Translation is just hard, particularly when the two languages are in unrelated language families. Something felt off with my previous translation and I have just consumed a couple of hours revising it to:
While mahamudra is not dependent on conditions, teachers are conditions for mahamudra.
Part of the reason I prefer this translation is that it more easily allows some of the points I want to make in this commentary.
Let’s begin by recalling that in this section, the first part of the sentence describes how mahamudra is, while the second part of the sentence describes how it comes into being.
Mahamudra just is. It doesn’t go in or out of being. When I say “how it comes into being,” it would be more correct to say “how we come to experience it.” The first and second parts of each sentence in this section should be understood this way.
Now, what does this mean, teachers are conditions for mahamudra?
Please note that I translate this sentence without definite articles and in the plural.
“The teacher is the condition for mahamudra” is unduly restrictive. “Teachers are the condition for mahamudra” is less but still unduly restrictive.
Remember also that when it is said that mahamudra can only be received from a teacher who has also received this transmission, the unspoken message is that what was once discovered can never be discovered again. This is just not true.
Teachers do not cause mahamudra, nor are they the source or genesis of mahamudra.
How, then, are teachers conditions for mahamudra?
Broadly speaking, teachers perform one or more of these five functions:
help the student remove what gets in the way,
help the student see the right direction and move that way,
point out the nature of mahamudra when the student is ready,
help the student stabilize their experience and understanding, and
confirm the student’s experience if needed.
The first is essentially purification. It may take many forms, from purification practices such as Vajrayasattva meditation to the physical hardships Milarepa had to endure building a tower for Marpa. Purification may take place through the trials and demands of life itself or through the deliberate engagement of certain practices. It is not about achieving a state of purity, but coming to the understanding that nothing else in life is worthwhile, or, to put it another way, to recognize and commit to what calls the student to spiritual practice.
In the Tibetan tradition, the second point, orientation, is usually developed through philosophical investigation, using logic to eliminate any other way of directing effort and attention. For example, verses 9 – 14 in Aspirations for Mahamudra present one way that mahamudra philosophy is formulated. While this approach works for some people, there are many other ways to come to what, in the dzogchen tradition, is called the view. Prayer and faith provide another way and the cultivation of the four immeasurables as I present them in Chapter 7 of Wake Up to Your Life is another. The development and exercise of compassion through service or the exercise of attention and awareness in art, music, crafts, or athletics are also possible paths. Part of the teacher’s role here is to ensure that the student is being shaped by these practices in a way that prepares them for mahamudra and not losing their way in, say, the intricacy of logic, the demands of service, the aesthetics of music, or the competitiveness of sports.
The third point refers to the traditional pointing out instructions, but pointing out can be done formally or informally, by using established methods, by using whatever is available in the moment, by drawing on energy transformation, or by creating conditions in which the student’s mind stops. The point is for the student to let go of beliefs and belief structures and simply fall open, if only for a moment. This may also happen through resonance, startle or surprise, physical, emotional, or cognitive exhaustion, confusion, and so on.
The fourth point, stabilization, applies when the student has experienced mahamudra but their experience is susceptible to distraction, decay, or corruption. For instance, in the Ganges Mahamudra, Tilopa speaks to Naropa very differently from when Naropa was experiencing one hardship after another in following Tilopa’s demands.
The fifth point comes into play when the student experiences a shift, perhaps on their own without any explicit pointing out, yet cannot take it in or does not recognize or appreciate its significance. The four faults of mind nature from the Shangpa tradition come to mind:
Too close — you don’t see it.
Too deep — you don’t fathom it.
Too simple — you don’t believe it.
Too fine — you don’t accept it.
A good teacher can do much to help the student have confidence in their experience without lapsing into pride or any other feeling of specialness.
A teacher must also be attuned to where the student is. For instance, if a teacher does not recognize problems that get in a student’s way, no amount of pointing-out instructions are going to help. In fact, untimely pointing-out instructions often exacerbate problems. Similarly, if a teacher does not recognize that a student has experienced a shift into mind nature but cannot take it in, the student may never develop the confidence to stand in their own knowing.
Do note that some teachers are especially helpful on certain points, and may not be helpful on others. Because relatively few teachers are capable in all five, you may find it necessary to work with different teachers at different stages of practice.
Are teachers necessary, then? One only has to look at other disciplines to answer that question. Can people learn to play a musical instrument by themselves? Sometimes, but even the most talented musicians usually benefit from studying under a teacher who is both capable and suitable. Ditto for artists and athletes.
More could be said about how teachers are conditions for mahamudra, but this is probably enough. Just make sure that your teacher has visited the ruler of the universe at least once.
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