TibTrans06-06-Text

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KHA CIG ,MA RIG PA DANG DE'I BAG CHAGS GNYIS RIG PA YE SHES KYI KHYAB BYED DU BYAS NAS,

Some people put forth the following position. They believe that ignorance and the mental seeds for it—these two—pervade the mind, wisdom.

DE GNYIS ZAD PA NA RIG PA YE SHES ZAD PA DANG SANGS RGYAS KYI SA NA RIG PA RGYUN CHAD PA DANG, MNYAM GZHAG YE SHES KYI TSE NA RIG PA RGYUN CHAD PAR 'DOD PA

They hold thus that, when you finish off these two, then you also finish off the mind itself, this wisdom. And they would say as well that the flow of the mind stops when you reach the level of a Buddha; and that the flow of the mind stops as well during the wisdom of deep meditation upon emptiness.

MI RIGS TE, TSIG GSAL LAS, MA RIG PA'I RAB RIB DANG BRAL BA DAG GI YE SHES ZHES GSUNGS PA'I PHYIR,

But that’s wrong, because Clear Words speaks of “the wisdom which is free of the cataract of ignorance.”

DE LTAR 'DOD PA NI MU STEGS BYED KYI DRI MA SEMS KYI RANG BZHIN DU 'DOD PA DANG MTSUNGS PA'I PHYIR DANG,

And that’s true because holding this belief is the same as holding the belief that the non-Buddhists do, when they say that the very nature of the mind is impurity.

YUL CAN GYI BYED PA CI 'DRA BA ZHIG GIS DE KHO NA NYID MNGON SUM DU MTHONG BA'I TSUL DRIS PA'I LAN DU, THA SNYAD DU SEMS KYIS DE KHO NA NYID MNGON SUM DU MTHONG BAR GSUNGS PA'I PHYIR,

And it’s also true because—in reply to questions about just what kind of action on the part of the subject state of mind it is when we see suchness directly—it is stated in scripture that, nominally speaking, the mind sees suchness directly.

DPER NA, DRI MA CAN GYI RDO RGYUS KYI GOS MER BCUG PA NA, MES DRI MA BSREGS KYANG GOS MI BSREGS PA LTAR,

It’s like, for example, putting a piece of fireproof cloth which is stained into a fire. Even though the fire burns off the stains, it doesn’t burn the cloth.

MNYAM GZHAG YE SHES KYI TSE NA DRI MA BSREGS KYANG YE SHES RANG NYID MI BSREGS PA LTA BU YIN PA'I PHYIR,

Just so, when you are in the wisdom of deep meditation upon emptiness, the impurities in your mind are burned off, but the wisdom itself is not.

DE YIN TE, RIN CHEN PHRENG BA LAS,

,DE PHYIR DE LTAR MTHONG BA GROL,
,GANG GIS MTHONG BAR 'GYUR ZHE NA,
,THA SNYAD DU NI SEMS LA BRJOD,
,CES PA DANG,

And this is true because the String of Precious Jewels says,

As such, those who see this
Then reach liberation.
And if you ask who it is
That does the seeing,
Our answer is that,
In a nominal sense,
It is the mind.

CHOS DBYINGS BSTOD PA LAS KYANG,

The Praise of the Sphere of Reality also says,

,JI LTAR ME YIS DAG PA'I GOS,
,SNA TSOGS DRI MAS DRI MA CAN,
,JI LTAR ME YI NANG BCUG NA,
,DRI MA 'TSIG 'GYUR GOS MIN LTAR,

Think of how you put
A piece of cloth resistant to fire
But which has all sorts of stains
Into the middle of a fire.
The stains are burned,
But not the cloth.

,DE BZHIN 'OD GSAL BA YI SEMS,
,'DOD CHAGS LAS SKYES DRI MA CAN,
,YE SHES ME YIS DRI MA SREG
,DE NYID 'OD GSAL MA YIN NO,
,ZHES GSUNGS PA'I PHYIR,

It’s the same with the mind,
The mind of clear light.
It may possess the various stains
Which come from feelings of desire,
But when the fire of wisdom comes
And burns the stains,
It cannot burn the clear light itself.

GNAS LUGS MNGON SUM DU RTOGS PA'I THEG PA GSUM GYI MNYAM GZHAG YE SHES GSUM PO DE ZAG MED YE SHES YIN PAR MTSUNGS KYANG,

Now it is true that the wisdom of meditation as we directly perceive the way things are is the same in all three of the different ways; that is, they are all wisdom which is free of impurity.

DON DAM PA'I SEMS BSKYED DU 'JOG MI 'JOG GI KHYAD PAR YOD DE,

But there is a distinction between them—as to whether we say that they are the ultimate form of the Wish or not.

SNYING RJE CHEN PO'I GZHAN DBANG DU GYUR MA GYUR DANG, YON TAN BRGYA PHRAG LA SOGS PA'I NUS PA THOB MA THOB DANG, STONG NYID RIGS PA'I RNAM GRANGS MTHA' YAS PA'I SGO NAS RTOGS MA RTOGS DANG, ZAB DON LA BLO RGYAS MA RGYAS LA SOGS PA'I KHYAD PAR YOD PA'I PHYIR,

And this is true because there are differences between them insofar as whether or not you are a slave to great compassion; whether or not you have gained the ability to acquire hundreds upon hundreds of high spiritual qualities, or the like; whether or not you have perceived your emptiness through the use of an infinite number of different proofs for emptiness; whether or not your understanding of this most profound object is constantly growing; and so on.

SA BCU'I MNYAM GZHAG YE SHES BCU PO DE ZAG MED YE SHES YIN PAR MTSUNGS KYANG, RAB DGA' LA SOGS PA'I SA BCUR 'BYED PA'I RGYU MTSAN YOD DE,

Now it is the case that the ten different forms of meditative wisdom at the ten different levels are all the same in being unstained wisdom. Nonetheless, there is a reason why we divide them out into the ten levels of Extreme Bliss and so on.

YON TAN GYI GRANGS DANG, MI MTHUN PHYOGS 'JOMS PA LA MTHU PHUL DU BYUNG BA THOB MA THOB DANG, SBYIN PA LA SOGS PA'I PHAR PHYIN LHAG TSUL DANG, RNAM SMIN GYIS SKYE BA 'DZIN TSUL LA SOGS PA'I SGO NAS BCUR PHYE BA'I PHYIR,

This is true because they are divided into ten based on the number of high spiritual qualities one has attained; on whether or not we have attained excellent power to destroy all that is working against our spiritual progress; on the degree to which you have taken the perfections of giving and the rest to a new level; the way in which you take a rebirth as a result of karma; and so on.

RANG 'GREL LAS, DE YANG GONG NAS GONG DU YON TAN GYI GRANGS DANG, MTHU PHUL DU BYUNG BA THOB PA DANG, SBYIN PA LA SOGS PA'I PHA ROL TU PHYIN PA LHAG PA DANG, RNAM PAR SMIN PA 'PHEL BA'I BYE BRAG GIS SA RAB TU DGA' BA LA SOGS PA'I RNAM PAR DBYE BAS DBYE BA RNAM PA BCUR BZHAG GI, 'DIR RANG GI NGO BO'I KHYAD PAR GYIS BYAS PA'I DBYE BA NI YOD PA MA YIN TE, ZHES GSUNGS PA'I PHYIR,

And this in turn is true because the autocommentary says,

We set forth the division into ten different types—into the various levels of Extreme Bliss and the rest—all according to certain details such as the higher and higher number of spiritual qualities you develop; the degree to which your power is perfected; the level to which you have been able to take the perfections of giving and the rest; and constant advancement in terms of karmic results. We do not however make this distinction based on any difference in their basic nature.