BKa´ brgyud Mahāmudrā: “Chinese rDzogs chen” or the Teachings of the Siddhas?
“Chinese rDzogs chen” or the Teachings of the Siddhas?
1. Sa skya Paṇḍita´s Critique of "Present-day Mahāmudrā"
The “new traditions” (gsar ma), most prominently the bKa´ gdams pas and Sa skya pas, describe the time between the disintegration of the Tibetan empire and the establishment of a centralized political power at the end of the tenth century as a “dark period,” a time when tantras were misunderstood and such Chinese Ch´an elements as the possibility of sudden enlightenment gained wide acceptance. The agenda of gsar ma, then, was to re-establish the “pure” Indian traditions and ban the “degenerate” forms of Buddhism from the “dark period.” Sa skya Paṇḍita (1182-1251) claims, for example, that there was no difference between “present-day mahāmudrā and Chinese rdzogs chen,” the Chinese master´s tradition having been secretly changed to mahāmudrā after the royal rule had vanished. In the third chapter of his sDom gsum rab dbye, which is on tantric vows, Sa paṇ writes:
No substantial difference exists between
The present-day mahāmudrā and the rdzogs chen
Of the Chinese tradition, other than a change
In names from “descent from above” (yas ´bab) And “ascent from below” (mas ´dzegs) to “Simultaneist” and “Gradualist.” (III.167)
By present-day mahāmudrā Sa paṇ primarily meant controversial aspects of the bKa´ brgyud teachings on mahāmudrā, such as the possibility of a sudden liberating realization or the possibility that a beginner may attain mahāmudrā even without any tantric empowerment. About the Indian mahāmudrā of Nāropa and Maitrīpa, namely the traditions most bKa´ brgyud pas claim to follow, Sa paṇ says a little further down in the sDom gsum rab dbye:
The mahāmudrā that Nāropa and Maitrīpa taught Is the karmamudrā, dharmamudrā, Samayamudrā and mahāmudrā. Precisely as maintained in the tantras
Of the secret Mantra[[[yāna]]]. (III.176-177)
To say that mahāmudrā is the four seals means that it contains within itself, on a relative level, the means by which it is attained. In Hevajratantra II.8.1-5, for example, mahāmudrā is looked upon as a beautiful karmamudrā on the level of apparent truth. This demonstrates the tantric context of mahāmudrā practice, which is initiated with the help of a
karmamudrā, that is, a tantric partner. This, however, requires a full-fledged empowerment within the system of Highest Yogatantra (Tib. rnal ´byor bla na med pa´i rgyud), along with the subsequent formal tantric practices of the generation and completion stages. Sa paṇ thus claims:
Other great treatises also
Prohibit mahāmudrā [practice]
To one who has no link to the empowerments. III.179
2. The Quotation from the Caturmudrānvaya
In the passage on present-day mahāmudrā from the third chapter of the sDom gsum rab dbye, Sa paṇ mainly relies on a quotation from the Caturmudrānvaya which cannot be identified (see further down). In the sDom gsum rab dbye we find:
In his Caturmudrā[nvaya], Noble Nāgārjuna said this:
If, through not having known the karmamudrā, One is also ignorant of the dharmamudrā,
It is impossible for one to understand
Even the name mahāmudrā. (III.178)
The picture Sa paṇ tries to draw with the help of this quotation is clear from the context of the sDom gsum rab dbye: After the bar dar, which was a dark period, we have a problem with Chinese (or rather Sino-Tibetan) Ch’an elements that found their
way into Tibetan mahāmudrā systems. All that needs to be done, then, is to return to the pure Indian Buddhist traditions, in which the realization of mahāmudrā could only be the result of the tantric generation and perfection stages, and not simply through the suspension of thought processes brought on when the mind has been altered by devotion towards the master:
Nowadays, some give pointing out [instructions to the effect]
That mahāmudrā is the suspension of [even] the slightest thought
Brought on when the mind has been altered
But it is possible that such [an effect may be the work] of a demon.8 III.181a-182a
In his Dohākoṣa, Saraha claims, however, that the qualities of the guru can enter the mind of the disciple without a single mantra or tantra, and Maitrīpa´s (ca. 1007 – ca. 1085) disciple Rāmapāla, too, points into this direction. Before returning to this issue, it is necessary to discuss Sa paṇ´s quotation, which is found in this form in neither the Sanskrit nor the Tibetan versions of Caturmudrānvaya. This was already noticed by the Fourth ´Brug chen Padma dkar po (1527-1596), who claims in his Phyag chen rgyal ba´i gan mdzod:
Moreover, [Sa paṇ has said in his sDdom gsum rab dbye, verse III.178]: "In his Caturmudrā[nvaya], Noble Nāgārjuna...." This is not found in Nāgārjuna´s text. Here, [Sa paṇ] said something other than [what we find in the Caturmudrānvaya, which reads as follows]: "Being satisfied [with what they have found], they even do not know the discourses of the dharmamudrā. How [can] the uncontrived co-
emergent nature arise for those who do not know the [teachings of] the dharmamudrā[, that is,] only through the contrived [practice of uniting with a] karmamudrā? It is [only] from a cause of a specific kind that a fruit of this [same] specific kind arises, and
not from another kind. Just as the sprout of a śālī[-tree] but not a kodrava[-plant] arises from a śālī-seed, so too the uncontrived co-emergent arises from the uncontrived nature of the dharmamudrā. From the dharmamudrā [acting] as a cause, mahāmudrā, which is not separable [from its cause], thus arises."
A preliminary summary of this issue was published by Broido (1987), which elicited two strong reactions from David Jackson (1990 & 1994). A comparison with the Sanskrit texts clearly shows, however, that the Padma dkar po quotation perfectly accords with the Sanskrit in meaning, namely that the uncontrived dharmamudrā—not the contrived karmamudrā—is the cause of mahāmudrā. The translation of this passage from the Sanskrit is as follows:
Being satisfied [with what they have found], they even do not know the discourses of the dharmamudrā. How [can] the uncontrived [[[wisdom]]] called co-emergent arise for those who do not know the [teachings of] the dharmamudrā[, that is,] only through the contrived [practice of uniting with a] karmamudrā? It is [only] from a cause of a specific kind that a fruit of this [same] specific
kind arises, and not from another kind. Just as the sprout of a śālī[-tree] and not a kodrava[-plant] arises from a śālī-seed, the uncontrived co-emergent arises from the presence of the uncontrived dharmamudrā. Therefore, it is only the dharmamudrā that is the cause of mahāmudrā (to apply figuratively a distinction [between a cause and an effect] to what [in fact admits of] no [such] distinction).
The Caturmudrānvaya clearly says here that the contrived karmamudrā is not a sufficient base from which to attain mahāmudrā, for it cannot be the actual cause of something uncontrived. This is clear, too, from Maitrīpa´s Sekanirdeśa and its commentaries, for all of which the Caturmudrānvaya is the basic text. According to them a good empowerment and subsequent practice presupposes the yogin has
identified the co-emergent joy in between supreme joy and the joy of no joy at the moment of freedom from defining characteristics. The goal of co-emergent joy, which resembles the ultimate co-emergent, or mahāmudrā, can thus be identified on the basis of the non-dual moment at the peak of karmamudrā practice in between the
moments of maturation and relaxation. A correct realization of this non-dual experience as empty (only then it becomes a Buddhist goal in the eyes of Maitrīpa) depends on pith instructions of the guru, and not on forms of recognition induced by the drop of bodhicitta in various locations inside or between the sexual organs. Maitrīpa´s conception of the four moments and four joys of a good empowerment can be best seen from his Caturmudropadeśa:
(1) Starting from exterior activities [such as embracing and kissing] up to the final arousing, [this is when the first] joy related to [the moment of] the manifold [is experienced].
(2) The experience [from that point] up until [the drop of bodhicitta] has reached the tip of the jewel is [the moment of] maturation. It is supreme joy.
(3) The illustrious one taught: “Holding the sixteen drops twice halved.” Two (of what is thus present in the form of four drops) at the tip of the jewel and two on the stamen of the lotus [correspond to the moment of] freedom from defining characteristics, [related to] co-emergent joy.
(4) When all four drops are inside the lotus, [it is the moment of] relaxation, [the joy of] no joy.
In his Guruparamparākrama-Upadeśa, Maitrīpa´s disciple Vajrapāṇi elaborates the third point as follows:
Now in order to teach the co-emergent [[[joy]]]—[the Buddha] taught in the Mahāmāyātantra:
He holds the sixteen drops twice halved.
He is [both] without phases and beyond calculation.
In the cakra of great bliss (at the crown of the head), the letter haṃ melts into light. Half of sixteen is eight. Half of this is the four drops. Two are released into the vagina, and two remain evenly [between] the opening of the lord of the family and the crown of the beautiful. This is as stated in the following:
Two have passed,
And the [remaining] two are the same.18
[The drops] set out from the vajra and touch the padma.
What has set out from the vajra is Akṣobhya.19 And what touches the padma is Vajra[[[sattva]]]. The cause is [first] sealed by the fruit.
The fruit is [then] sealed by the cause.
He (i.e., the yogin) is the king of great bliss.
eight. Half of these are the four drops whose defining characteristics are body, speech, mind, and wisdom. They produce the states of waking, dream, deep sleep and the fourth [[[state]]]. He holds them means that he is holding the drops of sixteen twice halved. [And this] means that he is the protector of the fourfold samaya, Vajrasattva, the one with great
passion.” (ṣoḍaśārdhārdhābindudhṛk (!) mahāprajñājñānam ity ucyate tathāgataiḥ / … ṣoḍaśānāṃ kalānām arddham aṣṭau tadarddhaṃ catvāro bindavaḥ kāyavākcittajñānalakṣaṇāḥ / jāgratsvapnasuṣuptituryāvasthājanakāḥ / tān dhārayatīti ṣoḍaśārddhārddhabindudhṛk / samayacatuṣṭayapālakaḥ (!) vajrasattvo mahārāga ity arthaḥ /).
Therefore two drops have been released and two remain the same. What abides in the opening of the lord of the family is Akṣobhya, that is, the experience in the form of self-awareness. It is the means. What abides at the crown of the beautiful is Vajrasattva,23 namely, emptiness and lack of an own-being. It is insight (prajñā). The cause, Akṣobhya is sealed by
the fruit, Vajrasattva. This removes the extreme of permanence causing [the realization that] experience is without an ownbeing. Moreover, Vajrasattva is sealed by Akṣobhya. This removes the extreme of annihilation, causing the experience itself of the lack of an own-being. Thus, experience and emptiness are united as a pair.24
To come back to the Caturmudrānvaya, such instructions constitute an element of the dharmamudrā, with which the karmamudrā must be combined, and it is only this element of the dharmamudrā which connects up with mahāmudrā. In reality, the latter two seals are indivisible.25
3. Mahāmudrā and the Sequence of the Four Seals
This leads to the question whether the four joys26 must be first experienced on a physical level during tantric sex with a karmamudrā, as Maitrīpa´s disciple Devacandra27 claims in his Prajñājñānaprakāśa,28 or not. In other words, are
ba / / rdo rje padma la reg pa / / rgyu la ´bras buse rgyas btab cing / / ´bras bu la yang rgyusf gdab / / ´di ni bde chen rgyal po yin zhes gsungs pas /
a BP can b P lo´i c P ko d BP gnas e B bu´i f B rgyu´i
23 According to Khenpo Phuntsok, Akṣobhya is related to the physical drop, that is retained, Vajrasattva standing for the real drop. This must be seen against the Madhyamaka background that reality is taken in terms of emptiness instead of the physical or material.
24 GPKU (B 310a2-5; P 198b7-199a2): thig le gnyis lhung nas / gnyis mnyam par gnas te / de´ang rigs kyi bdag po´i kha na gnas pa nia mi bskyod pa ste / rang rig pa nyid nyams su myong ba (ade nia) thabs so / / mdzes ma´i spyi bo na gnas pa ni rdo rje sems dpa´ ste / stong pa nyid rang bzhin med pa dea ni shes rab bo / /
´bras bu rdo rje sems dpasb rgyu mi bskyod pa la rgyas btab pas rtag pa´i mtha´ bsal nas / nyams su myong ba nyid rang bzhin med par byed do / / yang mi bskyod pas rdo rje sems dpa´ la rgyas btab pas chad pa´i mtha´ bsal nas / rang bzhin med pa nyid nyams su myong bar byed do / de ltar na nyams su myong ba dang stong pa nyid zung du ´jug pa´o / a P omits b P pa yis
25 Mathes 2009:108-110.
26 I.e., joy, supreme joy, co-emergent joy, and [the joy of] no joy.
27 According to the Peking bsTan ´gyur, rgyud ´grel, vol. mi, fol. 99a4) and the “Bu ston gsan yig”, 1161. In the Blue Annals (Roerich 1949-1953) we find “Devākaracandra”
there also other means of inducing a non-dual experience in order to identify the goal? For Maitrīpa, the answer seems to be yes for in his Tattvaviṃśikā different approaches for tantric practitioners of varying capacities are distinguished:
Those with inferior capacities have perfectly cultivated the circle29 With the help of the karma- and samayamudrās. Having [thus] turned away from [directly engaging with] purity and true reality, They meditate on enlightenment [in this indirect way].30 (TV 7)
Union with a jñānamudrā (i.e., a visualized consort) With Mañjuvajra and so forth as chief [[[deities]]]— [All this] being neither true nor false appearance— [Is the practice of] yogins with average faculties.31 (TV 8)
The yogin who has seen true reality, however, Is wholly devoted to mahāmudrā; He abides as one whose faculties are of the highest order in [the realization of the] nature of all entities.32 (TV 11)
Rāmapāla, too, sees in evaṃ first of all the acoustic reality of the dharmamudrā, e- standing for insight (prajñā) and -vaṃ for means (upāya). Kāropa, another disciple of Maitrīpa, explains that only those persons who cannot comprehend such a dharmamudrā, rely on evaṃ as a karmamudrā.33 In other words, a karmamudrā is optional; in no way is it a prerequisite for initiating a sequence of seals.
Moreover, in his commentary on Sekanirdeśa 23, Rāmapāla maintains that, in the context of the four seals, the karmamudrā is taken as the master empower-
(read: Divākaracandra?), and in the Rgya gzhung dkar chag (fol. 22b2) “Devaākarendra.”
28 Mathes 2011:111-112.
29 I.e., the maṇḍala, the union with a consort and so forth.
30 TV, 685-6: karmasamayamudrābhyāṃ cakraṃ niṣpādya bhāvitāḥ / dhyāyanti mṛdavo bodhiṃ śuddhatattvabahirmukhāḥ //
31 TV, 687-8: jñānamudrāsamāpannaṃ mañjuvajrādināyakam / na satyaṃ na mṛṣākāram ātmānaṃ madhyayoginaḥ /
32 TV, 701-2: dṛṣṭatattvaḥ punar yogī mahāmudrāparāyaṇaḥ / sarvabhāvasvabhāvena vihared uttamendriyaḥ //
33 Mathes 2009:94.
ment corresponding to the perfect completion stage. The dharmamudrā, on the other hand, is related to a central practice of the outer creation phase, namely the purification of phenomena by means of the fivefold enlightenment. Rather than
a progressive succession from karmamudrā to dharmamudrā, this suggests the possibility of an alternative path, starting with the outer creation phase, or causal samayamudrā (without any apparent karmamudrā). Does this mean that an empowerment is possible, then, without a karmamudrā? And how about the vase empowerments?
As a commentary on the Caturmudrānvaya the Sekanirdeśa begins its presentation of empowerment with the succession of the four seals. This means that Maitrīpa concerns himself directly with the third empowerment. In Bu ston´s record of received teachings we are told that the Sekanirdeśa was composed in order to distinguish good from bad empowerments, a distinction that perhaps does not
apply to the first six vase empowerments. On the other hand, for empowerment in Maitrīpa´s system to start directly with the prajñā-wisdom empowerment is not completely ruled out. In his Nairātmyāprakāśa, Maitrīpa terms the ordinary creation stage an optional practice, not a necessary requirement for the subsequent stages:
Possessing the pride of being Nairātmyā, one is identical with her.
Here, in order to perform the six-branch yoga, she must be cultivated [as appearing] in the colours black, red, yellow, green, blue, and white in that order. As the vividness of meditation increases, she first appears as the full-moon covered by clouds. Then, with even greater vividness, she appears as an illusion. Then, with even more vividness, she manifests as if in a
dream. Immediately after that, with the full maturation of vividness, the mahāmudrā yogin succeeds [in reaching the goal of this practice], attaining [a state] in which dreams and the waking state are not different. This is the creation stage.
Alternatively, the bodhicitta that arises from the union of the penis and the vagina and has the nature of great bliss, located between supreme [[[joy]] and the joy of] no joy (i.e., co-emergent joy), [and inasmuch as] it has the nature of the fifteen [[[moon]]] parts, should be instantly seen as having the nature of the fifteen yoginīs, who appear with the previously
mentioned colours and attributes. This is because it is the nature of the five skandhas, four elements, six objects, body, speech, and mind. This is the profound creation stage.
In other words, if Maitrīpa considered it possible to start directly with karmamudrā practice, then empowerment could start on this level, or at a still further advanced level, so that a “mahāmudrā empowerment” outside of the system of the four seals, or even a direct introduction into the nature of mind, does not seem altogether implausible. The possibility of such a nontantric
mahāmudrā is clearly addressed in Sahajavajra´s Tattvadaśakaṭīkā. This, after all, would be what ´Gos Lo tsā ba gZhon nu dpal and Thu´u khwan Blo bzang chos kyi nyi ma43 mean by a mahāmudrā tradition which is “not based on deity yoga and without the sequence of the four seals.”
Of particular interest is the account of Śavaripa´s empowerment in the “History of the Twenty-Five Texts of the Amanasikāra Cycle.” At age fifty-three, Maitrīpa went to see his prophesied guru, Śavaripa, in the mountainous area of Śrī Parvata. The critical scholar at first was wary of the teachings of Śavaripa, while a yoginī in the company of Śavaripa for her part
had doubts whether Maitrīpa would be a qualified recipient, whereupon Śavaripa and his entourage disappeared. Maitrīpa went in search of the guru again, and after some time found him and received empowerment. The way the empowerment was bestowed must have been unusual enough to cause Maitrīpa to be on his guard. It can be ruled out that this initial reluctance reflected a general
reservation about everything tantric, because by this time Maitrīpa had already received five years of Vajrayāna education with Rāgavajra.44 In the account, Śavaripa is said to have bestowed the empowerment only with a golden vase in his hand. This was followed either by instructions relating to the four seals or by a song containing mahāmudrā pith instructions:
Holding a golden vase in his hand, [[[Śavaripa]]] gave [[[Maitrīpa]]] an empowerment. Bal po [Asu]45 said that after the empowerment [[[Śavaripa]]]
found [and described as conforming to] the Pāramitāyāna; the conduct [propounded by it], which accords with the secret Mantra
yāna], is similar to the exposition in the Hevajra[[[tantra]]]. Since it is not based on deity yoga and lacks the sequence of the four seals, [[[Sahajavajra]]] taught that it does not [fall under] the secret Mantra[[[yāna]]]. It is obvious that [the system of Dam pa sangs rgyas] conforms to it." (brgyud pa phyi ma´i chos rnams la phyag rgya chen po dri med thigs pa phyag bzhes kyi skor zhes pa´i mtshan btags / phyag rgya chen po ni dam pa sangs rgyas mai trī (text: tri) pa´i dngos slob yin pas mai trī (text: tri) pa´i phyag rgya chen po de nyid yin / dri med ni dam pa´i gsung rnams la
bya / phyag bzhes ni bstan pa gzhan rnams dang cung zad mi ´dra ba´i sgrub pa´i srang (text: srangs) yod pa la zer / de yang ngo bo pha rol tu phyin pa gsang sngags dang rjes su mthun pa zhes bya ste / mai trī (text: tri) pa´i de kho na nyid bcu pa´i ´grel par yang lugs de pha rol tu phyin pa yin pa la / gsang sngags dang rjes su mthun pa´i spyod pa bya tshul kye´i rdo rje las bshad pa dang ´dra ba zhig byung / lha´i rnal ´byor la brten pa ma yin
zhing phyag rgya bzhi´i rjes su gro ba med pas gsang sngags ni ma yin no zhes gsungs pa de dang mthun par snang /) 43 Thu´u bkvan Blo bzang chos kyi nyi ma: Thu´u bkvan grub mtha´, 167: lugs de pha rol tu phyin pa la / gsang sngags dang rjes su mthun pa´i spyod pa bya tshul kye rdo rje las bshad pa dang ´dra ba zhig byung [/] lha´i rnal ´byor la brten pa ma yin zhing / phyag rgya bzhi´i rjes su ´gro ba med pas gsang sngags ni ma yin no / 44 See Brunnhölzl 2007:128.
45 Bal po Asu was a Nepalese disciple of Vajrapāṇi. See Schaeffer 2005:63.
gave instructions relating to the four seals, [but] according to Ti pu [pa] [he] composed [the following] song [of] commitment (samaya):
Once the natural mind has been purified, The guru´s qualities enter your heart.
Realizing this, Saraha sang this song, Though he had not seen a single tantra, a single mantra. Once the guru´s words have entered your heart, It is like seeing a treasure in the palm of your hand.47
When on the path of not becoming mentally engaged— mahāmudrā—
Do not entertain hopes of any fruition whatsoever.
If you yourself realize the true nature of mind, this is mahāmudrā.
What appears in this way is nothing outside your own mind.
The empowerment having been bestowed in such a way, Maitrīpa did not believe [in it] and harboured doubts. It should be noted that Śavaripa´s song is wholly in the tradition of Saraha´s dohās. Verses no. 7 and 8 are nearly identical with the following passage in Saraha´s (or Śavaripa´s)49 Mahāmudropadeśa:
As to [the path on which] you should not beome mentally engaged— mahāmudrā—
Do not entertain hopes of any fruition whatsoever.50
Saraha continues:
The hoping mind has never arisen;
What is the use, then, of things abandoned or attained?
If there were something to be attained through anything— Enough of [these] four seals which [[[yogins]]] adore!51
While Bal po Asu´s version of the empowerment presupposes a more formal tantric context, Ti pu pa´s suggests that Śavaripa was merely pointing out the true nature of mind. The latter depends on the guru´s qualities and the purity of the disciple´s mind rather than perforce on the four seals. The fact that two contradictory versions of Śavaripa´s empowerment are reported in the History of the Twenty-Five Texts of the Amanasikāra Cycle is convincing evidence that in India there was already a mahāmudrā tradition that was not specifically tantric.
4. Blending Mahāmudrā with the Sūtras
A closer look at the defintion of mahāmudrā in the Caturmudrānvaya gives us an idea of how an originally tantric system was blended with the Sūtras, in this case Jñānālokālaṃkāra:
Āḥ. As to the mahāmudrā, it is both big and a seal; hence a “big seal” (mahāmudrā). It lacks an own-being, is free from the hindrances of the knowable and so forth. It resembles an immaculate daytime-sky in autumn, and is the basis of everything perfect. It has the identity of [cyclic] existence and nirvāṇa as its nature, consists of universal compassion, and has the unique form of great bliss.
Moreover, we have [in the Jñānālokālaṃkāra?]:
The [[[mental]]] factors involved in becoming mentally disengaged are beneficial. Those involved in becoming mentally engaged are not benefi- cial.52
50 “Do ha mdzod phyag rgya chen po´i man ngag.” Nges don phyag chen mdzod. vol. ā, 76b1: yid la byar med phyag rgya chen po ni / / ´bras bu gang du´ang re bar ma byed cig / 51 Ibid., 76b1-2: re ba´i sems ni gdod nas ma skyes pas / / spang dang thob pa´i dngos po ci zhig yod / / gal te gang gis thob pa´i dngos yod na / / bsten pa´i phyag rgya rnam bzhis ci zhig byed /
In the [same] text [, i.e., the Jñānālokālaṃkāra, it has been said]:
Homage to You, who is without imagined thoughts, Whose intellect is not based [on anything], who is without recollection,
Who has become mentally disengaged,
And who is without any cognitive object.
This [, too,] is called mahāmudrā. Through this mahāmudrā, which is inconceivable by nature, the fruit called samayamudrā arises. [This concludes] the third [[[chapter]]], the presentation of the mahāmudrā as the fruit which is stainlessness.
The iti after the quotes does not lead smoothly over to the immediately succeeding feminine relative pronoun and correlative construction (yā sā). The presence of the latter implies, as in the description of the dharmamudrā in the same text (i.e., the Caturmudrānvaya), the directly preceding feminine attributes at the beginning of the definition. In other words, if the passage with the quotations starting with tathā ca were removed, yā sā would perfectly fall into place with the feminine attributes of mahāmudrā at the beginning.
4.1. Madhyamaka-based Mahāmudrā in the Sekanirdeśa
Whether it is itself an interpolation or not, the Jñānālokālaṃkāra unmistakenly links mahāmudrā with the view of non-abiding, and the practice of becoming mentally disengaged (amanasikāra). This connection with a sūtra here is then fully exploited in Maitrīpa´s Sekanirdeśa, which is, as already mentioned, directly based on the Caturmudrānvaya. Thus the eight verses of the mahāmudrā section in the Sekanirdeśa are pure Madhyamaka, namely the variety of it which is was labelled Apratiṣṭhāna (“non-abiding”):
Not to abide in anything Is known as mahāmudrā.
Because self-awareness [i.e., mahāmudrā] is stainless, [the moments of enjoying]
Manifold [[[appearances]]] and so forth do not arise. (SN 29)
Effortless wisdom
[Can] be taken as inconceivable.
Something ‘inconceivable’ that one has [been able to] conceive Cannot truly be inconceivable. (SN 30)
Those who see suchness
In line with Madhyamaka,
Are fortunate, in that they realize true reality,
Provided that they are aware [of it] in a direct way. (SN 31)
No superimposition, none whatever— None of it exists in any respect;
As to the meaning of Madhyamaka, it is the absence of superimposition.
Where is then the denying or establishing [of anything]? (SN 32)
The thought that [the world] is without the superimpositions Of knowledge and objects of knowledge does not make a difference here.
Everything is as it ever was,
[But] it is not the way it was [before when there was still a conceptual] mind. (SN 33)
The mind [of him], who realizes [directly] that the world has not arisen
Is purified because of [this] realization
For him, the wise one, [this is realized] without effort:
Being his original state the world is true. (SN 34)
The thought whose connection [with nirvāṇa]
Has not been cultivated in meditation arises in dependence.
[But] this very [[[thought]]] is nirvāṇa.
Do not create confusion, o mind! (SN 35)
He who does not abide in the domain of the remedy,
Is not attached to true reality,
And does even not desire the fruit,
Finds mahāmudrā. (SN 36)
Rāmapāla commences his commentary on SN 29 with the quotations of the Jñānālokālaṃkāra inserted into the Caturmudrānvaya, and makes the following remarkable statement:
One should not think that this cannot be practised, for thanks to the kindness of [one’s] venerable guru, mahāmudrā, which has the defining characteristic of being endowed with all supreme qualities, can certainly be made directly manifest.
That this refers not only to the manifestation of the fruit is clear from Vajrapāṇi´s Guruparamparākrama-Upadeśa:
Mahāmudrā is a stainless fruit. Therefore the three moments accompanied by stains (i.e., the moments of the manifold, maturation, and relaxation) do not occur in it. The three joys differentiated by these [moments] (i.e., joy, supreme joy, and the joy of no joy) do not occur in it either. Another reason [for this] is that [in] mahāmudrā practice the fruit is taken as the path.
Things could not be clearer: when the fruit, mahāmudrā, is taken as the path, the impure joys are not needed. The decisive factor is the kindness of the guru, which is also clear from Rāmapāla´s commentary on SN 31:
If, as a result of abandoning everything “conceptual” (lit. “carving”),65 this reality is to be experienced directly … [then] it [can] be known through an awareness [obtained through] the kindness of a genuine guru.
Here we have, in fact, an Indian precedent for the practice Sa paṇ criticized above, mahāmudrā as an introduction into the nature of one´s mind experienced according to ‘pointing-out instruction' of the guru.
4.2. The Quotations in Rāmapāla´s Commentary on Sekanirdeśa 33-36
Of particular interest are the texts quoted in Rāmapāla´s commentary on some of the Madhyamaka verses in the mahāmudrā section. The meaning of SN 33, for instance, is illustrated with reference to one of the most famous verses in Mahāyāna Buddhism, the original text of which could be either from Nāgārjuna´s Pratītyasamutpādahṛdayakārikā or Ratnagotravibhāga I.154:67
There is nothing to be removed from it and nothing to be added. The real should be seen as real, and seeing the real you become liberated.
Moreover, we find, in the commentary on SN 33, the following passages being cited:
Yuktiṣaṣṭikā 6cd:
Thorough knowledge of cyclic existence Is called nirvāṇa.
Lokātītastava 25cd:
Now as then you are aware of suchness.
Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā, Devaparivarta:
Even in the case [where they still] have not manifested, the true nature of Buddhas abides such as it is.
Hevajratantra II.4.34ab
All these phenomena are nirvāṇa, but because of delusion they appear to be saṃsāra.
And, last but not least a dohā by Saraha, which I have not been able to identify.
Lokātītastava 22ab is quoted in the commentary on SN 35:
Dependent origination is exactly what is thought of as emptiness.
In his commentary on verse 36, Rāmapāla nearly quotes literally from the part of Nirvikalpapraveśadhāraṇī which explains the abandonment of all characteristic signs of the remedy, reality and the fruit by becoming mentally disengaged. In his explanation of the remedy (the second group of characteristic signs) in the dhāraṇī, Rāmapāla includes the first set of characteristic signs, constituting what is opposed to liberation:
“In the [domain of] the remedy,” means in [the domain of] the group of interpretative imaginations relating to the remedies which consist of generosity, discipline, patience, diligence, meditation, and insight, inasmuch as [these remedies] are interpreted in terms of an ownbeing, quality or essence. “[He] who does not abide [in them],” is [written] because he abandons
[these interpretative imaginations] by becoming mentally disengaged. Since the group75 of interpretative imaginations relating to the remedy are abandoned, the group of interpretative imaginations of what is opposed [to liberation], namely, that which consists of the contaminated five skandhas of form and so forth can be considered to have been abandoned. This is because in the absence of the [first group the second] perforce does not exist [either].
This corresponds with the following passage from the Nirvikalpapraveśadhāraṇī:
Sons of a noble family! Here, the bodhisattva and great being hears the teaching relating to the non-conceptual, directs his thought to it, and completely abandons all characteristic signs of [false] imagination. He completely abandons, as the first [among] them, all characteristic signs of natural [false] imagination (prakṛtivikalp ), that is to say, [any]
perceived [[[object]]] or perceiving [[[subject]]]. This characteristic sign of natural [false] imagination is here a characteristic sign of a contaminated entity, and such a contaminated entity is [any of] the five skandhas, that is to say, the skandhas of form, feeling, ideation, volitional and affective impulses, and consciousness. How does
[the bodhisattva] abandon [these] characteristic signs of natural [false] imagination? What becomes manifest by becoming an appearance [is abandoned] by not becoming mentally engaged [with it].
While [the bodhisattva] completely abandons these characteristic signs of [natural] imagination in a gradual way, the characteristic signs of the interpretative imagination relating to the remedy, which are different from these [previous ones],
occur—that is, become manifest—by becoming appearances. They are as follows: the characteristic signs of the interpretative imagination relating to generosity, discipline, patience, diligence, meditation, and insight, that is to say, [a form of false imagination that arises from] interpretations involving an own-being (svabhāva), qualities or an essence.
These characteristic signs of the interpretative imagination relating to the remedy [the bodhisattva] also completely abandons, by not becoming mentally engaged [with them].
Rāmapāla continues in his commentary:
“Is not attached to true reality” means “who is not attached to, not fixed upon, the interpretative imaginations of true reality which consists of [[[ideas]] about] emptiness, suchness, and the like, since [in such cases true reality] is interpreted in terms of an own-being and so forth.”
This corresponds with the following passage from the Nirvikalpapraveśadhāraṇī:
While [the bodhisattva] completely abandons these [[[characteristic]] signs of the remedy], the characteristic signs of the interpretative imagination relating to true reality which are different from these [previous ones] occur—that is, become manifest—by becoming appearances. They are as follows: the characteristic signs of the interpretative imagination relating to
emptiness, suchness, the extreme of reality, the ultimate, and the dharmadhātu, that is to say, [[[signs]] that arise from] an interpretation relating to either specifically characterized phenomena (svalakṣaṇ ), qualities or an essence. These characteristic signs of the interpretative imagination relating to true reality [the bodhisattva] also completely abandons, by not becoming mentally engaged [with them].
Rāmapāla continues:
“Who does even not desire the fruit” means “for whom there is even no desire—craving—for the fruit, [a desire] characteristic of the group of interpretative imaginations of the first [[[bodhisattva]]] level up to the final attainment of omniscience.” He finds—
attains—mahāmudrā. Therefore, inasmuch as it is the [true] nature of the world, which is characterized by non-abiding and the lack of superimposition, mahāmudrā, it is declared, is free from all attachment. For it signifies the absence of attachment to what is opposed [to liberation], the remedy, reality, and the fruit. This corresponds with the following passage from the Nirvikalpapraveśadhāraṇī:
While [the bodhisattva] completely abandons these [[[characteristic]] signs relating to true reality], characteristic signs of the interpretative imagination relating to attainment which are different [from these previous ones], occur—that is,
become manifest—by becoming appearances. They are as follows: the characteristic signs of the interpretative imagination relating to the attainment from the first up to the tenth level, [[[including]]] the characteristic signs of the interpretative imagination relating to the attainment of being able to endure the fact that phenomena do not arise;
prophecy; completely pure Buddha-fields; causing sentient beings to mature; empowerment; all the way up to omniscience, that is to say, [a sign that arises] from an interpretation involving either specifically characterized phenomena, qualities or an essence. These characteristic signs of the interpretative imagination relating to attainment [the bodhisattva] also completely abandons, by not becoming mentally engaged [with them].
This perfectly establishes the relation that the mahāmudrā practice of becoming mentally disengaged has not only to the Nirvikalpapraveśadhāraṇī but also to the Dharmadharmatāvibhāga, according to which non-conceptual wisdom is cultivated by abandoning the same set of characteristic signs. Rāmapāla further explains that this mahāmudrā view of non-abiding and practice of becoming mentally disengaged includes all six perfections:
Are there no perfections of generosity and so forth in mahāmudrā? No, for the simple reason that this [[[mahāmudrā]]] consists of the two accumulations of merit and wisdom, which cover all the perfections and so forth. This has been taught in the Viśeṣavittibrahmaparipṛcchā Mahāyānasūtra:86
Giving up all defilements is generosity;
Being free from mental effort is discipline; Being free from defining characteristics is patience; Not making distinctions is diligence;
Being free from mental fabrication is insight.
It is thus established that the perfection of insight (prajñāpāramitā) is simply what is characterized by non-abiding and freedom from mental fabrication.
This has been taught in the Saptaśatikā [[[Prajñāpāramitā]]]:
The illustrious one asked: “When you, Mañjuśrī, cultivate (i.e., meditate on) the perfection of insight, on what do you rely?” Mañjuśrī answered: “Illustrious one, when I cultivate the perfection of insight, I do this without being supported [by anything].” The illustrious one asked: “Mañjuśrī, what is the cultivation of the perfection of insight for you who are not
supported [by anything]?” Mañjuśrī answered: “Illustrious one, this very cultivation of the perfection of insight is the nonabiding in anything.” The illustrious one asked: “Mañjuśrī, when you cultivate the perfection of insight, which of the two is
the case, does your basis of virtue increase or decrease?” Mañjuśrī answered: “Illustrious one, at this time no part whatsoever of my base of virtue increases or decreases. That [[[yogin]]], illustrious one, for whom any [of his] qualities
increase or decrease, is not cultivating the perfection of insight. Illustrious one, that [practice] which is approached for the sake of increasing or decreasing any quality, should not be known as the cultivation of the
perfection of insight. Illustrious one, that is the cultivation of the perfection of insight which does not abandon the qualities of ordinary people nor appropriate the qualities of a Buddha.
If one accepts Rāmapāla´s line of thought, the perfection of insight (Prajñāpāramitā) must be taken here as mahāmudrā, too. This equation is attested in another Indian source, namely Jñānakīrti´s Tattvāvatār :
Another name for the very great mother (Tib. yum chen mo) Prajñāpāramitā is mahāmudrā, given that the latter´s nature is that of non-dual wisdom.
That Jñānakīrti´s Tattvāvatāra was known to Maitrīpa´s circle, is clear from Sahajavajra´s commentary on Tattvadaśaka, verse 8.
5. Vimalamitra´s Cig car ´jug pa rnam par mi rtog pa´i bsgom don
It is interesting that two centuries earlier, Vimalamitra refers in his Cig car ´jug pa rnam par mi rtog pa´i bsgom don to a similar set of sūtras in order to describe a sudden and non-conceptual form of realization. The Nirvikalpapraveśadhāraṇī thus plays for him the same important role to bolstering the non-conceptual approach of abandoning, by becoming mentally disengaged, the misguided projection of characteristic signs onto true reality. Gomez observes that this
went so against the orthodox Indo-Tibetan interpretation that passages from Kamalaśīla's Bhāvanākramas were inserted into Vimalamitra's text in order to explain away doctrinal aspects which were too close to Ch'an for orthodox scholastics.
Similar differences to Kamalaśīla´s interpretation of amanasikāra as the fruit of analytic meditation were evinced by Maitrīpa´s disciple Sahajavajra, who explains in his commentary on the Tattvadaśaka that contrary to the Bhāvanākramas, meditation
(including deep insight meditation) is performed with a non-analytical mind right from the beginning. Sahajavajra goes on to quote the Sekanirdeśa in order to establish the relation between his interpretation of the Nirvikalpapraveśadhāraṇī and mahāmudrā.
In support of his instantaneous approach, Vimalamitra also quotes the famous verse from the Pratītyasamutpādahṛdayakārikā that nothing needs to be removed or added. The idea is to simply refrain from wrongly projecting or denying anything, dependent origination thus being instantly revealed for what it truly is, namely emptiness. Rāmapāla quotes this verse with a similar
purpose in mind, and adduces in support Yuktiṣaṣtikā 6cd, Lokātītastava 25cd, the Devaparivarta of the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā, Hevajratantra II.4.34 and an unidentified dohā by Saraha. All these quotes state that saṃsāra and
nirvāṇa are not different—the ontological presupposition of all instantaneous access to the nature of mind. Liberation simply results from not abiding in any extreme. The passage from the Saptaśatikā Prajñāpāramitā quoted in the
Sekanirdeśapañjikā reinforces the idea of not removing or adding anything, and it too can be taken as being in line with the Ratnagotravibhāga, namely that no Buddha qualities need to be strengthened, nor any fault weakened—an essential tenet of Vimalamitra´s thought.
When addressing the issue of neglecting the perfections of generosity, discipline and so forth, Vimalamitra quotes the *Vajrasamādhisūtra:
As long as the mind is not distracted from emptiness, the six perfections are contained [in it].
This is then further elaborated by a description of the six perfections from the Viśeṣavittibrahmaparipṛcchā Mahāyānasūtra—a version very similar to the one in the Sekanirdeśapañjikā above:
Not to think is generosity;
Not to differentiate is patience; Neither to adopt nor to abandon is diligence; Not to be attached is meditative concentration.
Non-duality is insight.
A comparison of this list with the presentation of the six perfections quoted by Rāmapāla shows their common view of non-abiding and the practice of not becoming mentally engaged. Now that we have a Sanskrit version of this passage, there are no grounds any
more for being overly cautious and labelling it "aprocryphal" or "Chinese Ch´an". It should be noted that Vajrapāṇi, too, distinguishes in the Guruparamparākrama-Upadeśa an instantaneous from a gradual path; and in his dohās Saraha repeatedly encourages us to simply view the mind in order to find great bliss and genuine accomplishment (a practice commonly prescribed in Ch´an).
5. Conclusion
The Caturmudrānvaya and the Sekanirdeśa do not describe the sequence of the four seals in such a rigid way as Sa paṇ would liked to have had it: the practice of karmamudrā is optional and only meant for yogins of inferior capacities, mahāmudrā remaining a direct goal just as in the dohās. Mahāmudrā had been associated with the Jñānālokālaṃkāra in the Caturmudrānvaya, and profiting from
this, Maitrīpa and Rāmapāla introduced a Madhyamaka-based mahāmudrā on the basis of a set of texts that are also found in the Cig car ‘jug pa in support of an instantaneous and non-conceptual approach. It could be argued that Vimalamitra (if he was the
author of the Cig car ‘jug pa) was influenced by Ch´an masters while in China, but how about the tantric Nāgārjuna, Maitrīpa, and Rāmapāla? None of them had been to China, and it would not make sense to speak of Ch´an influences on the Indian Siddha tradition.
GENERAL ABBREVIATIONS
AICSB Annual of the Institute for Comprehensive Studies of Buddhism, Taisho
University
B dPal spungs edition of the Phyag chen rgya gzhung (see Phun tshogs rgyal mtshan)
C Cambridge manuscript of the Sekanirdeśapañjikā (see SNP (C))
P Peking bsTan ´gyur
Pe The Sekanirdeśapañjikā manuscript from St. Petersburg (see SNP (Pe))
PRIMARY SOURCES (INDIAN)
AKṬ Amṛtakaṇikāṭippaṇī
See AKUN
AKUN Amṛtakaṇikoddyotanibandha
Ed. by Banarsi Lal in: Āryamañjuśrīnāmasaṃgīti with Amṛtakaṇikāṭippaṇī by Bhikṣu Raviśrījñāna and Amṛtakaṇikodyota-nibandha (sic) of Vibhūticandra (Bibliotheca Indo-Tibetica 30). Sarnath, Varanasi: Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, 1994.
GPKU: Guruparamparākramopadeśa (Tibetan translation) “Bla ma brgyud pa´i rim pa´i man ngag”. Phyag rgya chen po´i rgya gzhung, vol. hūṃ, fol. 290b-320b. Dpal spungs block print. CMU: Caturmudropadeśa (Tibetan translation) “Phyag rgya bzhi´i man ngag”. Phyag rgya chen po´i rgya gzhung, vol. hūṃ, fols. 9a-13b. Dpal spungs block print.
CMA: Caturmudrānvaya — In Advayavajrasaṃgraha. Ed. by the Study Group on Sacred Tantric Texts. AICSB 11 (March 1989), pp. 253-238 (=92-107). — NGMPP 22/24 (=N), fols. 19b2-22b2 — Tokyo Manuscript (T), fols. 38a1-41b6 (Fol. 38 is not missing, only fol. 18. Fol. 38 was probably mistaken as fol. 18 and so placed between fols. 17 and 19).
JĀA: Jñānālokālaṃkāra Ed. by the Study Group on Buddhist Sanskrit Literature, The Institute for Comprehensive Studies of Buddhism, Taisho University. Tokyo: Taisho University Press, 2004. TD: Tattvadaśaka — In Advayavajrasaṃgraha. Ed. by the Study Group on Sacred Tantric Texts. AICSB 13 (March 1991), pp. 245-243 (=92-94). — NGMPP 22/24 (=N), fol. 36a6-b5
— Tokyo Manuscript (=T), fols. 20b6-21b1 TV: Tattvaviṃśikā — In Advayavajrasaṃgraha. Ed. by the Study Group on Sacred Tantric Texts (=ES). AICSB 12 (March 1990), pp. 299-293 (=66-72). — NGMPP 22/24 (N), fols. 33a2-34a4 DKS: Dohākośagīti
In Shahidullah 1928:123-65. DKT: Dohākośagīti (Tibetan translation) In Shahidullah 1928:123-65. DKP: Dohākośagītipañjikā
Ed. by Prabodh Ch. Bagchi. In Journal of the Department of Letters (Calcutta University Press 28), pp. 52-120.
NP: "Nairātmyāprakāśa." Unpublished edition by Harunaga Isaacson. NPDh: Nirvikalpapraveśadhāraṇī
Ed. by Kazunobu Matsuda. See Matsuda 1996:93-99. MNS: Mañjuśrīnāmasaṃgīti
Ed. by A. Wayman in Chanting the Names of Mañjuśrī. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 2006. SN: Sekanirdeśa (also: Sekanirṇaya) — In Advayavajrasaṃgraha. Ed. by the Study Group on Sacred Tantric Texts (=ES). AICSB 13 (March 1991), pp. 289-271 (=48-66). — In Advayavajrasaṃgraha. Ed. by Haraprasad Shastri. Baroda: Oriental Institute, 1927 (= ESh) — NGMPP 22/24 (=N), fols. 17a5-19b2; SNP (C) Sekanirdeśapañjikā
Sanskrit manuscript from Cambridge, Cambridge University Library, MS Or. 149. SNP (Pe) Sekanirdeśapañjikā Sanskrit manuscript from St. Petersburg, Gosvdarstvennaja Publicnaja Biblioteka im. M.E. Saltykova-Ščedrina, MS. 283. SBhS: Subhāṣitasaṃgraha (Part 1)
Ed. by Cecil Bendall. In Le Muséon 4 (1903), pp. 375-402. HT Hevajratantra
Ed. by Ram Shankar Tripathi and Thakur Sain Negi (Bibliotheca Indo- Tibetica 48). Sarnath: Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, 2001
PRIMARY SOURCES (TIBETAN)
Karma Bkra shis chos ´phel “Rgya gzhung dkar chag”: “Gnas lugs phyag rgya chen po´i rgya gzhung glegs bam gsum yi ge´i ´byung gnas su ji ltar bkod pa´i dkar chags bzhugs byang mdor bsdus pa sgrub brgyud grub pa´i rna rgyan ces bya ba bzhugs so.” 42 fols. Contained as a separate text in Phun tshogs rgyal mtshan (ed.): Phyag rgya chen po´i rgya gzhung, vol. hūṃ. Kun dga´ rin chen (?) (ed.)
Grub pa sde bdun dang snying po skor gsum yid la mi byed pa´i chos skor bzhugs so (´Bri gung bka´ brgyud chos mdzod, vol. ka). No place, no date.
´
Gos Lo tsā ba gZhon nu dpal
Deb ther ngon po, 2 vols., Si khron mi rigs dpe skrun khang: 1984. Thu´u bkvan Blo bzang chos kyi nyi ma Thu´u bkvan grub mtha´. Lanzhou: Kan su´u mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1984. Padma dkar po
Phyag chen rgyal ba´i gan mdzod. Sarnath: Vajra Vidya Institute Library, 2005. Phun tshogs rgyal mtshan (ed.) — Phyag rgya chen po´i rgya gzhung. 3 vols (oṃ, āḥ, hūṃ). Dpal spungs block print. No date. — See also Zhva dmar pa Mi pham chos kyi blo gros: Nges don phyag chen mdzod, vol. 1-3 Bu ston Rin chen grub
“Bu ston gsan yig”: “Bla ma dam pa rnams kyis rjes su gzung ba´i tshul bka´ drin rjes su dran par byed pa zhes byar bzhugs so,” Bu ston thams cad mkhyen pa´i bka´ ´bum, vol. la, pp. 1-142 (Śata-Piṭaka Series 66). NewDelhi: International Academy of Indian Culture, 1971.
Cig car ´jug pa´i rnam par mi rtog pa´i bsgom don. Peking bsTan ´gyur no. 5306. Zhva dmar pa Mi pham chos kyi blo gros (ed.) “Do ha mdzod phyag rgya chen po´i man ngag.” Nges don phyag chen mdzod. 13 vols. New Delhi: 1998. Sa skya Paṇḍita sDom gsum rab dbye. Edited by Jared D. Rhoton
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