On Pure Visions and Mind Treasures

On Pure Visions and Mind Treasures[1]

by Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Taye

Let me explain a bit about how pure visions and mind treasures come about. When bodhisattvas make their extraordinary aspirations, they say,

May all beings continuously hear
The sound of Dharma
From birds, through the trees,
On rays of light and from the sky!

Thus, because of the strength of their aspirations and because they are steeped in the Dharma, they hear the Dharma continuously, even in the sounds of animals and birds. The buddhas and bodhisattvas reveal their faces and teach them.

The Sūtra on the Samādhi that Subsumes all Merits (Ārya-sarvapuṇyasamuccayasamādhi-sūtra)[2] says,

O, Stainless Splendor,[3] bodhisattvas who long for the Dharma, whose intentions are perfect and who are filled with devotion, though they may dwell in faraway worlds, the Bhagavān buddhas will show them their faces, and from them, they will hear the Dharma.

More specifically, in the perception of the Āryas, there are only pure appearances; impure appearances are nowhere to be found. Thus, throughout the three times, infinite deities and wondrous beings in the eternal maṇḍala of the Three Roots appear continuously to them, conferring infinite profound instructions.

The life stories of the great paṇḍitas and siddhas of India and the teachers, tertöns, and meditators of the old and new lineages of Tibet describe beings who were able to make accessible all the pure visions of the past in accord with the individual propensities of those with great good fortune who are worthy to receive [such pure visions].

Similarly, what are called mind treasures are [indirectly] referred to in the sūtras when they say that Mañjuśrī's four elements emerge from the treasury of space and when they say that all teachings emerge from the treasury of the buddhas' enlightened mind. You should understand that such statements treat the teachings as treasures. Accordingly, it is said that treasure troves of Dharma also burst forth in the expanse of the Āryas' enlightened perspective. The Dharmasaṅgīti Sūtra[4] says,

The bodhisattva’s pure motivation is such that all the instructions and teachings come from their own wishes.

The sūtras also say,

If you discover the meaning with absolute certainty,
Countless Dharma treasures will burst forth from your mind.

These quotes explain how so many infinite profound instructions have, to this day, emerged from the profound enlightened perspectives of the learned and accomplished masters of India, Nepal, and Tibet.

| Translated by Joseph McClellan with NT Ninjyed, 2025.

Bibliography

ʼJam mgon kong sprul blo gros mthaʼ yas. gTer ston brgya rtsaʼi rnam thar. Par gzhi dang po. sLob dpon padma ʼbyung gnas kyi rnam thar dpe tshogs. Lha sa: Bod ljongs mi dmangs dpe skrun khang, 2007, pp. 224–225. BDRC W1PD83972.

Version: 1.0-20250123