Tantra
Monday, August 7 2023
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
Tantra, tantric teachings, Mother Tantra, transformation, contemplation, practice, compassion, natural state of the mind, Sutra, Dzogchen, step-by-step instructions, Dream Yoga, Phowa, Sleep Yoga, Tummo, Bardo, Monday.
Tashi Delek,
Last Monday, we were talking about Dzogchen. I hadn’t provided very detailed instructions at that time. Rather than giving specific instructions, my goal was to summarize the topic. I have told you about the basics and main ideas of Dzogchen. And on the meaning of Dzogchen.
Today I will talk about Tantra. It will be our main topic. And particularly the way it is linked to Bön through Tantric teachings.
So typically, in the Bön tradition there are four kinds of Tantra in the Tantric systems. Then there are also levels called the lower Tantric system and the higher Tantric system. Each of them has a different view. Different meditation. Different conduct. Different activities. And different fruit. Each of them has different seven points. Each and all of them. When you go into the details, they are all very, very deep and very profound, you see.
One of the things you need to know is that there is a leveling process in the Tantric teachings. From teachings to teachings, there is a progression. For example, starting from the lower Tantra, there is the first level of teachings. And then there are other teachings at the second level. And then others on the third level and on the fourth level, you see. And of course, the second level is deeper than the first level. The third is even deeper. And the fourth is the highest, the most profound of the lower Tantric system.
Another point. Some of our Bön masters have said that there are Tantric practices that are very, very, very close to the Dzogchen teachings. These practices are not Dzogchen. But in terms of some of the practices they have and some of the perspectives they have, like view or the conduct, these Tantric teachings are very close to Dzogchen. All these components are very close to Dzogchen.
Now, what is the idea of Tantra exactly?
Why do we receive Tantric teachings?
What are the benefits of Tantra?
I will continue to explain step by step. Let’s start with the Bardo. I’m sure you’ve heard of it or have some ideas about Bardo.
Bardo is strongly related to Dzogchen, it is very particularly linked to Dzogchen. It is also associated with higher Tantric teachings. So, from there, we’ll start with some basic explanations.
Now let’s talk about instructions. In the Bön tradition, there are many, many Tantric instructions. This also applies to what is called Mother Tantra.
Some of you may be familiar with Tantra or may have heard of it. And some of you may already be practicing parts of Mother Tantra. For example, practices such as Dream Yoga, Sleep Yoga, Phowa. All of this is part of the teachings of Mother Tantra.
But at its core, Tantra has three distinct parts. Mother Tantra is one of them. So today, I’m talking about Mother Tantra.
First, there is the base. In the Tibetan language, the base is called *zhi*, but in the English language, we call it the base. You can also say that it is the natural state of mind. We can call it that.
The second is something called the path. Perhaps you heard these things, such as the Five Paths or the Four Paths. Any path.
And then the third thing is the fruit.
In Bön, the Mother Tantra teachings have many levels. You can compare these to sections, there are subsections, and then there are sub-subsections. So, there are many sections. And forty-five (45) smaller ones, the subsections. Those forty-five subsections are summaries.
In addition, there are even more detailed instructions, I think two hundred and fifty (250) different smaller subsections in the Mother Tantra teachings. These are the sub-subsections. Don’t worry. Today I’m just giving you general information. Today it is just for your understanding that there are so many, many Tantric teachings in the Bön tradition.
Mother Tantra is, in my opinion, one of the deepest and one of the greatest Tantric teachings in the Bön tradition. If you already have some knowledge of Mother Tantra, and as you practice or study the Tantric teachings, it will become very clear to you that Mother Tantra is completely different from all the other teachings.
If you were to compare Mother Tantra to any of the other teachings, it’s different. There is a lot of depth to it. Mother Tantra is very different in the way you introduce the view. In the way, you introduce the conduct. The way you introduce the meditations. And the same with Tummo (even though Tummo is not the most detailed practice in Mother Tantra). Overall, the instructions in Mother Tantra are very detailed. For example, take the instructions in Phowa, especially. Dream yoga, Sleep yoga, and Bardo teachings also have very detailed instructions.
These are the six main points that are found in some of the teachings of Mother Tantra.
And that all of us, all sentient beings (because you can also think of them as practitioners), are all looking for a way to “get out,” looking for ways to separate ourselves from suffering. I am not talking about being separated from suffering, but I am talking about the idea of suffering. From the many different sufferings, from the many different negative emotions. We carry this idea with us, and many of us are looking for an escape, you know.
Last Monday, during our talk on Dzogchen, I explained and gave you examples from the perspective of Tantra and Sutra. I told you that in Tantra and Sutra, the focus is on finding a way out of negative emotions or suffering.
So, Tantra isn’t really just a method for “throwing away” something, but it is about how to calm your emotions. How to calm your suffering. And so, with Dzogchen. The main point of practicing Tantra is to achieve transformation, as I have told you.
In Tantric practices there are many, many different ways to transform into the deities. Like into Buddhahood, you know. How to imagine in your mind how to transform into the deities. Tantra is the path where your aim, your main focus is always transformation, I have told you this. That is always the main point of Tantra, always. It doesn’t matter if it’s a lower Tantric practice or a higher Tantric practice. They all have the same main focus, which is transformation. You must transform yourself into the deities. I am not telling you to change your appearance. Physically you are not becoming a different being. That is not what I mean.
The central principle is that you must generate in our mind. You stay somewhere and you must try to generate in your mind. It is a step-by-step process. Today it may not feel comfortable for you. And the second day you will try again. Then you try a third day. You keep practicing for the whole month. For a year. Year after year. Maybe nine years, or two years! You try, you keep trying. And you keep on practicing every day. That kind of practice, you see. You are transforming the Deities. And especially in the Tantric practices, you practice transforming yourself into the Deities, and that’s the best, you know.
There are many stories that I could tell you. But I think it would make this talk very long. So we do not need to mention them here. What I’m talking about here is transformation. What it means to transform yourself into the deities, to transform others, you know, to transform others to become a deity.
It is also very important to practice the basics, the fundamentals. You must practice the natural state of mind. There might many things going on in your mind. If you don’t practice the natural state of mind, whatever you generate can be many things. Therefore, you cannot get a good result. Some want to try practicing without the fundamental, without knowing about the natural state of mind. And they might even be successful in their generation and transformation into the deities. And they may also visualize a lot of things. Wrathful deities. Peaceful deities. Lots of things! But one won’t get very good results without practicing the natural state of mind. That is certain.
Here is also something very important. You also need to have compassion, you know. Typically, you need to know the Four Immeasurable, which are compassion, love, equanimity, and joy. These are very, very important for practicing Tantra, you know. If you really want to practice Tantra, you must practice these, you know. At least you need to learn how to make your mind more stable. And to learn about your natural state. You must know how to practice the natural state. How to stay still even for a short amount of time. Not achieve the highest, but at least a remain little bit stable. And practicing compassion, love, compassion, joy, equanimity. Especially compassion is very, very important. These two, compassion and natural state of mind, the practice of these, it’s my opinion that they have the quality to transform. When you are transforming, in the Tantric way, when you are transforming to the other deities, it is always about these qualities. You must. This is what you have to practice in the first place.
The other thing is that when we look at the details, there’s a lot of differences in these four categories of the Tantric teachings. But I have seen from the West on Facebook, YouTube, Masters, Lamas, many teachers doing different teachings. But from what I see, I think a lot of these are teaching only certain aspects or parts.
For instance, Dream Yoga. If Dream Yoga is your practice, for example. At least, one must do some reflexional, so observation, to think about this. Say, when you wake up, if you cannot practice properly, or do not know how to practice properly, even if you are sleeping, you won’t be capable to practice at all. You will never. Because when you are, wake up, when you are aware, your mind is activity, you cannot practice. How you practice when you sleep, you know. It’s not possible.
Another thing. In the West, in Tibet, and everywhere, anyone who intends to practice Tantra, has to start from the Three Contemplations, you know. The Three Contemplations is one of the basics when you start a practicing Tantra. You must start off from there. You must know all of these Three Contemplations. And you start from there. It’s very, very important. Without these Three Contemplations, you cannot practice any Tantric teachings. Maybe you can learn some of the words. You can learn some of the subjects. That’s okay. But if you really want to become a Tantric practitioner, you have to start from the Three Contemplations.
These were main ideas about Tantra teachings. So, this will be it, I think, for today Tantric practices. These were only few information about Tantric teachings. But in the future, every Monday, I think I’m going to continue to talk about the Dzogchen teachings, Tantra teachings and Sutra teachings.
We’re going to keep posting information on our website. Because I think it will help someone who wants to be looking for real Tantric teachings or real Dzogchen teachings and the real Sutra teachings.
And, also, step by step, we will put together content to help people to follow some of specific instructions. I have mentioned about this in my talk, on lats Monday. And this is very important. We will do so over time. We were going to explain step by step. Then you are going to get some main ideas. You will understand. This, I think, will be helpful.
This is for it for today. See you next time.
Thank you.
– Geshe Tenpa