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Clarity Equal to the Limit: Chapter 2: Briefly Showing the Four Tantras

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Chapter 2: Briefly Showing the Four Tantras


Then Pure Mind, the child of a deity, said these words to the Blessed One:

E Ma!

Lord of Secrets!

Vajradhara!

As the Total Base[138][139]

Is the essence of the sun,

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!


A crystal jewel, for example,

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!


This mind is liberated,

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,

Meditation,

And non-duality,

Are the same throughout the three times.

There is no difference!

This is because characteristics are non-dual.

Three things:

Delusion,

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

Are liberated in reality.

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

The Four Dharmas of the Path.

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 life!

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

Is the treasure of the mind.

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

There is no atom in the mind.

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

Of a causeless dharma.

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,

Whose reality is relative.

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

Of methods and knowledge

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]

Has Body, Speech, and Mind,

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:

Eternalism,

Nihilism,

And materialism,

Are backward paths,

Paths which turn the stomach.

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:

Eternalism,

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

Using lives as offerings.


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,

Or the worship of Indra,

Are good :

He will send you to a high birth.

If the chances,

Or the worship of Indra,

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]

The continuum of awareness,

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:

Secret Wisdom!

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]

If it did exist on the conch!

In this way the various designations through

Longing,

Conceptualization,

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..


Chapter 9: Empowerment


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 faith is pure,

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 ear lineage sets free

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!

The mind of royal method

Is the Jewel Empowerment.

The vessel is called

“The Purity Empowerment.”


These three:

Tantra,

Transmission,

And instruction,

Depend on each other,

And are of one state.


These three:

Force,

Miracle,

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.

When your mind is pure,

That is commitment!

There are no boundaries to protect

In pure space!

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

Of both Samsara and Nirvana.

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

Any subject or object.

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:


Lord of Secrets!

Blessed One!

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,

So the dualistic views of

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]

Are the space of reality,

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]

The great sphere of symbols.


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,

Feels no breath.


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.


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