Dudjom Lingpa - Buddhahood without Meditation: Dudjom Lingpa’s Visions of the Great Perfection

DDJOM LINGPAS VISIONS OF THE GREAT PERFECTION

This three-volume series presents English translations of Ddjom Lingpas five visionary teachings on Dzokchen, the Great Perfection, along with three essential commentaries by his disciples.

VOLUME 1. HEART OF THE GREAT PERFECTION

The Sharp Vajra of Conscious Awareness Tantra, Ddjom Lingpa

Essence of Clear Meaning, Pema Tashi

The Foolish Dharma of an Idiot Clothed in Mud and Feathers, Ddjom Lingpa

The Enlightened View of Samantabhadra, Ddjom Lingpa

VOLUME 2. BUDDHAHOOD WITHOUT MEDITATION

Buddhahood Without Meditation, Ddjom Lingpa

The Fine Path to Liberation, Sera Khandro

Garland for the Delight of the Fortunate, Sera Khandro

VOLUME 3. THE VAJRA ESSENCE

The Vajra Essence, Ddjom Lingpa

T HE PRACTICE OF DZOKCHEN, the Great Perfection, is the pinnacle of the nine vehicles of practice taught in the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism. The highly influential mystic Ddjom Lingpa (18351904) and his disciple Sera Khandro (18921940), the most prolific female writer in Tibetan history, here illuminate the methods to discover our own primordial purity and abide in uncontrived awareness.

Buddhahood Without Meditation: This is Ddjom Lingpas most widely taught visionary text. In it wisdom beings and historical figures in the Great Perfection lineage emphasize the view of cutting through (trekch) to the original purity of pristine awareness via the four special samayas, or pledges, of the Great Perfection: nonexistence, oneness, uniform pervasiveness, and spontaneous actualization. At each stage of his spiritual progress, Ddjom Lingpas doubts are dispelled and his realizations enhanced by pithy advice.

The Fine Path to Liberation: Sera Khandro establishes the necessary motivation and conduct for receiving teachings such as Buddhahood Without Meditation. This sublime Dharma is to be seen in the context of the five perfections of the sambhogakaya: the teacher, place, time, disciples, and Dharma are fully perfected and must not be reified as ordinary.

Garland for the Delight of the Fortunate: Sera Khandro fills in the gaps of Buddhahood Without Meditation, explaining the metaphors, and spelling out the implications of the root texts highly condensed verses. This is an essential key for unlocking Ddjom Lingpas profound wisdom.

B. ALAN WALLACE has served as the interpreter for both the Venerable Gyatrul Rinpoche and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Today he is a prolific writer and translator of Tibetan Buddhism. He has edited, translated, authored, and contributed to many books, including Stilling the Mind and The Attention Revolution.

Wisdom Publications

199 Elm Street

Somerville, MA 02144 USA

wisdompubs.org

2015 B. Alan Wallace

Foreword 2014 Tertn Sogyal Trust

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photography, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system or technologies now known or later developed, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Bdud-joms-glin-pa, Gter-ston, 18351904.

[Works. Selections. English]

Dudjom Lingpas visions of the Great Perfection / Translated by B. Alan Wallace ; Edited by Dion Blundell.

volumes cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Contents: Volume 1. Heart of the Great Perfection volume 2. Buddhahood without meditation volume 3. The Vajra essence.

ISBN 1-61429-260-4 (pbk. : alk. paper)

1. Rdzogs-chen. I. Wallace, B. Alan. II. Title.

BQ942.D777A25 2016

294.3420423dc23

2014048350

ISBN 978-1-61429-346-0 ebook ISBN 978-1-61429-275-3

19 18 17 16 4 3 2 1

Cover and interior design by Gopa & Ted2, Inc.
Set in Garamond Premier Pro 10.6/13.16.

H syllable calligraphy by Lama Chnam.

The revelations of the great treasure revealer, enlightened master, and fearless conduct yogi from eastern Tibet Heruka Ddjom Lingpa are treasure troves of teaching, advice, and insights into the human mind's true nature of wisdom awareness. For those who connect to the lineage through empowerment, transmission, and instruction under the guidance of qualified lineage masters, these teachings hold the key to understanding the true meaning of permanent happiness and benefit. Having known Alan for many years and observed his enthusiastic devotion and passion for Dharma in general and especially for the teachings of the Great Perfection as transmitted through Heruka Ddjom Lingpas revelations, I am certain that he has done his very best to make these translations as accurate as possible and I rejoice in this effort from the bottom of my heart. This trilogy of English translations is a wondrous gift for disciples of the tradition. May there be great waves of benefit for countless sentient beings!

Gyatrul Rinpoch

Tashi Choling

Foreword

TWELVE HUNDRED YEARS AGO, one of the most dramatic and daring spiritual undertakings in history took place in Central Asia. The entire teaching of the Buddha, as it existed at the time in India and the Himalayan region, was imported and transplanted in Tibet. Sometimes I try to imagine what it must have been like to be there at that spectacular moment. To see the unforgettable, awe-inspiring figure of Guru Rinpoch, Padmasambhava, whose protection and inspiration enabled this whole revolutionary endeavor to unfold. To witness the great Madhyamaka scholar and abbot ntarakita, who brought with him the vast heritage of Nland Monastery, and the Tibetan king Trisong Detsen, the thirty-seventh in his line, who sponsored this massive and imaginative program. Or to gaze in wonder as Guru Rinpoch stood atop Mount Hepori and bound the spirits of Tibet under his command, and to watch the first monastic university, called Samy The Inconceivable, gradually take shape. If you had been there, you would have caught sight of scores of realized and learned paitas, who had made the arduous journey across the Himalayas and were working with translators to render the sutras, tantras, and treatises into Tibetan. Transmissions of various kinds were taking place, the first seven Tibetan monastics were being ordained, and Guru Padmasambhava was opening the maala of the Secret Mantrayna teachings at Chimpu for his twenty-five disciples. They were the first saints and siddhas of Tibet, headed by Guru Rinpochs closest disciple and consort, Yesh Tsogyal, the king himself, and the virtuoso translator Vairocana. What a glorious and momentous time this must have been! And although history tells us that this did not happen without opposition and resistance, both human and nonhuman, as Kyapj Ddjom Rinpoch explains, Because the kingdom was protected by the true Dharma, Tibet is known to have enjoyed the happiness of paradise.