Treasury of Esoteric Instructions: An Explication of the Oral Instructions of the Path with the Result

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Treasury ofEsoteric Instructions

An Explication of the Oral Instructions of the Path with the Result

LAMA DAMPA SbNAM GYALTSEN

Translated and edited by Cyrus Stearns

SNOW LION PUBLICATIONS ITHACA, NEW YORK

Snow Lion Publications P. 0. Box 6483 Ithaca, NY 14851 USA

( 6o7) 273-8519

www.snowlionpub.com

Copyright© 20II Tsadra Foundarion and Cyrus Stearns

All rights reserved. No part ofthis book may be reproduced without prior written permission from the publisher.

Printed in USA on acid-free recycled paper. Designed and typeset by Gopa & Ted2, Inc.

ISBN-IO; 1-5593 9-337-8 ISBN-13: 978-1-55939 -337-9

In memory of Chogye Trichen Rinpoche (1919-2007), glorious Hevajra himself

According to the stated wish of His Holiness Sakya Trizin, this book is intended only for people who have received the complete teachings of the Path with the Result (Lamdre).

Contents

Foreword by His Holiness Sakya Trizin

Xlll

Translator's Introduction

1

Vajra Lines by Virupa

7

Treasury ofEsoteric Instructions: An Explication of the Oral Instructions of the Path with the Result by Lama Dampa Sonam Gyaltsen

19

BooK

25

ONE: Homage and Promise to Explain

BooK Two:

Establishing the Actual Treatise

41

Section One: The General Meaning

43

Section Two: The Meaning of the Words

52

Subsection One: The Extensive Path

53

One: The Path Part One: The Path ofSa!]1sara and NirvaJ!a in Common

54 55

Chapter One: The Three Appearances

57

Chapter Two: The Three Continua

71

Chapter Three: The Four Authentic Qualities

198

Chapter Four: The Six Oral Instructions

204

Chapter Five: The Four Oral Transmissions

223

Chapter Six: The Five Dependently Arisen Connections 226

viii

Treasury ofEsoteric Instructions

Chapter Seven: Protection from Obsracles on the Path for a Yogin Who Is Over Inclined toward Method or Wisdom Part Two: The Mundane Path

234 261

Chapter One: A General Classificarion of rhe Path

263

Chapter Two: The Meaning of the Words I. The Brief Presentation of the Causes for the Arising of Meditative Concentration II. An Extensive Presentation in a Condensed Form III. The Presentation of the Path Free from Hope and Fear IV. The Path Presented as the Four Tests V. The Presentation of the Applications of Mindfulness as the Cause VI. The Presentation of the Perfect Renunciations as the Result VII. The Presentation of a Final Summary of Them

271

Part Three: The Transcendent Path

272 319 323 328 329 333 343 345

Chapter One: A General Classification of the Path

347

Chapter Two: The Meaning of the Words I. The Presentation of the Six Levels of the Vase Initiation II. The Presentation of the Four Levels Included in the Secret Initiation III. The Presentation of the Two Levels of rhe Initiation of Primordial Awareness Dependent on an Embodiment ofWisdom IV. The Presentation of the HalfLevel of the Fourth Initiation

350 351 364

375 385

Two: The Presentation of the Ultimate Results Achieved through Those Paths

400

Three: A Condensed Presentation of the Treatise

405

Subsection Two: The Presentation as the Three (Profound, Medium, and Inferior) Paths

407

Contents ix

BooK THREE: The Presentation of the Completion of the Treatise

409

Appendix: Complete Outline of the Treasury of

Esoteric Instructions

41 3

Glossary

437

Notes

443

Bibliography

465

Index

469

VAJRA NAIRATMYA Late sixteenth-century painting. Collection of Navin Kumar.

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complete therein This has two topics: The calculation ofthe completeness of sarpsara and nirvir;ta I. in the supporting body 2. The calculation of the completeness of saiJ1sara and nirv:i.J:!a in the supported mind 1 . The calculation ofthe completeness ofsaJ{tsdra and nirvd1Ja in the supporting body This has four topics. a. The calculation ofthe completeness ofsaJ{tsdra and nirvd;:ta in relation to

the channels ofthe body The four sarp_sara channels and so forth are sarp.sara and the central chan­ nel is the nirvJ.rya channel. b. The calculation ofthe completeness ofsaJ[tsdra and nirvd1Ja in relation to the syllables The syllables of the six realms are saiJ1sara and the syllables of the five

76

Treasury ofEsoteric Instructions

families, the a that is the syllable of the perfection of wisdom, and the hiitrt ofunity are nirvil).a. c.-d. The calculation ofthe completeness ofsatrtsdra and nirvdr.ta in

relation to the essential constituent nectars and the vital wind The essential constituents and the vital wind within the channels and syllables of sarpsira are sarpsira and the essential constituents and the vital wind within the channel and syllables of nirval)a are nirval)a. This is because those related to sarpsira produce sarpsira and those related to nirvil).a produce nirvil).a. 2. The calculation ofthe completeness ofsa'?'sdra and nirvdr;a in the supported mind All the phenomena of sat)lsara are complete in the form of the character· istic of the mind. [ 159] 1he characteristic is a variety, and also appears in that way. Since virtuous and nonvirtuous propensities have accumulated in the universal ground, at the point of death the propensities combine. The channels and syllables of the six realms take control of all the various propensities for the places, forms, experiences, types, and so forth of the individual six realms, and when one is propelled into the places of the individual six realms, they ripen as the individual bodies, and the appear­ ances of each of the six realms arise, such as heat and cold, hunger and thirst, dullness and stupidity, attachment to the eight worldly concerns,44 or anger and delight. All the phenomena of the path are also complete in the form of the qualities of the mind. The paths of the sravakas and the pratyekabuddhas, the perfections, and secret mantra are the four truths, dependent aris­ ing, the six perfections, and the creation and completion stages. Their views are the selflessness of persons, the nonsubstantiality of objects, the illusionlike reflexive awareness without subject and object, and unity beyond conceptual elaboration because all phenomena are utterly nona­ biding. All of these, the fifteen experiential appearances of meditating on the path and so forth, are the qualities of the universal ground itself refined by the path. All the phenomena of the result are complete in the form of the potency of the mind. The universal ground has the potential for produc­ ing the four pairs ofpersons, or the eight kinds ofindividuals," which are

Part One: The Path ujSaJ!'lSdra and Nirvd;:ta in Common

77

the path and result of the sravakas; the parh and result of rhe pratyeka­ buddhas, which are actions in groups and like a rhinoceros; the parh and result of the bodhisattva, which are the three kayas; and the path and result of mantra, which are the common four enlightened actions and eight great attainments; and the sublime ornamental wheel of inexhaust­ ible enlightened body, speech, and mind. [ 1 60] Also, these are complete in the form of the characteristic of the mind as a variety, its nature as emptiness, and its essence as unity. In that way, since sarp_s3.ra and ninr3..Q-a are complete in the cause, the experiences of sarp_sara and ninr3..Q-a also occur on the path, and precisely that causes sarp_s3.ra and nirv3..Q-a to be a single taste at the result. One might ask, "In that case, is establishing it in that way the path or the view?" This is known as "the view that is realized, the totally pure universal ground." If these are distinguished, there are the three views that are realized at the time of the cause, the path, and the result. In sequence, these are the naturally pure universal ground, the pure great enlightenment of the universal ground, and the utterly pure svabhavikakaya. For the first, even when water, the sky, and gold have sediment, clouds, and tarnish, they are naturallypure. Likewise, even with temporary stains, this is naturally pure. Distinguishing the Middle and the Extremes says: We maintain that it is pure, like the element water, gold, and the sky are pure.46 The second is the reason it becomes great enlightenment, because if it comes in contact with the stimulus, it transforms into great enlighten­ ment. The third is the result, buddhahood. II. The meaning ofthe words It is "the universal ground" because it is the ground ofboth sal)lsara and nirva!fa, according to whether or not the methods are applied. Therefore, it is called "causal" because it has the potency to give birth to the results of both sarp_sara and nirv3..Q-a. It is a continuum because the nature of mind, pure awareness, remains uninterrupted from when one is a sentient being

78

Treasury ofEsoteric Instructions

until one is a vajra holder. Because all the phenomena of the path and result of sarp_sira and nirv:il)_a are complete in the form of the character­ istic, the qualities, and the potency, it is said that "saJ!1s