78 A Lam p to Illum inate the Five Stages even look at the mandala They should not be shown the mudras or taught secret mantra.”135 This teaches that those not completely trained in bodhicitta are not suitable for initiation Fifty Verses on the Guru also says: The disciple with a pure mind, goes for refuge to the Three Jewels; and the way of following the guru should be given as a recitation Then, by giving mantras and so forth, the disciple becomes a vessel for the supreme Dharma.136 [36] One “with a pure mind” refers to a mind trained in bodhicitta The disciples who have the uncommon refuge are given the method of devoting them selves to the mantra guru through thought and application by way of the Fijiy Verses and are then made into suitable vessels through initiation The Compendium o f Practice also states: The stages are as follows: First, train in the thinking of the Vehi cle of the Buddha When you have trained in the thinking of the Buddha Vehicle, then train in single-thought137 samadhi in the new vehicle.138 Having established that entrance into the path of Guhyasamaja is through stages of training and not immediate, this passage explains the way to train: “First, train in the thinking of the buddha,” refers to training in bodhicitta, which is the thinking of the Mahayana The complete method for training in the aspiration and engaged bodhi citta can be found in the oral teachings passed on from the master Atiia In these teachings, you initially devote yourself properly in thought and deed to a fully qualified Mahayana spiritual friend These teachings also talk about the great significance of the opportunity we now possess and how difficult it is to find Training the mind in this way, a great desire to extract the essence of this opportunity is born, and the best way to take this essence is by actually entering the Mahayana The way to enter the Mahayana is through bodhi citta, and if bodhicitta is truly in the mind, such a person is a natural and uncontrived Mahayanist If it is mere words, that person is a Mahayanist in Training in the Guhyasamaja 79 words only Therefore the wise should gradually eliminate the obstacles to the development of this mind and develop an authentic and complete bodhicitta In connection to this, if at first you not turn the mind away from this life, such an attitude will become a hindrance on the paths of both the Great and Lower vehicles Therefore remember death by thinking how you not stay long in this life, how you will wander among the lower realms after death, and turn your mind from this life Then think on the faults of samsara in its entirety, invalidate the mind that longs for the glories of future lives, and turn the mind toward liberation After that, in order to turn away from the mind that thinks only of your own peace and happiness, train for a long time in the development of bodhicitta with love and compassion as its foundation until you develop a natural and uncontrived bodhicitta Then, learn about the practices of the bodhisattva and develop the desire to practice them W hen you have the ability to take on the responsibility of the practices of the children of the Conqueror, take the vows of bodhicitta and practice its commitments When you have the ability to take on the responsibility of the pledges and vows of the Vajra Vehicle, listen to the Fifty Verses o f Guru Devo tion, devote yourself to a guru through pure methods, and enter the practice of mantra It is with this developmental process in mind that the great Guhyasamaja Arya tradition follower Rahula^rimitra says: [37] The procedure is as follows: At a time auspicious by date and constellation, the disciple bows with hands placed together, confesses all wrong deeds, holds the three refuges, devotes himself to the bodhi mind, takes the lay practitioner vows, the bodhicitta vows, and purification vows A similar procedure is followed for devoting oneself to the vajra master, but as it is taught in many texts, I will not write of it here W ith this accomplished, he requests the guru, “Grant me the initiation.”139 Therefore, before the initiation you take the vows of liberation, generate bodhicitta and take those vows, and then make requests to the guru for ini tiation This passage is written for lay practitioners, and their purification is 8o A Lamp to Illuminate the Five Stages through the day-long vows The monastic who enters mantra, however, must maintain the purity of the vows of novice ordination and so on This point is made in the Vajra Peak Tantra: Abandoning killing, stealing, and sexual conduct, together with lying and intoxication, and dwelling in the householder vows, they will become masters of mantra knowledge Should they become ordained, they dwell purely in the three vows, those of liberation, those o f bodhicitta, and those of the bearers of mantra knowledge, which are supreme.140 If you not train well in the stages of the paths common to both vehicles as explained above, you will not cut the attachment to this life, and no firm desire to practice Dharma will arise Sincere faith will not develop, and con sequently you will not give yourself completely to the objects of refuge You will not find a true conviction in cause and effect, and any guarding and pro tecting of whatever vows you may have becomes coarse and superficial There will be no genuine turning away from the attachment to samsara, and “striv ing for freedom” simply becomes an academic understanding An uncon trived bodhicitta built on love and compassion will not grow, and you will be a Mahayanist in name only There will be no strong desire to practice the activities of the bodhisattvas in general, and consequently there will be no genuine generation of the bodhisattva vows There will be no pure under standing of mental quiescence and special insight in general, and therefore you will become prone to error on even the smallest samadhi and will not find any right conviction concerning the view of no-self Therefore, if you wish not to go this way, you should train in the path common to both Mahayana vehicles The master Atisa has asserted that this path is represented by the teach ings of three streams combined, which flow from Maitreya to Asanga, from Manjusri to Nagarjuna, and from Manjusri to £antideva, and that they have to be practiced regardless of whether you enter the Perfection or the Vajra Vehicle Do Tibetan gurus of Guhyasamaja assert the same? The master Go also says that having the view of emptiness and being trained in bodhicitta, [38] with love and compassion as its foundation, as the prerequisite to the Training in the Guhyasamaja 81 generation and completion stages is the meaning of the previous citation from the Compendium o f Practice The Four-Point Teachings141 from the five stages of the Marpa tradition also says that you must practice by going for refuge to the Three Jewels as the basis for practicing the path, having belief in the ripening of cause and effect, being practiced in the ten virtues, taking the vows of liberation with the common refuge as a preliminary, possessing the aspiring and engaged bodhicitta with the uncommon refuge as a preliminary, and by being a yogi with the complete initiation That which shows in great detail how the mind is to be guided in this way is given the name gradedpath Therefore, among the earlier masters who practiced the Guhyasamaja, none did not follow this tradition To gain a good understanding of the entirety of the path and then to practice it is to completely possess the foundation for traveling the path to its completion and is therefore irreplaceable The way to train in the shared path has been extensively explained elsewhere ... for ini tiation This passage is written for lay practitioners, and their purification is 8o A Lamp to Illuminate the Five Stages through the day-long vows The monastic who enters mantra, however,... foundation, as the prerequisite to the Training in the Guhyasamaja 81 generation and completion stages is the meaning of the previous citation from the Compendium o f Practice The Four-Point Teachings1 41... maintain the purity of the vows of novice ordination and so on This point is made in the Vajra Peak Tantra: Abandoning killing, stealing, and sexual conduct, together with lying and intoxication,