The noble eightfold path is an early summary of the path of buddhist practices leading to liberation from samsara, the painful cycle of rebirth. If we sincerely wish to practise the instructions on mahamudra tantra presented in this book, we should first receive the. The eightyfour masters of mahamudra were the original founding fathers of the mahamudra tradition who formulated its techniques of meditation, and also the founders. Essentials of mahamudra is a commentary on tashi namgyals text. But the stages of the path of mahamudra in the different kagyu branches is different. When the mahamudra teaching is combined with tantra, it is generally the tantric practice of the fourarmed chenrezig or avalokiteshvara in sanskrit, or the twoarmed chenrezig, or teachings related to the mahamudra curriculum for bodhi path centers 7 chakrasamvara. It is in this fathomlong body with its perceptions and its mind that i describe the world, the origin of the world, the cessation of the world, and the way leading to the cessation of the world. A skillful teacher can weave them together, without losing the meaning, and without confusing the student in his or her practice. We will then look briefly at path mahamudra, which is the actual meditation practice. Medicine buddha and the fivefold path of mahamudra the five fold mahamudra method embodies the view of dzogchen, madhyamaka the middle way, shamatha, and vipashyana. It is said that just by hearing the name, or mantra, of medicine buddha that innumerable benefits arise including enhancing any healing practices and medicines. One line stuck out to me if the student develops certainty that the mind is free from coming and going, free from arising, abiding and ceasing, then the student is said to have recognised the nature of mind.
Learn a concise and simple tibetan buddhist healing practice based on the generation and embodiment of the medicine buddhas characteristics. He used the example of sacred dance, where the entire body of the dancer becomes the mudra. Specific prayer for unmistaken practice on the path prayer for correct view, meditation, and action briefverse 842 i. Gampopa, a disciple of milarepa who lived in the 11th century, brought together these teachings of the buddha into one five fold path consisting of an enlightened motivation, deity yoga, guru yoga, mahamudra and proper dedication. But there are methods specific to dzokchen which are not found in mahamudra, its true. Rinpoche introduced the series of five meditations to follow with an explanation of mahamudra. Similar to the practice of dzogchen, mahamudra is a direct and powerful practice. Enjoy this short excerpt from the mahamudra course by mingyur rinpoche. Traditionally passed orally from teacher to disciple, mahamudra instructions point the meditator to the innate perfection of every experience. His main disciple, pakmo drupa, gave this approach the name the profound five fold path of mahamudra. Mahamudra in india, the appropriateness of mahamudra meditation becomes evident.
Mahamudra is a term referring to the great seal or the absolute state of nonduality the great seal of awareness, which is but another way of defining ultimate reality. Fivefold profound path of mahamudra drikung dharma. These are equally valid and merely describe the everdeepening levels of experience and stability in the natural, ordinary mind. Mahamudra is a meditation tradition within tantric buddhism that points to the nature of awareness itself, elevating our ordinary perception to the level of the sacred. Sie yogax osf naropa are of the latte groupr synthesia of ths e arisin ang d per fecting yogas wit, speciah emphasil on ths lattere. Of these, 84 individuals became very famous and were.
Between 1990 and 1995, he conducted five retreats at big bear lake, california. Dzogchen and mahamudra, two great paths lions roar. Masters of mahamudra songs and histories of the eightyfour buddhist siddhas translated by keith dowman with tulku pema tenzin. The moonlight quintessence of mind and meditation was the first presentation in english of a major tibetan buddhist work on meditation. General prayer for unmistaken practice on the path verse 737 b. Now there is a little, how do you say, unfinished business here, because mahamudra means everything, but now here is the mahamudra lineage. Mahamudra meditation is simultaneously the most profound of meditative disciplines and the most accessible for modern practitioners. That one accepts selfresponsibility for ones journey on the path and does not give this up. We will learn to generate compassion, embody buddhanature through visualization practice, and engage in the actual mahamudra. Between 1990 and 1995, thrangu rinpoche taught on mahamudra in five retreats held at big bear lake in california. The methods of spiritual liberation of the eightyfour indian tantric masters through legend, precepts and history. This is consistent with the teachings of the lineage, which define the path of mahamudra to consist of listening to, reflecting on, and meditating according to the teachings. Another approach is to apply the structure of the four yogas to each of the yogas, resulting in sixteen aspects.
The fivefold path of mahamudra includes the cultivation of bodhicitta, guru yoga practice, yidam practice, mahamudra practice, and the dedication of merit. So there are devotees, patrons, practitioners, yogis and so on and so forth. Any meditation practitioner will enjoy this simple and direct guidance to aid their meditations. It is also sometimes referred to as the highest and most profound teaching.
It is said that depending on the compassion of the guru and the devotion of the disciple, realization is transmitted from one mindstream to another mindstream. In this view, all experiences arise from a mind that is naturally vast, empty, and luminous. During these talks, rinpoche presented a comprehensive introduction to the mahamudra path. This text is contained in the collection of mahamudra instruction called the do ha mdzod brgyad ces bya ba phyag rgya chen poi man ngag gsal bar ston pai gzhung, which is printed at the gyalwa karmapas monastery at rumtek, sikkim. In the path of mahamudra, three wisdoms prajna or sherab are traditionally cultivated. During the flourishing of the mahamudra teachings in india in the 8th to 12th centuries there were innumerable people who practiced mahamudra and who then attained realization through this practice. Fivefold profound path of mahamudra of the glorious. Fivepart mahamudra is a specific way of practising mahamudra that is used in. Five fold profound path of mahamudra of the glorious drigung kagyu lineage. The essence of the dagpo kagyu teachings is the mahamudra. To just aspire for the realization of mahamudra to arise in the mind is a very condensed aspiration.
These encompass both analytical and nonanalytical ways of knowing. An entire practice leading to buddhahood based on the mahamudra practice of the kagyu tradition. It is also considered one of the root texts on five fold mahamudra and dozens of commentaries have been written on it. Practical instructions on union of mahamudra and atiyoga. His talks there have been edited into essentials of mahamudra. Mahamudra in the firs part ot f thi boos ark e o f the forme r group, whic thh readee mar y soo discoven to br e strikingly similiar to earl zey n buddhism th. Mmc version of translation of guide to the four fold pointingout of wangchug. Drawing on enormous textual erudition and mastery of tibe.
The drikung kagyu is called the blessing lineage, faith and devotion to the guru is considered to be the most important. Please see additional resources for a pdf of the manual below. Therefore, in this text, we make this aspiration first, then it shows us how to achieve this aspiration stepbystep according to the stages of the path. An introduction to mahamudra meditation by the venerable khenchen thrangu rinpoche geshe lharampa is an important guide to the technique. Garchen rinpoche 20 seattle teachings drikung seattle.
The view prayer for the view of mahamudra brief verse 945. Practice generating compassion, recognizing buddha nature through visualization. Teaching related to the mahamudra curriculum for bodhi. We in the drikung practice mahamudra through the fivefold mahamudra path. Garland of mahamudra practices shambhala publications. Gampopa, a disciple of milarepa who lived in the eleventh century, brought together these teachings of the buddha into one five fold path consisting of an enlightened motivation, deity yoga, guru yoga, mahamudra, and proper dedication, to which his main disciple, pakmo druba, gave the name the profound five fold path of mahamudra. Mahamudra meditation instructions from zasep tulku rinpoche. The mahamudra course is included as part of your vajrayana online subscription for those who meet the requirements. These are collectively known as the twelve aspects of the four yogas on the path of mahamudra. The first is the wisdom which comes from listening to and reading instructions on the dharma, on meditation, and on reality. Our discussion this afternoon is about the fivefold mahamudra and why it is necessary to reach enlightenment. On the other hand, if one only has some sort of understanding of this truth, but cannot experience it intimately, he is said to have strayed from the realization of mahamudra.
Both describe that final state of realization in which the duality of apparent existence, the differentiation of subject consciousness and object world, collapses into. Similarly, in approaching mahamudra from the perspective of shinay, lhaktong, and their union, a structural path laid out by the polymath jey gampopa, and as passed on from him down to the 9th karmapa, wangchuk dorje in the ocean of definitive meaning as well as kyabje bokar rinpoche in his essentialized distillation of wangchuk dorjes. Traditionally passed orally from teacher to disciple, mahamudra instructions point the meditator to the innate perfection of every. In the kagyu tradition of tibetan buddhism, mahamudra or the great seal is considered the essence of the buddhas teachings.
Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. The five fold path of mahamudra includes the cultivation of bodhicitta, guru yoga practice, yidam practice, mahamudra practice, and the dedication of merit. Difference between dzogchen and mahamudra dharma wheel. Mahamudra patron, and whoever admires that is a mahamudra devotee. Mahamudra, i have found that maintaining some record of oral instructions which subsequently can be reflected upon and serve as a guide for practice to be helpful. It is also sometimes referred to as the highest and most profound teaching of the buddhas. Through guru devotion, it is possible that we can gain liberation in a single life time with a single body. Fivefold profound path of mahamudra drikung dharma surya. It is fundamentally a view of the most basic reality of our mind and world. Mmc member meditation maual mahamudra meditation center. From the point of view of the path, these two traditions are different, though there are similarities.
861 726 50 1106 1608 197 166 383 676 1216 1143 412 1303 814 1047 102 218 731 1405 19 770 942 1521 341 930 365 1078 1494 640 888 273 496 769 1358 489