Counsel to Aka Nyima

Except for its final syllable, this line mirrors the second line of Āryadeva’s famous treatise on Madhyamaka philosophy, the Four Hundred Verses. In Āryadeva’s text, the final syllable is cing (“and”), whereas here it is pas (“because/since”).  ↩

Here, “soul” translates blo, one of several words for mind that must be translated according to context. In general, it denotes the aspect of mind that dualistically judges, weighs, analyzes, and orients. In other contexts, it is often translated as “intellect,” “attitude,” “mentation,” “intellection,” “ratiocination,” “ordinary mind/consciousness” or nearly any other synonym that covers the active aspect of mind functioning within the framework of subject and objects. Here we use the term “soul,” not in the metaphysical sense of a permanent personal essence, which is doctrinally inadmissible in Buddhism, but in the sense of that part of yourself that thinks a lot and feels deeply, which we often call our “soul,” colloquially.  ↩

In this stanza, the items in the first three lines are numbered gcig, gnyis, gsum (1,2,3.). We found the numbers infelicitous in English, so did not include them.  ↩

By which the author means in mountain retreat, ostensibly doing spiritual practice. The phrase in this line is a contraction of mi tshe ri khrod la skyal ba (“to spend one’s life in mountain retreat”).  ↩

"Academic" translates bshad grwa (shedra), a monastic philosophical college. A geshe is a scholar (usually from the Geluk tradition) who has graduated from or teaches at such a college. This line corresponds to the English idiom “egg-headed professors.”  ↩

mngon sum tshad ma, “direct perception,” is an important category in Indo-Tibetan epistemology—a field known as “valid cognition” (Skt. pramāna). It is one of the more difficult and analytical courses studied by scholastics. While the term mngon sum tshad ma (“direct perception”) roughly corresponds to “empiricism,” here we have chosen a slightly awkward literal translation, since Khenpo Ngaga is satirizing dry academics who become obsessed with words and theories while neglecting authentic spiritual cultivation.  ↩

In this line, "berth" translated 'jug pa, "entry."  ↩

shes rab rnam pa gsum (“three aspects of wisdom”), or often simply shes rab gsum (“three wisdoms”). These are wisdom gained through study, contemplation, and meditation.  ↩

These lines seem to present an ironical twist. In this line, he says that logic is irrefutable in the context of developing "critical knowledge" or, more literally, "objects of evaluation" (gzhal bya), an important term in epistemology. In the following line, however, he clearly states that study can lead one astray. He does not use a coordinating conjunction between the two lines, so we have supplied a "but" to make the English clearer.  ↩

“Perceptionless” ('du shes med pa) meditation is the kind of meditation indulged in by unenlightened gods or non-buddhist adepts. Khenpo Ngaga’s point that over-intellectualization produces this kind of meditation is illuminated by the following statement from the Sakya scholar Taktsang Lotsawa Sherab Rinchen (1357–1419): “those who—on account of it being logically negative emptiness, a partial emptiness, or the figurative ultimate—do not accept that this is something in which one must train will thereby have discarded all the principles that are taught so elaborately in the second context of the teachings. Although they may pretend to meditate and not think of anything at all, that will not undermine their mind’s grasping things as if they had selves. Such a meditation will certainly be just like perceptionless meditative equipoise” (Yakherds, Knowing Illusion, 64). In this line and the one above, Khenpo Ngaga is not taking an anti-intellectual or anti-meditation stance. He is referring only to study and meditation flawed in the ways discussed in this counsel.  ↩

"Heart essence" translates snying rdo, "heart stone." Rdo ("stone") can also connote essence.  ↩

"Special feeling" translates mtho sgros, which is more literally "lofty sounding."  ↩

Also known as the “eight worldly concerns/dharmas.” Being motivated by the concern for gain and loss, comfort and discomfort, praise and censure, and fame and insignificance.  ↩

This is a reference to the “two commentarial traditions” according to which Mahāyāna treatises are organized. “Profound” here refers to the path of the profound view of emptiness inspired by the bodhisattvas Mañjuśrī and transmitted to and expounded by Nāgārjuna and the Madhyamaka philosophers. “Vast” here refers to the path of vast conduct taught by Maitreya to Asaṅga and carried on through the activities of Vasubandhu, Dignāga, and other important Cittamātra philosophers and logicians.  ↩

Nāgārjuna and Asaṅga.  ↩

“Arise in their realization” is a loose rendering of the technical term mngon rtogs (Skt. abhisamaya), usually translated as “clear realization.” Abhisamaya forms part of the title of arguably the most important text on the bodhisattvas’ paths and levels, Maitreya’s Abhisamayālaṃkāra revealed by Asaṅga. Karl Brunnhölzl explains the term’s meaning in the following way: “The Sanskrit term abhisamaya is made up of the prefixes abhi (toward) and sam (together, fully), and the verbal root i (going, understanding), thus generally meaning “coming together,” “reunion,” “agreement,” and “full understanding.” In particular, as a Buddhist technical term, it refers to the clear realization of or perfect insight into the supreme spiritual reality, indicating the moments on the path when the meditating mind as the subject fully merges with its object and thus “everything falls into place.” In fact, in the Indian and Tibetan commentaries, abhisamaya is often glossed as “path” (mārga). In Buddhism, this is meant to signify the mind as it progresses in its spiritual insights toward liberation from samsara and buddhahood, with the main factor in this process being prajñā. The Abhidharmakośabhāṣya explains the term as follows: “‘What is the meaning of clear realization (abhisamaya)?’ It is clear and true perception (abhisambodha). ‘Why is it solely uncontaminated, but not contaminated?’ It is the true (sam/samyak) realization (aya) that is directed toward (abhi) nirvana, with ‘true’ [referring] to true reality (tattva)” (Brunnhölzl, Gone Beyond, 47–8).  ↩

Here "self-analysis" tentatively translates the obscure term zhu tig. On instances of this term, see Dalton 2013, 49 (“editing”) and Martin, 624 (“… a term that may be encountered a few times in canonical colophons…could mean ‘corrections made to the translation’ or ‘the final editing.’ It may be related to zhu gtug (to prosecute or put on trial).  ↩

In this line “presence” translates dran pa, which is almost always rendered as “mindfulness.” since the preceding connected line contains the word mind (sems), we find “mindfulness” immediately after to be awkward.  ↩

“Holding the mind,” sems ‘dzin, is a technical term for a set of various practices in the Great Perfection tradition. Ratka Jurkovic explains: “Dzogchen practice of zhi gnas or śamatā [sic] represents a part of so called semdzin practices (sems 'dzin) which are aimed at fixating the mind on e.g. white Tibetan letter A. By such practice the state of calm is achieved and mind is concentrated. However this is not the Natural state, or awareness (rig pa), it is just something created by the mind. In that state, when a thought arises, one should observe it (it becomes the object of watching) and without trying to change it, inspect its colour, shape, point or origin, establish whether it is coming from the inside or the outside of the body etc. After that we look at the mind, and inspect who and where is the watcher that really looks at the thought. There comes the point when neither watcher nor the object of watching can be spearated [sic] since they are of the same nature, and this is the point of recognition of Nature of Mind (i.e. the unspeakable state)” (Jurkovic, “Prayer to Ta pi hri tsa,” 28n114).  ↩

"Gain no traction" translates nar gda', an expression that literally means "go on and on" and describes something pointless, vain, or ineffectual.  ↩

“Simplicity” (spros bral) and “non-acceptance” (khas len med pa’i mtha’) are important terms in Madhyamaka philosophy. They are more commonly translated in longer forms (e.g., “freedom from conceptual elaborations” and “not having a thesis”). They are profound terms that a practitioner aspires to understand, but here, the author is pointing out the danger of understanding them in a shallow way.  ↩

Interdependence (rten 'brel), lack of inherent existence (rang bzhin med pa), and the two truths (bden gnyis) are important themes in Madhyamaka philosophy.  ↩

“Profound” and “vast” here have the same connotations as in note 14.  ↩

Longchen Rabjam.  ↩

"Culture" translates snyan brgyud, literally "aural lineage." Since the author is not singling out any specific lineage, we use the more general "culture" to capture the general collection of ignorant ideas promulgated by unqualified people.  ↩

There is some editorial inconsistency in this stanza. In the newer edition, the penultimate line reads rnam rtog spros pa phyir chod pas, the verbal phrase being phyir chod pa, which has the sense of "turn back on" or perhaps "turn away from." However, in the older umé edition, the verb is either mchod pa ("to offer/honor" or perhaps "indulge") or mched pa ("to spread or multiply"). in which case the stanza might read: "Finally, [let me say that] since pedantic, clever discourses/ And the culture transmitted by ignorant fools/ Cause your cancerous concepts to spread,/ Have nothing to do with such ignoble ways." "Cancerous concepts" for rnam rtog (“concepts/thoughts”) + spros pa (“proliferating”). We choose “cancerous” for its negativity and for the felicitous alliteration.  ↩