CITTAMANI TARA – EXTENSIVE COMMENTARY Series: Vajrayana teachings - 5 CITTAMANI TARA Extensive Commentary Kyabje Gelek Rimpoche teachings 1998-2007 This manuscript is only to be read by those with full initiation and full teachings of Cittamani Tara Jewel Heart Transcripts 2008 Gelek Rimpoche, Cittamani Tara – Extensive Commentary © 2007 Ngawang Gelek. All rights reserved. Jewel Heart Transcripts are lightly to moderately edited transcriptions of the teachings of Kyabje Gehlek Rimpoche and others teachers who have taught at Jewel Heart. Their purpose is to provide Rimpoche’s students, as well as all others who are interested, with these extremely valuable teachings in a way that gives one the feeling of being present at the teachings. JEWEL HEART 1129 Oak Valley Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48108, USA Phone (1) 734.994.3387 Fax (1) 734.994.5577 www.jewelheart.org ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This is in the first pace the moderately edited transcription of the Cittamani Tara Teachings by Kyabje Gelek Rimpoche during the US winter retreat December 1998-January 1999. This earliest version of the transcript was available in the US at the 2004 Winter Retreat. Incorporated in this edition are the Development Stage teachings of Cittamani Tara from the US Winter Retreat February 2004, the teachings on the Twenty-one Taras according to the Atisha system from the US Summer Retreat 2005 and according to the Suryagupta system from the NL Spring Retreat 2006, and some additional information from the Cittamani Tara teachings Nijmegen November 2007. Much of this teaching contains advanced material and a number of points remain to be clarified. Addi- tions in square brackets are by the editors. The transcription has been moderately edited. Please note that all section headings have been put in by the editors and are just intended to make the text easier to read. The section headings in bold type non- italic and numbered correspond to the [non-official] outline structure in the Appendix. All other headings are additional. Most Tibetan terms, for example, ke rim and zoh rim, are written in Rimpoche’s simplified form. For the sake of easy study a glossary, an index and a list of literature have been provided. The notes serve as references for study in detail, as clarifications for foreign words, and as account of the added information. A number of clarifying illustrations are to be found in the Appendices. The earliest version of the transcript was transcribed by Hartmut Sagolla and edited by Anne Warren. The 2004 winter retreat was transcribed and incorporated in the earlier transcript by Hartmut Sagolla. The illustrations on channels and chakras were done by Steve Kronenburg. The painted frontispiece as well as the drawing of Cittamani Tara opposite chapter 7 are by Marian van der Horst. The ink drawings oppo- site the chapters 2, 4 and 8 are by Wivine Vervaeke. Cover design and template were taken care of by Piet Soeters. Further editing, organizing the material into its outlines and giving the transcription its final shape was done by me. Please note: The transcription has not yet been checked with Rimpoche. Any mistakes are due to lack of understanding from the editor’s side. Jewel Heart, January 2008 Marianne Soeters CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION 9 2. SOURCE AND LINEAGE OF THE TEACHING 35 3. HOW TO GUIDE THE DISCIPLES BY THE ACTUAL TEACHING 47 4. PRELIMINARY PRACTICES 59 5. ACCUMULATION OF MERIT 79 6. THREE-KAYA PRACTICE 85 7. THE TWENTY-ONE TARAS 115 8. MEDITATIVE STATE 161 9. MANTRA RECITATION 195 10. CONCLUSION 201 11. YOGA BETWEEN SESSIONS 211 12. SOME NOTES ON THE COMPLETION STAGE 225 13. APPENDIX 251 13. GLOSSARY 307 14. LITERATURE 317 15. INDEX 319 I. INTRODUCTION Introduction to the teachings1 For the benefit of all beings, we would like to attain the state of buddhahood within this short life we have now, not in some future life sixteen lives from now. For this, we would like to really learn and practice. I want to talk with you about how extremely important learning is. When Tsongkhapa talked about his life story he always divided it into three categories. The first category is not how well he was born, how he was born, or who his father and mother were, but rather what he learned and what the subjects were that he learned. The second was his understanding; and the third, his practice. He divided his life story into these three categories. He did not talk about his youth and all that. Tsongkhapa says that he put a lot of efforts in, first, the total effort of learning; then secondly, gaining understanding through analyzing, and third, he practiced and meditated. That is the way Tsongkhapa shared his life for us. We have to do the same thing. Many people here really used to think that learning might not be nec- essary, and that you could just go on and meditate. A lot of people think that way; lots of people have even been taught that way. It sounds good, but what can you gain with that? What can that sort of prac- tice deliver to you? To tell you the truth, virtually nothing, because if you try to do something when you don’t know or are not really sure what you are doing, you will just be fooling yourself. Problem in our practice. One of the biggest problems in our practice is that, first of all, we don’t have enough interest. It is very hard to get the really good, deeply engaged interest, not just superficial interest. A superficial, Hollywood-type of interest really gets you nowhere. I know I am talking to a group of Va- jrayana practitioners and that’s why I can say this. Everybody has some kind of interest, everybody would like to do some kind of interesting, easy thing, just simply sit there and meditate ‘How wonderful it all is! If you just sit there, calm and quiet, and opening your eyes, looking into the air, things will appear!’ Yes, if you sit long enough watching and staring into the air, you will get all kinds of delusional im- pressions. You are definitely going to see white light; you are definitely going to see yellow; and green; you are definitely going to see all these jazzy-type of rainbow things. And what is that going to get you? Virtually nothing. Why nothing? If I don’t tell you the reasons, I’ll be just putting down certain types of practice. I have to tell you the reasons, so since you are all well educated, intelligent persons, you can judge by yourself. When we struggle on the spiritual path and, in particular, the Buddhist path, especially the Maha- yana, and even more so the Vajrayana Buddhist path, what are we trying to get? Nothing less than enlightenment. That is our total, our ultimate goal. That doesn’t mean there aren’t any other achievements in between where we are now and enlightenment. If you think that way, then you are foolish. I am talking about total enlightenment as our ultimate goal. Even if you don’t reach total enlightenment that doesn’t mean you are not going to get anything. Do you understand? There are lots of achievements in between. 1 This is the introduction Rimpoche gave in 1998. For the introductions to the outer and inner Cittamani initations, see Appendix. 10 Cittamani Tara – Extensive Commentary What Tsongkhapa emphasized. For example one of the most important things Tsongkhapa introduced is the three principles of the path in our lives. The first principle is to get at least [the determination to seek] freedom. The second principle is to have love and compassion in our lives. Principle number three is to have the wisdom to deal with our lives. First, let’s look at freedom. What is the obstacle to our freedom? It is the ego or ego-grasping or ego projection, and ego itself which we normally call dag dzin2 in Tibetan. If you do nothing but sit and con- centrate, is that going to harm the ego? No, it’s not going to have any effect whatsoever at that level. It will simply reduce the gross delusions such as anger or attachment because you are not thinking about the things that trigger those delusions while you are focusing. That doesn’t do any good for us when we are aiming at total freedom. To know that is extremely important. The problem is that, if you don’t know this, anybody can come and tell you that you can just simply meditate and be happy and uplifted, and bring yourself closer and closer to finally becoming God. You actually know you are not going to become God, but you can think that and fool yourself for a while. You half believe that if you keep on thinking that and doing nothing and sitting there like that, you will get all these rainbow visions and finally, you will become that. That is fooling yourself. Without putting in our own efforts, there can be no results whatsoever. There is no such thing as a free lunch anywhere! You know this, so don’t be fooled. This is why Tsongkhapa emphasized learning first. You don’t have to become a scholar; if you can, great, but that’s not the purpose. The purpose is that at least you should know what you are doing, where you are going, what your path is, where you have reached and what your aim is. Make sure that you are working with this much knowledge at least. This is why the third principle, wisdom, is so important.