and so causal-time Mahamudra is the Mahamudra practised prior to the attainment of Buddhahood. Resultant-time Mahamudra is the Union of No More Learning, which is the actual state of Buddhahood.
Causal-time Mahamudra is divided into two successive stages: the Mahamudra that is the union of spontaneous great bliss and emptiness, and the Mahamudra that is the union of the two truths. The first union occurs when the subjective mind of spontaneous great bliss realizes emptiness as its object. The object, emptiness, is the same in both Sutra and Secret Mantra; what differs is the mind realizing this emptiness. It is the subjective mind of spontaneous great bliss that makes Secret Mantra meditation superior to Sutra meditation. Realizing emptiness with the mind of spontaneous great bliss is the quickest method for attaining full enlightenment.
It should be noted that the spontaneous great bliss of the completion stage of Secret Mantra is not the same as ordinary pleasure experienced at the height of sexual embrace. Spontaneous great bliss is experienced only when, through the force of meditation, we cause the winds to enter, abide, and dissolve within the central channel and, as a result, the white drop melts and flows through the central channel. Using spontaneous great bliss to realize emptiness was the essential heart practice of the great Secret Mantra Masters of ancient India, such as Saraha, Nagarjuna, Tilopa, Naropa and Maitripa; and of the great Tibetan Masters, such as Marpa, Milarepa, Gampopa and Je Tsongkhapa. As in the past, so today – the Secret Mantra meditator’s supreme path to perfect enlightenment is the union of spontaneous great bliss and emptiness.
The second stage of causal-time Mahamudra is the Mahamudra that is the union of the two truths: the conventional and the ultimate. In this context, the pure illusory body is known as ‘conventional truth’ and meaning clear light as ‘ultimate truth’. Assembling these two truths simultaneously within one person’s continuum is known as the ‘Mahamudra that is the union of the two truths’. This Mahamudra is the ripened fruit of the Mahamudra that is the union of bliss and emptiness. Causal-time Mahamudra therefore contains both a cause and a result. Through the force of accomplishing this two-stage causal-time Mahamudra, we will attain the resultant-time Mahamudra, or actual Buddhahood possessing the seven pre-eminent qualities of embrace. This concludes the explanation of the general paths of Secret Mantra.
Manjushri
THE SOURCE OF THE LINEAGE FROM WHICH THESE INSTRUCTIONS ARE DERIVED
All the meditations included within this present text come from Conqueror Vajradhara and the great Secret Mantra Masters of ancient India. These techniques were passed from the Indian Masters to the Tibetan Masters, and have been handed down to the present-day Teachers in an unbroken lineage from Spiritual Father to Spiritual Son.
Although Mahamudra meditations were practised by the ancient Indian Masters, the particular system of Mahamudra presented here is a ‘close’ lineage transmitted by Conqueror Vajradhara to the Wisdom Buddha Manjushri, who in turn transmitted it directly to Je Tsongkhapa. Thus Je Tsongkhapa was the first human Master in this particular lineage.
The Gurus of the close lineage of Vajrayana Mahamudra are as follows:
Vajradhara
Manjushri
Je Tsongkhapa
Togden Jampel Gyatso
Baso Chokyi Gyaltsen
Drubchen Dharmavajra
Gyalwa Ensapa
Khedrub Sangye Yeshe
Panchen Losang Chokyi Gyaltsen
Drubchen Gendun Gyaltsen
Drungpa Tsondru Gyaltsen
Konchog Gyaltsen
Panchen Losang Yeshe
Losang Trinlay
Drubwang Losang Namgyal
Kachen Yeshe Gyaltsen
Phurchog Ngawang Jampa
Panchen Palden Yeshe
Khedrub Ngawang Dorje
Ngulchu Dharmabhadra
Yangchen Drubpay Dorje
Khedrub Tendzin Tsondru
Je Phabongkhapa Trinlay Gyatso
Dorjechang Trijang Rinpoche Losang Yeshe
Dorjechang Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche
In recent times, this lineage was held by Trinlay Gyatso, more widely known as Phabongkha Rinpoche, who was an emanation of the Tantric Deity Heruka. This great Lama was like the sun of Dharma, illuminating the hidden meaning of both Sutra and Secret Mantra. He passed the Mahamudra lineage to his heart Son, Dorjechang Trijang Rinpoche, and it is through the kindness and authority of this holy Spiritual Guide that this present text appears.
Prayers of Request to the Mahamudra Lineage Gurus can be found in Appendix II. If we are sincerely interested in studying and practising the meditations explained in this book, we should receive the blessings of the Mahamudra lineage Gurus by offering a mandala and reciting this prayer. Because successful practice depends to a large extent upon the blessings and inspiration of the Spiritual Guides, the wise student will not neglect this advice.
THE ACTUAL EXPLANATION OF THE INSTRUCTIONS POSSESSING THIS LINEAGE
These instructions are given under three headings:
1 The preliminary practices
2 The actual practice
3 The concluding stages
THE PRELIMINARY PRACTICES
To perform the practices of Mahamudra successfully, we must accomplish two sets of preliminaries:
1 The common preliminary practices
2 The uncommon preliminary practices
THE COMMON PRELIMINARY PRACTICES
These practices prepare us for the more advanced techniques of Secret Mantra. They purify the various obstacles and defilements of body, speech, and mind and thereby eliminate hindrances that would interfere with successful practice. They also serve to generate a store of positive energy, or merit, that will enable realizations of the more advanced practices to ripen in our mind.
This process of purifying and accumulating merit can be compared to the way in which a farmer prepares a field for cultivation, first removing the rocks and weeds that would obstruct growth and then nurturing the soil with water, fertilizer, and the like. Just as such preparations ensure a successful crop, so the proper practice of the preliminaries ensures successful Secret Mantra meditation.
There are four common preliminaries:
1 The guide of going for refuge and generating bodhichitta, the gateway to the Buddhadharma and the Mahayana.
2 The guide of mandala offerings, the gateway to accumulating a collection of merit.
3
