The Royal Seal of Mahamudra: Volume One: A Guidebook for the Realization of Coemergence

352 Pages·2014·8.747 MB·English

by  Ngawang Kunga Tenzin, Gerardo Abboud

oj
The Royal Seal Mahamudra
V olum e One: A Guidebook for the Realization ot Coemergence
The Third Khamtrul Rinpoche, Ngawang Kunga Tenzin
TRANSLATED BY GERARDO ABBOUD

T he R oyal Seal of M aham udra

T R S
he oyal eal of
M
aham udra
Volume One: A Guidebook for the
Realization of Coemergence
The Third Khamtrul Rinpoche,
Ngawang Kunga Tenzin
Translated by Gerardo Abboud
Snow Lion
BOSTON & LONDON
2014
Snow Lion
An imprint of Shambhala Publications, Inc.
Horticultural Hall
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Boston, Massachusetts 02115
www.shambhala.com
© 2014 by Gerardo Abboud
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publisher.
987654321
First Edition
Printed in the United States of America
© This edition is printed on acid-free paper that meets
the American National Standards Institute Z39.48 Standard.
O Shambhala Publications makes every effort to print on recycled paper.
For more information please visit www.shambhala.com.
Distributed in the United States by Penguin Random House LLC
and in Canada by Random House of Canada Ltd
Designed by Gopa &C Tedz, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging -in-Publication Data
Nag-dban-kun-dga’-bstan-’dzin, Khams-sprul III, 1680-1728, author.
[Phyag rgya chen po lhan cig skyes sbyor gyi dgnos gzi’i khrid yig zab
don rgya mtsho’i lam tshang bla na med pa. English]
The royal seal of mahamudra: a guidebook for the realization of
coemergence / The Third Khamtrul Rinpoche, Ngawang Kunga Tenzin;
translated by Gerardo Abboud.
pages cm
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-55939-437-6 (hardback)
I. Mahamudra (Tantric rite)—Early works to 1800. 2. Meditation—
’Brug-pa (Sect)—Early works to 1800.1. Abboud, Gerardo, translator.
II. Title.
BQ8921.M35N3313 2014
z94*3 443 5—dc23
2014013424
C ontents
Foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama vii
Foreword by the Ninth Khamtrul Rinpoches Shedrup Nyima ix
Translator's Preface xi
The Supreme Complete Path of the Ocean
of Profound Meaning
Prologue 3
1. Why Meditation Is Indispensable 5
2. The Key Points of Physical Posture 21
3. The Key Points of Voice 3 5
4. Settling the Mind 41
5. Eliminating the Faults of the Mind 69
6. Using the Mind as the Path 97
7. The Yoga of One-Pointedness 131
8. Eliminating the Faults of Shamatha 159
9. Refining Shamatha 169
10. Sustaining Shamatha 209
11. The Yoga of Simplicity 219
12. How to Practice Vipashyana 233
vi — CONTENTS
13. The Fruition of Vipashyana 261
14. The Yoga of One Taste 275
15. The Yoga of Nonmeditation 287
Appendix: Outline of the Text 293
Notes 301
Works Cited by the Author 309
Index 313
THE DALAI LAMA
Foreword
Mah am u d ra is a set of teachings and practices that represent
the essence of Highest Yoga Tantra, highest of the four classes
of Buddhist tantra. It is generally associated with the Chakrasamvara
cycle of tantras and is known for being a unique tradition for the prac­
tice of clear light, the nondual wisdom of bliss and emptiness. The
Kagyu, Sakya, and Gelug traditions of Tibet each transmit lineages of
mahamudra presented in their own distinctive manner of explanation
and with their own individual style of meditation. The tradition was
brought to Tibet primarily by Marpa Lotsawa, who received it from
his Indian masters Naropa and Maitripa.
I welcome this English translation of the Royal Seal of Mahamudra,
a work of practical instructions in the profound practice of mahamudra
by the late seventeenth-early eighteenth century Drukpa scholar Nga-
wang Kunga Tenzin. He was the Third Khamtrul Rinpoche and founder
of the monastery popularly known as Khampagar. The book adds to
the growing body of authentic Buddhist tantric literature available in
English. I congratulate Gerardo Abboud for the evident dedication he
has brought to the work of translation and offer prayers that readers
who are moved to engage in the spiritual practices outlined in this book
will meet with success.
Tenzin Gyatso, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama
April 5, 2014