Tantric Techniques - Promienie
Tantric Techniques
Tantric TechniquesJeffrey HopkinsEdited by Kevin VoseSnow Lion PublicationsIthaca, New York
Snow Lion PublicationsP.O. Box 6483Ithaca, NY 14851 USA(607) 273-8519www.snowlionpub.comCopyright 2008 Jeffrey HopkinsAll rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced byany means without prior written permission from the publisher.Printed in USA on acid-free recycled paper.ISBN-10: 1-55939-320-3ISBN-13: 978-1-55939-320-1Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataHopkins, Jeffrey.Tantric techniques / Jeffrey Hopkins ; edited by Kevin Vose.p. cm.Includes bibliographical references and index.ISBN-13: 978-1-55939-320-1 (alk. paper)ISBN-10: 1-55939-320-3 (alk. paper)1. Meditation--Tantric Buddhism. 2. Yoga--Tantric Buddhism. I.Vose, Kevin, 1970- II. Title.BQ8938.H67 2009294.3'4436--dc222008047799
ContentsTechnical Notes 6Introduction 7Part One: The Procedure of Deity Yoga 111. The Sūtra Mode of Meditation 132. The Tantric Mode of Meditation 453. Jung’s Warnings Against Inflation 654. The Path in Action Tantra: Divine Body 835. Mantra Repetition 1176. Concentration Without Repetition 1457. The Practice 165Part Two: The Difference Between Sūtra and Mantra 2038. Bu-tön Rin-chen-drup’s Stimulating Catalogue 2059. Long-chen-rap-jam’s Dramatic Evocation 24310. Tsong-kha-pa’s Reasoned Analysis of Path-Structure 26311. Controversy over Deity Yoga in Action Tantra 303Part Three: The Difference Between the Four Tantras 31912. Bu-tön and Tsong-kha-pa: The Four Tantra Sets 321Appendix:The First Paṇ-chen Lama’s Reformulation of Tsong-kha-pa’sPresentation of the Vehicles translated by Donald S. Lopez 359List of Abbreviations 387Bibliography 389Index 413
Technical NotesPlease notice that: Full bibliographical references are given in the footnotes atfirst citation.For translations and editions of texts, see the Bibliography.The names of Indian Buddhist schools are translated into English in an effort to increase accessibility for non-specialists.For the names of Indian scholars and systems cited in the bodyof the text, ch, sh, and ṣh are used instead of the more usual c, ś,and ṣ for the sake of easy pronunciation by non-specialists;however, cch is used for cch, not chchh. In parentheses the usualtransliteration system for Sanskrit is used.Transliteration of Tibetan is done in accordance with a systemdevised by Turrell Wylie; see “A Standard System of TibetanTranscription,” Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 22 (1959): 261267.The names of Tibetan authors and orders are given in “essayphonetics” for the sake of easy pronunciation.
IntroductionAcross the vast reaches of the Tibetan cultural region in InnerAsia—stretching from Kalmyk Mongolian areas near the Volga River (in Europe) by the Caspian Sea and reaching through Outer Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, the Buriat Republic of Siberia, Bhutan, Sikkim, Ladakh, parts of Nepal, and what is currently called the “Tibetan Autonomous Region” but also most of Qinghai Province, andparts of the Gansu, Sichuan, and Yunnan Provinces which were included in greater Tibet before the Chinese remapped the area—Buddhism is practiced in many forms by a plethora of sects andsub-sects. Though their systems vary widely, they agree on dividingtheir practices into basically two styles, Sūtra and Mantra (alsocalled Tantra), and all offer reasons why the Mantra system is superior. Based on Indian expositions of the greatness of Mantra, manyscholar-practitioners catalogued and creatively developed theseexplanations, which came to be the means through which they perceived and ordered the otherwise overwhelmingly diverse forms ofpractice inherited from Buddhist India.Most of the presentations of the distinctiveness of Mantra employ multiple formats for demonstrating its greatness, but one Tibetan scholar boils these down into a single central distinguishingfeature—deity yoga, the meditative practice of imagining oneself tobe an ideal being fully endowed with compassion and wisdom andtheir resultant altruistic activities. Whether or not one accepts thatdeity yoga is the central distinctive feature of Mantra, it is an important feature, and since meditation on emptiness is said to be the“life” of the Sūtra and Mantra paths and thus also of deity yoga, thisbook initially presents how Sūtra and Mantra describe the practiceof reflecting on emptiness and then of relating to appearances. As abasic theme of Great Vehicle Buddhism, the compatibility of emptiness and appearance offers a window through which Sūtra andMantra can be not just glimpsed but felt in imagination. Thus, although I have explained in two other booksa the Sūtra style of meditation on emptiness, here, using a meditation manual by the FifthaJeffrey Hopkins, Meditation on Emptiness (London: Wisdom Publications, 1983; rev.ed., Boston: Wisdom Publications, 1996) and Emptiness Yoga (Ithaca, N.Y.: Snow LionPublications, 1987).
8 Tantric TechniquesDalai Lama, I will explore the process of this central meditationemphasizing its implications regarding its relation with appearances. It is in this issue that one of the prime differences betweenthese two systems lies.These two models—Sūtra and Mantra—are viewed by some Tibetan scholars as progressively more profound techniques of spiritual development in what, by the style of presentation, seems to bea harmonious development, much as histories of science oftenpresent developments as rational, step-by-step acquisitions of wider perspectives rather than a shifting of perspective. The gradualistic harmonious approach, while being valuable in showing the continuity between the two traditions, tends to obscure the innovativeprofundity of tantric meditation that may be experienced as a solution to a spiritual crisis centered around the appearance of phenomena. It strikes me as possible that the Sūtra model of meditationon emptiness, when it is implemented in effective practice, inducesa problem-situation that is resolved in the tantric model of meditation.In order to discuss that possibility, this book explores the Sūtraand Mantra models of meditation in considerable detail so that thediscussion does not become an exercise in mere abstraction, for mypoints are founded not in abstract conceptualization but in practical implementation. Therefore, after the Sūtra model of meditationon selflessness and subsequent experience of appearances is given,the tantric model of meditating on oneself as an ideal being, a deity,is presented in detail in the second chapter through the example ofa particular Action Tantra.For comprehending the distinctiveness of the tantric practiceof deity yoga, the theory of paradigm change—as enunciated byThomas Kuhn in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions a and adaptedby Hans Küng for theology b—offers insights that help to distinguishSūtra and Mantra models of meditation by calling attention to apossible personal crisis to which the Sūtra model may lead. Thus, atthe end of the second chapter the theory of paradigm changeis introduced as a way to reveal the necessity for the developmentof the tantric model; my aim is not to use the data of this Asiantradition to support Kuhn’s model but to use his model to makeaSecond edition; Chicago: 1970.See “Paradigm Change in Theology and Science,” in Theology for the Third Millennium: An Ecumenical View (New York: Doubleday, 1988), 123-169.b
Introduction 9more accessible facets of the tradition that could easily be missed.The Sūtra and Mantra models of meditation are investigated withthe aim of exposing a possible crisis that requires an individual tomove to the tantric model; the analysis is “historical,” not in thesense of charting and reflecting on centuries of development inschools of Buddhism, though undoubtedly such happened, but of anindividual’s progress in one life or over many lives.In the third chapter, in order to convey a sense of the profundity of the tantric enterprise—the enormity of its claims of effectiveness—Carl Jung’s exposition of the grave consequences of positiveand negative inflation will be considered. His insights constitutewarnings against doing just what the tantrics advise—identifyingwith a deity. Then, to present the full breadth of the path-structureof a tantric system, the next three chapters deal with the complicated series of practices following imagination of oneself as a deityin Action Tantra. Powerful techniques for concentrating the mindand inducing realization are implemented with the aim of deautonomizing psychological and perceptual complexes.In Part Two, presentations of the distinctiveness of Mantrafrom three Tibetan savants are considered, the underlying agendabeing to highlight the plurality of approaches in two of these expositions in contrast to the emphasis on the sole feature of deity yogafound in the highly rationalistic writings of the late fourteenth- andearly fifteenth-century founder of the Ge-luk-paa order, Tsong-khapa Lo-sang-drak-pa.b His system is thereby put into historical context; the radical nature of his distilling the distinctive essence ofMantra down to the single central feature of deity yoga becomesclear through juxtaposing two earlier multifaceted approaches.First is a presentation on the difference between the Perfection andMantra vehicles by Tsong-kha-pa’s chief source, the prolific scholarBu-tön Rin-chen-drupc (1290-1364), whose catalogue of traditionalopinions provided the context for Tsong-kha-pa’s analytical andcritical delineation of which traditions could, in his mind, bear examination in the light of a larger coherent path-structure. Nextis the creative and evocative presentation by the Nying-mamaster Long-chen-rap-jamd (1308-1363). His multifaceted inspiredabcddge lugs pa.tsong kha pa blo bzang grags pa, 1357-1419.bu ston rin chen grub.klong chen rab ’byams dri med ’od zer.
10 Tantric Techniquesrendering is followed by a synopsis of Tsong-kha-pa’s radically critical analysis of these traditions, with the First Paṇ-chen Lama’s reformulation of Tsong-kha-pa’s presentation also in an Appendix.Part Three is concerned with Bu-tön’s presentation of nine traditional ways of dividing the tantras into four groups—Action, Performance, Yoga, and Highest Yogaa—and Tsong-kha-pa’s criticalacceptance of only two of them. In conclusion I make the suggestion that these grids for organizing tantras in classes are selfaggrandizing and to a large extent obscure the psychological techniques employed to effect a transmutation of mind and body.The issues at the heart of the exposition are: Is the progressionfrom Sūtra-style meditation to Tantric meditation necessarily asmooth transition? Does deity yoga have safeguards against psychologically ruinous inflation? How are afflictive emotionsb used inthe path? Is Tantra for higher or lower types of practitioners?abbya ba, kriyā; spyod pa, caryā; rnal ’byor, yoga; rnal ’byor bla med, anuttarayoga.nyon mongs, kleśa.
Part One:The Procedure of Deity Yoga
1. The Sūtra Mode of MeditationMeditation on emptiness, discussed most vividly in Sūtra systems,is a powerful technique for transforming the ideational structuresthat underlie afflictive emotions, and, as such, it is said to be thevery life of the tantric meditation of imagining oneself to be a deity,an ideal being. Therefore, both to communicate the importance ofthis facet of Sūtra meditation and to prepare the groundwork for anappreciation of tantric deity yoga, I will consider the Sūtra model ofmeditation on selflessness and subsequent reflection on appearances. To do this, I shall comment on the concise and lucid explanation of the perfection of wisdom in the Fifth Dalai Lama’s SacredWord of Mañjushrī.aSūtra model of meditation on selflessness and subsequentillusory-like appearanceThe Fifth Dalai Lama presents the process of cultivating the perfection of wisdom in two parts: “the practice of the selflessness of persons and the practice of the selflessness of [other] phenomena.”b Heframes both practices around four essential steps:1. ascertaining what is being negateda’jam dpal zhal lung. Nga-wang-lo-sang-gya-tso (ngag dbang blo bzang rgya mtsho,1617-1682), Fifth Dalai Lama, Instruction on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment,Sacred Word of Mañjushrī (byang chub lam gyi rim pa’i khrid yig ’jam pa’i dbyangs kyizhal lung) (Thimphu: kun-bzang-stobs-rgyal, 1976), 182.5-210.6. For an Englishtranslation, see Jeffrey Hopkins, “Practice of Emptiness” (Dharmsala: Library ofTibetan Works and Archives, 1974).Though not cited, Tsong-kha-pa’s five main texts on the Sūtra realization ofemptiness form the background of the discussion. In order of composition theseare his Great Exposition of the Stages of the Path (lam rim chen mo), The Essence of Eloquence (legs bshad snying po), Explanation of (Nāgārjuna’s) “Treatise on the Middle”:Ocean of Reasoning (dbu ma rtsa ba’i tshig le’ur byas pa shes rab ces bya ba’i rnam bshadrigs pa’i rgya mtsho), Medium-Length Exposition of the Stages of the Path (lam rim ’bring),and Extensive Explanation of (Chandrakīrti’s) “Supplement to (Nāgārjuna’s) ‘Treatise onthe Middle’”: Illumination of the Thought (dbu ma la ’jug pa’i rgya cher bshad pa dgongs parab gsal).bAn earlier form of this exposition of emptiness yoga, without the Fifth Dalai’stext, appeared as chapter four in my introduction to Tenzin Gyatso and JeffreyHopkins, The Kālachakra Tantra: Rite of Initiation for the Generation Stage (London:Wisdom Publications, 1985).
14 Tantric Techniques2. ascertaining the entailment of emptiness3. ascertaining that the object designated and its basis of designation are not inherently one4. ascertaining that the object designated and its basis of designation are not inherently different.First essential: ascertaining what is being negatedWith respect to the selflessness of a person, specifically of oneself,the first step is to identify the way we innately misconceive the “I”to exist inherently. As the Fifth Dalai Lama says:If both the self [that is the validly existent person] and [theself that is] the nonexistent object of negation are not intimately identified, it is like dispatching an army withoutknowing where the enemy is or like shooting an arrowwithout having sought out the target.If we do not have a fairly clear sense of an inherently existent “I,”we will mistake the refutation as negating the “I” itself rather thana specific reification of the “I.” Shāntideva’s Engaging in the Bodhisattva Deeds says:aWithout contacting the superimposed existent,Its nonexistence cannot be apprehended.If an image of the object of negation does not appear well to themind, the meaning of the selflessness that negates it cannot be ascertained.In what represents a shift of emphasis from Indian Buddhismand earlier forms of Tibetan Buddhism, the Ge-luk-pa school makesa clear differentiation between the existent self and the nonexistentself as it is posited in each of the four major Buddhist schools oftenets—Great Exposition School, Sūtra School, Mind-Only School,and Middle Way School.b The earlier lack of central emphasis onexplicit identification of an existent self or person may have led todifficulties in the positing of moral responsibility, and thus a newapproach of emphasizing the positing of an existent self emerged.The resolution comes through assuming a dual meaning to the termabyang chub sems dpa’i spyod pa la ’jug pa, bodhisattvacaryāvatāra, IX.140.bye brag smra ba, vaibhāṣika; mdo sde pa, sautrāntika; sems tsam pa, cittamātra; dbuma pa, mādhyamika.b
Sūtra Mode of Meditation 15“self ”—the first, existent one is the person or “I” and the second,nonexistent one is a reification, an exaggeration, of the ontologicalstatus of any object, the reification here being inherent existence.aAs the Fifth Dalai Lama says:Therefore, [when a selflessness of persons is presented, theword] “persons” refers to [nominally and validly existent]persons, that is, common beings, Superiors, and so forthwithin the six types of transmigrators [hell-beings, hungryghosts, animals, humans, demigods, and gods] and thethree vehicles [Hearer,b Solitary Realizer,c and Bodhisattvad]. The person’s mode of abiding as if able to establish itself from its own side without being mentally imputed iscalled “self ” or “inherent existence.”This distinction is upheld through the observation that when the“I” is apprehended, there are basically three possibilities with respect to how it is being conceived in relation to the other meaningof “self,” inherent existence:1. One may be conceiving the “I” to be inherently existent.2. Or, if one has understood the view of the Middle Way School,one may conceive the “I” as only being nominally existent.3. Or, whether one has understood the view of the Middle WaySchool or not, one may conceive the “I” without qualifying itwith either inherent existence or an absence of inherent existence.In this vein, the Fifth Dalai Lama says:Furthermore, consciousnesses innately apprehending “I”—which conceive an “I,” or self, based on the [nominally existent] person—are of three types:1. A conceptual consciousness [correctly] apprehending“I” that exists in a person who has generated the Middle Way view in his/her mental continuum. This consciousness [correctly] apprehends “I” taken to be qualified as being only designated in the context of its basisabcdrang bzhin gyis yod pa, svabhāvasat.nyan thos, śrāvaka.rang rgyal, pratyekabuddha.byang chub sems dpa’.
16 Tantric Techniquesof designation [mind and body].2. An actual innate [consciousness mis]apprehending “I”taken to be qualified as being inherently existent. It isto be overcome through its antidote here on this occasion [of the path of wisdom].3. A conventional validly cognizing consciousness that establishes [the existence of ] “I.” This consciousness exists [for example] in the continuums of those commonbeings whose mental continuums have not been affected by systems of tenets and who thus do not differentiate between nominal imputation and inherent existence. In this case, the “I” is not taken to be qualifiedas being either nominally imputed or inherently existent.Though uneducated common beings do not propound either inherent existence or nominal imputation, the “I” appears to them to beinherently existent, and because they sometimes assent to that appearance—though without reasoning—they also have a conceptionof an inherently existent “I.” Also, they, like all other beings, evenincluding those who have been educated in wrong systems of tenets, have consciousnesses that do not engage in conceptions ofinherent existence, such as when just conceiving of themselveswithout any particular attention. Therefore, it is not that all consciousnesses conceiving “I” in the continuum of a falsely educatedperson are wrong or that all consciousnesses conceiving “I” in thecontinuum of uneducated persons are right. Rather, both the uneducated and the falsely educated have the misconception of aninherently existent “I” as well as consciousnesses conceiving an “I”that is not qualified by being either nominally imputed or inherently existent.Still, neither the falsely educated nor the uneducated can distinguish between an imputedly existent “I” and an inherently existent “I.” Both must become educated in the Middle Way view of theabsence of inherent existence and the presence of imputed existence in order to overcome their innate tendency to assent to thefalse appearance of the “I” as if inherently existent, existing fromits own side, or existing under its own power. This is the immediatepurpose of meditation on selflessness.The first step in this meditation is to gain a clear sense of thereified status of the “I” as inherently existent. Even though such a
Sūtra Mode of Meditation 17misconception is subliminally always present, a condition of its obvious manifestation is required. Therefore, the meditator remembers a situation of false accusation that elicited a strong response o
ical analysis of these traditions, with the First Paṇ-chen Lama’s re-formulation of Tsong-kha-pa’s presentation also in an Appendix. Part Three is concerned with Bu-tön’s presentation of nine tra-ditional ways of dividing the tantras into four groups—Action, Per-formance, Yoga, and Highest Yogaa—and Tsong-kha-pa’s critical
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