The Mahmudr of Sakya Paita

Julia Stenzel
This article was originally published in the Indian International
Journal of Buddhist Studies Volume 15 (2014). I wish to thank
Roger Jackson for patiently reviewing this article as well as my
translation.
Sakya Paita Kunga Gyaltsen (Sa skya paita kun dga
rgyal mtshan, 11821251) of the Sakya school of Tibetan
Buddhism viewed Mahmudr practice as being solely a part of the
Tantric practice patha path to which disciples may be introduced
only after having passed through the initiations and required stages
of the Niruttarayogatantra. He criticised the non-Tantric
Mahmudr approaches of Kagy (Bka brgyud) masters such as
Gampopa (Sgam po pa, 1079-1153) and Lama Zhang Tsalpa (Bla ma
Zhang tshal pa, 1123-93). The controversy between representatives
of the two schools has been discussed by Roger Jackson (1982),
David Jackson (1990, 1994), and others. Western scholarship has
been less concerned, however, with the positive statements of
Sakya Paita on Mahmudr, i.e. with the question of what a
correct understanding of Mahmudr would be in his eyes. This
fact is partly due to the secrecy with which the Sakya School
handles Tantric texts. However, in a dialogue (dris lan) text in the
collected works of the Sakya masters (Sa skya bkabum), Sakya
Paita gives a short account of the topic in response to questions
posed by Tokden Gyan (Rtogs ldan rgyan). 1 This text, available
from the Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center and as yet
untranslated, 2 will serve as the basis for an analysis of Sakya

McGill University, Faculty of Religious Studies, Birks Building, 3520

University Street, Montreal, Quebec H3A 2A7.
Rtogs ldan rgyan poi dris lan, in Sa skya bkabum, TBRC W22271, 12:
167-173, Dehradun: Sakya Center, 19921993, accessed November 1, 2013,
http://tbrc.org/link?RID=O01CT0026|O01CT002600KG04220$W22271. In
this paper it is cited as Answers, or Rtogs ldan.
I thank Chris Wilkinson, who brought the existence of the text to my
attention and provided me with his unpublished translation. For the present

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Paitas Mahmudr. His presentation will be supplemented by

explanations drawn from A Clear Differentiations of the Three
Codes, 3 and Taking the Result as the Path (Stearns 2006). Since
controversies and debates have the advantage of clarifying
divergent viewpoints by highlighting crucial differences, I will
include a discussion of the Kagy Mahmudr approaches that
Sapan criticizes wherever it seems helpful in illuminating Sakya
Paitas standpoint. For this part of the research, I will rely on the
Western scholarship mentioned previously. My analysis does not
aim at justifying either side of the controversy. Both Sakya and
Kagy Schools have continuously taught their respective
meditation systems for nearly a millennium, which I like to see as a
proof that a significant number of individuals have found meaning
in their divergent approaches. As Western scholars and
practitioners explore Tibetan Buddhism, it is important to
understand controversial positions as thoroughly as the secret
content of the debated material allows, so as not to perpetuate a
thousand year-old debate on the basis of partial information. It is
my hope that this paper contributes to clarifying the position of
Sakya Paita in the Mahmudr controversy.

Background
Buddhist ideas spread to Tibet in two major waves. The
first, a top-down movement controlled by kings between the
seventh and ninth centuries,4 was followed by political collapse and
religious crisis. The second, new translation period,5 between the
tenth and fourteenth centuries, was a fragmented movement that
sprang from the grassroots, fueled by teachers and adepts from
both India and Tibet. It prompted controversies and power
struggles among translators, lineages, clans, and schools. Sakya
Paita Kunga Gyaltsen of the prominent Khn (Khon) clan in
paper I produced my own translation, in consultation with Acarya Jampa
Tenzin.
3

Sakya Pandita 2002. In my paper it will be cited as Three Codes, the

translation of the short title used by Tibetans, Sdom gsum.
This period is called earlier dissemination of the teachings (snga dar) by
Tibetan historians, or the early translation period (sngagyur).
The new translation period (gsargyur) is also called the later
dissemination of the teachings (phyi dar).

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201

south central Tibet, one of the five founding patriarchs of the Sakya
School (rje btsun gong ma lnga), stands out among the figures of
this later period for his vast erudition in not only Tibetan
epistemology and logic but also Indian Sanskrit scriptures and
language, which he acquired during a decade of study under the
tutelage of the Kashmiri abbot kyarbhadra (1140-1225) and
lesser paitas (pa chung) in the latters entourage. Based on his
knowledge of the Indian roots of Buddhist thought, Sakya Paita,
or Sapan, as he is often called, became concerned with what he
deemed inauthentic, false, or distorted Buddhist ideas and practices
in Tibet. One of his criticisms is directed against the Great Seal, or
Mahmudr, teachings of Gampopa, Lama Zhang Tsalpa, and their
followers. Gampopa started the monastic Dagpo Kagy School
(Dwags po bka brgyud) with the foundation of the monastery of
Dagla Gampo (Dwags lha sgam po) in 1121, about half a century
before Sapans birth. Gampopas followers further contributed to
establishing the Kagy as a prominent school in Tibet.6 Gampopa
developed an innovative style of teaching Mahmudr, combining
elements of the Perfection Vehicle and of the Tantras. These new
approaches to meditation by Gampopa and his followers were
criticized by Sapan for their supposed lack of Indian antecedents
and their proximity to the meditation system of the Chinese master
Hwashang Mahyana (Hwa shang ma h ya na) that had been
banned from Tibet in the eighth century. In approximately 1232,
Sapan wrote A Clear Differentiation of the Three Codes (Sdom
gsum rab dbye), in which he discusses a great number of theories
and practices he deems erroneous among the practitioners of his
time. His critique ofthe Kagy Mahmudr is embedded in the
chapter Vows of the Vajra Vehicle. Whereas in this text, his
statements on Mahmudr are dispersed throughout the chapter, the
short Answers to the Question of Togden Gyan (Rtogs ldan rgyan
poi dris lan) focuses on the topic of Mahmudr alone and

The controversy between Sapan and certain Kagypa masters may well have
political motives, besides purely philosophical ones, as Ulrich Kragh points
out in his thesis, Culture and Subculture: A Study of the Mahamudra of
sGam po pa (1998). The Khn clan and Kagy communities were in
competition for support from the Mongols, the ruling dynasty in China.
Whether Sapan harboured an ambition to discredit other Buddhist schools to
enhance his own political position is a speculation in which I do not wish to
engage in this paper.

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provides therefore an ideal framework for capturing a succinct

picture of Sakya Paitas concept of Mahmudr.
The Answers to the Question of Togden Gyan is a short text of six
pages in Volume 12 of the Derge (sde dge) edition of the Collected
Works of the first great Sakya masters (Sa skya bkabum). As is
the case with many works of the dialogue genre (zhus lan, dris lan)
in Tibetan literature, the text was not composed by either of the
dialogue partners, but was written down by another student of the
instructing master. In the present text, the author identifies himself
in the colophon as Biji (bi ji). He mentions that he has studied
Sapans instructions repeatedly before putting this dialogue to
paper, perhaps with the intention of justifying his capability to
write the present text. Biji might have been the physician, or
simply a student of Sakya Paita.7 The dialogue between Sapan
and Togden Gyan is said to have taken place at the five-peaked
mountain, which refers to the sacred mountain associated with
Majur, Wutai Shan in China.8 Since Sapan travelled to the court
of the Mongols, following a summons by the Mongol prince
Godan Khan (1206-1251) only in 1244, this dialogue presumably
took place between a mature Sapan in his sixties and a meditator
living in retreat in the mountains. The interlocutor Togden Gyan,
who is identified in the introduction as a resident meditator at
Mount Wutai Shan, asks five questions about Mahmudr practice
and requests pith instructions (gdams ngag). According to Biji,
these pith instructions were recorded as a separate teaching called
The Eyedropper of Mahmudr, which I was unable to locate in
the available data-bases.9 Sapans five succinct answers, however,
provide a synopsis of his Mahmudr teaching, and will therefore
provide the outline of my analysis.

The website of the present Sakya Trizin mentions a physician Biji who was
present at Sakya Pa itas passing:
http://www.hhthesakyatrizin.org/tradition_founder4.html, accessed Dec 4,
2013. David Jackson mentions a student Biji Rinchen Drak in his article
Sakya Pandita's Letter to the Tibetans: A Late and Dubious Addition to His
Collected Works (2013: 243).

Karl Debreczeny (2011: n. 40) expresses doubt that Sapan resided at Wutai
Shan.

TBRC and AIBS.

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203

The Five Questions of TogdenGyan

The five principal topics that Sapan addresses in his
answers to Tokden Gyan are the origin, nature, etymology,
practice, and stages of progress of Mahmudr.
The Origin of Mahmudr
The first topic, the examination of the origins, is of crucial
importance for the discussion of Mahmudr as a whole because
proof of correct origins assures the authenticity of a Buddhist
teachingin the present case, of Mahmudr. This conservative
attitude is not unique to Sapan. From the time of Buddhas passing,
followers worried about the preservation of his authentic teaching
and eventually committed the canon to writing as a means to
guarantee a truthful transmission. For Sapan, the authenticity of
Buddhist theory, practice, or terminology depends on their
occurrence in Indian canonical texts. A Mahyna teaching such as
Mahmudr can only have two possible authentic origins: the
Stras of the Perfection Vehicle or the Tantras of the Vajra
Vehicle. Apart from these two, Sapan states in the Three Codes,
no Great Vehicle was ever taught by Buddhas. 10 Since the
terminology of Mahmudr does not appear in the scriptures of the
Perfection Vehicle, he categorically excludes the Stras as its
scriptural source. Also, he states in the Answers to the Question of
Togden Gyan that the three lower Tantras, i.e., Action,
Performance and Yoga Tantras,11 do not use the term Mahmudr.12
Therefore, according to Sapan, the only authentic source of
Mahmudr, is the Niruttarayogatantra. 13 He argues for his
position not only on scriptural but also on theoretical grounds. He
states in the Answers: Even though in these traditions they teach
profound emptiness as that which is to be realized, they do not
teach a profound path of methods for realizing it (Rtogs ldan, 154, 2).

10
11

Sakya Pandita, Three Codes, 113 (Verse 132).

Action Tantra: bya rgyud, Skt. kriytantra. Performance Tantra: spyod
rgyud, Skt. carytantra. Yoga Tantra: rnalbyor rgyud, Skt. yogatantra.

12

Contrary to Sakya Pa ita's statement, the term Mahmudra can be found

in both Yoga and Mahyoga Tantra literature. See R. Jackson 2011: 288.

13

Unsurpassable Yoga Tantra: bla na

niruttarayogatantra, anuttarayogatantra.

med

pai

rgyud,

Skt.

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The profound path of methods refers to the four initiations14 and

two stages 15 of the Vajrayna; whereas the Perfection Vehicle
teaches another set of trainings, such as the two accumulations, of
merit and wisdom 16 ; the cultivation of compassion 17 ; the
contemplation of the four seals that signify the teachings of the
Buddhas word 18 ; and so forth. These methods are not labeled
profound, and their training is said to require three incalculable
kalpas before perfect Buddhahood is attained.19 Therefore, Sapan
concludes, it is not acceptable to see these traditions as truly
authentic and fulfilling the definition of Mahmudr (phyag rgya
chen po mtshan nyid pa) (Rtogs ldan 154, 3).
At this point, it seems useful to include some details of the
controversy between Sakya Paita and the target of this critique,
Gampopa. 20 The Kagy master is reputedly the first who taught
Mahmudr publicly and to students who had not received Tantric
initiations. He did so, combining the Mahmudr teachings of his
master Milarepa (Mi la ras pa, 1052-1135) with Kadampa (Bka
gdams pa) Stric teachings (Trungram 2004: 164169). Instead of a
lengthy training in Tantric rituals, certain students can, based on
the gurus pointing-out instructions that introduce the nature of
mind (ngo sprod), meditate directly on the mind and realize its
ultimate nature. Gampopa adheres, nevertheless, to the tradition of
authenticating his teachings by explaining their Indian antecedents.
According to later Kagy sources, he declared the
14

15

Skt. caturabhieka, Tib: dbang bskur bzhi (bum dbang, gsang dbang, shes
rab ye shes kyi dbang, tshig dbang). Also see Sakya Pandita, Three Codes,
1834.
rim gnyis, Skt. dvikrama, consists of the creation stage (skyes rim, Skt.
utpattikrama)and the completion stage (rdzogs rim, Skt. sapannakrama).

16

tshogs gnyis: bsod nams kyi tshogs, Skt. pyasambhra, and ye shes kyi
tshogs, Skt. jnasambhra.

17

snying rje, Skt. karu.

bkartags kyi phyag rgya bzhi: 1) All composite things are impermanent
(du sbyas thams cad mi rtag pa); 2) All defiled things are suffering (zag
bcas thams cad sdug bsngal ba); 3) All phenomena are empty and devoid of
a self-entity (chos thams cad stong zhing bdag med pa); 4) Nirva is peace
(myanganlasdas pa zhiba). Source: Rangjung Yeshe Dictionary.

18

19
20

Sakya Pandita, Three Codes, 111112.

I take Gampopa here as the most prominent master who taught Mahmudr
practice outside a tantric context. Gampopa is not the only target of Sapans
critique, and is seldom, if ever, mentioned by name.

The Mahmudr of Sakya Paita

205

Mahynottaratantrastra to be the foundation of his particular

Mahmudr teachings 21 ; other Kagy masters point out a small
number of Indian canonical Buddhist texts, in which masters such
as Maitrpa, Sahajavajra, and Jnakrti use the term Mahmudr
outside the Tantric context and even explicitly equate Mother
Prajpramit with Mahmudr (Brunnhlzl 2007: 134136). To my
knowledge, there is no textual evidence that Sakya Paita
discussed the validity of these particular texts as possible sources
for non-Tantric Mahmudr. His critique targets the origins of
Gampopas Mahmudr teachings, which, he says, deviate from
the Mahmudr of the Kagy forefather, the Indian tantric master
Nropa (1016-1100).
The Nature of Mahmudr
Following his argument about the pure Indian origins of
Mahmudr, Sapan next considers the nature (rang bzhin) of
Mahmudr, presenting it in an exclusively Tantric context. The
section on this second topic of Sapans Answers starts with a
quotation from a commentary on the Klacakratantra:22
Mahmudr is unchangeable bliss.
Grasped and grasper, shapes, thoughts,
expressions are completely eliminated.
It is like a gandharva city.
It has the nature of a magic-mirror reflection.
It is the yoga of method and wisdom.
I bow to the letters e va.
It is beyond the most subtle phenomena.
21

22

and

Dbu ma la jug pa'i rnam bshad dpal ldan dus gsum mkhyen pai zhal lung
dwags brgyud grub pai shing rta by the eighth Karmapa Miky Dorje (mi
bskyod rdo rje, 15071554). See Trungram 2004: 165 n388.
This quote can be found in the Vimalaprabh commentary on Klacakra The
Ornament of Stainless Light, Bsdus pai rgyud kyi rgyal po dus khor
loigrel bshad rtsa bai rgyud kyi rjes sujug pa stong phrag bcu gnyis pa
dri ma med pai od/, folio 108a, accessed Dec 6, 2013.
http://www.asianclassics.org/reader.php?collection=tengyur&index=1347.0
1#108A. Possibly it is also found in the Hevajra Tantra, since Hevajra is the
main deity associated with the Sakya School. However, I could not locate it
in the Concealed Essence of the HevajraTantra (Tantra with commentary
Yogaratnaml by Kha), nor the Kyei rdo rje bsdus pai don gyi rgya
chergrel pa.

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It has the form of a magic-mirror reflection,

possessing the excellence of all aspects.
I bow to that Mahmudr.23 [154, 4-5]24
In this quote, Mahmudr is described as non-dual reality,
associated with bliss and emptiness. In traditional Tantric
education, it is the role of the guru to elucidate for the disciple the
implied meaning of the terms and metaphors used in the text. For
the present research, I am relying, in addition to Sapans own
words, on translated commentaries of the Hevajratantra Hevajra
being the principal Tantric deity of the Sakya Schooland on a
commentary on the Vajra Lines by Virpa, the Sakya Schools
eminent Indian mahsiddha of presumably the seventh or eighth
century (Stearns 2006: 13). The latter commentary, entitled
Explication of the Treatise for Nyak, was composed by an ancestor
of Sakya Paita, the first Sakya master, Sachen Kunga Nyingpo
(Sa chen kun dga snying po, 10921158) (Sachen 2006: 23126).
In the first line of the above quote, Mahmudr is defined
as bliss. This situates Mahmudr in the context of the third and
fourth initiations,25 which empower the Tantric disciple to cultivate
bliss and emptiness in union. For Sapan, the only legitimate way to
practice Mahmudr is to enter the Tantric path by receiving
initiations. In the Three Codes, Sapan states, Our own Great Seal
consists of Gnosis risen from initiation.26Also, If, however, one
[] wishes to cultivate the Mantra system, one must unerringly
obtain the four initiations. One should cultivate in meditation the
23

24

25

26

phyag rgya chen po mi gyur bde// gzung dang dzin pa dbyibs dag dang//
rtog dang brjod pa rnam par spang// dri zai grong khyer lta bu dang// pra
phab pa yi rang bzhin can// rnalbyor thabs dang shes rab bdag// e wam yi
ge de la dud// phra rab rdul gyi chos nyiddas// pra phab pa yi rnam pa
can// rnam pa kun gyi mchog ldan pa// phyag rgya chenpo de la dud//.
Folio numbers of this and all following quotes of Answers to the Questions
of Togden Gyan refer to the Rtogs ldan rgyan poi dris lan in the Sa skya
bkabum, in a reprint of the Derge Parkhang Chenmo prints (sde dge par
khang chos mdzod chen mo). See Bibliography.
Third initiation: knowledge-wisdom initiation (shes rab ye shes dbang, Skt
prajjnbhieka); fourth initiation (bzhi pai dbang, Skt
caturthbhieka), or precious word initiation (tshig dbang rin po che, Skt
abdbhieka).
Sakya Pandita, Three Codes, 117 (verse 164). Rhoton translates phyag rgya
chen po sometimes as Great Seal, sometimes as mahmudr.

The Mahmudr of Sakya Paita

207

two processes without mistake and become well versed in the

Great Seal, the Gnosis that rises from these.27In his commentary
on Virpas Vajra Lines Sachen Kunga Nyingpo explains the four
initiations as being the vase initiation, secret initiation, the
initiation of primordial awareness dependent on an embodiment of
wisdom, and the fourth initiation. Each of these is subdivided into
different types. The third initiation is subdivided into dependent
on a support and dependent on experience; the fourth into the
word meaning, path, result, and with the support of a consort.28
Thus, both the third and the fourth initiation can be conferred by
means of union with a consort. Two kinds of experience of bliss are
associated with these two initiations, respectively. The aspect of the
culmination of attainment as blissful emptiness of lesser extent is
the desired result of the third, while the culmination of attainment
as blissful emptiness of greater extent is the outcome of the fourth
initiation (Sachen 2006: 3542).
The issue of conferring initiations with the support of a
consort invites the question of the compatibility of sexual practice
with the prtimoka, the monastic code for individual liberation,
which defines engaging in sexual activities as an infraction
entailing defeat. Sapan adhered to the view that upon receiving
tantric initiation on the level of the highest tantras (bla na med pai
rnal byor) a person takes on all three systems of vows. 29
According to this statement, monastic and Tantric vows coexist
with equal value; thus, a monk is excluded from receiving the
initiation of primordial awareness dependent on an embodiment of
wisdom in the form of a real woman, and can only rely on
symbolic representations. Since a discussion regarding this point is
absent from the Three Codes, I cannot assert Sapans position with
certainty.
The quote in the Answers includes a second, concealed
reference to bliss, in the form of the letters e va.30 These letters
27

Sakya Pandita, Three Codes, 112 (verses 1278).

28

Sachen 2006:28. See also the annotations by Sachens son Jetsn Drakpa
Gyaltsen (Rje btsun Grags pa rgyal mtshan, 11471216), 633n21.

29

Sakya Pandita, Three Codes, 23.

The transliteration of the Tibetan gives e wa, to be precise. Since the
letters are explained to be Tibetan phonetic rendering of the Sanskrit eva, I
use the Sanskrit spelling.

30

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deserve special attention, since e va is paralleled with

Mahmudr through the repetition of the homage I bow to the
letters evaI bow to that Mahmudr. According to the
Concealed Essence of the Hevajra Tantra and its commentary, the
Yogaratnaml, the two letters e-va are derived from the Sanskrit
eva, which is the first word of the opening line of all Stras, eva
may rutam, translated as thus have I heard. In Tantric exegesis,
the first word, the indeclinable particle eva (thus), is divided into
its two components e and va. The new meaning of e results from
its shape in Gupta Sanskrit script, in which the letter resembles the
shape of a downward pointing triangle. The Concealed Essence
states, E is Bhaga (the female sexual organ), vam, is Kulia (the
male sexual organ), (Farrow and Menon 1992: 5). Another passage
explains the two letters as symbolizing the female and male deities
of a Tantric maala, and also the pairs of wisdom and skillful
means, and emptiness and compassion. According to the
Concealed Essence, the union of the two elements of a pair is said
to create bliss and gnosis of the innate, uncreated, natural state:31
The divine letter e, adorned with the syllable va
placed within it, is the abode of all bliss and the
receptacle of the jewels of the Buddhas. (3.4)
It is there in eva that the Joys arise, distinguished by
the different Moments. From the experience of these
Moments the knowledge of the bliss located in eva is
known. (3.5)
These and other passages from the Hevajratantra and its
commentary indicate that the letters e va symbolize the bliss
resulting from sexual union with a consort and also a certain type
of realization or knowledge associated with that bliss. It is when
Togden Gyan requests to know the nature of Mahmudr that
Sapan chooses to cite the verse, Mahmudr is unchangeable
blissetc. However, he himself does not comment on the explicit
and implicit references to bliss, presumably because such a
discussion is governed by the Tantric vow of secrecy. Instead, he
focuses on the second part of the quotation, which describes
ultimate reality in terms of emptiness:
It is beyond the most subtle phenomena.
31

Farrow and Menon 1992: 5: 181 (verses 3.45), and xxii.

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209

It has the form of a magic-mirror reflection,

possessing the excellence of all aspects.
I bow to that Mahmudr.32
Sapan explains that the phrase possessing the excellence
of all aspects is a description of emptiness. In a text by later Sakya
master, Rongtn Sheja Kunrig (Rong ston shes bya kun rig, 13671449) the excellence of all aspects33 is explained as referring to
the powers and qualities that arise with training in the perfections
of giving, discipline, patience, diligent effort, and meditation
(Bernert 2009:106). Mahmudr is described here as the realization of
emptiness accompanied by compassionate qualities. In his
commentary, Sapan equates this realization with dharmat, or
reality-as-it-is:
According to these words, what we have to realize is
what is called the natural reality (chos nyid gnyug
ma),34 which is emptiness possessing the excellence of
all aspects.
The way of realizing it is by way of an experience that
cannot be expressed, thought of, or explained, which
has the appearance of a magic-mirror reflection. [154,
6]
The magic-mirror reflection, which both Sapan and the
quotation mention, refers to the reflections in divination mirrors
that were used in India and Tibet for predicting the future. Unlike
ordinary reflections (gzugs brnyan), which reflect a manifest
object, images in divination mirrors (pa phrab pa) were said to
appear on their own. 35 The metaphor thus describes the manifest
32

33

phra rab rdul gyi chos nyid das// pra phab pa yi rnam pa can// rnam pa
kun gyi mchog ldan pa// phyag rgya chen po de la dud// In Rtogs ldan,
154.56.
This phrasein Sanskrit presumably sarvkropetaalso is a crucial term
in Rangtong-Shentong debates about the nature of nyat.

34

Alternative translation: genuine dharmat. I used natural instead of genuine

to distinguish gnyug ma (natural, as it is) from mtshan nyid pa (genuine).

35

Alexander Berzin gives the Sanskrit pratimrti for pa phrab pa and explains
it as an analogy for "devoid-form," a subcategory of bimba (image). It refers
to figures that appear on their own, such as images that appear in divination
mirrors used in Indian and Tibetan cultures for prognostication. Alexander
Berzin, Explanation of the Main Points of The Kalachakra Presentation of

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world as an appearance that lacks a true cause. A similar idea is

expressed in the first part of the quotation, with the metaphor of the
gandharva city, which is an illusory sky-castle of the gandharvas,
a type of spirit or, literally, smell-eaters (dri za). This metaphor
also refers to the illusory nature of phenomena, the emptiness of
appearances.
In Mahmudr, the realization of emptiness cannot exist in
isolation, since an isolated focus on emptiness does not lead to
complete awakening. In the Answers, Sapan explains how
emptiness is correctly practiced and realized as an inextricable part
of a pair. Such integrated realization is called the unity of lucidity
and emptiness, the unity of awareness and emptiness, the unity of
bliss and emptiness (Rtogs ldan, 154, 5). In terms of gnosis, he states,
it has innumerable synonyms, such as the gnosis of unity yoga,
innate gnosis, self-arisen gnosis, self-aware gnosis, discriminating
gnosis, non-conceptual gnosis (Rtogs ldan, 154, 5). By describing
Mahmudr in terms of the highest realization of the Tantric path,
Sapan distances himself from all those who use Mahmudr to
describe the initial realization of emptiness on the Path of Seeing,36
and from those who claim that the realization of emptiness alone
suffices to attain Buddhahood. In the Three Codes, Sapan writes,
emptiness alone has no efficacy whatsoever. But one will
gradually achieve the desired result if technique and understanding
are rightly united. The Vajrapajara[tantra] states very clearly:
Buddhahood will not result if the means is emptiness.37 Sapan
attacks here the adherents of mono causal soteriologies, such as
Lama Zhang Tsalpa, whose teaching of the White Self-Sufficient
Remedy (dkar po chig thub) supposedly claims that the result of
the three Buddha-bodies arises from a single cause. 38 As has
already been pointed out by David Jackson, however, a
juxtaposition of Sapans rendering and Lama Zhangs own writings
the Four Creative-Energy Drops and the Winds of Karma, accessed
December 4, 2013.
http://www.berzinarchives.com/web/en/archives/advanced/kalachakra/
theory_of_kalachakra_practice/kalachakra_presentation_4_creativeenergy_drops/part_2.html.
36

For a discussion of the paths, see below.

37

Sakya Pandita, Three Codes, 172, (verses 3534).

Ibid., 141, (verse 347). For a discussion of Sapans critique of Lama Zhang,
see Jackson 1994: 48 ff.

38

The Mahmudr of Sakya Paita

211

shows that the latter taught a wide range of methods as a

preparation for the final moment of realization of ultimate
emptiness. 39 Sapans criticism may therefore apply only to
distorted interpretations of Lama Zhangs teaching, or perhaps be
understood as a critique of the potentially misleading term SelfSufficient Remedy.
The Etymology of Mahmudr
Togden Gyans third question concerns the etymology of
the Tibetan rendering of the Sanskrit word Mahmudr. Sapan
corrects the erroneous notions of those who are not expert in
Sanskrit and take phyag to mean peace [nirva], the gnosis of
emptiness, and rgya to mean release from the trap of sasra.
They claim that both new and old schools,40 the Mahmudr Drop
(Phyag rgya chen poi thig le), and other texts say this. People who
make these claims are mistaken. [155, 4-5]
In the Three Codes, Sapan devotes more than twenty verses
to correcting a long list of mistaken etymological explanations
proclaimed by his fellow Tibetans. Among these figures
Mahmudr. He justifies his concern with these seemingly minor
issues, saying, While these explanations may seem fine to
ignorant people, the learned will laugh if they see them. Why so?
Because they are unacceptable as explanations of Sanskrit terms
and because they have been explicated as if they were Tibetan
terms, in ignorance of the fact that these terms are Sanskrit. 41
Sapans frustration with his contemporaries lack of interest in the
Sanskrit language and a certain pride in his own erudition are
apparent in this statement, I believe. In his concern for exactitude,
he goes so far as to state that the Tibetan word for Mahmudr,
phyag rgya chen po, contains the word phyag (literally hand)
which is not in the original Sanskrit. His remarks are not linguistic
ponderings alone, as can be seen in the Answers, where his
etymological analysis leads to yet another elucidation of
Mahmudr: the Great Seal is a realization that seals the perception
of the world, since the realization of bliss and emptiness in union
means that the adept sees the equality of the deluded phenomena of
39

Also see Jackson 1994: 7778.

40

gsar rnying

41

Sakya Pandita, Three Codes, 172 (verses 5801; 569 79).

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sasra and the pure phenomena of nirva, or the equality of

relative and absolute truth.
Mudr can mean rgya (seal), rtags (sign), mtshan ma
(mark), gugs kyed (stamp), and more, but in the
present case it is translated as rgya (seal). Its meaning
was explained by Avadhti: It is called rgya (seal)
because we stamp or certify (gdab) with a seal (rgya).
The single taste of the three worlds is the
Mahmudr. This statement says that, when you seal
all phenomena of sasra and nirva by abiding in
the unity of bliss and emptiness, then the view of the
meaning of what you have experienced is called
Mahmudr. [156, 1- 2]
The Practice of Mahmudr
The fourth question of Togden Gyan concerns the actual
practice of Mahmudr. How do we engender Mahmudr?
Sapan gives first the general conditions for the practice, which are
for a disciple to receive genuine ripening initiations and to practice
the two stages of liberation. 42 Receiving the four initiations is
referred to as the process of maturation (smin lam). It entitles
disciples to engage in the process of liberation (sgrol lam)
consisting of the training in two stages, that of creation
(utpattikrama, bskyed rim) and of completion (nipattikrama,
rdzogs rim). Sapan does not explain any details of the initiations
orthe two stages. The reason for this omission, as before, is
presumably his obedience to the vow of secrecy. I will complete
the lacuna with an explanation by a later Sakya master, which is
available in translation. Jamyang Khyentse Wangchuk (Jam
dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang phyugs, 1524-68) 43 explains the
creation stage as taking lucidity as the path, which refers to the
vividly lucid meditation on a particular deity and its supporting
maala, including various preliminary purifications and mantra
practice. The completion stage means to take emptiness as the
path, since the visualization, along with the three realms, is
42

This is part of the answer to the second question, which I included here, so
as to present the progression as a whole.

43

Jamyang 2006: 395476, particularly 425.

The Mahmudr of Sakya Paita

213

dissolved into a state where even the nd 44 is not visualized.

The completion stage includes the yogic practices with subtle
channels (rtsa), winds (rlung), and drops (thig le), such as the
practices of mystic heat (gtum mo), illusory body (sgyu lus), dream
yoga (rmi lam), and others. From the meditation on these two
stages, the author explains, arises primordial awareness, or gnosis,
which takes unity as the path (Jamyang 2006: 425). As Sapan
explained previously, this gnosis of union is one of the synonyms
of Mahmudr.
Tantric practice would not be possible without a guru, and
Sapan states accordingly: Please your guru and then receive
authentic initiation. Then you will distinguish the meaning of
suchness.45 In the Three Codes, he specifies that an authentic guru
is one who is genuine, intelligent and well-trained. 46 Disciples
should please such a teacher, and view him as the very Buddha
himself, but only once they have received initiations from him:
Unless one is linked to him through vows of initiation, he is
simply a Perfection[-Vehicle] teacher, no matter how good he may
be.47 This statement contains again a critique of the approach of
Gampopa and all those Kagy masters who taught Mahmudr
outside a Tantric context. Sapan predicts drastic consequences for
them, citing the Mahmudrtilaka: Whosoever, out of pride,
explains Tantra and precepts to the uninitiated causes both master
and pupil to be reborn in hell immediately upon their deaths, even
though realizations may have been attained. 48 This statement of
Sapan shows that his insistence on practicing Mahmudr
according to the Indian sources is not just a matter of conservatism
trumping innovation, but is based on his conviction that a training
system can only lead to successful results when it is left intact, and
that especially the Tantric systemwhich operates with subtle
44

The nd is the last point in the process of dissolution and refers to the line
rising from the nasal sign on top of the seed syllable h visualized in the
heart center.

45

Citing from The Vajra Garland, the Exposition Tantra of Guhyasamja

(Bshad rgyud rdo rje phreng ba, Gsang dus bshad rgyud, Skt.: Vajramltantra).

46

Sakya Pa ita, Letter to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, in Three Codes,

245.

47

Sakya Pa ita, Three Codes, 116 (v. 157).

48

Ibid.

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physiological and psychological processes, with precepts and

secrecyshould not be manipulated even by those who have
realizations.
When the outer conditions for practicing Mahmudr are
assembled, i.e. when a disciple receives the four initiations of a
genuine guru and engages in the practice of the two stages,
Mahmudr is explained to arise in two stages, first as a likeness
of Mahmudr (phyag rgya chen po ltar snang), followed by
genuine Mahmudr (phyag rgya chen po mtshan nyid pa). In
the Answers, Sapan explains:
A few fortunate individuals engender genuine gnosis of
Mahmudr at the moment the gnosis of initiation descends
upon them. However, most people have to rely on methods
such as meditation and so forth. They begin by engendering
a likeness of Mahmudr, and later on will develop genuine
Mahmudr. [156, 3-4]

Sapan describes the likeness of Mahmudr as a partial

or flawed understanding of ultimate reality:
What is called the likeness of Mahmudr co-arises with
the aspects of two mistakes of being poisoned and
isolated.
Being poisoned refers to generating a flickering
experience of the unity (zung jug) while the waves of
conceptual understanding and realization gathered in study
and reflection, and of discursive thoughts gathered in
meditation, have not yet ceased.
Isolated refers to the isolated [practice] of [mental]
stability, isolated discriminative inquiry, isolated [practice]
on the side of luminosity, isolated [practice] on the side of
emptiness; isolated experiences of body, speech, and mind,
such as blissful heat or volatile movements of the body,
unreliable expressions of speech, and various experiences
of unreliable meditative absorptions in the mind; and [also]
the isolated [practice] of temporary mental inactivity and
blocking of the six collections of sense-consciousness.
[156, 4-6]

According to these explanations, Mahmudr is not a

sudden realization, except in the case of rare individuals who
possess the previously acquired karmic maturity for such a

The Mahmudr of Sakya Paita

215

breakthrough (Rtogs ldan, 156, 3). Most practitioners may have a

glimpse of Mahmudr during the third or fourth initiation, but are
not able to prolong that realization. Instead, dualistic perception
interferes, and the practitioner cannot maintain unity (zung jug),
but tends to experience either emptiness alone or luminosity alone.
The passage also shows that Sapan acknowledges various kinds of
physical or mental experiences, such as volatile movements of the
body (maybe jumps or levitations), or a blank, inactive mental
state, but categorizes them as preliminary, as the likeness of
Mahmudr. As described in the section on the nature of
Mahmudr, the final realization has to integrate all aspects of
experience, and is therefore called the gnosis of unity.
Progress in Mahmudr
Further explanations of the gradual development of
Mahmudr are given in the next section, where Sapan answers
questions about progression on the grounds (bhmis) and paths
(mrga). Here, Sapan first parallels the stages of Mahmudr with
the realizations of the five paths taught in the Perfection Vehicle,
then with the Bodhisattva grounds. According to his explanations,
the training phase beginning with a ripening initiation and
including all those imperfect experiences mentioned previously
comprises the Path of Accumulation. When the genuine wisdom
of the unity of bliss and emptiness is born in the mind stream and
the experience of complete non-thought arises uninterruptedly,
but is not yet pure because of subtle latencies of
conceptualization (Rtogs ldan, 157, 2), it is the Path of Junction. The
understanding a practitioner has at this point is called mimetic 49
gnosis (dpei ye shes), because it is only an imitation of the real
understanding. Using a metaphor of the rising sun at dawn, Sapan
expresses the fact that it is not yet the real sun, but a definite
indication of it. A qualitative change occurs when the practitioner
has a direct realization of emptiness possessing the excellence of
all aspects, the genuine gnosis of complete non-thought. This is,
according to Sapan, the real gnosis [of] Mahmudr and the
attainment of the Path of Seeing (Rtogs ldan, 157, 4). What follows
after that is a continuous familiarization with the real Mahmudr
49

Alternative translations are: exemplifying wisdom (Brunnhlzl), sample

wisdom (Rhoton).

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gnosis, which is called the Path of Meditation, and finally the

attainment of the thirteenth ground (bhmi), the actualization of the
four kyas,50 the five wisdoms,51 and so forth, which is the Path of
No More Learning and corresponds to the state of Dorje Chang,52
or Buddhahood. According to these instructions, Mahmudr
designates not only the final realization at the level of Buddhahood,
but begins on the Path of Seeing. The determining difference
between the mimetic gnosis, or the likeness of Mahmudr, and
real gnosis, or real Mahmudr, is thus the presence or absence,
respectively, of dualistic conceptualization.
Sapans discussion of the Bodhisattva grounds amounts to
yet another point of critique directed against Lama Zhang, author
of the provocative sentence, Mahmudr is attainable in one
stride. It is deluded activity to divide it into grounds and paths.53
Alluding to this sentence, Sapan attacks the notion of a singly
sufficient (chig chog) 54 Mahmudr and retorts, To say such a
thing is mistaken. Two quotes from Indian sources, Reciting the
Names (Nmasagiti), 55 and the Synonyms (Abhidhna), 56 show
nothing more than the existence and the names of the Bodhisattva
grounds, but Sapan does not go into details about how these
correlate with Mahmudr realization. He does explain that the
quote, Buddhahood is perfected in a single instant, from Reciting
50

sku bzhi: the four bodies of a Buddha: 1) the body of reality, chos sku, Skt.
dharmakya. 2) the complete enjoyment body, longs spyod rdzogs pai sku,
Skt. sambhogakya; 3) the emanation body, sprul sku, Skt. nirmakya, 4)
the body of their essentiality, ngo bo nyid kyi sku, Skt. svabhvikakya.

51

ye shes lnga: the five wisdoms: 1)me long ltabu, mirror [-like] wisdom, 2)
mnyam nyid, equality wisdom, 3) so sor rtog pa, discriminating wisdom, 4)
bya grub, accomplishing wisdom, 5) chos dbyings, expanse of reality
wisdom.

52

rdo rje chang, Skt.vajradhara, the primordial buddhahood. See Rtogs ldan,
157, 5.

53

See Sakya Pandita, Three Codes, 193n81.

Alternative translation: singly efficacious (Rhoton), mentioned in Three
Codes 264n14.
Jam dpal ye she sems dpa'i don dam pai mtshan yang dag par brjod
pa/Majurnmasagti ,Tantra section ka, vol. 79, folio/line 5a.4. See:
http://www.asianclassics.org/reader.php?collection=kangyur&index=369#5

54

55

A.
56

Perhaps the Abhidhnottaratantra. I am still not sure whether the reference

is to the CakrasavaraTantra or a more general text.

The Mahmudr of Sakya Paita

217

the Names, refers simply to the way of attaining completely perfect

awakening at the very end of traversing the grounds and paths
(Rtogs ldan, 158, 3). A close reading of Lama Zhangs writings
shows, as stated previously, that he also teaches a gradual path in
stages, no matter how provocative his assertion of a complete
Buddhahood in one instant through the accomplishment of
Mahmudr. (Lama Zhang 2011: 125).
Sapan concludes his exposition of Mahmudr for Togden
Gyan with an explanation of how the realization of the unity of
emptiness and luminosity is carried into daily life. It expresses
itself in the view that all phenomena are of one taste. In the Sakya
School, this view is called the inseparability of sasra and
nirva (khordas dbyer med).
Thus it is said: There is no Buddha, there are no sentient
beings arising outside of the mind. There is no object of
consciousness or anything existing outside.
And: There is not the slightest difference between the
physical forms [of] utterly pure gnosis and the thoughts
[belonging to] sasra. Similarly, this is so because all
that appears in sasra and nirva is of one taste in the
mind. 57 Tokden, keep these [instructions] in your heart,
practice them, and you will reap great benefit.

Conclusion
In sum, Sapan presents Mahmudr as the resultant gnosis
of the creation and completion stages, which a disciple can only
practice after having received the four initiations of the Niruttara
Tantra class from a qualified guru. The third initiation, which is
conferred by means of a consort, enables a disciple to experience
the union of bliss and emptiness to a lesser extent; the fourth
initiation enables a more profound understanding of that union.
Except for a few rare exceptions, a disciple will not be able to
attain and sustain such a realization during the initiation. Instead,
through diligent training in the creation and completion stages, he
or she develops a partial understanding of the union of bliss and
emptiness, which is called mimetic gnosis, or the likeness of
57

Alternative translation: This is the crucial point that everything that appears
in sasra and nirva is of one taste in the mind.

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Mahmudr. At this level, the realization is polluted by dualistic,

conceptual thinking, however subtle it may be. Once the realization
becomes completely non-dual, it is real gnosis, or real Mahmudr,
and this corresponds to the attainment of the Path of Seeing, often
associated with the first Bodhisattva ground. This Mahmudr is
then cultivated throughout the thirteen grounds until perfect
Buddhahood, the perfection of the four kyas, is attained. Sapan
describes this Mahmudr as the realization of natural reality, the
unity of awareness and emptiness, and non-conceptual gnosis (Rtogs
ldan, 154, 6 155, 2), among many other terms, but emphasizes at the
same time the unfathomable nature of the realization, calling it an
experience that cannot be expressed, thought of, or explained
(Rtogs ldan, 154, 6).
A comparison of his presentation to the Mahmudr
teachings of the Kagy masters Gampopa, Lama Zhang and others,
yields striking similarities in terminology and concept. Gampopa,
for example, describes Mahmudr as the realization of the
natural state as awareness-emptiness, absolutely clear and
transparent, without root, 58 and equally emphasizes that
Mahmudr is called beyond the intellect and it is indeed so; it
is the pramit of wisdom, beyond thought and expression. 59 In
view of these parallels, one might be tempted to conclude that,
finally, the result is the same, and that only the paths differ.
However, since for Sapan the decisive factor for an authentic
Mahmudr practice is its Tantric context, such comparisons are
useless from his point of view, since the Kagy teachers do not
share this premise. In Sapans view, a Mahmudr practice that
eschews the Tantric context lacks authenticity and blessing. For
this reason I have kept comparisons between Sapans and
Gampopas Mahmudr to a minimum in this paper and have
focused on clarifying Sapans own presentation according to the
Answers to the Questions of Togden Gyan.

58

Gampopa, Rje phag mo gru pai zhus lan, Gsung bum sgam po pa, Vol 2:
339, 24.

59

Ibid.

The Mahmudr of Sakya Paita

219

Appendix: A Translation of Sapans Answers to the

Questions of Tokden Gyan60
At the time when the great Dharma Lord Sakya Paita, a
manifestation of the venerable Majur, went to the five-peaked
mountain61 in China and lived there, a man called Tokden Gyanpo,
who resided there practicing meditation, came and
circumambulated and prostrated repeatedly to the Dharma Lord.
The
Dharma
Lord
exclaimed:
Tokdenpa,
[your]
circumambulations and prostrations, too, are amazing. In order to
live at a place such as this, one needs a meditation practice that is
based on profound oral instructions. Is that not so?
Tokdenpa, having pondered this, went home and fetched a
piece of white silk. Offering it to the Dharma Lord, he said:
Dharma Lord, [1.] Is this view [of?] Mahmudr accepted as the
meditation of all vehicles? [2.] What is the nature (rang bzhin) of
Mahmudr? [3.] Why is it called Mahmudr? [4.] How do we
engender it? [5.] How do we gradually progress on the grounds
(bhmis) and paths (mrga)? I beg you to give me profound
instruction on Mahmudr. When he asked [these questions], the
Dharma Lord was delighted. He gave him the initiation of
ombipas Hevajra. Then he gave him The Coemergent
Realization of Mahmudr (phyag rgya chen po lhan cig skyes
grub) and the inconceivable instructions of Togtsepa62 in full.
[He said:]
My way of teaching the instructions on Mahmudr is this:
Before you attain meditation powers (siddhi),63 you should practice
one-pointedly. Then you will not be deceived. I will give concise
answers to your questions; [154] keep them in mind!

60

kun dga snying po, "rtogs ldan rgyan po'i dris lan/." In Sa skya bka bum.
TBRC W22271. 12: 167 173. Dehradun: Sakya Center, 19921993.
http://tbrc.org/link?RID=O01CT0026|O01CT002600KG04220$W22271.
(dpe cha pages 153159).

61

Wutai Shan in China, a sacred mountain associated with Majur.

62

The Indian mahsiddhas Tog-rtse-pa, Mattock-man (Koalipa?) was,

according to Bri gung Jig rten mgon po the only master in India who
directly pointed out the nature of mind. See D. Jackson 1994: 13.

63

Alternative translation: Before you focus on achieving special powers

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[1. Question: Is this view [of] Mahmudr accepted as the

meditation of all vehicles?]
In the tradition of the Perfection Vehicles the view is sealed
with the four mudrs [or marks of existence] of the Buddhas
teaching. In the three lower tantras it is explained as sealing with
the non-duality of the profound and the luminous. However, they
do not use the term Mahmudr. Even though in these traditions a
highest accomplishment (siddhi) is taught, the highest Mahmudr
siddhi is not taught. Therefore they do not accept the view [of]
genuine Mahmudr as meditation.
Even though in these traditions they teach profound
emptiness as that which is to be realized, they do not teach a
profound path of methods for realizing it. Therefore it is not
acceptable to see [these traditions] as genuine Mahmudr (phyag
rgya chen po mtshan nyid pa).
An analogous case is [this:] Even though in the Auditors
Vehicle (rvakayna), generosity, morality and so on are
explained, since extraordinary assisting methods and wisdom are
not explained, they are not acceptable [as] the perfections of
generosity and [the others]. Just as one would call a stupid person
ox, one may call the meditation on the view of these [traditions]
Mahmudr. This would be merely a name, and I do not want to
[bother] arguing about that.
[2.Question: What is the nature (rang bzhin) of Mahmudr? ]
The nature of Mahmudr is [this]:
Mahmudr is unchangeable bliss.
Grasped and grasper, shapes, thoughts, and
expressions are completely eliminated.
It is like a gandharva city.
It has the nature of a magic-mirror reflection.
It is the yoga of method and wisdom.
I bow to the letters e va.
It is beyond the most subtle [sub-atomic] phenomena.
It has the form of a magic-mirror reflection,
possessing the excellence of all aspects.
I bow to that Mahmudr.64
64

See above, note 23-4.

The Mahmudr of Sakya Paita

221

According to these words, what we have to realize is what

is called the natural reality (chos nyid gnyug ma), 65 which is
emptiness possessing the excellence of all aspects. The way of
realizing it is by way of an experience which cannot be expressed,
thought of, or explained, which has the appearance of a magicmirror reflection. The essence of what has to be realized is the
gnosis-of-unity yoga. (rnal byor zung jug gi ye shes). It is also
called: The unity of lucidity and emptiness, [155] the unity of
awareness and emptiness, the unity of bliss and emptiness, the
unity of great bliss, the innate gnosis, the self-arisen gnosis, selfaware gnosis, discriminating gnosis, non-conceptual gnosis, etc.
The synonyms are innumerable. These methods of realization are
explained in The Vajra Garland, the Exposition Tantra [of
Guhyasamja]:66
Please your guru and then receive authentic initiation.
Then you will distinguish the meaning of suchness.
The Two Segments67says:
Later you will distinguish suchness.
According to these statements, by way of receiving genuine
ripening initiations and meditating appropriately according to the
two stages of liberation, including all their branches, you will
obtain [the realization of Mahmudr]. rya Ngrjuna said
The teaching of all Buddhas is based on two stages (rim pa
gnyis).
One is the stage of creation.
The other is the stage of completion.
It is taught that all the methods for summoning the gnosis
of the unexcelled secret mantra can be condensed into these two
stages. This is the key point.
[3. Question: Why is it called Mahmudr?]

65
66

Alternative translation: genuine or primordial dharmat.

Bshad rgyud rdo rje phreng ba, gsang dus bshad rgyud, Skt.
Vajramltantra.

67

Brtag gnyis, Two Segments, Skt. Hevajramlatantrarja.

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Concerning the etymology of Mahmudr: Those who are

not expert in Sanskrit take phyag to mean peace [nirva], [156]
the gnosis of emptiness, and rgya to mean release from the trap
of sasra. They claim that both new and old schools, the
Mahmudr Drop (Phyag rgya chen poi thig le), and other texts
say this. People who make these claims are mistaken.
Regarding the meaning of the Sanskrit Mahmudr: mah
is chenpo in Tibetan. The equivalent for phyag cannot be found in
this term, but the early translators added the syllable phyag in
Tibetan because of a royal decree. A similar case is the word
bhagawate, in which the [Sanskrit equivalent] for das is not
found, whereas the Tibetans added that syllable das.68
Hence, in this case, the explanation that phyag is derived
from the Tantras does not make sense; and the statement that phyag
is the wisdom of emptiness is a fabrication made by Tibetans. In
The Mahmudr Drop and other sources, these words cannot be
found.
Mudr can mean rgya (seal), rtags (sign), mtshan ma
(mark), gug skyed (stamp), and more, but in the present case it is
translated as rgya (seal). Its meaning was explained by Avadht
It is called rgya (seal) because we stamp or certify (gdab) with a
seal (rgya). The single taste of the three worlds is the Mahmudr.
This statement says that, when you seal all phenomena of sasra
and nirva by abiding in the unity of bliss and emptiness, then the
view of the meaning of what you have experienced is called
Mahmudr.
[4.Question: How do we engender it?]
How the stages are engendered: A few fortunate individuals
engender the genuine gnosis of Mahmudr at the moment the
gnosis of initiation descends upon them. However, most people
have to rely on methods such as meditation and so forth. They
begin by engendering a likeness of Mahmudr, and later on will
develop genuine Mahmudr. What is called the likeness of
Mahmudr co-arises with the aspects of two mistakes of being
poisoned and isolated.
68

This refers to the word bcom ldan das, i.e. the Tibetan translation of the
Sanskrit bhagavant, which consists of bhaga (fortune) and vant
(possessing).

The Mahmudr of Sakya Paita

223

Being poisoned refers to generating a flickering

experience of the unity (zung jug) while the waves of conceptual
understanding and realization gathered in study and reflection, and
of discursive thoughts gathered in meditation, have not yet ceased.
Isolated refers to the isolated [practice] of [mental]
stability; isolated discriminative inquiry; isolated [practice] on the
side of luminosity; isolated [practice] on the side of emptiness;
isolated experiences of body, speech, and mind, such as blissful
heat or volatile movements of the body, unreliable expressions of
speech, and various experiences of unreliable meditative
absorptions in the mind; and [also] the isolated [practice] of
temporary mental inactivity and blocking of the six collections of
sense-consciousness. [157]
[5. Question: How do we gradually progress on the grounds and
the paths?]
The way to gradually progress on the grounds and paths: [1]
[For] a person who strives for awakening, [the training] beginning
with a ripening initiation up through completing all the imperfect
experiences, is called, according to the common vehicle, The Path
of Accumulation. [2] The Two Segments says: Omniscient gnosis
is like that. Similarly, although the genuine wisdom of the unity of
bliss and emptiness is born in the mind stream and the experience
of complete non-thought arises uninterruptedly, there are subtle
latencies of conceptualization. The arising of such a mimetic gnosis
(dpei ye shes), which resembles the rising sun at dawn, is called
The Path of Junction. [3] In the Reciting the Names69
it
is
said:
The reality of [ordinary] consciousness transcended,
the way of non-dual gnosis embraced, nonconceptuality is spontaneously achieved.
The moment when the direct realization of the emptiness
possessing the excellence of all aspects, the genuine gnosis of
complete non-thought, the real gnosis [of] Mahmudr (don gyi ye
shes) first arises; [that] is called the attainment of the Path of
Seeing. [4] Through uninterrupted familiarization with that [real
gnosis of Mahmudr] and by gradually progressing higher and
69

Skt: Nmasagti

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higher, one advances up to the twelfth [ground]. This is called the

Path of Meditation. [5] Thenwhen the thirteen [grounds] are
actualized, the four kyas, the five wisdoms, etc., [and] ocean-like
qualities are attainedthe Path of No more Learning is realized.
Furthermore, after the path of application in the view of the
common [vehicle], and the genuine mimetic gnosis [of]
Mahmudr in the view of the extraordinary vehicle, has arisen in
ones mind stream, [one] realizes real gnosis. And if one wishes to
realize the unity state of Dorje Chang in this lifetime, [one]
practises the activity as explained in the Tantra collectionthe
proximate causes, and so forthin an impeccable manner. What
other way of accomplishment in one lifetime do we have but that
exemplified by the Indian siddhas? [158] If, after genuine mimetic
gnosis has arisen in the mind-stream, one has not accomplished the
activity, it is explained that it will be accomplished through the oral
instructions for the moment of death and the intermediate state.
Some people say: The deluded person who reckons
grounds and paths in the singly sufficient (chig chog)70 Mahmudr
are mistaken. To say such a thing is mistaken, since Reciting the
Names says: Protector/ Buddha (dgon po), Lord of the ten levels,
and the Abhidhna71 says:
The Joyous, the Stainless,
the Radiant, the Brilliant,
the Hard to Conquer, the Realized,
the Reaching Far, the Unshakable,
the Good Intelligence, and the Cloud of Dharma,
the Inimitable, the Great Wisdom,
and Vajradhara as the thirteenth.
And so forth. [Hence] the Tantra collections and the
accomplished masters made presentations of the grounds and paths
widely available.
In Reciting the Names it is said: Buddhahood is perfected
in a single instant. What is taught here is the way of attaining
completely perfect awakening at the very end of traversing the
70

71

An alternative translation for chig chog is singly efficacious. (Sakya

Pandita, Clear Differentiation, 264n14.)
In the text the title is presented in phonetic Sanskrit. Abhidhna is a kind of
Sanskrit dictionary of etymology. The TBRC abhidhna section lists several
works with titles including mngon brjod (synonyms).

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grounds and paths. In the Gnosis at the Moment of Death[Stra]72

it is said: When we understand the mind, we are Buddhas. Do not
look for Buddha elsewhere. Meditate on this concept (du shes).
Saraha said: The mind alone is the seed of all things. In it, sasra
and nirva are projected. To that mind, which is like the wish
fulfilling jewel that bestows the results we desire, I pay homage.
Similarly, through the direct realization of the conventional reality
of the mind [as] the all-ground consciousness (layavijna) and
of the natural mode of ultimate reality, one progresses through the
grounds and paths and [attains] Buddhahood. This is the intent [of
Saraha]. Thus it is said: There is no Buddha, there are no sentient
beings arising outside of the mind. There is no object of
consciousness or anything existing outside. And: There is not the
slightest difference between the physical forms [of?] utterly pure
gnosis [159] and the thoughts [belonging to] sasra. Similarly,
this is so because all that appears in sasra and nirva is of one
taste in the mind.73 Tokden, keep these [instructions] in your heart,
practice them, and you will reap great benefit.
After saying this, he gave specialized [instructions]. Those
instructions for Tokden Gyanpo are the so-called Eyedropper of
Mahmudr.74 After having put sustained effort into [the study] of
that teaching of the Dharma Lord, Biji wrote [this text] on the fivepeaked mountain [of Wutai Shan].

72

73

74

Phags pa da ka ye shes shes bya ba theg pa chen poi mdo, Skt. rya
tajnanmamahynastra.
Alternative translation: This is the crucial point that everything that appears
in sasra and nirva is of one taste in the mind.
Phyag rgya chen poi mig thur. It seems that after answering Togdens five
questions, Sakya Pandita continued with the oral instructions that Togden
Gyan had requested, which are written in a separate text called The
Mahmudr Eyedropper. I could not locate this text.

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