Tantra: Buddha-Nature and the Not-Yet-Happening Attainment of Enlightenment

Review

We started our discussion of how to make our tantra practice more effective. We saw that the most fundamental thing to start with is to understand what tantra is and what the essential points of tantra practice are – how does it work. Also, we saw that the word “tantra” means an everlasting stream of continuity. On a basis level, that’s referring to all our Buddha-nature factors, which are innate features of our mental continuum. “Innate” (lhan-skyes) literally means “simultaneously arising.” The Buddha-nature factors arise simultaneously with each moment of our mental activity, each moment of our mental continuum. The resultant level of them is when all these Buddha-nature factors are working at their fullest capacity – in other words, in the enlightened state of a Buddha, which will also go on forever.

The basic Buddha-nature factors occur also on the basis level with no beginning and no end, but as for the obscurations that limit the capacity of these factors to work at their fullest level of efficiency – although they have no beginning, they can come to an end. This is because these obscuring factors are not based on reality or correct understanding of reality, and so their basis, unawareness, can be replaced with correct awareness. When we are able to stay with correct understanding, without a break, then these disturbing factors, these obscuring factors will never arise again. Then, these Buddha-nature factors will no longer be limited; they will work at their fullest level as a resultant tantra, and they will continue functioning like this forever.

It’s very important to be convinced that we all have these Buddha-nature factors in order to practice tantra effectively because, without this conviction, it’s very easy to fall sometimes into low self-esteem. We think that we can’t really accomplish anything, that “I’m not good enough.” On the other hand, if we go to the opposite extreme of thinking that “I’m already a Buddha, I don’t really have to do anything in order to be a Buddha,” then we overestimate ourselves, we overestimate these Buddha-nature factors. Of course, since we’re not enlightened yet, we make many, many mistakes, being completely filled with arrogance and false pride.

We spoke about the basis tantra and the resultant tantra, now we also have a pathway tantra. This pathway tantra refers these Buddha-figures that we practice with in tantra. These Buddha-figures aren’t like human being who have to be conceived, get born as babies and grow. They always remain in the same form and are always available, forever. In that sense, they’re a tantra, an everlasting continuum. 

We also saw that tantra practice entails first imagining ourselves, but then eventually transforming ourselves into these Buddha-figures. While imagining our body to be that of a Buddha in the form of a Buddha-figure, we also imagine that we have the mind of a Buddha, so all the understanding, the love, compassion, etc. of a Buddha. We also imagine that we have the speech of a Buddha, so we have mantras that are able to communicate perfectly with everyone. And we imagine that the way that we are acting is benefiting all beings, so we imagine that lights go out from our heart and benefit everyone. 

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