Category: Mahabodhi Mission

From “The Heart of Meditation Discovering Innermost Awareness”
By: The Dalia Lama translated by J. Hopkins 
Chapter 1 “Knowledge The Purpose of Concentration”
Subsection “Progress To Enlightenment” herein abridged

TADYATHA GATE GATE PARAGATE PARASAMGATE BODHI SVAHA.

This Sanskrit mantra translates as, “It is thus: Proceed, proceed, proceed beyond, thoroughly proceed beyond, be founded in enlightenment.”

Who is proceeding? It is the “I” that is designated in dependence upon the continuum of the mind. From what are you proceeding? You are moving away from cyclic existence, that state of being under the influence of contaminated actions and counterproductive emotions. To what are you proceeding? You are proceeding to buddhahood that is endowed with a truth body, forever free of suffering and the sources of suffering (afflictive emotions), as well as the predispositions established by afflictive emotions. Upon what causes and condition do you depend as you proceed? You are proceeding in dependence on a path that is a union of compassion and wisdom.

When Buddha says, “TADYATHA GATE GATE PARAGATE PARASAMGATE BODHI SVAHA” he is telling trainees to proceed over the five paths:

GATE – the path of accumulation [of merit]

GATE – the path of preparation 

PARAGATE — the path of seeing [insight]

PARASAMGATE – the path of meditation

BODHI SVAHA — the path of no more learning

1. What is the initial path, the path of accumulation? It is that period when you mainly practice other-directed motivation and thereby accumulate great stores of merit. Also, although you are practicing a union of motivation and wisdom, your realization of emptiness has not reached the level where stabilizing meditation and analytical meditation are mutually supportive, called “a state arisen from meditation.” On this path, you achieve powerfully concentrated meditation , and are working toward a state arisen from meditation realizing emptiness. During this and the following path, you ascertain emptiness in the manner of a dualistic appearance of wisdom and the emptiness being realized.

2. At the point at which you achieve a state of wisdom arisen from meditation realizing emptiness, you pass to the path of preparation.

3. Eventually emptiness is realized directly, without even subtle contamination from dualistic appearance, which has vanished. This is the beginning of the path of seeing — the path of initial direct realization of the truth concerning the deep nature of phenomena, passing beyond the mundane level to the supramundane level of the path of seeing in which dualistic appearance has vanished. At this point in the Great Vehicle, the ten bodhisattva levels (called “grounds” because on them special spiritual qualities are engendered, like plants, growing on the earth) begin.

4. Meditation must take place repeatedly over a long period of time, this phase of the path is called the path of meditation. Indeed, you have meditated on emptiness earlier, but the path of meditation refers to a path of extended familiarization.)

5. Now, through using the diamond-like concentrated meditation achieved at the end of the ten bodhisattva grounds — the culmination of still having obstructions yet to be overcome — you can effectively undermine the very subtle obstacles to omniscience. The next moment of your mind becomes an omniscient consciousness, and simultaneously the deep nature of the mind becomes the nature body of a buddha. This is the fifth and final path, the path of no more learning. From the very subtle wind, or energy — which is one entity with that mind – various pure and impure physical forms spontancously spring forth to assist sentient beings; these are called the form bodies of a buddha. This is buddhahood, a state of being a source of help and happiness for all sentient beings.

That is a brief explanation of emptiness, the object with respect to which a practitioner first develops the wisdom arisen from hearing, then ascertains it with the wisdom arisen from thinking, and finally in dependence, upon meditation on it, proceeds over the stages of the path.

Thus, in order to develop wisdom to higher and higher states, it is necessary to train. 

“Tibetan tanka painted by Gonpo Tseten Rinpoche, not only a lama but also an accomplished painter and artist, with description (and Longchen Nyingthig detail )of all the deities and the masters of the lineage according to his tradition.”
_{Source: https://www.longchennyingtik.org}

…

From “Masters of Meditation and Miracles Lives of the Great Masters of India and Tibet” by Tulku Thondup . Introduction and Linage of the Longchen Nyingthig herein. 

Introduction

BUDDHA is the universal truth, and Buddhism is the path to realize it. Buddha is the true nature, the openness, and the enlightened state of the universe, “as it is.” All the phenomenal appearances are just the manifestative power of that true nature itself, “as they appear.” If we realize our own true nature, the ultimate peace, openness, oneness, and enlightenment, we are all Buddhas. Then all phenomena will spontaneously arise as the Buddha pure land, the power of the true nature.

Buddhism is the stages of the path to realize Buddhahood, and it is the teachings that inspire us to that realization.

Shakyamuni Buddha (fifth-fourth century BCE) is one of the many beings who became Buddha through the path of Buddhism in this age of ours. He is the master who propagated the path popularly known as Buddhism.

Tantras are the original esoteric scriptures of Buddhism. They include many Nyingma tantras, such as the tantras of the Longchen Nyingthig cycle. These are not necessarily the written records of words uttered by the Shakyamuni Buddha. However, they are Buddhist teachings since they came from the Buddha bodies, and they provide the methods that lead us to Buddhahood. Furthermore, they were discovered by the realized followers of Shakyamuni Buddha and are in harmony with his teachings.

Linage

THE Longchen Nyingthig lineage came from the primordial Buddha and reached Jigme Lingpa (1730-1798), the founder of the tradition, through the following lineage:

1. Samantabhadra, Dharmakaya
2. Vajrasattva, Sambhogakaya
3. Prahevajra (Garab Dorje), the Nirmanakaya, the first human master of Dzogpa Chenpo
4. Mañjushrimitra
5. Shrisimha
6. Jñanasutra
7. Vimalamitra received the Nyingthig transmissions from both Shrisimha and Jñanasutra
8. Guru Rinpoche, Padmasambhava, received the Nyingthig transmissions from Shrisimha and Mañjushrimitra and concealed the teachings of Longchen Nyingthig, the essence of Nyingthig teachings, as ter (“treasure”). King Trisong Detsen (790-858), who was one of the previous incarnations of Jigme Lingpa, received Nyingthig teachings from Vimalamitra and Longchen Nyingthig teachings from Guru Rinpoche
9. Künkhyen Longchen Rabjam (1308-1363) received the Nyingthig transmissions from Guru Rinpoche when he was princess Pemasal. He also received Nyingthig transmissions from Rigdzin Kumaradza and Shö Gyalse
10. Rigzin Jigme Lingpa (1730-1798) discovered the Longchen Nyingthig as a mind ter and propagated it to his disciples. Thus he became the founder of the Longchen Nyingthig lineage. Jigme Lingpa was the incarnation of the king who received the Nyingthig transmissions from Guru Ripoche and Vimalamitra. Jigme Lingpa also was an incarnation of Vimalamitra and received the transmission from Longchen Rabjam in pure visions

In the different branches of lineages, from Lingpa himself to the present teachers, you will find that [often] a master is someone’s teacher and at the same time his disciple. This is because a master could receive a rare transmission or blessing from various sources, including his own disciple. Masters could also exchange teachings in order to receive transmissions that came through different lineages. Also, in order to train in the teachings, masters could receive the same transmission many times from the same or different masters. Receiving transmissions repeatedly is not just the beginning of a training, but is also the practice itself.

Taking the vow of Bodhicitta as explained in…

The Nectar of Manjushri’s Speech (A Detailed Commentary on Shantidevas’s “Way of The Bodhisattva”)

Part One: The Generation of Bodhichitta Where It Has Not Previously Existed

Chapter Three: Taking Hold of Bodhichitta

§ The actual vow of Bodhichitta

First, lay the foundations of taking the vow:

• “Please think of me. Please think of me. Please think of me.“
• Take refuge in the Three Jewels three times.

The Bodhisattva vow of…

… intention
[23.a] Just as the previous Sugatas (“thus gone to bliss”)
Gave birth to an Awakening Mind,

[24.a] Likewise for the sake of all that lives
Do I give birth to an awaking mind,

… action
[23.b] And just as they successfully dwelt
In the bodhisattva practice,

[24.b] Likewise shall I, too,
Successfully follow the practices.

… intention and action
[23] Just as the previous Sugatas
Gave birth to an Awakening Mind,
And just as they successfully dwelt
In the bodhisattva practices;

[24] Likewise for the sake of all that lives
Do I give birth to an Awakening Mind,
And likewise shall I, too,
Successfully follow the practices.

From “Lady of the Lotus-Born, The Life and Enlightenment of Yeshe Tsogyal” Chapter 8 “Buddhahood” 

This know and understand! The essence of the Guru Siddhi mantra:

om ah hum vajra guru padma siddhi hung

OM: is the union in five Bodies of all Buddhas gone to bliss;

AH: distills the essence of the fivefold wisdom Speech;

HUNG: is the Suchness Body, Wisdom Mind’s five aspects.

VA: is the sign and seal of indestructibility;

JRA: is deployment of the diamond-like compassion;

GU: the guru herukas of the triple time;

RU: the drop of essence that matures and liberates;

PAD: the threshold of the pure abode of bliss;

MA: is staying in the womb of bliss unmoving;

SID: is compassion in great strength and power;

DHI: is the accomplishment that satisfies all wants;

HUNG: the gaining of dominion in the primal ground.

The normal recitation of these twelve essential syllables of the Guru, Lotus-Born, repels suffering and leads beyond it.

When spoken in reverse they purify the faults of body, speech, and mind. Since the twelve dependent links of origination are thereby purified, it is the nature of the ten perfections, and therefore the Great Mother. 

“Devoutly recite this mantra.”  

hung dhi sid ma pad ru gu jra va hung ah om

HUNG: the life force of all the Buddhas, past, present, and to come;

DHI: accomplishment of all victorious yidams;

SID: the perfect action of the oath-bound and the dakinis;

MA: this cuts delusion from our mothers, wandering beings;

PAD: the supreme land of Buddhas of the triple time;

RU: this shuts the door to karmic energy;

GU: confers empowerment of compassion as the aspect of primordial Wisdom;

JRA: this is Mahamudra, the void, the indestructible;

VA: the symbol of the Wisdom-space;

HUNG: Nirmanakaya, emanated form to teach all beings;

AH: the supreme Dharma, Sambhogakaya;

OM: Kuntuzangpo, Dharmakaya, Primal Purity.