The Vajra Essence

Introduction

[2] Homage to the Omnipresent Lord, Samantabhadra, the original, primordial ground, whose own face is made manifest.¹⁰

The Enlightened View Lineage of the Buddhas¹¹ is so designated because all the jinas of the past, present, and future are of one taste in their enlightened view, within the absolute space of phenomena.¹² The Symbolic Lineage of the Vidyādharas is so designated because here one is liberated through the self-emergent symbolic signs of the treasury of space, ultimate reality,¹³ without reliance upon the stages of spiritual training and practice. The Aural Lineage of Ordinary Individuals is so designated because here the Teacher, who is the appearing aspect of an illusory display of primordial consciousness—one’s own appearance and not a human being—reveals these practical instructions as though filling a vase, so that they arise of themselves as an aural transmission, which serves [3] as an entrance to the path for disciples. May I, who set out to be the guru of the world, a great being who embodies as one all three of these lineages, be blessed by the inexhaustible ornamental wheels¹⁴ of the three secrets of the jinas and jinaputras , and may I be granted permission by the ocean of the Three Roots¹⁵ and the samaya -bound¹⁶ guardians, so that I may bring this undertaking to perfection.

The primordial, originally pure¹⁷ nature of existence, which is great, intellect-transcending ultimate reality, free of conceptual elaboration, is obscured by conceiving of a self and dualistic grasping. Then, being bound by clinging to the three delusive realms of saṃsāra as being truly existent, one becomes an ordinary individual. Still, there are those who have accumulated vast merit over many eons [4] and who have the power of pure aspirations. Therefore, for the sake of those with the fortune to master ultimate reality, the treasury of space—who can awaken their karmic momentum¹⁸ by engaging in the action of nonaction in great, self-emergent primordial consciousness—I shall present this king of tantras, the tantra of the ground of being, the self-emergent tantra of the nature of existence of the sugatagarbha .¹⁹

Here is how this tantra originated: On the evening of the fifth day of the first month of the male water dog year,²⁰ by the power of the profound, swift path of the direct crossing over,²¹ the vision of the direct perception of ultimate reality arose. Because I had practiced the path of skillful means of the stage of generation a little, [5] I reached the ground of a matured vidyādhara. Through that power, all appearances and mindsets dissolved into originally pure ultimate reality, absolute space free of conceptual elaboration. Then the very own face of the dharmakāya²² became manifest.

After some time, the following spontaneous appearances emerged in the form of a buddhafield.

At that very time—of self-emergent, originally pure, great bliss—the environment formed of my own appearances was the actual Akaniṣṭha.²³ This illusorily displayed buddhafield was vast and spacious, and its surface was smooth, level, and pliant to the touch. Verdant hills of medicinal herbs [6] were fragrant with mists of pleasing aromas. The whole ground was completely covered with various radiant, luminous, clear, sparkling, shimmering, lovely flowers in shades of white, yellow, red, green, and blue, as well as variegated hues. In the four cardinal directions were four oceans of ambrosia imbued with eight excellent qualities.²⁴ On the shores of those great oceans were pebbles of jewels, sands of gold, turquoise meadows, and overarching halos of rainbows.

Forests of wish-fulfilling trees flourished in the four intermediate directions, billowing forth clouds of sensory offerings. Various types of apparitional birds sported their exquisite forms and voiced the sounds of Dharma with gentle, soothing calls. Various emanated animals frolicked about and then, while showing off their lovely poses, demonstrated the proper way to listen to the Dharma. The whole sky above was covered with checkered lattices²⁵ of rainbow light. Everywhere the intermediate space was filled with singing and dancing vīras²⁶ and vīrās ,²⁷ while many goddesses made sensory offerings and expressed their devotion.

In the center of this region, in a great, delightful garden, resting against a tree covered with foliage and flowers, [7] a vast and lofty jeweled throne was supported by eight lions. The branches of the tree were draped with various silk hangings, jeweled latticework and pendants, and many miniature bells and cymbals, which spontaneously rang out the sounds of the holy Dharma.

Upon this lion-supported throne was a seat composed of a lotus, sun, and moon, upon which sat the true Teacher, Samantabhadra, the Lake-Born Vajra, the inner glow of the ground of reality appearing of its own accord. His body was dark blue in color, bearing the features of an eight-year-old youth. His right hand was in the mudrā of expounding the Dharma, and his left hand was in the mudrā of meditative equipoise. He was glorified by the signs and symbols of enlightenment and was adorned with all the sambhogakāya²⁸ apparel. Within the oceanic realm of his radiant, transparent body, all the buddhafields and ornamental displays of the myriads of peaceful and wrathful jinas naturally appeared, like planets and stars reflected brightly in a lake. Innumerable rays of blazing light emanated from him, and from their tips appeared various symbolic syllables.

Gathered around the Teacher was an illusory display of his own creative power. The entire retinue of 84,000 disciples was assembled there, including these bodhisattvas: Vajra of Pristine Awareness, [8] Faculty of Wisdom, Vajra of Primordial Consciousness, Boundless Great Emptiness, Faculty of Pervasive Luminosity, Spontaneous Display, Faculty Governing Outer Appearances, Faculty of Vision, Faculty of Hearing, Faculty of Smell, Faculty of Taste, Faculty of Touch, and many others. They were all looking at the Teacher’s own face while sitting silently, bowed in reverence. The Teacher was also silent as he gazed into the expanse of the sky. At that moment, the natural sound of ultimate reality emerged from the domain of pristine space:

A !
All saṃsāra and nirvāṇa is without ground or root.
The Vajra Queen is great space.
The space of great emptiness is the Great Mother.
All phenomena are apparitions of a single identity,
the sphere of ultimate reality. [9]
So everything arises from what never arose.
Arising apparitions put a stop to emergent things.
Causes and conditions are extinguished
right where they are.
Thus, in ultimate reality, the Teacher and the teaching,
the path and its fruition, are devoid of signs and words.
The many avenues of skillful means and wisdom
appear as the great, self-emergent, natural arising.
The space of great, objectless openness is lucid, clear, and free of contamination.
All displays of the buddhafield, Teacher, and retinue
exist not, yet from nonexistence they appear to exist.
We sing its praises in awestruck exaltation!

As soon as this sound arose, the entire assembled retinue spoke with one voice to the Bhagavān: “O Teacher, Bhagavān, Omnipresent Lord and Unwavering Sovereign, please listen to us and consider our words! Please, Teacher, explain why this entire buddhafield is here, with the Teacher and assembled disciples, and tell us how this arose.”

The Teacher replied, “O apparitional disciples who have appeared and gathered here, listen: You ask why these illusory displays of primordial consciousness—the buddhafield, Teacher, and disciples—have arisen. In order to reveal an entrance to the nonconceptual primordial consciousness of the mind of all the sugatas²⁹ of the three times [10] in a way suitable to the faculties and fortune of each and every being who wanders in the three realms of saṃsāra, this, our own appearance, manifesting as the ornamental display of the actual buddhafield of Akaniṣṭha—this great vision of ultimate reality—was broken open by the immense power of wisdom and primordial consciousness. As for myself, I am the Teacher who is a natural appearance of the innate radiance of the primordial ground sugatagarbha, and I appear to myself. The natural radiance of empty awareness, free of conceptual elaboration, appears as Vajra of Pristine Awareness. The natural radiance of the wisdom of identitylessness appears as Faculty of Wisdom. The natural radiance of the eight aggregates of consciousness, together with the mental factors, appears as the assembled retinue.”

Then Bodhisattva Faculty of Wisdom rose from his seat and asked the Bhagavān, “O Teacher, Bhagavān, you yourself arise as the sugatagarbha’s own inner glow. I, Faculty of Wisdom, appear from the natural radiance of wisdom, and Vajra of Pristine Awareness appears from the natural radiance of pristine awareness. From the eight aggregates of consciousness,³⁰ together with the mental factors, come what appears as the assembly of male and female bodhisattvas. But if this is so, we should appear in that way [11] to all the beings of the three realms. But in that case, why do they carry on in the midst of the delusive appearances of joys, sorrows, friends, and enemies that proliferate into the three realms of existence, where miseries occur and pure appearances do not? Teacher, please explain!”

He replied, “O son of the family, beings who have slipped into the ethically neutral³¹ ground do not see pure appearances. Impure, delusive mindsets and appearances of friends, enemies, joys, and sorrows are characteristic of ordinary sentient beings. The emergence, here, of inconceivable pure appearances comes to individuals who previously sat in the presence of the self-appearing Teacher, the perfect Buddha who is not a human being, and in the presence of the Lake-Born Vajra of Orgyen. These people attained the supreme siddhi³² after entering the gateway of Vajrayāna³³ Dharma and applying themselves diligently to its practice. From then until the myriad realms of beings are empty, due to the power of their pure aspirations, they repeatedly appeared as teachers for the sake of the world, teaching in accordance with the individual needs of disciples. When their previous karmic momentum was aroused, they directly gazed upon the truth of ultimate reality, and they became individuals for whom wisdom emerges spontaneously. By the great power of primordial consciousness, pure appearances arise for them, but in this case, these are neither the mind nor mental factors. [12] Rather, their essential nature is to appear as creative displays from manifest absolute space. They are not the eight aggregates of consciousness, but they are not otherwise, so they are called by these names. They arise from the nondual Teacher and retinue as the numerous gateways of appearances. Those known as bodhisattvas have gone well beyond mundane existence, even though they have not become buddhas—that is why they are so known.”

Again, Bodhisattva Faculty of Wisdom spoke, “Yes, O Teacher, Bhagavān. If the apparitionally displayed Teacher and the entire retinue are nondual and not different, as you have said, there is no purpose for all the teaching and listening on the part of the Teacher and the assembly of disciples. Since there is no difference in their primordial consciousness and sublime qualities, what is the point in putting on a show of teaching and listening? Teacher, please explain!”

He replied, “O Faculty of Wisdom, in times past, the Teacher known as Śākyamuni arose as his disciples’ own appearances. The Teacher himself was like the sun, and his emanations arose like light from that sun. The Teacher, those who sought teachings from him, and the retinue, acting as listeners, in each case appeared to be teaching or listening [13] to each of the various kinds of yānas meant for training disciples on the spiritual path. Although the Teacher and the retinue were nondual, for the sake of the disciples, various expressions of skillful means were displayed, like an illusionist and his illusions.”

Then Bodhisattva Boundless Great Emptiness reverently bowed to the Bhagavān and asked, joining his palms, “O Teacher, Bhagavān, so that all beings may be liberated from the ocean of miseries of mundane existence and reach the state of liberation, please grant us the profound pith instructions to actually achieve the state of the fully perfected Buddha Samantabhadra in one lifetime and with one body.”

The Teacher replied, “O Boundless Great Emptiness and the rest of you assembled here, listen! The supreme, sublime path that brings all sentient beings to the grounds and paths³⁴ of liberation is called the swift path of the clear light Great Perfection . This is the most sublime of all Dharmas. It is a general synthesis of all the paths, the point of convergence of all yānas, and a profound treasury for the entire scope of all secret mantras. [14] However, only those who have stored vast collections of merit in many ways, over incalculable eons, will encounter this path. They will have aspired and prayed repeatedly and extensively to reach the state of perfect enlightenment, and they will certainly have discovered the path previously through other yānas. Thus, by seeking the path, they will have established propensities to reach this path. No others will encounter it.

“Why not? Although people lacking such fortune may be present where this yāna is being explained and heard, because they are under the influence of their negative deeds and the strength of the powerful, devious māras of mental afflictions, their minds will be in a wilderness five hundred yojanas away. Such unfortunate servants of māras, with their perverse aspirations, act in ways that are contrary to this profound Dharma and respond to it with abuse, false conjecture, repudiation, envy, and so on.

“On the other hand, those who enter the gateway of this Dharma and implement its meaning will appear as rarely as stars appear during the daytime. Some, when entering the path, will hear and understand a little, then abandon it and casually go astray. Not engaging in spiritual practice, they will face death as ordinary beings, and they will not achieve liberation.

“In general, to enter this yāna and put it into practice, [15] you must have all the following characteristics:

Belief in the Dharma and in your guru

Unwavering trust in the path

Earnest mindfulness of death and the conviction that all composite phenomena are impermanent, so that you have little attraction to mundane activities

Contentment with respect to food, wealth, and enjoyments

Insatiability for the Dharma due to great zeal and determination

Integration of your life and spiritual practice, without complaining

“When such people with stable minds—without being boastful about the mere number of months or years they have spent practicing in retreat—see this entrance and undertake the practice, they will definitely achieve the supreme state of Buddha Vajradhara in this very lifetime. Of this there is no doubt. In other yānas, it is said that after collecting the accumulations³⁵ and purifying obscurations for three countless eons, finally you manifestly become perfectly enlightened. Nevertheless, because of karma,³⁶ mental afflictions, and habitual propensities gathered over eons, through the course of many lifetimes, the shifting influences of various thoughts and actions make it difficult to encounter the path of collecting the accumulations and purifying obscurations again and again. Think carefully about this situation and you will become clear and certain of it.

“Be that as it may, due to excellent karmic connections from the past, now you have obtained a precious human life [16] with freedom and opportunity, and you have encountered the most sublime of Dharmas, the secret mantra, Vajrayāna. This is no time to hold on to the ultimate hope of accumulating merit over a long period until you finally attain enlightenment. Rather, you must apprehend the ground of your own being for yourself by making manifest the intrinsic nature of the sugatagarbha, the primordial ground. This is the path to liberation in this lifetime. Apart from this, the teachings that say one can reach the state of liberation as a result of accumulating much karma from one lifetime to another are effective for bringing about temporary happiness in the minds of beings, but enlightenment in this way is extremely difficult. Consider that such teachings may have a merely provisional meaning.”

Bodhisattva Boundless Great Emptiness commented, “O Teacher, Bhagavān, one can achieve liberation by striving in this present human life to generate good thoughts that expand the mind and by making efforts in bodily and verbal virtues, and then, at some future time, by practicing the view and meditation of the clear light Great Perfection, the vajra essence of secret mantra. But it is said that it is difficult to achieve liberation by practicing in this lifetime alone. Moreover, it is said that small-minded beings, such as śrāvakas³⁷ and pratyekabuddhas ,³⁸ [17] cannot fathom the vast and profound Vajrayāna Dharma. Is this true or not? If it is true, and the quality and capacity of the minds of beings differ, then the small-minded would have to expand their minds to become beings of the Mahāyāna class, and if there were some beings whose minds were already vast enough without having to expand them, still, if the secret mantra were not already there in their own mindstreams, they would have to acquire some secret mantra from somewhere else. If this were the case, I don’t know what it would mean. Teacher, please explain!”

He replied, “O Boundless Great Emptiness, in this present lifetime, if you arrive with that aspiration at the gateway of secret mantra—and you have firm faith and belief in it and strong, unflagging enthusiasm—the time has come to practice. When fortunate beings come to the gateway of the profound secret mantra, apart from simply having strong faith and belief, there is never anything else—such as clairvoyance, omens, or auspicious circumstances—to make them think that the time has come to practice secret mantra. Once you have obtained a human life and [18] encountered a guru and the secret mantra Dharma, if this is not the time to practice the Great Perfection, then there will never be a better time than this in another life—this is certain.

“It is not that the minds of śrāvakas, pratyekabuddhas, ordinary beings, and so forth are too small. Rather, due to their previous karma, they do not reach the gateway of secret mantra. Or even if they do, they have no faith and no belief, and because of spiritual sloth and distraction, they don’t practice.

“Understand that this has nothing to do with the specific capacities of beings’ minds. Don’t think that there are any differences in the capacities of the minds of beings. To those fettered by selfishness, I teach that by opening their hearts to all beings throughout space, without concern for their own welfare, they will see the truth of the nonduality of self and other.”

Boundless Great Emptiness continued, “O Teacher, Bhagavān, if so, is it that such beings are not able to expand their minds by meditating on the profound mystery of the Great Perfection? Or is it that, even if they meditate on the Great Perfection, they still need to develop bodhicitta³⁹ in some other way? Teacher, please explain!” [19]

He replied, “O son of the family, this Great Perfection is the yāna of the unsurpassed fruition. That which manifests the great reality that pervades all of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa is called bodhicitta of the ultimate ground —you need apprehend only this. Apart from this, intellectually fabricating so-called bodhicitta with effort entails generating a mental state in which you view yourself as the one generating bodhicitta and other sentient beings as objects of your aspiration—an attitude that is as limited as a teacup.

“In the expanse of the Great Perfection—the original nature of the great equal purity of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa—the mode of existence of the ground itself is known, just as it is, by means of great, omniscient primordial consciousness. To speak of having bodhicitta greater than the vision of great, all-seeing primordial consciousness would be like saying you must seek moisture elsewhere, even though you already have water.

“The primordial, originally pure ground, the great reality that pervades all of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa, is bodhicitta. Without knowing this, even the benign sense of love and compassion that parents have for their children is a conceptual, object-focused state of mind. [20] With that alone, you might aspire for a fortunate rebirth; but hoping it will lead to enlightenment is as senseless as hoping that the son of a barren woman will become a householder.”