No More Learning

See Jamgon Kongtriil, shes-bya kun-khyab mdzod, Vol. 2, p. 324, for a discussion on the Gau<;ia style of East India and the Vaidarbha style of the south, as understood in Tibet.
Geometric poetry refers to verses which can be read in any direction.
It includes acrostic verse (ardhabhrama or sarvatobhadra), and zigzag-
ging (gomlltrika). See Gupta, A Critical Study ofDa1}cjin and his Works, pp. 238-9.
The modern study of Sakya Palf<;iita's life and works is thoroughly surveyed in D. P. Jackson, The Entrance Gateforthe Wise (Section III). On the South Indian (Vaidarbha) tradition of verse, refer to M. Win- ternitz, History ofIndian Literature, Vol. III, p. 15
also . Rechung Rinpoche, Tibetan Medicine, pp. 147-327, for a detaIled bIography;
and F. Meyer, Gso-ba rig-pa: Ie systememedical tibetain, pp. 80,91-2. _
90 According to the Indian tradition, this treatise is attrIbuted to bhata. Tibetans have identified Sura with both and Vag- bhata. See Taranatha, History of Buddhism in India, pp. 130-6; also F. Lessing and A. Wayman, Mkhas Grub l! je's of the
Buddhist Tantras, p. 78n. ; and C. Vogel, Vagbhata s
91 All inflected nouns and conjugated verbs are subsumed wIthm these two classes. "Gender" (rtags, Skt. linga), as used here, should be taken to refer to nominal stems of determinate gender, in contrast to, e. g. ,
adjectival or pronominal stems, whose gende! " must be fixed:
92 These subdivisions are represented by a serIes of grammatIcal texts
On Candragomin, see Taranarha, History of Buddhism in India, pp. 199-209; Obermiller, History ofBuddhism by Bu-ston, pp. 132-4; and M. Tatz, "The Life of Candragomin in Tibetan Historical Tradition" The Tibet Journal VII, 3 (1982), pp. 3-22.
On Srlgupta, see Taranatha, History of Buddhism in India, pp. 225 and 252; and on Sakyamati, ibid. , p. 260.
(T 4422-8) in the Tangyur (bstan-'gyur). . . . , FUNDAMENTALS: PART TWO 93 This is not precisely the form in which thIS verse IS gIVen m the
Compendium of Valid Cognition. It corresponds exactly, however, to
Sankarasvamin, Nyayapravesa, v. 1. . . . 94 This line actually corresponds to Dharmaklrti, ExposItwn of Valzd
108 See below, p. 131.
109 A "countless" aeon (grangs-med bskal-pa) refers not to infinity but to a specific span of time defined in the Treasury of the Abhidharma
negative inferences, such as the modus tollens of classical western logic. For the history of this debate in Tibet, refer to D. S. Ruegg, The Life ofBu ston Rinpoche, pp. 37-8, n. 1.
Tib. go-la refers to the twenty-eight constellations (rgyu-skar nyer-
brgyad) and the twelve lunar mansions (khyim bcu-gnyis). See D. Schuh,
Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der Tibetischen Kalenderrechnung, pp. 147-8.
The twelve two-hour periods are named after the twelve animals, which follow the same sequential order as the twelve months and twelve years. See n. 1330.
10 Notes
(Abhidharrnakosa) as 1059 aeons. Refer to R. Kloetzli, Buddhist Cosmol-
criminative awareness (shes-rab, Skt. prajfia) and the sixteen consonants which symbolise skilful means (thabs, Skt. upaya). During the perfec- tion stage of contemplation (rdzogs-rim, Skt. sampannakrama) these seed-syllables of light occupy the right and left channels in the body respectively, but they intermingle in the central channel. (Our text here reads phan-tshun ma-'dres. . . instead ofphan-tshun 'dres-shing. . . ) Then, generating the coalescent bliss of discriminative awareness, or emptiness, and skilful means, or compassion, they give rise to the sixteen delights (dga'-ba bcu-drug)0 This experience is duplicated in accordance with the upward and downward movement of the vital energy (rlung, Skt. vayu), and so these sixteen delights come to possess the thirty-two major marks of the buddha-body of perfect rapture. Each of the sixteen delights experienced in series by the male consort is also endowed with the five pristine cognitions, making a total of eighty minor marks. This is the resultant and primordial buddha-body, which is not created by an accumulation of causes and provisions. The feeling of receptiveness, which this surpasses, is an experience belong- ing to the path of connection (sbyor-lam, Skt. prayogamarga) in the causal phase of the vehicle (Khenpo Palden Sherap). See also Longcenpa, Dispelling Darkness in the Ten Directions, p. 460 (GGFTC, pp. 1015-17).
125 rnam-pa mchog-dang ldan-pa'i stong-pa-nyid is the emptiness in which the pure appearances of the buddha-body and pristine cognition are coalesced. See pp. 282-3.
126 See PI. 2 for the maf. 1<;iala of peaceful and wrathful deities.
127 rdo-rje btsun-mo (Skt. is the <;lakinI or female consort who embodies emptiness and the expanse of reality. Refer to Jamgon Kongtrul's discussion in shes-bya kun-khyab mdzod, Vol. 4, p. 411, in which the womb of the Vajra Queen is identified with emptiness free
from conceptual elaboration and the buddha level itself.
128 Surendra or Devendra is the form assumed by the Buddha among the gods and MunIndra is his form as Sakyamuni among human beings. For the precise identification of vaiqurya as beryl and aquamarine, see Meyer, Gso-ba rig-pa: Ie systeme medical tibetain, p. 177. The English word beryl in fact shares a common origin with the Tamil ve! ur/belur and the Prakrit ve! uriya (Skt. vaiqurya). The terrain of beryl is the
Trayatrirpsa heaven.
129 Vairocana is so called because he is the pure, enlightened nature of
the component of form. Similarly, is the king of consciousness, Ratnasambhava is the king of feeling, Amitabha is the king of discernment and Amoghasiddhi is the king of habitual tendencies.
130 The extraordinary of the body of perfect rapture is perceived only by buddhas and tenth level bodhisattvas and is contrasted with the lower realms of the emanational body which are visible to bodhisattvas below the tenth level. However the natural body of perfect rapture is strictly described as being manifest only to itself and not in an extraneous manner. The interpretation of this terse passage follows the oral commentary of Tulku Perna Wangyel.
131 Or "the lord of Yama's functionaries" (las-kyi gshin-rje mgon).
132 Tib. rlung-dkyil is the maQ. <;lala of wind, on which, according to the
110
111 112
113
1 1 4 115
116 117
118 119
120 121
ogy, pp. 113ff. b
The Point of other b? d- refers to the place . Vajrasana, the IndestructIble dhas attain Enlightenment which is the
Seat, at Bodh Gaya; to t e mner of Enlightenment which is
realm; an. d to the reality (vajrakaya). For the specific
the buddha-bodyJ! d his encounter with Mara, see History, enlightenment of ;:o,akyamum an
2 123
utpattikrama) the visuahsatIon requ f IOty and then to fd. . f mtheexpanse0 rea1 ,
propriate mat:t<;iala 0 oelUes 0 ro The accomplishments which make and recIte theIr nature of the mat:t<;iala.
are attamed thereby accord g -pranidhanaraja section of the This quotation occurs m the Bhadracarya A· v 3a
12
ifthe Buddhas (vatamsaf«L3 u , . . Sutra ofthe Great Bc:unteousness 0d ibed here, which accord with the The major and mmor escr . d d to be the fourth or most
pp. 419-21.
ee p.
gsal rdo-rye b ddha-bodY of reality, Samantabhadra, whIch or of e u d time The teachings of the Great Per-
cannot be hmlted spacehoan I referred to as the vehicle of the fection which pertam to t IS leve a .
ObI N I us of Inner RadIance.
IndestructI e uc e 0 bO dO h tomy and without the threefold I. e. itiswithoutthesubJect-o. Ject lC 0
124
History, pp. 423ff.
S 118 below T e n estruc
0
Doctrine (chos-kyz spnn-pa, There is an extensIve account 0
0
T:
28-31 See also .
o
beginmng 0
reasury, pp.
ds of Vairocana m the lorm 0
h GI te oss
ary of EnumeratIons lor
0
cf
f L
's Wish-fulfillmg
ongcenpa. c the twenty-five world systems said to
h I d
tible Nucleus of Inner Radiance ('od-
h dO
o · Skt *Prabhasvaravajragarbha) IS t e
f beginning mIddle and end.
0 ' dOth the "pristine cognition WhiC
•00
quantitatively knows [phenomena] This is a synonym for the supreme
0h
n ed-pamkhyen-pa'zye-s es . slctha-body of reality (chos-sku
dIstmCtIOns 0
S e e b e I o wP , . · " (
140 ItIScontraste WI . h)
u as Cloud of
0 0
Skt Dharrnamegha). ee n. .
. f this cosmological formation at the
d h
be situated upon the e Ulp01! e fia::mahahimasagara); and also His-
.
ye-shes gangs-chen ! odd realm is situated at the hearto of
0
tory, pp. 409 . Vairocana and IS representatIve 0
are detaIled below on p. S
most secret a ee
the Glossary of Enumerations for the
q
0
f the mind aspect of his buddha-mmd I M O d Worlds
(thugs-'7i thugs:. 'Preasury The relerence lor
of the buddha-body of perfect rapture The ma! or and mmor in terms of their outer, inner, secret and
outer category of the thzrt! '-twoo major mar 0 554-96.
For the Innermost SpintualIty, refer to HzstolY. ' pp. b k d 0
view of the Great are conSI ere
mtIon Refer to p. secret kind of pnstme cog . .
The twofold bliss is that of the slxteen vow
342
els which symbolise dis-
•0
.
0
ks and the eighty minor marks.
00_
Skt During the staoge? me meditator to invite the ap-
0 _p Skt bodhimanda)
f d· 0 xpenence ( s ye -nm,
.
0
0
Fundamentals: Part Two 11
12 Notes
Fundamentals: Part Three 13
133
134 135
136
137 138
139
140
141 142 143
Abhidharma, the physical universe is based.
Isvara refers in this context not to Siva but to Indra. Refer to Sura, Jatakamala, Peking Tangyur, Vol. 128, p. 21; and for Brahma, ibi. d. , pp. 21-2. Also see the Sanskrit version of the Jatakamala (Darbhanga edn. , BST 21); and its English translation by P. Khoroche, Once the
150 The correspondence of the Tibetan to the Sanskrit is not precise for this particular verse.
151 Seminal point (thig-le, Skt. bindu) is the nucleus or seed of the en- lightened mind which comprises a range of meanings, from the white and red seminal fluids of the physical body to the seminal points of light which appear during All-Surpassing Realisation. In this context, the white and red seminal points (thig-Ie dkar-dmar) are the sperm and ovum which, in union with vital energy (rlung), create the three world realms along with their appearances, and become the source of rebirth in sarpsara. According to the resultant phase of the greater vehicle, these propensities are purified by the empowerment of supreme desire (,dod-chags chen-po'i dbang-bskur), whereas the empowerment of great light rays (,od-zer chen-po'i dbang-bskur) given in the causal phase of the greater vehicle merely purifies the two obscurations in a gradual way. For the distinctions between these two, see p. 247; History, pp. 912-13; and also Longcenpa, Treasury ofthe Supreme Vehicle, pp. 663-4.
152 Tib. dam-pa'i bdag is equivalent to Skt. paramatma. It is explained in the Supreme Continuum ofthe Greater Vehicle that the true selfis revealed when the dichotomy of self and non-self has been transcended (Ch. 1, v. 37): "It is true self owing to the quiescence of all conceptual elaboration with reference to self and non-self. "
FUNDAMENTALS: PART THREE
153 The third promulgation is called irreversible because there is no pos- sibility of its revelations being qualified or reversed, as is the case with the previous promulgations (Lama Sonam Topgyel).
154 I. e. Vajrasana. See above, n. 110.
155 These three essential natures are explained below in accordance with
Vijfianavada, pp. 160-2; and according to Great Madhyamaka,
pp. 169-77.
156 These behaviour patterns, which are mentally imposed, are held to
be form by the Refer to the discussion in Mipham Rin-
poche, mkhas-pa'i tshul-la 'jug-pa'i sgo, fols. 4a. 3-4b. 4.
157 See pp. 226-7 below; and the Glossary of Enumerations under sixteen
minor truths.
158 Refer to the Abhidharmakosavyakhya, Vol. 2, pp. 966-70, in which
Yasomitra compares this contemplation to a diamond drill which
pierces all, because it pierces all dispositions.
159 See below, pp. 160-2, for the basic tenets of Mind Only.
160 The self-centred buddhas are said to be rhinoceros-like because they
adhere to a course of solitary realisation, in which their meditation depends on the subtle subjective aspect of phenomena. See below, pp. 227-3l.
161 For the background relevant to this quotation, refer to S. Levi, Materiaux pour Fhude du systeme Vzj"iiaptimatra, p. 43, n. 1.
162 These are explained in Longcenpa, Wish-fulfilling Treasury, pp. 617-18. The third category holds sensa and consciousness to be mental attri- butes which are the two parts of one essential consciousness, in the manner of the white and the yolk of an egg.
144
145 146
147
148 149
Vajradhara is known as the sixth teacher because he . over th. e mandala of the Conquerors of the Five Enlightened FamIlIes: VaI- Ratnasambhava, Amitabha and Amoghasiddhi. This is, of course, quite distinct from the Bodhi Tree at Vajrasana
(Author).
The eighth level experienced by bodhisattvas is as the Imm? v- able (mi-gYo-ba, Skt. Acala) because there is no pOSSIbIlIty ofregresslOn
for one who reaches it. . I. e. the Bodhi Tree which subsequently became the location or Pomt
of Enlightenment for Sakyamuni Buddha at Vajrasana.
Refer to History, pp. 617-84. .
For the views of the main proponents of the later TIbetan schools,
refer to pp. 197-205.
Buddha Was a Monkey, Chs. 11, 17 and 29.
On Vemacitra, see the Divyavadana, 182. 13; the Siltra of Extensive Play (Lalitavistara), 241. 3; and the Mahavastu, 3. 138. 2.
The tale of the woodpecker is related by Sura in the Jatakamala, Ch. 34. For an English translation, see Aryasura, The Marvelous Com- panion, pp. 349-53; Khoroche, Once the Buddha, pp. . For the tale of Drdhasamadana, see Siltra of the WIse and Foolzsh
T341), Ch. 49.
Tib. mu-ge'i tshe nya-bo-che.
The noble creature (srog-chags des-pa) is the rohita fish. This is re- counted by Peltrul Rinpoche in The WOrds of My Perfect Teacher, pp.
230-31.
For the horse Ajaneyabalaha, see the Pali Valahassa Jataka, no. 196;
and also R. A. Stein, Recherches sur l'epopee et Ie barde au tibet, pp. 426, 510-11, where cang-shes balaha is identified with Hayagrlva on the basis of the bka'-gdams pha-chos bu-chos, and as the mount of
Ling Kesar.
The golden bee was an emanation of Avalokitesvara. Refer to
Kara1Jq,avyilhasiltra, pp. 47ff. , as cited in H. Dayal's Bodhisattva Doc- trine in Sanskrit Buddhist Literature, p. 49.
The primary source for this section is Longcenpa, Treasury of the
Supreme Vehicle, pp. 20-6. .
I. e. the Indestructible Seat at Bodh Gaya. See p. 115 above and HIstOry,
p. 409. . . Tib. sangs-rgyas stong-rtsa gcig is interpreted by the Author m thIS
context to mean the Thousand Buddhas. Longcenpa in the Treasury of the Supreme Vehicle, p. 24, reads sangs-rgyas stong-dang rtsa. gnyis. In his Dispelling Darkness in the Ten Directions, p. 131, he explams added two to be VajrapaI). i and MafijusrI. Pawo Tsuklak Trhengwa m the Scholar's Feast of Doctrinal History (dpa'-bo chos-'byung), p. 200,
maintains that in the Penetration ofSound (sgra thal-'gyur) the additional two are asserted to be lha'i bu nyi-ma rab-tu snang-ba and dga'-byed
dbang-phyug. .
14 Notes
Fundamentals: Part Three 15 181 Tib. gzhung-lam, Skt. granthamarga, refers to the texts and path of the
teaching on the Transcendental Perfection of Discriminative Aware-
ness (Prajfiaparamita), which is central to the bodhisattva vehicle. 182 Through their methodical order and planning such activities are said to be indicative of the transmitted precepts taught by Sakyamuni
Buddha.
183 This nature is respectively the buddha-body of form (gzugs-sku, Skt.
rilpakaya) and the buddha-body ofreality (chos-sku, Skt. dharmakaya). 184 The paths of learning (slob-pa'i lam, Skt. are the first four gradual paths traversed by bodhisattvas, i. e. those of provisions, connection, insight and meditation. The fifth path is that of no-more-
learning, or the final path See also n. 382. 185 There is an account of this incident during a past life of Sakyamuni
in Peltrtil Rinpoche, kun-bzang bla-ma'i zhal-lung, pp. 192bff.
186 This Tathagata Sakyamuni was the first teacher ofSakyamuni Buddha. 187 Refer to the section on nihilism, pp. 66-7.
188 The Archer is Saraha.
189 For Terdak Lingpa's biography, see History, pp. 825-9; and for his
brother, Locen DharmasrI, pp. 728-32.
190 On Mipham Rinpoche, who is known as Mipham Namgyel Gyamtso
or Mipham lampel Gyepa, see History, pp. 869-80.
191 On Atisa, the founder of the Kadampa tradition, see Blue Annals, pp. 242ff. ; A. Chattopadhyaya, Atisa and Tibet; and H. Eimer's works on
Atisa which are detailed in the final section of the Bibliography.
192 On Tilopa, refer to Taranatha, History ofBuddhism in India, p. 299n. ; and to H. V. Guenther (trans. ), The Life and Teaching ofNaropa. For the lives ofTilopa and the other great accomplished masters mentioned in the following pages, see l. Robinson, Buddha's Lions; and K. Dow-
man, Masters ofMahamudra.
193 See Guenther, The Life and Teaching of Naropa.
194 On Advayavajra or Maitripa, see Blue Annals, p. 731; and Advayavaj-
rasan:zgraha.
195 On Saraha, refer to H. V. Guenther (trans. ), The Royal Song ofSaraha;
and to M. Shahidullah, Les Chants Mystiques de Kanha et de Saraha.
196 Saraha appeared in a dream to Marpa Lotsawa 'and this song is a recollection ofthe teaching he received. See Nalanda Translation Com-
mittee, The Life of Marpa, p. 46.
197 On Milarepa, refer to L. Lhalungpa (trans. ), The Life ofMilarepa; G.
163
164
165
166 167
168
169
The Vijfifmavada are still trapped within the dichotomy because they hold intrinsic awareness to eXIst m an absolute They do not understand the coalescence of awareness and emptmess which is basic to the higher vehicles from Great Madhyamaka to the Great Perfection of Atiyoga (Ttilku Perna Wangyel).
170 171 172
173
174
175
176 177
178 179 180
280-1 of the Derge canonical edn. of the text: dbu-ma, yol: Tsha. This verse also occurs in the Ornament of Emergent Realzsatwn, Ch. 5,
For the five axioms (gtan-tshig lnga), refer to Longcenpa, Treasury of Spiritual and Philosophical Systems, pp'. 118ff. ; and HIL 7. 1, p. 112. Tib. yongs-gcod is equivalent to Skt. panccheda. The text wrongly reads
yongs-dpyod.
Tib. rnam-bcad, Skt. vyavaccheda. The text reads rnam-dpyad.
These impure levels of realisation are the first seven attained by bodhisattvas. Refer to the Glossary of Enum. erations leve. ls. This text is by Aryadeva, yet may be attnbuted to Nagaf)una. m the sense that it was he who imparted the Madhyamaka teachmgs to
Aryadeva (Khenpo Palden Sherap). . - - The Great Madhyamaka (dbu-ma chen-po) IS also kn? wn as Y
Madhyamaka. As such it is not to confused the Svatantrika school. It integrates the VIew that all thmgs of intrinsically empty (rang-stong) of their own inherent substanualIty with the view that all enlightened attributes are empty of those ous phenomena (gzhan-stong). See below, 183-6. The given here does not occur in extant TIbetan text of Bhavya s Madhyamakaratnapradrpa, rather It paraphrases passages found on fols.
v. 21. 3A. Refer to D. T. Suzuki, The Laizkavatara Satra, p. 1 6. vanant
reading would be "the subject, object and . . See above, p. 55. These are exemplified by the Five Doctnnes of M. aztreya (byams-chos sde-lnga), and the Trilogy ofCommentaries by \byang-chub
sems-'grel-gyi skor-gsum). Refer to the first of Tib. sbyang-bzhi, Skt. *caturdha vyavadana, IS unIdenufied. Perhaps the purification of the four perverted views (see Glossary of Enumera-
tions) is intended.
The Guru of Suvarnadvlpa (gser-gling-pa) or Sumatra was also known
as Dharmaklrti Dharmapaia. He was Atisa's teacher. See Taranatha, History of Buddhism in India, p. 213n. . .
The third level of bodhisattva realisation is known as the Illummatmg
('od-byed, Skt. Prabhakarf). . .