Fearless in Tibet: The Life of the Mystic Terton Sogyal by Matteo Pistono Page B

consciousness from the corpse, out the fontanel and into a rebirth in a pure celestial realm.
    Tertön Sogyal prayed throughout the night, and by the time the morning light stretched across the valley floor, all that remained in the tent were skeletons. Tertön Sogyal dissolved the visualization at the conclusion of the ritual, reminding himself that deity yoga is only a skillful means to accomplish enlightened action. Vajrakilaya is nothing other than a name and form given to the Buddha’s activity, enlightened troubleshooting.
    Now, all forms that appear are the wisdom deities,
    All sounds are mantra, all thoughts the wisdom mind of Vajrakilaya;
    This whole existence is the perfect play of interdependence.
    In the confidence of this recognition,
    I vow to work always for the benefit of beings.

    After nearly two years, Tertön Sogyal was ready to leave the care of Nyoshul Lungtok. The master called his disciple into his tent. Nyoshul Lungtok was holding an eight-inch phurba dagger. The phurba, made of meteorite, had previously danced on its sharp point in the middle of the shrine while Nyoshul Lungtok was performing a Vajrakilaya ceremony.
    “You will reveal profound cycles of Vajrakilaya treasure teachings in the future. Now take this activity phurba; wield it in the world, but do not be of the world,” he said, empowering Tertön Sogyal with the blessing of his wisdom mind.
    “Use the phurba to destroy the self-cherishing ego and its many guises.”
    By the time Tertön Sogyal perfected his skill in meditation with Nyoshul Lungtok, he had arrived at a place of deep conviction for his life’s mission as a treasure revealer. Tertön Sogyal said, “To revive the Dharma and inspire beings in these degenerate times, Guru Padmasambhava concealed various terma treasures. Padmasambhava gave prophecies about whom he had blessed to retrieve the treasures. Padmasambhava advised tertöns like me to never, even for a moment, delay in accomplishing the task of revealing the treasures—even at the cost of our life!”
    The depth and quality of realizations that emerged from Tertön Sogyal’s years of retreat were like those of past masters of India and Tibet. He had recognized that all the Buddhist teachings were ultimately free from contradiction; that the instructions of the guru are the path by which one purifies the mind from the veils of ignorance. He understood that all of the guru’s instructions were to be actively applied to one’s mind and habits and were not merely for philosophical or intellectual speculation. And because he diligently applied his teacher’s pith instructions and swiftly realized the mind of the Buddha, he naturally refrained from deviations on the spiritual path.
    Tertön Sogyal’s life continued to be led not by his own volition but by Padmasambhava’s prophecies and the direction of the Dharma protectors and treasure guardians. He had spent nearly a decade in retreat under his masters—Khyentse Wangpo, Jamgön Kongtrul, Nyoshul Lungtok, Lama Sonam Thaye, and Dza Choktrul—who understood well these prophecies for Tertön Sogyal’s life. Padmasambhava had laid out the plans for his life long ago; every move, from whom he should receive teachings, the places where he should practice, the people he should meet, what rituals to conduct, and the eventual treasure discoveries—these were all given in prophecies. One of the principal goals of a Dharma practitioner is to stop yearning for anything in this life; yet that does not imply letting go of diligence, a necessary quality if one is going to strive to accomplish great virtue. Just so, with every terma treasure and prophecy, hidden statue and sacred substance, Tertön Sogyal strove with great effort to reveal them successfully. His days and nights were now spent either finding prophecies and treasures or enacting the prophecies and practicing the treasure teachings themselves.

CHAPTER 6
    A TREASURE REVEALER’S CAREER UNFOLDS
    D ERGE R EGION