462 Chapter 5: The Dags po 'i bka ' 'bum 7b ) : snyoms las byas pa la mi skye gsung// 060 The seventh segment opens with a short presentation on the co-emergent mind as such (sems nyid lhan cig skyes pa) and the co emergent experiences (snang ba lhan cig skyes pa) It is then explained how the meditator should deal with thoughts that are concerned with the past, the present, or the future The past leaves no trace, the future is unrealized, and the present should not be taken as a focal object of thought Instead, the meditator should rest in a present, vivid awareness, which is like the center of the pure sky, the natural state From this restful state, the practitioner is advised to enter into a meditative stream of awareness, a constant stream compared to the tip of a flame or the flow of a river that carries on and on yet never remains the same This state of transient awareness is referred to as " the river stream yoga " (chu bo rgyun gyi rnal 'byor) From within this awareness stream, the practitioner should then focus on the nature of awareness by directing attention to the mind's appearance (ngo bo, *bhiiva), nature (rang bzhin, *svabhiiva), and character (mtshan nyid, *lak�wia) The segment briefly elaborates on these three aspects of the mind There is no colophon Segment DK.A.Ra : The segment begins (DK.A.Ra 7b ) : //dags po sgom chung gis gsungs pa 'i ngo sprod lags sol/ /lb la ma rnams la phyag 'tshal loll rin po che sgom chung gi zhal nas/ It ends (DK.A.Ra 8a2 ) : de las med/ slang la bsgoms shig/! 06 The segment starts with a title : " Here is an Introduction [to the Nature of the Mind] Spoken by D ags po S gom chung " The title thus ascribes the saying to B sod nams rin chen's younger nephew Following the title, the segment itself accordingly opens by stating, " Rin po che S gom chung said " The actual wording of the saying is very remiscient of segment DK.A.Ra The pointing out instruction o r 'encounter' (ngo sprod) first mentions the co-emergent mind as such (sems nyid lhan cig skyes pa) and the co-emergent experiences (snang ba lhan cig skyes pa) It then s ays that the division between buddha and Sa7?1Siira is a matter of whether or not the knowledge nature of the mind (sems rig pa 'i ngo bo) has been realized Then follows an explanation on how the meditator should rest in the present awareness without following thoughts pertaining to the past, the present, or the future Thereby, the meditator will perceive that the mind is vivid and present yet not expressible in thoughts (gsal la rtog pa med pa) When attempting to rest therein, the practitioner should neither see it as an achievement when he or she is able to remain in this state for a longer time, nor consider it a fa ilure when only able to so for a short time Rather, whenever thoughts arise, the practitioner should simply relax deeply, thereby allowing the thoughts to subside by themselves Relaxation and meditation should thus go hand in hand This meditative state is called " the river stream meditation " (chu bo rgyun gyi ting nge 'dzin, *srota{1prabandhasamiidh i) Once Mahiimudrii has been realized, its meaning really cannot be 06 ° Correl ated passages : DK.cx.Kha.40b 3-4 l a3, DK.B Ra.7 7az-7b2, DK.D.Ra.7.7az-7b3, DK.Q.Ra ar373b , DK.R.Ra l l a1- l l b5, DK S Ra l l b - 2as, DK.T.Ra.7.7n-7b, Phyag chen mdzad vol Ka (TBRC W23447- 94) pp 2803-282 06 Correlated passages : DK.cx.Kha.4 l b -42a , DK.B Ra 7bz-8a2, DK.D Ra 7b 3-8a3 , 1 DK.Q.Ra 73br374a7 , DK.R.Ra 1 b6- 2b , DK.S Ra 2as- as, DK.T.Ra 7b-8n , Phyag chen mdzad vol Ka (TBRC W23447- 94) pp 282 -283s Chapter : The Dags po 'i bka ' 'bum 463 expressed in words " S o , " the saying concludes, "relax and meditate ! " (glad la bsgoms sh ig) The segment has no colophon Segment DK.A.Ra.9 : The segment begins (DK.A.Ra a2 ) : /!chos rje dags po !ha rje 'i gsung/ rgyu lam 'bras bu 'i man ngag lags sol/ //bla ma dam pa rnams la phyag 'tshal lo/ /dbang po rab phyag rgya chen po rtogs par byed pa la don rnam pa gswn ste/ It ends with a short colophon (DK.A Ra 9b ) : phyag rgya chen po sgom pa 'i man ngag go// 062 The opening title of the segment says: " Here is a Teaching on the Cause, the Path, and the Result taught by the Dharma Master, the D octor from Dags po " The title thus ascribes the saying to B sod nams rin chen The teaching found in the segment presents how the most talented practitioners of the highest capacity (dbang po rab) are able to realize Mahiimudrii by relying on just three points (don mam pa gsum) The first point is called the Mahiimudrii of the cause (rgyu 'i phyag rgya chen po), referring to the nature [of the mind] (rang bzhin, *svabhiiva), which makes the practitioner understand the basis (gzhi, *adhi�_thiina) The second point is called the Mahiim udrii of the path (lam gyi phyag rgya chen po) , 1063 dealing with meditation (sgom pa, *bhiivanii) and the methods for practicing the path The third point is the spontaneously accomplished result ( lliun gyis grub pa 'i 'bras bu) Having laid out these three points, the segment then moves into a detailed presentation of the Mahiimudra of the path It is said that to begin with the practitioner searches for an experience - or literally " a taste" (ro, *rasa) - of Mahiimudrii by relying on indicatory instructions (brda 'i gdam ngag) from the bla ma Thereupon, the practitioner enters into the actual nature of the mind as such (sems nyid rnal ma) by meditating on the nature of radiance which is non-duality (gnyis med 'od gsal) In the final stages of the path, the practitioner transcends conceptuality (rnam pa rtog pa, *vikalpa) by relying on the yoga of non-cognition (yid la mi byed pa 'i rnal 'byor, *amanasikiirayoga) The various ways in which the practitioner obtains a taste of Mahiimudrii through the indicatory instructions of the bla ma are then discussed in more detail The term bla ma may here denote the lineage bla mas (brgyud pa 'i bla ma) or the actual bla ma (dngos kyi bla ma) The expression " lineage bla mas , " on the one hand, is said to refer to the unborn nature of thought that is introduced to the student through the empowerment ritual (dbang, *abhi�eka) The segment here briefly explains how different ritual steps in successively deeper ways point to the true nature of thoughts The actual bla ma , on the other hand, guides the student through a series of meditative processes of recognizing the nature of the mind (sems ma zin pa zin par byed pa) , stabilizing what has been recognized (zin pa brtan 062 Correlated passages: DK.a.Kha.42a1 -43b2, DK.B Ra ar9b , DK.D Ra a3 -9bs, DK.Q.Ra 74ar375b1, DK.R.Ra 2bs- 5b6, DK S Ra l as- l 6b , DK.T.Ra n-9b, Phyag chen mdzod vol Ka (TBRC W23447 - 894) pp 283s-289 063 In the cited phrase lam gyi phyag rgya chen po, manuscripts DK.a, DK.A, as well as the apograph manuscripts of DK.A all attest an instrumental p article (lam gyis phyag rgya chen po), which may or may not be an orthographic mistake However, in the following sentence the phrase is spelled with a genitive particle (lam gyi phyag rgya chen po) , which has here been adopted as the superior reading 464 Chapter : The Dags po 'i bka ' 'bum par byed pa), and enhancing what has been stabilized (brtan pa bogs 'don pa) To begin with, the student observes with intense focus the reflection of a steady flame of a candle in a spotless mirror Once the mind has become able to rest with complete absorption on this outer focus , then the visual image and the sensation of seeing the flame are transported into the meditator's own heart center and the meditative focus is transferred to this locus The meditator should then train in letting the mind rest on this focus, while avoiding drowsiness by taking frequent breaks and avoiding mental agitation by relaxing deeply Gradually, a meditative flow will be achieved, which is comparable to the flow of a river or the fine tip of a flame When this has been accomplished, the meditator should begin stabilize the meditation by focusing on the non-conceptual nature of the experience Thoughts cannot describe the nature of awareness , yet the non-conceptual awareness thereof is radiant and unceasing, and there really exists no actual difference between the awareness and the absence of concep tual proliferation These three points are referred to by the term " the radiance of things as such" (chos nyid 'od gsal) , " the radiance of the mind as such" (sems nyid 'od gsal) , and " the radiance of non-duality " (gnyis med 'od gsal) The meditator goes effortlessly through these steps, letting the mind of the radiance of non-duality rest in itself (gnyis med 'od gsal gyi sems rang ma! du bzhug pa) Thereby, the meditative experiences of bliss, presence, and non-thought begin to arise and the meditator applies these experiences to any mental or bodily sensation and sensory perception that emerges The yogf mixes bliss, presence, and non-thought with all that appears The bliss that is spoken of here is said to be quite different from the feeling of satiation that comes from having eaten a good meal Instead, it is an unbinding great blis s (zag pa med pa 'i bde ba chen po, *aniisravo mahiinanda(i) It is compared to how the sky becomes free from all mist when the radiance of the sun emerges at dawn Just as the sky is not definable in and of itself, the nature of these experiences of bliss, presence, and non-thought are indefinable (dngos bzung med pa) Moreover, j ust like wind and clouds arise out of the sky and disappear back into the sky again, in the same manner thoughts arise out of the mind and disappear back into the mind again, but the mind itself remains j ust the s ame all the while Thus , the meditator turns all thoughts , feelings , and perceptions into meditative experiences characterized b y bliss , presence, and non conceptuality, and that is how the meditation experience is stabilized In fact, this achieve ment is the actual bla ma, because the bla ma is here said to be the mind itself The explanation is rounded off with two short quotations from the Hevajratantra and the Sampufatantra The segment ends with a colophon (cited in Tibetan above) : " The Instruc tion on Mahiimudrii Meditation " Segment DK.A.Ra : The segment begins (DK.A.Ra 9b ) : //dga ' gdung ro snyoms kyi man ngag bzhugs s 'ho// //bla ma dam pa rnams la phyag 'tshal lo/ /gang zhig nyams su Zen par 'dad pas! It ends (DK.A.Ra l l a7 ) : skye med de ma lhongs pas de rang ma shes Chapter : The Dags po 'i bka ' 'bum 465 pa la rlung zhes gsungs pa 'ol 064 The title heading of the segment say s : "Here is an Instruction on the Equal Taste of Happiness and Suffering " The teaching found here explains how the practitioner should treat various pairs of oppo sites as being equal by realizing that the mind which experiences these objects actually cannot be found and thereby let the feelings subside by themselves The instruction is said to pertain to feelings of happiness (dga ' ba) and unhappiness (mi dga ' ba) , pleasant and unpleasant things heard (snyan mi snyan), and attractive and unattractive things seen (gzugs sdug mi sdug) Whatever thought arises, the yogi must realize that the thought has merely arisen from the mind itself and that the mind in actuality is empty of any defining characteristic The power (rtsal, *vyavasaya) of the mind to unfold a variety of experiences is endless When the yogi has realized that everything just comes down to this, then he has become a buddha As long as this has not been understood, he remains in sm!isara When this power emerges as knowledge (rig pa, *vidya), it is dharmakaya When it appears as ignorance (ma rig pa, *avidya), it is the sm_nsaric mind (sems can, *sattva) On the stage between these two, namely the stage of being a practitioner (rnal 'byor pa, *yogin) , the power emerges as realization and meditative experiences (rtogs pa dang nyams) There are some who say that the practitioner should look at the unborn realization (skye med rtogs pa la lta ba byed), meditate in the state of the unborn (skye med kyi ngang la sgom pa byed), and realize the result within the stability of the unborn (skye med brtan pa la 'bras bu byed) The segment criticizes such a view by arguing in some detail that this view not only essentializes the unborn but also reifies ignorance and sm!isiira , thereby rendering it logically impossible to reach buddhahood A series of similes are here presented and further philosophical debate follows in the ensuing piece regarding how to view the unborn (skye med, *anutpanna) and non-conceptuality (rtog med, *nirvikalpa) This part of the segment has a distinctly more scholastic character than other parts of text DK.A.Ra In the end, the teaching concludes that all notions of likes and dislikes have to be abandoned; the practitioner should neither entertain hope for buddhahood, assert any phenomenon to exist, nor fear sm71sara Nonetheless, he or she must avoid even the slightest harmful action Even though the yogi recognizes his own mind as being Buddha, he must still carry the bla ma over his head Even though he sees that there i s no difference between self and other, the stream of compassion should never cease The root of all Tantric observances (dam tsh ig, *samaya) is the unborn The segment has no colophon Segment DK.A.Ra 1 : The segment begins (DK.A.Ra l l a1): I/yang bla ma 'i zhal nas/ snang zhing grags pa 'i chos thams cad rnam rtog yin tel It ends (DK.A.Ra 1 1 bz) : re dogs snyems thag chod pa 'bras bu yin gsung ngo/! 065 The eleventh segment brings 64 Correlated passage s : DK a.Kha.43br4534, DK.B Ra 09 9b - l l a , DK.D.Ra 9b6- l l bi, DK.Q.Ra 376a -378b , DK.R.Ra l l 6a - l 8b6, DK.S Ra 1 6b i - 9b i , DK.T.Ra 9b- l l b , Phyag chen mdzad vol Ka (TBRC W23447 - 894) p p 289 -2942• 065 Correlated passages : DK.a.Kha.45a4 , DK.B Ra 1 1 ar l l b2 , DK.D.Ra 1 1 b2-4 , DK.Q.Ra l l 378b , DK.R.Ra l 9a -4, DK.S Ra l l l 9b 4, DK.T.Ra 1 1 b , Phyag chen mdzad vol Ka (TBRC W23447- 894) pp 2942.s 466 Chapter 5: The Dags po 'i bka ' 'bum another short saying that starts with the phrase, "Again the bla ma said" (yang bla ma 'i zhal nas) The saying gives an explanation on the nature of conceptuality or thought (rnam rtog, *vikalpa) It is said that all phenomena (chos thams cad, *sarvadhannii(1) are thoughts (rnam rtog, *vikalpa) , because without thought nothing could appear Thoughts, in turn, are the mind (sems, *citta) and the mind is unborn (skye med, *anutpanna) The unborn i s emptiness (stong nyid, *sunyatii) Things as such (chos nyid, *dhannatii) are not anything whatsoever, yet they nonetheless appear as a variety or a multiplicity (sna tshog, *vicitra ) When they appear so, they still n o t constitute any object whatsoever The meaning of this is the inseparability of the twofold truth (bden pa gnyis dbyer med, *avin irbhiiga dvayasatya) and when that is realized, it is the right view (lta ba, *darfana ) To remain within this is the meditation (sgom pa, *bhiivanii) To sever the bond of proudly thinking in terms of hope and fear is the result ( 'bras bu, >rphala ) The segment has no colophon Segment DK.A.Ra : The segment begins (DK.A.Ra 1 b1) : lingo sprod rnam lnga 'i man ngag lags s 'ho// /Ina mo gu ru/ bla ma 'i zhal nas/ phyag rgya chen po 'i man ngag la ngo sprod rnam pa lnga ste/ It ends (DK.A Ra 2a i ) : bya byed rgyun chad pa dang/ snang bas mi gnod pa 'byung ngo/! 1066 The segment' s title heading say s : " Here is an Instruction on the Fivefold Encounter " The segment contains a saying attributed to the bla ma, which teaches five types of " pointing out" instruction or " encounter" (ngo sprod) with the nature of the mind The first is the encounter with perceptions as being mind (snang ba sems su ngo sprad) , at which point all attachment to outer objects disappears The second is the encounter with the mind as being empty (seJns stong par ngo sprad) , at which point a realization arises which sees that mind has no basis or root The third is the encounter with emptiness as being radiance (stong pa 'od gsal du ngo sprad), at which point it is under stood that the mind really never wanders outside of radiance The fourth is the encounter with radiance as being union ( 'od gsal zung 'jug du ngo sprad) , at which point sensory perceptions turn into helpers on the path The fifth is the encounter with union as being great bliss (zung 'jug bde ba chen por ngo sprad) , which is said to feel like throwing a spear into directionles s space These five introductions or encounters give rise to three meditative experiences (nyams, *anubhiiva) The first is an experience of being like a sphere of light ( 'od kyi gong bu) The second is an experience of being like clear transparent jewel The third is an experience of being like space without center or limit Also, three types of heat (drod tshad, *u�man) arise These include external heat in which the body no longer is felt, internal heat in which the movement of the breath no longer is felt, and secret heat wherein the flow of thought entirely falls away The signs of having stabilized the mind are that all activities cease and the yogf no longer c an be hurt by sensory perceptions (snang ba, *avabhiisa) Segment DK.A.Ra : The segment begins (DK.A.Ra 2a ) : /yang bla m a rin p o che 'i zhal nas/ yi dam lha sgom pa dang stong nyid mi 'gal b a cis shes na/ I t ends 066 Correlated p assages : DK.a.Kha.45 a6-45b4, DK.B Ra l l br l 2a1 , DK.D.Ra l l b4- l 2a3 , DK.Q.Ra 378br379a2, DK.R.Ra 9a4-20a2, DK.S Ra l 9b 4-20a i , Phyag chen mdzod v o l Ka (TBRC W23447- 894) pp 294s-2962 DK.T.Ra l l b- 2n , ... themselves The instruction is said to pertain to feelings of happiness (dga ' ba) and unhappiness (mi dga ' ba) , pleasant and unpleasant things heard (snyan mi snyan), and attractive and unattractive... bka ' 'bum another short saying that starts with the phrase, "Again the bla ma said" (yang bla ma 'i zhal nas) The saying gives an explanation on the nature of conceptuality or thought (rnam... non-conceptual awareness thereof is radiant and unceasing, and there really exists no actual difference between the awareness and the absence of concep tual proliferation These three points are referred