518 A Lamp to Illum inate the Five Stages The lines “This way of thinking is the exhortation to something special” in the Patsap translation read “This process is a special superimposition and which is in agreement with Establishment o f Reality, but it refers to the con sort and the generation into a deity and so on “Food, dwelling ” should be changed to “in food, dwelling ”946The phrase “and so on” includes conduct Through the method of penetrating vital points inside and outside the body, the bodhicitta melts, which inwardly produces a special bodily sensa tion That sensation is taken as an objective condition to produce a special feeling of bliss within the bodily consciousness [335] This consciousness is taken as the immediate condition to produce a mental consciousness gener ated into the nature of extraordinary bliss At this very time, the meaning of reality, which was previously ascertained, is recalled, and in doing so emp tiness and bliss become united Therefore, when it is taught that emptiness is to be meditated on through the method of mind generated in the nature of bliss, the discerning will come to realize an essential point o f this path through this very special consciousness, even though the emptiness that is its object is no different from other paths These stages of developing a sensory consciousness and a mental conscious ness of bliss can be understood from the words of the master of reasoning: Sometimes attachment and so on may be increased by physical vigor and the like, but they are produced from pleasure and pain, which in turn are produced inwardly by the balance of the elements and so on.947 Also: These are changes brought on by a mind arisen from inner conditions.948 Therefore you should know that from the immediate condition of a mind in the nature of bliss come sensory consciousnesses in the nature of bliss also Dispelling the arguments of others The Compendium o f Practice speaks of “those with apprehending views, such as the sravakas,” and “for those who had a liking for the vast, he brought about General Presentation o f Activities $19 the understanding of the no-self of phenomena.”949 Does this not contradict the teaching that the understanding of the no-self of phenomena is also found in the Lower Vehicle? Among ¿ravakas there are those who have and who have not understood reality Sravakas with “apprehending views” are being separated out here In Commentary on Entering the Middle Way, a citation is quoted: The Arya said: W ithout understanding no-characteristics, there is no liberation, you have said Therefore, in the Great Vehicle, this you have taught completely.950 As this verse explains, no-self of phenomena is taught in both scriptural col lections but far more extensively in the Great Vehicle collection It is on this basis that bringing about the understanding of the no-self of phenomena is applied to the Great Vehicle Similarly, Commentary on Bodhicitta states: To the sravakas, those who have pledged to help have spoken of the five aggregates of form, feelings, recognition, mental formations, and consciousness To the bodhisattvas, that greatest of humans has always explained form as like froth on the water, feelings as like bubbles, recognition as like a mirage, mental formations as like the plantain tree, and consciousness as like an illusion.951 This passage is saying that whereas these examples have been used many times to teach the bodhisattvas the no-nature entities of the five aggregates, they have not been taught that many times in the Lower Vehicle scriptures It is not saying that the aggregates compared in this way have not been taught at all in the Lower Vehicle, because in the commentary to Candrakirti s Enter ing the M iddle Way, [336] a sutra taught to the sravakas is cited that compares the aggregates to these five phenomena If it were the position of Commentary on Bodhicitta that the understand ing of no-nature emptiness was not found in the Lower Vehicle, then con sider the following from the same work: 520 A Lam p to Illum inate the Five Stages Those who not understand emptiness possess no basis for liberation, and in the prison o f existence in the six realms, these confused ones will wander.952 This assertion would then be incorrect because there are those in the Lower Vehicle who are freed from the prison o f existence Likewise, when the Compendium o f Practice says that while teaching to those who had a liking for the vast, our Teacher brought about the under standing o f the eight consciousnesses and so forth,953 it is merely repeating what is taught in the sutras, because its own position is that there is no foun dation consciousness existing as a separate entity apart from the six con sciousnesses This is because according to the Guhyasamaja Arya tradition, the mind o f the death clear-light all-empty state is the death consciousness, and the mind o f close-to-attainment arising from the reverse process is birth consciousness, and neither o f these two is suitable to be the foundation con sciousness The Commentary on Bodhicitta , when speaking o f a “foundation consciousness,” is speaking o f the mental consciousness as the foundation and the root o f all dharmas from the categories o f affliction and purification This has been explained at length in my commentary to the Vajra Wisdom Compendium.954 The bliss o f relying upon a consort, for which the cause is attachment to an object o f desire, meditates upon the reality o f phenomena Does that med itation put an end to all afflictions or not? If it does not, then there is the contradiction o f the understanding o f reality “leading to the ultimate” and the problem that some afflictions would not be eradicated Understanding reality puts an end to all apprehension o f inherent existence, and so if the cause—which is the ignorance o f apprehending existence—is ended, there is no way that the results o f attachment and so forth are not negated Also, all afflictions not being eradicated is in contradiction to the attainment o f freedom If the other position is correct, and attachment is necessary as the cause o f the path that puts an end to attachment, then this is as absurd as light being the cause o f darkness It is also a contradiction for a path that com pletely eliminates the ignorance apprehending inherent existence to have attachment as a cause o f that accomplishment, because it is contradictory for the cause o f the complete elimination o f a cause to be the result o f that cause Moreover, all the other afflictions are produced by the ignorance that General Presentation o f Activities $21 apprehends inherent existence This has been extensively explained else where Furthermore, at the time of desiring to take attachment as the path, if that attachment were merely a name given to another virtuous practice, that would contradict the Compendium o f Practice, [337] which establishes, together with scriptural reference, that as far as afflictions are concerned, there is that which is and that which is not a cause for enlightenment Also, the teaching that for another person the same attachment is a cause leading to the lower realms would not be correct Also, how can a virtuous practice that is already not a cause for the lower realms and is transformed into a cause for enlightenment be a skillful means surpassing all other vehicles?955 On the other hand, if the attachment is actual attachment, you have to respond to the question of how that is made into the path For if you assert that this attachment is the antidote for this affliction, you cannot establish by way of conflicting modes of apprehension something that destroys and some thing that is destroyed Therefore isn’t the skillful means of highest yoga tan tra just something to take on faith? I will explain The second position is not accepted but the first is The way that this position is not at fault is as follows: To say that meditating on real ity with the bliss of relying upon a consort puts an end to all afflictions means that it puts an end to ignorance as the cause of all other afflictions, and if that ignorance is negated, then all afflictions are reversed They are not eliminated by meditating on a path that directly conflicts with the mode o f apprehen sion of the attachment that desires the object of desire Therefore there is no fault Also, this causal apprehending of inherent existence is not eradicated until the practice stage of union It is not contradictory for meditation on a path with a mode of apprehension that directly conflicts with apprehend ing inherent existence to operate temporarily in a single continuum along side the practice of turning attachment into the path W hen someone who is not divorced from attachment to objects of desire deliberately makes use of a special object of desire, the attachment and subsequent bliss arising from relying upon the consort are cause and effect, but they are cause and effect only at that particular time If that bliss is not preceded by the cause that is attachment, that bliss is negated, but this does not-negate the mere bliss that depends upon a consort For example the sweet taste of the amla?%fruit soaked in milk would not be there if the milk were absent, but that does not negate the mere existence of the amla It has been established previously that the ending of afflictions in this supreme vehicle makes use of the joining of the two organs as the object of 522 A Lamp to Illum inate the Five Stages desire In reply to the question on whether attachment is to be negated by meditation on the ugly that holds a conflicting mode o f apprehension, the Later Samputa Tantra says: When it is made into the nature o f attachment, it is without attachment Similarly, the Bhagavan said, “Son o f the family! Emaho! The attachment o f the Buddha is untroubled W hen attachment is destroyed by attachment, all happiness is granted.957 The text also explains that even if a stream-enterer uses desire, it is not a nat ural fault Also, just as the droppings of the aromatic elephant958 that has eaten ketakd959 flowers become musk whereas the droppings of an ordinary elephant that has eaten the same flowers are simply excrement, [338] simi larly afflictions such as attachment characterized by a pure mind will produce an exalted result Ácárya áántaraksitas Explanation o f the Establishment o f Reality clearly explains this point.960Therefore the “attachment” is not a non actual attachment that has been merely labeled as such Moreover, even when you engage in making attachment to objects o f desire the path, at the time o f the causal motivation, the mind will be captivated by bodhicitta and innate exalted wisdom, and you will engage in the practice focused on attaining these There will be no consorting with affliction, and it is the causal motivation and no other that turns body and speech into virtue or nonvirtue It is on this basis that works such as Buddhasríjđánas Entering into Self Sádhana say that when entering this practice, there is no mind o f affliction; it is not based on the contemporaneous motivation Having made this attachment the path, it will not be a path that does dam age by possessing a mode o f apprehension conflicting with the other afflic tions So what is it? That very special person will eclipse the disadvantageous aspect o f attachment that leads to the lower realms and so on Also, that attachment is transformed into something that quickly creates the qualities o f the higher paths Concerning the first o f these, the two types o f bodhicitta common to both vehicles is firm, you have become a suitable vessel by way o f the pure initiations and have guarded properly the vows and pledges, and you have become familiar with the definitive view o f no-self, and so your illusion like imagination961 is strong Self and consort are not being apprehended in terms o f agent, object, and action.962 You transform into the mahámudrá body o f the deity, and the power o f imagination in the blessings o f man tra and mudra is strong and so on It is through the power o f the above that ... reply to the question on whether attachment is to be negated by meditation on the ugly that holds a conflicting mode o f apprehension, the Later Samputa Tantra says: When it is made into the nature... surpassing all other vehicles?955 On the other hand, if the attachment is actual attachment, you have to respond to the question of how that is made into the path For if you assert that this attachment... that as far as afflictions are concerned, there is that which is and that which is not a cause for enlightenment Also, the teaching that for another person the same attachment is a cause leading