Creation and Completion (2002)

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Deity Practice

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Three Turnings of the Wheel of Dharma

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ContentsAbout the BookSources

• Foreword vii
• Preface ix
• Technical Note xi
• Introduction 1
  • Buddhism 2
  • Three Turnings of the Wheel of Dharma 2
  • Buddhism in Tibet 6
  • Deity Practice 7
  • The Guru 11
  • Creation Stage 13
  • Completion Stage 16
  • Jamgön Kongtrul 20
  • Literary Works 24
• The Root Text in Tibetan and English 27
  • The Essential Points of Creation and Completion That Will Benefit the Beginner Who Has Entered the Path 29
• Commentary by Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche 83
  • Introduction 83
  • Essential Points for Approaching the Path 84
  • Essential Points for Traversing the Path 94
  • Purification 106
  • The Emergence of Confusion 120
  • Working with Confusion 134
  • Cultivating Lucidity 141
• Notes 155
• Bibliography 177
• Index 181

The Tibetan Text translated here is a concise yet thorough exposition of the essentials of Tibetan Buddhist meditation practice by one of the most brilliant minds of that tradition, Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thaye (1813-99). The Tibetan title of the text is lam zhugs kyi gang zag las dangpo pa la phan pai bskyed rdzogs kyi gnad bsdus, "The Essential Points of Creation and Completion That Will Benefit the Beginner Who Has Entered the Path." It is known to Tibetans simply as Kye Dzog Ne Dü (bskyed rdzogs gnad bsdus), or "Essential Points of Creation and Completion." Creation (or development) and completion (or perfection)[1] refer to the two stages of meditation involving deity visualization practice, a meditation technique for which Tibetan Buddhism is widely known. The text is not a specific meditation in itself, but rather describes the meaning and effect of such practice, and in doing so the essential Buddhist outlook on the nature of mind and reality. It describes with masterful clarity the profound view and vast method within which meditation practice must occur. Jamgön Kongtrul designed this text as a guide to meditation practice. It is written entirely in verse, in the style of the songs of realization and other inspirational spiritual literature of Tibet, following a very similar tradition in ancient India. It is not an in-depth analysis or scholarly treatise. Jamgön Kongtrul, a masterful scholar, was above all interested in the actual application of the teachings in meditation. His intention in this text was to convey just what was necessary for effective practice. The intention in translating and publishing it is the same: simply to make it available for people interested in Buddhist practice. Although each verse warrants a volume of commentary, this might just result in obscuring the essential points. So what is offered here is a minimum of commentary, just enough to provide some context.

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Yogācāra - Along with Madhyamaka, it was one of the two major philosophical schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Founded by Asaṅga and Vasubandhu around the fourth century CE, many of its central tenets have roots in the Saṃdhinirmocanasūtra and the so-called third turning of the dharma wheel (see tridharmacakrapravartana). Skt. योगाचार Tib. རྣལ་འབྱོར་སྤྱོད་པ་ Ch. 瑜伽行派

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Madhyamaka - Along with Yogācāra, it is one of the two major philosophical schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Founded by Nāgārjuna around the second century CE, it is rooted in the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras, though its initial exposition was presented in Nāgārjuna's Mūlamadhyamakakārikā. Skt. मध्यमक Tib. དབུ་མ་ Ch. 中觀見

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gzhan stong - The state of being devoid of that which is wholly different rather than being void of its own nature. The term is generally used to refer to the ultimate, or buddha-nature, being empty of other phenomena such as adventitious defiling emotions but not empty of its true nature. Tib. གཞན་སྟོང་

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rang stong - The state of being empty of self, which references the lack of inherent existence in relative phenomena. Tib. རང་སྟོང་

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tathāgatagarbha - Buddha-nature, literally the "womb/essence of those who have gone (to suchness)." Skt. तथागतगर्भ Tib. དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པའི་སྙིང་པོ་ Ch. 如来藏

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prabhāsvaratā - In a general sense, that which clears away darkness, though it often appears in Buddhist literature in reference to the mind or its nature. It is a particularly salient feature of Tantric literature, especially in regard to the advanced meditation techniques of the completion-stage yogas. Skt. प्रभास्वर Tib. འོད་གསལ་ Ch. 光明

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gotra - Disposition, lineage, or class; an individual's gotra determines the type of enlightenment one is destined to attain. Skt. गोत्र Tib. རིགས་ Ch. 鍾姓,種性

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