nael the thee tpes of Conduct'. Indabhti aintained the

st tpe, antideva the second, the thid tpe is called Bhusuku' o of Biwapa' and

othe siddha who pacticed the two im pa This is also called The conduct of Kun tu

bzang po [Samantabhada] '. Sa sa bka' 'bum, Vol. 14:167, I . 5 .The bhmi(s) are 10, 12 o 13 stages ofthe bodhisattva path.


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h a t 6 G i v a n n i A a

'Phags pa 1

The Commeary to the root text, 'Phags pa 1, explicitly organise the instrc

tions into the seven levels" (an lag)56 mentoed the ttle of Sa pa 1 .

As it is common in many expositions of Mahmudr teachings, the

grauality and progression of the path is at the same time described and

apparently negated, a recrring trait that has certainly contribted to the

detcaton of Mahmudr as a oe step" pat, atteng or even eminating its om Atiyoga. In 'Phags pa 1 this is explicit:

tat sureme wthot metatng.

This negation is more apparent than real becase it does not

refer to a towards an action rather to a

qality of this action, which leads the adept into a state of non-action :

nce tere s no ot nor consosnss (to perv t), wtout

enterng nto t ont o sometng to metate on an someone

wo metates, srem wtot metatng).

The of the translaton of the term sgom as meditate" are evident

here, becase the abndance of meanings this term conveys in all Western

langages almost totally related to some kind of dalistic mental activity,hether reectve, one-poined or cotemplatve. Moreover, te Tbetan

term tself as a complex story of semat adaptaton, reectg te

efrts of translating the Sanskrit of the Tantras.57 This activity of the

mind, this meditation", has an object, no matter how small", disgised

and hidden into one's mental processes.

The Dala Lama has ncommonly dened medtaton as a lar

ization of the mind ith an objet of meditation". 58 This rendering of the

56

57

58

Yan lag literally means "branches, "limbs, "parts; I have chosen to translate it as

"levels because they contribute here to the creation of a set. In Mahmudr, zhi gnas

and lhag mthong are "parts of the Mahmudr, meaning that they are nctional to the

realisation ofMahmudr. It is in this sense that I translate yan lag as sa, "level, as in the

expression sa bcu, "the ten levels (of the bodhisattva).

Some interesting notes on the etymology and the semantic of the Tibetan sgom pa,

with a comparison with the Sanskrit bhvan can be in Bentor [ed .. by Cabezn] 201 0.(DL 200:207).

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A sia n Horizo ns: Studie s in Hon o u r of Giu seppe Tucc i an d His L egacy

term is etymologically consistent with the Tibetan ndamental meaningof sgom pa (to and apparently distant om that of bhvan,

which is casing to be", bringing ito existence" or a state of existence".

Qite interestingly, however, it does match the idea that something is present

in the meditative action, that there is an object created by the mind or to

which the mind refers applying varios kinds of methods and techniques . 59

Bt at te practtoer is reqested ere s to nd a state were te

meditation" (that is a mental implying an object), or whatcommenced as a meditation", does not exist or does not exist anymore.

This concept is metaphorically stressed soon aer:

As ea s o er om r, e rea coo s o

erent om te penomena, c t s non-a, an n a

crcumstances ter s non.

Of corse meditating withot meditating" i s not possible, as it would

not be possible to conceive something that is at the same time ll and

empty. These contradictions are meant to express a state of non-dality,

which is not part of a reality we are ordinarily able to appreciate. It is

here to note that the non-uality" of this condition can be easily

as an invitation not to engage in any meditative activity,

eqating what is intended both as a point of arrival and an inherent qality,

to an approach based on the spontaneos ariing of experiences, withot

proceeding throgh gradal steps. The jxtaposition to methods resent

in the Atiyoga system, sch as thod rgal, becomes a concrete possibility.

the verses immediately llowing remind of a ndament of the

Tantric path:

Emptness aone, wtou Meo, oes no e o e reasaon, nor

oes te Meo Emptness.

The two componens ofthe negation, the meditation mediation",

are recomposed in the Tantric union of the opposites and sealed" in an

sameness . This is what, the text it is necessary to

obtain the non-dal realisation".

59

140

The choice of meditative objects can be very wide: a physical item, an abstract symbol, adeity, a sound, a recollection of any sensorial or mental experience, a conceptual thought.


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C a t e r 6 G v a n n A r a

'Phags-pa 2

'Pags-pa 2 is a very sort text, written as if its main purpose was to be

an instructive reminder of wat te autor considered te most essential

points of te Mahmudr teacings. For tis reason I would not classify

it as a root text", if not r its brevity. According to te traditional point

of view expressed by te Sa skya pa scool, 'Pags pa stresses te Tanric

nature ofMahmudr:

e vew o te et, te rectaton o te anra etc., are not to e

rese, ecause o a ese eos one can otan (ene) out

(an) conc (eeen ese racces), n e sate o toa Wso.

Te Tantric practices of visualisation and transrmation are not con

sidered as being in opposition wit a condition of non-duality. Tey are, on

te contrary, part of wat can be used to acieve that state, te Dhrmat.

If te main condition is met, tat is te union of Metod and Knoedge,

wic prodces an indissoluble unit of Emptiness and te

practitioner reaces te state ofzung 'ug,6 0 te union of te two bodies of

dhrmakya and rupakya. All becomes te subject of a classic allegory:

e two wees o ert an so, one te axe o te se

etos", an pue y te suree orse o ea to tedienson o Onscence

Te Merit is te karmic condition attained a roper condct;61

te Wisdom is te knowledge", tat is a non compreension

tat is produced by a successl practice of te two levels" or stages"

(im gnyis); te Wise Metods are tose ofTantrism; te orse of Devotion

mainly rers to te pround link between a student and a Tanrc teacer,an initiation reltionsip tat is considered essential r te transmission

of te knowledge and its successl application. All tis sould lead t

60

61

Zung 'jug, "union is a particular term of the Mahmudr tradition. In rDzogs chen the

same concept is conveyed by the term gnyis med, "non dual.

In the Mahmudr teachings, "proper is not only to be intended as a virtuous and

morally elevated conduct, but also as the practice of the Tantric methods that are believed

to purify one's karmic condition much more eectively and rapidly than only virtuousactions.

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A s ian Horizo ns : Stu dies in Hon o u r of Giu seppe Tuc ci a n d His L egacy

Omniscience (kun mkhyen), knowledge" or wisdom", which sdened as the state of Mahmudri.

Sa pai 2

s perhaps n Sa pa 2 that we can most apprecate how the debate

revolving arond the natre of Mahimudri ws alive and eely lt in

twelh and thirteenth centry Tibet. Inserted in a realistic scenario, in

the r of ansers to the qestons of a thl practtoner, we nd a

smmary of the Sa skya poits of view regarding the Tantric ndaments

ofPhyag rgya chen po:

1 Resa o t ea tat te Mahmudr teacng ay orgnate o

te so cae oer" or outr" antras (Kriya, Ua an Yoga anra).

2. Rasserton o te naents o te Mahmudr pat, accorng to

te a sya traton: renary ntaton o y te ractcesnce n two stages of bskyed rim an rdzogs rim. e ortance

o te ntaton, an ence o a connecton t a aster, s st

rter passe as a oent en soe rtunate eoe"

gt excetonay reas t very state o Mahmudr wtot t

recourse to any secc eto o ractc

3 Dnton o bskyed rim an rdzogs rim as te a-ev antrc cor

o a Hger antras o t Ne ransaton (hyi sgyur) Anuttara

gro Mor recsy, a aJ wrts tat al tos o teA

(teacng), r te arsng o so, (are suars nto te to

eves)" wc sos e eve te stages o eveopent" an

copeton" ere an essenta art o te Paterna, Matrna an

or Non-a" antras, at east n regar o a etos o

vsuasaton an ter graua or nstantaneous.

4 e o a aJ to ar as uc as oss to t antrc trs

s rter conr vn n s etyoogc anayss o e or

Phyag rgya chen o" as an naccrat transaton o te ansrt

Mahmudr". Hs rtaton o te wor 'hyag" (n ts acceptaton

o wso/noege o tnss") coe soe o t o an

ost eate aron t coeatve" Mahmudr an

te screte dkar o chig thub, os tatve sste anycse on te reasaton o tness.


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5 A te ar ork" (so stant om te careess an eespontanety o te Masas) s reecte nto a st o eves,

experences an erent erees o reasaton.

6 Rerrn to soe peope (proay Ka' ryu pa scoars), o

accorn to m ere retn te antrc naments oMahmudr

a pa perseveres n s aost actca ntent, metcuousy

mentonn a 1 bhmi, as tey are un n te Mahyana Stra.

7. Rerrn to te suen entenment", e uotes te 'Jam dpal

mtshan brjod, a e knon prase oMajur,62 stressn tat tere s

no suc n te Mahmudr system, one mpes

tat t can e otane trou te appcaton oa necessary antrc

metos, an ony ater avn successy aceve te reasaton

o te erent eves a bhmi.

Sa pai 3

this short and limited selection of Sa skya pa texts on the

Mahimudri, Sa pa 3 exanes reater dept the expereces arsg

during the application of the Tantric methods. The instructions are once

again delivered against a backdrop of ordinary li, as answers to the

question of a yogi who, uite interestingly, quotes a passage om a text

wrtte by Sa skya Pata hmself, askg r clarcatons. The pots

mostly relevant here are the llowin:

62

1 Very stron an repeate exortatons to exercse a posse cons

en ean t te antrc metos. s represents possy

cearest asserton o te practca, amost operatve" an matter-

oct" caracter o te pat a stuent o te Mahmudr teacn

as suppose to o, at east accorn to te more ortoox", orconservatve" a skya pa tratn.

2 e [to te state] o te mn" s expressy neate.

As mentone earer, ts as one o te man aruments n te

controversy rearn te nner an most namenta caracter o

Phyag ra chen po.

The 'Jam mtshan brjod is the Tibetan version of the Majurlnmasagfti.

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A s i an Studies i n of Tu c c i a n d His L eg acy

ONCLUSION

The main point in the debate Mahmudr and rDzogs chen has

always been te distinction between their dierent approaches to the

spiritual path. The teachings of Mahmudr are generally considered

belonging to the Mahyoga and Anuyoga systems of Tantra classicato,

and their main characteristic is the of the Tantric practices of

transrmation. The jxtaposition of Atiyoga (rDzogs chen) in theMahmudr system has triggered and controversies mainly

because rDzogs chen does not contain any practice of transrmation and,

moreover, does not use any initiation.63

For these reasons, the presence ofAtiyoga practices has been considered

an element of contamination", aecting the integrity of the Mahmudr

system. This has nothing to do with any negative opinion regarding

rDzogs chen. In ct it is simply connected with the consideration that in apath all the practices maintain an original" coherence and

must be related to an ninterrpted lineage of transmission. Althogh the

Mahmudr orthodoxy" of the great Sa skya pa masters is certainly not

devoid of institutional care, there is no trace of spirital competition"

nor of aspiration to any sort of Mahmudr supremacy" over Atiyoga.

From the spirital point of view of these masters, stressing the essential,

original" coherence of Mahmudr s ts maly jsted by e belef(especially true in regard to all Internal Tantras) that a practice can be

63

144

some kinds of initiation and "empowerment may be used by rDzogs chen

masters, these are in ct "borrowed om Mahyog and nuyoga, and are actually part

of the Tantric path of transrmation. The practice of tiyoga itself does not imply any

init iation. On the contrary, the initiation is completely substituted by a "direct introduction

to the experiential knowledge of one's "natural state. This knowledge is dened as rigpa or also as chos nyid mngon sum ("real dharmat'', or "true condition of all dharma").

It is considered a non dual stte that is ee om all conditioning mental activities and

emotions. This does not mean that a student of tiyoga is usually supposed to enter this

state as soon as he is to it by a master. The practices leading

to the achievement of that state can be those ofMahmudr (llowing the transrmation

path of and nuyoga) or they can be Atiyoga practices (llowing the three

rDzogs ch en series ofsems sde, kong de and man ngag sde). More ofen, a mix oftiyoga

and Tantric practices of visual isation transrmation is used. To rther complicate this

scenario, in many cases rDzogs chen masters do perrm Tantric style initiations, butinclude the "direct introduction oftiyoga.


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successlly perrmed and its realisation obtained only if it strictly adheresto what is believed to represent the original" corpus of instructions. These

instructions have to be transmitted om master to disciple, together with

their relative initiations.

Many masters o f Tibetan Buddhism have also institutional roles, ad

according to their secular point of view they usually practise, transmit and

teach only what belongs to the lineage of their own scool. Often they

carelly avoid dealing with teachings that belong to other traditions,regardless of ther value or potental sprtual benet. hs sectaran

attitude has also been relevant in the general debate regarding the origins"

ofMahmudr. It certainly has much to do both religious myopia and

the prioritising of secular management of spirituality.

Other teachers show an opposite atttude, eely gathering om all

traditios watever they consider usel r progressing in the path towards

a spiritual realisation". While this conduct is positively non-sectarian,

t ca also rsk a potental mxg of everythng together, atteg the

distinctive traits of dierent traditions.

This i s precisely what some masters have opposed, particularly

in the Sa skya pa school, what they regarded as a consion" and a

contamination" between Mahmudr and rDzogs chen. In ct, they

considered this as detrimental r the eectiveness of both these teachings .

It is in this regard and should not necessarily be

considered mainly or purely politically pragmatc, that those who are

personally involved in any spiritual quest be genuinely interested to know

the orgs" of the teachg they are llowg ad the modicatos"

these may ave undergone. This can be particularly felt as important when

the practitioners deal with the management of their individual physical and

mental as it occurs with the yogic techniques . Even more if they

attribute a ndamental value to a lineag of transmission, as is

the case with practitioners and teachers of Tantric traditio, like the Sa

skya pa masters presented in these pages .

I believe that it is mainly in this sense that these masters attributed a

negative value, such as cotamination", to what they considered surious

elements in the Mahmudr tradition. I also think it is mainly r the same

reason that they showed such a strong terest towards a deto of teofMahmudr, although these orgs" are ot geerally afrmed

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A sia n Hor izon s: Studi es in Hon o ur of Gi useppe Tucc i an d His

on the basis of historical evidence. are, in ct, rather based on amainly subjective assessment of their consistency with what the hors

considered the correct contes and methods of the practice.

The experience of the authors as spiritual masters and their position of

recognised leaders are the pivotal ctors in the assessment

of origins". is mainly their experiential, hands-on" knowledge

that seems to guide them in the choice of any textual evidence. The texts

they quote, however, together with cts and circumstances report,undoubtedly support their arguments .

The interconnections between religious socio-political interests

are clearly indissoluble in the debate around Mahmudr and rDzogs

chen. Nevertheess, te speccity and te detals of the arguets

provided contribute to strengthen the impression that it was r

the preservation and dense of a spiritual eectiveness" and integrity"

tat tey anted to reafr te orgs" of Mahmudr as deeply and

exclusively rooted in the Tantric path of practices.

RANSLATION THE TEXTS64

1 . Collection of Selected Instructions on the Mahimudr

( Grags pa 1 )65

Phag rgya chen po ges po btus man ngag, by Grags pa rgyal mtshan

These are the instructions given by Lama rje gdan-pa,66 te clear light

of the non-dual Mahmudr.

The preliminary practices are not present here.

Once yu are seated in the lotus position and have placed yor hands in

te udr of edtaton, dra your eyes dow, on te tp of te ose ad,

64

65

66

The transliteration of the Tibetan texts is available online at the llowing l ink : https: //

db.tt/HOIRFHiv.

Sa skya bka' bum, Vol. 6: 302.Pa


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sounding Hu, in an instant manist yoursel as Prajprmit witwite body, wo olds a blue lotus wit er ands in te mudr o te

Teacing o te Doctrine, and a book on a Utpala ower.

At the heart se as a Hu1 on a solar disk, spreading rays o wite

ligt wic, throug te top o te ead, it te deities and te suras,

transrming tem into Vairocana. om te top o te ead tey all

disappear, togeter wit their dimensions, into te Huw

Ten rays o ligt spread om te striking te human

beings and transfrming tem into Akobya and all, togeter wit teir

dimensions, nally disappear into te Hu1.

Rays o yellow light ten spread om the navel reacing te animals

and transfrming tem into and ten, togeter wit their

dimensions, tey are all absorbed io te Hu1.

Rays o red ligt then spread om te secret place, reaching te Pretaand transfrming tem into Amitba. Ten troug te triangle, 67 togeter

wit teir dimensions, they are all absorbed into te Hu.

Ten om te anus rays o green ligt spread, itting te inrnal beings

and transfrming tem into Amogasiddi, 68 becoming then absorbed om

te anus in te Hu, together wit teir dimensions.

Ten absorb yoursel into te Hu, te 0 is absorbed into te H, te

Ha into te crescent, tis one into te thig le, te thig le into te nda and

the nda dissolves into te state void o concepts, and so you meditate.69

Continuing to practise in tis way, one discovers te signs o te practice:

ligt and luminous body, parasites, good looking complexion, and

so on many good qualities manist.

67

68

69

The chkr symbolised as a triangle or crossed triangles, near the base of the spine.

Vairoana, Akobhya, Amitbha, and Amoghasiddhi represent the

enlightened states of the main human passions ("Five Wisdoms): Wisdom of the Real

Dimension (Dhrmdhtu), Wisdom of the Mirror (Adrfo jn), Wisdom of Equality

(Smt jn), Discriminative Wisdom rtyveks:w jn) and Wisdom of Duty

(Ktynu{hn jn). For the inconsistency of the "ve main passions within the

Buddhist classication see Wayman 191:85

The visualisation of the syllable H acts as a meditative support r a gradual relaxation

of the mind in its natural condition. The a the Ha, the crescent and the thig le are parts ofthe writing of the syllable and correspond to levels of meditation.

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A s ian Hor izon s: Studies in Hono u r of Giu seppe Tucc i an d Legacy

Obtaining then the Bhmi(s), one realises the Mahmudr in this veryli.

Learn (how to nd yourself ) the state whch s beyod the concepts, r

as long as you are able to remain (sittig) in contemplation.

Eve when you perrm ay actvty (try to) lear (to d yourself )

the state beyond the concepts and to become miliar with it.

If you do ot have the capacity of ndg yourself beyond the concepts,learn (to practce) the vsualsaton of Prajprmit, whch you should

know, having you received the third Initiation.

Thi

* * *

Sgle systematc nstructo on the ncocevable Prajprmt.

In a stant oe mansts as Prajprmt.

Focusing a white, luminous and clear lunar mla on the empty

space of the heart, all the phenomena of the universe are gathered

into oneself, oneself into the moon, the moon to the size of a

mustard seed and transrms ito the nda, which becomes increasingly

thner, the sze of the lotus ' lamets, and then becomes so th as tobe invisible.

Thus remain in the emptiness beyond the eight limitations.

r as much as you retain its memory, on the bliss of the third initiation.

an instant visualise (transrmed) into the deity and,

henticated by the (knowledge) which is lke an illusion, perrm

deeds with body and voce.

This also applies to other practice sessions.

The instruction of bLama rDo rje gdan pa was transmitted by bLaa Pa

ri ba.

* * *

Homage to the Master!

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Sitting on a comrtable place, cross-legged, truly practice teBodhicitta; eiter transrmed into te deity or in your ordinary

appearance, beave as in an il lusion.

Ten te main practice begins.

Even if te cannels of te body can be summarised in 32, these can be

rter reduced to3 channels.70

Above and below te nvel te tree channels divide and ten meet onte navel, taking te rm of a rdo rje.

Visualise in tis way te tree cannels, and unify te upper air wit

lower air.

Ten visualise tat om te Ram on te navel, or at a sort distance

om t, a re s gted. So the nave, where te tree cannes eet, heats

up. Te upper air and lower airs unify at te navel, so tat all rlung71 and

Bodhicitta meet on te nave and penetrate n te vadt channel .72

Focus vsuasng tat te re of the gtum mo spreads only at te navel,

but tat it does not circulate inside te central channel.

Medtatng n ts way te body s ed wth warmt and peasure, and

te32 knots of te cannel are untied.

So vsuase that (te body) s ed to te top of te ead wt te 32

Bodhicitta.

your daily activities uni te tree rlung and wen (sitting) in

meditation keep te presen