Eye of the Storm:
Vairotsana's
Five Original Transmissions
Eye of the Storm is a translation of Vairotsana's five original transmissions (Snga 'gyur lnga) , the five seminal tantras of the Mind Series of Dzogchen Precepts, with a commentary from the Mdo bcu, by Keith Dowman, a foreword by Bhakha Tulku Pema Rigdzin, published by Vajra Publications in Kathmandu, Nepal, at www.vajrabooks.com.np
Publisher's Announcement
Go to Eye of the Storm (Excerpts)
Contents of Eye of the Storm
Foreword by Bhakha Tulku
Translator's Introduction
The Cuckoo's Song of Gnosis
Radical Creativity
The Great Garuda in Flight
Pure Golden Ore
The Eternal Victory Banner
(The Vast Space of Vajrasattva)
Endnotes
Appendices
I. The Tibetan Text and Sources
II. Mind Series Jargon
This page provides access to textural material relating to Eye of the Storm including the Tibetan texts of the five transmissions (in process), indices of the Mdo bcu, and the appendices published in Eye of the Storm.
Appendices from Eye of the Storm
with Links to the Tibetan TextsGo to Eye of the Storm (Excerpts) for translations of three Transmissions
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Appendix I
The Tibetan Texts and CommentariesThe following abbreviations are used here and in the annotation:
BGB Bairo rgyud 'bum: 8 vols. Tashigangpa, Leh, 1971.
TB Rnying ma rgyud 'bum, Mtshams brag edition: 46 vols. Thimphu, Bhutan: National Library, Royal Government of Bhutan, 1982.
NCG Rdo rje sems dpa' nam mkha' che'i rgyud: (TB vol. Ga ff. 165.3-191.)
The Five Early Translations appear in the Bairo rgyud 'bum and as chapters of the Kun byed rgyal po (see below). They are also quoted in the Mdo bcu in the context of their commentary. The Bairo rgyud 'bum is the oldest but most corrupted. The commentary to the transmissions is derived primarily from the explanatory text the Mdo bcu (Chos thams cad rdzogs pa chen po byang chub kyi sems su 'dus pa'i mdo): TB vol. Ka ff. 352-499, the second text in the Rnying ma rgyud 'bum. Of the various tantras in the Rnying ma rgyud 'bum with Rdo rje sems dpa' nam mkha' che in the title, the Rdo rje sems dpa' nam mkha' che' i rgyud has sometimes shed light on verses in the Mi nub rgyal mtshan and, likewise, the Lcags 'grel commentary (BGB vol. Nga pp. 397-453).
The following verses or lines are quoted by Longchenpa in Byang chub kyi sems kun byed rgyal po'i don khrid rin chen sgru bo, translated as You Are the Eyes of the World (Longchenpa 1987): Radical Creativity v. 6 on pp. 24-5; Pure Golden Ore v. 7 in note 42; Eternal Victory Banner v. 16 on p. 40; and v. 40 on p. 43.
The following verses or lines are quoted by Longchenpa in Gnas lugs mdzod 'grel ba, translated as Old Man Basking in the Sun (Longchenpa 2006): Eternal Victory Banner vs. 9 and 10 in canto 84, p.208; v. 30 in canto 85, p.210, and in canto 113, p.249; and vs. 41, 42 and 44 in canto 115 p. 252. Great Garuda vs. 2-4 are quoted in canto 8 pp. 85-6; v. 10 in canto 33, p.138; v. 12 in canto 63, p.177; v. 14 in canto 112, p.248; and v.21 in canto 125, p.278.
Sources of Tibetan Texts and English Translation
For the Nyingma collections of tantras see the Samantabhadra Collection online at the University of Virginia:
Rig pa'i khu byug: The Cuckoo's Song of Gnosis
IOL/Stein 647 in the Tun Huang Collection.
TB vol. Ka 113.2-113.5; Kun byed rgyal po, ch. 31.
TB vol. Ka 453.3-453.6; Mdo bcu, in the eighth sutra.
BGB vol. Nga p.306.
<http://www.thdl..org/collections/literature/nyingma.php>
<http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/tibet/pgviewer/pgview.php?id=Tb.303.b10>
Samten Karmay, 1988: p. 50.
John Reynolds, 1996: pp. 232-3.
Namkhai Norbu and John Shane, 1986: p. xv.
Namkhai Norbu and Adriano Clemente, 1989: p. 48.
Namkhai Norbu and Adriano Clemente, 1999: pp. 174.
Rtsal chen sprugs pa: Radical Creativity
TB vol. Ka ff. 98.7-100.1; Kun byed rgyal po ch. 27.
TB vol. Ka ff. 453.6-455.1; Mdo bcu, in the eighth sutra.
BGB vol. Nga pp. 306-308.
<http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/tibet/pgviewer/pgview.php?id=Tb.1>
Namkhai Norbu and Adriano Clemente, 1999: p. 165.
Khyung chen lding ba: Great Garuda in Flight
TB vol. Ka ff. 87.2-91.6; Kun byed rgyal po ch. 22.
TB vol. Ka ff. 455.1-462.4; Mdo bcu, in the eighth sutra.
BGB vol Nga pp. 308-314.
Namkhai Norbu and Adriano Clemente, 1999: pp. 158-61.
Rdo la gser zhun: Pure Golden Ore
TB vol. Ka ff. 96.4-98.6; Kun byed rgyal po ch. 26.
TB vol. Ka ff. 450.3-453.3; Mdo bcu, in the eighth sutra.
Namkhai Norbu and Adriano Clemente, 1999: pp. 163-65.
Mi nub pa'i rgyal mtshan: Nam mkha' che
The Eternal Victory Banner: The Vast Space of Vajrasattva
TB vol. Ka ff. 105.2-113.1; Kun byed rgyal po ch. 30.
TB vol. Ka ff. 352-499 ; in the ten sutras of the Mdo bcu.
BGB vol. Nga 383-395.
Adriano Clemente, 1999.
Namkhai Norbu and Adriano Clemente, 1999: pp. 168-73.
Appendix II
Mind Series Jargon
NB. The following abbreviations are employed as indices in the following analysis: CS = Cuckoo's Song; RC = Radical Creativity; GG = Great Garuda; PGO = Pure Golden Ore; and VB = Victory Banner. The 'c' denotes citation from the respective commentary.
The vocabulary of the transmissions helps to confirm these Mind Series texts as the earliest Dzogchen scriptures. Dzogchen terminology was still evidently in an incipient phase and had not developed into the jargon of later exegesis. It was as if Vairotsana was employing a common vocabulary to translate his experience, very much as we struggle to translate the Tibetan into English. The language of the Mdo bcu on the other hand is written in highly developed Dzogchen jargon and argues for a much later date of composition by an author other than Vairotsana. In the transmissions, for example, the words 'reality' (chos nyid) and surprisingly, 'gnosis' (rig pa) rarely appear, and likewise 'reality-field' (dharmadhatu) and 'pure being' (dharmakaya). The word 'matrix' or 'expanse (klong), a vital notion in elaborated Dzogchen, does not appear in the transmissions and only once in the commentary. The term 'ground of being' (kun gzhi) does not appear (although see PGO2). The phrase 'nondual perception' (gzung 'dzin med pa) does not appear in the transmissions, although frequently in the Mdo bcu commentary. The term 'seminal nucleus' (thig le chen po) appears once in the transmissions (PGO10), although the notion of the 'one indivisible particle' (rdul phran gcig) (GG3) could present the germ of that concept. As to be expected the term 'emptiness' (stong pa nyid) does not appear in the transmissions (but see GG), although the commentary uses it occasionally.
Further, the transmissions do not mention the three dimensions of being (trikaya) and the commentary stresses the unity of the three as the one dharmakaya. Nor are the four yogas or the nine approaches mentioned, although one of the main themes of the Mdo bcu is the assimilation of the gradual approaches into radical Dzogchen. The commentary to Victory Banner verses 4, 5 and 6 applies the natural modality of the great perfection to mahayoga, anuyoga and outer yogatantra (sattva-yoga), where each is shown as complete and perfect. This is in apposition to the commentary to verses 42, 27, 36 and 17 upon the reality of anuyoga, mahayoga, tantra-yoga and atiyoga respectively, where anuyoga is described as a 'subtle technique', while mahayoga and tantra-yoga are considered faulted. The absence of these and other enumerations and frames of analysis in the transmissions argues a very early date and very pure antecedents for the Mind Series transmissions of radical Dzogchen.
Pure mind (bodhichitta, byang chub sems)
There is a strong case for assimilating the word bodhichitta, by which we understand the buddha's compassionate mind, into the English language, since we possess no precise equivalent. 'Enlightened' or 'awakened mind' is the phase most commonly employed in the vajrayana. But in the vajrayana enlightened mind is the prerogative of buddha only, whereas in Dzogchen it is the very stuff of all-embracing reality. Bodhichitta is reality itself - 'pure mind and reality are one in the dharmadhatu' (RCc 1-2), as mind and inner space are one (GG1c). The nondual imperative of Dzogchen requires a more neutral, less affective, equivalent for bodhichitta and for that reason we have chosen 'pure mind', the pure mind that supersedes or transcends the rational mind without any sense of moral quality. Pure mind is also the sole recourse of beings trapped on a causal path because it is the one cause and the sole effect (GG19c). Pure mind, however, is also identified as loving kindness (VB1) and selfless compassion (GG14c). Since the term defines the Mind Series of Dzogchen precepts, its meaning is paramount and justifies its dominant incidence in the texts.
Pure essence of mind (byang chub snying po, bodhigarbha)
As the one cause, pure mind is the pure essence of mind, the source of all things (VB33c). 'Essence' is here a rendering of snying po which could also be translated as 'womb' or 'matrix'. However, 'essence' is to be understood as emptiness, never as even the most subtle concrete quintessence. Since pure mind is free of any substantial ens or self, the connotation of substance is always inappropriate. The physical image of the word 'womb' makes it inappropriate as an equivalent of snying po in the Dzogchen context because it implies a separation of the container and the contents. The pure essence of mind is bodhichitta as the sole cause, not to be separated from bodhichitta as the sole effect. The essence and the manifestation are one. The seed and the product are one. Pure essence of mind and pure mind are one.
Particularly in Great Garuda and Pure Golden Ore, 'pure essence of mind' replaces 'pure mind. 'Pure essence of mind' is preferable because it denotes potentiality rather than actuality. Nothing ever comes into existence or ceases to be and remains therefore in a state of potential, as in a womb, which is the nature of pure mind, and is described as 'the great nucleus' (thig le chen po) and 'the six nuclei (PGO11, PGO13). In Great Garuda the emergent nature of the pure essence of mind is pure being, 'individuated' emptiness (GG2). This essence is our all-inclusive identity and that is the wish-fulfilling gem (GG14c). It is all-encompassing creativity ('radical creativity') (GG22). In the pure essence of mind the ultimate samadhi arises as pristine awareness in the field of reality (GG23).
In Pure Golden Ore the pure essence of mind is identified with Manjushri Kumara, the all-inclusive buddha-body deity of the eight mahayoga buddhas, who is the fount of all phenomena and thus all experience. All such experience is spontaneously released in the pure essence of mind modality. Thus the essence of pure mind is 'the mother of the sugatas' (sugatagarbha). In the pure essence of mind, pure mind and the proclivities of mind are one - there is no separation. The nature of the pure essence of mind is self-sprung awareness, unchanging and imperturbable. It is inconceivable, always present like space, transcending ideas and speech.
In Victory Banner the pure essence of mind is the place of all suffering, where forever comprehended, never becoming anything more or less than pure mind, it manifests as pure being and pristine awareness (VB15c). All dualities are congruent in the pure essence of mind: therein buddha's pure pleasure and the happiness and misery of ordinary beings are one (VB10c). The reality of pleasure and pain, happiness and sadness and the five passions is identical in the pure essence of mind. Man and woman are identical in the pure essence of mind (VB33). The field of reality in the pure essence of mind remains unmoved by mentation (VB11). Desire, anger and bewilderment arise in the modality of the pure essence of mind (VB16c). 'The pure essence of mind is the universal source and pure and simple reality', at once indeterminate reality itself and the source of reality (VB22).
Reality (chos nyid, dharmata)
The Dzogchen reality of pure mind is nondual reality and that is all that should be said about it. Insofar as the view and meditation of atiyoga is a constant recognition of deconstructed mind and experience, it provides that reality. Etymologically both the Sanskrit and the Tibetan words mean 'experience (dharma) in itself'. The word appears only seven times in the transmissions - although surely reality is their nature and their purpose: it is not exclusive to any particular experience or phenomena (RC5); it is free and open and all-inclusive (GG18); unsought, it is known in nonmeditation (VB7); it cannot be transmitted through time (VB8); it is adorned by sensual pleasure in the dharmadhatu (VB16); it is pure and simple and cannot be elaborated (VB22); and it is noncontingent (VB41).
Reality is inexpressible and the adjectives used to describe it in the Mdo bcu all point to that ineffability through negation. It is nondual (CSc), superseding time (VB48c) and space (VB31c), pleasure and pain (VB15c) and the five passions (VB15c); it is not created (CSc and VB6c), it is nondiscursive (GG1c); it cannot be located (GG3c) and it cannot be discovered ; it cannot be objectified (GG12c); it is insubstantial (GG15c); it is unelaborated and indeterminable (VB12c); it is immovable (VB3c) and unchangeable (VB41-43); it is signless (VB21c); and it cannot be accomplished or attested (VB55c).
On the other hand, reality is defined positively as Vajrasattva, pure mind (RC2c and VB16c), as the here-and-now ('suchness') (CSc), as pristine awareness (GG3c), as equality (GG3c), as our dharmakaya identity (VB3c), as one totality (VB22c); its nature is spontaneous pure pleasure (VB26c); it is a display of bliss (GG5c); it is the Dzogchen modality itself (VB24c); it is identical to loving kindness and compassion (VB2c). It is a timeless unchanging moment (VB41-43).
The field of reality (chos dbyings, dharmadhatu)
The first distinction to be made in the temporal development of consciousness in childhood is between inside and outside, subject and object. The tendency to concretization of self and other dominates our ordinary perception, but the reality is a unified field of experience that viewed holistically is called the dharmadhatu. The first three verses of Radical Creativity describe it as Samantabhadra's emanation, which is our own field of experience. It is a unitary field superseding all outer and inner distinctions and time itself (VB26). It is a field of absolute identity and equality. It is perfect in itself, unalterable and immovable. It is a dynamic field of experience free of any directed activity and thus it can be described as a 'freeform field' (RC3c). In the first two verses of Great Garuda, Samantabhadra’s emanation as the dharmadhatu is shown 'individuated' as the mind of the Dzogchen yogin and therefore as the Dzogchen modality in which a field, as pure mind, cannot be anywhere located, a non-field in perceptual nonduality, nondiscursive and non-analytical. Although it is 'individuated', the dharmadhatu is still unlimited, uncircumscribed, without center or circumference (GG5).
If Samantabhadra is the nondual wholeness of being and knowing, Vajrasattva is the vast spaciousness of the field of reality within pure being, or 'individuated emptiness' (VB1). The field of reality is thus the space in which all and everything agglomerates and is reflexively released as Vajrasattva in a constant unimpeded process. 'Dharmadhatu' may be rendered simply as spaciousness or as 'existential space'.
In the anuyoga view the reality-field is posited as the complement of gnosis (rig pa) in a union of the gender principles of skillful means and insight. Thus the Dzogchen unity of the single Samantabhadra is provisionally split to show Samantabhadra as gnosis in union with Samantabhadri as reality itself (VB5).
The five passions arise in pure mind and the five sensual pleasures are described as 'ornaments' of the field of reality. As such they partake of the nature of reality and therefore can have no appearance, no form, shape or color (VB16). In the same way, the universe as an offering of sensual pleasure is described in terms of an 'adornment' of the field of reality, so the offering is an offering of the dharmadhatu as emptiness (VB49).
Pure being (dharmakaya, chos sku)
If the dharmadhatu refers to the holistic experiential field, the dharmakaya refers to the ontic dimension of the totality, to pure being. The word 'being' in English, within its abstract universal meaning, has a personalized sense that allows the notion of buddha in human form. This limitation, however, is belied by its definition as 'unthought sameness' (VB18), which is a close synonym of 'emptiness' a term rarely used in Dzogchen exegesis. 'Pure mind reality is like space, and mind without thought is pure being' (VB18c). Within pure being pure mind reality lacks any concrete name or form whatsoever - it is utterly insubstantial - so there is nothing to grasp and hold on to. Within the unoriginated dharmakaya of Samantabhadra the magical illusion of creation is apparent and all of creation is Samantabhadra's display.
'Within pure being magical illusion arises composed of the five aggregates which as secondary emanations of the eight consciousnesses comprise the complete sphere of activity of the three-fold mundane finite world which takes the form of the five passions' five sensory pleasures' (VB26c). In this sense pure being is all-inclusive. But since pure mind never becomes any thing, never becomes any shape, size or color, and, therefore, insofar as it never moves out of its own nature, it is immovable and unchangeable (VB32c), and known as pure being, present as the stance (mudra) of pure being, and as a seal of pure being, it is free of perceptual duality. The self-sprung awareness of pure being remains constant in an imperturbable samadhi. So pure being is pristine awareness.
In Great Garuda (verses 1-3) a distinction is made between the notional dharmakaya which is the object of goal-oriented meditation and pure being that is pristine awareness. The notional dharmakaya as a concept refers to nothing at all and, therefore, simultaneous with its conception self-sprung awareness arises. The same may be said for any concept whatsoever, so all thought is pure being.
Pristine awareness (ye shes, jnana)
This basic awareness is forever fresh, never becoming tired, bored or jaded. There is an element of the ingenuousness of the simpleton in it since it cannot be elaborated into a complex proposition. Since it is nondual perception, nothing can transcend it and it cannot be objectified; it can therefore be rendered as 'ultimate awareness'. Since it exists as original reality, it can be rendered as 'primordial awareness'. It has no cause or condition and arises spontaneously by and of itself and it is thus 'self-sprung awareness'. Direct perception and nondual cognition are pristine awareness in the reality-field that is all pure mind; it is spontaneous, instantaneous cognition. It cannot be discovered by seeking (VB20c) and it is immune to analysis (VB25c). It arises in an unimpeded samadhi (VB1c), imperturbable (VB32). Nothing can induce it or develop it. The process of release is inherent within it (VB3). It’s nature is natural pure pleasure (VB26c). Gnosis is a function of pristine awareness (VB42).
Thought itself is pristine awareness because the dharmakaya as a concept is naturally indeterminate and pure (GG1). Thought in itself is thought-free and pristine awareness is 'a ubiquitous, natural presence' (GG1). It has no location, no specifics, and it is noncomposite (GG3c). It transcends all thought and expression, absorbing all specific meaning in one single sovereign equality. The field of reality is spontaneously and constantly suffused by pristine awareness. Pristine awareness is a wish-fulfilling jewel (GG12). Pristine awareness is the eye of direct insight, the eye of omniscience, that sees the nature of the field of reality (PGO6).
Although it cannot be located, it can be recognized in the natural union of means and insight (anuyoga) (VB5). Desire, anger and bewilderment arise as pristine awareness (VB16). Pristine awareness arises particularly in the state of bewilderment as Samantabhadra's miraculous display (VB44). It spontaneously arises in thought (VB12), in the spaciousness of mental constructs (anuyoga) (VB17). In the perspective of sattva-yoga, the buddha-deity of pristine awareness identifies with the yogi. In ubhaya-yoga vision, pristine awareness is radiated from the nature of mind as Vajrasattva who is inseparable from the five colors and the five elements (VB47c). In the offering ritual the offering of the sensual pleasures, the individuated mind that is making the offering and pristine awareness are one (VB49c).
Bewilderment (gti mug), or a state of stupidity, is clouded pristine awareness that possesses the same undiscriminating facility as pristine awareness itself and therefore pristine awareness arises easily within it, or rather it is timelessly inherent in it and spontaneously emerges therein (PGO5). The scriptures themselves and momentary visions appear in pulsating nescience (GG19).
Pure being and pristine awareness (sku dang ye shes)
Pure mind has no structure, yet it is described didactically in terms of being (sku) and awareness (ye shes), a putative dualism of its ontic and epistemic aspects (VB6c). 'Pure being' refers to the structure of reality, or since this structure has no concrete reality and no temporal or spatial limitations perhaps 'anti-structure' is more meaningful. It could be described as the uni-dimensional reality of pure mind, since it is not elaborated in time or space, yet it appears as variegated multiplicity. This structure may be differentiated as the three modes of pure being - dharmakaya, sambhogakaya and nirmanakaya - but such a distinction is mentioned only once in the five transmissions and that in the commentary. Pristine awareness is the all-inclusive pure cognition of all buddha. So pure being is pure mind and pristine awareness its innate propensity for cognition. As a skillful means, realization of the unity of the ontic (sku) and epistemic (ye shes) voids substantiality in the sensory fields by facilitating the union of subject and object. They are united as a union of 'the immovable' and 'the imperturbable' (VB32c).
The all-inclusive magical illusion of pure mind is actualized by an involuntary realization of its unitary nature of 'suchness'. Then it can be described as indivisible 'pure being' in its ontic reality and 'pristine awareness' in its epistemic aspect (VB6c).Likewise, in realization of the wheel of life as the modality of pure mind, the phantasmagoric display is a union of pure being and the five aspects of pristine awareness (VB9c). Again, in so far as the field of buddha-experience is devoid of perceptual duality - any structure based on consciousness, sense organ and sensory object, the fictions of dualistic analysis - buddha-experience in pure being is described in terms of pure being and pristine awareness (VB20c).
Nature of mind (sems nyid)
The seminal phrase the 'nature of mind' does not appear in the transmissions. Pure mind and the pure essence of mind are the nature of mind and subsume all its meanings.
Path, process, modality (lam)
If a path implies a distinct starting point, a temporal progression and a destination Dzogchen Ati has no path - or it is better designated a pathless path, the path always under our feet that has no extension. And yet within a timeless moment of pure mind there is an unfoldment and a release. For this reason 'path' has sometimes been rendered as 'process'. To emphasize the synchronistic function of 'arising', 'abiding' and 'releasing', 'modality' has sometimes been preferred to 'path' or 'process'.
Equality, sameness (mnyam pa, mnyam nyid)
'Equality' describes the nature of Samantabhadra himself who is the Lord of Equality, and 'sovereign equality' is the nature of pure mind, the pure mind matrix, and therefore of all things whatsoever. This 'equality' is synonymous with 'identity' in the sense that the nature of mind is identical in every moment of the here-and-now. Equality is an attribute of the ocean and also of the sky. Equality, however, is a state of being, a state of 'evenness' or 'equanimity', in which there is no radiation or absorption. In its imperturbability, it is the antidote to desire and attachment. At the same time it is present in the active sphere of Samantabhadra and as such is both the intrinsic identity of multiplicity and multiplicity itself, in the same way that reality is both pure mind matrix and pure mind manifest. In this way equality is virtually synonymous with emptiness (stong pa nyid) though it has a stronger, positive flavor. It is the nature of gnosis (rig pa). It is the unthought dharmakaya. It is reality (chos nyid) itself.
'Equality', in Tibetan, as it does in English, carries the sense of 'on the ground' and thus is 'free of all complacency and arrogance'. 'Equality', besides taking the sting out of desire and attachment, is the antidote to guilt and remorse. Indeed, the state of equality can be fully recognized through sexual indulgence and anti-social activity. It is this fundamental quality of pure mind that brings the sage and the sinner onto a level playing field.
Nonaction, freeform (bya med, bya bral)
'Nonaction' may imply the unmoving nature of the reality-field (GG1), the dharmadhatu itself (GG1c), but it is, simultaneously, the play of sameness or emptiness in multiplicity and for that reason it has been rendered 'freeform', like the sky, herein. Nonaction is 'non-directed action' or 'spontaneous, freeform action' (RC3); it is spontaneity itself. It is the yogi's activity that is an integral part of the dynamic, miraculous display of Samantabhadra (GG24). There is no self-directed motivation, and indeed there is no motivation whatsoever. There is no effort involved, no goal-oriented striving, no seeking for the sake of finding (VB55c). There is no connotation of 'hard work' or 'onerous duty'. It may imply renunciation of all mundane involvement, but not necessarily so. It may imply the abandonment of all spiritual materialism, including meditation, devotional exercises and ritual, but again not necessarily so (VB21). This definition is inclining towards 'nonaction' as an attitude to the dynamic of 'body', 'speech' and 'mind' (VB53). With this attitude the spectacular display of appearances, including the yogin, is a constant, but nothing is ever done. At the same time everything is released (VB3).
The Five Early Translations belong to those chapters of the Kun byed rgyal po which treat perfected nonaction. But the word appears only rarely therein and rarely in the Mdo bcu commentary. Its significance, however, is seminal in Dzogchen exegesis.
Gnosis (rig pa)
Rigpa is best defined as nondual awareness of our every moment of experience. As the verb 'to know' in dualistic verbal structures it was elevated in Dzogchen jargon to denote the realization of natural perfection. Since we have no equivalent of this notion in the English language we have used the word 'gnosis' herein, a word that should be taken to imply full awareness of the nondual holistic natural state of being. The word appears only once in the Transmissions where it is used to describe Samantabhadra’s pure-pleasure awareness (VB42) and then infrequently in the commentary to the Victory Banner, which indicates a late movement to the center of Dzogchen exegesis. Here gnosis is the transcendental realization that subsumes all conceptual meditation (VB13c). It cannot be cultivated, and intrinsic to unstructured reality it is free of dualistic perception; discursive thought arising therein is pristine awareness itself (VB12c). Here gnosis would be represented iconographically as the single naked blue buddha Samantabhadra. But this gnostic totality is also described as a timeless union of gnosis and the dharmadhatu, in which gnosis is the skillful means and reality-field the insight function (VB5c). Likewise, whereas the reality-field is represented by the vowels of articulated expression, so gnosis is represented by the consonants (VB18c). The union of vowels and consonants is the display of Samantabhadra that never crystalizes. This display of spontaneity is a dance of gnosis (VB52c). In the radical Dzogchen of the transmissions, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that rigpa is knowledge of the common light of day.
Union (sbyor ba)
The notion of 'union, sexual or metaphysical, belongs in the tantric domain. Yet sexual union as the spontaneous play of Samantabhadra's emanation is buddha-activity (RC4) and his display itself may be conceived as the union of vowels and consonants (VB18-19). In commentary on the Victory Banner, the union of skillful means and insight is treated under the rubric of anuyoga (VB5). Where in tantra-yoga the notion of union would be employed there is circumlocution to indicate a timeless immanent interfusion (VB34), which may appear as a flash of spontaneous cognition or 'nonunion' (VB52). In the deconstruction of the tantric ganachakra rite, union is a timeless, endless dance (VB52c).
Realization (rtogs pa)
The word rtogs pa, often translated as 'realization' or 'intuitive understanding', is linguistically rooted in the verb rtog pa 'to think'. Mental structure and thought as functions of the rational, intellectual mind are coincident with realization of the nature of mind as empty and radiant (RCc). The modality of natural perfection is inherent in every thought-form. In later Dzogchen exegesis, thought, or the stream of discursive mentation (rnam rtog), is conceived of more as a glitch in the pure mind modality, rather than as a basis for realization. Insofar as we know reality as nothing other than mental constructs we are never free of 'realization'. In the Transmissions, and particularly in VBc, thought, like passion, is inseparable from pure mind itself and therefore never to be avoided or suppressed. The seemingly indiscriminate use of rtog pa and rtogs pa in the texts may be an error of grammar or calligraphy but their proximate identity is thereby indicated.
Field, object (yul)
In the delusive dualistic analysis of perception, objects of the senses, the objective field, is grasped by consciousness, 'the knower'. In nondual perception there is no object to grasp and the sensory fields are the field of reality, the dharmadhatu.
Buddha (sang rgyas pa)
In the Dzogchen view there are no separate entities called 'buddhas'. Rather, there is universal buddhahood, which is synonymous with enlightenment.
Body, speech and mind (sku gsung thugs)
The three dimensions of 'body', 'speech' and 'mind' are one in pure mind and one in pure being. The elaboration of the fundamental unity into three aspects provides a skillful means of illuminating the delusive miasmas of the six kinds of being in three dimensions. Human 'body', 'speech' and 'mind' refers to the dimensions of structured emanational being, energy flows and patterns, and consciousness, respectively. Buddha 'body', 'speech' and 'mind' refers to the natural equality of those dimensions in pure mind. Buddha 'body', 'speech' and 'mind' are like the eyes of pure mind that recognize the variety of beings, the passions, the suffering and the sensual pleasures on the wheel of life, as pure mind. More specifically, buddha 'body', 'speech' and 'mind' are the purity of the three poisons in pure mind, 'buddha-body' recognizing the tendency to attraction and desire and its manifestations, 'buddha-speech' recognizing the tendency to aversion and anger, and 'buddha-mind' recognizing all forms of bewilderment and ignorance. In conceptual meditation the centers of 'body', 'speech' and 'mind' are located in the head, throat and heart respectively.
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