Chogyam Trungpa - The Tantric Path of Indestructible Wakefulness: The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma, Volume Three

ABOUT THE BOOK

The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma represents meditation master Chgyam Trungpas greatest contribution to Western Buddhism. This three-volume collection presents in lively, relevant language the comprehensive teachings of the Tibetan Buddhist path of the hinayana, mahayana, and vajrayana. This work will resonate with new students of Buddhism as well as the most senior students.

The third volume, The Tantric Path of Indestructible Wakefulness , presents the vajrayana teachings of the tantric path. The vajrayana, or diamond vehicle, also referred to as tantra, draws upon and extends the teachings of the hinayana and mahayana. As with the hinayana and the mahayana, the formal acceptance into the vajrayana is marked by a vow, in this case the samaya vow . There is an emphasis at this stage on the student-teacher relationship and on the quality of devotion. Generally, students must complete preliminary practices, called ngndro , to prepare themselves for initiation into the vajrayana path before going further. Having done so, they then receive the appropriate empowerments to begin tantric practices. There are empowerment ceremonies of many kinds, called abhishekas . The vajrayana includes both form practices, such as visualizations and sadhanas (ritual liturgies), and formless practices based on allowing the mind to rest naturally in its inherent clarity and emptiness. Although on the surface, there is much greater complexity in tantric practices, the principles of mindfulness and awareness and the cultivation of compassion and skillful action continue to be of central importance.

The tantric path requires complete engagement and fierce dedication. It is said to be a more rapid path, but it is also more dangerous. There is a quality of directness, abruptness, and wholeheartedness. Tantrikas , or vajrayana practitioners, recognize that the most challenging aspects of life, the energies and play of confused emotions and frightening obstacles, can be worked with as gateways to freedom and realization.

Other topics covered in detail in this volume include the four reminders, the mandala principle, mahamudra, atiyoga, and more.

CHGYAM TRUNGPA (19401987)meditation master, teacher, and artistfounded Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado, the first Buddhist-inspired university in North America; the Shambhala Training program; and an international association of meditation centers known as Shambhala International. He is the author of numerous books including Shambhala: Sacred Path of the Warrior , Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism , and The Myth of Freedom .

JUDITH L. LIEF is an acharya , or senior teacher, in the Shambhala Buddhist lineage of Chgyam Trungpa.

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E KAJATI

AH BHYO

You wear a white cloud as raiment.

In your right hand is the red heart of the transgressor of samaya.

From your left hand you emanate in all directions

A hundred iron wolves as aides.

The single eye of dharmakaya manifests on your forehead.

Your single fang pierces the heart of Mara.

Your single breast nurtures supreme practitioners as your children.

You are naked but for a tiger skin round your waist.

When the practitioner is tormented by sloth

Be an arrow of awareness.

When the practitioner has lost the way

Be a torch of meditation.

When the practitioner is confused by doubt

Sound the great trumpet of confidence.

When the practitioner is attacked by enemies

Be the wrathful, wild protector.

Protect the teachings of Buddha.

Cause the domain of the three jewels to prosper.

Nurture the three sanghas as your children.

Those who profess the tantras to all,

Those who display arrogance as dharma,

Those who have perverted views:

By the miracles of the wrathful mamo,

Fiercely seize their hearts with venomous anguish;

Kill them and lead them to dharmadhatu.

This was written by Chkyi Gyatso, the eleventh Trungpa .

Translated by the Nalanda Translation Committee .

Ekajati (Skt.: One single lock of hair) is a fierce protector of the higher tantric teachings. She protects the tantric practitioner and destroys those who pervert the dharma. Above her head is Samantabhadra, the primordial buddha. On the preceding page is an excerpt from a chant to the protector Ekajati composed by Chgyam Trungpa Rinpoche .

T HE P ROFOUND T REASURY OF THE O CEAN OF D HARMA

V OLUME O NE

The Path of Individual Liberation

V OLUME T WO

The Bodhisattva Path of Wisdom and Compassion

V OLUME T HREE

The Tantric Path of Indestructible Wakefulness

Published in association with Vajradhatu Publications, a division of Shambhala Media. www.shambhalamedia.org.

VOLUME THREE

THE PROFOUND TREASURY OF THE OCEAN OF DHARMA

The Tantric Path of Indestructible Wakefulness

CHGYAM TRUNGPA

COMPILED AND EDITED BY

Judith L. Lief

S HAMBHALA B OSTON & L ONDON 2013

Shambhala Publications, Inc.

Horticultural Hall

300 Massachusetts Avenue

Boston, Massachusetts 02115

www.shambhala.com

2013 by Diana J. Mukpo

Cover art: Samantabhadra with Consort courtesy of Helena and David Bolduc.

Frontispiece: Photograph of Chgyam Trungpa outside Chateau Lake Louise,

Alberta, Canada, the site of the 1979, 1980, and 1981 Vajradhatu Seminaries.

See for further credits and permissions.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

L IBRARY OF C ONGRESS C ATALOGING - IN -P UBLICATION D ATA

Trungpa, Chgyam, 19391987.

The profound treasury of the ocean of dharma / Chgyam Trungpa; compiled and edited by Judith L. Lief.First Edition.

pages cm

Compilation of Chgyam Trungpa Rinpoches Vajradhatu Seminary teachings in three volumes.

Includes index.

eISBN 978-0-8348-2860-5 (eBook: vol. 3)

ISBN 978-1-59030-708-3 (hardcover: alk. paper; set)

ISBN 978-1-59030-802-8 (hardcover: alk. paper; vol. 1)

ISBN 978-1-59030-803-5 (hardcover: alk. paper; vol. 2)

ISBN 978-1-59030-804-2 (hardcover: alk. paper; vol. 3)

1. BuddhismDoctrines. I. Lief, Judith L., editor of compilation. II. Title.

BQ4165.T75 2013

294.34dc23

2012022795

CONTENTS

T HE THIRD volume of The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma is a compilation of teachings on the view and practice of vajrayana. These teachings were primarily drawn from talks presented by the Vidyadhara Chgyam Trungpa Rinpoche at his Vajradhatu Seminary programs from 1973 to 1986. However, in compiling these volumes, I realized that Trungpa Rinpoche assumed that students had a certain amount of background knowledge, which he did not repeat in the seminary teachings themselves, so I occasionally included material from additional sources to compensate for what might be missing