Jigten Sumgön felt that there was no contradiction between a yogi’s practice and Vinaya ordination, and he actually combined both in his vision of the Kusāli-Yogi-Monk. The basis for this ‘lifestyle’ can be found in the teachings of Milarepa, Gampopa, Phagmodrupa, and Jigten Sumgon. The Kusāli-Yogi-Monk ideal is summarized in the Single Intention (6.13), which says: “That mahāmudrā and disciplined conduct (śīla) are one is an unsurpassed special teaching of Jigten Sumgön.”
In my lecture at the IABS in Leipzig, I talked about the way the Kusāli-Yogis differentiated themselves from the learned paṇḍitas, how they ‘cut off the root from within,’ and how the Kusāli-Yogi-Monk is a culmination of Jigten Sumgön’s Mahāmudrā and Vinaya teachings:
Dear friends, below you find a video with excerpts from 60 hours of Khenchen Nyima’s teaching on the Gongchik and Thegnying. This phantastic project will provide ca. 180 videos with step-by-step teachings on these two most important texts of the Drikung Kagyupa tradition in Tibetan, English, and German. This is going to be a lot of work and will take two translators and a video and audio team many months to complete it.
I therefore very sincerely request you to consider to help us with donations. Each donation will be mentioned in the final videos.
This is going to be the most important project for some time and we hope to provide in the end all videos for free all over the world, including in Tibet.
In my current research of Buddhist metaphors used in Gampopa’s instructions, I found the following beautiful passage:
“Clear light” is one’s own mind, thus, the nature of the mind is uncontrived. The nature of the mind does not make anything clear or unclear, virtuous or nonvirtuous, realized or nonrealized. Since it is not made into anything, such as mindfulness and awareness, it is “innate.” The nature of the mind is emptiness. The nature of the mind is clear light. The nature of the mind is free from thoughts. It is “ordinary consciousness.”
However, would [mind] not become “neutral” [since] it is said: “The nature of mind is not made into anything virtuous or unvirtuous, so it is neutral”? If one recognizes it as what it is, it is clear light!
“Uncontrived” is “ordinary mind.” If it is made virtuous or nonvirtuous, clear or unclear, it is contrived (bcos ma)! It would be the mind-made emptiness of all the sūtra-tenets that teaches “neither one nor many!” If, [instead], you understand the nature of mind as this innateness, all the externally apprehended objects would be self-liberated.
If, knowing appearances to be mind and resting the mind in an uncontrived state, one applies a conventional label to that, since it is clear and undistracted, it would be “like a butter lamp;” since there is nothing to identify, it would be “like true reality space;” since it is pure and clear, it would be “like a stainless mirror;” since it is without interruption, it is “like a river.” If, having realized in that manner appearances to be mind, one has realized that innate mind, it arises “like a dream” “like an illusion,” and so forth. If one has realized that, one has planted in one’s mind stream the uncontaminated seed.
(End of translation.)
* * *
Gampopa explains “clear light” here as an uncontrived, unconstrained, i.e. spontaneous and natural mind (ma bcos), and in addition as “innate” (gnyug ma), i.e., in no way “made” or “constructed,” and furthermore he glosses it as “emptiness,” “freedom of thought,” and “ordinary consciousness.”
Clear light is thus here a metaphor for the ordinary, innate, and in every respect “not made” (i.e., artificially constructed) mind. He also nicely and prominently says: gsal bar mi byed, which one would almost like to translate here as “not illuminating anything,” which is to say that the term light is here cleary not refering to a light that shines upon anything. If “clear light” would carry such an ordinary idea of light, it would, of course, not be a metaphor. Instead, Gampopa clearly reads “clear light” as a metaphorical expression for the spontaneous-natural and ordinary mind. Since that “ordinary mind” does not create the idea of anthing being virtuous or nonvirtuous, some people call it “neutral,” but what it really is is “clear light!”
Then Gampopa goes on to talk more about the term “uncontrived.” As above, it is spontaneous and natural, and thus “ordinary mind,” i.e., a mind that is left just as it is, without “making” it virtuous or clear. If one would do something like that with the mind (i.e., make it virtuous), that activity would be like the activity of the scholars of the sūtra-system, who analyze everything as being “neither one nor many,” which refers to the different intellectual ways through which scholars analyze external objects as having no real existence. But that is not the mahāmudrā way! In mahāmudrā, the nature of the mind is directly realized as that innate ordinary mind. If the nature of the mind is directly realized like that, all external objects are automatically self-liberated. In other passages of his works, this is identified as Milarepa’s way of “cutting the root.”
In a further step, he applies some conventional labels to that. These illustrations of the innate nature of the mind as being clear and undistracted “like a butter lamp” and so forth are often used in mahāmudrā instructions. In any case, like it is said above, if one has directly realized the nature of the mind, one automatically realizes that all appearances are only the mind, and thereby whatever arizes is seen as arising “like a dream” or “like an illusion.”
In the short text I present in translation below, Jigten Sumgön teaches the Fivefold Path of Mahamudra with the Yidam Avalokiteshvara. Usually, the yidam of the Fivefold Path is Cakrasamavara, but this is only so because Cakrasamvara is the main yidam of the Kagyüpas. Other yidams like Vajrayogini or Tara are also possible. In the text below, Jigten Sumgön says: “If you don’t have a yidam for this practice, take mine, namely Avalokiteshvara.” Khenchen Nyima Gyaltsen explains that the people of the Himalaya area naturally have the yidam Avalokiteshvara. — Of course, we immediately asked him what the natural yidam of Europeans is. After some deliberation, we decided on Maria / Tara ; )
At one point in the text, when Jigten Sumgön teaches the true nature , he says: “When [in that state] the mind is distracted by high and low thoughts, no matter whether you are going, standing, or lying somewhere, by transforming your conduct and practicing, the uninterrupted spiritual practice will become the essence of non-thought in the nature of spontaneous accomplishment.” Here, Khenchen explains that when you are, for example, sitting, and a high or low thought arises, you should “change your conduct,” i.e., get up and than continue to practice as explained in the text. In other words, whatever you do at the moment when you watch your mind — going, standing, lying, etc. — when high or low thoughts arise, you immediately change to another kind of conduct and continue your practice.
Here is the translation:
The Essence of the Practice of Sutra and Mantra: A Concise Guide to the Five-Part Mahāmudrā (vol. 3, p. 211)
I prostrate to noble holy gurus.
In general, since the definite cause for attaining perfect buddhahood is the resolve for awakening, at all times and in all ways, at the time when you produce the root of virtue that is [like] a vast wave, at the time of whichever practice you are nourishing, at the beginning of the practice session, make the following commitment to the generation of the resolve for awakening:
“May all sentient beings, my mothers, who are equal to space, be happy and free from suffering, and may they attain the precious state of unexcelled, perfect, and complete awakening. For that purpose, until I attain enlightenment, I will bind my body, speech, and mind to virtue. Until I die, I will bind my body, speech, and mind to virtue. Until the same time tomorrow, I will bind my body, speech, and mind to virtue.”
Having formed the motivation by thinking in that way, practice your body as the yidam deity. If you have no yidam, practice my yidam deity, the Lord of Great Compassion, the excellent Avalokiteśvara.
Practice the excellent guru in your heart. At the time of death, it is said that you practice him on the crown of your head.
Then look at your unrestricted clear self-awareness. Since it is said: “When you look, you see nothing at all; that is seeing true reality,” rest in that state without thinking anything. When [in that state] the mind is distracted by high and low thoughts, no matter whether you are going, standing, or lying somewhere, by transforming your conduct and practicing, the uninterrupted spiritual practice will become the essence of non-thought in the nature of spontaneous accomplishment. Therefore, maintain [that state] uninterruptedly!
Having created the roots of virtue or having entered meditative equipoise, call to mind from time to time the roots of virtue that are accumulated by yourself and others in the three times and the roots of existent virtue:
“May through the roots of virtue that are accumulated by myself and others in the three times and the roots of existent virtue I and all sentient beings quickly attain the precious unsurpassable and perfect awakening.”
Dedicate the roots of virtue!
In this way, practice continuously and maintain the precious vows of the fasting retreat. Of the four roots, it is most important to keep the vows of a layperson. In that sense, the Blessed One said, “Those who do not keep even one rule are not in my retinue.” Since that has been taught, knowing that all activities are meaningless if they are not done within the retinue of the teacher, you should strive to observe disciplined conduct! [The teaching] is complete.
Translated for Shenyen by Jan-Ulrich Sobisch at the Milarepa Retreat Center, Schneverdingen, Germany, on the 24th of May, 2024.
Here is the Tibetan text of Jigten Sumgön’s Works (pecha form), vol. 3, p. 211:
Khenchen Nyima was born in 1976 in Tibet and entered at the age of eleven at Lho Lungkar (Kham) the monastery Ogmin Thubten Shedrub Ling, where he underwent traditional studies for six years. In 1994, he left Tibet and studied for ten years at different Tibetan Buddhist institutions in India. At the beginning of 2002, he was authorized to teach at the Kagyu College at Jangchub Ling (Dehradun, India) and in 2004 he was enthroned as a Khenpo (teaching professor) of that College. In 2013, he became the Head Khenpo of all Drikung monasteries in exile.
Khenchen Nyima Gyaltsen
The interview with Khenchen Nyima took place at the beginning of August 2016, at the Milarepa Retreat Centre, Schneverdingen (Germany), where he led a study program for translators. As an opener, we first discussed a brief passage from the colophon of a Tibetan text. In this autobiographical passage, the Tibetan historian and Tantric master Amé zhab reports the following incident:
When I had reached my nineteenth year, on the third day of the second month of the hare year (1615), (…) I saw again and again in my dream clearly [Mahākāla] Gurgi Gonpo with eight deities in the midst of rainbows, clouds and masses of flames on top of the Eastern Mountain of Sakya. [Upon reporting this to his teacher Müchen Sangyé Rinchen, the guru said]: “This is not a positive sign since it is a confused appearance of the mind, and the mind is beyond expression since it is unborn. It is also not a negative sign. If we decide that it is a pure vision purifying a few veils of the mind, it is [all right to leave it] like that.”
Question: What is the difference between Amé zhab’s dream sign and a sign occurring through a divination ritual? If we compare the two, could the sign appearing through the Achi Mo not also be a confused appearance of the mind?
Khenchen Nyima: Yes, because here [pointing to the Tibetan text passage translated above] it says regarding Amé zhab’s dream that he saw the appearance of Lord Mahākāla. He asked his guru about it, and the teacher said that it was not particularly good or bad. So, when we think of someone who is an authentic religious practitioner, it is said that there is no talk about good or bad. However, in mundane terms, if gurus, tutelary deities, protectors, and so forth, appear in someone’s dream, then it is considered a good sign. That is the way of the world. Now, concerning these words of the guru who said that it is neither good nor bad—if we think in terms of someone who is an authentic religious practitioner, then it is said that he should not make any particular divisions of good and bad. [Therefore, this dream vision] is not a particularly good sign. Since [the dream] is a mental illusion, all sorts of things might appear—sometimes it might occur to us to be good, sometimes it might occur to be bad. On the other hand, however, it is [in a religious sense] also not [only] bad.When one is practicing religion, gradually the veils [of illusion] will be purified bit by bit, and different pure appearances will occur. [The main thing is] that [as a religious practitioner] one should not keep hopes and fears about [such things] being specifically good or bad.
In general, Jetsün Milarepa said a lot of similar things to Dagpo Rinpoche (Gampopa). Sometimes when Dagpo Rinpoche meditated, appearances of the buddhas occurred [to his mind]. “Now I am probably quite good because I see the buddhas,” he said to Jetsün Mila. However, Mila replied: “Oh, that is nothing particularly good or bad! Because of the different movements of the wind energy (Tib. rlung) in your [inner] channels (Tib. rtsa), you see such different appearances. Do not keep any hopes or fears about those!” So when the great Müchen talked in that way to Amé zhab, he was probably talking within a similar context. When we speak of someone who is an authentic religious practitioner, he should not have hopes and fears, and so there is no good or bad [in that sense]. This is what he seems to be saying.
Someone who has a very firm faith in Achi, a lama, performs the divination with the purpose of benefiting the people. [When he does that], he temporarily accomplishes the objectives of other sentient beings. [Ultimately], he works to accomplish the activities of awakening for the sake of others. When one performs the divination, one supplicates Achi. One thinks she can cause anything to happen through her activities of awakening. [That means] to make divination with faith. In the divination, sometimes good and sometimes bad [signs] occur. They occur from supplicating Achi. It is like when we do an exam: the results come from [our efforts]. That is the difference between the dream appearances in the case of Amé zhab and the good and bad [signs] in the case of divination [which occur through supplication].
Question: In the case of the signs that appear to the lama who performs the divination, if they are not the confused appearances of his mind, how are they the activities of the awakening of Achi?
Khenchen Nyima: When we talk about performing divinations, an accomplished yogi does not need any divination, right? [He does not need to know]: “Does it look like I will get sick? Will I die? How might this turn out for me?” An authentic religious practitioner does not need such divinations. Jetsün Milarepa, for instance, did not ask other people for divination. [He did not ask]: “Will it be good if I go to Lapchi [mountain]? Will it be good if I go to Mount Kailash?” Also, he did not perform divinations himself.
Achi Chökyi Dölma Mandala
For which purpose does one do divination? If, for instance, an ordinary person plans some undertaking or loses a valuable thing, or he or his parents or relatives are sick—which method can be applied to help in such a situation? He is perplexed. He does not know where to search [for the lost item], or whether it would be appropriate to change the doctor or the medicine. He has carried out many undertakings in the past that may not have been completed, and he still has more plans for the future, but does not know what their prospects are—what does such a mundane person need? He needs to ask the lama, right? He needs someone to perform a divination.
Regarding the person who performs the divination, if it is someone clairvoyant, he can probably say it directly [and does not even need to perform divination]. If that person is not clairvoyant, he needs to supplicate a deity, like Achi or Palden Lhamo. He directs the question to the deity and asks: “How will it turn out? What is the best method for him?” The requestor of the divination asks the lama, and the lama performs the divination accordingly. When [the lama] receives the prognosis, he proceeds accordingly. He says: “According to the prognosis, that sick person will probably get cured.” Or: “He probably needs to go to another doctor.” If something has got lost, he might say: “If you search it in the eastern direction, you will probably find it,” all in accordance with the prognosis.
Anyone who performs the divination first has to do the practice [of the sādhana]. For instance, even [an experienced] lama performing the Achi Mo first has to recite a lot of Achi mantras and accomplish Achi completely. Therefore it is said here [in the sādhana] that one has to practice until the signs occur. That means, for instance, that through the practice of this Achi sādhana you receive dreams where you see her face. It is not as in the case mentioned before, where a good dream [is seen as neither good or bad] in the practice of a Mahāmudrā yogi. Here, when one achieves a sign through the practice of Achi, you see the sign as a valid proof of [success in] the practice of Achi. When one is convinced that it is like that, one proceeds by performing the divination.
If we analyze properly, this kind of sign is an appearance of the yogi’s mind. In general, there are many types of appearances of the mind: Confused appearances, karmic appearances, conditioned appearances, the pure appearances of yogis—there are many levels. According to this analysis, the appearance of signs [in the practice of Achi] can be [understood as] appearances of a yogi who has purified his karma. As the great Müchen said above: [The appearance of Mahākāla in a dream] is also not bad because it is a pure appearance arising due to a slight purification of mental veils. Müchen did define it like that, right?
Thus, when someone wants to perform the divination, he [first] practices the Achi [sādhana], and when signs occur in his dream, he must form the clear determination: “Having practiced Achi, this is a sign and valid proof of that practice.” Moreover, when such appearances get progressively more sublime, we can apply an explanation in terms of the view of Mahāmudrā, namely [that such signs are] still slightly confused appearances. There are many levels of confused appearances. If we take water as an example, when hell-beings look at water it appears [to them] as something like burning lava, hungry ghost perceive it as mucus, human beings see it as water, but yogis [with pure perception] see it as the nature of the goddesses. When the minds of the beings get progressively purified, the appearances change in accordance to [the level of] the purification. Similarly, when someone practices Achi, and the sign and valid proof of the practice occurs, generally, those are appearances that are still slightly confused, but these are not like our usual confused appearances. When one performs divination while having confidence concerning these [purified, but still slightly confused] appearances, one can temporarily accomplish the purposes of oneself and others. On the basis of that, it is possible to help. [The divination] can temporarily clear away the problems for those who make an inquiry. Based on that [the lama who makes the divination] can also benefit other persons by bringing them onto the path of religion.
Question: Is that what is called “the awakened activity of Achi?”
Khenchen Nyima: Yes, that is what is called Achi’s awakened activities. When we speak of “activities of awakening,” these consist not only in bringing all sentient beings to Buddhahood. Generally, Buddha activity is to bring sentient beings to Buddhahood. Persons with Śrāvaka potential are brought to the level of the Śrāvakas, those with Pratyekabuddha potential to the level of the Pratyekabuddhas, and those of the lower realms to the higher realms. The suffering of those who have great suffering is pacified, and the illnesses of the ill is cured. In brief, the activities of awakening accomplish temporary and ultimate benefit and happiness for sentient beings. All these activities [with temporary and ultimate results] are called Buddha activities. Accordingly, the performance of the Achi divination can accomplish many temporary purposes of others [and thereby lead them to the ultimate path].
If you are a beginner on the path, you might wonder: “Which place would be good for a retreat? Would it be appropriate to go for a retreat to the Lapchi Mountain? Alternatively, is it better to stay here for a retreat in Germany?” A person without a high realization needs to know for a retreat whether particular problems may occur at that place, for example regarding food. In that case, one can turn to the Achi Mo, which has [for each prognosis] a section called “outlook concerning the religious activities.” This section provides a prognosis about how religious activities will turn out. The prognosis may be that it will turn out very well, or that there will be problems, like getting sick. In that way, the diviner can perform the Achi Mo for the sake of beginners concerning religious activities.
Most other sections concern worldly issues: Will a sickness be cured? Will travelers return? Will I have a son? Will I get pregnant? Will my business go well? Such divinations are necessary since worldly people have those kinds of problems. Religion is also meant to clear away the problems of worldly people, right? Moreover, the text offers many practical methods to clear away problems. Sometimes it is recommended to request certain religious activities [to be performed], sometimes problems need to be cleared away by [ritual practices such as] beating drums and making tormas, and sometimes there is the advice to consult a different doctor regarding an illness. In that way, the problems of others are cleared away. These are Achi’s awakened activities that are in accordance with religion.
Question: How does the divination relate to the “supramundane” level?
Khenchen Nyima: It is not appropriate to ask for divinations directly concerning supramundane matters, like asking whether one will reach the first bodhisattva bhūmi [in this lifetime] or not, or whether one will achieve Buddhahood, and so forth. However, according to Jigten Sumgön, there is an indirect relation to the supramundane path. He says in the Single Intention (2.11) “the sixteen pure codes of human beings, and so forth, and the divine codes have the same vital point.” When he says, “pure codes of human beings,” that refers to the conduct in the society of human beings; it is about being a good person, and so forth. Other scholars hold that the “pure codes of human beings” are a mundane religious practice, which is different from the “divine codes” because one has to give up saṃsāra to practice them. Jigten Sumgön, however, maintains that it is not like that. He teaches that the human codes and the divine codes have the same vital point.4 Based on the practical methods of this divination manual, the pure codes of human beings will become authentic, and that will benefit the divine [supramundane] religious activities. Temporarily, in the mundane world, we need things like long life, freedom from illnesses, and material enjoyments. The divination helps to create conditions conducive to those needs. In this way, the divination manual is a means to make the supramundane path arise authentically in the mind-streams [of people].
The Tibetan Text of the Achi Mo
Question: How can the Mo-practice be described in terms of “conventional” and “ultimate” truth?
Khenchen Nyima: When we speak in terms of the conventional and the ultimate, the performance of divination is a conventional practice. Generally, in the ultimate truth, there is no performer and no receiver of the divination. In the ultimate truth, there are no things like a mālā [or dice, and so forth] to perform the divination. In the context of the conventional truth of ordinary beings, however, we have categories like “performer” and “receiver” of the divination. These exist as separate categories, and based on the appearance of these persons and things we perform the activity of divination. Therefore, generally, divination is conventional reality, it has a provisional meaning. When we speak of provisional meaning, it means that the divination helps to prevent problems and troubles and guides one unto a convenient path. Thus, the prognoses offered by the divination provide guidance that helps to avoid unfavorable conditions and paths and achieve favorable conditions and paths.
The Achi Mo [is done with dice] showing three to eighteen dots, [i.e., sixteen possible results]. [Each of the sixteen sections starts with] an explanation about how your religious [activity] might turn out. It is an explanation about how it might turn out when you are really practicing the essence of the Buddha’s doctrine, the Dharma. You find this explanation at the beginning of each of the sixteen sections. It is regarded as the most important [part of] the divination. Below that, there follow [the explanations for] the mundane issues.
Actually, Achi’s main awakened activity is concerning the supramundane [path]. Therefore [in many sādhana’s of Achi] it says:
You combine the power over the three spheres of existence, you protect all beings,
and you guard the teachings of a thousand buddhas.
You accomplish the wishes of beings in accordance with the Dharma—
I pay homage to the wish-fulfilling Achi!
When it says, “protecting all beings,” that includes the Achi Mo. It refers to helping the beings. When one determines a person’s positive or negative prognosis based on the Achi divination, one accomplishes her awakened activity concerning the mundane level. However, if one asks what Achi’s main awakened activity is, then it is bringing all sentient beings to Buddhahood. It is guiding the beings [and fulfilling] their wishes in accordance with the Dharma.
Yet, to guide the beings to the path of Dharma, first one has to proceed based on the practical methods of the mundane path. Therefore, the Indian master Ācārya Bhāvaviveka says:
Wanting to climb to the top
of the great mansion of absolute truth
without the ladder of pure relative truth
is not suitable for a learned one.
Based on the authentic, mundane, conventional practices, one climbs to the top of the great mansion of the ultimate. The conventional is like a ladder. Therefore, the divination is like that ladder that is the conventional reality, a Dharma of provisional meaning. However, based on that, it leads into the path through which Achi can bring all sentient beings to Buddhahood. Therefore, Achi’s main awakened activity concerns the supramundane path; but to accomplish that path, one must first practice the mundane practical methods. That is the reason why the Achi divination has appeared.
Question: Is it possible to ask other questions than those that are making up the various categories of prognosis in the divination manual? Could one inquire through the Mo whether it would be appropriate to start a meditation retreat now or later, and which practice one should emphasize?
Khenchen Nyima: The manual has no specific category for retreats. However, you can include it in the main category that is concerned with the category “outlook concerning the religious activities.” The lama can make two divinations: one concerning the present year, one concerning the next. If the divination concerning this year turns out better, then it is appropriate to start your retreat in this year. In such cases, we have to include the many small activities [in the main categories] like that.
Question: So it is appropriate to ask such questions concerning meditation retreats, and so on?
Khenchen Nyima: Yes, it is appropriate! Usually, as I said before, the advanced yogis do not have to determine [such a question] in that way. They determine it by themselves. Jetsün Mila said that one should not cheat oneself with divinations, astrology and so forth. It is [more] appropriate for an advanced yogi to determine [such questions] by himself. However, if one is a beginner like we are and is unable to determine [things] like that, one proceeds by way of divination. Mainly it is about faith, right? If divination about going to retreat this year turns out well, then, thinking “this year I will not get obstacles,” one proceeds with this thought in one’s mind. In that case, if you go this year, you will not get sick, you will not face problems, and the retreat will be good. However, if the lama says that the divination for this year is not good and one nevertheless enters into a retreat, then one lacks faith in one’s mind. If one thinks that one has to enter the retreat despite the bad prognosis, then one lacks the comfortable feeling in one’s mind. [As a consequence], one probably will face problems. There is a great relation [between occurrences and] the feelings of one’s mind.
Question: There are many types of divination. Some people use dice, some a mālā, others a mirror—what are the main differences between those? Is there a method that is particularly suited for accomplishing the supramundane religious activities?
Khenchen Nyima: As I see it, there are probably no particular differences. Some people use a mālā, some use dice, and then for some people there seems to be the so-called unique accomplishment of mirror-divination of Achi. In the mirror-divination, one looks into a mirror and whatever is going to happen will appear in the mirror. For this [practice] one has to be a particular type of person possessing the so-called mirror-divination-eye. In most cases, people use either dice or a mālā. However, people who have transformed the channels in the body may have the mirror-divination-eye. If we take something like a bird of prey, it has the eye-capacity to see the prey many kilometers away. Likewise, some persons have special abilities in the channels of their eyes. Thereby, having accomplished the mirror-divination like that, some people can determine [issues] by looking into a mirror. Otherwise, however, most people perform divinations using either a mālā or dice, whatever is convenient.
Question: There is no difference?
Khenchen Nyima: There does not seem to be a particular difference between those two. It does not seem to be the case, for instance, that if one uses a mālā, it is for the sake of religious activities and if one uses dice it is for the sake of mundane issues. However, when one is using dice, there is a difference regarding the way the dice-holes are made in dice for playing games and in dice for divination. I do not remember this well or clearly, but if the number one is on this side, some dice have the number six here [on the opposite side]. The dice for divination and the dice for playing seem to be a bit different. However, I do not remember the details.
Question: Is there a difference between Buddhist divination and Bönpo divination?
Khenchen Nyima: There is probably a slight difference, right? Mostly they are quite similar in scope. The divinations that our Buddhist lamas perform and those that the Bön lamas perform … it is hard to say. Long ago, in the very beginning, the Bönpos probably used divination first. In my view it is like this: When the Buddhist lamas saw that the Bönpo lamas used divination, [they decided that] we Buddhists also need divination. By attaching our own deities and protectors to the practice, a Tibetan Buddhist tradition of performing divinations came about. There was probably also a mutual exchange [of the elements of divination]. The most important aspects [of the divination manuals] in both [traditions] are probably very similar. However, in the performance of their [respective] divinations, there are differences concerning the deity practice.
Question: Regarding the lama who performs the divination—what are his specific characteristics? Is it also appropriate when other practitioners perform divinations?
Khenchen Nyima: Concerning the person who performs the divination, we usually say that it is done by a “high lama.” That does not mean that he has a high throne or that someone with a low throne must be a low lama. A “high lama” is one who has the qualities of abandoning [the veils] and accomplishing [the qualities]. The more qualities such a person have accomplished, the better the divination will turn out when he performs it. [As the text says], one has to accomplish [the deity]. Possessing the qualities of abandoning [veils] and accomplishing [qualities], one has accomplished the deity.
Someone who performs the Achi Mo has in the best case the qualities of abandoning and accomplishing. He can directly see Achi’s face; he can directly converse with her—if it is such a lama, he can perform the divination most perfectly. However, it is not always possible like that. Generally, in deity practice, we talk about three ways of accomplishing the deity. The first is the accomplishment of signs, the second the accomplishment of the number, and the third the accomplishment of time. In deity practice, the accomplishment of signs means that one can bring forth all the signs of accomplishing the deity. That is called the “approach of the sign” [i.e., mantra recitation until the signs appear]. The accomplishment of the number means that even if one cannot bring forth all the signs, one accumulates the mantra recitation exactly as it is prescribed, such as 100.000 recitations. That is called the “approach of the number” [i.e., mantra recitation until one accomplishes the prescribed number of recitations]. Accomplishment of the time means that one has accumulated mantra recitations for the required time. Here, for performing the Achi Mo, the minimum requirement is that you have to accomplish the required number of mantras, i.e., you have to do the mantra of the sādhana 100.000 times. That kind of characteristic definitely seems to be necessary.
Khenchen Nyima Gyaltsen 2024 at the Milarepa Retreat Center in Germany
Question: Thus, if he has accomplished that minimum requirement, an ordinary religious practitioner too can perform the divination.
Khenchen Nyima: There are also a lot of people [like that] who practice and perform divinations. Other people, however, out of principle never perform divinations. For instance, if you were to request someone like Jetsün Mila to perform a divination, he would probably scold you. In our Drikung Kagyü tradition, if we requested Drubwang Rinpoche to perform a divination, he would scold us. He said: “We are monks! We are religious practitioners! Just practice religion, and then all issues will be solved! Why should one perform divinations? This so-called divination is for the sake of the mundane laymen and women!” He would never help us with divinations. Other lamas will perform divination out of kindness when a monk or layperson asks him to perform one. It is up to the individual lama, right?
[Khenchen also explains later that the person performing the divination should not just take the outcome literally, but should count on his intuition about the outcome. The best would be to combine the divination with astrology as Lamchen Gyalpo Rinpoche did.]
Question: Are there also monks, yogis, and other lamas requesting a lama to perform divination?
Khenchen Nyima: Yes, the requester could be anyone. It is possible that sometimes one lama might request another one to perform a divination, as one doctor goes to another doctor [when he is sick]. He cannot do an operation on himself! [He laughs]. Likewise, it is possible that a lama, a monk, a layman, a laywoman, an old person, or a young person might ask a lama to make a Mo.
Question: But most people who make an inquiry are lay people?
Khenchen Nyima: Mostly this divination is for the sake of the lay men and women. As I said before, it is mainly a practical method for helping with the problems and troubles of mundane people. There are great problems and troubles for the ordinary people, right? Therefore, one needs to perform divinations for their sake.
Question: Does the lama who performs divination thereby generate income for his monastery?
Khenchen Nyima: There is no specific fee for performing divination. If you give an offering, that is fine, if you do not give an offering, that is also fine. You mainly have to offer your faith. You need to have faith in the one who is performing the divination. You have to offer your faith, and if you offer a gift on top of that, it is fine, if not, it is also fine. The performance of divination is not for the sake of business. If it were, there would have to be an exchange of object and payment, but divination is not like that. Mainly, one needs to have faith in the lama and the divination. Without that, the divination will not benefit you.
It will be just trouble for you. In the monastery, we usually do have divinations, pūjas, group prayers, and so on. However, that is not for the sake of generating income for the monastery. It is mainly for the sake of helping the people. On the other hand, it is a tradition that the people individually make offerings that the monk community is allowed to use. Divinations and pūjas are not specifically for the sake of improving the monastery’s economy; they are mainly for the sake of helping the mundane people. We have a saying: “If you throw a stick upwards and fruits fall down, there is profit.” [He laughs]. If I stand underneath an apple tree and just by chance throw a stick upwards, and if some apples fall down because of that, then I have to eat them. If I throw them away, it is a waste. Likewise, it is often so that divinations are done, and when the divination is done, an offering is made to the lama, and the lama uses the offering for the monastery. That is the general situation, but we do not perform a divination to get money. It is possible that some strange person performs divination for the sake of money.
That is different. The religion taught by the Buddha, the Exalted One, is a method for clearing away the problems of sentient beings. That is what he has taught. However, it happens that some person uses religion as a business for making a living. That is not the problem with the religion; it is a problem with that person. Likewise, it is possible that someone performs divination, thinking “based on performing the divination I will make good money.” I cannot say that there is nobody like that, right? However, from the religious perspective, divination is not for the sake of that.
[The Interview was translated by Solvej Nielsen. The Interview together with an introduction and a translation of the Achi Mo was published in Jan-Ulrich Sobisch, 2019 as “Divining with Achi and Tara: Comparative Remarks on Tibetan Dice and Mālā Divination: Tools, Poetry, Structures, and Ritual Dimensions, Prognostication” in History 1, Leiden: Brill. If you would like to have a copy of my translation of the Achi Mo, drop me a note at jusobisch@gmx.de].
Trophu Lotsāwa Jampé Pel (1173–1225) was the translator of the Indian Mahāpaṇḍita Śākya Śrī Bhadra (~1127–1225) in Tibet and afterwards related the story that Śākya Śrī had received the prophecy from Tārā that Jikten Sumgon was a rebirth of Nagārjuna.
Śākya Śrī said that Tārā was his special deity, and she had told him that Nagārjuna had been reborn in Tibet as Jikten Sumgon. When, at one time, one of the lesser Panḍitas named Vibhūticandra badmouthed Jikten Sumgon, Śākya Śrī was shocked and related that prophecy. He also said that Jikten Sumgon was a Buddha without error and that Vibhūti should go to him, confess, and request his Dharma teachings. Moreover, Tārā told him that Vibhūti should construct a Samvara temple to purify his sin, which he did.
Having been born three decades after Jikten Sumgon, Trophu must have received the Fivefold Mahāmudrā teachings from the Drikungpa or one of his close disciples. However, he traces the teaching back to Gampopa in the present instruction. In fact, the way he introduces mahāmudrā here, especially in 4.2., “Introducing thoughts as clear light,” is very reminiscent of Gampopa’s teachings.
Interestingly, Trophu Lotsāwa presents the branches of deity practice and guru yoga in reverse order, as did later the Drikungpa Trinlé Zangpo, the second Kyabgon Chetsang. in his short manual for daily practice. Trophu did not specify a deity, but in most cases, we find Cakrasaṃvara as the deity of the Fivefold Path.
* * *
Instruction Manual of the Fivefold Mahāmudrā from the Throphu Kagyu
by Throphu Lotsāwa Jampé Pel
I pay homage to the excellent gurus!
The heart essence of the great guru Nāropa, the introduction of the Fivefold Mahāmudrā, has five parts:
1. Cultivating the resolve for supreme awakening
2. Practicing guru-yoga
3. Practicing the pride of the deity
4. Introducing the nature of mind as the Buddha
5. Dedicating the root of virtue to complete awakening
1. Cultivating the resolve for supreme awakening
Practice up to three times with strong love and compassion from the depth of your heart the preliminary resolve for awakening and its actualization.
2. Practicing guru-yoga
During the day, cultivate the notion of your root guru as the Buddha by practicing him clearly visible with the mudrā of equipoise on a seat with the three layers of a lion throne, a lotus, and a moon on the crown of your head. At night, hold this notion in your heart. Pray intensely.
3. Practicing the pride of the deity
Cultivate the pride of your own body, the root mandala that is the deity. Recite the mantra one hundred and eight times.
4. Introducing the nature of mind as the Buddha
The fourth part has two sections:
4.1. Introducing the uncontrived innate state
4.2. Introducing thoughts as clear light
4.1. Introducing the uncontrived innate state
With the dhyāna mudrā, relax the mind by loosening it without modifying it. Rest serenely. Let go completely. ♦ 1 Eliminate the impediments of the four sidetracks♦ 2 and the three traps. ♦ 3 Remove the obstructions through drowsiness, agitation, and mental fabrication.
4.2. Introducing thoughts as clear light
By looking directly at whichever thought arises from that state, that which is nothing to be looked at will be self-liberated. Thereby, that thought that is caused to arise as an appearance conditioned by various objects is called “self-awakening primordial wisdom conditioned by sight and sound.” By looking directly, nothing is found that could be looked at, and that is called “knowing by its own nature the primordial wisdom as primordial wisdom.”
5. Dedicating the root of virtue to complete awakening
All three preliminaries are the accumulation of merit. ♦ 4 The fourth—the actual practice—is the accumulation of primordial wisdom. Thus, since the two fruits of “awakening” and “expanding” arise through these two accumulations, you dedicate them as they arise: “May I accomplish through these roots of my virtue Buddhahood for the sake of beings.” Recite this three times.
The oral instruction of the venerable Dagpo Rinpoche (Gampopa) is complete.
Thus, it appears in the Hundred Pith Instructions [of] Throphu Lotswa Nub’s scriptures.
[Translated by Jan-Ulrich Sobisch on 31.1. and 1.2.2009 in Hamburg. Revised on 15.2.2024 in Schneverdingen.]
Notes 1. []↩Read: phyam gyis btang ngo. 2. []↩Four sidetracks: (1) by a contrieved emptiness, (2) artificial nothingness, (3) conceptual antidote, and (4) dualistic sealing. See Gongchik 6.9. 3. []↩Three traps: The realms of (1) desire, (2) form, and (3) formlessness. See Gongchik 6.9. 4. []↩The “three preliminaries” refers here to the first three practices of (1) producing the resolve for awakening, (2) practicing guru yoga, and (3) practicing the pride of the deity.
Here is the famous simile of spinning the Brahmin’s thread in Jigten Sumgon’s version (German further down):
As one spins the thread of the Brahmin, rest fresh, uncontrived, and at ease, it is said. If the Brahmin’s thread is too tight, it knots and breaks. If it is too loose, it becomes limp. So spin it when [the thread] is free from extreme tightness or looseness! Similarly, in this case. If your consciousness is too tight, your virtuous practice will not penetrate to the vital point and your thoughts will multiply. If it is too loose, your consciousness will jump back and forth. So: free it from extreme tightness or looseness, and if you keep it in just that uncontrived state, it is easy to penetrate to the vital point. So please maintain it like this!
In German:
Wie man den Fadens des Brahmanen spinnt, ruhe frisch, ungekünstelt und entspannt, heißt es. Wenn der Faden des Brahmanen zu fest ist, verknotet er sich und reißt. Wenn er zu locker ist, wird er schlaff. Also spinne ihn, wenn [der Faden] frei von extremer Festigkeit oder Lockerheit ist! Ähnlich verhält es sich hier. Wenn dein Bewusstsein zu eng ist, wird deine tugendhafte Praxis nicht zum Kernpunkt vordringen und deine Gedanken werden sich vermehren. Wenn es zu locker ist, wird dein Bewusstsein hin- und herspringen. Also: befreie es von extremer Festigkeit oder Lockerheit, und wenn du es in genau diesem ungekünstelten Zustand hältst, ist es leicht, zum Kernpunkt vorzudringen. Also halte es bitte so!
May the blessings of powerful Vajradhara, Tilopa, Nāropa, Marpa, Milarepa, Gampopa, Phagmo-drupa, Jikten Sumgon, and the golden garland of Drikung throneholders grant here and today the blessing of true reality as the fruit of this prayer.
དཀོན་མཆོག་གསུམ་གྱི་བསྟན་པ་འཛིན་པ་ལ། །
དཀའ་སྤྱད་སྙིང་རུས་བོད་དུ་ཆོས་ཞུགས་མཛད། །
འབྲི་གུང་ཉི་ལྕང་བཤད་གྲྭར་ཐོས་བསམ་ཀྱིས། །
མཁས་པའི་དབང་པོར་སོན་དེར་གུས་པས་འདུད། །
Respectfully I bow down before the one who holds the teachings of three jewels, who, with great determination, practiced austerities, came to Tibet for the Dharma, and gained the authority of learned-ness by studying and reflecting in the academy of Drikung Nyima Changra.
ཐུབ་བསྟན་སྤྱི་དང་༧རྒྱལ་བ་འབྲི་གུང་པའི། །
བཤད་སྒྲུབ་ལས་གསུམ་ཆོས་སྲིད་ཟུང་འབྲེལ་གྱིས། །
ཐབས་མཁས་བསྟན་པ་སྐྱོང་ལ་ཆེས་དཔའ་བ། །
ལ་དྭགས་ཆོས་རྗེའི་ཞབས་ལ་གསོལ་བ་འདེབས། །
I supplicate at the feet of the Dharma Lord of Ladakh, who was vastly courageous in skilfully preser-ving the teachings through explanations, practices and deeds of the teachings of the Great Sage in general and of the victorious Drikungpa, and by uniting the Dharma and the world.
རྡོ་རྗེའི་ཁམས་ལ་གཞོམ་ཞིག་དང་བྲལ་ཡང་། །
རེ་ཞིག་གདུལ་བྱར་མི་རྟག་སྟོན་པའི་ཕྱིར། །
ཞིང་གཞན་གཤེགས་པའི་ངང་ཚུལ་སྟོན་ནའང་། །
ཐུགས་བསྐྱེད་དབང་གིས་ཡང་སྤྲུལ་མྱུར་བྱོན་མཛོད། །
Even though the Vajra sphere is indestructible and imperishable, to reveal impermanence to trainees from time to time, you show the mode of leaving for another Buddha-field. I beseech you to manifest again due to your powerful resolve quickly.
མཆོག་གསུམ་བསླུ་མེད་ཨ་ཕྱི་ཆོས་ཀྱི་སྒྲོན། །
རྟེན་འབྲེལ་བསླུ་བ་མེད་པའི་བདེན་པ་དང་། །
བསྟན་པའི་རྒྱལ་མཚན་སྲིད་མཐར་བསྒྲེངས་པའི་ཕྱིར། །
འཁྲུལ་བྲལ་ཡང་སྲིད་མྱུར་དུ་བྱོན་མཛད་གསོལ། །
By the power of Achi, the light of Dharma, who never deceives the three supreme ones, by the truth of infallible dependent origination, and to hoist up the victorious banner of the teachings until the end of existence, I beseech you to take genuine rebirth quickly.
In view of the requests from the council for rebirth, I, the one who is blessed with the name of the victorious Drikungpa, Konchog Tendzin Kunzang Trinlé Lhundrub, have written it with a pure mind in the morning the 29th day of the fifth month of the water-hare year 2023.
Translated by Jan-Ulrich Sobisch with the help of Claude Jürgens and Khenchen Nyinma Gyaltshen, who also edited the Tibetan text slightly.
In an instruction on the teaching and practice styles of his Kadamapa and Kagyupa teachers, Gampopa makes a few interesting remarks on “māra obstacles.” He says:
There are two kinds of māra that cause “māra obstacles” to the practitioner: Human and non-human māras and the māra of thought. There are three methods to dispel them. (1) They are dispelled through the practice of love and compassion. By practicing love and compassion, no harming of the child by the mother exists. (2) They are dispelled by practicing [māras] as illusionary dreams and emptiness. The harmed and the harm doer both do not exist, it is said. (3) By understanding them to be confusion, [māras] are pacified. By understanding them all to be projections of the mind, no harm is done. Even if done, it does not upset.
Accordingly, there are either sentient beings (human and non-human) who cause māra obstacles or obstacles caused by thoughts. But no matter whether sentient or not, all causes of obstacles are treated through means of the mind. The first method is love and compassion. In Tibetan Mahāyāna Buddhism, one imagines all sentient beings to be one’s mother who has raised one lovingly many times. Thereby one cultivates gratitude, love, and compassion for those beings who once have been one’s mother and now are in a state of despair. Such a mother, towards which one cultivates love, will not harm the child. This is a method of conventional bodhicitta.
Secondly, one practices emptiness and understands all māras as being like a dream. In truth, someone who causes harm and someone who experiences harm do not exist. That is a method of absolute bodhicitta.
Thirdly, one can understand all appearances as confusion since they are nothing but projections of the mind. This is a method that is based on the realization that all phenomena are only the mind. Then Gampopa continues:
This large retinue and the material wealth that presently appears is, on the one hand, in mantra taught to be an ordinary siddhi, and on the other hand, also said to be an obstacle of māra.
Here, Gampopa seems to speak about his own situation: Having settled in a monastery, there is a retinue of followers and material wealth. One can see that either as a siddhi or as an obstacle. Remarks like that can be found in many biographies of Tibetan masters. “Success” as a teacher can be quite a problem. He continues:
Māra, however, does not really cause obstacles. Earlier, obstacles are caused by the retinue. Then, great material wealth causes obstacles to virtuous practice. Then, the practitioner will be hindered by desire and hatred. Look at your own mind if that is an obstacle of the māra or not! If it harms you, it is an obstacle of the māra. If it doesn’t harm you, it is a siddhi, it is said.
Māra, however, does not really cause obstacles. Already on the conventional level, they are a cause for cultivating love and compassion, and on the absolute level, they do not exist and, therefore, cannot cause harm. All the trouble that arises for the successful master depends on his or her own mind. If afflictions like desire and hatred arise, that is the obstacle. If not, that is the siddhi.
The book I am about to finish will deal with the convergence of Vinaya, Mahāmudrā, and tantric Yoga in the teachings of Jigten Sumgön. One chapter of the book shows how Jigten Sumgön envisions the ideal person in whom these three converge. It is the kusāli yogi who embodies this convergence.
We know from Jigten Sumgön’s biography by his nephew Sherab Jungné that Jigten Sumgön spent more than a decade in retreats of strict solitude. In his early years, he wandered from place to place, sometimes wearing nothing but rags, sleeping under the open sky. Eventually, he and his disciples became monastic, wore monastic robes, and ate food from the monasteryʼs kitchen. However, that does not mean they gave up the frugal lifestyle of earlier years. Even in the environment of the monastery, Jigten Sumgön continued to recommend wearing rags. He told the assembly:
Rags are sufficient as clothing. That includes discarded and also worn clothing. Discarded clothes are those others no longer want to wear and left behind. One collects these and cleans them. If in that way harmful influences were avoided, one can wear them. … Therefore, part of [the Buddhaʼs] teaching discourses is devoted to the merits of rags.
Jigten Sumgön talks here about the “twelve virtues of ascetic training.” These twelve virtues are the Buddha’s recommendations regarding frugality in the context of clothing, food, and places of residence. Although ascetic in style, they are not meant as a form of self-mortification. Instead, they are a way of life conducive to the practice of meditation.
In the vihāra of Phagmodrupa, where Jigten Sumgön spent almost three years, it was the rule that the disciples had to build their temporary hut within only a day. Phagmodrupa himself spent half of each month (during the waning moon) in retreat and taught the assembly during the afternoons of the other half while remaining in seclusion during the morning hours.
The shining examples of such a frugal lifestyle provided by the commentaries of the Single Intention mention Milarepa, Phagmodrupa, and Lama Zhang Tshalpa. Phagmodrupa praised Milarepa:
The mighty lord of yogis, Mila,
ate unsalted nettle [soup], transformed into nectar.
Cast off attachment! The supreme being
will have whatever food he wishes; have no doubt!
Jigten Sumgön said:
The father, the dharma lord, the precious guru
[Phagmodrupa],
abandoned the attachment to meat and cheese,
merely preferred a bit of curd,
nourished himself only on vegetable soup,
and, based on that, accomplished awakening.
As a further illustration of this lifestyle, Lama Zhang Tshalpa is mentioned. Planning for a retreat, he brought together such things as a bag of flour, hardened fat for soups, salt, and so forth. He was about to enter a suitable cave when suddenly, a thought of happiness about these favorable circumstances crossed his mind. He recognized that happiness as an attachment and immediately destroyed the retreat facility, scattered the flour, and went away to practice elsewhere.
Thus, this form of asceticism is not practiced like an exercise in penance but is a mental training: The practitioner has to watch out for attachment and aversion to pleasurable and disagreeable objects and circumstances. When Lama Zhang recognized the signs of such an attachment arising in his mind, he immediately counteracted it. That is what Jigten Sumgön meant when he said: “Expert skill is necessary concerning means of preventing the māra from entering [the mind], and if it has entered, to repel it.”
Ideally, a kusāli yogi is, according to Jigten Sumgön, ordained. The kusāli strives to become “a pure monk in the most perfect way,” takes up the twelve virtues of ascetic training, and “has few desires, remains frugal, and is an expert concerning the dharma.” In praise of such frugality, Jigten Sumgön says:
By maintaining a frugal and moderate [lifestyle] with clothing that merely sustains the body and alms that merely fill the stomach, one has a virtuous practice of frugality like the birds. Wherever they soar, they float on their wings—wherever one goes, one goes endowed with the alms bowl and dharma robes.
Elsewhere he provides a list of similar qualities. The kusāli yogi should
be easy to nourish, easy to satisfy, possess few desires, be frugal, parsimonious, sober, possess the virtues of ascetic training, be graceful, and be temperate.
Again in another instruction, he puts frugality, which he describes as wealth, into the context of mindfulness:
Mindfulness, alert awareness, attentiveness, and frugality are synonymous with wealth. Therefore, if you did not dwell earlier in these, the faults of desire will later arise. If you have been frugal earlier, qualities arise naturally.
In his teachings to the great assembly in Drikung, he contrasts the right and the wrong kind of frugality:
To be frugal with sense pleasures is the Buddha’s dharma; to be frugal with the dharma is māras dharma.
In several of his works, Jigten Sumgön identifies himself with the kusāli-yogi-monk, whom he differentiates from the scholar (paṇḍita). Quoting Gampopa, he states that such a kusāli
must be one who can carry a large load of suffering with great compassion, guide others with great wisdom, and does not even have a hair tip’s concern regarding his own life.
In another text, he relates what Phagmodrupa had told him about his teacher, Gampopa. He calls Gampopa a kusāli who was in possession of knowledge. What he learned from him was this:
All phenomena combined as samsara and nirvana are one’s mind, which is unestablished from the beginning, like the center of space.
Kusāli yogis do not analyze external objects. They see them as the mind’s natural display, that is, just mind. When phenomena are understood as the mind, they disappear into their origin, the mind. To realize the mind, one needs the guru’s instructions. One needs devotion to understand how to put the guru’s teachings into practice. To practice the instructions in solitude, one needs great effort. In solitude, defects and qualities will arise. Asking the guru about them, the guru will point out the causes for their arising and how the defects can be removed and qualities enhanced. Practicing accordingly, one will be a yogi or yogini who is free from defects and endowed with qualities. At that point, wisdom will arise from practice. The wisdom that arises from practice is such that hundred-thousands of learned panditas may ask questions, and not a single question will remain unanswered.
In the Instructions that are Like a Mighty King, Jigten Sumgön, once again, contrasts the kusāli yogi with the scholar pandita. The pandita treats words as essential, cutting off the false projections from the outside. The kusāli yogi treats meaning as essential, cutting off the false projections from the inside.
In the Three Words of the Lord, he says that in contrast to the pandita, the kusāli does not study and reflect many teachings. He meets with an excellent guru. He cultivates devotion and values just a single teaching and practices it. Through the power of the guru’s blessings and his own devotion, he realizes the innate mind, and all the appearances “arise like a book.” This is again due to the wisdom that arises from practice. In that way, the Kagyupas have “the system of the kusālis, who cut off false projections from inside.”
In the Three Words, he furthermore describes the kusāli as someone who realizes all phenomena of samsara and nirvana by practicing just one teaching. What kind of teaching is that? It has few words, a concise meaning, and is easy to practice. An example is the teaching of the Fivefold Path of Mahāmudrā. Practicing just that, three things arise. The first is the original state of reality. The body’s original state is that it is, from the very beginning, a male or female buddha. The mind’s original state is that the nature of the mind is, from the very beginning, the utterly pure dharmakāya buddha. The other two things that arise through the Fivefold Path are the method and the fruits.
In this way, the kusāli embodies frugality in many ways: He or she maintains a frugal and moderate lifestyle and practices the virtues of ascetic training. Thereby, a great wealth is obtained, namely mindfulness, alert awareness, and attentiveness. Kusālis carry the load of suffering with great compassion for the sake of other beings. They do not aim at great learnedness and need only a few teachings. As practitioners, however, they are insatiable.
dGongs1 