Tantric Techniques (27 page)

a
See, for instance, His Holiness the Dalai Lama,
How to Expand Love: Widening the Circle of Loving Relationships,
trans. and ed. by Jeffrey Hopkins (New York: Atria Books/Simon and Schuster, 2005) and Jeffrey Hopkins,
The Tantric Distinction
(Lon-don: Wisdom Publications, 1984), 58-74.

b
See
Tantra in Tibet,
165-168.

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Tantric Techniques

feeling.

This first branch from among the four branches of repetition is the tantric equivalent of the first step mentioned earlier (40) in relation to meditating on selflessness in the S
ū
tra system—taking re-fuge and re-adjusting the motivation in an altruistic direction. The fact that practice begins with cultivation of a compassionate motivation is evidence that this Tantra system is by no means a turn away from the high altruism of the S
ū
tra systems but is founded on such altruism in its own right. In this formulation of tantric practice following the
Susiddhi Tantra
and the
Concentration Continuation Tantra
and the commentaries by the Indian scholars Buddhaguhya and Varabodhi, altruism is integral to Mantra.

Second branch: self-base—oneself as a deity

It will be remembered that we are describing the phase of prior approximation and, from within that, the meditative stabilization of exalted body. Now that the many activities involved in imagining a deity in front of oneself have been completed, the practitioner can imagine him/herself as a deity. The
Concentration Continuation Tantra
says:
a

Afterwards, freed from the limbs, [Suchness is] not discriminated,

Thoroughly devoid of discrimination, and subtle. Unmoving and clear, mental analysis remains in its presence.

“Afterwards,” that is, after making offering and so forth to the deity invited in front of oneself, one meditatively cultivates the ultimate deity, the first of the six steps involved in self-generation. One reflects on one’s own suchness, which is “freed from the limbs,” or senses, in that the senses do not ultimately exist. Also, one’s own suchness, being formless, is not apprehended by others and thus is not “discriminated” by others, and it itself does not apprehend forms and so forth and thus is “Thoroughly devoid of discrimination.” One’s own suchness is an absence of inherent existence, and this absence also does not inherently exist; hence, it is “subtle.” “Mental analysis,” or examination with wisdom, reveals one’s own emptiness of inherent existence and in this sense “remains in the

a
P430, vol. 9, 53.3.2;
Deity Yoga,
105 and 168-171.

The Path in Action Tantra: Divine Body
109

presence” of one’s final nature; this analysis should be “unmoving”—endowed with stability free from excitement—and “clear,” that is to say, free from laxity.

The six-step process of imagining oneself as a deity, called the six deities, is described in detail above in chapter two, and thus, here I will merely list the six with brief identifications.

1. Ultimate deity: meditation on oneself and the deity as the same in terms of being empty of inherent existence.
   

2. Sound deity: the appearance of the mind of wisdom—realizing emptiness—as the sounds of the mantra reverberating in space.
   

3. Letter deity: the appearance of the forms of the mantra letters around the edge of a flat moon disc in space.
   

4. Form deity: the moon and mantra letters transform such that a hand-symbol also appears on the moon. Then, from all of these emanate rays of light from which myriad forms of the deity emerge. The deities emanate great clouds piled with offerings that they offer to already enlightened beings. The deities also emanate great clouds from which a rain-stream of ambrosia descends, cleansing and satisfying all other beings. The rays of light, as well as the myriad forms of the deity, return and enter the moon disc, hand symbol, and mantra, which transform into the full form of the deity.
   

5. Seal deity: blessing into a heightened state important places in the divine body with hand-gestures.
   

6. Sign deity: meditation on the divine body with clear appearance and divine pride.
   

Let us consider two points of terminology:

In the second step, the sound deity, the mind of wisdom realizing the sameness of oneself and a deity in terms of final nature appears as the sounds of the mantra of the deity as whom one will emerge later in the fourth step, but the sound deity does not involve what is termed “repetition of mantra,” even though the mantra is resounding repeatedly in space. This is because none of these six steps involves any voiced, whispered, or men-tal repetition. Still, the meditations of the six deities are part of what is called the “concentration with repetition” not because they themselves involve repetition of mantra but because they form the foundation of eventual repetition, as will be seen in the next chapter.

110
Tantric Techniques

During the cultivation of “self-base” through the rite of the six deities, the mind is mainly held to one’s own body imagined as a deity. Thus, up through the first two of the four branches— these four being the causal conditions that form a base for the repetition of mantra—the meditations are called the “meditative stabilization of exalted body.”

Practitioners have imagined a deity in front and then themselves as a deity; at this point, they repeat the rites of offering and praising but this time to themselves, since they are now deities.
a
To imagine that oneself is being made offerings and is being praised might seem to be egregious self-aggrandizement (positive inflation in Jung’s terms), and indeed one of the purposes is to heighten and enhance one’s sense of a pure self acting in relation to other beings
but
within the context of an emptiness of inherent existence. Offering and praising oneself bring home the point that emptiness, far from implying nonexistence or nonfunctionality, is the key for existence and functionality. Offering and praising vivify the mind, awakening potential in the face of emptiness yoga, which, when not understood in its fullness, can lead to self-abasement and even stul-tification (negative inflation in Jung’s terms).

One might expect the meditation to proceed with imagining the other two of the four branches—mind (moon) and sound—but, since those are concerned with mantra repetition and thus with the meditative stabilization of exalted speech, one does not continue on to imagine a moon disc and the “sounds,” the latter actually be-ing the letters of the mantra set around the edge of the moon disc at the heart. Rather, one remains meditating on one’s own divine body. As Dül-dzin-drak-pa-gyel-tsen says:
b

After having cultivated the six deities—the form deity and so forth as explained above—you should one-pointedly take cognizance of the firm pride of being a deity and observe the clear divine form and also bind the inhalation and exhalation of breath, [thereby] achieving a firm meditative stability free from laxity and excitement.

Let us consider this pithy statement of the process of meditation in detail, but first, what is to be done with the deity imagined in front

a
Ibid., 114.

b
467.4.

The Path in Action Tantra: Divine Body
111

of oneself? Tsong-kha-pa
a
indicates that one possibility is to cause the invited deity (who, being the actual deity, is called a “wisdom-being”) to enter oneself (who, being only an imagined deity until this point, is called a “pledge-being”).

With the entry of the wisdom-being, one becomes the actual deity, in the context of which one meditates on the clear appearance of one’s body as an actual divine body. Then, from time to time, one again visualizes the deity in front and holds the mind on that divine body, within maintaining a less emphasized observation of oneself as a deity.
b
Tsong-kha-pa does not say why switching to meditating on the deity in front is done, but it can be extrapolated from later explanations that it is for the sake of keeping the mind alert. It also brings the increasingly strong perception of purity into a relationship with another being.

For the meditation to be successful, two factors are needed— clarity and the stability of being able to stay on the object. Clear appearance is achieved through a style of meditation called here “concentration” (
bsam gtan, dhy
ā
na
),
c
which involves observing
many
aspects, either the six deities themselves or the specifics of the divine body—the color, the hand symbol, the shape of particular parts of the body—and correcting their appearance by adjusting clarity and so forth. Then, stability is achieved through a style of meditation called “meditative stabilization” (
ting nge ’dzin, sam
ā
dhi
), which involves dwelling one-pointedly either on the divine body in general or on a particular part.

This usage of the term “meditative stabilization” is not to be confused with that in the term “meditative stabilization of exalted body,” for even the phase called “concentration” is included within the meditative stabilization of exalted body. Similarly, this usage of the term “concentration” is not to be confused with that in the term “concentration with repetition,” for even the style of meditation called “meditative stabilization” is included within

a
Deity Yoga,
137-138.

b
Tsong-kha-pa implicitly suggests that a meditator could forego the step of causing the deity in front to enter oneself, and proceed with reflecting on one’s own divine body within the sense that the deity in front is present but not as an object of attention; then, after a considerable period of meditating on one’s own divine body, one would switch to putting the emphasis on the deity in front.

c
See
Deity Yoga,
25 and 110-113.

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Tantric Techniques

concentration with repetition.
a

The
Concentration Continuation Tantra
describes these two types of meditation:
b

Having set oneself thus, Meditate with the mantra minds.

Restrained, dwell in meditative stabilization. Thoroughly restrain vitality and exertion.

The “mantra minds” are the six deities. “Meditate” means that one’s mental continuum is to be suffused with these six through the style of meditation called “concentration,” which is to contemplate in series the various aspects of the divine body, adjusting their shape, color, and so forth. “Dwell in meditative stabilization” indicates the other style of meditation, which is to fixate on either the divine body in general or one aspect of it within restraining “vitality” (breath) and “exertion” (distraction).

Thus, first a meditator scans through the entire divine body in the phase called “concentration”; since one is noticing and adjusting the appearance of the various parts of the divine body, this is called “analytical meditation.”
c
Then, when one fixes one-pointedly on either the general body or a particular part in “meditative stabilization,” the type of meditation is called “stabilizing meditation.”
d
As Tsong-kha-pa says:
e

Concerning this, initially it is necessary to generate a composite of
clarity
of the divine body and
dwelling
for a long time on it. Therefore, clear appearance must be achieved by means of concentration having many aspects because it arises from repeatedly putting in mind the aspects with which one is familiarizing, as is the case with conditioning to desire or fright [whereupon their objects appear vividly to the mind. Also,] if [the mind] is not set one-pointedly [on the divine body], then even though clear appearance arises, one cannot remain on a single object of observation as

a
It will be remembered that the concentration with repetition does not involve repetition of mantra at this point.

b
P430, vol. 9, 53.3.3;
Deity Yoga,
109 and 110.

c
dpyad sgom.

d
’jog sgom.

e
Deity Yoga,
164.

The Path in Action Tantra: Divine Body
113

much as one wishes. Thus, it is [also] necessary to fixate by means of one-pointed meditative stabilization.

The examples given for the way that “concentration”—which is repeatedly to put in mind the various aspects of an object—brings about clear appearance of the object are the processes that occur when becoming desirous or fearful; in both cases, features of the object, be they attractive or repulsive, are taken to mind again and again, whereupon the object stands, so to speak, in front of oneself, compelling attention.

Once the object appears clearly, it is necessary to fixate on it, considering not many aspects but only one, which can be either the divine body in general or a particular part such as the head. To as-sist in this, a meditator employs breath control. Even though both “concentration” and “meditative stabilization” require the “binding of the inhalation and exhalation of breath” as Dül-dzin-drak-pa- gyel-tsen words it, “meditative stabilization” requires an intense form of the practice of breath control, and thus
pr
āṇā
y
ā
ma
a
—the restraining of vitality
b
(which means breath or wind) and exertion
c
(which means distraction)—is usually explained in the context of “meditative stabilization.”
d