7 The Tw o Stages Training exclusively or specifically in the Guhyasamaja path i i Becoming a suitable vessel for the two stages As a suitable vessel, keeping the vows and pledges pure The way to meditate on the path with pure vows and pledges The way to actualize the results at the end of meditation on the path1,12 Becoming a suitable vesselfor the two stages By way of the rituals of initiation, which are taught in the tantras and whose meanings have been explained by qualified teachers, the qualified master ini tiates the suitable disciple, thereby opening the way for mantra Because the cause-and-effect process of developing the path in the mind and attaining the fruits of the path has been arranged without error, after becoming a suit able vessel for entering mantra, the disciple is made into a suitable vessel for the second time by the pure initiation, this time in order to be able to listen to teachings on the path of mantra and so on These procedures have been explained extensively elsewhere As a suitable vessel, keeping the vows and pledges pure Before meditating on the path, it is essential you fully comprehend the ways to protect the vows and pledges you swore to uphold during the initiation in the presence o f the guru with all the buddhas and bodhisattvas called there as witnesses The way to this has been extensively explained in Afvaghosas Fifry Verses on the Guru, in texts on taking the vows and declaration of the vows, [39] and in explanations of the root downfalls and faults If you have gained conviction that the pure initiations and the practices surround ing the pledges are preliminaries to being guided through the two stages, 84 A Lamp to Illum inate the Five Stages then practices such as guru yoga, the hundred-syllable mantra, and mandala offerings designated as preliminary practices will be incidental practices If you have conviction only in these latter practices, it means that you have no understanding of the former, and you should make efforts to understand them The way to meditate on the path with pure vows and pledges Ascertaining the order of the two stages How to meditate on the two stages ascertained in that order Tantric activities: Methods for enhancing the two stages143 Ascertaining the order of the two stages A person who wishes for the supreme attainment is not someone who does not meditate on the generation stage and is instead someone who enters the completion stage after having first trained well on the generation stage Five Stages establishes this order: Well established in the generation stage, they desire the completion stage This method, like that of a ladder, the enlightened buddha has taught.144 To expand on this point, the Compendium o f Practice, which explains the meanings o f Five Stages, says: “Because ordinary beings like us are attached to various external phenomena, we dwell in attachment to conceptuality caused by the natural imprints concerning existence and nonexistence, one and many, dual and nondual, not existing and not nonexisting, eternal and noneternal, and so on If we are to train in the medi tations of the completion stage, should we train in accordance with the stages, or, relying solely upon the gurus instructions, will those stages appear instantaneously?” The vajra master replied, “You should practice in stages, not all at once.”145 The Two Stages &$ The question is asked: If those who are attached to objects because they have been under the power of the imprints of attachment to die four extremes since time without beginning were to practice the completion stage, would they have to practice it in stages right from the beginner s level, or is that not necessary and with just the profound instructions of the guru could they practice it all at the same time? The reply is that you can only enter by prac ticing in stages and that there is no entrance for an all-at-once practice After this passage th e Entering Laňka and Šúraňgama sutras are cited as references to establish this point Therefore, even for the best or jewel-like disciples to enter this path, if there were no time when they were beginners, it would erroneously follow that they were liberated right from the beginning without having to rely upon a path Therefore a beginning stage has to be asserted [40] On this point the Compendium o f Practice cites: For those who are beginners to enter the supreme path, this method, like that o f a ladder, the enlightened buddha has taught.146 This is the way to practice To advocate all-at-once practice by referring to certain powerful beings who in many previous lives trained on the lower paths and no longer needed to be led along those lower paths but were able to begin from the higher paths is as ridiculous as, examining whether or not the paths of accumulation and preparation must precede the development of the path of seeing, declaring that this is not necessary because once the path of seeing has been attained, they are no longer prerequisites Therefore, just as you can discard the boat when you arrive at the far bank of the river but have to rely upon it to get you there, likewise the attainments of the natural and uncontrived completion stage will mean the discarding of the generation stage, but to attain them you will need the contrived gen eration stage Thus, for the beginner, the generation stage is worthy of great praise and very important The Vajradáka Tantra says: To gain the insights of the natural yoga, you undertake the meditations of the contrived 86 A Lam p to Illum inate the Five Stages and perform the recitations o f the contrived W ith the realization o f the natural yoga, the contrived yoga will be external, so having realized the natural yoga, you not perform the contrived For example, you take a boat across the river, and when you arrive, you leave the boat The contrived is similar to this The activities o f the mandala and so forth, all undertaken with the contrived mind, are activities clarifying the external and for the beginner are worthy o f praise As all those siddhis are found there, the reality o f the conqueror is not known.147 Buddhasrijrianas Drop o f Freedom and Drop ofSpring say the same The line “Striving in the contrived will not bring freedom and is solely an exercise in suffering”148 in these texts means that striving on that path alone without meditating on the completion stage will not bring about that result It does not mean that those who seek enlightenment should not rely upon these activities, as is evidenced by the example o f the boat Therefore not make the scriptural quote about abandoning the boat on the farther shore into a reference meaning abandoning the boat at the near shore It is fitting that ascertaining the order o f the two stages should be estab lished by quotes from tantras, but what does it mean to find the same point established by quotes from the sutras? This has been done to make it known that although sutra and tantra represent slow and fast paths, respectively, as far as progressing in stages and beginning from the path o f a beginner, they are alike For a tantra reference proclaiming that the two stages are successive, the Vajra Garland Tantra states: At that time begin with the six yogas With the knowledge o f the yoga, practice to the very supreme [41] Then perform extensive recitation o f the soundless letter 149 The Two Stages 87 It is explained that “six yogas” here refers to the four initial practices of yoga, subsequent yogas, and so forth,150 together with the sovereign mandala and sovereign activities to make six The recitation of the soundless letter refers to the practice of vajra repetition The Guhyasiddhi says: O f the four meditations on progressively higher paths illuminated in the glorious Guhyasamaja, spoken of by the guide o f all beings, the first is the placement of syllables; dwelling well in the generation stage, the powerful practitioner meditates Second is the nature of oneself Third, in supreme celestial phenomena, you meditate upon the wisdom consort Fourth, and taught as the highest, you meditate upon the mahamudra consort.151 Many texts, such as the dohasf1 in the sections on meditation upon the main goal of innate wisdom that has arisen by traveling through the stages of the path, negate the need for the elaborations of the generation stage Mis understanding this has led to the position of asserting that the tradition of the great brahman Saraha follows an all-at-once method and that that of Nagarjuna follows a gradual method Therefore any presentation stating that the way to enter this path from the very beginning is with a gradual method for those of low or intermediate intelligence and with an all-at-once method for those of high intelligence is contradictory to all tantra and soundly sourced scripture A more extensive presentation of this topic can be found in Stages on the Path o f the Great Vajradhara.153 How to meditate on the two stages ascertained in that order The way to meditate on the generation stage The way to meditate on the completion stage The way to meditate on the generation stage The amount of generation stage you have to meditate upon Training in its stages ... f the Great Vajradhara.153 How to meditate on the two stages ascertained in that order The way to meditate on the generation stage The way to meditate on the completion stage The way to meditate... important The Vajradáka Tantra says: To gain the insights of the natural yoga, you undertake the meditations of the contrived 86 A Lam p to Illum inate the Five Stages and perform the recitations... elaborations of the generation stage Mis understanding this has led to the position of asserting that the tradition of the great brahman Saraha follows an all-at-once method and that that of Nagarjuna