Three Principal Aspects of the Path by Lama Tsong Khapa
The Definition of Having Generated Renunciation
Translated by Lama Zopa Rinpoche
[5] When, by having trained in that way,
There is no arising, even for a second,
Of attraction to the perfections of cyclic existence,
And all day and night the intention seeking liberation arises –
Then the thought of renunciation has been generated.
Expressing the Homage
I bow down to my perfect gurus.
The Promise to Compose
The Purpose of Generating the Mind of Enlightenment
[1] The essential meaning of the Victorious Ones’ teachings,
The path praised by all the holy Victors and their Children,
The gateway of the fortunate ones desiring liberation –
This I shall try to explain as much as I can.
[6] Even if renunciation has been developed,
If it is not possessed by the mind of enlightenment
It does not become the cause of the perfect bliss of unsurpassed
enlightenment.
Therefore the wise generate the supreme mind of enlightenment.
Persuading to Listen
[2] Those who are not attached to the pleasures of circling [samsara],
Who strive to make freedom and endowments meaningful,
Who entrust themselves to the path pleasing the Victorious Ones –
You fortunate ones: listen with a calm mind.
How to Generate the Mind of Enlightenment
[7] Swept away by the current of the four powerful rivers,
Tied by the tight bonds of karma, so hard to undo,
Caught in the iron net of self-grasping,
Completely enveloped by the total darkness of ignorance,
The Purpose of Generating Renunciation
[3] Without the complete intention definitely to be free from circling,
There is no way to pacify attachment seeking pleasurable effects in the
ocean of circling.
Also, by craving for cyclic existence, embodied beings are continuously
bound.
Therefore, at the very beginning seek renunciation.
[8] Endlessly reborn in cyclic existence,
Ceaselessly tormented by the three sufferings –
Thinking that all mothers are in such a condition,
Generate the supreme mind of enlightenment.
The Definition of Having Generated the Mind of Enlightenment
How to Generate Renunciation
[8a]1 In short,
If like the mother whose cherished son has fallen into a pit of fire
And who experiences even one second of his suffering as an unbearable
eternity,
Your reflection on the suffering of all mother sentient beings
Has made it impossible for you to bear their suffering for even one
second
And the wish seeking enlightenment for their sake arises without effort,
Then you have realized the supreme precious mind of enlightenment.
[4] Freedom and endowments are difficult to find
And life has no time to spare.
By gaining familiarity with this,
Attraction to the appearances of this life is reversed.
By thinking over and over again
That actions and their effects are unbetraying,
And repeatedly contemplating the miseries of cyclic existence,
Attraction to the appearances of future lives is reversed.
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The Reason to Meditate on the Right View
Having Gained Definite Ascertainment, Advice on Pursuing the
Practice
[9] Without the wisdom realizing ultimate reality,
Even though you have generated renunciation and the mind of
enlightenment
You cannot cut the root cause of circling.
Therefore, attempt the method to realize dependent arising.
[14] In this way you realize exactly
The vital points of the three principal aspects of the path.
Resort to seeking solitude, generate the power of effort,
And quickly accomplish your final goal, my child.
Showing the Right View
[10] One who sees the cause and effect of all phenomena
Of both cyclic existence and the state beyond sorrow as forever
unbetraying,
And for whom any object trusted in by the grasping mind has completely
disappeared,
Has at that time entered the path pleasing the Buddhas.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche's Dedication:
From the merits collected by doing this work, transmitting Lama Tsongkhapa’s
pure teaching — the heart of the 84,000 teachings of Buddha — into a western
language, in a way as close as possible to the words and the meaning of the
root text;
The Definition of Not Having Completed the Analysis of the
Right View
May this be most beneficial for all sentient beings, bringing kind mother
sentient beings — whose lives are lost, under the control of karma and
delusion, totally enveloped in the darkness of ignorance — to the achievement
of enlightenment as quickly as possible.
[11] Appearance and dependently related are unbetraying;
Accepting that is empty, is separate from assertion. 2
As long as these two understandings are seen as separate
One has still not realized the intent of the Buddhas.
May anyone who merely sees this text, reads this text, teaches this text, hears
about this text, or keeps this text thereby actualise indestructible guru devotion,
seeing the Guru as Buddha, and train well in the three common principles of the
path, actualise the two stages, and achieve the unified state of Vajradhara as
soon as possible. May he or she especially generate loving kindness, the
compassionate thought, and Bodhicitta and immediately become a source of
peace and happiness for all sentient beings, especially in this world, and may all
war, famine, disease, sickness, epidemics, torture, poverty, and the dangers of
fire, water, wind, and earthquakes immediately cease so that no one will
experience any of these undesirable circumstances ever again.
The Definition of Having Completed the Analysis of Right View
[12] If [these two realizations] are happening simultaneously without
alternation,
And from merely seeing dependent relation as completely unbetraying
The definite ascertainment comes that completely destroys
The way in which all objects are grasped [as truly existent],
At that time the analysis of the ultimate view is complete.
May the pure teachings of Lama Tsongkhapa flourish continuously and spread
in all directions.
The Particular Special Quality of the Prasangika View
[13] Furthermore, appearance eliminates the extreme of existence
And emptiness eliminates the extreme of non-existence.
If you realize how emptiness manifests in the manner of cause and
effect
Then you are not captivated by wrong notions holding extreme views.
Notes
1. Stanza 8a is not part of Lama Tsongkhapa’s original text, but has been added
here following Pabongkha Rinpoche’s outline.
2. Unification of appearance, dependent arising and emptiness.
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And constantly tormented by the three forms of suffering.[2]
This is the current condition of all your own past mothers—
Contemplate their plight and generate supreme bodhichitta.
Three Principal Aspects of the Path
By Je Tsongkhapa Lobzang Drakpa
Translated by Adam
Homage to the precious noble masters!
9. If you lack the wisdom that realizes the nature of things,
Although you might grow accustomed to renunciation and bodhichitta,
You will be incapable of cutting through conditioned existence at its root,
Exert yourself, therefore, in the methods for realizing interdependence.
1. The very essence of all the buddha’s teachings,
The path that is praised by the noble bodhisattvas,
And the entrance for all fortunate ones desiring liberation—
This, to the best of my ability, I shall now set forth.
10. Whoever sees that cause and effect operate infallibly
For all the phenomena of samsara and nirvana,
And for whom any objects of conceptual focus have subsided,
Has set out upon the path delighting all the buddhas.
2. You who are unattached to samsara’s pleasures,
And strive to make full use of the freedoms and advantages,
You who follow the path delighting all the buddhas,
Fortunate ones, listen well, with a clear and open mind.
11. The knowledge that appearances arise unfailingly in dependence,
And the knowledge that they are empty and beyond all assertions—
As long as these two appear to you as separate,
There can be no realization of the Buddha’s wisdom.
3. Whilst lacking pure renunciation there is no way to pacify
The continual thirst for pleasure in the ocean of samsara,
And since all living beings are bound by their craving for existence,
You must begin by finding the determination to be free.
12. Yet when they arise at once, not each in turn but both together,
Then through merely seeing unfailing dependent origination
Certainty is born, and all modes of misapprehension fall apart—
That is when discernment of the view has reached perfection.
4. The freedoms and advantages are rare, and there’s no time to waste—
Reflect on this again and yet again, and dispel attachment to this life.
To dispel attachment to your future lives, contemplate repeatedly
The unfailing effects of karma and the sufferings of samsara.
13. When you know that appearances dispel the extreme of existence,
While the extreme of nothingness is eliminated by emptiness,[3]
And you also come to know how emptiness arises as cause and effect,
Then you will be immune to any view entailing clinging to extremes.
5. When, through growing accustomed to thinking in this way,
Hope for the pleasures of samsara no longer arises even for an instant,
And throughout both day and night you long for liberation,
Then, at that time, true renunciation has been born.
14. When, in this way, you have correctly understood yourself
The key points of the three principal aspects of the path,
Withdraw to solitude, dear son, strengthen your diligence,
And swiftly accomplish the ultimate and lasting aim.
6. Yet if this renunciation is not embraced
By the pure motivation of bodhichitta,
It will not become a cause for the perfect bliss of unsurpassed awakening,
So the wise should generate supreme bodhichitta.
7. Beings are swept along by the powerful current of the four rivers,
Tightly bound by the chains of their karma, so difficult to undo,
Ensnared within the iron trap of their self-grasping,
And enshrouded in the thick darkness of ignorance.
[1]
According to Ngulchu Dharmabhadra, this refers either to the sufferings of birth, old age,
sickness and death, or to the four rivers of desire, becoming, ignorance and belief.
[2]
Blatant suffering, the suffering of change and the all-pervasive suffering of conditioned existence.
[3]
It is commonly said that the fact that things appear eliminates the extreme of nihilism or a belief
in the total non-existence of things, and that emptiness dispels the extreme of eternalism, or the
belief in things as truly existent. Here, Tsongkhapa goes further and says that the fact that things
appear dispels the extreme of taking things to be truly existent, because for things to appear they
must lack inherent existence. Moreover, the fact that things are empty eliminates the extreme of
non-existence, because it is only because things are empty that they can appear.
[1]
8. Again and yet again, they are reborn in limitless samsara,
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The Three Principal Aspects of the Path
by Je Tsongkhapa
Ensnared within the iron net of self-grasping,
Completely enveloped by the pitch-black darkness of ignorance,
Translation © Geshe Kelsang Gyatso & New Kadampa Tradition
Taking rebirth after rebirth in boundless samsara,
And unceasingly tormented by the three sufferings
Through contemplating the state of your mothers in conditions such as these,
Generate a supreme mind [of bodhichitta].
Homage to the venerable Spiritual Guide
I shall explain to the best of my ability
The essential meaning of all the Conqueror's teachings,
The path praised by the holy Bodhisattvas,
And the gateway for fortunate ones seeking liberation.
But, even though you may be acquainted with renunciation and bodhichitta,
If you do not possess the wisdom realizing the way things are,
You will not be able to cut the root of samsara;
Therefore strive in the means for realizing dependent relationship.
You who are not attached to the joys of samsara,
But strive to make your freedom and endowment meaningful,
O Fortunate Ones who apply your minds to the path that pleases the
Conquerors,
Please listen with a clear mind.
Whoever negates the conceived object of self-grasping
Yet sees the infallibility of cause and effect
Of all phenomena in samsara and nirvana,
Has entered the path that pleases the Buddhas.
Without pure renunciation there is no way to pacify
Attachment to the pleasures of samsara;
And since living beings are tightly bound by desire for samsara,
Begin by seeking renunciation.
Dependent-related appearance is infallible
And emptiness is inexpressible;
For as long as the meaning of these two appear to be separate,
You have not yet realized Buddha's intention.
Freedom and endowment are difficult to find, and there is no time to waste.
By acquainting your mind with this, overcome attachment to this life;
And by repeatedly contemplating actions and effects and the sufferings of
samsara,
Overcome attachment to future lives.
When they arise as one, not alternating but simultaneous,
From merely seeing infallible dependent relationship,
Comes certain knowledge that destroys all grasping at objects.
At that time the analysis of view is complete.
When, through contemplating in this way, the desire for the pleasures of
samsara
Does not arise, even for a moment,
But a mind longing for liberation arises throughout the day and the night,
At that time, renunciation is generated.
Moreover, when the extreme of existence is dispelled by appearance,
And the extreme of non-existence is dispelled by emptiness,
And you know how emptiness is perceived as cause and effect,
You will not be captivated by extreme views.
When, in this way, you have correctly realized the essential points
Of the three principal aspects of the path,
Dear One, withdraw into solitude, generate strong effort,
And quickly accomplish the final goal.
However, if this renunciation is not maintained
By completely pure bodhichitta,
It will not be a cause of the perfect happiness of unsurpassed enlightenment;
Therefore, the wise generate a supreme bodhichitta.
Swept along by the currents of the four powerful rivers,
Tightly bound by the chains of karma, so hard to release,
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The Three Principal Aspects of the Path
by Je Tsongkhapa
Translation: Geshe Wangya, from the Door of Liberation
Born and reborn in boundless samsara,
Carelessly tormented by the three miseries –
All beings, your mothers, are in this condition.
Think of them and generate bodhi-mind.
I bow down to the venerable lamas.
Though you practice renunciation and bodhi-mind,
Without wisdom, the realisation of voidness,
You cannot cut the root of samsara.
Therefore, strive to understand dependent origination.
I will explain as well as I am able
The essence of all the teachings of the Conqueror,
The path praised by the Conqueror’s offspring,
The entrance for the fortunate ones who desire liberation.
One who sees the infallible cause and effect
Listen with clear minds, you fortunate ones
Who direct your minds to the path pleasing to Buddha,
Who strive to make good use of leisure and opportunity
And are not attached to the joys of samsara.
Of all phenomena in samsara and nirvana,
And destroys all false perceptions,
Has entered the path that pleases the Buddha.
Those with bodies are bound by the craving for existence.
Without pure renunciation, there is no way to still
Attraction to the pleasures of samsara.
Thus, from the outset seek renunciation.
Appearances are infallible dependent origination;
Voidness is free of assertions (of existence or non-existence).
As long as these two understandings are seen as separate,
One has not yet realized the intent of the Buddha.
Leisure and opportunity are difficult to find.
There is no time to waste: reverse attraction to this life
Reverse attraction to future lives: think repeatedly
Of the infallible effects of karma and the miseries of this world.
When these two realisations are simultaneous and concurrent,
From a mere sight of infallible dependent origination
Comes certain knowledge that completely destroys all modes of mental
grasping.
At that time the analysis of the profound view is complete.
Contemplating this, when you do not for an instant
Wish the pleasures of samsara,
And day and night remain intent on liberation,
You have then produced renunciation.
Appearances clear away the extreme of existence;
Voidness clears away the extreme of non-existence.
When you understand the arising of cause and effect from the viewpoint of
voidness,
You are not be captivated by either extreme view.
Renunciation without pure bodhi-mind
Does not bring forth the perfect bliss
Of unsurpassed enlightenment;
Therefore, Bodhisattvas generate excellent bodhi-mind.
Son, when you realise the keys
Of the three principals of the path,
Depend on solitude and strong effort,
And quickly reach the final goal!
Swept by the current of the four powerful rivers,
Tied by strong bonds of karma, so hard to undo,
Caught in the iron net of self-grasping,
Completely enveloped by the darkness of ignorance,
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Jetsun Ksongkhapa’s work ‘The Three Chief Paths’
Translated by Urgyen Sangharakshita
First published in The Middle Way
2. Swept along by the flow of the four violent rivers,
Tied with the tight bonds of acts hard to reverse,
Trapped inside the iron net of ego-attitudes,
Encompassed by the great gloom of ignorance’s dark:
3. Born in unlimited existences, and in their births
Three miseries torment them without cease:
In circumstances like this are – our mothers!
Think of their state and then generate the excellent Bodhi-mind.
[The Obeisance]
Obeisance to the holy lamas
[Introduction]
[Part Three: Insight into Conditioned Existence]
1. The essential meaning of all the Buddha-teachings,
The path commended by the Buddha-Sons,
That food for those, blessed, who desire deliverance,
I shall relate, according to my ability,
1. Since, if they don’t posses the insight that apprehends the underlying Reality,
Even those practised in Withdrawal and the Bodhi-mind
Cannot cut off the root of existence,
Work at techniques to apprehend Conditioned Co-production.
2. Those who, not adhering to the pleasures of existence
But striving to make fruitful their opportunities and advantages,
Place their trust in the Path that Buddhas delight in:
Let those blessed ones listen with open mind!
2. He who sees the never failing
Cause-and-fruit of all dharmas temporal and eternal,
And has destroyed whatever is the basis of imagination,
Has entered the Path beloved of the Buddhas.
[Part One: Withdrawal]
1. Without a pure withdrawal there is no means
To still the longing for a happy outcome of the sea of existence;
And by craving for existence, too, those who have bodies
Are fettered all about: therefore seek first withdrawal.
3. The apparent – the infallible Conditioned Co-production –
And the Void – free of predication, the two understandings,
As long as they appear separate, for so long
Is the Sage’s thought still unrealised.
2. The fancies of this life are banished by keeping in mind
That we have no time to spare of opportunities and advantages hard to find;
The fancies of the hereafter are banished by repeatedly thinking
Of acts and their fruits infallible, the miseries of the Round.
4. When without alternation, simultaneously,
At the moment of seeing the unfailing Conditioned Co-production
One destroys all fixed ideas and conceptual forms,
Then is the investigation of views complete.
3. When, by so practising, there is born not even
For a moment desire for the Round’s well-being
And a sense of longing for Deliverance, all day and night,
Arises, then it is that withdrawal is born.
5. If one knows how there appears as cause-and-fruit
Emptiness – clearing the negative extreme with the empty
And the positive extreme with the apparent – moreover,
He will not fall prey to views that hold to an extreme.
[Part Two: Generation of the Bodhi Mind]
[Concluding Exhortations]
1. But since that withdrawal, too, unless controlled
By a pure ‘mind-generation’ does not become the cause
Of unsurpassed Enlightenment’s consummate felicity,
Intelligent ones should generate the excellent Bodhi-mind.
When one has realised as they are, for oneself, the quick
Of the Three Principle Paths in that manner,
Wait upon solitude; beget the strength of assiduity,
And speedily effect a lasting counsel, O Sons!
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The Three Principles of the Path
Translated by Robert Thurman
Even though you experience transcendent renunciation
And cultivate the spirit of enlightenment,
Without the wisdom from the realisation of emptiness,
You cannot cut off the root of the life-cycle So, you should strive to understand relativity (pratitya-samutpada)
Reverence to the Holy Gurus!
I will explain as best I can
The essential import of all the Victor's Teachings,
The path praised by all the holy Bodhisattvas.
Best entrance for those fortunates who seek freedom.
Who sees the inexorable causality of all things
Both of cyclic life and liberation
And destroys any sort of conviction of objectivity Thereby enters the path pleasing to the Victors.
Listen with clear minds, you lucky people,
Who aspire to the path that pleases Buddhas,
Who work to give meaning to leisure and opportunity,
Who are not addicted to the pleasures of cyclic life (samsara).
Lust for existence chains all corporeal beings Addiction to the pleasures of the life-cycle
Is only cured by transcendent renunciation (niryana).
So seek transcendence first of all!
Appearance as inevitably relative,
And emptiness as free of all assertions As long as these are understood apart,
The Victor's intent is not yet known.
But, when they are simultaneous without alternation,
The mere sight of inevitable relativity
Becomes sure knowledge rid of objective habit-patterns,
And the investigation of authentic view is complete.
Leisure and opportunity are hard to get,
And there is no time to life; keep thinking on this,
And you will turn off your interest in this life!
Contemplate the inexorability of evolutionary effects (karmaphala)
And the sufferings of life - over and over again And you will turn off interest in future lives!
By constant meditation, your mind will not entertain
A moment's wish even for successes of life,
And you will aim for freedom all day and night Then you experience transcendent renunciation!
Transcendence without the spirit of enlightenment (Bodhicitta)
Cannot generate the supreme bliss
Of unexcelled enlightenment - therefore,
The Bodhisattva conceives the supreme spirit of enlightenment.
Further, while appearance eliminates absolutism,
Emptiness eliminates nihilism,
And you know emptiness manifest as cause and effect Then, you will not be deprived by extremist views.
When you realise the essentials
Of the three principles of the path,
Rely on solitude and powerful efforts,
And swiftly achieve the eternal goal, my son!
Carried away on the currents of four mighty streams,
Tightly bound by near-inescapable chains of evolution,
Trapped and imprisoned in the iron cage of self-concern,
Totally wrapped in the darkness of misknowledge,
Born and born again in endless life-cycles,
Uninterruptedly tormented by the three miseries Such is the state of all beings, all just your mothers From your natural feelings, conceive the highest spirit!
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