The Tree of Enlightenment
An Introduction to the Major Traditions of Buddhism
by Peter Della Santina
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Part Three
The Vajrayana
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Chapter Twenty-Seven
The Preliminary Practices
In Chapters 22 through 26, I tried to outline what we might call the
universe of
experience of the Vajrayana. That is why I
began with a consideration
of the cultural and
intellectual climate in
which the Vajrayana first appeared, and only
then went on to
consider its religious and philosophical background, methodology,
myth
and symbol, and
psychology, physiology, and cosmology. In
Chapters 27 through 29, I
will look at the
actual stages in the
practice of the Vajrayana path. In general, there
are three such
stages:
(1) the preliminary or preparatory stage, (2) the stage of
entry, and
(3) the actual practice.
I have divided the preliminary
stage into two categories: general and
specific.
As mentioned in Chapter 22, the Mahayana and Vajrayana
are in fact two
components of
a single tradition. Their starting point
and goal are identical; they
differ only in the
methods employed in
getting from that starting point to the goal. From
this we can
understand that, in terms of general preliminaries, there is a great
deal of similarity
between what is required for Mahayana practice
and what is required for
Vajrayana
practice.
We need to touch on the preliminaries briefly to emphasize
again that
the Vajrayana
practices are not ones that can be
undertaken without the proper kind
of preparation. In
fact, the
general preliminaries required for Vajrayana practice are
those
required for the
whole of the Mahayana path. In this category of
general preliminary
practices, we have
(1) the taking of refuge,
followed by (2) contemplation of suffering,
(3) the law of karma,
(4) death and impermanence, and (5) the opportune and fortunate
nature
of the human
situation; (6) cultivation of love and
compassion; and (7) production
of the enlightenment
thought. We
conclude with (8) cultivation of one-pointedness, or
concentration,
and
penetrative insight. All these serve as a general prerequisite to
Vajrayana practice.
With a few exceptions, the general preliminary
practices of the
Vajrayana are similar to
those of the Mahayana.
One of the exceptions is the way the taking of
refuge is practiced.
Whereas in the Mahayana tradition there are the three objects of
refuge--the Enlightened
One, his teaching, and the Noble Assembly
of the irreversible
Bodhisattvas or
Bodhisattvas who have attained
the seventh stage of the Bodhisattva
path and are
therefore not
liable to relapse, in the Vajrayana there is also the
fourth
refuge--the
preceptor (the guru or lama). In certain traditions within
the
Vajrayana fold, there may be
as many as six objects of refuge,
the two additional ones being the
tutelary deities and the
dakinis.
The tutelary deities are the special esoteric forms of the
Buddhawho are any one
of the major tantric deities--Hevajra,
Chakrasamvara, and the
like--meditation upon
whom is a complete
path to enlightenment. The dakinis are female
deities who are
symbolic or representative of insubstantiality. In the Vajrayana
pantheon, the dakinis
occupy a position in some ways analogous to
that of the Noble Assembly,
being the
special tantric or Vajrayana
forms of the Sangha. Although in certain
traditions and
contexts we
do have references to these six objects of refuge, it is
far more
common to
find the four objects of refuge, that is, the preceptor
and the Triple
Gem.
The preceptor is particularly important in the Vajrayana
tradition. Let
me refer to two
ideas that illustrate the role and
importance of the preceptor in the
Vajrayana tradition.
First, the
preceptor performs a function similar to that of a
magnifying glass.
We know
that the sun is very hot and has great power, yet without
a device like
the magnifying
glass we cannot harness its heat to
kindle a fire. Similarly, although
the Buddha and his
teachings are
very powerful, without the preceptor they are unable to
kindle the
fire of
wisdom within a disciple. The preceptor functions as a
means of
concentrating and
harnessing the power of the Buddha,
Dharma, and Sangha in such a way as
to make that
power effective
and immediately applicable to the disciple's own needs.
Recognizing this role of the preceptor has always been of the
greatest
importance. We
will understand this better if we consider
the story of Marpa, one of
the more famous
Tibetans who
journeyed to India in order to receive the Vajrayana
teaching from
Naropa.
Marpa made three journeys to India and studied at length
with Naropa.
It is said that on
one occasion, when the
manifestation of a tutelary deity appeared
before him, Marpa
made
the mistake of bowing to the appearance of the deity rather than
to
his preceptor,
Naropa. The karmic consequences of this lapse
were that Marpa later
lost his sons to
accidents and had no
descendants to whom he could pass on the teachings
he had
received. This is one of a number of stories which indicate the need
to
recognize the
importance of the preceptor in the Vajrayana
tradition.
In Chapter 29, I will show how the last two components in
these general
preliminaries--
the cultivation of single-pointedness
and penetrative insight--are
applied to one's
practice in the context
of Vajrayana meditation. For the time being,
let me repeat that
these general preliminaries are indispensable prerequisites to
serious
Vajrayana practice.
No tradition within Tibetan Buddhism
encourages the commencement of
Vajrayana
practice without
having spent a really substantial amount of time on
these preliminary
practices. All the Tibetan Vajrayana traditions have extensive oral
and
written material on
the cultivation and practice of these
preliminaries. Although it does
sometimes happen
that people go
on to Vajrayana practice without having spent an
appropriate
amount of
time on these general preliminaries, they do so at their
own risk.
However, I do not mean
to indulge in scare mongering.
What I mean is that if you do somehow
manage to go on
to your
university education without having undergone pre-university
training, you are
liable to have a much more difficult time in your
university career.
I would like to make one more observation before treating the
particular preliminary
practices that are special to the Vajrayana. I
have gone to great
lengths to show the
integrated nature of the
three major Buddhist traditions of Theravada,
Mahayana, and
Vajrayana, and have tried to show that the Vajrayana represents a
natural extension of
elements found in other Buddhist traditions. I
would therefore like to
draw your attention
to two steps in these
general preliminary practices: the taking of
refuge, and the
awakening of the enlightenment thought, or acceptance of the
Bodhisattva vows. I would
like to suggest that these can be
regarded as initiations of a kind.
Another practice which
may be
seen as analogous to initiation is the novitiate, or entrance
into the
Buddhist
Order.
All three of these practices may be thought of as varieties of
initiations. All involve
entrance into a community with a particular
set of practices: in the
case of taking refuge,
the ceremony
represents entry into the Buddhist community; in the case
of the
novitiate,
it represents entry into the monastic community; and in
the case of the
Bodhisattva vows,
entry into the lineage or family of
the Buddha. These three ceremonies
are, in a sense,
initiations that
involve taking on certain commitments: taking refuge
brings along
with it
the commitment to try to observe the precepts of a
layperson; entering
the monastic order
brings with it the
commitment to observe the precepts of a novice; and
taking the
Bodhisattva vows brings with it the commitments of the
Bodhisattva.
There are aspects of
the institutions of refuge,
novitiate, and Bodhisattva vows that are
similar to important
elements in the Vajrayana initiation.
Let us go on to look at the specific preliminary practices
generally
required for Vajrayana
practice. It is not imperative that
one complete the preliminaries
before beginning any
kind of
Vajrayana practice. It is also not imperative that one complete
these preliminaries
before receiving Vajrayana initiation. It is,
however, imperative that
one complete them
before undertaking
meditational retreat on one of the major Vajrayana
tutelary deities.
For really serious Vajrayana practice, these specific preliminaries
are
required.
The term for these preliminaries in Tibetan is
ngon-dro, which
literally means 'going
before.' Hence these
practices go before serious practice. There are
four specific
preliminary practices common to all the Vajrayana traditions: (1)
refuge, (2) confession,
(3) preceptor yoga, and (4) mandala
offering. Each has to be performed
one hundred
thousand times. In
addition to these four, certain traditions require
the performance of
prostrations, and others require alternative rituals.
Refuge. As already mentioned, in the Vajrayana tradition one
takes
refuge in four
'objects'--the Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, and
preceptor, or guru. Taking
refuge involves
visualization of the
objects of refuge either separately or together:
(a) one can visualize
one's preceptor, the Buddha, the texts, and the Noble Assembly
separately, or (b) one can
visualize the four objects of refuge
integrated or combined into the
single figure of the
tutelary deity.
Some of you may have seen this visualization portrayed
in painted
scrolls,with the objects of refuge pictured in a tree, on a jeweled
throne, on
a lotus and a sun or
moon disk (for more on some of
these symbols, see Chapter 25). Using
this visualization
of the four
objects of refuge, we recite a refuge formula one hundred
thousand
times.
Confession. For convenience, I have called the second
specific
preliminary practice
'confession' because it is commonly
referred to by this name. However,
it is important to
remember
here that we are not concerned with confession as a means of
securing
forgiveness. We do not use the term in the same sense in
which it is
used in Christianity,
where the confession of sins is
followed by forgiveness from an
external power. In this
context,
confession merely implies our own recognition of unwholesome
actions done in
the past, and our resolve not to repeat them.
Especially important in
this practice of
confession of unwholesome
actions is the Buddha Vajrasattva, another
special form of
the
Buddha similar to the Buddhas of the Five Families. Vajrasattva is
an archetypal form
of the Buddha who embodies the state of
enlightenment for the special
purpose of the
confession and
purification of unwholesome actions.
Vajrasattva appears in the Mahayana pantheon as well, and
the practice
of confession of
unwholesome actions is one of the
preliminaries performed by all who
embark on the
Bodhisattva
path. Vajrasattva is white in color. He has a single face
and two
hands, and
holds a vajra and a bell, which stand for skillful means
and wisdom,
respectively. In the
specific preliminary practice of
confession, we meditate on Vajrasattva
and recite the
hundred-syllable mantra of Vajrasattva one hundred thousand
times.
It is said that four powers issue from the practice of the
confession
and purification of
unwholesome actions. The first
power is the 'power of the shrine,'
which refers to the
power of
Vajrasattva as a symbol of purification. There is a certain
power
which issues
from visualization of the form of Vajrasattva. This is a
symbolic
power, similar to the
kind of power that issues, in the
mundane context, from a symbol such
as the national
flag. The
national flag has a symbolic power; similarly, in the sacred
context
of
meditation, the image of Vajrasattva has a certain power, the
power of
symbol.
The second of the four powers is the 'power of
transcendence,' of going
beyond. This
refers to a sincere
renunciation of unwholesome actions. In other
words, in the course
of
the meditation, unwholesome actions are transcended.
The third power that issues from this practice is the 'power of
habitual antidote,' or the
power of persistent correction, which
refers to the sincere resolve not
to repeat the
unwholesome actions
one has done in the past. This is the power to
refrain from doing
unwholesome actions again in the future.
The fourth power is the 'power of restoration.' This refers to
the fact
that, insofar as
unwholesome actions belong to the level of
conditioned reality, they do
not really
penetrate to the core of one's
own being, which is the Buddha mind, or
the nature of
emptiness.
Unwholesome actions are, in reality, adventitious. They are
like the
dirt that
soils a white cloth, or the smoke or cloud that obscures the
sky.
Because of this,
meditation on Vajrasattva results in the power
of restoration, which is
the realization of
our intrinsic purity.
Preceptor Yoga. The third preliminary is called preceptor
yoga. The
preceptor (guru or
lama) is an accomplished master who
bestows tantric initiations and
special spiritual
attainments. Although
it is quite common for those not conversant with
the Tibetan
tradition to refer to any Tibetan monk as a lama, in the Tibetan
tradition this term is
reserved for such qualified masters, while
ordinary monks are referred
to simply as
gelong (bhikshu). The
term yoga means 'yoking together,' connecting or
identifying.
The
purpose of preceptor yoga is to establish a close bond between
disciple and master.
Here again, we can see the importance of the
preceptor in the Vajrayana
tradition. This
practice can take
different forms, which differ slightly. However, in
general it involves
the recitation, one hundred thousand times, of a formula that
expresses
a disciple's
evotion to and regard for the qualities of the
preceptor.
I would like to expand on what I said earlier about the
importance of
the preceptor in the
Vajrayana tradition--why this is
and must be so. The Vajrayana
tradition is first and
foremost an
oral tradition, handed down from master to disciple. The
association or
connection between master and disciple is
particularly important. This
association leads
to the formation of
lineage. Lineage is, of course, important not only
in the Vajrayana
but
also in the Buddhist tradition as a whole, especially when it
comes to
monastic
ordination. If you look at the history of
monasticism in Sri Lanka and
Thailand, you will
notice the
importance accorded to it. Because of discontinuation of the
lineage of
monastic ordination, special envoys had to be sent from
one Theravada
country to
another on a number of occasions,
simply to renew the lineage.
Lineage is like an electric circuit. When the lineage is broken,
the
ordination of new
disciples cannot take place. This also
occurred in the monastic history
of Tibet when,
after the
persecution of Buddhism under King Lan-dar-ma, the lineage of
monastic
ordination had to be reestablished with the help of
Chinese monks. Thus
lineage is
extremely important. It is important
in the Vajrayana tradition because
it is by means of
lineage--the
unbroken chain connecting master and disciple--that the
Vajrayana
teachings are handed down from one generation to the next.
The concept of lineage implies the identity of each link in the
chain,
each member of the
lineage. Consequently, the figure of the
preceptor secures
identification between the
master, disciple, and
tutelary deity. Later, the disciple him or
herself forges this bond as
he or she develops his or her own sense of identification with the
preceptor and then with
the tutelary deity.
The institution of the lineage, as it is embodied in the figure of
the
preceptor, cuts across
time and space. It bridges the gulf that separates us, here and now,
from the time and
place and mode of being of the Buddha. This is why, in Vajrayana
initiation and
meditation practice, the preceptor is identified with the tutelary
deity, and it is then the
task of the practitioner to identify with the
deity through the
preceptor. This practice of
union with the guru is
important for creating the foundation of the
special relationship
between practitioner and preceptor.
Mandala Offering. The fourth preliminary practice is the offering of
the mandala. In
general, a mandala is a sacred, symbolic
(or magic) circle. In the
context of the offering
ritual, the mandala
represents in symbolic form the whole mundane
universe, as it is
pictured in traditional Buddhist cosmology. Traditionally, the
universe
is said to have
Mount Sumeru at its center, the four
continents on each side of Mount
Sumeru, four
intermediate
continents, and so forth. The mandala is a symbolic
representation
of this
traditional cosmology.
In the practice of mandala offering, the practitioner offers to
the
four objects of refuge
(the Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, and
preceptor) all his own merit, born of
wholesome
actions, in the
symbolic form of the universe. He offers all his
wholesome actions
to these
four objects, which are the repositories of all excellent
qualities,
for the sake of the
enlightenment of all sentient beings.
This offering is done a hundred
thousand times.
Along with the
recitation, the practitioner performs a ritual using a
disk of metal,
stone,
or wood and grains of rice, wheat, or sand, by means of
which he
creates symbolically the
salient features of the traditional
cosmology of the universe.
This practice of mandala offering is effective because it is the
most
excellent form of
karma. There are five modifying conditions
that intensify the weight of
karma--three
subjective and two
objective. The three subjective conditions are (a)
persistence or
repetition of an action, (b) willful intention, and (c) absence of
regret. The objective
conditions are (d) quality and (e)
indebtedness toward whom the action
is directed (see
also Chapter
8).
In the mandala offering, we have all the conditions conducive to
enhancing the weight of
this wholesome karma. We have persistence, in that the offering is done
a hundred
thousand times. We have the intention of the practitioner to offer all
his merits in this
symbolic form to the enlightened ones. We also have a complete
absence
of regret. If we
were to offer material objects, we might be liable to experience some
feeling of regret.
For example, if I
offer a financial endowment to a monastery, I may
later think that I
have
offered too much. But with a symbolic offering of this sort,
there is
no ground for that
kind of feeling to arise, so the
wholesome karma it generates is
unopposed. Last, who is
more
worthy of offering than the enlightened ones, who are of the
highest
worth and
greatest benefit to us, since it is they who make
enlightenment
accessible? The practice of
mandala offering thus
creates the merit required to make rapid progress
along the
Vajrayana path.
In short, the four specific preliminary practices
have a special
contribution to make in the
preparation for serious
Vajrayana practice. The recitation of the
refuge formula
establishes
one firmly on the path, creating a secure shelter that
protects one
from
discouragement and distractions. The practice of confession
purifies
unwholesome
actions. The practice of preceptor yoga
identifies practitioner and
preceptor, establishing
the
relationship so
crucial to one's progress on the Vajrayana path.
Finally, the
practice of
mandala offering creates the positive potential, the
wholesome energy,
that one needs in
making rapid and efficient
strides.
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Contents
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| 12 | 13
| 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41
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Layout: Nhi Tuong
Update : 11-05-2002
