A Garland of Views by Padmasambhava
A guide to view, meditation and result in the nine vehicles by Padmasambhava
A memory aid summarizing the distinctive features of the views and vehicles.
I pay homage to the Lord Mañjuśrī the youthful, and to Vajradharma.
The false views entertained by beings in the world are without number, but they can be summarized as being of four kinds: those of the unreflective, the materialists, the nihilistic extremists, and the eternalistic extremists.
The unreflective have no understanding as to whether or not phenomena are the causes or results of anything. They are completely confused.
The materialists have no understanding as to whether or not there are previous and future lives. They work to achieve strength, riches, and power in this one life, for which they rely on the secret knowledge of worldly beings.
Nihilistic extremists do not believe that things have causes and effects. For them, everything that comes about in this one life does so “just like that” and finally is extinguished.
Eternalistic extremists believe in a permanent self, which they imagine to be present in all phenomena. Some believe in a reality—an effect—for which there is no cause. Some have an incorrect view of causality. Some believe that whereas the cause is real, the effects are unreal.
All these are the views of ignorance.
The path that leads beyond the world has two aspects: the vehicle of characteristics and the Diamond Vehicle.
The vehicle of characteristics has three further divisions:
the Listener Vehicle,
the Solitary Realizer Vehicle,
and the Bodhisattva Vehicle.
The followers of the Listener Vehicle believe that the views of the eternalistic extremists and so on amount to conceptual exaggerations and depreciations of phenomena as a whole. They thus consider that the nihilistic view that things have never existed and the eternalist view that they exist permanently and so on are as invalid as the belief that a rope is a snake. They consider that the infinitesimal particles of the four great elements that make up the aggregates, elements, senses-and-fields, and so forth, and also the instants of consciousness, exist on the ultimate level. By meditating on the Four Noble Truths, they progressively accomplish the four results.
Those engaged in the Solitary Realizer Vehicle agree with the listeners in denying the permanent self and so forth imagined by the eternalistic extremists and others, with their conceptual exaggerations and depreciations of the whole of phenomena. But they differ from them in that they have partially realized the absence of self in phenomena related to the aggregate of form. And unlike the listeners, when they attain the result (enlightenment as solitary realizers), they do so without relying on a spiritual teacher. It is, rather, by the force of previous habituation that they realize the profound ultimate nature of phenomena in terms of the twelve links of dependent arising and subsequently attain the result: the solitary realizers’ enlightenment.
The view of those engaged in the Bodhisattva Vehicle is that, on the ultimate level, all phenomena, whether of total affliction or of complete purity, are devoid of inherent existence, while on the relative level, they are mere illusions, each with its own distinct characteristics. As a result of their training in the ten transcendent perfections, bodhisattvas proceed in stages through the ten levels, at the end of which, they attain unsurpassable enlightenment.
The Diamond Vehicle is also divided into three:
the vehicle of Kriyātantra,
the vehicle of Ubhayatantra,
and the vehicle of Yogatantra.
The view of those engaged in the vehicle of Kriyātantra is that, on the ultimate level, there is no arising or cessation. On this basis, they meditate, by visualizing themselves as the form body of the deity. By the power of bringing together the image of the deity’s body, the implements symbolizing the deity’s mind, the recitation of the mantra, and the requisite elements (above all, the observance of cleanliness, particular moments in time, the planets, constellations, and so forth), along with the cause and conditions, accomplishment is gained.
The view of those engaged in the vehicle of Ubhayatantra is that, on the ultimate level, there is no arising or cessation. On this basis, they meditate, by visualizing themselves as the form body of the deity. By relying on both meditative concentration endowed with four principles and all the other requisite elements, causes, and conditions, they gain accomplishment.
The view of those engaged in the vehicle of Yogatantra has two aspects —the vehicle of the outer Yogatantra of austerities and the vehicle of the inner Yogatantra of skillful means.
The view of those engaged in the vehicle of the outer Yogatantra of austerities is as follows. Rather than emphasizing the outer requisites, they consider the yogic practice to be most important: they meditate on the male and female deities, who on the ultimate level are beyond arising and cessation; and with the concentration of a perfectly pure mind concordant with that view, they meditate, sealed with the four mudrās, on the form body of the sublime deity. By this means they gain accomplishment.
The view of those engaged in the vehicle of the inner Yogatantra of skillful means has three aspects:
the method of generation,
the method of perfection, and
the method of the Great Perfection.
In the method of generation, the three concentrations are gradually developed and the maṇḍala is constructed step by step. By meditating in this way, accomplishment is gained.
In the method of perfection, on the ultimate level, one never moves from the male and female deities (who on the ultimate level are beyond arising and cessation) and from the expanse of truth, the middle way beyond all concepts. On the relative level, one clearly visualizes the form body of the sublime deity, meditating on everything as the same yet distinct. By this means, one gains accomplishment.
In the method of the Great Perfection, one realizes that all phenomena, mundane and supramundane, are inseparable in being, by nature and from the very beginning, the maṇḍala of the enlightened body, speech, and mind. One then meditates on this.
As it is said in the tantra:
The vajra aggregates are known as the five perfect buddhas.
All the many senses-and-fields are the maṇḍala of bodhisattvas.
Earth is Locanā, Water Māmakī, Fire is Pāṅḍaravāsinī, wind is Tārā, And space Dhātvīśvarī.
The three worlds are pure from the beginning.
The phenomena of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa are unborn from the beginning, yet they appear in the manner of illusions, capable of functioning, and having the nature, since the beginning, of the ten male and female buddhas and so on.
All phenomena, therefore, are, by nature, the state of nirvāṇa. The five great elements are, by nature, the five female buddhas. The five aggregates are the buddhas of the five families. The four kinds of consciousnesses are, by nature, four bodhisattvas, and their four objects are, by nature, four beautiful goddesses. The four sense powers are, by nature, four bodhisattvas, and the four times are, by nature, four offering goddesses.
The organ of physical sensation, its related consciousness, its object, and the bodhicitta that arises from them are, by nature, four male wrathful deities. The four extreme views of eternalism, nihilism, and the rest are the four female wrathful deities. The mental consciousness, the adamantine bodhicitta, is, by nature, Samantabhadra. Its objects, phenomena both compounded and uncompounded, are, by nature, Samantabhadrī, matrix of all phenomena.
All the things just mentioned have primordially the nature of perfect, manifest buddha. This is not something newly accomplished through the practice of the path.
Thus, there are no phenomena, whether compounded or uncompounded (the ten directions, the three times, the three worlds, and so on), that exist separately from one’s own mind. As it is said:
Discerning consciousness, our mind,
Is just the buddhas and the bodhisattvas.
The three worlds are simply this.
The great elements are simply this.
And:
All phenomena abide within the mind.
The mind abides in space.
And space itself has no abode.
And:
All phenomena are by their nature empty.
All phenomena are primordially perfectly pure.
All phenomena are completely radiant.
All phenomena are, by nature, nirvāṇa.
All phenomena are the perfect, manifest state of enlightenment.
Such is the Great Perfection.
The method of the Great Perfection (marginal note: “great” in the qualities of the result being spontaneously present and in the method for entering that, and “perfection” in that the accumulations of merit and wisdom are perfect and complete) is as follows. It is thanks to the path of the four kinds of realization that conviction is gained. The four kinds of realization are:
the realization that there is a single cause,
realization by means of syllables,
realization through blessing, and
direct realization.
First, there is the realization that there is a single cause. Because, on the ultimate level, phenomena are unborn, they are not different from each other. Neither, on the relative level, are they distinct from each other in that they all have the character of illusion. That which is unborn appears in various kinds of displays, as illusory as the moon reflected in water, yet capable of performing functions. These illusions are devoid of essential nature; they are unborn. Thus, the relative and the ultimate are inseparable. This is the realization that there is a single cause.
Then follows the realization by means of syllables. The unborn nature of phenomena is symbolized by A, the nature of enlightened speech. This unborn nature appears as an illusory display, capable of performing functions and symbolized by O, the nature of the enlightened body. The awareness that realizes this—namely, the illusory gnosis, which is without center or circumference—is symbolized by OM, the nature of the enlightened mind. This is the realization by means of syllables.
The realization that comes about through blessing is the realization that just as the power to “bless” white cotton and make it red is present in madder, so too the power to bless all phenomena as enlightened lies in being blessed by the power of the realization that there is a single cause and of the realization by means of syllables.
Finally, there is direct realization through perception. The fact that phenomena abide primordially in the enlightened state does not contradict the scriptures and pith instructions. On the other hand, it is not by relying merely on the words of scriptures and instructions that one attains direct realization. It is gained through conviction in the very depths of one’s mind, through one’s own awareness.
Conviction gained through the path is the path of yoga, the actual knowledge of the meaning of the four kinds of realization. This does not depend on the time it takes for the cause to produce a result. Rather, one gains direct realization and conviction oneself.
It is thanks to three characteristics that culmination in this is attained. An understanding of the four kinds of realization is the characteristic of knowledge. Repeated familiarization is the characteristic of application. Actualization through the power of such familiarization is the characteristic of the result. These three characteristics indicate the connection, the requisite, and the ultimate purpose.
“Connection” refers to the causal characteristic of knowledge. This is the realization that all things that are conceptualized as the phenomena of total affliction and complete purity have, from the very beginning, the nature of the enlightened body, speech, and mind. It is the understanding that all phenomena are, by nature, the ultimate expanse of the enlightened state and that this is the meaning of blessing. This knowledge is the connection with the goal, for it is the cause for accomplishing unsurpassable buddhahood.
“Requisite” refers to the characteristic of application—that is, the enjoyment in the great sameness, without acceptance or rejection, of all things that are conceptualized as the phenomena of total affliction and complete purity, the five medicines, the five nectars, and so on, for they are primordially the enlightened state. This is a causal factor for accomplishing unsurpassable enlightenment, and it is therefore requisite.
“Ultimate purpose” refers to the characteristic of the result, for from the very beginning, all things—the phenomena of total affliction and complete purity and, in particular, the five medicines, five nectars, and so forth—are the enlightened state. They are spontaneously present in the state of great sameness, beyond acceptance and rejection. Therefore samsaric existence itself is, from the beginning, spontaneously present as the characteristic of nirvāṇa, the nature of unsurpassable buddhahood. This actualization of the wheel of inexhaustible ornaments—the enlightened body, speech, and mind —is the ultimate purpose.
For this, one must strive in yogic practice, in which the branches of approach, close approach, accomplishment, and great accomplishment are spontaneously present.
“Approach” refers to knowledge of bodhicitta. This is the understanding that phenomena are naturally the enlightened state from the very beginning and are not made so by the path or contrived as such by means of antidotes.
“Close approach” refers to the knowledge that we are ourselves the deity. This is the understanding that since all phenomena are, by nature, the enlightened state from the beginning, we too have been the deity, by nature, from the beginning; it is not something that we are accomplishing only now.
“Accomplishment” refers to the generation of the female deities. This is the understanding that from the expanse of space, the Great Mother, space itself appears in the form of the four great mothers—earth, water, fire, and wind—and that they are, from the beginning, the mothers that perform all activities.
“Great accomplishment” refers to the interconnection of skillful means and wisdom. From the primordial union of the wisdoms of the five great mothers and the five aggregates (the fathers of all the buddhas appearing without expectancy from the emptiness-space of the mother), bodhicitta manifests in the form of the male and female bodhisattvas.
Within the state of primordial enlightenment, illusion delights in illusion, and at the moment of bliss in the illusory stream of supreme bliss, the absence of all characteristics equal to space beyond all reference is fully realized and is spontaneously present. The four demons are subdued and the ultimate goal is achieved.
All phenomena are perfectly pure from the beginning and are a maṇḍala beyond all dimension, a vast and measureless palace that grants every wish. To enter this primordial, unsurpassable maṇḍala, one must open one’s eyes, which is achieved by hearing the texts of the vehicles of skillful means. To understand their meaning is to behold the maṇḍala. To gain familiarity, once one has understood, is to enter the maṇḍala. And when, once entered, the maṇḍala becomes manifest, the great accomplishment is attained.
This method is the culmination, the Great Perfection. The level of the Great Wheel of Collections of Syllables is spontaneously entered. Beings with the sharpest faculties have understood that primordial enlightenment means that they have been enlightened from the very beginning, and they progress powerfully on the path. Their actions are not the actions of ordinary beings.
However much ordinary people may hear and reflect on this, they will not gain confidence in its truth and profundity. Since it is difficult to have confidence and to understand it with their ordinary minds and they do not recognize how true and profound it is, they judge by their own experience and think it is the same for everyone. “It’s all a pack of lies,” they say, belittling superior beings and giving rise to an attitude of repudiation. This is why this teaching is extremely secret and also why it is called the Secret Vehicle.
Therefore, until their disciples have understood that all phenomena are primordially the enlightened state, teachers use the lower vehicles to benefit beings; and to avoid wasting those beings’ potential, they should be well versed in the defects of saṃsāra, the qualities of nirvāṇa, and all the vehicles. Disciples should not be guided by a teacher who is ignorant of some aspects. All this has been extensively taught.
Along with the different views, there are also specific kinds of spiritual training and yogic discipline. Those who have no spiritual training are the unreflective and the nihilistic extremists. Those who have a spiritual training display four kinds of practices: the mundane trainings of the materialists and eternalistic extremists, the spiritual training of the listeners, the spiritual training of the bodhisattvas, and the unsurpassable spiritual training.
The unreflective are ignorant with regard to the karmic law of cause and effect, and they do not, therefore, engage in spiritual training. Neither do the nihilistic extremists, for they have nihilistic views. The materialists, in order to achieve advantage in this life, engage in practices such as ritual cleanliness. The eternalistic extremists, in order to purify the self that they believe exists, indulge mistakenly in austerities, such as the mortification of the body and the ordeal of five fires, and in yogic disciplines.
The disciplines of the listeners are described in the Vinaya:
Abandon every evil deed, Practice virtue well
And perfectly subdue your mind: This is Buddha’s teaching.
The listeners consider that positive and negative phenomena exist on both the relative and ultimate levels, and they follow the spiritual training and yogic discipline of implementing virtue and avoiding negativity.
The spiritual training of the bodhisattvas is described in The Vows of a Bodhisattva:
Failure to benefit as circumstances dictate,
Failure to use miraculous powers to intimidate and so on— Such faults are absent in those whose intentions are virtuous, For they are filled with compassion and love.
Whatever bodhisattvas do, positive or negative, if they are imbued with great compassion, they will not damage their vows. For, the bodhisattva vow, in brief, is to act on the basis of great compassion.
The unsurpassable training is described in the Sūtra of the Great Samaya:
In those who have the utmost certainty with regard to Buddha’s vehicle,
Even indulgence in all five defilements and sense pleasures Will be the very height of discipline, As unstained as lotus petals unsullied by the mud.
All phenomena are in the state of sameness from the beginning, so compassion is not something to be cultivated and anger is not something to be eschewed. This does not mean, however, that compassion does not arise for those who fail to understand.
And to the extent that, as far as one’s view is concerned, one has realized primordial perfect purity, one’s spiritual training and yogic discipline will also be perfectly pure.
Like those born blind who spontaneously gain their sight,
If there are superior beings
Who hold the power of wisdom and skillful means,
May they encounter this secret Garland of Views.
This completes the pith instruction entitled A Garland of Views.
Translated by the Padmakara translation group, Shambala Publications, 2015.
∞ OM AH HUM VAJRA GURU PADMA SIDDHI HUM ∞