From Commentary by the Third Jamgön Kongtrül Rinpoche

Introduction

The mahasiddhas of India often expressed their insights in the form of songs, known as dobas, or vajra songs. This tradition was continued in Tibet by the masters of the Kagyu transmission. One very well-known collection of such songs is the Kagyu Gurtso, or "Ocean of Kagyu Songs."

Buddha Shakyamuni gave countless teachings in which he described different paths. The goal of these teachings is to achieve insight into ultimate truth, which is the nature of our minds. Of all the approaches taught by the Buddha, mahamudra is considered the most excellent. This was the approach followed by the early teachers of the Kagyu tradition, who achieved complete realization within a single lifetime, relying exclusively on the path of mahamudra and its skillful means.

Fortunately, the early teachers did not keep their insights to themselves but expressed them in the form of songs. These songs are in fact not ordinary songs of the kind that can be written or composed. They arise neither from a particular cause nor for a particular purpose. The extraordinary aspect of these songs is that they spontaneously express inner experiences and transmit the complete meaning of mahamudra and all its aspects—view, action, and meditation. They deal with the ultimate teachings presented by the perfect Buddha, the teachings about ultimate truth. This is why these dohas are described as vajra dohas, because their meaning is indestructible and unchanging.

The vajra songs of the Kagyu Gurtso date back to the earlier Kagyu masters. When reciting them today, we should adjust our body, speech, and mind so as to take full advantage of the recitation. With regard to the body, one should wear appropriate clothing, for instance the three dharma robes if one has taken the vows. With regard to speech, one should sing the melody with great accuracy and pronounce each word properly. Mentally, one should concentrate on every word and internalize its meaning. In this way, one should not simply recite the text but should take great care to involve one's body, speech, and mind in reading the vajra song.

Vajra songs are meant to help the practitioner overcome three types of obstacles: outer, inner (disturbances related to prana, nadi, and bindu), and secret (those that interfere with spiritual progress and meditation). The practice of mahamudra, the way of the Kagyus, is based mainly on trust and surrender. By reading the vajra songs, one not only develops the three types of trust—the trust of conviction, the trust of longing, and pure trust—but also learns to surrender. By keeping the examples of one's teachers in mind, one achieves the inner certainty that it is possible to follow the path and, through one's practice, attain realization.

In addition, as mentioned above, each vajra song contains the entire meaning of the teachings of Buddha: emptiness, codependent origination, precious bodhichitta, and insight into the unity of emptiness and compassion; one taste, the unity of samsara and nirvana; impermanence, the constant transformation of all things; and many other teachings. This means that if one actually manages to understand and transplant within oneself the meaning of the song, then one is not only directing one's body, speech, and mind toward the dharma, but is also treading the path itself and giving rise to limitless benefits.

The essence of the countless teachings of Buddha is the explanation of buddha-nature, the luminosity that abides in the mind of every single being. As long as one does not recognize one's buddha-nature, one experiences the confusion of samsara. However, realizing the potential of buddhahood that lies within is in itself buddhahood. Buddha's instructions were basically methods to help one overcome confusion and recognize the true nature of mind. The teachings of mahamudra, known as the "path of liberation," represent the pinnacle of the Buddha's teachings.

What is meant by mahamudra? Mahamudra consists basically of three aspects: ground, path, and view mahamudra. Ground mahamudra is the unity of relative truth and ultimate truth. It is freedom from both the two extremes of eternalism, or belief in lasting and true existence, and nihilism, or belief in the nonexistence of phenomena.

Path mahamudra is the union of skillful means and wisdom. By not falling into the extremes of either nihilism or the belief in the permanence of appearances, and by not neglecting either wisdom or skillful means, one accomplishes the two types of accumulations. These are the accumulation of object-related merit and the accumulation of nonreferential wisdom. In essence, the path consists in uniting these two accumulations.

Fruition mahamudra is freedom from the extremes of samsara and nirvana. It is based on ground mahamudra, the unity of relative and ultimate truths, and on path mahamudra, the unity of the two accumulations. In this state, there is no difference between the three realms of samsara and liberation or nirvana. Fruition mahamudra is the realization of the unity of dharmakaya and the form kayas.

Since mahamudra encompasses the three aspects of ground, path, and fruition, it should be evident that there is nothing that it does not accommodate. It includes everything, from the state of confusion concerning the nature of the path up to the realization of perfect buddahood. In other words, mahamudra is recognizing the nature of one's own mind.