Encapsulation of the Profound

Encapsulation of the Profound

by Longchen Rabjam

Homage to glorious Samantabhadra!

Naturally arisen from the outset, not constructed by anyone,
Bodhi-mind, pure awareness, source of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa—
To this self-arisen pristine consciousness, the Great Perfection,
Homage beyond meeting and parting through the three times!

The ultimate of vehicles, the tradition of the Vajra Essence,
In which nothing is rejected and meaning transcends all,
Has an amazingly profound, vast, and wondrous message.
Listen, as I explain it according to my understanding.

The primordial state defies expression and lacks basis or origin.
It is beyond rejection or adoption, exertion, hope or fear, or bias—
A dharmakāya space of awakening, changeless and spontaneous,
The nature of Samantabhadra, 'Wholly Good’, vast and expansive.

If you remain in that state, everything is dharmakāya,
Spontaneously present as naturally abiding great bliss.
So settle at ease, just so, without making adjustments.
This is primordial basic space, free of hopes and fears.

There is no meditation, but empty forms supreme in aspect.
Whatever arises manifests as sovereign spontaneous perfection.
Objects are effortlessly self-liberated, simply left as they are.
Freed upon arising, they unfold as unbiased dharmakāya.

In naturally arisen pristine awareness, which has never known duality,
What is the point of concentration that fixates upon an object of focus?
Whatever occurs is empty in and of itself—starkly, nakedly there,
Like a river’s constant flow, beyond engagement and disengagement.

This itself is the sovereign intent of spontaneous presence.
By recognising the natural meditative stability of the ground,
One abides inseparably in great, crystalline non-meditation.
Without distinct sessions and breaks, this is Great Perfection.

As mind has no task in primordial purity, the exhaustion of phenomena,
There is uninterrupted openness, a spacious and euphoric experience,
And everything is perfectly even and uniform, like broad, expansive sky.
In this phenomenal exhaustion, intellect also disappears—how delightful!

All external entities are like magical illusions or dreams,
The moon in water, hallucinations, or cities in the clouds—
Clearly apparent yet unreal, the very forms of emptiness.
How happy I shall be to see them from this day forth!

Inner awareness, empty and clear, is the dharmakāya,
Unimpeded and pervasive like unobstructed space.
Insubstantial stirrings dissolve naturally without trace.
How wondrous this natural exhaustion of phenomena,
Wherein relinquished and remedy are freed by themselves!

In seeing the natural state, there is no substantial ground or basis.
In seeing the nature of reality, there is not a scintilla of meditation.
In the absence of timidity, there is no formula for proper conduct.
In freedom from hope and fear, there is no fruition to be attained.

If you understand this, you are a skilful yogi.
Through this virtue, may all beings be freed.

This Encapsulation of the Profound was composed by Natsok Rangdrol,[1] a yogin of the supreme vehicle, on the slopes of Gangri Thökar. Let it be virtuous! Virtuous! Virtuous!

| Translated by Adam Pearcey with the generous support of the Tsadra Foundation, 2023.

Bibliography

Tibetan Edition

klong chen rab 'byams. "zab mo bcud bsdus" In snying thig ya bzhi. 13 vols. Delhi: Sherab Gyaltsen Lama, 1975. Vol. 12: 285–288 (1.5 folios)

Version: 1.1-20240812