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 Samaya Vows—Great Perfection: Outer and Inner Preliminaries Book Excerpt

by the Third Dzogchen Rinpoche, trans. by Cortland Dahl, intro. by Dzogchen Ponlop

Most Tibetan Buddhists take vows at some point—during initiations, for example. This excerpt from Great Perfection: Outer and Inner Preliminaries by the Third Dzogchen Rinpoche describes the very concrete results of keeping—or not keeping—certain vows.

The Secret Mantra's samaya vows of the masters of awareness are twofold: those associated with maturing empowerments and those associated with liberating instructions. Generally speaking, there are a hundred thousand different categories of samaya, out of which there are twenty-five essential samaya vows. These, however, can be condensed even further into the three samayas of enlightened form, speech, and mind. As stated in the Tantra of the Clear Expanse:

     All samayas are explained to be contained
     In those of enlightened form, speech and mind.

Concerning the samaya of enlightened form, you should not act disrespectfully towards the vajra master, the buddhas, bodhisattvas, yidam deities, dakinis, your brothers and sisters, vajra siblings, nor towards any sentient being, the five elements, or your own body. You should also refrain from taking their lives, stealing from them, abusing them physically or verbally, and so on. You shouldn't have a distorted sense of pure view or do anything that involves nonvirtuous activities or negativity. In fact, the environment and its inhabitants, both inside and out, as well as your own body, are all divine; they are all the yidam deity. For this reason, you should have unbiased pure view towards anything associated with enlightened form, as well as make prostrations and offerings, sing their praises, and do other such things.

Concerning the samaya of enlightened speech, you should not deviate from anything that the vajra master says, nor should you belittle the Buddhist scriptures, from those of the Buddha himself down to those written by ordinary people. You should also avoid being angry or harboring malice towards any word or sound, whether it comes from the elements or a living being. Instead, act with respect and devotion, thinking of every sound as the enlightened speech of all the buddhas.

When it comes to the samaya of the enlightened mind, you should eliminate every unvirtuous thought, to the point where such thoughts do not even arise for a moment. Without breaking the continuity of virtue and bodhichitta, benefit others to the best of your ability.


Cortland Dahl with the Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche

As part of the samaya of enlightened form, you should meditate on the development stage of the divine yidam deity; as part of the samaya of enlightened speech, never part from the recitation of mantras; and as part of the samaya of the enlightened mind, never stray from the cycle of the completion stage.

The temporary benefits of maintaining the samaya of enlightened form in this way are that your body will be free from illness and of benefit to sentient beings. You will be pleasing to the eye, and all who touch or see you will be set on the path of virtue. Ultimately, you will arrive at the vajra seat and benefit others wherever you happen to be. Once you die, you will work for the welfare of sentient beings with an infinite number of manifestations. Your form blazing with the marks and signs, you will gain mastery over the great, enlightened activities of the buddhas and work for the welfare of others.

If the samaya of enlightened form degenerates, the temporary results will be a short life and ill-health. All sorts of undesirable things will take place and those who see or touch you will be reborn in the lower realms. Ultimately, you will experience the inescapable physical sufferings of Vajra Hell.

The temporary benefits of maintaining the samaya of enlightened speech are that your speech will be pleasing and everyone will regard what you say as the truth. As a result, gods, spirits and humans will do your bidding. You will understand the tantras, scriptures and key instructions and will be able to compose all manner of poetry and treatises, a multitude of dharma words having burst forth from your mind. All the malice and ill-will of those who listen to your speech will be pacified, all of your aims will be accomplished, and you will be liberated in one life. Ultimately, the emanations of your speech will carry out the welfare of beings and turn the wheel of the Dharma in a faultless manner.

If the samaya of enlightened speech degenerates, the temporary effects will be such that you will be in danger of contracting diseases of the tongue. Your slanderous remarks and harmful comments will harm both yourself and others, and all those who hear your words will have bad luck and be reborn in the lower realms. Ultimately, you will suffer from having five hundred ploughs run through your tongue.

The temporary benefit of maintaining the samaya of enlightened mind is that your mental emanations will tame beings. The concentration born in your own mind will naturally bring about a state of meditation in the minds of other beings. Wherever you happen to be, concentration will arise and the sentient beings in the area will be reborn in the Realm of Bliss. Ultimately, all sentient beings will be established in buddhahood and, inseparable from the vajra mind, they will transcend suffering.

If the samaya of enlightened mind degenerates, on the other hand, the temporary results will be that vice will cause harm to everyone, to both yourself and others. None of your aims will be accomplished. Instead, they will be ill-fated and illness, malicious forces and depression will beset you. Ultimately, you will have no chance to escape the lower realms.

In short, when the vows associated with the maturing empowerments are present in one's state of being, the samaya vows need to be maintained. You should, therefore, turn away from all forms of vice and practice only virtue. In all the tantras of the Ancient Translation School, such as the Array of Samayas Tantra, the Secret Man

tra's samaya vows of the masters of awareness are taught to be of primary importance.

There are, in fact, boundless classifications of these vows, including the hundred thousand classes of samaya. The presentation here has followed that found in the texts of Heart Essence of the Dakinis, where these classifications are presented in a condensed form.

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More about the book . . .

In the Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism, the Great Perfection is considered the most profound and direct path to enlightenment. The instructions of this tradition present a spiritual shortcut, a radically direct approach that cuts through confusion and lays bare the mind's true nature of luminous purity. For centuries, these teachings have been taught and practiced in secret by some of the greatest adepts of the Buddhist tradition.

Great Perfection: Outer and Inner Preliminaries contains detailed instructions on the foundational practices of this tradition from the Excellent Chariot, a Great Perfection instruction manual compiled by the 3rd Dzogchen Rinpoche. This profound text is a commentary on the Heart Essence of the Dakinis, the Khandro Nyingtik, the most central collection of Great Perfection teachings in the Nyingma lineage. Distilling the teachings of the Heart Essence of the Dakinis into an accessible, easy-to-practice format, the Excellent Chariot leads the reader through the entire Buddhist path, starting with basic Buddhist contemplations that work to dislodge deeply ingrained patterns of thinking and behaving, and continuing on to the most advanced and secret meditative practices of the Great Perfection.

The teachings in this volume are drawn largely from the writings of the great Nyingma master Longchenpa and the root texts of the Heart Essence of the Dakinis itself. The 3rd Dzogchen Rinpoche begins by discussing the correct way to study and practice the Great Perfection teachings, before presenting an overview of the Great Perfection lineage and an explanation on the meaning and importance of empowerment. In the chapters that follow, he presents practical instructions on the outer and inner preliminaries, the so-called "ngondro" practices. These practices enable the practitioner to transform and purify the mind, preparing it for the advanced Great Perfection meditation of Trekchö and Tögal, the breakthrough and direct leap.

In addition to the translation mentioned above, Great Perfection: Outer and Inner Preliminaries contains a beautiful introduction by the Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, a contemporary Great Perfection master, and an extensive glossary of key Great Perfection terminology. A second companion volume will contain advanced teachings on the separation, or rushen, practices, and the breakthrough stage of Great Perfection meditation.

"This amazing volume enshrines the Buddhist teachings for beginners, teaching how to deal with everyday life, how to apply one's mind to the pure teachings of the Buddha, and especially the extraordinary physical, vocal and mental exercises that awaken the enlightened nature of the mind. This wonderful volume is rich in blessings and filled with practical advice."--Tulku Thondup Rinpoche, author of The Healing Power of Mind

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About the authors . . .

The Third Dzogchen Rinpoche lived some 300 years ago in eastern Tibet. He was known particularly for his mastery of the Great Perfection teachings and his clear and accessible works on this topic.

Translator Cortland Dahl graduated from Naropa University with a Master's degree in Buddhist Studies and Tibetan language. He currently works as director of both the Rimé Foundation and Tergar Institute. With his wife and son, he divides his time between Nepal, India, and Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche is one of the foremost scholars and educators of his generation in the Nyingma and Kagyu schools of Tibetan Buddhism. An accomplished meditation master, calligrapher, visual artist, and poet, he is also well-versed in Western culture and technology. He is the primary architect for the many websites under the Nalandabodhi/Nitartha umbrella and publisher of Bodhi magazine, an internationally distributed Buddhist periodical. He is the author of Wild Awakening (2003) and Penetrating Wisdom (2006).