Embedded Files
Excerpts from the Āryatārākurukullākalpa, "The Practice Manual of Noble Tārā Kurukullā"
For the sake of many beings, and as a compendium of the tantras
That elaborately teach the yogic practices,
Lokeśvāra, Lord of the World, taught this manual of practice.
Listen, all bodhisattvas!
This method that benefits all beings
Is based on seeing that the world is without refuge,
And tormented by the three types of suffering.
Receive this with great reverence!
In order to pacify the concepts of the world,
All buddhas teach this manual of practice.
...
All the buddhas are mind itself.
By mind itself one is liberated.
Bondage is broken by the mind,
Through mind one attains freedom.
Apart from in the mind
Things and entities are not seen anywhere at all.
Hence, there is no perfection to be seen
Apart from buddhahood and all the accomplishments.
The environments and sentient beings,
The elements and their derivatives,
Have been declared to be “mind only”
By those who possess the undefiled special vision.
Therefore, one should make every effort
To cleanse the mirror of the mind.
Faults, which are by nature extrinsic,
Will gradually be utterly exhausted.
...
“The three jewels are my refuge;
I confess all my wrongdoings;
I rejoice in the virtues of wandering beings;
I set my mind on the enlightenment of a buddha”—
These words should be spoken three times,
...
When the mind has been made to abide through love,
It should again be placed there.
Having engendered a mind of compassion
One should as well bring forth a mind of joy.
Afterwards, one should regard everything with equanimity
In its condition of being “mind only.”
Then, in order to discard the ordinary,
The mind must once more be emptied.
The five aggregates of the process of re-existence
Shall be consumed by the fire of emptiness.
Oṃ śūnyatājñānavajrasvabhāvātmako ˈham
For a while one should practice this emptiness yoga
And so bring the mind refreshing rest.
Recollecting the vows taken earlier,
One should once more focus on simply the seed-syllable.
...
“There is no real birth of a buddha,
Nor is there any real death of a buddha.
Where everything is of the same taste,
This is the nature of arising and ceasing.
“The buddhas are of the same body within the dharmadhātu,
And they are free from the five obscurations.
The body of the profound and the vast—
It is as the essence of this reality that a buddha remains.
“Since neither is the case,
They do, from the beginning, not exist.
Since from the beginning they have not arisen
They do not arise and they do not cease.”
Vajrapāṇi said, “Now, O bodhisattvas, what do you think?
Does the one who is the Buddha exist, or not exist?”
The bodhisattvas replied,
“O Vajrapāṇi, buddhas neither exist nor do they not exist.”
Vajrapāṇi spoke:
“Indeed, it is the unborn that is born.
The born will never be born.
When investigated in terms of the ultimate
They are unborn since the beginning.
“Likewise, the dead do not die,
Nor does the one who is not dead.
The non-abiding does not abide
And the one who abides is not in need of abiding.
“If that which has not been born were subject to decay,
Or if the unborn were subject to arising,
Then a rabbit’s horn would also
Be subject to arising and cessation.
“If that which exists were to arise,
That which has arisen would arise once more.
Also, if that which does not exist were to arise,
The barren woman’s son would arise too.
“Therefore, everything is ignorance,
Formations that possess the three characteristics.
The worlds that possess the five aggregates
Are known as mere appearance.
“The bodhisattvas should understand the nirvāṇa that pertains to the buddhas, the blessed ones, through this reasoning.”
The bodhisattvas asked:
“When nothing is produced,
What are mantras, what are tantras,
And how does one visualize the maṇḍala?
How, then, is accomplishment gained?”
Vajrapāṇi replied:
“Originating in dependence—
This is how things arise
Likewise, depending on mantras, mudrās, and so forth
The accomplishments are gained.
“The accomplishments are relative,
And so are the transcendences of the Buddha.
Buddhahood, the state of Vajrasattva,
Is perfectly accomplished in terms of the relative.”
Loving-kindness through looking with impassioned love—
It is through such a mind that one performs enthrallment.
Having enthralled all beings,
One establishes them in the enlightenment of the Buddha.
...
The so-called “knower of everything”
Cannot be attained without insight.
The one who wishes to attain it,
Should therefore develop incisive insight.
Through the practice of recitation and oblations
One will encounter all phenomena.
The mind that is pure, bright, and stainless—
That indeed is the transcendent insight.
...
The removal of poison brings peace in the world;
From the development of insight comes buddhahood.
Turning the wheel of Dharma will be accomplished
In an instant by the one who practices enthrallment.
...
As the negativities of speech completely disappear, one will be able to remove poison; when those of the mind disappear, insight will increase; and when the flaws of the body are exhausted, one will bring about enthrallment.
Hence, since this world is attached to non-virtue, it does not gain accomplishment.
Therefore, O sons of the victorious ones, you must act to benefit, and give up evil. By means of the specific gestures the faults associated with the body certainly disappear and, through the mantra, so do the faults associated with the composites of the tongue.
The faults associated with the mind fade away in those whose minds delight in meditation. With the joy of stainless faith, the cognitions of the body become unmoving—that is the time of the Buddha’s blessing. The one who sees with an eye free from evil and who possesses compassion will become king of the three worlds. With his power of merit superior because of generosity, he becomes the foremost on the surface of the earth, a benefactor endowed with diligence.
Having given up laziness, and by means of wisdom, he will not experience even a bit of the suffering of hell. Therefore, one relies on the wealth of the compassion of the sons of the victorious ones, and on their diligent conduct. Perceiving the buddhas in the center of the sky, one regards the buddhas by the power of concentration. Even in sleep one should always perceive oneself to be surrounded by the buddhas.
At the time of death the wise proceed to the summit of mount Meru; Buddhas riding in various vehicles—
These are seen by the ones who are compassionate by nature. Doing evil produces the perception of the cities of hell.
...
“Give up these unvirtuous acts.
Dharma, material things,
Love, and fearlessness—
You must always practice this four-fold generosity.
“If you possess nothing, be generous through acts of meditation.
Also, you must always display the four means of magnetizing,
Along with the body of the perfections,
The powers, and the masteries.
...
“There is nothing at all that is not buddhahood.
For the sake of accomplishing the benefit of beings
There is nothing that has not been done before.
That which has degenerated, I intend to restore.”
Google Sites
Report abuse