Guhyagarbha Tantra (with Commentary)
by Gyurme Dorje | 1987 | 304,894 words
The English translation of the Guhyagarbha Tantra, including Longchenpa's commentary from the 14th century. The whole work is presented as a critical investigation into the Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism, of which the Guhyagarbhatantra is it's principle text. It contains twenty-two chapters teaching the essence and practice of Mahayoga, which s...
Text 3.12 (Commentary)
[Guhyagarbha-Tantra, Text section 3.12]
Extraneous phenomena associated with possessor and possessed
Have neither subtlety nor profundity
Apart from mere erroneous thoughts themselves.
There is an interaction between the nature of
Erroneous thoughts and (the thoughts) themselves,
But there is no extraneous wavering. [12] ...[Tibetan]
bdag-dang bdag-gi gzhan-rnams-ni /
log-par rtog-pa tsam-nyid-las /
phra-zhing zab-pa'ang yod-ma-yin /
log-rtog nyid-la nyid spyod-pas /
gzhan-du gYyo-ba ci-yang med / [12]
Commentary:
[Teaching that bewildering appearances are the miraculous display of mind:]
Concerning the differences between oneself and extraneous phenomena (gzhan-rnams-ni) which are intellectually appraised by, and associated with, the apprehension of the possessor and the possessed (bdag-dang bdag-gi): these are one's own mere erroneous thoughts themselves (log-par rtog-pa tsam-nyid). and apart from (las) that, do not actually exist. When the nature of these erroneous thoughts is investigated, they indeed have neither (yod-ma-yin) subtlety nor (phra-zhine) phenomena endowed with subtlety: nor do they have the profundity (zab-pa'ang) of real attributes, which are distinct from those phenomena. This is because erroneous thought itself abides as reality.
This is also stated by the master Padmasambhava in his Buddhasam膩yoga Commentary (sangs-rgyas mnyam-sbyor):
If thought is known to be reality,
There is no basis for meditation
Apart from the expanse of reality.
And consistently, in his Creation And Perfection Stages (bskyed-rdzogs) it also says:
Thought is an impediment.
The Impediment emerges from one's own mind.
If the primordial mind-as-such is known.
The so-called impediment does not extraneously exist.
These appearances within the subject-object dichotomy of 蝉补峁僺腻谤补 are an interaction between the (spyod) object, or dream-like apparitional nature of (nyid) erroneous thoughts (log-rtog), and (la) the subject鈥攐ne's own erroneous thoughts themselves (nyid). But (-pas), although these do appear as bewilderment, actually there is no extraneous wavering (gzhan-du gYo-ba ci-yang med) from mind-as-such, the real abiding nature, just as the fluctuations of the four elements do not diverge from the disposition of space, or as thoughts of refutation and proof do not stray from the disposition of mind-as-such.
The All-Accomplishing King (T. 828) says:
Whatever appears is one in its real nature.
In this respect, there is no-one who contrives it.
From this king of uncontrived sameness.
The intention of non-conceptual Buddha-body
Is spontaneously present.
[The fifth, (the baseless and groundless nature of bewildering ideas, comments on Ch. 3.13):]
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