Introduction
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The Source Esoteric Instruction on Severance,
The Great Bundle of Precepts on Severance is considered a source text (gzhung) of the Severance tradition attributed to Machik Lapdrön (1055-1149), the founder of the lineage. According to The Religious History of Pacification and Severance by Khamnyön Dharma Senge (nineteenth century), it was taught in a single day to a large crowd, which included the three Indians who arrived instantly in Tibet by means of the practice called "swift foot" to investigate the authenticity of Machik and her increasingly popular teachings. As a woman and the originator of a "new" teaching tradition, Machik Lapdrön was under considerable suspicion and often had to prove her worth. In Machik's Complete Explanation she explains the meaning of the name "bundle of precepts" as meaning that it is based on the long, middle length, and short precepts of the Buddha Shakyamuni, which she had studied previously. In other words, she maintained that the teachings contained herein are nothing other than the authentic words (bka') of the Buddha.
The commentary and outline are by Rangjung Dorje (1284-1339), the Third Karmapa hierarch, who was an important figure in the Severance tradition. His many works on Chöd are considered authoritative in the Kagyu lineage. The text translated here, as found in Kongtrul's Treasury of Precious Instructions, appears under the simple title Outline, although it also contains a commentary as a separate text, bearing the Sanskrit name ṭīkā, usually translated into Tibetan as rnam par bshad pa, "complete explanation." It is unusual and quite edifying for a Tibetan author to actually separate out the outline from the commentary, although it does present a few extra problems of consistency. Nevertheless, Rangjung Dorje's work exhibits his usual precision and brilliance. The text is also found in his Collected Works. The words in parentheses after the headings in the Outline were included by Rangjung Dorje to indicate the beginning word(s) of each verse, and they are repeated in the commentary. However, due to the differences in English grammar, it was not always possible to keep them exactly as they appear at the very beginning of each verse in translation.