Chapter 1
Gampopa's Mahayana Realization
The spiritual biography (Tib. namtar) of
Gampopa is in three parts: how Gampopa developed
his Mahayana potential, how Gampopa realized
Mahamudra, and how his spiritual activity
spread throughout the whole of the world.
THE TWO EXTREMES OF PRACTICE
Milarepa, Gampopa's root teacher, had to
go through tremendous hardships in order
to receive the Buddhist teachings and also
to practice them. When he came to a point
at which he was without food and clothing
he continued to practice because he had
tremendous faith and great diligence. We
must, however, realize that we don't have
to go through all these same difficulties
because it is not an essential part of the
Buddhist teachings that we have to suffer
and be without food and clothes. A person
who practices the dharma doesn't need to
be very poor or go through all the hardships
Milarepa did to practice dharma. The Buddha
taught that we must not fall into the physical
extremes of indulgence or austerity and
also not fall into any extreme beliefs in
existence or nonexistence. The first physical
extreme is to indulge in every one of our
desires. If we follow all of our desires,
then we will, of course, never have any
time to practice. Besides this, whatever
material pleasures we obtain, we'll always
want more. There is absolutely no end to
desire or indulgence with physical pleasures.
We begin feeling we just want a little bit
and then we'll feel we need still more than
this. Then we want a hundred times more
of this, then a thousand and so on. It's
a constant process of escalation of desire,
so even if we were to own the whole world
we would still not feel satisfied. That
is the nature of how desire works in our
mind. So when the Buddha said, "Do not fall
into the extreme of overindulgence," he
meant we have to learn how to be content
with what we have.
The other physical extreme is to engage
in an excess of austerities. Dharma doesn't
mean we put our body, speech and mind through
tremendous hardships just for the sake of
it. Dharma is engaging in practices to realize
our true nature, not torturing ourself.
So the true practice of dharma is to be
found in the middle way of avoiding both
of these excesses.
THE ROLE OF GAMPOPA
The spiritual biography of Gampopa is a
very good example of avoiding the extremes
in practice and of showing how we should
correctly practice.
Gampopa wasn't just an ordinary person who
became famous. Rather he gave us the root
of all the Kagyu lineage of the four greater
and the eight lesser schools of the Kagyu
transmission. The Buddha in several sutras
had predicted Gampopa's spiritual accomplishments.
In the sutra called the White Lotus of Compassion
(Tib. Nyingje Pemakarpo) the Buddha made
a prediction about Gampopa and said that
some time after his passing away there would
appear a monk who would also be a doctor.
This person he said would live in a place
in the north, near the bank of the Rohita
River, and that this person had served and
received teachings from many Buddhas in
the past. He went on to say that this person
had also spent a lot of time practicing
the Mahayana teachings and would be able
to benefit a great number of beings and
spread the teachings of the Mahayana. The
name "Rohita" is the Indian name for "Red
River." Most rivers in India are full of
water only during the monsoon season and
the rest of the time they are more or less
the color of the stones over which they
flow, most of them being bluish or whitish,
so a red river is quite rare. Gampopa established
his seat near a river that was red and he
was both a physician and a monk.
GAMPOPA'S EARLY YEARS
Gampopa was born in the year 1079 C.E. The
first thirty-two years of his life were
spent living as an ordinary person. He married
before the age of twenty and became a householder.
Gampopa trained as a medical doctor, helping
people during these years through the practice
of medicine. When he was thirty-two his
wife and child died. Not being able to save
his wife and child, he felt tremendous dissatisfaction
with the world. As a result, he became a
monk and embraced a spiritual life. While
ordained, Gampopa received the teachings
of the "Stream of Instructions" of the Kadampa
tradition and later he received Mahamudra
instructions from the great Buddhist saint
Milarepa. Gampopa was to unite these Kadampa
teachings with the Mahamudra teachings that
he received. Gampopa took these instructions,
practiced them and developed such good qualities
in meditation so that, for instance, when
he sat down to meditate he was able to stay
within the same meditation without moving
for thirteen days. He also experienced tremendous
happiness, contentment and bliss, so much
so that he became less interested in any
of the ordinary pleasures and experiences
of life. Also it is said that his bodhichitta,
his pure wish to help all beings reach enlightenment,
was extremely powerful and became very firm.
HOW GAMPOPA DEVELOPED THE
MAHAYANA POTENTIAL
The first part of this spiritual biography
explains how the Mahayana potential awakened
in Gampopa. It began one day when Gampopa
arose from his meditation and went for a
walk. While walking he met three beggars
who were talking among themselves. Gampopa
overheard what they were saying because
it was through his guru's compassion that
this particular scene would act to inspire
him to practice dharma very intensely. The
first beggar was saying, "We are not very
fortunate people because if we were fortunate
we would have patrons sponsoring us and
then every day someone would bring us food.
It would be so nice to be fed every day."
But the other beggar said, "Don't make such
a wish. It's not worth it. You should wish
for something better, such as becoming a
really important man. Then you can do what
you want and people will have to bow to
your wishes. This is the best thing to wish
for." The third beggar said, "No, your wish
is also too narrow-minded. You need something
even better than that, because even if you
are very powerful, one day you are going
to have to die. I think the best wish is
to wish to be like Milarepa because he doesn't
need any clothes or food. The dakinis feed
him and he can fly in the sky. Nothing makes
any difference to him, not even whether
he is born or whether he dies. We should
make a wish to be like him." As that last
beggar was speaking one could tell that
he was moved by faith because he had tears
coming down from his eyes and he had folded
his hands at his heart in the gesture of
prayer.
As soon as Gampopa overheard the name of
Milarepa, he was really shaken by an overwhelming
feeling of very strong faith and devotion.
He immediately rushed up to the beggars
and asked them about what he'd just heard.
They told him everything they knew about
Milarepa and how he lives in the mountains
of Drin and Nyenam. As soon as Gampopa heard
this, he felt a very, very strong urge to
go and meet Milarepa.
That same evening Gampopa was sitting in
prayer and meditation and after a while
he fell asleep and had a dream. In his dream
he was blowing one of the very long Tibetan
trumpets and this made a very, very loud
sound that could be heard in the entire
world. He dreamt that he was in the sky
beating a drum very loudly, and that sound
was so loud that all the wild animals ran
towards him. Then a girl appeared and said,
"Now that you played the drum and all the
wild animals have come, you must give them
all a cup of milk." Gampopa had a cup of
milk that the girl had given him replied,
"I can't give it to everybody because there
won't be enough." And the girl answered,
"Well, drink some first and then there will
be enough. They will all receive some."
After having had this dream, Gampopa left
in search of Milarepa who was at that time
staying in a place called Tashi Gang. When
Gampopa arrived he made an offering of gold
and blocks of tea to Milarepa. But Milarepa
said, "I'm an old man who doesn't need your
gold. It's better that you keep it to sustain
yourself during your practice. What is your
name?" And Gampopa answered, "Sonam Rinchen."
Then Milarepa thought, "This must be the
man who was spoken of in the predictions.
His first name Sonam means "merit" or "virtue"
and indicates that he has gathered all the
accumulations. His second name, Rinchen
means "very precious," and this means that
he is extremely precious for all beings.
Milarepa had a cup full of chang, which
is Tibetan beer, and he gave it to Gampopa
to drink. Gampopa, of course, was very embarrassed
because there were many other people there
watching and he was a monk who is not supposed
to drink alcohol. Then Milarepa said, "Don't
think so much, just drink," so Gampopa then
drank the whole cup. The drinking of the
whole cup was a very good sign, indicating
that in the future Gampopa would be capable
of receiving the complete transmissions
of all the instructions.
To awaken Gampopa's faith, Milarepa sang
a spiritual song, which went:
"I prostrate to the lord gurus.
In the east is the white snow lioness.
Although her milk is definitely nourishing,
Only Indra can drink it.
In the south is the colorful tiger.
Although it is definitely said his physical
prowess is great,
Only Dombi Heruka can ride him.
In the west is the divine palace of Tushita.
Although it is said to be a great sight,
Only the noble Asanga can see it.
In the north is the gall bladder of the
white fish.
Although it is definitely said to be bitter
in taste,
Only the queen of the nagas, Tsugna Rinchen,
can eat it.
The path of Naropa's transmission is profound.
Although it is definitely a short path,
Only Lord Marpa the Translator has travelled
it.
Although the stainless hearing lineage of
Marpa
Definitely gives rise to experience and
realization,
Only I, Milarepa practice it.
These few words of Milarepa's experience,
Although they are definitely to the point,
I will only teach them to you, the monk
from U.
Gold and this old man do not agree.
There is no stove to brew the tea.
My son, if you want to practice the divine
dharma
wholeheartedly,
Do not seek enjoyment for this life; think
of the next one.
If you wish to hold the lineage seat of
the Kagyu,
Do not enjoy words, look to their meaning.
You, the bhikshu, keep this in mind."
When Milarepa finished his song of welcome,
Gampopa said, "As is said, 'One could offer
a mountain heap of jewels to the Buddhas
of the three times, but there is greater
merit in making offering to one hair of
the guru.' Is there a way of accumulating
merit profounder than that?" Milarepa replied,
"There is." Gampopa then requested to be
instructed in it. Milarepa responded, "If
you practice the oral instructions given
by the guru without wasting them, that is
it." Then Gampopa asked Milarepa:
"Are there any instructions that make it
possible to accomplish enlightenment in
one lifetime? I have heard before from a
Kadampa teacher that there were such instructions.
But when I asked another teacher, he said
that this was just a way of speaking and
that there isn't a way of accomplishing
enlightenment in one lifetime. He said that
this meant that all that one can achieve
is to meet one's yidam face to face through
practice of the yidam meditation. But otherwise
one can't expect to accomplish enlightenment
in one lifetime. So what's the truth about
it?"
Milarepa answered:
"What you were told about this possibility
of accomplishing enlightenment in one lifetime
isn't just a way of speaking, it is the
truth. If there is a lama who is really
qualified and a disciple who is truly mature
and ready, then it is possible to accomplish
enlightenment in one lifetime. You can accomplish
this if you receive the empowerment in the
mandala of the yidam, and then you practice
both the creation stage and the completion
stage of that meditation properly. "
Following this, Milarepa gave some advice
to Gampopa:
"If you really want to practice the instructions
for accomplishing enlightenment in one lifetime
then you shouldn't spend your time with
people who just talk about it. You shouldn't
listen to them or follow what they do. Instead,
you should associate with people who spend
their time in meditation and listen to them.
And now you should set your mind on what
I have said. You should take what I have
said as true and follow it. But do not follow
people who try to delude you with the eight
worldly concerns. Some will try to do this,
so just stick to what I have told you.
When you practice the path, there is always
the danger of making mistakes and going
the wrong way. There are four main mistakes
that you may make when meditating on emptiness:
the mistake of attaching emptiness as a
label, the mistake in regard to emptiness
as the nature of the knowable, the mistake
of regarding emptiness as a remedy and the
mistake of attachment to emptiness.
The first mistake in mediating on emptiness
is to deny that everything actually appears
on the relative level because on the ultimate
level it is empty. The second mistake is
to think, 'Well, samsara and nirvana are
both empty, so it doesn't make any difference
what we actually do.' The third mistake
is to treat emptiness as a remedy for negative
thoughts. So when we develop negative thoughts
instead of examining them or dealing with
them, we just think, 'Oh, they're just empty.'
The fourth mistake is to think, 'Well, everything
is empty, so whether I meditate or not makes
no difference.' It is just thinking that
since everything is empty, then you don't
need to meditate. If any of these four mistakes
are present, then you're not really doing
the proper emptiness meditation. Nevertheless,
for beginners they are beneficial for renouncing
fixation.
In general, if you do not fully resolve
your mind to its depths, even if you temporarily
experience bliss, luminosity and non-thought,
you will not transcend the three worlds.
These are known as temporary experiences
because they do not resolve the mind to
its depths. We should be introduced to true
emptiness meditation by a qualified lama,
because he or she will introduce us to the
true essence of the mind and then the meditation
will proceed properly.
Meditation is allowing the mind to rest
within its own state, a state that is not
modified, the actual nature of the mind."
At this point Milarepa sang a spiritual
song in which he described the true nature
of the mind:
"Look at your authentic mind; this is the
true view. If you seek a view other than
mind, It is like a rich person searching
for wealth, O physician monk.
Do not clear away the faults of drowsiness
and discursiveness; this is true meditation.
If you clear away the faults of drowsiness
and discursiveness in meditation, It is
like holding up a lamp in daytime, O physician
monk.
Do not alternate acceptance and rejection;
this is true action. If you alternate accepting
and rejecting in action, It is like a bee
trapped in a web, O physician monk.
Rest in the confidence of the view; this
is true samaya. If you seek elsewhere, there
is no samaya to keep. It is like trying
to reverse the flow of a river, O physician
monk.
Arouse confidence in your mind; this is
true fruition. If you seek elsewhere, there
is no fruition to attain. It is like a frog
trying to leap into the sky, O physician
monk.
Inquire into your mind; this is the true
guru. If you seek for a guru other than
your mind, It is like trying to give up
your mind, O physician monk. Therefore,
all appearances are of the mind, O physician
monk."
Milarepa explains that there are four different
ways to relate to the nature of the mind.
The first is in terms of the view, the second
in terms of the meditation, the third in
terms of the practice and the fourth in
terms of the accomplishment.
In terms of the view, the view is mind itself
and we cannot find any other view than the
mind. There is no view outside of the mind
or different from the mind, any other view
is a mistake. There is a story of the man
Je who had a jewel embedded in his forehead.
One day when he became tired a flap of skin
covered it. Unable to see the jewel he then
went searching everywhere for it. Similarly,
if we are looking for the true view somewhere
other than in the mind itself, we won't
find it because there is nothing there to
find. So, to look outside the mind will
not work.
In terms of meditation, when we meditate
our mind can become either too active or
too passive. When it is too active we are
flooded with thoughts and when it is too
passive we fall into a state of torpor or
drowsiness. When these conditions arise
we mustn't try to eliminate them, instead
we must treat these defects as being of
the true nature of the mind: we just rest
the mind within the understanding that within
the nature of mind these faults are empty
and without true existence. But if we were
to try to eliminate these faults by thinking
of them in terms of things to be removed,
then it would be like lighting a lamp during
the daytime, it's completely useless.
In terms of behavior, the advice is similar
to that given in meditation. We mustn't
think in terms of doing this and not doing
that, or in terms of doing a good thing
and abandoning a bad thing, or that in our
meditation some things are good and some
are bad. If we do this then we are like
a bee that has been caught in a very fine
web: the more we fight and try to get out
of it the more we get caught in it. Instead
we need to completely relax and dwell very
naturally within the true nature of the
mind.
In terms of accomplishment, the result of
practice comes from within the actual nature
of the mind. The result isn't something
that comes from outside us or due to something
external to us; there is not something to
be found outside of our mind. If we think
that there is something external to be achieved,
then it is like a frog jumping into the
sky. The frog will obviously have to fall
back down and so doesn't have anything to
gain through jumping up in the air.
QUESTIONS
Question: Rinpoche, could
you please talk about how individuals experience
the emptiness. What do they experience in
their meditation, what are the signs of
emptiness that arise.
Rinpoche: There are two
ways of approaching emptiness in meditation.
One way is in the sutra tradition and the
other is the tantra tradition. According
to the sutra tradition, the logical study
of emptiness is a tool. We carefully study
the teachings of emptiness to gradually
understand the emptiness of phenomena. We
can't immediately understand that all things
are empty, so we have to learn the various
reasons why things are empty and develop
a sense of confidence in the fact that things
are really empty. We then use this confidence
as the basis of our meditation, and as we
meditate more and more, this confidence
becomes clearer and clearer up to the point
where we are ready to actually understand
the emptiness of phenomena. So, the sutra
way of meditating on emptiness leads us
to the realization of the first bodhisattva
level. At this level all disturbing emotions
are dispelled and we also develop miraculous
powers and we then have the pure type of
consciousness that understands the ultimate
nature of phenomena.
The way emptiness in meditation is approached
in the tantra or Vajrayana tradition is
that we don't investigate the idea of emptiness
but meditate directly on the nature of the
mind. This is because in the Vajrayana emptiness
is not considered a notion that we have
to learn about and convince ourself of.
Emptiness is simply the very nature of the
mind. So we can understand emptiness by
looking at the mind itself.
© Namo Buddha & Zhyisil Chokyi
Ghatsal Publications.
Excerpts from "The Songs and Stories of
Lord Gampopa" are taken from The Rain of
Wisdom, translated by the Nalanda Translation
Committee under the direction of Chogyam
Trungpa, copyright 1980 by Chogyam Trungpa.
Reprinted by special arrangement with Shambhala
Publications, Inc., and the Nālandā Translation
Committee.
