Claims
of Enlightenment Made by Ancient Dzogchen Masters
Over
the years I have repeatedly written about the principles of pragmatic
dharma. Once again, here
is Vincent Horn's article for those who are new to it. Last time I
wrote about this was just a week ago in this
text. This blog continues on the theme of claims of attainment, this
time not made by myself or other contemporary teachers but by ancient
masters of the dzogchen lineage.
Two
days ago, for the first time ever, I opened a book entitled ”The
Supreme Source, Kunjed Gyalpo, The Fundamental Tantra of the Dzogchen
Semde”, translated by Chogyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche and Adriano
Clemente. This book was first published in Italian in 1997 and in
English in 1999.
Vairo
Drabag
As
I was reading the first few pages of the book I found a section
entitled Vairo Drabag that gives brief biographical descriptions of
the founding masters of dzogchen teaching, namely Garab Dorje, his
direct students and those further down the lineage.
As
I started reading these short stories about the lineage founders, to
my amazement, I found most of them making claims of having attained
buddhahood! In the text that is part of the traditional dzogchen
semde-teaching, transmitted within the dzogchen-lineage, it states in
plain words how many of the ancient practitioners, several of them
direct disciples of Garab Dorje, who according to traditional sources
is estimated to have lived soon after the passing of Shakyamuni
Buddha, state to have attained buddhahood. What amazes me is their
directness. They do not give vague hints of having perhaps attained
something, nor do they shyly deny of having attained nothing, nor do
they leave the question unanswered. They say exactly how it is. Not
having read this book before I am stunned how direct the statements
are!
1) Then Mañjuśrimitra
perfectly understood the meaning of the primordial state and
expressed his realization thus:
I am Mañjuśribhadra!
Continuing the
practice started in previous lives,
I have realized my
wish, cutting mind at its root:
Now I no longer have
any doubts that the fruit of perfect enlightenment
Is not something other
than my state!
2) Then Nāgārjuna
perfectly understood the meaning of the primordial state and
expressed his realization thus:
I am Nāgārjuna!
Beginningless
dharmakāya, not being composed of aggregates, is happiness.
The voice that is
without interruption and transcends the very concept of "voice",
not having material
characteristics, is
happiness.
The mind of wisdom
that transcends the very concept of "mind," not having
either birth nor death, is
happiness.
I have understood that
bodhicitta is total bliss!
3) Then Nödjyinmo
Changchubma perfectly understood the meaning of the primordial state
and expressed her realization thus:
I am Nödjyinmo
Changchubma.
Enlightened from the
origin,
Mind itself is
Bhagavan, the great spontaneously-arising state:
Samsāra has always
been utterly pure.
Understanding mind, I
have discovered the state of enlightenment!
4) Then Lui Gyalpo
perfectly understood the meaning of the primordial state and
expressed his realization thus:
I am Lugyal Gawo.
Without needing to be
forsaken, the emotions are the five great wisdoms.
Without needing to be
removed, the three poisons are the perfection of Body, Voice and
Mind.
Without needing to be
eliminated, samsāra is the path that leads to the bliss of bodhi.
Thus has the state of
knowledge of the Buddhas of the three times arisen in me.
5) Then Rabnang perfectly
understood the meaning of the primordial state and expressed his
realization thus:
I am Khenpo Rabnang.
From the great
emptiness of the nature of mind
Arise all animate and
inanimate phenomena,
Nevertheless, mind
does not increase or diminish.
I have understood that
great dharmakāya is the spontaneous arising and abating of
phenomena!
6) Then Atsantra Āloke
perfectly understood the meaning of the primordial state and
expressed his realization thus:
I am Atsantra Āloke!
Having perfectly
mastered the method of "elimination," I have interrupted
the flow of birth.
Having perfectly
mastered the method of "union," I have severed the limit of
cessation.
Having perfectly
mastered the method of beneficial deeds, I have realized the absence
of effort.
Having perfectly
mastered the method of the siddhis, I no longer depend on the
outside.
Having perfectly
mastered the method of meditation, I remain in my state without
correcting it!
7) The prince Thuwo
Rājahati perfectly understood the meaning of the primordial state
and expressed his realization thus:
I am Prince Thuwo
Rājahati.
Understanding that
bodhicitta is pure presence that has no origin,
I have become the
holder of the transmission of Samantabhadra Vajrasattva.
Without undertaking
the path, I have attained simultaneously the three levels of
enlightenment.
My state is equal to
that of the Buddhas of the three times!
Here's
another account by Lingchen Repa, student of Kagyu forefather Phagmo
Drugpa. It's from the book "The Supreme Siddhi of Mahamudra":
Homage
to the precious guru!
Lord,
you told me to meditate on the innate essence,
And
meditate is what I did; It so happened that meditation and meditator
simply vanished,
And
there was no post-meditation to uphold.
Through
the experience of the torch of samadhi,
I
realized the mind as the dharmakaya, free of elaborations.
Thus,
clinging to experiences simply vanished,
And
there was no straying to eliminate.
Through
none other than the mind resting as it is -
Without
altering with remedies -
Doubts
about is it" or "is it not" simply vanished,
And
there was no sense of discomfort left.
Like
meeting a person known from before,
By
recognizing thoughts as the dharmakaya,
Grasping
to them as faults or qualities simply vanished,
And
there was nothing to reject or accept.
Like
the sun dawning upon darkness,
Realization
arose from within.
Thus,
philosophical assertions simply vanished,
And
there were no words to speak.
By
realizing that the guru and the buddhas of the three times
Are
not different from my own mind,
Ordinary
perception simply vanished,
And
there was nothing to long for.
The
bubble of illusory body is always destroyed.
As
I realized that the mind is unborn and immortal,
The
fear of death simply vanished,
And
there was nothing to grieve about.
If
we meet, I am in the presence of the lord.
If
we do not, I wander aimlessly through mountain hermitages.
If
hungry, I go for alms without attachment.
If
cold, I warm myself with the heat of tummo.
If
sad, I sing a song of spiritual experience.
If
sick, I balance the elements.
I
slash experiences of happiness or sorrow on the spot,
And
go about my everyday life as I please.
Apparently,
the ancient adepts and masters of the lineage had no problem
whatsoever in stating what they have attained. I cannot help wonder
happened along the way because in the present dharma culture this
very act would be and actually is seen as an indication of heightened
delusion, ignorant boasting and charlatanism. I would assume the
ancient practitioners neither would have had a problem stating if
their attainments were lesser. What we see in these accounts is a
marvellous display of pragmatic dharma.
I
cannot speak on behalf of the ancient masters but it is good to ask
why these accounts were given in the first place and included within
the lineage teachings for many centuries. Surely the accounts would
have been left out if they were meant to be kept only between teacher
and student or small communities. Thinking about it, I am actually
surprised that they had not been edited out.
Whether
public statements about one's attainments was widely practiced in
history I cannot say but it should be acknowledged that these people
are the first ones to practice dzogchen in this time on Earth and
that they are the lineage holders in most dzogchen lineages alive
today. If they openly stated what they reaped from their practice,
maybe we could consider following their example and think about the
benefits of doing this.
As
I have stated, we do this in Pemako Buddhist Sangha. Also Lama
Daniel Brown has made public statements of realised buddhas in
his sangha. Unfortunately, to my knowledge, there are not other examples of this in tantric/vajrayana buddhism.
Surely
there are many people who would benefit immensely of open,
unsecretive and transparent discussion about attainments for
transparency itself is an expression of the buddha within and a sign
of its realisation.
-Kim,
14.4.2021
Links
http://openheartopenheart.blogspot.com/2021/04/harvest-is-at-hand.html
http://openheartopenheart.blogspot.com/2017/02/the-core-features-of-pragmatic-dharma.html
