rig pa/notes

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རིག་པ་

rig pa

Reference Notes from other Works [i.e. Footnotes/Endnotes]

Book	Author/Translator	Note
When the Clouds Part	Asaṅga Maitreya Brunnhölzl, K.	392. There are sixteen texts on the Uttaratantra in the Bka' gdams gsung 'bum phyogs sgrig published by Dpal brtsegs bod yig dpe rnying zhib 'jug khang. Besides RYC and its table of contents (vol. 20, 5–447), these are the following: vol. 7: a topical outline and a commentary by Phyva pa chos kyi seng ge (145–57 and 163–347), vol. 17: a commentary by Gsang phu blo gros mtshungs med (9–609), vol. 20: a commentary by Dge 'dun 'od zer (455–568), vol. 27: a commentary by Dge slong sges rab grags (211–624), vol. 59: a combined commentary on the Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra, Bodhicaryāvatāra, and Uttaratantra and a commentary on the latter alone by Dngul chu thogs med (177–259 and 333–462), vol. 62: a brief text by Bcom ldan rig pa'i ral gri (745–74), vol. 76: four brief texts by unknown authors (343–394, 395–422, 423–442, 507–8), vol. 78: a commentary by Lho brag dharma seng ge (213–308), and vol. 109: a commentary by Gha rung ba lha'i rgyal mtshan and one of unknown authorship (131–250 and 251–302).
When the Clouds Part	Asaṅga Maitreya Brunnhölzl, K.	2094. CMW rigs pa emended to rig pa.
When the Clouds Part	Asaṅga Maitreya Brunnhölzl, K.	2572. Parts of the Tibetan tradition, such as Sakya Paṇḍita in his Tshad ma rigs gter (Sa skya paṇḍita kun dga' rgyal mtshan 1992a, 328) and Gorampa's commentary on it (Go bo rab 'byams pa bsod nams seng ge 1979a, 3:281), sometimes present a threefold division of awareness (rig pa): (1) awareness of something other (gzhan rig), (2) self-awareness (rang rig), and (3) awareness of the lack of nature (rang bzhin med par rig pa). The first means that mind is aware of something that seems to be other than itself, such as outer material objects (sense perception and mental perception). The second refers to mind's being aware of itself in a nondual way, that is, without any identifiable difference between mind as the perceiving subject and mind as the perceived object. The third is the direct realization of the true nature of all phenomena, that is, that they are without any nature. Obviously, (1) pertains only to ordinary beings. Awareness (2) is found in both ordinary beings and noble ones (those who directly perceive the nature of phenomena) in a general sense, though the profundity of nondual experience differs. Awareness (3) occurs only in noble beings from the path of seeing onward. It is also called "the wisdom that realizes identitylessness," "yogic valid perception," or "personally experienced wisdom" (Skt. pratyātmavedanīyajñāna, Tib. so so rang rig pa'i ye shes). The latter term emphasizes that this wisdom is one's own unique, immediate, and vivid experience, not just some imagined idea of something one has heard or read of. Mind's realizing the nature of all phenomena includes mind's being aware of its own ultimate nature, which is the unity of awareness and emptiness. The nature of such a realization is to be free from the triad of something that is aware, something of which it is aware, and the act of being aware, while at the same time being an incontrovertible transformative experience in the noble ones' own minds (Skt. pratyātmāryajñāna, Tib. ‘phags pa'i so so rang gi ye shes). The difference between (2) and (3) is reflected in the rather specific Buddhist use of the Sanskrit words svasaṃvid, svasaṃvedana, and svasaṃvitti (all translated into Tibetan as rang rig) for (2), while pratyātmagati, pratyātmādhigama, pratyātmavid, and the latter's derivatives, such as pratyātmavedya and pratyātmavedanīya (all translated into Tibetan as so so rang rig) are used for (3). More literally, pratyātmavedanīyajñāna means "the wisdom of what is to be experienced or realized personally or by oneself (that is, the nature of phenomena)."Of course, there is some overlap in the semantic range of these two groups of words, and, as the examples of Jñānaśrīmitra and two of the Karmapas in the text below show, the words in the first one may also sometimes be used in the second sense. However, the emphasis in the latter group is clearly on one's own firsthand knowledge or experience of something, be it identitylessness, emptiness, or the union of dharmadhātu and awareness (the nature of one's mind). As for the corresponding Tibetan expressions rang rig and so so rang rig, in themselves, they do not mirror this distinction and are often taken to mean just the same. If the Tibetan tradition gives a distinct explanation of the meaning of so so in so so rang rig pa'i ye shes, this is usually done in two ways. First, in the explanation usually preferred by adherents of shentong, so so refers to the fact that the final unmediated realization of the nature of our mind can be accomplished only by this very mind's wisdom and not by anything extrinsic to it, such as a teacher's instructions or blessings. In other words, the only way to really personally know what the wisdom of a buddha or bodhisattva is like is to experience it in our own mind. In this sense, such wisdom is truly inconceivable and incommunicable, which is part of what the term "personally experienced wisdom" indicates, since it is one's very own "private"experience unshared with others. Of course, in this context, it should be clear that "personal" or "private" does not refer to an individual person in the usual sense, since the wisdom of the noble ones encompasses the very realization that there is no such person or self. Nevertheless, it is an experience that occurs only in distinct mind streams that have been trained in certain ways, while it does not happen in others. The second explanation of so so, usually given by adherents of Rangtong, is that, just like a mirror, this wisdom clearly sees all phenomena in a distinct way without mixing them up. Certain Indian and Tibetan masters, such as Jñānaśrīmitra (one of Maitrīpa's teachers), the Seventh Karmapa, and the Eighth Karmapa, use self-awareness and personally experienced awareness/wisdom as equivalents in the sense of this wisdom's representing the most sublime expression of the principle that mind is able to be aware of itself in a nondual way, that is, free from any aspects of subject and object. Jñānaśrīmitra's Sākārasiddhi (in Jñānaśrīmitra, Jñānaśrīmitranibandhāvali, 478.10–13) says: "In Uttaratantra [I.9, we find] the words ‘the dharma is to be personally experienced.' Since it has been said that false imagination exists, there is no refuge other than self-awareness (uttaratantre ca/ pratyātmavedyo dharmaḥ/ ity evākṣaraṃ/ na cābhutaparikalpo 'stīti bruvataḥ svasaṃvedanād anyāc charaṇam)." Obviously, this kind of self-awareness that is a refuge is to be clearly distinguished from the ordinary notion of self-awareness (2), which basically means that all beings are aware of their own direct experiences, such as being happy or sad. The Seventh Karmapa's Ocean of Texts on Reasoning (Chos grags rgya mtsho 1985, 2:163) first equates self-awareness and personal experience in a general way: "Perception (the subject [in question]) is established to be free from conception through self-aware perception itself, because it is experienced through self-awareness as a cognition that does not appear as being suitable or not being suitable to conflate terms and referents. For, every person's conceptions that are based on apprehending names and referents as being suitable to be conflated are to be experienced personally by the experiencer that is self-awareness."Later, the Karmapa (ibid., 2:338) also identifies the personally experienced wisdom of a buddha's omniscience as an instance of self-awareness: "It is not contradictory for awareness to be what it is aware of. For, when this awareness knows the minds of others, it must be aware of knowing itself, and the wisdom of the knowledge of all aspects is [also] a personal experience of itself." In this vein, the Eighth Karmapa's Lamp says (19–20, 21, and 41): "The [cognizing] subject that is the type of realization that realizes this very [dharmakāya] does not depend on any other hosts of reference points, but is self-awareness by nature. Therefore, by virtue of this self-awareness's being pure through its very [own] purity, it is not dependent on anything else," and "the great Mādhyamika, venerable Asaṅga, holds that [during the vajra-like samādhi] at the end of the path of familiarization, in this very mind stream that will become a buddha and in which tathāgatahood abides, remedial self-awareness dawns and thus everything to be relinquished [at this point] is relinquished without exception," and "liberation is to have attained the mastery of self-aware wisdom over the sugata heart of one's own mind stream." In addition, the Lamp repeatedly identifies the realization of buddhahood as being self-awareness and self-arisen.
When the Clouds Part	Asaṅga Maitreya Brunnhölzl, K.	336. Tib. Bcom ldan rig pa'i ral gri.
When the Clouds Part	Asaṅga Maitreya Brunnhölzl, K.	1875. Among the two syllables of the Sanskrit word śāstra for treatise, śās means "teaching," "correcting," "punishing," or " ordering,"while trā means "protecting" or "rescuing." As for its Tibetan equivalent bstan bcos, bstan means "teaching" and bcos means "restoring," "mending," "curing," and "correcting." All of these meanings are used in the explanations of this term in CMW in the text below and in Sthiramati's Madhyāntavibhāgaṭīkā (Pandeya ed., 1999, 4.7–20; D4032, fol. 190a.3–190b.2), which says, "Now it is to be explained what the nature of a treatise is and why it is called ‘treatise.' A treatise consists of the cognizances that appear as the collections of names, words, and letters. Or a treatise consists of the cognizances that appear as the special sounds (or terms) that cause one to attain supramundane wisdom. How do cognizances guide one or express [something]? The cognizances of the listener arise due to the cognizance of the guide and explainer. Therefore, there is no flaw here. [By virtue of a treatise,] learning dharma practitioners give rise to specific [forms of] discipline, samādhi, and prajñā, therefore refraining from unfavorable actions of body, speech, and mind and engaging in favorable actions. Or it is a treatise because it is tenable as [fulfilling] the [etymological] defining characteristic of a treatise. The defining characteristic of a treatise is being a pith instruction (upadeśa) that, through repeatedly bringing it to mind, relinquishes all afflictions including their latent tendencies and rescues one from the lower realms that are frightful due to all kinds of intense, uninterrupted, and long-lasting suffering as well as from [saṃsāric] existence [in general]. Therefore, because it corrects the enemies of the afflictions and rescues (saṃtāra) one from the lower realms and [saṃsāric] existence, it has the defining characteristic of a treatise. These [two features of correcting afflictions and rescuing from saṃsāra] exist in the entire mahāyāna and everything that explains it but not elsewhere. Thus, this [text] is a treatise. On this, it is said: What corrects the enemies of the afflictions without exception And rescues from existences in lower realms Is a treatise by virtue of the qualities of correcting and protecting. These two [qualities] do not exist in other systems." The variant readings in this passage are as follows. "Guide" (D4032 mdzad); "cognizances of the listener" (D nyan pa'i rnam par rig pa rnams Pandeya "instructions" [prajñaptīnāṃ]); "the guide" (D mdzad pa po); "correcting [śās] learning dharma practitioners" (Pandeya śiṣya dharmiko D slob ma 'chos pa'i phyir); "through having familiarized" (Pandeya omits this phrase); "there is no flaw here" (D adds "It is a treatise because it sustains learners" [slob ma 'chos pa'i phyir bstan bcos te /]); "it is a treatise because it is tenable as [fulfilling] the [etymological] defining characteristic of a treatise" (Pandeya śāsanāc chāstraṃ / D bstan bcos kyi mtshan nyid du 'thad pa'i phyir bstan bcos te /); "a pith instruction that, through repeatedly bringing it to mind, relinquishes all afflictions including their latent tendencies" (Pandeya yad upadeśo bhasamāna sarvakleśaprahāṇāya° D lung mnos pa goms par byas pas bag changs dang bcas pa'i nyon mongs); "it corrects" (Pandeya śāsana D 'chos pa). Note that the concluding verse in this passage is also quoted in Vasubandhu's Vyākhyāyukti (P5562, fol. 143a.4) and Candrakīrti's Prasannapadā (la Vallée Poussin ed., 3.3–4).
When the Clouds Part	Asaṅga Maitreya Brunnhölzl, K.	1837. As mentioned already, "separating the pure essence (Tib. dvangs ma) from the dross (Tib. snyigs ma)" is a typical vajrayāna presentation, referring to distinguishing between wisdom and ordinary dualistic consciousness. Also, CMW's passage here is very similar to Dzogchen instructions about distinguishing between mind (sems) and basic awareness (rig pa).
When the Clouds Part	Asaṅga Maitreya Brunnhölzl, K.	686. Dpal ldan rang byung phrin las kun khyab bstan pa'i rgyal mtshan (n.d., 21) says that in our uncommon tradition of Gampopa, what is known as "the empowerment of transferring blessings" is sufficient for those of very sharp faculties, even if they have not trained in the stages of the four empowerments, the two stages of creation and completion, and so on. It is said that the swift path is to meditate on the guru, which is more powerful than cultivating the creation stage of secret mantra. The completion stage means that through sustaining the luminous basic nature of the mind throughout the day and night, one is able to blend all coarse and subtle ordinary activities with that basic nature. "The empowerment of transferring blessings" is known as "the empowerment of the display of basic awareness (rig pa)" in the Dzogchen tradition and is equivalent to it. Based on the four empowerments in the Yogānuttaratantra class, in due order, the inseparabilities of appearance and emptiness, lucidity and emptiness, bliss and emptiness, and awareness and emptiness are pointed out. This is identified as what is taught in terms of those whose faculties are of the gradualist kind. However, for the simultaneists on the path of Mahāmudrā, it is not necessarily the case that this path must be preceded by these progressive stages. To speak directly, when a guru with all the defining characteristics and a disciple who is a suitable vessel meet, the way of being of mind is introduced in an unerring manner just as it is. If it is recognized in the proper manner, the disciple does not need to train in a multitude of methods in this physical support but can be liberated right upon this very seat.
When the Clouds Part	Asaṅga Maitreya Brunnhölzl, K.	1027. It is probably because of this statement that CMW is mistakenly included in a recent publication as a work of Marpa Chökyi Lodrö (Anonymous 2011). However, while BA reports that Marpa Chökyi Wangchug translated the Uttaratantra, there is no evidence that Marpa Chökyi Lodrö ever translated the Uttaratantra or wrote a commentary on it, nor is such asserted in the Kagyü tradition. CMW is not found in two other contemporary publications of Marpa Chökyi Lodrö's works (A mgon rin po che 2004, vols. 5–6 and Lho brag mar pa lo tsa'i gsung 'bum [Beijing: Krung go'i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang, 2011]). Another possible short text by a Marpa Lotsāwa on the Uttaratantra (Rgyud bla'i bsdus don, 31 folios) is listed in Dpal brtsegs bod yig dpe rnying zhib 'jug khang 2004, 1411 (this entry adds 'di mar pa lo tsā ba'i yin nam brtag).