The Profound Inner Principles

Book

With masterful clarity and precision, The Profound Inner Principles delineates the principles and foundations of Vajrayāna practice. Rangjung Dorje presents the nature of things—mental and physical—and looks at the cause of delusion, what delusion creates, and how delusion is corrected. His explanations capture the principles of the Vajrayāna’s niruttara tantras, with a special focus on the structure and functioning of the body. Just as sugatagarbha, or buddha nature, is the nature of our mind, the potential for awakening lies within our body. The Mahāyāna literature refers to this pure potential as the evolving gotra, whereas the Vajrayāna refers to it as the “vajra body”—the subtle body of channels, winds, and bindus with six elements (earth, water, fire, wind, space, and wisdom-bliss). The vajra body is not only our innate capacity, it is also our path. Understanding its components and properties is essential for most meditators. The overarching theme of the text is that we need to understand how buddha nature is present in sentient beings, those on the path, and buddhas. All the details concerning the mind’s workings, the vajra body’s structures, and the meditations, paths, and stages will reinforce that understanding and give us insight into how and why the Vajrayāna path provides access to wisdom through the body.

This translation includes a commentary by Jamgön Kongtrul with extensive footnotes containing extracts from all the other important commentaries to The Profound Inner Principles; several glossaries with annotations by the translator; a works cited list and a selected bibliography; and an index. (Source: Shambhala Publications)

Citation	Callahan, Elizabeth M., trans. The Profound Inner Principles. By Rangjung Dorje (rang byung rdo rje), the Third Karmapa. With Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Taye's Commentary Illuminating "The Profound Principles." Tsadra Foundation Series. Boston: Snow Lion Publications, 2015.

Foreword by Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche xi
Translator’s Introduction xiii

The Profound Inner Principles1

Illuminating "The Profound Principles" 69
- Introduction 71
- Causes and Conditions 103
- Development of the Body 135
- Channels 175
- Winds 225
- Bindus 287
- The Four States 339
- The Correspondences with the Environment 373
- Imagined Deities 387
- Bases of Purification and Means of Purification 405
- The Correspondences with the Stages of the Path 435
- Dissolution 455
- Conclusion 493

Appendix 1. Outline of Illuminating "The Profound Principles" 517
Appendix 2. Prenatal Development 533
Appendix 3. Time: Internal and External Measurements 537
Appendix 4. Bindus: Overview 539
Appendix 5. Bindus: Seven Stages of Quintessences and Dregs 541
Appendix 6. Bindus: Internal and External Twenty-Four Sacred Places 543
Abbreviations 549
Notes 551
Glossary 585
Glossary of Enumerations 607
Translation Equivalents 635
Works Cited 651
Selected Bibliography 667
Illustration Credits 673
Index 675

Karmapa, 3rd, (rang byung rdo rje). zab mo nang gi don zhes bya ba'i gzhung. In thabs grol, 1- 44. Zi ling: mtsho sngon mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2004.
'jam mgon kong sprul. rnal 'byor bla na med pa'i rgyud sde mtsho'i snying po bsdus pa zab mo nang gi don nyung ngu'i tshig gis rnam par 'grol ba zab don snang byed. rum btegs: s.n., 1970?. Also, in thabs grol, 45- 322. Zi ling: mtsho sngon mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2004.