280 Buddhist Ethics awakening mind commitments, and the pledges of the three outer classes of tantra [Action, Conduct, and Yoga tantras] The particular pledges are the root pledges related to the body, speech, mind, and awakening mind of a buddha, and the five sets of five secondary pledges—the five to practice, the five not to renounce, the five to accept, the five to recognize, and the five to integrate The exceptional pledges are twenty pledges that must be honored especially during familiarization and attainment practices.259 [The general pledges have been explained above.] Of the particular pledges, the root pledge of the body of a buddha is to guard one’s relationships with the vajra master and spiritual siblings There are six masters to be honored, as stated in Lilavajra’s Shimmering Light on the Pledges260: Masters who are teachers of all, who lead [one to the teachings], initiate, and [bestow] pledges, Restore infractions, open one’s mind, Or transmit secret instructions.261 In what way each should be honored is illustrated by corresponding examples262: Regard them more highly than these: The king of your country, your uncle, father, or mother, Your own eyes, or your heart In particular, as stated in the Union of Joyful Ones, Peaceful Tantra, one should regard the three masters who initiate, explain the tantra, and transmit secret instructions more highly than, or at least equal to, the Buddha, or as a fourth Jewel Without hypocrisy, one should honor masters by doing, through actions, words, and thoughts, whatever pleases them and by following their every directive Moreover, [as stated in Lilavajra’s Shimmering Light,263] one must maintain spiritual bonds with the four [types of] siblings: (1) [All sentient beings,] one’s general siblings; (2) [All Buddhists,] distant siblings; (3) [All Buddhists who follow the same conduct and view,] close siblings; (4) [Mantra practitioners with whom one shares the same tantric master, initiation, etc.,] intimate siblings The Vows and Pledges of Secret Mantra 281 One should honor spiritual siblings while showing loving concern for them, and must never forsake them, particularly the latter three who have entered the authentic path, and even more so, intimate siblings, knowing that these relationships are increasingly significant in that order The root pledge of the speech of a buddha is to recite the three kinds of incantation, to practice the four seals, and to make offerings, as stated in the Shimmering Light264: To recite the root, generation, and action mantras, And apply the four [seals]: the seal of the pledge, action seal, seal of the teachings, And the two awakened dimensions [as the] great seal In applying oneself to the three kinds of incantation265 and the four seals, the best effort would be a practice that never ceases, like the current of a river [done without distraction in the day and night meditation sessions]; a moderate effort, a practice carried out [uninterruptedly in the four or six periods] of the day of the new moon [and other special days]; and a minimal effort, a practice of not neglecting the monthly or annual performance of [ritual feast and] food offerings (torma) on [special] days The root pledge of the mind of a buddha is not to proclaim the ten secrets to those without pledges or those who have violated them, or to ordinary people The ten secrets are enumerated in the Shimmering Light266: Profound view, outrageous conduct, The deity’s name and mantra, and signs of accomplishment: These are the four general secrets And: Engage in tantric practice while keeping [four] transitional secrets: The place [of gathering], the time, one’s companions, and the ritual articles These are the four general and four transitional secrets The remaining two are innermost secrets: The secrets worthy to be kept are the exceptional mantric conduct and the substances of the pledges,267 and what is unfit to be seen or heard, such as the bad behavior of one’s spiritual siblings Entrusted secrets concern instructions, etc., that the vajra master or spiritual siblings have sealed as secret by command 282 Buddhist Ethics The root pledge of awakening mind consists in the pledge of the view, the realization of the abiding nature of [reality], the indivisibility of the [two] superior truths268 which transcends the [mind’s] experiential domain To fulfill this pledge, one must train in the aspiring and venturing aspects of awakening mind To train in the mind of aspiration is to focus on the result, which is actualized without abandoning or attaining anything To train in the venturing mind is to actualize the result by bringing all one's experiences onto the path as pure vision [This is possible] since all experiences of one's body, speech, and mind, and their domains, which are expressions of the pristine awareness present within oneself, never transcend the seals of the deity's body, speech, and mind Of the secondary particular pledges, the five pledges prescribing what to practice have both provisional and hidden meanings To fulfill the provisional meanings, one engages in sexual union, release, theft, speaking untruth, and speaking outrageously, provided these are done without selfish motives, but as skillful means, and to benefit others The hidden meanings of these pledges are as follows: (1) Release means to sever the life of dualistic thoughts with selfexperienced pristine awareness; (2) Theft is to steal the seminal essence (bliss) from the queen (consort)269; (3) Union is to achieve immutable bliss through the bliss experienced in melting [the seminal essence] while uniting [with a consort]; (4) Speaking untruth is to say that living beings are [already] liberated from the apparent yet non-existent cycle of existence; (5) Speaking outrageously is to speak without inhibitions from an inexpressible state of spiritual accomplishment To fulfill the provisional meanings of the five pledges that prescribe what not to renounce, one does not renounce the five poisons of negativity [emotions] just as they are270 as proclaimers [who regard them as enemies] do, but engages in them with skill in means This is because these five poisons serve as a direct path to liberation and because their nature is primordially that of the five pristine awarenesses To fulfill the hidden meanings, one does not renounce the five perfect poisons: (1) The stupidity that does not differentiate between what to practice and what to refrain from and that is impartial in its view since all things are perfect in the state of sameness; The Vows and Pledges of Secret Mantra 283 (2) The attachment that is the affection developed from nonobjectifying great compassion for living beings who lack realization of the view; (3) The hatred that subdues misconceptions with self-experienced pristine awareness; (4) The pride that does not descend from the heights of the view that realizes the sameness [of phenomena]; (5) The jealousy that does not accommodate dualistic views or conduct in the vast expanse of sameness One must not renounce these five, [but should accept them] with the skillful means to experientially cultivate the state of inner realization To fulfill the provisional meanings of the five pledges that prescribe what to accept, one accepts the five nectars [of the pledge’s substances]: (1) the great fragrant solids [feces], (2) fragrant water [urine], (3) blood, (4) flesh, (5) vajra dew [semen] These five must not be rejected but instead should be accepted [without concepts of clean or dirty] because they are the nature of reality itself, and by virtue of their very essence and potency and through consecration, these are special substances used to gain attainments To fulfill the hidden meanings, one binds and does not lose the pure essences of the five aggregates To fulfill the five pledges that prescribe what to recognize, one must recognize the following (since all phenomena exist primordially as enlightenment): (1) the five aggregates as the five male transcendent ones; (2) the five elemental properties as the five female transcendent ones; (3) the five sense organs and their five consciousnesses as the male bodhisattvas; (4) the five sense objects as the female bodhisattvas; (5) the colors [associated with] the five families as the five pristine awarenesses All conceptual representations of these five sets of five phenomena should be recognized as the mandala of pristine awareness and its dimensions271 with the wisdom that cuts through misapprehension [of the nature of these phenomena] 284 Buddhist Ethics To fulfill the five pledges that prescribe what to integrate, one must, having gained an experiential understanding of the five pledges that prescribe what to recognize, persevere in the means to correctly effect the integration of this understanding within one’s mind [The pledges prescribing] what to recognize are pledges of the view Once those are realized, one observes [the pledges prescribing] what to integrate, which are pledges of meditation The three [groups of pledges prescribing] what to practice, what not to renounce, and what to accept, in the context of their provisional meanings, are mainly pledges of conduct Therefore, in a state of equipoise, these pledges should be observed according to their hidden (definitive) meanings [The three groups of] pledges [according to their provisional meanings] are to be safeguarded or practiced respecting their order of progression and evaluating their [individual] applicability according to circumstances [Here, “circumstances” refers to] time (for example, whether or not one has reached certainty through realization of the view) and place (whether one is living in solitude or attending social gatherings) Of the exceptional pledges, the twenty pledges concerning familiarization [and attainment] are presented in symbolic language in the Union of Joyful Ones, Peaceful Tantra, beginning with [the words] “Do not destroy the throne of the king of wild animals.”272 Their injunctions are as follows: (1) Not to inflict harm on the body of the vajra master or disobey his or her words; (2) Not to engage in sexual union with the consort of one’s master; (3) Not to hinder believers in their acquiring of merit 273; (4) Not to use the property of the Three Jewels or the learned, or drink intoxicating beverages; (5) Not to engage in sexual union with the spouse of a vajra sibling; (6) Not to rely on a consort who lacks the appropriate signs; (7) Not to use improper pledge substances; (8) Not to criticize the qualities of learned persons; (9) Not to divulge the secret teachings to immature disciples; (10) Not to abandon a qualified consort or a worthy disciple; (11) Not to be separated from [the union of] bliss-emptiness, or the male-female [union], its symbol; (12) Not to quarrel with spiritual siblings or [the master’s] spouse, even in jest; ... (1) the five aggregates as the five male transcendent ones; (2) the five elemental properties as the five female transcendent ones; (3) the five sense organs and their five consciousnesses as the. .. bodhisattvas; (4) the five sense objects as the female bodhisattvas; (5) the colors [associated with] the five families as the five pristine awarenesses All conceptual representations of these five. .. that the vajra master or spiritual siblings have sealed as secret by command 282 Buddhist Ethics The root pledge of awakening mind consists in the pledge of the view, the realization of the abiding