" M ® T H E L I B R A R Y O F T I B E T A N C L A S S I C S r-1 ? ^ MAHAMUDRA AND RELATED IN S T R U C T IO N S C O R E T E A C H I N G S OF T H E K A G Y Ü S C H O O L S Translated by Peter Alan Roberts I T dfrrTF. — rinq^i M aham udra and R elated In stru ction s Core Teachings of the Kagyii Schools The Library of Tibetan Classics is a special series being developed by the Institute of Tibetan Classics aimed at making key classical Tibetan texts part of the global literary and intellectual heritage. Eventually comprising thirty-two large volumes, the collection will contain over two hundred distinct texts by more than a hundred of the best-known authors. These texts have been selected in consultation with the preeminent lineage hold­ ers of all the schools and other senior Tibetan scholars to represent the Tibetan literary tradition as a whole. The works included in the series span more than a millennium and cover the vast expanse of classical Tibetan knowledge—from the core teachings of the specific schools to such diverse fields as ethics, philosophy, linguistics, medicine, astron­ omy and astrology, folklore, and historiography. Mahamudra and Related Instructions: Core Teachings of the Kagyii Schools Compiled by Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche The Kagyii tradition began in Tibet in the eleventh century and developed into numer­ ous lineages. Their characteristic teachings are the mahamudra tradition of stability and insight meditation and the six Dharmas of Naropa. Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche, the principal scholar of the Karma Kagyii school, chose the eleven texts for this volume. The selection consists of a twelfth-century compilation of lectures by Gampopa, the founder of the Kagyii monastic tradition; an eleventh-century mahamudra text by Lama Shang and a thirteenth-century text on the mahamudra and its preliminaries by Shonu Lha, both of the Tsalpa Kagyii; a collection of four thirteenth-century texts, principally by Sherap Jungne, representing the viewpoints of the founder of the Drigung Kagyii; two short fourteenth-century texts on mahamudra by the Third Karmapa of the Karma Kagyii; a sixteenth-century overview of the tantric tradition by Tashi Namgyal of the Dakpo Kagyii; a sixteenth-century text on mahamudra by Tashi Namgyals pupil Pema Karpo, who as the Fourth Drukchen was head of the Drukpa Kagyii; a seventeenth-century text on the six Dharmas of Naropa by Shamar Chokyi Wangchuk of the Karma Kagyii; a seventeenth-century mahamudra text by Tsele Natsok Rangdrol of the Karma Kagyii; and an eighteenth-century commentary on one of the Third Karmapas mahamudra texts by Situ Tenpai Nyinje of the Karma Kagyii. THE L I B R A R Y OF T I B E T A N C L A S S I C S ♦ V O L U M E 5 Umpten Jinpa, General Editor M a h Am u d r A a n d Rela ted In s t r u c t io n s Core Teachings of the Kagyu Schools Translated by Peter Alan Roberts W isdom P ublications ♦ B oston in association with the Institute of Tibetan Classics Wisdom Publications 199 Elm Street Somerville MA 02144 USA www.wisdompubs.org © 2011 Institute of Tibetan Classics All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or me­ chanical, including photography, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system or technologies now known or later developed, without permission in writing from the publisher. Library of Congress Cataloging-in -Publication Data Mahamudra and related instructions : core teachings of the Kagyii schools / translated by Peter Alan Roberts. p. cm. — (Library of Tibetan classics) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-86171-444-X (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Mahamudra (Tantric rite) 2. Bka’-rgyud-pa (Sect)—Rituals. I. Roberts, Peter Alan, 1952- BQ7699.M34M34 2011 294.3*438 dc22 2OIIOO6427 ISBN 978-086171-444-5 eBook ISBN 978-0-86171-929-7 16 1514 13 12 11 6 5 4 3 2 1 Cover and interior design by Gopa&Ted2, Inc. Set in Adobe Garamond Premier Pro 10.5/13.5. Wisdom Publications’ books are printed on acid-free paper and meet the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources. Printed in the United States of America. Cf This book was produced with environmental mindfulness. We have elected to print this title on 30% PCW recycled paper. As a result, we have saved the following resources: 41 trees, 13 million BTUs of energy, 3,856 lbs. of greenhouse gases, 18,570 gallons of water, and 1,127 lbs. of solid waste. For more information, please visit our website, www.wisdompubs.org. This paper is also FSC certified. For more information, please visit www.fscus.org. Message from the Dalai Lama The la st TWO millennia witnessed a tremendous proliferation of cultural and literary development in Tibet, the “Land of Snows.” Moreover, due to the inestimable contributions made by Tibet’s early spiritual kings, numer­ ous Tibetan translators, and many great Indian panditas over a period of so many centuries, the teachings of the Buddha and the scholastic tradition of ancient India’s Nâlandà monastic university became firmly rooted in Tibet. As evidenced from the historical writings, this flowering of Buddhist tradi­ tion in the country brought about the fulfillment of the deep spiritual aspi­ rations of countless sentient beings. In particular, it contributed to the inner peace and tranquility of the peoples of Tibet, Outer Mongolia—a country historically suffused with Tibetan Buddhism and its culture—the Tuva and Kalmuk regions in present-day Russia, the outer regions of mainland China, and the entire trans-Himalayan areas on the southern side, including Bhutan, Sikkim, Ladakh, Kinnaur, and Spiti. Today this tradition of Buddhism has the potential to make significant contributions to the welfare of the entire human family. I have no doubt that, when combined with the methods and insights of modern science, the Tibetan Buddhist cultural heritage and knowledge will help foster a more enlightened and compassionate human society, a humanity that is at peace with itself, with fellow sentient beings, and with the natural world at large. It is for this reason I am delighted that the Institute of Tibetan Classics in Montreal, Canada, is compiling a thirty-two-volume series containing the works of many great Tibetan teachers, philosophers, scholars, and practitio­ ners representing all major Tibetan schools and traditions. These important writings will be critically edited and annotated and will then be published in modern book format in a reference collection called The Library of Tibetan Classics, with their translations into other major languages to follow later. While expressing my heartfelt commendation for this noble project, I pray and hope that The Library of Tibetan Classics will not only make these vi Mahamudra and Related Instructions important Tibetan treatises accessible to scholars of Tibetan studies, but will create a new opportunity for younger Tibetans to study and take inter­ est in their own rjch and profound culture. Through translations into other languages, it is my sincere hope that millions of fellow citizens of the wider human family will also be able to share in the joy of engaging with Tibet’s classical literary heritage, textual riches that have been such a great source of joy and inspiration to me personally for so long. The Dalai Lama The Buddhist monk Tenzin Gyatso Special Acknowledgments The In stitu te of Tibetan Classics expresses its deep gratitude to the Tsadra Foundation for most generously providing the entire funding for this translation project. This is first of the ten volumes being sponsored by Tsadra Foundation from The Library of Tibetan Classics. We also acknowledge the Hershey Family Foundation for its generous support of the Institute of Tibetan Classics’ projects of compiling, editing, translating, and disseminating key classical Tibetan texts through the cre­ ation of The Library of Tibetan Classics. Publisher’s Acknowledgments W isdom Publications and th e Institute of Tibetan Classics would like to express their deep appreciation to the Ing Foundation and Ms. Nita Ing for their generous grant toward the publication costs of this volume, and to Drs. Mordehai and Hanna Wosk and family for underwriting the printing and distribution of significant copies of the volume to be offered to various Tibetan institutions and community associations across the world, as well as to selected university libraries in Canada and the United States. The Publisher also wishes to extend a heartfelt thanks to the following people, who by subscribing to The Library of Tibetan Classics have become benefactors of this entire translation series: Tenzin Dorjee, Rick Meeker Hay- man, Steven D. Hearst, Heidi Kaiter, Arnold Possick, the Randall-Gonzales Family Foundation, Jonathan and Diana Rose, the Tibetisches Zentrum e.V. Hamburg, Claudia Wellnitz, Robert White, and Eva and Jeff Wild.