Category: Mahabodhi Mission

Bardo Tödröl Chenmo (Tibetan: bar do thos grol chen mo): ‘The ‘Great Liberation through Hearing an Elucidation of the Intermediate State of Reality’ (i.e. ‘The Tibetan Book of the Dead‘) an extract from the ‘Peaceful and Wrathful Deities: The Profound Teaching on Natural Liberation through Recognition of the Primordial State. ‘

“It is the teaching whereby liberation can be attained without meditation… whereby liberation can be won by hearing.”

May all find refuge on the path of liberation.

Prologue

“The ‘Great Liberation through Hearing’, “the method that liberates yogis of middling capacity during intermediate states…”

Is of three parts:

I. Premise
II. Instructions
III. Conclusion

I. Premise

“Methods by which beings of physical body can achieve liberation… [to be] repeatedly read during the intermediate states… with correct pronunciation and clear dictation.”

II. Instructions

• Offerings to Three Supreme Jewels
• Invocations, Root Verses read aloud
• Bardo Thodo Instructions read aloud

Bardo Thodo “Instructions are of three parts:

Introduction to the…

1. Clear Light
2. Intermediate State of Reality
3. Intermediate State of Rebirth

1. Introduction to the Clear Light in the Intermediate State of the Moment of Death

“Attaining the unborn enlightened dimension of the dharmakāya.”

Is of two parts:

1. 1. Introduction to the Clear Light of the Base
      1. “Recognize the brilliant essence of your own awareness as buddha nature”
   2. Introduction to the Clear Light of the Path
      1. Focus intently on your meditation deity/Mahakarunika

2. Introduction to Recognizing the Intermediate State of Reality

“Recognize all that appears as pure awareness, naturally manifesting…”

The Vision of the Peaceful Deities in the Intermediate State of Reality…

Wherein Manifests:

• First Day: Blue light of Space, wisdom of expansive reality. From central Pervasive Sphere, White Vairocana on Lion Throne with vajra and consort Ākāsadhātvìśvari.
• Second Day: White light of Water, mirrorlike wisdom. From eastern Perfect Joy realm, Blue Aksobhya-Vajrasattva on Elephant Throne with vajra and consort Buddhalocaña. Retinue, four within expanse of rainbow light.
  
• Third Day: Yellow light of Earth, equanimous wisdom. From southern Glorious Śrimat, Yellow Ratnasambhava on Horse Throne with jewel and consort Māmaki. Retinue, four within expanse of rainbow light.
  
• Fourth Day: Red light of Fire, wisdom of discrimination. From western Blissful Sukhāvatī, Red Amitābha on Peacock Throne with lotus flower and consort Pāndaravāsin. Retinue, four within expanse of rainbow light.
• Fifth Day: Green light of Air, action-accomplishing wisdom, from northern Perfect and Complete Enlightened Activities realm  Green Amoghasiddhi on Civamcivaka Bird Throne with double vajra and consort Samayatāra. Retinue, four within expanse of rainbow light.
• Sixth Day: All Five Enlightened Families with retinues. Union of four wisdoms vision. Six dim lights of six realms of Samsara, “do not be enticed by them”: God (pallid white); Hell (murky); Human (pallid blue) Hungry Ghost (pallid yellow); Demigod (dim red); Animal (pallid green). The Wrathful Gatekeepers. The six nirmanakaya sages. Samanthabhdra and Samanthabhdri. “Recognize… your own pure vision. “
• Seventh Day: Light of five colors, purity of your tendencies in expansive reality and innate wisdom. Assembly of divine awareness holders from Pure Realm of the Skyfarers with attendant dakas and dākinīs, “to lead you with great love on the path of the radiant light of innate wisdom.”

The Vision of the Wrathful Deities in the Intermediate State of Reality…

Wherein  “the blazing assembly of the fifty-eight wrathful [blood-drinking] herukas, who are transformations of the previous peaceful deities” appear. “Do not be afraid. Do not be terrified. Do not become bewildered. Recognize them [as your own meditation deity] and do not be distracted [dissolve inseparably into them, and thereby become enlightened].”

Wherein Manifests:

• Eighth Day: From within your own mind, blackish-brown in color Great Glorious Buddha Heruka with consort Buddhakroddhishvari
  
• Ninth Day: From the east, blackish-blue in color Vajra Heruka with consort Vajrakrodhishvari
  
• Tenth Day: From the south,  blackish-yellow in color Ratna Heruka with consort Ratnakrodhishvari
  
• Eleventh Day: From the west, blackish-red in color Padma Heruka with consort Padmakrodhishvari
  
• Twelfth Day: From the north, blackish-green in color Karma Heruka with consort Karmakrodhishvari
  
• Thereafter: From within the mind, the eight wrathful female gaurī (symbols of the eight consciousnesses) will arise : white Gauri; yellow Cauri; red Pramohā; black Vetālī; reddish-yellow Pukkasī; blackish-green Ghasmarī; pale yellow Candālī; blackish-blue Samašāni. And the eight wrathful female piśācī (symbols of the eight objects of consciousnesses), with different animal heads, will arise: lion-head Simhamukhī; tiger-headed Vayāghrīmukhī; fox-headed Śrgālamukhī; wolf-headed Shvānamukhī; vulture-headed Grdhramukhī; kangka bird-headed Kankamukhī; crow-headed Kākamukhī; owl-headed Ulūkamukhī. Four female gatekeepers. Twenty-eight īśvarī (manifestations of the natural energy of your own pure awareness).  Six yoginīs of the east, six yoginīs of the south, six yoginīs of the west, six yoginīs of the north, four yoginī gatekeepers. Through energy of emptiness, dharmakāya, manifested the Peaceful Deities. Through energy of clarity, sambogakāya, manifested the Wrathful Deities. Mahakala. Yama. 

Conclusion of the Introduction to the Intermediate State of the Moment of Death and the Intermediate State of Reality

“It is extremely important to train the mind in the ‘Great Liberation Through Hearing’ while alive… It should be read aloud… to meet this teaching is a great fortune. Thus cherish it greatly.”

3. Introduction to the Intermediate State of Rebirth

“The intermediate state of reality arose within you, you did not recognize it, so you are compelled to wander here… recognize and sustain without distraction your own essential nature.”

Is of three parts:

1. Introduction to the Mental Body
   • “Your awareness without physical support, is buffeted by currents of vital energy of past actions”
   • “Do not be afraid. This is your own illusory vision”
   • “Be free of attachment and grasping”
   • “Renounce yearning for a body, remain in a state of undistracted nonaction”
   • “Dwell in contemplation of The Great Symbol”
2. Obstructing Womb Entrances
   • Maintain a strong resolve
   • Unite propensities of past good deeds
   • Recall methods of reversal
   • Steadfastness and pure vision are vital
   • Renounce jealousy, meditate on your spiritual teacher and consort
3. Choosing a Womb Entrance
   • It is crucial to keep in mind the meaning of emptiness, the essence of the Great Symbol
   • Meditate on the Great Compassionate One, Mahakarunika (an epithet of Avalokiteśvara, the bodhisattva of compassion)
   • “For the benefit of all beings, I shall be born a universal monarch…”
   • Take refuge in the Three Precious Jewels. Invoke The Great Compassionate One. Give up all attachment
   • Enter the blue light of the human realm, the white light of the  god realm, the celestial palaces.

III. Conclusion

Wherein the “instruction[s] on the intermediate state that liberates mortal beings, the profound pure essence titled ‘Great Liberation through Hearing in the Intermediate States,'” is completed. “May it benefit the teaching and all sentient beings.”

Samaya! gya gya gya!

Padmasambhava; Lingpa, Karma. The Tibetan Book of the Dead . North Atlantic Books.

Samantabhadra. (T. Kun tu bzang po). The Sanskrit name of both an important bodhisattva in Indian and East Asian Buddhism and of an important buddha in Tibetan Buddhism… As a buddha, Samantabhadra is the primordial buddha (ĀDIBUDDHA) according to the RNYING MA sect of Tibetan Buddhism. He is depicted naked, blue, and in sexual union with his consort Samantabhadrī. He is embodiment of the original purity of all phenomena of SAṂSĀRA and NIRVĀṆA. Called the “primordial basis” (ye gzhi), he is regarded as the eternal union of awareness (RIG PA) and emptiness (ŚŪNYATĀ), of emptiness and appearance, and of the nature of the mind and compassion. As such he is the wellspring of the ATIYOGA teachings.

rig pa. The standard Tibetan translation of the Sanskrit term VIDYĀ, or “knowledge.” The Tibetan term, however, has a special meaning in the ATIYOGA and RDZOGS CHEN traditions of the RNYING MA sect of Tibetan Buddhism, where it refers to the most profound form of consciousness. Some modern translators of Tibetan texts into European languages consider the term too profound to be rendered into a foreign language, while others translate it as “awareness,” “pure awareness,” or “mind.” Unlike the “mind of clear light” (PRABHĀSVARACITTA; ’od gsal gyi sems) as described in other tantric systems, rig pa is not said to be accessible only in extraordinary states, such as death and sexual union; instead, it is fully present, although generally unrecognized, in each moment of sensory experience. Rig pa is described as the primordial basis, characterized with qualities such as presence, spontaneity, luminosity, original purity, unobstructed freedom, expanse, clarity, self-liberation, openness, effortlessness, and intrinsic awareness. It is not accessible through conceptual elaboration or logical analysis. Rather, rig pa is an eternally pure state free from the dualism of subject and object, infinite and complete from the beginning. It is regarded as the ground or the basis of both SAṂSĀRA and NIRVĀṆA, with the phenomena of the world being its reflection; all thoughts and all objects of knowledge are said to arise from rig pa and dissolve into rig pa. The ordinary mind believes that its own creations are real, forgetting its true nature of original purity. For the mind willfully to seek to liberate itself is both inappropriate and futile because rig pa is already self-liberated. Rig pa therefore is also the path, and its exponents teach practices that instruct the student how to distinguish rig pa from ordinary mental states. These practices include a variety of techniques designed to eliminate karmic obstacles (KARMĀVARAṆA), at which point the presence of rig pa in ordinary experience is introduced, allowing the mind to eliminate all thoughts and experiences itself, thereby recognizing its true nature. Rig pa is thus also the goal of the path, the fundamental state that is free from obscuration.

Guhyagarbhatantra. (Tibetan: Gsang ba’i snying po’i rgyud). In Sanskrit, the “Secret Essence Tantra,” a central text of the RNYING MA sect of Tibetan Buddhism and the RDZOGS CHEN (i.e. Dzogchen) tradition. The tantra is regarded as an expression of the enlightened intention of the primordial DHARMAKĀYA, the buddha SAMANTABHADRA. It is a work of Indic origin, appearing around mid-eighth century, probably after the GUHYASAMĀJATANTRA. It is unclear whether the text was called Guhyagarbha at the time of its composition or whether that title was added later. In DUNHUANG documents, it is usually referred to as the Māyājālatantra. By the time of a late tenth-century manuscript, it is called the Guhyagarbhatantra. The later Tibetan tradition identifies the Guhyagarbha as the root tantra of the MAHĀYOGA class, as well as the main tantra of the MĀYĀJĀLA cycle of tantras, a group of eighteen mahāyoga tantras. The Guhyagarbha was particularly influential in late eighth- and early ninth-century Tibet, when it was a principal inspiration for the early rdzogs chen movement. Its Māyājāla MAṆḌALA of one hundred deities (forty-two peaceful and fifty-eight wrathful) was widely employed…

Buswell Jr., Robert E.; Donald S., Jr. Lopez. The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. Princeton University Press.

Rely not merely on the person, but on the words

Rely not merely on the words, but on their meaning

Rely not merely on provisional meaning, but on definitive meaning

Rely not merely on intellectual understanding, but on direct experience

Set forth in the Catuhpratisarana sutra

---

ngo rang thog tu’phrad
thag gcig thog tu bead 
bdengs grol thog tu’cha’

Directly discover your state
Do not remain  in doubt
Gain confidence in self-liberation 

-Garab Dorje 

༄༅། །མཁས་པ་ཤྲཱི་རྒྱལ་པོའི་ཁྱད་ཆོས་བཞུགས་སོ། །
The Special Teaching of the Wise and Glorious King
by Patrul Rinpoche
 
བླ་མ་ལ་ཕྱག་འཚལ་ལོ། །
lama la chaktsal lo
Homage to the master!

ལྟ་བ་ཀློང་ཆེན་རབ་འབྱམས་ཡིན། །
tawa longchen rabjam yin
The view is Longchen Rabjam: infinite, vast expanse.

སྒོམ་པ་མཁྱེན་བརྩེའི་འོད་ཟེར་ཡིན། །
gompa khyentsé özer yin
Meditation is Khyentse Özer: rays of wisdom and love.

སྤྱོད་པ་རྒྱལ་བའི་མྱུ་གུ་ཡིན། །
chöpa gyalwé nyugu yin
Action is Gyalwé Nyugu, that of the bodhisattvas.

དེ་ལྟར་ཉམས་སུ་ལེན་པ་ལ། །
detar nyam su lenpa la
One who practises in such a way,

ཚེ་གཅིག་སངས་རྒྱས་ལ་ཐང་མེད། །
tsé chik sangye la tangmé
May well attain enlightenment in this very life.

མིན་ཀྱང་བློ་བདེ་ཨ་ལ་ལ། །
min kyang lo dé a la la
And even if not, what happiness! What joy! A la la!

1. Introducing directly the face of rigpa in itself

ལྟ་བ་ཀློང་ཆེན་རབ་འབྱམས་ནི། །
tawa longchen rabjam ni
As for the view, Longchen Rabjam,

ཚིག་གསུམ་དོན་གྱི་གནད་དུ་བརྡེག །
tsik sum dön gyi né du dek
Three statements strike the vital point.

དང་པོ་རང་སེམས་ལྷོད་དེ་བཞག །
dangpo rangsem lhödé zhak
First, relax and release your mind,

མི་སྤྲོ་མི་བསྡུ་རྣམ་རྟོག་མེད། །
mi tro mi du namtok mé
Neither scattered, nor concentrated, without thoughts.

ངང་ལ་ཕྱམ་གནས་ལྷོད་དེའི་ངང༌། །
ngang la cham né lhödé ngang
While resting in this even state, at ease,

ཐོལ་བྱུང་བློ་རྡེག་ཕཊ་ཅིག་རྒྱབ། །
toljung lo dek pé chik gyab
Suddenly let out a mind-shattering ‘phat!’,

དྲག་ལ་ངར་ཐུང་ཨེ་མ་ཧོ། །
drak la ngar tung emaho
Fierce, forceful and abrupt. Amazing!

ཅི་ཡང་མ་ཡིན་ཧད་དེ་བ། །
chiyang mayin hé dewa
There is nothing there: transfixed in wonder,

ཧད་དེ་བ་ལ་ཟང་ཐལ་ལེ། །
hé dewa la zangtal lé
Struck by wonder, and yet all is transparent and clear.

ཟང་མ་ཐལ་བྱུང་བརྗོད་དུ་མེད། །
zangma tal jung jö du mé
Fresh, pure and sudden, so beyond description:

ཆོས་སྐུའི་རིག་པ་ངོས་ཟུངས་ཤིག །
chökü rigpa ngö zung shik
Recognize this as the pure awareness of dharmakāya.

ངོ་རང་ཐོག་ཏུ་སྤྲད་པ་སྟེ་གནད་དང་པོའོ། །
ngo rang tok tu trepa té né dangpo o
The first vital point is:  introducing directly the face of rigpa in itself.

2. Deciding upon one thing, and one thing only

དེ་ནས་འཕྲོའམ་གནས་ཀྱང་རུང༌། །
dené tro’am né kyang rung
Then, whether in a state of movement or stillness,

ཁྲོའམ་ཆགས་སམ་སྐྱིད་དམ་སྡུག །
tro’am chak sam kyi dam duk
Of anger or attachment, happiness or sorrow,

དུས་དང་གནས་སྐབས་ཐམས་ཅད་དུ། །
dü dang nekab tamché du
All the time, in any situation,

ངོ་ཤེས་ཆོས་སྐུ་ངོས་བཟུང་ལ། །
ngoshé chöku ngö zung la
Recognize that dharmakāya you recognized before,

སྔར་འདྲིས་འོད་གསལ་མ་བུ་སྤྲད། །
ngar dri ösal ma bu tré
And mother and child clear light, already acquainted, will reunite.

བརྗོད་མེད་རིག་ཆའི་ངང་ལ་བཞག །
jömé rikché ngang la zhak
Rest in the aspect of awareness, beyond all description.

གནས་བདེ་གསལ་འཕྲོ་ཡང་ཡང་བཤིག །
né dé sal tro yang yang shik
Stillness and bliss, clarity and thinking: disrupt them, again and again,

ཐབས་ཤེས་ཡི་གེ་གློ་བུར་འབེབས། །
tabshé yigé lobur beb
Suddenly striking with the syllable of skilful means and wisdom.

མཉམ་གཞག་རྗེས་ཐོབ་ཐ་དད་མེད། །
nyam zhak jetob tadé mé
With no difference between meditation and post-meditation,

ཐུན་དང་ཐུན་མཚམས་དབྱེ་བ་མེད། །
tün dang tüntsam yewa mé
No division between sessions and breaks,

དབྱེར་མེད་ངང་དུ་རྒྱུན་དུ་གནས། །
yermé ngang du gyündu né
Always remain in this indivisible state.

འོན་ཀྱང་བརྟན་པ་མ་ཐོབ་པར། །
önkyang tenpa matobpar
But, until stability is attained,

འདུ་འཛི་སྤངས་ནས་སྒོམ་པ་གཅེས། །
dudzi pang né gompa ché
It is vital to meditate, away from all distractions and busyness,

མཉམ་གཞག་ཐུན་དུ་བཅད་ལ་བྱ། །
nyam zhak tün du ché laja
Dividing the practice into proper meditation sessions.

དུས་དང་གནས་སྐབས་ཐམས་ཅད་དུ། །
dü dang nekab tamché du
All the time, in any situation,

ཆོས་སྐུ་གཅིག་པོའི་ཡོ་ལངས་བསྐྱང༌། །
chöku chikpö yolang kyang
Abide by the flow of what is just dharmakāya.

དེ་ལས་གཞན་མེད་ཁོ་ཐག་བཅད། །
dé lé zhenmé kho takché
Decide with absolute conviction that there is nothing other than this—

ཐག་གཅིག་ཐོག་ཏུ་བཅད་པ་སྟེ་གནད་པ་གཉིས་པའོ། །
tak chik tok tu chepa té nepa nyipa o
The second vital point is: deciding upon one thing, and one thing only.

3.Confidence directly in the liberation of rising thoughts

དེ་ཚེ་ཆགས་སྡང་དགའ་སྡུག་དང༌། །
detsé chakdang ga duk dang
At that point, whether attachment or aversion, happiness or sorrow—

གློ་བུར་རྣམ་རྟོག་མ་ལུས་པ། །
lobur namtok malüpa
All momentary thoughts, each and every one,

ངོ་ཤེས་ངང་ལ་རྗེས་མཐུད་མེད། །
ngoshé ngang la jetü mé
Upon recognition, leave not a trace behind.

གྲོལ་ཆའི་ཆོས་སྐུ་ངོས་བཟུང་བས། །
drol ché chöku ngözungwé
For recognize the dharmakāya in which they are freed,

དཔེར་ན་ཆུ་ཡི་རི་མོ་བཞིན། །
per na chu yi rimo zhin
And just as writing vanishes on water,

རང་ཤར་རང་གྲོལ་རྒྱུན་ཆད་མེད། །
rangshar rangdrol gyünché mé
Arising and liberation become natural and continuous.

ཅི་ཤར་རིག་སྟོང་རྗེན་པའི་ཟས། །
chi shar riktong jenpé zé
And whatever arises is food for the bare rigpa emptiness,

ཇི་འགྱུ་ཆོས་སྐུ་རྒྱལ་པོའི་རྩལ། །
ji gyu chöku gyalpö tsal
Whatever stirs in the mind is the inner power of the dharmakāya king,

རྗེས་མེད་རང་དག་ཨ་ལ་ལ། །
jemé rang dak a la la
Leaving no trace, and innately pure. What joy!

འཆར་ལུགས་སྔར་དང་འདྲ་བ་ལ། །
char luk ngar dang drawa la
The way things arise may be the same as before,

གྲོལ་ལུགས་ཁྱད་པར་གནད་དུ་ཆེ། །
drol luk khyepar né du ché
But the difference lies in the way they are liberated: that’s the key.

འདི་མེད་སྒོམ་པ་འཁྲུལ་པའི་ལམ། །
dimé gompa trulpé lam
Without this, meditation is but the path of delusion,

འདི་ལྡན་མ་བསྒོམས་ཆོས་སྐུའི་ངང༌། །
diden ma gom chökü ngang
With it, even without meditating, there’s the state of dharmakāya—

གདེང་གྲོལ་ཐོག་ཏུ་བཅའ་བ་སྟེ་གནད་གསུམ་པའོ། །
deng drol tok tu chawa té né sumpa o
The third vital point is: confidence directly in the liberation of rising thoughts.

4. Colophon

གནད་གསུམ་ལྡན་པའི་ལྟ་བ་ལ། །
né sum denpé tawa la
For the View which has the three vital points,

མཁྱེན་བརྩེ་འབྲེལ་བའི་སྒོམ་པ་དང༌། །
khyentsé drelwé gompa dang
Meditation, the union of wisdom and love,

རྒྱལ་སྲས་སྤྱི་ཡི་སྤྱོད་པ་གྲོགས། །
gyalsé chi yi chöpa drok
Is accompanied by the Action common to all the bodhisattvas.

དུས་གསུམ་རྒྱལ་བའི་ཞལ་བསྡུར་ཀྱང༌། །
dü sum gyalwé zhal dur kyang
Were all the buddhas to confer,

འདི་ལས་ལྷག་པའི་གདམས་ངག་མེད། །
di lé lhakpé damngak mé
No instruction would they find greater than this,

རིག་རྩལ་ཆོས་སྐུའི་གཏེར་སྟོན་གྱིས། །
riktsal chökü tertön gyi
Brought out as a treasure from the depth of transcendental insight,

ཤེས་རབ་ཀློང་ནས་གཏེར་དུ་བླངས། །
sherab long né ter du lang
By the tertön of dharmakāya, the inner power of rigpa,

ས་རྡོའི་བཅུད་དང་འདི་མི་འདྲ། །
sa dö chü dang di mi dra
Nothing like ordinary treasures of earth and stone,

དགའ་རབ་རྡོ་རྗེའི་ཞལ་ཆེམས་ཡིན། །
garab dorje zhal chem yin
For it is the final testament of Garab Dorje,

བརྒྱུད་པ་གསུམ་གྱི་ཐུགས་བཅུད་ཡིན། །
gyüpa sum gyi tuk chü yin
The essence of the wisdom mind of the three transmissions.

སྙིང་གི་བུ་ལ་གཏད་དོ་རྒྱ། །
nying gi bu la té do gya
It is entrusted to my heart disciples, sealed to be secret.

ཟབ་དོན་ཡིན་ནོ་སྙིང་གི་གཏམ། །
zab dön yin no nying gi tam
It is profound in meaning, my heart’s words.

སྙིང་གཏམ་ཡིན་ནོ་དོན་གྱི་གནད། །
nying tam yin no dön gyi né
It is the words of my heart, the crucial key point.

དོན་གནད་ཡལ་བར་མ་དོར་ཅིག །
dön né yalwar ma dor chik
This crucial point: never hold it cheap.

གདམས་ངག་ཟགས་སུ་མ་འཇུག་ཅིག །
damngak zak su ma juk chik
Never let this instruction slip away from you.
 
མཁས་པ་ཤྲཱི་རྒྱལ་པོའི་ཁྱད་ཆོས་སོ། །
khepa shri gyalpö khyechö so
This is the special teaching of the wise and glorious king.

Dharmakaya (Sanskrit) chos sku (Tibetan) according to Mahayana Buddhism, the buddha-nature is fully enlightened in the presence comprising three, four or five buddha-bodies (kaya). Among these the Dharmakaya refers to the ultimate nature of the fully enlightened mind, a coalescence or union of pure appearances and emptiness. As emptiness it is: non-dualistic, pure and free of all levels of conceptuality and can only be directly experienced; and as pure appearance it is: the underlying pristine nature of mind, a non-dualistic and subtle inner radiance, present as an uncultivated seed in unenlightened beings and fully developed as the resultant Buddhahood from which the diverse Sambhogakaya (“enjoyment body”) and Nirmanakaya (“emanation body”) manifestations of buddha-body arise. Realized in Chikai Bardo. 

Rigpa (Tibetan) vidyā (Sanskrit)
As a verb, means ‘to know.’ When used as a noun it has several though not unrelated meanings: 
1) as a general term encompassing all experiences of consciousness and mental events; 2) intelligence or mental aptitude; 3) as a science of knowledge; 4) as pure awareness. The last of these meanings is found in Dzogchen (“Great Perfection”) terminology, where rang-rig  refers to an intrinsic or natural awareness which is the fundamental  innate mind in its natural non-dual state of spontaneity and purity, beyond the alternating states of tranquility and motion. As such, rig-pa gives the meditator access to buddha-mind itself. 

from: “A Handbook of Tibetan Culture”

I am not the intellect, mind, ego, or perception,

I am not the sense of hearing, taste, smell, or sight,

I am not the sky, earth, fire, or air,

I am the essence of consciousness and bliss-

Shivoham!

Shivoham!

Nirvanashtakam by Adi Shankaracharya

ॐ भूर्भुवः स्वः तत्सवितुर्वरेण्यं भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात् ॥

Aum

Bhuh Bhuvah Svah

Tat Savitur Varenyam

Bhargo Devasya Dheemahi

Dhiyo Yo nah Prachodayat

The Rig Veda (III LXII 10)

“May we attain that excellent glory of Savitar*
So May he stimulate our prayers.”

* Solar deity, off-spring of the Vedic primeval mother goddess Aditi**

** Vedic goddess, the personification of the sprawling infinite and vast cosmos. Goddess of motherhood, unconsciousness, the past, the future and fertility. Mother of the celestial deities. 

From: The Great Liberation upon Hearing in the Intermediate State. (Bardo Thodol)

Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, abiding in the Ten Directions, endowed with great compassion, endowed with foreknowledge, endowed with the divine eye, endowed with love, affording protection to sentient beings, condescend through the power of your great compassion to come hither; condescend to accept these offerings actually laid out and mentally created.

Compassionate Ones, who possess the wisdom of understanding, the love of compassion, the power of divine deeds and of protecting, in incomprehensible measure. 

Compassionate Ones, [one of us] is passing from this world to the world beyond. That one is leaving this world. They are taking a great leap, with no friends. Misery is great. [They are without] defenders, without protectors, without forces and kinsmen. The light of this world hath set.

They go to another place. 
They enter into thick darkness. 
They fall down a steep precipice. 
They enter into a jungle of solitude. 
They are pursued by Karmic Forces. 
They go into the Vast Silence. 
They are borne away by the Great Ocean. 
They are wafted on the Wind of Karma. 
They go in the direction where stability exists not. 
They are caught by the Great Conflict. 
They are obsessed by the Great Afflicting Spirit. 
They are awed and terrified by the Messengers of the Lord of Death. 
Existing Karma has put them into repeated existence. 
No strength have they. 
They have come upon a time when they must go alone.

Compassionate Ones, defend (who) is defenseless. Protect them who is unprotected. Be their forces and kinsmen. Protect [them] from the great gloom of the Bardo. Turn them from the red [stormy] wind of Karma. Turn them from the great awe and terror of the Lords of Death. Save them from the long narrow passage-way of the Bardo.

Compassionate Ones, let not the force of your compassion be weak; but aid them. Let them not go into misery [or into miserable states of existence]. Forget not your ancient vows; and let not the force of your compassion be weak.

Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, let not the might of the method of your compassion be weak towards this one. Catch hold of them with [the hook of] your grace. Let not the sentient being fall under the power of evil karma.

Holy Trinity, protect them from the miseries of the Bardo.

From: The Debate of King Milinda

Nāgasena to King Milinda. "Virtue (Pali: sīla) is the basis of all good qualities: the five controlling faculties and the five moral powers (confidence, energy, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom), the seven factors of enlightenment (mindfulness, investigation, energy, joy, tranquility, concentration, and equanimity), the eight factors of the noble path (right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration), the four foundations of mindfulness (mindfulness of the body, feelings, thoughts, and mind-objects), the four right efforts (effort to prevent and remove unwholesome states and to develop and maintain wholesome states), the four bases of success (eagerness, energy, tenacity, wisdom), the four absorptions (four stages of one-pointedness or jhāna), the eight freedoms (eight stages of release of the mind by intense concentration), the four modes of concentration (meditations on love, compassion, sympathetic-joy, and equanimity), and the eight great attainments (four formless jhānas and four form jhānas)." 

"Each of these has virtue as its support and one who builds on it as the foundation all these good conditions will not decrease.”

“Just as all forms of animal and plant life flourish with the earth as their support, so does the recluse, with virtue as  support, develop the five controlling faculties and the five moral powers, the seven factors of enlightenment, the eight factors of the noble path, the four foundations of mindfulness, the four right efforts, the four bases of success, the four absorptions, the eight freedoms, the four modes of concentration, and the eight great attainments."

"Mindfulness (Pali: sati) is noting and keeping in mind [virtue]. As mindfulness springs up in the mind of the recluse, one repeatedly notes the wholesome and unwholesome, blameless and blameworthy, insignificant and important, dark and light qualities and those that resemble them thinking, ‘These are the four foundations of mindfulness, these the four right efforts, these the four bases of success, these the five controlling faculties, these the five moral powers, these the seven factors of enlightenment, these are the eight factors of the noble path, this is serenity, this insight, this vision and this freedom.’ Thus does he cultivate those qualities that are desirable and shun those that should be avoided.”