Beyond
Seeking
In the Great Perfection, contemplation is uncontrived. It is
systematic. It bears fruit. We embody just this and express it in a voice
beyond dispute. Consider these three things: the real meaning of material
phenomena; a path free of seeking, our eternal heart; and the fruition that
comes on its own, not due to seeking or striving. These three are equal and
inseparable but require three different modes of setting forth. The ground, the
way and the goal come about by virtue of a Wisdom that is self-existent
(uncaused). This Wisdom brings radiant joy to contemplatives, and the light of
clarity to their thoughts.
This Wisdom arises naturally in its own way. It is uncreated
and uncontrived, present within us primordially, not encountered or lost. It is
inherently perfect. It is an unperturbed clarity, a domain that comes into
being on its own, a continuum of tranquility of which we become aware, but
which we cannot grasp using (intellectual) conceptions. It is unobstructedly
radiant, an awareness of which we become cognizant and which we come to
recognize as the essence of our understandings. It is self-luminous, beyond
visualization, not part of any object. The radiant spaciousness of flawless
Wisdom cannot be expressed in words. Beyond thoughts of self or other, it is
self-perfected tranquility, utterly free of extreme positions. Nothing need be
generated, and there is no reason to practice deity generation. The heart of
enlightenment is uncaused and unceasing.
Where all is one, how could there be differences? In the
heart of enlightenment, in clear self-awareness is perfection beyond our
seeking and striving. There is no need to generate anything, no requirement for
causes and results. In the perfection of the heart’s core, all is
instantaneously self-perfected. The true condition has no location and cannot
be visualized. Uncontrived, self-originating, beyond conditions, there is
nothing about it that has anything to do with a material view of Reality. It
has no connection to words, representations or expressions as we can see from
our direct experience. We see this from our (firsthand) knowledge arising from
familiarization. It bears no relation to the extremes we fall into when using
conceptual designations. There is nothing that can designate it, which places
it outside the domain of our intellectual certitude or uncertitude. It cannot
be expressed by words and their specific meanings, or meanings arising from
letters (of an alphabet).
Right from the beginning, the true nature of our Wisdom has
been emptiness. Rejecting no definitions, the clarity of our heart’s essence
sustains its self-perfection. It is ever perfect in a realm completely removed
from the fantasy of our thought-bound minds. It is ever present at all times,
come what may.
Present in all appearances, a singleness that is
uncompromised, it pierces our preoccupation with appearances, and is far beyond
anything that could be the object of our seeking. Because of its invisible
equanimity, whatever we intend appears, and although the true condition is
nothing (no thing) whatsoever, it can bring forth the appearance of any thing
whatsoever. Like the radiant heart of the sun, it is beyond measurement,
relatedness and comparisons. The precious jewel of mind itself (consciousness)
is intrinsically pure, beyond conceptual designations which we use to take in
and grasp appearances. The heart-essence of our Wisdom, sustaining our
knowledge, knows nothing (no thing) at all, yet is aware of its very own
intrinsic clarity. This Wisdom, clear within itself, is inseparable from
perfection and as we experience it, comes to us as both appearances and
consciousness (the light of awareness).
The abode of self-arising Wisdom is a treasure of (precious)
gems, a point of entry for many other portals. Though incomprehensible, if
rightly recognized it is an abode where we dwell in oneness.
The supreme secret of the Bodhichitta is a treasury of
jewels with many doors and is to be understood through its radiance.
Self-radiant awareness is perfection itself and affords us the possibility and
method for discussing the blissful heart-essence. This we can do, as regards
results, but with no reference to striving and seeking. The supreme tantra is
not written down and has no relation to form, colour, movement and the rest. It
may be called the Greatness that has never been captured in words. This tantra
is vast as the sky, a treasury of all secrets. It alone represents the
supremely great perfection that makes it possible for us to abide in our way
and realize the stages of enlightenment.
This is the most precious preserve of our contemplation, an
all-pervading spaciousness. The secret whispered instructions are all
summarized in this, and it gives us the impetus to go beyond our book learning.
When we get involved with vows, techniques, samaya, good works, mandalas,
stages and paths and enjoy the results of it all, we are inadvertently
cherishing and holding on to the small self. We think of the supreme truth in
terms of categories and are bound up in our chosen practices. Everything that we
appropriate or renounce in this way constitutes a deviation and an obstruction.
The principal point to understand is that by connecting causes to results we go
astray. Reality is non-dual. When we get involved in “this” versus “that”, we
are going backwards. We break up and misunderstand the essential unity of
truth. We strive to build up something pure within the emptiness of the
invisible clear light, which is a fundamental contradiction. The ultimate view
is utterly unchained from preoccupations here-below. At the same time,
struggling against responsibilities in life is a form of delusion.
There are certain dharmas that complicate our lives and dim
down our Wisdom. This jewel of a teaching is free of them. Just know that
seeking and striving with notions about purity is a mistaken path. When we seek
and strive, we are separated from the inner treasure of our heart’s essence.
The Great Perfection view is self-radiant and quite
unconnected to what happens on the various planes. There are limitations
obstructing the light of Wisdom, but the clear light of awareness is perfected
in and through all of this. The All-Good is endlessly playful. Inherently
perfect, unstoppable awareness arises from its own beingness; so it is that the
spontaneous play of our uncontrived heart-essence fills the whole of space,
beyond all our concepts of center or perimeter. This play is our practice. The
Wisdom of this awareness dawns on us instantaneously. Your spiritual teacher
can clarify the timing of this.
Without any action on our part, the perfection of Wisdom
becomes obvious (to us). The samadhi which arises out of this naturally
appearing Wisdom comes about spontaneously and is inherently luminous. When it
arises, do not let it be disturbed. It pierces through all forms of seeking and
agitation.
Samsara is Wisdom unrecognized. Inconceivable fruition comes
to its skylike fullness within samsara. Offering all that we have and are, we
melt into the self-originating luminosity of Wisdom. Through our spontaneous
self-offering, free of calculation, we taste the blissful radiance of the
omniscient. We are to immerse ourselves in this without hesitation. It is for
this that the most secret and sacred teachings, beyond any form of symbolically
expressed meaning, have been transmitted to us.
In the domain of the inherent luminosity of all things, we
are perfected. This transmission comes into play on its own, cutting through
aggrandizement and aspersion. It is known as the heart-essence and has no
center and no boundaries. It is a condition of conscious equanimity beyond all
reference points, like a heap of precious jewels. Radiantly present in all, it
has no preferences and no (fixed) positions.
The heart-essence is a treasure, boundless as the sky, a
wish-fulfilling jewel that abides in its own pristine space all by itself. One
who opens this portal of radiant and complete comprehension will come upon a
treasure trove of precious gems. One who is qualified to teach this Wisdom will
use his speaking skills to reveal connections between words and their meanings.
He will be a master at conveying (true) meanings through (verbal and
non-verbal) symbols. He inwardly abides in a domain (of consciousness) that
transcends conceptual designations. His intuition is all-pervading like space.
His Wisdom encompasses that which is without center or boundary. His is the
power of transmission of a contemplation that transcends words (and concepts).
Upon meeting such a one, you will have confidence. His self-awareness is
radiant, and his presence manifests it. In transmitting the light of Wisdom, he
simultaneously manifests it to himself. The precondition for our growth in
understanding is a transmission that shines light on our learning, our
meditation and our contemplation. Its source is the self-arising light of
Wisdom, the luminous awareness that grows within us. It is an inexhaustible
treasure, a magic treasury of priceless jewels. Now is the occasion to possess
the key which opens any spiritual path (you may choose). This Wisdom
encompasses all the particulars of the various teachings and paths.
There is a self-arisen continuum that has no location and no
boundaries, a unitary perfection of non-dual awareness. This glowing treasure
of the mandala of awareness is unaffected by our notions. It reveals its full
perfection in our field of experience in the beatitude of unperturbed samadhi.
Abiding in an equanimity that transcends complexity and contrivance, we have
let go of our grasping at duality’s appearances. Primordially we are liberated
from thoughts that cling to reference points and preferences. Here in the
luminosity of our heart’s core, we are liberated from any cherishing of
opinions concerning meditation, non-meditation (and so on). The flawless
transmission of radiant insight pierces through notions based in dualities. In
manifesting the unspeakable light of awareness, we relinquish our notions about
speech and silence. This luminous Wisdom is a unique treasure that harbours no
intellectual opinions. The eye of Wisdom has no dualistic knowledge and does
not see in terms of duality. It arises in the heart’s inmost intent (for our
lives), something we cannot lay hold of by thinking. Being the treasure of all
that is, it has no intellectual views or preferences. The nondual nature of
Reality overwhelms our predilection for seeking and active practices.
Unconcerned with what transpires here-below, awareness is pristine in its own
space of being. The light and the appearance of everything (that appears)
unfolds within our awareness. Like the stars in the sky, self-luminous,
undefiled, it is perfect in its own domain. Vajrasattva is (in Reality) a
continuum of (pure) uncontrived awareness. Come to firsthand knowledge of the
joy that comes untrammeled, free of complexity, unrelated to causes and
conditions. Make no attempt to visualize the clear light of pristine awareness.
It is precious equanimity that abides beyond agitation and grasping. This
treasure, this fullness, this self-radiant (inner) sun abides in all. It is a
continuum that has no connection to our thoughts and notions.
In general, the non-dual truth is expressed in a distorted
and diminished manner, and this veils it in obscuration. It is a perfect
circularity, undistorted, in which samsara and nirvana have never actually
transpired. In the heart of enlightenment, samsara and sorrow are merely the
play of the All Good (Samantabhadra), and the five poisons of lust, aversion,
dullness, arrogance and jealousy reveal themselves as five Wisdoms. Wisdom is
all-pervading like the light of the sun. It is an all-healing flow of compassion
that washes away our five defilements. The realm of the Great Perfection is an
inherently luminous and mirror-like space that has no objects. Within the clear
light of the true condition, the non-dual Reality will reflect itself to us in
just the way we see and think about it. Our notions about the true condition
are always too inflated or too circumscribed, but it is always beyond these
distortions. Being infinite, it always transcends the material perspective from
which we conceptualize.
Pristine awareness is utterly transparent. This inherently
luminous awareness is undefiled, un-adulterated (by our notions). This treasure
of equanimity has no relation whatsoever to any point of reference that we
could conceptualize, and exists as it actually is, unadulterated regardless of
whether we turn to it or not. Our human happiness and our human sorrows are
both confusions of samsara. They are non-dual in their true condition and
perfected in the light of our heart’s Wisdom. Whether we know it or not, we
abide in the sphere of inherently luminous awareness and are continuously
perfected. The Ground of Being is unmanifest, but the clear light of Wisdom
that unfolds from it is a ninefold treasury of gemlike spaces that shines in
our hearts. The perfection of awareness abides in this treasury, a store of
precious wish-fulfilling jewels that blesses us and brings us all fulfillment.
It is the treasury of the sky, unobstructed, wherein the five elements arise
and move, actively present in all things, not inherently real, but emanating
from the Reality of their source. It cannot be seen, for it is inherent
luminosity, pure like the sky, an unobstructed flow of blessings. It unifies
all into its innate clear light. It is the treasury of all blessings, the very
nature of the Dharma’s manifestation.
There is nothing that needs to be done. Everything has
already been accomplished, primordially. Beneficent energies flow from the
inherent luminosity where nothing needs doing, and this efficacious flow (of
good works) is self-effulgent, making no demand that we renounce anything
whatsoever.
The enlightened beings are the lords of the treasury of the
sky, the treasure-store that brings us total fulfilment. They abide in
continuous recognition of their eternal nature, but in their thoughts words and
actions they participate in the play of energies which is the cosmic flow.
Within the sky of infinite consciousness, the heart of our hearts that has no
center or border, appearances will arise and appear to us in just the way we
think of them. Living in right relation to their spiritual master, those who
with heartfelt sincerity devote their awareness to the jewel in the heart (of
Reality) will fulfil the requirements of service and be introduced directly to
the treasure of treasures. Gradually learning the true meanings behind the
symbols, they will be introduced by the master to instant enlightenment, the
timeless continuum (of being-consciousness). In the realm of pure consciousness
beyond their exaggerated or limiting ideas, they will come face to face with
non-conceptual inherently luminous awareness.
We fabricate the concepts which fill our minds in order to
designate and grasp the utter simplicity of the true condition. When we abide
in the light of Wisdom, however, the obscurations of our limiting notions melt
away and our innate clarity is uncovered. We no longer need to approach truth
through the fog of definitions and grammar. We know the meanings behind the
symbols. In the heart of luminous Wisdom, we abide in clarity, free of
concepts. In this spacious domain which
is the origin of all that appears, beyond any association with meditation, we
are perfected. We abide in luminous awareness, untroubled by (the stress of)
contraction or (the thrill of) expansion. We cut through (trekcho) concepts
about this pristine luminosity.
It is not something we ponder, nor has it any association
with material things. The light of Wisdom shines with no points of reference
and no preferences. Inconceivable are the blessings of this clear light.
Fortunate ones are able to abide in the samadhi of (infinite) luminous Wisdom,
the awareness of totality which dissolves aversion and ill-will, dullness and
craving, pride and jealousy. The delight of the single taste in all appearances
enters into our every experience by way of a Dharma requiring no practice or
comprehension. We are not required to think. Our evenly balanced mind need not
search. In the clear light (of Wisdom), in the heart of the sky (of awareness),
we come to know the true significance of what could never be expressed in
written words.
The significance of uncontrived pristine awareness cannot be
unraveled by means of concepts and narratives. There are no reference points or
predilections in pristine awareness. Its equality is equal in all. Its
equanimity can appear as any form whatsoever. However things may appear to our
human minds, there is no such thing as a “this” or a “that” for pure
(non-conceptual) awareness. A true teacher is a living embodiment of
Vajrasattva. The magic of his words is a lamp revealing to us the awareness
(that is our true nature). He opens the doorway of the precious treasury of
jewels that he carries in his heart, revealing the meanings of the symbols of
the ineffable. He brings us to planes of inner experience that we arrive at
without going anywhere (outwardly). He reveals a deathless manifestation of the
Dharma. He conveys to us the secret Wisdom by a form of awareness that has no
need of sounds, placing us in the sunlit radiance (of the true condition). He
brings us to a realization that is not the outcome of any seeking or active
striving. Such teachings as these should be given only to those of enlightened
attitude and never to the naturally evil, the ignorant or the disdainful.
Revealing The True Meanings This Tantra Equal To The
Farthest Reach Of The Sky, is an elixir which carries you into the heart-space
of the Great Perfection. Here, you possess a treasure which is as vast as the
kingdom of the sky. Its meaning is not fixed and cannot be grasped conceptually
by way of thoughts or ruminations. Nor does it have any relation to any form of
active practice. Awareness abides in a realm that is utterly uncontrived and
imponderable. This is nothing that we need to reflect on or practice, and there
is no need to visualize any special levels (of practice, or attainment) either.
(Be clear on this point): the intellect is not to conceptualize or grasp with
words. Uncontrived awareness is the way we engage the Wisdom that transcends
all obscurations. We abide naturally in a continuum of awareness where there is
no searching and nothing to do. This awareness, something that we do not try to
search for or grasp, is that into which we enter. We do not see awareness as a
goal to attain. We simply settle into a consciousness of uncontrived light, not
following methodologies or seeking for any (specific) objective.
The intrinsic radiance (of Wisdom) is flawless. Free from
self-centered thoughts or considerations, it seeks no designated results. It is
clear light, completely beyond (any notion of) desired outcomes. All-inclusive,
it is not something which can be visualized. Here, in this pure space, the
hopes and fears we typically cherish are present no longer.
The Intrinsic Radiance of Awareness Wisdom shows us that all
appearances are free from the imputations of our concepts. All appearances are
luminous and beyond defilements. Wisdom makes clear the singularity that
underpins the multiplicity of appearances. It frees us from grasping and from
thinking in terms of “things”. In the nonduality of the true condition we are
liberated from the mental conditioning created by our concepts. All appearances
arise spontaneously in the mirrorlike luminosity which is the nature of mind.
This Reality is utterly unfabricated. Here, we abide in an undistorted
continuum of awareness that is inherently radiant, uncontrived and pristine,
like the sky. The domain of primordial purity is skylike (in its spaciousness),
beyond (intentional) abiding, inherently radiant, a non-dual way with no
boundaries or center. It is pristine awareness beyond fixations, a crystal
palace of utterly clear light beyond anyone’s capacity to describe or measure.
With no need to conceptualize or take any actions, we have the ultimate proof
of a pure manifestation of timeless awareness. Indescribable, inherently
radiant and all-pervasive, the ineffable continuum has no conceptual activity.
It requires no active striving, and is luminous in all possible ways. Pristine
awareness neither contrives nor fabricates. It does not seek or grasp. It is
spacious and luminous equanimity, total lucidity with no need for active
striving on our part.
The Reality of inherently radiant awareness cannot be
(indicated or) represented (to the human mind) by way of words or concepts. It
can come through transmission, but never by explication, and (when it comes) it
carries the taste of bliss. We take leave of the many palaces built up from
awareness to abide eternally in the clear light itself, something quite
impossible to define. The self-transmission of Wisdom’s light cannot be
distorted by playing it up or playing it down. We accept what is, the way it is,
with no attempt at manipulation.
Once we have direct experience of the nature of mind
(Bodhicitta), we will be wary of any attempt to define it. We would never dream
of trying to actively practice it. We choose rather the way of non-striving. We
simply allow the true condition to dawn by itself without interference. We do
not conceptualize nirvana and then strive for it or entertain notions that
foster samsara. Our liberated intellect abides in a luminous samadhi that has
no horizon. Being undistracted, we pay no regard to anything that comes and
goes, arising only to disappear. The bounteous power of our uncontrived
heart-essence outshines all other preoccupations, drawing (us) into the light
of the sun. Samsara is simply the play of the light that is Wisdom. We make no
effort to accrue merit or expunge negative karma, or to fabricate desired
outcomes in the way that goldsmiths do when they shape objects out of gold. We
are like birds abiding in the vastness of the sky, happy to navigate the ups
and downs of samsara and its magical illusions, not apart from the continuum of
the true nature.
Inconceivable is the power of the light of the divine. The
radiance of Wisdom is constant, beyond alteration, beyond coming and going. The
light of compassion equally is beyond all reckoning in its scope. The wind of
thinking activity is nowhere to be found in the luminous continuum of Wisdom.
Wisdom knows no bondage and requires no liberation. Just as an oil lamp without
fuel does not generate fire, a mind that is concept-free is not engaged in
thinking activity. We are free of ideation. We do not reflect on any topic.
This is nothing special, just the way that Wisdom is.
When we give voice to some topic of concern within the sky
(of mind), we have set foot on a false path. The mind of equanimity has no
interest in boundaries, centers or designated areas. The essence of our hearts
comes to the fore as the sun of Wisdom dawns and in the treasury of
self-revealing awareness it achieves its perfect expression. Non-dual awareness
is the sole instrument by which we grow into that which cannot be grasped.
Non-dual living is like water flowing into water. Samsara is actually Wisdom
(that we misperceive), free of darkness or constriction primordially. The sun
of radiant Wisdom burns away samsara and pervades all that is. This is not
something to be visualized. It is not a dogma to be grasped or believed. It is
simply the true condition of all that appears. The highest Reality cannot be
apprehended by points of view or anyone’s preferred notions. There is nothing
fixed in any fashion whatsoever in the way that Reality actually exists,
contrived or uncontrived, centerless and borderless, neither in this location
nor in that, but rather abiding in its own realm, an uncontrived ground of
(supreme) peace. This primordial equanimity does not conceptualize emptiness or
its opposite. The furthest reach of thought is transcendence of thinking
activity altogether. Wisdom cannot be reproached for having no center, boundary
or demarcation. The obscurations of ignorance have never existed (in
actuality). Nothing is outside the mandala of radiant Wisdom. The world of the
all-good, the continuum of pristine awareness, is not anything (any discreet
thing) whatsoever. It is ceaseless, unstoppable, imponderable, beyond anything
that can be contemplated or studied. We abide in the state of self-liberation,
uncontrived supreme mind, not focusing or opening our minds, at rest in the
depths of a samadhi that naturally overflows with fullness.
From: Gospel of Garab Dorje: The Highest, Secret
Teachings of Tibetan Buddhism. Lotus Press. By Yeshe Donden Roger
Calverley.
