Vajradhara

Introduction and Preliminaries

      It is very pleasing to have this opportunity to explain the method for practising Vajrayana Mahamudra according to the Mahayana tradition. This explanation will be given under three main headings:

      1 An introduction to the general paths

      2 The source of the lineage from which these instructions are derived

      3 The actual explanation of the instructions possessing this lineage

      AN INTRODUCTION TO THE GENERAL PATHS

      In Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life Shantideva says:

      By depending upon this boat-like human form,

      We can cross the great ocean of suffering.

      Since such a vessel will be hard to find again,

      This is no time to sleep, you fool!

      Samsara is like a vast ocean, for just as an ocean gives rise to waves, so rebirth in samsara gives rise to suffering. At the moment we have a precious human body, which is the best vessel for crossing this perilous ocean of samsara. If we were to waste this precious life without taking full advantage of it, we would be extremely foolish. We would be like the adventurer who had to wait a long time to find a boat that would take him to a treasure island but who, having finally found one, fell asleep instead of taking immediate advantage of it. How foolish he felt when he awoke to discover that the long-awaited vessel had been washed away and that he was still without a means of travelling to the island! Similarly, at this time we have found a boat-like human body that can transport us to the island of full enlightenment, or Buddhahood. If, instead of taking advantage of this body, we were to waste it on the meaningless activities of this life, that would be most tragic. It will not be easy to find another opportunity like this in the future.

      The highest of all possible human goals is the attainment of complete enlightenment, an ultimate state of peace in which all obstacles obscuring the mind have been removed and all good qualities such as wisdom, compassion, and skilful means have been fully developed. However, we cannot reach this ultimate goal merely by waiting for it; we need to use the appropriate methods to take us there.

      What are the methods for attaining the peace of full enlightenment? They are the paths of Sutra and Secret Mantra; there is no third method. Of these two, the techniques revealed in Secret Mantra are superior to those revealed in the Sutras. Not only is Secret Mantra the supreme path to full enlightenment, it is also extremely rare. As Je Tsongkhapa said, the teachings of Secret Mantra are even rarer than the Buddhas because, although a thousand founding Buddhas will appear during this Fortunate Aeon, only the fourth (Buddha Shakyamuni), the eleventh, and the last will teach the paths of Secret Mantra.

      At the moment, we have a great opportunity to practise these rare and beneficial teachings, so it is important that we develop a strong intention to practise them purely. If the Mahayana teachings were to vanish from this world, we would have no opportunity to become a Buddha. Therefore, while we still have access to these precious teachings, we should apply ourself to them assiduously and try to gain some experience of them.

      The etymology of Secret Mantra is as follows. ‘Secret’ indicates that these methods should be practised discreetly. If we make a display of our practices, we will attract many hindrances and negative forces. This would be like someone talking openly and carelessly about a precious jewel they possessed and, as a result, attracting the attention of thieves. ‘Mantra’ means ‘protection for the mind’. The function of Secret Mantra is to enable us to progress swiftly through the stages of the spiritual path by protecting our mind against ordinary appearances and ordinary conceptions.

      The Secret Mantra practices and scriptures are also called the ‘Vajrayana’, in which ‘vajra’ means ‘indestructible’ and ‘yana’ means ‘vehicle’. In this context, ‘vajra’ refers to the indivisibility of method and wisdom, where method is spontaneous great bliss and wisdom is the unmistaken understanding of emptiness. Method is the cause of the Form Body of a Buddha and wisdom is the cause of the Truth Body. The union of method and wisdom that is the union of spontaneous great bliss and emptiness is unique to Secret Mantra, and is the quickest way to attain the two bodies of a Buddha.

      Je Tsongkhapa explained that an authentic Secret Mantra practice must possess four attributes, known as the ‘four complete purities’. These are: complete purity of place, complete purity of body, complete purity of enjoyments, and complete purity of deeds. The practice of these four complete purities was not revealed in the Sutra teachings, but is to be found only in Secret Mantra. Secret Mantra is distinguished from Sutra by the practice of bringing the future result into the present path. For example, even though we have not yet attained enlightenment, when we practise Secret Mantra we try to prevent ordinary appearances and ordinary conceptions of our environment and instead visualize our surroundings as the mandala of a Deity. In the same way, we prevent ordinary appearance of our body, our enjoyments, and our deeds, and, in their place, generate ourself as a Deity, visualize our enjoyments as those of a Buddha, and practise performing enlightened deeds. By doing such practices, we can attain the resultant state of Buddhahood very rapidly. These four practices are essential for both the generation stage and completion stage of Secret Mantra and thus they form the foundation for the teachings presented in this book, such as the instructions on inner fire (Tib. tummo).

      Secret Mantra has four levels: Action Tantra, Performance Tantra, Yoga Tantra, and Highest Yoga Tantra. Action Tantra principally emphasizes external actions, Performance Tantra places equal emphasis on both external and internal actions, Yoga Tantra principally emphasizes internal actions, and Highest Yoga Tantra is the supreme class of Tantra.

      All four levels of Secret Mantra transform great bliss into the spiritual path, but the methods of transformation differ according to the level being practised. In Action Tantra, the meditator generates bliss by looking at a visualized goddess, and then transforms that bliss into the path. In Performance Tantra, the meditator generates bliss by exchanging smiles with the goddess, and in Yoga Tantra, by holding hands with her and so forth. In Highest Yoga Tantra, the meditator generates bliss by imagining sexual embrace with a consort and, at advanced stages, by engaging in actual embrace; and then transforms that bliss into the spiritual path. It should be noted, however, that it is very difficult to use great bliss as a method for attaining enlightenment, and if we are able to do so we have indeed attained a formidable accomplishment. As the great Mahasiddha Saraha said, ‘Everyone is excited by copulation, but very few can transform that bliss into the spiritual path.’

      Generally, Buddhism teaches that attachment is a delusion that is to be avoided, and eventually abandoned, but in Secret Mantra there is a method for transforming attachment into the path. However, to practise this method we must be very skilful. In this practice, we use attachment to generate great bliss and then use that mind of great bliss to meditate on emptiness. Only if we can do this is it a transformation of attachment. Attachment itself cannot be used directly as a path because it is a delusion, and even in Secret Mantra it is finally to be abandoned. In authentic Secret Mantra practice, the bliss generated