The Collected Works of Chögyam Trungpa: Volume 4 (6 page)

Discursive thoughts are dharmakāya, but I don’t realize this.

This is the unfabricated, innate state, but I cannot keep to this.

Naturalness is things as they really are, but I have no conviction in this.

Guru, think of me; look upon me quickly with compassion.

Grant your blessings so that my mind will be spontaneously liberated.

Death is certain to come, but I am unable to take this to heart.

The holy dharma truly benefits, but I am unable to practice it properly.

Karma and its result are certainly true, but I do not properly discriminate what to accept or reject.

Mindfulness and awareness are certainly necessary, but not stabilizing them, I am swept away by distractions.

Guru, think of me; look upon me quickly with compassion.

Grant your blessings to enable me to persevere in practice.

In the beginning I had no other thought but dharma.

But in the end what I have achieved will cause me to go to the lower realms of saṃsāra.

The harvest of freedom is destroyed by an unvirtuous frost.

Stubborn people like me have achieved bad consequences.

Guru, think of me; look upon me quickly with compassion.

Grant your blessings so that I will completely accomplish the holy dharma.

Grant your blessings so that I give birth to deep sadness.

Grant your blessings so that I maintain undistracted mindfulness.

Because of my former evil actions, I was born at the end of the dark age.

All that I have previously done has caused me suffering.

Because of evil friends, I am darkened by the shadow of evil deeds.

My dharma practice has been sidetracked by my meaningless chatter.

Guru, think of me; look upon me quickly with compassion.

Grant your blessings so that I completely accomplish the holy dharma.

Grant your blessings so that I give birth to deep sadness.

Grant your blessings so that my worthless schemes are curtailed.

Grant your blessings so that I take to heart the certainty of death.

Grant your blessings so that conviction in karma arises in me.

Grant your blessings so that the path is free from obstacles.

Grant your blessings so that I am able to exert myself in practice.

Grant your blessings so that unfortunate circumstances are brought to the path.

Grant your blessings so that I continually apply my antidotes.

Grant your blessings so that genuine devotion arises in me.

Grant your blessings so that I glimpse the natural state.

Grant your blessings so that insight is awakened in my heart.

Grant your blessings so that I uproot confusion.

Grant your blessings so that I attain buddhahood in one lifetime.

Precious guru, I supplicate you.

Kind lord of the dharma, I cry to you with longing.

I am an unworthy person who relies on no one but you.

Grant your blessings so that my mind mixes inseparably with yours.

I was first requested by some devoted monks to compose a supplication, but I was delayed in fulfilling their request. Recently, Samdrup Drönma, a lady practitioner of noble family, and Deva Rakṣita earnestly urged me. Therefore, I, Lodrö Thaye, who merely hold the appearance of a guru in this dark age, wrote this at the great meditation center, Dzongshö Deshek Düpa.
¹⁶
May virtue increase.

Translated by the Nālandā Translation Committee under the direction of the Vidyādhara the Venerable Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche
, ©
1981 by Diana J. Mukpo and published by Shambhala Publications, Inc. Used with the permission of the Nālandā Translation Committee, 1619 Edward Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3H 3H9
.

N
OTES

1
. Cāmara is one of the two islands next to the southern continent of Jambudvīpa. On this island, Padmākara (Padmasambhava) is said to now reside in a palace on the Copper Colored Mountain.

2
. Yeshe Tsogyal is one of the two chief consorts of Padmākara (Padmasambhava), the other being Mandaravā. She is the author of a biography of Padmasambhava (
Padma thang yig
).

3
. The kama lineage is the unbroken oral tradition that has been passed down from Vajradhara Buddha to one’s present root guru. The terma lineage consists of sacred objects and teachings that were hidden by Padmākara and other teachers until the time was right for their unveiling. Then, they would be discovered and promulgated by teachers known as tertöns (“terma discoverers”).

4
. This is the name that was conferred on the famous Nyingma teacher, Longchen Rabjam (1308–1364), by Padmākara in a vision.

5
. These four stages (snang bzhi) are: revelation of dharmatā, increasing experience, maturation of insight, and exhausting dharmatā.

6
. Atīśa’s (982–1054) spiritual son here is Dromtön (1004–1063), his main Tibetan disciple and the founder of the Kadampa school.

7
. These are five great and early teachers in the Sakya lineage. They are Künga Nyingpo (1092–1158), Sönam Tsemo (1142–1182), Trakpa Gyaltsen (1147–1216), Sakya Paṇḍita (1182–1251), and Phakpa (1235–1280).

8
. The Shangpa Kagyü is a sect of the Kagyü lineage founded by Barapa Gyaltsen Palzang (1310–1391). However, it traces its origin back to Shang Khyungpo Naljorpa (990–1139?), a follower of Bön who converted to Buddhism. He had many Indian gurus, one of them being Niguma, Nāropa’s wife and disciple.

9
. Thangtong Gyalpo (1385–1464) is famed throughout Tibet as a great siddha and builder of iron bridges.

10
. Phadampa Sanggye (died 1117) is a South Indian teacher who brought the practices of shije (pacifying) and chö (cutting) to Tibet. His main disciple and consort was the Tibetan woman, Machik Lapkyi Drönma (1055–1149), who spread the lineage of the chö teachings in Tibet.

11
. Tölpopa Sherap Gyaltsen (1292–1361) is the founder of the Jonangpa school, which mainly emphasized the
Kālachakra Tantra
and the teaching of tathāgatagarbha. The shen tong (gzhan stong, empty of other) view of mādhyamika that the Jonangpa evolved was quite controversial among the mainstream adherents of the rang tong (rang stong, empty of self) view; however, this shen tong view was a powerful principle for the Rime thought in general and in particular for Jamgön Kongtrül.

12
. Tāranātha (born 1575) is one of the most famous teachers of the Jonangpa school, having written a well-known history of Buddhism in India as well as several important texts on the
Kālachakra
.

13
. Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo (1820–1892) is one of the leaders of the nineteenth-century Rime movement in Tibet. He was the root guru of Jamgön Kongtrül Lodrö Thaye. Ösel Trülpe Dorje and Padma Do Njak Lingpa are the names given to him from a prophecy of Thangtong Gyalpo (see following two stanzas).

14
. This image is used in ati teachings to describe the nature of primordial enlightenment. The youthful kāya is enlightenment which is always present. The vase contains all dharmas and gives rise to all phenomena.

15
. The next four names all belong to the author of this text, Jamgön Kongtrül Lodrö Thaye. The first name he received when he took the vinaya vows, the second when he took the bodhisattva vow, and the third when he received abhiṣeka—formally becoming a student of the vajrayāna. The last name was given to him when he was formally recognized as a tertön, a discoverer of terma.

The reason Jamgön Kongtrül includes himself in the guru supplication is that he composed this text for his disciples’ practice at their request.

16
. This meditation center is northeast of Shigatse, located at Zambulung in upper Shang. Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo also resided here at one time and had an important vision of the eight manifestations of Padmākara.

Lodrö Thaye, Jamgön Kongtrül I (1813–1899). Often referred to as Jamgön Kongtrül the Great, Lodrö Thaye was a leader of the Ri-me movement (see chapter 10). This painting is from the lineage thangkas at Rumtek Monastery in Sikkim, India
.

P
HOTO USED BY THE GRACIOUS PERMISSION OF
H
IS
H
OLINESS THE
S
IXTEENTH
G
YALWA
K
ARMAPA
, R
ANGJUNG
R
IKPE
D
ORJE
.

ONE

The Tantric Practitioner

T
HE TANTRIC TEACHINGS
of Buddhism are extremely sacred and, in some sense, inaccessible. Tantric practitioners of the past have put tremendous energy and effort into the study of tantra. Now we are bringing tantra to North America, which is a landmark in the history of Buddhism. So we cannot afford to make our own studies into supermarket merchandise.

A tantric revolution took place in India many centuries ago. The wisdom of that tradition has been handed down orally from generation to generation by the great mahasiddhas, or tantric masters. Therefore, tantra is known as the ear-whispered, or secret, lineage. However, the notion of secrecy does not imply that tantra is like a foreign language. It is not as though our parents speak two languages, but they only teach us English so that they can use Chinese or Yiddish when they want to keep a secret from us. Rather, tantra introduces us to the actuality of the phenomenal world. It is one of the most advanced, sharp, and extraordinary perceptions that has ever developed. It is unusual and eccentric; it is powerful, magical, and outrageous; but it is also extremely simple.

In order to understand the phenomenon of tantra, or tantric consciousness, we should be quite clear that we are not talking about tantra as a vague spiritual process. Tantra, or vajrayana Buddhism, is extremely precise, and it is unique. We cannot afford to jumble the vajrayana into a spiritual or philosophical stew. Instead, we should discuss tantra technically, spiritually, and personally—in a very exact sense—and we should discuss what the uniqueness of the tantric tradition has to offer to sentient beings.

In this book we will examine tantra theoretically. We are viewing the area that we might arrive at, at some point in the future. So it is a somewhat hypothetical situation, but at the same time we still could develop an experiential connection with it. The future of Buddhism depends on continuing to discover what the Buddha experienced and on sharing such experience with others. So there is a need to identify ourselves personally with tantric experience, rather than regarding tantra as one more spiritual trip.

Fundamentally, the vajrayana comes out of a complete understanding and comprehension of both hinayana and mahayana Buddhism. The development of the three yanas—hinayana, mahayana, and vajrayana—is one continuous process. In fact, the word
tantra
, or
gyü
(
rgyud
) in Tibetan, means “continuity.” There is a continuous thread running through the Buddhist path, which is our personal experience and our commitment to the Buddhist teachings. Usually we think of a thread as starting somewhere. But according to the Buddhist teachings, the thread has no beginning, and therefore there is continuity. In fact, such a thread does not even exist, but at the same time, it is continuous.