Highest Yoga Tantra Activities 533 this basis, earlier masters have asserted that in the rituals of the above activi ties the main participant makes no more than six changes In the section on six encouragements as they are “actually taught,” there is no “extensive aralij but concerning its general meaning as expressed in Illu sory Samvara Tantra, drali is translated as “play” or “sport.” This also refers to the gestures and their responses as taught in the Compendium o f Practice This work also says that some practitioners train in the activities taught in the Compendium o f Reality and other tantras that teach the yogas of hand gestures, singing, posing, performance, dance, and so on Others follow the activities taught in the Supreme Original Tantra and other tantras that teach sitting positions, the nine expressions of dance,992and so on These are described in the Compendium o f Practice as being elaborated activities.993 Therefore, generally, the above activities should always be performed However, unelaborated activities are performed when, out of necessity, such activities are put aside for the time being Even the special dwelling places with seats, assistants for the rituals, ritual masks, costumes, food and drink, and so on that are used in the unelaborated activities are put aside for the practitioner of the completely unelaborated activities, for whom there is very little elaboration of activities The three examples of burning substances teach that each o f the three activities will produce the desired results and so there is no need to prac tice all three Earlier masters say that just as there are degrees of difficulty in burning these three substances, so there are degrees of difficulty in gaining the results of the three activities As for the division into great, intermediate, and lesser, some say this refers to the amount of material things to be used and to the degree o f wisdom Others say it refers to the amount of attachment This division into great, intermediate, and lesser is actually made on the basis of the amount of mate rial things to be used, your age, and to the level of joy taken in elaboration As for having no material provisions, that cannot happen once the illusory body has been attained Therefore such a presentation is made on the basis of activities performed before that attainment The Compendium o f Practice explains that the first of the activities is taught in the Illusory Samvara Tantra, while the Guhyasamaja only teaches the second two.994The gestures and so on taught in the yoga-class tantras are used in the activities of highest yoga tantra [346] Therefore, if examined, it can be seen that they are spoken of here as being those of the first activity and not on the basis of belonging to those tantras The activities described 534 A Lamp to Illum inate the Five Stages previously and performed to a great degree of elaboration are not found in the Guhyasamäja, and with this in mind the Compendium o f Practice says that only the last two activities are taught in the Guhyasamäja The statement from Candraklrti s Illuminating Lamp that the text of Guhyasamäja teaches the first activity is from the point of view that with elaboration you engage in desires exacdy as you wish and is speaking only of the meditative state of mind of the generation-stage practitioner engaged in elaborated activities Therefore these two are not contradictory The Compendium o f Practice says that when material requirements are not complete and it is not possible to perform the elaborated activities described in the Illusory Samvara Tantra and not possible to perform activities con stantly, you perform the last two activities As that tantra says: Every day or every month, or even every year, in the way you have been blessed, perform the Buddha Samvara dance.995 The last two periods indicate the last two activities The Chak translation has “However they are to be accomplished.” This means, whatever way they can be accomplished with material possessions, that is the way they should be performed This too is based on the last two activities The last two activi ties as taught here and the two activities taught in the Guhyasamäja are not to be taken as the same Masters of the past established the three activities in terms of the mind of the practitioner This is of two types: the type of mind engaging in the objects of desire and the type of mind determined by the basis of training In the first you enter the practice with the thought of engaging with objects of attach ment according to your desires This is done in three ways: applied to the senses only, because of possessing a great deal of attachment; applied to both senses and samädhi; applied solely to samädhi These three are explained as being the types of mind for engaging in activities with elaboration, without elaboration, and completely without elaboration, respectively The seventh chapter of the Root Tantra says: Relying upon every acquisition of desire in exacdy the way you wish is a yoga that will quickly bring buddhahood Highest Yoga Tantra Activities $3$ Every acquisition of desire, rely upon it as you desire; through the yoga of your deity, make offerings to self and others.996 Also: Do not recite eating alms Take no pleasure in begging Making use of every object of desire, recite without decline the branches of mantra.997 Illuminating Lamp explains the meaning of the first verse by saying that the yogi, in keeping with his abilities, engages in elaborated activities by relying on objects of desire The second verse is on the basis of unelaborated activi ties and says that in keeping with your desires, you experience bliss through the five objects of desire, and with these desires you offer to and satisfy self and others with the samadhi on your deity.998 [347] Concerning the meaning of the third verse, “eating alms” is just an illustration, and so you not recite when searching and so forth, which are activities like seeking alms.999 You should not be attached to seeking alms, but also you should not be attached to food and be “content with the state of the body as it is and perform com pletely unelaborated activities.” This is the gloss of Illuminating Lamp The above gloss “in keeping with his abilities” applies to the three types of mind engaged in objects of desire Here, engaging in objects of desire with the focus primarily on the non dual union with the exalted wisdom of great bliss is the same for all three activities This can be understood from the Root Tantra: W ith desire for the attachment-led exalted wisdom, rely constantly upon the qualities of desire.1000 Therefore these are not activities solely of the senses Engaging in these objects of desire means creating bodhicitta where it did not exist before and stabilizing and increasing bodhicitta already existing If that is so, then engaging in such practices exactly as you desire and without constraint, in accordance with faculties and desires, must be the same for all three activities Thus, the first two lines of the first two verses speaking of 53 A Lamp to Illum inate the Five Stages “desire” and the third-verse line “Making use of every object o f desire” are similar However, the commentary explains that they teach the three activi ties in order to point out that this is not repetition The line “take no pleasure in begging” is said in order to remove the hin drance to meditating on the path that comes from excessive craving for food and being distracted by the activities of seeking it out It is not said to stop the continuous reliance upon objects of desire by having understood their nature Therefore “the state of the body as it is” refers to a physical state that does not hinder the expansion of the element It is not just referring to sus taining life It can be understood from chapter 16 in the section dealing with the food of the elaborated activities that the above is not a feature o f the third activity That it is not referring only to sustaining life can also be understood generally from analyzing the reason for the injunction to rely continually on the objects of desire The second division is the type of mind determined by the basis of the training Early masters have said that the five senses engage the five objects of desire, and during the first activity, the meditative state of mind is focused on training in the deity In the second, they focus on the mind alone, and in the third, they focus on emptiness Illum inating Lamp on the seventh chap ter explains that engaging in objects of desire is divided into general, hidden, and ultimate activities, and this is linked to the three activities.1001 Also, in terms of the paths, the three activities are practiced, in order, from the single thought stage up to beginner s accomplishment, from body isolation up to illusory body, [348] and during clear light and the stage of union Illuminating Lamp explains that in the practice of elaborated activ ities, the meditative mind that engages in the objects of desire is focused on these objects as being deities The five objects from visible form to tac tile objects are meditated on as being Vairocana up to Aksobhya, and offer ings are made to your own buddha family Every superior, middling, and inferior division of each of the five objects is to be meditated on equally as being deities, but the offerings are made using the five superior types Alter natively, the five objects are meditated on as Locana and so on or as the five Vajras All are regarded as being the enjoyments of Vajradhara and are enjoyed accordingly.1002 Therefore there are these three ways Desiring the exalted wisdom of attachment in this way in all activities, you rely upon the sensual qualities of desire W hat does this achieve? In response the tantra says: Highest Yoga Tantra Activities 537 Please the bodhisattvas; delight the bodhi sun.1003 Illuminating Lamp explains that “bodhisattvas” means the sense organs of the eyes and so forth and that these are “pleased.” Such activities satisfy the “bodhi,” or elements, and the “sun,” or five aggregates.1004 Therefore this is done in order to enhance your sense organs, elements, and aggregates Offering to the deity of your own buddha family is primarily illustrated by Vairocana and so forth, but the practice is not exclusive to these deities The instruction to only use the superior types for offerings is given on the basis that during meditation you meditate on every object as being a deity, whereas during actual engagement, relying upon an attractive object will enhance the senses and their supporting bases1U0Sin a way that other objects will not If you meditate on the five objects as the four goddesses, Locana and so forth, you hold Mamakl as belonging to both vajra and jewel family Like this, three ways are explained, but as the most important quality of desire is that of wis dom, the latter two ways are the main meditations The way to practice this meditation is found in the seventh chapter: Apply the mind constantly to form, sound, taste, and so forth This comprises the very essence of the secrets of every buddha.1006 Illum inating Lamp also says that you “generate constantly, day and night, the creative faculty of the mind in the meditation on the objects as deities,” and that “because this is the hidden method that achieves the stage of the bud dha it comprises the very essence.”1007 So you meditate upon the five objects as deities, and then for the practices of gazing at the forms of the deities and so forth, you meditate continuously and specifically and develop a prerequi site stable experience In this way, all inner and outer sources of form are transformed to become form Rupavajra She holds a mirror in her lotus-soft hands, gazes with gentle eyes, and is draped with clusters of pearls Her breasts are large, prominent, and close together [349] Her clothing is somewhat loose, revealing the beau tiful lower part of her body Think this way, and by gazing upon her body continually think that you have generated great bliss Likewise, all sounds ... perform the Buddha Samvara dance.995 The last two periods indicate the last two activities The Chak translation has “However they are to be accomplished.” This means, whatever way they can be accomplished... A Lamp to Illum inate the Five Stages previously and performed to a great degree of elaboration are not found in the Guhyasamäja, and with this in mind the Compendium o f Practice says that only... deities, but the offerings are made using the five superior types Alter natively, the five objects are meditated on as Locana and so on or as the five Vajras All are regarded as being the enjoyments