Tantric Techniques (25 page)

Ones-Gone-Thus residing in all Directions of the worlds,

Foe Destroyers,
a
and Bodhisattvas,

a
dgra bcom pa, arhan.
With respect to the translation of
arhan
(
dgra bcom pa
) as “Foe Destroyer,” I do this to accord with the usual Tibetan translation of the term and to assist in capturing the flavor of oral and written traditions that frequently refer to this etymology. Arhats have overcome the foe which is the afflictive emotions (
nyon mongs, kle
ś
a
), the chief of which is ignorance, the conception (according to the Consequence School) that persons and phenomena are established by way of their own character.

The Indian and Tibetan translators were also aware of the etymology of
arhant
as “worthy one,” as they translated the name of the purported founder of the Jaina system, Arhat, as
mchod ’od,
“Worthy of Worship” (see Jam-yang-shay-pa’s
Great Exposition of Tenets
,
ka,
62a.3). Also, they were aware of Chandrak
ī
rti’s gloss of the term as “Worthy One” in his
Clear Words:

sadevam
ā
nu
ṣā
sur
ā
l lok
ā
t p
ū
n
ā
rhatv
ā
d arhannityuchyate
(Poussin, 486.5),
lha dang mi dang lha ma yin du bcas pa’i ’jig rten gyis mchod par ’os pas dgra bcom pa zhes brjod la
(409.20, Tibetan Cultural Printing Press edition; also, P5260, vol. 98, 75.2.2): “Because of being worthy of worship by the world of gods, humans, and demigods, they are called Arhats.”

Also, they were aware of Haribhadra’s twofold etymology in his
Illumination of the Eight Thousand Stanza Perfection of Wisdom S
ū
tra;
in the context of the list of epithets qualifying the retinue of Buddha at the beginning of the S
ū
tra (see Unrai Wogihara, ed.,
Abhisamay
ā
la
ṃ
k
ā
r
ā
lok
ā
Prajñ
ā
-p
ā
ramit
ā
-vy
ā
khy
ā
, The Work of Haribhadra

102
Tantric Techniques

I ask you to heed me. Whatever ill deeds

I have committed in any lifetime, Or, disturbed by the power of desire,

Stupidity, or anger in cyclic existence In former lives or in this life, Whatever ill deeds I have done,

Asked others to do, or admired even a little, Even slight ones unconscientiously done With body, speech, or mind

To Buddha, doctrine, or spiritual community, Or gurus, father and mother,

Foe Destroyers, Bodhisattvas, Or any object of giving,

Or to other sentient beings— Educated or uneducated—

Having mentally collected all these, I bow down in great respect

[Tokyo: The Toyo Bunko, 1932-5; reprint ed., Tokyo: Sankibo Buddhist Book Store, 1973], 8.18), Haribhadra says:

They are called
arhant
[=Worthy One, from root
arh
“to be worthy”] since they are worthy of worship, of religious donations, and of being assembled together in a group, and so forth (Wogihara, 9.8-9.9:
sarva ev
ā
tra p
ū
j
ā
-dak
ṣ
i
ṇā
-ga
ṇ
a-parikar
ṣā
dy-
ā
rhatay
ā
rhanta
ḥ
;
P5189, 67.5.7:
’dir thams cad kyang mchod pa dang // yon dang tshogs su ’dub la sogs par ’os pas na dgra bcom pa’o
).

Also:

They are called
arhant
[= Foe Destroyer,
arihan
] because they have destroyed (
hata
) the foe (
ari
). (Wogihara, 10.18:
hat
ā
ritv
ā
d
arhanta
ḥ
;
P5189, 69.3.6:
dgra rnams bcom pas na dgra bcom pa’o
).

(My thanks to Gareth Sparham for the references to Haribhadra.) Thus, we are not dealing with an ignorant misconception of a term, but a considered preference in the face of alternative etymologies—“Foe Destroyer” requiring a not unusual
i
infix to make
ari-han
,
ari
meaning enemy and
han
meaning to kill, and thus “Foe Destroyer.” Unfortunately, one word in English cannot convey both this meaning and “Worthy of Worship”; thus, I have gone with what clearly has become the predominant meaning in Tibet. (For an excellent discussion of the two etymologies of
arhat
in Buddhism and Jainism, see L.M. Joshi’s “Facets of Jaina Religiousness in Comparative Light,” L.D. Series 85 [Ahmedabad: L.D. Institute of Indology, May 1981], 53-58.)

The Path in Action Tantra: Divine Body
103

To the perfect Buddhas and their children
a
Manifest before me now

And disclose individually And repeatedly my mistakes

With pressed palms and saddened mind.

Just as the perfect Buddhas know The ill deeds that I have committed, I make individual disclosure.

Henceforth I will not do such.

The meaning of the last stanza is that, not being omniscient, one does not know all the ill deeds that one has done over the beginningless course of lifetimes, and thus one also makes a general disclosure of all the ill deeds that omniscient beings know one has done. Implicitly, the important message is communicated that it is impossible to hide ill deeds.

Given that one of the most pernicious defenses against inner forces is denial, the general Buddhist notion that over the course of lifetimes we have committed every possible misdeed and have, in our mental continuums, forces predisposed to committing these again provides a healthy perspective, certainly not preventing denial on all levels (since the depths of our own depravity are not easy to recognize) but opening the way to conscious recognition of what lies beneath the surface. To disclose, to confess all of these ill deeds is to affirm their presence, thereby weakening the force of denial and strengthening the ego as the arbiter, rather than the victim, of these forces.

To speak of these seven practices in brief:
Refuge
in the Three Jewels establishes the long-term perspective that help will be sought by incorporating the doctrine through practice.
Altruistic mind generation
makes compassion the basis of relationships with others.
Admiration
of one’s own and others’ virtues reinforces commitment to those activities; unlike pride which shuts off development of further qualities, admiration of virtues (or nonvirtues) promotes their continuance and development.
Entreaty
for continued teaching and
supplication
for spiritual teachers to remain in the world reinforces connection with the sources of doctrines that when attempted in practical implementation, conflict with

a
That is, Bodhisattvas.

104
Tantric Techniques

tendencies acquired over lifetimes and thus are uncomfortable, causing counterproductive wishes that the teachings and teachers of such doctrine not remain. These counterproductive wishes are countered through praying that the Buddhas and their teachings remain forever in the world. Complexes are being put on notice that one will persist in practices that compromise their autonomy.

In the last phase of the seven-branched service,
prayer-wishes
are made or, more literally, planted. Wishes, as a form of meditation, are powerful techniques for influencing the unfolding of the future, for they direct the course of one’s mind—they shape, they order the future. Wishes for the well-being of all persons, oneself included, are to be made within what Tsong-kha-pa
a
calls “one-pointed attention to the meaning”; thus, wishes are not mere whims, mere passing fancies of what might be, but are cultivated repeatedly and concentratedly. The prayer-wishes that Tsong-kha- pa draws from the
Susiddhi Tantra
are:
b