Читать книгу Great Treasury of Merit - Geshe Kelsang Gyatso - Страница 17

Panchen Losang Chokyi Gyaltsen

Visualizing the Field of Merit

THE ACTUAL PRACTICE

The actual practice of Offering to the Spiritual Guide has five parts:

1 Visualizing the Field of Merit and inviting and absorbing the wisdom beings

2 Offering the seven limbs and the mandala

3 Making praises and requests

4 Receiving blessings

5 Gathering and dissolving the Field of Merit

VISUALIZING THE FIELD OF MERIT AND INVITING AND ABSORBING THE WISDOM BEINGS

This has two parts:

1 Visualizing the Field of Merit

2 Inviting and absorbing the wisdom beings

VISUALIZING THE FIELD OF MERIT

Having completed the preliminary practices we now visualize Lama Losang Tubwang Dorjechang and all the other holy beings in front of us so that we can offer the seven limbs, make praises and requests, and receive blessings. The assembly of holy beings visualized in front is known as the ‘Field of Merit’. If we sow ordinary seeds in an external field we eventually harvest crops such as rice and barley. In the same way, if we sow seeds of faith and the spiritual path in the Field of Merit we harvest the excellent inner crops of increased good fortune, blessings, and Dharma realizations. Conversely, if we do not sow seeds in an external field no crops will grow and, in the same way, if we do not sow seeds of faith and the spiritual path in the Field of Merit we will not receive blessings and realizations.

Sowing seeds of faith and the spiritual path in the Field of Merit is the principal cause of pure happiness. Through this practice, temporarily we will experience peaceful and controlled minds and a gradual reduction of our daily problems, and ultimately we will attain the permanent peace of liberation or enlightenment. Ordinary farmers can generally sow seeds only once or twice a year and the results they achieve are short-lived, but we can sow seeds in the Field of Merit as often as we like and the increased good fortune and spiritual realizations that result bring happiness not only in this life but in all our future lives as well. Milarepa once wrote a song to ordinary farmers in which he said:

You are farmers of this life,

But I am a farmer of future lives.

If you examine carefully you will see

Who receives more benefit.

Ordinary farmers toil for hours in the fields experiencing many hardships and problems, and even then the results of their labours are not guaranteed. The few temporary benefits that they do receive are mixed with a great deal of misery and frustration. Spiritual farmers, on the other hand, do not experience such problems. By sowing seeds in the Field of Merit we will definitely grow crops such as love, compassion, bodhichitta, concentration, mental and physical suppleness, wisdom, and eventually the unsurpassed joy of full enlightenment. These experiences will bring great peace and happiness to ourself and to all other living beings. Therefore we should consider ourself very fortunate to be able to visualize the Field of Merit and make offerings to it. Such practices are the very essence of a meaningful human life.

According to the words of the sadhana, we visualize the Field of Merit as follows:

Within the vast space of indivisible bliss and emptiness, amidst billowing clouds of Samantabhadra’s offerings, fully adorned with leaves, flowers, and fruits, is a wishfulfilling tree that grants whatever is wished for. At its crest, on a lion throne ablaze with jewels, on a lotus, moon, and sun seat, sits my root Guru who is kind in three ways, the very essence of all the Buddhas.

In the space in front of us we visualize a vast plain of lapis lazuli covered with powdered gold. In the middle of this there is an ocean of milk-like nectar, its bed strewn with precious jewels. Rising from the centre of the ocean is a huge wishfulfilling tree. The roots and trunk of the tree are made of pure gold, its branches of silver, and its twigs and leaves of fine, white crystal. The tree is adorned with flowers of exquisite red pearls and fruits of dazzling rubies, emeralds, and other jewels. The entire tree is of unearthly beauty and its leaves and branches whisper with the sound of holy Dharma. If we wish for wealth it bestows wealth, if we wish to be cool it bestows coolness, if we wish to be warm it bestows warmth.

The tree is supported by two naga kings whose bodies are half-immersed in the ocean. The trunk divides into seven large branches – three to the left, three to the right, and one in the centre. On top of the central branch is a vast lotus flower which is white with a reddish tint and has thousands of petals. Upon this is a huge throne made of lapis lazuli supported by eight snow lions, two in each corner. Each snow lion supports the throne with one front paw and holds a jewel with the other.

Snow lions are not ordinary animals but very rare creatures found high up in snow mountains. Some people say they do not exist at all, that they are entirely fictional, but this is not so. They do exist, but can be seen only by those with great good fortune. Many paintings depict the great Indian Mahasiddhas riding on snow lions. We should visualize the snow lions that support the throne like these, not as ordinary lions. One of the characteristics of snow lions is that if their milk falls on the ground or is stored in an ordinary vessel it immediately turns sour. This is used by Conqueror Vajradhara as an analogy to illustrate the dangers of transmitting Tantric teachings to those who are not blessed with an empowerment.

The lion is generally regarded as the king of animals because it is the most powerful of all animals. In the same way these snow lions symbolize that Lama Losang Tubwang Dorjechang, the principal being in the Field of Merit, has the power to subdue all harmful influences. Specifically, Lama Losang Tubwang Dorjechang has eight special powers: the power of body, the power of speech, the power of mind, miracle powers, the power of being wherever desired, the power of his Pure Land, the power to fulfil wishes, and the power of enlightened actions.

Covering the entire surface of the throne is a lotus flower which has eleven tiers, each tier being slightly smaller in diameter than the one beneath it. The top tier has four petals, one in each of the cardinal directions.

The plain, ocean, tree, and other features are all by nature inseparable bliss and emptiness. As mentioned before, pure view is an essential characteristic of Highest Yoga Tantra. From the point of view of generation stage, pure view entails viewing ourself as the Deity, the environment as the Deity’s Pure Land, and all the inhabitants as Heroes and Heroines. From the point of view of completion stage, pure view entails regarding everything as a manifestation of bliss and emptiness. The pure view of completion stage is more difficult to understand than the pure view of generation stage, and we will understand it fully only when we have actual completion stage realizations.

In completion stage practice we bring our inner winds into the central channel through the force of meditation. As the winds enter, abide, and dissolve within the central channel all impure conceptual minds that depend upon the impure winds that flow through the left and right channels cease. We attain a very subtle, blissful mind of clear light, known as ‘spontaneous great bliss’. When this subtle mind meditates on emptiness it readily mixes with emptiness, like clear water mixing with clear water, and we attain a realization of inseparable bliss and emptiness. Here ‘bliss’ refers to the subjective mind of clear light, ‘emptiness’ to the object, emptiness, and ‘inseparable’ to the complete fusion of these two into a state of indivisibility. Subsequently, when we rise from meditation, we experience everything as a manifestation of our mind, which is a union of bliss and emptiness. Therefore, everything is seen as having the nature of indivisible bliss and emptiness.

The words of the sadhana say that we visualize the Field of Merit ‘amidst billowing clouds of Samantabhadra’s offerings’. There are two ways to understand this. According to Sutra, ‘Samantabhadra’ refers to one of Buddha Shakyamuni’s Bodhisattva disciples who was renowned for his ability to mentally create vast clouds of offerings filling every corner of space. According to Tantra, ‘Samantabhadra’ means ‘thoroughly good’, and refers to indivisible bliss and emptiness. Thus we visualize the Field of Merit manifesting from the vast space of indivisible bliss and emptiness amidst masses of beautiful offerings, which themselves are manifestations of indivisible bliss and emptiness.

At the very top of the lotus flower, in the middle of the four petals, we visualize our root Guru in the aspect of Lama Losang Tubwang Dorjechang, sitting on a sun and full moon cushion. The lotus itself symbolizes renunciation, the moon cushion conventional bodhichitta, and the sun cushion ultimate bodhichitta. Together, these three seats symbolize that our root Guru has attained these three realizations.

We may wonder, ‘Who is my root Guru?’ According to the words of the sadhana, we should recognize as our root Guru the Spiritual Guide from whom we receive the three kindnesses. According to Sutra the three kindnesses are: to give vows, to give textual transmissions, and to give commentarial explanations. According to Tantra they are: to give empowerments, to give transmissions, and to give special advice based on personal experience. In both cases we regard a Spiritual Guide as our root Guru if he or she holds a pure lineage, leads us to correct spiritual paths, and shows us either of the two types of three kindnesses in relation to our principal daily practice.

When we visualize this Field of Merit, we visualize our root Guru in the aspect of Lama Losang Tubwang Dorjechang and regard him as the essence of all our Spiritual Guides. We should not feel that a Spiritual Guide cannot be our root Guru just because he is not ordained, or because he is not famous. What matters is that he or she helps us to tame our mind. Sometimes our Spiritual Guide will put difficulties in our way, as Marpa did with Milarepa, or even scold us, as Tilopa did with Naropa, but we should regard all these as special blessings that help us to purify our mind and eliminate obstructions.

We visualize our Spiritual Guide as Lama Losang Tubwang Dorjechang by following the words of the sadhana:

He is in the aspect of a fully ordained monk, with one face, two hands, and a radiant smile. His right hand is in the mudra of expounding Dharma, and his left hand, in the mudra of meditative equipoise, holds a bowl filled with nectar. He wears three robes of resplendent saffron, and his head is graced with a golden Pandit’s hat. At his heart are Buddha Shakyamuni and Vajradhara, who has a blue-coloured body, one face, and two hands. Holding vajra and bell, he embraces Yingchugma and delights in the play of spontaneous bliss and emptiness. He is adorned with many different types of jewelled ornament and wears garments of heavenly silk. Endowed with the major signs and minor indications, and ablaze with a thousand rays of light, my Guru sits in the centre of an aura of five-coloured rainbows. Sitting in the vajra posture, . . .

We visualize the external aspect of our Spiritual Guide as Je Tsongkhapa. Altogether, there are eighty different aspects of Je Tsongkhapa. In this aspect, which is the one that Je Tsongkhapa revealed to Mahasiddha Dharmavajra, he appears as a fully ordained monk wearing a yellow Pandit’s hat. His right hand is in the mudra of expounding Dharma and his left hand, in the mudra of meditative equipoise, holds a jewelled bowl brimming with the three nectars. Between the thumb and forefinger of his right hand he holds the stem of an upala flower which blossoms at the level of his right ear. Upon this stands a flaming sword of wisdom similar to that held by Manjushri. This sword has the power to dispel ignorance from the mind of whoever beholds it. Between the thumb and forefinger of his left hand he holds the stem of another upala flower which blossoms at the level of his left ear. Upon this rests the Kadam Emanation Scripture.

We may wonder why the sadhana specifically mentions the fact that our Spiritual Guide has one face and two hands, since this is perfectly normal! The reason is that we are visualizing our Spiritual Guide according to Tantra, and many Tantric Deities have more than one face and more than two hands. Heruka, for example, has four faces and twelve hands.

Our Spiritual Guide’s body is white with a reddish tint, and his skin is as smooth as a lotus petal. He has a serenely peaceful face, with elongated eyes and a long, high-bridged nose. He gazes down upon his disciples with a smile of delight, as a mother would look at her dearest child.

At Guru Tsongkhapa’s heart on a lotus and moon seat is Buddha Shakyamuni who has a golden-coloured body. His left hand, in the mudra of meditative equipoise, holds a precious bowl filled with nectar, and his right hand rests on his right knee with the tips of his fingers touching the seat. At Buddha Shakyamuni’s heart is Conqueror Vajradhara who has a blue-coloured body, one face, and two hands. In his right hand he holds a golden vajra and in his left a silver bell. His hands are crossed at his heart embracing his consort, Yingchugma, with whom he sits in sublime union, delighting in the great play of spontaneous bliss and emptiness. Both Conqueror Vajradhara and Yingchugma are adorned with various jewelled ornaments and wear garments of heavenly silk.

As mentioned before, according to Highest Yoga Tantra we strive to attain the state of Buddhahood possessing the seven pre-eminent qualities of embrace. These seven qualities are embodied by Conqueror Vajradhara. All Tantras include methods for transforming attachment into the spiritual path by generating pure, uncontaminated bliss and then using that mind of bliss to meditate on emptiness. The four classes of Tantra are distinguished by the way in which bliss is generated in conjunction with a consort. In Action Tantra, bliss is generated by looking at a consort, in Performance Tantra by exchanging smiles with her, in Yoga Tantra by touching her, and in Highest Yoga Tantra by entering into union with her.

Lama Losang Tubwang Dorjechang is endowed with the thirty-two major signs and eighty minor indications of a Buddha. His entire body is made of light and he sits with his legs crossed in the vajra posture amidst an aura of five-coloured rainbow lights, which are the nature of his five exalted wisdoms.

At first it is difficult to visualize this in detail, and we should be satisfied with a rough image of Lama Losang Tubwang Dorjechang. What matters most of all is to understand the significance of this visualization so that we can develop faith. As it says in the sadhana, we should regard our Spiritual Guide as ‘the very essence of all the Buddhas’. To do this we need to recall the instructions from the stages of the path on relying upon a Spiritual Guide, where there are many scriptural citations, analogies, and logical reasons proving that our Spiritual Guide is a Buddha.

According to Offering to the Spiritual Guide we regard our Spiritual Guide as an emanation of Je Tsongkhapa, who in turn is an emanation of Buddha Shakyamuni, who in turn is an emanation of Conqueror Vajradhara. We can be certain that our Spiritual Guide is an emanation of Conqueror Vajradhara because Conqueror Vajradhara himself said that in degenerate times he would appear in an ordinary form as a Spiritual Guide. Because Buddhas have completely abandoned self-cherishing they are necessarily non-deceptive; therefore we must believe what Conqueror Vajradhara says.

In the golden age, when Buddha Shakyamuni was teaching, there were sentient beings who had a great deal of merit, and so they were able to see Buddha Shakyamuni directly. Some were even able to see him as a Supreme Emanation Body endowed with the major signs and minor indications. These days, however, when times are degenerate and sentient beings have little merit, we are not able to see Buddha’s form directly. Even if a Buddha endowed with the hundred and twelve signs and indications were present in front of us we would be unable to see him. Impure minds can see only impure forms. Therefore, to make themselves accessible to sentient beings in these impure times, the Buddhas have to appear in ordinary forms as Emanation Bodies who appear to take rebirth from ordinary parents and are apparently subject to ageing, sickness, and death. However, they still perform the functions of a Buddha.

If we were to meet Buddha Shakyamuni directly, how would he help us? He would guide us by setting an immaculate example, teaching spiritual paths, and encouraging us in our practice. If we examine the actions of our present Spiritual Guide we will see that he or she is doing just this. Anyone who performs the actions of a Buddha must be a Buddha. Thus, although our Spiritual Guide appears in an ordinary form, we can be certain that he or she is a Buddha.

Everyone who has attained enlightenment in the past has done so with the intention of helping sentient beings, and every Buddha has promised to continue working for the benefit of others until all sentient beings have reached enlightenment. Since it is inconceivable that Buddhas would break their promise, we can be certain that all the Buddhas are still working to help us. If we ask who is helping us right now, the answer is our Spiritual Guide. Therefore, it follows that our Spiritual Guide is an emanation of the Buddhas.