Essentials of Tantra in Terms of Hologram

Theory
unedited transcript

Session Six: Purity of Actions and Further Questions

Pure actions, similar to all the rest of them, are done within the context of the understanding of
voidness. What we imagine that were able to do is to exert an enlightening influence on
everyone around us the term for a Buddha-activity, which is sometimes just called Buddha-
activity. I prefer an enlightening influence, because a Buddha acts in a spontaneous way,
without having to plan it, and doesnt actually do anything. Just the way that a Buddha is is going
to exert an enlightening influence on everyone around.

There are four types of enlightening influence. The first is usually called pacifying, thats to
quiet down others, to calm them down. Just being in the presence of a Buddha and we can see
this with some of the great lamas calms us down. There was this great lama who has passed
away, Rato Rinpoche he was called, in India, who was known as the Baby Lama when I was
there. And people whose babies were constantly crying and it was really difficult to calm them
down, theyd bring them to the presence of this lama and just being in his presence they would
calm down.

He really was quite amazing. I saw him once in Bodhgaya where you have a ruthless crowd of
beggars around everybody, and demanding money, and really clawing at you, and he would come
with a little bag of coins, and he had this ability to just say, Line up, and Ill give a coin to each
of you. And they would all calm down and they would line up. I never saw anybody else able to
control these type of people and calm them. Thats one aspect that we have, that were able to
calm others down, quiet them down, which doesnt mean to put them to sleep, because were so
boring, but to be able to calm them down if theyre nervous and upset a wonderful quality to
have, to have that influence on others.

Then the second type of enlightening influence is called increase, usually. That means to
stimulate, when we have a stimulating influence on others. When somebody is in the presence
of a Buddha, then their minds are more clear, their energy is stronger. Theyre able to do things,
and all their various qualities increase, theyre stimulated. Also we could imagine that we have
that stimulating influence on everyone around, that we can bring out all their good qualities.

I remember experiences, where I would go to the old Ling Rinpoche, the Senior Tutor of His
Holiness before I could understand very much Tibetan, but with him I could understand almost
everything that he said. It was just so stimulating being in his presence that it really made the
mind much more clear and much more alert. It wasnt even that you had to do anything. It was
almost like his energy was like that. This is what were talking about with this Buddha-activity,
this enlightening influence.
The third type of activity is called power, usually, which is to be able, in a sense, to get
everything organized and under control, so that everything around you becomes more powerful,
in a sense. When things are very disorganized and out of control, whether its people or things
around you, then just by your way of being everybody comes together. Its not that everybody
comes under my power for devious means, or being a control freak, or anything like that, but
again with an understanding of voidness, not an ego-trip or anything like that. Were just able to
get everything internally organized and working together and everything around us under
control. Its almost like natural leadership qualities, to be able to work with a group and
everything can come together cohesively and just by your way of being, a charismatic way of
being.

The fourth type of Buddha-activity is sometimes translated as wrathful, which is not the
greatest word, but forceful, a very strong, forceful energy to get rid of dangerous situations,
when its necessary. Sort of, just by your way of being, cut it out, like I was explaining this
example of the swarm of hornets flying into the temple, and his Holiness just sort of almost like
sending out some energy, Cut it out, forcefully made them turn around and go out of the
temple.

Or an example of this powerful type of Buddha-activity His Holiness I remember, at Rikon in

Switzerland, at the time of the Kalachakra initiation there, in 1985. People wanted to take the
one-day precepts, one-day vows, and his Holiness said, Well, thats very good, so everybody
come here at four oclock in the morning. And it wasnt easy to get there at four oclock in the
morning, and about three quarters of the people came at four oclock in the morning. If we were
to say, Everybody come here tomorrow morning at four o clock, nobody would show up. To
have that influence to be able to bring everybody together, to do something powerfully together,
like come together at four o clock in the morning. He didnt even have to do anything. He just
said, OK, tomorrow morning well meet at four o clock, and everybody came, three quarters
of them.

So these are not so far-fetched. We can see some examples, at least Ive seen [some examples] in
my experience with the great lamas. And so we imagine that we are able to exert these four types
of enlightening influence on others. That is done in the sadhana practices when we are imagining
ourselves as a Buddha-figure within the context of the understanding of voidness, and reciting
mantra, and imagining lights going out, and exerting these type of influences on everyone around
us.

Were really doing something like a dress rehearsal of being a Buddha, the mind having all the
various voidness, and bodhichitta, and compassion were trying to have all these things as
represented by the arms and so on, and being this Buddha-figure, and the mantra, and the
activities, and all the lights, and all of that, at the same time. This is what I was referring to when
we were talking about the warp of a loom, on which you weave together all these various aspects
and try to do them all at the same time, which is what we will be doing as a Buddha. By
practicing now similar to the resultant state that we want to achieve, that acts like doing a dress
rehearsal for a theater performance. It acts as the much more efficient cause for being able to
achieve that resultant state.
And its not a lie, because its done within the context of the understanding of voidness, within
the context of labeling me on these Buddha-nature factors that will allow it, and on our future
attainment of enlightenment as a valid basis for labeling. And we know that were not there yet.
Its not that were taking it literally, concretely true that I actually am an enlightened being and I
can do all of this. Its important then that it not be a self-deceptive process, otherwise it can
become no different from a crazy person thinking that theyre Cleopatra or Napoleon, and its not
that.

Another aspect of working with these Buddha-figures is the self-image aspect, not only in a
graphic sense, but also in a sense of our usual meaning of self-image, the personality aspects.
Each of these Buddha-figures is going to represent the full enlightenment of Buddhahood with
all its qualities, but within that general context then each of them is going to have one special
feature that it particularly represents.

For instance, Chenrezig being compassion, Manjushri being wisdom or clarity of mind, these
sort of things. That is also very helpful when we need to try to be more compassionate, to work
with the self-image of being Chenrezig, Yes, I do have this love, this compassion; I am adequate
to be able to help others. Or Manjushri, when we were feeling pretty dumb, to have this image
that, No, I do have clarity of mind. I am able to understand. It helps give us self-confidence.

Or Kalachakra is a network of seven hundred and twenty-two figures and very complex. There
are figures for each of the days of the week of the year, and each of the bones in the body, and
each of the astrology signs, and planets, and all these sort of things, tons and tons of figures
and were the whole thing. So thats the self-image of being able to handle whatever comes in the
cycles of time, any diversity, any sort of astrological configuration, anything that happens during
the year.

Thats very helpful when more work gets piled on our desk in the office, Well, no problem,
thats just another cluster of deities over there, on the third level [of my mandala], down in that
corner. We can handle it, no problem. We can handle anything that the cycles bring us. So that
feeling of being able to handle the full complexity of life is a very helpful self-image, especially
when we get into the negative self-image of, Its too much. I cant take it. So we work like that
with these yidams.

Those are the four types of purities, or purifications, and thats this first feature that [establishes]
tantra is faster that sutra, because its closer to the resultant stage. Think about that for a moment
and then perhaps you have some questions before we go on to the second one.

Question: The question has to do with manner of practice. Is it necessary to do sadhana practice
exclusively in the controlled environment of a meditation room where everything is quiet and
calm and nice? Or is it also possible to do this type of practice while were walking around?

Answer: Yes, it is possible do this type of practice while walking around. In fact, thats what
were supposed to try to be doing. Were supposed to try to be doing this all the time. So even if
were not able to do a formal ritual of a sadhana which, as said, is like a script of an opera, a
mental opera that we go through with all the various steps and stages the main thing is, as
Serkong Rinpoche said, Its a daggyey (bdag-bskyed), not a kagyey (kha-bskyed), he said a
daggyey is a self-generation, a kaggyey is sort of the generation of our words so the main
point is not reciting the ritual with all the words, but the main point is the self-transformation.

That self-generation, or self-transformation, is something that we try to remain mindful of

remember, mindfulness is this mental hold, the mental glue to hold onto it all the time, as much
as possible, which of course is very challenging. But in moments when we can be mindful, lets
say if were going for a walk or something like that, we certainly can be visualizing ourselves,
imagining ourselves as the Buddha-figure, imagining all beings are around in the mandala,
reciting the mantra, and imagining lights going out from us, and were exerting these four types
of enlightening influence on everyone around us.

Its perfectly good and valuable tantra practice. So even if were not able to do a ritual at home,
because, like the person who asked the question, theyre a new father and the circumstances are
pretty difficult for doing that, nevertheless, that need not be an obstacle to our practice. The
practice is intended, as all Buddhist practices are, to bring us joy, to help bring joy to the mind.
And if they become a burden, so that they become a torture, and were just doing it out of guilt,
because of obligation, and we would feel guilty if we didnt do it, something is going wrong and
we need to check up with somebody, or check up ourselves to see what we might need to correct,
because thats not the way that the practice is intended.

Often the problem is that were being inflexible, and too fundamentalist, Ah, I have to do it
exactly like this, every single day, regardless. Remember, skillful means, readopt, reflow to
whats going on. If youre going to be on a long plane ride, or a long train ride, or a long bus
ride, or you drive for a huge amount of time, well, you adjust accordingly when you have to. Or
youre visiting your parents, or people are visiting you, you adjust accordingly, but staying
within the boundaries of our vows. There are always different ways of doing things in
accordance with the times and conditions. Anything else?

Question: OK, the question is, In the self-generation, when were generating a complex system
with many figures, and when there is a couple which is usually in the highest class of tantra,
annutarayoga, you dont normally find that in kriya tantra, for instance, the first class of tantra, in
fact I cant think of any example in the first class of tantra, so perhaps its exclusive to the fourth
class, although I may be wrong whats the order of generation?

Answer: There are two types of generation styles in various parts of the sadhana: there will be
either an instantaneous generation, in which instantaneously there are all thirty-two figures, or all
sixty-two figures, or all whatever number of figures it might be, all at once, and then there are
others in which you first generate yourself as the, its usually the male of a couple, and then you
progressively visualize the next, the female. And then often there are practices in which you
imagine all the Buddhas and bodhisattvas come into you and go down the central channel of the
male [and enter] into the womb of the female, and then everything is generated there, and then
sent out from the womb to the rest of the mandala, in analogy to the whole process of birth, to
purifying the whole birth process. There are those ways of generating, or theres just generating
one by one so, several different styles.
Theres always the issue how many Buddha-figures to involve ourselves with. Some people want
to just practice one. The joke was with the Tibetans that, The Tibetans practice a hundred
different deity systems and arent able to realize any of them. Whereas the Indian masters before
practiced just one, and with one were able to realize them all. So theres that comment, or joke,
maybe not such a joke, and it raises the issue for us how many different systems to become
involved with. A great deal depends, of course, on our capacities.

As we were discussing earlier in the week, the different Buddha-figure systems can supplement
each other, because one will have more detail on one aspect of practice, one will have more
detail on another, and so we get a much fuller picture with several of these systems. Also, if we
want to be able to benefit and help others, we need to know many different systems to be able to
teach them, and answer questions, and these sort of things. But in terms of a more pragmatic
level of them in our daily activities, its nice to have, what we call a bag of tricks that you can
use, that Sometimes I need the Manjushri image, sometimes I need a Chenrezig image,
sometimes I need the Tara image, depending on the situation, whats appropriate, whats
helpful.

And when we are asked to take on more and more responsibilities, then first, of course, we go
to Shantideva and follow Shantidevas advice, which is, Dont bite off more than you can
chew, in our English idiom. Examine well before you undertake something, to see whether or
not you can actually see it through to the end, and if you cant, dont accept in the beginning. Be
practical in terms of that but also we can always do a little bit more than we think we are
capable of.

When I used to translate for Serkong Rinpoche, when I was really, really tired hed always make
me translate for another five minutes, You can always do five more minutes! That is really a
very good training, because we can always do a little bit more when our mind is set. I cant take
it. I cant do anything more. you can always do a little bit more, but of course you dont try to
do too much more, because then thats destructive to ourselves, and you dont get anything done.
So then, within that context, like in Kalachakra, I can handle more and more things. Its not
overwhelming. Its not too much. I can fit it in.

Question: Could you explain what damtsig means?

Alex: The word damtsig (dam-tshig; Skt. samaya) means close bond. Sometimes people
translate it as holy word, or promise, or things like that: thats very misleading if one looks
at the larger context of all its usages. Its a close bond, a close connection. Its used in many
different contexts. One is the close bond with a Buddha-figure, as in yidam yi and damtsig,
damtsig, or samaya for the mind by visualizing ourselves, imagining ourselves in that form.

[Then] its very important to have a very pure damtsig or samaya with our spiritual master, so a
close bond with the spiritual master, which is sort of like a heart-to-heart connection that you
really feel very strong and you dont want to sully it by lying, or being deceitful, or cheating, or
pretending that youve been doing your practice or something when you havent really these
sort of things that would mess up that close bond; you want to keep that, its really something
sacred. The word dam in that damtsig has the connotation of being sacred, so its really
something very sacred, very special, and you want to keep it very sacred. So thats a sacred close
bond, close connection.

And then in the various vows theres a difference between a vow and a samaya. A vow is to
restrain from a certain action, either a naturally destructive action, or something which is
proscribed for certain purposes, like eating in the evening for ordained people. One wants to
refrain from that. Its not that theyre negative actions, but certain things that you want to refrain
from, restrain yourself from, because it would be detrimental, like eating at night, if you want to
meditate at night and have a clear mind at night and in the morning. Eating makes your mind
heavy, so you refrain from that.

Thats a vow to restrain from something, refrain from something, whereas a damtsig is a close
bond what you do, rather than what you refrain from and there are nineteen close-bonding
practices, I call them, nineteen samayas with the five Buddha-families in the highest class of
tantra.

Buddha-families are speaking about different aspects of Buddha-nature. To make a close bond,
lets say in the Ratnasambhava family, the jewel family, which is dealing with the Buddha-nature
factor of equalizing awareness, to be able to see the equality of everyone, to put them all together
in terms of Everybody wants to be happy and nobody wants to be unhappy. Everybody is
equally void in terms of how they exist... all this equalizing thing, which is like seeing the
pattern how everything fits together in one equalizing way. To make a close bond with that, one
does four types of generosity, of giving to others equally material things, and Dharma, and
love, and protection from fear so those are damtsigs, those are close-bonding practices, to bond
you closely to that Buddha-nature factor of equalizing awareness, so that we develop it more.
Thats the meaning of damtsig

Question: Is this the same as being of one taste?

Alex: No, thats a technical term which is usually used for everything being equally devoid of
true existence so you could say the equalizing awareness is employed there, for seeing that
everything is equally devoid of true existence, but one taste is a technical term for that. Its
also a technical term in the stages of the path in certain Karma Kagyu presentations

Question: What does it mean that we are the building as well?

Alex: In certain practices, like Guhyasamaja, you actually are working with This part of the
building is corresponding to this part of the body, as an actual point in which one is conscious
of this being the building as well. In other practices, Ive not come across that being explicitly
discussed, but in any case, the closest analogy that I can think of is that of the skin. In a sense its
a container of all the various systems within the body, but we would label me on the skin as
well, so its both.

Question: So you dont become an actual building, its more of a metaphor for...
Alex: One has to loosen the mind in terms of not grasping at, Well, thats a building. It is in
many ways a symbol; its representing something. And you have to work in terms of all the
different things that it represents. If you want to have twenty-four things simultaneously in our
minds, we would say in the West, if you want to be mindful of twenty-four things, which means
a mental hold on twenty-four things, well, thats difficult to do abstractly. If you actually
represent that graphically, of twenty-four arms that have a hold on twenty-four things, its easier
to do that simultaneously, to have all those realizations simultaneously. Its just a method.
Similarly, the building is representing this as well, the four gateways representing the four
placements of close mindfulness, that sort of stuff. So one has to be not so literal. Again, the
understanding of voidness is essential.

Question: What would the feeling of joy that is unmixed with confusion be like?

Alex: Well, it is joy that is not mixed with a grasping for true existence of me, of the actual joy
itself, of the object that is producing the joy, of the object that we are offering the joy to, and so
on, that none of them have true existence, or inherent existence. So there is nothing in them that
makes it inherently what it is, that there is something inside the sensation that makes it desirable
and joyous by its own power.

On a mundane level, a samsaric level, a feeling of joy or happiness is the ripening of positive
karma. Thats what it is, where its coming from. Its arising from causes. Its how one
experiences the ripening, the result of positive karma, of being constructive. On a nirvanic level
its the experience of that state of separation from disturbing emotions and what we try to do,
of course, is to experience that without this ego-grasping, Me, and I want it, and I want it to last
forever, and not let go. Or in terms of giving to someone else, Oh, its not going to be good
enough, its not going to satisfy them, theyre not going to like it, or Theyre going to like it
too much and then make too much demands on me, all these ego-concerns about it its just
pure joy. Not easy, for many of us not easy at all.

Question: In trying to working with these Buddha-figures, what do we do with our ordinary
experiences of life, in which we suffer, and we get angry, and we have all sorts of disturbing
emotions, and so on?

Alex: Well, as in general Dharma practice, we try to apply antidotes. So if were angry, then there
are many, many different levels of opponents that we can use in terms of practice of patience,
and the stuff that Shantideva teaches in his text [Engaging in Bodhisattva Behavior] about the
causes of anger and what is it thats annoying me. We can also go in terms of the understanding
of voidness, in terms of self and whos getting angry and these type of things and suffering in
terms of it many, many approaches to that what is it arising from, in terms of negative
actions. You can think in terms of burning things off, purification, you can think, in terms of
compassion, of other peoples suffering. You can do tonglen, the giving and taking practice.
There are many, many ways to transform and work with the suffering.

The visualization of ourselves as a Buddha-figure if we are actually able to do that and remain
mindful of that can also remind us to apply Dharma methods when we are suffering, when we
are having disturbing emotions. Also, these visualizations are a way of protecting ourselves, in
the sense that the visualization of our gurus on the top of our heads, during the day, imagining
that were always in the presence of our spiritual master thats not specifically tantra, by any
means, we can do that in sutra as well but one of the ways that thats very helpful is that out
of the personal experience of spending an awful lot of time in the presence of my spiritual
teacher, Serkong Rinpoche, in his company in his company I would never act like a jerk, like
an idiot. I had so much respect for him that how could I act like an idiot in front of him, speaking
stupidly, or doing stupid things, or making stupid jokes, or getting angry?

I remember, once I was visiting Ling Rinpoche, in his past life the Senior Tutor of His Holiness,
and we were sitting catty-corner to each other, cross-legged on these low Tibetan sort of like a
bed type of thing, a platform with a rug on it, and there was a big scorpion on the floor, that
appeared on the floor between us. And Ling Rinpoche did a very melodramatic gesture, it was
obviously really a dramatic thing, like, Oh dear, theres a scorpion on the floor, and then he
looked at me and said, Arent you afraid? And I looked back at him and I said, How could I
possibly be afraid in your presence? Because he was really like a Yamantaka, how could I
possibly be afraid in the presence of Yamantaka? And he laughed and laughed. And then the
attendant came in and put a piece of paper under the scorpion and a glass on top and took it out,
as if he had sort of almost materialized the scorpion as a little bit of a challenge. But like that, I
couldnt possibly freak out with a scorpion on the floor sitting in front of him, because of my
respect for him.

Likewise, when we are visualizing the guru with us all day long, that were in the presence, it
helps us to not act like a jerk. Similarly, if we are imagining ourselves as a Buddha-figure, that
also can help us to not act like an idiot, because of this pride of the deity in that context I like
to speak of the self-dignity, rather than pride the dignity of being the deity. These Buddha-
figures dont freak out, and dont act like idiots, and dont get angry, and dont get upset. So it
helps us with self-esteem, which is very helpful as a preventive for getting angry or upset.

Suffering is one thing in terms of feeling pain, the other is how we respond to it. Pain is, after all,
just a physical sensation. Its just the arising of an appearance and a feeling of it. Its nothing
more, its no big deal. It may be difficult, but if one looks in terms of the mental activity, its no
big deal. I do that in the sensitivity training I have this [book and course] Developing Balanced
Sensitivity and one of the exercises, one little part of it, is to tickle your palm, and then pinch
your palm really hard, and then just hold your hand, and whats the difference in terms of the
mental activity? Its just the arising of a sensation and the feeling of a sensation. Its nothing
more. Its no big deal.

If you can train yourself with that, then whats the difference between that and a mental level of
feeling happy, or unhappy, or neutral? Its the same. So its how you respond to the suffering that
really is essential, and again, youre sitting there in class and pinching your palm you dont
scream out, Ouch! and freak out. Although my students werent brave enough to pinch each
others palm and do the exercise, that would be more effective. An advanced level: tickle each
others palm and pinch it, see whether you can do the same exercise...

OK, lets break for lunch and then deal with the other points after lunch.