Homage to my teacher Maitreya!
THE TEACHER SAID:
All phenomena are manifestations of your own mind, so you must bring them all together and then engage in your practice. Furthermore, since this lineage of sacred words is the path of your spiritual teacher, recognize that all the offerings of the three times are the creative play of your teacher and engage in the training of your mind. So pay homage to the teacher and make outer, inner, and secret offerings to him and make supplications to him as well. Entrust your tethers to the teacher and then engage in the practices—from [contemplations on] impermanence to the ultimate nature of reality.
For this establish the perfect spacelike view, wherein all phenomena of cyclic existence and beyond are primordially devoid of origination and cessation and transcend all boundaries of conceptual elaboration. Train thus in the skills of noncessation, and cultivate the three [means of developing love, compassion, and the awakening mind]: (1) through focusing on sentient beings, (2) through focusing on mere phenomena, and (3) through objectless focus.151 Cultivate the three equanimities toward others: equanimity free of discriminating close and distant, equanimity in your level of respect, and equanimity free of discriminating good and bad. Cultivate these three qualities. Furthermore cultivate the “expansive thought,” the “resolute thought,” and the “diamondlike thought.”
I. Expansive thought
The first refers to some attitudes of the Great Vehicle. As the younger brother generated the aspiration, “May I achieve equality with all my elder brothers, especially in their enlightened activities, such as turning the wheel of Dharma,” he attained equality with all. The Buddha Śākyamuni, too, generated the expansive thought, “May I tame all those sentient beings who are unattractive, who possess a negative nature and have failed to become trainees of all the previous buddhas.” He then engaged in countless austerities. The teacher spoke also of how, owing to the great compassion of the lords of the three families, the Buddha became the embodiment of the great compassion of all the buddhas. He spoke also of how the Buddha’s emanations pervade the entire billionfold universe and how immeasurable are the waves of his great compassion.
When he was born as the bodhisattva Vegadharin, Vajrapāṇi had the thought that the Great Vehicle is not for the swift attainment of buddhahood. So as a bodhisattva he remained always within cyclic existence, endured great hardships to assist suffering sentient beings, and pleased the buddhas through veneration. He realized the qualities of the Buddha and became the custodian of the secrets of all the buddhas of the three times. He then engaged in such expansive conduct as subduing Māra and guarding against the obstacles.
As for Ārya Mañjuśrī, when he first generated the awakening mind, he took a vow to lead all beings to the state of buddhahood while still engaged in bodhisattva deeds. He took the vow that until he had led all sentient beings in all the ten directions to enlightenment and they had individually attained buddhahood, he would not himself become fully enlightened. He vowed that even for the sake of a single being he would remain until the end, and he vowed that for the sake of every single being, he would never become disheartened by sufferings such as those in the hell of Avīci. Thus he vowed to engage in the enlightened activities of the Buddha even while remaining as a bodhisattva, and he made the aspiration, “May it be a betrayal of the tathāgatas to realize full enlightenment before my vows are fulfilled!” thinking this would be tantamount to committing one of the five heinous acts.
Bodhisattva Samantabhadra was even more expansive than all these bodhisattvas.152 When he first generated the awakening mind, he did so in a manner that included, without exception, the aspirations of all the buddhas. Also, when engaging in the bodhisattva deeds, he did so by embracing all the austerities, without exception, undertaken by all the bodhisattvas of the three times. He cultivated the aspiration to usher into buddhahood all sentient beings without exception and equal to the limits of space. He vowed that he would perfect the enlightened activities of all the buddhas while still a bodhisattva, and that when he performed in each buddha realm the inconceivable enlightened activities of the respective buddhas, he would undergo such sufferings as those of Avīci for countless eons even for the sake of a single being, and he pledged that he would perform the enlightened deeds of the buddhas of the three times. He generated such altruistic thoughts as, “I shall generate the altruism of the bodhisattvas of the three times that I have not generated so far. I shall endure the austerities associated with conduct that lies beyond the capacity [of many bodhisattvas].” He generated the altruistic intention to lead to the state of buddhahood those sentient beings who had been abandoned even by those with great compassion and skillful means.
By emanating bodies equal in number to all atoms in the universe, he made outer, inner, and secret offerings in the presence of each and every buddha. Each of these bodies cultivated countless buddha realms. Similarly he made aspiration prayers to help discipline those trainees whose conduct is so hard to reign in. He pledged to engage in the enlightened deeds of all the buddhas, and he vowed to try in every single moment to accomplish the activities of all the buddhas of the three times. He prayed, “If I realize buddhahood before these aspirations are fulfilled, may this be betrayal of all the buddhas of the three times.” So his courage is as infinite as space and transcends words.
Likewise, you should generate a mind even more expansive than that of the buddhas and bodhisattvas. It is on this basis that the awakening mind will first arise, will abide in the middle, and will finally culminate in buddhahood. Do not become disheartened.
This awakening mind is a catalyst for suffering, a counterbalance to joy, a walking companion for those who are afraid, a remedy for sickness and malevolent harms, and it levels the afflictions flat. To follow in the footsteps of the buddhas and bodhisattvas, perform the following visualization.
At your heart, with yourself in your ordinary form, visualize, evolving from an A, a white Maṃ on a moon disk. Light rays radiate profusely from this and touch all sentient beings throughout space. The light rays extract karma and afflictions, such as attachment, anger, delusion, pride, envy, and miserliness, as well as the six root and the twenty derivative afflictions. They also extract the negative acts motivated by the afflictions that obstruct higher rebirth and liberation and force beings to experience the sufferings of cyclic existence and the lower realms. These negative acts include the ten negative actions committed through body, speech, and mind, the five heinous acts, the five approximate heinous acts, the root infraction of [bodhisattva] precepts, showing disrespect to the Three Jewels, abandoning the teachings, and belittling the noble beings. Imagine that all of these dissolve into you like rain falling on your body and that the minds of all sentient beings thereby become cleansed and free of obscuration.
Then with the thought “I will purify all this negative karma,” visualize another stream of light rays shooting forth that touches all sentient beings. Imagine that all future sufferings of cyclic existence that may harm and afflict their body, speech, and mind—such as the heat and cold of the hell realms, the thirst and hunger of the hungry ghosts, the ignorance and confusion of the animal realms, the conflicts of the demigods, the death and fall of the celestial gods, and the eight and the eleven categories of suffering of the human realm—all these sufferings are dispelled. Imagine that the instant the light rays touch the beings, their bodies and minds become blissful. Then as the light rays dissolve back into your body, imagine that all these sufferings descend upon your body like rain and that every single pore of your body becomes permeated by the inconceivable sufferings of the six realms of existence, such as those of Avīci. Cultivate the thought, “If sentient beings gain freedom from suffering, then what I’ve taken on as my responsibility will become a truly great task.” Reflect further, “Since all sentient beings have placed their trust in me to be their guarantor and protector, I will offer myself as their protector and obtain their release. I will undergo all their sufferings while leading them to happiness.”
Now visualize another stream of whitish light rays, which depart and touch the hearts of your teacher and all his lineage, of the buddhas, of the bodhisattvas, of the meditation deities, of the śrāvakas, and of the pratyekabuddhas, drawing forth their obstacles to meditative practice, the damages caused to their body, their failure in realizing their enlightened aspirations, and the disruptions caused to their completion of liberating life deeds. These are visibly drawn forth on the tip of the light rays, which then dissolve into your body like a rain. Then rejoice: “It is indeed a great fortune that I have the honor to shoulder such responsibility.”
At all times, never deviate from the spacelike expanse; at all times, never be divorced from contemplating your teachers; offer as gifts to them your body, your wealth, and your roots of virtue. To the obstructive forces who are vengeful and to whom sentient beings owe karmic debts, conjure many effigies of yourself with pleasing appearance and delicious flavor, and offer these to them. Similarly conjure immeasurable meat, blood, bones, internal organs, limbs, and toes and offer these, or whatever they desire, to them. Exhort them to consume these raw if they are in haste, and if not, to devour them cooked. By their eating these, imagine their afflictions of craving are overcome and they experience enhanced bliss. Then make prayers for them to become your disciples in the future.
Some may assert that now is not the time to give [away your body]. However, since guarding this impure body is like carrying a sack of prickly thorns, greater happiness comes if you let go of it, the master said. You should then utter: “As I have accumulated immeasurable merit, through the power of my unsullied intentions and through the blessings of my teachers, may my two accumulations increase immeasurably, and may the enlightened aspirations of all noble beings be fulfilled. May all sentient beings be relieved of suffering and endowed with perfect happiness.”
When reciting essence mantras and engaging in wrathful rites, generate yourself as a meditation deity, and through diverse ferocious displays of magical power, crush all mundane bodies into dust and imagine that all beings are led to the wisdom of omniscience. When chronic illness or harmful spells strike you, free of mental agony, cultivate the conviction that they are all without origin. Recognize all experiences as mirror reflections, placing your mind in meditative equipoise on loving-kindness. Thus taught the master.
If afflictions arise in your mind, recognize their nature to be without origin and transform the afflictions into wisdom. Whatever adverse circumstance or conflict may arise, train your mind to transform these into a means for completing the two accumulations. In this manner, then, you partake in everything—food, clothing, and shelter—as factors conducive to the awakening mind. Strive in the causes that help all sentient beings who see, hear, think, or speak about you to exhaust their three obscurations153 and thus attain the buddha bodies. Take all adverse circumstances onto the perfect path and engage in the deeds of Samantabhadra. Then cultivate the intention, “I shall help realize the enlightened intentions, the enlightened activities, and the aspirations and expansive deeds of all the buddhas and bodhisattvas.”
II. Resolute thought
This refers to cultivating the courage “If fishermen, farmers, and traders can bear the pains of heat and cold [in the course of their work], can’t someone like me bear them for the sake of sentient beings’ welfare?”154 With such an attitude, when working for the welfare of other sentient beings, you need to remain resolute and unshaken by negative karma, the afflictions, mundane concerns, the outlook of the Lesser Vehicle, and all forms of grasping at substantial existence, and instead seek omniscience.
III. Diamondlike thought
This refers to engaging in the practice of the awakening mind uninterrupted by any false conceptions from now until you have attained buddhahood. This, too, must be accomplished through an indivisible union of method and wisdom. When you practice one, the other naturally follows, thus you practice the two in union.
At the time of your full enlightenment, given that the scope and nature of your buddha realm are enlightened qualities that evolve from the distinctive features of your present capacity, strength, and aspirations, then those to whom your loving-kindness extends at present will become your disciples in the future. Therefore, as you cultivate the illusion-like person’s awakening mind, endure the austerities, and train in the paths, you will attain full enlightenment in the spacelike expanse and, through your emanations, help free sentient beings from cyclic existence. This is simply a case of space occupying space.
Having thus determined everything as spacelike, recognize everything as expressions of illusion and train in the skills of noncessation, which is the expansive thought of awakening, and thus amass the two illusion-like accumulations. This, then, is the union of method and wisdom. Since the essential points will dawn within, you will not be disheartened by cyclic existence, and you will remain not too far from nirvana, the master said.
At that point, you are free of hopes and fears. Since you have recognized the dharmakāya, even if you descend to the hell of Avīci, you perceive it as the buddha realm of Sukhāvatī. Since you have perceived samsara and nirvana as nondual, you are free of any thoughts of affirmation and abandonment. Since you have perceived buddhas and sentient beings as indivisible, your grasping at good and bad is dismantled. Since you have perceived all phenomena as equal, you are free of biased thoughts such as regarding some to be superior and others inferior. So, without deliberately traveling there, you will have arrived at Nāgārjuna’s intention!
Those who wish to engage in such spiritual training should, in terms of their actions, gather the accumulations and, in terms of their thoughts, train their minds. They should embrace this practice as their object of admiration and embark on it with deep conviction. Once you have integrated this practice, it will not let you down, and gradually you will gain its realization.
Now, to avoid forgetting the awakening mind throughout all your lives, relinquish the four negative factors and always study to acquire the four positive factors.155 Train your mind to never desert sentient beings and learn to relinquish the four conditions that lead to such betrayal, which are as follows:
1. If you entertain the thought, “How can I work for the welfare of so many sentient beings?” think instead, “The more there are, the greater my awakening mind will become enhanced.”
2. Relinquishing the negative functions: Although it may not be possible to physically befriend all beings, you nonetheless try at all times and gather them mentally.
3. Relinquishing through perceiving the objects of cyclic existence: Just as there are numerous sufferings, you correspondingly eliminate them and remove them [from sentient beings].
4. Relinquishing through perceiving emptiness: If you do not recognize what is empty to be empty and instead grasp at it as substantially real, you suffer. What a pity!
In this manner, relinquish the four conditions that lead you to abandoning [sentient beings] and enhance your compassion for sentient beings as much as possible. When the awakening mind equalizing all sentient beings arises, it is said:
When the awakening mind has arisen in them,
instantly the wretched, captives in samsara’s prison,
are hailed as children of the sugatas;
they’re revered by the worlds of gods and humans.156
Such bodhisattvas train to be modest in their desires and content within. In guarding their mindfulness and introspective vigilance, they train just like Ārya Kātyāyana.157 Those who conduct themselves in the manner of an illusion, because they are free of arrogance, are like mirror reflections of a person. Like one’s own hand feeding one’s mouth, they are free of any expectation of reward. Like an illusory person, they harbor no hopes of results. Since they have unconditionally given their bodies, wealth, and roots of virtue away, they are said to be like the Buddha.
Although this is not yet the time to actually give [away your body], make sure that your will to give is perfected through pure thought, the master said. In the future, the time will come when, even as a bodhisattva, you will perform the enlightened deeds of the Buddha. Becoming fully enlightened and having attained the dharmakāya (the fulfillment of your own interest), the fulfillment of the welfare of the three fields of beings (pure, impure, and mixed) will take place until the end of cyclic existence through the two form bodies, which constitute the perfection of others’ interests.
Iti. This has been hidden as a secret.
Master Atiśa gave this teaching to glorious Gönpawa, he to Rinchen Naburpa,158 then through to Gyergom Sangyé Wön, Sang Gönpa, Khenpo Chöden, Lopön Śhākya Tashi, Gyamapa Tashi Gyaltsen, to Buddharatna, to Kīrtiśīla, to Jayabhadra, to Puṇyaratna, and he to Mipham Chöjé.