A String of Pearls is a commentary on the Hevajra Tantra, one of the most important texts of the Yoginī tantra class of esoteric Buddhist literature. Written by the famous master and scholar Ratnākaraśānti, who himself was a holder of a Hevajra transmission lineage, this commentary is highly regarded by scholars and practitioners both past and present. Written in the pañjikā style, Ratnākaraśānti analyzes the root text word by word lexically and grammatically, and provides an exhaustive exegetical analysis on both the text itself and the key tenets of Yoginī tantra broadly. Taking a Yogācāra perspective, Ratnākaraśānti demonstrates that the tantra is in perfect agreement with the Buddhist sūtra tradition.
This publication was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The text was translated, edited, and introduced by the 84000 translation team. Wiesiek Mical produced the translation and wrote the introduction. The translation was then compared against the Tibetan translation found in the Degé Kangyur by Thomas Doctor, and edited by Ryan Damron. Ven. Konchog Norbu copyedited the text, and Martina Cotter was in charge of the digital publication process.
The translation of this text has been made possible through the generous sponsorship of an anonymous donor.
A String of Pearls is the Indian master Ratnākaraśānti’s commentary on the Hevajra Tantra, one of the most important and renowned tantras of the Yoginī class. As this tantra has been described at length in many sources (e.g., Szántó 2015), it will suffice here to provide only the most basic facts. The Hevajra Tantra was compiled around the turn of the ninth or tenth century,1 probably in East India, and has remained one of the most popular tantric texts, quoted extensively in later works such as the Sampuṭa Tantra and many other tantras and commentaries. The tantra is composed in two parts (kalpa), the first consisting of eleven chapters (paṭala) and the second of twelve. Apart from numerous Sanskrit manuscripts, the Sanskrit text is available in published editions, including Snellgrove 1959, Farrow 1992, Tripathi 2001, and Tripathi 2006, the last three of which are editions of Hevajra commentaries that include the root text of the tantra for the reader’s reference.
The Hevajra Tantra is also preserved in Tibetan and Chinese canonical translations, both dating to the middle of the eleventh century. The Tibetan translation was completed by the Indian scholar Gayādhara and his Tibetan disciple Drokmi Śākya Yeshé (brog mi shAkya ye shes), and the Chinese by the Indian monk Dharmapāla (Fahu; 法護). The Tibetan canon incorporates the two parts of the tantra as independent works, each with its own title (Toh. 418 and 419). The Hevajra Tantra was also known in Southeast Asia, including on the island of Sumatra, as supported by the evidence of Hevajra artifacts from that region.2 The tantra spawned a sizable body of exegetical literature, including explanatory tantras (vyākhyātantra) and commentaries, themselves including a few of the pañjikā-type that explain the text in a linear fashion, word by word and phrase by phrase. A String of Pearls belongs to the latter category.
The main deity of the Hevajra Tantra is the eponymous Hevajra. He is in the form of a heruka, a wrathful figure considered a sambhogakāya buddha—Vajrasattva, or sometimes Akṣobhya. Herukas are expressions of “vajra beings” (vajrasattva) who do not incarnate on earth as tathāgatas but are spontaneously present in each and every being as their innate state (sahaja)—the union of compassion and emptiness—as reflected, for example, in the epithet sahajaheruka, applied to Kālacakra and other herukas. Apart from Hevajra and Kālacakra, other well-known herukas are Cakrasaṃvara, Buddhakapāla, and Mahāmāyā.
The teachings presented in the Hevajra Tantra are delivered by Hevajra himself, addressed in the text as the “Blessed One” (bhagavat) and referred to throughout as Vajradhara (“Vajra Holder”) and Vajrasattva (“Vajra Being”). His other names, such as Picuvajra, Mahāsukha (“Great Bliss”), and Mahaccitta (“Great Mind”), also evoke some aspects of his nature. The combination of picu (“cotton fluff”) and vajra (something infinitely hard) in picuvajra could be an allusion to the union of the soft tenderness of his compassion and the vajra-like invincibility of his wrath, which cannot be challenged or manipulated in any way. The epithet mahāsukha refers to his nature of “great bliss,” generated through the union of compassion and emptiness.
The teachings of the Hevajra Tantra are delivered in response to the questions variously asked by the bodhisattva Vajragarbha, the goddess Nairātmyā, or collectively by the yoginīs of the Hevajra maṇḍala. The tantra covers a range of esoteric topics, including descriptions of the primary deities and their maṇḍala configuration, the derivation and use of mantras, rites to be employed for mundane and liberative purposes, the thirty subtle channels of the body, the use of secret gestures and codewords, and so forth. The primary concern of the Hevajra Tantra is, however, the innate state (sahaja) and its cultivation through initiation and practice within the elaborate framework of the Yoginī tantras, rooted in the ontological foundations of the Great Vehicle philosophy. Although present in every being, the innate state primarily remains unrecognized. The Hevajra Tantra explains how to recognize this state through the four initiations (abhiṣeka), the practice of the stage of arising (utpattikrama) and the stage of the arisen (utpannakrama), each of which can be further viewed in terms of either relative truth (saṃvṛtisatya) or absolute truth (paramārthasatya). In the most essential formulation, the basis of the practice of the stage of arising is the cultivation of the four joys (caturānanda), and the basis of the practice of the stage of the arisen is the cultivation of innate joy (sahajānanda). The recognition of the innate is equated with attaining the state of awakening (bodhi), which encompasses omniscient knowledge (sarvajñajñāna) and knowledge of all forms (sarvākārajñāna).
The joys are observed and marked (lakṣita) during ritualized sexual intercourse wherein the sexual partners identify themselves as Hevajra and Nairātmyā. They seek a glimpse of innate joy, which is most apparent when supreme joy (paramānanda), experienced at the moment of sexual climax, rapidly fades and turns into the joy of cessation (viramānanda). At this moment, the mind loses the support of pleasure that had filled it completely and is delivered into bare awareness, where the mind’s natural luminosity (prabhāsvara)—the basic, preconceptual clarity of mind—can be experienced and discerned. In terms of practice, this experience first occurs and is cultivated at the end of supreme joy and the onset of the joy of cessation (the second and the third joys respectively). According to Ratnākaraśānti, this experience of innate joy is said to be located, in relative terms, between these two joys. However, even though the moment of its recognition may be coterminous with the onset of the third joy, innate joy is ontologically excluded from the other three and seen as the “fourth” categorically, rather than sequentially. Because the Hevajra Tantra itself leaves room for interpretation, the issue of the correct sequence of the joys, specifically of the last two, developed into a crucial point of debate among proponents of the Hevajra system.3
Of the sixteen Indian commentaries on Hevajra that exist today, the two most important are, arguably, A String of Pearls, presented here, and Kāṇha’s The Jewel Garland of Yoga. Ratnākaraśānti lived from 970 to 1045
A String of Pearls, being a pañjikā-type commentary, is most clear when the reader refers directly to the Hevajra Tantra, as the commentary quotes and glosses words and phrases from the root text. Therefore, despite the fact that the root text was, to our knowledge, never transmitted in the same manuscripts as the commentary, we have included the root text of the Hevajra Tantra interspersed within the corresponding parts of the commentary. We have also adopted the convention of using boldface type to mark words and phrases from the root text that are glossed by Ratnākaraśānti in his commentary. A String of Pearls occasionally reflects different textual variants than are witnessed in other versions of the root text and its commentaries, variants that are natural given the vagaries in the transmission history of the Hevajra Tantra. Thus, commentators such as Ratnākaraśānti relied on different manuscript witnesses of the root text, and had their own understanding of what constituted the most valid readings. In this English translation we have adopted readings from the root text that align with Ratnākaraśānti’s reading, even when they may diverge from other published versions of the root text, including translations of the Hevajra Tantra and its commentaries published by 84000.
As noted above, Kāṇha’s The Jewel Garland of Yoga is considered one of the two most important commentaries on the Hevajra Tantra, along with Ratnākaraśānti’s A String of Pearls. It is historically possible that the two masters met in person, as Kāṇha was a late contemporary of Ratnākaraśānti, and his commentary contains many passages that closely align with Ratnākaraśānti’s in A String of Pearls.8 While there is significant alignment between the two commentaries, the most marked differences are due to different perspectives taken by their respective authors. While Ratnākaraśānti interprets the tantra from the perspective of the Yogācāra tradition, Kāṇha does so from the point of view of the Mādhyamika. But even these different doctrinal viewpoints are not sufficient to impact the doctrinal framework and soteriological core of the Hevajra Tantra, and the differences between the texts complement rather than contradict each other.
The primary source for this English translation is the Sanskrit edition of the Hevajra Tantra and A String of Pearls prepared by Ram Shankar Tripathi and Thakur Sain Negi and published by the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies (2001). Though this edition is not without its flaws and the preparation of a new edition remains desirable, it proved a workable basis for this translation, especially since its critical apparatus, which includes variant readings from eighteen Sanskrit manuscripts, was also carefully consulted. The team also made use of the two surviving Sanskrit palm-leaf witnesses of the text—MS K and MS T—which provided valuable insights into the oldest available strata of the textual record.
In addition to the published Sanskrit edition, we have also consulted the published and unpublished Sanskrit editions of passages from the Hevajra Tantra and A String of Pearls prepared by Harunaga Isaacson,9 which he kindly shared with the team, as well as Ryan Conlon’s forthcoming edition of the Hevajra Tantra with Kamalanātha’s commentary, the Ratnāvalī.
The English translation of the Hevajra Tantra and A String of Pearls was carefully compared with the Tibetan translations transmitted in the Degé Kangyur and Tengyur, as well as the critical apparatus from the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) of the Degé Kangyur and Tengyur. This apparatus was particularly useful for directing us to important variants in the Narthang and Kangxi versions of the translation of A String of Pearls.
This translation of A String of Pearls would not have been possible without the continued efforts of many people. We are deeply grateful to Professor Harunaga Isaacson for generously sharing his expertise with us on many different occasions, to Ryan Conlon for making available a draft of his edition of the Hevajra Tantra with Kamalanātha’s Ratnāvalī, and to all the other scholars and practitioners who shared their knowledge and insights with us.
[F.221.a]Oṁ, homage to the glorious Vajrasattva!10
Oṁ, homage to the glorious Hevajra!
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One dwelt in the places of blessing22 of the vajra women, which are the body, speech, and mind23 of all tathāgatas. [1.1.1]
The words “thus I” and so forth are part of the statement of the original setting,24 and therefore some say that this is itself a separate, abbreviated tantra. According to others, the two parts that constitute the present form of the tantra25 were extracted from a more extensive tantra, but were extracted together with the statement of the original setting in order to make it known that they are presented exactly as originally recited.26 Others say that the meaning of these words is supremely secret and altogether different.[F.221.b] This is not correct.27 If that were the case, it would not be right to speak about this supremely secret meaning at the beginning, because it will be specifically be expressed later on, and also because that meaning is simply not present in these syllables.28 Thus, the proponents of the latter view forcibly try to attribute content that will be presented later into a passage that has a different meaning in order to impress the ignorant. For this reason, the statement of the original setting is also given here. The Blessed One, moreover, taught, “My teachings should be recited, O monks, with the words ‘Thus did I hear.’ ” That is why the original reciter said, “Thus did I hear.”
The Teacher29 taught what he himself realized. These teachings are now recited as they were “heard” from the teacher. Accordingly, the word heard indicates that what is being presented here has been recited. Had this presentation been heard indirectly or in another similar way, it would not be reliable because of distortions in the course of transmission. Therefore, to exclude these possibilities, we have the two words “thus I.” Among these two, the word I means that it was “I myself” who heard these teachings directly from the Teacher, rather than obtaining them through a transmission lineage. The word thus means that I pass them on just as “I heard” them myself, and not otherwise. This is the meaning.
The residence of the Teacher in a suitable place at a particular time, and the presence of a suitable assembly, are the original setting for the teachings. In reference to this, the original reciter said “at one time,” and so forth. Time means occasion. The Blessed One is Vajradhara30 in the form of Hevajra. The six primary blessings31 are sovereignty and so forth. As is said:
- “The blessings are known to be six:
- Complete sovereignty,
- Knowledge, renown, splendor,
- Beauty, and meaningful endeavor.”32
Vajradhara possesses these “blessings,” therefore he is called Blessed One.33 He dwelt means that he dwelt in the mode of the four dwellings of a buddha, namely dwelling in deportment, in the mode of imparting teachings, attainment, and meditative seclusion. Dwelling implies abiding in meditative composure. Blessed buddhas continually abide in the state of meditative composure.[F.222.a] Consequently, any of their physical activities is their dwelling in right demportment. Any of their verbal activities is their dwelling in the mode of imparting teachings. During the attainment of samādhi, either their natural absorption or their mental activity is their dwelling in attainment. Any mental activity of the buddhas whereby they can dwell at ease in the physical world, or approach the states of gods and so forth, is their dwelling in meditative seclusion.
Where did he dwell? He dwelt in the places of blessing of the vajra women, which are the body, speech, and mind of all tathāgatas. The “body, speech, and mind” are a combination of the three secret constituents of all tathāgatas. Understanding body, speech, and mind to all be taken together,34 the form of the blessed Vajradhara is therefore also called dharmodaya, which has the nature of the perfectly pure reality of precisely these secret constituents of the tathāgatas. Since it is indeed a combination of these three secret constituents, it is therefore triangular. And since thusness is perfectly pure, it therefore has the white color of the autumn moon and is hollow within.35 Because the bodhisattva levels, Joyous and so forth, become increasingly vast from one level to the next, and because their purity ever increases, the dharmodaya also becomes broader and broader in the upward direction.36 And precisely that constitutes the ““places of blessing” of the vajra women, Locanā and so forth,37 because they embody the infinite dharmadhātu without defilements. For this very reason, it is “the body, speech, and mind of all tathāgatas” and, at the same time, the “places of blessing of the vajra women.” These two phrases together form a karmadhāraya compound.38 That he dwelt “in” them refers to the temple palace that is located there, just as the phrase “a wealthy person lives in the city” indicates “in a mansion in the city.” Just like “a wealthy person lives in the city” means that they live in a mansion in the city, such is also the case here.
Considering that the Blessed One’s place of dwelling is the most secret of all secret places, it surely follows that he will be giving the most secret among secret teachings. Accordingly, it is suitable to say an appropriate assembly had gathered.[F.222.b] This assembly, moreover, consisted of bodhisattvas, headed by Vajragarbha; of Locanā and the others;39 and of vajrayoginīs, headed by Gaurī.
There, the Blessed One said, “The essence of the body, speech and mind of all tathāgatas is revered and the most secret of the exceedingly secret. So it is, O Vajragarbha, deeply compassionate one, mahābodhisattva! Excellent! Excellent! Hear about the essence of the vajra being,40 the great being, the great samaya being,41 who is called Hevajra.” [1.1.2]
There means where he dwelt. Regarding the expression said, for what purpose did he speak? To arouse the thirst of the people listening.42 What did he say? He spoke the part beginning with “the essence.”43 The tathāgatas (“thus gone”) are so called as they have gone precisely in the way one should proceed,44 namely, by destroying all obscurations together with the habitual tendencies. Alternatively, the word “gone”45 conveys the sense of understanding; they are called tathāgatas because they have come to understand46 phenomena as they truly are, because at all times they have the correct understanding of all appearances and everything that can be known. Alternatively, by substituting the syllable ta for da,47 they are called tathāgatas because they teach in the way48 one should teach, insofar as they correctly teach the Dharma to people who require guidance according to their inclination, their social group, and according to what is right at a particular time.
The words all and tathāgatas are in a karmadhāraya relationship, meaning “all tathāgatas.” No one else but Vajradhara himself is their body, speech and mind. His essence, the essential part of him, is what is revered, that is to say, what is supremely divine. All the bodies, speech, and minds of mantra deities, devoid by nature of conceptual thought, are secret, because they are exceedingly difficult to have faith in.49 Those among them who are either wrathful or in union50 are the secret of secrets, that is to say they are exceedingly secret. The body, speech, and mind called Hevajra is supremely wrathful and excessively passionate. Therefore, he is the most secret of the exceedingly secret. The point is to say that those who have faith in him are very rare. So it is51 means “this is how it is.”
Once the thirst of the assembly members had been thus aroused, three questions52 arose in their minds. The first question was, “If this is the most secret of the exceedingly secret, then what kind of person is suitable to be spoken to here?”53 The second was, “As it is an established view that there is nothing higher than Vajradhara,54[F.223.a] is this his inner essence, or is it of someone else called body, speech, and mind?” The third was, “What is the name of that revered one?”
Thus, in order to dispel these doubts, the Blessed One says “O Vajragarbha,” and so forth. Also here, at the end, a direct speech marker iti55 could be supplied from the preceding sentence by the rule of repetition,56 followed by the implied word “and” in the sense of “and he also said this.” The direct speech marker iti, although not read in the preceding sentence in some manuscripts, is understood even in its absence.
The words O Vajragarbha! address all the bodhisattvas who partake of the tathāgatagarbha.57 This means that these bodhisattvas belong to a tathāgata lineage.58 There are, moreover, five tathāgata families: delusion, hatred, pride, desire, and envy. Among these, the hatred lineage is where Vajragarbha belongs, as this is in conformity with the bodhisattva’s name.59 And, this lineage is difficult to attain. For precisely this reason, the welcome words include O, expressing surprise.
Regarding the words “deeply compassionate one, mahābodhisattva! Excellent! Excellent!”60 he is deeply compassionate for having the intention to benefit others with all means necessary,61 including supreme wrath. The bodhi (“awakening”) that accomplishes the infinitely manifold aims of all beings with precisely these means is mahābodhi (“great awakening”). The sattva (“being”) who is intent on that great awakening is called a mahābodhisattva. One who is endowed with such intent for both the benefit of others and themselves is supreme among the leonine people.62 For precisely this reason there is the repeated praise Excellent! Excellent! The word hear exhorts Vajragarbha to listen.
This passage of text has indicated that a good person of such a lineage and with such an intention is suitable here. How is it known that he is of such a lineage? By signs such as the specific types of faith and inclination that indicate his qualities. As was taught in the noble Laṅkāvatāra:63
The passage to this point resolves the first question. To resolve the second question, the Blessed One spoke the words the essence of the vajra being, the great being, the great samaya being.64 It is true that nothing is higher than Vajradhara. However, because deep compassion is paramount, Hevajra of the vajra family is the supreme form of Vajradhara. He is therefore regarded as his “essence.” The word essence means “essential part.” This is the intended meaning.65 Saying the one who is called Hevajra resolves the third question.
Vajragarbha asked:
- “Why is he a vajra being?
- How is he a great being?
- In what way is he a samaya being?
- Please tell me, O Blessed One!” [1.1.3]
Vajragarbha asked. What did he ask? He asked three questions. Why did he ask them? He asked them in order to hear the exposition of the greatness of Vajradhara indicated in the first three lines.
The Blessed One replied:
- “Vajra expresses the unbreakable,
- Being is the oneness of the three existents.
- Based on this understanding,
- He is known as vajra being. [1.1.4]
He replied. What did Vajradhara answer? He answered the three questions as they were asked. Unbreakable means impossible to break. He said vajra expresses because Hevajra partakes in the qualities of vajra. The three existents refer to all the buddhas’ qualities.66 They are “existents” because they exist. Why is it that only buddhas’ qualities are here referred to as existents? Because of their preeminence. Why all of them? Because of the rule of pervasion.67 How is it that they are “three”? It accords with their division into the categories of body, speech, and mind. They are exactly three, hence “the three existents.” Their oneness, which means “sameness,” is expressed by the word being. In what way are they one and the same? The oneness of the three existents is the condition of the three existents that extends throughout space as the nature of luminosity that is free from appearances68 and suffused with great bliss.69 This condition occurs when—due to the ceasing of the seeds of all defiled phenomena and the blocking of the consciousnesses that appear as environment, body, and enjoyments—the continuum of the mind70 has acquired the characteristic marks of the realm without defilements. It is free from the characteristic marks of the storehouse consciousness. It is like the surface of space, completely stainless and infinite,71 the support of the seeds of all buddha qualities that bear the characteristic of potentiality.72[F.224.a]
Why is that oneness called being? Because it alone is the perfectly pure state of being.73 Here, because of being understood in the sense of “excellence,” the word “being” is an expression of praise, meaning “being is the state of what truly is.” It is used in sense of the state of perfect purity, that is to say, the dharmakāya.74 That is because the purity of a great person is the “body of liberation,” while their perfect purity is the dharmakāya—the body of buddha qualities, the dwelling place and the abode of these qualities. Because it is the supporting ground for their seeds, it is called dharmakāya. And the main “body” of the dharmakāya is the dharmadhātu, which is without beginning and end, and is luminous by nature. Knowing that it is always just this, it is also called thusness. For precisely this reason, it can never be broken, and because of this quality of being unbreakable, it is referred to as vajra. This means that it is permanent, because it is permanent by nature. Only its aspect of being pure of adventitious stains can be broken,75 insofar as it is initially absent. This occurs through gradual advancement on the bodhisattva levels, beginning with Joyous, until, on the level of a buddha, it is entirely the same extent as space.
This understanding is the knowledge of how to separate the meanings of two words (vajra and sattva).76 Based on refers to applying the knowledge that these two stand in apposition in the sense of a karmadhāraya compound: “he is both vajra and, at the same time, he is a being.” By that he is known as—is taught to be—a vajra being. The change of syntactical gender is a feature of scriptural language.77 The entire statement is ārṣa, that is to say, in a “sacred” or scriptural form, and not something else.
- “Filled with the flavors of great knowledge,
- He is called great being.
- Constantly keeping the samaya,
- He is called samaya being.” [1.1.5]
The half-verse beginning “filled with the flavors of great wisdom” means the following. The pure teachings that have the nature of the Great Vehicle are constituted by great knowledge. Their flavors are relished and enjoyed. The enjoyments are enjoyed together with the noble bodhisattvas78 in a body that is magnificent with its incomparable major and minor marks, and within a completely pure buddha field, adorned with various marvelous displays, that is comprised of the seven types of jewels of supreme brilliance and from which rays of light flash forth to fill infinite world systems.[F.224.b] He is filled with them in the sense that, together with the bodhisattvas, he is satisfied by them in every instant. As he never perishes, he is, in that sense, constant, an unceasing continuity, an endless stream that never ceases.79 Accordingly, in completely pure buddha fields,80 he is sustained by the pleasures and joys of the flavor of the Great Vehicle’s teachings, not by the material foods and so forth of ordinary beings.81 Who then is the one filled with the flavors of great knowledge? The sambhogakāya of the buddhas. That body is called great being; that is, it is taught as great being. How so? He is a being since he abides and remains, but he does not perish.82 As he is both great and a being, he is a great being. This means that ultimately he does not perish.
The lines beginning with “constantly” mean the following. Here, the word samaya expresses “great samaya,” inasmuch as there is the full indication of a word by a single part of it, just as “Bhīma” can stand for “Bhīmasena.” He is “samaya” because he emanates in all directions by way of expanding.83 A great samaya is a samaya that, through all aspects, uses all possible means to train beings in accordance with their intention. As a being with great samaya, he is “a great samaya being.”84 He is called being, sattva, after etymologically eliding letters from the compound satatapravṛttatva (“ever-keeping”).85 It is for that reason that Vajradhara used the phrase constantly keeping the samaya. The meaning expressed by the phrase “great samaya being” is that he86 is the nirmāṇakāya—an infinite diversification of buddhas—that is constantly present because of its uninterrupted continuity. Here, there is an analogy: Just as a fire smoldering in a large forest will eventually flare up here and there while extinguishing elsewhere, so the buddhas’ nirmāṇakāya will appear some buddha fields, remain active in others where it has already appeared, while in others it will become extinguished. And yet, it will never be absent from all world systems at once.[F.225.a] This is the meaning of “uninterrupted continuity.”
In this way, by this division, the three bodies of each and every buddha are infinite.87 And all the same bodies of all the buddhas also belong to Vajradhara88 alone, since everything that belongs to them depends on him and has him as their nature. Consequently, this blessed Vajradhara is described as vajra being in relation to the dharmakāya, as great being in relation to the sambhogakāya, and as great samaya being in relation to the nirmāṇakāya. To the same extent that these expressions convey the greatness of Vajradhara, they also convey the greatness of Hevajra, since the latter is the essence of the former.89
Vajragarbha asked:
- “As for Hevajra,
- How is such a name constructed?
- What is expressed by the syllable he?
- And what is meant by vajra?” [1.1.6]
Vajragarbha asked. What did he ask? He asked another three questions. Why did he ask them? He asked them in order to hear the reasoning, implied in the name itself, for why Hevajra is the essence of Vajradhara. The particle as is used in the sense of the speech marker iti.90 The question how is such name, “Hevajra,” constructed, which is to say compounded, in fact means “how should it be analyzed?” By vajra means “by the word vajra.”
The Blessed One replied:
- “The syllable he expresses great compassion,
- While vajra expresses wisdom.
- Now listen to the tantra, spoken by me—
- It has the nature of wisdom and means.” [1.1.7]
The syllable he91 expresses great compassion—this is how one should syntactically connect the text.92 He can be etymologically derived by removing the syllable ma from mahā, great, and substituting i for the word karuṇā, compassion.93 This is the underlying idea. Great compassion is the compassion that can display supremely wrathful activities of body, speech, and mind for the guidance of extremely wicked and wrathful beings.94
And wisdom is expressed as vajra, that is to say, by the word vajra. Wisdom is perfected knowledge, which means nondual knowledge.95 Here, it can also be said that wisdom is emptiness itself, as emptiness is the basis of wisdom. As is taught in the glorious Guhyasamāja Tantra:
- “Wisdom is that which recognizes the lack of existence.
- Means is that which has a characteristic of existence.”96
Why is emptiness called vajra? Because, as is taught in the glorious Vajraśekhara Tantra:
- “It has a hard inner essence and is not hollow;
- It is characterized as indivisible and unbreakable;
- It is called vajra—an emptiness
- That cannot be burned and cannot perish.”97[F.225.b]
In the phrase “the nature of wisdom and means,” wisdom is emptiness and means is great compassion. This wisdom and means are both the nature, the inner essence, of this tantra, which is why it is described as having the nature of wisdom and means. This indicates the analysis of the compound as a karmadhāraya, meaning that Hevajra is both he and, at the same time, vajra. The sense here is that Hevajra is great compassion, which is based on the emptiness of all phenomena.
As for the word tantra, “tantra” means “continuity”.98 And that can be of three types: tantra of the cause, tantra of the result, and tantra of the means. Hevajra is accordingly also threefold: Hevajra of the cause, Hevajra of the result, and Hevajra of the means.99
The cause is the lineage, the family. The words “lineage” and “family” are synonymous. In this case, however, the vajra family is the only family. Because this family is a vessel of skillful means, the most important of which are great compassion and great wisdom, it is called “Hevajra of the cause” and “tantra of the cause.” How is this family Hevajra? Because Hevajra is here the cause. How is this family a “continuity?” Because there are very many100 beings who belong to the vajra family.
The level of the great Vajradhara that can be attained by the power of the Hevajra of the cause and through sustained, repeated practice of the Hevajra of the means, is called “Hevajra of the result” and “tantra of the result.” How is this Hevajra? Because Hevajra is here the result. How is this a “continuity”? Because it is made of infinite buddha qualities.
For continuity of skillful means101—the most important of which are great compassion and wisdom—the “Hevajra of the means”102 and “tantra of the means” are the main factors.
Among these three, the tantra of the cause and the tantra of the result have just been explained. The tantra of the means, however, has not been made known. Therefore, addressing it, Vajradhara teaches the lines beginning with “there are the gazes”:
- “There are the gazes, the summoning, the great language of signs—
- Capability that is known to be of many types.
- There are paralyzing and banishing,
- The paralyzing of armies, and hostile rites.” [1.1.8]
Capability means “power.” Of many types refers to producing rain, dispelling clouds, and so forth.
- “There are the arising, abiding, and instrumental cause
- Of the yoginīs, as is appropriate,
- Capability, and knowledge, both general and specific,
- In accordance with the arising of the deities.” [1.1.9]
As is appropriate means “as is fit.”103 Arising refers to the form, the emblems, and so forth.104 Abiding refers to the support maṇḍala.105 The instrumental cause refers to the moon, the sun, and so forth. Capability is the power arising from excellence in recitation and meditation.106 General knowledge refers to disciplines such as astrology.[F.226.a] Specific knowledge refers to all the ritual skills of a master. The deities are the glorious Heruka together with the retinue, or Nairātmyā. In accordance with the arising means “arising in due order.”
- “At first, there should be one:
- The cause for Heruka’s arising.
- Beings are liberated through existence alone,
- O Vajragarbha of great compassion!” [1.1.10]
One refers to the gazes, the summoning, and so forth, as taught. Heruka means Hevajra of the result. His arising is the attaining of his level. The cause for this “arising” is the tantra of the means. This is what is meant. Why is this first? Because of the excellence of the stage of arising that has numerous great means in the form of deities and so forth.
But surely this is the Great Vehicle, and in the Great Vehicle107 all phenomena are, substantially, a mere representation. And thus it has been taught in the noble Ten Bhūmis:
“The entire threefold universe is mind only.”108
The nature of mental representation is luminosity. Something without such a nature does not appear, because of being contradictory. Therefore, an object that appears, such as a patch of blue or yellow, is not outside of consciousness. Rather, it is an “appearance,” an “image,” a “form” that is the very nature of consciousness. This is because consciousness, taking various forms, arises from nothing but the mind that is assailed by habitual tendencies laid down by concepts of the same type, just as happens in a dream. This is also stated in the noble Laṅkāvatāra:
- “Indeed, no objects exist externally,
- As fools imagine they do.
- The mind, swayed by habitual tendencies,
- Takes the appearance of external objects.”109
“Swayed” means “assailed.” Furthermore, there is no external object, such as a patch of blue, as it is neither singular nor multiple.110 It cannot be singular because it appears with different parts. Nor can it be multiple, in term of the smallest particles, as the idea of a smallest particle does not make sense.111 To explain, if this particle has parts, how could it possibly be the smallest particle? If this particle has no parts, then when they are combined together they each would occupy the same location because of being combined in their entirety. Thus, it would follow then that every lump of matter would have the size of the smallest particle, even an elephant, a mountain, an ocean, or the earth.112[F.226.b] And, it has been taught in the noble Descent to Laṅka:
- “Just as a form reflected in a mirror
- Is neither the same nor another,
- Visible but not present,
- Such is the case with the nature of things.”113
For that reason there does not exist a graspable object external to consciousness. Since such an object does not exist, the state of being a grasping subject, which depends on it, also does not exist in relation to consciousness. Therefore, in every sense there is no duality of an object of grasping and a grasping subject. Although these two do not exist, there is an erroneous apprehension that appears dualistically. This erroneous apprehension is precisely the fabrication of the unreal. And, when this fabrication of the unreal is devoid of that duality, this absence is the state of mere representation, which always exists. That same duality is the fabricated nature of things, because it does not exist in the manner it is observed. The fabrication of the unreal is the dependent nature; it depends on others insofar as it is produced by causes and conditions. Being devoid of duality is the completely perfect nature, because it always exists in the same way. As was taught by the noble Maitreya:114
- “The fabricated, the dependent,
- And the completely perfect have been taught
- On the basis of the object, the fabrication of the unreal,
- And on the basis of the absence of the two.”115
With regard to this, a bodhisattva should cultivate the three samādhis:116
The samādhi of emptiness realizes that all entities are nonexistent in terms of being the fabricated characteristics of the aggregates, sensory bases, and sensory spheres. This is because it takes as its point of reference the nonexistence of the fabricated aggregates, and so forth.
The samādhi of wishlessness realizes that everything belonging to the threefold universe is suffering and the cause of suffering. This is because it is the fabrication of the unreal as the dependent nature, which is existent, and because of appearing with a dual nature, which is nonexistent. This samādhi is wishless because it counteracts the wish for rebirth.
The nature of all phenomena is to be empty of duality, because it is not adventitious. Precisely that is termed thusness, because it exists always in that same way. Precisely that is the pinnacle of existence, because it is the foremost of every reality. Precisely that is free from signs, insofar as it unfolds in the absence of forms that bear the signature marks of erroneous apprehension.[F.227.a] Precisely that is the absolute truth, as it is the range of the supreme, supramundane knowledge. Precisely that is the dharmadhātu, as it is the cause of the qualities of the noble ones, such as the powers and the bases of confidence. This is because the qualities of the noble ones arise for those who take as their point of reference precisely this nonduality. And precisely that, this emptiness of duality, is neither existence nor nonexistence. Why is it not existence? Because it is characterized by the absence of duality. Why is it not nonexistence? Because it is the nature of all phenomena. This is the samādhi of signlessness, because it takes as its point of reference what is free from signs.
And these three samādhis constitute the perfection of wisdom in its secondary form, as they are only an application of this perfection.
After that, one should investigate in the following way: This form appearing as “blue” or “yellow,” and so forth, is neither an external nor an internal entity, because it is, as explained before, naturally devoid of being one or many. It is only that the intellect of immature people, who are confused by the power of the reinforced habitual tendencies of ignorance since time without beginning, shines forth in this or that form, which are themselves nonexistent. And, making precisely that form the signature mark and basis for their sensory perception, a person’s concept of duality and grasping at duality continues as the primary cause of everything undesirable. And, for as long as this form appears, absolute truth will not be seen, just as those who suffer from an eye disease see hairs, gnats, and other things, and fail to see the actual absence of the hair and the rest. After investigating in this way, one abandons all names and all signature marks.
Then, for one who abides in a samādhi that takes as its point of reference all phenomena—a samādhi free from verbalization and appearances—supramundane knowledge arises effortlessly and without contrivance because all the signature marks of conceptual elaboration have disappeared through the habituating power of former practice. This supramundane knowledge is free from concepts and appearances, perceives the emptiness of all phenomena, and is altogether stainless and infinite117 like the sky. It is the mind of awakening in its ultimate sense, the primary perfection of wisdom,118[F.227.b] the path that is the antidote to all obscurations. By this antidote, the habitual tendencies that constitute the seeds of all afflictions latent in the storehouse consciousness are eradicated. Through this, the types of consciousness that appear as the environment, body, and enjoyments cease. Consequently, the storehouse consciousness loses its own characteristic and instead seizes the characteristic of the undefiled element. Precisely this undefiled element is the buddhas’ dharmakāya.119 When this is attained, the sambhogakāya and nirmāṇakāya that depend on it are also attained. This is an established view.120
According to this established view, only the perfection of wisdom is cultivated to attain buddhahood. And, this perfection of wisdom is the correct knowledge that objects do not exist dualistically. Through ascertaining this nonduality, false forms with the nature of duality disappear, and instead infinite luminosity alone shines forth. Someone may therefore have doubt, thinking that this cultivation of the heruka and yoginīs, of mantras, signs, seats, the temple palace, and so forth, which relies on forms, would be a conceptual elaboration, an error, an effort that causes cyclic existence, and it does not lead to liberation. Thus, in order to remove that doubt, the Blessed One says, “Beings are liberated through existence alone.” Existence (bhāva) refers to the six perfections insofar as “it causes to be” (bhāvayati), that is, it causes persistent remaining, or causes one to attain all the qualities of a buddha.121 Greatly compassionate beings are liberated through that alone. For precisely that reason, the Blessed One uses the address “O Vajragarbha122 of great compassion.” This is because those who are liberated through the perfection of wisdom alone attain the level of an arhat, by very easily eradicating all their afflictive emotions. Consequently, they would realize the awakening of a śrāvaka, but not the awakening of a buddha. Bodhisattvas, on the other hand, because they have great compassion, desire no less than unsurpassable awakening, as it is the supreme means to accomplish the benefits of all beings. Accordingly, they become liberated through the six perfections, not through one.
If it is the case that they can only be liberated through the six perfections, what is the function here of the first five, and what of the sixth?[F.228.a] To answer this, the Blessed One says “they are bound,” and so forth:
- “They are bound by the fetters of existence,
- And are liberated through recognition of it.
- Existence needs to be cultivated, O wise one,
- As does nonexistence, through recognition of it.
- Heruka should be cultivated in the same way,
- Through the recognition of nonexistence.”123 [1.1.11]
Here, in this statement, the word existence expresses the five perfections, as they are the most important factor for causing remaining and attainment. “Fetters” are existence itself, because they cause remaining; thus they are fetters of existence. They are bound by these,124 although actually liberated, because they remain by the power of these five perfections. They remain with the three bodies and to the extent of space, in order to produce infinite benefits of all kinds for the beings.125
Recognition of that is the recognition of this existence, the knowledge of absolute truth. This is nothing but the perfection of wisdom. They are liberated through that, as all obscurations together with their habitual tendencies are eliminated by that alone. Therefore, all afflictive factors cease completely along with their seeds. In this way, the nirvāṇa of these buddhas is called nonabiding nirvāṇa, because they are not fixed in either nirvāṇa or saṃsāra.
To summarize, Vajradhara says “existence,” and so forth.126 Existence here refers to the virtue that comprises the five perfections. Needs to be cultivated means “to be diligently generated in one’s mindstream, and then turning that into one’s own nature through the power of meditation.” As does nonexistence, through recognition means that the nonexistence of this existence—the twofold nature of the perceived and the perceiver—needs to be recognized through the perfection of wisdom. This is because someone who does not cultivate “existence” as they become liberated falls into the awakening of a śrāvaka. On the other hand, someone who does not recognize nonexistence remains in saṃsāra. Thus, both would be considered ignorant. A wise bodhisattva, by contrast, will do both. For precisely that reason, the address wise one is used.
Up this point, what is to be done in the Great Vehicle has been briefly presented, insofar as the way of mantra is included in the Great Vehicle.127 Pointing out that the same is the case also in the Hevajra Tantra, Vajradhara says Heruka, and so forth.
The word Heruka refers to Heruka, his attributes, his seat, the temple palace, and so forth, because in mentioning the main figure the attendant features are also implied, just as would be the case when answering the question “Who is this coming?” with “It is the king.”128[F.228.b] This means that all the many virtuous qualities that can be cultivated in the Great Vehicle have the same essence as the fully awakened lord of the maṇḍala. When differentiated, this fully awakened one is the maṇḍala.129 The maṇḍala emanations through those virtuous qualities accomplish the benefit of beings. Here,130 these three131 are to be cultivated in order to swiftly attain the bliss of the three bodies. Moreover, the virtue that remains from precisely this cultivation is for the sake of swiftly perfecting the bliss. And, all this should be thoroughly understood as the mind alone and as nonexistent in the manner it appears.132 In this way, relying on the stage of arising, the first tantra of the means has been explained and established.133
Now, to explain the second tantra of the means, which is based on the stage of the arisen, the Blessed One teaches the verse beginning “the great knowledge that resides in the body”:
- “The great knowledge located in the body134
- Is devoid of all conceptuality.
- He pervades all entities,135
- And though located there, he not born from the body.” [1.1.12]
It is great, insofar as it is the ground for the seed of all buddha qualities. And, at the same time, it is knowledge, insofar as it has the nature of luminosity. Therefore, it is “great knowledge.” Located in the body means it “inhabits the body.” It “resides in the body,” because karmically produced sensations are experienced inseparably from the body, and because the sense faculties that are the seats of sensation function inseparably from the body.
Even though it is situated in the body, it is nevertheless “great knowledge.” To explain, whatever its true nature—its thusness—is, precisely that is the lineage of the buddhas; and whatever the buddha lineage is, that is the lineage of all buddha qualities. Therefore, insofar as the body is the true nature of things, this knowledge is naturally free of stains.136 And therefore, it is devoid of all conceptuality, because all stains of conceptual thought that appear as the environment, body, enjoyments, and so forth, are adventitious to it, insofar as they do not belong to it, just like the stains of clouds, darkness, haze, and so forth in the sky.137 And for precisely this reason, the dharmakāya is taught to be ever-present, insofar as it is permanent by nature.138 Just like the buddhas’ dharmadhātu has no beginning and no end, so too do its purity and the fact of being a vessel containing the seeds of all buddha qualities have no beginning and no end.139 In the root text, this is Hevajra;[F.229.a] that very “great knowledge” is Hevajra.
He pervades all entities in the sense that all entities manifest within his knowledge. And though located there, he is not born from the body. Why is it that he is not born from the body? Because there is no body external to cognition, because the body that is a form of cognition is unreal, and because it is illogical for something nonexistent to give birth to anything. In other words, even though he pervades all things, he is not born from them. This is because all things that are perceived in dualistic terms do not really exist, and because even their appearances are also unreal. Things, such as the body, are in themselves nothing more than cognitive events that manifest as the body and so forth. Their relationship in terms of cause and result is established both in the world as well as in the treatises. And is said in the Descent to Laṅka:
- “The absence of causes and conditions,
- The denial of a causal factor,
- Abiding in mind only—
- Thus I teach the nonarising.”140
The venerable Nāgārjuna also said:
- “No phenomenon ever arises,
- Nor does it ever cease.
- Only conditions alone
- Arise and cease.”141
“Mind only” means “mere representation.” “Phenomenon” indicates the object, an external mental representation. “Only conditions” means only mere representations that take on the form of objects. With regard to the thought of the venerable Nāgārjuna, it might be argued that the forms of cognition (jñānākāra) themselves constitute knowledge (jñāna). Yet this is not the case.142 As Nāgārjuna himself said:
- “It is said that the great elements, and so forth,
- Are contained within consciousness.
- In that cognition, they cease to exist.
- Are they not falsely fabricated then?”143
What Nāgārjuna means is this: The elements, their derivatives, and so forth, which are taught in the treatises, are contained within consciousness, worldly cognition. They are collected there, because mere consciousness itself is perceived in the form of the elements, their derivatives, and so forth. However, the same great elements and the rest cease to exist in the cognition that is supramundane knowledge. They go away. “Are they not falsely…”[F.229.b] is said since these great elements, and so forth, are simply false, conceptualized by an erring consciousness.144 In reality, they and their inherent nature do not exist. Therefore, in a nonerring cognition, they go away. For precisely this reason, nothing is existent in the sense of a dualistic nature, a nature of dualistic forms, or nonexistent as the nature of mere nondual luminosity. This tenet, which is common to the followers of both Madhyamaka and Yogācāra, is excellent.145 The other three Madhyamaka and four Yogācāra positions are refuted by those versed in logic, scriptures, and treatises.146
Furthermore, how is it that such “great knowledge” is Hevajra? Because he has the nature of great wisdom and great compassion. How so? He is, by his very nature, a receptacle for all buddha qualities and bodhisattva qualities—qualities that are to be obtained through cultivation and that accomplish infinite benefits of every kind for people.147
If so, then this148 would just be a tantra of the cause. How is it a tantra of the means? That is true. Here, that which has a continuity of mental activity in terms of empowering the body, pervasion, being mere luminosity, being apparent, being great bliss, being the receptacle of all buddha qualities, and including the entire Great Vehicle—that specifically, which is empowered by all tathāgatas—is primarily a tantra of the means. The same is also referred to as a tantra of the means because of manifesting as a whole without a division into mental activity and what is mentally engaged in.
Furthermore, in order to cultivate this great knowledge, the buddhas all also empowered its mudrā,149 namely the subtle syllable hūṁ, either as a whole or without the vowel and the anunāsika,150 as a bindu only—either as subtle as a mustard seed or supremely subtle—or, in terms of the divisions of the four cakras, the four letters together with their syllabic elements. Should it be argued that this perspective on the mudrā concerns the stage of arising but not the stage of the arisen, that is not the case.151[F.230.a] The term “stage of the arisen” here has a technical sense, not a common one. And, it denotes the deity’s body that arises from the transformation of the mantras, emblems, and so forth, and not the mantra alone.152 Thus, from the perspective of the stage of the arisen, the same great knowledge is Hevajra, as it has been taught.153 When empowered by that, one’s own body itself becomes the vajra body of the yogins. Precisely that is Hevajra’s support maṇḍala.
A String of Pearls is a commentary on the Hevajra Tantra, one of the most important texts of the Yoginī tantra class of esoteric Buddhist literature. Written by the famous master and scholar Ratnākaraśānti, who himself was a holder of a Hevajra transmission lineage, this commentary is highly regarded by scholars and practitioners both past and present. Written in the pañjikā style, Ratnākaraśānti analyzes the root text word by word lexically and grammatically, and provides an exhaustive exegetical analysis on both the text itself and the key tenets of Yoginī tantra broadly. Taking a Yogācāra perspective, Ratnākaraśānti demonstrates that the tantra is in perfect agreement with the Buddhist sūtra tradition.
This publication was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The text was translated, edited, and introduced by the 84000 translation team. Wiesiek Mical produced the translation and wrote the introduction. The translation was then compared against the Tibetan translation found in the Degé Kangyur by Thomas Doctor, and edited by Ryan Damron. Ven. Konchog Norbu copyedited the text, and Martina Cotter was in charge of the digital publication process.
The translation of this text has been made possible through the generous sponsorship of an anonymous donor.
A String of Pearls is the Indian master Ratnākaraśānti’s commentary on the Hevajra Tantra, one of the most important and renowned tantras of the Yoginī class. As this tantra has been described at length in many sources (e.g., Szántó 2015), it will suffice here to provide only the most basic facts. The Hevajra Tantra was compiled around the turn of the ninth or tenth century,1 probably in East India, and has remained one of the most popular tantric texts, quoted extensively in later works such as the Sampuṭa Tantra and many other tantras and commentaries. The tantra is composed in two parts (kalpa), the first consisting of eleven chapters (paṭala) and the second of twelve. Apart from numerous Sanskrit manuscripts, the Sanskrit text is available in published editions, including Snellgrove 1959, Farrow 1992, Tripathi 2001, and Tripathi 2006, the last three of which are editions of Hevajra commentaries that include the root text of the tantra for the reader’s reference.
The Hevajra Tantra is also preserved in Tibetan and Chinese canonical translations, both dating to the middle of the eleventh century. The Tibetan translation was completed by the Indian scholar Gayādhara and his Tibetan disciple Drokmi Śākya Yeshé (brog mi shAkya ye shes), and the Chinese by the Indian monk Dharmapāla (Fahu; 法護). The Tibetan canon incorporates the two parts of the tantra as independent works, each with its own title (Toh. 418 and 419). The Hevajra Tantra was also known in Southeast Asia, including on the island of Sumatra, as supported by the evidence of Hevajra artifacts from that region.2 The tantra spawned a sizable body of exegetical literature, including explanatory tantras (vyākhyātantra) and commentaries, themselves including a few of the pañjikā-type that explain the text in a linear fashion, word by word and phrase by phrase. A String of Pearls belongs to the latter category.
The main deity of the Hevajra Tantra is the eponymous Hevajra. He is in the form of a heruka, a wrathful figure considered a sambhogakāya buddha—Vajrasattva, or sometimes Akṣobhya. Herukas are expressions of “vajra beings” (vajrasattva) who do not incarnate on earth as tathāgatas but are spontaneously present in each and every being as their innate state (sahaja)—the union of compassion and emptiness—as reflected, for example, in the epithet sahajaheruka, applied to Kālacakra and other herukas. Apart from Hevajra and Kālacakra, other well-known herukas are Cakrasaṃvara, Buddhakapāla, and Mahāmāyā.
The teachings presented in the Hevajra Tantra are delivered by Hevajra himself, addressed in the text as the “Blessed One” (bhagavat) and referred to throughout as Vajradhara (“Vajra Holder”) and Vajrasattva (“Vajra Being”). His other names, such as Picuvajra, Mahāsukha (“Great Bliss”), and Mahaccitta (“Great Mind”), also evoke some aspects of his nature. The combination of picu (“cotton fluff”) and vajra (something infinitely hard) in picuvajra could be an allusion to the union of the soft tenderness of his compassion and the vajra-like invincibility of his wrath, which cannot be challenged or manipulated in any way. The epithet mahāsukha refers to his nature of “great bliss,” generated through the union of compassion and emptiness.
The teachings of the Hevajra Tantra are delivered in response to the questions variously asked by the bodhisattva Vajragarbha, the goddess Nairātmyā, or collectively by the yoginīs of the Hevajra maṇḍala. The tantra covers a range of esoteric topics, including descriptions of the primary deities and their maṇḍala configuration, the derivation and use of mantras, rites to be employed for mundane and liberative purposes, the thirty subtle channels of the body, the use of secret gestures and codewords, and so forth. The primary concern of the Hevajra Tantra is, however, the innate state (sahaja) and its cultivation through initiation and practice within the elaborate framework of the Yoginī tantras, rooted in the ontological foundations of the Great Vehicle philosophy. Although present in every being, the innate state primarily remains unrecognized. The Hevajra Tantra explains how to recognize this state through the four initiations (abhiṣeka), the practice of the stage of arising (utpattikrama) and the stage of the arisen (utpannakrama), each of which can be further viewed in terms of either relative truth (saṃvṛtisatya) or absolute truth (paramārthasatya). In the most essential formulation, the basis of the practice of the stage of arising is the cultivation of the four joys (caturānanda), and the basis of the practice of the stage of the arisen is the cultivation of innate joy (sahajānanda). The recognition of the innate is equated with attaining the state of awakening (bodhi), which encompasses omniscient knowledge (sarvajñajñāna) and knowledge of all forms (sarvākārajñāna).
The joys are observed and marked (lakṣita) during ritualized sexual intercourse wherein the sexual partners identify themselves as Hevajra and Nairātmyā. They seek a glimpse of innate joy, which is most apparent when supreme joy (paramānanda), experienced at the moment of sexual climax, rapidly fades and turns into the joy of cessation (viramānanda). At this moment, the mind loses the support of pleasure that had filled it completely and is delivered into bare awareness, where the mind’s natural luminosity (prabhāsvara)—the basic, preconceptual clarity of mind—can be experienced and discerned. In terms of practice, this experience first occurs and is cultivated at the end of supreme joy and the onset of the joy of cessation (the second and the third joys respectively). According to Ratnākaraśānti, this experience of innate joy is said to be located, in relative terms, between these two joys. However, even though the moment of its recognition may be coterminous with the onset of the third joy, innate joy is ontologically excluded from the other three and seen as the “fourth” categorically, rather than sequentially. Because the Hevajra Tantra itself leaves room for interpretation, the issue of the correct sequence of the joys, specifically of the last two, developed into a crucial point of debate among proponents of the Hevajra system.3
Of the sixteen Indian commentaries on Hevajra that exist today, the two most important are, arguably, A String of Pearls, presented here, and Kāṇha’s The Jewel Garland of Yoga. Ratnākaraśānti lived from 970 to 1045
A String of Pearls, being a pañjikā-type commentary, is most clear when the reader refers directly to the Hevajra Tantra, as the commentary quotes and glosses words and phrases from the root text. Therefore, despite the fact that the root text was, to our knowledge, never transmitted in the same manuscripts as the commentary, we have included the root text of the Hevajra Tantra interspersed within the corresponding parts of the commentary. We have also adopted the convention of using boldface type to mark words and phrases from the root text that are glossed by Ratnākaraśānti in his commentary. A String of Pearls occasionally reflects different textual variants than are witnessed in other versions of the root text and its commentaries, variants that are natural given the vagaries in the transmission history of the Hevajra Tantra. Thus, commentators such as Ratnākaraśānti relied on different manuscript witnesses of the root text, and had their own understanding of what constituted the most valid readings. In this English translation we have adopted readings from the root text that align with Ratnākaraśānti’s reading, even when they may diverge from other published versions of the root text, including translations of the Hevajra Tantra and its commentaries published by 84000.
As noted above, Kāṇha’s The Jewel Garland of Yoga is considered one of the two most important commentaries on the Hevajra Tantra, along with Ratnākaraśānti’s A String of Pearls. It is historically possible that the two masters met in person, as Kāṇha was a late contemporary of Ratnākaraśānti, and his commentary contains many passages that closely align with Ratnākaraśānti’s in A String of Pearls.8 While there is significant alignment between the two commentaries, the most marked differences are due to different perspectives taken by their respective authors. While Ratnākaraśānti interprets the tantra from the perspective of the Yogācāra tradition, Kāṇha does so from the point of view of the Mādhyamika. But even these different doctrinal viewpoints are not sufficient to impact the doctrinal framework and soteriological core of the Hevajra Tantra, and the differences between the texts complement rather than contradict each other.
The primary source for this English translation is the Sanskrit edition of the Hevajra Tantra and A String of Pearls prepared by Ram Shankar Tripathi and Thakur Sain Negi and published by the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies (2001). Though this edition is not without its flaws and the preparation of a new edition remains desirable, it proved a workable basis for this translation, especially since its critical apparatus, which includes variant readings from eighteen Sanskrit manuscripts, was also carefully consulted. The team also made use of the two surviving Sanskrit palm-leaf witnesses of the text—MS K and MS T—which provided valuable insights into the oldest available strata of the textual record.
In addition to the published Sanskrit edition, we have also consulted the published and unpublished Sanskrit editions of passages from the Hevajra Tantra and A String of Pearls prepared by Harunaga Isaacson,9 which he kindly shared with the team, as well as Ryan Conlon’s forthcoming edition of the Hevajra Tantra with Kamalanātha’s commentary, the Ratnāvalī.
The English translation of the Hevajra Tantra and A String of Pearls was carefully compared with the Tibetan translations transmitted in the Degé Kangyur and Tengyur, as well as the critical apparatus from the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) of the Degé Kangyur and Tengyur. This apparatus was particularly useful for directing us to important variants in the Narthang and Kangxi versions of the translation of A String of Pearls.
This translation of A String of Pearls would not have been possible without the continued efforts of many people. We are deeply grateful to Professor Harunaga Isaacson for generously sharing his expertise with us on many different occasions, to Ryan Conlon for making available a draft of his edition of the Hevajra Tantra with Kamalanātha’s Ratnāvalī, and to all the other scholars and practitioners who shared their knowledge and insights with us.
[F.221.a]Oṁ, homage to the glorious Vajrasattva!10
Oṁ, homage to the glorious Hevajra!
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One dwelt in the places of blessing22 of the vajra women, which are the body, speech, and mind23 of all tathāgatas. [1.1.1]
The words “thus I” and so forth are part of the statement of the original setting,24 and therefore some say that this is itself a separate, abbreviated tantra. According to others, the two parts that constitute the present form of the tantra25 were extracted from a more extensive tantra, but were extracted together with the statement of the original setting in order to make it known that they are presented exactly as originally recited.26 Others say that the meaning of these words is supremely secret and altogether different.[F.221.b] This is not correct.27 If that were the case, it would not be right to speak about this supremely secret meaning at the beginning, because it will be specifically be expressed later on, and also because that meaning is simply not present in these syllables.28 Thus, the proponents of the latter view forcibly try to attribute content that will be presented later into a passage that has a different meaning in order to impress the ignorant. For this reason, the statement of the original setting is also given here. The Blessed One, moreover, taught, “My teachings should be recited, O monks, with the words ‘Thus did I hear.’ ” That is why the original reciter said, “Thus did I hear.”
The Teacher29 taught what he himself realized. These teachings are now recited as they were “heard” from the teacher. Accordingly, the word heard indicates that what is being presented here has been recited. Had this presentation been heard indirectly or in another similar way, it would not be reliable because of distortions in the course of transmission. Therefore, to exclude these possibilities, we have the two words “thus I.” Among these two, the word I means that it was “I myself” who heard these teachings directly from the Teacher, rather than obtaining them through a transmission lineage. The word thus means that I pass them on just as “I heard” them myself, and not otherwise. This is the meaning.
The residence of the Teacher in a suitable place at a particular time, and the presence of a suitable assembly, are the original setting for the teachings. In reference to this, the original reciter said “at one time,” and so forth. Time means occasion. The Blessed One is Vajradhara30 in the form of Hevajra. The six primary blessings31 are sovereignty and so forth. As is said:
- “The blessings are known to be six:
- Complete sovereignty,
- Knowledge, renown, splendor,
- Beauty, and meaningful endeavor.”32
Vajradhara possesses these “blessings,” therefore he is called Blessed One.33 He dwelt means that he dwelt in the mode of the four dwellings of a buddha, namely dwelling in deportment, in the mode of imparting teachings, attainment, and meditative seclusion. Dwelling implies abiding in meditative composure. Blessed buddhas continually abide in the state of meditative composure.[F.222.a] Consequently, any of their physical activities is their dwelling in right demportment. Any of their verbal activities is their dwelling in the mode of imparting teachings. During the attainment of samādhi, either their natural absorption or their mental activity is their dwelling in attainment. Any mental activity of the buddhas whereby they can dwell at ease in the physical world, or approach the states of gods and so forth, is their dwelling in meditative seclusion.
Where did he dwell? He dwelt in the places of blessing of the vajra women, which are the body, speech, and mind of all tathāgatas. The “body, speech, and mind” are a combination of the three secret constituents of all tathāgatas. Understanding body, speech, and mind to all be taken together,34 the form of the blessed Vajradhara is therefore also called dharmodaya, which has the nature of the perfectly pure reality of precisely these secret constituents of the tathāgatas. Since it is indeed a combination of these three secret constituents, it is therefore triangular. And since thusness is perfectly pure, it therefore has the white color of the autumn moon and is hollow within.35 Because the bodhisattva levels, Joyous and so forth, become increasingly vast from one level to the next, and because their purity ever increases, the dharmodaya also becomes broader and broader in the upward direction.36 And precisely that constitutes the ““places of blessing” of the vajra women, Locanā and so forth,37 because they embody the infinite dharmadhātu without defilements. For this very reason, it is “the body, speech, and mind of all tathāgatas” and, at the same time, the “places of blessing of the vajra women.” These two phrases together form a karmadhāraya compound.38 That he dwelt “in” them refers to the temple palace that is located there, just as the phrase “a wealthy person lives in the city” indicates “in a mansion in the city.” Just like “a wealthy person lives in the city” means that they live in a mansion in the city, such is also the case here.
Considering that the Blessed One’s place of dwelling is the most secret of all secret places, it surely follows that he will be giving the most secret among secret teachings. Accordingly, it is suitable to say an appropriate assembly had gathered.[F.222.b] This assembly, moreover, consisted of bodhisattvas, headed by Vajragarbha; of Locanā and the others;39 and of vajrayoginīs, headed by Gaurī.
There, the Blessed One said, “The essence of the body, speech and mind of all tathāgatas is revered and the most secret of the exceedingly secret. So it is, O Vajragarbha, deeply compassionate one, mahābodhisattva! Excellent! Excellent! Hear about the essence of the vajra being,40 the great being, the great samaya being,41 who is called Hevajra.” [1.1.2]
There means where he dwelt. Regarding the expression said, for what purpose did he speak? To arouse the thirst of the people listening.42 What did he say? He spoke the part beginning with “the essence.”43 The tathāgatas (“thus gone”) are so called as they have gone precisely in the way one should proceed,44 namely, by destroying all obscurations together with the habitual tendencies. Alternatively, the word “gone”45 conveys the sense of understanding; they are called tathāgatas because they have come to understand46 phenomena as they truly are, because at all times they have the correct understanding of all appearances and everything that can be known. Alternatively, by substituting the syllable ta for da,47 they are called tathāgatas because they teach in the way48 one should teach, insofar as they correctly teach the Dharma to people who require guidance according to their inclination, their social group, and according to what is right at a particular time.
The words all and tathāgatas are in a karmadhāraya relationship, meaning “all tathāgatas.” No one else but Vajradhara himself is their body, speech and mind. His essence, the essential part of him, is what is revered, that is to say, what is supremely divine. All the bodies, speech, and minds of mantra deities, devoid by nature of conceptual thought, are secret, because they are exceedingly difficult to have faith in.49 Those among them who are either wrathful or in union50 are the secret of secrets, that is to say they are exceedingly secret. The body, speech, and mind called Hevajra is supremely wrathful and excessively passionate. Therefore, he is the most secret of the exceedingly secret. The point is to say that those who have faith in him are very rare. So it is51 means “this is how it is.”
Once the thirst of the assembly members had been thus aroused, three questions52 arose in their minds. The first question was, “If this is the most secret of the exceedingly secret, then what kind of person is suitable to be spoken to here?”53 The second was, “As it is an established view that there is nothing higher than Vajradhara,54[F.223.a] is this his inner essence, or is it of someone else called body, speech, and mind?” The third was, “What is the name of that revered one?”
Thus, in order to dispel these doubts, the Blessed One says “O Vajragarbha,” and so forth. Also here, at the end, a direct speech marker iti55 could be supplied from the preceding sentence by the rule of repetition,56 followed by the implied word “and” in the sense of “and he also said this.” The direct speech marker iti, although not read in the preceding sentence in some manuscripts, is understood even in its absence.
The words O Vajragarbha! address all the bodhisattvas who partake of the tathāgatagarbha.57 This means that these bodhisattvas belong to a tathāgata lineage.58 There are, moreover, five tathāgata families: delusion, hatred, pride, desire, and envy. Among these, the hatred lineage is where Vajragarbha belongs, as this is in conformity with the bodhisattva’s name.59 And, this lineage is difficult to attain. For precisely this reason, the welcome words include O, expressing surprise.
Regarding the words “deeply compassionate one, mahābodhisattva! Excellent! Excellent!”60 he is deeply compassionate for having the intention to benefit others with all means necessary,61 including supreme wrath. The bodhi (“awakening”) that accomplishes the infinitely manifold aims of all beings with precisely these means is mahābodhi (“great awakening”). The sattva (“being”) who is intent on that great awakening is called a mahābodhisattva. One who is endowed with such intent for both the benefit of others and themselves is supreme among the leonine people.62 For precisely this reason there is the repeated praise Excellent! Excellent! The word hear exhorts Vajragarbha to listen.
This passage of text has indicated that a good person of such a lineage and with such an intention is suitable here. How is it known that he is of such a lineage? By signs such as the specific types of faith and inclination that indicate his qualities. As was taught in the noble Laṅkāvatāra:63
The passage to this point resolves the first question. To resolve the second question, the Blessed One spoke the words the essence of the vajra being, the great being, the great samaya being.64 It is true that nothing is higher than Vajradhara. However, because deep compassion is paramount, Hevajra of the vajra family is the supreme form of Vajradhara. He is therefore regarded as his “essence.” The word essence means “essential part.” This is the intended meaning.65 Saying the one who is called Hevajra resolves the third question.
Vajragarbha asked:
- “Why is he a vajra being?
- How is he a great being?
- In what way is he a samaya being?
- Please tell me, O Blessed One!” [1.1.3]
Vajragarbha asked. What did he ask? He asked three questions. Why did he ask them? He asked them in order to hear the exposition of the greatness of Vajradhara indicated in the first three lines.
The Blessed One replied:
- “Vajra expresses the unbreakable,
- Being is the oneness of the three existents.
- Based on this understanding,
- He is known as vajra being. [1.1.4]
He replied. What did Vajradhara answer? He answered the three questions as they were asked. Unbreakable means impossible to break. He said vajra expresses because Hevajra partakes in the qualities of vajra. The three existents refer to all the buddhas’ qualities.66 They are “existents” because they exist. Why is it that only buddhas’ qualities are here referred to as existents? Because of their preeminence. Why all of them? Because of the rule of pervasion.67 How is it that they are “three”? It accords with their division into the categories of body, speech, and mind. They are exactly three, hence “the three existents.” Their oneness, which means “sameness,” is expressed by the word being. In what way are they one and the same? The oneness of the three existents is the condition of the three existents that extends throughout space as the nature of luminosity that is free from appearances68 and suffused with great bliss.69 This condition occurs when—due to the ceasing of the seeds of all defiled phenomena and the blocking of the consciousnesses that appear as environment, body, and enjoyments—the continuum of the mind70 has acquired the characteristic marks of the realm without defilements. It is free from the characteristic marks of the storehouse consciousness. It is like the surface of space, completely stainless and infinite,71 the support of the seeds of all buddha qualities that bear the characteristic of potentiality.72[F.224.a]
Why is that oneness called being? Because it alone is the perfectly pure state of being.73 Here, because of being understood in the sense of “excellence,” the word “being” is an expression of praise, meaning “being is the state of what truly is.” It is used in sense of the state of perfect purity, that is to say, the dharmakāya.74 That is because the purity of a great person is the “body of liberation,” while their perfect purity is the dharmakāya—the body of buddha qualities, the dwelling place and the abode of these qualities. Because it is the supporting ground for their seeds, it is called dharmakāya. And the main “body” of the dharmakāya is the dharmadhātu, which is without beginning and end, and is luminous by nature. Knowing that it is always just this, it is also called thusness. For precisely this reason, it can never be broken, and because of this quality of being unbreakable, it is referred to as vajra. This means that it is permanent, because it is permanent by nature. Only its aspect of being pure of adventitious stains can be broken,75 insofar as it is initially absent. This occurs through gradual advancement on the bodhisattva levels, beginning with Joyous, until, on the level of a buddha, it is entirely the same extent as space.
This understanding is the knowledge of how to separate the meanings of two words (vajra and sattva).76 Based on refers to applying the knowledge that these two stand in apposition in the sense of a karmadhāraya compound: “he is both vajra and, at the same time, he is a being.” By that he is known as—is taught to be—a vajra being. The change of syntactical gender is a feature of scriptural language.77 The entire statement is ārṣa, that is to say, in a “sacred” or scriptural form, and not something else.
- “Filled with the flavors of great knowledge,
- He is called great being.
- Constantly keeping the samaya,
- He is called samaya being.” [1.1.5]
The half-verse beginning “filled with the flavors of great wisdom” means the following. The pure teachings that have the nature of the Great Vehicle are constituted by great knowledge. Their flavors are relished and enjoyed. The enjoyments are enjoyed together with the noble bodhisattvas78 in a body that is magnificent with its incomparable major and minor marks, and within a completely pure buddha field, adorned with various marvelous displays, that is comprised of the seven types of jewels of supreme brilliance and from which rays of light flash forth to fill infinite world systems.[F.224.b] He is filled with them in the sense that, together with the bodhisattvas, he is satisfied by them in every instant. As he never perishes, he is, in that sense, constant, an unceasing continuity, an endless stream that never ceases.79 Accordingly, in completely pure buddha fields,80 he is sustained by the pleasures and joys of the flavor of the Great Vehicle’s teachings, not by the material foods and so forth of ordinary beings.81 Who then is the one filled with the flavors of great knowledge? The sambhogakāya of the buddhas. That body is called great being; that is, it is taught as great being. How so? He is a being since he abides and remains, but he does not perish.82 As he is both great and a being, he is a great being. This means that ultimately he does not perish.
The lines beginning with “constantly” mean the following. Here, the word samaya expresses “great samaya,” inasmuch as there is the full indication of a word by a single part of it, just as “Bhīma” can stand for “Bhīmasena.” He is “samaya” because he emanates in all directions by way of expanding.83 A great samaya is a samaya that, through all aspects, uses all possible means to train beings in accordance with their intention. As a being with great samaya, he is “a great samaya being.”84 He is called being, sattva, after etymologically eliding letters from the compound satatapravṛttatva (“ever-keeping”).85 It is for that reason that Vajradhara used the phrase constantly keeping the samaya. The meaning expressed by the phrase “great samaya being” is that he86 is the nirmāṇakāya—an infinite diversification of buddhas—that is constantly present because of its uninterrupted continuity. Here, there is an analogy: Just as a fire smoldering in a large forest will eventually flare up here and there while extinguishing elsewhere, so the buddhas’ nirmāṇakāya will appear some buddha fields, remain active in others where it has already appeared, while in others it will become extinguished. And yet, it will never be absent from all world systems at once.[F.225.a] This is the meaning of “uninterrupted continuity.”
In this way, by this division, the three bodies of each and every buddha are infinite.87 And all the same bodies of all the buddhas also belong to Vajradhara88 alone, since everything that belongs to them depends on him and has him as their nature. Consequently, this blessed Vajradhara is described as vajra being in relation to the dharmakāya, as great being in relation to the sambhogakāya, and as great samaya being in relation to the nirmāṇakāya. To the same extent that these expressions convey the greatness of Vajradhara, they also convey the greatness of Hevajra, since the latter is the essence of the former.89
Vajragarbha asked:
- “As for Hevajra,
- How is such a name constructed?
- What is expressed by the syllable he?
- And what is meant by vajra?” [1.1.6]
Vajragarbha asked. What did he ask? He asked another three questions. Why did he ask them? He asked them in order to hear the reasoning, implied in the name itself, for why Hevajra is the essence of Vajradhara. The particle as is used in the sense of the speech marker iti.90 The question how is such name, “Hevajra,” constructed, which is to say compounded, in fact means “how should it be analyzed?” By vajra means “by the word vajra.”
The Blessed One replied:
- “The syllable he expresses great compassion,
- While vajra expresses wisdom.
- Now listen to the tantra, spoken by me—
- It has the nature of wisdom and means.” [1.1.7]
The syllable he91 expresses great compassion—this is how one should syntactically connect the text.92 He can be etymologically derived by removing the syllable ma from mahā, great, and substituting i for the word karuṇā, compassion.93 This is the underlying idea. Great compassion is the compassion that can display supremely wrathful activities of body, speech, and mind for the guidance of extremely wicked and wrathful beings.94
And wisdom is expressed as vajra, that is to say, by the word vajra. Wisdom is perfected knowledge, which means nondual knowledge.95 Here, it can also be said that wisdom is emptiness itself, as emptiness is the basis of wisdom. As is taught in the glorious Guhyasamāja Tantra:
- “Wisdom is that which recognizes the lack of existence.
- Means is that which has a characteristic of existence.”96
Why is emptiness called vajra? Because, as is taught in the glorious Vajraśekhara Tantra:
- “It has a hard inner essence and is not hollow;
- It is characterized as indivisible and unbreakable;
- It is called vajra—an emptiness
- That cannot be burned and cannot perish.”97[F.225.b]
In the phrase “the nature of wisdom and means,” wisdom is emptiness and means is great compassion. This wisdom and means are both the nature, the inner essence, of this tantra, which is why it is described as having the nature of wisdom and means. This indicates the analysis of the compound as a karmadhāraya, meaning that Hevajra is both he and, at the same time, vajra. The sense here is that Hevajra is great compassion, which is based on the emptiness of all phenomena.
As for the word tantra, “tantra” means “continuity”.98 And that can be of three types: tantra of the cause, tantra of the result, and tantra of the means. Hevajra is accordingly also threefold: Hevajra of the cause, Hevajra of the result, and Hevajra of the means.99
The cause is the lineage, the family. The words “lineage” and “family” are synonymous. In this case, however, the vajra family is the only family. Because this family is a vessel of skillful means, the most important of which are great compassion and great wisdom, it is called “Hevajra of the cause” and “tantra of the cause.” How is this family Hevajra? Because Hevajra is here the cause. How is this family a “continuity?” Because there are very many100 beings who belong to the vajra family.
The level of the great Vajradhara that can be attained by the power of the Hevajra of the cause and through sustained, repeated practice of the Hevajra of the means, is called “Hevajra of the result” and “tantra of the result.” How is this Hevajra? Because Hevajra is here the result. How is this a “continuity”? Because it is made of infinite buddha qualities.
For continuity of skillful means101—the most important of which are great compassion and wisdom—the “Hevajra of the means”102 and “tantra of the means” are the main factors.
Among these three, the tantra of the cause and the tantra of the result have just been explained. The tantra of the means, however, has not been made known. Therefore, addressing it, Vajradhara teaches the lines beginning with “there are the gazes”:
- “There are the gazes, the summoning, the great language of signs—
- Capability that is known to be of many types.
- There are paralyzing and banishing,
- The paralyzing of armies, and hostile rites.” [1.1.8]
Capability means “power.” Of many types refers to producing rain, dispelling clouds, and so forth.
- “There are the arising, abiding, and instrumental cause
- Of the yoginīs, as is appropriate,
- Capability, and knowledge, both general and specific,
- In accordance with the arising of the deities.” [1.1.9]
As is appropriate means “as is fit.”103 Arising refers to the form, the emblems, and so forth.104 Abiding refers to the support maṇḍala.105 The instrumental cause refers to the moon, the sun, and so forth. Capability is the power arising from excellence in recitation and meditation.106 General knowledge refers to disciplines such as astrology.[F.226.a] Specific knowledge refers to all the ritual skills of a master. The deities are the glorious Heruka together with the retinue, or Nairātmyā. In accordance with the arising means “arising in due order.”
- “At first, there should be one:
- The cause for Heruka’s arising.
- Beings are liberated through existence alone,
- O Vajragarbha of great compassion!” [1.1.10]
One refers to the gazes, the summoning, and so forth, as taught. Heruka means Hevajra of the result. His arising is the attaining of his level. The cause for this “arising” is the tantra of the means. This is what is meant. Why is this first? Because of the excellence of the stage of arising that has numerous great means in the form of deities and so forth.
But surely this is the Great Vehicle, and in the Great Vehicle107 all phenomena are, substantially, a mere representation. And thus it has been taught in the noble Ten Bhūmis:
“The entire threefold universe is mind only.”108
The nature of mental representation is luminosity. Something without such a nature does not appear, because of being contradictory. Therefore, an object that appears, such as a patch of blue or yellow, is not outside of consciousness. Rather, it is an “appearance,” an “image,” a “form” that is the very nature of consciousness. This is because consciousness, taking various forms, arises from nothing but the mind that is assailed by habitual tendencies laid down by concepts of the same type, just as happens in a dream. This is also stated in the noble Laṅkāvatāra:
- “Indeed, no objects exist externally,
- As fools imagine they do.
- The mind, swayed by habitual tendencies,
- Takes the appearance of external objects.”109
“Swayed” means “assailed.” Furthermore, there is no external object, such as a patch of blue, as it is neither singular nor multiple.110 It cannot be singular because it appears with different parts. Nor can it be multiple, in term of the smallest particles, as the idea of a smallest particle does not make sense.111 To explain, if this particle has parts, how could it possibly be the smallest particle? If this particle has no parts, then when they are combined together they each would occupy the same location because of being combined in their entirety. Thus, it would follow then that every lump of matter would have the size of the smallest particle, even an elephant, a mountain, an ocean, or the earth.112[F.226.b] And, it has been taught in the noble Descent to Laṅka:
- “Just as a form reflected in a mirror
- Is neither the same nor another,
- Visible but not present,
- Such is the case with the nature of things.”113
For that reason there does not exist a graspable object external to consciousness. Since such an object does not exist, the state of being a grasping subject, which depends on it, also does not exist in relation to consciousness. Therefore, in every sense there is no duality of an object of grasping and a grasping subject. Although these two do not exist, there is an erroneous apprehension that appears dualistically. This erroneous apprehension is precisely the fabrication of the unreal. And, when this fabrication of the unreal is devoid of that duality, this absence is the state of mere representation, which always exists. That same duality is the fabricated nature of things, because it does not exist in the manner it is observed. The fabrication of the unreal is the dependent nature; it depends on others insofar as it is produced by causes and conditions. Being devoid of duality is the completely perfect nature, because it always exists in the same way. As was taught by the noble Maitreya:114
- “The fabricated, the dependent,
- And the completely perfect have been taught
- On the basis of the object, the fabrication of the unreal,
- And on the basis of the absence of the two.”115
With regard to this, a bodhisattva should cultivate the three samādhis:116
The samādhi of emptiness realizes that all entities are nonexistent in terms of being the fabricated characteristics of the aggregates, sensory bases, and sensory spheres. This is because it takes as its point of reference the nonexistence of the fabricated aggregates, and so forth.
The samādhi of wishlessness realizes that everything belonging to the threefold universe is suffering and the cause of suffering. This is because it is the fabrication of the unreal as the dependent nature, which is existent, and because of appearing with a dual nature, which is nonexistent. This samādhi is wishless because it counteracts the wish for rebirth.
The nature of all phenomena is to be empty of duality, because it is not adventitious. Precisely that is termed thusness, because it exists always in that same way. Precisely that is the pinnacle of existence, because it is the foremost of every reality. Precisely that is free from signs, insofar as it unfolds in the absence of forms that bear the signature marks of erroneous apprehension.[F.227.a] Precisely that is the absolute truth, as it is the range of the supreme, supramundane knowledge. Precisely that is the dharmadhātu, as it is the cause of the qualities of the noble ones, such as the powers and the bases of confidence. This is because the qualities of the noble ones arise for those who take as their point of reference precisely this nonduality. And precisely that, this emptiness of duality, is neither existence nor nonexistence. Why is it not existence? Because it is characterized by the absence of duality. Why is it not nonexistence? Because it is the nature of all phenomena. This is the samādhi of signlessness, because it takes as its point of reference what is free from signs.
And these three samādhis constitute the perfection of wisdom in its secondary form, as they are only an application of this perfection.
After that, one should investigate in the following way: This form appearing as “blue” or “yellow,” and so forth, is neither an external nor an internal entity, because it is, as explained before, naturally devoid of being one or many. It is only that the intellect of immature people, who are confused by the power of the reinforced habitual tendencies of ignorance since time without beginning, shines forth in this or that form, which are themselves nonexistent. And, making precisely that form the signature mark and basis for their sensory perception, a person’s concept of duality and grasping at duality continues as the primary cause of everything undesirable. And, for as long as this form appears, absolute truth will not be seen, just as those who suffer from an eye disease see hairs, gnats, and other things, and fail to see the actual absence of the hair and the rest. After investigating in this way, one abandons all names and all signature marks.
Then, for one who abides in a samādhi that takes as its point of reference all phenomena—a samādhi free from verbalization and appearances—supramundane knowledge arises effortlessly and without contrivance because all the signature marks of conceptual elaboration have disappeared through the habituating power of former practice. This supramundane knowledge is free from concepts and appearances, perceives the emptiness of all phenomena, and is altogether stainless and infinite117 like the sky. It is the mind of awakening in its ultimate sense, the primary perfection of wisdom,118[F.227.b] the path that is the antidote to all obscurations. By this antidote, the habitual tendencies that constitute the seeds of all afflictions latent in the storehouse consciousness are eradicated. Through this, the types of consciousness that appear as the environment, body, and enjoyments cease. Consequently, the storehouse consciousness loses its own characteristic and instead seizes the characteristic of the undefiled element. Precisely this undefiled element is the buddhas’ dharmakāya.119 When this is attained, the sambhogakāya and nirmāṇakāya that depend on it are also attained. This is an established view.120
According to this established view, only the perfection of wisdom is cultivated to attain buddhahood. And, this perfection of wisdom is the correct knowledge that objects do not exist dualistically. Through ascertaining this nonduality, false forms with the nature of duality disappear, and instead infinite luminosity alone shines forth. Someone may therefore have doubt, thinking that this cultivation of the heruka and yoginīs, of mantras, signs, seats, the temple palace, and so forth, which relies on forms, would be a conceptual elaboration, an error, an effort that causes cyclic existence, and it does not lead to liberation. Thus, in order to remove that doubt, the Blessed One says, “Beings are liberated through existence alone.” Existence (bhāva) refers to the six perfections insofar as “it causes to be” (bhāvayati), that is, it causes persistent remaining, or causes one to attain all the qualities of a buddha.121 Greatly compassionate beings are liberated through that alone. For precisely that reason, the Blessed One uses the address “O Vajragarbha122 of great compassion.” This is because those who are liberated through the perfection of wisdom alone attain the level of an arhat, by very easily eradicating all their afflictive emotions. Consequently, they would realize the awakening of a śrāvaka, but not the awakening of a buddha. Bodhisattvas, on the other hand, because they have great compassion, desire no less than unsurpassable awakening, as it is the supreme means to accomplish the benefits of all beings. Accordingly, they become liberated through the six perfections, not through one.
If it is the case that they can only be liberated through the six perfections, what is the function here of the first five, and what of the sixth?[F.228.a] To answer this, the Blessed One says “they are bound,” and so forth:
- “They are bound by the fetters of existence,
- And are liberated through recognition of it.
- Existence needs to be cultivated, O wise one,
- As does nonexistence, through recognition of it.
- Heruka should be cultivated in the same way,
- Through the recognition of nonexistence.”123 [1.1.11]
Here, in this statement, the word existence expresses the five perfections, as they are the most important factor for causing remaining and attainment. “Fetters” are existence itself, because they cause remaining; thus they are fetters of existence. They are bound by these,124 although actually liberated, because they remain by the power of these five perfections. They remain with the three bodies and to the extent of space, in order to produce infinite benefits of all kinds for the beings.125
Recognition of that is the recognition of this existence, the knowledge of absolute truth. This is nothing but the perfection of wisdom. They are liberated through that, as all obscurations together with their habitual tendencies are eliminated by that alone. Therefore, all afflictive factors cease completely along with their seeds. In this way, the nirvāṇa of these buddhas is called nonabiding nirvāṇa, because they are not fixed in either nirvāṇa or saṃsāra.
To summarize, Vajradhara says “existence,” and so forth.126 Existence here refers to the virtue that comprises the five perfections. Needs to be cultivated means “to be diligently generated in one’s mindstream, and then turning that into one’s own nature through the power of meditation.” As does nonexistence, through recognition means that the nonexistence of this existence—the twofold nature of the perceived and the perceiver—needs to be recognized through the perfection of wisdom. This is because someone who does not cultivate “existence” as they become liberated falls into the awakening of a śrāvaka. On the other hand, someone who does not recognize nonexistence remains in saṃsāra. Thus, both would be considered ignorant. A wise bodhisattva, by contrast, will do both. For precisely that reason, the address wise one is used.
Up this point, what is to be done in the Great Vehicle has been briefly presented, insofar as the way of mantra is included in the Great Vehicle.127 Pointing out that the same is the case also in the Hevajra Tantra, Vajradhara says Heruka, and so forth.
The word Heruka refers to Heruka, his attributes, his seat, the temple palace, and so forth, because in mentioning the main figure the attendant features are also implied, just as would be the case when answering the question “Who is this coming?” with “It is the king.”128[F.228.b] This means that all the many virtuous qualities that can be cultivated in the Great Vehicle have the same essence as the fully awakened lord of the maṇḍala. When differentiated, this fully awakened one is the maṇḍala.129 The maṇḍala emanations through those virtuous qualities accomplish the benefit of beings. Here,130 these three131 are to be cultivated in order to swiftly attain the bliss of the three bodies. Moreover, the virtue that remains from precisely this cultivation is for the sake of swiftly perfecting the bliss. And, all this should be thoroughly understood as the mind alone and as nonexistent in the manner it appears.132 In this way, relying on the stage of arising, the first tantra of the means has been explained and established.133
Now, to explain the second tantra of the means, which is based on the stage of the arisen, the Blessed One teaches the verse beginning “the great knowledge that resides in the body”:
- “The great knowledge located in the body134
- Is devoid of all conceptuality.
- He pervades all entities,135
- And though located there, he not born from the body.” [1.1.12]
It is great, insofar as it is the ground for the seed of all buddha qualities. And, at the same time, it is knowledge, insofar as it has the nature of luminosity. Therefore, it is “great knowledge.” Located in the body means it “inhabits the body.” It “resides in the body,” because karmically produced sensations are experienced inseparably from the body, and because the sense faculties that are the seats of sensation function inseparably from the body.
Even though it is situated in the body, it is nevertheless “great knowledge.” To explain, whatever its true nature—its thusness—is, precisely that is the lineage of the buddhas; and whatever the buddha lineage is, that is the lineage of all buddha qualities. Therefore, insofar as the body is the true nature of things, this knowledge is naturally free of stains.136 And therefore, it is devoid of all conceptuality, because all stains of conceptual thought that appear as the environment, body, enjoyments, and so forth, are adventitious to it, insofar as they do not belong to it, just like the stains of clouds, darkness, haze, and so forth in the sky.137 And for precisely this reason, the dharmakāya is taught to be ever-present, insofar as it is permanent by nature.138 Just like the buddhas’ dharmadhātu has no beginning and no end, so too do its purity and the fact of being a vessel containing the seeds of all buddha qualities have no beginning and no end.139 In the root text, this is Hevajra;[F.229.a] that very “great knowledge” is Hevajra.
He pervades all entities in the sense that all entities manifest within his knowledge. And though located there, he is not born from the body. Why is it that he is not born from the body? Because there is no body external to cognition, because the body that is a form of cognition is unreal, and because it is illogical for something nonexistent to give birth to anything. In other words, even though he pervades all things, he is not born from them. This is because all things that are perceived in dualistic terms do not really exist, and because even their appearances are also unreal. Things, such as the body, are in themselves nothing more than cognitive events that manifest as the body and so forth. Their relationship in terms of cause and result is established both in the world as well as in the treatises. And is said in the Descent to Laṅka:
- “The absence of causes and conditions,
- The denial of a causal factor,
- Abiding in mind only—
- Thus I teach the nonarising.”140
The venerable Nāgārjuna also said:
- “No phenomenon ever arises,
- Nor does it ever cease.
- Only conditions alone
- Arise and cease.”141
“Mind only” means “mere representation.” “Phenomenon” indicates the object, an external mental representation. “Only conditions” means only mere representations that take on the form of objects. With regard to the thought of the venerable Nāgārjuna, it might be argued that the forms of cognition (jñānākāra) themselves constitute knowledge (jñāna). Yet this is not the case.142 As Nāgārjuna himself said:
- “It is said that the great elements, and so forth,
- Are contained within consciousness.
- In that cognition, they cease to exist.
- Are they not falsely fabricated then?”143
What Nāgārjuna means is this: The elements, their derivatives, and so forth, which are taught in the treatises, are contained within consciousness, worldly cognition. They are collected there, because mere consciousness itself is perceived in the form of the elements, their derivatives, and so forth. However, the same great elements and the rest cease to exist in the cognition that is supramundane knowledge. They go away. “Are they not falsely…”[F.229.b] is said since these great elements, and so forth, are simply false, conceptualized by an erring consciousness.144 In reality, they and their inherent nature do not exist. Therefore, in a nonerring cognition, they go away. For precisely this reason, nothing is existent in the sense of a dualistic nature, a nature of dualistic forms, or nonexistent as the nature of mere nondual luminosity. This tenet, which is common to the followers of both Madhyamaka and Yogācāra, is excellent.145 The other three Madhyamaka and four Yogācāra positions are refuted by those versed in logic, scriptures, and treatises.146
Furthermore, how is it that such “great knowledge” is Hevajra? Because he has the nature of great wisdom and great compassion. How so? He is, by his very nature, a receptacle for all buddha qualities and bodhisattva qualities—qualities that are to be obtained through cultivation and that accomplish infinite benefits of every kind for people.147
If so, then this148 would just be a tantra of the cause. How is it a tantra of the means? That is true. Here, that which has a continuity of mental activity in terms of empowering the body, pervasion, being mere luminosity, being apparent, being great bliss, being the receptacle of all buddha qualities, and including the entire Great Vehicle—that specifically, which is empowered by all tathāgatas—is primarily a tantra of the means. The same is also referred to as a tantra of the means because of manifesting as a whole without a division into mental activity and what is mentally engaged in.
Furthermore, in order to cultivate this great knowledge, the buddhas all also empowered its mudrā,149 namely the subtle syllable hūṁ, either as a whole or without the vowel and the anunāsika,150 as a bindu only—either as subtle as a mustard seed or supremely subtle—or, in terms of the divisions of the four cakras, the four letters together with their syllabic elements. Should it be argued that this perspective on the mudrā concerns the stage of arising but not the stage of the arisen, that is not the case.151[F.230.a] The term “stage of the arisen” here has a technical sense, not a common one. And, it denotes the deity’s body that arises from the transformation of the mantras, emblems, and so forth, and not the mantra alone.152 Thus, from the perspective of the stage of the arisen, the same great knowledge is Hevajra, as it has been taught.153 When empowered by that, one’s own body itself becomes the vajra body of the yogins. Precisely that is Hevajra’s support maṇḍala.
These are the Brahmaharasādhana and the Hevajrasahajasadyoga, respectively. About the former see Isaacson 2002 and 2007, and on the latter see Isaacson 2001.
Specifically and most helpfully, the opening passages of A String of Pearls in Isaacson 2021.
The translation follows Harunaga Isaacson’s edition of the Sanskrit text of this verse (Isaacson 2007, p. 287). Here and in the following, the translation of the commentary on Hevajratantra 1.1.1–12 is based on the new edition of the Sanskrit text published in Isaacson 2021.
The “three secrets” (guhyatraya; gsang gsum) have been rendered here as the “three secret constituents,” as they refer to the victorious ones’ secret body, speech, and mind.
One may note here briefly, as pointed out in Isaacson 2021 (p. 484), that this verse, which may be seen to contain an expression of blessing (āśirvāda), is composed in the sragdharā meter. Together with the structure of case endings in the first quarter of the verse (3-6-1-6-3: third case-sixth case-first case-sixth case-third case), this reflects in an ingenious way the very title of the work, A String of Pearls.
This verse, composed in āryā meter, contains a double meaning (śleṣa) whereby each of the attributes qualifying the commentary may also be taken to refer to a garland of pearls. Regarding this, see Isaacson 2001, p. 126.
D reads lha dang gcig tu gol ba’i gnas; K preserves the preferable lhag dad gcig tu gol ba’i gnas, which aligns with the Sanskrit translated here.
The “Omniscient One” is the Buddha, and specifically the fully awakened Buddha (samyaksambuddha). In this verse, which is composed in āryā meter, we follow the reading nanu sarvavit pramāṇaṃ na gauravāt sarvavid bhavati in Isaacson 2021. C reads nanu sarvavit pramāṇān na gauravāt sarvavid bhavati. For a discussion of the variants, see Isaacson 2001, p. 127, and Isaacson 2021, p. 485.
The Tibetan translation differs, reading bde gshegs la // gnyis ga gzhogs ’phyas byed par mtshungs (“both equally reject the Sugata”). In all probability, Tib. bde gshegs (Skt. sugata) is a corruption of de gshegs, a short form of de bzhin gshegs pa (Skt. tathāgata). The difference in the Tibetan text likely is to be seen as a corruption either caused by the phonetic similarity of de and bde, or by the fact that bde gshegs is more common than de gshegs. The latter form is, however, attested for Skt. tathāgata.
Reading ruciḥ pravartanī with Isaacson 2021. C reads rucipravartanī, which may find support in the Tibetan translation ’dod pas ’jug par byed pa yin. About this verse Isaacson (2021, p. 485) writes, “For Ratnākaraśānti ruci, which is a matter of vāsanās (not something which a commentary, for instance, could cause), is what will draw some people to a particular teaching of the Buddha, make them become active (for instance to study the Hevajratantra); the commentary for its part has the function of explaining the meaning to them.”
This and the preceding verse are composed in mālinī meter in Sanskrit. One may note that Ratnākaraśānti invokes the image that the cooling pearls quell the thirst of the person who metaphorically wears the String of Pearls across their heart. A somewhat similar image is invoked again in the dedication of merit in the final stanza of the work.
“Places of blessing” translates the Skt. term bhaga (“good fortune”), which aligns it with the translation of bhagavat as the “Blessed One.” The term bhaga is also a euphemism for the vagina, which, as the commentary explains, refers to the dharmodaya that is normally represented as a white triangle, identical in essence with the buddhas’ body, speech, and mind, corresponding to its three corners.
Reading ˚kāyavākcitta˚ (C, Rms) against ˚kāyavākcittahṛdaya˚ (R) to align the root text with the commentary.
Original setting is a translation of the Sanskrit term nidāna (Tib. gleng gzhi), literally “basis” or “original cause,” which denotes an opening statement that typically describes the circumstances in which the teaching or discourse was first given. See Sferra 2022 for a study of the function and use of the nidāna statement in tantric and nontantric works.
The Hevajra Tantra consists of two parts. In the course of time, the denomination dvikalpa (rtog pa gnyis pa; “the one consisting of two parts”) has become a standard way of referring to this tantra.
Reading nidānavākyena sahākṛṣṭam following Isaacson 2021. C reads nidānavākye mayākṛṣṭam. For a discussion of this line see Isaacson 2021, p. 486, note f.
D reads de ni yang dag pa yin te (“this is what is correct”). K, on the other hand, aligns with the Skt. in reading de ni yang dag pa ma yin te.
With this, Ratnākaraśānti rejects the third of the above mentioned options. He disagrees with assigning special, esoteric meaning to the syllables evaṃ (in all likelihood the interpretation of e and vaṃ as “the union of wisdom and means”). He does not believe that such a meaning is conveyed in the statement of the original setting at the beginning of the text, whereas it will be expressed later, at Hevajra Tantra 2.3.3 onward. The type of overly esoteric interpretation that Ratnākaraśānti rejects can be seen, for example, in Kāṇha’s commentary on the Hevajra Tantra, The Jewel Garland of Yoga.
The Teacher (daiśika) is the Blessed One, Vajradhara, in the form of Hevajra. He teaches the Hevajra Tantra to the bodhisattva Vajragarbha. His discourse was heard by the person who is now recounting the event, who is the speaker of the words “thus I heard.”
Ratnākaraśānti appears to favor referring to the Blessed One as Vajradhara, despite the fact that the root text consistently refers to him as Vajrasattva.
As above, the word “blessings” translates the Skt. bhaga, the same word that forms a part of bhagavat (“Blessed One”).
This verse can be found in a variety of Buddhist texts, such as the Buddhabhūmiśāstra, the Akṣayamatinirdeśa, the Vajracchedikaṭīkā, and the Sekoddeśaṭīkā (see Sferra 2006), as well as in some non-Buddhist texts, such as the Bhagavadgītā. The same verse is quoted again below in context of the commentary on 1.5.15 (1.5.40). For a more complete list of citations, see Sferra 2006, p. 65, note e.
Here, Ratnākaraśānti is simply explaining that the Skt. suffix °vat, in bhagavat (“Blessed One”), functions to express possession.
Here, Ratnākaraśānti does not want the compound kāyavākcittam to be read as a dvandva compound, with body, speech, and mind regarded distinctly. Instead, he prefers the members of the compound to be analyzed in appositional relationship as a karmadhāraya, in the sense of “that which is, at the same time, body, speech, and mind together.”
As the triangle of the dharmodaya has one of its three points pointing downward, its width increases in the upward direction.
In the Hevajra Tantra, the phrase “body, speech, and mind of all tathāgatas” (sarvatathāgatakāyavakcitta º) is in compound with the phrase “places of bliss of vajra women” (ºvajrayoṣidbhageṣu). Here, Ratnākaraśānti is identifying this compound as one of appositional relationship, a karmadhāraya, which means that one entity is directly equated with the other. Read Tib. khyab par bsdu ba’ o as khyad par bsdu ba’ o (Skt. viśeṣaṇasamāsaḥ).
“Locanā and so forth” are the five tathāgata consorts: Nairātmyā, Locanā, Māmakī, Pāṇḍurā, and Tārā.
The term vajrasattva should perhaps be understood literally as the principle of “a vajra being” (one who is vajra), and also as the deity Vajrasattva, who here is equated with Vajradhara.
This follows Conlon and D in reading mahāsamayasattvasya (dam tshig sems dpa’ chen po), which also aligns with Ratnākaraśānti’s commentary that follows. R reads samayasattvasya [jñānasattvasya], which indicates that the editors of R wish to read jñānasattvasya instead of samayasattvasya. However, jñānasattvasya (“wisdom being”) is not attested in the majority of the Skt. manuscripts that are available for this part of the root text, nor is it supported by the Tibetan translation. There is also no trace of this reading in the commentary below, or in the commentaries by Kāṇha and Kamalanātha. See Isaacson 2021 (p. 488, note m) for a discussion of this variant. For additional evidence that Ratnākaraśānti wished to read mahāsamayasattva here, see the commentary to 1.1.5 and n.77.
The formulation utkaṇṭhana (“arouse thirst”) is an allusion to the formulation utkaṇṭhitānāṃ in the final opening stanza. A similar expression occurs again below.
In the Skt. text, this part begins with sarva° (“all”), and in the Tib. it begins with de bzhin gshegs pa thams kyi cad (“of all tathāgatas”).
In the Sanskrit text the word used for “come to understand” is the same as for “gone,” i.e. gata, which fits the commentarial pattern.
Tib. reads spros pa med pa’i ye shes kyi bdag nyid sngags kyi lha rnams kyi sku dang gsung dang thugs thams cad kyi snying po ni mchog tu dad par dka’ ba nyid do (“The essence of the body, speech, and mind of all the mantra deities, who have the nature of wisdom beyond conceptual thought, is extremely hard to have faith in”).
Here, the word “question” translates the Skt. vitarka, which can also mean “doubt,” “deliberation,” or “conjecture.”
“Him” means Vajradhara, and “a person” means Hevajra, who is Vajradhara’s essence. Tib. gal te gsang ba las shin tu gsang ba ’di nam zhig skyes bu ji lta bu ’dir skal ba dang ldan pa yin pa de brjod dgos so zhes bya ba ni rtog pa dang po’o (“The first question was, ‘If this is the most secret of the exceedingly secret, then when should it be taught and to what type of qualified person?’ ”).
The idea here seems to be that since Vajradhara is already the ultimate essence of every being, there cannot be a higher essence, or a person who is that essence.
The “direct speech marker” is the Skt. word iti, which was used at the end of the preceding sentence (translated there as “so it is”). A similar comment can be found elsewhere in Ratnākaraśānti’s work, e.g., in the Sāratamā: vināpi tena cārthagateś cakārasyānuktasamuccayārthatvāt.
The “rule of repetition” (Skt. anuvṛtti) states that certain words from a preceding sentence or passage should be supplied in the current sentence.
Reading tathāgatagarbhāḥ with Isaacson 2021, in line with the palm-leaf MS K and Tib. de bzhin gshegs pa’i snying po, against vajragarbhās printed in C.
The word “lineage” (gotra) seems to be used here in the sense of “family” (kula), as the next sentence indicates.
The quality of vajra is indeed associated with hatred or anger, or, in the nonantinomian terms, with the mirror-like wisdom (ādarśajñāna; me long lta bu’i ye shes) among the five wisdoms.
Curiously, the Tib. translation reads de snying po byang chub sems dpa’ sems dpa’ chen po legs so legs so, rather sounding like a rendering of sādhu sādhu tad garbha (?) bodhisattva mahāsattva. Here, we rather would have expected snying rje chen po (instead of de snying po) and byang chub sems dpa’ chen po (instead of byang chub sems dpa’ sems dpa’ chen po).
The Tib. reads skyes bu mchog (“supreme person”) where the Skt. reads puruṣasiṃhānām (“leonine people”).
Here, the following stanza is ascribed to the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra (see Nanjio 1956), but this famous verse is also found in a number of texts, such as in the Tattvasaṃgrahapañjikā (Krishnamacharya 1926, p. 13); the Vajrapradīpā (Gerloff 2020, vol. 2, p. 78); Vanaratna’s Rahasyadīpikā (Samdhong Rinpoche and Vrajavallabh Dwivedi 1990, p. 8); and the Subhāṣitasaṃgraha (Bendall 1905, p. 13), wherein this verse is accredited to the Gaṇḍavyūha Sūtra. This famous stanza, however, is not found in the surviving versions of either the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra or the Gaṇḍhavyūha Sūtra, and may originally go back to the Daśadharmasūtra (Toh 53, F.167.b).
Reading mahāsamayasattvasya with Isaacson 2021 in line with MS K and Tib. (dam tshig sems dpa’ chen po), against samayasattvasya in C. Note that the commentary here does not reflect the word jñānasattvasya in R, which therefore was excluded in the translation of the root text. Apparently, neither Ratnākaraśānti, Kāṇha, nor Kamalanātha read jñānasattvasya in this part of the root text. The term jñānasattva, however, complements samayasattva in terms of the Yoginītantra doctrine espoused in the Hevajra Tantra, and also comes up in the next few verses of the root text.
C includes an additional line here: ity anena dvitīyavitarkanirāsaḥ (“this resolves the second question”), which is redundant and is not found in either MS K or Isaacson 2021. The Tib. supports C with ’dis ni rtog pa gnyis pa bsal tu.
Here and in the following, the expression “buddhas’ qualities” is a translation of the Skt. term buddhadharma. In the singular, the term can be taken to designate the teaching of the buddhas. In the plural, however, it designates the “qualities” or “constituents” of the buddhas.
Skt. vyāpter nyāyāt. The “rule of pervasion” in this case indicates that what is present in one member of a set is present in all members of that set.
It is noteworthy that Ratnākaraśānti appears to interpret the compound prakāśarūpa not as a bahuvrīhi but a karmadhāraya, a usage that, as rightly pointed out in Isaacson 2021 (p. 490), is attested also in other parts of A String of Pearls. The expression “free from appearances” describes the fundamental level of consciousness in Yogācāra philosophy. In accord with Yogācāra tenets, the body, speech, and mind are treated here as one and the same consciousness.
This translation follows Isaacson 2021 in reading mahāsukhamayena, taking it to qualify the preceding prakāśarūpeṇa. C reads mahasukhamaya°.
Reading cittasantāne following Isaacson 2021 and Tib. sems kyi rgyun in order to construe the locative absolute (sati saptamī). C reads cittamala°. MS K, the only available palm-leaf witness for this part, shows a lacuna, attesting cittasa††.
This translation follows Isaacson 2021 and the Tib. in reading ānanta (mtha’ yas pa), “infinite.” This is the reading attested in the palm-leaf MS available for this part of the text. C reads ānanda (“joy”), a plausible reading that could refer to the four joys. About this point, see Isaacson 2021, p. 489, note o.
This translation follows Isaacson 2021 in reading śaktilakṣaṇa° as a compound on the authority of palm-leaf MS K. C reads śaktilakṣaṇe separately.
Reading yataḥ saiva suviśuddhatā following Isaacson 2021. C reads yato asyaiva suviśuddhatā. We understand the pronoun sā to refer back to the preceding ekatā (“oneness”).
The Skt. word sattva, here translated as “being,” entails a whole range of possible connotations such as, e.g., “being good,” “being true,” and “being pure.”
The Skt. and Tib. versions of the text differ. Where the Skt. text attests bhidyate (“can be broken”) without any negation, the Tib. translation reads mi phyed pa ste (“is not broken”). Tentatively, the translation presented here follows the reading in the Skt. version, considering it as lectio difficilior and the Tibetan version as an attempt to simplify the meaning.
Here, Ratnākaraśānti understands the Skt. word prajñā as short for pra vibhajyajñā na (“the knowledge of how to separate”). In the commentary on verse 1.1.7 below, Ratnākaraśānti offers a second, more common derivation of the word prajñā, according to which pra° is short for prakṛṣtaṃ, and °jñā is short for jñānam (“perfect knowledge”).
In classical Sanskrit, the word vajra usually is masculine. In the verse from the root text, however, it is a neuter noun. As Ratnākaraśānti explains, this is a feature of “scriptural language” (chandas), meaning that the irregular form is itself validated by its use in a scriptural text.
The Skt. term sambhogāḥ suggests the sambhogakāya, as Ratnākaraśānti implies in the commentary that follows. He defines the term sambhoga, “enjoyments,” as what is “enjoyed” (bhoga) “together with” (sam bhūya) with the bodhisattvas.
Reading asraṃsanam anidhanaḥ pravāhaḥ following Isaacson 2021, which aligns with the evidence of both the palm-leaf MSS and the Tibetan translation. C reads, erroneously, asraṃsanamaṇidharaḥ.
In the usage of this commentary, like in many other texts, buddha fields are spatially conflatable with worlds inhabited by ordinary beings.
Reading kavaḍīkārā° with both the Skt. palm-leaf MSS and Isaacson 2021, against kavalīkārā° printed in C.
Tib. ji ltar zhe na sdod cing gnas pa ste ’jig pa med pas bzhugs pa ni sems dpa’o (“How so? He is a being in the sense that he abides and remains, residing free from disintegration.”).
The Skt. sphuraṇayogena (or spharaṇayogena as attested in the palm-leaf MSS; lit. “by way of expanding”) could also have the sense of “in a flashing/pulsating manner,” etc. Ratnākaraśānti derives here the meaning of the word samaya from the prefix sam-, as short for samantād (“in all directions”), and gamana (“going“), which is synonymous with aya.
Devising such etymologies that are intended to arrive at a particular meaning is characteristic of Sanskrit commentaries. In this case, the word sattva is derived from satatapravṛttatva by eliding, in the latter, the core tatapravṛtta. The Skt. term satatapravṛttatva means something more like “ever-continuing,” but we have translated it here as “ever-keeping” to correspond with the root text.
At this point R includes an additional verse that is absent in most Sanskrit manuscripts, was not included in Conlon, and is not found in the canonical Tibetan translation of the root text. Ratnākaraśānti, Kāṇḥa, and Kamalanātha also do not show any trace of this verse in their commentaries. It has therefore been omitted from this translation. See R, p. 7, for the verse in question.
Reading tuśabda itiśabdasyārthe following Isaacson 2021 and in line with both the Skt. palm-leaf MSS and the Tib. (ni zhes bya ba’i sgras ni ’di’i zhes bya ba’i don to). C erroneously reads na tu śabda iti śabdasyārthe.
This translation follows Isaacson 2021, which is based on the testimony of one of the two Skt. palm-leaf MSS and the Tibetan translation. C omits this portion of the line.
In Sanskrit commentarial literature, this is a standard technical way by which a commentator shows how the sentence is to be construed. Here Ratnākaraśānti is indicating that the term bhaṇyate (“expresses”), which is given in the second quarter of the verse, is also to be read with the first quarter of the verse.
If we remove ma from mahā, we are left with the syllable hā. If we add to it the letter i, we will obtain, by the rule of euphonic combination (sandhi), the syllable he.
This translation follows Isaacson 2021 in reading karuṇā mahākaruṇā, which is supported by one of the two Skt. palm-leaf MSS and the Tibetan translation (thugs rje ste thugs rje chen po’o). C reads tu mahākaruṇā.
Here, Ratnākaraśānti offers a second possible derivation of the Skt. word prajñā, interpreting the prefix pra° as pra kṛṣtaṃ and the part °jñā as short for jñā nam. For the other interpretation as pravibhajyajñāna, see the commentary on verse 1.1.4. The same derivation occurs again below in the commentary on 1.8.49, and is also given elsewhere, such as in Kāṇha’s The Jewel Garland of Yoga.
Skt. prabandha (Tib. rgyun). The term prabandha is derived from pra + √bandh, literally means “continuity” or “interlinking.” In a broader context, this interlinking refers to a system (tantra) of teaching with three subsystems of cause, result, and means, and, in the immediate context of the root text, it refers to the Hevajra Tantra, which Vajradhara is now asking Vajragarbha to “listen to.”
D reverses the order of the final two: “Hevajra of the result, and Hevajra of the means (thabs dgyes pa’i rdo rje dang / ’bras bu dgyes pa’i rdo rje’o), whereas K and N align with the sequence given here.
“Indestructible,” one of the subtle channels in the body. According to Ratnākaraśānti, this channel is associated with the yoginī Vajrā.
Toh 4089. An important treatise on Buddhist metaphysics composed by Vasubandhu in the fourth century ce.
The “truth of the highest meaning” that can only be directly realized, but not grasped conceptually.
The negative states of mind that bind to saṃsāra. The main three are delusion, anger, and desire.
The five aggregates of individual existence are form (
This seems to be a Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit version of the name Adhomukhā, one of the Buddhist goddesses.
One of the five tathāgatas, he is located in the eastern quarter of tantric maṇḍalas and presides over the vajra family.
A posture where the right foot is extended forward, and the left knee slightly bent.
The eleventh bodhisattva level.
A system of code words and terms with symbolic meaning that are used in the higher tantras.
One of the five tathāgatas, he is located in the western quarter of tantric maṇḍalas and presides over the lotus family.
Another name for Amitābha.
One of the five tathāgatas, he is located in the western quarter of tantric maṇḍalas and presides over the lotus family. An alternate name of Amitābha.
One of the five tathāgatas, he is located in the southern quarter of tantric maṇḍalas and presides over the karma family.
One of the eight nāga kings. He is also the cosmic serpent that Viṣṇu sleeps upon.
Another name of Yama.
One of the secondary kṣetras.
There are two types of
An offering that consists primarily of water, which is made ritually to the deity as an act of welcome and to bid farewell. The ritual act is based on the similar practice of receiving a guest in the home.
According to Buddhist tradition, one who is worthy of worship (pūjām arhati), or one who has conquered the enemies, the mental afflictions (kleśa-ari-hata-vat), and reached liberation from the cycle of rebirth and suffering. It is the fourth and highest of the four fruits attainable by śrāvakas. Also used as an epithet of the Buddha.
Another name for Amitābha.
standard
The eternal principle of individual self, taught in the Brahmanical Upaniṣads and espoused by the Vedānta tradition. It is a concept rejected by Buddhism.
A proponent of philosophical views that assert the primacy of enduring self. The various schools of Vedānta would fall into this category.
The ninth bodhisattva level.
Literally meaning “heat,” the term refers to intense, austere practices intended to generate yogic energy.
One of the three main subtle channels associated with the experience of emptiness; it is located in the center of the body. In the Hevajra system, this channel is identified with Nairātmyā.
The worst of all hells, where the suffering is most intense.
An offering to the deity or spirits that consists chiefly of food.
The ritual activity of banishing or exorcising hostile forces. A type of hostile rite (
There are four bases of confidence possessed by realized beings, beginning with the confidence of having realized phenomena as they are.
A polyvalent term that refers in tantric scriptures to the
“Generating,” one of the subtle channels in the body. According to Ratnākaraśānti, this channel is associated with the yoginī Vajraḍākī.
One of the five Pāṇḍava brothers. Son of Vāyu.
A Buddhist goddess.
One of the fifteen yoginīs that inhabit the thirty-two subtle channels. Also, the name of a yoginī in the maṇḍala of Nairātmyā.
This term in its broadest sense can refer to any being, whether human, animal, or nonhuman. However, it is often used to refer to a specific class of nonhuman beings, especially when bhūtas are mentioned alongside rākṣasas, piśācas, or pretas. In common with these other kinds of nonhumans, bhūtas are usually depicted with unattractive and misshapen bodies. Like several other classes of nonhuman beings, bhūtas take spontaneous birth. As their leader is traditionally regarded to be Rudra-Śiva (also known by the name Bhūta), with whom they haunt dangerous and wild places, bhūtas are especially prominent in Śaivism, where large sections of certain tantras concentrate on them.
Another name of Śiva, possibly reflecting his being the lord of bhūtas.
Also called
In the general Mahāyāna teachings, the “mind of awakening” (
A being who is dedicated to the cultivation and fulfilment of the altruistic intention to attain perfect buddhahood, traversing the ten bodhisattva levels (daśabhūmi, sa bcu). Bodhisattvas purposely opt to remain within cyclic existence in order to liberate all sentient beings, instead of simply seeking personal freedom from suffering. In terms of the view, they realize both the selflessness of persons and the selflessness of phenomena.
The levels or stages through which a bodhisattva progresses before becoming fully awakened. There are between ten and thirteen levels, depending on the traditions of explanation.
Unidentified.
A code word for male genitalia.
One of the primary deities of the Brahmanical pantheon in which he is considered a creator god. Brahmā occupies an important place in Buddhism as one of two deities (the other being Śakra) who are said to have first exhorted Śākyamuni to teach the Dharma. He is also considered to be the “Lord of the Sahā world” (our universe).
The absolute reality. The timeless and unconditioned ground of being, first taught in the Upaniṣads.
“Brahmin woman,” one of the five mudrās, representing the activity family in the Hevajra system.
A unit of time equal to the duration of an exhalation and inhalation.
Literally “wheel,” cakra is an energy center in the subtle body where subtle channels converge. In tantric Buddhism there are either four or five main cakras. The
An ideal monarch or emperor who, as the result of the merit accumulated in previous lifetimes, rules over a vast realm in accordance with the Dharma. Such a monarch is called a cakravartin because he bears a wheel (cakra) that rolls (vartate) across the earth, bringing all lands and kingdoms under his power. The cakravartin conquers his territory without causing harm, and his activity causes beings to enter the path of wholesome actions. According to Vasubandhu’s Abhidharmakośa, just as with the buddhas, only one cakravartin appears in a world system at any given time. They are likewise endowed with the thirty-two major marks of a great being (mahāpuruṣalakṣaṇa), but a cakravartin’s marks are outshined by those of a buddha. They possess seven precious objects: the wheel, the elephant, the horse, the wish-fulfilling gem, the queen, the general, and the minister. An illustrative passage about the cakravartin and his possessions can be found in The Play in Full (Toh 95), 3.3–3.13.
Vasubandhu lists four types of cakravartins: (1) the cakravartin with a golden wheel (suvarṇacakravartin) rules over four continents and is invited by lesser kings to be their ruler; (2) the cakravartin with a silver wheel (rūpyacakravartin) rules over three continents and his opponents submit to him as he approaches; (3) the cakravartin with a copper wheel (tāmracakravartin) rules over two continents and his opponents submit themselves after preparing for battle; and (4) the cakravartin with an iron wheel (ayaścakravartin) rules over one continent and his opponents submit themselves after brandishing weapons.
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kye’i rdo rje zhes bya ba rgyud kyi rgyal po (Hevajratantra). Toh 417–418, Degé Kangyur vol. 80 (rgyud, nga), folios 1.a–30.a.
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C The version of the Muktāvalī published in Tripathi 2001
Cms Readings from the critical apparatus of the Muktāvalī published in Tripathi 2001
Conlon The version of the Hevajra Tantra published in Conlon (forthcoming).
D Degé Kangyur/Tengyur
HT The edition and translation of the Hevajra Tantra published in Snellgrove 1959
K Kangxi Kangyur/Tengyur
MS K Palm-leaf MS of the Muktāvalī. National Archives Kathmandu (NAK) 4-19/Nepal-German Manuscript Preservation Project (NGMPP) reel no. A 1267-7.
MS T Incomplete palm-leaf MS of the Muktāvalī. University of Tokyo “New 513.” Parts of this codex missing in the University of Tokyo MS preserved as NGMPP reel no. E 260-2.
MS(S) Manuscript(s)
N Narthang Kangyur/Tengyur
R The version of the Hevajra Tantra published in Tripathi 2001
Rms Readings from the critical apparatus of the Muktāvalī published in Tripathi 2001
Skt. All consulted Sanskrit witnesses, or the Sanskrit language generally
Tib. All consulted Tibetan witnesses, or the Tibetan language generally
