Chapter Three: The Madhura Disposition in India's Inner (Esoteric) Religious Disciplines
This sovereign bliss alone is the essence. It is the condition of emptiness, for it has neither beginning, end, nor middle. There is within it no knowledge of self or other, neither birth nor liberation, neither becoming nor emanation.1
The entry of sahaja practice into Buddhist doctrine
All Buddhist, Vajrayana, and Sahajayana practitioners recognise two kinds of truth: (1) conventional worldly truth and (2) ultimate, real truth. Conventionally, bodhi means gross bodily semen; ultimately it is mind in the form of awakening. In the same way, the conventional meanings of lotus and vajra are the female and male sexual organs, but their ultimate or real meanings are spiritual.
Anyone who wishes to advance upon the path must gain mastery over the mind. If the mind becomes agitated because desires are not enjoyed, the practice will be ruined. With this in view, Anangavajra said that one should act in such a way that the mind is not disturbed; if the jewel of mind becomes agitated, perfection can never be attained.2
How is such disturbance to be suppressed? Desires do not die when repressed; they merely hide more deeply within. As soon as an opportunity appears they awaken and overpower the practitioner. Suppression is therefore inappropriate. This school held that all desires should instead be experienced, so that the mind's agitation would quickly cease and true perfection be obtained.3 In this manner, enjoyment of desire entered the field of practice.
The background of the discipline was the doctrine of emptiness. Its final goal was emptiness and intrinsic naturelessness, free from every presence and absence. A woman was required for the enjoyment of desires, so Vajrayana imagined a Shakti for each of the five Buddhas and numerous bodhisattvas. A guru was necessary for attainment, so even Buddhas who had achieved perfection were assigned a guru. That guru was emptiness itself. Just as sweetness is the nature of jaggery and heat the nature of fire, so the nature of all—
Footnotes
-
Saraha says: “No beginning, no end, no middle; neither becoming nor nirvana. This is that supreme great bliss in which neither other nor self remains.” Jñāna-siddhi-lekha, p. 13; see also Nātha Sampradāya, p. 89. ↩
-
Tathā tathā pravarteta yathā na kṣubhyate manaḥ / saṃkṣubdhe citta-ratne tu siddhir naiva kadācana //—“One should act in whatever way leaves the mind unagitated. If the jewel of mind is disturbed, perfection never arises.” ↩
-
Duṣkarair niyamais tībraiḥ sevyamāno na siddhyati / sarva-kāmopabhogais tu sevyamānaḥ śu siddhyati //—“It is not perfected through difficult and severe restrictions; when cultivated through the enjoyment of every desire, it is swiftly perfected.” ↩