Path of Heroes I

PATH OF HEROES

B irth o f E n lig h te n m e n t

VOLUME I

Zhechen Gyaltsab Padma Gyurmed Namgyal

With the Practice Instructions o f

Tarthang Tulku

(path o f Jieroes

PATH OF HEROES Birth of Enlightenment

VOLUME I

Zhechen Gyaltsab Padma Gyurmed Namgyal

with the Practice Instructions and Reflections

of Tarthang Tulku

Dharma Publishing

Tibetan Translation S eries

1. Calm and Clear2. The Legend of the Great Stupa3. Mind in Buddhist Psychology4. Golden Zephyr (Nagarjuna)5. Kindly Bent to Ease Us, Parts 1-36. Elegant Sayings (Nagarjuna, Sakya Pandita)7. The Life and Liberation of Padmasambhava8. Buddhas Lions: Lives of the 84 Siddhas9. The Voice of the Buddha (Lalitavistara Sutra)

10. The Marvelous Companion (Jatakamala)11. Mother of Knowledge: Enlightenment of Yeshe Tshogyal12. The Dhammapada (Teachings on 26 Topics)13. The Fortunate Aeon (Bhadrakalpika Sutra)14. Master of Wisdom (Nagarjuna)15. Joy for the World (Candraklrti)16. Wisdom of Buddha (Samdhinirmocana Sutra)17. Path of Heroes: Birth of Enlightenment

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Zhe-chen rgyal-tshab padma-gyur-med-rnam-rgyal, 1871-1926

[Theg pa chen po'i bio sbyoh gi man hag zab don sbran rtsi'i bum bzan. English]

Path of Heroes : birth of enlightenment / by Zhechen Gyaltsab Padma Gyur- med Namgyal: with the practice instructions and reflections of Tarthang Tulku.

p. cm. - (Tibetan translation series)Includes bibliographical references and index.ISBN 0-89800-274-5 (hardcover). ISBN 0-89800-273-7 (pbk.)1. Spiritual lifeBuddhism 2. Spiritual lifeRnin-ma-pa (Sect) 3. knih-

ma-pa (Sect)Doctrines. 4. Bodhicitta (Buddhism) 5. Bka-gdams-pa (Sect)Doctrines. 8. Chekhawa, Geshe, 1102-1176.Bio spyon don bdun ma. I. Title. II. Series.BQ7805.Z4713 1995 294.3'444dc20 95-150 CIP

Translated from the Tibetan by Deborah Black No part of this book, including text, art, reproductions, and illustrations, may be copied, reproduced, published, or stored electronically, photographically, or optically in any form without the express written consent of Dharma Publishing, 2425 Hillside Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94704 U.S.A.

Printed by Dharma Press, Oakland, U.S.A.Copyright 1995 by Dharma Publishing

A Division of Dharma Mudranalaya All Rights Reserved

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

dedicated, to all seekers of the Dharma May all sentient beings attain Enlightenment

Contents

Publisher's Preface ixPreface xi

In troduction xvH om age 3

Lineag e of Co m pa ssio n 5

Lineage of C om passion 6M editation Overview: P reparation 14

The Seven Essentials 19

FIRST ESSENTIAL PREPARATION,

THE FOUNDATION OF PRACTICE 21

S ectio n O n e T h e S piritual T ea ch er 23

The Spiritual T eacher 24Traits of the Spiritual T eacher 34

Practicing G uru Yoga 46

viii Contents

S ectio n T wo A w ak en in g th e H eart 53

Awakening to Freedom and Good F ortune 54Awakening to Im perm anence 76

Awakening to th e Significance of K arm a 109Awakening to Suffering of S am sara 132

Awakening to Suffering of the Lower Realm s 144Awakening to Suffering of the H igher Realm s 165

S ec tio n T h r e e E scaping th e N et 181

The Im portance of Taking Refuge 182Breaking th ro u g h Addictive Pattem ings 196

A ppreciating th e B eauty of Solitude 210G enerating Courageous Effort 218

Choosing Selfless Love 234Notes to Volum e One 250

Publishers Preface

T -/wenty-five years ago, when the first steps were taken toward j l establishing Dharma Publishing, the range of works available

on Buddhism as practiced in India and transmitted to Tibet was quite limited. Although Western scholars had been active in the field of Buddhist studies for more than a century, the topics they chose to pursue did not necessarily appeal to people wishing to seriously study and practice the Dharma as a living tradition of knowledge.

Today the situation is quite different. Gradually other publishing companies focusing on Buddhism have become established, each contributing its own special emphases or works from specific traditions. A Dharma student today may find the choice of material available for study overwhelming, even though translations and modem writings still represent only a fraction of the work of the great Dharma schools in India and Tibet.

Mindful of the proliferation of works on Buddhism and guided by the clear vision of our founder, Tarthang Tulku, Dharma Publishing has sought through its publications to present a coherent path of study, while introducing the vast range of inspiring and illuminating texts that the tradition has to offer. In our translation series we have published Stras and Jtakas, as well as biographies of great masters, texts on meditation and the nature of the mind, philosophical commentaries, and several works that outline the path to realization.

X Publisher's Preface

The Crystal Mirror Series has presented the foundation and historical transmission of the Dharma in India, Tibet, and other lands, emphasizing the Buddha, Dharma, and Sanghathe Three Jewels revered by all Buddhist traditionsas a basis for understanding the view and purpose of Dharma study and practice. In other titles, we have sought to present practices and perspectives that address the needs of people in modern societies, whether or not they have a specific interest in Buddhism.

Path o f Heroes, the seventeenth title in our Tibetan Translation Series, offers a powerful introduction to the heart of Mahayana practice. Its key points penetrate the heart and remain in the mind as a trustworthy guide, bringing the wisdom and compassion of the Buddhadharma into daily life.

This teaching has a special significance for us at Dharma Publishing. Our workpreparing publications in English and participating in such extensive Tibetan text preservation projects as the 120-volume edition of the Tibetan Buddhist Canon and the 600-volume edition of Ancient Treasureshas broadened our perspective on the classical Dharma of India and Tibet. However, the urgency and size of these massive projects has left us little free time for study or practice. For people like us who have many demands on their time, Zhechen Gyaltsab's condensed yet comprehensive commentary can help to stimulate effective practice of the Bodhisattva path in all activities. In time, it could unite the hearts and minds of practitioners with the wisdom of the great lineage masters.

As we endeavor to deepen and extend our knowledge, we at Dharma Publishing continue to rejoice in the precious opportunity given us to present these teachings in the West, knowing that there could be no greater contribution to the welfare of future generations. There remains much more to be done; the West has hardly begun to tap the resources available within the Buddhist traditions. The sas- tras, the explications and inspired insights of India's greatest masters, are still largely unknown to Dharma students, while the vast literature of the eight major Tibetan schools offers materials that will take generations to explore. We ask the blessing of the enlightened lineage, that we may continue to offer Dharma students throughout the world works of such value and inspiration.

Preface

iJ _ )c L th o f Heroes is a translation of the Theg-pa-chen-po'i-blo- j l sbyong-gi-man-ngag-zab-don-sbrang-rtsi'i-bum-bzang, a work

composed by Zhechen Gyaltsab Padma Gyurmed Namgyal, Zhenpen Chogyi Lodro (1871-1926). This accomplished Nyingma m aster was the heart-son of the renowned Lama Mipham and the disciple of Kongtrul Lodro Tayay and Jamyang Khyentse. He studied with Dzogchen Khenpo, Kathog Situ, Chogyur Lingpa, the Fifth Zhechen Rabjam, Kunzang Palden, Khenpo Yong-ga, Mewa Chodrub, and many other enlightened masters.

Zhechen Gyaltsab received ah of the Nyingma Kama and Terma lineages, the Rin-chen-gter-mdzod, and especially the teachings of Rongzom Mahapandita, the All-Knowing Longchenpa, and Terdag Lingpa. He also held the lineage for the teachings of Marpa and Milarepa and was knowledgeable in the five sciences. In addition, he was renowned as a great practitioner. It is said that when his body was cremated, it vanished without a trace, and that where the smoke settled on the leaves in the surrounding countryside, crystal relics were found.

Zhechen Gyaltsab made his home at Zhechen Tennyi Dargyay Ling in Kham, eastern Tibet, one of the six principal Nyingma monasteries. Zhechen Monastery was modeled on Mindrol Ling in central Tibet, and was famous for three remarkable incarnation lin

xii Preface

eages: those of Zhechen Rabjam, Zhechen Gyaltsab, and Kongtrul Lodro Tayay. Zhechen Monastery was also closely associated with Lama Mipham, who spent many long years on retreat nearby. It was Zhechen Gyaltsab who assembled the works of Lama Mipham and had them published, and he who built the golden stupa at Zhechen to honor Lama Mipham.

Advised by Lama Mipham to focus on meditative understanding and to apply its fruits to illuminate the most subtle philosophical inquiries, Zhechen Gyaltsab became extraordinarily learned and a supreme master of meditation. Realizing that mind and substance are of a single flavor, he manifested the wisdom of the Mahayana so deeply that his physical embodiment became translucent. The greatest masters of the late nineteenth century came to hear his teachings and receive his blessings: Khyentse Chogyi Lodro, Zhechen Kongtrul, and the reincarnation of Kunzang Tenpay Nyima.

Path o f Heroes is a commentary on a famous text of Bodhicitta practices, the Blo-sbyong-don-bdun-ma, the Seven Essentials of Self- Mastery by Chekhawa Yeshe Dorje (1102-1176), a Kadampa m aster in the lineage of Atlsa, Dromton, Lang Tangpa, and Sharawa. This teaching established Bodhicitta practice as central to the spiritual life of all Tibetan Buddhist traditions, and its lineage, transmitted by Tibet's greatest masters, passed into the four major schools that uphold this teaching today. Over the centuries numerous commentaries on this text were composed by such great Tibetan masters as Kongtrul Lodro Tayay (1813-1899) and Jamyang Khyentse (1820-1892). Zhechen Gyaltsab received teachings on these special Bodhicitta practices from Kongtrul, Jamyang Khyentse, Zhechen Rabjam, and Khenchen Trashi Odzer.

In 19531 had the good fortune to study at Zhechen Monastery with Zhechen Kongtrul, the incarnation of Kongtrul Lodro Tayay and a direct student of Zhechen Gyaltsab. Among the many teachings I received were the works of Zhechen Gyaltsab in thirteen volumes, including this text, for which I received the Hearing Lineage. I have selected this text for translation because it is comprehensive and because the author speaks so directly and compassionately, caring for our welfare like a mother concerned for her only child. Today, when the world is headed in a course almost the exact opposite of

Preface xiii

the Bodhisattva path, encouraging us all to waste our precious time on earth in self-centered illusions, the practices he recommends can be truly invaluable. To study and practice in accord with this text can bring great benefit.

The Seven Essentials of Guru Chekhawa include sixty-two aphoristic directives, each of which is explained and elaborated upon by Zhechen Gyaltsab. However, a substantial portion of the commentary (more than a third) is devoted to a single line of the root text, which refers to what are known as preliminary' practices. This thorough, comprehensive treatment makes Zhechen Gyaltsab s teaching particularly helpful for students with little previous background in Buddhist thought and practice.

In this translation, we have divided the text into seven parts, one for each of the seven essential points, with chapters for each group of directives. I have added my own reflections as a way of introducing the topics and as a guide to a four-month program of study and practice, which is outlined at the end of volume II.

Though the beauty of Zhechen Gyaltsab's masterpiece is difficult to communicate in translation and this translation may have its limitations, Path o f Heroes can serve as a valuable manual for serious Dharma students today. The basic Mahayana preliminary practices found in this work and other texts on Bodhicitta are further expanded and developed in Longchenpa's Ngal-gso-skor-gsum, Trilogy of Finding Comfort and Ease (translated by H. V. Guenther as Kindly Bent to Ease Us, Berkeley, Dharma Publishing, 1975-76). When Longchenpas own commentaries on this trilogy are translated, Western Dharma students will have another invaluable resource for deepening their study and practice of the Bodhisattva Path.

In the future, as Western students become more familiar with these teachings, it will become possible to develop a more precise vocabulary for translating texts that delve into the actual practices of the Mahayana and to express the qualities and actions that characterize Bodhicitta in a more direct and meaningful way. Here, however, we have tended to rely on accepted terminology, modifying it only occasionally.

xiv Preface

Preparation of this translation has taken more than three years. The principal translator has been Deborah Black. She and I met many times, first discussing the broad outlines of the text and its principal themes, and then going over the more obscure passages. Other editors at Dharma Publishing have also made a substantial contribution in editing the language, clarifying the meaning of difficult passages, and preparing the work for publication. The result represents the best we could do in the time available. We hope that in the future others will be able to improve on our work.

I dedicate this meritorious work to all my lamas, and especially to Zhechen Kongtrul, to whose blessings I owe my life. I dedicate it as well to the late Dilgo Khyentse, a student of Zhechen Gyaltsab, who deeply respected this text and found in it continuing inspiration.

For any mistakes we may have made through lack of understanding and human error, we ask forgiveness of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, the Dharmapalas, and the great masters. Please bless this work, which has been undertaken with the sincere intention of benefiting others. May it assist all beings to glimpse the liberating beauty of the Mahayana!

SARVA MANGALAM

Tarthang Tulku Odiyan

Introduction

hechen Gyaltsab's Path o f Heroes presents the path of theBodhisattva, Hero of Enlightenment. Guided solely by the in

tention to end the suffering of all beings, the Bodhisattva draws on compassion and wisdom to transform samsara, the ordinary realm of existence, into the perfect peace of enlightenment. Open to anyone willing to accept its challenge, this rigorous and yet joyous path leads to the complete enlightenment of the perfect Buddhas.

The Buddha Skyamuni gave these teachings to countless beings after his enlightenment more than 2,500 years ago. Reflecting the nature of enlightened speech, the Buddhas words conveyed to each individual teachings that accorded with his or her capacity for understanding. While all heard the same words, only a few endowed with highly developed spiritual vision realized the full significance of the Buddha's message: that all beings possess the potential for awakening, and that, with the appropriate effort, anyone can become a fully enlightened and omniscient Buddha. Only the Bodhisattvas realized the implications of the teachings of openness and great compassion leading to the development of Bodhicitta, the resolve for perfect enlightenment that shapes the Path of Heroes.

The practice of Bodhicitta informs all the teachings of the Buddha, from the Enlightened Ones first discoursethe First Turning of the

xvi Introduction

Wheel of the Dharma at Sam athto the final words spoken to his disciples at Kusinagara. Bodhicitta goes to the heart of what makes the Buddhas teachings unique and opens the way for goodness to transform the lives of sentient beings.

As a young prince in India, the Buddha mastered all the knowledge of his day, readily surpassing the understanding of his teachers. Yet this knowledge did not satisfy him. When he looked at his own life and the lives of others, he saw that all beings are subject to suffering: no one, no matter how richly endowed with beauty, wealth, and position, could escape the sufferings of sickness and decay, old age, and the final loss that comes with death. This insight into the pervasiveness of suffering, known as the First Noble Truth, led the prince to vow to find a way to put an end to suffering, not only for himself but for all beings.

Through analysis and direct observation, the Buddha realized that the source of suffering was the operation of karma as it connects to our views and emotions. The Buddha traced this law of cause and effect through its functioning in the mental as well as the physical realm, and in the emotional patterns that power all our actions of body, speech, and mind. These emotional pattemings, known in Sanskrit as the klesas, are driven by desire, hatred, and ignorance; they play a pervasive role in our mental environment, continually poisoning the mind in its operation and distorting the way we understand and act in the world. This realization is known as the Second Noble Truth: that suffering has a cause. Comprehending the root cause of suffering opens the door to liberation.

The Buddha saw that beings are bound to the world they inhabit through their experience, in a connection so intimate that experi- encer and environment are virtually inseparable from one another. Stripping away the layers of linguistic convention that separate observer and observed or subject and object, the Buddha realized that mind is the source of all experience. Whether we know pain or happiness, misery, fear, or inner peace, it is mind that shapes our reality.

The solution, then, is to learn to control the mind. By training the mind through meditation and mental discipline, experience can also be transformed, allowing samsara itself to be uprooted. Samsara is not invincible; as the Buddha proved, it too can be brought to an end:

Introduction xvii

This is the Third Noble Truth. But bringing an end to suffering requires traveling a path that activates a whole new way of being.

In the Fourth Noble Truth, the Buddha presents a systematic approach to enlightenment known as the Eightfold Path. Incorporating all the Buddhas teachings, this path puts into operation a way of acting and being that enables the mind to reverse destructive and self-centered patterns. As old patterns loosen their hold, Bodhicitta emerges as our natural state of being, and we enter the path of the great Bodhisattvas.

Passed down through the great Mahayana masters of India, this approach to enlightenment was carried to Tibet more than a thousand years ago. Since that time, innumerable practitioners have engaged the view, meditation, and conduct of the Awakened Ones; refining their understanding and deepening their love and compassion, they have made the path of the Buddha their own.

Still, however systematic and logical this approach may be, and however many have succeeded in following it, no one should think that Bodhicitta is easy to cultivate. The way to enlightenment presented here is truly a path of heroes, for it requires us to turn away from the demands of the self and focus instead on the needs of others. The call to give up the concerns of the self has always been difficult to heed, for it asks us to reject the basic motivation that shapes samsara and determines our ordinary reality. Heeding this call is even more difficult today, when most people have concluded that there is simply no alternative to living a life dedicated to satisfying personal desires. There is no question that these emotional patterns powering samsara are deeply entrenched in our nature. As we all know from painful experience, even insights and resolve are not always enough to change the way the mind operates and the way we act.

The modem world is also far more complex and confusing than the world of the Buddha s time. We live with constant upheaval, and our sense of what has value continually shifts. The vast material progress of the past few centuries only confirms the power of suffering: For every advance we make on the material plane, we foster breakdowns at other levels. New technologies bring new threats as well as new potential, and each step toward greater personal freedom is accompanied by increasing chaos, disorder, and confusion.

xviii Introduction

Just as diseases are emerging that challenge the most sophisticated medical technology, we might consider that new forms of suffering may be arising for which we presently do not have names.

At the root of our social problems, our international disputes, and our individual difficulties from day to day, the same patterns continue to operate. The truths that the Buddha brought into our world have not lost their validity. Yet it would be foolish to deny that in many respects it is harder today than in the past to travel the path to enlightenment.

Foreseeing this Kaliyuga, this Age of Contention, the Buddha gave the teachings of the Vajrayana or Diamond Vehicle: a method of skillfully using the energy of emotionality to transform samsaric suffering into the bliss of enlightenment. The Buddha also predicted that in time false teachers of the Vajrayana would use fascination with esoterica and spiritual powers to stir up emotionality and actually lead people deeper into suffering. Those who would practice the path of heroes must be wary of such teachers who often use terms and concepts drawn from the Dharma to accumulate power and serve their own interests. In the end, however, Bodhicitta is a powerful protection. As long as seekers cultivate a wholehearted dedication to the welfare of others, they cannot readily be deceived.

Truly inseparable from the teachings of the Vajrayana, the path of Bodhicitta offers a precise and effective response to the dynamic blend of chaos, confusion, and bright intelligence that characterizes our times. Suffering is all around us, ever present in our own hearts and in the hearts of others, ready to surface at the slightest provocation. Working in such conditions, we have to learn to take advantage of our intimate familiarity with samsara and make this knowledge our starting point. We can let our feelings of dissatisfaction fuel the inquiry that will take us beyond samsara. And we can do this with very little knowledge of traditional Buddhism.

Today, when traditional ways of knowing are often considered outmoded and irrelevant, the Buddhas insistence that we must take responsibility for whatever path of action we choose, based on our own inquiiy and knowledge, invites ready agreement. For the modern mind, perhaps the most attractive aspect of these teachings is the Buddhas commitment to independent inquiry as the source of liber-

Introduction xix

ation. The path of enlightenment is based on such inquiry, combining careful observation of all aspects of existence with a passionate commitment to act on the truth of what is seen.

The moment we turn the power of observation and inquiry toward our customary ways of living, asking how we are using our human heritage of freedom, we are clearing the ground for the growth of Bodhicitta. When we cultivate what has positive value, seeking to contribute to the health of society and the welfare of all beings, we are turning the soil; when we let compassion emerge naturally in response to the overwhelming suffering of others, we are planting the seed. When we respond from the bottom of our hearts with the resolve to put an end to this suffering, we are beginning to generate the mind of enlightenment.

The availability of the Dharma gives us access to a remarkable pool of knowledge: an unbroken lineage of realization passed down for more than two thousand years. Surely we should consider ourselves fortunate to have this priceless opportunity to investigate the truths that form the basis of human experience. The Dharma invites us to look for ourselves and to draw our own conclusions. In this process, our confusion, doubts, and cynicism become great resources for. new knowledge. In analyzing and investigating the sources and patterns of our pain and emotionality, we can discover the knowledge we need to put an end to them. Free of our most troublesome burden, we can turn toward enlightenment and discover our own highest human destiny. This is truly a Dharma for the West: a way to cultivate knowledge in the midst of samsara. This is a message of encouragement and accomplishment that today's world has great need of hearing.

The Buddha s teachings are close to our hearts, for they point to the truth of our nature. As we read, reflect, and practice, the Dharma can become part of our thoughts, a good friend always ready to remind us of our highest destiny. If we keep our own counsel, supporting our own values and encouraging our commitment, we can refine our understanding and open our hearts. We can prepare to work for the welfare of all beings: not just today or tomorrow, but from now until the end of time. We can encourage ourselves, confident that through our own example we help preserve and

XX Introduction

transmit this inner message of the Dharma, a knowledge that leads to perfect realization.

As we unite study and practice, view and meditation, the path of the Bodhisattva in all its extraordinary beauty and magical power unfolds before us. A knowledge takes form that is at once truly ours and yet firmly rooted in the Mahayana teachings. The more we cultivate compassionate concern for others, the more the vast and profound view of the Mahayana arises within us. The more we let the images of the text speak to our hearts, the more we discover within our experience a heartfelt openness far beyond any mental concept. As we come to see how our world relies unknowingly on the blessings of the enlightened ones, the importance of lineage begins to flower.

In Zhechen Gyaltsabs work, wonderful pearls of insight are sometimes concealed in images that seem irrelevant to our Electronic Age. If you persevere through such initial reactions and study this text carefully and systematically, these teachings will deepen your connection to the precious path of the Dharma and empower you to change your life in positive and beautiful ways. They will bring you inner peace and great joy, culminating in the greatest of blessings: the knowledge that others have benefited from your having lived.

Th e S e v e n E sse n t ia l s

F ir st E ssential P reparation as t h e F oundation o f P ractice

S econd E ssential T h e Actual P ractice of M asterin g

T h e T wo Aspects o f E n lig h ten ed M in d

Consider everything to be like a dream.

Examine the nature of unborn awareness.

Let the antidote also liberate itself.

Rest in the stillness of the basis-of-all, the ground of being.

Between sittings, act as a being of illusion.

Alternately practice unconditional giving and taking on all suffering.

M ount them both upon the wind of the breath.

From three objects, the three poisons, make three roots of virtue.

Tell yourself always: Remember only others.

Practice this principle in all you say or do.

Start the process of taking on suffering w ith yourself.

T h ir d E ssential T ra n sfo rm in g Adversity

Into t h e P ath o f E n lig h ten m en t

W hen all the world, both anim ate and inanim ate, is filled w ith evil, transform all adversity into the path of enlightenment.

Place all blame on one source.

W ith firmly motivated concentration, divert all benefit from yourself to others.

Openness being the greatest protection, let openness reveal illusory appearance as the Four Kayas.

As the supreme method, apply the four practices.

Apply whatever happens to you to your meditation.

F o urth E ssen tia l M aking S e l f -M a stery Y o u r W ay of L ife

To distill the essence of the instructions: practice the five powers and refine them.

The M ahayana teachings for transferring the life-force depend on these sam e five powers: Commit yourself to practice them!

F ift h E ssential M easuring Y our P r o g r e ss in S e l f -M astery

Unite all Dharm a in a single aim.

Accept the better of two witnesses.

Let a joyful m ind sustain you.

When you can practice even when disturbed, this is called practicing well.

S ix th E ssen tia l T h e Co m m itm en ts of S e l f-M astery

Always practice the three basic principles.

Change your attitude, and be unassuming.

Do not talk about others' infirmities.

Stop all negative thinking about others.

Purify the strongest em otional attachm ent first.

Give up all hope of getting anywhere.

Stop poisoning yourself.

Do not tie yourself to a rigid sense of right and wrong.

Never get caught up in cycles of retaliation.

Do not lie in ambush.

Do not strike at the heart.

Do not place the load of a dzo on an ox.

Do not practice magic.

Do not aim to finish first.

Do not bring a god down to the level of a demon.

Do not seek pleasure at the expense of another's pain.

P ractice of t h e S ev en th E ssential I n stru ctio n s fo r S e l f -M astery

Unify all that you do as practice.

Overcome all difficulties with this one remedy.

At both start and finish, do the two practices.

Whether good or bad arises, practice patience.

Guard the two, though it cost you your life.

Master the three challenges.

Take up the three principal resources.

Meditate on the three things that must not weaken.

Make sure to maintain the three as inseparable.

Train impartially in every sphere.

Cherish the depth and breadth of practice.

Always m editate on the m ost volatile situations.

Do not depend on external conditions.

Right now, practice what matters.

Do not m isdirect your concern.

Do not vacillate.

Practice w ith determ ination.

Free yourself through both investigation and analysis.

Do not be complacent.

Do not give in to irritation.

Never be tem peram ental.

Do not look for thanks.

(path o f Jeroes

Jiom age to the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha

owing down to my root Lama and the Lamas o f the lineage, I take jlJ refuge in the holy and resplendent Lamas. Please bless me, Great

Hero o f unexcelled mercy: Your heart being ruled by compassion, you have acted for the welfare o f others for immeasurable eons and throughout this time o f contention. I bow to you, magnificent Muni, who conquered Mara and became the Buddha, maturing beings so difficult to reach.

I bow to you, Victorious One, and to your noble heirs: Majusn, progenitor o f all the Buddhas, heralding the way o f Bodhisattvas; Maitreya, your unequalled emissary, unconquerable master o f the tenth stage; Avalokitesvara, the foremost o f the sons o f the Jinas, bearing the white lotus; and Vajrapani, o f supreme vitality.

I bow to the feet o f Lord Padmasambhava who, lake-born, unites within himself the wisdom o f all the Jinas; to Santaraksita, Enduring Peace, tree o f life for the doctrine in the Land o f Snow; and to Trisong Detsen, incarnation o f Majus: When the time was ripe, these three fulfilled their vows o f ages past.1

I bow to the panditas and lotsawas o f the ancient translation lineages, and also to Dlpamkara, Conqueror o f All, Lord o f Bodhisattvas and wellspring o f the Jinas, and to his three spiritual sons.2 With uplifted spirit, I praise the spiritual teachers o f their lineage, who clarified the precious doctrine o f the Kadampa.

Especially I bow to the feet o f my incomparable Lama, chief ornament o f the Sangha who uphold the doctrine: treasure o f the sacred Dharma o f the Three Vehicles, source o f both scriptures and realization, embodying the wisdom o f all the Buddha and Bodhisattvas.

In honor o f them all, I will present the profound meaning o f the instructions o f self-mastery the essence o f honey, gathered from the lotus garden o f the Great Vehicle and placed into the vase o f my mind through the kindness o f my spiritual friends, who embody in their persons the actuality o f the Buddha.

Jfineage o f Compassion

Reflections

Lineage of Compassion

/T n increasing number of people brought up in Western tradi- t (JL tions, sensing a loss of values but disillusioned with religion,

have begun looking to Eastern traditions of knowledge for help in dealing with the problems of modem life. In recent years, a growing number of Westerners have found meditation valuable for relieving anxiety and stress and for changing self-defeating attitudes that interfere with success and satisfaction.

Some seekers have found that meditation offers a key to an entirely new perspective on self and world, a key that unlocks the inner treasures of wisdom and compassion, essential elements of the path to perfect enlightenment. Fulfilling this paththe way taken by all the Buddhas of past, present, and futurerequires such heroic effort that few travel it to its culmination. But some people today may be willing to take the first tentative steps, knowing that questioning long-accepted knowledge allows new knowledge to emerge.

All such motivations and concerns can inspire positive changes in the way we live. Yet to gain full and perfect enlightenment, to truly follow,the path of Buddhas, means to see that the world in which we live is a world of suffering, frustration, and repetition that will go on forever unless we discover a whole new way of knowing and being. With this realization, the BodhisattvaHero of Enlightenment

Reflections: Lineage of Compassion 7

guides every action out of concern for the benefit and happiness of all beings, knowing that only by cultivating Bodhicitta, the mind of enlightenment, can one effectively relieve the burden of suffering.

Bodhicitta expresses an inner knowledge that develops through making compassion and insight the basis of our existence. As we learn to reflect in our own lives both relative and ultimate Bodhicittaskillful means and wisdomthe qualities of enlightened nature shine forth.

Cultivating Bodhicitta through self-mastery is the theme of this entire work. Emphasizing that each of us can awaken the mind of enlightenment, Zhechen Gyaltsab explains at the outset how to begin the journey to realization. Further on, he presents detailed directions: a map of the way, complete with signposts that describe obstacles to be expected and how to overcome them.

The 'map' for this journey to enlightenment is based on the Seven Essentials of Chekhawa Yeshe Dorje (1101-1175), a spiritual seeker who became an enlightened master by focusing on this one teaching:

Give all gain and profit to others; take all troubles and difficulties upon yourself

These lines are by Geshe Lang Tangpa (1054-1123), a famous Tibetan teacher who studied with Geshe Potoba, a disciple of Geshe Dromton, who received the teaching directly from the renowned Indian pandita Atlsa. Through Atis'a, these teachings trace back to Nagarjuna, who systematized the Mahayana teachings on wisdom and openness. Ultimately, they originate in the teachings on Bodhicitta taught by the Buddha himself. Transmitted in two great streams from the Bodhisattva Manjusri to Nagaijuna and from the Bodhisattva Maitreya to Asanga, these teachings have informed Dharma practice in Tibet for more than a thousand years.

Guru Chekhawa's succinct and powerful text has been studied and practiced by all schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The present commentary, the most expansive to be found anywhere in the Tibetan tradition, quotes extensively from Sutras and from enlightened masters of India and Tibet in support of its presentation. Thus, it offers a comprehensive introduction to the teachings on Bodhicitta and the

8 Lineage of Compassion

practices for awakening enlightened mind, the heart of all Mahayana practice.

The powerful practices that activate Bodhicitta were first brought to Tibet by Guru Padmasambhava, whose immeasurable compassion cleared away tremendous obstacles to establish the Dharma in the Land of Snows. The Great Guru, an emanation of the Buddha Amitabha, passed on his lineage through twenty-five disciples. Even today, when the darkness of the Kaliyuga magnifies the influence of negative forces, he continues to counter the momentum of karma. Through the living lineage, the power and compassion of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas can be tapped for strength and support in these difficult times. This is the essential meaning of transmission: At any time and in any place we can evoke the blessings of Padmasambhava to support and inspire us on the path to enlightenment.

Study and PracticeThe best way to practice in accord with the instructions given in this text is to go on retreat, setting aside an extended period of time in which you abandon any other concerns. This was the method followed for more than a thousand years in Tibet; here, as recently as the middle of this century, followers of the Dharma would seek out peaceful retreats where they could concentrate without distraction on developing Bodhicitta.

Today, practice with this kind of intensity has become quite rare. More and more, spiritual practice is associated with institutions and structures that generate endless rounds of activity and worldly concerns. Under these conditions, even lamas and monks intent on realizing the truth of the Buddhas teachings find it difficult to practice with wholehearted devotion. In the deepening vortex of the Kaliyuga, such distractions only multiply. Today, for people living in the West or following a Western lifestyle, the idea of a lengthy retreat usually seems little more than a daydream.

Even if you cannot go on retreat, there are many ways to integrate the practices for cultivating Bodhicitta into your daily life. One way is to set aside a half-hour each morning and evening for doing the practices associated with each part of the text. Again, you can reflect

Reflections: Lineage of Compassion 9

on the ideas and inspiring images of the text whenever you have a few minutes. This kind of practice is easy to incorporate into any lifestyle, and you will find that it helps make your life more rich and meaningful.

At a minimum, you could read a little of the text each day, perhaps five pages or so, making it your practice to keep the thoughts and images in mind during the day. Move through the text at your own pace, guided by what inspires your practice and increases understanding. From time to time return to previous sections of the text, looking for shifts in your understanding.

However you proceed, remember that the practices and ideas presented in this text grow out of a long tradition of inquiry and realization unfamiliar to most Westerners. If you do not immediately understand the value of a teaching or have good results with every practice, be patient and persevere. Deeper understanding and more fruitful experience will come with time.

Here is one simple way to prepare your mind for the practice of Bodhicitta: Whenever you experience suffering directly or see it manifesting in the lives of others, make a strong effort to penetrate its nature. To avoid entanglement with emotionality, observe the situation, make an effort to understand how it has arisen, and look for similar patterns at work in your life and in the lives of others. Cultivate gazing at the world with eyes of compassion and learn to experience whatever arises with a compassionate heart. Just doing this much can make a real difference in your life.

Lineage of Compassion

ong ago, our Teacher the Buddha, having developed the most skillful means and greatest compassion, generated the heart

felt intention to gain supreme enlightenment. For three immeasurable eons he accumulated m erit and wisdom. Finally, maturing his training in this present age so full of evil, when the lifespan is a mere hundred years, he became a complete and perfect Buddha. Then, so that all could follow in his footsteps, in order to best guide all beings in accord with their degree of mental readiness and sensitivity, he turned the Wheel of the Dharma in three stages to correspond with the three different spiritual qualities of mind.

Among these teachings, the only one giving the means to attain perfect Buddhahood is the teaching on the generation of Bodhicitta, the majestic mind intent on unexcelled enlightenment. Generating Bodhicitta is the fundamental basis for obtaining the complete awakening of a Buddha: Without Bodhicitta, there is no way to become enlightened. And the only way to develop Bodhicitta is through self-masteryreflecting both relative and ultimate Bodhicitta, the compassion and openness of enlightened mind. As has been said in a Sutra:

Should you desire to quickly become a Buddha, to awaken to unsurpassed and complete enlightenment, you must practice Bodhicitta, the resolve for ultimate goodness.

Lineage of Compassion 11

The Buddha tells us this in the Sutra Requested by Arya Maitreya:

Maitreya, through one teaching alone, Bodhisattvas abandon all adverse states of being. No longer falling under the influence of wicked friends, they quickly awaken, becoming Buddhas, endowed with unexcelled, complete, and perfect enlightenment.

What is this teaching? It is the resolve for ultimate goodness, the perfect mind of enlightenment: Bodhicitta. Maitreya, through this one teaching alone, the Bodhisattva abandons all adverse states of being. No longer falling under the influence of wicked friends, the Bodhisattva will quickly awaken to become a Buddha endowed with unexcelled and perfect enlightenment.

These instructions for self-mastery relating to enlightened mind come from an unbroken transmissionheart to heart, mind to mindtracing back to the Buddha and his spiritual heirs. The transmission radiates through the Buddha Amitabha and the glorious one who does not differ from him, the Great Master of Oddiyana, Padmasambhava; and through the one who shared his pure intention, the abbot Santaraksita, crown jewel among those five hundred whose wondrous qualities have been set forth in renowned and m arvelous histories.

Lord Atlsa, whose name pervades all regions like the rays of the sun and moon, belongs to this transmission. Unexcelled as a teacher, he was himself taught by three masters: Lama Dharmaraksita, Lama Maitriyogin, and Lama Dharmaklrti, known as Serlingpa. Lama Dharmaraksita was renowned for having had the realization of openness arise in his heart through meditating solely on love and compassion: compassion so great that he even cut flesh from his own body to cure one who was sick. Lama Maitriyogin was able to actually take upon himself the suffering of others. As for Atlsa s primary teacher, the Lama Dharmaklrti, Serlingpa, he was known to be unequaled in his mastery of enlightened mind.

Atlsa studied with Serlingpa for twelve years, and by listening to this m asters teachings, was able to generate the pure resolve for ultimate goodness, cherishing others more dearly than himself. Later, whenever Atlsa said Serlingpa's name or even heard it spoken, tears would appear in his eyes, and he would hold his hands in prayer.


Atisa regularly performed special prayers at the silver reliquary that held the relics of Serlingpa. While he worshipped on the anniversaries of the passing of his other Lamas, he held ceremonies for Serlingpa every month. He would say, "All my virtuous actions are due to the kindness of the Lord Serlingpa. He is the reason my mind manifests even the slightest goodness.

Atisa was a true protector of beings, an astonishing master. Long ago, when he made his vow to enlighten all beings, the highest gods predicted his future Dharma activity: Atisa would travel north to become the protector of those ready to receive Dharma training in the Land of Snow. He would be invited to Tibet due to the great kindness and effort flowing from the pure hearts of King Yeshe Od and Prince Jangchub Od, the king s nephew.

Atlsa's principal disciples were known as Khu, Ngog, and Drom. They followed the same teachings and path, and because of this inconceivable good fortune, they brought many beings to spiritual maturity. Of these three, Dromton Gyalway Jungnay was unrivalled, truly a manifestation of Arya Avalokitesvara. Also known as Geshe Tonpa Rinpoche, he received the complete precepts just as a vase is filled to the brim with water.

Having been entrusted with these teachings, and having received the sacred initiation that allowed him to transmit their meaning, Geshe Tonpa passed the teachings on to three unexcelled and fortunate spiritual sons: Putowa Rinchensal, Chen-ngawa Tshultrim Bar, and Puchungwa Zhunu Gyaltsen. The most exceptional of these was Putowa Rinchensal. From Putowa the teachings were transmitted through Lang Tangpa and Sharawa, whose twin radiance was like that of the sun and moon. From Sharawa these teachings were transmitted to Geshe Chekhawa and others, who used these teachings to root out the attachment of cherishing the self.

In this present time and place another master of this unbroken lineage has appeared, one who brings beings to spiritual maturity even when they merely hear his name. He is Lord of the Bodhisattvas of love and compassion, a great being who casts aside the eight worldly concerns like rubbish. It is difficult even to speak his name, for he is the Lord Manjusri himself: the light of spiritual friends, the great charioteer who has attained in its entirety the wisdom held by those

Lineage of Compassion 13

who inhabit the Land of Snow. Holder of the teachings of the bKa- babs-bdun, the Seven Streams of Transmission, he is known as Padma Odsel Do-ngag Lingpa and also as Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, Kunga Tempay Gyaltsen Palzangpo.

In this Lama's presence, I received instructions on Atlsa s Lamp of the Path of Enlightenment and the Seven Essentials of Self-Mastery, as well as the main instructions of the practice lineage of Gyalsay Ngulchu Togmed. He also explained to me the private notes of Drogon Palden Yeshe, and very patiently provided me the guidance I needed to mature my understanding of the Great Hearing Lineage of self- mastery. This is my principal lineage for these teachings. I also heard from that same holy master explanations of Gampopas Jewel Ornament of Liberation and Tsongkhapas Three Principles of the Path. From the one predicted by the Buddha, the one possessing the unequalled kindness of Vajradhara, Padma Gargi Wangchug Lodro Tayay Payde, compiler of the mDzod-lnga (the five great treasures that present the definitive meaning of the Great Vehicle), I received teachings on his own Guide to the Seven Essentials. This great master gathered together many important precepts in the gDams-mdzod, a wondrous compendium containing important root texts and commentaries on self-mastery found in the Blo-sbyong-brgya-rtsa.3

From the great Bodhisattva who completely mastered the precepts of both the old and new Kadampa teachings, the true guide, Karma Trashi Odzer, whose gentle compassion for others is boundless, I received the Kadampa rGyab-chos precepts, the father teachings and the son teachings. I received as well the Chos-chung-brgya- rtsa, teachings on Entering the Bodhisattva Path, the many Stras of Maitreya, the Be-bum-sngon-po of Dolpa that condenses all the finest explanations of self-mastery, and many more. I also received the Bodhi- citta practices of both the Madhyamaka and Yogcra traditions.

Many most kind and holy realized beings such as the Great Protector of the Wheel of Dharma, the fifth Zhechen Rabjampa, the great Gyurmed Padma Tegchog Tenpay Gyaltsen Palzangpo, also allowed me to listen repeatedly to their teachings. These teachers explained to me the actual precepts of self-mastery and the practices associated with these precepts.

Reflections

Overview of Meditation

T -/ he first of Guru Chekhawa's Seven EssentialsPreparation asJL the Foundation of Practiceintroduces the kind of in-depth

investigation that characterizes the world s highest philosophies and religions. Before accepting any system of faith or approach to knowledge, it is wise to consider whether the concepts and doctrines that form its foundation are likely to lead to the results we seek. If we are to find answers to questions such as why we exist, we must look deeply at the nature of experience.

We often imagine that if all our wishes came true, we would be happy. But experience suggests otherwise. Time and again we attain some greatly desired goal, only to discover that our happiness and contentment are short-lived. Although we desire happiness, our strategy for attaining it seems profoundly ineffective.

Even when we begin to realize that our attempts to be happy whether focused on wealth, fame, security, entertainments, or loveare not very successful, most of us see no other way to proceed. A few find a certain satisfaction in lives centered on scientific investigation, technological improvements, or the arts. Such attempts to improve the human condition occasionally tip the balance in favor of happiness. But most people throughout history have turned to religion for guidance in dealing with human suffering.

Reflections: Overview of Meditation 15

Unfortunately, most religions have responded to suffering and the wish for happiness by promising future happiness in a heavenly afterlife. Yet promises of peace and joy after death may seem empty to many, who find themselves asking, '"How can such promises benefit my life now? What proof is there of an afterlife? Thus disillusionment with organized religion is not uncommon.

The Buddhist traditions present an alternative, a systematic way to attain peace and happiness in this very life. Simply stated: The suffering of both mind and body are centered in the mind, and by learning how to direct the mind, you can bring suffering to an end.

Study and Practice

Through meditation, we can see the mind at work and observe the consequences of our actions and thoughts. By gaining greater understanding of the mind through meditation, we can begin to see the patterns of thought that create sufferingand perpetuate it by strengthening our tendencies to seek happiness, security, and love in all the wrong places.

When we realize how suffering arises, we can turn the mind toward new possibilities. Meditation deepens, opening a path to true peace and satisfaction, a way across the ocean of samsaric discontent to the joy and peace of enlightenment.

Meditation is not only a means to gain inner peace and calm, it is also a process of learning to concentrate the mind in order to go more deeply into the nature of experience. Focusing on the seven essential points of Guru Chekhawas text, these two volumes engage us in a meditation that leads from the most general introductory reflections to the practices that awaken Bodhicitta, the mind of enlightenment.

To begin this process, Zhechen Gyaltsab instructs us in how best to prepare ourselves to benefit from meditation. These preparations draw upon a whole tradition of meditative practice as it developed in India and Tibet over more than a millenium. For anyone new to meditation, this way of preparing mind and bodysuch as visualizing the Field of the Assembly and offering the mandalamay seem remote and impossibly complex. While visualization and prayer as


supports for meditation were quite natural in Tibet, they may pose an obstacle for Westerners who have been brought up in quite different religious traditions.

If this is the case, instead of getting too involved in the details of these preparatory practices, look to the underlying principles. The Seven-Limbed Practice is effective for beginners, although at first not everyone will feel comfortable with each part of the practice. The key point is to prepare a suitable environment for meditation and create a living situation that supports the close investigation of mind and experience. Preparations for meditation include readying the body by stimulating the flow of positive energy and releasing any physical blockages, and calming the mind by letting go of distracting thoughts and emotions. Relaxation techniques can help in this process.

Overview of Meditation Preparation

/'Tyirst of all, become familiar with basic meditation practices such as those found in the History of Lama Serlingpa. Here I

will present an overview, touching upon the preparations for practice, the actual practice of meditation, and the practices to follow after meditation.

In preparation, clean the place where you will practice so that it is suitable for meditation. On an altar holding holy images, texts, and the like, make suitable offerings and arrange them pleasingly.

On a comfortable seat, in the meditation posture, take refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. At the same time, concentrate on generating the enlightened mind. Visualize the Field of the Assembly and purify your consciousness by performing the Seven-Limbed Practice. These practices condense the process of accumulating virtue and purifying defilements. Next, clearly visualize and offer the mandala, keeping in mind the three great objectives (to gain Bodhicitta, to become fully involved in practice and realize openness, and to dedicate the merit gained to all beings). These six practices are included in the main practice of the Seven Essentials.

Beginners should principally concentrate on the first two of the Seven Essentials: the Preliminary Practices and the Actual Practice.


Divide the day into practice sessions, and sustain focus on your practice until your experience is heartfelt and without reservation.

The five remaining essentials, which focus on clearing away obstacles, strengthening resolve, and putting what you learn into practice, support the purpose of practice. But remember that for beginners it is most important to maintain basic practice carefully. Make meditation a firm habit, and set a definite time to meditate.

Before you rise from meditation, again offer the Seven-Limbed Practice and the mandala, praying intensely. Then let the Field of Assembly dissolve away, as indicated in basic meditation texts. Dedicate your virtuous actions to the cause of universal enlightenment, expanding the merit with wishing prayers.

Between meditation sessions, maintain alertness and mindfulness, always preserving the essence of your meditation, whatever your stage of practice. Take great care to nurture your inner motivation, never allowing yourself to be caught up in non-virtuous or even indeterm inant activities. Spend your time only in action that is virtuous.

These teachings come from the very detailed methods for practicing the Seven Essentials of Self-Mastery as taught by the Reverend Lama, the great Khyentse,4 from his text called Seeds of Joy and Benefit Gathering the Heart of the Teaching. One must have these methods in hand. But if you are not able to go to this source, the reverend Lama Guna condensed this teaching into a simple way of practice, a teaching I received at his feet. This teaching includes a number of scriptural guidelines for practicing the path of enlightenment, as well as systematic practices to proceed and follow meditation.

While there are many ways of guiding the training in self-mastery, this text follows the system of the spiritual teacher Chekhawa Yeshe Dorje as found in the Seven Essentials and embellished by additional instructions from his transmission lineage.

The Seven Essentials

1Preparation

as the foundation o f practice

2The actual practice o f mastering

the two aspects of enlightened mind

3Transforming adversity

into the path of enlightenment

4Making self-mastery your way o f life

5Measuring your progress in self-mastery

6The commitments o f self-mastery

7Instructions for self-mastery

Practice o f the First Essential

Mrst o fstudy the preliminary teachings.

Section One

The Spiritual Teacher

Reflections


O o m e basic questions: First of all, what sparks our interest in the (L) meaning of life? Why do we even look for meaning in life? What

in us is attracted to knowledge, and by extension, to enlightenment? It would seem that this attraction is inherent in us all.

The term Tathagata refers to the way enlightenment arises and is a title given to the Awakened Buddhas. Tathagatagarbha is the unmanifested heart of this awakening, inseparable from mind or sentience itself. In that it makes possible the arising of enlightenment, Tathagatagarbha might be considered the sponsor of supreme realization.

The primordial enlightened nature exists simultaneously with all beings. However, from our non-enlightened perspective, the enlightened nature has not yet appeared. Thus it is said that there are two aspects of Tathagatagarbha: one that is naturally present, and one that emerges as we learn through practice to dissolve the obscurations of emotionality and not-knowing.

Numerous images illustrate the link between these two aspects: a king who suffers from amnesia and becomes a beggar, but is always the king nonetheless; an unborn child in the womb of its mother; a pauper who knows nothing of the treasure buried under his floor; the sun obscured by clouds. Each of these images is subject to

Reflections: The Spiritual Teacher 25

misunderstanding. Tathagatagarbha is not a potential waiting to be developed, for it already suffuses our being, as oil suffuses the sesame seed. It is not an actual entity or form, though it may sometimes be described as such to inspire the listener. It is not something that must be discovered, nor does it depend on our inviting it into our lives. As our capacity for awakening, it is the essence of our being, yet it is without essence, uncreated and unaffected by the temporal qualities of conventional reality. Thus it is sometimes said to be the same as the Dharmadhatu or Dharmata.

Such paradoxes result from depending on a logic and language based on existence and non-existence, contrast and category. Though we say unconditioned, no contrast with the conditioned is intended; while we speak of 'timeless, no comparison with temporal reality is implied. The problem is compounded in Western languages, which lack the specialized vocabulary developed to clarify such distinctions. Attempting to achieve such clarity is like trying to prepare a gourmet meal without having the proper ingredients or utensils.

Yet knowledge of the Tathagatagarbha can inspire our practice even when we do not understand its subtle implications. Whoever we are, whatever our understanding, the Heart of Awareness is active. It operates whether beings become enlightened Buddhas or not. It pervades all the universes, before becoming and without exclusion or discrimination.

Just as Manjusri himself could not describe all the qualities of the Buddha, so we cannot describe the ultimate truth of Tathagatagarbha. Yet knowing that we are not separate from the Tathagatas inspires our practice and gives meaning to our lives. This knowledge clarifies the purpose of self-mastery and gives us confidence that we can awaken Bodhicitta. Thus the Tathagatagarbha Sutra states:

Until you attain the goal of the path, you wander in the world with the precious form of the Sugata completely wrapped as in a bundle of rags by all that is debased and polluted. . . .

I have seen within the wrappings of the destructive emotions what those who think they are free do not see:

26 The Spiritual Teacher

the meditating form of the Buddha, pure, unmoving, unchanging. Having seen this, I strongly urge you:Whoever would strive for the highest enlightenment, listen!

This is the nature of all sentient beings:The Buddha seated in the midst of the klesas.When you pacify all the destructive emotions and free the unexcelled wisdom of the Sugata you obtain the name: Buddha.

Study and Practice

When we comprehend with certainty both the possibility of enlightenment and our capacity for attaining it, the decision to practice the path to enlightenment follows naturally and we have a strong motivation to continue. But until we are far advanced on the path, the inspiration and guidance of a spiritual teacher is essential. As Zhechen Gyaltsab says at the very outset: "The preliminary practicestogether with additional practices presented laterare integral to the path of self-mastery. But a qualified spiritual teacher is the root of the path.

Readers who have no access to a teacher can begin the practice of self-mastery using this book as a guide. For a detailed and systematic plan for individual practice, see A Four-Month Program for Study and Practice at the end of volume II.


{ T 'h e preliminary teachingstogether with actual practices pre- JL sented laterare integral to the path of self-mastery.

First o f all, study the preliminary teachings.A qualified spiritual teacher is the root of the path. The Lord of

Dharma, Gampopa, taught:

The motivating cause for enlightenmentis the Tathagatagarbha (the Heart of Awakening);the basis is the wondrous and precious human form.The contributing cause is the spiritual teacher, the method, the instructions of this teacher.The result is the body of the perfect Buddha;the charismatic action is to accomplishthe benefit of beings without dualistic thoughts.

The Jewel Ornament o f Liberation, p. 2To achieve the perfect awakening of an omniscient Buddha, you

must bring together many causal conditions and circumstances. First of all, to awaken the motivating cause to become a Buddha, you must realize that the Dharmadhatu (Realm of Truth) or the Tathagatagarbha (Heart of Awakening) exists in your very being. If you do not realize this, the desire and the motivation to achieve


enlightenment will not arise. This was indicated by the glorious protector of beings, the Master Nagaijuna, in his Praise of the Dharmadhatu:

Since the potential exists, your actions will present pure gold to your sight; if the potential did not exist, your actions would produce only the dross of the disturbing emotions. [11]In the Sutra of the Victorious One, we find: "The heart of the Sugata enfolds and embraces all beings.

The Short Parinirvana Sutra states: "All sentient beings are endowed with the Tathagatagarbha.

Again, the Extensive Parinirvana Sutra states:

Just as butter exists in milk, so the Tathagatagarbha permeates all sentient beings.

Further, we find in the Crown of Sutras:

Suchness, found in everything, is pure without exception.Since it is the very Tathagata, all beings possess the innate heart of Awakening. [10.37]

But how do we come to possess this Tathagatagarbha? The Uttaratantra states:

Because the Dharmakaya of the perfect Buddha is all-pervasive, because the very suchness of everything is indivisible and undifferentiated, and because all have an innate spiritual quality, all embodied beings always possess the innate heart of the Buddha. [1.27]

The first line of this verse suggests that the quality of the Dharmakaya is ultimately similar to space. Accordingly, three reasons point to the Tathagatagarbha existing in the nature of sentient beings:

1. The Tathagatagarbha manifests openly in those who have previously been completely limited and bound.

The Spiritual Teacher 29

2. Without such an innate spiritual quality, we could never attain a state of perfect harmony, no matter what efforts we made.

3. The qualities of the Dharmakaya are by nature uncompounded and timeless.

As the second line of the verse indicates, all aspects of both samsara and nirvana exhibit a wholeness: As pure light and great openness, they are undifferentiatedthe natural mode of abiding. Although beings manifest through temporary delusion, they never deviate from the ultimate nature of truth, the natural mode of abiding.

As the third and fourth lines state, because the Dharmakaya (which embraces all qualities) and the temporary defilements (which can be removed) exist undifferentiated in all beings, the innate quality of the Tathagatagarbha is established.

The Buddha taught that since the inherent spiritual quality exists, all embodied beings are certain to have this potentialthe Tathagatagarbha. The Tathagatagarbha abides in beings from the begin- ningless beginning as innate wisdom, the merging of clarity and openness. The real nature of the mind is, this very instant, free from limits imposed on it by all the characteristics of conceptual activityactivity that of itself is self-originated and pristine awareness.

Through the power of ignorance, our minds become obscured, and we suffer under the influence of the temporary emotional defilements. Because we grow attached to the view of a self, the Tathagatagarbha does not manifest, just as the sun and moon become obscured by cloud cover or haze. In the Praise of the Dharmadhatu we find:

Even the immaculate sun and moon may be covered over by five obscurations: clouds and haze and smoke, dust, and the face of an eclipse.

Likewise, the luminous mindmay be obscured by the five defilements:desire, ill-will, laziness,excitement, and doubt. [18-19]

30 The Spiritul Teacher

Even when obscured by temporary defilements, our nature is the essential nature of truth, and abides undefiled. The same text continues:

Just as water when flowing underground is unpolluted, similarly, wisdom abides undefiled within the emotional afflictions. [23]

Anyone who is free from the obscuring activity of the temporary defilements is called Buddha, as the same text expresses:

Water in the summer is described as warm, while in the winter it is said to be cold.Entangled in the net of emotions, we are called sentient being.One who is free from those emotions is said to be a Buddha. [35-36]

In the process of attuning yourself to the path, using inquiry and contemplation that accord with the real nature of existence, you may come to decisively know non-dual pristine awareness, clear and profound. At that time you settle into meditative balance, free of taking positions and beyond clearing anything away. In the aftermath of this meditation, the accumulations of merit and wisdom are like an illusion. Yet because you have become attuned to the specifics of method and wisdom, this is also the way to cut off all the temporary defilements that are obscuring your potential for enlightenment and therefore must be purified.

Thus, the same text, Praise of the Dharmadhatu, states:

It is as if you were to try to purify by firea cloth soiled by many stains,and placing it within the fire,the stains were to bum but not the cloth.

Just so, when the luminous mindis defiled due to attachments and the like,the fire of pristine awareness bum saway the defilements,but the luminosity does not bum away.

Openness is the essence of the teaching, the meaning of what the Bhagavan taught.


All these teachings tear down the fettering emotions:But the potential for enlightenment is never undermined. [20-22]

When you practice the path of enlightenment by means of the strengths that are free from defilement, all the Dharmic qualities of the Path and Result appear, but nothing new arises. As the same text states:

When a butter lamp is burning in a closed vessel, no light at all appears.Likewise, in the vessel of the emotions, you cannot see the Dharmadhatu.But when a hole is made in the vessel, the light shines forth through the same place the hole was made.

When, through the Vajra Samadhi, the vessel itself is broken open, the Dharmadhatu appears throughout the far reaches of the sky.

The Dharmadhatu is unproduced and does not ever cease to be.Throughout the sweep of time,it is free from the emotional defilements;immaculate in beginning, middle, and end. [5-8]

In summary, there are three different conditions of existence: The basis, in which beings are impure and defiled; the path, on which beings are purified through the power of the antidotes; and the fruit, or the final condition of purity.

This teaching is said to be the intent of the final turning of the Wheel of Dharma, the way that connects Sutra and Mantra: The wondrous and unfading significance of their flowing together is the key to the intent of the two vehicles. In that same text, the Praise of the Dharmadhatu, is found:

Whatever the cause of samsara, in purifying that very thing, that purity itself is nirvana and the Dharmakaya as well. [2]


And further; the Lord Maitreyanatha states in the Uttaratantra:

The impure, the impure who are being purified, and the completely pure are called sentient beings, Bodhisattvas, and Tathagatas in accord with their degree of purity. [1.47]The Hevajra Tantra states:Sentient beings, though in actuality Buddha, are obscured by the temporary defilements.When the defilements are cleared away they are the actual Buddha.

And again, as stated in the Mahamaya Tantra:

You will not find the perfect Buddha in any of the four times or ten directions.The perfect Buddha is the mind itself.Do not seek for any other Buddha.

The Sutra of Pristine Awareness states:

Since the realization of mind is the Buddha, generate the perception that knows no other Buddha.

If you wonder how to know if the spiritual quality is manifesting in someone, you can be certain by the signs that characterize it. The Sutra of the Ten Dharmas states:

From smoke you know there is fire;from ducks in the water, you know it as water.Just so, the spiritual quality of the Bodhisattva is understood from the pure signs.

In considering the signs or marks of someone awakened to the spiritual quality of the Mahay ana, the Crown of Sutras tells us:

From the very beginning of training you conduct yourself purely,with compassion and aspiration, patience and virtue.These should be known as the signs of the spiritual quality. [4.5]


What you have previously practiced finds expression as compassion for sentient beings, aspiration for the doctrine of the Great Vehicle, patient acceptance of unimaginable hardships, and genuine acts of virtue imbued with the nature of the perfections, the paramitas.

It is said in Entrance to the Middle Way:

When an ordinary person hearsthe teachings of openness,and inner joy arises again and again,and when from that delighttears pour from the eyesand the hair stands on end,you know that this person possessesthe seeds for full enlightenment.These are the signs of the seeds for full enlightenment. [6.5]

Reflections

Traits of the Spiritual Teacher

s like to think of ourselves as independent beings, but this istrue only in a limited sense. We learn almost everything we

know from elsewhere: from parents, teachers, friends, books, the media, or society. When we train ourselves in a discipline or skill, we look to others who have mastered that skill. When we need specialized knowledge, we go to someone who has that knowledge. When it comes to spiritual practice, the same pattern holds. This is the main reason to seek out a spiritual teacher.

In investigating the path to enlightenment, however, we are not just learning a new skill or technique. We are examining our own minds and our own nature. One who has made a similar journey through the maze of the mind can help us access whole aspects of personality, mental patterns, and emotional makeup that would otherwise remain hidden. Like an experienced guide through dangerous or difficult terrain, the teacher enables us to avoid the pitfalls of the journey.

The student who keeps in mind that the spiritual teacher empowered by Bodhicitta will always act to promote the student's welfare will benefit greatly from the student-teacher relationship. Before Bodhicitta has arisen in the practitioner, the spiritual teacher serves as its agent, directing the student away from the concerns and deceptions of the self and toward liberation from samsara. For this

Reflections: Traits of the Spiritual Teacher 35

reason, once a teacher has been chosen, it is important to respect the teachers experience, realization, and devotion to the Buddha- dharma and to follow the teacher's directions.

On the other hand, great care should be taken in choosing a teacher. Regarding spiritual teachers, Padmasambhava states:

While there are spiritual teachers who have liberated their consciousness by hearing and thinking about the teachings, there are also deluded teachers whose understanding is based on intellect alone. While there are those who have gained genuine experiences in their practice, there are also those who go astray and let their spiritual practice lag. While there are those with good discipline who follow through on their spiritual intentions, there are also the hypocrites, who rely on the deceptive appearance of doing good. While there are those whose views are true to the precepts, there are also those who pay lip service to the Dharma, but whose teachings are in error. While there are those who are faithfully devoted to practice, there are also the frauds who speak falsely of their practice.

Again, there are those whose whole nature is imbued with the Dharma as it should be. But there are others who assert that the Dharma is something 'beyond' our comprehension and use their eloquence to put forth teachings that reflect only ordinary consciousness. This is cleverness, not Dharma.

Students in the West sometimes experience real dilemmas in deciding how to relate to someone who professes spiritual insight. They want to evaluate the teacher but are unaware that there are clear guidelines to guarantee that their assessment is not based on personal opinion, the ordinary self-centered stance that interferes with true objectivity. Nowadays, those with just a little knowledge of the Dharma may feel qualified to criticize both teachings and teachers. There is also a strong tendency to maintain that the student has the absolute right to choose what parts of the teachings to accept or reject. It is very rare to stop and consider that this attitude erodes the effectiveness of the teachings and virtually guarantees failure.

Such attitudes can also destroy the very basis of Dharma transmission. Students who turn away from a teacher in favor of their own opinions create a powerful barrier between themselves and the


lineage. If teachers are unable to pass on the body of their knowledge intact, the complete path to enlightenment will be lost.

For transmission of the lineage to occur, the connection between student and teacher must be extremely close. When the student is able to follow the teachers guidance and discovers the benefits that result, feelings of love, devotion, and respect arise naturally. The more genuine and heartfelt the respect of the student, the more freely the blessings of the lineage can flow. The more these blessings are felt and savored, the more spontaneously the mind appreciates and turns toward virtue. Practice in accord with the path of realization becomes a natural expression of devotion for the lineage that transmits it.

Establishing a Relationship with a Teacher

For many Dharma students, establishing a teacher-student relationship poses a difficulty of a very different kind. Although it is quite easy nowadays to meet spiritual teachers and attend their talks and workshops, it is much more difficult to develop a close relationship with a teacher. Typically, teachers travel from place to place, and although they can bestow blessings on many people, they cannot continue working with everyone they meet in a direct and personal way. The student who does not have the opportunity to form a connection with a teacher may grow discouraged, or even wonder whether it is worthwhile to practice at all.

Yet this lack of personal connection does not mean you cannot practice, for the teacher manifests in many forms. For example, reading and reflecting on the life story of Padmasambhava may awaken a sense of devotion, enabling you to accept such a great master as your source of inspiration and guidance. It is useful to remember the words of the renowned Nyingma master Longchenpa: To read my works is the same as meeting me in person/'

If you do have the opportunity to meet a teacher, take care to exercise careful discernment at the outset before making a commitment. Keep in mind the eight qualities of a teacher described by Zhechen Gyaltsab. Remember that almost everything precious is rare. Qualified teachers are certainly no easier to find than treasure chests of gold or rare gems. As Padmasambhava warned, in this age

Reflections: Traits of the Spiritual Teacher 37

of the Kaliyuga, there are many who profess to be great teachers, but few who are actually qualified.

In assessing a teacher, remember that the single most important quality that any teacher must possess is compassionate understanding of the student, based on the clarity that comes from an enlightened perspective. Compassionate understanding forms the foundation of the relationship between teacher and student, necessary for the growth of strong feelings of trust. If such a quality is present, it does not matter what style of teaching or outer form the teacher adopts.

The sincere wish to receive guidance and instruction from a teacher is itself a positive state of mind. In cultivating it, you prepare yourself to receive instruction. For developing Bodhicitta, such a wish is certainly sufficient basis for study and meditation. As your practice deepens, you may discover indications that the teacher is present. For instance, simple daily events may offer guidance and inspiration. In time the opportunity for personal contact with a teacher may present itself quite unexpectedly.

Traits of the Spiritual Teacher

T V 7~hy do sentient beings get caught up in samsara when they all V V have this innate spiritual quality? It is because they have not

awakened this quality and thus cannot act on it, even though they have it. Thus we find in the Praise of the Dharmadhatu:

Truly the Vaidurya Gem is very precious:Though the stone itself may not sparkle, luminosity abides within it at all times.

Similarly, the pristine Dharmadhatu may be obscured by the afflictive emotions so that its light in samsara does not shine, but in nirvana it is luminous. [9-10]

To awaken the enlightened quality, it is vital that you depend on a qualified spiritual teacher of the Mahayana. As said in the Verse Summary of the Prajnaparamita:Good students, revering the Lama, always depend on their wise teachers.Why is this so?Because the qualities of the wise arise from the Lama.The Jina, the Lord of Supreme Qualities, has taught:"The Buddhadharma depends upon the.virtuous spiritual friend. [15.1]

Traits of the Spiritual Teacher 39

In the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines, we find:

Thus the Bodhisattva Mahasattvas who desire to become Buddhas and fully manifest perfect, unexcelled enlightenment must first approach a spiritual teacher.They must rely on and honor this virtuous spiritual friend.

To obtain perfect Buddhahood, you must embody all excellence: all virtuous action and all wisdom. The way to accumulate this virtue is to trust in the guidance of the spiritual teacher.You must also give up whatever brings about obscurations of emotionality and obscurations of the knowable. Again, the way to accomplish such detachment is through trust in the spiritual teacher.

The spiritual teacher is like a guide for travelers. When you are without a guide on an unknown route, you are always in danger of taking the wrong path, making mistakes on your way, or going astray. But if you travel with a guide, you will never be in danger of taking the wrong path, making mistakes, or going astray. You will arrive at your desired destination without unnecessary delay.

Once you enter the path of unexcelled enlightenment and begin to travel towards the stage of perfect Buddhahood, if you have no teacher of the Great Vehicle who can act as your guide, you are in danger of losing your way: You may take the wrong path of the Tirthikas, those holding extreme views; or you may wander off on the mistaken path of the Sravakas; or you may go astray on the path of the Pratyekabuddhas.

But when you are in the company of a spiritual teacher of the Great Vehicle who will serve as your guide, you will arrive at the city of the Omniscient One without the risk of taking the wrong path, making mistakes on the path, or going astray.

In the Sutra of the Ornamental Array, we find:

All Bodhisattva activity depends on spiritual teachers.All the gateways of aspiration for enlightenment appear because of them, and all roots of virtue are produced through them. All accumulations of merit and wisdom come from spiritual teachers, and all the doors of the Dharma appear through depending on them. All pure action arises from these teachers as well.


Depending on the spiritual teacher is the root of open-minded caring. All the teachings that generate the mind of enlightenment come from depending on the teacher. All unobscured intellect and inspiration are displayed from having depended on the teacher.

All the treasures of the gates of purification are obtained by depending on the teacher. All wisdom appears, generated by depending on the teacher.All special aspects of the wishing path of aspiration lie in the hands of the spiritual teacher.

Further, as stated in the teachings of the King of Dharma, the All- Knowing Longchenpa:

To praise but a few of the aspects of the Friends of Beings:They are the pilots of the great ships that cross the ocean of samsara;the unexcelled leaders of those who enter the path;the wish-fulfilling gem that clears away troubles;the streams of nectar that put outthe fire of karma and the destructive emotions;the beneficent clouds of the cooling rain of the Dharma;the drums of the gods that produce joy for all beings;the king of medicine that heals the illness of the three poisons;the brilliant lamps that clear away the darkness of ignorance;the great wish-granting tree, source of happiness for all beings;the good and precious vessels that holdmiraculously all one might desire;the inconceivable rays of light of the sun of great love;the moon that soothes the fever of cravingwith its white light of bliss and benefit.

With their expansive sphere of understanding, they are like the stainless sky.

The clear light of their samdhi illuminates like the light of spectacular stars and planets; their knowledge and love is boundless like the ocean; the great wave of their mercy is like a moving river.

Undisturbed and imperturbable,they are like the glorious snow mountainstotally stable, like Meru, the king of mountains.


Their state of existence is unsullied, like the mud-born lotus; their love, impartial to all, like the love of father and mother.

Their boundless good qualities are like a treasure of jewels; they guide the world, like the powerful conquerors.Such are the Lamas, the glorious lords of the Dharma.

Wherever they abide is where all the Buddhas abide, and seeing, hearing, remembering, or touching them drives back samsara.

The great waves of their charismatic action are inconceivable in magnitude; they are like the great earth, a foundation for all beings.

Four Types of Spiritual TeachersSpiritual teachers are of four different types: teachers who have the perfect body of ecstatic awareness of the Sambhogakaya; teachers who have the majestic body of great emanation, the Nirmanakaya; teachers who are Bodhisattvas; and spiritual teachers who teach in the manner of ordinary beings.

The first three types of teachers are for those who have entered the stream of the Dharma, those whose conduct is that of holy beings. For beginners like us, however, who lack such good fortune, it is usually necessary to depend on spiritual teachers who appear as ordinary beings. However, these teachers are actually manifestations of the Buddha. As stated in the Sutra of Supreme Meditation:

Son of good lineage, long, long ago, in a previous lifetime,I myself, having manifested as a spiritual friend, taught this samadhi. And so, as this virtuous spiritual friend was your teacher, honor and respect and depend on him until you abide in the heart of enlightenment.


What are the necessary characteristics of the spiritual teacher? The Stages of the Bodhisattva gives eight:

1. The spiritual teacher must uphold the moral practice of the Bodhisattva.2. The spiritual teacher must have learned the innumerable teachings of the collection of teachings relating to the Bodhisattva.3. The spiritual teacher must have realization of these teachings.4. The spiritual teacher must have supreme compassion.5. The spiritual teacher must be fearless.6. The spiritual teacher must have patient forbearance.7. The spiritual teacher must have a completely imperturbable mind.8. The spiritual teacher s actions and words must accord with one another.

In the Crown of Sutras, we find it said:

True teachers have four characteristics:They extend the doctrine by means of their extensive knowledge of the teachings; they cut through the doubts of others with their great wisdom; they show their words to be trustworthy by performing the activities of holy beings; and they teach the thusness of what is totally emotionally afflicted and what is totally purified.Those who extend the teachings and expel doubts, who are trustworthy and teach the two as thusness:These are called perfect teachersthese are Bodhisattvas. [13.5]

We find in Entering the Bodhisattva Path that spiritual teachers are wise in their understanding of the meaning of the Great Vehicle and have embraced the vow of the Bodhisattva:

The spiritual teacher is always wisein the meaning of the Mahayana,never giving up, even for the sake of life itself,the extraordinary discipline of the Bodhisattva. [5.2]

Necessary Characteristics of the Spiritual Teacher


It is also stated:

Those with the lineage and the characteristics of the Lama, if they have realization, have all the requirements.

Thus, seek for and rely on teachers such as those who hold the Kadampa lineage of Atlsa, an uninterrupted lineage from the Perfect Buddha. Such teachers truly abide in the stream of realization of the precious enlightenment-mind of love and compassion. Having found such a spiritual teacher, follow the three ways of depending on a teacher:

First of all, depend on your teachers with reverence and respect: Bow before them, rise quickly, bow, and circumambulate them.

Request teachings in a timely fashion, with a mind full of longing. Honor your teachers by gazing again and again upon them, as if you could never be satisfied.

Respect and honor your teachers with whatever you may be able to give, whether wealth or grain, medicines, furnishings and robes, food, or the likeall that accords with a religious life. This is th

Path of Heroes I

Documents

Transcript of Path of Heroes I