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Vajrayana and the Culmination of the Path

The Library of Wisdom and Compassion | Volume 10

The final volume of the Library of Wisdom and Compassion by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Venerable Thubten Chodron takes us to the uncommon practices and realizations of Vajrayana leading to the full awakening of a buddha.

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About the book

His Holiness the Dalai Lama skillfully illuminates the unique qualities of Vajrayana, as practiced in Tibet, and the method to eradicate the subtlest obscurations preventing the full awakening of a buddha. Speaking to newcomers and advanced students alike, he explains the similarities and differences of the Sutra and Tantra paths. Having gathered many of the doubts and difficult points concerning the tantric path, he clarifies the purpose of receiving proper empowerment by qualified gurus and the ethical restraints and commitments required to enter the path of secret mantra. The paths and stages of the four tantric classes are explained, as are the generation-stage and completion-stage practices of Highest Yoga Tantra. You are introduced to the practices of clear appearance and divine identity common to all tantric sadhanas, as well as the distinctive practices of illusory body and actual clear light that overcome the subtlest defilements on the mind and eliminate all obscurations quickly.

The understanding of emptiness in Sutra and Tantra is the same, but the consciousness perceiving emptiness differs. In Highest Yoga Tantra that consciousness is great bliss, which arises from knowing the methods to manipulate the channels, winds, and drops of the subtle body. In short, in Vajrayana and the Culmination of the Path the Dalai Lama sets out the path that leads to blissful awakening and enables us to be of great benefit to all sentient beings.

Contents

  • Method and Wisdom in Sutra and Tantra
  • Introduction to Tantra
  • Entering Tantrayana
  • All-Encompassing Yoga
  • The Path of Kriya Tantra
  • The Paths of Charya Tantra and Yoga Tantra
  • Highest Yoga Tantra
  • The Tantric Perspective of Body and Mind
  • The Path of Highest Yoga Tantra
  • Introduction to the Completion Stage
  • Going Deeper into the Completion Stage
  • The Path of Kalachakra Tantra
  • The Four Tibetan Traditions
  • Coming to the Same Point
  • A Song of Four Mindfulnesses and the Culmination of the Path
  • Epilogue: Advice for My Disciples

Overview of the book

Excerpt: "A Song of the Four Mindfulnesses"

Excerpt: "Advice for My Disciples"

IN RECENT YEARS I [His Holiness] have taught in many countries, and although I did not seek to have students, there may be some people who consider me their spiritual mentor and would like guidance on how to approach their Dharma practice. It is to them that I now speak.

The three principal aspects of the path—the determination to be free from saṃsāra (renunciation), bodhicitta, and the correct view of emptiness—are the bedrock of the path, so put energy into developing deep experience of them. When meditating on renunciation, focus mainly on the three types of duḥkha, especially the pervasive duḥkha of conditioning. Recognizing the destructive nature of afflictions will help you understand the disadvantages of the pervasive duḥkha of conditioning. The stronger you feel that, the greater your interest in the possibility of eliminating afflictions will grow. This will lead you to investigate emptiness, and from this you will gain conviction that the realization of emptiness will overcome the wrong views that nourish saṃsāra. Since you want to remove afflictions and know that there is a path to do so, you will automatically generate renunciation of saṃsāra and the aspiration for liberation.

Then turn your attention to other sentient beings and see the harm that afflictions cause them. Their situation and yours are similar. You both want to be happy and avoid suffering; you both have the potential to do so. Seeing this, and remembering the kindness of others, generate the altruistic intention of bodhicitta. To bring to fruition your wish to attain awakening to benefit sentient beings most effectively, exert effort to gain the correct view of emptiness and meditate on that single-pointedly.

Make it a point to cultivate these two most important practices: bodhicitta and the wisdom realizing emptiness. Directing your mind to these two shows you have great merit. The guru is fortunate to have the opportunity to teach bodhicitta. You, the disciples, are fortunate to hear about this precious altruistic mind that cherishes others more than yourself. (At this point in the teaching, His Holiness wept.)

Whoever generates this altruistic intention will find themselves setting out on the path to true happiness. Since we all want happiness and don’t want suffering, if you wish for real peace and harmony, there is nothing more to ask for than bodhicitta. Bodhicitta is our best friend; it protects us from harm and hindrances, and brings all attainments of the Mahāyāna.

Reviews

This work is breathtaking, indispensable for anyone who wants to know what is possible for human beings to do with their lives in this astonishing day and age. Words fail to convey my admiration for the authors and the work, and my confidence in the boon of clarity and delight it grants its thoughtful readers.

— Robert A. F. Thurman, Professor Emeritus of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies, Columbia University

Wow! This is the most comprehensive and inclusive text on the practice of Tibetan Vajrayana. Vast tangles of tantric terminology and technique—as represented in diverse Tibetan traditions—are illuminated and clarified in this masterful work.

— Guy Newland, Professor of Religion and Chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religion, Central Michigan University

This distinctive and fundamental series of teachings, taught by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and assisted by Venerable Thubten Chodron, is a publishing triumph for our time.

— Jan Willis, professor of religion, emerita, Wesleyan University

The presentation of Vajrayana Buddhism demonstrates both its continuity with the broader Buddhist path and the distinctiveness of Tantric practice and the theory that underlies it. This library is now complete, and what a gift it is to the world!

— Jay Garfield, Silbert Professor in the Humanities and Professor of Philosophy and Buddhist Studies, Smith College and the Harvard Divinity School

His Holiness explains Buddhist tantra like no one else. The mysteries of tantra are clarified for all to comprehend, and are expressed as a path clearly accessible to those with the right qualification and right motivation.

— Gavin Kilty, translator of Tsongkhapa’s "Lamp to Illuminate the Five Stages"

About the series

The Library of Wisdom and Compassion is a special multi-volume series in which His Holiness the Dalai Lama shares the Buddha’s teachings on the complete path to full awakening that he himself has practiced his entire life. The topics are arranged especially for people not born in a Buddhist culture and are peppered with the Dalai Lama’s own unique outlook. Coauthored by one of his long-standing Western disciples, the American nun Thubten Chodron, each book can be enjoyed on its own or read as the logical next step in the series.