412 Chapter : The Dags po 'i bka ' 'bum mthun) The number ten seems here to refer to the said distinction between instructions and ensuing explanations, along with two sets of four Dhannas explained in the following piece, called " the four common Dharmas" (thun mong gi chos bzhi) and " the four Dharmas that should always be kept in mind" (rtag tu yid la bya ba 'i chos bzhi) The word " instruction" or " guidance" (gdams pa, *avavada) i s said to signify teachings given to students who are entering the path in order to show them the path, whereas the word "ensuing explanations " (1jes s u ston p a , *an usiisan i) indicates teachings meant t o help the student avoid detours on the path, e g , explanations on how to overcome unfavorable conditions and find construc tive conditions Thereupon, the four common Dharmas are presented, with the word "common" (thun mong, *siidharm:w) probably meaning that they should be followed by all seasoned practi tioners in the Dags po community The first is that although the student realizes everything to be Mahiimudra, he should still meditate on the bla ma over his head and make an effort in doing positive actions Secondly, whatever practice he does, he should shun negative actions Thirdly, although he feels no difference between being in retreat in the solitude (dben pa, zprfivivekya) or staying in town (grong, *grfima) , he should remain in solitude Fourthly, although he feels no difference between sitting upright with raised knees (tsog pu) or lying down (nyal ba) [when sleeping?] , he should meditate sitting upright (tsog pu) Next, the set of " four Dharmas that should always be kept in mind" are laid out The first is that the practitioner should always keep in mind the cultivation of kindness, compas sion, j oy, and equanimity and the contemplations of death and impermanence, the cause and effect of actions, and the suffering of sm?1sfira Secondly, he should always remember to meditate on himself as the deity, invite the wisdom aspects (ye shes sems dpa ', *jniinasattva), and then make offerings and praises to the buddhas and bodhisattvas Thirdly, during all daily activities he should meditate on guruyoga and let the mind rest in an uncontrived state (sems ma bcos par bzhag) Fourthly, he should from time to time dedicate the beneficence he has gathered and make wishing-prayers (smon lam, *pra�1idhana) The segment ends by stating that these four Dharmas to be kept in mind were instructed by the precious one (rin po che) to authentic men (dam pa skyes po) Segment DK.A.Dza : The segment begins (DK.A.Dza 9b ) : na m o ratna guru/ yang 'jug ldog g i bye brag n il It ends (DK.A.Dza 20ai) : 'dis kyang bstan pa dang sems can la phan pa rgya chen po 'byung bar gyur cigl/ bkra shis (some interspersed notes relating to lines above are placed in the lower line of the folio, but not belong to the end of the text) 77 The sixteenth and final segment of text DK.A.Dza contains a brief explana tion on three meditative experiences to be entered into ( 'jug pa 'i nyams gsum) and three meditative experiences to be avoided (!dog pa 'i nyams gsum) These are explained in the form of analogies, some of which are clarified by brief interlinear notes The notes are not attested by the older manuscript DK.a 977 Correlated passage s : DK.cx.Kha.232a2 , DK B Dza 9b -20a5 , DK.D Dza 20b -2 l as , DK Q.Dza 27ar327b4 , DK.R.Dza 34a3- a1 , DK S Dza l a3-35bs, DK.T.Dza 20b-2 n, Phyag chen mdzad vol Ka (TBRC W23447- 94) pp - l h Chapter 5: The Dags po 'i bka ' 'bum 413 The three meditative experience t o b e entered into are : ( ) an experience which is like arriving at an island with precious gems (explained in a note to mean that everything emer ges as Mahiimudra) ; (2) an experience that is like tasting the flavor of a medicine; and (3) an experience that is like actually taking the medicine (the latter two are not explained in any note) These three experiences should be fostered in a manner free from clinging The three experiences to be avoided are: ( ) an experience which is like a traveler remembering his motherland after recognizing the road (this is explained in a note as refe r ring to remembering one's former studies, received empowerments, service to the bla ma, practices and so forth, and then practicing these) ; (2) an experience which is like a person's time being up (this is explained in a note as meaning that one feels sad when after meditating on emptiness, signs [of accomplishment] not appear) ; and (3) an experience which is like bad dependencies manifesting as negative influences (bdud, *miira) (this is explained in a note as referring to turning back after seeing how others practice the Gene ration Stage and achieve powers by propitiating worldly deities and spirits, and then thinking that something similar was not achieved by oneself) It is then stated that when these three negative experiences arise, the yogf should deter them by meditating on powerful remedies These remedies are explained in a note saying that the yogf should contemplate the short time that is left of his life even though he has attained a precious human body as well as contemplating the suffering of birth, aging, sickness, and death, the suffering of the six sm1isaric existences , the great suffering of the three lower existences , and then resolving always to remember and rely on the b la ma's instructions in order to remedy these sufferings The segment ends with the prayer (quoted in Tibetan above) : "By this as well, may vast benefit be brought about for the teachings and for sentient beings ! May it be auspicious ! " While the segment and the overall text DK.A.Dza thus not end with any colophon in xylograph DK.A, a colophon is found in the older manuscript DK a, which says: [This w as] the instruction o n the birthless Mahamudra b y the venerable meditator from Dag po of the *Rnyi clan (rje btsun *[r]nyi sgom) For the sake of overcoming birth and death along with smtistira, I have written down the bla ma 's s ayings and my own meditative experiences 978 In the Tibetan text, the word gnyis sgom should be read as *rnyi sgom and the word 'jigs pa 'i should be read as * 'jig pa 'i While this colophon does not reveal the name of the author, it indicates that the whole or a part of text DK.a Dza was written by a later author as a mixture of sayings attributed to the venerable meditator from Dag po of the Rnyi clan, i e , B sod nams rin chen, combined with passages describing the author's own meditative experiences (rang gi nyams myong) It is possible that the colophon was known to the makers of the first xylograph (ms DK.A) through its presence in ms DK a but that they consciously omitted it due to its contents , given that the colophon clearly indicates that the 78 DK.a.Kha.232a5 : rje btsun dags po gnyis sgom gyi phyag rgya chen po skye ba med pa 'i gdam ngag! 'khor ba dang skye shi 'jigs pa 'i don du! bla ma 'i gsung dang rang gi nyams myong bris pal 414 Chapter : The Dags po 'i bka ' 'bum contents of the text are not purely the sayings of S gam po pa Or, if the makers of ms DK.A were not familiar with ms DK a, its omission in ms DK.A could equally be explained in the way that the colophon is not an original part of the work and was transmitted only through some recensions of the earlier transmis sion lines of text Dza - here represented by ms DK.a - and that it therefore was not attested by the manuscript(s) that formed the basis for the first xylograph, ms DK.A 5.20 DK.A Wa: Sayings of the Dharma Master, the Doctor from Dags po: The Mahiimudrii Instruction Descending from Above along with Manifold Songs (Chos rje dags po lha rje 'i gsung te phyag rgya chen po 'i man ngag thog bahs dang mgur 'bum rnams bzhugs so) 1 folios, segments , internal colophons Text DK.A.Wa consists of two main parts The first part is entitled "The Mahiim udrii Instruction Descending from Above" (phyag rgya chen po 'i man ngag thog babs) The expression "descending from above " (thog babs), generally speaking, denotes something that drops or has dropped from the sky, such as lightning, a meteoritic rock, or a religious obj ect made from such stone Here, however, the phrase is employed metaphorically to describe a contemplative technique of entering into deep meditation in an immediate manner, as opposed to gradually building up the medita tion practice The same title is also used for segment DK.A.Ra A s discussed above, S a skya Par:ic;lita later criticized Bka ' brgyud Mahiimudrii o f being a Chinese Chan B uddhist teaching in disguise Specifically, he accused the Bka ' brgyud pas of simply having changed the Chinese Chan terms " falling from above " (yas 'bab, *shangjiang _!:_ �if) and "climbing from below " (mas 'dzegs, *xiadeng T1t) into the familiar Indian terms "instantaneous " (cig char ba or cig car ba, *yugapad) and " gradual " (rim gyis pa, *anupiirva or *kranwria) in order to hide the doctrine's Chinese origin While it certainly is true that the Tibetan expressions yas 'bab and mas 'dzes are not attested anywhere in the Dags po 'i bka ' 'bum whereas the terms " instantaneous " and " gradual " are frequently used, it is notable that the present phrase " descending from above " (tlwg babs) corresponds closely in meaning to the Chinese term " falling from above" (yas 'bab, *shangjiang _!:_ �if ) The Chinese term likewise consists of two syllables meaning 'above' (shang _!:_ = thog or yas) and 'falling' or 'descending' (Jiang �if = babs) It is evident that the two Tibetan words yas " above " and thog " on , above " can be used interchangeably, because segment DK.A.Ra.3 contains a sentence (DK.A.Ra a2 ) , wherein the two words yas and thog are placed appositionally next to each other as plain synonyms : " This Mahiimudrii instruction descending from above (thog babs) , which should be applied from above (yas thog tu gdab pa) , has two points " (phyag rgya chen po 'i gdam ngag thog babsl yas thog tu gdab pa 'di la don gnyis te/) 979 Nevertheless, the similarity between the attested Tibetan 979 A highly similar sentence is seen in the segment DK.A.Wa 1_2 with only minor reading variants : phyag rgya chen po 'i gdam ngag thog bahs dang! yang thog tu byung ba 'di la don gnyis tel In the older ms DK.a Kh a 80b , the word dang/ is omitted and it reads gyur pa instead of byung ba Chapter : The Dags po 'i bka ' 'bum 415 term thog bahs and the non-attested Sino-Tibetan term yas bahs ( *shangjiang tji�) may be a mere coincidence, because no equivalent for the other paired Sino-Tibetan term "clim bing from below " (mas 'dzegs, *xiadeng i:-�) appears in texts DK.A Wa or DK.A.Ra Th ese issues will be discussed in fu rther detail i n the segment summary The first overall part of the manual consists of segments DK.A.Wa -5 It is stated in its several internal colophons to have been transmitted through B sod nams rin chen's younger nephew, Slob dpon B sgom chung to Slob dpon Stod lung pa In the older ms DK a, Stod lung pa (also spelled Stod lungs pa) is identified with the personal name Tshul khrims ye she s It is added that he, in turn, gave this instruction to the actual writer of the text, who only refers to himself as " me " (bdag) , but who can thus be identified as a student of Tshul khrims ye shes In ms DK.A, however, the name Tshul khrims ye shes only appears in one of the colophons and is there separated from the epithet Stod lung pa, in the way that Stod lung pa gave the instruction to Tshul khrims ye shes Moreover, in ms DK.A, none of the refe rences to "me" is attested and they have possibly been intentionally deleted given the lack of a concrete name in these references The "Aciirya from Stod Valley " (i e , Slob dpon Stod lung pa) is a person who appears several times in the Dags po 'i bka ' 'bum The exact same transmission line from B sgom chung to B stod lung pa to "me" is attested in the colophons of segments DK.A.Tha and DK.A.Tha.4 As mentioned above in the description of segment DK.A.Tha.4 , the older ms DK a there adds the nickname Dbu se, " grey-head, " after the epithet B stod lung pa, thus indicating the epithet to be referring to the first Karma pa Dus gsum mkhyen pa, who was known by thi s nickname In ms DK a of the present segment, however, the epithet Slob dpon S tod lung pa is specified as belonging to a person named Tshul khrims ye shes , which is not a name associated with Dus gsum mkhyen pa The identification of these titles and personal names is a problem that still awaits a satisfactory solution The second overall part of text Wa consists of segments DK.A.Wa.6- It contains an early collection of songs (mgur 'bum) attributed to B sod nams rin chen Among these, segments DK.A.Wa 5- appear to have been appended at a later stage Segment DK.A.Wa : The segment begins (DK.A.Wa l b ) : !bla ma dam p a mams la phyag 'tshal lo/ /phya rgya chen po 'i gdam ngag thog bahs dang yang thog du byung ba 'di la don gnyis tel It ends (DK.A.Wa a2 ) with a colophon: /phyag rgya chen po thog bahs rtsis kyi rgya mdud dang bcas pal rin po che sgam po pa 'i man ngag/ dags po bsgom clnmg gi phyag dpel slob dpon stod lungs pa la gdams pa 'o//.980 The first segment contains a teaching called "The Mahamudra Instruction Descending from Above" (phyag rgya chen po 'i gdam ngag thog bahs) This instruction has two points First, there is a part dispelling ° Correl ated passage s : DK a.Kha.80b - l b i , DK.B Wa l l b - a2, DK.D.Wa l l b -2bs, DK.Q Wa 327b -328b4, DK S Wa b -3bs, DK.T.Wa b-2b , Phyag ch en mdzad vol Ka (TBRC W23447- 894) pp 1 - 442 The text is omitted in DK.R 416 Ch apter : The Dags po 'i bka ' 'bum five mistaken ideas (log par rtog pa lnga bsal ba) 98 This is followed by a presentation of the actual instruction (gdam ngag dngos) As for the five mistaken ideas , the first is called " a mistaken idea about the essence " (ngo bo la log rtog) Here, the practitioner wrongly believes that he should first abandon the present bad mind (da lta 'i sems ngan pa), while he thinks that knowledge or wisdom (ye shes, *jiia na) is good (bzang po) The text rejects this belief and retorts that, according to the tradition of this instruction, the root of all phenomena, [whether good or bad] , is the mind (chos kyi rtsa ba sems yin te) Consequently, there is nothing to be abandoned in the mind The second mistaken idea concerns the obj ect (yul la log pa) This refers to the opinion ( 'dad pa, *abhipriJ.ya) that the practitioner should abandon the five poisons (dug lnga) , i e , afflictive emotions including pride, desire, anger, jealousy, and stupidity It is answered that in the tradition of this instruction these emotions should not be eliminated but should be utilized as part of the path (lam du 'khye r ba) The third mistaken idea concerns time (dus la log par rtog pa) , namely to think that realization (rtogs pa, *avabodha) can first take place after three incalculable world-ages (bskal pa grangs med pa, *asm?ikhyeyaryi kalpam) 982 This is a common view held with regard to Mahayana practice, and it later became - as discussed above - one of the points raised as a criticism against Bka ' brgyud MahiJ.mudriJ by S a skya Pai:ic.!ita The segment rej ects this idea by saying that the tradition of this instruction maintains the present [moment] to be self-realization (da !ta rang rtogs par 'dad) The fourth mistaken idea concerns insight, namely to think that realization is achieved by means of knowledge (rig pa, *vidya) This is rej ected by saying that the tradition of this instruction maintains realization to be achieved by means of the instruction (gdams ngag, *avaviida) The fifth mistaken idea is to consider buddhas to be good and sentient beings to be bad This is refuted on the ground that there is no substantial differ ence between buddhas and sentient beings, the only difference being whether the nature of the mind has been realized or not Having dispelled these five erroneous views, the segment goes on to present the actual instruction in three points The first point is c alled " skill in beginning the meditation" (sgom mgo rtsom pa la mkhas pa) It concerns assuming the proper sitting posture for meditation and letting the mind begin to rest in its own essence in a manner of "descending from above" (thog babs su bzhag) This means leaving the mind in its own state (rang lugs) with out applying any [artificial] effort, namely in an uncontrived meditative experience of bliss, presence, and non-thought This i s to recognize the undeluded mind (sems ma khrul pa la ngos bzung ba) Further, the yogi also needs to reco gnize the deluded mind (sems khrul pa la ngos bzung ba) Here, the meditator observes all thoughts that arise and look at these in a The dispelling of the five mistaken ideas has been summarized by David P JACKSON ( 994 : fn 99) For a general explanation of the three incalculable aeons that it in Mahayana literature is said for a bodhisattva to complete the path, see KRAGH (20 a : 66, 208) One incalculable aeon is defi ned in Abhidharmakofo as consisting of 05 human years It is said to include the full time it takes for a universe to manifest, remain, and be destroyed ... The third mistaken idea concerns time (dus la log par rtog pa) , namely to think that realization (rtogs pa, *avabodha) can first take place after three incalculable world-ages (bskal pa grangs... DK .A. Wa : The segment begins (DK .A. Wa l b ) : !bla ma dam p a mams la phyag 'tshal lo/ /phya rgya chen po 'i gdam ngag thog bahs dang yang thog du byung ba 'di la don gnyis tel It ends (DK .A. Wa... med pa, *asm?ikhyeyaryi kalpam) 982 This is a common view held with regard to Mahayana practice, and it later became - as discussed above - one of the points raised as a criticism against Bka '