N otes 859 to be understood as th e characteristic that is th e isolate o f th e single instant o f th e maturation o f profound prajňá because the result o f freedom (the qualities o f the dharmakáya) is already matured primordially Thus, it refers to the isolate o f the accumulation o f profound prajňá (3) T h e nature o f th e wisdom o f th e instantaneous training in terms o f th e lack o f characteristics is the ultimate clear realization o f having familiarized with equality as being free from refer ence points Through having perfected the training in nonabiding (not clinging to objects as the cause o f the ultimate fruition that is the dharmakáya o f equality), the wisdom o f all objects lacking characteristics (the ultimate cause o f the dharmakáya o f equality) sees that all naturally pure phenom ena (engaging in generosity and such) are equality, just like the appearance o f objects in a dream Through abiding in that samádhi, one realizes the lack o f characteristics o f all phenom ena o f samsára and nirvána (what is to be rejected and to be adopted) as being equality {MPZL mistakenly has “nonduality” instead o f “lack o f characteristics” in both its ren dering o f AA VII.4c and this comment} Thus, the w isdom o f becom ing fully awakened in a single instant is to be understood as the characteristic that is the isolate o f the single instant o f the lack o f characteristics—equality (the object) b ecause even the m ost subtle obscurations o f clinging to knowable objects as anything to be adopted or to be rejected have been relinquished Thus, it refers to the isolate o f realizing the object—the lack o f characteristics—as equality (4) The nature o f the w isdom o f the instantaneous training in terms o f nonduality is the clear realization that consists o f the ultimate training in the cognizing subject being without dualistic appearance Through having perfected the training in nontraining (not clinging to the subject), the wisdom without any dualistic appearance (the ultimate cause o f the ultimate fruition that is nondual wisdom) sees all phenomena, which appear as if they were apprehender and appre hended, to be the true reality o f nonduality, just as the appearances in a dream and the subject that sees them are nothing but isolates, but not ultimately seen in the dualistic fashion o f appre hender and apprehended Thus, the w isdom o f becoming fully awakened in a single instant is to be understood as the characteristic that is the isolate o f the single instant o f nonduality (the subject) because even the most subtle obscurations in terms o f the dualistic appearances o f apprehender and apprehended have been relinquished Thus, it refers to the isolate o f realizing the cognizing subject as nonduality without dualistic appearances Som e say, “It follows then that there is the simultaneous seeing o f the two realities even on the paths o f learning because the instantaneous training belongs to the paths o f learning.” However, they seem to not even understand as much as the manner in which the páramitás that possess the four dharmas (see Mahàyânasütrâlamkàra XVI.8 -1 ) exist on the paths o f learning 1035 PGBG (pp 38 -8 ) says that the svábhávikakáya possesses three features— having attained the twenty-one sets o f wisdom (the uncontaminated dharmas) through the power o f the supramundane path, being pure in every respect o f all adventitious stains to be relinquished (the ultimate reality o f cessation), and the characteristic o f these qualities o f realization and relin qu ish m en t being void by n atu re/of a nature MCG (fol 158a.3 - ) says that the svábhávikakáya is the nature o f phenom ena or the dharmadhàtu that has the characteristic o f being endowed with the two purities—the single uncontam inated nature o f phenomena to be explained being pure in every respect and the w isdom s that make it up, in terms o f their nature, being naturally pure According to MPZL (pp 184-85), the svábhávikakáya possesses the three distinctive fea tures o f (1) realization—the w isd om dharmakáya (the result o f freedom that consists o f the twenty-one sets o f uncontam inated qualities o f the dharmakáya that are attained through the power o f the supramundane path eliminating the adventitious stains), (2) relinquishm ent— the purity o f being free from adventitious stains in every respect through having relinquished the two obscurations, including their latent tendencies, and (3) nature—natural purity (these phenom ena o f realization and relinquishment having the characteristic o f the naturally pure basic nature) W hen the nature o f ultimate realization and relinquishment is taken to consist o f the three kàyas, one speaks o f just the dharmakáya If the latter is divided in term s o f isolates, 860 Groundless Paths the ultimate relinquishment—the factor o f being endowed with twofold purity—is called “the svábhávikakáya,” while the ultimate realization—uncontam inated w isd o m —is referred to as “the wisdom dharmakáya.” However, the assertion that the dharmakáya is one am ong the three káyas that constitute three o f the four dharmas which define the topic o f the dharmakáya (the eighth chapter o f the AA) corresponds to how Áryavimuktisena com m ents on the intention o f the AA The assertion that there are four káyas and that it is these four that constitute the four defining dharmas o f the topic o f the dharmakáya appears to be an explanation o f what is taught implicitly in the AA In particular, the assertion o f the uncontaminated qualities o f the dharmakáya being the result o f freedom is to be understood according to what is taught explic itly in the Uttaratantra The presentation o f the dharmakáya s not being produced by causes and conditions (the m eaning taught in the sütras and the great treatises, which for the time being relies on com m on and u n com m on valid cognitions) by virtue o f the difference betw een the actual way o f being and the way o f appearing represents the points that are even more profound than the profound presentation o f the knowledge o f all aspects It appears to be som ething to be realized henceforth, but it is not the sphere o f people like us Therefore, I think, it is som ething in which one needs to have confidence 1036 The Tibetan has “lack o f afflictions” (nyon mongs med) 1037 The Tibetan has “nothing to guard” (bsrung ba med pa) 1038 As m entioned in PSD, this refers to the Sanskrit ca (Tibetan dang) at the end o f this line, which is sim ply a verse filler “The two k now ledges” refers to the knowledges o f entities and the path 1039 PBG presents the twenty-one sets as lines o f verse 1040 PBG mistakenly has bzhi (“four”) instead o f gzhi 1041 MCG (fol 160b 1-2 ) explains that, though the factors concordant with enlightenm ent and so on o f learners and buddhas are the same in name, those o f buddhas are unique compared to learners because they point out, by way o f isolates, the seeing o f nondual w isdom in which all reference points o f minds and mental factors have subsided According to MPZL (p 185), the buddha qualities that are the result o f freedom are immeasurable, but when summarized, they consist o f said twenty-one sets 1042 The Tibetan o f VIII.7ab {nyan thos nyon mongs med p a i Ita/ mi yi nyon mongs yongs spong nyid) says: The view o f the dispassion o f árávakas Means relinquishing the afflictions o f people 1043 PGBG (p 388) says that the samádhi o f dispassion o f buddhas w ho are victorious over the four máras is superior to the samádhi o f dispassion o f árávakas and so on For the latter, through said samádhi, first look into whether they will or will not serve as focal objects for the arising o f the afflictions o f other people and thus just avoid the afflictions o f these people that could possibly arise, while the samádhi o f buddhas extinguishes the stream o f all afflictions without exception o f anybody in villages and so on in w hom afflictions may arise MCG (fol 160b.3-5) explains that, when árávakas and so on see that afflictions arise in certain people in villages and so on upon these beings focusing on them, they avoid these afflictions through not going there On the other hand, buddhas deliberately go to villages and so on in order to extin guish the stream o f the afflictions o f the persons who live there 1044 MCG (fol 160b.6) explains “free from attachment” as being free from the afflictive obscu rations or the latent tendencies o f clinging to characteristics A ccording to MPZL (p 187), the Buddha’s knowledge through aspiration is effortless (the distinctive feature o f its nature), free N otes 861 from attachment due to not clinging to any entities (the distinctive feature o f relinquishment), unobstructed due to having relinquished the tw o obscurations, including their latent tendencies, remains forever in m editative equipoise for as long as samsára lasts (the distinctive feature o f time), and solves all questions sim ultaneously (the distinctive feature o f activity) 1045 The Tibetan has “appear” ( snang ba) 1046 PGBG (p 388) glosses “the cause o f maturation” as the two accum ulations in the mind streams o f those to be guided, while MPZL (p 187) takes it as former aspiration prayers and accumulations MCG (fol 161a.2-3) presents this verse as the answer to thinking, “If buddhas lack being near or far, this contradicts their appearing to som e to be guided, while not appearing to others.” 1047 The Tibetan has “the king o f the god s” ( lhai rgyalpo) 1048 According to MPZL (p 188), there is the following dispute about VIII.9: “If buddhas have such effortless and spontaneous power to guide those to be guided, it follows that they guide all sentient beings to be guided simultaneously.” VIII 10 represents the rebuttal o f this, saying, “There is no entailm ent.” 1049 MCG (fol 161 b 1—3) presents the objection, “Since the dharmakáya dw ells solely in Akanistha, it is not permanent and all-pervading.” It is all-pervading because it appears to those to be guided in all directions and times in an effortless m anner as all kinds o f bodies and speech and because its activity for sentient beings is so vast that it pervades all o f space It is permanent because it is inexhaustible until the end o f time 1050 PGBG (p 389), MCG (fol 161b.4-6), and MPZL (p 189) agree that the sámbhogikakáya is the ultimate rüpakáya that is endowed with the five certainties 1051 The words in bold that are not included in VIII 13—17 are from V III.19-20 1052 T h e Tibetan is very clear on this line, while the Sanskrit dhvántapradhvastálokasuddhatá is very ambiguous and can also mean what Conze has (“his pure light dispels the darkness”) However, both the Sanskrit an d the Tibetan o f this m inor mark in th e Mahavyutpatti (section 18, no 300) confirm m y translation 1053 In the Tibetan, the order o f “sm o o th ” and “slender” is reversed 1054 The Tibetan has bkra shis (“auspicious”) for swastika In another Tibetan version o f this verse, there is an additional line after the third one, which explicitly adds “and are ornam ented with swastikas” (g.yung drung *khyil bas brgyan pa ste; see PBG’s com m ents) 1055 MCG (fol 17b 1) speaks o f eighty auspicious signs, such as squares, vajras, lotuses, and conches 1056 According to MPZL (p 197), this verse describes the nairmánikakáyas five distinctive features o f (1) the rüpakáya (emanations such as the nairmánikakáya o f a supreme buddha), (2) time (appearing until samsára is emptied), (3) object (all kinds o f beings in th e ten directions), (4) fruition (all kinds o f benefits in terms o f higher realms and liberation), and (5) activity (guid ing beings equally through effortless, spontaneously present, and unbiased enlightened activity) 1057 PGBG (p 393) says that the enlightened activity o f the dharmakáya is perpetual until the end o f samsára because its dominant condition—the dharmakáya—is equally perpetual MCG (fol 168a.6) explains that the enlightened activity o f the w isdom dharmakáya is as perpetual as the prom otion o f the welfare o f beings through the two rüpakáyas, which arise from the bless ing o f the dharmakáya According to MPZL (p 197), enlightened activity is a subpoint o f the nairmánikakáya, with lines VIII.34ab representing the brief introduction to its nature However, in its com m ents, MPZL also glosses it as “the enlightened activity o f the dharmakáya.” 862 Groundless Paths 1058 In the following, the numbers in ( ) indicate the twenty-seven points o f enlightened activity 1059 MCG (fol 168b.2-3) agrees with this line indicating the establishment in the support o f the path, but adds that it refers to the path o f accumulation Both MCG and MPZL (p 197) say that this means to establish beings (MPZL: those in the lower realms) in the psychophysical sup ports o f gods and humans in the higher realms in order to pacify their suffering 1060 MCG (fol 168b.3-5) speaks o f (2) as establishing in the training (glossing “the four means o f attraction” as “the causes for maturing oneself and others”) and o f (3) as establish ing in the view (realizing the four realities, with “afflicted and purified p h en om en a” being “the realities o f suffering and its origin” and “the realities o f cessation and the path,” respectively) (4) means to establish in the motivation (generating the bodhicitta o f prom oting the welfare o f sentient beings by focusing on said welfare); (5), in the application o f that motivation (practic ing the six páramitás); and (6), in the ethics o f vo w s (taking up the ten virtues as the path to buddhahood) According to MPZL (p 198), ( )-(6 ) respectively are the com panion on the path, the nature o f the path, and the distinctive features o f m otivation (generating the m indset for accomplishing the welfare o f beings, such as the immeasurables), application, and foundation 1061 Note that this is the second to last o f the twenty-seven points o f enlightened activity in the order o f the AA Different from LSSP, PSD, and PBG, PGBG, MCG, and MPZL follow this order 1062 PGBG (pp 3-94 ) says that, on the second and third bhiimis, one is established in (9) the prajňá about phenom ena being labeled as symbols and, on the fourth, fifth, and sixth bhiimis, in (10) the prajňá o f nonobservation (23) refers to mistakenness being relinquished in the manner o f its nonsubstantiality According to MCG (fol 16 9a.l-169b.4), on the second and third bhiimis, one is established in (9) the ethics and patience that are en d ow ed with the w isd om o f realization o f mere symbols; on the fourth, fifth, and sixth bhiimis, in (10) not observing any phenomena through clinging to their real existence; on the seventh bhiimi, in (11) maturing living beings through being skilled in means; on the eighth bhumi, in (12) knowing the three paths (illustrated by the bodhisattva path with its vast merit), (13) putting an end to all clinging by virtue o f the maturation o f nonconceptual wisdom , (14) attaining enlightenm ent through this in an effortless manner, and (15) gaining mastery over pure buddha realms; and, on the ninth bhumi, in (16) the definitiveness o f being separated from enlightenment by only a single birth and (17) accomplishing the immeasurable welfare o f sentient beings through teaching the dharma by virtue o f having attained the four discriminating awarenesses Through receiving the excellent em powerm ent on the tenth bhumi, one is established in (18) attaining im measur able qualities (such as traveling to all buddha realms, attending buddhas, venerating them, and listening to their dharma), (19) attaining the immeasurable further increase o f the realizations o f the branches o f enlightenment, (20) the actions o f the two accumulations not being lost, but accom plished as buddhahood, (21) directly and com pletely seeing the vastness o f the four realities, (22) completely relinquishing the fourfold mistakenness, (23) lacking the clinging to characteristics (the substance o f said mistakenness), (24) perfecting the supreme purification o f the stains through realizing all phenom ena as equality, (25) com pleting all accumulations w ith out exception, and (26) the ultimate wisdom o f the paths o f learning—the equality o f samsáric existence and peace (not understanding or observing conditioned samsára and unconditioned nirvána as being different) According to MPZL (pp 198-200), on the seven impure bhumis, one is established in (9) realizing that the nature o f all ph en om en a consists o f the im putations o f mere symbols (by virtue o f the páramitás o f ethics and so on being predominant on the second to fifth bhiimis), (10) the nature o f realizing that all phenom ena are unobservable (by virtue o f the páramitá o f prajňá being predominant on the sixth bhumi), and (11) maturing sentient beings (by virtue o f the páramitá o f means being predominant on the seventh bhumi) On the Notes 863 eighth bhümi, by virtue o f the páramitá o f power bein g predominant and through having per fected the relinquishments and realizations o f šrávakas and pratyekabuddhas as the co m m on distinctive features o f this bhümi, one is established in (12) the bodhisattva path (the u n co m m on maháyána as the distinctive feature o f remedial realization) and (13) putting an end to the cognitive obscurations o f clinging to all p henom ena (the distinctive feature o f relinquishing the factors to be relinquished) On the ninth bhümi, by virtue o f the páramitá o f aspiration prayers being predominant, one is established in (14) the m anner o f the supreme aspiration prayer— attaining perfect enlightenment As for the tenth bhümi, by virtue o f the páramitá o f w isdom being predominant, one is established on (a) this bhümi in general and (b) on e’s last existence in particular, (a) consists o f being established in the distinctive features o f (a) the ultimate purifica tion, com pletion, and maturation o f the paths o f learning, (b) mastery over the qualities o f this bhümi, and (c) the factors to be relinquished and their remedies (the nature o f the path, that is, the p h en om en a o f the path and the fruition o f this bhümi) (aa) consists o f being established in (15) all kinds o f pure buddha realms (the distinctive feature o f the ultimate pure realms o f the paths o f learning), (16) the definitiveness o f being separated from enlightenm ent by on ly a single birth (the distinctive feature o f the ultimate com pletion o f the accumulations), and (17) accom plishing the immeasurable welfare o f the beings in all realms o f the ten directions (the distinctive feature o f the maturation o f sentient beings), (ab) consists o f being established in (18) mastering the immeasurable qualities o f sim ultaneously traveling to all worldly realms in a single m om en t o f m ind through miraculous em anations and attending the buddhas there, (ac) consists o f being established in (19) fully perfecting the causes o f perfect enlightenm ent—the branches o f enlightenm ent (the distinctive feature o f the nature o f the path), (20) the nature o f not being lost due to the actions that have the nature o f the two accumulations (the causes) being connected to the result—perfect enlightenm ent (the distinctive feature o f the function o f the path), (21) the w isdom o f perfectly seeing the reality o f the ultimate basic nature o f p he nomena, just as it is (the distinctive feature o f the remedy), and (22) the nature o f relinquishing all mistakennesses (the distinctive feature o f relinquishment), (b) consists o f being established in the distinctive features o f (a) the temporary realization and relinquishment o f the path and (b) accom plishing the direct causes o f the ultimate realization and relinquishment o f the frui tion (ba) consists o f (23) the manner o f the w isdom o f realizing the nonsubstantiality o f the characteristics o f said m istakennesses and (24) the m anner o f the purification o f all factors to be relinquished, (bb) consists o f (25) the ultimate equipment o f the remedies, which perfects the svábhávikakáya (the relinquishm ent o f the two obscurations, including their latent tendencies) and (26) the ultim ate realization o f appearance and emptiness being inseparable, which perfects the wisdom dharmakáya (the realization o f the equality o f samsáric existence and peace) 1063 According to PGBG (pp 94-9 5), these six consist o f (1) the three knowledges in terms o f the characteristics that define them, (2) the com plete training in all aspects in terms o f the training in these three knowledges, (3) the culm inating training in terms o f being the highest degree o f the com plete training in all aspects, (4) the serial training in terms o f familiarizing with the three know ledges in due order, (5) the instantaneous training in terms o f the final cultivation o f these trainings—the direct cause o f the knowledge o f all aspects, and (6) the dharmakáya in terms o f the fruition—the maturation o f these four trainings According to MPZL (p 201), they are (1) the three knowledges as the clear realizations whose characteristic is the nature o f realizing entities, the path, and aspects as being without arising, (2) the com plete training in all aspects as the clear realization that consists o f the phase o f com pletely cultivating the training in the aspects o f the three knowledges, (3) the culm inating training as the clear realization that consists o f the phases o f the highest degrees o f being familiar with the aspects o f the three k now ledges during the respective stages, (4) the serial training as the clear realization that sists o f the phase o f familiarizing with the aspects o f the three k now ledges individually and in a com b ined w ay in a definite progression, (5) the instantaneous training as the clear realization ... through said samádhi, first look into whether they will or will not serve as focal objects for the arising o f the afflictions o f other people and thus just avoid the afflictions o f these people... ent (the distinctive feature o f the nature o f the path), (2 0) the nature o f not being lost due to the actions that have the nature o f the two accumulations (the causes) being connected to the. .. árávakas and so on see that afflictions arise in certain people in villages and so on upon these beings focusing on them, they avoid these afflictions through not going there On the other hand,