Tantra

The Foundation of Buddhist Thought, Volume 6

Tashi Tsering, Gordon McDougall, Gordon McDougall

• Publisher: Wisdom Publications
• Year: 2012
• ISBN:
  9781614290124
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Buddhism

In this sixth and final volume in the Foundation of Buddhist Thought series, Geshe Tashi Tsering brings his familiar, helpful approach to the esoteric practices of Buddhist tantra. Anticipating the many questions Westerners have upon first encountering tantra's colorful imagery and veiled language, Tantra uses straight talk to explain deities, initiations, mandalas, and the body's subtle physiology of channels and chakras.Tantric Buddhism provides a quick avenue to buddhahood by means of dissolving the body's wind energies into the central channel at the heart, mimicking the transformations of consciousness that occur at the time of death. Guiding readers systematically from tantra's generation stage through to the full enlightenment of the completion stage, Geshe Tashi Tsering even unpacks a simple compassion practice composed by the Dalai Lama, using it to illustrate the building blocks common to all such visualization techniques. Tantra is a fitting conclusion to this accessible and practical series.

1 THE UNIQUENESS OF TANTRA

Sutra and Tantra

AFTER HIS ENLIGHTENMENT under the bodhi tree more than twenty-five hundred years ago, the historical Buddha, Shakyamuni, taught continuously for more than forty years to many different followers in many different places. All of the Buddha’s teachings are without contradiction in that they all lead to freedom from suffering. Still, esoteric teachings like the Vajrayana practices can seem far removed from the more common ethical advice and meditation techniques of his other teachings.

Tibetan Buddhism is generally divided into three vehicles, or yanas: the individual liberation vehicle, the Hinayana; the universal liberation vehicle, the Mahayana; and the tantric vehicle, the Vajrayana. The practices and teaching of the first two vehicles, the Hinayana and Mahayana, are the foundation of Vajrayana practice. The main teachings of the Hinayana are the four noble truths, the thirty-seven aspects of enlightenment, and the twelve links of dependent origination.¹ In the Mahayana, the main teachings are the practices of the altruistic awakened mind (bodhichitta) and the trainings of the bodhisattva, such as the six perfections.² It is crucial that anybody interested in practicing tantra prepares by first thoroughly practicing the path laid out in the other two vehicles.

Hinayana practitioners can choose whether they incorporate teachings from the other two vehicles into their practice. For practitioners of the Mahayana, however, there is no choice—they must base their practice on a firm foundation in the Hinayana teachings. This becomes even more important for a practitioner of Vajrayana. This is not to say that there is a “superior” or “inferior” vehicle—which vehicle is best is determined by the disposition of each individual practitioner. But the later vehicles are built upon the wisdom and practice of the earlier ones; there is no shortcut. Thus I cannot emphasize enough how vital it is for a person entering the Vajrayana to be fully grounded in the teachings of the other two vehicles. To attempt tantric practice without the foundation of the four noble truths or a well-developed sense of altruism would be at best futile and at worst disastrous. It is important to see how Vajrayana fits into the whole of Buddhism so you don’t make the mistake of seeing it as a separate and unconnected practice. The tantric tradition is rooted in all of the Buddha’s teachings. Thus before you attempt to understand tantra, it is very important to have a basic understanding of the fundamentals of Tibetan Buddhism—from the other books in the Foundation of Buddhist Thought series or elsewhere.

Furthermore, it is important to note that Buddhist Vajrayana tantra is quite different from the tantra practiced in non-Buddhist Indian traditions. On the surface there are many similarities, but as you will see, Buddhist tantric practices are imbued with the realizations of the other two vehicles, making it quite distinct.

Tantra and the Mahayana

THE PREREQUISITES

The goals of Buddhist tantric practice are the elimination of all delusions, the cessation of all suffering, and the attainment of enlightenment. Its main objectives are the cultivation of an altruistic mind and a realization of the nature of reality. As such it is no different from any other Mahayana practice. The methods it employs, however, are quite different.

Vajrayana practices are incredibly powerful. Vajrayana is called the resultant vehicle, as opposed to the Sutrayana, which is called the causal vehicle. This is because in Vajrayana practice we imagine ourselves as we would like to be, as an enlightened being, and this enables us to actualize that state much more quickly. However, the quick development and power of the practice can be dangerous if done incorrectly, so our foundation must be firm before we can begin.

First and foremost, tantric practice requires refuge. Somebody with a genuine interest in Vajrayana practice requires a strong refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. This is true for any Buddhist practice.

Because Vajrayana practice belongs to the Mahayana tradition, we also need a good understanding of and feeling for bodhichitta, the mind that aspires to enlightenment in order to benefit all other beings. The compassionate mind of bodhichitta that cannot bear the suffering of others and strives to find the best way to eliminate it is the essence and core practice of the Mahayana. Without a mind utterly determined to do whatever is possible to free every other living being from suffering, our practice of Vajrayana cannot succeed.

Vajrayana practice is also impossible without a deep understanding of emptiness. During Vajrayana practice we are asked to visualize ourselves as a deity arising from emptiness. What does that mean? These visualizations are subtle and the understanding that underpins them profound. Without seeing these visualizations in the context of the emptiness of inherent existence, they are no more effective than a child imagining herself as a fairy. Only with a good understanding of emptiness will these practices make sense, and only when they make sense will we be able to gain any benefit from them.

The necessary prerequisites for a Vajrayana practice are therefore refuge, a strong yearning for the altruistic mind of bodhichitta, and a good intellectual understanding of emptiness. The greater these precious states are within our mindstream, the more powerful our Vajrayana practice will be; the more we advance in our Vajrayana practice, the more we will develop toward the true realization of bodhichitta and emptiness.

THE VAJRAYANA WAS TAUGHT BY THE BUDDHA

We can reasonably say that 2,550 years ago in Sarnath, India, the Buddha taught the essence of the four noble truths. Likewise we know the precise location and circumstances of many sutras, so we can imagine with relative accuracy the monastery, the shady trees, the disciples clustered around the Buddha, and the Buddha giving his discourse.

The origins of the Vajrayana teachings are not so easy to pin down. Not only were the place and time of the teachings very different from the other parts of the Buddhadharma but so was the aspect the Buddha took when he taught them. As an enlightened being, the Buddha had the ability to manifest in many aspects. During his forty years of teaching, he most commonly assumed the aspect of a monk in simple robes, leading his community of Sangha and going out among the laypeople to tell them about the Dharma. The aspect he chose for giving the Vajrayana teachings was more mystical.

There are said to be three bodies of a buddha: the dharmakaya, or truth body, the sambhogakaya, or enjoyment body, and the nirmanakaya, or emanation body. A buddha in the dharmakaya aspect, the essence of a buddha’s inner realizations, is unable to communicate with other beings. In the sambhogakaya aspect, he or she is able to communicate with arya beings, those who have reached an exalted level of realization. Ordinary beings like us can’t perceive a sambhogakaya, however, so a buddha must assume the nirmanakaya aspect to reach out to us, which is what the Buddha did during his time on earth. For the Vajrayana teachings, however, he assumed the sambhogakaya aspect, as did the beings who received the teachings.

The teachings of the Buddha preserved in Tibetan are collected in what is called the Kangyur. Of the just over one hundred volumes in the Kangyur, about a quarter are filled with texts on tantra. Most of these are brief ritual texts, and there are many hundreds of them. The link between the transmission of the tantras by the Buddha in the form of Vajradhara and us is the mahasiddha, a Sanskrit word meaning a tantric master with great (maha) attainments (siddhi). Each of the sadhanas and root tantras in the Kangyur was transmitted by a particular mahasiddha; there is a well-known enumeration of eighty-four such Indian mahasiddhas who lived around the end of the first millennium, the heyday of Buddhist tantra in India. A mahasiddha’s disciples received the direct lineage of that tantra from him or her and then passed it on to their disciples, setting up an unbroken lineage that extends to us today. That means that the tantric empowerment or the commentary on the practice we receive comes in a lineage from the Buddha himself.

VAJRAYANA AND ITS MANY NAMES

Notice how I have used Vajrayana and tantra as synonyms. There are in fact several terms that refer to this same practice, each with a slightly different flavor. Although tantra is probably the most common term used for this practice, Vajrayana is perhaps clearer in that it avoids confusion with the Hindu tantra.

We don’t generally translate Vajrayana into English, although some commentators call it the “diamond vehicle.” In Tibetan it is dorje tegpa. Dorje, or the Sanskrit vajra, is a word that comes up frequently in Mahayana Buddhism. There is no exact English translation. Although it is sometimes used as a noun to describe the five-spoked implement used with the bell in Vajrayana practices, in this case it is used as an adjective to mean “indestructible” or “inseparable.” “Adamantine” is probably as good a translation as any, although I prefer “inseparable,” with its connotation of emptiness and the mind realizing emptiness being one.

Tegpa, or the Sanskrit yana, means “vehicle” or “path.” It is a “vehicle” in the sense of being that which carries us from one place to another—tegpa literally means “to support”—and a “path” in the sense of being the route we follow—in this case, to enlightenment.

Therefore Vajrayana can be defined as “the inseparable vehicle that will take us to our destination.” In this practice, the two wings of Buddhism, method (or compassion) and wisdom (or emptiness), are practiced together, inseparably, within one single mental state. Both are practiced in the Sutrayana, too, but only in alternation; they cannot be practiced simultaneously within one mental state. As we will see later, this is why Vajrayana is such an expedient means to enlightenment—it brings bodhichitta and the wisdom realizing emptiness together in an entirely unique way.

The second name often used is Mantrayana. Again, yana tells us it is a vehicle or path. Manas means “mind” or “think,” and the suffix tra means “to protect,” so a mantra is something that protects the mind. Hence Mantrayana means “the vehicle that protects the mind.”

There are many different ways to protect our mind, but here we are referring to protecting our mind from the sense of our own ordinariness. One of the most damaging concepts that we live with all the time, carrying it around like a huge weight, is the feeling that we are nothing special, that we are an impure being with an impure nature. In modern psychological terms, we might call this “baggage.” We have all seen people who are crippled by a low sense of self-worth. Even if we are not like that ourselves, our own sense of limitation still blocks us from achieving our true potential. “I can’t do that” is our mantra. The Mantrayana kind of man...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of Tables
• Publisher’s Acknowledgment
• Foreword
• Preface
• 1. The Uniqueness of Tantra
• 2. Entering the Vajrayana
• 3. The Lower Tantras
• 4. Practicing Kriya Tantra
• 5. Preparation for Highest Yoga Tantra
• 6. Practicing the Generation Stage
• 7. The Nature of the Body and Mind
• 8. The Six Levels of the Completion Stage
• Appendix 1
• Appendix 2
• Notes
• Glossary
• Bibliography
• Index
• About the Authors
• The Foundation of Buddhist Thought