Causal-time is the time spent on the path leading to full enlightenment. It is for this reason that the causal-time Mahamudra is the Mahamudra practised before the attainment of Buddhahood. Resultant-time Mahamudra is the Union of No More Learning, which is the actual state of Buddhahood. Causal-time Mahamudra is further divided into two successive stages: the Mahamudra that is the amalgamation of spontaneous great bliss and emptiness and the Mahamudra that is the union of the two truths. The first union takes place when the subjective mind of spontaneous great bliss recognizes emptiness as its object. This emptiness is regarded as same in both Sutra and Secret Mantra. The only thing that differs is the mind realizing this emptiness. It is the subjective mind of spontaneous great bliss that makes Secret Mantra meditation superior to Sutra meditation. For the attainment of complete enlightenment one needs to realize the emptiness with the mind. The spontaneous great bliss can be experienced only when with the force of meditation one can cause the winds to enter and dissolve within the central channel. As a result of this action the white drop melts and flows through the central channel. This form of realising the emptiness through the spontaneous great bliss was essentially practised by the great Secret Mantra Masters of ancient India such as Saraha, Nagarjuna, Tilopa, Naropa, and Maitripa. The second stage of causal-time Mahamudra is the Mahamudra that is the union of the two truths: the conventional and the ultimate. Here the pure illusory body is known as conventional truth. Combining these two truths within one person's field is known as the Mahamudra. This Mahamudra is known as the the union of bliss and emptiness. Causal-time Mahamudra therefore contains both a cause and a result. Through the force of accomplishing this two-stage causal-time Mahamudra we will attain the resultant-time Mahamudra, or actual Buddhahood possessing the seven pre-eminent qualities of embrace. This concludes the explanation of the general paths of Secret Mantra. |