Everything about Three Vajras totally explained
The
Three Vajras, namely "body, speech and mind" are often mentioned in
Vajrayana and Buddhist discourse, particularly in relation to
samaya.
Nomenclature and etymology
The Three Vajras is an English rendering of
gsang ba gsum (Tibetan); which has variously been rendered as: Three Secrets, Three Mysteries, Three Seats and Three Doors. Another Tibetan orthography that explicitly mentions
Vajra (Tibetan:
rdo-rje) is:
rdo rje gsang ba gsum. The full Tibetan title may be rendered into English as 'the three secrets of the noble ones' (Tibetan:
phags pa'i gsang ba gsum) which are:
body (Tibetan:
sku);
voice/
speech (Tibetan:
gsung) and
mind (Tibetan:
thugs). Another full title:
sku gsung thugs mi zad pa rgyan gyi 'khor lo may be rendered as "Inexhaustible adornment wheel of Body, Speech and Mind" where the term
'khor lo is the Tibetan term for
chakra (Sanskrit).
Vajra Body
The Vajra Body (Tibetan:
rdo rje'i lus;
sku rdo rje; ). In explicating the term
rdo rje'i lus, the
Dharma Dictionary
states that it denotes: "The human body, the subtle channels of which resemble the structure of a vajra."
Vajra Voice
The Vajra Speech/Voice (Tibetan:
rdo rje'i gsung;
gsung rdo rje). In elucidating the term, the Dharma Dictionary states that it denotes: 'vajra speech', 'vajra words'.
Vajra Mind
The Vajra Mind (Tibetan:
thugs rdo rje; Sanskrit:
citta-vajra) is defined by the Dharma Dictionary as: mind vajra, vajra mind.
Exegesis
The Three Vajras are often employed in tantric
sadhana during the
refuge,
guru yoga and
yidam process of the
visualization,
ideation and "
imaginal" construction of the
refuge tree, where the
mindstream of yidam,
ishta-devata,
tutelary deity and/or
guru and the
sadhaka are conflated and unified.
Speaking for the Tibetan
Nyingma tradition,
Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche perceives an identity and relationship betwixt the
Buddha Nature,
Dharmadhatu (essence of all phenomena and the
noumenon), the
Dharmakaya,
Rigpa (the "awakened state") and the Three Vajras, saying:
"Dharmadhatu is adorned with dharmakaya, which is endowed with dharmadhatu wisdom. This is a brief but very profound statement, because 'dharmadhatu' also refers to sugata-garbha or buddha nature. Buddha nature is all-encompassing ... This buddha nature is present just as the shining sun is present in the sky. It is indivisible from the three vajras [for examplethe Buddha's Body, Speech and Mind] of the awakened state, which don't perish or change."
Robert Beer (2003: p.186) states:
"The trinity of body, speech, and mind are known as the three gates, three receptacles or three vajras, and correspond to the western religious concept of righteous thought (mind), word (speech), and deed (body). The three vajras also correspond to the three kayas, with the aspect of body located at the crown (nirmanakaya), the aspect of speech at the throat (sambhogakaya), and the aspect of mind at the heart (dharmakaya)."
Kukkuraja's instruction to Garab Dorje
Kukkuraja's instruction to
Garab Dorje entailed a teaching of the Three Vajras in relation to
Vajrasattva,
Atiyoga and
Kulayaraja Tantra:
"Everything without exception is the Divine Body-Speech-Mind," he'd said. "The Divine Body-Speech-Mind is all-encompassing. Thus know your ultimate identity to be Vajrasattva, the Divine Body-Speech-Mind." As the Tibetan text of the Kulaya-raja Sutra (Kun.byed.rgyal.po'i .mdo) states: "When everything is seen as the Great Self-identity (bdag.nyid.chen.po), it's known as Atiyoga."
Five fundamental aspects of an enlightened being
The Three Vajras are subsumed within the 'Five fundamental aspects of an enlightened being'.
Namkhai Norbu et al. (2001: p.176) lists the English rendering with the associated
Tibetan language term:
The body (sku), voice (gsung), mind (thugs), qualities (yon tan) and activities (phrin las) represent the five fundamental aspects of an enlightened being.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Three Vajras'.
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