Malcolm wrote: ↑Wed Dec 12, 2018 11:05 pm
LoveFromColorado wrote: ↑Wed Dec 12, 2018 8:33 pm
I am still working my way through the beginning of the book. At the beginning, it is explained how Samantabhadra is before all activity in consciousness, effectively once awareness arises and recognizes itself. Samantabhadra is thus the same in all mindstreams.
This is also an error of interpretation. Samatabhadra arises out of recognizing the activity of consciousness as "his" own state. In other words, even Samantabhadra possesses ignorance. Samantabhadra is never deluded, but delusion and ignorance are not the same thing. Ignorance can lead to delusion, but it does not necessarily lead to delusion.
This line of thought is what got me thinking (as mentioned above) - is consciousness a manifestation of rigpa and what differentiates one consciousness from another given that they are not the same in terms of oneness but are the same in terms of Samantabhadra?
Rig pa is another name for a pure consciousness that recognizes its own state. If a consciousness does not recognize or mis-knows (ma rig pa) its own state, it then continues into delusion. On the other hand, rig pa and ma rig pa are likened to the front and the back of the hand-- they essentially belong together and are both forms of knowing.
In order to understand this, you need to understand the three-fold ignorance model: ignorance identical with its cause; connate ignorance; and imputing ignorance. These there are discussed in the section on how delusion arises which forms the second of the eleven topics of the Great Perfection. The prayer you are studying uses a two-fold ignorance model -- this presentation is also fine, but I have seen that it can be more easily misunderstood. The tantra this prayer is found in defines things as follows:
In the beginning, since the the unconscious mind overflows from the latent all-basis, the connate ignorance arises. As above, since the deluded vision of sounds, lights and rays arises gradually, the subtle mind that thinks "the external world arises from me," or "I arise from the external world" moves as a mistaken belief.
Here, the all-basis refers to the ālayavijñāna, which is defined as neutral. The "unconscious mind" is the way this tantra defines the first ignorance, the ignorance identical to the cause. Here, this simply means that in the beginning one is unaware of oneself, i.e., unconscious. At the moment the sounds, lights, and rays arise, which are manifestations of one's own state, the connate ignorance arises because now there is a perception which can be mistaken for duality.
Samantabhadra wakes up without entering delusion because in the second moment of the basis arising from the basis, he recognizes these sounds, lights, and rays as being his own state, and his consciousness becomes prajñā, and prajñā is rig pa, or vidyā. The way the Sound Tantra explains this is:
As such, in saṃsāra at the start and nirvāṇa at the end,
since the buddhas did not become deluded,
the sense organs that rose up out of the basis
recognized the self-appearances as natureless;
there was no lapse into mental analysis of external objects;
and [the self-appearances] were ascertained to be their own
movements.
Remember, ignorance does not equal delusion. This is an important point.
When we do not recognize these sounds, lights, and rays as being our own state, as stated above, we engage in dualistic grasping, which is the third ignorance, the imputing ignorance. For this reason, the Powerful Aspiration states:
The connate ignorance
is an amnesiac confused consciousness.
The imputing ignorance
grasps at both self and other.
The two ignorances, connate and imputing,
are the basis of the delusion of all sentient beings.
Through the aspiration of the Buddha, myself,
may all the sentient beings of samsara’s three realms
awaken from the thick darkness of amnesia,
purify the consciousness of dualistic grasping,
and recognize their own vidyā.
Thus in Buddhahood it is said:
If it is asked how delusion came about, delusion arose from the difference between the basis and the conscious aspect of the basis.
Remember, the basis is just one's unfabricated mind that is clear and empty. Buddhahood again:
As such, because the basis, one’s unfabricated mind, arose as the essence of the sole reality, there is no need to search elsewhere for the place, etc. Thus, that is called self-originated pristine consciousness.
In reality, one should study these things at the feet of a qualified teacher, because with Dzogchen, it is very easy to make mistakes and adopt wrong views.
As a famous Sakyapa master said, until you gain certainty in the view, the view should not be expressed in words. I understand that you want to understand these things, but talking about them here on Dharmawheel and other places on the internet is likely to just lead you deeper into confusion and an incorrect understanding.
