Matrix of Mystery, Chapter One

[1]
This book poses the following question:
how is it that man is both the encodement (as preserver) and the encoder (as
transmitter) of essential insights into the structure of ealit!"# (1)
put differentl!$
how are we to understand that fantasticall! improbable comple%it! termed &man' so
that that equall! comple% notion of &tradition' ( as that which preserves and transmits
essential insights ( is itslef comprehensible"# (1)
The specific tradition in question here is rDzog chen)
Tradition$ as defined b! *uddhists$ consists of lung and rtogs$ or te%ts and the
reali+ation which comes from accessing and understanding their meaning) These te%ts
are best understood not onl! as mere literar! works but as embodiments of a
fundamental concern# (don nyid))
This fundamental concern is the ever active energi+ing matri% (snying po) which
operates throughout the whole of ealit! so as to refine (byang) and optimi+e (chub)
the functional intelligence which inheres$ however diml!$ in each and ever! sentient
being)# (,)
That is to sa!$ the fundamental concern of the rDzog chen tradition is Reality as a
dynamic, holistic process. (-)
.n the course of this book$ this fundamental concern will be e%plicated in terms of a
set of eight ke! insights into this snying po (,):
Tibetan Guenther Skt, Conventional Translation
dkyil khor
configurational
comple%it! (maala$ sacred circle)
sku formal gestalt (kya$ enlightened bod!)
gsung authentic utterance (vk$ enlightened speech)
thugs vibrant spiritualit! (citta$ enlightened mind)
yon tan
resource d!namics as
creative potential
(gua$ enlightened noble
qualities)
phrin las
capacit! for optimall!
e%ecuted activit! (karman$ enlightened activit!)
snang ba auto/presencing (avabhsa$ manifestation)
lha
the snying po's
inherent
modalities and their
images (deva$ deities)
[0]
The rDzog chen tradition is centrall! concerned with the essence or matri% of the
m!ster! (gsang ba) of ealit! as a d!namic$ holistic process) The root te%t and
commentarial tradition under discussion is named after this 1atri% of 1!ster! (gsang
bai snying po$ Guhyagarbha)) (-)
The gsang snying tradition names ealit! in its foundational and d!namicall!
pervasive modalities# the Ground (gzhi)) 2uenther translates it as ein!) The 2round
spontaneousl! structures itself as the continuit! which determines e%perience itself)
2uenther calls this ein! "ua #xisten$ (rgyud)) (3)
4 fundamental propert! of the 2round is its communicative thrust# (sngags$ mantra
[i)e) manas traya$ or yid skyobs pa$ what protects the mind from disintegration])) This
thrust has two intrinsicall! related modes: the operational mode (thabs$ upya) and
the mode of appreciative discrimination (shes rab$ praj))
Thabs and shes rab operate as a unified process with three facets which ensure
optimi+ation through eliminating negative forces and sustaining positive forces (3/5):
Tibetan Guenther Skt, Conventional Translation
gsang sngags
communicative
thrust as
mystery guhyamantra, secret spell
rig sngags
communicative
thrust as
comprehensibility vidymantra, gnostic spell
gzungs sngags
communicative
thrust as
signal maintenance
dhramantra, magical
formula
gsang sngags ensures cognitive capacit! to access the 2round6
eliminates errant mental functioning
rig sngags ensures awareness of the value of the 2round6
eliminates misunderstanding about the 2round
gzungs sngags ensures receptivit! to the true meaning of the tradition
eliminates weaknesses in receptivit!
[4ccording to the 4nu!oga te%t dgongs pa dus pai mdo$ these correlate with inner
tantra$ outer tantra$ and pra7pramit, respectively. (Dudjom (1991), vol
, 11!)"
8hile sngags is obviousl! related to speech$ b! virtue of the holistic character of the
2round it appears as sense/specific$ gendered s!mbols termed gods (lha) and
goddesses (lha mo)) (5)
8hile asserting nothing$ sngags opens up the dkyil khor of our e%istential condition
prior to the split into sub7ect and ob7ect) (9)
[,]
4ll the d!namic processes constitutive of the 2round must be understood as (9):
1) inseparable or complementar! (dbyer med)
0) intrinsic to the 2round$ not derivative of it
1) dbyer med:indivisibilit!:
The indivisible complementarit! of the modes or processes of the 2round refers not
onl! to thab and shes rab$ but also to the ultimatel! valid and the conventionall! valid
spheres of reference$ and thus to cause (rgyu) and effect (bras bu)$ which can thus be
reconceptuali+ed as momentum and nonfinal clima%$ as in a crest/trough relation) (;)
0) .ntrinsic processes:atemporal abiding:
*ecause the processes constitutive of the 2round inhere in it$ the! are necessaril!
outside of time) This is not to sa! that the! are eternal in a static sense$ but that the!
are alwa!s operating without an! specifiable onset) (;) The 2round simultaneousl!
e%hibits three atemporall! abiding aspects:
Tibetan Guenther Skt, Conventional Translation
stong
pa the #round$s open nature unyat, emptiness
gsal ba
the #round$s high energy
radiance
vyakti, prabhsvara,
clarity
rig pa
the #round$s intrinsic
intelligence vidy, %no&ledge
The 2round's intrinsic intelligence operates as atemporall! abiding (pristine#)
cognitiveness (ye shes)$ which is the condition of possibilit! of all cognition) .t is thus
termed the nature of mind (sems nyid)$ what 2uenther calls e%perience as such)# (<)
The nature of mind (sems nyid) is not abstract or static$ but is an active unfolding into
comple% configurations of e%istential situatedness$ which preserve and transmit the
m!ster! of ealit! as a d!namic and holistic process b! dissipating reductive and
restrictive tendencies) (<)
Thus$ our own cognitive processes are in fact low/level instantiations of *eing's
pristine cognitiveness)# (<)
4s beings with cognitive capacit!$ we are thus a local ne%us through which the full
energ! of ye shes tends toward optimi+ation) This process is often felt as the tension
of conflicting thoughts and emotions) (1=)
This felt tension of being human>is due to modulations in the d!namic unfolding of
*eing's m!ster!) ?impl! b! virtue of being a human being$ then$ one is caught in a
complete$ !et special$ presentation of *eing's m!ster!)# (1=)
[The 2round's] optimi+ation is an ever active$ renormali+ing movement in which
nonoptimal perturbations are dampened)# (1=)
[-]
The 2round's openness (stong pa) and d!namism (gsal ba") automaticall!# (i)e) in a
wa! be!ond causalit!$ lhun grub) unfolds as a structuring which is coherent and
lucid)# This makes the 2round amenable to auto/elucidation# (rang gsal ba")) (1=)
4uto/elucidation @ the 2round's becoming amenable to e%periential accessing
through an optimi+ing movement
A%periential accessing is termed [the 2round's] resonating concern# (thugs rje$
karu', compassion), in &hich the optimi(ing thrust of the #round
occurs &ithin the hori(on of an individual. (1))
A%periential accessing uncovers two aspects of the 2round:
1) The 2round's essentiall! diaphanous# (dag pa$ uddha$ pure) character
0) The 2round's self/same and identical# (mnyam pa$ sama$ equal$ even) character
dag pa
diapheneit! is discovered with respect to (11)
a) the ph!sical world (snod$ bhjana$ vessel)
b) sentient beings (bcud$ rasa$ inhabitants$ what is contained)
c) A%isten+ (rgyud$ satna$ continuit!)
a) and b) are fundamentall! relational in character$ being simpl! different modes of
operation of the same elemental organi+ing forces (byung ba$ bhta$ element))