Author: Vladimir 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 overcoming sensual thirst which leads to another rebirth. Beings desire to be reborn 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, we need ingenuity and sophistication.

The best instrument for self-restraint is meditation on the pure illusory body. The pure body of illusion is a precious vessel that can preserve the continuity of the stream of consciousness after the dissolution of the gross body. How? Because consciousness relies on perception of a body, and its continuity is maintained only as long as our consciousness has support. The body of pure illusion, with which the practitioner’s mind identifies with the accumulation of virtue and wisdom, becomes the support of the mind even 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 do we 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 disc of the Sun and a disc of the Moon.

This original god
Arising from your own
Good accumulations
Does not have imperfections
And 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 seated —
Are the experiences of bliss and clarity,
And the open 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 stop hostility.

The illusory crown arises
From the shine of pure consciousness.

Containment of the stain of passion

The index finger of the god's right hand,
Raised up against the 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
Which represents the radiance
Encircling the small heart channel.
The vajra of the raised finger contains the stain of passion.
Passion raises an aspiration of the senses for pleasure,
But the raised finger collects
The power of this aspiration
And sends it up
To the heavenly realms of wise beings.
Thanks to this, the power of the heart
Ceases to bleed and dry up.

The illusory ring —
Is unchanging self-awareness.

Containment of the stain of delusion

The god's left hand, resting on the knee,
Holds a cup from the skull of your future birth.
This skull is richly decorated with jewels
Which contain all kinds of craving
That lead you to a renewed 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, dispassionate
And free of any corporeality
Exhale of the god.
Recognize its appearance
As a divine 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 how you perceive yourself
In your present birth,
You might doubt:
“Am I not creating 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
All 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 Explanations Relevant 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 the bodies of the Vajrassatvas.

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. Over time, such resolution will make the meditation clear and stable. In the second case, we should 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 need to focus on recognizing the emptiness of the contemplated appearance. When meditating on the Vajrassatvas, we can easily do that 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

Meditation 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 in recognizing the emptiness of suffering and ignorance. The following view is handy for meditators:

“Vajrassatvas' appearance is like the clear dream of Buddhas. However, we 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 deepen understanding of the emptiness of suffering and ignorance, consider the teaching on the six kinds of pleasure emptiness brings to the mind. Comprehension of this teaching brings the six pillars of wholesome faith to final maturity.

The six kinds of pleasure emptiness brings to the mind

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. Emptiness corrected 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. Emptiness recognized 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. Emptiness supported by emptiness is pleasant.

The emptiness of the nature of the mind allows it to cross the flow of suffering, since it is light like a boat on water. Emptiness crossed 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. Emptiness experienced by emptiness is pleasant.