Tantric Techniques (88 page)

370
Tantric Techniques

Tripi
ṭ
akam
ā
la’s
Lamp for the Three Modes
but then assert its meaning in this way, because of entailing the fault of contradicting the assertions in the
Lamp for the Three Modes
as well as its commentary by Pa
ṇḍ
ita Sm
ṛ
ti [also known as Jñ
ā
nak
ī
rti and Sm
ṛ
tijñ
ā
nak
ī
rti].

Then what is the master Tripi
ṭ
akam
ā
la’s own explanation? According to Tripi
ṭ
akam
ā
la, even though the goal [buddhahood] which is the object of attainment of Secret Mantra and Perfection is the same, the Mantra Vehicle is superior to the Perfection Vehicle by way of four features: [1] nonobscuration, [2] many methods, [3] ease, [4] sharp faculties. It is superior by way of nonobscuration because those of the Perfection Vehicle do not have very obscured faculties due to engaging in giving and so forth in which the three spheres [of agent, action, and object] are thoroughly purified, but do not have sharp faculties because of engaging in giving away one’s own head and so forth. Giving away one’s own head and so forth is not a perfection of giving and does not fulfill the intention of the creation of the aspiration to enlightenment. Here, in the Mantra Vehicle,
m
ā
ntrikas,
due to having sharp faculties, look down on that method and fulfill all six perfections completely through the sam
ā
dhi of nondual method and wisdom.

[According to Tripi
ṭ
akam
ā
la,] the Mantra Vehicle is superior by way of having more methods, for the Perfection Vehicle is not able to accommodate all sentient beings, since its followers one-sidedly perform peaceful [practices] such as asceticism, vows, and disciplines, whereas here in the Mantra Vehicle, the four sets of tantras were set forth as means of accommodating all sentient beings. Also, [
m
ā
ntrikas
] abandon the five poisons by skillful methods, transmuting the five poisons and so forth into the five tath
ā
gata lineages. It is superior from the viewpoint of difficulty or ease because difficulty and ease are posited from the viewpoint of one’s own mind, and here in the Mantra Vehicle, one achieves a blissful fruition by means of a blissful path in accordance with one’s own desire. Also, from among the two types of special disciples of Highest Yoga Tan-tra who have the best faculties—those desiring and not desiring the Desire Realm attributes of a knowledge woman—the latter were taught the Great Seal (
mah
ā
mudr
ā
), the wisdom of nonduality. With respect to the first [those desiring a knowledge woman], there are two types, those desiring and not desiring an external knowledge woman; a wisdom seal (
jñ
ā
namudr
ā
) was taught for the latter whereas as pledge seal (
samayamudr
ā
) or action seal (
karmamudr
ā
)

The First Pa
ṇ
-chen Lama’s Reformulation
371

was taught for the former. A Tibetan lama’s assertion of this [description by Tripi
ṭ
akam
ā
la] and his assertion that the special disciples of Highest Yoga Tantra who have the best faculties must greatly desire the Desire Realm attributes of an external knowledge woman are contradictory.

[According to Tripi
ṭ
akam
ā
la,] Mantra’s feature of [its disciples having] sharp faculties is correct because the yogins of the four noble truths have very dull faculties due to being obscured with regard to suchness, whereas the followers of the Perfection Vehicle have middling faculties due to being mistaken with regard to me-thod. The followers of the Vajra Vehicle, however, have very sharp faculties due to not being obscured with regard to anything and thoroughly transform through skillful methods even that which, if used by others, would cause them to go to a bad rebirth. That is the assertion of this master [Tripi
ṭ
akam
ā
la] and the master Jñ
ā
nak
ī
rti.

These [positions] appear to require analysis because the followers of the Perfection Vehicle do not assert that the mere fulfillment of the wishes of sentient beings through giving away one’s head is a perfection of giving. For, they assert that a perfection of giving is fulfilled through becoming completely accustomed to the thought of giving. Also, nondual wisdom is the life of the path of the Perfection Vehicle.

The explanation that yogins of the four noble truths do not know suchness is not correct because of involving either an inconclusive or nonestablished reason. If the feature of sharpness of faculties is taken as meaning nonobscuration with respect to method, it would be a repetition of the first [feature of nonobscuration]. Nevertheless, if the feature of sharpness of faculties is taken to mean the use of Desire Realm attributes in the path, this would contradict the explanation of the difference between the disciples of Mantra of highest faculties. It is not correct to assert that the three, great seal, wisdom seal, and pledge or action seal, were taught respectively for the three types of disciples of Mantra—those having the best, middling, and lowest faculties—because there would be the fault of contradicting the teaching that a disciple of Mantra of highest faculties, a jewel-like person, attains buddhahood in one lifetime through training in any of the three deeds of enhancement [each of which entail sexual union] during the two stages.

372
Tantric Techniques

Ratnarak
ṣ
ita’s Position on the Difference between the Perfection and Man-tra vehicles

Ratnarak
ṣ
ita’s
Commentary on the Difficult Points of the Sa
ṃ
varodaya Tantra
(
Sa
ṃ
varodayapañjik
ā
) quotes Maitreya’s
Ornament for Realizations
, which says, “[Bodhisattvas] have skillful methods for using desire.” He also cites the
K
āś
yapa Chapter S
ū
tra
(
K
āś
yapaparivarta
), which says:

Just as the unclean dung of the people of a city Benefits a sugarcane farmer,

So the dung of a bodhisattva’s afflictions Benefits the creation of buddha qualities.

Citing these sources, he asserts that [bodhisattvas] partake of the attributes of the Desire Realm and that great bliss as well as the means to achieve it are common to both S
ū
tra and Mantra.

Then from what point of view is the difference between S
ū
tra and Mantra made? They are differentiated by way of having or not having the stage of generation. As Ratnarak
ṣ
ita says in his commentary to the thirteenth chapter of the
Sa
ṃ
varodaya Tantra
, “Therefore, without cultivating the stage of generation, there is just no feature of the mode of Mantra.” This explanation also requires analysis because there would be the fault of being overly broad and lacking pervasion.

The master Jñ
ā
na
ś
r
ī
asserts that the Mantra Vehicle is superior to the Perfection Vehicle by way of eleven skillful methods or, if condensed, four.
a
The great elder Ati
ś
a’s
Collection of All Pledges
(
Sarvasamayasa
ṃ
graha
) says that the master Indrabh
ū
ti asserts that the Mantra Vehicle is superior to the Perfection Vehicle by way of seven features
b
; the master Buddhajñ
ā
nap
ā
da by three features, and Vajragha
ṇḍ
a by four features. The great adept
Ḍ
ombh
ī
heruka says:

Here, by way of the feature of vessels

And the doctrine that makes [disciples] vessels, By the feature of texts, paths, and fruitions, The Mantra Vehicle is higher.

a
For an explanation, see Bu ston,
rgyud sde spyi’i rnam par gzhag pa rgyud sde rin po che’i mdzes rgyan
, Collected Works, Part 15 (
ba
) (New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture, 1969), 11.5 ff.

b
P4547, vol. 81, 209.5.5 to 210.1.2.

The First Pa
ṇ
-chen Lama’s Reformulation
373

Samayavajra asserts that the Mantra Vehicle is superior to the Perfection Vehicle by five features.
a
These statements [reported by Ati
ś
a] are suitable to explain [the difference in the vehicles] if applied only to Highest Yoga Tantra. Otherwise, they do not apply to the three lower tantras; therefore, those possessing discrimination should analyze them.