Books/Esoteric Instructions/Luminous Clarity

Luminous Clarity

Luminous Clarity [dd']

The fourth, luminous clarity, the heart of the path, has two parts: a general presentation of the meaning of the name and the arrangement of the divisions, and a specific discussion of the meditation topics.

The Name and the Divisions [1"]

Luminous clarity, the heart, is twofold: example and actual,

    experience and realization,

Or classified as four or five, such as natural, and so on.

The yoga of luminous clarity (’od gsal) is the heart of the path because the root of all practice is to realize that the abiding nature of all phenomena is naturally luminous clarity. The meaning of the name is that the inherent luminosity (rang ’od) of the abiding nature clarifies [or illuminates] (gsal) without restriction. Or "luminous clarity" is used because even though there is no intrinsic nature, there is spontaneously present luminous appearance (snang ba).
      Of many divisions, the twofold ones are the most prominent: example and actual; experience and realization; day and night; thin and thick; mother and child luminous clarity, and so forth. But there are also divisions into four or five, such as natural luminous clarity and so forth, as in The Concise Illumination of the Five Stages, where it speaks of four kinds of luminous clarity: natural, of meditative absorption, conceptless clarity, and ultimate. Ronyam Dorjé’s Guhyasamāja Commentary describes five:

Natural luminous clarity is illustrated; the luminous clarity of

sleep illustrates it; one familiarizes with luminous clarity of the

path; connects with luminous clarity at the time of death; and

the luminous clarity of dharmakāya is the result.

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

svabhāva - The nature or essence of a thing, which originates only from itself and is not dependent on any external entities, causes, or conditions. Skt. स्वभाव Tib. རང་བཞིན་ Ch. 自性

dharmakāya - "Truth body" or "true being" — One of the three bodies of a buddha. In Mahāyāna Buddhism, it often refers to a kind of fundamental principle or the true nature of reality itself. Skt. धर्मकाय Tib. ཆོས་སྐུ་ Ch. 法身

Vajrayāna - The esoteric Buddhist tradition which developed as a syncretic system involving deity worship, use of mantras, physical energy, and mystical practices. It is also known as the mantra tradition and the tantric school as a result of being based on texts known as tantras. Skt. वज्रयान Tib. རྡོ་རྗེ་ཐེག་པ། Ch. 金剛乘