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|titleintext=sgrub brgyud shing rta chen po brgyad kyi smin grol snying po phyogs gcig bsdus pa gdams ngag rin po che'i mdzod kyi dkar chag bkra shis grags pa'i rgya mtsho zhes bya ba bzhugs so//_// | |titleintext=sgrub brgyud shing rta chen po brgyad kyi smin grol snying po phyogs gcig bsdus pa gdams ngag rin po che'i mdzod kyi dkar chag bkra shis grags pa'i rgya mtsho zhes bya ba bzhugs so//_// | ||
|titleintexttib=༄༅། སྒྲུབ་བརྒྱུད་ཤིང་རྟ་ཆེན་པོ་བརྒྱད་ཀྱི་སྨིན་གྲོལ་སྙིང་པོ་ཕྱོགས་གཅིག་བསྡུས་པ་གདམས་ངག་རིན་པོ་ཆེའི་མཛོད་ཀྱི་དཀར་ཆག་བཀྲ་ཤིས་གྲགས་པའི་རྒྱ་མཚོ་ཞེས་བྱ་བ་བཞུགས་སོ༎ ༎ | |titleintexttib=༄༅། སྒྲུབ་བརྒྱུད་ཤིང་རྟ་ཆེན་པོ་བརྒྱད་ཀྱི་སྨིན་གྲོལ་སྙིང་པོ་ཕྱོགས་གཅིག་བསྡུས་པ་གདམས་ངག་རིན་པོ་ཆེའི་མཛོད་ཀྱི་དཀར་ཆག་བཀྲ་ཤིས་གྲགས་པའི་རྒྱ་མཚོ་ཞེས་བྱ་བ་བཞུགས་སོ༎ ༎ | ||
|titletrans=An Ocean of Auspicious Renown: The Catalog of The Treasury of Precious Instructions | |||
|translation=Translation: An Ocean of Auspicious Renown: The Catalog of The Treasury of Precious Instructions | |||
[1b] | |||
I pay homage to, and take refuge in, the glorious, holy masters—my primary | |||
gurus and those of the lineages. | |||
Embodiment of timeless awareness, with consummate mastery of | |||
the noble state of wisdom, utterly transcending the limitations | |||
of conditioned existence and mere quiescence; | |||
immutable enlightened speech, amassing the clouds of | |||
sambhogakāya through unconditional love to let fall a rain of | |||
nirmāṇakāya emanations; | |||
enlightened mind, profound and lucid, emerging victorious in the | |||
battle with samsara through nonconceptual power, and cutting | |||
through the bonds of dualistic fixation: | |||
I bow to the guru, Vajrasattva in actuality—sovereign lord of the | |||
hundred families of inconceivable secrets. | |||
Foundation from which emerges the entire vast range of mandalas | |||
without exception, | |||
actuality of evaṃ and source of mantra and tantra— | |||
since the sublime secret delights in the dance of supreme bliss, | |||
you who create and enjoy the display, together with those in the | |||
lineages, grant us your blessings! | |||
Like the splendor shining from the sun that gives us the day, | |||
whatever is excellent in the realms of conditioned existence and | |||
the peace of nirvana | |||
all comes always from the three precious Jewels, | |||
Homage | |||
Interior_DNZ_Catalog_12_03_13.indd 3 3/18/13 3:55 PM | |||
4 The Catalog | |||
and so I revere them as my refuge, with faith born of informed | |||
appreciation. | |||
Through the inconceivable enlightened activities of the learned | |||
and accomplished, | |||
the teachings based on scripture and realization spread completely | |||
in the holy country 1 | |||
and in Tibet; | |||
I offer the flower of praise, extolling the life examples | |||
of those in the great mainstream lineages of sutra and tantra who | |||
spread those teachings. [2a] | |||
Peaceful and passionate and blazing with intense wrath, | |||
a single reality with numerous expressions, guiding those difficult | |||
to guide— | |||
O chosen deities, engaging in the dance of innate compassion, | |||
grant us the attainments that bring our wished-for goals to | |||
consummation. | |||
Moving through the space of timeless awareness, delineating right | |||
from wrong, | |||
O ḍākinīs of the three places, O oath-bound guardians and | |||
dharmapālas, | |||
be heedful of our exacting pledge and determine the | |||
circumstances for lenience: | |||
annihilate what causes hindrances and nurture the fortunate! | |||
Renowned throughout the Land of Snows | |||
are the eight great mainstream lineages of accomplishment and | |||
those who followed them; | |||
I open here the great gateway to a marvelous treasury, never | |||
before seen, | |||
in which the riches of all manner of profound instructions are | |||
included in their entirety. | |||
The great Treasury of Precious Instructions (gDams ngag rin po che’i mdzod) | |||
gathers together in a single collection countless profound means of accomplishment that constitute the distilled essence of all the sacred Dharma, the | |||
teachings of the buddhas: the means that include, in their entirety, all the | |||
limitless stages for practically applying the profound import found in the | |||
Interior_DNZ_Catalog_12_03_13.indd 4 3/18/13 3:55 PM | |||
Homage 5 | |||
sutras and tantras; that are easy to implement yet accommodate the minds | |||
of those of the three degrees of acumen (excellent, middling, and lesser); | |||
and that swiftly bring the state of supreme enlightenment into full evidence. | |||
There are five major topics in my concise catalog of this collection: (1) the | |||
purpose of compiling this great collection [2b]; (2) the processes by which | |||
these traditions developed in India and Tibet; (3) an identification of what | |||
these teachings constitute in their essence; (4) an enumeration of the teachings contained in the collection; and (5) a discussion of the lineage successions through which these teachings have been transmitted. | |||
Interior_DNZ_Catalog_12_03_13.indd 5 3/18/13 3:55 PM | |||
Interior_DNZ_Catalog_12_03_13.indd 6 3/18/13 3:55 PM | |||
This discussion has four topics: the goal to be accomplished, the means by | |||
which it is accomplished, how one engages in such means, and the purpose | |||
of such accomplishment (as well as the benefits and advantages). | |||
A. Goal | |||
At a certain point during this fortunate aeon of illumination, from among | |||
all those victorious ones who will eventually have appeared as suns shining | |||
in this world,2 | |||
there appeared the incomparable Lord of the Śākyas—our | |||
teacher imbued with supreme compassion, whose armor of motivation is far | |||
superior to others’; who is more superb than all the others who liberate those | |||
to be guided who were and are not yet liberated in these times of strife; the | |||
mere hearing of whose name frees one from the effects of harmful actions | |||
reinforced through eighty thousand great aeons; and who is endowed with | |||
the aspiration to guide all beings along the path to enlightenment without | |||
regression. It is the precious teachings of this buddha that are still alive and | |||
enduring. | |||
From among the teachings of all these buddhas of the three times, | |||
Śākyamuni especially caused the illumination of the teachings of the secret mantra approach, the Vajrayāna, both the general and the specific, to | |||
spread—teachings that appear as rarely as the udumvara flower. Due to a | |||
very powerful reinforcement of positive forces in many previous lifetimes, | |||
and not just to random chance, those who have attained an unflawed, noble | |||
working basis of freedom and opportunity 3 | |||
and who have the good fortune | |||
to enter through the doorway of the Victorious One’s teachings have gained | |||
something that is just within the realm of possibility, like a pauper who | |||
dreams of finding a wish-fulfilling gem. At this point, in order to ensure cerI | |||
Purpose | |||
Interior_DNZ_Catalog_12_03_13.indd 7 3/18/13 3:55 PM | |||
8 The Catalog | |||
tain benefit on a vast scale for themselves and others, they must definitely | |||
strive for, and attain, that unique enlightened dimension (kāya) of timeless | |||
awareness that constitutes the inseparability of bliss and emptiness, the consummate state of supreme enlightenment that is not confined to either of | |||
two extremes. 4 | |||
One might wonder, What does this constitute? Timeless awareness is the | |||
quasi-subjective perceiver, 5 | |||
the facet of what is ultimately true—supreme | |||
and utterly unchanging bliss—which is the totally perfect state of utter lucidity. Emptiness endowed with the sublime capacity to manifest in all ways | |||
is the quasi-object, what is relatively true, the dimension of illusion in which | |||
suchness arises in any and all ways as what is knowable. [3a] The oneness of | |||
these as equal in taste, not subject to any division, is spoken of in Mañjuśrī: | |||
Web of Magical Illusion: | |||
buddhahood without beginning, without end; | |||
original buddhahood, undifferentiated . . . 6 | |||
This is a reference to the state of primordial unity that requires no more | |||
training, 7 | |||
the enlightened dimension of innate timeless awareness, the | |||
state of the primordial lord protector, the supreme Vajradhara. This goes | |||
by limitless varieties of names and embodiments—Kālacakra, Vajrasattva, | |||
Guhyasamāja, Cakrasaṃvara, Hevajra, and so forth. | |||
It is endowed with four aspects of transcendent perfection: | |||
• the transcendent perfection of sacred immaculacy, in that it does not | |||
serve as a basis for the continuation of habitual patterns; | |||
• the transcendent perfection of sacred presence in the ultimate sense, | |||
in that it constitutes the complete subsidence of all elaborations of | |||
identity or lack thereof; | |||
• the transcendent perfection of sacred bliss, in that it is not subject to | |||
any extraneous force but is the nondual perception of all that is knowable, in which any embodiment based on the nature of ordinary mind | |||
is eliminated and in which the habitual patterns of the nonrecognition | |||
of pure awareness are absent; and | |||
• the transcendent perfection of sacred constancy, in that, for as long as | |||
space itself endures, from the original moment of omniscient awareness onward there is no difference in its manifestation at earlier and | |||
later points in linear time. | |||
Interior_DNZ_Catalog_12_03_13.indd 8 3/18/13 3:55 PM | |||
Purpose 9 | |||
It is endowed with three aspects of supremacy: | |||
• a supreme state of elimination, in that all limitless aspects of adventitious distortion—the three levels of obscuration, 8 | |||
together with the | |||
habitual patterns they entail—have been eliminated; | |||
• a supreme state of realization, in that there is realization (requiring no | |||
deliberate examination) of knowable phenomena without exception, | |||
as being similar to the images in a diviner’s mirror, an illusion, and | |||
so forth; and | |||
• a supreme state of mind, in that there is constant awareness, without | |||
any interruption, that permeates any and all ordinary beings, without | |||
any discrimination between near and far, ensuring the benefit of limitless beings for as long as space itself endures. | |||
In accord with the reference to | |||
buddhahood embodying the five kāyas; | |||
sovereign lord embodying the five aspects of timeless awareness . . .9 | |||
it is that embodiment of the primordial unity of the five kāyas and the | |||
five aspects of timeless awareness for which alone one should strive and of | |||
which one should gain accomplishment. | |||
If one gains accomplishment of such a state of the supreme seal (mahāmudrā), the most sublime fruition state, through one’s higher altruistic motivation, enthusiastic diligence, and stable fortitude, it is in the nature of | |||
things that all attainments—the four kinds of enlightened activity, 10 the ten | |||
powers, 11 and so forth—come about in an effortless and spontaneous manner, just as a fine harvest of grain results in chaff and straw as a matter of | |||
course. 12 [3b] | |||
B. Means of Accomplishment | |||
On what means, or path, does one rely in order to accomplish such a superior goal? As is said: | |||
The sacred Dharma is that which dispels | |||
all suffering and all obscurations. | |||
That is, one should enter through the doorway of the precious teachings | |||
Interior_DNZ_Catalog_12_03_13.indd 9 3/18/13 3:55 PM | |||
10 The Catalog | |||
that are still present without having waned—those of the three turnings of | |||
the wheel of Dharma by the omniscient Victorious One, who conferred these | |||
through the three kinds of miracles 13—and, having entered, one should gain | |||
accomplishment by incorporating these teachings into one’s experience. In | |||
particular, it is not possible to gain accomplishment of the sublimely unchanging state of primordial unity through any means other than by relying | |||
entirely on the unsurpassable swift path of the Vajrayāna. | |||
The sacred Dharma subsumes the three higher trainings as its subject | |||
matter and the Three Collections as the presentations thereof. 14 If these are | |||
to be summarized, we may cite the master Vasubandhu: | |||
The sacred teachings of the Teacher are twofold, | |||
embodying scripture and realization. 15 | |||
They thus can be subsumed under the two headings of scripture and realization. Of these, the aspect of the Dharma as scripture is described in the | |||
Highest Continuum: | |||
The Dharma is that which is free of and brings freedom from | |||
attachment | |||
and is endowed with the characteristics of the two levels of truth. | |||
Freedom from attachment is subsumed | |||
within the truths of cessation and the path. 16 | |||
As this passage notes, that which is free of attachment is the truth of | |||
cessation, while that which brings freedom from attachment is the truth | |||
of the spiritual path. Of these, the truth of cessation is characterized as | |||
any context that, due to a focus on suchness itself, entails the cessation of | |||
anything associated with corruptibility 17—that is to say, the states of elimination on the paths of training and no more training, the state of nirvana | |||
that involves no residual traces, 18 and the dharmakāya of buddhahood as | |||
defined in the Mahāyāna approach. This is also referred to as the fruition | |||
state—the transcendence of sorrow (which is to say, suffering and the causes | |||
thereof) 19—imbued with the seven attributes of peace and negating the four | |||
kinds of impermanence. | |||
The truth of the path is characterized as the means by which that cessation is made fully evident, which constitutes incorruptible timeless awareness and its attendant factors—[4a] that is, the three paths of seeing, mediInterior_DNZ_Catalog_12_03_13.indd 10 3/18/13 3:55 PM | |||
Purpose 11 | |||
tation, and no more training or (in the Mahāyāna context) the two paths of | |||
seeing and meditation. The attendant factors are the two paths of accumulation and linkage. 20 | |||
The aspect of the Dharma as scripture is characterized as the descriptions | |||
that allow one to gain access to the aspect of Dharma as realization—that is, | |||
the twelve branches of the Buddha’s excellent speech, 21 which are appropriate causes that bring about realization of the true nature of reality. | |||
In this regard, there are also the two aspects of the Dharma as it is practiced and the Dharma as it is explained. Of these, the former is endowed | |||
with four excellent qualities that allow the fruition state to be attained. | |||
These four excellent qualities are as follows: | |||
• It does not entail any factors of compulsion or perpetuation, for it | |||
leads to the citadel of nirvana and does not lead to that of samsara. | |||
• It is uninterrupted, for it connects one to nirvana without obstacles | |||
and with a continuity that is unchanging. | |||
• It causes no harm, for it is not affected by the thieving effects of desire | |||
and attachment and so forth. | |||
• It reveals itself in an intimate way, for it is fueled by the food of one’s | |||
delight in the Dharma. | |||
As for the Dharma as it is explained, it is endowed with four functions | |||
that elucidate the factors of the spiritual path, for it demonstrates | |||
• what is attended to (“This is the path”); | |||
• what brings certainty about this (“This is indeed the path, while anything else is not”); | |||
• what elucidates the requirements for this (“These factors, such as the | |||
four applications of mindfulness, are the causes of the path”); and | |||
• the utter pacification of obscurations (“The obscurations of karma, | |||
afflictive states, and obstacles to longevity cause hindrances on the | |||
path”). | |||
Concerning the Dharma as it is explained, a text states: | |||
All the teachings of Dharma are subsumed in two categories, the | |||
Buddha’s words and the treatises— | |||
respectively, what was spoken in an excellent manner and the | |||
commentaries on the intent of that. | |||
Interior_DNZ_Catalog_12_03_13.indd 11 3/18/13 3:55 PM | |||
12 The Catalog | |||
Due to the power of these, the teachings of Śākyamuni | |||
will endure for a long time in this world.22 | |||
This is a reference to the two divisions of (1) what was “spoken in an | |||
excellent manner” in some ten ways23 and (2) the treatises that comment on | |||
the enlightened intent of the former. | |||
1. The Buddha’s Words | |||
As for the first of these divisions, the Buddha’s words are concerned with | |||
both what is forever meaningful in the greatest sense and what is connected to the accomplishment of that meaning. Their function is to eliminate | |||
all the limitless afflictive mental states associated with the three realms of | |||
existence. They set forth the benefits and advantages of the fruition state of | |||
peace—that is, nirvana, the transcendence of sorrow. [4b] They derive from | |||
the enlightened deeds of buddhahood as their governing condition.24 | |||
They may be classified as follows:25 | |||
• According to the chronological order in which the Buddha spoke them, | |||
there are three cycles: the initial, the intermediate, and the final.26 | |||
• From the perspective of their subject matter, they concern the two | |||
levels of truth.27 | |||
• From that of their presentation, there are the twelve branches of the | |||
Buddha’s sublime speech. | |||
• In accord with the categories that are associated with the antidotes | |||
they discuss—that is, the factors to be eliminated, those to be adopted, | |||
and those to be understood—there are the Three Collections.28 | |||
• From the perspective of the greater or lesser capacity of those who are | |||
to be guided by these teachings, there are the two approaches of the | |||
Hīnayāna and Mahāyāna, the latter further consisting of the dialectical approach (in which the path is based on causes) and the mantra | |||
approach (in which the path is based on the fruition). | |||
• Again from the point of view of the governing conditions, there are | |||
the words of the Buddha that were communicated directly, those that | |||
came about through blessings, and those that came about through | |||
permission being granted.29 | |||
Given the foregoing categories, in this great Treasury are found teachings | |||
that cover the entire meaning of what is to be put into practice according to | |||
Interior_DNZ_Catalog_12_03_13.indd 12 3/18/13 3:55 PM | |||
Purpose 13 | |||
all three cycles of teachings, with emphasis on the ultimate level of truth, | |||
a focus on the category of the most extensive teachings, and a presentation | |||
most especially of the higher trainings in mind30 and meditative absorption. | |||
They explain solely the Mahāyāna, particularly the Mantrayāna approach | |||
within that, and are based on vajra verses and other such sources that were | |||
communicated directly. | |||
2. The Commentarial Treatises | |||
As for the treatises, the authors were those whose minds were undistracted | |||
by afflictive mental states and who explained the meaning of the Buddha’s | |||
teaching according to its vastness and profundity, so that their writings were | |||
in accord with the path that brings about the attainment of liberation. These | |||
treatises correct the ongoing experience of those who hear their teachings, | |||
turning them away from the three mental poisons and imbuing them with | |||
the three higher trainings, thus protecting them from lower states of rebirth | |||
and the suffering of conditioned existence.31 | |||
While there are many ways to categorize such treatises, they are described in the Categories of the Levels in nine ways according to superior and | |||
inferior kinds of writings: | |||
Buddhist śāstras are held to be devoid of these six flaws and to | |||
have these three positive qualities.32 | |||
That is to say, they are devoid of six flaws found in inferior kinds of | |||
treatises, instead being endowed with meaning, being concerned with the | |||
elimination of suffering, and placing great emphasis on spiritual practice. It | |||
is with these three kinds of sublime and authentic treatises that this Treasury | |||
is filled. | |||
In particular, the Mantrayāna approach was taught by the sambhogakāya, endowed with the seven attributes of integration33 or (in certain cases) | |||
the sublime nirmāṇakāya.34 In a few cases, teachings came about through | |||
blessings or through permission being granted. [5a] In such ways the wheel | |||
of Dharma was turned uninterruptedly for those to be guided—masters of | |||
awareness and hosts of ḍākas and yoginīs—in places that appeared to be | |||
different, through the echolike quality of all sound in its ineffable nature. | |||
In the case of the anuttarayoga tantras, these were taught in an environment that transcends the scope of ordinary conceptual frameworks and | |||
characteristics: the “basic space of phenomena,” the “unchanging ultimate | |||
Interior_DNZ_Catalog_12_03_13.indd 13 3/18/13 3:55 PM | |||
14 The Catalog | |||
abode,” the “source of phenomena,” the “palace of supreme liberation,” the | |||
“immeasurable mansion of supreme and inconceivable bliss,” the “bhaga of | |||
the Vajra Queen,” and so forth. According to more relative interpretations, | |||
some were taught in such locations as Akaniṣṭha,35 Tuṣita,36 the summit | |||
of Sumeru, and the stupa of Śrīdhānyakaṭaka.37 In these environments the | |||
original buddha arose in the form of the central deity of a specific mandala—as Vajradhara, Kālacakra, and so forth—so that the natural dynamic | |||
expression of timeless awareness was that of the inseparability of teacher | |||
and retinue in the nature of being as the single state of supreme bliss. This | |||
caused the turning of the wheel of Dharma to manifest within that context | |||
as a constant process without interruption through the supreme secret of | |||
the indestructible resonance of vajra sound. These teachings were collected | |||
by Guhyapati,38 Vajragarbha, and others of the retinues (though in no way | |||
other than the teachers), so that at least a portion of them became accessible | |||
to fortunate people in the human realm. This entire vast range of the classes | |||
of tantra was elucidated in commentaries authored by powerful lords of the | |||
tenth level of realization and accomplished masters, and in the holy country of India and other regions many people of the highest acumen pursued | |||
the practice of these teachings and gained high levels of accomplishment, | |||
in turn conferring the profound meaning of the classes of tantra as advice | |||
to fortunate individuals who were to be guided. These instructions were | |||
transmitted from sublime incarnate scholars and translators over successive | |||
generations, so that they came to this land39 at the invitation of our merit. | |||
In the land of Tibet, furthermore, there were great and holy beings who | |||
were exemplars of the excellent speech of the Victorious One and who had | |||
perceived the true nature of reality just as it is. This great Treasury brings | |||
together in a single collection much wealth that constitutes the precious | |||
and profound instructions from the majority of the most famous of these | |||
masters. | |||
In the case of the Early Translation school of the Nyingma tradition in | |||
particular, there are three lineages: | |||
• the lineage of the mind-to-mind transmission by victorious ones, in | |||
which the timeless awareness of the three kāyas of the teacher arises | |||
as its own natural manifestation; [5b] | |||
• the lineage of transmission through symbols by masters of awareness | |||
(Garap Dorje, the five exalted masters of holy heritage, and others), in | |||
which the entire meaning of the teachings was completely absorbed | |||
simply through the use of something symbolic; and | |||
Interior_DNZ_Catalog_12_03_13.indd 14 3/18/13 3:55 PM | |||
Purpose 15 | |||
• the lineage of oral transmission by human individuals, in which teachings were transmitted through speech from one person to the ear of | |||
another, in cases such as that of the king Jaḥ. | |||
Due to the uninterrupted transmission through these three lineages, this | |||
collection contains the quintessence of the profound meaning found in the | |||
instructions of the categories of Mind, Expanse, and Direct Transmission | |||
in the ati approach (the pinnacle of the three great approaches based on | |||
skillful method that bring mastery),40 as well as such texts as the instruction | |||
manual for the Vajrasattva cycle Web of Magical Display from the mahāyoga | |||
approach. | |||
Concerning such precious teachings, the master Vasubandhu stated: | |||
It is this and this alone that is to be upheld, | |||
discussed, and put into practice.41 | |||
That is to say, those aspects of the sacred Dharma that constitute the | |||
scriptural tradition must be upheld through the activities of explaining, | |||
listening to, studying, and contemplating them; while those aspects of the | |||
sacred Dharma that constitute the experientially based tradition must be | |||
upheld through applying training in one’s ongoing experience, practicing | |||
and meditating on their meaning. | |||
In the holy country of India, it was the great monastic communities and | |||
such figures as the “six ornaments who adorn the human world,”42 the “four | |||
great ones,” the “two superb masters,”43 the “six learned gatekeepers,” and | |||
the successive abbots of Vajrāsana, who primarily guarded the scriptural | |||
tradition through the three activities of explaining teachings, debating, | |||
and composing commentaries. And it was the countless masters who appeared—as exemplified by the eighty-four mahāsiddhās, such as the venerable master Paramaśva; the Great Brahmin and his spiritual son; the three | |||
masters Lūipāda, Ghaṇṭapāda, and Kṛṣṇapāda; Kālacakrapāda the Elder and | |||
Younger; and Tilopa44—who primarily upheld the experientially based tradition through spiritual practice. | |||
In this land of Tibet, moreover, the teachings of the Victorious One were | |||
guarded by the ten great pillars upholding the lineages of exegesis45 emphasizing the profound path of the theoretical underpinnings of the teachings, | |||
and those who held the lineages of the eight great mainstream lineages of | |||
accomplishment emphasizing that of the practical application. | |||
Interior_DNZ_Catalog_12_03_13.indd 15 3/18/13 3:55 PM | |||
16 The Catalog | |||
C. Method of Practice | |||
In general, let us consider the case of any individuals who have experienced | |||
a sense of disenchantment with the sufferings of samsara and who seek | |||
liberation from these as their goal, following the precious teachings of the | |||
Buddha and pursuing the stages of practice of the sacred Dharma.[6a] At | |||
the outset, they must rely on a mentor, who is the foundation of the spiritual | |||
path. According to the Compendium:46 | |||
“The teachings of the Buddhadharma depend on spiritual | |||
mentors”: | |||
the Victorious One spoke of them as being endowed with the most | |||
sublime of all qualities. | |||
This and other sources refer to the qualifications of a master, a spiritual | |||
mentor who is validated as such through countless reasons supported by | |||
both scripture and reasoning. There are so many such qualifications, depending on the specific contexts of higher and lower approaches, that it | |||
would be difficult to reach a point where they had been explained adequately. However, the factors that are indispensable are three: (1) intelligence | |||
based on wisdom, (2) an attitude of loving-kindness, and (3) forbearance in | |||
one’s actions. That is to say: | |||
1. The qualities of wisdom are those of one being learned concerning | |||
the words of the teachings to be explained and the meaning of those words, | |||
being able to resolve others’ doubts, presenting one’s discussions in an elegant fashion, being worthy of honor due to one’s virtuous conduct, and | |||
being wise concerning the appropriate conduct or the qualifications of the | |||
recipients of teachings. | |||
2. Ideally, one would have compassion that is not mere lip service but | |||
constitutes the desire to bring all ordinary beings to the state of supreme | |||
enlightenment. On a middling level, one would have the altruistic attitude | |||
of wishing to bring those who are guided by one’s teachings to the level of | |||
buddhahood. At the very least, one must definitely have the compassion to | |||
explain the teachings without regard for material gain, but with the intention that constitutes the desire that others who receive the teachings understand the meaning of what is explained precisely and benefit thereby; for | |||
without the latter one will commit the flaw of selling the Dharma. | |||
Interior_DNZ_Catalog_12_03_13.indd 16 3/18/13 3:55 PM | |||
Purpose 17 | |||
3. As well, one must certainly have the forbearance not to be discouraged | |||
by difficulties encountered when explaining the teachings, the forbearance | |||
to entertain questions from students, and the forbearance to be challenged | |||
by others and be able to answer their objections. | |||
In this collection, The Treasury of Precious Instructions, with the foregoing | |||
being taken to be the minimum requirements, one must in addition be engaged in the three levels of ordination, understand the words and meanings | |||
of the teachings to be explained, and have undertaken practice of the main | |||
points of the instructions concerned, so that one has gained some degree of | |||
personal experience. | |||
Although there are many discussions of the characteristics of a student, | |||
principally this should be someone who does not rely on fame and profit in | |||
this lifetime, is not competitive with others, and is not simply interested in | |||
“collecting” teachings by requesting and receiving anything and everything. | |||
Rather, he or she should be someone who strives wholeheartedly for liberation, whose mind is stable in the three aspects of faith that are the foundation | |||
of all positive factors, [6b] and who puts into practice the teachings he or she | |||
has heard as much as possible in accord with his or her level of understanding. | |||
Once the interdependence between mentor and student has been established, the latter relies on the former in the appropriate manner, pleasing | |||
the teacher to whichever of the three degrees one is capable of ensuring. | |||
Then, as the Treasury of Abhidharma states: | |||
Maintaining discipline and endowed with study and contemplation, | |||
one applies oneself intensively to meditation.47 | |||
That is to say, as a basis for the development of positive qualities, one | |||
accepts whatever level of training in ethical discipline one is capable of and | |||
upholds that in the appropriate manner. It is of course the case that the more | |||
one can study the excellent teachings of the Victorious One, the better. But | |||
in particular one should study in detail the stages on the paths of the three | |||
spiritual models, which are an infallible path to integrate one’s mind with | |||
the sacred Dharma, one that involves no regression. | |||
If the meaning of what one has heard is merely left as a superficial understanding based on a single exposure, it will have no impact on one’s ongoing | |||
experience, so investigate it in detail, reflecting on it over and over. This will | |||
ensure that one’s fixation on the perceptions and consciousness associated | |||
with this lifetime will be undermined on a deep level, giving rise to a truly | |||
Interior_DNZ_Catalog_12_03_13.indd 17 3/18/13 3:55 PM | |||
18 The Catalog | |||
extraordinary intention to strive for the definitive excellence of enlightenment in the future. | |||
All this being the case, if we examine the majority of activities in which | |||
we ourselves and others engage, presumptuously assuming these to be spiritual practice, they prove to be cases of dharma as theory, dharma as a | |||
means of livelihood, dharma as a hobby, dharma as a way of decorating | |||
one’s life. Know that these not only are of no benefit for our future lifetimes, | |||
they can even cause harm. This will arouse a sense of enthusiasm to pursue | |||
meditation and spiritual practice of dharma in the true sense. As the exalted | |||
Nāgārjuna says: | |||
Hearing teachings is what causes one’s intelligence to expand; | |||
if one also contemplates, with both of these factors | |||
one can then apply oneself intensively to meditation. | |||
Unsurpassable attainment comes from that. | |||
Generally speaking, there are two kinds of individuals who apply themselves to spiritual practice that focuses on what is profoundly meaningful. | |||
For those fortunate ones who have already trained, it is appropriate to teach | |||
the profound path all at once. Those who lack the good fortune to practice | |||
focusing on the profound meaning at the outset, or those who are beginning | |||
practitioners, should proceed like someone climbing a flight of stairs, so it | |||
would be best to instruct them in the stages of the paths of the three spiritual | |||
models. In Lamp That Integrates Conduct we read the following: | |||
In order for ordinary beings who are beginning practitioners [7a] | |||
to embrace what is ultimately meaningful, | |||
these means were classified by the perfect Buddha | |||
like successive steps in a flight of stairs. | |||
And according to the Two Sections, in consideration of those who are | |||
lacking in good fortune and difficult to guide: | |||
At the outset, confer the ordination for spiritual renewal and | |||
training. | |||
In such sources, there are extensive treatments of this developmental process of engagement. In addition, as is stated in the earlier and later editions | |||
of the Primer: | |||
Interior_DNZ_Catalog_12_03_13.indd 18 3/18/13 3:55 PM | |||
Purpose 19 | |||
The greatest medicine for one who proceeds in stages | |||
would be poison for one who proceeds all at once. | |||
The greatest medicine for one who proceeds all at once | |||
would be poison for one who proceeds in stages. | |||
Therefore, for those with the carryover from previous training, | |||
one should present the mode to proceed all at once. | |||
For beings who are beginning practitioners, | |||
one should present the mode to proceed by stages. | |||
With respect to one’s receiving the transmissions of this collection, The | |||
Treasury of Precious Instructions, in general each of the traditions of the eight | |||
mainstream lineages of accomplishment is, in and of itself, a special and profound path and the complete range of stages in the attainment of enlightenment. Thus, in accord with each person’s interest and mental ability, whatever one might desire in the way of instruction is available in each of these | |||
traditions, whether the complete transmission or selected stages. And so this | |||
collection is entirely sufficient, even though the maturing empowerments | |||
and liberating instructions constitute extractions from these traditions. And | |||
although in the case of major systems of instructions there is no way that | |||
these can be imparted before the maturing process of empowerment has | |||
taken place, one should make the distinction that in certain cases—such as | |||
teachings on the graduated path and minor instructions—the conferral of an | |||
empowerment is not necessary. | |||
On occasions when the entire collection is being transmitted and received, | |||
the way the volumes are organized is chronological, according to the earlier | |||
and later historical periods during which these profound teachings came to | |||
Tibet. But when the transmission is being given, it must be in accord with | |||
the developmental stages of the teachings, and so the transmission begins | |||
with the Kadampa teachings on the graduated path. Following the completion of the Dorje Sumgyi Nyendrup teachings, the maturing empowerments | |||
and liberating instructions for the three categories of the Great Perfection | |||
approach are conferred. Other, more minor instructions are transmitted intermittently where convenient | |||
[1b] | [1b] | ||
I pay homage to, and take refuge in, the glorious, holy masters—my primary gurus and those of the lineages. Embodiment of timeless awareness, with consummate mastery of | I pay homage to, and take refuge in, the glorious, holy masters—my primary gurus and those of the lineages. Embodiment of timeless awareness, with consummate mastery of | ||
Line 7,759: | Line 14,227: | ||
628 That is, Tāranātha. | 628 That is, Tāranātha. | ||
629 Another name for King Trisong Detsen. | 629 Another name for King Trisong Detsen. | ||
630 Skt. Śrīdharmapāla (that is, Virūpa). | 630 Skt. Śrīdharmapāla (that is, Virūpa). | ||
== Footnotes == | == Footnotes == |
Latest revision as of 10:52, 13 January 2021
གདམས་ངག་རིན་པོ་ཆེའི་མཛོད་ཀྱི་དཀར་ཆག་ ་ ་ ་
sgrub brgyud shing rta chen po brgyad kyi smin grol snying po phyogs gcig bsdus pa gdams ngag rin po che'i mdzod kyi dkar chag bkra shis grags pa'i rgya mtsho
An Ocean of Auspicious Renown: The Catalog of The Treasury of Precious Instructions
- Translator's notes
- Note from Ringu Tulku
- The Content of the Treasury of Instructions, the Essence of the Empowerments and Instructions of the Eight Practice Lineages Collected Together Called "The Ocean of Auspicious Waves".
- Other notes
- Genre from Richard Barron's Catalog
- Instruction manual
- Genre from dkar chag
- dkar chag brgyud yig
- BDRC Link
- VolumeI1CZ3980
- BDRC Content Information
- Explanation of the eight practice lineages
Information about Unicode Tibetan and the digitization of this text
As the only available unicode Tibetan text at the time, Nitartha International's version of the Paro Edition of the gdams ngag mdzod is provided here. However, note that it has not been thoroughly edited and that there may also be mistakes introduced through the conversion process. Eventually we will provide a fully edited version of the entire Shechen Edition, entered and edited multiple times by Pulahari Monastery in Nepal, but as of fall 2017 that project has not been finished. Note that the folio numbers that appear throughout were added by Nitartha Input Center at the time of input.
Provided by Nitartha International Document Input Center. Many thanks to Lama Tenam and Gerry Wiener for help with fonts and conversion.
- Sgrub brgyud shing rta chen po brgyad kyi smin grol snying po phyogs gcig bsdus pa gdams ngag rin po che'i mdzod kyi dkar chag bkra shis grags pa'i rgya mtsho
- 'jam mgon kong sprul
- Tibetan texts
- Gdams ngag mdzod Volume 18
- Gdams ngag mdzod Shechen Printing
- Gdams ngag mdzod Catalog
- 'jam mgon kong sprul blo gros mtha' yas pa'i sde