Bu-tön Rin-chen-drup’s Stimulating Catalogue

The distinctiveness of the tantric practice of deity yoga and Tsongkhapa’s choosing it as the sole central distinguishing feature of Mantra is put into perspective through considering his prime source, the encyclopedic presentation of the difference between Sūtra and Mantra by the “omniscient” a Bu-tön Rin-chen-drupb (1290-1364), who is reported to have been first a Nying-ma and then a Sa-kyac but is more appropriately identified by the sect named after him, Bu-luk (Bu System). All presentations of the distinctiveness of Mantra, except that by Tsong-kha-pa and his followers, employ multiple formats for demonstrating its greatness through its central features, and Bu-tön in his Extensive Presentation of the General Tantra Sets: Ornament Beautifying the Precious Tantra Sets, d drawing from Atisha’s Compilation of All Pledges, cites nine Indian scholars’ varying descriptions of the multiple ways in which the Mantra Vehicle surpasses the Perfection Vehicle:

1. Tripiṭakamāla as well as Vajrapāṇi’s commentary, 4 ways

1. being for the nonobscured

2. having many skillful methods

3. no difficulties
                                                             

 
“Omniscient” is a Tibetan epithet for an accomplished scholar versed in many topics, a polymath. b bu ston rin chen grub.

  
Reported orally by the Nying-ma lama and biographer, Khetsun Sangpo Rinpoche, who himself studied at a Ge-luk-pa monastic university, Dre-pung, before pursuing the Nying-ma path.

  
rgyud sde spyi’i rnam par gzhag pa: rgyud sde rin po che’i mdzes rgyan, Collected Works vol. 15 (New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture, 1969), 6.1-32.5, hereafter referred to as “Extensive version.” The very same presentation, with minor printing differences, is repeated in Bu-tön’s middling version called the Medium-Length Presentation of the General Tantra Sets: Illuminating the Secrets of All Tantra Sets (rgyud sde spyi’i rnam par gzhag pa rgyud sde thams cad kyi gsang ba gsal bar byed pa), Collected Works vol. 15, 614.7-641.7, hereafter referred to as “Medium-Length version”; it has been used for text comparison. A considerably abbreviated version of the same is given in his Condensed Presentation of the General Tantra Sets: Key Opening the Door to the Precious Treasury of Tantra Sets (rgyud sde spyi’i rnam par gzhag pa rgyud sde rin po che’i gter sgo ’byed pa’i lde mig), Collected Works vol. 14, 845.1-859.1, hereafter referred to as “Condensed version.”

4. being created for those with sharp faculties.

2. Jñānashrī, 11 ways

1. observing an unsurpassed object of observation

2. unsurpassed achieving

3. unsurpassed pristine wisdom

4. unsurpassed effort

5. ability to take care of all trainees without exception

6. blessing afflictive emotions into a magnificent state

7. swifter blessings into magnificence

8. quick emergence

9. abandonment of afflictive emotions 10. unsurpassed contemplation

11. unsurpassed deeds.

3. Ratnākarashānti, 3 ways

1. very pure objects of observation

2. power of aids

3. deeds

4. Nāgārjuna, 6 ways

1. implanting of everything with the seal of the all-good

2. blessing into a magnificent state

3. faster achievement of feats

4. separation from the frights of cyclic existence and bad transmigrations and becoming rested

5. lack of interference

6. nondeterioration of pledges, and natural restoration if deteriorated

5. Indrabhūti, 7 ways

1. guru

2. vessel

3. rite

4. activity

5. pledge

6. view

7. behavior

6. Jñānapāda, 3 ways

1. practitioner

2. path

3. fruit

7. Ḍombhīheruka, 5 ways

1. vessels

2. doctrine making vessels (initiation)

3. texts

4. paths

5. fruits

8. Vajraghaṇṭapāda, 4 ways

1. persons who are the bases

2. paths that are the means of entry

3. fruit which is the finality

4. definite emergence

9. Samayavajra, 5 ways

1. guru

2. initiation

3. pledges

4. quintessential instructions

5. and effort


Bu-tön begins with Tripiṭakamāla’s Lamp for the Three Modes, quoting his stanzas on each of the four features and paraphrasing Tripiṭakamāla’s own prose explanations, after which he expansively describes Jñānashrī’s eleven ways, and then quotes Atisha’s brief accounts of the remaining seven. He occasionally explains and defends the positions of these nine scholars.

Translation

[How Tripiṭakamāla Divides the Perfection and Mantra Vehicles]

With respect to how the scriptural collectionsa of Mantra surpass those of the Perfection Vehicle, Tripiṭakamāla’s Lamp for the Three Modes says:
Though the object is the same, Mantra treatises

Are superior because of being for the nonobscured, Having many skillful methods, no difficulties, And being created for those with sharp faculties.
It is thus: the two—the Mantra and Perfection Great Vehicles—do not differ regarding the fruit, which is described [in both as nondual omniscience; however, through four distinctive features the Mantra Great Vehicle just surpasses the Perfection Great Vehicle. About the first of the four distinctive features [that is, being for the nonobscured], Tripiṭakamāla’s Lamp for the Three Modes says:

The skillful having great compassion,

Upon analysis,b assume the supreme of methods. Looking down on ordinary methods, They attain a state of nonfluctuation.
When Bodhisattvas practicing the Perfection Vehicle engage in giving and so forth, concerning those deeds they dwell in the perfection of wisdom by way of a purification of [misconceptions about] the object of giving,c the giver, and the fruit [accrued by] the giver, whereby they are not very obscured. Nevertheless, because they engage in external giving and so forth and are not of sharp faculties, they complete the collections [of merit and wisdom over a long period. [However,] Bodhisattvas practicing Mantra analyze
                                                             
a sde gnod, piṭaka. b The Peking edition (P4530, vol. 81, 115.2.8), the Extensive version (6.4 and 6.6), and the Medium-Length version (615.3 and 615.6) read dpyad, whereas the Condensed version (par pa dpal ldan edition, 2a.5) reads spyad.
c
  
In the Condensed version (845.6) read sbyin bya for sbyin ba to accord with the Medium-Length version (615.4), the Extensive version (6.5), and Tripiṭakamāla (P4530, vol. 81, 115.3.1).

what the method for completing the perfections of giving and so forth is, whereby they understand that since giving away [one’s] head and so forth cannot fulfill simultaneously the wants of all, [such giving] does not go beyond [the mundane and hence is not a perfection [or transcendence].a Looking down on that method, they seek the supreme of methods.
 
Since it, furthermore, is none other than meditative stabilization endowed with an essence of method and wisdom, those skilled in means—upon generating compassion for limitless sentient beings—thoroughly realize the meditative stabilization of nondual method and wisdom having an essence of limitless objects. Through cultivating it uninterruptedly and without partiality in terms of the directions, they fully develop abandonment [of obstructions] and realization [of the selflessness of persons and phenomena, whereby they, like wish-granting jewels, completely fulfill the wants of all sentient beings.
 
Hence, since this is a method superior to the ordinary giving of [one’s own head and so forth, (1) the perfection of giving is completed. Just this completes the perfections [of (2) ethics, which comprises] the three forms of ethics—bringing about the welfare of sentient beings, and so forth,c (3) patience, helping living beings through hosts of emanations and forbearing harm done by others, (4) effort, the means of simultaneously attaining all aims and purposes, (5) concentration attaining the meditative stabilizations which are the source of all concentrations, and (6) wisdom through the completion of which [all of the other perfections are completed. Thereby, one thoroughly completes the six perfections, and due to that completion, the four—method, power, aspirational wishes, and pristine wisdom—are also completed. Thereby, Mantra is not obscured with respect to method.
 
About the second [of the four distinctive features of Mantra— having many skillful methods—Tripiṭakamāla’s Lamp for the Three Modes says]:
                                                             
a pha rol tu phyin pa, pāramitā. b ting nge ’dzin, samādhi.
c
  
“And so forth” indicates the other two forms of ethics—the ethics that is the composite of virtuous activities and the ethics of restraining ill deeds. d These four are the seventh through tenth perfections when ten, instead of six, are enumerated.
In order to achieve well the aims of all sentient beings
The Teacher of Transmigrators taught to the intelligent
All methods, the supreme modes,
Dividing them into four types [as the four tantras.

In the other systems [that is, the Sūtra approaches], asceticism, vows of restraint, and so forth are described as methods for [achieving] high status [within cyclic existence and liberation [from cyclic existence and the great liberation of Buddhahood, but all sentient beings cannot practice these. Since some course in very peaceful actions, [these practices] were set forth in terms of them, but these cannot accommodate all. However, Secret Mantra was set forth in order to join all sentient beings to virtue.

Concerning this, either oneself or a lama determines one’s nature through analyzing dreams, dropping a flower [on a maṇḍala divided into quadrants indicating temperament], the descent of wisdom,a constructing seals,b and so forth, and by way of [noticing predominant styles of ] behavior. Having recognized the afflictive emotion, such as desire, in which one predominantly courses, one also identifies [the deity who is] one’s lord of lineage [in that each lineage is associated with a particular afflictive emotion. If desire is predominant, one generates [the minds and mental factors of desirec as Amitābha and, having made offerings [to that deity, enters—by way of mindfulness of his mantra and seal [that is, handgesture]—into a meditative stabilization having the style of great desire. With a nature of joy pervaded by compassion, all conceptions are abandoned.
 
Similarly, [practitioners of Mantra who have predominant obscuration and so forth]d generate the minds and mental factors of obscuration and so forth as Buddhas, such as Vairochana, and Bodhisattvas, Wrathful Males, and Wrathful Females and so forth, in accordance with the individual tantra set. This is the meditative stabilization of exalted vajra mind.
 
For those who cannot set the mind in this way on the subtle,
                                                             

  
This likely refers to a method of divination through the appearance of configurations on a mirror and so forth. b The meaning of “constructing seals,” which would seem to mean the construction of hand-gestures (phyag rgya, mudrā), is unclear.

  
The bracketed material is added in accordance with Bu-tön’s explanation in the next section on obscuration. d Added from Tripiṭakamāla, vol. 81, 116.1.3.

that is, on minds and mental factors, a meditative stabilization of exalted vajra speech is taught so that they transmute desire into a vajra entity through the utterance of speech. Oṃ āḥ hūṃ are respectively the essence mantras of Vairochana, Amitābha, and Akṣhobhya. Similarly, all the various mantras indicated by other letters arise from the mantras of the five Ones-Gone-Thus. Thereby, abiding in one’s respective suchness, one performs the respective activity through the yoga of the respective lord [of the lineage. For example, the five short [[[Wikipedia:vowels|vowels]]] a, i, ṛ, u, ḷ are the mantras [of the Ones-Gone-Thus]a of the five lineages and the corresponding long [[[Wikipedia:vowels|vowels]]] are the mantras of the five Mothers. When one does repetition within contemplating the appropriate mantra as the very entity of the respective deity and one’s mind is set in suchness, ill deeds are consumed and the collections [of merit and wisdom completed. This is the meditative stabilization of exalted vajra speech.
 
For those who are attached to gross objects and who initially cannot apply themselves to meditation on subtle mental or verbal phenomena, a gross body maṇḍala is taught. Having generated a maṇḍala involving a residence and residents in accordance with what appears in the tantras, they repeat mantra, and having dissolved [everything] into suchness, they become separate from the defilements of conceptions such as hatred, whereby they gradually enter the element of attributes.b
 
Omniscience is attained through even all three meditative stabilizations; hence, although there is no difference in the fruit [of the Perfection and Mantra vehicles], there is a difference of direct and indirect generation [of omniscience. Thus, it is suitable to teach desire and so forth themselves as doors of method by way of cultivating the three maṇḍalas, for it is said that all phenomena are naturally pure. Here, desire and so forth are not objects of abandonment, nor are states free from desire and so forth objects to be adopted since through realizing unerroneous suchness, the view of reality is generated, and through it one is released. It is said:c
                                                             
a The bracketed addition is drawn from Tripiṭakamāla, vol. 81, 116.4.7. b chos kyi dbyings, dharmadhātu.

  
Tripiṭakamāla (vol. 81, 117.2.8) identifies the quote as from Nāgārjuna. In any case, it is found in Maitreya’s Ornament for Clear Realization, V.21:

’di la bsal bya ci yang med/ bzhag par bya ba cung zad med/
Here there is nothing to be removed, Nor anything at all to be established.
Just the real is to be viewed as real. One who sees reality is released.
In this way, knowing the thoughts and latent predispositions of sentient beings, Buddha taught in the manner of laying out four tantra sets—whatever was suitable for whosoever. Therefore, Mantra has more methods.
 
About the third [of the four distinctive features, nondifficulty, Tripiṭakamāla’s Lamp for the Three Modes says]:

The Subduer set forth the ultimate object,
The desired aim that is attained
Through making application in accordance With just what one desires.
[In Mantra enlightenment is attained by just a blissful method—a specific sentient being making application at whatever object at whatever time in accordance with that being’s desires. It is said:

A being bound by whatsoever

Awful action is released through just this From the bonds of cyclic existence, If accompanied by method.
Therefore, difficult deeds are not taught in the Mantra Vehicle. Still, in the Perfection Vehicle enlightenment is by all means taught with the name of nondifficulty.
 
Objection: There the mere word [“difficult”] is eliminated.
 
Response: Is it not that through eliminating the name, difficulty [itself ] is eliminated? That which, when done, is affixed with the name “difficult” is difficult; it is not the mere activity. When the word “blissful” is applied to a Bodhisattva’s attaining joy from giving away [one’s own head and so forth for the sake of others [by
                                                                                                                                 
yang dag nyid la yang dag lta/ yang dag mthong nas rnam par grol// nāpaneyataḥ kiṃcitprakṣeptatyaṃ na kiṃ cana/ draṣṭavyaṃ bhūtato bhūtaṃ bhūtadarśo vimucyate//

The Sanskrit is from Th. Stcherbatsky and E. Obermiller, ed., AbhisamayālaṅkāraPrajñāpāramitā-Upadeśa-Śāstra, Bibliotheca Buddhica XXIII (Osnabrück: Biblio Verlag, 1970), 29. For Edward Conze’s translation, see his Abhisamayālaṅkāra, Serie Orientale Roma VI (Rome, Is.M.E.0, 1954), 86.
way of having familiarized with nondual meditative stabilization],a how could such be difficult?
 
Objection: It is renowned to others to be difficult.
 Answer: Then, since [a Māntrika’s] simultaneous bringing about the aims sought by trainees is also renowned to others to be difficult, [the two vehicles would be the same [in being renowned to others as difficult]. Therefore, since difficulty here is not used in connection even a little with others’ meaning,b this is not fit to have the name of being difficult. Hence, since the name is eliminated, the meaning is also eliminated; [here] it indicates the consummate aim of a yogi of suchness.c
 
Therefore, difficulty and ease refer mainly not to activities but to desires, whereby acting in accordance with one’s own desires is what is easy. Hence, because [in Mantra bliss is attained through bliss, difficult deeds are not taught in Mantra. Furthermore, it is as follows:

• The best among those with the best faculties—who have few afflictive emotions and little conceptuality but have great compassion and are making effort to seek suchness—are taught the Great Seald of indivisible emptiness and compassion without reference to the proliferations of external and internal activities [such as actual or imagined consorts.
• The middling among those with the best faculties—who although they have turned away from enjoying ordinary objects, have not abandoned conceptions [produced by] latencies of afflictive emotions and who are not able to enter into ultimate wisdom—are taught a Wisdom Seal,e a Knowledge Woman consort emanated [in imagination who serves as a method [for attaining the Great Seal.
• The least among those with the best faculties—who, although they have faith in nondualistic wisdom, have not abandoned
                                                             
a Tripiṭakamāla, vol. 81, 117.4.6. b The Par pa dpal ldan edition (5a.2) reads ’dir don cung zad whereas the Lokesh Chandra edition (10.2) reads ’dir gzhan don cung zad, which is more likely since Tripiṭakamāla’s text (Golden reprint, rgyud ’grel nu, 29b.2/ vol. 75, 58.2) reads ’dir rnam pa thams cad du gzhan gyi gzhan don gang cung zad; the meaning is conjectured.
c
 de kho na nyid kyi rnal ’byor pa nyid kyi don phun sum tshogs par bstan no; Extensive
version, 10.2. d phyag rgya chen po, mahāmudrā.
e ye shes kyi phyag rgya, jñānamudrā.

the desires of the Desire Realm and are distracted when such an object is near, and do not [remain] in meditative stabilization—are taught pledge seals,a [actual consorts who possess [the qualifications of ] being of the same lineage as oneself, youth, and so forth.
• The least of the least among those with the best faculties— whose desire is very great but whose intelligence is little—are taught action sealsb [actual consorts who do not have all the qualifications].c
Thus, because sentient beings are set in Buddhahood through making application at just what they desire, Mantra is not difficult. About the fourth [[[Wikipedia:distinctive|distinctive]] feature, being created for those with sharp faculties,] since Hearers do not know the method [for realizing suchness, they are of dull faculties. Those of the Perfection Vehicle are mistaken with respect to method and hence are of dull faculties. [However,] because Secret Māntrikas are not obscured with respect to anything, they are of sharp faculties. For, through skill in unerring means they are able to transform into a cause of Buddhahood just that which, if done by others, would cause them to go to a bad transmigration [as an animal, hungry ghost, or hell being. Thus, in four [ways] the Mantra Vehicle is superior.

Vajrapāṇi’s commentary
Moreover, in explaining the meaning of that stanza [in
Tripiṭakamāla’s Lamp for the Three Modes:
Though the object is the same, Mantra treatises
Are superior because of being for the nonobscured,
Having many skillful methods, no difficulties,
And being created for those with sharp faculties.] the Indian Vajrapāṇid says [in his Quintessential Instructions on the Stages of Guru Transmission:e
                                                             
a dam tshig gi phyag rgya, samayamudrā. b las gyi phyag rgya, karmamudrā.

Based on the above descriptions, I assume that this is the meaning. d Born 1017, he was a disciple of Maitrīpāda; see George N. Roerich, The Blue Annals (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1976), 842.

bla ma brgyud pa’i rim pa’i man ngag, guruparaṃparakramopadeśa; P4539, vol. 81,
Although there is no division regarding the fact, that is, suchness, those of the Perfection Vehicle realize it upon settling it through scripture and reasoning and hence are obscured. Māntrikas realize it experientially through scripture, reasoning, and a guru’s quintessential instructions; hence, they are not obscured. Those of the Perfection Vehicle do not have experience and take [states of ] neutral feeling as the path, whereas Māntrikas take great bliss as the path; hence Mantra is not difficult. Those of the Perfection Vehicle take causes as the path, whereas Māntrikas take the effect as the path, and hence Mantra is superior.
 
Though Vajrapāṇi says such, just the former explanation [by Tripiṭakamāla of his own stanza is understood to be better.
[How Jñānashrī Divides the Perfection and Mantra Vehicles]
Also, the master Jñānashrī [in his Eradicating the Two Extremes with respect to the Vajra Vehicle says:a
It is to be indicated how this Mantra Vehicle differs even from the Perfection Great Vehicle of the Middle Way School. It is superior by way of eleven aspects of skill in means—(1) skill in means in the sense of observing an unsurpassed object of observation, (2) unsurpassed achieving, (3) unsurpassed pristine wisdom, (4) unsurpassed effort, (5) ability to take care of all trainees without exception, (6) blessing afflictive emotions into a magnificent state, (7) swifter blessings into magnificence, (8) quick emergence, (9) abandonment of afflictive emotions, (10) unsurpassed contemplation, and (11) unsurpassed deeds.
The Meaning

Unsurpassed object of observation: On the path [of the Perfection Vehicle one takes cognizance of the Perfection of Wisdom, the Buddhāvataṃsaka,b and so forth, but here [in Mantra one takes
                                                                                                                                 
184.3.7-184.4.1.
a rdo rje theg pa’i mtha’ gnyis sel ba, vajrayānakoṭidvayāpoha; P4537, vol. 81, 159.3.8-
159.4.3
b sangs rgyas phal po che zhes bya ba shin tu rgyas pa chen po’i mdo, buddhāvataṃsakanāmamahāvaipulyasūtra; P761, vol. 25.
cognizance of the uncommon Five Hundred Thousand Stanza Hevajra,a the One Hundred Twenty-five Thousand Stanza Kṛṣhṇayamāri,b the One Hundred Thousand Stanza Equality with Space c—these not being renowned to that Perfection Vehicle.
 
Unsurpassed achieving: On the path [of the Perfection Vehicle, having attained physical creations, one is able to perform hidden functions, but here one is able to perform hidden functions through attaining meditative stabilization without attaining those [[physical] creations].
 
Unsurpassed pristine wisdom: The causes of pristine wisdom are just swifter [in the Mantra Vehicle by way of cause, entity, and activity in dependence on special meditative stabilization of firm mind.
 
Unsurpassed effort: This is due to the great powerless [that is, natural] commencement of great effort through the force of pledges.
 
Ability to accommodate all trainees: Those who have committed crimes of immediate retributiond and so forth, who are neglected by other vehicles, dwell here in achievement.
 
Blessing afflictive emotions into a magnificent state: This is through [Mantra’s] nature of offering [that transforms objects of desire as well as through the completion stage that relies on bliss.
 
Swifter blessings into magnificence: On the path [of the Perfection Vehicle it is said that conferral of initiation by a One-Gone-Thus is attained upon entering a Bodhisattva ground, whereas here [in Mantra, in dependence on skillful means, a One-Gone-Thus confers initiations and blesses one into magnificence just now. Quick emergence: There [in the Perfection Vehicle it is said that Bodhisattvas become completely purified [as Buddhas in three
                                                             

  
dgyes rdor ’bum phrag lnga pa; this is the longer version no longer extant. For the
surviving version, see kye’i rdo rje’i rgyud, hevajratantra; P10, vol. 1. b
  
gshin rje dgra nag ’bum phrag nyi khri lnga stong pa; this is the longer version no longer extant. For the surviving version, see gshin rje gshed nag po’i rgyud, kṛṣṇayamāritantra; P103, vol. 4.
  
nam mkha’ dang mnyam pa ’bum pa; this is the longer version no longer extant. For the surviving version, see nam mkha’ dang mnyam pa’i rgyud kyi rgyal po, khasamatantrarāja; P31, vol. 3 or bde mchog nam mkha’ dang mnyam pa’i rgyud kyi rgyal po, saṃbarakhasamatantrarāja; P59, vol. 3. d Killing one’s father, killing one’s mother, killing a Foe Destroyer, causing blood to flow from the body of a Buddha with evil intention, and causing dissension in the spiritual community.
periods of countless eons and so forth, whereas here [in Mantra one is completely purified in a single lifetime, in seven births, or sixteen births.
 
Abandonment of afflictive emotions: Afflictive emotions are naturally abandoned through pledges of color and shape and through treating all phenomena as special objects.
 
Unsurpassed contemplation: This is applied to exalted body, speech, and mind. Through applying unsurpassed contemplation to exalted body, four qualities are generated: (1) quickly overcoming predispositions for the proliferation of the ordinary, (2) quickly overcoming the fruition of karma, (3) engendering great collections of merit, and (4) naturally entering into the selflessness of phenomena. [To describe those four:]

1. Through overcoming conceptions of being ordinary and thereupon abiding in an exalted Buddha body, one overcomes conceptions of an [ordinary] body of beginningless time as well as name,a lineage, and so forth.

2. A divine body is the supreme path for [achieving] a union of calm abiding and special insight; hence, when that meditative stabilization [which is a union of calm abiding and special insight is attained, the effects of earlier actions are quickly overcome. The Vairochanābhisambodhi Tantra says:b
[Through] the ripening here of fruitions The effects of karmas are attained. When adepthood is attained, Karmas are overcome.

Because the mind is without its own thingnessc
And because the causes of effects have been abandoned,
One is freed from karmic births. Births are like space.

3. Through mindfulness of Buddhas and having faith upon recognizing Buddhas and making offerings with resources,
                                                             

Read ming rigs for mi rigs (13.1) in accordance with the Medium-Length version, 622.1. b rnam par snang mdzad chen po mngon par rdzogs par byang chub pa rnam par sprul ba,
mahāvairocanābhisaṃbodhivikurvatī; P126, vol. 5.

rang dngos med (13.3).
collections of merit are always produced. Also, when meditation of a divine body has become manifest, all phenomena are understood as just appearances of one’s own mind, and moreover, understanding that even the mind is not established arises. Through this and since pristine wisdom is generated in the mental continuum of one with merit, such serves as a cause of pristine wisdom.

4. For this reason, meditation of a divine body involves natural entry into the meaning of the selflessness of phenomena.
 
Through applying unsurpassed contemplation to exalted speech, there are twelve qualities: (1) reciting the word of a Conqueror, (2) mindfulness of doctrine, (3) having faith upon knowing the doctrine, (4) achieving [the utterance of ] true words of speech, (5) attaining method, pristine wisdom, and mindfulness due to possessing wisdom, (6) attaining one-pointed meditative stabilization, (7) offering to Superiors, (8) bringing about the welfare of transmigrators, (9) deities becoming close and one’s speedily achieving them, (10) all phenomena coming under the control of the magic of letters, (11) generation of knowledge of all sounds as like echoes, and (12) naturally entering into the selflessness of phenomena. [To describe these:]

1. Through reciting one syllable of a secret essence mantra of a One-Gone-Thus, one attains qualities that cannot be rivaled even by reciting profound and vast sūtras.

2. and 3. Mindfulness of doctrine and having faith upon knowing the doctrine are due to again and again remembering the power of secret mantra and the arising of the faith of conviction and trust in the power of secret mantra.
4. Achieving [the utterance of ] true words of speech is due to the mantra words of one who has achieved repetition, these not being surpassed by anyone.

5. Attaining method, pristine wisdom, and mindfulness due to possessing wisdom is due to the fact that through the power of secret-mantras, knowledge-mantras, and retention-mantras one attains [respectively] wisdom and method, wisdom and pristine wisdom, and wisdom and mindfulness.

6. In dependence upon vajra repetition and so forth, one-pointed meditative stabilization is attained.
7. and 8. Through emitting light rays, one makes offerings to Superiors and brings about the welfare of transmigrators.
9. Through the power of emitting and withdrawing [hand-
symbols such as vajras, and so forth], obstructions are purified, due to which deities become close, and one quickly attains feats.
10. When one attains constant observation of the forms of letters, all appearances are seen in the nature of letters, and one can demonstrate the magic of letters.

11. The pledge of repetition is to know sounds as like echoes; therefore, through the power of familiarity all sounds are naturally known as like echoes.

12. Having attained constant observation of what is repeated, one knows all phenomena as just appearances of one’s mind, and knows the mind also as without inherent existence. Because of that and because it is said, “Even through reciting once this essence mantra all ill deeds are definitely burnt away,” and so forth, obstructions are extinguished through repetition, and when they are extinguished, pristine wisdom is engendered, whereby one achieves the quality of naturally entering into the meaning of selflessness.
 
Through applying unsurpassed contemplation to exalted mind, all qualities are achieved. This is because at all times and on all occasions one is not separated from viewing all phenomena as like illusions, and due to this afflictive emotions are abandoned without difficulty and attitudes fancying that one is virtuous are discarded, whereby all supramundane marvels are attained.
 
Objection: This is also asserted by the Proponents of the Middle Way School of the Definition Vehicle. It is said, “Do not have a mind fancying, ‘I am set in meditative equipoise and [then] rise,’” and “The Conqueror said that taking cognizance of wholesome practices is like eating good food mixed with poison.” Hence, it is said that all phenomena are to be viewed as like illusions.
 
Answer: That is true, but there [in the Definition Vehicle since one is not bound by Tantric vows, one is very loose, whereas here [in the Mantra Vehicle if one does not meditate such, this is posited as allowing the pledge of exalted mind to deteriorate, due to which, fearing this, one does not ever become separated from meditative stabilization, and even if one does, one restrains [such distraction and confesses it. Therefore, just as the exalted mind of a One-Gone-Thus is devoid of conceiving inherent existence, so a Māntrika’s consciousness is also released from conceiving inherent existence and is indivisible from realizing [all phenomena as having the single nature of being like illusions; hence, it is called the “Vajra [or Diamond Vehicle.” Also, it is faster than other paths. Unsurpassed deeds: Three [types of ] unfavorable deeds are abandoned. With respect to deeds that diminish capacity, it is said:
Through resorting to hard asceticism [and] vows of restraint

Achievement does not come,

But if one resorts to all desired resources, Achievement quickly comes.

Hence, through practicing virtue strongly upon having nurtured the body and made the mind joyful, achievement comes. How could yoga be achieved with a degenerated body and joyless mind! Qualities of purification, and so forth, are taught for those of little mental power who, through nurturing the body and thereupon practicing virtue, cannot eradicate the afflictive emotions. Here, in consideration of those with great mental power, it is permitted to make use of desire.
 
With respect to activities causing distraction, it is said:

If you want the supreme enlightenment,
You should not read books
And should not circumambulate monuments.
If you do, it is difficult to gain enlightenment.

Therefore, since the main cause for achieving enlightenment, the sought-after fruit, is the mind, initially the mind should be brought under control, and other activities should not be done. Having abandoned elaborative deeds, one should meditate just mentally with nonelaborative deeds. This is the supreme method.
 With respect to deeds of conceiving inherent existence, it is said:

Make use of the five fleshes and the five ambrosias In order to abandon conceptions.

Because cleanliness, uncleanliness, and so forth are bonds of conceptualization, one should, having abandoned conceptions of cleanliness and uncleanliness, use them upon blessing them into a magnificent state as ambrosia. When this is done, one comes to definitely know that the arising of conceptions of differences concerning phenomena is false. There are certain nonhumans who take joy in just this, coming to [give] protection according to the doctrine and to take up instructions on it. The five fleshes and five ambrosias are illustrations; one should, without attachment, use just those objects conceived to be unclean—meat and so forth. This is swiftness through deeds.

 Since [the Mantra Vehicle is superior by way of these eleven modes of skill in means, it is called the “Method Vehicle” and the “Great of the Great Vehicles.” That is the assertion [of the master Jñānashrī].

 Also, this master’s description of Mantra as “swifter, having easier and more methods, and having greater skill in means” can mostly be understood through the earlier [description]; however, let us explain these a little. In the external Definition Vehicle it is said that Bodhisattvas become completely purified [as Buddhas in thirty-three periods of countless eons or ten periods of countless eons, that Hearers and Solitary Realizers who reverse and enter the Great Vehicle path do so in four periods of countless eons, and others, in three periods of countless eons. However, here [in Mantra the three—those of the best, middling, and lowest faculties— achieve it [respectively] in this lifetime, in seven births, and sixteen births and so forth.

 Objection: Even in the Perfection Vehicle it is said that having thoroughly attained forbearance with respect to the doctrine of nonproduction, if one wishes, one can become manifestly and fully purified [as a Buddha in even seven days. Also, it is explained that through praising the One-Gone-Thus [called] Tiṣhyab for seven days with a single stanza, the collections of merit usually acquired over nine eons are shortened, and so on. Therefore, if one has effort, there is no definiteness [that it will take] three periods of countless eons and so on, and if one does not have effort, even through Mantra Buddhahood is not attained quickly. Hence, there is no difference [of speed between the Perfection and Mantra vehicles]. Answer: There is no fallacy, because:

1. One who attains forbearance with respect to the doctrine of nonproduction is an eighth grounder, and although upon its attainment one can become fully purified [as a Buddha in seven days, it is explained that two periods of countless eons are needed to get to that point; nothing faster than this is described [in the Perfection Vehicle.

2. Also, although the collections [usually amassed in] nine eons and so forth can be completed in a short time, it is not said that the collections of a period of countless eons can be completed.

3. Also, there are pure scriptural [sources] for the achievement [of Buddhahood in one lifetime and so forth here [in Mantra.
 
Objection: Although that is so in Highest Yoga Mantra, it is not suitable in the lower tantra sets.
 
Answer: It is not so because the Mañjushrī Root Tantraa [an Action Tantra says:
Working well at asceticism in this life,
Those possessing goodness will achieve [[[Wikipedia:fruits|fruits]] of ] mantra Even in this life without striving.
If the activities are illumined even in this life, Buddhahood will be achieved in this birth.
and the Continuation of the Vairochanābhisambodhi Tantra [a Performance Tantra says:
Those Bodhisattvas who practice the Bodhisattva deeds through the approach of Secret Mantra will manifestly and thoroughly accomplish the purity of unsurpassed complete perfect enlightenment in this very life. Also, why is this? Caretaker of the Secret, this called “life” is only something discriminated [that is, designated] as birth by the One Gone-Thus, for even Bodhisattvas cease this discrimination prior to attaining the meditative stabilization of penetrating the nature of phenomena.

and the Vajrashekhara a Yoga Tantra says:b
[Through] having attained the high secrecy
Of the supreme perfections of the grounds
Arisen over countless eons
                                                             
’jam dpal rtsa rgyud, mañjuśrīmūlatantra; P162, vol. 6. b gsang ba rnal ’byor chen po’i rgyud rdo rje rtse mo, vajraśekharamahāguhyayogatantra; P113, vol. 5; Toh. 480, vol. nya.

The Very Joyfula will be achieved. If those yogis make effort, they will pass Beyond sorrow in this very life.
Furthermore, the meaning of those [passages] is that the Action and Performance systems assert that having attained the feat of the knowledge fund [of long life in dependence on substances and mantra, one attains Buddhahood through cultivating the path while enjoying the desirous attributes of a god.b For, the Mañjushrī Root Tantra says:

Having put up a painting [of the deity?], and sat on the peacock seat, they instantaneously have power over c the Brahmā world. They become universal emperors who are Knowledge Bearers having the manifold retinue of a hundred thousand ten thousand ten million Knowledge Bearers. They live for sixty intermediate eons. They go about as they wish and make use of what they wish. They are not obstructed in movement and possess the glorious wealth of the gods. They also manifestly meet the Superior Mañjushrī, and just he becomes their spiritual guide. Also, finally they attain Buddhahood.

and the Imagination of the Courageous Achala [a Performance Tantra says:
These become eagles of universal emperors Of all the Knowledge Bearers In the Buddha lands.
Having attained inconceivable qualities, They live for a hundred eons.
With the glory of the light of sun and moon They tame those difficult to tame.
Doing everything with a good mind,
                                                             
a This is the first Bodhisattva ground. b Read lha’i for lho’i at 18.3 in accordance with the Medium-Length version, 627.4.

The Medium-Length version (627.4) reads gnon for non, both of which literally mean “suppress.”

de bzhin gshegs pa thams cad kyi khro bo’i rgyal po ’phags pa mi g.yo ba de’i stobs dpag tu med pa brtul phod pa ’dul bar gsungs pa zhes bya ba’i rtog pa, acalamahākrodharājasya self-arisenvatathāgatasya balāparimitavīravinayasvākhyātonāmakalpa; P127, vol. 5. The Nyingma catalog records Bu-tön’s comment that this text is a Performance Tantra.

They illuminate sources of worship In countless Buddha lands.
They listen to the unthinkable excellent doctrine.a Through hearingb such with intelligence,
The unthinkable qualities of a Buddha arise.
and the Vairochanābhisambodhi also says:
Having practiced this, Māntrikas Themselves go about in space.
Living for an eon with great magnificence, Those Conqueror Children die when they wish. They even go to other worldly realms.
They assume various forms of principal beings. Through achieving mantras arisen from substance, They thoroughly make offerings to the glorious. This is described as the feat
Of nondeteriorating substance.
and:

Through this their minds become very joyous, and having also attained long life, they thoroughly enjoy play and joy with the five attributes of the Desire Realm. They make offering to the Buddhas, the Supramundane Victors, and achieve this path discordant with the world. The OnesGone-Thus and the Bodhisattvas, having perceived the import of this, happily set forth rites of the mode of Secret Mantra practice. Why? That which is not attained even upon endeavoring at difficult deeds with exertion and striving over many eons is attained in only this one life by Bodhisattvas practicing the Bodhisattva deeds by way of Secret Mantra.
 
Objection: This contradicts the statement in [Ratnākarashānti’s] Commentary on the “All Secret Tantra” c [a Yoga Tantra text] that Buddhahood is not quickly attained through Action and
                                                             

Read bsam med for bsa pa at 18.7 in accordance with the Medium-Length version, 628.1. b Read nyan for nyang in accordance with the Extensive version (18.7).

thams cad gsang ba’i bshad sbyar gsang ba’i sgron ma, sarvarahasyanibandharahasya-
pradīpa; P3450, vol. 76. This is a commentary on thams cad gsang ba rgyud kyi rgyal po, sarvarahasyo nāma tantrarāja; P114, vol. 5.
Performance:

Full purification through causal yoga is described in the systems of the Perfection Vehicle as well as Action Tantra, and so forth; it arises over a very long time. [However,] because all of the Great Vehicle is included in Yoga Tantra through causal and resultant yogas and so forth, enlightenment is attained just very quickly.
 
Answer: There is no such fallacy because that [passage] is referring to attaining the fruit [of Buddhahood in Action and Performance] more slowly than in Yoga Tantra and above, whereas here the reference is to attainment of Buddhahood in the Mantra Vehicle, which,] due to method, is speedier than in the external Definition Vehicle. Since there is no bestowal of featsa through the power of a deity in the external Definition Vehicle but there is here [in Mantra, there is a difference [between the two]. For, (1) a
Commentary on the Kṛṣhṇayamāri Tantra says:b

Even in the Action and Performance systems, the object of achievement and the means of achievement do not work but for a long time; those are just arisen from imagination because there feats are completed through the power of a godc included in a painting, and so forth. Yoga Tantra differs in this way: through the yoga of one’s own deity, concordant feats are achieved upon observing the deity included in the painting, and so forth.
(2) In Yoga Tantra practiced personsd enter a maṇḍala, and through the mere descent of pristine wisdom the first ground is attained; then, they become fully purified [as Buddhas very quickly. Nonpracticed persons assume a vow henceforth to turn away from nonvirtue and gradually become completely purified; even
                                                             
dngos grub, siddhi. b There are four commentaries on the Kṛṣhṇayamāri Tantra, P2782-2785, vols. 6667, by Ratnākarashānti, Kṛṣhṇa chen po, Avadhūta Kumāracandra, and Padmapāṇi; for instance, the one by Kṛṣhṇa chen po is gshin rje gshed nag po’i rgyud kyi rgyal po mngon par mthong ba lam gyi sgron ma zhes bya ba’i rgya cher bshad pa, kṛṣṇayamāritantrarājāprekṣaṇapathapradīpanāmaṭīkā.
       
Read lha’i for lhas at 20.2 in accordance with the Medium-Length version, 629.3. d chos ldan gyi gang zag. Kensur Yeshi Thupten tentatively identified this as someone who is maintaining vows.

the lowest [among them] definitely become fully purified in sixteen births. After the passage [quoted] above from the Vajrashekhara Tantra, it says:
The Very Joyful ground is attained, There is no doubt about Vajrahood.
Or through only seeing [the maṇḍala they pass Beyond sorrow in sixteen births. The Very Joyful is attained Or even Vajrahood itself.
They make sun and moon fall to the earth And become of the nature of space. A common being achieves Buddhahood, It is not otherwise.
The master Ānandagarbha says on the occasion of indicating the benefits of seeing a maṇḍala:
Through mere entry [into a maṇḍala pristine wisdom descends. Then, those on whom wisdom has descended attain the Very Joyful ground and so forth. Therefore, it is said that if it is not difficult to gain even the full achievement of a One-Gone-Thus, what need is there to say anything about other feats! This indicates that due to abiding in the vows of a fully ordained monk, a fully ordained nun, and so forth feats are attained very quickly and that others [will attain feats] later upon taking vows of restraint.

On the occasion of the benefits of having achieved the great seal, in commentary on the passage:
If you become mindful [of yourself ] as a Buddha, You will quickly become just a Buddha.
[Ānandagarbha] says:
That [indicates that] when this deity yoga is thoroughly accomplished, one becomes just a Buddha. In this very life, one attains Buddhahood.
(3) In Great Yoga Tantra [that is, Highest Yoga Mantra those of sharp faculties and great effort achieve Buddhahood in this very life; the middling achieve it as they are about to die or in the intermediate state, and the lowest, at the most in seven or sixteen births. The Guhyasamāja Tantra a says:
The enlightenment that Bodhisattvas do not attain, though they strive and seek it for as many eons as there are grains of sands of the Ganges, [is attained in this very life by Bodhisattvas who take joy in the union of the secret,b who come to be among the number whom the Ones-Gone-Thus call “Buddha.”c
and the Saṃpuṭa Tantra says:

In brief, the Buddhahood
Achieved over countless
[Or] ten million eons
You will attain in this birth Through the most excellent bliss.
Or [the ground of ] Vajradhara,
Or Universal Emperorhood,
Or the eight great feats here [in this life
As well as attaining what is desired in mind.
and the Kālachakra Tantrae says:
Those yogis knowing all the magical devices and the gurus of the three realms [attain Buddhahood in this birth.
If, having thoroughly entered the path, they die, then it is in another birth through the assistance of this.
With respect to the meaning of this, the master Jñānākara [in his
Introduction to Mantra says:f
For example, one who has achieved swift feet
                                                             

de bzhin gshegs pa thams cad kyi sku gsung thugs kyi gsang chen gsang ba ’dus pa zhes bya ba brtag pa’i rgyal po chen po, sarvatathāgatakāyavākcittarahasya-guhyasamājanāmamahākalparāja; P81, vol. 3. b gsang ba ’dus pa, guhyasamāja.

The Medium-Length (270.5) reads de bzhin gshegs pa rnams kyi rather than de bzhin gshegs pa rnams kyis (21.5). d rnal ’byor ma bzhi’i kha sbyor kyi rgyud, caturyoginīsaṃpuṭatantra; P24, vol. 2. The
first six lines are cited in Tantra in Tibet, 139. e rgyud kyi rgyal po dpal dus kyi ’khor lo, kālacakranāmatantrarāja; P4, vol. 1.

gsang sngags la ’jug pa, mantrāvatāra; P4541, vol. 81, 195.5.8-196.1.2.
Or the sun and moon goes just speedily
To a place arrived at over a long time By a person of little power Or by an animal cart.
Just so, Māntrikas enter in this life
Into that entered over a long time
In reliance upon

The Perfection Vehicle or other paths. This depends upon unequaled power.
For this, marvelous causes and conditions are required. Concerning the causes, from the force of salutary actions in the past one’s body and speech must be fully endowed, and one’s mind must have fewer afflictive emotions. With respect to the conditions, there are the three deeds—the deed of entry which is to have initiation, the deed of application which is to meditatively cultivate the two stages [that is, the generation stage and completion stage as well as their branches, and the deed of achievement which is to set [the mind one-pointedly on its object of observation upon having abandoned whatever is unfavorable. That same text says:

Moreover this is through marvelous causes and conditions.
The causes also are that by performing actions well
Of body, speech, and mind in former lives
One presently has attained a fully endowed body
As a continuum of fruition,
As well as speech melodious like a cuckoo, And a mind of slight afflictive emotions— The hosts of desires, hatreds, and obscurations.
The conditions also are just threefold—
The threefold behavior
Of entry, application, and practice.
Among them, the behavior of entry
Is for students who have previously acquainted for a long time
With a guru endowed with good qualities
To make a supplication and thereupon
To enter a maṇḍala and be conferred initiation And to identify their own favored deity.
That is called the “basic condition.”a
Among those, the behavior of application
Is to make effort in a concordant place and so forth
Initially at emptiness, love, and so forth,
And through the rite of one’s favored deity
To meditate, repeat mantra, recite,
Give food-offerings, or make offerings and so forth In three sessions or four.
Released from all great ill deeds,
One becomes the equivalent of a Bodhisattva Who has practiced for many eons. This is indicated as the second condition [Making one] fit for transformation.
Among those, about the condition of achievement,
For example, when a well washed cloth
Is to be dyed another color,
It is done with little difficulty and care is to be taken,
So with the behavior of achievement one must tighten [the mind
But not with great hardship.
When persons, whose continuums have been ripened
Through the behavior of application, engage in achievement,
They abandon unfavorable places,
Friends, resources, and thoughts
And set one-pointedly on the object of observation. This is indicated as the third, The condition of speedy elevation.
One attains the knowledge fund of feats, which is achieved through such causes and conditions and, having attained it, achieves the fulfillment of one’s own and others’ welfare—the behavior of adepthood.
 
Thereby, if the causes and conditions are fulfilled, Buddhahood is achieved in this very life. The same text says:b
What are the feats of adepthood?
                                                             

Read gzhi yi rkyen for g.yo rkyen at 22.6 in accordance with the Medium-Length version, 631.7; the Peking edition (196.1.6) reads gzhi’i rkyen. b P4541, vol. 81, 196.2.5-196.3.2.
One’s body, locality, and resources Exceed those of humans.
One has power over one’s life span
And is forever released from birth without leisure.
One meets and so forth with Buddhas who arise,
And consciously uses the five desirous attributes
Without becoming bound,
And can engender help for oneself and others. What is the behavior of adepthood?
One enjoys the happiness of wealth
In this and that place and time
And likewise makes offerings to Superiors According to one’s capacity.
With various appropriate magical emanations One tames sentient beings who are tamed Through help [or] through eradication.
One gives coolness, heat, and so forth
Even for brief periods in the hells and so forth. Likewise, one teaches various doctrines To the varieties of sentient beings.
One helps all through being seen, Heard, touched, or remembered. What is the time of adepthood?
The feat will be attained
Even in this very life by an ascetic
Who has accumulated all causes and conditions,
Continually repeats mantra and meditates,
And has faith in the Conqueror as well as his Children.
The thought of this master is that the attainment of a ground or the attainment [of the level] of a Knowledge Bearer is adepthood and that such is attained in a single life.
 
The second stage of Nāgārjuna’s Five Stages says:

Initially through union with an action [[[Wikipedia:seal|seal]], that is, consort
The eighth ground is attained.
Those who perceive the three appearances
Thoroughly abide on the tenth ground. Having attained manifest enlightenment well, They go to a state of purity.
Since they do not turn back from a Buddha land, They become omniscient in this very life.

Thus, it is explained that through the generation stage one attains the eighth ground: through mental observation, the tenth ground; and through illusory body and clear light, the eleventh or twelfth, and thereupon through union one is fully purified [as a Buddha. With respect to this, in (1) the Clear Meaning Commentary on (Nāgārjuna’s) “Five Stages” which is said to be by Nāgabodhi,a (2) the commentary on the root text of the Ornament for Clear Realization [of Guhyasamāja which is said to be by Chandrakīrti,b and (3) the Commentary on (Āryadeva’s) “Lamp Compendium for Practice” by Shākyamitra,c it is asserted that through considering each of the four (heat, peak, forbearance, and supreme mundane qualities) to have three [subdivisions] each (great, middling, [and small]) there are twelve grounds and that the very joyful ground is the Buddha ground. For instance, Chandrakīrti’s Commentary on the “Ornament for Clear Realization [of Guhyasamāja” says:

Progressing over the particulars of the grounds— The middling forbearance, and high supreme qualities,
And the first through tenth grounds—
One abandons conceptions of body, speech, and mind.
and Shākyamitra’s Commentary on (Āryadeva’s) “Lamp Compendium for Practice” explains [the process] together with citing scripture:
The generation stage is not the first. Why? Because the completion stage is.
 
Question: Then, what is [the meaning of ] this “first”? Answer: It is the vajra repetition together with its support and generation.

Question: Through this what ground is attained?

Answer: The eighth ground, the ground of middling for-
                                                             
rim pa lnga pa’i bshad pa nor bu’i phreng ba, pañcakramaṭīkāmaṇimālā; P2697, vol. 62. b gsang ba ’dus pa’i mngon par rtogs pa’i rgyan gyi ’grel pa, guhyasamājābhisamayālaṃ-
kāravṛtti; P2681, vol. 62.

spyod pa bsdus pa’i sgron ma shes bya ba rgya cher bshad pa, caryāmelāyanapradīpanāmaṭīkā; P2703, vol. 62.
bearance. Moreover, from that called “vajra meaning,” one abides on the ground of vajra repetition, whereupon the middling forbearance is attained.
 
Clear realization of exalted body, speech, and mind is to know exalted body, speech, and mind as the entity of the mind itself. Through this what grounds are attained? The ten grounds. The ground of observing mind is to arrive at the lesser or middling level of supreme qualities. Through the illusion-like meditative stabilization, one abides on the great level of supreme qualities. Another [passage] says:

[The levels] from great forbearance through supreme qualities
Are attained through observation of mind And the illusion-like.
Through being obscured with respect to the lower ground
One does not achieve ascension
To the Very Joyful and so forth, like an animal.
Then, what ground is attained through the clear light? The Very Joyful, the first of the ten grounds.

Question: Then, does this not contradict the statement:
Through the yoga of clear light One thoroughly abides on the thirteenth [ground].
 
Answer: There is no contradiction; that [count of thirteen] is in terms of [considering the levels of the path of preparation,] heat and so forth [as among the first twelve grounds]:
Having become the final heat,
Through applying [small,] middling, and great
 
In terms of [peak,] forbearance, and supreme qualities
There are twelve; the Very Joyful is the thirteenth.
Through this called “union” how many particular grounds
are attained? It is as it is said:
[The grounds] from the Very Joyful through the Cloud of Doctrine Attained from its imprint Are arrived at through union.
They are objects of another.a
The other commentators on Nāgārjuna’s “Five Stages” describe this as literal.
 
 Also, it is explained in the commentary on the Buddha Unionb that in dependence upon the practice of Secret Mantra, [the level of ] a Knowledge Bearer is attained and that in this very life as a Knowledge Bearer Buddhahood is attained. The seventh chapter of the Buddha Union says:c
In this life [the level of ] a Knowledge Bearer is attained.
Then, through the force of gradual familiarization, One achieves the definitive great Buddhahood, The three bodies of great bliss, nondual.
In the Kālachakra Tantra it is asserted that it is achieved in the birth [that is, lifetime of a human who is endowed with the two collections and who is a great being endowed with the six constituents. Kalkī Puṇḍarīka’s Stainless Light says:d
 
The statement, “Thoroughly bestowing the fruit of Buddhahood in this birth,” [means that this Kālachakra Tantra is a king of tantras thoroughly bestowing the fruit of Buddhahood in this birth as a human, not in a birth as any of
                                                             
The meaning of the last line is unclear. b There are four commentaries: (1) rgyud kyi don rnam par bshad pa, tantrārthaṭīkā; P2531, vol. 58; (2) mnyam sbyor gyi rgyan, samayogālaṃkāra; P2532, vol. 58; (3) sangs rgyas thams cad dang mnyam par sbyor ba shes bya ba’i rgyud kyi dka’ ’grel, sarvabuddhasamayoganāmatantrapañjikā; P2533, vol. 58; (4) sangs rgyas thams cad dang mnyam par sbyor ba’i dka’ ’grel, sarvabuddhasamayogapañjikā; P2535, vol.

sangs rgyas thams cad dang mnyam par sbyor ba mkha’ ’gro ma sgyu ma bde ba’i
mchog, sarvabuddhasamayogaḍākinījālasaṃbara; P8, vol. 1. d
  
bsdus pa’i rgyud kyi rgyal po dus kyi ’khor lo’i ’grel bshad rtsa ba’i rgyud kyi rjes su ’jug pa stong phrag bcu gnyis pa dri ma med pa’i ’od ces bya ba / ’grel chen dri med ’od, vimālaprabhānāmamūlatantrānusāriṇīdvādaśasāhasrikālaghukālacakratantrarājaṭīkā; P2064, vol. 46.
the five [other] transmigrations—gods, and so forth.
Vajragarbha’s commentary [on the Hevajra Tantra in the manner of the Kālachakra Tantra says:
The statement, “Thoroughly bestowing the fruit of Buddhahood in this birth,” [means that this] is accomplished upon having taken human birth again and again, and not as a god, demigod, and so forth.
 
Objection: The explanation that such is accomplished in one life is in consideration of a person who, having amassed vast collections [of merit and wisdom, has entered a high ground and is not [in reference] to accomplishment by a common being. Answer: It is not so. The root Kālachakra Tantra says:
If low caste persons, bamboo weavers, and so forth
Or those having done [any of ] the five deeds of immediate retribution
Practice the deeds of Mantra,
They will become Buddhas in this very birth.
Therefore, it is explained that if persons who are doing actions of immediate retribution practice later with effort, they will become fully purified [as Buddhas, and it is not possible for a Superior to commit an action of immediate retribution; [hence, the reference must be to common beings. Kalkī Puṇḍarīka’s Stainless Light says:
Having overcome with the meditative stabilization of immutable bliss of the great seal in this Mantra Vehicle the commission of the awful actions of the deeds of immediate retribution, in order not to allow the sudden occurrence of other nonvirtues, one bars—with the bars of love, compassion, joy, and equanimity and so forth, as well as the harmonies with enlightenment—the doors of entry of the four demonic soundsb and of obstructors to the house that is the source of vajra doctrine. Doing such, in just this life one gains achievement together with the Vajrasattva great seal. Even those who are agents of the deeds of immediate retribution attain the fruit of Buddhahood in this birth. This is what the One-Gone-Thus asserts. The One-Gone-Thus does not assert that even those who have committed the awful actions of the five deeds of immediate retribution after entering the Vajra Vehicle will attain the fruit of Buddhahood in this birth.
Also, the earlier passages from the Vajrashekhara (222 and 226) establish such.
 
Furthermore, there are cases of persons who see the truth of the clear light of the completion stage but, due to laziness or due to [lack of ] wealth, do not perform the deeds [related with using a consort. In dependence upon concentration combining quintessential instructions for dying and for the intermediate state they become fully purified in the intermediate state in a Complete Enjoyment Body of union [of pure body and mind, this being from the Body of Attributes of the clear light of death. Āryadeva’s Lamp Compendium for Practice says:a
The vajra student asks, “If though practitioners see the truth, they do not perform [any of ] the three types of deeds due to being distracted by farming, commerce, goods and services, and so forth through the force of being accustomed to earlier predispositions and if other practitioners, because of lacking wealth, do not perform the deeds due to being unable to perform fully the rites as they are set forth in the Tantra, will they, upon dying, go to another rebirth or will they attain Vajradharahood?”
 In answer to this question, he, having first taught the mode of being and given an example, makes the actual answer: “Therefore, one who has knowledge of suchness but has not engaged in the deeds that were just explained, realizes thoroughly and manifestly—upon having forsaken all views—that dying is ultimate truth and birth is conventional truthb and thereupon generates a firm attitude: ‘Upon eventuallyc abiding in the clear light, I will set aside the ordinary mental and physical aggregates and thereupon rise in the stage of blessing myself into a magnificent state.’
When through taking this to mind they dwell [in such a
                                                             
spyod bsdus sgron ma, caryāmelāpakapradīpa; P2668, vol. 61. b Read kun rdzob kyi for kun rdzob kyis at 27.6 in accordance with the MediumLength version, 637.1.
brgya lam na.
state, they will not lose this mental application in another birth, whereby they become omniscient.”
and the Guhyasamāja Tantra also says:
Drink the fruit with desire
In accordance with the rite for restraining emission of semen.
If you kill the collection of Ones-Gone-Thus, The very supreme feat will be attained.
and the Great Sacred Worda also says:
When your mind has entered the basal sphere, You realize clarity and strong joy, like space.
Then when you achieve the form
Of a five-year-old child endowed
With the force of magical emanation, Unexampled bliss is fully realized.
From that, when impelled to another birth, You thoroughly realize the form of an emanation.
 Moreover, persons who cannot gain achievement in that lifetime and see the signs of impending death will achieve the supreme [feat of Buddhahood if they implement transference [of consciousness prior to the onset of infectious disease, and so forth. The Four
Seats says:b
Through certain approaches They cross over cyclic existence.
Then, through certain avenues
When the time of death arises
For one on the good yogic path
Seeing the signs of death and transmigration, Transference without allowing contagion and so forth Is the supreme of yogas.
Also, with respect to the benefits of that [practice], it says:
                                                             
a zhal lung chen mo. There are two texts by Buddhajñānapāda called zhal gyi lung: rim pa gnyis pa’i de kho na nyid sgom pa zhes bya ba’i zhal gyi lung, dvikramatattvabhāvanā-nāma-mukhāgama, P2716, vol. 65, and zhal gyi lung, mukhāgama; P2717, vol.
65. b gdan bzhi/ rnal ’byor ma’i rgyud kyi rgyal po chen po dpal gdan bzhi pa, caturpīṭhamahāyoginītantrarāja; P67, vol. 3.
When it is sent above the ninth joint,a
There is that called “transference.”
Through this path [the ill effects
Of ] killing Brahmins daily,
Committing the five deeds of immediate retribution, Theft, and using desirous attributes are stopped.
One will not be polluted with ill deeds,
And the phenomena of cyclic existence will become distant.
Just as the color of a lotus
Grown from mud is beautiful,
So a pristine wisdom body arises of its own accord From the body of an excellent yogi.
When the time comes, transference is to be done.
When through this the physical signs arise,
The intelligent initiate the yoga.b
 It is said that if the supreme [feat of Buddhahood is not achieved through transference, one achieves [the level of ] a Knowledge Bearer, and then gradually achieves the supreme. For, the Great Sacred Word says:
If the three bodies are not achieved,
One will become a chief of Knowledge Bearers, Gradually becoming the great seal.
and the Condensed Kālachakra Tantra also says:
When the winds of the two channels are stopped, an opening is made at the crown of the head, whereupon one goes to the cities of the supreme.
By thoroughly activating the vajra in the mind, everything together with the area becomes just [a land of deities making use of space.
If one is not endowed with effort [but] is without infractions, one achieves [the supreme feat of Buddhahood in three or seven births. Jñānākara’s Introduction to Secret Mantra says:c
Those who are endowed with the cause but lack
                                                             
Translation doubtful; the text (28.5) reads tshigs dgu las ni yar gtong na. b Whether sbyor ba (yoga) here refers to the main part of the yoga of transference or to the connection to the new life-situation, the meaning is similar.

gsang sngags la ’jug pa, mantrāvatāra; P4541, vol. 81, 196.3.2.
Certain conditions, like a great medicinal tree,
Will in three lives see emptiness well
And be released without [the passage of much] time.a and the Buddha Skull says:b
Though the [supreme] feat is not attained in this birth, In another birth the feat is attained.
and the Secret Treasury says:c
If one is endowed with thorough bestowal of initiation, Initiation will be conferred in birth after birth.
In the seventh birth of that person
Feats will be attained even without meditation.
If those who possess feats
Abide in the pledges and vows,
Even though due to karma they do not achieve [the supreme feat] in this birth,
They will attain the [supreme] feat in another birth.
For those who temporarily let their pledges deteriorate, Never mind the attainment of feats
Even human birth is difficult to attain.
Also, Kalkī Puṇḍarīka’s Stainless Light says:
When those who have thoroughly entered the path die without having attained yoga, then through the force of predispositions they attain all in another human birth again. Over seven births at the most, even those who are not endowed with effort and do not meditatively cultivate pristine wisdom [do so].
In the Kālachakra Tantra there is no mention of more than seven births, but lamas say that the lowest achieve [the supreme feat of Buddhahood in sixteen births. Moreover, the Vajrashekhara says:
                                                             
a Peking (196.3.2) misreads: stong nyid legs mthong du med grol, whereas it should read stong nyid legs mthong dus med grol in accordance with 29.3. b sangs rgyas thod pa shes bya ba rnal ’byor ma’i rgyud kyi rgyal po, buddhakapālanāma-
yoginītantrarāja, P63, vol. 3.
c
  de bzhin gshegs pa thams cad kyi gsang ba gsang ba’i mdzod chen po mi zad pa gter gyi
sgron ma brtul zhugs chen po bsgrub pa’i rgyud]], sarvatathāgataguhyamahāguhyakośaakṣayayanidhidīpamahāvratasādhanatantra; P453, vol. 9.
[If ] vajric [practitioners] make manifest effort
In all births—birth after birth— At the most in sixteen births
They will attain peace, Buddhahood.
 
The main causes of accomplishing this path are purity of pledges and vows of restraint, predisposing latencies for a good path in this life, and the power of aspirational wishes such as:
May I in birth after birth
Be born in [a family of good] lineage,
Have a sanea Hevajra teacher endowed with the pledges, Have respect for gurus, and possess the pledges.
May I in birth after birth
[Hold in] my hands vajra and resounding bell.
May I read the doctrine of the profound
And have the food of a consort’s essential fluid.b
The Chapter on the Internal in the Kālachakra Tantra says:
If yogis—who due to a very fluctuating mind do not attain the king of yogas—die,
They will be born in a glorious human world possessing yoga in a family of good] lineage able [to accomplish] the very supreme.
Due to prior familiarization, those who lack the yoga of pristine wisdom will again thoroughly encompass it.
When pristine wisdom has been attained, they will proceed to the inexhaustible supreme state without being reborn.
That is the feature of a swifter path. [The features of ] having easier and more methods were explained earlier [in connection with Tripiṭakamāla’s Lamp for the Three Modes, 209] and [the feature of ] greater skill in means is similar to [Tripiṭakamāla’s description of ] nonobscuration [208].
                                                             

Read smyo med for snyo med at 29.2 in accordance with the Medium-Length version, 639.4. b Read mnyam zas for mnyam za at 29.3 in accordance with the Medium-Length ver-sion, 639.5. The meaning of mnyam is unclear.
[How Ratnākarashānti Divides the Perfection and Mantra Vehicles]
Moreover, the master Ratnākarashānti [in his Presentation of the Three Vehiclesa says that the Perfection and Mantra vehicles do not differ with respect to the ultimate truth but do differ with respect to the profundity and vastness of conventional truths. Because whatever objects of observation appear are meditated as deities, Mantra is more vast. Since [Māntrikas] hold in mind the pledges that the Buddhas of the three times have undergone, special blessings into a magnificent state are engendered, whereby Mantra has vaster assistance. Also, in accordance with how Buddhas and Bodhisattvas bring about the welfare of transmigrators and bless lands into purity, [Māntrikas] similarly engender [such marvelous deeds; therefore, Mantra has vaster deeds. Because Proponents of the Middle Way School, Proponents of the Mind-Only School, Hearers, and Solitary Realizers do not have these three, they become fully purified over three or four periods of countless eons. However, since Mantra has these, full purification occurs in a short time; hence, there is a great difference.
[As Ratnākarashānti says:]
Because of very pure objects of observation,
The power of aids, and also deeds,
The vehicle of the intelligent
Is renowned as the greatest of the great.
[How Nāgārjuna Divides the Perfection and Mantra Vehicles]

Furthermore, the Foremost Elder Atisha’s Compilation of All Pledges says:
 
Bodhisattvas who have entered the door of Mantra are to understand as follows. This great of the Great Vehicles surpasses the lower [vehicles]. How? The Superior Nāgārjuna
                                                             

theg pa gsum rnam par bzhag pa, triyānavyavasthāna; P4535, vol. 81. The passage
quoted below is cited in Tantra in Tibet, 134. b Cited in Tantra in Tibet, 134.

dam tshig thams cad bsdus pa, sarvasamayasaṃgraha; P4547, vol. 81, 209.4.8-209.5.5. The citations from Nāgārjuna through Samayavajra come from Atisha’s Compilation of All Pledges; they are mostly consecutive with the exception that Atisha cites Tripiṭakamāla and Ratnākarashānti, while Bu-tön omits these passages at this point, since he has already given them earlier.
says, “Through realizing all as the Body of Attributes, [everything] is implanted with the seal of the all-good. a Through being treated as an object of serviceb by the great worldly gods who have pledges [to help tantric practitioners, and so forth] as well as by their retinues, one is blessed into a magnificent state. Through being mentally cared for and blessed by the Buddhas of the three times [[[Wikipedia:past|past]], present, and future] as well as their Children, feats are [achieved] more quickly. Through having the same sphere of activity as Ones-Gone-to-Bliss, one becomes separate from the frights of cyclic existence and bad transmigrations, and rests. Through possessing the vajra mind of enlightenment and the indivisibility of body, speech, and mind, there is no interference at all. Through believing that all external and internal phenomena are naturally pure, pledges do not deteriorate, and even if they do deteriorate, they are naturally restored. There are these distinctive features [of the Mantra Vehicle.”
[How Indrabhūti Divides the Perfection and Mantra Vehicles]c

Also, the great master Indrabhūti says, “Mantra is superior by way of seven features: guru, vessel, rite, activity, pledge, view, and behavior.”
[How Jñānapāda Divides the Perfection and Mantra Vehicles]d
The great master Jñānapāda says, “The Mantra Vehicle is uncommon in three ways: practitioner, path, and fruit.”
[How Ḍombhīheruka Divides the Perfection and Mantra Vehicles]e
The master Ḍombhīheruka also says:
About this, the Mantra Vehicle is superior
                                                             
kun tu bzang po, samantabhadra. b Read bkur gnas for bkur ste nas at 31.4 in accordance with the Medium-Length version, 640.6.

Atisha’s Compilation of All Pledges, 209.5.5-209.5.6. d Ibid., 209.5.6-209.5.7. e Ibid., 209.5.8-210.1.1.
By way of the feature of vessels, The doctrine making vessels,
The features of texts and paths, and the feature of fruits.
[How Vajraghaṇṭapāda Divides the Perfection and Mantra Vehicles]b
Furthermore, Vajraghaṇṭapāda says:
The Mantra Vehicle is the great of the Great Vehicles, for it has the feature of the persons who are the bases, the feature of the paths that are the means of entry, the feature of the fruit which is the finality, and the feature of definite emergence.
[How Samayavajra Divides the Perfection and Mantra Vehicles]c
My lama, the foremost venerable Samayavajra, said:
This Vehicle is higher than the Perfection Vehicle; it is superior by way of guru, initiation, pledges, quintessential instructions, and effort.
The meaning of these is to be understood through the reasonings explained earlier, as appropriate.
 
 
9. Long-chen-rap-jam’s Dramatic Evocation

The Nying-ma master Long-chen-rap-jam, 1308-1363, whose writings are to much of Nying-ma as Tsong-kha-pa’s are to Ge-luk (despite not being its founder), gives a presentation of the difference between the Perfection Vehicle, also called the Definition Vehicle, and the Mantra Vehicle in his Precious Treasury of Tenets: Illuminating the Meaning of All Vehicles.b Though he cites several of the same sources as Bu-tön, the appeal is different; his creative comments and psychologically evocative style show that the primary concern is not with providing a partially explained catalogue, like that of Bu-tön. The basic thread of discourse is the evocation of an experience of the tantric path and result through the usage of special, experientially oriented vocabulary.
 
Long-chen-pa begins by giving a highly interpretive rendition of Tripiṭakamāla’s four features distinguishing the Mantra Vehicle from the Perfection Vehicle, an explanation by no means bound by Tripiṭakamāla’s own commentary, as Bu-tön’s was. Then, he lists five features:

1. objects of observation
2. accompaniers
3. view
4. behavior
5. achievement of the nature and cites Ratnākarashānti’s three features:
1. very pure object 2. the power of aids
3. deeds.

He also gives extensive commentary on the fifteen distinctive features found in the Tantra of the Inconceivable Ra-li:

1.view
2. behavior
3. mental stabilization
4. cause
5. path
6. fruit
7. grounds
8. time
9. enjoyment
10. yoga
11. welfare of self and others
12. scope
13. forsaking extremes of fatigue
14. little difficulty
15. way of amassing the collections.

He concludes with a threefold explanation of why Mantra is posited as the Effect Vehicle—by way of speed, superior method, and taking a similitude of the effect as the path.  
Translation
 
The presentation of how the Secret Mantra Vajra Vehicle surpasses the Definition Vehiclea [that is to say, the Sūtra systems] has three parts: the divisions of the Great Vehicle in general, how [the Vajra Vehicle surpasses the Definition Vehicle in particular, and identification of how [the Vajra Vehicle is the effect.
Divisions of the Great Vehicle in general
Furthermore, the Great Vehicle is twofold, a Causal Definition Vehicle and an Effect Secret Mantra Vehicle. The Tantra Thoroughly Establishing the Great Vehicle says:b
The Great Vehicle is of two aspects,
The Perfection Vehicle
And the unsurpassed Vajra Vehicle. and the Susiddhi Tantra says:c
Through the divisions of cause and effect There are a Perfection Vehicle And an unsurpassed Vajra Vehicle.
How the Vajra Vehicle surpasses the Definition Vehicle in particular
This section has two parts: a brief indication and an extensive explanation.
Brief indication of how the Vajra Vehicle surpasses the Definition Vehicle
The internal Secret Mantra Vehicle greatly surpasses the external Definition Vehicle.d Although both are similar in ascertaining the
                                                             

mtshan nyid kyi theg pa, *lakṣaṇayāna. b theg pa chen po yongs su grub pa’i rgyud.

legs par grub pa’i rgyud, susiddhitantra; P431, vol. 9. d Here Long-chen-pa expands on the passage from Tripiṭakamāla’s Lamp for the Three Modes listing the four features, which he cites at the end of this section:
Though the object [or basis] is the same, the Mantra Vehicle

matrix of clear light—the basis—and the phenomenaa that depend on it, they differ in terms of knowledge in that the Definition Vehicle is obscured but Mantra is not obscured with respect to delineating the bases, paths, and fruits just as they are. For, when they comprehend the profoundb and the vast, the Definition Vehicle has no more than only a profundity concerned with:
1. a basis fabricated by the mind, an ultimate truth known through determinative inferential valid cognition c breaking down objects through reasoning
2. only the paths of calm abiding and special insight established through effort in terms of such [a fabricated basis]
3. a fruit, the attainment of which is approached over many eons and, with respect to the vast, has no more than only a discarding [of nonvirtues] and adopting [of virtues within delineating as conventional truths the aggregates,d constituents,e senses-spheres,f and so forth which depend on the basic constituent.

 Mantra, however, delineates—as the ground—nonconceptual pristine wisdom unfabricated by the mind, the essence of the Body of Attributes, merely through concentrative emphasis on focal points of body, speech, channels, winds, drops of essential fluid, and so forth without depending on reasoning. Thereupon, natural awarenessh abides within it, whereby in one lifetime and so forth the expanse of reality,i the ultimate truth, is realized, enlightenment being actualized. Through this, the profound is just manifestly generated [and not merely viewed as an effect].
 Also, with respect to the vast, having delineated the expanse as the basic tantra primordially established as the maṇḍala of clear
                                                                                                                                 
Is superior because of being nonobscured, Having many skillful methods, no difficulties,
And being created for those with sharp faculties.
a chos, dharma. b The “profound” (zab mo) mainly refers to the view of reality, and the vast (rgya che ba) mainly refers to practices related with conventionalities.
 
c rjes dpag nges pa’i tshad ma. d phung po, skandha.
e khams, dhātu.
f skye mched, ayatana. g khams, dhātu. h rang bzhin gyi blo.
i dbyings.
light, Mantra teaches the practice of path tantras in which all conventional aspects—aggregates, constituents, and sense-spheres— which depend on that [expanse of reality are delineated as gods, inestimable mansions, and creations of pure lands without adopting or discarding. Actualization thereby of the eight feats temporarily and supreme enlightenment and so forth finally and the teaching of whatsoever path doctrines are delineated [as] the fruit tantras. Therefore, [the Mantra Vehicle is not obscured with respect to the meaning of the profound and the vast.
 
[The Mantra Vehicle also surpasses [the Definition Vehicle through having more skillful methods. Even with respect to abandoning a single object of abandonment such as desire, desire is purified in the expanse without [having to work at] abandoning it. This is done in the common way through transformation by [the stage of ] generation or in the uncommon way through using in the path heightened desire as the great bliss of individual investigation [of reality. The Definition Vehicle, on the other hand, relies on abandoning objects and subjects.
 
Also, with respect to common objects of achievement such as wealth, since [in the Definition Vehicle wealth is viewed as] following after charity, it is created in accordance with former actions and hence is achieved by the likes of ordinary causes. However, surpassing the hard work of the Definition Vehicle—which is [like] commerce, farming, and so forth—is Secret Mantra, in which wealth is manifestly increased through the use of the water initiation, the practice of Shumbha, and so forth. Therefore, [such methods surpass the former actions and ordinary systems of achievement [in the Definition Vehicle. Since [the Mantra Vehicle describes even for a single purpose many forms [of methods for] lengthening life, bringing [persons and resources under one’s] control, and so forth, it surpasses [the Definition Vehicle.
 
Mantra also surpasses [the Definition Vehicle because of not being difficult. On the path of the Definition Vehicle one finally becomes tired and exhausted by the asceticism of abandoning [nonvirtues] and adopting virtues. However, in Mantra everything shines as a help-mate, due to which entities to be abandoned and adopted are naturally pure, whereby achievement comes through using the attributes of the Desire Realm and so forth.
 
Mantra also surpasses [the Definition Vehicle due to being a path for those with sharp faculties. For, it has a final nature of excellent quintessential instructions of great meaning but little difficulty.
 
Furthermore, with respect to its superiority in these four ways, Tripiṭakamāla’s Lamp for the Three Modes says:
Though the object [or basis] is the same, the Mantra Vehicle
Is superior because of being nonobscured, Having many skillful methods, no difficulties, And being created for those with sharp faculties.
Also, concerning those, the Mantra Vehicle is posited as great because its objects of observation, accompaniers, view, behavior, and achievement of the nature are sublime.a Ratnākarashānti’s Presentation of the Three Vehicles says:b
Because of a very pure object,
The power of aids, and also deeds,
The vehicle of the intelligent
Is renowned as the greatest of the great.
Extensive explanation of how Secret Mantra surpasses the Definition Vehicle
The Tantra of the Inconceivable Ra-li says:c
The small vehicles such as that of the Hearers Do not have quintessential instructions. The vehicle of the Knowledge Bearers Is superior by fifteen distinctive features:
View, behavior, mental stabilization,d
Cause, path, fruit, grounds,
Time, enjoyment, yoga,
Welfare of self and others, scope,e
                                                             
a phun sum tshogs pa. b theg pa gsum rnam par bzhag pa, triyānavyavasthāna; P4535, vol. 81.
c ra li bsam gyis mi khyab pa’i rgyud. d sems bzung.
e The text (262.1) reads dgos pa, but I have emended it to dgongs pa to accord with the commentary below.

Forsaking extremes of fatigue, little difficulty, And way of amassing the collections.
The view of the Definition Vehicle is only an emptiness, free from dualistic proliferations; the two truths are not realized as undifferentiable, primordially abiding with a nature of gods and mantras. However, the Mantra Vehicle realizes [such a view]; conventionalities are nonexistent, and appearances are taken to be divinely pure as mere emanations. The ultimate expanse and wisdom are primordially nondual; the two [that is, the ultimate and the conventional are realized as undifferentiable within an original naturelessness. Buddhaguhya’s Stages of the Path of Magical Emanation says:
 
In the great maṇḍala of equality
Where the ultimate and the conventional are undifferentiable…
Also, with respect to the divine purity of the five aggregates, the
Tantra of Pristine Wisdom [Already] Established says:b
Forms are just Vairochana,
Feelings are Ratnasambhava,
Discriminations are Amitābha,

Compositional factors are Amoghasiddhi, Consciousnesses are Akṣhobhya.

Also, with respect to the purity of the five elements as the five mothers, the same tantra says:
The five elements are actualities of the five mothers; The aggregates, sense-spheres, and constituents Are all pure Buddha lands.
Also, the Miraculous Secret Essence says,c “Only a One-Gone-Thus knows that all phenomena are primordially buddhafied.”d
 Also, with respect to practice, the Definition Vehicle has no more than the two, adoption and discarding. In Mantra, within the state of gods and marvelous mansions of pure equality and illusory
                                                             

sgyu ’phrul lam rim/ lam rnam par bkod pa, mārgavyūha; P4736, vol. 83; rnying ma bka’ ma rgyas pa, vol. 23. b ye shes grub pa’i rgyud.

gsang ba’i snying po de kho na nyid rnam par nges pa, guhyagarbhatattvaviniścaya; P455, vol. 9; THDL, Ng3.1.1.1. d ye nas sangs rgyas pa.
nature there are offerings to deities, accordance with the noumenon, purification of afflictions, and so forth, as in the explanations of feast offerings, protector-like conduct,b and so forth on the occasion of the individual maṇḍalas, and hence it is superior.

 
Also, with respect to mental stabilization, in the Definition Vehicle striving is just required over a long time with the great hardship of holding the mind in order to achieve calm abiding and special insight. In Mantra, having pacified the proliferations of conceptuality through the generation stage having signs, pristine wisdom dawns in the signless completion stage through merely focusing on the central points of the channels and winds. Therefore, it is superior.
 
Also, with respect to causation, in the Definition Vehicle it is asserted that the ultimate is realized from prior [engagement in the] conventionalities of producer and produced. In Mantra the self-abiding pristine wisdom which is to be purified or separated [from stain] is dramatically identified and thereupon cultivated in meditation, whereby realization of the ultimate is entered right now. Therefore, it is superior.
 
Also, with respect to paths, since in the Definition Vehicle meditative equipoise and subsequent realization are alternated for the two collections [of wisdom and merit, the five paths are just not traveled even in an eon. Since in Mantra one enters on the path of pristine wisdom of undifferentiable meditative equipoise and subsequent realization, progress is swift. Therefore, it is superior.
 
Also, in the Definition Vehicle the fruit is asserted to arise later after a long time. In Mantra [the fruit] is asserted to abide in itself now spontaneously. Therefore, it is superior.
 
Also, in the Definition Vehicle the grounds are asserted to be eleven in number due to the divisions of graduated objects of abandonment and their antidotes. In Mantra there are three: (1) the ground of undifferentiated nature, the spontaneously established thusness, (2) the ground of the wisdom of equal purity, the excellent clear light of the two stages, and (3) the ground of pure supreme spontaneous attributes, the great pure fruit. Or in another way, the Mantra Vehicle has, in addition to the causal grounds [of the Definition Vehicle, a twelfth ground of endowment with the lotus of nonattachment, a thirteenth ground of a vajra bearer, and so forth. Therefore, it is superior. The Secret Essence says, “The specifics of grounds are the ten and the three.”
 
Also with respect to time, in the Definition Vehicle [the fruit] is not achieved [except] over three periods of countless eons and so forth. In Mantra, one who makes effort and keeps pure pledges achieves it in this lifetime. The Revelation of the Thought says:a
The perfect enlightenment realized
By Buddhas over very many countless eons Is attained by practitioners of Mantra In one lifetime simultaneously.
 
Also, with respect to enjoyments, the Definition Vehicle achieves [its goals] through abandoning attributes of the Desire Realm. In Mantra, the attributes of the Desire Realm are just used as aids. The
Vajra Array says:b
The five forms of enjoyable attributes of the Desire Realm,
Abandoned and despised [in the Definition Vehicle, Are the best of aids in the Mantra of skillful means, To be thoroughly enjoyed by the fortunate.
 
Also, with respect to yoga, in the Definition Vehicle an objectless emptiness like space is cultivated during meditative equipoise, and then during subsequent attainment a yoga of illusion is taken as the path. In Mantra an undifferentiated, inconceivable yoga is taken as the path. Therefore, it is superior.
 
Also, with respect to achieving one’s own and others’ welfare, not much more than a little temporary help is achieved through the Definition Vehicle. Through Mantra others’ welfare is achieved in the form of good fortune even for a region—starvation is extinguished through causing rain to shower; a rain of food, drink, jewels and so forth is made to fall by an adept in yoga; sickness and disturbance are pacified, and so forth. Also, one’s own welfare is achieved through moment by moment increase, higher and higher,
                                                             

dgongs pa lung ston / dgongs pa lung bstan pa’i rgyud, saṃdhivyākaraṇatantra; P83,
vol. 3; THDL, Ng3.2.2.2.9. b

rdo rje bkod pa / de bzhin gshegs pa thams cad kyi thugs gsang ba’i ye shes don gyi snying po rdo rje bkod pa’i rgyud, sarvatathāgatacittajñānaguhyārthagarbhavyūhavajratantra; P452, vol. 9; THDL, Ng2.1.2.
of internal realization and meditative stabilization by means of the inconceivable two stages [of generation and completion. Therefore, it is superior.
 
Also, with respect to scope, through the Definition Vehicle no more than the mere causal vehicle is known. Through Mantra the great secret fruit is ascertained. The Vajra Points says:a
The character of all Mantras Is the mind of all Buddhas.
Since these are the means of achieving the matrix of attributes,b
These are thoroughly endowed with the element of attributes.
 
The Mantra Vehicle has forsaken the extremes of fatigue because it is not difficult. Also, because a great effect is achieved with little difficulty, it is superior to the Definition Vehicle. As was quoted before from the Lamp for the Three Modes, “Having many skillful methods, no difficulties…”
 
Also, with respect to the ways of amassing the collections of merit, in the Definition Vehicle there are no more than common collections, that is, the six perfections such as mere giving, mere ethics, and so forth; hence, it takes a long time. However, in Mantra everything is known as a Buddha land whereby all enjoyments become [amassings of ] the collections of merit; hence, it is vast. And since all articles are known as ambrosia, it is thoroughly good. And since the natures [of all objects are cognized as equally pure, it is supreme. And since afflictive emotions are naturally purified without abandoning them, the two collections are brought together quickly and completed. Thereby, release is achieved in one lifetime. Just as the methods of the Mantra Vehicle are surpassing, so the wisdom established through these methods is also to be known as even more surpassing when practicing the paths. In brief, one should know these three: the secrecy of Buddha body is taken as the path, the secrecy of Buddha speech is taken as the path, and the secrecy of Buddha mind is taken as the path. The Tantra of Pristine
                                                             

rdo rje rtse mo. The bka’ ’gyur contains a gsang ba rnal ’byor chen po’i rgyud rdo rje rtse mo, vajraśikharamahāguhyayogatantra; P113, vol. 4. The rnying ma rgyud ’bum contains a rdo rje rtse mo ’dus pa’i rgyud; THDL, Ng1.3.2.6, and a rdo rje rtse mo’i rgyud; THDL, Ng3.3.76.

chos kyi snying po.

Wisdom [Already] Established says:

Supreme Secret Mantra is to be known
As very elevated beyond the Causal Great Vehicle
Through the great secrecy
Of the paths of body, speech, and mind.

The Definition Vehicle has no more than the appearing but illusory nature of bodies and an engaging in virtues from the viewpoint of ordinary physical activities. In Mantra the physical secrecy— emitting and gathering back of mudrā, dance, and so forth in which all appearances are fulfilled as deities and inestimable mansions, and bodies are fulfilled as maṇḍalas—is taken as the path. Therefore, it is superior.
 In the Definition Vehicle speech is empty like an echo, and virtue is performed either through recitations or through restraining from and ceasing speech. However, in Mantra the secrecy of speech is to know sounds and tones as the nature of the Sanskrit vowels and consonants and thereby cause them to shower as a rain of doctrine. Also, since speech primordially abides as speech maṇḍalas, sounds and words naturally appear as mantras, whereupon through unimpeded power of repetition one’s aims are accomplished.

Therefore, it is superior.
 
In the Definition Vehicle all memories and conceptions are impressed with the seal of the absence of inherent existence, and calm abiding and special insight—in which the spreading and withdrawal of ordinary thoughts are reversed and deliberately stopped—are achieved. However, in Mantra the secrecy of mind is that memories and conceptions dawn as the sport of the noumenon, whereby the mind dawns as self-illuminating self-arisen pristine wisdom, due to which meditative stabilization is established in the yoga of the flow of a river, through which the mind is spontaneously established as a maṇḍala of nonconceptual shine. Therefore, it is superior. Moreover, Ḍombhīheruka says:
Here through the features of vessel,
Doctrine [of initiation making the vessel,
Texts, paths, and fruits,
The Mantra Vehicle is superior.

Indrabhūti says, “It is superior by way of the features of guru, vessel, rite, activity, pledge, view meditated, and practice.” The Magical Net says:a
Knowing these profound rites
Of all their secret-mantras,
The hero found immeasurable omniscience At the base of the tree of enlightenment.
Though an extensive [rendition of ] the ways in which the Mantra Vehicle surpasses the Definition Vehicle were expressed for an eon, an end would not be known.
Identification of how Secret Mantra is the effect
This section has three parts: assigning Mantra as the effect based on temporal speed, assigning Mantra as the effect due to supreme method, and assigning Mantra as the effect due to taking a similitude of the effect as the path.
Assigning Mantra as the effect based on speed

Because it is the means by which enlightenment is quickly attained, the Mantra Vehicle is assigned as the effect. For instance, about a sharp instrument that cuts through a tree quickly it is said, “This cuts a tree,” whereas although a dull instrument cuts a tree slowly over a long time, it is said, “This does not cut.” Just so, the enlightenment attained over a long time through the Definition Vehicle is attained within one lifetime and so forth in Mantra. Therefore, from the viewpoint of temporal proximity, the Mantra Vehicle is called the Effect Vehicle.
 
Moreover, it is explained that with great effort enlightenment is attained in one lifetime. The Saṃpuṭi Tantra says:b
Even the Buddhahood difficult to achieve Over many ten millions of eons It bestows in just this lifetime.
Hence it is called the Effect Vehicle.
and the Buddha Union says:c
                                                             

rgyud kyi rgyal po chen po sgyu ’phrul dra ba, māyājālamahātantrarāja; P102, vol. 4; THDL, Ng3.3.5.
yang dag par sbyor ba shes bya ba’i rgyud chen po, saṃpuṭināmamahātantra; P26, vol.

sangs rgyas thams cad dang mnyam par sbyor ba mkha’ ’gro ma sgyu ma bde ba’i

The actuality of all Buddhas not attained
Over innumerable ten millions of eons
Is attained in just this lifetime
Through the rites of this great Secret Mantra.
 
With middling effort release is attained in the intermediate state. The Four Vajra Sites says:a
If suddenly the mind ejects
From the upper of the nine openings,b
By this path one is liberated
From having killed brahmins daily,
Committing the five acts of immediate retribution, And partaking of acts of banditry.
One will not be contaminated by sins.
and the Sacred Word of Mañjushrī says:c
Though with this body of physical aggregates
One does not achieve Buddhahood in this very life, Through the mind’s achieving a vajra body,
It is completely achieved in the intermediate state.
and Buddhaguhya’s Stages of the Path of Magical Emanation says:
A yogi of middling effort leaves this body,
The remainder of the arising of fruition,
And goes by means of intrinsic awarenessd to the ground of a Vajradhara;
This is called “fructification.” and the Wisdom Drop says:e
Alternatively, even those without effort
Just after forsaking this body
                                                                                                                                 
mchog, sarvabuddhasamayogaḍākinījālasaṃbara; P8, vol. 1; THDL, Ng3.1.3.1.1.2.

rdo rje gdan bzhi; this may be the sangs rgyas thams cad dang mnyam par sbyor ba zhes bya ba’i rgyud kyi rgyal po, THDL Ng3.1.3.1.1.1; see the colophon for that text, 250.2-250.3. b These are the nine openings of the body—ears, eyes, nostrils, anus, genitals, and top of the head.

jam dpal zhal lung. d rig pa. e ye shes thig le rnal ’byor ma’i rgyud kyi rgyal po chen po, jñānatilakayoginītantrarāja; P14, vol. 2. Also, ye shes thig le zang thal gyi rgyud, THDL, Ng1.6.105.
Achieve the body of unsurpassed pristine wisdom. What need to speak of those with effort?
The best of those with lowest faculties are released in the next birth. The Expression of the Names says,a “Lord of transmigrators just after birth…,” and the Buddha Skull Tantra says:b

Therefore, intelligent yogis
With a mind of great yoga
Might not attain the feat in this birth,
But they will attain the feat in the next birth.
The middling of those with lowest faculties are released in seven births. The Secret Treasury says:c
If one has the gift of thorough initiation,
One will be conferred initiation in birth after birth. Through that, even without meditation Achievement is gained in seven births.
Even the lowest of those with lowest faculties achieve it in sixteen births. The Vajrashekhara says:
Through the Vehicle of the Perfections
It is not achieved in countless eons,
But if yogis make effort [in Mantra, they pass Beyond sorrow in just this life.
Otherwise, merely through seeing
They pass beyond sorrow over sixteen births.
Common beings will attain Buddhahood, It is not otherwise.
Assigning Mantra as the effect due to supreme method
For instance, when someone accomplishes in a moment a task at which another strives for seven days, the effort of the two tasks is
                                                             
a ’jam dpal ye shes sems dpa’i don dam pa’i mtshan yang dag par brjod pa, mañjuśrījñānasattvasyaparamārthanāmasaṃgīti; P2, vol. 1; THDL, Ng3.1.1.6. b sangs rgyas thod pa shes bya ba rnal ’byor ma’i rgyud kyi rgyal po, buddhakapālanāma-
yoginītantrarāja; P63, vol. 3.

de bzhin gshegs pa thams cad kyi gsang ba gsang ba’i mdzod chen po mi zad pa gter gyi
sgron ma brtul zhugs chen po bsgrub pa’i rgyud, sarvathāgataguhyamahāguhyakośākṣayayanidhidīpamahāvratasādhanatantra; P453, vol. 9; perhaps THDL, Ng2.1.3.
different but the entities [accomplished] are similar. Just so, in the Definition Vehicle the meditative equipoises of calm abiding and special insight are achieved with great mental effort, not over months and years but over a long time; however, in the Mantra path the dawning [of these meditative states] is manifestly actualized in only a day by way of essential factors in the body and channels. Therefore, Mantra is assigned as taking the effect as the path.
The Lotus Points says:
 
Because what is not achieved with very great effort
Is thoroughly engaged in a moment
And because without depending on preceding causes The effect is drawn forth from essential factors, It is called the Effect Vehicle.
Assigning Mantra as the effect due to taking a similitude of the effect as the path
When one has become a Buddha, freed from all defilements, the features of a land appear adorned in thorough array within the context of body and wisdom [being so indivisible that they are] without conjunction or disjunction. Such is actualized [in Mantra through the force of clearing away the defilements to realizing the existence of such in the expanse of reality by means of meditating on a similitude of such a land. Therefore, it is called the Effect Vehicle. The same Lotus Points] says:

When the nature of the stainless expanse
Having the three bodies, wisdom, and land
Is purified, it manifestly appears
In self-illumination. This which takes
A similitude of that as the path
Is correctly called the Vehicle of Effect.

Therefore, [in Mantra knowledge of the nature abiding primordially in the sacred inherent effect of the expanse is taken as the foundation and trained in, due to which it is called the Effect Vehicle. Moreover, in terms of clearing away defilements, through training in suchness within meditatively cultivating [the stages of] generation and completion, adventitious defilements are purified.
Therefore, the gods, maṇḍalas, and so forth that are meditated mentally are projections of one’s own mind, but this is not meditation taking actual gods and maṇḍalas—effects of the expanse—as the path; nevertheless, because it is close to the meaning of the expanse, it is to be viewed as a profound nondelusive path.
 

Though the Mantra Vehicle is similar to the Cause Vehicle in not being able to take the expanse as the actual path, there is a great difference in the closeness or distance of the paths [to the fruit] due to differing in having or not having a similarity of feature [with the fruit]. For example, a jewel and an oil lamp are next to each other at night; of two robbers, the dull one apprehends the light as a jewel and, taking it, gets the lamp, whereas the unobscured skillful one gets the jewel. In the same way, there is a great difference with respect to the vehicles causing quick attainment of the desired aim or not. This is as explained in Dharmakīrti’s Ascertainment of Valid Cognition: a Those who run with the thought of jewels To the light of a jewel and the light of a lamp Are not different in terms of wrong ideab But different in terms of functionality.

Therefore, here the effect is the body, speech, and mind [of a Buddha, and also with regard to actualizing a similitude of them:

• Initially when initiation is bestowed, a qualified master—having performed the preliminary familiarization [with the deity, the rite for the area, and the preparation [of the student—has the maṇḍala drawn, activates it, and makes offerings, after which he/she assumes self-entry [into the maṇḍala and then causes the student to enter, and having given the pledges and vows, causes pristine wisdom manifestly to descend, this being actualization of exalted mind.

• Upon having scattered flowers, covering and uncovering the face [by having the student put on and take off a blindfold], the

a tshad ma rnam par nges pa, pramāṇaviniścaya, stanza II.5; P5710, vol. 130; Toh. 4211, sde dge, tshad ma, vol. ce, 168a.4. Long-chen-pa cites Dharmakīrti’s Ascertainment; the same verse also appears in Dharmakīrti’s Commentary on (Dignāga’s) “Compilation of Prime Cognition” : tshad ma rnam ’grel, pramāṇavārttika, stanza III.57 (Miyasaka’s II.57). b Both are mistaken in that both the light of a jewel and the light of a lamp are not a jewel. master reveals the maṇḍala, this being actualization of exalted body.

• After bestowing initiation, the master bestows the subsequent permissions of mantra and seal, this being actualization of exalted speech.

• Through bestowing the four initiations on the three—body, speech, and mind—their defilements are cleansed, and the three—exalted body, speech, and mind—are actualized. Thus, initially initiation is received, and then during the path of release its continuum is meditatively cultivated, and [all phenomena are known as of the nature of the Three Bodies and the five pristine wisdoms. Hence, this is called “taking the effect as the path.” The Secret Oceanic Tantra says:a All without exception of the circle of objects of knowledge Are thoroughly established as the three bodies. This is Great Vehicle Secret Mantra, causing entry Into the three bodies, the Effect Vehicle, Without the coming together or separation of the Three Bodies, the Vajra Vehicle.

Question: How are the exalted body and pristine wisdom [of a Buddha taken as the path?

Answer: From between the two—the generation stage and the completion stage—in initial meditation, meditation on emptiness is the Body of Attributes; meditating on the body of a deity within meditation on emptiness is the Enjoyment Body; emitting and withdrawing rays of light promoting the welfare of sentient beings is the Emanation Body; the five afflictive emotions purified through skillful means are the five aspects of pristine wisdom. The Guhyasamāja says:b

Through this, the great nature of the doctrine, The thoroughly adorned ocean of wisdom Arisen from the indivisible Three Bodies, Is attained in just this lifetime.

a gsang ba rgya mtsho’i rgyud; THDL, Ng1.6.144. b gsang ba ’dus pa zhes bya ba brtag pa’i rgyal po chen po, guhyasamājanāmamahākalparāja; P81, vol. 3; and the Cemetery Adornment says:a In the Body of Attributes of manifest emptiness, The blissful Enjoyment Body with marks and beauties, And the sporting Emanation Bodies… and the Tantra of Oceanic Spontaneous Pristine Wisdom says:b From the great pristine wisdom of the element of attributes Is the marvelous Body of Complete Enjoyment, entity of great bliss. Arisen from great compassion, The marvelous Emanation Bodies dawn as [its] sport.

Question: If even the Mantra Vehicle partakes of a path purifying defilements, what does it mean that it takes the effect as the path? Since the Cause Vehicle is generated as a means of purifying defilements, it would be similar.

Answer: Though the Definition Vehicle and the Mantra Vehicle are the same in achieving Buddhahood upon simultaneously cleansing the defilements of the basic constituent, there is a difference of temporal proximity and distance [in relation to accomplishing Buddhahood, and the mere warmth of the path for which the Definition Vehicle strives over a long time is taken as the path in one instant of Mantra, but due to cultivating in meditation a similitude of how it is to abide in the maṇḍala of the expanse of reality, even objects of abandonment shine as aids. Thereby, the effect is taken as the path; however, the exact final fruit is not actually taken as the path; hence, it is necessary to cultivate the profound and vast paths in meditation.

In general, [the vehicles] are posited in the aspects of cause and effect to make known conventions. Hence, a path that purifies obstructions by completing the collections of the effects through meditative stabilizations and so forth generated by the cause of very arduous work is designated “cause,” this being the Definition Vehicle. That which purifies defilements by [completing] the collections through meditative stabilizations attained with little hardship, and is posited as the effect due to not being produced by

a ’khor sdom pa’i rgyud kyi rgyal po dur khrod kyi rgyan rmad du byung ba, cakrasaṃbaratantrarājādbhutaśmaśānālaṃkāra; P57, vol. 3. b ye shes rgya mtsho lhun gyis grub pa’i rgyud. causes involving striving, is called the “Effect Vehicle.”

Also with respect to their forms of doctrine, [the Definition Vehicle initially teaches mainly the path of the presentations of causes and conditions and then teaches the final effect, whereas [the Mantra Vehicle initially teaches mainly the presentation of the effect, the maṇḍala of the purified expanse, uncompounded, with adoption and discarding of equal taste, primordially buddhafied. It is fitting that when Mantra is divided into the likes of cause and effect, the three bodies—as well as pristine wisdom—are taken as the path, whereby an effect similar to it is produced. Through the force of having purified the defilements of the basic constituent, propitious qualities newly appear, whereupon finally perfect Buddhahood adorned with bodies and pristine wisdom is most certainly attained. In the Definition Vehicle, aside from only the two collections, there is no meditation [of phenomena as Buddha bodies and pristine wisdoms. Hence, the aspect of the cause and the aspect of the effect are mutually exclusive; therefore, nonattainment for a long time also is due to the internal contradiction in their own tenets about cause and effect. For that reason, Secret Mantra is established as superior.