Sutra and Tantra: The Profound and Miraculous

In this lesson, Robert Thurman shares with us how Tsong Khapa was not just the amazing scholar we know him to be—but also how he restored the Vinaya in fourteenth-century Tibet and founded tantric colleges. We also hear about the four great deeds of Tsong Khapa, his awakening experiences, and his connection with the bodhisattva Manjushri.

Robert Thurman takes us through the poetic verses Tsong Khapa wrote on the morning of his enlightenment. Here we begin to clarify our understanding of emptiness and relativity, and how these two relate to our lived experience and perception of the world around us.

In this lesson, we begin to take a closer look at the Madhyamaka—or Central Philosophy—view of emptiness and relativity, particularly in regard to the self. We learn how this helps us overcome our habits and also go deeper into the four reliances and four keys that help us understand personal selflessness.

Robert Thurman takes us through Tsong Khapa’s philosophy in the context of the many great philosophers who came before him—such as Nāgārjuna, Chandrakīrti, Bhāviveka, and Dignāga. In this way, we begin to distinguish some of the subtle distinctions between the various philosophical schools.

In this final lesson addressing the sutric teachings of Tsong Khapa, we learn how his understanding helps us see the nonduality of the relative and absolute. We learn more about the absurd consequences of believing in our own intrinsic identity as well as how emptiness helps us overcome our own self-centeredness and better cope with reality around us.

Robert Thurman begins to explore the tantric teachings and helps us understand why tantra is considered an accelerated path to buddhahood. We learn about how the buddhas Shakyamuni and Vajradhara are related, explore the three types of course, subtle, and supersubtle planes, and learn about the eight levels of dissolution that take place in the bardo.

In this lesson, we go into tantra in more detail—learning about the creation stage through the Unexcelled Yoga Tantra, specifically the Guhyasamaja Tantra. Prof. Thurman walks us through the mandala and shares the deeply transformative potential of this visualization practice, highlighting the practice of body isolation.

Prof. Thurman takes us deeply into the practice of tantra, giving us an overview of a visualized sadhana practice—a meditative performance script. We learn about how tantra relates to the bodhisattva vow, how practice leads to attaining siddhis, and finally how speech isolation, the second step of the perfection stage that involves mantra recitation, helps us develop command over the wind-energies in our subtle body.

In this lesson, we learn about the perfection stage practice of mind isolation, which helps us to uncover the reality of our mind as pure clear light. In addition to sharing with us how this directly applies to our daily life, Prof. Thurman also teaches us about the three luminances (luminance, luminance-radiance, and luminance-imminence) and how these relate to the eighty instinctual natures.

In this extended lesson, Prof. Thurman takes us further along the perfection stage to mind isolation. We also learn more about the initiation process, how the magic body emerges from clear light, and how a yogi attains complete buddhahood.