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The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma #3
The Tantric Path of Indestructible Wakefulness
The essential teachings on the tantric path to complete awakening, presented here in volume three of Chögyam Trungpa's magnum opus, which offers a systematic overview of the entire path of Tibetan Buddhism.
The third volume of this landmark series presents the vajrayana teachings of the tantric path. The vajrayana, or “diamond vehicle,” also referred to as tantra, draws upon and extends the teachings of the hinayana and mahayana. As with the hinayana and the mahayana, the formal acceptance into the vajrayana is marked by a vow, in this case the samaya vow. There is an emphasis at this stage on the student-teacher relationship and on the quality of devotion. Generally, students must complete preliminary practices, called ngöndro, to prepare themselves for initiation into the vajrayana path before going further. Having done so, they then receive the appropriate empowerments to begin tantric practices. There are empowerment ceremonies of many kinds, called abhishekas. The vajrayana includes both form practices, such as visualizations and sadhanas (ritual liturgies), and formless practices based on allowing the mind to rest naturally in its inherent clarity and emptiness. Although on the surface, there is much greater complexity in tantric practices, the principles of mindfulness and awareness and the cultivation of compassion and skillful action continue to be of central importance.
The tantric path requires complete engagement and fierce dedication. It is said to be a more rapid path, but it is also more dangerous. There is a quality of directness, abruptness, and wholeheartedness. Tantrikas, or vajrayana practitioners, recognize that the most challenging aspects of life, the energies and play of confused emotions and frightening obstacles, can be worked with as gateways to freedom and realization. Other topics covered in detail in this volume include the four reminders, the mandala principle, mahamudra, atiyoga, and more.
The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma represents meditation master Chögyam Trungpa’s greatest contribution to Western Buddhism. This three-volume collection presents in lively, relevant language the comprehensive teachings of the Tibetan Buddhist path of the hinayana, mahayana, and vajrayana. This work will resonate with new students of Buddhism as well as the most senior students.
The third volume of this landmark series presents the vajrayana teachings of the tantric path. The vajrayana, or “diamond vehicle,” also referred to as tantra, draws upon and extends the teachings of the hinayana and mahayana. As with the hinayana and the mahayana, the formal acceptance into the vajrayana is marked by a vow, in this case the samaya vow. There is an emphasis at this stage on the student-teacher relationship and on the quality of devotion. Generally, students must complete preliminary practices, called ngöndro, to prepare themselves for initiation into the vajrayana path before going further. Having done so, they then receive the appropriate empowerments to begin tantric practices. There are empowerment ceremonies of many kinds, called abhishekas. The vajrayana includes both form practices, such as visualizations and sadhanas (ritual liturgies), and formless practices based on allowing the mind to rest naturally in its inherent clarity and emptiness. Although on the surface, there is much greater complexity in tantric practices, the principles of mindfulness and awareness and the cultivation of compassion and skillful action continue to be of central importance.
The tantric path requires complete engagement and fierce dedication. It is said to be a more rapid path, but it is also more dangerous. There is a quality of directness, abruptness, and wholeheartedness. Tantrikas, or vajrayana practitioners, recognize that the most challenging aspects of life, the energies and play of confused emotions and frightening obstacles, can be worked with as gateways to freedom and realization. Other topics covered in detail in this volume include the four reminders, the mandala principle, mahamudra, atiyoga, and more.
The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma represents meditation master Chögyam Trungpa’s greatest contribution to Western Buddhism. This three-volume collection presents in lively, relevant language the comprehensive teachings of the Tibetan Buddhist path of the hinayana, mahayana, and vajrayana. This work will resonate with new students of Buddhism as well as the most senior students.
944 pages, Paperback
First published March 12, 2013
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About the author
Chögyam Trungpa
132 books809 followersVidyadhara Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche (Tibetan: ཆོས་ རྒྱམ་ དྲུང་པ་ Wylie: Chos rgyam Drung pa; also known as Dorje Dradul of Mukpo, Surmang Trungpa, after his monastery, or Chökyi Gyatso, of which Chögyam is an abbreviation) was a Buddhist meditation master, scholar, teacher, poet, and artist. He was the 11th descendent in the line of Trungpa tulkus of the Kagyü school of Tibetan Buddhism. He was also trained in the Nyingma tradition, the oldest of the four schools, and was an adherent of the rimay or "non-sectarian" movement within Tibetan Buddhism, which aspired to bring together and make available all the valuable teachings of the different schools, free of sectarian rivalry.
Trungpa was a significant figure in the dissemination of Tibetan Buddhism to the West, founding Naropa University and establishing the Shambhala Training method, a presentation of the Buddhadharma largely devoid of ethnic trappings. In 1963, he moved to England to study comparative religion, philosophy, and fine arts at Oxford University. During this time, he also studied Japanese flower arranging and received an instructors degree from the Sogetsu school of ikebana. In 1967, he moved to Scotland, where he founded the Samye Ling meditation centre.
Shortly thereafter, a variety of experiences—including a car accident that left him partially paralyzed on the left side of his body—led him to give up his monastic vows and work as a lay teacher. In 1969, he published Meditation in Action , the first of fourteen books on the spiritual path published during his lifetime. The following year he married Diana Pybus and moved to the United States, where he established his first North American meditation centre, Tail of the Tiger (now known as Karmê-Chöling) in Barnet, Vermont.
In 1986, he moved to Nova Scotia, Canada, where hundreds of his students had settled. That Autumn, after years of heavy alcohol use, he had a cardiac arrest, and he died of heart failure the following Spring. His legacy is carried on by his son, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, under the banner of Shambhala International and the Nalanda Translation Committee.
Trungpa was a significant figure in the dissemination of Tibetan Buddhism to the West, founding Naropa University and establishing the Shambhala Training method, a presentation of the Buddhadharma largely devoid of ethnic trappings. In 1963, he moved to England to study comparative religion, philosophy, and fine arts at Oxford University. During this time, he also studied Japanese flower arranging and received an instructors degree from the Sogetsu school of ikebana. In 1967, he moved to Scotland, where he founded the Samye Ling meditation centre.
Shortly thereafter, a variety of experiences—including a car accident that left him partially paralyzed on the left side of his body—led him to give up his monastic vows and work as a lay teacher. In 1969, he published Meditation in Action , the first of fourteen books on the spiritual path published during his lifetime. The following year he married Diana Pybus and moved to the United States, where he established his first North American meditation centre, Tail of the Tiger (now known as Karmê-Chöling) in Barnet, Vermont.
In 1986, he moved to Nova Scotia, Canada, where hundreds of his students had settled. That Autumn, after years of heavy alcohol use, he had a cardiac arrest, and he died of heart failure the following Spring. His legacy is carried on by his son, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, under the banner of Shambhala International and the Nalanda Translation Committee.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 26, 2025
"It is impossible to present vajrayana in its fullest sense. If there is enough general confusion, hinayana can be presented; and if there is enough confusion about benevolence, love, and religiosity, mahayana can be presented; but nobody would be crazy enough to present or to listen to vajrayana anywhere on this earth. Nonetheless, at this point, society has gone crazy, confusions dawn everywhere, and spiritual disciplines have gotten corrupted; and because of that, somehow or other, it is possible to present the vajrayana. In this land of North America, this beautiful land, it has become possible to present the vajrayana. That possibility has come about because of the ancestors of my tradition."
"Once a teaching is received, whatever yana it may be, you might find that it is very comfortable and you can relax in it. That becomes a problem. With each new yana, you may have to give up the feeling of protection or security of the previous yanas. And you need to keep doing this until you have actually exhausted everything completely, until you no longer need to rely on any form of security. So even though the yanas are vehicles, you have to abandon those vehicles. You have to get into a diamond jet at some point."
"The vajrayana is referred to as the imperial yana. It is a coming down rather than a going up, like relating with snowfall or rain, as opposed to relating with grass, flowers, and trees. Coming down is much more immediate and personal. The imperial yana is associated with the view that postmeditation practice is important."
"Our perspective is that all dharmas, and the existence of oneself and others, are included in the dharmakaya; therefore, we find that the whole of phenomena is no longer subject to discussion about whether it is for us or against us."
"When you walk into an atmosphere of chinlap, you are exasperated throughout your entire being. You find yourself involved in that particular world because there is no other way. That is the vajrayana attitude toward blessings: you have no choice. You are swallowed up by the heavy atmosphere, and it is very full, very proper, and very good."
"The vajrayana is very special. It is respected even by the theists, because they see that there is something going on that is more than religiosity, more than purely wisdom of a common type. In the vajrayana, we regard the world as even more sacred than the theists regard it. From our point of view, the world is intrinsically good and sacred and celebratory and cheerful. In the vajarayana, there is a quality of splendidness and terrificness. Our world is more than we can see, more than we can perceive, and there is tremendous splendor involved... Brahma, Allah, and Jehovah respect the dharma because of that."
"In this context, the idea of miracles and magic is that from those overwhelming blessings, we begin to feel that we have accomplished something. We develop great dignity and fearlessness out of that. We begin to feel as if we could actually command the four elements to be at our service. And that actually does happen as we go on, which comes later, I suppose."
"You begin to find that you are so uplifted that you have transformed yourself from an ordinary lower-level person. In particular, you have freed yourself from the lower existences: from the hell realm, the hungry ghost realm, and the animal realm. You are so uplifted, you are about to become superhuman or you have actually become superhuman; therefore, there is no fear of primitivism. You don't feel like a worm or cockroach, and you don't feel as if you are crawling on the floor in the dirt. Because you have experienced such strong blessings, you feel fully charged. You feel you are somebody."
"Having received confirmation, you then go beyond that. You begin to realize that confirmation means your whole being is 'vajra-fied', so to speak. Your body is no longer feeble and sickly, your speech is no longer stuttering, halfhearted and low-key, and your mind is no longer depressed or confused, but is strong and cheerful. At this point, your whole being—your body, speech, and mind—is vajra-fied at the level of bodhichitta.
You already developed benevolence in the mahayana, but in this case you develop vajra bodhichitta, adamantine bodhichitta. It is adamantine because there are no cracks in your awareness or in your understanding of the vajrayana. Your conviction and pride in the vajrayana are of one piece. It is a diamond-like situation. There are no cracks where dirt could get in, so there is total awareness happening all the time. It is one piece, which is very precise and good, healthy and wholesome. Therefore, you are no longer subject to obstacles or hazards of any kind."
"Once a teaching is received, whatever yana it may be, you might find that it is very comfortable and you can relax in it. That becomes a problem. With each new yana, you may have to give up the feeling of protection or security of the previous yanas. And you need to keep doing this until you have actually exhausted everything completely, until you no longer need to rely on any form of security. So even though the yanas are vehicles, you have to abandon those vehicles. You have to get into a diamond jet at some point."
"The vajrayana is referred to as the imperial yana. It is a coming down rather than a going up, like relating with snowfall or rain, as opposed to relating with grass, flowers, and trees. Coming down is much more immediate and personal. The imperial yana is associated with the view that postmeditation practice is important."
"Our perspective is that all dharmas, and the existence of oneself and others, are included in the dharmakaya; therefore, we find that the whole of phenomena is no longer subject to discussion about whether it is for us or against us."
"When you walk into an atmosphere of chinlap, you are exasperated throughout your entire being. You find yourself involved in that particular world because there is no other way. That is the vajrayana attitude toward blessings: you have no choice. You are swallowed up by the heavy atmosphere, and it is very full, very proper, and very good."
"The vajrayana is very special. It is respected even by the theists, because they see that there is something going on that is more than religiosity, more than purely wisdom of a common type. In the vajrayana, we regard the world as even more sacred than the theists regard it. From our point of view, the world is intrinsically good and sacred and celebratory and cheerful. In the vajarayana, there is a quality of splendidness and terrificness. Our world is more than we can see, more than we can perceive, and there is tremendous splendor involved... Brahma, Allah, and Jehovah respect the dharma because of that."
"In this context, the idea of miracles and magic is that from those overwhelming blessings, we begin to feel that we have accomplished something. We develop great dignity and fearlessness out of that. We begin to feel as if we could actually command the four elements to be at our service. And that actually does happen as we go on, which comes later, I suppose."
"You begin to find that you are so uplifted that you have transformed yourself from an ordinary lower-level person. In particular, you have freed yourself from the lower existences: from the hell realm, the hungry ghost realm, and the animal realm. You are so uplifted, you are about to become superhuman or you have actually become superhuman; therefore, there is no fear of primitivism. You don't feel like a worm or cockroach, and you don't feel as if you are crawling on the floor in the dirt. Because you have experienced such strong blessings, you feel fully charged. You feel you are somebody."
"Having received confirmation, you then go beyond that. You begin to realize that confirmation means your whole being is 'vajra-fied', so to speak. Your body is no longer feeble and sickly, your speech is no longer stuttering, halfhearted and low-key, and your mind is no longer depressed or confused, but is strong and cheerful. At this point, your whole being—your body, speech, and mind—is vajra-fied at the level of bodhichitta.
You already developed benevolence in the mahayana, but in this case you develop vajra bodhichitta, adamantine bodhichitta. It is adamantine because there are no cracks in your awareness or in your understanding of the vajrayana. Your conviction and pride in the vajrayana are of one piece. It is a diamond-like situation. There are no cracks where dirt could get in, so there is total awareness happening all the time. It is one piece, which is very precise and good, healthy and wholesome. Therefore, you are no longer subject to obstacles or hazards of any kind."
September 24, 2022
Very fascinating. I don’t think I’m ready to understand it yet, but the practices presented in the prior texts are clearly laying the foundation for a healthy empowerment
May 8, 2017
Great teachings from Chögyam of Vajrayana path including all Dzogchen & Mahamudra path
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews