The Precious Treasury of The Way of Abiding PDF
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THE SEVEN TREASURIES SERIES This is one of seven volumes written by Longchen Rabjam that, as a group, have come to be known as The Seven Treasuries. Although Longchenpa did not intend them to be a series, scholars traditionally treat them as such because of their interrelated themes. The next volume in the series will be The Precious Treasury of the Basic Space of Phenomena. The Precious Treasury of the Way of Abiding AND The Exposition of the Quintessential Meaning of the Three Categories A Commentary on the Precious Treasury of the Way of Abiding Longchen Rabjam Translated under the direction of His Eminence Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche by Richard Barron (Chokyi Nyima) Edited by members of the Padma Translation Committee: Susanne Fairclough, Jeff Miller, and Robert Racine PADMA PUBLISHING 1998 Published by Padma Publishing P.O. Box 2.79 Junction City, California 96048-02.79 © Padma Publishing 1998 All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Printed in the United States of America 02. 01 00 99 98 5 4 3 2. I Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data Klon-chen-pa Dri-med-'od-zer, 1308-1363 [Gnas lugs mdzod. English] The precious treasury of the way of abiding and The exposition of the quintessentia meaning of the three categories : a commentary on the precious treasury of the way ' abiding I Longchen Rabjam : translated from the Tibetan by Richard Barron (Chokyi Nyima); edited by the Padma Translation Committee. p. em. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN r-881847-09-8 1. Rdzogs-chen (Rftin-ma-pa)-Early works to r8oo. I. Barron, Richard. II. Padma Translation Committee. III. Title. BQ7662.+K54313 1998 2.93·3'92.3-dc2.1 98-ro684 CIP ISBN 1-881847-09-8 (hardback) Contents Foreword, by His Eminence Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche VII Introduction, by Venerable Tulku Thondup Rinpoche XI Translation Committee,s Preface XXI THE SouRCE VERSES I THE CoMMENTARY 65 Introduction 67 The Vajra Premise 75 1 The Theme of Ineffability 8r 2 The Theme of Openness 143 3 The Theme of Spontaneous Presence I65 4 The Theme of Oneness 205 5 The Individuals to Whom These Teachings May Be Entrusted 235 Conclusion 259 Notes 269 Sources Cited 281 Word List 285 v Foreword His Eminence Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche The publication of this English translation of Longchen Rabjam's The Precious Treasury of the Way of Abiding should be a cause for rejoic ing on the part of deeply committed English-speaking Buddhists who aspire to realize the Dzogchen, or Great Perfection, transmission of vajrayana Buddhism. Though there are many spiritual traditions in this world, Buddhism offers the deepest examination of what consti tutes the root of samsara, and of how to deal with all levels of ob scurations and attain liberation. Among Buddhist teachings, none are more profound, more capable of freeing the mind from its most subtle obscurations, than those of the Great Perfection. Yet, because Great Perfection transmission leads to wisdom be yond words and concepts, the translation of Dzogchen texts presents tremendous difficulties. Some lamas have said that it is not even worth the attempt, that too much distortion results. I respect their opinion, but I feel that those of us wit:h the supreme fortune to receive authentic transmission from great Dzogchen masters have a responsi bility to maintain the oral lineage, including translation, as well as the mind-to-mind lineage of realization. If we eschew this work, the pre cious Great Perfection teachings will remain inaccessible to some ex cellent Western practitioners who have potential as meditators but who do not know Tibetan. An avenue for the flourishing of the trans mission will be cut off. I am also gravely concerned about the translations of Great Perfec tion texts produced by Westerners who know Tibetan but who rely Vll Vlll FOREWORD solely on scholarly knowledge, without recourse to teachers. Intellec tual understanding alone, without the ripening process that takes place under the direction of qualified Dzogchen teachers, will cer tainly result in misguided translations, perpetuated in misguided med itation by those who base their spiritual practice on such translations. But again, if qualified Dzogchen masters refrain from working with translations because they fear imperfect results, can they lament when even more erroneous translations are published? The translator of this text, Richard Barron (Chokyi Nyima), has truly mastered both literary and spoken Tibetan, but his deeper under standing is based on an extended retreat under the guidance of His Eminence Kalu Rinpoche, on a number of six-week Dzogchen re treats, and on listening to and translating the teachings of many emi nent lamas. He has translated other Great Perfection texts and sa dhanas, notably Dudjom Lingpa's Buddhahood Without Meditation, under my direction. He thus brings more capability to his work than mere theoretical and intellectual competence. The other members of the translation committee working with him likewise have a ground ing in both the study of Dzogchen terminology and participation in annual Dzogchen retreats. Such learned scholars as Khenpo Petse Rinpoche and Khenpo Chodzod have been consulted on many details of the translation. I myself have brought to the process whatever Dzogchen understanding I have attained in the course of a long life time of study and meditation. This means that while we have not necessarily produced a flawless work, we have confidence in this initial attempt. A great deal of time-years of effort, in fact-and expense have gone into the transla tion and editing. It should be understood that a work of this kind is not casually read and easily comprehended. For most people, the text is quite difficult to fathom, because its meaning unfolds according to the depth of their spiritual preparation. However, simply having the book in one's home is more valuable than having statues or stupas, for this is truly a relic of the dharmakaya. Such a holy work carries pow erful blessings and is a worthy object of faith and devotion. We intend to continue with this project and publish translations of other volumes of Longchen Rabjam's Seven Treasuries. We encourage FOREWORD IX anyone with knowledge and experience of the Great Perfection to contact us with suggestions, clarifications, or corrections, which we will consider for incorporation into future editions. May this precious text illuminate the minds of all who read and venerate it.
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