Commentary 1.2: The classification (of commitments)

[The Nature of Commitments which are to be Guarded (556.4-573.3):]

There are five aspects—verbal definition, classification, beneficial attributes, retributions exacted (for their violation), and their means of restoration.

[ii. The classification (of commitments) has three parts, namely, the essential classification, the ancillary classification, and the inconceivable classification.]

1. The essential classification

The first comprises both the actual essence and its classification. As to the former, there are both basic and ancillary commitments. Basic commitments are said to be those which, in the manner of the roots of a tree, are the source of attributes when they are guarded and cultivated but not when they are unguarded. Ancillary commitments are said to be the skillful means and aids through which those (basic commitments) are guarded.

As to the latter, those (essential commitments) are divided into fifteen—five which are basic and ten which are ancillary. The five basic commitments are not to abandon the unsurpassed (vehicle), to venerate the guru, not to interrupt the mantras and seals, to have loving kindness for those who enter the genuine path, and not to divulge secret truths to others.

Concerning the first basic commitment: One should never abandon the Three Precious Jewels. This means on analysis that, according to the ground, one should not abandon all sentient beings because they abide primordially as the Three Precious Jewels. According to the path, one should not abandon the twofold enlightened mind, ultimate and relative, the nature in which creation and perfection stages are without duality.^[1] According to the result, one should not abandon the three bodies of the unsurpassed Buddhas, their Buddha-speech which comprises the literary transmissions of Sūtra and Tantra along with the doctrines of realisation, and the community which studies these.

[The mind of sentient beings is itself explained to be primordially pure Buddha-hood (Ch. 12.14):]

Mind-as-such is the perfect Buddha.
Do not search elsewhere for the Buddha.

The speech which emerges from the cycle of syllables is also explained to be the doctrine.

The Indestructible Reality (NGB. Vol. 15) says:

The languages of living beings
Which emerge from the vowels and consonants
Are the genuine doctrine.

The community is explained to be formed by those who become fields of merit and virtue.

As said in the Tantra of Excellent Attainment (T. 807):

All living beings without exception
Are themselves the virtuous community
Because they accomplish the doctrine in two ways—
They belong to the family which Increases
The aspects of merit including liberality
And to that which also attains virtue.

Furthermore, mind-as-such, the essence which is both relative and ultimate, is the naturally pure Buddha. The two truths and the creation and perfection stages are the doctrine; and those who experientially cultivate them are the virtuous community.

It says in the Magical Net Pristine Cognition (NGB. Vol 15):

The Yogin who retains this nature of unerring truth
Is the embodiment of the Three Precious Jewels.

The three resultant aspects are also described in the following passage from the Supreme Continuum the Greater Vehicle (T. 4024):

The three refuges are established
By studying the teaching of the Teacher.

According to some expositors, the words "do not abandon the unsurpassed” refer only to a single object (of refuge), but they are incorrect because they have misunderstood the nature of the Precious Jewels.

The second, the veneration of the guru, comprises both the types of guru and the means of veneration. The former are five in number, among which (the first) is the guru who guides: Such teachers are exemplified by the preceptors of the renunciate vows who guide one to the gates of the doctrine.

It says in the Vinaya:

One should rise from one's seat
Immediately on seeing one's preceptor.

And in the Kārikā (T. 4125):

One should gently knock the door-bolt
Of the Guru's residence.
On entering one should reverently inquire
After the Guru's health and so forth.

(The second) is the guru who liberates the continuum of one's consciousness, exemplified by those masters who explain the doctrine.

The Great Sutra of Final Nirvāṇa (T. 119-121) says:

One should reverently hold as a Guru
The monks who expound the doctrine.

And in the Pagoda of Precious Gems (T. 45-93):

One who expounds the doctrine
Is the supreme and best among Gurus.
He is venerated as a supreme offering-tree
Among the conquerors.

(The third) is the guru who teaches the esoteric instructions and grants transmission, exemplified by the spiritual benefactors who cultivate the enlightened mind.

It says in the Sutra of the Arrayed Bouquet (T. 44):

He is the spiritual benefactor through whom I beginninglessly cultivated the enlightened mind.

(The fourth) is the master who repairs degeneration and violations (of the commitments), and becomes an object for the confession of sins.

It says in the Tantra of Excellent Attainment (T. 807):

The one to whom confession is made
Is indeed his guru.

(The fifth) is the guru who grants commitments and empowerment.

It says in the Oceanic Magical Net (NGB. Vol. 15):

The Guru of indestructible reality
From whom supreme empowerment is obtained
Is the Tathāgata.

In addition to these types there is also explained to be a sixth, namely, the guru whom all venerate as a holy being, and from whom all obtain a little kindness.

It says in the Clarification of Commitments (P. 4744):

There are the masters of all in general.
Those who guide, those who grant commitments.
Those who repair violations (of commitments).
Those who liberate the continuum of consciousness,
And those who reveal esoteric instructions and transmissions.

The latter concerns the means of venerating (the Guru): The Guru is regarded as a genuine object of merit, offering and so forth. Consequently, the self is considered as a disease, the teaching as a medication, its experiential cultivation to be efficacious in the mind, and the spiritual benefactor to resemble a learned physician.

It is said appropriately in the Sūtra of the Arrayed Bouquet (T. 44):

Son of an enlightened family, you should cultivate well the perception of the self as a disease, the doctrine as a medication, its experiential cultivation as the curing of the disease, and the perception of the spiritual benefactor as a skilled physician.

In particular, the master of indestructible reality (vajrācārya) or of secret mantras is venerated in three ways.

(Firstly) he is said to be the fourth precious jewel, as is stated in the Indestructible Peak (T. 480):

There is the Buddha, the doctrine
The community, and also the master
Who is the fourth (precious jewel).

The equality (of the guru) and the Buddha is also mentioned in the following passage from the Magical Net of Vairocana (T. 466):

The Guru is the same as all the Buddhas.

And (the Guru) is even held to be superior in the Guhyasamāja (T. 442-3), the glorious tantra of Buddha-mind:^[2]

A single hair-pore of the Guru is more supreme
Than all Buddhas of the ten directions.

Thus the guru is to be venerated in the ways which please him.

The third basic commitment, that the mantras and seals should not be interrupted, is also twofold. The mantras are a sequence of skillful means for attaining the accomplishments of the different deities, in which recitation is performed in five steps, beginning with the real nature of the deity.^[3] The seals are the aspects which facilitate this attaining of accomplishment, namely, the doctrinal seal of thought, the commitment seal of speech, the action seal of transformation, and the great seal of the deity's body.^[4]

The best way not to interrupt these (mantras and seals) is when their continuity resembles the flow of a river, the mediocre way is when one abides in sessions (of meditation) by day and night, and the worst is when they are not interrupted for a set period of months or years (in retreat), beginning on the fifteenth or eighth day of the month.^[5]

It says in the Flash of Splendour (T. 830):

The best perform recitation with a disposition
Which resembles the flow of a river
Or which does not waver day and night
For three days and three nights.
The mediocre do not interrupt (this flow)
For six or four periods during a single month.
In the worst cases, a Yogin with perseverance
Engages in laborious efforts
At set times during each month or each season.
Those who do not do so, abandon the seed of enlightenment,
And similarly the feast- and torma-offerings.
The worst type does not go beyond years and months.

The fourth basic commitment is loving kindness for those who enter into the genuine path. One should love such persons as a brother. in general there are six types of sibling, brother or sister: Universal siblings include all sentient beings who are primordially one's own brother or sister; siblings of unique teaching include all those who enter into the doctrine of the buddhas; harmonious siblings include those who have the same view and conduct; dear siblings are those who have the same guru; close siblings are those who listen to the doctrine together; and intimate siblings or vajra-brothers are those who receive empowerment together. in this context one should have loving kindness for those who enter into the path of liberation and the greater vehicle in general.

It says in the Sūtra of Queen Śrīmālā (T. 92):

Have loving kindness for those who are steadfast in enlightened mind, and who enter into the greater vehicle.

In particular, one should love one's vajra-brothers.

It says in the Flash of Splendour (T. 830):

One should always reject attitudes
Which cause distress to vajra-brothers,
And also attitudes which scorn all siblings
Who enter into the genuine path.
Whether intimate or not intimate.
Regard one another with love.
Abandoning the power to inflict (suffering).
In brief, one should fulfil the requirements
Of one's brothers and sisters
Without attachment even to life itself.
Therefore, one's vajra-brothers
From this time until enlightenment
Are supreme friends with whom one inseparably associates.
Similar to the light and the wick of a butter-lamp.

The fifth basic commitment, the one not to divulge secret truths, indicates that the profound view, meditation, conduct and result of the secret mantras are most secret to living beings who are unworthy recipients.

It says in the Propensity for the Commitments (P. 4745):

There are ten categories, namely,
General secrets and interim secrets.
Each of which number four.
Along with worthy secrets.
And entrusted instructions.
The four kinds of general secret
Are explained to be profundity of view and conduct.
Retention of the deity's name
And the signs of accomplishment.
The interim secrets to be acquired
Are the places, times, assistants.
And sacraments associated with attainment.
The commitments which are worthy secrets are:
The first fruits of offering,
Torma-cakes, feast-offerings, skulls,
Kīlas, butter-lamps, sacraments.
Hand-implements and maṇḍalas
Which should never be seen by ordinary persons;
The sound of the bell, trinklets and so forth
Which should never ring in the hearing of ordinary persons;
The faults of friends, supressed irritations
Negative conduct of all sentient beings.
And actions harmful to all.
If kept most secret,
Are the causal basis of enlightenment.
Entrustment refers to the instruction
Previously explained by one's master and siblings.

Thus, profound view, profundity of conduct, retention of the deity's name, and signs of accomplishment are the four general secrets. The places, times, assistants, and sacraments for attainment are the four interim secrets. The first fruits of offering, torma-cakes and so forth are the sacraments of commitment which it is improper to see and which are worthy secrets; and entrustment refers to injunctions such as are given by one's 6 master and siblings.

Concerning the ones from whom these ten categories should be kept secret, the same text says:

(They should be kept secret)
From all those whose commitments have been violated.
From those who have erred in their commitments.
And those without commitments
Who have not seen the maṇḍala.
Whether they are intimate or not.

And in the Flash of Splendour (T. 830) it says:

To persons who are unworthy recipients
The times and circumstances (for attainment)
Should be entirely secret.
They should not even be explained
To those who are worthy recipients
Until empowerment has been obtained.

If such secrecy is kept, the same text says:

The mind should not think to teach.
The body performs all its activities covertly.
And speech should not be expressed.
Even though one has the tongue of indestructible reality.

So it is that, among the basic commitments, those not to abandon the deity, to venerate the guru who is the source of accomplishment, and the commitment not to interrupt the mantras and seals are the commitments through which extraordinary enlightened attributes are attained. Their ancillary commitments, which require one to respect those who enter into the genuine path, along with one's brothers and sisters, and not to divulge secret truths to others are the commitments to be guarded because they respectively guard against contradictions of the guru's mind, and guard against contradictions of the reality of deity, mantras and seals.

There are some who say that the commitments to be attained are those concerning the deities along with the mantras and seals, whereas those to respect the guru and siblings, and not to divulge secrets are commitments to be guarded because they guard against contradictions of the Buddha-mind. However that is not the case.

It says in the Buddhasamāyoga (T. 366-7):

The great commitments to be attained
Are those not to abandon the deity and Guru.
And not to interrupt the mantras and seals.

Indeed, the Guru is the basis on whom accomplishment is to be attained. Accomplishments emerge when he is pleased.

The same text says:

Completely reject all offerings,
And commence with genuine offerings to the Guru.
Through pleasing him, the supreme attributes
Of omniscience emerge without exception.

And in the Indestructible Reality (NGB. Vol. 15):

The mighty lord of the maṇḍala is the Guru himself.

The guru is thus said to be central in the maṇḍala of deities. Those quotations from the scriptures contradict (the aforementioned wrong opinion) and explain that (devotion to) the guru is exclusively one of the commitments to be attained because it is absolutely necessary to please him.

These five basic commitments are also present in the three commitments of Buddha-body, speech and mind because they do not transgress the three respective natures of Buddha-body, speech and mind. For example, in the commitment not to abandon the unsurpassed, one should practise veneration through body, praise through speech and respect through mind. Similarly one should have respect for the guru, and for one's siblings through body, speech, and mind. Then, the commitment concerning mantras and seals also utilises the body, speech, and mind in their entirety; while the commitment to secrecy is kept secret and concealed by activities of body, speech, and mind.

There are some who say that respect for the Guru and siblings is a commitment of Buddha-body because it basically concerns the activity of the body. that the commitments not to abandon the deity and not to interrupt the mantras and seals are those of Buddha-speech. i.e. the aspects of recitation, and that the one not to divulge secret truths is a commitment of Buddha-mind because it is to be pondered in the mind. This, however, is an incorrect perception because (all the commitments) are similarly endowed (with body, speech and mind) when they are developed.^[6]

The latter concerns the ten ancillary commitments, of which there are five not to be abandoned and five to be acquired. The former are the five conflicting emotions, which are not to be abandoned (firstly) because their true nature is known, (secondly) because when retained by skillful means they assist the path, and (thirdly) because they are the Buddha-body and pristine cognition.^[7]

The first (of these reasons) is in two parts, among which the conflicting emotions are not to be abandoned (primarily) because they are the enlightened families or seeds of the Buddhas.

There is a Sūtra which says:^[8]

The real nature of the deluded mind
Is the real nature of Vajrasattva.
The real nature of Vajrasattva
Is the suchness of reality.

And also in the Sūtra Revealed By Vimalakīrti (T. 176) there is a passage which begins:

Conflicting emotions are the seeds of the Tathāgata.

(Secondly), conflicting emotions are not to be abandoned because they are naturally pure and thus neither to be accepted nor rejected. Even on a relative level conflicting emotions resemble a mirage. They are abandoned of their own accord because they are Instantaneously impermanent, and their appearances do not need to be abandoned because they do not exist as phenomena with true recognisable substance or essence. Therefore they are not to be abandoned.

It says in the Indestructible Reality (NGB. Vol. 15):

Conflicting emotions are apparitional.
Empty of inherent existence.
One who knows their true nature
Of natural impermanence is liberated.

Ultimately, too, conflicting emotions are not abandoned because they do not substantially exist. Though sought everywhere, they are not found as such.

It says in the Sūtra of the Irreversible (T. 240):

Ignorance resembles space.
All things are without characteristics.
There is neither desire not hatred.
All pride and envy are apparitional.
Without inherent existence.
Unsupported, they are not referred to
As existent or non-existent.

And in the Introduction to the Conduct of a Bodhisattva (T. 3871):

Conflicting emotions do not abide in objects.
They do not abide in space.
They are not present in the sense-organs and so forth.
Nor are they in between.

And:

In these things which are primordially empty:
What is gained and what is lost?
What is unpleasant and what is pleasant?
Let phenomenal beings, such as "I",
Accept all things to resemble space.

The second reason why conflicting emotions are not to be abandoned is because they assist the path when retained by skillful means: The five conflicting emotions are the nature of the five pristine cognitions. By experientially cultivating their nature according to the esoteric instructions, one resorts to a shortcut.

It says in the Oceanic Magical Net (NGB. Vol. 15):

The path of conflicting emotions is most pure.
It is the supreme ornament or desired attribute
On the path of skillful means.
Absolutely everything is transformed through that display
Swiftly into the glorious Heruka.

This nature (of conflicting emotions) is also mentioned in the sūtras, as in the following passage from the Pagoda of Precious Gems (T. 45-93):

Just as the unclean manure of cities
Benefits fields of sugar-cane,
So the manure which is the conflicting emotion of Bodhisattvas
Benefits the fields of the conquerors' doctrine.

And in the Collection the Greater Vehicle (T. 4048):

For those who possess the great skillful means,
Conflicting emotions are transformed into aspects of enlightenment.

Moreover, if there are no conflicting emotions to be abandoned, it is incorrect to renounce them because even the antidotes which effect renunciation do not emerge. If, however, conflicting emotions do have an apparent reality, it is not to be abandoned because reality itself should be actualised, inasmuch as the reality in which they are empty of inherent existence is also present. in addition. conflicting emotions are not to be abandoned because, dependent on them, one brings about subsidiary benefits for sentient beings.

However, you might ask, if conflicting emotions are not abandoned, surely enlightened attributes are not produced and Buddha-hood is not obtained? The enlightened attributes of the path and the result are obtained exclusively through the seed of conflicting emotions. This is because that seed is pristine cognition and is experienced as such.

Then, one might ask, do they not connect and bind beings within negative existences and so forth? If the true nature of conflicting emotions has been known and then experienced, one is uncovered by flaws, and one acquires exclusively the physical forms and results experienced by happy beings.

There are some who say that if conflicting emotions are made into the path they either must or must not be retained by skillful means. If they must be retained, the skillful means rather than the conflicting emotions would be made into the path. And if they must not be retained, it is implicit that (this path) would not be superior to the ordinary (path).^[9]

When this argument is raised, it is explained that barley is held to be made into porridge, but that at the time when (the barley) is roasted and ground it does not become porridge. Instead it becomes flour. If, however, that flour is not actually prepared, there will be no porridge. How would one respond to that? is it not that the porridge is produced through the causal basis or barley and the conditions of roasting and grinding? in this context too, it is invariably the case that the conflicting emotions of causal basis are made into the path through skillful means or conditions. The very object that is endowed with conflicting emotions is seen as an object of renunciation by pious attendants and self-centred buddhas. It is seen as an object of conduct by bodhisattvas, it is seen as an object of purity by ordinary adherents of the secret mantras, and it is seen as an object to be acquired by the uncommon (adherents). For example, Just as things fashioned from gold have a single nature but are dirty when made into a wash-basin, clean when

made into a trough, ornamental when made into bracelets, and become receptacles of offering when made into the representative images of deities, although (conflicting emotions) are conditionally perceived in that way by the different vehicles, their essence is primordially pure pristine cognition. This is truly why the nature of conflicting emotions which are transformed into the realities of ground, path and result are not to be renounced.

The third reason is that conflicting emotions are not to be abandoned because they are the Buddha-bodies and pristine cognitions.

It says in the Twenty-Eight Commitments (from the Clarification of the Commitments, p. 4744):

This is because the five conflicting emotions including envy
Are the primordial nature of the five enlightened families.

In this way, delusion is the commitment of Vairocana, who has the pristine cognition of reality's expanse and belongs to the enlightened family of the Tathāgata. Hatred is the commitment of Akṣobhya who has the mirror-like pristine cognition and belongs to the enlightened family of indestructible reality. Pride is the commitment of Ratnasambhava who has the pristine cognition of sameness and belongs to the enlightened family of gemstones. Desire is the commitment of Amitābha who has the pristine cognition of discernment and belongs to the enlightened family of the lotus. And envy is the commitment of Amoghasiddhi who has the pristine cognition of accomplishment and belongs to the enlightened family of activity. Therefore, it is taught that from the moment of the appearance of the five conflicting emotions which arise in all the minds of living beings they are not to be abandoned because they are present as the Buddha-bodies and pristine cognitions.

As for the five commitments to be acquired: these are the five nectars. They are to be acquired because they are in fact the display of primordial reality where there is neither acceptance nor rejection.

It says in the Supplementary Magical Net (NGB. Vol. 14):

The five nectars are primordially pure phenomena.
Transcending all without acceptance or rejection,
They are to be acquired by the learned
As the supreme primordial commitments to be guarded.

These nectars are also to be acquired because they are the nature of the five enlightened families.

It says in the Penetrating Magical Net (NGB. vol. 15):

The five nectars are the bodies.
Excrement, urine, and seminal fluids
Of the five enlightened families.

These are Indeed to be acquired because they are sacraments for attaining accomplishment.

It says in the Guhyasamāja (T. 442-3):

The supreme commitment of human flesh
Brings the accomplishment of the three supreme
Indestructible realities.^[10]

And so forth.

Furthermore, these are to be acquired because, dependent on the five nectars and the five meats, the dāklnīs are gathered and accomplishments are approached.^[11]

It says in a Sūtra:^[12]

If one eats the flesh of cow, dog and horse.
And the flesh of human and elephant and so forth
All enlightened attributes will be accomplished.
These are our excellent commitments.

And:

When the countless conquerors of the past
Emphatically practised these five ascetic disciplines.
They grasped the supreme commitments.
So these are renowned among the commitments of the past.

So the nectars are also to be acquired because they assist one in the conduct of ascetic discipline.

2. The ancillary classification

The second section (of the classification of commitments to be guarded) concerns the ancillary classification of three hundred and sixty. Now, commitment is the nature of the deity. The basis of all the deities is skillful means and discriminative awareness. Therefore, in any one of the five basic commitments such as not abandoning the unsurpassed, the basis is skillful means and discriminative awareness. These two become six when divided according to Buddha-body, speech, and mind; and these (six) become thirty when each is divided according to Buddha-body, speech, mind, attributes and activities. With the addition of the basic two (categories) of skillful means and discriminative awareness, they number thirty-two. Then, by dividing all five (basic commitments) in that way, they number one hundred and sixty in all.^[13]

As for (the remaining) two hundred ancillary commitments: there are ten ancillary commitments, such as not to abandon desire, each of which comprises both skillful means and discriminative awareness.. Skillful means then has ten aspects, concerning the five pristine cognitions and their five objects, while discriminative awareness also has ten aspects—concerning the five pristine cognitions and their five objects. These two groups of ten make twenty, and all the ten (ancillary commitments) possess these twenty aspects, making two hundred altogether.^[14]

Rong-zom-pa claims in his Precious Jewel Commentary (dkon-cog 'grel) that It is from the ancillary commitments that this ancillary classification should be made: Each one of (the ten ancillary commitments) subsumes within it the fivefold Buddha-body, speech, mind, attributes and activities, and the three foundations of Buddha-body, speech and mind so that the latter are not themselves the basis for this ancillary classification. As for the two basic categories of skillful means and discriminative awareness, skillful means is endowed with discriminative awareness and discriminative awareness is endowed with skillful means. Both these basic categories are subsumed, making four aspects, and these too are subdivided according to the fivefold Buddha-body, speech, mind, attributes and activities. Therefore, without being grounded in the basic (commitments), this category consists of each ancillary commitment, subdivided into its twenty aspects.^[15]

He says:

These commitments are classified as attributes. This enumeration of different characteristics is not explained to refer to distinct (commitments).

3. The inconceivable classification

The third section is the inconceivable classification: As antidotes, the subdivisions of the commitments equal the number of ideas accumulated by sentient beings, so that they are not confined to one specific enumeration.

It says in the Clarification of Commitments (P. 4744):

Concerning the number of commitments:
Beyond description by the conquerors themselves.
The number of commitments which are antidotes
For the training of thoughts
Equals the number of sentient beings,
And the number of erroneous thoughts.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

On "ultimate and relative enlightened mind" (don-dam-pa-dang kun-rdzob byang-chub-kyi sems), see above Ch. 2. On the utpattikrama and sampannakrama, see Chs. 11-13. The nonduality of these two stages indictates the Great Perfection (rdzogs-pa chen-po).

[2]:

On the structure which refers to this tantra as that of Buddha-mind, see above, Introduction, pp. 33-36.

[3]:

On the five steps for the recitation of mantra, see above, pp. 850-851. under "five aspects of attainment according to the secret mantras."

[4]:

On the "four seals," see above. Ch. 8, pp. 711-745.

[5]:

The fifteenth day of the lunar calendar being dedicated to Śākyamuni Buddha. and the eighth to the eight Buddhas of medicine.

[6]:

Cf. Lo-chen, op. cit., p. 420, where this is considered as an alternative means of explaining the five basic commitments in an abbreviated form.

[7]:

The pañcakleśa of delusion, hatred, desire, pride and envy, as stated above, pp. 393-394 and in other tantras such as Guhyasamāja, are actually the pañcakula and pañcajñāna in their purified state. Cf. Lo-chen, op. cit.. pp. 420-421. On the retaining of them as skillful means, in addition to the following explanation, see NSTB, Book 1, Pt. 4, pp. 131b-143a.

[8]:

N.L.

[9]:

This discussion is closely paralleled by the argument at the beginning of NSTB, Book 1, Pt. 4, p. 131b-132a.

[10]:

The "three supreme indestructible realities" (rdo-rje gsum mchog) are the Buddha-body, speech and mind.

[11]:

The five meats (sha-lnga) are enumerated in the following verses. The "gathering of Ḍākinīs" (mkha'-'gro 'du-ba) is one of the three "gatherings" connected with enlightened activity and its accomplishments, viz. "the gathering of people during the day" (nyin-mor mi 'du-ba), the "gathering of Ḍākinīs by night" (mtshan-mor mkha'-'gro 'du-ba), and "the gathering of material resources at all times" (rtag-tu zas-nor 'du-ba). See NSTB, glossary of enumerations. For examples of this gathering of Ḍākinīs consequent on the offerings of meat and nectar, see the life of kLong-chen Rab-'byams-pa in NSTB, Book 2, Pt. 4, pp. 238-277.

[12]:

N.L.

[13]:

in Lo-chen's view, op. cit., p. 425, each of the five basic commitments has two aspects of skillful means and discriminative awarenesss, making ten. Each of the five basic commitments also has thirty further aspects, (i.e. the ten ancillary aspects multiplied by Buddha-body, speech and mind)—making one hundred and sixty aspects altogether.

[14]:

Lo-chen, op. cit., p. 425, concurs with this enumeration of two hundred ancillary commitments (10 times 2 times 10), although he does not indicate the nature of their subdivisions.

[15]:

As indicated in the following line, Rong-zom-pa's view appears to be that the ten ancillary commitments subsume within them all the other members of this classification. both those forming the enumeration of 160 and those forming the enumeration of 200. The three hundred and sixty are not therefore distinct commitments. but attributes of the ancillary commitments. Lo-chen, op. cit.. p. 425, advises those who wish to discover more about the 360 ancillary commitments to consult Līlāvajra's Samayānuśayanirdeśa. P. 4745.