The Space Section of the Great Perfection

The Space Section of the Great Perfection (rDzogs-chen klong-sde): a category of philosophical and meditative teachings in Tibetan Buddhism

StenAnspal

Master thesis in Tibetan and Buddhist Studies Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages Faculty of Humanities University of Oslo

Spring 2005

Table of Contents Abbreviations .................................................................................................................... 3 Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................ 4 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................... 5 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................... 5 2. The concept of Space Section (Klang sde) in the Great Perfection ............................ 12 2.1. The problem of identifying Space ....................................................................... 12 2.2. The Space Section as a doxographicarcategory .................................................. 14 2.3. Space Section and the Adamantine Bridge (rDa-rje zam-pa) ............................. 26 2.4. Klang sde from the perspective of the Instruction Section .................................. 36

3. The Doctrine ofrDo-rje zam-pa ................................................................................. 50 3.1. The collection ofrDo-rje zam-pa texts in the NyKG ........................................... 50 3.2. The basic text ofrDo-rje zam-pa ......................................................................... 53 3.3. The Four Signs ..................................................................................................... 64 3.4. rDo-rje zam-pa and the Three Sections ............................................................ :.. 84 4. Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 89 Appendix 1. Tibetan text of the basic text ofrDo-rje zam-pa ........................................ 94 Appendix 2. Space Section in Klong-chen rab-'byams' Grub-mtha' mdzad ................. 96 Appendix 3. Space Section Tantras in the sDe-dge edition of the NGB ...................... 101 Appendix 4. Transmission lineage of the rDo-rje zam-pa ............................................ 102 References ..................................................................................................................... 104

2

Abbreviations

NyKG: rNying-rna bKa' -rna rgyas-pa NGB: rNying-rna'i rgyud-'bum TshB: rNying-rna'i rgyud-'bum, rnTshams-brag edition TK:

rNying-rna'i rgyud- 'bum, gTing-skyes edition

GC:

sNyan-brgyud rin-po-che rdo-rje zam-pa'i gdarns-ngag gzhung bshad che-ba

MC:

sNyan-brgyud rdo-rje zam-pa'i lo-rgyus 'bring-po gdams-ngag dang bcas-pa

SC:

rNa-brgyud rdo-rje zam-pa'i lo-rgyus chung-ngu

~

3

I

Acknowledgments

I wish to thank my supervisor, Per Kvreme, from whose generous help and support I have benefited in many ways during my stay at the University of Oslo. His careful and patient attention has greatly improved the present thesis and removed from it numerous mistakes; any errors that remain are solely my own. I also thank my other teachers at the University of Oslo, Hanna Havnevik and Rinzin Thargyal, for their valuable instruction and help during my studies. To E. Gene Smith at the Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center, I am grateful for his help in locating and obtaining the Tibetan texts that were the primary sources for this study. lowe a debt of gratitude to the Norwegian Government for the Quota Programme Scholarship. I am also indebted to the Institute for Comparative Research in Human Culture, the Institute of Culture Studies at the University of Oslo, and the Network for University Co-operation Tibet-Norway, for their generous financial support. Last but not least, I wish to thank ChOgyal Namkhai Norbu, one of the few present-day exponents of the teachings that are the subj ect of this thesis, for his precious teachings and inspiration.

4

1. Introduction The subject of this thesis is the Buddhist doctrinal category Space Section of the Great Perfection (rDzogs-chen klong-sde), especially as it was understood by the Tibetan tradition of rDo-rje zam-pa. Most of the available textual material concerning this tradition was composed in

11th_12th

centuries, when the movement was most active. The

tradition itself, however, claims to have its origins in teachings that were transmitted from India to Tibet by the Tibetan translator Vairocana in the eighth century, during the first wave of transmission of Buddhism to Tibet. The transmission of Buddhism from India to Tibet occurred in two major waves of promulgation. The earlier dissemination (snga-dar) of the doctrine took place place from the

7th

to 9th centuries, while the later dissemination (phyi-dar) began with translations

from Sanskrit made by Rin-chen bzang-po (958-1055). The two periods of dissemination were separated by a "dark age" (from 842 to about mid-tenth century) of political unrest and disintegration of the Tibetan empire. During this period, monastic establishments suffered a great blow, although previously introduced teachings continued to be practiced among the laity. 1 The beginning of the later dissemination marks the start of a period of religious renaissance in Tibet. Many translators traveled to India in search of authentic teachings and numerous religious movements flourished. However, there developed a divide between teachings prevalent during the first dissemination (Tib. rNying-ma, literally "The Old [Translations]") and those newly introduced to Tibet (gSar-ma, "The New [Translations]"). Doubts arose in regard to authenticity of many texts that claimed to have been translated during the earlier period of dissemination. 2 Issues of authenticity of texts mainly concerned Tantric texts, and were related to the Tantric mode of transmission. To be efficacious, the Tantric teachings had to be transmitted directly from teacher to disciple through rites of initiation and verbal transmission. It was essential that the lineage of a particular teaching could be traced back to an enlightened being, such as Sakyamuni or a celestial Buddha, in a continuous manner, with no gaps in the transmission. In practice, this entailed that the basic

1

On the dark period and the continuity of cultural and religious activities during it, see Kapstein (2000),

pp.lO-12. 2

Smith (2001), p. 238.

5

prerequisite for a Tantric teaching to be authentic was proof of its Indian origin, since no universally accepted Buddhas had appeared on Tibetan soil. It was this kind of proof that the scriptures and doctrines of the Ancients were accused of lacking. The language of the old and new translations appeared to be different: the old texts looked suspiciously like original compositions in Tibetan, rather than translations. In most cases, the Sanskrit manuscripts could not be presented. 3 One of the most original, and also controversial, doctrines of the ancient schools was Great Perfection (rDzogs-chen). It was a teaching that claimed to surpass even the Tantric Vajrayana doctrines that Tibetans usually regarded as the pinnacle of Buddhist doctrinal hierarchy. Yet Great Perfection defined itself largely through Vajrayana, by apparently negating its central practices and claiming to be beyond all of them. Especially the earliest texts of the Great Perfection appeared to convey their message mostly by means ofnegatiofls and rejections of specific principles ofVajrayana. Tantric Buddhism employs the rhetoric of "taking the result as the Path", which refers to ritually and meditatively habituating oneself with visualized Buddhas, their pure paradises, entourages and celestial mansions representing the final result of Buddhist path. The aim of these practices was to approximate and thereby actualize the qualities of enlightenment, the germ of which is already present in oneself. The Great Perfection can perhaps viewed as bringing such a result-based soteriology to an even more radical conclusion -

if one is essentially Buddha, then all of one's experience is the perfect

expression of enlightenment already from the beginning. Spiritual practices involving effort, according to Great Perfection, were superfluous, based on error and comparable to sickness. 4 The tradition of the Great Perfection had its own scriptures that claimed to be translations from Indic languages; they were called Tantras (rgyud), although they were not Tantric in that they differed in character from mainstream Vajrayana Buddhism. In contrast with the latter, the early Great Perfection Tantras didn't explicitly prescribe any particular yogic or ritual techniques. Their claims of being the unsurpassed teaching did not go uncontested by the new schools, who argued that Great Perfection is a local Tibetan fabrication, not an authentic spiritual system. Among other things, it was

3

One exception was the Sanskrit manuscript of the Vajrakfiayamfilatantrakhm:lCja discovered by Sa-skya

PaI}.gita at Shangs Sreg-zhing (Smith 2001, p. 238).

6

accused of being influenced by Chinese Ch'an Buddhism. Ch'an had been promulgated in Tibet during the dynastic period, but fell into disfavor among later Tibetan Buddhists, to the extent that even association with it was considered a sign of heresy. Whether Ch'an actually influenced on the Great Perfection or not, the primary sources of inspiration for the development of the Great Perfection seem to be Indian Tantric traditions. 5 The credibility crisis of the older school boosted the development of Buddhism in Tibet during the later dissemination in several ways. Doubts about the doctrines of the ancient translations were part of the reason why many new efforts were made to seek out pure transmission lineages from India. Followers of the older schools had to make various creative efforts to defend the authenticity their traditions: philosophical defenses were composed;6 innovative devices of demonstrating the authenticity of the lineage were devised, such as the concept of gter-ma ("[Rediscovered] Treasures", i.e. introduction of teachings which were claimed to have been concealed during the dynastic period and later rediscovered, at the appropriate time and by persons prophesized by the original author of the text),7 etc. Due to these and other factors, the period of 11 th to

14th

century

was characterized by creativity, rapid development and enonnous variety of distinctive religious movements. Many of those traditions became extinct in the following centuries; some ceased to exist as institutionally separate movements, but their doctrines were incorporated into other schools and continued to be transmitted within them. Some formes) of Great Perfection had been present before the later dissemination,S but its development accelerated greatly during the eleventh-century renaissance. Over time, there came about a number of strands of the Great Perfection, such as Klong-sde, Manngag-sde, sPyi-ti, Yang-ti, and other varieties. 9 Eventually, three of them became the

most important trends of rDzogs-chen, fonning the nonnative classification of the

4

E.g. as stated in the text Rig-pa 'i khu-byug (Karmay 1988, pp. 50)

5

Kvrerne, in 'Bru-sgom 1996, p. xxvii.

6

E.g. gNubs sangs-rgyas ye-shes' bSarn-gtan rnig-sgron, Rong-zom's Theg-pa chen-po 'i tshul-Ia 'jug-pa,

etc. 7

On the phenomenon of Treasures (gter-rna), see Gyatso 1998, pp. 145-182.

8

E.g. the Mind Section texts (see Karmay 1988 for discussion and translation of several Dunhuang texts).

Most importantly, the eleventh century saw the emergence of the Instruction section.

7

Three Sections of the Great Perfection (rdzogs-chen sde-gsum), namely Mind Section (Sems-sde) , Space Section (Klong-sde) and Instruction Section (Man-ngag-sde). Of

these three, Mind Section represents the type of Great Perfection doctrine as found in the earliest texts; it is to this Section that the above characterization of Great Perfection as technique-free rhetoric of negation mostly applies. It derives its name from Byang-: chub sems ("Mind of Enlightenment"), its central concept of primordially present

enlightened nature. 10 The Instruction Section (Man-ngag-sde), the final element in the Three Sections triad, is the historically latest and most elaborated development of Great Perfection which eventually became the most practiced one, its popularity among followers of the rNying-ma school continuing into the present. In several important ways, it is radically different from the early Mind Section; it has its own distinctive terminology and original innovative theories. In contrast to the Mind Section, it makes extensive use of Tantric techniques of yoga, ritual and visualization, many of which were similar to those practiced in their original Vajrayana Buddhist context. In addition, other practices were developed, based on the Tantric view of the body but without direct parallel in Vajrayana. 11 Its extensive repertoire of methods and techniques must have been one of the reasons that the system became popular, but certainly there were others as well; what no doubt contributed greatly was the work of Klong-chen rab- 'byams (13081363), an erudite scholar and adept who wrote extensive explanations on the Instruction Section. Also, the Instruction Section made use of "rediscovered treasures" (gter-ma) as a device of authentication as well as continuous renewal. The system of the Instruction Section has also been studied in the West, most notably by Germano (1992, 1994). The middle member of the Three Sections triad is Space Section (Klong-sde). It derives its name from its central concept of "space" (klong): the scriptures of this trend present the main points of the view of Great Perfection using the analogy of space. Judging from its substantial literary output and from the fact that became considered one of the three main Sections, it must have been quite an important trend in Great Perfection thought at some point of time. Yet it too eventually gave way to the Instruction Section,

9

TIns variety was reflected in textual categories (e.g., Mind Section, Space Section) as well as

institutional lineages which developed distinctive styles of practice, such as A-ro-lugs, Nyang-lugs, etc. 10

Kannay (1988) has studied a number of texts belonging to this trend. See also van Schaik (2004b).

11

Such as the practice ofthod-rgal, on which see Shardza, Heart Drops ojDhannakaya, pp. 75-115.

8

and nowadays is perhaps the least studied of the Three Sections. The transmission lineages of both Space and Mind Sections have been kept "alive" by the Tibetan traditions by the lineage of initiation and textual transmission being kept intact, but their practice is not emphasized. Many of their texts, however, survive in the textual collections of the rNying-ma school. For the Space Section, these include their specific Tantras, but also practice instructions. It has been argued that there is very little difference between this trend and the Mind Section. 12 This assessment perhaps applies to the respective Tantras of the two trends, but the practice instructions of the Space Section show very important differences -

most importantly in their employment of

certain original transformations of Tantric technique in the practice ofrDzogs chen. The practice instructions of the Space Section are known as rDo-rje zam-pa ("Adamantine Bridge"), the full name of which was rDzogs-pa chen-po klong-sde'i

snyan-brgyud rdo-rje zam"..pa ("Adamantine Bridge, the Oral Lineage of the Space Section of Great Perfection"). This primarily refers to an instruction (man-ngag) on the experiential application of the teaching ofthe Space Section of the Great Perfection. For some time around 11th_12th centuries, there was also a religious movement specializing in this practice, but later it came to be absorbed into other lineages. The fundaI?ental instruction text ofrDo-rje zam-pa was composed by the translator Vairocana in the 8th century and transmitted to a disciple named sPang mi-pham mgon-po. After him, it was passed on for several generations, to only one student at a time, by a succession of hermits about whom little is known. 13 In the 11 th century, 'Dzeng Dharmabodhi received the tradition and popularized it, and his student Kun-bzang rdo-rje wrote the most extensive commentaries on the instructions. His commentaries are an invaluable aid in understanding Vairocana's basic text, which was very terse and consisted of only 22 lines and a short colophon. Kun-bzang rdo-rje's longest commentary explains itin

318 pa~es. Kun-bzang rdo-rje's commentaries on the root verses elucidate the ideas and practices of the system; in some ways they are also apologetic in tone. He makes efforts to situate the Space Section within the framework of the Buddhist worldview in general and to demonstrate its authenticity in comparison with newer trends of Tantra. It represents an

12

Kannay 1988, pp. 213.

13

GC, pp. 148-163. On the lineage of transmission, see section 2.3. below.

9

attempt to validate of its inherited practices in relation with newer authoritative traditions. The texts of the rDo-rje zam-pa are not polemical, but rather try to map the correspondences between their practices and those of the gSar-ma by quoting texts of both older and newer schools in support of their practices. The study of the Space Section is important in that it may help us to understand the process of development of the rDzogs-chen doctrine. The question arises whether the Space Section has influenced the development of the Instruction Section, the final elaboration of rDzogs chen. If it is rather a separate and distinct strand of Great Perfection development, then how do its ideas and practices compare to the Instruction Section: does it in some way represent a parallel evolution? The necessity of the study of Space Section in order to assess the innovativeness of the Instruction Section has been emphasized by Germano. 14 While the present study will not attempt a detailed comparative study of the Space and Instruction Sections, the overview of the Space Section system presented here will allow us to make some general observations on certain important commonalities and differences of the two systems. Up to the present, the Space Section in general and the rDo-rje zam-pa in particular have received very little attention in Western studies. The account of Klong-sde in Karmay's major study on the Great Perfection is very brief. He characterizes rDo-rje zam-pa as "in its contents entirely tantric".15 At the same time, he says that the Mind and Space Sections have "no particular soteriological development",16 since in their systems "the theoretical basis is allowed to suffice".17 This portrayal of the Space Section appears somewhat contradictory, because it is difficult to imagine a system which is entirely Tantric in its contents while at the same remaining entirely theoretical. Tantra, after all, is usually characterized by its multitude of practical methods contemplative, ritual, and yogic techniques - to actualize the theory or "view" (lta-ba) in one's experience. As will be seen in this study, different assessments of the role of technique in the Space Section may partly stem from the use of different sources. Texts classified under the

14

.

Gennano (1994), pp. 267.

15

Karmay (1988), pp. 209.

16

Ibid., pp. 213.

17

Ibid., pp. 214.

10

single rubric of Space Section do not represent a unifoID1 whole, and one may arrive at a different conclusion about the nature of the Space Section and its relation with Tantric practice depending on what texts and traditions one chooses to examine. Some Space Section texts appear to include many Tantric elements, while others seem to be technique-free. It is therefore necessary to outline the different types of literature found under the rubric of the Space Section. I shall attempt this in section 2, where I describe the various applications of the teID1 Space Section found in the Great Perfection literature. I examine how the teID1 has been applied to and used in the Tantras of the Great Perfection. I compare these to the rDo-rje zam-pa and examine the use of Tantras by its followers. I also describe the interpretation of the Space Section from the perspective of the Instruction Section. In section 3, I then describe in more detail the system ofrDo-rje zam-pa, which teaches the practice of the Space Section of the Great Perfection by employing certain Vajrayana-style practices. Here, I am interested in the question of the function and role of these practices in the context of Great Perfection, as well as their relation to new translation Vajrayana schools. Instructions of the rDo-rj e zam-pa and their commentaries are relevant here. A translation of Vairocana's basic text will be presented and interpreted on the basis of Kun-bzang rdo-rje's commentaries. I give an overview of the central practices of the rDo-rje zam-pa and conclude with an outline of the main parallels and differences between the Space and Instruction Sections. My primary sources for describing the system of rDo-rje zam-pa are texts included in the bDud-'joms edition of the rNying-ma bka '-ma ("Orally Transmitted Teachings of the Ancients"), volumes 18 and 19 of which are devoted to rDo-rje zam-pa. For the relevant Tantras, I have consulted the rNying-ma rgyud- 'bum, using mainly the mTshams-brag and additionally the gTing-skyes and Vairocana editions. As the source

of Klong-chen rab-byams' perspective on the Space Section, I have used the presentation in his Grub-mtha ' mdzod.

11

2. The concept of Space Section (Klong sde) in the Great Perfection 2.1. The problem of identifying Space

The tripartite classification of the Great Perfection (rDzogs-chen) into three sections (sde-gsum) has. variously been interpreted as a device for delimiting the range of

authentic strands of the Great Perfection and excluding those perceived as erroneous,18 or as classifications proposed in order to organize extensive amount of heterogeneous textual material in circulation. 19 In any case, eventually it became a standard scheme of categorizing the various teachings of Great Perfection; in principle, any given Great Perfection text is supposed to belong to one of the three categories. 20 However, not all of the three sections are easy to define. The Mind Section (Sems-sde) is the earliest stage in the development of the Great Perfection. The chief scriptures of the Mind Section are included in the well known set of Eighteen Great Scriptures (Lung-chen bco-brgyad).21 Texts belonging to this set also circulated separately or in smaller sub-sets (such as the "five earliest translations", sNga- 'gyur lnga), but they had a unifying theme, the overall central concept of "mind of

enlightenment" (byang-chub-kyi sems), which also gave the name to the whole section. The notion of the mind of enlightenment refers to the true nature of a person's consciousness, essentially identical to the state of Buddha. The texts explain how accessing this pure state of consciousness and remaining in it fulfils and surpasses all the various practices and methods of other Buddhist approaches. 22 The Mind Section has been characterized as "the philosophy of the serene contemplator,,/3 that is, lacking the complexities of ritual and yogic techniques. Although definitions of the Mind Section as a doxogniphical category are not without problems (typically including a

18

Karmay 1988, p. 206.

19

Germano 1994, p. 283.

20

This is the principle followed in e.g. the organization of the sDe-dge edition of the rNying-ma rgyud-

'bum (Achard 2003). 21

For several version~ of the list of texts included in this set, and also of other categories of the Mind

Section, see Norbu and Clemente 1999, pp. 242-255. 22

The characteristic way the Great Perfection contrasts itself to the practices of the Vajrayana is

discussed below, in Section 2.2. K armay 1988, p. 213.

23

12

variety texts of different character), it has a more or less defined core in the form of the above-mentioned eighteen texts. The Instruction Section (Man-ngag-sde) is the most well-defined among the three sections. It has its own set of scriptures, called the Seventeen Tantras (rgyud bcu-

bdun).24 These were said to have been transmitted to Tibet by the Indian PaI).c;iita Vimalamitra, who had been active in the eighth century during king Khri srong-lde'ubtsan's reign. According to legend, he transmitted these scriptures to a select few Tibetans, who then passed them on for several generations, at times hiding and rediscovering them, until they finally reached wider circulation in the eleventh century. Closely connected to the Seventeen Tantras are two sets of explanatory and supplemental material, called Bi-ma snying-thig and mKha '- !gro snying-thig, attributed respectively to Vimalamitra and his contemporary, Padmasambhava. These were also presented as texts whose connection to their supposed historical authors was established through narratives of concealment and rediscovery.25 Texts belonging to the Instruction Section take these texts as authoritative and share their distinct terminology. Besides the various developments in their philosophical theory, the Instruction Section can be contrasted with the Mind Section in its incorporation of numerous techniques from Tantric yoga as well as its original, innovative methods. This difference in orientation is also reflected in the name of the section, as man-ngag mainly denotes practical instructions for the meditator, at the level of yogic and meditative techniques, sequences of contemplation etc. The system of the Instruction Section is well defined also in the sense that its actual contemplative and yogic practices are attested in its fundamental Tantras, so that the connection between scripture and practical instruction manuals is . strong. 26 By contrast, the Space Section is difficult to define or characterize uniformly. It has been variously described as a trend of Great Perfection almost identical to the Mind

24

The list of the Seventeen Tantras is given in Achard (2003), pp. 55-56.

25

On the transmission lineage of these texts, see Prats (1984), Pl'>. 197-209.

26

This applies in particular to the Seminal Heart (sNying-thig), often traditionally defined as the highest

subdivision of the Instruction Section called with names such as The Exceedingly Profound Super-Secret Unsurpassed (shin-tu zab-pa yang-gsang bla-na-med-pa) etc.

13

Section,z7 or alternatively as occupying doctrinally a position between Mind and Instruction Sections. 28 This divergence in characterization appears not only in treatments of the Space Section in modem studies, but already in the works of earlier Tibetan authors. Unlike the other two sections, the various texts and practices known under the name of Space Section were not unified into a single system. Several different and sometimes conflicting definitions of the section were proposed; they were not harmonized and the divergences remained. In the present section, I examine these various uses of the term Space Section. I present three ways that the Space Section has been presented by Tibetan authors: as a class of the Tantras of the Great Perfection; as a technique-oriented system of spiritual practice; and as a description given from the perspective of the Instruction Section 2.2. The Space Section as a doxographical category

One application of the term Space Section is as a designation for a class of Great Perfection Tantras. For Buddhists who accept the validity ofVajrayana teachings, at the most basic level authoritative scriptures are divided into Sutras and Tantras. Both Sutras and Tantras are in the form of a discourse by an enlightened being, whether the historical Sakyamuni or a mythical Buddha (the latter being the case with most Tantras). In principle, the common, i.e. non-Tantric Buddhist doctrine is expounded in the Sutras, whereas both Vajrayana and the Great Perfection have Tantras as their scriptures. 29 The Vajrayana Tantras are included in the bKa '- 'gyur (Translation of the [Buddha's] Word), the great canonical collection of scripture, while the Tantras of the earlier translation period, including those of the Great Perfection, were left out by the compilers of the collection. The authenticity of the older Tantras was in doubt: it was

27

Karmay 1988, pp. 213. Also, Mind and Space Sections are treated as equivalent in Klong-chen rab-

'byams's Chos-dbyings mdzod; he specifically defines one sub-class of the Space Section as agreeing with Mind Section in his Grub-mtha' mdzod (see below, section 2.4). 28

Germano 1994, pp. 283. The name of one of the traditions of the Space Section, the Adamantine Bridge

(rDo-rje zam-pa) has been interpreted as bridging Mind and Instruction Sections (Zhwa-dmar chos-kyi

grags-pa, sNyan-brgyud rdo-rje zam-pa 'i khrid-yig skal-bzang mig- 'byed, NyKG voL 19, p. 144). 29

The actual situation is complicated by occasional confusion in determining which category a given text

belongs to -

some texts have the word sutra in their titles (e.g. some early Great Perfection texts), but

nevertheless belong to the category of Tantras; sometimes the presence of characteristically Tantric elements such as mantras in Siitra texts have led to discussions of their possible Tantric status (see e.g. Lopez (1996) on the PrajiUiparamitahrdaya).

14

suspected by some that they were not translations from Indian languages as they claimed to be, but local Tibetan compositions and as such, unauthoritative forgeries. 3o The Tantras of the rNying-ma were therefore collected into a separate collection of texts, the Collected Tantras of the Ancients (rNying-ma rgyud- 'bum). There were numerous independent efforts in compiling and systematizing the Tantras of the Ancients jnto a collection, and to this day, several editions of the collection survive, with sometimes important differences in their composition and textual history.31 The number of the rNying-ma Tantras in circulation was large and increased over time. Even before the compilation of the Collection(s) of Tantras of the Ancients, there were attempts to classify this disparate textual material. Tantras could be grouped on the basis of different characteristics: some groups of texts might have a history of having traditionally been transmitted together as a group. Texts could also be grouped together according to dominant themes of the texts, although originating from different periods and authorial hands and circulating separately. The traditional histories, relating the transmission of Tantras, group texts into "cycles" (skor) called with such names as the Brahman's Cycle (bram-ze'i skor), The Marvelous Cycle (rmad-du byung-ba'i skor) The Nine Mother-and-Son [texts] of the All-Creating King [referring to the All-Creating

King Tantra (kun-byed rgyal-po) and eight secondary Tantras] (Kun-byed rgyal-po mabu dgu skor) and so forth. 32 One such category included Tantras which had the metaphor of space as the dominant theme. This class was known as the Space Section (klong-sde); these Tantras themselves frequently referred to this category as the 'Twenty Thousand Sections on the Nine Spaces' (klong-dgu bam-po nyi-khrz). 'Gos Lo-tsa-ba (l392-1481), introducing the Space Section in the Blue Annals, his celebrated history of Buddhism in Tibet, describes it as follows: It is said that the subject matter of the greater Equal to Sky Tantra (Nam-mkha '-

dang mnyam-pa) consists of Nine Spaces and its text consists of twenty . thousand sections (bam-po). The [greater version in] twenty thousand sections is

30

31

.

Snellgrove 1987, pp. 474-5. On the compilation of the various rNying-ma rgyud- 'bum collections, see Thub-bstan chos-dar (2000),

pp.I-37. 32

See Norbu and Clemente (1999, pp. 242-255) for lists of such cycles.

15

that which remains in the hands of the realized ones, its complete translation being unavailable here. The subject matter of the lesser Equal to Sky Tantra also consists of Nine Spaces: 1) the Space of View; 2) the Space of Behavior; 3) the Space of Ma.I].q.ala; 4) the Space of Initiation; 5) the Space of Commitment; 6) the Space of Achievement; 7) the Space of Activity; 8) the Space of Paths and Stages; 9) the Space of Fruition. Each is presented in a separate chapter in chapters 11_19. 33 'Gos lo-tsa-ba identifies only one Tantra, Equal to the End of Sky/4 as based on this scheme of ninefold space, although in fact there are several more. According to this Tantra, the Nine Spaces are not separate realities but nine aspects of a single "basis of mind" (sems-kyi gzhi) ,35 the fundamental nature of consciousness, which is the same as the ultimate reality of all phenomena. This basis is likened to space (klong); the Nine Spaces use the image of space to indicate specific ways to relate the awareness of one's fundamental nature to different aspects of the Vajrayana path. The Tibetan word klong is not easy to translate, as was noted also by Snellgrove (1967, p. 262 n. 71). The meanings of the word include 'space' and also 'center', 'interior'. Klong-yangs is 'spacious, expansive'. Klong- 'khyil means 'whirlpool' or a 'round

sphere of light'. rBa-klong means 'wave'; the 8th century Sanskrit-Tibetan dictionary Mahtivyutpatti has klong as part of klong-dang bcas-pa to translate Sanskrit sfivart~m.36

The fabricated Indic titles of Great Perfection Tantras give avarta (Skt. for 'whirl, whirlpool, turning') as the original for klong, which may indicate the use of Mahavyutpatti in constructing these titles. The Tantras themselves, however, use klong

in the sense of 'space'.

33

'Gos lo-tsa-ba, Deb ther sngon po, pp. 154-155: nam mkha' dang mnyam pa 'i rgyud chen po'i don

klong dgu dang tshig bam po nyi khri zhes 'byung ba lal bam po nyi khri ni grub pa 'i skyes bu mams kyi phyag na bzhugs pa 'i dbang du byas pa yin gyil 'dir gzhung tshang bar 'gyur ba ni med dollnam mkha' dang mnyam pa 'i rgyud chung ba'i don yang klong dgu stel dang po Ita ba'i klong I gnyis pa spyod pa 'i klong I gsum pa dkyil 'khor gyi klong I bzhi pa dbang gi klong I lnga pa dam tshig gi klong I drug pa sgrub pa 'i klong I bdun pa phrin [155] las kyi klong I brgyad pa sa lam gyi klong I dgu pa 'bras bu'i klong ste I de dag kyang Ie 'u bcu gcig pa nas bcu dgu pa 'i bar Ie 'u re res ston pa yin nol I 34

The text is found in e.g. vol. 2 of the rnTshams-brag edition of the rNying-ma rgyud- 'bum, pp. 2-278,

under its complete title, rDo-rje sems-dpa' nam-mkha 'i mtha' dang mnyam-pa'i rgyud chen-po. 35

36

TshB p. 122. Mahavyutpatti no. 7037 (Sakaki 1916, pp. 453-4).

16

In the sense of 'space', the word klong is not a technical Buddhist tenn. Buddhist scholastic lists of basic phenomena include "space", defined that which does not hinder matter, but the word used is nam-mkha' (Skt. akiisa), which also means simply 'sky'. It is an instance of unconditioned (i.e. not created by causes and conditions) and pure (i.e. not in association with non-virtuous mental qualities) phenomena. 37 The word klong is used in the Great Perfection Tantras as an image that conveys similar qualities. It can refer to the expanse of the sky as well as the 'mental sphere' of an individual. The tenn

klong is used to describe aspects in which the individual's true nature of mind is analogous to space. Some of these aspects of space include the following: space is present everywhere: no effort is needed to reach it; it cannot be transcended; it is immense, encompassing everything; it lacks characteristics; it is without center or periphery; it is eternal and uncaused; there is no support in space and nothing to focus on. Below, I have translated a brief section from the Equal to the End of Sky Tantra, which describes the Nine Spaces, one verse for each Space. Each of the chapters 11-19 of the Tantra deals respectively with each Space in an extensive manner; the short summary translated here is found in Chapter 21, On the Division into Nine Spaces (glong dgur

phye ba'i Ie 'u). The Equal to the End of Sky adheres to the common format for the genre of Tantras. It starts out with the title followed by the Indic title of the original that the Tantra is supposed to be translated from. The text is divided into 28 chapters, the first of which sets the scene for the discourse. It describes how the Buddha-figure Vajrasattva (rDo-rje

sems-dpa') abides in the highest heaven

Akani~tha

together with a retinue of highly

realized beings. One of them, Sattvavajra (Sems-dpa' rdo-rje), approaches the main

37

Vasubandhu, Abhidharmakosabhli$yam, tr. Pruden (1988), vol. I, pp. 58-59. Alternatively, iikasa is part

of the enumeration of six elements (dhiitu) of matter, in this context referring to spaces of cavities (ibid., , pp.88-89).

17

figure and requests teachings by posing questions. The question-answer sessions are divided into following chapters according to specific topics. Towards the end, prophecies are given regarding the transmission of the Tantra in the future, the necessary characteristics of teachers and students who can become part of the lineage are described, etc. The main part of the text, i.e. the questions and answers, is in verse format. Common in Tibetan syllabic verse is contraction of words and omission of grammatical particles in order to make sentences fit the meter, which creates special problems for translation. Often, the resulting text is either cryptic or underdetermined with respect to its meaning, as the missing grammatical elements have to be supplied by the reader or translator, and there can be several possible choices. For some Tantras, there are commentaries that expand and interpret the verse text, but there are many for which commentaries are not available, which is unfortunately also the case here. For the translation, I have used the version in the mTshams-brag (TshB) edition of the rNying-ma rgyud- 'bum, vol. 2, pp. 123-124. I have also consulted the gTing-skyes (TK) edition, where the text is found in Vol. 3, pp. 521-522. The translated verses are followed by my interpretation. I have supplied a numbered heading to each verse; the text of the verse itself does not always mention the Space it corresponds to. [1. The Space of View] The self-illuminating awareness without boundaryor centerhowever it appears, in no way is it made into a focus. Objectless awareness transcends thought and object. This is the Space of Mind, the non-objectified view. 38 View (Skt. dr${i, Tib. lta-ba) denotes the correct worldview, the proper understanding of reality on which the religious path is based. Different schools of Buddhism define it in various ways, such as absence of self-identity in a person, lack of true existence of all phenomena, and so on. It is part of the triad of view, meditation and behavior (lta-sgomspyod gsum) as elements of the Buddhist path. In this context, 'view' usually denotes a theoretical understanding, which one is to experientially realize in a state of meditation

38

TsbB p. 123: rang gsal rig pa mtha' dbus medl/Cir'snangji ltar2 cir mi dmigs/ /yul bral rig pa3 bsam

yul 'das/ Ilta ba gza'4 bral sems kyi glongs / / TK: 1) om first line 2) cir bltas 3) yul dang bral bas 4) bza' 5) /dong / /

18

(sgom-pa). In the Great Perfection, however, view is often defmed not as a theoretical position about an objective reality but in experiential tenns, as a state of awareness of one's own true nature: such awareness (rig-pa) is in itself said to constitute "view". In the above verse, proper view is described through the metaphor of space, which does not have a central point or extremities (dbus-mtha' med). The standard description of the correct world-view in Mahayana (as well as Vajrayana) is also that it is 'free from extremes' (mtha') ofreifying phenomena as existent or nihilistic ally asserting their nonexistence. In the state of awareness of one's true nature, one does not apprehend subject or object, nor the existence or non-existence of anything. [2. The Space of Behavior] When acting [within the state of] the wisdom of clear lightjust as grasping for characteristics is not present in the sky, grasping for that which should be taken up or avoided is not present in the blissful Space of carefree behavior. 39 Proper behavior (Skt. carya, Tib. spyod-pa) refers to one's activities -

taking up what

is virtuous and avoiding the non-virtuous. According to the Great Perfection however, ultimate behavior is operating within the state of "wisdom of clear light" of one's true nature. Discriminating one's actions as good or bad involves grasping for characteristics, but just as there is nothing to cling to in the sky, there are no characteristics in the state of knowledge of the essential nature of one's mind. [3. The Space of the ma}:u;iala] In the uncreated mw/.{;iala of awareness,

there are no external objects to be attached to; [everything manifests] within the mind of enlightenment as [its] inherent clarity: this is the Space of the uncreated mw/.{;iaia of inherent clarity.4o .

39

TshB p. 123: 'di! (read: 'od acc. to TK) gsal ye shes spyod pa lallnam mkha' mtshan 'dzin mi gnas

bzhinz/lblang dor spong 'dzin mi gnas par Iispyod pa bag g.yangs3 bde ba'i blo 4 (read: klong acc. to TK)II TK: i) 'od 2) shing 3) yangs 4) klong 40

TshB p. 123: bskyed bral rigs! (read: rig following TK) pa 'i dkyil 'khor lallmtha' yi2 zhen pa 'i chos

bral zhing Ilbyang chub sems su rang gsal basllbskyed bral rang gsal3 dkyil 'khor glong411 TK: 1) rig 2) mtha 'i 3) grol4) klong

19

Mm:ujala (Tib. dkyil- 'khor) is an important concept in Vajrayana. It denotes the

enlightened dimension of a Buddha, an orderly idealized world centered on a deity. In meditative visualization, the practitioner identifies him- or herself with the deity and imagines that all of one's perception is its sacred environment. The central (dkyil) figure, surrounded by a retinue (,khor) of other deities, inhabits a palace "beyond measure" (Skt. vimana, Tib. gzhal-yas khang), imagined as complete with intricate ornaments and other details, each symbolizing a specific Buddhist concept. Through such visualization, the meditator aims to transform one's ordinary, worldly perception into pure perception and actualize the enlightened state. In contrast, the Great Perfection claims that to mentally create a ma1Jrjala is unnecessary. All of one's perception is already part of the domain of one's enlightened nature of mind. The true nature of mind is endowed with cognitive clarity (gsal-ba), which gives the mind its perceptual capacity. Perceived objects are just aspects of one's intrinsic clarity, and as such are just manifestations of one's enlightened nature, although perceived as external and impure. One's perceptual world surrounding oneself as the center is therefore said to be equivalent to a ma1J¢ala, effortlessly present by virtue of one's natural clarity. [4. The Space of Initiation] As the three realms41 are pervaded by the light of the Jewel and non-duality is realized, the initiation is conferred: Royal anointment through all-pervading awareness is the Space of Initiation.42 Initiation (Skt. abhi$eka, Tib. dbang) is the Vajrayana rite through which the Guru authorizes the disciple to engage in the practices of a particular Tantric system. The disciple is ritually introduced to the deity and ma1J¢ala, and assumes cori:nnitments

41

Three realms (khams gsum) is the standard Buddhist classification of beings

iIi

cyclic existece,

consisting of the realm of desire (Skt. kiimadhlitu, Tib. 'dod-khams), the realm of subtle-matter gods (Skt. riipadhlitu, Tib. gzugs-khams) and the realm of immaterial gods (Skt. ariipyadhlitu, Tib. gzugs-med khamS). 42

TshB p. 123: khams gsum rin chen 'od brdal1 tellgnyis med rtogs pas dbang bskur2 zhing I /rig pa kun

khyab brdal3 ba yis~ /rgyal thabs spyi blugs dbang gi glongs I I

TK.: 1) gsal2) bsgyur 3) gdal4) ni 5) klong

20

(samaya)43. Already in possession of the germ of enlightenment, formerly the disciple

was like a prince who belongs to the royal family of Buddhas; initiation is analogous to coronation, enabling the disciple to "become king" and visualize oneself in the perfect form ofthe deity in the center of the mwu;lala palace. According to the Great Perfection, initiation is naturally obtained since the beginning. The clarity of the enlightened nature of mind encompasses the whole of space, and if one realizes the non-duality of one's perceptual world and the one's own essential clarity, this is equivalent to initiation. The term often found in Great Perfection for this recognition is "royal anointment" (rgyal-thabs spyi-Iugs), continuing the royal metaphor found also in Vajrayana. It should be noted that although the rite of initiation was rhetorically rejected in the Great Perfection, it does not mean that it was not performed in practice. "Royal anointment" is in fact the name of the rite through which the disciple is introduced to the Great Perfection. [5. The Space of Commitment] As for the nature of mind that does not need to be maintained: 44 The superior commitment abides in the Basis (gzhi). One does not go beyond ('das_pa)45 the essence (thig-Ie)This is the Space of Commitment beyond maintaining, impossible to transcend ('da '-med).46

With the receiving of initiation, the Vajrayana disciple assumes various commitments (Skt. samaya, Tib. dam-tshig) related to maintaining the continuity of spiritual practice, rules of ethics, harmonious relations with the Tantric community, etc. This concept is again reinterpreted in the Great Perfection: true commitment is not going beyond one's true nature, and since this is ever-present within oneself, this commitment is also

43

Aspects of Vajrayana initiation are discussed in more detail below, in the chapter on the Four Signs

(section 3.3). 44

Tib. bsrung literally means 'protect, safeguard against': maintaining vows or commitments in the sense

of safeguarding against violations. 45

'da' ba: 'pass, go beyond', also 'transgress'.

46

TshB p. 123: bsrung med sems kyi rang bzhin nil Ilhag pa'i dam tshig gzhi Ia gnasllthig Ie nyid Ia! mi

'das pas2i Ibsrung braI3 dam tshig 'da' med gIong4 I I TK: 1) las 2) 'da' bas 3) bar 4) kiong

21

impossible to break. Or, expressed with the metaphor of space- one cannot transgress the boundaries of the commitment, just as one cannot leave space. [6. The Space of Activity] In the sphere of reality, clear light in which there is nothing to be done,

[enlightened] activities are spontaneously accomplished without seeking. hnpartial wisdom of clear light is the Space of supreme Activity, free from seeking. 47 Activity (Skt. karma, Tib. 'phrin-las) here means the activity of an enlightened person- the term applies to the omnibeneficient activities of the Buddha for the good of all sentient beings, and also the charismatic activities of a Vajrayana adept. Through various ritual practices, the Vajrayana practitioner aims to acquire spiritual power, which is then used to enact the four types of activities- the rituals of pacification, subjugation, enrichment, and forceful elimination. These practices are criticized in the Great Perfection because they involve effort: enlightened activities are perfected just by abiding in clear light, the true nature of mind. [7. The Space of Achievement] In the sphere of reality devoid of thought and focus,

one should settle with undistracted awareness of clear light within the space of awareness of the inherent clarity of wisdom: this is the Space ofuncontrived Mind (dgongs-pa).48 Achievement49 (Skt. sadhana, Tib. sgrub-pa) refers to activities undertaken to reach enlightenment, such as engaging in rituals, reciting mantras, etc. For the Great Perfection, achievement is effortless, since the result is already present in oneself For

47

TshB pp. 123-124: bya bral 'od gsal chos dbyings la! /'phrin las [124] btsal med lhun grub pasl/'od

gsal ye shes phyogs ris medl Ibtsal med 'phrin lasl mehog gi glong2 I I TK: 1) ye shes 2) klong 48

TshB p. 124: bsam med dmigs bral ehos dbyings lal lye Shes2 rang gsal rig pa 'i glong3 / /yengs med

'od4 gsal rig pas gzhag /beos med dgongs pa nyid kyi s glong6 / / TK: 1) ehos kyi dbyings 2) yengs med 3) klong 4) rang, 5) kyis 6) klong 49

The verse cited does not actually include the word sgrub pa, "achievement", but corresponds to the,

respective Space.

22

this reason, the proper practice is one of non-achievement, involving only undistracted resting in the clarity of one's awareness. [8. The Space of Levels and Paths] Since cyclic existence ('khor ba, sarrzsara) is Buddha since the beginning, there is no aim toward which to proceed; therefore there is no progression along the levels and paths. This is the Space of the ultimate path, mind-itself.5o Both levels (Skt. bhilmi, Tib. sa) and paths (Skt. marga, Tib. lam) are terms that refer to stages of progression along the Buddhist path. 51 In keeping with the immediacy of enlightenment ever-present in oneself, the Great Perfection rejects the notion of gradual progression towards enlightenment. 52 Great Perfection is sometimes described as having a single level (sa-gcig-pa )53, -

that of Buddhahood, present as the true nature of one's

own mind. [9. The Space of Fruition]

In the same way that a heap of jewels is illuminated, the inherent clarity of awareness is spontaneous. Not born from causes and conditions is the Space of wisdom, the self-arising Fruition. 54

50

TshB p. 124: 'khor ba ye nas sangs rgyas lallgzhan du bgrod pa 'i yul bral nasi !lam dang sa la bgrod

med dellsems nyid mtha' phyis l lam gyi glong2 I I TK: 1) mthar phyin 2) klong 51

Stated extremely briefly, they are as follows: in both Sravakayana (or, to use the more common

pejorative tenn, Hlnayana) and Mahayana Buddhism, there are five paths or sequential "sections" along the progression from the state of an ordinary person up to the attainment of nirvcl1:za. For followers of the Mahayana, the latter three of the five paths are further divided into ten levels culminating in the state of Buddha. The paths are discussed extensively in e.g. Vasubandhu's Abhidharmakosabha:;yam, vol. III, pp. 895-1040; on both paths and levels, see Obermiller (1932). 52

The problems that rejecting gradualism presents for the Great Perfection and solutions proposed by one

of its adherents, 'Jigs-med gling-pa (1730-98), are discussed in Van Schaik 2004a. 53

54

.

Karmay 1988, p. 47. TshB p. 124: rin chen phung po gsal byed ltar! !rig pa rang gsallhun grub lallrgyu dang rkyen las rna

skyes pal I !rang byung 'bras bu ye shes glong2 I I TK: 1) bskyed pas 2) klong

23

The enlightened state, the fruition (Skt. phala, Tib. 'bras-bu) of the religious path, is only brought about by proper causes and necessary secondary conditions, according to most non-Great Perfection Buddhist traditions. 55 Argument for the causal nature of the process of enlightenment can be made in conjunction with assertion of one's enlightened nature: the latter may be present in oneself in the manner of a seed and, despite being substantially the same as the fruition, would require cultivation and proper supportive conditions in order to be actualized as such. The Great Perfection offers a more radical interpretation of the enlightened essence of mind, rejecting the possibility that the resultant state could be brought about by causes. Nine Spaces and the Ten Absences

Each of the. Nine Spaces expresses the doctrine of the Great Perfection through addressing an element of Vajrayana. They demonstrate how the single practice of maintaining awareness of one's true nature encompasses the essential meaning of the respective Tantric counterparts, and even surpasses them. The doctrine of the Great Perfection is thus defined through its relation to Vajrayana practices. As the Equal to the End of Sky states, the Nine Spaces constitute a complete presentation of the Great

Perfection: there is no teaching of the Great Perfection that is not included within the Nine Spaces. 56 The Nine Spaces is not the only way of presentation of the relationships between Great Perfection and Vajrayana. A very similar classification is found in earlier texts of the Mind Section, such as the All-Creating King Tantra (Kun-byed rgyal-po), and is called Ten Absences (med pa bcu), which consists of the following ten negations: 1) View is not to be meditated upon (lta-ba bsgom-du med-pa); 2) Commitment is not to be kept (dam-tshig bsrung-du med-pa);

3) Ma1Jcjala is not to be created57 (dkyil- 'khor bskyed-du med-pa); 4) Initiation is not conferred (dbang-Ia bskur-du med-pa);

55

KarnalaSila, a major participant in the eighth-century Tibetan debate between proponents of sudden and

gradual approaches to enlightenment, insists strongly on this point in his Bhiivanakrama (KamalaSila, The Stages o/Meditation: Middle Volume, pp. 1-2.) 56

TshB p. 123: rdzogs chen byang chub theg pa de! /glong dgur rna 'dus bstan pa med/ /

57

'Creation' (bskyed-pa) of the mafldala refers to mentally constructing its visualized image.

24

5) Enlightened activities are not to be sought ('phrin-Ias btsal-du med-pa); 6) Paths are not to be traversed (lam-la bgrod-du med-pa); 7) Levels are not to be trained in (sa-la sbyang-du med-pa); 8) Behavior is without adopting and avoiding

~pyod-pa

blang-dor med-pa);

9) Wisdom is without obscuration (ye-shes sgrib-pa med-pa); 10) Spontaneous peifection is beyond seeking (lhun-grub btsal-du med-pa). 58 These correspond for the most part to the Nine Spaces, with the exception that achievement (sgrub-pa) is replaced with wisdom (ye-sh?s) and levels and paths are treated separately. Both the Absences and Spaces are based on earlier lists of the principles of Tantra, found in Vajrayana texts. Commentaries to the Guhyagarbha Tantra, one of the main scriptures of the Vajrayana tradition in the rNying-ma school, elaborated various lists of seven, nine, or ten principles of Tantra (rgyud-kyi dngos-po or rgyud-kyi rang-bzhin), which in the main corresponded those enumerated above. 59 The basic structure of the presentation of the Great Perfection is very similar in the Tantras of the Mind Section and in the Tantras that employ the Nine Spaces as the dominant metaphor. An additional point of similarity between Mind Section Tantras and a number of Nine Spaces texts is that they do not prescribe any particular techniques for the practitioner, such as physical postures or movements, graduated meditative exercises, etc. There are other texts such as the Seventeen Tantras of the Instruction Section (Man-ngag-sde) that present various techniques for inducing mental states conducive for realization of the deepest nature of mind. By contrast, Mind Section and Nine Spaces Tantras give the appearance of being "theoretical" texts, verbally introducing the nature of mind, and showing how its realization is a self-sufficient spiritual practice. This does not

n~cessarily

entail that the communities that took those

texts as authoritative scripture did not employ structured contemplation exercises, meditative or yogic techniques, since these may have been prescribed by special instruction texts (man-ngag or gdams-ngag) or complementary, technique-oriented Tantras (man-ngag-gi rgyud). Nevertheless, judging on the basis of these Tantras

58

Tibetan from the headings to Chapters 59-68 of the All~Creating King Tantra, according to the chapter

index in Norbu and Clemente, Supreme Source, p. 258. 59

Some of these lists are discussed in Germano 1994, pp. 205-207.

25

themselves, there are strong similarities between Nine Spaces texts and Mind Section Tantras, so that the two can appear "nearly identical with respect to their philosophical doctrines".60 2.3. Space Section and the Adamantine Bridge (rDo-rje zam-pa)

Apart from the Tantras such as the Equal to the End of Sky (Nam-mkha'i mtha '-dang mnyam-pa), there exists a different group of texts that are described as belonging to the

Space Section. This is the doctrine known as rDzogs-pa chen-po klong-sde'i snyanbrgyud rdo-rje zam-pa ("Adamantine Bridge, the Oral Lineage of the Space Section of

Great Perfection"), or simply rDo-rje zam-pa ("Adamantine Bridge"). This teaching is said to originate from Vairocana, traditionally held to be the translator of the most important Mind and Space Section Tantras from Indic languages into Tibetan. 61 Vairocana composed a brief text, in twenty-two lines, which became the fundamental text for rDo-Ije zam-pa; much of the later literature of rDo-Ije zam-pa consists of commentaries on this text. Vairocana's basic text and the associated commentarialliterature represent a different genre than the Great Perfection Tantras. They are styled "instructions" (man-ngag) or "advices" (gdams-ngag). Often, these terms refer to intimate oral instructions from the teacher to disciple. 62 Texts that are termed instructions are typically short and pithy. Also, as said above in the context of the Instruction Section (Man-ngag-sde) , the orientation of these kinds of texts is on practical application, on providing the disciple with the information necessary to engage in the practice of the teachings. Such orientation is also characteristic to rDo-Ije zam-pa, and constitutes the most apparent difference between the latter and the Tantras of the Nine Spaces. Unlike the Tantras with their uncompromising rejection of all effort in spiritual endeavors, the instruction of rDo-Ije zam-pa describes an actual method for entering the state in which the profound statements of the Great Perfection Tantras would become applicable. The method is called "the four essential signs" (gnad-kyi brda bzhi). The four signs denote sensations of clarity, non-conceptuality and bliss, which are utilized to bring about

60

'

Kannay 1988, p. 209, p. 213.

61

Translators ofrNying-ma Tantras are listed in the catalogs reproduced in Achard (2002,2003).

62

However, man-ngag in the title does not always indicate a text of such a nature; e.g. Maitreyanatha's

scholastic Abhisamayalal!lkara is also termed a pha-rol-tu phyin-pa 'i man-ngag (prajiiaparamitopadesa).

26

recognition of the essential nature of consciousness. The commentaries and instruction texts of the rDo-rje zam-pa describe the how the preparatory exercises, postures, gazes and attention should be used in order to give rise to these sensations. The colophon to Vairocana's basic text states that the text summarizes the essence of the Equal to the End of Sky Tantra, which is probably the reason why the rDo-rje zampa is associated with the Space Section. Nevertheless, the concepts and tenninology it uses are very different. The Nine Spaces are not an important concept in the basic text itself, its commentaries or instruction manuals. Rather, the methods of rDo-rje zam-pa are described in tenns of the completion stage (rdzogs-rim) of Vajrayana. 63 Especially the later commentaries (the extant commentarialliterature dates from l1th_lzth century onwards) explain these methods predominantly using tenns from the Vajrayana systems of the new translation schools (gsar-ma). The actual practices of the rDo-rje zam-pa and their relation to the Vajrayana schools will be discussed more extensively in Section 3; here, I will briefly describe below the lineage of rDo-rje zam-pa and its relation to the Tantras ofthe Great Perfection. The legend of the transmission lineage of rDo-rje zam-pa

Traditional histories of the succession of gurus who transmitted the teaching ofrDo-rje zam-pa are found in Kun-bzang rdo-rje'sthree commentaries on the basic text ofrDorje zam_pa. 64 The basic text itself prescribes that as a preliminary to the main part of the teaching, the history of the lineage should be related in order to create confidence in disciples. The commentaries to the text therefore include lengthy sections on the history of the teaching, describing how it was transmitted first from the original Buddha Vajrasattva to the teacher dGa'-rab rdo-rje in the country ofOc,ic,iiyana, and then through Indian teachers to Tibet. Kun-bzang rdo-rje's histories are the basis for 'Gos lo-tsa-ba's account of the lineage ofrDo-rje zam-pa in his Blue Annals. The later Tibetan histories I've consulted65 are based on the Blue Annals, sometimes incorporating its text verbatim. The Blue Annals has been translated by dGe-'dun Chos-'phel and Roerich

63

On the completion stage, see below, section 3.3.

64

These are the Greater, Medium and Lesser Histories found in the NyKG (sNyan brgyud rin po che rdo

rje zam pa 'i gdams ngag gzhung bshad che ba 'dzeng yab sras kyi slob rna slob dpon kun bzang rdo rjes mdzad pa, pp. 22-338; sNyan brgyud rdo rje zam pa 'i lo rgyus 'bring po gdams ngag dang bcas pa, pp. 339-483; rNa brgyud rdo rje zam pa 'i 10 rgyus chung ngu, pp. 484-575). 65

Guru bKra-shis Chos- 'byung, Zhe-chen chos- 'byung, bDud- 'joms chos- 'byung.

27

(1976), and its account of rDo-rje zam-pa is reproduced in the bDud- 'joms Chos'byung, translated by Dorje and Kapstein in bDud-'joms (2002). The history given in

the Blue Annals starts with the Tibetan translator Vairocana; an episode from the Indian pre-history ofrDo-rje zam-pa is translated by Norbu and Clemente in the introduction to the translation of the Kun-byed rgyal-po (Norbu and Clemente 1999, pp. 33-35). I will therefore refrain from translating the history here, but shall briefly summarize it below from its beginnings until Kun-bzang rdo-rje, the most important commentator on the rDo-rje zam-pa. The transmission lineage of the later teachers is given in Appendix 4. The part of the legend that deals with the transmission in O