Clarity Equal to the Limit: Chapter 2: Briefly Showing the Four Tantras
Chapter 2: Briefly Showing the Four Tantras
Then Pure Mind, the child of a deity, said these words to the Blessed One:
E Ma!
As the Total Base[138][139]
Does it have the filth of delusion or not?
On this path,
Which is like the sky,
Does defiled bliss arise or not?
In this result,
Which is like a Jewel,
Does compassion come forth or not?
And to the combined,
Which is like an ocean,
Does scum adhere or not?
He asked him this, and the Blessed One gave instruction:
The three times have no clarity or darkness,
But by these two conditions
Arise as either clear or dark:
A water bubble,
And the eye of a flea.
The unthinkable intellect
Is placed in unthinkable reality,
So we wish that illusory happiness would arise.
A clear sky is like the sky!
Has no partiality as to color,
But due to the condition of its underlying support
Being white or red
Compassion manifestly arises!
An ocean is a water which ebbs and flows,
A lake of equanimity which has no waves,
A water of ambrosia which is without scum.
It washes the filth of the three realms of Samsara
Thus gave he instruction.
From Clarity Equal to the Limit this is the second chapter, Briefly Showing the Four Tantras.
Chapter 3: Three Ambrosial Words
Then Pure Mind, the child of a deity, addressed the Blessed One with these words:
You teach that in this combined root Tantra
The Total Base is defined as the root,
And that the results which must be known
Are definite.
Thus awareness is liberated to its own place.
Explain this to me!
Thus the Pure-Minded-One addressed him, and the Blessed One gave instruction:
In this Tantra,
Which is like the sky,
The vital essence that is unborn from before time
Is A.
I explain that this is unborn in the Base.
It abides naturally in all living beings.
I explain that this itself is all-encompassing.[139]
By karma and the wind of ignorance
There is Samsara.
Not understanding this is called “Samsara.”
If this is understood, perfect Buddhahood is certain!
The understanding of this
Is called Buddhahood!
In this way the Total Base is defined as the root!
This cuts off the tether
Of things that need to be known,
Like a great garuda
Cutting through the heights of the sky!
This view cuts out the vast waves
[Of input] from the outside.
There is no entering or leaving samadhi,
For you have the appropriate awareness.
The great seal[140] lies in the fortress of non-duality
On account of the knowledge
Of the thusness of all things!
This devastates the position
Of [those who hold to] a great encompasser
And a pervader,
For it is the great bliss level of the All Good!
The final liberation of the awareness is like this,
You child of a deity:
Appearance is liberated as being the mind,
Everything is in fact the self-aware Bodhicitta!
For it is empty.
It is free from embellishment,
Like the sky.
The empty is liberated in non-duality,
For the various natures are the great Not-Two![141][142]
This is without signification,
For perfection in the Circle
Has no name.
All the Tantras explain each other.
The arrangement into higher and lower
Is explained like this:
Three things:
The unborn,
The view,
And the empty,
Are the same throughout the three times.
There is no difference!
This is because their nature is completely pure.
Three things:
All-pervasiveness,
And non-duality,
Are the same throughout the three times.
There is no difference!
This is because characteristics are non-dual.
Three things:
Practice,
And the Bodhicitta,
Are the same throughout the three times.
There is no difference!
This is because playfulness is unhindered.
Three things:
Mental conceptions,
Results,
And the Circle,
Are the same throughout the three times.
There is no difference!
This is because mental conceptions
In this way there are four points,
And each point has three [secondary] points.
The three [secondary] points are set forth as being
The experience,[142][143]
The true nature,[143][144]
And the identity.[144]
This is uncreated,
Is uncontrived,
And is spontaneously realized.
Thus gave he instruction.
From Clarity Equal to the Limit this is the third chapter, Three Ambrosial Words.
Chapter 4: A Brief Explanation
Then Pure Mind, that child of a deity, said these words to the Blessed One:
In equanimity which is like an ocean
The thirteen sections are the point of the vajra!
The thirteen profundities are fabulous!
Five gathered into five,
Whether condensed or expanded,
Is five.
Eliminate the diverse levels
Of Samsara’s six [classes of] living beings!
There are four points to the four
Which revolve around the four.
They are applied to
The four things which are like ambrosia.
He said this, then [went on]:
“The lake has the eight purities of ambrosia.
When the sun rises in the sky there are five lights.
In the center lies the expanse of the base of the sky.
In the depths lie thirteen jewel treasures.”
Explain these words to me!
He addressed him thusly, and the Blessed One gave instruction:
Draw a square on level ground,
Such as that in the divine realm of the Thirty Three,
Or the four earth-mounds at the Vajra Throne.[145][146]
When four lines cross they make nine sections.
It should be drawn by
Dividing this with four additional [lines],
So as to make thirteen sections.
A three pointed vajra in [each of] the four directions
Is the sign of the unchanging.
Thirteen small stones should be arranged on it
For the fabulous thirteen profundities.
In the center set a dark blue stone,
And red ones must be arranged in the four directions.
Green ones are set out in the intermediate directions.
On the four additional [lines] put blue ones
So that the center is surrounded
By the four directions.
This is the gathering of five
Into the non-discrimination of the Total Base.[146]
The East is surrounded by the four directions.
This is the fivefold gathering
Of the fortress of the view.
The South is surrounded by the four directions.
This is the fivefold gathering
Of the narrow path of meditation.
The West is surrounded by the four directions.
This is the fivefold gathering
Of the space of practice.
The North is surrounded by the four directions.
This is the fivefold gathering
Of the confidence of the result.
In brief there are the six lines of The Cuckoo.[147]
In full there are the Six Objectives of Meditation.[148]
In total fullness there are the Six Means of Seeking the Great Quest.[149]
In vast fullness there are the Six Major Great Sources.[150]
And in extremely perfect fullness there are the Six Circles of the Great Sky.[151]
The diverse levels
Of Samsara’s six [classes of] living beings
Are eliminated when the sixfold is explained
In five ways.
Surrounding the center with the four directions
Cuts the Total Base at the root.
This must be explained
According to the Four Dharmas of the Base.
Surrounding the center
With the four intermediate directions
Completely cuts off the negative aspect
Of things that need to be learned.
This must be explained according to
Surrounding the center with four hills
Is for the purpose of liberating awareness
Into its own place.
This must be explained according to
The Four Dharmas of the Result.
Hence, this must be explained
By applying four points in proper order:
True nature,[152][153]
Playfulness,[153][154]
Characteristics,[154][155]
And the liberation of the intellect.[155]
That which is like an ocean, for example,
Is briefly explained in eight chapters,
But when the sun rises in the sky
There are five light-rays.
Both the condensed and the full
Should be explained in five.
In the center are the four expanses of the sky.
These are applied to the four ambrosia-like substances.
In the deeps are the treasures
Of the thirteen profundities.
The fabulous smooth bliss is the sky itself!
This completely contains
The peaks of lords and mighty gods.
It is the precious sprout!
The general nature of the mind is to have
A general grasp of things
With subtle arrangement of them.
The lamp for the three worlds
An extremely full explanation is given
In each and every one of the Tantras.
This is a brief explanation.
It is a Tantra which is explained by Secret Wisdom!
Related subjects will, therefore, be clarified.
This will be explained later on in the Tantra.
Thus he spoke.
From Clarity Equal to the Limit this is the fourth chapter, A Brief Explanation.
Chapter 5: What is Secret?
Then High Mind,, that child of a deity, said these words to the Lord of Secrets, the Blessed One, the Master of Secret Mantras:
Please explain what this secret is!
He said this, and the Blessed One gave instruction:
The three teachers,[156][157]
The eight stages,[157]
The three backward perspectives,[158][159]
And the six [classes of] living beings
Are taught to be Secret Wisdom itself.
He said this, and again that child of a deity spoke to him:
What are they that are called: "the three teachings"?
How are the eight stages secret?
What will the three backward perspectives lead to?
What is Samsara,
With its six [classes of] living beings?
He said this, and [the teacher] continued:
The twelve branches of the Sutra section,
The four sections on the transmission of Discipline,[159]
And the higher and lower teachings on Abhidharma,[160]
No matter how many words they utter,
Do not teach about non-activity,
That which cannot be spoken.
Secret wisdom is hidden and concealed.
The Dharmakaya is pure from the primeval.[161]
Its experience is
A reality that does not designate
Subject-object dualities.
This is why there is a secret reality.
Enjoyment is pure awareness.[162][163]
Where there is no internal or external
The mind itself is secret.
Because of this there is secret wisdom.
Various manifestations will appear,
As does the play of poisonous snakes,
No stopping them.
This is explained secretly,
For there is no certainty in the Great Uncontrived.[163]
It is spontaneously realized.
He spoke again:
Both kinds of Auditors:
The Sutra Followers,[164][165]
And the Particularists,[165][166]
Take form to be secret wisdom.
They envision gross and minute atoms to be form.
This is in opposition to the fact that
Arguing over atoms is indeed delusion,
Therefore it is secret wisdom.
Likewise the Self-Victorious,
Who are similar,
Have fifteen kinds of dharmas.
Still they do not understand the selflessness of others.
They attach certainty
To the Dharma of interdependent origination,[166]
And therefore do not see the meaning
On the ground of the rhinoceros
Is secret wisdom.
The Great Vehicle[167]
Holds bliss to be of two kinds,
Using the example of an illusion,
It seeks facts about ultimate reality through reason.
The five paths and the ten levels
Are gradually traversed.[168][169]
What is more,
Its sources are of interpretable meaning.[169][170]
Traversing without traversing is secret wisdom.
He spoke again:
The Kriya,
Which is the Action Tantra,[170]
Upholds three families[171][172]
Who are kind to the high,
And rude to the low.
One enters it through the door of the three purities.[172]
It views commitment
And wisdom
To be as lord and subject.[173]
Followers who understand
Reach the level of Vajradhara,[174]
And their attainment is certain;
The secret, however, is contrived.
The second Tantra,
Which is the Upa,
Follows a higher and lower view and practice.
As with a scalpel,
There is no certainty.[175][176]
Wisdom and commitment work as master and servant[176][177]
The reality of designations
Is as real as the moon on water.
Through longing for the four families[177][178]
There is secret wisdom.
The Yoga of the Yogatantra
Enters the door
Of the five True Awakenings.[178][179]
The ultimate is without birth or cessation,
So one sees as a god by receiving blessings.
Oneself and the god are in the way of friends.
It desires the level of Dense Array[179]
So it does not understand the level of
The uncontrived experience.
Through this there is secret wisdom!
Then he spoke again:
Generation,[180][181]
The Mahâyoga,
Holds the three samadhis[181][182]
To be the main thing.
It uses the charms and spells of the intelligent
To enter the doorway
This truly results in a wisdom
Which employs tremendous methods.
This is the grasping of undefiled bliss,
The generator of the level of Lotus Eyes.[182]
There appear to be problems with this.
It must not be relied on.
It is Secret!
Even Perfection,
The Anuyoga,[183][184]
Whose number and color are not certain.
One meditates in the way of ungenerated perfection,
Just like a fish swimming in water.
One sees the Dharmadhatu
And wisdom
To be inseparable.
One sees the Great Mass of Letter Wheels.[184]
One is certain to attain
The fruition of one's own desire.
But through this one cannot reach
The result which reaches conclusion.
For this, E Ma!, there is secret wisdom!
The contemplation of an endeavor
Does not approach
The Dharmadhatu.
It causes obstructions.
And there are problems.
In this particular transmission
It is, therefore, not practiced.
Freedom from activities,
The Great Perfection,
Traverses the eight stages:
So its freedom from seeking is contrived.
Through this there is secret wisdom!
Thus he spoke.
From Clarity Equal to the Limit this is the fifth chapter, What is Secret?
Chapter 6: Secrets on the Six Desirous Ones
Then Pure Mind, the child of a divinity, said to the Blessed One Vajrapani:
What is the delusion of ignorance by which the six desirous ones[185][186]wander in Samsara?
The Blessed One gave instruction:
The true nature of the Bodhicitta
Is clear light,
It is primevally unborn.
It encompasses all Samsara and Nirvana
Without exception.
It arises as the essence of all dharmas.
It encompasses the Buddha Body,[186]
The Wisdom Mind,[187][188]
And the body, speech, and mind of living beings.
All things,
Without division,
Are the Bodhicitta.
If one is aware of the pure meaning this has
One is like an all-good lion cub.[188]
One with knowledge will understand.
Those without understanding
Practice in the lake of darkness.
If one understands,
There are the Body, Speech, and Mind
Of the Enlightened One.
The self-arising appears in a fivefold way,
But one is not aware that it is,
Itself,
The self-arising,
So, through five kinds of longing,
It is confused,
The result is the arising
Of the three worlds of sentient beings.
Samsara, without beginning or end,
Is delusion,
Which occurs on account of the four conditions
Related to the conceptualization
Of a cause and conditions.[189]
The seed of intention is created
By co-emergent ignorance.[190]
Karma and emotional obstructions
Create conditions,
Then there is delusion
Through all-defining ignorance.[191]
As in the simile of a form and its shadow
One is within
The wind-crevice
Of the karma moving one onward.
Anger is revolution through the heat and cold of hell.
The full ripening of anger as an emotional obstruction
Is possible birth in the abode of hell.
Know, therefore, that anger is wisdom itself!
Remain in purity,
Without abandoning anger!
Not knowing these things is secret wisdom.
Avarice is revolution through
The hunger and thirst of hungry ghosts.
The full ripening of the karma of avarice
Is possible birth in the abode of hungry ghosts.
Know, therefore, that avarice is wisdom itself!
Remain in purity,
Without abandoning avarice!
Not being aware of what this means is secret wisdom.
Stupidity is revolution through
The ignorance and dumbness of animals.
The full ripening of the karma of stupidity
Is possible birth in the abode of animals.
Know, therefore, that stupidity is wisdom itself!
Remain in purity,
Without abandoning stupidity!
Not being aware of just this is secret wisdom.
Jealousy is revolution through the changing of humans
The full ripening of the karma of jealousy
Is possible birth in the abode of humans.
Know, therefore, that jealousy is wisdom itself!
Remain in purity,
Without abandoning jealousy!
Not giving up on the meaning of this is secret wisdom.
Pride is revolution through the fighting and argument
Of the Anti-gods.[192]
The full ripening of the karma of pride
Is possible birth in the abode of Anti-gods.
Know, therefore, that pride is great wisdom!
Remain in purity,
Without abandoning pride!
Not being aware of just this is secret wisdom.
Desire is revolution through the downfall of the gods.[193]
The full ripening of the karma of desire
Is that one must experience the suffering of downfall.
Downfall, therefore, turns out to be a great wisdom!
Remain in purity,
Without abandoning desire!
Not understanding just this is secret wisdom.
Samsara is like the wheel of a chariot.
Gods and humans get clean bodies,
Yet as long as they do not understand,
They wander in Samsara.
There is no beginning or end,
When there is understanding,
However,
There is [a beginning and an end].
Thus he spoke.
From Clarity Equal to the Limit this is the sixth chapter, Secrets on the Six Desirous Ones
Chapter 7: The Secret in the Three Backward Perspectives
Then Pure Mind, the child of a deity, spoke to the Lord of Secrets in this way:
Would the teacher please explain as is fit
The secret meaning of the three backward perspectives?
The Blessed One gave instruction with secrets:
The three:
And materialism,
Are backward paths,
This is because they throw the stomach into the future
And away from the wealth and power of this world.
The extremists hold inconceivable reversed views!
In count they are three hundred sixty,
But in brief they are sixty two.
In greatest brevity they are two:
And nihilism.
The many incidental backward perspectives make three.
Holding to “I” and “me” when there is no self:
This is the reason the extremists have a deluded path. Through this there is secret wisdom!
The three: Brahma, Indra, and Vishnu,[194]
Are worshipped
According to the negative perspectives[195]
Of the extremists[196][197]
They are gods.
They are worshipped with the offering of life.
For the fire there is a base
And three small sticks.
If the chances,
Are good :
He will send you to a high birth.
If the chances,
Are bad:
He will transform you into a miserable being.
Therefore I hold that the backward paths
In the four Vedas
Will result in liberation!
Through this there is secret wisdom!
This permanence which is called a “self”
Is held to in the manner of a thumb or a few grains.
Who is the creator of the claims
That there is a permanent true nature,
Such as that the thorns of round peas
Are sharp?
One's true nature is one’s cause,
But nonetheless,
Is held to be permanent
While anyone who looks for
The thing that is permanent
Is ruined:
Step by step,
Or instantly.
Through this there is secret wisdom!
Those extremists with a nihilistic perspective
Hold that
The appearance of condensed elements
Dissolves into its own place,
Leaving nothing at all.
“While they are not dead they are happy.
When they die they are not our concern.
Even the body goes like ashes.
How is it possible there be life again?
It is exactly like the track of a wolf.”
This is a backward path,
And one must not rely on it.[197]
I want you to know that nihilism clings to duality.
This is its perception of interdependent origination.[198]
Which is insubstantial,
And permanent,
Relies on the wind,[199][200]
And its continuum is not broken.
Through this there is secret wisdom!
E Ma!
Pity for sentient beings!
They hold to a self,
And so look toward beginnings.
Wisdom is not internal or external.
By dissecting biased positions
One turns out to have opinions on positions.
There is no self.
To look for a self is delusion.
Wisdom which does not cling to a self
Is the great penetrator
Of both external and internal,
There is, moreover, no attainment
Through looking at things
In terms of positions.
Through this there is secret wisdom!
If there is permanence,
There is permanence in great wisdom.
If there is nothing,
There is nothing to the root of Samsara.
If there is sinking,
There is sinking into the Dharmadhatu.
If there is wildness,
There is wildness in the playfulness of wisdom.
Thus gave he instruction.
From Clarity Equal to the Limit this is the seventh chapter, The Secret in the Three Backward Perspectives
Chapter 8: Three Valid Points
Then the High Mind, that child of a deity, said these words to the Lord of Secrets:
Treasury of the Mind!
How is this secret to be understood
In all things?
He said this and the Lord of Secrets gave instruction:
Secret wisdom,
By its very nature,
Transcends all sounds and conventionalities,
Nonetheless,
Qualified recipients desire to understand.
So this Tantra is expounded
In light of three reliable modes of comprehension.[200]
In the playfulness of understanding
There is s transmission without a rite!
It is the experience of awareness!
The three teachings of the holy guru are:
That secret wisdom
Is supreme understanding,
That the clear sky
Is the transmission of the Bodhicitta,
And that the apparent world
Is put together in the mind.
This teaches the essence of secret wisdom!
Our true self[201] appears within the secret mandala.
When a teacher’s instruction is
In accord with the perspectives
Of these three transmissions,
It is therefore in accord with my instruction.
Everything is condensed into the mind,
So a thing which is not the mind
Is apparently absent.
All the dharmas of appearance
Appear to the mind,
So they are mind!
Everything is the self-aware Bodhicitta!
This is the valid knowledge of the transmission!
The mind, therefore, is the great transmission!
Everything is put together in the mind!
Thus everything is the mind!
Feelings are experienced
Due to the presence of clinging thoughts.
Trust[202][203]
Is the factual character of awareness
When things are experienced
With awareness.
These three points are the essence of the transmission,
So the dharma of awareness is the mind itself.
One face has various modes of appearance,
While a designation of them
Is a perception of difference.
Habits take positions,
So the mind alters perspective
In the mere act of vomiting.
It is like seeing yellow on a conch:
It is not proven that there is yellow on the conch,
But due to one’s yellowed eyes[203][204]
There is a distorted appearance.
This is proven by the fact that
Yellow would be seen with undistorted cognition[204]
In this way the various designations through
Longing,
And delusion,[205][206]
Are seen to be pure.
It is like the neck of a pigeon:
First there is the self-awareness of indicators.
Second there is the self-awareness
Of the absence [of indicators].
Third there is the absence of both.[206]
A determination without a basic indicator[207]
Is impossible,
Like heat without fire.
Knowledge has three ways of being born:
Based on the first,
The cutting of conceptualizations,
There is the second,
One's true nature dissolves
Into the dharmadhatu.
[The third is that]
The variety of appearances
Are the experience of awareness.
This should be learned from the mouth of a guru.
That is why it is secret wisdom.
The secret mantra is not promulgated.
It is secreted,
Using methods of great compassion
From the evil minded,
Those with little knowledge.
Thus he spoke.
From Clarity Equal to the Limit this is the eighth chapter, Three Valid Points..
Then High Mind, that child of a deity, requested empowerment into the Vajra Bridge. The Lord of Secrets gave instruction:
I will explain
The place,
The mandala,
The master and servants,
The method of entry,
The time,
And the seven qualities.
The abode of the Base[208]
And the abode of the support[209]
Are both the self-aware mind itself!
The four things
Which are free from cause and result[210][211]
Are the fabulous particularities
Of the dwelling place of all Buddhas
And sentient beings.
The abode of support is Mount Deshan,[211]
Or beneath the Royal Banner for the Sacred Baskets,
Or in Indian on the Vajra Throne,[212][213]
Or in a summer residence in Varanasi,[213][214]
Or in the cave of the ferryman Koshali.
The mandala is self-arising wisdom.
This is the true mandala
Which, without artifice, is the foundation of truth.
Everything is clear in self-aware wisdom!
This is the great bliss
Encompassing all things
Like the sky!
The jeweled mandala of the mind[214]
Is the divine palace of awareness,
Nothing Less.
Its function is the elimination of obstructions.
So meditate at the pinnacle
Of the three flavors![215]
A master,
Employing indicatory purposes,
Keeps to himself,
Uncontrived and clean,
He uses the sounds of words
Which are conjoined with meanings
To teach the essence of the wisdom of awareness.
The unmistaken true master
Is the guru of one's own mind,
The Lord of Everything.[216][217]
All things are the king of self-awareness.[217]
What is unborn from the primeval
Is free from activities
And does not search!
Students,
Study the mind of self-awareness!
The amazing thing about a mind with understanding
Is its perfection in the force of samadhi
And of knowledge.[218]
The secret mantra holds the treasure of the treasury!
Students who are qualified recipients,
Whose family and lineage are pure,
And who serve the guru
Are taught the treasures of upadeœa,[219]
And are given the instructions of counsel.
There are many [instructions],
But one should not exceed three.
Secret wisdom is the vital sap of the mind!
The Ati condenses the vital sap of the instructions
And is given only to qualified recipients,
Those who are seized in victory.
Gifts are given through empowerment,
Through the ceremony of Assigning the Recipient,[220]
And through prayer.
These are the preliminary stages.
First the mandala of basic reality is presented.
The relative mandala is put on the body.
Instructions of manifest words
Are put in the ear.
The instructions are taught
On imparting transmission into the mind.
The ceremony of using a seal to stamp on a symbol[221]
Is performed.
For the body,
There is the bliss empowerment
Of supreme bliss.
A girl possessing wonders,
Completes three examinations,
Regarding methods,
And thereby fulfills the need for a mudra
Of perfected great bliss.
She gives the instructions of the jewel treasure.[222]
By moving through the dance of methods
She excels at non-dual union!
One becomes delighted,
So there is commitment.[223]
But you will see!
There is, in this, true attainment!
It is explained that
The meaning of the experience
Will be understood
By relying on
The miracles of playfulness.
For the speech there are,
The empowerment of the self-liberation of the wind,[224]
The wind of material things,
And the empowerment of awareness.
First there are
Moving the cause forth,
Moving the cause back,
And the One who Encompasses,[225][226]
Holding life,
Who appears as a fire.
The five winds gradually seize the elements.
The wind of awareness is twofold:
The wind of karma throws one downward.
The wind of wisdom draws one upward.
Everything is created by the tossings of the wind.
If one holds to the wind of awareness,
While using the wind of material things
As a support ,
One will understand the meaning
Of “the great wind of understanding.”
One will encounter the meaning of secret wisdom
By holding to the wind of wisdom.
To face the truth of naturalness
Is said to be the playfulness of awareness,
The hard wind.
Those without understanding
Face the path of seeing.
The great stake[226]
Of the meaning of non-meditation
Is planted in the mind
By the wisdom-vessel empowerment.[227]
In non-traversing there is freedom from
Topics of conceptualization.
The great treasure of the transmission!
You attain the mighty level
Of freedom from hopes and fears!
This is the supreme path of the vajra!
The fortunate are effortlessly liberated!
Is the Jewel Empowerment.
The vessel is called
“The Purity Empowerment.”
These three:
And instruction,
Depend on each other,
And are of one state.
These three:
Force,
And self-appearance,
Are the playful signs of secret wisdom.
First amass the accumulations you are able to,
And protect a boundary
For a period of fourteen days.
The maximum retreat period
Is seventy [days].
The intermediate state will be purified,
And you will get to the end.
Then offer your body as well as your possessions
To a living guru.
When the mere token of a sign appears,
Through the empowerment
You will understand the way things are
Without a doubt.
Thus he spoke.
From Clarity Equal to the Limit this is the ninth chapter, Empowerment.
Chapter 10: Commitment
Then Pure Mind, the child of a deity, spoke to the Blessed One Vajrapani:
I, The Lord of Three Mantras,
Named so
Inasmuch as knowledge and protection
Are my purposes,
Say these words!
For many communities
Commitment[228]
Is the life
Of the secret mantra.
Please, therefore, explain the secret commitment!
The Blessed One gave instruction:
In spontaneously realized secret wisdom
There are no commitments
That are put together in the mode of an objective.
Commitment that is called: “commitment”
Is not kept to the side.
That is commitment!
There are no boundaries to protect
This goes far beyond anything
Knowledge can envision!
Clarity is unembellished mental repose.
It transcends objects,
So it is not practiced.
It abides spontaneously,
So it cannot be attained.
Through unwavering recollection
It is liberated to its own place.
There is no worship or confession[229][230]
In the state of emptiness,
The completely pure mantra and mudra.
The four kinds of sacred action[230]
Have been perfected since before time
Due to the entirety
Of their encompassment and pervasion
The commitments of the Great Perfection
Are not protected
By the disease of looking for something.
In the worship of confidence,
Which is primordially protected,
There is
Nothing to protect,
No protector,
No giving up,
And no stopping.
Beginners think
That the commitments of clear awareness
Are mere tokens,
As if it were a game.
For those with understanding,
However,
They are the boat which liberates one from Samsara!
The vajra is clear, like the sun!
This is clear,
Right up to the end!
In its absence there is the stomach alone.
This is the spontaneously realized commitment.
In the self-awareness of secret wisdom
There is nothing that indicates
The unspeakable mind itself
Is hence bound in an unprotected state.
This is free from a binder
And something to be bound,
So it is bliss.
The uncontrived king of commitments
Appears when the commitment of non-dual awareness
Becomes your life’s residence.
And you do not leave it behind.
That which is without extreme or center
Is uncontrived,
And encompasses like the sky.
It is free from the positions:
"It is this,"
And: "It is not this."
If a great man who has no perspective
Gives up even one perspective
He attains nothing.
In the magnitude
Of what is not conditioned,
And is free from grasping,
Positions and compromise positions
Are not certain dharmas.
All Buddhas and Sentient Beings
Have a single awareness,
Which is the uncontrived mind.
It is not generated through a cause.
It is primordially attained.
It is not purified by conditions.
It has been pure since before time.
All inspiration without exception
Is contained in the clear light of natural awareness.
All the Ones Who Move In Bliss [231]
Of the three times
Have only one natural inspiration.
When one places one’s own awareness
In the unchanging reality
Of self-appearance.
And does not leave it behind
That is the commitment of the mind
Alone and by itself.
Never does any Buddha,
Throughout the three times,
Give up on this commitment!
Both external and internal commitments
Abide in them naturally,
As do the psycho-physical constituents,[232]
And experiential elements [233]
There is no differential
With regard to the three times
Commitment is, therefore, not given a name.
The Self-Arising,
In its completely pure clear light
Has a pure body,[234]
Which is not diseased
By the inclination to seek.
The empowerment of samadhi,[235]
Is the force of awareness,
And is free from conventional designations.
Secret wisdom,
To begin with,
Is without activities,
And does no searching.
Due to the playfulness of the All Good
Ordinary commitments ,
Come about spontaneously.
At base,
Commitments founded on efforts
And on an objective
Are pure.
Self-arising wisdom is completely pure,
And does not have the problem of filth.
Like the Land of the Flawless Jewel,[236]
The mind itself,
From before time began,
Has been without base or root,
And is completely free
From holding
Onto any designated concept.
If the mind,
As it is conceptually designated,
Truly existed within the pervasive clear light
Of spontaneous realization
What Buddha would the extremists argue against?
What is it that is designated a Buddha?
Or a sentient being?
The vileness of delusion
Is held most strongly
In distorted conceptions
That cling onto some single, solitary, thing.
This is the true nature of conceptualizations.
How can we use the key of magic jewels
To avert basic desires?
Absence[237] has the vital essence of absence.
Nothingness is not limitless.
Existence is not proven either.
In equanimity the stomach is not disturbed.
There is no one thing
That holds the whole together.
The Great Circle[238][239]
Cannot be embellished.
Transgressors do not appear spontaneously.
This [[[teaching]]] is far from all those
Who desire spontaneous realization.
It does not fall into partiality or positions.
It is bliss.
Thus he spoke.
From Clarity Equal to the Limit this is the tenth chapter, Commitment.
Chapter 11: The Treasury of Wisdom
Then Pure Mind, the son of a deity, said:
Secret wisdom is understood
Through the store-house of the Blessed One's Mind.
Please explain this great treasury of wisdom!
He said this, and the Lord of Secrets, the Blessed One Vajradhara gave instruction:
The vital essence,
Unborn from the primeval,
Is A.
This has nothing to do
With any of the viewpoints
That exaggerate and depreciate.
All things have one true nature.
This has nothing to do
With the foolish manipulations
Of abandoning things,
Or hindering them.
Undivided wisdom is fivefold,
Purification and progress
Are liberated to their own place.
Birth and cessation are non-dual,
So the transformation of substances
As well as the five practices
Are totally pure.
The great path of complete purity
Liberates all,
So non-birth and non-cessation
Can never occur to one’s intuition.
Great bliss lies
In understanding what this means!
This world is the purest of all!
A guru possessing the transmission
Uses the vessel empowerment
To make a place
For fortunate students
Who are kings-to-be.
The instructions of the ear lineage
Must be received!
The benefits of the level of non-purification
Will increase,
If one takes a place
On the untraversed path.
The Sign Teachings[239]
Show the meaning of the mind.
The mind itself is a jewel’s vital essence.
The two kinds of service are,
Therefore, not to be considered.
The embellished instructions
On the meanings of signs will be given.
The Red Teachings[240]
Teach recognition.
They use instructions concerning
The three embellishments.[241]
The period devoted to Meditation Teachings[242]
Encourages you to observe meditation sessions.
You must know the instructions on the intermediate state:
The place of arising,
The place of abiding,
And the place of dissolving.
Many,
Whose views are in their mouths,
Do not understand the meaning,
Because they do not know the essential instructions.
The wisdom of awareness will not be found
By any sound,
Or any definition.[243][244]
An understanding viewpoint,
Is a treasure of the awareness.
It is free within its own place
And does not need to leave behind
Particular things.
Remain in purity,
Without stopping Samsara!
Sever delusion’s lack of clarity
At the root!
The five poisons[244]
And do not require any transformation!
This is the primordial Buddha:
Never sought,
And never attained.
Know the meaning of being
To be being.[245]
Of those who abide in this view.
There is not even one
Who is not a Buddha.
Great clear light
Is the magnificence of what is self-apparent,
And is contained in its appearance.
It does not tumble into any position.
It has no bondage or liberation.
That is why it is the view.
Thus he spoke
From Clarity Equal to the Limit this is the eleventh chapter, The Treasury of Wisdom.
Chapter 12: Clear Wisdom
Then High Mind, that child of a deity, said these words to the Lord of Secrets, the Vajra Endowed, the Blessed One:
I request the vital sap of Secret Wisdom’s Mind,
The meditation and contemplation of samadhi!
He said this, and the Master of Secrets, the Blessed One, the Lord of Secrets gave instruction:
First, look at the continuum of your own mind.
Second, receive a guru’s instructions.
Third, encounter the essential meanings of symbols.
An intelligent one,
One better than a king,
Will teach the three teachings
On the meaning of the mind
To a king who has the transmission.
The mind itself is secret wisdom,
So reverence and irreverence are non-dual.
Request the embellished instructions,
Nonetheless:
Those concerning the meanings of symbols!
The four non-conceptual wisdoms are one thing!
It abides in the continuum of all sentient beings.
Samsara's true nature is merely a triad.
The time is known from the guru's mouth.[246]
You, O Child of a Deity, it is like this:
You must face the meanings of symbols!
First, at the time of peaceful abiding,[247][248]
One dwells in samadhi.
Second, at the time of high seeing,[248]
One does not waver from samadhi.
Third, at the time of equanimous stability[249]
One is settled in samadhi.
Fourth, at the time of the resulting attainment[250]
Great wisdom is spontaneously realized.
Furthermore,
In the meditation of peaceful abiding
Memory[251]
And conscience[252]
Are taken by the root,
In the same way as a large elephant is seized
Using an iron hook.
One is liberated to one's own place
Through unwavering recollection.
Likewise in the meditation of high seeing
The object of understanding
Is to put reality into a pot.
Unchanging awareness is clear on the inside,
As is a golden oil lamp.
Likewise in equanimous stability
The senses are put in their own place
Without blocking them.
Whatever one sees
Is the pervasive space of equanimity,
Which is the Golden Land,[253]
And last, at the time of final attainment
All things arise as great self-liberation.
One is liberated into one's own place
Without seeking or attainment.
This is like wrapping a poisonous snake
Into a burning knot.
A yogin meditating according to the time,
As if on the bird-path of the sky,
Is not adept,
And the fatiguing and wearisome meditation session
Becomes long.
He sinks at last into depression and darkness,
And due to the heaviness of this,
And to his holding onto it,
The meaning is not clear.
The five doors [of the senses]
Flee towards their [sensory] objects,
And old patterns of memory and understanding
Rise up in the deluded mind.
One must not take depression and wildness
To be any kind of conceptual construction,
Or any droplet of sugar ,
To be proclaimed.
If there is depression
Throw it into the secret,
And it will be held there.
The contrivance of a problem based on being depressed
Is a short-sighted perspective.
It is based on caring for
And washing the body
On the cool grounds
Of the cold winds
Of the high places.
Just singing and dancing
Is a short-sighted perspective.
If embraced,
It will destroy you!
Discriminate with awareness!
Even groups of wild individuals
Are assigned,
Are taken in,
And are liberated to their own place.
They memorize their perspective,
So it is contrived.
Use the simile of the self-arising,
Self-peaceful sky.
Meditate in this way for six months,
And the shifting,
The adeptness,
The attainment,
And the stability,
Will come forth clearly:
It is like the sky.
Total equality cannot be conceptualized,
Or obscured.
Like the radiant moon in the sky.
Even if you are hungry and without food
Your countenance and senses
Will be clear to the very depths.
There is no giving up or taking up of
The Eight Dharmas of Attaining Patience![254]
Be completely liberated
From the five qualities of desire!
To take emotional obstructions to be unimportant
Diminishes the thoughts.
The body,
When in the wood,
The warmth of attainment and signs will arise.
You will attain such signs as supernatural cognition.[255]
The prophecies of dakanis,
And other good things,
Will come to you.
You must not be happy or joyful about this.
For even if these things do not arise
You will have
An unequaled experience!
It does not matter which conceptual indicators
You employ,
So long as you understand them to be reality.
It is unnecessary to look for reality
Anywhere else.
Just as you use the knowledge that a poison
Can be a medicine,
Remedy conceptual constructions
By meditating on non-conceptualization.
This is in fact the great conceptualization!
It is liberated from good thoughts
And bad thoughts,
Hence the yoga of knowing[256][257]the Great Perfection
Is bliss!
Thus he spoke.
From Clarity Equal to the Limit this is the twelfth chapter, Clear Wisdom.