Author: Vova Pyatsky
Translation: Roni Sherman and Marina Sherman
Translation Editor: Natasha Tsimbler
Chapters
Table of Contents The Practice of the Six Paramitas – Table of Contents
Introduction The Practice of the Six Paramitas – Introduction
1. The Practice of the Six Paramitas – The Paramita of Wisdom
2. The Practice of the Six Paramitas – The Paramita of Meditation
3. The Practice of the Six Paramitas – The Paramita of Diligence
4. The Practice of the Six Paramitas – The Paramita of Patience
5. The Practice of the Six Paramitas – The Paramita of Self-Restraint
6. The Practice of the Six Paramitas – The Paramita of Giving
5. The Paramita of Self-Restraint
Self-restraint — is the overcoming of sensual thirst leading to new birth. Beings desire to be born again and again because of an aspiration to have a better body, a more prominent position among other beings, great wealth, fame, honor, plenty of sensual pleasures. To overcome this aspiration, ingenuity and sophistication are needed.
The best instrument for self-restraint is meditation on the pure illusory body. The pure body of illusion is a precious vessel which can preserve the continuity of the stream of consciousness after the dissolution of the gross body. How? Because consciousness relies on the perception of a body, and its continuity is maintained only as long as the consciousness has support. The body of pure illusion, with which, with the accumulation of virtue and wisdom, the practitioner’s mind identifies, becomes the support of the mind already during their lifetime, thanks to what a supernatural stream of consciousness which does not interrupt with the dissolution of the gross body arises. The body of pure illusion is much more durable and joyful than the gross body, and the term of its existence is sufficient to attain complete liberation from ignorance. How does one meditate on the body of pure illusion?
Collecting your mind and calming it,
Give it the perfect shape
Of Vajrasattva or Vajrasattvika
Enthroned over your crown
On a snow-white lotus, a disk of the Sun and a disk of the Moon.
This original God,
Arising from your own good accumulations
Does not have imperfections,
Is not marred by ignorance.
To imagine him animatedly,
Raise two fists over your head,
Holding them one over the other,
And feel their presence over your head
Like the god’s body itself,
The white color of the god’s body
Expresses the power of the nervous system.
The pure red glow of the palms and feet expresses the power of blood.
The Sun and Moon discs on which the God is sitting
Are the experiences of bliss and clarity,
And the inner lotus supporting the discs —
is renunciation of the activity of the senses.
Containment of the stain of anger
The golden crown on Vajrasstva’s head
Contains the stain of anger.
It is like the petals of an open lotus
Exuding a gentle fragrance of wisdom.
This crown — is the crown of initiations,
For the purpose of all initiations —
Is to end hostility.
The illusory crown arises
From the shine of pure consciousness.
Containment of the stain of passion
The index finger of his or her right hand,
Raised up against his or her chest (Tarjani mudra),
Symbolizes the vajra (lightning),
Which contains the excitation of breath.
On the vajra of the index finger,
You may behold a precious ring
Representing the radiance encircling the small heart channel.
The vajra of the raised finger contains the stain of passion.
Passion causes an aspiration of the senses for pleasure,
But the raised finger contains
The force of this aspiration
And sends it up
To the heavenly realms of wise beings.
Thanks to this, the power of the heart
No longer spreads or dries out.
The illusory ring —
Is unchanging self-awareness.
His or her left hand,
Resting on the knee,
Holds a cup made of the skull of your future birth.
This skull is richly decorated with jewels
Which contain all the kinds of craving
Which lead you to new existence.
The Vajrasstva’s cup is like a bell without a tongue —
The great expanse of the mind,
In which there is only the sound of
Emptiness absorbing the stain of delusion.
The illusory cup arises
From the emptiness of the open palm.
Inhale the entire world into this divine form,
Behold how the God inhales
All external and internal phenomena,
And then perceive your self-born-In-pure-emptiness mind as the
Fresh, impassive and free-of-any-corporeality exhale of the God.
Recognize its appearance
As the celestial fragrance
Coming from Vajrasattva(ika).
This fragrance has no origins
Or a place of stay,
Or a form in which it has
To manifest in the future.
Whenever the sense of “I” arises,
Recognize it as the inner emptiness
Of Vajrasattva(ika)'s appearance.
What makes beings Vajrassatvas is the good aspiration of their mind,
Which is expressed in the crown of victory over anger,
In the precious ring of victory over passion,
And in the cup from the skull of your future birth,
Which manifests the emptiness of wandering in samsara.
Seeing that Vajrassatva(ika)’s appearance depends on what you perceive yourself as
In your present birth,
You might doubt:
“Am I not producing an improved image of myself,
Only securing the knots of egoism?”
To not end up in this
Subtle trap,
Know that Vajrassatva’s qualities
Are born of good accumulations,
And establish yourself in the wholesome view:
“The pure mind is a self-born god”.
The true purpose of the path — is the cessation of suffering,
And the way — is non-harm.
Do not harm yourself with indolence,
Or excessive effort,
Or disregard for good qualities,
Or development of bad tendencies,
With a honed mind, eliminate any excitation and sluggishness.
Always go where anger,
Passion, and delusion do not arise.
In doing so, you
Will not withdraw an inch from peace.
Supplementary explanation specific to meditation on the Vajrassatvas
The Vajrassatvas are the source of manifestation of the gods of Samaya. Just as a rainbow appears from white light, so too all five families of Samaya appear from Vajrassatva's bodies.
When meditating on the Vajrassatvas, two obstacles might arise. The first — the form might be obscure and distorted. The second — the meditation might be clear but “dry”, not bringing bliss to the mind.
In the first case, the obstacle is eliminated with mindfulness of the features of the god and turn-based leisurely focus on each feature. With time, such detailing will make the meditation clear and stable. In the second case, we must know that loss of bliss happens because of clinging to the corporeality of the appearance of the contemplated deity.
Therefore when there is no bliss, we must focus on discernment of the emptiness of the contemplated appearance. When meditating on the Vajrassatvas, that can be easily done by meditating on their body as a manifestation of the fragrance of the Teaching. The fragrance is immaterial and its empty nature is apparent.
The emptiness of suffering and ignorance.
Meditating on the emptiness of Vajrasattva’s appearance and therefore the pure mind should be relaxed, since its primary purpose — is to prepare the mind to make an effort to recognize the emptiness of suffering and ignorance. The following view is handy for meditators:
“Vajrassatvas' appearance is like the clear dream of Buddhas. However, you should not look at it disparagingly, because all of samsara — is the dream of an ignorant mind fettered by vices. With the help of the pure dream, I’ll dispose of the submersion of the mind in the bad dream!”
To better understand the emptiness of suffering and ignorance, consider the teaching on the six kinds of pleasure delivered to the mind by emptiness. Comprehension of this teaching brings the six pillars of wholesome faith to final maturity.
The six kinds of pleasure delivered to the mind by emptiness
The emptiness of the nature of the mind allows us to perform wholesome deeds, since it is free of enslaving desires and wholesome deeds are free and empty of enslaving desires. Freedom of emptiness in emptiness is pleasant.
The emptiness of the nature of the mind allows us to correct the flaws of our behaviour, since the ignorance maintaining those flaws is empty of any essence. Correction of emptiness by emptiness is pleasant.
The emptiness of the nature of the mind allows us to recognize wholesome instructors as a manifestation of the pure light of our own mind, since the mind of every being has the same empty basis. Recognition of emptiness by emptiness is pleasant.
The emptiness of the nature of the mind allows us to support the wholesome unity of all beings, the ultimate Sangha. The unity of emptiness supports the diversity of its manifestations like roots support the branches of a tree. Support of emptiness by emptiness is pleasant.
The emptiness of the nature of the mind allows it to deliver itself across the flow of suffering, since it is light like a boat on water. Deliverance of emptiness by emptiness is pleasant.
The emptiness of the nature of the mind endows beings with vision of deities and divine realms. In a relaxed state, when the mind does not cling to what is manifested, it experiences forms of its own bliss, clarity and peace. Experience of emptiness by emptiness is pleasant.
Author
Author: Vova Pyatsky
Translation: Roni Sherman and Marina Sherman
Translation Editor: Natasha Tsimbler
Chapters
Table of Contents The Practice of the Six Paramitas – Table of Contents
Introduction The Practice of the Six Paramitas – Introduction
1. The Practice of the Six Paramitas – The Paramita of Wisdom
2. The Practice of the Six Paramitas – The Paramita of Meditation
3. The Practice of the Six Paramitas – The Paramita of Diligence
4. The Practice of the Six Paramitas – The Paramita of Patience
5. The Practice of the Six Paramitas – The Paramita of Self-Restraint
6. The Practice of the Six Paramitas – The Paramita of Giving
5. The Paramita of Self-Restraint
Self-restraint — is the overcoming of sensual thirst leading to new birth. Beings desire to be born again and again because of an aspiration to have a better body, a more prominent position among other beings, great wealth, fame, honor, plenty of sensual pleasures. To overcome this aspiration, ingenuity and sophistication are needed.
The best instrument for self-restraint is meditation on the pure illusory body. The pure body of illusion is a precious vessel which can preserve the continuity of the stream of consciousness after the dissolution of the gross body. How? Because consciousness relies on the perception of a body, and its continuity is maintained only as long as the consciousness has support. The body of pure illusion, with which, with the accumulation of virtue and wisdom, the practitioner’s mind identifies, becomes the support of the mind already during their lifetime, thanks to what a supernatural stream of consciousness which does not interrupt with the dissolution of the gross body arises. The body of pure illusion is much more durable and joyful than the gross body, and the term of its existence is sufficient to attain complete liberation from ignorance. How does one meditate on the body of pure illusion?
Collecting your mind and calming it,
Give it the perfect shape
Of Vajrasattva or Vajrasattvika
Enthroned over your crown
On a snow-white lotus, a disk of the Sun and a disk of the Moon.
This original God,
Arising from your own good accumulations
Does not have imperfections,
Is not marred by ignorance.
To imagine him animatedly,
Raise two fists over your head,
Holding them one over the other,
And feel their presence over your head
Like the god’s body itself,
The white color of the god’s body
Expresses the power of the nervous system.
The pure red glow of the palms and feet expresses the power of blood.
The Sun and Moon discs on which the God is sitting
Are the experiences of bliss and clarity,
And the inner lotus supporting the discs —
is renunciation of the activity of the senses.
Containment of the stain of anger
The golden crown on Vajrasstva’s head
Contains the stain of anger.
It is like the petals of an open lotus
Exuding a gentle fragrance of wisdom.
This crown — is the crown of initiations,
For the purpose of all initiations —
Is to end hostility.
The illusory crown arises
From the shine of pure consciousness.
Containment of the stain of passion
The index finger of his or her right hand,
Raised up against his or her chest (Tarjani mudra),
Symbolizes the vajra (lightning),
Which contains the excitation of breath.
On the vajra of the index finger,
You may behold a precious ring
Representing the radiance encircling the small heart channel.
The vajra of the raised finger contains the stain of passion.
Passion causes an aspiration of the senses for pleasure,
But the raised finger contains
The force of this aspiration
And sends it up
To the heavenly realms of wise beings.
Thanks to this, the power of the heart
No longer spreads or dries out.
The illusory ring —
Is unchanging self-awareness.
His or her left hand,
Resting on the knee,
Holds a cup made of the skull of your future birth.
This skull is richly decorated with jewels
Which contain all the kinds of craving
Which lead you to new existence.
The Vajrasstva’s cup is like a bell without a tongue —
The great expanse of the mind,
In which there is only the sound of
Emptiness absorbing the stain of delusion.
The illusory cup arises
From the emptiness of the open palm.
Inhale the entire world into this divine form,
Behold how the God inhales
All external and internal phenomena,
And then perceive your self-born-In-pure-emptiness mind as the
Fresh, impassive and free-of-any-corporeality exhale of the God.
Recognize its appearance
As the celestial fragrance
Coming from Vajrasattva(ika).
This fragrance has no origins
Or a place of stay,
Or a form in which it has
To manifest in the future.
Whenever the sense of “I” arises,
Recognize it as the inner emptiness
Of Vajrasattva(ika)'s appearance.
What makes beings Vajrassatvas is the good aspiration of their mind,
Which is expressed in the crown of victory over anger,
In the precious ring of victory over passion,
And in the cup from the skull of your future birth,
Which manifests the emptiness of wandering in samsara.
Seeing that Vajrassatva(ika)’s appearance depends on what you perceive yourself as
In your present birth,
You might doubt:
“Am I not producing an improved image of myself,
Only securing the knots of egoism?”
To not end up in this
Subtle trap,
Know that Vajrassatva’s qualities
Are born of good accumulations,
And establish yourself in the wholesome view:
“The pure mind is a self-born god”.
The true purpose of the path — is the cessation of suffering,
And the way — is non-harm.
Do not harm yourself with indolence,
Or excessive effort,
Or disregard for good qualities,
Or development of bad tendencies,
With a honed mind, eliminate any excitation and sluggishness.
Always go where anger,
Passion, and delusion do not arise.
In doing so, you
Will not withdraw an inch from peace.
Supplementary explanation specific to meditation on the Vajrassatvas
The Vajrassatvas are the source of manifestation of the gods of Samaya. Just as a rainbow appears from white light, so too all five families of Samaya appear from Vajrassatva's bodies.
When meditating on the Vajrassatvas, two obstacles might arise. The first — the form might be obscure and distorted. The second — the meditation might be clear but “dry”, not bringing bliss to the mind.
In the first case, the obstacle is eliminated with mindfulness of the features of the god and turn-based leisurely focus on each feature. With time, such detailing will make the meditation clear and stable. In the second case, we must know that loss of bliss happens because of clinging to the corporeality of the appearance of the contemplated deity.
Therefore when there is no bliss, we must focus on discernment of the emptiness of the contemplated appearance. When meditating on the Vajrassatvas, that can be easily done by meditating on their body as a manifestation of the fragrance of the Teaching. The fragrance is immaterial and its empty nature is apparent.
The emptiness of suffering and ignorance.
Meditating on the emptiness of Vajrasattva’s appearance and therefore the pure mind should be relaxed, since its primary purpose — is to prepare the mind to make an effort to recognize the emptiness of suffering and ignorance. The following view is handy for meditators:
“Vajrassatvas' appearance is like the clear dream of Buddhas. However, you should not look at it disparagingly, because all of samsara — is the dream of an ignorant mind fettered by vices. With the help of the pure dream, I’ll dispose of the submersion of the mind in the bad dream!”
To better understand the emptiness of suffering and ignorance, consider the teaching on the six kinds of pleasure delivered to the mind by emptiness. Comprehension of this teaching brings the six pillars of wholesome faith to final maturity.
The six kinds of pleasure delivered to the mind by emptiness
The emptiness of the nature of the mind allows us to perform wholesome deeds, since it is free of enslaving desires and wholesome deeds are free and empty of enslaving desires. Freedom of emptiness in emptiness is pleasant.
The emptiness of the nature of the mind allows us to correct the flaws of our behaviour, since the ignorance maintaining those flaws is empty of any essence. Correction of emptiness by emptiness is pleasant.
The emptiness of the nature of the mind allows us to recognize wholesome instructors as a manifestation of the pure light of our own mind, since the mind of every being has the same empty basis. Recognition of emptiness by emptiness is pleasant.
The emptiness of the nature of the mind allows us to support the wholesome unity of all beings, the ultimate Sangha. The unity of emptiness supports the diversity of its manifestations like roots support the branches of a tree. Support of emptiness by emptiness is pleasant.
The emptiness of the nature of the mind allows it to deliver itself across the flow of suffering, since it is light like a boat on water. Deliverance of emptiness by emptiness is pleasant.
The emptiness of the nature of the mind endows beings with vision of deities and divine realms. In a relaxed state, when the mind does not cling to what is manifested, it experiences forms of its own bliss, clarity and peace. Experience of emptiness by emptiness is pleasant.
