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MAN FROM SAMY
T.PITK I •
O-AS LITETUS LITETUS
eroduced in origia scris and anguages
Traslated anotated and cticaly evaated by specasts of te East d te West Foudd by PhD DLitt t Phil rof. RAGHUVlRA M PhD Continud by his son &otLOKESHCHARA
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THE
MAN FROM SAMYE
LONGCHENPA ON PRXIS ITS NEGTION AD LIERATION
II BA Hebrew Uvesi)
MA (Tel A nesy
A ess submed n fullment of he
equeens fo he degee of Doco of Phosopy
O MY O UU K W
©
Iferg Fst pbshed 2014
IBN 9881421323
Pubshed b At Pksh 2/18 Asr Rod Ne Del el: cotct@tprkshnco webste www.�tprksh.com
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10 10 002 002
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CONTETS
Asa weees Chapter
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i
Introduction
Longcepa Buddhis context of the heoic of egation Wy ts std? Methodology of he thee pespectives Academic eseach dedicated to Longchepa Philosophical pespecive Histoca pespective Taditional pespctive The tadtional pespecte and thee tpes o pactitioes/eades The citica pactitioe/eade The estetal pactitoe Methodoogy of itepetatio Synopsis
Ch Iu Ch Se he See h Ceu Te Ch Lheps Le a Ws h eu Te Ch Ne Asee Ch Paxs Asee Ch Asee Naua eess Ch Naua Aeess Ps Ch Cus Chapter
Setting the Scene:
to
cetury
1 1 2 4 5 9 9 1 11 11 12 13 16 16 16 16 1 1 1 1 19
Tibet
Eay cultivatio of Buddhism in Tibet Re-thinkig Padmasabhava Cosideing Padmasambhava's "histoical eachings Tease aditio ad Padmasambhava Sam: siultaeous ad gadua paxis Religious ad poiical landscape Kingdom of Gg u e The Budist eviva Nyigma state of affais The Mogols ad the akyas
2 24 26 2 29 33 35 3 3 4
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Vl
Chaper
Longcep's ife ad Works
cery Tibe
se Co re Loghe d o rei Lges osiio e reigos d oii e Loghes ie d works e orse Lges ie i umrj Visiy uobog d "esres Loghe he m Wi o ri e r Bhu B i ibe ibe Loghes ors mgum e iogy o Nu reedom A resure roe o d egio Chaper
rsmssio 6
From Negaion o Absence
he reri o egi i ibe beore Loge Mdhusdh Nube Yeshe Go L Zhg Fur Yogs Yogs Mhmudr d Dzghe Roos o Loghes egi Nure o he egio Airmig egio N-iig egio Negio s se o bsee e p No-irmig egios d rxis Prsgik-Mdi d Dzoge i o dieree Chaper
3 5 7 50 53 55 57 58 60 63 6 67 68
73 73
7 81 85 88 1 93
3 5 6 7 7
From Praxis o Absence
m egio A oemorr om o egio Bho u d Bie o oeso I he riiqe rxis N wreess is ideede o iews d eods Ciue o mehods ssoied wih osiism d rism I iique modes o Core resos or he riiqe o mehods Negio o meods iovig io Bies meod oesio
100 101 10 103 106 107 0 111
Ce Longchena's heoric of negaio as a eod of rais egaion egaion of ausaliy, ausaliy, ime- ad lacebou lacebound nd raxis Reeiive negaion emloyed b zogchen aciioes Poin of ensio egaing raxis is a axis The condiion of Baaile's conesee and Longchea's suden Means combined wih negaion in he creaion of absence
M Ia u efe wh a exaa aax a ea e h hea que hapter
From Abence to Natral Awarene
Key erms concernig he exerience of inae awareess Geeal remarks on Longchenas six mehods of direc iroducio A dialogue in akaras ha oins o one's rue ideniy Imlici and exlici comonens in Longchenas six ehods The suden The eacher Maerials for dramaic dialogue The six ways o ioduce awaeness direcly Praxis as reedy o resisance Gamoas mehod of direc inroducio Awakeed awareness as haaya hapter
hapter
11 114 1 11 11 118 119 119 10
14 1 16 1 18 19 130 13 136 138 139
From Natra Awarene to axi
ichoomous sequence fom raxis o on-dualiy Four mehods' comaibili i noduaiy The four mehods' comaibiliy wih e wo Truhs Tekch and comaibiliy i onduaiy
149 1 16 19
onclion
16
Bahy Aex A Caresian Graph Aex B Journey o Bhuan Ne
169 19 180 186
ABSTRACT This study explores the lgely uecogised scolly d pedagogical contibutions of one of Tibet's greatest thikers, Longcen Rabjampa (kLong cen b byams pa 13081364) within e context of what I refer to as the "rhetoric of negaon which is the focused and intense crtique of philosopical views and spiritual practices pointing to their incapability of directly causing liberation. It is a cena eme of s key works Te Natu Freeom of Reai (Tibetan tite: Cos nyi ng gro) nd A Treasure Trove of Scriptu Tnsmission A Commeta on te Precious Treasu of te Basic Space of Penomena (Tibetan title: Cos Cos byings byings rin rin po ce ' i mzo mzo zes bya ba ' i gre paung g i gter mz mzo o)) at e considered closely in the study. Like at of his predecessors, Longchenpa's retoric of negation aimed to dismantle compulsive conceptualising mental processes, creating absence, a vacuity. But Longchenpa goes one step rter, overcomig e problem of te tility of spiral practces in relation to liberation, by creatvely transforming hs rhetoric of negaion into a pedagogy hat is claimed to be completely capale of facilitating he h e experience of natral aweness, Buddha Bu ddha mnd or liberaton. Longchenpa's Longchen pa's retoc of negation wil be be the subject o my case stdy, wi he emphasis on prmly prmly as a teacher teacher of lberati lberation. on. Ts is signiic signiicy y differen differentt om most acadec acadec resech resech dedicated to Longcenpa to date, which has ocused on is tery abilites, is epistemology and ogic, hs doxograpy, his poety, and exstential interetatons of his philosophy nd exegesis.1 I e process of cling te ositon of praxis at stands as a gener trm or sp l pactices, in Longchenpa's rhetoc of negation, this study contexlizes Longchenpa histocally nd exnes macro-stoc ends d developments, includng tex l ones, at deten detened ed hs position in Tibetn Tibetn society, society, reigion reigion and poltcs. poltcs. t locates Longchenpa biographicall biographicallyy in terms of cro-historic ormative events that shaped is life in relation to te other senal igures beore and dung e e 14 century. As a result, te thesis demonsates that the locaon of Longcenpa and his school, e Nyigma (rNying ma), was on te periphery of Tibetan social, politic ad religious reites. Longcena was specic ly conscious of is is fact nd in order to relocate e school to e cente d to implement his vision of Buddhism, he adopted certain devices which one of hem was te retoric of negation. Te istorical contextaliaton "humises Longchenpa nd depicts a "re listic porait of him as opposed to e "ide lised one perceived by tradition practtioners of Tibet Buddhism, including weste Tibetn Buddhists. Finly, e stdy exnes Longchenpa's pedagogy, more precisey e aspect of it which he refers to as "abiding in nara aweness, tat is to say, the practice of tekch (kregs co), d
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shows how it anscends e means-ends dichotomy inherent in general goal-oriented practices. The stdy demonstrates that Longchenpa's pedagogy, being capable of facilitating he experience of natural aweness, is compatible with Dzogchen's notion of non-duality and with integration of he Two Trths.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In the course of writing this dissertation I have been supported by dozens of people. I am gratefu to al who have helped me by inspiration, suggestion, guidance, hearing, encouragement and technica assistance and I apologize to any whom I may have omitted here. Firstly, I am profoundy grateful to my thesis supervisors. To Dr Daid Tempeman of the Arts Faculty, School of Phiosophical, Historica & Internationa Studies, Monash University, who with immense generosity provided suggestions, presented provocative ideas and shared his abundant knowledge of Tibet, books, art and life. This, and his scholary skils and iendy manner brought out of the quality of scholship in the same way a theatre director brings the roe out of the actor, and carried my work to completion, and to Dr Ian Mabbett of the Arts Faculty, Schoo of Phiosophica, Historica & Internationa Studies, Monash University, who generousy made suggestions, added precision to my work and shared with me his immense knowledge on Indian Buddism, especialy from his forthcoming book aout the philosophy of Nagarjuna. I comenced my research at the University of Queensand under the supervision of Dr Tamara Ditrich and the late Dr Primoz Pecenko and I wish to thank them for their assistace in initiating this study. The staff and coeagues I have worked with at the Monash Asia stitute have provided a friendly atmosphere, enhancing intellectual curiosity and study, and I wish to thank especialy Prof Marika Vicziany who generousy assisted me with a the academic and administrative requirements for m transfer from the University of Queensland to Monash University. I wish to thank Dr Tikky Wattanapenpaioon for her assistance and support in my integration in Monash Asia Institute and Dr Andrea Di Castro, Mr Giovanni Arca, Ms Isabela Ofner, Ms Sharmini Sherrard for the pleasant hours, endess coffees and exchange of ideas and advice. My thanks go also to Dr Greg Baiey and Dr Peter Friedlander of La Trobe University and Dr Max Richer, director of Monash Asia Institute who were on the pane of my mid candidature review, for their valuabe input and validation of my thesis. owe e deepest respect to the ate Mrs Noa Blass, a musicin, a composer, a writer and a teacher who encouraged me to pursue academic studies in Indian phiosophy and reigion. owe the deepest respect from the depth of my heart to the contemporary Dzogchen teacher Chgyal Nahai Norbu who has insired me and given me direct instructios in
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Dzogchen. Attending his teaching retreats since 1992 allowed e to have a profound understanding of Longchenpa the teacher and Dzogchen. I am thankful to Ms Helen Williams for editing my work with a sensitive eye, refined skills and a sense of commitment to the value of the text, adding to its clity. Moreover I thank with immense gratitude the most important people of all, my wife Judy,whose challenging sense of honsty is a source of growth, my daughter Mia and son Gitai whom I love so much. I have been supported by them more than words can express and I am thankful for their support, patience and the gift f space that allowed me to complete my work. Finally, I am indebted to Longchenpa himself for his enriching briliant works and for being a source of profond prof ond inspiration. inspir ation.
INTRODCTION
Lgcep Longchen Rabjampa (kLong cen rab byams pa, 1308-1364), bo to a poor family fam ily of the marginalised Nyingmapa (rNyingmapa) in the 14h centry, away from monastic instittions, lived asterely in the open and exposed to the elements with his teacher, and ed to the "demonic and of Bhtan. In spite of his hmble backgrond and his strong tendency to criticise the previling socio-religio-politica strctres and to negate phiosophical views and spirital praxis, Longchenpa became one of the greatest greatest teachers teachers and scholas of the Great Perfection or zogchen (rDzogs cen) tradition. Seven hndred years after his death, his work is still stdied by mny Tibetan Bddhists, mainly Nyingmapas and western Bddhist followers and scholars interested in the Great Perfection, Perfection, and incding the Foreenth alai La. Longchenpa is considered considered both a egend nd n ilined figre and his massive d encycopaedic poetic d philosophic works e stil held in high esteem. One of the main themes in his work, and the foca point of this stdy, is his intrigingly focsed critiqe of philosophical views and spirital practices aimed at dismanting complsive concetaising menta processes, creating asence, a vacity. This I refer to as the rhetoc of negation. Longchenpa convered this rhetoric into a pedagogy capabe of facilitating the experience of natral aweness, Bddha mind, or liberation. This theme and these specifically Bddhist terinoogies wil be discssed concisely in the intodction nd at length in the body of the crrent stdy.
uddhist context of the rhetoric of negation I the broad scope of Bddhism, Longchenpa's rhetoric rhetoric of negation was dected to the prevailing spirit practces of his tme conceng liberation. As introdctory remks with regds to praxis and liberation the latter can be referred to throgh the following metaphor:2 Imagine a person sleeping at night, dreaming a nightmae and reacting with fe and anxiety. A cold sweat covers their skin. Aer they have sted for a certain time in the grip of the nightmae, its intensity and density strt to decrease and the person reaises to ther relief that it was ony a dream They then wae p. Not recognizing the dream to be a drem stands for the notion of in Bddhism, that is, an a priori, fse, pervasive belief system that chacterises existence. Not recognising the dream to be a nightmae nightmae or, more precisey, precisey, wrongy perceiving perceiving the nightme to be reaity creates creates painfl experience experience that corresponds corresponds to the notion of uka (sffering) in Bddhism. Duka is the first of the For Nobe Trths, the fndamental Bddhist teaching, that describes the relationship between therapy and iberating knowledge: (1) the hman hm an codition codition is peeated peeated with
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uka, tat is to say, wit pain and frustration; (2) tis condition as an origin or a caus; (3) it can b brougto an nd or cssation; (4) tr is a way or mans lading to tis nd, wic
is t "Nobl Eigtfold Pat3 But wat if librating knowldg cannot b a dirct rsult of any activity of praxis, as w ar advisd y a fw igly stmd figurs om vious aditions, among tm Longcnpa? Tis possibility possibility contasts contasts wit t last last of t "Four Nobl Truts, Truts, wic ntails ntails a pracc/m pracc/mdicin dicin tat claims to bring about libration What if libration cannot b a rsult dircty causd by any spiritual practc which is prformd in t prsnt by a subjct towd a go /objctiv to b acivd acivd in t futr, futr , a goa whic canot b an objct and wich is aways unconditiond? unconditiond? Suc a conclusion is consing and dvastating in its ramifications for t skr aftr libration This problmatic conclusion is mpasisd furtr in th first aporism of Ngjuna's (Nagrjuna's) Mamyamakrik Tis nds in a pradoxical position, wic Longchnpa4 adoptd: Neither from itself nor from another, Nor from both, Nor without a cause, Does anything whatever, anywhere arise.
n light of t quston o th rlaon btwn spirital spirital practic and libration, libration, i i w rplac i n t abov aphosm " " ing wi "libration, "libration, and "anotr wit "spiritua practic,6 t aphorism would imply tat libration is nowr and nvr producd by itslf, nor by spiritual practic, nor by a combination of t two, nor by any otr caus Buddhist litratur is rich with discussion of rfutations o ac o t four possibilitis (catu�koi), including Longchnpa's, wich nds in t padoxical padoxical puzzling puzzling conclusion conclusion that ibrat ibration ion is nitr causd by spiritual spiritual practics practics nor is it not causd by spiritual practics T practitionr's discomfort is amplifid vn mor by Longchnpa's intns statmnts nating praxis not only in gnral trms but as a rpatd spcic ctiqu of goalorintd Buddist mtods, pointin to tir tility
Wy tis study? Longcnpa's status as a major figur in Tibtan Buddism givs suc qustions critical importanc, apliis is ngations, ad incrass t nd for a toroug xamination of is rtoric o ngation, wic as not bn rsarcd so a Concg Longcnpa's status, David Grano as rmakd: Although at least five hundred ears ( CE- CE) of thought, contemplation and composition in this tradition (which may not have been a clearly self-conscious tradition in the beginning) preceded him such that all the maor themes, structures, and terminology were in place prior to his birth, above all in the canonical Seventeen Tantras of the Great Perection gyud u du) , it was Longchenpa who systematically refined the terminology used by the tradition: brilliantly revealed its relationships with mainstream esoteric Buddhist though;
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created from it masterpieces of poetic philosophy remarkable for their aesthetic beauty and philosophical rigor; and overall pinpointed the inner quintessence of the tradition with writings that not only systematized every maor topic but also creatively explained each to render crystal clear the revolution in the content, form, and structure of philosophical" thought in the ndo-Tibetan Buddhism that The Great erfection (Dzogchen) teaching entails.7
eano's grand description of Longchenpa spes for itself It depicts the latter's stats as a major figure within Tibetan Buddhism, and sounds a call for thorogh resech in order to see precisely precisely Longchenpa's Longchenpa's position position on spirital practice and liberation, liberation, in order to offer claity for students of Dzogchen Confronted by Longchenpa's negation of spiritual practices, the student faces the question of how to attain the experience of liberating nowledge that would release them from conditioned exstence Yet the message of Buddhim, and pticully of Dzogchen, is that one can be liberated Thus the puose of this study is to clarfy the problem of spiritual/religious practice in Longchenpa's nondual philosophy In a wider context, clification clification of the tension between praxis, liberaton and nonduality nonduality ght be of assistance to ny student who applies any method within any nondual system or religion In particular, this study wll explore the largely unrecognised scholarly and pedagogical contbutions of Longchenpa within te context of what I refer to as the "rhetoc of negation, which is a centr l theme of his key works, d its conversion into a pedagogy facilitating the direct experience of the nature of mnd, which is te prereective, noetic core of bing defines a specific hypotesis: that in order to overcome the I fact the resec identifies and defines problem of the futility of spiritual practices in relation to liberation, liberation, Longchenpa tnsfoed his rhetoric of negation into a living edagogy The process by which this transformation is accomplished is te major interest of te tesis It is in hs hs context tat Longcenpa's rhetoric of negation will be underten as a case study, with the emphasis on hm as primily a teacher of liberation Ths is significanty different and distant from most acadec resech that has been dedicated to Longchenpa so f, which as focused on his litery abilities, oxography, poetry, existential phlosopy nd exegesis In the process of clifying the position of practice in Longchenpa's rhetoric of negation this stdy will aim to present a "realistic portrait of Longchenpa as opposed to the "idealised one perceived by traditioa traditioall practitioners practitioners of Tibetan Buddhsm Buddhsm including weste weste practitioners practitioners But how should one stdy Longchenpa and his position on praxis? What methodology is suitable to invoke a closer understanding of the postion on praxis withn nondual Dzogchen philosophy of Longchenpa, a man hailed in legend as a second Buddha and certainly one of the greatest tinkers of the Old Tradition (Nyngmapa), who lived about 700 yes ago? In stdying the life and teacings of ongchenpa, it becomes evident tat among acadeic circles of the West his doctrine as not generated muc interest Altough extensve resech has been dedicated to Buddhism and its dierent schools and streams, icluding Dzogchen, the
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acadeic resech dedicated to Longchenpa so f has been lited. This is surising, considering the significance of his contributions to Tibetan Buddhism and the way he is perceived by the Tibetan tradition and scholars. Probably it can be explained firstly by the sheer difficulty of translating his writings, and secondly by the possibility that other figures such as Nagarjna, Candrrti (Candr), Vasubandhu and aka seem more interesting for philosophers and researchers, offering offering more "raw mateal mateal for research in many areas of Buddhism Buddhism language, logic, epistemology, ontology and in comparative studies. owever to erbert Guenther, one of the most original and highly regarded pioneers in the resech of Dzogchen: Longchen Rabampa (Kl h y p) is hailed as a second Buddha and certainly the greatest thinker in the Old Tradition (y p) . . . 8 Longchen Rabampa is concerned conc erned with the exploration of lived-through experience, not with an intellectual parlour game of quantifications of fetish-words that have no longer any meaning because they have become divorced from experience. 9 That is to say, Longchenpa, hailed as a second Buddha, is perceived by Gunther to be a thier philosopher interested interested not in forming mere theories but in pointing to the "way to be in the world wor ld and integrating it with a life of realisation. Longchenpa's philosophy cntains a significant pragmatic pragmat ic or existential existen tial aspect, which will be taken into consideration consid eration when examinin examin in his rhetoric of negation.
Metdlgy f te tree perspectives As to the queston of methodology, it seems appropriate that the cuent sdy should draw on three perspecti perspectives: ves: the philosophic philosophical, al, the histori historic c d the traditiona traditional. l. These These method methodss e compleme complementy nty and compatible up to a certn point in the sense that the intersection of the three may offer greater clarity on the problem of negation. The methodological metho dological approach appr oach to be taken here draws dr aws to a large extent on Ingalls' 10 and works on akara, the Indian Vedntin of the 8h century, who was hailed as iva and was a key representatie of his Advaita Vednta tradition. Ingalls and Bader oth claim that in order to have a broad and precise overview of akara's thought one must approach it from three different perpectives: philosophical, historical and traditional. These are generally not compatible because, for example, there wold be incompatibility between traditional mythical narrtivs and historical facts. akara's teachings are are based on the the unity of the tman and brahman non-dual brahman brah man and he negated nega ted goal-orien goal- oriented ted practices prac tices as the knowled kno wledge ge of the real re al natu na ture re of reality does not depend on the notions or activities of any individual, but only on the real nature of reality itself i.e. Brahman itself. The similarity between akara and Longchenpa as key representative of their tradition, whose teachins are based on non-duality and negation of oal-oriented practices justifies that the methodolog outlined for the research of aka is also applicable to th study of Logchenpa. The intersections of the three perspectives will lend us a
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real pictre, as much as possible, of Longchenpa's philosophy and spiritual practice. It will be demonstated in the present stdy hat, hat, through the application application of ese es e ee methods, methods, the rhetoric o egatio in te non-dual system of Dzogchen Dzogchen cn be approached in an innovative way that will shed light on Longchenp's positon. However before elaborating on is meodology of e tree perspectives, perspectives, it shold st be justied withi withinn te context context of the resech resech tat has has been dedica dedicated ted to Longchenpa so far.
Acdemic reserc dedicted t Lgcep Reviewng the acadeic resech dedicated to Longcepa it can be oted that most work has bee cied ot rom e viewpoits of istoric istoric criticism, criticism, phenomenology, doxography, litery stdies of rhetoric, d philology. The works of Gether tend o emphasise Longchenpa's texts as pheomenological explication to the ne excsion of anything else. In Genther's work From Reuctionism to reativi, for example, he ges that every word of te Great Perection texts shold be read as "experienta mker. This Thi s sentiment sentiment is wel expressed in te folowing coent: n other words, Dzogchen demands that we start learning to think. While all the grandiose Buddhist systems of thought have, quite literally, cme to an end, Dzogchen thought remains a challenge, directing our attention to the thinking of thinking, not in vacuum, but in the context of the whole. 1 2 The main ocs here is "thig o thiking as a way of ongoig observig the operation of one's mind, as an experience of ufoldment pointing towards the "unfamili nature o mind or core o beig. More recetly, three Ph dissertations have been written which deal with Longchenpa's works ad tat may sere as a platform or this stdy. In he he first, llis 13 employs historical and liter cticl meods to examine the rhetorical devices in Longchepa's text Te Treasu of Longchenpa's philosophical position on Ab iing Reali Reali gNas gNas lugs mzo), mzo), a exploration of Longchenpa's the liberated atral state o mind. According to Hillis, the text represents an intersection of several religios, philosophical, biographical and political dscourses, as well as Longchenpa's own experience o crisis ad reection. I his thorogh anaysis, idetifying rhetorical devices i the text, Hillis scceeds n inteligently exposing Logchepa's sbtext. However, when it comes to Longchenpa's position on methods of practice, Hillis dedicates only a few pages to the matter. His interpretation o praxis14 emphasises Longchenpa's rhetoric of anti-method, the egating of goal-oriented practices, withot any critica attempt to challenge Logchepa's position. posi tion. his is probably prob ably de to the act it was ot o t of the scope of his resear r esearc c as a s he h e primariy primari y approached Longchenpa as a writer. Nevertheess, Hillis was able to reconsct an adeqate description of the reigios, philosophical, biographica ad political map of Tibet in the centry, inclding Longchenpa's lifetime experience of crisis and reection, which will be revisited rogh his his sdy.
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Te second relevan disseraion is a of Buers, 15 wo stdied Longcenpa's Te Precious Treasu Treasu o o Spiritual piri tual Sstems (Grub Mta'mzo Mta 'mzo) ) in order to sudy Longcenpa's doxograpic overview of Buddis sysems. Buers saes clely ta in tis tex Longcenpa lgely ignores issues peraining to praxis.16 Nevereless, e indicaes a Longcenpa was able o effec integraion of Dzogcen wi te oer Buddhis sysems roug his inereaion of e Buddist eory of e Two Trus, e relaive and ulimae levels of reality,17 more precisely is ineretaion of e Mdyama pilosopy. is observaion is significan for his sdy because a cle undersanding of Longcenpa's inereaion of te Two Trts will sed lig on is posiion regding pracice pracice in non-dual non-dual Dzogce Dzogcen. n. After After all, practice practice can be regded regded as an acion, ing place in e relaive realiy by a subject directed owards an objectified ultimae reaiy, wich is beyond causation. Furtermore e noion of the Two Trths gives se to he uesion that if Longcenpa recommends praxis, ow compatible an it be with his phiosopy of non dualiy? Te compaibility of Longchenpa's perception of e Two Trs and is pedagogy of negation wi be considered in chapter 7 of is study. Te most recen disseration is by Arguillre, wo employs oth pilological and piosopical piosopical metodologies in i n writing abou Longcenpa's life and works. From e historical perspecive, Arguillre is abe to increase increase claiy of focus regding te corse of Longchenpa's ife, e cronology and exten of is works, as well as is explication of is philosophy of causaity and e Two Truths, whic e relevan to our stdy. rgilre meticlosy identifies e teacers and sdens of Longcenpa, d provides a reconsction of Longcenpa's Longcenpa's catalogue of works. Arguire justies he imporance of is phiological meod rough reference to te importance of such an approach to Kapstein's intging concusion tat Longchenpa cied ficive exs in he auto comnty to his Guma Ngalso Ngalso (sGu ma ngal gso); 18 to Acd's notion of Longchenpa's "pagiates of texts of the Bon radition of Dzogchen an to is own observation a Longcenpa used "ohan citaions, tat is to say, texts that e cite oy once or twice. As rguilre pus i: Further, in his seminar of - in the fih section of EPHE, Matthew Kapstein notably demonstrated that several texts cited in [Longchenpa's] auto commentary to the Gyu a gal g, were in fact fictive texts. t was established that the quotations were certainly not invented' by Longchenpa but were inserted in his auto commentary of the Gyu a la rim, attributed to Niguma of the Shangs pa radition and dated to the time of Khyung po al byor. Longchenpa never mentions any work relevant to the Shangs pa. This consideration might alow us to put in its true light the case of the plagiates de textes Bon" that inspired J.L. Achard Achard ( ) who wrote wrote few few interestin interestingg pages [on that matte matter] r] . . .n some cases c ases we might observe some orphan" citations, that is to say texts cited only once or twice in Longchenpa's work or citations that were repeated once and only in one passage of a text. 1 9 In using expreions sc as "plagiate, "fictive and "oans several imes in te same page in te sort introduction to is work, Arguillre Arguillre gives te impression ta using others' exts without
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attribution was a literary trend employed by Longchenpa. Clearly this question requires exaination but it would necessily beoutsid beoutsidee the th e scope of this study. Neverteless Neverteless a preliiny examination should be advanced that may put rguillre's words in perspective and shed light on the sources which Longchenpa used witout attibution and on Longchenpa himself as a writer. To stt wi, Matthew Kapstein's assertion, in te fivepage sumary of his seinar about (s Gu ma lam rim) text of the spirital doctrines and disciplines of praxis in the Guma lam rim (sGu Shangpa (Sangs pa) adition will be considered. When Kapstein addresses e question of the auenticity of e text he mentions that to date there is no indication that Tibetan writers ave doubted its authentici. He mentions tat ongchenpa cited the commenty of e Guma lamrim without atbution in his Guma Ngalso,° in order to demonstrate hat hat it was te only time the text was mentioned in another school, out o the Shangpa tradition, showing the extent that the Shangpa texts were excluded om te Tibet Tibet canon.21 Ths, while for apstein apstein Longchenpa uses the commentary of a Kagyu text that was not incorporated in the Tibetan canon, without attribtion, for fo r Arguilre ongchenpa was using using severa "fictive texts. Kapstein's paper was not ormaly d lly pblished. Ths, without sfcient evidence, Argillre's notions of "plagiate, "tive d "oh sources which Longchenpa used without attribtion cod be expained in that ey were od zogchen texts constitting a traditional accmulated body o knowledge that ongchenpa integrated into his own works. Other expanations e that he did not have the original texts that he cied but sed seconday texts witout abution, or that he cited from memory where e textual content was received by means of oral nsmission. A rther possible explnation might be that the Guma lamrim text belonged to the Shangpa Kagyu schoo of Tibetan Buddhism and ongchenpa's employment of the text was the o y time that the text was mentioned outside of the Shangpa tradition. Kagy and zogchen she some pncipal similties similties in the sense that both schools schools constitute constitute he he "simltaneous pa to liberation and they have similar vocablary and ideas.22 It could be that the vocabuly and ideas were expressed in similar ways, whic might apply aso to Bon zogchen and Nyingma zogchen. It cold be also that ongchenpa still wte to use e Shgpa text for his purposes but could not mention its attribution because it was excluded from e canon in the same manner that he did not overtly cite even Padmasambhava's "historical works mentioned by Guenter in capter 2 of his study.23 In examining Achd's notion of Longchenpa's "plagism o Bon texts, it was found that he refeed to two Bon texts "borrowed by ongcenpa. The rst is ang rtse klong cen, which was integrated into the Nyingma tadition by Zrchen Shya Jungne, nown as Zur ston Ug U g pa ung pa (),who disguised his name as te text iscoverer orje Shepa (rDorje be pa) and gave the Bon text another title, the sNan brgu tugs ki m long ongchenpa integrated integrated a small pt of this text into his work Lama antig (Bla ma ang tig), giving it the title Cii rtsasgsal C rtsasgsal b 'ai sgron sgron me. me . Achd applies a pilological method and exained te two exts,
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finding that although Longchenpa did not literally copy the Bon text, he changed certain verbs and used synonyms. Because the texts seemed very similar it invokes the sentiment and te impression that Longchenpa is trying to hide his plagism. The other text Achard refers to is the e kri ar ar po, po , a treasure text discovered by Lungbon Hlanyen (Lung bon la gnan, 1088- ?), who was a contempory of Milepa (1040-1123). Although the text has all the comon signs of being a treasre text, Longchenpa, three centes later, re-titled t Tsig on bcu gcig pa and presented it as his redacton, incorporating it in his cycle the Bima Nintig (Bima sning tig). Accordig to Achd, the silarites betwee the two texts are evident. Altogh siiartes pont to a "textal borrowig, Achar suggests severa explanatios whch tend to phol the text's tegrty. I my vew the most reasoale one sustatiatg it withn te context of the course of Logchepa ife refers to Kmaja (Kumarj gon nu rgal po, 1266-1343), who was Longchepa's root teacer. As wll e shown in chapte 3, Logchenpa spent tree yes with Kmaja ner hsh lvg conditons receive from him the teachgs of the Bima sning tig cycle of Dzogchen. Ths I ppose that Kumaja, who ha a opo teacher from whom he receve Dzogche teacgs25 wich icle te texts discsse by Acd, trastte these texts i t to ogchenpa. vng wi Karaja er conditons of severe epvatio wol have eant a shortage of the re comoty paer, as we as of wtg materas. Gve tat woodlock pritig a ot yet een itroce nto Tbet, Logchepa wo lkey ave receve the· transisso orally and ecostcted t ater from memory or from concise short otes as he receive them from Kmara. This explans why t se the o texts that Logchepa "borrowe an hs parale works re not entic siilties n the same way that o Nynga have palels, wch may e trace back to the 8 cetr.26 In ay case, Ach's phiologca work contrtes frer to the dersaig of the sii backgro that both taditons she ad soifes it. s sggeste tat the maer i which Logchepa ctes the works he se n geea ad te emakae mer of texts e ha rea sho be ientified as a atte that chacterises his way of wrtig, whch s i cotast wth te two icidets which Achd consered acts of pagism.27 Above a it seems that abels sc as "plagate, "fictve a "orphas re a procts of western etcal acaemic stadards a are see i ths cotext as immoral or a reac of itelectual propey ghts. However sig texts wthot atrton was a como practce 14 cetr Tibet ad sce the as well. Sometimes n ong so oe was tacty ayig homage to the text an the athor ad gving them a roaer stage or voice. owever these hypotetcal observatios sol be examie te fte frter resech nto Logchepa's life a works. Nevertheess sc caims by Kapste and Ac ad the oservatio y rgillre jstify the atter's epoyent of a hstorca-phiologcal etho, wch e beieves aows m to recostrct Logchepa's le work ad phlosopca octrne. thogh Arglre asserts hs iteto iteto to cose cose a esech the theorecal theorecal aspect of texts te xts coceg raxs, e oes oe s so a
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limited manner and without treating the subect of Longchenpas Longchenpas spirital practice or his pedagogy of negation and the subective experience of it. Arguillres work includes introduction to, and translation of eight chapters of Longchenpas Te Precious Treasu of te Basic Space of Penomena (Cs (Cs bings rin po ce 'i mzo mzo ces ba ba) and four chapters of A Treasure of Scriptural Transmission A Commenta on te Precious Treasu of te Basic Space of Penomena' Cos bings rin po ce'i mzo ces ba ba'i 'grel pa). ut Longchenpas
exposiion of themes such as "direct introduction, "meditative natural stability and "resting in unconrived conduct, wich e a he core of Dogchen practice, appe only in the ninth chapter of e works above and tereaer. As a result, the practitioners perspecive, which is one of the rincial keys o coprehending Longchenpas ife and works as he was primly a teacher of iberaion, is absent. This perspecive ght have given rise to imporant quesions tha noally a piloogist or a piosopher would no ask.
Philosophical perspective One of e rincipal assuptions of Arguillre is that ongchenpa is a sensible and exremey inteligent inker and ha i would be nlikely tat Longchenpa could possibly conradict himself. Ths approached from the phiosophic persective, Longchenpa is expected o be consistent; but when confroned by his prescriion of racice28 and is forceful egatio of i,29 the iniial reacion of te scholar/hilosopher/reader woud be o point ou he conradiction and soundy criticise i. The conradiction is liable o me he phiosophically minded reader want to find a loical solution, wereas Longchena is actaly ineresed in something else, in iberaion. Fener, for exape, in his piosophical attempt to resolve the quesionable connection beween praxis and liberation by exaining ongchenpa, sggests various explanaions, from orthodox to unorhodox uddhist oints, in consideration of the eory of the Two Truths.3 0 However at he end of is exainaion he admits that te qestionable connecion beween praxis and liberaion is uresoved Contradictions naurally produce esion since tey e insoluble, tus risking an indefinite perpetation of sterie philosophical debate but Longchenpa himself was interesed in exausing this tension or converting i into an energeic pedagogical device, as he was first and foremost a Dogcen teacer interesed i teacing on lieration.
istorical perspective Another way of coming o ters wit "inconsistencies suc as he "evasive tu or "logical failures discussed above is to reorganise those inconsistencies ino a pate that migh clfy the developmen of Lonchenpas ideas.32 In fac, this is the mn purpose of the hisorical perspecive in his sdy; that is, o draw a map that will show the deveopment of the retoric of negaion and its hisocal contex before Logchenpas time. The nex step is to extend the map o inclde Logcepas own ideas as exressed in the two main works of is relevan o this study, aiming
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to expose a pattern of development, evolution or transformation which may then resolve contradictions and clai ambiguities. In creating a chronological ame for Longchenpa's works and ideas, thikers such as Germao, Kamay, Guenther, Hillis and Arguillre lend clty and order to possible ambiguities that ight be attributed to Longchenpa and parti lly lly clarify e problem of negaton of goal-oented spirital practices. l perspective is undoubtedly usel and can offer a closer look not only into te The historic history of ideas of negation but also a cleer view of social and cultral ends and processes that l foatons over time. Idening e state of ars at resulted om created socio-religio-politc l tends and processes will enable us to contextalise Longchenpa to exaine whether historic he has addressed in his works certai religious, political and social factors which might explain the course of his life, his thoght and his distinctive tedecy to negate and criticise others' philosophical views n religious practices. However, is it not often tre that resech into the istory of ieas, intende to clarify a contadiction, jst peetuates it, offeng new ngles and perspectives into the matter without any fina resoltion? As long as te contadictions uner inquiry represet a signicant proem, the resech will be peetated becase contadictions aturally prodce tension and attract endess attempts to c them. Whie the philosophica an historical perspectives effectivey provide s with explanations and interetations of Longcenpa's Longcenpa's oghts nd ideas, tey o so only pially whe it comes to the probem of te negation of goal-oente practces. Terefore it is suggested tat in order to have a broader nderstanding of sch a personage a is ieas we wold have to consider te aditiona perspective essentially represented by te seeker aer lieration.
Tradition perspective Ingalls desces he adtiona aproach rog he he aspirants or folowers who seek liberation or knowledge of the ramn. Accoring to Ingalls, is is the most ancient approach, one that aka passed on to his stdents nd expressed in is Upaeasas. Igas34 chacterises te followers by their aspiratio to liberation an by eir tendencies towds detachment om woldly matters, and while he acknowleges other characteristics, he regards these two as te most . . ader agrees, saying: essenti n order to propely investigate akara's akara's teachings on liberation it is necessary to take into account the traditional approach ... this method is suitable only for the dedicated and true believer. Stil there is no good reason for ignoring this approach in the course of one's study. On t e contrary, an examination of akar akara' a' s work which takes into into account the perspective of the practitioner may well cast further light on the motives underlying the formulations of his Advaitadoctrine.3 perspective aer regds e "aditon perspective hed y y te aspirnts to e inispes inispesable able in achievig achievig a road understanig of akara's ideas. Researc ito akara's phiosopy abot liberatio
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through application of the "taditiona perspective will provide a deeper understanding of his motives for aticulating his Advitic heory. What Bader and Ingalls have said in relation to the taditional perspective in te case of aa is valid for Longchenpa as well, as shown elier in connection with the discussions of pedagogy and soteriology.
Te trditil perspective d tree types f prctitiers/reders However, following in the footsteps of Grinshpon,3 6 it is suggested that the practitioner should be looked at through each f he three leses leses wihout wihout adhering exclsively exclsively to any one of tem. Accordigly, he "tradiional practiionersreaders would seek ndersanding of the literal meaning of exts, avoiding criical exainaion of heir religious and cultral heroes and resisting tedecies to grond interetaions i mndane human experiece. They would accept the fael importance of the coec understanding and e intentios of te eaching. They would tend to disace hemselves from the tex i order to isten to it, a he same time hat "it is an elusive otheess, differet from he world of phenoea, and accessible by the virue of ineffale profound compassion or grace. Their avoidance of refeg to compoens of hmn conditioned exisence sch as emotions, toughts ad experences corresponds wih the abysmal otheess representing primordia aral aweness.
The critical practitier/reader The "histocal d "posophica approaches compleet the adional approach in aempting to clri Logchenpa's rhetoric of negation in that ey e represeed by he critical reader practiioner, who ries to netralise as much as possible any exisenial motive or personal experiece, seekig to caify te "ojective meaing in his resech y scholly means.37 I his respect Paul Ricoeur suggests: Not that the historian should share the faith of his heroes in that case he would seldom write history but rather apologetics or hagiography. He must, however, be capable of granting their faith hypothetically, which is a way of entering into the problematic of that faith while at the same time suspending or neutralizing it and not looking upon it as an actually professed faith. faith. 38
Accordingly a practitioner, when cong across textal conradictions, shold distance himself o the tex nd its adito as much as possible and te on a critical approach tha respects the traditio associated wih the text and assumes its alidiy for e pose of inquiry but does not embrace the aditonal proposed meaing of the ex. Sch a pracitioner wold in eec adop te Buddha's advice that spes for itself:
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Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it. 3 9
Therefore te principle hat guides he he critical reader/practitioner is that of coolly neural analysis energized by imaginatvely sympathetc understnding.
Te existentil existentil prctitiner However, in order to provide a wider pictre of Longchenpa's Longchenpa' s reoc and pedagogy of negation, he traditional practtoner/reader perspective should also nclude te xstential angle, allowng a clerer understanding of the aspirant's conditon. The departure point of such a reader is the personal athentc experience of beng true to one's own feelings, chracter and spirt despite exea pressures. Such a person attempts to me sense of being n a mndane world and of encountering te exteal pressures and inuences he s subject to, wich is very different from, nd oter th, himself. In is respect he exisential practitioner/reader atends to his own needs, identications, opes n experiences at at may sape eir nteretations. According to Grinspon, the existential practitioner/reader will end to understand the ntentons of teacings of liberaton to be ly coelaed with sptu experiences such as ones of bliss as a symtom of contac with te ultimate realiy, an experiene hat may shape teir ineretations. 0 Tey would be interested in e relevance of such teacings o mudane lfe, for exple n erms of resolving inner concts, ignong religous notons such as of being rebo in l te re l of pure lnd, the afterorlafter life, etc. Within the contex of our study of Longchenpa, he exisential praciioner/reaer migt deny the view of essenial natural aweness at ongchenpa's retorc of negaon refers to but sil be open to its power d relevce in is munde life as mes to enced understadng of reity, abandonment of false perceptions, and clit of nd. While te traditional reader will tend to ident lly wi e text d e critic ne wll disce hmself om e ext nd ts adion as muc as possible, te existential pracitioner/reader will ten no to lly denti emselves wit l pt of reading, min it a person l one, he text bt at te same tme wll remai a ntegr grounded n experiences and meanings hat occur when interactng wt te text. They will assert ha he intentions of Dzogchen teacngs e lly coelated wit spitual expeences in our own age d at experiences of blss e a symptom of contact wit e e ultimate reality, at of natur awareness. For tem , bliss as a s a symptom of onact w h the ultmate relity relity presupposes connection bet een the phenomenal world and natural awreness. In ths respect he exstenal een practtioner/reader attends to eir own needs, identifications, hopes and experences ta may
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shape heir ineretaions. I this sense the existential practitioner/reader regds Longchenpa as a non-dogmatic, free hier and as a creative eacher and schol. The purpose of this research is to critically read Longchenpa's texs conceing the heme of negation and study his rheoric of negation which imply tension between praxis and liberation, employing a methodology based on he three perspecives in a mnner that incooraes elemens of hose hree hree perspecives yet adheres to none. For example it will reject tradition's rigidity but a he same ime accep the idea of liberting nowledge as a force, and i will be open to both the challenge pose by he rhetoric of negation and the findgs of scholarship. The fundamental interest of such a mehoology is to enable he stuy of the rhetoric of negation and its transformation nto a pedagogy capale of facilitating the experience of natural awareness, ha is, of liberating nowlege.
Methdlg Methd lgyy f iterpretti iterpretti Another qeston conceing methoology remains Accoring to which princples an criteria shol one interet an nerstan Longchenpa's exts, given that hey were writen 700 yes ago an in a stant clture? In other wors, which system of hermenetics shold e employed in approaching Longchenpa's exts n relation to the posiion of practce in non-ual Dzogchen? It is suggested tha he reqred hermeneutics should e boowe from he field of religos sties pticly reate with two of its aspects cosmogoy a theism. Ths, espite e fact that uhism s comonly rege as octinaly different from monothesic ad polyheistic relgions de to the fact tat i does not accept the exsence of a ivie creator. evertheless, hism in general cotains a normative self-proclaime discorse, ooed i a traito,4 1 whch deals with essental questions abou the atre of reality and man, an aot the meaning of life. Dzogche in particu has a theory conceg the coming ito existence of the niverse, and the way sentet beings an what hey perceve as reality came to existence. It reveals a theory of a rascendent gron of being (gi), and a "process of creaton simil to the views of Advaita Vednta a eo-Platonic theories of creation.4 creation.42 An examnation of the idea of the transcenet grod of eng will demonstrate a cosmogony that bes a "theistic aspect in the sense that it is associated wth a certai dety, Samantahara. That is to s, he transcendent groun of being ot of whch a se aliy aliy of sasa sasa (sas) an nirana (nia) frca frcaes es will be cosdered in terms of its images, ts mythical represetation as Samantabhara, an its phlosophcal ticlatio. The pose o this examination is to refer to Dzogche an ts key theor as means for nteretaton of Longchepa's Dzogchen texts a hs rhetoric of negation which is pt of the methoology for the present suy. To start with, accoring o Dzogche's cosmogony, the Prmordal ha Samantahadra, ichographic ally ost o st ote epcte as celestal ble an na na e , is regared as the supreme emboet of hahoo.43 The pose of Samatabhara's coography s to symbolse what s actally rmoral, omiprsent an foress, n orer give the finie intellec some
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concrete sense of its meaning "The myth of Samantabhadra according to Kapstein44 is a myth with a specific philosophical puose pursued through inquiry into three topics how the ground became manifest spontaneously how Samantabhadra was liberated and how ignorant beings became bewildered bewildered Following the custom observed in Tibetan religious texts Longchenpa conces his texts with a saltation paying homage to Samantabhadra As he writes he does so "with fervent faith and great devotion of body speech and mind 4 which signifies deep religious feelings and intentions The opening salutation is not a mere formaity of style bt is endowed with rich meaning embodying te most important principles of he Dzogche view in a concise maner Longcenpa est smmises the myth of Samantaadra i his work Jewel of te Supreme Veicle (Teg mcog rin po ce ' i mzo mzo):):
Prior to everything, sasra and nirva being not divided, nor dividing, nor to be divided, Samantabhadra, the teacher whose dominion is perfect, arose from the primordial ground � the expanse expanse that is s elf-emerge elf-emergent nt pristine pristine gnosi s, the nucleus of the the Su gata as the manifestation of the ground. In the instant that he emerged from the ground, because he recognized this to be self-manifest, then owing to the three self-emergent principles he seized his imperial realm in the spontaneously present precious enclosure, the great primordial purity that is the original site of exhaustion, the field of the vase-body of youth. The enlightened attributes of renunciation and realization being perfected he achieved Buddhahood in the manner manner of the Dharmak Dharmakya, ya, and abides abides inwardly clarified clarified . . . . Sub sequently, from the expressive play that arises from the original ground as the manifestation of the ground, creatures apeared as if bewildered without cause of bewilderment, as in a dream. Seeing them them thus disturbed, disturbed, his his compassionate compassionate excellence was aroused aroused . . . 46
The groud or asc space is pordia in the sense that it precedes he existential spit between samsara and nrvana efore the "stream of time was divded ito the three times of ast presen and future For Longchenpa Samanabhadra is a represenatio of the supreme teacher for a the tmeless peecion of masery and power the sacred gude who demonsrates te sital path ou of his compassion And in the context of mythical narratve Samantahadra arose from the primordial ground which s pure clear noetic awareness Recognising this as such he asic space of penoena in suc a way that simuteously ecame a sovereign of the primordi he did ot undergo this "existential split the dualistic mode of existence When Longchenpa refers to the primordial ground as the original site of exhausion he expresses is view of how Saantahadra operates in the world rater than soehig more dstant ad astract; it seems to e tha he refers to the situation that when one aides in the space of Saantaadra "he source of youthful viaity complsive conditioned discrsive mnta processes are immedatey exhausted Thus this primordial ground is not a passive one ut is endowed wih poentiality that ca maifes as anything whasoever including "limitess setie eings As manifestations
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of the ground's potentiality that occur spontaneously, sentient beings appear as bewildered Because tey do not recognise heir natre of nd to be cle, noetic aweness which is identical to e priordia ground, they ignorantly fall into his "existential split away from he non-duality of the primordial basic space into te duality of samsa an nvana To complete the picture of Dzogchen cosmogony in the context of establishing the methodology, it is important to note the process of evolution from the primordial ground of five primordial wisdoms tat then manifest as the five material elements that me up the subjective world Their essetial nature manifests as the five psychophysical aggregates that constitute a human beng bering menta aictons This process of evolution stems om the obscuraton of the fve primorial wisdoms Although philosophically not entirely coherent, because of the ner impossibility of proving a causative relation between sentient beings and Samatabhadra, whose essence s still endowed with expressive power, the myth of Samantabhadra has a significant explicatory strength n establishing a "bridge between Saantabhadra and sentient beings This "brdge is relate to hs compassion, which mes it possible for sentient bengs to retreve the recogniion of pure cle noetc awness (dentic with the primordal ground) Since the presence of prstne aweness (ri pa) or the nature of mind is none oer than te transcenent, primordially pure ground of being, a Dzogchen practitioner can re-create or re experence the stae of Samantabhara by means of contemplation The practitoner may effortlessl effortlesslyy liberate himself himself o o its condtionin condtioningg gp g p f he is not cught cught up by , or does not follow, follow , his compulsive dscursive houghts houghts and conceptualisation processes, or does not ry to suppress he he For Longchenpa, te stae of Samantabhadra is the very recogniton of the basic space of phenoena as pre, clear and composed of noetic awareness In recognising this as such, Santabhara simulteously was lberated d becae a sovereign of this basc space, ee om the "exstenal split So far t can be conclued hat Dzogchen bears "theistic characteristcs in terms of a 47 agree that Dzogche is a cosmogony Researchers such as Hillis, Wallace, and Dargyay 47 "elgous system, that it "has so much n common with Vednta and Neoplatonic Cstiaity d that it is, accordingly, "quasi-heistc "quasi- heistc Ths view is conast to hat hat of Kapstein,48 who inks "it s an eor to attribute theism to Dzogchen, because he myth of Samantabhadra is just a meaphorical representation owever t is y view that although the Dzogchen vew clely includes a type of theis, t does ot occupy a pricipal position or priorty in Dzogchen, becase the a of Dzogchen is the reawening of he individual to the natr aweness that is found n all beings s about self-lberatin, not about formulating metaphysica eries as such Meoologcaly speing, the very exstence of such a form of cosmogony in Longchenpa's Dzogchen ca be use as ediating factor n exaining his tought, usng key terms boowed om the fiel of religios sdes, such as "absolute ground of eng, approache by eans of "via negaiva, "rital and myth, and "soterology It is a mediating facor because, espite
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cultural differences, this meodology allows to some extent an approach t teachings tanstted 700 yes ago by Longchenpa, and hence a clerer understanding of spirital practice in the non dual zogchen system. Therefore in approaching Longchenpa from the three perspectives, ternology boowed from religious studies will be employed on our way in order to show his conversion of te rhetoric of negation into a pedagogy and, in broader context, his position on spiritual practice within the context of non-dual philosophy. It will also provide a more "realistic poait of Longchenpa the lama, the scholphilosopher, and the man.
ypsis Ths introductory presentation of the focus an purposes of the stdy, its hypothesis an ethodology brigs us ow to the next sectio, whic is a brief synopsis of each of the capters.
Chapter Itrducti The inoductio coprises e present chapter.
Chapter 2 ettig the cee: cee : t Cetury ibet Eploying the istorica perspective, I will tace and ideti on macro evel eligio-socio political foative tends tat eveloped om e 9 cetry ito e rety that would consolidate in 4 century Tibet. Tis in order contextalises an situates ogcenpa in is tie. The storical formative events, gures ad teachigs uer exaiation will range om the erly cultivation of Buddhis i Tibet, Padasabhava, Say (bSam as), siultaneous (gCig car) an gradual praxis (Rim gis pa), e Budhist reviva, and the state of Nyingma affairs, to the Mongols an he he Sya (Sa sa). The fidigs of tis inquiry show at ese hstorical processes would locate Logchepa at te periphery of Tibeta reality.
Chapter Lgchepa's Life ad Wrks: cetury Tibet In this chapter the historical perspective is eploye too a the religio-socio-political formative trends that occued in the 4 century e ientied as forces that located Logchenpa at the periphery of the Tibetan reality. Being conceed to implement his vision of Buddhis in Tibet he wol eploy the techique of the rhetoc of negatio, e thee of this stuy, as one f the main devices or eans of relocating the Nyiga, te teachings of tantra, Dzogche ad Pamasamhaa, ad the sybols of Tibet's glorious past i e cee of e religio-socio-poitcal ap of his time. In negatig nega tig others' religio-socio-political realities reali ties and etics , he redefine Dzogche as a teoretical a practical system of teachings, this assisted hi to reposition the Nyigapa an their heritage, counterbalacing the growing power of other Tibetan Buddhist schools, te wave of tei new tanslations an their pallel political strctres. Although the rhetoric of negaton is a philosophcal device pointig to te eptiness of e anscenden ground of being (gi), it served to accomplish the last two tasks, whic were prt of a iesion qite
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different from philosophy. This was because in te 14 century Tibetan social order, politics and religion were closely linked. The historical perspective is applied in this chapter also on micro level, in order to review Longchenpa's life and works, giving background which will assist in claiing his negation of spiritual practices and his pedagogy. Formative events in his life mentioned in his biography and hagiography are examined and the findings show Longchenpa not only as a spiritual leade, schol and writer but lso lso as a man with sensitivities ad vulnerabilities nd with socio-econoc and political weanesses. Until his re om exile in Bhutan, three to four yeas before his passng way, he was positioned at the pephery of the religo-socio-political map. Tus in this context too Longchenpa sogt to reposton hmself at e centre, in order to be recognized and acknowledged as a spirital leader wo had visions of Padmasambava, this in order to realise his vison o Bddis. Here again one of the prncpal means to effect the transition from the periphery to the cente, ad to create consistency between self-perception and public recognition ad wat comes with it, is te rhetoric of negaton. In ths chapter Longchenpa's mains works conceg the rhetoric of negation e reviewed.
Capter Frm egatin t Absence Tis chapter begins with identifying the principle of negaton withn the discourses of negaton of central Tibeta Bddhist figres of different schools prior to Longchenpa. Then, Longcenpa's retoric of negation is examined from the perspectives of philosophy and practice, demonstratng ts syllogistc Prsaika-Mdhyamika roots, its chacteristics and the various modes of negation. As a result of this exainaton Longchenpa's rhetoric of negation is situated, contextalized, defined and, om this basis, clified. The aim beind Longchenpa's eployment of negation s clely dmonstated: to point to the asence synonymos with the empty natre of penomena d wi he indivdu's non-concept nd, in which compulsive dscrsve mental pattes e dssolved.
Capter Frm Praxis t Absence Te central theme in this chapter is Longchenpa's critiqe and negation of specific spiritual practces and views as being nsufficient to lead he practtioner to lieration, and s explanation lity. for their tlity in relaton to non-du lity. will be shown tat Longcenpa's repetitous rhetoc of negation becomes a concrete practce as by condcting a contnu repetiton of a series of denials l modifcaton of concentation is created, whch dwells on the theme of a one-pointed/single ment negaton (includng negatng negation tsl. The negations e repeated until the final pont is reached, at which the practitoner abides in absence, a non-conceptal mind. Longcenpa's negaton will e contextaised more roadly n relation to contepor forms of negaton, by considering Georges Batalle's essential method of contestation in relation to what he teed "Inner Expeence. Ths capter shows that at Batlle's Batlle' s Iner Expeence is not entrely ee, as
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he must continually hold in his hand the "sword of contestation ready for the next object in question while being either in a relaxed or ecstatic state of mind. But for Longchenpa is one mind modification of absence, which is a thought about absence, or the need to keep the state of absence that occupies the nd, will be challenged again by the pedagogy of negation. The reason for this is that ntural aweness is never only about the absence of compulsive discursive thinking; it is also about claity and wisdom which find expression in the world of phenomena, and about the integration of one's innate, natural aweness in the world.
Capter 6 Frm Absece t tural Awareess Tis chapter demonstraes how Longchenpa's reoic of negation, examined from the point of view of te aspirant seeking liberation, is convered ino a pedagogy of negation. This system of pedagogy includes six methods that facilitate for the student the experience of nar awareness free of ay atachments. In closely reading the six methods I wil identify te subtex, refeing to the traditional, critical and existential aspects of the student, an anysis no done before in te sudy of Longcenpa. This sows how the tension d stress experienced by he sudent, produced by conicting feelings, ideas and staes of mind, provide te materi for a potent trans formative drama. This entls the factor of ing of e imping of e instructions o e stden that drive te dramatic ineracion towds a cimax or esolution: the experience of natral aweness. will be shown that by these means Longchenpa challenges the sudent's non-conceptal state, one of absence of concepts, emoions and beliefs or he clity of mind in which he student dwells. Tis challenge leaves he studen vulnerable and receptive o the direct introduction to innate natural aweness, a liberating profound experience.
Capter Frm atural Aw A wareess t Praxis tis chapter two temes e explored. Te rst is te student's expeence of the non-duality of innate aweness. In order to endure his abiding in te experience of natural awaeness, the student is provided with the pracice for meitaive stabiliy in which natural awareness inegrated with appent sense-objects serves as a depture point for the aforesaid practice. The crucial point in is practice of meditative stability is that the means as natural aweness and the end as natural aweness e identical, therefore the dichotomy beween means and ends is annihiated. In this respect I wil demonstrate how in this this natural meditative stability any subject object means end dichotomies cease to exis, which mes the practice for mediative stability compaible wit Dzochen's view of non-duaity, henc a non-dual practice. The second theme is an exaination of whether Dzogchen's practice of natural meditative stability is compatible with Dzogchen's notion of non-dality and with integraion of the Two Truths. he findings are that indeed they are compatible. It will also be shown that, in a broader sense, the non-dal principle inheren in the Dzogchen practice of natural mediation can offer a
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way to trnscend the dichotomy inherent in gener l go-oented practices found oter traditions and religions. These findings will be converted into a chart containing a dichotomous seuence between dualistic practices d non-du pactices. This cht reveals a cle tend in the relation of praxis to non-duality in zogchen.
Cper 8 Cclss This final chapter restates the main subjects and arguments presented in the thesis. It emphasizes the essential points that in order to overcome the problem of the tilty of spiritual practices perfored in a dualistic conditioned existence and directed towards liberation, Longchenpa transforme hs rhetoric of negation into a living pedagogy of negation. This nsfoation cntes in the expeence of natr aweness concluded in zogchen's practce of trekch (kregs co, which is compatile with zogchen's philosophy of non-dality.
2 ETTIG THE CEE : TH T O TH CETURY TIBET Longchnpa was among te most prominent figures of his time. He was a schol who deeply understood not only he Nyingma docines but also te doctrines of other sects. He was a prolic writer who mastered several litery forms, a profound and disciplined yogin and a "treasure revealer (gter ston) who became in his own right a "treasure transmitter. In fact, tracing Longchenpa Longchenpa's 's life and work llows llows one to ave a deep nsight into how he contained a wde rnge of sometimes competing tensions and how he dealt wit them. One of the main poses of tis study is to inqire into a range of aspects of Longchenpa's life. These include the means by which he hmonized the tensions between reforng and developing a tadition and at the same time remaining faithl to it, is resolution of te ris between poety and prose, his handling of the tensions between religious discorse d logic gmentation, s view of e complex process of codification of texts, hs opinion that it was a necessity to inclde the "treasure texts (gter ma) wiin e cnon d, most relevant to tis stdy, his understanding of te pilosopic l stndpoint between metods d ati-metods, that is to say his his positon on praxis ad its negaton in spiritual spiritual practice.49 Througot his life Longchenpa had nteractions wit oter great political an religios figures, and experienced in person the critical events which chacterized his regon during te 14 century. In tis period e relationship etween the akya (Sasa pa) hierachs and the Mongols as their protectors formed into a hegemony tat dominated Tiet from the 13 to ely 14 centues and which successlly protected Tiet om a final destructive Mongol invasion. As a reaction to a-Mongol doination, clans d hierchs sought to maintain and protect teir political and economic interests and initiated a civil war through which Tai it Changchub Gyeltsen (Ta (Ta ' i Si tu Bang cub rgal rgal mtsan) mtsan) of the Phmod rupa faily "eed Tibet from te Mongol-akya regime n the d-14 century. In pallel wi these political events, relgious activity shied from largely peripheral rital pactces usually conducted in remote places and villages to more centralized scholastic institutions, which took the form of new schools of ddhism in Tiet. This period was chacterized y an unusually lge nmer of inuential and chismatic religious figres such as udn Rinchen Drp (Bu ston rin cen sgrub, 1290-1364), codier of the Tibetan uddhist the canon, Dolpopa herap Gyeltsen (Dol po pa Ses b ral mtsan, 1292-1361), founder of the Jonanag (o nang), Longchenpa (1308-1364), principal codifier of Dzogchen, and Tsongkapa (Tsong ka pa blo bl o bzang ggs g gs pa, 1357-1419), fonder of the Gelug (Ge lugs pa) choo. 0 For Longchenpa, more than tese developments, om a purely religius point of view there remained the Ningma vision of uddhist enlightenment, whic was rooted in what he believed was te "glorios monastery of amy, 1 associated wit Tiet's imperial past and with Trisong
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etsen (kri srong e btsan, 756797) and Padmasambhava.52 ongchenpa sought to express and give voice to the Nyingma vision of Buddhist enlightenment to which he was committed. As Kapstein53 notes, this vision re-emerged in the face of a period of risy political transition as a strong and controversial force, holding up the spitu past of impeal Tibet agnst the decadence and immorality of Longchenpa's own tim.54 As will be seen in Longchenpa's biography, this fo of persistent protest and cticism became a signicant motif in his life, and was explicitly d implicitly expressed in his poetry. Another arena where the Nyingma vision fond its expression was in the prsit of scholasticism. As it will be shown i followig sections, uring this perio Tibeta Bddist scholastic philosohy orishe. Through the activities of varios chismatic religios figures, scholastic fermetatio took place, rangig from hilosophical a practical criticism, tough caon coificatio and the prouctio o ew texts, to the fonding of monastees. These tres presete the Nyigapa wit the ecessity of self-efiition withi the religios map of the 14h century; a clear respose was reqired if they wate to particiate i the making of scholasticism a to acquire religios olitical presence. The frictio etwee the "ol (ying ma) isperse religios comnities to the "new (gsar ma) centralized scholastic instittios yiele ew fos of religios life a encorage a measre of texal feetatio as a reactio to the prevailig social strctres. Tis had the effect of siing cet asects of power from the cls to the Bist scools ther monastees, ll ll of which ha a significat inece o Logchepa ad is philosophy a practice. Ths, before focusing my discssio o Longchenpa's peagogy of negatio, I will iscuss the early cltivatio of uhis in Tibet a ientify the political ad religios events a processes fro the 9 cetury to the 13 centes that cosoliated the religious and political lascae i the 14h cetry. I fact the rose of his chapter is to set ot the historical framework an eveloments that ositioe Logchepa i the periphery of the religio-political map. Cotextalizig Longchenpa at tis aner is rofonly iortant for derstaig his philosophical view an tedecy to criticize the prevailig orthooxy as he saw it.
Erly cultivtion of uddhism in Tibet Longchea's system of philoophy a practice is zochen,55 consiere a uniqe soteiological syste within the istory of Tibetan Bds, which has srvived an cotined to evelop to the present day.56 day.5 6 Whe the first zogchen texts appeed, i the 8 centry, Tibet was a vast epire embracig mch of central Asia ad ats of Chia. The Tibetan empire was established by the Tieta Rler Songtsen Gampo (Song btsan sgam po 609649), who is traditioally sai to have been the first king to ponsor an promote Bhis in Tiet, aer it was introduced to m by his Chiese brie, te pricess Wencheg Wench eg (rGya mo bza bza ' ' Un sing kong ).5 efore the aoption of Bsm, Tieta religio i not icle a cogate body of octe, traditio a rital, at least not oe which fits comfortably with the otion of religion as it is
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understood today aer, as apstein asserts, it was associatd with ingenous religious practices, local deity cults, or beings related to a piculr mountain, valley or shrine5 These assertions should be looked at prudently they e hypotheses based on later "legendy traditional accounts and, as such, do not contain substantial evidence whih coud testi to an existing pre-Buddhist religion in Tibet In this respect, according to Walter, the existence of a pre-Buddhst religion that l deity cults or onipresent beings related to a picul entled indigenous religious practices, practices, loc mountain, valley or shrine is but an assumption held by most Tibetoogists, Sinologists and Indologists59 It s based on the inference that the pre-Buddhst religion of the Tbetans must have been a elatvely less sophistcate elgion th Budhism because Tibetan clte was believed to have bee primtve owever, a cosierao of the craftsmnship a sophsticate objects 't ' t from that ely peiod60 shows that Tbetas then wer neithe ptve or usophsticated, even ough a belief eties i motains, etc, ight lea some people to eg Tibets as pve Furthermore, old Tibet ocumets exclsively from Duhuag iclde tems ad cocepts in mke cotrast with Budhism whch ight uggest the existece of a pe-Buhist religon or cultre6 cultre 6 1 lidty Questoig the v lidty of sch eores, Walter ses a thorough philologcal eod to tace l tems ad cocets consideed pre-Bddhist at may ht or point to pre key eligio-politc Budhst relgo in Tbet For example, sch a key te istsglag (gtsug Zag): "dvine knowlege accesse by occlt talets, "statecaft, o a method to ecde policy i the has of the sovereig 62 Ths term was held by Ariane MacDoal to be one that summed up in a coense ner Tibet's pre-Buist elgon 63 Walter cocles that for Sogtsen Gampo's geat-grso, King Trisog Detse, dhism was he fodao of his tsuglag i the ese at he was guie by udhist priciples in a selective aner i the process of establshg and mplemetig hs own tsglag64 Theefoe these principles of re-shapg and re-esgg of tsglag an appropatng it accong to gve circumstances was always i e hads of e prevos tsepo (btsan po) n the same fashio hat Tsong Detse use a shaped it 65 I this sense tsglag was a te fo dyac adaptive kowledge the has of the sovereign, and ot a representatio of a pre-udhist relgio as a fixed set of les ad practces Alhogh a pre-hist religio o cltre existe n Tibet, the tendecy towds Budhsm was solie by e work of Trsog Detse Ts king, in addtio to achievig it sccess, seems to have ha te itetio to Tibet ito a Bdhist cout sil to Ina's China's many cotes 66 However, hs mai motivation fo the conerson appes kely to have been mo e poltcal a economc tha erve from eligios setiet A key factor that could explicate e ng's infatuaton wth Bdhism relates to his anti-Bdhst iistes who opposed his oing to the throe Thus, aoptig Bdhism as he oyal egion provie him with he he oppotty to disatle hs oppoets' powe base ad to tterly mag lze lze em67 There was o he he otve o his faato w uhs, which is coceed wi he he we politic state of affas Dg the expansio of the empire, Tbeta coqerors ha become eposed to
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Buddhist counties such as Nepa, China, and India and absored import t aspects of he manner in which Buddhist monks and monasteries were managed and supported. In this respect, Geet in his work Buism in Cinese Socie an Economic Histo from te F to te Tent Centuries, agues that religion found expression in a reorganization of e entire social domain. Buddhism in China, for example, found expression in complex reciprocal relations between its monasteries, and commercial activities with which the monasteres were frequently intimately involved. The monasteries were seen by ordiny people as sanctuaries which hosted commnal festive mes nd religious actvies, which were cvated into ndamenta cstoms and bilding bocks of such societies. The monasteries were aso seen as baers and loan agencies. The ruling cass spported Bdhist reigious actvities becase they guaranteed social and politca stability tat alowe them to spend, to hoad, an to ffil ther aesthetc, socia and economic asprations. For te Tibetan imperim (650-842 AD), goveing conqered Buddhist terrtoies in remote regins co be accoplishe more efficienty by sing some of those same attribtes of Buddhsm as a religion, sch as its wel-orgnze monastees ad te soci order associated wit em. is not nreasonable to assume at for e Tibet kig monastees co well have served as extended centres of goveance in foreign es, and tat Budhsm serve as a prevailing mainstream orthoox clture or religion in consensus which appeaed to a mltiplicity of conqere cltra grops as one with universa vales; Bdhism from its beginning was universal, designed to make sense to people in almost any sitation. While the adoption of Bdhism by Trisong Detsen and his sccessors can be seen as an act of inteational diplomacy becase Bdhism, aer all, was an inteational reigion and many other major powers of the perod the Chinese empire empire , Ceta Asian city-states city-states and and Indian kingdoms kingdoms were Bddhst Bddhst,69 ,69 the conversion to Budhism was a genine aspration aming to brng Bddhsm to all of the Tibetan people. The combinations of social, political, religios and eonoc intentions and motives that iitiated the conversion to Bddhism are exampes of the forces that will be at play, though though with a ifferent weighting of all these parameters, in the 14 centur and tat Longchenpa wold have to deal with. Religios life a activities, Longchenpas main interest, cannot be sepated om the poitic , social and econocal enas. Reg to e theme of te Tibetans conversion to Buddhism, ing Tsong Detsen7 0 then invited e famos Inian Buddhst schol nta�ita to fond the first Tibetan Bddhist temple and monastery, an it was ntak�ita who ordained the rst seven Tibetan-Bddhist monks. ntitas ntitas disciple Kaa contined is process, tslatng Bdhists texts om Sanst, and teaching an composing his own texts sch as e Stages of Meitation (Bvankma). (Bvankma). Dring the reign of Trsong Detsen, Bddhism was dentively adopted as he religion of the Tibetan cort.72 A nmber of Bddhist texts were translated into Tibetan, monasteres were established nd mos were ordained.73 When Trisong Detsen soght to found the first Tibetan Bdhst tempe and monastery at the behest of ntak�ita, the ing invite Padmasambhava to peorm shamc tes related to water dvination in order to aleviate certain obstacles in the ea
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of te first Buddhist monaster at Samy. Thereaer, to an intimate audience, Padmasambhava taught the tantric practices of transformation known as the Varayna, and zogchen.74 Padmasambhava then placed other teachings, the "treasures, in several sites in Tibet to be revealed by later generations, laying down by that hermeneutic device the ogins of the tradition of "treasure revealers which would emerge in the 11 centur.75 centur.75 This T his lay la y tantric practitioner practitioner became a wellknown figure in Tibet, eventually to be hailed as the "second Buddha. He became the obect of many devotional and ritalistic practices and has remained so throughout the histor of Tibetn Bddhism.
Re-tiig Pdmsmbv In fact, this natve natve conceing the establshng of ddhism in Tibet contains several egendy chaacteristcs, and the mythoogising arond Padmasambhavas bography has extened far beyond the role an stats he dispayed at the time, such that we can no onger see his personage. The figure of Padmasambh va requires a coser examnation becase he was Longchenpas cutral hero and a source of the authoity of ddhist teachngs and icly of Dzogchen.76 Longchenpa ha visions of Padmasambhava in which he receve teachngs. He derive from those eperiences a sense of vaidation and acknowedgment which hepe to sbstantiate his status as a sritual eader and as a source of sctra transssion. Longchenas visiony atobiograhy wil be escred in more detai in the next chater, which conces his fe and works. In reation to the probem of Padmasambhava, Kastein remks that Padmasambhava was "a margnal Dhma master of the 8 centry ... who reemerge two centies ater as an emblem of Tibets merial greatness and a hero o a we network of tantrc cult.77 Wangdu and Demerger, in thei synosis to thei tansaton of the Testamen f a (a (a be ,7 8 ncate that Padmasbhava is orayed as a miordviner d a waterdiviner who is ae to subdue the white ngas ngas and other Tetan atochthonos "sts, and who ossessed a weath of water technoogies which were not in coon se in Tiet at that tme. Assocatng Padmasambhava with sch technologies possiby connected him to certain Centra Asan oigins where sch skis conceng the dvining of and the effcient transort of water over long istances were more common. Accoring to the Testament f a, after subjgatng the deities and ater "creates hoste to Bdsm, Pamasamhava made some suggestons regding the se of water resorces in relation to the and sronding Samy. These nce cutivating nearby sandy and into meadows, hessing sings in the ea of the Tsango Rive in the vicinity of Samy that woud aow agricutura an ng activity, an hessng rvers and les togh the se of gabions so that they cou be crossed.8 crossed. 80 It seems that Padmasbhava offere the Tibetan ministers advance methos of igation d ctvation that were in ractice in his camed conty of oigin, Oiyn{, said to be located in the ea of Swat aey in resent day Northe Pistan. However , Tbetan ministers erceived Padmasamhava as a oitical teat as we as a otentia
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danger to their own water resources because of his ability to control water sources both technologically and "magically. Therefore they recommended to the Tibetan king that Padmasbhava be expelled, and aer song disagreement with the Tibean leadership that put end to his activities, he was disssed. 8 Van Schaik adds two more reasons that led the ministers to the conclusion that Padmasambhava was a poitical threat. Firstly, he was in opposition to the "anti-Buddhist minsters of the cour; and secondly, he was a powel foreigner, 8 neither Tibetan nor from "Holy India. The notion of Padmasambhava as a foregner has been repeated also by Guenther 83 as one of the reasons that led o the excluson of Padmasambhava's "own writings 84 from the Tbetan canon to the extent that these wrtings e in factal most never quoted by Tbetans. Another perspective on the reasons for the resistance shown towards Pamasambhava is provie by Kmay, 85 who wrtes hat Padasambava appes only in the role of an "exorcist and that hs contribution to the estalshment of uddhsm n Tibet seems qute minor because o lly the gener lly unfavourable attitue tows tantrism n that perod. 86 Accordngy, n Samy, Pamasambhava was perceive as a polica threat an as a tantc master whose methos and mantras in genera were suspicious and not accepte. I fac the moo against ttsm, which was reged at cour (except evdently for the rler for reasons disusse above) as n Indian poson whch wou bng no good to Tbet, was extremely hostle. Ths accounts for the reatvey few tantrc texts found among the Dunhuang ocuments in comparson to the e roportion of Mahyna ones. Thus Padmasambhava's stats as a poweu tantc foreigner was a good enough reason for the Tibetan minisers in Samy, and ater the canon makers n the 13h an the ze 14 centues, to want to exclude and mgin ze his role in the establishent of Buddhsm and in the Tibetan naives. aives. Ths can reasonably expan why Pamasambhava's profile in the vious versions of the Testam es tament ent of Ba is mnor and limited. The causes of disagreement between the royal court and Pamashava as refeed to in the Mirror Iluminating te Royal Genealogies Genea logies (rGyal rbs rbs gsal ba i me long), a text that was composed in 1368 by the Sya pa Lama onam Gyetsen (Sa sa pa blama bSonams rgyal mtsan) jus ju s five yes after Longchenpa passed away, away , e not no t dssimil from the ones metoned in the Testamen est amentt of Ba. Ba . I Sorensen's slation of the tex, the Tibet nisters e mentoned as being "wicked, which Sorenen interprets as "nti-Budhist. According to such an interpretaton, Padmasambhava's dsmssal from Samy s perceved not only by Nyingmapas, but also to some extent by Sya crces in the 14h century, as an ant-Buddhist act. In the same century as Longchenpa a "treasure reveaer, Urgyen Lingpa rgyan gling pa 1323-1367), rescovered the x Pama Pama bKa bKa i tang, tang, transated as "The scroll of he ordnance of the ots born, which s referre to in one translation as Te life an liberation of Pamasambava. Ths text tels n 108 cantos of the coming of Pamasambava to Tbet and his role n convertng Tibet to udhism. According o this text the isagreement between Pamasambhava an the kng occue largey due the former's refusal to bow to the latter. 88
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Padmasambhva perceived himself as an enlightened being who possessed the sacred Buddha nature and who would not subordinate himself to a secular mundane king. When he was asked to obey nd bow, according to this "legend text Padmasambhav displayed some magical powers and the king, in awe, bowed to him.8 him. 89 t is said that thereafter Padmasambhava remained in Tibet, ting a maor active role in the establishment of Buddhism in Tibet. Thus Padmasambhavas narrative and status, based on the texts mentioned earlier, the Testamen estam entt of of Ba (9_11h (9 _11h cenries), Te Le an Libertion of Pamasambava and the Mirror lluminating te Royal Genealogies (4h century) and Guenthers consideration of Padmasambhavas "own writings has metamorphosed from that of a marginalized persona non grata to a mythica leendary figure, an omniscient eing who symbolizes the essence of Buddhis as depicted in Te Le Le an Libetion Libe tion of Pamasambava. Pamasambav a. This shi from "historica facts to hagiograhical ones, from the mundne to the sacred, represents a later patron-riest tye of hierarchy of power and imporance imporance writen writen backwds into hstory hstory more precisey precisey,, nto the time of Samys Samys consction in which the religious is emphasized as the driving force ehind the secul. The re-written hstory of hierchy, in which the religious is emphasized over the secul, accorded Padmasambhava a centra historica roe which intensified the tension between the acua exclusion of hs "own writings and his apparent "strangeess on the one hand, as opposed to his status as a mythical figure and his treasure teachngs, which symboizes what he stans for. Genther provides another persective.9 1 e does not see a reason to dout the tradition that Padmasmhava was a foregner from Oiyna, famed for ts magicians, who stayed for approximately two yes at the cou of the Tietan ing Tsong Detsen in connection with the constrction and estalishment of the Monastery of Samy an then le, or was forced to leave. Furthermore, in concuding his study of Pamasahavas orginal, holistic and visionary hilosophy of liberation, he states that "Padmasamhava has reveaed himself as an "excetiona personage whose vision and evoutiony thinking, which have remained unaeled through the history of uddhist thought, were ahead of his time.92 Whether the traditiona account of Padmasambhavas gandeur is factual egendy, hstoricay speing he emerged as a symbol of the powerful and great Tbetan empire, an everlasting figre associate with Tiets conversion to Budhism. e is regarded as chief exonent of tantric and Dzogchen teachings that are continuay renewed, in vaous ways as aproate to time, lace, state of affars and dsciples, by means of treasures.
Cnsidering Pdmsmbhv's "histricl techings owever, eside Padmasamhavas treasure teachings, what actually were Pamasambhavas "historcal teachings what is own aout them that coud assst in vewing Longchenas thought more ometely? Whe consiering Padmasamhavas "own wrtings Guenther indicates that Padmasamhava, in collaoraton with his Tietan transtor Kawa Paltsek (sKaba
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pal brtsegs), composed a group of texts in the form of a dialogue between a teacher d a disciple
ting place in a transcendent dimension.93 Here is an example based on Guenther's translation from a text which refers to Padmasambhva's encrypted spyiti yoga, named also "the altogether complete leap experience (yongsrzogs torgal) or "the altogether complete unsurpassable pursuit (yongsogs bla b la me tegpa). tegpa). According to Guenther's translation: Spy means to break the frame into which the spiritual pursuits (have been cast) By the core of all of them is exposed: Y means integrating vision with (unpremeditated) praxis By g a one's existential authenticity is displayed at one stroke 95 Here is presented an uncontrive form of yoga given in the symolic condensed key term of spyiti yoga, whic stands for a iscipline hat is about dismanling the fraework of liitations se by the concepts of iscursve iking (tat cacterizes also spitual freworks), exposing ther empy nature so that we see them the way as they are. Then follows a praxis, which is subsumed into a direct percepon withou a reference point or meiatng means, and whic reveals te auhenic or naura sate of being in a single oment of realizaton. The context of spyiti yoga interretation is praxis amed at reealing a state of union etwee naural aweness, which is wihou any reference point or conceptualzaton processes, an he worl of phenomena as it s. owever tere is also to be acknowlege a literal interpreation wic is of equal nerest. Spyi means "generageneral welfe/all inclusive; ti as an oler wor from weste Tibet, meaning "water; yo and ga denote he orny meaning of yoga which is o conect, o yoke, o join or to bring togeher.96 togeher.96 So we can extrapolate a meaning of "waer for the general goo which is wat the Testament of Ba says Padmasambhava was primarily about. The literal interetation can invoke also a metaphorical one whch refers to waer as nourishment for spritual thirs or for one's nnermost being. yizla ' i snying snying po, it seems tat the most suitable context of I consering e same text, the Nyizla the spyiti yoga interetation s praxis. In te tex, whic is ot dissimilar to Dzogchen texs, Padmasamhava menons the nne spiritual vehicles to liberation rangng from the rvaka ("Hearers) to Atiyoga, bu he does so in a metaphorical sense. Guenther nicates that Padmasambhava's "own are harly ever mentione by Tibetans, even by the ones who hol him in high eseem, because his works di not have unimpeachable IniaSanskrit origins. 97 n exception to his rule was Te Grlan of Views, an extan work of Dzogchen attributed to Pamasambhava ad composed as a commentry on Guyagarba Guyag arba Tan Tan t , which presents the threeold esoteric yoga: evelopmen (bse rim), achievement (rzogs rim) an Great Perfecion (rzog cen).
ut even Longchenpa who praise Pamasambhava never quoed hs major opus, the sPos bl ong sal, bu only its sumary given by a certain Inian scholar (Pa (Pall lan lan Sengge Sengge 'i ocan, ocan, 8 centry).99 Thus the comprhensive Tibetan lack of recogniion of Pamasamhava's "own wriings has serve to mgialize hm further. At the same time it intensifie the mythology conceng Padmasamava, mng m "nattainable or "unapproachale and, through that
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process, increased the vale and importance of his appeance in and teaching throgh visions. This was especially the case for the Nyingmapa and in pticlr Longchenpa, who prceived himself as Padmasambhava's sccessor in the lineage of the teachings. One cold say, then, that histocal facts in this case e almost insignifict when considering the central and profond meanng that Padmasambhava possesses in the collective memory of the Tibetans as a sorce of inspiration and a temporal symbol that orients life towd Bddhist trth and towd activities, beliefs and vales that bring benefit to the commnity and its members accordng to the Bddhist Dhma. I fact The Tibetans mythologized him.
"Tresure "Tresu re trditi d Pdmsm Pdmsmbv bv A similar approach towards Padmasamhava has been expresse by sc highly regarded Tieta schols and spirita leaders as the Fi Daa Lama (-) ad Ddjom Rinpoce ( - ). Both eld he Testament of Ba high esteem and regded it as very mportat. Their nterpretaton s that Padmasamhava sgfcanty contrted to the estalisment of Bhism Tibet, despite the lack of evidence for ths n the el storca mascripts. To the conoversial conoversial clam that Padmashava Padmashava cold not have performed sch a vast range of acivties becse he stayed i Tbet only for a short time before he had o leave, the Fifth Daai Lama and Djom npoche hve responde tha oly those wo ave "impre vision o "low itellec cold beleve this, beng shot-sghted coceng Padmasambhava's graner and "speatra powers. powers. 1 00 From a polical poin of vew he argmet taken y the Fih Dalai Lama an Djom Rnpoche seems evasive. Avoding the real probems aised, tey have blamed the qestione's ncapacy for compreeding Pamasambhava's conct. Tey ave espoded n is manner becase hey e intereste to position Padmasmava as a promient fgre wo had a profond ece o e way Bism was estalse n Tiet and to eevate hs role its eary issemiaon. Ths s more tan lkely becase they oo wee "tease revealers of Pamasambhava's Pamasambhava's Dzogcen teacigs teacigs and they regded Padmasamava Padmasamava as n athority fgre wose prominece became a seal of athetcity for te Bdis teacigs impre y them. Frthermore, the Fih Dala La ce from a Nyima fiy backgrond, whch serves to expain his commtment to and interest in that trato. In addtio, the linkae wth Padmasambhava cotrted to their soco-religios power ases. Kapse rems hat "the treasre traditios di establsh ther own loca herchies, which focse po the fgre of te trease-iscoverer hmself, wo was always to e Pamasamhava's irect represetatve. represetatve . 10 1 Longchenpa definitey perceived himself as te carrier of Padmasamava's male. As his representative, he was coted o he reazaio of Padmasambhava's vsion of Bdhsm, wich enled lieraion by means of tatra an Dzogchen teachigs. 1 02 I fact fo Logchepa, Padmashva s a sorce and aority of atentc Bdst teachg, a role odel an a figre e wishes o idefy with. oweve Padmasambava was aso a foreger who had a mginal role n Tie's coverso o Bdism an whose texs are
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excluded om the canon. n other words Padmasambhava was profoundly important as authority and legitimator to some outlying cultural groups but not to the mainseam. By linking himself to Padmasambhava, Longchenpa positions himself at the mgins of he he religiopolitical strucre of the 14 century. The implications of such a position for Longchenpa were certain diiculties n moving from the margins to the centre, which were to hinder him in implemnting Padmasambhava's vision of tantra and zogchen teachings which was identical to his own. The ling stategy Longchenpa adopted in de ling with these hindrnces was, on e one hand, to conform to the exclusio of Padmasambhava's Padmasambhava's of "own writigs due to their nonndin origin and his status as a foreigner, ad on the other, to promote Pamasambhava's teachings ad reect them in his ow writings.
my: my : simulte simulteus us d grdul grdul prxis prxis Although Logchepa i not refer to Pamasamhava's "ow writing, in his textual works coceng Dzogche he refee extensively to wtings that e "trascendentally authored, such as the sevetee tatas found in the Nyigma collection of texts an Te One unre ousan ous an Tantrs Tantrs of of te Ol O l Scool (rNying (rNying ma ' i ru bum). bum ). Amogst these texts the lgest a pricipal oe is Te S overeign All reating reating Min Min (Kun (Kun bye rgyal rgyal po ' i mo). The seveteen tatas consst of the base for the Min series that incude some of the principal chacteristcs of zogchen that is, is , the immeiate presence presence of aweess or nature of nd and l-orented te tiity of go l-orented practice as being icapable of proucing the mmeiate presence of aweness. Ths latter point is because e atre of mnd is ot subject to cause and effect a its isceent canot be a reslt of y actio. Muscrpts fod i the Ceal Asian monastc iry of Duhuang cofr hat the Mi sees category of zoche alreay existed in Tibet rg the 9 cetury. 1 04 Ely e 20 cetury, Aurel Stein Paul Pellot discovere Budst cave temples i the aciet city of unhuang, at the eastern en of the Taklamaka esert in wester China. Thoss of muscpts were iscovered in vous lguages, chief og which were Chinese an Tibeta. The texts were seale in a room an ha ee there since e 11 century, which impes tat e texts were written urng a before the 11 centry. The texts which included the Aals the Croncles of te Tibeta ochy, were mosly brought to Ps n Lonon. unhuang, in the pero from the to the 10 ceturies, was an important tade city on the Silk Buhist cente. uhang was te y the Tietan my 787 a Roa d an inenti bece a Tiet adstatve adstatve hub hub , aditon to remnng a cee for Budism. Accordingly, the ulk of the texts at were found coceed aministrative matters as well as Tibeta Budhist aters elogig to he sua (st) system. Of these texts, Kmay 1 05 was ale to reteve two works of zogche which e iclued aog the 18 tantras of zogche Semde, a which isplay the essence a key ters of zogche texts: Te uckoo ucko o of of te State of of Presenc Pres encee (Rig (R ig pa ' i ku byug) byug ) , which es use of
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common terms found in early Dzogchen d the Small Hi Hie enn Gain (sBas ( sBas pa 'i sgum cung), cu ng), attributed to Buddhagupta, who categorized the text as belonging to the class of Atiyoga 10 7 Karmay was able to establish the identity of Buddhagupta (Sang srgyas gsangba) as being Buddhaghya (Sangsrgyas (Sangsrgyas sbaspa), sbaspa) , an adept of yoga tanas of te "new school of translations, who ivd in the mid 8 century This clearly locates the text within the time of the Tibetan 108 These findings definitely prove the existence of Dzogchen texts before the empire 108 century and provide a substantia representation of Dzogchen in the 9 and 10 centuries Karmay conclusively demonstrated that the texts in fact were taken as the basis for other texts on Dzogchen in the sense that they were catalsts in the development of the Dzogchen tradition In examining the evolution of Dzogchen from its eary days, as a distinct vehice aong with tantrc practices of rital and meditation, one can trace a fndamental prolem at issue which goes back to the so caed debate of Samy Pt concisey, the problem revoves arond the relation between the means and end or resut; between the methods of practice employed on the Bddhist path and the awakened mind of the Buddha One approach arges hat the reaization of Bddha's awakened mind, which stands for the end resut, is immediate and direct and does not require any method of practice except for a direct insight hat dawns in a singe moment The other approach argues that Bddha mind s achieved y grada meditation processes consisting of means to an end, of a path enaing a gradual progression of understanding over time and in stages 1 09 The first approach is presented at Samy's debate by Ha-Shang who was an inentia Chinese Master of Mahyna (Hosang Mooyen) and whose teachings in the form of Ch'an at its formative stage was one of immediate reaization Immdiacy here refers to the absence of mediation of any means, methods, stdy, meritorious actions, transcendent religious eliefs or philosophica perspectives The prnciple emphasized here is the reaization of one's Buddha nature by "non-activity This major issue will e anaysed subsequently in connection with Nubchen Yeshe's (gNubs cen Sangs rgyas ye ses), 9 centry work, A Lamp for te Eye in Contemplation (bSam gtan mig sgron). The second approach, presented by Kamaaa2 at the same debate, and the one adopted by the Tibetan king, is that of grada cultivation involved wit means and methods seeking to faciitate a gradal nfoding over time towards reazation of the natre of mind, or Bddha mind Not al schoars agree whether there was ever a debate at al his is an important recent ine of thouht, expressed for exampe by Water,3 tht amplies e idea at Tibeans in later perods have re-created a past which suits cern intentions d interests However e re liy liy is at one of the central keys to understanding and interpreting the philosophies and praxis of Bddhism, reevant to this study, has been the division between the grada and smltaneos paths to liberation or to te reaizaton of Bddha mind This division is a cena theme in he works of contempory schols such as v Schaik 1 4, ackson 1 and Ruegg 1 6 bt also in the works of
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historical gures such as Nubchen Yeshe who presented this division within a broader fo of Buddhist doxography. Nubchen Yeshe's A Lap for te Eye in Conteplation is of great relevnce to this study because it is considered the most important treatise after the unhuang documents conceing zogchen. It was written in the late 9 or early 10 century and it presents a fourfold doxography of Buddhism: (i) the approaches of the gradual path (Ri (Ri gyis pa) of Indian Buddhism represented by Kamalaa, (ii) the simultaneous path (gCig car ug pa) represented by a-Shng the Chinese Mahynist, (ii) Mahyoga, and (iv) zogchen. In his text, Nubchen Yeshe defines "simltneos entry (gCig car ug pa) by means of e followng metaphor: If one climbs to the summit of a mountain, one perceives all By this they mean that in reality perception and the perceived phenomena are unbo from the beginning and that this principle cannot be sought through activity That s to say, realization "dawns or "occurs in a single appent moment at the sut of the mountain from where nothng remans hiden, a pe of unbo non-duality between the subject percever and he object of percepton in the sense hat t is primordia and therefore cannot be fabricated by means of activity. But at the same tme ts metaphor of gradual ascent implies that e simultneous en (gCig car ba) practioner stl applies n eort on hs way to the "suit of he he mountan, sechng for it an workg to ze himself wth the "the sut of the montain. Dzogchen, i contrast s sd to be primily about spontaeous realization in he sense that t occurs n a ncontved nd unfabcated fashon, wihout te necessity to confo even to he pnciple of non-activity, 8 a pncie which ght be just nother a conceptal ework that shapes one's perception hence ctates a contrived expeence. Exaning a-Shg Mohey's own texts can len a cleer understing of the "non actvty rnciple n hs practices assocate w te "smulteos entr. Luis Gomez ws able to pt together Chinese language Dnhang fragments of a-Shang Moheyan's own texts. The text IOL Tib J 468 entals hs descrpton of meitaton practice: When you are engaged in contemplation itself, look at your own mind Then, the lack of any mental activiy at all is non-thought If there is movement of the conceptual mind, be aware of it How should one be aare Do not analyze the mind which is moving in terms of any kind of quality at all: do not analyze it as moving or not moving; do not analyze it as existing or not existing; do not analyze it as virtuous or non-virtuous; and do not analyze it as defiled or pure If you are aware of mind in this way, it is naturaless This is the practice of the dharma path9
Moheya here equates he state of "no-thought with absence of mental activty while the rest of the passage s conceed wt he occurrence of "undesire mntal activity and instrctons for reanng n he state of aweness by way of not engagng in ay anyss. or van Schaik, 20 activty as t s n te context Moheyn's insction of "not nalysing s about leaving the ment of an aweness that oes not distngush within it ualstc extremes signied by the nmerous
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pairs of opposites that appe in the passage above His interetation suggests that one should be indifferent when facing mental activity, which seems to be in line with Moheyan's intention of "nothought However Moheyan repeats five times in his short passage the instruction by way of negation, "do not anayze, which ight suggest a course of action of avoiding or refraining from alysis 12 1 After all, in trying to refrain from discursive activity without distinguishing between e discursive nd and nature of mind, the practitioner will end in a fixated state of mind occupied with its modification; while in abiding in the nature of ind the practitioner will experienc openness and claity Neverteless, if one does or does not engage in any aalysis stemng from an indiferent state of mnd, "no action is involved Ten one could abde in one's aweness or natura state In this case Moheyn's interetation would indicate a simility with that of Dzogcen in te sense tat realzaton occurs ineendently of strategic or fabrcate actvities, without the necessity to conform to te priciple of nonactivity troug following biolar negations such as "on't egage n actio but do not avoi actng 122 In the context of aang Mayna and Dzogcen, Ruegg 123 mentions tat Longchenpa saw siilty between aang Myna tat reresented te irect approach to te "fruit (ha nature) an te system of Dzogchen, more precisey, te "prstine Dzogce cactezed by techniquefree metaton and absence o ral practice Ruegg mentions tat Longcenpa's erspective should be looked at with some reservaton as Longchena linke Dzogcen with Hahang Mahyna despte knowing that Dzogchen is associated wt te Mantrayna tantrc system wilst aag Mayna is based on the system of te sutras owever tere s some evece that ght suggest tat Longcepa was awe of te A Lamp for te Eye in ontemplation wit its rhetoric o negation and its contet conceng aang Myna 1 24 Longcena recorded tat s teacer, Kumaraja, ad lsteed to a resentaton of te text, 125 therefore more tan likely Longcenpa was awe of te doxograpical aspects of ahang Mayna According to van chak, Logcenpa was aware of ahang and perceved im as one who was "in accordance wit te [ultimate] trut 1 26 Furthermore, Longcenpa was aware that "stras that were translated in China from original anskrit manuscripts were bued in fire and were reconstructed by te translators suc as V aocana and a' sangs s from te memory of te Chinese pait aag Mahyna 127 Terefore or Longcenpa, ahang is on the same level as te ely great masters of Nyingma; Longcea has high esteem for ahang's nowledge of te sutras The impications of te linkage between Dzogchen and Haang Mayna an the manner in whc Longchenpa perceived aang are clely evident Logchenpa and te system of Dzogchen are associated with a doctrine an its representatve tat were rejecte in te so calle the debate of amy, ence regded as infeor It is a connection tat stuated Longcenpa at the periphery of thereligiopolitcal map of Tibet Te implcations of such a positio would mean for Longcepa certan difficulties n moving from the outss to te centre o the regopolitical
Sg h S: 9th 3th u T
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scene of the 14 century tat would hinder him in the implementation of his system of teachings. Thereore, the stategy that Longchenpa would adopt in order to resolve the aforesaid hindrance was to re-establish the similarity between "simultaneous entry and "pristine zogchen, 12 w ich ich would create a metaphorical "bridge to Samy which for him was the het of Tibetan Buddhsm, " he he birthplace of te wholesome d good that he longed for 12 Hence, on his way to fulfil his vision of Buddhism he consolidated not only the legitimacy and authority of his zogchen teachings ad treasure texts but also ehced his own stats and reputation as one who had drect association with the symbol of power and truth of Tibetan Buddhism through his ntealzaton of Samy as bot a personal and pblic ico
Religius and plitic pliticl l landscape landsca pe Settig up and establishng amy was a foative event for te Tibetans ad under Trisong et's greatest successor, Tritsung Detsen known as Ralpachen (Ral pa can, reigned 815-838), Buddhism contiue to develop and ourish, supported by the royal co 1 30 In 821 a teaty was establishe beeen Chia and Tibet, inscribed on the so-called "Uncle Nephew Pll after itense mit coct at occed as a Tibet respose to a sategc pership foed beteen e Chinese d e Uighur Trks. e latter reatened Tibet's conol over vi posts og e S Road Ws over ose sategc staons were cosy for e Tibets, resulg in a soage of resouces. espte e prevg sccty, stead of leag a regime of sc restant Ralpachen increased te level of hs patronage and financial support to religious "instittios3 whch seems to ave le to an ecoomic crisis In the later years of his regime Ralpache's metal capacty to rule declined an the actal decsion-maker was Lang arma (Gang ar a), Ralpace's brother Ralpachen was assassnated by cla leaders who soght a way ot of the ecoomc crsis and saw i Lang Darma a ruler sitable for their needs ad nteress Lag Darma then became the monarch and put in place an ecoomic polcy that reduced the fdig of monasteries and administration, causing for them harsh living conditons e continued w s previous econoc pocy d sigcy reduced e dng for Bs nstos d projects to a pont where life for moks bece so dcult at ey had to gve p er robes d look for work at woul provide em wi livehood. 132 at state of s, s, ma was perceved by Budhsts to have bee e drect cause of er dicles, a sitaon at motvated the abbot of Sy, Pgyi oe (Pal i r rje) hmself to assassnate Lg a. 133 Reectg on Lag Darma's assassatio, Karmay 1 4 metons that Lang Darma had instgated a aggressive process of distlig e moasc stctre ad its maintenc systems that had been established by Trisong Detsen and later on by his successors, as a reacto to he power weal he he moasteres accumlaed. It would appe then tat te main reasos for the assassato a ore to do with the economc ad politcal contions of an empire at the begining of its decle ad less to do wit ay anti- Buddhist sentiet as traitoal "Bddhicsed accounts prefer to empasze
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Lang ma's assassination tiggered a long period of political instability which developed into a end towds decenalization. Ts caused the ingdom to disintegrate into sm ll ll estates or disticts, domnated by istocratc clas which had representatives as close advisors to e Tsempo which took advantage of their ministerial status under the empire. Tibet's natural circumstnces as a small population scattered over a vast geographical teitory also contributed to he he political instability and decentralization. In fact at this time there was no such entity as "Tibet in he sense that it has reverted to clans, each with its ow seat of power, l borders or a coon taxation system. However, tis semiagmented state witout cle teto formed the basis of the more developed entity own as "Tibet, the consolidatio of which Logchenpa witnessed during the 14 century by Changchup Gyeltsen (Byang cub rgyal tsan) as a reacton to Mongolian power costraints. Scholars such as Hillis 1 35 and Karmay 1 36 tend to emphasize the hasteing decline of the Tibetan empire followin Lang ama and to lael te period of approximately 150 years after Lang ma's assassination as a "dk peod, a peod held to be one of cultral decline and political istaility that developed at times into open militry conict. 137 lthough Tibet was politicaly agmented drg this period, vious mychs who saw temselves as e successos of the royal dyasty did maintan some of its religious ad cultural values. For example, Lang ma's so, sung ( O srung), srung), d T Peortsen (Kri Pal kor btsan), te later's son, bot erected Budhist temples in the regios of U and Tsang, supported religious activities such as taking vows of monkhood and Buddhist teachigs, and maintained the old monarchy's coitent to Budhism. I fact, the moks maaging te temples took their vows ad odinato in Dom (Do sa in easte Tiet where ther was a presence of Tietans who were devoted supporters of Buddism together with Chiese moks and this ealed them to kindle the estoration of Buddhist activity in central Tibet, to which they returned. This signified the beginnng of te revival of Tietan Buddhist moasticism withn the "old Tibeta teitory of Buddhism related to the Tibetan empire, not as an "imported one from India. That is to say, the eginnng of the revival stemmed lgely om local Tibetan Buddhist factors and not yet om Tibetans tavelling to India to study Buddhism and Sansrit and to purchase Indian Buddhist texts in order to revive Buddhism in Tiet. In om, in the east of Tibet, Buddhist communities included Tietans and Chinese, and were based on a model of reciprocal relations etween monastees and commercial activities. 138 These tends continued so in weste Tibet wit its links to Kashir, the west of Nepal and cental Idia as well as its proximity to the Silk Road located to he orth of te Mount Kailash pilgmage routes, where commercial activity and moastc culture fed o each other, prducing an improved cultural and econoic envirnment. 1 39 The politcal map of Tibet was also undergoin mjor changes. In he he west, pricipalities were estalished by figures such as the two sons of King Pelkortsen clang to e descedants of te logic old oyal dynast. sil process took place in cental Tiet whee leades claimed gene logic connecton to Yumten, second son of Lang ma. lough there is insufficient evidence to
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support this claim,40 the pinces ruling in the ea, especially Tsalana Yeshe Gyeltsen and his descendants, were key figures in the restoration of Tibetan Buddhist life om the 10 centur onward. indom of Gu Gu
Kyide Nyimagn, descendant of the ruler Pelkortsen, founded a kingdom at Gug hat hat would signifcny conbute to the Buddhist restoration. Two key gures who enhanced ad conbuted to these deveopments were te religious ing of Gug, Yeshe (Ye ses 'd 959-1036), and Rinchen Zangpo (Rin cen bzang p 958-1055). Yeshe restored an revived e egacy of Tibeta Buddhsm by connectng he religious ife in Gug wth the symboic codes of the old empire, such as the cosmc Budha Vairocana. Echong the actions of Trisong Detsen an is descendants who revered the cosmic Buddha Vairocana and dedcate many shrnes to hat dety, the king of Gug placed the mage of Varocana as he he princpal object of devotion in any of his temples.4 In emuating the admred Trisong Detsen an his escendants he cearly indcated to the Tbetans that he was Trisong Detsen's successor religousy a poiticaly. Yeshe also enhnce te renewal of scriptural transaton nd modee many other asects of the stucture of te new roya domain in weste Tibet on he mperium's own eier versions.42 Yeshe was a monk who was hghly coted to "genuine Budhis, which for hm was Inan monastic Mhyna uddhism as it was reacted through the conteory model of the Kadam and ts ethca system. He questioned the authenticity of the tantric practces that ha ourishe and overtaken the diminishng conventon relgous ractces of the onastees. inchen Zngo was reuted to be a eed master of uhs who anslated yoga tntas, esoterc uddhst texts an Indian medcal texts He produced a tremendous body of "new transatons (gsar gyur whch were to become the bass of the canon systematzed in the 14 century. He founed several temples ncuding Gug, Tolng, Tabo, No and Spit, and was also esteemed for hs contbution to Tibetn pnting scultre. Whle Budhst actvities le by Yeshe and inchen Zango povided the cutural foundations for Gug's civlization, ts pticipation in te commerce along the trade lis wth south n cenal Asia gave Gg Gg econoc securty. However it stl suere om troubling politica relations wth ts Turk neighbours.43 According to taditional Tibetan histores, monks fro centa Tbet settle in east Tibet, in mdo, tng with the ther texts ncluding ose contanng the monastic code an disciline, an n this way restoring the uddhst monastc l Tbet.44 tadton om cen Therefore, athough traditona Tibetan acconts an mode scholars like Hllis 45 and Kay46 Kay46 ten to abe e pero er Lg Dma's assassnaton as a "dk perod of Buddhist l agmentaton tat eveloe at tmes nto t battles, ths eriod n fact saw the n oitc l power restoraton nd refoaton of Tibeta usm as wel as cultural, econoic nd poitc
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in decentralized forms. The revival of Buddhism was a comprehensive one that included most of Tibet while simultaneously local regimes were building prosperous foundations and positive econoic activities. n the 10 century, as Gug became a wealthy local power politically and religiously, Yeshe 's descendants followed in his footsteps and became royal monks. Two of them, Chungchup (Byang chub d) and Zhiwa (Zhi ba d), became mos, ting upon themselves major roles. Chungchup initiated the respected Bengali pait Atia's visit to Tibet in 1042 and Zhiwa engaged in translation of Sanst Bddhist texts. n fact, Cungchp Rinchen Zangpo and Ata together led the Buddhst revival in weste Tiet. 147 n relying on Yeshe 's tendency to moe the reigious and secu life of Gug after the old empire, it is possibe to conclude that he or his successor, Chungchup wanted to draw a pallel 148 wih the three legendy figures Trisong Detsen, ntara�ita ntara�ita and Padmasamhv Padmasamhvaa the reigious king king,, the Buddhist schol and the tantric teacher teache r espectively who had o an extent served to instiutionalize instiutionalize uddhism n Tiet and who came to symolize the od Tibetan uddhist empre. Chungchup had done so n order to perpetuate and revive the symol of Samy, the het of Tietan uddhis, linkng it to his oyalty and to ddhist teachings that woud authorize and empower him as a religious ruler. Chngchup also contempated renovating Say€49 as he sought to emower the process of revva, the status of udhsm an the royal regme Tiet by approrating Samy as a roya dynasic site. Certainly, seeking to be identified with the origns of uddhsm in Tibet is eqivalent to assering one's egitmacy, authentcity and auhority. Moreover, renovatng Samy would e cosidee cosideedd a mertoriou mertoriouss act that would point point directly towds uddhist uddhist wisdom, vales vales,, aws and rles of conduct. ts insitions acted as culr centres fo festivals and holidays an the eng fom such centes sppore a stable and united social order based on a lrge and nassaiable common denomnator. In this sense, teling and refering to stories concerning origins and genealogies ecame a religios aimed a mantaning the socal and wordly order. With regd to Atia, Kapstein 1 5 1 oserves that he cotrbted to a process that was aready in motion and his activities of teaching and translaton of ddhist texts and comentaries into Tibetn were wdely accepted ecause y that time the Tieta grond was aready fertie and ready for hs eachings. That is to say, Atia was a key catayst in its development. Moe th lkey due to Chungch who initiated Atia's visit to Tie in 1042 and was crtical of tantrc practices, Ata emphasized the moral basis as a foundation for udhist pracice, a prncipe that was adopted by his student Dromtn Gyelw ungn (Brm stn rgyal ba'i byung gnas 1004-064) who founded the famous Retng (Rwa greng) monastery north of Lhasa in 1057. Along with this princile of ethics, an order was estabshed to repesent the ineage of Atia, the Kadama, which stands for "scpture and precepts, a body of texs based on Mahyna traditions that contain a actical gide for a Buddhst way of ife of asceticism and morality.
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Te Bs revv The revival of Buddhism generated more momentum, and besides the order of Kadam (bKa' he S ka, ka, which derived om Dro Sha, gdams pa) another order was established, at of he Shaa ye shes, 992- 074, a contemporary of inchen "the man of the grazin grazingg lands ( Brog mi Shaa Zangpo He was a key figure in promoting the most esoteric new tanta teachngs entailing he he anuttara yoga tantra, mostly related to tatra's feminine aspects, which he had learned in Viramaa moastery n Ida Hs disciple, h Konchok Gyelpo ( Khon Khon dkon dkon mchog rgyal po, 034-02), fouded the great Sakya monastery i 073 This coud ot have happeed without the extraoriay support of the hn (khon) family of akya, which represented a exceptoal itegrato of religious and roya estates Athogh i terms of geneaogy the roots of the h famiy ca be tace back to the Tibet empre a he he famiy was comtted to the od tatc forms of rta ad teachigs, the h famiy chaged ther approach to the ew tantic teacgs of Droi Ths sgnfies how dya e state of feet i te reigous scene i Tbet of the cety was, where aristocratic hst feuaistic househods, fortresses ad oastees were beg formed by eigious couties n owef cans The Kagy (bKa' brgyud pa) order has its origis wth Mpa (02-096), who was taned as a asator wth Drokm ad the tavee to Iia in sech of reigious teachigs Kapstei offes a gmpse ito Mapa's motives taveig to Iia This was a commo tred n Ma's time, a fact which may assst in contextaizing Longchenpa's reigio-soco-poitica posito ad the egree of "sccess the competto for patroage a authority that he experienced Accordig to Kapste: Marpa was no doubt motivated to set out for India not only to save on tuition but also to emulate his teacher's example To ensure his own success in the competition for patronage and authority in century Tibet, he would need to found a lineage of his own, representing the most up to date developments in Indian Buddhist spiritual technologies 1 52 I other words, Ma was terested ot oy i Bdhsm for ts own sake bt aso i creating a hgh leve of socio-economc-poitica prestge i order to sstai a Bdhst community whih was utmatey to become focused o him 1 53 So Mapa broght back the teachgs now as Mahudr, which accordg to tatioa accots he received from Nropa He haded these (Mid la s pa) pa) Gampopa (sG (sGam po pa, 079- 5 3), who was a stict o to his scpe Miepa (Mid Kadam mo ad who became the foremost discpe of Miepa, fonded the Dakpo branch of te Kagy order (Dwags po bka' rgyu, mataing doctina iks with the Kadam 1 54 The Kagy and its sb-orders wo become highy inuenta and domiat in he religious scene of the 4 cetury, the perio i which Logchepa lived 1 55 It ca be see from the above dscusso that rig ths time, inividas ad grops stted ew ieages of tasmissio, ew sect tadtos were fode whch fostered a "explosio of ieas ad iterature, and he rate of monastc coscton icreased At te same time a process
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of decentaliation evolved as new vesions of political powe, in foms which became moe localied and feudal in chaacte, wee intewoven ith the immense eligious and cultual developments. developments. Tibetan clans ad nobles, nobles, although although not in ny manne united, united, saw Buddhism as the axis of the Tibetan cultue and moe pecisely eecting te highly eveed cutue of the ancient tsenpos. Thus istocats, by suppoting monasteies, mos and lay tntics, imitated he model set by Tisong Detsen and egaded themselves as following in the footsteps of thei ancestos.
yingma state f affirs In the idst of all this gowh and development we must enquie into what e situation as fo Nyingma, the tadition to which Longchenpa belonged, and its own unique pactices of tanta. In e context of tantric pactices, Yeshe gued that the hidden meaning of secet manta had een vitia vi tiated ted,, and had een e en furthe fur therr corru cor rupte ptedd y the pact p actice ice of ites i tes of "sexua "se xuall unio un ion n,, "deliverance "deliverance and "food oeng. To find out ou t whee these pacices wee coect at Rinchen Zngpo was sent to Kash.56 Howeve Yeshe uilt a eat temple at Tolig, hich became his seat, whee he dedicated most of his time to eligious practices, tanslation, hosting Indian masters ad odaining Tibetan mos.5 But the temple in Toling and te o o he he temples unde constuction needed to e decoated wit Buddhist mus nd it seems that despite Kmay's assertion58 at Rinchen Zngpo was sent to Kashr to identify and ng the appopriate tntic texts and pactices, he as also sent to Kashir to ing tists to design and paint he muals. e in those days te chness and grandeu of temples signified the powe and stats of thei patons d for at eason among othes inchen Zangpo oueyed to centr India and ae six yes etued with thity tists. Rinchen Zangpo also used the ouey to cenal India to study tnic texts nd pactices. 59 Both puoses, the "Buddhicised ationale of estalishing te coect tta and that of ringing tists om Kashmi who ere capable of ming the most sublime oects of t, late omed into Tietan ateliers entailing oshops and taining o tists, would oy reect gloy on Yeshe nd einfoce his stats as a loclied eection of he he tsenpos of the impeum. On his e, Rinchen Zangpo generated a new wave of trnslation of Indian tantic texts which oeed a symolic o metaphocal system of intepeting tantic itals in accodance wi Yeshe 's comtment to authentic Buddhist aims. Proaly, the issue was not entiely one o coupted pactices of tata, ut of eestalishing linage to the "Holy land of India in an efort by Yeshe to enhnce his powe, inuence and dominion in Gug fo he he se of its ongoing staility ad orde. In doing so he was epeating a patte aced to the old empire tat tantas should be aslated into Tietn only when roy l peission had been given, given,60 60 us establishing a to the "legitiiing "legitiiing process so essenti to the ule o he he tsenpo duing Tiet's glorious past. For Tietans, India as the "Holy land was the idealied land of the Buddha and Buddhist religion6 and at the same it was the "county of oppotunities. For example, as mentioned elie, elie,62 62 he main reason fo Ma's oey to India was to ollow in te footsteps footsteps of hs teache
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and to stdy te most up-to-date Buddhist philosophy and practice. This in would me him an attractive figure figure within the context of competitio competitionn for patronage and authority authority in century Tibet, and thereby provide him wi h a base of power om which to found a lineage of his own. The wave of "new tantc texts and practces presented "indigenous village tantrists and folowers of older Great Perfection traditions with a direct chlenge, and their response was to label themseves as "ancient or "Nyingma. The Nyingmapas were those who cung faithlly to l e tantic tadition which, according to their clms, comenced with Padmasbhava in te roy pero. However histocally there is no evidence to substantiate that claim, an their adition y, oishe oy aer te assassinato of Lg Dma. 163 Histoic y, if te Nyingmapa cod have ourishe it wold e in the mi eeventh cetu, te peio whe Rongzom Chzang (Rongzom ChosKyi ChosKyi bzangpo) lived. However if they had oishe and become as omnat as tey caimed an as indicated i Dujom Rinpoche's work The Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism Its Its Fundamental isto isto , how cou they possiby have ee so easily rgiaize? The choice of the term "Nynga served to represet "o an aitioal Tibeta vaues and to chalege e athentcity of the "new copeting taios with hei Ino-Buddhst texts (gsar ma), ma) , the "new or and ter may interetationa oes. Nyingma resode to the Sma (gsar "oe Tibeta Bdhist schoos, by meas of easues, reveale texs a "prooncements (b' ma), apocypha works s to have coe om the Tibetan empie's ey aslation peo. The easure texts beog to a caegory of reovered hiden sacred exts om te ast whch acted as a "ythica ase for scriptral asmissions ad hey exerte a song inuece on the core of Tiean entity. In geera, easres e of two major sorts. "Eh treasures are actua objects, mosty religios ones that are to be reiscovered i a concrete physca ocation, such as inside a pillar of a od moasery or n a cave. The other kind ar "mta treasures which are "coceae i the iscoverer's n or "ue in his or her memory, which is sai to extend backwas over very many ifetimes. Treasure exts covere a wie range of iter genres from history to eicie, philosophy ad ritua. 16 5 In term of hierchy, for te Nyingmapas the mental treasures were far more importat than te eth treasres becase meta easures ivoved a direct visionary cotact with the initial reveaers, either the kins who were etrusted by Padmasambhava to gard the treasures or more importanty with Padmasambhava himself. Longchenpa ot ony reveaed "reasures already in circuation 166 t aso his own writing, thogh a visionay cotact wth Padmasambhava and his consor Yeshe Tsogya (Ye shes mtsho rgyal) , 1 67 became a source of a ew cycle of treasres to be discovered later on by other, later reveers such as Jige Liga ( Jigs med gling pa, - ). 168 The most relevant point is that teasre texts rovie the Nyingapa not ony with cey ee ad uique chaacteistics which ctioned as a base for self-denion ut also rovide soe "avatages over he Sma ens in tes of restige an stas. The Nyingapa had ner heir possessio uhist texts which they caime were retieve from the si realm of te kins whilst the Indan tadito whch the Sa anslators reied o had ost the wodos
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capacity to retrieve treasures in the same manner that Nagaruna is said to have done from the chthonic rems Any atempt by those of Sa to fo a realistic view regding the easures nd their origin would be almost impossibly difficult as on the one hand treasures, probably even fictitious ones, could me a political cuency against the Sa a n the other hand, Tibetan societ in these medieval times was a society that believed in demons d celestial beings, wrathful and peaceful deities, magic and mystery, omens ad religious obects Therefore, athough not provable phenomena, treasures were not foreign to the Tibetans; they were pt of Tibetan life Moreover as the treasures were associated to a cosierable degree with both royal and reigious symbos, the royal kingdom and its "mythic iividuals were regded as beig immanety preset within Tibeta cuure eve though it was suffering from ecetralization a a period of culural regression 69 The major Nyingma voice of the pero was tha of the chismatic schol eaer Rogzom Chzag (-),70 whose aproach was associate rimarily with Dzogche7 Ths, although the Sma moveen coined to develop ito a risig religious and political power, he Nyigmapa still had the clear sef-define voice of Rongzopa, who mainained the ame of Dzogche's texs and teachings, which Longchena was ater to codify, systematize d deveo Rogzompa took a public positio a "accuse some embers of the ew translatio movemet, stating tht hey were urchasing with gold, new Iia texts "whose ik was bely dry72 dry 72 Owership of ew Io-Budhist exs becae the meas for estabishig ersoa creetias that co be extede to boh lineage an moastery, avoiing ay otenia cofroation cofroation with the od cla power structure structure Characteristicay the cetury rasators estabishe famlia ieages a their sos ihete both their buidigs n ther wealth 73
The Mongols nd the kys The religious, itellectal a olitical olitical tres tres of he century cotinue to evelo in the century New trasaions continue o be comose, ew reigious ieages cotiued to be kin teachings74 which had not bee reveae before, treasres establishe presentig ew kin were discovere by Padmasambhava's foowers who were mostly Nyigmapas, thereby icreasig Nyima's resece ad status The ajo ifference between the tres of the ceur and those of the cetury were ha Tibeas had becoe more self-assured an lth This seassrce self-aserive witi he we l th of texts, rituas meiatios at ther dispos fod exression in activities such as mig caaogues, romotig chsmaic iividuas as eory75 reicaios , and cutivatig a sef-image as a ew sirit Simiar processes also coiued to evelo ito the ceury Ahough there was ly cotiue growh ecoomic ly ad poitically, aong wih a icrease i the number of sirital cetres, Tibe evertheess reaie olitically frageed ue to he absece of a centra ower which coul uite he various estates an princialities owever this sitaio chage raaticaly b he ed of the thir decae of the cetury wih he rise of the Mogo Emire
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hose armies srronded Tibet and which in 1239 invaded central Tibet and srronded the moastery of eting. 1 76 The Tibets were qick to sbordinate themselves to the sccessor of the orld-conqeng Chingiz han (ing gir rgyal po), po ), Godan han (Go dan han), ths keeping him at m's leng h. h. A highly repted Sa Pandita, Knga Gyeltsen, as invited to the Mongol cor in 1244 by Godan ho was interested in bringing Tibetan Bddhism to his rt. 177 His visit initiated a Mongol preference towards the Sakya as the athority in Tibetan religios affairs. Hoever the Mongol alliance wit the Sa was formed only in 1252 after the Tibetans were ace ith the treat of vioence. Then the S kya kya athoity was extended to cover secar affairs and Sakyapa Lama's nephew, Pakpa Lor Gyetsen, who spent his formative years in the Mogoian cort, as appointe in 1264 by Godan as the effective leader of Tibet, thogh xecting Goan's istrctions and serving his interests. 1 78 This typ of patro-priest relationship79 was to e of astig signiicance in the reations beteen Tiet an China, giving Tietas the oppotnity to maage their own afairs. 1 80 The patropiest reationship icle roya or princely "master of offeing an "recipient of onor / rita fees reationships. These relatios existed not only beteen the Tbetas ad the Mongos t aso amongst the Tietans themseves, a fact of asting significance. That is to say, Tietan aistocrats, estate owners a eve monasteries became patrons to amas. Unerstanding this type o relationship is a key to erstaing Longchenpa and a meas to determine his positio o stats in the socio-reigio poitica andscape. For him, to e spported by a patron old ean having a protecte life, condcive to realization, and a position o religios leadership that wo alow him to impement and sprea the teachings of Pamasambhava. Pamasambhava. Withot the spport spport of a patron patron or a ase of eath eath , as Genther indicates, espite Longchenpa's iteigece ad edcation he wol e nobody. 181 The theme of paton a priest, particar in the context of Longchenpa, wi discssed i detail in the next chapter. Geeraly the patro-priest reationship allowed the Tibetans to establish a limited fom of nificatio8 of politica athority with the spirital instittion of Bhism, incding its cosmoogy, rhetoric, and deities. The Mongols were not intersted in makng Tibet part of their empire t appointe local rlers who were loyal and col keep orer in the region er their rership. They were intereste mainly in a drae sorce of income, specificaly Tietan taxes, as well as in Tibetan religios kowlege especially that concerning "magical powers and ritals for protection against their enemies. Another brden impose by the Mogos was at ordiny Tietans were forced to fee an play host to lge traveling pies or eeks. The reativey orgaized monastees with their schos, cltral adnistration, the broad age of coercia sis encoraged by Tibetan Bhism and their nate as oth social ad cta centres were means by which the Mongols, in controig the monasteies, effectively controle Tiet. The Mongos' contitions to Tiet were the relative staility which saw Bdhist monasteies and terefore life sstained, te establishment o te tax system, the message
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relay system, as well as exposure to te ways of the Mongolian empire and the peoples under its dominion in terms of laguages, commerce, diplomacy, customs, ts, cras, knowledge, etc. Another of the Mongols' importnt conibutions was indirect one: by appointing e Sa leaders as representatives of their interests in Tibet they set the foundaions for the political processes that were to occur in the 14 century that would lead to the formation of one central Tibetan autoty. 83 Not all sects accepted the Sa dominance, especially te Kagyu monastery of Drigng, which contolled several of the adnistrative districts into which the county was organized. Conseqently, the Sakyapas i not sccee in imposing their doinance either over the moastees associate wih te Dgng's orers, or over lger politic units. Althogh a new centrazed leadership ose i Tibet in he 13 centur, it ha signicant political liitations to its authoty. In the next chapter he histocal perspective is eploye again on the macro level in orer to identi relgio-soco-poltical formative ends of the 4 centry tat became actve forces hat hat locate Longchenpa at the periphery of the Tibetan cltral scene. The historical ersective will be applie i ths chapter also on a cro level, n order to review Longchenpa's life an works, giving a backgron whch will assist in clifying his negation of spirial practces an his peagogy. Formatve events n hs life mentione in hs biograhy an hagiography e exine an the finings show Longchepa not only as a sirital leaer, schol n writer bt also as a mn wit senstivities n vlnerabilities wi h wi h socio-econoic an poltical wenesses.
LOGCEPA' LIFE AD WORK : TH CETURY TIBET The 14 century, the period in which Longchenpa lived, was characterized by significant transitions the political political ena, ena , the S a donance donance had drastical drastically ly dinished dinished and one c note note the emergence of a centaized Tibetan seat of power nd leadership in the person of Chngchp Gyeltsen (Byang chub rgyal mtshan, 1302-1364). In the religios ena of monastic instittions and sects, defining sectian differences became increasigly less id or exible, moving towd inner consoliation, self-defition and systematization This was achieved by the defiing of the l power in the hands of te monastic liter canons, the concentration of econoic and politic instittions, ad the increasing inence of charismatic religios figres The atmosphere of competition for prestige between the instittions was so a dvig force that contribted to the pocess of monastic sef-definition
Chungchup Gyeltsen the wider scope of what was in effect a "inteationa state of affairs, the Mongols were more interested in maintaining their athority in China than in Tiet Ths, Tibetan grops saw an opportnity to chalege and to te political control in Tibet This gave way to the emergence of a new adition of kigship estabished by Chngchp Gyetsen, who was a chismatic leader of the ang clan, and who belonged to the Phodr (Phag m gru pa), a ily lineage which "manaed a Kagy sb-traditon which had a significnt impact on the corse of Tibet's poitical history Chngchp Gyeltsen had bee chosen by the abbot of the Phakmodr monastery and other high officials to lead the Phamodr myrichy-distct 184 e was chosen for the following main reasons: he beonged to the family that had controlled the estates of the Phmodr clan from the very beginning, and he was edcated Althogh he was not a flly-edged monk he was able to oversee with some athoty the myrichy's religios and seclar affairs, combiing the two aspects together 18 5 e received the edcation of a monk in a monastery which was not only a religios instittion t was aso a socio-economic and political entity Therefore besides his edcation and knowedge of Bddhism he also acqired valable skills necessy for political and economic life e began a long sees of legal d mility conicts with s opponents from the other Kagy sb-sects and the Sapa in order to reclm several estates that sed to belong to the Phmodr sect This ed to a vioent civi war and conict over the corse of the next 20-30 years As Btters 86 describes it, Chngchp Gyeltsen's heavy-handed and violent attempts to gain teitory faied miseraby Dring these yes Chngchp Gyeltsen was able to ndeine Sa's political power and to gain recognition of his new stats from the weak Mongolian regime who granted him the tite T'ai T' ai Sit, which means "cabinet minister
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n 1350 the Lang clan from te Phmodr sect of the Kagyu, led by Chungchup Gyeltsen, conquered Lhasa. The w threatened to become so extensive that major Tibet leaders of the 18 7 vous clns and sects met for peace talks intended to lead to resolution. 187 We should not imagine that Longchenpa was isolated from these climactic events, for he was an intimate pt of the tussle for power between Chungchup Gyeltsen and Gompa nn, the leader of the rgung ( 'Bri 'Bri gung) myrichy. The conict between the two pties was a result of Chungchp Gyeltsen's decision as a T'ai Situ that Knrin would be reduced in rank from a senior administrator to a jnior oe. In reaction to Chngchup Gyeltsen's decision, the rigng myrichy, led by Gompa nri prsue med conicts wit the former. 188 Logchenpa, being a protg of Knri, mae a attemt to mediate etween the pties tow peace resoution an as his biographer Chrog Zagpo ( Chos ggs bzang bzang po) records it, it was at this time his master met with Chngchp Gyetse for the first time. 1 89 I ay case, another "oponent of Longchenpa was also there, amely n (Bu ston rin chen sgrub 1290-1364), who was a Sya leader responsible for shapig the cataogue of the udhist canon and who tened to exclde from the con a lge qutity of Nyingma tntc texts. It is within this context that Logchepa a ud were regde as "ppoents. This wil e discsse later in this chapter i the section dedicated t canon creatio. However, the meeting betwee Chngchp Gyeltse and Goma Kn, the leader of the gng myrichy, fel short of achieving y resotio. I 1353 Chgchp Gyeltse achieved victor over the rigng, which cause Longchepa known as the Drigng's mai teacher and a protg of their leader Gompa Kn to ee to htan. 1 9 is sai that i that ye the eth of Tibet was she as the we was so rless, casing the loss of cotless ives. Hoses ad tempes were ut and forests were razed to the grod drig the sieges. y 1354, Chngchp Gyetse's poitica gras of Tibet was amost assre. In 1357 he was ae to gai recognition of his new stts from the we Mongolia Mongolia regime, regime , which granted him the tite T'ai Sit, Sit , therey replacing the title Ti sh which had formey elonged to the Sya hierchs. Oly i 1 3 5 9 - 1 3 6 0 was the confict etwee Longchepa an Chngchup Gyeltsen reconciled, the latter invited Longchenpa to retu to Tiet. I the ext chapter, coceng Longchenpa's life ad works, Longchenpa's reatioship with Gompa Knrin and the self imposed exile o hutn wil be discussed in etai. Chgchp Gyeltsen re-established the Tibeta capital i the Yug v ey ey in cenal Tiet, which sed to e the cetre of the royal Tibetan kigom. This move ed to a mked rise in romantic sentiment from Tietns, who idealized the period etween the 7 ad the 9 cetes when Tibet was a power empire. It seems that the romantic loging for "ol strong Tibet was a ifying factor, a necessy ingreient for the formation of a "atio, t it was equaly a reactio of Tieta nationaist sentimet against foreign (Mogol) itervention in Tibet iteal strctres. Ud Chgchp Gyetsen od cstoms were adopte, such as taitio ress, which was reqre of ministers at the festivas, taxes were restrctred; a the Mogoian lega coes
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were ptially augmented with the acient legal codes of the old Tibetan dynasty ther notable feares of this period were the impositions of compulsor census data collection d that of unpaid or free labour n addition the thirteen myriarchies were reorganized into new administrative istcts Chungchup Gyeltsen also made great improvement in transportation and built new milit posts to prevent road robberies This o course improved the sense of security e ml service was also efficiently regulzed although its financia burden fell on the loc l population 19 1 The revival of nationalistic sentiment was clely connected with the ourishing of the cult of "treasures, which was a phenomenon firly related to the peod between the and the centures, nd which eerged strongly with the discoveres made by Urgyen Lingpa rgyan gling pa b ) who is said to have discovered a treasre detaing Padmasambhava's biograhy, which symoized the "atentic92 Buddsm of the old empire 1 93 Chungchup Gyetsen himsef had a great interest in his own native, native, especially in its religious aspecs ne can fd suport for this viewpont n hs prolific wrtig, which can be characterized as both apoogetic and autobiographica 1 94 It as ver ce that Chngchup Gyeltsen was interested in solidifyg is stats ideologicaly ad otically as a doant leader, ad creating a lk etween hiself ad the ime of the royal dynasty Ths, in creating a new tradition of kingshp, he connected himsef wt the poweul roy dynast of the pre- cer era, portraying himself as a legitiae "successor to that dynasty Ths wave of romantic sentiment aso reached oter coeing cans or groups sch as he Nyingmapa, who looked back rather roantically to the times when Tiet's inteao, cultr, d lit prestge was at its sit, d soght to re estalsh or erpetate the stands ling them to those ties Among them Longchenpa was also nteresed in evong te syols of te old empire 1 95 the next chapter, Logchepa's life will e reviewed ad considered in light of the evens that shaped Tiet in the centr, the impact they ad on hm ad the way he vewed these regosecu srggles
Cnn cretin Regding e religios grd, one of the expressios of the trend towd soidifying sectan self-definiton was the emerging acivity of creating canon of what were believed to be the autentic Bddhist texts By the beginning of the centry the number of Bddhist texts whc ad bee iported into Tibet since te centry was susanta, ad this movement reqired that these texts undergo a process of codicatio After translation from Sasrit into Tieta was copleed, the nar l ext sep was the classifyig of the texts according to critera of what were authetic Bddhis teachings and what were not Qestonng what was worthy of inclso in the con d wat was not is an iportt d on-going scholly point 1 96 Bdn ( - ) was a centry Sakya master and and Tibetan Bddhist leader who sdied wit wit may leadg leadg schos schos of his day fro a rage rage of traditios traditios He served served as the Aot of Shal (Zhwa lu) Monastery wch was one of the grea seats of leg of the Syapa d te frst of te ajor monastees to be it y nble familes of the Tsang Dynasty that was
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an impeal dynasty of China, during the restoration of Buddhism in Tibet. Budn was not merely a capable administrator but also phenomenal schol and historian who wrote The isto of
Dhaa bDe bDe bar ba r gshegs gshegs pa 'i bstan pa 'i gsal byed byed chos i byung byung gnas gsung gsung b rin rin po che 'i mdzod), a comprehensive hstory of Buddhism. 1 97 Budn classified the Kangyur, which mens "anslations of the pronouncements of the Buddha, so that it contained the texts which he felt were directly abutable to the Buddha. This group inclued , texts in volumes. The Tengyur, which means "traslations of treatises on the pronouncements of the Buddha, consisted of texts abuted to subsequent leed and realized masters of Buddhism. This group incued , texts in volumes. 1 98 This represente a monumental accomplisment, resulting in massive collections of slated texts on an most bewidering rnge of topics, generaly accepte by most Tibetan schols as beig the authoritative ody of texts. It soud be noted that Budn did not incle a ge quantity of texts, most of which wee Nyingma in oigi. 199 It is within ths context that Longchenpa's position contrasts stongy with that of Bun. Whie Longchenpa tends to be more textualy icsive and to te a non-sectan appoach to text classification, Bun tens to be more gi and oyal to is cteia of autenticity, ony incing texts inked to ansit origins.2 origins.2 The process of selecton of the texts to be included in te Tietan con was complex ad, as Buers notes, un chose purposefuly to excue cetan texts which had been ocumented approved y schols efore him.2 him. 20 1 Fo examle, tia ha been impresse by the liry of amy and id not doubt its authenticity.2 02 Furthemore, a anskit vesion of the Guhyamlagarbha Tant, atbute to Pamasambhava, wich was iscovee in a pill at the amy monastey, was recogzed by oth a Pata an Chomen Rigp Rari (bom ldan Rig pa'i l gri, -)203 as being authentic. Tis I beieve was the oy text which a Paita uthoze, pobably as mch ue to its atiquity as to anything ese. Furemoe, even though Sakya Paita copied and translate the Vajraklaya Tantra, and udn's own guu vefied that he had seen a anst vesion of this tantra wen he was in Nepal, Bdn chose not to inclde it in the canon, although ater on h wod mention that he had made a miste in ignong the authenticity of the Nyingma tantas which were linked to nsrit oginals. 2 2 To understand Budn's atitude towards the Nyingma tadition one needs to consider the ger context of complex circumstances in centa Tibet whch defned his staus. e was at that time a busy pubic eligous figue wo was very loyal to s political patron who was none othe than Chungchu Gyeltsen himsef, the opponet of Krin Gompa, Longchenpa's paton. I fact the the comilatio comilations ns of of the Kangyur were were organized organized eeen eeen an , a perio perio when when thee thee was tension between the two leades. This suggests a reasonable linage etween poitcs and con creaon that woul have implications for Longchenpa as a Nyingma leaer, for the schoo in tat its texts wee not ncooated into the canon, and fo Bun who woul be sujected to the otica pressur in the process of compiling the canon. udn maitained close reations with ote secul eades ad since e was a famos ama he was invited by the Ciese empeo and
Lghepa Lg hepa ' Le Le ad Wk: 4th Ceu Te
47
by he he king of Nepal to visit eir cors and teach. These few detls sig Bdn's position and point toward the extent of his political responsibilities his commitments and his contacts. However his maintenance of his position as a ddlemn / mediator leads one to wonder what he had to give p or sacrifice. Alogh towds the end of his life Bdn claimed that he did not belong to any school in his elier yes he had to te a stance regding te different religios orders that were so closely lied with
Lgcep d c creti Altogh there is no cle evidence at sbstniates hat hat Longchenpa acted directly in response to dn's tiave to "close the canon he following passage which is a Nyingma afdavit of defece y Longchenpa who i his explatios on he he ogis of e Vajrayana and its secret mantas205 shows cey hat he was awe of cano creation activities and e IdiaSanskrit ctea se. Those of lesser intellect, not comprehending enumerations such as this and speaking with exaggeration and denigration, [say] They are not authentic tantras because they were not famous in India,' or They were made by Tibetans' Denigrating authentic tantras, scriptures and stras merely amasses the cause of remaining for a very long time in bad migrations That is to say, great mhsiddhas also brought the tantras of India from such places as Oiyna, amhala amhala and Malaya Furthermore not all tantras were kept in India And if, according to you [only tantras] kept [in India] are allowed, it would not be possible to see them all by going once Just because one has collected many titles and outlies of stras and tantras kept in some minor temples, it does not follow that others did not exist Therefore, one should not denigrate great teachings on the path that came earlier Many of stras and tantras here in Tibet may or may not have existed in India India Many tantra tantrass only appeared appeared ate aterr early teachers teachers such as Padmasambhava brought them from kin-realms such as Oiyna Also in term of stras, of the stras that were translated in China before [the original Sanskrit manuscripts] were burned by Nyi a dNgos grub in fire, fire, translations of many many the Avatasaka, Avatasaka, the Nirva, the Vinayavastu and so forth were reconstructed by the translators Vairocana and Ba' sangs shi from the memory of the Chinese pait Ha Shang Mahyna206
"ow crieria org and selecting texts accordig to F Longchenpa tose who folowe e "ow heir Ida I da orgin e of iferor intellec intellec an e to teir eriorios eriorios activii activiies es tey will acclate "negative kama tha wil case hem to trasmigrate in Sasra.2 07 P of this assertion is o beite e ones who the rocess of cnon creation follow te Snskrit cteria ad at e sae me to w of deviation from wat is aentic a to iicate te conseqeces of sch a . Ths motif of adoping a serior ehical position appears time ad again i Longchepa's poetry ad as a ate i his toght a writgs as we sha see in the ext chater iscssig is life n works. Longcea ges against e Ini origi of exts as e e sole vid cteron d claims that f y cao coier was o awe of other I tatras this di ot me at sch Indian
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tanas did not exist. exis t.208 208 Texts of Indin Indin origin that te te canon codier co dier was unawe of, according ac cording to Longchenpa, Longchenp a, could be found in Oiyna, ambhala and Malaya. Longchenpa is pointing to places that ae ambiguous, legendy or e pure lands", celestial realms of the Buddha. The precise location of Oiyna, te teitory of te is, is diicult to establish. Following he he writing f the Third Kapa, Ranung Doe (Dorje U rgyan pa rin chen dpal, 1230-13089), who is said to have visited visited Oiyna Oiyna in 1261, Tibetans beieve that Oiyna is siated within the ea of the Swt Valley in Pst.209 Budhaguptantha (16-17 cenries), Tna's Furer, ambha decisively located Oiyna in he vicinity vicinity of Ghazni, ghistan.21 ghistan. 2100 Furer, ambha is said by many to be a visionary, ethereal, mythica ingdom, as wel as being geographicall situated somewhere nort of Tibet; according to Childs, ambhala is a saging point where the forces of good overcome the forces of evi11 to the end a all its inhabitants are enlightened. The real location of o f these paces is ve diff difficult to ascertain. This would wou ld oer oer a codifier codifier of texts litle if any sense of certainty regading the possible locations at which Longchenpa claimed Indian tantas tantas existed. exi sted. In addressing a specific you" in the passage quoted above (And if, according to 212 [only tnas] kept [in India] re aloed, it would not be possible to see em by going once"), Longchenpa's saement may be dected to any hypoetca canon codier or collector of exts. However, Longchenpa's reference is not, as Butters has suggested, directed towds Budn213 because ere is no record either in e Blue Bl ue Annals or in Budn's biography hat he ever visited India.214 Another possibiity is at Longchenpa's satemen was directed to groups of Tibetan avelers to India in e 11 nd 12 cenes who were pmly interested in collecing" Indian Indian Buddhis texts.215 Or i could be med at Budn inasmuh as he believed tha one could not have encountered so mny texts in one visit, even though he never went ere. Longchenpa pins to another possibe insufficiency of the Indian origin" criterion. Longchenpa addressed his statement to you", as to the hypotetica canon codier, then his statement coud be right, as it would be impossible for one person o ave just once to India and be awe of all the taas of Indin ogin. But te importaion" of Indian Buddhis texts to Tibet was a collective activity carried out by many individuals already between the 10 and 12 centes. centes . Hence, H ence, Longchenpa' s asseri as serion on remai remains ns unsatis uns atisfact factory ory and his his suggeston at the ctea ctea shoud be more exible o include other" Indian tantas remains unsupported. Alternatively, if Longchenpa addressed his statement concerning you" to the Tibetan avellers to India between the 11 and 12 cenries then it would not mater how many groups tavled to India and for how ong, because hey would almost certainly have to have missed nding some Indian tantras and have been unawe of all the exising exts in India.216 Thus, despite the logica doub that Longchenpa raises here, his argument might stil remain unsatisfactory under the raw assumption that what were nown as he most importan nd essential tanras were likey to have been brough from India to Tibet by ose travellers.
Lghepa Le a Wk: 4th Ceu Te
49
Longchenpa, in his statement quoted above, goes further to mention Indian-origin tantra anslations such as the A vatasaka, the Nira and the Vinyavastu that were reconscted by the tanslator Vairocana and Ba' sangs shi from e memor of te Chiese paQit Ha-Shng Mahyna, and Longchenpa goes on to argue that either those sutras or others that were reconsucted in a simil fashion should be included in the canon. It is tre that such sas were trslated frm Sanst to Chinese and became core texts of vious Chinese Buddhist schools. An example is the Avatasaka Str which Cleary, in the inoduction to his monumental work of aslan, mentons as probably e most grandiose and chest o all all Bhists scrpt scrptres res,, highly highly reged reged by schools of Budhism.217 t ha become a core text for the uaye school of Chinese udhism and the Furth Patich, Chengguan (738-839) wrote a commenty commenty to the sua, in cnnection with e heory of sden aweg.218 Apparenty, Moheyan's (a-Shang Mayna) teachngs ber smilarities t the Avatasa Str. owever, the existence of sch siiies is not surising because he sua was in the public domain" accessible to the vious other uhist schools of Mahyna Buddhism in Cina. Avatasaka St, udn was awe that not the udhist sutas cold I relatn to the Avatasaka be retrieve an in support of his assertion he mentione as an examle the fact that only 40 chaters out of 100 of the A vatasaka St S taa srvive, and these he incorporate into the Tibetn can.220 Revetg back to ongchenpa's gmet,· in resonse to his possible complaint that he actal A vatasak was not n ot incoorae in he cnon because becaus e it was not slae drecly drecly om its Snsrit ogin to in, we woul reply that i col no have een e case because un himself incoorae it into te con. To his other possbe complaint hat ere were other suas reconstce in a sil fashion to e Avatasak by te anslatr aiocana and a' sangs sh221 we woul rely that is gument wo be still unsatisactoy ue to he fac at d was y awe f sutras of Sasrit origin sate to Chinese then to Tibetn, ncluded as mny of ose e ietan cnon as he col reieve at hat time. t or Budn, Bu dn, Nyingma texts id not represent represent ure tanas" tanas" despite his teacher' s assertion assertion at Nyingma texts wee eal becase they ha fon e ndi ogna texts in Samy n ps of te Vajrkla Tantra in Nea. Nevertheess he was te opinion that i wol be better to remain neral a omit the texts without exressing an opinion on their athority or oerwise.222 The siuaion seems to be even more comlex because a few Nyingma texs, such as Commenta on the Guhyasamja that containe assages from the Ghyagarbha antra by Vajrsa n laer" Samja (Du phyi ma) by Vivia, were neveeless incorporate into the cno.223 Aer cosieatio it seems hat most Longchena's gments mentione elier, being ase o egey" facors facor s o te gument gument om ignornce", ignornce" , e ulimat ulimatey ey nsatsfacor nsatsfacory. y.
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Bt the assertion of evidence made by Bdn's teachers d Bdn's incorporation of Nyingma works into e canon, inclding works tslated om Snst to Chinese and ten to Tibeta, con tat tat Longchenpa' Longchenpa ' s critqe of te Indian Indian origin" criteria was ptially ptially jstied. j stied. However, it is definitely not a clearct picre and it can be seen that Bdn, in the process of canon creaton, cold have been motvated not only by conces for atentic Indian textual ogin but also by other conces sch as a coitment to his paton. Nevertheless, retospectively, the cterion of athentic Indian texal origin was a reasonable one that stds te test of time fairly wel. Longchenpa himsef nderstood at e process of canon creation not oly provided distinct reigios pties wit a means of selfexpr selfexpress essio io and deition, bt t could so, so , when iked iked wih wih political nterests, afect act l power d iuence, as well as afectng te context of e pest paon orm of reatonsip reatonsip.. Longchenpa Longchenpa saw a great dger in personreigos/oli pe rsonreigos/olitic tic interests interests deterning he criteria r incudig or exclding texts, and believed that it cod cot e atenti atenticit cityy of o f Buddhism tat he associated asso ciated wi te teachings of Padmasam Padmasambhava. bhava. Bt at e same time Longcena seems to be motivated by is polemical ageda to iclde texts e beeved to be a itegral p of e caon. Lngchenpa's psitin in the religius and plitical arena Te project of decidg wich texts woud be considered as auentic had a distinct oitical otcome. The caon' caon ' s content was to invoke and reaf reaf a hiercy n which which Sa S a was sueor to Nyingma in e sense tat Kadam, Sa nd Kagy, hat is, the Sma schoos, represeted, according to teir claim, claim, what was e e aenc Bddhsm" whic oginated in India. To excde Nyingma tanas tanas and easre texts was to mginize e Nyingmaa, mgnlizing Longchena too and siatig him on te pephery of religiopoical scene of his time. As a response to the canon's resulting hierarcy, Nyingma follow�rs und it necessary to assert themselves and to codify eir own authotative caon, the Colected Tantras of the Ancients (rNying ma rgyud bum). Althoug t seems that the Nyingma, a looselynit groping of lineages which dated back to the imperial period suered a decline while e new schools were estabishing eir identities and consoldating their position in vrios ways, the 14 century was a time when characters e Chngchp Gyeltsen tended to valiate Nyingma mateals, especially the treasure teachings ad mythology. I picl, easre teachngs and mythology cold offer em a g thread to te royal dynasty, Padmasambhava, Avalokiteshvara, and other igures and symbos that had a prestgios reptation and could inuence the foation of new poitica and relgious ideologies nd enhance political scture. At the same tme, te voice of individal athors ad easre revealers" or tertns (gter stn) was becong increasingly audibe on the litery scene. These treasure reveales inclded Urgyen Lingpa, the revealer of the text called Injunctions of Padmasambhava (Pad ma'i bka' thang bKa' thang sde lnga), which is a myoogical accout
Lghepa' Le ad Wk: 4th Ceu Te
of the life of Padmasambhava. Another one was Padma Ledreltsel (Padma las bre rtsal, 1291-1315?) nown also as sultrim Doe Tshul khrims rdo rje) of whom, hagiographically, Longchenpa is said to be a reincation, a point that will be presented later on when looking into Longchenpa's hagiography. However for Lonchenpa this recognition took place in the last yes of his life aer his ret to ibet from the Bhutanese exile in 1359. During this rulent period the doinnt schools were the Kadam, Sya and Kagyu and they were active in the pursuit of politic and religious power in centrl ibet. he yingmapa did not seem to participate in the race for political power and inence.225 he question is: Why were they ninvove in the ramatc events that shaped the new politica and religious ground in the renewed Tibet of the 14 centry? Tere e some possible answers to this question, bt they remain only at a t the level of hypotheses hypotheses due to insuff insufficient icient inrmat inrmation ion.. From a tadition tadition point of view, the Nyingmapas' main interests were in practicing the Dhama in remote reas wic were more conucive for practice. Tese paces were ocate away from the religio-political scene of the monasteries and patrons an teir practice was based largely in intimate, smal communities. Moreove, the importance of the treasure teachings, which e at the core of the Nyingma unerstanding, provide them with a sense of identit whic was the basis of te te self sfficient intimate communities without a need for the new" teachings to come from India. Howver, bering in min that the purpose of this chapter is to describe the Nyingmapa context of wic Longchenpa as a s a p, it will be sufficient sufficient to note tat, in terms of politica and instition l religious power, the Nyingmapa, the cers of the traition of Padmasambhava, were at that time in a reltively underevloped conition, a condition tat situated them on the peripery of the ibetan poitica teain. It was not until several centries ater, in 676, that they were able to estabish Mindroing, teir first new major monastery. Contemporary traditional Nyingma wil caim tat tey were not at l ndevelope and were te e beers of the authentic teachings trace back to amasambhava. hey will claim that te school played a centra historica role in ibet' s evelopment, while a istocal reconstrction reconstrction tells nother nother story, pointing to the schoo's mgina istoric roe. The difference between the two approaces reects tension. his review of the series of reigious and politica processes, key issues and events has primarily been intended to set the stage for Longcenpa's appearance" in te 14 century. Looing into these formaive historical events eveopments in Tibet an their implications for Longchenpa it wil be foun tat they determine is place on the periphery of the religio-political map of 14 centur Tibet. ence it can be conced that ongchenpa was bo into a religios reaity where the nrative of Padmasambava, as associate with Tibet's imperia past of risong Detsen, was soidifying into a myth and fnctioning as a mer of Buddhist orientation, development and atenticity. But the gener view of the ibets was that amasabava was a mginal tantric teacer wo was expeled from Sy, a foreigner wose wten works" nd easure teachings were not inclded in te cnon. For ongchenpa, masambava's myth was a reity as the
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lattr was his princip l sourc of asurs and Dzogchn tachings, which h considrd to b a symbol of originl" Buddhism nd a bas of rligious auoty. Padmasambhava was mastr of many ssntial Grat Prfction tachings and a cultural hro whom Longchnpa wishd to idntify with, mulat and rprsnt. His vry association with Padmasambhava marginizd Longchnpaaga again at t priphry of th political and rligious landscap. According to Longchnpa's world viw Samy was not only a symbol bu also an actal religios doctinal rfrnc point that was prsntd thr by HaShang, ntailing th tacing nown as gCig car, a viw of immdiat ralizaton siil in natr to Dzogchn. Bt according to t coon viw HaSang's gCig car systm of pilosoy and practic was rjctd not only in Samy bt lso was ivant dring th Sma priod, th movmnt of nw transations (_3 cnturis). s, Longchnpa's Dzogcn was associatd wit a mginizd systm of pilosoy, placing him yt again ripr. n trms of socio so ciopolitical political form format ation, ion, Longchnpa was bo into a stat of aff affai airs rs in wic poitcal rality of aon and prist ad gaind consdra impotanc. Som of s ralit was locizd and fa in cactr, inicatly intrwovn wit rigion nd cltr. otr Saongo doint ad signict socioolitcl sctr was tat of S aongo allinc ad ng ng Longcnpa's lif tr occd a sift away from s socioolitica sctrs towds t gmony of cntral ibtan powr, t on xmplifid by Chngc Gyalstn. socio political structrs Longchna xrincd mat tat withot patronag, witot olitica aspirations and wiout owning frl lnd, as a ad, it would b difcult for to raliz his rgios agnda a idoogis tes of rligos adrshi or rsponsiilit as t cr of t uddist torc of Pamasambava. Longcna sogt to rocat not only t Nyingmapa from pripry to c of t prvailing rigiosociopolitical strctrs of is tim, ut also imslf as a sirita ar comtt to Padmasamava's prcption of ddism, was my intrstd to rstor its for glory. at cold b bst implmntd only by ting a cal rol with t sport of a aton. t is my viw tat on of th major dvics Longcna mployd in ordr to ct t rlocaon witin contxt of prvailing prvailing rlgiopolitica rality rality was h rtoc rtoc ofngation, of ngation, or mor rcisly its asct of aingngaton at wil discussd in captr 4 Altog r is no connction twn t two rsonags, it sms to m tat Longcnpa sogt to aciv what Cicro (43-06 B clamd: tat tat a sccs s ccssf sfl l politic ralit ralityy could dtnd by rtc at conncts wisdom nd spc caaciis, wic as an cally pragmac prpos, and wic stablishs a consnss abot t aproprat way a commnity shold liv.226 liv.22 6 Longchnpa, in rfting and rjcting t prvailing rligiopoitical strctr, phiosois, ractics and moral condct, affirm and dd Dzogcn, nd maintaind t Nyingmaa's stats as t o and antic tadion wic was in dclin in t itan consciousnss of is tim. H id so in ordr to mt t callngs positd by t dic discourss of t gradal pat
Lghe Lg hepa pa ' Le Le ad Wk Wk 4th Ceu Te
53
adopted b y the new schools school s and with l e political political implications implications which such adoption impl implied. ied. He also used u sed the counter discourse of negation negation and resorted resorted to classic cl assic zogchen zogchen teinology teinology such as those of naturaness" and spontaneity" or primordiality" and absence". Thus his rhetoric of negation functioned prtially as a religio-politicl force of resistance against the new wave of translations coming from ndia that were convered into self-defini self-definition. tion. By means of negating other philosophies and methods Longchenpa's princip system of zogchen was actualy dening d aff affing itself. itself . So f we have looked into Longchenpa's figre from a macro perspective, one of general histo. histo . n the following following sections se ctions he will be exned from from a micro perspective, one of biography/ biography/ agiograpy as a form of personal history. Tis will provide a more comlete historical perspective. Lngchenp's life nd wrks t is essential to review Longchenpa's life within its historica context in order to understand is accomlishments. A consideration of repeated motifs in his works and life, his tendencies towd ddist idea , feeling of sperioty sperioty and roman romanticism ticism as well as ow his ersonal erso nal agendas and beiefs were expresse troughot his life can enhnce areciation of Longchenpa's works. This jstifies reviewing onchenpa's biorahy, wich has reay been reseced in detail by enther, iis, tters tters and a nd more recently recently by rgillr. ence have chos c hosen en to review forma formativ tivee exeriences and events that shaped ongchenpa's life and works, including visions of Pamasbhava, living and stdying with is root teacher Kmja, restoration of the temple of Zhai Lhhg (hwa'i lha khang) and the exile in htan. Athogh Longchenpa's biography as been reseched in detail, other o ther schols have not atemted atemted to epict the implication implicationss of those foati foative ve experiences and events for his position in iet socia, socia , reigios d olitical olitical life life of the 14 centry, and for the the ap between his sef-perception sef-perception and his public status . As A s f as am awe it is a frly innovative approach in the stdy of Lonchenpa. Furtermore, will follow in the footsteps of illis illis'' attempt attempt to sketch psychological" psycho logical" cacteristics cacteristics of Longchenpa as interpreted interpreted by a close reading of his poems. t i in this style of writing that he revealed moods, views, thouhts, otives d d goals. goals . This atempt atempt will will endeavor t o depict Longchenpa the an" without incing the complex problems atendant on relying on weste theoes of sychoanalysis and imposing them on a person who lived more than 700 yes ago. Wile reviewing Longchenpa's biography certain tensions will be considered, especialy in the context of Tibetan biograpical writings in which the sject is described ply in the context of a ytological naative which is then transfoed into a more elaborated hagiographical acount. he essence of tese hagiographies is to demonstrate the subject's spital aweing and the anifestation of visions, yogic attaients, and eories of any revious incations. ften the core of a hagiography is a crisis of failre to find the tre gr or gain te thentic teachings nd the hagiography tends to focs on such existential existential chalenges. chalenges . he resoltion resoltion to such
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hagiographical teaching teaching . Wat e mosly mosly absent from such accounts e humn crises is pt of e hagiographical motivations d emotions, csis sitations related wit mundne life, and mundane experience that shaped a writer's life and works and that can hint at his agendas. In general, ibetan hagiographies deliberately aggrandize the subject, their spual accomplishments and victories" over their opponents. hus they create a representation to identify with or to inspire others attent,, while whi le at he he same on he pat to liberation nd religious attent sa me time time gloriing the subject nd rendering them into a spiritual symbol in which their individual and unique characteristics become vague nd obscured. n most cases, a ibetan reader of a agiographical account will accept te legendary or magical occurrences as an authentic art of a given biography, also because the subjects of agiograpies e believed to ave had a type of vision probably simil to sts s ts,, tat e maj maj ority ority of people do not se. A weste reader, on he oer hand, migt be tempted to discd te myical aspects of ese n n atives or at least to question tem. te m. I believe a balanced approac o tese agiograpies is required, one tat igt appropriately serve westeers by illuminating ibetn attitudes and purposes and enhancing understanding of te suject in question. agiographical texts can provide significant istoricalcultura data aout a figure suc as Longcnpa. I ddiion, ile ese texts e written in visiony nd symbolic lguage tey ave ter own inner ratione" at serves to ll a cerain nction witin a cern cultre. identiing tis inner rationale" rationale" one c le le more aout te te suject of te aiograpy. us, us , I identiing from designating te purpose o r nction nction of a cerain biography, one c c le about te agenda of te autor", ence reveling a more realistic" porait of e biography's subject. heoreticlly speing, for Claude Levi Stauss, wo exained e nature of mytical discourse, te nction of myt is to provide a logical model caable of overcoming a contradiction or a doubt."227 erefore, a myt provides a bridging view tat cn clify te tensions ound te atempt to ascertn or susttiate istoc informton in relaon to iograyagiograpy. is view will e core to my study of Longcenpa's life. Wit regrd t te sources on Longchnpa's life, illis228 presents a detailed list of the biograpical and agiographical texts, of wich te most rimary and autoritative source is Meaninl to Behold: Behold : e Spiritual piri tual Biog Biog phy of of the Omniscien Omnis cientt Drimay Drimay zer (Kun khyen Dri med od zer am thar mthong ba don idan) idan).. is text, wic Arguillre229 labels as la source es sources", sources" , was w as written written by Cdr Zangpo ( Chos ggs bzang po) wo was a irect nd close disciple of Longcenpa. What lends Meaninl Meaninl to t o Behold Beho ld a sens of a biograic credibilit is ta Cdrak Zangpo did not make any reference to agiograical characteristics suc as Longcenpa's reincation identity.20 Furtheore, Arguill e mentions tat te text appears most wiout omissions witin tee oer sources including e Bima Nyingthig (Bima snying thig), ence te principal importance of Meaninl to Behold as a rimary source on Longcena's fe. I is discussion of Longcenpa's biography, illis mentions eigt oer sources including
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The Blue Blu e Annals that convey a simil general general pictre pictre of o f Longchenpa' Longchenpa ' s life. One of o f them, from from late 19 century, the Entnce to the Three hre e faiths: ait hs: A Spiritua pi rituall Biog Bio gphy phy of of Long chen Rab Ra bjam (Klong chen rb byams i am thar dad pa gsum gyi jug ngogs) by Lla Son Chdrup (Glag bla bsod nams chos grub), grub) , is more self-consciously hagiographica, relating to Longchenpa's spiritual
achievements, incations and prophecies.232 Other sources include fables found in his lesser miscelleous wtings, leters to oter las of his time, and especially poems which ght offer a window ito Longchenpa as a person, as well as his feelings d emotional states. There e oter texts, sch as Longchenpa's visiony autobiography The Luminous Web of Precious Visions, which is said in te colophon to e signed by the athor himself. It is secifically referred to as beig his own composition in his own catalogue to the Seminal Quintessence of the kins ad provies acconts of Longchepa's visions and meditative exeiences in a hagiographical language along wit is own perception of them. From this range of texts texts tat consists cons ists maily maily of fir firsthan sthandd acconts it is os ossible sible to draw a general icture icture o ongcenpa' ongcenpa' s lie. lie. The course of Longchenpa's life In the ollowing, ollowing, section Longchenpa' Longchenpa ' s life life course will be descri des cribed bed with an emphasis emphasis on what are geerally cosiere the formative events that shaed his ife, works and his rhetoric of negation. (s Tod g rong) in central Tibet. Longcena was bo in 1308, in the village village of Td Drong (sT is birth birth was accompanie by strae ad miraculous miraculous evets, as are ar e the birth birthss of almost almost every renowned lama. Tese miracles are nerstood to ave emanated from the domain of te sacred or from the realm of te udas to denote that te bay born is of secial spiritual capacity an importance i resect of the flfilment of ddhism's vision in mane life. Longchena was o ito an aristocratic family that ejoyed a restigious religios heritage. is ater, Tenpa S (bsTan pa srung), was a tatric yogi belonging to a lineage which traced back to oe of Padmasamhava' Padmasamhava' s twenty-fi twenty-fi ve direct disciples and Tibet's original seve monks ordained by ntarakita (725-788). Longchenpa's lineage from his mother's side was related to Dromtpa who was te main main disciple of Atia Atia and founder founder of the the Kadam schoo34 scho o34 All of these details conceig con ceig lieage origins unobtedly lik him to the very beginnings of dism in Tiet but also to the formative stages of the new dist schools during the revival of ddhism in te early 10 century. These lineage affiliations would shape his self ercetion as a person of atheic ddhist heritage and imply that his eary education in Samy, is relation to the new ddhist schools, and later the value he would place on he heritage of Padmasambava, were al associated with the origins of udism in Tibet. ogchenpa lee how to write read at te ae o five. Whe e was seven, his father tasmied t him severa yigma ttras ad treasre eachings. Since his father belonge to a lineage tracing back to Padmasaava, it is more than robale that te Myoga nd Anyoga
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systems were we re a major p of his cuiculum cuiculum at that time. time. is father father also taught him astrology and medicine; medicine; and at the age of nine it is said that he leaed by heart (twenty thousand verse) Pjpmit St, aer having read them one hundred times. Both of his pents died when he was young, his mother when he was only nine yes old and his father when he was eleven. In 1 3 1 9 , at the age of twelve, Longchenpa was ordained at Samy monastery by the abbot Sdrub inchen (bSam grub rin chen) and te schol Kunga Ozer (Kun dga' od zer). In te following yes he studied not only with highly regded teahers of the Nyingma tradition bt lso with with teacers from from other aditions, aditions, suc as the Third Kapa, Ranung De D e,, nd with with Sakyapa Lama, Dampa Sonam Gyeltse, bo representing e Sarma, or new scool" translations.235 This is e extent of wha we now about Longcenpa's owedge of te main tradit traditions ions o Tibet Tibet Budhism of his time time .236 .236 Sy was ormative in Longchenpa's development, to such a egree that later in is life ongcenpa became wn as bSam yas lung mang ba mening mening Samy' Samy' s recipiet recipiet of may may scptra scptrall rnss rnsssions sions."."232377 Longchea imself stae a in works tat de l pmly with provision t expressed by means of poe a etymology, he signed as Samypa Ngagi Tshulthrim Lodro (bSam yas Ngag gi tshul khrims blo gros, Discilie Intellect, te Lord o Speech from Samy").238 Samy is a motif in ongchenpa's life that is repeated time and again, not only in is coloos but also in is oems, as a reference poit and expression expression of is eep longing. S y symbolises symbolises he h e ogins of uddism i i Tibet, ad e residece o Padmasambava, onchenpa's cltural hero d e direc teacer o his ow fater's ancesors. In refeing to Samy, e resets te self-perception of an authenticator reviver of te ogins of Budhism in Tibet. It was a e age of eigteen tat Logcea entered e Sangphu Neutok (gSang (gSang phu ne 'u thog) moastic college. Sangphu as foude in 073 by Ngog Lekay Serab (rN (rNgog Legs pa 'i shes b) as a Kadam sein, base on a Idin acaemic moel, ad it was well now for te sty of logic episemology. episemology . 239 239 I Sgpu, S gpu, e focs o ongchea' s stuies sie from from ts ad meditatios to syllogism nd debate, inclding e sudy of works by Cadri ad te Myama pilosopy. pilos opy. 240 e excelle i his stuies and his succe su ccess ss was w as mke by te addition of his most fos name or apellatio Longcen Rabjpa (Ifinite Great Exase"), a ame he himself was to se as colophon or works tat revealed te way of abiding in an inconceivable exase of space.241 At this stage Logchepa expanded is knowledge even furer, benefitig from wie-ranging eacigs wic traversed religios and poliical sectaism. ater on wen e wroe wroe his doxogray doxogray or ciue of other aiios aiios'' pilosoicl an spiriu approaces d etics wit a view to egating eir practices, e i so based on a eep stuy of tose traditions of logic e a studied previosly as well as on te nowlege of a isider".242 e ten se aoter appellation in is colohons, Knyen Ngakgi Wagpo (Kun mkhyen ngak gi dbang po, Oscient Lord of Seec").243 Logcenp le le Sangu ater seven yes, exressing exre ssing is dissatisf dissatisfaction wit the unehicl
beaviour o visiing ampa moks. Tis atitue was cacterisic o ongchea,
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tndncy was wa s to criticiz Buddhist Buddhi st figurs figurs for what what h thought wa wass impropr impropr bhaviour, not n ot in lin with Buddhist thics and valus. Longchnpa's viws and flings wr xprssd in a pom Alphabet bet ( rKyen la khas dus pa ka kha sum su m ),244 calld The Thiry Letters o the Alpha ) ,244 composd in 1334 by which ach lin sts with on of lttrs of th phabt that strongly criticiss th visiting hampa mos, accusing thm of isconduct, dscribing thm in hsh words such as bly robbrs", arogant", full of hatrd and lust", troubld by thir passions", br drinkrs", anial kill killrs" rs" , and violnt", viol nt", to t o mntion mntion but a fw. fw. 245 245 his rpatd motif o f protst and critiqu of othrs' inadquat uddhist conduct in Longchnpa's lif rvals his slf-prcption as a faithful and supor protctor of pur Budist valus. Without hsitation h confrontd tos who wr violating Buhist B uhist orals and was ray to pay th pric of alination and risk th livlihood provi to him by th monastry, and as a rsult h was ultiatly to lav th plac whr udist vus wr not rsctd and ntr into a solit spiritual practic. In fact, is motif rprsnts Longchnpa L ongchnpa'' s strong strong sns s ns of from from from limit limit and constrict con strictd d social socia l an olitical nvonmnts nvonmnts convys his rtu to his Nyingma roots", roots" , prfing prfing thm ovr th th tachings of t Sa. l Sanghu in 334 in a big gstur of protst and ar fiv onths of dk rtrat in a cav, h xprinc powrful visions of both Padmasambhava n Ysh sogyal, th formr's consort and co-conc lr of th th trasur tachings. tachings. From thm, thm, by mans of vision, vision , h rcivd th nam ri zr (Dri med d zer, Stainlss Bam of Ligt"),246 an apllation Longchna usd latr on for works tat atd topics such as mditational absotion an dvlopmntal sitl aproachs.247 owvr, Longchnpa was not on his own in this rtrat but was with thirty stunts to whom wh om h impt th tal of V ocana. oca na. 248 Clly w c infr tat at this ti is carisa as a spiritual lar ha start to dvlop. Anothr otif tat accompanid Longchnpa's lif was his vious visions of Pamasambhva, his cultur hro. rw from thos thos visions visi ons not n ot only authotativ authotativ Budhist tachings tachings an an a bas b as for s spiritual spiritual larship larship but, I bliv, an xpctation that h woul b rcognizd as holdr of Padasabhava's knowldg and traition to a lvl of o f intif intification ication with Padmasambhava himslf. himslf. is motif will b rvisitd latr in this chatr whn rading closly his hagiography an pos. With umaraja Insir an motivatd by ths authoritativ isions, in 1334 Longchnpa Longchnp a rtud rtud to th uplds of Samy whr h stuid with his root tachr Kumaraja (1266-1343), not in a monastry but in a cap in th opn. uring 1335 Longchnpa rcivd an iportt cycl of zogchn tachings, Bima snying thig, from Kumaja. was gratly inuncd by th way of lif that Kumaja and his followrs xmplifid, and this bcam a foativ xpnc in his lif. Most biograpical matrials agrs tat Kumaraja and his grou of iscipls wr a wanring comunity, on t ov from lac to plac, living austrly in tmpory camps xpos to th lnts and slping in woolln sacks that thy wor ung th day. Thondu249 mntions that
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ovr th duration of on spng umaja's wandring counity movd trough nin diffrnt cmps Intrstingly, Hillis justifiably suggsts250 that this way of lif was a Dzogchn taching in action, that is to say, th mning of trms comonly usd in Dzogchn txts, such as no attachmnts, opn spac, no limitations, natral librtion, siplicity, spntanity, and so forth wr tansformd into a lif xpnc In th contxt of Longchnpa' s rhtoric of ngation, this rsonats with Nubchn Ysh' s statmnt that appropriat action for a Dzogchn practitionr is whn whn on siply acts without without attachmn attachmntt 251 his his is bcaus b caus in ngating n gating philos philosophical ophical viws, viw s, spital practics, rligios activitis, contrivd stratgis or concptal inking, a spac of absnc is i s cratd whic is mpt of aachm aachmnts nts and avrsions avrsio ns that cold potntially cas cas on to act conitionally in contrast to bing fr of thos attachmnts Thrfor, th po of raining Longchnpa a with Karaja can b sn as a prio whr Dzogcn philosophy was transform transformdd into lif lif xpnc n th th rtoric rtoric of ngation of no n o attacmnts" attacmnts",, no n o bonis" and no limiations" was convrtd into a living dagogy, prdominantly a ysical on intgratd intgratd wit lif Frtmor, Frtmor, Longcna' Longcna ' s foativ foativ riod as a stdnt of Kaj Kaj a woul dfinit dfinitly ly sa his xpctations of his stns and tir ifications ifications for rciving th acing of Dzogchn, as vidnt in is dagogy discuss in chaptr 6 of this tsis Visinary autbigraphy and "treasures Anothr foativ xpnc wich lft its imnt on Longcna's lif and works ntld th discovry of a nw s of asr txts that h intgrad wi th alray xsting two sts of achings tracd back to Pamasambava trasurs and Vialatra's trasur tachings T latr's eart Essence (snying thig) tachings incld t svntn tantras of zogchn, wic according o Gyatso,252 thogh not considrd trasrs pror, nvhlss incldd n th trasr tradition as thy associatd with litratr first tanst by Vialamia, tacings wich, as ntiond in t prvios sction, ongchnpa rciv from Kuaja, nd which h latr collatd nd codifi codifi253 253 I is visiony atobiography ongchna dscbs th procss of accssing not only t nw rvlations fro Pamasbava ntitl Seminal Semina l ea e a of of the kins kin s bt also how himslf bcam a sorc of a cycl of trasrs ntitl Seminal Quintessence of the kins. Longchnpa's visiony atobiograpy, The Luminous Web of Precious Visions, is sai to b signd by islf in t colohon, and ii is scifically scifically rfd rfd to as bing s s own o wn composition in is catalog to t Seminal Quintessence of the kins. T xt contains biograic tals that dscrib t snc of vnts from im ongchna lft Kmaja to whn bg a rtrat for tr ys, pting Kmaja's zogchn acings into ractic Ar conclding th rrat, at th ag of -two, h bgan giving zogchn tacings to igh discils, als an fals in th Chiph (mChims phu) vally ung his rformanc of sotric rials and itations, visin scns std to occr so of t ractitionrs bcam ossss" by Tibt or ndian itis as wll as by higly rg figrs sch as Ys Tsogy, t consort
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of Padmasambhava, all of whom then counicated directly directly with Longchenpa. For example, by means of such visions, Longchenpa was both reassured and citicized by the Dzogchen guadian herself, Ekaja. Possessing a yogini who was one of Longchenpa's eight students, and ming her a medium, Ekaja anounced that Longchenpa was indeed ready to teach the cycle of teachings, but comented on some imperfections related to performance of the tul.255 On another occasion a yogini reported that she saw" Padmasambhava dissolving into Longchenpa's body wile Yeshe sogyal was dictating to him practical teaching instctions.25 instctions. 256 is meant ta Longchenpa's stats as a teacer had been authoized by the higest order of ibeta Buddhist eacers and deiies, ad e was instrcted and eiped with te appopriate knowledge ad skills by tose from te oter world" and validated by visiony meas that conveyed is ahentic conection to te Dma and its ractice. Another way in wich ongcenpa's status as principal heir of te Dzogcen cycle of reasure teachigs, te Seminal heart of the kins, was sbstantiated, was by establishing is idetty as te ncation of sultim sultim Dorj Dorj e ( Tshul khrims rdo rje) rje) , a tease reveal wo was in a eicatio of e rincess acig Padmasal (Lha gcig padma gsal). According to te leged, five cenies befoe the ime of ongcena, Padmasambhava brougt back to life the cess acam Padmas l after se ad died, ad afeds e iitiated er into the teachings of te Seminal eart of the ki seies.257 ee e cetain contradictions or coological difeeces beween ongcea's ordiy and is visio auobiogap auobiogapes es,, ad te te maj maj o one wil be bey discsse disc ssedd hee. sultim sultim Doe, Doe , Longcenpa's predecessor, died i 35 o 37, wereas ongcenpa, wo is said o hve been Semi nal eart e art of the ki is ication, was bo in 308 Fermoe, the ophecies i e Seminal indicate that te reincation of sultrim oe wold be bo n Buan, wereas Longcepa was bo i Sohe ibet. e dki ajrav (Vaj Sow), aeing" in his visiony autobiogray, esolves e solves hese contadictio contadictioss by telling Longcena a before before sulm Doe Do e dies he will send some ime in te ure land". is wold mean that te cronological time gap existing between te incations is sent i a pure Budda ealm, wic is ou of the odiny dimension of time as nown to us. Regding te Butanese rebrth, te dki mentioned tat it was yet to come", come" , whic mes tat sultim Dorj Dorj e ' s futre futre incaion, incaion, aer Longchenpa, Longchenpa, would be bo in Btan. e episode ends u wi ongcepa i a stae of bliss and nsiration, singing tatc songs abot te inteal eality of e Buddas.258 Fom an istocal poit of view wic must establish the rth in empiically verifiable facts, i is cle tat the conadictions emain uesolved. owever, from a hagiographical oint of view te conadicions conadicions e satisfactoly resolved because becaus e for Logchena visiony experiences experiences of te te dkis inodcing im to Padmasambava' Padmasambava' s teasre eacigs are e e.. e main main conce of tis tis visionary atobiograpy/agiogay is to locate ogcena in the realm of te saced (eek hagios). heefoe, is visiony auobiography can be regded i a meahocal sense, as a sorce of insiration ad rust in Padmasambava's teacings wic e eceived in is
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visiony experiences These visiony autobiographies e intended to generate condence in the authenticity of the visiony process of revealing the treasure-teachings, d to demonstrate that they were reeved by an authentic yogi Looking at the texts Longchenpa left behind him, one canot but remain amazed by the inspirational qulity, depth and lucidity of his works as evident e quotaons om Longchenpa' s work presente presentedd the subseent secon d the foowing chapters Lgcep te m Psycho/autobiographical materials suitable for the consideration of Longcenpa the man can be foun in his poems, which e revealng of his chacter and expose is feelings, thougts nd opinions An example is The Thir Letters of the Alphabet, whic was mentioned earlier in connection wit Longcena vocing is sgust with he Kampa scholars who viste Sangphu, attackng them iterly for their sconuc s tenency to process hs thougts nd feelings n to give tem a voice is manifested in other oms revolving aoun a great siitual fgure the poet hmself hmself suounde suounde y unethica unethica people who act in in conaicton conaicton to udhist values n these works te figure is neither recogzed nor acnowlege for hs sas or sprital achevements, and hence is lef to live in poverty As a result, probaly out of frusration, he expresses a hetfelt wish to ree o oher environmens were he cn engage in d enhance his spal practice A poem tht presents Longchena's social cue a reveals his feelgs an houghts is The Forest Delights (Nags tshal kun tu dga' ba'i gtam) Longcenpa wtes wtes:: A person who handsomely emodies proper training Having as his wings the three disciplines And living in a pond with the lotuses Of leaing and contemplation If he has no money, is despised and rejected by all. But the senseless crimes Are worshipped like gods. This is a time when fools stand in higher esteem than sages, Having seen this present state of affairs I am off to the forest. 259
ere, Longcenpa escribes te hero" of his oem as a leaed sage wo lves a life of cotemplation an who, although mtealsticaly eficent, ossesses te rea wealt of religious discilne, knowledge and wisom, ut wo is also no acknowlege for these atriutes Acowlement wi wiin e context of e 4 cenuy may e equate wit avng a grou of stuents an/or monastery, eing supported an protecte y a paron" or an mpoat clan! politcal leader Not only is the morally blameless erson in the poem uackowledge, u he fels tht wt he as to offer is no sough ater a tus e feels rejecte a esise Longchena's h€ro in the oem cicizes an proess against he exisig vaue system of his tme that refers a rotizes materil we w el over te a ence he eces to go to e forest, whch i the ndo-Tien aiion symbolizes a place of rereat in he wleess
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Witin the wider context of the poem which was written as an inner dilogue in Buddhist terms Longchenpa identifies nd describes a series of personal and social life situations that e both painl and lled with suffering.26 ecognizing te samsic condition of life Longchenpa wishes to renounce and abandon it by way of discernment and set out for the unknown wildwoods the remedy" being a life of contemplation.26 1 It is not about escaping om a dutil life of responsibilites but about discovering one's own essenti ind by means of disceent. 262 For Longchenpa he forest is a place: Full of people delighting in solitude and pursuing knowledge, full of gods and saintly persons It is i s replete with flowers and fruits fruits The place where Ma M ajj u and Avalokitevara valokitev ara are asking questions about life's meaning in Vajrap's Castle263
ere Avaokiteva vaokitev a who is the symbol of compas compassion sion and Maju Maju who represents represent s wisdom wis dom comlement eac other joning comassion and dscrnatng wisdom as an expression of an intelligent way of ife" or of essental mnd n the doman of Vajrapni who reresents the indesrctiiity of he nare of mnd or of aweness and who is the maser and protector of the secret tnas tnas.. Anoer poem by Longchenpa dstncty autobiographic n a mnner rely seen before in Tbet reigos poety is e Swan's Questions and Answers Ngang pa i dris an sprin is nying nying p) I this oem Longchena dentes hmself wi he kng of the swns whch ndo-Tbetan tradton stands for sureme beauty and intelgece. The swan s said n ndan mytology mytology adoped by Tetans Tetans to e able able to sepate sepate n eul xtre of and re water nsde its be nd s is a metahor for e seaton of wisdom from gorce or for that mater any oer dlsm.265 owever despte s nteligence Longchena s poor nd lves in a society whose vaues are ased on the hierarchies of wealth ad ower. n s society an ndvidul wo canot compete materialy is considered n outsder. n this revailing state of affars eve amy monasery whch was assocated w mny famous fgres n e hstory of Tea Bddhsm no longer had anyng to offer. Longchepa is pnly awe of the tesion beween matesic/non-spal/unehca vles and non-materstc/sp/ethc vaues. Conseuenly whe he cooses te ursut of meanng in life e reles on visoary sght whch s the doman of the bodhisattvas Maj Maj u A vaokte va okte vara vara and and a ajrap. jr ap. n Longchenpa's own words: In such an environment, this man from Samy Finds it hard to make a livig; he is constantly scoed by all Those who uphold spiritual values are despised and their qualities belittled The crowd of vulgar people living in this country Are never pleased and nobody can make them shape up Close by and far away, the incidences of violence increase The sincere are cursed and evil behavior is praised Having seen this state of affairs my mind is revolted 266
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Longchenpa, living in the sacred" environment of Samy, fins himself in a materially deficient sitation, rejected and scoed by the poplation in the district. He feels not only nacnowledged for his spirital vales and creentials, bt degraded and held in contempt. He expresses expresses his disgst towds violence and the copt ve system that the people ondhim ond him were following. These poems were composed in a time of political and social pheaval, yielding tensions between forces that were pmly conceed with consolidating hierchies, religios ility. This was in contrast with representatives of oter forces, Longchenpa among them, who wee more interested interested in evoing oter ierchies ierchies:: spirita spiritall ones on es based on he laws o o the ma over the exising reigios and iity ones. To efect this transformation of iercies Longcenpa employs is rheoric of negation wic in the poliica conext enails te negation of an existing social strctre in order to romote and efine oter desired ones, a retoric tat wi be discssed in the following capter. Hilis, responding to The San San 's Questions Questions and Answers Answers and oter poems, embks on wat he cs a psychoanaytical criicism" of Longcena. He staes in advance tat tis anaysis is rely secaive, and not enirey systematic in its alication of a Fredian perspective. He corageosly embs into an area of resech ta radiiona ctres are not incine to rse, and wic a nmber o scols of Tibean ddhism igt prefer to ignore, favoring te reigios radition o secrecy over either acadec or non-raitional scholshi. I engaging in sychoanalytica sychoanalytica criticism" of ongcena, Hillis comments on Longchena's tendency to fee persected, is feeing o sperioty, s song connection wit central Tibet is sense of aienation and aniey."267 aniey."267 He rther enions Longchenpa's tendency to ee o o sync wit te socia, poliical, religios trends and events in Tibe."268 This ine of analysis will be looke at wit some reserations (see below) in light of te ossibiiy tat mode contempory vales a sand for a ealty mind" igt have been imose onto a peod wen sc a efinition was not as cent or as applicable. n conclding what has been wtten abot Longcenpa so f, i can be said at on te one and, he possesse extensive nowledge of the vios scools in Tibet, and was connecte to Padasambava the fonder of Samy, te very het of dism in Tibet. A connection was establised by means of ineage tradition, incations, visions, treasre teachings, and linked to ndian and Tibetan deities. Longchenpa perceive himself as a living examle of zogcen piosopy and practice, eipped wit etics and ddist vales sc as comassion and coon good. On te oter hnd, e believed imsel to be nacnowedged and recognized for is intelectal and spital credentis and achievements; e felt isolaed oiically, socially and religiosy; and poor, witot eans of liveiood n witot a patron. Hence Longcena experienced a ga of frstraing tension beween wat e regarded as is ig" prestigios spirial sats
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undane life of poverty reected a self-perceived spiritual genius who was nt acknowledged by he many Logchenpa did not atact ibetan rcognition as a chismatic leader who could te te ibetns to eir spiritual liberation, beyond te prevailing social and political structures269 Such a leader, according to Weber,27 Weber,270 necessitates a relationship of recognition This gap or conict hat Longchenpa experienced was intereted by Hillis as causing him to feel persecuted, supeor, suering om a sense of alienation, anxi,271 d with the experience of being unj unj ustly ostacized osta cized piah" piah" 272 But when Longchenpa said that he was revolted by he matealistic way of life nd wanted to go to he forest he was neverheless voicing a protest n The Swan's Questions and Answers the hero for us is the swa, Longchenpa, who expresses is feelings an togts, and his comtment to Budhist moral values, to the vision an teachngs of Padmasambhava and to their practice He aso shows his cotment to Samy an to liberation whic, according to him, represents te meaning of life his explains why Longchepa efes i the poem to himself as he Man from Samy" which is te explnation for e tile of is sty His highest interest is in te Da He is rst nd foremost a Dzogchen teache, a his puose i wting his poem is primily pedagogical Tus, while Hillis elates to te psychological chaacteistics tat e revealed i the way Longchenpa tends to process his toughts an feeligs trogh poety, believe that Longchenpa wrote s poety manly ot of a peagogical motive to teach abot an to emphasize emphasize a way of lfe lfe oriete towars liberation ccording to Genter27 Genter27 3 Longchenpa's profound knowlege of oate poetry (kvya) is evient in his works, incldig The Swan's Questions and Answers. Longchenpa applies ka rles i order to ad eauty of form to a give content nd ths to create emotioal effects a to point to te exstence of meng a certain sense this poety reees Logcenpa the ma" log Longchepa expresses s sentiments i is poey it stans pmly as a potest aanst the prevaling socio-eligio-politc l way of life, pointing to life oente tows Buddha atre Longcepa' Longcepa ' s sitation ste to chage wen he was invite by Gonpa Knrin Knrin to restore e monastery of Zhai lhakhang, but this ew crcumstnce was not to last for long With Gp Kri, the ptr the yes from 348 to 350, efore going into exile i But, Logchenpa was given e task of restong e monastery of Zai hng (Zhwa'i lhakhang) by Gonpa Kn of he Dgung su-sect of Kagyu Gonpa Knri's importance fo Logcenpa stems om his recognitio of Longcenpa as an ication of Mju n sort, Longchenpa was acnowleged as a uniue religios schol n spit spitl figue figue y Gonpa Kn, Kn, wo was a song mn in te te ibet of ose times, an ogcenpa was given an opportuity to implemet is Buddhist interests Gonpa Knin provied wit te necessy constcto materials a later lso offered im the monastery of Grog rgy gon274 gon274 The temple of Za hahng was of major imporace for Longchenpa an Gopa K as it was aioally connected wit the orgins of te Tibetan empire an had been built by a
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disciple of Vimalta.275 te fou centes it had been abandoned.276 he temple was located fty iles noteast of Lhasa and had been founded by Ban de Myang in ngedzin who was the gudian of isong Detsen, Detse n, a iniste of state, state, and who had been bee n insment insment in establishing him on the thone. Ban de Myang in ngedzin was ecognized by G Lotsawa (Gs Lotsaba) as a stdent of Vimalta and he eceived te Dzogchen teachings of Snying thig. hus the estoation of hai Lhakhang establish links between Longchenpa and the ealy teaching Budd ism. he royalty responsible e conversion of Tibet to Buddi of Dzogchen and Dzogchen and he responsible for e conversion
Gonpa Knin was actlly an impotnt figue in ibet of he centy d was one of te main opponents of Chungchp Gyetsen, who took the cental seat of powe in . e fome's impotance steme fom his ole as leade of te gng, wic sed te same Kagyu aition of teaching as Chngcup Gyeltsen, leade of te Phmoggpa faily. hese two schools school s , wit thei wealth of land a esoces, esoces, wee egded as two s of the sae body, sigiing ne eualit of status. n e, accoding accoding to ondup, wen Gonpa became his iscipe iscipe Longcenpa gave him teacgs based on te view of ibeation. ibeation.227 8 Longchenpa Lo ngchenpa complete te estoation by te ed nd deicated it to te sublime man", Gonpa K n esto e temple of ha Lng, Longchepa evoke he symbol of te od ibetan te zogchen zogch en Snying thig empie centes) associate wi autentic" Budsm and wih wih te teachigs. is was a eenactmet of a ative ative i whic a teace is appoaced y impotant politic fiue inteested to stdy e eal uism" a to establis a temple as a eigious, social ad poltcal seat o powe. he events conceng he estoaton of te temple conf c onf m m again aga in tat Longcenpa Longc enpa peceived imse to e a fige of supeo knowlege coceng udist autetic teacings, tose associated wit e od empe, who soght to impemet te visio of Buhism by using te ecognton of a powel poltcal gue. At te age of his csma" becomes valiated by is assumption of esponsiblty fo an impotant istocal tempe. He becomes the owe of a monastey d is suppoted by a politcal fige, a pao. Howeve, tis was ot to ast long. he had to ee to Bhutan. huta he conict betwee Cungchp Gyeltsen nd Gonpa Knn stted in when te fome appointed the ate as a unio eget instead of a senio one, followig e passing away of e Dgng myic Yeshe Ppa (Ye shes dpal pa) pa ) . 28 0 Chungchup Gyeltsen took powe in cental ibet and mke te egemony of Cungchu Gyeltse an te Pamo gugpa ove ibet.281 Longcenpa, egded as an ally of Gopa Kn and awe of ts ogoing an gowig conict, ecided to leave a sitaton at at was unteae itly ad politically an was pobaby lifetatenig. Gonpa Knn militaty ebelle against Chngchup Gyeltsen at the end of an at tis tme Gopa Kn die.282 Accoing to Kay, Logchenpa e centa
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Tibet and exiled exiled imself imself in Bhtan Bhtan in .283 Other evidence confirming Longchenpa's ight to Bhtn in this ye is fond in his poem Pise to Bumthang (Bhum thang lha'i sbas yul b bkod pa la bsngags pa me tog sed tshal), written in .284 Longchenpa decided in favor of Bhtan becase for him it was a peacefl place for prsing prsing religios actvities actvities.. This obviosly obv iosly reected his prefe preferen rence ce for Bddhist vles and spirital retreat over te prevailing ility and political conicts in cent l Tibet. He probably also decided on Bhtan becase of the prophecies indicating his tre rebirth tere. Karmay285 menions that in spite of a Tibetan Bddhist presence in Bhtan, even in the cenry it was known as the ni land", signifying absence o Bddhist light", a pace o dageros spirits" nd a place o which enemies of owerl rlers were eied.286 At e same ie it was sorce of ataction, rom he 12 cenry onwds,287 for Tibean religios igres who erceived it as a myseos Hidden Lnd, siabe for hiding sacred easres d siabe laer for teir teir potentia potentia discoery. According to Chids, Chids , is concet of Hidden Land" (sBas yul) was generaed d poplised by the easre revealer Rigdzin Godem (Rig dzin rGod i dem phru can, 1 1 0 8 ) .288 nlike Childs, s assers tha te first to coin he e was (Pad ma gli gling ng pa, 1450-15 1450- 15 21 ), who is cosidere by aditiona acconts as he Padma Lingpa (Pad Bhtanese reincation reincation of Longchenpa. Longchenpa.289 289 Neverheless, according o Rigdzi Godem's reasre,290 the Hidden Land is a place of sncary ad ferie lndscape which, dng times of oitical nd moral degeneration, was ide yet away om for siril reea nd for conit life recosced in a Tibetan manner Tibe. Regardess of exacy when the er Hidden Land was coined in relation to Bhtan, Longchenpa's erceion o it is not f from Rigzin Godem's. his poem Pise to hum tang, he menios the reigios, moral and oliica degeneraion of Tibet, hence his dearre for Bhtan, which he cosidered a sitabe ace for srial reea, nistrbed by the brden of mnde ife. This assage om Pise to Bu thang (Bum thang lha'i sbas yul b bkod pa la bsngags pa e tog sed tshal) writen in 1355 exresses his deligh wih Bhtan The Valley of Rinchen U-ra in the southeast s lovely and circular like the shape of a wheel. ts villages are well developed and its estates are many. Jewelled streams ow gently southwest. On its slopes are sites for attaining realizations, and ts intermediate border areas are ringed with monasteries. The grasses are nourishing and the cos are particularly productive. ts trees and fruits are excellent and its forests are marvellous n this country medicines are extremely potent and there are only fe types of illness. This land of resembles the Tibetan province of n the autumn it is neither too cool nor too warm. Since the lineage of Tibetan religious kings and Pure Tibetans reside there, it is especially exalted. 29 1
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Longchnpa dpicts Bhut as idal in almost vry aspct of lif, ng physical halth, food, noushmnt, favourabl favourabl ather conditions conditions,, and spital and comunal co munal lif. As has b shon, Longchnpa's prcpton of Bhutn is not f from igdzin Godm's notion of iddn Land. Bsides idntifying hat chactriss a iddn Lnd, igdzin Godm mntions signs292 sig ns292 tat indicat indicat right tim to to sek rg in a iddn Land. Ths includ signs sign s of social dcay, rligious dgneration, natua natuall disastrs disa strs and an d political instabiit instabiit icluding icluding invasion by xtal nmis as ll as th absnc of a roya dynasty. Thse l b notabl siility to Longchnpa's rasons for eig from Tibt. n rlation to igdzin Godm, djom inpoch assrts that only in 1366 di th formr bgi to rva tasrs,293 incluing t on ntaiing t concpt of iddn Land. Thrfor Longchnpa, ho i in 1364, coul not hav bn aar o th myth of th idn Land proposd by igdzin Gom. nc it is rmkabl that in Pise to Bumthang Longchnpa rmks nl l igzin Goem's signs for dpr xcpt on of natual ists: dmon mis of forign ivadrs .... disturbing th hart of the land", th onuror's taching .... narly isapparing in cntral Tibt", an th prsnc of babaros popl". This mans that Rigdin Goem's trasur as not ntirly a rvlation of n inomatio; Longchnpa's bhaviour shos that prsuit o i Lands as alrady an xisting phnomnon. On th othr hand, if th idn and tasu is a rprsntation of codct alignd ith harma, it positions Longchnpa's scap om Tibt as a jstifi on bcaus it is align it th Bddhist harma, a it positions Logchnpa as a rligious ladr hos actios ar alignd ith th Budhist rligion. n Bhtan, ongchnpa continued th lin of ork h initiad ith th rstoration of th tmpl of Zhai Lhakhang and construct ight rligios sits,295 mostly monastic hrmitags,29 6 and also ngagd in teaching ad riting zogchn tts an poms. hutas folkloristic tals dpictd him as a miraculous atr sorc discovrr and a subdr of dmons, to list a f aspects , and ths ths in tu sm to hav ractivatd ractivatd th myth myth of Padmasambhava ho as said i th Testament f Ba to hav bn a watr divin and a subdur of dmons. nc Longchnpa was rgardd as his succssor. t should b notd that most of th matrial rgarding the stay of Longchnpa in Bhtan is hagiographical in natr, and Bhtan is portrayd as a living xampl of a contry that has kpt its ancint traditions297 and hich has a rich oral traition nabling an oral costrction of th folkloristic storis of his life of xil in Bhutan.298 Thos folkloristic storis not only point to th highly rgardd pac h still occupis in Bhutan but also to his rprsntation, lik Padmasambhava, as a symbol hich orints Bhtans lif towards Buddhist lif. ack in Tibet Longchpa finlly rturne to ibt in 1360-136 an as rconcil with hungchup Gyltsn ith th hlp of Sangye Pal (Sangs rgyas dpal), according to The Blue Annals.
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Longchenpa even became Chungchup Gyeltsen's teacher, while e latter oered cloes and other mate l gifts.301 The reconciliatin was p of Chungchup Gyeltsen's concentrated effor to invoke nationalist consciousness and sentiment,302 t reinforce his political grasp on Tibet and to associate himself with Tibet's glorious past. Longchenpa's representations of teachings, incations and Nyingma ogins of Tibet's gloous past presented another suitable opportnity for Chungchup Gyeltsen, helping to sere his plans for national unity. Once again we see Longchenpa involved with a principal ruler, reactivating the old mythic symbol of Tibet Tibet om o m the cent when Paasbhava imped ttc Budhist teachings to King risong etsen, an hus Longchenpa reinforces his status as a representation of Padmasambava an a supreme surce of knowledge. Tis repeted motif of Longchenpa's associaon asso ciaon wi wih e myhic myhic stat of Padmasb Padmasbava ava is a powerl expression expres sion d a peagogica peago gica example of o f one of the main tantri tantricc practices, Gr Yoga. Gu Y oga303 includes a meditaton meditaton on e mental image of one's teache as emboying the wisom of te many teacers an te Buda of te past, wi te intention of aiing one to merge wih one's gu, who is te natrl and intellgen state of being. ence, peagogicly speaing, Longchenpa implicitly suggests that pacitiones shold seek to ientiy themselves wih their teacher in the same manner e uncompromisingly refers to an seeks to merge wi Pamasambhava. owever, er e reconciliation wih Chungcup Gyalsten, Longchenpa's repuaion gew even greater an he was followe constantly an invied to ebates to prove is nowledge. Te latter years of his lie, then, were divide between giving public teachings, writing, and pactcing in solie.304 In 1364, at e age o ftysix, Lngchena became ill and begn to prepe fo his ea, comosing is fina testamens or ping injuncions. Accoing to Tthang u (),305 ongcena ongcen a compose compos e ee testaments, testaments, te te first first n mos acces acc essible sible of whic is Now that I Come to Die (Zhal ches dri ma med pa'i ).306 is ex esents e essence of Buhism in lyric form, using sg siiles in a beseeching tone. ater on, Longchenpa ha a series of visions d, in accorance wi te ibetan litery convention, e is sai o ave entere a state of eep meitation. In adition, many miraclous signs such as ainbows, showers of owers, and perfumed scents were sai to ave been maniested for wentyfive ays following his death. Of course ese, like e signs at his birh, wee p o a liery convention use when wriing abo eminent eole. Most reaers who e with e biograpies of Tibet yogis might fin ese miraclos signs o be no entely nsul. Nevereless ongcenpa's lie is held in secial esteem wiin he entire Tibetn aition. e has vously been recognized as one of the ree famous famous incations o Manju Manju, , emaion of Vimla (Kumrdza), a secon na, the Secon Gaab oje (dGa ' ra rdo rdo rje) je ) pohesie by kyamuni Bua, as well as Pamasbav, the secon Samtabhara. hese ttles in e zogcen aiion e nt given ligtly.30 ne as to ll cen criteria to ave eceive sc titles.308 Tese tles convey sel inoation abot is cultur context however ongchenpa's imortance shol epen
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entirely on what he was saying and writing and not on who others claimed him to be. hus again, it can be seen that hagiographies, lough lacking in obective t" derived om empirically vlidated factl events, cannot be disissed. On te conty, this pticul hagiography does tell us about te status Longchenpa occupied in ibet. Lgcep's corus agu Among the many ibetan wters Longchenpa is unique. His works cover a wide range of styles, om simple and plain nguage, trou e poetic-metaphorical, to consistenty profound and briliant philosopica expositions. In range, he moves freely back and for across topics om stic Buddhist aditions, exotec n esoteric Budhist tanas, to Dzogcen. In fact, he is not only one of the the greatest scos s cos an yogin/p yogin/praci raciioners ioners that codie, colate an syntesized al e traitions of Dzogchen but he aso had a sstntial knowledge of Budhist tenet systems which he presente in his etaied doxographic work The Precious Treasu of Systems (Grub mtha' mdzod). 309 Accoring to Davi Germno,31 most of his cous on Dzogcen was faitly preserved; an the works that are consiere to be his principa works form five colections () The Trilogy of Dispelling Darness (Mun sel sor gsum) () The Trilogy of Resting at Ease (Ngal gso skor gsum) ( ) The Trilogy of Natural Freedom (Rab sgro sor gsum) (4) The Seven Treasuries mDzod bdun) () The Seminal eartEssence in Four Parts (sNying thig ya bzhi). bzhi) . Although Germo mentions that the ates on wch these works were compose e not ce becase ose ates were not mentione wihin te various colophons, which is extremely unusua in ibetan literatre (not really so unusal), Argire was sti ae to offer a not unreasonae hypothesis regaring the dates of composition.311 Argilre has reace his concusions regaring the ates aer cross checking ata rawn from ongchenpa's own catalogue of writings an biographies,312 an from his chronoogica utilization of coophons in reation to written topics an perios of his ife. Arguilre 313 also tracke and consiere the compex pattern of ongchenpa's self-quotations from his own previous works in later works works an teir genera characteristics31 characteristics31 4 in reation reation to the periods period s of his life. ongchenpa was a prolific writer. he most up-to-ate catalogue, that of the onie ietan Budhist Resource Center, ists over titles compose by Longchenpa.315 ulku honup, in his inrouction to The Precious Treasu of the Way of Abiding, states that ogcenpa composed over titles. he process of extracting ongchenpa's cataloge of writings stil contines in acaemic an traitiona circles an recently Arguire 317 31 7 was abe to identify works written by ongchenpa. His works i survive throug te ages an not ony ue to the high importance pace on tem y h stuents. heir preservation was aso ue to the avent of printing from woolocks which came into use in ibet at the beginning of the century, and which
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greatly facilitated the disbution of Buddhist texts. Although this technique of printing has been surpassed by mode ones, ibetans continued to use woodblock methods until recenly for traditional as well as sentimental reasons. Only in the century did they st to use mode printing methods.318 On the one hand, the woodblock meods facilitated the establishment of the ibetan canon, while on the other hand, they made it difficult to introduce new or unknown material, which signified the desire to keep the canon as authentic as possible. In fact, new mateas were incorporated by adding supplements to existing texts. Nevertheless, it seems that woodblocks ket caons ogin" not because they were designe that way but simply because that was te ature of te technoogy. Numerous writers319 have exounded extensively on the cous of Longcenpa, but here the main focus wil be o the two works wich e most relevat to is study. he first work is te seco t of The Trilogy of Natul atu l Freedom (Rang gl g l skor gsum) gsu m) title The Natu Natul l Freedom of Reali (Chos nyid rang grol). his as been translate twice. e first is an unpubishe translation by Peter Fenner who was assisted by Christenson d Geano, and the second is a translatio ito Frech y Pillipe Cou.320 he mai teme i tis work is Logcena's refutation of go-oented ractices. he secon work is the sixth t of The Seven Treasuries mDzod bdun), titled A Treasure Trove of Scriptul Tnsmission: A Commenta on The Precious Treasu of the Basic Space of Phenomena (Chos dbyings rin po che'i mdzod zhes bya ba'i grl palung gi gter mdzod). It is concee with the zogcen non-dual pilosohy d te ractice of ekc (khregs chod, cutting throug throug solidity). solidity) . Give tat te essential uose of te sty is to emonstrate that Longchena transforme his rhetoc of negation into a edagogy caale of facilitatig te exerience of ara aweness tese two works e of secial imornce for this uose. Wile the main theme in The Natul Freedom of Reali is the retaon retaon of goal-orien goal- oriented ted ractices ractices,, the mai tem temee in A Treasure Trve of Scriptul Tnsmission is te transformation of egation into peagogy entailing methods caale of irect introuctio to atural awareness and a on-dua ractice that enables the ractitioner ractitioner to sustain and to abide in that state.
l l F A v l d egti his section wil consier the time ad setting whe te two works were comosed in order to contextualize Logcea's critique and egation of goal-oriented practices and its develoment into a eagogy of negatio. The Trilogy of Natul Freedom consists of ree texts, writte in the form of verses, with prose texts serving as a commenty. e second t of te trilogy, The Natural Freedom of Reali, wic is in the focus of this sty, iclues two texts. he first is a log oem in tree ts that resets the view, meditatio, and frit of zogcen, wereas te seco contains only essetial istrctios o zogchen practice.
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he colophons tell us that the author was Longchenpa whose name is recorded as being Dm dzer (Dri med od zer), and indicate the trilogy was composed at his solitay cave at angri hokar (Gangs ri thod dkar) he name Drim dzer was born out of a vision Longchenpa had while living in Samy in the forest of Chimphu, aer he had spent nearly three yes wi wih his root teacher Kumaja It seems hd to believe that while living in rough physical circumstnces during that period of tme he would be engaged in wting and producing at least two trilogies: Natul atu l Freedom d also Resting at Ease he main interest here in examining the colophons is to track the development of Longchenpas ieas his auto comenty to e colophon in his work A Treasure Trove of Scriptul Tnsmission I it ongchenpa writes: In works that set any profound topic related to developmental spiritual aproaches or that primarily discuss meditative absorption (both the letter and the spirit of these topics), I have signed by the name Drim dzer. 322
hat is to sa s ay, e Natul Freedom of Realiy is concee more wih te ifferent stages long the sp uhist pa and, to be more prcis prcise,e, wi e negatio of the evelopme evelopment ntl spl approach to liberation ogchenas purpose n this text is to raw a precse demrcation or discement between the natural mind associated with Dzogchen and the conitioned mi associate wi effort nd go-oriented practices In fact tis is the meaning of the d series (Sems sde) cass of zogchen teachng323 wich is about sceent betwee ordny mentl process subject to e imensios of time caus lity, to contoed exstence, suerimostion of beliefs and jumen ju ments ts;; d he nare of n (sems nyid) which is entrely free rom l ose factors It consists of a systematic seuence of explanations of how to eter into the sate of contepaton, where one abides in a natr state of mn or unconione aweness (rig pa) It seems that trough te composition of e Natual Freedom of Realiy Longchena, as Germno puts it,324 ces his mind" of concept l rocess by shly negating a vast range of phiosophca views and spiri practices associated wi eort d gol orientaton hese e grounde withi the dualit of meas nd eds n hence e a rouct o a conitoned n Logchea exclues the PrsagikaMdhyamaka view rom his geeral negation of phiosophic views vie ws an raxis raxis i generl, n excusion that that will be iscusse iscu sse when inuiring inuiring about the roots and natre of ongchenas egation of spta practices he chater of the ess Ater the smantling process o views and practices is accompshe, oy then does Longchenpa roceed to eat exca excate te the eps o f Dzogchen as a s non-ua natra natra aweness aweness I xamig an reviewing is critiue of goal-orieted ractces in The Natural Freedom of Realiy, Longchenas evolution of hought d practice can be understoo in a more profound sense as a conversion or ansfoatio om a iscourse of e rhetoc of negaton to one of the peagogy o negaton negaton While the theme of The Natul Freedom of Reali is he repettous negation of e prevaiing phosohicl views and srtul practices t s n he ater work, A Treasure Trove of
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Scriptual Transmission, that Longchenpa transfos the negation into a pedagogy that may culminate in a concrete experience of natural awareness. A Treasure Trove of Scriptural Tnsmission is such a text, a contemplat contemplative ive text that, that, according to Longchenpa, Longche npa, reveals the way of
abiding in a spacious expanse.3 hat is to say, it is about the practice of trekch, which enables capable Dzogchen practitioners to effortlessly stabilize and continue to abide in the experience of natural aweness . t assumes a ssumes that the practit practitioner ioner ready knows how to disce between ordiny/ ordiny/ discrsive mind and the natre of mind, hence offers methods that enable steadfastness in the natre of min. hs, the connection beween e two texts is a developmental and seuential one whee negaion, is pedagogy, and e expeence of naral aweness fo the red hread that links the two texts. t represents an evolion i ongchenpa's thought and pactice, whee meos meo s e peseed on a age fom fom the negation of effo effo-f -fll ll methods" to the pescriptio of eff effor orless less meos" .36 n fact hese two woks st together in one continm. n ths resect Agile concldes ha: Finally, The Naual eed Real and Teaue Tve Spual Ta are alike in their structure and totally original, without a precedent (as far as recent research allows to conclude), and similar in expression of thought that could surprise the common reader who is versed in the subtleties of the Tibetan religious and philosophical literature.327
Ths Argilre, seeing the large commo deominao of these two works expesse in nparaeled orginaliy and extaoinary style and thoght, sitates the works at he ed of Longchenpa's ife, derving fom boh han agri hok. A Treasure Trove of Scriptul Tnsmission consiss of a condensed roo-verse ex, ad a singe eailed ato commentary which nlocks" or ravels" the roo veses, which ae sorted with an extensive range of other other sciptral sciptral ciatons ciatons.. Sch a tex is traditionally reged ot as a comosition conived by mndae metal cocepts, but as a reslt o a cle natal mid tha tha gives give s br" to wos. wos . From a lite litery ry poin poin of view, this work is scholastically sch olastically bliant bliant an constitutes a hyn to the natre of aweness. For centries his book remae one of he most popul meitation mnals ad inspired many Dzogchen ollowers. t has been held in the highest esteem by ibetan meditaors sch as all npoche, a major figre of the tradition in the cenry who made it the very he of hs pesona sprial ractice, and by Khenpo Ngagchg (mKhan po Ngag chung, ), Nyoshul Lungtok (Nyo shul lung rtok, -), Kyala Khenpo Khyala mkhan po, ) and Ddjom Linga (bud oms gling pa, -).38 n fact it is regarded by many as the intessenial Nyingma ex which eloently and elegantly smmarizes view, pracice d goal. Wen it comes to he estion of the date of the composition of A Treasure Trove of Scriptu Scriptull Tns Tnsmissio mission, n, vos witers differ slightly in their views. Accordig o the aitio39 as coveyed by rgyen lk o David eano, this text was composed by ongchena i hutan, b after osing i on his way back to ibet e then recomposed itat agri ok.330
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David Geo33 indicates at according to Longchenpa's own catalogue which was produced while in exile Bhutn he wrote A Treasure Trove of Scripturl Tnsmission in his last days in Bhutn. This is also evident in the way Longchenpa's thought developed om e time he was staying with hi root teacher until later on while staying in Gang Thok and en in Bhutan as this work is a sumation of the detve hemes of Dzogchen from the perspectve of he basic space of phenomena. Hillis states tat A Treasure Trove of Scriptul Tnsmission was eier composed dung Longchenpa's stay in Bhut or shorly aer his re to the region of Samy.332 Samy.332 Arguillre333 so mentions tat it was wrien in - in Bhut. Te problem is that in e colophons of e same ork ongchenpa himself states a it was composed in Ggi Thok.334 The vious oinions an ongchenpa's own catalogue of works and coloons coloo ns mainly point to to te But period as he time which A Treasure Trove of Scriptul Tnsmission was comosed. t may be at ongcenpa indeed wrote he ext wie in Bhutan bu laer revise revise edie or comiled i in Gngri Gngri ok pon is retu retu o cen Tie. Anoer oer possibilit is a metaphorical one: in another ext The Precious Treasu of the Way of Abiding ongchen on gchenaa escribed e scribed Gangri Thokar as te noble no ble mansio m ansionn of Samana S amanabhadra" bhadra" 335 which signifies e nare of mind in te sense hat Samatabhadra is ten as being embemac of the pure essence of mnd. Probably Longchena intended to assert tha although he himself was saying in Bhut Bhu t the ex stemmed stemmed om o m e naure naure of mind te domain of S amabadr amabadra a which ongcena related or named as Gangri Thokar. Altough these exlanaions deive from metahocal interretaions e not facts they e no easonable ossibilities. Neveheess i may be concluded a te ext was witten witten in e pero o time beween ongchena' s ast as t days in Bhun or upon hs re to centl Tibet between to , a e en of te fi decade of is life d a few yes before he passed away in at e age of . The tansaion of A Treasure Trove of Scripturl Transmission by ama Coyi Nyima (bLa ma Chos i Nyi ma) used for his stuy is a cross tacing o ree ifferen editions. The first one was printed from woodblocks cave at the Adzom Chgar (A dzoms chos mgar) rinery in ease Tibet probably in the begining of the ceny. Te second is a revised edition of the rt source ad was rinted . The rd was om a hoto offse of prnts made om wood blocks ced in Drge (sDe dge), published in in Sim. The ansation was supervised by Cagdud Tu (lCags mdud sprul sku) nd inoduced by Tu Thondu.33
FROM EGAIO O ABECE
e reric f f egi egi i ibe befre Lgcep Lgcep N ow that the work of o f Longchenpa Longche npa to be used for the the study of negation, its pedago ped agogy gy and the experience of natural awareness have been identified, the actua themes of negation and its pedagogica peda gogica method should be identified identified and contextualized contextualized too. An exposition of vious selected selecte d pracice and teaching mehods associaed with the rhetorc of negation and its ransission which exised before Longchenpa will enable us o situate Longchenpa as a teacher. This wil aid in cifying the manner manner in which Longchenpa Longchen pa was able to overcome overcom e the tension stemming from from the padox of goaloented spiritua practices and liberation. I order to execue ts ask, the pracice and is teaching mehods, the modes of its tansission, and he pedagogy of negaion etween he and cenuries wil wil be expored tough tough the the life life nd works works ooff Madhusdhu, Nubchen Yeshe, Yesh e, Gampopa, Gamp opa, and Lama Zhang, al grea chismatic chismatic figures figures of their their time time who le an a n imprint imprint on their their tradiio tradiionn and enriched and enhanced enhan ced the deveopment of Buddhis Bu ddhism m in Tibet. Mdusdu One of the st exposiions exposi ions of the rhetoc rhetoc of o f negaion appes in he text The Four Yogas which is found in a Dunhuang document (IOL Tib. J ) . Alhough lacking lacking a colophon, according to to van Schaik i is atribuable o Madhusdhu and is dated between the mid and d- cenuries, obviousy obviousy befor beforee Ga Gampo mpopa pa ( - ) foul foulat ated ed his his Four Yogas of Mhmudr.337 The text refers to themes characteristic of Mahyoga tanras, but focuses pticully on themes such as resing in the space of reaiy, reaiy, he natre natre of nd, non-duaiy, sameness, samenes s, and spontaneous presence which e a consistent cons istent with Dzogchen Semde (Sems sde) lierature. The Four Yogas referred o above e () The Yoga of the Nature (ng bzhin gyi al byor) which refers to the nature of ind which is primordial purity and Buddhahood; () The Yoga of Accompishment which refers to being estabished in the naure of mind as it ises naturaly () The Yoga of Abiding by the Oaths whie one remains and abides in natural awareness counicaing counicaing with vous vo us divities divities and binding binding them by oath in i n order to compete cerain tasks () The Yoga for Accomplishing the Samaya which refers to keeping one's vows or commitments whie abiding in the nature of mind, and which can be regded as a comitment or a vow by itsef.338 One of the main hemes in Madhusdhu Mad husdhu'' s Four Y ogas og as,, related o practice or more precisely precise ly nonpractice" nonp ractice",, is i s the accompishment acc ompishment of the Four Yogas occuing simulaneousl simulaneouslyy and not as a graduated practice. For him, practice is abou effo effort rtles lessly sly resting resting in the space of realiy" realiy":: Space Sp ace s the condition of ising and dissoving of al phenomena, he essentia nature of reaity which is
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empty of independent existnce and in which phenomena are still apparent. Cognitively Madhusdhu Madhus dhu refers refers to a direct perception perception at occurs before concepts nd judgments e foed by the individual when encountering any sense object, allowing a cler perception of he objects as they are independent of the perceiver's concepts, judgments and ames of reference. Resting means to abide a bide in that space sp ace without withou t any mental activity and ithout fabri fabricating cating the inner gesture of rest, independently of the three times. That is to say, resting cannot be a product of a present subject subj ect intending to abide in he space sp ace of relity in the future because this would entail a reference point on which resing is dependen. According o Madhusdhu, when all intenal and extel phenomena endowed endowe d with with te causes and eects of sasra nd nirv nirv e of o f one taste, in understanding both to be empty of independen existence and as having one tase', this is resti resting ng in union (neor)" (neor)" in he sense that phenomena and their empty naure consist of a non Alhough Madhusdhu dualit.3 dualit .33939 Al Madh usdhu doesn doe sn'' explicity explicity express express forms forms of negaon of spu spul pracices ith injuncions such as o n", let go", etc, in the manner of Longchenpa, Madhusdhu implicitly does so by refering to characterisics of mediation in the form of unsurpassed concenaion which is unfabcaed, non-fixaed nd non-distacted.340 It is in Nubchen Yeshe's A Lamp for the Eye in Contemplation (bSam gtan mig sgron), in which according o van Schaik341 he name of Madhusdhu ad silr themes e discussed, tha te explici negations of practces e expressed expresse d wiin wiin he conext of Dzogchen Dzogch en view d practce.
ubchen Yeshe Nubchen Yeshe ( centur) centur) was mentioned in chapter chapter in he he conext of S amy: amy: simultaneous simultaneous nd gradual raxis' . In his work A Lamp for the Eye in Contemplation the chaper on Dzogchen is endowed with detailed explanations explanations of is is teacings teacings.. For Nubchen Yeshe: he he dcrine of Aiyoga is he bes and umos Yoga, he moher of all conquerors, is name is he Grea Perfecion (Dzogchen) because i gives deailed eaching wih a view of imparing direc undersanding of he principal of non-sough sponaneiy wih regard o all exisenial elemens32 elemens32
Here, Nubchen Yeshe positions Dzogchen as the bes and utmos yoga and jusifies the superlaives attributed to Dzogchen because it teaches te principle of sponaneity. Here he term spontaneity means an unpremediaed or unplanned response o an event and is about direct percepion which is expeenced within self-aweness (ng rig), unmediaed or conditioned by concepts or mentl conscts at a t occur in he nd. Obviously, Obviou sly, is sponteity sponteity cno be sought, sought , becuse one's endeavour or effort to adop such an aiude will contanate the freshness and directness of one's experience and is self-contradictory. To directly undersand non-sough sponaneiy"343 means to realize Dzogchen, which implies the negation of any act at is intended o achieve sponneity because becau se such ac is tile or self-conadicor. self-conadicor. This negaon gives gi ves se o the cdinal qusion: How can one expeence direc perception wiin self-aweness wihou seeking it or by doing any anyhing? This quesion leads to a series of questions hat Nubchen Yeshe
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pose po sess i the form form of a imagiy imagiy dialogue as a meas meas of o f ehacig ehacig uderstad uderstadig ig of Dzogche. Dzogche . A example of such a questio is Is there aythig to be ivestigated i Dzogche?" Nubche Yeshe presets a sage reply, sayig that the very act of questioig ad its cotet se out of oe' oe ' s esciece or igorace igorace of reity as itit is" (tathat) d whe oe abides i o avoidig ad o-searchig" ad without ivestigatig, which is the state of spotaeity experieced by self-awaeess, the aswer" will be made cle. Nubche Yeshe provides a aswer here by meas of padox, Do ot sech but do ot refrai from searchig," which by ature is self-cotradictory. The iheret tesio i the padox creates discomfort ad frustratio for the aspirant. Nubchen's series of egations eads to a circul gumet actios such as ivestigatio, inference, inference, reease of mid, mid, avoidace, seekig seekig,, words and a other other methods methods are are futile. futile. 344 344 They cannot cannot lead one to the the experience experienc e of the state of Dzogchen Dzogc hen.. Therefore, Therefore, if there is othig othig to be de" how can one come to the realizatio of the ature of mind? It is circular because the question wil be aswered again negatively in terms of a paradox, which will icrease the tesion for the student iterested in realizig the state of Dzogchen. The studet, beig unsatisfied with the aswer, might raise another questio such as, How one can progress towards the Iner Experiece without doing aything? Agai, they will be answered by means of a egatio. The negatio wil perpetuate the ambiguity and icrease their feelings of tesio due to their iabiity to resove the self-cotradictory or paradoxica ature of the answers. If the aspirat were to avoid asking questions and decide to remai silent it would conflict wit Nubchen's Yeshe advice of on-avoidig" mentioed earier. If the aspirant were to contiue contiue ad ask questions they would be usatisf u satisfacto actorily rily aswered by means of egatio. egatio. To understand the ature ature of the rheto rhetoric ric of egatio used b y Nubche Yeshe I suggest inudig most expressions of egatio under a cetral rubric, that of no-action," referrig to the negation of spiritual practices. After all, from the point of view of Dzogchen teachigs expres expressios sios such as sechig, se chig, investigating, avoidig, avoidi g, releasing, tinkig, tinkig, visualizig ad labelli labellig g deote both menta ad physical activities which are icapable of leading the practitioner to a abidig i their essetia atural aweness. Thus the focal poit in the followig sectio is the examiatio examiatio of the concept of on- action" in Nubchen Yeshe' Yeshe ' s work work ad its vious explaations of what the the meaing meaing of non-actio" might be. I the following following pass p assage age Nubche Yeshe explns what he meas by the negation of activit activity y Does one remain without doing anything then? The answer to this question is that meritorious deeds and searching actiities do not bring about much good. Howeer, it would not do at all if one abandoned them all. Why? Because in this great system, non-actiity" does not mean that one should reject and abandon eerything nor would one do anything purposely. One remains effortlessly within the principle. If one understands this way, one does not stop oneself whateer one does, nor is there any cause to be sought actiely. Moreoer, in this great system of the practice of the ancients, nothing is rejected nor anything accepted. Een the sense of the
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non-aciviy" is no sough nor does one remain wihou sense. Those who coe in he fure and who are forunae enough o enjoy his religious radiion mus know his way is called he anner of laying down of he grea principle". One sleeps in he sae of harmadhau wihou losing he king of inellec". Those, whose inelligence for undersanding his principle has become submerged and who e cied cied away by he of sriving, e like a person bo blind. They accep he eaching of he Grea Perfecion and alk abou non-aciviy", ye inside hey e puosely sriving for somehing. To sech for he sense of non-aciviy" acively is like a woman who hopes o be favored afer having danced.345
Here, the explanations of the meaning of non-activity are given by means of bi-polar negation expressed within a padox. That is to say, say , activities activities such as accumulating accumulating merits nd seching for one's natural aweness e not as they would become a burden or an an obstacle obstacle for one' s realization of Dzogchen. However at the same time it would not be advisable to abandon those activities. To rticulate it in a paradoxical phrase, it would mean, ive up activities as they e hindrances on the way to liberation but do not avoid being involved in such activities". Accordingly, one may still be involved in meritorious deeds which may promote expressions of compassion and reduce suffering in one's community. However, as this is a paradoxical statement both bo th its its pos p ossibilities sibilities exlude exlud e each other. other . There There are other paradoxes that appear appear in the the passag pa ssagee expres expressed sed in a sharp sharp and concise manner, manner, such such as as nothing is rejected rejected nor anyth anything ing is accepted", and Even the sense of the non-activity' is not sought nor does one remain without that sense". Een if one argues that there is n contradiction given that both accepting something' and rejecting something' are designations of particular mental states or directions of the the attention; attention ; and that theoretically theoretically ne n e can c an withdraw withdraw from from either sort of state, yet what would be then that actual stae? Furthermore, ho is one to understand such instructions that may be perplexing for the practitioner interested in realizing the principle of Dzogchen, one of abiding in natural awareness? Clearly, Clearly, Nubchen' s defini definitio tionn of o f non-action" non-action" a s an a n instructi instruction on is relevant relevant only for for those who are suitable for the teachings of Dzogchen but not for other types of candidates who accept ac cept the teachng of the reat Perfection Perfection and talk about non- activity' activity' , yet inside they are purposely striving for something. To search for the sense of non-activity' actively is like a woman who hopes to be favoured after having danced." Therefore, for those who have already had the experience of natural awareness, the definition of non-action via paradox would mean advice to act but at the same time to be deply de ply rooted in the experience of natural natural awareness, awareness, that is to say, they will act in response to sense objects but without forming any attachment or aversion in relation to them. In this case one acts then without having the sense agency, intentionality or attachment to the object of reference. It is a specific type of action that implies a presupposition,346 that entails a belief in the possibility of such feedom from the occurrence or on-occurrence of certain conditions or events that would be absent when
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abidig i attachmet-free atural awareess. However, brigig this belief to the test of Nubche's otio of o-actio" would mea that such a belief should ot be cultivated or avoided, which sigifies havig a profoud uderstadig or experiece of that state. But although Buddhists are great adherets of persoal experiece they are aware of the difficulties associated with it as meas of cogitio as it ca be misleadig or deceptive. or example, Cadrakirti asserts that experiece is ot a valid meas of argumetation because it ca be false or illusory i the same way that a perso who is ill with jaudice ca experiece the world as beig yellow.347 However, Nubche yeshe emphasizes the capacity for discermet betwee distorted or clear experiences of those who are suitable for the teachings of Dzogche, those who sleep i he state of Dharmadhatu without losig the kig of itellect'''. For the others others,, he defiit defiitio io express expressed ed by way of a padox has but a consig meig, d for them to understad he correct meaning they would have to realize for themselves the experience of natral awareess which cnot be created by ay actio. This would lead them to the questio, que stio, If the nature of id cannot be reached by means of o f any actio, metal or physical, how i ca be accessed?" By means of he later questio they will face again the rhetoric of negatio with its pedagogical aim to contest this very compulsive and discursive maer of thiing geed towds certainty. Along he exhaustive circul gumetation iheren in the negation of practice, Nubche Yeshe, susigly, presents a system of mehods by which, one ight imagie, he might adt that tere tere is soe pracice that ca c a lead the Dzogche Dzo gche practitioner to the realizatio o their true true ature. According to Nubchen Yeshe, Dzogchen mediaion icludes two componets: ( ) methods regding regding how to disciplie he he body body (us i bzhag thabs) and (2) methods regdig how o access the id (sems i ug thabs). On the physical methods Nubchen states: [In this system] there is no [specific] bodily discipline like [that of] the lower yogas of development, because it is free of any notion of bodily grasping or attachmet. Thus, there are no definite methods regarding how to position the body. However, if one asks, Does one reject [all the bodily discipline,] such as cross legged sitting and so forth, of the lower [vehicles], [My response is that] one does not reject them as long as one does not grasp [or attach onesel to the body. Nor does one accept them intentionally. [In that way,] there is no contradiction in sitting cross legged, lying down facing up or down, or stretching in whatever way whatsoever. The practice of yoga itself makes anything into bliss, and laziness is [surely] a wrong action.348
The method i questio includes inc ludes the th e employmet employmet of physical physic al postures pos tures as pt p t of a plan or stategy that one ght exercise as a mens to enhance he state of mediatio or to access oes natural sate. As expected, Nubchen's position on physical posures is expressed again by means of negation, which can be summed up as follows: physical postures cannot be athe means to accessing one's atural stae because i is free of ay pre-meditaed strategy. However at the same
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time whatever the body pos p ostu ture re is, is , that t hat is the position of practice of stabilizing stabilizing the natural natural state for the one who aeady abides in that state. Therefore, engaging in physical postures is futile because it cannot access the nature of mind and avoiding physical postures means laziness which is a wrong action. As can be seen, seen , Nubchen Nubchen Yesh s position po sition on the employment of physical physica l postures po stures presents a dilemma which invokes tension for the practitioner about rational choice conceing spiritual practice ad liberation. For Nubchen the same principle of negation is applicable also for methods of engaging the ind On the methods of how to engage the mind, it is an engaging without engagement It is the suchness of reality that does not reify anything whatsoever and that naturally illuminates the essence of the great non-conceptual nature or being Consequently the realization of non engaging is known as engaging3 49
Here, from frst sight, it seems a positive state of engagement of the nd is reached by doing" its opposite, which is non-engagement. What Nubchen is refeing to here is the nature of mind, the awened mind which cannot be accessed by any planned action, including a mental one. In non engaging he h e means that if one can abide in a state which is i s unfbricated unfbricated or uncontved and which is aived at" without any pre-meditated strategy, one wil realize this engagement with the suchness of reity, a reization which is equa to te nature of mind. Therefore, if one mes any attempt to engage the nature of mind it woud be fabricated, as it cannot be accessed by means of a physic l or a ment activity. On the other hand, if one attempts to refrain from any engagement with any mental content, the very act of such avoidance is a sategy that may be a hindrance to engaging the nature of ind. us Nubchen does not provide specific instructions applicable to body and mind practices. This situation creates tension, frustration and dissatisfaction for the stdent who seches aer iberation. Nubchens abstract methods of dealing with the body and mind are concerned with implementation implementation in accordce wih the the nature nature of reality reality and one one s essential e ssential ind. He H e sugge s uggests sts at: a t: Without contriving or adulterating the three doors [body, speech and mind] one sees all phenomena with one s awakened mind and then acts accordingly Neither doing nor stopping doing, one simply acts without attachment35
That is to say, as long as ones acts e rooted within ones essential mind, those actions wil be free from any attachments; for example, to those of gain and loss, pleasure and pain, etc. Furthermore, in the context of methods of practice for the body and mind, physical and mental activties activties e performed performed without any any atachment atachment to the methods themselves themselve s , their outcome, outcome , os osss or gain, and pain or pleasure they mght cause. How Ho w can ca n Nubchen s instruction instructionss for physical and meditative meditative practice practice given aer the lengthy lengthy discourse of negation negation be understood? Non-action Non-a ction not refer refer to a total total absence of action. Otherise Otherise,, how c the rnge of activitie activitiess from eating, travelling, teaching, writing, debating, estblishing monasteries and fighting, all of
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which were carried out by those who realized essential mind such as Nubhen Yeshe, Longchenpa, Padmasambhava, Gampopa and Lama Zhang, be explained? One explanation regding regdin g the meaning of non-action or what might be a legitimate" action, acti on, comes from Kennad Kennad Lipma: Non-action" is basically the discovery of freedom as something inseparable from our being; it cannot be created n this respect, freedom is not the opposite of determinism but of compulsion, of having to act A spontaneous, unpremeditated way of acting in which one does not need to avoid any situation as negative for example is only possible havin some experience of nondoing" as meditation, which is a profound grasp of the natural condition of the mind usually termed gp.
Lipman provides here a hermeneutic device as an aid to disceing and differentiating between sponaneous or unpremeditated and compulsive ways of acting. This reasonably explicates the rage of activiies which were cied cied out by those who re lized essentia e ssentia mind, because non-acion n on-acion does not sand for a total absence of acion. Lipmn seems to use the mode term of compulsive acion in order to mediate the Dzogchen notion of non-action from the 4 century to contempory contempory practii practiioners oners or readers on he subjec subject.t. However, he mode notion of compusive behaviour is about being forced to act as a result of an anxiety chacterized by uncontollable, unwanted oughs and repeiive and ritualized behaviours. In he same mnner, meditation and certain spitual practices can become repeitive and ritualized behaviour when cried out by practitioners moivated by obsession, compeitiveness and the like. That is to say, one is then conditioned by negaive or positive oughts or by actions. For Longchenpa, non-acion would entai conduct which has not originated from pmal ignornce (avidy at necessiy yields he eor of ego xaion352 which in t eads one o he experience of being an eniy sepae om others. Once this du listic suctur sucturee is crstallized one has he sense o being forced to accept and enjoy certain situations and to endure or reject other ones and to ac accordingly. This reects a condition in which one is constanty becoming caught up in he compexiy and consion con sion of a personal identiy identiy tat tat diff differe ereniates niates beween one' s agency nd one' s actions. As a resul one' s experience experience of life is one of suering suering (dukha) In Buddhism, Buddhism, avidy is the notion of an a priori, fase, pervasive belief system that chacterises chacterises he h e humn humn condition conditi on and exisence. It is an inheren inheren wrong percepion, a beginning less cosmic consion at resides in everyone, and which perpetates painfu experience.353 The uimate concern in Buddhism is he cessaion of suffering, or liberation from his painfu experience. experience. Thus in Buddhism Bu ddhism in genera genera avidy stands for e opposite of nowledge or insigh at wil ultimaey bring abou libration. The notion of dukha (suffering) in Buddhism does not refer only to unpeasant ings and unhappy physica and menta states that one experiences bu is principally about condiioned existence. Thus one ' s psycho p sychosomat somatic ic existence is about suff sufferi ering ng tha perpetua perpetuates tes isef. A desire generates a serch for its graification, the agony of sech leads to dissatisfaction and rher
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craving, and so on.35 That is to say, dukha denotes human existence which is essentialy unsatisfactory, a condition in which one is confronted by thoughts, feelings, sensations and siuations one would prefer prefer not to to expeence; expeence ; o a condition where one is cononted by sepation from one's loved ones, and from pleasant and joyful experiences which one would prefer not to expeene. While dukha is the first of the Four Noble Truths, the fundamental Buddhist teaching, the second is the root or cause of dukha craving (t) for pleasing sense obj obj ects, ects , etety, etety, certainty, certainty, and what is finite. Living a conditioned existence fuelled by craving, the individual develops a misten sense of being soid and continuous, a sense of ego, although it is but a colection of tendencies and events . ese tendencies e refe refeed ed to as the five five aggregates (skandhas). That is to say, a subject is a psychophysica unit composed of and dependent on the five aggregates or potentiities of matea matea fo, fo, feeing, feeing, percepion, percepion, concepuaisaon ad consciousnes consci ousness,s, d who is fixaed ixaed on the word wor d of oje ojects cts of desire. Thus the th e individua individua experiences experiences the word of phenomena phenomena as eing other than himsef or hersef, and is preoccupied with the reation etween the sef and the word of objects. That dichotomy or sense of separation stands for duaism or duaistic existence, as etween the dreamer and the dream in our meaphor above. In fact one's mind is the entire system of menta, emotiona, and behavioura variaes that, as a product of avidy, constructs and defends this stae of separation, both at the eve of unconscious processes and at the eve of conscious, fuctuating, phenomena experience.355 Thus, whie Lipman refers to nonaction as freedom from the compusion to act, Longchenpa refers to nonaction in a broader sense o indicate that it is freedom from the sense sens e of the error error of ego fixation fixation that that compes one on e to ac or to avoid acting. For him, it woud e freedo freedom m from the condition in which one o ne erroneousy erroneous y identifies identifies onesef ones ef with any oj oj ect of reference such as menta, emotiona and physica events. It is then possibe to assert that Longchenpa is not overy concerned with actions as such ut with the duaistic perception of reaity that eads to a conditioned existence. Thus the notion of nonaction does not sand for a total absence of action but refers to (right") actions that originate in the nature of mind which is free from the erroneous ego fixation and the sense of being an agent or a persona identity. One then acts withou being conditioned by notions such as I am acing", I should act" or I must refrain from acting" but instead, in an unpremeditated manner that is appropriate appropriate o o the situat si tuation ion,, and that mathes mathes given gi ven circumstances or situations situations . Phiosophicaly speaking, an unpremeditated action is one performed without a sense of agency, that is to say, without dichotomy between the acing agent and the act itsef. The difference between nondua action" and an ordinary duaistic action" has to do with the invovement of persona" intenion or motive. The mena process of intending o get a certain resut from an acion devaues the act, which wil condition one's view and future actions.20 But even eve n assuming ass uming that one coud cou d act withou withou the invovemen of intention, intention, the desire of a practitioner practitioner
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to be liberated inherently accompanies one's actions. This raises the uestion: Is an action possible at all without the presence of any intention?" The subject of intentionality in relation to liberation is a complex one that deserves an independent study, one which I intend to undertake in th near future. However suffice it to say that non-action does ot refer to total absence of action but to action that originates in natural awareness, a mind free from conditioning concepts generated by erroneous ego fixation. Nubchen Yeshe's presentation of paradoxical non-action Dzogchen practice within the rhetoc of negation leaves the student of Dzogchen in a state of tension and aiet, confronted confronted by the challenges created by the abstract methods and rhetoric of negation that reuires them to withdraw from their old faili methods of practice, their values and beliefs, their systems of tnkng, into an unili condition: the domain of essential mind. It is the gument of ts stdy that Longchenpa converted or transformed this tension, anxiety and confusion by meas of negation, into a pedagogy that enabled the practitioner to experience an unfamiliar state of consciousne consc iousness ss,, that that of the the nature nature of mind. mind.
Gmpop When considering Gopa (079-53), probably one of the most interesting aspects of his life and works is his conicting comtments to the Kad tradition with its sutra teaching, and to Milepa's (Mi a as pa) tantric teachings. On the one hand he was comtted to the Kadampa (bKa (bKa ' gdams gdams pa) , a tradition adverse to tantric practices, one whch represented a convention Mahyna Buddhism introduced into Tibet y Atia and which included both his teachings on the enlightened attit attitude ude (bodhicitta) and Mdhyama philosophy. These practices357 involved a step b step cultivtion of moral conduct, the performance of meritorious deeds, and philosophcal study towards Buddhahood as presented by Atia is his work Bodhipathapradpa. On the other hand, Gampopa was committed to tantric teachings imparted by Milarepa which included insctions on ca, exercises for channels d vit energies to awen latent energies that lead to aweness aweness of the the essence of ind.358 Gampopa's simultaneous commitment to the two different styles of living and teaching yielded a tension that was expressed repeatedly in his life. Trungram359 presents an event that embodies the tension experienced by Gampopa who, strictly observing Kadam rules, refrned from beer ding. When he met Milepa he was asked to dri beer from from a sll. For Gampopa, this meant a reing of monastic rles, and there therefor foree an ethical ethical conlict. However, one needs to look cefully into the other possible menings of drinking beer in the context of meeting accomplished poet-yogi such as Milepa, who in his songs so ngs of spt reizati reization on uses use s the motif motif of driking driking eer symolically symolically nd nogicl n ogicly. y. Following Ardussi's treatment of the subject f brewing and drinking beer in Milepa's works, one oserves that it can also stand for the contemplative and lissful experiences of experiencing the clear light:
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Oh disciples o mine, desiring to see the sight o the mountain, Grasp them as you would with the Clear Light o the sel-mind [meditation] you meditate thus you will arrive, and reaching the mountain peak, you will see the view, and will drink the beer o this experience Though you are unable to drink beer which is pure can you not a least drink the [material] wea beer? Though you cannot strive or enlightenment can you not at least strive or superior birth?360
Milarepa goes on to dierentiate between two types of disciples. One type, refeed to above, has the capaciy to reach reach enlightenment enlightenment by uniing teir teir mind mind wt its essen e ssence ce,, the Cle Light", and is able to pure beer" employing simultaneous methods. The oter type is not capable of reaching enlightenment but still can sve for the necessary conditions fr enlightenment and is able to a wea beer" which means a cutivation step by step of vious practices such as fai, mindlness mindlness and compassion. compass ion. Although Although such a path will not directy directy lead to te experience experience of the clear light it will still be conducive to positive kma. Accordingy, it seems ha Milepa's gesture of oering the beer in a skll to Gampopa was a teachin on the essence of aweness displayed simutneously simutneously at bo the symboic nd at the physical levels. levels . It was a form form of negating negating Gampopa's old" monastic rues for a new" yogic open way of life. For Gampopa it was a moment of inner conict hat possibly was intensified even more when aerwds, according to Rgyal Rgyal ang pa,361 Milepa preped preped tea out of Gampopa' s gi and an d urinat urinated ed ino ino the cup, cup , which Gpopa said sa id had a excellent excellent taste. This ea was used for e four initiaions of te te highest aa. aa. It ght be most reasonable at this point to use a symbolic interpretation of this hagiographical episode of urinating into the tea" to denote that Milepa has extracted knowledge from his innermost innermost being" and poured it into the teaching of highest yoga yog a bestowed bes towed on Gampopa, Gampopa, which he naturaly found to be good go od.. It should be mentioned that in the context of te te cenury, urine was considered one of e ve nects". It was refeed to by code as great agrance" (dri chen) due to social sensitivities sensitivities of that that time time and it was used u sed in ritu ritul pracices and activities activities led by yogins and yoginis as well as in processes processe s of initi initiat ation. ion. 362 The highest tantras tantras aso prescribed he use of substances hat e usually regded a repulsive, including urine, at least symbolically, in order to transform" it into a realization of non-judgmental or non-conceptual aweness, not labelled as eiter attac attactiv tivee or repulsive, repulsive, stding for an aweness of te te sameness underlying all phenomena. In his interaction with Gampopa, Milepa proceeds then to draw a line between his own teachings and the teachings that Gampopa had received so far from he adam monks. On Gampopa's practice of meditation Milepa commented tat it was like an attempt to squeeze oil ot of a grain of sand which was in contrast with his own practice that could lead the practtion practtioner er to see se e the natre natre of his mind like squeezing squeezin g out oi already already existing existing in a sesame s esame seed. seed . I other words, in Milarepa's view, Gampopa's practice was tile because his practice could not cause or create the state of non-dual aweness. But according to Milepa's practice the means and the end, �ause and the result, e bound together in the same way that the oil is already contained in sesame seed. In binding the means and the ends Milepa's teaching on the
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essece of mid could ot fall uder e spell of duality. ilrepa's practice the sesame seed stads for the poteti potetiali ality ty of o-dual aweess aweess,, e oil. oil . It represets represets the Ca teachig which was imprted y Tilopa,363 the fouder of ilepa's Kagyu lieage of teachings. Tilopa was a sesame pouder, hece his ame which traslates as Sesame Oil a". Symolically speakig, the method aimed at realizig the essece of mid that was haded dow y Tilopa was to e practiced time ad agai y poudig" oe's mid util elightemet dawed ad remaied stale. Gampopa364 Gampopa364 received om ilepa the teachigs of ahud coceg the t he profoud understandig of the ucotived id or origial awaress. Gampopa gave these teachigs later o o those of his disciples who were fit enough to receive them. In his work Rnam rtog don dam gyi ngo sprod 365 Gampopa cocisey presens the stages of the spiritual path ragig from refuge seekig to yoga of o-meditatio". It ca be see i the ext that the terminology empoyed y Gampopa such as on-meditaio", o-metal faricatio", origial awareess", ubor yet uceasig ad ithout iterruptio", resemle the id series Dzogchen terminoogy. For example,366 presece of awareness (rig pa) is a recurrig theme i Gampopa's works, and it is know that he was aware of Rogzompa's works o Dzogche which estabishes a lik betwee Gampopa's ahmudr to Logchepa's Dzogchen cocering negatio. In Rnam rtog don dam gyi gyi ngo sprod sprod apopa locates ahmudr, which is a simultaeous" system, wiin a gradual" path to eighteme ad places it at he ed of the ladder ladder as a s e highest hig hest aainab aainabee grade. gra de. I the third section of he tex he presents the cocise stages o he spirit pah, stig sti g wi tg rege, supplications supplications d accumulatig accumulatig merits, merits, meditato meditato o the fauls of samsaa hen o eighted iten and so on, aspects a e about graduly cuivating mens and understading.367 I is oly i e end of e fih sectio, the fia oe, that Gampopa offers istrucions coceing elaboraed ahudr associated with the yoga of Ca and uelaboraed ahudr ahudr ased o the mere mere instant instan t of seeig the mid ess e ssece ece while itegraing wi aciviies such as waling, sitig nd so n.368 The uelaorated ahudr is aou experiecig the essence of nd i a istat y a singe meas, associated with the simuteous approach approach to liberatio. liberatio. In creatig a sutra-ahudr system Gampopa was abe to me hudr availabe for pracitioners, avoidig he complicated rituals and prepraios ut that would require taiig through e gradul teachigs of he hya, i spie of e fact that hudr was originlly itended as a simuaneous teaching adessed to e superior ype of stude. 369 That is to say, alhough Gampopa indicaes a pa pah of o f gradua graduall cultivat cultivatio io he positios p ositios he he isight ito ito he essece es sece of mid of ahudr ahudr teachigs as a beaco of orien orienatio. atio. While in secion hree of the text Rnam rtog don dam gyi ngo sprod ampopa appes as a gradualist" presentig presentig a maiseam hu", later i e tex he presets the philosophic l view of Mahmudr wihin he cotext of a radical ahmudr". He then presents a
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discourse of negation which includes refutations such as There is no-meditator no-act of meditation and no-object of meditation" while at the same time recognizing the characteristics of natural awareness which are clarity and openness. Gampopa repeats these characteristics numerous times bt ten in a surprising pedagogical move he asserts: I do not accept clarity. Accepting clarity is identification. I do not accept bliss, nor non conceptual [gnosis]. Bliss and nonconceptual gnosis] are identification. No example can illustrate me. No word can reach to the [point]. Do not fabricate me. Simply let it be70
The pedagogica shi empoyed here by Gampopa puls the carpet" from underneath the practitioner/reader who is seeing a reference point of conceptua certainty safety and comfort. Gampopa's pedagogical move acts here as a surprising textua punch line capabe of shing the reader's understanding and ving tem out of their faii attitdes i order to me them more receptive to change and to faciitate an eperience of absence of concepts. The rationale behind such a textua expression is tat e essence of mind cannot be identied wi a concept o a thought of carity even with biss and non-conceptuaity because these are mere ideas that colour" one's perception of reality and such perceptions then necessiy become distorted. But naral aweness cannot be idened by any itng abutes or any concepts as it stads for e te potenait before it is tsated" into e reative hum condition endowed wit e range of emotions concepts and conditioned behaviour. In other words tying to enter into the state of essentia mind endowed with presupposions such city city and openness can impo impose se on the experience an undue imitation. Hence Gampopa's na abandonment of openness and carity brings the practitioner to the threshold of his innate essential mind. Gampopa's discourse of negation is a foundationa idea a force at the base of his phiosophica view of Mahudr wich is abe to expose or to open an empty space for the reader/practitioner. It is a negation of one's conventional and familiar perceptions in favour of establishing a connection with an unfamiiar state of emptiness which stands for freedm from nescience and from suffering. For Gampopa this deconstructive too is of cardinal importance one which comes in the form of a punch ine that ends his words as presented above but which aso ends any form of dialogue because there is nothing else to argue or to say. Furthermore through this pedagogicl move Gampopa tus philosopica reading into actua practice. The ting of empoying te pedagogicl too of negatio negationn is crica. crica. It is used us ed when e reader this they have estabished an understnding of openness and carity causing them to abandon any famili term term concept or idea for e pos sibiity of discovering the nature nature of their their own mind. However a deeper inquiry inquiry into e nature nature of deconstctve negation as a pedagogica pedagogi ca stategy wil te place when considering Longchenpa's negation of goa-oriented pracces and their products. Firstly the discssion wi incude its essence whether an absoute retation or a ca to abandon
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discursive and conceptual thinking. Secondly, the inuiry will include discussion about the intensity of the negation, the ting for its performance, its audience and the psychological crisis it can create for the studenpractitioner.
Lm Zg Lama Zhang (1122-1193), another charismatic 12 century figure, was the founder of the Tselpa Kagyu (Tshal pa Bka' brgyud) order of Tibetan Buddhism. His model of a religious order was based primaril primarilyy on his own charisma as a wanderi wandering ng yogin who had spent spen t yes in secluded areas in meditation, under severe physical physica l and environmen environmenta ta conditions, conditions , and who retued retued to the world to establish a counity that revoved ound him. Lama Zhang, according to his vision of the idea teacher, was not soley involved in religious activities but also in politica and miity aggression, and a ind of Buddhist law enforcement". In acting as a reigious, social and politica leader he was able to sustain a community. He successfully integrated the various roles, some of them apparenty contradicting the ordinances of Buddhist praxis which he had assumed. As Yamamoto puts it: He masters p, annexing territory through magic and force, subduing enemies, and offering protection from physical danger, social disorder, and spiritual malaise He masters , linking his comunity, through narrative and symbol to an authoritative tradition that lends legitimacy and supports group identities And finally he masters lgug d du, knitting togeher the continuity and tradition through his command of a large array of oral and written literary genres, employed in a remarkably self-conscious and purposeful fashion7 1
Lama Zhang is in the same lineage as Gampopa.372 Like Gampopa, in his work The Path of ltimate Prondi (Lam zab mthar thug), when he initiay approaches the disciples of the simultaneous path, the discipes of Mahmudr, he uses the rhetoric of negation, in the form of do not" assertions such as: Do not work on it; leave it alone Do not rein in perceptions; let them range freely Do not make plans for the future; be lackadaisical Do not build up mental objects for meditation: let them pass Do not look for a place to settle the mind Do not think think about about past present and future; future; Whether troubled troubled thoughts multiply or not, fine Do not meditate for for their their sake s ake
Along with a ist of do not dos" in which he negates certn forms of meditation states, Lama Zhang aff affirms other preferable modes of inner inner postures, postures , such as let perceptions range freely" freely" , or be ackadaisica". ackadaisica ". At this stage his negation is not absoute but an impicative impicative one as it aff affis alteative for the model that had been negated. However he further inscts the disciples in asserng: Have no thought to sete down or not settle down into meditation Have no thought to dismiss or not no t dismis s what prevents prevents meditat meditation ion Have no thought thought to think think or not think think 74
At this stage the
l
move goes rther and includes the negation of not ony an
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istructio, i the form of Do ot thi of X", ut also Do ot think of its opposite" That is to say, i terms terms of egatio tere tere is i s shi from its implicative or affirig form Accordigly, if a disciple was istructed elier Do ot work o cleig the mid ut leave it aloe", this implies that they should egage e gage i the thought: I should ow leave the mid as it is" The latter thought is eated too d the disciple is iscted to so ado that thought of leavig the id id as it is" Further, Further, Lama Zhag proceeds to egate eve tat tat state of id ad asserts ass erts there is o aidig i othought".375 By doig so Lama Zhag uses the force or eergy of egation to create a ope space wher what was familiar has bee negated in favour of coectig the ufamiliar, ugraspabe ugraspabe ature ature of o f ind. ind. 1 have preseted three pedagogical processes cocerning negatio that have discarded eve the fiest point of reference or concept which the disciple might have reied o as representig the nature of mind The first was to negate certain modes of meditatio while simultaneously affirming other metal modes of release. The second was to negate eve the alteative mental modes of release in a non-affirmig form of egatio The third was to negate agai what has ee nonaffirmingly egated and what has een affirmed or implied y the initial negation The pedagogical process of negatio has resuted (or eded) i creating a space of possibilities for discovering the ufai ature of mid However, the exampes taken from The Path of ltimate Prondi do not appear as n expression of a cle punch ine" such as i Gaopas textual work but rather as a repeatig and recurrig patte of negating. Readig te text in a dynamic manner could ecome a practice in itsef as the repeatin patte of negation woven ito the text coud exhaust ones mind, leading one to a mental dead end" where discursive thiing can bring about a halt to the state of the entire absence of concepts which may facilitate the possibiity of experiencing the ufamiliar natural awareness. Already in his work The Path of ltimate Prondi, Lama Zhang poit to the ultimate goal" which is associated with utimate Mahudr" as opposed to path Mahmudr" Here Lama Zhang corresponds with Gampopa and and he defies ultimate ultimate Mahmudr" as a condition i which there is neither acceptance or rejection, sice the Great Tot of the nonduality of a and nirna has been realized."376 Thus ultimate Mahmudr" is aout realizatio (rtogs pa) which is neither neither philosophica uderstanding uderstanding nr a meditative meditative expeece377 but is istead a state of being bein g in touch tou ch with the nature nature of mind. Although Lama Zhang in the title of his work The Path of ltimate Prondi points at ultimate Mhudr", when he presents the Four Y oas of Mahur he does doe s so s o as a s if it was as a sequential practice, path Mahmur". I other words, phiosopcally speing he presents M hmudr as a gradua path whist emphasizing and pointing to Mahmudr as a simultaneous path invested with absolute ternoogy such as Great Total of the nonduality of sa and incompatibe with the reative chacteristics of the gradua path. Mtin378 nirna", whic seems incompatibe does not provide a satisfactory expanation to this incompatibility but goes to say that Lama
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Zhag is doig his best" to poit out for his audiece the ultimate philosophical view of his Mahmudr teachigs ad the ways to realize what is ultimately profoud. However, Yamamoto attempts to resolve this icompatibility ad metios that Lama Zhag teaches two types" of Mahmudr because the ultimate goal of Buddhst teachigs is to guide setiet beigs to their ow realizatio ad the wide variety of doctries, eve the cotradictory ones, ddress persos with differet characters, temperamets, ad emotioal ad metal capacities ad receptivities. Yamamoto the proceeds with his pragmatic res outio" to the tesio foud betwee betwee Zhang' Zhang' s ultimate ultimate philosophical view of his Mahmudr ad path Mahmudr" and states that: The dharma is therefore something deeper than a particular arrangement of words, for many differ different ent arra arrangements ngements of words words or any other medium, medium, for that that matter matter can correspond to the true Dharma.
Yamamo380 recogizes that for Zhang, teaching activities need not to be confied to verbal eachigs and hat any sort of behaviour used sifuy by a realized lama ca brig a disciple to realizatio. Meas used silfully ca include nonsese speech", verbal abuse", formal poery", song", dance", whispering", not taling", no cothes", etc. Pedagogically speig, eve if a reaized eacher makes a satemet which is i conrast with the Buddhis principes, such as absece of sef antman), as long as it facilitates for the discipe the dawnig of realizatio the the use of such a flsified satement is justified nd it can be said hat he teacher has fulfied their b y employig appropate appropate missio accordig to Dha. Therefore, for Zhang, re izatio induced by si means is of pme ineres, more ha plosophica adequacy ad cosistecy or the mng of phiosoph phi osophy. y. It should be empoyed empoyed only by a realized realized ama. These Thes e methods e iterventioal iterventioal i the sens s ensee that they ead the discipe from his fli empical empical phenomena teai to the ufi premises of pure pure aweess . I other other words the pedagogy of o f egatio employed by the lama lama ca create an inner space for the expeence of the ufaliar ufaliar to se se.. So Lama Zhang sees himself him self as rst ad forem foremost ost a Dha teacher who who is supposed to lead s disciples to realizatio, ad less as a philosopher. When Lama Zhag approaches disciples suitable for the simultaeous" path he uses the rhetoc of the ultimate ultimate point of Ma Madr dr which is syonymous syonym ous with realizatio of the ature ature of mid (sems nyid) The core of this this practice, which is already alread y acive i the rst of the Four Y ogas of Mahmudr, is expressed by ampopa as follows: Well, how would one meditate on this one's own innate (gnyung ma dnaure? That means, like water water i s placed i water, ad buter buter placed i buter, oe paces the [mind] in [the sae o on tifice."38 That is to say, the core of the practice is placing oe's mid i he unfabricaed and ucontved mid, which is ot differen, ad signifies signifies that that meas meas meditati meditation on and goal uti utima mate te realiza realizatio tio e bound ad ad unified unified i oe' oe ' s mid. I his manner popa ad Lama Zhang escape" the duality or dichotoes of meas ad ed, subject and object, past ad future, etc, by biding them together i the mind conforng to he philosophical discourse of Mahmudr's noduality. But iate to any practice is the initial
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iheret otio of wish" for the teachigs of the Buddha that ca obstruct the daw of realizatio which cotrasts with o-duality. However, I argue that a pedagogical itervetio of egatio would decostruct this very cocept of cotradictio ad thus would ope for the practitioer a empty ier space of potetiality for realizatio. However, whe Lama Zhag icludes the gradual practices", he does so ot oly with the pragmatic motive of applyig differet methods to differet practitioers, but also as a expressio of his status as Lord of the Teachings" (bstan pa 'i bdag po). po) . The title Lord of the Teachigs" is sil to the term term Protecto Protectorr of Beigs" Bei gs" associated with the the Buddha. B uddha.382 382 Lama Zhag's vision of public life is to a great extet about acts demarcaig territories of sacred ad physical space, securing control over resources and building moasteries ad temples, shrines, ec. The Lhasa of tha time was a small place of pilgrimage wih oly the remais of Sogtsen Gampo's aciet palace on the ed Hill. It was drive by coflicts betwee compeing groups both secular and religious over power and iuece, ad was challeged by lawless robbers i the coutryside. I order o realize his visio Lama Zhag had to establish a military force where disciples were also soldiers i order to resist encroachment by outsiders upo the religio-physical territories he had marked out, o reinforce the law to fight enemies of the teachigs ad to source" building maerials. This means that he was ot only a Dharma and tanric adept bu also a poliical and military figure ad enforcer of law and order, unitig religious ad secular roles by the power of ara ad the authority of Buddhist tradiion. In fulfillig and realizing the two roles Lord of the teachings" and Protector of Beings", Lama Zhag, similar o Marpa, became a lama who was at the same time a patro of his own myriarchy. In other word the two roles of a lama and a paron were iegrated i oe persoage.
Fur gas, Mamudr ad Dzgce Finally, while historically reviewig the theme of rhetorical negaion, it has been noted that the otio of Four ogas appeared in Madhusdhu's, Gampopa's and Lama Zhags' texts. I cosiderig the otion of Four ogas in the systems of Kagyudpa ad Dzogc Dz ogchen hen,, van S chaik383 mentions mentions tha the the Four Four ogas og as of Gampop Gampop a were ic orporated by Jigme Ligpa ( 7 3 0 - 7 9 8 ) , a cetral fgure i he Nyigma School and a master of Dzogche Dzo gche,, ito the sysem o Dzogche. The Four ogas oga s are as follows follows ( ) oga of oe pointedness (retse gcig gi al) where one sees a glimpse of he ature of one's mind. (2) oga of simplicity (sps bral) where oe esablishes oeself furher i the essence of mid hrough he movement and the events of life wihout being disturbed or inerruped, and wihou elaborating o hose evens. (3) oga of oe taste (r gcig) where phenomena i their multipliity appear wihout ay differeniation because hey are all devoid of independent existence. (4) oga o nonmeditation (sgom med i al) where realizaio
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dawns and there is not an object to meditate on and neither is there a meditator.38 However Nai Norbu argues385 that the Four Yogas of Dzogchen Semde that re similar to those of Gampopa's Mahmudr were transmitted by Nyak Jna Kumra (gNyags Jna Kumra) to Aro Yeshe in the 0 century. The ambiguity increases when accoring to Dudjom inpoche,38 6 Nyak Jna Kumra lived in late century while the Four Yogas of Gampopa were formulated into a teaching in 2 century. Nevertheless, according to Nahai Norbu387 the Four Yogas of Dzogchen Semde are: ( Yoga of c lm state" or resting in" (gnas pa) the nature of ind by means of one-pointed concenaton; (2) Absence of houghts or non-movement non-movement (mig gyo ba) where abiding in e e natre of ind is not distrbed by the mentl movements movements of oughts; oughts ; (3) Yoga Yog a of equaniity equaniity or one tast tastee (mnyam nyid) of calm state (gnas pa) and absence of disturbing thoughts (mig gyo ba); (4) The yoga of self-perfection (lhun grub) where one abides in non-duality, fully integrated in one's natural condition and reality. As we have seen elier, te other set of Four Y ogas tat has components essently siil to these two other sets of Four Y ogas og as are are those thos e of Madhusdhu from the mid to mid centries, obviously before Gampopa foulated his Four ogas of o f Mahmud Mahmudr. r.388 388 Although there e ambiguities regading dates, origins and mutual inuences of he Four Yogas Yog as and although Tibet Tibet teinology teinology nd he content content of ree ses of Four Yogas ' components e not always identical, ide ntical, the ree sets of the Four Yoas still have a comprehensive comprehensive comon denominator. The depature point, te First Yoga in the three sets of Four Yogas, is abiding and resting in te nature of mind. The rest of the yogas of the ree sets e about establishing the natral state, maturing towds ll realization of sameness and non-duality where one has lly integrated one' s natura naturall condition and realit reality. y. The three sets of Four Yogas continuall continuallyy advocate the simultaneous discourse of practice displaying rhetoric of retation or negation, that clely show various expressions of the rhetoric of negation that had existed before the time of Longchenpa. Furthermore, Longchenpa was denitely awe of the philosophy and praxis of te Kagyu lineage, as he met389 with the Third Karmapa, anung Dorje, head of the Kagyu school, in 326-332 and received recei ved Nropa' s Six Y ogas , Kla Klacara, cara, Avalokitevara, valokitevara, Guhyasam Guhyasamjj a, Sambhui, Mhmy nd Yamntaka Yamntaka teachings om him. 390 Longchenpa wrote a letter to the Thd Kmapa, Kmapa, in the style of questions to the th e master, which reveals the intellectual ideas of young Longchnpa and the seeds of his view conceg praxis in relation to liberation. As we look beneath the surface meaning of the text it seems less like the simple simple expression of the the naivety naivety of a young student student still still adessing ade ssing issue i ssuess beyond hs capacity, d seems that the mapa was certainly not the target of the questions. It seems more like a piece writt written en with a sense se nse of padoxical irony questioning questioning doct d octinal inal weaknesse weaknessess . For example: example: Since the beginningless nature of mind is present in all sentient beings how could it be addressed as primordial?
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But if the Buddha is other than the nature of mind is it preceded by the double provision of [merit and wisdom] or is it not? if there is a preceptor that taught him what to do regarding the two provisions it would contradict the first notion of primordiality Or if he did not have a teacher what is that original being who naturally becomes aware that has to be studied and known? f his awakening is not preceded by the two provisions how unfamiliar or foreign is such a Buddha who is not the nature of mind and does not perfect/complete the accumulations of merits and wisdom n the sutra and tantra the existence of all transmigrating sentient beings, signs, marks, light rays, etc, Victorious Ones are taught by the example of the gret silk fabric Do they really exist or not? f they are not [truly existent], then, as at the time of the base (gzh) of clear light, sentient beings are [already] free at the time of fruit Despite the practice accomplished, we will be unable to [attain the state o Buddha: f there is not a pure principle there cannot be any result to purifying practice - hence awakening becomes impossible But if all the qualiies of Buddha actually exist within sentient beings, awakening could be eteal, stable, like the Self of the Brahmins and why without any effort are we not awakened [to our true nature]? This is because they are veiled by the defilements that we [must] make an effort . 3 9 1 (My translation)
What is interesting in the passage above are the questions of the young ongchenpa about the connection of praxis and iberation that points at the possibe condition where spiritua practice seems futie. He mentions in the passage above ideas such as effort as hindrance to awakening to the nature of mind, and that athough practice is accompished it is unabe to cause the awakening to the state of the Buddha, and he questions the status of purifying practices and accumuation of merits. These ideas wi be expored further in the current chapter, in which ongchenpa's rhetoric of negation wi be identified and examined. Before discussing his critique of spiritua practice a coser ook wi be given to his phiosophica heritage and roots concerning his discourse of negation. This process wi revea ongchenpa's rhetoric of negation in ight of the negationa stye of Madhusdhu, ubchen Yeshe, Gampopa and ama Zhang, forming a historica view of negation between the 9 and 4 centuries. It wi aso provide a suitabe base for the understating of ongchenpa's rhetoric of negation. So f the discourse of negation has been reviewed within the context of the history of ideas, focusing on the negation of goaoriented spiritua pactices. However, before proceeding with an examition of ongchenpa's rhetoric of negation of spiritua practices, the nature,
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role and meanng of hs negatons need to be dentfed. or that puose, a closer look nto the phlosophcal hertage and roots of hs dscourse of negaton s reured.
Rs f Lgcep's eg Longchenpa nherted several stands of nury conceng the rhetorc of negaton, not only the one characteristc of Dzogchen found n Nubchen Yeshe's A Lamp for the Eye in Contemplation (bSam gtan mig sgron) but also that rom the syllogstc Prsagka Mdhyamka. Accordng to Longchenpa, the methods of evaluating realty tat are used n the system s ystem o natural natural great perfect perfection ion for for example, example, determnng determnng t to be ee o f ltaton ltaton are largely n accord wth syllogstc Prsagka Prsagka approach approach n the the middle middle way school"392 and ths method s the hghest vew of all caused-based dalectcal approaches".393 Butters goes even further to conclude n his work The Doxogrphical Genius of Kun mkhyen kLong chen rab byams pa that Longchenpa saw hmself as a Prsagka-Mdhyamika.394 However it should be emphaszed that he was denfed as a Prsagka-Mdhyamka only n reference to the Svtantrika-Mdhyaka and withn the context of caused-based dalectcal approaches. The sgnficance of ths emphass s that Longchenpa n princple s a philosopher and teacher of Dzogchen whch for hm s the superior approach to the caused based dialectcal approaches. What explictes for him the superorty of Dzogchen s ts non activty component that is about the actual abiding in the natural awareness whle the causedbased dalectcal approaches accept certan vews and methods obscured by hope and an d re rej ect oters motvated n attemptng attemptng to acheve lberaton lberaton.3.39595 Histocally Histocally speng, n 4 century Tibet mportant fgures such as endawa Shonnu Lodr (Red mda' ba gZhon nu blo gros, 349-42) te Syapa, and hs fous dsciple Tsongkapa (357-49), the founder of te adam (later, Gelug) school, vewed Candr's Prsagka Mdhyamaka as the only valid interpretaton of Mdhyamaka and as the true puort of the Buddha' s teac teachn hng. g.396 396 century century whle Longche npa lived Although these fgures e from the second half of the most of hs lfe in the frst half of the 4 century, the seeds of Candrirt's Prsagika were already deep in the S ya tadton. tadton. endawa Shonnu Lodr wrote the elest comenty comenty on the Four udred Verses of deva, deva, who was e prncip prncipal al student of of Naguna. Naguna . 397 Nevereles Nevereless,s, t shows that endaa Shonnu Lodr and Tsongkapa's evaluaton o Cdr's Prsagka reasonably strengens Longchenpa's superlatve evaluaton of Prsagka-Mdhyamaka, whch will be dscussed subseuently. Philosophcally speing, the fundamental dstincton between Prsaga and Svtanrka Mdhya is tat te Prsagka s not comitted to ny tesis n relaton to reality whereas e Svtantka beleved that they could put for an argument that could wthstand any analyss and would valdate the exstence of things at the relative level but whch would deny them ultmately.
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The Prsagika's aim is to redue its opponent's views through a proess of reductio ad absurdum in order to ring the philosophizing proess to an end, and without estalishing an alteative view eause emptiness annot e grasped y means of logi, rather it needs to e intuited intuited 38 The The Sv ta tantr ntrika' ika' s aim was to estalish a orret relative relative tru truth th that that orresponds to phenomena in the sense that it i not in ontradition with the harateristis of a given phenomenon in terms of its mode of ntion To put it in the words of Jnagha Jnagha (8 entury): the the Svtantrika accept things to be real in a mundane sense as they are conducive to the acquisition of pre-requisites for the understanding of ultimate truth and are real according to ordinary conventional usages some of the things could be unreal therefore conventionally everything is real or unreal 399
That is to say, aording to Jnagarbha the relative truth is neessary on the way towards understnding or nowing the absolute uth of emptiness in tes of diseent between what is onventionally real and ure l Longhenpa's position on the distintion between Prsagika and Svtantrika Mdhyama, in ontrast with Butter's statement that To be honest, Longhenpa does not ompe nd onast Prsagika and Svtantrika over and against one other",40 is that of a lear refutation of the Svtantrika position401 Longhenpa refutes the Svtantika position beause their alleged proof that things do not exist on the absolute level but nevetheless exist in the relative level shows that their views subsribe to the fixated ideologies of nihilism and realism respetively Furtheore, any form of reasoning onsidered as authenti, in the sense that it an desribe the true nature of reality, annot be valid as it is a mere oneptualization402 onghenpa adopted the view of the PrsagikaMdhyamaka and its method, whih is in priniple the tetra lemma method that an be understood in various ways, suh as (a) Corresponding with the Buddha's refusal to answer ertain questions on the ground that the disussion of them does not ondue to enlightenment Thus, agarjuna's denial of all views does not mean mean that the views views,, or thei theirr naditions, naditions, e speifiall speifiallyy true true or false false it means only that to entertain them enourages obsuring preoupation with what is not essentia to the meaning of life The one here is with the pratial means of liberation Alteatively (b) Showing that affirmation and denial may be inappliable to a problemati status of an objet being ultimately nonexistent or beyond oneptualization Thus any assertion about suh an objet that annot be referred is to be negated, as nothing meaningful an be established However the most suitable interetation of the paadoxial struture of the Mdhyama gument of negation for this stdy is that of pratial means of lieration whih has a potential pragmati value Aordingly interetation that inludes refutation or negation is aimed at dismantling anyfixations, views or oneptualization proesses that give rise to attahments and aversions that distort one's pereption of reality, shown to be empty of independent
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existence.403 n fact this method according to Longchenpa is about cutting through conceptual elaborations and establishing a state of mind which is empty of conceptualization processes and leading towards the realizing of the empty nature of phenomena by means of negation.404
tre f te egt However, what is the type or nature of the negation employed by the Psagika Mdhyamika that Longchenpa adopted and how did it serve him? ntuitively, it would be obvious that when negating or refuting a phenomenon, at the same time one is confirming another positive which replaces the negated one. Negating or refuting an assertion affirms its counter thesis at the same time, a positive phenomenon, or an alteative to what has been under negation. According to Mabbett, later scholars commonly distinguished between two types of negation: paudsa and prasajya. The first implies the contradiction of what it negates. The second, associated with the sense of absolute negation, does not imply any assertion of the contradiction. What characterizes Nagarjuna's negations is that they deny any proposition without implying an alteative thesis, positive or negative.405 Afrmg negaton The type of implied negation audsa) referred to by Mabbett seems to characterize Longchenpa's rhetoc of negation within the context of the prevling religio-politic relity lity of his time. Longchenpa was ocated at the periphery in tes of power and inuence of the cuent poitical and reigious realities. In reting and rejecting religious and political structures, philosophies and practices he armed ad defined zogchen, and maintained the Nyingma's status which was in decline in the Tibetan consciousness. Furthermore, adopting an affirng method of negation audsa) reecs Longchenpa's desire to be taken more notice of and his intention to move to the centre by means of placing the Dzogchen tradition in an overt diaogue with classic Indian Buddhism accepted by most Tibetan Buddhist schools. Prsagika-Mdhyamaka was especially adopted by the Sakya, as in the case of Rendawa Shonnu Lodr initiative to write the earliest commentary on ryadeva's Four Hundred Hundred Verses. In other words, in rder to achieve the transition from the periphery to the centre Longchenpa connected Dzogchen with the well-accepted and recognized Prsagika Mdhyamaka, the coer-stone of the most dominant Buddhist schools of his time. Dzogchen and Nyingma writers from the 0 and centuries were compelled to meet the challenges posed by the ndic discourses of the gradual path through the counter discourse of negation and resorting to terminology terms such as those of naturalness and spontaneity or primordiality;406 and the space of absence referred to by the discourse of negation functioned ptiay as a religious and a poitical force of resistance against the new wave of translations coming from India. This process of the Ningma was
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converted into selfdefinition.47 It can be concluded that when Longchenpa employs the rhetoric of negation within the political context of his time he uses it as affirming negation in order to move from the periphery to the centre. That is to say, Longchenpa criticized prevailing dominant orthodoxies and philosophies in order to make Dzogchen seem a more appealing alteative and to mae the Tibetans take more notice of him as a religious leader who is a successor of Padmasambhava. Furthermore, by means of negating other philosophies and methods Longchenpa's principal system of Dzogchen is actually defining and affirng itself. Within the context of Longchenpa's biography it can be seen that Longchenpa's overall strong tone of negation, expressed in his dismissive, confrontational and challenging manner, seems to conform with Longchenpa the person", who had the tendency to criticise and protest against the prevaiing Tibetan realities. He aso saw himself as the oice of the poitically powerless Nyingma, the ancient school that carried the authentic" Buddhist tradition which had originated in Samy in the days of the Tibetan empire. Thus Longchenpa's rhetoric of negation seemed to suit his tendencies to be highly critical, and to protest and confront the political and reigious reaities hat had monopoised power, influence and wealth and whose goaoriented methods had become the fashionable teachings overpowering authentic Buddhist leadership, the highest teachings of Dzogchen and authentic Buddhis vaues. For example, while Longchenpa assers that al phenomena are spontaneously equal" as they are nothing other than the scope o awareness48 he then proceeds to estabish a hierarchy in relation to te exising mehods of praxis, cassifying Dzogchen as the utmost yoga" in relation to which the other methods seem inferior" or ower''.49 Here Longchenpa is employing the discourse of negation to suit his sefperceived historical role as the carrier of the teachings of Padmasambhava and his tradiion. He employs the discourse of negation in order to define the status of Dzogchen as existing pre eminently within the norms of Buddhist thought and to ensure that the Dzogchen teachings woud not be so easiy dismissed by newly emerging ibetan Buddhist orthodoxies. A type of implied negation audsa) seems to characterize Longchenp's rhetoric of negation within the context of his biography and the reality of his time. However, in implied negation emptiness is never empty of concepts". The PrsagikaMdhyama defines another type of negation which represents their docnal position, a nonaffing one sajya) which does not imply the affirmation of a contra positive object, assertion or thesis.41 This type of negation removes a concept by negating it without positively affiing a counter concept which wuld replace what had been negated. Now it avoids ng ng the thesis and its anithesis, by the nonaf non afffiring negation of o f a concept and its counter concept. conce pt.
-affirmig !egati PrsagikaMdhyamika's nonaffirming negation (prasajya), which resuls in a mere
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asee of any thesis, is te depre poit of Longhepa's rhetori of egatio. Loghepa leay was awe of PrsagikaMdhyama PrsagikaMdhyama forms forms of egatio41 1 withi the otext of spitual spitual prati pratiee eause eaus e for him asee (med )412 is: The neffable [absence] naure of hngs s ha hey are empy by vrue of her very essence n he vas expanse of awakened mnd, equal o space, owever hngs appear hey are a he same me neffable by naure 4 1 3
Loghenpa refers here to asee as lak of a sustatial essee i pheomena. his own ommetary to his ow passage mentioed aove, Longhepa asserts that th essee of aweess ad all the pheomena that appe within its sope e suh that they e empty and without ay selfindependent idenity. That is to say, Longhepa refers to asee i terms of nondual non duality ity of esset ess etial ial aweness ad the the vious appeanes that our d dissipate within its ope, op e, while he he omo groud of essentia e ssentiall aweess d the · appent phenomena phenomena within its its sope are empty by ature. Emptiness here sigifies an asee ad no-duaity that transed he dihoomy ewee appearae ad essetial awareness. Beig i line with Prsagika-Mdhyamika's non-affirming egations, the lak of an iherently existet nature is either a posiive or a egative. That is to say, it does not refer to something whih does ot exist that would sigify a ihilisti view or to somethig whih exists that would signify an eternalis view. I both ases a oept or a metal onstrut is established ut he lak of an iherely existet nature does ot exis in exatly the same way tha the horns of a rait do not exist.414 Thus, to assert the lak of selfature is to assert the asene of any oept that ould refer to an inherently exisen aure, whih is a no-affirming negatio as it does ot leave us wih ay alernative onepts. However, following in the footsteps of Ane lein asee of selfature does exist beause nonafiring negatives are estalished as eig impued thought45 despite that absene" whih refers to a nonexistet inheret idepedet nature of things. I other words asene ould be a onept ad, as uh, a produt of disursive mind. Furthermore, although on-affirming egatives are employed i referring to a thing's lak of iheret exisee, one is still poiing to the thig eing under negaio. It seems that for this reaso Loghepa emphasizes the empty ature of asee and appeaes alogeher. For example, one ould me a non-g negative staemet, I do o have money", whih means that it does not imply that the same person might have moey i his poket or in he ba as aleaives. Bu mig suh a statemet an still rei ad ojetify the lak of money, whih ould e tured ito a fixaion or a metal patte. This mental onsrutio a e made y the person who made the statement i as log as he is no awe of he lak of money as beig empy of inheret existee. Longhenpa does so in order to dismanle he menl ostrut stemming om the possiility that onaffirmig
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negation might still retain a reference, being imputed by thought. Such a reference or concept in its tu would be shaped into a fixtion on the object under negation even though it has not been replaced by an alteative or a counter concept. Therefore, Longchenpa continues to move away from mere non-affirming negation or the reification of absence itsel and speaks of the non-duality of things that appear and at the same time nevertheless are empty of independent nature that transcends the dichotomy between appearance and absence, both being empty by nature. In this sense Longchenpa's absence is not nihilistic.
egti s spce f bsece For Longchenpa the abstract abstract princi principle ple of o f absence needs to t o be more approachab approachable le and he proceeds to show s how how ho w this principle finds finds its expres expression sion within the domain of the human human nd: nd : Although phenomena appear as they do to the mind, They are not mind, nor anything anything other than mind mind Know that all phenomena that appear to the mind Are ineffable (d ) 4 1 even as they manifest4 manifest 4 1 7
Longchenpa emphasizes here the pncipe that phenomena e perceived within one's mind and athough the appeances e not the awened ind or natural aweness, nevertheless at the same time they are inseparabe. This eans that appeances e integrated with one's natura aweness, without eing perceived as a separate entity in the sense that the appearances e neither the same as nor different from the nd to which they appe. For the student, this refers to the mnner in which comunication occurs between awened ind and the word of phenomena that tes place on a mual ground lacing ierent independent natre. Within that muu empty ground sense-objects e understood to be cey appent yet lacking any inherent nature. In this manner manner they e perceived and reected within within one' one ' s awakened awakened mind although they they do not belong to nor are they subordinated to it. The principle that phenomena lack inherent independent existence entails enta ils f-reaching implications for the the aspirant aspira nt aer liberation liberation in the sense that th at their their perceptions do not represent the reality the perceptions want to reect. This is because the aspirant' aspirant' s mind is usualy motivate motivatedd by passions , tendencies tendencies,, judgments, needs and concepts that that lack valid objectivity. This means that the aspirant grasps at a relative solid view of reaity that shapes their perception, which is in ension with the principle that phenomena lack inherent iependent existence. In fact, fact, the aspirant' aspirant' s relative view of the world or how things shoud be in the word is in conict with the way things e in the word and gives rise to a behaviour not compatibe compatibe with reality reality as it is, which in its t causes cause s sueng sueng (dukha). Therefore Therefore reinquishing reinquishin g attachment attac hment to concepts con cepts can bring the aspirant after after liberation liberation to the realization of Longchenpa' Longchenp a' s suggsted sugg sted absence abse nce,, and to the understa understanding nding that that absence absence is not no t hilistc hilistc in the sense that though though appearances are empty they still arise but in such a way that emptiness and phenomena are inseparable.
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-ffrmg egs prxs While non-airming negations result in absence or vacuity of a concept, idea or thesis,418 when converted to praxis in a mode of analytical meditation they manipulate and mould perception acording to the strict logical patterns applied within a state of meditation.419 Given this aspect of non-affirming negation Longchenpa will part from Prsagika Mdhyamika's employment of such a strict logical patte of negation aiming to mould a certain state of ind because it is an analytical goal-oriented practice that, as we shall see in the subsequent chapter, Longchenpa clearly negates as being insufficient to lead the aspirant to liberation or natural awareness. In this sense the Indian Mdhyamaka as a system, according to Longchenpa, is definiely capable of comprehending the idea of independent realiy but at the same time Mdhyamaka's method is incapable of yielding the apprehension of th idea of independen reality. The reasons are that in the contex of meditation it entailed the belief in an independenly real meditation producing independently real effects upon the mind and it is subjec subj ec o the means means end dichoomy while while there there is no action that that could produce the realization of emptiness. Prsagik-Mdyamka d zgcen, a pnt f f df dffference In the following passage Longchenpa clely expresses his position in relation to Prsagika Mdhyika: The methods method s of evalu ating reality that are are used us ed in the system sy stem · of the the natural natural great great perfection for example, example, determin determining ing it to to be free free of limitation limitation are largely largely in accord with thos thosee of the syllogistic Prsagika approach in th Middle way School But the Middle way school takes as its working basis sheer emptiness that is like space, while this sytem takes as its basis awareness awareness , pure and simple origina originally lly pure pure in all its nakedn nakedness ess so that that awareness awareness and the phenomena that arise within its scope are judged to be free of limitation, like space420 space 420
Thus, in considering Longchenpa's attraction to Prsagika-Mdhyaika, it is implied that he would adopt the philosophical view of non-ng ng negaion ne gaion nd employ it in order to establish a non-concepu non- concepu state of mind, one of absence or emptiness emptiness.. Bu Longchenpa is interested interested in natr aweness which is ned of ny continaing continaing concepts, integrated integrated wi e wold of phenomena, an inegration that stands for he non-duality of natural awreness and phenomena ee from liitations which is the conce of Dzogche, e great perfecion. Longchenpa did not lly lly adopt he sgika-Mdhyaa' sgika-Mdhyaa' s philosophic position. positi on. For F or him he non-dulity between natural natural aweness and the wold of phenomena is possible because of the reexive capacity of aweness, of being awe in he wold. To stae at natural aweness has he capacity for reection is to stae that naural awareness bears the characerisic or qualiy of reection and if i bears such a characeristic it is no longer empty of inherent
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existence. existence . And if exained within the context of the Two Truths its conventiona conventio na existence might signi its independent inherent existence which would contrast with the Prsagika view.421 But wiout accepting the existence of such reexivity in relative reality, mental states and events would not me any sense se nse and relative relative nowledge which is compatble compatble or in accord with with the facts facts and objects would be underined. This opens an interesting philosophical debate around the Prsagika critique of natural aweness's reexivity within the context of the Two Truths and other Buddhist tenets, a topic which has been examined by Paul Williams in his work The Reexive Nature of Awareness: A Tibetan Mdhyama Defence Since this philosophical debate is out of the scope of the study it would be orthwhile mentioning that Longchenpa prudently aderes to most elements of the Prsagika's philosophical view suh as the Two Truths and non-airming negation and locates the Prsagika system as the highest view of all cause-based dialectical approaches.423 For hi the integration that stands as the non-duality of natural awareness and phenomena is the principle of Dzogchen that would not be taking place without the reflexive nature of awareness. To abide in that non-duality would mean for him the realization of the transcendental ground of being (gzhi), (gzhi) , of original natural awareness that bears three enlightened inherent qualities which do not come together or separate, and which are spontaneously displayed. Those three e etiness as the dhaakya realm, lucidity as the sambhogaya, sambhogaya, nd nirmaaya nirmaaya as the realm of ceaseles ceasel esss manifestation manifestation which is relity itself.424
5 FOM PXIS TO ABSENE
im of negaion
Longchenpas negatio aims to invoke an empy space devoid of an conceptual dctries However it paradoxically relies on those ver doctines and ethods of the gradual path to define itself, and in rejecting their pnciples ad methods it becomes also a wa of referrig o and acknoledging them425 Thus, by the negation of other philosophies and mehods Dzogche is acl defiing d d aff affrming itself nd more more precisely g a space s pace contaiing noing a a al This absence according to German4 is a place where tantric ransformatio processes might occur (within the practitioner) a place where the "other Tibetan iologies might be revisited, approriated and revised At the same ime this absence denotes and oits to a lack e pa) of sepaation sepaation beteen sub sub ect and obj obj ec and a lack of cause an effect, effect, virue virue and vice, etc 427 Thus, wihi the cotext of pilosopical views and methods of praxis, although Longchenpa, as an advocate of Prsagika-Mdhyamika, employed the method of non-affirming negation, in his hds it becae a srategy of negatio Tis as a sategy hat sl had to refer to wat was to be reected as concepts to be dsceed an distingished from absence or o-conceptu l nd as being emty of ierent existece At te sae tie t emphased the ack e pa) of sepration sepration betwee eptiess and peoea As log as these practices are referred to, absence or non cocetua cocetua d can be disceed and recognied recognied conemporary form of negaion: Georges Baaie
To draw on a contemory form of negation which would assist in undersanding ogchenpas rheoric of negation, we can make use o Gorges Batailles42 essential method of contestation ithin he contet of hat he termed Inner xperiece What Balle nderstands by Inner xperience is n ked ee from ties eve of an gin, in which its "destination is unknon or unfound It is ee of he state of ecstasy and rature because o stop at the stage of cstasy and to grasp at it is to define it and sch a defiitio ill resist contestation42 What What is nteresti nteresting ng in B ataill ataillee ' s c ontestat ontestation ion is that he as sumes bo roles, roles , the cont c ontestor estor and the contestee, acting wihin a henomenological context in an atempt to achieve knowlege by eans of experience430 experience43 0 As a contestor co ntestor he would put into question what is own to hisel and radically negte it As a contestee wat will be conesed is all that he is awre and nows of, his values, his authorities, beliefs and docines, an inner ovemet that will rie him to Inner Exeriece, to the edge of certainty, where he will be cononted with vios conditions such as despair, xiety, doubt or ecstasy
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seems to share a similar avour wt As we shall shall see aa aail ille' le' s e eo is Logchepas retoric of egaio, beg a o-airmg egaio or absece withi he Dzogce system of hich is abot iscoverg a abig in e ature of mi Logc Lo gcepa epa'' s retorc retorc of egaton egaton bes bes some silart silartes es to B atlle' atlle' s cotestaton cotestaton,, beng a o o posive atio of a empty core, ot stiguise from Iner periece whc is ae a free from ties where there is a fusio betwee subject a object Hoever what is most iterestng relevan relevantt to the preset preset s of atll atllee s work is is stats as a cotestee a is psychologic psychol ogic states of mi while goig throgh the process of cotestatio This col she light on e hypothetical stet who goes uer he process of Logchepas rhetoric of egatio beig aske to "let go of a concepts or a frame of referece atail ataille le s epar epartur turee from Hegel ' s sstem43 of realizig realizig Spirit Spirit withi withi the omai omai of iscourse to his otio of Ier Ier xper xperiece iece is also te shift shift fro from m Hegel ' s metho of egatio egatio to his metho of cotestation For Bataille, contestatio is the rejectio of l meas he pepetual callig ito question of athori athoriy y a values tat limit the pos sible It is i s to put ito question ll tat is ow to ma.43 ma. 43 I te laguage laguage of his cotempor cotemporaries aries,, Michel Foucault Fou cault itepr iteprets ets ataille' s cotestatio c otestatio a asserts as serts tat it is ot about enial of existece or of value but a gesture that sees such otios to their lit or e were they are exhaste an the act of cotestatio is intened to arrive at a empy core where reaces its absolte lmit.433 Furthermore, Foucault efie as a phiosophy of o-positive Tus accorg to Bataille, applying e metho of conestation a beig stretche to e e of wat is possible, a empty core othig at aU s preicate a afme Bancho, Foucau and Baaie on conesaion
For lachot,435 the otio of Ier peience s
the the way that radical negation which has nothing left to negate affirms itself but in fact affirms nothing An affirmation which is not a product (the result of double negation) and thus escaapes all the movemen esc movements, ts, oppositions oppositions and reversals reversals of dialctical dialctical reason inner experience affirms It is pure affirmation it does nothing but to affirm It does not even affirm itself, for then it would be subordinated to itself it affirms armation It is within that sense it could contain within it the moment of authority after having devalued all possible authorities and dissolved the very d of authority It is the decisive Yes436 Yes43 6 rter to Fouclt what is imortat to ote ere is that cotestatio for lachot is a momet of authority aive at aer puttig ito questio all possible autorities icluig its ow a te Ier xperiece is te affirme space where a when notig is left to be egate Furthermore it is the omai of pure affirmatio that is ot a prouc or a result of bi-polar egation Cotestatio as puttig ino qestio wat man nows about eig i the wors of lachot, is a raical egatio For him ecisio to put oeself racally ito question coveys
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the ipossibiity of ever stopping at any poit eier for consolation, interests or beiefs It s a ovement hat contiually renounces renounces itsel7 in e sense that it erases erase s its footprin footprints ts In e folowing passage ataille lays out is ratioae for his meod of cotestation he difficult difficulty y the contest contestati ation on mus be done done in the name of an authoi authoiy y is esoled esoled hus I cones in the name of contesaion what expeience iself is (he will to poceed to the end of he ossible) Expeience, its authoity its metho do not distinguish fom contestaion.
Hoever what is enigmatic here is that ataille equates by eans of a tautology, Inner perience ith contestation hat is to say, the athority of the Inner perience and its ethod are not dissimilar from contestation hich is the authority to contest and to pt in question what an does now about eing4 his is enigatic because it places the authority to question in question and with the net object to be contested the paado of authority will rise again In this manner contestation preoccupies te mind of the contestor and sustains itself, aimed at afrming nothingness to the etet that the Inner peence defined as naked and free fro ties, is identical with contestation ut is it en completely ee of ties here the contestor needs always to hold in his hand the "sord of contestation for the net object in question, even when relaed or ecstatic ut for Longchenpa this one id modifcatio of negaton wil be chaleged again by the pedagogy of negatio hs is because naral awareness is never only about absence o the ties of copulsive dscursive thkig It is also about clait d isdom that ae vividl mafesting and nding epressin n reality In he criique of praxis
In the cotet of the hstory of the rhetoric of negatio eamied in the previous chapter, Longchenpa is seen to be more vigorous than Madhusdhu, Nubchen Yeshe Milarepa, Gapopa and Lama Zhang hose figures who prior to Longchenpa tetual presented their rhetoric of negation in general philosopcal ters hile Longchenpa negated specific methods of practice of the various prevalent schoos using strong ords within incessant, raor sharp argumets Frthermore, Longchenpa transformed his rhetoric of negation into a practical pedagogy that clminated in facilitating facilitating the the eperience of natra natra aeness aenes s Longchenpa's assive, one by one negation and critiue of methods of uddhist practices is found in his wor Natul Frdom of Big which was mentioned previously as one of the two wors by Longchenpa to be used as the focus of this study his work is perpleing and interesting not only because it contains Longchenpas dense negation of goal-oriented methods but aso due to his prescription of a set of ethods to be practiced Statig wit the critiue of methods of prais, the most sing point for a "seeer aer liberation n ths work is the futility of the various ethods of gst phase tantric practices associated th the Guhyagarha atra Longchenpa states:
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Smiy, n diion dos no nssi h pss o ion nd po [of fo hi nd h nu smn h n] If suh hods of dopio dopion n o o jon is o o qid; i h opposi s y bo ngss i o sfo o ino god (y nson
e concusions wic are draw fro e assage aove ae devasaing for e aspira is if he asian o aide in eir inae nura awareess he ver apicaion of a mehod incuding he highes aic ones woud ecoe meaningess ad if e were o o aide in heir innae naura awareness he icaion of ehods woud e meaingess oo Appicaion of mehods is meanigess ecause naura mediaion or e aiing i naua aweness cao e a resu of a cause or an end o an eans ad e goa of naura easemen ha is o sa of reief or ieraion canno e a produc of an mehod or effor a is o sa in eier case appicaion or nonaicaion of mehods of spiriua pracices is meaningess Secod e essence of ara is dnamic ransfoaion and ere accordig o Longcena anric meods e unae o cause an rasfoaion of ordina d is desires aversions percepios conceps eefs d discursiveess ino naura awaeness in he same wa ha ere is no echnoog ha can rasfo coa o god In oer wods e aure of mind is oa idifferen o e aicaion of an nd of eod weer gene or aniuaive ad is s a osiion osii on a requires cificaio cificaio for e raciioner/ raciioner/reader reader Teefore Teefore Longce L ongceaa s negaio neg aio of ehods wi e raced and reviewed owards resouion or a eas owards cai ad undersandng undersandng win he coe of func funcion ion o purpose purpose Naura awareness is independen of vies and mehos
Longcena sars his series f negaos w e saemen ha is o ossie o reaize he aure of ones own mind reing on an phiosohica docrine or ediaive mehods Ahough you od dh o bisd phiosophis Ad n h is, mdiions nd hi ods of I is dfiu o piv h nu ssn o h ind. vs, Pbddhs, Cs, d dhyiSni Anys h bsn o s in niis nd phon B os n h i d h iion o h fo pmnn Objs, suh s h sky, nd nd onss onss h bings ho s s [sho] o iz (y nsion)
Longchenpa considers phiosopica ad mediaive mehods no o fuie and incapae of ieding spiriua reaizaion u aso a unecessar urden on he wa o ieraion He is aware a owedgeae of e ehods raciced e rva Praeaudda Ciamra and daia-Svanria radiions a epo eods endowed wi ogic
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ad aalysis etailig legthy thikig processes, believig at such metods ca lead to libeatig isigt cosistig of e empty ae of the oe's sef ad the pheomeal world ut he claims tha by ose activities the followers of ose aditios are jus pepeuatig hei ow itellectual ad philosophica activities in te sese ta hougts cause bu tougts. Engrossed i inelectu aciviy, te folowes of the tradiios metioned i the passage above ae uable o disce the ature of mid from heir discrsive metal activities I the passage, Logchepa implicitly eistates his adoptio of the Prsagia Mdhyamika viewpoit over others icludig that of MdhyamiaSvatia view based o atoomous syllogistic logic Criiue of mehods associaed ih monasicism and anrism
Logchepa ow poeeds fom is citique of methods associaed with moastic aya ad ahya taditios to egate he whole rage of tatric metods fo beig based just o the discursive mid etagled i a ctiual meal activiy. The content of te tantras Kriy rya Yoga and Anuttarayoga Have many methods of te phases of creation and perfection But te practtioners canot approac te ncoected and spontaneously pesent Natral id Wile entangled in the net of mental elaboration My tanslation)
Hee, taic taditioal metods are eged as beig icapable of leadig ei followes to the eperiece of aural mid I oer to udesta hat the picipa views a the base of tese tatri tatricc mehods mehods that ae uer egaio egaio acually acually ae, Logchepa Logchepa s view of tes tes e taitios will be reviewed cocisely I is oxogaphy The Precious Treasury of Pilosopical Systems43 Longchepa meios hat riy' methods cocer mostly te ritual acivities of puricatio, offerig to deities maa recitaio ad various metods of meditatio havig deities fo thei objec Crya iclues practices of puificatio ad ritual clealiess, matra recitatio ad various methos of meitatio, bt here the deity is ot visualized as a soveeig or a master hat should be served but is visalize as a fied or elative i fot of oeself4 I yoga he pacices are mostly itera ad iclde visalization of te eity as the object of meditatio uil uity or ideificatio betwee the practitioersbject ad deity object is effected i he sese hat the image of the deity dissolves ito the practitioe.44 I he highest taa yoga levels Mhayoga ll appeaaces, sese daa, aggregates ec, ae pied by visualizig em as deities ad madalas while recitig matras. Tis cosists of the creatiogeeatio phase which is abou establisig a visualizatio of he deity ad the madala i a tiy dop with the aim o behold ad stabilize the visualizatio for log duatios. Howeve is phase, accoig o Loche Dharmas,44 is strivig o adopt good coceptios ad abadon bad oes towards odua wisdom44
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In s meod beings and environmen environmenss ae seen se en o ave a divine naure reaced by identicaion identicaion wi e obj obj ec of mediaio mediaion n ad he perfecio perfeciocomp compleion leion sage sag e es place p lace as pah o e wisdom of bliss criy ad no-concepaliy of e yoga of he psycic erves drops ad winds whic lead o libeaio Praciioners of is meod are instrced o visualize a nework of sacred anaoy ha enails psycic erves or canels () drops (ind ib ) energies or winds J) wih e aim of ceasing he complsive discrsie train of hoghs and emoions us by conollng e vi l energies wiin e psycic chnnels praciioners e able o conrol e discursive mnd is pracice faciliaes fullmen of e poenial found in he psycc ps ycc nerves and e nework nework of energies d brings abou eal and vialiy and e e cleing of emoional concepual and spiriual obsacles noer form of nuyoga includes sexal inercourse combined wi e yoga of psycic neres or cannels ) ad energies J) enailing enailing visalzai vis alzaion on and breahing breahing exercises exercises In he passage above Longcenpa coninues wi is criique of e anic praciioners wo employ exernal and inernal purificaion riuals visualizaion manra reciaion and sacred anaomy wi e aim o purifying e discursive mind and conolling is complsive emoional and menal endencies Tus all hese meods are negaed because ey enail dicoomy of cause and effec These meods are coninually originaed and perpeaed wihi ones discursive mind in e sense a menal odicaios cause more menal modificaions wio any abiliy o access unconrive naral awareness Longcenpa assers of ose praciioners who engage in e anric yoga of seual inercourse
Others practice further sexual union with breath control, and say: The natural meaning is the bliss-emptiness Entrapped in a net of doubt between adoption and rejection, Those persons will never reach the essential goal They are all misled by analytical doctrines, And, chained to this existence, they will never be liberated45 (My translation translation)) Praciioners wo engage in he anric yoga of sexual inercourse aim o achiee liberaion by ransforming desire ino blss nied wi empiness Tha is o say such yoga aims o acheve a unificaion of bliss wc s a srong angible sensaion fel wih ones body wi e deep ndersanding ndersanding a penomena penomena including e experience of blis s lack independen independen exisence Sc an ndersnding sds for one's liberaion om e condiioning power of sex In is ucaion e praciioner praciioner experiences sex wiho ny conditioning conditioning atachmen o pleasure nor any aversion whi wh i mig faciliae he experience of liberaion However according o Longchenpa his uncation would be ipossible becase e pracitioner is en focssed on lus as e obec of his pracice and is preoccpied wi i wic signifies ha his nd is no free of ies or ned of conceps as e sae of naral aweness is In considering he enormous power and place of sexualty in life s meod g ence desire nd lus ha could en locae he praciioner in
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a vcos cycle that bes the danger of xatio, where the prctitioer might become emooally ataced eter to their cosort or to e sese of pleasure I te passage bove Longchepa addresses his words ot oy to the tatrc practitioers who iclde sexual itercourse i their practices bt also to those ho bldly obey rigid rules at icude reunciato of seal activty ad thereby lead a dogmatc way of life He clearly addresses the mos and ns of his time who chose a highly constricted and disciplined life overned b a set of rules, inunctions ad vos that laid down in great detail how the were to live It is a fixed way of life tat accepts certain fos of conduct and reects others in a ver detailed manner; for eample what to er and hen, hat and how to eat inclding abstinence The prpose behid such a controlled sstem of livng is to develop resistance towards intense feeligs of desire and aversion as conduce of spirital practice. Accordig to Longchenpa living according to these disciplines, similaly to the tantric sexual practice bears the danger of fixation where te means obserace of rles and vows is transformed into te goal n which the mon or nun can become trapped ad engaged i the socio-political aspects of the disciplines instead o Buddha nature the essential goal. By means of his critique of moastc "oter morality Longchenpa continues to poit to natural awareness or Bddha nature as te basc premise of Dzogchen which moral rules cannot be imposed It sould be oted here that for him the critique is ot addressed to te monastic rles as temporary meas, bt to te disciples dogmatic attacmet or adherece to them ad tng tng of them them ito a goal g oal Otherwise Otherwise ow ca Logchenpa L ogchenpa s cosucton cosucton of temples ad moastery etailig a certa religo-socio-politica order in Bta be explicated 45 I Hoever Dzogchen's perceived "speriority n egtig moral rles as fabricted metal constcts is overstat overstatemet emet uless uless the disciple bides n no-dal wareess wareess e ere would be no meaig to the means end dichotom, dichotom, which which in fact is tre for any stdent of any school sc hool of Buddism not only Dzogchen, he abiding in Bddha natre Therefore the nder note of Longchenpas negation is directed towards an attachent and his priciple would be neither to encorage attachme attachment nt to moral dogmas dog mas nor to re re ect tem Ths, either the highest tantric practices entailing sexual intercourse nor a srict disciplined life including abstinence can bring about liberation or natral awareness as these practices re chained to te desirous and non-desrous discrsive mid accordigly Tanric practtioers would arge that their core practice is to ise above suc desire simply to abide i the act itself To that claim Longchenpa would assert tat tantric prctitioners approach teir practice wit a goal in mind depending on desire n order to acieve the goal, which sigifies a prais dependent on n obect and is therefore subect to a dicotomy of means and goal From tis oint Logcepa repeats boldly the negaton of tantrc vies and methods bu distiguises e negated elemets from te Dzogche vew of reaity
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To tis tis poit here is te e ssence of te unsurpsse unsurpsse ti tie: e: Wtut nts r ttrs tut ny phlsphcl tss t dt t cnnt b lblld hs n viw n dittin n ctin nd fruit ts st s unu ndl in which vrything s ul nd prfct hris h rfr t nd viws dttins ctins nd fruit s bjcts which r t b chvd r ul nd cplt Equl nd prfct S!sr nd Nir r th xtnsin f th bslut rlty My trnsltin
Fro e poit of view of bsoute reity directy percee by ntrly re d there is no tntric pt nd ts componens Insted everytig is rey fued nd perfect s it is wich kes pxis irrelevt Tus Longchenp isces ere between the nture of in tht irecty perceives relity s it s without y contone proectons cocepts ishl thnig etc te oiny ind tht eoys etods i the pursuit of ibertion ltog e iscrimintes betee iberted min d iscusive in s representtios of Nirv n Smsr respectivey he sserts ss erts ht they e but etension of oe bsolte bs olte relity relity n e perfect s hey e ithot intrisic ierchy Therefoe to prefer oe oer the other is to icrese the sese of nescience n to perpette n existece hich is essentiy ustisfctoy coition where oe is confrote by thoughts feeings senstions situtions oe ol prefer o to eperience It is coniton i hich oe is confronte by seption fro one one s love oes or om est es t nd nd joyfu experieces oe oul prefer not to eperience Neetheless Bdh nture is syoyous with libertio is ones iheret intelligence or inherent cpcity to iectly perceive relity "s it is n he crque of modes of medao
If Longchenp negtes the highest tntric prctices o the groud of iscernet betwee nture of nd nd oriny i oe he so egtes other spitul prctices of his time suc s:
Those purified minds" Who say they have a view, meditation, action and fruit: Some of them dismiss discrimination and sensations, Others cut the connection that unifies the three times, Immediately thereafter they claim that it is the awareness of the presence hat traverses all Others count the birth and cessation of their thoughts And title it real sense" that is but the wash [movement] of the waves of Their discursive thoughts453 (My translation) The group of ctices tht Logcep dresses i his critique re vrious ethos of edittio tht i to ccoplish sever thigs: to prify he i from negtie copulsie
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to etal attes ad d wch clea the away edeg them discad discad ad eove sesatos o dsc ds cia iato to;; to bg the actitioe actitioerr to te t e peset peset moet by ecogizig tat thoughts occug i oe's d have already ceased ad assed ad the thougts o the utue have ot yet se ad to ote the sig ad dissovg of dieet tougts ad eeigs ad sesatios such as oes beath. ogcea does ot sugest that ay o these ethods ae i theseves wog o but ehasizes tat the actices ae ot the goal but just a tecque. I other ods ogchea was agaist turg actices ito a goal is critque hee is agaist gettig caght u systes o meas ad becoig coditoed by te to the oit tat t becoes a hidrace to libeatio. That is to say etods are used i order to deveo alicato o ethods o to awareess ad clarity ad ot to icease tesios related codito ad iit oese. Furteoe those ae goaloieted eyig o the supot o a object i ode to estaish theselves as eas while lieated id is obviousy ideedet ore reasons for he
of mehods
Ae etioig te deiciecies o the vaious tatic ad meditatio ethods gchepa o the ricial easos behid s citique o asserts the eart o te oble whc is
las! o recogizig he recios sgs, They rejec he wish-fulfillig gem a aear o be searchig for semi-recios soes ejecig he sreme a auheic aral mi They imriso hemselves i a cage of arificial faasies of oe a fear A srivig mi will ever be liberae! his search, he searcher eviaes5 y raslaio The ocess that ogcea its at ee is te iheet assutio cotaied withi te etods that e has etioed so a is that the actitioes lac a sese o atura aareess. Te ae able to ecogize atal aaeess ad hoe that te aicatio o etods they wil etieve or ealize it I act those ethods ere ceated o tat uose as a resose aimed to uli what actitioers ack Fo exale a actitioe of tata who wises to purify is mid o egatve eotos suc as age will eloy a tatic etod that will tasom them to a eelig o comassio tat stems o awakeed id Fo the actitioe the method is redcated uo the coditio tat if oly they would persistetly ecite atas ad ideti teselves with their deity the the tasoato accessig te aweed d wi occu. Tis eects ot ogcheas view but a como ave view of the tatc tasomatio rocess held by taditioal actitioes. The coditioig is heret witi the asat ae lbeatio
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subjec wo is moie by e ssumpion or beief hey lck e mos precious "hing i he worl w orl B u nre hey sould ste ford ful fulll of hope o [d relize i ( obj obj ec) ec) Te spir is drie by he codiioned unerlyig oug "If I oy use e ig eod I wil rec nturl min someime in he tre Bu s mter of fc nurl min is lredy fufled nd free from such impose codiioing Te ery oion of sriig is cpble of obs ob s curig iering he prciioer from he reizion of his ture of mid Wi respec o e ie of seekig sriing Bille eques he oion of Beig ih he persise coesio of he esios by which e usuly escpe from pil or cooig siutio oidig eir reliy For him Beig is o oger quesio of s ltio hich he cis o be he mos oous of esios45 Th is o sy he ery striig for slio is deiion om h Bie refers o s Ier Experiece s i crees cocepul fier or eil h cosly occupies he ked spce of Ier Experiece d ies i down I oher words Bie rdicly sees Ier Experiece s spce sp ce wic co d mus no be pollued by such higs s eor or ides of sio or of y ey or concep wsoeer Wriig rher bou he issue of sercig sriig Logchep ironicy ssers he followig:
If the objects, minds and their perceptions are presenting themselves within The mode of emptiness, It is unnecessary to destroy them by the view that they are empty", And if they are not, such consideration will not turn them empty either. All tis is but tiring nonsense, what end dos it serve?457 (My translation) Logchep refers ere o he moe of lysis empoyed by ceri scools pcurly by e hymik ime o scerin h penomeon s o nrinsc ideiy or inepeen exsence Te ery ck of idepeen exisece is e nure of pheoen is ered "empiess fmous iusrio from he oer Buhis ex he Miina ana "The Quesions of Kg iid458 which crifies furher he noio of empiess is h of chrio hich o nlysis urns ou o be o sige hig bu composie of rious prs Disssemblig i io is cosiuig copoes d ysig wheher he whees imber bors d he remiing compoes mke he chio or o o sige p il remi h could be beled s chrio Oe he reizes h for he chio o be c c rio depes upo is rious compoes beig broug ogeher i such wy h e fil objec hs e fucion of co he use of such lysis is for recogizig mind coe such s coceps ies discursie ikig emoios feeligs oios of ideiy chmens ec whic "coour oes percepi of reiy bu wic re i hemseles empy of idepede exisece. ccordig o Buis psycology ree o he six ggreges sanas) pricury reled o he grege of iscriminig percepio sam) if n objec is perceied s pesn or uplesn our min will cegorize i· n wi e eiher o ccep or rejec i
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ccordigy T cgorizing m procss in is u wil cr n oic moionl recion of dsir ngr or fr rspecvy bsed on os pr-xisig ps of belf oug d bviour Ts, fidig empy ure of suc ndcis n of obcs involvd wiou idnifying oself wi will k s o of uomic rcv oions nd wil low cr, pr-cocpu wrss o k plce u re Longcnp sows fili of suc od wic sys ers on wo ploys i in dd nd T is o sy if ll concps ids discursiv inking emoions fligs noions of ideniy chns o ngibl nd inngibl obcs r lrdy rcognizd or undersood o b mpy of ininsic ideniy i would be poinlss o pply n od of nlysi nlysiss old scrin scrin ir ir empy empy nur nur If y sem o e n epy inrinsic idniy i cnno be scrind s suc, s y r lrdy mpy of indpndn xisenc And if y r no mpy, no nysis will rndr em py ir Trfor ccording o Longcnp since ny noion bou rliy bing empy cnno b scerind ere is no poin engging in serc for mpinss s i woud be nor consricing mnl consc wil disor xprinc of rliy On could cou ld rgu i is no noug o pres n on wi noion noi on ob ob ecs ec s , inds nd ir percpions r py s n xiom, bu on neds o reliz nd udrsd i for onesf by wy of isig or xprnc Howevr more hn likely Logcp woud rply empiness s n experiec cnno ris d cnno b scrnd roug inllcu nlysis nd esblsing piss is sil concp conrivd l consruc wich is in conrs w w piness is bou In oer words noion of mpnss ig b comprndd by nyic es bu o inuiivly pprendd Tus e very srivig for empinss of obcs inds nd ir prcepions bcos indrnce for prcioner Negaion of mehods inoing aion
Cenrl o e undersnding of e ngion of gol-oriend prcices r noions of fixion on on nd nd non-sgic or fforlss recogniion of nurl wrnss on or
The goalless King recogizes phenomena withou dwelling on them Because fixated oncepts enchain all things Without planning he recognizes awareness in its arising. It is the original ow empty in itself, fresh and authentic. Be sure of this view that releases beliefs and opinions.459 (My translation) Longcenp nions nurl wrness sponously rcognizes obecs of rcpion rcpion wiou pplying picul piculrr focus of en enion ion o r dwlling o n u s one of ir ir y spcs I dos so wiou being preoccupid by prculr ogs feelings nd siuling d received roug senses eir by rying o indulg i m or by
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wishig t aid tem t des s witut eterig r elyig o ori metal pocesses wic sese data is soted ad rgaiz�d int categies, bjects ad states based on past expeiece ad accmulated nowledge er time ctally, abidig i awareess cat be desiged pemeditated because i it was pt o a pa that wl mea awaeess is eld lced a goal, whic sgiies oiary pecepti iled wit mental pcesses utheme i casig awaeess t aris was a part o a pla e culd all push te ight buts" ad cause it t ise Simpl, atual aweess sptaeusl recgizes bjects o pecepti ithut beig ixated o tem Fixati as tw maj aspects, il a luty, i which it impses es id a mde cceptual pecepti hat ictates es expeiece reaity I the case iolutay iaio, te bjec i ocus atacts ad captiates oe's aeti as i it were a maget, leaig e witout a mmet o chice Oe is the asciated wit the perceied oject, wic igites metal process ad eeligs, sustaiig oe witi te domai discusie mid tha may lead t a acti his ixati esebles the expeiece alg i le, whic i sme ways is ieitale, uctrolable isky I lilled te experiece is a pleasuale e ad i t ulilled it becmes a pail situati r the e whse le is t matce he oter r ixati is he oe's atteti is lutaily directed t a w w eld inteest or to a speciic task to be permed Accdg t es tedecy sot siatins ito desiable and udesiable, oe's atte becomes gal ete ad te me iprtat iprtat e e object inteest inteest s te ore atteti, resoces resoces ad eegy it will be gien e a ixati will cystallize ad deelp twds bsessio r adictio tat will distrt peceptis reality This m ixati ay esemble te expeece o araton rers wo becme addicted t te aeali aeali leel pruced by thei spt actiity hese exaples may signi exteme situatis, owee tey ae metie ere i rer t empasize h oe ixates bjects, w csg te prcess may be, a o it keeps oe i he mode discusie that sapes es expeiece the object Fidig oesel i ixated sceris e is uable t hae a ce ubiased experiece o eality because e's percepti is cle" by the speciic elati oe as ith he object o peceptio gchepa's systematic a pesiste ctique certa etds as beig icapable leadig te aspia t liberatio has bee preseted he ext sep will b o exaie he aer i wich ogchepas etic o egati is applied ad t questio wete its applcati is cmpatile with with its aim ceate ceate a space space o absece Howee, H owee, irst irst Bataille' s met metd d ctstati should be examied Baaies mehod of onesaion
or
Whe tackig te mae i wich Baaille applies his ed cotestati we ca see tat he is mstly ambigus abt the objects ude ctestato the ne ad, o exaple, e
r Paxis t Aence
111
enirely enirely conet method method uc a hat hat of Sain Sain Igaiu Igaiu piua piua exercie 6 He oe oe o becaue be caue ey ai o put an e d o e dicurie d by by ing the mean mean of e dicurie mnd uch a iualizing oeelf a a characer a drama wic wil e ec and enable one o le go of one' wll or feeling O he oher hand, if coneaon i a Blanco pu i a raical negaion en Baalle contetation leae ome conceptual reidue and ambiguity For eample he claim ot wihou abigui and irepreentaion ha he objec of Buddhim i o uppre pai46 bu equ ae alaion in Buddhi m ith the the en en of uffering uffering . 462 To uppre pain mean hat pai continue to exi, hich cotrat ith he idea of bringing i to an ed or o i dioluion Howeer Bataille proceed to cone actiiie tha ai o uppre pain becaue engaging i ch an acion repreent a hif of focu oward a poiie objecgoal where oe might cure he pain Howeer he exreme limi of he oible will no be experience46 Neerthele een if we were o replace hi noion of uppreion of pain wih he ore accurae Buddhi notio of dioing and alleiaing pain i would ill remain a goa orieed pracice under conteaion Baaille ha an abialen aproach o yoga Hi nowledge of yoga wa partial a i wa lited o tudie wih "Hindu-fendly "Hindu-fendly Euroea Euroea 6 6 I i cle that he u ed a ere om Pata Pataj ali 46) wich enail e definitio of yoga a te ceaion of inner menal aciiy, which according o Baaile can epoe e mi in it eenial nakedne Hence e adopt thi deinition of yoga in preening hi meod of conetaio on the way o Iner Expeence At ime he perceie yog a a meho meho of o f matery matery or of conroll conrollgg one ' mo iner iner and mo fine fine moemet b note not e ha ha it i lited lited in e ene a it would no be able o lea he h e apiran apiran beyod ere hyiene d aeheic66 Howeer yoga i ore han hygiene and aetheic and he neerhele aree laer o a the breathg pracice componen of yoga could lea one o e innemo innemo ecre ecre of e heart467 heart467 In aoher paage pa age he goe goe on o n to metio tha tha reciing reciing he mara mara M can lea o a religio eperience but a ague one ad conditio l upon nae fath on he ide of he pracitioner who beliee that he mana M igifie the diine46 lhough mnra in India religiou radiion i equated with breat conrol Baaille pae oer he importa connecion between he mana M and yogic breahng which cae him o perceie em a different practice leading o dierent reul an to ake a poiio hat pu ino quetio the qualiy of hi coetaion a a meod Further he egate he aceicim of yoga a being a fn expreion of life and goe on o tae that i i coducie o Inner Exerience in achieig detachent o object of paion which in he end lead o giing up een he uo wih o be omnipreent69 omnipreent69 The mnner in which Bataille conduc hi conteaion of yoga how ha he queon he heme of yoga but doe no radically negae i Furhermore, i ha been hown tha hi nowledge of yoga wa lited and therefore hi acal coneaon of yoga necearly lited oo Tat i o ay, i the language of yoga tha reidual menal coc (Sasras) and heir implicaio
112
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still occupy is whc is i coast wit wit his of Ier Eperiece ae ad free of ties ataile is aso ambiguous owards uddhis antra yoga te oe ad he surprisigly emostraes te meaig of tatric sexua itercourse He is aware hat te atric pacttioers do ot drow i sexua us but use as a sprgboard for ayig bare the mid470 or for acquirig mastery ier movemets471 the oter he resents a ambiguos uderstadig of tatric yoga i sayig that "Tatric yoga uses sexual pleasre ot i order to ruin oeself i it bu to detach oeself before e ed from the object (ey avoid te las momet momet of pleasre woma who they make use of of I find i contemptible to a woma for meas oer tha those of teir ow47 ccorig to ataille although tara accomplishes trasformatio it does so cosiderig the female parter For tha reaso ataille cosidered it a cotemptible ac to eploit a female parter as meas to achieve masery over ier movemets for a purpose other tha itimate love maig maig ataille ataille s approach to tatric tatric practice practicess is i s a ambivalent oe wich aff affirs te acual practice as coducive to Ier Eperiece but egates it o moral grounds Neverheless his coestatio coestatio is i s ot te radic l egation lacot claimed it to be473 aaille's applicatio of cotestaio is ot eirely a radical egatio however the actua process of cotestatio as will be sow further this capter ca teach us abou ad psycological staes it would expose he rage of vulnerable coteseereader to we eir sese of certaiy is challeged
Lgces rerc f eg s me f rxs Whe examied Logchepas repetitie retoric of egatio ca be see to be a cocree practce tat cotais two priciples or facors a eis i os meiative spiritual pracice repetiio ad one-poitedess I he case of Logchepa's rhetoric of egatio by coductig a cotiual repetitio of a series of deials a oe-poitedsigle metal modificatio of coceraio is created whic dwells o te heme of egation icludig egaig egatio iself The egatios are repeate util the fial poit is reache at hich here is nohing to egate or o affirm a poit tha sigifies a nfabricaed atural clear awareess Oe-poited cocetraio is a object-cetred acivity which holds the mid i seadiess ad Logchepa species such a practice for of lesser and mediocre itellect For those disciples it i s prescbed as a meas to ame ame "the mokeymokey-le le wild d which which does do es o t abide abide eve for a while474 Whe cocetratio is establised the the disciple meditates o the notio of absece of ineret ad idepeet existece i pheomeal eistece to reie the empty ature of pheomea For isciples of mediocr mediocree capacity oe-poited meiaio meiaio is prescbed as a meas o slow ow waves of iscursve oce te waves of cocepts subside ad disappear cary of oes min daws
From Paxis to Abenc
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For ogpa su a ob-rd prai is a ans o aopish Tis is a pr-rquisit sta of id baus oy wn id ams ow an tigs b s as thy ar wit ariy ariy i sa way ony am war a r r obs f o gags i on-poitd rpady ad again on i prft os onntraio ad dvop raquiity of id is o-poid ditatio is an ifrior on bas is fra of rfr invovs a suppor and mor prisy it is dpd o an ob i ordr o stabis itsf as of t rori of gaio i is a opoid ditaion dirtd owards obt of gaio i ordr to stabis absn is tiqu is abou t id fosing on vaous pnoa as objs o b gad or rd us sabising abs of takig piss as is o onpua fra of rfr is tp of ditaio is osidrd a sa of ind at rst a ais a it odiion or op to b rad troug stabiizig t sta of rs and to brig o a d tat of no-duaity But ognpa isists ta t vry ida of su an d tat of o duaity irnty ivovs a sub fousig on an ob of ngatio475 Tus i iptig rtori of gatio as a prai i is appid by ordi disursiv d i ordr to ass abs or on-onpiy as a fra of rfrn wi sigifis mas � d d su su diotois tat av to b giv up or abadod sond aristi of t rtori of ngaio as a rptitiv on-pointd ditatio is i fat a rtorial dvi in atio at ds to onsu itsf as a gaio of wa as b gatd as a gatio of gatio work ilis476 idifis two fas of Tiban rori is t pross by wi intrstd parts us fornsi dibrativ firs is prsuasion and donsrativ stratgis in ordr offr ti ow disintiv visios of past ow o itrpr t of t prst ad wa ours of atio o ak i t T sond os syl usd by a rir i ordr to draw radrs io is argunt or agda47 Hiis tios syisti ovnions rva o our sdy su as apophasis ad abs i a ot ratd to noio of rpiio bu h dos o disuss notio of rpiio idpdtly or spara as as of prsuasion hrfor offrs a profod aaysis of ognpa's rtoi wi is sati wi rpiion is a ovt and is a dyai but prvasiv and notio notio of rpt rptiio iion n i ognpa' s ougt is sstialy iporat baus it ais at failiarizig t radrs/pratitiors wit faiiar opt of piosopia d psyoogia absn otion of abs is so unfii o os radrs/pratiinrs wo habiatd o tir disursiv id ta i ant b apprndd w prsd i a sig st Copusiv or dibrat disursiv ougt oupis t id and is is rason why rvisitig ad -poiting to abs mas of gatio is a sigifiant ativity w turs prsuasiv rori ito a dyami pross adig to unfaiiar abs us rpiion is a vaid ans of prsuasio troug wi t rpitiv a is dirtd to radrs/praitionrs to abandon onpts and blifs y old oto wi sap (ad tir xpris of raiy T rpitio of gaio
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nsus tat ac statmnt ncudg a pvusy gatd n mas t n-ptd mdtat ngatn an tat ts478 avng n cncpts tacs d and tus adg t asc at vmt ads t t pdaggy gatn w a dagu w tak pac tw dscp and tac adg t pc t na pnt n wc t s ntng t ngat t a pc psnc unacad aua ca awass Negaion Negaion of ausai ausai ime and and aebound raxis
ut t Lngcnpas pttus ctq sptua pactcs psntd h Natual Fdo of Rali n s wk t A asu v of Scitul nssson, ctnus t pat ngats ga-ntd pactcs swng tm t t At ndcatng tat t s n vw t cutvat n dtatn n cduct n ut n pats t tavs vs aatns t accmps n manta ctatn n mandaa vsuaatn tc Lngcnpa pcds t sustantat t ss ngatns usng tw catgca tms causaty and t H tn asns tat caus awanss s mpty and wtut dtty t cannt catd tug t pcss causaty tug t ct any caus H pvds an xpanatn t nt causaty asd n t wng anagy: tat t ssnc t sun s ts atua umsty wc cannt a sut any pductn pcss. It tug t may c supmpsd upn sns tug scuty y cuds s ans tat t s n actn tat ca y ay sptua mtd tat ca pduc sptua nsgt at s t say awass ng unscud and aady pu nv qu a actn natu mnd tanscnds any caus ct and ay ga-ntd actv t. Hwv pudnc s qud as atug t anagy as t t pan and t t twn sptua pactc ad sptua sgt s nt a pspca p480 pspca aspct causaty twn pactc and atn as n dat wt t ntdct wt t tatnt causatn y agana sutng t wng cncsn atn s t casd y spa pactcs n t s nt-casd y spta pactcs as t s ntg cnct a tat ca sad aut causat ad atn Lngcnpa ut a scnd aspct tanscdnc spccay tm and tms t tmss awanss48 wc s t a atua mnd tat t s v psnt and m ccptua a aatns ncudng ts atng t t ntn tm sptua pactc s cnsdd t gt tmss awass" can mmdaty s w mtd a ga-ntd actc pmd y a suct twad an gd twds a sut t acvd t utu actuay s t wds ct n t w natu nd tanscnds tm gantd pactcs ngatd al y Lgcnpa ae pd wtn mtatns tm Lngcnpa a w s t a t dsc twn t tw as a dsttd" pcptn aty
From Paxis to Abenc
115
Longchena goes rther and adds a thrd asect of tanscendence tat of lace and assets that aral nfabrcated awareness does not sta fro the scoe of te e are of henoea Tat s to sa natral awaeess s et et also le or lcd and f seached for b meas of analss or fndgs wll be em te sense that natural awaeness canot be located awhere482 Therefore a situal ractce amed at object wch canot be fond anwere s self-defeatng The notio of anscedece and ts mlcatos n Longchenas ritgs shos clel he nferioit d tatos of eods beng caable of leadng the asirant to abdng a sate of ufabcated ufabcated aareness hc s ther tue are Repeiie negaion empoyed by Dzogcen praciioners
Logcheas reettous rhetoic of negaton as also eloed b Dzogchen racttones o have regularl engaged readng Longceas texs coceng negation of srtual ractces vews and cocets Te ave esecall concetated on the frst ne cates43 of hs easue oe of Scitual Phenoena coceg e vew of Dzogche were the rhetorc of negaton s a central thee or faos zogchen racttoers such as Paltrul Roce ( 8 0 8 - 8 8 ) ad hs studet Noshl Lungtok ( 8 2 9 - 9 0 ) Logcheas easue oe of Scitual ansmission was ther a edtaton aual tat the studed agan and agan484 Kala Kheo (893-9) sed to ead a chater a da ad medtate on t ever da Tulk orje Dradul ( 8 9 - 9 9 ) son of the famos trease reveale udjo Lga (83-904) read a chater a da declarg that t s te best ractce It s sad to be a sdhana of dhaaka the ultate bod of the Bdda45 at Dudjo Lnga s ointng to s that t s the best ractce for abdng n a naal edtatve stablt and realzg natural awareness because ts deatue o s the decsve exerence exerence of natal natal awaeess awaeess whc h te means means ed dcoto ceases ceases to exst Poin of ension: negaing prais prais i s a prais
In cosderng te wo eleents one-onted concentraton ad reetton Longcheas rhetorc of negaton one caot escae te logcal conclson that Logchea's rhetorc of egaton s a ractc It sees ecl tat hle neatng srital ractices as beng subjec to te radcal dchoto of ossessng nheretl bot eans and eds foms a ractce that etals te sae dchoto tat t wants to egate or ej ej ect ect I other words lee leentin ntingg te retorc of negaton of siritual ractce les a ractce sil to the oes der egaton a rocess wch beas an outageous nner contradcton for the racttoner A attemt to clf te naure of te cotradctio ad te resultat tenson tat t could roduce for the asrnt/reader/racttoner s eseted here b eans of an agn dalogue I have created As t s a coo lter oe n bot te Idian ad Tbeta lter adtons an magatve mag atve daloge between Longchena Long chena and an cetcl racttoner/rea racttoner/reader der after after lberato lberato wo s confsed about the use of srtal ractces and te negaton s reseted as a eas of
116
clarifyin te issues Altou speclative e dialoe below style of rk the reoric of
Th M F Sy
its round in e content and
Praciioner Mase Longchepa you jus
exales of seal exhausve negaons a he l of of pcces u hle h le egagng n you you heoc of egaon you ceaed a acce dencal o he ones you ejeced and classed as fule. I a cosed and do no o ha o do If I pcce I ase as e y e; enage n a sees of negaos I a don ha I a asked hch s o aandon and gv e u conceps con ceps and el efs Wha Wha should sho uld I do do ? I do no o ho o oce ed fo hee
Longchena Le's so hee and consde you condon Can you see ha y you ee
coplan you ae dven y he conceual ae of hnkng ha ns should e coheen logcal and ake ake sense ? Ths s a conce c oncep p held y you dscu dscusve sv e nd nd a conce con ce ha you a e so aached o ha causes you uch confuson and use So ve u now he concep ha hns should e oheen ohe en and logcal Kno Kno ha dcaes and ls you you ece e ceon on and ex ex e enc e ncee of le le Undesan Undesand d ha n aakened aakened nd hee ae no condcns! Hence as long as you engage n he nega n egaon on of ofacces and ves you ll e euae eua e one o ne--oned o ned edaon hose hee he e s negaon a edao ha s ncaale of causng leon u hch can you nd and ng eace ea ce o you le le Wll you no connue connu e o engage n he cce of negaon dsanlng dsanlng you yo u co co u uls lsve ve con co neepua p uall hnkng hnkn g o no n o?
Oe scearo is hat te dialoue cold end up in a silence where the sudent abides in a non state of mind iou ny specific tin to do or to say nd wiou sppressin any ure o talk or to raise ore quesons On te oer ad e daloue could be perpeuated by an aswer e coice Ta choice would be eiter to enae in e dialoue of neation relectin the stdents desire for cerainy and defined pattes hic could esablish a sraey to liberatio; or not o enae in practice at all reflectin te students ure to see reality as eaninless purposeless and as a rando sequence of eents that miht ivoke feelins of prpose lessess desperation and fear Either way te desire for cerainy and he oldin ono a ceai ceai percepion of life life as eanin eaninle less ss ill c ase suffe sufferi rin n Any choice choi ce epressed epress ed b the student will t aain ino an obect for e retoric of neation pointin to absence a space with nothi a all The backround of sc iaiative or concrete dialoue is worth idenifyin as it could expose expose the studen s experience experience of con consions sions tensions and emotions emotions It could be that aer aer a lo period comied o a se of practices etailin rituals and editaions te sudent aproaced Loncenpa in order to receive Dzochen teachins Lonchepa in response ured te studen o ie up all spirital prctices becse of teir incapabiliy to brin abot liberaion Locenpa ten old sues hat here s noin to do a ca cause awkenin Bu as for
From Praxis to Abence
the studet that Logcepa has fact constructed a practice that etails oepoited meditatio which is to be repeated and erformed me ad agai siilar to te oes they ere urged eaier to abado This situation perpetates the teir sese of discomfort ad icreases teir frustratio ad desperatio regdig spirital practices Such intese reactios ot placed on te rhetoric of because of itese attacet ad te as a valid strategy hich the stude hopes might lead them to a spitual spitual isig or liberatig liberatig koledge koledge bu b u by heir teacher i this case also because they are axious to please ad to do the right Logchepa who is hailed as he secod Buddha48 The sudet o migt be a passioate aspirat aer liberatio is itesely calleged liberaio is depedet also o their relatioshi with the teacer they trust as oe who is capable of brigig them to the other ba of te river o liberatio I is similar to a paiet ho is about hae srgery They are anxious ad fearful beig uder te surgeos kife but at the same they trust te highly skilled doctors to perfo perform rm te operati operatio o ith a high degree degree of succes s At this stage the stuet stuet is sres sressed sed ad s tuck and is ot sure how o uderstad uderstad Logchepa s rhetoric rhetoric of egatio egatio of spiritual spiritual ractices or how to proceed towards the realiatio of atural clea awareess Ad yet lke the surgical patiet they ave a clear sese of codece at all will ed well for te
e c f Bes cesee Lgceps se More about what might caracterie te condtion of the studet as a contestee is foud i Batailles witigs we e describes the process of beg uder cotestatio as a toret48 the rocess of cotestatio that of As reslt of a values ad doctries the cotestee is le utterly ithout ay frame of referece Bataile metios occasios where he fids imself a "dead ed times hen e feels a empty ervousess ot koing who ad hat e is He mentions times of dobt helplessess axiety ad despair Here is a eaple of he feeligs ad toughts he experieced the process of cotestatio Trembling. To remain immobile, standing in a solitary darkness, in an attitude without the gesture of the supplicant supplication, but without gesture and above all without hope. Lost and pleading, blind, half dead. Like Job on the dung heap, in the darkness of night, but imagining imagining nothing nothing defenceless, defenceless, knowing that that all is s.48 s .4888 Here is Bataille despair despair aer lettig go of al frames of referece after reovig veils which surouded is cosciousess ad ow leae him aked ad defeceless i a state of complete hopelessess The crisis situatio of Logchepas studet i our imagiative dialogue ad Batailles crisis situatio as a cotestee are examples of what might occur or traspire traspire for the studet whe wh e cof c ofroted roted with with a belief system sy stem which they e required required to abado ad to reai therefore therefore without ay ay cogive c ogive fra frame me of refer referece ece Facig absece ca brig about fear ad desair for most aspirats aer liberatio dialogue it should be restated that at the core of I referrg back to the
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Longcepa' repone te prciple of no-affrming negaton and n aertg rhetoc of negaton he dd not inted8 to affrm ay oter method vew o concept It wa te tudet who armed tat ometig a mpie by Longchenpa egation of pritual pactce Longchepa pont to e attacmet foed by te tudet wo wa codtoned by their belief that thng oud be logca and coerent Suc a attacmet lea te dent to fom the concept of contadcto ht n eene lack ineret etence Hece the tudent wold fixate on hat i ot real a real o that t certaly eem real a fiate on confion here thee i no confuon o that thee certaily eem to be confuo49 Tee ype of faton are a product of perimpoition (Sakt s) whch caue oe to have wrong vew ad to iceae the ene of uering Longchenpa provde a repone that amplfe te cofuion and mrror it to te tdent He oe o thout precibng a olution for the tuent thereby al owing tem to ort ad icover the tate of affar or themelve becaue in provding the tudent wth any preciptio fo a olution Lngchenpa Lngchenpa wou l codt c odtion ion the tudent' udent' tougt proce Theref Therefoe oe Longchepa prove prove the practtione wt the poibility to egate the new concept of iheent contradcton and to create a pace o a tate of abece hi imagnatve ialogue Longchenpa y ue the pciple of no-ing negato tat lay wthin h etoric of negato an tu t into a pioopy tat conume telf to the extt tat i hetoc of egatio egate too It a phloophy at leave no tace bed i the ae anne a a eoui tacker who follow a certai peron or aial and erae hi ow track Longchepa' retorc of negato a a phloophy that conue itef leave a pace whic could lead te practtioner to te fnal poit n wic tee i nothing to negate or to affirm It i a pace of natura clear awaree tat can be appehended oly when the rhetoric of egaton tranfome to a actual klful pedagogy where he lat mnd modifcatio, that of egato, i given up t thi tage the tudent mght dcover a pace n whch libeatig knowledge mght occ ntil then the rhetoric of negation i depeent o what i to be negated either a philoophcal view or a goal-oriened pactice Th wll be how in the next chapter, hch deal ith the pedagogy of egation Means combined ih negaion in he creaion of absence
The maginative dialogue have a few other eetial component through which vocal tone ad a d certain ynamic are embedded wthin the communicato component which, wen combined ith te dcoure of negato are capable of invokng unertanding Likewe in h imagnative repone Logchepa ue everal evice i orer to create a pace devoid of concept irrig
Te devce of mroing, mentoed eler i ed i the dalogue i order to reflect bac to
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the student tei compusive tendecy to abe a conceptualize eflecting thei need fo cetaty A mio s famous metapho in Dzogchen pactice and is employed by Dzogce mastes to pesent the natual awaened mind and its eationsip to the wold of phenomea Lke mio, te natue of mid is empty cea and impd and has te capacity to eect things the way tey e without being modified by te efections91 Hence, as a Dzogche aste Longchepas aaeess functions like a mio fo his students, and this idea epeatedly fids expesion in woks whee he diectly addesses the eade/stdent, eade/stdent, stating stating fo eample eample with "o thnk thnk . 9, 9, "You pecei peceived ved . . 9 o "Yo might wonde .. , 9 9 eecting fo them thei thei state of o f mind mind as it i s. The tone of he election election pesented in the imagiative diaogue is empathetic and pesasive ad iites one to eect upo oes thinking pocess The, facing the eection of thei on ideas, studets migh ealize the compulsive mane in whch they fom cocepts, elaboate hem ad act upon them mpig iscin iense wi n ecmin
The next component evidet in the imaginative dialogue is the fom of commadment o moe pecisey, an instucio deliveed with a clea excamation Longchenpa thoughout hs auto commetay o the pecous Tes f e sic Spce f enmen appoaches te eade/ pactitioe wi a clea inunctio. Hee ae seveal eampes
n y s ns ay aan y nn-sn nmna w ma manng, s as g y w ang n mags a aga s as sw y sg s nsan s y sang" Hee Longcepa uges the student that he mst udestand the mechanism of supeimpositio wee ctous eave penomea as a poduct of dependet oigiatio e ten to be ultimatey e In elaio to ying to obtain th state of natual awaeess Logchenpa comunicates to th eade/pactit eade/pactitione ione e followig in in nctios nctios
Do no sk ; do no y o ahi Comply l go of hop and far! 495 Longcenpa uges e eades/pactitioes to abado stiving fte libeatio o naa aweness ad to completey abndo te hope of gaining anyting desiabe including cetaity and lbeation as we as the fea of losng all of it This fo of communcation beas a focel sha toe that emphasizes the impotance and the ecessity to act pon what has been comunicated The iuctions which appea i the imaginative iaogue attibuted to Longchenpa, the Guu hailed as the secod Bdda, mht be etemey eective i inducig wii e stdets mid n ndestanding of thei condition, cutting focelly though the discusive mid etagled with the
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otio of cotaictio poits cly i t gt ircton wic is opos to tir unaw stat stat Logchna Logchna s stts s mast mast sn tough tough ys of t paciti pacitior or who is anious to sr a las m fiitly cotrbts to alicato of t ijctos a thir ffctiss Paadox and da comnd w rorca qustion
T t ic rst ii ii igini igini ialogu wich wic h is chactristic chactristic of Logcha s rorc of gatio g atio is labl aado or raioal ilmma Th ratol ila witi witi t cott of imaginativ iog is fod by t wo sigy cotadicto courss of both actio a o-actio gaig ibatio a ty a bo u with a htorica qustio A rhtoicl qsio6 is a fom of qustio posd fo its prsasiv ffc withot ay ctatio of a rly whic Logcp ss i is rtoric of gtio H s a al icly icly at t h ttr ttr of t gatio of siiua siiua actic a s ali as to t o libration libration
There is nothing to achieve or to seek within the context In which nothing needs to be done. Since effort and achievement are not other than their natural State of basic space Whence could effort come? To what achievement coud it lead?49 Th ustio t th of th assg is irct to th r/stut wo blis tht ffot cou to turl st s act Logc gats is possibility i wic tr is othig to o o to sk cus ot cint ot iffrt fom t tual stat of ass big mty yt cl H t rocs wit t qustion wich hasis t tity of ots i lation to t stat of nar awnss i o to put to t cocpt tt t gt a c oction btw btw orts ortsa ass a ral stt as go g o to ach Not ct o b asw, th rtoricl qstio s a uc i t t of th assag austs th std/ra/rctiiors discusi thiig rocss a it chos ihi a still sac hic is bsc of cocts I th iagiativ diaogu t toical qustio ca b tougt to b proocati b ocig th stt ito t rt of t tt without asio o wihral a b prssig hm to cogi th mcaism of supriositio th its ismatlig If t stud asws i a mar tt prpuats t iscours y sayig, for aml, tt o pactic is stil prctic, it woul sigify tt t studt is si coitio is iscusi mi a a to br ino t stil cocptfr sc whic Logc faciitatd Logcas toicl qustio is coup wit rtioa ilma of coic: Will yo ow cotiu to gg i t practic of gtio isatig you cousi concu thiig or ot? Th ila is of poical ar as t two coics rst by t rtoica qustio qit cotadictory It is a statnt tht cotais two cotrictoy
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ssti ss tis s i big ib f sut b rt rt tught du tsi fr fr th ti ti tir biti f Lg' s tri qusti i ti i f ifi ifiss t xst f th ss d fiitts sti nt-f s f min At t s ti ti it i t inrs inrss s th stss sts s d ts f th s quid t bnd f f fn Pd ig t Hiis is f t st rvnt hti dvis Lgs e recis Treasry f te Way f ing H is x f dxi sttt b Lg tht is rt t t i t f th gti f situ tis t t tis std: It is of no concern whether or not you meditate on the ultimate Meaning of the nature of phenomena. It is of no concern whether or not you engage in examination since there is nothing to accept or reject. 499 I this pssg Lgh sts di sttt ithi t tt f t isi i f -du md tt is d it ith ditti ith ditti it sis f i it t th bsi tu f h bus ti iti t b put f i i d d s t f fs s . his ritt f dxi sttt s us i th igiti digu d d f i std s hti qsti is rd m int tin is tis d f t i biu is bsd t tdit s O s t d it ggig in fft tis istd ith ffrt fft d t t s t d it iig i ss g-it fm h i dr t gi hi s isigt is rid s big st Tis trditi ts tsi d disft f t sit qustis i ti t t us s siit th h qusti is h r t t tti stig stig tht th s hd? H sh t b ht t d d ? ? If t d t tig is t tu d f s ti istd it fft? th sti bi tht sthig is missig in ti ist h s s n t sts f ti f? Lg ud bd d si stt tt ths qstis ivt sstig tt It is f th t gg i ti si thr is tig t t jt us t i stisti dis i t igiti igu id ig ffu istuti th rti f di d hti qustiig i hi t d! rtiti is gd suti i dig th titi t th stt f t bs f tuiti Hr -tu id is sti difiti tht uis th stdts d It is f bsn h tu ss is t iit � t t difiti
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a s about t tgato of atual cla awarss a th poal wol How os Logcpa scap tis coitio i whc sptal pactics a actits a b ngat a t stunt s goss gos s o ofcato of o-cocpts o -cocpts I t folowg capt Logcpa Logcpa s s pagogcal tos of gaton gaton tat tat faclt facltat at t of t cocptua a ococptal stats of i ws t of atua l l b citica citica w
6 OM ABECE O A AWAREE
Longchenpa's rhetoric of negation was employed in order to alleviate attachments to frams of reference that the disciple was holding onto. Such frames of reference distort the perception, hence the expeence of reity reity as it is. i s. One might might gue that that the idea of reity reity as it is" seems quite quite nve as the very act of experiencing it makes it into quite another reality which could peetuate the master/student dialogues and relationship. But Longchenpa's rhetoric of negation facilitates a space spa ce where concepts conc epts and ideas as fres of refe reference rence e absent, a space spa ce supported supported by nothing at all, allowing a direct perception of reality. Longchenpa concluded that absence facilitated by a rhetoric of negation can yield a non-conceptual frame of reference and that such a lack of conceptual framework is somehow in tself a tpe of meditation. To put it in his words, it is a practice which refers to some state with a single reference point, positing that it is essentially ind at rest, that its puose lies in some hoped-for goal that can be reached through stailization, and that its function is to est est dualistic perception".500 This form of negation that aims at accessing asence of objectsubject dualism lready involves a subject perceiving an object to be negated or abandone which is mae into a conceptual con ceptual framework. framework. At this point poin t in order to overcome the dualistic goal-oente goal -oentedd frame frame of referen reference ce that is iherent in his rhetoric of negation, Longchenpa understands that he would need to find a way to lead the student from the omain of absence" to the domain of natural aweness". In negating fixated goal-oriente spiritual practices geared towards the domain of absence, Longchenpa was able to reveal the transparent manner in which such a fixation prevents and inhiits the student's realization. Accordingly, the student might identify so deeply with their spiritual practice, its views and beliefs that they would not e able to see how fixated they e. t is due du e to the the negation that that they they come to recognize recog nize their aachments, aachments, as the process proces s of negating negating xated goal-oented spitu spitu practices practices reaches a non-concep state which which is also contextualized contextualize d within within a frame frame of refe reference rence.. Therefore Therefore Longchenpa recognized reco gnized the need n eed for a pedagoy that would yield the apprehension of natural awareness, which means to perceive it directly without the mediation of any means and to emotionally accept the consequences of what has een exposed, that is, natural aweness. Philosophically speaing, Longchenpa's view is largely in accord with the Psagika Mdhyamika's, essentially with its aspect of non-affirming negation. For him this form of negation serves as analytical tool that enables one to block possibilities of adopting any fixed opinion about any matter under consideration and to put an end to the philosophizing process tows comprehension comprehension of emptiness emptiness.. fact Prsagika-Mdhyamika's non-affing negations result in a mere absence or vacuity of a concept or of a thesis formulation but when converted to
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praxis in a mode of analytical meditation it manipulates and moulds perception. Furthermore, perceptions then are formed and dictated by the strict pattes of logic applied within a state of meditation while the strength of holding the state of meditation depends on the practitioner's consistency, intentionality and concentration. Hence, even if one applied the Prsagika Mdhyka' s nalyt nalytica icall method coec coecly and had come com e to the ght conclusion, one of the empty empty ature of reality, one's understandin would be more th lely a form of comprehension which is in contrast to intuitive intuitive apprehension. apprehension. That That is to say an intelligent person, pers on, not neces nec essarily sarily a dha student, could apply the tetlemma on a given thesis and finay comprehend its empy nature, it would not necessily cause them to ave he actu l experience experience of emptin emptines esss . Thus, in terms of praxis, given that non-firming negation formulates an analytical goal-oriened practice, Longchenpa would move away from Prsagika-Mdhya's analytical method of meditation and woud cely negate it as being insufficient in leading the aspirant to liberation. It is within the context of praxis that Longchenpa significntly adds substanti concrete value o the philosophy of negation and offers a creative, sophisicated and expici pedagogy of methods, as wil be shown in this chapter, that can lead he aspirant even beyond the non conceptual mind to a profound experience of their natural awreness integrated with the word of phenomena. The purpose of the current chaper is to show how Longchenpa transformed his rhetoc of negation into a practical pedagogy of negaion aimed at accessing the sae of innae natural aweness as an experience of intuiive apprehension as well as the process by which this transformation is accompished. This experience as a possible outcome of his pedagogy of negation can be identiied cearly when the studen is focusing directy on awareness which is ned of concepts and free from discursive ativity which thinks in erm of ideniy.
ey terms concerning the experience of innate awareness The appropriae terminology that Longchenpa uses in order to reveal the experientia encounter with one's inherent awareness incudes severa repeated key terms such as naural sate", aweness" and dhaakya". By defining these terms he understanding of Longchenpa's proposed methods that expose the practitioner to his innate natural aweness will be enhanced. refers o In he contex of Longchenpa's works on Dzogchen, aweness" (rigpa pristine cognition as the essential natre of mind. It is the sefpresented prinple of inteligence in its pure and undiluted intensitywhich enables perception of physical and psychic eemens and events. It is a pristine cognition of sense objects in he sense that it occurs directly, wihout he mediaton of concepts, lguage, symbols or y oer mes. is pnciple in is pe essence is witn ndvidus as their ue nature of ind", their natura aweness or Buddha nre. This stands in contrast with with the indivi individua' dua' s ordin ordin compulsive men proces processes ses or events of he he ordiny ordiny ind". ind" . 501 Abiding in the undstorted nature of nd refers to the natural stae.
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Within Within the context of Dzogchen, Dzo gchen, the term term dhaakya chos sku literally literally means the the Buddh Buddhaa reality body", that is to say, the world of phenomena and the existence in such a world as it is According to Lipman it refers to the primordial contact with the total field of events and meanings"50 as the essential potentiality of the world of phenomena, a time before it appears as a solid form and before it is objectified and sorted out by the individual perception This pre conceptual form of perception points to the prior relationship that exists beween one's essential natre of mind and te ground of its origination as the dhaakya and conveys an experience of insepabiity between the two It is an experience occuing in a mind that realizes the emptiness of sef s ef and phenomena phenomen a as integration integration between the two two Thus, Thus , dhaakya stands for the world of phenomena as it is, is , before being conceptaized or labeled by the individual hence seen clely as it is Another cose term is dhaat chos nyid which iterally means pheomena or reality as such" and signifies the ultiae nature of phenmena as the dynamic emptiness that permeates phenomena503 It is the quintessential nature of the elements of existence that are the configurations of events and meanings that one is capable of experiencing, which is emptiness Dharmat and dharmakya share a common denominator504 in the sense that they refer to the true nature of reality whether to its potentia mode or to its manifested mode as inseparabe from the essentia nature of mind
General remarks on Longcenpa's six metods of direct introduction Now that the definition of the above key terms has been established, the next step is to examine Longchenpa's six ways to introduce natural awareness directy These six methods rely on some key points that facilitate the identification of natural awareness through concentrating on it directy without mediation of means For Longchenpa to introduce the nature of awareness directy means that the student woud be exposed to the innate nature of mind as a principe hich has always been there without drifting to discursiveness or contrived thinking and behaviour The notion of direct intoduction" intoduction" (ngo sprod) in Dzogchen Dzog chen had been invested with with a ot of importance and sigficance by Dzogchen teachers The term denotes a moment when the stdent becmes intimatey acquainted with he nature of ind and confident in this crcia recognition Most Dzogchen D zogchen teachers wrote about direct introduc introduction tion but what mes Longchenpa unique is is that he offered six detailed and creative ways that convert the philosophical notions and instructions of negation into a living pedagogy that incudes instructions for the teacher, as a teaching manua on how to faciitate and expose the student to their natural aweness as being non-dul Longchenpa's six methods e given in six concise pagraphs that convey a formative and significant moment in the life of a student of Dzogchen which is the pinnace of spiritua life, the discover of Buddha nature Thus a cose reading into Longchenpa's six methods wil have to
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refer to several aspects ot metioed explicitly i the six methods but which exist betwee the lies, such as the teacher-stdet reatioship, the drama that emerges from the iteractio betwee them, its itesity nd impact, the stdets covert psychic coditio, the choice of the right time to impt the appropriate appropriate istrctio istrctio i i course of the iteract iteractio io, , etc. etc . S uch a close cl ose readig readig will depict the subtext of the the six dialogues in a maer that that will expose expo se the trasfor trasformatio matio of the rhetoric of egatio ito a pedagogy pedag ogy desiged to facilit facilitate ate the the expeece of atr atral al aweess awees s . It will provide a perspective upo Logchepa the teacher ad his creative teachig methods, which ae ot foud i the works of central figures in Tbetn Buddhism of his time such as Gampopa, Lama Zhag ad Nubchen Yeshe who have been discussed earier in chapter 4. lthough Longchenpa shed with the figures metioned above the priciple o egatio of views and spiritual practices he preseted ew pedagogical methods methods such as the six methods methods . In fact the aalysis aalysis of Logchenpa Logchenpa s creative pedagogy which is at the heart of what is discussed in this chapter will serve also as evidece of the maner in which he difered from his predecessors. Further, portraying Logchepa as a teacher will i tu complete the depictio of Longchenpa, who is usualy portrayed as a schoar, writer, poet, codifier and collator of texts, great spiritual authority, philosopher or accompished yogin.
A dialogue in Sakara's that points to one's true identity Here is a example of how a close readig can revea the subtext of an iteraction between a teacher and a student, referring to what is implied in the dialogue. readig that would contribute to the understadig of how a retoric of negation is convertd ito a pedagogy designed to faciitate the experiece of selfnowledge siil to Dzogchen. The text is of the dvaita Vednta tradition from the 8 centry, the padashasr of aka .25. The cotext within the text is this aka the teacher has metioed the idetity betwee the tman and Brahman (tman ad Bhman) and poited out to the studet that this identity is his real Self, and that realizing his real identity he wil become free from the necessity to perform rituals rituals ad wil be free free from from caste ad family family ties. ties . The T he studet studet replies replies I am one and He is another I am ignorant, I experience leasure and pain, am bound and a transmigrator transmigrator [where as] He is es sentially different different from from me . . . by worshiping him with oblations, offering, homage and the like and through the [performance of] the actions prescribed for [my] class and stage of life, I wish to get out of the ocean of transmigratory existence. How am I He?505
The passage pas sage reveals tht the studet studet xperieces xperieces a crisis as a s a reactio reactio to the explanations explanations given to him previously by the teacher teacher about the identit identityy betwee the tman tman and the Brahman. Brahman . This Th is crisis stems from the friction and clash between the vaues of his old world" beig accustomed to ritualistic ritualistic actios, actios , and the the concepts of a new world", that of dvaita Vedta, which has negated such an old world" viewpoint. The studet here is shaken by aara who has chaleged his values and beiefs as not being the same ting as his h is real ideti and who has negated his practice
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of ituals, claimig that they are icapable of causig liberatig kowledge The studet is shocked by te egatio of ritualistic actio i the exeme because he perceived ritual activity as his supreme obligatio, his iheritce from the Braic l old world" via the religious laws of his Brahmi caste, based o the mmese differece betwee the tma ad the Brahma He the asks i despair, How am I He?" Only the, i the ermat ermathh of such suc h a psychic upheaval, c c the studet be metored, whe he is receptive ad a d ope to isteig to (rvana) ad assimilatig the scriptures' great seteces", the Mahvas Mahvas,, such as thou that" that" (tat tam asi), d realizes e e are are of o f e oly ut, that that of the Bahman Oly the do his covetioa discusive pattes collapse ad expose his rea Self
Imliit and exlicit exlicit comonents in Longchena' Longchena' s six methods There e oe components components in e passage pa ssage above om the padashasr of a coceg close eadig, such as the ole and status of the teache as a authoiy authoiy ad of the vuerable studet and their existential condition, which could enhance the pedagogical process These componens componens as we as oters oters e going to be disussed e whie whie closely eadig eadig Longchepa Longchepa'' s six mehods Thus he fist sep wi be to review the status, qualicaios ad chacteristics of Dzogchen teaches ad studets appropriate to Longchepa's fame of efeence d to dee Logchenpa' Logchenpa ' s cheypica cheypicall studet of Dzogche and hei qualificaios The next step wil be o discove who Longchepa was as a eache d o esabish precisey what his qualificatios were ad to cify wh wee his expeences as a sudet In aswerig these questions the subext of the ineactio beween Logchepa and suden wil be eveaed, which wil shed ight o Logchenp' s pedagogy hat facilit facilitate atess the experie experiece ce of aua aua awees aweesss The student The 5 chapte of e Prec P recio ious us Treasu reas u of the Way of ofA biding bid ing,, a Dzogche Dzogch e wok writte writte close cl ose to e ime when A Treasure Trove of Scriptul Trnsmission: A Commenta on the Precious Basic Spae of Phenomenawas Phenomena was composed by Logchepa, Logchep a, povides povid es a list li st of qualif qualifications that chacteze te sudent of Dzogche Longchepa spes of the sude of Dzogchen as he individua to whom hese teachings may be ensted"508 and goes on o n to indicate he studet' studet' s qulificatios, such as havig faith and devoio fo te Guru, d egdig him as he emanatio of he Buddha, te uves l guide appeng i degenerate imes509 fact Logchepa' Logchepa' s notion of fai faihh d s s is based ba sed so on his own expeiece with his teache Kumaraja Logchepa followed his teacher under difficult codiions ad moved wi wih him from pace o pace, iving auseey i tempoy camps exposed to he eemens and sleepig in woollen sacks which he also woe during the day This eeced Longchenpa's eadiness o undergo and ovecome eormous hdships fo tee years so hat Kumaja, tadiionlly consideed as emaation of Vimaamia, woud provide him wih he
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transmission transmission of Dzogchen teachings teachings.. This srt of trust trust and devotion is what Longchenpa would have expected and reuired from his students. In addition to trust and devotion the student must have and display generosity, profound nowledge nowle dge of o f Buddhism, Budd hism, purit of chacter, chacter, few fixat fixations ions,, inimal clinging to ritals as means to freedom, great diligence d the ability to maintain secrecy. That is to say, they must have a natur tendency to share their knoledge and belongings with others without any vestigial sense of attachment to possessions either spiritual or material. Further, the student must have a vast knowledge of o f the path of Buddhism and be able able to distinguish between the essenti es sential al teachings of Dzogchen Dzogch en nd the other other Budist docnes as well as having having no cnging to ritu rituls for for pufications pufications and other dogmatic frames of reference. ne ight ask how these ualifications e essentially different from the constraints found in a Buddhist monastery, as Longchenpa's list of student's qualifications qualifications could be simply just ju st another version. version . However, H owever, when Longchenpa Longchenp a refers refers here here to the student as one who has but few fixations he means that the student has a healthy mind without obsessi obs essions ons,, compulsive behaviours, behaviours, excessive anxiety anxiety addictions addictions,, and has has substantial substantial intelli intelligence gence and sense of disceent, qualifications a skilful teacher would be able to assess. Another point that Longchenpa emphasizes is that the student should me material gifts to the teacher nd please the teacher either by ming progress in religious practice or by sering Although Although Longchenpa spes in his his act actual ual source verses in a casul and moderate manner about what is required from from the the student, he presents in his auto commenty radical radical prerequisites that e expected from the stdent. These reuirements so reveal the content and mening behind the idea of pleasing the Guru with gifts: To the vajra master who confers pith instructions One should oer one's uncle one's father and mother One's On e's eyes one's jewels one's children and the very best of one's possessions Whatever Whatever is cherished and valued . . . In brief one should offer even one's body and life force . . . 510
As expressed in the passage above the student is required to sacrifice their attachment to body, life, family, belongings in order to attain the liberating essential teachings. I other words the studnt is reuired to give up, relinuish and abandon everything that they ae attached to, physically and mentally, and offer it to the teacher who imparts the teaching on liberation. It defines a cle hierarchy and relationship between the teacher and the student in which the teacher is the holder of the pceless teaching and nothing in the wold could be more valuable th it, not even te student's own life. ether these radical sacrifices should be ten either literily or metaphorically, within the context of the rhetoric of negation the sacrifices required from the student stand for a radical negation of all of their attachments to allow the space of complete absence to emerge. This conveys a sense of how unfamili and how confronting the state of absence could be for seekers after liberation. Again, these sacrifices do not seem to be different from those found in tantc practice. However, in the broad sense of qualifications, Longchenpa's
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sdet is oe who has, i additio to sacrifices metioed elier, but few fiatios d substtial itelligece ad sese of disceet. Thus, Thus , the sdet who iteracts ad pticipates pticipates with with Logchepa i oe of he si dialogues that facilitate the discover of the are of d is equipped with the qualificatios metioed above, ad relates to Logchepa with awe as te represetatio of the Budha, aious to please him ad to sacfice everythig for his teachigs ad well-beig. The emphasis here is o the ust ad aiety to please the Guru which chactezes the sdet's state of mid ad which they brig to the diaogue with Logchepa.
The teacher According to Longchenpa, The Guru Who Istructs" is oe who has heard may teachigs, has great compassion, has accompished ot only the ordinary disciplies of tatra but aso those of Dzogche, who is anchored i their realizatio of atural awareess ad is able to free others. The teacher nows how to eamine ad evaluate the studet's suitabiity as a cndidate ad grts he key teaching poits gradu ly and ot premarey. The teacher accordig to Longchepa, as ideay epeced, has o coce for materia gis and offerings but is abe to eamie the studet ad observe their maer whe the latter offers the teacher gifts, as this ca reveal the sdent's motivatios ad itetios to reect either basic support ad gratiude or a persosefish sefish ambii ambiion on to to get access acce ss to the the secret secret Dzogchen teachigs. teachigs. 5 Before elaboraig o e teacher's qualifications it is importat to metio e ordiy discipies of tatra within the contet of gradua ad simultaeous teachigs. Logchenpa indicates that the teacher has to e accompished i the ordi discipines of tatra that e associated with gradua teachigs, which may lead to the imressio that Longchepa is characterizig Dzogchen as a gradual teachig. Although his descriptions of te teacher's quaificatios etai many quaificatios similar to those of a teacher of tantra, Longchenpa iteds to depict a profie of a ideal teacher that incudes a deep ad comprehesiv capacity to teach ot ony Dzogche Dzo gche but also tara tara i al its diff differ ere ett phases.5 phases .522 The above ist of o f qu quicatios is the one a teacher brigs to t o the diaogue wih e studet ad to the interactio iteded to access the eperience of natural awareness. The mai poits emphasized here e hose at relate relate to the resposibility resposibility of the teacher in in asses a ssessing sing the student' student' s motives and capacity to assiilate the teachigs. The teacher has to idetify the studets who e movated for eampe by persoa bition, who e in pursuit of a socio-regious stats or ting to atract the teacher's attetio in order to ampi their ow sef-wor rough the offerig of gis or service. To them the essetia teachig shoud be refused or delayed util hey abado ese attachets. The teacher should evuate he studets because in misjudging their receptivity, i trnsmitting the teaching prearey, it woud miss its purpose d would produce fuure obstaces. Therefore he notion of e appropriate timig for tansmitting teachings coceng atura awareness is of etreme importance and it should be imparted according to the circumstces nd recepivity recepivity of the the sudents.
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When the qualifications and sills and responsibility of te teacher and the qualications, feelings and practices of te student are brought together they create an interation between two hierarchical conflicting forces. One is of the student's meditative state of mind based on frames of reference, and the other is the teacher's nature of mind free from all frames of reference. reference. The tension tensio n between the conicting forces forces is not n ot particularly particularly radical radical because beca use up to the point of direct introduction, the student, endowed with the feeling of trust towards their teacher and eing subjected to the process of the rhetoric of negation, has been able to abandon attachments and to move into a meditative state of absence. However the tension between the two forces exemplified by the teacher as the representation of absoute truth, natural natural mind, and as holder of the priceless priceles s teaching teaching on o n liberation liberation in contrast c ontrast with with the student as the representation of relative truth, ordinary discursive mind and inferior attachments, creates in the six dialogues of direct introduction a draatic dynamic with a potential for intense trans formative impact yielding the experience of natural awareness. It shold be noted that the t he tension tens ion between the two forces forces if malteated malteated cn ead to a potentia abuse. abus e. These dramac dramac dialogues have the capacity to cause te student to forget themselves and open to the u natral aweness.
Materials for dramatic dialogue The picture that emerges so far presents a student who has deep faith in their teacher and perceives them as compassionatey caring. he student believes that the teacher holds the key for their liberation which is their most important ife-interest. As a result te student feels awe nd anxiety and seeks to please their teacher and has expectations and ideas concerning the relationship with the teacher regarding how they shoud ideally be". However the student carries carries other feelings feelings to the interaction interaction with the teacher co ncerning the experience of natural natural awareness usually not mentioned in Dzogchen texts. It might be that these feelings are not usually mentioned because they are taken for granted, or because they are addressed only within the oral tradition, or because they are in contrast to Dzogchen's view of natural awareness which transcends emotions and feelings in the sense that it is unconditioned by feelings such as fear and hope. Another possibility as to why feelings related with the existential condition of the student of the rhetoric of negation and direct introduction are usually usu ally not mentioned mentioned in Dzogch D zogchen en s that if if these feelings were mentione mentionedd they could create cre ate exectations within the mind of the student which would become another cause for discrsiveness discrsivene ss and attachment attachment turni turning ng into an obstacle obst acle.. Although feelings feelings e not discussed discus sed explicitly in Dzogchen texts there e other sources from other traditions that explicitly point to what might be the feelings which Longchenpa's student would cy cy to e dialogue. In order to access the existential and psychologica conditions that ght characterize the student who would participate in Longchenpa's six methods for direct intoduction, traditiona and mode sources wil be exaned although a range of feeings and
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emotions were definitely reported in old Buddhist texts such as the Visuddhimagga (The ath of urcation) including including Longchenpa' Longchenpa' s poems,5 poems, 544 the exain exainati ation on will be cied cied out with caution so as not to impose on the 14 century student of Longchenpa any unsuitable 21 century psychological terms or descptions. One example that reveals a crisis situation in an interaction between a teacher and a student, in which the foer points to the latter's true nature, appes in a non-dual doctne of Advaita Vednta found in the padeashasr of aka (1.25) from the 8 century, which has aeady been discussed in the context of close reading previously in this chapter. Early indications that refer directly to the existential consequences being under a constant negaion are fairy rare. However, such situaions where doctrines are denied and which require he relinquishment of a frame of reference can be found in ryadeva, from he 3 century, who was a disciple of N agarjuna and author of several importan Mahyna Mdhyamaka Buddhist texts. ryadeva's exclamation discloses he crisis of not knowing how to undersand and absorb the message of the doctrine of emptiness tha inspires terror which is a state of inense or violent fear of the unknown: What are we to do? Nothing at all exists. Even the name of the doctrine [Emptiness'] inspires terror. 5 1 5
adeva' adeva ' s exclamaion reveals him being being perplexed perplexed and midly midly consed cons ed,, no knowing knowing how to
understand the doctrine of empiness or how o proceed. It seems ha he actually experiences an intellectual crisis in trying to make sense of emptiness and an emotional one as well, being desperae and fel of his insistent and obstina o bstinate te deni of l, even of o f te most revered doctne, that of emptiness emptiness . The noion of fe of empi empiness ness is clified clified wih the next exampe exampe that reves the exisential condiion of a student being under negation, one by Chogyam Trunpa (19391987) the mode Tibean mediation master. In a documened documened oral dialogue, dialogue, aske askedd by a student, student, Why is it so hd to let go of one' s ego ? Chogyam Chogy am Trungpa Trungpa responded: People are afraid of the emptiness of space, or the absence of company, the absence of a shadow. t could be a teifying experience to have no one to relate to, nothing to relate with. The idea of it can be extremely frightening though not the real experience. It is generally a fear of space, a fear that we will not be able to anchor ourselves to any solid ground, that we will lose our identity as a fixed and solid and definite thing. This could be very threatening.5 1 6
Thus, according o Trungpa, he sudent cries wihin a primal fe of bein wihout identity or any oher reference poin. n order o emphasize the intensity and possible impact of the fe of absence Trungpa repeas he noion of fe several times, using expressions such as terrifying experience, extremely frightening, fear of space, afraid of the emptiness, very treaening. However, Trungpa also reassures the sudents by letting them know tha in he real experience of emptiness one wil not undergo fe or hreat. That is to say, within he conext of the rheoric of negation the studen is brought by means of that same negaion to a reshold where
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they would still feel the fe of emptiness, of the unfamili natural aweness which is free of ny reference point. Nevertheless the student might be able to overcome this fe due to the trust nd confidence the have in their teacher and once they traverse the threshold or more precisely leap" over the the threshold threshold,, such feelings feelings , though still existing existing,, will no longer condition the student' student' s sta state te of mind and shape their experiences. Discovering the nature of mind might entail a vulnerability that requires the presence of a responsible qualified who knows how to assess the student and when to impart the instructions. The rhetoric of negation in the hands of such a teacher threatens to strip the studen from their subjectivity or sense of identity as an I". Longchenpa the teacher represents the challenge of exposure to natural awareness and the student, who might fear being sripped of his identity, trusts that the teacher will lead him safely to the state of ned awareness, naked of any sense of I-ness" Another ineresting mode perspective is provied by Hegel (-), who claimed that the road of the discourse of negation, leading towards absolute freedom which is consciousness consciousnes s ' s knowledge knowledge of itsel itself,f, is a highway highway of despair.5 despair.51717 Despair involves involves loss o f hope or of the expectation of desire-fulfilmen and is the absence of hope, of all enticement.518 For Hegel all desires, including the desire to know one's consciousness, esablishes subjectivity by having an object of perception as a reaction to a lack or craving which it wants to satisfy. In consuming the desire to know one's consciousness one recognizes one's ego model to be false and so remains wthout an object object of desire to be consumed and without a frame of reference reference as an anchor, and so one on e is le without hope As B at ataill aillee reported, reported, Hegel Hege l being on his hi s own as he he subj subj ect and object object of of his hi s discourse of o f negation, though he was losing lo sing his sanity sanity when experienci experiencing ng despair.51 despair. 5199 B at atail aille le mentions the tansformative formative power of despair: despa ir: Des pair, impatience, horror at myself, in time delivered me me even while I was trying trying sometimes to find once again the bewildering path of ecstasy, sometimes to be done with it, to go resolutely to bed, to sleep.52
Bataille actually assers that to try and find ecstasy again once it has been lost is hopeless. The expeience of ecstasy canno be reteved because it cannot be a product of any action. Such an action would m any endeavour to reieve ecstasy into a futile one and into the hopelessness that no matter what one does, either to ignore it or to look for it, one will not achieve one's object of desire. For Bataille the force of despir, the despair of not finding the desired object or evasive ecsasy, hopelessness and surrender has delivered him into what he refers to as Inner Experience. Alongside Hegel's despair Bataille menions aguish as e driving force o his ecstasy, associated as it is with Inner Experience: Non-knowledge communicates ecstasy. Non-knowledge is anguish. In anguish there appears a nudity whic puts one into ecstasy. Thus ecstasy only remains possible in the anguish of ecstasy, ecst asy, in this sense s ense that it cannot cannot be satisfaction, satisfaction, grasped knowledge . . . Anguish Anguish assumes the the desire to to communicat communicatee that that is, to lose myself but but not complete complete resolve: anguish anguish is the evidence of my fear of communicating, of losing myself. 52 1
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Bataille creates a near-euation between nonnowledge, ecstasy and anguish. Thus if ecstasy occurs within the Inner Experience where one's mind is naked of concepual knowledge, the condition in which one is stripped of conceptual nowledge is what Bataille refers to as non nowledge state. on-nowledge euated with anguish, is the anxiety one feels in the fe of losing lo sing oneself, of the the absence of nowledge and certaint certainty. y. In this nea-euation Bataille Bataille euates lso anguish with ecstasy, as what connects the two sensations or emotions is one's be state of mind. For Bataille when one is in despair or anguish one's mind becomes nked too because anuish or despai desp airr involves the loss of hope, and the sense sens e that no matt matter er what one knows or has leed, and no matter what one does, one has no control over the situation and one gives up all hope of conrol conrol over what may te te place. place . When one expeences expeence s the essence es sence of o f not-nowing, not-now ing, one experiences ecstas e cstasyy in the sense of the the evacuation of the subj subj ect rather than as a grasped object or a sense of saisfaction in achievement. In considering con sidering the noion of despair and anguish within the context of Longchenpa ' s rhetoric of negation nd his h is interacti interaction on with his students it seems that more than likely the latter latter ight have experienced fear, hopelessness or despair. When Longchenpa's studen is led to the state of absence by means of negation they e reuired to give up and aandon the discursive conceptual mind. After establishing themselves in the space of absence of concepts hey are required to abndon even the non-concepal non- concepal or non-compulsive non-co mpulsive state of ind. The sudent then experiences experiences a sense of hopelessness tha there is nothing they could do that would induce the experience of liberation and that it is not under their contro. Therefore hopelessness is a possible feeling the studet ight cy cy to the interacion with Longchenpa as a skilful teacher and the tension between the student's feelings of awe, hopelessness and rust, on the threshold of naked and naural aweness, constitute a potent transfoative dramatic moment. Simil to the notions of the the crisis of the sdent of aka, aka, ryadeva' ryadeva' s exclation exclation that the the doctrine doctrine of empt emptiness iness inspires teor, teor, Trungpa' Trungpa' s expression of fe fe of emptin emptines ess,s, Hegel' Hegel ' s despair and Bataille's anguish as possib feelings that the student may carry to the dialogues with Longchenpa, Longchenp a, the mode French Philosopher Eanu Eanuel el Leinas (90995) adds the expression of horror as a response to coming face to face with i y a. Levinas asserts that the self is ontologically independent and that such independence is the very precondition for the pticipation in everyday life in the sense that the identification of selood tes t es place trough the relat relation ion with with others others.. Selood Seloo d is a state that one regresses regresse s to and the accomplishment of such a regression is Levinas' main interest, and for that he presents the concept of i y a (there is).522 The i y a is a primordial existence independent of the world of phenomena; an undifferentiated ground of being underlying and extending beneath and in opposition to the phenomenal world; world ; that transcend transcendss subjectivi subjectivity ty and obj obj ectivity, inwdness and exterior exteriority; ity; but not a pure absence or nothingness that can be grasped by one's discursive mind as in i y a there is no discourse . It is inextinguishable, inextinguishable, ipersonal ipersonal and anonymous anonymous,, and haunts the identi identiy y of the ego in order o depersonalize it. The disappeance of all hings including the ego or I" leaves what
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cannot disappear, i y a, sheer existence, with which one participates as anonymous".53 An nalogy to the i y a mentioned in e ig-Veda hy CXXIX5 might be the void and foress" prevailing before the creation of the phenomenal world takes place, that refers to an apioi chaotic state of affairs. The il y a forms the p or nucleus ident of e embodied self that precedes he psychologic l or soci aspects of oneself, moulding one's context identit.55 As interesting and complex as Levinas' philosophy is, the main theme of his section is to point to existential conditions that might occur when meeting with the pure and unfamili, he hehe it be pure emptiness or seood or, in the case of Levinas, meeing with the il y a. Fo im i y a, the notion of Being, is an ipesona, anonymos, ye inextingishabe consmation of being, wih murmrs in he det of nongness itself"56 and its dynac presence is always on e ege tat haunts the ientity of the ego and threaens to invae the ndiviu nd deconsuct er identit. When such an invasion tes lace it is impossible o te shelter in one's ienity or to widraw into one's shell as the invasion completely exposes one and one resonds accoingly wi hoo. Accordng to Levinas, n hoor a subject is sipped of ei subjectviy, of thei power to ave a vate existence as an ego either social o person to the exclsion of heir cooematerial ientity. When picipating in il y a he sbject res o te he of evey negation, te eh of noingness, wi no ways rog o exits.5 Ths in teir regression o seloo, Levinas' eader/stdent wol come in contact with il y a, hich is e het of evey negation, which invokes te exeience of horro, bt wch is so a iec tciation in Being. However he tcation is in he fom of fascination, wich is not a cognitive eation bt a eprivation of concetaizing n the gasping sense objecs. Ta is o say, suc a iect eceion no meiated by enal rocesses takes the form of fascination accompnie wit ecstasy in which a given erceived sense object affis iself n a esence wc is foregn to te tepora present or e nde stae of aais. I is faili way of being, fo e subject who coes in contact wih il y a is stippe of eir ersona soc ientity.5 ientity.5 Levinas' noon of horro is not dssl to Tnga's notion of fe of losing ones identity as a fixe, sol and denite ing o o Hegel's nd Batae's esair in agish nd loss of hoe. Feroe, ese existen conitons of fe, espair, etc, e ync foces, in a sense sil to Baaille' s angush hat as the powe of delveance n Levnas' violent foce of oro a s caple of leaing to seood, fascination an ecstasy. Neverteless, Trnga mentions at none of hese extential conitions e pesen in the ea expeience of etiness hich signifies that e exerience of naa aweness s a remedy o ese existena conitions, tat is, t evates suffeng. In concluson, c oncluson, the th e olex olex conctin conctingg feeings a he stent ay expeence wol wo l case sess an ensos. On the one an, as establised ele by way o nfeence, hee e the stent's feelings of awe, hopeessness, axiety n esai as reesente i te wos of te
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figues we mentioned above, which may be covert psychic forces, rooted in compulsive and discursive mind. On the other, there e the student's feelings of love and deep trust for their teacher, seeing him as one who possesses skills and wisdom anchored in natural nd. Thus the tension and stress produced by the conicting feelings and states of mind provide the mateals for a potent ansformative da. Another component central to almost any drama is the sense of timing that drives the interactio interactionn towds a climax or resolution, and in the case of Longchen Longchenpa pa'' s dialogues it relates to knowing or having the sense when to impt instructions and o point to the natre of mind. The student ves ves with expectations as a reslt of their traditional role as a stdent, their history of relationship with the eacher inclding inclding a period of training training nder Longchenpa' Longchenpa ' s rhetoric of negation as well as the poentia feelings and tensions. For the teacher, he qestions of when o tk, when o remain silent, when to be assertive and lod, and when to e mellow, etc, are very imporant as eans o bypass the sdent's expetations and feelings and to cut throgh them, exposing the atre of mnd and leading he stden to concenrate on it directly. In this respect, Longchenpa is a very sklfl teacher who will comnicae o different stdents in a manner that will match eir capacity and temperaen. As wil e shown in the following exanation of the six mehods, Longchepa at times may overwhelm and confse the stdent, at times may srse hem, d a oher times he wold remn casua. hs maner he wold lead them to the decisive experence of natral aweness as a means to introdce the o the nare of nd. The six ways to introdue awareness diretly
( irec inroducion o awareness wi e mind focused:
Have the student sit cross-legged, breathing gently, with eyes wide open and mind resting without concepts At that point have the student disregard both the clarity and the stability that are present when one is in an extremely clear state of mind (for these are meditative experiences) and directly introduce naked wakefulness of awareness as dhky.
The aove passage was written by Longchenpa as pt of a manal for the Dzogchen teacher that contains step by step instrctions on how to lead the stdent to the point that they would recognize their tre nare in relaion to the world of phenomena. In addressing Dzogchen teachers and eqipping the with such a mal Longchenpa is positioning hmself as a teacher of teachers associatively liked to the notion of Lord of the Teachings" (bstan pa'i bdag po) who is oviosly the Bddha. Sch a liage constittes the authoity reqired for a transmssion of the Dzogchen teachngs. However, the nspecified eacher" in the passage who is ineracting with the sden will e ten as being Longchenpa. Longchenpa, seeing that after the process of eing under his rhetorc of egation the stdent has reached a level of satisfacory atrty, wold invite he sden to a dialogue that entails he ccial negation o disregard oth the clty and the stailiy that are present whe one is in an extremely cle state of nd". According o this mehod, Longchenpa consucts a guided meditation entailing a contrived posre, attention to reathing and a state of ind which he
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asks the student to assume. The student at that level of maturity would critically notice that in prescribing a contrived posture, attention to breathing and a state of mind Longchenpa appes to contradict contradict himself as those exercises exercises re in contrast with his persistent negations of philosophies philosophies and spiritual practices. The traditional student will te such instructions literally as they would adopt an te for granted Longchenpa's approach that goal-oriented practices into that moment of abiding in natural aweness.53 Howver, the critical practitioner ght rebel nd gue that Longchenpa is contradicting himself and if it were to develop into a debate it is more than likely tat Longchena would respond by means of negation, in the same manner tat Nubchen Yeshe did, as has been discussed in te history of negation in chate 4. That is to say, physical postures cannot be a means to accessing one's natural state because that state is free of any re meditate strategy. Moreover, at te same time wateve te body posture ght be, tat is te position of practice fo stabilizng e natural state. Theefore, engaging in merely pysical postres is futile because it cannot access the nature of min, an avoiding physical postures mght mean laziness whic is also a wrong action. Fo the existential ractitioner, as can be seen, the employment o non-emloyment of hysical postues presents a ilea ta may invoke ension an confusion conceng rational coice. However, the consion resulting fom sc a dilea ght emain fo the student as an inner postue o as a covetly uresolved state of nd that leaves the stuent vunerable an whic would me tem recetive to te eacings. Praxis as remedy to resistance Longcena recognizes a ange of problematic crcumstances that woul lead te student away from s course of teaching entailing te pedagogy of negation, and to hanle suc roblematic circumstances he pescbes instctios accodingly. his wok The Natul Freedom of Reali in a section tat precees te prncial practice e direct inoduction to te natur naturee of n53 e mentions vous oblematic crcumsces crcums ces that e of disadvantage for te stuent an their remeies as specific pactices. tis espect e mentions for examle the yoga of te mnd wic adresses a confused state of ind being occupied eiter with an attachment or aversion. He also menions the yoga of the guru in wch te student enhances ft, tust an devotion fo s guru who is erceived as one capable of granting liberation. The squence of actices suggests a state of afars in whic a sten wo als" to pofondly understand an experience natural aweness due to conicting views is efeed to instrcions suc as yoga of the guu and yoga of te n tat Longchena considers to be preny practices.533 When these sorts of pracices e to be imlemented the practitioer wil be iberated from the obstacles created by te poblematic circumstances and becoe ready an suitable fo the pedagogy of negation tat wo lead to drect introduction to aweness. According to te yoga of the gu, the actiione is instructed to sit comfortably an visalize on the o of hei head a lotus seat an above it a moon isc. On s ests a Tibet leter
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AH in the olour of white radiating light that purifies all of one's obsuration. Then the white AH transfos into the student's prinipal or root teaher who is insepable from Padmasambhava, and an entourage of other masters of the lineage and kins. At that moment the student is instruted to mentally pay homage, give offerings and oess negative thoughts, feelings and deeds, and pray: pray: My precious gurus, once my karma and defilements of passions are purified please grant me the accomplishments of body speech and mind I ask that you make the extraordinary realization arise in my mind stream534 (My translation)
The student is nstrted to visualize eing grated te aompishments, and that they and al eings are suplating and onentrating n one-pointed hert-felt devotion. Then the sdent is aske to vsuaze that the word of phenomena is ut an expression of their guru and to unify themselves wit that vsuization as the soure of al spritua nspiration. Thus, wiin the ontext of handng obstaes and, in our ase, the student's situation of ilemma and douts, Guru Yoga is sown to e a rate intened to resove a psyh urden resutng from ations ontamnated with sefish motves and emotiona nstality y meas of visuazaton and deep emotional supiation. Wile Longhenpa's Guru Yoga as a remedy to probemat situations presrbes means of vsualzation and dee emotiona supiation, he offers another pratie, the yoga of the mnd, that resbes mes of nteeta exnaton for identfying adoton d rejetion of whatever ses n one's min: The arising of the various fleeting images and memories in my attentive consciousness if they are charged with faults and negative intentions I reject them, and as soon as they appear to be endowed with po sitive qualities, I accept them . . but when I examine the identity of appearances I vigorously establish myself in the state of gp, that liberates whatever emerges, the great omnipresence of dhky (My translation)
The above instution resries analyss of apeanes and of the roess by whih one tends to aot ertan vews over others, or at other times to rejet ertain views in favour of others. Oviousy suh anaysis wil nd appeanes in one's onsiousness, and onsiousness itsef, to be empty of independent nature either when adopted or rejeted. Therefore adopting and rejeting or reatng new vews, douts or tensions are a rout of the student's disursive ind that vei te innate nature of ind and produe hindranes. Aorngly, in our ase, the student wil examne ther am that Longhenpa s ontradting himsef in presribng a ontrived posture, attenton to reathng an a state of ind after asserting te tility of fabriated hlosophies nd ontrived spritua raties. The student then wil fin the onept that Longhenpa ontradts hmsef to e ut an emty mental onstrut. Thus the aompished exnation for identifying te proess of adoption and rejetion of whatever arises in the student's min wi resove emmas and douts and me the student fit for dret introdution of natura awareness.
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b e more ha ha likely likely that after after perfoi perfoing ng the gur gur nd mind yogas yog as e stdent would It would be proceed to perform Longchenpa's instructions as specified in the above mentioned method of direct intoduction to awareness with the ind focused". Reaching a stable, clear state of non conceptua nd the stdent still has a sense of having a reference point of a non-conceptuity nd that there is in fact a perceiver who perceives absence. At that point, Longchenpa firy asks the student to disregd te clty and the stability tat e present hen in an extemely cle state of mind, to pt from that state of absence he has been fixated on and then to abide in a state of nd witot any fre of reference at l Longchenpa jstes e negation by asserting at clty nd stabity ae bt meditatve expeences, being a rest of abstact meditation dependent on non conceptaity conc eptaity as an object in ode to sstan itsef. Obviosy a nd engrossed with staility d carty as expressions of an extemely clea state of mind is still not entiely free of ties or independent. The stdent's condition n the edge of disegarding carity and staiity is not ovetly expressed, bt being based on the notions of fe of emness, hopelessness and hoor mentoned elier, it is moe tn kely Longchenpa's student would fee sc an nspoken angst. It seems that Longchenpa would tae advantage of the tension tat occrs within the stdent, whose relativey falized state of asence has been negated, leaving hm vnerabe and receptive, on the threshod of nata awareness, ready to discover a eferenceless" dimension of natal aweness tat was always thee. Ths it is not a matte of podcng te nate of ind bt of exposing and discoveng it as it has lways innatey been within the individa. ie the mnner in which Longchenpa uses hee e stdent's state of anxet is mplcit, late in te chapte, n e sx mehod of dect nodction he does so exicitly. Metaporically speaing, Longchenpa's negation of bot the caty an he stabity which e present when e stdent is n exemely ce state of mind s s to ddeny plng te caet fom ndeeath ther feet, eaving them witot any firm grond to stn on, hic obviosly prodces a moment of fe xety. The intense imact of he sise and he fe pt a stop to and eectively est est a mnta processes instanty, and in that vacancy of mind the sbject becomes cidly awe of the event efore e haital discsive mode of nd eacts to he sitation. Gampopa's method of direct introduction Frther to the discussion so f conceng te notons of clty and the stabiit of openness it shod be mentoned that Gampopa, as pesented in the the etorc of negaton in Tibet o to Longchenpa n chapte 4, asseted a sees of negations which affirmed the chactestcs of natra aweness to be cty d openness, simi to hose mentioned in Longchenpa's passage aove. Gapopa reeats and mentions cty and openness nmeos times as beng desrale chactestics to be adopted nd expeienced within the discorse of negation. However, in a sising pedagogic move, e hen assets:
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do no accep clariy. Acceping clariy is idenificaion. do no accep biss, nor non concepual gnosis. Bliss and non-concepual gnosis are idenificaion. No example can illusrae me. No word can reach o he poin. Do no fabricae me. Simply e i be.537
The pedagogic l procedure employed here by Gampopa pulls the carpet" from undeeath the practitiner/reader, causing them to abandon any fali term, concept or idea about penness nd clarity and to open up to the possibiity of discovering the utterly unfaliar nature of their own nd. Gampopa Gampopa'' s assertion, a ssertion, I do not accept city. . . I do not accept bliss, bliss , nor non-conceptual non-conceptual gnosis" comes as a suising punch line at the end of the text after city and openness have been repeated many times as desrae chacteristics. His statement comes with a nait that ses the student who has een estasing the clea and open state of mind in a fixate manner that chactezes the practice of one-pointe meitation. Gampopa's assertion causes the stdent to ose teir hod on the gron of what they thought was desirale and forces them to remain vnerabe an receptive on the tesho of teir essentia min towds ts eventual discovery. We Gampopa's discourse of negation and te pedagogical procedure mentoned above are textua, Longchenpa's pedagogy of negation s textua too t is aressed to Dzogchen teachers, provdng them with a mana which incdes specific and detae techniques and practica instrctons. Altoug Gampopa's intention was to point in is text to the essenta natura aweness y eas of negation, Longchenpa es the phiosophcal an text negations further and converts em into a peagogy hat s capae of faciitatng the experience of natura aweness. However, the process iscosed y Longchenpa is a sute one and conces a stdent who has been ale to resove most of their compusive pattes of uaistc thought and ehaviour an has ecome spacos and foreng, ready for te discovery of ther own ininsc nature as te dhaakya. A wakened awareness as k Accordng to Longchenpa, dharmakya refers to a intea and extea phenomena either samsc or nirvanic, as they appea in a given moment pror to reification and conceptuaization and this is the moment when they can be identified with the dhaakya. When Longchenpa drecty ntro ntrouces uces ned aweness as dhaakya he points out to the student that the natre of ter n as te empty essence of aweness an the pre-conceptuaize phenomena wo d e in te state of integration where ot the nature of n and dhaakya constitute non-duality. In other words a phenomena tat arise or appear within the scope of awareness re noting other than awareness ecase ot are empty concepts. Metaphoricay speing, this is the same as the way that reectons aising on the srface of the ror e not different from the or or and there is no ichoomy etween the or and its reectons.53 It s ten for te stent to reaize that to e meditativey an staticay fixate in asence enowed wt city is st a limited conition as it is disengaged an refrains from dynamic commncation wth the phenomena wor. It s for the student to reaze the te natre of
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aeness ha comes in conac ih he dhaakya in a manner hch is free from compulsions and conceps, which no longer can dicae one's percepion or experience of realiy.5
ithout any focusing of his or her min, but when it is very present an settle in its own place, have the stuent let go of its abiing quality, an rectly introuce luci wakefulness as dhky. Diec Inodcion o wee wih he mind e
Here oo, Longchenpa addresses he eacher of Dzogchen and povides them ith a mehod shoing ho o direcly inroduce natural aareness. The method inclues wo insrctions. The firs one refers o Wiho any focsing of his o he mind" hat ens up in a esent an setled n". The second refers o he moving aay from nd relinqishing of he aidig qaliy. The first insrctio refers to meiaion ihot a supo, that is to say, meitation which oes not reqire a secific oject in orer to sailize and to susain itself. Such a meditaion5 meditaion5 ould e for example gazing fo into a given sace withou locing" the gaze on a picul ojec ha appes in tha space. The sden is eqre o hol the gaze steafasy itho eing seced y a suen surge of disracive though or ohe simlation and o sloly edce he intensity and he efforts involved with he maintenance of the gaze until they come o a relaxed sate of mind. In the execuio of he isrcion on no focssing the mind, he stuent mght ecome agitated as hey gh fin i challenging to hol an ale min at est ihout any epenence on an ojec. Longchepa, who is aae of this challege, inscts he eache o e paien ith the studen an to ait until the sudent's min is resent an at es. The aim of his method is o estalish a relaxe state of nd hough familizaion ih he yamic aspect of he mind, hich is the o of iscusive hining, ithou eing isace y it. That is o say, in not eing ale to ssain a seay gaze ihou an ancho as a give oject a pacitioer can realize the intensiy of ther comulsive stre of thoughts that coniion lly eacts o sese-ojects. erefore in eing ale to sustain such a gaze whatever comes to heir min, eithe sule houghts or perceptions of vous ojecs, hey e neither iteee or juge u loe to remain as they e, in a non-reacive stae which means ha he min is a res. A the moment Longchenp Longchenpaa idenif idenifies ies hat hat the the sten' sten' s mi is a a es he asks as ks hem o le go go of the sate of aiding, hich consittes the secon instction tha is hen i is very esent an setle in is own place, have the se le go of its aiing quiy". 5 3 Metahoically speing, Longchenpa's negation of he state of aiing hat occrs i meiatio ithout elying on an oject is simil to the plling of he ce from neeath one's feet, leaving the stent iho any rm goun o stand on, which rouces a momen of astonishmn. It is like he sense of onderment accomanie y n inner posture of eing seechless hich arises hen seeig, fo examle, a iece of nique chitecte ot see efoe, ithot ay pocess of inteetation an ithout seeking of exlanatios aot it. This coesponds to Gether's5 erception of
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wondeent as being not in a situation in which one feels enchanted, sned or traed but rather in a situation in which one is resonding to extaordininess, erfection and beauty Guenther's ercetion of wondeent seems to be one-sided because wondeent can be invoked when unexectedly facing iles of smelly rubbish, brken old buildings, and damaged eole, and even at hings beyond wondeent such as bodily cotion and waste Aer all, it is this state of universal wondeent which is the exerience of the entire universe, as t is, that is one of bliss Hence for the siddhas, graveyds were the erfect adise realm and the most suitable lace for ractice becase ordiny eole did not go to such laces and distract them and such laces were erceived by the siddhas as identical to a aace It is he coming into contact with he inexlicabeness of what is resented Ths, in alying the seond instruction he student remains i the centre of whatever they exerience, being aware of their immediate envionment and ye at no moment do they lose his awareness which is fee from inereaion or concetuaization, that is, awareness as dhaakya. The curent method obviousy equires less eort or activity in comison with he fist metod in which he stdent was asked to sit cross-legged, breathing genty, with eyes wide oen d ind resting wiout concets Actally the mn theme in his method is abou discoveng the sense of wha he Dzogchen traditio mes by eotlessness", in which nar aweness ises wio ay deibeate activiy of ing oe's ind Consideng e noio of eolessness" it is ossible o assme that he sudent sitable or this method is more sifl or mare in the sense tat they nee only inim l activity, at of an objectless gaze, in oder to get their mind at rest Hence te meas sed here by Longchena e exected in a id manner () Direct Introductin to awareness by getting to the root of the matter: Have the student
direct his or her attention inwardly, examining specifically where the mind comes om or is located. When without anything actually found) the mind ecomes lucid in all its nakedness, have the student let go of the tendency to fall into some entirely non-conceptual state, and directly introduce naked wakefulness, eyond lael or meaning, as dhky
Longchena contines o wite the mua fo Dzogchen teachers conceing te edagogy of how to diectly introduce natual aweness to a studen This method is one of involutional56 inqiry in which movemet is directed inward to he nuceus of natra awareness, tying to identify and fi it The rose behind looking" fo one's mind is o fin the root of its comlsive mea rocesses, wrong nowledge (avidy and he sense of identity, and to cle its comsive tendecies to seimose attibes onto a given oject, which in reaiy do not coesond to that objec, and that object ight also be the objectified sense of self Finding the swes conceg ogin ad locaton of he mid as emty signifies or the racttioe that their comusive meal rocesses e but a odct of he conces they seimose on e lity, a reliy which which is ess e ssentia entialy ly emty emty I ther wods wods the nndabiiy" of the ind ind wi ead te actione o abdon te conces d beiefs, rezing at ese stem om a ctious sese of ieniy d fom such semositions
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However the instruction to examine the ind's origins nd location refers to a padoxical sitation in which one's ind is looing for one's ind which is sving aer liberation. oc lly, examining where the ind comes from or is located becomes an analytical activity negated ealier by Longchenpa, nd which leads to an aready nown final result. If one were to present Longchenpa with the aforesaid ironical paradox he would reply by meas mea s of the folowing folowing dilea If one mes any attempts attempts to engage the natre of mind itit would be a fabricated attempt as the nature of ind cannot be accessed by meas of a physcal or a menta activity; and if one attempts to refrain from any engagement with any mental content or sense oject the very act of uch avoidance is fabrcated as well, ting into a stategy tha ay be a hndrance to engaging the natre of nd. Longchepa's possble response by eans of a diea could relocate the practitioner in a state of covert frustration and dssatisfacton. Anoher perspective regardng the paradoxca sitaton in which according t the ethod of involutiona iqr one's nd s lookng for one's nd s that the id directs ts dynac eergy of tkng towds itself by meas of its capacty to reect. Furthemore, the ind is most never i complete drness because nescience (avidy is not an absote gorace. Not only that the ind is sll capable of cognitio of the functiona and conventiona realty, aso, dialecticaly speaking, wi gnorace coes the potenta for nowledge. The nd the is still abe to reect and acquire skiful eans and nowedge that provide he cuent meod for direct introducton wi a certain vald groud. Althogh the end of such an inqiry, whch s epness, s already known, it sgnfes that the process should not be an inteectua u an exsenti one, a iving experience wch etals the acceptace of the conseqences of the realied tth at the end of the inquiy. The process of such an inquiry s stil effecive brging one by meas of conceptua actvity to he threshold of natura aweness. However, eg at that threshod does not ean that the practtoner s having a coplete experiece of empiness because a state of absence of concepts still sigfes a menta modifcaton whch one abdes in, one of no-conceptuaity. This conditon expains Longchenpa's next instrction which s to abandon the tendency to fal nto a radical on-conceptal state so that the ind s aso stpped from its non-coceptal mode, which delvers the practitoner over the threshold towards realng the te nature of mnd. This inquiry inwd could te pace either by the student conductg it for themselves or by being guded ad chalenged by the teacher. In any case the origin or the cause of the md woud be ascertained as empty. Such inqiry wold have other impicatons, as an orgn also signifies a beinng, or the tme of its creation wthin the axs of time, a pont n tie wch canot be traced. Thus, if along the ndividual process of inquiry one asserts, for example, that one's mind was oginated oginated at the moment moment of one' one' s brth, brth, this asseron a sseron shoud be chaenged eiter eiter the stdent stdent or teacher shold ask what creaed it and what its root s. If the student assers that the nd has always existed, the teacher or the student may ask where he sudent was before being bo. Sii nqry cold e coducted regardng whether the ocatio of the ind s n the heart or n the bran. From a raditiona perspective, accordng to the contemporary Dogchen eacher Nakhai Noru the answer woud be that after a person des, eiher clincaly or finitely, het
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dead" or brain dead" respectively, their brain d he e bued in the cemeter while e mind principle continues to prevai.5 But given at e he d brain e alive, asserting that e ind does not exist in the body is not an entirely accurate statement because without heart, brain and body as such an assertion could not e communicated. The conclusion is that there is nothing tat could be conrmed with regard to the origins nd location of the ind but one c still notice hat there is somehing" which is ineable or empt of definitions or chactestics at is present. Only when the student establishes the unndability" of te mind, its origin d its location e they then ready to let go of the tendency o fall into some entirely non-conceptua state and to be directy intoduced to he natre of nd as dhaakya. In comson with he previous me me hods it can be seen that this method is heavily invested with a long and eaborate discrsve activity which requires eorts at maybe accompanied with existential identiy crisis when conducte in experientia manner. It is geaed towards the reazation of mind as empty of concepts, an usually stuents wil wander for some time, keepng the inquiry aive ntil hey feel ready to present e teacher wih their findings. (4) Direct Introuction to awareness through elimination of the sense that anything is real:
When the student's mind is lost in response to sense objects, have the student eliminate any sense sens e of ordinary ordinary mind relating relating in some way to thos thos e obects obects for example, by reducing them to their components. When he or she is thus abiding in pristine emptiness, which is inexpressible and in which there is no sense of either objects or mind, have the student let go of that sense of abiding, in which there is no tendency whatsoever for thoughts to proliferate or resolve, and directly introduce the quality of awareness in all its pristine nakedness as dhky.
We he revios meto concee involtion l inqi into the core of subjectivity, the mn, the curren meo so entals an inquiry bu nto sense ojects in order to estabish their nare d ereby ereby to isme te subject subject obj obj ect aity. aity. Duaistic exstence ex stence refers refers to te te ndamenal patte or mou in which he indiviual experiences the wold of phenomena as oher" hn themselves, continually ng to control an manipulate it in order saisfy teir I exg he true tempor nament nees, endencies d wishes dven by esire nature of sense-objects and asceraining it to be empty of inependent existence the practitioner wi be relieved om is a pror given consicting ate of lity a owed to exerience objects as they re. Tha is to say, seeng sense obects is then experience which is devoid of concepts hat sally stn as a vei between a given sbject a object and distor the perceton of te object. Accoring o is meho so the raconer's sense of subjectvity c be t under inquiry. A rter imication of this is tat he teacher themselves would be for he stuent eqaly legitimae ojec for inquiry too. Wha chracterizes he sx mehos is the pre-requste condition of the eachersent reaionsi in whic e stent is emoionally attached an dependent o e teacher for lberation. hus, s meho might aim also to enable deconstruction of the initial emotiona atacment e stent as for eir eacher and such econsction oul sign that he student
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has reached maturity. However in the process of such inquiry the student might experience a certain degree of sepaton nxiet due to te realization hat the teacher cnnot achieve liberation for them but tat they have to experience it for temselves while at te same they would still have to remain respectl and devoted to bot the teacher and the teacher's instuctions. The process of sense object examination could te place either by te student conducting it for themselves themselve s or by being guided and challenged by the teacher. In any case it requires a process of concentration on an object and analysis of its mode of existence by means of dicursive reasoning. reasonin g. For example example if one inques about e mode of existence of one' s subjecivity subjecivity one might might find tat it is but a union or a combination of body and its organ and limbs, nd and aggregates. Alhough one relates to one's subjectivity as if it was an indivisible self-existing entity, he examinaion would not conm at perception. The components of his combination" tha stand for the principle of individuality and the mere definition of combination" of body, nd and aggregates do not signify the existence of an indivisible entity which one habitually atribues o oneself. Such a combination" by denition cannot be indivisibe". compleing is inquiry no answer to the quesion of hat is or who is e subject would be found, which mes the answer empty. This inquiry could be processed when cosidering oer objects such as a chiot,50 a table d teachers. teachers . However when te inquir inquir is eausted one reaches te state of absence absence of concepts, one of o f emptiness emptiness,, being open for e next insuction of lei leing ng go g o of o f the sens s ensee of abiding in a non conceptul sate of ind. In being receptive he sdent ten would be inroduced direcly to the quaity quaity of aweness awenes s in all its pristine pristine nedness, nednes s, sipped from from compulsive discursive discursiv e tg as dhaakya. Silly to the previous method, it can be seen that this metod too aims at producing an expeence of absence by means of discursive reasoning which requires eorts accompanied wih an existenial identiy csis if honestly conducted in an experienial manner. This form of inquiry provides also the opporunity to deconstrct te emotional dependency the student has for the teacher but also perts the removal of he veil of concepts that distort one's perception of the world of phenomena, tus esablishing a state of non-duality and intimate liberating nowledge between subject and object. such a dect perception of the world of phenomena one still relates, communicates nd interacts wit objects nd subjects but wiout e anxious dese to be safe or to lfill fundamental needs, tendencies and wishes.
irec inroucion o awareness in e gap beween sense ojecs an consciousness of em: Have the student rest contentedly while remaining conscious of a sense object. Then
ithout directing attention outwardly to the object or inwardly to the mind, he or she arrives at a seamless state of bare perception. Have the student let go of the sense of dwelling in that bare state, and directly introduce bare awareness vivid and lucid, as dhky
This method operates on the same principle of meditation wihout an object or wiout a support for the mediative process to sustain and esablish iself, as presented in the second method. Here the sudent is required required to rest ter ter mind mind in the gap between sense sen se objects and he he consciou con sciousnes snesss of them in the the sens s ensee of o f not concenatin conc enatingg and focusing aention aention eiter eiter on e mind or on a picul
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object. It seems that if the practitioner sits in cave, a big tent, a meditation hall in a monaster or in the open, they would choose an object from the physical space they e in but would position their concentration in what they feel is the middle distance between themselves and the chosen object. The next step would be to concenate on that gap nd to maintain the gaze on that intangible or absact point in space that represents the middle distance. In this way the student would neither become fixated on a specific object nor on the mind and would be able to establish a seamless state of be perception that is non-conceptual but which is still a contrived moification of nd that needs to be abandoned. Therefore Longchenpa would instruct the student rther to let go of the dweling or sense of abiding in that abstact bare state of absence and to become receptive to the meeting with the dharmakya in which one maintans one's bare awareness that comes into contact with the wor of phenomena, and to perceive it without the distorting compulsive iscusive actvity of the ind. Ts method, not posse pos sessing ssing the natre natre o an inqu inquiry iry or being dependent on a pticul obj obj ect, sees to be a minmal and efotless one, suitabe for the hghly skill stdent as it does not offer a tangbe point of reeence on which to est the ind. It suggests that existential maers will be less crucial fo sch a stdent dng the applicaton of Longchenpa's instructions to establish the medtation on the gap and to let go of it.
( irec inroucion o awareness y inucing isrcion:
Have the student spend a short time being idle then deliberately cause him or her to become distracted by talking or whatsoever. At that point you might say, What does harasaki' harasaki' [a nonsense word] mean? Tell me! Tell me!" Having no idea what it means, the student will experience mild astonishment and wonder. Then, have him or her let go of the sense of dwelling on that astonishment, and directly introduce the lucid wakefulness that is thus exposed as dhky Alternatively, you might say, Stay put!" when the student is on the point of going, or say, o away!" only to say, Come back!" once he or she has gone a short distance. Then the student lets go of what he or she experiences experiences in turnin turningg ack ack consciousne consc iousne ss hat is is clear cl ear and and involves no proliera prolieration tion of thoughts thoughts and directl directlyy introduce introduce the w akef akefulness ulness thus expsed as dhky
This passage and method seem to be the first method in which existentia states of nd such as astonishent and woner that characterize the stdent's situation are indcated explicitly. Here, it can be seen how Longchenpa expctly utiizes the student's state of confusion in a ync fashion that shes the stdent ot of ther coot zon d which tes them by suise nd s se to tnspot them over the treshod fro their odiny state o mind to a weful and luci one. Longchenpa instrcts the teacher to have the stdent wande amlessly ound and then to stact them by srising them, asking for the meaning of a nonsense word an ung the nder presse by uging them to answer immediatey. The intensity of such forcefl presse can be ientifie y epeating e words Tell me" ice wth an excamation mk which refers to an oral exchange etween teacher and stuent expresse in a sha and hgh voume of voice as an
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imperative with he intention to create a song sense of astonishment. The student who is usting and anxious to please their teacher cannot make sense of the nonsense word uttered by their teacher d finds themselves unexpectedly in a state of astonishment or shock that cuts hrough e ow of rising thoughts, suddenly sttling the mind's dicursive activity. Thus, the habitual experience of one's mental discursive activity fades away and in the gap, before the onset of grasping, for just few moments, bare awreness free of concepts can be experienced.55 Then Longchenpa, in negating this absence of thoughts as being still associated with the very specic mental modificaion of no thought", inscts the sudent to le go of is state of wonder ad tes the opportniy to introduce natral aweness. A sil ineretaon providing another angle on e sate of aairs between e stdent and teacher would be tat te sden is trusing and anxious to pease their acher bu canno me sense of e unexpected request om the eacher. The student then finds heselves in a state of astonisment at stirs eir xiety abou not being abe to undersand e teacer. Before ey e able to me sense of e teacher's rst request e second comes as a order, fi ad unexpeced, and te stden again is unable < please or unerstand the eacher. As i becoe hopeless o understand the teacher's request and aso o please em, te student gives up, suenders an fs ino despair were ere is nothing to do. All of hese emoions of nxiey, fe, hopeessness and despair togeter wi e ureasonabe nd suprising requess, eir tiing and eir tone creae a force ha results in astonishment or a sate of sock that ess or reezes he ind. The force is able o cut rough e ow of rising oughts and to suddenly aes l discursive activity and cause it to fade away. In e gap, before e onse of grasping, for just a ew momens, bare awareness free of concepts can potenially ise an be experienced. Tat is to say, n y553 in tha gap is the sudent openly recepive o mee" he dhaakya. Then Longchenpa again, in negating is state of non-conceptual ind or absnce of thoughs as being sill associate wih the very specic menta modificaion of no concep", insructs te stdent to let go of i and akes the opportunity to inroduce naural awareness as dhya. In he same passage above Longchenpa suggests an alernative method hat uses te momentum of astonishment and wonder, resuling in the student not being able to make any contextual sense of, or to understand, the teacer's requirements. In concusion regarding he process om absence to natural awareness it can be seen ta Longchenpa was able to form te following unsrctured pedagogy: () The sdent starts on te spiritua Buddhist path with gol-oriented practices.55 practices.55 (2) These pracices e non-afngly negatd such tat negaton becomes a one-pointed and repeated pracice. (3) Under the rhetoric of negation he student cultivaes the sae of non-concepta nd or a state of absence of conceps, at is to say, emptiness. (4) Te state of absence is negated too by means of Longchenpa's six eods, eaving e student recepive to the decisive experience of awareness. (5) The teacher dhaaya. introduces natural aweness as dhaaya.
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I th t chat th css y whch gcha tsd hs htc gat t a daggy that actats th c ata awss w wd wh th ctt as ad at Dgch as a d dct It w aatd as a stctd tch dsgd t c th th tty sta actcs at t at d th dastc cdtd stc Ths tch ght aca t ay asat t at at wh as ay thd wth ay ay da da syst sy st g
7 FROM ATURAL AWAREE TO PRAXI
It has been shown tat Longchenpa was able to establish an unstrctured pedagogy in which a student who embs on the quest for liberation would usually stat their training by perforng goal-oriented practices considered as preliminy or prepaory practices. These practices, which e student becomes habiated and atached o, e then negated in a non-airing manner due to heir being incapable of causing liberation. Negaion en becomes a one-poined and repeated practice concerning a subjec wo repeatedly negates varios ineal and extea objects, a practice ta tes place in dualisic conditioned exisence. Ts e practice of negation is appied ime and again in order to dismanle ixed conceps, and i is trogh his process that te stdent cutivates e state of non-concepual ind or a sate of asence of concepts, a is o say, emptiness. Bu even the state of absence is negated by mens of Longchenpa' s six methods which leave e student recepive to e possibiity of having a profound undersding nd expeence of teir innate awaeness, a poin at which the eacher proceeds to inroduce he undersnding of dhaaya. This process naral aweness as dhaaya. proce ss · or sate of affai affairs rs cely shows that in order to to overcome he problem of he tiliy of spiria practices in relation o iberation Longchenpa developed is rhetoric of negation into a pragmatic pedagogy of negation ha has the capacity to induce the ndersanding of aweness and inodce it o the student by way of experience. However, further to he pedagogy of negaion cminating in the experience of natural aweness, Longchenpa provides insuctions conceed wi deveoping steadfastness or staiiy of abiding in the experience of naural awareness. Therefore in order to establis a broader perspective conceg te position of spiriual pracice in Longchenpa's non-dual Dzogchen and is impication for y student of lieration who applies any mehod wihin any non-dal system, these spirita practices aimed at developing sabiity of abiding in the experience of natural aweness should be examined. The main theme of this inquiry will be whether spitual practices aimed at developing the sability of abiding in he experience of natral aweness e compatible with Dzogchen's non-duality. In oher words, it is obvious that non-duality canno entail a philosophical progr me as it ould entl intellectal propositons while an expeence of naral awaeness cannot be a product of such an inellecual strategy. he nderstanding of the rheoric of negation in connection wih goal-oriented spirial practices as being converted into a pedagogy of negaion clifies the position of practices in non-dual philosophies. It clifies the connection between pracice and non-dualiy in general and in Dzogchen's teaching on lieration in picu, within the context of Longchenpa' s teaching of lieration. Tha is to say, te pedagogy of negation entais unstrcured techniques designed for overcoming he proble of te ftility of spirial practices not only in Dzogchen. This pedagogy
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ght lso be applicable to ay aspirnt for liberation who applies ny meod within ny non-du system or religion. Dcms Dcm s seqece frm prxs prxs - - y y Speaing of the position of practices in non-dual Dzogchen implies a non-line dichotomous sequence in which at one end of the sequence ae positioned goal-oriented spirial practices and at te other end of the seqence is positioned te notion of no-dalit. Thus such a dichotomous seqence displays a range of practices ranging from those performed wiin the dimension of dalistic condiioned exisence to those performed whie abiding in the experience of non-dal natral awareness, free of attachments. Obviously, movement on he seqence or any ansposiions hat occr on the seqence e not line as there re many vriables that would inuene sch ansposions, inclding he practiioner's capaci ad temperament, and exteal conitions. The ichotomous seqence nd e position of practices in Dzogchen ca be presented cey and prcisey in a diagram that reects how Longchenpa envisage his pedagogy: g-ree prcc rerc f egbsece bsece peggy f eg byss experece exper ece f f wees- - prccbse bse -y -y
Sarting wit gol-orened prctce it migh be astonishing for a readerpractitioner who incidentay comes in contact with Longchenpa's rhetoric of negaton to find o that later on he provides inscions for goa-oiented pracices in his system of Dzogchen. In his work Natul Freedom he presents an ncomprosing critique negating spia practices b aso surprisingly eicates a whole section to goal-oriented practices. In his work The Essential Instructions of Natual atu al Libe Lib etion tion of Being Be ing According Acc ording to the Great Gre at Peect Peection ion Longchenpa Longchenpa prescried goal oriented practces sch as nion wi one's spirital teacher (G Yoga), e practice of offeng a spirita niverse (the yoga of the manaa), recitation of te 00 syllale mantr of Vajrasattva, an inquies into te min such as exaining he ising, aiding and ispersion of menta events, investigating whether the min has a shape, coour or chacteristics, and so forth. Longchenpa enies enies these preliminr pracices".556 He hen proceeds to prescribe hree dieren types of eaborated pracice o accommodate three ifferen evels of stent in terms of heir capacity to e an assilate the teachings. Longchenpa is awe of the ie potentia of these pracices n erms of heir capacity to lead practiioners to iberation nd indicaes that the prpose of these
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practices is but to paci he neurotic activity of one's discursive ind. In fact he ustifies ese practices as being capable of dissolving compulsive mental mental habits obscuring the direct perception perception of relit. Then next theme on the dichotomous sequence to be considered is the practice of eg. From a philosophical perspective, for the rhetoric of negation to take place it would need a positive obect and, in our case, goal-oriented practices and philosophical views to be negated. That is to say, one can negae only something hat either exists or possibly exists,55 and it should be one o of e ndersnding of what works in practice for e individual and not ot of atachents o soci , religios n olitic l ens, to the auhoy of aition d its ogma, texs an teachers, or to attachments a istort one's percepion of reality.55 reality.55 Longchena i no dically negate sial ractices, an implemente his rhetoric of negation within a certain context o apropriatey coespon wi the eveoment of the sten's skills. That is to say, aogh Longchenpa's osiion on ractice in gneral is at spirit l goa-oiente practices e tile, he prescribed prelimnay practices hat have a prepatory role tows e experiece of natral awareness. These practices were regarde as a fnamental necessiy they are neveheless insufficient o lea he aspirnt to beration becase liberation cannot e a rest of ny practice. practice. Only when e tent becomes skil and possesses fewer ayers" of ment omplexity an comlsive endencies e they reay for e pracice of negaion. In emloying he laer ractice e sce is issolvng or decnscng concet g at istorts erceon nd hence heir reacion to realy. Only then can he sten establish he space of asence of non-conceal in in which hey e sti engage in a progr atic pracice eendent on negation an objects of negation. The min is stl occie wi a menta moification, one of being non-concetu l, which s an exeme in iself, we in lfe one stl sillly or creativey inks an concept lizes, for exle when one is aou o pero a cerain ask or become engage in a certain deate. The nex phase in the ichoomous sequence is the pedagogy of negation which challenges the sten an makes them aso relinqish the sate o absence, leaing hem to the apprehension of natura awareness by means of experience. esies he eagogy of negation Longchenpa ats55 hat there e oer spit l practices, practices, sch as irecing rana ra aong he sube mea-sychic channels an cenrs, hat re efficient me mehods for reing e gron for e rofon ndersanding of nar l awaeness as n exeence. To be acqaine wi one's nnsic na aweness is o cross e abyss om a contioned existence a to have the exerience of nli natr aweness. The gap between ese two relities seems o be an abyss wihout a brige. On e one han, living in conione existence one views e wo of henomena as peanent d tens to erceive one's self as a niorm n connos ieny an roably etea. On he o her, while aiing in nata aweness any notion of ien is negae n renqishe, n e ea etween e wo reliies is soewha aganst one's fnamen intiton.
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Philosophically speing, these methods including the pedagogy of negation are effective in bringing the aspirant to the threshold of the experience of natural awareness but cannot guantee its occuence occue nce because becau se th experience of natural aweness cannot be a result of any method method nor a goal to be achieved by certain means. other words, once the student is able to abide in the state of absence d the teacher employs the insuctions for direct intoduction to aweness the sdent will either apprehend natural awareness or will not. To see reality as it is requies a leap over the abyss betwen conditioned existence enowed with craving and fustration to a sate of being which is free from the condition of nesciene, a leap that cannot be a result of a cause. er the stdent is able to leap over the abyss to expeence directy (the intrinsic naral awareness) coes te question of how to abie steadily and continally in that awareness Longchenpa's reply is tat aiding in te experience of natura aweness is to be implemented throgh naturally settled meitative staility.56 For him the true meditative staility is a articl featre of te Great Perfection and e asses that tis type of meitation is as innate to natral aweness as heat is a natral arite f fire. However Longchena adits tat other forms of eitation that belong to the doain of orinary iscursive n, such as directing rana along the sbte meta-sychic channels and centres,56 can aso achieve vious states of min suc as a no-conceptal state ut this state is depenent on physical postre an other factors that are coponents of those metods. The picpa disavantage conceng tese methods is that wen the practitioner relinquishes either physical or menta postres tey aso ose the non-concetal state of mind. On te other hand such a oss of a non-conceptual state of mind wol not happen to a mature Dzogcen practitio practitioner ner becas be cas for tem non-concept aweness is not ependent on, an has nothing to o with, hysica or ental ostes. ostes. Ths, accoring to Longcenpa other forms of casal meditations offer metods tat can resove concepts that ise incientally an me tem vanish by alying a counter concept suc as thoughts are empty of independent origin," hence enabling the practitioner to have an experience free of fixated concepts. However the profon nerstaning of the way natural aweness an the word of phenomena e integrated into what the Dzogchen ractitioner has experienced wold ct away the root of arising concepts so there would be no way for them to ise. Ths while an orny practitioner still relies on counter concepts to maintain the state of openness an clity a Dzogchen practitioner jst contines to abide in natural aweness. Longcena contines to ifferentiate between tis unique attbte of Dzogchen an other casal practices, claiming tat causal ethods would entail an element of fixation. For example a meditation requird for establishin a cle and non-conceptual state of mind will depend on an oject while a Dzogcen practitioner wol not need any object of perception in order to stablish the qaliy of aiding in natral awaeness.56 Clearly, for Longcenpa preliny ractices e necessary an relevant but are not sufficient for the occurrence of te xerience of natral awaeness. Furtermore causal metods ight be effectve estalishing non-conceptual nd
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or the state of absence of concepts but through dependence on physical or mental posture, while natural awareness is independent of such factors. As can be seen, the causal methods are still involved with some frame of reference and ae based on object-subject dichotomy, while the Dzogchen method of naturally settled meditative tability means that a practitioner who had the experience of awreness is able to abide in natural aweness integrated with phenomena without relying on advanced practices such as cam abiding or profound insight. In this respect, the Dai Lama has said that the uniqueness of Dzogchen is that it is based exclsivey on the fundamenta innate natural aweness.563 That is to say, the dere point of Dzogchen' s method of natraly seted meditative stability is the unconved or unfabricate abiing in innate natral aweness, in order to steadiy abide in aweness, which is the reslt. This means that Longchena's edagogy of negation of the six methos, culnating in the aprehension of natral aweness, is to be sstained by te Dzogchen method of naturally setted meditative stabiity stabiity . Philosophicay speaking, the niqueness of Dzogchen's method and its rincipe, as exressed the Dalai Lama's statement, impies that in this method the means and the end are identical. In bining te means wit the end or subsming te means into the goa, the metod escapes the robematical dichotomies of subject-objct, cuse-effect and means-end. It is ony at this point that Dzogchen practices, secificay the one conceing resting steadfasty in natral awareness, is justifiaby termed a non-dual practic. In order to understand te stats of Dzogchen's metod of naturay setted meditative stabiity as a nonda practice or what chaacterizes such a nondaity, wich is the next hase of the dicotomous seqence, it is necessy neces sy to exine what the metho stans stans for, its comonents and its qaities qaities.. Four mthods' compatibility with non-duality Longchena indicates tat there e four metos for resting in te inherent nature of mind and integrating with the niversa rincile of natura awareness. These wi be discssed in the foowing section. He categorizes te for methods of resting to be the ractice of trekc, the pincipe of which is to bring forth unobstructed bare awareness after the stuent has had a profound exeientia understanding of natura aweness. Germano transates the term trekch as brethough (khregs cho, which may ae to be a newly coined term in the sense that it does not corresond to any paralel Sansrit term but in any case te te occrs in the ely seventeen tantras of Dzogcen.56 Germano then rovides a psychoogicay mundane interpretation of tekch, denoting it as unrecedented freeo, unobstrcted ow of aweness and effotlessness in the same manner that the lanch of book or of a roduct can reresent a breug in terms of innovation, or that after a ong stgge a brethrough may occur were the exetion dissoves d tings fa into ace efforessy.565 However within te context of Dzogcen trekc stnds for breing trog soidity or ctting oose of te cose ayers of compsive and discrsive ttes of ordinary mind towds its essence of city and openness as if moving into an abyss witout any frame of reference bt stil abiding within te inherent
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natural awareness. Namkhai Norbu explains in a similar manner that once one arrives at contemplation,566 a liberating non-dual state that bypasses the conceptual level of mental activity, one has to continue in it and the working to bring forth this continuation into every event is trekch,56 in which one setles naturally more and more into an enduring meditative stability. Norbu's interpretation of trekch as cutting loose" suggests that the practitioner relaxes competey, denoting that they rest in their innate ntural aweness in the same way that a bundle of sticks that has been tighty bound together, once the binding string has been cut, just falls loosely on the ground.56 ground.56 Conceng the notion of trekch as cutting oose", Longchenpa mentions that by reting impaly in the naral state the practitioner will be freed from the restrictve inuence of the afictve emotions in te same manner as a pack load faing were it is when the pin holdng the resning ot is ple t. 56 More precisey Longcenpa considers ekch ekch as a practce that that aims to bing for uostrcted weness, t ts epre point is the actu expeence of innate natural aweness. The rst method is steafasty resting like an ocean": Without arising and subsiding of thoughts, there is a naturally limpid, pristine state, like the unwavering evenness of a limpid ocean. Free of the occurrence or involvement in thoughts, free of hope and fear, you abide within the state of naturally naturally occurring timeless timeles s awarenes s , the true nature nature of which is profoundly lucid. luci d. 570
The key point here is wheter wheter tought toughtss ise o resurce resurce or fade fade away. The practitio practitioner' ner' s n is is not affected y ether te cam state or the dynamic state, of whch the atter refers to the erceptions of sense ojects that aise contnally witin one's natura aweness. Both states re assocated wit te metapor of ocean in which the ocean remains calm withot beng affected by what s reected in its water, as the reections re nothing but the water itsef and the water being unstied remains cear and limpid. Simiy, in this way the nd remains at rest without eviating from its inherent natral pristine awareness. Accodng to this metho, wheter the stdent' s nd is i s cam or responsive to sense-ob sense -objj ects, that that is the the iner posture posture of practice practice of abiding abiding steadfastly in natural aweness. Te seond method is steadfasty resting in awareness itse' in which Longchenpa says the practitoner: . . .rests . rests right in actual awareness. While abiding within the limpid ocean of awareness you identify its wakeful pristine quality in all its nakedness and ensure that you do not stray from it. And so it arises as the true nature of phenomena, without any discontinuity or division between inner and outer.57 1
That is to say after remaiig, according to the first method above, in that evenness of the nate of nd, withot being affecte by either its cam or dynac aspects, the stuent is instructe to assume a subte iner ostre focsed directly on teir innate actual awareness and to ientify its
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vivid quality as it is not a numbed type of iospective state This represents a subtle shift of emphasis towds the vivid and dynamic aspect and communicative quality of the mind The r is e immediate perception of sensory appearances" and is about realizing at: All consuming thought patterns cnnot be abandoned by beng renounced, for they are the dynamic energy of awareness. Their true nature is such that there are no distinctions, nothing to differeniate or exclude, so that nature is not ensured by achievement, but arises as basic space. Without rejecting Sasra, you perceive it to be naturally occurring timeless awareness through the pure yoga of the dynamic energy of the vast expanse of being.572
Longchenpa inscs e sdent not t suppress o renounce pates of ng nd eaviour as ey epresen te dynic aspect of nd which will ensure at aweness is no obscred y any circumstances and will enric e sudent's spitual practice53 Sense objects ae empt of independent naure and of any istincion However tey still appear and arise The coniioning sense ojects and evens tat te suden encounters while abiding in natual awareness are me withou conceptualzing e as eing negative and then rejecting them Allowing them o setle in teir lace witin the field of cle aweness, teir gond of ising, an seeing em as tey e, tey will be perceived as a en in the sense ha they assist te actitioner to eman n innate natual aweness etung o e ocean meaphor, whateve is reece in e ocen is noing oter an e waer d similly ny given sense ojec reected in one's mind is not dieent fom the essence of min or fom y oe sense ojec or event, as hey are all emty ye still making an aeaance Ts, n perceiving an ojec wito ojecifying an concepualzing i o reacting o it condiionally, e oject ancors and coninally gronds e sent n naral aweness as ey t into pracce he undesanding that senseojecs and conscousness of hem e of one tase and nonual However i is no a mater of jst looking at" wateve ises nor is t some sort of leting go" In fact e key pncile of tis method is recogzing cle aweness ecase it is in esing in natly ee cle aweness at e mental ties e eed While aweness as such was given more of a sule emphasis in te previous method, ee in the curen one, the irec perception of he world of henomena wihout e mediation of lang�age, concepts an lysis is epasized The frh and las mtd is resing imertrbably like a mountain": In the the timeless unity unity of sensory appearan appearance cess and mind mind the naturally naturally ettled state state that isis the true natu nature re of phenomena meditative abs abs orption isis experienced experience d as an unwavering, ongoing . 574 OW . . .574
Longchenpa's choice of he monn meao is intended o ehasize e lack of ansion
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the unchgeability a yogin experiences once abiding in the essence of aweness without ding from that state regdless of what circumstances manifest. Longchenpa's treatment of bifurcation between methods and liberation, means and goal res onates somewhat with Gampopa Gampopa ' s and and Nubchen Y esh e' s views vi ews about thes thesee sorts of dichotomies. According to Gampopa the core of Mudr' s practice, which is ready evidenty evidenty active in the first of the Four Y ogas of Mahudr, is as follows: Well, how would one meditate on this one's own innate (gnyung a) mindnature? That means, like water placed in water, and butter placed in butter, one places the [mind] in [the state of] non artifice artifice.. 576
Tat is to say, te core of the practice is placing the intrinsic nature of one's mind in the unfaricaed and unconived aweness. According to Gampopa, the intrnsic nature of nd and ncontrved or nfabicated aweness e identic l, ike water to water. Ts signifies that mens/ meditation and goa/utimate reaization e bond in one's mnd and ence they escape" the duaity or dichotomy of means and end, sbject nd oject, past and tre, etc, y dissoving them together in the nd, conrming wit te phiosohical discorse of Mamudr's non-daliy. Accoring to Nubchen Yese, Dzogcen meitation incdes metods to isciplne te body in reation to accessing te natral nd. On the physica methods Nubchen states: . . .there . there is no [specific] bodily discipline like that of the lower yogas yo gas of dvelopment, because it is free of any ntion of bodily grasping or attachment. Thus there are no definite methods regarding how to position the body. However, if one asks, does one reject [all bodily discipline], such as cross legged sitting and so forth, of the lower [vehicles] [My response is that] one does not reject them as long as one does not grasp [or attach oneself] to the body. Nor one does accept them intentionally. [In that way,] tere is no contradiction in sitting cross legged, lying down facing up or down, or stretching in whatever way whatsoever. The practice of yoga itself makes anything into bliss, and laziness is [surely] a wrong action.577
As expeced Nbcen' Nbcen' s position on physica posures posures is expressed expressed by mens of negaion negaion in which which pysica postures canno be a means or te means to accessing one's natura state because the natura state is free of any pre-meditated strategy. However at the same time the principe here is that whaever the body osture hapens to be, tat is the posiion of practice of stabiizing the natra state for the one who aready abides in that state. For Nubcen te same principle of negation is applicabe aso for metods of how to engage te in. He states: . . .it is an engaging without engagement. It is the suchness of reality that does not reify anything whatsoever and that naturally illuminates the essence of the great noncnceptual nature of being. Consequently the realization of nonengaging is known as engaging.578
Wa Nbchen is refeing to here is te natue of mnd, the awened mnd wic cannot be accessed by any remeditaed panned acion, incuding a mena one. By nonengaging he means
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that if one can abide in a state which is unfabicated o uncontved and which is ived at" without any stategy, one will ealize tis engagement in the sense of a diect peception of eality as it is. Fo Nubchen Yeshe, as long as one's actions ae ooted within one's essential nd, those actions will be fee fom any tachments fo exale, to those of gain and loss, pleasue d pain, etc. uth uthemoe, emoe, in the context of methods of pactice pactice fo the body nd mind, physic and ment activities e pefomed without any attachments to the methods themselves, thei outcome, o to loss o gain o pain o pleasue they ight cause. The four methods' compatibility with the Two Truths This sdy has eached he poin whee Longchenpa's pedagogy of negaion, depaing fom the expeience of nata aweness and developing towds steadfasness in that nau aweness, shod be examined o see whehe it is compaile with Longchenpa's view of the Bddhist hey of the Two Tths. The aionale behind this examinaion of the compatiiiy is tha any spiial pactices incding Longchenpa's sggested pedagogy of negation and ekch ae obviosly pefomed in he elaive mndane eality, the domain of avidy, whie Longchenpa's sggested non-dal pacice supposes esoltion of he ojecsbject dichotomy associated with elaive exisence. Ths a closely elated examinaion is eqied in ode to clify the position of ekch as a pacice of non-dualiy in igh of he Two Ths docine. In essence the Two Tuths ocine entais he eaive tth which desces one's daiy expeience of he concee wold of phenomena, and the asole o ultimae th, wich efes to imae eaity as empy of independe nate d of concee chactestics. Longchenpa's view of he Two Ths is mosly modeled afe the sagika-Mdhyaka view of the Two Tuths, exessed hee in Nagna's wods: () Th teaching of the Buddhas doctrine is based on Two Truths: The conventional truth and the supreme truth () Those who do not understand the discernment between the two kinds of truth Do not understand the profound principle of the Buddhas teaching () It is not possible to know the supreme truth without relying on the relative truth And without having to become familiar with the supreme truth one canno realize nirvana57 9
Accoding o Nagna he eaive th (savti saya is he wold-ensconced h in he sense hat i elates o the wold of pheno phenomena mena as a concete one whilst its te ae ae is empty. empty. Howeve the elaive th is a sefl one (vyavahra saa as i ediects lingistic ad pecepal conventions owds the pofond ndestandig of he Bddhist teaching in sch a way ha lngisic and pecepal convenions e no eniey elinqished. Howeve at he same time it does not imply that they e concete o eal. In his way one is ae to ow he speme th eying o he elaive one. Longchena links he sagika-Mdhyamika view of he elative and limae ths and mes disictions eween the wo y using the espective conceps of eoneous and non eoneos ineec. In his doxogahy, he Grub mtha' mdzod, Longchenpa pesens
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Candrakirti's view of non-erroneous ntellect (Tibetan: blo or unconfused and authentic state of mind,5 mind,5 indicating that for te one who has realized Buddha nature there is no subject-objet dichotomy and sense objects are but objects of knowledge. For such an individual at all times all the functions of mind and its mental processes are intepted in the sense that they are arrested and so do not obscure the direct perception of objects of knowledge. In such a direct perception the mind takes the qualities of a iven object, knowing it in a thorughly intimate manner. For Longchenpa this state of affrs is referred to as the realization of the ultimate thus in this respect the Bddhist wisdom of seeing reality as it is" which is ineffable is designate as the non-eoneous inellect which realies the dharmat or things the way they e. Longchenpa proceeds to resent the Prsagika view of the erroneos intellect or the confused state of i, tha of false perception, indicating that sch a wrong ercetion is a reslt of haital attes and fixations that stem fom no recognizing natral awareness. This secific view of eoneos intellect5 intellect5 3 is linked to the relative trth which consists of data of dalistically erceive objects and the mental elaborations that entls. Thus, the conventional reality is the appence in a form involve with mental elaboraion of oject n sject, while the asence of them enables direc perception which is free from mental elaorative rocesses and stands for the asolte trth which cannot be nderstood by any means other than iself.5 Longchena assets tha alhogh there is no common defining basis for distingishing etween the two realties, which is based on he discursive min of ordinary man, the notin of asence of indeene existence can be ten as sch a basis for a ivision etween the two realiies. He sstantites his view on the folowing qotation from Madhyamakvatr Since both of the realities lack intrinsic realiy they are not permanent and do not cease
That is to say, emptiness is at the essence of two realities as they lack idependent exisence, and ahogh the two realities can be chactezed an althogh they e mtally exclsive they e insepale becase etiness is the mode of sbsistence of the convetional eality. Furtheore, the emy nate of both realities does not signify some sor of nihilism gives rise to the relative tth or conventional eality which is neithe eranet nor eteal. In his Wish Fulling Treasu (Yid bzhin mdzod ongchenpa formlated his erception of the Two Trth, Trth , denoting d enoting that the the convention convention l trth' trth' s fram framee of refere reference nce is the henomenal henomenal world whic is not beyon cocetal thing while the ltimate trth is re ty beyon eithe cocet thiing or trqil in.5 in.5 6 What is most relevant to he stdy is the following quotation in which Longchena presents a view from he Madhyamakvat
Because one sees all entities in a false or a valid way, there is the apprehension either of as many entities as there are or their very essence Whatever the object f authentic perception, it is suchness: false perception is said to be relatively true587
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Tht is to say, consideing given sense objects, what diffes in thei mode of peception in elation to the Two Tuths is whethe sense objects e seen as they ae o e seen by means of objectsubject ichotomous peception involved with mental pocesses imposed on the object of peception. This suggests the possibility of the peception of suchness, of objects as they e, within the domain of elative eality peceived by an intellect fee fom obscuation. Howeve even false peception can be a elative tuth, a valid one which coesponds to the object of peception such as heat and fie, consideed as meely conventional designations that convey meaning. Theefoe, peception of suchness is the point whee the tuths ae fsed and thei integation occus in the non-eoneous intellect. Befoe concuding Lngchenpa's view on the Two Tuths, anothe citeion to be consideed and one whic seves as a distingising facto between the Two Tuths is thei elation to the fe of efeence.5 In the domain of elative eality, incoect peception wil elate to sense objects elying on fames of efeence which wil dictte the nate of eception and distot expeience. Bt any fame of efeence would be absent in te utimate tuth and this would have impications on spiitua pactice in the sense tat one meditates fee fom eithe pojecting o dissolving the ind in tat expeientia state of al ngs.5 Hence such a mind wil witness sese objects witout speimposing on tem any fame of efeence. In folowing the sagika-Mdhyaika method, which accoding to Longcenpa is the absolute pinnace of all the casal pilosophical vehicles,5 Longchenpa integates the Two Tuths, the elative ad ultimate, epesenting espectively the mndane eaity and the ultimate eaity. Fo im eaity is empty of indeendent existence yet sense objects ae sti appent. This pincipe is expessed in vous ways sch as, Athogh it is the nate of sensoy appeaces to manifest outwady, in thei vey essence they e simly natal expessions of emptiness",5 o sense ojects ae empty yet clea". Longchenpa integates the Two Tuts because both eaities ae empty and theefoe it is impossible fo the two not to exist togethe,5 and the te nate of penomena and ind itsef e insepabe.53 Longcenpa fuses the Two Tuths and pesents tis integation as being a non-daity which is a cental teme in his phiosopy, but he does so by moving away fom Candaiti and Mdhyamika's cental concept of emptiness towds a Dzogchenpa concept of natual awaeness (rigpa, te ineent pinciple of intelligence of the univese in its pue ndited pesence fom which the entie psychic and physical scope f manifestations deives. Accodingy the neuotic activity of one's discusive ind is ndestood as a distoted deivative of aweness, wee pue awaness is pesent as Bdda natue o natue of mind.5 Thus fo Longchenpa the Two Tths e integated into one singulaty in te sense that niva ad sasa e but expessions of the one non-dual aweness. Bt fo Longcenpa it is not sufficient to fo te undestanding of the Two Tths and theefoe he emphasize the eed to put this undestanding into pactice, and that pocess incldes two phases. The fist is te cultivation of non-conceptua mind. t in Nagajuna's wods,
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.. .meditate intensively on he significance of is condition, e profound state tat has no ame of reference".55 his mner the practitioner incorporates e absolute tth into heir practice. The integration with the relative truth occurs in the second phase of post meditation when the practitoner steps out of eir meditation d, euipped wit the experiential understanding that the world of phenomena is empty of independent existence, they go back to the world. It should be emphasized hat Longchenpa's descption of is is not a typic Dzogchen practice but one which is along e lines of the Prgika-Mdhyka philosophy, accompanied wi activities such as the accumulaon of merits, peormance of dedication and the preparatory phase of rousng the bodhicitta, which in the context of he Mdhyamika eans generating the thought about the elightenment of l sentient sentient beings beings.56 .56 Thu, Longchenpa's integration of the Two Truths into a non-duality laces the aforesaid practice of tekch as a practice of non-duality. Despite being performed in e concrete mundane phenomena wor it is rooted in the ractitioner's inherent natra awareness that directly perceives ings as ey e, as empty of independent natue of concrete chacteristics, and yet aent. Trekh and ompatibility with non-duality Phiosophicaly speing, te pncipe of iing e means end in which aweness s natur meitative staility, is a prncipe that accoding to Longchenp chaacterizes the practice of tekch as oppose to meitation dependent on some physic poste, key poins of subte enegy, and mind inquiies. Accoding to Ahma, Cutting throgh resistance is the eaization of (innsic) aweness' ...which which has nothig to do with conscious ought. There e no practices by meas of which one c acquire it. It is sily xperience".5 Thus, in evauating e pactice of tekch conceg e ichotomos sequece of spital ractices d non-u ity, it is efitely a ractice at is potent in ypassing o ovecoig he ojectsuject mes-end dichotomies by aiing steadfasty in n expeenti undestning of non-dual aweness. In exg the for methods of tekch a critica reader might get te impression that the non-u l priciple in tekch is not entiely non-u ecause it wou sti involve sute inner activities of te ind such as recogizing a wishing to sustain the quaity of abiding in natral awaeness. In other wos uch a critical eaer might ask whethe there is any sense of intentionaity in the practice of trekch or not. But tekch is not a mere practice of meditative staiity, it is a natual meitative stabiity in the sense that its aweness is sete in its own pace. In act Longchenpa's iscssion of rekch apes in the tenth chapter of his Treasure Trove Trove of Scriptu Scriptural ral Tansmiss Tansmission ion,, which is entite Natral Meditative Staility' .5 The concept of natre" (rng bzhin o natr" plays a centra oe in Dzogchen, sing in conjunction with se' (rg to enote that meditative staity enures in a of itse° whie aiding in something which is aeay iment. Fo Longchena, aturaly settle meitative stabiity is esent in aweness in e same way that heat is a natra atbte of fire.6
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owever, once nished wi a session of practce e stdent goes back to he mundane wod of conditioned existence, which signies a duaity between a period of engaging in meditation practice and period of post-meditation. Thus trekch being a super pactice" sti mes it we non-duait" in compison with e intense pristne and compete non-duai" where there is no need to practice at a, being a Buddha. Nevertheess, the student woud need to continue to deveop steadfastness in natur aweness according to the methods of ekch unti compete reaization becomes an ongoing experience. I f we were to present Longchenpa with the above mentioned evauation of weak nonduaiy", he woud assert by means of his hetoric of negaion: Without any realization of equality in its naturally occurring state you may obsess on the word non-duality" and place your confidence in some state that you speculate has no frame of reference whatsoever This is truly a mistaken mistaken notion the dark dark realm in which awareness awareness is is not recognized602
And: Even in affirming the limitless non-duality you bind your essential awareness to a limit which is not limited Also in admitting the two realities you fall into an extreme and when you confirm their union, this is not the natural mode of things as they are Whatever is the nature of your examination you are entrapped in the cage of attachment to another attachment So, it is not only that for an eternity you have been delusional about subject and object but furthermore furthermore your insistent analysis chains you to intellectual structures603 (My translation)
Longchena simy ws the eades against ming non-dait, a concep, into a soid mena constuct that they woud ey on, fixatedy turning i ino a frame of refeece hat woud disto heir pecetion ad experience of eaity. In fac any atem to form views or coceps wod instead ead to an atachment to iberation nd in a Mdhyka fashion Longchenpa asserts tha there is neiher duaiy nor non-duaiy, as hese ae empty conceps serving ony for conventiona sage. The discussion so far conceing trekc pacice and its compatibiiy wih on-daiy ending wit Longchenpa's view tha non-daity is isef a concep, competes the presenaion of the dichotomous sequence om goa-oriented pacices to non-duaity. Anoer exression to this sequence is resented in Appendix A of he stdy which incudes deaied expanaions expressed he diagram by mens of he Ctesian axis system. It is imoan o note a e intention behind he is to show a genera trend in the teachigs of Longchenpa nd teir apication. Howeve he end is no inear as there are many factors in ife whic can inuence the pracitione appyig Logchen's teachings and which woud make the tend to ucuate. It can e seen that Longchenpa's prescried peimnay pactices, rhetorc and pedagogy of negaio, and ekch suggest a spirita pat tha is oriented towards non-dua aweness that bypasses the object-suject dichotomy b whic a the same time warns against becoming atached o and osessing on the noion of non-duaity. The dichotomous sequence shows cey
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Longchenpa's position of spiritual practices in reference to non-duality and signifies that goal oriented practices, including the rhetoric of negation, e perfoed b the discursive nd in a manner which is incompatible with non-duality. From the moment of direct introduction onwds to tech, practce becomes self-sucient, a non-action", where the practitioner by being ready rooted in natral aweness autonomously self-sustns the abiding in natral awreness. Thus the practice of tech enables the practitioner to integrate e reities into a non-du liberated way of being. It can be concluded that there is a practice compatible wi h non-duality but its point of depre s natra aweness and its end is natral aweness. In te next chater, te conclsions of this study will be presented in relation to the main themes it as attepted to explore.
8 CONCLUIO
This thesis has cely identified and estabshed that in order to overcome the probem of the ftility of spirita practices performed in a dalistic conditioned existence geared towards achieving liberaton, Longchenpa sformed his rhetoric of negaton into a iving pedagogy of negation. In the corse of doing this, the esis has identified the metods of direct inodction, and the core Dzogchen spirita practice of trekch ' as compatibe with its phiosophy of non-dality. I the corse of the istorical contextisation of Longcenpa d his retoric of negation of spirita practices I ave been abe to depict the figre of Longchenpa not only as a reincated aditional teacher d briliant scho bt also as an individal ho has persona vlnerabi vlnerabiities, ities, d socia socia and politic inclinaio inclinaions ns.. In order to clrify Longchenpa's rhetoric of negation, which confronts the practitioner's nderstanding of case and eect associated wit sprita practice, I have stdied Longchenpa om ree major perspectives of istory, philosophy d practice. In e second ad third capters Longcenpa and his retoric of negaion have een contextaised from the perspective of macro histor, exaining reigio-socio-poiic processes and ends p to e 4 centry, connecton wit the micro-history of Longcenpa, of is ife and works. Te perspecives of macro-history and micro-history served to estabish a solid backgrond to Longcenpa's fe and teaching incding his retoc of negation. From te macro-history perspecve it appeed historica ends nd events tat shaped the 4 centry cold be aced back to te decline of the Tibetan empire in the 9 centry, in which Tibet had gone throg a process of decentraisation of the seat of power into loca hegemonies and myrichs, feda in cacter, inricately interwoven with reigion and cltre. Tose historica trends rested in a politic reaiy of paton d priest" relationsips between tempora and reigios athorities, whic rose to considerable imporance in that period d even greater centraity dring the 500 years tereaer. For Longchenpa this meant tat withot patonage, withot politica aspirations, and withot owning fertile and, ike Marpa or Lama Zhang, it wold have been difficlt for im to have implemented his religios agenda and ideologies as the cier cier of the Bddhist torch of admasamhava. aralel to the trends towads decentralisation, there occrred a si of empasis from reigios activies based mainy on rital practices condcted in remote places and viags, to centised schoastic instittons foring new schoos of Bddhism in Tibet. The iction between e od" dispersed reigios comnities nd e new" cenalised scholastic instttions yieded new forms of reigios ife d texta feentation. his istocal process reslted in a shift of ceran aspects of power om e cs to e Bddhist schoos and their monasteries, l of whic
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had a significant inuence on Longchenpa, his philosophy and practice The religio-political formation of the 14 century was that the most inuential and dominant schools were the Sakya, Kagyu and Kadam, associated with new wave of teachings and translations of Buddhist texts of Indian origin, while the Nyingma, the school Longchenpa belonged to, became marginalised nother historical event was the creation of the Tibetan Buddhist canon By the beginning of the 14 century te number of Buddhist texts which had been imported into Tibet since the 8 century was substantial, and this movement reuired that these texts undergo a process of coification Budn cassified the Kangyur (bka' 'gyur such that it contained the texts which he felt were directly attributable to the Buha This represente a monumental accompishment, resuting in massive colections of transate texts, on an almost bewilering range of toics, becong generaly accepted by most Tibet schos as the authoritative ody of texts However Budn id leave out a arge uantity of texts, most of which were Nyingma tantras an treasures, marginaising he Nyingma an relocating them at the periphery of the socio-religio-olitical map of 14 century Tibet This was because for Budn the critea for textual authenticity peitted ony texts liked to, or of, Sanst origins Two other important themes iscussed in chater 2 e significant to the unerstanding of Longchenpa Longchenpa'' s life an works works Firstly, the n ative ative of Padmasambava Padmasambava associated as sociated with Tibet' s imerial past was soliifying into a myth an has since functione as a marker of Buhist oentation, evelopment and authenticity For Longchena, Pamasamava's myth was a re ity Furthermore Pamasamhava was Longchenpa's principal source of treasures an Dzogchen teachings, which e consiered to be symbos of authentic" Budhism, a base of reigious and cultura authoty with wich he wishe to ientify himsef, n which he sought to emuate and emboy However the status of Pamasamhava, Longchenpa's cutural hero, was tat of a mgin tantric teacher Secondly, for Longchenpa, o into a Nyingma faiy, Sy was not only a symo but also an actual religious octrinal reference point: Ha-Shang (a Shang Mahyna, was presented there, entailing an approach of immediate reaisation, that of chigch (gg car, a process an reaisation similar to Dzogchen In estabishing a similaity between chigchar an pristine Dzogchen", Longchena created a metahorica ridge" to Samy, which for him was the heart of Tibetan Buhism, the irtace of the whoesome an goo" that he onge for However the ractice of Ha-Shang Mahyna, presente in Samy to the Tibetan ing in the 8 century, bes simiity to Dzogchen in that it is consiere a simutaneous ath", an was rejected in favour of the graua ath" method resente by amalashia As a result of the historical trens an events mentione aove, amost everything which Longcea was associate with had been relocated or sitate in the erihery of the socio religio-oitica ma of Tibet in the 14 century Marginalise Nyingma, marginalised Pamasamhava as a inor tntc teacher, rejecte simultaneos" tachings, excusion of tntra an treasure texts from the canon, absence of patronage, absence of oitica asirations or fertie
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land all these factors factors located Longchenpa at the the periphe periphery ry of he socioreligiopolitic scene. Given tat is was Longchenpa's stting point it would be diicult for hm to reise his agenda of religious leadership as the crier of the torch of Padmasambhava. owds 1348, when Longchenpa was nely 40 yes old, he finally found a paon for a period of wo yes. However it was a connection at placed Longchenpa in a position of politic disadvantage, and rthermore in a life threatening situation which cause him to ee to Bhutan. He had to ee because his paton was an opponent of none other than ai Situ Changchub Gyeltsen of the Phakmodrpa, who freed" ibet from the Mongols and reunified te vaious ibetan hegemonies and yriachs unde his regime. he exile in Bhutan would only have increase Longcenpa's sense of maginazation. The historic contexuasation of Longchenpa shows that, beng mginalsed, he sougt to elocate not only te Nyngmapa om the peper to te cene of the prevailing religiosocio poic l suctres of is time but to reposition himself n te cene as one who is coie to te implementation of Padmasahava's vison of Buddhism. It is my view that one of the major devices Longchenpa employed in order to eect the elocation was the hetoric of negation an oe precisely its aspect of affirngnegaton, becase n refuting ad rejecting the pevaling religipoliical structe, pilosophies, practices and oa condct e was able to affim dee Dzogchen, an to maintain e status of Nyingma as he ol d autentic tation, whch a been in declne in te ibetan conscosness of is te. He i so in ore to meet the chlenges posted by e Inic discoses of the grad path of he new schoos. He used the counter discourse of negation, resorting to terminologies suc as tose of naturalness" and spontaneity" o pimordality" asence". His rhetoric of negation funcone patiy as a for of reigiopolitic esistance against e new wave of ranslaions coming om Inia. This protest evoved into selfdeftion, in the sese that by negating other phlosophes and etods Longcenpa's princip syste of Dzogcen was actualy efinng d affirmng itself. Trogh te process of contextualising Longchenpa by means of biographies an hagiograpes outlined n capter 3, a cle pctue of h is formed. On the one hand, being coed to etics d Buddhist vues, Longchenpa possessed widerangng teachings aversing religious potic sectsm, fom ritus d edtations to syllogism d debate, incuding Dha's woks d Mdhyam ka philosophy. By eans of visions e received easre teachings om Padasambhava n Yese sogya. He also had visions of various Indi an ibetn deities. He studied with is root teacher maja not in a monaster but in a camp n e open, ad by iving austeely e convere e hetoric of no atachents" into a living pedagogy, predominanty a physical one integrated wt actu Dzogcen life stye. Thus e became a living exaple of Dzogcen pilosophy practice, wic e expressed in an extaordiny me in hs ltery d poetc works, copling ore t 300 texts. On the oe hd, e was nacknowledged d uecognse for is intellecu d spi credentials. He felt isoated poticaly, socially an regiosly, and was wthout means of
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livelihood or patronage. More than likely, the only time Longchenpa was acnowledged as a unique religious schol and spiritual figure and given an opportunity to implement his Buddhist vision as when he worked under the patronage of Gonpa Krin, an inuential figure in the Tibet of those times. However this period lasted only two yes because of a rivalry between Gonpa Knrin and Tai Situ Changchub Gyeltsen that tued Longchenpa into the enemy, forcing him to ee to Bhutan in 354. Only upon his retu from exie i 360-6 was Longchenpa acnowedged as a unique religious schol and spiritual figure and reconciled with Chungchup Gyalsten with the hep of Sangs rgyas dpal. According to The Blue Annals, Longchenpa even ecame Chungchu Gyelsten's teacher. It was ony then, at the end of hs life, that Longchenpa found himsef in Tibet's egio-socio-poitica centre. Unti his retu from Bhtan, Longchena was frustrated by the tension of what he regaded as s igh" spitua status and his low" socio-econoc and oitical positon. The dichotomy etween his sptua ceentias and his mundane fe reect a sef-perceived stual genus wo as not acknoledge by the many to be one who could, by means of the extraoinary, lea tem to their essentia ind, beyon the pevaiing soca and political sructures. Hence his teacings teaci ngs ad nowlege grew seatel fom fom hs mnde mnde ife ife a csmatic c smatic stu eade" thout atron o monastery. But suc csma necessitates ecogntion fo its existence (in the fom of teacher-student reationships). hs conict that Longchena exerence cause him to ee at ties pesecute, suerng fom a sense of enaton nd anxety. But when Longchena exressed tis, he was aso revolting against the evailing reoccuation with mateiaism. This is exemied y a ecurng teme in his oetry: tang efuge in the forest. He was ctcising a life style which prefee weat an soco-econoic status ove athentic spitu ity, an athoug e et conened an anxious he mainy wanted to oint to what was whoesome. In my vie hs incia nterest was the Dhama an his uose was rimily edagogical, to teach dscernent between Darma and not-Dharma between what s whoesome and autentic, and what pesents a hirance on the path of ieration. He sought to teach the Dhrma aso y means of cticism an negaton negaton of the the reving reving eligo-soco-olitc eligo-s oco-olitc stuctue stuctue associated as sociated as it was with increased iitarisation and the decine of Buhist ethcs d moraity, in favour of a stuctre that prevailed in the goden era of the Tietan empire. he above otrat of Longchena, as a prodct of ctica schoshi ad close reaing, eleases his figure from the mythica aspects that wee accorded to him by traditiona accounts itout denying or evauing his high stats o credentias as a scholar, teacher and poet cotted to Dama. This porait esents hm n a moe reaistic light, showng also his human vulneraites and sensitvities, and soco-econoic and politica weness. Longchenpa's tendency to critcise an egate also targets the philosophies and siritua ractices of the other ietan Buddhist scoos. At tis oint I exaned Longcena fo te taditonal erspective of sritual practce repesented y the aspiant aer iberation, and aso aote critica an exstential aoaches. However, n contextualisng Longcena's rhetoric of
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negation I was able to show that Longchenpa did not essentially differ from other Budhist figures, including Nagarjuna, Candrairti, Nubchen Yeshe, Gampopa and a few others, except for the important and significant fact that he also converted his negation into a living pedagogy, as a manual for the teacher of Dzogchen for introducing the student directly to their innate natural aweness. In chapter 4 , Longchenpa's rhetoric of negation was contextualised from the perspectives of hilosophy and practice. This revealed that Longchenpa's rhetoric of negation of goalorented spirital practice s is a non- aff affirming negation a term term borrowe borrow e from from the the Prsagika Mdhyamika phiosophy that Longchenpa adopted. When he negated phlosophical views and spirital practices he employed the non-ang type of negation in orer to assist the stdent in creating a state of asence, a non-concepta state of nd, an to prepe him for meeting face to face hs inherent natral aweness. owever, Longchena's rhetoric of negation te out to be a onepointed repetitios practice med at negating nd dismantling concetal, discrsive, complsive menta processes, a ractice that was in fact similr to the ones he negate. Longchena negated this notion of one-pointe repetitious practice too, as eing ut an oscng mental constrct, a concept that stans etween the student and their innate natra n and which has to e renqishe. It is important to note that althogh Longchenpa negated goalorente spirtal rctices, he nevertheless recognised ther value as preparatory ractces de to their caacity to resove conditioned mental pattes, and hence he presce the to his students/readers. Phiosophicly speng, in displaying is aproach towds spit ractices Longchenpa ensred that his view of situal practces di not fal nto extremes. This mes him a PrsagikaMhyamika, ut wth the ifference that while Prsgika-Mhyaka ointe at emptness, Longchenpa reated to natral aweness, empty yet appent. In my attemt to contextaise Longchena's negaton more roadly y incling contemporay fos of negation, I consered Georges Bataille's essential methd of contestation within the context of what he terme the Inner Experience, which is ne, free fro ties, even of an origin, and whose destnation" is nknown or unfond. Another reason for eing rawn towds Batlle was that he assmed the roles of e contester and the contestee, acting on oth as a phenomenological asis. The manner of ths attemt to acheve knowledge y means of expeence is relevt to racttioners/reaers. On the face of it Batle' s presentation of Inner Exeence was aeaing in that t has some resemlance with Longchenpa's teachngs on the natre of mind, an Bataille's metho of contestation seems to she a avor simil to Longchenpa's rhetorc of negation, eng a non ng ng negation. However it has een shown that Bataile was amivaent d guous aot major sjects from which he wante to raw nsiration, at the same he wante to t them ner hs contestation. His nowlege of yoga, its reate ractices, an the Bhist tantra was mite and at times downrght wrong, which mae hs contestation incopete and ited. This contrasts with his notion of contestaton as a radic l negation. Ths as he was an amv ent
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contestee, residual mental constructs and their implications would still pre-occupy his ind, which is in contrast with his notion of Inner Experience as being ned and free of attachments Btlle also equated, by mes of a tautology, Inner Experience with contestation that dictates and constructs an ongoing one-mind modification, one of affirming nothingness to the extent that the Inner Expeence, defined as ned and free from ties, is identical to contestation But it seems that Bataille's Inner Experience is not entely free as he must continually hold in his hand the sword of contestation" ready for the next object in question, whether in a relaxed or ecstatic state of nd However Longchenpa challenged this one-nd modification of absence again by the pedagogy of negaion This is because naura awaeness is never ony about absence of he ties of comulsive discursive thining; it is also aou claity fnding expression in reality In caper 5 , Longchenpa's rhetoric of negation was exned from he poin of view of the aspiran afer liberation, an was shown to be converted into a pedagogy of negation ta included metods ha could induce for the suden he experience of naural awareness, free of any attachmens, including even the need to apply any method Tese Te se meod m eodss enai a suex and a nd provide he maerials for a poent tans formaive drama wih a sense of ting tha drives he interaction owds a climax or resoluion In the case of his six diogues, Longchenpa the eacher nows intuiively when to imp instctions d to point to he nature of min The sudent arrives in he pesence of Longcenpa the eacher wih expectations ased on he isory of teir relaionship as well as he poential feeings entioned above, but aso aer a period of rning under Longchenpa's rhetoc of negation The questions of when to ak, when o remain sien, when o be assertive and oud, and when to e mellow, etc, are very importan as means o detou the sudent's expecations and feelings and o cut through hem This exposes he studen to the nature of mind by concentraing on it diecly wiou any mediation through ny means or objecives Longchenpa is a very silful eacher and he counicates to different students in a manner that will match heir pticul capacit At onetime e may overwhelm and conse he stdent, at anoer ime e may surprise them with a cerain instruction, and at yet another he ight just remn casual is maner Longchenpa challenges he stdent's non-concept sae of absence or cle state of mind, emotions or beliefs, eaving the vulnerable and recepive for the direct introducion o innate natural awaeness, he coming face-to-face with their innate natural awareness as a lieraing profound experience In fact, this tesis has ascerned that the student's profound undersanding and experienc of their innate aweness is an experience of he non duaity of innae awaeness and apparent sense-objects This serves as the depure point of Dzogcen's practice of natual mediaive sability in he sense tat means and end are identica, therefoe any sujecoject dichotoes cease to exist Thus, pilosophically speing, e hesis has shown tha he practice of natural mediative stabiliy is compaile wi Dzogchen' s noion of non-duality and wih the integraion of the Two Truts In a roader sense Dzogchen' s principe offers a way o transcend the dichotomy ineen in general goa-oiened practices that exist in othe raditions and eligions Chaing the
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dichotomous sequence beteen dualistic practices and non-dual practices (chapter 7), as a road map for he practitioner, clely revealed the position of spiritual practices in non-duality. They exist in dynac movement on he axis between dualistic and non-dualistic spitual practices. During the resech I encountered two themes among others that e worthy of exploration and torough stdy, and which would contibute rther to the understanding of Longchenpa's philosophy and teachings and wold clely situate Dzogchen in relation to all the schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The first theme is non-action" and intenionality in relation to non-duality. This raises the question of how one acts in non-duaity. It is a poblematic question becase to act in non-d lity eqies e absence of the sense of agency, at is to say, asence of te intenton to hat would compel one to fo an intentional action coored y a certain act o of any atachents hat motive. This domain of ninention action" in eaion to ibeation and non-dualiy is foeign to he munane ay of acting and behaving hence it requires a deeper unestaning and enhanced clity. Frhermore, notions such as act wiot attachmen", act wihout the sense of agency", act for e sake of wha is necessy to e done" or do for te se of doing" tat efer to uninentional acion" shold e cifie for praciiones an eaers. In a oade sense is woud requie an examination of ma (action) in Longchena's wtings to enable a fuhe understding of e place of acon o condct in relation to ibeaon, of raxis in elaion o non-dality. Inentionaliy is a heme tat as been aessed aso y weste hiosohers sch as Husse, and eviewing eir nderstanding of inentionaity ight assist in cling te staus of acion in non-dity and e ension beween mundane activiies ad non-duiy. The second heme worhy of exploration conces te niqeness atbted o Dzogcen. Many past teaces sc as Longcepa and e Fi Daai Laa, an contepoy eaches sc a Naai Norbu, Ddjom inpoce an e Foeenh Dalai Lama, hae aised Dzogcen as ue ue d secial, valosing valosing i as e e" of Bddis teach teachings. ings. In e e course of is sy I have ienified tha Dzogcen is sii to e Md teacing of e agy; has simiiies with Zen, Ha-Sang Mayna and Bon teachings and wit some setions of te Guyga Tana; and aws on e iosoy of Mdyama, e rajai eachings d ystic easures. A cical stdy wold hisoc lly d philosophic lly situate Dzogcen in relaion o the othe systems mentioned aove an woul posiion Dzogchen on the Tibean Bdhis map a realistic mne, reecing e exen to whic it ws ased on e mysicis of teases and egendy figues". In othe wos, if thee is an exaggerate entsiasm and a mystica ara ound Dzogchen i should e oine ou, alowing practitiones and reades to apprac Dzogcen wit a ce nbiased ind d wit an ndersaning of e ension between is histoca and its ysic rigins.
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Wallace, B. 1999, s Buddhism Rely Non-theistic?', presented at te National Conference of the American Academy of Religion, Boston. Walter, M. L. 2009, Buddhism and Empire: the Political and Religious Culture of Early Tibet Brill Acadec Publishing, Leiden. Wangchu Wangchu D. D . , 2004 , The Nyingma Nyingmapa pa inte interpr rpreta etations tions of the the Tathgatagarb Tathgatagarbha ha theory' theory' , Vienna Joual of South Asian Studies, 48, pp. 1 1231 1231 Wangu, Wangu, P . and Diemb Diembr rger ger,, H . 2000, dBa' bzhed: The Royal Narrtive Conceing the Bringing of the Buddha's Doctrine to Tibet, Ausian Academy Academy of Science , Vienna. Dispe er of Disputes: Disputes : Ngr g rjuna 's Vigrahavyvartan, Vigrahavyvartan, Oxford Westerhoff, J. 2010, The Dispe Universit Universityy Press, Pres s, New York. Wylie, T. 1964, M-p's tower: notes on local hegemonies in Tibet', Histo of Religions, vo 3, no. 2, pp. 28-291 Yamoto, C . S . 2009 200 9 , Vision Vis ion and violence: violence : Lama Zhang an an te te dialectcs of politica auth authori ority ty and religious chisma in twelf-century cent Tibet' Tibet' , PhD Thes Thesis is,, University of Virginia. Virginia. Yeshe Tsogya (Ye shes mtsho rgyal) 200, Le and Libertion of Padmasambhava (2 Voume Set) (Tib urgyan guru Padma nyang gnas i ses am par thar pa rgyas par bkod pa Padma Padma b '/ thang thang yig, yig , ouglas an G ays (tans.), Dhma Publising, Berkeey. Ying, C. J. 200, Being and knowing in whoeness, Chinese Chan, Tibetan zogchen, and te ogic of immediacy immediacy in cont contemp empatio ation' n' , Ph Tesis Tesi s , Rice Rice University, University, Houston. Ho uston.
APPENDIX A CARTESIAN GRAPH
Y axis represents the world
of phenomena or sense objects, or more accurately the perception of sense objects in terms of range of clarity and knowledge. The more the practitioner ascends along this axis he more hey are able to appreend with profound clarity and wisdom sense-objects under consideration as they are.
t is r this pit wrds tht prctic is cptibl with th -dul philspy Dzgc i wich t s s turl wrss d th d s turl wrss r idticl r th skillul prctitir du t trkch prctic is bl t bid r lgr prids i -dul turl d
Reeet al rfon pie of ta aes o ti o o ac i ob pis ity iu a scie aii f e ind ta is to say he pitoe iate car naua wnes is negae wih pcive s obet a eeig "te ay y are.
H and beyond represent t quties of Bddist isdo and clity tods th Buddist mysticl stats of oni-potnce and oni science etc
Here Longchenpa's rhetoric of negation turns nto a pedagogy that causes the practitioner to abandon any clinging to spritual practice or desire to practice and to take the leap over the abyss, leading to the experience of understanding innate natural awareness, without a frame of reference.
epresents the abyss for te practitioner who is interested to understand intrinsic natural awareness. he abyss to be crossed is fro a failiar conditioned existence to the experence of unfaliar natural awareness. It is an unailiar experience in the sense that it does not have a ae of reference. At tis point te practitioner stands on the thresold of experience of natural awareness but tere is no guarantee that ensures its occurrence.
epresents the stat of absence gneratd by the rhetoric of negation that rges he practitioner to andon goal-oented spiritual practice and atachmen to any disciplines. Altoug the practitioner at that phase is igly disciplind and equipped with a great sense of clarity and understanding of reality it is still dependent on disciplne and one-pointed type of mind modication. Stands for a practitioner who has disciplined their mind by eploying a range of goal-orientated practices. In employing these practices one gains more clarity and knowledge however it is still a partial knowledge that is achieved by te mediation of concepts, language, symbols and analysis, and is dep�ndent dep�ndent on deliberate deliberate one-pointed concentration. concentration.
eects a person who is toal taken in by their intense compulsie ind, and is in complete delusion an issociation from reality or any sense ojects. From the point of view o spitl practices this is a igly undiscie ind
epresents pure emptiness and reflects a mind empty of discursiveness, concepts or jUdgement, whether compulsive or deliberate. eflects a vacant referenceless state of mind.
i surs nd nesc ience ad is av idya, of nescience re presents the domain of avidya, X axis rep eistene i wich wich domain o eistene dualistic domain either compUl sive or discip lined, the dualistic moven on te axis p r actices are eployed. The moven spiritual spiritual goal goa l -oriented pr ondo w i te reects a c ondo zero point poi nt reects before the the zero t owa rds an d just before rd s and di s ae by an y capacit y to con c entrate w ithout b eing dis pra c titioner ' s capacity
stimulus is developing.
AEDIX JOUREY O HUA
During May 2012 journeyed to Bumthang, the region of Bhutan that Longchena, the man from Samy, admired in his poem as a place of material abundance, peaceful and suitable for spiritual pursuits:
he Valley of Rinchen V -ra in the sotheast Is lovely and circlar like the shape of a whel Its villages are well developed and its estates are many Jewelled streams flow gently sothwest On its slopes are sites for attaining realizations, And its intermediate border areas are ringed with monasteries he grasses are nourishing and the cows are particularly prodctive Its trees and frits are excellent and its forests are marvellos In this country medicines are extremely potent and there are only few types of illness605 We visited the Kagyu monastery of ra and met with its hea lama, our guide acting as translator. Eight lins (gling means a place in terms of locality) are said to have been etablishe by Longchepa Longchepa and an d sked the ama which of the eight he would recommen recommen we visit. visit . He suggested sugges ted Shin S hingha gharr Ling, and a nd told us that that accoring to traitio traitionn it was Rahula, Rahula, the eity-guardian eity-guardian f Dzogchen teachings teachings , who ensured ongchenpa ongchenpa ' s protection protection and his water and food supplies, as long as Longchenpa devoted his time to teaching the Dharma an writing his books.
ppdx B - Juy u y Bhu
181
At S hingkhar hingkhar Ling, when w e entered the the temple the first obj obj ect that attracted attracted our attention attention was a life-sized statue of Longchenpa seated in meditatio posture (see photo below)
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The M F Sy
After we gained an impression of the temple we were sh own two objects objects said to have belonged to Longchepa. The first was a butter lamp (right), which seemed old. The second was a hoto of a symbol resembling a geometrical believed to yantra below), believed have been designed and constructed o the oor of the temle by Longchepa himsel. Accordig to the photo, it apeared to be a kind of a relie scultre in which the lines of the yantra were raised raised above the surface. We could ot see the actal yantra on the groud because the statue o Longchea was ositioed directly on top of it. Listening to the head Lama of ra monastery, and seeig the two objects in Shigkhar Ling that are said to have been Longchea's, it became ovios that though the man from Samy passed away in 14 century Tibet, his legacy was still resent i Bhuta, where he is reered and admired.
ppd p dxx B Juy u y Bhu
183
The next day we traelled to Tharpa Ling, about 3,000 metres aboe sea leel, to another temple attributed to Longchenpa, around which a monastery had been established. Three hundred metres aboe the monastery, on top of the mountain, on giant rock is a statue of Longchenpa sitting in meditation, azing foward from a glass box (below). t was on this rock, according to traditional accounts, that the man from Samy wrote own his seen treasures. This taditional belief enhanced our impression that Longchenpa's legacy is alie and present in contemorary Buddhist Bhutan. Tis rock is an excelent obseration post from which the aley beo an the horizon can be seen amost entirely, a scene which complements Longchenpa's poem on Bumthang.
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The Man From Samy Samy
ppd B - Juy Bhu Bhu
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2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
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See the woks of Gemano (1992), Gemano and Gyatso (2000), Hillis (2003), Aguille (2007), Buttes (2006), Guenthe's tanslated and annotated woks of Longhenpa (1975, 1976, 1983,1989) and vn de Kuijp (2003). The metapho of nightmae has been eated and inluded hee to onfom with thos thosee ommon to Indian Indian philosophy suh as the ope and the snake, o the pole and the man. See pesentation of the ou Noble Tuths in Maha Satipatthana sutta in Ling (ed.) (1981:79-81) Longhenpa Longhenpa in ao aon n (2007: 1 20-3) 20-3 ) Gaeld (1995:3). ete enne has pesented a detailed analysis of is aphoism and its impliations on the elation between methods and spiitual insight. See Fenne (2002:95-100). David Loy efes to anothe suta, Nagauna's Mlamadhyamakakrika 2. 1 5 , whih povides povides the definitio definition n fo sabhva (intinsi natue) that is neve podued no dependent on any fato, hene the impliations fo the impossible elation of spiitual patie and libeation. See Loy (1988:128) enne (2002:95-100). The idea of substituting the geneal tems of self and othe wih libeation and paxs espetively was pesented by ete Fenne. Gem Gemno no (1 992: 3) Guent Guenthe he ( 1 975 :xiii) Guent Guenthe he ( 1 975 :xxiv) Inga Ingall llss (1 952:1 -1 4) ade ade (1 990) 990) Guen Guenth the e ( 1 975: 248) illi illiss (2003) (2003) illi illiss (2003:267-2 (2003:267-271 71 ) Bute Butess (2006) (2006) Butt Buttes es (2006: (2006: 193) uttes uttes (2006: 17 3) The texts appea in pat pat 3 , Wondement' , fom fom e Trilogy of Finding Comfort and Ease (Ngal gs skor gsum) tanslated and annotated by Guenthe. See Guenthe (1976) Agu Aguil ill lee (2007: (2007: 8) De, dans son sminaie de 2003-2004 a la V setion d l'EE, Matthew Kapstein a notamment dmonte que plusieus plusie us textes text es its dans l' l ' auto-omentai< du sGyu ma ngal gs taient en fait des textes textes tifs. tifs. Comme Comme il l' a etablis etablis d ' une manie manie etaine, etaine, les itations itations ne etes pas inventes inventes pa Longhen Rabjam mais dmaques de l' auto-ommentaie auto-ommentaie du sGyu ma lam rim, apoyphe Tibtain atibu atibu Niguma dans la tadition tadition Shang spa depuis Khyung po al byo . . . .il ne fait j amais mention, pas plus d' auune uve uve elevant du ouant Shangs Shang s pa. Cette onsidation onsi dation pemett pemettait ait peut-te de emet emette te dans dans so vai vai jou ' affai faies es des « plagiats plagiats d textes textes Bon » qui a inspi inspi J.-L . Ahad Ahad (1 999) des pages si int intessante essantess . . . .Nous avons obsev quelque as de itations « ophelines » , 'est--die, de textes its seulement une fois ou deux dans l' uve de Longhen Rabjam, ou bien de itations ptes d'un seul et mme passage d'un texte. In the summa summayy o f Kapstein' Kapstein' s semina semina the notion without attib attibution ution appeas i n paenthese paenthesess whih mght imply he mginality of he teme of iting without atibution, as in the 14th entuy it was a ommon patie. See Kapstein (2003:94) Kapste Kapstein in (2003: (2003: 94) 94)
N 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54
55 56 57
Davidson disusses Gampopa's attation to Dzoghen and says hat he used te ental Dzoghen te rigpa extensively, fo example see Davidson (2008:288). See Guen Guenhe (1 996:6.n. 13 ) Aha Ahad d (1 999:21 6) Kam Kamay ay (2007: (2007: 2 1 1 ) Kam Kamay ay (200 (2007: 7: 21 6, 21 9) See in Chagdu Chagdudd and and Baon Baon (1 998 :2 8 1-2 84) B aon on (2001 :49 1 -498) and Chagdu Chagdudd and and Bao Baon n (2007:483-527). In the last wok Longhena efes to nealy 700 texts. Longh Longhenp enpaa in Cou Cou ( 1994:28 58) Longhenpa in Cou (1994:265) Fenn Fenne e (2002: (2002: 1 03- 1 10) Fenn enne (200 (2002: 2: 1 1 1) Bade (1990:2). Bade's appoah to the eseah of akaa akaa applies to the eseah o f Longhenpa. Mayeda Mayeda (1 992) 992) Ingalls Ingalls ( 1 952: 4) Bade Bade (1 990: 14-5) Ginshpon Ginshpon (2003 :4) Ginsh Ginshpon pon (2003: 6) Rioeu Rioeu (2007: (2007: 29) ae ae (1 995-96:1 995-96:1 88- 193) Ginsh Ginshpon pon (203: 5) Cabezn Cabezn (2003 (2003 :25) Wall Walla aee (1 999:1 ) Kapst Kapstein ein (2000: (2000: 1 63) Kapste Kapstein in (2000: (2000: 1 63) Longhenpa in Fenne (2002:7) Longhenpa Longhenpa in Kapstein Kapstein (2000: (2000: 1 68-9) 68- 9) See in in ill illis is (2003: (2003: 15 1 5), Wall Walla aee ( 1999: 1 ) and and Dag Dagya yayy ( 198 5: 283 -293) Kapstei Kapstein n (2000: (2000: 267-8 n. 1 9) Fenne (2002:7 (2002 :7 1 ) . Anti-method Anti-method is a tem tem oined by Fenne Fenne to denote etati etation on of methods of spiitual spiitual paties as tile and as ineetive in poduing sptual insight o naal awaeness. ill illis is (2003 (2003 :3 ) Guen Guenth the e (1 983 :2) Late in the hapte it will be demonstated that fo Longhenpa, Samy was invoked as a synonym fo Tibet's gloious past and this past involved Longhenpa's spiitual and ultual heo, admasambhava. Kaps Kapste tein in (2000: (2000: 1 65) Guenthe (1983:4-5-6) Longhenpa in his poem, Looking Deeper: A Swan's Questions and Answers. Longhenpa uses the following patial list of expessions in ode to denote the pevailing deadene and ioality of his n time: ountefeits", degeneate age", low-lass pesons", monks who ae mentally householdes", audulent meditation", hypoisy", those who pose as spiitual teahes . . ..who who deeive the ommon ommon people . . . who gasp not leaing but young women . . .gathe aound the ih", ompassion and faith has died up", et. These exp ssions point aoding to Longhenpa at the ouption and deline of Buddhist spiitual teahings and ethis diven by geed, lust, pide and laziness. It is alled Dzoghen howeve this is a tem of onveniene athe than a stit desiption of what he taught. Geano Geano ( 1 992:viii) Kapstein (2000: xvii)
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Kapstein (2006:46) Walter (2009:7) Helle ellerr ( 1999:8-1 1) Walter (2009:7) Walter (2009:269) Walter (2009: (2009: 225) Water (2009:226) Walter (2009:227) van Schaik (2003:3-4) van Schaik (2011:31) Geet ( 1 995: 995 : xvi). This recalls Alexnde Alexnderr Mocdon and the creatio creationn of Hellenism as means to gove his empire through a unied and inclusive cultural base. van Schaik http://e http://early arlytibet.co2009/0 tibet.co2009/07/01 7/01bddhism-an bddhism-and-empir d-empire-iv-c e-iv-conver onvertingting-tibe tibe See in http://earlytibet.co2009/07/01buddhism-and-empire-iv-convering-tibe based on a text om 779, Trisong Detsen's own account of how he was convered to Buddhism. van Schaik (2003:3-4) Kapstein (2006:66) Besides Samy, e temples Khri rse, mCms phu, Kwa ch, sKar chung and others in cenal and border regions of Tibet were bilt in the 8th century as confirmed by a stone edict placed by the king Khr.lde.srong.btsan in the sKar chung temple. See Vitali (1990:1). The texts were of the Yogra Mdhyamalka tradition of India introduced by ntraksita and Kamala. Regg (1989:56) Rynold Rynoldss ( 1 989:2) 989 :2).. See Se e lso lso Gyurm Gyurmee De' s monu monume ment ntal al work work of trn trnsla slatio tionn (1 ( 1 987) the the Guhyagarbha Tantr e Tantra o/ o/ the Secret Quintesse Quin tessence, nce, rGyud thams thams cad i rgal rgal po dpal dpal sgyu phrul phru l rtsa ba'i rgyud gsang ba snying po) and its 14h century commentary by Longchenpa Dispelling Darkness in the Ten Directions (dPal gsang ba snying po de kho na nyid nges pa'i rgyud i grel ba phyogs bcu'i mun sel. At the rst verse of chapter 13 Longchenpa interets the Guhyagarbha Tantr om a Dzochen
point of view, stating stating that when when the components of the tana such as creation creati on stage, te perfecti perfection on stage, all malas (maalas) are subsumed within the unsuassed moment of pristine cognition which is Dzogchen because there is no perception in terms of personal identity or sense object identity and no afflictive emotions involved Longchenpa in his commentary emphsizes the idea that contrasting concepts, concepts, images and ideas such as smsa and nirana nirana e subsumed, subs umed, coalescent or condensed, and are spontaneously present in the primordial Great Perfection. (Gyurme De, 1987:987). The thirteenth chapter of e Guhyagarbha Tantr is considered as one of the most importnt of the tantras mainly becase the uintessentil Instrction Gland of View (Man ngag Ita ba'i phreng ba) which is an extant wrk f Dzogchen at is attruted to Padmasambhava and is found in he Tangyur. In this chapter we find a clear reference to he term Dzogchen, one of four references found in e Guhyagarbha Tantra, which states:"Then all the maals of the adamantine body, speech and mind of the Buddhas om throughout the ten directions nd for times became condensed in one. Thus the great Joyous one entered equipoise within the contemplaton of the clod-ray of intensely secret commiment's nucleus i.e. that all phenomena are primordially spontaneously present with the Great Perfection. Germano (1994214) ere the practitioner unies the vous malas of the divinities and enlightened beings, reabsorbs and condenses them into one and enters into an experiential realization that worldly and transcendental phenomena re not entirely different in the sense that they are empty of independent existence, without ny beginning, and have been always present as the maal of body, speech and mind. Germano (1994:205) sggests that Dzogchen Semde originated from Buddhist Tant, esecially at f the Mahyog tantras, through a process of dilogue between he two systems that started in te 9th entury and culminated in the works of Longchenpa the 14th century. lthogh Geano sserts (1994:215) tht Dzogchen stemed from Bddhist tantras he then argues that Dzgchen denes itself by rejecting all constituent ctegories of tantric Budhism and later on presents an hypothesis that
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Dzogchen Semde (sems sde and Mahyoga are distinct strands: "The contention is that the Mind series may have constituted a separate and independent movement of unspecified ogins that transformed into the Great erfection in ibet tough merging with a separate development owing out of Mahyoga perfection phase theory and practices Germano 194:21) As suppor for his hypothesis regarding the "merge of the two distinct strands he refers to the passages in one of the most important texts of Mahyoga, the Guhyagarbha Tanr where the te Dzogchen appears four times indicating what might appear as characteristic terms of Dzogchen literature and philosophy such as "spontaneous primordial presence "enlightenment and "sameness Karmay was able to demonstrate that there was a recognizable form of independent Dzogchen associated with the Semde through his treatment of two Dunhuang texts of Sede literature, he asserted that the Dzogchen system was born out of the 12) Karmay suppors his Guhyagarbha Tan tinged with ideas originating in Seme (Kaay The Garland of of View Man Man ngag Ia I a ba 'i phreng ba which was an extant work conclusion on the text The of Dzogchen attributed to admasambhava which presents te esoteric Yoga as being threefold: development (bsed rim achievement (rdzogs rim and Great erfection (rdzogs chen. This work was the subject of a hD thesis in Germany in 1989 written by Ulrich Loseries, University of Bonn The path entails gradual creation of the maala mentally by means of meditation Then by beholding maala and divinities steadily in one's mind and attaining complete identity with the maala and divinities, they all re reabsorbed in one's mind and one realizes that they are devoid of self-origination and cessation and conceptual thoughts Lastly, as for the mode of Great Perection the practitioner at that moment realizes that worldly and transcendental phenomena are not different in the sense that they are phenomena which are empty of independent existence and that they are without any beginning and that they have been always present as e maala of body speech and mind However The Garland of Views furher elaborates, stating in terms similar to independent zogchen texts that: "All existence is void by nature, it is all primordially pure from the very beginning, it is totally luminescent, it abides in the nirvic state, it is manifestly enlightened (Karmay Kapstein (2000: Kapstein used for his study version which is attributed to the 14th century or esae n of of Ba (dBa' (dBa ' bzhed bzhed see Kapstein slightly earlier For a discuss dis cussion ion regarding regarding the versions of the Tesaen (2000: (2000: 2 1 3 n ) and Wangd Wangduu and and Diem Diembe berg rger er (2000: (2000: 1 - 14) of Views (Man ngag Ia ba 'i phreng ba b a which was an Karmay (1988:138) mentions the text The Garland of extant work of Dzogchen attributed to admasambhava which is found in the Tangyur The source of the Man ngag ta ba'i phreng ba is the gSang ba snying po. This point when compared with other types of evidence found in Tibetan literature demonstrates that admasambhava was a source of Dzogchen teachings Kapstein Kapstein (2000: 1 9) 9 ) Kapstei Kapsteinn based his conclusion on a version of the the Tesamen of Ba om he 14th century and on a Dunhung manuscript PT 44 conceing the ritual traditions of Vajraa Wangdu and Diemberger (2000:17-18) The Tesamen of Ba a text claimed to be dated to the 9th century or even a century before that, constitutes the naative account of the long reign of Trisong Detsen Editions of the text text are available today and dated back t the the 1 1 th centu century ry and aer It is known as the Brahmputra in India Wangdu and Diemberger (2000:7) Wangdu and Diemberger (2000:8) van van Scha Schaik ik (201 (201 1 : 3) Guenther (196: 7n14) See discussion regarding Guenther's view of admasambhava which is presented in the subsequent section of the current chapter under the sub-heading: Considering Padmasambhava's "histocal teachings Here Guenther mentions five works attributed to admasambhava Guenther (1996: H e substantia substantiates tes e e identif identifica icatio tionn o f Padmas Padmasambha ambhava' va' s work based o n three three factor factorss : ( 1 ) Colophons that that were added in the 13th century that indicated admasmbhava's authorship (2) The philosophical links found in Padmasambhava's texts between hi and the teachings of the early Gnostic religious teacher
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Basilides om Alexandria, Egypt. His philosophical doctine found its way in the Hellenistic period to the unique Greek city Aikhanoum in northe ghanistan, located 300 from the Swat Valley, he plac which is believed t be Padamsambhava's origin according to G Tucci and or distant om Urgyan, the place that the tradition believes to be he origin of Padamsambhava (3) Padamsambhava coworked with the translators Vairocana d sKaba dpal brestegs. Karmay (2007:6). Karmay in his study rfers to the version of the Testament of Ba attributed to he 14th centur nd provides suppor om Stein's anslation from 1961. This opposition to tantism was not only Indian in character but Tibetan too. It was because tantrists blurred the lines which delineated "high from "low people, engaged in acts with "polluting people and materials and roke most of the normative laws of Tibetan society. Per K Sorensen (1994:369) Yeshe Tsogyal, transl translated ated by Douglas and Bays (2007:377 (2007: 377).). It is somewhat somewhat dicult dicult to ascertain ascertain whee wheerr this is i s a reference reference to an actual actual incident or being a 1 4th century century text text it reects the 1 4th century "attempt to reinstate that even in the imperium's own history, the religious prelate always has precedence ove the secular ruler. Yeshe Tsogyal (Ye shes mtsho rgya) tan tansl slat ated ed by Douglas Douglas and and B ays (2007: (2007: 383) 38 3) Other milestones that point to the mannr in which te my of Padmasambhava developed in e 12th century and 13 century include revealed "treasures (gter ma) discovered by Nyangrel Nyima zer (Nyang (Nyang l nyi ma od zer 1 1241 124 1 192) and and his successo successorr Guru Guru Chwan Chwangg (Gu r chos i dbang phyug, 12121270). See Kapstein M (2000:155) and Jacob Dalton's study The early development of the Padmasambhava legend i Tibet: a study of IOL Tib J 644 and Pelliot tibtain' 307 (2004:759772) uethe ther (1 996: 1) Guen Guenher her ( 1996:3 1996 :38) 8) Guen Guenthe therr ( 1996: 199 6: 6) Guen Guenth ther er ( 1 996:6, 996: 6, n. 1 3) Guen Guenth ther er ( 1 996: 12) The literal tanslation was suggested to me by David Templeman. Guen Guent ter er (1 996:7, n. 1 3) Karm armay (1 988: 1 371 38) Guen Guenth ther er (1 996:5 , n. ) Dewi Dewi (2004: (2004: 192) Kapst Kapstei einn (200 (2000: 0: 1 6 1) Padmasambhava's vision of Buddhism is based on "material treasure teachings in the form of texts, images and ritual artefacts and "mental treasures in the form of teaching received in lucid dreams, deep meditations and visions. For actual example of his teaching see the discussion regarding spyi ti yoga for liberation in the previous section. According to Longchenpa this vision of Buddhism includes a favourable spiritual environment quite opposite to the prevailing decadence and immorality of his own time mentioned in his poem, Looking Deeper: A Swan's Questions and Answers. See Guenther (1983:410). NeumaierDargyy NeumaierDargyy (1 992). 992 ). According According to to Germano Germano (2005 : 1 1 ) , those texts had been transmi transmitted tted in Tibet Tibet during e second half of he 8th cenry and taditionally attributed to Indian gures om that period such as Garab Doe (7th century?), siha (8th century) and Vimalamitra (8th9th centuries). The maj maj ority of these texts were were rediscovered redisc overed as treasures treasures between the 1 1 th and and 1 3th centuries centuries (Hilli (H illiss 2003 : 1 42). 42) . While these teachers teachers are mentioned mentioned as authors, translators translators or editors editors of the Semde texts, texts, Padmasambha Padmasambhava' va' s name name is absen absentt (Germa (Germano no 2005: 1 1) . van Schaik Schaik (2004:4 (2004:4,8) ,8) Karm Karmay ay (2007: (2007:41 41 ) Karm Karmyy (2007:4 (2007: 4 1) IOL 647 Karma Karmayy (2007:5 960) IOL 594
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Karmay (2007:62) Karmay notes hat according to a letter Buddhaguhya sent the king, he was invited by the latter to visit Central Tibet, an invitation that Buddhaguhya declined Rueg Rueggg (1 989: 6) Gomez in Gimello and Gregory (1983:69) Karmay (200 (2007: 7: 1 15) Dargyay (1988:7) Kamalaa was ntarak�ita's principal disciple and a proponent of the Madhyamaka School Sc hool His teachings included the ten rules of cnduct of Buddhist ehics e hics (a) , canonic Stras of the Mahyna, as well as he six pamits Walte Walterr (2009:52) (2009:52) van van Schaik Schaik (200 (2003:3: 1 120, 491 06) Jackso Jacksonn (1 994) 994) Rueg Rueggg (1 989: 5692) Nubhen Nubhen Yeshe in in Karmay Karmay (2007: 1 04) Kaa Kaayy (2007: (2007: 1 20) Hashang Moheyan in Gomez (1983:393434) van Schaik (008: website http://earlytibetcom/2008/05/15/tibetanchaniitheteachingsofheshang moheyan) At this stage we can point to an inconsistency in which abiding continually in such an unfamiliar state of not engaging in any discursive thinking could be impossible for some disciples who lack the capacity to remain in such a meditation To them, Moheyan prescribed following the perfection of mrality and cultivating a meritorious behaviour, to hear the sutras and listen to teachers, etc, as long as they unable to maintain a nondiscursive mind This approach of Moheyan clearly locates his chigchar approach wihin a gradual one See Gomez (1983:96) Kaa Kaayy (2007 (2007 : 1 20) Rueg Rueggg (1 989: 1 36) he te te rhetoc of negation has already been presented presented in the introduction to to the the thes thesisis and will be dened and discussed at lengh in the last section of the fourth nd chapters Karm Karmay ay (2007: (2007: 1 02) van Schaik htt http: p:earl earlytibe ytibettcom/a com/about bout/has /hashang hang// Longchenpa Longchenpa in But Butter terss (2006: 1 28) van Schaik http://earlytibetcom/abouhashang/ van Schaik's article contains several direct references taken om Longchenpa's texts that indicate the linkage between Dzogchen and HaShang Mahyna and the maner in which Longchenpa perceived HaShang Guen Guenth ther er ( 1 98 :2) For example the court, or at least the ruler, the tsenpo, Ralpachen, supported the compilation of the TibetanSansrit dictionary, the Mahyuatti According to van Schaik, Ralpachen was respnsible for the building of many monasteries and ordered the production of many books including the Ten Buddhist Virtues (dge ba bcu) and hundreds hundreds of copies of the Perf Perfection ection of Wisdom Wis dom texts texts See van Schaik (20 1 1 :44) van Schaik (2011 :4445) van van Schaik Schaik (201 1 :46) van Scha Schaik ik (201 (201 1 :467) :467) Karmay Karmay (2007:9) (2007: 9) Hill Hillis is (200 (2003: 3: 66) Karmay Karmay (2007:9) (2007: 9) The evidence that supports the extent of military conlicts to the degree of a civil war, as Hillis and Kay point out, is limited In fact there was never anying even approaching a ciil war However there wer mny conlicts of a more minor variety The desecration of the Yarlung royal tombs occurred at te close of the 9th cent as part of one rebellion of he thee rebellions mentioned by Hillis See Hillis (2003:6667) Van Schaik also mentions a civil war that took place in the Gansu region, near the
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border wi hina, which was related to an aristocrat from te Ba clan called Khozher However ts rbellion is one of a very local and limited few and certainly they were mostly local reactions against paricla pariclarr hegemons hegemons and litle litle more more Van Schaik (201 1 :467) See discssion in e section Early ltivation of Bddhism in Tibetn in the present chapter Kaps Kapste tein in (2008: (2008: 89) apstein apstein (2008: 90) Vairocana is the celestial Bddha, the central deity of the Mahairocana Abhisabodhi Tantra a seminal work that is the prodct of the early tantric phase of Bddhism and which was composed in India, 640 CE It was anslated into hinese in 673 E by YiJing, who visited Nland at that time In the text, Vairocana starts as a bodhisattva who gradally overcomes all his obstacles and achieves enlightenment to spontaneosly mnifest all qalities ininsically inherent in the maala See Hodges (2003: (2003 : 1 0, 1 1 , 29, and 33) 33 ) Ths for the of king of Gg, Vairocana is assoc a ssociate iatedd with with origin original al India Indiann Bddhst tantra broght to Tibet dring Trisong etsens times and otated by the 8 h century master Bddhaghya This tantra to a larger extent served as a common denominator with the original Bddhism of Holy India and hinese Bddhism with its instittions Ths Yeshe 0 does not se Vairocana as symbolic code, jst as a link, a reminder, of that past period, bt recreates hat past with himself in te dst of it as a religios sovereign Kaps Kapste tein in (2008: (2008:901 901 ) Kapste Kapstein in (2008:923) (2008:92 3) van S chaik website http: http: earlyt earlytibet ibetco20090 co20090 109thedeclineofbddhismi v keepersoftheame keepersof theame Hillis Hillis (2003: (2003: 66) Karm Karmay ay (2007:9) (2007:9 ) Kapste Kapstein in (2008:96) Yeshe 0 as primal religios king of g in parallel to Trisong Detsen; Rnchen Zangpo as the tantric adept in parallel to Padmasambhava; and Atisha as the Indian teacher and scholar in parallel to ntarak�ita Davids Davidson on (2006: (2006: 108) Stei Steinn in in Gya Gyatso tso (1 998: 1 17) Kaps Kapste tein in (2008:96) (2008:96) Kaps Kapste tein in (2008: (2008: 1034) example of sch a transition that represents the increasingly prevailing hegemonic development is that of Marpas fortress which was bilt for the prpose of protection as well as to reect Marpas increasing strength According to traditional acconts the fortress was bilt by his disciple Milarepa, who had been pt trogh many trials in order to atone for his sins and was encoraged to bring his sorcery powers powers to bear gainst gainst Marpa Marpa s enemies See Kapstein Kapstein (2000: 1 05) In fact fact Maa Maa had accmlated accmlated a great great deal of wealth as fees for perforing rites and became a powerfl and wealthy land owner (Wylie 1964:28) He soght to constrct a fortress for protection of his livestock, fertile valleys and the main river downstream despite his neighbors general decision that no one shold have a strategic fortress dominating the ferile valleys and water (Wylie 1964:285) Marpa then sed Milrepas discipleship for tactical prposes prpos es and ordered him to bild towers in several nimportan nimportan locations locat ions and to demolish the halffinished strctres This conused his neighbors and redced their alertness By the time they realized tat Marpa had tricked them it was too late as Milarepa was able to complete seven levels of the fortess and as a reslt Marpa was strategically in control of the valley His neighbors hen became his sbjects and paid him tribte, taxes or corvee levied n their passage throgh his lands See Wylie (1964:286) Marpa and hs cherished land holdings are an example of sch a transition However, Mrpas initiative shold be looked at not only in terms of ensring his ongoing safety and economic prosperity bt in ters of keeping the treasred texts and teachings he had broght back from India protected and alive Moreover, to have nder his possession ddhist texts of Sanskrit origin was
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to possess something of the authority and authenticity of the teachings given by their original Indian siddha owner. Thus Marpa's local hegemony was in a way a curious combination of power religion and personal ambition and it is relected in several other of his contemporary secular/religious leaders as shall be noted below.
1 55 Besseng Bessenger er (2010 (2010 : 15 6 Kaay (979:1 51 ) 157 Engaging in these actiities he sought to imitate the old role of Tibetan tsenpo. reinforcin reinforcingg Buddhism as the royal religion and encouraging his people to follow the Buddhist rules and virtue he aimed to secure his kingly role. 1 5 8 Karm armay (1 979:1 51 ) 1 5 9 van van Schai Schaikk (20 1 :5 6) 160 Karmay 1 6 1 Hu Hube berr (2008:40) (2008:40) See See n.152 Karmay (2007:13) 164 Dudjom 165 Although the common classification of treasres relates to two main categories earth and mental revealers such as Guru Chwang treasures it should be noted that and Nyangral Nyangral Nyima er ( 1 1 24- 1 1 92) presented presented a more elaborated elaborated classificator clas sificatoryy list of treasures treasures . Nyima zer zer for example included subcategories such as "life force treasures "black magic treasures nd "handicraft treasures. See Doctor (2005:23) 1 66 Doctor Doctor (2005: (2005: 23) 1 67 Doctor Doctor (2005: (2005: 23) 1 6 8 van Schaik (2004:34-5). More about Longchenpa as a treasure revealer will be discussed while reviewing his life in terms of autobiography and hagiography in the next chapter. 1 69 Davids Davidson on (2006:23 (2006:23 1) 1 70 Davidson Davidson (2006: (2006: 232) 1 7 1 Wangch Wangchuk uk (2004: (2004: 1 74) 17 2 Davidson Davidson (2006: (2006:234) 234) Davidson (2006:245) 174 Dkins are said to be female "celestial entities that are bearers of wisdom transmitted to revealers by means of symbols such as maQalas gestures icons etc. Only those familiar with kin language are able to decode the symbols and understand and transmit them. According to Longchenpa kins are entrusted entrusted with the teachings to guard them until until the time time has come for their their revelation revelation (Doctor 2005: 2005 : 1 9). 9) . A further elaoration on kins' other functions will be discussed within the context of Longchenpa as a treasure revealer and the visionary communication he had with them as part of his visionary autobiography. 17 5 Davidson Davidson (2006: (2006: 278) 7 6 Kapste Kapstein in (2006: (2006: 0) 1 77 Kapstein Kapstein (2006: 78 Kapstein 179 The "patron and priest relationship requires closer examination because om a historical and cultural perspective the relationship between a lama as revered receiver of donation (mchod gnas) and a royal donor is a key for stdying later spiritual and temporal orders in Tibet. this type of relationsip is essentially religious and to a lesser extent ofcial or institutional a implication of such a relationship could be that the donor would oen perceive the priest as a protg and an executor of their instructions and the donee sometimes would perceive the donor as a mer "unenlightened lay person incapable of proper action without their spiritual counsel. However a
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religios donee is not a "priest and the notion of "patronage creates a hierarchy where the religios domain is sbordinated to the temporal one which does not fit with the fndamental traditional place of the donor in relation to the donee (Regg 1997:863). It mst be stated that in most thangkas, or Tibetan religios paintings, the spirital figres are sitated higher and above the "patrons, which signifies the Bddhist teaching's prioit over kingship, the sacred over the mndane. As Regg mentions, ths type of relationship entails an inherent conict of interests between seclarization ad strict Bddhist religios observance or comtment. For example, Bdon (12901364) declined an invitation to the Mongol cort in ad (Beijing), avoiding an exteally "seclarized patronage relationship with the Mongols in favor of contining to devote to hs scholarly activities nder inteal, religiosly oriented patronage with the Sk zhang of the Zhal Ths, ths type of relationshp between a royal or princely "master of offering and the "recipient of honor I rital fees existed in two major forms, the fist between the Tibetans and the Mongols and the second among the Tibetans themselves. That is to say, Tibetan aristocrats, estate owners and even monasteries became patrons to Tibetan lamas or to visionaes. Richardson (2003:166) longc longchen hen rab' rab' byamspa byamspa in Gen Genth ther er ( 1 983 :ix) illis illis (2003: (2003: 72) van van Schaik Schaik A myriarchy (khri sde) is a groping The thirteen thirteenmyri myriarchy archy structre structre of Tibet was established in in of , hoses. This was the basic taxation nit of Tibet imposed by the Mongol invaders in the 13th century. These were by appointed whose title was "k sde dpon, the "myriarch. See Historical Dictiona of Tibet Powers and Templeman (2012:368) van der Kijp ijp (2003:426) (2003: 426) Btter Bt terss (2006:42) Btter Bt terss (2006:4 (2006:43) 3) illi illiss (200 (20033 : 128) Btter Btt erss (2006:4344) More abot the implications implicat ions of Jangchp Gyaltsen ' s victory over the rigng for Longchenpa will be discsse within the review of formative events in his biography in the next chapter. Btter Bt terss (2006: (2006:44) 44) The word "athentic has been sed above ot of convenience rather than as a te that signifies some specific meaning. "Athenticity here has a relative sense according to whether the ser acts as a treasre revealer or as a member of the Kadam order. illis (2003:79). See also n.53 in p.105. van der Kp (2003:427) illis (2003:78) For recent recent works works which have dealt dealt with with the canon and and its ransssi ransssion, on, see Schae S chaeff ffer er (2009) and Eimer (2000). Powe Powers rs and and Temp Temple lema mann (2012 : 1 201 2 1 ) Tibetan Tibetan and imalayan imalayan Digital Library Library (TL): http://www.thdl.org/xml/show.php?=/collections/literatre/kangteng/kangteng.xml (2006: (2006: 4) Btters (2006: 4) Btte Bt ters rs (2006: (2006: 8) Btter Bt terss (2006: (2006: 8) Btters (2006:3). Chomden Rigpreldri (bom ldan Rig pa'i ral gri) attempted to classify texts translated into Tibetan and to aange them into a canonical collection. Btters Btters (2006: (2006: 1 08) In Barron Barron (2007: (2007:2557) 2557)
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206 In Butters (2006 128) 207 For ongchenpa, these people wil go through rebirth after rebirth in "fictitious existenc du to ignorance and attachment which constitutes a "vicious cycle that can be broken ony through reiance on a spiritual path. See Genano (1992862) 208 However, here ongchenpa takes the argumnt "from ignorance and imposes it on the codifier of th canon in order to cast doubt on the idea of Indian origin as the soe criterion the Indian origin point of view, as shown above, criterion, being restricted geographically involves doubt. From a the evidence that ongchenpa presents, that is to say, Indian tantras that existed already in places such as OQiyna, ambala and Maaya, is insufficient. 209 Templeman Templeman (2008 (2008 2 1 0 Temp Temple lema mann (2008 (2008 1 37) See Childs (1999128) 2 1 2 My emph emphas asis. is. 2 1 3 Bu Butt tter erss (200 (2006 6 128) 2 1 4 Rueg Rueggg (1 966) 2 1 5 For those travellers, "Holy India was the idealized land of the Buddha and Buddhist religion and at the same time it was the "country of opportunities. The motives of such travellers hav been discussed earier in the case of Marpa. "from ignorance. 2 1 6 Here, ongchenpa again uses the 2 1 7 Cleary (1 993 993 1) 21 8 Ying Ying (201 (201 0 103, n.39) 2 1 9 Yin Ying (201 (201 02 12, n.65) 220 Hamar 221 In their article Fragments of the Testament of Ba from Dunhuang', van Schaik and Iwao show that Ba ' sangs sangs shi) shi) was a figure who was mentioned in the Testament of Ba as one of three Basang shi ( Ba' ministers who were involved in th process of Tibet's conversion to Buddhism in connection to antarakita in Samy. See van Schaik and Iwao (200 84). On the other hand Vairocana, the second figure whom ongchenpa mentions in his argument against th canon codifier, was a legendary figure "of whom practically nothing is known historically. See Karmay (2007 222 e Blue Annals G (1976102, n.) 223 e Blue Annals G (1976103) 224 Hillis Hillis (2003 (2003 88) 225 22 5 In her discussion discus sion of the significant significant religious movements of 14th century century Tibet, Bes senger does do es not not mention the Nyingmapa Nyingmapa even even once. See Bessenger B essenger (201 (20 1 0 1 79). 79) . This reinforc reinforces es the notion of Nying Nyingma ma marginality within ibetan religious society of the 14th century. 226 Cicero (20045) and (2004601) 227 evyStr evyStrauss auss ( 1 968 229) 228 Hillis Hillis (2003 (2003 1 125) 229 rguil rguil re re (2007 (2007 14) 230 Hillis Hillis (200 (20033 1 9) rguillree (2007 (2007 1 4). 4) . A transmis transmission sion lineage of Dzogchen teachings teachings that goes back to 231 rguillr who according to Nyingma tradition lived in the 8th century. This lineage that has been passed on orally throughout the ages and is of special importance for ongchenpa because according to tradition Kumaraja, ongchenpa's root teacher, is considered a reincation of Vimalamitra. 232 23 2 Hillis Hillis (2003 (2003 and 233 Germano and Gyatso (2000250). This text is actually cassified as visionary expresses an individual odyssey to revelation in the sense that the author draws upon his past life experiences and meditative stasis accessible by metaphysica means. These visionary autobiographies are intended to generate confidence in the authenticity of the visionary process of revealing the treasure teachings and they are retrieved by an authentic yogi.
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234 23 4 Gen Genth ther er ( 1 975: xiii) 23 5 Gen Genth ther er ( 1 975:xiv) 975 :xiv) 236 Argillre dedicates a detailed discssion to te varios teachers ith hom ongchenpa stdied a ide rnge of sbjects, inclding stra, tantra, Dzogchen and Doh Argillre (2007:23-93) 237 Hilli Hilliss (200 (2003: 3: 12 1) 238 ongchenpa in Chagdd and Baon (2001:437) 239 Hillis Hillis (200 (2003: 3: 12 1) 240 Hilli Hilliss (200 (2003: 3: 12 1) 241 ongchenpa in Chagdd and Barron (2001:437) 242 What is meant here by "an insider is that ongchenpa received rst-hand teachings from teachers that belonged to the philosophical, spirital approaches and ethics of varios traditions inclding those of Sm 243 Longchenpa in Chagdd and Barron (2001:437) 244 iterally iterally it translates translates as "The eld el d of casality in thiry thiry leter leterss of the alphabet 245 Agillre Agillre (2007:83 (2007: 83 -4) 246 Btters Btters (2006: 27) 247 ongchenpa ongchenpa in Chagdd Chagdd and Barron Barron (2001 :437) :4 37) 248 Agill Agillre re (2007: (2007: 86) 249 ongchenpa in Thondp (1996:150) 250 Hillis (2003: 1 22) 251 Nbchen Yeshe in Ying (2010:286) 252 Gyat Gyatso so (1 998: 153 ) 253 According to Ddjom Rinpoche (1991:582) Kmaraja as an incation of Vialtra, so it is as if Longchenpa received the Heart Essence (snying thig) teaching fro Vimaltra Ddjom Rinpoche's notion is based on self-referential hagiographical assertions Hoever it is a means to sho the significance of direct transmission hich generates confidence in the athenticity and mastery of the specic lineage of teachings 254 Geano and Gyatso (2000:250) See n231 of the study 255 Geano and Gyatso 2000:251-2) 256 Germano and Gyatso (2000:262) 257 Geano and Gyatso (2000:246) 258 Germano and Gyatso (2000:247) 25 9 ongch ongchenp enpaa in Gen Genth ther er ( 1 983: 98 3: 38 :n9) :n9 ) 260 Gen Genth ther er ( 1989: 19 89: 1) 26 1 Gen Genth ther er ( 1989: 198 9: 1) 26 2 Gen Genth ther er ( 1989:3 19 89:3)) 263 ongchenpa in Genther (1983:10) 264 Gen Genth ther er ( 1983 19 83:: 13 ) 265 Templeman mentioned the above in a conversation ith the riter of this stdy 266 ongchenpa in Genther (1983:13) 267 Hillis (2003: 1 26) 2 8 Hillis Hillis (2003 (2003:: 122) 269 Oakes Oakes (2010: 208) 270 Oakes 201 201 0: 21 0) 27 1 Hillis Hillis (2003: (2003: 126) 272 Hillis (2003: 1 24) 24) 273 27 3 Gen Genth ther er ( 19 83:xi-xii) 83 :xi-xii) 274 Agillre Agillre (2007 (2007 : 1 07) 275 Agill Agillre re (2007 (2007 : 1 08)
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Aguill Aguillr ree (2007: (2007: 1 1 3) Rich Richrdso rdsonn ( 1985 19 85 :43) hon hondu dupp ( 1996: 160) Aguillre Aguillre (2007: (2007: 120) Hillis Hillis (200 (2003: 3: 128) Agui Aguillllr ree (200 (2007: 7: 12 1) Hillis Hillis (200 (2003: 3: 129) Aguillr Aguillree (2007: (2007: 1 20) Aguill Aguillre re (2007: (2007: 12 1) K Kyy (2000: (2000: 1 9) emplemn emplemn D mentione mentionedd in i n conrstion. conrstion. Aris (1 ( 1 979 : 1 53 ) Aris mention mentionss tht tht lre lredy dy i n the 12 1 2 cen centur turyy ere ere ws presenc presencee of Nyingm Nyingm nd nd Dzogchen gures in Bhutn engged in religious ctiities but without ny reference to or notion of its existence s Hidden Lnd. Chil Childs ds (1 999: 127) Aris Aris (1 979:60) Childs (1999:128) My 2012 I isited two lings in Bumthng Bhutn Thling nd Shingkhr. Longchenp is sid to he been responsible for their construction. In ech of those to ctie temples here re impressie sttues of Longchenp tt sere s objects of worship which in sense shows tht Longchenp is stil "ie in Bhutn. Howeer the cretkers of those two temples nd lms in these plces mentioned tht ccording to their rdition Pdm Lingp is the reinction of Longchenp. Longchenp Hillis (2003:125) Chil Childs ds (1 999:1 32) Dudjom Du djom (2002: (2002: 780) Hillis (2003: 1 245) As As (1 979: 979: 1 55) Thon Thondu dupp (1 996: 16 1) K Kyy (2000: (2000: 1 9) Penjore Penjore (2005 (200 5 : 60) 60) For exmple during during isit to the monstery monstery t Ur Ur in Bumng I herd from from the the hed of the monstery story bout Rhul celestil gurdin gure who proided Longchenp with food nd wter nd relieed him om those conces so tht he would be ble to engge in religious ctiities nd wte his seen tresures. Aguill Aguillr ree (2007: (2007: 126) Roer Roeric ichh ( 1 988 :202) Hillis Hillis (200 (2003: 3: 129) Butters Butters (2006:45 (2006: 456) 6) ytso ytso (2000: (2000: 1 88) Butter Butt erss (2006:34) (2006:3 4) Trth Trthn ngg (2007:4 1 ) According to Did Templemn the "trnsltion Now at...) ... ) does not in ny mnner sere s n ccurte rendering of he Tibetn which would be e inal Testament which is like Stainless Light or e Testament of Stainless Light.
307 30 7 308 309 310 31 1 312 313
Butterss (2006:3 5) Butter For ctegoes nd qulictions of mster see Jmgong (1999:49) Longchenp in Brron (2007) e eno no (1992: 10) gui guill llre re (2007: (2007: 1 56) Aguill Aguillr ree (2007: (2007: 144) Aguil Aguill lre re (2007: (2007: 146)
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330 33 0 33 1 332 3 33 34 335 336 3 37 338 33 9 340 34 1 32 343 344 345 34 5 346 34 6 347 348
Aguill Aguillre re (2007: (2007: 1 54) The Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center htt://www.tbrc.org In Chagdud Chagdud and and Barron Barron ( 1 998: xvi) Agui Aguill llre re (200 (2007: 7: 154) Hillis Hillis (200 (2003: 3: 89) Thondup (1996:1558); Hillis (2003:1447); Germano (1992:1038); Butters (2006:5463); Genther (1975:xiiixxv) Cou ( 1994) Longchenpa Longchenpa in Chagdud Chagdud and and Barron Barron (2001 ) Longchenpa in Chagdud and Baon (2001:437) Gea Geano no (1 992: 1 5) Germ Germano ano ( 1 992: 14) Longchenpa Longchenpa in Chagdud Chagdud nd nd Barron Barron (2001 :437) :4 37).. The negation of "effortfull methods or goaloriented spiritual practices will be discussed in the subsequent chapter (4), which wil examine the rhetoc of negation om a historical point of view, and in the chapter 5, which is about the negation of goaloriented practices. The notion of "effortless meods will be iscussed in chapter 6. A dichotomous sequence between goaloriented practices and eortless mehods mehods of practices will be discussed at lengh leng h and clrified in chapter 7 . However it will sufficient to provide at this stage a preliminary exlanation of the notion of eortlessness, which means tat there is no point in applying any eor in order to achieve he state of natural awareness because one already possesses it. See Krmay (2007:53) Aguill Aguillre re (2007: (2007: 1 56) Longchenpa in Chagdud and Barron (2001:xii), In his introduction to Longchenpa's book, Tulku Thondup mentions a list of traditional teachers to show the importance attributed tis work. Dung my travels travels in Bhutan Bhutan in May 201 20 1 2 I visited Tharpaling, Tharpaling, Bumthang, Bumthang, which which was established established by Longchenpa. At the distance of 300m up the mountain from Tharpaling there is a gigantic rock overlooking the valley and on that rock there is a statue of Longchenpa in a position of meditation, gazing into he vast space oveooking the valley. According to the head lamas of Tharpaling and Ura monasteries in Bumhang it was on this rock that Longchenpa composed his seven teasures. Germ German anoo (1 992:23) Gea Geano no (1 992:23) Hillis Hillis (2003: (2003: 140) Arguil Arguill lre re (2007: (2007: 1 57) Longchenpa in Chagdud and Baon (2001:440) Longchenpa in Chagdud and Baon (1998:268) Longchenpa in Chagud and Barron (2001:xix) van Schaik Schaik (2008: 8) van Schaik Schaik (2008:26) van Schaik Schaik (2008:267) (2008:267) These forms of negation will be discussed later in this chapter on Longchenpa's negation. van Schaik Schaik (2008:8 ) Nubchen Yeshe in Karmay (2007:107) The notion of seeking liberation as a deviation is discussed in the subsequent chapter on Longchenpa's negation of spiritual practices. Nubche Nubchenn Yeshe Yeshe in Karma Karmayy (2007 (2007 : 1 1 3) Nubchen Nubchen Yeshe in Karm Karmay ay (2007: 1 1 6) Pott Potter er ( 1 963:49) 963 :49) Halbfass (1988:393) Nubche Nubchenn Yeshe in Ying Ying (2010 (20 10:2 :284) 84)
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349 34 9 Nbche Nbchenn Yeshe in Ying 0:285) 350 Nbchen Yeshe in Ying (2010:286). The principle of acting withot attachment had already been expressed in the Bhagaad Gt 13.9 but in the context of actions that stem from reqirements determined by one's dties and responsibilities sch as those fond in the old Indian caste system or in other social nits like family. Non atachment in the Bhagaad t 13.9 is related to the reslts of one's actions. That is to say, one's duty dictates one's actions and the non attachment is from the results of those actions, while in the case of Nubchen Yeshe actions are not attached to one's sense of dty or the reslt of any action. ipman's commentary in Majumitra (2001 :32) 352 Co 353 Matilal (2008:331). From a conventional perspective this owledge is not entirely wrong bt partial becase there is still the relative truth which has validity when it comes to correct notions that coespond wi and are in accordance with a given object. 354 Matilal (2008:347-8). Matilal grounds his interpretation of dukha on the manner in whic it is presented in the Visuddhimagga. 3 55 Studst Studstill ill (2003 (2003 :323) :32 3) 35 6 oy (1 997:96) 997:96) 357 35 7 Trn Trngra gram m (2004:9) 358 Trungram (2004:54) Ca is referred to as a yogic practice aimed at generating "mystic heat. When the heat is kindled, ignorance is dispelled and knowledge shines forth. According to the oral instructions of the Six Yogas by Tilopa (Mullin 2006:27) the body is regarded as being composed of a collection of coarse/physical and sbtle/metaphysiological chanels or nerves that is to be broght nder control by means of yogic physical postures, breathing exercises, visualization, and so on. Of the system of sbtle/ metaphysiological channels, tree are considered as the main ones: two are located to the sides of the central channel (located in proximity to the spine), termed aadhti. When performing a specific breatng exercise, the inhaled through the nostrils connected with the two channels that are to the sides of the avadh, and the vital energy generated with the breathing is "forced into the middle (which is close and in parallel to the spine) rising upward and igniting the heat in the region of navel that initiates an experience of bliss unified with clarity. 3 5 9 Trun Trungra gram m (2004:84) (2004:84 ) 360 Milar Milarep epaa in Ard Ardussi ( 1977: 1 1 8-9) 3 6 1 In Trun Trungr gram am (2004:5 (2004:53) 3) 36 2 Dewit Dewittt (2004:50) (2004:50) 36 3 Tra Tran nth thaa ( 198 3:45) 3: 45) 364 Trungram 3 6 5 Trun Trungr gram (2004:243) (2004:243) 366 Davidson idson (2006: (2006:288) 288) 367 Gampopa in Trungram (2004:243-259) 368 Gampopa in Trngram (2004:289) 369 Jack Jackso sonn ( 1994: 15-6) 370 Gampopa in Trungram (2004:271) 3 7 1 Yamamoto Yamamoto (2009:viii) (2009: viii) po teacher was Tsultrim Nyingpo (Sgom pa Tshul khrims snying of 372 His most 1 1 69) who was te eldest son of Gampopa Gampopa'' s older brother brother Gyapase (rGya pa se) and a direct disciple of Gampopa. Tsltrim Nyingpo was a founder of a monastery, a political and religios leader, and an adept of the Mahmudr that he had leed directly from Gampopa. It was from Tsltrim that Zhang inherited Gampopa's form of Mahmudr, the principle factor of which is tat realization is synonymous with recognizing the nature of mind. 37 3 ama ama Zhang Zhang i n Mart Martin in ( 1992: 267)
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ama ama Zhan Zhangg in Mart Martin in ( 1 992:269) Mart Martin in ( 1 992:273) Mart Martin in ( 1 992: 25) Mart Martin in ( 1 992:25) 992: 25) Mart Martin in ( 1 992:28 ) Yamam Yamamto to (2009: (2009: 1 56) Yamamo Yamamoto to (2009: (2009: 1 6-5) Ganpopa in Trngram (200:253) Yamamo Yamamoto to (2009: (2009:33) 33) van van Schaik Schaik (2003: (2003: 106-7) Trungr Trungram am (200:253 (200:2 53-257) -257) Norbu and Clemente (1999:273:n.129) Dudjom (1991:397,599-606). Dudjom Rinpoche indicates that na Kumra lived in the late 8th century and presents his hagiography. Norb Norbuu (1 993:80-1 ) van Schaik Schaik (2008: (2008: 8) Arguillre argues that the period when the meeting could have occurred was when ongchenpa left Sangphu as a result f a conict he had with some visiting monks from Kham. He concludes (Arguillre 2007:51) that ongchenpa could have met the Third Karmapa through his association with Drakpa Sengge (Grgs pa seng ge 1 283283 - 1 39), the rst rst Shama Shamarpa rpa (Zhwa dmar pa) pa) who was a close disciple of the Third Karmapa Karmapa and who presented him with a red ceremonial crown and gave him he title of Red Hat ama. (Powers and Templeman 2012:268). Arguillre seems to make the hypothetical connection between ongchenpa and Draa Sengge based on a notion in e Blue Annals (Roerich 1976:529) that Drakpa Sengge performed a rite together wit Tsultrim odro (Tshul khrims lo gros) which was the abbreviated name of the young ongchenpa (tshul Khrims blo gros) see Longchenpa in Chagdud and Barron (2001:37). Tsultrim odro is te name found in the colophon of the leter ongchenpa wrote to the Third Karmapa, see Arguillre (2007:52). Ruth Gamble, who cuently is in the process of writing her PhD thesis about the Third Karmapa at ANU, Canberra, asserts that the later versions of the Third Karmapa's biographies say that he met ongchenpa, but not between 1326 and 1332, altough such a date does not seem impossile. She mentioned in conversation that he spent 1327 in Tsurphu (mTshur phu) 1328 at Karma Gon in Kham and somewhere near tere maing a bridge, and 1329-331 in retreat (Nags phu) phu ) (on he border of Kongpo and Kham). Then, in 1331, he came back to hasa to in Nakphu (Nags resolve a conict between hampas and people om Tshalpa. Then at the begining of 1332 he le for ChinMongolia. It seems possible that he met Longchenpa in his sojous in Lhasa, but the biographies, which do mention their meeting locate it in 1335-1336 with his retu om China/Mongolia and six mons' stay at Chimphu in Samy. Therefore it would be reasonable enough to suggest that ongchenpa could have met the Third Karmapa towards 1332. Arguillr Arguillree (2007:5 0) Arguillre (2007:5-6). The passage was translated om French nd veried by Dr David Templeman's reading of the Tibetan source which appears in parallel to the French translation provided by Arguillre. ongchenpa ongchenpa in Chagdu Chagdudd and Barron Barron (2001 : 1 63) Grub mtha mdzod ( e Precious Preciou s Treasu of of Spiritual piri tual Systems) ongchenpa in Baon (2007:126). Butter But terss (2006: (2006: 1 57) . ongchenpa in Baon (2007:302) McClintock and Dreys (2002:296-7). Cabezon in his article The Svtantrika-Prsagika distinction: two views in he 1th century' includes the views of Rendawa Shonnu odr and his famous disciple Tsongkapa but does not refer to ongchenpa's doxography e Precious Treasu of Spirital Systems In his doxography ongchenpa presents clearly his understanding of the Svtantrika-Prsagika
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distinction which could be a substantial contribution to Cabezon's article and provide a broader and century more precise picture of the vtantrikarsagika distinction in the 397 http://wwwberzinarchivescom/web/en/archives/sutra/leve6_study_majotexts/chatuhshataka summary_aryadeva_fouhundred_ summary_aryadeva_fouhundred_verseht verseht 398 Relinquishing views without being committed to a thesis is an important component in Nagarjuna's pragmatic approach This is expressed in work the Vigrahavyvartan ("Dispeller of Disputes) in verse 29, which will be the context for the following concise review of rsagikaMdhyamaka and the way in which was accepted in Tibet Oe iterpretation ight argue that Nagauna used language to show that language itself is empty of any meaning, producing an inevitable "logical failure When confronted by his opponents with this "lgic al failure, Nagauna strikingly strikingly replied: "If I had any thesi thesis,s, that that fault fault would apply to me Bt I do not have any thesis so there is indeed no fault for me See verse 29 in Westerho (2010:29) Along the same lines, Nagauna's ryadeva in his Four Fo ur undred undred Verses (Catuataka) (Catuataka) mentions the same theme of disowning any position or thesis, claiming that it is not possible to level a criticism against one who doesn't have any position of asserting that something exists or doesn't exist See in Regg (1986:230) These statements by Nagauna and ryadeva reect the idea that a true Mdhyaika must abandon or disown any thesis For Nagauna, concepts ar empty of independent existence, therefore tere is no way in which one can know whether thos concepts are reliable representations of a given reality or not concepts can delineate reality but not describe it That is to say, wiout ay concrete ground of that has a solid frae of reference, any argument conceng this absence would be wrong It is in this sense that Nagarjuna beieved he was not forming any argument, hence for him there was nothing wrong in his statement is interest was to point to the empty nature of the world of phenomena without saying anythng without forming a new concept without offering an alteative "right way to perceive reality and without subscribing to any theory, including one about emptiness, because any view that one would want to adopt as a representation of realty will be empty empty including includi ng one' one ' s own viw that there there is no view that accurately corresponds to reality In considering Nagauna's statement "I have no thesis (pratij), if Nagarjna were to reply and agree with his opponent that his statement is empty it would mean that nyat would be nihilistic, and if were to reply and disagree with his opponent, saying that his statement is not empty, it would is neither nihilstic or etealist mean that nyat would be etealist But for Nagarjuna, In this respect, Ruegg argues that (a) Nagauna's statement "I have no thesis (prat) does not imply that that he has othing of philosophical meaning to say nor that he rejects all the philosophical meanings of the stra teachings he wrote and commented on, and (b) Nagarjuna's aim is to "reduce his opponent's views through a process of reductio ad absurdum that brings the philosophizing to an end, and by which he tries to escape from any commitment to a clear answer to his opponent See in Ruegg (1986:232) This recalls akara's answer to the question raised by his opponent in BrahmaStras 413: "Whose is Avidy The te avidy implies the following logical dilemma: According to akara there is only one true reality, namely Brahman if avidy belongs to Brahman, then the monism of akara loses its validity yet if avidy belongs to the individual subject, then that subject can never be released from it akara answers: "Avidy is yours since you asked about it That is, avidy belongs to the one who posed the question as it occured in their discursive mind Ingalls argues that in his reply akara avoids giving a clear answer and in fact avoids the difficulty raised by the dilemma (Ingalls Retuing to agarjuna's statement 1 have no thesis (prat), in conversation Ian Mabbett has expressed th view that Nagarjuna is actually saying, "I am not the one advancing the assertion in question (pratij), which happens to entail the atribution of substantial realit to things The outcome of these interetations including Ruegg's is that they reject the common idea that Nagauna claimed not to be asserting anything
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According to Ruegg, Cndrri (7th century), Prsgik-Mdhyk, hs commented on the rst verse of Ngun's Mlmdhymkk (see note 5 of this thesis): "Neither from itself nor from nother, Nor from both, Nor without cuse, Does nything whtever, nywhere rise. Cndrrti explicitly presents these four points in the form of theses but these ssertions never entil the existence of nyting which hs independent self-nture. This is evident in Cndrrti's prphrsing of the first verse of Ngun's Mlmdhymkrik: Nothing cn rise om itself, yet how [cn it rise] om nother? It oes not [rise] from boh [itself nd nother], nor could it be without cuse? There is no point to thing rising om itself. oreover, it is wrong for tht which is lredy produced to be produced y et gin. (Fenner 1990:227) It cn be seen clerly tht while Ngun employs rdicl style of negtion, Cndrrti in cerin wy is willing to ssume ht something is lredy produced. Ruegg goes on to mentions tht Cndrrti, s Prsgik-Mdhymik, employs the ssertion of theses of certin kind unlike those of Bhvvivek (6th century), Svtntri-Mdhymik ho employed constructive independent references in order to estblish the Mdhymk doctrines. Tht is, Bhvvivek put fort n rgument tht cn withstnd ny nlysis nd would vlidte the existence of things t the reltive level but which would deny them ultimtely. As e question of whether Mdhymik should hold thesis or plosophicl view is not entirely resolved, Rueg suggests tht the resolution cn be found in the Tibetn sources. Relevnt to study in this regrd is 14th century Tibet, in which importnt figures such s Rendw Shonnu Lodr (Red md' b gZhon nu blo gros, gros, 1 349-1 349- 1 4 1 2) the Skyp, who wrote e earliest earliest commen commentr tryy on he he Four Hund Hundred red Verses of rydev, nd his famous disciple Tsongkp (13571419), the founder of the Kdm (lter, Gelug) school, viewed Cndrkrti's Prsgik-Mdhymk s the only vlid interprettion of Mdhymk (McClintock nd Dreyfus 2002:295). For Tsongkp, ccording to Ruegg, the question of sserting thesis or philosophicl view is not minly logicl or methodologicl prolem but mtter of epistemologicl pornce, connected to the non-substntility nd empty nture of things (Ruegg 1986:234). To conclude regrding the views of Ngun, Cndrrti d Tsongkp, it ppers tht the phrse "not hving ny thesis to dmit refers to more specic and focussed mening nd merely conces not hving prticulr thesis, rther thn totl or rdicl negtion of ny philosophicl thses. It ppers tht tht the the use o the commonly distinguished two types of negtion negtion pryuds, implied i mplied negtion, negti on, nd prsjy prsjy,, not-implie or non- ng negtion s heeneuticl heeneuticl keys cn provide strong explictory component to Ngun's reply in he sense tht his negtions imed t denying ny proposition without implying n ltetive thesis, positive or negtive The notion of pryuds hd lredy ppered in some of Ngun's works such s the Yuki��tik, which sks, "Ho could there be nother's position for those who hve no position? Tht is to sy, if there is n ssertion then implicitly there is counter-sserion. The ppence of bsolute negtion is expressed in the rst verse of Ngrjun's Mlmdhymkkrik, which sttes tht the thing is neither produced from itself nor from nother. Thi is n bsolute negtion, prsjy, in the sense tht the sttement regrding production from self, for exmple, does not commit one to the ffirmtion of sentence stting prduction from nother nd vice vers. Cndrti's interprettion of the rst verse of Ngun's Mlmdhymkkrik clerly indictes tht the doctrinl position of Prsgik-Mdhymk is tht of non-rming negtion in the form of neither p nor not-p (Cndr n Sprung 1979:36). Using the philosophicl lens, one might rgue in similr mnner to Inglls wih regrd to kr, nd to Ruegg with regrd to Ngun, tht Ngun's response, "I hve no thesis (prtij), ws n ttempt to escpe from ny coitment to cler nswer nd thereby to void the diculty of the dilemm produced in reltion to the sttus of lnguge. However, Ngun ws not merely interesed philosophicl discussions but hd soteriologicl intention (Jones 1978:485) with pedgogicl terpeutic terpeutic ims, ims , nd used use d lnguge in performt performtive ive mnner mnner rter rter thn n rgumenttive rgumenttive one, one , pointing
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to the empty road of discursive hining His response was a preventive act against falling under the grip of consion or wrong cognition, allowing release om the compulsie search for certainty Tuing back to the case of akara, Ingalls is an example of a researcher who sees akara as a philosopher and therefore expects his philosophical arguments to be clear and consistent But akara, in his reply, "vidy " vidy is yours since you asked about it, had a pedagogical intention to shock his opponent, to cause his opponent an emotional insecurity and to challenge the discursive process by which they set up their perception, which characterizes conditioned existence in avidy By means of his striking, pelexing reply, akara directs his opponent to the one and only reality, that of Brahman That is, the pedagogical move employed by akara is an cryian means (an crya is one who guides students towards liberation) which aims to remove his opponents wrong knowledge, guiding them towards the realization of liberation (mok�a) The unlagging attempts of Ingalls and other researchers to point ot logical failures in the philosophy of akara, and to question the consistency in his thought, indicate that they perceive akara as a philosopher and commentator onl, while akara is simltaneously "teacherguru, and his philosophical statements are pedagogically motivated, pointing towards Brahman pproaching pproaching Nagauna Nagauna in a similar similar manne manner,r, his Mlamadhyamak Mlamadhyamakakka akka 2524 25 24 (Shulman 201 : 1 5 8) shows clearly hat his interest was to bring about the cessation of conceptual discursive proliferation and intense projections, including the concept hat the Buddha ought the Dhaa somewhere to someone The peacel mind, at rest, empty of concepts regarding real entities or their absence, is associated with the state of Nirva In this vein, according to Jones (1986:486), Nagaunas ethod is not to advance a thesis t to show at no other position can be maintained Nagana has been interpreted and criticised in a number of ways To list a few: (a) His tetralemma, based on biny mode of thinking, has been criticised as not representng reality, which is endowed wih "grey areas, and hence incomplete (Scharfstein 1995:145-2) (b) Jones argues Nagarjuna did not die diere rent ntate ate between between physical and concep conceptual tual dependenc dependencee ( 1 986: 98 6:49 498) 8) (c) Ruegg claims cla ims hat replying, "I have no thesis (pratij), Nagauna ted to escape om any comitment to a clear answer to his opponent (1986:232) (d) Mabbett, in considering the reply, "I have no thesis (pratij), rejects the common idea that Nagarjuna claimed not to be asserting anything Notwithstanding these interpretations, Naganas principal motive was a pedagogical one, which was to remove wrong knowledge Longchenpa followed in the footsteps of he PrsagikaMdhyka hinkers, and refeed extensively to he works of Candr and Nagauna, taking them as the base of his rhetoric of negation Ecke Eckell ( 198 7:36) Butt Bu tter erss (006: (006: 1 59) Longch Longchenp enpaa in Barron Barron (2007: (2007: 1 1 1) Longch Longchenp enpaa in Barron Barron (2007: (2007: 1 1 1 -) vi Sion presents Naganas tetra lemma as a derivative of the Aristotelian three laws of logic e interestingly assers that while the ristotelian three laws of logic serve to distinguish between true and false jdgments Nagaas tetra lemma intends the eath of Logic See http://wwwthelogicianne 3b_buddhisillogic/3b_chaptehtm For another interesting discussion of Nagaunas teta lemma see Ben-Ami charfsteins work n Judgement of Buddhism in which he also asserts that Naguna borrowed om everywhere in order to kill logic and the natural or intuitive view that whatever might be perceived by the senses is real ccording to Schastein, in reference to Greek hilosophy, he uses the hose of the exclded middle to exhaust all logical possibilities ristotelian laws of contradiction and hose and adds arguments similar to Greek scepticism against the possibility of proving nothing Further, in his n Judgement of Buddhism Scharfstein provides a critiqe of the tetra lemma showing its areas of deciency as a logical tool that cold access a real representation of reality owever the principal point here is tat Nagauna intended to ill logic in order to show hat philosophy is empty of independent nature hence inecient in providing perception of reality as it is
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Longchenpa in Barron Mabbett (forthcoming: For other works refering to paudsa and psajya see Matilal (1971:37-8) Hillis Hillis (2003: (2003: 252-3) to Longchenpa's rhetoric of negation have Details about the "new wave of translations in already been discussed in chapter 2, Setting the Scene and chapter 3, Longchenpa's Life and Works. 18-9) Longchenpa in Chagdud and B arron arron :95) Longchenpa in Chagdud and B arron arron Fener (1990:143) B utters utters (2006: (2006 : 39 8) . Here, Longchenpa clearly mentions mentions aff affirming negation (ma yin dgag) and non affirming negation (med dgag) and makes use of these forms of negation in analysis of the view that multiplicity in a single entity accepts illusion as an ultimate reality. lthough the notion of prsajya as mere absence can be debatable as somebody may reject the truth of I have stopped beating my wife' can assert a thesis thesi s asserting I have never started started beating m m wife' . But what is then the the motivation motivation of making making such a non affiing negation to start with? Tsepak ( 1 986: 98 6: 320). Tsepak, in his dictio dictionary nary of Buddhist term terminlogy, inlogy, explains explains absence absence (Tibetan (Tibetan:: meds pa) to be a non-airmng negative and a non-existent (Sansrit: asat) which according to Bhattacharya's glossary of Indian religious terms and concepts refers also to what is unmanifested. See Bhattacharya (1990:24). Longchenpa in Chagdud and Barron (1998:81) Klei Kleinn ( 1986 : 177) Klei Kleinn (1 986: 177) Although med pa is translated here as ineffability, as quoted from Richard Barron's translation of Longchenpa's text, its meaning as absence is more accurate. It is because ineffability refers primarily to an indescribable positive while absence refers to being a non-arng negation, which corresponds with Longchenpa's intention in his rhetoric of negation. Longch Longchenp enpaa in Chagdu Chagdudd and and Barron Barron ( 1 998: 84) Fenner Fen Fener er (2002: (2002: 30) Longchenpa in Chagdud and B arron arron Here I refe referr to the the Prsagika view view as understood by Longchenpa, although although ther theree may be significant significant differences between various Prsagika thinkers, e.g. Candrakirti and Nagarjuna himself, whether acknowledged by them or not. Williams Longchenpa in Barron (2007:126) Longchenpa Longchenpa in Chagdud Chagdud and B arro arronn (200 1 : 6 1 -2) Hillis (2003: 252) Germ German anoo ( 1994: 209) 209) Hillis Hillis (2003: (2003: 83) Bataille was b o in Fran France ce in 1 897 to a syphilis-infested and blind father and a moter of questionabl questionable sanity. His family was was non-religious and he was not schooled withi within any religious traditio tradition. n. In the First World War Bataille Bataille and his mother ev evacuated their home, home, leaving his father behind because he was was inca incapable of travelling. His father died a yea yearr latr, raving and delirious, refusing ministration ministration from a priest. A indelible imprint was was left on Bataille by by these events. Soon afterwards Bataille ha had a mystical experience lead leading him to undertake undertake religious studies at the seminary of Saint Saint Fleur with the inten intention of becoming a monk. After five ye y ears he broke away from C�stian faith but he never tired of of inserting
Christian notions into his writing in order to subvert them. In 1920 Bataille was awarded a scholarship to study Madrid. Dung this period he began an intensive study of foreign languages including Tibetan, familiarized himself with "lamaism and dreamed of travelling to Tibet. The term "lamaism was coined more than likely by Laurence Austine Waddell
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(1854-1938) in the later par the 19th centry. It referred to what is crrently nown as the Mahyna Bddhism of Tibet. It was also refeing in pariclar to the clt of priestcra' in which the lama too over all ritua control over people and controlled their lives even after death. It was largely a derogatory version of what non-Catholics called popery.' Althogh in his eary life he was conceed with the formation of societies and movements, at the coming of the Second orld ar he took an "inward , focsing on interior or mystical states that led him to the writing of his wor nner nne r Eeiene in 1940. He had recng bots of tberclosis for he remainder of his life, and was discharged om he French army. Perhaps this malady contribted to his "inward " and his interest in yoga. In 1934 he sered a severe psychological crisis followed a by separation from his wife and in 1938 his passionate love, Collette Peignot, passed away. 1940 he sarted writing nner Experiene and in 1942 became very ill with and had to leave his wor at the Bibliotheqe Nationale in Paris. His ely enconter with disease and death mared him with the necessity to tu inward and write in order to srvive or even to delay his own death. riting was his means of commnication, of creativity and of having his own personal Inner Experience. He died in Jly 1962. See Jones (1988:17-8). 429 Bataille Bataille ( 1 988 :3) :3 ) 430 Bat Batai aillllee (1 988 :8) 4 3 1 A contemporary consideration con sideration of the place and role of negation in philosophi philo sophical cal inqiries is presented presented in Raphael Foshay's wor (2002) Tarrying with the negative: Bataille and Derrida's reading of negation in Hegel's phenomenology'. Hegel positions the spirit (Geist) at the heart of his discorse and the role of negation is the engine behind the discorse. In Hegel's discorse, negation is a tool that is defined by its contradictory character as an existing "nothing, whch exists only throgh contraiction. That is to say, negation of something might have a positive meaning as an assertion or nderstanding regarding the central topic, Geist in Hegel's Phenomenolo which he treat om the point of view of relating to it by means of experience. ere spirit is taen as one's spirit, consciosness, and mind, or more precisely as one's "experiential nderstanding . Hege's point of depare is the hman condition of experiencing life throgh habits, sriving to mae everyday life familiar and safe, and observing the world of phenomena in order to identify pattes, which renders experience predictable and safe. If one wants to now the world of phenomena one needs to inqire and consider phenomena's representations and descriptions in one's mind, and analyse one's thoghts towards dissoltion of relative meanings and concreteness of mental content into their component aspects. Ts analysis allows discement between the representations of the empirica world and the nderstanding principle itself. Hge's words: The activity of dissoltion or analysis is the power and wor of the understanding, the most astonishig and mighties of all powers, or rather the absolte power. The circle that remains enclosed, enclose d, and ike sbstance holds its i ts moments together, together, is i s an immediate relationship relationship . . . which has nothing astonishing abot it. Bt that n accident as sch detached om what circmscribes it, what is bond and is acal only in its context to others, shold attain an existence of its own and a separate eedom this is te tremendos tremendos power of the the negative; it is the energy of the pre '1. (See Foshay 2002:297) For Hegel the analysis that loos into dissolving mental constrcts entails habital sbjective representations and descriptions of given phenomena. It is an absolte power that can lead towards expeential, living nderstanding, not only in tes of comprehension bt in terms of apprehension of pre "I, self-knowledge. The move om the familiar world as nown to s towards freedom is a move towards the nfamiliar, which is possible only de to the power of negation, and experiencing the nfamiliar is lie a shoc cased by an accident taing place within the familiar closed-circle dimension of life. For Hegel the power of negation is an atonding power which has the capacity to dissolve perceptions and heir eqivalent concepts into their elements. The power of negation is so tremendos
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because it is capable of active experiential discernment between the familiar and the unfamiliar dimensions of life The understanding is negatie because it negates the familiar context of practical experience and by creating a contradiction triggers tension between the static world of obects and the dynamic subect who dissolves by means of analysis not only phenomena but also temselves as thought into the most fundamental and ne elements Therefore within tis process of understanding, Geist is experienced as consciousness The contrast between Bataille and Hegel is of interest in that Bataille displaces the premises of Hegel's system (see Bataille 1988:x) and exposes an inteal space, naked and free of ties, a sovereign one in the sense that it is not subordinated or revealed by a discourse, while Hegel seeks to reveal Geist experienced as consciousness by means of a gradual discourse of negation Roughly, in terms of the Tibetan controversy between the gradual and simultaneous paths, Bataille would be a simultaneist and Hegel a gradualist Batai Bat aillllee (1 988: 12) Minki Minkine nenn (2005: 252) Holland Holland (2004: (2004: 27) B ataille ataille (1 988 98 8 :7 , 1 2, 102) While While developing developing his method method o f contestat contestation ion B ataille ataille had two meetings meetings with with Maurice Blanchot in which he discussed with him the theme of contestation Blachot insisted that contestation is a principal foundation of spiitual life Holla Holland (2004:28) (2004:28) Minkki Minkkine nenn (2005: 254) Batai Bat aillllee (1 988 : 12) Bataill Bataillee ( 1 988 :4) Longchenpa in Cou (1994:265) De meme, une mditation naturelle ne ncessite pas de phases de creation et de perfection Si de telles mthods d'adoption et de reet on pour nalit l'aise naturelle, n n'y a pas d'eort a fo; Dans e cas conaire, elles n' ont plus de sens, comme vouloir transfoer du charbon en or Cou (1994:263) I have added in squared parenthesis words based on Fenne's tanslation that are in accordance with the context of the passage and its poetic fo The ending of the passage with three points is as in Cou's translation Cou Cou ( 1994:263 ) Le contenu des tantras, Kriy, Ca, Yoga nd utarayoga compore les nombrux ces des phases de cration et de perfection, Mais les pratquts n'y approchent pas e cours naturel de l'espritnnon coig et spontment prset, Emptrs qu'ils sont dans les filets de l'laboration mentale In Bu Butte tters rs (2006: (2006:298-707) 298-707) Butter Butt erss (2006: (2006: 602) Butters Butters (2006: 603) 603) Lochen Dharmas Dharmash h in Dewitt (2004: 1 05-6) 05 -6) Butters Butters (2006: 606) Buters Buters (2006: 608-9) Drops Drop s are are considered as nucleus nucleu s ' , core' or essence es sence either either of the ve elements, elements, masculine principle principle as a white drop hat represents male semen, feminine principle as a red drop that represents the menstrual blood of the woman or of the Buddha as dk blue drop surrounded with rainbow colours that represent all the appearances in their purified and natural condition i a single seminal point See in Ahmad (200 (2007: 7: 17 1, 19 1) Cou Cou ( 1994:264) 1994:264) D'autres encore pratiquent l'union en contrlant les soufles, et disant: «Le sens naturel rside dans la flicit-vacuit»; Ps dans e let OU ils hsitent entre adoption et reet
07
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mis ces gens ne verront verront e but essenti ess entiel el Tout sont tromps pr des doctrines de l' nlyse, Et, enchns cette existence, ils n' ont ps l' occsion de s' en librer 451 For ongchenp's ctivities in his exile in Bhutn, see in chpter 3 45 2 Cou Cou (1 994:25) 994:25) A present, voici ce qu'est 'essence dmntine insurpssble: Sns mntrs, ni tntrs, sns thse philosophique dmettre, Elle n'est ps tiquetble, n' ni vue, ni mdittion, ni ctions ni fruit tt du ml unique o tout et gl et prfit es thories y prennent n, vue, mditations, ctions et uit s'y prchvent, gux et prfit, smsr et nirvn sont l' extention de l rlit bsolut 45 3 Cou Cou ( 1994: 264) 264) Se disent des esprits purifis ceux qui ont une vue, une mdittion, une ction et un fruit: Certins d'ente eux crtent l discrimintion et les senstions, D'utres trnchent e lien quis unit les trois temps, Aprs quoi ils proclment :C'est l conscience du prsent qui trverse tout Les utres comptbilisent ls nissnces et les cesstions des penses et ppellent sns rel e qui n'est que e remous des vgues des penses discursives 454 45 4 Dli m m (2007: 1 09) In I n this work, work, the the Dli m m oe oers rs his comme comment ntry ry to Longchen Longchenp' p' s trilogy trilogy Finding Coort and Ease in Meditation on the Great Peection (Ngagso skor gsum).
45 5
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460 46 1 462 463 464
Cou Cou ( 1994: 264) 264) Hls! Ne reconnissnt ps les signes prcieux s rejettent leurs vux et semblent a l recherche de breloques; Rejetnt Rejetnt l l suprme et uhent uhentique ique nture nture d e l ' esprit, s s'enchnent dns l cge des fntmes ciels de 'espoire et de l crinte Un esprit qui s'eorce jmis ne se librer ! Poursuivnt s recherche, e chercheur s'vilit Bti Btillllee (1 988 : 12) Cou Cou ( 1 994:264-5) Si l es objets, objets, l ' esprit esprit et ses se s perceptio perceptions ns se prsente prsentent nt sous sou s e mode de l vcuit, I est inutile de les dtrure p l' opinion c'est c' est vid videe ! , Et S'ils ne e sont ps, une telle considrtion ne les rendr ps vides Toute cete ftigue insense, pour quoi fire ? In Syk Syk ( 196 8:91 8: 91 -4) Cou Cou (1 994:266) 994:266) e roi sns but reconnt (ls phnomns) sns si ttrder Cr ce sont les conceptions dtenntes qui enchnent toutes choses Sns rien concevoi, il recont l Sgesse dns Ce qui s'lve: C' est e lot oginel, vide en luimme, luimme, ise et uthenti uthentiqu quee Soyez sr de cette vue dbrrsss des croynces et des opinions! Bti Btillllee (1 988: 1 3-4) Bti Btillllee (1 988:7 ) Btill Btillee ( 1 988 :22) For Btille he extreme limit of the possible represnts spce where ll knowledge is contested nd exhusted, threshold where ll discursive knowledge including the wish to be everythin or omipotent ceses nd nonknowledge begins, leding to the Inner Experience Most of his knowledge on yog he drws from Viveknnd's Rja Yoga. In his work Vivek (1863-1902) trnslted nd intereted the yog sutrs of Ptjli ccording to the pnciples o
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Vednta to sit his sociopolitical ideas and agenda. Vivekananda, who was a stdent of Ramarishna, became one of the inential leading figres who shaped mode Indian thoght and the NeoHind the revier of the Vednta who believed in its potential to lead to a cltral integration, to establish the Hind national identity and to bring abot haony between the varios world religions. He was interested to present the nondal Vednta as a religios niversalism originated in India and his ideas draw interest in Erope and prominent scholars sch as Max Mller. Pal Dessen, Schopenhaer's stdent, made dvaita Vednta and akara, the focal point of their research. They all "sed the metaphysical option of akara's monism for expressing their worldview, deriving from diverse motives sch as Mller's romanticism that saw roots of Eropean cltre in its "Indian childhood and Dessen's notion of metaphysical essence, "the voice of the One natre. Ths the main sorce of Bataille is Vivekananda's Rja Yoga wch translated and interpreted the yoga stras of Patajali according to the principles of advaita Vednta while being based on a dal philosophy, one of prai, the essence of maer and pru�a, the essence of awareness or spirit. To nderstand in depth the yoga stras of Patajali one needs to refer to classical interpreters sch as Vysa (4th or 5th centry) or Vcaspati Mira (10th centry) or mode ones sch as Hariharnanda ranya (18691947) who lived in the time that Bataille lived. Bataille also relies on Schopenhaer who, according to Halbfass (1990122), perceived himself as the sccessor of Kant and who researched dvaita Vednta order to sbstantiate his philosophical ideas. That is to say, Schopenhaer too "sed the metaphysical option of akara's monism for expressing his worldview. Bataille may have received some of his ideas regarding Bddhism from Schopenhaer, "whose thoght, parly nder Indian inence, exhibits nmeros, and almost miraclos, coincidences with the basic tenets of Bddhist philosophy. See Foljambe Other sorces Bataille relied o n i n his work were lexandra lexandra DavidNeel, whose works wold be as poplar with a degree of core nowledge' , and Mircea Mircea Eliade' Eliad e' s acconts acconts of mystical mystical practice amongst amongst he Tibetans, which are classified as scholarly' works that as Ninian Smart pts it (see in Rennie 19965), are shroded in ambigities in general and entail in particlar the inaccrate observation that Tibetan Bddhist practices affected Siberian shamanism while n reality Siberian shamanism inenced Tibetan Bddhist practices. See Foambe (2008158). Bataille also relied on conversations he had with Eliade in which he expressed the view that the most lcid exposition of Tantrism was in Eliade's work on yoga from 1936. See Foljambe (2008171). B ataille' ataille' s knowledge knowledge of yoga and and Buddhism was also based b ased on Romain Rolland' Rolland' s poplar biographi biographies es of works sch as Histoire de L'Asie Les Religions de Ramarishna and Vivekananda and L'nde Mystiques et Magiciens du ibet and Les iilisations de L'Orient See Folj Foljamb ambee (2008 (2008 1 50). Hence Bataille's knowledge of yoga and Bddhism was drawn mostly from poplar works, encyclopaedic literatre and liited scholarly works despite the fact that between and the there were Indologists and Tibetologists whose scholarly works and translations are profond and critical, bt which he did not consider. To list a few sch athors Tcci (18941984); Thomas (18671956); ennisonRoss (18711940); Theodore Ippolitovich Stcherbatsky (18661942); Waddell and the brothers dolph (18291857), Hermann (18541938); Franz nton Schiefner (18261882) and Robert (18331885) Schlagintweit. Bataille's critie of yoga and Bddhism is accordingly limited. He actally contested methods that were partially known to him, mostly from intellectal activity and limited practice, a prodct of a combination of criosity, idealization and eclectic ato didacticism. 465 Vivekananda "Yoga is the restraining of the mindstff from taing varios fos. 466 Bataille 467 B ataille ( 1 98 8 1 6). 6) . Bataille sbstantiates sbstantiates his asserti ass ertion on regarding regarding the breathing breathing practice practice componen componentt of yoga, the conol of prana rnayma) based on Vivekananda's Rja Yoga that inclded three detailed chapters on prana, the vital force in every sentient being, and psychic prana, hat is the vital energy in metaphysiological nerves of beings and its mastery. ccording to Vivekananda, contolling the prana and condcting it through the body and metaphysiological nerves in objectless perception
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209 in which then the piniple of awaeness o spiit uru�a) is sepaated om its entanglement with the piniple of matte in the univese rakti) est in its tue natue, as expessed in the yoga sutas of Pata Patajali jali . 3. See in Vivek Vivekana anand ndaa (1 953 :5 92-61 1 ), Batail Bataille le (1 98 8: 17) Batail Bataille le ( 198 8: 21 -22) -22) Batai Bataill llee (1 988 : 17) Batai Bataill llee (1 988 : 1 83) Batai Bataill llee (1 988 : 1 83) H e developed methods of meditatio meditation n on photogaphs photogaphs of totu totue e that that bea bea similait similaity y to the tehniqu tehniques es used in he Tibetan hd (gco ite, with whih he was famlia fom having ead e wok of Alexanda David-Neel. David-Ne el. See in i n Foljambe Foljambe (200 8: 1 76). 76 ). In both both of these these paties , the deonstution deonstution of the the body and its sensations is seen as a means of eleasing attahments to the sense of self o ageny and its sensations. In B ataille' ataille' s ase , his n ee d fo fo a dama dama in ode ode to get out of himsel' dove him to fixate fixate on a photogaph entailing a Chnese man who found hs death in totue, onentating on his dismembeed pas, blood and its hoo. Bataille epots that the toued figue ommuniated his pain to him and it was peisely that whih he was seeking, not so as to take pleasue in it, but in ode to dismantle in himself that whih is opposed to desttion, tat is to say, in ode to ontest and deonsut the sense of avesion that oupied his mind and that was an obstale to Inne Expeiene. See in Bataille ( 1 98 8 : 1 1 9). 9) . The pati patitio tione ne of hd seeks to eet eet inteo inteonne nneted tedness ness with the gound gound of being o whih they have boowed thei body, by offeng it in e. The ital of oeing is done fo the sake of elease fom onstant identiations with te notion of self and attahments to the sense of ageny, and fo the sake of the omon good of all sentient beings, inluding demons and hoifying deities. both ptes meditation is involved, whee ataille's entail onentation on an exteal objet and h inludes visualization and eitation of mantas and payes. Thond Thondup up ( 19 96: 284) Longhen Longhenpa pa in Chagdud Chagdud and Baon Baon (200 :220-221 ) Hillis Hillis (2003: (2003: 42) Hillis (2003 :44) Visvade (1978:455-6). John Visvade used the tem uoboi to designate philosophies that efute themselves, in aodane with a siila symbol usd by the Gnostis and the medieval alhemists whih depits a seent, Uoboos, bent in a ile and swallowing its own tail. Sometimes Uoboos is shown tansfoming itself into a salamande. The swallowing of one's tail epesents the easing of one's footints, and tansfoming oneself into a salamande epesents the tansfoation om disusive nd to lea natual awaeness, om ignoane to wisdom. The salamande is said to be a lizad whih an suvive fie and beome ineasingly moe poweful beause of it. It is theefoe a ommonly used metapho fo the mind whih beomes stonge, moe exible (o whateve) though advesity and though philosophal exeises suh as dealing with emptiness. Longhen Longhenpa pa in Chagdud Chagdud and and aon aon (200 (200 1 : 9 ) A stoy I head om David Temleman Temleman,, shows sh ows that a metapho metapho i s not always a substitute substitute fo fo a valid poof: A young ten-yea-old boy, at the beginning of the 20th enuy, who was late to beome a geat mathematiian, was talking with a piest about poof of god's existene. The piest said, You an't see God but you an feel him. him. He s aid, It' s like lying a kite on a loudy day . . . . you an't see the kite beause of louds but an see e sting going into te louds and an feel it pulling. The piest said, Thee Thee must be someth somethng ng you an' t see but know the existene existene of .. .like God. The boy said, " it was a loudy day thee would be aost no hane of tee being enough wind to ly the kte, and at ten yeas of age he uttely abandoned any hane of possessing a belief in eligion. The stoy oes om a novel about the eal eal life mathema mathematii tiian an G. H. Hady who was the boy. It deals with his homo-eoti elationship with the eal life Indian mathematiian Sinivasa Ramanujan. The novel (based on fats) is alled e ndian and is by David Leavitt, and was published by loomsbuy,
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2007. onghen onghenp p in Chg Chgdu dudd nd nd Bon Bon (2001 : 1 0 1 ) onghenp in Chgdud Chgdud nd B on on (200 1 : 1 04) onghenp in Chgdud Chgdud nd B on on (200 (200 1 :xii) . onghenp' onghenp' s A Treasure Troe of Scriptural Transmission ontins thieen hptes. The st nine hptes teh the view of Dzoghen, the tenth tehes medittion, the eleventh ondut, the twelfth the immedite esults on the pth, nd the thiteenth the it. onghenp onghenp in Chgdud Chgdud nd B on on (2001 :xii-xiii) onghenp onghenp in Chgdud Chgdud nd B on on (2001 :xiv) I t ght b e impotnt impotnt to emnd emnd the ede tht onghenp' onghenp' s texts oneng the hetoi hetoi o f negtion wee witten t the end of his life when he ws ledy eognized fo his mstey of Dzoghen nd ws fmous s tesue evele. See pt 2 in Btille (1988:31) Bti Btill llee (1 988 :35) S ee Fenne ( 1 990: 14 5) . I n his nlysis nlysis of Psg Psgik ik-M -Mdhy dhymik mik' ' s non-imi non-iming ng negtion negtion Fenne Fenne sttes tht it is sttement of intention not to fm ny view o onept, nd not something intinsi to thei style of logi. onghen onghenp p in Chgdu Chgdudd nd nd B on on (2001 : 15 8) onghenp onghenp in Chgdu Chgdudd nd B on on (2001 (200 1 : 63) 63 ) onghenp onghenp in Chgdud Chgdud nd B o on n (2001 : 9) onghen onghenp p in Chgdu Chgdudd nd Bon Bon (2001 : 1 65) onghenp in Chgdud nd Bon (2001:165) onghenp in Chgdud Chgdud nd B on on (200 (200 1 : 144) onghenp's use of the litey devie of the hetoil question ws hteisti of The Precious easu of the Way of Abiding See Hillis (2003:213). onghen onghenp p in Chgdud Chgdud nd nd B o on n (2001 : 1 29) Hillis Hillis (2003 (2003 : 21 0) onghenp onghenp in Chgdud Chgdud nd nd B on on (200 (200 1 : 1 99) onghenp onghenp in Chgdu Chgdudd nd B on on (2001 :22 1 ) Ge Geno no ( 1996-829) Lipmn Lipmn in Mju Mju§m §mit it (2001 (200 1 : 1 52) Gem Gemn noo (1 996-91 8) Lipmn Lipmn in Mju§i Mju§it t (2001 (200 1 : 1 52) Mye Myed d ( 1992:9 1) onghenp onghenp in Chgdud Chgdud nd B o on n ( 1 998) onghenp in hgdud nd Bon (2001) onghenp in Chgdud nd Bon (1998:235) onghenp in Gy (1999:68) onghen onghenp p in Chgdu Chgdudd n n B o on n ( 1 998 :240) onghen onghenp p in Chgdu Chgdudd nd nd Bon Bon ( 1 998 :24 1 -2) See Longhenp in Chgdud nd Bon (1998:241) See in Buddhghos (2010:510-17) See in Guenthe (1983:ix). In his intodution to Longhenp's poem Looking Deeper: A Swan's Questions an d Answers Answers sttes tht neve hs the wold been dieent" pointing to the stte of soio eligio-politil is nd humn onditions in 14th entuy Tibet ht essentilly wee ot diss eithe to the times befoe o e the 14th entuy. Sthebtsky (1968:54f.) iting ydev, Catu!ataka Kks 184, 289. Tn Tngp gp (1 987:22) Hegel in Mille (1977:49) ti till llee (1 988 :38)
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Batai Bataillle (1 988: 1 10) Batail Bataille le (1 988 : 127) Bataille (1988:523) Fagenbla Fagenblatt (2005: 5 84) Levina Levinass (2001 (2001 :5 253) Gi Giit ith h ( 1 896) Fagenb Fagenblat lat (2005: (2005: 58 5) Levina Levinass (2001 (2001 :5 2) Levina Levinass (2001 (2001 :5 6) Buns Buns ( 1 997: 60;n .9) . Stanley Stanley Cavel Cavell'l' s defi defini niti tion on of ho hoo o eveals eveals the the violent violent dynamiques and hoifi quality of i y a (thee is):Hoo is of the human as it appoahes and exeeds its limits, as it beomes exessive, no longe human to the degee that it beomes monstous. Hoo is the title I am giing to the peeption of e peaousness of human identity, to the peeption that it may be lost o invaded, that we may be, o may beome, something othe than who we ae, o take ouselves fo". See in Buns (1997:291,n.9) Longhen Longhenpa pa in Chagdud Chagdud and Bao Baon n (200 1 : 177 ) Longhenpa in Baon (2007:353) Fo details details about this wok and and its signifiant signifiant elevane to this this study, see the setion Longhenpa' s Corpus Magnum in hapte 3. (1996:288) Cou Cou (1 996:283) Longhenpa in Cou ates ts pious, une fois mon kama et es obsuissements des passions puifis, puissiez m'aode les aomplisements du Cos, du Vebe et de l'espije vous pie de faie nate en mon espt la alization spiae. Longhenpa in Cou (1996:288) Ce qui mege haque instantsous des fomes vaies dans a onsiene attentive, tantt se psente hag de fautes et de noies intentions, et je e ejette, tantt tantt apaat plein de qualits positi positi es, et je ' adopt.. adopt.. .quand j' exami examine ne l' es sene et ' identitde identitde e qui se ps ente ainsi , j e m' tablis femement femement dans igpa qui libe e qui mege, gande omnipsene du Cops d' appition. In the ase of Longhenpa I efe to angs as a ondition in whih although one expeienes it one ontinues despite that anxiety to patiipate in a etain situation. By analogy, a patient may feel anxiety on the way to sugial theate but stil would poeed to the opeation, having to tust the sugeons and the health system that the poedue will be appopiately aompished. Tungam van van Shaik Shaik (2004:68) (2004:68) Longhenpa in and Baon David Templeman bought to my attention that siene demonstates that an image exists in a mio at a distane, equally behind the as the objet is in font of it. it. So in a way thee is a eated" pseudo ps eudo image, image , almost alm ost a sot of alhem alhemyy that the mio as a metapho fo the non-duality of the natue of mind, and the empty yet appaent wod. :5) Longhenpa in Chagdud and Baon Longhenpa in Chagdud and Baon Longhenpa Longhenpa in Chagdud and Baon Baon Longhen Longhenpa pa in Chagdud Chagdud and Bao Baon n (2001 : 1 77) Guenthe Longhenpa Longhenpa in Chagdud and Baon Baon (200 1 : 1 77) he opposite of evolutional" in the the sense that somethi s omething" ng" tus, tus, olls o uls uls in upon itself, itself, but not in the sense of degeneatio o etogade moement.
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In sientifi tems, to establish whethe one s dead eques a neuologial san Those who memoies of being dead" ae in 99 pe ent of ases heat dead" but not bain dead" When have bain death ous it is ipossible fo anybody to ome bak and to epot about thei memoies of being dead" So the question emains: What is thee that ontinues ae bain death? onghenpa onghenpa in Chagdud Chagdud and and Baon Baon (2001 : See ealie disussion of the haiot simie n page 108 of the study onghenpa onghenpa in Chagdud and Bao Bao (2001 (200 1 : 1 77 -8) -8 ) onghenpa onghenpa in Chagdud Chagdud and Baon Baon (200 1 : 17 8) ama (2000:67) y emphasis Fo a list of goaloiented paties pesibed by onghenpa that nlude paties suh as Gu Yoga, the yoga of , eitation of the manta of 100 syllables, see Cou (1994:283-299). Cou (1994:281) Cou (1994:283) Shafstein Only something that eithe exists o possibly exists an be negated, and something whih is nonexistent annot be egated to Anne Klein, in piniple, no affiing negatives exist beause they ae imputed by thought But beause they do exist they have to be fom nonexistents suh as the hos of the abbit This obsevation efes to the point that emptiness o absene, suh as negatives that ae imputed by thought, e but deent fom nonaffiming negatives of nonexistents suh as the hos of a abbit, whih is a mee oneptual fabi fabiati ation on (Klein 1 98 6: 1 77). 77) . The impliati impliation on fo onghen onghenpa' pa' s hetoi hetoi of negation negation is that it ould be applied to also negate the state of mind, one of absene of oneptual thinking It is appopiate to bing foth the following quotation of the uddha that demonstates the ontou and the piniple of sinee undestanding at the base of negatio: Do not believe in anything simply beause you have head it Do not believe in anything simply beause it is spoken and moued by many Do not believe n anything simply beause it is found wtten in you eligious books Do not believe in anything meely on the authoity of you teahes and eldes Do not believe in taditions beause they have been handed down fo many geneations But ae obsevation and analysis, when you find that anything agees with eason and is onduive to the good and benefit of one and all, then aept it and live to it (Hae 1995-
;
onghenpa onghenpa in Chagdud Chagdud ad ad Baon Baon (2001 :22 1 ) onghenpa in Chagdud and ron o n (2001:219) onghenpa onghenpa in Chagd Chagdud ud and Baon Baon (20 1 :22 1 ) onghenpa onghenpa i n Chagdud Chagdud ad ad Baon Baon (2001 :222-3) :22 2-3) Dalai ama (2007:80). The ontext of the Dalai ama's statement s that it was said in elation to the othe vehiles and methods of the yingmapa Geano (1992:842). Gemano povides his tanslation and intepetation of tekh ae a eview of the diffeent intepetations by vaious mode teahes and sholas Gemano (1992:842) Nobu (1986:77) Nob Nobu u (1 986: 1 10) obu (1986:101) onghenpa in Chagdud and Baon (2001:298) onghenpa onghenpa in Chagdud Chagdud and and Baon Baon (200 1 :226) :22 6) onghenpa in Chagdud ad Baon (2001 :229) :230) onghenpa in Chagdud and aon onghenpa in Chagdud and Baon (2001 onghenpa onghenpa in Chagdu Chagdudd and Bao Bao (200 1 : 235) 23 5)
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576 577 578 57 9 58 0 581 5 82 583 584 585 586 587 588 589 59 0 591 59 2 593 5 94 595 596 597 5 98 599 600 601 602 60 2 603
604 605
213 Nobu (1986:80) Nobu pesents a slightly dieen intepetation of the fou methods. Fo example, the method of the mountain elates aoding to Nobu to the physial body, whih holds a steady postue like a mountain in the sense that whatee the position of the body, that is the position of patie. In this manne, abiding in awaeness beomes a peasie ongoing patie, not limited to a physial position. Anothe example is the method of the oean, whi aoding to Nobu is elated to the gaze of the eyes, in whih no patiul gaze is equied fo the patie but whatee the position of the eyes, that is the position of patie. Gampopa in Tgam (2004:253) bhen Yeshe in Ying (2010:284) Nubhen Yeshe in Ying (2010:285) Shul Shulma mann nn (2010 : 142-3) Nagun Naguna' a' s Mlamadhyamakakrik 248-10 But Buttes tes (200 (2006:4 6:4 1 1) Non-eoneous intellet" (Tibetan: blo) i s as tanslat tanslated ed by by Buttes Buttes (see in Buttes Buttes 2006: 41 1 ) and the unonfused and authen authenti ti state state of mind" is as tanslated by Rihad Rihad Baon in Chagdud Chagdud (2007 : 1 1 2) Longhen Longhenpa pa in B ao aon n (2007 (2007 : 1 1 2) Thee i s anothe aspet to the notion of eoneous intellet tat tat efes efes to a wong ealuation of sen se data on the the elatie elatie leel due to awed awed sense faulties faulties.. Longhenpa in B a aon on (2007: (2007 : 1 1 4) Longhen Longhenpa pa in in Bao Baon n (2007 (2007 : 1 15 ) A text by Cand (7th entuy) whih is a ommentay on Naguna's Mlamadhyamakakrik, in Buttes (2006:413) Phuntsho Phuntsho (2005 : 1 1 8) Longhenpa' Longhenpa' s iew i s implii impliitt in Mipham' Mipham' s pesentat pesentation ion of the the Two Tths. Tths. In Longhe Longhenpa npa in B ao aon n (2007: (2007: 1 1 6) Butte Buttes s (200 (2006: 6: 418 ) Butte Buttess (2006:4 (2006:4 19) Buttes Buttes (2006:425) Longhenp Longhenpaa in Chagdud Chagdud and and Baon Baon (2001 : 1 58 ) Butte Buttess (2006:4 (2006:4 17) Longhenp Longhenpaa in Chagd Chagdud ud and and Bao Baon n (2001 : 1 7 1 ) Gem Geman anoo (1 992:829) . In Longhenpa Longhenpa in Baon Baon (2007 : 1 1 9) Hee Longhenpa Longhenpa quotes fom fom Nagajuna, Nagajuna, Six erses on Reasoning Yukti�a�tik, V.. Longhen Longhenpa pa in Bao Baon n (2007 (2007 : 1 1 9) Ahmad mad (20 (207: 7: 19 1) My emphas emphasis. is. Longhenpa in Chagdud and Baon (2001:29) Gem Gemano ano ( 1 994:932 ) Longhenpa in Chagdu Chagdudd and Baon Baon (2001 :22 1 ) Longhenpa in Chagdud Chagdud and Baon Baon (2001 : 170) Cou Cou (1 994:267-8) 994:267-8) Mme en afmanttout la non-dualit dnue de limites, Vous Vo us ligotez la natue natue de ote espit ess ential ential aux limites limites dy sans-limites . Mme en admettant les deux its, ous hutez dans les extmes; E t quand ous o us aez ez leu union, e n'est pa e mode natuel (authentique). Quelle Quelle que soit la nae de ote examen, ous ous pigez Dans la age de l'attahement l'attahement. Ainsi, il ne ous sut pas d'te illusionn pa e sujet et L' objet depuis une tet, Mais en plus os analyses insistantes ous enhaent aus smas intelletuelles. Roei Roeih h ( 1 98 8: 202) 202) Longhen Longhenpa pa in Hillis Hillis (2003: 1 25)
