292 Chapter 5: The Dags po 'i bka ' 'bum as the deity" ( !us sems lhar gsal ba), and " generating the mind, a [mere] verbal designation (tshig tu brjod pa, *vyavahiira or *abhiliipa) , as the deity " (sems tshig tu brjod lhar bskyed pa) The fourth point is the purpose (dgos pa, zprayojana) of the Generation Stage, which generally speaking is said to be the accomplishment of the realization of union (zung 'jug gi rtogs pa bsgrub) for the best practitioner ( rab), while it is overcoming clinging to the ordinary (tha mal gyi zhen pa bzlog) for the mediocre and lower practitioners ( 'bring dang tha ma) This general explanation is followed by a more detailed explanation (bye brag tu, *visi�fa) pertaining to the twelve purposes of different parts of the Generation Stage ritual, such as visualizing the commitment deities (dam tshig sems dpa ', *samayasattva) , inviting the knowledge deities (ye shes sems dpa ', *jiiiinasattva), blessing the body, speech and mind (sku gsung thugs byin gyis brlabs pa) , and receiving empowerment (dbang bskur, *abhi�eka ) The fifth point i s the measure o f stability (brtan pa 'i tshad) i n the practice of the Genera tion Stage, which is presented both from one' s own and from others' perspectives For example, the lowest level of stability is the accomplishment that the practitioner is able to see himself as the deity during any kind of daily activity, while the highest degree is the accomplishment of not only seeing himself and everyone else as the deity and the entire environment as the deity's palace, but also to perceive all these appearances as dream-like and hallucinatory at all times Such accomplishment, in tum , affects how the practitioner is perceived by other beings, particularly by other liberated practitioners (rang grol gzhan) and by hungry ghosts (yi dags, *preta ) The s i x and final p oint i n this explanation o n the Generation Stage i s the result ( 'bras bu, zphala) to which the practice leads The ultimate result (mthar thug, *ni�fhii) is the manifestation of the two form kiiyas (gzugs sku, *riipakiiya) The temporary result (gnas skabs, *avasthii) is for the best practitioner to see reality within the present life ( tshe 'di la brten nas bden pa mthong), for the middling practitioner to be reborn as a universal monarch ( 'khor las sgyur ba 'i rgyal po, *cakravartin) in a future life, and for the lowest practitioner to attain rebirth in the pure body of a celestial being or human (lha mi 'i lus rnam par dag pa thob) The segment has no colophon Segment DK.A.Nya.8: The segment begins (DK.A.Nya 9as) : llbla ma rin po che 'i zhal nas! mi 'i gru la rten nas nil !sdug bsngal chu bo che las sgrol/ It ends (DK.A.Nya l Ob ) : thams cad kyi de bzhin du dgongs par zhu 'tshal/ 23 Commenting on a series of quoted verse lines, the eighth segment first underscores the value of the precious "body-mind" (lus sems) and its explanation It is, however, also possible to read the phrase simply as "mind [and] body " 23 Correlated pass ages: DK.a.Ka 8b 1.5 and DK.a.Ka.39b4-40b4 (the parallel passage i s split due to the transposed folio mentioned above, fn 7), DK.B Nya 9as- 0b , DK.D.Nya.8 9b4- l l a1 , DK.P.Nya 94b - 95bs, DK.Q.Nya l 70a1 - l l a3, DK.R.Nya 5br l 7bs, DK S Nya 5bs- 8a3, DK.T.Nya pp 0-8 A facsimile copy of DK.D.Nya is found in Phyag chen mdzad vol Kha (TBRC W23447- l 895) pp 64-369 Chapter : The Dags po 'i bka ' 'bum 293 human body (da l 'byor mi lus), followed by the import of fa ith (dad pa, *fraddha) and of turning the mind towards Awakening (byang chub la blo brtan par byed pa) At that point, the practitioner must realize the nature of the mind (rang gi sems ngo shes) , which is here expl ained by the notions of the mind's appearance (ngo bo, *rupa) and its characteristics (mtshan nyid, * lak�m:ia) denoting respectively the perceiving and the perceived aspects of cognition Once the empty nature of these two aspects has been understood, the practitioner must be committed to serious meditation practice (tshul bzhin du nyams su Zen pa), which is to be c arried out in a desolate chamel ground (dur khrod, *smasana) or a place of solitude (dben pa 'i gnas, *pravivekya) In the retreat, the practice progresses via three stages, during which the phases of meditation and post-meditation (mnyam rjes) respectively are separate (tha dad pa), then simultaneous (dus mtshungs pa) , and finally non-distinct (gnyis med du 'char ba) These steps are commented on in some detail in terms of what the practitioner needs to at each stage It said that Mi la ras pa spent forty-two years in the solitude of the mountains (ri la bzhugs) , touring various mountains right till he passed away at the age of eighty-four (brgyad cu rtsa bzhi la ma 'das kyi bar du ri nas rir bzhud) A short conversation between Mi la ras pa and B de b ar gshegs pa Rin po che ( " the precious Sugata " , presumably referring to B sod nams rin chen) is then narrated, wherein Mi la ras p a explains that although it would make no difference (khyad med) for him whether he stayed in the wilderness (dben pa) or among people, it is not the conduct of great meditators (sgom chen pa 'i spyod pa) to stay in towns among people (grong yul du sdod pa) It is said that B de bar gshegs pa Rin po che (i e , B sod nams rin chen) purely followed this example and that "we too must practice and teach accordingly" (rang re yang de 'i rjes su sgrubl de 'i rjes su slob dgos pa yin/) presumably with reference to the actual author of this text and his community The segment - has no colophon Segment DK.A.Nya.9 : The segment begins (DK.A.Nya 0b ) : lbla m a rin po che 'i zhal nas/ rten gyi gang zag cig thun mong gi lam rnams rgyud la skyes nas/ It ends (DK.A.Nya l l a3 ) : de lta bu 'i bla ma cig ma gtogs pa/ wa lta bu dang spre 'u lta bu la bla ma mi bya gsung/ 24 Segment nine concerns the qualifications of a spiritual teacher It is explained that the practitioner who enters the Secret Mantra practice must find and rely on a spiritual teacher (dge ba 'i bshes gnyen, *kalya!Jamitra) of the Mahayana who possesses the right qualifications (mtshan nyid dang ldan pa, *lak�aJJika) The teacher must hold a proper and unbroken lineage transmission (brgyud pa, *pa ra111para) This lineage is a transmission of gurus reaching back, via the Indian accomplished masters (grub thob, *siddha), all the way to the B uddha as its origin It also has to be a transmission not only of the written words (yig nag dang dpe rul gyi brgyud par ma song) but also of the oral transmission that has been handed down by the instruction lineage-holders (bka ' brgyud Correlated passages : DK.a.Ka.40b4-4 l as , DK.B Nya 0b - l l a3, DK.D Nya.9 l l a1 - l l b3, DK.P.Nya 95bs- 96b , DK.Q.Nya.9 l l a3- l b4, DK.R.Nya.9 7b - l 8b6, DK.S Nya.9 8a3- 9�, DK T.Nya pp 0- s A facsimile copy of DK.D.Nya.9 is found in Phyag chen mdzad vol Kha (TBRC W23447- 895) pp 369 -3703 294 Chapter 5: The Dags po 'i bka ' 'bum rnams) from mouth to mouth (zhal nas zhal), from ear to ear (snyan nas snyan) , and from mind to mind (thugs nas thugs) Nevertheless, it must also be a lineage that relies on the written words , in that the teacher has acquired realization of the meaning of those words (brjod bya 'i don de nges par rtogs pa) Finally, the lineage must confer the blessing (byin rlabs, *adhi�fhiina) that is transmitted through its empowerments (dbang, *abhi�eka) and that enables the teacher to give rise to good qualities (yon tan , *gu�ia) in others The segment then presents other qualifications needed in the teacher as being either twofold, threefold, or fourfold The twofold qualification is to be endowed with the eye of the Dharma ( chos kyi mig, *dharmalocana) and the eye of insight (shes rah kyi mig, *prajfiiilocana ) The threefold qualification is to have the ability to guide other with great insight, being endowed with great compas sion and therefo re never abandoning sentient beings, and being completely without attachment to this life The fourfold qualification is to have acquired complete stability in faith, compassion and realization, and to have the attitude of teaching others without concern for profit The segment ends by saying that the practitioner needs to find such a teacher and that he should not take anyone as his teacher (bla ma, *guru) who is like a fox or like a monkey (wa lta bu spre 'u lta bu) These animal similes are not explained in the present segment, although the fox reappears in a slightly different context in a later segment of the text (DK.A Nya ) Segment DK.A.Nya : The segment begins (DK.A.Nya l O l l a3 ) : rje btsun rin po che 'i zhal nas/ ts he 'di 'i ltos thag cad nas bsgrub pa nyams su Zen pa 'i bsgom chen pa ste! It ends (DK.A.Nya l l l b ) : de yang rtogs dgos ma rtogs na phan pa med/ The tenth segment gives a short presentation of the view (lta ba, *drHi) It begins by stating that a great meditator (sgom chen pa) must sever the ties to this life and then needs a view that is conj oined with realization (lta rtogs pa dang 'brel ba, *avabodhasambaddhadr�!i) , a meditation conj oined with meditative experience (sgom pa nyams myong dang 'brel ha, *anubhutasambaddhabhiivanii) , a conduct c onj oined with phases (spyod pa dus tshod dang 'brel ba, *veliisambaddhacaryii) , and a result conj oined with benefit for others ( 'bras bu gzhan don dang 'brel ba, *parahitasambaddhaphala) Only the first of these four points, viz the view conj oined with realization, i s presented in the current segment, while the remaining three points are explained below in segment DK.A.Nya 1 The view conj oined with realization is taught in terms of the co-emergent ( lhan cig skyes pa, *sahaja) , which as usual is distinguished in terms of the co-emergent mind as such (sems nyid lhan cig skyes pa, *sahajacittatii) which is dhannakiiya (chos sku) and co emergent experiences (snang lhan cig skyes pa, *prabhiisasahaja) which are the light of dharmakiiya ( chos sku 'i 'od, *dharmakiiyaprakiiia) The co-emergent mind as such is identified as the dharmakiiya that is found within the mind-streams (rgyud, *sa7J1tiina) of all sentient beings The co-emergent perceptions are said to include the thoughts (rnam rtog, Correlated passage s : DK a.Ka.4 as-4 h DK.B Nya 1 a3- l l b i , DK.D.Nya l 1 b3- l 2ai , DK.P.Nya 1 96b 1-6, DK Q.Nya l b4- l 72a2, DK.R.Nya 8b - 9b i , DK.S Nya 1 9�- 9bs , DK.T.Nya pp 82s-92 A facsimile copy of DK.D Nya is found in Phyag chen mdzad vol (TBRC W23447- l 895) pp 3703- 37 1 Kha Chapter : The Dags po 'i bka ' 'bum 295 *vikalpa) that spread as a multiplicity (sna tshogs su 'phro ba, *vaicitryavisiira) and also include the perceptions of sensory objects (yul dkar dma r snang ba) The segment explains at length the inseparability of these two co-emergent aspects Segment DK.A.Nya.1 : The segment begins (DK.A.Nya 1 l l b , ) : lbla m a rin p o che 'i zh al nas/ rtogs pa med pa 'i !ta ba de/ mtha ' bral zer yang blos byas yin/ It ends (D K.A.Nya 1 a , ) : thams cad de bzhin du dgongs par zhu 'tshal gsung ngo/ 726 The eleventh segment continues the explanation of the remaining three topics listed in the previous segment ten It might have been j ustified to treat segments ten and eleven as forming a single segment, but since there between them is a very clear segment marker declaring " the precious lama say s " (bla ma rin po che 'i zhal nas), which also is reflected in the older handwritten manuscript D K a, they have here been listed as two separate segments The first point, the view conj oined with meditation, was mainly laid out in segment ten, but segment eleven commences with adding a few more sentences to this point, describing the problem of holding a view that is lacking in realization (rtogs pa med pa 'i lta ba) Thereupon, the present segment turns to the second point, viz meditation conj oined with meditative experience (sgom pa nyams myong dang 'brel ba) Meditative experience (nyams myong, *anubhuta) is defined as an experience of the reality or meaning (don, *artha) of that realization (rtogs pa 'i don de nyams su myong) , while realization i s said to be a realization of the reality or meaning behind the meditative experience On the one hand, there are some meditative experiences which are not conj oined with what should be cultivated in meditation (bsgom pa dang 'brel ba ma yin), but which have their basis (rten , *iifraya) in the channels and winds (rtsa rlung, *niir;fiviiyu) S uch experiences may take the form of extrasensory perceptions, e g , visions (mig gi[s) mthong snang) and auditory perceptions (rna bas thos snang) , or they may arise as the meditative experiences fe lt during tranquility meditation (zhi gnas, *§amatha) , viz bliss, presence, and non-thought (bde gsal mi rtog pa) These are experiences of expansion (phyam 'gro ba) into emptiness (stong pa nyid, *sunyatii) , which are described like transcending time (dus 'da ' ba) , disappearance (mi snang ba) , non-perception (snang ba med pa) , and becoming like a pure, cloudless sky (nam mkha ' rnam par dag pa) Yet, from the perspective of the result of the path, all such experiences are passing and are only felt occasionally On the other hand, other meditative experiences are conj oined with what should be cultivated in the meditation (bsgom pa dang 'brel ba) Those are actual experiences (rang nyams) of the nature (ngo bo, *svabhi'iva) of the mind (rang gi sems) , of the co-emergent (lhan cig skyes pa, *sahaja) , of the inborn (gnyug ma, *nija) , of Mahiim udrii (phyag rgya chen po) This nature i s experienced as being without any definable characteristics , without any fixed trait, neither describable as being something nor as not being something It is a 26 Correlated passages: DK.a.Ka.4 b3-4314, DK.B Nya l l b - a i , DK.D Nya l l 2a - 3b3, DK.P.Nya l l 96Ib6- 98 a2 (two folios paginated 96 and no folio 97), DK Q.Nya 1 72az- 73b2, DK R.Nya l 9b -22a3 , DK.S Nya l 9bs-22bs , DK.T.Nya 1 pp 9z- n A facsimile copy of DK.D Nya 1 is found in Phyag chen mdzad vol Kha (TBRC W23447- 895) pp 37 1-3743 296 Ch apter 5: The Dags po 'i bka ' 'b um mixture of vivid presence and emptiness (gsal stong), which is non-identifiable (ngos bzung med pa) The meditator is advised to let this presence-emptiness (gsal stong) arise uninter ruptedly (rgyun chad med par shar) and when this happens , he has achieved the meditation that is conj oined with meditative experience For the third point, the conduct conj oined with phases (spyod pa dus tshod dang 'brel ba), the segment explains four progressive steps in detail: the conduct of a young monarch to be observed by the beginner (las dang po pas rgyal po gzhon nu 'i spyod pa bya), the conduct of S ecret Mantra to be observed by the practitioner who is in the process of accomplishing the practice (sgrub pa pos gsang sngags kyi spyod pa), the conduct of the knowledge vow (rig pa brtul zhugs, *vidyiivrata) to be observed by the practitioner who has accomplished the practice (grub pa pos rig pa brtul zhugs kyi spyod pa) , and the conduct of great meditative absorption (mnyam bzhag chen po, *mahiisamiihita) to be observed by the practitioner who possesses knowledge (ye shes can gyis mnyam bzhag chen po 'i spyod pa) The explanations thereon provide some details on the more advanced steps of Tantric practice and the precepts (dam tshig, *samaya) to be kept by the yogf The final part of the segment teaches the fifth and final point, the result conj oined with benefit for others ( 'bras bu gzhan don dang 'brel ba) It is said that the form bodies (gzugs sku, *rilpakaya) benefiting sentient beings will appear once the practitioner, who has perfected such a view, meditation, and conduct, passes away The segments ends by admonishing that "we too " (rang re rnams kyang) must seek to uphold such a view, [meditation] , and conduct Segment DK.A.Nya : The segment begins (DK.A Nya a ) : /rje btsun rin po che 'i zha l nas/ bsgrub pa po rnams kyis 'chi ba mi rtag pa dang/ las rgyus 'bras/ It ends (DK.A.Nya 4ai) : tha mal gyi shes pa ngo shes pa gal che gsung ngo// 7 The twelfth segment provides a detailed account of the Mahamudrii term "natural mind" (tha mal gyi shes pa, *prakrtajfiiina ) The term is said to signify that the mind (shes pa, *jiiiina) is not contaminated (ma bslad pa) by any kind of phenomenon (chos kyi rnam pa, *dharmavidha or eventually *dha rmiikiira) or polluted (ma rnyogs pa, *akalu�a) by any mundane consciousness ( 'jig rten gyi rnam par shes pa, * lokavijfiiina) This implies that the mind remains in its natural condition (rang sor gzhag pa), unaffected (ma gtum par) by any [meditative flaw of] torpor (hying, *laya) , dullness (rmugs, *styiina), or thought (rtog pa, *saf!! kalpa) To recognize this is to see the mind as the knowledge of self-awareness (rang gi rig pa 'i ye shes) As long as this is not recognized, one remains stuck in the naturally occuring innate ignorance (lhan cig skyes pa 'i ma rig pa, *sahajiividya) It is then explained at length how the realization of the natural mind surpasses any form of book-learning (pa7J4i ta 'i rig pa 'i gnas Inga la mkhas pa) , any kind of achievement in the absorption of tranquility meditation (zhi gnas kyi ting nge 'dzin , *§amathasamiidhi) , and any visionary 7 Correlated passages : DK.a Ka.43i14-44b i , DK B Nya a - 4a4 , DK.D Nya 3b3- 5ai, DK.P.Nya ar 99b1, DK.Q.Nya l 3br l 74b , DK.R.Nya 2.22i14-24a6 , DK.S Nya 2.22bs25a3, DK.T.Nya pp l O n- l l 14 A facsimile copy of DK.D Nya is found in Phyag chen mdzad vol Kha (TBRC W23447- 895) pp 743- 77 i ... Mantra practice must find and rely on a spiritual teacher (dge ba 'i bshes gnyen, *kalya!Jamitra) of the Mahayana who possesses the right qualifications (mtshan nyid dang ldan pa, *lak�aJJika)... 'i ma rig pa, *sahajiividya) It is then explained at length how the realization of the natural mind surpasses any form of book-learning (pa7J4i ta 'i rig pa 'i gnas Inga la mkhas pa) , any kind... that a great meditator (sgom chen pa) must sever the ties to this life and then needs a view that is conj oined with realization (lta rtogs pa dang 'brel ba, *avabodhasambaddhadr�!i) , a meditation