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MACHIK'S COMPLETE EXPLANATION Clarifying the Meaning of Chöd trans. & ed. by Sarah Harding. 368 pp. A Tsadra Foundation Series book. #MACOEX $29.95 cloth Click Here to Order

Machik's Complete Explanation is the most famous book of the teachings of Machik Labdrön, the great female saint and yogini of 11-12th century Tibet, now finally translated in its entirety into English. Machik developed a system, the Mahamudra Chöd, that takes the Buddha's teachings as a basis and applies them to the immediate experiences of negative mind states and malignant forces. Machik's unique feminine approach is to invoke and nurture the very "demons" that we fear and hate, transforming those reactive emotions into love. It is the tantric version of developing compassion and fearlessness, a radical method of cutting through ego-fixation.

"Sarah Harding's masterful translation is a real gift to students of Chod and this extraordinary woman teacher. It provides much new material including intimate question and answer sessions between Machik and her disciples. The translation has such a fresh living quality you almost feel you are receiving teachings directly from Machik Lapdron herself."- Tsultrim Allione, author of Women of Wisdom and founder of the Tara Mandala Retreat Center

Sarah Harding is the translator of Creation and Completion. She teaches at Naropa University.

The Specialness of Chöd

"Machik-la, in what ways is this dharma system of yours, this Chöd, more profound and significant than other teachings?" he asked.

"Listen, son. My dharma system, Mahamudra Chöd, is much better than other teachings. Its meaning of crucial significance is very profound. It is an uncommon, distinctive dharma doctrine, a teaching of esoteric instruction unlike the others. This teaching is the marrow of all religions, the pinnacle of all vehicles, the most sublime essence of all sutra and tantra rolled into one. The teaching that liberates the four devils in their own ground is the supreme method to forcefully eliminate the five poisons. It is the axe that cuts the roots of the green tree of ego-fixation. It is the army that decisively averts the battle of cyclic existence. It is the force that conquers the eighty thousand kinds of obstructing forces. It is the good medicine that overcomes four hundred and four kinds of disease. It does not come to fruition at a much later time; rather it is an instruction for complete awakening in one life and in one body. Unlike any other dharma system, this Sacred Dharma Chöd is this yogini's special teaching.

"Noble son, dharma practitioners these days lust for this life and are attached to it, so they cannot renounce ego-fixation. Due to this crucial point, they desire the enjoyments of their bodies. They employ all kinds of methods, such as wrathful mantras, charmed substances, and magical power, to turn back any person or any nonhuman spirit who endangers their friends and relatives or their power and fortune. They apply intense vigilance in methods of self-protection, meditating on [protection] circles and camps. Some teachers who expound the Dharma to audiences attract enough monks to get hold of a monastic estate. Achieving worldly esteem and fortune, they run a business dealing in donations. This vehicle is very inferior and doesn't even measure up to a horsehair [against the power of] cyclic existence. Their kind of dharma system and that of this beggar woman are totally different.

"The devils that those people avert and exorcise (bskrad) through hate-filled wrathful activity I draw in through the power of love and compassion and gather around me as retinue. The enjoyments and body so cherished and coveted by others I offer up without coveting as an offering substance to the Three Jewels, and down to the six realms of sentient beings, and to the needy creditors of karmic debt. In particular, to all those evil ones who hanker after body and life, terrifying nonhuman spirits, I make it the object of greatest generosity and relinquish it without attachment.

"In order to turn the mind away from mundane cyclic existence, and to forcefully cut through the entanglements of friends and relatives, the method to spontaneously cut through the mind that craves and clings to all appearing objects is to dwell alone with one's nonself in an empty, uninhabited place and cut the ego-fixation of external appearing objects. That is the dharma system of this beggar woman.

"This living body that is held so dear- if it is cast away without a thought as food for demons, then fixation on the self of this interim body will be severed spontaneously. That is the dharma system of this beggar woman.

"Abiding within the state of emptiness, unborn cognizant awareness hidden in the basic space of the sky is unimpeded and automatically, innately free. Thus, fixation on "I" is spontaneously severed, and awareness without action captures the stronghold. That is the dharma system of this beggar woman.

"Gods and demons as designated by worldly people are well known to all worldly people. What is called a god is anything that appears objectively to worldly people as nice, pleasing, uplifting, or inspiring. Whatever appears objectively to the mind as ugly and unpleasant, or in a frightening, life-threatening form, is called a demon. In short, whatever helps is called a god, and whatever harms is called a demon. These are labels used by worldly people based merely on good and bad, or help and harm. It is the lewd talk of fools and has no real truth to it. Moreover, the good can also cause harm, and the bad can be beneficial. There are many cases of what is at first beneficial later causing harm; and what is harmful at first may later be helpful- there is no guarantee. The good object of attachment that you take to be a god could really hurt you. The bad, displeasing demon may be of some help. Whether you call it 'god' or 'demon' makes no difference; nothing is definite. Holding on to the polarized ideas of gods and demons based only on good/bad and help/harm is the superstition of worldly people. There is no real truth to it. Therefore, Chöd practitioners never believe in fixating on gods and demons based merely on good and bad, help and harm. They don't even use the labels 'gods and demons' for mere good, bad, help, or harm. They don't even make those sounds. Knowing that they are not true, you should know how to integrate this on the path.

The yogin who realizes both the outer and inner non-self, causes the energy-mind (rlung sems) to enter the central channel. That force brings on the special experience of transparent bliss-clarity, and from within that state she or he is fully cognizant of past, present and future. With heightened awareness of all phenomena, light rays spread. Numerous beings will be tamed by the light rays of many sets of fruitional qualities, such as unimpeded explication, debate and composition. The [method] that possesses the great power and ability to accomplish that goal is called the Chöd of Mahamudra. Therefore, dharma such as this is different than the dharma systems of others. Thus is it of profound significance, noble son.

Some common people have glimpses and concentrations of a mere emptiness or mere clarity of the characteristic of real mind. Then those ignoramuses call it "mahamudra." Those who practice such a mahamudra without knowing that it is just the characteristic of unreal mind are idiots practicing a dharma system of fools. Pay no attention to it. Fling it far away.

All phenomena are contained in the midst of mind-itself alone. Therefore, to know the center of mind alone is to know the center of all phenomena. My dharma, therefore, is the great Middle Way (madhyamaka).

This dharma of mine is the fruitional dharma of the Great Completion (dzogchen). All phenomena including the apparent existence of cyclic existence and its transcendence (samsara and nirvana) are complete within mind-itself alone. Therefore, if one knows the complete way in which everything is contained within the meaning of mind alone, then the meaning of all phenomena is complete. So it is the Great Completion. Understand this, my disciples."