Reading as hard as scaling cliffs（1）

Reading as hard as scaling cliffs（1）

Reading up to here, some readers may resent me for dull writing. Forgive me, although I try to explain things as accessibly as possible, infamiliarity with religious content will inhibit smooth reading. There is nothing to be done, reading is like climbing mountains: the higher you go, the greater your chance of seeing sights that cannot be seen in ordinary times. But climbing high takes much effort, please persist a little longer. If I introduce Shangpa Kagyu without introducing the exceptional aspects of its teaching, this book loses its meaning. It is worth mentioning that what I have written was not openly published in almost a thousand years. Although some reports have been exposed, most of them are hearsay and only a piece from the full picture. Introductions of the dharma teaching by a lineage disciple are not common. Therefore, as long as you have patience, as long as you continue reading peacefully, you will certainly see sights that cannot be seen elsewhere.

I introduced Creation Stage of “Five Golden Dharma of Niguma” before. Of course, it was only an introduction. What disciples of Shangpa Kagyu recite and visualize is another kind of ritual that I do not have the right to publicise. Although you have not entered deeply into the lineage, you now know the primary spirit and content.

Next, we introduce the Perfection Stage. According to the standard explanation of Buddhism, the Perfection Stage is also called the “ultimate stage” or “formal component”, and mainly meditates on the Qi nadi and bright dot to induce silence of heart or co-living mercy, enlightening to brightness of heart. The achievement can be Seeing Path or even attainment of Buddhahood. Obviously, this saying is only a brief summary.

The dharma teaching of the Perfection Stage of Shangpa Kagyu is very complicated as well as very refined, and cannot be explained clearly in a few scant sentences. There is a strict system about its meditation, for example, meditators can meditate the Perfection Stage only if they have reached a certain level of enlightenment in meditation of the Creation Stage. There are also many parts within the Perfection Stage, only when a certain level of enlightenment is attained in a former part can the next step be meditated. There are strict regulations about this, the levels cannot be re-ordered and cannot be skipped.