ABOUT THE BOOK
The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma represents meditation master Chögyam Trungpa’s greatest contribution to Western Buddhism. This three-volume collection presents in lively, relevant language the comprehensive teachings of the Tibetan Buddhist path of the hinayana, mahayana, and vajrayana. This work will resonate with new students of Buddhism as well as the most senior students.
The third volume, The Tantric Path of Indestructible Wakefulness, presents the vajrayana teachings of the tantric path. The vajrayana, or “diamond vehicle,” also referred to as tantra, draws upon and extends the teachings of the hinayana and mahayana. As with the hinayana and the mahayana, the formal acceptance into the vajrayana is marked by a vow, in this case the samaya vow. There is an emphasis at this stage on the student-teacher relationship and on the quality of devotion. Generally, students must complete preliminary practices, called ngöndro, to prepare themselves for initiation into the vajrayana path before going further. Having done so, they then receive the appropriate empowerments to begin tantric practices. There are empowerment ceremonies of many kinds, called abhishekas. The vajrayana includes both form practices, such as visualizations and sadhanas (ritual liturgies), and formless practices based on allowing the mind to rest naturally in its inherent clarity and emptiness. Although on the surface, there is much greater complexity in tantric practices, the principles of mindfulness and awareness and the cultivation of compassion and skillful action continue to be of central importance.
The tantric path requires complete engagement and fierce dedication. It is said to be a more rapid path, but it is also more dangerous. There is a quality of directness, abruptness, and wholeheartedness. Tantrikas, or vajrayana practitioners, recognize that the most challenging aspects of life, the energies and play of confused emotions and frightening obstacles, can be worked with as gateways to freedom and realization.
Other topics covered in detail in this volume include the four reminders, the mandala principle, mahamudra, atiyoga, and more.
CHÖGYAM TRUNGPA (1940–1987)—meditation master, teacher, and artist—founded Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado, the first Buddhist-inspired university in North America; the Shambhala Training program; and an international association of meditation centers known as Shambhala International. He is the author of numerous books including Shambhala: Sacred Path of the Warrior, Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism, and The Myth of Freedom.
JUDITH L. LIEF is an acharya, or senior teacher, in the Shambhala Buddhist lineage of Chögyam Trungpa.
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EKAJATI
AH BHYO
You wear a white cloud as raiment.
In your right hand is the red heart of the transgressor of samaya.
From your left hand you emanate in all directions
A hundred iron wolves as aides.
The single eye of dharmakaya manifests on your forehead.
Your single fang pierces the heart of Mara.
Your single breast nurtures supreme practitioners as your children.
You are naked but for a tiger skin round your waist.
When the practitioner is tormented by sloth
Be an arrow of awareness.
When the practitioner has lost the way
Be a torch of meditation.
When the practitioner is confused by doubt
Sound the great trumpet of confidence.
When the practitioner is attacked by enemies
Be the wrathful, wild protector.
Protect the teachings of Buddha.
Cause the domain of the three jewels to prosper.
Nurture the three sanghas as your children.
Those who profess the tantras to all,
Those who display arrogance as dharma,
Those who have perverted views:
By the miracles of the wrathful mamo,
Fiercely seize their hearts with venomous anguish;
Kill them and lead them to dharmadhatu.
This was written by Chökyi Gyatso, the eleventh Trungpa.
Translated by the Nalanda Translation Committee.
Ekajati (Skt.: “One single lock of hair”) is a fierce protector of the higher tantric teachings. She protects the tantric practitioner and destroys those who pervert the dharma. Above her head is Samantabhadra, the primordial buddha. On the preceding page is an excerpt from a chant to the protector Ekajati composed by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche.
THE PROFOUND TREASURY OF THE OCEAN OF DHARMA
VOLUME ONE
The Path of Individual Liberation
VOLUME TWO
The Bodhisattva Path of Wisdom and Compassion
VOLUME THREE
The Tantric Path of Indestructible Wakefulness
Published in association with Vajradhatu Publications, a division of Shambhala Media. www.shambhalamedia.org.
VOLUME THREE
The Tantric Path of Indestructible Wakefulness
CHÖGYAM TRUNGPA
COMPILED AND EDITED BY
Judith L. Lief
SHAMBHALA • BOSTON & LONDON • 2013
Shambhala Publications, Inc.
Horticultural Hall
300 Massachusetts Avenue
Boston, Massachusetts 02115
www.shambhala.com
© 2013 by Diana J. Mukpo
Cover art: Samantabhadra with Consort courtesy of Helena and David Bolduc.
Frontispiece: Photograph of Chögyam Trungpa outside Chateau Lake Louise,
Alberta, Canada, the site of the 1979, 1980, and 1981 Vajradhatu Seminaries.
See Credits for further credits and permissions.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Trungpa, Chögyam, 1939–1987.
The profound treasury of the ocean of dharma / Chögyam Trungpa; compiled and edited by Judith L. Lief.—First Edition.
pages cm
Compilation of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche’s Vajradhatu Seminary teachings in three volumes.
Includes index.
eISBN 978-0-8348-2860-5 (eBook: vol. 3)
ISBN 978-1-59030-708-3 (hardcover: alk. paper; set)
ISBN 978-1-59030-802-8 (hardcover: alk. paper; vol. 1)
ISBN 978-1-59030-803-5 (hardcover: alk. paper; vol. 2)
ISBN 978-1-59030-804-2 (hardcover: alk. paper; vol. 3)
1. Buddhism—Doctrines. I. Lief, Judith L., editor of compilation. II. Title.
BQ4165.T75 2013
294.3’4—dc23
2012022795
CONTENTS
Editor’s Introduction
Pronunciation of Sanskrit and Tibetan
PART ONE Approaching the Vajrayana
Introduction
1. The Dawning of the Great Eastern Sun
2. The Transition to Vajrayana
3. Entering the Diamond Path on a Solid Foundation
4. Uncovering Indestructible Goodness and Wakefulness
5. The Multifaceted Diamond Path
6. Seven Aspects of Vajrayana: The Space before First Thought
PART TWO The Teacher-Student Relationship
7. The Role of the Guru or Vajra
Master
8. The Root Guru as the Epitome of Freedom
9. A Total Surrendering of Samsaric Logic
10. The Power of Devotion
11. The Tülku Principle
12. The Early Trungpas
13. The Later Trungpas
PART FOUR Essential Teachings
14. Unconditional Ground
15. Transcending Mental Concepts
16. Fundamental Magic
17. The Play of Space and Form
18. The Eight States of Consciousness and the Trikaya Principle
PART FIVE Complete Commitment
19. Samaya: Making a Commitment
20. Positive Entrapment
21. The Different Types of Samaya
22. Maintaining the Samaya Vow
23. Enlightenment and Its Opposite
24. Perfecting the Samaya Vow
PART SIX The Mandala Principle
25. The Sphere of Self-Born Wisdom
26. The Mandala of the Five Buddha-Families
27. The Outer Mandala
28. The Inner Mandala
29. The Secret Mandala
PART SEVEN Preliminary Practices
30. The Four Reminders
31. The Four Preliminaries
32. Guru Yoga
PART EIGHT Empowerment
33. Transmission
34. Surrendering
35. Entering the Vajra Mandala
36. Stability, Luminosity, and Joy
37. The Four Main Abhishekas
PART NINE Vajrayana Practice
38. Visualization and Sadhana Practice
39. The Importance of a Nontheistic View
PART TEN The Tantric Journey: Lower Tantra
Kriyayoga: The Yana of Purity
40. Kriyayoga: Trust in Reality
41. Kriyayoga: Purification
42. Kriyayoga: Empowerment
43. Kriyayoga: Practice
Upayoga: The Yana of Conduct
44. Upayoga: Unadorned Perception
45. Upayoga: Empowerment
46. Upayoga: Practice
Yogayana: The Yana of Union
47. Yogayana: Complete Union
48. Yogayana: Empowerments and Practice
PART ELEVEN The Tantric Journey: Mahamudra
Anuttarayoga: Highest Yoga
49. The Great Symbol
50. Devotion: The Essential Prerequisite for Mahamudra
51. Taking a Fresh Look at the Phenomenal World
52. Uniting with Open Space
53. The Challenge of Keeping Samaya
54. The Divisions of Anuttarayoga
55. Manifesting Mahamudra
56. Ground Mahamudra: Understanding Things as They Are
57. Path Mahamudra: The Experience of Meditation
58. Fruition Mahamudra: Realizing One’s Mind as Buddha
PART TWELVE The Tantric Journey: Higher Tantra
Mahayoga: The Yana of Great Union
59. Mahayoga: The Dawning of the Wisdom of Self-Existence
60. Mahayoga: Meditation and the Mandala Principle
61. Mahayoga: The Eight Logos
62. Mahayoga: Nondual Practice
Anuyoga: The Yana of Passion
63. Anuyoga: Joining Space and Wisdom
64. Anuyoga: Empowerment
65. Anuyoga: Practice
66. Anuyoga: No Boundaries
Atiyoga: The Great Completion
67. Atiyoga: Continuous Awake
68. Atiyoga: Primordial Enlightenment
69. Atiyoga: Fathomless Mind
70. Atiyoga: Mind, Space, and Instruction
71. Atiyoga: Meditation Practices
72. Atiyoga: Heightened Experience
73. Atiyoga: Everything and Nothing
Appendix 1: Kamalashila and the Great Debate
Appendix 2: The Song of Lodrö Thaye
Appendix 3: The Charnel Ground
Appendix 4: Notecards
Appendix 5: Outline of Teachings
Glossary
Sources
Resources
About the Author
Credits
Index
E-mail Sign-Up
EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION
THE THIRD volume of The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma is a compilation of teachings on the view and practice of vajrayana. These teachings were primarily drawn from talks presented by the Vidyadhara Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche at his Vajradhatu Seminary programs from 1973 to 1986.1 However, in compiling these volumes, I realized that Trungpa Rinpoche assumed that students had a certain amount of background knowledge, which he did not repeat in the seminary teachings themselves, so I occasionally included material from additional sources to compensate for what might be missing
In terms of the three progressive stages (Skt.: yanas) of the Tibetan Buddhist path—hinayana, mahayana, and vajrayana—the vajrayana teachings, or tantra, are considered to be supreme. In his lifetime, the Vidyadhara closely guarded these advanced teachings, sharing them only with students who already had a good foundation, both in terms of their intellectual understanding of Buddhist teachings and their experience of meditation practice. At the same time, the Vidyadhara made clear to his publisher Samuel Bercholz and to his editors that in the future he wanted his seminary teachings on the three stages of the path compiled into three volumes that would be publicly available as a resource for scholars and practitioners. And now, twenty-five years after his death, this project has finally come to completion. So it is with great excitement and some trepidation that we now offer these teachings to the broader world.
The decision to publish the vajrayana seminary teachings was a weighty one, even though we knew that was the Vidyadhara’s intention. Previously, transcripts of the vajrayana seminary talks were restricted to senior students who had heard them directly, and even the transcripts of the hinayana and mahayana portions of the seminary were not generally available to anyone who had not attended at least one seminary program. In order to be accepted to attend a seminary, students were required to have completed several years of preparation, comprised of both intellectual study of the Buddhist tradition and meditation practice. And during the seminary, before being introduced to the vajrayana teachings, students needed to progress through the hinayana and mahayana practice periods and the study sessions, which took one month each. Only after students were soaked in these two yanas could they begin to study the vajrayana path. Finally, having completed their seminary training, students could then request to be formally accepted into the vajrayana by the Vidyadhara, and empowered to begin the vajrayana preliminary practices, or ngöndro.