Three samadhis

three samadhis (Skt. samādhi-traya; T. ting nge ’dzin gsum / ting nge 'dzin rnam pa gsum ཏིང་ངེ་འཛིན་གསུམ་ / ཏིང་ངེ་འཛིན་རྣམ་པ་གསུམ་). Three meditations (samadhi) through which the development stage proceeds, according to the Mahayoga tantras of the Nyingma school.

The three samadhis are:

1. samadhi of suchness (Skt. tathatāsamādhi; T. de bzhin nyid kyi ting nge 'dzin)
2. the samadhi of universal manifestation (Skt. prabhāsasamādhi; T. rab tu snang ba'i ting nge 'dzin / kun tu snang ba'i ting nge 'dzin)
3. the causal samadhi (Skt. hetusamādhi; T. rgyu'i ting nge 'dzin)

Cortland Dahl states:

... Mahayoga stresses the visualizations and mantra recitations of the development stage. The meditative liturgies of this approach, moreover, are extremely elaborate, with detailed visualizations that may involve hundreds of figures. The three absorptions, or three samadhis, form the framework for Mahayoga meditation. With these three steps, the meditator immerses the mind in emptiness, compassion, and then the union of these two—expressed as a seed syllable—before moving on to the complex visualizations and mantra recitations of development stage proper.

Patrul Rinpoche states:

Begin [the development stage practice] by laying a foundation for practice with the three absorptions. In a state of simplicity, settle evenly in the basic space of great emptiness. This is the vajralike absorption of suchness. Next, cultivate a sense of illusory compassion towards all the beings that do not have this realization. This constitutes the illusory absorption of total illumination. Finally, as the expression of these two, meditate on the seed syllable of the deity you are practicing. This is the causal absorption, the heroic gait.

Jim Valby describes the three samadhis as follows:

1. contemplation of the essential nature where one meditates on the intrinsic emptiness of all phenomena,
2. contemplation of total manifestation where one meditates on equanimous compassion for all sentient beings, and
3. contemplation on the cause where one concentrates on the seed syllable of the yidam deity.

Alternative translations

• the three absorptions (Dharmachakra Translation Committee):
  • absorption of suchness
  • absorption of total illumination
  • causal absorption
• the three meditative concentrations (Tsepak Rigdzin)
  • meditative concentration of suchness
  • the all-apparent meditative concentration
  • the causal concentration.

Sources

• Dahl, Cortland (2009), Entrance to the Great Perfection: A Guide to the Dzogchen Preliminary Practices, Shambhala 
• Jigme Lingpa; Patrul Rinpoche; Getse Mahapandita (2006), Deity, Mantra, and Wisdom: Development Stage Meditation in Tibetan Buddhist Tantra, translated by Dharmachakra Translation Committee, Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications 

Further reading

Print publications:

• Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Pure Appearance—Development and Completion Stages in the Vajrayana Practice (Halifax: Vajravairochana Translation Committee, 2002), pages 18-28.
• Jigme Lingpa, Patrul Rinpoche, and Getse Mahapandita, Deity, Mantra and Wisdom: Development Stage Meditation in Tibetan Buddhist Tantra, translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee (Ithaca: Snow Lion, 2007), pages 31-36 & pages 110-113.
• Padmasambhava and Jamgön Kongtrül, The Light of Wisdom, Vol II, translated by Erik Pema Kunsang (Boudhanath, Hong Kong & Esby: Rangjung Yeshe, 1998), pages 87-92.

Web publications:

• ཏིང་ངེ་འཛིན་གསུམ་, Christian-Steinert Dictionary
• ཏིང་ངེ་འཛིན་རྣམ་པ་གསུམ་, Christian-Steinert Dictionary
• Three samadhis, Rigpa Shedra Wiki