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THE SNOW LION BUDDHIST NEWS & CATALOG
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A Fundamental Change of State—In Praise of Dharmadhatu Book Excerpt
by Nagarjuna, commentary by the Third Karmapa,
translated by Karl Brunnhölzl
We practice, study, and meditate, hoping to realize our buddha nature. What's actually transforming? These excerpts are taken from In Praise of Dharmadhatu: Nagarjuna and the Third Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje, translated and introduced by Karl Brunnhölzl.
The Sanskrit term asrayaparivatti (Tib. gnas yongs su gyur pa) is often translated as "transformation." In general, there are a great number of scriptures (from the Pali canon up through the tantras) in which this term is used with reference to a variety of different things or processes (see Davidson 1985). For some, the word "transformation" may be appropriate, but—as also the Dharmadhatustava and its commentaries show clearly—the whole point in terms of the dharmadhatu, natural purity, buddha nature, or the luminous nature of the mind, is that there is absolutely no transformation of anything into anything else.
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Rather, the revelation of mind's primordially pure nature as fruitional enlightenment only appears as a change of its state from the perspective of deluded mind—seeming to be obscured before and then unobscured later. But this does not refer to any change in nature, just as the sun first being covered by clouds and then being free from clouds would not be called a transformation of the sun. Thus, when this process of uncovering mind's fundamental nature is sometimes described in Buddhist texts as if there were a transformation of something impure (such as mental afflictions) into something pure (such as wisdom), this is just a conventional or expedient way of speaking. |
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Specifically, there is the classical Yogacara format of how the eight consciousnesses change state into the four wisdoms and the three kayas. This means that the alaya-consciousness manifests as mirror-like wisdom, the afflicted mind as the wisdom of equality, the mental consciousness as discriminating wisdom, and the five sense consciousnesses as all-accomplishing wisdom. Most fundamentally, once the emptiness in these consciousnesses has become pure, the dharmadhatu is completely pure. This may also be understood as the fundamental space of the dharmadhatu in which these changes of state take place, all the while being inseparable from it. As for the relationship between the four wisdoms and the three kayas, mirrorlike wisdom represents the dharmakaya, the wisdom of equality and discriminating wisdom make up the sambhogakaya, and all-accomplishing wisdom is the nirmanakaya.
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Karl Brunnhölzl
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The expanse of the basic element of being
When used in terms of ultimate reality, the Sanskrit words dharmadhatu or just dhatu are understood in two main ways, which are reflected by two different Tibetan words that translate the latter term. In its most general way, dhatu in dharmadhatu refers to the ultimate nature of all phenomena—being equivalent to emptiness—which is usually translated into Tibetan as dbyings ("expanse," "space" or "vastness"). If dhatu signifies specifically the nature of the mind of sentient beings in the sense of buddha nature as the most basic element of their entire being, it is typically rendered as khams (lit. "element"). To be sure, these two meanings and their Tibetan renderings are not necessarily regarded or employed in a mutually exclusive way. Still, generally speaking, they represent the understanding of (dharma)dhatu in Madhyamaka texts and the texts on buddha nature, respectively. Obviously, in the Dharmadhatustava and its commentaries, the term is clearly used in the latter way.
Luminous mind
Let's look into the Dharmadhatustava's main theme of "naturally luminous mind" (prakatiprabhasvaramcittam) being defiled by and then freed from adventitious stains (agantukamala). Throughout the Buddhist sources in which this notion appears, the word prabhasvara- (which means clear, brilliant, shining) often alternates and/or is equated with terms such as (pari-, vi-)suddha and vimala, thus being understood as "pure" or "stainless." Therefore, the rendering "luminous" does not—at least not primarily—refer to some notion of light but to mind's intrinsic purity, even if it seems to be tainted by temporary extrinsic defilements. This is also confirmed by the contemporary Kagyu and Nyingma master Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, who states that the notion of buddha nature refers primarily to the natural purity of mind. As for "adventitious stains," agantuka means "anything added or adhering," "incidental," "accidental," and also "newcomer," "stranger," or "guest." Thus, these stains are not "at home" in buddha nature, nor do they belong there but are rather strange new kids on the block or unwelcome guests. The sutras also say that "adventitious" refers to phenomena that can be purified or are removable. Most fundamentally, however, "adventitious" indicates that these stains are completely unreal, mere fictions of the dualistically mistaken consciousnesses of ordinary beings. This means that, in actual fact, there is nothing to be removed. "Removing" or "purifying" indicates that it is sufficient to realize that nothing of what appears as so solid and real to us right now is actually there or happening. This is similar to realizing, when mistaking a garden hose for a snake, that there isn't and never was any snake as that hose apart from us mistaking it for a snake and then panicking. Obviously, the process of realizing the same with regard to buddha nature and its adventitious stains—aka as samsaric suffering—is not as easy and swift as just giving that hose a second, closer look. Rather, we need to run a thorough and exhaustive check on all our most ingrained habits and patterns of first making up and then dealing with ourselves and our world.
As for the expression "the clear light (nature) of mind," which is found in most English translations and commonly used especially among Western followers of Tibetan Buddhism, it is usually based on the Tibetan 'od gsal ba, which can mean "clear or bright light," "lucidity," "luminosity," or "lustre" (it can also be their respective adjectives). I am not fundamentally arguing with the above translation, since it—on the positive side—surely has the benefit of being evocative and inspirational in tone. However, as countless incidents show, it is more often than not misunderstood in the sense of mind being some source of light (either in a sense of "love and light" or even in a visual sense), which is definitely not what is meant by it.
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