Mahamudra in the Various Tibetan Buddhist Traditions

The Different Lineages of Mahamudra

In general, we could gain a decisive understanding of voidness with respect to any basis characterized by voidness, or having voidness as its nature, such as a vase. There is no difference in the abiding devoid nature itself of a vase or our mind. There is, however, a great difference between a vase and our mind as things having voidness as their nature. Since our wandering in samsara is determined by whether or not we see the voidness of our mind, its abiding nature is especially important to see decisively. Therefore Aryadeva has stated in A Lamp for the Compendium of Practices, A Commentary on the Meaning of the Five Stages [of the Guhyasamaja Complete Stage], “The discussion of how to attain mahamudra entails methods for meditating on mind itself as something having voidness as its nature.”

These methods for meditating on the abiding nature of mind – specifically, on the abiding nature of the subtlest level of mind – undertaken in order to come to know, face to face, what mind actually is, have several different lineages of explanation. Each was founded by a learned and experienced master and expounded in accordance with his or her individual conventions. The text continues,

From the point of view of individually ascribed names, there are numerous traditions, such as those of the simultaneously arising as merged, the amulet box, possessing five, the six spheres of equal taste, the four syllables, the pacifier, the object to be cut off, dzogchen, the discursive madhyamaka view, and so on.

According to the Fourth Panchen Lama’s autocommentary to this root text, the simultaneously arising as merged tradition “was founded by the venerable Gampopa who trained disciples with the six practices, or ‘yogas’ of Naropa. It deals primarily with meditation on simultaneously arising and merged deep awareness” – in other words the deep awareness of primordial clear light that arises simultaneously with each moment of experience. The tradition of the amulet box, “was founded by Kedrub Kyungpo. It teaches that the preliminary basis is [mind’s] automatically coming to its own level in its three aspects. The actual method is [mind’s] automatically releasing into itself the three faults. The result is [mind’s] automatically giving rise to the three bodies of a Buddha. The actual method is also called ‘recognizing the thieves.’ The main guideline instruction of the Shangpa Kagyu line is that of the six practices, or ‘yogas’ of Niguma.”

Kedrub Kyungpo, from whom the Shangpa Kagyu tradition traces, has written, “May everything be auspicious for the mahamudra of great bliss – the sphere of voidness, clarity and appearance – [seen] when purified down to the depths. Any appearance, to which mind gives rise, of anything that exists automatically emanates like a dream or illusion – a tone of uninterrupted great bliss.”

Gurus from various traditions, such as those mentioned in our text, have understood the points raised in this verse in slightly different manners in accordance with their personal meditative experience. Or, more precisely, they have described their experience in different manners, although their ultimate understanding has been the same. They each have ascertained the total absence or voidness of true, inherent existence and the play of simultaneously arising, primordial clear light mind of deep awareness. Any phenomenon that mind makes appear as if truly and inherently existent, and yet has the nature of being devoid of existing in the way in which mind gives rise to an appearance of it, does exist. It exists simply as the play of its devoid nature. Not only that, the appearance of it, to which mind gives rise, is the play of simultaneously arising, primordial clear light mind, which likewise is something having this very same nature. Each of these masters has understood both these points.

When the great gurus of the past have come to a decisive understanding of the correct view having both these points, they have explained it in two ways. Some have spoken of a correct view in terms of devoid nature itself, while others of a correct view in terms of what has voidness as its nature. We must keep these two correct views in mind when we consider the line, “Any appearance, to which mind gives rise, of anything that exists automatically emanates like a dream or illusion.” We can also read it, “Any phenomenon that exists, and to which mind gives rise an appearance of, automatically emanates like a dream or illusion.”

How are we to understand the meaning of “automatically emanates”? From the viewpoint of a correct view presented in terms of devoid nature itself, it means that no matter what item, having voidness as its nature, that mind makes appear, its appearing arises out of the basis of that item’s having voidness as its nature. Its nature does not block its appearance or the appearance-making of it, because its nature is that it is devoid of true and inherent existence. Thus the fact that, by nature, something is dissociated from true and inherent existence allows for an appearance of it automatically to emanate or arise as an object of cognition.

Also, in another way, we can say that ultimately any appearance, to which mind gives rise, of anything that exists originates from, or is the play of primordial mind as something having this devoid nature. Just as any mass of clouds that appears in the sky both originates from and dissolves back into the sky, likewise all appearances of anything that exists both originate from and dissolve back into subtlest clear light mind. From the point of view of its cause, or root, or mental labeling, any appearance is ultimately like a wave of clear light mind itself, or its play. Because it originates from this diamond-strong sphere, it is an automatic or reflexive emanation in the sense of being the reflexive luster of clear light mind.

Thus we can understand “automatically emanates” in terms of both devoid nature and something having this devoid nature, namely clear light mind. Moreover, we can take this both in a sutra and a tantra sense, depending on the level of subtlety of mind we discuss. On the sutra level, we speak of the correct view only in terms of devoid nature itself. From the tantra point of view, however, we can explain the fact that all play of clear light deep awareness is like illusion in the context of either of these two correct views. Thus mind gives rise to an appearance of everything as if truly and inherently existent, although everything it makes appear in this way is devoid of existing in that impossible manner. In this sense, “Any appearance, to which mind gives rise, of anything that exists... [is] like a dream or illusion.”

As for “uninterrupted great bliss,” there are two types of bliss. One is an apprehension of a physical or mental feeling of bliss, while the other is the bliss of being free from all mental fabricating – specifically, mentally fabricating totally contrived, imaginary modes of existence such as true, inherent existence. This latter state is sometimes called the “youth of the mind” which, innocent of contriving fabrications, is blissful. According to the Sakya tradition of lamdre – the paths and their result – which speaks from the point of view of the path, primordial clear light mind arises simultaneously each moment as a blissful awareness in this latter sense of bliss. The term, “uninterrupted great bliss” may refer to this.

Furthermore, when our present coarse levels of mind apprehend sensory objects, or think about anything, they do so incorrectly, in the manner of taking a striped rope to be a snake. They do not have the ability to understand, in a bare manner, the stark, actual nature of things. To understand something in a bare manner means to apprehend something with an understanding stripped of all coarse levels of mind, both conceptual and non-conceptual. Thus the actual nature of things is stark in the sense of being not only uncontrived, but also beyond conventional thought. Therefore, it can only be seen from our own deep, non-conceptual meditative experience. As it cannot be apprehended by the coarse levels of mind, it can only be seen “when purified down to the depths.” Meditation on the “mahamudra of great bliss – the sphere of voidness, clarity and appearance,” characterized like this, is the amulet box tradition of Kedrub Kyungpo.

As I do not have realization of the salient features of all the traditions the author cites next, I can only explain what comes to my mind. The possessing five tradition, as the autocommentary states, “asserts in songs of meditation experience that the enlightening influence of the Dagpo Kagyu lineage masters is great and that of Jigten Gonpo is the root.” The six spheres of equal taste is likewise another lineage.

The four syllables tradition elaborates on the four syllables, “a ma na si,” a Sanskrit word that means “not to take to mind.” The autocommentary explains the four syllables as follows, “The first means to cut down to the foundational root state of mind. The second shows the methods for settling mind. The third means to cut off mind from points where it can deviate. The fourth demonstrates how to take mind as a pathway.” The author does not elaborate further on any of these points.

Next is the pacifier tradition of fatherly Padampa Sanggye, deriving from the scriptural line, “The pure view pacifies all suffering.” There is also the object to be cut off tradition of the One Mother of All, Machig Labkyi Drolma, dealing with chod, the cutting-off rite. There is, in addition, the dzogchen or great completeness tradition of the Nyingma tantras of the old translation period and, finally, the madhyamaka or middle way tradition of the old and new Kadam, the latter being the Gelug tradition.

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