Everything Is Light The Circle of Total Illumination - Keith Dowman

Everything Is Light
The Great Explanatory Dzogchen Tantra

Thig le Kun gsal chen po 'i rgyud
The Circle of Total Illumination
Translated from the Tibetan

with an Introduction by
Keith Dowman
Published by Dzogchen Now! Books
keithdowmanr,1 1g1,11ail.rnm
Keith Dowman 2017
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be

reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic
or mechanical, including photography, recording, or
by any information storage or retrieval system or
technologies now known or later developed without
permission in writing from the publisher.
ISBS-13:978-1543035568
ISBN-10:1543035566
Cover design by Juan Sebastian Restrepo

Printed in the U.S.A.
Type set in Garamond 11 pt
The transliterated text of the Thig le kun gsal is available on
www.radicaldzogchen.com
Dedicated to teachers of Dzogchen
in the New Age
Homage to Three Generations of great Dzogchen teachers:

Dudjom Jigtral Yeshe Dorje
Dugse Thrinley Norbu
Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse
Free .from the neurosis of compulsive striving,

Spontanei!) is alwf!YS immanent;
With buddha at the core of our being,
Goal-oriented thought is quieted;
Meditation veils the sublime -
Buddha unveiled, everything is light.
Tiklay Kunsel, Chapter 9
In the matrix of intrinsic spadousness

Our originalface shines like the sun,
Its creativi!)', without bias,
projects everything as light. ..
Spaciousness: Canto Thirteen
Contents
Foreword 13
Acknowledgements 15
Introduction 17
The Text and the Translation 42
Protection 61

1. Prologue 64
2. Spontaneous All-Inclusive Envisionment 66
3. The Primal Ground: Definition 68
4. All-Inclusive Envisionment: Metaphors 69
5. The Primal Ground: Extensive Definition 72
6. Present Awareness: Definition 76
7. Present Awareness: Key Words 79
8. Pure Presence: Creativity 80
9. The Creativity of Light-Seed 81
10. Creativity: Definition 82
11. Ornamentation and Display: Definition 83
12. Ornamentation and Display: Key Words 85
13. Ornamentation and Display: Metaphors 86
14. Delusion: Its Basis 86
15. Delusion: Cause and Occasion 89
16. Delusion: Its Causes and Conditions 91
17. The Life Within 93
18. Samsara in the Final Kalpa 94
19. The Five Great Elements 96
20. The Great Elements: Attributes 96
21. The Three Kalpas 98
22. Trikaya: Dimensions of Form 98
23. Conversion 101
24. Location and Thrones 102
25. Throne: Definition 103
26. Mandala Circles: Principals and Retinues 104
28. The Five Families 106
29. The Sambhogakaya Mandala Retinue 108
30. Tulku: Emanation 110
31. Trikaya: Meaning 112
32. Trikaya: Key Terms 113
33. Buddha: Definition 116
34. Trikaya: Qualities 117
35. Tulku: Altruistic Action 118
36. Eight Approaches: The View 120
37. Eight Approaches: Meditation 122
38. Eight Approaches: Conduct 124
39. Eight Approaches: Fruition 125
40. The Great Perfection: View 127
41. Nonmeditation and Meditation 129
42. Nonmeditation and Meditation Instruction 133
43. Conduct 137
44.Fruition 139
45. Approach to Buddha: Definition 140
46. View: Definition 140
47. Meditation: Definition 142
48. Nonmeditation: Definition 143
SO. Fruition: Definition 145
52. The Eight Approaches: Superiority 147
53. The Supreme: Definition 150
54. Fivefold Supremacy 150
55. Deviations and Obscurations 154
56. Deviation and Obscuration: Definition 155
57. A Petition 156
58. The Five Excellences 157
59. The Five Excellences: Definition 159
60. The Style of the Tantras 160
61. Tantra: Definition 162
62. Empowerment 163
63. Empowerment: Definition 169
64. Samaya Commitment 169
65. Samaya Commitment: Definition 170
66. Mandala 171
67. Selfless Activity 172
68. Puja and Yoga 173
69. Mantra and Mudra 174
70. Approach and Accomplishment 176
71. Agama Instruction: The Five Principles 176
72. Agama Instruction: Definition 177
73. Secret Precept 178
74. Secret Precept: Definition 179
75. Stages, Paths and Perfections 180
76. Stages: Definition 183
77. The Five Paths: Ultimate Fruition 184
78. Path: Definition 185
79. The Ten Perfections: Not to Be Practiced 185
80. Perfection as Fruition: Definition 186
81. The Three Hollows: Definition 187
82. Appearances: Definition 188
83. Physical Embodiment 191
84. The Four Bardos 192
85. l\1ind and Awareness 193
86. The Fourfold Symbolic Pointing Out 195
87. Release and Signs of Release 199
88. Varieties of Release 201
89. Release and Compassion: Definition 209
90. Metaphors and Similes: Test 210
91. Nirvana: The Five Verses 215
92. Nirvana: Definition 219
93. The Eyes 219
94. The Four Alternatives: Explanation 220
95. Meaning of the Spoken Word 222
96. Clarifying Definitions and Avoiding Errors 224
97. Entrusting the Tantra 231
Appendix 1: The Mandala ofVairochana 239

Appendix 2: Longchenpa's Gnas lugs mdzod Quotations 246
Appendix 3: Texts Cited 250
Appendix 4: The Mantric Upadeshas 255
Incidence of Selected Technical Terms 257
Glossary of Numeral Terms [GNT] 258

Glossary of English Dzogchen Technical Terms 270
Selected Sanskrit - English Concordance 289

Selected Tibetan - English Dzogchen Vocabulary 291
Index of English Words Listed or Defined In the Text 296
Index of Tibetan Words Listed or Defined in the Text 302
Select Bibliography 311
Other Titles by Keith Dowman 313

Foreword
This wonderful, powerful tantra, amazing in its breadth and depth,

can take the reader to an ineffable appreciation of nonduality. It is a
defmitive expression of Dzogchen, an ultimate exposition of the
nondual. It is a final paean of Vajradhara, the buddha spokesperson
for that ultimate place. It is utterly glorious in its representation in
chapter after chapter of mental constructs that shine and then
disintegrate and leave us in soft-focused spaciousness. For these very
reasons this foreword is an expression of regret.
The source of the material herein is not in question. On the contrary,

this tantra is radical Dzogchen - direct to the heart of the Great
Perfection - and as such the basic fibers of that ultimate nondual
realization are to be found here. It is the language of translation and
the form of expression that require an apology. The issue is no longer
secrecy - we are way past the moment when the maintenance of
secrecy has any value in the process of assimilating Dzogchen
precepts. The challenge now is to translate and present the Dzogchen
literature in a way that is immediately and cogently comprehensible.
The old language of buddhist academia dragged into contemporary
usage is not sufficiently lucid or vital to convey the richness of the
Dzogchen tantras. Translators need to stand back and at a distance,
walk the talk and transmit it in contemporary prose or poetry.
Likewise, the broken English of Tibetan khempos is not adequate to
the task of converting the deep and complex meanings of the tantras
into coherent prose. Remembering the breadth and depth of
understanding that the Nyingma tantras engendered in my lineage
teachers, reading my own translation of The Circle of Total Illumination I
am unhappy and for that reason I begin with an apology.
Another reason for regret is the tantra's cultural content. Although

this tantra, like the majority of the tantras of the 1'{yingma Gyuebum, is
alleged to have originated outside Tibet, probably in the field of lndic
languages in the north-west of the Indian subcontinent, translated into
the Tibetan language by Tibetans for the ingestion of Tibetans in the
eighth or ninth century, its cultural context is vastly different from
ours and to that extent it is redundant. In rebuttal, it may be claimed
that the tantra addresses timeless humanity and that the cultural
14 Foreword
context is secondary and supplementary. But the cultural interference

that is evident in the choice of categories, use of words and similes,
questions and dialectic, for example, although secondary, suffuses the
form, so that any translation that remains faithful to the original is a
palimpsest, the reflection of an antique mindset, belonging in a
museum rather than on a bookshelf or shrine of a twenty-first century
western buddhist or nondualist.
Finally, I need to excuse tantra itself. This book is an expression of

the Dzogchen carried by Vajrayana Buddhism; but I do not believe
that Vajrayana has a future in the West. The social fabric is not
sufficiently susceptible and receptive. At the tum of the twentieth
century, Swami Vivekananda and his Bengali savants taught the
sanatan dharam of gnostic Hinduism to lapsed Christians who turned
what should have been a samprada_)'a of yogins and yoginis into a
congregation of unquestioning believers. Vajrayana Buddhism, like-
wise, has no future in the \Vest because of deeply conditioned (genetic
or cultural) assumptions about the nature of reality and because it
entails a transmogrification of western social values and lifestyles, and
an assimilation of rituals, practices and yogas too alien for anything
resembling the original to eventuate.
Intractable belief, particularly religious belief, seems to be an

expression of existential insecurity, an escapist bolt-hole, and an easy
option for those emerging from the hell of samsaric addiction. The
belief in Buddha and the Bodhisattvas taught by the lamas, like that in
Jesus Christ and the Saints taught by the priests, belongs to the little
ones, karmically deleted from the list of players in the cosmic lottery
that has rainbow body as the prize. Radical Dzogchen is the distilled
essence of Vajrayana, a doorway into the experiential nondual reality
of being human, and as such engenders no belief and no argument.
This translation and its introduction are my best contribution to an
understanding of that realization.
Keith Dowman,
Neduwa, Shambhala,
Budapest, Hungary.
11 th August 2016
Acknowledgements
The initial spadework for this translation was done by Dr. Thomas
Agocs of Budapest, a Dzogchen adept of many years. My thanks to
Tulku Sangngak for his timely and magnanimous, scholarly and
insightful assistance. Particular thanks go to Marie Martin and Michael
White for their immaculate editing. Thanks also to the many people in
the Americas and Europe who have provided me with room and
board and a work desk. Sarva mangalam!
Regarding Glossaries and Notes
If The Circle of Total Illumination is the key to the tantras, then its
glossaries are the key to The Circle of Total Illumination and the glossaries
of Numeral Terms and of English Dzogchen Technical Terms are the
keys to its translation. In the Glossary of English Dzogchen Terms,
which includes Tibetan equivalents, many of the technical terms
employed in the translation have been thoroughly glossed, providing a
rationale for their use and sometimes a critique of alternative
equivalents. Further, the Glossary of Numeral Terms (GNT) contains
some one hundred and forty entries, most of which are extracted from
the body of the text. In order to keep footnotes to a minimum, only a
select few have been annotated, and it has been left to the reader to
tum to the glossary for elucidation and the original Tibetan. Likewise,
rather than clutter up the text with extensive defmitions of technical
terms in footnotes, the Glossary of English Dzogchen Terms explains
the most difficult and prolific terms. The definitions provided in The
Circle ojTotal Illumination have been extracted and placed alphabetically
at the back of the book in the indexes of English and Tibetan words
defined in the text, thus providing a useful tool for scholars of
Tibetan. A comparison of the relative incidence of technical Tibetan
terms in the Tiklay Kunsel can be found as an appendix.
To extract the greatest benefit from this translation of the tantra, it is

strongly advised first to read and absorb the Glossary ofEnglish Dzogchen
Technical Terms.
Introduction
This tantra, The Circle ef Total Illumination, the Tiklqy Kunsel, is a

definitive expression of Dzogchen. It provides the apex view of
Dzogchen praxis. It is one of the highest of the atiyoga tantras. It
presents a view that translates existentially into 'the great perfection'.
It is a root tantra, from which later instruction, explanation and
practices developed. It is an explanatory tantra, a text that is the key to
all other atiyoga tantras and therefore to the entire Nyingma atiyoga
tradition. It is definitive also in that it presents the nondual nature of
mind just as it is, in our hearts, without any prevarication, without
exposition of preliminary practices or provisional precepts and
without the need of foundational instruction or methods of attaining
stages along a path.
The meaning of this book's title implies that everything we know

directly is awareness in the now and, in that sense, awareness is 'light'
- the very cognizant light that is conscious experience, and constitutes
inseparable knowing and the knowable. All phenomena in sensory
perception are 'light'. The entire pantheon of buddha being is
composed of light. Dzogchen is the vehicle of light - light is both the
source and the manifestation. Such is the Dzogchen view, which
provides recognition of present awareness in the now and recognition
of nondual initiatory experience at the beginning, and constitutes the
final achievement of the rainbow body at the end. The existential
realization of this truth is not immediately accessible in the first and
second turnings of the wheel of the buddha-dharma; it is only in the
final turning, and particularly in the Nyingma tantras, that it is overtly
expressed.
With that understanding, the rudimentary spiritual practice of

buddhist cultural training consisting of provisional views and practices
that mimic human growth from infant to adult may be severed from
the radically different full-bodied mystical insight of Dzogchen. With
such insight, the definitive revelation of Dzogchen, a final holistic
vision, becomes identical to the universal human experience of
nonduality. Since all our experience is comprehended as light, light is
the only reality and 'Everything is Light' is, therefore, the seminal
message.
18 Eve,ything Is Light
This entire tantra can be effectively described as a series of visions,

and visionary experience can only be composed of light. \Ve
understand, here, first and foremost, that 'light' is the light of
awareness of both source and manifestation nondual - regardless of
whether what is manifested is mundane or sublime, regardless of
whether it appears 'inside' or 'outside', regardless of whether the
experience is of this bardo of life or any other bardo. As such, all
experience in the immediate now is and can only be an expression of
this light of awareness. In that nondual sense is everything light.
Consequently, all experience is 'nondual' insofar as the light of
awareness has rendered experience conscious and knowledge
knowable. It has always been nondual and cannot be anything else.
No union of separate 'light of awareness' on the one hand and
'experience' on the other can occur.
Everything is light and everything is a sublime vision of V airochana's

buddha-mandala. Yet distinct samadhis, described in the hidden
sectioning of the tantra, are distinguished as separate visions of light.
The V airochana buddha-mandala, described herein, is a vision of light;
the buddha-deities - whether conceived in their psychological actuality
or in their symbolic anthropomorphic form - are lightforms. Consider
the vocabulary employed in Tibetan to describe nondual reality, so
difficult to reproduce in English: it consists essentially of innumerable
synonyms of light. Finally, the most effective way to introduce
Dzogchen itself, to point at the nondual experience of the nature of
reality, is to evoke the light of the mind.
'Everything is light' is the overarching message of this tantra. Its

implications are decisive in radical Dzogchen - Dzogchen stripped
down to its seminal bones - and its ramifications are of crucial import
in our everyday lives. One primary implication of the initiatory vision
of everything as light - Vajradhara's nondual view - is that
burgeoning therapeutic cults and the vestiges of redundant religion are
at best mild antidotes to the inadequacies of the human condition and
that new age 'spiritual practice' is redundant. ~'hat we have in the here
and now is reality itself, and nothing else has real value or meaning.
Look into this very moment and it opens up into a utopia that displays
all experience as perfect just as it, so that nothing exists to correct or
change. Any movement in the direction of 'improvement' is
counterproductive and undermines natural perfection. Any goal other
than recognition of present sensory lightform, internal or external, is
an aberration. Any effort applied to attain something that does not
already exist or to facilitate what is naturally arising in the now creates
Introduction 19
obscuration. Since this tantra demonstrates the principle of nonaction

and authentic compassion, presenting Dzogchen atiyoga in a nascent
form, it provides recognition of the ineffable parts of an ever-
changing evanescent empowering unitary experience.
The ninety-seven chapters of this tantra comprehensively cover the

many aspects of Dzogchen and this introductory space is insufficient
for a detailed explanatory commentary. Rather, this introduction is
used to address contemporary issues that can obscure full and
immediate awareness of existential Dzogchen.
Simultaneous with recognition of the nature of mind in radical

Dzogchen is the understanding that elaborate meditation - and along
with it all 'spiritual practice' - is superfluous. If spiritual practice is
ultimately useless, so also is dogma and cant, whether it be rational
and humanistic or religious and apocalyptic. Buddhist belief systems
that define a specific starting point, an elaborate path and a goal, for
instance, provide dogma tailored to the requirements of adherents of
religious institutions structured by authoritarian hierarchies that
spoon-feed their adherents on a graduated path. Thereby, by default,
spiritual materialism infects the minds of well-intentioned people
susceptible to attachment to the intent of coherent oral or written
soteriological teaching. Radical Dzogchen, free of belief, cannot be
dogmatic; indeed it is entirely pragmatic in that the view arises
spontaneously in response to the requirements of every unique
moment. For that reason no lineage, no lama, no human teacher, has
any exclusive rights over expression of the nature of mind, nor
possesses any special handle on any form of skillful means. Nor has
any individual in the past, present or future, any final or monopolistic
expression of the view - which is, in truth, no-view.
Predicated upon the defining experience of recognition of the nature

of mind, it becomes incontrovertible that no authority - individual or
institutional - has the right nor the capacity to dictate the form of the
teaching or the rules of conduct for any other being. It is self-evident
that no individual has more or less proximity to Dzogchen than any
other; absolute existential equality reigns. By the same token,
Dzogchen cannot be caught in a restrictive institution, because the
real Dzogchen community, its authentic sangha, has no bounds, and
since no overt signs or material achievement manifest, no hierarchy of
accomplishment can be certified. Dzogchen reality is ineffable and
inexpressible, unreified and indeterminate. It manifests in uncountable
20 Everything Is Ught
ways across an infinite spectrum of possibility in response to ever-

unique situations.
The clarification of the nonduality of Dzogchen is a principal thread

in this Tiklt!)' Kunse/ tantra. But although we may look for an
uncompromising rigorous discursive expression of a nondual vision or
view in these atiyoga tantras of the Nyingma Gyuebum, of course it
cannot be found. Nonduality cannot be expressed or described; it can
only be implied and inferred as in the early chapters of this tantra.
Each reader down the centuries, and even in different cultures, finds
his own elixir in a sea of poison; reading through the text of this tantra
lines and verses (slokas) that point at that all-inclusive reality jump
readily into mind.
In this existential drama of Dzogchen, the securities of religion as an

attraction and an attachment provide an enticement to take refuge in
fixed dogma and practice. Such temptation is overcome by treating
the ritual, offerings, worship, liturgies, dogma and belief systems of
religion as the phenomenology of primal awareness, which, of course,
includes equally all human experience, profane as well as sacred. \X'hat
is excluded by present awareness is attachment to - and exclusive
belief in - any specific phenomenon or appearance. The habit of
church-going, for example, entailing prayer (The Lord's Prayer),
offering (the monetary collection), worship (ritualized humility),
liturgy (the Creed), the sacrament (Eucharist, baptism, marriage), and
so on, all recognized in the all-inclusive light of the mind, is
nonmeditation. Further, although we may mouth the words that
pronounce Jesus Christ the only light, truth and way, or articulate
refuge in the Triple Gem, or assert that Allah is Great, our recognition
of mind's nature in those words dissolves the specific particles of
vocal energy in the timeless moment of their arising and dissolve their
particularity and partiality, together with any fixation upon them, into
a unitary field of cognition. Thus relative and absolute are united in
the ultimate ineffable dharmakaya of the here and now.
If religion is abhorred by Dzogchen, philosophy - considered as an

academic discipline rather than an existential praxis - is of greater
anathema. %at can be more detrimental to unitary awareness than a
discipline engaged in asserting the validity of mental constructs, which
by nature are dualistic, imposing conceptual super-impositions upon
the ineffable here and now, and insisting upon the opacity of the
emperor's new clothes. If Dzogchen has a moment that involves the
intellect, then it is in a provisional capacity, soon to be relinquished,
Introduction 21
not with shame or sorrow but with abandonment and glee. If the
Tik/a)' Kunsel appears to have a philosophical rather than an existential
purpose, then chapter 86 on the fourfold pointing out has not been
experientially absorbed. It is imperative, of course, that we
comprehend the secret precepts so that we can bathe in the supra-
rational, intellect-transcending, present awareness that is at the heart
of Dzogchen; for that reason the definitions and explanations of the
language of the Tiklay Kunsel, its metaphors and similes, are of crucial
significance. But if the precepts themselves - and the Tik/ay Kunsel is
composed of them - are taken to have any value over and above the
momentary illumination provided by their cognition, then their very
point has been lost. The leap into the nondual experience of the light
of awareness has been precluded by the confining concepts of an
intellectual cage.
The practical Dzogchen issue, here, is the infectious vanity attendant

upon academic study that is created by the delusory, supposedly
incontrovertible, conclusions deduced from refined logical analysis.
The intellect, engorged by its own lucidity and cogency, forgets or
ignores the precept that logic and rational reasoning have no authority
in Dzogchen, where the intuitive experiential light of the heart rules.
Reason leads us astray when its intrinsic radiance and its emptiness are
veiled; readers whose recognition of the nature of mind is yet weak
and immature are in danger of being swept away into arrant
materialism. 'When the light of present awareness shines strongly,
rational and logical thought is humbled, demoted or disappears
entirely.
Dzogchen is validated by existential and mystical experience. 'When it

is treated as an academic discipline, when a teacher relies upon reason
to convince his students of the nature of mind, it becomes a travesty.
Insofar as the contemporary western academic milieu entails goal
orientation and fulfillment in a contentious profession, it militates
against Dzogchen realization and to the extent that academic
publishers are restricted by commercial and sectarian concerns, the
truth of nondual experience is lost in volumes of empty verbiage. In
the current atmosphere of fashionable and commercial western
Buddhism, both authors and publishers, like Mara's daughters, reach
out to tempt the intellect, filling libraries and the internet with their
exuberant hubris and emollient prose, occluding the nature of mind,
veiling mystical experience. It is as if precepts that can open up into
existential understanding were presented rather for the sake of their
own aesthetic form, mimicking 'art for art's sake'.
22 Everything Is Light
The Quantum Leap
'Quantum mysticism' has provided useful metaphors that move the

rational mind towards acceptance of the anomalous phenomenology
of nonduality. That the arch-priests of scientific materialism are arrant
dualists with a methodology steeped in the principles of subject-object
dualism and that these metaphors have no relevance to quantum
mechanics field theory is immaterial; we baby-boomers of the
twentieth century have been conditioned to accept the physicists'
pontification and prognostication over those of priests and
philosophers, and thus the metaphors derived from quantum physics
gain currency, validity and efficacy. W'hen we are told, for example,
that the electron, which revolves around the nucleus of the atom,
moves in and out of different orbits without apparent cause or
condition, leaving no trace of its previous revolution, our rational
intellects may space out and a moment may arise adventitiously when
the nature of mind can shine through and an existential understanding
of 'nonabiding' may arise.
Moreover, we are told, when the observer/ experimenter turns his

concentrated attention to that particle, attempting to pin it down, it
appears to vanish, as if acute dualization of subjective and objective
aspects of the perceptual process dissolve the field of consciousness,
and as if only with a soft focus in which the entire field is included
does it again become visible. Further, when it has apparently
disappeared, the electron no longer has the characteristics of a
particle, but seems to assume the attributes of a wave. Look for the
wave and find a particle; look for a particle and find a wave. Our
senses are not to be trusted; the multi-dimensional web of illusion is
beyond the intellect to comprehend! Then, when an electron is halved
and the halves separated, by as much as thousands of miles, they still
react as a unitary pair, as if the space they inhabited was not the four
dimensional space-time of our ordinary delusory experience, but an
enigmatic matrix in which our common sense assumptions about
reality are mistaken.
Perhaps an even more poignant ramification of the quantum myth is

the desubstantiation of our ordinary environment and the life within
it. If the atoms which constitute all things whatsoever are in fact
lacking any nucleus and consist of elements that at best come in and
out of apparent existence and even when in existence have no location
or constancy, how can the forms which they compose be any more
substantial? Here, consistency of logical thought leads us to a
Introduction 23
descnptton of mtrya, the phenomenal appearances that arise in the

mind through the medium of the senses. The first century A.D. Indian
metaphysician Nagarjuna promoted eight metaphors to illustrate
maya: the wonderment of magical illusion, the reflection of the moon
in water, optical illusion, mirage, dream, echo, cloud cuckoo land, and
apparition.
Technically speaking 'the quantum leap' refers to the change of an

electron's orbital revolution around its nucleus. The same particle is
revolving around the same nucleus in the same way, but the orbit has
shifted. No explanation for the change has been devised. No one saw
it happen. No one pulled any strings to make the change. There is no
apparent cause. It was not a karmic, causal, event. No defining
conditions through which the event can be replicated are evident. It is
what can be called a 'synchronicitous event' in that it is without
apparent cause or condition. For us 'the quantum leap' has the
connotation of synchronicity; but also in the wake of a noncausal, or
'spontaneous' event, wherein the intellect has let go momentarily, an
intimation of the nature of mind arises, a moment of initiatory
experience in which present awareness has regained its primacy. In
this way the quantum leap provides us with an analogy for the move
from the narrow linear view of rational thinking to the all-inclusive
nondual view of Dzogchen, which is elucidated here in this circle of
total illumination, in all-illuminating holistic essence.
The Pointing Out
Dzogchen, or more particularly, the realization of the nature of mind,

may not be transmitted from one mind to another, but it can be
pointed at, like a finger pointing at the moon. Simple pointing out is
enough because what is to be pointed at has always been there and
always will be there and nothing can be done to remove it, to subtract
from it or to add to it, or change it in any way. To realize the nature of
mind, nothing need be created or contrived, for that would mean new
material, new product, and much effort, like building a house. The
nature of mind or the primal ground has always been present and we
have always been subliminally aware of it, but in the end we have been
distracted by the ramifications of embodiment and an inferred need to
survive, to strive and thrive for survival, and surviving to reproduce
the species. In general, however, the fear of failure and particularly
fear of death, the attraction of the little sensual pleasure we can eke
out of our lives, or the boredom and enervation with which life
enshrouds us, veils what is beyond language to express and what is

hidden beneath the limen of ordinary consciousness.
The Tiklay Kunsel shows us several ways in which the pointing out is to
be done. First, through articulation of the Dzogchen view, a direct
introduction to the primal ground of being, to all-inclusive
envisionment, and to trikaya, can be signified. Through clever
juxtaposition of words, through poetry and prose the nature of mind
can be suggested. By naming a part of the sublime vision of
Dzogchen, the vision may be conjured like a jewel envisioned by
knowledge of just one of its facets, or like knowledge of a whole
through a holographic particle. Further, comprehending the
relationship of parts may effect the same result. Powerful poetic tools
that can be utilized to optimize that intimation are simile and
metaphor, or analogy, like 'the reflection of the moon in water', as
discussed below. Thus, pointing out the view through evocative oral
verbalization may induce the meditation, or rather, the nonmeditation.
This pointing out of present awareness, or introduction to the nature

of mind, is a mouth to ear conveyance of verbal information. It may
appear to constitute a condition, a method by which a neophyte can
be initiated into the Dzogchen mandala. Surely, the verbal elucidation
of Dzogchen is a discursive mantra that magically conditions the
uninitiated in a way that provides initiatory experience. Such an
exposition, surely, is a wide doorway into the primal ground of being,
and every utterance of one of the sacred words that define an aspect
of the ineffable, surely, is a window upon the nature of mind. Surely,
Dzogchen is accessible through the scriptures, through tantras,
agamas and upadeshas. Such assertions, however, cannot be accepted
in radical Dzogchen because the horse may be led to water but it
cannot be made to drink. Only if the horse is thirsty will it drink; only
by virtue of an auspicious synchronistic moment free of motivation
and intentionality can intimation of the nature of mind arise, and arise
by itself, spontaneously, as initiatory experience. Thus, the pointing
out is not a cause or a primary condition for recognition of the nature
of mind; rather, it may better be conceived as an amplification of a
pre-existent situation that may awaken the listener to the possibility of
recognition. The moment will not be grasped existentially, however,
unless there is an absence of aspiration, a moment of nonaction, in the
putative initiate's mind. If any trace of hope or fear lingers, the best
that can be achieved is a rational understanding or an intellectual
appreciation.
Introduction 25
This same principle is valid in regard to the fourfold symbolic

pointing out described in chapter 86 and also to the ritual
empowerments in chapters 62 and 63.
Secondly, regarding this fourfold symbolic pointing out, the Tiklay

Kunsel describes a direct pointing out of the nature of mind through
symbols. Tbis pointing out by an exhibition of symbols is accom-
panied by a discursive statement of the view by the teacher, as
described above. The pertinent phrase here is 'exhibition of symbols'
- the pointing out is done through symbols.
What is described in chapter 86 provides the bones of a ritual that

later becomes the Empowerment of Creative Presence (rikpai tsewonj).
But the initiatory agent in this ritual may gather initiates into the
sanctum sanctorum and place a symbol of reality carefully before their
eyes while reciting the sacred formula, but it is a synchronicitous
moment that cannot in anyway be contrived in which the nature of
mind is recognized. The rider may bring his horse to water but he
cannot make it drink, and when the horse does indeed drink, if the
rider takes the credit he is preposterously inappropriate. To invoke the
magical power of the ritual or the magician as the crucial factor when
initiates do indeed recognize the nature of mind in a formal situation
is likewise absurd. If it is objected that sometimes attendees at public
initiations frequently appear to experience unusual or transcendent
states, it is useful to recall that such states are commonly experienced
at pop concerts and football matches. The nature of mind is not
something that can be objectified or described heuristically.
To restate this issue, the discursive pointing out of the nature of mind
is a ritual performance similar to the ritual of empowerment and
initiation. It may 'set us up' for the real event that occurs at a
synchronicitous moment, but as a series of physical and verbal karmas
in a space-time continuum it cannot by itself induce a realization of
the nature of mind. No matter how efficacious the ritual, it is a pattern
of relativity that cannot.induce the ultimate acausal reality. The relative
and the absolute are a unity in the here and now and that ultimacy
cannot be induced. Any attempt at inducement will end in failure. The
most that can be achieved is a lowering of the threshold at which a
synchronicitous moment can be recognized, or a dissolution of
obstacles that inhibit recognition of what is already there. Any
movement at all, any stirring away from or towards whatever is
already present, merely accentuates the duality that we seek to resolve.
In a historical perspective, it appears that in Tibet, by the eighteenth

century, the simple pointing out as formulated in this tantra had
become an elaborate ceremonial as described in Jigmelingpa's Longchen
J\.yingtik, which is the principal cycle of Dzogchen liturgical and
explanatory texts emanating from that period. Perhaps this develop-
ment reveals a degradation of time from dharmayuga to kaliyuga,
when the human mind can no longer apprehend meaning experien-
tially and merely stores preceptual implications as discursive
information, data to be used when self-interest determines that benefit
may accrue. Perhaps this evolution from simple to elaborate ritual
indicates a failure of instantaneous recognition and a move towards
faith in a graduated path. Perhaps it is evidence that for us in this
kaliyuga, the fag-end of time, the ritual method is at best the
placement of a mental escape hatch, a mind frame in which meaning
can be directly assimilated at a later date, a set up for use down the
path, or like ritual empowerment merely a ploughing and drilling and
setting of seeds in the rational mind for a later maturation by acausal
means, at a synchronicitous moment, for a life-changing insight.
Perhaps we should accept this tantra's implicit precept that even the
slightest movement towards Dzogchen as a goal is the sour grapes of
those who cannot let go.
The empowerments described in chapter 62 are special methods of

pointing out. The symbolic introductions of chapter 86 are a simple
pointing out, whereas the vase empowerment and so on are highly
ritualistic, so complex indeed that the point can be easily missed. The
point is that we are already empowered, but we can recognize that fact
only when we are told authoritatively and in a way that bypasses the
critical and dictatorial dualistic intellect. It is as if in a social gathering
we cannot communicate with other guests until we have been formally
introduced. Some minds need authorization in order to feel
empowered. Chapter 62 iterates, 'Unsought, unconferred, empower-
ment is replete in the primal ground.' The ritual empowerments utilize
most of the principal symbols in the higher tantra arsenal pointing out
their actual meaning, unpacking them and asserting a nondual
relationship with them, 'neither in union nor separation'. If the
ambience of a public Tibetan ritual empowerment, its sensory input,
its mixed psychic nuances, its evident cultural specifics are over-
whelming, the pages of the Tiki(!) Kunsel are not. It is remarkable that
the tantra does not use the word 'guru' or 'lama' at all; the secret
precepts are the message and the teacher is Vajradhara, the nature of
mind.
Introduction 27
Gradual and Instantaneous Realization
This discussion of transmission and ritual bears upon the

contemporary issue of instantaneous recognition versus the
developing present awareness of the graduated path. This issue is not
addressed explicitly in the Tiklcry Kunse/, but wherever 'nonaction',
'nonmeditation', 'nonpractice' 'non-goal-orientation' or 'sublime
vision' is mentioned, instantaneous realization is implied. Garab Dorje
may have ignored the issue because it is an academic consideration
pursued by analysts observing Dzogchen from the outside. For the
adept whose initiatory experience has provided recognition of the
nature of mind, experience of reality is described in the early chapters
of the tantra and the issue is an irrelevancy, a scholastic aberration.
For those who have yet to identify the nature of mind, the issue
consists of a horde of concepts to kick about on an academic playing
field, or to address in formal debate in the classroom. It may appear to
be resolved academically by a belief in the inseparability of the gradual
and instantaneous, but until confidence in experience replaces
attachment to mental constructs, such a belief is a burden that forces
the scholar to his knees, an impervious, insuperable, obstacle.
The unity of gradual and instantaneous, however, may be given as a

precept in the Dzogchen view, where the gradual path is understood
as a succession of karmically determined moments and the
instantaneous pathless path as the recognition of the nature of mind
in whatever karmically determined moment occurs simultaneous with
its arising. In this way, even those who deny their recognition of the
nature of mind and strive on a laddered path towards an undiscovered
goal have a view that supports an experiential intimation of it.
Without this precept, adherents of the graduated path become
increasingly bemired in a temporal sadhana wherein the goal is reified
and the path exclusive. Certainly all beings under the sun are
candidates for a synchronicitous moment of initiatory experience
independent of cause and condition, but a supramundane lifestyle of
ritual devotion and spiritual praxis does not take anyone a whit closer
to that acausal apotheosis.
Again, in this perspective the view is not to be taken as a cause. The

view, which is no-view, is the meditation; where the cause is not
separate from the effect, the effect may just as well be considered the
cause. But the view cannot be learned; no amount of striving on a
graduated path can induce it; it can only be existentially-experientially
realized. Elements of the view may be pointed out, but again the
28 Eve1:;:thing Is Ught
introduction to the nature of mind cannot be considered a cause or a

condition. The pointing out itself is the meditation. Cause and effect
are indistinguishable; the starting point and the goal are one; no path
or technique links samsara to nirvana. Reality arises by itself out of
itself, spontaneously, and nothing can be done to induce spontaneity
except to 'hurry up and wait'. The precepts of the view in themselves
are the nature of mind; there is nothing to do and nowhere to go.
Sublime Vision
The sublime vision of Dzogchen is without any partiality or bias. It

has a total absence of preference, which includes an absence of
preference for any space or any time; the vision can therefore be
called nonspatial and nontemporal. Such a vision has neither attributes
nor any particular character. It has no tendency towards any change,
towards any improvement or ideal. It is complete and perfect in itself.
It is this vision that is enjoyed by the Dzogchen vidhyadharas, the
knowledge-holders or bearers of pure presence. From their persp-
ective, no temporal progression is possible because past, present and
future have been integrated into Great Time, where lineal time
consists of a series of timeless moments that effectively negate any
sense of temporal development. Living in the first of the three kalpas
that denote degrees of progressive degradation of mind from nondual
unity to dualistic alienation, the vidhyadhara sees no distinction
between buddha, bodhisattva and human being. Here, it is not simple
longevity that has been attained but immortality itself where neither
birth nor death is suffered.
From the perspective of ordinary sentient beings, from a seemingly

external point of view that feels temporal progression and perceives it
objectively, such vidhyadharas are part of a succession of individuals
who have realized the nature of mind and have fully assimilated it,
adepts for whom sublime vision is the ordinary way of seeing. But
since sublime vision has no attribute, it cannot be recognized as such
and cannot be identified. Since it is indeterminate in nature, it cannot
be expressed; no stance of mind (mudra), no symbolic word or act,
and no oral teaching can convey that vision.
In regard to the vital issue of lineage, then, to the vidhyadhara it is an

immediate connection to the essence, the essence that is no different
from the appearance. Only the unitary nondual experience of reality
Introduction 29
exists, where that unity is comprised of the three dimensions, the

three kayasi - dharmakaya, sambhogakaya and nirmanakaya - icono-
graphically depicted as Samantabhadra, Vajrasattva and the 'Guru',
personified as Garab Dorje. That is the 'short lineage'. From the
outside, conceived in time, the lineage is called the 'long lineage'. It
begins with Samantabhadra, Vajrasattva and Garab Dorje and the
earlv non-Tibetan teachers, Manjushrimitra and Shri Singha and then
continues with Bairotsana 01 airochana) and the adepts of the Tibetan
empire period and an unbroken succession of tulkus down the
centuries to this day and to our masters, Dudjom Rinpoche and
Kanjur Rinpoche. And, yet, since their sublime vision is ineffable,
beyond expression, the lineage transmits nothing: it is this absence
that is called 'gnostic compassion'. That the Tibetan ecclesiastical
establishment recognizes a distinction between an institutional lineage,
which is a formal, hierarchical lineage, and a 'practice lineage' of
committed yogin-adepts, is nugatory.
The lineages in the higher, Dzogchen, tantras are basically counted as

threefold: the lineages of sublime vision (mind), symbolic demon-
stration (body) and oral transmission (speech). It is clear that the
lineage of sublime vision, described above, does not entail any
transmission or teaching. Indeed, in another nondual tradition, as
Tilopa said to Naropa to preface his instruction, 'Mahamudra cannot
be taught.' We may deduce, therefore, that 'sublime vision', the 'nature
of mind', the 'primal ground' or 'nonduality' cannot be transmitted,
that it cannot be conveyed or demonstrated positively in space-time.
Neither nondual mind nor initiatory experience can be conveyed in or
across space-time in either symbols or words. It can, however, be
pointed at; its existence can be mooted; its name can be spoken.
Thereby, what is always present, what can never be alienated or lost,
what is immutable and changeless, what is neither united nor
separated, is allowed recognition. That recognition fulfills Garab
Dorje's first incisive precept.
To express it in different terms, the direct introduction by symbolic or

oral pointing out occurs in the nirmanakaya dimension, where minds
wandering in samsaric confusion have the good fortune to experience
magical nirmanakaya emanation. Such emanation provides symbolic
or oral indications appropriate to the moment, so that at a juncture of
i The three kayas (sku gsu111) are three existential dimensions, or, rather, three
existential manifestations of nondual reality.
synchronicity the nature of mind is perceived as sensory appearance in

which any distinction between the subjective knower and the objective
known is collapsed within the act of knowing.
To conclude the stanza by which Tilopa began his instruction of

Naropa, 'Mahamudra cannot be taught, but most devoted Naropa,
"here is your instruction".' The pointing out is done by exposition of
the view as revealed in chapter 40 herein and may be construed as
demonstration of oral transmission. Chapter 71 lists the five defining
principles of effective exposition of the view (agama teaching, /uni):
purity of tradition, unconditional teaching, credible transmission,
uncorrupted transcription, and harmony with other aspects of the
tradition. The pointing out is also effected by the ritual of symbolic
transmission as described in chapter 31, and by visual sharing of
symbols, symbolic gestures, or involuntary body language, all of which
may be construed as demonstration of symbolic transmission.
One of the subsidiary lineages of oral transmission - as an extension

of 'uncorrupted transcription' in the list of five defining principles - is
the lineage of 'the precious library'. Insofar as concepts by their shape
and color, in their juxtaposition can induce mental states - intellectual,
emotional or sentimental - books may substitute for an enlightened
human teacher (khempo). With equal certainty, we may assert that some
crucial value is infused into an oral communication by a voice that is
existentially cognizant of what is articulated. It is as if the vibration of
authentic speech affects the energetic quality of being in ways that
mental constructs divorced from experience of mind's nature cannot.
A greater intensity, resilience and durability of understanding are
provided by authenticity. Further, to the extent that the precious texts
of the library are less bemired by the emotional resonance of attach-
ment and subjective cultural baggage, the words standing out on the
page much as colors arise out of the primal ground, they may provide
a better conduit of transmission than a faulty, inauthentic, oral source.
From the inclusion of the word 'transcription' within the principles of
oral transmission, it may be inferred that a transcribed talk from a
teacher with whose voice one is familiar has an added value.
Dzogchen and Entheogens
Consideration of the validity of experience, and the relative authen-

ticity of states of mind can be broadened to include evaluation of
Introduction 31
chemically induced entheogenici experience. If durability of the

epiphany is the criterion used to evaluate our best psyche~elic
experience, entheogens must be demoted to the level of ntual
initiation, which provide an variable reflection dependent upon
external conditions, showing us what is possible, like the petit mort of
orgasm. Authentic experience of the nature of mind produces an
ineradicable potency. Further, like ritual, entheogens provide circum-
stances that do not automatically induce knowledge of the nature of
mind, but. rather, provide an opportunity for synchronicitous
moments of full recognition. Besides that wholly positive insight,
lesser benefits accruing from psychedelic experience may include
significant boosts to confidence on a graduated path. If, firstly,
returning from a spacious experience of light we can admit degrees or
levels of freedom from dualistic, materialist, confinement, we can be
happy with who we are, allowing the principle of nonaction to
intervene. A taste of an ultimate state, though ephemeral, still
unfamiliar and quickly forgotten, turns the mind away from cloying
samsaric attachment. States of mind that have been ignored as mental
aberrations or as virtually psychotic or antisocial, may now be
assimilated to consciousness as positive and transcendent. If such
benefits are admitted as conditional, entheogens may be accepted as
useful tools on a graduated path to elevated consciousness that may or
may not contain supersensory powers (riddhi), and that acceptance
can be done without placing them on a pre-eminent pedestal
enthroned as a cause or condition of buddha.
Entheogens may also be capable of repatteming genetic karma,

undermining mental habits of a lifetime or loosening the binds of
more recent social conditioning. If so, even to a limited degree, the
inference must be that entheogens can be useful in diminishing,
removing or simply recognizing the transparence of obstacles to
awareness of the synchronicitous moment.
As a postscript to these remarks about entheogenic experience, it

should be stressed that use of mind-altering substances to induce
psychedelic experience with the aim of entering into the nature of
mind, or maintaining recognition of the nature of mind, is
fundamentally contrary to the Dzogchen view. Effective use of
chemical substances implies dependence upon chemical reaction, and
' 'Relating to mind altering substances': it has a Greek root, literally

'becoming divine within'.
32 Everything Is light
such dependence implies motivated activitv which flies in the face of

nonaction and that is the one single over~~ching Dzogchen precept.
As a skillful means to attain susceptibility to synchronicity, such
activity is as valid as any meditation practice with a goal in mind. But,
thereby, the karma of goal-orientation is reinforced, and although a
positive karma replaces a negative karma, because the 'rainbow body'
is a function of no-karma, the all-inclusive envisionment of the primal
ground will still be as far away as the earth is from the sky.
It must also be unequivocally emphasized that the substances referred

to in the empowerments mentioned in Tiklcry lvmsel are symbolic
substances. No shred of evidence exists that organic entheogens have
ever been employed ritually in the buddhist tantra. This might not be
so in the tantric Hindu frame that preceded the advent of buddhist
tantra and has run parallel to it until the present day. As in the
principle of trituration in homeopathy, which asserts that the more
refined and subtle the substance the more powerful the medicinal
effect, if the body-mind is sensitized and purified, symbolic substances
- or even notional substances - may be more effective than the
wholly gross material product. Again, however, the gross substance
may be more appropriate, more effective, in cases of damaged or
diseased body-mind.
Buddha-Symbolo!!J and T rikqya
The issues that this Dzogchen tantra resolves are numerous. In

particular, within the frame of trikaya, deity-symbology is introduced
and justified. The mahayoga practice of visualization of archetypal
anthropomorphic symbols and recitation of buddha-mantras is not
prescribed here; rather, the buddha-symbology of the mandala is a
description of the psycho-physical elements of every experience
couched in the symbolic language of sublime buddha form. The
mandala is the creative expression - the creativity - of the ineffable
pure presence of the timeless moment. It is the potency of that
creative expression, however, that assimilates every possible element
of the wheel of life, every experience of which sentient beings are
capable - to present awareness in the now.
Stupas and ritual vajras, for example, are complex plastic symbols of
mind; the vajra chain is a multiple graphic symbol of mind; a tiklqy is a
graphic mandalic symbol of mind; the five colors of light are
chromatic symbols of mind; metaphors are verbal symbols of mind;
and buddha visualizations and images are anthropomorphic symbols
Introduction 33
of mind; in Dzogchen all symbols - indeed all sensory objects

whatsoever - are symbols of the nature of mind, but it is the buddha
form that is of primary concern here.
Only one reality (chos ,ryid) can be known, and that is the zero
dimension known technically as 'dharmakaya', which is nondual and
therefore ineffable. \Vb.at metaphor evokes direct perception of the
zero dimension? Emptiness? Immediately reality is conceptualized,
however, in the first moment of apperception, a primary duality is
conceived. In Dzogchen this is defined as awareness of the now at
one pole and spaciousness at the other, where spaciousness is the
ground of all form. These polar principles are represented by the
anthropomorphic buddha symbols Samantabhadra and Samanta-
bhadri in indissoluble union. In a similar moment of apperception the
original ineffable singularity is conceived as a trinity, trikaya, three
existential dimensions or three sublime forms (kayas). These three are
dharmakaya, the nondual, formless, holistic seed of light, and
sambhogakaya and nirmanakaya which are form dimensions, the inner
form dimension manifesting spontaneously as an inner vision of the
five primary colors and the external form dimension manifesting in a
vision of the various realms of existence in a sensorially cognized
environment. These three dimensions are said to be 'neither united
nor separated'.
The three dimensions of trikaya may also be conceived as three levels

of a smoothly evolving display, from the zero dimension through a
subtle internal dimension to the level of unitary outside and inside
appearances. These levels and all intervening levels are, therefore,
congruous, all containing the product of what has gone before and the
potential of what comes after. For this reason a symbol representing
the outer dimension may enlighten the inner dimension and all stages
of manifestation in between. Likewise, since the outer also contains
the secret zero-dimension and, of course, the secret the outer
dimensions, every symbol contains the totality. Such an understanding
is predicated upon an existential understanding of the truth of
nonduality as the one and only natural condition of being.
The three dimensions of being have absolutely no substantial

existence or valid ontic status. The three dimensions' names refer to
three different perspectives on nondual awareness; identical, empty
and formless in essence, intellectual - conceptual - differentiation of
the unitary field of experience creates an illusion of separate mental,
energetic and physical qualities. \Vhile 'feeling' the actuality of the
three dimensions, in an oft-repeated phrase they are known to be

'neither united with nor separated' from. This phrase describes the
nonseparation and nonidentification of the three aspects of being (the
three dimensions), as well as the nonseparation and nonidentification
of sentient beings and buddha.
These three separate but identical aspects of the experience of reality

(dharmakaya, sambhogakaya and nirmanakaya) are perhaps best
represented as symbolic syllables - white OM, red ,\H, and blue HU'.\IG,
but for the ordinary lay devotee and especially for the adept of
mahayoga they are represented by three symbolic anthropomorphic
forms - Amitabha, Avalokiteshvara and Sakyamuni. The essential
identity of these three is symbolically restated in the congruity of their
graphic proportions (tiktse). These three sublime forms, like the five
sublime forms of present awareness considered below, and indeed the
entire forty-twofold mandala of the peaceful deities described in terms
of Vajradhara or V airochana's reality, are to be understood as symbols
of the light that invests them as their own immaculate nature. For that
reason kaya has been translated herein as 'sublime form', a term
intending to evoke an immanent luminosity. The three sublime forms
are at once the three dimensions of being and the three sublime
images that symbolize them. To stretch the meaning of the word
'congruity' to include similarity of metaphysical attributes, all the
forty-two peaceful buddha-deities of the Vairochana mandala (see
Appendix 1) are congruous. Further, each of the buddha-forms
comprising the mandala subsumes all the others.
The Vision of Pure Presence
In the reality of pure presence, everything is light. In the ineffable

nondual essence of all experience as pure presence, everything is light.
In the first moment of apperception, the totality experience of light is
called 'the primal ground', 'the zero dimension', 'the essence of
dharmakaya', 'all-inclusive envisionment', and 'present awareness of
the now', and that is symbolized as Samantabhadra or Vajradhara. In a
second moment of apperception, that ultimacy is called the union of
spaciousness and awareness, sublime form and awareness, which is
symbolized by Samantabhadra yab-yum, Samantabhadra in union with
his consort Samantabhadri (male and female naked blue buddha
forms). In a third moment, it is referred to as the two dimensions
(dharmakaya and rupakaya), or three dimensions 'trikaya'
(dharmakaya, sambhogakaya and nirmanakaya) symbolized as
Arnitabha, Avalokiteshvara and Padmasambhava. In a further
Introduction 35
moment, the forty-two qualities of sambhogakaya arise, and they are

symbolized as the forty-two peaceful deities.
The forty-two deities are conceptual and visual reifications of aspects

of the totality-experience of pure presence. Every totality-experience
is the same and in its entirety, herein, it is called a 'sublime form'. In
the forty-twofold vision, those elements are radiant sambhogakaya
forms of the timeless moment in dharmakaya, sambhogakaya or
nirmanakaya dimensions. Such spheres of radiance are symbolized by
buddha-forms, the images that are described in the Vairochana
mandala. In the culturally conditioned Tibetan mind no distinction
between the anthropomorphic image and the synchronistically arising
timeless moment of pure presence exists. Here in the Tiklqy Kunsel
sublime image and sublime form are denominated by a single phrase.
Therefore, the mandala of Mahavairochana comprising the principal

and his retinue, forty-two buddha-deitiesi in all, described in this
tantra, are not to be visualized and cultivated and 'practiced' through
recitation of the mantra that is the euphonic form of V airochana. It is
not raw material for mahayoga practice. Rather, the mandala is a
symbolic representation in anthropomorphic terms of Dzogchen
nonduality manifesting in forty-two different aspects or 'qualities'.
However the qualities of these forty-two buddha-deities are depicted,
all of them, without exception, represent the ineffable nondual nature
of being, the empty purity of pure presence that is the nature of all
experience. These forty-two symbols all invoke the spontaneous all-
inclusive envisionment of the primal ground, which is the unitary field
of self-aware spaciousness. Their enlightened qualities, their specific
symbolic characteristics that are indicated by their names and the
dimension to which they belong, are secondary to what the meaning
of their congruity indicates - namely, the unitary, self-aware nature of
the display.
The application of anthropomorphic symbols in various buddha

forms in an elaborate three dimensional mandala pattern, however,
irrefutably confirms the category of this tantra as nondual Vajrayana
(gsang sngags). How then are we to perceive the mandala in the frame of
radical Dzogchen divorced from buddhist roots? The answer is as
simple as the Dzogchen view. According to that rigorously
uncompromising gaze, we identify our nondual nature as the root and
; See :\ppendix 1 for a categorization of the mandala.

36 bverything Is Light
source of all experience whatsoever, of all samsaric and nirvanic

phenomena, and enjoy that vision of reality as existential reality. The
mandala as a field of internal appearances, a sambhogakaya phenom-
enon, is a complex three-dimensional symbol of colored light and
form representing each and every timeless moment of awareness.
Then allowing the intellect primacy for a moment or two, we can

name the parts of that vision. First we visualize Samantabhadra as the
cognitive emptiness and Samantabhadri as the spacious mudra of the
here and now. Then employing the metapsychological categories of
classical Buddhism we name the five cognitive components of present
awareness and represent them as the five sambhogakaya buddhas of
sublime form in a mandala pattern. At the center is the totality of
lightform represented as Vairochana, white in color, the essence of
fear; to the east is the ultimate vajra stability of awareness represented
by Akshobhya, blue, the essence of rejective anger; to the south is the
sameness of every moment of awareness represented by Ratna-
sambhava, yellow, the essence of divine pride; to the west is the
'discriminating' or 'differentiating' aspect of awareness represented by
Amitabha, red, the essence of desire; and to the north is the all-
accomplishing, immanent actualizing quality of awareness represented
by Amoghasiddhi, green, the essence of jealousy.
Still identifying with the present awareness and looking figuratively

from the inside out, what we are looking at is corporeality and its
environment, and, to label the categories of its components, we use
the qualities of the five great elements which are represented by the
yum-consorts - the mudras - of the five sublime buddha forms. Thus,
the space that provides extension for accommodation of oneself and
the environment is represented by Vairochana's blue consort
Dhatishvari, who, like all of the five consorts, is inextricably and
inseparably united with her consort. The apparent solidity of the
elements of all our experience is the 'solidity' of earth, providing
cohesion, represented by blue Buddhalochana in union with
Akshobhya. The heat or temperature of phenomenal experience is the
heat of fire providing vitality, represented by Amitabha's red consort,
Pandaravasini. The fluidity of experience is provided by the moisture
of water, represented by the consort of green Amoghasiddhi called
Samayatara. The motility of phenomenal experience is provided by the
ever-moving, kinetic nature of air, and the power of wind represented
by Ratnasambhava's yellow consort, Mamaki. V airochana's consort,
Dhatishvari, the space element, is omitted from mention in this
mandala in chapter 28, perhaps because she represents its emptiness!
Introduction 37
Before leaving this section devoted to symbology visualized in

Dzogchen, it should be noted that in the definitive textural elucidation
of reality that is the Tiklay Kunsel, word choice is of paramount
importance. Beside the revelations that evoke the vision of nondual
reality, Vajradhara rationally defines his terms (e.g. in chapter 96), and
provides synonyms and related vocabulary (e.g. in chapters 7, 9, 12
and 27), and he also explains them by metaphor and simile (e.g. in
chapters 13 and 90). If metaphors and similes employ verbal symbols
to juxtapose distinct ideas, through the very paradox that they induce
the nature of mind tends to shine through, as in a Zen koan. Such
resolution of duality may sometimes imply that the cultural, or tantric,
specificity therein has been superseded and a technical knowledge of
nonmeditation has been gained.
The Non-Gradual Approach
From the evidence of the Tik/ay Kunsel, the conclusion is inescapable

that Dzogchen belongs to Vajrayana Buddhism. The entire tantra is
written employing a buddhist vocabulary and assumes that the reader
has grounding in buddhist concepts and its metapsychology. No
doubt remains that this nondual vision has been produced in a
buddhist culture, and a suspicion arises that an education in that
culture is a necessary grounding for Dzogchen. In regard to the eight
lower buddhist approaches this suspicion is immediately allayed,
however, by the assertion that the eight graduated paths are treated in
terms of view, meditation, action and fruition merely to assert their
redundance. Since the views of the graduated path all retain concrete
reference points due to biased interpretation of the two truths -
relative and absolute - in chapter 36 the tantra says '[such] views do
not facilitate recognition of self-sprung awareness and, therefore, are
mistaken, perverse views. Corrupting reality and deviating from it,
those views are the wishful thinking of desirous minds.' Thus it is
made clear that their value is strictly limited, that the graduated path is
not just provisional but in the uncompromising Dzogchen view
fundamentally flawed, due to the insuperable obstacle of goal-
orientation. It may be inferred, moreover, that the graduated path
belongs to the plane of socially-engaged culture, which due to its
glutinous nature constitutes part of the problem rather than the
solution, and also that in the radical Dzogchen frame the benefit to
oneself of cultivating the relativistic aspects of life - economic,
political, social, academic, family, artistic or hedonistic - is nugatory.
It appears, then, that Dzogchen arises out of the mud of the lake of
Vajrayana as a miraculously generated pristine lotus of enlightenment,
and as such that it is possibly separable from Vajrayana Buddhism.
The mud of the buddhist lake, by extension, may be analogous to the
mud of all religion - Hindu, Christian, Taoist, Muslim, Shamanic and
Jewish.
The Tiklqy Kunsel, an explanatory tantra of Vajrayana Buddhism,

however, can be understood as an archive of didactic information
relating to the very highest buddhist approach. This approach is
Nyingma Dzogchen atiyoga when viewed objectively - from the
outside - but since from an internal perspective atiyoga consists in
subjective practice as no-view and no-meditation, it cannot be called
an 'approach'. Rather, it is a definitive pointing out of buddha. What
purpose, then, have the chapters of pithy paragraphs defining the
eight Nyingma graduated paths under headings of view, meditation,
conduct and fruition, for example? The text itself provides the answer:
They constitute a provisional teaching that is the means to its own
transcendence and may be considered, therefore, as a Trojan horse for
definitive Dzogchen.
In the Dzogchen view, the distinction between provisional and

definitive meaning is of crucial import; the definitive precept points
directly at the nature of mind, facilitating experiential confirmation of
it. Provisional precepts, on the contrary, provide a cause of change to
the ambient conditions, change that may or may not be considered a
desirable advance on the previous stance. Consider the distinction
between provisional and definitive view, where for example, in the
bodhisattva approach each of the ten stages to buddhahood is taught
as superior to the antecedent stage, whereas in the Dzogchen view
each stage is a definitive expression of the nature of mind and as such
is identical to both what came before and what comes after, each
immediately transcending itself. Further, the provisional precepts of
the lower approaches are causal, designed to achieve an antidotal
effect, a rebalanced condition, which allows a greater degree of light to
shine through, or to alter the personality to a more socially amenable
condition. The motivation is thus altruistic and designed to change the
world for the better. To the contrary, Dzogchen, with nonaction as its
defining attribute, is ultimately accepting, providing the definitive
nondual view. The distinction between provisional and definitive
meaning and expression defines the difference between the eight
approaches and Dzogchen atiyoga. Thus Vajradhara declares in
chapter 36, 'I and my emanation shall relate the views of the eight
Introduction 39
gradual_ approaches along ~?1 a critical o:~rvie~ ~at reveals the

distinction between the provisional and defirunve view.
If such a distinction seems to be a poor excuse for including the

analysis of the eight gradual approaches in the tantra, Vajradhara
proceeds to introdu~e c~mpassio~ as his m_otive, albeit r~lati:e
compassion, compassion with an obJect. The obJect of compassion m
this case is all other sentient beings, and his motivation is qualified by
the codicil 'with hidden intent' - the hidden intent that is Dzogchen
no-view and no-meditation. The hidden intent is accomplished by
means of the critical overview revealing the identity of provisional and
definitive, relative and absolute. On the surface, 'out of compassion'
implies the allowance of goal-oriented practice to alleviate the pain of
samsara and to ameliorate inexorable karmic effects. In the radical
Dzogchen context, although this might appear to undermine the
principle of nonaction and the assumption of the starting point as the
goal, in the here and now even goal-oriented activity on the graduated
path is susceptible to the realization of the nature of mind in a
synchronicitous moment. In that moment of recogrunon,
compassionate activity with an object becomes the ultimate aimless
compassion of Dzogchen. In that moment, alleviation of the pain of
those who are unable to recognize the nature of mind in this lifetime
becomes the spontaneous response to universal necessity. For this
reason the eight paths of sadhana practice are also included in the
Dzogchen mandala.
Likewise, 'out of compassion' the graduated paths are taught, for

example, to those who treat tantra as a method of attaining mystical
states of union through sexual congress. For them Vajradhara allows
the practice of uniting gender opposites in anuyoga, but here, still in
the light of Maha Ati, to the extent that we lean towards surrendering
to the sexual impulse and through it sate the need for oneness, ego-
loss and bliss, to gain that end we admit a necessity for change
through spiritual practice and allow deliberate action. With an open-
ended approach to sexuality and sensual pleasure, however, the vast
spaciousness of Dzogchen can surely be experienced synchronistically.
For those fascinated and pleased with visualization of buddha-

archetypes, recitation of their mantras and liturgically orchestrated
ritual worship, Vajradhara allows the practice of mahayoga. The
samadhis and trances that are induced thereby may provide an illusion
of nirvana, but it is only a temporal reflection, a momentary and
relieving escape into a chimeric world of what could be while ignoring
what is. But the devout meditator lost in his world of spells and
phantasies is also included in the radical Dzogchen mandala, which
has no parameters whatsoever.
For those who believe that physical discipline, purity, and order are
essential to enlightenment, Vajradhara allows outer tantric practice.
Here the esoteric arts and sciences of the New Age - with some
justification - find their home. But regardless of the degree of rigor,
intensity and intelligence applied to it, or indeed the amount of
intuition in a relaxed and spaced-out frame, although this discipline
engages only the relative world of personality and lifestyle, Dzogchen
is accessed in a sense of lightness and ornamentation.
For those who find that antisocial seclusion facilitates realization of

the blissful emptiness of being, Vajradhara allows cantankerous
hermits - who have only partial understanding - into the mandala.
Self-realization arising spontaneously in an urban ghetto or in a forest
retreat is a wonderful and amazing achievement. And although co-
emergent with that sense of success may be a grouchy personality,
Dzogchen and the nature of mind is present with the sense of dance
and playfulness.
For those who believe that renunc1at1on and incarceration in a

monastery or retreat center is a lifestyle that produces conditions
supportive of the realization of the nature of mind, and that
cultivation of social virtue and the rejection of negative social
behavior is the first step upon a ladder that reaches to a state called
'buddahood', Vajradhara is accommodating.
In short, every lifestyle, meditative practice or view is 'abhorred' by

dharmakaya and immediately eliminated in an innate recognition of
the nondual nature of all dualistic experience as elucidated in chapter
3. Here the 'abhorrence' implicit in dharmakaya implies an immediate
dissolution of whatever dualistic perception is encountered. To the
extent that dharmakaya is innate, in reality, no objectification of
pleasure or pain, no thought or emotion, can ever survive its
abhorrence.
The Bardo
'Bardo' is the name of the intermediate space-time of felt experience

when delusory four-dimensional space-time ('the natural bardo')
begins to give way to recognition of the nondual nature of mind
Introduction 41
('bardo of dying'), when it is resolved in its nondual nature ('bardo of

reality') and when it reverts to samsaric duality ('bardo of becoming').
Thus in a fourfold division of the bardo, firstly we have existence in

samsara with experience of conventional space-time, where lies the
possibility of a rainbow body, which is called 'life' (the natural bardo);
secondly, the tennination of life-force within the body that is the
inevitable end of life, which is called 'death' ('the bardo of dying');
thirdly, recognition of nonduality and the nature of mind after death
which is called 'the bardo of reality'; fourthly, the experience of
waiting in limbo preceding return to the samsaric wheel of life, the
return that is called 'rebirth' (the bardo of becoming or possibility').
All this bardo experience arises out of the primal ground and dissolves
back into it. Causal analysis of these states will inevitably obscure their
noncausal reality, and result in a perception of them as a sequential
flow; but existentially they are separate and distinct and it is in that
perspective that they assume high significance in Dzogchen. Likewise,
any apparent intellectually imposed causal relationship between
elements of each bardo cloud the possibility of those different
elements providing symbolic indications of integral visionary
experience. With or without causal connection between them, the
descriptions of the four bardos can provide a vague map for explor-
ation of entheogenic experience.i
The bardos themselves are dealt with only cursorily, in chapter 84; but
in succeeding chapters some aspects of bardo experience are
thoroughly examined. First, in chapter 85 the difference between the
relative mind - what we call here the intellect - and present awareness
is explored; experiential knowledge of this distinction is crucial
because so long as confidence in the intellect dominates and overrides
the intuitive knowledge of the nature of mind, the bardo of reality will
remain a hellish pandemonium and cacophony and there will be no
release.
Release 1s the topic under which bardo expenence 1s treated in

successive chapters 87-89, describing the various types of release
experienced by individuals of varying capacity. Confidence in release,
it should be remembered, is Garab Dorje's third incisive precept,
; :\!pert and Leary's The P,Dchede/ic Experience published in 1963 has not been
superseded (has it?).
42 1:iverything Is Light
predicated upon the first - recognition of the nature of mind - where

confidence implies the certainty that release occurs spontaneously,
naturally and effortlessly; here it occurs by itself whatever the
individual's capacity. It is as if the several descriptions of release were
all describing the same event except in different degrees of
sophistication and discernment. However, the difficult chapter on The
Four Alternatives, chapter 94 (difficult only for those without
knowledge of buddhist logic), refutes the possibility of release or
nonrelease and so on.
The Text and the Translation
The Tibetan title of The Circle of Total Illumination is Thig le kun gsal chen
po 'i wud (pronounced Tiklay Ivmsel chempi gyue). The Sanskrit title is
Ti/aka saroa le.ala mahiitantra niima. It is a Dzogchen explanatory tantra
of the atiyoga class belonging to the Secret Precept Series. The title is
capable of various translations. The literal translation, The Circle of Total
Illumination, may refer to the text itself, which according to the
description of its own purpose elucidates all tantras, or it may refer to
the existential self-illuminating reality indicated by its title, a notion
more aptly contained in the phrase Everything Is Ught.
Dzogchen and V ajnryana
To address the topic of the origins of Dzogchen and the source of the
Dzogchen tantras, we could usefully introduce what could be
considered the principal difference between the great religions of Asia
and the religions of the People of the Book - the zealous monotheists.
The relevant distinction in this context is the recognition and
conceptualization of reality (or God) as non dual in the former and its
dualization and sometime anathematization in the latter. In the
western Christian world, despite persecution and genocide, gnosticism
constantly raises its head, while in eastern Orthodoxy it always had a
covert acceptance. To the extent that the great religions of Asia and
the people of Europe have understood nondual experience to be the
ultimate existential stance, and that all human beings are endowed
with the light of the mind, we may reach the conclusion that nondual
experience is the ground of being and the source of all religion
Introduction 43
'Nonduality' is to be understood in terms of the unitary experience of

subjective and objective aspects of perception that devolves into the
ultimate reality or nondual awareness of the here and now. Thus we
begin with the propositions that an awareness of nonduality exists in
all cultures and that some people everywhere fully recognize the
nature of mind in every perception and these people are called mystics
or yogins and yoginis.
To carry those assumptions into a discussion of the origin of Tibetan

nondualism in a chronological, historical frame, Dzogchen may have
had its genesis outside Buddhism - although no substantial evidence
of its existence anywhere other than Tibet has been discovered. It
became assimilated to Tibetan Buddhism only in the Empire period,
because it was useful, useful for buddhists who had recognized the
nature of mind, who had had the epiphany of nondual reality, and
whose lives had been transformed by initiatory experience. Thereafter
it became 'carried' by Vajrayana or Tantric Buddhism.
The crucial later development was the recognition of Dzogchen at the

apex of buddhist attainment. Dzogchen, 'the great perfection', was no
longer a mystical condition arisen spontaneously or synchronicitously
in the heart/mind of susceptible people, but rather it was the reward
at the end of long and strenuous path of spiritual activity in a
mundane context. In other words, if ambitious priests or monks were
sufficiently motivated on a relative level in virtuous activity and
particularly mechanistic meditation, they would attain a nondual state,
which was called Dzogchen. Dzogchen then became the carrot waved
by the mundane priesthood before the noses of their followers and
particularly their ambitious successors. The stick, of course, was the
threat of rebirth and its inherent suffering on the wheel of life.
This brief overview of the development of Dzogchen ignores the

questions that have exercised the intellect of scholars concerning its
origins. What part did the pre-buddhist Bon of Zhangzhung play in
the establishment of the nondual tradition? Had Orgyen (Oddiyana),
the birthplace of Garab Dorje and Padmasambhava, developed a
formal religious acknowledgement of nondual reality? Did the Bon
already possess a form of Dzogchen when Bairotsana returned to
Central Tibet with the Nyingma Tantras? Or did the shamanic Bon
simply appropriate Dzogchen lock, stock and barrel, from the
Buddhists? In the absence of textural material, answers to these
questions must be mere conjecture.
44 Everything Is LJght
The J\.yingma Tantras
The Nyingma tradition regarding the source of their original tantras

begins with the adiguru Garab Dorje, who, it is said, gathered eighty-
four thousand verses of Dzogchen scripture in his Orgyen homeland
a few decades after the parinirvana of Sakyamuni buddha. Garab
Dorje taught them to his disciple Manjushrimitra who divided them
into the three sections of mahayoga, anuyoga and atiyoga.
Manjushrimitra taught them to Shri Singha who taught them to
Bairotsana, the monk who had been sent down from Tibet to India by
king Trisong Detsen, and who now took them back to Tibet. We are
quite certain Bairotsana translated much of the :Mind Series texts
during the reign of Trisong Detsen and that the Indian savant
Vimalamitra from Bengal translated the remainder of the :Mind Series
some years later. The origins of the Space and Secret Precept Series
are less clear, although in many colophons - in the Tiklcry Kunsel for
example - Bairotsana is given as the translator. The institute of
translation that eventually invested the Samye monastery engaged
Indian panditas to work with Tibetan translators to translate the large
corpus of buddhist texts that included many Dzogchen texts.
Thus the old Nyingma tradition has it that the tantras originated in the
Indic literary sphere and were translated from Indic sources. The
assumption is that the Nyingma GJ'Uebum, the compendium of the old
tantras, maha, anu and ati, was completed by the end of the empire
period. After the beginning of the second period of propagation of
the dharma in Tibet, with the renaissance of the Nyingma school and
the beginning of what could be called Tibetan historiography, legend
and myth became history. We know that catalogues of the old tantras
were made in the 12th century by Nyangrel Nyima Wozer's school and
by the Zur family in Central Tibet. In the 14th century Ratnalingpa
made the first comprehensive collection, which was edited and
improved upon by Jigmelingpa in the 18th century. In 1982 the
National Library of the Royal Government of Bhutan published a
photo-offset edition of the collection kept by the Tsamdrak
monastery and it is that compendium called the 1"!Jingma G]uebum that
is the primary manuscript source of this translation.
But in general, the temporal origin of the Nyingma Tantras, in

distinction to their existential source, is as unclear as Tibetan history.
The Tibetan Yellow-Hat school has poured doubt upon their
authenticity, asserting that they had no Indian, sanskritic antecedents.
Contemporary western scholarship is still equivocal. Perhaps sanskritic
Introduction 45
sources existed, but we have no knowledge of those original texts and

most likely the Tibetan 'translations' were recensions of oral
transmission. Certainly the 1-find Series tantras translated by
Bairotsana and Vimalamitra were extant in the eighth century empire
period, the putative initial period of the propagation of Dzogchen in
Tibet. But in the absence of hard evidence, Western scholarship has
overturned the traditional view that the tantras originated with a
historical Garab Dorje to be transmitted and organized by his disciple
Manjushrimitra. The notion of a single source in either Sakyamuni
Buddha or Rigdzin Garab Dorje with a single lineage with a didactic
accent upon nondual mystic experience is rejected as apocryphal
myth.
One western revisionist academic view is that the :Mind Series tantras
were written down in the 8 th century by Tibetan masters and
constitute early, pure, Dzogchen. The Space Series, and the Secret
Precept Series, it is said, were written down by lamas between the 11 th
and 14th centuries under the influence of the ethos of the new tantras
emanating from Nepal and Bengal, particularly the yogini tantras and
the Kalachakra Tantra. The later Dzogchen tantras, it is suggested, have
lost the radical flair of the :Mind Series' view. Incorporating many
different meditation practices, such tantras produce the sense of a
graduated path, or rather a path wherein graduation and immediacy
are brought together.
To be more specific, this academic view disdains the generally

accepted wisdom that the tantras were transmitted orally for hundreds
of years until, at a time of threat or degradation, they were written
down. It implies that Dzogchen had no lndic antecedents, that
Dzogchen is a Tibetan innovation. Further, this view suggests that the
l\[yingtik lineages of atiyoga developed from and with the Space and
Secret Precept tantras, that Longchenpa organized them in the Vimala
l\[yingtik and the Khandro l\[yingtik, and that Jigmelingpa's Longchen
1\Jyingtik is the final product of that development. This view accords
with the evident tendency of post-Great Fifth Dzogchen, as evinced
in the Longchen Nyingtik, to introduce 'preliminaries' into atiyoga
sadhana, and to include a variety of meditations such as those
described in chapter 42. It is difficult to avoid the highly significant
implication that as part of this development togal practices were
added to the basic Dzogchen that is trekcho, or, alternatively, that
togal was separated from trekcho, providing two integral stages,
trekcho for the quietist, contemplative yogin, and togal for the more
energetic adept.
46 Everything ls Ught
Further, it may have been during the second period of propagation

that the mahayoga and anuyoga (the creative and fulfillment phases of
Vajrayana) were classified as Dzogchen. These innovations defined a
graduated path, and if the imperative codicil to Dzogchen sadhana is
that all spiritual practice must be recognized in its nondual essence,
Dzogchen had found a niche in ordinary goal-oriented Vajrayana. In
this form it was incorporated into the Nyingma monastic academies
during the Yellow-Hat theocracy that in the three centuries leading up
to the Chinese invasion of 1959 enforced its cultural ethos upon
Tibet.
This view of the development of Dzogchen is seductive for those

Dzogchen yogins who would revert to the earliest form of Dzogchen,
to the Mind Series tantras, to inform their view and meditation. But
the textural evidence to support this theory is so thin that the entire
thesis must be relegated to wish fulfillment. The very few texts that
have been dated from before the 11 th century - and that includes the
Dun Huang stash - are certainly insufficient upon which to base any
generalization about the development of nascent Dzogchen. When
speaking of Dun Huang, it must be remembered that it was a military
outpost of Tibetan Buddhist ~ulture thousands of miles from the
central valleys where Bairotsana and Vimalamitra had taught, hardly
representative of the entire culture. Besides, such academic views
relying upon the evidence of extant texts ignore the traditional beliefs
that embody higher didactic, soteriological, purpose - does any
didactic purpose exist in western academia other than academic
contention? Further, it is self-evident that textural sources and
academic commentary are of secondary significance in tracing the
history of a universal mystical existentialism, traced in the 'perennial
philosophy'. In the light of highly unreliable Tibetan historiography,
the absence of textural material, the existence of conflicting beliefs in
the various traditions, and even different approaches within the
Nyingma school, any discussion about the history of Dzogchen in
Tibet even after the 11 th century is fanciful to tenuous.
A final word: If the Tiklay Kunse/ were to be tom apart and the :Mind
Series essence that is presented in Everything Is Light: The Epitomt'
understood as the original form of the tantra, the remainder of the
text could be construed as additional material that was attached to the
1
Forthcoming, to be published by Dzogchen ~ow! Books.
Introduction 47
core to produce the final version of the text, or as it now stands, in the
11th / 12th centuries.
Classification of the Text
Several versions of the Nyingma Gyuebum, the canon of the original

works of the Nyingma School, are extant. The version edited by Dilgo
Khyentse Rinpoche in 1975, called the Tinkye (Gting skyes) version, is
divided into three sections: atiyoga, anuyoga and mahayoga. The
atiyoga section is divided into three: Mind Series (sems sde), Space
Series (klong sde) and All-Inclusive (phyi nang;. The Tiklqy Ivmsel is
found in the last section among seventeen of the highest tantras. In
the Tsamdrak (Mtshams brag; version, the text that I have relied upon
primarily for this translation, the Tiklqy Ivmsel is located in the
thirteenth of fourteen volumes of the atiyoga section. The colophon
of the Tiklqy Kunsel declares that it is an explanatory tantra of the
Secret Precept Series of atiyoga.
The three principal forms of literary expression in Vajrayana are tantra

(rgyud), agama - scriptural instruction (lung; and upadesha - secret
precepts (man ngag;. Tantras are the root revelations of Vajradhara or
Samantabhadra that present categories of teaching in a textbook form,
listing and defining. Tantras are like databases from which general
instruction and specific precepts, and also liturgical meditation texts
(sadhanas, sgrnb thabs), may be drawn. The Tiklq; Kunsel provides an
excellent example of such a tantra. The agamas (lung; tum the tantras
into logical idealized instructional treatises, a process that can be seen
clearly, for example, in the distinction between the tantras of the
Spaciousness of Vajrasattva (Nam mkha' che) and its agama (lung; the Fift.y
Five Verses (see Appendix 3), the latter a clear and practical elucidation
of the former. The upadeshas, like the tantras in dialogue form, are
personalized instruction in short pithy slokas and since predominantly
they point at the nature of mind, they are 'secret precepts'. These
three - tantra, agama and upadesha - comprise the atiyoga section of
the Nyingma Gyuebum.
No self-evident attributes distinguish the three classifications of texts

called 'the three series'. Various traditional commentators have
imposed different threefold interpretations upon them. Perhaps
Dudjom Rinpochei expresses the mainstream view: 'The Mind Series
; Dudjom Rinpoche 1991 p.391 ff.

teaches that all experience is free from the necessity of improvement

because it is inseparable from mind itself. The Space Series teaches
that multifarious reality cannot be striven after and all antidotes are
redundant because all forms are already perfectly gathered into
Samantabhadri, the matrix of reality. The Secret Precept Series teaches
that all attributes are free of both the necessity for improvement and
any antidotal application because they are perfect as they stand.' At
another time, Dudjom Rinpoche firstly connected i\find Series to
realization of appearances as i\1ind, secondly Space Series to
realization of emptiness, and thirdly Secret Precept to experience of
the nondual nature of appearances' and emptiness.
Another frequently imposed differentiation is between tantras of view

in the Mind Series, tantras of meditation instruction in the Space
Series, and tantras of pith instruction on nonduality in the Secret
Precept Series. Enlarging upon that classification, Chogyal Namkhai
Norbu relates the three series to the adiguru Garab Dorje's three
incisive precepts: Mind Series to 'recognition of mind's nature'; Space
Series to 'familiarization with mind's nature'; and Secret Precept Series
to 'confidence in release'.
Such differentiation undoubtedly has didactic significance, but a

simpler and more acceptable explanation is that the three bodies of
texts were derived from three lineages associated with three separate
original locations appearing at different times, each having its own
appropriate features. This assumption does not conflict Dudjom
Rinpoche's assertion that the i\1ind Series appeals particularly to those
attached to mind, that the Space Series appeals to those lost in space
and the Secret Precept Series appeals to those with aversion to the
graduated path.
Leaving behind this difficult issue of classification of the tantra within

the frame of the three series, if we were to place the Tiki'!] l0msel
within the New Tantra system of father, mother and nondual tantra,
although little evidence of the type of conduct mooted in the yogini
tantras can be found, no literal interpretation of tantric precepts, no
maithuna (sexual yoga) or tanagana (literally 'raping and killing'), no
reliance upon dakinis (except as evoked in the Prologue and in chapter
91), no lower tantric magic, but rather a father tantra equilibrium with
1 Please be aware that 'appearances' in a Bu<l<lhist context generally refers to

the plural of generic fonn, rather than superficial manifestation.
Introduction 49
an accent on verbal definition, logic and proof, it would have to be

placed in the nondual class. The female deities of the mandala,
however, are numbered one less than the male. But that is a subsidiary
symptom of the no?dual theme that run~ ~oughout in an
overarching and dorrunant manner. Nonduality 1s the mode and
nonduality is the key.
In support of the hypothesis that Secret Precept Series texts were

influenced by the New Tantra upsurge from India beginning at the
end of the 11th century, and to provide a further definition of 'secret
precept' (man ngag), note the inclusion of the 'mantric precepts' in
some chapters of the Tiklay Klinsel, precepts that certainly have no
place in radical Dzogchen. In addition, the prologue, with its list of
wrathful dakinis fresh from the cremation ground, would indicate
second-propagation tantric influence. The inclusion of the V airochana
mandala is strong evidence of mahayoga influence, although the
purpose of its inclusion in the Tikla; Klinsel appears to be symbolic
expression of an indescribable vision rather than an encouragement of
the mahayoga practices of visualization and recitation. Likewise,
emphasis upon the empowerments indicates nascent integration of
this later Dzogchen with Vajrayana. Inclusion of chapters on the
bardo is another indication of late and also terma influence - no
reference to the bardos appears in early, Mind Series, tantras. Garab
Dorje, Manjushrimitra, Shri Singha and Bairotsana are the names
found in early Tibetan Dzogchen history that are mentioned herein.
In support of the proposition that the tantra belongs to a late period

of composition, consider the elements of the Longchen Nyingtik that
can be identified in incipient form in this tantra. No overt division
into trekcho and togal phases of Dzogchen praxis can be found here,
but the definition of unpremeditated non-meditation at the beginning
of chapter 42 may be construed as trekcho precept and in the
threefold training in meditation of chapter 42.3 the elements of togal
shine through.i 'Constriction of energy channels' (although no
mention of any posture has been found), 'the three gazes', 'the three
skies', 'lamp of enlightened mind', 'the water lamp', 'precious tsitta',
'pixels of spaciousness', all provide material for the elaborate ritualized
meditations of latter day Dzogchen.
1
The precept at the end of chapter 75 appears to provide a tentative
differentiation of the two: 'Reckoning from below, the cutting through is
direct; looking from above, the view is uncryscalizing transparence.'
The pure 'early' Dzogchen view, however, can be filtered out of this
tantra to provide a wonderful uncompromising _introduction to
nondual envisionment (see Evetything is Light: The Epitome). No
distinction therein is to be made between the trekcho phase
(recognition) and the togal phase (fruition).
The geographic and cultural origins of the tantras may appear to be

academic issues, but if the source of the Nyingma G]uebum tantras is
established, we know the origin of Dzogchen, and the argument
between Buddhism and Bon regarding its genesis is then largely
resolved. Again, that may be an academic issue. The source, the age,
the language and the culture all add up to interesting peripheral
temporal data. \Vhat looms as crucial is the integrity of the entire
Dzogchen vision and, particularly, the validity of its view, the efficacy
of its nonmeditation and the consistency of its adepts' conduct. Does
Dzogchen transcend its cultural context? \Vhat is its current
relevance? Is its nondual view optimally rigorous and uncom-
promising and impervious to intellectual dualization? Is its vision
congruent with the experience of contemporary nondual adepts?
In conclusion, regarding the classification of the Tikla)' Kunsel, the

attributes of none of the three series fit it unequivocally. Insofar as the
essential 1-find Series tantras tend to be rigorous and uncom-
promising in their view, if a tantra that appears ostensibly to belong to
the Mind Series leans towards the Secret Precept Series, it must fall
within the purview of the latter. Further, the Tiki'!)' Kunsel is replete
with slokas that unite the dualism of form and emptiness, and aware-
ness and spaciousness, and in that respect its classification as a Secret
Precept text is validated.
Structure of the Text
A covert sectioning of the first fifty-seven chapters is provided by

Vajradhara's nine samadhis, all of which, however, are to be
discovered within the first forty chapters. The names of the samadhis
provide the topic and source of Vajradhara's exposition.
First is the samadhi of all-inclusive envisionment, which is the totality-

vision of the primal ground. In chapter 2, the mystical apogee of
Dzogchen is described in terms of zero-appearance and zero-
dimension, where zero-appearance is the ground of all vision, the
essence of dharmadhatu, and zero-dimension is the primal ground, the
Introduction 51
essence of dharmakaya, which in union arise out of the primal ground

as nondual envisionment.
Jbe second samadhi, chapters 3-5, is the samadhi of the characteristic

of the primal ground, the samadhi of the very ground itself, which is
well defined in chapter 3. In chapter 4, a secondary samadhi, the
visionary state of metaphorical interpretation, evokes the primal
ground by means of twenty-seven metaphors. It then reverts to the
samadhi of the primal ground in order to provide an extensive
definition in chapter 5, wherein Mahavajradhara, the Sixth, 'intrinsic
presence' (rang rii) is included along with a list of words that are virtual
synonyms, or aspects, of the envisionment of the ground.
The third samadhi, the samadhi of clear present awareness of the now,
and chapter 6, define present awareness and its five aspects, while
chapter 7 provides metaphors for it.
The fourth samadhi, and chapter 8, introduce compassionate

creativity, the creativity of pure presence, as the five attributes of
present awareness. In chapter 9, the definition of creativity is further
elaborated: it manifests as the great elements, the body-mind
aggregates, and all of illusory enchantment, and again in chapter 10
there is a definition and metaphors.
The fifth samadhi, the samadhi of ornamentation and display 1s

defined with metaphors in chapters 11-13.
The sixth samadhi is the samadhi of structured perception or the

samadhi of the origin of samsara contained in chapters 14-21,
including the nature of delusion and its origin, samsara and kalpa, and
the relationship between the great elements and sediments, and the
three kalpas.
The seventh samadhi, chapters 22-35, embraces the sublime vision of

trikaya, beginning with the manifestation of the form dimension
within the formless, including the actuality of conversion, the thrones,
the mandala circles, sambhogakaya and tulku.
The eighth samadhi, in chapters 37-56, explains the samadhi of

inconceivable revelation through which the eight approaches are
described. The common attributes of the eight approaches (and also
the ninth - atiyoga) are defined in terms of conduct, meditation and
view, fruition, and definition, in that order, but without an implied
necessity of one preceding the next. Vital content on nonmeditation

and the Dzogchen view are treated therein. It concludes with chapters
on The Supreme and Supremacy and on Deviation and Obscuration.
The ninth samadhi, beginning at chapter 57, the samadhi of the

paramount secret, subsumes the remainder of the text. If 'the
paramount secret' is taken to refer to tantra, then after the petition of
Vajrapani to Vajradhara, and the excellences, chapters 57-61 treat
qualities of tantra, agama (discursive instruction based upon the
tantra) and upadesha (secret precept).
Chapters 62-70 first define tantra and then treat the ten necessary
components of tantric practice, beginning with an extensive treatment
of empowerment and continuing with samaya-commitment, the two
mandalas (1fandala in chapter 66 and Selfless Activity in chapter 67),
offering and yoga, mantra and mudra, and approach and
accomplishment, all defined according to the Dzogchen view. These
ten may be usefully compared with a Longchenpa list of ten: view,
meditation, conduct, spiritual levels, samaya-commitment, path, ideal
conduct, subtle realization, pristine awareness and the goal (see Keith
Dowman 2010 p.81).
Chapters 74-82 consider further categories of tantra reappraised from

the Dzogchen point of view: 'stages', 'paths' and 'perfections', and
also 'hollows' and 'appearances'.
Chapters 84-95 treat the bardo (an inclusion that has no antecedent in
Indian buddhist literature) and associated topics, focusing on the
various modes of release. The highly significant seminal chapter 86
treating 'the fourfold pointing out' is inserted between bardo related
topics without any apparent connection with the foregoing or
following chapters. Chapter 90 lists questions and answers relating to
release - an unusual didactic strategy - while chapters 91-92 define
nirvana, the product of release. Chapter 94 on 'the four alternatives'
approaches release through logical dialectic.
Chapter 95 touches upon the nadashastra, the science of relationship

between sound and conventional meaning. If this relationship as
presented appears at first glance to be arbitrarily devised, at least this
chapter establishes the root of all sound as the unspoken vowel sound
A. Chapter 96 is a useful lexicon of miscellaneous technical terms
used in the text, while chapter 97 comments upon the text itself.
Introduction 53
The mantric precepts, called man ngag, upadesha, in the text, preface
the chapters that introduce the samadhis, although in some chapters
the mantras are placed unpredictably. The mantras themselves are
composed in very poor 'Tibetan Sanskrit', a term that implies
unconventional spelling, an absence of elision and grammar.
However, overlooking the odd forms of the mantras, unlike the
classical secret mantras composed of a string of sacred syllables these
'pith precepts' have some discursive meaning. These mantras are
brought together in Appendix 4.
Any logical sequence of chapters, or groups of chapters, is sometimes

difficult to discern. Chapters treating specific topics are not always in
sequence; defmition of topics that would logically appear before the
revelation of the topic sometimes follows its exposition. These
inconsistencies and the absence of formal structure may imply an
absence of forethought in the composition of the tantra, as if the
tantra were an aggregation of notes taken during oral expositions!
One particular chapter form appears throughout the text including a

conventional buddhist logical analysis of a given topic, providing
classifications of essence, semantic definition, category and metaphor.
The chapters structured accordingly are indicated by 'Definition' in
the chapter heading. Thus, for example, in the first eleven chapters,
those headed 'The Primal Ground' (chapters 3 and 5), 'Present
Awareness' (chapter 6), 'Creativity' (chapter 10) and 'Ornamentation
and Display' (chapter 11) are structured in that manner. Other
chapters are devoted to key words and synonyms (chapter 27
'Sambhogakaya: Key Words'; chapter 32 'Trikaya: Key Words');
metaphors (chapter 13 'Ornamentation and Display: Metaphors'); or
lexicons (chapter 96 'Clarifying Definitions').
The Form of the Text
This tantra is presented in the form of a dialogue between

Mahavajradhara and Vajrapani. Mahavajradhara, or simply Vajradhara,
is often called The Sixth, the buddha added to the five sambhogakaya
buddhas, the origin of them all. The Sixth is an adi-buddha, a primal
buddha, and although his iconography is more elaborate he can be
identified with Samantabhadra, who sometimes stands above him.
Vajradhara's principal epithet throughout is 'Bhagawan', which means
'Beyond Victory', an epithet of Sakyamuni Buddha, for certainly
Vajradhara is identified with the buddha of our era. The first words of
the first chapter of this tantra echo the sutric phrase that introduces
texts believed to have been spoken originally by Sakyamuni Buddha:

"Thus have we heard". Vajradhara is also repeatedly. referred to as
'Teacher', an epithet commonly reserved for Sakyamuni, but this
'Teacher' is a mere personification of pure presence, dharmakaya and
trikaya, and as such cannot be specified, substantiated or concretized.
Vajradhara responds to the questions of Guhyapati (Sangdak), Master

of the Secret of Nonduality. But Guhyapati is also referred to by
Vajradhara as Vajradhara and also as Vajrapani. In Tibetan, Chakna
Dorje (Vajra-In-[honorific]Hand), Lakna Dorje (Vajra-ln-Hand) and
Dorje Dzin (Vajra-Bearer) are all translations of the Sanskrit name,
Vajrapani, while Dorje Chang (V ajra Bearer) refers only to Vajradhara.
Guhyapati's alternative names are applied apparently at random
throughout the text. Incidentally, Guhyapati is also a name of
Ganesha, the elephant-headed guardian of the gates of the mysteries
in Indian mythology. V ajradhara also refers to V ajrapani as
Vajrasattva; Vajradhara personifies dharmakaya while Vajrasattva
belongs to sambhogakaya or nirmanakaya.
Vajrapani, one of the three bodhisattva-protectors of Mahayana

Buddhism, is a wrathful bodhisattva belonging to the vajra family.
Vajrapani is also the epithet of a lama who has achieved the status of
tantric priest in both name and spirit. But Master of the Secret
(Sangdak, Guhyapati) is his most common epithet and as such he is
regarded as the compiler of the Nyingma scriptures and particularly
compiler of the tantras of the 1'{yingma Gyuebum. In chapter 97
Vajrapani is identified as Garab Dorje or at least it is implied that the
latter is an emanation of the former. Garab Dorje's name is adduced
as a master of uncorrupted transcription of the oral teaching, written
in lapis lazuli ink in original texts. Also, in the tantra's colophon, he is
exhorted to transmit the tantra to his disciples.
The dialogue, then, is between personifications of pure presence and

functional reflex, between a buddha personification and his bodhi-
sattva emanation, between a fully perfected buddha and a disciple who
aspires to clarification of that relationship, between the unitary field of
nondual mind and a moment of self-expression of it, between a
totality personification and a magical emanation of it.
The language of Vajradhara's instruction may be characterized as pith

instruction to the extent that buddha-word can be broken down into
single sentences with an integral meaning. For this reason alone, the
tantra can be classified as 'secret precept', but more meaningfully
Introduction 55
those precepts largely require nondual insight to be understood and

are therefore 'self-secret'. Further, elements of the text are couched in
a coded language (sandhyabhasa) that can also be called 'secret
precept'; this includes primarily the instruction on meditation in
chapter 42 and the narratives in chapters 14 and 85.
The Terlon and the Translators
J\.ccording to the lineal tradition, Garab Dorje, a native of Orgyen,

was the first Dzogchen tulku and the adiguru of the Dzogchen
lineages. He collected eighty-four thousand Dzogchen verses together
and as holder of the three lineages of transmission taught them to his
disciple Manjushrimitra. According to one tradition, he lived shortly
after Sakyamuni buddha; according to Western academic reckoning,
he lived in the 7th century. Garab Dorje is mentioned in the Tiklay
Kunsel as the recipient of the tantra from Vajrapani, and as a
siddhamuni in the human realm. If Garab Dorje received the tantra
from V ajrapani, he should be considered not only the adiguru of the
lineage but also the first treasure finder (terton)! Regarding the
disparity between the traditional Tibetan and the western academic
belief in the centuries of his lifetime, the latter conceives of linear
time, while in the traditional Dzogchen view the linear continuum is
analogous to the skin of a fruit and the subjective perceiver to its juice.
Discrepancy is inevitable. The traditional view holds some wisdom for
the Dzogchen yogin; the materialist view provides data that allows an
illusion of control.
Shri Singha (Pelgyi Senge) is one of the principal lineal masters in the
Indian Dzogchen lineage, disciple of Manjushrimitra and guru of
Bairotsana. Little verifiable biographical information exists regarding
him in the oral, lineal, tradition, other than that he taught Bairotsana
and provided him with at least some of the Secret Precept Series texts.
Legend and revealed sources indicate that his homeland may have
been on the Silk Route, and that he spent years in China, particularly
at Wutai Shan, the mountain home of Manjushri. It is also entirely
credible that he travelled to Orgyen and to Bodh Gaya and lived in
those places of pilgrimage.
Bairotsana (Sanskrit: Vairochana) was one of the first five monks

ordained by Shantarakshita in Tibet. He learned Sanskrit, travelled to
India with Tsang Lekdrub, obtained tantras from Shri Singha,
returned to Tibet and translated the tantras of the Mind and Secret
Precept Series and taught at Tri Song Detsen's court. He was the first
of Tibetan Dzogchen adepts and perhaps the greatest. Certainly, the

translations ascribed to him are pre-eminent, lucid and clear.
Linguistic S ryie of the Text
The text is written in a mixture of prose and verse. The lines of verse
generally have four feet. Infrequently the lines extend to five feet or
more. Sometimes pairs of lines (slokas) are employed; sometimes,
double slokas comprise four line verses. W'here slokas are not in
evidence, sections are frequently concluded with repetition of the final
consonant of the last word with 'o'.
No evidence in spelling, vocabulary or the form of the text indicates

that it had its origins during the empire period, during the first period
of propagation. This lack of evidence is not conclusive as the work
was almost certainly written down originally from an oral tradition and
then rewritten or extensively edited at a later period, perhaps the
eleventh century. Few words that can be considered dedicated
Dzogchen expression can be identified herein.
In the colophon, as if in a note bene, the tantra declares itself written

without particles or punctuation. This truth is only partial. Sufficient
particles and inflections are included to facilitate understanding by
anyone with knowledge of both the Tibetan language and the material.
Many passages exist, however, where strings of nouns and adjectives
would be better related if more particles had been included
(particularly chapter 91).
Tikiqy Kunsei as a Literary Source Book
The Tiklq; Kunsel mentions seminal tantras and agamas of the highest
tantric literature. If the Tikiay Kunsel dates from the eleventh or twelfth
century, regardless of its origins in another literary form or as an orally
transmitted tantra, the tantras mentioned in chapter 60 should be
recognized as vital sources of inspiration at the beginning of the
second period of propagation. The same should be said of the Mind
Series tantras named in the text which are presumably part of
Bairotsana's translation. (See Appendix 3.)
The Tikiay Kunsel has been a constant source of reference down the
centuries. For example, Longchenpa cited the Tikicry Kunsel at length in
his auto commentary to the Neluk Dzo (Gnas lugs mdzod; see Keith
Dowman, Natural Pe,jection, 2010), particularly from chapters 40
Introduction 57
('Dzogchen View') and 88 ('Release'). See both the endnotes and

Appendix 3 for detailed references.
Issues of Style
In defmitive textural elucidation of the nature of mind such as this

tantra, words are of paramount importance, and together with
Vajradhara's revelations pointing to a vision of nondual reality, the
terms he uses are defined and also explained by metaphor and simile
and elucidated by lists of synonyms and related vocabulary.
An elaborate glossary of English-Tibetan terms can be found at the

back of the book, but any reader interested in the precise meaning of
Dzogchen technical terms is strongly advised to turn to those pages
before reading the translation so that a taste (raas) of the terminology
and also a sense of the depth and complexity of meaning in Dzogchen
can be comprehended.
'Whereas the tantra in Tibetan consists mostly of verse, the translation

is done mainly into prose, although important passages that lend
themselves best to verse have been translated as verse. The prose
translation allows interpretive elaboration of the sparse Tibetan verse
('without particles or punctuation'), allowing the addition of implied
adjectives and synonymous phrases that amplify comprehension.
To assist the reader, the chapter headings, given in Tibetan at the

conclusion of each chapter, have been modified and essentialized in
translation to reflect more precisely the chapter contents and placed at
the head of the relevant chapter. The forms of some of the questions
asked of Vajrapani have been edited to fit more precisely the answers
in both placement and style. Also, see Appendix 1 for a rationalization
of the upadesha 'mantras'.
One small distinction: no difference exists 1n Tibetan between the

meanings of 'metaphor' and 'simile', but a distinction has been
introduced here. As the dictionary has it, a metaphor insists upon the
identity of two incongruous things, while a simile only suggests
similarity by use of prepositions such as 'like'. In Tibetan, the tantra
employs both constructions while using the same term to describe
them (dpe).
Rather than suggest meanings for the many metaphors and similes
introduced in this tantra, annotation has been avoided except where
the metaphor is technical and requires elaboration, such as 'like

camphor' or 'like aconite'. lJnelaborated, the metaphors become
koans, or methods to nonverbal resolution.
This section's heading, Issues of Style, also embraces difficulties of

English translation that are sometimes fudged by translators -
particularly the translators who have specialized in Vajrayana texts -
leaving readers to fall into errors of view that later are hard to
expunge. To mirror Tibetan literary exposition of the Dzogchen view
in English, the sense of immanent fruition should be implicit. The
view, a description of reality as it is, rather than a prescription to
rectify it, describes things as they are rather than how they should be.
Since recognition of 'what is' requires no imperious or urgent
command to 'do' anything, the imperative mood is used frugally in
this Dzogchen translation.
Further, the meaning of some terms is altered from conventional

Vajrayana to Dzogchen usage: for example, 'pure' (dag pa) or
'immaculate' (rnam par dagpa) here implies 'sunya', 'empty', and may be
translated as such. The crucial buddhist word for 'emptiness' (stongpa
,ryid) sometimes appears in the tantra, but the word for 'pure' (daj)
appears frequently. Purity is emptiness. Likewise, 'impurity' (ma daj)
conveys essential substantiality or rather belief in the substantial
existence of putative external entities.
Consider the Tibetan word rang, which is often translated as the

reflexive 'self' when its meaning is much better expressed by 'intrinsic'
or 'natural 'or 'spontaneous'. Rang dbang translated as 'self-
empowerment' is an absurdity when understood as empowerment of
or by the self instead of 'intrinsic empowerment'. Empowerment can
only be received in an absence of self. 'Self' in English has a strong
sense of ego, an I, an ens and a substance (and subservience to the
dakini is to be considered the most effective antidote). Again, no such
entity as 'self-realized buddha' exists; all buddha is realized only by
and as nonself. If any trace of self-nature in the body-mind remains,
buddha is automatically excluded, the realization identified as that of a
pratyekabuddha at best. Further, all buddha is realized without any
internal witness, without any self-consciousness, without any person
to say 'I am self-realized' or indeed 'I am realized.'
Self-evidently, the translation of rang as 'one's own' is open to the

same criticism, particularly in the phrase 'rang rig', which rendered as
'one's own awareness' or some such formulation, questions the
Introduction 59
nonduality of rig pa. Pure presence (rig pa) cannot be possessed or

owned by any one, nor cognized by any witness. \Vhere 'self' is used
reflexively it must always be understood as 'by itself' not 'of itself', as
in 'self-sprung', where 'self' implies that 'it' is being pulled up by its
own bootstraps, or an envisionment is being engineered intrinsically,
by itself, not by 'the self' or by 'an other'.
Then, regarding the simile 'like the reflection of the moon in a pail of
water': This common buddhist trope is not calculated to invoke the
moon in the sky as the actuality of the reflection in water. The point
of the simile is the unreality of the reflected image of the moon in
water - its illusory nature. Introduction of the word 'reflection' and
the inevitable inference of a 'real' source serve only to muddy the
water, particularly when the 'reflection' has no 'real' source. The image
in the pail is likened to 'self-envisionment', self-sprung out of the
primal ground with no substantial nature and no extrinsic reference.
Consider this salutary story of a Zen monk afflicted by a demon that

approached and abused the monk whenever his meditation was about
to reach a point of breakthrough into nondual vision. Unable to
resolve his sense of self, he became obsessed with the notion of killing
the demon. The next time the demon appeared, he lunged at the
apparition with a knife, but plunging the knife into its gut he found he
had committed hara-kiri. \Vhat the monk saw outside was a reflection
of his self. ~en we consider the environment a collection of separate
substantial entities, 'an alien other', what we see 'out there' is a
reflection of our own egoistic delusion; it is a shade of maya. Such
recognition is important in the process of realization of the ultimate
identity of subject and object. ~en the delusory distinction between
inside and outside has been lost, in a natural envisionment of
spaciousness the sublime vision in the now arises, and that can be
described as an 'holistic light-seed', or as maya in nondual vision. This
self-sprung envisionment leaves nothing extrinsic, nothing other,
nothing alien, nothing separate. That is the universal self-envision-
ment that is revealed as the basic mystic vision of Vajradhara in
chapter 1.
'The sublime v1s1on in the now', mentioned above, is how in

Dzogchen the word dgongs pa is rendered, and that is a definitive
statement describing buddha mind. In the suppositional approaches,
the word is done as 'enlightened intent' implying that there is an effect
to be attained in consequence of a cause. Another word that can be
translated differently in Dzogchen is _yon tan, which in the lower
60 Everything Is Llght
approaches means a 'quality'; in Dzogchen where all experience

remains as pure potential it never reaches a stage of concrete
definition. Regarding conversion ( 'du/ f?ya), in Dzogchen there is no
one nor no thing to convert. If the question '\X'ho or what is to be
converted in the confusion of samsara' arises, it is answered by the
'The unitary field of awareness is being cognized at this moment as
the product of conversion, and has not been and cannot become
anything else.' '\X'hat is to be recognized as envisionment in the primal
ground?' And the answer must be, 'All experience is always self-
envisioned in the primal ground.' In the nirmanakaya dimension no
buddhas nor sentient beings exist, no buddhas who have attained the
goal of enlightenment nor sentient beings who have not. No
enlightened lama appears to magically convert wayward beings lost in
samsara; the only possibility is a recognition of the essence of all
phenomenal experience as perfect in itself. But that realization alone is
sufficient to 'convert' or 'transform' sentient beings and that is the
sole method at our disposal on the path of immediacy.
The danger here is the assumption of an 'I' who performs the action
of conversion of another being. That assertive sense of an 'I'
precludes any kind of Dzogchen conversion whatsoever. The
conversion that one person does to another is better termed
'entrapment', or 'mental imprisonment within a belief system defined
by a spiritual aristocracy that seeks to control and exploit'. This,
surely, has been the mission of errant priests since time immemorial.
The translation of 'nonverbal or supra-verbal awareness' as 'wisdom',

the wisdom that is a function of nonconceptual realization, results in a
lack of clarity about the nature of mind. To believe that the dualistic
mind's rational understanding of the secret of trikaya, for example, is
anything but a trick of the demon of divine pride to prevent actual
experience of it, leads to an inevitable sense of confinement in the
cavern of karmic propensity. It is taught herein that the eight lower
buddhist approaches employ mind as a vehicle, where 'mind' is
relative mind, expressed in analytical and comparative thought-form.
The ninth approach, atiyoga, which is no-approach, to the contrary, is
concerned with pure awareness - present awareness - that has no
form at all.
The Tiklqy Kunsel is clear in its intention at the outset: it sets out to
reflect the highest visions of Dzogchen tantra, not to inform the
intellect of truths whereby enlightenment can be achieved. If truth is
verbalized, it is the radiance of the creativity of pure presence that has
Introduction 61
meaning; if the form of the moment is divorced from its radiance and
given any e~trinsic significance, it ~ecomes a demo~ic intrusion_ from
an alien environment, or the obtrusion of an underlying ego seeking to
protect itself from dissolutio~ in_ universal present awareness. Thus,
mere intellectual understanding 1s not only an obstacle to present
awareness; it is an error that leads us deeper into dualistic mire, and
confines us there.
Protection
Despite its assertion that it is the key to all the tantras, all the tantras
of the J\!yingma Gyuebum, the Tiklay Kunse/ does not lay any heavy
stricture of entrustment and secrecy upon its readers. Perhaps this is
due to the understanding of the meaning of 'secret' as something that
by its very nature remains hidden in a place from which it can never
be brought out into the common light of day for any curious intellect
to peruse, as opposed to something that is hidden only for so long as
its existence has not been revealed. Nevertheless, if anyone knowingly
places it in the hands of someone who would abuse it, the
Executioner has been primed to slay the transgressor. Fortunately,
Tibetan sectarianism has not taken root in the West sufficiently to give
this petition much relevance, and neither has the jealousy of the
devotees of any lama curdled to the extent that texts or teaching are
considered exclusive to that group. Perhaps the adjuration to
protection is simply a heads up to sanctity or sanity.
Thig le kun gsal chen po 'i wud

Homage
Homage to the point-instant of total illumination!

Homage to glorious omniscient buddha reality!
1. Prologue
In the magnificent palace of the Thirty-Three Gods, the Divine

Mansion of Total Victory, on the summit of Mount Sumeru, Indra,
lord of the gods, held council with the lesser gods gathered around
him and conferred upon them this secret precept employed to ward
off attack from the titanic anti-gods:
ADHAMKARA BUDDHA DHARMA PRASARA DUPA AP AYA A
Thus have we heard at one time:i The Bhagawan Mahavajradhara,

Great Vajra-Being, 1ust As It Is In The Now', consummate in the
sublime form of 1fahavajradhara, 'Pure Nondual 1-findstream', dwelt
in the Immaculate Lotus Grove. There, in the Precious Divine Four-
Door Mansion, adorned by the sun and the moon, resplendent with
the internal light of present awareness, inside the great palace of
present awareness, seated on a shining white lotus flower,
Mahavajradhara of Intrinsic Presence sat enthroned. He sat
surrounded by his mind retinue - dharmakaya - consisting of the
sublime forms of fivefold present awareness,ii and by the intangible
speech retinue - sambhogakaya - consisting of the five families, and
1 In this phrase, authenticating the tantra, 'we' refers to Vajrapani, a

bodhisattva reflex of Vajradhara, together with his retinue. In the body of
the text the first person plural pronoun may be construed as the royal
'we', but, also, ~fahavajradhara may be tmderstood as a pantheon of
buddha.
ii For 'fivefold a\vareness' and 'fivefold present awareness' (ye shes Inga) see
chapters 6 and 7 and the Glossary ofNwneral Terms (G">,;T).
Tiklay Kunsel 65
by the six siddhamunis in their magical nirmanakaya emanation,

t~gether with the five pure awareness dakinis:i Puma Fully Pacifying,
Vajra with the Ferocious Face, Lone Crest Ornament, Corpse-Eater
Internal Butcher with her Garland of Skulls, and the Wind-Winged
Double Vajra. 1 Further, Vajrapani - the retinue supplicating
instruction - was surrounded by his own retinue and Blazing Vajra.
The entire assembly, led by the Master of the Secret, Vajrapani,

circumambulated Bhagawan three times, and seating themselves in
front of him, Vajrapani addressed him with these words: Bhagawan
Vajradhara! The breath of your unreified all-inclusive present
awareness stirring in the eight-sided mandalaii of your buddha mind,
within the eight-petalled lotus mandala of your speech, the fivefold
present awareness of your tongue has successively enunciated tantras
that require explanation. Now, we beg you, give us a verbal lamp, 'a
circle of total illumination', to shed its golden light of ultimate
significance upon those tantras. As the ultimate key, may it unlock
their hidden meaning, so that your retinue and future followers can
read them and understand them.
Bhagawan responded: This is the secret precept, the single key that
unlocks all treasuries:
TAKTRA SADU PR.ASAR:\ KAL\
Vajrapani, and all you retinue, listen to this ultimate thrill in your earl
For the sake of those gathered here and for future generations, we are
now going to expound the key to all the tantras, The Circle of Total
Illumination, which is an elucidation of the terminology of The Great
Perfection, pith instruction on all approaches to enlightenment, the
crux of all lineal instruction and the key points of all secret precept.
The first chapter of the great tantra Tiklay Kunsel. The Prologue.
' Tbe awareness dakini is a female personification of a buddha aspect.

ii The octagonal mandala suggests the nirmanakaya throne of the eight
bodhisa ttvas.
2. Spontaneous All-Inclusive Envisionment
In an oceanic, skylike, mirror-like plenum, on top of a universal

smoothed-out turquoise mandala, in a precious nine-storied stupa,
inside the mystic casket of present awareness, lies this secret precept:
A A RA TNA DHARMAKAYA
Thus have we heard: the Bhagawan sat in the samadhi of spontaneous

all-inclusive envisionment, and at that same time the Master of the
Secret,i intuiting his heart vision, made this request: Bhagawan! Please
show us your all-inclusive envisionment.
Bhagawan replied: Best Beloved, we shall describe to you the

spontaneous all-inclusive envisionment that all the tantras reveal.
Keep it unfailingly in your mind.
The zero-dimension awakens in zero-appearance.ii The sole holistic

sphere of dharmakaya blends with the undivided field of appearances
into an elixir that shines like sunlight in the sky.
Master of the Secret! See in your mind precisely what we say right
now. The field that is cognized by the zero-essence is the spaciousness
of reality, the dharmadhatu. The dharmadhatu is an immaculate
buddhafield, without center or periphery, without top or bottom,
without any spatial bias. It has neither multiplicity nor support.
Undervalued, the dharmadhatu is mistakenly2 reified and concretized;
when it is sublimated it is transparent, and utterly unrestricted it is an
unchanging matrix of unelaborated spaciousness.
That zero-dimension's nonconceptual impartial wisdom,iii its

unrestricted present awareness, its uncaused spontaneity, its
untouchable transparence, is beyond the reach of deliberate motivated
action, beyond the possibility of rational evaluation and in its pristine
inviolability it is immaculate.
1 Guhyapati, \'ajrapani: his secret is nonduality.

i, The one, all-inclusive, existential din1ension (ngo bo ~yid ~yi sku,
svabhavikakaya), 'the diniension of the original face', appears \\-;thin
'zero-appearance' (ngo bo ,yid kyi s11a11i) or 'apparent essence'.
iii Please note that 'wisdom' (shes rah) is to be identified generally in this text
with present awareness (ye shes).
Tik/ay Kunsel 67
It has no root cause, is subject to no circumstantial conditioning and

no possible recourse; it cannot change. It cannot be touched by
ignorance, dogmatic assertion, atheistic denial, sloth or any emotional
affect. It cannot be stained by etemalistic or nihilistic belief, by
limiting belief in existence or nonexistence, by fixated dualistic
materialism or any other dualistic argument.
'Essence' is so called because it refers to the nonreferential reality of

all experience of samsara and nirvana. Also, it is that which is said to
shine in the spaciousness of present awareness; it is a field of pure
presence without differentiated points of reference, without any
fragmentation of cognition. Pure presence pervades spaciousness;
present awareness equalizes everything; all and everything is included
in reality's intrinsic awareness.
Best Beloved, whereas zero-appearance of the dharmadhatu together

with the zero-dimension of dharmakaya are expressed and indicated as
a dualism, as indicated above, the experiential reality is nondual. Both
are subsumed by and contained in the ultimate peerless 'interior
hollow'.i This ultimate nonduality is dharmakaya's sole holistic seed of
light.
How can that be? The basis of an inconceivable field is itself

inconceivable, and so no fixed concept can arise in pure presence -
objectification and reification are precluded. The nondual subjective
and objective aspects comprise the spontaneity of the self-envisioned
field, which is invested by the clear light of present awareness.
The essence spun into elixir is the pure presence that is the nature of
spaciousness. The essence of pure presence is spun into the elixir of
the intrinsic radiance of fivefold present awareness, and the essence of
that awareness is turned into the elixir of fivefold immanent quality.
Best Beloved, the elixir of spun essence is the vision of present
awareness that is like magical illusion.
As for the similes 'like the sky' and 'like sunlight', Best Beloved, zero-
appearance (essence of dharmadhatu) is like the cloudless sky, while
the zero-dimension (essence of dharmakaya) is like sunlight.
'See chapter 81 for an explanation of'hollow'.

68 Eve,ything Is Ught
In that way, Bhagawan related the nature of ultimate spaciousness to

awareness of the interconnected universe.
The second chapter ef the great tantra TiklC!)' Kunse/ reveals the charader ef
spontaneous a/I-inclusive envisionment.
3. The Primal Ground: Definition
Then the Bhagawan, Mahavajradhara, composed himself m the

samadhi of the very ground itself.
The Master of the Secret asked him: Bhagawan! Please explain

rationally the essence of the primal ground, its semantic definition,i its
specific attribute, its types and its eliminations.
Then Bhagawan arose within his samadhi and replied: Best Beloved,
the essence of the primal ground is nonduality. It is semantically
defmed as the source of everything, or as the container of both
samsara and nirvana. Its defining characteristic is fivefold present
awareness. The ground has three aspects: primal ground as present
awareness; primal ground as authenticity; and primal ground as the
secret taste of diversity.
Here are the eight ways in which aspects of space-time,3 adulterations

of karmic proclivity, are eliminated in the primal ground:
As intrinsic awareness, the primal ground eliminates matter;

As emptiness, it eliminates substantiality;
Nondual, it eliminates dualistic perception;
Self-sprung, it eliminates causes and conditions;
As spontaneity, it eliminates all hope and fear;
Immaculate, it eliminates all obscurations;
With nonexistence in abeyance, it eliminates the nihilistic extreme;
With existence in abeyance, it eliminates the etemalistic extreme.
Vajrapani, know this! The primal ground that is immaculate

spaciousness reverts and eliminates even its own modes of presence,
i The term semantic definition (nges tshi._i!) adverts to inference from common
written contexts together with received instruction.
Tiklay Kunsel 69
dissolving even the concordant eight fields of consciousness.' How

does it dissolve them? Because neither increasing nor decreasing,
neither coming nor going, it reverts the primal ground consciousness;ii
because it has no sense of self, the primal ground reverts the afflictive
intellect; because it has no duality of subject and object, the primal
ground reverts discursive verbal consciousness; and because it is free
of birth and dying the primal ground reverts the five senses.
Master of the Secret, the primal ground reverts compatible functions

into emptiness, and this includes the immaculate sky with its colors, its
spaciousness and its peaceful vibration. 4
Great Being! The primal ground also reverts dead matter, which is
irreconcilable with pure presence, releasing and dissolving what is
reverted. The primal ground dissolves the four external and internal
great elements, irreconcilable with emptiness, because they are not
actually produced or existent.
Best Beloved, understand that this ultimate self-existent self-perfected

reality reverts and dissolves both harmonious and irreconcilable
phenomena, and neither harmonious norirreconcilable phenomena.
The third chapter of the great tantra Tiklay Kunsel explains the realiry of the
primalground.
4. All-Inclusive Envisionment: Metaphors
Then Bhagawan Vajradhara entered the v1S1onary state of

metaphorical interpretation and the Master of the Secret asked him
'The fields of consciousnesss are of eye, ear, tongue, nose, body, thought,
emotion and the universal ground, each including the other four body-
mind aggregates.
" The eighth consciousness (ku11 gzhi rnam par shes pa), the common
consciousness in which samsara and nirvana are structured, the repository
of karmic propensity and motivation, is sometimes interpretively called
'the store-consciousness'. This kun gzPi rnam shes is to be distinguished
from the primal ground itself.
for appropriate similes illustrating the nature of the primal ground and
its envisionment.
The Bhagawan replied: Listen, Vajrapani! Here are some similes and
some symbols evoking spontaneous inclusive envisionment.
Like the ocean, it is unshakeable;

Like space, it is empty and permeates everything;
Like a crystal prism, it is unstained;
Like a mirror and its image, it is unadulterated, pure and clear;
Like a lotus flower, even at its full bloom it remains undefiled;
Like a diamond it is immutable; like an elephant it is immovable;
Like the earth, it is the ground of all;
Like wish-fulfillment, it arises from an ephemeral blessing;
Like sunlight, it is uncrystalizing clarity;
Like a river, its flow is unstoppable;
Like a great mountain, it has a strong foundation;
Like the sun, it is a single source of multiple images;'
Like the same image appearing in multiple water bubbles,
It is a singularity manifesting multiplicity.
Reality appears in dhannakaya like sunlight shining in a mirror.
Reality suffuses dharmakaya like butter suffusing milk.
Pure presence abides in the nature of reality like sunlight in the sky.
Implicit, unthought, dhannakaya reality and its creativity are like the
hasp and blade of a primitive razor.
Unadulterated perfection is like a gossamer silk brocade tent.
Diversity and nonduality are like a tree and its shadow.
The rising and falling of creativity in the primal ground is like foam on
the waves.
A metaphor for reality ornamented by dharmakaya is golden flowers

placed upon a turquoise mandala plate.
i The sun has multiple images only in the:: e::vent of a different sun arising in
each country.
Tiklay Kunse/ 71
A metaphor for present awareness as the intrinsic clarity of

dharmakaya is a crystal prism with refracted light shining within it.
Trikayai is complete and perfect in the primal ground like the

imperceptible radiance of sunlight.
The metaphors for essence, nature and expression are a peacock egg,ii
sunlight and rain clouds in the sky.
Again, the primal ground is like a crystal prism.
The metaphor for the one taste of the faults of samsara and the
qualities of nirvana is camphor.iii
Metaphors for natural perfection and its self-envisionment are a butter

lamp and a mirror.
Pure presence and present awareness are like gold and its golden
color.
The previous simile refers particularly to spaciousness (dharmadhatu)

and the zero dimension (dharmakaya).
Listen and absorb this deep precept! The basis of these twenty-seven
metaphors is the Word;5 the illustration of their all-inclusive
spontaneous envisionment is the glyph A together with a vowel
indicator adding specific semantic information and an added
consonant finalizing the signification. The unity of these three
semantic elements provides an analogous self-sprung signification and
each single illustration is to be understood universally. 6
The fourth chapter of the great tantra Tiklay Kunsel reveals the synonyms of al/-
inclusive envisionment.
i The unitary primal ground comprises three 'dimensions' (trikaya, sku gsum):
dharmakaya, sambhogakaya and nirmanakaya.
"111e 'egg' perhaps refers to the 'pure potential' of the peacock's paisley-type
display - the peacock egg is a dirty white color.
"' Camphor (ga pui') is both a medicine and a poison. It alleviates pain by
inducing a modicum of the pain it seeks to cure.
5. The Primal Ground: Extensive Definition
Then the Bhagawan, Mahavajradhara, became absorbed m the

samadhi of the clear meaning of the primal ground.
The Master of the Secret said: Bhagawan Vajradhara! Please give us

the definitive extensive definition of 'the primal ground'.
The Teacher responded: The word 'ground' appears repeatedly in our

tantras and agamas in many different contexts, but we here we
provide a concise definition. Please take it to heart.
The 'primal ground' is the empty essence of all experience of samsara

and nirvana, and is, therefore, called 'the zero-dimension'. Since the
ground contains its self-envisionment, appearances are called 'zero-
appearance'. The ubiquitous effulgence7 of the ground is unreified and
unceasing, and it is, in that way, vast spontaneous self-envisionment.
Free of what are conventionally described as samsara and nirvana, the
primal ground is dharmakaya. 8 Moreover, even when its qualities are
expressed temporally as experience of samsara and nirvana, whereby
the cause is denominated the effect, it is still called 'dharmakaya'.
Dharmakaya abhors ignorance and so-called 'dead matter'; the essence

of immaculate, empty perception is simply preset"ice. Insofar as it is
beyond all causes and conditions, dharmakaya is 'self-sprung'. Never
arising contingently, since it is identified with pure presence in the
now, it is 'ever-present awareness'.
Because nothing extrinsic to self-envisionment exists, because

appearances are all a grand universal display of self-envisionment, the
immutable essence is known as 'the sole holistic light-seed. The sole
holistic seed is called 'unique', 'universal' and 'unsurpassed' because
nothing exists over and above it. It is called 'the very first' because
nothing exists before it. It is called 'all-creating' because everything
arises and shines out of it. It is called 'the primal ground' because it is
the source of both samsara and nirvana.
The incessant unreified radiance of the essence, the primal ground, is

ubiquitous transparence. Free of any obscuration, the primal ground is
mirror-like awareness.
The empty reality of the field of appearances and empty

unconditioned presence are an inseparable empty clarity. As the real
Tiklay Kun.rel 73
space of that transparent empty clarity, the two exist_enti~ ~e?~i<?nsi

shine without union or separation. That reality 1s mdivmble
spaciousness; it is V ajradhara.
Five sublime forms" with the zero-dimension as the sixth,

Fivefold awareness with nonabiding present awareness as the sixth,
Toe five sensory objects with emptiness as the sixth,
Toe five families with the field of A as the sixth,
Toe five colored lights with the clear light of all as the sixth,
Toe five great elements with elemental nature as the sixth,
The five sensory objects with the field of reality as the sixth,
Toe five afflictive emotions with wrath as the sixth,
Toe six families of wandering beingsiii are all one
Never crystalizing as any specific quality:
Such is the sixfold Mahavajradhara.
When we understand the reality of all multifarious buddha of the fonn

dimension arising and emerging through realization, we know
Vajradhara as the primogenitor of all buddha.
By virtue of his stainless essence and the unreified ubiquitous

effulgence of his present awareness, V ajradhara is above all and
everything. Being the immutable unity of pure presence and its
envisionment, he is unchanging light, and he is known as original
buddha Samantabhadra, '1be All-Good'. Whatever diversity of
qualities he displays, his essence remains undivided, all experience
retaining the one taste of all-inclusive nonduality.
The radiant light of present awareness emanates within the intrinsic

clarity of spacious reality. Since the five sublime fonns of present
awareness shine forth within the boundless celestial palace, it is called
the 'vase-body' or 'vase dimension'.iv It is the vase-body of youth. An
inseparable unity of pure presence and awareness of the now, it is
1 The two dimensions are dharmakaya and rupakaya, formless and form
dimensions, respectively.
"See GNT for 'five sublime forms', 'fivefold awareness', 'five sensory
objects', 'five families', 'five colored lights', 'five great elements' and 'five
afflictive emotions' etc.
iii The six families, or kinds of wandering beings, are labeled gods, titans,
human beings, animals, hungry ghosts and hell beings.
v The sublime vase-body of youth (bum sku) is the interior dimension of the
light-seed. See Keith Dowman 2014, ,\ppcndix 4.
present awareness of unreified skillful means and the ultimate

spaciousness of the reality of immutable wisdom.
Within the matrix of spacious reality lies pure presence, and within the
matrix of pure presence lies the five-colored light of present
awareness. Since the five sublime forms shine within the hollow of
light, buddha is naturally present, spontaneously accomplished.
The hollow of intrinsic five-colored light lies within the essential

spaciousness of indivisible phenomenal reality and dharmakaya. Since
the fivefold sublime forms of compassionate essence abide in a
nonspatial-nontemporal reality, it may be defined by the triad of
essence, nature and compassion.
Vajrapani, fully absorb this! Everything that is said to exist

conventionally is immaculate in its own nature, and that actuality is
referred to as 'the spontaneous perfection of things'. Inasmuch as it is
self-sprung awareness, inasmuch as it is the original, uncaused buddha,
there can be no first or last buddha. Inasmuch as the clarity that
transcends what is visible never crystalizes, it can be called 'one-eyed
present awareness'. Regarding whatever dualisms appear to exist, such
as etemalism and nihilism, existence and nonexistence, good and bad,
large and small, high and low, subject and object, assertion and denial,
purity and impurity, inside and outside, broad and Barrow, loss and
gain, acceptance and rejection, 'is' and 'is not', since two contrary
aspects cannot exist simultaneously, surely everything is nondual in
reality. Since no incongruity in direct perception is possible, all
perceptions must be unitary.
Free of any obscuration, the ground is clear and transparent. Since all
experience of samsara and nirvana is born of it, and occurs as it, it is
the source. Unutterable and unimaginable, its expressions do not
transcend its essential reality. Uncontrived, spontaneously present, it is
totally authentic. Everything issuing from it, it is the sole cause. The
spontaneous all-inclusive envisionment produced and proliferating in
it, it is the seed. It is an authentic revelation of present awareness. Not
containing any distortion or interference, it is utter purity. Creating
everything in samsara and nirvana, it is a precious jewel.
Best Beloved, furthermore, see the ground in this way: \Vhen it

manifests and becomes visible as a multiplicity, the primal ground, the
unthought, concept-free, essence, is still the pure wisdom free of an
actor and action. Since the essence of pure presence consists of the
Tiklay Ivmsel 75
utterly transparent alpha-purity of evanescent awareness, no concrete

entity can ever possibly exist; the wide-open doorway of potential is
the source of all experience, its essence completely unrestricted.
Vajrapani, wherever these words appear in the texts of the tantras and
agamas we have revealed, you should know that they all refer to the
primal ground. You should know that all these expressions, starting
from 'the zero-dimension' up to 'the unrestricted', refer to the same
actuality revealed in all the tantras and agamas just as we have
explained their meanings here.
Moreover, if the threefold internal structural analysis is applied, every

word will demonstrate the ground, every syllable providing it in the
same way. 9
After that, the Teacher explained some expressions synonymous with

'reality'.
Master of the Secret! You should know that whenever we use the
phrase 'spontaneous all-embracing appearance', we mean manifest
appearance as an uninterrupted field of appearances, while 'great',
'vast', 'all-inclusive', 'immense', all imply that appearance is uncreated,
that nothing over and above it exists, and that it is more exalted than
any partial appearance. Whenever we use 'self-envisionment', we refer
to nondualistic perception in which the source of the envisionment is
not different from the envisionment itself. Whenever we talk about
'utterly pure vision', we mean a vision that is free of multiplicity.
Whenever we talk about 'reality', we refer to the unchanging field of
appearances. Whenever we talk about 'spaciousness', we mean the
unelaborated nature, the 'excluded middle',i which is undivided
simplicity. When we use 'the matrix', we mean unchangeable
emptiness, and partless, indivisible, space. Whenever we talk about
'the field of appearances', we mean the place where events occur or
appear. When we say 'empty', we mean totally free from any attribute
and any substance whatsoever.ii When we say 'vast' or 'infinite', we
mean that the referent is nowhere confined and without perimeter or
shape; encompassing all reality, it is the uncrystalizing base of
; .-\ristotle's excluded third proposition (after assertion and denial) is included

here to emphasize the illogic of the ineffable.
" 'Empty of all extri.nsicality' (gz.han ston~ expresses the Dzogchen and
Taranatha schools view, as opposed to the 'intrinsically empty' (rang s/011~
of the madhyamika view.
emanation of all its multifarious appearances. We must know that the

immaculate spaciousness of reality does not contain any residual
elements of materiality; that without any trace of karmic propensity it
is capable of allowing the light of present awareness to shine forth.
When we talk about 'the lotus of blissful clarity', we imply that no

harm can be done to immaculate envisionment, since it is the
ungraspable intrinsic clarity of the primal ground. When we talk about
'the spaciousness of the excluded middle',i we mean that spaciousness
is devoid of all attributes of the four great elements. When we talk
about 'the immutable matrix', we mean spacious reality without top or
bottom.
The fifth chapter of the great tantra Tiklcry Kunsel indicates the realiry of the
primalground and expressions relating to it.
6. Present Awareness: Definition
The crystal casket, unable to contain the turquoise mandala, the

radiant light of the stupa shone outside as a secret precept shining as
the five rainbow-goddesses:
ABITYA JNANA PANCHA PRASARAKALA DA.DU A HA DA
The Teacher, Vajrasattva, entered the samadhi of clear present

awareness.
Then the Master of the Secret made this request: Bhagawan, you say
that spontaneous all-inclusive envisionment is founded in present
awareness of the now. Would you please elucidate the nature of this
present awareness for following generations?
The Teacher, as pure presence, arose within his clear v1s1on of

awareness of the now and answered in this manner: Listen, Best
Beloved! We shall explain briefly the significance of present
awareness. Our explanation consists of three parts, essence, semantic
i This refers to 'the spaciousness that is incapable of any definition' (.,ptv.f bra/
.!!J'i d~yi11gs).
Tiklay Kunsel 77
definition and categories, together with an illustration of each type by

an appropriate metaphor.
The essence of present awareness is unthought, concept-free, clarity.

The present awareness of the intrinsically immaculate primal ground10
is clear transparence. In relation to trikaya, it is dharmakaya. In terms
of pure presence, it is essence.i
Best Beloved, the nature of present awareness is light, which in terms

of trikaya is sambhogakaya, the inner formful dimension, and
awareness of that is the awareness of the basis of attributes.
Likewise, since the manner of appearance of envisionment of present

awareness is without outside and inside, it shines without any
obscuration. Since it is utterly pure, it dissolves extreme belief in
eternity. Since it is clear light, it dissolves extreme nihilistic concepts.
Since its manner of appearance - its envisionment - is without outside
and inside, its subjective and objective aspects are identical
immaculate purity. That is the essence of present awareness.
As for the literal definitionii of present awareness: It is so-called

because it is authentic nonconceptual cognition of the here and now.
The various types of present awareness:
It is fundamentally inherent11 inasmuch as all and everything in

samsara and nirvana is envisioned by it as the magical transparence of
unreified presence in the now.
It is awareness of spaciousness inasmuch as it abides in emptiness.
It is mirror-like awareness inasmuch as its unreified presence 1s

emptiness.
Emptiness is pure presence and pure presence is emptiness; it is

present awareness of sameness, inasmuch as emptiness is inseparable
from presence.
1
It was the inferred substantiality of this 'essence' (ngo bo) that incensed the
Gelukpa academics. See. Dunjom Rinpoche 1991 p.91.
" 'Literal definition' (11ges tshij) replaces 'semantic definition' (nges tsh(P) when a
Tibetan etymological root is e";dent.
It is discriminating awareness inasmuch as nondual emptiness and

presence are known intuitively as separate.
Since this unreified awareness of presence cannot be a concretely

existing thing, but rather a wide-open door for every immanent
quality, and since unobstructed creative expression occurs impartially,
it is always all-accomplishing awareness.
Although its various aspects are indicated by different words, in reality

awareness is not composed of separate parts and is, therefore, called
nonspatial awareness.
Best Beloved, understand that as awareness of presence present

awareness is our own intrinsic presence.
Inasmuch as no actor or agent influences awareness, it is self-sprung.

Keeping that definition in mind, that awareness is present awareness
of buddha mind.
These are the metaphors for present awareness:
The metaphor for awareness of the primal ground is the precious

earth in which everything grows.
The metaphor for present awareness of spaciousness is the sky.
The metaphor for mirror-like awareness is pellucid still water or a

clear highly polished mirror.
J\,fetaphors for awareness of sameness are congruous diagrams 12 of

past, present and future.
The metaphor for nondual awareness is gold and its yellowness.
The metaphor for discriminating awareness is stars shining in a lake.
The metaphor for all-accomplishing awareness is the wind and the

sun.
The metaphor for unthought, concept-free, present awareness is the

reflection of the moon in water.
The metaphor for intrinsic awareness of presence is the crystal and its
refracted light.
Tiklay Kun.rel 79
The metaphor for self-sprung awareness is the vajra.
The metaphor for present awareness of buddha mind is the royal seal.
The sixth chapter of the great tantra Tiklay Kun.rel reveal.r a .rumma,y ofpre.rent
awarene.r.r.
7. Present Awareness: Key Words
Then the Teacher spoke again: In all the tantras and agamas we have
given, whenever we talk about 'the source of everything', we refer to
awareness of the primal ground. 13
""'hen we say 'intangible emptiness', we imply awareness of

spaciousness.
%en we call it 'noncrystalizing' or 'unreified', we imply mirror-like

awareness.
""'hen we call it 'nondual', we imply awareness of sameness.
%en we talk about it as 'unadulterated perfection', the capacity for

clear distinction is being referred to, and thus 'discriminating
awareness'.
%en we say 'nowhere obstructed', all-accomplishing awareness ts

referred to.
%en we call it 'free of extremes', we imply unsupported all-inclusive

awareness.
%en we talk about the 'clear light of pure presence', or the

awareness of presence', we refer to spontaneous all-inclusive
awareness of presence.
%en we call it 'unchanging' or 'immutable', and 'uncompounded',

'unconditioned' or 'unconditional', and liken it to a vajra, we imply
spontaneous all-inclusive, self-sprung awareness.
'Unassailable', 'invariable', 'inalienable' and 'inescapable describe

buddha mind's fruition.
The seventh chapter of the great tantra Tikla_y Kunsel lists words and phrases that
describe present awareness.
8. Pure Presence: Creativity
The secret precept asserting no difference between the sun and

sunlight:
B1-L\IISI--L\R R..-\T1"AKAL\ PR.-\S.-\RDHUUDC
Then Bhagawan became absorbed in the sublime v1S1on of

compassionate creativity. The Master of the Secret, sensing his vision,
made this request: Bhagawan, please explain how present awareness
appears as the creativity of pure presence in the all-inclusive
dharmakaya!
The Teacher responded:
Transparent pure presence, without substance, is indivisible, intangible

emptiness.
The sugata, nowhere obstructed, shines as fivefold present awareness.
The intrinsic radiance of the awareness of spacious reality shines as a blue
light in emptiness.
The intrinsic radiance of mirror-like awareness shines white in unimpeded
space.
The intrinsic radiance of awareness of sameness shines yellow in that
undifferentiated space.
The intrinsic radiance of discriminating awareness shines red in the real space
of wisdom.
The intrinsic radiance of all-accomplishing awareness shines green in the
unconfined matrix.
Shining forth within the matrix of spacious reality, all five emanate as the
light of present awareness.
Through realization light appears

As inseparable sublime form and present awareness;
Unrealized, it manifests concretely
As the duality of the world and its life forms.
Just as in a clear mirror an image is truly reflected,
The mirror unaffected by those reflections,
So in dharmakaya, the dimension of pure presence,
An unreified variety of buddha qualities arise,
Yet remain as a singular intrinsic presence devoid of multiplicity;
Tiklay Ivmsel 81
_,\tall times and in all places it remains the same immaterial purity,
~'hile the two form dimensions are pure, unreflected, visions.
The eighth chapter of the great tantra Tiklay Kunsel reveals the creative expression
ofpure presence and immaculate creativiry.
9. The Creativity of Light-Seed
Then the Master of the Secret humbly asked the Teacher: Bhagawan,
please tell us how the word 'creativity' is used.
The Teacher responded: In all the tantras and agamas we have given,
'creativity' is used as indicated here:
The creativity of presence displays fivefold awareness,

The creativity of awareness, the five-colored lights;
The creativity of the lights reveals the five great elements,
Which are separately manifest.
Differentiating 'inside' from 'outside'
Here is outer and inner light-seed creativity. 14
Clouds, mist and vapor occur as the creativity of space,

\Vhich allows multifarious space-time extension;
Rolling thunder occurs as the creativity of air,
Which provides movement and motility;
Flowing streams are the creativity of water,
Which provides humidity and liquidity.
A multiplicity of images is the creativity of earth,
Which provides support, solidity and stability.
Heat and combustion are the creativity of fire,
Which provides maturation and completion.
With the aggregation of these five great elements
Plants, trees, forests, herbs, flowers, crops and fruits appear:
That is all external light-seed creativity.
Then the internal creativity of light-seed:

Pure white light appears as flesh and bone;
Pure yellow light appears as pus or lymph,
Which coagulates in water and blood;
Red light manifests as heat;
Green light as internal hollows;
And blue light as accommodating space:
The form aggregate manifests in that way.
Thereby the five aggregates and poisons manifest,

The sense organs and consciousness manifest the objective field:
Appearances arising spontaneously from five-colored light,
Manifesting as such, the colors are 'the great elements'.
:t-,;'othing arising extraneously, they are 'self-sprung',

'Self-sprung elemental qualities';
Arising like that, they arise by themselves,
'Naturally arising, immanent qualities'.
Everything arising interdependently,

The multiplicity composed of different elements,
~fanifesting as pure presence, it appears like this:
Like the five sublime forms and the five objective fields
Like yab-yum bodhisattva couples,
Like iconic enactment" of gnostic compassion,w
All congruent but multifarious activity.
Such is maya - illusory enchantment,

Simply lightform without substance,
'Implicit unthought clarity',
Clarity that has no intrinsic nature:
Everything is spontaneously-dawning self-envisionment.
The ninth chapter of the great tantra Tik/ay lvmsel reveals the expressions that
elucidate mativi!J.
10. Creativity: Definition
Then the Master of the Secret made this request Teacher, you have
deep compassion, so please teach us the essence of creativity. Please
1 Tbe five poisons are the five afflictive emotions.

"For the five sublime forms and their consorts and the eight bodhisattvayab-
_yum couples see :\ppendix 1.
tii The compassion (thugs ,je) that is identical to present awareness,
compassion without an object (even a totality) and without a subject
(without a sense of I, or of 'a doer' of compassionate activity), is
identified herein where necessary by the qualifier 'gnostic'. 'Gnostic
compassion', which is free of subject, object, and all conceptual
superimpositions and fragmentations is the self-spmng spontaneous
response of body, speech and mind to every situation.
Tik~ Kun.rel 83
tell us how it is defined, how it is classified, and how is it expressed

metaphorically.
The Teacher responded: The essence of creativity is noncrystal-

ization. It is defined as 'the creative potency of the elements'.
Regarding its categories: It is samsa.ric when it is envisioned without

pure presence, or as nirvanic when it is envisioned with presence.
Creativity is illustrated by the following similes: it is like the deviant

perception of a single sun as many suns;i it is like sunlight that is never
stopped; it is like aconite;ii like camphor; and like lightening.
The tenth chapter of the Tikla; Kun.rel consi.rt.r of a brief elucidation of creativi!J.
11. Ornamentation and Display: Definition
The secret precept upon inserting a turquoise jewel into a golden ring:
BHA AT A ANKA.LA. AHAM.
Then Bhagawan became absorbed in the samadhi of ornamentation

and display and the Master of the Secret made this request: Teacher,
Vajradhara! Please explain how the diversity of multifarious envis-
ioned creativity becomes ornamentation and display.
The Teacher responded: The essence, semantic definition and

categories of ornamentation are explained under the same rubric, and
display is taught likewise.
The essence of ornamentation may be inferred from its classification.

Its literal definition is 'a beautiful adornment'. Its classification is
twofold: reality-ornamentation and dharmakaya-ornamentation.
Reality-ornamentation is trikaya's three existential dimensions;
dharmakaya ornamentation consists of the two dimensions of form.
1ls this done by pressing the eyeballs or by assuming that a different st111 rises
in each country?
" Black aconite is a virulent poison (btsa11 du~, which in small does possesses
valuable anesthetic properties.
The specific attributes of each of the five colors, therefore, are said to
be both types of ornamentation. The metaphor 'gold inlaid with
turquoise' describes that relationship'.
As to the semantic defmitions, regarding the subtle distinctions in

meaning of 'reality', pure reality is ornamented by dharmakaya and
vacuous emptiness is beautified by clarity. Dharmakaya is ornamented
by present awareness of the now; immanent qualities are beautified in
their noncrystalization. Present awareness of the now is ornamented
by compassion; the six kinds of wandering mind are beautiful because
they are pure as they stand. Thus, ornamentation implies beauty.
Now, to indicate the meaning of 'display', we teach that the essence of

display is intangible nondual union. Why is it called display? It arises
spontaneously as natural enjoyment. To expand its definition
deductively, it is of two types: firstly, the display of pure reality, and,
secondly, the continuum of samsaric display.
Pure reality-display occurs in its pure potential within uncontrived

reality and imperturbable space. It arises in the pristine sky as the
radiant brilliance of the four gteat elements. Such envisionment is
cognized as utterly insubstantial evanescence arising as uncrystalizing
ubiquitous effulgence.
'The continuous display of samsara in one's own mind' includes all

external outer world experience as well as internal inner world
experience and is subsumed under 'the dimension of envisioned form'
or 'buddha-body', which is all as unreal as the appearance of the moon
on the surface of water. All sound and speech is buddha speech,
which like an echo lacks any intrinsic nature. Memories and thoughts
are buddha mind, which like drawings in water cannot exist as
constant elements in the continuum of our own mind. Thus, all forms
are the display of buddha body in the dimension of form; all sounds
are the display of buddha speech; and all thought is the display of
buddha mind. Failing to realize that, what is grasped at as the
attributes of our own mind, something perceived as substantially
specific, is what is called 'samsaric display'.
To an adept who has realization, all the multifarious diversity of

manifest ornamentation and display, like a conjuror's illusion, is
apparent yet has no substance. To the adept, dharmakaya and
spacious reality are the invisible intrinsic nature. With his realization of
the nonexistence of existence, the notion of concreteness is outshone;
Tiklay Kunsel 85
with his realization of the existence of nonexistence, pure presence

attains primacy. That is a fourfold expression of ornamentation.
r,.faster of the Secret, wherever the words 'ornamentation' and

'display'tS appear they should be understood according to what is said
here in this Circle of Total Illumination.
The eleventh chapter of the great tantra Tiklay Kunsel explains ornamentation
and displaJ'
12. Ornamentation and Display: Key Words
Then the Master of the Secret made this request: Compassionate

Bhagawan, please tell us the expressions relating to ornamentation and
display.
wherever you find the expression 'dharmakaya is found within
experience of phenomena', it is to be understood that reality is
ornamented by dharmakaya.
Wherever we talk about the five attributes of pure presence, implying

fivefold present awareness, or its fivefold radiance, we are referring to
the ornamentation of dharmakaya by present awareness.
When we talk about the fivefold present awareness as light, its types,
colors and shapes, we are explaining how gnostic compassion
ornaments awareness.
Creativity, display and ornamentation, and iconic conduct are prog-

ressive stages of manifestation, which appear in many ways. Inspired
bravery, beauty and sorrow, incessant change, inspiration and
strength, visible structured decoration, agama teaching as adornment,
upadesha secret precept as adornment: in brief, there are many
different words and expressions that act as descriptive keys to
ornamentation and display.
The twelfth chapter of the great tantra Tiklcry Kunsel reveals a summary of
expressions relating to ornamentation and display.
13. Ornamentation and Display: Metaphors
Then the Master of the Secret made this request: Bhagawan, please,
through your skill in means, give us the metaphors that illustrate
The Teacher responded: Firstly, clear and bright sunlight suffusing the
sky, and, secondly, the turquoise inlay of a golden jewel, are the two
metaphors illustrating the ornamentation of reality by dharmakaya.
The ornamentation of dharmakaya by present awareness is illustrated

by the metaphor of the five-colored 'egg'i of the peacock and also the
unreified, unimpeded, five-colored light within a crystal prism. When
appropriate conditions are met, the light of the crystal is projected
outwardly. When the chick has developed within the egg, it hatches.
The sun's radiation of light illustrates ornamentation of pure present

awareness by compassion.
The rising of spume and the falling back of the spray into the ocean,
and also the illusory appearance of multifarious forms devised by a
conjuror, illustrate the rise and fall of the incessant display of
immanent potential.
This has been a selection from many metaphors,
The thirteenth chapter of the great tantra Tiklay Ivmsel reveals the metaphors of
14. Delusion: Its Basis
Once upon a time, in a fabulous country, in a city called Radiant

Blissful Lotus, reigned a king named Transparent Gem who possessed
an enormous treasure chest full of precious jewels. Once, when he
went travelling to govern his kingdom, he met an old woman with
cataracts in her eyes. While the hag beguiled the king, five thieves stole
1 'This appears to refer to the 'egg' of the paisley design of the peacock's fan
(the peahen's egg has a whitish color).
Tiki~ Kunsel 87
the treasure chest. They sold the jewels to six stupid people in six low
caste towns. The six stupid people neglected to care for the jewels,
because they did not know what to do with them.
The king was sad and perplexed until an idler came to him and told
him that the jewels had been stolen by five male thieves who had sold
them to people in low caste towns. This story made the king angry
and aggressive. He had the old lady killed, conquered the six towns,
executed the six buyers and sold the six thieves into slavery. Finding
the jewels, he regained his country. This is the secret mantric remedy:
BAJRA AHAM RATNA JNANA PANCHA PRASARA A HUM TI
Then the Bhagawan Vajradhara became absorbed in the samadhi of

structured perception.
And the Master of the Secret made this request: Bhagawan

Vajradhara! Please tell us how the creativity and display, which you
have already defined, appear as the delusive, dualistic ignorance that
characterizes diminished presence, and how the mental continuum of
samsaric display becomes delusory.
The Teacher responded: Best Beloved, listen well! The unchanging

ground is buddha in the now. That buddha is Bhagawan
Mahavajradhara, who was never deluded, cannot be deluded now, and
cannot possibly be deluded in the future. The ground, just like the sun
itself, can never be darkened, and just like a crystal prism shining
regardless of the prevailing conditions, refracting in its empty purity,
in its very self it remains untouched. Likewise, in nonconceptual,
impartial wisdom,i in the lord buddha complete and perfect in the
primal ground, delusive proclivities are pure from the first - alpha-
pure. To say that buddha is deluded is nonsense.
However, in the absence of realization of the ground, just as it may

seem that although one single sun exists it is a different sun that
appears in different countries, so although one intrinsic pure presence
exists, in the duality of samsara and nirvana multiplicity seems to arise.
Similarly, just as camphor is a single substance yet can act as both
medicine and poison, so in the comprehensive appearance of the
nondual ground, nothing stirring within that buddha reality, quality is
'Such "1.i.sdom is '\1.-i.thout spatial bias', 'without falling into partiality',

'without points of reference' (plyogs lhu11g med pa'i shes rab).
naturally immanent; yet when realization of the ground is deluded,

that same potential manifests as a multiplicity of imperfections. Only
with realization of the ground as buddha is the very essence of
perceived imperfection unconfined as immanent quality.
Now, as an extensive definition of the nature of delusion, we shall

teach the ground of delusion, its cause, time of arising, conditions and
the actual delusory process. Please attend closely!
Primarily, the ground of delusion has three aspects: the nature of

phenomena as the ground of the delusive field of appearances; pure
presence as the ground of the delusive subjective mind; and five-
colored light as the ground of the delusive seemingly physical aspect.
The delusory ground of the field of appearances: First, it is the empty

nature of phenomena lacking any awareness; then, in the middle, it
arises as fivefold present awareness; finally, as signs of fixation-
tendency, the 'sediments' therein become apparent although
nonexistent.; That is the teaching on the delusory ground of the field
of appearances.
Now, the explanation of the delusive ground of the subjective mind:

First, indeterminable presence stirs; then grasping at the radiance of
presence the perceiver is conceived; and finally, through the process
of mental causation, many discursive thoughts arise. That is the
teaching on the delusory ground of the mind.
And then the explanation of the delusive ground of the body and
matter: First, the body arises in the matrix of pure presence; in the
middle, it arises in the matrix of phenomenal reality; and finally, due to
conditioning, the material form-aggregate appears. That is the teaching
on the delusive ground of the body.
Master of the Secret, listen well! We are now going to tell you why
those three notions of the ground are reasonable. The nature of
phenomena as the delusory ground of the field of appearances is _
reasonable because without internal presence things seem to be dead
matter. Pure presence as the basis of mental delusion is admissible
because both are similar in being just awareness. Five-colored light as
the ground of delusion of the body is reasonable because colored light
1 'Existent' in buddhist jargon implies a substantial essence; illusion is

apparent but nonexistent.
Tiklay Kunsel 89
and materiality are similar in possessing color and shape; the

difference between the primal ground and the actual object of deluded
perception is taught to be one of relative subtlety and coarseness.
Now, note well the terms that are relevant to this explanation:
'delusion', 'nature of phenomena', 'reality' 'pure presence', 'sunlight',
'kalpa', 'the first', 'the past' and 'the matrix of the future'.
:Moreover, before me
Sentient beings do not exist.
Before sentient beings
The five great elements rule the now.
Before the great elements
The all-embracing sky rules the now.
Before the sky
Spacious reality rules the now;
In the vast matrix of spacious reality,
The five greats' are immaculate,
And as the essence of those five
Am I myself, the original one -
In a hundred thousand trillion kalpas,
Nobody appears before me.
Thus, to summarize what I have said before, the threefold underlying

structure eliminates the delusory ground from articulation. 16
Best Beloved, what we have already taught in detail in the chapter on

the all-inclusive primal ground we shall not explain here.
The fourteenth chapter of the great tantm Tiklay Kunsel reveals how the
immaculate ground is free of delusion and how delusion is grounded in qualitative
manifestation.
15. Delusion: Cause and Occasion
Then the Master of the Secret made this request: Bhagawan

Vajradhara! Please tell us what is the cause and occasion of delusion.
' The 'five greats' arc the five sublime forms and 'I' is the nondual unity.
The Teacher responded: The cause of delusion is the ignorance that is

both innate and conceptual. We shall explain the meaning of these
terms now, defining their essence, providing a semantic definition and
the types of ignorance with metaphors.
Best Beloved, ignorance is essentially stupidity and believing in what

has no substantial existence.i
The semantic definition of ignorance is 'confusion about reality' or

'failure to comprehend reality', or 'the ignoring of reality'.
The types of ignorance are twofold, innate ignorance and conceptual

ignorance. ii
Regarding innate ignorance, the question is 'from what?', and, 'what?'

and 'together with what?'
Best Beloved, the question 'From what?' is answered by 'Pure

presence apprehending the ground'. 'What is innate?' and 'In what is it
innate?' is answered by 'Ignorance' and 'Awareness of the now'.
So if you ask 'Who is ignorant of what?', the answer is that he who is

inherently a body of light is ignorant of his similarity with his image in
a mirror. That is why it is called 'innate ignorance'.
From moment to moment, conceptual ignorance turns the fluid field

of appearances into something seemingly concrete; this
transformation is illustrated by the simile 'like the murder of an old
blind woman'.
Best Beloved! The product of conceptual ignorance has no real

existence; it is totally delusive. Two similes illustrate its nonexistence:
It is nonexistent like the projection of an aggressive human being
upon a scarecrow so long as misidentification of the scarecrow lasts,
and it is nonexistent like the delusions of paranoid dementia. It is also
like a coiled rope that in twilight is mistaken for a snake. In these
cases, what is apparent is not actually present; the perception is not
the actuality.
1 "-\lten1atively, this is 'misplaced concreteness' or 'reification of what is

absent' (ma_yin pa la 'dz!11 pa).
ii 'Ignorance' (ma rig pa) is literally, 'lack of pure presence' or 'diminished pure
presence'.
Tiklay lvmsel 91
Best Beloved, ignorance functions like that: through diminished

presence what is unreal appears to exist.
Where does the ignorance come from? W'hen the confines of the
body are strictly delimited, wisdom's creative expression is curtailed
and its cognitive function remains dormant. At that time, the five-light
radiance of present awareness in the visual field cannot be recollected.
The field of appearances is a fluid noncrystalizing vision arising in

Samantabhadra's motionless space, and the essence of that space is
the source of present awareness; but egoism associates the self with
what shines pristine in the now, and that association precludes
realization of spontaneous self-envisionment. Best Beloved, that is the
reason for diminished presence.
Thus, whenever we speak of 'ignorance' or 'diminished presence',

'stupidity', 'unknowing', 'blindness', 'nonrealization', 'delusion', and
'misconception' and so on, we are referring to the delusory exper-
iencei that is ignorance, which is described above.
And then, Master of the Secret, the occasion for delusion occurs when
intrinsic awareness arises in the field of appearances and is fixated.ii
The fifteenth chapter ef the great tantra Tiklay Kunsel reveals the cause and
occasion ef delusion.
16. Delusion: Its Causes and Conditions

Vajradhara, please speak about the causal conditions of delusion.
The Teacher responded: Best Beloved, we shall explain it; take heed!
We shall explain the primary cause and the causal conditions, the
subjective conditions and the objective conditions, as well as the
cooperating conditions.
i Hallucination ('!)'ams).
":\ltematively: 'becomes subject to its own apprehension', or 'becomes
reified' ('dzjn pa sl?yes pa).
To elucidate the root cause and the causal conditions of delusion: The
primary cause is indeterminate presence, and its causal condition is the
empty purity of reality. That pure indeterminate presence, which is the
specific attribute of dharmakaya, is defined as emptiness with its
inseparable, unobstructed wisdom. The colors blue, white, yellow, red
and green are its separate and various attributes and are discovered in
the mental continuum. In the pure mirror-like spaciousness of reality,
the five elements' of present awareness shine like a rainbow in the sky.
In the next moment, emerging from within itself, as if looking back on
its own image, the 'self, the subjective condition arises. In the next
and last moment, projected images appear as separate objects in a field
of appearances arising together with concepts that fix them as
conditional. That condition is called the 'projected or objective field',
and that is the 'objective condition'. Since these conditions -
subjective and objective - combine as the effective conditions that
provide delusion, their concomitance is called the 'cooperative
condition'.
Thereafter, dualistic conceptual thought has veiled the shining of five-

colored light, and by habituation with the five forms, which are like
ice floats on a lake, or cream on yoghurt, Mount Meru, the four
continents and the eight subcontinents appear. The potential or 'egg'
of existence is derived from its distilled elixir while plants, trees,
forests, herbs and flowers develop from moisture and heat.
Thus, it is in the intermediate kalpa, that the containing-world - the

inanimate, seemingly material environment - is born from moisture
and heat without the help of consciousness. On top of it all, resting
upon a pure udumban:ii flower, an 'egg' is formed, from which stainless
awareness is engendered miraculously, incorporating the five great
elements. This is the receptacle of the impure egg of existence from
which Man and Woman, characterized by aversion and desire
respectively, 17 are engendered. That is the physical receptacle.
Best Beloved, a further word of description: At first, above all,

everything is all-inclusive envisionment, everything is emitted as light
in an upper dimension, buddha and sentient beings in a lower
1 The five great elements are to be understood as the five colored lights: see
chapter 20.
,i [} dum ba ra -_ficus domerata, a fabulous blue 1000-petalled lotus flower
appearing when a tmiversal monarch or a buddha is horn into the world,
or once every yuga.
Tik/ay Kunsel 93
dimension. But in between the upper and the lower, creativity is

expressed, and that intermediate period is characterized as 'the
intermediate kalpa'.i Because it remains in its own space, it is said to
be 'unshakeable'; believed to exist where it is nothing substantial, five-
colored light is obscured but pure empty presence remains.
Described as Akshobhyavajra,ii it cannot evolve; in this sense,

Akshobhyavajra is a cripple. In essence unimpeded clarity, but unable
to shine, his identity as light is ambiguous. Elevated from the ground,
yet he does not devolve into the duality of actual buddha and sentient
being.
In this transitional phase, called 'adolescence', 'buds' or 'fresh shoots'

germinate. In all the tantras and agamas that we have taught, wherever
'intermediate kalpa' occurs, it should be understood like this.
The sixteenth chapter of the great explanatory tantra Tiklcry Kunsel, the reading of
which alone is enough, teaches the cause and conditions of delusion and the
formation of oijective delusion with its P01sical base in the intermediate kalpa.
17. The Life Within
Then the Master of the Secret made this request: If the inanimate
environment is as you say, what is the animate essence, comprising the
six kinds of wandering mind?
The Teacher responded: Best Beloved, we shall explain it all, so

absorb it without error! Just as a wind may arise in empty space, so
intense mental energy is generated. Through the divine eye, the egg of
all possible existence is perceived. Applying buddha mind, the egg is
known as good and lovely. Through 'the touching of lips', desirous
mind is generated. Pure presence accepts mental desire, and the germ
of sentience matures into either male or female. Among the four
modes of birth, this is egg-birth.
' It is evident here that 'kalpa' refers not so much to an extended period of
linear time as to a dimension of the here-and-now, e.g. intermediate kalpa
(bar ska~.
" :-.fikyo Dotje, ;\Ii bskyod rdo tje.
94 Eve1ything Is Ught
From the five-colored light of the primal ground-cum-path, the five

aggregates develop; with the five great elements as receptacles, body-
mind aggregates, sense fields and sense faculties develop.i The male
and female germs develop into Man and Woman, the first human
beings. Thereafter humankind was womb-born. As the painful world
gradually developed, coarse passions produced negative effects, finally
engendering a living hell.
The seventeenth chapter of the great tantra Tiklay Kunse/ reveals the presence of
the inner elixir.
18. Samsara in the Final Kalpa
Then Bhagawan spoke again: Vajradhara, listen! In all the tantras and
agamas we have taught, the expression 'the final kalpa' implies the
arising of sentient life endowed with the eight perceptual fields, and
the movement of breath implies a thinking mind. The body-mind
aggregates of sentient life include much diversity, which is why they
are called 'heaps' (skandhas). 'Sense fields' (dhatus) are the fields of
phenomenal reality. 'Sense faculties' (ayatanas) are so-called because
they provide specific information. They are also called 'powers'
(indriyas) because they radiate out of their respective 'doorways' and
rule over their specific fields of appearance. 'Form' (rupa) consists of
color and shape, which is the objective field of the eye. 'Sound'
produces the objective field of the ear, 'odor' of the nose, 'taste' of the
tongue, and 'touch' of the body.
Then the general explanation continues: 'Feeling' is a multiplicity of

moods; 'ideation' is the apprehension of phenomenal objects; 'karmic
volition' motivates the mind; 'attention' elevates the object of
perception, affecting and demarcating it; and 'consciousness' cognizes
it. The so-called 'karmic volition' differentiates all and everything and
is driven by cause and effect.
Sentient beings born from heat and moisture develop suddenly. Those
born miraculously are embodied fully developed. Those born from a
'These are body-mind aggregates (skandhas,phun}tPo), sense fields (dhanis

khams), and sense faculties (ayatanas ..-krc md1ed).
Tiklay Knnsel 95
womb mature gradually. Those born from an egg transform and

mature.
'Hell' is a time of anguished endurance; the hungry ghost suffers

frustration; the animal world is a realm of darkness; human life is a
swamp; the gods live a life of self-indulgent distraction: these births
are all paths and processes because they are lived and traversed.
~'ith a different perspective, samsara is an opportunity to transcend

misery: in the hell realms misery is transcended with patience, in the
realm of the hungry ghosts misery is transcended with intelligence, in
the animal world misery is transcended with equanimity.
In the human realm people are full of desire, the realm of the demi-
gods is full of strife, while the realm of the gods is joyful. Further,
these ongoing situations are called 'realms' in the sense that they are
environments in which life-forms abound.
Best Beloved, since all those realms are caused by afflictive emotion,
we shall define those emotions and their categories here:
'Ignorance' is a failure to recognize the law of karmic causality and the

reality of emptiness. 'Desire' is clinging attachment. 'Pride' is
arrogance. 'Malice' is ill will. 'Hatred' is conflict. These are the six
causes of the six realms.i The six essences and six fruitions evolve
from them.
Master of the Secret! That is the experience of wandering beings of

the six realmsii in the present. In all our tantras and agamas,
understand their experience of the final kalpa according to this
explanation.
The eighteenth chapter of the great tantra Tiklqy Knnsel teaches the five elements
in brief.ls
; Jealousy (phrag do~ is omitted in this list and malice (khong khro), or
judgmental belief (/ta ba), is added to the list of the five afflictive
emotions.
" The heavens, the titanic or demonic realm, the earth, the jungle of the
animals, the desert of the hungry ghosts and the hell realms comprise the
six realms.
19. The Five Great Elements
Then the Master of the Secret made this request: If that is the way
samsara arises as ornament and display, please elucidate the nature of
the five great elements that compose it.
The Teacher responded: We shall give you now the essence, semantic
definition, types and metaphors of the word 'element'. Please
remember them.
The essence of element is implied by its types: the elemental elixir

consists of five distilled essences and five sediments. The essences, the
'five distilled essences' are nothing but the five aspects of present
awareness. The 'five sediments' are earth, water, fire, air and space. 19
The 'great elements' are described here semantically as the creativity

of pure presence and its imagery as samsara and nirvana.
Understand the types of element in terms of the 'four altematives',i

two of distilled essence and two of sediment.
Best Beloved, apprehend this well! The distilled essences of the great
elements are the five colors. Their sediments are earth, water, fire and
air. The sediments of the distilled essences are flesh and bone. The
distilled essences of the sediments are the five rainbow colors.
The similes: the great elements are 'like rays of sunlight', or 'like
refracted rainbow light shining out of a crystal prism'.
The nineteenth chapter ef the great tantra Tikla)' Kunsel teaches the five great
elements in brief.
20. The Great Elements: Attributes
The Master of the Secret made this request: Bhagawan Vajradhara!

What are the attributes of the sediments? How are they derived from
the five distilled essences? What are the characteristics of the distilled
1 For the 'four alternatives' (11111 bzj11) sec chapter 94.

Tiklt.!J KNns,J 97
essences' elemental attributes? How do those distilled essences relate

to the field of reality? When the sediments are released into their
distilled essences, how are they released?
The Teacher responded: Please listen to me, Vajrapani. Earth is

characterized by density; water by moisture; fire by temperature; air by
lightness and movement; and space by extension,i and the great
elements perform their separate functions accordingly.
The distilled essence of earth shines as white light that manifests as

dense sedimental soil. Likewise, the distilled essences of the other four
great elements shine as colored lights, manifesting as the other four
sediments.
The distilled essences of the great elements are characterized in this

way: firmness without solidity, cohesion without moisture, fluttering
without movement, burning without heat, and radiance without
extension.
In the distilled essences, the spaciousness of reality is one with

dharmakaya. Therefore, for instance, the distilled essence of earth,
inseparable from the nonduality of dharmakaya, has no solidity, and
spaciousness is pure immaculate transparence, all and everything
integrated within its scope.
Water reduced to cohesion without moisture is indivisible spacious

reality and dharmakaya.
Immobility is totally unobstructed, and the energy that is the distilled

essence of air stirring therein, arriving without departure through
nondual spacious reality and dharmakaya, is the intrinsic radiance of
all-inclusive present awareness.
Therein, through the absence of a dualistic concept projected as 'the

other', the fire that burns without heat, clear in itself, without
illuminating anything at all, is the radiance of all-embracing present
awareness, radiance that does not penetrate space.
'Alternative translations of the attributes of the great elements are: earth -

solidity; water - fluidity, liquidity; fire - heat, temperature; air - mobility;
and space - accommodation.
\X'hen the sediments are released into their distilled essences, they
dissolve into the real space of the five colors, which, _in tum, dissolve
into the essence of the fivefold radiance of awareness.
Signs of dissolution appear in that order.
The twentieth chapter of the great tantra Tiklay Kunse/ teaches the characteristics
of the great elements and the manner of their emergence and dissolution.
21. The Three Kalpas

Vajradharal After the five great elements have evolved, and
developing, persist, how then should we understand the meaning of
'kalpa'?
The Teacher spoke again: Llsten, Vajrapani! Our elucidation treats the
essence of 'kalpa' in three parts: ground, path and result. Originally, in
the now, present awareness arises in the sensory domain. Then, at
first, at the first juncture, phenomenal reality appearing as a unitary
objective-cum-subjective manifestation (the ground) is interrupted. In
the subsequent intermediate kalpa, due to subjective, conceptual
constructs, present awareness sinks within appearances, and,
fragmented, it devolves into an inanimate environment (the path).
With an interruption of the 'inanimate environment', in its last phase,
in the final kalpa, the apprehended objective world and the
apprehending subject split apart, developing in separate ways, so that
buddha and sentient beings, for example, are dualized (the result).
Thus, the reasoned semantic definition of 'kalpa' is provided by its

division into three parts; a 'kalpa' is a field of appearances.
The twenfy-jirst chapter of the great tantra Tiklay Kunsel explains the three
kalpas.
22. Trikaya: Dimensions of Form
This is the secret precept of the bright lamp shining in the vault of the
sky, dissolving the darkness of night:
Tiklay Ivmse/ 99
APRA.TNA DHARMA RA TNA KALA, OM INA KALA V AKANI

KULA KAY A BHAN CHA, HUM DHARMAM PRASARA KARUJAH
DHATUA
Then the Bhagawan Mahavajradhara became absorbed in the sublime

vision of trikaya, the wellspring of compassion.
The Master of the Secret implored him: Bhagawan Vajradharal If your

previous description shows how samsaric display arises in the three
kalpas, how do the two dimensions of form manifest in the all-
inclusive dharmakaya so that the display consists of what has been
converted?i
The Teacher responded: The two form dimensions of gnostic

compassion shine as crystal-like presence in sky-like reality, emanated
like the sunshine-emitting sun, dissolving the darkness of stupidity,
curing the diseases caused by the three poisons or the five poisonsii
that infect the six families of wandering beingsiii travelling through
samsara.
The Master of the Secret made this further request: Bhagawan

Vajranatha Amitabha, how does sambhogakaya look 10 the
spontaneous all-inclusive envisionment of dharmakaya?
The Teacher responded: The two dimensions that are gnostic

compassion are simply the vision of what is converted with five
representations of their own wisdom. No concrete attributes of
'bodies' or 'dimensions' exist. Rather, these attributes are to be seen as
the vast universal envisionment of present awareness. Extrinsic
appearance of attributes does not arise because conceptual thought is
absent.
Then the Master of the Secret made this request: Teacher, lord of
compassion, please speak about those five sublime forms of wisdom.
' 'Conversion' is here applied not so much to a person or a mind as to a

display of elemental light. Conversion occurs with spontaneous awareness
of original purity and should perhaps be w1derstood as synonymous 'with
recognition.
" The three are anger, desire and ignorance; the five are stupidity, desire,
hatred, pride and jealousy.
w The six kinds of wandering mind belong to gods, titans, hwnan beings,
animals, hungry ghosts and hell beings.
The Teacher responded: All and everything arises and manifests in the
singular essence of pure presence, so all and everything is called
'universal manifestation'.i Due to the boundless nonmanifesting
potential of intrinsic presence, the one sole presence is also called 'the
jewel source'. Endowed with gnostic compassion, it is 'boundless
light'. Due to its unobstructed capacity for direct knowing, it is 'all-
accomplishing'. Being immutable, it is also 'unshakeable'.
Unobstructed by diminished presence, ever-present awareness, which
is presence inseparably united with emptiness, is, above all, the
essence of the five sublime forms of wisdom.
It is classified according to its qualities, the names of which indicate

the way in which the wisdoms operate. 'Indeterminable', 'unimpeded',
pure presence is the 'dimension' of wisdom, also called a 'wisdom
body', because what is 'converted' appears in sublime form.
Then the Master of the Secret made this request: W'hy cannot a
sublime form or existential dimension appear unto itself?
The Bhagawan replied: Master of the Secret, listen well! Intrinsic

presence is the unreified purity of the all-penetrating holistic light of
the here-and-now.
To speak of it in more detail, although nothing is extrinsic to it, it is

called our 'intrinsic nature'. Due to the nature of trikaya's three
existential dimensions, being neither unified nor separated, pure
presence is utterly intangible. Due to the empty purity of our two eyes,
it is as if only the one eye of present awareness exists and since
present awareness is utterly pure, it is transparent. Nothing superior to
it can be.
The twenty-second chapter of the great tantra Tiklay Kunsel teaches the eme,;g,ence
of the two compassionate dimensions ofform from dharmakaya, and the nonduality
of dharmakaya and rnpakaya due to the se!f-envisionment ofpure presence within
dharmakt!)a itself.
1 'Universal ~Ianifestation or Effulgence' (Kun s11ang chen po),\' airochana,

alternatively 'The ~lanifestion of Universal :.fultiplicity' (R11an1 par ma11g
mdtaJ;.
Tiklqy lvmsel 101
23. Conversion

Vajradhara! \X-'hat is 'conversion'? How does it look? And how does it
appear in sublime form?
The Teacher responded: Master of the Secret, know this!
In the immaculate Gandavyuha Pure-land,i

In the matrix of indivisible dharmakaya reality,
Five vasesii of awareness-essence, 20
Vividly apparent yet of unreified quality,
Five visible modes of empty reality,
Blue, white, yellow, red and green, unmixed,
Such is the radiance of perfect present awareness.
Within those five are the five sublime forms, 111

One in the center and one in each direction.
'.,\JI-Manifesting Present Awareness' at the center
Face to face with his four aspects:
'Unshakeable', 'Great Jewel Source',
'Boundless Light', 'Great .,\JI-Accomplisher'.
Each with a symbol at his heart center,
Each identified by his color,
Creativity fully potentiated,iv
In the real space of the three thrones:v
The four families of buddha, all converted,
Like images in a clear and empty mirror,
By virtue21 ofVajradhara's perfected qualities,';
In a vision of pure phenomenal reality,
' 'The immaculate densely-structured pure-land' (rnam dag stugpo bkod pa'i
zhin~.
"'Five vases' (bum pa Inga) is a synonym of 'five hollows', 'five reservoirs',
'fivefold interior dimension'. For 'five vases' also see chapters 44, 54, 62,
91.
iii 'Repre:aentations', 'buddha-bodies', 'buddha images', 'dimensions' (sku Inga):
see 'five sublime forms' in GNT.
i, Full awareness of body, speech and mind manifest.
'The five aggregates and sense fields are the 'thrones' of the male and female
tathagatas respectively; the sense-faculties are the thrones of male and
female bodhisattvas respectively; and subsidiary thrones for the wrathful
guardians: see 'three thrones' in GNT.
\l Vajradhara is confounded here with Vairochana as principal of the
mandala.
Unshakeable - .-\kshobhya,
Jewel Source - Ratnasambhava,
Boundless Light - Amitabha,
And All-Accomplisher - .,\moghasiddhi, shine forth.
In the real space of the three thrones' spontaneity,
Their various symbols hidden in their hearts,
They show the vajra posture.
Shining in the hollow of fivefold awareness,
Each participating in his own reality,
Each in his own hollow, the sublime forms shine forth,
Each surrounded by four bodhisattvas.
Fivefold present awareness, complete and perfect,

Inseparable from its field of appearances,
Adverts to the potentiation of creative expression,
Like a body inseparable from its shadow,
Means and wisdom in nondual union.
Knowing V airochana, we know sublime vision,

V airochana, self-envisionrnent without extrinsicality,
Vairochana self-sprung, self-arising, self-envisioned,
Intrinsic clarity, one-pointed, undivided.
The twenty-third chapter of the great tantra Tiki'!)' Kunsel describes how raw
sensory perception is natural!; converted into its wisdom dimension in fivefold
sublime symbolic farm2 2 and how the sublime forms of what is converted are perfect
and total!) cognizant.
24. Location and Thrones
Then the Master of the Secret made this request: Mahavajradhara!

Please speak about location and throne.
In immaculate spaciousness,
An immanent location that is no location,
A mandala of clear light that cannot be delineated -
That is the supreme, all-inclusive, throne.
Our particular throne is either symbolic or existential and the first is

explicated as fivefold.
Tiklay Kunsel 103
The first, the symbol for trikaya that is neither union nor separation, is
the lion throne with the three types of creativity fully potentiated.
The second, the symbol for trikaya existing within all experience of
reality, is the immutable elephant throne, symbolizing indeterminacy
lodged in the space of reality.
The third, the symbol for the twofold dimension of form moved by
gnostic compassion, is the supreme horse throne, which represents
dynamic movement. This is a 'representational' symbol.
The fourth, the symbol representing the imperceptible waves of grace

moved by gnostic compassion and performing altruistic action in the
light of that compassion, is the elegant peacock throne. That is also a
'representational' symbol, a metaphor that shows a concordant parallel
mearung.
The fifth symbol, indicating the performance of unobstructed selfless

action by means of magical power, is the throne of the unconstrained
Garuda. The Garuda is not a representational symbol, but rather an
instance of concordant expression, indicating manifest gnostic
compassion endowed with magical power.
Present awareness, which is fluid, unimpeded skillful means and

unchanging reality - the nonduality of sublime form and present
awareness - is symbolized by the sun-and-moon throne.i
These words are actual awareness of pure presence

Arising from within, naked and untainted.
They apply symbolic representation to indefinable truth.
The twen!Jfourth chapter of the great tantra Tiklay Klinsel teaches about location
and throne.
25. Throne: Definition

Vajradhara! Please elucidate the essence, definition and illustrative
meqtphor of 'throne'.
'Iconographically they are represented as lunar and solar discs (nyi zla rnam
gn_;,is gdan) that lie upon the lotus.
The Teacher replied: The essence of the throne is unchanging reality.

All thrones have this same essence, yet categorization shows their
character. These are the five thrones of the symbolic type and the
throne of reality, which is inseparable from each of the five, and
'throne' according to its literal definition, 'a high place to sit'. Thus,
these are the three types: symbolic, metaphysical and literal.
As for the simile, the thrones are 'like the thrones upon which kings
are seated'.
The twent)'fifth chapter of the great tantra Tiklq;' Kunsel teaches the meaning of
'throne'.
26. Mandala Circles: Principals and Retinues

Vajradhara! With the principal of the mandala seated upon the throne
of radiant presence, how is the retinue composed? Please describe to
your followers the complex mandalas of principal and retinue. i
The Bhagawan replied: Vajrapani! Akshobhya ('Unshakeable

Bhagawan') is flanked by Kshitigarbha ('Earth-Essence') on his right
and Maitreya ('Loving Kindness') on his left, components of his
compassionate means. His consort, Buddhalochana ('Clear-Eyed
Buddha'), is flanked by Lasya ('Charm') and Pushpa ('Flower'). Thus
each male buddha is accompanied by two male bodhisattvas
representing his skillful means and the basis of skillful means,
respectively, and the buddha-consort is accompanied by two female
bodhisattvas representing wisdom and the basis of wisdom,
respectively. This constitutes one mandala-circle.ii
Likewise, Ratnasambhava ('Jewel Source') is flanked by the shining

figures of Samantabhadra ('All-Good') and Akashagarbha ('Space-
Essence'), and his consort Mamaki by Mala ('Rosary/Garland') on the
right and Dhupa ('Incense') on the left, constituting another large
mandala-circle.
'The principal of the mandala, \'airochana, is described in chapter 23.

11 This describes a 'circle', 'group' or 'gathering' (tshom hu) as desni.bed in the
third toga! ";sion.

Tiklay Kunse/ 105
Bhagawan Amitabha ('Boundless Lightform') is flanked on the right

by his two unimpeded bodhisattvas Avalokiteshvara ('Tearful Gaze')
on the right and Manjushri ('Tender Glory') on the left; while his
consort Pandaravasini ('White Gown') is accompanied by Gita
('Song') on her right and Aloka ('Lamp') on her left, constituting
another large mandala-circle.
The Bhagawan Amoghasiddhi ('All-Accomplisher') is flanked by the

radiant figures of Vajrapani ('Vajra-in-Hand') and Sarvanivarana-
viskambhin ('Cloud-Dissolver'), while his consort Samayatara
('Commitment Savioress') is flanked by Nritya ('Dance') on her right
and Gandha ('Taste') on her left, constituting another large mandala-
cirde.
All the male consorts (yab) are projections of Samantabhadra, and all
the female consorts (yum) are projections of Samantabhadri. The
sublime forms of the four male doorkeepers, representing trans-
cendence of the bounds of the four misconceptions,i in union with the
four female doorkeepers representing the four conceptual extremesii
totally purified, are visible projections of Samantabhadra and
Samantabhadri in union.iii
These forty-two qualities of enlightenment/ unreified creativity, are

replete with all the major signs and minor marks of sambhogakaya.
Their compassionate activity is evinced as ornamentation and display.
Conceptual thought is outshone by dear perception of all and
everything. Embodied present awareness endowed with the all-seeing
dharma-eye, the eye of reality, buddha super-sensory perception sees
into all forms and modes, while the six seminal syllables'" that contain
'These are the asswnptions that the delusive experiences of samsara are
permanent, true, pleasant and concrete.
"The four conceptual extremes are concepts of eternity (rtai), of nothingness
(dJad'), of both eternity and nothingness and of neither eternity nor
nothingness. Note that in chapter 30 the four boundless qualities of
present awareness (i.e. loving kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity)
are given as the existential basis of the four female doorkeepers.
iii :\ll forty-two sublime forms represent the totally pure nature of the color
and immanent quality that labels them.
"' These are the forty-two quiescent deities. See .-\.ppendix 1 and Introduction
(p.34ff) for a full description.
' The six Dzogchen seminal syllables (yi ge drui) are A .'\ HA SHA SA 1\L\.
The six syllables are the seminal vibrations that manifest the purity of the
the essentialized variant vibrations of incessant self-sprung awareness,

provide open ground with limitless potential for the magical
nirmanakaya emanation of tulkus, all as gnostic compassion.
The twenty-sixth chapter of the great tantra Tikla)' Kunsel reveals the mandala
circles of Principal and R.etinue.
27. Sambhogakaya: Key Words
Then again the Teacher spoke: Now we shall give you a few phrases
relating to sambhogakaya. Listen well!
In tantras, agamas and upadeshas, in the context of sambhogakaya,

'the existential dimension of enjoyment', the foregoing explanation
applies, and therein it is described in such terms as 'mandala',
'principal and retinue', 'fivefold perfection', 'sugata', 'five buddha
families', 'male and female bodhisattvas', 'self-envisioning clear light',
and 'the stage of Vajradhara where all qualities are perfect'. This is a
brief mention of a few such descriptions.
Since sublime form is fully adorned with all the signs and marks of
perfection, this stage is called 'the stage of Vajradhara, all qualities
perfected'. Such is sambhogakaya lightform arising in the overarching
unity of the threefold underlying structure. 23
The twenty-seventh chapter of the great tantra Tiklq; Kunsel summarizes the
expressions that relate to sambhogakqya.
28. The Five Families
Then the Master of the Secret made this request: Concerning the
sublime form of present awareness of the now, the sovereign self-
sprung buddha is endowed with fivefold sublime identity bearing the
si.x realms, similar to the function of O'.\I :.L\~l PE'.\IE HUNG HRI.
Sec also chapter 88.
Tiklqy KNnsel 107
thirty-two marks,i and the sovereign sublime sambhogakaya form of

pure enjoyment endowed with forty-two marks. \Vb.at are the
common characteristics of each?
The Teacher replied: We shall speak of common characteristics of the

fivefold present awareness that is created by no-one nor no-thing,
self-sprung in sambhogakaya, the sambhogakaya dimension of the
sublime lightform of present awareness which subsumes all goal-
oriented accomplishment. All the characteristics of buddha, the
fivefold sublime identity, are subsumed by the principal of the
mandala. V airochana and the other sublime forms of the five families,
like images in a mirror, are lightform lacking intrinsic nature, and
possessing the common thirty-two marks each sublime form is totally
complete and perfect in itself. ii
Regarding sovereign sambhogakaya lightform, it outshines with its

luster and splendor all seemingly concrete ninnanakaya charac-
teristics and through its superiority it overwhelms ninnanakaya quality.
The forty-two separate representations of clear light demonstrate the
meaning of the sublime forms.
Vairochana is the inclusive image manifesting as five: Akshobhya is

his immutability. As his nonspatial quality, Ratnasambhava is the wish-
fulfilling gem. The lotus-body of Amitabha is the manifestation of
untarnished compassionate creativity. Amoghasiddhi is the ultimate
emanation of selfless action accomplishing without hindrance the
good of self and others.
Due to its all-suffusing immanent quality and both the depth and
breadth of its wisdom, the nature of buddha mind is symbolized by
the buddha-family's eight-spoked wheel.
; The thirty-two physical features of sambhogakaya-dhannakaya buddha

image may represent the thirty-two bodhisattvas of the retinue (see
chapter 29 herein and Thrinley Norbu 1993 chapter 15.
""Ibe forty-two marks are here interpreted as the forty-two 'qualities' of
V airochana's mandala. Buddha images - sculpted, painted or otherwise
represented - of the five sublime forms (kaya, sku), ornamented with the
thirty-two or forty-two conventional marks and signs denominating
dharmakaya or sambhogakaya respectively may he referred to as a 'visual
m~taphor'.
The five sublime forms representing five aspects of present awareness

are unchanging and invincible and likewise the essence of buddha
mind, which is represented by the vajra family's five-pronged vajra, is
immutable and uncrystalizing.
Buddha mind as the source of all compassionate qualities 1s

symbolized by the jewel family's wish-fulfilling gem.
Its essence immaculate and stainless, buddha mind is symbolized by

the lotus family's eight-petalled lotus.
The vision of buddha mind transcending the four conceptual

extremes, benefiting all wandering minds by the four selfless activities
of boundless awareness,24 is symbolized by the crossed-vajra family's
vaira-cross.
A yum-consort is a lightfonn of present awareness. Her body-color

and hand-gesture are compatible with her yab-partner. Representing
the light of nondual awareness, the yum is an all-pervasive field of
uncreated, natural light - such is the meaning of Samantabhadri, the
principal yum.
The name 'Buddhalochana' (Clear-Eyed Buddha), consort of

Akshobhya, refers to the unchanging nature and unimpeded essence
of that field. The name '1-1amaki', consort of Ratnasambhava, refers to
the natural sameness of all qualities in that field. The name
'Pandaravasini' (White Gown), consort of Amitabha, refers to the heat
of brilliant light as the maturing immanent quality and as pure
devotion. The name Samayatara (Commitment Savioress) refers to the
release implicit in quiescence, remaining constantly in the same
inalienable, unchanging space.
The twen!J-eighth chapter of the great tantra Tiklq; K.unsel explains the common
attributes and the meanings of the five families 'yab andyum consorts.
29. The Sambhogakaya Mandala Retinue

Vajradhara! Please provide us with the constituents of the
sambhogakaya mandala retinue.
Tiklay Kunsel 109
The Teacher responded: Vajrapani! Though the retinue is numerous,

all the yab males are projections of the yab-consort and all the yum
females are projections of the yum-consort. In the existential matrix,
the actuality ofyab males and yum females is a singularity.
Then the Master of the Secret asked again: Bhagawan Vajradhara!

Please tell us the significance of the various components of the
mandala retinue.
The Teacher responded: Vajradhara, listen to me! In the vision of

Mahakshobhya, the bodhisattva Kshitigarbha signifies the pure
presence of mirror-like awareness and Maitreya is the symbol of the
unshakeable basis of clarity, while Lasyai (Charm) indicates an
unimpeded, uncrystalizing, gaze, and Pushpa (Flower) signifies the
simultaneity ofyab and yum.
In the vision of Ratnasambhava, the bodhisattva Samantabhadra is

pure presence of the awareness of sameness and the bodhisattva
Akashagarbha is the symbol of the unborn basis of its clarity. Mala
(Garland) and Dhupa (Incense) signify the clarification25 of actual
stains.
In the vision of Amitabha, the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara signifies

pure presence of discriminating awareness and Manjushri is the
symbol of the unborn basis of its clarity. Gita (Song) is the productive
yum-consort, while her multifarious significations arising in present
awareness shine as Aloka (Light).
In the vision of Mahamogasiddhi, the bodhisattva V ajrapani signifies

the pure presence of all-accomplishing awareness, while the
Sarvanivarana-viskambin (Cloud Dissolver) signifies the unborn clarity
that is the basis of birth; Nritya (Dance) and Gandha (Taste) signify
specific birth and time of birth.
This has been an abbreviation of an extensive topic.
Samantabhadra and consort in union signify the nonduality of present

awareness and spaciousness, free of the four conceptual extremes,
ever victorious over the four demon-tempters.ii
1
A..11 buddha names have been reverted to their conventional Sanskrit forms.
" The four conceptual extremes are existence, nonexistence, both existence
' and nonexistence and neither existence nor nonexistence. The four
The four male doorkeepers stand for freedom from the four
misconceptions, and the four female doorkeepers signify the four
boundless qualities of present awareness.;
Taking the essence of five sublime forms as a sixth, six siddhamunis

inhabit the six realms signifying unflagging purpose.
The twen!J-ninth chapter ef the great tantra Tiklay Kunsel reveals the composition
ef the sambhogakqya retinue.
30. Tulku: Emanation

Vajradhara! If that is how your lightform arises in sambhogakaya, how
does the buddha-teacher come to this nirmanakaya pure-land
dimension of magical emanation? How does nirmanakaya buddha-
tulku arise?
The Teacher responded: Listen to me, Vajrapani! All tulku arises in

the buddha speech of the forty-two enlightened qualities of
sambhogakaya, as emanation of dharmakaya, appearing as nirmana-
kaya in accord with each of the six kinds of converted minds.
Then the Master of the Secret made this request: If that is the ground
of the Teacher's advent, what is the womb of his birth? What
produces his realized wisdom?
The Teacher replied: Listen to me, Vajrapani! Without any

dependence upon parents, within an udumbara bloom we are born
magically, emerging from awareness of pure presence like a honeybee
relishing the pollen within a flower.
And again he replied: Vajrasattva, listen to me!
demons are 'the son of god' (divine pride), the demon of embodiment,
the demon of afflictive emotion, and the lord of death.
'~ote that the four boundless qualities (loving kindness, compassion,
sympathetic joy and equanimity) are attributes of present awareness (ve
shes !shad med bzht). But sec chapter 26.
Tiklay Kunsel 111
Relinquishing the body that we never possess,

We perceive the two fieldsi that cannot be seen,
We learn the narrative that cannot be known,
\Ve utter the word that cannot be spoken,
And our realized wisdom is born.
And again the Master of the Secret spoke: How is wisdom realized?
The Teacher replied:
Omniscient awarenessn is realized

In the immaculate purity of our dharmakaya;
:Manifest knowledge is ever-present
In naturally perfected, unmoving, sambhogakaya;
And since we ourselves are nirmanakaya,
All experience is self-sprung reality.
Tue four empowermentsiii are replete

In the ground of our being,
Complete and perfect in four great streams;iv
So even now empowerment is reflexively realized.
The five conduits of compassionv are never stopped,
Conversion proceeding in compassion's pure ground; 26
In self-sprung mental consciousness,
The spring of knowledge never runs dry;
In vocal consciousness of nirmanakaya emanation,
Words always express their meanings.
The thirtieth chapter of the great tantra Tiklay Kunsel reveals the emanation ofthe
sublime tulku into this world.
i These are the 'internal' and 'external' fields of appearance (yul gnJis).
" Om~cience (thams cad mkhyen pa) is twofold: knowledge of the ultimate
nature of all things (through dharmakaya) and knowledge of the specifics
of multiplicity (through sambhogakaya).
iii This adverts to empowerment of body speech and mind and their tulity.
"' See 'four streams of empowerment' in GNT.
' The five conduits, or doorways, of compassion are the eyes, ears, mouth,
nose, and body.
31. Trikaya: Meaning
Then the Master of the Secret made this request: Teacher, Vajradhara!
Please let us know the meaning of the word 'trikaya' that you use
repeatedly.
The Teacher responded: Llsten to me, Vajrapani! The essence of

dharmakaya is nondual, nonspatial, nontemporal wisdom.
Sambhogakaya is essentially the implicit, unthought radiance of the

attributes of present awareness. The essence of nirmanakaya is
uncrystalizing gnostic compassion.
As for the semantic definitions, dharmakaya is dharmakaya because it

includes all and sustains all. Sambhogakaya is the dimension of
enjoyment because it experiences enjoyment in the pure-land and in
the maturation of the bodhisattva retinue. Nirmanakaya is the
dimension of magical emanation, which is uncrystalizing buddha
mind; it is nirmanakaya because it appears in multifarious forms; it is
nirmanakaya because it is harmonious vision; 27 and nirmanakaya
because it is evanescent and equivocal.
Regarding the classification of trikaya, firstly, dharmakaya has three

dimensions: Changeless, unidentifiable pure presence is the
dharmakaya dimension of dharmakaya. Uninterrupted intuition of
pure presence as the five sublime forms is the sambhogakaya
enjoyment dimension of dharmakaya. The five sublime forms
emanating as what is converted is the magical nirmanakaya dimension
of dharmakaya.
Best Beloved, the dharmakaya dimension is also called 'the triad of

essence, nature and compassion', 'fundamentally inherent trikaya',
'fruition present at the start', 'the completely inverted trikaya', and also
'fruition within fruition'.
Secondly, the all-inclusive dharmakaya dimension of sambhogakaya is

Mahavairochana, Universal Manifestation, including the sam-
bhogakaya enjoyment dimension of sambhogakaya composed of the
symbols of the four families and the magical nirmanakaya dimension
of sambhogakaya composed of the male and female bodhisattvas. Its
different epithets are 'the moment of clearly manifest fmition', and
'the structured trikaya'. Such are the three dimensions of
sambhogakaya.
Tiklay Kunsel 113
Thirdly, the three dimensions of ninnanakaya: The four families

represent the dharmakaya dimension of ninnanakaya. Male and female
bodhisattvas represent the sambhogakaya dimension of enjoyment.
The spreading light of gnostic compassion is the dimension of magical
nirmanakaya emanation.
Great Being! Trikaya is also called 'source of gnostic compassion', and

'consummate trikaya', and because trikaya exists in Vajrasattva's
gnostic compassion, which is naturally and universally beneficial, it is
called 'converter of wandering minds'.
Master of the Secret, take it as definitive! Vajrasattva is the

dharmakaya dimension of the magical nirmanakaya emanation.
Manjushri, Vimalagarbha and others issuing from the fontanel, from
the spot between the eyebrows, on nose-emitted breath, and so on,
constitute the sambhogakaya dimension of the magical nirmanakaya
emanation. The six siddhamunis, Garab Dorje and the others,
constitute the magical nirmanakaya dimension of nirmanakaya.
The thirry-.first chapter of the great tantra Tiklay Kunsel classifies trikaya.
32. Trikaya: Key Terms

Vajradhara! Please give us the keywords of trikaya.
The Teacher responded: Master of the Secret! In all the tantras and
agamas that we have taught, wherever we use the word trikaya, its
essence, semantic definition, categories and synonyms should be
understood as revealed in the previous chapter.
Then the Master of the Secret made this request: Please explain trikaya
in terms of the triad of essence, nature and compassion.
The Teacher replied: The essence of trikaya is uncreate, uncontrived,

unstructured and unchangeable. It is intrinsically immaculate,
unconditioned, all-inclusive present awareness; indestructible, pure
and empty reality like sky; and, transparent, unreified presence pure in
the now.
The nature of trikaya is the unremitting radiance of the five-colored

light of present awareness within the essential, real space, each color
containing a basic attribute of the all-inclusive fundamentally inherent
awareness.
Trikaya's compassion is in its essence the unreified mudra that is the

fivefold sublime form. 28
Best Beloved, the essence is dharmakaya, the nature is sambhogakaya

and gnostic compassion is nirmanakaya, and trikaya shines incessantly
as the creative base of all emanation. The three existential dimensions
of trikaya are fundamentally inherent. The two form dimensions,
which are pure and empty results of a pure and empty cause, are
present as immanent qualities in the intrinsic clarity of dharmakaya.
This is called 'the three existential dimensions present in the ground'.
As for the term 'inverted trikaya,' it refers to the inversion of the three
existential dimensions.i Because all conditioned experience is pure
from the beginning, it is spontaneous self-sprung awareness. With the
inversion of outer and inner continuity (tantra), what are recognized as
converted into nirmanakaya embodiment are the five families:
nirmanakaya is the inverted sambhogakaya. Dzogchen, The Great
Perfection, and so on, inverted, the common people are nirmanakaya
emanation. Through inversion, it may be said, 'W'e may never
familiarize ourselves with nonmeditation, but our essential identity is
nevertheless inalienable from sublime vision': that is constitutional
inversion. Our ordinary body of two dimensions is made by
dharmakaya and is, in actuality, immeasurable, inconceivable sublime
form: thus dharmakaya inversion.
Sambhogakaya inverting nirmanakaya, nirmanakaya inverting sam-

bhogakaya - that is inversion.
Best Beloved, that is an explication of the dimension of dharmakaya

from a superior perspective. It is 'great'" to the extent that it occurs by
itself, without any cause. Since the two dimensions of form exist
intrinsically within the primal ground, it is fruition existing within
fruition; that is why it can be said to exist without change.
1 'Inversion' may be termed 'hippy dham1a', 'buddha turned inside out,' (sku
gs11mja log pa).
"'Great' (,hen po -maha) here implies 'all-inclusive', 'self-spnmg',
'spontaneous'.
Tikkr} lvlnsel 115
Master of the Secret! V airochana is conceived as the dharmakaya

dimension of sambhogakaya because the four families are derived
from him and remain immanent, suffused by his buddha-qualities. He
is the ground of the four families and the ground of all knowledge. In
turn, the four families enjoy the immaculate buddha mind of
Vairochana, acting out gnostic compassion as their respective retinues
of cognate male and female bodhisattvas. That is the four families'
pure enjoyment dimension of sambhogakaya. Wise in the different
and multifarious types of compassion, male and female bodhisattvas
are nirmanakaya emanations. We should also understand the
disposition of the three existential dimensions of dhannakaya and
nirmanakaya accordingly.
When exalted sublime form, perfect and complete, appears manifestly

as the mature converted retinue,i that is called 'the time of clear
manifestation of fruition'.
The omniscient buddha mind illuminates dhannakaya above; the eye

of omniscience illuminates the magical nirmanakaya emanation below,
and the supreme sublime form of clear light shines in between. Such is
the disposition.
Looking with the unthought dharma-eye, the lights of the seminal

syllables issuing from his mouth, a Vajrasattva appears in each of a
million worlds like ours, and the six siddhamunis manifest one in each
of the six realms of wandering beings. Vajrasattva is thus trikaya as the
source of compassion, gnostic compassion springing from within his
sublime form.
Manifestly acting for the benefit of wandering beings, nirmanakaya

comprises the three existential dimensions that convert them. The
dimension of magical nirmanakaya emanation is uncrystalizing,
b_ecause the unremitting process of compassionate creative expres-
sion never concretizes.
In short, the key words are 'dhannakaya', 'sambhogakaya',

'nirmanakaya', 'buddha mind', 'lord', 'glory', 'refuge', 'buddha-teacher'
and 'lamp of the world'.
' The retinue is ninnanakaya of dharmakaya in constant instantaneous

conversion of samsara and nirvana to present awareness, the recognition
of the pure nature of the five great elements, and so on. Conversion
implies recognition; awareness implies conversion.
The thirry-second chapter of the great tantra TiklCD' Kunse/ e/uddates trikqya and
summanzes its modes.
33. Buddha: Definition
Then the Master of the Secret made this request: Trikaya's three
dimensions in the now are buddha. Please tell us the essence, semantic
explanation, categories and aspects of 'buddha'.
The Teacher replied: Vajrapani! The essence of buddha is stainless

present awareness. The literal definition is 'purity-expansion'i because
the purity of all stains of passion is optimized and omniscient
awareness is fully expanded. It has two types: buddha that is
spontaneity in the primal ground, and buddha that is manifest
realization. Buddha is called 'buddha' by virtue of one of those
endowments.
Buddha is Teacher, because dharmakaya informs sambhogakaya,

which in turn informs nirmanakaya, and nirmanakaya then instructs
wandering minds. Conquering the demon of perversion through
realized wisdom possessing the powers of omniscience, and
overcoming the absurdities of dualistic perception, buddha is called
'Bhagawan'.ii The realization attained by such omniscience is 'glory',iii
while showing that reality to all is the 'glory' of others.
Dispelling the gloom of wandering minds' diminished presence,

buddha is like a lamp.
The thirry-third chapter of the great tantra TiklCD' Kunse/ teaches the essence,
semantic definition, t)pes and metaphors of buddha in summary.
1 1ne components of the Tibetan word for 'buddha' are san_gs (pure) and rgya..-
(expanded). ~
" Super-Conqueror, 'Beyond Conquest' (bcom ldan 'dm}
;u Shri (dp4
Tiklay Kunsel 117
34. Trikaya: Qualities

Vajradhara! How does dharmakaya overcome demons? How does
sambhogakaya overcome demons? How does ninnanakaya overcome
demons?
The Teacher responded: Best Beloved, listen carefully! Dharmakaya

overcomes the lord of death because of the absence of origination and
cessation in dharmakaya. It overcomes the demon of embodiment
because of the absence of concrete body-mind aggregates in
dharmakaya. Through the nonduality of dharmakaya, the demon of
passion (afflictive emotion) and the demon of divine pride are
overcome, vanquished in real space.
Sambhogakaya overcomes the lord of death because the five sublime

forms are inanimate. The enchanting illusion of present awareness
conquers the demon of embodiment. A thoughtless mind overcomes
the demon of afflictive emotion and the demon of divine pride.
Vajrasattva as ninnanakaya conquers the lord of death demon through

his realization of dharmakaya, and by the same token, he overcomes
the demon of afflictive emotion and the divine pride demon. Through
realization of the actuality of sambhogakaya, he conquers the demon
of embodiment.
The Master of the Secret then asked: \Vhat are the attributes of
trikaya's three existential dimensions?
Listen, Vajrapani! Dharmakaya, in its vast immanent potential, retains

fivefold present awareness and the two dimensions of form. In
sambhogakaya, all qualities are perfected, which is indicated by the
signs and marks. Sublime vision possesses fivefold present awareness
and the six super-sensory perceptions. Ninnanakaya is endowed with
the powers of transformation and magical emanation.i That is a very
brief synopsis.
The Master of the Secret then asked: \Vhat do trikaya's three

existential dimensions spontaneously resolve?
' Siddhi and riddhi (rdzu 'phrul dang cho 'phrul).

Listen, Best Beloved! Dharmakaya resolves all dualistic extremes.

Sambhogakaya resolves all dualistically perceived samsaric experience.
Through the mastery of the skillful means of transcendent wisdom,
nirmanakaya resolves the absurdity of living in neither samsara nor
nirvana. This epitomizes the many ways in which trikaya is
transcendent.
The Master of the Secret asked: How are the three existential
dimensions 'pure and expanded'?
Listen, Best Beloved! Dharmakaya buddha purifies all dualistically

perceived concrete experience and expands naturally detached,
nonfixated, present awareness. Sambhogakaya purifies samsaric
experience and expands percipience and the great qualities of sublime
form-. Ninnanakaya purifies ignorance and misunderstanding and
purifies samsara as an autonomous continuity, and expands wisdom,
skillful means and compassion.
The Master of the Secret asked: How are trikaya's existential

dimensions pure and empty of all stains?
Dharmakaya is empty of the stain of essential substantiality;

sambhogakaya is empty of the stain of tangibility; and nirmanakaya is
empty of the stains of passion.i
The thirryjourth chapter of the great tantra Tik/qy Kunse/ teaches the stainless
nature of trikqya, bhagawan and buddha.
35. Tulku: Altruistic Action
Then the Master of the Secret asked: How does the trikaya's never
crystalizing gnostic compassion benefit wandering minds?
The Teacher responded: Best Beloved! First, we were born as an

eight-year-old boy. Then, for the next eight years on the axis of
wisdom we turned the wheel of fivefold present awareness,ii and
through that realization, we were delivered; and by the sublime vision
' Note the gzhan s/01t.g phraseology: 'reality is empty of all phe110mena'.
ii All distinction between 'wisdom' (shes rab) and 'present awareness' (ye _,-/Jes)
has been lost in this formulation.
Tiklay Kunsel 119
itself, we were released from that vision. For the next eight years,
manifesting many and various emanations, we worked for the sake of
all sentient beings.i
Initially, we taught the divine law to humankind. Then to alleviate the

longing of our disciples, threading pearls onto a precious silken cord,
we turned the exoteric wheel and through compassion, in order to
release others, provisionally, but with hidden intent, we taught the
lower approaches. Then, on the summit of Blazing Fire Mountain, 29
we taught the dharmas that directly and fully show buddha-truth.
Later, on Vulture Peak," from our heart we taught the great tantras,
secret and so marvelous, churning them in the vase of our throat, and
from the lotus-tongue spreading them over the consciousnesses of the
five senses. Here we chanted The Cuckoo's Song of Pure Presence-" in a
voice endowed with the sixty qualities of melodious speech,iv
eliminating all doubt and complication from the minds of those who
heard it.
Thus at the age of twenty-four, when we passed into nirvana, we left

behind three different testaments.v
For the sake of those who would come after us, we also revealed The
Circle of Total Illumination and the Compendium.'; We left them for the
sake of those who would have the good fortune to follow us and meet
us. Thus leaving behind us a reliquary receptacle, our trikaya, we
passed into parinirvana. Please relate this story in the future.
The thirryfzfth chapter of the great tantra Tiklay Kunsel teaches how the tulku
peiforms altruistic activiry.
'The three eightfold cycles relate to the threefold turning of the wheel of
dharma in the eight fields of consciousness by Vajradhara/Sakyarnuni/
Garab Dorje.
" Gridakuta is located in contemporary Rajgir, Bihar, India.
'" Rigpa khu p~yug: see chapter 79 and s-\ppendix 3.
"'See GNT.
,, These testaments formed the basis of the Hinayana, ?-.fahayana and
Vajrayana approaches.
"Kun 'du,. see .\ppendix 3.
36. Eight Approaches: The View
Then the Teacher became absorbed in the samadhi of inconceivable

revelation.
At that time the :Master of the Secret said to him: Bhagawan, Master
of Skillful Means! Through your vision, please elucidate the eight
approaches of perverse teaching, which, however, contain a hidden
agenda.i
Then this secret precept resounded thrice on the voice of the

turquoise cuckoo,ii the Teacher, from the top of a nine-storied jewel
stupa:
SVABHA YANA PRASARA DUPAY A
The Teacher responded: Master of the Secret, listen carefully! To the

two levels of converted retinue, the common and the extraordinary,
we shall describe the views of the eight gradual approaches with a
critical overview, which reveals the distinction between provisional
and definitive views.
The views of the auditors (shravakas), the hermits (pratyekabuddhas),

the bodhisattvas, adepts of the three lower tantras and adepts of the
creative and fulfillment phases,iii all retain concrete reference points
due to biased interpretation of the two truths. Since those views
indicate minds still caught in a dualistic trap, 30 their views do not
facilitate recognition of self-sprung awareness and, therefore, are
mistaken, perverse views. Corrupting31 and deviating from reality,
those views are the wishful thinking of desirous minds.
Master of the Secret! These are the eight viewsi, impaired by

attachment:
iThe hidden agenda is the recognition of the nature of mind in an unthought

timeless moment.
"The cuckoo, harbinger of spring, is the symbolic buddha-teacher and source
of the tantras.
m The creative phase relates to mahayoga, and fulfillment phase to anuyoga.
" 111e upa-tantra and yoga-tantra views are confounded in this, and together
with the follO\ving three chapters a total of seven, not eig1i.t, gradual
approaches are counted.
Tiklay Kunsel 121
Toe auditors (shravakas) understand the absence of personal identity,

but since they cannot undermine the notion of objects as concrete
entities, they still consider the subjective and objective aspects of
experience to be separate entities. They can stop the constant flow of
grasping at seemingly concrete experience for a moment, as if
resolving the duality of eternity and nihilistic nothingness, but the flow
of attachment is like the current of the great river Ganga.
Identifying the vivid manifestation of external objects as conventional,

relative reality, they believe atoms to be absolutely real, which is like
believing that a single hair of a yaktail is real while the entire tail is
unreal, or believing that a blade of grass in an alpine meadow is real
while the meadow is unreal. The views of both schools of auditors,
Sautrantikas and V aibhashikas, are laced with wishful thinking based
in desire, which is antipathetic to blissful nonduality.
Similarly, hermits (pratyekabuddhas) comprehend the absence of a

substantial personal identity, but then they are biased towards reality
as emptiness. By their very bias towards the absence of identity, they
attach themselves to the notion of substantiality. The faint but distinct
yearning mentality of these 'self-styled buddhas' corrupts the pure
pleasure of detachment.
Bodhisattvas realize the absence of both identities - subjective and

objective - and assert the two truths. They see absolute reality as mind
or as something beyond it. They do not disdain conventional
appearances, but see relativity as dream and illusion. The bodhisattvas'
view, however, differentiating the relative from the absolute 1s a
deviation from the nondual pleasure that is present awareness.
Though unstirring from implicit, unthought, real space, free from

birth and cessation, kriya-tantra adepts view the two sattvasi as lords
to serve. Their view, laden with craven attachment, is antipathetic to
the actual pure pleasure of Samantabhadra.
Unmoving in unthought spaciousness, free of birth and death,

upayoga adepts view the two sattvas as brothers or friends, but their
'In mahayoga meditation, samaya-sattva (dam tshig sems dpa) is visualized and
the jnana-sattva {ye shes sems dpa) is the resultant, actual presence of a
buddha-dei ty.
wishful thinking is antipathetic to inseparable present awareness and

pure pleasure.
Visualizing the sense fields and sense faculties, which are unborn and
uncrystalizing, unthought and unmoving, as gods and goddesses
(buddha-deities), mahayoga adepts' aspiration is fixed upon sublime
form with divine attributes, a manner quite antipathetic to the pure
pleasure of simplicity.
Unstirring, unthought, without birth or cessation, identifying the

envisionment of spaciousness and present awareness as gods and
goddesses, the wishful thinking of the anuyoga view runs against the
pure pleasure of insubstantial, transparent self-envisionment.
The thirry-sixth chapter of the great tantra Tiklqy Kunsel reveals the holistic vision
of the eight approaches.
37. Eight Approaches: Meditation
Regarding the views of the eight approaches that you have just
elucidated, how are they experienced?
The Teacher responded: Vajrapani, listen carefully! The eight methods

of meditation entail focus upon seemingly concrete objects, fixed
reference points, to which mental effort is directed. Due to a failure to
understand that freedom from striving - effortlessness - is release
from the grasping intellect, these gradualistic meditations perpetuate
habits of ignorance.
What are the methods of the meditations of the eight approaches?
The auditors (shravakas) meditate according to the following scheme:

They come to think of their material bodies as filthy containers, and
meditating upon them as putrid and rotten, decaying and
decomposed, they overcome attachment to their bodies. Through the
twelve factors of calm-abiding meditation,i they rid themselves of the
i These twelve factors may be degrees of the four stages of meditative

absorption (see G?\T) in shamatha meditation.
Tiklay Kunsel 123
idea of the contents of the six fields of consciousness as fixed objects

of perception.
Hermits (pratyekabuddhas) meditate on the twelve links of

interdependent origination,i beginning with ignorance and continuing
to old age and death. With the mind directed to the forehead, they
focus on a white skeleton the size of a thumb, which is gradually
enlarged. Eventually they attain skeleton-vision. Then they meditate
until their attention ceases.
Bodhisattvas, obsessed with their wishful thinking, meditate upon 'the

intrinsic clarity of mind-only' as the nature of mind, familiarizing
themselves with the indivisible truth of the middle way, which is like
the center of the sky.
Kriya-tantra adepts having purified the 'hosts of empty deities',ii then

meditate on the sublime forms of the three families, each of which
holds a symbolic mudra.iii
Yoga-tantra adepts first traverse the five paths to enlightenment,iv and

then meditate on the thirty-seven factors of enlightenment" and the
four mudras.vi
Mahayoga adepts first practice the three samadhisvii and then meditate
on the ubiquitous peaceful and wrathful deities,',jjj with the four
mudras as the highest objects of meditation.
i The twelve links are ignorance, volition, consciousness, name and form, six
sense faculties, contact, sensation, craving, grasping, becoming, birth, old
age and death.
"The six 'empty' kriya deities (kri_ya Iha drug).
iii Vajra, sugata and padma represent the families of Akshobya, Vairochana
and Amitabha whose hand-token mudras are vajra, wheel and lotus.
iv The five paths are the paths of accumulation, preparation, seeing,
purification and release.
'"For the 'thirty-seven factors of enlightenment' see GNT.
"' The four mudras are mahamudra, samaya-mudra, dharma-mudra and
karma-mudra: see chapter 69.
vii The three samadhis are, 'just as it is' samadhi, goal-oriented samadhi and
all-illuminating samadhi.
,au These are the forty-two quiescent (peaceful) deities and fifty-eight dynamic
(wrathful) deities (z.hi 'khro rab ~yams).
Anuyoga adepts prepare by uttering only seed-syllables, and then

immediately they clearly visualize the four mudra-consorts of the five
body-mind aggregates,' which are like bubbles in water or like clay
tsatsa being extracted from their shaping mold. By first practicing the
stages of meditative absorption," they manage to prepare themselves
for the main practices, and then reach their purpose of ultimate
fruition.
The thirty-seventh chapter of the great tantra Tiklt!J Kunse/ teaches the diverse
meditations of the eight approaches.
38. Eight Approaches: Conduct
Then the Master of the Secret made this request: men the adepts of
the eight approaches are meditating according to their respective
instruction, please relate the differences in their conduct?
The Teacher responded: Listen carefully, Master of the Secret! Adepts

of all the eight approaches practice the eight styles of conduct with
painful striving for attainment. Commoners embrace conventional
attitudes and courses of action and reject others, while Tantric adepts,
to the contrary, act without discrimination.
As to the specific features of the auditors' (shravakas') conduct: They

observe physical purity by never taking what is not given, by
abandoning sexual misconduct and renouncing killing; they observe
verbal purity by avoiding lying, idle talk, slander and cursing; they
observe mental purity by discarding covetousness, ill-will and perverse
views. They perform these ten virtues for their personal benefit.
In the hermits' (pratyekabuddhas) conduct, through absurd, or

incongruous, magical emanations,iii they do a little bit to help people.
1 The consorts of the aggregates (pancha-skandha) represent the four great

elements (.phu,~gpo lngayi pby~ 1,~ya bzf,1) plus their ground.
ii The four stages of meditative absorption are conceptual thought, attentive
examination, joy and intensive (one-pointed) soft-focus.

iii Simultaneous emanation of fire and water (,-dZf, 'phru~ya ma Zf,lng dag) is an
example.
Tilelay Ivmsel 125
The conduct of bodhisattvas is imbued with the four boundless

qualities of present awareness and the four socially magnetizing
activities,i performed mainly for the benefit of others.
Kriya-tantra adepts practice ritual bathing, chastity, mantra and ritual

hand-mudras, while employing the three symbolic ritual substances.ii
Yoga-tantra adepts practice the four selfless activitiesiii and existential

and ecological harmony.
Mahayoga adepts endeavor to attain the perfect good of all wandering

minds by means of both skillful means and wisdom.
As for the conduct of anuyoga adepts, through the skillful means of

absenting dualistic appearances, with spaciousness and present
awareness as a mutually dependent pair, they enjoy each other.
The thirry-eighth chapter of the great tantra Tiklay Kunsel teaches the manner of
conduct of the eight approaches.
39. Eight Approaches: Fruition
Then the Master of the Secret made this request: Teacher, Master of
Compassionate Means! \X-'hat are the starting point, commitment and
holistic vision of each of the eight approaches and how is fruition
attained in each?
The Teacher spoke: An initiate acts according to the particular

perspective of his chosen path immediately that path is entered upon,
so conduct defines the manner of action at the starting point.
Commitment is adduced from the view, and thus is included in the
view. The various meditation practices are supreme accomplishment,
1 The four socially magnetizing activities are offering gifts, uttering pleasing
speech, providing appropriate teaching, and practicing consistency of
word and deed.
" The three symbolic substances are ashes, blood and semen (pf?yi nang rdzas
gsum).
111 Formally, this involves ritual perfonnance of pacification, enrichment,
control, and destruction.

and the fruition of each approach is to be found as such. The product

of each approach is the result of the view that precedes and identifies
the specific meditation.
Thus the auditors' (shravakas') fruition, view, meditation and action

perfected define the final maturation of the four pairs of noble
beings.i
The hermits' (pratyekabuddhas) view, meditation and action

completely fulfilled, fruition consists of the two visionary aspects
indicated by the parrot and the rhinoceros.ii
The bodhisattvas actualize their view, meditation and action by

realizing successively the purity of the ten bodhisattva stagesiii of
attainment of Universal Light.
Kriya-tantra adepts, with their fruition completed, in their view and

meditation attaining the trikaya of the three families, they know the
state of Vajradhara.
Yoga-tantra adepts, through the blessing of their view, meditation and

action, complete the thirty-seven factors of enlightenment and attain
the nature of trikaya.
Mahayoga adepts, actualizing view, meditation and action, fully

manifest mahamudra,i'" and realize the eleventh stage, Universal Light.
Adepts of anuyoga, their view, meditation and action as sublime

vision, bearing the name Vajrasattva, surpass the great stage of
complete perfection, and remain on the stage of the Desireless Lotus
Eye.
The thirry-ninth chapter of the great tantra Tiklt!J' Kunsel teaches the fruition of
the various approaches and how entry, commitment and practice are included in
their respective view, meditation and conduct.
i TI1e 'noble beings' of hinayana tradition are 'stream-winner', '011ce-retun1er',

'never-returner' and 'enemy-destroyer (arhat)'.
"The chattering parrot is flamboyantly colored, and the rhino is thick
skinned and immovable.
01 See GNT.
iv Here 'mahamudra', the 'great seal', 'symbol' or 'gesmre', is identified wi.th
clarity: but see chapter 69.

Tiklay Kunse/ 127
40. The Great Perfection: View

Vajradhara! If such were the view, meditation, conduct and ultimate
fruition of the eight lower provisional approaches, what then is the
ultimate, definitive view?
The Teacher responded: Now we reveal the view that is no view, the
view of atiyoga, the view that is free of all points of reference.
Unreified, transparent present awareness, the view is the spontaneity
of awareness that is intrinsic to pure presence. Nothing is extrinsic to
it; it includes everything.
Whatever appears in any specific instant of that intrinsic awareness of

presence is the radiance of all-inclusive present awareness, which is
Bhagawan Vajradhara as the now. That is why all-inclusive
envisionment is perfect buddha; to the extent that buddha has no
intrinsic existence, it is devoid of dualistic perception; and awareness
of presence consists of its own radiance.
The pure nature of the four great elements, which is the fifth element,
pervades the now as spacious reality. In the spaciousness of that
reality arises the sun 'awareness of presence', shining everywhere
without spatial or temporal distinction or bias.
Whatever flickering of thought occurs in the ocean of self-sprung

awareness, when neither repressed nor cultivated it is a golden fish
swimming in the Manasarovar Lake. i3 2
What is intrinsically nonexistent, what never crystalizes, can never be

observed or discovered. In neither inside nor outside, nor in the inner
of the outer, can any subtle object of realization be discovered. 33
Even though outer and inner - the environment and the beings that
inhabit it - are visible as distinct entities to innocent eyes, in the
transparent unreified view of intrinsic presence, they are absolutely
immaculate in the now.
Samantabhadra's face gazes into all ten directions simultaneously;

everything swirls together in the blissful matrix of his consort's bhaga.i
1 Yumtso ()-ttm mtsho), the consort-lake of :\ft Kailash.

Moreover, in the sole holistic seed of light containing the entirety of

the three worldsii in real space, 34 in the sublime vision. of self-sprung
awareness of presence, in the absence of buddha, sentient beings do
not even nominally exist, and in the absence of sentient beings,
neither sensory fields nor great elements exist.
Our own mindstream, immaculate as a crystal statue, is the stainless

transparent dharmakaya. Although earth, water, fire and air
manifesting in space seem substantial to an unrealized mind, all
appearances, lacking intrinsic existence, are in reality the radiance of
present awareness in the now. Like the appearance of a rainbow in the
sky, not in it exactly nor out of it, not separate from it but on the
contrary shining within it, the radiance of present awareness in the
now - self-arising, self-manifesting, self-radiant - shines in the real
space of the field of reality (dharmadhatu), inseparable from
dharmakaya.
Seemingly distinct from the sky in which it shines, yet that radiance is
uncrystalizing and unimpeded. 35 In its clarity, it is nonconceptual
present awareness of the now, which is dharmakaya. In radiance self-
envisioned, both elixir and its container, it is buddha, while selfless
karma and gnostic compassion on the periphery are empty and pure.iii
'Graduated spiritual stages' and 'degrees of release' are abhorrediv by

the supreme luminous mind; reality is unapproachable on a graduated
path of linear progression. If we try to approach it, present awareness
fades into the distance.
Through nonaccumulation, in the now, the dual provision of virtue

and present awareness is complete. Through nonpurification, in the
now, the dual obscuration of afflictive emotion and intellect is pure
and empty. 36
1 The 'bhaga' (gnas gsang ba) is the universal vagina.

i,The three worlds are the worlds of desire (kamadhatu), form (rupadhatu);
and fonnlessness (arupyadhatu). :\!so the sky, the earth and the
subterranean words.
"' In Longchenpa's recension (see Appendix 2) it is dear that the
envisionment (as container) and elixir (the contained) are inseparable as
samhhogakaya, while gnostic compassion and karmic activity are
i, Such 'abhorrence' (sel ba) implies immediate elimination, which is
dissolution into its nondual essence.
Tiklay Kunsel 129
In the unborn, unthought mandala of light, in the now, meditation

upon a deity in his divine mansion is superfluous. We may meditate
on the body of the Great Heruka with his mandala of wrathful
attributes while reciting the mantras of his buddha body, speech and
mind continuously, like a river's flow, but thereby we maintain a
separation, turning our back upon the awareness of presence in the
now.
Complete in the now, present awareness is not to be sought after and

re-accomplished. It cannot be deliberately pursued or progressively
meditated upon.
Consider a butter-lamp: just as its essence is its light, so radiance is

awareness of presence. Past, present and future buddha has the one
taste of nonduality, like water poured into water.
The fortieth chapter of the great tantra Tikla.J Kunsel reveals the flawless view of
the Great Perfection.
41. N onmeditation and Meditation
To meditate or not to meditate - please tell us what we should do.
To which the Teacher responded: Apprehend this well, Vajrapani!
The nondual pure pleasure that we show,

Transcends both meditation and nonmeditation;
Intrinsic presence realized by the faculty of wisdom,
Blissful nonduality is neither unitary nor separate.
Without deliberate effort, leaving things as they are,

So that they never stir from their own real space,
The flow, like the River Ganga, is uninterrupted.
That is taught for the brightest among you. 37

For those of lesser acumen,
;\feditation is taught as nonmeditation.
Those in whom the creativity of wisdom has not potentiated i3S
' This includes those without the ability to see through their own miasma.
130 Everything Is Ugh!
Believe that buddha is impossible without meditation.
Master of the Secret, listen to me! Like a lotus that grows undefiled in
a swamp, intrinsic presence, although present in both outer and inner
delusion, is never touched by that delusion. Presence remains utterly
untainted in the now - that is enlightened buddha.
Best Beloved! Dharmakaya, as the pure ground of all and everything,

ornamented as pure manifestation by the two dimensions of form,
comprises ultimate trikaya, which is neither unitary nor separate.
Trikaya is the intrinsic clarity within present awareness of the now,
like a butter-lamp inside a vase.
Best Beloved, the ephemeral outer environment, the aggregate of

form,i the mandala of the immeasurable mansion wherein the nature
of wandering minds is recognized, that is the radiance of the
unreifi.able trikaya.
The divine palace of present awareness, which is the clear light of pure
pleasure with the four sublime forms, each with inherent buddha
body, speech and mind, that is the immaculate internal mandala that
never crystalizes.
Since the compassionate expression of that mandala, like the mandala

of the five herukas,ii is unimpeded, incessant and non-crystalizing, it is
a self-sprung mandala of compassion.
Those three mandalas, outer, inner and secret,iii describe undeluded

buddha.
Best Beloved, the experience of pure potential is revealed in

undeluded buddha, disclosed in the mirror of buddha mind. Just as
our physically conditioned body is reflected in a material mirror, so
unconditioned awareness, always shining, never crystalizing, shines in
the mirror-like awareness of the primal ground.
That indeterminable ground, the source of all things, is not made by a

creator's hand; on the contrary it is a self-arising mind-mirror of a
'111e aggregate of form (rupa-skandha, gz~gs kyi phungpo) is the visible aspect
of the name and form (nama-rupa) aggregate.
ii 111e five herukas are the buddha, vajra, ratna, padma, and karma herukas.
'" See 'three mandalas' in GNT.
Tiklay Kunsel 131
five-storied crystal stupa, self-sprung from the mind-matrix of

Amitabha, Boundless Llghtform.i Expressed as a symbol, the
conditioned physical casket cannot hold unconditioned awareness; the
latter can only appear as it really is in the mirror of mind. The Great
Tika of Secret Precept on the Ground of Delusion establishes that
conclusively.
Since it is self-sprung spontaneous awareness, it can never be

experienced in terms of past, present or future. That immutable view
entails 'the great leap-over'ii established in The Tika of the Ineffable Zing
of Reality as the Birth of Present Awareness Through the Reversal of Delusion.
The nail of unchangeable reality is planted through evidential signs, as
implied in The Great Tika of Instruction and grounded in The Tika of the
Ineffable Zing of the Reality of Essential All-inclusive Identity.iii If we realize
such unchangeable reality, we do not need to meditate, and since its
vast potential of immanent quality is intrinsic nature, neither union
with it nor separation from it is possible.
Neither the object of meditation nor the meditator can be conceived

as substance or attribute; whatever appears 39 is utterly ungraspable,
like the fluttering wings of a bee.
Ordinary individuals are not released until they realize that the
ultimate nature of phenomena - reality itself - is inconceivable. If
their vision-realization of that is distractible, it is at fault, whereas
undistractible realization of it is evidence of fulfillment of the secret
precept.
Nondistraction implies that when we simply sit not even a moment is

lost in the space of self-envisioned reality. 'When we walk, we proceed
unhindered in the intrinsic radiance of present awareness, just as the
light of a lamp or the radiance of the sun is inseparable from what it
illuminates. 'When we sleep, in the matrix of transparent presence,
which cannot leave real space, creativity dissolves back into the
ground, and all attributes are released as they stand - reality is the
''.\mitabha' is translated into Tibetan either as 'Od dpag med or Snang ba mtha'
_yas, the light ( 'od; being identical to the appearance (mang ba).
ii This is the one mention of toga! (!hod rga~ in this tantra; 'the great leapover'
refers to the fourth toga! vision.

111 See :\ppendix 3 for the four tikas.
great integrator. And when we wake, we awaken to the unstirring

space of presence, shining naturally, nowhere crystalizing.
Best Beloved, listen well! No matter which of the four deportmentsi

we are engaged in, no departure from intrinsic radiance and no
departure from the space of reality is possible. Just as a bird, wherever
she flies, can never leave the sky; just as a fish, wherever she swims,
can never leave the water; just as human beings, wherever they go, can
never leave the earth; so the realized adept can never escape the real
space of presence.
Best Beloved, only authentic buddha can be meditated upon, and that
is nothing but your own intrinsic presence, dharmakaya. All events
arise spontaneously with the five characteristics of pure presence:
dharmakaya emptiness, intangibility, indivisibility, unreified wisdom
that knows itself as such, and freedom from obstacles.ii
Those five characteristics occur in the five-colored light of present

awareness. The five-colored light appears as the five families.iii The
five families appear as five sublime forms. In the five sublime forms,
the five consorts remain unreified. In the five consorts, male and
female bodhisattvas are unreified; the fields of sensory perception are
represented by the female bodhisattvas and sense organs and
consciousnesses are represented by the male bodhisattvas.
With all perception affixed with the seal of spontaneously ansmg

presence, so that in self-envisioning present awareness no thought of
anything extraneous is possible. Creative expression is re-enveloped
by the ground at the very point of its incipient crystalization in the
sublime vision of spontaneous release of all attributes.
At that juncture, the five sense fields are no longer confined by the
five sense doors; the five sense doors are no longer confined by the
male and female bodhisattvas; the bodhisattvas are no longer confined
by the space of the five yab-:Jum sublime forms; the five yab-:Jum
1 TI1e four deportments - sitting, walking, sleeping and waking - are intended
to subsume all activity (conduct).
i, See 'five characteristics' in GNT. Tl1ese are distinct from the five amibutes
of pure presence: see chapter 12.

'" The five families are represented by symbols: buddha, vajra, ratna, padma,
and karma, each symbol subsuming a family of buddhas, each identified
with one of the five colors.
Tiklay Kunsel 133
sublime forms are no longer confined by the five-colored light of

present awareness; the five-colored light is no longer confined by the
five attributes of pure presence; and the five attributes of pure
presence are no longer confined by its intrinsic clarity.
That is a secret precept defining the sensory process whereby, resting

in the elemental matrix,40 present awareness melts into spaciousness.
Thus released, present awareness never stirring from its own place,
whatever is known is 'inserted into the vase'. Within this transparent
vase of indivisible dharmakaya reality, awareness of presence shines
like a butter lamp unagitated by the wind. In consequence, this secret
precept that 'inserts whatever is known into the vase', infuses laziness,
stupidity and sleep, and so on, with the wisdom that is essentially the
ineffable zing of reality.
Everything that occurs arises out of itself; all perception emanates out
of itself; and all is illuminated by itself. 41 Inherently pure, whatever
arises is released in its own intrinsic space; thus present awareness is
spontaneous purity.
Furthermore, zero-appearance is nothing other than self-

envisionment. Clouds, mist or vapor condensing, it all appears out of
the sky; manifesting, it manifests in the sky; remaining, it remains in
the sky; evaporating, it dissolves into the sky; released, it is released
into the sky.
The Jorry-first chapter of the great tantra Tiklcry Kunsel teaches logical!J how both
meditating and not meditating are mental functions and it teaches for those of
middling acumen how to remain in continuous samadhi.
42. Nonmeditation and Meditation Instruction
Then the Master of the Secret made this request: Teacher, Vajradharal
Please elucidate meditation.
And the Teacher responded: Meditation is taught to lesser intellects. If

we do not know nonmeditation, then unaware of our mental
functions, ignorant of where effortlessness lies, we cannot experience
continuous samadhi. If we do not know nonmeditation, we are no
different from common people in whom the ordinary mindstream is

deluded. 42
Knowing the meaning of unpremeditated nonmeditation, 43 neither

union with the sole buddha nor separation from it can arise. Knowing
the meaning of unpremeditated meditation,i44 the habit of grasping at
seemingly concrete reference points is abandoned. Realizing ultimate
nonduality, all spatial and temporal bias is surrendered.
The teaching upon meditation is compressed into three sections: (1)

the method of training, (2) the object of training and (3) the evaluation
of training.
These are the three aspects of training: external, internal and secret.
l. 1 Externally, body, speech and mind are relaxed. All activity

abandoned, simply sit.
1.2 Internally, bind the energy channels. From the holistic light-seed
of self-sprung spaciousness, first, corporeal potential manifests, and
two channels united, one from above one from below, that union
becomes the navel chakra. Fine bifurcating channels proliferate from
it producing the lustrous glow4 5 of the body. Within the heart and
other organs, internal cavities are formed, and discursive thought is
generated in those hollows. 46
Further, the eye being the primary sense faculty, whatever is visible is
self-envisionment, and in the absence of discursive thought, the gaze
is fixed. Although the manifestation may be prolific and dynamic, the
self-dissolving creativity of presence is a constant. Creativity and the
form that appears to be distinct from it, like hail and the wind that
carries it, cannot be separated, so it is to be left as it is, and anyhow it
is inexpressible. Do not reject the high velocity energy, because while
it lasts discriminating or conceptual wisdom47 expands with it.
Sedulously letting it alone,48 it abides in a natural thoughtless state.
'The distinction between unpremeditated nonmeditation and unpremeditated

meditation may be restated as 'nonmeditation between sessions' and
'nonmeditation ~i.thin sessions'. The latter is the central practice of the
L.,on_gdJen ,'0ingtik.
Tiki(!) Kunse/ 135
1.3 These are the three hidden aspects to the trauung: 'the king is
enthroned'; 'the minister is imprisoned'; and 'the subjects are the
collateral damage'.
1.3.1 Vajradhara, listen carefully! The king is the pure presence of

intrinsic presence, dharmakaya. His throne is naturally clear sky
shining as a field of appearances, a glistening field of pixelsi of
spaciousness. The meaning here is that the primal ground, free of
every last trace of solidity, is the seat of present awareness of
immaculate spaciousness; in that way, the lamp of pure luminous
mind is as clear and pellucid as still spring water.
Sitting there immobile, appearing to be part of the scenery, the king is

like a hawk that builds a nest in a cliff and then stands sentinel at its
entrance. That is how awareness of presence abides in the precious
tsitta," the evidence of our own nature clearly manifest. It is like the
mirror, the universal self-existent ground, and the transparent,
ubiquitous, clarity of present awareness. That is why the 'holistic light-
seed of immaculate spaciousness' is called 'the water lamp'. As already
mentioned, from the ultimate point of view perceptions of present
awareness are clear light.
Sitting on that throne is the shining light of present awareness, which

is the sole holistic light-seed of spontaneous awareness, and which
never crystalizes. Presence is at the essence of awareness and, such
awareness shining in presence, the light-seed of spontaneity
overwhelms discursive thought as well as all that appears to be
concrete. \Vhile that is unchanging, nothing other than self-
envisionment is possible.
Now, that holistic light-seed of spontaneity, the momentary, all-

embracing flash of light, is expressed in terms of the three aspects of
its appearance,iii which are all related; what is seen is the pure nature of
space, which is its intrinsic brilliance;49 what sees is the pure essence
of that, which is the 'water lamp'50 - it is the radiance of the element
' 'Pixels' are thig /es as conceived in the second togal vision: consider the
analogy of a holographic pixel.
"'TJittd is the fleshly heart (rin po che i. sha or tsitta'i sha), skt: chitta; it is ~find
or enlightened corporeality. See also chapter 83.
'" The perceptible object (form), the subjective consciousness (formless), and
the active body (desirous) are the three aspects of appearances (snang ba
gJ-z1m).
earth in the now; and the field of appearances shines as pure presence,
the radiant light of pure awareness.
Hear this! Naturally pure, intrinsic radiance is like the night sky. The
radiance of pure reality in the now is like the sky at dawn. The radiant
light of spontaneous awareness is like sunrise.
'The king enthroned' means that presence, pure in the now, remains
unstirring in the changeless spaciousness of reality.
On account of the demon 'lord of death', the three energy channels

that convey the breath of pristine awareness are 'squeezed'; since the
vision of the tathagata has no definite end and since no sign or
attribute is visible, the eyes gaze into the interior of the sky, and the
entrance to the energy channels is constricted.
In the bodhisattva's samadhi, situated between buddha and sentient

beings, eyes peer into space. The neck pulled down, the chin rests on
the shoulder and the passage of energy in the three channels is
inhibited.
In the meditative absorption and focusing fixation of gods and

humans, attributes are more obdurate than in the previous two
situations, and, therefore, less frangible. Their eyes are pointed at the
earth; with the neck slightly bent, the chin is allowed to rest on the
chest.
These three aspects show the way in which the king is enthroned and
the method of his remaining on that seat. In that way, pure presence,
analogous to the king, retains its primacy.
1.3.2 The minister is analogous to the relative mind, the intellect. So

long as the creative energy of pure presence does not escape,
dependency is avoided and concepts are not formed. This unthinking
state is analogous to the minister held in prison unable to indulge in
political chicanery. The 'horse' exists in pure presence like breath
inseparable from the body: it is as if the minister were imprisoned.; 1
1 The Tibetan rlun,P, (skt. prana, ,ayu) can also be translated as 'air', 'breath',
'wind', 'subtle energy', 'emotional disturbance', and 'neural disorder'.
Tiklay lvmse/ tJ7
1.3.3 The people are like the five senses - they are always creating
karma. W'hen 'the minister is imprisoned,' clarity is not concep-
tualized and 'the people are controlled'.
2. Best Beloved, the ground of the training is real space, which is the
nature of our essential inclusive identity.
Intrinsically pure space -

Then the space of pure reality is second;
And unthought, pure presence is the third.i
Indivisible, unthought, empty nirvana,

Which is 'unelaborated, real space',
And the radiance of the four great elements
In the awareness of presence, these two,
Intrinsical incessant radiance of present awareness,
Its clear nature without visible appearance,
Essentially nonexistent emptiness,
Such indivisible essential inclusive identity,
That, simply, is awareness of presence in the now.
3. Then the evaluation of training: Such cognition is uninfluenced by

cause and condition, and unaffected by circumstance; the flow of
discursive conflicting thought is interrupted; and all consequences, all
personal identities, are outshone.
Meditative heat arises inadvertently; and compounded or conditional

phenomena revert to the universal buddhafield. Prophetic indications
arise successively. Increasingly reliant upon the meaning of guru, deva
and dakini, certainty regarding them arises in the mindstream.
The Jorry-second chapter ef the great tantra Tik/ay Kunse/ teaches the vision that
determines whether we should meditate or not and teaches the method efmeditation.
43. Conduct
RTATSHTAVA

Vajradhara! Please elucidate the different kinds of conduct.
1 'These are the 'three skies', outer, inner and secret, relating to the L~ngchen
1"\_),ingtik togal practice.
The Teacher responded: Listen, Vajrapani! Action without

discrimination, without acceptance or rejection, spontaneous action is
the highest conduct the best activity is never performed deliberately.
Action in accordance with ultimate reality, appropriate action, has no

substance, no particular characteristic, and as such is said to be just
like space. Attributing no substance to the actor, the adept should
know that the source of the action is immaculate and that it has no
reactive effect. It is unreal, like space.
Awareness of presence behaves like a precious mirror. Intrinsic

unreified awareness arises by itself, self-envisioned, without prejudice,
with neither attraction nor aversion. In accordance with this view, the
garuda glides through the sky moving without deliberate action, in
spontaneous perfection. Ultimate conduct in accord with sublime
vision is like the integral flow of the great river Ganges. Conduct in
relation to fruition, like the sun and its shine, is enacted as trikaya in
neither union nor separation.
Undistracted, with sublime v1s1on, acting in the reality of

nonconceptual impartial wisdom, that syndrome is the mental conduct
of the adept. The verbal action of the adept is like a resounding echo,
articulation without attachment to sounds. Physical, verbal and mental
actions are all performed without fixation or attachment; all activity is
perceived as an image in a mirror.
The adept's conduct is nonhabitual spontaneous action. Free of all

convention, the adept may act like a mad elephant. Like a honeybee
sucking on the stamen of flowers, he has no partiality towards any
particular bloom.
The adept's behavior is compassionate behavior. Like the warmth of

the sun, he acts for the benefit of all beings physically, energetically
and mentally integrated. Converting them through his compassion,
which is like a mother's love for an only child, the adept constantly
acts for the sake of all sentient beings.
Non dual conduct: Such action is frictionless, it has no goal; it is

nondeliberate, it has no purpose. Acting authentically, we change
nothing.
The farry-third chapter of the great tantra Tikl1D Kunsel teaches conduct in brief.
Tiklay Kunsel 139
44.Fruition

Vajradhara! ~'hat is the result of such conduct?
The Teacher said: Listen, Vajrapani! The result is that the view is
manifest. The fruition is expressed as reality without outside or inside,
and pervades as presence without outside or inside. It is nondual
dharmakaya, the sublime vajra dimension, abiding in the real space of
unfixating intrinsic clarity.
The intuitive wisdom of fruition is unimpeded awareness of presence

in the sambhogakaya dimension of perfect enjoyment. The five vases
(the five yum-consorts) holding present awareness are insubstantial
appearances, like rainbows in the sky. Out of these vases, the five
sublime forms of magical nirmanakaya emanation shine vividly.
Implicit, unthought, radiance, like a butter-lamp in a vase, the interior
clarity of trikaya is present as 'neither union nor separation'.
The transparent clarity therein together with the intrinsic radiance of

presence, which are the two form dimensions, do not appear
objectively; their unreified potential is present in neither union nor
separation.
The unobstructed manifestation of, firstly, the two form dimensions

as the nonexistence of existence, and, secondly, changeless
dharmakaya as the existence of nonexistence, are like a bronze bowl
and its contents or like a mirror and the images shining within it.
If appearances are empty of any intrinsic nature, they are void of all
the limitations of substantiality. Conversely, if evanescence is their
intrinsic nature, the biased nihilist view that their nature is vacuous
emptiness is nugatory. Released from the four conceptual extremes,
samsara is affixed with the seal of absence.i Unchanging in meaning,
pure presence assumes its natural primacy.
The fortyfourth chapter of the great tantra Tik/qy Kunse/ reveals the definitive
teaching upon authentic ultimate fruition.
; .-\bscncc (med pa) is the first of the four Dzogchen samayas.

45. Approach to Buddha: Definition
Then the Master of the Secret made this request: Please tell us the
essence, the literal definition, the classification and the metaphors of
'approach'.
The Teacher replied: Listen, Little Vajrapani! The essence of

'approach' is compassionate wisdom. The relative significance of the
nine different approaches is reflected in their conventional order.
The literal definition of 'approach'i is 'carrier' or 'mover'.
Although many ways of approach present themselves, in essence there

are two. The sutra-approach with overt signs takes causal relationship
as the path; the tantric approach takes fruition to be the path.
The metaphor for the former is a boat (with which to cross over to
the other side) and for the latter it is the foundation of a bridge (that
identifies one side with the other).
The farry-jiflh chapter of the great tantra Tiklqy Kunsel provides a short
explanation of the meaning of approach to buddhahood.
46. View: Definition

Vajradhara! Please teach us the view, meditation, conduct and fruition
of the different approaches. Tell us the essence, the literal definition,
and the category of each and provide a metaphor for each of the nine.
The Teacher responded: Best Beloved, the essence of each view

should be understood as identical to its nominal meaning.
The definitive, ultimate, view is the essence of awareness of presence,

namely, nonconceptual impartial wisdom.
1 The word 'approach' is a translation of 'yana' (lit. vehicle) in Sanskrit (yana)

and also in Tibetan 'thegpd.
Tiklay I:vmsel 141
As to its semantic definition, the 'view' is the authentic knowledge

reached as the final holistic vision of any sadhana practice.i
These are the two types of view: authentic view and inauthentic view.
The former is the atiyoga view. Inauthentic or, rather, provisional
views are the anuyoga view and those beneath that.
'Like the crystal and its light' is the simile that describes the authentic
view, while the similes below describe the eight provisional,
inauthentic, views.
Listen, Best Beloved! The auditors (shravakas) and hermits

(pratyekabuddhas) are like tiny fishes in a rivulet. The reality of the
bodhisattvas is 'apparent yet absent', like the enchantment of mqya,
like the sky, floaters in visual field, the reflection of the moon in water
and so on.ii The adept of kriya-tantra is likened to a servant attending
his master; in yoga-tantra the adept is likened to a brother or a friend;
in mahayoga the adept is like a king expanding his domain; in anuyoga
the adept is likened to the single body of sexual union, and in atiyoga
the adept is likened to a great garuda gliding across the sky.
Bhagawan Vajradhara! Please tell us the expressions that relate to the

view.
The Teacher replied: In all the tantras and agamas we have given,
wherever we use the expressions 'view', 'final holistic vision',
'authentic', 'final view or ultimate view', or 'fruition', you should know
that they all refer to the view.
Great Bodhisattva Hero! %en we talk about the person who grasps
and what is grasped as two different entities, the view of the auditors
(shravakas) is referred to. %en we say that the grasper exists but
what is grasped at has no substantial existence, the view of the
hermits' (pratyekabuddhas, self-realized/hermit buddha) is intended.
%en we talk about 'mind' and its 'modes', and 'absolute and relative
truth',iii we explain the view of bodhisattvas (tenderfoot buddha).
' Tib. sgrub thabs.

"These are counted among the 'eight metaphors of maya': see GNT.
;,; In this translation, don dam (absolute) belongs to the dualism of absolute
and relative, while mthar pl:[yin (ultimate) is beyond any dualism, such that
relative and absolute are one.
\Vhen we assert the universal confonnity of absolute truth, and a triad

of types or buddha-families, we explain the view of kriya. The
assertion of an equal pair is the view of upayoga. W'hen the seven root
sattvas 52 are mentioned, yoga-tantra is indicated. \,'hen we talk about
'forty-two' arid 'fifty-eight' buddha-deities and so on, we refer to the
view of mahayoga. \Vhen we talk about 'unshakeable perfection', or
'spaciousness and present awareness', we explain the view of anuyoga.
\Vhen we mention 'the end of deliberate effort', 'self-sprung present
awareness', or 'spontaneously arising buddha in the now', we are
referring to the view of The Great Perfection.
This is an abridged teaching.
The Jorry-sixth chapter of the great tantra Tiklay Kunsel teaches the meaning of
the view and terms that relate to it.
4 7. Meditation: Definition

Vajradhara! Please explain the difference between sublime vision and
meditation.
The Teacher responded: Listen, Vajrapani! Here are the essence,

semantic definition, categories, metaphors and many explanations of
meditation.
The essence of meditation is simple one-pointed soft-focused abiding.i
It has four different semantic descriptions: meditation as visualization

of the absolute; meditation as nondistraction; meditation as
absorption in ultimate inseparability; meditation as familiarization,
habituation and nonproliferation.
Then these are the two categories of meditation: meditation with and
without attributes. That without attributes is again of two types: the
meditative method of total freedom from effort, and meditation
i 'One pointed' here is 'one pointed soft focus', which is a condition of

neither relaxation nor concentration, but literally intensive.
Tiklay Kun.rel 143
requiring effort. Meditation with attributes is also of two kinds: briefly,

the creative and the fulfillment phases.i
These are the four similes for meditation: meditation is 'like trimming
the wick of a butter lamp', 'like mixing water and milk', 'like a
sparkling-water stone'53 ii and like a butter-lamp in a vase.
Master of the Secret, listen well! \Vherever we talk about 'sublime

vision', the implication is that through meditation meditative
absorption is naturally present, undistracted, undiffused and without
separation. \Vherever 'simply abiding', familiarization and habituation
occur, the implication is that the underlying function of meditative
absorption is in play.
The Jorry-seventh chapter of the great tantra Tiklay Kun.rel de.fines and explains
meditation.
48. Nonmeditation: Definition
Then the Master of the Secret made this request: Please explain the
meaning of 'nonmeditation'.
The Teacher said: Vajrapani, listen! Here are the essence, the semantic
definition, the categories, and metaphors of nonmeditation as well as
phrases relevant to its expression.
The essence of nonmeditation is uninterrupted intrinsic presence. As

for its semantic meaning, it is called 'nonmeditation' because it entails
no mental process. Inseparable from real space, no external or internal
action is necessary.
' Creative (skJed rim) and fulfillment stages (rdzogs rim) relate to mahayoga and
anuyoga respectively.
u The water-stone (nor bu .-hu divangs or mdangs) is the ketaka gem which
clarifies water.
Nonmeditation is of two kinds: nonmeditation with attribute and

nonmeditation without any attribute. Each of these is subdivided into
two: authentic nonmeditation and conceptual nonmeditation.
Nonmeditation cannot be interrupted.i The simile for uninterruptible

nonmeditation is 'like a river'. Nonmeditation is inseparable from pure
meaning, as sweetness is from honey. Nonmeditation is clear in itself
like the radiance of the sun.
Master of the Secret! 'Whenever you hear the following phrases recited
from my tantras and agamas understand them according to the
teaching on nonmeditation. These phrases are 'concentrated abiding
redundant', 'nothing to accomplish', 'neither union nor separation',
'the brilliant space54 of all-inclusive identity', 'absence of union or
separation in the now', 'beyond any deliberate effort', 'no path to
traverse', 'realization of manifest buddha', 'self-sprung all-inclusive
awareness', 'spontaneously arising buddha in the now', 'freedom from
points of reference' and 'nonmeditation without mental support'.
The Jorry-eighth chapter of the great tantra Tiklay Kunsel teaches a short
explanation of nonmeditation with a brief elucidation of terms.
49. Conduct: Definition
Then the Master of the Secret made this request: Bhagawan, Master of
Skillful Means, please explain the meaning of 'conduct'.
The Teacher said: Listen, Master of the Secret! We are going to

explain to you the meaning of 'conduct',ii condensing that meaning
under the headings of essence, literal meaning, types, metaphors and
application of the term.
The essence of conduct is related to the meaning of an indefinable

authentic 'doer'. Its literal meaning in the Tibetan language is
'harmonizing and enjoying'.
1:--Zonmeditation \Vithout attribute cannot be interrupted because it has

neither beginning nor end.
"'Conduct' is also 'action' and 'behavior' (.,pyod pa -charya).
Tiklay Kunsel 145
These are the two kinds of conduct: discriminating conduct based on

dogmatic acceptance and rejection, and nondiscriminatory conduct.
The metaphors for such modes of conduct are a supple imaginative
dancer and a clever craftsman making a handmade item, respectively.i
Master of the Secret! In all the tantras and agamas we have given,
wherever the term 'conduct' appears, whether it relates to 'selfless
action' or to ordinary behavior, for adepts of the highest, moderate
and modest capacity, or to ground, path and fruition, it is to be
understood according to what we have taught here.
The Jorry-ninth chapter ef the great tantra Tiklqy Kunsel presents a short teaching
on conduct.
50. Fruition: Definition

Vajradhara! Please teach us the meaning of 'fruition'.
The Teacher responded: Vajrapani, listen! We are going to tell you the
definitive meaning of 'fruition', condensing it under the headings of
essence, semantic definition, categories, metaphor and applications of
the term.
The essence of fruition is the complete actualization of a particular

view. Its semantic meanings are 'release', 'maturation', 'perfection,
'completion' and 'irreversibility'. These are the two kinds of 'fruition':
contaminated and uncontaminated. The first implies gradual ripening
and the second instantaneous perfection. The ripening of fruit or
grain is the metaphor for the first and the fruit of the udumbaraii for
the second.
Master of the Secret, listen! In all the tantras and agamas we have
given, wherever we use the expression 'fruition' or 'goal' or 'result',
you should understand it according to this teaching. These different
expressions relate to fruition: 'completion', 'perfection', 'maturation',
'accomplishment', 'release', 'irreversibility' and so on. The nature of
1 1l1ese two metaphors appear to have become reversed in placement.

11 111e fruit of the udumbara, like all types of fig, contains the flower.
any particular fruition should be understood according to the

definitions we have taught here, including 'arhatship' all the way to
'assuming primacy'.
The fiftieth chapter ef the great tantra Tiklqy Kunsel presents an extensive
explanation effruition.
51. The Nine .Approaches: Definitions
Bhagawan Vajradhara! Please tell us the meaning and names of the

nine approaches, complete with their view, meditation and action.
The Teacher responded: Now we shall teach the definition of the

specific names for the approaches, so listen carefully!
The definition of 'auditor' (shravaka) is one who listens to the

teacher's words with his auditory sense and hears their meaning with
his intellectual power. But since intrinsic presence does not arise from
within him, he is dependent upon the words of the teacher.
The definition of hermit or hermit-buddha (pratyekabuddha) is one

who awakens by himself by virtue of his meditation practice,
independent of another's teaching.
The semantic definition of 'bodhisattva' is one who with perfect self-

abnegation, present awareness, compassion and ideal conduct
demonstrates selflessness to others.
The definition of 'kriya-tantra adept' is one who professes the crucial

importance of ritual bathing, chastity and astrology.
The definition of 'upa-tantra adept' is one in whom the significance of

ritual action decreases and the view increases.
The definition of 'yoga-tantra adept' is one who trains in the four

modes of the four families, purifying physical, energetic and mental
complexes and, thus, working for others.
The definition of 'mahayoga adept' is one who takes the buddha-

teacher's indications as primary and engages in the yoga of skillful
means and wisdom and the three samadhis.
Tiklay Kunsel 147
The definition of 'anuyoga adept' is one who engages in uncultivated,

natural, perfection.i
The definition of 'Dzogchen adept', the adept of natural perfection, is

one who embraces all the events of existence in the nondual manner
as perfect buddha in the now in dharmakaya.
The ji.ft.y-jirst chapter ef the great tantra Tiklay Kunsel teaches the reasoned
semantic meaning ef the names ef the nine approaches.
52. The Eight Approaches: Superiority

Vajradhara! How are the nine approaches superior one to the other?
The Teacher responded: Listen, Vajrapani! Auditors (shravakas) are

superior to those who do not comprehend - or who miscomprehend
- their experience. How are they superior? Their view is superior
because they realize the absence of personal identity. Their conduct is
superior because they keep to the ten virtues,ii although only for their
own sake. Their practice is superior because it is based on the four
noble truths.iii Their fruition is superior because their attainment is
one of the four pairs of superior beings on the path to arhatship.
Hermits (pratyekabuddhas) are superior to auditors (shravakas). Their

view is superior because they realize the emptiness of the personal
component of body-mind make-up/" a partial insight, and also the
emptiness of the empty ground of mental activity. Their conduct is
superior because besides engaging in the ten virtues, they can help
others by their incongruous magical transformations. Their practice is
''Ibis implies practicing the fulfillment phase \Vithout first completing the
mahayoga creative phase (ma bs~yed rdzogs pa).
"The ten ,.;rtucs arc forsaking killing, theft, sexual misconduct, lying, cursing,
gossip, slander, opinionatedness, covetousness and malice.
Ill The four noble truths are the Buddha's truths of suffering, the cause of
. suffering, release from suffering and the path of release.

iv Of the name and form aggregate (rupa-skandha, ming danggz.ugs g;i phungpo),
part of the form aspect belongs to the objective pole of perception and
part to the subjective aspect. It is the personal aspect that is referred to
here.
superior because they realize fruition by virtue of their meditative

practice without relying on an existential master. Their superiority in
fruition is indicated by the metaphors 'parrot' and 'rhinoceros'.
Bodhisattvas are superior to hermits. Their view is superior because

they have realized the absence of any substantiality in both subjective
and objective aspects of perception. Their conduct is superior since
they act for the sake of others through the four boundless qualities
and the four socially magnetizing activities. Their practice is superior
because they accomplish the ten perfections.i Their fruition is superior
because they master the bodhisattva stage of Universal Light.
Kriya-tantra adepts are superior to bodhisattvas. Their view is superior

because they understand the absolute as unborn, and they consider
the awareness-deity and relative self as lord and subject respectively.
Their conduct is superior because they perform the three purities.ii
Their practice is superior because it is based on habitual
contemplation, transformation and blessing. Their fruition is superior
because they have attained the three families.
L'pa-tantra adepts are superior to those of kriya-tantra. Their view is

superior because they consider the buddha-deity and themselves as
master and servant. Their conduct is superior because they act for the
sake of wandering beings without reference to criteria. Their practice
is superior because accomplishment is based in the primal ground
itself. Their fruition is superior because they accomplish the four
families.
Yoga-tantra adepts are superior to those of upa-tantra. Their view is

superior because they consider the relative self as the awareness-deity's
friend. Their conduct is superior because they perform the four
selfless activities. Their fruition is superior because they actualize the
buddha of the four families.
1 'The ten gone to the far side', 'ten consmrunations': To the six perfections
of the prajnaparamita-yana (generosity, morality, patience, perseverance,
meditative absorption, and wisdom) are added it1 \' ajrayana four more:
skillful means (upaya), aspiration (pran.idhana), power (bala) and present
awareness Qnana).
0 The three purities are deity and mandala, substances and enjoyment, mantra
and samadh.i.
Tiklqy KN11s1i 149
Mahayoga adepts are four times superior to those of yoga-tantra.

Their view is superior because they consider their body to be the
buddha-deity's mandala. Their conduct is superior because they act for
the sake of beings through the two practices of union and deliverance.i
Their practice is superior because it is based on both skillful means
and wisdom. Their fruition is superior because they attain the
bodhisattva stage of Universal Light.
Anuyoga adepts are superior to practitioners of mahayoga in four

ways. Their view is superior because they realize the nonduality of
spaciousness and present awareness. Their conduct is superior
because they act in the spaciousness of present awareness and in the
spaciousness of enjoyment of present awareness. Their practice is
superior because they meditate upon the five body-mind aggregates
and the five great elements as the five yab:;um couples. Their fruition
is superior because they attain the stage of the Desireless Lotus.
Atiyoga adepts are superior to anuyoga adepts in four ways. Their

view is superior because they consider all actual and possible worlds as
dhannakaya. Their conduct is superior because the ultimate good of
wandering beings is achieved by intrinsic dhannakaya blessing. Their
practice is superior because they act without any directed or deliberate
effort. Their fruition is superior because they master the stages from
the thirteenth, the Great Assembly,ii to the twenty-first.iii
Best Beloved! \Vhatever distinctions are made regarding relative

superiority of achievement, or 'great' and 'small', 'higher' and 'lower',
in any of the tantras and agamas we have given, they should be
understood according to the above explanation.
The fifty-second chapter of the great tantra Tiklay Kunsel teaches the relative order
of the eight approaches and the superiority of the ninth.
i This refers to symbolic tanagana (s1!Jor sgro~: see chapter 76.

" For the fifteen stages including the Desireless Lotus (ma .hags padma can) and
the Great :\ssembly (' khor lo tshogs .hen), which is the forerunner of the
mahaganachakra (tshogs 'khor .hen po), see chapter 75.
iu The eight extra stages indicated here incorporate a stage of perfect
Dzogchen attainment for each of the eight lesser approaches.
53. The Supreme: Definition
Then the Master of the Secret made this request: Omniscient

Conqueror, All-Knower! Please explain the meaning of 'supreme'.
The Teacher responded: Listen to our explanation of the supreme. It

consists of four parts: essence, semantic definition, ordered categories
and a metaphor.
The essence of the supreme is the highest, the absolute.
As for the rational semantic meaning, the supreme is 'unlocatable',

'nonabiding', but nevertheless it is accepted as existent by convention.
These are the two kinds of supreme: temporal, mutable supreme and
immutable, ultimate supreme. Both kinds have four subcategories:
view, conduct, success and fruition
The metaphor for the supreme is a nine-storied stupa, the eight

approaches undivided, complete and perfect in the real space of Ati.i
Although in the wisdom indivisible from the nondual dharmakaya no

duality of good and bad, large and small, high and low can exist, the
distinctions that are made here are taught as a method of leadingii the
conditioned mind.
The jiffy-third chapter ef the great tantra Tikl(!Y Kunsel teaches the meaning ef the
supreme.
54. Fivefold Supremacy
Then the Master of the Most Secret made this request: Bhagawan
Vajradhara! Please teach us the highest supremacy55 and its varieties.
The Teacher responded: Vajrapani, listen! Temporal, mutable

supremacy belongs to the eight individual approaches. There are five
'.-\ti or ~[aha Ati denotes Dzogchen; in the Tiki<!]: Kunsel, Dzogchen refers
only to atiyoga, excluding mahayoga and anuyoga.
'' Provisional precepts 'lead' the rational mind to its 0\\111 demise.
Tiklqy Kunsel 151
aspects to ultimate supremacy, and each of the five has 'five

excellences', inalienable, in neither union nor separation in the now.
The five supremacies are the supremacy of buddha manifest; the

supremacy of buddha as spaciousness by virtue of its attribute of
fivefold location in spaciousness; the supremacy of essential identity
by virtue of the five intrinsic perfections of the all-embracing self; the
supremacy of very buddha itself by virtue of the five transcendent
methods of its establishment; the supremacy of all-buddha by virtue
of the paramountcy of the five stainless aspects. Those are the five
types of ultimate supremacy.

Vajradhara! What is the supremacy of buddha manifest?
The egoless dimension is the excellent Teacher;

Awareness of presence is the excellent teaching;
The indefinable mandala is the excellent location;
The five inert sublime forms are the excellent retinue:
And spontaneity in the now is the excellent time.
Then Vajrapani made this request: What is the supremacy of buddha

as spaciousness?
On the throne of the dharmakaya mandala,

As the light-seed of immaculate spaciousness,
Buddha is a union of five attributes.
Unchanging, immutable spaciousness,i

Pure potential amassed in jeweline spaciousness,
Consisting of five vases of radiant awareness,
Buddha is unborn in this uncrystalizing matrix.
In neither union nor separation in real space

The five great elements - earth, water, fire, air and space -
Shining as the creativity of fivefold awareness,
Buddha in the now is fivefold reality.
'The vajradhatu (rdo ,je dlryingJ).

Seat of fivefold awareness and trikaya,

Buddha is supreme in its all-pervasiveness,
,\nd supreme in immaculate earth, water, fire and air.
Vajrapani then asked: what is the supremacy of buddha as essential

identity?
And the Teacher replied:
The vessel of fivefold elemental emanation,

The fivefold reality self-sprung,
In action a field of intelligent skillful means,
Immaculate, without subject or object,
That is the supremacy of buddha manifest as essential identity.
The five body-mind aggregates appear

And shine as the jewel light of the five families,
And effortless spontaneity in the now;
Self-envisionment of present awareness,
Such is supreme essential identity.
The eight consciousnesses expressed

As the eight male bodhisattvas, perfect in themselves,
Self-envisioning, nothing extrinsic - that is supreme!
The nature of the eight objects of consciousness
Expressed as the eight female bodhisattvas,
Effortless spontaneity in the now,
Self-envisionment of present awareness -
Such is supreme essential identity.
This object-less all-inclusive seamless self-envisionment,'

Unreachable omnipresence - that is supreme!
Unobjectifiable, because it is itself
Arising from itself, arising within itself,
It is intrinsic radiance, unobjectifiable;
And being innate, it is not to be sought or pursued.
Spontaneously completed, without striving,

Self-envisionment is perfect;
Unable to define itself and beyond deliberate effort,
Neither unitary nor separate from its realization
Since nothing is done on an unchanging stage,
1 See chapter 1.
Tiklqy Ivmsel 153
Its untraversed path unimaginable,
Essential identity is perfect in its inclusivity.
Envisionment is the essential identity of all experience,

.-\nd as 'essential all-embracing identity'
It is unknown to followers of the lower approaches.
Then the Master of the Secret made this request: %at 1s the
supremacy of the very buddha itself?
The Teach er responded:
Established as the highest supreme,

Confirmed by the infallible fourfold symbolic pointing out,i
Confirmed by trikaya in neither union nor separation,
Confirmed by the evidence of the lamp of present awareness,
Its supremacy established by these three confirmations,"
It is also supreme by virtue of the fivefold excellence of the manifest buddha.
Then Vajrapani made this request: %at is the supremacy of all-

buddha?
Dharmakaya is changeless intrinsic presence,

Indeterminable, beyond thought:
As nonmeditation it is supreme.
In diaphanous, transparent dharmakaya,

No imaginable object exists:
As nonduality it is supreme.
In the peace of diaphanous presence,

~o concrete objects or attributes exist:
As ubiquitous effulgence, it is supreme.
Ultimate nondual intrinsic presence, dharmakaya,

Cannot be indicated without bias:
Utterly ineffable, it is supreme.
iThe four are \'ajrasattva's mirror, a mirror-image, the eyeball and the sun:
see chapter 86 and G~T.
" See 'three confirmations' in GNT.
Dhannakaya, self-sprung awareness,

Uncaused and unconditioned, is uncompounded:
In its immutability, it is supreme.5 6
Intrinsic presence free of the five impuritiesi is all-buddha in the now.
The .ftftyfourth chapter of the great tantra Tiklq; Kunsel teaches the highest
supremary.
55. Deviations and Obscurations

Vajradhara! You have spoken about the various nine approaches in
terms of what is to be converted. Now, what are the deviations and
obscurations of the approaches?
The Teacher said: Listen well, Vajrapani! An incalculable number of

deviations and obscurations are possible in the nine approaches, but
in summary, there are thirty-six.
Relating to view, meditation, enjoyment and fruition, practicing the

three sutra-approaches with signs, thirty-two, thirty-six and thirty-
eight deviations respectively may arise. The twelve deviations are
comprised of the eight and the four.ii
The three outer tantric classes have an equal number of deviations and
obscurations: meditation has seventeen occlusions, twelve
obscurations and twelve deviances or downfalls.iii
In the two inner tantric classes many possible deviations arise and as
many as thirty-two and twenty-eight, respectively, can be counted.
Regarding obscurations, six are reckoned.57
In the sole holistic light-seed of the great perfection,
i The five impurities(d,i ma ln,_ga) are, perhaps, the five affective emotions.
"These relate to the monk's pratimoksha vows.
w The 17, 12 and 12 faults here and the 32 and 28 in the next paragraph
enumerate samaya commitments.
Tik~ Kunsel 155
Deviation cannot be distinguished from nondeviation;

All deviation by nature is immaculate;
The unique stand-alone light-seed is all-embracing.
In the view, meditation, action and fruition of Ati,

Already nondual in the now,
Glitches and veils cannot obtrude.
Since view, meditation, action and fruition,

Occupy present awareness of the now,
Adventitious glitches and veils are impossible.
The view, meditation, enjoyment and fruition

Of The Great Perfection is spontaneity,
So deviations and obscurations generated
By the hopes and fears of success in meditation,
Abide immaculate, intrinsically pure.
::-.:o-one and nothing is over and above us -

We are clear awareness unveiled.
The eight approaches manifesting below us -
They are all our compassionate invention.
Undivided wisdom is intrinsically present;

Perfect awareness is free of interference:
Deviation is immaculate, pure and empty.
Since undivided wisdom is intrinsical clarity,

Glitches and veils cannot dualize its radiance.
The fi.ft.yfifth chapter of the great tantra Tiklay Kunsel reveals the deviations and
obscurations of the eight approaches and at!Joga '.r freedom from them.
56. Deviation and Obscuration: Definition

Vajradhara, please tell us the meaning of 'deviation and obscuration'!
The Teacher replied: Llsten, Vajrapani! We are going to give you the
essential meaning, the semantic meaning, illustrative metaphors and
synonyms.
156 Everything I.r Light
The essence of deviation and obscuration is diminished presence. As

for the semantic meaning, obscuration is failure to see the higher
reality, while deviation is to act according to a lower approach. That is
the definition of 'deviation and obscuration'.
Many different types of deviations and obscurations arise, but, in

brief, there are four: those relating respectively to view, meditation,
action and fruition. Each of those four has two divisions: deviation
and obscuration.
As for the simile for deviation and obscuration, it is like having

business in the north yet setting out towards the south, and having
gone towards the south failing to accomplish the intended purpose in
the north. Aspiring to a high reality, yet acting according to a lower
approach, the higher is invisible from below.
Best Beloved, in all the tantras and agamas we have given, whenever
we say 'mistake', it is to be understood in terms of deviation and
obscuration. \X'henever we talk about 'misunderstanding' or 'absence
of realization', it is to be understood in terms of deviation and
obscuration. \X'henever we use the phrases 'going astray', 'sidetracked'
or 'obscured, that implies deviation and obscuration. %en we say
'absence of deviation and obscuration', pure presence is implied.
Moreover, the interior meaning, the threefold underlying structure, as

taught in this Circle of Total l//umination, is relevant here. 58
The fifty-sixth chapter of the great tantra Tikla)' Kunse/ provides an explanation
of the meaning of deviation and obscuration and S_)'nonyms in short.
57. A Petition
The treasure chest of buddha speech thrown open, a clear and bright
lamp, a secret precept was revealed elucidating the meaning of 'king,
minister and subjects' and dispelling darkness:
TANTRAANUUPA YANAKALAMSADHA
At that time, Bhagawan entered the samadhi of the paramount secret.

Tiklay Kunsel 157
And the Master of the Secret implored him: Bhagawan, All-

illuminating Presence! If those chapters (51 and 52) contained the
common definitions of the approaches and their intrinsic purposes,
please explain the specific purposes of the tantras, agamas and
upadeshas. W'hat are the necessary components of a tantra? W'hat is
the ulterior meaning of phrases like 'the stages not to be purified',
'paths not to be traversed' and 'perfections not to be practiced' that
are found in the tantras?
W'hat is the so-called 'hollow' or 'interiority'? W'hat does 'appearances'

mean? W'hat is the 'field of appearances'? W'hat are the four kinds of
robes?i W'hat is the so-called 'direct introduction' or 'pointing out'?
what is the mind and what is present awareness? W'hat is the bardo,
or 'intermediate state'? W'hat is release and what is confinement? W'hat
is 'the eye'?
W'hat is 'fivefold completion and perfection'? W'hat are the types of

compassion? How is nirvana'? How do we refute our adversaries'
contentions? How do we burn out the seeds of karmic propensity?
The fifty-seventh chapter of the great tantra Tiklay Kunsel is a petition.
58. The Five Excellences
Then the Teacher said: Vajrapani, listen well! Tantra can be explicated
in terms of the five excellences. The five excellences are of three
kinds: excellences of dharmakaya, sambhogakaya and nirmanakaya.
The five excellences are the Teach er, the teaching, the retinue, the
place and the time. In dharmakaya, the five excellences are the
Teacher as changelessness; the teaching as The Eternal Victory Bannetii
(the five great tantras of secret presence); the assembled retinue (not
other than the Teacher himself) as the lightform of five sugatas of the
five families; the place as the uncreated, unstructured field of
spaciousness; and the occasion is the great time, which transcends
past and future.
1Tbe robes indicate the ordinations of monks and nw1s and yogins and
yoginis.
"See Afi nub ,gyal mtshan, Appendix 3.
With these five excellences, the implicit, nonconceptual Teacher

communicates his waves of grace, while the five aspects of
sambhogakaya, not other than that Teacher, communicate each his
own great tantra through his own waves of grace.
Then the Teacher explained the five excellences of sambhogakaya:

The Teacher manifests as the sugatas of the five families; the teaching
is the five great secret tantras; the assembled retinue is composed of
male and female bodhisattvas; the venue is the immeasurable matrix
of light; the occasion is the arising of pure presence in the field of
appearances.
Without uttering a word, or even a sound, the Teachers communicate

through their sublime form. The Sugata Vairochana communicates
the great tantra of sublime form through his very being to the four
sublime forms surrounding him. The Bhagawan Akshobhya conveys
the great tantra of buddha mind through his very being to the mandala
of the vajra family. The Bhagawan Ratnasambhava communicates the
great tantra of immanent qualities through his very being to male and
female bodhisattvas of the ratna family. The Bhagawan Amitabha
conveys the great tantra of buddha speech through his very being to
male and female bodhisattvas of the padma family. The Bhagawan
Amoghasiddhi conveys the great tantra of selfless activity through his
very being to male and female bodhisattvas of the karma family.
Thus, compassionate vision emanates not as verbal explanation, since

no one is there to listen, but as fivefold present awareness. The gaze
of the principal, V airochana, is evident as fivefold present awareness;
and those sublime forms expound through their very being and by
their samadhi vision.
Then the Teacher explained the five excellences of nirmanakaya: The

quintessential oral teaching of the five great secret tantras, with all
their outer, inner and secret summations, are disclosed by supreme
wisdom in the matrix of compassion, rolled up by the breath of
awareness into the vase of the throat, arranged clearly and distinctly
on the tongue in the mouth, and uttered in different meaningful
words from between the teeth.
Tantra is revealed as poetic composition with its sixty qualities of

melodious speech. The image of the effortless flight of the great
garuda restates its essential message. The tiger's forward leap
illustrates its progress through stages of untruth. The turtle's gait
Tiklqy Ivmsel 159
illustrates the manner in which verbal constructs are treated. With a

sound like the lion's vibrant roar, it overwhelms the eight lower
approaches. Moreover, its secret precepts are served like a mother
hawk feeding her young.
Upon the assembled hosts of the seven buddhas,'

Falls the rain of elixir in the three divine hollows,
The three planes of the supreme Lotus Heights.
The fifty-eighth chapter of the great tantra Tiklay lvmsel teaches the five
excellences.
59. The Five Excellences: Definition

Vajradhara, please explain to us the meaning of those five excellences
and their intended purpose.
The Teacher responded: Listen, Vajrapani! We shall explain to you the

essence, the semantic meaning, the types and the metaphors of
'excellence'.
First, the essence of 'excellence' is a combination of causal factors.

The semantic definition is 'a propitious junction of causes and
conditions'. In what way is it excellent? It is 'excellent' because all the
requisites are present. That is a rational explanation of its semantic
meaning. Its categories are taught in the previous chapter.
Its simile is 'like the king, the minister and the people consulting
whenever and wherever they congregate'. However, that metaphor
provides only part of the meaning.
Vajrapani made this request: What is the purpose of talking about the
five excellences? What fault is incurred by not teaching them?
The Teacher replied: The purpose of talking about the excellence of

the Teacher is to arouse confidence that the teaching derives from the
'fhe Seven Successive Buddhas are Vipasvi, Sikhi, \'isvabhu, Krakuchanda,

Kanakamuni, Kasyapa, and Sakyamwii.
mouth of buddha, from a pure source of indisputable truth, and not

from an average person with analytic intelligence.
The purpose of talking about the excellence of the teaching is to

arouse confidence that it is not just babble, but on the contrary highly
meaningful speech.
The purpose of talking about the excellence of the retinue is to arouse

confidence that the teaching is common to them all and that the
teaching is definitely spoken by the Teacher.
The purpose of talking about the excellence of a specific place is to

arouse confidence that the quintessence is taught nowhere but at that
present particular place.
The purpose of talking about the excellence of the occasion is to

arouse confidence that neither previous nor later opportunities can
occur, that each occasion is unique but equal to all others, equal and
then forgotten.
The fifty-ninth chapter of the great tantra Tiklay Kunsel explains the meaning and
pu,pose of the five excellences.
60. The Style of the Tantras

Vajradhara, how is the precious teaching communicated?
The Teacher replied: The Swirling utus is a tantra of sublime form,

arranged according to outer, inner and secret meanings, with an
internal structure of three streams - natural perfection, delusion, and
reversion of delusion - communicating like precious gems threaded
on a string.i
The V q/ra Peak Epitome is a great tantra of buddha speech, flawlessly

explicating the internal structure of all tantras, communicating an all-
inclusive vision, like releasing the fetters of a horse or opening a
padlock.
i See _-\ppendix 3 for notes on the texts listed here.

Tiklay Kunse/ 161
The Heap of Jewels is the great tantra of buddha mind, presenting the
internal structure of the view composed flawlessly, communicating
like a great garuda gliding effortlessly across the sky.
Fashioning Loving Kindness is the great tantra of immanent quality,

combining all manner of expression of the general nature of quality,
communicated by analogy to a perfect crystal stupa.
The Sun of the Clear Sk)' is the great tantra of selfless activity, setting up
the general framework for effortless spontaneous selfless action,
explaining the faults of deviation and obscuration in great detail.
Paramount Present Awareness is a great tantra of Secret Precept material

containing the essence of the view that communicates the outshining
of concretely characterized phenomena.
Churning the Depths of Samsara presents the nub of the view containing
the guts of seven veils and seven symbols. It communicates the
resolution of the essence, its primacy resumed.
The Cross-Necked Peacocks contains Secret Precept material that fully

explicates the interior matter of sublime vision and meditation, and
the pros and cons of meditation according to mental capacity,
arranged by topic and in proper order.
The Light of Spontaneity contains Secret Precept material about the form
dimension, and fully explicates the interior matter of the dimension of
present awareness and the mode of being and the mode of
appearances in an impeccable fashion.
The Great Tantra of the Four Sons and Mothers is an incisive tantra that
communicates and explicates the essential nature of each.
Secret Awareness is a key to all tantra, fully disclosing all and everything,
and concentrating it into a nondual unity.
Compendium of Sublime Vision is a great tantra of Secret Precept,

disclosing all outer, inner and secret precept, communicating and
explicating the three topics of symbol, sound and certainty.
The Universal Treasury is the great treasury of the Mind Series,

contextualizing the four ways of explanation, and communicating
directly the four connections.i
The Essential Tantra of Vqjradakim: contextualized by the meaning of

the perfect, great empowerment, fully explicates the vision in word
and meaning, communicating buddha-fruition already attained.
The Four Series of Manjushri, the sovereign tantra, explicating the topics
of outer, inner and secret tantras, communicates with unalloyed
clarity.
The Four Tika Commentaries on the secret precept level, contextualizing

the four significant attributes 59 relating to the extensive and brief
introduction to the nature of mind, communicates release in three
moments or in one moment.
The Precious Garland is a sovereign transmission, communicating, with a

historical overview, the salient meanings of all Secret Precept without
exception.
The sixtieth chapter of the great tantra Tiklay Kunse/ teaches the method of
transmitting the precious teaching
61. Tantra: Definition
Then the Master of the Secret made this request Bhagawan

Vajradhara, What is your teaching on tantra?
The Teacher responded: Here are the essence, the literal meaning, the
types and metaphors of 'tantra'.
The essence of 'tantra' is twofold, verbal and experiential. The essence

of the latter, the continuum of reality, implies spontaneous awareness
of presence. Verbal tantras are basic stand-alone texts 60 fulfilling
' 'TI1ese four attributes are, perhaps, complete manifest connection "';th all
aspects; apex connection; graduated connection; and instantaneous
connection.
Tiklay K1mse/ 163
necessary requirements, as well as volumes of scripture revealed as

strings of words.
'Tantra' has five semantic definitions: tantra is 'connection'

(continuity), 'nothing lacking', 'perfect completion', 'agitation' and
'excellence'.
The two types of tantra, conventional and experiential, are to be

known according to the explanation above.
The metaphor for 'connection' is a net; for 'nothing lacking' the

metaphor is a magical jewel; for 'perfect completion' the metaphor is a
wish-fulfilling tree; for 'agitation' the metaphor is the introduction of
the woof to the warp of a weaving. 61
Those are the meanings of 'tantra'.
The six(:yjirst chapter ef the great tantra Tiklay Kunse/ elucidates the attributes ef
tantra.
62. Empowerment
Then the Master of the Secret made this request: Bhagawan,

please elucidate the requisites of the tantras.
The Teacher replied: Vajrapani, listen well! The requisites of a tantra

are tenfold: empowerment and commitment taught as a pair; the two
aspects of mandala; worship (puja) and union (yoga) as a pair; mantra
and mudra as a pair; and approach and accomplishment as a pair.i
Vajrapanil Empowerment is taught in three ways: firstly, its perfection

in the primal ground; secondly, eventuation of synchronicitous em-
powennent; and thirdly the ritual empowerment.
Firstly, empowerment is already complete and perfect in the primal

ground:
' TI1e follovving nine chapters elucidate the ten requisite components of tantra
defined in accordance with the Dzogchen view.
Within changeless unthought dharmakaya,

In its aspect of omniscient awareness,
In itself invisible, it appears shining
As sublime form of jeweline radiance,
No other than the four streams of empowerment.'
Unsought, unconferred,
Empowerment is replete in the primal ground.
The gnostic compassion of the five sublime forms,

Represented as the five blood-drinking herukas,
Is comprised of the four streams of empowerment.
Itself self-envisioned present awareness,

Itself abiding in real space, released in real space,
All-inclusive awareness is the four streams of empowerment.
Unsought, undiscovered,
The essence of illustrative buddha speech,

The five precious seed syllables,ii
Abiding in the now, in the unsought primal ground,
These are the four streams of empowerment
Of the five seed syllables of the five male consorts.
Present awareness of the primal ground is not dependent upon

anything or anybody; it has no cause, and circumstance does not affect
it.
Secondly, Best Beloved, Here is the eventuation of synchronicitous

empowerment:62
The four empowerments, complete and perfect in the primal ground,

are present in the Tathagata Vairochana's awareness, which is the
receptacle of its five sublime forms. The unmitigated strength of
; These four may be the outer stream of tantra, the inner stream of mastery,
the ritual practice stream of renown, and the secret stream of perfection
(from the Rangjung Yeshe Dictionary).
ii OM AH HCNG HRI TR.\Mare the seed syllables of the five pawo (dpa' bo
Inga).
Tiklt!J Kunsel 165
simple cogmtion is synchronicitous with the empowerment of

nonconceptual wisdom in the unchanging ground that is dharmakaya.
As to the four sublime forms of that undivided wisdom, when they

arise as what is converted - still not different from V airochana himself
- the sublime vision of buddha mind is known directly in a face to
face gaze. From the five sublime forms of the wisdom of presence,i
empowerment falls naturally. In the same way, the male and female
bodhisattvas are empowered by the four families' fourfold buddha.
At the time of our emanation as tulku in the dimension of magical

nirmanakaya, at the time of ripeness and completion, abiding naturally
in the matrix of buddha mind, ignorance dispelled, empowermentii is
attained instantly with realized awareness.
Accordingly, since all beings of the three worlds have the four
empowerments complete and perfect in their mindstream, our self-
fulfilling prediction is that, synchronistically, they will all attain
mastery of creative expression.
Thirdly, Vajrapani, listen well! These are the two ways of conferring
this the principal empowerment:
The first (3.1) is through the empowerment that, depending upon

wisdom, employs the four special ritual objects,iii which is also called
'the empowerment of the creative presence of the perfect ground'; 63
and the second (3.2) is the empowerment of the same name that uses
common symbolic objects and is conferred and received by relying
upon the vajra master's instruction.
3.1 The Great Perfection's Fourfold Empowerment of Creative

Presence: The empowerment using the four special ritual objects
depending upon wisdom.
3.1.1 Fivefold Vase Empowerment. This entails initiation into the

emptiness of the tantra continuum. Within the real space of the
immaculate fivefold space-matrix, the yum-consort's unimpeded eye of
'The phrase shes rab rigpa here identifies v:isdom (shes rab) with pure presence
(r~gpa), an identity that has been implied throughout, although pure
presence is the larger concept.
"'Freedom', 'liberation' (l"t11~ dbt11{iJ
"' Sec chapter 86 for the four introductory symbols (rdZf1s bz/11).
present awareness projects the five vases of light. These vases provide
residence for the five tathagatas, and give the empowerment its name,
'the vase empowerment'. 64 Since the five tathagatas dwell in the
essence of empty spaciousness, 'emptiness' indicates a point of
attention, rather than any space-time quality.
3.1.2 The Empowerment of the Mudra of Sovereignty. 65 This entails

recognition of how the five tathagatas reside in the matrix of the five
vases. \Vhereas the essential identity of wisdom is expressed as the
sublime forms of fivefold present awareness and the essential identity
of gnostic compassion is evinced as their five consorts (mudras), all
appearances of substance and attribute in the environment and the life
within it, the chalice and the elixir, become the unborn mudra of the
five tathagatasi and the mudra of clarity of the tathagatas.ii With the
intuition that this has always been so, no substance or attribute is
identified, and everything is seen as the empty purity of sublime form
and present awareness. Thus, specific, seemingly concrete identities
are outshone by the light of the now.
3.1.3 The Empowerment of the Seven Precious Royal Emblems. This

is the empowerment of seven exquisite jewels:iii
As with the king who had a kingdom and seven gems,i" essence is
nowhere to be found and, yet, some immanent quality is always
manifesting. This gem is the perfection of giving. Its metaphor is 'the
wish-fulfilling gem'.
ii Since immaculate awareness of presence is the imperceptible

ground, the source of all, both samsara and nirvana, are included in its
emergent qualities. Free of all afflictive emotion, it has high moral
sensitivity. Its metaphor is 'the precious queen'.
iii The peerless sublime forms of pure presence, although held to be

fivefold, are in reality nondual, and through that realization seemingly
'The five tathagatas (de bzhin g,hegs pa Inga) are the five sublime forms.
ii The mudra of clarity or light is mahamudra, which is the all-encompassing
mudra that is spaciousness (dharmadhatu) represented
anthropomorphically as Samantabhadra's mudra, Samantabhadri.
w The seven emblems are the thousand-spoked wheel, the "",ish fulfilling gem,
the queen, the minister (or judge), an elephant, a horse and the general.
"The seven gems are mby, sapphire, lapis lazuli, emerald, diamond, pearl and
coral (with occasional variations).
Tiklay Ivmsel 167
objective attributes are reflexively outshone. Afflictive emotion is then

absent and it is endowed with the perfection of patience. Its metaphor
is 'the precious general'.
iv Intrinsic awareness of presence 1s free of all motivation and

deliberate striving, so it is naturally replete with many buddha
qualities. Arising together with gnostic compassion, the key to perfect
recall66 is attained, and that is accompanied by perseverance. Its
metaphor is 'the precious supreme stallion'.
v Intrinsic awareness of presence cannot abandon its own essence,

remaining unmodified, uncontrived, in real space, and so it abides in
meditative absorption. Its metaphor is 'the precious elephant'.
vi Pure presence, dharmakaya, shows its own essence as non-

conceptual impartial wisdom, incessantly exercising its discriminating
wisdom-creativity, and so it is endowed with the perfection of
wisdom. Its metaphor is 'the precious wheel'.
vii Intrinsic awareness of presence is infinitely flexible, appropriate

skillful means, incessant vigor, and everyone's hope and aspiration,
thus showing the qualities of present awareness. Endowed with such
qualities its metaphor is 'the precious minister'.
3.1.4 The Word Empowerment.i When the word empowerment is

bestowed, realization 67 occurs in the mindstream; this final holistic
vision ensures emergence of infallible immanent qualities.
Through this realization, discursive elaboration is inhibited and

through the four experiences that interrupt discursive elaborationii the
veils of the mindstream's threefold essenceiii are dissolved. Regarding
the ultimate vision intrinsic to the primal ground, what appears as
substance is understood as the eight conceptual elements/ so that
' Tshig dba11g. see Chokg)ur I .ingpa 2001, \" ol. 2, p.3 7.
" Spros pa chod pa'i chos bzhi - cqui,alent, perhaps, to the cog bzhag rnam
bzhi.
"' "!be threefold tantric essence is empty essence, clear nature, and
compassionate expression where tantra is 'continuity', 'flow', and, also,
possibly, 'transmission'.
" "!be eight conceptual elements are birth, cessation, permanence,
impermanence, coming, going, oneness and multiplicity (see GNT).
belief in common external substances is pre-empted and gnostic

compassion irradiates all wandering minds.
Best Beloved, realizing the nature of presence in this way and knowing
its creativity as never reified or crystalizing, empowerment is attained
in the perfection of the now.
3.2 Vajrapani! You may rely on ordinary ritual substances to attain

empowerment in the Precious Word Empowerment. Externally, long
life empowerment is conferred based on substances. Internally, it is
taught that the dimension of karmically conditioned proclivities is the
perfect ground of trikaya.
Best Beloved, the empowerment has three parts: The Vase of Present
Awareness;68 The Mudra of the Royal Emblems; and Creative
Presence.
3.2.1 Receiving the Precious Word Empowerment externally, five

material vases are employed, while internally sambhogakaya 1s
spontaneously perfected, complete with fivefold sublime vision.
3.2.2 Receiving the empowerment of The Mudra of Royal Emblems,

externally, the six hand-held tokens (mudras) are employed, while
internally, the six fields of consciousnessi emerge as magical
emanation, and, at the moment of completion, the nirmanakaya tulku
emanates.
3.2.3 Receiving the Empowerment of Creative Presence, the four

external symbols of empowerment69 upon which the ritual depends
are understood internally as the natural perfection of dharmakaya, the
jeweline hollow.
This literary explanation should be given together with precious oral

instruction.
I, Vajradhara, taught this order of empowerment 10 The Child of

Supreme Awareness.ii
i The three mental fields of consciousness are here taken as one.

n Ye shes b/a ma'i bu: see Appendix 3.
Tiklay lvmsel 169
The sixty-second chapter of the great tantra Tiklf!>' Kunsel provides instruction
upon the necessar:y components of tantra and it also teaches a summary of
empowerment.
63. Empowerment: Definition

Vajradhara! Please tell us the meaning of 'empowerment'.
The Teacher said: Vajrapani, listen well! We are going to explain to

you the essence, the semantic meaning, the types and the illustrative
metaphor of 'empowerment'.
The essence of empowerment is self-sprung present awareness 111

constant and total freedom from extraneous control.
The semantic definition of empowerment is a capacity to govern and

consecrate all experience of samsara and nirvana.
These are the types: common and special empowerment, as elucidated

in the previous chapter..
The metaphor for empowerment is the consecration of a king and his

ascent to the throne.
The sixty-third chapter of the great tantra TiklCDJ Kunsel provides a clear, pitl?J
explanation of the meaning of empowerment.
64. Samaya Commitment

Vajradhara! Please elucidate your secret commitment.
The Teacher replied: Best Beloved, listen well! Commitment derives

from empowerment. Regarding the paramount empowerment that
needs no conferment, it entails four commitments that need no
safeguard, no protection. Inviolable, maintained in the now
involuntarily with full confidence, our secret commitment 1s

awareness of presence in the now.
This samaya commitment can be neither violated nor sustained

because it is not conceivable in the dualistic terms of a vow to be kept
and an adept to keep it.
The first of the four samaya commitments is called 'absence' because

the imposed, contrived commitments of the eight lower approaches
are no longer observed. Freed of all lower commitments, buddha
body, speech and mind are infinitely spacious, and therefore the
second samaya commitment is termed 'openness'. Since no way exists
to keep this unsustainable commitment except by spontaneous self-
sprung awareness, the third samaya commitment is termed 'unity' or
'oneness'. And since awareness of presence is maintained without any
directed effort, the fourth samaya is termed 'spontaneity'.i
The sixtyfourth chapter of the great tantra Tikla)' Kunsel teaches samcrya
commitment.
65. Samaya Commitment: Definition

Vajradhara! What is the meaning of 'commitment'?
The Teacher said: Vajrapani, listen well! We are going to teach you the
essence, the semantic definition, the types and metaphors of 'ultimate
commitment'.
First, as to its essence, its essence is inviolable - it cannot be

transgressed. It looks like awareness of presence. Maintenance of that
commitment is the automatic function of reality. We can never go
beyond it; it can never be broken. It is commitment to ultimate
authenticity. A connotation of commitment is total absence of
concession.
1 Longchenpa's Treasury, ~(I\ratural Pe,fection (Gnas lugs mdz.od) is devoted to this

topic. See Keith Dowman 2010.
Tiklay Ivmsel 111
These are the two types of commitment: commitment that involves

the curtailing of behavior and keeping vows, and commitment that
needs no observation or oversight. The latter is the higher.
This highest, ineluctable, commitment is illustrated by the metaphor

of space, because just as the boundaries of space cannot be
transgressed, so commitment to the reality of intrinsic presence
cannot be infringed.
The sixry-:fifth chapter of the great tantra Tikla; Kunsel explains the meaning of
commitment.
66. Mandala

Vajradhara! Please speak about 'mandala' and 'selfless activity'.
The Teacher responded: Vajrapani, listen well! First, let me give you
the essence, semantic definition, types and metaphors of 'mandala'.
These are the three types of mandala: the symbolic mandala; the
mandala of the samadhi of the samaya-sattva;i and the naturally
accomplished mandala.
We define those three separately: Symbolic mandalas are those painted

or modeled in three spatial dimensions; meditational mandalas are
those mentally visualized in meditation upon the samaya-sattva
buddha-deity. The naturally accomplished mandala is the sublime
vision of trikaya.
The essential definition of mandala,ii a semantic description in terms

of dharmakaya, is 'pure presence at the center, surrounded by a
retinue of present awareness'. A semantic description in terms of the
sambhogakaya dimension of enjoyment is 'the principal at the center
surrounded by a circle of samaya-sattvayab:Yum couples'. A semantic
'This is the buddha-deity or archetype visualized symbolically in creative

meditation that becomes a constant companion (samaya).
" :\Iandala (Sanskrit) is etymologically 'a circle' and dkJil 'khor (Tibetan) is
'center-circle'.
description in terms of the dimension of magical nirmanakaya

emanation is 'the universal self-existent ground . at the center
surrounded by the eight fields of consciousness'.
The descriptive simile for mandala is 'like the arising of the sun, the
moon and the stars'.
Much more can be said on this topic; the foregoing is a summary.
The sixty-sixth chapter of the great tantra Tikltry Kunsel teaches mandala.
6 7. Selfless Activity
Then the Teacher spoke again: :Master of the Secret, listen carefully! In
the mandala of intrinsic clear light, which is a mandala that cannot be
drawn or represented in any way, cannot be visualized nor meditated
upon, selfless activity, which is beyond directed endeavor, is enacted
without obstruction.
In the mandala of trikaya, the buddha-teacher demonstrates the reality

of trikaya. By the effulgence of his sublime form and speech, the
buddha-teacher spontaneously accomplishes the work of trikaya.
Verbally expressing the essence of blessing, he performs unhindered
selfless activity for the benefit of beings, spontaneously, without
deliberation.i
Then The Master of the Secret made this request: Bhagawan

Vajradhara, please tell us the meaning of 'selfless activity'.
The Teacher replied: V ajrapani, listen well! 'Selfless activity' is

essentially all-accomplishing awareness. As for its semantic meaning, it
is 'selfless activity' because it is multifarious appropriate enactment
beyond all directed effort.
These are the two types of activity: activity with endeavor and activity
without endeavor.
1 Here is an explanation of the dynamic aspect of gnostic compassion.

Tiklay KNnsel 173
These are the four kinds of selfless activity without endeavor: First,
through realization of dhannakaya, unstructured and unfabricated, the
tendency to conceptual elaboration is mollified and that is called
'pacifying' activity. Second, the natural production of precious gem-
like qualities is called 'enriching' activity. Third, through the mastery
afforded by empowerment, everything that happens occurs in
dharmakaya, everything that exists abides in it, everything that
disappears dissolves into it, and that is called 'dominating' or
'controlling' activity. Fourth, unreified presence never extruding,
arising impartially everywhere, always without obstacle, when through
gnostic compassion it arises intensely, it is called 'destructive' activity.
Acting involuntarily, like sunlight dispelling the darkness of night over

the three worlds, spontaneous comprehensive gnostic compassion
accomplishes effortless, undirected, selfless activity without
obstruction.
The sixry-seventh chapter of the great tantra Tiklt:!J Kunse/ explains the meaning
of effortlessness, which is the nature ofse!fless activiry.
68. Puja and Yoga

Vajradhara! Please define offering and worship (puja),i and union
(yoga).
The Teacher replied: Vajrapani, know this! In the palace of empty

reality, awareness of presence being a constant, present awareness of
the now happens in the spaciousness of reality. Spaciousness and
present awareness are nondual and nondual awareness is offering and
worship.
The plenum ofVajradhara replete with every attribute is elaborated by

the forty-two consorts,yab and yum," who play in the real space of the
five sublime forms of present awareness. That uncrystalizing nondual
awareness is ceaseless offering and worship.
iIn practice, worship and offering are synonymous; both are possible
translations of puja (Sanskrit and Hindi) and mchod pa (fibetan).
"The 42 sambhogakaya attributes.
The five kinds of offering - sights, sounds, aromas, flavors and

textures - all apparitional emanation, awaken the five bodhisattva
children,i and vanish without trace into the real space of 'the knower'.
Like foam on the waves of an ocean, arising and falling, offering is
incessant.
Then Vajradhara spoke about yoga: Devotion to trikaya, neither

united with nor separated from, is yoga. This supreme yoga is realized
without meditation. Foregoing any striving towards the goal of
realization, relaxing into the real space of ubiquitous effulgence, this is
a yoga that transcends by far the yoga of the Great God Maheshvara.
Simple relaxation is the unsurpassable yoga.
The essence of real yoga is nondual vision. The literal meaning of yoga
is 'union' or 'recognition of nonduality', because the nonduality of the
corporeal body and the intellect are recognized in the now, and
because trikaya's three existential dimensions - now perceived as
indivisible - are forever unitary.
These are the two types of yoga: nominal-conceptual and existentia~

and it is the latter that we have explained above.
The six!J-eighth chapter of the great tantra Tiklay Kunsel teaches puja andyoga.
69. Mantra and Mudra
Then the Master of the Secret made this request: Bhagawan, please
elucidate mantra and mudra.
The Teacher responded: Vajrapani, listen to me! First, let me tell you
about mantra. The meaning of mantra, most sublime, is indicated by
its essence, semantic definition and types.
These are the three types of mantra: secret mantra, magical knowledge
mantra and dharani_ii The essence of secret mantra is wisdom and
' The 'five bodhisattva children' are the fields of sensory consciousness: see
Appendix 1.
ii The first type of mantra is for enlightenment; the second type for magical
transformation; and the third type to induce total recall.
Tikla_y Kunsel 175
compassion. The essence of knowledge-mantra is wisdom and present

awareness. The essence of dharani is wisdom and samadhi.
As for the semantic definition of the three kinds of mantras, they are
so-called because they protect the mind. The function of those
mantras is elimination of fundamentally inherent habit patterns,
elimination of ignorance and misunderstanding and elimination of
adventitious conditioning.
Then the Teacher spoke about mudra: The essence of mahamudra is

intrinsic changelessness. The semantic definition of mahamudra is
'inalienable mudra'. Regarding their types, mudras are described as
either 'open' or 'closed'. 70 The four mudras enumerated below are
'closed':i
'Mahamudra' is defined as the unstructured, ineffable dharmakaya.
Pure presence being intrinsic to awareness of spaciousness, since

spaciousness 'holds' the presence in itself, spaciousness and awareness
are nondual and this nonduality is called samaya-mudra, 'the mudra
that is inviolable commitment'.
Self-sprung awareness being uncrystalizing and nonspecific, its clarity

is the dharma-mudra, 'the mudra of reality.'
The two existential dimensionsii of compassionate form, never

crystalizing, displaying unmotivated gnostic compassion, are karma-
mudra, 'the action-mudra'.
As for the similes, mudra is likened to space and to a royal seal,

because neither can be transgressed, violated, exceeded or alienated.
There is no secret mantra - only wlimpeded wisdom.

There is no mudra - only uninhibited gnostic compassion.
The sixty-ninth chapter of the great tantra Tiklcry Kunsel teaches mantra and
mudra.
i ';\ludra' can also be understood as )um-consort'.

"The two form dimensions are sambhogakaya and ninnanakaya.
70. Approach and Accomplishment
Then the Master of the Secret made this request: Please speak about
approach and accomplishment.
The Teacher responded: Vajrapani, know this! The view, intrinsic

presence of present awareness, is established experientially through
the four direct introductions, the four ways of pointing out,i by which
intrinsic presence may be experienced in reality. That is what is meant
by 'approach'. Familiarity with what is pointed out is the meaning of
the term 'close approach'. With release of what is pointed out,
'accomplishment' is attained. As for the ultimate fruition of that, it is
'great accomplishment'.ii
In nonrecitation of secret mantra,

We abide in reality;
In nonvisualization of mudra,
Spontaneously and perfectly
The mandala is accomplished.
The seventieth chapter of the great tantra Tiklcry Ivmsel teaches approach and
accomplishment.
71. Agama Instruction: The Five Principles
Please tell us in what lies the efficacy of your great agama instruction.
The Teacher replied: Vajrapani, listen to me! The efficacy of the

agama instruction resides in these five principles:
1) The principle of trust in the instruction: Trust is generated by the

tradition's unadulterated continuity.
'Approach, close approach and accomplishment relate to Garab Dorje's

three incisive precepts: realization, conviction and confidence.
i, See 'the four degrees' in the G~T.
Tiklay Kunse/ 177
(2) The principle of unchanging sky-transmission: The transmission of

the buddha-teacher's immaculate dharmakaya is causeless in the
beginning, unconditioned in the middle and unchanging at the end.
(3) The principle of credible transmission: Moral faults eradicated,

falsehood can never be spoken; since there is no cause, whatever is
spoken is always true; the buddha-teacher being the quintessence of
wisdom, the syllables and words meaningfully arranged, he can never
leave authenticity.
(4) The principle of uncorrupted transcription: The words spoken by

the buddha-teacher to the authentic all-embracing retinue are
faultlessly written down, as Garab Dorje wrote them, in a precious
golden booki in lapis lazuli ink, in a pure, natural flow, which is never
corrupted.
(5) The principle of harmony: Just as the triad of creative and

fulfillment phasesii are neither united nor separated in sublime vision,
just as leaf, flower and fruit are all congruous, so the tantras are all in
harmony; their general pronouncement free of contradiction, their
meanings subsuming each other.
The sevenry-jirst chapter ef the great tantra TiklC!J Kunsel explains the five great
principles ef lineal transmission.
72. Agama Instruction: Definition

Vajradhara! Please explain the meaning of 'agama instruction'_iii
The Teacher spoke: Vajrapani, fully absorb this. We shall explain to

you the essence, the semantic meaning, the types and the metaphors
of agama instruction.
'These books are the tantras themselves constituting the kama (bka' ma)
canon, in contradistinction to teana (revealed text).
"Dzogchen itself is the third.
"' .-\gama, /u/J'--~
Best Beloved, the essence of agama instruction is best indicated by

way of its categories, which are experiential and verbal. The essence of
the experiential instruction is called 'the transmission of unchanging
mind', which is pure presence itself. The essence of the verbal
instruction is faithful representation in the buddha-teacher's words
without any addition or omission.
The verbal instruction is of two kinds: the 'ear-hole transmission', or

orally transmitted lineage, and direct revelation. The latter is again of
two kinds: provisional revelation and definitive revelation.
As for the semantic definition, it is 'agama instruction because the

literal meaning of the text is indicated. It is 'scripture' because it is
trustworthy. It is 'authority' because it is well established. It is
'transmission' because it is easily comprehended. It is 'a handle'
because it is easy to grasp. It is 'tradition' because it is accessible to all.
Its similes are 'like a royal proclamation', 'like a vessel held by a

handle', or again 'like a vessel with a handle that facilitates
conveyance', or 'like an earthen vessel'.7 1
The seventy-second chapter of the great tantra Tiklay Ivmsel explains the meaning
of agama instruction.
73. Secret Precept

Vajradhara, what constitutes a secret precept?
The Teacher responded: Vajrapani, fully absorb this! We are going to

explain to you the necessary components of secret precept by means
of five aspects of an overview: history, source, literal meaning, yoga
and purpose.
The historical aspect has three parts:
The precepts are considered trustworthy because they represent the

oral teaching of the timeless buddha in the now; they are not an
individual's personal opinion.
Tiklay Kunsel 179
They are also considered trustworthy because they represent buddha

utterance of definitive meaning, without any allusive hidden intent,
transmitted by symbolic means to the retinue of knowledge-bearers,i
which is the retinue that comprehends definitive meaning.
Finally, they are considered definitely trustworthy because they were

transmitted orally down the course of time, from mouth to ear, down
through an unbroken lineage of historical individuals.
The source of secret precept is explained as uncaused awareness of

presence.
Cnderstand the verbal meaning of a precept as the essence of buddha-

blessing expressed as words. It is transmission of trikaya com-
municated by buddha. In that way it is definitive mearung
communicated by expressive words as explained above.
Yoga (union) is explained differently in the different approaches, as

indicated in this great tantra The Cirde of Tota/ Illumination.
The intent of secret precepts is to revert the three degrees of delusion

- superior, middling and ulterior - and by so doing to recognize the
perfect, final holistic vision in the jeweline hollow.
The seventy-third chapter of the great tantra Tik/qy lvmse/ explains the five
necessary conditions far secret precept.
74. Secret Precept: Definition
Then the Master of the Secret made this request: Teacher V ajradhara!
How were the three types of precept composed?
The Teacher said: Vajrapani, listen to me! The three tantras, three
treasuries, of buddha body, speech and mind - are the source of all
precepts, the precepts that show the fundamental nature of being,
expressed best in the three in one formula.
' Rigdz!n. vidhyadhara.

The three kinds of precepts that unite words and meaning are derived
from the treasury of buddha body, speech and mind, known as the
three essences.
The Master of the Secret spoke again: Please tell us the essence of
'precept', its literal meaning, its types and metaphors.
These are the two kinds of precept: verbal and intuitive. Intuitive
precepts are secrets emanating from deep within, residing in the
buddha-teacher's vajra heart, clearly manifest yet unarticulated.
Verbal precepts are defined as constellations of spoken words,

faultlessly composed to express clear meaning, listed in a glossary to
facilitate understanding, illuminating the semantic meaning.
The essence of both types is thus definitively indicated.
The semantic meaning of 'precept' is 'simple instruction with high

significance'. The reasoned literal meaning of 'secret precept' implies
an ineffable secret. It is like a mother's advice to her child.
As for similes, in general, the triad of tantra, agama and precept is 'like
a king, minister and subjects'.
The sevenryjourth chapter of the great tantra Tiklay Kunsel teaches the meaning of
secret precept.
7 5. Stages, Paths and Perfections
Then the Master of the Most Secret made this request: Please
elucidate the stages, paths and perfections according to secret precept
practice.
The Teacher responded: Vajrapani, listen to me! According to the

secret precepts of The Great Perfection, no stage is to be attained, no
path is to be traversed, and none of the ten perfections are to be
practiced.i However, the stages that are not purified, the paths that are
not traversed and the perfections that cannot be practiced are
1 See chapter 52 for the ten perfections.

Tiklay l:vmsel 181
elucidated here in conformity with the graduated approaches as

already described.
Then the Lord of the Secret said: Please describe in order the stages
that are not to be purified.
And the Teacher replied: On the one stage that is the reality of the
Great Perfection, fifteen ways in which quality is complete and perfect
may be counted:
When all the esoteric meanings of the general tantric tradition have
been disclosed, and through the four direct introductions the nature
of mind is perceived in this very lifetime, that is 'the stage of
rejoicing', the first stage.
When secret precept has dissolved all doubt in the mind, and ultimate
cognition is arising in the mindstream, that is called 'the stage of
immaculate purity', the second stage.
When the mind is integrated with present awareness through

empowerment, light emanates, so the third stage is called 'The
Radiant.'
When the ineffable zing of reality is understood as creativity and is no

longer dependent upon verbal expression, the fourth stage is widely
understood as 'The Brilliant'.
On the fifth stage, the five poisons and the three p01sons are
immaculate in real space.
On the sixth stage, the three hollowsi are recognized as trikaya's three
dimensions.
On the seventh stage, the meanings of the eight lesset approaches are
surpassed.
On the eighth stage, unwavering intuition of the reality of intrinsic

presence occurs.
On the ninth stage all qualities are known as perfect in themselves.
1 The three hollows are the jcweline hollow, the hollow of light, and the
hollow of kannic propensity: see chapter 81.
On the tenth stage, intuitive wisdom suffuses all experience

whatsoever, which is how realization 72 arises in the hollow of kannic
conditioning. When delusive perception of the objective aspect of
realization ceases, the nature of all phenomenal experience shines in
the matrix as the light of present awareness.
Abiding on the eleventh, which is called 'Universal Light', self-

envisioned cognition arises from within.
By the generative power of wisdom, sublime form radiates from the

mandala's center to the circumference, and in the fivefold mandala
groupsi the six kinds of dharma-eye arise.ii 'Nonabiding clarity'
describes the 'The Lotus Stage', the twelfth stage.
The essence of speech, which is the six self-sprung seminal syllables,iii

emanating from the tongue as light, becomes magical nirmanakaya
emanation. This is the thirteenth stage called 'The Great Assembly:
The Circle of Seminal Syllables'.i"
Identified with the Seed of Seminal Syllables, embodying ultimate

purpose to all nirmanakaya beings, V ajradhara resides on the
fourteenth stage.
In the hollow of present awareness, complete and perfect buddha

manifesting as gnostic compassion unites and liberates each moment
as it arises in its own ground. This is called 'the secret meaning of
union and deliverance'."
On the fifteenth stage, as revealed in the five self-sprung versesvi the

peace of nirvana that lies beyond suffering is recognized. In the
jeweline hollow, trikaya spirals into the matrix.
The new moon, the moon on the last day of the lunar month, is whole
and entire, but due to the sun's dominance, it is invisible. From the
1 See 'fivefold mandala group' (tshom bu Inga) in GNT.
" See 'six eyes' in chapter 93 and Gl\:T.

"'A A HA SHA SA ~L\ - nmg f?yung_yi ge drn,g. see chapter 88.
". The Great .-\ssembly (yi ge 'khor lo tshog.r chen, (pronounced 'Yigay khorlo
tsokchen').
'"Tanagana (g.rang ba'i don kyi sf!)or grol), union and deliverance, is the union of
subject and object (yab-y11m) and simultaneous release. See also chapter 52.
'' For the rang 'f!)u11g tshig Inga, see chapter 91, Nirvana: the Five Verses.
Tik/ay Kun.rel 183
first day of the month until the fifteenth, the moon waxes; thereafter,
it wanes. Likewise, while under the power of delusion, although
neither in union nor separation the jeweline hollow does not manifest.
From the first stage to the fifteenth it increases to its full extent, then
it wanes until not a trace remains. Compared to the 'twenty-one' and
the 'thirty-five' the fifteen is a fraction. 73 Reckoning from below, the
cutting through is direct perception; looking from above, the view is
uncrystalizing transparence, where in the absence of discursive
thought lies wisdom.
The sevenryfifth chapter of the great tantra Tiklay Ivmsel teaches the obligations
that accompany the stages, pe,ftctions and the five paths, and the actual order of
the stages.
76. Stages: Definition
Then the Master of the Secret made this request: Vajradhara! Please
explain the meaning of 'stage'.
The Teacher responded: Listen, Vajrapani! We shall give you the

essence, literal meaning, types and illustrative metaphor of 'stage'.
Best Beloved, the ultimate essence of 'stage' is unchanging spacious

reality. The essence of both high and low stages, no matter what the
degree, is wisdom and compassion.
These are the two types of stage: mundane and supramundane stages.
The two types of the supramundane stage are those of the vast
approach of Mahayana, and those of the lower approach of Hinayana.
Within stages of the vast approach, of the general and special ones,
the special ones have been taught in the previous chapter.
The literal meaning of stage is 'gropnd', or 'earth' (sa), because it is

seemingly unchanging and stable.
As unadulterated perfection, the stages are 'like a stupa' or 'like a high

throne'.
The sevenry-sixth chapter of the great tantra Tiki(!)' Kunsel explains the stages.
77. The Five Paths: Ultimate Fruition

Vajradhara! What is the graduated path that is not to be entered upon
or traversed?
The Teacher responded: V ajrapani, listen well! 'Whoever tries to enter

a path where actually no path exists will be sick at heart. 'Whoever
strives to arrive at a destination where actually no destination exists is
like a deer chasing a mirage. Indeed, no well-defined, definitive path
exists.
The one great path demands faultless dedication to the untraveled,

pathless path of sublime vision without uniting with it or separating
from it. That pathless path is the reality of pure luminous mind that is
unattainable by seeking. Any effort to reach it leads us further away
from present awareness.
No entry into a path that is the intrinsic reality of present awareness in

the here-and-now can be found. By seeking to traverse such a path,
you fall into dire suffering. However, because it cannot be understood
without explanation, as a way to realize the sole untraveled path we
shall explain it in terms of the ulterior meaning of the five paths of the
Mahayana.
Sitting in front of the Lama, with perfect reverence for the Guru,i is
called the 'path of accumulation'. Assimilating into our mindstream
the oral and textural advice given by the fearlessly authentic master is
what we call the 'path of integration'. 'When, in this very life, through
the four direct introductions - the pointing out instructions -
definitive truth is glimpsed, it is to be understood as the 'path of
seeing'. Abiding without union or separation in the states of both
unmeditated meditation and nonmeditation is what we teach as the
'path of meditation'. Attaining the four aspects of the impersonal
confidenceii of vision without grasping is the 'path of completion'.
' Here, 'Lama' is to be understood as a specific illusory embodiment and

'Guru' as the unformed totality.
" Such confidence is marked by an absence of fear of a worse rebirth; absence
of hope for a better rebirth; absence of hope for buddhahood; and
equanimity in that hopelessness.
Tiklay Kunsel 185
The seven!J-seventh chapter (!f the great tantra Tik/a_y Kunsel teaches the five paths
of definite fmition.
78. Path: Definition
Then the Master of the Secret made this request: Bhagawan, in neither
union nor separation! Please teach us the meaning of 'path'.
The Teacher responded: Master of the Secret, listen well! We are

going to give you the essence, semantic meaning, types and illustrative
metaphor of 'path'.
The essence of 'path', as taught by me, is 'union', which is 'yoga', in

neither union nor separation.
It is called 'path', although entering upon it, it takes us nowhere, and

although it is inalienable.
These are the two types of path: the path serving as a cause and the
path of definitive result. The former is illustrated by the metaphor of a
topographical path, while a simile for the latter, effortless, path is 'like
the flight path of a Garuda gliding across the sky'.
The seventy-eighth chapter of the great tantra Tikl(!Y Kunsel teaches a sho11
explanation of the meaning of 'path:
79. The Ten Perfections: Not to Be Practiced
Then the Master of the Secret made this request: Bhagawan, Beyond
Striving and Endeavor! Please elucidate the ten perfections that are
the product of unpracticed spontaneity but which have the same
names as in the lower approaches where they are taught provisionally
with ulterior meaning.
The Teacher responded: Vajrapani, listen carefully!
1 'Gliding' may be rendered also as 'hovering', 'soaring', 'floating (/ding ba).

Free from the neurosis of compulsive striving,

Spontaneity is always immanent;
With buddha at the core of the now,
Goal-oriented thought is quieted;
Meditation veils the sublime -
Buddha unveiled, everything is light.
In the absence of unconditional spontaneity
No definitive perfection is possible.i
Look at this authentic inclusive, definitive, reality!

Out of the skylike essence
Boundless visionary qualities radiate,
Manifest but immaculate in nature,
And that itself is the very perfection of giving;
Dependent upon an absence of nescience,
Its immaculate purity is the perfection of morality;
Letting go of disciplined conduct,
Perfectly appropriate skillful means 74
Arises in reflexive responsiveness;
And because every quality is naturally perfected,
Aspiration is involuntarily accomplished;
Present awareness is fundamentally inherent,
So it is naturally present in the now.ii
The seven!J-ninth chapter of the great tantra Tiklay Kunsel reveals that in the
pe,ject ground the ten peifections are not to be practiced.
80. Perfection as Fruition: Definition
KRAGWADADIRBA

Vajradhara! Please explain the meaning of perfection in 'the ten
perfections'.
1 See Rigpa'i khu ~yug, Appendix 3.
""Ibe perfections of giving, morality, selfless activity, skillful means,

aspiration and present awareness are mentioned here. For the entire ten
perfections, see chapter 52.
Tiklay Kunsel 187
The Teacher said: Vajrapani, listen to me! \X'e are going to explain to
you briefly but clearly the essence, literal meaning, types and
illustrative metaphors of 'perfection'.
first, the essence of perfection resides definitively in the ten

perfections. Its literal meaning is 'gone beyond'; it is the 'perfection' at
the extreme of nonabiding.
It has two categories: goal-oriented perfection and perfection as

fruition.
As for the similes of perfection, it is like having set out on a journey

for a definite purpose and finally arriving at the intended destination;
or it is like a lifeboat that saves us from stormy seas; or like a man's
finger loosing an arrow. It is arrival at final holistic vision.
The eightieth chapter of the great tantra Tiklay Kunsel explains the meaning of
perfection as .fruition.
81. The Three Hollows: Definition

Vajradhara! What is that so-called 'hollow' mentioned by the Teacher
in his tantras and agamas?
The Teacher announced: Listen, Vajrapani! We are going to define the

essence of 'hollow', its semantic definition, its types and two
illustrative metaphors.
These are the three types of hollow: the jeweline hollow, the hollow of
light and the hollow of karmic propensities.i
The first is described as the matrix of present awareness, immaculate,

transparent, unconceived and unchanging, all-illuminated, without
obstruction. In a certain respect, it is like a crystal, like all-inclusive
envisionment, indicated in detail above; the jeweline hollow is
dharmakaya.
i See chapter 8.
As for the description of the second, it is unimpeded present

awareness as the dimension of light. Endowed with the thirty-six
marks of sambhogakaya, it is the five mandala-circles of spontaneity,
abundantly brilliant and resplendent. That is the hollow of light, the
dimension of enjoyment.
The third is described in the following way: With the four modes of
birthi fully evolved, the hollow of karmic propensities is composed of
the body-mind aggregates, sense fields and sense faculties, as well as
the eight fields of consciousness.
Thus, the three hollows are in essence the three existential dimen-
sions - 'buddha-bodies' - indicated above. The general substantive
'hollow' denotes 'container' or 'receptacle'.
Here is a semantic description of each of the three m tum: The

jeweline hollow is endowed with only pure potential.
The hollow of light is perception without any intrinsic nature,

indicated by the similes 'like the reflection of the moon in water', 'a
mirror-image' and 'a rainbow'.
The hollow of karmic propensities is described by conceptual analysis

and by comparison.
The eigh!J-.ftrst chapter of the great tantra Tiklay Kunsel de.fines the three hollows.
82. Appearances: Definition

Vajradhara! Please elucidate the different meanings of 'appearance'ii as
employed in the tantras and agamas.
iThe four modes of birth are moisture birth, egg birth, womb birth,
miraculous birth.
"',-\ppearance', 'perception' and 'vision' are three ways of translating the
Tibetan snang ba, three degrees of subjectification of the sensory field. See
Glossary of English Dzogchen Technical Terms.
Tik/qy lvmsel 189
The Teacher responded: Listen, Vajrapani! We are going to tell you

the definition, semantic description, types and metaphors of the word
'appearance'.
First, the two types of appearance are here described at length and in
brief.
Four types of appearance are described at length: First, the six types
of perception conditioned by the six kinds of wandering mind;
secondly, the ten kinds of visions of the world perceived by causal-
minded, goal-oriented minds of the lower approaches; thirdly, the
unitary vision of reality realized; and the indivisible, 'all-good' vision of
Samantabhadra.
Three types of appearances are described in brief: Firstly, impure,

deluded perception; secondly, pure, mundane perception; thirdly,
perception in real, present awareness.i
First, at length, deluded perception: Deluded perception consists of

the six kinds of perception fixated by the six kinds of wandering mind;
such perception appears as separate worlds, or realms, comprised of
everything that arises contingently in the fluid mandala of knowable
things.
Thus, hell-beings seem to experience either extreme heat or cold.
The three kinds of hungry ghosts (pretas) - external, internal and

common - experience three different kinds of perception: The
external type perceives food as pus and blood or takes it to be thorns.
The common type perceives food as food, but the food is denied
them by a protecting guard. To the third, the internal, type, food
appears unguarded, but when it is ingested it seems to act as poison.
The two types of animal have different perceptions: the first type live
in an inner world of darkness, while the second type, estranged
animals, live in constant fear.7 5
The common perception of human beings accords with 'Our country,

our land, our people, our sweet home!'
1 1l1ese three degrees approximate the significance of 'snake', 'rope' and 'real
perception' of the ~find Only School.
Demi-gods (titans) perceive armor and weapons, while gods perceive

delicious elixirs.
The mental mode of perception in all of the wandering minds is set

and fixed by habitual tendencies, which are determined by karmic
propensity.
Secondly, these are the ten different causally-minded ways of viewing

the world: Nonbuddhists who see permanence everywhere perceive
nothing but concrete, material things. To nonbuddhists with the
nihilist view that we have only this one life - no future or past lives -
events seem to occur randomly; they believe that when they die they
dissolve into their component great elements; they see nothingness in
appearances. Auditors (shravakas) perceive yak-tails, meadows and
partless atoms, and dualistic phenomenal identity.i Hermits
(pratyekabuddhas) similarly perceive only a partial emptiness - a lack
of personal identity in the body-mind aggregates and sensory fields.
'Sutrists' perceive absolute reality as emptiness and conventional truth
as enchanting illusion.
Adepts in both outer and inner tantrayana perceive absolute reality in

conformity with the sutrists, and conventional appearances as distinct
from the absolute. Kriya-tantra adepts perceive 'the three families' as
lords to serve. Upa-tantra adepts perceive them as divine masters to
attend. Yoga-tantra adepts see them as brothers or friends. Mahayoga
adepts perceive the body-mind aggregates as buddha-deity
manifestation. Anuyoga adepts perceive them as spaciousness and
present awareness.
In none of these ten approaches has the notion of subjective causality

been apprehended and rejected, and perception of appearance
understood as delusive insofar as what is seen does not exist in reality.
Such is perception of appearances to the causally-minded.
Thirdly, perception in which meaning - or reality - is realized, is that

of the adept sensing spontaneous 'great' perfection.
Fourthly, perception of everything as dharmakaya-essence is the

perception of Samantabhadra. Similar to the previous category, it is
' See chapter 36.

Tikkfy Ivmsel 191
nondual vision. It has the function of spontaneous envisionment in

the now.
Then the three kinds of appearances described in brief: Firstly,

impure, delusive perceptions are those of the above-mentioned six
varieties of wandering beings; secondly, pure mundane perceptions are
those of bodhisattvas on the ten stages; and thirdly, the true
perception of present awareness is the same as the above-mentioned
'all-inclusive self-envisionment'.
The essence of all perception of appearances can be gleaned from its

classification. Just to give a partial explanation here, the true defmitive
essence of perception is the radiance of reality and pure vision. It is
defined like that because perception is seen as unreified and fluid.
Some metaphors and similes were included in the enumeration of

categories. Here we shall teach definitive similes of appearances
perceived: Such perception is 'like sunlight' or 'like candle light';
shining, it consists only of its own radiance. In all-inclusive present
awareness, 'appearance perceived' consists of transparent, self-
envisioned lightform, the very radiance of present awareness, which
reveals awareness of pure reality. It is like the appearance of a face in
the mirror and so on, which has already been explained, and it is not
to be repeated here.
In short, there are three fields of appearance: delusive, pure and real.
The eighty-second chapter ef the great tantra Tikla.J Kunsel provides a clear and
condse explanation efappearances.
83. Physical Embodiment

Vajradhara! How does the mental propensity to physical embodiment
manifest?
T;,he Teacher responded: Listen, Vajrapani! First, creative gnostic

compassion manifests in the following way: From the fivefold nature
of pure presence, the light of self-sprung awareness shines out. Then
conceptualized as dualistic subject and object, that light becomes the
physical receptacle, 'the world'. In that way, creative gnostic

compassion manifests in the minds of deluded sentient beings.
Then, gnostic compassion arises in the dimension of magical

nirmanakaya manifestation in this way: The unitary presence of yab-
yum sambhogakaya buddha radiates the light of the six seminal
syllables.
Then the four modes of becomingii are possibly entered upon: First,
having identified the karmically determined body, the appropriate
form of life is invested. Then, physical attributes develop. From the
two eyes, two principal channels appear, and at knots or nubs in those
channels, secondary channels branch off, and the remainder of the
body is formed. Within the body, the tsitta,iii the lungs and the other
internal organs develop with their various functions. That is the way in
which the composite body evolves.
This is how the elixir that nurtures physical strength is produced: The
navels of mother and child connected, the elixir is generated behind
the navel, increasing strength, sleep and solidity.
The eighry-third chapter of the great tantra Tiklay K.unsel teaches the four modes of
birth.
84. The Four Bardos
Then the Master of the Secret made this request: Teacher Vajradhara!
Please explain the four bardos that are mentioned in the tantras and
agamas.
The Teacher responded: Best Beloved, listen to me! The four bardos
are the naturally pure bardo ('the bardo of life'), the bardo of samadhi,
the bardo of the clear light of reality and the bardo of becoming.
'The bardo of life' (the 'naturally pure bardo') consists of the delusive
appearances of the present life.
I A_\ IL\ SI-L\ S.\ '.\L\.

0 See chapter 94 (mu bzfat).
iii For tsitta see also chapter 42.
Tiklay KIin.rei 19J
'The bardo of samadhi' 1s an escape from kannic activity into

meditation.
'The bardo of reality' occurs when delusive perception ceases and for
five days present awareness dawns as vision. It is a 'bardo', an
'intermediate state', and it consists of light.
'The bardo of becoming' occurs when the wisdom of realization fails

to emerge within the clear light of reality, and for five days present
awareness remaining merely latent, appearances are generated by
previously determined kannic propensity. The bardo-being has all
senses intact and unobstructed. The process of 'becoming' develops
as in the past. With the divine eye, bardo-beings can see similar beings,
because they are similarly engaged in searching for a new body and
home.
Such is the essence of bardo, presented as its types.
Since in absolute terms the bardo does not exist,i76 instead of 'the
natural condition' it is known as 'the transitional state'. That is called
'definitive reasoning'.
The simile illustrating experience in any one bardo is 'like the mind-
state of someone who has set out on a business trip, but failing to
reach his destination remains caught in between'.
In the bardo of life, the lifeblood of all tantras and agamas is

disclosed, firmly established by the four pointing out introductions
and surely ascertained by the intuitive view of intrinsic presence. The
bardo of samadhi illuminates whatever is not clear. In the bardo of
reality, present awareness is recognized. If that does not happen then
the kannic flow is perpetuated in the bardo of becoming.
The eighryjourth chapter of the great tantra Tiklay Kun.rel teaches the bardo.
85. ~find and Awareness

Vajradhara! How do we distinguish between mind and awareness?
Surely, liberation in the bardo of reality depends upon that distinction.
'In general, the word 'bardo' is a collective noun embracing all its divisions.
The Teacher responded: Listen, Vajrapani! Relative mind and present

awareness are at once the same and different; they are very difficult to
distinguish. The relative mind is the creative expression of present
awareness; present awareness is the ground of mind. As one, mind
and present awareness are 'liberated'; separated, they are 'confined'.
In order to distinguish relative mind from present awareness, we make

the distinctions between essence, location, path, media and quality.
Regarding essence: The essence of present awareness is immaculate,

and so it is dhannakaya. Its composition is light, so it is dhanna-kaya.
Its manifestation is without inside and outside, so it is unimpeded
transparent awareness. Trikaya's three existential dimensions
(dhannakaya, sambhogakaya and ninnanakaya) are neither united nor
separated, so the veil of substantiality vanishes. We have already
explained it in detail, so we shall not dwell upon it here. The relative
mind is defined in essence as dualistic perception in an enveloping
hollow.
Regarding location: The location of all-inclusive present awareness is

the holistic light-seed of immaculate spaciousness; or, in other words,
it is the jeweline matrix. Its modes of existence, abiding and
appearance are treated above and below. The relative mind is located
in the city of conflicted energy.
Regarding the path: Connected to the jeweline ocean, all-inclusive

awareness moves everywhere, through the soft white channel,i which
is the channel of emptiness, where the nuclei of blood do not run.
That is the path of present awareness. The path of the relative mind is
the throat; the movement of the breath therein is silent speech.
Regarding media: Present awareness and the relative mind are the two
media. The invisible pervasive hidden medium of present awareness
has two aspects - its clarity or transparence, and its physical medium,
which is the eye. The media of the relative mind are the three media
of desire.ii Consciousness is characterized by the movement or
nonmovement of breath.
; This is the kati channel running from the heart (tsitta) to the eyes. \X'here the
channels (nadi, rlsa) are mentioned, we are probably in the realm of late,
upadesha, tantra.
ii The three media are physical, energetic and mental -- thought, word and
deed.
Tiklay Ivmsel 195
Regarding quality: The immanent quality of present awareness

manifests as sublime form. Qualities of the relative mind, all of which
should be considered as negative conditioning, manifest as experience
of samsara, which is to be considered as mind and mental events.
Best Beloved! Let me illustrate that truth with a profound symbolic

story! Once upon a time, at the summit of Mount Meru, in the ocean
of sunlight, there lived a naga king called 'Crystal Light'. Becoming
sad, he looked down from above and noticed a precious house called
'Sun and Moon Adornment' standing in 'Immaculate Lotus Grove'.
He descended to that grove and built a palace there and on its roof he
built a shrine-room where he lived. Again becoming sad, he looked up
and in a place called 'The City of Vital Energy' he saw someone called
'The Creator'. He went there, and as king he appointed The Creator
his minister.
A conflict ensued between king and rruruster, and the rmruster,

becoming restless took a powerful horse and rode everywhere in
constant travel. Arriving at the three doors of combat, he found five
precious things, which he then offered as tribute to the king. The king
was indifferent. The exhaustion of the people and the minister was
over. The king and the minister then fought each other, the king
gained dominion over the minister and the people were subjected.i
The king and minister separated, continuous peace was established,
the king's palace was protected and since no conflict with rivals
erupted, the king and his kingdom were happy.
JNANA CHITI A PRABE SHAY A SADU ATRAKALADU
The eigh!Jfifth chapter of the great tantra Tikla; lvmsel teaches the difference
between relative mind and present awareness.
86. The Fourfold Symbolic Pointing Out

Vajradhara! Please teach us the fourfold pointing out.
' .-\n absence of coherence is evident in this anecdote; if the king represents
'awareness', the minister 'the relative mind', and the people 'the senses', it
begins to make sense. The horse is 'karmic energy:' see chapter 42,
notation 3.1.
The Teacher replied: Vajrapani, fully absorb this! Just as we can know
our facial features when they are reflected clearly in a pellucid mirror,
so we can gain certainty about trikaya's nature, which also is neither in
union nor separation, by means of two symbolic methods that focus
upon the spontaneity of the now.
Master of the Secret! There are four different pointing out

introductions. Why? Because certainty is to be found in four different
fields. What are those four? Dharmakaya's jeweline hollow, the
fivefold sambhogakaya, the nirmanakaya bardo of life, and trikaya
complete in neither union nor separation. Certainty in these four
fields, nondeceptive and true, leaves us free of all doubt. In that way,
they perform the function of the four noble truths. Unreified and
uncaused, present awareness is what is pointed at. That is why, Best
Beloved, that is why there are exactly four symbolic introductions.
In the pointing out of present awareness, these are the two distinct
approaches: (1) pointing it out as the primal ground of spontaneity ,
and (2) pointing it out as manifest realization.
(1) Master of the Secret, the order according to the instruction on the
ground of spontaneity is this: First, pointing out as dhannakaya,
secondly, pointing out as sambhogakaya, thirdly pointing out as
nirmanakaya, and fourthly pointing out as trikaya in neither union nor
separation.
There are two aspects to the method of introduction, symbolic and

verbal.
There are four introductory metaphoric symbols: Vajrasattva's mirror,i

a mirror image,ii an eyeballiii and the sun.
Four verbal introductions accompany the disclosure of the four

introductory symbols. With the symbol of dhannakaya: 'Beloved
Initiate, the mental mirror is not the actual dharmakaya, but
understand the similitude. Just as this mirror has no outside or inside,
1 \' ajrasattva's mirror (rdo ,je sems dpa 'i me long), may be represented as either a
highly polished concave bronze disc, or by a clear crystal.
u The synonyms of 'mirror image' are 'likeness', and 'mask' ( 'dra 'bag).
,;, A closed dome of light ( 'od k1!Jim kha s~yar) is the eyeball; it is synonymous
,.vith 'water lamp' (rgyang zhags chu'i sgron ma), one of the four lamps of
togal, and also 'the visual field'.
Tiklay Kunsel 197
know that dharmakaya also lacks outside and inside. Just as this mirror
has neither back nor front, dharmakaya also has neither back nor
front. Just as this mirror is seemingly transparent, so dharrnakaya is
stainless transparence; unimpeded clear light, it is pure and empty.'
'Since trikaya has no inside or outside, the five colors shining

uncaused, understand that it is within the transparent dharmakaya as
intrinsic clarity, and that the buddha-teacher is essential present
awareness. Just as the mirror seemingly projects the five colors within
itself, so the two dimensions of form shine converted within
dharrnakaya.'
Best Beloved, this is to be said when sambhogakaya is introduced by

its symbol: 'Like the reflective face of a mirror in which images
appear, the field of reality is also clear and radiant. Just as the image in
the mirror has no intrinsic nature, so the five sublime forms appear in
the matrix of reality without substance.'
Best Beloved, when nirrnanakaya is symbolically revealed, this is what

is said: 'The 'water-lamp'i illuminates a field of empty spaciousness,
which is like a clear and bright mirror. The evidence of present
awareness shines forth as the light of nirrnanakaya, like the five colors
shining on the surface of a mirror.'
As the absence of both union and separation of trikaya's three

existential dimensions is established symbolically and verbally, Best
Beloved, comprehend well what is said: 'Just as the heart of the sun
emits light, so the gnostic compassion of dharrnakaya manifests as
nirrnanakaya. Just as sunlight cannot be separated from the sun, so
trikaya is neither in union nor separation in the now.'
(2). Master of the Secret, listen well! According to manifest realization,

the order of instruction is begun with the bardo: 1) Pointing out the
dimension of emanation, nirrnanakaya, is an introduction to the bardo
of reality; 2) pointing out the dimension of perfect enjoyment,
sambhogakaya, is an introduction to its fivefold empty purity; 3) the
absence of any union with or separation from trikaya is an
introduction to complete and empty purity; 4) pointing out ultimate
inclusive perfection is an introduction to dharmakaya.
'The eve, the 'far-reaching la~so of the water lamp (rgya11g ~hags chu'i sgron ma)',
on~ of the four lamps of lo,~a! See Keith Dowman 2014 p.46.
\X'hile repeating the same precept as in the instruction on the

spontaneous ground, 1) first introduce the bardo. 2) With that
realization, since sublime forms are visible, next introduce the five-
colored light. 3) Then, since the exaltation of supra-sensory percep-
tion is complete, introduce ultimate inseparability. 4) Nirvana is the
genuine source of gnostic compassion, so introduce the precept to
ultimate, inclusive perfection.
The metaphors, the four introductory symbols listed above, evince

pure luminous mind. Immutable evidence of the achievement of the
four pointing out introductions is the threefold trikaya, which is
neither united nor separated; those are the twelve aspects of this topic.
As to the four introductory symbols elaborated above, each has four

visionary aspects, making a total of sixteen; four levels of sublime
vision are associated with each of the four spontaneously present,
definitive precepts, which give realization of the introductions. Such is
a brief mention of sublime vision.i
If their character is elucidated more extensively: Through introduction

to the sole holistic seed of light, the in-dwelling existential dimension
of dhannakaya is realized and the vision of the jeweline hollow is
perceived. Through an introduction to mahayoga, the in-dwelling
sambhogakaya dimension of enjoyment is realized and fivefold
present awareness is perceived. Through introduction to the great
perfection, the in-dwelling dimension of magical ninnanakaya
emanation is realized and the vision of the bardo of reality is
perceived. Through introduction to anuyoga, the inseparability of the
three existential dimensions is realized and inclusive perfection is
perceived.
When the four fields appear as pure presence after the four direct
ritual introductions have been received, each time a mindful cognition
occurs a final holistic vision is achieved. When mindful cognition
awakens in the visual field, the samadhi of fourfold recollectionii
reigns.
1 Tbese four sublime visions (dgo11gs pa bzht) evidently do not relate to the four
visions of togal (sna11g ha hzht).
i, See G'-IT.
Tilelay Kunsel 199
At that time, when complete awakening in the peace of nirvana

dawns, the twenty aspects of pure luminous mindi are realized.
Through such realization of supreme omniscient buddha,ii the sublime
vision of the four direct introductions77 is attained. If the vision of the
fourfold pointing out is not attained, an error in procedure is to be
assumed, or that is how the Vajrasattvas explain it.
The eighry-sixth chapter of the great tantra Tiklay Kunsel reveals the fourfold
pointing out.
87. Release and Signs of Release
Then the :Master of the Secret made this request: Bhagawan

Vajradhara! To repeat what you have already taught, please explain
'delusive appearances'? How do appearances as present awareness
look and how does each perception appear? Please tell us the order in
which the signs of release appear? \X'hat are the best and the lesser
ways of release?7B
The Teacher responded: Master of the Secret, know this definitive

insight! Delusive mundane appearances arise out of themselves in the
first place and are released back into their own real space at the end.
As we have already taught, in accord with the highest teaching, self-

arising, self-releasing, all appearance is mind-created and mind-
controlled and no objective field exists out there to be apprehended.
\X'hen the nature of mind is realized, present aware-ness dominates,
and no mental agent of perception - no 'perceiver' - apprehends
anything.
In pure presence, which is free of dualistic perception, the intrinsic

radiance of present awareness shines out. Like a rainbow appearing
vividly in the sky, the light of awareness glows in the matrix of reality.
That light is all pervading without center or circumference .
.
'See til\T.
"This is Sarvavid-\'airochana (Rnam pa kun rig sa11gs rgyas mchog). He is also the
adi-buddha of the Sarva D11rgati Parishodhana Tantra, one of the early
tantras describing the Vairochana mandala.
At that time, perception is assimilated by that light, and the five

distilled essences of the great elements occur as the zero essence of
phenomenal reality.i The five great elements that are the components
of all appearance are thus purified in their own space, dissolving into
themselves.
The sequence of signs of dissolution of the great elements is as

follows: First, as earth dissolves into earth, the body becomes heavy
and consciousness dims. Then, as water dissolves into water, the
mouth and nose become dry. As air dissolves into air, the body and
mind become heavy and sink. As fire dissolves into fire, the body
loses its heat. Then as consciousness evaporates into space, no
feelings remain, neither happiness nor suffering, and no thought at all,
only undifferentiated space.
The fivefold nature of reality, identical to the five light-seeds, are

neither the same as, nor different from, the pure nature of space. And
since nothing exists apart from that space, our true identity is
inseparable from colored spaciousness. 'Its appearance is its own
essence' is the way to say it.
The sign of pristine awareness devolving into the ground is a sunset as

seen from the summit of Mount Mero.ii The quieting of the four vital
energiesiii is an indication of the expiry of karmic energy. An envoy is
sent from the city of the demon of death to ascertain the ripeness of
the occasion.
Thus, we have given secret precepts on the signs of death.
The eighty-seventh chapter of the great tantra Tiklay Knnsel teaches the general
character of release and the common signs of release.
' According to this analysis, the elements do not dissolve one into the next, as
frequently asserted by later authorities, but more precisely they devolve
into their own identical essence (chos nyid '{go ho l!JidJ.
0 The sun and moon circle the peak of Mount Mero.
w These are the four of the five vital energies that depend upon karmic
energy.
Tiklay Ivmsel 201
88. Varieties of Release
Then the .t\,faster of the Secret made this request: Completely Free
Teacher! If the foregoing is a general commentary on release, please
define in detail, and in order, the superior, the middling and the
inferior ways of release.
The Teach er responded:
For those of the highest capacity,

In the all-inclusive transparence of the now,
\Vithout bardo transition for even a moment,
The very present is acutely real.
The real clear essence lies
In the naturally pure and empty sky,
Not arising, just abiding,
As the transparence of pure presence.
For example,
"\ house built on the ground in empty space
Seemingly divides that space;
But the space inside the house
And the naturally pure exterior space
Are united by the open doorway -
The two spaces are not separate.
Presence inside the hollow of habits
And presence inherent in space
Are joined by the open door of awareness,
And the conditioned body unveiled,
The two exist in nondual transparence.
If we realize the meaning of this example,

Like a lion leaping high into the sky,
In spontaneous unimpeded awareness,
We leap into the jeweline hollow,
Avoiding all temporal experience ofbardo.
That is spontaneous release into the hollow of the now. 79
No calculation at all is possible in this mode of nonrelease. People

with an ordinary capacity, unable to comprehend such instruction,
should not consider this mode of liberation. If it is entertained, for
that very reason it is certain that it will not be realized, and that the
encounter with reality will be delayed at least for another rebirth.
Ordinary people are of superior, middling or inferior capacity:
1. The superior individual is released in three moments: In the first

moment, drawn into the process of perception, the five sensory
consciousnesses are pure and empty, and internally the great elements
are infused with light, so that all creative expression - visionary
appearance - is gathered into the primal ground, bound in potential
like a tightly bound ball of yam.Bo The four vital energies gradually
subside and oblivious karmic energy emerges from the life-root.Bl
The starting point becomes the path and the path simultaneously is
the door of the reality-matrix. Surfing a continuum of the
transparence of gnostic compassion, the intrinsic radiance of pre-sent
awareness engulfs us. That is the first moment.
Then wisdom is born as the vision of sublime form, as the forty-

twofold radiant vision of fivefold present awareness - which is being
like an image in a mirror. Since that has been explained in detail,B2 we
shall not dwell upon it here.
Here, the extraordinary experiences of direct intuitionii arise;B 3 trikaya

is fully represented; and the lights of the six seminal syllablesiii shine
out. Meaningful action is performed in the sublime nirmanakaya body.
This moment defines the vision of completion. It is the second moment.
After that, nirvana is attained. Leaving the relative mind and

experience of samsara behind, dissolution occurs into the real space
that has no location, shining as unitary immutable present awareness.
This moment defines the vision of ultimate completion. It is the third
moment.
2. Ordinary people of average capacity are released in the following

way: In the first moment, the delusion of separate outside and inside
ceases. In the second moment, intrinsic radiance shines clearly. The
third moment is an abiding in the point-instant of the now. In the
' Perhaps the experience is identical for all, and what changes is only the fonn
of expression for these various types of individuals.
For the six direct intuitions see chapter 88 and GNT.
iu :\:\HA SH.-\ S.-\ :-1.-\:_yige drug pa.
Tiklay Kunsel 203
fourth moment, self-envisioning wisdom is born, and the four

endarkening demon-temptersi are finally subdued.
In the fifth moment, with the forty-two immanent qualitiesii

manifesting, the middling adept fully completes the fivefold vision.
Endowed with the six direct intuitions and the six recollections,iii like
the sun arising in the vault of the sky present awareness dawns with
full knowledge of specifics. 84 Light emanates from the six seminal
syllables, A and so forth, and these are the cause of magical
Secreted during the intercourse of two karmically pure individuals,85

the white and red seminal nuclei generate the body, and the six
seminal syllables of pure luminous mind (bodhichitta) generate the
relative mind within the stream of physical consciousness. 86 But it is in
the matrix of the white and the red where pure presence lies, hidden
in the constitution of body and mind. Thus the body is complete and
perfect, and as magical emanation it serves wandering beings.
Like that, awareness of presence always exists in the now in all

wandering beings without exception, and the core of our being is
forever unchanging and unreified. With that certainty, the light of the
buddha mind shining in all sentient beings, all and everything is
constantly released in the now. The buddha-teacher's vision now
matched in everyone, the elixir mixed with intellect becomes
integrated elixir, so that the average individual fulfills his perfect
v1s1on.
In the sixth moment, buddha passes fully into nirvana. At its

beginning, the breath of present awareness stirs dhannakaya into
sublime form dimensions, and, at its end, the principal and retinue
gradually fade. As the breath of present awareness stirs in the real
space of reality, the great elements as concrete entities dissolve as they
stand, the five great elements of nirmanakaya evaporating into the real
space of five-colored light, and that five-colored light released in the
essential element of present awareness.
'Tbese are the maras of embodiment, pride, afflictive emotion and death (ma
. rig bdud bzjH).
"For the fortv-two immanent qualities see .\ppendix 1.
"' See 'six dir;ct intuitions' and 'six recollections' in GNT.
The five-colored light ansmg, it dissolves back into the matrix. At

first, even as it arises, it arises within spaciousness; even as it abides, it
abides in the space of reality; and even in the end as it fades, it
vanishes into the authentic space of reality. 87 The three eyes also
dissolve into the authentic space of reality, shining as an immutable
singularity. The awareness of intrinsic presence abides in the space of
reality; outer radiation inhibited, present awareness shines within like a
butter-lamp shining inside a vase. At that time, the changeless trikaya
regains primacy. That is how the middling-average individual fulfills
the vision of ultimate completion.
3. Ordinary people of inferior capacity are released in the following

way: The five external elements are reverted into the five lamps out of
which they arose,i where they are deprived of their objectivity. The
lamp that illuminates the five senses is overwhelmed by present
awareness and freed from fixating and grasping thought. The five
internal elements are gathered into the five creative modes of present
awareness, which is the lamp of pure presence. Thus, all creativity is
said to have been gathered into the primal ground.
At that juncture, the vast matrix in which sun and moon are united in
the precious buddha mind, and nondiscriminating wisdom are
blended into a single matrix. This is the natural condition of the
karmically conditioned hollow, which becomes evident in the first
moment.
At that time, the great elements reverting into the primal ground,
these signs emerge one after the other. The signs are associated with
the five vital energies, obdurate karmic energy and the others.ii
Uplifting energy, residing in the joints, makes the body light and
mobile, but when that energy subsides, the body cannot raise itself. It
is associated with earth.
The energy that produces luster and luminosity pervades the body,
and is called therefore 'all-pervasive energy'. It creates body oil, and
the luster and the glow of the body, but since it is very subtle, the
'These five lamps (sgron me Inga) are the lamps of the five-colored light of
awareness, not the toga! lamps of the three skies. For external and
internal elements see chapter 9.
"The five vital energies: life-sustaining (srog 'dzjn), upward moving ~en rgyu),
all-suffusing (kh)'ab f!yed), thermal (me m'!yam), and downward moving (!bur
selJ. See Keith Dowman 2014 p.36.
Tiklay Kunse/ 205
slightest circumstance can diminish it, and the body suffering, the
glow of a healthy complexion fades. It is associated with water and
when it dies so does vitality.
The energy inherent in fire resides in the stomach. It digests food and
heats the organism. As it subsides, digestive heat dissipates and food
becomes indigestible. It is associated with fire.
The basic energy that separates distilled essence from sediment

pervades both the upper and the lower doors.i It is the 'vital energy of
air'. 88 This energy separates nutriment from its dregs and drives the
refuse either up to the upper door or down to the lower door, and
white and red seed-essence,ii urine, etc. are discharged. %en that
energy subsides,89 elimination fails, and consciousness and the body
decline.
The ruthless energy of karma is a samsaric energy dwelling in the life-

root and so long as it exists this life-bearing energy sustains the body
and mind. It is associated with consciousness.
When the karmic energy stirs it flows from the fleshly heart (tsitta)
along the channel that is like a silken thread and, arriving at the secret
symbolic door,90 it remains there as awareness of presence, which is
like the light in between the eastern mountains over which the sun's
rays are dawning and the western mountains that are illuminated, a
field of vision shining in reality. Since present awareness is unimpeded
transparence, it is bound to the continuity of gnostic compassion.
Mounted upon the continuum of gnostic compassion, only intrinsic
radiance exists.
We stay in the radiance of awareness for five days, everything arising

at one in the now. 91 The envisionment of present awareness shines
like a rainbow appearing in the sky.
The wisdom of realization arises in successive visions:
1The upper door is the fontanel, the door of purity (tshan.~s pa 'i {~O,
brahmarandhra) the location of the crown chakra of great bliss, and the
lower door is the perineum (.cte11g .,go 'o.1! J__-'!O .~'~}i.,).
" Sen;cn and blood (thig le dkar dmar) are the seminal nuclei (bodhichitta).
On the first day,i nonfixated presence expresses itself as sky-blue light,

and present awareness of spaciousness is recognized as self-
envisioned, self-arising, intrinsically clear, intrinsically radiant, where
nothing is to be seen and no one is there to see.
On the second day, on top of the light of awareness of spacious-ness,

mirror-awareness arises. When its white light becomes visible in the
field of appearances, in itself it is indeterminable presence and mirror-
awareness.
On the third day, when yellow light appears in the field of

appearances, in itself it is the radiance of the awareness of same-ness,
self-envisionment as the inseparable union of presence and emptiness.
On the fourth day, when red light appears in the field of appearances,
in itself it is the radiance of discriminating awareness, awareness
discriminating the unreified envisionment of wisdom.
On the fifth day, when green light appears in the field of appearances,
in itself it is the radiance of all-accomplishing aware-ness performing
the self-envisionment of reality.
In that ordered process, each day a further vision of present awareness

shines forth. With the direct process of letting go, a realized wisdom is
engendered in each envisionment. With recognition of no-mind,
awareness has no witness and there is no controller. On the fifth day,
sublime form is perfected and wisdom is complete, and instant-
aneously the five mandala-circles in the mandala of the clear light of
reality are expressed as a noncrystalizing mudra. With that fivefold
finality, the sublime vision is perfect and complete.
Regarding those sublime forms, six direct intuitions arise along with
the dharma-eye, which is 'the eye of reality'. How does that occur?
The first intuition is direct intuition of the dharma-eye, which directed

upwards observes the imperceptible existential dimension of the
precious dharmakaya. Looking straight ahead, it sees the forty-twofold
mudra of the multifarious sambhogakaya dimension of perfect
' \'01ereas in the case of those of superior or middling capacity the experience
of release was differentiated according to 'moments', here the division is
according to 'days'. These 'days' appear to consist of abstracted visionary
aspects of instantaneous rainbow-like experience.
Tiklt:!J Ivmse/ 207
enjoyment. Looking downwards, it illuminates the pure-lands of the

magical nirmanakaya dimension just as they exist in the hollow of
karmic propensities.
The second is direct intuition of the ear, which, directed upwards,

hears timeless buddha mind of one-pointed soft-focused present
awareness talking to itself. Directed straight ahead, it illuminates the
five sambhogakaya circles. Directed downwards, it hears all that is
spoken in the pure-lands of magical emanation.
The third is direct intuition of buddha mind. Focused upwards into

the hollow of the precious dharmakaya, full awareness of
nondiscriminating wisdom with its intrinsic nongrasping clarity, free
of any thought of extrinsic appearance, shines forth. Directed to the
front, it illuminates its own fluid vision. Directed downwards it
illuminates the pure-lands of magical emanation, and knows the
thoughts of all sentient beings.
The fourth is direct intuition of place, which implies knowledge of

trikaya's dwelling place in terms of spaciousness, lightform and the
four great elements. It constantly clarifies the fluid, evanescent, six-
realm environment.
The fifth is direct intuition of karma, which is clear awareness of our

own past actions and all migrant beings' present actions and their
effects.
The sixth is direct intuition that extends compassionate blessing

irradiating all migrant beings appropriately, 92 and since the six realms
are essentially identical, it sees them all as equally tractable. It entails
clear intuition of how the six sublime forms of magical emanation
emerge.
Best Beloved! If you ask, 'Why is the dharma-eye so called?' It is called

the dharma-eye because it clearly sees both the samsaric experience of
magical samsaric emanation and the nirvanic experience of the
precious dharmakaya free of all conceptual thought. 'Direct intuition'
implies direct perception of what is hidden. 'Eye' implies seeing
clearly, without thought, like a mirror image.
At that time, with conswnmate v1S1on, the six self-sprung seminal

syllables are A A l-L\ SIL\ SA ;\L\.i Best Beloved, the fundamental
meaning of these six letters is to be found in the dharmakaya ground.
'Spaciousness', 'awareness of presence' and 'unchanging wisdom' are

the same, without distinction.
The dimension of magical nirmanakaya emanation subsumes the

karmically conditioned body wherein reside the six locations of the
seminal syllables, which are glossed as unarticulated buddha-speech.
Emanating from sambhogakaya's tongue is the mute ground of

emerging compassion, and emanating from the six seminal syllables
like coils of jeweline thread or spiraling rainbow light, karmically pure
apparition manifests through both male and female eyes, while
karmically engendered sentient beings issue from the womb.
\Vhile riding out of the secret place of Sukhavati on the mare of

blissful light, pure pleasure is hidden in an all-pervasive light-seed, like
elixir in a vase. Such emanation in a sublime magical dimension
functions in the now to benefit all sentient beings, to fulfill the needs
of wandering beings. Since such emanation is concept free, the
quandary that arises as conflicting purpose is avoided.
Each Tathagata arising from the one preceding, through uncaused

timeless emanation the process of buddha-emanation is sustained.
Since emanation is done for the sake of all sentient beings whatsoever,
it is not directed to any one specific place; doing whatever is beneficial
wherever it is required, multifarious magical emanation projected into
the ten directions is the agent of conversion. Because 'like converts
like', whatever is needed for release is thus always provided, provision
that is always afforded by the six munis.
To be held on the level of certainty in a pure-land by the hook of

gnostic compassion, that is the vision of holistic perfection. Later, identity
dissolves into dharmakaya, with integration in the undifferentiated
matrix of unlocatable all-inclusive awareness, and thereby, finally, great
holistic perfection!
'The consonants in this string appear in other contexts in a different order.

Tiklay Ivmsel 209
The eighty-eighth chapter of the great tantra Tiklqy Kunsel teaches in brief how
those of the highest facult; experience no-release; the distinction between the manner
ef release ef superior, middling and lesser persons; direct recognition ef fivefold
pe,fection; the six supersenso,y perceptions and the wqy in which gnostic compassion
arises; and differentiation of holistic pe,fection.
89. Release and Compassion: Definition

Vajradhara! Please tell us the meaning of 'release' and 'compassion'.
The Teacher responded: Master of the Secret, listen well! We shall tell
you here the respective essences, semantic meanings, types and
illustrative metaphors of 'release' and 'compassion'.
~'e affirm that the essence of release is experience of nirvana as

samsara dissolves. Here are different specific definitions: Release from
the objective world is known essentially through experience of
ubiquitous effulgence. Release from the body is, essentially, identity
with pure presence in the immaterial jeweline hollow. Release from
the mind is, essentially, identity with the intrinsic clarity of pure
presence.
'Release' is semantically defined as complete freedom from stressful

striving together with freedom from deluded mind.
Its categories - release from the objective world, from body and from
mind - have already been explained in the context of the essence.
The similes for release are 'like a snake untying its knots' and 'like a
knot in a horse's tail automatically untied'.
The essence of gnostic compassion is defined as the essential

incessant fluidity of the dimension of magical nirmanakaya emanation.
It is called 'compassion' because it is constantly engaged in dispelling
all the potential negativity of dualistic attitudes.
These are the two types of compassion: great and small, unmotivated
and motivated.i
Gnostic compassion is like a fisherman's iron hook or like a lifeboat.

Dispelling unawareness, it is like the sun. Curing the dis-ease of
suffering, it is like a doctor and like medicine.
The eigh!)-ninth chapter of the great tantra Tiklay 'Ivtnsel explains the meaning of
release and compassion.
90. Metaphors and Similes: Test

Vajradhara! How would you illustrate the state of being in the
karmically conditioned hollow?
How would you illustrate sublimation into the jeweline hollow?ii
How would you illustrate sublimation in the bardo due to present

realization?
How would you illustrate nonseparation from present awareness,

when the hollow of karmic propensities is abandoned?
How would you illustrate the reversal of delusion?
A person with realization may be confused by disease or adverse

circumstances in death, wisdom arising only later. How would you
illustrate that?
How would you illustrate the way in which present awareness

manifests before dharmakaya has fully embraced the body?
' Great compassion is 'gnostic compassion' (thugs ,je chen po, pronounced tukje
chempo) and small compassion is 'relative compassion' (thugs 1J'e
pronounced tukje), 'w-ithout and with an object, nonconceptual and
conceptual (rlog med dang ni rlog bcas), respectively.
;, Here 'sublimation' is preferred to 'transference' for phowa (sbubs 'pho ba).
Tiklay Kunsel 211
'What would be pithy metaphors to illustrate the three moments of

release?
How would you illustrate release in a single moment?
How would you illustrate the immediate recognition of present

awareness?
How would you illustrate the inception of present awareness 10

spacious reality?
How would you illustrate 'nonreturning'?
How would you illustrate the attainment of perfect buddha?
How would you illustrate resumption of consciousness of a person

without realization subsequent to unconsciousness in the bardo?
How would you illustrate the self-release of ninnanakaya after its

purpose had been achieved?
How would you illustrate sambhogakaya passing into rurvana after

conclusion of its purpose?
How would you illustrate multiplicitous essence 10 a single

buddhafield?
How would you illustrate the potenttatton of diverse creative

expression in singular pure presence?
How would you illustrate the identiry of the natural condition with
release from the natural condition?
How would you illustrate the four alternatives?
How would you illustrate self-illuminating present awareness?
How would you illustrate the absence of release in a state of

unrealized meditation?
How would you illustrate the intrinsic clarity of vision in the jeweline
hollow wherein nothing extrinsic is perceptible?
212 Everything Is Ugh!
How would you illustrate the state of delusion encountered initially in

the jeweline hollow?i
How would you illustrate subsequent absence of delusion 1n the

jeweline hollow?
And the Master of the Secret continued: What is the essence of

'metaphor'? What is its semantic explanation? How is it classified?
What is sublime vision?
The Teacher responded: Best Beloved, know this!
Living in a karmically conditioned hollow is illustrated metaphorically

by a lion cub or a garuda fledgling.
Sublimation into the jeweline hollow is illustrated metaphorically by a

chick hatching from an egg or a snake sloughing off its skin.
Sublimation in the bardo due to present realization is illustrated

metaphorically by immediate recognition of a friend from the past.
Nonseparation from present awareness at the moment of sublimation

in the hollow of karmic propensities is like a person taking a lamp
from the kitchen to show the way out and thus leaving the kitchen in
the dark.
The reversal of delusion 1s illustrated metaphorically by a sudden

awakening from sleep.
A person with realization may be confused by disease or adverse

circumstances in death, but having attained total recall, his subsequent
recollection of wisdom is illustrated metaphorically by the reflection
of the moon in a lake, imperceptible after a stone has been thrown
into the water, becoming perceptible again when the water is still.
The way that present awareness manifests before dharmakaya is fully

amplified is illustrated metaphorically by the light of the sun rising
over mountains in the east illuminating the mountains in the west
while the eastern mountains remain dark.
1 The 'je\\,eline hollow' is a synonym of dhamiakaya: see chapter 81.

Tiklay Ivmsel 21 J
Metaphors for the three moments of release are 'the gathering hook'
(the primal ground), which secures us when the five-colored light no
longer catches us; 'condensation of distilled essence' as essential reality
dissolves into the space of incipient present awareness; and 'a
continuous thread of eternal music'.
A single moment of release is illustrated metaphorically as a lion's

leap, the radiance of a butter lamp when the vase in which it stands is
broken, and a shooting star falling through the sky.
Quick entry of cognition into present awareness 1s illustrated

metaphorically by a golden spoon.
The inception of present awareness in spacious reality is illustrated

metaphorically by a rainbow glistening in the sky.
'Nonreturning' is illustrated metaphorically by a thunderbolt and also

by a 'lucky' or 'heroic' arrow.
The attainment of perfect buddha is illustrated by the absence of any

distinction between mountains and valleys at daybreak, 93 by stars
reflected in a lake and by the reflection of the moon in water.
After a lapse of consciousness in the bardo, subsequent resumption is

like the emergence of a tiny green sprout from a grey seed.
The self-release of nirmanakaya upon completion of its purpose is like

the merging of rivers in the ocean or the natural fading of light as the
sun sets.
Passing into nirvana 1s illustrated metaphorically by a rainbow

dissolving into the sky.
Multiplicitous presence in a single buddhafield is illustrated

metaphorically by the flaming wicks of many butter-lamps creating an
indivisible field of light.
The potentiation of multifarious creative expression in unitary pure

presence is illustrated metaphorically by different shoots germinating
from a single barley seed, different heads of grain developing on each
stem and the ripening of many seeds in each head.
The indivisibility of abiding in the natural disposition and being

released from it is illustrated metaphorically by the impossibility of a
partitioning of space.i
The 'four alternatives' are illustrated by these four similes: Release, the
simultaneity of one and many, is illustrated by the simile 'like gold and
its golden color'. Non-release is 'like the deception of an optical
illusion' or 'like the image of the moon in water'. Non-release of
release is 'like a porcelain pot or a vase'. 94 Release of non-release is
'like the sun and sunlight'.ii
The signal metaphor for self-illuminating present awareness 1s

inebriation (from chaniJ.
The state of absence of release due to unrealized meditation 1s

illustrated metaphorically by a drawing or a sculpture.
Seeing nothing extrinsic in the intrinsic clarity of sublime vision in the

precious jeweline hollow is illustrated by the simile 'like guests in a
spacious guesthouse, some arriving early and some late, all meeting
and sleeping together under a single roof.'iii
The initial state of delusion in the jeweline hollow is illustrated

metaphorically by a child failing to recognize its own face in a mirror.
Subsequent absence of delusion is illustrated metaphorically by the

child, having matured, recognizing itself in the mirror, or a barley
harvest, having ripened, never to tum green again.
Best Beloved, a metaphor is essentially a valid verbally articulated

symbol that provides detailed illustration. Its semantic definition is
that which reveals meaning by demonstrating similitude. Different
types of metaphor illustrate primal ground, creative expression, release
and nonduality. The purpose of the metaphoric trope is to induce
realization.
i For the partitioning of space, see also chapter 88 p.201.

ii For the four alternatives, see chapter 94. Perhaps the key to the non-release
of release is 'nothi11g ever happens' and the release of non-release is
'everything is always happening'.
iii .-\sin the vase-body of eternal youth (contributed by Tulku Sangngak).
Tiklay Kunsel 215
The ninetieth chapter ef the great tantra Tikla.J lvmsel provides a rehearsal ef
similes and metaphors together with definitions.
91. Nirvana: The Five Verses
Then the 1-1aster of the Secret made this request: Bhagawan

Vajradhara! How do we pass into nirvana?
The Teacher replied: We have already mentioned how buddha passes

into nirvana, but in case you are still uncertain, we will explain it in
greater detail, so listen!
1. Wisdom sublimated into space,

The unborn is naturally engendered;
2. The great elements melted into the mother lode,
All attributes are released as they stand;
3. Present awareness vanishing into spaciousness,
All effort dissolves into the primal ground;
4. Wisdom assimilated into space,
Trikaya reveals awareness' intrinsic clarity;
5. Pure presence returning to its primacy,
The sublime immutable vision is revealed.i

Vajradhara! If that is the sublime vision of the five spontaneously
originated verses, 95 please elucidate and elaborate them with your
great skill in means to your followers so that they are made totally
comprehensible.
The Teacher said: Listen, Vajrapani!
1. Four dakini qualities sublimating wisdom are called 'powerful

dakini', 'inspiring dakini', 'uplifting dakini' and 'steadfast dakini'.ii
The powerful dakini arises in nondual union.
iThese five verses are elaborated without division in the following

explication: the indices are only approximate indicators.
" Only the particle ma appears in the Tibetan to indicate gender. In the
absence of an equivalent English suffix, 'dakini' is used.
The inspiring dakini: At first, arising effortlessly, sublime form and

present awareness occur in the natural creativity of pure presence
('creative presence'); at last, the retinue is integrated into the five
principals and the five principals vanish into the jeweline hollow. No
force is employed here; she is called inspiring dakinii because of her
involuntary release.
The uplifting dakini: At this prop1t1ous moment, in dharmakaya,

which is like a precious jewel, no experience of material phenomena is
possible, and spacious reality, which is like the sky, and dharmakaya,
which is like the sky, are nondual transparence. Abiding light and
pure, ever upwards, this is the uplifting dakini.
The steadfast dakini: At this propitious moment, the breath of present

awareness falls into passivity, by virtue of the steadfast dakini.
The four dakinis, qualities of vital energy,ii are to be counted as one.
2. Best Beloved! The elemental dakini has five pacific features. The
five delusory great elements are absorbed into the radiance of fivefold
present awareness; and the fivefold radiance of present awareness in
tum is integrated into the five self-sprung elements.
At this propitious moment, the vital energy symbolized by the vajra-

cross becomes the seat, and there it cannot decline. At that propitious
moment, the vital energy is like a vajra-cross in its constancy. Then
the unmoving vital energy stirs; the water-crystal disc develops;96 and
undivided wisdom is concentrated in a single matrix - this is water
without moisture. All of that comprises immaculate spaciousness.
Again, in the real space of immaculate spaciousness, indwelling

presence and emptiness are inseparable. In that space, arising
unimpeded in the wisdom-eye, are five vases of light, and the nature
of that light is the five family sublime forms in unadulterated clarity.
That is the vision.
Best Beloved! Intrinsic clarity cannot be fixated. At that propitious

moment, solid earth is released into earth that has no solidity, but in
appearance it remains unchanged. Within the unchanging space of its
'5 hugs. St. Shakti, implies effortless accomplishment and 'chang is glossed
herein as (passive) 'bearer'.
n See chapter 86.
Tiklay Kunsel 217
own essence, unadulterated, as already stated, perfectly completed, it is

like a stupa. All distinctions evinced in the dualisms of good and bad,
great and small, wide and narrow, are now absent; all experience is
homogenous. In present awareness of sublime form as its mode of
being, awareness of its inception as its mode of appearance, pure
empty nondual pleasure as its mode of realization - its modes are
inseparable.
Best Beloved! At that propitious moment, as fire with heat is released

into fire burning without heat, awareness of presence is free of all
thought of extrinsic appearance. The sublime form and present
awareness of pure presence exist, but they exist as a nondual reality.
When the seed matures into fruit, the fruit remains unchanged; fire,
flaming like a lotus, ripens what is unripe. The intrinsic radiance of the
awareness of presence transcends the great elements, present
awareness transcending light, wisdom transcending the relative mind,
in all time abides without birth, cessation or depletion. The all-
pervading radiance that does not color space is like the tip of the
victory banner.i
3. All five great elements originally arise from the mother lode, and
finally they are released back into the mother lode. Since they have no
location, nonabiding, the great elements dissolve into the mother lode.
Arising initially in indivisible spaciousness and presence, all five great
elements are finally purified and dissolve back into the space from
which they arose. That mirrors the precept of present awareness
dissolving into spaciousness. As awareness dissolves into
spaciousness, discriminating wisdom is resolved, and since no
apparent form exists as object, only soft-focused nondual awareness,
which is the authentic eye of present awareness, can be said to exist.
At that time, wisdom and the dharma-eye have vanished.
Best Beloved! Present awareness dissolves into spaciousness, but it

does not become mere nothingness. Present awareness of
spaciousness, water without moisture, is integrated internally where
there is no interior. Since sublime form and present awareness abide
in interior clarity, wisdom reverts to space.
' :\ ritual tubular umbrella (ro_ral than) hung on the spike at the pinnacle of a
perpendicular rod.
4. To indicate that in more detail, here are four attributes: As sublime

form and present awareness dissolve into spaciousness, because pure
presence is uncrystalizing in intrinsically clear spaciousness, no
dullness arises with its dissolution. No dullness can be, and mind is
immaculate. Present awareness of inclusive self-envisionment, which
has no concept of extrinsic appearance, is awareness free of fixating
thought.
Best Beloved! Nothing but that intrinsic presence itself can truly exist.
Through such a realization, appearance appears only very subtly
conditioned, and cognizing that truth does not involve any
transformation. For example, although the roof of a house appears to
obscure the space outside by separating the outside from the inside,
looking carefully again, indivisible space remains above the head:
space is indivisible. Likewise, although present awareness is occluded
in the hollow of karmic propensities, awareness and transparence are
still ubiquitously present, and once that is realized, clear light is
revealed everywhere. Thus, what is seemingly existent has no
substantial identity.
Timeless buddhai dwells in that real space, but buddha abides in the
unthought intrinsic clarity of undivided wisdom. The qualities of pure
presence arise in the matrix of presence in the first place, and finally
they abide unreified in that matrix. Within the consorts' five vases,
each sublime form of present awareness is expressed individually, the
self-envisionment free of any intrusion. That reality, unadulterated,
remains undivided.
5. At that propitious moment, pure presence resumes its primacy.

Since the nondual existential dimension of dharmakaya is unchanging,
sublime form (buddha) is empty like a vajra. The eye of awareness of
presence shining incessantly within the nondual dimension of
dharmakaya, the sambhogakaya dimension of perfect enjoyment is
unimpeded, symbolized by the swastika.
At that propitious moment, the five magical nirmanakaya emanation

families abiding in the eye of present awareness, the wisdom of those
three indivisible existential dimensions swirls into the one matrix,
i Buddha of 'the great time' encompasses buddha of the three times (dus gsum
gyi san.gs ll}'m).
Tiklay Ivmsel 219
concentrating in the sole all-inclusive, timeless session, abiding in the

sole continuous samadhi.
At that propitious moment, release from both perceptual poles

occurs, and no extrinsic appearance remains in the self-envisionment.
As the two eyes become pure and empty, only the soft-focused eye of
awareness' natural clarity remains. Freed from the two dimensions,
stainless like a precious jewel, presence dwells naked.
The nineryjirst chapter of the great tantra Tiklay Kunse/ provides a vision of
niroana and explains the five verses that describe it.
92. Nirvana: Definition
Bhagawan Vajradhara! Please explain to us the meaning of 'nirvana'.
The Teacher replied: Best Beloved, listen to this! We shall explain to

you the meaning of nirvana in four parts: its essence, semantic
definition, types and characterization.
Nirvana is essentially unlocatable all-inclusive awareness.
Nirvana is explained semantically as 'passing beyond the extreme of

suffering and abiding in pure, unthought bliss'.
Nirvana is classified as either conditioned or unconditioned nirvana.
Nirvana is characterized as the resolution of all conceptual extremes.
The nine(:y-second chapter of the great tantra Tiklay Kunse/ explains the meaning
of niroana.
93. The Eyes
Then the Master of the Secret made this request: Clear

Nonconceptual Teacher! Please explain the usage of 'the eye'.
The Teacher replied: In all our tantras and agamas, wherever we talk
about 'the eye', understand it according to this explanation.
The types and essences are as follows: The eye of present awareness is
wide open and soft-focused. The dharma-eye is unthinking, clear and
omniscient. The eye of wisdom is incisively discriminate. The divine
eye is authentic; it has the vision of those whose karmic propensities
have been extinguished. Fleshly eyes are clear, serviceable organs of
authentic samadhi. 'Water-bubble' eyes provide ordinary vision for
embodied beings with karmic propensities.i
They are called 'eyes' because they can see clearly without hindrance.
The common characteristic of an eye is an absence of any veil or
obscuration. The simile for the eye is 'like the heart of the sun'.
The ninery-third chapter of the great tantra Tiklay Kunsel explains the meaning of
'the rye:
94. The Four Alternatives: Explanation
Then the Master of the Secret made this request: Omniscient

Conqueror! Please tell us the meaning of the 'four alternatives'/ a
phrase often used in your tantras, agamas and upadeshas.
The Teacher replied: Vajrapani, listen attentively! We shall give you

the essence, semantic definition, types and illustrative metaphors of
the alternatives. The metaphors have already been given. The essence
of the four alternatives is given in the two typical examples of time
and release.
1For 'six eyes' see G:\"T.

"The four 'alternatives' or 'logical possibilities' (mu bah) given here and in
chapter 90 regarding release are: release, non-release, non-release of
release, and release of non-release. In other contexts the validity of these
alternatives (as four conceptual extremes), relating to the eight conceptual
components - birth and cessation (slryed gag), and nothingness (retag
chad;, being and non-being (,yod med;, appearance and emptiness (snan,i;
stong), are refuted by application of the tetralemma (refutation of positive,
negative, both positive and negative and neither positive nor negative
premises): see GNT.
Tik/ay lvmsel 221
If we distinguish the four alternatives regarding time, we have the

juncture of physical consummation; the juncture of creative potent-
iation of wisdom; the juncture of optimizing supreme present
awareness by breaking the physical mold; and the juncture of breaking
the mold of compassion in authentic buddha perfection.
In relation to release, these are the four alternatives:
Release from the dualism of one and the many eventuates through the
holistic essence of self-sprung awareness. How is that, Best Beloved?
The essence or light-seed of self-sprung awareness itself is illuminated
by self-sprung awareness. Release occurs in this resolution of the one
and the many.
However, until that release occurs, dharmakaya and space are

experienced as separate. How is that, Best Beloved? The pure nature
of space, the essence of color and dimension, and likewise the essence
of the four great elements, is seen as free of all karmic propensity,
essentially empty, appearing separate, without presence. Thus the all-
embracing essence (light-seed) and dharmakaya, although apparently
similar, appear mutually exclusive, and therefore, no release from the
dichotomy of the one and the many is possible.
Non-release of release: Relative mind and present awareness have the

same primal ground. However, since mind is conceptual and present
awareness is nonconceptual, creative expression is not released.
Release of non-release lies in the relation between light-seed and the

field of appearance, wherein light-seed is unreified presence and the
field of appearances likewise pure presence but as an empty absence.
Release does not occur in a continuum of experience of separate

entities, but on the contrary consists of indivisible emptiness and
form, as transparent radiance beyond any specific designation.
Therefore, even non-release is our release.
The nineryfourth chapter of the great tantra Tiklqy Kunsel teaches the meaning of
the four alternatives.
95. Meaning of the Spoken Word

Vajradhara! Please teach us the meaning of the spoken word.i
whatsoever spoken word is articulated it has a 'spacious grounding' (i),
vocalization (ii), function of elimination (iii), and positive benefit (iv).ii
A summary of these four topics is taught here.
The 'spacious grounding' of the spoken wordiii is comprised of A and

A. These two sounds, potential and actual, are the source of
everything. How is that primal ground articulated? ~U expresses its
nonduality. SA expresses its unchanging nature. HA expresses the self-
sprung unreified present awareness in its midst. SHA expresses the
wisdom that emerges therein.
KA is the first consonant, and it is comprised of A and A in the same

way that gnostic compassion manifests in two dimensions. KI-L\
shows that those two dimensions, never transcending real space, abide
in real space. GA expresses the boundless, unrestricted nature of
potential and actual. NGA shows that everything arises in and as
nonduality.
TSA shows that the two, potential and actual, are the source of
everything. TSHA shows that all experience is known as nondual. DZA
shows that unreified gnostic compassion held within that nonduality is
without union or separation.
TA shows A as pure presence. Tl-L\. shows that abiding in the primal

ground A is liberated. DA shows that through nonduality perception is
uncontrived and unaffected. NYA shows that pure presence occurs as
iThe primitive faux etymology of this chapter is in part impenetrable. The

nub however appears to be that since A is the root the branches
necessarily partake of its nondual nature.
"These topics do not appear to be dealt with sequentially.
w The glyph A represents the unarticulated opening of the glottis and the
muted passage of air through the vocal chords. _\ is the short vowel
sound intrinsic to every consonant. As a unity A and A represent the
primal ground.
Tiklay Knnsel 223
present awareness. NA shows that it appears as unrealized sentient

being.
P.\ shows that the nonduality of pure presence is dharmakaya. PH.A

shows that nonduality appears as incessant skillful means. BA shows
that creativity manifests as sublime form. i\L\ shows that trikaya's
gnostic compassion lies awake in the trikaya ground.
R,_\shows that compassion is inseparable from the nondual. U shows

that all experience is diffused by and reabsorbed in the nondual primal
ground. Both realization and nonrealization arising in the ground,
there is therefore, both 'correct' and 'incorrect'.
In that way, the two 'mothers' A and A, potential and actual, are the
spacious ground of language.
The A and A are, therefore, vocalizing factors. Adding consonants to

the A, essential meaning is articulated, which is to say 'specified', but,
also, the consonant remains pure and simple.
When A is separated from .\, the syllable may become lengthened. HA

connected to 6, for example, the syllable is exalted, vocalizing
spontaneous accomplishment: natural articulation in the now, with
aspiration, birth and death are transcended. 'When the vowel U is
connected to f-L\, the syllable is shortened.
Regarding positive benefit, DZA is very useful. Together with PA, HA,
RA and SA diffusion is vocalized. PH.A and TA are mutually
supportive. The reverse TH.\ and the others of that class of sanskritic
consonants are short vocalizations.
Just as they are, all in their natural condition, the spoken word is
vocalized as spaciousness. Accordingly, all arising from A, each
participating in that value, the value of A is always partially vocalized.
That is the explanation of vocalization of the spoken word.
Since whatever is incompatible with A is eliminated by A, each

modification compatible with A also eliminated, everything extran-
eous, whether compatible or incompatible, is eliminated and there is
no 'other'.
(iv) Through delusive conventional conditioning, spoken words co-

operate to verbalize specific meanings, and inasmuch as that assists in
potentiating the immanent qualities of the primal ground, the spoken

word is extremely useful.
The nine(y-fifih chapter ef the great tantra Tiklcry Kunsel explains the significance
ef the spoken word
96. Clarifying Definitions and Avoiding Errors
Then the Master of the Secret made this request: Compassionate

Bhagawan! You have explained the expressions that you have used in
your tantras and agamas and upadeshas, but how do we avoid subtle
mistakes of interpretation?
The Teacher responded: Vidhyadharas, listen well! All the essential

points of tantras, agamas and upadeshas have been explained in this
Circle ef Total Illumination that we have just taught, and the interior
structure of all vocalization is implied in the explanations provided
above. 97
Best Beloved, a 'chapter' is a particular section of a text containing

related material, teaching primarily the topic indicated by its title.
A 'paragraph' refers to an interior part of a chapter with its subject

matter common to a particular topic.
All 'holistic light-seed' or 'holistic essence' 1s to be inferred as

unchanging and nonspecific.
All 'appearance' is to be considered 'a field of appearances', or 'a

vision'.
A 'place' or 'object'98 is to be understood as a place (of residence), or

'an objective field', a field of appearances or an object of knowledge.
'Pure presence' is dhannakaya; it is what is known; it is the antithesis

of dead matter, and it is the contrary of ignorance that is 'absence of
presence'.
All 'immanent qualities'99 are always appropriate to the situation and

congruent; as a basis and a ground, they are always unreified.
Tiklay Kunsel 225
Every 'error' or 'fault' in1plies an extreme, a case of dualistic

perception, din1inished presence, intolerance, a damned particularity, a
discordant factor, and something to be abandoned.
Every 'final holistic vision'l<Jo implies a metaphysical view and

existential fruition.
Every 'fruition' implies a goal fulfilled, though such goals may be

dissimilar and variable.
All 'sublime vision' implies 'bedrock' and 'intrinsic all-embracing

identity'.
The notion of 'I' is unfabricated, unmoving, unsurpassable, abiding

and unchangeable.
'Intrinsic nature' may imply indeterminacy, incongruity, or 'the

common reality of multiplicity'.
Every mention of 'essential all-embracing identity' refers to indivisible

pure presence, irrespective of its overt nature.
All movement is creativity
'Breathless movement' is (like) thoughtless creativity.
'Confinement in a hollow' 1' 11 implies the presence of obstructive

mental constructs.
\Vherever the expressions 'like that', 'accordingly', 'similarly' and so

on, occur, they refer to the metaphor or simile mentioned either
previously or subsequently.
The particle 'that' indicates what has been mentioned previously and is
going to be treated now either briefly or extensively.
'That' implies that what has been indicated previously and what has
been excluded from that are one
'This' separates meanings.
'All sentient beings' implies a vision of buddha-quality.

Every metaphor or simile is an adornment, a powerful tool, a direct

approach and a blessing.
Every use of 'and this also' indicates that a central topic is dealt with
either before or after.
'Why', 'for what reason' and 'that is why' refer to some reasoning or
justification.
The plural sign, 'without exception' and 'everything', 'all' and so on

are expressions subsuming all identical or subsidiary entities.
'Enlightened' (~aniJ, qualifies pure presence; 'mind' (chub) refers to

present awareness; 'enlightenment' (f?yaniJ is dhannakaya; 'fullness'
(chub) is sambhogakaya and 'relative mind' (sems) is ninnanakaya.
'Pure luminous mind' (~ang chub sems) is also explained as the ground
(sems) and its creativity (f?:yang chub).
'Reality' is described as 'unchanging', 'the absolute specific' and

'spaciousness'.
'Wisdom' (shes rab) is defined as 'nonconceptual and impartial', and

differentiating, and noncrystalizing.
A 'lamp' illuminates; 'darkness' is the ignorance that is diminished

presence.
'Arising' or 'dawning' can be applied to an occurrence in the field of

appearances, to realization or to creativity, where the meaning is self-
evident.
'Self-sprung' describes what is uncompounded and defines creativity;

and defines a cherished fleeting moment.
'Lightfonn' is something that has no intrinsic nature and shines

without obscuration.
'What is signified is 'the ground'; what signifies is 'the means'.
'Cnlocatable' or 'nonabiding' implies freedom from conceptual

extremes.
'Immaculate' implies thorough-going purity.

Tiklay Kunsel 227
'Pure' 102 means experience free of all concrete attributes.
'Selfless' implies an absence of relative identity and freedom from

discursive mind.
The primal ground is 'reality', 'dharmakaya' or 'present aware-ness', 103

as the context demands.
'Creativity' is the light of both samsara and nirvana.
'Display' is described as 'a field of appearances' and 'an aspect'.
'Enlightened behavior' 104 is appropriate activity.
'Perfection' or 'completion' implies that nothing is excluded or 'total

inclusivity'.
'Great' implies 'uncontrived' and 'without a superior'.
'Present awareness itself1115 is cognition of the matrix. It is the primal

ground itself. Realizing it is release.
'Dakini' (sky-dancer) can denote 'vajra', present awareness, karma

(action) or 'flesh-eating'.
The 'dancer', or 'traveller', in this case refers to sky-dancer,

compassionate dancer, and karmic dancer, according to realization.
'Ablaze' 106 describes noncrystalization.
'Behavior'1117 characterizes our lives.
A 'doorway' is a portal for experience and engagement.
A 'key' is something that opens, discloses and releases.
'Holiness' 108 implies fearless commitment with integrity.
'Respect' or 'glory'109 is an attainment of mutuality.
'Compassion' is either a universal or a blessing.
'Noble individual' refers to someone who has attained the supreme

reality and, as a pilot for people, leads them upwards.
'Human birth' is the springboard of all birth, our place of origin.
'Woman' (mo) is the name of wisdom.
'Skillful means' is the method of goal-accomplishment.
A 'branch' is defined as an extension of what appears to exist.
'Absence' implies unchanging, unstructured, simplicity.
'Gold' symbolizes immutability.
A 'scripture' implies unadulterated tradition.
'The natural disposition' 110 is what is unadulterated.
'Samsara' is defined as whatever appears.
'Becoming' cannot be stopped.
'Absence' has the capacity to appear as something ansmg from

nothing.
'Bearer' or 'holder' 111 implies the absence of both union and

separation.
'Tantra', or 'continuity', 1s defined as 'symbolic representation of a

fleeting moment'.
'Linguistic convention'112 necessitates an agreement based on partiality

and bias.
'Names', significant particles of sound,

Such as 'radiance' that is self-envisionment,
Defining all 'experience', subtle or gross,
Are conceived in 'dualistic thought'.
'Buddha', beyond all such finite experience,
'Pure presence' that abhors dualistic perception,
'Intrinsic radiance' that infuses the great elements,
Such is transparent self-envisioning presence,
The present awareness beyond all sublime form.
Dharmakaya arising in full knowledge
Envisionment is beyond all words,
Unimaginable, free of extrinsicality.
Tiklay l.vmsel 229
'Path' implies a place and a doorway. 10
Sentient beings hold incomprehensible concepts. 114
'Delusion' describes an inconsistent and scattered mind.
'Mind' provides equivocal, ambivalent, thought and memory.
'Traversing' is moving to and fro; no movement, no traversing!
'Enlightened' 115 describes the great bliss of release from suffering.
'To understand' is to know the true meaning.
'To abide' is simply to be without any effort (and to have arrived

without any deliberate approach).
A 'boat' refers to a method of release.
'Samadhi' is clarity, or soft-focus.
'Supreme' means 'unrivalled' and 'greatest'.
'Pre-eminent' means 'sublime' or 'exalted'.
'Unsurpassable' means that nothing above or beyond itself existing, it

cannot be outshone.
'Vajrasattva' is the very nature of the buddha-teacher, pure presence

definitively revealed.
'Profound' means deep or unfathomable; depth is difficult to fathom

because it is so subtle.
'Reality' is so-called inasmuch as it 'holds' attributes; it is empty and

pure; 116 it is dependent upon everything else, and it is the source of all.
A 'bodhisattva' devotes himself to others and accomplishes the

spiritual stages.
'The three groups' are buddha, bodhisattvas and sentient beings.

Bodhisattva perception is incompatible with buddha above and with
sentient beings below. This incompatibility allows a threefold
distinction.
'Pure luminous mind' (bodhichitta) is essentially 'nonconceptual

impartial knowing' empowered by samadhi; since . in itself it is
released, 117 it cannot be apprehended or defined by discriminating
cognition.
Fundamental, inherent karmic propensities are not to be counteracted;

such stains of perception are naturally pure - meditation is
superfluous. Until that is realized, pure contemplative vision clarifies
ephemeral karmic propensities, and by meditative fixation upon an
object, karmic propensities that appear to be fundamentally inherent
are seen as fleeting.
The function of clarification refers to release in intrinsic radiance;

what is so subtle can only be radiance. The metaphors for purity in
radiance are 'snow falling on snow', 'ice forming on a lake', and 'a
piece of soiled cloth'.
The simile for 'fundamentally inherent' is 'like water in milk'.
'Adventitious(ness)' is evoked by the simile 'like earth in water'.
'Elimination' is evoked by a sword or an iron hook.
'Secret' means what is hidden and cannot be revealed.
'Buddha' is ultimacy.
'Ignorance' is delusion.
Being protected engenders a 'god'.
Beauty engenders a 'goddess'.
Loving kindness engenders a 'lord' or 'guardian' (gompo).
Multifarious creative activity is 'selfless activity'.
'Master', inasmuch as he possesses great power, has vast immanent

quality.
Stainless, unchangeable and omniscient is 'buddha mind'.
'Buddha speech' is interpreted by each according to his needs.

Tiklay Kunse/ 231
Lustrous and splendid describes 'sublime form'. 118
'The male and female of a couple' represent skillful means and perfect
knowing, respectively.
Bodhisattvas are called 'heirs of buddha' inasmuch as they are born

together with ultimate enlightenment.
These semantic definitions are applicable in all the tantras and agamas
we have taught. If dispute arises over any meaning, whatever is
disputed should be adjudicated by lord, minister and subjects. The
process of inquiry and response should be performed in a faultless
judicial manner so that evidence is established. When contradictions
and superfluities have been eliminated, all considerations appraised,
the meaning that has arisen should be etched in stone
Regarding a premise supporting a false view, any argument proven

inappropriate should be rejected. Excluding what is wrong, what
remains is evidence of what is right. Supportive factors negate
opposing support. Awareness of intrinsic presence, the existence of
which cannot be refuted or proven, is like a despot's mighty castle.
Such evidence is proof sufficient. Three logical arguments and a
fourth supporting argument defeat similar negative arguments.
Whatever word is in dispute, such as 'all-inclusive envisionment',

when it is debated among friends it should be discussed with question
and answer regarding the key meaning and our explanation given
herein. When appropriate, a definition will fit every context; when
inappropriate it should be rejected. Inasmuch as the meaning is
undisputable, free from doubt, firmly established as an 'object of
knowledge', it is said to be proven and the appropriate convention
and qualms are expunged.
The ninety-sixth chapter ef the great tantra Tik/cry Kunse/ defines meanings and
shows how to avoid errors.
97. Entrusting the Tantra
Then the Teacher uttered the following statement entrusting the

tantra to Vajrapani and Garab Dorje: Vajrapani, Master of the Secret!
This great Cinle ef Total 1//umination, an overview of The Great
Perfection, is a key to clarifying the tenninology of all of our

upadeshas, its meaning increased by verbalization, _understanding
induced just by reciting it. Vajrapani, it is hereby entrusted to you!
Retain it, Garab Dorje! Without addition or subtraction, give it to your
retinue assembled here today and your future followers! This secret
general commentary is the eye of all tantras and agamas, so proclaim it
without any reservation.
Alas, you poor fools! If you belief in dogma and avoid any
disparagement of it, you lose the main thread of this Circle of Tota/
Illumination, and failing to experience immutable self-sprung
awareness, you will take all seemingly substantial thing as real.
However, following this Circle of Total Illumination, you will surely
realize the changeless vision of present awareness!
You may not realize the intangible peace of dharmakaya, but you will
not take empty nothingness as real! Follow this Circle of Total
Illumination and you will realize nondual self-envisionment!
You may not realize either natural perfection or its mode of

perception, but you will not take any polarity as true! Without
demeaning it, follow this Circle of Total Illumination and realization of
nondual self-envisionment will ensue!
You may not realize trikaya in either union or separation, but you will
not accept the two mentally imputed phases of creation and
fulfillment as valid. Avoiding disparagement, if you follow this Circle of
Total Illumination realization of present awareness, spontaneously
perfect, will ensue!
You may not realize the meaning of the inclusive circle of total
illumination, but you will not fixate on the specific sound of the letters
and the semantic meaning of the words. Rather, you will gain first-
hand experience of the Circle of Total Illumination, and present
awareness will brighten your mind!
Thus spake Vajradhara.
Then Vajrapani and his retinue placed their palms together in homage
and circumambulated Bhagawan many times. And Vajrapani said:
Bhagawan Vajradhara! This explanatory tantra called The Circle of Total
Illumination elucidates all tantras, agamas and upadeshas, enlightens the
darkness of the ignorance of all of us assembled in this retinue, and
Tiklay Kunsel 233
comprehends all the tantras, agamas and upadeshas. This reality-text

was spoken by you, the Teacher, Vajradhara, to dissolve the ignorance
of this your entire retinue and of future followers. It carries us over
the ocean of samsara; it unties the knot of our conflicting emotion; it
dispels all intellectual doubt; and it gives us meaning and purpose. It
severs the vicious circle of rebirth, establishes us in sublime vision,
leads us onto the supreme path of freedom, bestows authority
through vision, conveys the meaning of all secret precepts, and
establishes the value of the eight lower approaches.
Ei\L\.HO! ~'hat a wonderful secret! The essence of this definitive

explanatory tantra has never manifested, nor can it ever manifest. It is
the perfect epitome of the unchanging dharmakaya, released in the
matrix of immutable compassion, moved by the breath of self-sprung
awareness into the symbolic door of the clarifying lotus. All of us
gathered together here, entering the hidden door of awareness, melt
into the matrix of all-inclusive present awareness.
So good! So good! It is so good!
With present awareness of trikaya fully perfected, we bow down to the

omniscient lord!
The ninery-seventh chapter of the great explanatory tantra of secret precept, called
Tiklq; Kunsel, The Circle of Total Illumination, explains that through a full
understanding achieved q)' reading, with enormous satisfattion, complete
entrnstment and sublime tantric vision are confemd
Here ends the great tantra of secret precept called Tiklcry Kunsel, The Circle of
Total Illumination, spoken ambiguous/)', requiring interpolation/
This Circle of Total Illumination,

Which is like a third eye,
Should not be hidden from the few,
Nor propagated among the many.
If you violate this injunction,
May the Great Delivererii and his retinue
Cut your life-root and suck your blood!
i;\lore literally this line reads '\X'ithout any defining syllables or punctuation'
(tshig bar dan,~ 'bru la n,~es pa med pa gsung., pa).
" Yamaraja, Sgroi byed chen po.
Garab Dorje taught this tantra to Manjushrimitra, and thereafter it

was transmitted through a succession of masters and disciples. It was
translated into the Tibetan language by the Indian scholar Shri Singha
and the Tibetan translator Bairotsana.
Tiklay Ivmsel 235
Endnotes: Textural References
Tb = Tsamdrak (Mtshams bragj

Tk = Tingkye (Gting skye)
The suggested textural emendations included in these endnotes represent

only the most significant of the readings that appear ambiguous or uncertain.
1 Purnaye bar zhi, Rdo rje khro gdong ma, Gtsug gj rgyan gcig ma, Ro za nang shan
thod pa'i 'phreng ba can, rdo rye rlunggi gshogpa can.
2 Tb chos men; Tk chos yin; read chos min.
3 Gnas pa dus 19i kun gzhi 'dug tshul brgyad kyi dpe.
4 Tb bad duf, Tk bag duf, read bag daL
S Tb gzhi la dka '; read Tk gzhi la bka '.

6 Tb gzhi snang chen po 'i dpe la A zhes zer I dpe don rtogs 'our 'byor pas o yi sgra I de
bzhin rjes Jug rnams kyis legs par dgongs / bod skad thengs gsum don gyi khog
sdebs pas / rang 'byung dpe yi don du 'byor par nges / dpe kha cig ni kun tu
rgyugparyang shes par bya'o. The sense of this paragraph is obscure.
7 Tb rang mdangs chen po; read ranggdangs chen po.
8 Tb chos men; Tk chos min; read chos.
9 Tb gzhan J'ang bod skad thenggsum dang sbyar la/ gzhi mtshon pa'i tshig tu gro ba
'byung na/ de dang mthun par 'bru mnan to.

10 Tb & T k zhi gnas kyiye shes, read gzhi gnas kyiye shes.
11 Tb zhi gnas; read gzhi gnas.

12 Tb dus gsum mnyam pa'i dpe'u chung.
13 Tb & Tk zhi gnas kyiye shes. Hereafter zhi gnas = gzhi gnas.
14 Tb thig le spyi nang rtsaL
15 Brgyan and rol pa respectively.

16 Tb ngas bshad pa rnams ni 'bod skad thenggsum ois bod pa las 'khrul gzhi'i 'bru
mnan no.
11 Tb g,ryid; read Tkgl'!}is.
18 In both Tb & Tk the titles of chapters 18 and 19 are identical.
19 Dangs ma Inga and s,ryigs ma Inga.
20 Tk ranggdams; read Tb rang dangs in preference to ranggdangs or rang mdangs.
21 Tb (lacuna); read Tk dbanggis.
22 Sku pryag rgya, skt. kayamudra.
23 Tb 'bod skad thengs gsum don l!)'i khog dbub la/ longs sku 'i snang ba de bzhin shar.
24 Tb tshad medye shes phrin las rnam pa bzhis.
25 Tb gsal dus; Tk gsal du; read gsal nus.
26 Tb within 'du/ bya zhi dag thugs rje, read gzhi dag.
27 Thun is to be distinguished from mthun throughout.
28 Tb Sf!Jingpo sku Inga pl?J,ag rgya mi 'gag pa.
~ Th me ri 'bar ba'i rise mo.

30 Th b/oyis g1!]iS ~i mur 'dzjn pa.
31 Th & Tk m1!Jafll', read 1!Jams.
32 See Appendix 2 and Keith Dowman 2010 Canto 46 for translation of
Longchenpa's recension of this pasage.
33 Ibid Canto 85. Also Keith Dowman 2013, Original Pe,fection, p.67: Inner and
outer are one, the inner the outer itself,/ So there are no hidden
depths to discover.
34 Ibid Canto 49
35 Ibid Canto 69
36 Ibid Canto 115
37 Ibid Canto 23
38 Th rna/ 'byor shes rab rtsal chung la.
39 Tk gar sbyin la 'brangs bu 'i 'dab ma chags.
40 Th 'byung ba ma lagz.ha'; Tk 'byung ba ma la bz.hag. 'Resting in the elemental
matrix.'?
41 Th Rang las byung,, rang las snang,, rang las gsal.
42 Th go/ sar 'gro; Tk grol sar grol.
43 Th read mi sgom ma sgom pa'i don shes pas (nonmeditation between sessions);
Tk mi sgom bsgom pa'i dus shes pa, 'nonmeditating meditation'

(nonmeditation in sessions).
44 Th & Tk sgom pa'i mi sgom don shes pas (nonmeditation in sessions).
45 Th byin; read Tk brjid.

46 Th deyis rnam rtog shar, Tk de la rnam rtog shar.
47 Th rtog,, Tk rlogs. See also endnotes 53 and 58.
48 Th thabs kyis zjn pas.
49 Th rang mdangs.
50 Th chu yi sgrol ma-, read chu yi sgron ma.

51 Th dper nab/on po btson du bZ!'ng bas gros blo dang bya byed m/ehan med pa /ta bu'o
/ /us dang ma phral bas dbugsyod de / rig pa la rtayod pas blon po /ta bu 'o /
btson du zjn pa dang dra ste/ rtogpa'i ,gyuyod la ,gyu mi nus pa'o. But see
also chapter 86.
52 Sems dpa' rtsa bdun.
53 Th nor bu chu 'dangs; Tk nor bu chu mdangs.
54 Th ngang dangs-, read Tk ngang mdangs.
55 Th /eun las 'phags pa 'i che ba.
56 Th & Tk spags te-, read 'phags te.
57 Tb so g1!)is rtsa b,gyad rim pas spyod / sgrib pa bz.hin du drug tu gnas; Tk sa g,ryis
rtsa b,gyad rims pas spyod / sgrib pa bz.hi dang drug tu gnas.
58 Tb gz.han yang bod s/ead thengs gsum don gyi /ehog sdebs la/ /eun gsal nang 'dir bstan
pa bz.hin du bshad.
59 Don gyi mtshan ,ryid rnam par bz.hi.
60 Th read bstan /ehri; Tk bsnan /ehri.
Ti/e/ay KIins,/ 2J7
61 Tb dkrugs pas thags ~i dpun bzhin no.

62 Tb rim pas bab lugs.
63 Tb gzhi rdzogs rigpa'i rtsal dbang.
6-1 Tb bum pa 'i dbang.
65 Tb rgyal po rang rtags pf?yag rgya 'i dbang.
66 Tb btjed pa med pa 'i gZf'ngs.
67 Tb & Tk rtogpa 'conceptual thought'; read rtogs.
68 Tb ye shes spyi lugs.
69 Tb dbang rdzas bzhi. See
10 Tb pl!Je dang bscbts payin.
71 Tb 'dam bu'i phur btr, Tk 'dam pa'i phur ba. Read 'dam bu'i phor ba (fulku
Sangngak).
72 Tb rtogpa; Tk rtagpa. Read rtogs pa.
73 Tb f!)'i shu rtsagcig dang sum chu rtsa Inga rnams / bro lnga'i 'cbtg tshulyon tan Z!'r
Isam yi,r. the meaning of these lines is obscure.
74 Tb skad cig s~od pas.
75 Tb Byod songg'!JiS la snang ba g'!Yis I df?yingd na gnas pa mun paste/ le.ha 'thor
gnas pa g'!Jen thur snang.
76 Tb miggna.r, read Tk mi gnas.
77 Tb ngo sprod bzhi'i dgongs pa.
78 Tb rab 'breng; Tk rab 'bring.
79 See .-\ppendix 2 and Keith Dowman 2010, Canto 90.
80 Mtshon oi gru gu (dru bu) bsdoms pa bzhin.
81 Tb srogpa rtsa (srog rtsa).

82 See chapters 28 and 29.
83 Tb mngon shes chos chen.
84 Rnam pa kun mkf?yenye shes.
85 Tb /as daggang zag rnam par g'!JiS
86 Tb /us kyi rgyud las sems kyi rgyu shar bas
87 See Keith Dowman 2010 Canto 10.
88 Tb rlung gi rlung.
89 Tb 'pho ba rdzjngs pa
90 Tb rtags ~i gsang ba sgo: the location of the urna (between the eyebrows?).
91 Tb shar ba cig car shar ro.
92 Tb 'thun pa'i sems can; read, Tk mthun pa'i sems can.
93 Tb nam longs pas ri lungs med par gsal ba /ta bu dang
94 Tb kham pa dang bum pa /ta bu.
95 Tb rang byung tshig Inga 'i dgongs pa.
96 Tb chu she/oi 'khor lo brtsegs legs te.
97 Tb gnas skabs thams cad kyi 'bod skad ~is stkbs la / gong cbt ngas bshad pa rnams
su 'bru mnan no.
98 )'Ill
99 yon tan
100 grub mtha'

101 sbubs can rtog bcas
102 dagpa
10 3 chos '!)lid, chos sku,ye shes
104 Th & Tk mdz.a' spyod; read mdz.ad spyod.
105 ye shes '!)lid
106 'bar ba
107 mdz.ad spyod
108 dam pa
109 dpal
110 Th & Tk rag lugs; read rang lugs.
111 chang ba
112 tha S'!)'ad
113 gnas dang Jug sgo

114 Tb sems can ma shes pa'i rtog bcas so.
115 Th i?Jang chub.
116 Read Th rnam par dkar ba dang gz.han la brten pa; Tk rnam par dka' ba dang
gz.han la rten pa.

117 Th bsgo}, read Tk bsgrol.
118Jku
Appendix 1: The Mandala ofVairochana
The mandala ofVairochana is expressed in three ways in this

appendix. All of them employ the basic categories of the three
existential dimensions (trikaya).
In the first, under the heading 'The Existential Elements of the

Mandala', the elements of sublime vision, the vision of the great
perfection, are listed in the technical vocabulary of Dzogchen
excerpted from the Tiki<!) Kunse/.
In the second, under the head 'The Forty-Two Sambhogakaya Deities

in Five Family Mandala Groups' the unitary trikaya vision is elucidated
in terms of the forty-two anthropomorphic symbolic representations
of the elements of sublime vision, all representations belonging to the
sambhogakaya and categorized according to the five families.
In the third presentation, under the heading, 'Forty-two Sublime

Forms in Trikaya Grouping' (described in chapter 29), the unitary
vision is elaborated under the three trikaya headings categorized
according to the degree of creativity (rtsa~ expressed by the buddha
representations, which is effectively the distance from the center of
the mandala.
The Existential Elements of the Mandala
l. R.elating to Dharmakqya
Unit~,._ nondualicy
the zero-dimension
nonabiding awareness of the now
the field of A
the clear light of all
the field of reality
present awareness
spac10usness
unitary five sublime forms
unitary three dimensions (trikaya)

buddha
2. Relating to sambhogakqya
Fivefold Present Awareness

unitary all-inclusive five
immutability and the unchanging, unimpeded field
sameness and sameness of the field
compassionate creativity and a hot and devotional field
consummate activity and self-released field
Attributes of N onduality
the five families and symbols
the forty-twofold psychophysical attributes
the five-colored light
immutable and uncrystalizing

a vastness of potential
breadth and depth of wisdom
source of gnostic compassion
immaculate and stainless
immanent sublime vision
source of selfless activity
the pure nature of:

the five body-mind aggregates
the five great elements
the five objective sensory fields
the five afflictive emotions
3. Relating to nirmanakaya
the five fields of sensory perception (the objects of consciousness)

and the sense organs and consciousness as nondual (see chapter 41
and chapter 54).
compassion manifest as the eight consciousnesses and the eight fields

of consciousness.
pure presence manifests in the five aspects of present awareness and

its ground of clarity as below:
Appendixes 241
pure presence of mirror-like awareness and the ground of its clarity;

and unimpeded gaze and simultaneity of gaze and clarity: Charm and
Flower.
pure presence of awareness of sameness and the ground of its clarity;

and clarification of actual stains: Rosary (or Garland) and Incense.
pure presence of discriminating awareness and the ground of its

clarity; and ideation and its clarification: Song and Light.
pure presence of all-accomplishing awareness and the ground of its

clarity; and what is born and the time of birth: Dance and Taste.
freedom from the four misconceptions of reality as blissful,

permanent, substantial and true.
freedom from the conceptual extremes of etemalism, nihilism, egoic

self, and substantial nature.
endowment with the four boundless qualities: loving kindness,

sympathetic joy, compassion and equanimity.
the activity of the six bodhisattva siddhamunis emanated into the six
realms, demonstrating the purity of passion and the purity of activity
in their respective realms.
The Forty-Two Sambhogakaya Deities in

Five Family Mandala Groups
NB Contents of sguare brackets provide Lrmc~chen -;,..;_yingtik values.
_\di.-buddha [2]
Samantabhadra, Kuntuzangpo, Ku11 tu bzan/J, po, The .-\11-good Adi.-buddha:
present awareness.
Samantabbadri, Km1tuzangmo, Kun tu b-:::_a11g mo, The "-\11-good female .-\di-
buddha: spaciousness of reality.
Buddha Family [2]

Vairochana, ~ampar ~angdze, .\'am par sna11g mdzad, ::\lanifesting Universal
(\,Iultiplicity: awareness of unitary space, white, form aggregate, ignorance
(fear).
[Dharishvari, Yi.ngi \"Vongchukma, D~yi1ig_gii dhangp&yug ma, Space-Lady,
space element.]
242 Everything Is LJght
Vajra Family [6]

s\kshobhya, ;\Iikyopa, Mi .rlff.yod pa: The Cnshakeable, Immovable: blue,
mirror-like awareness, consciousness aggregate, anger.
Buddhalochana, Sangye Chenma, Sang was SP.Jan ma, Clear-Eyed Buddha:
earth element.
Kshitigarbha, Sainyingpo, Sa]i sn]ingpo, Earth-Essence: presence of mirror-
like awareness [eyes consciousness).
:\faitreya, J ampa, B)'ams pa, Loving Kindness: clarity of mirror-like awareness
[organ of eyes].
Lasya, Gekmoma, Sgeg mo ma, Charm: unimpeded gaze [objects of form].
Pushpa, Metokma, Me tog ma, Flower: simultaneity of gaze and clarity
[thought of the past].
Jewel Family [6]

Ratnasambhava, RinchenJungne, Rin chen ~unggnas,Jewel Source: yellow,
awareness of sameness, feeling aggregate (vedana), pride.
:\famaki: water element.
Samantabhadra, Kuntuzangpo, Kun tu bz.angpo, All-good: presence of
awareness of sameness [nose organ].
Akashagarbha, Namkhai Nyingpo, Nam mkha'i Sf!)'ingpo, Space-Essence:
clarity of awareness of sameness [nose consciousness].
i\fala, Tengwa, Phreng ba, Rosary /Garland: clarification of stains [objects of
smell].
Gandha, Dukpoma, Dug spos ma, Incense: clarification of stains [present
thought].
Lotus Family [6]

.-\mitabha, Wopakme, 'Od dpag med, Boundless Light: red, discriminating
awareness, concept aggregate; desire.
Pandaravasini, Dgos d/ear can, White Gown: fire element.
Avalokiteshvara, Chenrezik, Sp]an ras gzjgs, Tearful Gaze: presence of
discriminating awareness [tongue consciousness].
;\fanjushri, Jampel, Jam dpal, Tender Glory: clarity of discriminating
awareness [tongue organ].
Gita, Luma, G/u ma-. Song: ideation [objects of sound] .
.-\loka, Marme, i\1.ar me, Lamp: clarification of ideation [thought of the future].
Vajra-Cross Family [6]

Amoghasiddhi, Don_yodgrub pa, All-Accomplisher. green, all-accomplishing
awareness, volition aggregate (samsk.ara), jealousy.
Samayatara, Damtsik Drolma Dam tshig sgrol ma, Commitment-Savioress: air
element.
Vajrapani, Chaknadorje, PfD:a_f!. na rdo rye, Vajra-in-Hand: presence of all-
accomplishing awareness [ear consciousness].
Sarvanivarana-viskambhin, Dripanamsel, Sgrib pa rnam sel, Cloud Dissolver:
clarity of all-accomplishing awareness [ear organ).
Nritya, Garma, Gar ma: Dance: what is born [objects of taste].
Gandha, Drichabma, Dri ,-hab mer. Taste: the time of birth [abstract thought).
Doorkeepers [8]
Four .\Iale doorkeepers: [From n1rinley ;\;orbu 1993: .\mritakundali - tactile
consciousness, Hayagriva - tactile sensation, :\fahabhala - body organ,
Yamantaka - body consciousness] four freedoms from misconception
that the deluded expe1iences of samsara are permanent (rta._i), true (hden),
pleasant (hde ba) and concrete (mtsha11 ma)].
Four Female Doorkeepers ['lbrinley ;\;orbu 1993: Herukas with ankusha -

hook, pasha - noose, sphota - chain, gantha - bell] freedom from the four
conceptual extremes of eternalism, nihilism, egoism and materialism, or
four boundless qualities ofloving kindness, sympathetic joy, compassion,
equanimity.
Siddhamunis [6]
[From Thrinley ;\;orbu 1993: .\!ahindra, \' emachitra, Sakyamuni, Singha,
Jvalamukha, and Dharmaraja aka Yamaraja]; Bodhisattva adepts of the six
realms [gods, demons, human beings, hungry ghosts, devils and animals].
Two seeming anomalies in this mandala should be noted: First,

Dhatishvari, the consort ofVairochana, is absent, and thus the
forty-two attributes of sambhogakaya are reduced to forty-one.
The name Dhatishvari is not mentioned in the tantra.
Secondly, the white color ofVairochana is associated with the

aggregate of form and the blue body of Akshobhya is associated
with consciousness, whereas a logical grouping would reverse this
denomination. Likewise, a logical designation would associate earth
with form and space with consciousness. This apparent
inconsistency is resolved by the recognition of form as light (or
lightform) and consciousness as a mere sensory function. In later
more sophisticated mandalas, Akshobhya (frequently as
Vajrasattva) and Vairochana would exchange places.
Forty-two Sublime Forms in Trikaya Grouping

(Chapter 29)
Regarding the classification of trikaya,
Firstly. dharmakaya trjkaya:

Changeless, unidentifiable presence is dharmakaya dimension of
dharmakaya. Uninterrupted intuition of presence as the five sublime
forms of wisdom is the sambhogakaya enjoyment dimension of
dharmakaya. The five sublime forms emanating as 'what is converted'

is the magical ninnanakaya dimension of dharmakaya.
Dharmakaya trikaya is also called 'the triad of essence, nature and

compassion' (ngo bo rang bzhin thugs ,je gsum); 'the three existential
dimensions inherent' (gzhi lagnas pa'i skugsum); 'the presence of
fruition in the ground' ( 'bras bu gzhi la grub pa); 'the great inversion of
trikaya' (sku gsum ja log chen po); and also 'fruition within fruition' ( 'bras
bu 'bras bu'i ngang lagnas pa).
Secondly, sambhogak,aya trikaya:

The all-inclusive dhannakaya dimension of sambhogakaya is
Mahavairochana, the Universal Illuminator. The sambhogakaya
enjoyment dimension of sambhogakaya is composed of the members
of the four families. The magical ninnanakaya dimension of
sambhogakaya is composed of the male and female bodhisattvas.
Their different epithets are: 'the moment of clearly manifest fruition'

( 'bras bu mngon par gsal ba 'i dus) and 'differentiated trikaya' (sku gsum
rnam par gzhagpa). Such are the three dimensions of sambhogakaya.
S ambhogakqya-Dharmakqya
Mahavairochana ([he Sixth)
Sambhogakqya-5ambhogakqya
Vairochana, Nampar Nangdze, Nam par snang mdzad, Multiplicitous
:.\fanifestation
Akshobhya, Mikyopa, Mi s~yod pa, The Unshakeable, Indestructible
s\mitabha, Wopakme, 'Od dpag med, Boundless Light
Ratnasambhava, Rinchen J ungne, Rin chen lryung gnas, J ewe! Source
Amoghasiddhi, Donyo Drupa, Don_yodgrub pa, All-Accomplisher.
Buddhalochana, Sangye Chenma, Sang rgyas spyan ma, Clear-Eyed Buddha

Pandaravasini, Gokarmo, Dgos dkar mo, \X-bite Gown
.\famaki
Samayatara, Damtsik Drolma, Dam t.rhig sgrol ma, Commitment-Savioress
S ambhogakqya-Nirmanakqya
Samantabhadra, Kuntuzangpo, Kun tu bzangpo (All-good)
.,\kashagarbha, Namkhai Nyingpo, 1'\'am mkha'i snyingpo, Sky-Essence
Kshitigarbha, Sainyingpo, Sa'i s~yingpo, Earth-Essence
Maitreya, Jampa, B_yams pa, Loving Kindness
.\valokiteshvara, Chenrezik, Spyan ras gzjgs, Tearful Eyes
.\Ianjushri,Jampel, Jam dpal, Tender Glory
Appendixes 245
Vajrapani, Chaknadotje, Phyag na rdo ,je. Vajra-in-Hand

Sarvanivarana-viskambhin, Dripanamsel, Sgrih pa nzam se/, Cloud Dissolver
Gita (Song), Aloka (Light), Lasya (Chann), Pushpa (Flower), Mala

(Garland), Dhupa (Incense), Nritya (Dance), Gandha (faste).
Thirdly nirmanakaya trikaya:

The four families represent the dhannakaya dimension of
ninnanakaya. Male and female bodhisattvas represent the
sambhogakaya dimension of enjoyment. The spreading light of
gnostic compassion is the dimension of magical ninnanakaya
emanation [see chapter 31]. The Eight Doorkeepers.
Appendix 2: Longchenpa's Gnas lugs mdzod Quotations
In his auto commentary on the Gnas lugs mdzod Longchen Rabjampa

quotes extensively from the Thig le kun gsal. 'Whether he was quoting
from a text other than what has come down to us or editing that text
cannot be known, but a comparison between his quotations and our
versions of the Thig le kun gsal is instructive and illuminating. The Thig
le kun gsal version quoted below is the Mtshams brag [fb] version. The
rounded brackets contain the Thig le kun gsal [IKS] version, while
Longchenpa's amendments in the Gnas lugs mdzod [GLD] are given
within square brackets. References to an English translation of the
Gnas lugs mdzod refer to Keith Dowman 2010 [NP].
TKS Chapter 40; Tb p.368-1 to 370-3
(de nas yang gsang ba'i bdag pos zhus pa

kye kye bcom ldan rdo rje 'chang
theg brgyad lta sgom spyod pa dang
'bras bu mthar phyin de ltar na
yang dag nges pa'i lta ba gang
zhes zhus so
ston pas bka' stsal pa)
Tb 368-3; NP p.140 Canto 46
(lta) [bltar] med lta ba'i don bstan pa

(%a ti yo ga) gza' gtad (bral) [med pa'i lta bas te]
dngos med ye shes zang thal bas
rang rig ye shes llmn gyis grub
de las ma (rtogs) [gtogs] gzhan med pas
so so(i) rang rig ye shes la[s]
ci[r] snang ye shes chen po'i gdangs
ye nyid bcom ldan rdo rje 'chang
de bas gzhi (snang) [nas] rdzogs sangs rgyas
(sangs rgyas med pas) fyul med] gzung 'dzin mam par dag
rang rig ye shes rang gi gdangs la bzhugs
(byung bzhi) rang bzhin dag pa'i nam mkha' la
chos nyid don gyi nam mkha' (ye nas) khyab
chos nyid don gyi nam mkha' la
rang rig ye shes nyi ma shar
phyogs ris med pa(r) kun (tu) ~a] gsal
Appendixes 247
Tb p.368-6; NP p.144 Canto 50
[rang byung ye shes rgya mtsho na]

yid kyi mam rtog ci 'gyu yang
(ma phang ma tshol) (mtsho la] gser gyi. nya mo 'gyu
TKS 40; Tb 368-7; ~p p.191 Canto 85
ma 'gags rang bzhin med pa'i don

Otas kyin) [bltas shing] btsal bas (rtog) [mthong] myed bral
phyi nang gnyis ka phyi nyid (nang) [na'ang]
zab mo(i) cha shas rtog(s) yul (bral) (med]
(phyi nang snod bcud tham cad kun
byis pa skye bo mams la snang mod kyang)
Tb 369-1; NP p.143 Canto 49
lta ba rang rig dngos med zang thal la

dngos po'i mtshan ma ye nas mam par dag
kun bzang zhal ni phyogs bcu kun tu gzigs
yum gyi bha ga bde klong gcig tu 'khyil
de bas khams gsum ma lus thig le chen po gcig gi ngang
Ota ba mam dag rang rig ye shes la
sang rgyas med pas sems can ming yang med
sems can med pas khams dang 'byung ba med)
Tb 369-3; NP p.168 Canto 69.
man shel sku ltar (rang gis rgyud dag pas) [rang bzhin mam par dag]
dri med zang thal dag pa chos kyi sku
sa chu me dung nam mkhar snang ba yang
ma rtogs blo la mtshan (ma sna tshogs kyis) [mar snang mod kyi]
snang la rang bzhin med (pa) (de] ye shes gdangs su gsal
dper na mkha' la 'ja' tshon (snang ba) [gsal ba] yang
mkha' las logs (su) [na] med (kyang) [de] logs ltar snang
(mkha' yi nang na gsal zhing mkha' dang tni phyed ltar)
[nam mkha'i ngang gnas mkha' ltar dbyer tni phyed]
chos nyid chos sku dbyer med don gyi nam mkha' la
rang shar rang snang rang gsal ye shes gdangs
logs ltar snang zhing 'gag pa med par gsal
gsal la rtog med ye shes chos kyi sku
rang la rang snang (snod bcud) ~ongs sku] (yang) [ye] sangs rgyas
Oas dang thugs rje mtha' mams mam par dag)
[thugs tje sprul sku mtha' gnyis mam par dag]
Th 369-7; NP p.232 Canto 115
sa dang mam thar byang chub mchog la (ring) [reg]

bgrod du 370 med (pa'i) [de] chos nyid byang chub mchog
bgrod par 'dod na ye shes mtha' la(s) ring
ma bsags bzhin du tshogs gnyis ye nas rdzogs
ma sbyangs bzhin du sgrib gnyis ye nas (sbyangs) [byang]
(ma byung ma skyes 'od kyi dkyil 'khor la

bkod pa lha yi dkyil 'khor sgom mi dgos
dkyil 'khor khro gnyer cha lugs kyis
khro bdag chen po'i skur sgoms la
sku gsung thugs kyi bzlas pa dag
chu bo'i rgyun ltar bzlas na yang
rang rig ye shes rgyab kyis phyogs)
(ye nas byas zin da bsdod btsal du med

ched du byar med chad [ched] du sgom du med
mar me'i snying po rang gi 'od la gnas pa ltar
rang rig ye shes rang gi gdangs la gnas
'das dang ma byon da ltar sangs rgyas dang
gnyis med ro gcig chu la chu bzhag bzhin
ces gsungs so)
(thig le kun gsal chen po las rdzogs pa chen po'i /ta ba ma nor bar bstan pa'i le'u
ste bzhi bcu pa'o)
TKS Chapter 41; Th 370-6 to 371

kye kye ston pa rdo tje 'chang
sgom du yod med bye brag ji ltar lags
zhes zhus so
de nas yang ston par bka' stsal pa
rdo tje 'dzin pa legs zung zhig)
Th 370-7; NP p.103 Canto 23
ngas bstan gnyis med [rang byung] bde chen la

sgom du yod med gnyis kyi mtha' dang bral
shes rah stobs can rang rig don rtogs la
sgom dang mi sgom tha snyad mam par dag
gnyis med bde chen (ngang du 'du 'bral med) [rang gi ngang la gnas]
r
ma (btsal) [rtsol] gzhag pas (ngang las ma g.yos gsal) du 'bral yongs kyis
med]
rgyun chad med pas chu bo gangaa bzhin
dbang po yang rah don du de bstan no
Appendixes 249
TKS Chapter 88; Tb 453-7 to 454

kye kye ston pa mam par grol
spyi yi grol lugs de !tar na
rah 'bring tha ma'i grol lugs mams
ma nor rim pas gsung du gsol
ces zhus so
ston pas bka' stsal pa)
Tb 454; NP p.200 Canto 90
dbang po yang rab gyur pa la

ye nas zang thal chen po la(s)
bar do med cing skad cig med
da !ta nyid du gnas pa yin
rang bzhin dag pa'i nam mkha' la
chos nyid gsal ba'i ngo bo gnas
de la rig pa zang thal shar
shar ba ma yin gnas pa yin
dper na nam mkha' zang thal la
khang khyim byas pas (nam mkha') gud du bead
khang pa'i nang gi nam mkha' dang
rang bzhin dag pa'i nam mkha' gnyis
sgo ('am) [yi] mthong[s] nas sgrib med (pas) [par]
nam mkha' gnyis po sgrib med gsal
bag chags sbubs kyi rig pa dang
mkha' na gnas pa'i rig pa gnyis
ye shes sgo yis mtshams sbyar nas
bag chags !us kyis ma bsgribs par
gnyis med zang thal chen por gnas
rtog[s] pa'i don chen de ldan na
seng ge mchongs pas sa chod !tar
ye shes zang thal chen po yis
bar do'i skye 'gag mi gnas par
rin chen sbubs kyi nang du gcod
de bas ye grol chen por (bshad) [gnas]
de la rtsis gdab mi bya'o

ji !tar don brjod mi shes pa'i
dbang po dman pa'i gang zag la
grol lugs rtsis gdab bya ru med
byas kyang nges pa mi myed pas
skye ba gcig gis thogs par bshad
de nas de nyid 'phrad par 'gyur
Appendix 3: Texts Cited
Chapter 42 of the Tiklq; Kunsellists 20 exemplary texts; all but the

four tikas are tantras. 11 are unidentified or unlocated; of the 9 texts
identified in the Tsamdrak (lb) version of the J\!yingma Gyuebum, in
their colophons 3 identify Bairotsana and 2 identify Vimalamitra as
the Tibetan translator; 2 identify themselves as Mind Series texts. Of
the remaining 4 texts mentioned in the Thig le kun gsal, 3 are 1,find
Series tantras and the 4th is unknown.
Abbreviations:
TBRC = Tibetan Buddhist Research Center
THL = The Himalayan Library
Pt = Ka pa dpal brtsegs
Ng = l\yingma Gyuebum
Tb = Mtshams brag
Tk = Gting sk;e
Dg = Dege (Derge)
Texts Listed in Chapter 42
1. The Swirling Lotus

Padma 'khyil ba
'A tantra of sublime form'
[See THL Pt 72 TBRC W21519]
[In the Bairo rgyud 'bum]
2. The Vajra Peak Epitome

&lo rje rtse mo 'dus pa
'A great tantra of buddha speech'
[See THL Tk 113 Pt 73 Ng89 Tb408]
[Translated by Vimalamitra and Ka cog]
3. The Heap of Jewels

Rin chen spungs pa
'A great tantra of buddha mind'
[See THL Pt 54 (Yon tan chen po ston pa) Tb 329 Translated by
Padmasambhava and Ka pa dpal brtsegs
(J\,fany versions]
Appendixes 251
4. Fashioning Loving Kindness

B_;:ams pa brtsegs pa
'A great tantra of immanent buddha-quality'
[Unlocated]
5. The Sun of the Clear Sky

Mkha 'gsal nyi ma
'A tantra of selfless activity'
[Cnlocated]
6. Paramount Present Awareness

Ye shes bla ma
'Tantra of secret precept'
[See THL Pt 74; translated by Vimalamitra; Tk 114 Tb 235/6]
7. Churning the Depths of Samsara

'K.hor ba dong sprugs
'The nub of the view'
[See THL Pt 77 Tk 117, Tb 436]
8. The Cross-Necked Peacocks

Rma bya Jing bsnol
'Secret precept'
[See TBRC Tk W21518; Tb W2152 l; THL Tk 60 Tb 90]
Tb Vol 4 pp.158-175. Trans: Christopher Wilkinson 'Grabbing the
Peacock by the Neck'
9. The Light of Spontaneity

F.gyud chen 'od zer chen
'Secret precept of the fonn dimension'
[Unidentified]
10. The Tantra of the Four Sons and Four Mothers

F.gyud ~i bu bzhi ma bzhi
[Unidentified]
11. Secret Awareness

Ye shes gsang ba
'A key to all tantras'
[See THL Tk 80 Pt 100; Upadesha tantra; trans: Bairotsana and Shri
Singha. Translated into English by Christopher Wilkinson]
12, The All-Inclusive Vision

Dgongs pa kun 'dus
'A great tantra of secret precept'
Possibly= J.vm 'dus rigpa'i rg;ud
See below
13. The Universal Treasury

Kxn gyi mdzod rg;ud
'The great treasury of the Mind Series'
[Unidentified] Referring perhaps to the Kxn byed rgyal po
14. The Essential Tantra ofVajradakini

F.gyud kyi Sf!Jingpo Rdo ,je mkha' gro ma
[Unidentified]
15. The Four Series ofManjushri

Jam dpal sde bzhi po
'A sovereign tantra'
[Unlocated]
16. The Four Tika Commentaries

a) The Great Tika of Secret Precept on the Ground of Delusion
'Khrul gzhi 'i man ngag ti ka chen po
[Unlocated]
b) The Tika of the Ineffable Zing of Reality as the Birth of Present

Awareness Through the Reversal of Delusion.
'Khrul pa log nasye shes s-9e ba de kho na f!Jid ~ ti ka
[Unidentified]
c) The Great Tika of Agama Instruction

Lunggi ti ka chen po
[Unidentified]
d) The Tika of the Ineffable Zing of the Reality of Essential All

Embracing Identity
Bdag f!Jid chen po de kho na f!Jid -9i ti ka
[Unidentified]
Ti ka in Tibetan is a transliteration of the Sanskrit 'tika'; it is

sometimes translated into Tibetan as 'g"/pa' 'commentary', 'a text that
provides an explanation or commentary to a root text (rtsa ba)'.
17. The Precious Garland
Rin chen 'phreng ba
'A sovereign transmission, secret precept'
[fHL Th 159, Tk 48, Dg 138; 'Mind Series', translated by Sri Singha
and Bairotsana]
Mind Series Texts
1. The Eternal Victory Banner

Bstan pa mi nub ,gyal mtshan ni:
gsang ba 'i rig pa rg;ud chen Inga
'The Eternal Victory Banner:
The five great tantras of secret presence'.
In chapter 58, as one of the five excellences of dharmakaya the

teaching is identified as the 'lvf.i nub ,gyal mtshan, the five great tantras
of secret presence'. The title Mi nub ,gyal mtshan was widely used to
head texts belonging to the cycle of Nam mkha' che tantras and
associated literature, although what five great tantras had the 'secret
presence' label is unclear. The Fifty-five Verses lung and the Mi nub
rgyal mtshan nam mkha' che rtsa ba 'i rgyud provide an essential window on
Dzogchen. 'The five great tantras of secret presence' are probably not
to be identified with the five early translations of Bairotsana, of which
the Mi nub r;gyal mtshan Nam mkha' che is primary. For a close look at
the 1"\.'am mkha' che texts see Christopher Wilkinson 2012.
For English Translations of the I\1am mkha' che lung

see Keith Dowman 2013 p.47 and Namkhai Norbu & Adriano
Clemente 1999.
2. The Cuckoo's Song of Pure presence

Rigpa khu l?yug
Chapter 35, which evokes in barely disguised description the life and
work of Sakyamuni buddha, the Rigpa khu bJug is given as the essence
of the 'great tantras' revealed on Vulture Peak in Rajgiri. The Cuckoo's
Song, also known as The Six V qjra Vems, is considered by some
commentators to quintessentialize the Mind Series view:
The nature ofmultiplicity is nondual

and things in themselves are pure and simple;
being here and now is thought-free
and it shines out in allfarms, alwqys all good;
it is alreaqy pe,fect, so the striving sickness is avoided

and spontanei() is constant!; present.
English translations: Keith Dowman 2013 p.17.

Samten K.armay 1988 p.50.
John Reynolds, 1996 p.232 -3.
Namkhai Norbu and John Shane 1986 p.xv.
Namkhai Norbu and Adriano Clemente 1989 p.48.
Namkhai Norbu and Adriano Clemente 1999 p.174.
Tibetan sources: Tshams brag rnying ma r;gyud 'bum Vol. Ka. p.113 3. (Kun
l?Jed 'al po chap.31).
The Mdo bcu commentary is found in Tshams brag mying ma rgyud
'bum Vol. Ka. pp.453.3 - 453.6.
3. The Embodiment, Compendium

Kun 'dus
The Kun 'dus is mentioned in chapter 35 in the same breath as the Thig
le kun gsal and we must assume that it has the same importance. A
Dgongs pa kun 'dus is included in the list of supreme tantras in chapter
75, which we assume to be the same scripture, but it is uncertain
which text is referred to. It may be the Kun 'dus that is the contraction
of Sems sde Kun 'dus rigpa'i rgyud, one of 'the thirteen later Mind Series
tantras', which was translated by Vimalamitra, NyagJii.anakumara, and
Yudra Nyingpo. (Dgongs pa kun 'dus also refers to terma cycles,
particularly the Kun bzang dgongs pa kun 'dus.)
4. The Child of Supreme Awareness

Ye shes bla ma'i bu
Mentioned in chapter 62 as a tantra in which 'the order of
empowerment' is given, we have no other knowledge of this tantra.
Appendix 4: The Mantric Upadeshas
Below is a comprehensive list of all the mantric upadeshas (man ngag)

that appear in the Thig le kun gsal, organized by chapter. The first
listing is the literal version appearing in the Mtshams brag text; the
second is a partially reconstructed form.
Chapter 1 This is the secret pith precept (upadesha) emplqyed to ward off attack from the
titanic anti-gods:
A DHAKA RA BUDDHA DHA RMA PRA SA RA DU PA A PA YA A
AHAMKARA BUDDHA DHARMA PRASARAD UPA APA YA A
This is the secret pith precept, the single k~ that unlocks all treasuries:
TANTRA SADHU PRA SA RA KA LA
TANTRA SADU PRASARA KALA
Chapter 2
AA RATNA DHARMA KA YA
A A RA TNA DHARMAKAYA
Chapter 6 The crystal casket, unable to contain the turquoise mandala, the radiant light of the
stupa shone outside as a secret pith precept shining as the five rainbow-goddesses:
A Bl TVA DZNYA NA PA NYTSA PRA SA RA KA LA DA DU A HA DA
ABITY A PRASARA KALA DA DU A HA DA
Chapter 8 The secret pith precept asserting no difference between the sun and sunlight:
BHA II SHAR RATNAKA LA PRA SAR DHUU DU
BHA II SHAR RA TNA KALA PRASARA DHUUDU
Chapter 14
BADZRA A HAM RATNA DZNYA NA PANYTSA PRASARA A HUM Tl
VAJRA AHAM RA TNA JNANA PANCHA PRASARA A HUM TI
Chapter 22
A PADZNYA DHARMA RATNA KA LA, OM DZNYA KA LA WA KA NI KU LA KA

YA BHA NYTSA HUM DHARMAM PRA SA RA KA RU DZAH DHA TU A
A PRAJNA DHARMA RA TNA KALA, OM INA KALA VAKANI

KULA KAY A PANCHA, HUM DHARMAM PRASARA KARUJAH
DHATUA
Chapter 36 Then this secret pith precept resounded thrice on the voice of the turquoise
cuckoo,' the Teacher,from the top of a nine-storiedjewel stupa:
SVA BHA YA NA PRA SA RA DU PA YA
SV ABHA Y ANA PRASARAD UPAYA
Chapter 57 The treasure-chest of nondual speech thrown open, a clear and bright lamp, a
secret pith precept was revealed elucidating the meaning of 'king, minister and suijects' and
dispelling darkness:
TANTRA A NU U PA YA NA KA LAM SA DHA
TANTRA ANU UPA YA NA KALAM SADHA
Chapter 80
KRA GWADAD IRBA
Chapter 85
DZNYA NA TSITTA PRA BE SHAYA SA DU ATRAKA LADU
JNANA CHITT A PR.ABE SHAYA SADU ATRA KALADU
i The cuckoo as buddha-teacher is the source of all tantra.

Incidence of Selected Technical Terms
sku 402 rang rig43

chos sku 131 rdzogs 150
longs sku 62 rdzogs chen 7
sprul sku 71 gzhi 143
skugsum 64 gag 143
sku Inga 30 'gags 92
ye shes 398 ma gags69
snang 390 gag(s) med 12
snang ba 173 thugs 134
rang snang 4 3 thugs ,je 89
gzhi snang 15 thig le 129
gzhan snang 14 dagpa 108
gsal 364 sangs was 95
gsal ba 103 shes rab 86
chen 364 dbyings 72
chos 315 gdang 65
chos nyid 109 dangs 11
chos sku 105 mdang5
rlog 193 zang thal 52
rtogs 107 stong 47
rtogpa 28 mi 't;ur 35
rtog med 12
rig 192 gyurmed 20
rigpa 115
Glossary of Numeral Terms [GNT]
Appended question marks (?) indicate uncertain attribution
ONE
one sole holistic light-seed: the holistic seed of light: thig le ,ryag cig.
1WO
two accumulations, two provisions: tshogs g'!Jir. virtue - bsod rnams and
present awareness -ye shes.
two benefits: don g'!JiS". benefit to oneself - rang don; benefit to others -
gzhan don.
two existential dimensions: sku gfl)is-. chos sku - (dhannakaya) and gzugs
sku (rupakaya), dimensions of formlessness and form.
two provisions: see 'two accumulations'.
two obscurations: see 'two veils'.
two stages: rim gfl)is-. creative (generation) - skyed rim; fullfilment
(completion) - rdzogs rim.
two truths: bden gf!yis-. relative, conventional - kun rdzob bden pa and
absolute - don dam bden pa.
two types of compassion: thugs ,je g'!JiS-. motivated and unmotivated;
also, gnostic and relative, without and with an object (rtog med
dang ni rtog bcas).
two veils: sgrib g'!Jir. afflictive emotion - '!JOn mongs and knowledge -
shes l:?Ja.
twofold ignorance: ma rigpag'!JiS-. innate ignorance - lhan cig skye pa'i ma
rigpa; conceptual ignorance - kun tu brtags pa'i ma rigpa.
twofold omniscience: mkf?yen pa g'!JiS". knowledge of the ultimate
nature of all things -Ji gnas lugs mkf?yen pa) and knowledge of
the specifics of multiplicity -Ji S'!Jed mkf?yen pa.
THREE
three aspects of perception: snang ba gsum: the grasped object - gzung

ba'iyuf, the subjective consciousness - 'dzjn pa'i don; and the
active body - 'gro ba 'i /us.
three aspects of the primal ground: kun gzhi rnam pa gsum: the primal
ground as present awareness -ye shes kyi kun gzhi; primal
ground as authenticity -yang dagpa 'i kun gzhi; and the primal
ground as the secret taste of diversity - na tshogs ro gsang ba 'i kun
gzhi.
G/ossanes 259
three buddha-bod.ies: sku gsum: see 'three existential dimensions'.

three confirmations: nges pa gsunr. the four introductory symbols that
are unsurpassable metaphors; actual trikaya in neither union
nor separation; the evidence of the lamp of present
awareness.?
three essences: Sf!Jingpo gsum: buddha body - sku, speech - gsung and
mind- thug.
three existential dimensions: sku gsum (trikaya): chos sku - dharmakaya;
longs spyod sku - sambhogakaya; sprul sku - ninnanakaya.
three families' mudras: rigs gsum pf?yag @la ldan pa: the three families are
vajra, sugata and padma, the buddhas of the families are called
Akshobya, V airochana and Amitabha, and their mudras are
vajra, wheel and lotus.
three groups: phungpo gsum: buddha - sangs @las; bodhisattvas - i?Jang
chub sems dpa; sentient beings - sems can.
three hollows: sbubs gsunr. jeweline hollow - rin chen sbubs; hollow of
light - 'od kyi sbubs; hollow of karmic propensity - bag chags k:Ji
sbubs.
three lineages of transmission: bwud gsum: lineage of sublime buddha
vision - @!alba dgongs bwud-, vidhyadhara's lineage of symbolic
transmission - rig 'dzjn brda br:g,-ud; people's lineage of oral
transmission - gang zag Sf!Jan bwud.
three mandalas: dkyil 'khor gsunr. outer mandala - gzhalyas khang gro ba
'du I ba 'i dkyil 'khor, inner mandala - rang bzhin rnam par dag pa 'i
dk:Jil 'khor, secret mandala - thugs rje rang i?Jung gi dkyil 'khor. See
page 137.
three media of desire: 'dod pa'i sgo gsum: body - /us, speech - ngag, and
mind-yid.
three modes of creativity: rtsal gsunr. appropriate creativity - tshad 'dzjn
thun ba'i rtsaf, enduring creativity - ring bar bsgangs pa'i rtsaf,
expansive creativity - bar snang du spar ba'i rtsal.? [From RY
DictionaD-]
three moments of release: 'the gathering hook', which secures us when
the five-colored light fails to catch us; 'condensing distilled
essence' as essential reality dissolves into the space of incipient
present awareness; and 'the continuous thread of eternal
music'.?
three symbolic ritual substances: pf?yi nang rdzas gsum: ashes - thal chen
(bala), blood - rakta; and semen - f?yang sems (bodhichitta).
three poisons: duggsum: - anger - zhe sdang, desire - 'dod chags - and
ignorance - ma rigpa.
three purities (in kriya-yoga): dagpa rnam gsum: pure deity and mandala
- /ha dang dk;il 'khor dagpa; substances and enjoyment - rdzas
dang long spyod dagpa; mantra and samadhi - sngags dang ting 'dzjn
dagpa.
three samadhis: ting nge 'dzjn rnam pargsum: 'just like that' samadhi - de
bzhin f!Yid kyi ting nge 'dzjn; goal oriented samadhi -,gyu'i ting nge
'dzjn; universally illuminating samadhi - kun tu snang.ba'i ting nge
'dzjn.
three skies: nam mkha'gsum: outer, inner and secret skies.
three streams: chu bo gsum-. natural perfection - gnas lugs; delusion - 'khrul
lugs; delusion reverted - 'khrul ba ldogpa.
three testaments: zhal chems rnam par gsum-. Hinayana, Mahayana and
Tantrayana.?
three thrones: gdan gsum: the aggregates - phungpo (skandhas); sense
fields - khams (dhatus); and sense faculties - s~e mched
(ayatanas). [From the Tshig mdzod chen mo]: The five body-mind
aggregates - phungs po Inga (skandhas) and sense fields - khams
(dhatus) are the thrones of male and female tathagatas
respectively; the sense faculties - skye mched (ayatanas) are the
thrones of male and female bodhisattvas; and the subsidiary
thrones of the male and female protectors may be selfless
action -'phrin las (karma) and sense organs (powers) - dbangpo
(indriyas) respectively.
three types of mantra: gsang sngags for enlightenment, rig sngags for
magical transformation andgzungs sngags for retentive memory:
see chapter 62.
three worlds: khams gsum-. desire realm - 'dod pa 'i khams (kamadhatu);
form realm - gzugs khams (rupadhatu); and formless realm -
gzugs med kyi khams (arupadhatu). Also the three worlds: the
sky, the earth and the subterranean words.
threefold tantric essence: wud ~i Sf!Yingpo gsum: empty essence - ngo bo
[s'!)'ingpo]; clear nature - rang bzhin; compassionate expression -
thugs rye.
threefold underlying structure: bod (or 'bod) skad thengs gsum.
trikaya: sku gsum: see 'three existential dimensions'.
FOUR
four aspects of confidence: gdeng chen bzhi: no fear of worse rebirth, no

hope for better rebirth, no hope for buddhahood, equanimity
in hopelessness.
four alternatives: mu bzhi: the four logical possibilites or alternatives or
conceptual extremes, defined by the tetralemma: refutation of
positive, negative, both, and neither. See chapter 94.
Glossaries 261
four bardos: bar do bzhi: narurally pure bardo (bardo of life) - nmg bzhin
daggi bar do; the bardo of samadhi - ting nge 'dzjn gyi bar do; the
bardo of the clear light of reality - chos '!)'id 'od gsal bar do; and
the bardo of becoming - srid pa bar do.
four boundless qualities: tshad med bzhi: loving kindness - 1!Jams pa;
compassion, thugs rje; sympathetic joy - dga' ba, equanimity -
btang S'!J'Oms.
four conceprual (dualistic) extremes: rtag chad mtha' bzhi of eternity
(rta~ and nothingness (chad'), both and neither.
four connections: s1!Jor ba bzm.: complete manifest connection with all
aspects - rnam kun mngon rdzogs sqyor ba; apex connection - rtse
mo 'i s1!Jor ba; graduated connection - mthar!)'is pa 'i sqyor ba;
instantaneous connection - skad cig ma 'i s1!Jor ba.?
four continents: gling bzhi: Purvavideha - us 'phags pa; Jambudvipa -
'Dzam bugling, Aparagodaniya - Ba fang spyod; and Uttarakuru -
Sgra mi Sf!Jan po.
four degrees [of union with deity]: 'approach' - bsnyen pa, close
approach - nye bsnyen pa, accomplishment - bsgrub pa, great
accomplishment - bsgrub pa chen. See chapter 70.
four demons: bdud bzhi (chaturmara): 'son of god' (demon of divine
pride) - Iha sras bdud; demon of embodiment - phungpo'i bdud;
demon of afflictive emotion - f!JOn mongs pa'i bdud; the demonic
lord of death - chi'i bdagpo'i bdud.
four deportments: spyod lam mam bzhi: sitting, walking, sleeping,
waking.
four female qualities: shes rab mkha' la 'degs pa / mtshan '!}'id mam par
bzhi: powerful dakini - stobs ldan ma; inspiring dakini - shugs
'chang ma; uplifting dakini - 'degs qyed ma and steadfast dakini -
brtan ma. See chapter 91.
four empowerments: dbang bzhi: vase empowerment - bum dbang,
wisdom empowerment - shes rab dbang, secret empowerment -
gsang dbang, word empowerment - tshig dbang.
four experiences that interrupt discursive dualistic elaboration: spros pa
chod pa'i chos bzhi.? The cog bzhag bzhi perhaps.
four external symbols of empowerment: dbang rdzas bzhi: see 'four
introductory symbols'
four great elements: 'qyung ba bzhi: earth - sa, water - chu, fire - me, air -
rlung.
four introductory symbols: ngo sprod brda' bzhi: Vajrasattva's mirror -
rdo rje sems dpa 'i me long, a mirror-image ( 'dra 'ba~, the eyeball -
'od kl?Jim kha sqyar, and the sun - nyi ma. See chapter 86.
four kinds of robes: cha lugs mam bzhi-. robes of monks, nuns, yogins
and yoginis.
four misconceptions: plryin ci log bzhi-. assumptions that the deluded

experiences of samsara are permanent - rtag, true - bden,
pleasant - bde ba, and concrete - mtshan ma.
four modes of birth: chags lugs rnam pa bzhi: slge bzhi: moisture birth,
egg birth, womb birth, miraculous birth.
four mudras: plryag wa bzhi: samayamudra - dam tshiggyi plryag wa;
dhannamudra - chos kyi plryag @'a; kannamudra - las kyiplryag
wa, mahamudra - plryag r!)'a chen po. See chap. 69.
four noble truths: 'phags pa bden bzhr. the noble truths of suffering -
sdug bsngal, the cause of suffering - kun 'byung, release from
suffering - 'gogpa, and the path of release -grol lam.
four pairs of noble beings: skyes bu Zf'ng bzhi: stream-winner - wun
zhug,, once-returner - plryir 1Jng; never-returner - plryir mi 'ong;
enemy-destroyer - dgra bcom (arhat)) on the shravaka and
pratyekabuddha paths.
four pairs of superior beings on the path of arhatship: Zf'ng bzhzja
br!)ad-. see 'four pairs of noble beings'.
four samaya commitments: dam tshig bzhi: absence - med pa; openness -
plryal ba; unity - gcigpa; spontaneity - lhun grub.
four selfless activities: 'phrin las rnam par bzhi: pacification - zhi;
enrichment - @'aS", control - dbang; destruction - drag.
four socially magnetizing activities: bsdu ba bzhi: offering gifts - sbyin pa
byin pa; making pleasing speech - s,ryan pa smra ba; providing
appropriate teaching - don mthun pa; and remaining consistent
in words and deeds - don spyod pa.
four special ritual objects: dbang rdzas bzhi: see 'four introductory
symbols'.
four stages of meditative absorption: conceptual thought - rtogpa;
examining thought - dpyod pa; joy - dga' ba: and intensive, soft
focus (one-pointed soft focus) - rtse gcig. See also 'five stages of
meditative absorbtion'.
four streams of empowerment: dbanggi chu bo bzhi: the outer stream of
tantra, the inner stream of mastery, the ritual practice stream of
renown, and the secret stream of perfection. [See RY
Dictionary]
four symbolic attributes: don g;i mtshan ,ryid rnam par bzhi: see 'four
introductory symbols'.?
four visions: snang ba bzhi: The four categories of visionary experience:
direct experience of reality - chos ,ryid mngon sum; increasing
visionary experience - snang ,ryams 'phel ba; full scope of pure
presence - rigpa !shad 'phebs; reality consummate - chos ,ryid blo
zad or chos zad- intellect spent, all experience consummate.
Glossaries 263
fourfold mindfulness samadhi: dran pa bzhi yi ting nge 'dzin: fixation

of mindfulness of body - '!Ye bar bzhag pa /us dran pa;
mindfulness of feelings - tshor ba dran pa; mindfulness of mind -
sems dran pa; mindfulness of reality - chos dran pa.
fourfold pointing out: ngo sprod bzhi: of dhannakaya's jeweline hollow -
chos sku rin po che'i sbubs; of fivefold sambhogakaya - longs sku
Inga ldan; of the nirmanakaya bardo - sprul sku bar do; and of
trikaya - sku gsum 'du 'bra/ med pa rdzogs ldan. See chapter 86.
fourfold recollection, samadhi of: dran pa bzhi'i ting nge 'dzjn: one-
pointed recollection - rise gciggi dran pa; manifest recollection -
mngon par dran pa; absence of recollection in the universal
ground - kun gzhiyi dran pa dang bra/ ba; self-illuminating
recollection of the universal ground - kun gzhi rnam par shes pa 'i
dran pa ranggsal.
FIVE
five afflictive emotions: '!)'On rmongs Inga (panchaklesha): five poisons:

stupidity - gti mug, desire - 'dod chags; anger - khong khro; pride -
nga rgyal; jealousy - phrag dog.
five aggregates: phungpo Inger. see 'five body-mind aggregates'.
five aspects of awareness:ye shes Inger. see 'fivefold present awareness'.
five bodhisattva children: byang chub sems dpa' Inger. see the five
consciousnesses.
five body-mind aggregates, also five aggregates: phungpo Inger. form and
name - ming danggzugs (rupaskandha); sensation - tshor ba-,
concept - 'du 'shes; volition - 'du qyed (samskara-skandha);
consciousness- rnam shes.
five characteristics of pure presence: rigpa'i mtshan '!Jid Inga: emptiness
of dhannakaya - chos sku stongpa; intangibility - 'gagpa med pa;
indivisibility - de '!]id dlryer med pa; uncrystallizing wisdom that
knows itself as such - de /tar shes pa'i shes rab mi 'gagpa-, freedom
from obstacles - de la !hogs pa med pa.
five colored lights 'od Inga: white - dkar, blue - mthing, yellow - gser,
red - dmar, green - !Jang.
five conduits, doorways, of compassion: thugs rje 'i sgo Inga: eyes, ears,
mouth, nose and body.
five consciousnesses: rnam shes Inger. consciousnesses of eye, ear,
tongue, nose and body, comprising the fifth skandha.
five creative modes of present awareness:ye shes rtsal snang Inger. see
'fivefold present awareness'.
five doorways: conduits: sgo Inger. see 'five senses'.
five great elements: '!?Jung ba Inga: earth - sa; water - c/JU; fire - me;
air - rlung; space - nam mkha'.
five excellences: phun sum tshogs pa Inga: Teacher - ston pa; teaching -
bstan pa; retinue - ,:gyud, time - dus; place - gnas. See Chapter 58.
five families: rigs Inga: buddha - sang ,:gyas, vajra - rdo rye, karma -'phrin
las, padma - pad ma; and ratna - rin chen.
five greats: chen po Inga: see 'fivefold present awareness'.
five impurities: dri ma Inga-. perhaps 'five afflictive emotions'.?
five lamps: sgron ma Inga-. see 'five-colored light'.
five offerings, five kinds of nirmanakaya offering: mchodpa Inga: see
'five sensory objects'.
five paths to enightenment: ~ang chub lam Inga: paths of accumulation -
tshogs lam; preparation - s~or lam; seeing (insight) - mthong lam;
purification -yongs "l?Jang lam; release - sgrol lam.
five poisons: dug Inga-. see 'five afflictive emotions'.
five principles of agama instruction: the principles of trust in the
instruction, unchanging sky-transmission, uncorrupted
instruction, credible instruction, harmonious instruction. See
chapter 71.
five seed syllables of the five male consorts: rin chen yiyi ge Inga: OM
AH HUNG HRI TRAM
five sense organs: skt. indriyas: dbangpo Inga (see also five powers): eye
- mig, ear - rna ba, nose - sna, body - /us, tongue - Ice.
five senses, five doorways: sgo Inga-. senses of the eyes, ears, nose,
tongue and body.
five sensory objects, five objective sensory fields: yul Inga: sights,
sounds, aromas, flavors and textures.
five stages of meditative absorption (dhyana): bsam gtan yan lags Inga:
conceptual thought - rtogpa;. examining thought - dpyod pa; joy
-dga' ba; ease - sla ba; intensive soft focus - rtse mo gcig.
five sublime forms: sku Inga: Universally Manifestating Present
Awareness - &am snang (also kun snangye shes); Unshakeable -
Mi bskyod pa; Great Jewel Source - Rin '!?Jung chen po; Boundless
Light - 'Od dpag med; Great All Accomplisher - Don grub chen po.
See 'fivefold present awareness'.
five supremacies: 'phags pa'i che ba Inga-. see 'fivefold supremacy'.
five thrones: gdan Inga: lion throne - sengge 'i gdan; elephant throne -
glang chen gdan; horse throne - rta mchoggdan; peacock throne -
rma l?Ja gdan; garuda throne -mkha' /ding thogs med gdan.
five vital energies: rlung Inga: upward moving - gyen JU; all-suffusing -
kf?yab ~ed; thermal - me ml!)'am; downward moving - thur sel;
and life-sustaining - srog 'dzjn.
fivefold awareness:ye shes Inga-. see 'fivefold present awareness'.
Glossaries 265
fivefold mandala group: tshom bu Inger. the five mandalas of the five
sublime forms in yabyum with attendant male and female
bodhisattvas; the third togal vision (see 'four visions'). See
Appendix 1.
fivefold present awareness: fivefold awareness:J'e shes Inger. awareness
of spaciousness - chos d(!Jings 9i)'e shes; mirrorlike awareness -
me longgiJ'e shes; awareness of sameness - m,ryam ,ryid k]iJ'e shes;
discriminating awareness - sor rtogs 9iJ'e shes; all-accomplishing
awareness - (!Ya grub gJiJ'e shes. See chapters 6 and 7.
fivefold sublime form: see 'five sublime forms'.
fivefold supremacy, five supremacies: 'phags pa 'i che ba Inger. the
supremacy of buddha manifest - mngon par sangs rgyas che ba; the
supremacy of buddha as spaciousness - chos df?yings sangs rgyas
che ba:, the supremacy of buddha as essential identity - bdag ,ryid
sangs ,;gyas che ba; the supremacy of the very buddha itself - de
,ryid sangs ,;gyas)'in pas che ba; the supremacy of all-buddha - thams
cad sangs ,;gyas che ba. See chapter 54.
SIX
six direct intuitions (extrasensory perceptions): mngon shes drug. of the

divine ear - s,ryan gJi mngon par shes pa (lha'i rna ba'i); of the
dharma eye - chos 9i sp]an gJi mngon par shes pa (lha'i mig); of
buddha mind - thugs k]i mngon par shes pa; of karma - las 9i
mngon par shes pa; of the 'place' of trikaya - gnas k)'i mngon par shes
pa (sk)'e gnas); of compassionate blessing - thugs ife'i (!Jin rlabs kyi
mngon par shes pa.
six eyes: sp]an drug. soft-focussed eye of present awareness -ye shes 9i
spyan; unthought dharma eye, eye of reality - chos 9i spyan;
discriminating wisdom eye - shes rab k]i sp]an; empty and pure
divine eye -lha'i spyan; samadhi-inducing fleshly eye -shat sp]an;
ordinary 'water bubble' eyes - chu burgJi mig.
six fields of consciousness: tshogs drug: consciousness-aggregates of eye,
ear, body, tongue, nose, and mind.
six kinds of wandering mind: 'gro ba rnam pa drug. gods - Iha, titans
(anti-gods) - Iha ma)'in, human beings - mi, animals - dud 'gro,
hungry ghosts -J'i dvags, and hell beings - dm]al ba.
six realms: gnas drug. the heavens, the titanic realm, the earth, the
jungle of the animals, the desert of the hungry ghosts and the
hell realms.
six recollections: rjes dran drug. recollection of the yidam deity - Iha ifes
dran; of the path - lam; of the place of birth - s9e gnas; of the
meditative state - bsam gtan; of the buddha-teacher's oral
266 Everything I.r Light
instruction - bla ma 'i man ngag; and of the view - /ta ba. Also:
recollection of place of death - 'chi ba ,jes dran; recollection of
what to abandon - gtong ba ,jes dran; recollection of the bardo -
bar do 1J"es dran; and recollection of the bardo of reality - chos nyid
1J"es dran.
six seminal syllables:yi ge drngpa: A AH.\ SH.-\ SA MA. See chapter 88.
six siddhamunis: dngos grnb thub pa drng. Dbangpo brgya l?Jin (Indra) of
the gods, Thags bzang ris 01 emachitra) of the antigods, Sha ~ya
thub pa (Sakyamuni) of the humans, Sengge rab brtan (Singha?)
of the animals, Kha 'bar de ba Qwalamukha) of the hungry
ghosts, and Chos kJi r;gyal po (Dharmaraja) of the hell beings.
[From Thrinley Norbu, The Small Golden Kry.]
six sublime forms: sku drng, see thub drng. the six munis, siddhas, magi:
buddha manifest in the six realms. See 'six siddhamunis'.
SEVEN
seven gems: rin chen bdun: ruby, sapphire, lapis, emerald, diamond,
pearl and coral (with variations).
seven precious royal emblems: rgyal md rin po che sna bdun: the seven
attributes of kingship or of a universal monarch, the seven
royal emblems: thousand-spoked wheel - rtsibs stong 'khor lo;
wish fulfilling gem -yid bzhin nor bu; queen - btsun mo; minister -
blon po or judge - khrims bdag; elephant - glangpo che; horse - rta
mchog, general - dmag dpon.
seven successive buddhas: sangs rg;as rabs bdun: Rnam parg:efgs
0/ipashvi); Gtsug tor can (Shikhi); Thams cad s~ob 0/ishvabhu);
'Khor ba Jig (Krakuchanda); Cser thub (Kanakamuni); 'Od srnngs
(Kasyapa); Shakya thub pa (Sakyamuni).
EIGHT
eight approaches: eight lower approaches: thegpa brg;ad: the

approaches of the auditors (shravakas) - snyan thos; hermits
(pratyekabuddhas) - rang sang rg;as; bodhisattvas - l?Jang chub
sems dpa'; and of kriya-tantra, upa-tantra and yoga-tantra; and
mahayoga and anuyoga.
eight bodhisattvas (male): sems dpa' brgyad: Samantabhadra, Kun tu bzang
po (Kuntuzangpo), All-good; Akashagarbha, Nam mkha'i snying
po (Namkhai Nyingpo), Space-Essence; Manjushri, Jam dpal
Qampel), Tender Glory; Vajrapani, Phyag na rdo IJ"e
(Chaknadorje), Vajra-in-Hand: Sarvanivarana-viskambhin, Sgrib
pa mam sel (Dripanamsel), Cloud Dissolver; Avalokiteshvara,
Spyan rasgzjgs (Chenrezik), Tearful Gaze; Kshitigarbha, Sa'i
Glos.rariu 267
Sf!_yingpo (Sainyingpo), Earth-Essence; Maitreya, Byams pa

Oampa), Loving Kindness.
eight bodhisattva (female): sems ma brg,ad-. Lasya, Sgeg mo ma (Gekma),
Charm; Pushpa, Me tog ma (Metokma), Flower; Gita, Glu ma
(Luma), Song; Aloka, Mar me (Manne), Lamp; Nritya, Gar ma
(Garma), Dance; Gandha, Dri chab ma (Drichabma), Taste;
Mala, Phreng ba (Tengwa), Garland.
eight conceptual elements: don brgyad. birth, cessation, permanence,
impermanence, eight conceptual components (birth and
cessation (sk:Jed gag), eternity and nothingness (rlag chad'J,
coming and going ('ong 'gro) oneness and multiplicity (gcig du
ba). (For the second four, alternatively: being and non-being
(.yod med'), appearances and emptiness (snang stong).]
eight fields of consciousnesss: tshogs brgyad: consciousness-aggregates
of eye, ear, skin, tongue, nose, thought, emotion and 'store
consciousness'.
eight metaphors of maya: sgyu ma'i dpe brgyad: bag chags dang 'dres pa'i shes
pa brgyad. magical illusion - sgyu ma; reflection of the moon in
water - chu zkr, optical illusion - mig_yor, mirage - smig rgyu;
dream - rmi lam; echo - sgra bs'!)'an; gandarva city - dri za'igrong
khyer, apparition - mig 'phrul.
eight subcontinents: glingphran brgyad (pairs of subcontinents flanking
each of the four continents): Deha and Videha, Chamara and
Upachamara, Shatha and Uttara Mantrina, Kurava and
Kaurava; Lus dang Lus 'phags, Rnga yab dang Rnga yab zhan, G:Jo
/dan dang Lam mchog 'dro, Sgra mi s,ryan dang Sgra mi S'!Jan gyi zla).
NINE
nine approaches: thegpa dgtr. the 'eight approaches' plus atiyoga.

nine samadhis of the Tik/ay Kunsef. the samadhi of all-inclusive
envisionment - gzhi snang ba chen po 'i ting nge 'dzjn; the samadhi
that is characteristic of the primal ground - gzhi mtshan f!Jid k:Ji
ting nge 'dzjn; the samadhi of clear present awareness - rdo rje
sems dpa ye shes gsa/ ba 'i ting nge 'dzjn; the sublime vision of
compassionate creativity - thugs rje rlsa/ gyi dgongs pa; the samadhi
of ornamentation and display - rgyan dang ro/ pa'i ting nge 'dzjn;
the samadhi of structured perception - snang ba rnam par bkod
pa'i ting nge 'dzjn; the samadhi of the sublime vision of
compassion-emanating trikaya - thugs rje 'f?yung ba'i sku gsum gyi
dgongs pa 'i ting nge 'dzjn; the samadhi of inconceivable revelation
- de mtshon pa bsam g,zs mi kf?yab pa 'i ting nge 'dzjn; the samadhi of
the paramount secret - gsang ba bla na med pa 'i ting nge 'dzjn.
TEN
ten perfections: pha rol tu pf?yin pa bcu, (dasaparamita), 'the ten gone to
the far side', 'consummations'. To the six perfections of the
Prajnaparamita-yana (generosity - sl?Jin pa; morality - tshul
khrims; patience - bzod per, perseverance - brtson grus; meditative
absorption - bsam gtan; wisdom - shes rab) are added in
Vajrayana four more (skillful means - thabs (upaya); aspiration -
smon lam (pranidhana); strength - stobs (bala); and present
awareness -ye shes Gnana).
ten requisites of a tantra: rgyud kyi /dang tshad rnam pa bcu:
empowerment and samaya - dbang and dam tshig, mandala and
selfless activity - dkyil 'khor rnam gnyis (d9il 'khor dang 'phrin las);
offering and yoga - mchod and rnal l?Jor; mantra and mudra -
gsang sngags and pf?yag rgya; approach and accomplishment -
bsnyen and sgrub pa. Compare with Longchenpa: view, samaya
commitment, empowerment, mandala, levels, paths, selfless
activity, present awareness, goal and reality.
ten stages of the bodhisattva path: sa bcu: The Joyous - rab tu dga' ba;
The Stainless - Dri ma med pa; The Radiant - 'Od l?Jed pa; The
Brilliant - 'Od 'phro ba can; The Hard to Purify - Shin tu sl?Jangs
dka' ba; The Realized-Mngon dugJurba; The Far Reaching -
Ring du song bcr, The Unshakable - Miyo ba; Good Intelligence
- Legs pa 'i blo gros; and The Cloud of Dharma - chos kyi sprin.
ten virtues: dge ba bcu: forsaking killing, theft, sexual misconduct, lying,
cursing, gossip, slander, opionatedness, covetousness and
malice.
1WELVE
twelve downfalls: lhungpa bcu gf!yis.

twelve factors of calm-abiding meditation: zhi gnasyan lag bcu gnyis:
relating to twelve stages in the pacification of elephant and
monkey mind in shamatha meditation.
twelve links of interdependant origination: rten bre/ bcu gnyis: ignorance
- ma rigpa; volition - 'du l?Jed; consciousness - rnam par shes per,
name and form - ming danggZf'gs; six sense faculties - skye mched
drug, contact - regpa; sensation - tshor ba; craving - sred pa;
grasping - nye bar /en pa; becoming - srid pa; birth - skye ba; old
age and death - r:ga zhi.
Glossaries 269
FIFTEEN
fifteen stages: sa bcu Inga: the first stage 'The Stage of Rejoicing' - rab tu
dga' ba 'i sa; the second stage, 'The Stage of Immaculate Purity' -
dri ma med pa'i sa; the third stage 'The Radiant,' - 'od 'phro ba; the
fourth stage, 'The Brilliant' - 'od ryed; the fifth stage, the five
poisons and the three poisons immaculate - dug Inga duggsum
ngang du dag, the sixth stage, the three hollows are recognized -
sbubs gsum skabs ~i sku gsum gsa/: the seventh stage, the
purposes of the eight lesser approaches are surpassed - theg
brgyad don las rab tu 'phags; the eighth stage, unwavering intuition
of the reality of intrinsic presence - rang rig don las ma gyos
mkf?yen; the ninth stage, all qualities are known as perfect in
themselves - chos rnams gang la thogs med mkh_)'en; the tenth stage,
intuitive wisdom suffuses all experiences whatsoever - chos
rnams gang la !hogs med mkf?yen; the eleventh, 'Universal Light' -
kun tu 'od; the twelfth stage, - 'The Lotus Stage' - padma can gyi
sa; the thirteenth stage, 'The Great Assembly: The Circle of
Seminal Syllables' -_)'i ge 'khor lo tshogs che; the fourteenth stage,
Vajradhara - Rdo 1je 'dzjn pa; the fifteenth stage, Niroana: the
trikaya spirals into the matrix of the jeweline hollow - rin chen
sbubs su sku gsum k/ong du 'kf?yil.
TWENTIES
twenty ways in which the buddha body is enlightened: rnam pa f!)'i shu
lryang chub pa: [According to Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche, this
refers to the ten aspects of renunciation and the ten aspects of
realization which relate to the ten bodhisattva levels. The term
may also refer in Madhyamaka to the fourfold view of self
(bdag /ta bzhz), which applies to each of the five components of
form, feeling, perception, habitual tendencies, and
consciousness. In the context of the vehicles of secret mantra,
it may refer to accomplishment in twenty specific exercises
pertaining to the experiential cultivation of the energy
channels, currents and seminal points within the body. See
Dudjom Rinpoche 1991 pp.177, 416.]
THIRTIES
thirty-six deviations and obscurations: go/ grib sum cu rtsa drug: of the
sutra-yanas.
thirty-seven factors of enlightenment: chos sum cu rlsa bdun: 37 bodhi-

factors: Four Essential Recollections: dran pa '!Jer bzhag bzhi; of
body - /us dran pa nyergzhag, of feeling - tshor ba dran pa nyer
gzhag, of mind - sems dran pa nyer gzhag, and of dhanna - chos dran
pa nyer gzhag. Four Correct Exertions:yang dag spong ba bzhi: to
avoid giving rise to nonvirtuous qualities, to abandon the ones
that have arisen, to give rise to virtuous qualities, and to avoid
letting the ones that have arisen degenerate. Four Legs of
Miraculous Emanation: rdZfi 'phrul gyi rkangpa bzhi: samadhi of
aspiration - 'dun pa 'i ting nge 'dzjn; mental samadhi - sems kyi ting
nge 'dzjn; samadhi of perseverence - brtson grus kyi ting nge 'dzjn;
samadhi of scrutiny - dpyod pa'i ting nge 'dzjn. Five Powers: dbang
po Inga-. faith - dad pa; perseverance - brtson grus; mindfulness -
dran pa; samadhi - ting nge 'dzjn; wisdom - shes rab. Five
Strengths: stobs Inga-. faith - dad pa, perseverance - brtson grus,
mindfulness - dran pa, samadhi - ting nge 'dzjn, wisdom - shes rab.
Seven Factors of Enlightenment: byang chub kyiyan lag bdun:
genuine mindfulness - dran payang dag, pure enlightenment -
chos rab tu rnam 'f!Yed; genuine persevence - brtson grusyang dag,
genuine gladness - dga' ba yang dag, pure ecstasy - shin tu sbyangs
payang dag, samadhi - ting nge 'dzjn; equanimity - btang snyoms.
The Noble Eightfold Path: 'phags lam gyzjan lag brgyad
FORTIES
forty-two buddha deities: zhi bo bzhi bcu rtsa gnyis. See Appendix 1.
FIFTIES
fifty-eight wrathful deities: khro bo Inga bcu rlsa brgyad Krodhas /

Herukas: Buddha, Vajra, Ratna, Padma, and Karma Herukas;
the Herukas' respective Krodhishvaris [10]; eight Mataris or
Gauris [8]; eight Pishachis [8]; twenty eight Ishvaris [28]; and
four female gatekeepers [4].
SIXTIES
sixty qualities of melodious speech: gsung dbyangs )'an lag drug cu: In
tantra, six metaphors describe sweet speech: the voice of
Brahma, cymbals, song, the kalapinga birdsong, thunder and
sitar. Each of those has ten qualities of understanding:
capacity, comprehension, respect worthiness, freedom from
discord, profundity, acceptability, invincibility, pleasure in
hearing, clarity, and distinction.
Glossary of English Dzogchen Technical Terms
alpha-pure, alpha-purity: ka dag. [primordially pure].

alternatives, four: mu bzhi. see chapter 94.
appearances: snang ba-. appearance, perception, vision, visionary
experience, all translate the same Tibetan word. As a verb the
same word can be translated as 'to shine'. 'Appearances' relate
to the objective aspect of perception, inner or outer or in
between, but the word happily connotes a sense of illusion and
evanescence. 'Vision' on the other hand, as a function of the
eye, is primarily related to the subjective aspect and only
secondarily does it become a projection 'out there'. So long as
dualistic perception pertains, the 'vision' is an 'appearance', but
when the distinction between subject and object is obviated,
self-envisionment dawns, and vision is nondual.
authentic cognition: ma nor shes pa.
authentic: gshis-. uncontrived, spontaneously present, nonconceptual.
authentic:)'ang dagpar. literally 'most pure'; also ultimate or nondual.
awareness of presence: rig pa 'i)'e shes-. As awareness of presence,
present awareness (ye shes) exists as our own intrinsic presence
(rang ri~ (chapter 6).
awareness of the now: J'e sheJ: The prefix J'e elevates perception (shes pa)
into an ineffable, inexpressible, nondual space, which
conventionally has been translated as 'primordial'. 'Primordial'
evokes the beginning of time on earth, which is a mistaken
connotation of yeshe. Y eshe has also been understood as
'timeless', which is better than 'primordial', but tends to
abstract awareness from 'the here and now'. 'The now' is right
here-and-now and brings us back to nondual experience of the
moment.
'Yeshe' is nondual awareness of the now, not discursive
'wisdom': The egregious error that demoted the yogin's
nondual perception was spread by lamas semi literate in
English in the early days of propagation of Vajrayana in the
English language - perhaps it is too late to rectify that mistake.
Wisdom' in every English dictionary (as well as in common
usage) is defined as a discursive quality. If indeed a
nondiscursive aspect to wisdom exists, it is inseparable from its
discursive expression. Even the wise old owl ('idiot' in Hindi)
expresses wisdom verbally.
In Sanskrit the classical equivalent of 'yeshe' is 'jnana', but

jnana in Hindi is understood as discursive wisdom, which
perhaps is why Tibetans translate ye shes as wisdom. However,
see 'wisdom' below). See also 'present awareness' as another
translation ofye shes.
bodhisattva children: sems dpa' kl!Jeir. The anthropomorphic
representations of sensory consciousnesses galvanized by
apparitional offerings is thus united indissolubly with present
awareness. All moments of sensory consciousness, a stream of
awareness, are nondual experience of the magical nirmanakaya
mandala, dressing transparent (naked) present awareness with
the colorings of the objective sensory field.
brilliance: mdangs: or 'brightness', 'efflorescence', 'an exuberant
radiance'.
buddha, sang ,gyas: The danger of reification of personified buddha in
anthropomorphic imagery, found particularly in the lesser
buddhist approaches, serves a didactic purpose in devotional,
suppositional Buddhism, but in Dzogchen it obscures the
impersonal, nondual reality. Both definite and indefinite
articles and capitalization (except where an anthropomorphic
entity is indicated) of it have been rejected herein. 'Buddha' has
no characteristic, no person, no specific attributes. 'Simple
recognition of the nature of being is labeled "buddha" '(Keith
Dowman 1013, Spaciousness, Canto 10, verse 20).
buddha body, speech and mind: sku gsung thugs: The difference
between ordinary body speech and mind (!us ngagyid) and
honorific (buddha-) body, speech and mind (sku gsung thuiJ is
the difference between apperceptive analytic thought and
direct perception in the now.
buddhafields: zhing khams: see 'sublimation'.
buddhahood: sang ,gyas per. In the lesser, suppositional, approaches,
buddhahood is the goal. No goal exists in Dzogchen separate
from the now. 'Buddha' is a dynamic state of awareness (see
above), not a role or a destination.
clarity: gsal ba-. Clarity is an extremely important word in this tantra, the
second of the dharmakaya triad (essence, nature and
expression). As a close synonym of clear light ('odgsa~ clarity
should not to be confused with 'radiance', which describes the
manifest light of sambhogakaya.
compassion: thugs rye: see 'gnostic compassion' below.
conceptual extremes, four: mtha' bzhi-. see 'four conceptual extremes'.
convert, conversion: 'du! qya: In the basic buddhist creed where our
purpose is said to be 'to tame' or 'to discipline' the mind, the
Glossaries 273
verb employed is 'du/ ba. 'Dul f?ya refers to who or what is

tamed, 'the relative mind'. In Dzogchen, the verb 'du/ ba is still
employed but the meaning is 'to tame' the mind by recognizing
its nature, not to reduce its vibrancy or change its form. In
chapter 22, conversion in sambhogakaya is recognition of the
nature of the five elements as the five lights and their
corresponding five aspects of present awareness.
creative expression: rtsaf. see 'creativity'.
creativity frilly potentiated: rtsal rdzogs: present awareness suffusing
creative expression empowering, completing and resolving it.
creativity, creative expression: rtsa/, rig rtsaf. Pure presence is quiescent,
but it can be active, and its activity is called its rtsal, its
creativity. That dynamic does not actually crystalize, or reify, it
remains more as creative potential than creative expression.
'Whatever is moved and expressed by the energy of present
awareness becomes the five lights and the five elements. Such
creativity is recognized either as pure presence in which case
we remain in the immanent nirvana, or it is objectified, in
which case we wander in samsara. The rig pa 'i rtsal dbang, the
empowerment of creative pure presence may provide
recognition of the creativity, but actually recognition is a
quality of spontaneity, and in that synchronicitous mode it is
said to be 'potentiated'. In whatever way it is achieved, it
occurs as radiance (gdangs). See chapter 9 for 'internal' and
'external' creativity. See 'potentiation' and 'potentiate' below.
dimension of enjoyment: sambhogakaya.
direct intuition: mngon shes: supersensory consciousness, clairvoyance.
See 'sixfold direct intuition'.
discursive thought: rnam rtog. As a rule of thumb rnam rtog can be
translated as (conflicting- confused-) discursive thought or
'discursive elaboration', rtogpa as 'mental constructs' or
'conceptual thought', and rtogs pa as 'realization' as in the triad
'understanding' (go ba), 'knowing' (shes pa) and 'realization' (rtogs
pa). Dependent upon this simplistic definition it would appear
impossible to confuse conceptual thought (rtogpa) with
preverbal (or post-verbal) realization or direct perception (rtogs
pa). But the confusion arises frequently enough in block-
printed texts to indicate that the distinction in the minds of
block carvers is blurred to say the least. Or is it that Tibetans,
like lnjes, believe that nondual realization must be somehow
verbalized to be valid?
display: rol pa.
distilled essence: dwangs (ma): This denotes essence, after leaving the
dross behind.
effulgence, ubiquitous effulgence: ranggdangs chen po: All-inclusive
intrinsic radiance evokes the macrocosm as a cosmic light
show, a mandala of self-envisioned lightform.
elixir: bcud.
essence: ngo bo, S!!Jingpo: In the tantric essence of dharmakaya (rgyud kyi
Sl!Jingpo gsum), essence is either Sl!Jingpo or ngo bo. The latter
also denotes 'face', and ngo bo !!Jid, perhaps, 'original face'.
'Essence' is emptiness.
essential identity: bdag !!Jid-. skt. atmaka: an antidote to the negativity of
mahayana's 'emptiness'. It is nondual, ultimate identity because
'the essence is the appearance', where the essence and the
appearance are seamlessly nondual, and so cognate with 'self-
envisionment'.
essential, all-inclusive identity: bdag l!Jid chen po: mahatmaka: Chen po is
rendered as 'all-inclusive' or possibly 'universal', but anyhow
nonduality is implied. Not to be confused with Hindi
'mahatma'.
excellence: phun sum tshogs pa-. see chapters 54, 58 and 59.
experience: chos: skt. dharma: In the abhidharma, or mainstream
buddhist metapsychology, dharma (chos) in its technical sense is
conventionally translated as 'phenomenon'. 'Phenomena' are
to be understood as external appearances, although from the
perspective of Mind Only it may refer to appearances in mind.
In either case, 'phenomena' implies an objective reference. In
Dzogchen, 'phenomena' as an objective reference is the
product of a delusive function of the relative mind, implying
karmic attachment. \Vb.at in the lower approaches in a dualistic
view is denominated 'phenomena' in Dzogchen must be
reviewed in the unitary light of the dharmadhatu. The English
word that may mean 'whatever arises', or does not arise, is
simply 'experience'. All experiences are the nondual
phenomena of perception, where subject and object, inner and
outer, mind and its objects, are an inseparable unity. Thus,
'experience' is 'dharma', and 'intrinsic spaciousness'
(dharmadhatu) is 'the ground of all experience'.
field of appearances: yuf. objective field, either as a dualized experience
in samsara or self-envisionment in nirvana.
flow: brtan pa: The use of 'stability' as the equivalent of brlan pa in the
Dzogchen context is quite redundant, unless a contrived
meditation is under discussion. In nonmcditation there is
nothing to stabilize, no one to stabilize anything and no way to
Glossanes 275
bring stability. To seek stability implies a choice, an egoic act

of will, with the goal of ridding oneself of current experience
and seeking another that is more stable. An act of will surely
precludes buddha. 'To flow naturally' is congruous with the
signs of Dzogchen realization.
gnostic compassion: thugs rje. 'nondual compassionate responsiveness'.
Gnostic compassion is without an object, subject, or action. It
refers to spontaneous effulgent expression informed by
nondual nonconceptual experience in the now. Relative
compassion is a compassionate action towards an object or
person by a subject. It refers to deliberate energetic action that
a person takes toward another being under the conceptual
delusion that a dualistic 'other' needs help. Relative
compassion is denominated by thugs TJ'e but snying TJ'e is more
appropriate.
ground: gzhi: With a few exceptions where it denotes 'base', 'ground'
refers to the 'primal ground'.
holistic vision: grub mtha: final existential realization. In the
suppositional, argumentative schools, it may be 'philosophy' or
'tenets'. Also 'fuial accomplishment'.
hollow: sbubs-. 'Hollow' is a metaphoric reference to the ultimate
dimension of emptiness that suffuses all experience,
emphasizing its insubstantiality and thus, despite its near
homophonous similarity, evoking the metaphor of the
hologram. See also 'vase-body of youth', another metaphor
that enshrines a 'hollow'. On the sixth stage, the three hollows
are recognized as trikaya's three dimensions (chapter 75). The
three hollows are the jeweline hollow, the hollow of light, and
the hollow of karmic propensities, corresponding to the three
dimensions of the trikaya: see chapter 81.
ignorance: ma rigpa-. ignorance, diminished presence, absence of
presence.
immaculate: rnam dag. implies empty (stongpa) without attribute (mtshan
nyid med pa); thus 'immaculate spaciousness'.
implicit, unthought: rtog med:. see 'unthought'.
inalienable: mi 'da' ba: the Dzogchen commitment (samaya) is
inalienable, the path is inalienable, mahamudra is inalienable.
instantaneous: skad cig ma-. nondual realization is attained either
gradually (by stages) or instantaneously (immediately). The
great perfection is attained instantaneously or not at all. The
word cig car denotes an even faster process, so although usually
translated as 'instantaneously or 'immediately' it can also be
translated as 'simultaneous', 'co-emergent' or 'awakened
recognition (of what has always been there and known to have
been there)'.
intellect:)'id, the relative mind, which can only express itself as
thought.
intrinsic presence: rang rig. intrinsic to the fields of consciousness.
kalpa: ska/ pa: in common parlance denoting a vast period of time
(four yugas commonly comprise a kalpa), a kalpa here is also a
stage of unfoldment or a period of evolution. In the timeless
moment of awareness of the now a kalpa is a dimension of
being. The intermediate kalpa is a dimension of the here and
now; a kalpa is a sensory field. See chapter 21.
lightform: snang ba: see 'appearances'.
light-seed: thig le-. pronounced 'tiklay'. If a tiklay is conceived of as a
zero-point, utterly unstructured, experientially it is a point-
instant or a holistic totality. Because that zero is composed of
light it may be called 'light-seed', or 'nucleus', an unbounded
sphere or circle, or a 'pixel'. In the first togal vision it is a kind
of floater, a pixel mandala; in the second vision it is a rainbow
medallion or part of a pixelated field of appearances; in the
third vision it is a buddha mandala (tshoms bu); in the fourth
vision it is the nondual totality field. In trekcho, as a synonym
of dharmadhatu, it is 'the sole all-inclusive megapixel' (thig le
,ryaggcig). In tsalung, it is a seminal nuclei, either red or white
bodhichitta (nanopixels), flowing in the channels. A tiklay is
'the universe in a grain of sand'.
luminous mind: i?Jang chub sems-. skt. bodhichitta: see 'pure luminous
mind'.
matrix: klong. 'Matrix' is used in its original Greek sense of 'womb', the
place of origin where everything is created and resides in
potential. In the sublime Dzogchen vision there is nothing but
the matrix. It is an all-inclusive vastness of the boundless
nonspatial nontemporal space of the here and now. It
transcends space-time. It is sunyata; it is spaciousness-
presence. It is also a point instant of experience (a 'dharma'). It
must not be confused with the vast expanse of space in which
the cosmos manifests, which the conventional translation of
klong - 'expanse' - tends to denote along with the 'matrix' of
materialism which consists of a formula that controls and
manipulates, like God, or the DNA.
meditative absorption: bsam gtan, dhyana.
natural disposition: rang sa, rang so: Translated sometimes as 'the
natural state', a term evocative of Thomas Hobbes' definition
of the human condition as 'nasty, brutish and short' and
Glossaries 277
therefore to be avoided in Dzogchen. There is, experientially,

no nondual 'state', no authentic state to attain or to lose, no
fixed state. ~'hatever is referred to as a 'state' is a condition of
the relative mind, a changing state. The authentic natural
disposition is beyond words to express.
natural perfection: gnas lugs-. literally, 'authentic condition', or 'manner
of being'; 'natural perfection' is an interpretive translation.
nature: rang bzhin: In the context of trikaya ngo bo and rang bzhin are
translated herein as 'essence' and 'nature' respectively;
however, where ngo bo appears in conjunction with _ye shes and
rol pa, for instance, it is translated as 'nature', and where rang
bzhin points at something 'inner', it has sometimes been
rendered as 'essential'. See also 'essence'.
nonabiding: gnas med-. unlocated, unlocatable [homeless].
nonconceptual: ma rtog, rtog med-. see 'unthought'.
nondual, nonduality: g'!)'is med-. Reality is ineffable nonduality and 'all
enlightened experience of multiplicity is nondual.' Primarily
'nonduality' expresses the intrinsic union of 'knower' and
'known', subject and object, and by extension also inside and
outside, self and other, as well as here and there, and past and
future.
object, objective field:yu/: object of the five senses. See also, 'field of
appearances' above.
omniscience: thams cad mkf?yen pa: see 'twofold omniscience' in GNT.
See also 'wisdom'.
path: /am: In Dzogchen the path is a metaphor for an instantaneous
process of unfoldment - a timeless moment of experience,
unless the referent is the place from which we have escaped,
which is a space-time trap. As a timeless moment of awareness,
it is a 'mode' or 'modality', or 'a way of perception'.
perception: snang ba-. see 'appearance'.
pixels: thig le-. see 'light-seed'.
potential:yon tan: see 'quality'.
potentiation, to fully potentiate: rtsal rdzogs pa: As in homeopathy,
'potentiation' carries the sense of making effective or potent,
in this case by including or sustaining the creativity of pure
presence within the scope of awareness of the now. 'To
increase potentiation' means to increase the sense of
insubstantiality, baselessness, through attention to whatever
mode of expression constitutes experience in the moment. The
power of potentiation is naturally carried by creative
expression, or creativity (rtsa~, and thus constantly un-reifies
itself.
present awareness:ye shes: Yeshe is better translated as 'awareness of

the now' (see above), but frequently the context is better
served by the term 'present awareness'. In the phrase
'awareness of presence (rigpa'iye shes)', awareness of the now
(ye shes) is inherent as our own intrinsic presence (rang rig) (see
chapter 6). Ye shes '!)'id is 'awareness of the matrix' ('the original
mother'). It is the primal ground as cognitive light, which
recognized as such is release (see chapter 96). Ye shes is used
398 times in the Tiklay Kunsel, more than any other word
except sku.
primal ground: gzhi, kun gzhr. skt. ala ya: The ground of samsara and
nirvana, 'trikaya is inherent in the primal ground' (chapter 29),
so envisionment is also within the primal ground (chapter 29).
No distinction is made herein between 'the primal ground
(gzht)' and 'the universal ground (kun gzht)', between the
nondual essence of being and a relativistic substratum. The
universal ground consciousness (see below) is a consciousness
that at this level of Secret Precept exposition is not
distinguished from it. See 'three aspects of the primal ground'.
pure luminous mind: byang chub sems: bodhichitta: byang means 'pure',
chub means 'luminous', sems means 'mind': sometimes
translated in Mahayana contexts as 'enlightened mind'. 'Pure
luminous mind' (byang chub sems) is also explained as the ground
(sems) and its creativity (l?Jang chub). See chapter 96.
pure presence: rigpa-. 'It is dhannakaya' (chapter 96). 'In pure
presence, which is free of dualistic perception, the intrinsic
radiance of present awareness shines out' (chapter 87). 'The
five characteristics of pure presence are the emptiness of
dhannakaya, intangibility, indivisibility, noncrystalizing wisdom
that knows itself as such, freedom from obstacles (chapter 41).
It is 'total presence', 'nonconceptual knowledge', 'ultimate
awareness', 'the unity of antic and cognitive aspects of sensory
perception with an accent on the antic aspect.' It could be
'gnosis' or 'gnostic awareness' so long as 'gnosis' brings no
baggage. 'Intrinsic awareness' is the equivalent of rang rig but its
contrary, 'extrinsic awareness', tends to burden it. Presence (of
mind?) is close to the notion of 'attention', which is the
meaning of rig pa in common parlance. Rigpa is not a state (of
mind) that we can enter and leave.
purity: dagpa-. emptiness 'Wherever in the text 'pure' or 'purity'
appears, 'empty' or 'emptiness' should be inferred.
'Immaculate' is an intensification of 'pure and empty'. Yang dag
(vishuddhi) as the name and description of the heart chakra J't"d
Glossanes 279
dam buddha-deity likewise implies emptiness. 'Empty' and

'emptiness' are employed sparingly in the tantra, implying an
extreme of expression that is to be questioned.
quality, qualities, immanent quality:yon tan: Qualities of present
awareness or pure presence such as the forty-two sublime
forms are buddha-qualities and can be denominated 'potential',
or 'enlightened potential' because never crystalizing all qualities
remain unborn in dharmakaya. The qualifier 'immanent'
signifies buddha-qualities. In the form dimension 'quality' is
the ground as well as the 'immanent' ground, but there it can
be identified as specific quality.
radiance: gdangs-. In chapter 96 'radiance' is defined as 'self-
envisionment' (rang snani), which indicates light with form and
color. This technical - and descriptive - term refers to the
radiance of awareness in the now that appears in five-colored
light either unmixed (sambhogakaya) or mixed (nirmanakaya).
So not only are visual appearances 'radiance', but also all the
manifestations of all the sensory fields. 'Manifest perception'
consists only of its own radiance. In universal all-inclusive
awareness, perception consists of transparent, self-envisioned,
lightform, the very radiance of present awareness, which
reveals awareness of pure reality (see chapter 82). Naturally
pure, intrinsic radiance is like the night sky; the radiance of
pure reality in the now is like the sky at dawn; the radiant light
of spontaneous awareness is like sunrise (see chapter 42).
Cognates: mdangs is 'brilliance', 'brightness', 'efflorescence', 'an
exuberant radiance'; dwangs (ma) is 'distilled essence' or simply
'essence', after leaving the dross behind; ranggdangs is intrinsic
radiance'; ranggdangs chen po is 'ubiquitous effulgence'.
real space: ngang. 'Whereas in later historical usage the little word ngang
has little significance, in this tantra it refers quite definitely to
the space of the nondual awareness matrix of the here and
now (kloni), the spaciousness of the field of reality (chos 1!Jid) or
dharmadhatu itself (chos dl!):ings). It is definitely not three
dimensional space. The qualifier 'real' refers to 'reality' itself
and in no way can it be interpreted as conventional reality
(illusion) and must be given status equal to the spaciousness of
the dharmadhatu (dqyings); real space is the cognizant
emptiness of the dharmadhatu with the accent on its empty
spaciousness. The 'reality' of the space is derived from the
essence of experience of any event, of all phenomena (chos
nyid).
reality: chos ,ryicf. skt. dharmata: also 'spacious reality', 'phenomenal

reality': Reality is 'the essential nature of all experie~ce' and
therefore synonymous with Dzogchen itself. 'Reality' is 'all-
inclusive envisionment', 'the primal ground', 'present
awareness', 'pure presence' and 'buddha'. In this text reality is
always to be understood as 'ultimate reality', never as 'concrete
appearances' or 'phenomena'. 'Reality, which is like the sky,
and dharmakaya, which is like the sky, are 'nondual
transparence' (chapter 91). 'Ordinary individuals are not
"released" until they realize that the ultimate nature of
phenomena - reality itself - is inconceivable' (chapter 41).
Conventionally translated as 'the true nature of phenomena',
'ultimate nature' or a similar phrase, such translation tends to
propel the reader into an analytic, dualistic frame of
abhidharma. What needs to be inferred is always the nondual
nature of ordinary experience of the here and now that is best
simply termed 'reality'.
relative mind:yicf. see 'intellect'.
release: grol bcr. also 'liberation' and as an adjective sometimes
'unconfined'. It is defined as 'release from striving and
delusion' in chapter 89 or frequently 'liberation from the round
of rebirth'. As a transitive verb it can be rendered as 'release',
'free' or 'liberate'.
samadhi: ting nge 'dzin: contemplation: To distinguish between samten
(bsam gtan -dhyana) and tingnedzin (ting nge 'dzjn), although
often employed interchangeably, the first is better exclusively
used for meditative absorption on the graduated path and ting
nge 'dzjn for the contemplation that is nonmeditation. It is
defined as 'clarity' or 'one-pointed soft-focus' in chapter 96.
secret precept: man ngag. skt. upadesha: This phrase has three distinct
uses. 1) It denotes a literary style in dialogue form usually
found as the Sanskrit upadesha in the triadic context of 'tantra,
agama and upadesha'. 2) It denotes a class of atiyoga tantra
belonging to the man ngag sde series where it is evident that the
Secret Precept Series is implied. 3) Specifically in this tantra, it
denotes a string of Sanskrit mantric syllables that have some
logical meaning. 4) In general, a 'secret precept' is a pithy
instruction, originally delivered orally, pointing at the nature of
mind or teaching on the Dzogchen view and meditation, and,
particularly, relating to the Secret Precept Series.
sediment: s,ryigs mer. The five sediments are the 'external' residue of the
essences of earth, water, fire, air and space. See chapter 19.
Glossaries 281
self-envisionment: rang snang. Self-envisionment or intrinsic

envisionment provides the primary description of spontaneous
all-inclusive envisionment of the ground (gzhi snang chen po).
This is the awareness of presence where sublime form and
present awareness are unitary in the now. This term evokes a
single timeless moment of experience of the now with its
empty, insubstantial, nondual coloring of pure presence, the
entire cosmos in a grain of sand. In chapter 5 we fmd this
definition: 'Self-envisionment refers to nondualistic perception
in which the (subjective) source of the envisionment is not
different from the (objective) envisionment itself.' Clearly self-
envisionment does not imply ego-projection into one of the six
realms, but on the contrary implies that the appearances in our
sensory fields are inseparable from awareness of the now and
therefore the vehicle of release.
self-sprung: rang l?)ung.
selfless activity: 'phrin las: Acting spontaneously out of present
awareness of the now, universal necessity is served by one of
four skillful means - pacifying, enriching, controlling or
destroying. The rituals involving these four functions comprise
a major component oflower tantric ritual magic.
six kinds of wandering mind: rigs drug. In order to preclude the
possibility of an involuntary reification of the six beings of the
six realms and eradicating the tendency to conceive of them as
anything but momentary neurotic states, the word 'mind'
defines the common basis of the syndromes called 'human,
'god', 'demon', 'hungry ghost', 'animal' and 'devil', and
provides an ontological status similar to hobbits, auks or elves.
To identify the six kinds simply as mythic beings is to run the
risk of peopling one's head with them and/ or identifying with
a particular type - an even more pernicious kind of reification.
sky: nam mkha': In Tibetan the same word serves for both sky and
space. Sky is preferred herein because it is closer, warmer and
made more intimate by the three skies togal meditation.
sole holistic essence: thig le ,ryag dg. or sole all-inclusive megapixel, the
universe in a seed of light, or William Blake's 'universe in a
grain of sand', 'the essence is the appearance.' See 'light-seed'
above.
space, sky and spaciousness: nam mkha' and dl:Jings: No distinction
exists in Tibetan between sky and space, where space is the
fifth of the great elements. Sky, worshipped by the Mongols,
brothers of the Tibetans, from time immemorial, as the
ultimate divinity, evokes an etheric absolute more user friendly
than the cold reaches of space that separate galaxies. Anyhow,

such space is the space of our space-time dimension of the
third kalpa (see chapter 21) in which samsara and nirvana
manifest and must be differentiated from the real space (see
above) of the matrix of the here and now, which has been
referred to constantly as spaciousness herein. \Vb.ether or not it
is the spaciousness of awareness (dbyings) or the spaciousness
of reality (chos dl?Jings), it is the same spaciousness.
spaciousness: dl?Jings, chos di?yings (pronounced 'choying'): skt.
dharmadhatu: literally, 'the sphere of dharma', 'the sphere of
reality'. 'Spaciousness' or 'intrinsic spaciousness' has been used
here as the English equivalent because the Dzogchen context
requires an existential and experiential sense. 'Basic space' too
easily allows the inference of a concrete attribute, lending itself
to reification - as Longchenpa asserts, 'the dharmadhatu does
not actually exist'. See Keith Dowman 1910 (Chos dl?Jings mdzod
of Longchen Rabjampa).
spoken word: sgra: Neither 'language', which contains a complex
hierarchy of meaning, nor 'sound', which has no conventional
semantic meaning, is an adequate translation of sgra.
spontaneity: /bun grub-. Rather than the clumsy and often ill-suited
'spontaneously present', or 'spontaneous presence', simple
'spontaneity' works, but the inference of 'instinctive' or
'impulsive' must be left behind. No better word than
'spontaneity' describes the absence of any causal base in time
or space for the awareness of rig pa, because in direct
experience it is neither a continuum (wave) nor a series of
nano-instants (particles).
spontaneous all-inclusive envisionment: gzhi snang chen prr. This phrase
denotes the ultimate nondual experience of being that is
intrinsic to pure presence (rigpa). This is how awareness of the
now appears in the very moment. This is how nondual
experience is articulated in its ineffable reality. This
envisionment is neither relative nor absolute; it is the ultimate
as a union of relative and absolute and also of cognitive and
ontic aspects. Existentially, absolute truth is not to be
distinguished from relative truth, except in the intellects of
analytic philosophers. Experientially, absolute and relative
cannot be separated in the same way that emptiness cannot be
separated from form. Reality is nondual. To utilize a technical
term from another discipline, 'the universal gestalt' could
denote all-inclusive envisionment. 'Mahamaya', Universal
Illusion, is another useful notion bearing upon the experience
Glossaries 283
of universal self-envisionment. It is spontaneous insofar as it

has no cause. It is all-inclusive insofar as it incorporates
everything that arises out of the timeless spaciousness of its
ground. It is the 'ground appearance' insofar as it never leaves
its source.
spontaneously perfected: /bun rdzogs-. see also /bun grub.
stage: stT. skt. bhumi: Added to the 10 bodhisattva stages of the
Mahayana, the 3 stages relating to trikaya's three existential
dimensions, plus the 2 unitary dimensions total 15 V ajrayana
stages, and then 6 more to make Dzogchen stages. See chapter
75.
state: as in 'the state' (of rig pa), 'the natural state' (gshis, gnas lugs), 'state'
or 'space' (nganjJ The word 'state', never appropriate when
referring to rigpa, generally evokes the notion of a fixed
condition, a fixed state, a trance state, a samsaric fixation and,
moreover, tends to reify the attribute. As Longchenpa says,
'The view is without basis and meditation is not a "state"'
(Spaciousness, canto 9, verse 23). No state exists; we are all
completely stateless. States by definition are always relative and
temporary, from solid and gaseous chemical states to political
states, to states of mind - ~'hat a state she's in!' - and
certainly even the most prestigious, long-lasting and blissful
states in the formless realms of the gods, all are on the wheel
of time, in samsara. Conversely, if pure presence were a state, it
also has a place on the wheel of temporal experience. But it is
not a state and can never be so. Pure presence is by definition
timeless, nonspatial and nondual.
storehouse consciousness: kun gzhi rnam par shes pa: see 'universal
ground consciousness' below.
sublimation: 'pho btT. To use 'transference' as an equivalent of phowa is
an egregious error in Dzogchen parlance - no place exists to
be transferred to. 'Sublimation into the jeweline hollow' is
illustrated by the metaphors of a chick hatching from an egg
and or snake freeing itself from its skin' (chapter 90). The old
alchemical notion of sublimation (sublimation of lead into
gold) indicates a dissolution on the spot into another
dimension. 'Sublimation' is a more pertinent and exact
rendition of phowa than 'transference'. No entity exists to be
'transferred', and no place exists as a point of departure or of
arrival. \Vhat occurs is an immediate, spontaneous, refinement
of corporeal embodiment into a body of light. That
momentary process is called 'sublimation'.
284 Everything Is I..Jght
sublime form: sku: kaya: The quest for a single appropriate English
equivalent of 'kaya' has met with only partial success -
currently it is often left untranslated. The difficulty lies in its
ambiguity; it denotes the form of nondual being, which may be
described as holistic vision; it is conceived as threefold, in
three aspects of that vision, which may be denominated
'dimensions'; it also denotes the symbolic anthropomorphic
representation of the visions and dimensions in sculpture or
painting. Rather than denominate this visionary experience as
'buddha-imagery', 'deities', or 'representations', 'sublime form'
seems to cover the scope of both the symbols (the five buddha
images) and its unpacked existential significance, a direct
visionary experience. The word 'body' or 'buddha-body' is the
conventional equivalent in the suppositional approaches. In
Dzogchen, the dimensions of the vision are all subjective, any
objectivity demeaning the vision; if it is objectified it
disappears.
Sublime form, although perceptible, is best indicated as 'felt'.
To demonstrate the inseparability of the 'felt' reality of sublime
form from its representations, the visions of the third togal
level are all described in terms of symbolical sublime form, and
in the mandala of V airochana the forty-two deities likewise are
'sublime forms' as well as 'immanent qualities'. The qualifier
'sublime' has the connotation of 'beyond the threshold of
ordinary consciousness' - 'sub-liminal'. Since 'sublime-form'
defines a nondual dimension it should not, in general, be
pluralized. This rule is broken when referring to the deities of a
mandala, for instance.
sublime form and present awareness: sku dangye shes: This phrase
evokes both the ontic and cognitive aspects of nondual
awareness. The word sku points at the ultimate existential
nature of the form of being and ye shes denotes present
awareness in the now (primal or primordial awareness, or
alpha-pure or pristine awareness). Both sku and ye shes are
nondual counters, so the phrase may be apprehended as an
evocation of inexpressible nonduality. However, technically, it
denotes the sambhogakaya dimension of lightform in the third
togal vision, where nondual vision is optimized. It vanishes in
the ineffable fourth vision. But returns as buddha-body-in-the-
world working for all sentient beings; it is an attainment in the
bardo of dying in the cavern of clear light.
sublime vision: dgongs pa-. In Dzogchen the vision is perfect as it is and
no tendency to change or transform or convert can be
Glossanes 285
discovered. Those functions may only occur spontaneously.

Any movement towards change is counterproductive,
indicating a rejection of the now, seeking something better
elsewhere. It may be true that transformation occurs through
nonaction, but that is actualized by any tendency or preference
intrinsic to nonaction. The vision is impartial, unbiased
without preference, which is to say nonspatial and
nontemporal, which implies nondual. It is neither 'intentional'
nor 'extentional'; it is absolutely unmotivated and unmoving; it
is all-inclusive envisionment.
supremacy: phags pa che ba:. see chapter 54.
supreme: che ba:. see chapter 54.
synchronicity: This word is used to define immanent moments of
experience that are free of all cause and condition, timeless
moments of unfoldment, simultaneous cause and effect,
moments of universal responsiveness (rten 'gre!J, or a moment
of total detachment without union or separation ( 'du 'bra/ med
pa), a nondual, luminous event. 'Synchronicity' in the Jungian
definition is experience of two or more events that are
apparently causally unrelated or unlikely to occur together by
chance, experienced as occurring together in a meaningful
manner.
The Now, in or of the now, also pristine: gdod ma'i,gdod nas-,)'e,ye nas:
gdod nas is conventionally translated as 'original' or 'primordial'
and thus implying a throwback in time to its beginning, which
means the distant past Ourassic? or at the time of the Big
Bang?). In Dzogchen, the origin is the matrix (k/oni) of the
here and now, which is accessed by direct experience. Direct
experience is a timeless moment of awareness and thus has no
temporal extension, no past, present or future, no temporal
beginning or end. If gdod mat is understood to mean the root
of the timeless moment, an origin that lies deeper than the
surface of experience, then the unity of trikaya can be adduced
to indicate that only a single, zero-dimension can be located in
direct experience. Note thatgdod nas is a close synonym of ka
dag. Further, the little wordJ'e peppers Dzogchen texts and is
often ignored. If it is translated as 'timeless', we have 'timeless
awareness' (ye shes) or 'timeless matrix' (ye k/oni), which allows
easy reification. But 'Yel' like 'Eh!' is an onomatopoeic
evocation of the now and can be translated as such: 'awareness
in the now' for_ye shes, and 'matrix of the now' for ye klong. Ye
nas is 'in the here and now'.
three existential dimensions: sku gsum: see 'trikaya'.
three kalpas: ska/ pa gsum: first, intermediate and final kalpas.

transparence: zang tha/: sometimes qualified by 'ubiquitous',
'immaculate', 'stainless' etc. Regarding the dualistic model,
extrinsically, we can say that all forms in the visual field are
transparent; intrinsically, we can say that clear light is
omnipresent. 'Transparent', zangtal, as an adjective, describes
both the external and internal perspectives. Zang thal is
transparent like clear light.
transparent: dngos med zang thal.
trikaya: sku gsum: 'three existential dimensions': 'Trikaya is the intrinsic
clarity within present awareness of the now, like a butter-lamp
inside a vase' (chapter 41). This intrinsic clarity belonging to a
single experientially indivisible, ineffable, reality of being is
recognized in three aspects: the formless dharmakaya, and the
dimensions of form, sambhogakaya and ninnanakaya. In this
context 'kaya' may be translated as 'dimension', and trikaya as
three dimensions; but in the context of the bardos and in togal
it is inadequate. Thus, employing 'the three dimensions' is a
manner of labeling aspects of unitary reality; reality is uni-
dimensional or zero-dimensional, dependent merely upon
linguistic preference. Thus its denominations are threefold:
dharmakaya in the dimension of empty essence, sambhogakaya
in the dimension of clarity and ninnanakaya in the dimension
of emanation.
triple world: khams gsum.
two dimensions: sku g'!)'is: two 'kayas': the first is dhannakaya, the
dimension of clear light and the second is rupakaya, the
dimension of form, which subsumes sambhogakaya and
ninnanakaya. See 'trikaya'.
unconceived: ma r!OJ!; rtog med: see 'unthought'.
uncrystalizing: ma .'gags, .'gagpa med: This word is often translated as
'unimpeded' or 'unceasing,' but it rarely fits the context and so
makes the mind crash. "What in Dzogchen is 'unimpeded' or
'unstopped' is not usually an objective phenomena, a moving
or flying object; it is the essential medium of experience, such
as spaciousness or awareness or creativity, that is unimpeded.
The meaning therefore is more like 'uncrystalizing', 'unreified'
and 'intangible', and because it denotes absence of attributes it
is 'indeterminate', 'nonspecific', etc. Uncrystalizing, it is also
'transparence'. It is unmanifest and therefore 'pure potential'.
uniformity (with a pejorative inclination): pf?yal ba: also kun to pi?J'al ba.
unimpeded: zang tha/: see also 'transparence' and 'uncrystalizing'.
universal ground: kun gzhi: see 'primal ground'.
Glossaries 287
universal ground consciousness: kun gzhi mam par shes pa:

consciousness of the ground of being. No distinction is made
herein between the primal ground and the universal ground of
being in which this eighth field of consciousness shines. It
defines the structure of samsara and nirvana that will engage
through specific karmic propensity.
unmotivated: ma rtog, rtog med: see 'unthought'.
unthought: rtog med. Tokme is also 'unconceived', 'nonconceptual',
'concept-free', 'thoughtless', 'unthinking', 'implicit': when
thought or conceptualization has dissolved, dualistic
consciousness is lost, but not awareness. Present awareness
and clarity, for example, are 'implicit in all experience'. One
difficulty with 'unthought' is its implication of what the mind
prefers not to conceive, rather than what cannot be conceived
of due to its intrinsic unconceivability, like clarity or emptiness,
for example.
vase-body of youth: gzhon nu bum sku: The vase is a metaphor for the
skin of lightform on top of open-ended spaciousness or,
rather, since the skin of lightform and the open-ended
spaciousness cannot be separated, it is a unity of lightform and
spaciousness. The vase-body is alpha-pure inner space. See
Keith Dowman 2014, Appendix 4.
view: /ta ba skt. darshana: In conformity with the conventional usage
in Buddhist philosophy, where it is an intellectual perspective
(darshana) upon reality, /ta ba is rendered 'view' herein. In
Dzogchen, since the view is also the meditation, finally no
intellectual element is contained in the consummate view, and
the view is nondual and spontaneous and always the same,
almost identical to dgongs pa, (guru-) vision.
vision, dgongs pa, snang ba-. The word 'vision' appears herein in two
senses, which are not interchangeable. The first sense is found
in the translation of dgongs pa (see 'sublime vision' above),
which in Vajrayana is frequently rendered as 'enlightened
intent' - 'buddha intentionality'. Tulku Thondup, for one, uses
dgongs pa to signify what we 'see' in the moment as the Great
Perfection, which is 'vision'. \'\There the context does not
explicate 'vision' as a synonym of Dzogchen, the adjective
'sublime' has been added - 'sublime vision'. The second sense
is as a secondary translation of snang ba, the primary meaning
of which is 'appearance', and which is found in snang bzhi, 'the
four visions', where the first vision is a flash of dgongs pa and
the last vision its fulfillment and consummation.
vision: snang ba-. see 'appearance'.
visionary experience: snang ba. _

visions, four: dgongs pa bzhi: not the same as in the four togal 'visions'.
In lesser approaches, dgongs pa refers to a vision that is the goal
of practice and therefore an aspiration with a mental tendency
attached to it. In Dzogchen the vision is the actuality of the
now. See 'vision'.
wandering minds, wandering beings: gro ba: or migrant beings,
sentient beings.
wisdom: shes rab-. skt. prajna: This word is usually avoided in later
Dzogchen texts, presumably because it evokes the
prajnaparamita ('perfection of wisdom') of the Mahayana. In
this tantra, however, sherab is used widely and has been
translated as wisdom. (How is it to be translated if 'wisdom'
has been employed to render ye shes?). In English, wisdom
connotes discursive knowledge; in this tantric context
'unchanging wisdom' is always nonconceptual wisdom and
virtually synonymous with present awareness (ye shes).
'Spaciousness, awareness of presence and unchanging wisdom
are the same, without distinction' (chapter 88 p.208).
Wisdom' can thus describe the attributes of present
awareness; the five aspects of awareness are also denominated
herein as 'the five wisdoms'. 'Discriminating awareness' (see
chapter 88) particularly is 'discriminating wisdom', but also
'complete awareness' or 'perfect awareness' is nondiscriminate.
wisdom (see chapter 88). Thus attributes ofye shes are
relegated to the faculty of wisdom, which, however,
is nondiscursive and does not relate to the relative mind..
youthful vase-body: gzhon nu bum skJr. see 'vase-body'.
zero appearances: ngo bo nyid kyi snang: skt. dharmadhatu: Zero
appearance refers to the nondual experience of 'empty
awareness-appearance.'
zero-dimension: ngo bo nyid k:Ji sku: skt. svabhavikakaya: the one, all-
inclusive, existential dimension (which may be the equivalent
of 'the original face'). Zero dimension refers to the
dimensionless experience of nonduality, where time and space
dissolve together with all cognitive superimpositions (the
source of illusory fragmentation) and only the unified
dimensionless field of awareness remains. Because awareness
cannot be divided into dimensions, it may be termed 'zero-
dimension.'
zero-essence: ngo bo nyid-. the cognitive essence (cognitive emptiness).
Selected Sanskrit-English Concordance
adi-guru: the first guru

alayavijnana: universal ground consciousness, 'storehouse',
consciousness of karmic impulsion
anuyoga: the eighth of the nine approaches
arhat: a theravadin high achiever
atiyoga the ninth of the nine approaches, Dzogchen
bindu: tiklay: seed, pixel, sphere, circle

bodhichitta: pure luminous mind, buddha mind of compassion
bodhisattva: 1. A mahayana high achiever, 'tenderfoot buddha';
2. An adept of the bodhisattva yana; 3. A buddha
emanation in nirmanakaya.
brahmarandhra: the top of the central channel at the fontanel
buddha: full awareness in the here and now
chitta: mind (honorific)
dakini: female personification of awareness

dharma: experience of reality
dharmadhatu: the unbounded sphere of spaciousness
dharmakaya: the dimension of ultimate reality
dhyana: meditative absorption
ganachakra a ritual feast gathering
heruka: dynamic awareness in the here and now

hinayana the lowest three approaches
kaliyuga: the fourth and final aeon of temporal existence

kaya: sublime form
mahasiddha: an adept in mahamudra, one of 84

mahayoga: the seventh of the nine approaches
mandala: an integrated circle of light
mara: 'a demon-tempter'
maya: magical illusion
rurmana: emanation
nirmanakaya: the dimension of magical emanation
rurvana: release from attachment
pad.ma: lotus
prajna: insight into all experience as empty; wisdom
prajnaparamita: the perfection of wisdom
pratyekabuddha: a solitary practitioner on the second
approach
ratna: jewel
rupakaya: the dual dimension of form
sadhana: a lifestyle suffused by awareness; an

individualized spiritual practice
samadhi: contemplation [a trance state]
Samantabhadra: Kuntuzangpo, the all-good awareness in the now
samaya: commitment
sambhoga: enjoyment
sambhogakaya: dimension of five colored lightform, of pure and
total enjoyment
samsara: state of fixated positive or negative attachment
shakti: female energy accessed by the male, power
shamata: concentration or calm-abiding meditation
shravaka: 'auditor' on the first of the nine approaches
skandha: psycho-physical aggregate, a constituent of body-
mind
stupa: three dimensional symbolic representation of
buddha
sugata: 'resident in bliss'
sugatagarbha: buddha nature, womb of bliss
tantra: Dzogchen atiyoga text

tathagata: 'gone into authentic being'
trikaya: three dimensions of buddha being
vaira: symbolic thunderbolt representing indestructible

awareness
vajradhatu: the unbounded sphere of adamantine awareness
vajrayana: the multiple means approach to buddha
v1pasyana: insight meditation
Selected Tibetan - English Dzogchen Vocabulary
[Square brackets contain secondary or alternate equivalents)

1':B Many of these definitions are relevant only in Dzogchen contexts.
a ti: Sanskrit: also Af.aha-Ati: The Supreme, The Great Supreme,

synonymous with Dzogchen.
ka dag alpha-pure
bskal pa, ska/ pa: kalpa: a period of time, aeon; to interrupt, intervene;
obscuration, intervention, a sensory field
kun snang chen po: universal manifestation
kun tu bdaf. (present awareness) equalizing everything, permeating
everything
kun tu khod s,ryoms pa: completely homogeneous, smoothed out,
levelled out, even
kun gzhi: skt. alaya: primal ground, universal ground
kun gzhi rnam par shes pa: skt. alayavijnana: universal ground
consciousness
sku: skt. kaya: sublime form: bodily dimension, compassionate sublime
form ['bodies' with attributes (emanations), not embodiment,
sublime image, the buddha-teacher's pure being]
sku dangye shes: sublime form and present awareness [the buddha
dimensions and pristine awareness]
sku nr. (denominated as) sublime form
sku gsum: skt. trikaya: three dimensions [existential dimensions]
sku gsum ja log chen po: complete trikaya inversion
s~e mched: skt. ayatana: sense faculties [bases of cognition]
khams: skt. dhatus: sense fields, fields of experience

mkf?Jw pa-. knowledge, cognizance, omniscience, intuitive wisdom
rgya ma chad pa-. unrestricted
rgyud: skt. tantra
grub mtha~ final holistic vision [final revelation, final accomplishment]
dgongs pa: vision, sublime vision
groL release, liberation, freedom; released, unconfined
grol ba med-. bondage, confinement
ngang real space [spaciousness]

292 Everything Is Lght
nges 'khor. true retinue [definitive-]

ngo sprod. pointing out introduction, introduction to the nature of
mind, 'pointing out'
ngo bo '!)id. essence, original face, zero, very essence
ngo bo '!)id kyi sku: zero dimension
ngo bo '!)id kyi snang zero appearance
dngos med. intangible, insubstantial, indefinite, unreal [diaphanous,
evanescent]
che ba-. excellence, supreme

chen po: great, grand, inclusive, all-inclusive, all-embracing, vast,
'immense', 'unique universal and unsurpassed' 'uncontrived
and without a superior', 'self-sprung', universal [self-existent,
unconditioned, ultimate, infinite]
chos sku chen po: all-inclusive existential dimension of dharmakaya
chos '!)id: reality, spacious reality, phenomenal reality
chos n_)'id Sf!Yingpo: the essence of reality
chos '!)id mi rlog chos skus rlsal gcod pa: 'creative expression is dissolved by
concept-free dharmakaya reality'
ja log 'inverted'
'!)Ofl rmongs: afflictive emotions, passion

S'!)igs ma: sediment [dross]
snyingpo: essence, [heart drop]
gtan tshig: justification [reason]

gti mug: stupidity
ting nge 'dzjn: samadhi, contemplation
rlog med, ma rlog: unthought, unconceived, implicit, nonconceptual,

unmotivated [erroneously for rlogs mea]
ston pa: buddha-teacher, Teacher [Sakyamurul
stobs !]is: automatically
thabs: skt. upaya: skillful means, method

thams cad mkf?yen pa: omniscience
mtha ': extreme
mtha 'pf?yin: ultimate fruition, final achievement
mtha' bzhi: four conceptual extremes [limitations]
thig le: skt. bindu, tilaka: light-seed, holistic light-seed, holistic essence,
seed of light, pixel, seminal nucleus, bodhichitta [sphere, seed-
light, zero point]
Glossaries 293
thig le ,ryagg,ig. sole holistic seed of light

thugs rje: compassion, gnostic compassion
'thun pa, mthun pa: to be compatible, congruous, in harmony
thengs gsum: thrice, three times [occasions]
dangs, dangs ma: distilled essence (sap, pure essence]

dangs pa: to settle
gdangs: radiance, radiant [clear light (gsa~ of dharmakaya - radiance
(gdangs) of sambhogakaya]
bdag n_)'id: essential identity [enlightened identity, self-identity]
bdag '!)id chen po: skt. mahatmaka: essential all-embracing identity
mdangs: brilliance, lustre; erroneous for gdangs [mdangs is 'one third'
more dense than gdangs]
'du bra/ med pa: in neither union nor separation, without union or
separation
'dug tshu/: character
de kho na ,ryid, de nyid skt tathata: 'ineffable zing of reality'
bde chen: skt. mahasukha: pure pleasure, bliss, blissful
don: actuality, meaning, ultimate reality
rnam snang chen po: Mahavairochana, Universal :Manifestation

rnam dag: skt. vishuddhi: immaculate, utterly pure (pure and empty)
rna/ 'l?Jor pa: adept, yogin
snang ba: appearance, appearances, perception, vision
'phags pa che bcr. supremacy [supreme, exalted]

pf?yang chad: nothingness, vacuous emptiness
spyad med: unpracticed
phrin las bzhi-. four selfless activities
phungpo Inger. skt. panchaskandha: five body-mind aggregates, psycho-
physical aggregates
phun sum tshogs pa: excellence
sprul sku-. pronounced 'tulku': skt. nirmanakaya: dimension of magical
nirmanakaya manifestation, emanation
pf?yogs ris med pa: without spatial or temporal distinction
pf?)ogs /hung med pa'i shes rab: nonconceptual impartial wisdom
[nonspatial, nontemporal wisdom]
spyod pa: conduct [action, behavior]
spros bra/: unelaborated, simple
'pho ba: sublimation [transference]
bag chags: karmic propensity, habit patterns, habits,

l?Ja brtsa/: directed endeavor
bya brtsal med per. without any directed effort

byang chub sems-. pure luminous mind ['enlightened mind', pure bodhi
mind]
dbangpo: skt. indriya: sense organ [power]
'bras bu-. fruition, goal, result
sbubs: hollow [cavern, interiority, cocoon]
ma gags pa, mi gags per. uncrystalizing, indeterminable, unimpeded,

incessant change, incessant, unsolidifying, fluid, unreified,
intangible, nonspecific [noncrystalizing]
ma nor: flawless, error-free, authentic
ma rigpa: ignorance, absence or lack of presence, diminished presence
man ngag: skt. upadesha, secret precept, [pith instruction]
mi 'da' bcr. inalienable
mu bzhi: the four alternatives [options, possibilities]: see chapter 94
rmongs pa: confusion
rtsa: skt. nadi: channels, root

rtsal: creativity, creative expression [skill, srength]
rtsal mdangs, rtsal gdangs: radiant creativity
rtsalgzhi (gzhi'i rtsal): creative ground [ground of creativity]
rise: one-pointed soft-focus
tshig don: definition, literal meaning, essential meaning [definitive-

interpretive- applied- meaning, wisdom]
tshogs brgyad the eight fields of consciousness [eight consciousness-
aggregates]
rdZ!' phrul: skt. rddhi: magical power [magical transformation,

emanation]
zhignas: calm-abiding [peaceful place, concentration-meditation]

gzhi: ground, primal ground
gzhi chen po: all-inclusive ground, self-existent ground
gzhi gnas (gzhi la gnas pa): fundamentally inherent [inherent in the primal
ground]
gzhi snang: all-inclusive envisionment ['universal illusion', gestalt]
gzhi snang chen po: spontaneous all-inclusive envisionment [or the all-
inclusive self-sprung ground-envisionment or the self-sprung
vision of the primal ground; 'the great illusion1
zang thaf. transparent, transparence; ubiquitous all-inclusive

transparency, unimpeded [omnipresent (clear light, awareness)]
Glossaries 295
gzugs sku g'!)lis: two dimensions of form, sambhogakaya and

nirmanakaya
J'ang dag. authentic [see also mam dag]

J'angs pa-. unbounded, vast
)'Um: female buddha consort
J'Ur. object, field, objective field, field of appearances
J'e nas: in the now [timeless, from the beginning]
ye shes: skt. jnana: present awareness, awareness, awareness of the now,
pristine awareness
ye shes chen po: all-inclusive present awareness
)'e shes rang rig chen po: all-inclusive awareness of intrinsic presence
yon tan: quality, immanent quality; potential, immanent or pure
potential, manifest quality [enlightened quality]
ranggdangs: intrinsic radiance

ranggdangs chen po: rang mdangs chen po: effulgence, ubiquitous effulgence
[all-inclusive intrinsic radiance, 'cosmic sound and light show'
rang snang: self-envisionment [natural appearances]
rang sa zjn: assumes primacy, returns to its own place
rang sar. in the natural condition, primacy, in its own place, as its
stands, in its own ground
ranggsa/. intrinsic clarity, natural clarity
rigpa: pure presence, presence
rig 'dzjn: skt. vidhyadhara: knowledge-bearers, embodiments of
Dzogchen
rigs k:Ji bu: best beloved ['son of noble family1
rigs Inga: five families
rigs mthun: compatible with
rigs bzhi: four families
rigs gsum: three families
dung: skt. prana: energy, vital energy, breath, [wind, air, subtle energy]
la bzla ba, las bzlas pa: to be resolved

lung: skt. agama: oral instruction, transmission
shugs: skt. shakti: inspiring, energetic, effortless

shes rab: wisdom, either nonconceptual or discriminating
shes rab k:Ji rtsa/. wisdom-creativity
gsal ba: clarity, light ~uminosity, lucency, transparency]

gsa/ ba: to shine, manifest, appear, be clear, bright
bsam gtan: meditative absorption, absorption
srog rtsa: life-root [lifeline, aorta, life vein]
lhun grub: spontaneity [spontaneous presence]

lhun rdzogs: spontaneous perfection
Index of Words Listed or Defined in the Text
NB The entries and definitions in this Index and the following Index of Tibetan
Words provide equivalents irrespective of grammatical value.
A
ablaze ('bar ba) 227
absence (med pa) 228
absence of realization (ma rtogs) 156
absence of union or separation (ye nas du 'bra/ med pa) 144
absolute and relative truth (don dam kun rdzob) 141
accomplishment (grub pa) 145
accordingly (de bzhin) 225
adventitious(ness) ('phral 'lryunj) 230
agama teaching as adornment (lung rnams rgyan di bkod pa) 85
all (kun) 226
all-creating (kun lryed) 72
all-inclusive (chen po) 75
all-inclusive envisionment (gzhi'i snanj) 231
and this also ( 'diyanj) 226
appearance (snang ba) 224
arising or dawning (shar ba) 226
authentic (yang daj) 141
awareness of presence (rigpa'iye shes) 78, 79
B
bearer or holder ( 'chanj) 228
beauty (mdzes) 85
becoming (srid pa) 228
beyond any deliberate effort (lrya brtsal rnams las 'das pa) 144
blindness (ma mthonj) 91
boat (gru) 229
bodhisattva (lryang chub sems dpa' ,ryid) 229
branch (yan laj) 228
breathless movement (dbugs med gyu ba) 225
brilliant space identity (ngang dangs bdag ,ryid chen po) 144
buddha (sang rgyas) 230
buddha mind (thugs) 115,230
buddha-teacher (ston pa) 115
C
categories (dlrye) 113
chapter (le'u) 224
clear light of pure presence (rig pa 'od gsa~ 79
compassion (thugs ,je) 227

complete inversion of trikaya (sku gsum ja log chen po), 112
completion (mthar phyin) 145
concentration redwidant (gnas mi dgos pa) 144
conduct (spyod pa) 144
consummate trikaya (sku gsum mtha' la bskyal ba) 113
continuity (rg;ud) 228
converter of wandering minds (gro ba du/ bai sku gsum) 113
creativity (rtsa~ 225
D
dakini (sky-dancer) (mkha' gro ma) 227
darkness (mun pa) 226
delusion (' khrul pa) 89,91,229
desire ( 'dod chags) 95
deviation (go~ 156
dharmakaya (chos sku) 115
doorway (sgo) 94
E
elimination (sel ba) 246
empty (stongpa) 75
end of deliberate effort (f?ya btsal rdzogs) 142
enlightened (l?Jani) 241
enlightened behavior (mdzad spyod) 227
error (skyon) 225
essence (ngo bo) 113
essential all-embracing identity (bdag ,ryid chen po) 225
everything (thams cad) 226
experience (chos) 228
F
familiarization(gom~ 143
fault (s-91on) 225
field of appearances (yu~ 75
field of appearances (ska/ pa) 98
final holistic visio)n (grub mtha) 141
final view or ultimate view (mthar phyin, mthar thugpa) 141
five distilled essences (dangs ma Inga) 235
five families buddha (rigs lnga'i sangs rg;as) 106
five sediments (s,ryigs ma Inga) 99
fivefold perfection (Inga ldan rdZfigs ldan) 106
for what reason (ganggi phyir) 226
form (gzugs) 94
free of extremes (mtha' dang bra/ ba) 79
freedom from points of reference (dmigs pa'iyul las bra/ ba) 144
fruition ( 'bras bu) 141,225
fruition present at the start (' bras bu gzhi la grub pa) 112
Indexes 299
fruition within fruition ( 'bras bu 'bras bu 'i ngang la gnas pa) 112
fullness (chub) 226
fundamentally inherent (gzhignas) 230
G 115
glorious (dpa~ 230
god (Iha) goddess (Iha mo). 230
going astray sidetracking or obscuration (go/ sa sgrib pa) 156
gold (gser) 228
great (chen po) 75,227
ground (gzht) 226
H
habituation ( 'dris pa 143
hatred (zhe sdang) 95
heaps (phungpo 94
holistic essence (thig le) 224
holistic light-seed (thig le) 224
hollow (sbubs) 225
human birth (mt) 228
I
'I' (nga) 225
ideation ('du shes) 94
ignorance (ma rigpa) 95,230
ignorance or diminished presence (ma rigpa) 91
Immaculate (rnam par dagpa) 226
immanent qualities (yon tan) 224
immense (chen po) 75
immutable matrix (gyur pa med pa'i kfong) 76
inalienable (mi 'da' ba) 79
incessant change 85
inescapable ('da' dka) 79
inspiration (shugs) 85
inspired bravery (dpa) 85

intangible emptiness (dngos med stongpa) 79
intrinsic nature (rang bzhin) 225
intrinsic presence (rang rig). 78
intrinsically immaculate (rang bzhin gyi rnam par dagpa) 113
invariable (' da' mi srid pa) 79
irreversibility (mi ldogpa) 145
irreversibility (pf?yir mi /dog pa) 145
K
kalpa (bskaf pa) 89,98
key (fdemw 227
JOO Everything Is Light
L
lamp (sgron ma) 226
lamp of the world Cfig rten gyi sgrrm ma) 115
lighform ( 'od snanj) 226
like that (de /tar; 225
lord (mgnon po) 115
lord or guardian (mgon po). 230
lotus of blissful clarity (padma bde gsa~ 77
M
male and female bodhisattvas (sems dpa' sems ma) 106
male and female consort (yab yum) 231
malice (khong khro) 95
mandala (dkyi/ 'khor 106
master (bdagpo) 230
matrix of the future (ma l?Jon k/onj). 89
maturation (smin pa) 145
meditative absorption (bsam gtan) 143
metaphor or simile (dpe) 226
mind (chub) 226
mind (sems) 141,229
misconception (phyin ci loj) 91
mistake (nor; 156
misunderstanding (ma shes) 156
modes (rnam pa) 141
movement (gyu ba) 225
N
name (min!) 228
natural disposition (rang lugs) 228
nature of phenomena (chos nyid) 89
neither union nor separation ( 'du 'bra/ med pa) 144
nirmanakaya (sprul sku) 115
no path to traverse (lam la bgrod du med pa) 144
noble individual (skyes bu) 227
non-dual (gnyis su med pa) 79
non-realization (don ma rtogs) 91
noncrystalizing or unreified (ma ~ags pa) 79
nonmeditation w/o mental support (sgom med blogzhag med) 144
nothing to accomplish (sgrub tu med pa) 144
nowhere obstructed (thogs pa med pa) 79
0
obscuration (sgrib). 156
odor (dn) 94
ordinary behavior (l?Ja ba byed pa 'phrin las) 145
Indexes 301
p
paragraph (skabs) 224
path (lam) 229
perfection or completion (rdzogs pa) 145,227
plural sign (rnams) 226
powers (dbangpo) 94
pre-eminent (.ph11/ d11 pf?yin pa) 229
present awareness (ye shes) 78
present awareness itself (ye shes 1!Jid'j 227
pride (nga ,gya~ 95
primal ground (gzh1) 72,227
principal and retinue (gtso 'khory 106
profound (zab pa) 229
pure luminous mind (b)'ang chub sems) 226,230
pure presence (rigpa) 89,224
R
radiance (gdangs) 228
reality (chos '!)id') 75,89,226,229
realization of buddha (rtogs pa mngon gyur sangs rgyas) 144
realms (gnas) 96
refuge (sk)'abs) 115
relative mind (sems) 226
release (gro~ 145
respect or glory (dpa~ 227
rikaya source of compassion (thugs rje !?Jung ba 'i sku gsum) 113
s
samadhi (ting nge 'd:efn) 229
sambhogakaya (longs skll) 115
samsara ( 'khor ba) 228
scripture (gzhung) 228
secret (gsang ba) 230
self-envisioning clear light (' od gsal rang snang 106
self-sprung (rang !?Jung) 72,226
self-sprung inclusive awareness (rang l?Jungye shes chen po) 144
selfless (bdag med') 227
selfless action ('phrin las) 145
selfless activity ('phrin las). 230
semantic definition (nges tshig) 113
sense faculties (s-"9e mched'j 121
sense faculties (s-'9'e mched'j 94, 121
sense fields (khams) 94,121
sentient beings (sems can thams cad') 225
sentient beings (sems can) 229
similarly (de 'dra) 225
simply abiding (gnas) 143
skillful means (thabs) 228

sole holistic light-seed (thig le ,ryaggcig 72
sorrow (sdug) 85
sound (sgra) 94
spaciousness (dlryings) 75
spaciousness and present awareness (dlryings dangye shes) 142
spaciousness of the excluded middle (spros bra/~i dlryings) 76
spontaneous all-embracing appearance (snang ba chen po) 75
spontaneously arising buddha (lhun grub ye sangs was pa) 142,144
stage of Vajradhara, all qualities perfected 106
strength (stobs) 85
stupidity (gti mug) 91
sublime form (sk.u) 231
sublime vision (dgongs pa) 143,225
sugata (de bz.hin gshegs pa) 106
sunlight (' od z.ery 89
supreme (mchog) 229
synonyms (rnam grangs tshig) 113
T
tantra (wud'; 228
taste (ro) 94
that (da) 225
that (de) 225
.that is why (de pbyir m) 226
the first (thog ma) 89
the past ('das pa'i dus) 89
the source of everything (thams cad 'lryung ba) 79
the structured trikaya (sku gsum rnam par gz.hagpa) 112
triad: essence, nature compassion (ngo bo rang bz.hin thugs rje gsum) 112
the very first (sngon lryung) 72
thinking (rtog tshogs) 228
this('dt) 225
three groups (.phungpo gsum) 229
to abide (gnas pa) 229
to understand (shes pa) 229
touch (reg) 94
traversing (sgrod pa) 229
triad of types or buddha-families (rigs gsum) 142
trikaya fundamentally inherent (gz.hi la gnas pa 'i sku gsum) 112
u
unadulterated perfection (ma 'dres rdz.ogs pa) 79
unassailable (' da' wu med pa) 79
unchanging or immutable ('gyur ba med pa) 79
uncompounded Cdus ma lryas) 79
unconditioned awareness(' dus ma byas pa'iye shes chen po) 113
unconditioned or unconditional (' dus ma byas) 79
Indexes 303
uncontrived (ma bcos pa) 113

undiffused (ma 'phros) 230
undistracted (mayengs) 143
unique (chen po) 143
universal (chen po) 72
unknowing (ma shes) 72
unlocated or non-abiding (mi gnas pa) 91
unrestricted (,;gya ma chad pa) 226
unshakeable perfection (ma bskyod rdZf)gs pa) 75
unstructured (ma bslangpa) 142
unsurpassable (bla na med pa) 113
unsurpassed (chen po) 229
upadesha precept as adornment (man ngag ,;gyan du bkod pa) 72
utterly pure vision (snang ba rnam da~ 85
75
V
Vajrasattva (do rje sems dpa) 229
vast (chen po) 75
vast or infinite (yangs pa) 75
view (/ta ba) 141
visible structured decoration (snang ,;gyan ,;gyan du bkod pa) 85
w
why (ci'i'p'!)!irJ 226
without exception (ma /us pa) 226
without separation ('bra/ ba med). 143
woman (mo) 228
word absence of deviation and obscuration (go/ sgrib med pa) 156
y
yoga as union (rnal 'l?Jor) 174
z
zero-appearance (ngo bo ,ryid ~i snan~ 72
zero-dimension (ngo bo ,ryid kyi sku) 72, 75
Concordance of Tibetan Words Defined in the Text
NB Ordered according to vowel sequence a i u e o.
skabs paragraph
ska/pa a field of appearances
bskalpa kalpa
skyabs refuge
dkyil 'khor mandala
kun all
kun byed all-creating
sku sublime form
sku gsum ja log chen po complete inversion of trikaya
skugsum mtha' la bskya/ ba consummate trikaya
sku gsum rnam pargzhag pa structured trikaya
skyemched sense faculty
skyes bu noble individual
skyon fault,error
khams sense field

mkha' 'gro ma dakini,sky-dancer
'khmlpa delusion
khong khro malice
'khorba samsara
gang gi phyir for what reason

rgya ma chadpa unrestricted
sgra sound
sgrib obscuration
gm boat
gmbmtha' final holistic vision
gmbpa accomplishment
gyu ba movement
'gJur ba med goms familiarization
'gyur ba medpa unchanging or immutable
g,ur med pa 'i k/ong immutable matrix

rgyud continuity
Indexes 305
rgyud tantra
sgrub tu med pa nothing to accomplish
go/ deviation
go/ sgrib med pa absence of deviation and
obscuration
go/ sa sgrib pa going astray, sidetracking or
obscuration
grol release
dgongspa sublime vision or guardian
gro ba du/ ba'i skugsum converter of wandering minds
sgom med blo gzhag med nonmeditation withoutsupport
sgo doorway
sgrodpa traversing
sgron ma lamp
nga 'I'
nga rgyal pride
ngang dangs bdag '!)'id chen po brilliant space of identity
Inga ldan rdzogs ldan fivefold perfection
nges tshig semantc definition
ngo bo essence
ngo bo '!)'id kyi sku zero-dimension
ngo bo f!J'id kyi snang zero-appearance
ngo bo rang bzhin thugs rje gsum trikaya triad
dngos med stongpa intangible emptiness
sngon byung the very first
ci'i'phyir why
'chang bearer or holder
chub fullness
chub mind
chenpo great
chenpo unique, universal
chenpo vast, immense, all-inclusive
chos expenence
chos sku dharmakaya
chos '!)'id nature of phenomena
chos '!)'id reality
mchog supreme
jig rten gyi sgron ma lamp of the world
g'!)'is su med pa non-dual

S'!Jigs ma Inga five sediments
/ta ba view
ting nge 'dzjn samadhi
gtimug stupidity
rtog tshogs thinking
rtogs pa mngon 'gyur sangs r;gyas realization of manifest buddha
stongpa empty
ston pa buddha-teacher
stobs strength
thabs skillful means

mtha' dang bra/ ba free of extremes
mtharphyin completion
mthar phyin mthar thugpa final view or ultimate view
thig le holistic essence, holistic light-
seed
thig le 1!Jaggcig sole holistic light-seed
thugs buddha mind
thugs rye compassion
thugs rye 'f!Jung ba 'i sku gsum trikaya, source of compassion
thogma first
thogs pa med pa nowhere obstructed
dangs ma Inga five distilled essences

de that
de /tar like that
de 'dra similarly
dephyirni that is why
de bzhin accordingly
de bzhin gshegs pa sugata
'dod chags desire
don dam kun rdzob absolute and relative truth
don ma rtogs non-realization
dri odor
gdangs radiance
bdag 1!Jid chen po essential all-embracing identity
bdagpo master
bdagmed selfless
'da' die.a' inescapable
'da' r;gyu med pa unassailable
'da' mi srid pa invariable
'das pa'i dus past
Indexes 307
'di this
'diyang this also
'dris pa habituation
'du 'bra/ med pa neither union nor separation
'du shes ideation
'dus ma l?Jas unconditionedor unconditional
'dus ma l?Jas uncompounded
'dus ma l?Jas pa'iye shes chen po all-inclusive yeshe
sdug sorrow
Ide mig key
rdo ,je sems dpa ' Vajrasattva
gnas realm
gnas simply abiding
gnas pa to abide
gnas mi dgos pa concentration redundant
rnam grangs tshig synonyms
rnam pa mode
rnam par dagpa immaculate
mams plural sign
ma/ 'l?Jor yoga 1s uruon
snang rgyan rgyan du bkod pa visible structured decoration
snang ba appearance
snang ba chen po spontaneous all-embracing
appearance
snang ba rnam dag utterly pure vision
nor mistake
pad ma bde gsal lotus of blissful clarity

dpa' inspired bravery
dpal respect or glory
dpal glorious
dpe metaphor or simile
sprul sku nirmanakaya

spyodpa conduct
spros bra/ g;i dl?Jings spaciousness of the excluded
middle
'phral '!?Jung adventitiousness

phyin d log misconception
phyir mi Jdogpa, mi lcwgpa irreversibility
'phrin las selfless activity
'phrin las selfless action

phungpo heap
phungpo gsum three groups
phul du pf[yin pa pre-eminent
rya ba byed pa 'phrin las ordinary behavior

rya brtsal rnams las 'das pa beyond any deliberate effort
qya btsal rdzogs end of deliberate effort
ryang enlightened
ryang chub sems pure luminous mind
byang chub sems dpa' nyid bodhisattva
dbangpo power
'barba ablaze
'bra/ ba med without separation
'bras bu fruition
'bras bu mngon par gsal ba'i dus manifest fruition
'bras bu 'bras bu'i ngang lagnas pa fruition within fruition
'bras bu gzhi la grub pa fruition present at the start
bla named pa unsurpassable
dbyings spaaousness
dbyings dangye shes spaciousness and awareness
dbugs med gyu ba breathless movement
sbubs hollow
dbye categories
ma bskv1od rdzogs pa unshakeable perfection

ma bcos pa uncontrived
ma gags pa noncrystalizing or unreified
ma rtogs absence of realization
ma mthong blindness
ma 'dres rdzogs pa unadulterated perfection
ma 'phros undiffused
ma ryon klong matrix of the future
mayengs undistracted
ma rigpa ignorance
ma rigpa diminished presence
ma bslangpa unstructured
ma luspa without exception
ma shes misunderstanding
ma shes unknowing
man ngag @an du bkod pa secret precept as adornment
mi human birth
mignaspa unlocated or nonabiding
Indexes 309
mi 'da' ba inalienable
ming name
dmigs pa 'iyu/ las bra/ ba freedom from points of reference
sminpa maturation
mun pa darkness
med pa absence
mo woman
'od snang lightform

'od zer sunlight
'od gsa/ rang snang self-envisioning clear light
rtsa/ creativity
gtso 'khor principal and retinue
mdzad spyod enlightened behavior

mdzes beauty
rdzogs pa perfection' or completion
gzhi ground
gzhi primal ground
gzhignas fundamentally inherent
lagnas pa'i skugsum trikaya, fundamentally inherent
gzhigzhung scripture
gzhi'i snang all-inclusive envisionment
zhe sdang hatred
zabpa profound
gzugs form
yangdag authentic
yangs pa vast or infinite
yan lag branch
yabJum male and female consort
yu/ field of appearances
ye nas 'du 'bra! med pa absence of union or separation
ye shes present awareness
ye shes ,ryid present awareness itself
yon tan immanent qualities
rang lryung self-sprung

rang lryung_ye shes chen po self-sprung all-inclusive awareness
rang bzhin intrinsic nature
310 Everything Is Llght
rang bzhin gyi rnam par dagpa intrinsically immaculate

rang rig intrinsic presence
rang lugs natural disposition
rigpa pure presence
rig pa 'od gsal clear light of pure presence
rigpa'iye shes awareness of presence
rigs Inga 'i sangs rg;:as five families' buddha
rigsgsum triad of types or buddha-families
rrg touch
ro taste
lam path
lam la bgrod du med pa no path to traverse
lung rnams rg;:an di bkodpa agama teaching as adornment
le'u chapter
longs sku sambhogakaya
sharba arising or dawning

shugs inspiration
shes pa to understand
sang rg;:as buddha

gsang ba secret
bsamgtan meditative absorption
sridpa becoming
sems mind
sems relative mind
sems can thams cad sentient beings
sems dpa' sems ma male and female bodhisattvas
sel ba elimination
gser gold
Iha god
Iha mo goddess
lhun drubye sangs rg;:a buddha in the now
Select Bibliography
Chokgyur Lingpa andJamyang Khyentse Wangpo, 2001, The light of

Wisdom VoLr II & IV: trans. Erik Perna Kunzang. Rangjung
Yeshe Pub. With Tibetan text of the root terma. Restricted.
Dowman, Keith, 1994, Flight of the Garuda (Mkha' /ding shog br/abs),
Wisdom Publications, Boston.
_ _ _ , 2010, Natural Peifection (Gnas lugs mdzoclj Wisdom Publications,
Boston.
_ __, 2013, Onginal Peifection: Vairotsana 's Ear!J Transmissions-.
\Xisdom Publications, Boston.
_ __, 2013, Spaciousness: The "Radical Dzogchen of the V ajra-Heart
(Longchenpa's Treasury of the Dharmadhatu Chos '!)'id mdzoclj,
Dzogchen Now! Books and Amazon.
- - ~ 2014, Yeshe Lama: Jigmelingpa's Dzogchen Manual,
Dzogchen Now! Books and Amazon.
___, 2014, Mcrya Yoga: Longchenpa's Finding Comfart and Ease in
Enchantment (Sg,u ma'i ngal so), Dzogchen Now! Books and
Amazon.
- - ~ forthcoming, Everything Is light: The Epitome, Dzogchen Now!
Books and Amazon.
Dudjom Lingpa, 2015, Visions ofThe Great Peifection, 3 volumes, trans.
Alan B. Wallace, Wisdom Publications, Boston.
Dudjom Rinpoche, 1991, The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism, trans.
Gyurme Dorje and Mathew Kapstein, Wisdom Publications,
Boston.
Hatchell, Christopher, 2014, Naked Seeing, OUP, London.
Jigmed Lingpa, 2008, Yeshe Lama, trans. Lama Chonam and Sangye
Khandro, Snow Lion, Ithaca. Restricted.
Karmay, Samten, 1988. The Great Peifection, Leyden: Brill.
Leary, Timothy, Richard Alpert, and Ralph Metzner, 1964, The
P.rychedelic Experience. Citadel Underground 2000.
Longchen Rabjam 2015, Precious Treasury of Genuine Meaning, trans.
Lama Chonam and Sangye Khandro, Bairotsana Publications,
Orgeon.
Norbu, Namkhai and Shane,John, 1986, The Crystal and the Wery of
light, London: RKP.
Norbu, Namkai and Clemente, Adriano, 1989, Dzogchen: the Se!f-
Peifected State, London: Arkana.
_ _ _ , 1999, The Supreme Source, Snow Lion.
Norbu, Thrinley, 1993, The Small Golden Kry, Shambhala.
Tiklay K.unsal 31 3
Reynolds,John, 1996, Golden Letters, Ithica: Snow Lion.

_ __, 2011, The Practice ofDz.ogchen in the Zhang-Zhung Tradition of
Tibet, Vajra Publications, Kathmandu.
Rigtsal, Tulku Perna, 2012, The G"at Secret of Mind, trans. Keith
Dowman, Snow Lion, Albany.
Shardza Tashi Gyaltsen, 2002, Hearldrops of Dharmakaya. Trans.
Tenzin Namdak and Richard Dixey, Snowlion, Ithaca.
Tucci, Guiseppe, 2012, The Religions of Tibet. Reprint: RKP, London.
Van Schraik, Sam, 2004, Approaching The G"at Perfection:
Simultaneous and Gradualist Methods of Dz.ogchen Practice in the
Longchen N)'ingtik. Wisdom Publications, Boston.
\X'ilkinson, Chris,
____. 'The Mi nub rgyal mtshan Nam mkha' che and The
Maha A.kasa Karikas: Origins and Authenticity.' Revue d'Etudes
Tibetaines numero vingt-quatre Octobre 2012 'Studies in the Sems
sde tradition of rDzogs chen'. Edited by Jean-Luc Achard:
p..21-81.
_ _ _ Secret Wisdom: Three Root Tantras of The G"at Perfection. http:/ I
www.amaz.on.com/ Secret-Thm-Tantras-Pe,fection/dp/
1501018698
_ _ _. Grabbing the Peacock b_y the Neck
Zangpo, Tsultrim (Tsulo), forthcoming, Boundless Vi.rion. Translated by
Tulku Thondrup, edited by Keith Dowman. An Ornament of
the Vision of the Rigzjn Knowledge-Holders that Fulfills Every Pu"
Hope: A Manual that Blends and Simplifie.r the Instruction ofthe Al/-
Good Boundless Vision.
Tibetan Texts
Thig le kungsal chen po'i wud, Rnying ma wud 'bum (Gting skyes), TBRC
W21518. 5: wisdom. Thimbu: Dingo Khyentse Rimpoche,
1975-1975. Also: THL Tk 107.
Thig le kun gsal chen po'i rg;ud, Rn)'ing ma r;g,yud 'bum (Mtshams brag dgon pa'i
bris ma). TBRC W21521. 13: 296 - 492. Thimphu: National
Library, Royal Government of Bhutan, 1982. http://tbrc.org/
link?RID=O 1Cf10()3 I OlCT100301CTI0624$\V2152l
Other Titles by Keith Dowman
* Mountain Dharma of Dudjom Rinpoche
* Guru Perna Here and Now (Anthology)
* The Yeshe Lama of Jigmelingpa
* Spaciousness: The Radical Dzogchen of the Vajra-Heart

(Longchenpa)
Original Perfection: V airotsana's Five Early Transmissions

(fhe Eye of the Storm)
The Great Secret of J\.find: Instruction on Nonduality in Dzogchen

(translation of Perna Riktsel's text)
* Maya Yoga: Finding Comfort and Ease in Enchantment

(Longchenpa)
* Natural Perfection (Old Man Basking in the Sun) (Longchenpa)
Boudhanath: The Great Stupa
Masters of Enchantment (with Robert Beer)
The Power-Places of Central Tibet: The Pilgrim's Guide
Masters of Mahamudra: Lives of the Eighty-Four Mahasiddhas
Sky Dancer: The Secret Life and Songs of Yeshe Tsogyel
* The Nyingma Icons (line drawings of the Dzogchen lineage)
* The Divine Madman: The Life and Songs of Drukpa Kunley
The Legend of the Great Stupa
Calm and Clear: A Manual of Buddhist Meditation
* Dzochen Now! Books: Available on Amazon.

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Everything Is Light The Circle of Total Illumination - Keith Dowman

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Everything Is Light

The Great Explanatory Dzogchen Tantra

Translated from the Tibetan

Keith Dowman 2017

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be

Cover design by Juan Sebastian Restrepo

Homage to Three Generations of great Dzogchen teachers:

Free .from the neurosis of compulsive striving,

In the matrix of intrinsic spadousness

The Circle of Total Illumination

Appendix 1: The Mandala ofVairochana 239

Glossary of Numeral Terms [GNT] 258

Selected Sanskrit - English Concordance 289

Select Bibliography 311

Other Titles by Keith Dowman 313

This wonderful, powerful tantra, amazing in its breadth and depth,

The source of the material herein is not in question. On the contrary,

Another reason for regret is the tantra's cultural content. Although

context is secondary and supplementary. But the cultural interference

Finally, I need to excuse tantra itself. This book is an expression of

Intractable belief, particularly religious belief, seems to be an

Regarding Glossaries and Notes

To extract the greatest benefit from this translation of the tantra, it is

This tantra, The Circle ef Total Illumination, the Tiklqy Kunsel, is a

The meaning of this book's title implies that everything we know

With that understanding, the rudimentary spiritual practice of

This entire tantra can be effectively described as a series of visions,

Everything is light and everything is a sublime vision of V airochana's

'Everything is light' is the overarching message of this tantra. Its

obscuration. Since this tantra demonstrates the principle of nonaction

The ninety-seven chapters of this tantra comprehensively cover the

Simultaneous with recognition of the nature of mind in radical

Predicated upon the defining experience of recognition of the nature

ways across an infinite spectrum of possibility in response to ever-

The clarification of the nonduality of Dzogchen is a principal thread

In this existential drama of Dzogchen, the securities of religion as an

If religion is abhorred by Dzogchen, philosophy - considered as an

The practical Dzogchen issue, here, is the infectious vanity attendant

Dzogchen is validated by existential and mystical experience. 'When it

The Quantum Leap

'Quantum mysticism' has provided useful metaphors that move the

Moreover, we are told, when the observer/ experimenter turns his

Perhaps an even more poignant ramification of the quantum myth is

descnptton of mtrya, the phenomenal appearances that arise in the

Technically speaking 'the quantum leap' refers to the change of an

The Pointing Out

Dzogchen, or more particularly, the realization of the nature of mind,

enshrouds us, veils what is beyond language to express and what is

This pointing out of present awareness, or introduction to the nature

This same principle is valid in regard to the fourfold symbolic

Secondly, regarding this fourfold symbolic pointing out, the Tiklay

What is described in chapter 86 provides the bones of a ritual that

In a historical perspective, it appears that in Tibet, by the eighteenth

The empowerments described in chapter 62 are special methods of

Gradual and Instantaneous Realization

This discussion of transmission and ritual bears upon the

The unity of gradual and instantaneous, however, may be given as a

Again, in this perspective the view is not to be taken as a cause. The

introduction to the nature of mind cannot be considered a cause or a