In Praise of the Dharmadhatu

in the Original Sanksrit is called Dharmadhātustava

by Arya Nagarjuna

Root Text

And

Short commentary and textual outline based from an oral teaching by Ajanatha

Nagarjuna was one of the most influencial and referenced Buddhist masters of the Mahayana early period. Even though the exact dates of his life are difficult to pinpoint, it seems to be around the 2^nd or 3^rd century AD. He seems to have been born in southeast India from a bhramin family and went to be ordained a Buddhist monk, studied all the available Buddhist teachings at the time and attained the first bhumi. According to the hagiographies it was Nagarjuna who obtained the prajnaparamita texts that had been left hidden in a land of the Nagas. Nagarjuna is mostly known as the founder of the Madhyamika teachings and the great expounder of the prajnaparamita class of teachings, as such in the realm of Mahayana Nagarjuna is one of the foremost names that everyone will have heard. In particular many will have heard of his famous text called 'The Root Verses on the Middle Way' (Mulamadhyamakakarika), which is the foundational treatise of the Madhyamika philosophical system. So usually when hearing the name Nagarjuna people tremble at the prospect of the world destroying sharp reasoning of the mulamadhyamakakarika, and that is the first idea that comes to mind. However Nagarjuna did a lot more than that. Not only he was a famous teacher, he was responsible for building many temples and stupas, in addition to composing many other teachings, not just on madhyamaka. Nagarjuna is without a doubt one of the most authoritative figures in Mahayana Buddhism, inspiring centuries of commentary, study and views regarding the path.

There are three classes of texts attributed to Nagarjuna: the collection of speeches, the collection of reasoning (the madhyamaka texts), and the collection of praises. These can be said to relate to the three turnings of the wheel of the Dharma.

The texts in the collection of speeches are considered to be related to the teachings of the first turning. They focus on explaining the basis of the Dharma, in particular the aspect of conduct and the manifested dharmas. The second, the collection of reasoning, is related to the second turning, the teachings on emptiness and it has texts that show the meaning of emptiness and dependent arising, and these are in particular the works that Nagarjuna is most famous for. The third, the collection of praises, is connected to the experience of the nature of reality in a practical sense, and in particular the principle of Buddha Nature; and in that way is more related to the third turning. In the collection of praises there are three types of texts, praises to the ground, praises to the path and praises to the result. This particular text that we are going to study belongs to the first category of praises - praises to the ground, in this case, praises to the Dhatu, which here means the fundamental nature of phenomena. In the later tathagathagharba literature the term dhatu, or 'element' is often used to refer to Buddha-Nature, the fundamental primordially pure nature that is present within all beings. The term Dhatu can be used to refer to the fundamental nature of reality and phenomena, the primordial space, emptiness, the great expanse; or it can also refer more specifically to the fundamental element that is at the root of being, being synonymous to Buddha-nature. When the word element is used here it is not in the sense of some substantial or existing 'subtle particle' or anything substantial. The term dhatu as element, instead is a way to point to the basic common basis, or common basic element, which is Buddha-nature. This type of teaching is extremely important because without it our view will become one sided, the reason is that the two aspects, the emptiness and the luminous, are not separate. Usually it is considered that the great expounder of the Buddha-nature teachings is Asanga and his works are sometimes referred as yogachara-madhyamika, however as we will see in this text Nagarjuna is also explaining the contents of the third turning sutras very much in line with the teachings found in Asanga's works. The tendency in some scholarly works to put one above the other will always end up a limited endenvour. Even though some texts may focus more on explaining one of these aspects, in the end as we will see, there will always be the conclusion that the ultimate nature is the unity of empty-luminosity, as it will be also clear in this text. The teachings on emptiness, or madhyamika, never undermine or destroy the pure luminous ground of being, these two classes of teachings are not in contradiction as Nagarjuna will explain in this text. In the case of this particular text, it fits exactly within the heart of the tahagathagharba class. The main message of this text is about the 'naturally luminous mind-nature' which is veiled by temporary stains and then freed from such stains.

The Seventh Karmapa says the following in his Ocean of Texts on Reasoning on how the approaches of Nāgārjuna and Asaṅga are both grounded in luminous mind:

"Therefore, the great Yogācāra-Mādhyamikas who follow noble Asaṅga and his brother, through ascertaining that the dualistic appearances of apprehender and apprehended, which obscure true reality, are not established in the way they [appear], mainly teach the wisdom that realizes self-aware self-luminous mind. Noble Nāgārjuna and his spiritual heirs, by thoroughly analyzing the clinging to real [existence] and its objects that obscure true reality through the great [Madhyamaka] arguments, mainly teach that the nature of luminous mind abides as emptiness. In this way, they ascertain that [any such clinging and its objects] are without nature. Both systems do not differ in teaching the final true reality, since this very nature of luminous mind primordially is emptiness, and this emptiness primordially abides as having the essential character of luminosity"

However teachings pointing to this 'luminous nature' are to be found even in the prajnaparamita class of Sutras. Even though in those sutras the main objective is the pointing to the empty nature, there are references to the luminous aspect. For example it says:

"There is no mind in mind. The nature of the mind is luminosity."

and

"Subhūti, these minds are natural luminosity. It is thus that the

Tathāgata, based on this prajñāpāramitā, fully knows reality just as

it is—that the undefiled minds of these sentient beings immeasurable

in number are in fact undefiled."

Root Text with Outline

IN PRAISE OF THE DHARMADHATU

in the Original Sanksrit is called Dharmadhātustava

by Arya Nagarjuna

[ paying homage to the Dharmadhatu]

1. There is something which as long as left unknown
Results in life’s three realms of vicious circle.
Beyond all doubt, it dwells in every being.
To the dharmadhatu I devoutly bow.

Nagarjuna opens this text by stating that there is something that is unknown, and that this is the reason why sentient beings circle within Samsara. That which is left unknown is the fundamentally pure and luminous heart, the real meaning of buddhahood. This luminous pure heart is veiled by ignorance and by all the temporary defilements. Due to these temporary defilements that obscure this Buddha heart the world and beings appear and we speak of sentient beings and samsara. Due to these defilements the mind does not recognize its own essence, and due to that it projects the two kinds of 'self', the "I" or Self of the individual and the Self of phenomena, attributing to both true existence. It is due to this that sentient beings circle around in samsara according to the twelve links of dependent arising, circling between the desire realm, form realms and formless realms. However, every being without exception has this pure luminous heart, which is the actual nature. It is to this heart, this pure luminous heart that we refer when using the word Buddha. This is why Nagarjuna opens with the homage to the Dharmadhatu, because there is nothing superior or more important. The dharmadhatu, the pure luminous great expanse, the pure Buddha Mind that is all pervasive, primordially pure and spontaneously perfected, to that we pay homage. So there are several important points here to consider that form the core of this treatise. First the issue of the element being primordially present and pure – this means that it is beyond cause. Secondly, these temporary defilements that obscure it, what are they and how are they removed? In the text it is explained that they are temporary, this means that these defilements are not permanent, nor are they part of the element, they never sully or damage this pure Buddha heart, just like dust on top of a mirror. The dust may obscure the mirror's clarity, but it does not damage it or change the mirror's natural condition in any way.

[ the main body - in 3 parts ]

[ A) how it abides in sentient beings, B) instructions during the path C) praising the dharmakaya ]

The text will be presented in several main sections. If this element is primordially present and pure then how can we speak of sentient beings and Buddhas? How can we speak of a path? This is exactly what these first two sections of the text explain, how is this element at the time when there is a sentient being, how it is during the path, and finally the result of clearing all the defilements.

[ A -The way the Dharmadhatu abides during the stage sentient being ]

[ A.1 introduction to its nature ]

2. When that which forms the cause for all samsara
Is purified along the stages of the path,
This purity itself is nirvana;
Precisely this, the dharmakaya, too.

As for the explanation of how the element abides at the stage of a sentient being, first it is necessary to understand exactly what is this fundamental element, what is its nature. In order to understand that we start by looking at what is samsara. So what is that which forms the causes for samsara? The causes for samsara are to be found in the alaya-vijnana, or as the alaya-vijnana. Before continuing it is useful to clarify certain terms that are revelant to this topic. In this explanation we are looking from the point of view of the teachings contained within the third turning, and some of the later commentarial materials on this text rely strongly on the yogachara-madhyamika position. The details of these systems and the differences are not in the scope of this explanation so we will look at some foundational principles only. The terms here that we should know and start to understand are: vijnana, citta and manas. These terms are very important and are to be found in almost every classical Buddhist treatise, however their precise meaning is not always easy to pin down. This is because the way these key words are to be precisely interpreted depends on the context or philosophical system where they are used. In the general sense vijnana means consciousness; citta means mind; and manas is often translated into english as 'mentation', which means something like the 'activity or operation of mind', it is also sometimes translated as 'intellect', but this translation is very problematic in many contexts, mentation is perhaps better, or to leave it untranslated in some cases is even better.

Even though we can translate them in this way, in general, these words point to aspects of what we generally call 'mind' and are used as part of 'mapping out' or explaining the experience of that which we call 'mind', and so they point to very specific 'aspects' that we should understand clearly, and this is where sometimes context is relevant. In this particular text and in some classes of teachings the word citta is used to refer to the alaya-vijnana, even though the word can also be used as just to mean 'mind in general'; hence the potential confusions. The term manas, or mentation, is used to refer to the seventh consciousness, or it can also be used to refer to the afflicted or ignorant aspect of mind, even though in the end the seventh consciousness and the ignorant aspect of mind are basically pointing to the same thing. Then the word vijnana refers to consciousness, which in this case refers to the six consciousnesses. The other point then refers to these eight consciousnesses, this is something that will appear throughout this text. In the way to explain conventional mind, or samsaric mind, from the prespective of thid view we speak of eight consciousnesses. In short, there are the five sensory consciousnesses. These are the field of consciousness for the sensory objects, for example the visual consciousness is conscious of visual forms. This does not refer to the eyes, the eyes are called the visual-faculty or organ. Based upon the visual-faculty which is connected to the visual-organ, there arises visual consciousness. Then there is the sixth consciousness, also sometimes referred as 'main mind' or 'principal mind'. The six consciousness refers to the consciousness of mental forms. In this sense it can also be said that the six consciousness refers to the stream or flow of all the six consciousnesses, that is why is called 'main mind' because that is what sentient beings usually would refer to as 'my mind'. The sixth consciousness, also called mental consciousness, is named 'mano-vijnana' for this reason, so consciousness of 'mind activity'. Then there is the seventh, this is called 'manas' usually in the cittamatra and yogachara texts. In order to understand the meaning of this seventh it is necessary to understand first the meaning of the eight consciousness. The eight consciousness is called alaya-vijana, or ground-consciousness. In the Samdhinirmocana Sutra it says “the mind which has all seeds ripens”, and "the appropriating consciousness, deep and subtle, all its seeds flowing like a river" – this is referring to the alaya-vijnana. So this ground-consciousness is the flowing of the karmic tendencies, or seeds. It is the ground because all the others arise within it. This is when the word 'manas', or mentation, can be used to refer to the alaya-vijnana in the sense of the most basic 'activity' of the samsaric mind as this 'flow' of latent-tendencies, something like a very subtle undercurrent. This flow of latent-tendencies is empty of true existence, the alaya-vijnana itself is not an entity, it has no substance. The Buddha himself explains in this way "If the appropriating consciousness, deep and subtle, with all its seeds flowing like a river, were conceived as a self, that would not be right. Thus I have not taught this to children.”. However, due to the afflicted aspect of ignorance of mind that does not recognize what this alaya truly is, there is a fixation on this alaya-vijnana as being a truly existing 'self', an 'I', the subject. This fixation to the alaya-vijnana as being an entity, a self, gives rise to that which we call the seventh consciousness, Manas. It becomes the sit of the 'agent', the 'I' that is the subject of experiences and the agent that performs actions. That is how this illusory 'I' arises. This is a very brief introduction to the eight consciousness in a general sense.

The alaya-vijnana is the stream of latent seeds which manifest as the five aggregates and the 5 elements and so on. It is these seeds, the alaya-vijnana itself which is purified by the path. The naturally abiding purity is what is called nirvana, and that is also what is called the Dharmakaya. From a relative level, we say that what we call the experience of a sentient being is to be understood as the eight consciousnesses. It is these karmic seeds, latent and then active that give rise to the other seven consciousnesses. In other words, the stream of latent tendencies that flows is what is called the alaya-vijnana. As such the alaya-vijnana is of the nature of ignorance. These seeds as they become activated and manifest give rise to the other consciousnesses, that is to say that what appears as visual consciousness for example, or mental consciousness together with their objects, are the manifested seeds of the alaya-vijnana. The cognitive power of mind, that which knows, mistakenly takes this alaya-vijnana as something solid, stable and truly existing and that is what takes form as the 7^th consciousness, the feeling of a truly existing and independent Self. That is why in the cittamatra view it is said that nothing exists apart from mind itself. We should not however reify this mind as something truly existing, much less make the mistake of attributing some eternal quality such as a soul. This is where we would make a more strict difference between some streams of cittamatra and what is called yogachara, or yogachara-madhyamika. That is because this mind is totally empty, it is not a substantial entity or even an entity at all. If we ask what is it that continues from lifetime to lifetime, how karma connects between lives, then we can understand, it is the stream of seeds, it is the alaya-vijnana. This is also how some people could make the mistake of thinking that the alaya-vijnana is like some kind of soul, a permanent entity that carries on, but that is not so. It is more like a river. A river is not something permanent, it has no real identity of its own, it is just a flow of water molecules. The river is totally empty of true existence as a 'thing', the river has no 'soul', and yet, it flows continuously, but its never anything fixed. The alaya-vijana, in addition to being just like the flow of the habitual tendencies, its totally illusory. It is truly empty of existence. It is exactly by not seeing this that the 'I' is projected upon it, just like we project the notion of 'the river Nile' as being really 'something concrete', the 'river Nile' has some kind of identity and 'wholeness' to it, but that is not so, it is totally fictional, there is no such 'entity' there anywhere. But this is not just referred to the river as a conceptual entity, or a conceptual construct; it is something deeper and more subtle than that, this reification that there is a 'thing' there as a river. Once the I is projected upon this stream of seeds and its manifestations, it 'seems' to act and engage with its objects, however the objects that it engages with, such as the objects of mental consciousness or visual consciousness, are not other than the activation of the seeds of the alaya itself. However, because this is not realized there is the illusion of duality between the I and the things that appear to the six consciousnesses. These actions that are then enacted create new tendencies and new seeds are planted in the stream of the alaya-vijnana, and so the cycle continues. It is important to note that this explanation of the eight consciousnesses is not talking about some truly existing eight consciousnesses. This is only something that is perceived at the conventional level. Nagarjuna is the father of Madhyamaka, and showed clearly in his other treatises that all phenomena are beyond the four extremes of existing, not existing, both and neither, they are emptiness, they lack any inherent nature. So in this first stanza Nagarjuna is not saying that samsara or nirvana or dharmakaya truly exist. We should always understand the difference between the conventional and the ultimate, and that finally the conventional and the ultimate are indivisible. When we studied the Sword of Wisdom we studied these two realities in great detail. So ultimately there are no eight consciousnesses, even the alaya-vijnana, the ground consciousness is totally an illusion. However, as sentient beings, thats how it happens, it happens everything as this eight consciousnesses. So this is a very skillful way to explain how things work at the conventional level and how to transcend to reaching an understanding of the ultimate level, suchness. The Alayavijnana is considered in general by cittamatra and yogachara schools as the 'repository consciousness' where the karmic seeds flow, and from where they ripen into manifestation. As such the alayavijnana is considered to be of neutral nature, due to its basic condition of 'unknowingness' and because it can store seeds of virtue, and seeds of negativity. If the alaya-vijnana were solely pure, then it could not store seeds of unvirtue and vice-versa.

So returning to this stanza, what is it that is purified - it is this alaya-vijnana that is to be purified by the path. Once this alaya-vijnana is purified, what is that remains? In other words, once the stream of latent tendencies, together with the other seven consciousnesses are purified, do we end up with nothingness? Not at all. That is what the text is saying. What we end up with, so to speak, is nirvana and the Dharmakaya; Buddhahood. In the Lankavatara Sutra the Buddha stated: “Thus, Mahamati, what ceases is not the intrinsic aspect of consciousness [as in nature of mind], only its karmic aspect. For if the intrinsic aspect of consciousness [mind] ceased, repository consciousness [alaya] would cease. And if repository consciousness[alaya] ceased, Mahamati, that would be no different from the nihilistic views proposed by followers of other paths.” . What the Buddha is saying here is exactly one of the main points that Nagarjuna will explain in this treatise, that what is exhausted is the temporary defilements, or the alaya-vijnana, the luminous nature of mind itself, that is unborn and unceasing. So what happens to this 'alaya' once the defilements are purified? In the Lankavatara the Buddha explains that also, saying that this alaya then is “truth that is detached from discrimination; an excellent state of consciousness attained inwardly by oneself; pure knowledge possessed by the Tathagata, which is free from all[consciousness of ] action; the one self-nature that is beyond the realm of reasoning and representation; solitary truth of 'thus-ness' realised by oneself; the supreme wisdom constituting the ultimate fact of existence; 'thatness,' or 'thusness'. Also in the Ghanavyuhasutra it says:

"The various seeds are the ālaya,
And the virtuous Sugata heart is also such.
The Tathāgatas have taught
This Heart with the term ālaya.
The Heart is proclaimed as the ālaya,
But the mentally feeble do not understand this"

[ A.2 Detailed explanations ]

In order to explain how this primordially pure and luminous heart seems to be obscured at the time of sentient beings a series of examples are used:

[ A.2.1 How the Dharmadhatu does not appear and then appears – like butter ]

3. As butter, though inherent in the milk,
Is mixed with it and hence does not appear,
Just so the dharmadhatu is not seen
As long as it is mixed together with afflictions.

Ordinary mind in this sense is like milk, in the sense that mind abiding together with the defilements is like milk. The butter is present within the milk, it is not like its not there, it permeates the milk, however while mixed with the water it is not visible. In the same way the dharmadhatu permeates the mind and reality, but due to the afflictions is not apparent.

4. And just as the inherent butter essence
When the milk is purified is no more disguised,
When afflictions have been completely purified,
The dharmadhatu will be without any stain at all.

When the milk is churned the water or whey and the butter start to be seen separately. In the same way, through the conditions that are provided by the path and practice, the defilements are distinguished from the dharmadhatu and it appears that the dharmadhatu is purified of the defilements, but this doesn't mean that Buddhahood appears as the result of the path in terms of its producing cause, or that was created anew. Just like churning the milk does no 'produce' butter as if making it from something that was not there. However, the really profound way to understand this is to apply the four extremes to production – this is important – so its like this – so through the path Buddhahood manifests, just like butter from churning milk – however, this does not mean that Buddhahood arises from itself, from some other cause, from both, or without a cause! Do you understand? The implication is the Buddhahood itself is empty also, and is unproduced, uncreated and unceasing, beyond extremes. In other words, just because Buddhahood seems to appear as a result of practising the path and clearing the defilements, it does not mean that it is something produced anew. Buddhahood in this case should be analysed also in terms of the four types of production just like any other phenomena that we say is 'produced'. When we do that, we conclude that Buddhahood does not arise from itself, from something other than itself, from both or without a cause, hence it is unproduced and unceasing, beyond the four extremes.

[A2.2 How it is at the stages of sentient beings, path and result – the example of a lamp]

5. As a butter lamp that burns inside a vase
Would not even be slightly visible,
As long as left inside afflictions’ vase,
The dharmadhatu is not visible.

This verses explains the way sentient beings are unaware and in confusion through the example of a lamp. Just like a lamp, or a candle, that is inside a container cannot be seen. However, the luminous nature of the light it still present, it is ever present. The dharmadhatu here refers to the true nature, which refers in particular to the two wisdoms, the wisdom of suchness and the wisdom of manyness. That is the wisdom that knows the true nature of phenomena as emptiness, and the wisdom that knows the true nature of phenomena in its infinite displays. The dharmadhatu is not just mere emptiness, but it is emptiness, suchness, inseparable from its own luminous nature, and its natural and spontaneous qualities. This can understood in the three aspects of: cause, fruition and abandonment. The Dharmadhatu is the cause because it is the natural and spontaneous abiding condition. It is the fruit, or result, because it is what is meant by Buddhahood and all the qualities of enlightenment. In relation to that which is abandoned, or purified through the path, is that which is present once the adventitious and illusory defilements or obscurations are released, so it is natural peace. That is the meaning of the second part of this stanza, the afflictions such as ignorance, pride, aversion, attachment and jealousy are like the vase that seems to obscure the natural luminous quality of the lamp. Once the vase is removed it seems that light is produced, but thats not really true, even though it appears so. That which is seen is no other than the same light that was always there. All these aspects are in reality the same thing.

As it says in the Avatamsaka Sutra:

"Within the hosts of sentient beings, there is no being whatsoever into which tathāgata wisdom has not entered in its entirety. But because of their grasping of discriminating notions, they are not aware of that tathāgata wisdom."

So what are these obscurations that we have been talking about, so usually we speak of many types of obscurations, the main division in two of cognitive and emotional obscurations for example, then we speak of the afflictions such as ignorance, pride, aversion, attachment and jealousy. However, in this case we can also look at the defilements like presented in the abhidharma: views (5 wrong views), desire, anger, pride, ignorance and doubt. The views affliction refers to belief in a truly existent self as a permanent and autonomous entity; also refers to extremist views such as the existence of a soul or nihilism; it refers to views of rejecting cause and effect, to the views of self-inflation or conceit, and the wrong view of overstating asceticism. The others are easy to understand, but ignorance in this case has several meanings. It means ignorance of the four noble truths, it means ignorance in relation to the nature of existence, ignorance regarding the nature of mind .. so this is an example of how the defilements can be understood. In some more detail in regards to the defilement of views, those are:

belief in a self (permanent, autonomous, entity)
extremist views (belief in eternalism, a eternal 'soul', or nihilism, that there is nothing at all and death is a total ending)
incorrect view (to deny something that is true, like cause-and-effect)
inflated wrong view (means to hold in high value some idea that is actually inferior and should abandoned)
overstating asceticism (means to consider ascetic practices as necessary and the cause of awakening)

As this is quite important it is useful to explain in more detail. In the commentary of the abhidharma by Wangchuk Dorje is explained:

"When focusing on the aggregates of grasping, viewing them as me and mine is belief in self view. Viewing that me itself as permanent or ceasing is extremist view. Viewing the truth of suffering and so forth as nonexistent is incorrect or wrong view. Overesteeming self view, and the others, is inflating wrong view. And viewing what is not the cause—Indra, the Lord of Living Creatures Brahma, and so forth— as the cause, viewing what is not the cause of high realms— entering fire and water and so forth —as the cause of high realms, or viewing what is not the

path—mere sila and austerity—as such is overesteeming discipline and austerity.

These are the natures of each of the five views."

6. If one perforates the surface of the vase,
Whatever holes are made in whichever directions,
Through those and in precisely those directions
Light will shine, as is its nature to.

This stanza further elaborates on this example by presenting how it is that we seem to need a path, or what is the meaning of the path. If we make some holes in the vase, beams of light will shine through. Depending on the size of the holes and where they are placed some light shines forth, a little light, or a lot of light. In this way beings on the path seem to experience a progression and development of qualities and realization. If we do not understand this, we may think that the path is 'producing' or 'developing' those qualities and realizations, but that is not the case. This is a very good and precise example. In this way there are several ways to define the stages of the path in terms of the abandonment, qualities and realizations; that means that the way we speak about stages of the path is in terms of what defilements are abandoned, and which qualities and realizations manifest. However, in reality that which is abandoned never had any real existence to start with, and the qualities that manifest are not something newly made. The vase in this example is the obscurations, however unlike the vase in the relative sense, these obscurations have no real existence.

7. At the moment when the vajra-like samadhi
Is able to obliterate the vase,
At that very moment the light burning inside
Will shine throughout the reaches of all space.

At the later stage of the path, which would correspond to total awakening into Buddhahood, that is like totally destroying the vase that is hiding the lamp. This destruction of the vase is what is accomplished through this 'vajra-like samadhi' that Bodhisattvas apply at the culmination of the path. At this point all karmic formations together with their seeds, the emotional obscurations and the cognitive obscurations are totally eliminated without any residue, together with the karmic latencies and the alaya-vijnana. At this point it is like the vase is destroyed and the light of the lamp shines freely throughout all of space. This is sometimes referred as the 'transformation' or 'turning' of the alaya-vijnana, however, the use of those words is just as example, because as it was already explained there was nothing really transformed, it just appears so. The actual nature of this alaya-vijnana is as explained earlier in this text, it is already pure and luminous, and that is what remains.

[A2.3 How the Dharmadhatu is changeless, without arising or ceasing]

8. The dharmadhatu was never born,
Nor will it ever cease.
At all times it is free of all afflictions;
At the beginning, middle, and end, free from stain.

In order to completely clarify the nature of the Dharmadhatu in relation to the apparent defilements and the stages of the path this stanza makes it clear that the Dharmadhatu is always and primordially free from all afflictions, it was never produced, and it is beyond cessation. There are a few important aspects that can be derived from this stanza. It is perhaps easier to start with the misconceptions of sentient beings. Sentient beings incorrectly cling to the five aggregates as being something 'good', or pure. They consider these five aggregates to be a real 'self'. They think that the aggregates are the source of happiness and that they are permanent. However that is a deluded perception. So in short, these incorrect ideas are incorrect perception of purity in relation to the aggregates; incorrect perception of the aggregates as a 'self' and that the self is permanent.

In order to correct that we say that the Dharmadhatu is the actual purity, it is the actual self, it is the actual bliss and it is permanence. It is purity because it is primordially free from all stains and defilements, its essence being emptiness. It is the actual self because it is beyond the extremes of establishing a self or non-self, that is, it is free from both extremes of a truly existing self or a nihilist view of nothingness. It is authentic happiness because there is no arising of suffering or its causes. It is genuine permanence because it is unarisen, and the stream of enlightened activity is unceasing. That's why it is said in the Uttaratantra:

"The fruit is the perfection of the qualities of purity, self, happiness and permanence.
Weariness of suffering, longing to attain peace, and devotion towards this aim are the function."

In this case however its important not to confuse these perfections with something ordinary, as in common purity or permanence. This purity is primordial purity, it transcends being pure or impure, so its authentic purity. This 'self' is not truly existing as an entity, it is beyond the extremes of existence and non-existence, so it is the authentic self. So it is pure because all the defilements were removed and now what remains is the natural luminous pure mind which is beyond pure or impure. It is the authentic self because its the dharmakaya - that is to say, it is not the self of the extremists, it is not a 'real self' as a real entity, but its also not the 'no-self' as an total absence. That is the result as dharmakaya which is as a result resolves the erroneous views of self, so it is said that is shows the 'authentic self' - its really important not to misunderstand this point.

Regarding this 'perfect permanence' the Uttaratantra says:

"It is permanence, since the sameness of samsara and nirvana has been realized."

This means that from the perspective of the element, at the time of the result, it is seen that nothing has changed. Even though there is a seemingly change from sentient being to Buddha, in reality it is then seen that nothing changed, so the element is authentic permanence - but again this should not be misunderstood as some kind of permanent entity. Some of the teachings regarding Buddha Nature can lead to confusion and can lead to some people having the idea that it is referring to some 'eternal soul', but thats not what its saying.

[A2.4 Pointing that the stages themselves are not different]

9. As sapphire, the precious gem,
Shines with brilliant light all the time,
But when confined within a grosser stone,
We do not see its bright light shine,

10. Just so, although obscured behind afflictions,
The dharmadhatu has no trace of flaw.
While samsara blocks its light, it does not illuminate;
Nirvana gained, its light will brilliantly shine.

A precious stone such as a sapphire has its particular qualities, like its luminous colour, and its power to grant great wealth. Those qualities are always present in the precious gem regardless if it has been extracted from the rock or not. The main emphasis here is on the fact that the precious gem has this qualities within itself regardless if its wrapped in coarser stone or not. The stone which encases it does not taint the purity of the gem. The same is applicable to the Dharmadhatu. But once the defilements are cleared away, it will be clear. So its not that the gem at the time of being under the ground and encased by stone is less valuable or impure than the gem that has been extracted. In the same way its not like our Buddha nature is less valuable, or 'less present' at the time of the path or at the time of the result. There is no difference in that way. Also this applies for the different stages of the path, in the sense that even though it seems the qualities develop and grow, that is not truly so, the full qualities and nature of the Buddha mind are never changed.

In the Gold Sutra it says:

“Venerable Ānanda, the mind of awakening should be viewed as being in nature like gold. Just as gold is pure by nature, so the mind of awakening is pure by nature. Just as a smith shapes gold into a multiplicity of forms, yet the nature of the gold does not change, although the mind of awakening may appear to have a variety of unique attributes, ultimately these never waver from the mind of awakening. Therefore, its nature does not change.”

[A2.5 The example of gold]

11. If the fundamental element is present,
Work will yield the sight of purest gold;
If the fundamental element were lacking,
The labor would produce no fruit but woe.

If we try to dig for gold in some place where there is no gold, no matter how much we dig and how much rock and soil we remove and sieve through, the only thing we get is a lot of hard work, but we will not obtain anything of value. However, if there is gold in the soil, then if we dig and remove the rock it is certain that we will see the glimmer of that shining golden colour. In the same way, if we think that the Buddha nature is not already present and fully complete with all its qualities, then to practice the path would be the same as digging where there is no gold with the hope that our digging will make gold appear. It is not like this. If Buddha nature were not already present and fully complete with all its qualities the path could not produce it. Therefore the approach and claims by those that misunderstand the depth of the three turnings in union, that Buddhahood is the result of the accumulation of merit and wisdom, and that the qualities are to be cultivated and developed by the path, those claims have no basis and are mistaken. However, as it will be clearly explained later down the text, that does not mean a path is not required, so the claims of those other extremists who claim that applying effort in the path is not required is also wrong.

In the Uttaratantra it says:

"Upon seeing a complete and peaceful statue, cast in gold yet still its mould, externally like clay, those who know would remove the outer covering to cleanse the gold that lies within.

The perfectly-enlightened perfectly see that the nature of mind, clarity, is covered by transient impurities. Hence from these obscurations they cleanse beings, who are like mines of precious gems.

Just as an expert removes all the clay, knowing the nature of the peaceful statue in bright stainless gold which it contains, so likewise the omniscient know the peace of mind like the cleansed gold: chipping away, by means of Dharma explanation, they clean away each and every obscuration."

[A2.6 How the Dharmakaya manifests]

12. As kernels are not considered to be rice
As long as they are enveloped in their husks,
Just so the name of "buddha" is not given
To all of those whom afflictions still enfold.

Although the Buddha nature is naturally pure and perfected with all qualities, unless it is manifest we do not call it 'buddhahood'. Just like rice that is still within the husk we do not call it 'edible rice'. In the same way at the time of sentient beings, it is referred as 'the element', or 'Buddha nature'. So this is part of the answer to issue raised in the comment above. Even though the rice is there, if its not hulled its not edible. Cleaning the rice does not produce the rice, there is no need to do that. In the Madhyantavibhaga is says:

"If it were not afflicted,
All beings would be liberated.
If it were not pure,
Efforts would be without result"

13. And just as when loosened from the husk,
The rice itself is what appears,
Just so the dharmakaya itself,
When loosened from afflictions, freely shines.

However when it is released from the afflictions automatically it manifests fully with all its qualities, like the ten powers, the four fearlessnesses and the eighteen special qualities. What are these exactly?

(1) knowing what is possible and what is impossible, or right and wrong in each instant

(2) knowing the ripening of karma ;

(3) knowing the various inclinations

(4) knowing the various elements

(5) knowing the supreme and lesser faculties

(6) knowing the paths that lead to all destinations

(7) knowing the concentrations, liberations, absorptions, equilibriums, afflictions, purifications, and abidings

(8) knowing the recollection of past existences

(9) knowing death and rebirth

(10) knowing the exhaustion of the defilements

There are other ways to present this list, such as:

Power over life means that they can choose to relinquish their life, or, if they choose to remain, live for as long as they wish, even for an infinite number of aeons. This is mainly the result of having been generous.
Power over mind means that they have mastery over states of meditation and so on at will. This is the result of meditative concentration.
Power over material things means they can materialize the riches of the gods, human beings or bodhisattvas, just as they wish. This is the result of perfecting generosity.
Power over action means they have the power to do whatever must be done or whatever they wish.
Power over birth means they have the power to manifest a variety of births according to their wishes, in whichever place, or in whichever form, or however they choose. These last two powers are mainly the result of discipline.
Power over aspirations means they have the power to fulfil their disciples' aspirations. This is the result of patiently acting in accordance with disciples' wishes on the path of training.
Power over prayer means they can perfectly fulfil whatever prayers are made. This is the result of diligence.
Power over miracles means they have the unimpeded power to display whatever miracles they choose. This is the result of meditative concentration.
Power over wisdom means they possess the great wisdom which knows, without attachment or hindrance, all that can be known throughout the past, present and future.
Power over Dharma means they have the unimpeded power to teach, according to the wishes of disciples, all the forms of the Dharma of transmission included within the twelve branches of the excellent teaching. These last two powers are the result of wisdom.

The four fearlessnesses are:

1. fearlessness in asserting their own perfect realization

2. fearlessness in asserting their own perfect abandonment

3. fearlessness for the sake of others in revealing the path to liberation

4. fearlessness for the sake of others in revealing potential hindrances on the path

Then we can also consider the eighteen special qualities:

their conduct is stainless
their speech is perfect and without limitations
their minds never move from perfect samadhi
their minds never lack presence
they do not conceptualize their perceptions
they never experience neutral states or dullness
they always uphold the dharma and benefit countless beings
they never lack diligence
they always perceive the real nature of phenomena
they never are without the discerning wisdom
they are totally free from the two obscurations
they never lack the complete wisdom of the ultimate condition
all actions arise from wisdom without exception
all speech arises from wisdom without exception
all movements within mind are wisdom
they see into the past without obscuration or fixation in dualism
they see the present without dualism or attachment
they see into the future without dualism or attachment

But so fundamentally what its being said here is that all these qualities are not something that you need to develop or make in yourself. Its not like you have to decide “I have to cultivate a fearless state that is not afraid of anything and can say without fear that I have abandoned all defilements”. No.. all these qualities are already there, they are intrinsic to the Buddha nature. Only a Buddha can truly say without fear “I have abandoned all defilements and attained purity” - no one else can say that without fear or hesitation. Just like a bird has no fear to jump from a roof, why should it?

But there are more, these are part of the twenty-two collections of qualities. For example there are also the four perfect supreme knowledges:

perfect knowledge of all meanings
perfect knowledge of of all Dharma
perfect knowledge of all language
perfect knowledge of courageous eloquence

The six supra-cognitions:

divine eye – the cognition far or near of all forms, subtle or gross
divine ear – cognition of all sounds and languages, subtle or gross, near or far.
Knowing the mind of others
knowledge of all past lives, one's own and others
cognitions that allow to perform miraculous feats
cognition of the exhaustion of all defilements

[A2.7 The illustration of its manifestation]

14. It is said, "Banana trees are void of pith."
One uses this example in the world.
But the fruit of such a tree has pith indeed;
When eaten, it is sweet upon the tongue.

15. Just so, samsara has no pith,
And if beings can remove affliction’s peel,
The fruit within is buddhahood itself,
The nectar for all corporal beings to taste.

The pith of a tree is the center of the branch or new growth, its a special part of the trunk that is used to carry nutrients. In any case, what is meant here is 'the center or heart of the trunk', that makes more sense in the context of the example of a banana tree. The banana tree does not have a trunk like normal trees, its a kind of stalk surrounded by fibers and leafs, that is because the Banana is not a real tree, it is perennial herb that does not have woody tissues. What looks like the trunk is called a pseudo-stem which is a compact mass of the leaf sheets that develops as the 'tree' grows. In the center however there is a white stalk which is sometimes called the 'pith' of the banana tree, but this pith is hollow. If we split the tree and reach the core pith, inside that, its hollow; or in another sense, it does not have a pith like an actual tree. But in most trees, if we cut the tree, we see in the center a little darker coloured center, the heart of the trunk. The example says that even though the heart of the banana tree is hollow, its fruit is very sweet.

In the same way, even though samsara is hollow, its an illusion, not truly existing, the fruit of realizing that is very sweet. This refers also to the all-accomplishing wisdom that is a natural quality of Buddha nature, which means that once realized this wisdom that can accomplish the benefit of all beings manifests.

These seven examples that were just used before relate different aspects of the Dharmadhatu is hidden but perfectly present. So this can be understood in the following way: the butter example relates to the nature of the Dharmadhatu and how that is present at the time of a sentient being vs at the time of fruition, ie, Buddha. The example of the lamp shows that the dharmadhatu's qualities are intrinsic. The example of the gem teaches that the dharmadhatu does have its own qualities of being free from obscuration and manifesting benefit. The example of the gold shows how it is in relation to the sambhogakaya, in that it is free from production. The example of the rice shows that we cannot see our own Buddha mind until we are free from defilements. The example of the banana tree is related to the result, the fruit.

[ B – During the Path ]

This has three parts 1) Justification for purification 2) how to practice 3) the stages

[ B1 – Justification for purification ]

If the Dharmadhatu is inherently pure and perfected, how can we speak of purification or a path? It seems that there is a cause, a process and a result. Even though that's not really the case. So when we speak in this way how can we explain it? From a conventional sense we can say that the 'dharmadhatu with stains' is the cause, the removal of the stains is the path, and the 'dharmadhatu' without stains is the result. In this way it's possible to understand that there are no contradictions.

16. And just as from a given kind of seed
A fruit results resembling its cause,
Who with common sense would seek to prove
A fruit exists without its specific seed as cause?

17. The basic element which serves as seed
Is seen as the support of all great qualities.
Through gradual refinement, step by step,
The stage of buddhahood will be attained.

In Stanza 16 its established that all that appears must have a cause of similar nature. So when we speak of Buddhahood that appears to manifest as the result of the path, what is that cause? And what is the cause of samsara? Of course here it is speaking from a conventional perspective, but still its important to understand, because if we go deeper into this topic this explanation will takes us to the unity of the two truths.

So, the cause for samsara could be said to be the alaya-vijnana, which is like a river, the stream of karmic latent seeds that become activated. From that come the other seven consciousnesses, and this in essence is how interdependent arising manifests as well as the 12 links of interdependent arising. So in this sense, we can say that the alaya-vijnana is the cause of samsara. In stanza 17 it says that the basic element, buddha nature, is the seed as the support of all enlightened qualities. So when we speak of Buddhahood, the dharmakaya and all the natural qualities of the buddha kayas are themselves the cause for Buddhahood. It is in this way that we can understand what is the be cultivate and what is to be abandoned in the path. Perhaps as an example we can think of water. If we have cloudy muddy water, what is the cause for the cloudy dirty water? The cause is the mud that is mixed with the water. If we clean and filter the water, what is the cause for the appearance of the clear water? The cause for the appearance of the clear water is the nature of water itself, because the nature of water is primordially pure, that is, the nature of water is beyond pure and impure, so its own nature is the cause of the appearance of the purified water. If water was not primordially pure, beyond dirty or clean, there was nothing we could do to clean it. In this case, because Buddhahood is not mere emptiness, but it has natural qualities, such as the 6 paramitas, the four boundless and so on, those are spontaneously present in the buddhakaya, so they can be said to be the causes for Buddhahood, even though they are not something separate from the dharmakaya itself. In essence stanza 17 is saying that the 'element' is in itself the cause for its own purification and realization through its natural outflows which are the inherent qualities. In this case of course the use of the word 'cause' should be taken in the relative sense and not in the sense of something truly existing producing something new. It is an 'apparent' cause. Just like the water, which is naturally pure water, is the 'apparent' cause of the pure water that appears after being filtered. Someone could say that the cause for the clear water is the filter. The filter or the filtering process is the cause for the clean water. However, if the water in its own nature were not primordially pure no filter could make it clean. So it is in this sense that the word 'cause' is used here.

Rangjung Dorje writes: "Therefore, the essence of buddhahood, which is mirrorlike, is the dharmakāya. Since the buddhakāya that consists of the two kāyas is not fully complete in being just the dharmakāya, here, its uncontaminated natural outflows—the pāramitās, such as generosity, and the completely immaculate dharmas—are called “the cause of buddhahood.” However, these completely immaculate dharmas also stem from the dharmakāya. In this way, in terms of their natures, saṃsāra and nirvāṇa entail their individual, distinct sets of causes and results, which are the factors to be relinquished and their remedies respectively."

Someone here could ask, but if the alaya-vijnana with its seeds is the cause for samsara, where do the causes for Buddhahood come from? If they are in the alaya-vijnana they are samsaric and cannot be seeds for Buddhahood. But this is not the case as just explained. In the sutras it says that awakening is possible due to the generation and development of the roots of virtue that stem from listening to the dharma, so is this a samsaric thing? No, because these natural qualities that are being connected to are the natural display of the dharmakaya as explained earlier. Even though we are listening and reflecting at the level of consciousness, so it is a samsaric mind, however, this latent seeds of awakening that we are speaking about are not samsaric, because they are the natural outflows of the dharmakaya, and that is why they can function to eliminate the alaya-vijnana. In other words, even though the person still has a samsaric mind, the cultivation of the roots of virtue in the mind is related to the natural qualities of the dharmakaya.

So we should again remember the examples given in the earlier verses, even though it seems that something is manifesting, in reality the buddha nature has always been perfect. In this stanza is speaks of purification step by step, we can connect that to the examples above and understand clearly, there are no contradictions. As it said in the Uttaratantra, even though the element is primordially pure, it seems to be purified through the path.

[ B1.2 – Example of removal ]

18. Although the sun and moon are unstained,
Five veils exist which manage to obscure them.
These consist of clouds and fog and smoke,
The face of Rahu and dust as well.

19. And so it is, as well, for mind’s clear light.
Five obscurations manage to obscure it:
Desire, laziness, and ill intent,
And agitation too, as well as doubt.

Just like the sun and moon are in themselves unstained and luminous, the sun is never dark or mixed with darkness, and the moon at all times is full, in the sense that there is always a full moon in the sky from its own side, even though its not always visible in that way. However, from our perspective they seem sometimes to disappear when obscured with things like smoke, clouds and so on. In the same way, the naturally luminous nature of mind is always clear and pure from its own side, but seems to be obscured. What is it that obscures it? Here Nagarjuna gives a clear list: desire/attachment, laziness or mental dullness, malice that comes from anger-aversion, agitation and doubt. Doubt here means to indulge into holding wrong views in the mind regarding the nature of reality. So how can we clear this temporary obscurations? That is the next part...

[ B1.3 – how purification happens through removal of stains ]

20. And just as fire can clean a soiled cloth
Miscolored with various marks and stains,
And just as when submerged within the fire
The marks are burnt away but not the cloth,

This is a very confusing example again, and in traditional tibetan teachings and commentaries on this point this is very confusing because they speak of 'cleaning cotton with fire', which of course makes no sense. But there is a commentary where the translator makes a reference from the root sanskrit text that suggests the type of cloth mentioned here is made of asbestos fibres. If we do some research we will find that there was something like that indeed that was referred sometimes as 'stone wool' which was used in ancient India, Rome, China, which was asbestos fibres woven into fabric. Such fabrics would be fire resistant. So in a culture and time period where garments made of such materials were somehow common or at least known, this example would have make sense.

21. In just this way the mind, which is radiant clarity,
Is soiled by desire and the other stains,
But the fire of primordial awareness burns up these afflictions,
Without, however, burning away the radiant clarity.

So as described before, mind is naturally empty, pure luminosity. The stains we talked about before that seem to obscure it are to be removed by primordial awareness, or wisdom, which is like a fire. This fire of wisdom burns away the stains, but cannot burn the natural luminous nature of the mind. Because of this defilements the pure empty luminous mind is incorrectly manifesting as subject and object; this is the arising of dualism. From the moment the subject arises and perceives objects it starts the chain of accepting and rejecting, attachment and aversion and all the actions that proliferate into further confusion. The wisdom that realizes the emptiness of subject and object is the wisdom fire that burns away the defilements, until only the primordial empty luminosity of the Buddha mind remains. However, in this way, even that which was part of the path, the 'path wisdom' that too subsides, because 'path wisdom' as that which burns away defilements can only be said to exist in relation to the defilements. Once the defilements are gone, its not possible to speak of 'path wisdom' either.

[ B1.4 – emptiness as the remedy ]

22. In the sutras of the Teacher,
In whatever ways the Victor described emptiness,
All of these ways can rectify afflictions;
None can diminish the potential.

This means that all the teachings on emptiness, such as 'form is emptiness', the teachings in the prajnaparamita sutras and Madhyamika, are given as a remedy in order to break sentient beings deluded views and grasping to true existence. In this way the teachings on emptiness are a remedy. However, the meaning here is that these same teachings on emptiness do not diminish the pure luminous buddha mind, the 'element', that is to say, the primordially pure luminous heart is beyond the four extremes, that is, its not an entity, but its not 'non-existent' either, or both or neither. Ideas such as 'buddha mind' exists, or it is empty, or non-empty, all these ideas are just conceptions in the deluded minds of sentient beings. The point here is that we should not think that the teachings on emptiness lead us to some nihilistic position where there is no primordial wisdom luminous mind. That would be a mistake. The mind is empty of all defilements, but its not empty of its own natural luminous nature and qualities. This is an extremely important point!

[ B1.5 – how the dharmadhatu is not empty of wisdom & qualities]

23. Just as water deep inside the earth
Lies untouched and perfectly clean,
Just so can primordial awareness rest within affliction
And remain completely free of any flaw.

In the stanza above it was just said that the Buddha nature is empty of all defilements, but it is not empty of its own luminous nature and qualities. How can that be better understood? The example here is water under the earth. Water is always clear and limpid even if buried deep within the earth. If we extract the water there is no need to produce its natural purity and limpidity or its 'watery nature'. Even though the rock is hard and solid and the water is buried totally under it, still, it never loses its 'watery nature'. It is like in the classic example of muddy water, if we let muddy water stay still and undisturbed it will become clear all by itself, and this clarity its natural, its the nature of the water itself. This explains that the primordial awareness, the clear luminous nature of the primordial state is free from any flaw and naturally present together with the spontaneously present qualities of the Buddha mind.

But in order to really clarify this fully we need to also discuss the defilements and antidotes, the dharmadhatu is empty of all the defilements but also of its antidotes, that is the next stanza.

[ B1.6 – how the dharmadhatu is empty of defilements and antidotes]

24. The dharmadhatu is not the self.
It is neither man nor woman either;
And being beyond everything perceivable,
Just how could it be thought of as oneself?

At this point someone might develop the idea that this 'natural luminous mind' which is ever present is like something truly existing, that it is some entity, like a 'self' or a 'soul' or something like that. So now this has to be clarified. Nagarjuna says clearly in this stanza that the dharmadhatu is not the self, it has no intrinsic existence as an entity. This dharmadhatu is not a sentient being, it is not a man nor a woman, it is nothing that can be perceived as an object, so its not a 'self'. It is nothing that has grasping or an object of grasping. If there is no grasping, no source of grasping or object of grasping, it is not an entity. It is not something that can be 'perceived', that is what it says in the verse, so it means its not an object of perception of a subject. So as a consequence it cannot be established as an entity or 'Self'.

25. Within phenomena, all free of passion,
Male and female cannot be seen.
For the sake of taming those that desire blinds,
Terms like male and female are taught.

If there is no entity anywhere then why do we keep talking about sentient beings, experiencing rebirth and so on? In this stanza is clarifies that within all that is free from passion, or desire, and grasping, male and female cannot be seen – so what is that? What is free from grasping is the truth of cessation, nirvana, and the truth of the path, the dharma. Those are the undefiled phenomena. Within the undefiled of cessation there is no such thing as discrimination, so here the examples of male and female as designations are examples of conventionally labeled entities. In other words, even though from the perspective of the undefiled, the truth of cessation and the authentic dharma which is pure and beyond concept, there are no such designations, for the sake of helping sentient beings on the path, conventional designations are explained, or the path is explained using conventional designations. So here it is using the example of male and female to show how we can use conventional designations towards the appearing phenomena according to the way they appear, or according to their nature. According to the conventional nature of a phenomena, together with its specific characteristics we apply a conventional designation, and that is just how it is. This is also something we studied in the sword of wisdom if you remember. However, from the real sense these are mere designations as there is no such thing. The ultimate nature of the mind is neither person nor self, nor male, nor female, nor any concept at all. From the conventional sense there is certainly grasping at characteristics, and then we label this or that based on the way it appears with its unique and specific characteristics, but that is only conventional, its not ultimately so. So how can we overcome this? The next stanza clarifies that:

26. "Impermanent" and "suffering" and "empty":
Three designations purifying mind;
But what refines the mind unto its utmost
Is the teaching that nothing has any self-nature.

So in order to overcome the ignorance 'impermanence', 'suffering' and 'emptiness' are taught in order to purify the mind of delusion. These three represent the seals of the Buddha dharma which are taught in order to counter the state of ignorance: all that is compounded is impermanent, all that is contaminated by dualism is suffering, and there is no self, or phenomena are empty of a self. So these aspects are used to counter ignorance and purify the mind, however that which really reveals the ultimate is the teaching on the emptiness of self-nature. So the heart of the Buddha mind, this intrinsic luminosity, its reached by clearing the delusion regarding the appearance of true existence, but it does not nullify itself. The condition of reality is found exactly within that 'empty of self-nature' which is primordially so, and that is the empty-luminous primordially pure nature.

[ B1.6.1 – how the dharmadhatu is empty of defilements and antidotes– further detail]

This will now be explained in greater detail. It will be explained in several parts:

how the dharmadhatu abides but is not visible,
what is that obscures it
the way it is realized by wisdom
the meaning of imputed nature
the meaning dependent nature
dependent origination
how it is perfect and the summary

[ B1.6.1.1 – how the dharmadhatu abides in sentient beings but is not visible]

27. As a child in a pregnant woman’s womb
Is there and yet is not yet visible,
Likewise when covered by afflictions,
The dharmadhatu is not visible.

A woman may be pregnant, having within her womb what will become a universal king or ruler, and yet, nobody can see that. That does not mean however that its not there. In the same way the dharmadhatu abides but due to the temporary afflictions is not seen. The point here to is to show how something with full qualities can abide while being invisible and 'inactive'. So there were examples before of how it is not seen, but the point here is that even though its invisible and 'not active' the qualities or its qualifications are there anyway. That is to say, even though its there, if we do not know it, we remain trapped in ignorance and suffering.

[ B1.6.1.2 – what obscures the dharmadhatu]

28. From thinking "I" and "mine,"
And from thinking of names and grounds for these,
Four conceptual patterns come to be—
Due to elements and compounds too.

What is it exactly that is obscuring the dharmadhatu: it is the ignorance where consciousness is incorrectly conceived as being a 'self', 'I', and as a result that 'self' feel like this is my body, my feelings, my thoughts, my perceptions. From this we start to discriminate and grasp at things, or generate aversion. We analyze and cling to pleasure and avoid what we deem unpleasant. It is from this that the four great misconceptions arise: 1) we think that what is impermanent is permanent; 2) we think that which is the cause of suffering is pleasure; 3) we grasp to what lacks self-nature as being truly existing; and 4) conceive a self where there is none. So here we can understand exactly how that which obscures the dharmadhatu is also that which we call the causes for samsara, or samsara and the 12 links of interdependent arising.

[ B1.6.1.3 – from the prespective of the dharmadhatu]

29. The buddhas do not perceive
Any characteristics of their aspiration prayers,
Because the buddhas are of the nature of self-awareness
And have their own permanently pure being.

Buddhas abide in, or as, self-awareness, the pure empty luminous mind, the primordial state. They do not perceive any discrimination, they abide in the permanent condition of the pure ground. Because they are liberated from discrimination, from the imaginary natures they abide in primordial wisdom. However, because the dharmadhatu has spontaneous qualities, that manifests the results of the aspiration prayers, or in other words, benefit arises spontaneously for all sentient beings. However, the way in which the aspirations manifest for the benefit of beings lack any dualism in the sense of truly existing self and other.

From the perspective of Bodhisattvas on the stages of the path, they realize the dharmadhatu as freedom from the defilements, and then gradually the luminous qualities manifest, and finally when all the defilements are removed, it abides simply as the three kayas.

[ B1.6.1.4 – imputed nature]

30. Just as the horns on rabbits’ heads
Do not exist except in the imagination,
Phenomena are all precisely like that,
Merely imagined, having no existence.

In relation to the explanation of the nature of reality in terms of the three natures, the sutras speak of the imputed nature (or imaginary), dependent nature and ultimate nature. So if the defilements do not really exist, and the antidotes, or the means to purify these defilements, also lack true existence, how is that to be understood? So first the text starts by explaining the meaning of imputed nature, or the imaginary nature of things. The imputed nature is that which is a mere conception, such as the rabbit's horns. We can imagine and conceive of such thing, but it does not exist really anywhere. Even at a conventional level there are no causes to produce such a result as the rabbit's horns. So even though we can conceive such a thing, it does not exist. All conceptual projections we make about reality, such as for example "this is a cup", is the imaginary nature, it only exists as a mere conceptual projection just like the rabbit's horns. So in this way also the manifested phenomena that we call 'defilements' that obscure the Buddha nature, including the subject and objects, so that which we call the subject that is the self, and the objects, are also in the manner of this imaginary nature. Phenomena that are of this imaginary nature are totally illusory and non-existent.

[ B1.6.1.5 – dependent nature]

31. Because they are not made of solid atoms
The horns of oxen cannot be seen, either.
Since not even tiny atoms exist,
How could one imagine that something made of atoms exists?

This stanza explains the meaning of the dependent nature. So for example, if we look at an object, like a vase, the conception or perception of 'this is a vase' is the imaginary nature explained above. However, the form that appears upon which this imaginary nature is imputed, what is that? That is what is called the dependent nature. It is all the phenomena that appear through interdependence. So we may understand that things that are of the 'imputed nature' do not have existence, but what about the appearances of dependent-nature ? Do those not exist? How can we negate that which is clearly appearing? Yes they appear that is true, but they also lack true existence. The form which appears, such as the vase form, if we consider it at the level of dependent-nature we would have to say that it is made of parts and materials. If we break it down all the way we reach the particles, but then as we keep going we cannot find anything substantial at all that is the fundamental substance of this form. So it appears, but it does not have any true existence either. These mere appearance is called the dependent-nature. In other words, dependent upon the various conditions of the senses, consciousness and appearances, we can speak of this dependent-nature appearance, however in itself it lacks any essential nature. So here the example is the horns of an ox, because unlike the horns of the rabbit which we cannot even perceive at all because there is not such phenomena, the horns of an ox is something we can experience as an appearance. So 'horns' is the imputed nature and is non-existent. The actual thing that appears is the dependent-nature, that even though it appears, it lacks any true essence and self-nature, it does not exist at all how it appears to us. By understanding this we can see what is meant by the dharmadhatu, or the ultimate nature, being primordially and naturally pure as it is. Because the fact that the phenomena of the imputed nature and dependent-nature are totally empty of self-nature, that in itself abides primordially. So in this way, self and other, the dualism of observer and observed and so on, totally lack self-nature. So, imaginary nature does not exist at all. The dependent nature appears, based on interdependence there is appearance, however, the way it is perceived from a samsaric perspective, does not exist at all in the way it appears, this is an important point - it appears, it just that it does not exist in the way it appears, it does not correspond, because it has not self-nature even though we perceive it as a specific form and material and so on, its not really like that. Like this we can reach this point of empty-appearance. We cannot deny mere appearance, that would be nihilism. But things are not as they appear.

[ B1.6.1.6 – interdependent arising]

32. Since arising is a dependent occurrence
And cessation is a dependent occurrence,
There is not one single thing that exists—
How could the naive believe that there is?

33. Using examples like rabbits’ and oxen’s horns,
The Thus Gone One has proven
That all phenomena are nothing other than the Middle Way.

So first of all, as we already studied the sword of wisdom, and also the four great argument of the middle way that demonstrate the meaning of the two truths, the meaning of emptiness and interdependent arising, now it is easier to understand these two stanzas without going into much more detail. However to summarize, from the point of view of looking at reality as the conventional and ultimate truth, that which we call the conventional is unarising, unabiding and unceasing, beyond the four extremes, it is dependently arisen, and that is in itself the meaning of being empty of self-nature. So from the conventional point of view we speak of defilements, or stains that obscure the dharmadhatu. Through the ignorance that projects self and other and the latent seeds or tendencies of grasping and aversion, we speak of these defilements and samsara appears, or seems to appear. These defilements are none other than mind's own luminosity in the sense that the projections of self and other, all the movement of conceptions are mind's own luminosity, they are defilements because at that time there is not the knowingness that they are mind's own luminosity, so in that sense they are called defilements. Other than mind's own empty luminosity there is no other basis for the existence of these seeming defilements. Another important aspect here that relates to interdepenent arising is that these thoughts, the thoughts of self and other, of attachment and aversion, how are they produced? They are not produced from themselves, from something other, from both or from neither – so they are unproduced and unceasing, empty of true existence. They appear, but lack any inherent existence. So these defilements that obscure the dharmadhatu are just like that, from a conventional sense we say that they appear to be there and function in the way as to obscure the dharmadhatu, however, in reality, they are totally empty of true existence, and have no other basis other than the luminosity of the dharmadhatu itself!

So using examples like the rabbit's horns and the oxen's horns, we speak of imputed nature and dependent nature. Some people understand that the rabbit's horns are unreal but think that the dependent nature is real, but that is not so, they are both equal in that they are both without self-nature. In that way also its important to understand that when we speak of defilements that obscure the dharmadhatu, and the antidotes to purify them, all these too are mere dependent arisings and lack any self-nature! This is why sometimes we hear sayings like: an illusory path to awaken from the illusory dream into illusory buddhahood. There is nothing that is ever straying from the great middle way, beyond the four extremes.

[ B1.6.1.7 – The ultimate nature]

34. Just as one sees
The forms of the sun, moon, and stars
Reflected in vessels of perfectly clear water,
So is the consummation of signs and characteristics.

So just as we see a reflection in water, or in a mirror, all apparent illusory phenomena manifest in that way. It is like reflections because a reflection is beyond being produced, abiding and ceasing, or in other words, the moon reflected there is not the real moon, nor is it something else. It was not painted there, produced by anything, it is an interdependent arising and lacks any essential nature of its own. All phenomena of samsara are like this. This example is used by the Buddha in the sutras.. like a reflection. So like this we speak of these three natures , the imaginary nature, the dependent nature and the ultimate nature.

35. That which is virtuous in the beginning, middle, and end
Is undeceiving and is marked by constancy,
And is free from self in this very way.
How could that be thought of as "I" or "mine"?

This is how the dharmadhatu is established in its own condition. That which is virtuous, or free from stains, in the beginning, middle and end. It is virtuous in the beginning because is primordially pure, it is virtuous in the middle, or that is, during the path, because it appears as the wisdom that knows its own nature, so it appears as a remedy for the defilements; and its virtuous in the end because it is the self-realization of the dharmakaya together with the spontaneous qualities and activity for the benefit of all beings. It is undeceiving because its the actual condition of reality free from imaginary nature and dependent natures. It is direct valid cognition of the state of reality. The stanza says it is free from self, from I and mine.. it is free from self because there is no thought that can be made about it, there are no concepts or ideas that can be formed about this realization, nothing can grasp it. Because of that its impossible to say "I" or "mine". So if there is no 'one self' there is no 'other', so there is no appearing "I". If there is no appearing "I" there is no grasper and no objects to grasp for, so no mine either.

[ B1.6.1.8 – Summary]

36. Just as water, during the summertime,
Is spoken of as being something warm,
And the very same water, throughout the winter season,
Is spoken of as being something cold,

37. Those ensnared in the net of the afflictions
Are referred to by the label, "sentient beings";
The very same when freed of states afflicted
As "buddhas" are revered.

As a summary of the seven points regarding the condition of the dharmadhatu and defilements, the example of water as cold or warm is being used. In the hot summer we say the water is warm, and in the winter we say its cold, however its always just the same water. In the same way, when the mind is deluded by the proliferation of conceptions regarding self and other, caught in the web of the imaginary or dependent-nature as being real and the dependent-arising as being truly existing, then we call it a sentient being. That very same when free from that we call Buddha. That is just it. Nothing else. The naturally luminous and pure mind, is what is meant by Buddha.

[ B2 – the way to practice]

These has two main parts: 1) explaining meditation 2) the conditions for realization as the three jewels

[ B2.1 – Explaining meditation in seven parts]

[ B2.1.1 – how to meditate based on the five senses]

This starts the section of the text that deals on how to practice. This presented in two parts: first how to meditate in order to clear the defilements, then how to manifest the conditions for realization as the three jewels.

In general we should understand that when we speak of meditation it is within a vaster context. Even though this is not explained in this text, it is always necessary to understand the full context of our practice. When we approach the path, first we start by taking refuge, cultivating bodhicitta and we engage in the outer foundational practices, we cultivate the roots of virtue and let go of the negative actions. With this foundation we can then practice by cultivating mental abiding. It is from this space of mental abiding free from distraction and discursive thinking that these instructions presented here should be understood.

38. When eye and form assume their right relation,
Appearances appear without a blur.
Since these neither arise nor cease,
They are the dharmadhatu, though they are imagined to be otherwise.

The first part of the instruction relates to the visual sense. So, visual forms appear, they appear due to the dominant condition for the manifestation of the visual consciousness which is the eye faculty. What appears is none other than an appearance within mind. So this mind appearing as a visual form is the object that appears. Usually what happens for sentient beings that are not trained in meditation is that conceptual imputation of name and ideas are projected upon the pure visual form that appears - That is called 'mentation'. This mentation is a process by which there is a superimposition of name and conceptual form upon the visual form. So in this way mind thinks 'this is yellow', or 'this is a car', and so on, from here arises aversion and attachment, and we understand already how all this samsaric deluded process unfolds. However, at the time of the conditions for the arisal of visual form to appear, just as they are, they are pure and free from concept. In other words, the mere coming together of the conditions of the visual faculty, the visual consciousness and the mind appearing as a visual form, all these are free from concept and name. They appear, but are empty of any essence, in reality they are unborn and unceasing. There is just a simple and pure cognizance without any labeling. This is also what is called 'perceptual valid cognition' – in this case, perceptual valid cognition based on the eye faculty. This is also the case for sentient beings in samsara, but they do not recognize this and immediately there is this process of labeling and superimposition of name and concept. In this stanza Nagarjuna is saying exactly that. Based on the conditions of eye and visual form, things appear clearly to the visual consciousness, these being empty of any essence or self-nature, they are beyond arising, abiding and ceasing, just empty appearances, as such they are none other than mind's own self-clarity arising in that way, and that is none other than the dharmadathu; however due to the process of labeling and so on, they are imagined to be something else, like 'a blue car'. There is no 'blue car' there. So if we meditate by leaving visual appearances as they are, in their own place, without fixating on them, or rejecting them, without projecting, they appear clearly, they are pure – to say that visual appearances are pure means that they are free from any label or concept. To allow the flow of experience to remain just like that is the meaning of meditation based on the visual faculty. By remaining in this way it will become clear (at some point) that visual appearances are none other than mind's own clarity, and it will become clear that this is just the dharmadhatu.

39. When sound and ear assume their right relation,
A consciousness free of thought occurs.
These three are in essence the dharmadhatu, free of other characteristics,
But they become "hearing" when thought of conceptually.

The same applies to sound, exactly the same way. These three as before: sound, ear and the 'hearing consciousness' are none other than the dharmadhatu. However when labeling and mentation gets mixed with the pure appearance, it becomes 'hearing' and we are in the real of dualism and ordinary mind.

40. Dependent upon the nose and an odor, one smells.
And as with the example of form there is neither arising nor cessation,
But in dependence upon the nose-consciousness’s experience,
The dharmadhatu is thought to be smell.

41. The tongue’s nature is emptiness.
The sphere of taste is voidness as well.
These are in essence the dharmadhatu
And are not the causes of the taste consciousness.

42. The pure body’s essence,
The characteristics of the object touched,
The tactile consciousness free of conditions— These are called the dharmadhatu.

The same is then to be taken into account for the remaining senses. When looking at things in this way we speak of conditions, like the eye faculty and the eye consciousness and the form, but these are just interdependent arising also and empty of self-nature. They come together due to the force of latent habitual tendencies in the alayavijnana. In this way they appear, but are empty, are empty but appear, and all the time they are nothing else than mind's own lucid clarity, they never move from the great expanse, the dharmadhatu. So this is the way to meditate as instructed here. Leave it be. However as it was said earlier, in order to practice like this we should have some capacity to abide undistracted and also have developed some insight. In this way we can remain present in the self-clarity of mind, leaving all the sense appearances in their own condition – pure, free from concept, naturally present and free from arising, abiding and ceasing. Things are just there. Empty and clear. Even the process of 'something arising' is just a conceptual idea. Everything that appears to the senses is naturally just there in the present moment.

[ B2.1.2 – how to meditate based on the mental appearances]

43. The phenomena that appear to the mental consciousness, the chief of them all,
Are conceptualized and then superimposed.
When this activity is abandoned, phenomena’s lack of self-essence is known.
Knowing this, meditate on the dharmadhatu.

This stanza explains how to apply the practice in relation to the mind, or mental appearances. So here it speaks about phenomena that appear to mental consciousness, the chief of them all, this is also sometimes referred as 'principal mind' or 'main mind'. Before it was talking about sense consciousnesses, like visual consciousness. Now we are speaking about this 'main mind'. So what are we talking about here. So if we consider the cittamatra model for samsaric or deluded mind, we talk about the 8 consciousnesses. These are the 5 sense consciousness, the 6^th consciousness which is the mental consciousness which is the one that knows mental forms in general, then there is the 7^th consciousnesses which is the aspect of delusion of mind that fixates on the alaya-vijnana, the ground-consciousnesses as being a fixed truly existing entity and projects the idea of a self upon it. Then, there is the 8^th, which is the alaya-vijnana itself, the ground consciousness with all the latent seeds, from where the others arise. So of these what this stanza is speaking about is the alaya-vijnana together with mental consciousness which arises from it. In other words, the alaya-vijnana is the place of arising of the mental consciousnesses, so it is the principal condition for the arising of the mental consciousness which its called 'main mind'. The objects of this mental consciousness are of several types: the form aggregates, mental forms, feeling forms, discrimination forms, mental events, space, meditative states and a few others. So the alaya-vijnana here is presented as the main condition for the arising of mental consciousness, and that is referred as main mind. The object conditions are all the objects that appear to this main mind.

Mental consciousness is that which is absent from certain states, like for example it is that which is absent in the states: cessation, meditative absorption free from discrimination, deep sleep, when fainting and becoming unconscious – in these states the mental consciousness is absent. From this point of view we can also say that the mental consciousness represents or is connected with the flow of all the 6 consciousnesses. So when someone is in meditative absorption in the state of cessation, or in deep sleep the mental consciousness is not present, however, it is present as the alaya-vijnana, the 8^th consciousness, or ground-consciousness, and when the conditions are present, mental consciousness arises again. In the abhidharma it is explained that this thing we call 'main mind' or 'mentation' is that underlying alaya-vijnana, or the state of consciousness that is present in the moment just after any of the six consciousness have passed and before a next moment of them arises – and what is that, it is the alaya-vijnana. This alaya-vijnana by itself has no stains in the sense that at that point there is no 'doer' present, and it is the source from which the other consciousness come forth. Now the problem here is that other aspect mentioned earlier, the afflicted mind that clings to a self...that is the aspect in consciousnesses, that is usually connected with the 7^th consciousnesses that clings to the alaya-vijnana as being a 'self'. This aspect of consciousness is ignorant by nature, it is neither good nor bad, in this sense it is neutral, but it has the nature of ignorance. It is due to this ignorance that mind does not see the alaya-vijnana for what it truly is, and it projects upon it a truly existing 'self' to which it grasps as 'me', and the appearing imaginary forms as 'other'. We speak on this level of this 8 conscioussnesses, but you should understand that this is just an explanation on the relative level to map out and explain how this deluded mind is operating, in reality there are no 8 minds. All this is present within the ground-consciounssess and never moves away from it. The very fact that we seem to distinguish these seven consciousnesses as being separate is in itself part of this ignorance.

There are the mental defilements that manifest because of this ignorance and afflicted mind – these are totally illusory. This it the imputed nature, or imaginary nature. Then there is the mental consciousness that is fixed on its objects that appear to it, that is the process of interdependent arising, so it is totally empty of self-nature, it appears, but it has no self-essence. Then there is the ground-conciousness which is the movement of all the latent-tendencies, positive and negative. So nothing ever moves away from this mind itself, and all that being dependent arising, it is empty of true nature, or true existence. Mind itself, in this sense as this 'interplay' of the 8 consciousnesses is interdepent arising and as such, it is unproduced and unceasing, beyond the four extremes – in other words, it is emptiness, it lacks self-nature. So this mind itself when realized for what it truly is, in reality, is the dharmadhatu! That is the point! So in this stanza Nagarjuna is saying that when we analise through valid reasoning we conclude that the movement of these 8 consciousness is empty of true existence, and that defilements also lack self-nature and are just mere imaginations, from that we can let go of the activity of conceptualizing, superimposing, judging, grasping, then the lack of true existing of mind and phenomena will be seen, what that is realized, that is the dharmadhatu.

[ B2.1.3 – how the naked experience of the six consciousnesses is the union of emptiness and luminosity]

44. And so is all that is seen or heard or smelled,
Tasted, touched, and imagined,
When yogis understand these in this manner,
All their wonderful qualities are brought to consummation.

45. Perception’s doors in eyes and ears and nose,
In tongue and body and the mental gate—
All these six are utterly pure.
These consciousnesses’ purity itself is suchness’ defining characteristic.

These two stanzas explain that the non-conceptual naked experience of the six consciousness is in itself the union of emptiness and luminosity. First we should understand that they are mere dependent arisings, and as such they are empty of true nature, free from arising, abiding and cessation, and they are without self-nature or essence. Then by meditating as explained in the previous stanzas one comes to understand the meaning of union of emptiness and clarity when it comes to the six consciousnesses and their objects. Appearances and the consciousnesses that function as the gates for their arisal are pure from the beginning, that is they are unstained by concepts and labels. This natural purity in itself is suchness. Things appear, but they are empty of self or essence, they lack name, attributes, characteristics or identity. This is just how it is.

[ B2.1.4 – mind as samsara and nirvana]

46. See how the mind has two aspects:
It can be worldly, it can transcend the world.
From clinging to a self comes samsara;
When there is self-awareness, there is suchness.

When we speak of mind we should understand that there are not two minds, nor one mind in fact. However, from a conventional perspective we speak of something that is 'worldly mind', and that is samsara, or we can speak of awakened mind and that is nirvana. What is the difference between them? In this stanza it says that from clinging to a self comes samsara, and when there is self-awareness there is suchness. So when the mind is deluded and not knowing its own true condition, it erroneously projects a self where there is none. From clinging to this self as explained above, samsara manifests. Once the karmic latencies that flow within the alaya-vijnana are purified and the true nature of the ground is seen, this self-grasping dissolves, and that is nirvana. What is it that purifies this mind or what is that which is the antidote to ignorance? That is self-aware clarity, the intrinsic self-aware lucid clarity of the mind.

47. The ceasing of desire is nirvana,
As is stupidity’s and anger’s end.
For these to cease is buddhahood itself,
The refuge of ennobled beings.

So because of this clinging to a self the objects of the six consciousness manifest as 'others'. From there arises clinging, aversion and ignorance. When these three stop, when there is no more desire, aversion and ignorance, the stains that obscure the true nature are removed, the alaya-vijnana is purified of latent tendencies and its true nature becomes clear as buddhahood itself.

[ B2.1.5 – the resultant form bodies or rupakaya]

48. One either proceeds with knowledge or proceeds without—
Samsara and nirvana both have their source in the body.
Either you are bound by your own thinking,
Or, if you know the true nature, you are free.

Usually it is considered that this human body is impure, that is to say it is the result of karmic tendencies, and from a samsaric perspective that is correct. On the other hand we say that the Buddha's forms are pure as the sambhogakaya and nirmanakaya. However, where are we to find the rupakaya outside of these forms themselves that manifest right now? If there is no knowledge or realization then we are bound by projections and dualism and this body is impure. If we realize our true nature and purify fully all defilements then the aggregate of form, which before we said was impure, becomes the pure forms, the rupakaya with all its qualities. As it says in the mahayanasamgraha, when the form skandha changes state there is the manifestation of the marks of a Buddha.

49. Enlightenment is neither near nor far.
It does not go away nor come to you.
Right there within the cage of your afflictions,
Either you will see it or you will not.

So this Buddha that we seek, where is it? How far is it? Its neither near nor far. Both samsara and the defilements, and nirvana too, are just designations within the realm of dependent arising, in that way they are empty of self-nature. Where are they to be found? Realizing the true nature of this defilements, of this mind, the nature of this 'self' - then realization is right here, nothing new and nothing far away, nothing near and nothing far. How far are you from yourself right now? So the text says that right there within the cage of your afflictions it is the pure mind.. either you see it, or you dont, thats all!

[ B2.1.6 – the summary of all the sutras]

50. Abiding in the lamp of prajna
Will lead to peace, the most sublime there is;
Examining for self is the way to abide.
This is taught in scores of sutra texts.

This meaning is the summary of the main point of all the sutras. By examining and discovering the real nature of this 'self' and abiding as such, that itself is the lamp of sublime wisdom that will lead to peace, the end of suffering and the manifestation of all enlightened qualities.

[ B2.2 – condition for realization as the three jewels]

51. The strengths, all ten, assist the immature
With a blessing force like that of the crescent moon.
But as long as they are caught up in afflictions,
Beings will fail to see the Thus Gone Ones.

This stanza starts by saying that due to the Buddha's infinite qualities, in particular the ten powers, immature sentient beings perceive the Buddha's qualities and they perceive a Buddha appearing as a subject and object, that is, a sentient being seeing a Buddha for example and the manifestation of such qualities. This is like seeing a crescent moon, that is the moon is partially hidden, it appears incomplete. So for beings who are blessed by the ten powers they are capable of perceiving the Buddha's compassion even if in a dualistic and limited manner and are thus benefited. However, beings who are very much still trapped by gross afflictions even that they cannot see, even the word 'awakened one' they will not be able to hear. It says in the Mahayanasutraalankara:

"Just as a container with water, when broken,
Does not display the reflection of the moon,
In lower sentient beings,
The image of the Buddha does not show."

[ B2.2.1 – how Buddhas are not seen]

52. Just as those in hungry spirit realms
See the sea as dry before their eyes,
Just so with those in ignorance’s grip
Who think the buddhas don’t exist.

Even though our Buddha nature is ever present, and Buddha's are ever present, we are not aware of it due to the temporary defilements. This stanza uses the example of beings that inhabit the state of pretas who even though are very thirsty and are facing an ocean of water, they are not able to perceive the presence of water due their obscurations and state of consciousness. So in the same way due to ignorance and certain habitual imprints, some people think Buddha's dont exist and that there is no such think as awakening.

53. For lesser beings and those with lesser merit,
No matter what transcendent conquerors do,
It is like placing a precious jewel
In the hands of someone never known to see.

This stanza fundamentally explains that in the end it all comes down to the roots of virtue. For beings who do not have the roots of virtue no matter what the Buddhas would do, they still would not understand or even aspire towards awakening, or even accept that such a thing is possible. This is the same as 'not seeing buddhas'. If we give a beautiful jewel to a blind person to admire, they will not be able to admire it, it is just not possible.

So we should understand that in the end it all comes down to the capacity, and the capacity is related to the roots of virtue. If we have some roots of virtue, we 'see buddhas', in a literal sense, or metaphorical sense depending on the case, then we can do something and progress. If we do not have roots of virtue, or enough capacity, then perhaps we cannot really engage in the right way, then we should first develop our capacity and develop our roots of virtue. If someone does not have roots of virtue they do not accept anything about the spiritual path, it is just not possible. What are the roots of virtue? The roots of virtue are the seeds that are cultivated in the alaya of confidence in the dharma, generosity, patience, joy for virtue, meditation, wisdom and so on. So you see as all this is connected with our study and practice at all levels. So if we lack the appropriate capacity, even if someone tries to teach us dharma, or to say to us to cultivate virtue, maybe we just become angry and even turn against the person who is trying to help us. This is one of the reasons why for example we speak often about this principle of being a good recipient for the teachings.

[ B2.2.2 – how Buddhas are seen]

54. For beings who have amassed sufficient merit
The signs are radiant with shining light.
All thirty-two ablaze with brilliant glory—
Beings like these in buddhas’ presence dwell.

So on the other side how are Buddhas seen? If there is no merit, or roots of virtue, then Buddhas are not seen and do not appear. We speak in a relative sense of 'when does a Buddha appear in the world', but in reality it is more 'when do beings in the world perceive a Buddha', that is more correct, because the presence of Buddhas is never ending. However, how can a nirmanakaya manifestation appear and be perceived as such by beings? Only when there is merit for it, this is not a matter of reward.. the word merit.. is really connected to the roots of virtue, or good roots. The meaning is just how is our mind? Is our mind very obscured by defilements, or is it pure enough that we can perceive the Buddha, thats all. Sentient beings before the first bhumi can only perceive buddhas as nirmanakaya form, they cannot perceive directly the Sambhogakaya or dharmakaya. Bodhisattvas in the levels can perceive the sambhogakaya forms for example. So it all depends on our perception which is connected to our capacity, which in turn is connected to our defilements and roots of virtue. For example, for a certain person, they perceive a Buddha's statue, just a statue of the form, and they 'feel something', it has some kind of effect that is positive on the mind; while others might not see anything there, just some guy sitting, and others might even feel aversion and anger towards it. If there is sufficient merit then it will be possible to see the Buddha with all the major and minor marks.

55. Though the protector’s rūpakāya
May remain for many eons,
For guiding those in need of guidance,
This very dhātu shows as different.

So in terms of the Buddha's realization forms, or the 'form' of a Buddha, we speak of the three or five kayas, but here is enough to speak of the three kayas. The dharmakaya which is the ultimate body of truth, the total realization of buddhahood which is total awakening. Then there is the Rupakaya, the rupakaya includes the two form kayas that manifest for the benefit of others, the sambhogakaya and the nirmanakaya. So when we say rupakaya we are talking about these two, the sambogakaya and the nirmanakaya. The bodies of enjoyment and the bodies of manifestation. These three kayas: the dharmakaya, the sambogakaya and the nirmanakaya are not like three different buddhas we should understand this clearly. Buddha is Buddha. Thats it. These three kayas are only from the perspective of others. The total awakened mind of Buddha abides primordially as the Dharmakaya, and manifests enlightened activity for the benefit of others which appears as the rupakaya. For Bodhisattvas that have realized emptiness and are on the higher stages, it appears as Sambogakaya manifestations, for sentient beings in samsara that cannot perceive directly sambogakaya forms, it manifests as nirmanakaya forms, either as a 'human Buddha', like Shakyamuni or Padmasambhava, or even as statues, stupas, etc. So that is the meaning in this stanza, that the rupakaya forms manifest and remain endlessly as required to lead beings to awakening, so from this perspective it seems there is some duality or even some activity; however from the perspective of the dharmadhatu there is really no duality at all or any difference.

56. On definitely targeting its goal
Consciousness engages in its object,
Within the purity of self-awareness
The bodhisattvas’ grounds all inherently abide.

So how is that we can come to reach this vision? It is by understanding the path – the teachings are the object that consciousness engages with as explained in this stanza. By perceiving the Buddha, being whatever level we are capable of, and listening to the Buddha, or reading a dharma book, or listening to a dharma teaching – its all the same you understand? So by placing our consciousness upon the Buddha and Dharma, we will unfold the clarity of self-present awareness in its total purity, and it is exactly that which becomes the meaning of abiding in the stages of the Bodhisattva's path.

57. The mighty lords’ magnificent abode,
The beautiful domain of Akanistha,
And consciousness, the three of them
Can be blended into one, I dare to say.

This stanza speaks about 'the three of them' that can be blended into one. So the three of them here are 'the magnificent abode', the 'domain of akanistha of form' and consciousnesses. When we speak of Akanistha, the pure dimension of the great expanse, there are three kinds – the ultimate akanistha of the Dharmakaya or dharmadathu; the pure dimension of Sambogakaya manifestation, which is the densely arrayed akanistha; and the pure land, or mundane, of akanistha which refers to the highest stage of the form realm and the place of Nirmanakayas. So the main point is that, from having done the path of accumulation of sentient beings, they can perceive nirmanakaya forms of the Buddha. From the first stage, the path of seeing, up to the 7^th stage of the Boddhisattvas path, because of that, they can perceive sambhogakaya forms. In the last 3 pure stages they are able to perceive the dharmakaya, but in the end these are not different, they become one. So that is how we can understand the meaning here.

[ B2.2.3 – activity]

58. As for knowing all among the childish,
The diversity among the noble,
And the great and mighty, infinite in time—
What’s the cause of time in eons?

The Buddhas display different types of activity depending on the beings that perceive them. For sentient beings, the ordinary more childish beings, like ourselves, the Buddha displays omniscience and offers the vast collections of dharmas to guide beings to liberation, this refers to the nirmanakaya. For the noble ones, which refers to the Bodhisattvas that dwell on the bhumis, the Buddhas show a great variety of samadhis and displays of the qualities of infinite samadhis, this refers to the sambhogakaya. The final lines refer to the dharmakaya, or the realization of the dharmadathu which is beyond time and space, it is timeless and primordial and the source from which the rupakaya arises infinite in time.

59. It is that which guards the outer realm of beings,
And preserves their lives as well through countless kalpas,
It is that which makes it possible for life
To persevere within all living beings;

However, it is also that which sustains the realms of samsara and sentient beings. In other words, what else other than the dharmadathu is the ground of samsara and sentient beings? So that too is the activity of the Buddha. Without the Buddha's activity, which now we should really understand is nothing 'personal' at all, it is just the natural luminous dynamic aspect of the dharmadhatu – that is the foundation of life and samsara too, that is why we say that ultimately samsara and nirvana are not different. So, when sentient beings do not realize their own intrisic luminous nature, that same nature manifests as the outer world and their own self. So in that sense, our own self and world is sustained by this 'activity' of the dharmadhatu.

60. This the very cause that knows no end;
The results of such a cause are endless too;
When imperceptibility is realized,
Prajna becomes the condition for nirvana’s dawning.

As the dharmadhatu is beyond the four extremes, unproduced, empty of self nature and unceasing, it is said here that is the cause that knows no end, that means that once the nonduality of subject and object, samsara and nirvana is realized as being the primordial pure condition, that realization has no end. This wisdom, the prajna that realizes the dharmadhatu in this sense is said to be a cause, even though its not really so, but it appears to be, and this wisdom has no end.

[ B2.2.4 – manifestation of enligthnement]

61. Enlightenment should not be thought far off
Nor should it be considered close at hand;
When objects, six in kind, do not appear,
The genuine is known just as it is.

When we speak of enlightenment we should not think its something very far, a different place, or something far in time. Enlightenment is the realization of samsara's nature, so how far can it be? On the other hand, you can never reach it. No 'i' or 'me' can ever reach enlightenment , so you should not think of it that is close to you, because it is ever outside of reach of the 'self'. Chandrakirti says:

"The dry firewood of knowable objects having been burned entirely,
This peace is the dharmakāya of the victors.
At this point, there is neither arising nor ceasing.
The cessation of mind is revealed through this kāya"

[ B3 – how realization comes from habituation to the basic space]

62. Just as milk and water mixed together
Are present in the very same container
But a swan would drink the milk and not the water,
The case of transformation is like this:

63. There is primordial awareness, there are covering afflictions,
Where both are found together in one body.
But the primordial awareness is what yogis choose to take
And leave the ignorance behind.

So here again we see the example of that magical swan that can separate milk from water that Mipham also uses in the sword of wisdom. This is the example also used here, in this case the essence refers to the primordial awareness as its explained in stanza 63. This means that in their present condition sentient beings harbor both the primordial awareness and the defilements or afflictions, they are mixed as water and milk. However yogis on the path separate them, leaving the afflictions and refining only the primordial awareness. How is that done? That is done by the three trainings: listening/reading, reflection and meditation. This is really important to understand. This is also the essence of what we mean by the path of accumulation in the mahayana system of stages and paths. Through listening/study, and reflection we understand what it is that we need to do, and what we need to avoid, what to cultivate and what to leave aside. Through meditation we habituate ourselves to this wisdom, which is the natural state and transcend the afflictions.

[ B3.1 – how the extreme of samsara is liberated]

64. For as long as "I" and "mine" are held to exist
And the outside is imagined as well;
When both forms of selflessness are seen
The seed of existence is destroyed;

Sentient beings conceive of a truly existing self, 'me'. As a result they also perceive objects, as either outer objects of phenomenal reality, or inner objects just as thoughts and feelings for example. From these two arises a relationship between them of aversion, attachment or neutrality, and that is what perpetuates the cycle of ignorance. For that reason in the prajnaparamita sutras, and in the madhyamaka teachings we are shown that there is no such thing as a 'personal self', we are shown that this self is empty of true existence, a mere imputation, an imagination, it has no real existence. We are also shown that the outer objects appear, but have no self-nature, they are also empty, these are the two kinds of no-self that we must realize, the no-self of the individual and the no-self of phenomena. This is the main point of the prajnaparamita and madhyamika teachings. Once that is realized the root of samsara is cut off for good.

65. The dharmadhatu is the ground
For buddhahood, nirvana, purity, and permanence;
The immature impute the two kinds of self,
And yogis abide without these two.

However, we should understand that the state of cessation as described above, leading to the state of peace, should not be something to be grasped either. Here it says that once all the defilements are purified, and the grasping to the two kinds of self is liberated, the dharmadhatu is the ground from which is clear that this buddhahood, nirvana, is true purity and permanence. The actual realization of the dharmakaya, is endowed with this aspects of genuine bliss, which is the meaning of nirvana in this verse, so the dharmadhatu is the ground for buddhahood, genuine bliss, genuine purity and genuine permanence, and also the genuine self. So the immature beings project this two kinds of false self, the I self of the individual and the self of phenomena, but the dharmadhatu when realized is the ground for genuine self, this genuine self is without these two false selfs. It is genuine purity, not like the mistaken way sentient beings think that somethings are good or bad. Genuine permanence that is not the permanence of an entity, because buddhahood is without entity, and yet it is primordially abiding. So the teachings first speak of the impurity of samsara, impermanence, no-self and emptiness; then this is counterbalanced if you will, by saying that the realization of the dharmadhatu arises together with this realization of the genuine purity, bliss, permanence and self. We can also say that the genuine realization is the non-duality of samsara and nirvana, as these two are both extremes. If we become attached to emptiness we fall into the extreme of cessation of nirvana and that is not buddhahood. We should put an end to all conceptualization about anything at all, if we posit a truly existing self it is delusion, if we posit voidness, it is delusion, if we posit that primordial awareness exists as some ultimte state or entity, that is delusion, if we posit that the kayas of the buddha exist or not exist, it is delusion. All things from samsara to nirvana that we can speak about are all of the manner of being beyond producition, abiding or cessation, they are unarisen. So for that reason yogis do not abandon dependent origination or compassion, even though there is no duality of self and other. So we should not think that the dharmadhatu is just an empty void – that would be a serious mistake. Another way to say it is, Buddha nature is empty of all temporary defilements, but its not without its own intrisic wisdom-clarity and qualities.

[ B3.3 – how the element is unfolded ]

66. In giving one endures a range of hardships,
And ethics gathers in the benefit of beings,
Through patience one performs the good of all,
These three will cause the potential to unfold.

67. Through being diligent in all the teachings
And steeping mind in meditative samadhi,
Through thorough reliance on prajna,
Enlightenment will grow and flourish.

68. Prajna endowed with skillful means,
Prayers of aspiration that purify,
The mastery of strengths, and thereby wisdom,
These four will cause the potential to unfold.

These three stanzas teach how the ten paramitas are the factor that drives the unfolding of the element that is covered by temporary defilements. In other words, so far we have seen the dharmadhatu with all its qualities is primordially present, but covered by temporary defilements, so how can we uncover it, how to allow this element to unfold into total buddhahood? That is what these stanzas talk about, and that is the 10 paramitas. So they are they usual 6, then there are the additional: skilful means which are endowed with wisdom and allow this wisdom to fully develop, aspiration prayers which enhance and increase all qualities, mastery of strenght that is related to the achievement of meditation, and as a result primordial wisdom that includes wisdom of suchness and manyness. At the start of the path, in the path of accumulation until the path of seeing, that is, until the nature of emptiness is realized in a non-conceptual manner, these paramitas are practiced in a approximate way, that is they are not really 'perfections' because they are stained by duality and ignorance. Once the yogi enters the path of seeing, they then become really 'perfections', in the first seven stages they still are practiced with some 'sutble' reference points, but then in the last 3 stages they are totally free from duality and reference points. Finally at the time of total Buddhahood, these 10 paramitas are perfected, without any reference points and totally spontaneously present.

70. One who throws away the seed of sugarcane
But wants to taste the sweetness its fruit yields
Will, without the seed,
Have no sugar at all.

71. When someone values seed from sugarcane,
Maintains them well, and works to make them grow,
A crop of sweetest sugar can be harvested.
And just as what has come about like this,

72. Through valuing the bodhicitta fully,
Maintaining it, and working with it well,
The arhats and pratyeka-buddhas arise
As so the perfectly enlightened buddhas.

These three stanzas now use an example to illustrate this point. If we think that the sweetness of the sugar is truly something unrelated and separate from the sugarcane and the seeds of the sugarcane, then we are truly deluded. Sugar comes from the sugar-cane, and the sugar-cane comes from the seeds of sugar-cane, and the seeds of sugar-cane come from sugar-cane. In the same way, bodhicitta and buddhahood with all its qualities are not really different, so we have no contradiction when we say that buddha-nature is already present in all beings, but at the same time we need to cultivate bodhicitta and the path of the 10 paramitas to unfold its qualities – do you understand? There is no contradiction. Because the 10 paramitas and bodhicitta are not something separate from the element. It appears to be at the start, but at the end the 10 paramitas are spontaneously present in the buddha mind.

73. Just as seeds of rice and other plants
Are treated by the farmer with great care,
Aspirants who wish to make the greatest journey
Are treated by their guides with greatest care.

This stanza says that just like farmers guard their plants with care, in the same way those who make the great Bodhisattva vow and cultivate bodhicitta in aspiration and application are protected also, they are procted by the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

[ B3.4 – the manner of unfolding ]

74. Just as on the fourteenth day of waning,
The moon is barely visible at all,
For aspirants who wish to make the greatest journey
The kayas are but barely visible.

Just as the waxing moon appears only to be barely visible even though it is fully there, for those at the start of the path the kayas manifest only in very subtle ways.

75. Just as the moon when it is new
Visibly grows larger bit by bit,
Those who have reached the bhumis
See the dharmakaya more and more.

Then as one reaches the path of seeing and has the first direct experience of the nature of reality, or the non-conceptual realization of emptiness, one enters the stages of cultivation, after that just like the moon increasing every day, the vision of the kayas become increasingly clear.

76. Just as on the fifteenth day of waxing
The moon has reached completion and is full,
Just so for those who’ve reached the bhumis’ end point
The dharmakaya shines complete and clear.

Once the end is reached the moon shines full, the display of the dharmakaya unobscured with all the mandalas and all the buddhas qualities and displays.

77. The bodhicitta, perfectly engendered,
Through stable and consistent dedication
To the buddha, to the dharma, and to the sangha
Does not decrease, and develops more and more.

After taking refuge, and cultivating bodhicitta in aspiration and application one engages in the path of the paramitas, and traverses the path of accumulation, into the path of junction where the signs of the manifestation of primordial wisdom start to manifest like warmth of a starting fire. From the point of view of the Mahayana path, the path of accumulation is divided into three stages: lower, middling and higher.

In general during the three stages of the path of accumulation as Kontrul writes “the Four Truths and two levels of truth are mentally embraced, which causes one to turn away from the four kinds of erroneous opinions and the conception of things as real; counterproductive factors are eliminated, while positive qualities are aroused and increased”.

In general in the path of accumulation the practitioner is establishing the basis for the path, gathering the proper conditions and positive factors. This is mainly characterized by the activities of listening to teachings, study, reflecting on teachings and practicing meditation.

The path of linking is generally characterized as when “The misperception of things having identity is eliminated, and there is the onset of the first level.[bhumi]"

At this stage the non-conceptual primordial awareness, which is compared to a fire, burns away all deluded concepts and leads one to the moment of the 'path of seeing', because these stages are intermediate between the preparation of the path, and the 'path of seeing', it is called 'linking'.

The stages of the Path of Linking are as follows:

Heat

The first stage when entering the path of linking is called 'warmth' for the reasons just explained above. By meditating through the means of calm abiding and clear insight, the primordial awareness that starts to dawn at this stage is applied to the four truths, and an initial level of clarity regarding the nature of reality, emptiness and dependent arising, starts to manifest.

Summit

At the second stage the realization that phenomena lack intrinsic nature develops further and occurs more frequently.

Forbearance

Here one attains a clear view that all conditioned phenomena manifest as expressions of the mind, and also a limited experience that the mind itself is empty of inherent existence.

Supreme Wordly Dharma

Here Kontrul writes that “One continues to meditate as before, coming to the realization that the subjective perceiving mind has no independent nature, so that the path of seeing ensues immediately in the wake of this realization.”

[ B3.4.2 – the path of seeing – First Bhumi ]

78. Through the ground of darkness all relinquished
And the ground of brightness firmly seized,
It is ascertained right at this point.
Therefore, it is designated “Joy.”

This refers to the path of seeing. When the root gross defilements are totally purified, that is the six defilements in their coarse form. This is the moment of direct non-conceptual perception of the four noble truths. The path of seeing is the moment where the person stops being an ordinary person and becomes an arya, or noble being. It is explained that this insight happens in sixteen successive instants which correspond to the sixteen aspects of realization of the four noble truths. In general there are four aspects that come into manifestation: two aspects of forbearance and two aspects of direct knowledge. The first moment related to the forbearance is a form of total acceptance without any resistance to the truth of suffering in relation to the desire realm; the second moment is a direct knowledge of the truth of suffering regarding the desire realm. This is followed by another moment of forbearance regarding the suffering in the form and formless realms, which is followed by direct knowledge of the suffering of the higher realms. This four moments manifest in a similar way for the other truths, making sixteen in all. The last moment, or the sixteenth moment is the direct knowledge of the truth of path related to the higher states which makes the entry into the path of meditation; in other words, the path of seeing consists of the first fifteen moments. The main obscurations that are listed in relation to that which is dispelled in the stages is explained as the desire, anger, pride, ignorance, doubt and the five views (belief in a self, extreme views, incorrect ideas, inflated views, overstating asceticism). In relation to the path of seeing, what is discarded is the affliction which grasps to wrong views in several ways. The details of this will be explained later when we study the gateways to the view. But in general this is explained in terms of what obscurations, and being their grosser forms or subtle forms are discarded in each stage of the path.

At this stage the bodhisattva will perfect the paramita of generosity.

[ B3.4.3 – Stainless – second Bhumi ]

79. What’s been tainted through all times
By the stains of passion and so forth
And is pure [now], without stains,
That is called “The Stainless One.”

The second stage is called stainless. Here mostly the stains of desire, in particular the remaining subtle aspects of desire and the paramita of ethics is mastered. So it is called stainless. It is stainless because the of actions of body, speech and mind are without stain, naturally and spontaneously.

[ B3.4.4 – illuminating – third Bhumi ]

80. Once afflictions’ net is rent asunder,
A flawless wisdom shines, and with its light
Purifies all darkness past all limit,
Removing it, and hence "illuminates."

The third stage is call the all-illuminating one. Having purified the afflictions of desire and attachment here the paramita of patience is perfected and the subtle aversion is purified. From this vast wisdom radiates forth bringing benefit to countless worlds and sentient beings, the light of the wisdom illuminates everywhere, so it is called all-illuminating.

[ B3.4.5 – radiant – fourth Bhumi ]

81. It shines with light that is always pure;
Primordial awareness, which eliminates diversion,
Is steeped in light which shines on every side.
This bhumi hence is known as "radiant."

It is called Radiant because Bodhisattvas at this level constantly emanate wisdom which purifies the emotional and conceptual afflictions. Through increasingly deeper wisdom and meditation they eliminate subtle laziness and perfect the paramita of diligence.

[ B3.4.6 – difficult to overcome – fifth Bhumi ]

82. Since awareness, feats, and crafts are mastered here,
The range of meditative concentrations themselves,
And kleshas difficult to purify completely have been vanquished,
So "difficult to overcome" is its name.

Difficult habits are here overcome, the paramita of Samadhi is perfected here, and there is a deep realization of the two truths. A multidue of samadhis are perfected.

[ B3.4.7 – clear knowing – sixth Bhumi ]

83. With enlightenment of all three types included,
And everything perfected and complete,
With birth no more, disintegration finished,
This level is "directly manifest."

Here they achieve the paramita of wisdom, prajnaparamita, they realize the equality of samsara and nirvana, the profound meaning, the inner subtle meaning of dependent arising. At this point the entry to Nirvana is possible, and is only not taken due to the power of aspirations to benefit beings, Bodhicitta.

[ B3.4.8 – gone far – seventh Bhumi ]

84. Since the bodhisattvas’ web of brilliant light with its display
Reaches every point in their surroundings,
And since they have crossed samsara’s swampy ocean,
They are called "the ones who reach far."

At this point the Meditation and realization of the Bodhisattvas surpasses the stages of the Pratyekabuddhas and Arhats. Having abandoned all duality of subject-object, gross afflictions and such, they are beyond effort in meditation at this point, their meditation going beyond the three realms. They develop great skill in means for the benefit of others and supra-wordly knowledge.

[ B3.4.9 – immovable– eigth Bhumi ]

85. Definitively guided by the buddhas,
In contact with primordial awareness’s sea,
Spontaneous and free of any effort,
"Unshaken" by the maras’ echelons.

Here they have attained cessation of subtle conceptual limitations and they are immovable in their realization. Any possibility to fall into the state of cessation is now cut-off and full Buddhahood is certain. This is the entry into the 'path of no more learning'. This marks the entrance into what is called the final pure stages of the path. All the self driven afflictions and part of the cognitive obscurations are all purified. On the last stages the remaining cognitive obscurations are fully purified.

[ B3.4.10 – Great insight – ninth Bhumi ]

86. Since yogis at this level have perfected
The dialectics used to teach all points
Connected with precise correct awareness,
It takes the name, "select intelligence."

They develop extraordinary qualities of speech, dharma, teaching and understanding that are beyond any limits. Their progress in the path is now effortless and very fast. They manifest the paramita of all strenghts or powers.

[ B3.4.11 – Cloud of Dharma– Tenth Bhumi ]

87. The body at this point is made of primordial awareness,
Is equal to an unpolluted sky;
The vigilance afforded by the buddhas
Forms the "cloud of dharma" everywhere.

Here the final of the most subtle cognitive obscurations is purified, and the Bodhisattvas become like an immense cloud of perfect dharma, benefiting beings in unimaginable ways. Nagarjuna writes:”The tenth is the Cloud of Dharma because The rain of excellent doctrine falls, The Bodhisattva is consecrated With light by the Buddhas “

[ B3.4.12 – The fruit of Buddhahood – the Dharmakaya ]

88. The ground of the qualities of buddhas,
The fruits of training fully held in hand,
The transformation, when perfectly completed,
Is given "dharmakaya" as its name.

After traversing all the stages, abandoning all that needs to be abandoned, realizing all that needs to be realized, by application of the vajra-like samadhi the alaya-vijnana is totally overturned, or destroyed, which means all the latent tendencies and ignorance are fully removed without any trace. This is the moment of the final change of state where the fully manifested dharmakaya shines forth unlimited. The aggregate of form manifests as the major and minor marks, pure realms, the kayas and so on. The aggregate of feeling manifests as infinite bliss without any stains or unvirtue, the aggregate of perception manifests as the mastery of all dharmas spontaneously. The aggregate of formations appears as endless retinues, manifestations and expression of infinite activities and dharmas. The aggregate of consciousness manifests as mirror-like wisdom, sameness wisdom, discerning wisdom and all-accomplishing wisdom. Also from this spontaneously it is the source of various sambogakaya manifestations who bring benefit to the bodhisattvas on the path, and a source of endless nirmanakaya manifestations to bring benefit to immature beings in samsara.

89. Samsara’s tendencies are ponderable,
Freedom from tendencies is not;
You are completely inconceivable.
Who could ever have the power to know you?

90. Beyond the pale of speech entirely,
And not an object that the senses’ powers grasp,
Realizing you takes the mind’s awareness.
I bow in praise of all that you embrace.

This dharmakaya, the final realization is beyond conception. The phenomena of samsara are the latent tendencies, being free from this is beyond conception. It is totally outside the real of speech, there are no words or sounds that can say how it is. The domain of samsara is the domain of the five aggregates and the eight consciousnesses together with their objects, from here we can also conceive and explain the 12 links of interdependent arising. The dharmakaya however, cannot be expressed by any thoughts, concepts or words, nor can it be known as an object. It cannot be grasped by the senses, it is not something that appears to the eyes or ears, or as a mental form. So how can it be realized then? Thats what it says there, it can only be known by mind's own self-awareness. To this dharmakaya that pervades and permeates all, the very nature of reality, I bow down and offer praise.

91. The illustrious heirs of the buddhas,
By following the path step by step,
With the primordial awareness that attends the "cloud of dharma,"
Can see emptiness, the pure mode of being.

92. As soon as mind has utterly been cleansed,
Samsara’s caged confinement broken through,
These will then assume their rightful place,
Upon a wondrous lotus flower seat,

So this means that after having gone through all the stages of the path of cultivation, through the path of no more learning up to the end of the last bhumi, they shed away the last of most subtle of obscurations and totally exhaust the alaya-vijnana with all the seeds. At this point the pure nature of the dharmadhatu shines forth the realm domain of emptiness and luminosity. In this way the cage of samsara is broken irreversibly, and they will assume their place at the seat of enlightenment being empowered and blessed by all the Buddhas. It is the final form of the the 5 kayas, the resultant body of the aspiration prayers and bodhicitta, the wishfuling jewel that grants all wishes releasing one from samsara, and bringing immeasurable benefit and liberation to the countless beings.

93. Utterly surrounded on all sides
By lotus flowers, many tens of millions,
Each endowed with tantalizing anthers,
Their leaves alight with many precious gems.

94. The buddhas with ten powers are replete.
Their fearlessness sets others’ minds at ease.
Their qualities are inconceivable.
From simplicity’s domain they never fall.

Here again says that this is the full maturation and expression of the ten powers and four fearlessnesses.

95. Through excellently practicing all paths,
They’ve gathered merit, garnered wisdom full.
So they are like the harvest moon on high
Surrounded by its court, the clustered stars.

Having completed all paths, having manifested fully the powers and wisdom they are like a full moon surrounded by stars – this refers to the manifestation of the rupakaya in endless modes of manifestation in infinite mandalas and pure dimensions.

96. With a hand like the sun,
Buddha holds a flawless gem with light ablaze.
With this the Enlightened One empowers the most senior heirs,
This abhisheka greatest of them all.

Just like the sun emanates light and heat without any effort, in the same way the buddhas emanate countless sambhogakaya and nirmanakaya forms. In particular the most important activity is to empower their most senior heirs, the highest bodhisattvas with the prophecy and request to manifest full buddhahood for the benefit of all, like the bodhisattva Maitreya who will become the next Buddha of this aeon.

97. The mighty yogis living on this plane
Look with god-like eyes on worldly beings,
Inferior because of mental blindness,
Whom suffering can frighten and distract.

98. And having seen them, light rays from their bodies
Shine, without the slightest strain at all,
And open up what gates there are for all
Who wander in their own confusion’s dark.

This refers to the buddhas emanating countless nirmanakayas for all the impure realms.

99. Those who have reached nirvana with remainder
Believe they have reached nirvana that’s without;
The nirvana that is reached in this tradition
Is a freeing of the mind of any flaw.

This refers to those who attain the nirvana of cessation such as arhats and pratyekabuddhas. This stanza says that it has remainder because even though they have removed all the seeds in the alaya-vijnana that cause rebirth in the three realms, and they are outside of samsara, they have not totally erradicated the alaya-vijnana and abide in the samadhi of peace in the pure expanse, in this state they have a 'mental form body', so they have a remainder still. However, what is taught in the Mahayana is not this kind of nirvana, but the kind that is totally free from any limitations and extremes, without any remainder at all.

100. Sentient beings’ essence free of substance
Is the sphere that is encountered on this plane.
Seeing this is the royal bodhicitta,
The dharmakaya free of every flaw.

Realizating this nature that is free of self-nature, free of any truly existence essence that is the pure sphere that is found. In other words, when mind is freed from the web of the temporary defilements, that itself is the dharmakaya, there is nothing else to be found.

101. When the dharmakaya is seen in all its purity
This is transformation, wisdom’s sea,
And from its depths a wealth of precious jewels
Fulfill beings’ needs as they have always wished.

In Praise of the Dharmadhatu composed by the great

Acharya Nagarjuna is hereby completed.

This translation is a combination of two translations, one by Jim Scott, April 1997, and edited by Ari Goldfield, September 1998; and another by Karl Brunnholzl. For the sake of clarity some stanzas were used from one translations, and others from another.