VIVID AWARENESS THE MIND INSTRUCTIONS OF KHENPO GANGSHAR KHENCHEN THRANGU TRANSLATED AND EDITED BY David Karma Choephel SHAMBHALA Boston & London 2011 Shambhala Publications, Inc. Horticultural Hall 300 Massachusetts Avenue Boston, Massachusetts oius www.shambhala.com © 2on by Khenchen Thrangu In the appendix, "Naturally Liberating Whatever You Meet: Instructions to Guide You on the Profound Path" is translated by Erik Perna Kunsang © Rangjung Yeshe Translations & Publications, 1989. Revised in 2009. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. 9 8 7 6 S 4 3 2 I FIRST EDITION Printed in the United States ofAmerica @This edition is printed on acid-free paper that meets the American National Standards Institute Z39·48 Standard. OThis book was printed on 30% postconsumer recycled paper. For more information please visit www.shambhala.com. Distributed in the United States by Random House, Inc., and in Canada by Random House of Canada Ltd Designed by Steve Dyer LIBRARY OF CoNGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA Thrangu, Rinpoche, 1933- Vivid Awareness: the mind instructions ofKhenpo Gangshar/Khenchen Thrangu; translated and edited by David Karma Choephei.-Ist ed. p. em Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-I-S9030-8I6-S (pbk.: alk. paper) 1. Mahamudra (Tantric rite). 2. Rdzogs-chen. I. Gangshar, Khenpo, 1925-19S8 or 9· II. Choephel, David Karma. III. Title BQ7699.M34T476 2011 294·3'443s-dc22 2010029800 CONTENTS Foreword vii Translator's Introduction IX Preface Xlll PART ONE Helpful Advice for Good Times and Bad 1. Prophecies of Hidden Lands 3 2. Recognizing Our Good Fonune 19 3· The General Preliminaries 30 PART TWO The Special Preliminaries: The Analytic Meditation of a Pandita 4· The Foundation: Karma, Cause, and Result 45 5· The Importance of Mind 62 6. Appearances and Mind 78 7· Looking at the Mind 94 8. A Summary of the Analytic Meditation of a Pandita 107 PART THREE The Resting Meditation of a Kusulu 9· Devotion and Stability 113 10. Getting Right Down to Meditation 121 n. The Benefits of the Kusulu's Meditation 133 12. Distinguishing Mind and Awareness 154 v CONTENTS PART FOUR Following Through in Our Lives 13. Taking the Situations of Our Lives as the Path 169 14· Taking Joy and Sorrow as the Path 175 15. Taking Pain and Illness as the Path 179 16. Taking Afflictions and Emotions as the Path 182 17. Taking the Bardo as the Path 199 18. Closing Words 210 Appendix: The Texts of Khenpo Gangshar 215 The Concise Mind Instructions Called Naturally Liberating Whatever You Meet 217 Naturally Liberating Whatever You Meet: Instructions to Guide You on the Profound Path 221 Bibliography 234 Index 235 VI FOREWORD EvER SINCE MY YOUTH, I have loved to hear stories of Khenpo Gangshar. His personality and wisdom are truly unique, and his teachings combine profound experience and complete practicality. He was a root guru to my father, Vidyadhara the Venerable Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, and a pivotal teacher for the Venerable Thrangu Rinpoche. In the summer of 2001, I was able to visit Tibet and I walked and meditated in some of the meadows and caves where Khenpo Gang­ shar taught. I reflected on how such a great master trained his pupils in the profound view of dzogchen. This land of Tibet, with its snow­ capped mountains and vast plains, is unparalleled in its beauty and ruggedness. It was in this environment that the Vidyadhara Trungpa Rinpoche and Thrangu Rinpoche received the most precious teach­ ings that are held in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. I'm extremely delighted that this book, Vivid Awareness: The Mind Instructions of Khenpo Gangshar, is available in the West, since the increase of ma­ terialism and the overwhelming power of strong emotions has not lessened since the time of Khenpo Gangshar, but has increased. He forewarned that this was a time of change, and in order to not be overwhelmed and seduced by the negativity of modern speed, it is essential to understand one's mind. This text dearly lays out the step­ by-step process of how one begins that journey. The instructions con­ tained within it are both profound and simple. The commentary that Thrangu Rinpoche has done is both lucid and incredibly penetrating. We are fortunate to have an actual dis­ ciple of Khenpo Gangshar who has mastered these teachings to both explain and demonstrate how l!nlightenment can manifest in our Vll FOREWORD mind and in our life. The translation itself is fluid and accessible. Thus this book is an excellent ode to Khenpo Gangshar. One of the essential hallmarks of Khenpo Gangshar's teachings is his instruction for recognizing the nature of one's own mind. Not only does this lead to confidence in one's basic state of being, but it allows for the ability to not be swayed by the vicissitudes of life, and to remain forthright in all one's activities, constantly remaining in a state of sacredness. In order to do this, one must understand thoughts and emotions, and be able to accurately pinpoint the continuum of wisdom throughout all states of mind, whether high or low. This un­ fabricated wisdom is always present. This is carefully and beautifully explained in both Khenpo Gangshar's essential instructions, and by the wonderful elucidation of the Venerable Thrangu Rinpoche. Also what is evident in this book is the unique inseparability of mahamudra and ati. These two profound traditions are one and the same. Therefore this book is an excellent guide for all of us who are traveling on the path of awakenment. SAKYONG MIPHAM RINPOCHE February 2010 VIII TRANSLATOR'S INTRODUCTION IT 1 s THE NATURE of being alive that we encounter many differ­ ent situations. Sometimes things go well for a while. Sometimes they don't, and we feel dissatisfaction, pain, or even misery. Sometimes things may seem good on the outside, but we still cannot find lasting happiness and comfort on the inside. This is just the nature of sam­ sara, and it is natural to want to find relie£ This is why the Buddha taught the Dharma in general, and in par­ ticular why he taught mind instructions-instructions on how to stop turning our attention outward to all the things that distract us and elicit negative responses and instead look inside to the vivid and dear awareness that is the nature of our minds. These instructions were passed down from master to disciple in many Buddhist tradi­ tions including mahamudra and dzogchen, and every once in a while there would come a master who would adapt the instructions for their own time and situation. One such master was Khenpo Gang­ shar Wangpo, who in the mid-r9sos foresaw the difficulties coming in Tibet and realized that he had to teach these instructions in order to help people who would soon be engulfed in turmoil. One of these people was Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche. Thrangu Rinpoche met Khenpo Gangshar in the summer of 1957 when Khenpo Gangshar went to Thrangu Monastery in eastern Tibet. While there, Khenpo Gangshar gave these instructions, which are a distillation of the essential points of the practices of both maha­ mudra and dzogchen. Later they were written down, first in a very short form and then as the slightly longer text known as "Naturally IX TRANSLATOR'S INTRODUCTION Liberating Whatever You Meet." What makes them so beneficial for our time is that Khenpo Gangshar presents them in a way that is easy for anyone to understand and put into practice. Although many great masters, including Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, were students ofKhenpo Gangshar, few living masters re­ main who heard Khenpo Gangshar give these instructions in his own voice. That makes these teachings of Thrangu Rinpoche especially precious: they are a direct and living link between ourselves and a forceful, dynamic master whose teachings benefited innumerable people in difficult times in Tibet and beyond. In 2007, Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche taught the mind instruc­ tions of Khenpo Gangshar on four separate occasions. Although pre­ viously Rinpoche had not often taught them, he said these were the most important teachings he had received in his life. They had been the most helpful for him during the times when he faced the great­ est hardships, and Rinpoche spoke of how they could be helpful for anyone during both good times and bad. What shone through all the teachings was the depth of Rinpoche's conviction in the efficacy of these instructions and his devotion to Khenpo Gangshar. Each time Rinpoche taught, he emphasized different points and drew on different sources not only to explain the instructions but also to show how they relate to other areas of Buddhist views and prac­ tice. This book combines all of these teachings into one thorough and complete presentation. It opens with Rinpoche's description of the history and circumstances in which Khenpo Gangshar gave these teachings, and then goes through all of the points of Khenpo Gangshar's instructions, including the general preliminary steps that we follow to prepare ourselves, the specific preliminaries of inves­ tigating what the mind is like, the actual main practice of resting within the nature of the mind, and the follow-through instructions on taking all of the different situations we encounter in our lives as the path so that we can nurture our recognition of the nature of mind and not be overwhelmed by transient circumstances of our lives and deaths.