490 Buddhist Ethics secrets, uses make-up on her body and face, laughs, speaks a lot, has bulging eyes, and is gullible She is not to be relied upon (vol Ma, ff 123a1-5) 228 Citation found in Samputa Tantra vol Ga, f 158a4-6 Reading nyid for gnyis (on the basis of Khenpo Apé’s handwritten notes to the Samputa Tantra) 229 Indestructible Nucleus’ Ornament Tantra, f 48a2-5 230 Naropa defines the different seals: The action seal (karmamudr›, las rgya) is a real woman, with breasts and hair; she is the cause for the bliss related to the desire realm (’dod spyod las rgya) She is an “action” seal as she performs such actions as kissing, embracing, making contact with the secret parts, etc She is “seal” as she bestows bliss, in this case a mutable (k˝ara, ’gyur ba) bliss The pristine awareness (jñ›namudr›, ye shes kyi phyag rgya) or imaginary seal is constructed by one’s mind, and consists of various deities, such as Vishvamata She is the cause for the bliss related to the form realm, which is an unsteady (spanda, g.yo ba) bliss The great seal (mah›mudr›, phyag rgya chen po) is the pristine awareness of an immutable (ak˝ara, mi ’gyur ba) and supreme bliss (Commentary on the Summary of the Kalachakra Initiation, ff 273b3-274a1) See also Vajrapani’s Eulogy-Commentary on the Chakrasamvara Tantra (Lak˝›bhidh›n›duddh¸talaghutantrapi˚˜›rthavivara˚a; bsTod ’grel/ mNgon par brjod pa ’bum pa las phyung ba nyung ngu’i rgyud kyi bsdus pa’i don rnam par bshad pa) (Toh 1402) (henceforth cited as EC), f 125a7-b5 231 According to Pema Karpo, to cultivate the pledge in this context refers to enhancing or preserving the four aspects of bodhichitta (seminal essence) which have the nature of the sixteen joys (f 176b1) See note 243 232 The Hevajra Tantra speaks of four types of consorts: the consort of the vajra family of Akshobhya is a washer woman (gyung mo); that of the lotus family of Amitabha, a dancer (gar ma); that of the action family of Amoghasiddhi, a dyer (tshos mkhan ma); that of the transcendent family of Vairochana, a brahmin girl (bram ze mo); and that of the jewel family of Ratnasambhava, an outcaste girl (gdol pa ma) (Kongtrul’s Commentary on the Hevajra Tantra, f 78a7-b4) A yogin must rely on a consort who belongs to his own family For example, if he is of the lotus family, he should rely on a consort of the lotus family Complexion is a factor clearly indicating the family a consort belongs to The color of the Vairochana family is white; therefore, a consort of that family would be a qualified brahmin girl or another of white complexion When a consort of his own family is not found, he may resort to one of another family A non-human consort, such as a deva or celestial musician (gandharva), is also suitable (ff 93b2-94a3) 233 See following note 234 Naropa explains that the end of the full moon (nya’i mthar) refers to the innate bliss which is correlated to the sixteenth of the month The waning (dark) phase of the moon (nag po’i phyogs) refers to the joy or bliss which has gone beyond the innate one (the sixteenth), i.e., waning due to the outpouring of seminal fluid Notes to Chapter IV 491 To explain, through the heat or fire of attachment aroused by the imaginary or real presence of a consort, a yogi awakens the seminal essence which rests at the crown of the head The seminal essence then descends as far as the tip of the organ, where instead of outflowing, it is held and reversed upward to the crown of the head The descent of the seminal essence is characterized by four stages of increasingly higher delight: initial delight (pratham›nanda), supreme delight (param›nanda), special delight (viram›nanda), and innate delight (sahaj›nanda) These occur as the seminal essence reaches the four focal points of energy: throat, heart, navel, and secret parts At the throat, seminal essence is associated with pristine awareness; at the heart, with the mind; at the navel, with the speech; at the secret region, with the body These are often spoken of as the four seminal essences (bindu) Each of the stages of delight has four degrees called delight of body (k›y›nanda), of speech (v›g›nanda), of mind (citt›nanda), and pristine awareness (jñ›nanda) When the seminal essence is lost and the experience of the four delights which are pervaded by passion (r›ga) come to an end, there is a period of satisfaction or disgust (vir›ga) This period has four moments characterized by the above four delights but in the reverse order First is the multiform delight, followed by the supreme delight, then initial delight, and finally a moment of total lack of passion called absence of moon (na˝˛acandra) Such process is paralleled to the waxing and waning phases of the moon, the moon internally being the seminal essence in its fifteen clear and the fifteen dark moments The seminal essence at the focal point of energy at the crown of the head is the new moon which aroused by passion grows through fifteen moments (kal›) to reach its fullness, the full moon, just before emission The sixteenth day or moment concluding the clear fifteen moments is the innate bliss and that concluding the dark fifteen moments is the absence of moon or dark moon The task of the yogin in this process is to prevent the outflow of the seminal essence: once it has reached the tip of the organ to reverse its course upward in order to attain immutable bliss (Iniziazione K›lacakra, pp 68-80; 305-308) 235 Reading bsrub for srung 236 Female (mi mo) refers to wisdom, transcendent (pha rol tu phyin pa) and allgood (kun tu bzang mo) The conduct (spyod pa) of the female is the practice done in order to accomplish altruistic aims (TV, vol Ca, f 177a1-2; EC, f 138b6) 237 Chastity refers to great bliss; face of the vajra (rdo rje’i zhal), to the orifice of the penis (rdo rje’i sgo) (EC, f 139b2) 238 Drawing the seminal essence up the channels (rtsa’i kun tu spyod pa) (TV, vol Ca, f 177a3-5; EC, f 139a1-b2) 239 EC, f 139a2 240 TV, vol Ca, f 222a2 and following 241 Ritual articles include vajra, bell, the six kinds of symbolic ornaments of a heruka, the kha˛v›˚ga (mystic staff) appropriate to one’s buddha family, three 492 Buddhist Ethics kinds of small drums symbolizing the outer, inner, and secret aspects, the skullcup, the rosary for mantra recitation appropriate to the specific activity one intends to perform, images, the volumes of the tantras, the double-twined cord, the elephant skin, and the tiger skin to be used during ritual feast and other appropriate occasions, articles to be used during the fire offering and other rituals, etc (TV, vol Ca, ff 167b5-168a2) 242 These include the five sense objects (form, sound, odor, taste, and tactile objects); the five meats (that of ox, dog, horse, elephant, and human); the five nectars (the white and red bodhichitta, feces, urine, and the pure essence of the great flesh); the five drinks (spirits made from honey, sugar cane, fruit essence, tree sap, and brewed alcohol); the five consorts (belonging to the five families such as the vajra family); and the seventy-two types of meat (of dog, ox, elephant, sheep, goat, deer, donkey, pig, camel, etc.) (TV, vol Ca, f 168a2-6) 243 Pema Karpo explains the hidden meanings of each of these four: to take life, tell lies, steal, and have intercourse with the spouse of another To take life means to stop the vital energy within one’s body, i.e., to dissolve one’s body and all phenomena into the state of clear light To block the body’s vital energy is also explained as to block (stabilize) the seminal essence at the crown of one’s head Moreover, it means to block the flow of the five major winds, the ten subsidiary [winds], and the 21,000 [daily breaths], called “vital [energy]” (pr›˚a, srog) within the right (rasan›) and left (lalan›) channels With respect to the causal aspect of the practice, to block the vital winds means to exhaust the flow of winds in the central channel as a result of which seminal essence rises to the crown of the head Also, the Hevajra Tantra says: By blocking the body The vital wind is blocked Firmly blocking the vital wind Controls bodhichitta By blocking bodhichitta Transmigration is blocked When transmigration is blocked, in that instant All yogins become buddhas themselves The Guhyasamaja Tantra states: Vitality indicates the great wind that always moves To block or bind that is to take life It does not mean to kill someone To take the life of the vital energy also means to rest in the equipoise in which there is no artificiality as to unfabricated reality When through such an indestructible practice one attains contemplation in the state of emptiness by understanding the nature of all phenomena included in the aggregates, elements, sense fields and so on, the artificiality with regard to them is destroyed Also, the Commentary on the Essence states: Vital energy is mind And mind is wind and semen Notes to Chapter IV 493 To tell lies refers to the indestructible sound or inexpressible word that imparts in the different languages of sentient beings simultaneously the teaching that all inner and outer phenomena, beings and their environment, are not permanent, not made by a creator, but are arising interdependently, like magical illusions To steal comprises four pledges The first is the pledge of the vajra body which refers to the seminal essence that has the nature of the Buddha’s body and produces the waking state Melted by the passion of the wisdom woman, the seminal essence is preserved in lotus (at the secret place) That essence has four aspects: the joy of body, the joy of speech, the joy of mind, and the joy of pristine awareness To maintain that essence, one consumes the great flesh, where flesh represents the aggregate of mental formations and to consume means to clear it of impediments The pledge of the vajra speech refers to the seminal essence that has the nature of the Buddha’s speech and produces the dream state Melted by the passion of the wisdom woman (consort), it is preserved in the lotus of the navel That also has four aspects, the supreme joy of body, the supreme joy of speech, the supreme joy of mind, and the supreme joy of pristine awareness Enlightened body, speech, and mind, and pristine awareness are one in the form of the seminal essence at the navel and thus should be protected That protection occurs with the “unchanging vajra speech,” i.e., the bliss of the non-emitted essence of bodhichitta, which is called great since it does not change for an instant To maintain that essence of vajra speech, one consumes feces and urine, which means to free the aggregate of consciousness from impediments The pledge of vajra mind refers to the seminal essence that has the nature of the Buddha’s mind and produces deep sleep Melted by the passion of the wisdom woman (consort), it is preserved in the lotus of the heart That essence has four aspects: the special joy of body, special joy of speech, special joy of mind, and special joy of pristine awareness To maintain that essence, one consumes blood and semen, which means to free respectively the aggregate of feeling and that of perception from impediments In relation to this pledge, it is also stated that with stable conduct, the yogin should always rely on an action seal (consort) without emission of seminal fluid: this means to be endowed with the pledge of the vajra mind The pledge of vajra pristine awareness refers to the seminal essence that has the nature of the Buddha’s pristine awareness and produces the fourth pivotal state Melted by the passion of the wisdom woman (consort), it is preserved in the lotus of the throat It has four aspects: the innate joy of body, the innate joy of speech, the innate joy of mind, and the innate joy of pristine awareness It is to be maintained by consuming form and other sense objects, the six sense consciousnesses, etc These are the pledges pertaining to stealing; the pristine awareness of great bliss or the Buddha’s pristine awareness is understood by one’s own intrinsic awareness and is not dependent on others In this sense, it is “stolen.” To have intercourse with the woman of another is to be interpreted in relation to the state of union “Another” stands for Vajrasattva or for “best.” The Vajrasattva or best woman is the blessed transcendent wisdom mother, the consort (mother) 494 Buddhist Ethics of all buddhas That mother, possessing observable attributes, is called wisdom woman, and being supremely endowed with aspects is called emptiness or the great seal Having intercourse with the woman of another refers to the blissful union with such a “mother” without losing the seminal essence (TV, vol Ca, f 169a6 onward) 244 In this class of pledges, Pema Karpo also includes the nine pledges concerning conduct taught in the Abhidhana Tantra or Unsurpassable Chakrasamvara Tantra (f 183b5) (see above section on “Conduct,” page 246), and the six modes of conduct for practitioners who dwell in a constant state of contemplation (f 184b5), taught in the Indestructible Tent Tantra (page 273) 245 Indestructible Tent Tantra, f 64b6 Kongtrul explains that the pristine awareness of experiential warmth (drod kyi ye shes) is that of a yogin (or yogini) on the tantric path of preparation of the Highest Tantra Such a yogin has experienced the phase of completion and thus continually engages in the metaphorical pristine awareness He has acquired proficiency in the states of bliss, clarity, and non-conceptuality, as indicated by the signs of warmth The pristine awareness at this stage is known as experiential warmth because it serves as a direct cause that leads to the path of seeing The signs indicating warmth are lesser, middling, and great The lesser signs are that a yogin is no longer subject to fear, madness, sorrow, pain, or frustration, and cannot be injured; and the middling, that he is not affected by strong desire, hatred, ignorance, or other emotions that arise through the force of major circumstances The great signs include clairvoyance and other miraculous powers These signs concord with the stages of warmth, peak, and acceptance explained in the Way of the Perfections Once the yogin has experienced these signs, if he enhances his realization through the complex, non-elaborated, and simple tantric practices, he will swiftly reach the path of seeing (Commentary on [Rangjung Dorjé’s] Profound Reality Rumtek, Sikkim: Dharma Charkra Centre, 1981, ff 155a3-b3) The signs that indicate experiential warmth (drod rtags) are usually understood as those that indicate the yogin’s maturity for special tantric practices that accelerate spiritual accomplishment As taught in the second book of the Hevajra Tantra, Fear, madness, and likewise sorrow and pain, Frustration and injury, Great desire, hatred, and ignorance Do not obscure the adept In addition, Tibetan masters speak of three degrees of warmth, the best being the understanding of reality; the middling, the leveling of the eight worldly concerns; and the least, the ability to demonstrate magical feats (Kongtrul’s Commentary on the Hevajra Tantra, f 93a1-5) 246 Pema Karpo states that in the first two cases, a root downfall is incurred There is no real failing if the pledge is transgressed because of illness, lack of control, for the sake of others, for a greater scope, when the practitioner has a ... during the fire offering and other rituals, etc (TV, vol Ca, ff 167b5-168a2) 242 These include the five sense objects (form, sound, odor, taste, and tactile objects); the five meats (that of ox,... alcohol); the five consorts (belonging to the five families such as the vajra family); and the seventy-two types of meat (of dog, ox, elephant, sheep, goat, deer, donkey, pig, camel, etc.) (TV, vol... by the passion of the wisdom woman (consort), it is preserved in the lotus of the throat It has four aspects: the innate joy of body, the innate joy of speech, the innate joy of mind, and the