Dzogchen Deity Practice - Padmasambhava

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       Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche

      First of all, the foundation for the Vajra Vehicle of Secret Mantra is called “tantra, scripture, and instruction”—in Tibetan, gyü lung menngag. In this context, tantra means Mahayoga, scripture means Anu Yoga, and instruction means Ati Yoga. The way in which these are interconnected is called the “fourfold linkage” or the “fourfold relatedness.” Thus, the tantras are combined or contained within the scriptures, the scriptures are contained within the instructions, the instructions are contained within the application, and the sadhana is contained in the application. Application means the “way of chanting, the actual sadhana practice.”

      Regarding sadhanas, there are different ways to practice a mandala. In tantra Mahayoga, the mandala is called the “mandala as a reflection or form that is external.” At best, it is made of colored sand; next best is painted canvas; and, at minimum, it is assembled from heaped grains. By taking the support of an external mandala, the practitioner accomplishes the deity. In scripture Anu Yoga, the mandala is internal, meaning it is “within the vajra body.” The vajra body mandala is called the “three seats of completeness,” the densum tsangwey kyilkhor. In instruction Ati Yoga, the mandala is mental, or the mandala of mind. Here, mind refers to “buddha-nature,” which is present in everyone. This is the mandala used to accomplish the deity. So the intent of Mahayoga is related to or contained within the application of Anu Yoga, while the intent of Anu Yoga is contained within Ati Yoga. And, then, Ati Yoga is contained within the application of a sadhana.

      Within Ati Yoga, there are different aspects: the Mahayoga aspect of Ati, the Anu aspect of Ati, and the Ati of Ati. Using a sadhana practice from the Ati Yoga perspective is called the Mahayoga of Ati, or Maha-Ati. That is the practice of the peaceful and wrathful deities we have before us here. So this practice is a sadhana that belongs to the Mahayoga section of Ati Yoga. We combine the peaceful and wrathful deities, the Shitro, with Ati Yoga, because later on, during the practice of Tögal or Direct Crossing, these peaceful and wrathful deities will unfold within our vision. Moreover, at the time of death, while in the bardos, the peaceful and wrathful deities—the intrinsic mandala—will manifest. That is the purpose of combining the peaceful and wrathful deities within a sadhana practice.

      There are different ways of practicing the Shitro, according to Mahayoga, Anu Yoga, and Ati Yoga. Chokgyur Lingpa had Shitro practices for each of the three levels of inner tantras. The Mahayoga version of the Shitro sadhana is called Gyutrül, meaning The Magical Net. Chokgyur Lingpa’s terma for this is extremely extensive and yet totally identical with that of the Kama tradition, the Nyingma oral tradition. The sadhana for the Gyutrül Shitro has separate practices for both the peaceful and wrathful deities, as well as one for the combined mandala of the forty-two peaceful and fifty-eight wrathful deities. Moreover, he had a terma for the Anu Yoga version of the Shitro, called Narak Dongtruk. The terma Chokling revealed for Ati Yoga is the Kunzang Tuktig.

      This sadhana is extremely condensed, yet nothing is missing. It is identical with another Ati Yoga Shitro terma, the Karling Shitro, revealed by Karma Lingpa. This terma is quite famous, and the Bardo Tödröl comes from it. The Kunzang Tuktig differs from the Karling Shitro only in size, not in essence. In fact, you will have a difficult time finding any sadhana more condensed or shorter than this one. It’s only a couple of pages long, disregarding the major sections of confessions and mending and the lineage-masters’ supplication written by Chokgyur Lingpa. Yet, nothing is missing. It is complete; everything is contained. The deities themselves, although their attributes and details are not spelled out, are exactly the same as those found in the Karling Shitro. Nothing is omitted. The Leyjang is extremely condensed. According to the intent of the instructions, the extensive one is Mahayoga. Anu is more profound, while Ati Yoga is extremely profound.

      Traditionally, one always supplicates the masters of a lineage before beginning a sadhana practice. The lineage supplication is never included in the terma, because we never know precisely what will happen in the future. Therefore, the supplication is composed after the revelation and after having seen through whom the line passed. Chokgyur Lingpa, himself, wrote this very short lineage supplication.

      The name of the supplication to the lineage masters is called Ösel Rangshar, meaning Self-Manifest Luminosity. The imagery of the shining sun is very significant. The sun’s radiance is not created or formed by anyone. It shines naturally. In the same way, the basic state of awareness, the buddha-nature present within everyone, is manifest or radiant all by itself—it is self-existing, naturally and spontaneously present. No one made it; it is totally uncreated. This is the basic intent of the Dzogchen teachings, which were transmitted first in the divine realms of Akanishtha, Tushita, and the realm of the thirty-three deva kings on the summit of Mt. Sumeru. Afterward, these teachings appeared in the human realm.

      It starts out with EMA HO, which means “how amazing!” The first three verses in the lineage supplication are linked with the meaning of ground, path, and fruition. Here, the word tantra is used for “ground, path, and fruition.” The very meaning of tantra is “continuity or ceaslessness,” in the sense that buddha-nature is uninterrupted throughout ground, path, and fruition. In the first verse, referring to the ground, it says, within the dharmadhatu realm of Akanishtha. Here, Akanishtha means “unsurpassable, the unexcelled, the highest, not beneath anything else.” It is densely arrayed, meaning that all the qualities of complete enlightenment are spontaneously present, such as the attributes, the scenery, the qualities, and so forth. They are present in a dense array—nothing is missing; it is utterly perfect. Within this realm, I supplicate Samantabhadra Vajradhara. Sometimes we think of Samantabhadra and Vajradhara as two different buddhas, but actually they are identical. They are not two at all.

      Concerning path, mind is “unified, empty cognizance.” The second verse refers to the cognizant quality of mind, as the appearing aspect. It is often said that the identity is Samantabhadra, the appearance is the five buddhas, and the manifestation is the buddhas of the six realms. This indicates the relationship among dharmakaya, sambhogakaya, and nirmanakaya. This is known as “identity, appearance, and manifestation.” The identity is Samantabhadra; the appearance is the five buddha families; and the manifestation is the munis, or buddhas of the six realms. This is also called “not different and not separate.”

      The first four lines are about the continuity of ground, which is primordial purity. The second verse, which asks to grant your blessings for realizing the continuity of path, refers to spontaneous presence. May we perfect the path, in the third verse, is about fruition. When the ground manifestation arose, the buddhas of the six realms appeared. This is related to nirmanakaya. One of the realms includes the one thousand buddhas of the Good Aeon. In this sense, manifesting as nirmanakaya is compared to the fruition—may we realize it.

      The first three verses are general, while the fourth verse begins with the word khyepar, meaning “in particular.” So, in particular, in the buddhafield of True Joy, Abhirati, the pure land of Vajrasattva—who is identical with Akshobhya, one of the five buddhas—we ask for the blessing to realize the view of Trekchö. Next, we supplicate to realize the view of Tögal. The next four lines are a supplication to Garab Dorje to attain certainty in, or to establish with certainty, the inseparability of space and awareness, which is the basis for Tögal practice.

      In the next verse, grant your blessings that experience and visions may increase, we pray to Manjushrimitra, asking for the blessing to realize the second of the four visions.

      Among the four visions, the first is called the “actuality, or the direct perception, of the innate nature of dharmata.” The second one pertains to this experience increasing further and further. In the third, experience reaches fullness and is completely manifested—the culmination of awareness.

      The next verse is a supplication to Padmasambhava, residing in his magically created pure land called the Palace of Lotus Light, located atop the Glorious Copper-Colored Mountain, situated southwest of Bodhgaya. We invoke him, praying, Grant your blessings that we may reach the exhaustion of phenomena.

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