398 A Lam p to Illum inate the Five Stages using the term third-stage illusory body without differentiating the actual illu sory body from its simulation, a deity body that appears to the mind alone as separate from the coarse body is not to be held as the actual illusory-body self-consecration Apart from saying that the illusory body is achieved from the wind and mind of the three appearances o f mind isolation, the works of the master and four disciples are not clear where in the forward and reverse processes of the empty states the illusory body is achieved LaksmI and others posit an all-atonce achievement in which you arise immediately from the clear light in the form of Vajradhara like a fish leaping out of the water, as well as a method involving the stages of close-to-attainment and so on in which you arise as Vajradhara at the junctures of clear light and close-to-attainment, close-toattainment and increase, and increase and first appearance.757 Our own posi tion will be made clear in the section on the stage of union Separating from the old body does not mean abandoning the status of the old body, as explained previously This can also be understood from Illum i nating Lamp stating that the pure illusory body remains in the container of the aggregates and so on.758 If the yogi who had achieved mind isolation pro duced the illusory body by a transformation o f both coarse and subde aggre gates, then the explanation from the works of the master and his disciple that the illusory body is produced from just wind and mind would be incorrect For example, if a blanket is to be produced from the entire weave, it would be wrong to take out two strands of wool and say that it could be produced from these two alone W hen the illusory body is first created, it has to be cre ated from the wind and mind o f the empty states, but once it has been cre ated and is in existence, there are many occasions when the illusory body is present and the wisdoms of appearance, increase, and close-to-attainment are not actually manifest Therefore it is not the case that when these three disappear the illusory body will disappear, and when the latter is present the former has to be present also The kind of propelling intention759 initiated to create the illusory body is not clearly taught in other works of the master and his disciples [254] How ever, you should apply the thinking found in the Compendium o f Practice, which says that if you are to attain enlightenment in the intermediate state, you propel the intention with the thought, “Dwelling in the clear light, hav ing cast off the ordinary aggregates, I will arise through the process of selfconsecration.”760This should also be applied to the simulated illusory bodies This type of body is illustrated by twelve similes of illusion in the Vajra Wisdom Compendium: illusion, the moon reflected in water, an apparition, Methods o f A ttaining the Illusory Body 399 a mirage, a dream, an echo, a city of the gandharvas, an optical illusion, a rainbow, lightning, a bubble, and a reflection in a mirror.761 Illusion is only used once as a simile, and yet these are called “twelve similes of illusion.” The thinking behind this is that the first of the twelve illustrates the others or that these are “similes o f the illusory body.” On these twelve similes, when the form of Vajradhara is generated from just the wind and mind, all parts o f the body are complete, and yet it is noth ing more than wind and mind, and so it is like an illusion Since it is able to appear anywhere, it is like the moon reflected in water Being without flesh and bones, it is an apparition, like the shadow of a person In an instant it can appear and disappear, like a mirage Being a body formed from just wind and mind means that it is like a dream body, which is separated from the coarse body Being included in the continuum of the body formed by the ripening of karma and yet appearing elsewhere, it is like an echo The supporting and supported mandalas of that body are like the city of the gandharvas Like an optical illusion, although it is one it can appear as many It is like a rain bow in that its five colors are unobstructed and appear individually Dwell ing within the aggregates of the body produced by ripened karma, it is like lightning within the clouds Arising suddenly from the sphere of emptiness, it is like a bubble rising through the clear water W ith all its features of limbs, body, and so on complete, it is like the reflection of Vajradhara appearing in a mirror These are a way of illustrating the illusory body of the path of prac tice, but when using them to illustrate the illusory body of no further prac tice, the sixth and tenth simile should be made to fit that context In Stage o f S elf Consecration “shadow” refers to apparition, and instead of optical illu sion, the text has “cloud.” As for synonyms: It is known as “self-consecration.” W ith characteristics revealed as an illusion, it is definitively illustrated The conventional truth, the illusion, the complete sambhogakaya, it is a being of the gandharvas,762 the vajra body, Vajrasattva, the great being.763 [255] Benefits o f achieving the illusory body As for the benefits of achieving the illusory body, it is taught that you will definitely attain enlightenment in that very life Five Stages also says: 40 o A Lamp to Illum inate the Five Stages The supreme, the nature o f every bliss, the great being comes and goes, in an instant gaining from space a place to stay, clothes, and food He will sever samsara and become the teacher of the highest of sentient beings, to be worshiped by all the gods, prostrated to again and again.764 The Compendium o f Practice says that you will receive the initiation of the buddhas The Root Tantra also says: Vajra body, speech, and mind meditated on as Manjuvajra emanating to body, speech, and mind to become like Manjuvajra, this very nature of joy,765 adorned with every adornment, whose light of blazing vajras illuminates a distance of a hundred leagues, never to be seen by Brahma, Rudra, or others.766 Illuminating Lamp explains this passage as follows: Manjuvajra is the illu sory body that has the nature of mind That is meditated on as being your body, speech, and mind and also as emanating to the bodies, speech, and minds of the three realms, which thereby become like Manjuvajra “Blazing vajras” refers to this body’s natural light, which illuminates the vast areas of immeasurable and countless worlds for “a distance of a hundred leagues.” It is adorned with the thirty-two marks and so on If the achievement of such a body of wisdom is never seen by gods such as Brahma, there is no need to mention that it will not be seen by others, because it is the province of the nonreturning stage That great mahâmudrâ of ManjusrI is not seen or touched by ordinary beings Therefore this samadhi is known as “non-apparent.” Right after this explanation the text continues, “Because this body, with its nature of illusion, will be achieved through purification by clear lig h t ” It also states that it enters the clear light through the two meditative absorp tions, but it does not say that the stage-of-union illusory body enters the clear light through the two meditative absorptions Thus it is describing thirdstage illusory body To dwell on this stage does not exclude those who have Methods o f A ttaining the Illusory Body 401 not attained the arya levels, and so “not seen by ordinary beings” refers to those other than the achiever of this stage Like the previous statement that it is not seen by Brahma and others, it means it is not seen by ordinary beings who have not achieved the illusory body To take comfort in those samadhis that not possess a fraction of the above qualities, having been introduced to the actual attainment of this illu sory and exalted-wisdom body, is to make the mistake of not knowing at which level this illusory body is achieved, [156] the methods to achieve it, or what excellent qualities arise upon achieving it The ways to generate the mantra body of the generation-stage practitioner and the exalted-wisdom body of the completion-stage practitioner are not clear in other works Therefore there are many from other traditions who have asserted all descriptions of the ways to generate the deity for the com pletion-stage practitioner to be those of the generation stage also Although those of this tradition have differentiated the two types of deity generation, a good differentiation of the different points of each type is rare to find There fore, not wishing this most secret of points to disappear, I have clarified this matter Methodsfrom the core teachings o f the gurus The methods that have come about from the core teachings Applying their teachings to literary sources The methods that have come aboutfrom the core teachings These instructions within the Marpa tradition were set down by Serdingpa For the way to identify the actual illusory body, he says in Four Points that the Arya and his disciples assert that an illusion is something that appears but has no intrinsic nature and that that “body” is the body of a deity Thus the deity body is something that appears but has no intrinsic nature The causes that bring about such a body are as follows: You meditate on the deity body of the generation stage Any apprehension of that generation-stage deity body is purified by the three empty states from which the deity body of method and wisdom is “emitted,” or appears, without interruption, like a bubble burst ing through the water or a fish leaping out of a clear stream The process is that the four neuter letters dissolve into the indestructible drop, and it is that drop that appears as the deity body, with the consort illustrating emptiness, the male deity illustrating appearance, and the two in embrace illustrating 401 A Lamp to Illum inate the Five Stages the taste of emptiness and appearance arising as bliss The short vowel a like a punctuation stroke exists with five light rays, and because it is the body of wind and mind, you meditate on dissolving into it Moreover, the deity form of the illusory body is meditated on within a triangular source that is white outside and red inside Serdingpas Five Stages with M antra Circle also speaks about the medita tion of withdrawing into the indestructible drop at the center of the inner petals of the lotus and then that drop arising as the deity and consort like a reflection in a mirror Serdingpas Five Stages Complete on One Seat speaks of placing the mind upon the drop and meditating on that as the clear light of the path, and then with further concentration the drop arises from the empty state as the deity body, which then performs the various activities This con tradicts two of the greater oral core instructions and the lesser core instruc tions of this tradition Serdingpas Five Points o f the Five Stages says that the short vowel a, which is like a punctuation stroke, exists with five light rays In reality it is the body of mind and wind, and therefore the mind is withdrawn into it That is devoid of any holding to reality and so is not existent Having no intrinsic nature yet still appearing, it is not nonexistent That is the identification of “illusion.” Aryadeva says that the “body” is the form of the deity [257] Therefore the clear and empty deity form that appears but is without any intrinsic nature, and is devoid of recognition, is posited as being the illusory body Because it is illustrated by the twelve similes of illusion, when it is recognized as being like a reflection in a mirror and so on, that is the recognition of the illusory body Although in this work the actual illusory body is posited as being the indestructible drop, it can be understood from the text that this refers to the drop rising in the deity form From this it should be known that the two lesser core instructions explain that the short vowel a and syllable hum as being the illusory body According to Five Points o f the Five Stages, illusory-body practice consists of meditative equipoise on illusion and illusion liberation For the first prac tice, place windows east and west in the house and make a skylight Fill a cop per vessel with resin and on top place a raised sword In front place a mirror showing the reflection of a cloth-drawn Vajrasattva Focus the mind on this and meditate Because no apprehension of true existence occurs, that is the recognition of illusion He says that this has been taught as an instruction for training on the generation stage and asserts this to be the meaning o f the lines from Five Stages beginning “Vajrasattva, well draw n ”767 ... prostrated to again and again.764 The Compendium o f Practice says that you will receive the initiation of the buddhas The Root Tantra also says: Vajra body, speech, and mind meditated on as Manjuvajra... qualities arise upon achieving it The ways to generate the mantra body of the generation-stage practitioner and the exalted-wisdom body of the completion-stage practitioner are not clear in other... the male deity illustrating appearance, and the two in embrace illustrating 401 A Lamp to Illum inate the Five Stages the taste of emptiness and appearance arising as bliss The short vowel a like