The Cuckoo of Awareness An Ornament for Acquiring Realization known as The Six Diamond Stanzas Translation of the Tun-huang manuscript: Sasti: !ol" Of !olies# !omage To The $od"-Speech-%ind Of The All-$eneficent &ord' (a)ra Of *reat $liss# +, The intrinsic nature of diersit" is nondual' since , Singularit" is unintellig unintelligi.le i.le /aprapancita0, 1, 2acticit" /"atha0 is non-conceptual' since 3, The totalit" of created appearance is all-.eneficent, 4, Alread" haing a.andoned the disease op striing' 5, 6ust remain in effortless a.iding /aasthita0,
The Ti.etan text of the Tun-huang %S,: Sasti: dpal,g"i,dpal7 .com,ldan,hdas7 kun,tu,.zang,po7 sku,gsung,thugs,rdo,r sku,gsun g,thugs,rdo,r)e,.de,wa,chen )e,.de,wa,chen,po,la,ph" ,po,la,ph"ag,htshal,lo ag,htshal,lo 7 7 /80 sna,tshogs,rang,.zhin,m"i,gn"is,k"ang7 /0 cha,shas,n" cha,shas,n"id,du,spros,d id,du,spros,dang,.ral7 ang,.ral7 /10 )i,.zhin,pa,8zhes,mi,rtogs,k"ang7 /30 rnam,par,snang,mdzad,kun,tu, .zang7 /40 zin,pas,rtsol,. zin,pas,rtsol,.a9i,nad,spangs,t a9i,nad,spangs,te7 e7 /50 lhun,g"is 1 gnas,pas,.zhag 3 pa,"in7 (ariations of spelling in the a.oe: 8 .a, du, 1 k"is, 3 gzag
Translation of the r"ing-ma r*"ud-9.um redaction: The sanskrit title: ;,,,
/80 sna,tshogs,rang,.zhin,m"i,gn"is,k"ang7 /0 cha,shas,n"id,du,spros,dang,.ral7 /10 )i,.zhin,pa,zhes,mi,rtogs,k"ang7 /30 rnam,par,snang,mdzad,kun,tu,.zang /40 zin,pas,rtsol,.a9inad,spangs,te7 /50 lhun,g"is, gnas,pas,.zhag, 8 pa,"in7 $"ang,chu.,k"i,sems,rig,pa,khu,."ug,rdzogs,so 7 (ariations of spelling in the a.oe: 8 gzag
Commentary, Part One: The Textual Background This text is known as the Rig-pa9i khu-."ug /pronounced Rig-pa" =hu-)ug0 in Ti.et' a title equialent with the Sanskrit (id"a-kokila' meaning the >uckoo of Awareness, The antiquit" of the Rig-pa9i khu - ."ug is esta.lished ." the fact that there exists a manuscript ersion of it among the scrolls and folio treatises discoered ." Sir Aurel Stein at Tun huang in the heart of >entral Asia' The Tun-huang %S, is catalogued as ?@35 of the Ti.etan %anuscripts from Tun-huang housed in the +ndia Office &i.rar" in &ondon, The Tun-huang ersion contains no title and the author remains anon"mous, eertheless the six stanzas in the Tun-huang ersion are followed' in the same hand' ." a short commentar", According to the commentar" the document was known ." three titles: 1.>uckoo of Awareness /rig,pa9i,khu,."ug0' 2.An Ornament for Acquiring Realization /rig,."ed,snang,.a9i,rg"an0' 3.Six Diamond Stanzas /rdo,r)e,tshig,drug0,
The first title is defined as a simile /dpe0' the second as a description of the document9s intent /dn0' and the third as a common description .ased on erse structure, Another redaction of the same text appears in the r"ing-ma r*"ud-9.um' or Bcollection of ancient TantrasB pertaining to the "ingma school of Ti.et, This text is entitled quite differentl", +t is initiall" called The Single Clace of A.solute Totalit"/rDzog,pa,chen,po,sa,gcig,pa0 and afterwards referred to as the %ind of nlightenment Awareness >uckoo which in Sanskrit would hae .een $odhicitta (id"akokila, The "ingma redaction of this text also supplies a BSanskritB title f or which the Ti.etan rDzog,pa,chen,po,sa,gcig,pa is gien as a translation, The Sanskrit is gien as San-ti darpa' which o.iousl" has .een poorl" transcri.ed, Samten *, =arma" /ide The rDzogs-chen in its arliest Text' proceedings of the 8EF Seminar of Ti.etan Studies' >olum.ia Gniersit"0 refers to this as Ba fake Sanskrit titleB .ut he is wrong, The title is not fakedH rather' it is .adl" misspelled and significant s"lla.les hae .een dropped, San-ti must .e a misspelling of Sandhi or Samdhi' since rDzog-pa-chen-po is the equialent of %aha-samdhi, Dar-pa is meant to equate with the Ti.etan sa /earth' place' location0' and therefore originall" must hae .een an equialent term such asdhara' earth' or een more likel"' desha' a place' a site, )ust as the first ad)ectie'maha' has .een dropped from the title' so for some reason has the last' which neertheless would hae had to hae .een matra /Igcig-pa' single' sole0, Thus the original Sanskrit' if reconstructed' pro.a.l" would hae .een something like: %ahasamdhi-desha-matra, Je know how this text got into the r"ing,ma,g"ud-9.um, +t is thefirst of fie texts traditionall" known as snga,9g"ur,lnga' or Bthe fie earl" translations,B These are included in a collection of eighteen sacred treatises known as theSems,sde,.co,.rg"ad,' or the fundamental treatises of the %indcategor" /Sems,sde0of Dzogchen, The fie earl" translations' or first fie of the eighteen Semde treatises' are:
1.$"ang,chu.,sems,rig,pa,khu,."ug 8 2.$"ang,chu.,sems,rtsa&chen,drugs,pa 3.$"ang,chu.,sems,kh"ung,chen 4.$"ang,chu.,sems,.sgom,pa9i,rdo,la,gser,zhun 5.$"ang,chu.,sems,sems,mi,nu.,pa9i,rg"al,mtshan 1
All of these were translated' according to "ingma tradition' ." the famous $hikshu (airocanaraksita' otherwise known simpl" as (airocana or $airochana, The translator (airocanaraksita was one of the initial Ti.etan candidates ordained ." the +ndian Gpadhe"a /Ti.: =henpo' A..ot0 Santaraksita who' in the latter portion of the Fth centur" founded the first Ti.etan monaster" of Sam"e' (airocana was a close spiritual disciple of Acar"a (imalamitra' the Dzogchen master, The fact of (airocanaraksita haing translated the Six Diamond Stanzas' and of its circulation amongst Dzogchen circles in Ti.et at this ear l" period' is well attested to ." (airocanaraksita9s contemporar" u. Sangg"e Keshe' who quotes from it under the title of BThe >uckooB on more than one occasion in his famous treatise' the Samten %ig,drn, There is no reason not to .eliee that the Six Diamond Stanzas predate (airocanaraksita9s era, Jhat is of interest is that' though titles and ad)oining materials differs' the Ti.etan and Tun-huang ersions of the .asic text are the same, This would impl" that the Tun-huang ersion is a cop" of (airocanaraksita9s translation' since no two translators select the exact same words when composing a translation, !oweer there are unanswered pro.lems which arise from this o.seration, The Tun-huang ersion of the text is followed ." a scholarl" commentar"' set in the form of questions and answers, This commentar" is unknown amongst suriing works from Ti.et' "et as =arma" points out' it is o.iousl" older than the known "ingma commentaries, The classical "ingma commentar" is the=hu,."ug,+ta,.a,sp"od,pa9i,9khor,to' which ma" .e found in the $airo rg"ud 9.um' (ol, 4' no, 8L /Ta0' i,e,' the (airocana collection of tantras, Another known commentar" of earl" date is the .sTan,pa,"angs,k"i,sn"ing,po' in the $airo rg"ud 9.um' (ol, 8' no,8,either of these are as old as the commentar" appended to Tun-huang text, Jhere does this 9older9 commentar" come from' if not from (airocana himselfM =arma" further points out that the Six Diamond Stanzas Balso sere as the .asic structure on which later texts are .uilt' expanded and ela.orated,B Seeral of these later texts are howeer scriptural tantras of the esta.lished Dzogchen tradition in Ti.et' supposed to hae .een composed prior to the Bearl" translation period'B i,e,' the eighth centur" A,D,, The =un,."ed,rg"al,po,' Tok"o 8E54' (ol,E' no,348H which recentl" has .een translated into nglish ." Crof, a Darg"a"' contains the exact six lines of our text' with the same Ti.etan wording as that found in (airocana9s translation, &ikewise in the rDzogs ,pa ,chen ,po ,chos ,n"id ,."ang ,chu. ,sems ,.kra ,shis ,mi ,9g"ur ,gsal ,.ar ,gnas ,pa9i ,rg"ud' an important Dzogchen tantra' the six erses are interpolated at the end of the eighth chapter, Again the wording is that of (airocana9s translation, Does this mean that these texts are compositions produced not earlier than' .ut in factafter' the era of the +ndian Dzogchen masters and the original group of Ti.etan translatorsM Two of the earliest data.le Ti.etan texts which concern Dzogchen are the /80 Gpadesa known as the Rosar" of (iews /man,ngag,lta,.a9i, phreng,.a0 ." &ord Cadmasam.haa' and the /0 & of >oncentration /.Sam,gtan,mig,sgron0 ." u. Sangg"e Keshe, Samten *"altsen =arma"' who has reiewed .oth texts /ide: The *reat Cerfection',6,$rill' &eiden 8EFF0' suggests that the former ma" B.e the onl" extant work onrDzogs-chen attri.uta.le to Cadmasam.haa,B +f so' it should stand as an historical testament on the state of Dzogchen as it was known in the eighth centur", Sangg"e Keshe9s Sam-ten %ig-drn likewise seres this purpose,
As to the Rosar" of (iews' it purports to outline in .rief all the iews /i,e,' philosophical and "ogic trends0 known at that period, These iews are classed first as Bworldl"B and Bnon-worldl",B The former are such iews as those held ." ordinar" people' materialists' agnostics and animists, The latter consists of either the Anal"tical wa" /laksana"ana0 orthe Diamond wa" /a)ra"ana0, Gnder the heading of Anal"tical wa"' &ord Cadmasam.haa lists /80 Apostolic wa"/Sraaka"ana0' /0 remetic-awakening wa" /Crat"eka.uddha"ana0' and /10 nlightened-.eing wa" /$odhisatta"ana0, As we know' the latter is elsewhere generall" referred to as the %aha"ana' the *reat Ja", The (a)ra"ana is likewise diided into three categories: /30 Ritual-tradition wa"/=ri"atantra"ana0' /40 +ntermediate-tradition wa"3 /G.ha"atantra"ana0' /50 the Koga-tradition wa" /Koga-tantra"ana0, The last can .e further diided into xoteric Koga and soteric Koga, soteric Koga consists of /@0 the *eneration-method /utpatti-saula0' /F0 the >ompletion-method/nispanna-saula0' and finall"' as the pinnacle of all iews' /E0 the method of Dzogchen, Cadmasam.haa9s schema is the .asis for that descri.ed in the later period as the ine Ja"s' .ut the now accepted terms of %aha"oga' Anu"oga and Ati"oga are not used ." him, Je note also that he does not in fact list the three diisions of soteric Koga aswa"s or ehicles /"ana0' .ut instead refers to them as methods /saula0 pertaining to the Koga-tantra Ja", Thus his schema' as gien in the Rosar" of (iews' seems to define onl" six wa"s' plus a possi.le seenth in the form of what he calls soteric Koga, The later Sar-ma schools of Ti.et adopted from +ndia a fourfold classification of leels of Tantra' known respectiel" as =ri"a-tantra' >ar"a-tantra' Koga-tantra' and Anuttara-"oga-tantra, >omparing this later classification with Cadmasam.haa9s schema' we can see at once the direction in which alternate terminologies for much the same su.)ect matter must hae eoled, +n the later period the term >ar"a /Spiritual Cractice0 came to replace the far more am.iguous word u.ha"a, &ikewise Anuttara /Supreme0 came to define a new class of Tantra' which in Cadmasam.haa9s era was still a su.diision /i,e,' soteric Koga0 of Koga-tantra' and which had not as "et come into its own as a full" separate tradition, $" the time of the Bnew translationB period of the Ti.etan Sar-ma schools' Anuttara-tantra wasa class referring to such texts as the *uh"asama)atantra'the >akra-samara-tantra' the !ea)ra-tantra' and the =alacakra-tantra, Alternatiel"' on the .asis of schemas such as that gien in the Rosar" of (iews' the "ingma school eoled a ninefold classification, The" changed the term u.ha"a to the similar soundingupa"a /%eans0 and listed the ine Ja"s as follows: Sraaka"ana' Crat"eka.uddha"ana' Caramita"ana' =ri"atantra"ana' Gpa"atantra"ana' Kogatantra"ana' %aha"ogatantra"ana' Anu"ogatantra"ana' Ati"ogtantra"ana, The last' Ati"oga' was adopted as another term for Dzogchen, The terminolog" of the ine Ja"s ma" hae come into ogue ." the time of Acar"a Cadmasam.haa, The mere non-inclusion of the terms in the Rosar" of (iews does not proe that he was unfamiliar with them, $ut the structure of the Rosar" does suggest that if such terms were known' the" were as "et hardl" standardized, And this .rings us to the next point, Jhat did Acar"a Cadmasam.haa understand ." BesotericB tantraM All the quotes concerning tantra in the Rosar" of (iews are from the c"cle of what is known as *uh"agar.ha' a tradition which is said to hae .een patronized ." =ing Dza of Gddi"ana' except for one quote that eidentl" comes from the *uh"asma)a-Tantra,Cadmasam.haa was .orn in Gddi"ana' and although he was exiled from that land at a "oung age he neertheless would hae maintained close ties with Gddi"ana culture throughout the remainder of his life, Cadmasam.haa9s dialect would hae .een Gddi"an, +t is also a fact that the founder of the Dzogchen teachings' Sri Cramodaa)ra' came from Gddi"ana, Dzogchen ma" therefore .e descri.ed as essentiall" an ancient Gddi"an tradition of $uddhism'
.rought to +ndia ." Sri Cramodaa)ra, This Gddi"an tradition was expounded and maintained chiefl" ." Gddi"anean expatriates resident in the $odh-*a"a region' in +ndia, +t was there that the Acar"a Cadmasam.haa' after his exileH eentuall" migrated' and it was there that he .ecame ordained a $uddhist monk, +n the surrounds of $odh-*a"a' Sri Simha' a master from the northern !imala"an >inaalle" which was tied into the Gddi"ana cultural sphere' taught the Dzogchen s"stem to Cadmasam.haa, ot onl" does the term rdzog-pa-chen-po appear for the first time in literar" histor" in the *uh"agar.hatantra' .ut we know that the primar" Dzogchen masters who went to teach in Ti.et in the earl" period were familiar with this tantraa.oe all others, +n the Tun-huang commentar" on the Six Diamond Stanzas the question is asked wh"' in the text of the Stanzas' Samanta.hadra is hailed as the primordial A.solute' rather than (a)ra Satta, The passage actuall" reads: B+n all the tantras it is said that (a)ra Satta is the Supreme $eing of all the "ogis /rnal,9."or,kun,k"i,gtso,.o0' .ut here isSamanta.hadra who is hailed supreme,B +t is true that in the *uh"agar.ha tradition the A.solute is named Samanta.hadra' the All-$eneficent, The Dzogchen tradition consequentl" identifies Samanta.hadra with the Dharmaka"a /the equialent ofirguna.rahman in !induism0' and (a)rasatta with the Sam.hogaka"a /equialent with Saguna-.rahman0, The phrase Ball the tantrasB in the a.oe passage applies specificall" to the Kogatantras' or what the Rosar" of (iews refers to as xoteric Koga, The question which Samten *"altsen =arma" raises concerning the a.oe' is what a.out the so called Ati"oga tantras of DzogchenM As =arma" Rimpoche points out' Ball the tantrasB of Ati"oga follow the Six (a)ra Stanzas in hailing Samanta.hadra as theAdi-.uddha, The Tun-huang commentar" seems to .e unaware of this, Does this mean that the Ati-"oga tantras of Dzogchen had not as "et come into existence at the time of the composition of the Six Stanzas and its initial >ommentar"M =arma"9s thesis is startling and "et supported ." cogent eidence, !e suggests that most of the Ati"oga-tantras can hardl" date .ack earlier than the 88th centur"' except for certain texts of the Sem-de grouping and those quoted ." u. Sangg"e Keshe in the Sam-ten %ig-drn, +t hardl" need .e mentioned that such a iew is highl" questiona.le, 4 +f it is correct that the earliest masters of Dzogchen resided in an intellectual milieu which as "et had not .een framed ." the greater mass of Ati-"oga tantras' then it means that the tradition of Dzogchen' upon .eing esta.lished in Ti.et' .egan to undergo change' and in fact' has not come down to us intact nor in its pure form, $etween the earl" and later periods stands the well known BDark AgeB of extensie anti-$uddhist persecution in Ti.et initiated ." &angdarma /F15-F3 A,D,0, Jhat has not .een sufficientl" emphasized is the coincidence of &angdarma9s persecutions with the occurrence in neigh.oring >hina of a strenuous >onfucian purge of $uddhism under the reign of mperor Ju-Tsung /F3L-F35 A,D,0, Thus throughout a huge area consisting of most of >entral Asia' >hina and Ti.et' for a few .ut neertheless er" disastrous num.er of "ears' monasteries were closed' .ooks were .urned and temples were sealed up, The following eras created a oid into which o.scure and unaccounted for doctrines could .e discoered, Towards the end of the 88th centur"' therefore' a poor caretaker in charge of a somewhat ruinous old temple of the %"ang famil"' claimed to discoer a .od" of preiousl" unheard of texts, The caretakers name was Dangma &hung"al, !e showed his discoer" to >he-tsun Sengge Jangchuk' who upon proclaiming their authenticit"' is said to hae reorganized the new texts into the "ing-t9ig5 explanator" teachings of what are known toda" as the seenteen root tantras of the %en-ngag-de@ section of Ati"oga, According to other &amas' it was >he-tsun Rimpoche who actuall" composed the seenteen root tantras in the f irst place, The matter has so far not .een explored ." scholars competent in textural form-criticism' .ut what eer future research ma" proe' we should for now at least keep in mind that there is a two hundred "ear gap .etween the time when these %en-ngag-de treatises are said to hae
.een taught to %"ang Ting-nge-9dzin ." Acar"a (imilamitra and their f ortuitous discoer" ." Dangma &hung"al, +t is also worth noting that in man" discoered texts which so far hae .een su.)ected to critical examination there are to .e found patent anachronisms suggestie and t"pical of pious forger", The Six Diamond Stanzas are therefore of paramount alue in that their esta.lished authenticit" "ields an authentic iew of Dzogchen from the earliest possi.le period, +n fact' this is certainl" true of all the texts known as the Bfie earl" translationsB, These texts teach the er" essence of Dzogchen as a method of personal nlightenment' and through stud"ing them it is possi.le to come to grasp a clear understanding of the secret of meditation in this unique tradition, As the =unpal Rimpoche emphasized: Bowada"s' people loe noelt" and thus neglect the ancient texts' excellent and pure though the" .e' liking onl" what is new, $ut among the recent texts' there are some that are genuine and some false' and it is difficult to hae enough certain knowledge' unclouded ." dou.t' to tell the goal and method of genuine teaching from a false one,B FThe paramount alue of the Six Diamond Stanzas is the fact that this text gies us a clear understanding of the historical Dzogchen doctrine from the era of its inception,
Commentary, Part Two: Textual Content $asicall" what the Six Diamond Stanzas expound is the rarel" reealed technique of kathinaccheda /Ti.: T9ek-chod0' or Bcutting-throughB' which is the heart of Dzogchen practice, Jhat is cut through is the solid sense of dualit" which perades the nature and function of consciousness' there." making the world seem diersified and concrete, Jhen the concrete /kathina0 is cut /ccheda0' apparent diersit" collapses .ack into original nondualit"' and sudden realization dawns, The means is ia the effortless meditation or Bnon-meditationB adocated in the Stanzas, 8, The +ntrinsic ature Of Diersit" +s ondual All phenomena /Skt dharma0 of the unierse are the diersit" /Ti.: sna-tshogs0 spoken of here, The intrinsic nature /Skt: sa.haa' own-nature0 of that diersit" is neertheless nondual ." irtue of its undifferentiated unicit" /Skt: samata0, The term Bintrinsic natureB means the real condition of all the infinite aspects of existence, The real condition is parinishpanna' a.solute' and thus nondual, The Tri-sa.haa-nirdesa is an extremel" significant treatise written ." Ar"a-(asu.andhu' consisting of thirt"-eight stanzas explaining the doctrine of Bthree intrinsic naturesB /trisa.haa0 or Bthe three distinguishing characteristicsB /trilaksana0, +t is primaril" an exposition of the ontological .asis of the su.)ect7o.)ect dichotom" as understood in terms of the Kogacara iew' and is er" important .ecause it answers the fundamental questions that are raised as a result of the teaching that all phenomena exist dependant on >onsciousness, (asu.andhu is a.le to show that the resolution of the su.)ect7o.)ect dichotom" occurs in a non-dualistic a.solute known as the dharmadhatu, The three Bintrinsic naturesB posited ." (asu.andhu are: 8,The conceptuall"-constructed /parikalpita0 natureH 2.The contingent /paratantra0 natureH and 3.The ultimatel" existent /parinishpana0 nature,
This theor" was put forward to demonstrate that the world has not one' .ut three simultaneous natures, The world that is perceied /and for it to .e perceied' there must .e a su.)ect7o.)ect dichotom"0 is descri.ed as a perceptual construct /kalpana0' or conceied world, +nsofar as it is a perceptual construct of realit"' its nature is said to .e conceptuall"-constructed /parikalpita0, This conceptuall"-constructed nature is actuall" unreal /asat0 and non-existentH it is mere illusion, eertheless the conception that occursNthe experience of the su.)ect7o.)ect dichotom"Nis a pla" of arious causes and conditions, This pla" /ikalpa' discrimination0 of arious causes and conditions' is the contingent /paratantra0 nature of realit" Gnderl"ing that pla" of causes and conditions' there must .e an ultimatel"
existent /parinishpanna0 nature, The realit" on which these three natures are imposed' almost like eils' is defined asTathata /Ti.: de-.shin-n"id' Bthat-is-nessB0' pure noumenon' or in other words' Gltimate Realit" /dharmata0, $ut the explanation is not as simple as it seems, To ela.orate' (asu.andhu resorts to an analog", !e sa"s' let us consider a situation in which a magician' using certain spells/mantras0' was to cause' .efore a crowd of spectators' a log of wood to appear as an illusor" elephant, The fact that no elephant is there ma" .e defined as the elephant9sparikalpita-nature, The hallucination /akrti0 of the elephant ." the crowd ma" .e defined as its paratantra-nature, !oweer if we consider what the elephant reall" is in itself /i,e,' non-existent0 then that is its ultimatel" existent /parinishpanna0 nature, To comprehend the latter' we must appreciate that the uniersal ground of >onsciousness/ala"a-i)nana0 is like the magic spell' wherein discrimination /ikalpa0 produces the illusion and dualit" /da"a0 .ecomes the result, The original log of wood which has .een made to appear as an illusor" elephant is analogous to the Tathata' which has remained unchanged and pure from the .eginning, BJith the non-apprehension of dualit"' the appearance of dualit" collapses' and with this collapse' the ultimatel" existent is realized as the non-existence of dualit",BE Thus the nature /sa.haa0 of diersit" is nondual' which means that neither o.)ects to .e apprehended /grah"a0 nor an apprehender /grahika0 exist as such, As (asu.andhu proclaims' BA mental image /upalam.a0 of dharmadhatu is .rought forth through perception of this nondualit",B Since /k"ang0 diersit" in its intrinsic nature is nondual: , Singularit" +s Gnintelligi.le The Ti.etan chas,shas,n"id, refers to the singleness of things, >has means Ba part,B9Shas means B.elonging to a group,B "id means Bin-itselfB-the essence of what something is, This implies what we call Bindiidualit"'B to exist as a separate entit" or unit, !oweer for an"thing to .e an a.solute unit' or a complete singularit"' it wouldhae to .e non-dimensional and .e"ond designation' since an"thing capa.le ofoccup"ing space or time is itself diisi.le into parts, Thus a metaph"sical singularit" cannot hae existence, As the =unpal Rimpoche sa"s: B+f two part-less entities meet' the" must hae uniform contact in eer" directionH contact from onl" one side is impossi.le, !ow' therefore' is it accepta.le to speak of contact .etween partless entitiesM +t is impossi.le for them to hae contact either from one side or from all sides,B8L >ertain sages or scientific thinkers' examining the world around them' hae concluded that wholes' though diisi.le into microscopic parts' must .e constituted of ultimate elements' i,e,' that all things owe their realit" and solidit" to the fact that the" are composed of irreduci.le part-less atoms /paramanu' elementar" particle0, en if conentional atoms /anu0 of least percepti.le magnitude are diisi.le into "et smaller parts' there is the assumption' ." these thinkers' that ultimatel" irreduci.le particles' orparamanus' must exist, These would .e true singularities' and hence the final actualities/paramartha' a.solutes0 out of which the whole unierse is constructed, $ut such is not intelligi.le, Gnit" as well as diersit" are automatic giens within the generall" accepted paradigm of our empirical experience, And "et these two are .oth assumptions impossi.le to confirm scientificall"' and with the collapse of one' the other likewise falls apart, An ultimate unit" is impossi.le to locate: the least intelligi.le magnitude' since' .eing intelligi.le' it must hae extension' would .e made of parts, +f for example the smallest extension thereof were to .e defined as L,LLL8 angstrom units' that extension is still defina.le in terms of what are mathematical units of "et smaller size, Jhether atom or star' that
9whole9 which is reduced to a singularit"' where the densit" and curature of space-time are infinite' shrinks to zero-radius, And units with zero-radius are literall" zero /sun"a0' as clearl" pointed out ." Ar"a-agar)una, The logic of an ultimate atomism is that whateer is gross must hae parts which hae further parts and so on' until we reach the elementar" particle which atomists .eliee is not made up of an"thing smaller and that cannot .e su.diided, +t is precisel" this that cannot .e made intelligi.le, or can mere num.ers of zero-radius singularities produce o.)ects of measura.le size' as if a certain quantit" of zeros could reach critical mass, Sankara9s argument /ide$rahmasutra Sankara.has"a0 that elementar" particles are actualized in terms of haing arious qualities' rather than quantities per se' is equall" inalid' since difference would still presuppose ph"sical measurement in the final anal"sis, Shankara9s supposed groupings of qualitatie particles are thought to com.ine in order to produce the gross atoms and molecules of material perception and "et' once again' the er" singularit" of the supposed ultimate .uilding .locks of nature precludes their com.ination' since to com.ine the" would hae to possess 9parts,9 A singularit" is ." definition partless and unitar", Thus the point alread" made ." the =unpal Rimpoche +t follows that Sankara9s analog" of Brope and snakeB is also naie compared to Ar"a-(asu.andhu9s elephant analog" gien in our commentar" on the first stanza a.oe, Shankara in introducing his s"stem of Adwaita (edanta suggested that the world was like a segment of rope mistaken for a snake, The rope is l"ing on the ground, Dusk has gathered and it is not eas" to see clearl", An o.serer walking along the road' mistakes the old piece of rope for a poisonous co.ra and takes fright, +n this manner' sa"s Shankara' the world and its suffering is perceied' when the realit" is the pure A.solute /.rahman0 alone, The world is purel" illusion /ma"a0, Jhen the illusion is seen for what +t is' )ust as the snake instantl" .ecomes again the rope which it alwa"s has .een' so too the world transforms .ack into $rahman, $" this means Shankara posited nondualit" /adwaita0, This analog" oerlooks the dichotom" esta.lished ." it' of an a.solute realit" opposed to an a.solute illusion' or existence /sat0 ersus nonexistence /asat0, AlthoughSankara and (asu.andhu are pointing in the end to the same final Truth' Shankara9s BlanguagingB of the pro.lem falls short of (asu.andhu9s, +t is the same mistake which Shankara makes in terms of his so called qualitatie atoms, +n the Ti.etan spros,dang,.ral is a phrase meaning B.e"ond )udgmentB or B.e"ond discernmentB, As we hae translated it' it means that the su.)ect is unintelligi.le/aprapancita' not capa.le of linguistic definition0, As no word can cone" the meaning of oneness' or singularit"' or a.solute indiidualit"' it is necessaril" .e"ond intelligent ela.oration, 1, 2acticit" +s on->onceptual The Ti.etan word )i,.zhin,pa refers to the preious su.)ect, Since that cannot .e amplified' one should not o.)ectif" it, All mental actiit" and conceptualization ceases in)i,.zhin,pa, This highl" meaningful term' which we hae translated B2acticit"B' literall" means BThat-whichisB, 6i,lta,wa,.zhin is defined as .cos,.slad,med,pa' unfa.ricated' not spoiled,6i,.zhin,pa is the original noumenon' or essence' .ehind all the phenomena which appear diersified, +t is' according to Tsepak Rigzin /ideTi.etan-nglish Dictionar" of $uddhist Terminolog"0 the equialent of )i-+ta-wa7 "atha: a thing as it is in its essence, +n Dzogchen it refers to the gzhi /Skt: prakriti' ground0 or sems,n"id /Skt, cittata'mind-essence0' and has the same sense as de-kho-na-n"id /tattainisca"a' essence of realit"0 and de,.zhin,n"id /Skt: tathata' translated BsuchnessB or BthatnessB0, >onsequentl" the term is charged with significance, 6i-.zhin-pa means accepting )ust That-which-is without correcting or tr"ing to change an"thing, T!AT is alread" there, There is nothing to .e changed or fa.ricated - it alread" is as it is, There is a Koga phrase which reads: TAT TJA% AS+-it means' B+ am T!ATB, Jhen one realizes the perfect unicit" of the all-
inclusie A.solute' then there is no desire to modif" or fa.ricate that, The A.solute alread" is as it is, 2urthermore' in that the A.solute must ." definition .e complete in itself' then BThat-which-isB must .e Balread"B pure from the er" .eginning, >onsequentl" u. Sangg"e Keshe lists twent" forms of Balread"nessB /zin-pa0' as follows: 8,The >ompassion ;for sentient .eings< has Balread" .een performed since the .eginning'B ,The %andala has Balread" .een laid out since the .eginning,B 3.The Offering /pu)a0 has Balread" .een made since the .eginning,B 4.The Spiritual >onduct /car"a0 has Balread" .een done since the .eginning,B
4,The ;Dzogchen< (iew /dristi0 has Balread" .een realized,B 6.The %editation /.haana0 has Balread" .een deeloped,B 7.The >oenant /sama"a0 has Balread" .een kept,B 8.The Spiritual Cractice /sadhana0 has Balread" .een accomplished,B 9.The Attainment /siddhi0 has Balread" .een acquired,B
8L,The ;twofold< Accumulation has Balread" .een completed,B 11.The Attainment /siddhi0 has Balread" .een granted,B 12.The ;highest< Degree /.humt0 has Balread" .een ascended to,B 13.The mpowerment /a.hiseka0 has Balread" .een receied,B 14.The O.scuration /niarana0 has Balread" .een cleared,B
84,The %ahamudra meditation has Balread" .een accomplished,B 85,The %antra has Balread" .een recited,B 8@,The Gnion-practice has Balread" .een done,B 8F,The Distraction has Balread" .een oercome,B 8E,The Sign /of success0 has Balread" appeared,B L,The !eat /of meditation0 has Balread" .een generated,B +nsofar as these twent" religious items hae Balread" .een done since the .eginning'B for the one who realizes this' no further BdoingB is necessar", Thus one should a.ide in BThat-which-isB /)i, .zhin,pa0' the noumenal aspect of the >onsciousness /sems7citta0, This state of pure 2acticit" is nonconceptual /mi,rtog0 .ecause: 3, The Totalit" of >reated Appearance +s All-$eneficent !ere we find that the Ti.etan line rnam,par,snang,mdzad,kun,tu .zang seems to make a pla" on words, +n Ti.etan rnam,par,snang,mdzad is adopted as a translation for the Sanskrit name (airocana' the $uddha at the center of the Sam.hogaka"a %andala, Je should keep in mind that the translator of this text was also named (airocana, Cerhaps he was making a pun here on his own nameM +t would also seem that the ending of the sentence' kun,tu,.zang' were a reference to the primordial $uddha Samanta.hadra /Ti.: kun,tu,.zang,po0, These puns which apparentl" exist in the Ti.etan text' could hardl" hae .een in the original Sanskrit' and therefore should .e ascri.ed to the industr" of the translator, This fact has een led some scholars to speculate that (airocana' the translator' ma" in fact hae .een the author of this anon"mous text, The meaning of the stanza is that the total Appearance /snang' shining forth0 of all creation is good /.ang po0, ram,par means Bcomplete'B Btotal'B and Jang means Bwhat-appears-to-us'B or Bmanifestation,B The Ti.etan word mdzad means Bto makeB and7or that which is Bmade'B i,e,' >reation per se, =un,tu means Balwa"s'B Ball'B or Buniersal,B .ang is Bgood'B or B.eneficent,B The whole of manifestation is inherentl" and intrinsicall" B*oodB /Skt: .hadra0' in that it is an appearance of Samanta.hadra' the A.solute, This is not the same as inferring that the world is an eil illusion /%a"a0 in contrast to an eer *ood *od, or is this the answer gien ." the >ittamatrins, The >ittamatrins sa" that the world and its ills are a mere dream-pro)ection of >onsciousness /citta0'and that onl" the latter is real, Their position is the same
as that of the (edantins who claim the world is +llusion' .ut the" credit >onsciousness /ala"ai)nana0 with .eing intrinsicall" neither good nor .ad - in that it experiences realit" as irana' it is goodH in that it experiences eer"thing as Samsara' it is .ad, !oweer in all these iews' whether *nostic' (edantin or >ittamatrin' the su.)ect7 o.)ect dichotom" is not BlanguagedB properl", The logic of the >ittamatrins is no different from the naie (edantin analog" of the snake and the rope, Jhen the world /the o.)ect0 is seen to .e mere >onsciousness /the su.)ect0' then world anishes' sa" the >ittamatrins' leaing >onsciousness-onl" /cittamatra0, This implies' like $rahman for the (edantins' a permanent su.)ect' which is an a.solute 9self9 /atman0, And if >onsciousness or *od were the source and creatorof this world of suffering' howeer illusor" that world might .e' then >onsciousness or *od would still stand responsi.le for all the world9s ills, +f B!e'B the *ood *od' or BoneB such as >onsciousness' were responsi.le for what is an o.iousl" painful' cruel world' then how could BgoodB .e ascri.ed to such an entit"M Of course' there are those who ascri.e eil and suffering to the works of an inisi.le Deil-Satan in the 6udaic tradition' %ara the $uddhist-and think there." that the" hae aoided placing the responsi.ilit" for eil and suffering on the shoulder9s of *od' or >onsciousness, $ut who then created the DeilM +f the imagined >reator and Ruler /isara0 of the Gnierse is all-knowing' then to gie .irth to a secondar" $eing' knowing full well that he /i,e,' the Deil0 would .ring eil into the world' amounts to the same thing as *od creating eil !imself, A =ing who leaes the slaughter of innocents in the hands of his ministers or a Cope who allows his +nquisition to commit atrocities' is no less responsi.le of the act' howeer kind or gentle his own nature ma" .e, !oweer in (asu.andhu9s analog"' the real existence of the elephant is its non-existence from the .eginning, The spell which formed the hallucination is the >onsciousness of the uniersal ground /Skt ala"a-i)nana' Ti.: kun,gzhi,rnam,par,shes0' )ust as the >ittamatrins sa"' .ut with the disappearance of the BelephantB /i,e,' the world of suffering0 there is a simultaneous collapse of that er" >onsciousness, Su.)ect and o.)ect anish together' and therefore the ontological su.)ect7o.)ect dichotom" is resoled, (asu.andhu thus offers a perfect description of the su.tle m"ster" which Sankara and others' though the" ma" hae m"sticall" cognized it' failed to clearl" explain, Onl" Tathata' the dharmadhatu' capa.le of em.racing .oth >onsciousness and the Jorld' is ultimatel" real, The Bthree naturesB /tri-sa.haa0 are realized to .e no-nature/nir-sa.haa0 at all, All phenomena /dharma0 are inherentl" empt" /sun"a0, The collapse of the dichotom" is factuall" zero, 2orm' ideation' feeling' motiation and consciousness-the fie complexes /skandha0 which make up the functional complex known as the person /pudgala0-are' as the !eart Sutra of Transcendental Jisdom sa"s' empt", $ut of the Tathata' the Gltimate Realit" /dharmata0 which remains un.orn and unending' and is prior to the arising of >onsciousness' Space' and Time' nothing at all can .e said, That A.solute is not added to ." the creation of the world with all its .eings' nor diminished ." its destruction-not ." so much as an iota, +t is as Sri isargadatta %ahara) has said: BThat which is prior to consciousness is the A.solute,,,B88 Jith the full realization of the A.solute' .oth >onsciousness and the Jorld-.oth *od /$rahman0 and +llusion /%a"a0-collapse into zero, B$rahman is created out of "our .eingness'B sa"s %ahara), BAll this $rahman is illusion' ignorance, Kour .eingness /satta I caittan"a' >onsciousness0 is ignorance onl"' from the A.solute standpoint,B 8 And' BThe original state prior to >onsciousness cannot .e descri.edH one can onl" .e That,B81 Jhen the consciousness ends' then the world ends: where consciousness and world are not' That is the A.solute, As $uddha Sak"amuni said' there is no permanent su.)ect or >reator, BThe sum total of all this is illusion and no.od" is responsi.le for creation-it has come spontaneousl" and there is no question of improement in that-it will go on in its own wa",B 83 +n these teachings of the great %arathi saint' Sri isargadatta %ahara)' we see the same precision of language and exposition that occurs in the
writings of Ar"a-(asu.andhu and the earl" masters of Kogacara, 6i,.zin,pa is the unchanging nonconceptual %atrix of %"ster"' since the totalit" of created Appearance cannot .e other than alwa"s good, 4, Alread" !aing A.andoned The Disease Op Striing There are said to .e four reliance9s /pratisarana0: 1.Reliance on the teaching /dharma0 rather than the personalit" /pudgala0 of the teacher, 2.Reliance on the meaning /artha0 rather than the words /"an)ana0 of the teaching, 3.Reliance on the definitie meaning /nitartha0 rather than the proisional meaning/ne"artha0 of
the teaching, 4.Reliance on true *nosis /)nana0 rather than the consciousness /i)nana0,
$" resorting to reliance' and especiall" the fourth reliance of the a.oe list' namel" the innate *nosis' one .egins to gie up the c"cle of doing, As long as there is doing there is desire, As long as there is desire' there is the wheel of .ecoming, To a.andon the wheel one should follow the course of authentic reliance, As striing diminishes' the practitioner .egins to enter the a.iding state, There is a tremendous amount of teaching on the su.)ect of a.iding /gnas pa084 in %ahamudrameditation the four deepening degrees of >ontemplation are thus said to .e: 1.Aasthita /Ti.: gas,pa0: A.iding' to a.ide' to sta.ilize in one pointedness, 2. Acala /Ti.: %i,gKo,wa0: Gnmoing' the pure 9.eing9 state' unfa.ricated' )ust as-it-is, 3.Samata /Ti., m"am,n"id0 Gnicit"' sameness' equalness' as one taste 4.Saha)asiddhi /Ti.: &hun,gru.0: Spontaneousl" accomplishing' the stage of non-meditation,
The term zin,pas which .egins the fifth stanza' here signifies that eer" wish has Balread"B .een fulfilled, er"thing is complete in itself, Therefore what is there to strie/rTsol0 forM The A.solute is complete: nothing can .e added to it' nor su.tracted, +n that something is BfullB where would there room for desire, Desire' the root of all striing and suffering' implies that something is incomplete, 2or the A.solute there is no desire, One who is full has no hunger, To eat when one is alread" full is a malad" which causes fatigue, This disease of striing should therefore .e a.andoned, The Ti.etan wordspang means to Blet go'B or Bto a.andon'B in the past tense, The disease of striing has alread" /zin-pas0 .een a.andoned, Therefore one should: 5, 6ust Remain +n ffortless A.iding /aasthita0 To a.ide spontaneousl" means nothing is to .e done, Therefore one should remain undistur.ed in the state of facticit", That is sufficient in itself' as the meditation' and means giing up an" hint of making effort, Thinking' feeling' and doing are all forms of effort, +n fact' the whole .undle of fie complexes /skandha0 are all concerned with effort, +t was with this understanding that the &ord $uddha declared that desire /tishna' thirst0 is the cause of all suffering, !is most .asic teaching consists of the cessation /nirodha0 of desire, The three wa"s of arriing at the state of cessation /nirodha-samapatti0 are known respectiel" as the apostolic wa" /sraaka"ana0 of discipline' the isolated-awakening wa"/prat"eka.uddha"ana0 of contemplation' and the great wa" /maha"ana0 of transcendence /paramita0 through loe and wisdom, +n fact' the teachings expounded ." the historical $uddha Sak"amuni are profound in the extreme and without compare in all the threefold Gnierse, 2ollowing the three wa"s' one arries at the end in effortless a.iding, Through mere effortless a.iding' li.eration automaticall" occurs, +f we comprehend this final stanza' then
the Three Statements of Sri Cramodaa)ra are full" understood: direct introduction to one9s own natureH direct recognition of that unique stateH and direct continuation with faith in &i.eration, There is nothing more that need .e said, Therefore the Tun-huang manuscript concludes ." simpl" affirming that Bto remain without striingB is the onl" true Accomplishment /siddhi0' that Bnot-renouncing an"thingB is the onl" true >oenant/sama"a0' and that Butter non-attachmentB is the onl" true Offering /pu)a0, Therein is the whole profound meaning of the Six Diamond Stanzas,
2ootnotes 8 identified as the text presentl" under discussion This text is known to hae .een composed ." Acar"a %an)usrimitra, 1 2rom the term ."ang,chu.,sems /$odhicitta0 which proceeds in the title of all fie of these texts' we see that the" form a set, ot onl" do the" represent some of the earliest documents of Dzogchen' .ut it is also apparent that the term .odhicitta figured much more prominentl" in this earl" period' than the now more popular term rdzog,pa,chen,po, >oncerning this point ide =ennard &ipman' Crimordial xperience' Sham.hala' 8EF@, 3 So called .ecause of its intermediate position .etween =ri"a and Koga, 4 Je cannot agree with =arma"9s iew, There is too much material in the old Tantras and treasure texts that appears to derie from ancient sources' that the" cannot hae simpl" .een fa.ricated in later times, 5 r"ing,thig' Skt: !rda"a-.inidu' the ssential Coint or !eart-center of the %en-ngag-de tantras, @ %an-ngag-gi-sde' the section of Gpadesa' inner instruction, Ati-"oga is diided into three sections:Semssde Skt: cittaarga /B%ind-sectionB0' k&ong-sde Skt: A.h"antararga /BSpace-sectionB0' and%an-ngag-sde Gpadesaarga /B+nner +nstruction sectionB0, F =henchen =unzang Calden' /The ectar of %an)usri9s Speech0 Jisdom: Two $uddhist >ommentaries' Cadmakara 8EE1, E Trisa.haanirdesa' erse 11, 8L =henchen =unzang Calden' /The ectar of %an)usri9s Speech0 Jisdom Two$uddhist >ommentaries' Cadmakara 8EE1, 88 6ean Dunn' Crior to >onsciousness' p, FL' Acorn Cress' orth >arolina 8EEL, 8 +.id,' p,1 81 +.id,' p,81 83 +.id,' p, 34 84 +n the sa"ings of Sri isargadatta this is called Bsta.ilizingB in the >onsciousness' or the lsara-state, B+ don9t ask an".od" to follow an" particular path ;of discipline<, + )ust tell them to .e what the" are' in their natural' spontaneous state, Sta.ilize there' in the .eingness,B (ide Seeds of >onsciousness' op cit,' p, 55,
