Chapter : The Dags po 'i bka ' 'bum 227 l et ting go of hesitation At the end of the session, regard all thoughts about physical sen sations to be birthles s Finally, three reinforcing instructions are given for sealing the realization The first is to understand that the co-emergent exists within every sentient being and also within oneself, and for this reason one does not have to seek it from others The second is that the great bliss that removes suffering, dharmakiiya, is simply one's own awareness, and for this reason it is not to be found outside The third is that all perceived outer phenomena are nothing but one's own mind, and for this reason fear is completely unnecessary and all distress and anxiety may be left behind The segment ends with a general colophon for whole text Nga , saying: " [These] notes of sayi ngs by the Dharma master S gam po pa taken by his attendant Sho sgom Byang Ye were compiled by me There are nine Dharma session s May it be good and auspicious ! " 2 DK.A Ca: Legs mdzes 's Teaching to the Gathering Given by the Protector Candraprabha Kumiira (Mgon go zla 'od gzhon n us mdzad pa 'i ts hos chos legs mdzes ma bzhugs so) 45 folios, internal segments, one colophon The final colophon of this second Tshogs chos work in the corpus states that the text was written as notes of S gam po pa's words by his student and attendant S gom pa Legs mdzes (dates unknown) without adding or removing any words The treatise is by far the longest of the five Teachings to the Assembly texts in the Dags po 'i bka ' 'bum It is also notably different from the other texts of this genre, given that the present text includes numerous scriptural quotations from sutras, the works of the Indian Mahiisiddha S araha, S antideva's Mahiiyiina classic Bodhicaryiiva tiira, and many other sources In fact, the text is the first among just three works in the Dags po 'i bka ' 'bum that account for % of all the ca quotations found throughout the forty works of the corpus; these three quotation-rich texts include DK.A Ca, DK.A.E (Dags po thar rgyan) , and DK.A.Varµ (Bstan bcos lung gi nyi 'od) 84 Text DK.A.Ca also makes frequent use of more technical terminology known from B uddhist philosophical and epistemological treatises The work consequently has a much more literary character than the other tshogs chos texts It is notable that through its frequent use of quotations and writing style, it is the only work in the Dags po 'i bka ' 'bum that comes somewhat closer in style to the work traditionally thought to be the magnus opus of S gam po pa, namely the Jewel Ornament of Liberation (Dags po thar rgyan, DK.A.E) Finally, it should be noted that the present work repeatedly quotes lines from an un named and still unidentified text that seems to serve as a root text (rtsa ba, *mula) for this DK.A.Nga 2a _6 : chos rje sgam po pa 'i gsung la/ nye gnas sho sgom byang yes zin bris su mdzad pal bdag gis phyogs gcig tu sgrigs pa 'o// //chos thun dgu yod!! dge 'o// bkra shis sol/ For a full translation of the colophon, see the summary of segment DK.A.C a below See KRAGH (20 3b : l 3 7- 379) tshogs chos It is unclear whether these lines are drawn from an independent treatis e or whether they function as mnemonic lines or verses (sdom tsh ig, *uddiina) internal to the text in order to capture key points of meaning Segment DK.A.Ca : The segment begins (Dk.A.Ca b ) : Ina mo gu rul bla ma rin che 'i zhal nas/ 'o skol da lta thob par dka ' ba 'i mi lus rin po che thob/ It ends (DK.A Ca l 2b ) : des na da res thun mong gi gdams ngag rin po che 'i gter kha phyed pa lta bu 'i gdam ngag 'di ston no// The first segment of the treatise is written as an introductory preface It ends (DK.A l 2b ) by stating that the following segments will teach the instructions (gdam ngag, *avaviida) needed for attaining accomplishment and it com pares this to " opening the treasure of the precious common instructions " (thun mong gi gdam ngag rin po che 'i gter kha phyed pa lta bu) It is notable that the segment thereby identifies the teachings to be given in the work as being 'common' (thun mong, *siidlui,ra!w), i e , generally shared by all practitioners of the B uddhist paths, thus setting these about from an implicit, supposedly different set of 'uncommon' ( *thun mong ma yin pa, *asiidhiira�ia) instructions that would be secret and exclusive to inner, higher practices The word 'common' (thun mong), on the one hand, is in various other contexts often employed for referring to teachings that are general for the whole Mahiiyiina tradition (e g , the explanations on the bodh isattva attitude) and sometimes also inclusive of the Hfnayiina tradition (e g , the contemplations of death and impermanence) The phrase 'uncommon' ( *thun mong ma yin pa), on the other hand, is often employed to designate secret yoga instructions of the Vajrayiina tradition Hence, it might be deduced from the use of the phrase 'common' that the present texts place particular emphasis on the Mahiiyiina instruc tions that B sod nams rin chen received from his Bka ' gdams pa teachers rather than on the Tantric and Mahiimudrii instructions that he obtained from Mi la ras pa The prefatory segment begins by pointing out that the practitioner has now attained a precious human rebirth (mi !us rin chen) which is difficult to gain and that the practitioner has encountered the teachings of the B uddha, which are hard to come by What needs to be done now is to enter the door (sgo) of these teachings and thereafter gain experience in their practices (nyams su Zen ) The segment then states that there are several different entrances to these teachings and goes on to distinguish the Sriivakayiina (nyan thos kyi theg pa), the Pratyekabuddhayana (rang sangs rgyas kyi theg pa), and the Mahayana (theg pa chen po) It is emphasized that the following explanations all belong to the Mahayana Thereupon, the segment presents a brief doxography of various Mahayana doctrinal or textual traditions (gzhung lugs) It mentions two different traditions of the Mind Only 85 Correlated passages: DK.a.Ka , ar 78b , DK.B Ca b -2b2, DK.D.Ca b -2b4 , DK.P.Ca l 99b - l OOb i , DK.Q.Ca l a4-85b , DK.R.Ca b -3b i , DK S Ca b -3b2, DK.T.Ca l pp h- ln On the meaning of avavada and its fundamental significance in the Buddhist meditative path according to the Bodh isattvabhum i book of the large Indian contemplative treatise Yogaciirabhiimi, see ARAMAKI (2000:40-46 and 20 3) It may be noted again that the Tibetan spelling gdam ngag and not gdams ngag is used frequently in DK.A Chapter : The Dags po 'i bka ' 'bum 229 school (sems tsam, *cittamatra), namely the textual tradition of the Mind Only school asserting real images (sons tsam rnam pa bden pa 'i gzhung lugs) and the textual tradition of th e Mind Only school asserting false images (rnam pa rdzun par 'dad pa 'i gzhung lugs) The mentioned philosophical distinction of whether the mental images of perception (rnam p a, *akara) are real ( rnam pa bden pa, *satyakara or *sakara) or false (rnam pa rdzun pa, *alfkakara) is a division found in the late Indian Yogacnra-vijfianavada or Cittamntra tradition, which was known to the early Tibetan traditions particularly through the Yognciira-Madhyamaka treatise Madhyamakalm?1kiira by S antarak�ita The latter is, however, not a source that is explicitly referred to anywhere in the Dags po 'i bka ' 'bum The segment also mentions two different textual traditions (gzhung lugs) of the Madhyamaka school (dbu ma) , namely " the illusion-metaphor" tradition (sgyu ma lta bu, *mayopamii) and " the non-abiding" tradition (rab tu mi gnas pa, *aprati�_thiina) 88 It further distin guishes two sub-traditions of the latter strand, viz " the non-abiding union" tradition (zung 'jug rab tu mi gnas pa) and "the non-abiding cut stream" tradition (rgyun chad rab tu mi gnas pa) For the S ecret Mantra tradition (gsang sngags) , the segment distinguishes the old Tantras ( rnying ma), the outer and inner Tantras (phyi pa dang nang pa) , and the Father and Mother Tantras (pha rgyud dang ma rgyud) Finally, it sums up all these distinctions in the form of the two broad traditions it calls "the accumulation path of the perfection s " (pha rol tu phyin pa tshogs kyi lam, *paramitiism?ibhiiramiirga) and " the method path of S ecret Mantra " (gsang sngags thabs kyi lam, *guhyamantropayamarga) Evidently, the mention of all these distinctions of textual traditions and Tantric sub-streams reflect what must have been well-known parts of common religious study and practice curricular in twelfth-century Tibet Next, the segment makes a few general remarks concerning the method path of Secret Mantra It is stres sed that this path is fundamentally a path of blessing (byin rlabs kyi lam pa), the success of which depends on entering into the blessing of the teacher (bla ma 'i byin rlabs zhugs pa) This is illustrated through an analogy of a great treasure buried beneath the house of a poor man, who will remain poor until the treasure has been found and opened The treasure is s aid to be the co-emergent mind as such (sems nyid lhan cig skyes pa, *sahajacittata) and its opening is achieved by entering the teacher's blessing Consequently, the segment ends with the above-cited statement that the following instructions are like "opening the treasure of the precious common instructions " The segment has no colophon For some details, see ICHIGO ( 98 : 82- ) It may be noted that these designations not agree with the labels employed by Kamalaslla and Ratnakarasanti ; see S EYFORT RUEGG ( 98 : fn 72) 88 These designations are known from Advayavajra's (i e , MaitrTpa's) Tattvara tniivall as well as from the eighth-century Tibetan treatise Lta ba 'i rim pa 'i man ngag by Dpal brtseg s ; see S EYFORT RUEGG ( : 8- fn 74) The doxographic part of the segment has been presented in schematic form by JACKSON ( 994: 5- 6) 230 Chapter 5: The Dags p o 'i bka ' 'bum Segment DK.A.Ca.2: The segment begins (DK.A.Ca.2.2b ) : Ina mo gu ru/ thun mong gi gdam ngag rin po che 'i gter kha 'byed pa lta bu 'i gdam ngag 'di la don bzh i ste/ It en ds (DK.A Ca.2 4b ) : mchan bu/ gdams ngag mtha ' dag rtsad nas chod pa the tshom med cing yid ches pa gegs sel gyi gdams pa dang bogs 'don gyi gdams ngag la sags pa ma lus pa thob pa thams cad la nan tan byas pa cig dgos pa yin gsung// 590 Mentioning again that the S ecret Mantra is a path of blessing and that it is crucial to enter into the blessing of the teacher, the second segment is concerned with explaining the topic s of bles sing (byin rla bs, *adhi�[hiina), the qualifications needed in a teacher (bla ma 'i mtshan nyid, *gurulak�a!w), and the need for engendering devotion to and respect for (mos gus, *adhimukti and *gaurava) the teacher These explanations are supported by a quotation from the Hevajra tantra To sum up the qualifications of a proper teacher, the segment presents necessary quali ties: having the instructions of an uninterrupted transmission lineage (brgyud pa 'i bka ' ma chad pa) , being good-natured and compassionate (ngang tshul bzang la thugs rje che ba), and being a person worthy of devotion (gus pa skye ba 'i rten du rung ba) The segment elaborates these qualifications in some detail The explanations given here of the transmis sion lineage distinguishes between the "red guidance " (dmar khrid) of an oral transmission (snyan brgyud) , which i s a transmission of meditative experience (nyams kyi brgyud pa), and the "black guidance" (nag khrid), which is the transmission of the (written) teachings (bka 'i brgyud pa) The term " red guidance" (dmar kh rid) thus signifies the practical instruction given by a meditation master, and it is a phrase that appears elsewhere in the corpus, e g , in the title of the yoga instruction text DK.A.Ba Conversely, the rarer term "black guidance" seems to designate the ability to explain the teachings of written texts, with the color black possibly referring to the black ink of the letters As for relying on a teacher who i s worthy of devotion, the segment stresses the need for letting go of inner arrogant attitudes (dman pa 'i blo spangs) of thinking of the teacher as being inferior and instead to regard him as being an actual B uddha It is said that it is only with such genuine conviction that the practitioner will truly be able to enter the blessing and thereby give rise to spiritual realization The segment here gives a series of instructions on how to fo ster devotion (gus pa, *gaurava or *satkrtya or *bhakti) The passage includes quotations from the Cakrasm7ivaratantra and other unnamed Tantric works It also refers to the stories of the Indian Tantric masters Tilopa and Nampa, Sahara (bram ze chen po) and Nagarjuna, and B hadrapada (bzang po 'i zhabs) and Kotali (tog rtse ba) The segment ends with a longer passage discussing two kinds o f devotion The first is an artificially cultivated form of devotion (bsgom pa 'i mos gus) felt by the beginner practitioner, which is fickle and easily lost if the practitioner sees or hears of a flaw in the teacher The second i s a naturally felt and more mature form of devotion (skyes pa 'i mos gus), which does not wane due to seeing a flaw in the teacher It is stable, since the 9° Correlated p assages : DK.a.Ka 8b -80bz, DK.B Ca.2.2b3-4b2, DK.D.Ca.2.2b4-4b3, DK.P.Ca OOb - 02bs, DK Q.Ca.2 86a1 -87bs, DK.R.Ca 3b -6h DK S Ca.2 3br 7a2, DK.T.Ca.2 pp ln -3 1 Chapter : The Dags po 'i bka ' 'bum 23 practitioner has gained certainty in the practice and keeps in mind that the practice was suc cessfully received and transmitted from one's teacher Finally, it is revealed that the inner meaning of devotion is not directed towards an outer person, but that the teacher represents one's own mind On a deeper level, devotion is thus an act of the mind praying to the mind itself, thereby purifying itself within the state of the mind as such (sems nyid, *cittatii) , fulfilling the verbalized wishes and thereby becoming infused with blessing The segment has no colophon It may be noted that the latter part of the segment follows a stru cture of quoting a root text (rtsa ba) in verse form and commenting on it in prose with several interspersed notes (mchan bu) This structure might suggest that the text at some stage has been expanded by a later hand Segment DKACa.3: The segment begins (DK.A.Ca.3 4b ) : rtsa ba/ na mo gu ru! bla ma rin po che 'i zhal nas spyir yang dag par rdzogs pa 'i sangs rgyas thugs rje che la thabs mkhas pa des chos kyi sgo mo brgyad khri bzhi stong bka ' stsal ba de thmns cad kyi brjod bya 'i don h ril gyis dril bas! It ends (DK.A Ca 7a ) : ming ni gzhan la phan pa 'ol ces pa 'i phyir ro// 59 The third segment starts by saying that the Dhanna taught by the B uddha consists of 84.000 entrances to the teachings (chos kyi sgo mo brgyad khri bzhi stong) but the key meaning that they express (brjod bya 'i don , *abhidheyiirtha or *viicyiirtha) is to provide a method (thabs, *upiiya) that enables sentient beings to achieve the result of buddhahood The segment then enters into a detailed discussion of what differences there are between a sentient being (sems can, *sattva) and a buddha (sangs rgyas) The discus sion unfolds by presenting three general modes in which things might be said to be different (tha dad pa, *bhinna), viz ( ) being different substantive entities (dngos po tha dad pa, *bhinnabhiiva or *bhinnavastu), (2) being different by excluding one another (gcig pa bkag pa 'i tha dad pa, *ekaprati�iddha), and (3) being different in the sense of sharing the same nature but forming different features (ngo bo gcig la ldog pa tha dad pa, *ekarupa-bhinnavyatireka ) These distinctions - which are known from the Inda-Tibetan epistemological tradition (tshad ma , *pramii1:1a) - are then briefly explained with examples, and it is concluded that the distinction between sentient beings and buddhas belongs to the third category That is to say, sentient beings and buddhas have similar natures , given that they are equal in pertaining to the mind (se1ns, *citta), but they are different in terms whether or not they have realized the birthless nature of the mind as such (sems nyid skye ba med pa 'i don) The declaration that sentient beings and buddhas are fundamentally the same but that the naturally pure mind (sems nyid rang bzhin gyis rnam par dag pa) is obscured in the case of sentient beings is supported in the segment through quotations from the c anonical texts *Atyayajiiiinasutra 592 and the Hevajratantra In order to realize the birthless nature of the mind, sentient beings have to purify the temporary stains that cover this nature and for doing so a method (thabs, *upiiya) is needed 59 Correl ated passage s : DK a.Ka 80br83a3, DK.B Ca.3 4br7a , DK.P.Ca 02b - 05b4, DK.Q.Ca 7bs-90as , DK.R.Ca 6b3- 0bs, DK.T.Ca.3 pp w 165 'Da ' ka ye shes (D 22) DK.D Ca.3 4b3-7�, DK S Ca.3 ar 2a , ... Cakrasm7ivaratantra and other unnamed Tantric works It also refers to the stories of the Indian Tantric masters Tilopa and Nampa, Sahara (bram ze chen po) and Nagarjuna, and B hadrapada (bzang po 'i zhabs) and. .. philosophical distinction of whether the mental images of perception (rnam p a, *akara) are real ( rnam pa bden pa, *satyakara or *sakara) or false (rnam pa rdzun pa, *alfkakara) is a division... Mantra tradition (gsang sngags) , the segment distinguishes the old Tantras ( rnying ma), the outer and inner Tantras (phyi pa dang nang pa) , and the Father and Mother Tantras (pha rgyud dang