Trekcho -- Installment...6?

[Guest guest]

Hi Laura - Im continuing with the Three Words teaching. Victor has been

posting this as it comes but he's is off somewhere so perhaps you can - Im

on #11 but Victor had another number system - to avoid confusion Ill start

from where I left off last time - think of it as a bedtime story. Joyce

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Ok, Joyce. I think we're up to #6, so that's what I'll call it.... Laura

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We left off last post at " ....hence, the next line in the text says,

" RESOLVE THAT THERE IS NOTHING BEYOND THIS. "

 

Rinpoche now goes on to tell a story about a young tulku of twelve years

old. He was playing with his maternal uncle of around the same age. As they

were playing they came across a villager who was making tsa tsas. Tsa tsas

are little clay images of deities or stupas and other things that are made

from a mold. There is a tradition of Tibetans doing this in order to avert

obstacles, and often they will make tsa tsas every day, the same number as

their age.

 

The young tulku took one of the villager's molds, and they went off with it

to play. They came to a river and the young tulku said, " Well, I've got the

mold; I guess I'll make some tsa tsas. I'll make as many as my years, but

as we don't have any clay, I'll have to make them out of water. " So he

started to impress this mold onto the water in the river, and his uncle saw

that every time he did this, there would be an image of the deity in the

water that was much more beautiful than the clay ones, with five-colored

light reflected from the water. But every time his uncle tried to grasp it,

it would disappear; he would still see them but he could not get a hold of

them.

 

As he was doing this, the young tulku looked at him and said, " Everything in

samsara and nirvana is just like that; if you try and grab it, it disappears

and you spoil it. The source of all our problems is that we are always

trying to grasp at things with our mind. " I mention this story because it

seems to make much the same point as what we have been studying in the text

of the Three Words.

 

The resolution that the innate wisdom of the dharmakaya, that one has

recognized, is itself the Buddha that has never been confused, and that

there is nothing beyond this to search for, is the second essential point.

To maintain the continuity of this recognition with the understanding that

there is nothing superior to this to be discovered, is included in this

second essential point. Therefore, the text says, " THIS IS THE SECOND

POINT: DIRECT SINGLE RESOLUTION. "

 

To recapitulate, the first point was recognition within oneself. There are

two possibilities of recognition. On is that when this innate wisdom is

pointed out, there will be complete, final recognition of the innate wisdom.

In that case one only needs to resolve that there is nothing better to be

attained, nothing else to find, and that is the second essential point,

resolution. In other words, at that juncture, it is necessary for the

practitioner to resolve once and for all that what they have recognized is

indeed that which is to be recognized.

 

The other possibility is that when the introduction is given, one may be

uncertain of the degree of one's recognition. In that situation, which is

quite common, one has to use the various approaches to meditation and

postmeditation that have been explained in the commentary on this second

point. In particular, one needs to consult with an experienced teacher,

someone who has clear realization. If one attempts to resolve one's doubts

within oneself, one may deceive oneself. If in the initial stage one has a

complete recognition of utterly exposed awareness, awareness that is

unadulterated by any kind of partiality, then from that point onward there

is no need to consult with or ask anyone anything.

 

There is a saying in this lineage, " Rely long upon a teacher, and listen for

a long time. " If you are in doubt about the view, and for as long as you

are in doubt, you need to constantly clarify your recognition by relying

upon a qualified teacher, again and again receiving instruction and

discussing your experience with the teacher. Eventually that will lead to a

genuine recognition of the view. The only reason why one would need to rely

upon a teacher and listen to teachings for a long time is this need for

gradual clarification or correction of one's understanding of the view.

 

There is a possibility of getting confused if you attempt to come to

resolution without sufficient guidance. The following story illustrates

this possibility. The first Dodrubchen Rinpoche, Jigme Thrinley Odzer, who

was the student of Jigme Lingpa, had many students in Kham, in eastern

Tibet, and was widely known for his teaching this approach of the Three

Words. They became such a household word that everyone had heard about

them. You would see people coming and going from his residence in his

retreat centre saying, " What do you practice? " answering with, " Oh, Im

meditatinmg on the Three Words. "

 

This teaching became so well known that a fellow who was not the swiftest

person in the world heard about it and decided, " That sounds good, this

teaching in three phases that bestows liberation quickly, that's exactly

what I need. " So he went to receive this instruction. He was quite devoted

to Dodrupchen Rinpoche and he thought, " If I stick around long enough and

serve him, then at some point he will say those three words, and I will get

the transmission. "

 

So he stayed around, and probably a lot of what he needed was taught, but he

did not particularily notice it, he was waiting for Dodrupchen Rinpoche to

say some particular three phases. One day he was serving tea to Dodrupchen

Rinpoche, and as he was a little inattentive, he did it somewhat carelessly,

spilling some tea. Now, this person was distinguished by possessing a

rather large and extremely red nose that was pockmarked and that looked

exactly like a kind of berry that grows in Tibet and India, called raksha

berry. Therefore, he was nicked named Raksha Nose.

 

When he spilled the tea, Dodrupchen Rinpoche looked at him and said, " Look

what you do when you pour tea, Raksha Nose! " He was overjoyed, left

Dodrupchen Rinpoche and went into strict solitary retreat, spending all his

time saying, " Look what you do when you pour tea, Raksha Nose. Look what

you do when you pour tea, Raksha Nose, " because he figured it was a mantra,

and he knew that everybody said mantras.

 

He had absolutely no doubt that these were the Three Words, and that this

was how they were to be used, and he had genuine devotion for Dodrupchen

Rinpoche. Because of his devotion and because of the intensity of his

practice, he started being able to heal the sick. When animals or humans in

his region became ill, all he had to do was to say his mantra, " Look what

you do when you pour tea, Raksha Nose " and blow om them or hit them with his

mala, and they would get better. Evetually he acquired quite a reputation

in his locality as a healer. So by this point he had resolved what he

thought was the meaning of the teaching.

 

Dodrupchen Rinpoche became ill with an separated ulcer in his throat, an

inflamed, pus-containing swelling that would not drain. His students were

concerned about this, and eventually the news made its way to this fellow,

nicknamed Raksha Nose. When he heard the news he thought, " I am able to

heal animals and humans, I should obviously go and heal my teacher. " So he

went there and went right into Dodrupchen's room, saw him sitting there and

just said to him, " Look what you do when you pour tea, Raksha Nose, " and hit

him as hard as he could with his mala.

 

Dodrupchen was so astonished by this that he collapsed with laughter and as

he laughed, the ulcer broke open, the pus drained, and he felt much better.

Then he turned to the man and said, " Who are you? " Raksha Noze said, " I'm

your student, and I've been practicing your famous instruction of the Three

Words. " Dodrupchen asked, " Just what Three Words have you been practicing? "

The man said, " What I have just used to heal you: Look what you do when you

pour tea, Raksha Nose. " Dodrupchen said, " Well, actually those aren't the

Three Words. " Eventually, he taught him this instruction of the Three Vital

Points, and Raksha Nose went into retreat again and became an excellent

practitioner.

 

...........to be continued.