SECRET oF THE VAJRA WoRLD MAHAKALA The Tantric Buddhism of Tibet THE WORLD OF TIBETAN BUDDHISM Volume Two REGINALD A. RAY Foreword by Tulku Thondup t SHAMBHALA • BosTON & LoNDON • 2002 SH.\.MBHALA PuBLICATioNs, INc. HoRTICULTURAL HALL 300 MASSACHUSETTS AvENUE BosToN, MAsSACHUSETTs 02115 www.shambhala.com ©2001 by Reginald A. Ray Excerpts from The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, by Sogyal Rinpoche and edited by Patrick Gaffney and Andrew Harvey, copyright ©1993 by Rigpa Fellowship, are reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. Further copyright information appears in the Credits, page 509. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 Printed in the United States ofA merica @ This edition is printed on acid-free paper that meets the American National Standards Institute Z39.48 Standard. Distributed in the United States by Random House, Inc., and in Canada by Random House of Canada Ltd LIBRARY OF CoNGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA RAY, REGINALD A. SEcRET oF THE VAJRA WORLD: THE TANTRIC BuDDHISM oF TIBET I REGINALD A. RAY.-IST ED. P. cM.-(THE WORLD OF TIBETAN BuDDHisM; v. 2) INCLUDES BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES AND INDEX. ISBN I -57062-772-X (ALK. PAPER) ISBN I-')7062-917-X (PBK.) r. TANTRic Rui>DHISM-CHINA-TIBET 2. SPIRITUAL LIFE-TANTRic BuDDHISM. I. TITLE. BQ7604 .R39 2002 VOL. 2 [BQ8912.9] 1 294· 3 923 S-DC2 I [294·3/92s/09) 2002007342 Contents Foreword by Tulku Thondup vii Preface xi Acknowledgments xv Introduction I PART 0 N E. Foundations of Vajrayana 7 r. The Indian Prelude 9 2. How the Vajrayana Came to Tibet: The Early Spreading of the Dharma 28 3· How the Vajrayana Came to Tibet: The Later Spreading and Beyond 40 4· The Vajrayana in the Context of the Three-Yana Journey 66 5· The View of Vajrayana 91 PART Two. Entering the Vajra World 109 6. Some Initial Vajrayana Perspectives III 7· The World Beyond Thought 126 8. The Vajra Master 153 9· Entering the Vajrayana Path 177 ro. Tantric Practice: Meditation on the Yidam 209 I 1. Subtleties of Practice: The Inner Yogas 230 PART THREE. Meeting the Essence of Mind 259 12. Mahamudra: The Great Symbol 261 I 3· Dzokchen: The Great Perfection 294 v CoNTENTS PART FouR. Tantric Applications 327 14. Lessons in Mortality: Death and Dying in Tantric Practice 329 15. Bodhisattvas in the World: Tiilkus, Reincarnate Lamas 360 16. Themes of a Tiilku's Life 385 17. The Practice of Retreat 426 I 8. The Passing of a Realized Master 462 Conclusion 481 Notes 489 Bibliography 503 Credits 509 Index 51 I Vl Foreword Secret of the Vajra World is a comprehensive survey of the profound and vast teachings of the Vajrayana, focusing especially on the Kagyti and Nyingma lineages. Acharya Ray's mastery of the subject and devotion to the tradition-an inspiring combination of gifts-permeate the entire book. Streams of nectarlike quotations from the warm breath of many great masters and an abundance of illuminating stories produce a book that is meaningful, enchanting, and easy to understand. Taken together with the author's earlier work, Indestructible Truth, it provides an in- depth treatment of Tibetan Buddhism, including both its exoteric (Hi- nayana and Mahayana) and esoteric (Vajrayana) vehicles, illuminating its philosophical basis, meditation practices, goal of enlightenment, cul- tural context, and historical background. Buddhism offers multiple approaches to awaken the enlightened na- ture of the mind. The true nature of the mind is enlightened, the ut- most peace, openness, and omniscience. Conceptual notions of forms, words, and feelings are mere designations created and felt by the dualis- tic mind, all rooted in grasping at a "self," perceived as a truly existing entity. Therefore, when the enlightened nature of the mind is awak- ened, our grasping mentality dissolves and all the mental objects-the whole universe-are awakened as the Buddhafield, the qualities of the enlightened nature. Jetsun Milarepa said: Don't you know that all the appearances are the nature of your mind? Don't you know that [the nature of] your mind is Buddha? Don't you know that Buddha is the ultimate body (dharmakaya)? Don't you know that ultimate body is the ultimate nature (dharmata)? vn FoREWORil 11· you know them, then all the appearances are your own mind.• For us unawakened beings, the enlightened nature of our mind has been obscured because of our own dualistic concepts and emotional af- flictions rooted in grasping at "self." The mind's true nature has become unknown to us, like a treasure buried under layers of earth. But when the true nature is uncovered through the right Buddhist training that suits us, we become the Fully Awakened One, the Buddha. Buddha said: Beings are Buddha in their nature. But their nature has been obscured by adventitious defilements. When the defilements are cleared, They themselves are the very Buddhas.t Buddhist trainings start with taming the mind, because the mind is the source of all our mental events and physical actions. If our mind is peaceful and kind, all our thoughts and efforts will benefit ourselves and others. Buddhist trainings lead us directly to, or at least toward, the goal-the realization of Buddhahood, the true nature of the mind and the whole universe. Buddhist trainings comprise a wide range of approaches, each adapted to tlw particular needs of different kinds of trainees. Neverthe- less, all can lw distilled into three major vehicles, or yanas. Fundamt'ntal Buddhism (Hinayana): In this training, practitioners avoid t·m·ountcring the sources of negative mentalities and emotions by, for iustam·t', living in solitary places and observing celibacy. This ap- proach is likt' walking around a poisonous tree to avoid its afflictions. This is the· path of pratimoksha (individual liberation), which primarily emphasizt·s adhering to a set of physical disciplines and refraining from harming ot lwrs. •rfe bTsun Ali /.a Ras Pa'i rNam Thar rGyas Par Phye Ba mGur'Bum (India: Chitra Monastery), folio 57b/6. tKyer rDo 1/r 'l.hts Bya Ba [brTags Pa gNyis Pa}. Kanjur, rGyud. Vol. Nga (Tibet: Dege Editiou), li11io 22ah. Vlll