THE FEATURE OF THE EXPERT, GLORIOUS KING: “THREE LINES THAT HIT THE KEY POINTS"
ROOT TEXT AND COMMENTARY BY PATRUL RINPOCHE
This text is secret and should not be shown to those who have not had the necessary introduction and instructions of the Thorough Cut system of Dzogchen meditation. If you have not had the necessary instructions, reading this text can be harmful to your spiritual health! Seal. Seal. Seal.
Padma Karpo Translation Committee
TRANSLATOR’S INTRODUCTION
The root text and commentary to it translated here are key texts in the Dzogchen tradition of the practice of “The Thorough Cut” (Trekcho). The root text was written by the great master Patrul Rinpoche who then wrote his own small commentary to it. The two are very popular amongst Dzogchen practitioners these days for the practice of The Thorough Cut.
This text is regarded as a difficult text to translate. Firstly it is a Dzogchen text with the unique terminology of that tradition. Secondly, it is very full of meaning and importantly, it is full of meaning not only at the level of the words but also in how the words are put together (the syntactic level). Thirdly, there is a strong poetic quality throughout which is wonderful to read in the original but hard to get into English, and made harder by the first and second difficulties.
There are a few translations of this text now available in English. They capture the meaning of the words for the most part but tend to lose of the literalness of the text with concomitant loss of the several layers of meaning contained in the arrangement of the words and phrases, i.e., they lose much of the syntactic meaning. In doing so, the poetic quality of the original has not usually been well captured. This translation attempts not only to be correct in presenting the basic meaning of the words—to the extent that English currendy can convey the rich vocabulary of Dzogchen—but also attempts to capture the further
levels of meaning present in the original by translating the original as literally as possible. With that as the ground, I have enjoyed bringing out the poetic sense of the original and my editors report with satisfaction that this seems to have happened without loss of the original meaning at all levels.
This text and translation has a very pure lineage. The commentary makes the lineage down to the author, Patrul Rinpoche, clear. From there, the lineage for this translation came down to the great masters Tulku Ugyen Rinpoche and H.H. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche who were the root gurus of my own guru, Tsoknyi Rinpoche III. He heard this text and explanations of it many times from them as did his brother, Ven. [[Mingyur
Rinpoche]]. Having translated Tsoknyi Rinpoche’s instructions many times over a period of several years, I was asked by Bruce Blake of the U.S.A, about the text just prior to an eight day retreat on The Thorough Cut with Tsoknyi Rinpoche and seventy students from around the world; this created an auspicious connection and the translation flowed easily and smoothly. The whole translation was checked from top to bottom several times and importantly, any disparities between the draft and other translations into English were carefully checked to ensure a final, correct translation. Additionally, I received further instruction on the subject from
the Ven. Mingyur Rinpoche prior to completing the translation and also have heard other sets of instructions from other great masters on the text. A glossary has been provided for terms that otherwise might not be obvious. However, this text, like most Tibetan texts, is not intended to be
understood simply by reading the words. This needs to be said because, in the West espec¬ially, in modern times when there is a strong emphasis on education of the rational mind, there is a strong cultural habit of thinking that one should be able to pick up a book and read it and comprehend it. That is not the case here. This text can only function as a support for the oral instructions from a qualified teacher with a lineage. Therefore, I have not made an attempt to
write a commentary myself or even add copious notes to the text. The translation is faithful enough to the original that any Tibetan teacher who is qualified could teach the text using this as a basis and hence provide the necessary mean- ixings for the students. The Tibetan text is also provided to assist those seriously studying the text. You might find that our Illuminator Tibetan-English Dictionary will be of considerable help in understanding the Tibetan terms. You will find a great deal of Great Completion vocabulary and explanation in the dictionary.
THE FEATURE OF THE EXPERT,GLORIOUS KING:THREE LINES THAT HIT THE KEY POINTS
The view is Longchen Rabjam;
The meditation is Khyentse Ozer;
The conduct is Gyalwa’i Nyugu.
When you practice like that,
Buddhahood in one life presents no difficulty
And if not, still rational mind is happy A LA LA.
For the view, Longchen Rabjam,
The three line’s meanings hit their key points.
First, relax your mind and stay there,
Neither elaborating nor concentrating, without discursive thought. While in the state relaxed and dwelling evenly,
Suddenly strike rational mind by exclaiming a PHAT—
Its force is delivered sharp and short, EMAHO!
Nothing whatsoever, blankness;
Blankness has transparency;
The transparency’s inexpressible.
Identify the dharmakaya rigpa!
Introduction to oneself; that is the first key point.
Then, whether there is proliferation or dwelling, Anger, attachment, happiness, or sadness, At all times and in every circumstance
The recognized dharmakaya is apprehended and
The previously-known mother luminosity joins with the son. Stay in the state of the inexpressible rigpa factor.
Dwelling, bliss, clarity, joy—again and again destroy them. Let the letter of means and prajna suddenly descend.
Equipoise and post-attainment are not distinct; Session and inter-session are not distinguishable;
One remains continuously in the inseparable state. Nonetheless, until finality is obtained Abandoning frivolity, cherish meditation.
Practice should be done in defined sessions.
At all times and in every circumstance Preserve the one dharmakaya’s shifting events. Decide that there is nothing other than that. Decision on one thing; that is the second key point.
At that point, attachment, anger, happiness, sorrow, and Every single one of the adventitious discursive thoughts Are self-recognized in the state without ensuing trace.
By apprehending the factor of liberation, t
he dharmakaya, They, for example like a drawing on water, Self-shine-forth-self-liberate without discontinuity.
Whichever one shines forth it is food for bare rigpa-emptiness; However it moves it is the liveliness of the dharmakaya king; Traceless, it is self-pure A LA LA.
The way of shining forth being like before compared to The way of liberation being distinct is a major key point. Without this, meditation is the path of confusion;
With this, non-meditating is the dharmakaya state.
====ROOT====
Assurance of liberation; that is the third key point.
In the view having the three points,
There are meditation connected with Wisdom-Love and The assistive general conduct of the Conqueror’s Sons. Even if the Conquerors of the three times were to confer There would be no oral instruction superior to this.
Rigpa’s liveliness, the dharmakaya treasure revealer Takes the treasure from the space of prajna.
This is not like the quintessence of earth and rock;
It is the testament of Garab Dorje;
It is the three lineage’s enlightened mind-juice.
It is entrusted to the heart-son. Sealed!
It is the profound meaning. It is the heart story’s Heart story. It is the key points of the meaning.
Do not let the key points of the meaning disappear.
Do not let the oral instructions dissipate.
This is the feature of the expert, glorious king!
====THE COMMENTARY====
Homage to the unequalled master of compassionate activity, the kind root guru.
This is an explanation of the way to practise a few of the key points of view, meditation, and conduct.
First, because the essence which subsumes the Jewels is the guru, homage to that alone becomes homage to all the places of refuge, as many as there are, because of which the text says,
“Homage to the guru. ”
Then, there is the subject matter to be explained and again, when practice is done through knowing the root and lineage gurus to be inseparable from one’s own mind, view, meditation, and conduct also are contained therein, therefore an explanation of view, meditation, and conduct made by joining them to the meanings of the names of the root and lineage gurus follows.
First, in the expanse free from elaborations which is the dharmata of dharmas— tathagatagarbha’s great expanse2—everything in the total field3 of appearances of samsara and nirvana is complete in dharmata equality. Knowing that is the view, so,
“The vietv is Longchen Rabjam;”
That kind of view is determined by vipashyana whose prajna is the freedom - from-elaboration’s nature, the omniscience4 part; one-pointed equipoise in that emptiness and without loss of the method of shamatha, great compassion and love5, i.e., emptiness and compassion connected, is the meditation, so,
“The meditation is Khyentse Ozer; ”
Within the state of that kind of view with meditation, the practice of benefitting others according to the way of conquerors’ sprouts6, the bodhisattvas, which is the practice of the six paramitas, is the conduct, so,
"The conduct is Gyahva'i Nyugu. ”
For the purpose of showing that the person who practises that kind of three-fold view, meditation, and conduct is fortunate it says,
“When you practise like that...”
And if, abandoning activities of this worldly life by staying in mountain solitudes you are able to practise one-pointedly, you will in this life become liberated right on the ground7, alpha purity so,
“Buddhahood in one life presents no difficulty ...”
If not, although that kind of three-fold view, meditation, and conduct will have only the rational-mind side, in this life you will know how to carry adverse circumstances onto the path and also, while you are in the activities of this life not much hope and fear will arise and later lives will go from happiness to happiness so,
“And if not, still rational mind is happy A LA LA ”
Now, I will explain in sequence the view, meditation, and conduct having that kind of benefit. First is an extensive explanation of the way that the view is practised, so,
“For the view, Longchen Rabjam, ”
And, the meaning in the three lines of oral instruction hitting the key points of practice being what kills confusion,
“The three lines' meanings hit their key points. ”
First, for when the view has not yet been met, there is the method of introduc¬tion. Generally speaking, in the vehicle of characteristics scripture and reasoning are used to determine the view and in the common parts of secret mantra many approaches—introduction to the real wisdom of the fourth empowerment in dependence on the simile wisdoms of the first three empowerments, and so on—are used but here, in accordance with the techniques of the holy ones of the practice lineage, there is introduction to mind’s vanishing point as follows.
When waves of confused conceptuality are crashing about, the coarse discursive thoughts which follow after objects obscure mindness, your own face, thus, although an introduction is given, no meeting happens. Therefore, the coarse discursive thoughts are to be clarified and for that purpose,
“First, relax your mind and stay there, ”
But more than that, it is the non-fabricated resting of your own mind itself that is luminosity wisdom i.e., actuality is not realized by fabricated approaches so, in order to demonstrate unfabricated, co-emergent wisdom to yourself,
“Neither elaborating nor concentrating, without discursive thought. ”
In the case of the beginner, although the state of self-rested mind, the innate, is preserved, it is not possible to get beyond a state in which the abiding factor has clinging to the temporary experiences of bliss, clarity, and non-thought associated with it, so,
“While in the state relaxed and dwelling evenly, ”
In order to show bare actuality which is naked rigpa, utter transparency, free from the shell of grasping at those temporary experiences,
“Suddenly strike rational mind by exclaiming a PHAT—”
To be more effective as the key point for cutting the continuity of discursive thought and breaking rational-mind-made meditation, the sound PHAT also should have a force which is delivered sharp and short, so,
“Its force is delivered sharp and short, EMA HOl”
At that point, mind freed from every vacillatory focus of the sort “This is it” is liberation manifest, so,
“Nothing whatsoever, blankness; ”
In the state of that kind of dharmakaya free from focal points, the bared trans-parency’s rigpa factor, wisdom beyond mind, is seated there just exactly as it is,
“Blankness has transparency;”
That kind of transparency also is the key point of in-dwelling wisdom which, being beyond the limits of birth/cessation, existent/non-existent, and so on and beyond the range of the rational effort and conceptuality of speech and mentation respectively is outside expression so, “The transparency’s inexpressible. ”
The meaning of that kind of key point is dharmakaya, rigpa present in the ground, the yogic path of alpha purity free from elaboration, the real view. Thus, for as long as precisely this is not recognized, no matter how you meditate and practise, you do not go beyond a rational-mind-made, fabricated view meditation and the path of natural Dzogpachenpo stays more distant from you than the sky from the earth and your meditation of it lacks the key point of non-meditation encircled by luminosity. Since recognizing precisely this initially is most important, “Identify8 the dharmakaya rigpa!”
That kind of meaning is the first of the “three lines that hit the key points”. If the view is not met, the state to be preserved with meditation doesn’t happen, so initially to meet the view is important. Moreover, in-dwelling wisdom is introduced as something present within yourself, not as something to be dis¬covered elsewhere, and since it is not the production of something previously not present in the mind-stream, “Introduction to oneself; that is the first key point. ”
Next is an extensive explanation of the way to practise meditation.
In meditation which is a continuous flow of staying in the state at all times and in every circumstance there is neither suppression nor production of dwelling and proliferation; if there is dwelling, that is the dharmakaya’s own face and if there is proliferation, that is preserved as the self-liveliness of wisdom, so,
“Then, whether there is proliferation or dwelling, ” Whatever comes from mind’s liveliness as discursive thoughts, be it the truth of the source—afflictions of anger, attachment, and so on—or the truth of unsatisfactoriness—the flavours of experience which are the feelings of happiness, sadness, and so on—if the nature of the discursive thoughts is known as dharmata, they become the shifting events of the dharmakaya, so, “Anger, attachment, happiness, or sadness, ”
That does not finish it though; generally speaking if they are met with through the view but not finished with by bringing them to the state with meditation,
they fall into ordinary wandering in confusion and if that happens, you are bound into cyclic existence by the discursive thoughts of your own mindstream and, dharma and your own mindstream having remained separate, you become an ordinary person who has nothing special about them. Not to be separated from a great non-meditated self-resting is what is needed, so, “At all times and in every circumstance”
At such points, whether they be a point of dwelling, proliferation, etcetera, each different affliction and discursive thought is not tamed with its own specific antidote, rather, whatever discursive thought or affliction arises, the view that was previously introduced is ‘the single sufficient antidote that liberates all’ and apprehending that alone covers them all, so “The recognized dharmakaya is apprehended and”
Additionally, whatever discursive thought or affliction arises, it is not something apart from dharmakaya wisdom, rather, the nature of those discursive thoughts is actual dharmakaya, the ground’s luminosity. If that, which is called ‘the mother luminosity resident in the ground’, is recognized, there is self-recognition of the view of self-knowing luminosity previously introduced by the guru and that is called ‘the luminosity of the practice path’. Abiding in one’s own face of the two luminosities of ground and path become inseparable is called ‘the meeting of mother and son luminosities’ so, “The previously-known mother luminosity joins with the son.”
Having like that always remembered the view—the luminosity which is one’s own face self-recognized—the sacred key point is that you stay in the state of that view and do not stop/produce/abandon/accept at all the discursive thoughts and afflictions which are the liveliness come from staying in that state, “Stay in the state of the inexpressible rigpa factor ” For the beginner, when that kind of state is preserved for a long time, the tem¬porary experiences of bliss, clarity, and no-thought cover one’s own, innate face. If you expose the bare face of rigpa by removing the covers of temporary experiences, that is the clarity belonging to wisdom. It has been said like this,
“A yogin’s meditation is bettered by destroying;
A mountain torrent is bettered by crashing down.”
and since it is like that,
“Dwelling, bliss, clarity, joy—again and again destroy them.” And how is ‘destroying’ done? When the temporary experiences of dwelling, bliss, and clarity are on the rise or when joyfulness, delight, and so on are on the rise, it is necessary to smash to dust the covers of grasping at temporary experiences by bringing down like lightning a forceful sound PHAT of the union of the two letters “PHA”—the gatherer, method—and “T”—the cutter, prajna:
“Let the letter of means and prajna suddenly descend. ”
When inexpressible rigpa-transparency is preserved without losing the key point of experience like that at all times and with every aspect, there is no distinction between the meditations of equipoise and post-attainment, so, “Equipoise and post-attainment are not distinct;” because of which the meditation which is the essence of a session and the medi-tation which is the time of conduct in between sessions are not distinct as two separate things, so,
“Session and inter-session are not distinguishable;”
Non-meditation like that is the great meditation; this yoga of continuous flow of in-dwelling, pervasive wisdom has not a speck of meditation to be done yet is totally without an instant of distraction. As has been said,
“Not experiencing meditation and not experiencing loss of it;
Not losing the meaning of not meditating.”
which is the meaning, so
“One remains continuously in the inseparable state. ”
If you are a vessel who can follow the path just as it is laid out of natural Dzog- pachenpo like that and are the type who has liberation suddenly on hearing, you will have the great liberation of appearing mind liberated in the ground— anything that shines forth will be part of the dharmakaya’s shifting events so there will no meditation/no meditating—but the others, persons of the gradual type who have the lower fortune of being controlled by confusion’s discursive thoughts, need to meditate until finality is obtained, so,
“Nonetheless, until finality is obtained,”
Moreover, experience of that meditation arises due to the causes of dhyana being completely assembled; experience will not arise in frivolous and distracting venues, no matter how much you extend the length of meditation, so,
“Abandoning frivolity, cherish meditation. ”
Also, when doing that meditation, although no distinction is made between the practice of equipoise and post-attainment, if at first you do not take hold of equipoise in its own place, you will not be able to mix wisdom that you have experienced with post-attainment and because of that, even though you exert yourself at conduct as part of your daily practice, it will turn out as the side-track of losing your innate disposition to over-riding habits so,
“Practice should be done in defined sessions. ”
Having defined practice in sessions like that, there will be practice which seems reliable in terms of preserving the essence in equipoise but when you mix that with the post-attainment conduct, if you don’t know how to preserve it continuously, the remedy will not be up to the circumstances and, if you are carried away by the circumstances of discursive thought, you will fall into being an ordinary person. Therefore, it is important that post-attainment consciousness be preserved as transparency so,
“At all times and in every circumstance”
At that point moreover, it is not necessary to look for some other thing to medi¬tate on; from a state which does not depart from that dharmakaya view of equi¬poise, there is an unbroken, moment to moment preservation of that view while every activity and discursive thought is left alone to do as it pleases without any suppression or production, so,
“Preserve the one dharmakaya’s shifting events. ”
That sort of meditation, that preservation of inseparable shamatha-vipashyana, the innate yoga of freedom from elaboration, unfabricated co-emergence, one’s own face of dharmata, is the heart of every practice of the tantra sections of secret mantra vajrayana, the real wisdom of the fourth empowerment, the special feature which is the wish-fulfilling gem of the practice lineage, the unblemished understanding of everyone together with their lineage9 who has discovered accomplishment in the Indian, Tibetan, New, or Old schools. Therefore, decide to trust in this. If you don’t stop your mouth from watering for other upadeshas, you will, like leaving an elephant in the house then searching the forest for the elephant’s trail, have no time for liberation due to trapping yourself in the cage of rational-mind-made fabrication; you must make a decision about your practice, so,
“Decide that there is nothing other than that. ”
To decide like that that the dharmakaya, bare in-dwelling wisdom, is buddha that never has experienced confusion and then to preserve its continuity is the key point connected with the second secret line; this is important so,
“Decision on one thing; that is the second key point. ”
Now at those points, if there is no assurance regarding the way of liberation, you will not get past the mere meditation of mind dwelling at ease, the sidetrack of the higher realms, and you will not be able to deal with circumstances that arouse attachment and anger, you will not be able to cut the continuity of sam- skaric karma, and you will not be able to have decisive assurance of mind10. This matter is important. Whatever feeling arises—whether it be strong attach¬ment towards a desirable object or strong anger towards an undesirable object, happiness due to receiving favourable circumstances such as goods, and so on, or suffering because of adverse circumstances such as sickness—it has to, at the time that it arises, go into the liveliness of rigpa, therefore apprehending wisdom which is the basis of liberation11 is important, so,
“At that point, attachment, anger, happiness, sorrow, and”
Furthermore, if the key point of meditation ‘liberation upon shining-forth’ is absent, since any and every one of the discursive thoughts constituting the undercurrent of mental events will be accumulating the karma of samsara, there is the key point that, whichever discursive thought arises, coarse or subde, it is to be preserved as ‘liberation upon shining forth without ensuing trace’, so,
“Every singk one of the adventitious discursive thoughts”
Following on from that, instead of every discursive thought that arises turning into the undercurrent field of confusion, from a state which does not lose self¬settled innate’s mindfulness—mindfulness which is not that of rational-mind- made restriction—discursive thought that shines forth having been self¬recognized must be preserved in a state of liberation upon shining-forth without ensuing trace, like a drawing on water, so,
“Are self-recognized in the state without ensuing trace. ”
If at that point discursive thoughts are not purified in self-liberation, since merely recognizing discursive thoughts does not cut the karmic stream of confusion, then, together with the recognition, see the self-face nakedly to apprehend the previously known wisdom itself and then, staying in the state, the key point of the purification of discursive thought without ensuing trace will be more effective, so,
“By apprehending the factor of liberation, the dharmakaya, ”
In the example of a picture on water, the picture is drawn and at the moment it is drawn, it disappears thus the drawing and vanishing are simultaneous. The arising and liberating of discursive thoughts has, like that, become simultaneous so they self-shine-forth-self-liberate without discontinuity, thus,
“They, for example like a drawing on water, ”
That way, what shines-forth has been allowed to shine-forth unsuppressed, however it happens, and you should take this path technique of whatever shines forth being purified in the state of the innate as a key point of practice, so,
“Self-shine-forth-self-liberate without discontinuity. ”
Training up discursive thought as dharmakaya like that, concepts that shine forth turn out as the training up of rigpa and, no matter how grossly the five poison’s discursive thoughts arise, the liberating rigpa is correspondingly clearer and stronger, so,
“Whichever one shines forth it is food for bare rigpa-emptiness;”
At the point when the whole extent to which discursive thought moves dawns as one’s own liveliness coming out from the state of rigpa’s face, transparency, by preserving it without acceptance or rejection, it arises liberated from the time it shines-forth and therefore does not depart from being the shifting events of the dharmakaya, so,
“However it moves it is the liveliness of the dharmakaya king;”
Since mind’s concepts as the confused forms of ignorance are being purified in rigpa wisdom, the expanse of dhannakaya, movement that arises in the expanse of unbroken luminosity of discursive thought is one’s own face, empty, so,
“Traceless, it is self-pure A LA LA. ”
When you have habituated yourself to that kind of path technique for a long time, discursive thought comes as meditation and the boundary between dwelling and movement appears to have dropped away so discursive thought and its movement does not harm the dwelling, so,
“The way of shining forth being like before compared to”
At this point, the way that the liveliness’s discursive thoughts dawn as happiness, sadness, hope and fear is like for other, ordinary beings. However, unlike ordi¬nary beings for whom sains karic karma is accumulated due to discursive thoughts shining-forth with suppression and production within deep solidification and who are controlled by attachment and anger, for the yogin discursive thoughts arise liberated from the time that they shine forth. Therefore the yogin has the key point of the way of liberation: first, by recognizing the discursive thought, there is liberation like meeting a person known from before; in the interim, discursive thoughts self-liberate themselves like a coiled snake12; and finally, discursive thoughts are liberated with neither benefit nor harm like a thief present in an empty house, and so on, so,
“The way of liberation being distinct is a major key point. ”
Following on from that, as has been said,
“Knowing how to meditate but not knowing how to liberate—
How is that different from the gods of the dhyanas?”
Just so, meditations which do not have this kind of key point of the way to liberate, which have assurance but just of the dhyanas of mental dwelling, stray into the dhyanas of the upper realms and people who assert that recognizing abiding and movement is sufficient are not distinct from ordinary people of confused concepts. When meditations stamped with rational-mind-made “emptiness”, “dharmakaya”, and so on meet with adverse circumstances, since the antidote tendered is from the same home, it cannot stand firm, so,
‘’Without this, meditation is the path ofconfusion
No matter how it is designated—shining-forth-liberation, self-liberation, naked- liberation, etcetera—this mode of liberation of discursive thoughts being purified in self-liberation without trace is the one key point which shows self-liberation in direct perception, the uncommon feature of natural Dzogpachenpo. There¬fore, when you have this kind of key point, afflictions and discursive thoughts that arise go into dharmakaya with the result that confusion’s concepts are purified in wisdom; adverse circumstances appear as assistants; afflictions are made into the path; and cyclic existence without being abandoned is purified in position so that you are liberated from the bondage of existence and peace. You by-pass to the other side in the state without something to be done and free from accomplishment through rational effort, so,
‘With this, non-meditating is the dharmakaya state. ”
If this assurance of that kind of way of liberating is absent, you can be pretentious about having some kind of very high view or very profound meditation in your mind but it does not help the mind; since it will not work as a remedy for the afflictions, it is not the authentic path. When this key point of self-shining-forth- self-liberation is present, you might not have so much as an atom of the style of grasping at very high views or the foci of very profound meditations but it is not possible that you
will not become liberated from the bondage of your own mind-stream’s dualistic grasping; like having gone to a gold island and not being able to find ordinary earth and rocks there even though you look for them, dwelling/movement and discursive thought that arises will shine forth as meditation due to which confusion, even though you look for it inside
yourself, will not be findable. So, since just this is the reference line for deciding whether practice is or is not getting to the key point,
“Assurance of liberation; that is the third key point. ”
These three key points like that being the unmistaken key points which carry natural Dzogpachenpo’s fourfold view, meditation, conduct, and fruition single¬handedly in the state of rigpa transparency, they are indeed also the upadeshas of meditation and conduct, too. Still, this is not asserted like in the general dharma language of the textual tradition people as a determination made through evaluations with scripture, reasoning, and syllogism of an object known by rational mind, rather, we say that the wisdom met in bare direct-perception itself, even if it is discursive thought, is the view of rigpa wisdom. View and meditation are many with one taste13, therefore although the three key points are explained as the practice of the view there is not contradiction, so,
“In the view having the three points, ”
This meditation of that kind is the unmistaken key point of natural Dzogpachen-po’s path of alpha purity, the pinnacle of the nine vehicles, therefore, like when a king comes it is impossible that there be no supporting retinue, the paths of every vehicle travel as the supports or assistants of the path of these key points. And that is not all, when you meet your own face which is alpha-purity- rigpa’s self-arising lamp of prajna, its liveliness blazes as prajna of the meditation so that the expanse of all-knowing wisdom gushes forth like a summer river and emptiness’s character shines forth as great compassion so that love’s compassionate-activity is without bias; entering both like that is the dharmata, so,
“There are meditation connected with Wisdom-Love and”
When the key points of the path of emptiness and compassion unified like that have become manifest, the ocean-like conduct of the Conqueror’s sons which is contained by the path of the six paramitas shines forth, like the sun and its light rays, as its self-liveliness. That kind of conduct is connected to the accumulation of merit so what you do becomes for the benefit of others and assists the authentic view not to become mistaken regarding peace and happiness, so,
“The assistive general conduct of the Conqueror’s Sons. ”
This kind of view, meditation, and conduct is the depths of intent of all the Conquerors who have descended, are present, or will descend, so,
“Even if the Conquerors of the three times were to confer”
There is nothing superior to this victorious pinnacle of all vehicles, the key points of the path of the Heart Essence Vajragarbha, the meaning of fruition, so,
“There would be no oral instruction superior to this. ”
The meaning being expressed by this oral instruction is definitely the very quintessence of the upadeshas of the lineage masters but the composition expres-sing it in just these few words must also come from the rigpa’s liveliness, so,
“Rigpa’s liveliness, the dharmakaya treasure revealer”
I do not have any experience of the meaning of those few words through meditational prajna but starting with unmistaken statements from the mouth of the holy guru I have eliminated exaggerations to their meaning through hearing prajna and determined their meaning through contemplation prajna then composed this, so,
“Takes the treasure from the space of prajna. ”
This is not like common worldly treasures that merely alleviate sudden poverty so,
“This is not like the quintessence of earth and rock;”
These three key points of the view called “Three Lines That Hit The Key Points” were given by the nirmanakaya of Garab Dorje at the time of his passing into nirvana from the centre of a mass of light in the sky to the great acharya Manjushrimitra; they are upadesha through which their intents became insepa¬rable so,
“ft is the testament of Garab Dorje;”
By connecting with the key points of the meaning of that oral instruction, the Dharmaraja Kunkhyen manifested the intent of alpha-purity, exhaustion of dharmas, and became a completely perfect buddha in his lifetime. He showed himself in a wisdom body directly to Vidyadhara Jigmey Lingpa and blessed him in the manner of the vidyadhara sign lineage. Jigmey Lingpa taught this from his own mouth to our very kind root guru who, having been given the introduction with the oral instructions of that hearing lineage, met dharmata in direct perception. This is the oral instruction which I heard from him, the Glorious Guardian of Migrators, so,
“fr is the three lineage’s enlightened mind-juice. ”
I will hold back14 from teaching this kind of upadesha which is like the most refined gold, like the heart-drop, to persons who will not practise it and I will hold back15 from not teaching it to persons who will hold it as the life-force of oral instruction and who, practising the meanings of the key points will accomplish buddhahood in one life, so,
“fr is entrusted to a heart son. Sealed!
It is the profound meaning. It is the heart story’s
Heart story. It is the key points of the meaning.
Do not let the key points of the meaning disappear.
Do not kt the oral instructions dissipate. ”
This completes for now some small commentary on the feature of the expert, glorious king. Virtue! Virtue! Virtue!
NOTES
l. This text is essentially a commentary on three lines that were given as instruction by Garab Dorje to Manjushnmitra. The three lines are explicitly mentioned in the text, hence the title starts out with “The Three Lines”. This is often mis-translated as “The Three Words”. The mis-translation of “Three Words” comes about because the correct Tibetan word “tshigs” meaning a line of prose or verse is sometimes mis-spelled in Tibetan texts and appears as “tshig” which means a word or phrase
The three lines of Garab Dorje are aimed right at the key points of the practice of Dzogchen. Hence, the text is entitled “The Three Lines that Hit the Key Points”. The lines do not exactly “strike at” the key points but connect to them directly and exactly. The Tibetan phrase here actually means “that hit the nail on the head”. Note also that the three lines do not just hit one key point right on the head but hit all of the many key points of the Thorough Cut practice on the head.
Note that in this case “key points” does not mean “key points that you understand and carry with you as mental descriptions of important points” but refers directly to the actual occurrence of certain things in meditation. Thus, the title is telling you that the instructions, which come in the form of the three lines given by the teacher Garab Dorje, connect you directly to the actual key points that exist in the practice of meditation. The key points are the buttons that you press using the instructions as a guide and the instructions hit them right on the head for you, so that you connect with them exactly.
When all of the above is understood, you can see that the tide of the text actually is“Three Lines that Hit the Key Points on the Head” because the instructions which are the three lines actually connect you to, without missing in the process, those meditative experiences which are key points in the process of developing your meditation.
2. Longchen
3. Rabjam
4. Khyen
5. tse
6. Gyalwa’i nyugu
7.1.e., of the many kinds of liberation that there are, you will have the kind which is liberation in regard to the ground (which is) alpha purity (in the The Thorough Cut system).
8. The wording and the meaning of the text is not simply that the dharmakaya that has just been elicited should be apprehended or recognized in general, it specifically means that the dharmakaya should be picked out in one’s own experience and to do that, as the following lines point out, introduction to it by the guru is the key point.
9. This means exactly: the person who discovered that meaning, as well as the gurus in the lineage preceding the person, and the person’s students following them.
10. Here, “decisive assurance of mind” means assurance of liberation as discussed in the text. This would seem to be contradictory to the meaning of “assurance of liberation” because that is something which occurs in the state beyond mentation (i.e., not in mind). However, the meaning of mind here is just general; the assurance happens in the mind, not in the body or speech or some other place.
11. Here, the “basis of liberation” means rigpa, i.e., the wisdom which is rigpa.
12. In Tibetan the word for “liberate” and “undo” are the same, so when you read the Tibetan what you read is, “self-undo like a coiled snake (undoes itself)”.
13. This means that the view and meditation (and the conduct too) are more than one thing but are of one taste, i.e., of equivalent meaning, so it is fine to present them through the agency of just one of them, which in this case is the view.
14. Literally, “I will be miserly about...”
15. Literally, “I will be miserly about...”
====GLOSSARY====
Actuality, gnas lugs: how things are, the way things are, how things sit in any given situation as opposed to how they might appear.
Adventitious, gio bur: Often translated as “sudden”, the word “adventitious” in English more accurately reflects the full meaning of the original Tibetan gio.’bur. Something adventitious is something which suddenly comes up as a surface event and disappears again in regard to something else since it does not belong to the core of the thing that it appeared on the surface of.
Affliction, nyon mongs: this term is usually translated as emotion or disturbing emotion, etcetera. However, the Buddha was much more specific about the meaning of this word. The buddha said that passion, aggression, ignorance, and so on, were klesha, i.e., they were something that afflicted you. Affliction is the correct translation for emotion in the sense that it is exactly what the buddha called these things. He did not say that they were “disturbing emotions” or “conflicting emotions” but outright afflictions.
Alpha purity, ka dag: a unique Dzogchen term meaning purity that is there from the first, i.e., primordial purity. There are many general terms that express the notion of “primordial purity” but this one is
unique and stands out. Some people do not like the term “alpha purity” but, funnily enough, this is exactly what the Tibetan says.
Assurance, gdeng: often translated as confidence, this term means more than confidence. This term has the full meaning of assurance with the extra meaning that that contains compared to confidence. A bird, as it flies in space, has the assurance that it will not fall to the ground because of knowing that it has wings and the training it obtained in how to fly as a fledgling; the person who can liberate the afflictions in the state of rigpa has the assurance of liberation.
Bliss, clarity, and no-thought, bde.gsal.mi.rtog pa: mentioned in this text as three temporary experiences that practitioners invariably meet in meditation. Bliss is ease of the body and/or mind, clarity is the experience of extraordinary clarity of mind, and no-thought is the experience literally of no thoughts happening in the mind. There is another understanding of these three not as temporary experiences to be eschewed but final experiences of realization.
Concentrating, bsdu: drawing mind in from thinking.
Confusion, ’khrukpa: the Tibetan term means fundamental delusion’s confusion of taking things the wrong way. This is not the other meaning in English of having lots of thoughts and being confused about it; it is much more fundamental than that. The definition in Tibetan is “confusion is the appearance to rational mind of something being present when it is not” and refers for example to seeing any object, such as a table, as being truly present when in fact it is present only as mere appearance which has occurred in a process of dependent, related arising.
The Thorough Cut, khregs chod: the Dzogchen system has several levels to it. The innermost level has two levels, the first is called Threkcho which literally translates as Thorough Cut and the second is called Thogal which literally translates as Leaping Over at the Top. The meaning of Threkcho has been misunderstood and hence mistranslated. The meaning is clearly explained in the Illuminator Tibetan-English Dictionary it gives the following.
The Thorough Cut is a system in which the solidification that sentient beings produce by having rational minds which grasp at a perceived object and perceiving subject is sliced through so as to get the underlying reality which has always been present in the essence of mind and which is called Alpha Purity in this system of teachings. For this reason Thorough Cut is also known as Alpha Purity Thorough Cut.
The etymology of the word is explained in the Great Completion System either as or (3^^• In either case, the term
is the standard intransitive verb meaning "for something to be cut through". As the intransitive root, it simply comes to mean "a cut", a type of cut. Some Westerners have tried to make a big deal out of the intransitive sense, suggesting that it means a past tense sense i.e., a cut which has happened. That shows a misunderstanding of Tibetan grammar. The intransitive sense here just makes it "a cut" like in English there could be all sorts of different "cuts". So this is one type of "cut". Then, in the case of 355'^T, AT becomes an adverb modifying the verb "to cut" and has
the meaning of making the cut fully, completely. It is explained with the example of slicing off a finger. A finger could be sliced with a sharp knife such that the cut was not quite complete and the cut off portion was left hanging. Alternatively, it could be sliced through in one, decisive movement such that the finger was completely and definitely severed. In the case of the term functions as an adverb though it is
one of the many experiential terms of the Tibetan language. It has the meaning and feeling with it, of something that is doubtless, of something that is unquestionably so. A translation based on the first explanation would be "Complete Cut", "Thorough Cut", "Cutting Through", "Through Cut", "Solid Cut". A translation based on the second explanation would be "Definite Cut", "Decisive Cut".
Other translations that have been put forward for this term are: "Cutting Resistance" and "Cutting Solidity". Of these, "Cutting Resistance" is usually a translation made on the basis of students expressing the "resistance to practice", etc. That is a complete misunderstanding of the term: firstly the words of the term mean "Decisive / Thorough Cut", and secondly, the term refers specifically to decisively cutting the solidification that has happened because of rational mind dualizing the world into a perceived object and perceiving subject, with the result of arriving fully and directly into the alpha purity of the ground.
The Thorough Cut" gives the sense that the practitioner of this system cuts decisively through the conceptual solidification which is none other than rational mind so as to arrive directly at the essence of mind.
Cyclic Existence, ’khor ba: samsara. The type of existence that sentient beings have which is that they continue on from one existence to another, always within the enclosure of births that are produced by ignorance and experienced as unsatisfactory.
Deep solidification, a ’thas: the original has the full meaning of “the deep stupidity of ignorance which solidifies empty actuality into an utterly solid existence”.
pharmaraja Kunkhyen: meaning, the Dharma King All-knowing Longchen Rabjam.
Dharmata, chos nyid: literally dharma-ness. A dharma is a phenomenon so what it is at core, its actual reality is its dharma-ness, or its isness.
Dharmakaya, chos sku: the mind aspect of a buddha which, in the The Thorough Cut system, is the fruition level of rigpa.
Dhyana, bsam gtan: literally “stability of mind” and meaning deep forms of mental concentration. Deep forms of concentration developed in the human realm result in births in the various god realms which are deep forms of concentration in themselves. The practices of concentration in the human realm and the levels of god realms resulting from them are both named dhyanas. The Buddha repeatedly pointed out that the dhyanas were a side-track to emancipation from cyclic existence.
Discursive thought, rnam rtog: this means more than just the superficial thought that is heard as a voice in the head. It includes the entirety of conceptual process that arises due to mind contacting any object of any of the senses. Discursive thought here translates from the Sanskrit original where the meaning is “conceptual thought that arises from the mind wandering among the various superficies perceived in the doors of the senses”.
Elaborating, spro ba: to be producing thoughts.
Equipoise and post-attainment, mnyam bzhag.rjes thob: often mis-translated as meditation and post-meditation, “equipoise and post-attainment” is a correct rendering. There is great meaning in the words and that meaning is lost by the looser translation. Note that equipoise and post-attainment are used throughout the three yanas and that they have a very different meaning in Dzogchen than in lower vehicles.
Fabrication, bcos pa: the process of altering something from its native state.
Finality obtained, gtan pa thob.ba: the path of a The Thorough Cut prac¬titioner proceeds in a three step process of introduction, followed by training, followed by attaining finality. This term is sometimes translated as stability but that does not capture the full meaning. The original term
means that one has gone to the point where the whole training is finalized; it has been taken to the definitive point.
Focus (foci), gtad so: a particular issue that rational mind is focusing on.
Ground, gzhi: the first member of the formulation of ground, path, and fruition. Ground, path, and fruition is the way that the teachings of the path of oral instruction belonging to the vajrayana are presented to students. Ground refers to the basic situation as it is.
Intent, dgongs pa: the honorific for the way that something is understood.
Introduce: see introduction.
Introduction, ngos.sprod.pa: a key term in Mahamudra and Dzogchen. Mis-translated as transmission and sometimes loosely translated as pointing out. The word quite literally means that someone introduces you to something or someone else. In this case, the guru introduces you to the essence of your own mind.
Isness: a translation of dharmata, q.v.
Key points, gnad: it is not apparent from the wording but a “key point”, at least in this text, is not a point of understanding that you have conceptually in your mind and take to meditation practice but is an issue belonging to the actual process of meditation itself. Meditation as a process has key points or issues within it and instructions such as the “three lines” are given so that the practitioner can connect a correct understanding which is derived from those instructions with those issues as they are actually present in the meditation itself. This is worth thinking over because the common understanding in English of “key point” is an instruction to be applied but that is quite incorrect; the instructions that you have are applied to your meditation in order to work the key points that are present as issues in the meditation itself. The key points in this text are the buttons existing in the meditation for you to be press using the instructions of the Three Lines, that allow you to ‘hit’ the buttons.
Liveliness, rtsal: another key term in Mahamudra and Dzogchen. The term means the potential that something contains for it to produce or display some kind of expression. E.g., a baby horse has the innate ability that will later come out as its liveliness of galloping and prancing as a steed. However, the term also is used in situations where the energy is actually happening, i.e., it is not mere potential any more but is the energy at the time of its expression. The term that seems to fit correctly in English is “spunk” unfortunately not many people know this word well. Liveliness can refer both to the potential for expression that something has and the dynamic display that is produced.
Luminosity, ’od.gsal: the core of mind, called mind’s essence is on the one hand empty and on the other hand knowing. Luminosity is the commonly accepted translation for a word which actually means “illumination”; illumination is a metaphoric term for the fundamental knowing quality of the essence of mind.
Mind, sems: conventional minding which occurs because there is ignorance.
Post-attainment: see equipoise.
Preserve, skyong ba: an important term in The Thorough Cut. It means to keep something as it is, to nurture something in the sense of keeping it just so and not losing it. In the case of The Thorough Cut it specifically means that you are not using any rational process or effort to keep it in place, rather you are following the instructions of your guru to allow it to be as it is. This term is also always applied to the state, q.v., and the phrase32 “preserve the state” is a key oral instruction in the The Thorough Cut system.
Proliferation, ’phro.ba: when thoughts are proliferating.
Rational mind, bio: the Kagyu and Nyingma traditions use this term pejoratively for the most part. In the Dzogchen tradition, bio is the dualistic mind and hence is the villain so-to-speak which needs to be removed from the equation in order to obtain enlightenment. This term is consistently translated as rational mind throughout this text since merely translating it as mind, which is the common approach these days, utterly loses the importance of the word. This is not just mind but this is the mind that creates the situation of this and that (ratio in latin) and which is always at the root of all sentient beings problems and which is the very opposite of the mind of rigpa. This is a key term and it should be noted and not just glossed over as “mind”.
Samskaric karma, ’du byed kyi las: karma is made by the various fac
tors of mind or mental events which are grouped in the fourth skandha, “samskara”, therefore, samskaric karma is karma made by the samskaras.
Secret Mantra, gsang.sngags: the name for the second of the two parts of the Mahayana school, i.e., the vajrayana.
Self-resting, rang bzhag: an important term in Mahamudra and Dzogchen which refers to the basic style of meditation in these systems. To self-rest means that the resting is not made up, forced or produced but allowed to happen of itself.
Shifting Events, yo.lang: the dharmakaya has an outpouring of display which comes out not as a nice, rationally-ordered experience but as the random and higgledy-piggledy events experienced by the practitioner of that state.
State, ngang: this is a key term in Mahamudra and Dzogchen. Unfortunately it is often not translated or is simply translated as “within”. It has the full sense of “a particular state that the practitioner is experiencing”. There are many states on the path. The word is often used in The Thorough Cut without adjective to refer to the all-important experience of rigpa itself, whatever that might be at the time. Hence “the state”, “preserving the state”, etc. See also “Preserve”.
Rigpa, rig pa: the key word of key words in the system of The Thorough Cut. Rigpa literally means to know in the sense of “I see!” (Interestingly, it translates the Sanskrit Vidya and you will notice the root “vid” there which is the root for many English words having the meaning “to see”—video, vision, etc.). It is used at all levels of meaning from the coarsest everyday sense of knowing something to the deepest sense of knowing something as presented in the system of The Thorough Cut. The system of The Thorough Cut uses this term in a very special sense, though it still retains its basic meaning of “to know”. To translate it as “awareness” which is common practice these days is a poor practice; there are many kinds of awareness but there is only one rigpa and besides, rigpa is substantially more than just awareness. Since this is such an important term and since it lacks an equivalent in English, I choose not to translate it. However, it will be helpful in reading the text to understanding the meaning as just given. For the full explanation of this word, you must ask your guru.
Temporary experience, nyams: when one practises meditation, various experiences occur which are simply part of the path and are not realizations, per se. These experiences are thus temporary experiences.
Transparency, zang thal: perhaps this term would be better not translated. The term is a special term of experience used in both Mahamudra and Dzogchen. It means that, because expanse and the knower—the latter being described as rigpa in Dzogchen—are unified, there is the experience
of total unimpededness. The practitioner is outside the normal constraints of impure appearances and experiences this as a totally open transparency to experience.
Upadesha, man.ngag: there are several types of instruction mentioned in Buddhist literature: there is the general level of instruction which is the meaning contained in the words of the texts of the tradition; on a more personal and direct level there is oral instruction which has been passed down from teacher to student from the time of the buddha; and on the most profound level there is upadesha which are oral instructions provided by one’s guru which are the core instructions that come out of personal experience and which convey the teaching concisely and with the full weight of personal experience. Upadesha are crucial to the vajrayana path because these are the special way of passing on the profound instructions needed for the student’s realization.
Vacillatory focus, gza’ gtad: this is a term which is twice pejorative. The word “vacillatory” refers to a process of hovering around a subject, seeing it from this angle and that angle because of being uncertain of which way it really is; i.e., vacillating over which way it is. “Focus” means that rational-mind takes one of the possible angles and settles on that. For example, in the process of resting in the essence of mind, there can be the fault of not leaving rational mind but staying within in it and thinking, “Yes, this is the essence of mind” or “No, this is notit. It is that”. Each of those is a vacillatory focus. Any vacillatory focus implies that the practitioner has not left rational mind and so is not in rigpa.
Vehicle of Characteristics, mtshan nyid theg pa: The Great Vehicle, Mahayana, has two sub-vehicles, the first is the vehicle of characteristics, the sutra vehicle, and the second is the vehicle of secret mantra, the tantras
View, meditation, and conduct, lta sgom spyod: a formulation of the teachings that contains all of the meaning of the path.
Wisdom, ye.shes: this terms translates the original Sanskrit, jnana. Jnana has many meanings but overall has the sense of just knowing. In the Buddhist usage it is very literal, meaning the most basic sense we have of knowing which is the knowing that is there from the beginning in the core of mind. Because of this meaning, the Tibetans translated it as “the particular awareness which has been there from the beginning”. This has been translated into English in various ways but, as long as the meaning just mentioned is understood, that will be enough.
In the tantras, there are many methods for bringing the students to this primordial awareness. Some of them bring the student first to something which is similar to the wisdom so there is the term, simile wisdom (dpe’i ye shes); this is often translated as example wisdom but that is being literal to the extent of losing the meaning. The simile wisdom is a similitude of the real wisdom, the actual wisdom which is shown in various ways, including by the fourth empowerment. Real wisdom (don gyi ye shes) is the opposite of simile wisdom; it is wisdom in fact, not the one which is just a similitude of the real wisdom.
INDEX
actuality
adventitious discursive thoughts adverse circumstances
afflictions
alpha purity
anger
antidote
assurance
attachment
bare face of rigpa
blankness
bliss
bliss, clarity, and no-thought. . . bodhisattvas
bondage
buddha
buddhahood
clarity
clinging
coarse discursive thoughts . . . . conduct
confusion
conquerors
contemplation
co-emergence
co-emergent wisdom 7
cyclic existence 10,18,28,29
decision 2,14
destroying 11
dharma 10, 18, 28
Dzogpachenpo 9, 12, 17
elephant 13
empowerment
2,6, 16, 19
emptiness and compassion 6, 19
empty house 17
equipoise 2,6,11-13,29,31
essence 5, 12, 13, 20, 27, 28, 30, 31, 35
existence and peace 18
expanse 5, 16, 19, 34
factor of liberation 2,15
finality 2, 12, 30
first key point 1,9
focal points 8
free from elaboration 8
frivolity
Garab Dorje 1,3,20
gold island 18
gradual type 12
great compassion 6,19
high views 18
hope and fear 6,16
Indian inter-session
Longchen Rabjam . luminosity
major key point . . . many with one taste Manjushnmitra . . .
means 4, 1, 2, 9, 11, 13, 14, 19, 26, 27, 29-35
meditation 4,1-3,5-19,26,29-31,33-35
mentation 8,14
mindness 7
mother 2,10
mother luminosity 2,10
mountain solitudes 6
mountain torrent 11
naked rigpa 8
natural Dzogpachenpo 9, 12, 17
neither benefit nor harm 17
nirvana 5,20
omniscience 6
oral instruction 3,7,20,21,30,32,34
ordinary earth and rocks 18
ordinary person 10, 13
own face 7,9-11,13,16,19
path technique 15,16
PHAT 8, 11
places of refuge 5
post-attainment 2,11-13,29,31
post-meditation 29
practice lineage 7,13
practitioner 28, 30, 33-35
prajna 2, 3, 6, 11, 19, 20
profound meditation 18
proliferation 2,9,10,32
rational effort 8,18
rational mind viii, 1, 6, 8, 19, 26, 28, 30, 32, 35
rational-mind-made 8,9,14, 15,17
rigpa 1,2, 8, 9, 11, 14, 16, 18, 19,26,29,32-35
rigpa factor 2,8,11
sadness 2, 10, 16
samsara 5, 15, 28
samskaric karma 14, 16, 32
scripture and reasoning 7
second key point 2, 14
secret mantra 7, 13, 32, 35
self-arising lamp of prajna 19
self-liberate 2,15-17
self-pure 2,16
self-resting 10, 33
session 2,12
shamatha-vipashyana 13
shifting events 2, 10, 12, 13, 16, 33
shifting events of the dharmakaya 10,16
single sufficient antidote 10
sixparamitas 6,19
snake 17
son
speech
state
temporary experiences
The Thorough Cut
thief
third key point
three lines
three lines that hit the key points Tibetan
trace
undercurrent of mental events
upadeshas
upper realms
vacillatory focus
vehicle of characteristics
view
view, meditation, and conduct vipashyana
wisdom
wish-fulfilling gem
worldly life
yogin
