Translated and Ed ired by Jeffrey Hopkins Co-edired by Anne C. Klein ALSO BY JEFFREY HOPKINS Practice and Theory in Tibetan Buddhism (with Geshe Lhundup Sopa) The Buddhism of Tibet and The Key to the Middle Way (with Lati Rinbocha:Y) The Precious Garland and The Song of the Four Mindfulnesses (with LAti Rinbocha:Y) Tantra in Tibet Compassion in Tibetan Buddhism Yoga of Tibet Meditative States in Tibetan Buddhism (with LAti Rinbocha:Y, Locho Rinbocha:Y, and Leah Zahler) The Kalachakra Tantra: Rite· of Initiation for the States of Generation (with Tem;in O,atso, H.H. the Dalai LAma XIV Kindness, Clarity, and Insight (with Tem;in O,atso, H.H. the Dalai LAma XIV Health Through Balance (with Dr. Yeshi Donden) Emptiness Yoga T antric Practice in Nying-ma Khetsun Sangpo Rinbochay TRANSLATED AND EDITED BY Jeffrey Hopkins Co-edited by Anne Klein Snow Lion Publications Ithaca, New York, U.S.A. Snow ·uon Publications P .0. Box 6483 Ithaca, NY 14851 First Published 1982 by Rider and Company, London © Jeffrey Hopkins First Printing in USA 1982 Second Printing in USA 1986 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 86,3762 ISBN 0-937938-14-9 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any means without prior written permission from the publisher. Printed in USA. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Khetsun Sangpo Rinbochay. Tantric practice in Nying-ma. Reprint. Originally published: Ithaca, N.Y. : Gabriel/Snow Lion, 1982. Bibliography: p. Includes index. 1. Rfiii\-ma-pa (Sect)-Doctrines. 2. Spiritual life (Buddhism)-R~in-ma-pa authors. 3. Tantric Buddhism China-Tibet. I. Hopkins, Jeffrey. II. Klein, Anne. Ill. Title. [BQ7662.4.K47 1986] 294.3'4448 86-3762 ISBN 0-937938-14-9 (pbk.) Contents Preface 7 Technical Note 9 Part One: COMMON EXTERNAL PREPARATORY PRACTICES 11 1 Introduction 13 2 Motivation 20 3 Listening to Instructions 32 4 Opportunities and Conditions 45 5 Me~itation on Impermanence 57 6 Faults of Cyclic Existence 64 7 Suffering 73 8 Cause and Effect of Actions 86 9 Benefits of Liberation and Reliance on a Spiritual Guide 101 Part Two: SPECIAL INTERNAL PREPARATORY PRACTICES 111 10 Refuge 113 11 Mind of Enlightenment 125 12 Vajrasattva Meditation 141 13 Offering Mandala 154 14 Cutting Attachment 161 15 Guru Yoga 167 6 Contents Part Three: THE GREAT PERFECTION 183 Part Four: DAILY RECITATION AND MEDITATION 195 Translator's Glossary 216 Bibliography 228 Notes 230 Index 233 Preface Khetsun Sangpo Rinbochay is a Nying-ma lama trained in Tibet and capable of transmitting in complete form the special precepts of Nying-ma (Old Translation Order). Student of the Ge-luk, Sa-gya, 'Ga-gyu, and Nying-ma orders while in Tibet, member of the lay clergy whose many functions included the stopping of hail to protect crops, teacher in Japan for ten years at the request of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and author of an eight-volume series of biographies of Tibetan masters, Khetsun Sangpo Rinbochay came' to the University ofVirginia in the spring of 1974 to lecture on tantric Buddhism. In a series of lectures, during which I acted as his translator, he set forth the prerequisite practices for tantra, beginning with instruc tions on how to listen to religious teaching and ending with guru yoga. During Rinbochay's visit to America in 1974 and my visit to India in 1972, I was fortunate to receiv·e his teaching on Long-chen-rap-jam's presentation of the nine vehicles in his Treasury of the Supreme Vehicle (Theg mchog mdzod),1 the same author's presentation of the sutra system in his Treasury of Tenets (Grub mtha' mdzod), and Ba-drul Jik may-chO-gi-wang-bo's Sacred Word of Lama Gun-sang (Kun bzang bla ma'i zhal lung) - Rinbochay's condensation of which forms the basis for this book. In the light of his teaching and of a twentieth-century commentary on the 8 Tantric Practice in Nying-ma Sacred Word of Lama Gun-sang by Nga-wang-bel-sang, I collaborated with Anne Klein to edit Rinbochay's lectures on the Sacred Word of Lama Gun-sang and other teachings on the Great Perfection. These provide the classical Nying-ma presentation of the preparatory tantric paths as well as a glimpse into the higher reaches of tantric realization. Khetsun Sangpo Rinbochay's transmission of the oral tradition vividly reveals the practicality that is at the root of all religious endeavour. JEFFREY HOPKINS Charlottesville, Virginia Technical Note The transliteration scheme for Sanskrit names and titles is aimed at easy pronunciation, using sh, sh, and ch ratherthan s, s, and c. With the first occurrence of each Indian title, the Sanskrit is given, if available. The full Sanskrit and Tibetan titles are to be found in the bibliography, which is arranged alphabetically according to the English titles of sutras and according to authors of other works. The Tibetan originals of key terms have been given in a glossary at the end. Turrell Wylie's presentation of a transliteration scheme for the Tibetan alphabet2 has been followed (except in that root letters are capitalized in names). For an explanation of the rendering ofTibetan names in a pronounceable form see the technical note to Meditation on Emptiness. 3