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Luminous Clarity and the Completion Phase of Union

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Guarisco, Elio, and Ingrid McLeod (Kalu Rinpoché Translation Group), trans. "Luminous Clarity and the Completion Phase of Union." Chapt. 12 in The Elements of Tantric Practice: A General Exposition of the Process of Meditation in the Indestructible Way of Secret Mantra, edited by Ingrid McLeod. Book Eight, Part Three of The Treasury of Knowledge. By Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Tayé ('jam mgon kong sprul blo gros mtha’ yas). Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 2008.

12. Luminous Clarity and the Completion Phase of Union

bb. The Ultimate: The Great-Seal Completion Phase of Luminous
      Clarity [II .B.2.d.iii.bb]
    1' The Preamble
    2' The Detailed Exposition
      a' The Meanings of Luminous Clarity
      b' Meditation on Luminous Clarity
        i' Meditation Methods
        ii' The Contemplations of the Eight Freedoms
cc. The Inseparability [of the Relative and Ultimate]: The Completion
      Phase of Union
    1' Distinctions Within Union
    2' The Method of Meditation on Union

[This chapter concludes the description of the three key elements of the completion phase. Presented now are part two: the ultimate, the completion phase of the great seal of luminous clarity; and part three, the inseparability of the relative and ultimate, the completion phase of union.] Part two, the ultimate, the completion phase of the great seal of luminous clarity, begins with a preamble followed by a detailed exposition.

The Preamble [1']

   The ultimate, the great-seal completion phase of luminous clarity, is as follows:

[Here] is presented the completion phase of the great seal of luminous clarity, which strikes the crucial point with respect to the ultimate nature [of things].

The Detailed Exposition [2']

This section has two parts: a general elucidation of the essential meanings [of luminous clarity] to be understood; and a discussion specifically on the subject of meditation [on luminous clarity].

The Meanings of Luminous Clarity [a']

The true nature and what manifests during sleep and at death are

the ground.

At the time of the path, the view of emptiness, the true nature, is

the general sense.

The unceasing clarity of that emptiness’s own luminosity is the

literal sense.

The innate joy from the winds dissolving in the central channel is

the hidden sense;

Accompanied by duality, it is the example luminous clarity;

without duality, the true.

Nonconceptual pristine awareness brings about realization and

the ultimate result.

[Maitreya’s] Jewel Affinity states:

Mind nature is luminous clarity.

It is changeless, just as space is.

The luminous clarity of the ground, as spoken of in that [citation], is the luminous clarity of the true nature, the primordially pure, naturally clear and luminous basis of phenomena. It is, moreover, the luminous clarity during sleep and luminous clarity at death since those definitely manifest for everyone—meditators on the path and non-practitioners alike— regardless of whether they are recognized or not.
      During the time of the path, that [luminous clarity of the ground] is understood—through analyses based on reasonings and scriptural sources and through the strength of experience—as unborn emptiness, the true nature of all phenomena. This view represents luminous clarity in the general sense [from a perspective] shared by [the way of ] the perfections. All phenomena made to enter luminous clarity by way of either [the contemplation of] total apprehension or that of successive destruction is luminous clarity in its general sense [from a perspective] unique to the indestructible way.
      The unceasing clarity of that emptiness’s self-luminosity is luminous clarity in its literal sense. This is essentially identical to what was discussed [above], the luminous clarity at the time of the ground.
      Through cultivation of and familiarity with those [various types of] luminous clarity, the winds dissolve in the central channel, and the luminous clarity of the fourth empty, or the innate [joy], the fourth joy, is recognized as a direct experience. This is the actualization of luminous clarity in its hidden sense. The innate [joy] or fourth empty accompanied by the duality of subject and object is the luminous clarity that is an example. The innate [joy] or fourth empty free from the duality of subject and object is the true luminous clarity. Those [types of luminous clarity] form a link with the direct realization of emptiness through the nonconceptual pristine awareness that is the true nature of things. That direct realization is [luminous clarity] at the stage of training.
      [Luminous clarity] at the stage of no more training is [reached when] all phenomena manifest fully as pristine awareness, and through the merging of mother–luminous clarity and son–luminous clarity, arise as the infinite expanse of the dimension of reality. That is said to be luminous clarity as the ultimate result.

Meditation on Luminous Clarity [b']

This section has two parts: the actual meditation methods; and a supplementary discussion on the contemplations of the eight freedoms.

Meditation Methods [i']

In the many meditation methods such as total apprehension and

successive destruction,

To elicit correctly the luminous clarity in its hidden sense

requires giving rise

To the experience of winds having entered, abided, and dissolved

in the central channel.

[Next are explained] the methods of meditation on luminous clarity. In general, the luminous clarity that is the goal of practice is luminous clarity in its hidden sense. However, prior to that, one must have a definite understanding of luminous clarity in its general sense. The Abhidhana Tantra states:

Being selfless in nature, all phenomena

Are without stain, just as space is.

Always meditate on their emptiness

With the emptiness pristine-awareness vajra.

      The actual method of meditation consists in dissolving the environment and inhabitants by means of one or the other of two contemplations, whereupon everything enters luminous clarity. This very method is found in every one of the works [composed] by the great adepts. [Nāgārjuna’s] Five Stages states:

Students who have received esoteric instructions

Train themselves next in the two types of yoga.

One is the sequence of total apprehension;

The other, that of successive destruction.

Thus, there are said to be the two contemplations, total apprehension and successive destruction. Concerning those, the same text says:

From the head down to the feet

Until [the light] reaches the heart,

The yogin enters the true limit:

This is known as total apprehension.

First, the animate and the inanimate

Are transformed into luminous clarity.

Afterwards, one does the same with oneself.

These are the steps in successive destruction.9

Just as the breath’s vapor vanishes

From the surface of a mirror,

Again and again, the yogin enters

The true limit [of luminous clarity].10

The proper cultivation of those two contemplations is an extremely profound key factor in bringing about the gathering of winds and vital essences in the heart [channel-wheel]. As a consequence, there arise five signs indicative of the sequential dissolutions of earth, water, fire, wind, and consciousness. The Continuation of the Guhyasamaja Tantra explains:11

The first resembles a mirage.

The second is like smoke.

The third resembles fireflies.

The fourth glows like an oil lamp.

The fifth is a lasting light

Like a sky free of clouds.12

      Thereafter, the four empties manifest in succession. In the cloudless sky [of the fifth sign] manifests the light of the empty, which is like moonlight. Then the increase of light of the [further] empty manifests, which is like sunlight. Thereafter the full culmination of the great empty, which is like the pervasive darkness of night, manifests. Then luminous clarity, or the all-empty, manifests, which is like a [perfectly clear] sky at dawn, not vitiated by the influences of moonlight, sunlight, or darkness. The manifesting of those [four] is described in [Nagarjuna’s] Five Stages.
      On this subject, the earlier masters have asserted that when the winds dissolve at the heart through practice of the outer and inner methods, one can give rise to the special fourth empty, the true luminous clarity. That is the real luminous clarity. Through the winds simply dissolving on their own, [there arises] the fourth empty, the luminous clarity that is an example. That is a similitude of [the real] luminous clarity.
      Those two contemplations, as well as the mother-tantra yogas of the channels, winds, and vital essences, are said to elicit the four joys and the four empties and cause the environment and its inhabitants to be absorbed into luminous clarity. There are many such specific details concerning the methods of practice. However, to elicit correctly the true luminous clarity in its hidden sense definitely requires giving rise to the experience that comes from the winds having entered, abided, and dissolved in the central channel. Furthermore, Nagarjuna and Aryadeva state that to meditate on luminous clarity requires the attainment of the real illusory body.

The Contemplations of the Eight Freedoms [ii']

The eight freedoms are based on steps in the way to enter

luminous clarity.

Although the name used is the same, the meanings are unique to

this way.

The eight freedoms are distinctions based on the steps of the actual awakenings that form the way to enter the luminous clarity of emptiness. [The steps include] the total apprehension and successive destruction by means of which contemplative experiences are achieved; the outer and inner elements manifesting like space; [the elements] simply arising as manifestations of consciousness; [the realization of ] their primordial nonexistence; the presence of [the effort of ] attention; and the absence of [the effort of ] attention.
      The name “eight freedoms” is the same as the name used in the way of characteristics.13 However, here, the eight freedoms are distinctions made solely based on the pristine awareness of inseparable bliss and emptiness, which is the mode of entry into luminous clarity. They therefore have unique meanings, explained as follows:
      [One,] as the appearances of one’s own winds and mind arise unceasingly, all appearances unfold as an infinitude of clear images. [This is] the freedom in which forms are viewed as forms.
      [Two,] one’s own five aggregates are absorbed into luminous clarity, and what simply appears as an external object is regarded as the body of the deity and illusory [in nature]. [This is] the freedom in which forms are viewed as formless.
      [Three,] at the beginning of the successive destruction, oneself and all external appearances are regarded as being without any [basis of ] reference. Then, while the actual destructions, and even the manifestations of the deity’s body and bliss, [occur] ceaselessly, they are understood to be without any inherent nature.14 [This is] the freedom of what is especially beautiful.
      [Four,] the clear, empty light [that manifests] when all relative appearances have been dissolved by means of successive destruction is the pristine awareness of light. [This is] the freedom of infinite space.
      [Five,] that light manifesting extremely brightly is the increase of light. [This is] the freedom of infinite consciousness.
      [Six,] that increase of light manifesting with no inherent nature is the full culmination [of light]. [This is] the freedom of nothing whatsoever.
      [Seven,] an absence of fixation [on the previous stage of light], accompanied by a slight deliberate effort of attention, is the full culmination [of light] that leads up to the all-empty. [This is] the freedom of neither recognition nor non-recognition.
      [Eight,] to abide in the effortless15 pristine awareness of bliss and emptiness, in which all dualistic appearances have ceased, is the freedom of cessation.

The Inseparability [of the Relative and Ultimate]: The Completion Phase of Union [cc]

This discussion has two parts: distinctions within union; and the method of meditation on union.

The inseparability of emptiness and compassion is union in its

general sense.

Being without the conceptual differentiation as two is union in

its literal sense.

The special stage, the one taste of emptiness and great bliss, and

the inseparability

Of illusory body and luminous-clarity mind itself, is union in its

hidden sense.

The three empties arising and passing in the forward16 and

reverse orders

Is the union with training; the union beyond training is the

opposite of that.

The realization of the inseparability of emptiness and dependent origination, or the union of emptiness (wisdom) and great compassion (method), is union in its general sense, [a perspective] of the way of the perfections.
      The inseparability of innate great bliss (method) and the emptiness of luminous clarity (wisdom) is union in its general sense, [a perspective] unique to the indestructible way.
      The union of the two truths, without the conceptual differentiations of relative and ultimate, is union in its literal sense.
      Having received teachings on union in its literal sense and having gained experience of union in its general sense, [one reaches] the special stage: According to the mother tantras, what is referred to as “union” [means] the one taste—like a blend of water and milk—of the object, the emptiness endowed with the supreme of all aspects, and the subject, unchanging great bliss. Accordingly, the Samputa Tantra states:17

It is declared that the merging

Of two aspects, combined indivisibly

Like a blend of milk and water,

Is known as that of wisdom and method.

The perspective of the father tantras is as stated in [Nagarjuna’s] Five Stages:18

When the relative and the ultimate,

First understood as separate aspects,

Are then truly merged together:

That is explained to be the union.19

The relative truth is the self-consecration of the body so that it manifests as the illusory body. The ultimate truth is the mind entering essential reality through luminous clarity. The union is when those two are one: it is the combination or inseparability of the two, so that there is never an occasion for one to be without the other. Those [descriptions according to the mother and father tantras] represent union in its hidden sense.
      Thereafter, one needs to train on the path that involves the three empties arising in the forward order and passing away in the reverse order. Through that, [one attains] the union [at the stage] of training [related to] the first to the twelfth [stages of realization].
      The union [that requires] no more training is the opposite of that. It is free from [the arising and passing away of ] the three empties in the forward and reverse orders and is thereby beyond training on the path. It comprises both what is supported—the reality dimension, whose subject and object possess the two purities20—and the support—the form dimension of complete enjoyment, created from just wind and mind. However, those [two] are of a single nature (although conceptually differentiated), known as the “body of pristine awareness,” which is the ultimate union.

The Method of Meditation on Union [2']

The meditation method is to arise from the luminous-clarity

state as the illusory body,

Like the flash of a fish as it springs from water. What arises is the

real or a similitude.

The method of meditating on union is [first] to dissolve the environment and its inhabitants sequentially; and then, from the state of luminous clarity brought forth by the four empties, to arise as the illusory body. To explain, from the luminous-clarity state, the arising of the stage of self-consecration from just wind and mind is like the flash of a fish [as it springs] from water. [Nagarjuna’s] Five Stages21 states:

Through the stage of self-consecration

Consisting of wind and consciousness,

The lights that are endowed with form

At times bring about beings’ welfare.

Like the sudden flash of a fish

As it springs from a clear stream,

The net of magical illusion arises

From the all-empty, so is taught.22

This [illusory body] arises from the combination of pristine awareness (which, with the sequential dissolution of the [three] empties, has become solely luminous clarity) and the subtle wind element upon which that pristine awareness is mounted. Like [the body’s] shadow, it cannot be cut asunder. It is a vajra body that is not subject to destruction by any means: the very nature of Great Vajradhara.23 This is explained in [Aryadeva’s] [Lamp Summary of ] Tantric Practice.24
      One might wonder how this [illusory body] differs from the illusory body of just wind and mind that arises from emptiness when the winds have dissolved and that is made to enter emptiness and then re-emerge. However, there is a very significant difference between those two. The body of just wind and mind that arises from emptiness when the winds have dissolved is the illusory body alone. Equipoise in luminous clarity when the illusory body’s environment and inhabitants have been absorbed is luminous clarity alone. Hence, there is an alternation [between the illusory body and luminous clarity].
      In this case, the arising of the illusory body from the luminous-clarity state requires the simultaneity of the mind abiding in the nature of luminous clarity and the body manifesting as the illusory body.
      On this point, masters have said that the arising of the illusory body from the state of true luminous clarity is the real union. The arising of the illusory body from the state of the luminous clarity that is an example is a union that is a similitude.