Lecture No. 0319
Global Lamrim II
Lecture No. 0319
Lamrim Volume 1: P42-L30 ~ P43-L16
Date: 30 Mar 2022
Topic: Unbreakable lineage 1: Many lineages all consolidated in Master Atisha
Today, we will continue with the study of Master Atisha’s good qualities. Everyone, please turn to page 147 of the Introduction to the Four Interwoven Annotations, the Chinese text. Let’s read the blue print in the last paragraph. [00:13]
2. How his lineage was unbroken: [V.1 P.42] With regard to the lineages of gurus, there are two lineages: that of the vehicle common [to both the Hinayana and Mahayana] and that of the Mahayana. Within the latter, there are again two: those of the perfection vehicle and those of the mantra vehicle. Within the perfection vehicle, there are two more divisions – the lineage of the view and lineage of deeds - and within the lineage of deeds, there are lineages descended from Maitreya and from Manjughosa [Manjusri], making three lineages in the perfection vehicle*. Further, with respect to the mantra vehicle, there are five systems of lineages. In addition, there are such lineages as the lineages of tenets, the lineages of blessings, and the lineages of various instructions. Atisha was endowed with instructions from these many lineages. The gurus from whom Atisha received teachings directly are as Nag-tso says:
The gurus on whom you always relied Had achieved spiritual attainments; they were many:
Ratnākaraśānti Santi-pa and Ser-ling-ba Dharmakīrti, Bhadrabodhi, and Jnanasri.
And, in particular, you possessed Instructions on the profound view and the vast deeds Passed down over the generations from Nagarjuna.
It is well known that he had twelve gurus who had achieved spiritual attainments, and there were many others as well.
3. His mastery of the five topics of knowledge has already been explained. His mastery of the five topics of knowledge was explained above. Therefore, this master was able to determine well the intent of the Conqueror. [01:44]
This section is about the unbroken lineage; in other words, with all the lineages Master Atisha received, there were the lineages that are common to both Hinayana and Mahayana; within the Mahayana lineage, there were two divisions: the perfection vehicle and the mantra vehicle. Within the perfection vehicle, it is further divided into two more lineages: the lineage of the view and the lineage of deeds. The lineage of deeds Master Atisha received was passed from Maitreya Bodhisattva as well as from Manjusri Bodhisattva. Here the text says there are three lineages in total*. Furthermore, for the mantra vehicle, he received all Tantric lineages, the lineage of the Guhyasamaja, the lineage of the mother tantras, the lineage of Action and Yoga, and the lineage of Yamantaka; there are five lineages in total. In addition, Master Atisha also possessed the lineage of tenets, the lineage of blessings, and the lineage of various instructions. As for the gurus from whom Master Atisha received personal instruction, as Nag-tso stated in the Eighty Verses of Praise: “The gurus on whom you always relied, Had achieved spiritual attainments; they were many: Ratnākaraśānti Santi-pa and Ser-ling-ba Dharmakīrti, Bhadrabodhi, and Jnanasri. And, in particular, you possessed Instructions on the profound view and the vast deeds. Passed down over the generations from Nagarjuna.” According to the legend, Master Atisha had twelve gurus who had achieved spiritual attainments; besides, he had many other gurus as well. Next is the 3rd part [of the 4th subtopic]; his skilful mastery of the five topics of knowledge, which we have explained in the previous teachings. To sum up, this master was able to well-discern the Conqueror’s intended meaning. [03:28]
[*According to Geshe Sopa’s Lamrim commentary v.1 p.41 L.3 “The lineage of extensive conduct also has two lines of descent: a lineage coming from the Buddha to Maitreya, and a lineage coming from the Buddha to Manjusri. So there are three perfection vehicle lineages: two lineages of extensive conduct and one of profound view”.]
Next, let’s look at what Rinpoche stated in the Introduction. This section is mainly for us to learn the lineages Master Atisha received – these lineages also represent the teachings passing down from one master to another. “2. The unbroken lineages: With regard to the lineages of gurus, there are two lineages: that of the vehicle common and that of the Mahayana,” the lineages that Master Atisha upheld. The “vehicle common” is the common practice shared by both practitioners and Mahayana practitioners. Generally speaking, it refers to the shared prerequisite of motivation shaping for both Mahayana and Hinayana, such as taking refuge, renunciation, etc. Another perspective from the great eminent Sumedhamuni master is that it refers to the four sects – Sarvāstivāda, Mahasamghika, Sthaviravāda, and Sammatīya – in the Hinayana tradition. [04:12]
“Within the latter”, the “latter” refers to Mahayana, and the “two” are “those of the perfection vehicle and those of the mantra vehicle” – exoteric and esoteric. “Within the perfection vehicle, there are two more divisions – the lineage of the view and lineage of deeds. And within the lineage of deeds, there are lineages descended from Maitreya and from Manjughosa, making three lineages in the perfection vehicle,” Master Atisha possessed all these lineages. [04:35]
Next, “with respect to the mantra vehicle, there are five systems of lineages;” the “mantra vehicle” includes the lineage of the father tantras, and the lineage of the mother tantras. What does the lineage of the father tantras refer to? It is a practice involving many chosen deities of the lineage of the Guhyasamaja [this word in Sanskrit means “a gathering of secrets”]. And what is the lineage of the mother tantras? It is the practice of meditating on the chosen deities like Cakrasaṃvara, etc. The 3rd of these five systems of lineages is Action and Yoga tantra. The 4th one is all mantra lineages, and the fifth one is the lineage of Yamantaka. These five lineages are recorded in the extensive biography of Master Atisha. [05:10]
The text continues, “In addition, there are such lineages as the lineages of tenets, the lineages of blessings, and the lineages of various instructions so on and so forth. Atisha was endowed with instructions from these many lineages. The gurus from whom Atisha received teachings directly are as Nag-tso says: ‘The gurus on whom you always relied, [which means his teachers] Ratnākaraśānti Santi-pa and Ser-ling-ba Dharmakīrti, Bhadrabodhi, and Jnanasri,’” so on and so forth; in other words, these gurus were all with incredible spiritual attainments. [05:40]
Over here “all mantra lineages” specifically refers to the mantras [sacred utterance] in the lineage, which includes the perfection vehicle, the tantra vehicle, and various mantra lineages of both Buddhist and non-Buddhist. As for the “Guhyasamaja”, it is the name of a chosen deity of the Anuttarayoga [the Highest Yoga tantra]. The Anuttarayoga is further divided into the lineage of the father tantras and the lineage of the mother tantras. The lineages of the father tantras mainly expound the method/practice part of the tantras, while the lineages of the mother tantras mainly interpret the wisdom part of the tantras. The lineage of “Yoga tantra” is also one of the four levels of Tantra. Which level is it? It is the third one. The practice of this tantra training is characterized by the inner yoga. However, since this is not the most auspicious yoga practice, it is known as the Yoga tantra. This is the lineage of “Yoga tantra”. “Yamantaka” is the name of one of the chosen deities of the Anuttarayoga, and it is the manifestation of honorable Manjusri in wrathful form. [06:39]
There is another, “with respect to the mantra vehicle, there are five systems of lineages”; we have made modifications to this part in Lamrim translation [in the later part of this paragraph]. The text says, “there are such lineages as the lineages of tenets,” which refers to various tenets of both Buddhist and non-Buddhist lineages. Why? Because we will also study about the non-Buddhist tenets, right? It follows, “And the lineages of various instructions”; as to this part, Venerable Fa-zun translated it as “and the lineages of various instructions;” the phrase “so on and so forth” was not included; This was a revised translation based on the Tibetan text. [07:09]
The text reads, “as Nag-tso says,” which is the Praise in the Kadam collection of adage. Now, we are moving into the part about the gurus of Master Atisha. The text says “The gurus on whom you always relied Ratnākaraśānti Santi-pa”; Santi-pa is the translation of Ratnākaraśānti, which also can be translated as Precious-source, Ratnākaraśānti. He was the guru living in the 9th century. He was from the Brahman caste; and was ordained at the time of the king Devapavla. He mastered the five topics of knowledge and was very prominent. There was one very significant incident; when he was invited by the Sri Lanka emperor to visit Sri Lanka. At that time, when the ministers and civilians heard that the guru was about to arrive from the boat trip, they waited by the sea for seven days. Besides, they thoroughly swept the road clean from the seashore to the kingdom, decorating the road with flying banners along the way, and the king also prepared vast offerings. [08:09]
This guru Santi-pa lived a long life. When he was one hundred years old, his disciple, named Kotalipa, was very bright and very diligent. This disciple studied earnestly for 12 years on the wisdom of non-conceptuality, and he achieved the Mahamudra-siddhi, abided in the pristine awareness. At this point, the deity, Indra [Sakra], noticed such great achievement of Kotalipa; then he invited Master Kotalipa to the 33 deity realm, but Master Kotalipa did not want to be away from his guru; Kotalipa said: “I want to prostrate to my guru, Santi-pa. Even though I have attainment as a Buddha now, the immense kindness from my guru is immeasurable.” And then with his clairvoyance power he flew over to the place where Master Santi-pa resided. It would take about six months to reach the residence of Master Santi-pa; however, Kotalipa accomplished it instantly. [09:12]
Upon arrival, he offered all instructions on the wisdom of non-conceptuality teachings to Master Santi-pa. The most excellent part is after studying for 12 years, Master Santi-pa also achieved the Mahamudra-siddhi. The mentioning of 100 years of age means that when the disciple had that attainment, Master Santi-pa was 100 years old. By the time he achieved the Mahamudra-siddhi after practicing for 12 years, how old was he? Santi-pa was 112 years of age. He started the practice of Mahamudra at the age 100, and attained the Mahamudra-siddhi after twelve years of practice. [09:47]
I feel that both the teacher and the disciple are incredibly remarkable; [I mean] very amazing! Why? Because a centenarian is a miracle; it is a miracle among miracles that one could continue practice for 12 years and attain the Mahamudra-siddhi! So, we as practitioners should emulate such a great guru – no matter how old we are, we should persevere with meditation/cultivation on the teachings; by no means should we be limited by our age. Undoubtedly, a master as eminent as Santi-pa, he was excellent to begin with. Yet, our efforts in meditation/cultivation training are for the cause of becoming accomplished; we can’t be contented as an ordinary being. This is the guru of Master Atisha – Master Santi-pa. [10:24]
【全球广论 II 讲次: 0319】
(更新日期: 2022年3月30日)
00:00
今天我们继续学习阿底峡尊者的功德，请大家把《四家合注入门》翻到 147 页，看最下一段中间的蓝字。 00:13
那么这一段传承没有间断的状况：就是尊者的师承中，有共通乘小乘及其大乘两种传承，大乘的传承中又分为显教度彼岸乘及密咒乘的两种传承。度彼岸乘又分两种传承：见传承和行传承；尊者的行传承又有从弥勒菩萨所传来的，还有从文殊菩萨所传来的，这里边说共有三种传承。然后在密咒乘中又具足一切密咒的传承、密集的传承、母续的传承、事部及瑜伽部的传承、阎摩敌的传承，共五派传承。另外尊者还具足宗派的传承、加持的传承，以及种种教授的传承等许多传承。尊者亲炙闻法的上师，就像《赞》中说：“尊者长时依止的师长，有响底巴——寂静、金洲法称、跋陀罗菩提——觉贤，及迦那师利——智吉祥等许多得到成就的大德。特别是您还具足从龙猛辗转传来的甚深和广大的教授。”相传尊者有十二位得到成就的师长，另外还有许多其他的师长。接着到第三科、尊者善巧五种明处，前面已经讲过了：尊者善巧五种明处的情形，前面已经讲过了。所以，综上所述，这位大阿阇黎是能够周密地抉择佛陀的意旨。 03:28
“后中分二”，“后中”就是指大乘，这个“分二”就是“谓度彼岸及秘密咒”——显、密。“度彼岸中复有两种传承：谓见传承及行传承；其中行传承复有从慈尊传及妙音传，凡三传承。”这所有的传承具德阿底峡尊者都是具有的。 04:35
接下来是“于密咒中亦复具足五派传承”，这个“密咒中”，例如父续传承、母续传承——父续又是指什么呢？就是指密集为主的诸多本尊。那母续是指什么呢？指胜乐为主的诸多本尊。第三个是事部及瑜伽部，第四个是一切密咒传承，接下来就是阎摩敌的传承，这个五派传承在《广传》中都有记载。 05:10
然后在这里边说：“一切密咒传承”，特别是指咒语的传承，这个咒语的传承包括显教、密教，还有内外道的种种咒语的传承。还有这里边涉及到“密集”，“密集”是指无上瑜伽部的一位本尊的名字。无上瑜伽部分为父续、母续两种，父续主要是阐释密法中的方便分，母续主要是智慧分。“瑜伽部”的传承也是四部密续的传承之一。瑜伽部是四部密续中的第几部啊？第三部。此部修习密法的时候，以内在瑜伽为主，但是还不是最殊胜的密法，所以称为瑜伽部，这一部的传承就是“瑜伽传承”。“阎摩敌”就是无上瑜伽的一位本尊的名字，至尊文殊化现的忿怒相的本尊。 06:39
还有一个，“于密咒中亦复具足五派传承”，这个改译了一下。还有“宗派传承”，就是泛指各种内外道宗义的传承，因为我们也会学到外道宗义，对不对？“及其种种教授传承等诸多传承”，法尊法师原来的是“及其种种教授传承等”，没有“诸多传承”，这个根据藏文译本又改译了一下。 07:09