Namo Guru! It was the morning following five days of Guru Pema’s heart practice in Nectar Cave of Kharchu, Lhodrak. After breakfast and a gaṇacakra, I cast out the torma, and it flared up with light. As I looked at it, a numbness fell over my vision.  

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Then, the grand torma materialized as Mount Meru and the four continents. Atop the palace of the Ever-Victorious One, perched at the peak of the mountain, was the Guru of extraordinary and complete liberation. At the sight of him and from a place of great elation, I swelled with pride and my heroic resolve emboldened.

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Then, out of my attachment to the world, I intently took in the view and witnessed armies clashing at the smoky border regions. I was horrified as my mind raced with terror. In any case, without the time to do anything about it, these displays of extraordinary omens were deceptive demonic obstacles, stirring up intense negative thoughts. I became ill-pleased with myself since I was driven by my clinging to various prideful notions of good and bad. Then the self-aware Guru explained the following Dharma to me, dispelling the obstruction of conceptual thoughts.  

“Emaho! Chöwang the treasure revealer, consider this: the omens you, a faithful and diligent man with karmic fortune, have experienced are fantastic. However, it is a demonic obstacle when elation and arrogance manifest—remain vigilant! For instance, seeds sown in the spring season sprout because of the abundance of water and manure. This is the nature of phenomena, so why is it surprising?

“In a similar fashion, excellent signs also appear according to your mind’s [387] habituation to noble thoughts. Basically, good signs don’t come from somewhere else; they are mental[1] phenomena, so don’t be arrogant about it. Nevertheless, due to doubt, negative thoughts,[2] arrogance, timidness, or fear, they are demons—it’s like a monkey who becomes angry and agitated by looking at its face reflected in a mirror—what you perceive in your mind does not come from someplace else.

“So, don’t worry about demons, and even if the nine-headed Lord of Death literally appears, there are no gods or demons separate from the mind. If one examines the mind with reason, there’s nothing to identify. Good and bad signs are akin to dreams. Therefore, objects and the mind are non-dual emptiness: where there are no likes, dislikes, or arrogance and no attainment in terms of fruition. Through the power of a mind familiarized [with such realization], everything needed will come to be, just like a precious treasury. The mind is empty by its very essence, and its objects are illusory. It has always been this way, so you shouldn’t doubt it.

“When you realize it is so, the demons will grant you siddhi. In the meantime, you will be free from all activities and the act itself. Unrealized deities also create obstacles. Therefore, hold that understanding in the center of the heart.”

“Having understood this fully, one should practice in the following way. For the sake of all beings who lack realization, one should take to heart the accomplishment of bodhicitta and, also in the end, dedicate all virtue to the omniscience of all beings. Always visualize the guru as the deity atop the crown, become revolted by saṃsāra, renounce the ten non-virtues and so forth, guard the three vows, and make offerings to the deities and Dharma protectors.

“Since everything is an illusion, renounce attachment. Since demons are of one taste in the nature of the mind, if the mind rests as it is without distraction and mindfulness, the demons will be like darkness that can never bear the sunrise [388] or like ice melting in water.

“If you strive in that way, non-conceptual fruition will dawn. If you don’t listen to your own advice, explaining the Dharma to others will be woefully pointless. Therefore, listen to this advice from the self-aware Guru!”

COLOPHON

I, Pang Ban Chökyi Wangchuk, have explained the advice of the self-aware Guru that dispels obstacles. All adherents should etch it in their hearts. Iti.[3] Thus, it was said.

OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ MAHĀ GURU SARVA SIDDHI HŪṂ:

This is Pang Ban Chökyi Wangchuk’s spiritual pledge.

NOTES

Sigla:

A1 and A2: Guru Chöwang (gu ru chos dbang). 1979. gu ru chos dbang gi rang rnam dang zhal gdams. 2 vols. rin chen gter mdzod chen po’i rgyab chos, vols. 8–9. Paro: Ugyen Tempai Gyaltsen. BDRC MW23802.

B1–3: Tertön Guru Chökyi Wangchuk (gter ston gu ru chos kyi dbang phyug). 2022. gter ston gu ru chos kyi dbang phyug gi ran rnam dang zhal gdams bzugs so, vols. 1–3. Edited by Dungse Lama Pema Tsewang (gdung sras bla ma pad+ma tshe dbang). Lamagaun, Nepal: Tsum Library.

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[1] A1: 387.1 interpolation: snang srid ’khor ’das (A1: ’khors) thams cad (A1: thaMD) la sems las ma *rtogs (A1: rtoD) chos med phyir ces pas (Because it is said, “Concerning all of phenomenal existence, whether of saṃsāra or nirvāṇa, there exist no phenomenon that is understood to be separate from the mind.”).

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[2] A1: 387.1 interpolation: gi gegs (A1: geD) sel (A1: gsel) dpas mtshon pas gsal bar ston no (A1: bstonno) (“the analogy clearly demonstrates dispelling the obstacles of [x]”).

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[3] Tibetanized Sanskrit quote marks.

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Published: May 2024

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Guru Chöwang (gu ru chos dbang). 1979. g+hu ru chos dbang gi rnalaM/ mkhar chu bdud+tsi phug gi dag snang khyad par can bzhug so+ho. In gu ru chos dbang gi rang rnam dang zhal gdams. rin chen gter mdzod chen po’i rgyab chos, v. 8, 385–388. Paro: Ugyen Tempai Gyaltsen. BDRC MW23802.

Tertön Guru Chökyi Wangchuk (gter ston gu ru chos kyi dbang phyug). 2022. gu ru chos dbang gi rnal lam/ mkhar chu bdud rtsi phug gi dag snang khyad par can bzhugs so. In gter ston gu ru chos kyi dbang phyug gi ran rnam dang zhal gdams bzugs so, vol. 2, 57–58. Edited by Dungse Lama Pema Tsewang (gdung sras bla ma pad+ma tshe dbang). Lamagaun, Nepal: Tsum Library.