Tradition Vs. Modernity II

What we are actually doing in Vajrayāna practice

Yesterday, I wrote about Vajrayāna in very general terms, and hinted at the real purpose of the body-based nature of Vajrayāna practice, from a traditional point view, the view with which practitioners have been engaged in these practices for more than a millennium and a half. Today, I will outline the actual purpose of the creation and completion stage and how the four empowerments are related to the two stages.

Some of you might be thinking, “Isn’t this is just a difference between so-called Sarma and Nyingma,” but it isn’t so. The approach of mahāyoga in both streams is basically the same. Now, there is a caveat here, since much of this presentation depends on what is termed “the basis of purification” and “the purifier,” and in the teachings of Anuyoga and the Great Perfection, the perspective about these two things shifts dramatically.

To begin with, we have to understand what tantra actually refers to. The locus classicus for the Buddhist definition of tantra may be found in Guhyasamāja Uttaratantra:

A tantra is a ‘continuum.’

That continuum changes into three aspects;

distinguished by basis,

its nature and inalienability.

Fundamentally, then, a tantra is a continuum, and this continuum is divided into three parts: the tantra of the basis, the tantra of the path, and the tantra of the result. The tantra of the basis refers the mind stream of a sentient being as the “cause tantra.” It is the basis of purification. The tantra of the path, referred to as the path tantra, is the purifier. The practice of the path leads to the result tantra, the result of purification, termed “inalienable” because once the result has been attained, it can never be lost.

Tantras, like Guhyasamāja, Kālacakra, and the like, are texts that detail the practices connected with the three tantras: cause, path, and result. However, they are not the actual tantra under discussion.

The tantra of the path begins with empowerment (Skt. abhiṣeka; Tib. dbang bskur). One cannot practice creation and completion stages practices successfully without having received empowerment in a proper way. The Mahāmudrātilaka Tantra states:

There are no siddhis without empowerment

just as no oil is produced by pressing sand.

While there is some argument amongst scholars about what truly counts as an empowerment, in general, no one in Vajrayāna seriously takes issue with the notion that empowerment is necessary, and for that a qualified guru is necessary. There are different levels of empowerment for each of the four classes of tantra, broadly speaking. Here, we are confining ourselves to anuttarayoga or the inner tantras. The Mahāmudrātilaka Tantra continues:

One who proudly clarifies the tantras and āgamas

for one who lacks empowerment,

even of siddhi is attained, both ācārya and disciple

will go to hell immediately upon death.

Sounds harsh? Since Vajrayāna is a body-based practice, it involves yogic practices that can cause severe psychosomatic disorders if the practitioner is not careful and systematic. This means that people who try to enter Vajrayāna practice without proper guidance in the creation and completion stages risk blocking their own progress. One needs an experienced guide who has some measure of realization (i.e. experience + understanding). Once one has received the ripening empowerments, one is then ready to receive the liberating instructions.

Each phase of Vajrayāna practice is meant to prepare the way for the next phase, and in particular, forestall obstacles on the path. Delusion is a particular danger, when one is not familiar with the very detailed roadmap by which one can measure one’s practice. This is no different than the standard Mahāyāna Buddhist teaching about the signs that arise on the five paths: accumulation, application, seeing, cultivation, and no more training. Indeed, the Vajrayāna path is structured according to the paths and stages shared with standard Mahāyāna.

Now, a full empowerment into a Vajrayāna cycle, such as Hevajra, and so on, generally requires participation in what is known as a dbang chen, a major empowerment. These generally require two days, and sometimes a third. The first day is the preparation day, where a series of ritual procedures are conducted, all with a view to remove obstacles for the disciple to receiving the four empowerments the following day.

So what are these four empowerments? They are the vase empowerment, which is grounded in yoga tantra, and provides the basis for meditating upon oneself as the pledged deity (Skt. samādāna devatā, Tib. yi dam lha). It is an empowerment where one’s five aggregates are recognized to be the nature of the five buddha families, and also includes the Vajrācarya empowerment, where one receives various vows. The second empowerment is called the secret empowerment, and is related to completion stage practices such as caṇḍlīyoga, and so on. The third empowerment is called the gnosis of the prajñā empowerment and is related to the much misunderstood completion stage practice called karmamudra. The final empowerment is termed the precious word empowerment,¹ and consists of a direct introduction through words and symbols to the state of mahāmudrā.²

These four empowerments are taken upon what is known as the body maṇḍala. The cause body maṇḍala is the nāḍīs, the syllables inside the nāḍīs, the bindus which move through the nāḍīs, and the vāyus which move the bindus through the nāḍīs. The creation and completion stage both employ the body maṇḍala as the path.

As I mentioned in my last post on this subject, the purpose of practicing the two stages is to reverse the afflictive process of birth in the three realms. In general, when reversing a process, one must begin at the end, and in our case, we have to understand the process of the formation of the human body. In the Vajrayāna account of the formation of the human body, our consciousness, as the all-basis consciousness merged with a vāyu called the mahāprāṇavāyu, moves through the bardo.

One point to consider is that in Vajrayāna, consciousness is never completely divorced from a connection with the elements. It is said that matter and consciousness are like a flower and its scent. The mahāprāṇavāyu itself has all five of the elemental vāyus within it.

The all-basis consciousness, the vāyu, and the male and female reproductive tissue all merge at the moment of conception and form a bindu, which is serves as basis for the development of the human body. The action of the vāyu divides the bindu into two, then four, and so on. As the zygote grows into a fetus, the vāyu creates passages known as nāḍīs, and forms syllables within those nāḍīs, which govern our perception—in this case, our perception of the human realm. When the body maṇḍala is fully formed at thirty-eight weeks, we are born into the human realm with human realm experiences. There are detailed accounts of what forms when in the accounts of the formation of the human body provided in the tantras.

The process of creation and completion work in reverse. We practice the creation stage connected with the vase empowerment to work with the body nāḍī maṇḍala. Visualizing ourselves as a deity, and visualizing our senses as a maṇḍala of deities has the effect of causing our body nāḍī maṇḍala to soften and become more pliable.³ This is why it is also important to practice yantra yoga (Tib. ‘prul ‘khor rnal ‘byor) right from the beginning. Many people incorrectly associate yantra yoga with the completion stage, as if it is only an enhancement for caṇḍalīyoga, etc. This is an incorrect point of view. It is axiomatic in all yoga traditions that to control the nāḍīs, one must control the body, to control the vāyu, one must control the nāḍīs, to control the mind, one must control the vāyu. In reality, one should begin the practice of yantra right away, as soon as one can learn it from a qualified teacher.

Next, after we have gained moderate stability in the creation stage, we next begin to work with the completion stage, in connection with the secret empowerment.⁴ First we work with the nāḍīgranthi (Tib. yi ge’i rtsa) maṇḍala, the array of knots inside the nadis that have the shapes of syllables. These knots are formed by the latent afflictions influencing the movement of the vāyu during gestation, which influences our impure vision in turn. The practices of prāṇayāma, including caṇḍalīyoga, are connected with purifying both the inner sheath of the ṇāḍīs as well as the syllables or knots.

The next completion practice is connected to the third empowerment, and works with bindu maṇḍala.⁵ This is the misunderstood practice of working with a partner of the opposite sex, either physically or visualized, to produce a nonconceptual example gnosis based on a fleeting experience of physical bliss. The basis of purification here is formation of the zygote.

Finally, the last maṇḍala one works with in the completion stage is the jñānavāyu mandala.⁶ The practice here is an extension of the practice found in the third empowerment. However, the basis of purification here is the very moment of conception.

This brief overview is provided so that the reader can have a clearer understanding of the purpose and function of the four empowerments and their relationship to the creation and completion stage. In reality, what is mentioned above is merely the tip of the iceberg. The reason for providing this brief overview is so that people who are considering entering Vajrayāna have a clear view of the purpose of Vajrayāna practice from a traditional perspective, one grounded in thirty-five years of practice and study of original texts in the Tibetan language.

1. Here, we will leave aside the discussion of the Mahāmudrā system of Gampopa.

2. The four empowerments connected with the cittatilaka (Tib. snying thig) teachings of the Great Perfection are all elaborations of the fourth empowerment. However, exponents of the Great Perfection hold that those empowerments are also ripening empowerments.

3. In Great Perfection, this is analogous to the stage where one can differentiate samsara from nirvana, close the door to the six realms, and attain buddhahood in the buddhafields.

4. In Great Perfection terms, this is analogous to the stage where one can differentiate the pure elements from the impure elements, attaining buddhahood in the bardo of dharmatā.

5. In Great Perfection terms, this is analogous to the stage where one can differentiate mind (sems) and pristine consciousness (ye shes), attaining buddhahood at the moment of death.

6. In Great Perfection terms, this is analogous to the stage where one can differentiate the all-basis (Skt. ālaya; Tib. kun gzhi) from the dharmakāya, and attain buddhahood in this very lifetime. These analogies are not precise, but they may help provide some understanding of the different stages of liberation discussed in the Great Perfection tantras. For more information about these four differentiations, see my translation of the Blazing Lamp Tantra and the Threaded String of Pearls (Wisdom, 2020).