Kissing the World: The Universal Ti of the Great Perfection

Aya Kari Maha Ati Tala!
The Yang Ti of the Universal Ti
Is the king of the vehicles!
It is described as being the universal ancestor
Of the three vehicles.
It is unborn, wordless, and beyond exemplification.

E Ma!

Sentient beings do not understand things this way.
There is no substance,
But they want to show something.
This is also a big emotional problem
For sentient beings.

They want to say something
About something that is unborn.
This is also a big emotional problem
For sentient beings.

For something that is insubstantial
They want there to be a substance.
This is also a big emotional problem
For sentient beings.

My true nature is not universally realized.
It has been forced into the oral traditions
Of the eight vehicles.
This is also a big emotional problem
For sentient beings.
The eight vehicles do not see me.
This is also a big emotional problem
For sentient beings.

Their pride is turned backward by looking at others.
This is also a big emotional problem
For sentient beings.

Where there is no duality
They divide things into two.
This is also a big emotional problem
For sentient beings.

The five poisons do not exist,
But they want to give them up.
This is also a big emotional problem
For sentient beings.

The five bodies do not exist,
But they want to work toward realizing them.
This is also a big emotional problem
For sentient beings.

Sentient beings do not exist,
But they want to reject them.
This is also a big emotional problem
For sentient beings.

Buddhahood does not exist,
But they want to work toward realizing it.
This is also a big emotional problem
For sentient beings.

Ignorance does not exist,
But they want to reject it.
This is also a big emotional problem
For sentient beings.

Wisdom does not exist,
But they want to work toward realizing it.
This is also a big emotional problem
For sentient beings.

Objects and minds do not exist,
But they want to reject them.
This is also a big emotional problem
For sentient beings.

They believe that there is nothing
To take in or hold onto.
This is also a big emotional problem
For sentient beings.

Are you not aware
That these and all the rest
Of our dualistic visions
Are Dharmas made by our intellects?
Are you not aware that they are fantasy visions?
Are you not aware that they are nouns?
Are you not aware that they are
A conventional basis for discussion?
Are you not aware that they are
What the mean minded teach as Dharma?
Are you not aware that everything is an intellectual game?
Are you not aware that the Dharmas of the intellect
Are of interpretable intent?

The triad of fantasy, vision, and craving
Does not gather any Dharma that is for the Dharma.

That is what he said.

It is said that the pinnacle of the Nine Vehicles of the Buddha’s Dharma is the Great Perfection, the Atiyoga or Dzogchen. The innermost essence of the Atiyoga is said to be the Yang Ti, and the quintessence of the Yang Ti is the sPyi Ti: The Universal Ti. Kissing the World is a core Tantra of the Universal Ti. It was Translated into Tibetan in the Eighth Century of our era by Padmasambhava of Orgyan working together with the Tibetan translator Kawa Peltsek. It is preserved in the Nyingma Gyubum, the Hundred Thousand Tantras of the Ancients. This Tantra is not like any other. Here we find a direct discussion of masculinity, femininity, and family relations as characterizing our path. There is prophesy and many upadeśa instructions. It touches on things that other Tantras do not mention, such as what to do when you are in a war, how to evaluate gurus, relationships between couples and children, how to use a phurba, and many other interesting topics. This is the first time a translation of a Root Tantra of the yoga of the Universal Ti has been translated into any Western language.

Lama Christopher Wilkinson begon zijn loopbaan in de Dharma op 15-jarige leeftijd met het afleggen van de toevluchtsgeloften van zijn stamleraar Dezhung Rinpoche. In de jaren die volgden introduceerde Dezhung Rinpoche hem bij Geshe Ngawang Nornang, Lama Kalu Rinpoche, Dilgo Kyentse Rinpoche, Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche, en vele anderen. Christopher identificeerde zich vanaf het begin met de Rime Non-Sectarische beweging.

Na een formele opleiding in Tibetaanse en Sanskriet talen, studeerde hij in 1980 af met een BA in Aziatische Talen en Literatuur en een BA in Vergelijkende Religie aan de Universiteit van Washington. Na twee jaar rondreizen langs de heilige plaatsen van Azië, onder meer in India en Nepal, werkte hij vijf jaar in de vluchtelingenopvang in Seattle, Washington. Omdat hij zich weer wilde verdiepen in boeddhistische studies, ging hij naar de Universiteit van Calgary, waar hij in 1988 zijn MA behaalde.

In 1990 ging Chris naar Sulawesi in Indonesië, waar hij drie jaar lang docent Engels was en onderzoek deed naar het oude Sri Vijaya-rijk. Terug in Amerika werkte hij als Research Associate voor de Shelly and Donald Rubin Foundation, waar hij een kleine rol speelde bij de vroege ontwikkeling van het Rubin Museum. Daarna doceerde hij vijf jaar lang als adjunct-professor aan de Universiteit van Calgary. Hij werd ook gedurende twaalf jaar Research Fellow aan het Centre de Recherches sur les Civilisations de l’Asie Orientale, Collège de France.

Vanaf 2012 begon hij vertalingen van Tibetaanse literatuur uit te brengen, te beginnen met de zeven delen van de Sakya Kongma Serie en momenteel met inbegrip van 30 delen van Grote Perfectie Tantras, en hij gaat nog steeds door met deze inspanning.