BEINGS ARE WANDERING IN SAMSARA

BECAUSE OF NOT RECOGNIZING THE LINEAGE

Even though everyone possesses the lineage of that nature, they wander in Sam-
sara. Why is that so? The causes of beings wandering in Samsara are that they do
not realize the presence (of the Buddha-essence in themselves) and they apprehend
self without reason; and the conditions are successive emotional defilements,
(influences of) of evil friends, poverty and external control.

The Mahayanasutralalamkara says:

The experiences of emotional defilements, the force of evil friends,

Poverty, and external control
In brief these are the four faults (obscuring) the lineage
Which you should understand.

Od-Rim says:

Not realizing the luminous primordial wisdom, Perceiving mind as "I" and being
attached to the selfhood (of it)

Perceiving objects as "others" and apprehending the selfhood (of them), Because of
these, beings are wandering in Samsara and experiencing varieties of happiness and
suffering.

HOW THE WANDERING IN SAMSARA DEVELOPS

lThe primordial Mind is luminosity, voidness, clarity, and self-arisen wisdom.

Its essence (Ngo-Bo) is voidness like space, its nature (Rang-bZhin) is clarity like the
sun and moon, its radiance (mDangs) of compassion is ceaseless arising like the
surface of a stainless mirror.

It is the Buddha-essence, the nature of the ultimate body, enjoyment body, and
manifested body, and it is free from falling into the partiality of Samsara and
Niravana.

(Anyhow,) in that state, the delusions develop as follows,. because of not realizing
the spontaneously arisen awareness wisdom as it is and the appearances as its
manifestative power:) (The aspect of) void essence (Ngo-Bo) opens (or provides) the
door (or opportunity) of arising; from (the aspect of) clear nature appear the five
spontaneously arisen lights as objects (by not realizing the lights as the power of
awareness wisdom); and (the aspect of) compassionate awareness wisdom arises as
the analytic cognition. The Guhyagarbha-mayajala-tantra says: "Wonderful! From the
Buddha-essence beings are deluded by concepts and karma."
 THE TWO UNENLIGHTENMENTS

At the time (of distraction into delusions), the aspect of one's not realizing the wisdom
(which dwells in oneself is called innate unenlightenment (Lhan-Chig sKyes-Pa'i Ma-
Rig Pa). The aspect of perceiving self-percepts as others is called imaginative
unenlightenment (Kun-Nas br'Rzgs-Pa'i Ma-Rig Pa).

By not realizing that (the delusions have) arisen from the natural state, and by
clinging to the apprehended selfhood (bDag-'Dzin) (of the percepts) as objects,
beings are deluded by them as the external world and internal beings having
individual bodies (created by) the maturation (of their karma) and habituations, and
minds with the 5 poisons. . . .

The root (of delusion) is unenlightenment.

Prajñaparamita- Atasahasrika says:

By apprehending I and my beings wandering in Samsara

HOW BEINGS ARE WANDERING IN SAMSARA

Beings are wandering in Samsara through the 12 links in the chain of interdepen-
dent causation). From the 2 unenlightenments arise the formation (of one's life
process) in Samsara, and from this arise successively becoming, name and form,
and so on.
Then, after the completion of the body, starting from the stages of "aquatic creative"
(Mer-Mer-Po) to birth, (they experience) contact, feeling, the 6 sense entrances, and
old age and death, and they wander in Samsarara.

WHY BEINGS ARE WANDERING IN SAMSARA

If you think that it is not correct that the wandering (in Samsara) occurs from the
Buddha-essence, the primordial state which does not exist as Samsara, it is wrong.
Even clear, unpolluted, and unhindered water becomes ice, hard as stone, because
of the winter wind.

Likewise, because of the arising of apprehended and appre-hender, from the

primordial state delusory appearances appear in various forms as being solid.
 The Dohakosa-nama-caryagiti says:

By being blown and stirred by the wind,

Even soft water becomes (hard) like stone.
Stirred by thoughts, the non-existent but delusory forms Become very firm and solid.

In the Mind is present the state of ultimate body, which is primordially pure essence
(Ngo-Bo), called the ultimate universal ground of union, with the attributes of form
bodies, Buddha-fields, and wisdoms.
But when one is distracted ('Khrul) from the Buddha-essence, those attributes (of
Buddhahood) will be obscured because of the deluded unenlightenment of (seeing)
them as apprehended and apprehender, thereby sowing the seed of various delusory
habits from begjnningless time in the universal ground of habits.
Thereafter, depending on the strength (of various habits), beings will experience the
happy and inferior realms, and so on. While beings are wandering in Samsara as in a
dream, they apprehend (the perceptions as) "I" and "self,'.' become involved in hatred
and desire and the rest, the 5 poisons, and accumulate karma and habits.
They become deluded without any reason and indulge in various types of attachment
(perceiving them) as real, and they wander continuously in the round of delusory
appearances, day and night without cessation.
But the continuity (of wandering in Samsara) has no basis. So (although) it seems
that they are distracted from liberation (the Buddha-essence), they are wandering
with happiness and sufferings like the delusion of a dream.
For example, when a prince wanders through the streets, suffering from the loss of
his princely state, although he naturally possesses the excellent wealth inherited by
birth in the royal lineage, he might be suffering temporarily.

Likewise at the very moment when one is wandering aimlessly in Samsara, the
Buddha-essence is present in all living beings.