Mahamudra

A Practical Guide

His Eminence The Twelfth Zurmang Gharwang Rinpoche

• Publisher: Wisdom Publications
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9781614295877
• eBook ISBN: 9781614296102
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Buddhism

Essential instructions on Mahamudra from one of today's greatest Mahamudra masters. In his first major book, His Eminence the Twelfth Zurmang Gharwang Rinpoche, the head of the Zurmang Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, elucidates the essence of a fundamental Mahamudra teaching. At the heart of this book are Rinpoche's practical instructions on how to settle the mind and meditate in a way that directly works with the mind, with the aim of discovering and becoming familiar with the nature of the mind. These instructions are given as commentary to a short text written by Bokar Rinpoche, which is itself a concise commentary on the Ninth Gyalwa Karmapa Wangchuk Dorjé's Ocean of Definitive Meaning, which is considered to be one of the most authoritative and exhaustive treatises on Mahamudra. The book covers topics such as the preliminary practices, the practice of samatha and vipasyana according to the Mahamudra tradition, and advice for overcoming obstacles and making progress along the path. His Eminence Zurmang Gharwang Rinpoche offers revealing commentary on Bokar Rinpoche's pithy teaching, illuminating and unlocking it for contemporary readers, showing us the way to understand the very nature of our own minds

PART I:

THE PRELIMINARIES

IN ORDER TO PRACTICE mahāmudrā meditation effectively, it is essential that you first prepare your mind. The great yogis of the past have developed a set of trainings called the preliminary practices, which help us to generate the right motivation, set our minds in a good place, clear away karmic obstacles, and generate positive energy. Engaging in these preliminary practices readies the mind for mahāmudrā meditation.

To dive straight into mahāmudrā practice without first engaging in these preliminary practices is like heading off on a journey into unknown territory without a map. Who knows where you will end up? Thus, perhaps somewhat counterintuitively, it does not save you time to skip these practices; by skipping these practices you will most likely end up only wasting your time.

This text outlines and gives advice on three different sets of preliminary practices: (1) the common preliminaries, (2) the uncommon preliminaries, and (3) the special preliminaries. We will begin with the common preliminaries.

1. THE COMMON PRELIMINARIES

THROUGH PRACTICING the common preliminaries, you develop the motivation to focus your time and energy on meaningful endeavors. These preliminaries are a set of contemplations that help you transform the way you engage with and experience the world. They are called “common” because they are based on ideas that are shared with all Buddhist traditions.

The common preliminaries consist of contemplating and meditating on four different topics: (1) the difficulty of acquiring this life with its opportunities and resources, (2) death and impermanence, (3) karmic cause and effect, and (4) the faults of saṃsāra.

THE DIFFICULTY OF ACQUIRING THIS LIFE WITH ITS OPPORTUNITIES AND RESOURCES

Namo gurubhyaḥ

In order to practice the excellent Dharma correctly, one must abandon wandering.

The first object of meditation is the fact that this excellent foundation,

which is endowed with the eight opportunities and ten resources,

is difficult to acquire, and since it is extremely beneficial,

it is just like a wish-fulfilling jewel.

The world is full of distractions. There are endless calls for our attention. As the verse states, if you wish to practice Dharma correctly, then you must give up wandering, allowing your precious time to be led and dictated by distractions. We must remain mindful to prevent our life from being guided by the pushes and pulls of mundane life. If we are not careful, all the various endeavors of worldly life will distract us from our Dharma practice.

One of the first points that a Buddhist practitioner is guided to contemplate is how fortunate they are. I know that life is not always easy, and it is certainly never perfect. Indeed, the focus of subsequent contemplations will include the hardships of life. But at this point, we are bringing to mind all the excellent conditions that we are fortunate to have in our lives. When you spend the time to meditate on the things you can be thankful for in your life, then you begin to appreciate that your life is truly a precious opportunity. This insight provides the motivation to use your opportunity wisely and to ensure that you are spending your time on the most meaningful endeavors. In short, the goal of this contemplation is to spark within you the inspiration to practice Dharma.

The verse above presents the traditional way of going about this contemplation, which is to reflect on your human life as an excellent basis for practicing Dharma since it is endowed with eight opportunities and ten resources. This list of opportunities and resources is a technical way of talking about the opportunity that this life affords us.

In Buddhist texts, we are advised to reflect on the fact that, as human beings, we have eight kinds of opportunities, or eight kinds of freedom, because we are free from rebirth in eight states in which one is unable to practice the Dharma:

1. in the hell realm

2. in the hungry ghost realm

3. in the animal realm

4. in the god realm

5. in a barbarian land

6. with incomplete sense faculties

7. in a place where wrong views prevail

8. at a time when a buddha has not come

In addition to being free from these eight kinds of unfortunate rebirths, there are also ten kinds of resources that we have in virtue of being born as a human in this world:

1. We have been born in an era in which a buddha has come.

2. We have been born at a time when a buddha has not only come but has taught the Dharma.

3. The teachings have survived to the present time at which we live.

4. There is a community of people who follow the teachings.

5. There are favorable conditions for practicing Dharma.

6. We have been born as a human being.

7. We have been born in a developed society.

8. Our faculties are intact.

9. We are able to make a living practicing right livelihood.

10. We have faith in the three collections, or the tripiṭaka, of Buddha’s teachings.

The eight kinds of opportunities as well as ten kinds of resources are very difficult to acquire, and are like a great, beneficial gift.

Sometimes the Buddhist texts can be very technical, but here the essence of the contemplation is to reflect on all the forms of freedom, opportunities, and resources that you enjoy in your life. You are so fortunate to have this life. What will you do with it? How will you choose to spend your precious time?

In particular, by relying on Vajrayāna,

this vajra body, which is endowed with the six elements

for attaining enlightenment in a single lifetime, is even more rare.

This text is aimed at guiding Vajrayāna practitioners in particular, and in the tantric texts of Mantrayāna it is explained that we all have a vajra body, which is a spiritual body that is subtler than our physical bodies. These texts explain that we are fortunate not only because we have this precious human rebirth, but also because we have this vajra body, which is considered even rarer and more precious than the physical human body. This is because the vajra body possesses the six elements, which enable the attainment of enlightenment within a single lifetime. These six elements are the four of earth, water, fire, and air, together with space and consciousness. In the technology of the Vajrayāna system, these elements of our subtle body are utilized in visualization and yogic practices that provide a quick and powerful path to awakening.

We are incredibly fortunate to have encountered the Vajrayāna teachings. The Buddha said that there may be no tantric teachings for many eons at a time, so having the opportunity to listen to and practice the Vajrayāna teachings is extremely rare and precious.

Moreover, [this precious human rebirth] is difficult to acquire

in virtue of the three of cause, example, and number,

and even if it is acquired, it is extremely easy to die.

Thus, from now on, one should strive at meditating on the genuine, excellent Dharma.

Here we are given these strategies for contemplating the rarity and difficulty of acquiring a precious human rebirth: the causes, an example, and the number.

The first strategy is the causes. It is said that there are many different types of rebirth and that to be born a human being with all the freedoms and resources to practice Dharma is extremely rare and difficult because it requires the accumulation of an enormous amount of positive karma in previous lives. It is quite amazing to be reborn as a human if you think about the vast amount of merit that is required for such a life. Moreover, in most of one’s previous births one is likely to have been occupied with striving for relief from pain, escaping danger, or absorbed by the intoxication of the god realms, all of which make efforts at accumulating positive karma almost impossible.

“The example” refers to a famous story in the Buddhist texts that describes how rare it is to be born human. A blind turtle lives deep in the ocean, and every hundred years or so, the turtle rises to the ocean’s surface to take a breath. On this vast ocean floats a small golden yoke. Now, consider what might be the chances for the turtle to rise up and poke his head through that golden yoke? It is said that the chances of attaining a human rebirth are about the same as the blind turtle rising up and poking his head through the golden yoke. Contemplating the difficulty of acquiring a human rebirth in terms of this example, or metaphor, is the second strategy for meditating on the rarity and difficulty of acquiring a precious human rebirth.

The third strategy is to contemplate how the number of sentient beings—even just those we can see on this planet—is incredibly large, and the proportion of living creatures that are human is incredibly small. Considering these numbers alone, the odds of obtaining a precious human body with th...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Contents
• Foreword
• Preface
• Introduction
• A Concise Commentary on The Ocean of Definitive Meaning
• The Title and Opening Verse
• Part I: The Preliminaries
• Part II: The Actual Practice: Śamatha and Vipaśyanā
• Part III: Conclusion
• Part IV: Translation
• About the Author
• Copyright