Pema Rigdzin wrote:heart wrote:
First, is there a a book were the Khenpo brothers said this about anuyoga being instantaneous generation of the deity?
Somewhere Malcolm said that almost all Tibetan sadhanas were anuyoga sadhanas. Looking at the sadhanas I have many of the "concise daily practices" (gyenkhers) have instantaneous generation while the little longer sadhanas (leyangs) normally have a more gradual development stage. The explanation for this is that once you know the longer practice you don't need some many words, you already know how to do the practice. However many sadhanas from Nyinthig cycles have a very different way of phrasing the three samadhis and the five elements and other typical mahayoga features. Then in Karmey Khenpo (close disciple and linegae holder of Chokgyur Lingpa) explanation of the sadhana of Mavey Senge, a relatively straight-forward mahayoga sadhana from the Chokling Tersar he say that resting in the natural state is the ultimate protection circle and so on. This text have influenced my way of understanding sadhana practice a lot. For example he says the Jamyang Khyentse insisted that during the recitation phase the first third you concentrate on the seed-syllable of the main deity, the second third you do the "trondu" and the third part you rest in the natural state. Also the completion stage is also to rest in the natural state. It makes a lot of sense when applied and it changes your understanding of the benefits of sadhana practice.
http://www.amazon.com/Practice-Padmasam ... 1559393629" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
/magnus
You know Magnus, the Khenpo Rinpoches are my root gurus, so I have heard many things from them in person and also read many of their teachings in books and I can't remember where and when I got that idea about anuyoga based on what I'd received from them. I just remember that being my first basic understanding of what anuyoga was principally about and considering that the main sadhanas I was practicing fit that mold. Then later I came across some more elaborate written explanation somewhere about what anuyoga supposedly consists of and that explanation said something like "anuyoga, like mahayoga, involves generation of oneself in the form of a yidam; however, while anuyoga does have a generation stage, its key focus is on completion stage practices on the channels, winds, and elements." So what I got from that is that Mahayoga is creation stage with a simple dissolution into the natural state, i.e. completion stage without elaboration, while anuyoga includes creation stage but focuses on the completion stage involving elaboration. Then of course later I realized that this is not exactly correct because even Mahayoga has practices on the channels, winds, and drops, tummo, and so forth--the very things I thought it lacked and which distinguished it from anuyoga. So finally I come across ChNN's explanation of anuyoga, which we all know well, and I was like ah yes, this matches the impression I got from my root gurus (though ChNN became every bit as much a root guru as well).
He does give many Anuyoga empowerments that is for sure, perhaps he "names" or "calls" them that because in Sarma, where he has a background the tantra for highest class is grouped Anu, I think Anu has three or four "divisions" according to Nyinamapa, including "Maha-Anu".
Complications arise as seemingly equivalent terms can have subtle variations in use and meaning according to context, the time and place of use. When my teachers taught me Phowa for instance, they had an outer, inner, and secret kind of classification for Phowa, this idea of "outer, inner, and secret", the levels taught had to do with either Nirmanakaya, Sambhogakaya or Dharmakaya. Outer is considered Nirmanakaya, inner is Sambhogakaya, secret is Dharmakaya.
Practices are often spoken of this way, outer Tsogyal practice was mentioned earlier in the thread a Nirmanakaya classification for instance. The "inner" in the same highest tantra class would be Kurekulle, and then Dharmakaya (secret level) is Troma in Dudjom lineage, another way to put this is although they are taught seperately they are inseperable. It used to be that practitioners that did not have Troma empowerment etc could not sit in the practice during the Troma Sadhana where I took the empowerment, but that may have changed, we weren't allowed to show any of the supports for this practice anywhere.
I mentioned Phowa, because it has "inner, outer, secret" just like the manifestations of "inner, outer, secret" when it comes to our understanding the feminine wisdom being on the various levels of Nirmanakaya, Sambhogakaya, and Dharmakaya, or for instance when we take refuge there is the classification of "inner, outer, and secret" refuges. Refuge at the inner level isn't considered the same as outer refuge, outer refuge is in Buddha, Dharma, Sangha (the three jewels) inner refuge is Guru, Deva, Dakini, and then there is this division of secret refuge (nadi, prana, bindu) and then the ultimate level of refuge. From what I know CHNN gives that later.
Generally a practitioner who is new to the path is gradually guided through "outer, inner, and secret" practices within Nyingmapa, usually one does approach a Nyingmapa teacher asking for the "three roots" from the "get go", this is the "inner" way to practice from the highest tantra classification, for outer one would take refuge the outer way in Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, (three jewels) and later take the inner refuge and so forth, also in Ngondro there is an "outer" section" and "inner" section so these terms are also used there, but, equivalent terms can have subtle variations in use and meaning according to
context, so the context is important to understand.
Without some time and preparation on the basic outer generation stage and learning what to do during the Sadhana, how to place ones mind, receiving teachings etc on dissolution and so forth are generally taught gradually by our teachers, like The Khenpo Brothers, so one can learn completion stage later, one understands that "inner" practices and secret practices are generally for later on and have to do with energy, the idea is that one is learning and applying the practices, and gaining experience & realizations during their transformation practices.
I have met practitioners that believe that their form of phowa is the "only" phowa because that was what they were taught for decades... some look a little surpirsed to hear there are other forms, so not eveybody for instance practice Sambhogakaya phowa, or the secret Dharmakaya phowa, most practice the first form of phowa, the Nirmanakaya Phowa, and as Khenchen Tsewang Gyatso has said of those that are practicing on the Sambhogakaya & Dharmakaya phowas: "they better have their meditation right"....
CHNN has not taught outer phowa in 7 years that I have been listening and a member of Dzogchen Community, this is not a criticism though, please don't read it that way because he has taught what I think is classified as chos sku gtad med kyi 'pho ba which is how to meditate Dharmakaya way when you are passing, and he gives his students many reasons and explanations for this, also while teaching what is known as "Dharmakaya phowa" he is explaining transference as practiced Nirmanakaya way so peeps can understand this comparison, he often does these comparisons, as I have heard this teaching many times from CHNN, you too?
It is true that the empowerments correlate to the levels of practice, if you study on the empowerments, there is for instance a vase empowerment and so forth, and then later the "word" empowerment they each have a relation to a cause for inner, outer, secret and most secret levels of practice, that is why empowerment is indespensible, but there is also the blessing of the teacher, in other words by his blessing, getting into the energy of what he is doing "bam", at least thats what I feel happens with the lungs CHNN gives. Making correlations between "inner, outer, and secret" of highest tantra and then comparing them to divisions within 9 yanas of tantra could be a kind of exercise, but I have not heard it taught that way, not so much when discussing the practices of "inner, outer, secret, and most secret within the category of highest tantra anyway.