Opening The Door of Dharma
Opening The Door of Dharma
Opening The Door of Dharma
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In the Noble Land there was no distinction between New and Old.
In Tibet, as lotsāwas translated in earlier and later phases,
The Old-New distinction arose, with the period before Rinchen Zangpo
Designated the time of the Ancient School of Early Translations,
And the translations of the period thereafter referred to as New.
Most of the Vinaya, Sūtra and Abhidharma collections,
As well as the three outer tantra classes of Secret Mantra,
Were translated during the period of the Early Transmission.
Highest Yoga tantras such as Saṃvara, Hevajra, Kālacakra and Yamāntaka
Were translated mostly in the later period, but the Ancient School of Early
Translations
Also has a very large number of Highest Yoga tantras,
Such as the eighteen great tantras.5
Although some scholars of the New Schools have stated
That these tantras are inauthentic,
The impartial understand them to be genuine.
Indeed, I think it is correct to do so.
Why? Because these texts accurately convey the profound and vast points
Of the Buddha's Word and the treatises,
And it is only right, therefore, to honour and respect them.
In the Ancient School of Secret Mantra there are nine successive yānas,
Which can be subdivided into two: the causal and resultant vehicles.
There are three causal vehicles: those of the śrāvakas, pratyekabuddhas and
bodhisattvas.
And the resultant mantra vehicle includes three classes of outer tantra,
And three classes of inner tantras, which employ vast methods.
There are many further details for each of these,
Such as their respective views, meditation, conduct and results,
But since this is only a brief survey I cannot elaborate here.
The Ancient School of Early Translations has three categories of Word (kama),
Treasures (terma) and Pure Visions.
The New School of Secret Mantra is also called the Jowo Kadam tradition.
Its members included Atiśa, Gyalwa Dromtönpa,
The Three Brothers,6 and countless other holders of the teachings.
The Old Kadam became intermingled with the Sakya and Kagyü.7
Taking this as a basis, Jamyang Tsongkhapa
Expanded upon Vinaya, Sūtra, Madhyamaka, Prajñāpāramitā, Secret Mantra and so
on,
And his tradition spread everywhere throughout the whole world.
He made profound statements concerning sūtra and mantra
With the aid of his special deity and through his own discerning insight,
2
And special qualities are clearly evident in his excellent explanations.
It is said that the Sakya and Gelug have a special command of teaching,
While the Kagyü and Nyingma have a special command of practice.
3
But, in fact, the scholars of former times put it like this:
The Nyingma opened the way to the teachings in the Land of Snows.
The Kadam became the source of millions of holders of the teachings.
The Sakyapas are the ones to spread the teachings in their entirety.
The Kagyü are unrivalled in the direct path11 of practice.
Tsongkhapa was sun-like in his brilliant conveyance of fine explanations.
Jonang and Zhalu were sovereigns of the profound and vast tantra collection.
This account matches how things are in reality.
The Path
For all the systems of teachings described above,
The essence of the path is to generate renunciation.
For this, the basis is to maintain ethical discipline
According to any of the seven sets of pratimokṣa vows
And to contemplate the rarity of the freedoms and advantages.
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Death and Impermanence
Yet this situation will not last long, as death comes quickly.
There's no telling when the old, young or middle-aged will die,
For many circumstances lead to death, while few sustain life.
Reflect repeatedly on the passage of time, changing of the seasons,
And inconstancy of rivalries and friendships, and recollect impermanence.
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The Trials of Saṃsāra
Through karmic acts we wander through the six classes of beings,
Which consist of the three lower and three upper realms.
To put it simply, there is nothing, not even so much as an atom,
Throughout the desire, form and formless realms that is without fault.15
Beings everywhere are tormented by the suffering of suffering,
Suffering of change and all-pervasive suffering of conditioning,
And each of the six classes has its own particular tribulations.
Non-virtue produces suffering as its effect;
Tainted virtue leads to rebirth in the higher realms;
And undeviating acts of mundane meditative absorption
Cast one into corresponding dhyāna and formless realms.
But, as the source of saṃsāric existence has not yet been discarded,
Craving and attachment propel one into existence, and one falls back into saṃsāra.
To stay in these states of cyclic existence, therefore,
Is akin to remaining in a pit of flames or a nest of vipers.
Do not hanker after the pleasures of saṃsāra,
But develop the determination to escape conditioned being.
Following a Teacher
The basis for setting out on the path to liberation
Is to follow and rely upon a spiritual teacher—
Subdued through study, ethical, steeped in bodhicitta,
With a pure and genuine view, immensely caring,
Capable of cutting through projections, empowered, and upholding the samayas.
Follow such a guru and carry out his or her every command.
Developing faith and devotion brings positive qualities,
So it is crucial that you follow an excellent guru.
The teacher's instructions are like the nectar of immortality:
Do not allow whatever you receive to go to waste,
But put it all into practice, reflect on it and meditate.
Hearing alone is not sufficient to bring benefit,
Just as thirst cannot be quenched without drinking.
So remain in solitary retreat upon a mountainside.
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Taking Refuge
The foundation of the path is taking refuge.
This is the basis of, and support for, all vows;
It is what separates Buddhists from non-Buddhist outsiders,
And affords protection to all gods and human beings.16
It is what brings all that is positive in this life and beyond.
Entrust yourself entirely to the Buddha as teacher,
Sacred Dharma as protection, and Saṅgha as guides.
Do not simply mouth the words, but feel genuine trust,
And guard the precepts of refuge effectively.
Generating Bodhicitta
The main practice of the Mahāyāna path is bodhicitta—
Like butter that emerges when sacred Dharma milk is churned.
Without it, any practice of sūtra or mantra which we may do
Will be devoid of essence, like the stalk of a plantain.
In addition, beings who exist throughout the whole of space
Have, over the course of our countless lives without beginning,
Been our very own parents innumerable times
And brought us benefit that is truly unimaginable.
Cultivate love, therefore, and great compassion
For all beings—friends, enemies and those in-between.
Fully dedicate your body, speech and mind to virtue,
Cultivate the excellent intention of benefitting others,
And continually recite extraordinarily noble aspirations.
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Śamatha Meditation
In order to strive for accumulation and purification like this
And to bring about the genuine view within the mind,
First seek calm abiding (śamatha) through the nine stages,18
Overcoming the five faults19 and applying the eight remedies.20
And when there is single-pointed focus with and without support,
Absorption—blissful, clear, and non-conceptual—will arise.
This itself serves merely to suppress mental afflictions.
Vipaśyanā Meditation
Then, because ascertaining the view with insight (vipaśyanā)
Eradicates the ignorance of clinging to a self,
Which is at the root of beginningless existence,
You should meditate upon emptiness with certainty.
In order to overcome innate clinging to a self,
Which is the thought of "I am" that arises
Based on the assembly of the five aggregates,
It is crucial to apply precise and thorough analysis.
Investigate using the logical reasoning of the Middle Way
Whether self and aggregates are identical or distinct, and so on.
When you thus determine the absence of an individual self,
Consider the identity of perceiving and perceived phenomena,
By mentally dissecting the aggregates further into their component parts.
And, gaining conviction in the meaning of identitylessness,
Determine how all the phenomena of existence and quiescence
Are by nature unborn.
Understand the profound logic of dependent origination—
How everything originates in perfect equality,
And how, out a state of unborn emptiness,
Visible and audible phenomena arise naturally, without obstruction.
When you gain understanding and experience
Of how emptiness is not separate from dependent origination,
Then, untainted by any grasping, settle for as long as you can
In the space of the Middle Way, free from conceptual elaboration.
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Through the view beyond all concepts such as the eight extremes,21
The meditation of settling in accordance with this undistractedly,
And the action of the excellent noble path of the bohisattvas,
We achieve the results of the five paths and ten stages,
Gain the great awakening that is situated in neither existence nor quiescence,
And spontaneously accomplish our own and others' welfare.
Nonsectarianism
Alas! Nowadays, during this final stage of the five degenerations,
Many holders of the teachings have passed into the absolute sphere,
And the world is filled with people like me who spout nonsense.
The asuras are raucous in their laughter,
And beneficent deities have scattered and fled.
Now that the Buddha's teachings resemble nothing more than a painted lamp,
May those with great compassion pay heed.
All those who cherish the teachings of the Buddha
Should exert themselves in teaching and practising the transmitted and realized
Dharma, and in renunciation, study and activity.
Never should they neglect the ten dharmic activities,22
And they must endeavour to pray, make offerings and accumulate merit.
Saṅghas must be harmonious and avoid sectarian bickering.
Do not be partial or divisive, and do not promote conflict in the teachings.
Avoid all denigration of the Dharma.
Recognise that all the various facets of the teachings, as extensive as the ocean,
Are there to discipline one's own mind, and practise them accordingly.
With body, speech and mind calm, disciplined and relaxed,
Always maintain mindfulness, vigilance and conscientiousness.
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If householders make offerings to the Three Jewels
And, with a wish to benefit, exert themselves in virtue,
This will bring about merit in this and all future lives.
| Translated by Adam Pearcey, 2020, with the generous support of the Khyentse Foundation and
Terton Sogyal Trust.
Bibliography
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bSam 'phel – 'Jam dbyangs chos kyi blo gros. Theg pa mtha' dag gi snying po mdo
tsam brjod pa chos kyi sgo 'byed. TBRC W1KG3866. 1 vols. [s.l.]: [bsam 'phel nor bu],
[n.d.].
Secondary Sources
Aris, Michael. 1977. “Jamyang Khyentse’s Brief Discourse on the Essence of All the
Ways: A Work of the Ris-med Movement” in Kailash, 5 no. 3. pp. 205–228
1. gsung rab yan lag bcu gnyis. 1) sūtras; 2) poetic summaries (geya); 3)
prophecies (vyākaraṇa); 4) discourses in verse (gāthā); 5) intentional
statements (udāna); 6) contextual accounts (nidāna); 7) testimonies of
realization (avadāna); 8) historical accounts (itivṛttaka); 9) accounts of former
lives (jātaka); 10) detailed explanations (vaipulya); 11) wondrous discourses
(abidhutadharma); and 12) definitive explanations (upadeśa). ↩
3. 'dzam gling rgyan drug. Sometimes these are listed as: Nāgārjuna, Āryadeva,
Asaṅga, Vasubandhu, Dignāga and Dharmakīrti. ↩
4. rmad byung slob dpon. This usually refers to the two masters Śāntideva and
Candragomin. ↩
5. Following gSung 'bum. This line is omitted in and therefore not included in
other translations, which were all based on the earlier, bSam 'phel edition. The
reference is to the eighteen major Mahāyoga tantras included within the
Ancient Tantra Collection (rnying ma rgyud 'bum). ↩
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6. i.e., Potowa Rinchen Sal (1027/31–1105), Chengawa Tsultrim Bar (1033/8–1103)
and Puchungwa Zhönnu Gyaltsen (1031–1106). ↩
8. The five founding fathers of the Sakya School were: Sachen Kunga Nyingpo
(1092–1158), Sönam Tsemo (1142–1182), Drakpa Gyaltsen (1147–1216), Sakya
Paṇḍita Kunga Gyaltsen (1182–1251) and Chögyal Pakpa Lodrö Gyaltsen
(1235–1280). ↩
9. rDo rje gdan pa. This apparently refers to the 11th- century Indian master, also
known as Amoghavajra and the Later Vajrāsana, who was a teacher of Bari
Lotsāwa Rinchen Drak (1040–1112). ↩
12. i.e., they are valid in direct perception, through inference, and through
scriptural authority. ↩
13. bSam 'phel 5a: rnyed par dka' ba'i tshul la legs par bsam/ This line is missing in
gSung 'bum edition. ↩
14. Following bSam 'phel: 'phen pa yin. gSung 'bum: 'phen pa yi. ↩
15. Following gSung 'bum: skyon med. bSam 'phel: rkyen med. ↩
16. Folllowing bSam 'phel: kun gyi bsrungs. gSung 'bum: kun gyis blangs. ↩
17. i.e., the four powers of repentance, antidotal action, restraint and support. ↩
18. sems gnas pa'i thabs dgu: 1) settling the mind, 2) regularly settling, 3)
continually settling, 4) fully settling, 5) taming, 6) pacifying, 7) thoroughly
pacifying, 8) focusing one-pointedly, and 9) settling in equanimity. ↩
19. 1) laziness, 2) forgetting the object of focus, 3) dullness and agitation, 4) not
applying the antidote due to being too relaxed, and 5) applying the antidote
again and again because one is too tightly focused and not content simply to
rest. ↩
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21. The eight extremes of conceptual elaboration are the views that phenomena 1)
cease, 2) arise, 3) are non-existent, 4) are permanent, 5) come, 6) depart, 7) are
multiple and 8) are singular. ↩
22. i.e., copying texts, making offerings, giving charity, studying, reading,
memorizing, explaining, reciting aloud, contemplating, and meditating. ↩
23. This is a reference to a king who was a contemporary of Buddha Kāśyapa and
had a number of prophetic dreams. During one of these he saw a cloth torn
into eighteen pieces, which was interpreted as a prophecy that Buddha
Śākyamuni's disciples would form eighteen different schools. ↩
24. Following bSam 'phel: phyi nas. gSung 'bum: phyi nang. ↩
25. This was the Indian diplomat Apa Pant or Apasaheb Balasaheb Pant (1912–
1992). ↩
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