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ཡང་དག་པར་སྦྱོར་བ།

Emergence from Sampuṭa
Chapter 2

Sampuṭodbhavaḥ
ཡང་དག་པར་སྦྱོར་བ་ཞེས་བྱ་བའི་རྒྱུད་ཆེན་པོ།
yang dag par sbyor ba zhes bya ba’i rgyud chen po
The Foundation of All Tantras, the Great Sovereign Compendium “Emergence from Sampuṭa”
Saṃpuṭodbhava­sarva­tantra­nidāna­mahā­kalpa­rājaḥ

Toh 381

Degé Kangyur, vol. 79 (rgyud ’bum, ga), folios 73.b–158.b

ᴛʀᴀɴsʟᴀᴛᴇᴅ ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴛɪʙᴇᴛᴀɴ ʙʏ
  • Gayādhara
  • Drokmi Śākya Yeshé

Imprint

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Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee
under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.

First published 2020

Current version v 1.12.13 (2025)

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84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha is a global non-profit initiative to translate all the Buddha’s words into modern languages, and to make them available to everyone.

Warning: Readers are reminded that according to Vajrayāna Buddhist tradition there are restrictions and commitments concerning tantra. Practitioners who are not sure if they should read this translation are advised to consult the authorities of their lineage. The responsibility for reading this text or sharing it with others who may or may not fulfill the requirements lies in the hands of readers.

Tantra Text Warning

Readers are reminded that according to Vajrayāna Buddhist tradition there are restrictions and commitments concerning tantra.

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The responsibility for reading these texts or sharing them with others—and hence the consequences—lies in the hands of readers.

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co.

Table of Contents

ti. Title
im. Imprint
co. Contents
s. Summary
ac. Acknowledgements
i. Introduction
tr. The Translation
+ 10 chapters- 10 chapters
1. Chapter 1
+ 4 sections- 4 sections
· Part 1
· Part 2
· Part 3
· Part 4
2. Chapter 2
+ 4 sections- 4 sections
· Part 1
· Part 2
· Part 3
· Part 4
3. Chapter 3
+ 4 sections- 4 sections
· Part 1
· Part 2
· Part 3
· Part 4
4. Chapter 4
+ 4 sections- 4 sections
· Part 1
· Part 2
· Part 3
· Part 4
5. Chapter 5
+ 4 sections- 4 sections
· Part 1
· Part 2
· Part 3
· Part 4
6. Chapter 6
+ 4 sections- 4 sections
· Part 1
· Part 2
· Part 3
· Part 4
7. Chapter 7
+ 4 sections- 4 sections
· Part 1
· Part 2
· Part 3
· Part 4
8. Chapter 8
+ 4 sections- 4 sections
· Part 1
· Part 2
· Part 3
· Part 4
9. Chapter 9
+ 4 sections- 4 sections
· Part 1
· Part 2
· Part 3
· Part 4
10. Chapter 10
+ 4 sections- 4 sections
· Part 1
· Part 2
· Part 3
· Part 4
c. Colophon
+ 1 section- 1 section
· Tibetan Colophon
ap. Sanskrit Text
+ 10 chapters- 10 chapters
app. Introduction to This Sanskrit Edition
ap1. Chapter A1
+ 4 sections- 4 sections
· Part 1
· Part 2
· Part 3
· Part 4
ap2. Chapter A2
+ 4 sections- 4 sections
· Part 1
· Part 2
· Part 3
· Part 4
ap3. Chapter A3
+ 4 sections- 4 sections
· Part 1
· Part 2
· Part 3
· Part 4
ap4. Chapter A4
+ 4 sections- 4 sections
· Part 1
· Part 2
· Part 3
· Part 4
ap5. Chapter A5
+ 4 sections- 4 sections
· Part 1
· Part 2
· Part 3
· Part 4
ap6. Chapter A6
+ 4 sections- 4 sections
· Part 1
· Part 2
· Part 3
· Part 4
ap7. Chapter A7
+ 4 sections- 4 sections
· Part 1
· Part 2
· Part 3
· Part 4
ap8. Chapter A8
+ 4 sections- 4 sections
· Part 1
· Part 2
· Part 3
· Part 4
ap9. Chapter A9
+ 4 sections- 4 sections
· Part 1
· Part 2
· Part 3
· Part 4
ap10. Chapter A10
+ 4 sections- 4 sections
· Part 1
· Part 2
· Part 3
· Part 4
ab. Abbreviations
+ 2 sections- 2 sections
· Abbreviations used in the introduction and translation notes
· Abbreviations used in the appendix – Sanskrit Text
n. Notes
b. Bibliography
+ 4 sections- 4 sections
· Manuscripts of the Sampuṭodbhava used in preparing the accompanying Sanskrit edition
· Tibetan Translation
· Commentaries
· General works, including those that share parallel passages with the Sampuṭodbhava
g. Glossary

s.

Summary

s.­1

The tantra Emergence from Sampuṭa is an all-inclusive compendium of Buddhist theory and practice as taught in the two higher divisions of the Yoga class of tantras, the “higher” (uttara) and the “highest” (niruttara), or, following the popular Tibetan classification, the Father and the Mother tantras. Dating probably to the end of the tenth century, the bulk of the tantra consists of a variety of earlier material, stretching back in time and in the doxographical hierarchy to the Guhyasamāja, a text traditionally regarded as the first tantra in the Father group. Drawing from about sixteen well-known and important works, including the most seminal of the Father and Mother tantras, it serves as a digest of this entire group, treating virtually every aspect of advanced tantric theory and practice. It has thus always occupied a prominent position among canonical works of its class, remaining to this day a rich source of quotations for Tibetan exegetes.


ac.

Acknowledgements

ac.­1

This translation was produced by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the supervision of Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche. Wiesiek Mical prepared the Sanskrit edition, translated the text into English, and wrote the introduction. James Gentry then compared the translation against the Tibetan root text, the Sampuṭodbhava Tantra commentaries found in the Tengyur, and Wiesiek’s Sanskrit edition, and edited the translation. Dharmachakra is indebted to Dr. Péter Szántó for his help in obtaining facsimiles of some manuscripts and other helpful materials.

The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.

ac.­2

Work on this translation was made possible by the generosity of a sponsor who wishes to remain anonymous, and who adds the following dedication: May all the sufferings and fears of mother sentient beings be pacified swiftly by the power of the truth of the Triple Gem.


i.

Introduction

i.­1

The tantra Emergence from Sampuṭa is so rich and varied in content, and its intertextuality so complex, that a truly comprehensive description would be difficult in the space of a brief introduction. Instead, we will here mainly focus on the specific issues that make this text stand out among other tantras, the unique quandaries it presents, and some of the problems we encountered as we prepared a Sanskrit edition and English translation of the complete text for the first time. Some prior awareness of these problems could prove helpful to anyone intending to read the translation presented here.


Text Body

The Translation
The Foundation of All Tantras, the Great Sovereign Compendium
Emergence from Sampuṭa

1.

Chapter 1

Part 1

[F.73.b]


1.­1

Oṁ, homage to Vajraḍāka!


1.­2

Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was dwelling in the bhagas of vajra queens, which are the essence of the body, speech, and mind of all tathāgatas. There, he noticed Vajragarbha in the midst of eight hundred million lords of yogins, and smiled. As the Blessed One smiled, Vajragarbha immediately rose from his seat, draped his robe over his shoulder, and knelt on his right knee. With palms joined, he spoke to the Blessed One. {1.1.1}

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4


2.

Chapter 2

Part 1

2.­1
“I will now explain,
For the benefit of practitioners,
By what method the disciple is initiated,
And also the general ritual procedure. {2.1.1}
2.­2
“First, the officiating yogin, assuming the identity of the deity, [F.83.a]
Should purify the ground,
Diligently making it into vajra by means of the syllable hūṁ.
He should next draw the maṇḍala. {2.1.2}
2.­3
“In a garden, a secluded place,
The abode of a bodhisattva,
An empty enclosure, or a residence
He should delimit a splendid circle. {2.1.3}
2.­4
“He should trace it with sublime powders.
Alternatively, he should do it with middling materials‍—
Powders of the five precious substances,
Rice flour, or something similar. {2.1.4}
2.­5
“The maṇḍala should be three cubits
Plus three thumb-widths in diameter.
Into this maṇḍala should be brought four61 sublime consorts (vidyā),
Who originate from the five buddha families. {2.1.5}
2.­6
“When, in his pursuit of the path of mantra,
An able disciple is initiated62
In the presence of all the buddhas,
In a maṇḍala, which is the abode of the bliss-gone ones, {2.1.6}
2.­7
“He should be able, in addition,
To behold the goddess of infinite world spheres63
If this wise disciple has reached the state of self-consecration
And is anxious not to violate his samaya. {2.1.7}
2.­8
“It has also been taught by the fully awakened ones
In the mantra vehicle that from the perspective of absolute truth
The samaya64 of Vajrasattva and other deities
Should not be taken lightly. {2.1.8}
2.­9
“For that reason, a son of the victorious ones
Should, with every precaution and care,
Approach, according to protocol,
A vajra master, who is an ocean of qualities, about the initiation. {2.1.9}
2.­10
“Optionally, he should choose, as available,
A mother, an older sister, a younger sister,
A daughter, or a niece
And do the right practice with her. {2.1.10}
2.­11
“But if these consorts (vidyā) are not physically available,
He can then take other women,
Praised by the omniscient one,
And specified65 by the buddhas: {2.1.11}
2.­12

“A brahmin’s daughter, a washerwoman, an outcast, a musician, a high caste woman, a princess, a daughter of an artiste, or a craftswoman. She should have the eyes of a doe, a slender waist, wide hips, and taut breasts. She should have a fine bhaga, and be strict in her observance of samaya, clever, honest, and conversant with mantra and tantra. [F.83.b] These girls are said to be, in the whole triple universe, invaluable to superior practitioners. With them, every accomplishment will be attained, precisely according to the sequence of the families. {2.1.12}

2.­13
“Alternatively, he can also take
For a consort (mudrā) a sixteen-year-old girl,
As may be available, endowed with
The freshness of youth and beautiful eyes. {2.1.13}
2.­14
“Having selected such a consort (vidyā), he should purify her
Through the procedure of going for refuge, and so forth,
And explain to her the secret reality
And all the stages of mantra and tantra. {2.1.14}
2.­15
“Optionally, with sounds of passion and his tongue
In the nether region, he should place her on top.
Likewise, he should perform in succession
The full repertory of advanced positions. {2.1.15}
2.­16
“The consort (vidyā), who is adorned with earrings,
Waist chain, pearl necklace, anklets,
Bracelets, and so forth, being thus purified,
Bestows the supreme accomplishment. {2.1.16}
2.­17
“The partner of the consort (vidyā) and his companions,
In a place free from disturbances,
Should adorn themselves with garlands, sandalwood paste,
Clothes, and so forth, and announce themselves to the master.66 {2.1.17}
2.­18
“Using gifts of perfume, chaplets, and so forth,
Along with generous offerings of milk, and so forth,
The initiate should worship with devotion,
Eagerly offering to the master his consort (mudrā). {2.1.18}
2.­19
“As a disciple, he should, with devotion,
Place his knee on the ground
And with palms joined beseech
The preceptor with the following praise: {2.1.19}
2.­20
“ ‘Homage to you, O womb of emptiness,
Free of all mental constructs!
Homage and praise to you, body of wisdom
Whose mass is omniscient wisdom! {2.1.20}
2.­21
“ ‘Homage to you, destroyer of ignorance in the world,
Instructor on the pure meaning of reality,
Diamond being born from
The absence of self in phenomena! {2.1.21}
2.­22
“ ‘Homage to you, O lord bodhicitta,
From which always emerge
The fully awakened ones and bodhisattvas,
With their qualities of the six perfections! {2.1.22}
2.­23
“ ‘Homage to you, hero of the world,
From whom originate the Three Jewels, the Great Vehicle,
All animate and inanimate67 things,
And this entire triple universe! {2.1.23}
2.­24
“ ‘Homage to you, O venerable son of the Buddha,
Who manifests like a wish-fulfilling gem,
Carrying out the orders of the bliss-gone ones
To accomplish the wishes of the world. {2.1.24} [F.84.a]
2.­25
“ ‘O omniscient one, please grant me this favor:
Bestow upon me the vajra empowerment without delay
So that I can understand,
Through your power and merit, the highest truth. {2.1.25}
2.­26
“ ‘Just as the secret of all the buddhas
Was shown to Vajradharmin
By the venerable Cittavajra,
In the same way, O lord, be kind to me! {2.1.26}
2.­27
“ ‘Apart from your lotus feet,
There is no other path for me.
Therefore, please have compassion, O lord,
You who have conquered the wanderings of saṃsāra!’ {2.1.27}
2.­28
“Next, the venerable vajra master,
Full of kindness and altruism,
Should generate compassion for the disciple
And summon him into the maṇḍala of the assembly‍— {2.1.28}
2.­29
“The maṇḍala overflowing with the five objects of desire,
Brightened with an outstretched canopy,
Composed of yoginīs and yogins,
Filled with the soft sounds of the bell, {2.1.29}
2.­30
“Pleasant with flowers, incense, and unguents,
Delightful with garlands and the enjoyments of gods‍—
This maṇḍala of Vajrasattva and other deities,
Which is marvelous in the highest degree. {2.1.30}
2.­31
“Having united with the consort (mudrā),
The master, supremely pleased,
Should place in a lotus dish
The bodhicitta born of the son of the victorious ones. {2.1.31}
2.­32
“Using raised yak-tail whisks and parasols,
And singing songs with auspicious verses,
The lord of the world (i.e., the master) should initiate
The disciple by having him join with the consort (mudrā). {2.1.32}
2.­33
“Having bestowed the initiation, the true jewel,
The master, the supreme lord,
Should also bestow the samaya‍—
Exquisite, sublime, and pure in nature. {2.1.33}
2.­34
“It consists of great blood (human blood) and camphor (semen),
Mixed with red sandalwood (human flesh),
And blended with vajra water (urine).
The fifth ingredient derives from the mind (citta, semen).68 {2.1.34}
2.­35
“This samaya has been duly
Taught by all buddhas‍—
Please guard this auspicious samaya at all times.
Now listen about the vows. {2.1.35}
2.­36
“You must not kill living beings.
You should not give up the jewel of women.
You should not abandon your master.
These vows must not be violated. {2.1.36}
2.­37
“The wisdom consort (vidyā) that was described before69 ‍— [F.84.b]
Or, alternatively, his own yoginī,70
Purified and fashioned into the wisdom consort (vidyā)‍—
Should be anointed with olibanum and camphor.71 {2.1.37}
2.­38
“He should make love to her
Until she releases her sexual fluid.
Having covered the face of the female consort (mudrā)
And the face of the male consort, {2.1.38}
2.­39
“The master should place the substance
Produced through love-making72 into the disciple’s mouth.
At that point the experience of equal taste
Will be produced within his range of perception. {2.1.39}
2.­40
“His self-awareness will become gnosis,
Devoid of discrimination between self and other.
Pure and empty like the sky,
It is the ultimate nature of existence and nonexistence. {2.1.40}
2.­41
“It is a combination of insight and skillful means,
A mixture of passion and its absence‍—
This alone is the living breath of living beings;
This alone is the supreme syllable. {2.1.41}
2.­42
“This breath pervades everything;
It alone possesses the gnosis of the buddhas.
It is said to be the glorious Heruka;
From it arise existence and nonexistence,
And every other entity. {2.1.42}
2.­43
“The first joy is the hero, the male partner.
The supreme joy is the yoginī, the female partner.
The joy of sexual bliss is all things combined‍—
Its pleasure is the means leading to omniscience.73 {2.1.43}
2.­44
“The first of the four joys is merely called joy.
The supreme joy is counted as the second.
The third is called the joy of cessation,
And the fourth is known as the innate joy. {2.1.44}
2.­45
“Accordingly, the initiation is also fourfold:
“The first is the vase initiation,
The second is the secret initiation,
The third is the gnosis initiation with the consort (prajñā),
And the fourth is the same again. {2.1.45}
2.­46
“When the disciple is free of impurities
By means of the initiation of bodhicitta,
He should be given, before the supreme
City of the buddhas, the following command: {2.1.46}
2.­47
“ ‘Until the final attainment of awakening,
In the circle of the compass all around,
May you turn the supreme wheel of Dharma
In every quarter up to the farthermost reaches. {2.1.47}
2.­48
“ ‘Embodying the nature of insight and skillful means,
Like a wish-fulfilling gem high above,74
Untiring and without attachment,
Please work for the benefit of beings without delay.’ {2.1.48}
2.­49
“Having now obtained the initiation and the master’s order,
Fully content through having done what needed to be done,
He should speak the following sweet words,
Which bring joy to the world: {2.1.49} [F.85.a]
2.­50
“ ‘Now my birth has become fruitful,
And my life has borne fruit.
Now I have been born into the family of the Buddha‍—
Right now I am the Buddha’s son. {2.1.50}
2.­51
“ ‘From the turmoil of being born in Avīci hell,
Where there is great terror for oceans of eons,
I have been saved, O lord, by you‍—
Saved from the quagmire of afflictions, so difficult to cross. {2.1.51}
2.­52
“ ‘Because of your grace, I know myself
To be manifested in full,75 as it were.
Being freed from all habitual tendencies,
In the state of complete awakening I have no desires.’ {2.1.52}
2.­53
“The disciple should fall with devotion at the master’s feet,
Joyful, with eyes wide open,
And whatever thing is most pleasing to the master,
He should offer it to him without expectations.76 {2.1.53}
2.­54
“The master, for his part,
Should listen, full of compassion,
For the sake of removing the disciple’s grasping77
And for the sake of his welfare. {2.1.54}
2.­55
“The disciple should then bow to and worship the master,
Offering to him the master’s fee‍—
Hundreds of thousands of gold pieces,
Jewels of various kinds, {2.1.55}
2.­56
“And hundreds of pairs of garments;
Elephants, horses, the kingdom itself,
Earrings, bracelets,
Supreme necklaces, and finger rings; {2.1.56}
2.­57
“A golden thread of a brahmin,
And even his wife and daughter;
Male and female slaves, and his own sister‍—
Having prostrated oneself, he should offer all this. {2.1.57}
2.­58
“Prostrating before the master, he should offer himself
And all that exists with the following words:
‘From now on I am your servant,
Presented to you by myself.’ {2.1.58}
2.­59
“In this way, he should further say:
‘The desired place has been reached;
Now the kind favor of all the buddhas
Is with me. {2.1.59}
2.­60
“ ‘As I have accomplished, through your power,
The unsurpassable awakening,
I set up, in this perfect awakening,
The seat (pada) worshipped by all the exalted ones.
On this very seat, I will establish all beings
Dwelling throughout the threefold universe.’ {2.1.60}
2.­61
“The initiation can only be given by a realized master (muni),
According to the procedure, after ascertaining the disciple’s dedication.
Such a master, dedicated to the vast and profound conduct,
Should give the precious initiation by speech alone.78 {2.1.61} [F.85.b]
2.­62
“He79 who has obtained the initiation becomes the most excellent Vajradhara,80
Possessed of the unparalleled state, difficult to gain.
Having truly attained the splendor of the sambhogakāya field,
He has been conferred the great bodhicitta initiation. {2.1.62}
2.­63
“Having obtained the master’s order, with an intellect that dons armor
For embarking upon conquest over the wicked foes throughout the three worlds,
The practitioner of truth should apply himself stainlessly
In this vast attitude set on awakening.” {2.1.63}
2.­64

This concludes the first part of the second chapter, the bodhicitta initiation.

Part 2

2.­65
“Now I will explain the meditation
Done for the sake of developing insight and skillful means‍—
I will explain it in order to benefit practitioners,
Whose energy is devoted to serving the interests of others. {2.2.1}
2.­66
“The yogins, having practiced this meditation,
Do not remain in saṃsāra‍—this frightening ocean, difficult to cross‍—
Nor do they remain in nirvāṇa,
Which would merely be for their own sake. {2.2.2}
2.­67
“By this meditation, at its exalted culmination,
They will attain unsurpassable awakening‍—
The wondrous awakening of the buddhas,
Free from waning or waxing. {2.2.3}
2.­68
“They should neither relinquish phenomena, such as the five aggregates,
Nor should they transgress against the three vehicles.
They should perceive them to be empty like the plantain tree,81
Absolutely equal in the expanse of phenomena. {2.2.4}
2.­69
“A yogin should neither contemplate that entities are empty,
Nor that they are not empty.
Nor should a yogin abandon the thought that they are empty,
Or that they are not empty. {2.2.5}
2.­70
“When there is grasping at things as ‘empty’ or ‘not empty,’
There will arise a lot of conceptual thoughts,
But when there is complete renunciation, there is no conceptual thought.
Therefore, he should abandon this duality of ‘empty’ and ‘not empty.’ {2.2.6}
2.­71
“When he gives up dualistic grasping,
He is liberated‍—free of reference point.
Since ‘I’ is also a concept,
It should also be abandoned. {2.2.7}
2.­72
“Without fluctuations, without doubts,
Without yearnings, the impurities gone,
Free of thoughts of a beginning and an end,
The wise practitioner should engage in a sky-like meditation. {2.2.8}
2.­73
“But a compassionate practitioner also
Should never turn his back on living beings.
‘Beings exist’ or ‘beings do not exist’‍—
He should not speculate in this way. {2.2.9}
2.­74
“The state characterized by the absence of mental elaboration [F.86.a]
Has been proclaimed to be insight.
Compassion is bringing about the welfare of all beings,
Like a wish-fulfilling gem. {2.2.10}
2.­75
“On the meditational level without reference
There is great compassion without reference.82
This great compassion is one with insight,
Just like space contained within space. {2.2.11}
2.­76
“Where there is no meditator,
There also is no meditation,
And no object to meditate upon‍—
This is called meditation on reality. {2.2.12}
2.­77
“So, too, there is no action here,
And also nothing to partake of.
Free from the agent and the experiencer,
Such is meditation on the ultimate truth. {2.2.13}
2.­78
“Nor is there a practitioner of any kind here,
Nor anyone who offers praise.83
There is, therefore, nothing whatsoever to abandon
And nothing whatsoever to adopt. {2.2.14}
2.­79
“This state has the nature of a city of gandharvas.
Similar to a magical display or a mirage,
And the same as the city of Hariścandra,
It is perceived as if it were play in a dream. {2.2.15}
2.­80
“It is seen and touched
As an illusion in every way.
It is impossible to find
Lasting existence for any living being. {2.2.16}
2.­81
“In the inconceivable commingling of union,
Which is like the conjunction of a dream and subsequent awakening,
There is a meeting of two sex organs,
The same as in the case of a divinely youthful form. {2.2.17}
2.­82
“When one has placed the liṅga inside the bhaga,
This is the meditation of recollecting the buddhas‍—
A certain amount of wisdom will arise,
Stainless in the beginning, middle, and end. {2.2.18}
2.­83
“This wisdom is self-reflexive awareness (svasaṃvedya);
It is impossible to describe this otherwise.
While perceiving all manner of forms,
While listening to sounds, {2.2.19}
2.­84
“While talking, laughing,
Or tasting different tastes,
And while performing all kinds of actions
With the mind not wandering elsewhere, {2.2.20}
2.­85
“There always arises nondual union (yoga)
For yogins who know reality.
This is called nonduality‍—
This is the ultimate bodhicitta. {2.2.21}
2.­86
“This is vajra and glorious Vajrasattva,
The one who is fully awakened, and also awakening itself.
This is also the perfection of wisdom,
Which comprises all the perfections. {2.2.22}
2.­87
“This is said to be equanimity,84
The foremost meditation of all buddhas. [F.86.b]
From within this very state everything arises‍—
The world’s animate and inanimate objects, {2.2.23}
2.­88
“Infinite bodhisattvas, fully awakened buddhas,
Hearers, and so forth.
The yogin, disconnected from both existence and nonexistence,
Should cultivate this state only. {2.2.24}
2.­89
“If he meditates, free from existence and nonexistence,
He will swiftly become accomplished,
Feeling distaste for all his faults,
And turning his back upon the afflictions. {2.2.25}
2.­90
“The endless qualities of the glorious bliss-gone ones
Will arise from his meditation. {2.2.26}
2.­91
“The mind, which is overcome by the darkness of many concepts,
Mad as a storm and fickle as lightning,
Stained with the dirt of unrestrainable desire, and so forth‍—
This mind has been declared by the vajra holder (Vajradhara) to be saṃsāra. {2.2.27}
2.­92
“But the mind, which is luminous and free from conceptuality,
Which has lost its layer of the dirt of desire, and so forth,
Which lacks both the perceived and the perceiver‍—
This mind has been declared by the best of beings to be supreme nirvāṇa. {2.2.28}
2.­93
“As a cause for the manifold heap of suffering,
There is nothing other than this mind.
And likewise, as a cause for the emergence of infinite happiness,
There is nothing other than this mind, O seekers of liberation! {2.2.29}
2.­94
“Those who have resolved on the destruction of all suffering,
Who wish to obtain the genuine happiness of the fully awakened ones,
They should stabilize their minds and investigate with care,
Construing this mind to be devoid of independent existence. {2.2.30}
2.­95
“For as long as the minds of beings who are subject to birth
Are hampered by the thick, dark veil of conceptual thinking,
Their suffering will be endless.
But as soon as their minds are free of this veil, {2.2.31}
2.­96
“Their happiness will be immense and unequaled.
The noble ones should therefore exert themselves
For the sake of removing this veil‍—
They will then witness the great expansion of their happiness. {2.2.32}
2.­97

“In this way, the practitioner of the true state (tattvayogin), resolved upon the practice, authorized by his master, and abiding by his samaya, should practice meditation. If he does, what would be the use of committing to practice hand mudrās, mantras, making deity statues, or cultivating himself as deity, all of which can only produce common siddhis? Intent on buddhahood, he should clearly set up his goal and do the practice of the chosen deity. [F.87.a] In this way, when the goal has been reached, the threefold universe will become for him like the sky. Consequently, the skilled practitioner, having renounced everything, applies himself to the practice of meditation in the state he has attained, cultivating day and night self-reflexive awareness (saṃvedana) exclusively. {2.2.33}

2.­98

“On a mountaintop, in a Śiva temple, in a lotus garden, on the ocean’s shore,85 in a royal park, in any secluded place,86 in his own home, in any place pleasing to the mind that is praised by the omniscient ones‍—in locations like these, in whatever place the adept of mantra may find himself‍—there he should practice meditation with tenacity. Awakening can never be directly attained without insight and skillful means. Therefore, if he abandons the wisdom consort (prajñā), the sublime lady who grants complete awakening, siddhis that are endowed with each of the seals (mudrā) will not be bestowed.87 For that reason, he should apply the four seals that give rise to wisdom. {2.2.34}

2.­99

“Ignorance is the samayamudrā (seal of commitment). Hatred is always said to be the mahāmudrā (great seal), and envy the karmamudrā (seal of action). Desire is, by its nature, the dharmamudrā (seal of phenomena). The practitioner should manifest these different seals and sexually enjoy and serve88 his consort (prajñā), regarding them both (the seal and the consort) to be deity by nature. {2.2.35}

2.­100

“Being tranquil because of ignorance, wrathful because of anger, or impassioned because of desire, he performs different actions to fulfill the aims of these five emotions.89 With these five, he becomes a victorious one.90 {2.2.36}

2.­101

“At dawn, at the close of the day, at midday, or at midnight he should thoroughly do the practice with the consort (mudrā). Otherwise there will be no accomplishment. When the practitioner stays among uncouth people, and is afraid that the teachings might be disparaged, he should visualize the union with consort in his own mind only, manifesting it in his imagination. Otherwise, the practitioner should do this practice assiduously with a real consort. If a wisdom consort (prajñā) cannot be acquired in the flesh, [F.87.b] he should practice perpetually with those in ‘the horizontal profession.’91 For if the practitioner does not physically touch the best of lotuses92 every day, every month of the year, his samaya becomes damaged. And when the samaya is damaged, he becomes negligent of his practice. Having restored his samaya of a bodhisattva, he should vow not to let this happen again thenceforth. Consequently, he should do the practice with the consort (mudrā) in secret, using secret substances, mantra, and tantric techniques, while keeping his samaya, following his prescribed conduct, and abiding in reality (tattva). Having attained awakening in this way, having inevitably reached the inconceivable state by means of the correct practice of union, he should meditate one-pointedly on the threefold universe as the inconceivable domain.” {2.2.37}


2.­102

This concludes the second part of the second chapter, called “Meditating on the Meaning of Insight and Skillful Means.”

Part 3

2.­103
“Now I will teach
The miraculous manifestation of all maṇḍalas‍—
The maṇḍala of glorious Vajrasattva and other deities,
Which is complete and perfect in every way. {2.3.1}
2.­104
“Within the pleasure of the supreme secret,
One should practice the nature of them all.93
In a secluded place, a residence,
Or one’s own garden {2.3.2}
2.­105
“One should perform each of the seals thoroughly,
And together with each of the Saṃvaras, in all their detail,
Complete all the other features necessary in a maṇḍala,
At one’s leisure. {2.3.3}
2.­106
“The maṇḍala of all the tathāgatas
Is the gnosis of emptiness itself;
It accomplishes all the practices
Of wrathful and peaceful deities. {2.3.4}
2.­107
“How shall I explain the inconceivable
Dance of the buddhas,
The meditation of deity practice,
The ritual procedure of mantra recitation, {2.3.5}
2.­108
“Or the images painted or sculpted,
Or any images mentally created?
All this has been taught by me in the tantras
For the benefit and advantage of beings. {2.3.6}
2.­109
“While the holder of the vajra of emptiness (Vajradhara) is only one, [F.88.a]
The family of the tathāgatas is said to be fivefold.” {2.3.7}
2.­110

Vajragarbha said:

“Please be so kind to explain,
O gentle lord of great bliss,
The nature of the letters and colors94 visualized in the development stage,
And the order and arrangement of the deities’ arms.95 {2.3.8}
2.­111
“Please explain also the rules regarding the mantra recitation,
By means of which the practitioner will become accomplished.” {2.3.9}
2.­112

The Blessed One said:

“Firstly, one should cultivate loving kindness;
Secondly, compassion;
Thirdly, sympathetic joy;
And lastly, equanimity. {2.3.10}
2.­113
“Enumerating again, one should first awaken in emptiness;
Secondly, one should conceive the seed syllable;
Thirdly, one should generate the complete image of the deity;
And fourthly, one should do the placement of syllables. {2.3.11}
2.­114
“One should visualize in front a sun disk transformed from the syllable ra,
And on it a double vajra scepter transformed from the syllable hūṁ.
One should visualize96 a surrounding wall and a protective canopy
As made of such double scepters. {2.3.12}
2.­115
“Then the wise practitioner should first visualize a corpse,
Which has the nature of the expanse of phenomena.
Then, standing on top of it,
He should conceive of himself as Heruka. {2.3.13}
2.­116
“In his heart he should visualize the syllable ra,
And arising from it, a sun disk.
On that sun disk he should visualize the syllable hūṁ,
With the nature of wisdom and skillful means, {2.3.14}
2.­117
“Black in color and very frightening.
The hūṁ then transforms into a vajra scepter.
In the center of the scepter’s hub,
He should once again visualize the very quintessence of hūṁ. {2.3.15}
2.­118
“He should visualize that this transforms
Into the lord whose nature is hatred‍—
The great hero of adamantine origin,
Whose color resembles that of a blue lotus. {2.3.16}
2.­119
“Alternatively, he should visualize him,
With strong faith, as reddish-blue,
Picturing him, the venerable one, in the sky above
As being of adamantine origin and filled with great compassion. {2.3.17}
2.­120
“He should worship him by means of visualizing
The eight goddesses of offerings, adorned with all kinds of jewelry:
Gaurī who is holding a moon disk,
Caurī holding a sun disk, {2.3.18}
2.­121
“Vetalī with a water vessel in her hand,
Ghasmarī holding medicines,
Pukkasī with a vajra scepter in her hand,
Śavarī holding tasty foodstuffs,97 {2.3.19}
2.­122
“Caṇḍālī sounding a ḍamaru, [F.88.b]
And Ḍombī embracing him around the neck.
The lord should be worshiped by these goddesses
According to the elaborate ritual procedure for offering. {2.3.20}
2.­123
“Then he should become the nature of all phenomena,
Which is free from any reference.
He should visualize the seed syllable between the moon and sun disks,
Which emerge from the vowels and the consonants respectively. {2.3.21}
2.­124
“That cognition is precisely what is called the being
Whose nature is the supreme joy.
Forms of light identical to his own body emanate forth,
Flooding the expanse of the sky. {2.3.22}
2.­125
“Once the practitioner has absorbed them, drawing them back into his heart,
He should become Heruka‍—one whose nature is hatred. {2.3.23}
2.­126
“In the center of the expanse of the sky
He should visualize a sun disk.
Then from the syllable hūṁ atop the sun disk he arises,
Reddish-blue in color, and adorned with all kinds of jewelry. {2.3.24}
2.­127
“He has two arms, one face,
Three eyes, and yellow, upward-flowing hair.
With an angry gaze, and the body of a sixteen year old,
He stands astride Bhairava. {2.3.25}
2.­128
“With a vajra khaṭvāṅga in his left arm,
A skull cup in his left hand,
And a black vajra scepter in his right hand,
Whose nature is to make the sound hūṁ, {2.3.26}
2.­129
“The lord frolics in a charnel ground,
Surrounded by the eight goddesses.
The practitioner should visualize in this way
The lord who is the supreme ambrosia of all practices. {2.3.27}
2.­130
“He alone is the blessed practice of the union‍—
The tathāgata Vajrasattva. {2.3.28}
2.­131
“He should then assume the form of the angry Heruka
Adorned with four arms,
Meaning that he is the nature of the four joys
And is purified of the four Māras. {2.3.29}
2.­132
“Standing in the previously described maṇḍala circle,
He has transformed from the seed syllable hūṁ.
In his left hand there is a skull cup
Filled with the blood of gods and demigods. {2.3.30}
2.­133
“In his right hand he holds a flame-like vajra scepter,
Frightening even fear itself.
With his other two arms he is embracing the consort (prajñā),
Who, for her part, is embracing him. {2.3.31}
2.­134
“He should visualize her form
As the Blessed Vajravārāhī. {2.3.32}
2.­135
“First, he should meditate on emptiness.
Then, on the pericarp98 of a lotus
He should visualize a full moon disk,
And in the center of this moon disk, the syllable hūṁ. {2.3.33} [F.89.a]
2.­136
“He should visualize the form of the deity
With three faces and six arms.
The first99 face is black,
The right one is white and peaceful, {2.3.34}
2.­137
“And the left one is red in color.
The lord has three eyes that are sublime in appearance.
He is replete with all the adornments,
And stands on a skull cup platform. {2.3.35}
2.­138
“In his hands he is holding a skull cup
Filled with excrement, urine, semen, and blood;
A bow and arrow;
A vajra scepter; and a bell. {2.3.36}
2.­139
“The first right hand has a blazing vajra scepter,
And the third, a trident.
The glorious one is embraced by his consort (prajñā)
And adorned by a knot of matted hair. {2.3.37}
2.­140
“He should repeatedly radiate blazing light
With scintillating clouds composed of buddhas.100
The practitioner should then visualize
Himself in the center of a bhaga. {2.3.38}
2.­141
“Then he should visualize the consort (mudrā)
As united with the main deity.101
On the lotus petals, he should draw the goddesses
Standing on skull cup platforms. {2.3.39}
2.­142
“Their forms, of different colors, are pleasing to the mind
And they each have one face and four arms.
First,102 he should draw the beautiful consort (vidyā)
Who holds an arrow and bow, {2.3.40}
2.­143
“A skull cup filled with semen,
And a goad.
Second, he should draw the goddess who has in her hands a spear,103
A skull cup filled with blood, {2.3.41}
2.­144
“A vajra scepter, and a noose.
He should draw her on the southern petal.104
Third, on the northern petal,105 he should draw
The goddess who has in her hands a sword, {2.3.42}
2.­145
“A skull cup filled with water,
A vajra scepter, and a bell.
He should draw the fourth goddess
On the western petal.106 {2.3.43}
2.­146
“In her left hands she is holding
A khaṭvāṅga and a skull cup,
And in her right hands
A ‘flame thrower’ and a triple banner. {2.3.44}
2.­147
“The fifth goddess has a staff107 in her hand
And holds a skull cup with another.
She also holds a lotus and a ḍamaru.
He should draw her in the northeastern quarter.108 {2.3.45}
2.­148
“In the northwestern corner he should draw109
The sixth goddess with a lotus in her hand.
She also holds a skull cup filled with fat,
A mirror, and an axe. {2.3.46}
2.­149
“The seventh goddess has a lance in her hand.
She also holds a conch shell, a discus weapon,
And a skull cup filled with blood.
He should draw her in the southwestern quarter.110 {2.3.47}
2.­150
“The eighth goddess he should draw
In the southeastern quarter.111
She is holding in her hands
A pitcher, a vajra scepter, a bell, {2.3.48}
2.­151
“And a skull cup filled with substances,
Covered with human skin. [F.89.b]
He should draw these goddesses on the petals
And the lord Mahāsukha on the pericarp. {2.3.49}
2.­152
“He should draw, in the secret maṇḍala,
Various musical instruments.
He should draw the gate keepers‍—
A goddess holding a goad, {2.3.50}
2.­153
“And likewise, one with a vajra noose, a chain,
And a vajra bell.
He should visualize himself in the center of a vulva,
And later begin mantra recitation. {2.3.51}
2.­154
“Hūṁ pertains to Vajrasattva;
Oṁ is distinctiveness of tone;
Aḥ, which is of the color of pure crystal,
Is perfectly endowed with speech. {2.3.52}
2.­155
“He should add the syllable hrīḥ
And also the word svāhā.
This mantra has been taught as the one to recite,
But, during meditation, it should consist of a single syllable.112 {2.3.53}
2.­156
“The syllable hrīḥ of the goddesses
Should then be placed on the petals.
It should be joined with the four seed syllables
That are the nature of the four types of offerings. {2.3.54}
2.­157
“It should be joined with the first sound (oṁ), and so forth,
And placed on the female gatekeepers all around.
Then the practitioner should insert
His vajra into the bhaga. {2.3.55}
2.­158
“He should, at that point, utter the syllable hūṁ,
And also the syllable hrīḥ.
He should orally ingest the semen,
Mixing it with the blood, when the woman is menstruating. {2.3.56}
2.­159
“He should make offerings of flowers and fragrances
To himself and also to the bhaga.
At this point he should recite the mantra
If he wants to attain siddhi. {2.3.57}
2.­160
“There is Vajraraudrī
And also Vajrabimbā.
Vajrarāgī is the third
And Vajrasaumyā the fourth. {2.3.58}
2.­161
“The fifth is Vajrayakṣī
And the sixth Vajraḍākinī.
The seventh is Śabdavajrā
And Pṛthvīvajrā is the eighth.” {2.3.59}
2.­162

Here concludes the third part of the second chapter.

Part 4

2.­163
“Listen well, Vajragarbha, about the preparation
Of magical circles and their specifications, as required for
Pacifying, enriching, enthralling, and so forth,
And also protecting and assaulting. {2.4.1}
2.­164
“The wise practitioner should have someone
Draw the outline of a wheel, with nine divisions113 and the rest,
And visualize the colors, and so forth,
As required for individual rituals involving the circle. {2.4.2}
2.­165

“Oṁ tāre tuttāre ture svāhā. {2.4.3} [F.90.a]

“The seed syllables of this mantra are all-purpose‍—
The first (oṁ) and the last (svāhā) are for homage and homa respectively.
The target’s name should be included in the middle,
Along with the phrase “please protect.”114 {2.4.4}
2.­166
“He should fashion his form
From emptiness, by means of the wisdom of equality,
And position it within the protective circle,
The place of knowing everything as equal. {2.4.5}
2.­167
“He should meditate that protection is provided
By wisdom beings, so that all dangers are kept at a distance.
Accepting the non-reality of sentient beings,
He should cultivate the state of deity yoga. {2.4.6}
2.­168
“In the center of a moon disk
He should visualize a lotus throne
And imagine there his own body
As the goddess Tārā, who grants all siddhis. {2.4.7}
2.­169
“He should visualize the following letters:
“On his head, oṁ tāre svāhā.
On the eyes, oṁ tuttāre115 svāhā.
On the nose, oṁ ture116 svāhā.
On the ears, oṁ tu svāhā.
On the tongue, oṁ re svāhā.
On the chest, oṁ tāriṇi svāhā. {2.4.8}
2.­170
“He should always wear this sixfold protection
And visualize himself as noble Tārā,
With two arms, sitting in the sattvaparyaṅka posture,
And adorned with all kinds of jewelry. {2.4.9}
2.­171
“Her right hand grants fearlessness to all;
Her left one holds a lotus.
Among all the deities, he should propitiate
The one who is roused by the following king of mantras: {2.4.10}
2.­172

“Oṁ kurukulle hrīḥ svāhā.

“This mantra accomplishes everything. {2.4.11}
2.­173
“It protects from being bound by enemies and kings,
From poisons dreadful in their ways.
It arrests various fevers afflicting the body
And removes untimely death due to toxins and so forth. {2.4.12}
2.­174
“Wherever there is fear,
He should employ this mantra.
A dull-witted117 person will become intelligent.
He should write it down and wear it for protection. {2.4.13}
2.­175
“This sublime protection
Vanquishes every threat.
It protects everyone;
It is the unsurpassable essence of deity yoga. {2.4.14}
2.­176
“He should visualize a sun disk
With blazing light rays,
And at its center the syllable hrīḥ,
Shining with red light. {2.4.15}
2.­177
“Then, he should visualize himself
In Kurukullā’s form, with one face and four arms,
Holding in one pair of her hands an arrow and a bow,
And in the other pair, a lotus and a goad. {2.4.16} [F.90.b]
2.­178
“By merely meditating on this
One can enthrall the threefold universe‍—
Kings with one hundred thousand repetitions of the mantra;
Ordinary people with ten thousand; {2.4.17}
2.­179
“Animals, yakṣas, and so forth with ten million repetitions;
Demigods with seven hundred thousand;
Gods with two hundred thousand;
And followers of Mantra with one hundred. {2.4.18}
2.­180
“This yantra-wheel118 has eight spokes,
Is white, and has a beautiful glow.
Visualizing it as having the nature of equality,
And being in essence the threefold universe, {2.4.19}
2.­181
“He should form himself as previously explained
With the aforementioned characteristics,
And then visualize [Prajñāpāramitā’s] yantra-wheel
In the rituals for making wisdom blaze forth. {2.4.20}
2.­182
“He should recite, Oṁ prajñe mahāprajñe hūṁ svāhā.119 {2.4.21}
2.­183
“He should visualize himself by means of merging with the essence
As Prajñāpāramitā, the very nature of wisdom made manifest,
Sitting in the center of a moon disk,
And blazing with a profusion of light. {2.4.22}
2.­184
“She has two arms and sits in the sattvaparyaṅka posture.
Adorned with all kinds of jewelry,
Sublime with white radiance,
She should be construed as the very nature of wisdom. {2.4.23}
2.­185
“When this mantra is recited
By those who are dull, or of inferior intellect,
Their wisdom will grow like the branch of a tree
Through their applying this method for increasing it. {2.4.24}
2.­186
“In the center of a moon disk
He should place the seed syllable of Vairocana.
This syllable changes into the lord with one face and four arms,
Sitting in the center of a throne of human skulls. {2.4.25}
2.­187
“Of gentle disposition, he holds a wheel, a bell,
A human skull, and a noose.
He radiates bursts of light all around
And is surrounded by a halo of flames. {2.4.26}
2.­188
“Following the same procedure,
He should visualize Ratnasambhava‍—
Radiant yellow,
Resembling molten gold, {2.4.27}
2.­189
“Sitting in the center of a throne of human skulls,
With one face and four arms,
Of heroic disposition, and holding a jewel, a goad,
A human skull, and a noose. {2.4.28}
2.­190
“Following the same procedure, [F.91.a] he should visualize
The vajra holder of the lotus family (Amitābha),
With one face and four arms,
Shining like ruby, {2.4.29}
2.­191
“Holding a bow and arrow, of heroic disposition,
Sitting on a throne of human skulls.
Holding in his other pair of hands a lotus and a noose,
He is adorned with all kinds of jewelry. {2.4.30}
2.­192
“Following the same procedure, he should visualize
Amoghasiddhi, a sword in his hand,
Sitting in the center of a throne of human skulls,
With one face and four arms, {2.4.31}
2.­193
“Holding a human skull and a vajra bell,
And brandishing a goad in one of his right hands.
He is the color of green beryl
And adorned with all kinds of jewelry. {2.4.32}
2.­194
“In the middle of the expanse of the sky,
He should visualize a moon disk.
At its center, is the seed syllable bhrūṁ120
Which changes into the form of Locanā. {2.4.33}
2.­195
“Sitting on a throne of human skulls,
She is adorned with eight arms
And holds in her hands a wheel,
A bow and arrow, a vajra scepter, a bell, {2.4.34}
2.­196
“A noose, a sword, and a human skull.
She has one face and three eyes,
And is fully adorned with all kinds of jewelry,
Necklaces, and anklets. {2.4.35}
2.­197
“She is white and very beautiful,
And she is wearing a crown of human skulls.
Next he should visualize, in the middle
Of the expanse of the sky, a full moon disk. {2.4.36}
2.­198
“At its center there is the syllable hūṁ,
Which changes into the form of Māmakī,
Radiant blue in color,
Sitting in the center of a throne of human skulls. {2.4.37}
2.­199
“She has three eyes, one face,
And is adorned with a garland of human skulls.
She holds a bow, an arrow,
A goad, a sword, {2.4.38}
2.­200
“A noose, a scepter,
A bell, a human skull,
A wheel, a jewel, a lotus, and a khaṭvāṅga‍—
Twelve articles for her twelve hands. {2.4.39}
2.­201
“Next he should draw a secret maṇḍala
Adorned with all embellishments.
In the center of the bhaga,
He should visualize a full moon disk. {2.4.40}
2.­202
“There he should visualize the syllable hrīḥ,
And generate from it the goddess called Pāṇḍarā.
She is sitting on a throne of human skulls [F.91.b]
And blazes forth bright red light. {2.4.41}
2.­203
“Replete with all adornments,
She is adorned with eight hands,
In which she is holding a bow,
An arrow, a lotus, a sword, {2.4.42}
2.­204
“A skull cup, a vajra scepter, a bell,
A noose, and a jewel.
She is adorned with all kinds of jewelry,
And makes a jingling sound with her necklaces and anklets. {2.4.43}
2.­205
“If the practitioner visualizes her as such,
He will swiftly attain the state of awakening.
Next he should visualize, in the sky above,
The disk of a full moon. {2.4.44}
2.­206
“At its center there is the syllable tāṁ,
Which changes into the form of Tārā,
Adorned with eight arms,
Sitting on a throne of human skulls. {2.4.45}
2.­207
“Impassioned, she holds in her hands a sword,
A lotus, a goad,
A skull cup filled with blood,
A noose, a wheel, {2.4.46}
2.­208
“A bow, and an arrow.
He should visualize121 her with one face,
Of green color, with three eyes,
And adorned with all kinds of jewelry. {2.4.47}
2.­209
“If the practitioner meditates in this way,
He will become equal to Vajrasattva.” {2.4.48}
2.­210

This concludes the sovereign second chapter of the glorious “Emergence from Sampuṭa,” so called to reflect the secret foundation of all tantras.


3.

Chapter 3

Part 1

3.­1
“Listen about the practice, as it really is,
Of generating Nairātmyā and Heruka,
One through which all wicked
And violent beings will be tamed.122 {3.1.1}
3.­2
“The transformations effected by the ḍāka123 and ḍākinīs‍—
All of them I will explain to you.
The vajra-holding Heruka, in his identity of Vajrasattva,
Will bring on the vajra-like state. {3.1.2}
3.­3
“One should assume a wild form in a raging ring of flames;
It should be radiating all around.
One should next visualize a garland of seed syllables
In the center of a moon disk. {3.1.3}

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4


4.

Chapter 4

Part 1

4.­1

[Vajragarbha said:]

“I would like to hear, O Blessed One,
About the characteristics of the external signs.186
Please tell me, O great sage,
This secret of yogins and yoginīs.” {4.1.1}
4.­2

The lord then entered the meditative absorption called “the power of ḍākinīs’ conquest” and explained the pledge signs of ḍākinīs. {4.1.2}

4.­3
“The vajra (male sexual organ)187 is in Kollagiri
And the lotus (female sexual organ) is in Muṃmuni.
The rattle of the wood (hand-drum) is unbroken;
It sounds for compassion, not for quarrels.188 {4.1.3} [F.100.a]

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4


5.

Chapter 5

Part 1

5.­1
“Now I will teach
About the gathering of all sublime people.
There, one should consume a dish of good food,
Served in a dish with two compartments. {5.1.1}
5.­2

Vajragarbha asked, “Blessed One, what places are places of gatherings?” {5.1.2}

The Blessed One said:

5.­3
“There are pīṭhas and auxiliary pīṭhas,
And likewise, kṣetras and auxiliary kṣetras.
There are also chandohas and auxiliary chandohas,
Melāpakas and auxiliary melāpakas. {5.1.3}
5.­4
“There are charnel grounds and auxiliary charnel grounds,
Pīlavas and auxiliary pīlavas.
These are the twelve types of meeting places. [F.103.a]
The lord of the ten bhūmis has not specified
Any places other than these twelve.” {5.1.4}

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4


6.

Chapter 6

Part 1

6.­1

[The goddess294 said:]

“I would be interested to hear, my lord,
What are the stages of self-consecration?
What is the purpose of secrecy?” {6.1.1}
6.­2

The Blessed One said:

“Listen, O most compassionate Vajrasattva,295
With undivided attention!
I will now briefly explain the definitive meaning
Common to all tantras. {6.1.2}
6.­3
“What is referred to with the letter e (the dharmodaya),
Is the place with imperceptible characteristics.
Going and coming with the elements,
Mind is always in motion.” {6.1.3}
6.­4
[The goddess asked], “Why is the word elements being used?” {6.1.4}
The lord replied, “Regarding the secret sixteen syllables,296 the following has been said:

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4


7.

Chapter 7

Part 1

7.­1

[Vajragarbha said:]

“I want to hear, O Blessed One,
The description of secret code words.
What can be said about this twilight language?
Please speak conclusively, O Blessed One, {7.1.1}
7.­2
“About this great pledge408 of the yoginīs
That cannot be deciphered by the hearers and others.
With the smiling, glancing,
Embracing, coupling, and so forth, {7.1.2}
7.­3
“This twilight language has not been taught
Even in the four divisions of tantra.”

[The Blessed One said:]

“I will teach it, Vajragarbha;
Please listen with undivided attention. {7.1.3}

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4


8.

Chapter 8

Part 1

8.­1

Vajragarbha said:

“I want to hear, O Blessed One,
About the attributes signified by other things.
I do not know the four principles,
So please explain them, O Blessed One.” {8.1.1}
8.­2

The Blessed One said:

“Listen, Vajragarbha, how it really is regarding
The attributes of delivery from saṃsāra:
The vajra scepter signifies the first principle,
And the bell, the second. {8.1.2}
8.­3
“The third is the rosary, and the fourth is
The attribute of knowledge.
The waves of these four principles
Carry beings to the desired other shore. {8.1.3}

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4


9.

Chapter 9

Part 1

9.­1

Now the great bodhisattvas, headed by Vajragarbha, along with all the tathāgatas, made offerings and prostrated themselves to the Blessed One, then said: {9.1.1}

9.­2
“Please give us, O Blessed One, O divine being,
A detailed exposition of the state of nirvāṇa.
In which place does one abide,
Playing within the animate and inanimate universes?” {9.1.2}
9.­3

The Blessed One said:

“Listen! I will explain the nature of
The mind fixating on concepts as it really is.
This nature, which has already been taught earlier,
Is always present in everybody.981 {9.1.3}

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4


10.

Chapter 10

Part 1

10.­1
“Listen, Vajrapāṇi, about the samaya that results
In the accomplishments of a vajra master.1130
Having prepared the Great Circle, which comes first,
One should summon the heart maṇḍala.1131 {10.1.1}
10.­2
“Through one’s entering the first, the Great Circle,
And performing there the elaborate ritual of initiation and so forth,
One will attain the unequaled status
Of a vajra master, there can be no doubt. {10.1.2}
10.­3
“For by being devoted to meditation upon what was learned,
One will attain the status of a vajra master.
One will fully succeed after reciting
The heart mantra of Vajrasattva, and so forth, 100,000 times. {10.1.3}

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4


c.

Colophon

Tibetan Colophon

c.­1

This king of tantras was translated by the paṇḍita Gayādhara and the great personage Drokmi Śākya Yeshé. Based on this, the venerable omniscient Butön subsequently [re-]wrote it by filling in the gaps and expertly revising it in consultation with Indian manuscripts of the basic text and commentaries.


ap.
Appendix

Sanskrit Text

app.

Introduction to This Sanskrit Edition

(For the sigla and abbreviations used in the critical apparatus, please consult the Abbreviations section.)


app.­1

The default source followed in this edition is manuscript C (Shastri 1917), and the folio numbers of that manuscript (with letters indicating either verso or recto) appear in braces throughout. Textual variants are reported in the critical apparatus either when the reading in C was rejected in favor of another source or, in a minority of cases, when the reading in C was followed but the rejected variant is deemed significant.

ap1.

Chapter A1

Part 1

ap1.­1

{C1v} oṁ namo vajraḍākāya1188 |


ap1.­2

evaṃ mayā śrutam ekasmin samaye | bhagavān sarva­tathāgata­kāya­vāk­citta­hṛdaya­vajra­yoṣid­bhageṣu vijahāra | tatra khalu bhagavān aśīti­koṭi­yogīśvara­madhye vajragarbham avalokya smitam akārṣit | <Sz 1.1.3 (prose)→> samanantarasmite 'smin vajragarbha utthāyāsanād ekāṃsam uttarāsaṃgaṃ kṛtvā dakṣiṇaṃ jānumaṇḍalaṃ pṛthivyāṃ pratiṣṭhāpya kṛtāñjalipuṭo bhūtvā bhagavantam etad avocat || 1.1.1 ||

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

ap2.

Chapter A2

Part 1

ap2.­1
<H 1.10.1a→> athātaḥ sampravakṣyāmi sādhakānāṃ hitāya1312 vai |
śiṣyo 'bhiṣicyate yena vidhiṃ cāpi kathyate || 2.1.1 ||
ap2.­2
vasudhāṃ śodhayed yogī prathamaṃ devatātmakaḥ |
hūṁ vajrīkṛtayatnena paścān maṇḍalam ālikhet || 2.1.2 ||
ap2.­3
udyāne vijane deśe bodhisattvagṛheṣu ca |
śūnyamaṇḍapāgāramadhye1313 vartayen maṇḍalaṃ varam || 2.1.3 ||
ap2.­4
divyena rajasā likhed athavā madhyamena tu |
pañcaratnamayaiś cūrṇair athavā taṇḍulādibhiḥ1314 || 2.1.4 ||
ap2.­5
trihastaṃ maṇḍalaṃ kāryaṃ trayāṅguṣṭhādhikaṃ tathā1315 |
caturvidyās tatra praveṣṭavyā divyāḥ pañcakulodbhavāḥ <H 1.10.1d←> || 2.1.5 ||

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

ap3.

Chapter A3

Part 1

ap3.­1
śṛṇu tattvena nairātmyāherukotpattisādhanam |
yena sarvaduṣṭaraudrasattvā vinayaṃ yāsyanti || 3.1.1 ||
ap3.­2
ḍākaḍākinīvikurvaṇaṃ tatsarvaṃ1448 kathayāmi te |
vajrasattvaṃ punarbhūya vajrī vajratvaṃ āvahet || 3.1.2 ||
ap3.­3
jvālāmālākulaṃ raudraṃ visphurantaṃ samantataḥ |
candramaṇḍalamadhyasthāṃ bījamālāṃ tato nyaset || 3.1.3 ||
ap3.­4
<H 2.5.19a→> tato vajrī mahārāgād drutāpannaṃ savidyayā1449 |
codayanti tato vidyā nānāgītopahārataḥ || 3.1.4 ||
ap3.­5
uṭṭha bharādo karuṇamaṇḍa pukkasi mahuṃ paritāhi |
mahāsuha yojīeṃ kāma mahuṃ chaduhi suṇṇasahāvu || 3.1.5 ||

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

ap4.

Chapter A4

Part 1

ap4.­1
bhagavan śrotum icchāmi mudrābāhyaṃ tu lakṣaṇam |
rahasyaṃ yogayoginyāṃ kathayasva mahāmune || 4.1.1 ||
ap4.­2

tatas tu bhagavān ḍākinīvijayabalaṃ nāma samāpadya ḍākinī­samaya­mudrām udājahāra || 4.1.2 ||


ap4.­3
<H 2.4.6a→> kollaire ṭṭia bolā muṃmuṇire kakkolā |
ghaṇa kipiṭṭa ho vajjai karuṇe kiai na rolā || 4.1.3 ||
ap4.­4
tahiṃ bala khājai gāṭeṃ maaṇā pijjai |
haleṃ kāliṃjara paṇiai dundruru vajjaai || 4.1.4 ||
ap4.­5
causama kāthuri sihlā tahiṃ karpura rulāiai |
mālaiindhana śālia tahiṃ bharu khāiai || 4.1.5 ||

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

ap5.

Chapter A5

Part 1

ap5.­1
athātaḥ sampravakṣyāmi <Y 10.10b→> sarvasajjanamelakam |
caruṃ ca bhakṣayet tatra dvipātrāśeṣatatparam <Y 10.10d←> || 5.1.1 ||
ap5.­2
<H 1.7.10 (prose)→> he bhagavan ke te melāpakasthānāḥ || 5.1.2  ||
ap5.­3

bhagavān āha |


pīṭhaṃ caivopapīṭhaṃ ca kṣetropakṣetraṃ tathā |
cchandohaṃ copacchandohaṃ melāpakopamelāpakaṃ tathā || 5.1.3 ||
ap5.­4
śmaśānaṃ caivopaśmaśānaṃ1576 ca pīlavopapīlavaṃ tathā1577  |
etā dvādaśa bhūmayaḥ |
daśabhūmīśvaro nātha ebhir anyair na kathyate || 5.1.4 ||
ap5.­5

he bhagavan ke te pīṭhādayaḥ <H 1.7.12 (prose)←>| dvādaśabhūmayas tathā | kathayasva prasādena mahodārasambhavaḥ || 5.1.5  ||

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

ap6.

Chapter A6

Part 1

ap6.­1
śrutaṃ kautūhalaṃ deva svādhiṣṭhānakramaṃ katham1680 |
rahasyādi kiṃ prayojanam || 6.1.1 ||
ap6.­2
śṛṇu tv ekamano bhūtvā vajrasattvo mahākṛpaḥ |
kathayāmi samāsena sarvatantrasya nirṇayam || 6.1.2 ||
ap6.­3
ekāreṇa yat proktaṃ sthānam avyaktalakṣaṇam |
gatvānugamanaṃ caiva dhātūnāṃ cetaḥ sadā gatiḥ || 6.1.3 ||
ap6.­4

dhātuśabda iti kutaḥ || 6.1.4 ||


ap6.­5

bhagavān āha |


etāvad rahasye ṣoḍaśākṣare ity uktam |
rakāraṃ raktadhātuś ca hakāraṃ sparśayos tathā |
syekāreṇa śleṣmam ity āhuḥ pakāreṇa pittam1681 eva ca || 6.1.5 ||

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

ap7.

Chapter A7

Part 1

ap7.­1
bhagavan śrotum icchāmi vāgmudrāṇāṃ tu lakṣaṇam |
<H 2.3.53a→> sandhyābhāṣam kim ucyeta bhagavān brūhi niścitam  || 7.1.1 ||
ap7.­2
yoginīnāṃ mahāsamayaṃ śrāvakādyair na cchidritam |
hasitekṣaṇābhyāṃ tu āliṅgadvaṃdva-m-ādikais tathā || 7.1.2 ||
ap7.­3
tantreṇāpi caturṇāṃ ca saṃdhyābhāṣaṃ na śabditaṃ |
vajragarbha ahaṃ vakṣye śṛṇu tvam ekacetasā || 7.1.3 ||
ap7.­4
saṃdhyābhāṣaṃ mahābhāṣaṃ samayasaṃketavistaraṃ |
madanaṃ madyaṃ balaṃ māṃsaṃ malayajaṃ mīlanaṃ tathā || 7.1.4 ||
ap7.­5
gatiḥ kheṭaḥ śavaḥ śrāyaḥ • asthyābharaṇaṃ niraṃśukaṃ |
āgatiḥ preṅkhaṇaṃ prāhuḥ kṛpīṭaṃ ḍamarukaṃ mataṃ || 7.1.5 ||

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

ap8.

Chapter A8

Part 1

ap8.­1
bhagavan śrotum icchāmi • aparair lakṣyalakṣaṇam |
catustattvaṃ na jānāmi kathayasva mahāsukha || 8.1.1 ||
ap8.­2

bhagavān āha |


śṛṇu vajra yathātattvaṃ saṃsārottāraṃ lakṣaṇam |
vajratattvasya2129 pūrvasya ghaṇṭāṃ cāpi dvitīyakam || 8.1.2 ||
ap8.­3
tṛtīyam akṣasūtraṃ tu caturthaṃ jñānalakṣaṇam |
catustattvataraṅgāni nīyate pāramīpsitam2130 || 8.1.3  ||
ap8.­4
madhye vairocano nāthaḥ pūrve • akṣobhya • eva ca |
ratnaṃ2131 dakṣiṇasūcyāṃ tv amitābhaṃ paścime nyaset || 8.1.4  ||
ap8.­5
uttare • amoghasiddhiṃ tu pañcasūcyābhidevatā |
padme • aṣṭasambodhyaṅgaṃ yathābhūmyaṃ tu sthāpayet || 8.1.5 ||

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

ap9.

Chapter A9

Part 1

ap9.­1

atha vajragarbhapramukhā mahābodhisattvā bhagavantaṃ sarvatathāgatāś ca2246 saṃpūjya praṇipatyaivam āhuḥ || 9.1.1 ||


ap9.­2
ākhyāhi bhagavan deva nirvṛtipadavistaram |
kutra sthāne sthito bhūtvā krīḍate sacarācare2247 || 9.1.2 ||
ap9.­3

bhagavān āha |


śṛṇu vakṣye yathānyāyaṃ kalpanācittadhāraṇām2248 | {C83r}
yad evaṃ kathitaṃ pūrvaṃ sarvātmani sadā sthitam || 9.1.3 ||
ap9.­4
maṇḍalaṃ deham ity āhuś caturdvāraṃ yathoditam |
nābhimadhye mahāpadmaṃ sarvajñajñānābhikīrtitam || 9.1.4 ||

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

ap10.

Chapter A10

Part 1

ap10.­1
śṛṇu vajrapāṇe vajrācāryasya siddhisamayam |
kalpayitvā mahācakram ādyaṃ hṛdayamaṇḍalam || 10.1.1 ||
ap10.­2
praviṣṭaṃ2382 svayam ādyaṃ tu svābhiṣekādivistaraiḥ |
vajrācāryatvam asamaṃ sidhyate nātra saṃśayaḥ || 10.1.2 ||
ap10.­3
yasmāt {C88v} saṃśrutaṃ dhyānatatparatvād vajrācāryatāṃ vrajet |
vajrasattvahṛdādīnāṃ2383 lakṣajāpāt prasidhyate || 10.1.3 ||
ap10.­4
ādyasiddho mahācāryaḥ sarvakalpāgraṃ2384 sidhyati |
vidhinānenāpi jinā bhavanti sattvā iti2385 kva saṃdehaḥ || 10.1.4 ||
ap10.­5
nirdvandvāḥ sotsāhās2386 tattvasthā baddhasaṃnāhāḥ2387 || 10.1.5 ||

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4


ab.

Abbreviations

Abbreviations used in the introduction and translation notes

Commentaries:
Comm1 Āmnāyamañjarī, by Abhayākaragupta (Toh 1198)
Comm2 Ratnamālā, by Śūravajra (Toh 1199)
Comm3 Smṛtisaṃdarśanāloka, by Indrabhūti (Toh 1197)
Kangyur Editions:

Editions of the Tibetan Kangyur consulted through variant readings recorded in the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma):

C Choné
H Lhasa (zhol)
J Lithang
K Peking Kangxi
N Narthang
Y Peking Yongle
Other:
MW Monier Williams Sanskrit dictionary

Abbreviations used in the appendix – Sanskrit Text

Manuscripts (root text):
C Asiatic Society of Bengal, Calcutta, no. 4854 (Shastri 1917)
R Royal Asiatic Society, London, no. 37 (Cowell 1875)
T1 Tokyo University Library, New 427, Old 324 (Matsunami 1965)
T2 Tokyo University Library, New 428, Old 319 (Matsunami 1965)
W Wellcome Institute Library, London, no. 63 (Wujastyk 1985)
Woodblock prints (commentaries):
Comm1 Āmnāyamañjarī, by Abhayākaragupta (Toh 1198)
Comm2 Ratnamālā, by Śūravajra (Toh 1199)
Comm3 Smṛtisaṃdarśanāloka, by Indrabhūti (Toh 1197)
Published works (root text)
S Sampuṭodbhava (Skorupski 1996, 2001)
Published works or doctoral theses (Sampuṭodbhava parallels in source texts)
G Guhyasamāja Tantra (Matsunaga 1978)
H Hevajra Tantra (Snellgrove 1959)
K Kṛṣṇayamāri Tantra (Samdhong 1992)
L Laghuśaṃvara (Herukābhidhāna) Tantra (Pandey 2002)
N Sampuṭodbhava Tantra (Noguchi 1986, 1987, 1988, 1995)
Ni Sañcāranibandha, comm. on the Yoginīsañcāra (Pandey 1998)
P Prajñopāyaviniścayasiddhi (Samdhong 1987)
SU Samājottara, the 18th chapter of the Guhyasamāja (Matsunaga 1978)
Sz Catuṣpīṭha Tantra (Szántó 2012 & Szántó 2010)
V Vasantatilakā (Samdhong 1990)
VḌ Vajraḍāka Tantra (Sugiki 2002 & Sugiki 2003)
Y Yoginīsañcāra Tantra (Pandey 1998)
Critical apparatus
a.c. ante correctionem
conj. conjectured
em. emended
om. omitted
p.c. post correctionem
rec. reconstructed
← (left arrow) – end of correspondence with a source text.
→ (right arrow) – beginning of correspondence with a source text

n.

Notes

n.­1
See Dharmachakra Translation Committee (2011).
n.­2
The Tibetan translation is Toh 366, sangs rgyas mnyam sbyor mkha’ ’gro sgyu ma bde mchog gi rgyud phyi ma, Degé Kangyur vol. 77 (rgyud ’bum, ka), folios 151.a–193.a.
n.­3
The Degé Tibetan reads sems dpa’ sangs rgyas kun gyi dngos / rdo rje sems dpa’ bde ba’i mchog / gsang ba mchog gi dgyes pa na / thams cad bdag nyid rtag tu bzhugs.
n.­4
In the Tib. (73b.7–74a.1) this sentence reads, “What emerges from it signifies what is called the ‘meditative absorption of sampuṭa’ ” (/de las byung ba ni yang dag par spyor ba’i ting nge ’dzin ces bya ba’i don to/).
n.­5
I.e., as being of the nature of insight and skillful means.
n.­6
Instead of “sampuṭa,” the Tib. (74a.1–2) has “emergence from sampuṭa” (yang dag par sbyor ba las byung ba).
n.­7
The translation of this verse follows one of several possible interpretations. Different variant readings and multiple possible interpretations of each of these readings are interpreted differently in different commentaries on the Sampuṭa, and, differently again, in the Catuṣpīṭha Tantra to which this passage can be traced.
n.­8
“Before one became a practitioner” is missing from the Tib. of this verse (74b.2). Instead, “practioner” (yo gis) appears in the Tibetan as an agent in the verse that follows.
n.­61
“Four” is missing from the Tib. (83a.2–3).
n.­62
The Tib. (83a.3) reads “When, in his pursuit of the path of mantra, / One is initiated by an adept.”
n.­63
(/sngags kyi lam gyi rjes btsal bas/ /gang tshe mkhas pas dbang bskur ba/). The Tib. (83a.3) reflects “the lord of infinite world spheres” (’jig rten khams ni mtha’ yas bdag), which is also the reading in the Prajñopāyaviniścayasiddhi, the source text for this passage. Comm1 (141), however, reflects, “the goddess of…” (dbang ma).
n.­64
Comm1 (141) glosses samaya (dam tshig) as “the experience of great bliss” (bde ba chen po nyams su myong ba).
n.­65
The Degé Tibetan (83a.6) mistakes khyad mdzad pa (Skt. viśeṣitā) for khyab mdzad pa. Y, K, N, and H all correctly have khyad instead.
n.­66
The meaning of this verse is not very clear. Even though the Tib. reflects the reading vidyādhara (rig pa ’dzin pa), this could be vidyāvara (the lover of the consort (vidyā), as the letters dh and v look identical in some manuscripts. The Tib. (83b.3), joining this verse with the last pāda of the previous verse, has “All wisdom consorts who have been purified [in that way] / Should be offered, once the knowledge-holder and his many companions, / In a place free of disturbances, / Have adorned themselves / With sandal, garments, garlands, and the like” (/gang zhig sbyangs pa’i rig ma kun/ /nye bar ’tshe ba med gnas su/ /rig pa ’dzin pa ’khor mang po/ /de nas tsan dan gos phreng sogs/ rnam par brgyan nas dbul bar bya/).
n.­67
Instead of “inanimate,” Degé (83b.7) has bstan (teaching), but Y, J, K, and C have brtan (inanimate).
n.­68
The root text uses code words when referring to the five samaya substances listed in this verse. For “vajra water,” the Tib. (84a.6) has “water of the lord of the families” (rigs kyi bdag po’i chu). There seems to be some confusion with the source texts, as semen is listed twice, and feces is missing.
n.­69
The Degé (84a.7) is missing “before,” and has “which” (gang) instead. However, other versions (Y, J, K, N, C, and H) all have “before” (gong).
n.­70
According to Comm2 (816), “his own yoginī” refers to “one’s own karmamudrā,” whereas “wisdom consort described before” refers to consorts “born from mantra, born from [sacred] fields, born from karma, or born from wisdom.”
n.­71
If the words “olibanum” and “camphor” in the last pāda were translated according to their coded meanings, this pāda would read “Should be cared for by means of a sexual act and semen.”
n.­72
Instead of “through love-making,” the Degé (84b.1) has “through teaching / showing” (bstan pas), but Y, K, N, and H have the proper “through serving / making love” (bsten pas).
n.­73
The meaning of this half-stanza is not completely clear; the Tib. (84b.4) seems to be saying “The joy of sexual bliss is ascertaining everything. / Its pleasure is the means leading to omniscience” (/shin tu bde dga’ thams cad nges/ /de bde thabs las thams cad rig/).
n.­74
Instead of “high above,” the Tib. has “see” (mthong), with no variant readings. However, given the Skt., this should perhaps be corrected to mthon, which means “high / lofty.”
n.­75
The Tib. (85a.2) has “I am like a completed vehicle” (/theg pa rdzogs pa lta bur bdag/).
n.­76
It seems that the words niravagrahacittena (“with the mind free of expectation”), which are at the beginning of the next verse, should be read with this verse, as reflected in the Tib. (/re ba med pa’i sems kyis ni/).
n.­77
The Degé (85a.3) rather has “With the intent of attracting the disciple” (/slob ma bsdu ba’i bsam pa’i phyir/). However, two other versions (Y, K) corroborate the Skt. “For the sake of removing the disciple’s grasping” (/slob ma’i zhen pa bzlog pa’i phyir/). Yet two other versions (J, C) have “For the sake of removing the disciple’s feebleness / negativity” (/slob ma’i zhan pa bzlog pa’i phyir/).
n.­78
Possibly this verse is about the fourth initiation, which is given by speech alone.
n.­79
The Tib. (Degé, 85b.1) adds at the beginning of this sentence “It is taught” (gdams).
n.­80
Instead of “Vajradhara,” the Tib. (Degé, 85b.1) has “Lord of the families” (rigs kyi bdag po).
n.­81
The trunk of a plantain tree is empty inside.
n.­82
This half-stanza in the Tib. (86a.1) reads “Insight, on the level without reference, and / Great compassion, without reference” (/dmigs med gnas su shes rab dang/ /dmigs med snying rje chen po nyid/).
n.­83
The translation “offers praise” (stod par byed) is based on the Tibetan translation, versions Y, J, K, N, C, and H. The Degé (86a.3) appears to read “makes void / empties” (stong par byed).
n.­84
The Tib (86a.7) has “[This] is said to be equanimity, as an object of reflection” (mnyam nyid bsam bya nyid du gsungs).
n.­85
“On the ocean’s shore” is missing from the Tib.
n.­86
The Tib. also has here (87a.2) “a temple of the omniscient one” (thams cad mkhyen pa’i gnas).
n.­87
The translation of this sentence is influenced by the Tib., as the Skt. grammar is flawed.
n.­88
The Tib. (87a.5) only has “enjoy,” literally “devour” (bza’ bar bya), but the Skt. word used, bhaj, means both “partake of / enjoy” (also carnally), and “serve / honor/ revere.”
n.­89
Only three, however, were listed here.
n.­90
As the commentaries make clear, this passage is about using “negative” emotions skillfully.
n.­91
Comm1 is clear that the term tiryak (horizontal), which the Tib. translators (87a.7–87b.1) render as “animals” (byol song dag), refers primarily to prostitutes, and secondarily to the yoga of inner warmth, i.e., Caṇḍālī (gtum mo) practice without consort.
n.­92
Instead of “the best of lotuses” (padmavara), the Tib. has “the lotus bearer,” reflecting the reading padmadhara° (in many manuscripts, the letters dh and v are indistinguishable).
n.­93
Comm2 (836) explains that “the nature of them all” refers to the nature of “all lords” (not just Vajrasattva).
n.­94
The Skt. word varṇa can mean both “letter” and “color.”
n.­95
The Tibetan (88a.1) has “seed syllables and forms, / and the order of hand gestures and shapes” (yig ’bru gzugs dang ni/ /phyag rgya dbyings kyi chog rim dang/).
n.­96
The Tib. (88a.4) includes “according to procedure” (cho ga bzhin du).
n.­97
The Tib. renders rasa as “taste,” implying perhaps articles of food, but rasa can also mean alchemical compounds used to prolong one’s life. The Yogaratnamālā (Farrow 1992), though, a commentary on the Hevajra where this passage can be traced to, interprets rasa as “honey.”
n.­98
Instead of “pericarp,” the Degé (88b.7) and other versions have “second” (gnyis pa). Only two versions (N, H) have “pericarp” (ze ’bru). Comm1 has the moon disk “in the center of a lotus.”
n.­99
“The first,” i.e., the one in the center.
n.­100
The Tib. (89a.3) has, “He should radiate multiple, blazing cloud-like lights / Which are the samaya [aspects] of buddhas/” (/sprin gyi ’od ’bar du ma ni/ /sangs rgyas dam tshig spro bar bya/). Comm1 describes these light-clouds as the “nature of buddhas.”
n.­101
In the Tib. (89a.3–4) this half-stanza reads, “[While] in union with the goddess, / He should then visualize the consort (mudrā)” (/lha mo lhan cig ldan par ni/ /de nas phyag rgya bsgom par bya/).
n.­102
Presumably, starting from the eastern petal.
n.­103
The Tib. (89a.5) has “trident” (rtse gsum) instead.
n.­104
“He should draw her on the southern petal” is missing from the Tib. (89a.5). This information, however, is useful for general clarity.
n.­105
“On the northern petal” is missing from the Tib. (89a.5).
n.­106
“On the western petal” is missing from the Tib. (89a.5).
n.­107
Instead of “staff,” the Tib. (89a.6) has “noose” (zhags pa).
n.­108
“He should draw her in the northeastern quarter” is missing from the Tib. (89a.6).
n.­109
“In the northwestern corner he should draw” is missing from the Tib. (89a.6).
n.­110
“He should draw her in the southwestern quarter” is missing from the Tib., which has instead (89a.7) “He should correctly draw her a full cubit in size” (/khru gang tsam du yang dag bri/).
n.­111
“He should draw in the southeastern corner” is missing from the Tib. (89a.7).
n.­112
Comm2 (842) states that “the single syllable” is hūṁ, the “heart mantra of the Tathāgata.”
n.­113
The wheel has eight divisions with the hub in the center being the ninth.
n.­114
Comm2 (843) gives the word order as “oṁ, such and such person, tāre tuttāre, such and such person, please protect, please protect, svāhā.”
n.­115
The Degé (90a.3) has ture (tu re) in this position.
n.­116
The Degé (90a.3) has tāre (tA re) in this position.
n.­117
Instead of “dull-witted,” the Degé (90a.6) has “learned” (chub pa), but this should perhaps be corrected to “small / meager” (chung ba), in accordance with several other versions (Y, K, N, H).
n.­118
I.e., the wheel described at the beginning of this section.
n.­119
Oṁ, Wisdom, Great Wisdom, hūṁ svāhā!
n.­120
The Tib. (91a.3) has bruṁ.
n.­121
Both the Skt. and Tib. have “draw / paint” instead of “visualize”; the passage, however, seems to be about visualization.
n.­122
The Degé (91b.5) has “Through which beings will be tamed / By wicked and violent means” (/gang gis gdug pa drag po yis/ /sems can ’dul bar ’gyur ba yi/). Two other versions (N, H), however, have “Through which wicked and violent beings / Will be tamed” (/gang gis gdug pa drag po yi/ / sems can ’dul bar ’gyur ba yi/). All Tib. versions are missing “all.”
n.­123
The words “ḍāka” and “ḍākinīs” being compounded in the Skt. text, it is impossible to tell if “ḍāka” should be singular or plural. However, as all the deities described in this section, apart from Heruka himself, are female, “ḍāka” probably stands for Heruka and was rendered as singular.
n.­186
The Tib. (99b.6) and Comm2 (863–4) indicate that these are “verbal signs,” perhaps code words.
n.­187
Whenever code words of the secret language are used in this and the following three verses, the actual meaning is here given in parentheses; the words in parentheses are not part of the original.
n.­188
This and the following three verses are simply transliterated into the Tib., with significant variations between the Kangyur editions.
n.­294
There seems to be much confusion in this sub-chapter regarding the identity of the Blessed One’s interlocutor. The form of address, deva (my lord / husband!) is consistent with its being spoken by the Blessed One’s consort, who, accordingly, is later addressed by him as devī (my goddess / mistress!). There is no doubt about her identity as the mistress, since she later inserts the Blessed One’s bola into her kakkola. The Blessed One is later identified as Vajrasattva and the goddess as Nairātmyā. Since most (perhaps all?) of chapter 6 seems to be a dialogue between the two of them, the text has been emended accordingly, against Comm2 and the Tib., which sometimes identify the Blessed One’s interlocutor as Vajragarbha.
n.­295
The reading Vajrasattva seems to be anomalous for reasons explained in the previous note. Comm2 (913), however, reflects the reading Vajrasattva and identifies him as Vajragarbha.
n.­296
The secret sixteen syllables are the syllables of the statement rahasye parame ramye sarvātmani sadā sthitaḥ.
n.­408
The Tib. (118a.5) has “constant / permanent pledge” (rtag dam tshig), but both commentaries have “great pledge” (dam tshig che). Comm1 (527) simply glosses it as “concealed sign.” Comm2 (954) explains “great pledge” as “the stainless vow / conduct (sdom pa, Skt. saṃvara) that is the sign of buddhas and bodhisattvas.”
n.­981
Comm2 (1019) interprets this as, “I will teach how conceptual mind, with its defilements of clinging / fixating, is the ultimate reality of luminosity, exactly as it is.”
n.­1130
The Tib. (155b.5) has “about the signs of accomplishment / Of the samaya of the vajra master” (//rdo rje slob dpon dam tshig gi/ /grub rtags). Comm1 (707) explains this in terms of “practicing the samaya conduct to be performed for the sake of the accomplishments of that [vajra master],” referring to “the accomplishment of the Great Seal, through only being together with the consort.” Comm2 (1031) has “the samaya for accomplishing the vajra master.”
n.­1131
The interpretation here follows Comm1 (707), which takes the “Great Circle” to be “the maṇḍala of Vajrasattva, which is first” and is “the form of the samayasattva,” “and the ‘heart maṇḍala’ to be the jñānasattva.” Comm3 (1624) has, “One should first visualize at one’s heart the maṇḍala of the Vajra of Bliss, and then draw the maṇḍala externally.”
n.­1188
oṁ namo vajraḍākāya] em.; oṃ nāmo vajraḍākāya S; oṁ namaḥ śrīvajraḍākāya C; oṁ namaḥ śrīvajrasatvāya R
n.­1312
hitāya] S; hitārthāya (unmetrical) C; hitārthaṃ R; maṇḍalasya yathākramaṃ H
n.­1313
°madhye] S; °madhye ca C
n.­1314
taṇḍulādibhiḥ] S; taṇḍulakādibhiḥ (unmetrical) C
n.­1315
tathā] S; om. (unmetrical) C
n.­1448
°sarvaṃ] N; om. (unmetrical) C
n.­1449
drutāpannaṃ savidyayā] N; drutāpatyaṃ savidyāḥ C
n.­1576
śmaśānaṃ caivopaśmaśānaṃ] C; pīlavaṃ copapīlavaṃ L
n.­1577
°papīlavaṃ tathā] T2; °pīlavam eva ca C
n.­1680
katham] T1; kathaṃ bhavet (unmetrical) C
n.­1681
pittam] C; cittam T1
n.­2129
tattvasya] C, R; abhiṣikta° T1
n.­2130
The passage starting from this half-stanza up to the end of verse 8.1.16 is missing from the R, T1, and T2. In the R though, the first part of this passage (up to the first half-stanza of verse 8.1.5) has been added, in different hand, in the upper margin.
n.­2131
ratnaṃ] em.; ratna C, R
n.­2246
sarvatathāgatāś ca] T1; sarvatathāgatāḥ C; sarvatathāgatā R
n.­2247
sacarācare] R; sarvacarācare (unmetrical) C
n.­2248
°cittadhāraṇām] em.; cittadhāraṇāṃ T1; °cittadhāraṇā C, R
n.­2382
praviṣṭaṃ] C; praviṣṭvā R
n.­2383
hṛdādīnāṃ] R; hṛdayādīnāṃ (unmetrical) C
n.­2384
kalpāgraṃ] em.; kalpāgra° C, R
n.­2385
iti] C; om. R
n.­2386
sotsāhās] em.; sotsāhā R; socchāhā C
n.­2387
saṃnāhāḥ] em.; sannāhā C. R

b.

Bibliography

Manuscripts of the Sampuṭodbhava used in preparing the accompanying Sanskrit edition

Asiatic Society of Bengal, Calcutta, no. 4854 (Shastri 1917). (C)

Royal Asiatic Society, London, Hodgson collection no. 37 (Cowell 1875). (R)

Tokyo University Library, New 427, Old 324 (Matsunami 1965). (T1)

Tokyo University Library, New 428, Old 319 (Matsunami 1965). (T2)

Wellcome Institute Library, London, no. 63 (Wujastyk 1985). (W)

Tibetan Translation

yang dag par sbyor ba zhes bya ba’i rgyud chen po (Sampuṭa­nāma­mahā­tantra). Toh 381, Degé Kangyur, vol. 79 (rgyud ’bum, ga), folios 73.b–158.b.

yang dag par sbyor ba zhes bya ba’i rgyud chen po (Sampuṭa­nāma­mahā­tantra). bka’ ’gyur (dpe bsdur ma) [Comparative Edition of the Kangyur], krung go’i bod rig pa zhib ’jug ste gnas kyi bka’ bstan dpe sdur khang (The Tibetan Tripitaka Collation Bureau of the China Tibetology Research Center). 108 volumes. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 2006–2009, vol. 79, pp. 216–529.

Commentaries

Abhayākaragupta. dpal yang dag par sbyor ba’i rgyud kyi rgyal po’i rgya cher ’grel pa man ngag gi snye ma zhe bya ba, Śrī­sampuṭa­tantra­rāja­ṭīkāmnāya­mañjarī­nāma [The Extensive Commentary on the King of Tantras, the Glorious Sampuṭa, called the Bouquet of the Inherited Tradition]. Toh 1198, Degé Tengyur, vol. 7 (rgyud, cha), folios 1.b–316.a.
  Also in: bstan ’gyur dpe bsdur ma [Comparative edition of the Tengyur], krung go’i bod rig pa zhib ’jug ste gnas kyi bka’ bstan dpe sdur khang (The Tibetan Tripitaka Collation Bureau of the China Tibetology Research Center). 120 volumes. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 1994–2008, vol. 4, pp. 3–767. [“Comm1” in notes.]
  Also in: bod yul dmangs khrod kyi rtsa chen dpe rnying phyogs bsgrigs, 藏区民间所藏藏文珍稀文献丛刊[精华版](Series Rare and Ancient Tibetan Texts Collected in Tibetan Regions), 3 volumes. Compiled by the Institute of the Collection and Preservation of Ancient Tibetan Texts of Sichuan Province (四川省藏文古籍捜集保护编务院). Chengdu: Sichuan Nationalities Publishing House (四川民族出版社) / Beijing: Guangming Daily Press (光明日报出版社), October 2015.

Butön (bu ston rin chen grub). sampuṭa’i ’grel pa snying po’i de kho na nyid gsal bar byed pa [The Commentary on the Sampuṭa, Elucidation of the True Meaning]. In The Collected Works of Bu ston (gsung ’bum/ rin chen grub/ zhol par ma/ ldi lir bskyar par brgyab pa). 28 vols, edited by Lokesh Chandra from the collections of Raghu Vira, vol. 8, 217–947 (folios 1.a–365.b). Sata-pitaka Series. Indo Asian Literatures, vols. 41–68. New Delhi: International Academy of Culture, 1965–1971.

Indrabhūti. dpal kha sbyor thig le zhe bya ba rnal ’byor ma’i rgyud kyi rgyal po’i rgya cher ’grel pa yang dag par lta ba’i dran pa’i snang ba zhe bya ba, Sampuṭa­tilaka­nāma­yoginī­tantra­rāja­ṭīkāsmṛti­saṃ­darśanāloka­nāma [The Extensive Commentary on the King of Yoginī Tantras, the Glorious Sampuṭa­tilaka, called the Light that Illuminates Tradition]. Toh 1197, Degé Tengyur, vol. 6 (rgyud, ca), folios 94.b–313.a. [Note: not to be confused with the Kangyur text also referred to as the Sampuṭa­tilaka, Toh 382; see the entry below.]
  Also in: bstan ’gyur dpe bsdur ma [Comparative edition of the Tengyur], krung go’i bod rig pa zhib ’jug ste gnas kyi bka’ bstan dpe sdur khang (The Tibetan Tripitaka Collation Bureau of the China Tibetology Research Center). 120 volumes. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 1994–2008, vol. 3, pp. 1088–1654. [“Comm3” in notes.]

Śūravajra. rgyud thams cad kyi gleng gzhi dang gsang chen dpal kun tu kha sbyor las byung ba’i rgya cher bshad pa rin po che’i phreng ba zhe bya ba, Ratna­mālā [The Extensive Commentary on the Emergence from Sampuṭa, the Foundation and Great Secret of All Tantras, called the Jewel Rosary]. Toh 1199, Degé Tengyur, vol. 8 (rgyud, ja), folios 1.b–111.a.
  Also in: bstan ’gyur dpe bsdur ma [Comparative edition of the Tengyur], krung go’i bod rig pa zhib ’jug ste gnas kyi bka’ bstan dpe sdur khang (The Tibetan Tripitaka Collation Bureau of the China Tibetology Research Center). 120 volumes. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 1994–2008, vol. 4, pp. 771–1055. [“Comm2” in notes.]

rgyud kyi rgyal po chen po dpal yang dag par sbyor ba’i thig le zhe bya ba, Sampuṭa­tilaka [The Great King of Tantras, called the Glorious Tilaka of Sampuṭa]. Toh 382, Degé Kangyur vol. 79 (rgyud ’bum, ga), folios 158.b–184.a. [Note: Despite being a Kangyur text, this is a commentary, sometimes referred to as the “eleventh chapter” of the Sampuṭodbhava. It is included in the Sanskrit manuscripts of the Royal Asiatic Society and the Wellcome Institute Library as their final part.]

General works, including those that share parallel passages with the Sampuṭodbhava

Bhavabhaṭṭa. Cakra­saṃvara­vivṛtiḥ. (Commentary on the Herukābhidhāna Tantra). (See Pandey 2002).

Bhavabhaṭṭa. Catuṣpīṭha­nibandha. (Commentary on the Catuṣpīṭha Tantra). (See Szántó 2012)

Cowell, E. B. and Eggeling, J. “Catalogue of Buddhist Sanskrit Manuscripts in the Possession of the Royal Asiatic Society (Hodgson Collection).” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, Pt. 1: 1–56, 1875.

Dharmachakra Translation Committee. The Practice Manual of Noble ​Tārā​ Kurukullā​ (Ārya­tārā­kurukullā­kalpa, Toh 437). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2011.

Durjayacandra. Mitapada­pañjikā. (Commentary on the Catuṣpīṭha Tantra). Manuscript, Nepal-German Manuscript Preservation Project 23/14.

Elder, George Robert. The Saṃpuṭa Tantra: Edition and Translation, Chapters I–IV. (“Chapters I–IV” refers to the four parts of the first chapter.) (Unpublished PhD thesis at Columbia University, New York, 1978).

Farrow, G. W. and Menon, I. The Concealed Essence of the Hevajra Tantra, with the Commentary Yoga­ratna­mālā. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1992.

Matsunaga, Yukei (ed.). The Guhyasamāja Tantra. Osaka: Toho Shuppan, 1978.

Matsunami, Seiren. Catalogue of the Sanskrit manuscripts in the Tokyo University Library. Tokyo: Suzuki Research Foundation. 1965.

Monier-Williams, Sir Monier. A Sanskṛit-English dictionary: etymologically and philologically arranged with special reference to Greek, Latin, Gothic, German, Anglo-Saxon, and other cognate Indo-European languages . Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1888.

Noguchi, Keiya. “The fundamental character of the Saṃpuṭodbhavatantra.” Journal of Indian and Buddhist Studies 32 (2) (1984): 726–727. [in Japanese].

Noguchi, Keiya. “The Saṃpuṭodbhavatantra I-i, with special reference to the title.” Journal of Indian and Buddhist Studies 34 (2) (1986a): 125–128. [in Japanese].

Noguchi, Keiya. “The Saṃpuṭodbhavatantra and the Pi mi siang king.” Buzan Gakuho: Journal of Buzan Studies 31(1986b): 39–63. [in Japanese].

Noguchi, Keiya. “The Heruka-maṇḍala in the Saṃpuṭodbhavatantra.” Mikkyogaku Kenkyu: The Journal of Esoteric Buddhist Studies 19 (1987a): 65–86. [in Japanese].

Noguchi, Keiya. “The Vajrasattva-maṇḍala in the Saṃpuṭodbhava­tantra.” The Journal of Buddhist Iconography 5 (1987b): 1–14. [in Japanese].

Noguchi, Keiya. “The Saṃpuṭodbhavatantra III-iii, with special reference to the Nairātmyā-maṇḍala.” Journal of Indian and Buddhist Studies 36 (1) (1987c): 134–136. [in Japanese].

Noguchi, Keiya. “The Nairātmyā-maṇḍala in the Saṃpuṭodbhavatantra.” Buzan Gakuho: Journal of Buzan Studies 33 (1988): 75–92. [in Japanese].

Noguchi, Keiya. “On the inserted verses among the citations from the Prajñopāya­viniścaya-siddhi IV in the Saṃpuṭodbhava­tantra II-ii.” Studies on the Buddhist Sanskrit Literature, edited by the Śrāvaka­bhūmi Study Group and The Buddhist Tantric Texts Study Group, 1995: 141–145. Tokyo: Institute for Comprehensive Studies of Buddhism, Taisho University, 1995.

Pandey, Janardan Shastri (ed.). (1998). Yoginī­sancāra­tantram with Nibandha of Tathāgata­raksita [sic] and Upadeśānusāriṇī­vyākhyā of Alaka­kalaśa. Rare Buddhist Texts Series 21. Sarnath: Central Institute for Higher Tibetan Studies, 1998.

Pandey, Janardan Shastri. (2002). Śrīherukābhidhānam Cakra­saṃvara­tantram with the Vivṛti Commentary of Bhavabhaṭṭa. 2 vols. Rare Buddhist Texts Series 26. Sarnath: Central Institute for Higher Tibetan Studies, 2002.

Samdhong Rinpoche and Vrajvallabh Dwivedi (eds.) (1987). Guhyādi-Aṣṭasiddhi Saṅgraha. Sarnath: Central Institute for Higher Tibetan Studies, 1987.

Samdhong Rinpoche and Vrajvallabh Dwivedi (1990). Vasantatilakā of Caryāvratī Śrī­kṛṣṇācārya with Commentary: Rahasya­dīpikā by Vana­ratna. Rare Buddhist Texts Series 7. Sarnath: Central Institute for Higher Tibetan Studies, 1990.

Samdhong Rinpoche and Vrajvallabh Dwivedi (1992). Kṛṣṇayamāri­tantram with Ratnāvalī Pañjikā of Kumāra­candra. Rare Buddhist Texts Series 9. Sarnath: Central Institute for Higher Tibetan Studies, 1992.

Sanderson, Alexis. “The Śaiva sources of the Buddhist Tantras of Śaṃvara,” Handout 4, Trinity Term, University of Oxford, 1998.

Shastri, Hara Prasad. A Descriptive catalogue of Sanskrit manuscripts in the government collection under the care of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. Calcutta: Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1917.

Siklós, Bulcsu. The Vajrabhairava Tantras. Tibetan and Mongolian Versions, English Translation and Annotations. Buddhica Britannica Series Continua VII. Tring: Institute of Buddhist Studies, 1996.

Skorupski, Tadeusz (1996). “The Saṃpuṭa-tantra, Sanskrit and Tibetan Versions of Chapter One.” The Buddhist Forum, vol. IV: 191–244. London: School of Oriental and African Studies, 1996.

Skorupski, Tadeusz (2001). “The Saṃpuṭa-tantra, Sanskrit and Tibetan Versions of Chapter Two.” The Buddhist Forum, vol. VI: 223–269. Tring: The Institute of Buddhist Studies, 2001.

Snellgrove, D. L. (ed.). The Hevajra Tantra: A Critical Study. 2 vols. London Oriental Series, vol. 6. London: Oxford University Press, 1959.

Sugiki, Tsunehiko (2002). “A Critical Study of the Vajra­ḍāka­mahā­tantra­rāja (I)‍—Chapter 1 and 42.” Chizan Gakuho: Journal of Chizan Studies 51: 81–115.

Sugiki, Tsunehiko (2003). “A Critical Study of the Vajra­ḍāka­mahā­tantra­rāja (II)‍—Sacred Districts and Practices Concerned.” Chizan Gakuho: Journal of Chizan Studies 52: 53–106.

Szántó, Péter-Dániel (2012). Selected Chapters from the Catuṣpīṭhatantra. (1/2) Introductory study with the annotated translation of selected chapters. (2/2) Appendix volume with critical editions of selected chapters accompanied by Bhavabhaṭṭa’s commentary and a bibliography. (Unpublished PhD thesis at Oxford University, Oxford).

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g.

Glossary

Types of attestation for names and terms of the corresponding source language

AS

Attested in source text

This term is attested in a manuscript used as a source for this translation.

AO

Attested in other text

This term is attested in other manuscripts with a parallel or similar context.

AD

Attested in dictionary

This term is attested in dictionaries matching Tibetan to the corresponding language.

AA

Approximate attestation

The attestation of this name is approximate. It is based on other names where the relationship between the Tibetan and source language is attested in dictionaries or other manuscripts.

RP

Reconstruction from Tibetan phonetic rendering

This term is a reconstruction based on the Tibetan phonetic rendering of the term.

RS

Reconstruction from Tibetan semantic rendering

This term is a reconstruction based on the semantics of the Tibetan translation.

SU

Source unspecified

This term has been supplied from an unspecified source, which most often is a widely trusted dictionary.

g.­1

Abhedyā

Wylie:
  • mi phyed ma
Tibetan:
  • མི་ཕྱེད་མ།
Sanskrit:
  • abhedyā

One of the subtle channels in the body.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­89
  • 6.­77
  • n.­1252
g.­2

Acalaceṭa

Wylie:
  • mi g.yo mgon
Tibetan:
  • མི་གཡོ་མགོན།
Sanskrit:
  • acalaceṭa

“Servant Acala,” or “Immovable Servant/Helper,” seems to be an epithet of Acala/Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇa; commentaries describe him as an emanation of Vairocana.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 7.­331
g.­3

activity family

Wylie:
  • las kyi rigs
Tibetan:
  • ལས་ཀྱི་རིགས།
Sanskrit:
  • karmakula

One of the five buddha families.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­47
  • 1.­151
  • 3.­121
  • g.­290
g.­4

affliction

Wylie:
  • nyon mongs
Tibetan:
  • ཉོན་མོངས།
Sanskrit:
  • kleśa

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The essentially pure nature of mind is obscured and afflicted by various psychological defilements, which destroy the mind’s peace and composure and lead to unwholesome deeds of body, speech, and mind, acting as causes for continued existence in saṃsāra. Included among them are the primary afflictions of desire (rāga), anger (dveṣa), and ignorance (avidyā). It is said that there are eighty-four thousand of these negative mental qualities, for which the eighty-four thousand categories of the Buddha’s teachings serve as the antidote.

Kleśa is also commonly translated as “negative emotions,” “disturbing emotions,” and so on. The Pāli kilesa, Middle Indic kileśa, and Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit kleśa all primarily mean “stain” or “defilement.” The translation “affliction” is a secondary development that derives from the more general (non-Buddhist) classical understanding of √kliś (“to harm,“ “to afflict”). Both meanings are noted by Buddhist commentators.

Located in 32 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­34
  • 1.­57
  • 1.­70-73
  • 1.­77
  • 1.­79
  • 1.­81
  • 1.­122-125
  • 1.­129-130
  • 1.­151
  • 1.­165
  • 2.­51
  • 2.­89
  • 3.­126
  • 3.­130
  • 5.­65
  • 5.­70
  • 8.­14
  • 10.­17
  • 10.­33
  • n.­21
  • n.­33
  • n.­44-45
  • n.­54
  • n.­376
g.­20

aspiration for awakening

Wylie:
  • byang chub kyi sems
  • byang chub sems
Tibetan:
  • བྱང་ཆུབ་ཀྱི་སེམས།
  • བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས།
Sanskrit:
  • bodhicitta

The wish to attain awakening for the sake of all sentient beings; a luminous “seed” moving inside the channels; the Sanskrit and Tibetan terms are also used to denote semen.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 3.­129
  • g.­41
g.­23

auxiliary chandoha

Wylie:
  • nye ba’i ts+tshan do ha
Tibetan:
  • ཉེ་བའི་ཙྪན་དོ་ཧ།
Sanskrit:
  • upachandoha

A type of power place where yogins and yoginīs congregate.

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • 5.­3
  • 5.­9
  • 5.­17
  • 6.­51
  • g.­111
  • g.­132
g.­24

auxiliary charnel ground

Wylie:
  • nye ba’i dur khrod
Tibetan:
  • ཉེ་བའི་དུར་ཁྲོད།
Sanskrit:
  • upaśmāśana

A type of power place where yogins and yoginīs congregate.

Located in 9 passages in the translation:

  • 5.­4
  • 5.­11
  • 5.­13
  • 5.­18
  • 6.­56
  • g.­148
  • g.­179
  • g.­302
  • g.­352
g.­25

auxiliary kṣetra

Wylie:
  • nye ba’i zhing
Tibetan:
  • ཉེ་བའི་ཞིང་།
Sanskrit:
  • upakṣetra

A type of power place where yogins and yoginīs congregate.

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • 5.­3
  • 5.­8
  • 5.­16
  • 6.­50
  • n.­221
  • g.­143
  • g.­297
g.­26

auxiliary melāpaka

Wylie:
  • nye ’du ba
  • nye ba’i ’du ba
Tibetan:
  • ཉེ་འདུ་བ།
  • ཉེ་བའི་འདུ་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • upamelāpaka

A type of power place where yogins and yoginīs congregate.

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • 5.­3
  • 5.­10
  • 5.­17
  • 6.­54
  • g.­255
  • g.­285
g.­27

auxiliary pīlava

Wylie:
  • nye ba’i ’thung gcod
Tibetan:
  • ཉེ་བའི་འཐུང་གཅོད།
Sanskrit:
  • upapīlava

A type of power place where yogins and yoginīs congregate.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 5.­4
  • 5.­13
  • n.­222
  • g.­137
  • g.­364
g.­28

auxiliary pīṭha

Wylie:
  • nye ba’i gnas
Tibetan:
  • ཉེ་བའི་གནས།
Sanskrit:
  • upapīṭha

A type of power place where yogins and yoginīs congregate.

Located in 9 passages in the translation:

  • 5.­3
  • 5.­7
  • 5.­16
  • 6.­48
  • n.­329
  • g.­72
  • g.­100
  • g.­170
  • g.­233
g.­32

bhaga

Wylie:
  • bha ga
Tibetan:
  • བྷ་ག
Sanskrit:
  • bhaga

The female genital organ, in this and other tantric texts. Other meanings include “good fortune,” “happiness,” and “majesty”; the term forms the root of the word bhagavān, Blessed One; see also 1.­163 et seq.

Located in 26 passages in the translation:

  • i.­6
  • 1.­2
  • 1.­37
  • 1.­56
  • 1.­133
  • 1.­163-165
  • 2.­12
  • 2.­82
  • 2.­140
  • 2.­157
  • 2.­159
  • 2.­201
  • 6.­138
  • 6.­161
  • 7.­65
  • 7.­201
  • 7.­274
  • 7.­278
  • n.­54
  • n.­303
  • n.­729
  • n.­738
  • n.­1305
  • g.­200
g.­33

Bhairava

Wylie:
  • ’jigs byed
Tibetan:
  • འཇིགས་བྱེད།
Sanskrit:
  • bhairava

A wrathful form of Śiva.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­127
  • 7.­283
  • 9.­14
  • n.­758
g.­37

bhūmi

Wylie:
  • sa
Tibetan:
  • ས།
Sanskrit:
  • bhūmi

See “bodhisattva level.”

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • 5.­4
  • 5.­16-18
  • n.­227
  • g.­42
g.­41

bodhicitta

Wylie:
  • byang chub kyi sems
Tibetan:
  • བྱང་ཆུབ་ཀྱི་སེམས།
Sanskrit:
  • bodhicitta

In normative Mahāyāna doctrine, bodhicitta refers to the aspiration for awakening, in both its relative and absolute aspects. In tantric thought it frequently refers to semen in the context of its generation and manipulation in sexual yogic rites.

Located in 48 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­26
  • 1.­36
  • 1.­64
  • 1.­85
  • 1.­88
  • 1.­93
  • 1.­104
  • 1.­159
  • 2.­22
  • 2.­31
  • 2.­46
  • 2.­62
  • 2.­64
  • 2.­85
  • 3.­129-130
  • 5.­49
  • 6.­9-10
  • 6.­101
  • 6.­108
  • 6.­110-111
  • 6.­136
  • 6.­141
  • 6.­177
  • 9.­6
  • n.­242-243
  • n.­291
  • n.­302
  • n.­310
  • n.­313
  • n.­325
  • n.­333
  • n.­335
  • n.­355
  • n.­359
  • n.­373
  • n.­400
  • n.­533
  • n.­802
  • n.­997-998
  • n.­1001
  • n.­1084
  • n.­1088
  • n.­1090
g.­42

bodhisattva level

Wylie:
  • sa
Tibetan:
  • ས།
Sanskrit:
  • bhūmi

Ground; level; also the level of realization, in particular that of a bodhisattva. Also rendered here as “bhūmi.”

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­83
  • 6.­44
  • g.­37
  • g.­125
g.­43

bola

Wylie:
  • bo la
  • bo l+la
Tibetan:
  • བོ་ལ།
  • བོ་ལླ།
Sanskrit:
  • bola

A code word for the male sexual organ. Taken literally, refers to “gum myrrh.”

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 6.­41
  • 6.­148
  • 6.­176
  • n.­294
  • n.­543
g.­49

Caṇḍālī

Wylie:
  • gdol ba mo
  • gtum mo
Tibetan:
  • གདོལ་བ་མོ།
  • གཏུམ་མོ།
Sanskrit:
  • caṇḍālī

An outcaste woman; one of the female deities in the retinue of Hevajra; the mystic heat below the navel, personified as a goddess; one of the five ḍākinīs visualized on the prongs of the vajra scepter.

Located in 17 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­122
  • 3.­7
  • 3.­26
  • 3.­29
  • 3.­59
  • 3.­95
  • 8.­10
  • 8.­130
  • 8.­137
  • 8.­152
  • 9.­48
  • n.­91
  • n.­313
  • n.­868
  • n.­965
  • n.­1050
  • n.­1090
g.­55

Caurī

Wylie:
  • chom rkun ma
Tibetan:
  • ཆོམ་རྐུན་མ།
Sanskrit:
  • caurī

One of the female deities in the retinue of Hevajra.

Located in 12 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­120
  • 3.­22
  • 3.­29
  • 3.­95
  • 7.­133
  • 7.­135
  • 7.­139
  • 7.­141
  • 7.­143-144
  • 8.­126
  • 8.­138
g.­57

chandoha

Wylie:
  • ts+tshan do
  • tshan do
  • tshan do ha
Tibetan:
  • ཙྪན་དོ།
  • ཚན་དོ།
  • ཚན་དོ་ཧ།
Sanskrit:
  • chandoha

A type of power place where yogins and yoginīs congregate.

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • 5.­3
  • 5.­9
  • 5.­17
  • 6.­51
  • n.­1583
  • g.­127
  • g.­153
g.­58

charnel ground

Wylie:
  • dur khrod
Tibetan:
  • དུར་ཁྲོད།
Sanskrit:
  • śmāśana

A type of power place where yogins and yoginīs congregate.

Located in 41 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­129
  • 3.­166
  • 4.­23
  • 4.­37
  • 5.­4
  • 5.­11
  • 5.­13
  • 5.­18
  • 5.­126
  • 5.­134
  • 5.­159
  • 6.­55
  • 7.­13
  • 7.­17
  • 7.­47
  • 7.­65
  • 7.­105
  • 7.­114
  • 7.­116
  • 7.­172
  • 7.­186
  • 7.­194
  • 7.­198
  • 7.­247
  • 7.­281
  • 7.­339
  • 7.­355
  • 8.­125
  • 8.­142
  • 9.­46
  • 9.­108
  • n.­184
  • n.­291
  • n.­525
  • n.­711
  • g.­87
  • g.­190
  • g.­222
  • g.­267
  • g.­289
  • g.­300
g.­59

chosen deity

Wylie:
  • rang gi ’dod pa’i lha
Tibetan:
  • རང་གི་འདོད་པའི་ལྷ།
Sanskrit:
  • sveṣṭadevatā
  • iṣṭadevatā

A sambhogakāya deity to which the practitioner has a samaya commitment, commonly known by the students of Tibetan Buddhism as yidam.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­97
  • 3.­87
  • 5.­153
  • 7.­58
  • 8.­30
g.­60

consort

Wylie:
  • phyag rgya
  • rig ma
  • shes rab
  • btsun mo
  • thabs
Tibetan:
  • ཕྱག་རྒྱ།
  • རིག་མ།
  • ཤེས་རབ།
  • བཙུན་མོ།
  • ཐབས།
Sanskrit:
  • mudrā
  • vidyā
  • prajñā
  • yoṣitā
  • upāya

The pair of the deity or practitioner in sexual yoga. See “consort (female)” and “consort (male).”

Located in 18 passages in the translation:

  • i.­12
  • 1.­166
  • 2.­99
  • 2.­101
  • 5.­152
  • 7.­31
  • 7.­138
  • 7.­242
  • 8.­61
  • 9.­47
  • 9.­117
  • n.­70
  • n.­91
  • n.­182
  • n.­184
  • n.­294
  • n.­1128
  • n.­1130
g.­61

consort (female)

Wylie:
  • phyag rgya
  • rig ma
  • shes rab
  • btsun mo
  • dga’ ma
Tibetan:
  • ཕྱག་རྒྱ།
  • རིག་མ།
  • ཤེས་རབ།
  • བཙུན་མོ།
  • དགའ་མ།
Sanskrit:
  • mudrā
  • vidyā
  • prajñā
  • yoṣitā
  • rati

The female element of the coupling pair in sexual yoga. In this translation the term “consort” has been used to render different terms with slighty different concepts of the female consort, the most important being mudrā, vidyā, and prajñā. Mudrā emphasizes the symbolic form of the female consort, while vidyā and prajñā emphasize the wisdom, or insight, aspect that the female principle embodies (see also “wisdom consort”).

Located in 22 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­44
  • 1.­101-102
  • 2.­13
  • 2.­18
  • 2.­31-32
  • 2.­38
  • 2.­101
  • 2.­141
  • 9.­84-85
  • 10.­6
  • 10.­20
  • n.­101
  • g.­60
  • g.­117
  • g.­186
  • g.­213
  • g.­261
  • g.­358
  • g.­368
g.­62

consort (male)

Wylie:
  • thabs
Tibetan:
  • ཐབས།
Sanskrit:
  • upāya

The male element of the coupling pair in sexual yoga. See “skillful means.”

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­38
  • g.­60
  • g.­270
g.­67

ḍāka

Wylie:
  • dpa’ bo
Tibetan:
  • དཔའ་བོ།
Sanskrit:
  • ḍāka

Covers a wide range of meanings‍—in general a male being, not necessarily benevolent, ranging from a powerful spirit to a retinue deity in a maṇḍala.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 3.­2
  • 8.­149
  • 10.­56
  • n.­123
  • n.­302
g.­68

ḍākinī

Wylie:
  • mkha’ ’gro ma
Tibetan:
  • མཁའ་འགྲོ་མ།
Sanskrit:
  • ḍākinī

Covers a wide range of meanings‍—in general a female being, not necessarily benevolent, ranging from a powerful spirit to a retinue deity in a maṇḍala. Also the name of the royal goddess in the east, see “Ḍākinī.”

Located in 68 passages in the translation:

  • i.­14
  • 1.­101-102
  • 3.­2
  • 3.­69
  • 4.­2
  • 4.­16
  • 4.­21
  • 4.­23
  • 4.­27
  • 4.­29
  • 4.­40
  • 5.­124
  • 6.­38
  • 6.­56-58
  • 6.­79
  • 6.­88
  • 6.­114
  • 6.­133
  • 6.­144
  • 6.­146
  • 7.­10
  • 7.­17
  • 7.­142-143
  • 7.­217
  • 7.­225
  • 7.­234
  • 8.­9
  • 8.­63
  • 8.­142-143
  • 8.­149
  • 9.­52
  • 9.­105
  • 10.­56
  • n.­37
  • n.­123
  • n.­200
  • n.­323
  • n.­330
  • n.­340-342
  • n.­351
  • n.­615
  • n.­683
  • n.­695
  • n.­1078
  • n.­1552
  • g.­6
  • g.­11
  • g.­36
  • g.­49
  • g.­63
  • g.­99
  • g.­123
  • g.­139
  • g.­141
  • g.­151
  • g.­152
  • g.­205
  • g.­238
  • g.­242
  • g.­319
  • g.­357
g.­69

Ḍākinī

Wylie:
  • mkha’ ’gro ma
Tibetan:
  • མཁའ་འགྲོ་མ།
Sanskrit:
  • ḍākinī

One of the four guardian goddesses who can be indicated to a fellow practitioner by her pledge sign.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 3.­70
  • 7.­13
  • g.­68
g.­71

ḍamaru

Wylie:
  • cang te’u
Tibetan:
  • ཅང་ཏེའུ།
Sanskrit:
  • ḍamaru

A small hand drum.

Located in 10 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­122
  • 2.­147
  • 3.­22
  • 5.­160
  • 7.­280
  • 7.­311
  • 7.­337
  • 9.­105
  • n.­289
  • n.­1108
g.­73

Dharma

Wylie:
  • chos
Tibetan:
  • ཆོས།
Sanskrit:
  • dharma

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The term dharma conveys ten different meanings, according to Vasubandhu’s Vyākhyā­yukti. The primary meanings are as follows: the doctrine taught by the Buddha (Dharma); the ultimate reality underlying and expressed through the Buddha’s teaching (Dharma); the trainings that the Buddha’s teaching stipulates (dharmas); the various awakened qualities or attainments acquired through practicing and realizing the Buddha’s teaching (dharmas); qualities or aspects more generally, i.e., phenomena or phenomenal attributes (dharmas); and mental objects (dharmas).

Located in 22 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­68-69
  • 1.­167
  • 2.­47
  • 3.­117
  • 3.­120
  • 4.­42
  • 5.­18
  • 5.­109
  • 6.­156
  • 7.­140
  • 7.­194
  • 8.­31
  • 8.­35
  • 9.­8
  • 9.­25
  • 9.­80
  • 9.­84
  • 10.­34
  • 10.­44
  • n.­844
  • g.­91
g.­75

dharmadhātu

Wylie:
  • chos kyi dbyings
Tibetan:
  • ཆོས་ཀྱི་དབྱིངས།
Sanskrit:
  • dharmadhātu

The “sphere of phenomena,” a totality of things as they really are.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • n.­307
  • n.­844
  • n.­993
  • g.­274
  • g.­291
g.­80

Ḍombī

Wylie:
  • g.yung mo
Tibetan:
  • གཡུང་མོ།
Sanskrit:
  • ḍombī

One of the female deities in the retinue of Hevajra.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­122
  • 3.­8
  • 3.­95
  • 8.­137
  • n.­132
g.­81

Drokmi Śākya Yeshé

Wylie:
  • ’brog mi shAkya ye shes
Tibetan:
  • འབྲོག་མི་ཤཱཀྱ་ཡེ་ཤེས།
Sanskrit:
  • —

992 or 993 to 1043 or 1072; Tibetan translator (of an early phase of the later translation period) and important figure in the Lamdré (lam ’bras) lineage.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • i.­22
  • c.­1
  • g.­95
g.­86

enthralling

Wylie:
  • dbang
  • dbang du bya ba
  • dbang du byed pa
Tibetan:
  • དབང་།
  • དབང་དུ་བྱ་བ།
  • དབང་དུ་བྱེད་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • vaśya
  • vaśīkaraṇa

The activity or the magical act of enthralling.

Located in 22 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­163
  • 7.­20
  • 7.­22-23
  • 7.­99
  • 7.­106-109
  • 7.­113
  • 7.­222
  • 7.­242
  • 7.­266-267
  • 7.­271
  • 7.­273
  • 8.­42
  • 8.­44
  • 8.­53
  • n.­576
  • n.­600
  • g.­284
g.­94

Gaurī

Wylie:
  • dkar mo
Tibetan:
  • དཀར་མོ།
Sanskrit:
  • gaurī

One of the female deities in the retinue of Hevajra.

Located in 18 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­120
  • 3.­20-21
  • 3.­29-30
  • 3.­86
  • 3.­92
  • 3.­94-95
  • 3.­164
  • 7.­27
  • 7.­133
  • 7.­135-136
  • 7.­139
  • 8.­125
  • 8.­136
  • 8.­138
g.­95

Gayādhara

Wylie:
  • sprin ’dzin
Tibetan:
  • སྤྲིན་འཛིན།
Sanskrit:
  • gayādhara

994–1043; Indian (possibly Bengali) paṇḍita who visited Tibet three times; teacher of Drokmi Śākya Yeshé; a complex personality and a key figure in the transmission to Tibet of the Hevajra materials later incorporated in the Lamdré (lam ’bras) tradition.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • i.­22
  • c.­1
g.­97

Ghasmarī

Wylie:
  • g+ha sma rI
  • g+hasma rI
Tibetan:
  • གྷ་སྨ་རཱི།
  • གྷསྨ་རཱི།
Sanskrit:
  • ghasmarī

One of the female deities in the retinue of Hevajra.

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­121
  • 3.­27
  • 3.­29
  • 3.­95
  • 7.­133
  • 8.­131
  • 8.­138
g.­104

Hariścandra

Wylie:
  • ’phrog pa zla ba
Tibetan:
  • འཕྲོག་པ་ཟླ་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • hariścandra

Mythological figure of great wealth and splendor.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 2.­79
g.­106

hearer

Wylie:
  • nyan thos
Tibetan:
  • ཉན་ཐོས།
Sanskrit:
  • śrāvaka

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The Sanskrit term śrāvaka, and the Tibetan nyan thos, both derived from the verb “to hear,” are usually defined as “those who hear the teaching from the Buddha and make it heard to others.” Primarily this refers to those disciples of the Buddha who aspire to attain the state of an arhat seeking their own liberation and nirvāṇa. They are the practitioners of the first turning of the wheel of the Dharma on the four noble truths, who realize the suffering inherent in saṃsāra and focus on understanding that there is no independent self. By conquering afflicted mental states (kleśa), they liberate themselves, attaining first the stage of stream enterers at the path of seeing, followed by the stage of once-returners who will be reborn only one more time, and then the stage of non-returners who will no longer be reborn into the desire realm. The final goal is to become an arhat. These four stages are also known as the “four results of spiritual practice.”

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­9
  • 1.­20
  • 2.­88
  • 6.­112
  • 7.­2
  • 8.­108
  • n.­894
g.­107

heruka

Wylie:
  • he ru ka
  • khrag ’thung
Tibetan:
  • ཧེ་རུ་ཀ
  • ཁྲག་འཐུང་།
Sanskrit:
  • heruka

The wrathful buddha personifying the true nature of all forms and all the sensory fields and elements; a wrathful deity of the vīra type; also an epithet applied to some wrathful deities, especially Hevajra and Saṃvara.

Located in 53 passages in the translation:

  • i.­12
  • i.­24
  • 2.­42
  • 2.­115
  • 2.­125
  • 2.­131
  • 3.­1-2
  • 3.­4
  • 3.­9
  • 3.­36
  • 4.­27
  • 4.­29
  • 4.­38
  • 5.­78-79
  • 5.­151
  • 5.­161
  • 6.­62
  • 6.­65
  • 6.­95
  • 6.­142
  • 7.­209
  • 7.­213
  • 7.­217
  • 8.­124
  • 8.­135
  • 8.­142
  • 9.­32
  • 9.­84
  • 9.­115
  • n.­123
  • n.­148
  • n.­735-736
  • n.­928
  • n.­1078
  • n.­2126
  • g.­5
  • g.­35
  • g.­64
  • g.­105
  • g.­108
  • g.­110
  • g.­168
  • g.­191
  • g.­206
  • g.­250
  • g.­251
  • g.­265
  • g.­280
  • g.­286
  • g.­354
g.­110

Hevajra

Wylie:
  • kye’i rdo rje
Tibetan:
  • ཀྱེའི་རྡོ་རྗེ།
Sanskrit:
  • hevajra

A wrathful deity of the heruka type.

Located in 33 passages in the translation:

  • i.­12
  • i.­24
  • i.­28
  • i.­32
  • 3.­6
  • 7.­349-350
  • 7.­353
  • 8.­140-141
  • app.­8
  • n.­97
  • n.­219
  • n.­288
  • n.­378
  • n.­387
  • n.­394-396
  • n.­448
  • n.­490
  • n.­1096
  • g.­49
  • g.­55
  • g.­80
  • g.­94
  • g.­95
  • g.­97
  • g.­107
  • g.­225
  • g.­256
  • g.­327
  • g.­356
g.­112

homa

Wylie:
  • sbyin sreg
Tibetan:
  • སྦྱིན་སྲེག
Sanskrit:
  • homa

An oblation offered into a ritual fire; the repeated act of casting an offering into the fire, where each throw is accompanied by a single repetition of the mantra.

Located in 24 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­165
  • 7.­99-100
  • 7.­102
  • 7.­111
  • 7.­127
  • 7.­227
  • 7.­231
  • 7.­237
  • 7.­242-246
  • 7.­248
  • 7.­270-271
  • 10.­37
  • n.­706
  • n.­708
  • n.­713
  • n.­717
  • n.­725
  • n.­727
g.­117

insight

Wylie:
  • shes rab
Tibetan:
  • ཤེས་རབ།
Sanskrit:
  • prajñā

Direct cognition of reality; represented by and refers to the female consort in sexual yoga.

Located in 27 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­10
  • 1.­42
  • 1.­49
  • 1.­76
  • 1.­79
  • 1.­105-106
  • 1.­118
  • 1.­125
  • 1.­153-154
  • 1.­165
  • 1.­168
  • 2.­41
  • 2.­48
  • 2.­65
  • 2.­74-75
  • 2.­98
  • 2.­102
  • 6.­113
  • 9.­17
  • n.­5
  • n.­54
  • n.­82
  • n.­1006
  • g.­61
g.­122

jewel family

Wylie:
  • rin chen gyi rigs
Tibetan:
  • རིན་ཆེན་གྱི་རིགས།
Sanskrit:
  • ratnakula

One of the five buddha families.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­47
  • 3.­119
  • 10.­12
  • g.­158
g.­124

jñānasattva

Wylie:
  • ye shes sems dpa’
Tibetan:
  • ཡེ་ཤེས་སེམས་དཔའ།
Sanskrit:
  • jñānasattva

The deity that merges with and empowers its form, the samayasattva, visualized by the practitioner.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 8.­9
  • n.­1131
g.­126

kakkola

Wylie:
  • ka k+ko la
Tibetan:
  • ཀ་ཀྐོ་ལ།
Sanskrit:
  • kakkola

A code word for the female genital organ. Taken literally, refers to an aromatic plant and the perfume made from it.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 6.­41
  • 6.­176
  • 6.­179
  • n.­294
g.­140

khaṭvāṅga

Wylie:
  • khaT+wAM ga
Tibetan:
  • ཁཊྭཱཾ་ག
Sanskrit:
  • khaṭvāṅga

Iconographic or real implement in the form of a staff with a trident ending; it may have human skulls impaled on it.

Located in 23 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­128
  • 2.­146
  • 2.­200
  • 3.­18
  • 3.­28
  • 3.­49
  • 3.­53
  • 3.­55
  • 3.­58-59
  • 3.­99
  • 3.­172
  • 5.­156
  • 7.­202
  • 7.­213
  • 7.­276
  • 7.­280
  • 7.­311
  • 7.­337
  • 8.­126
  • 8.­141
  • 9.­51
  • n.­293
g.­146

kṣetra

Wylie:
  • zhing
Tibetan:
  • ཞིང་།
Sanskrit:
  • kṣetra

A type of power place where yogins and yoginīs congregate.

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • 5.­3
  • 5.­8
  • 5.­16
  • 6.­49
  • g.­129
  • g.­197
g.­157

liṅga

Wylie:
  • ling ga
Tibetan:
  • ལིང་ག
Sanskrit:
  • liṅga

The male sexual organ.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­82
  • 4.­67
  • 7.­201
  • 7.­278
g.­158

Locanā

Wylie:
  • spyan
  • spyan ma
Tibetan:
  • སྤྱན།
  • སྤྱན་མ།
Sanskrit:
  • locanā

The chief goddess of the jewel family, personifying the true nature of the element of earth.

Located in 12 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­146
  • 2.­194
  • 3.­151
  • 6.­166
  • 7.­134
  • 7.­154
  • 7.­242
  • 8.­122
  • 10.­13
  • n.­608
  • n.­610
  • n.­1055
g.­160

lotus

Wylie:
  • pad+ma
Tibetan:
  • པདྨ།
Sanskrit:
  • padma

The lotus flower or plant; metaphorically, the female genital organ.

Located in 142 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­51
  • 1.­103
  • 1.­134
  • 1.­137
  • 1.­147
  • 1.­149-150
  • 1.­152
  • 2.­27
  • 2.­31
  • 2.­98
  • 2.­101
  • 2.­118
  • 2.­135
  • 2.­141
  • 2.­147-148
  • 2.­168
  • 2.­171
  • 2.­177
  • 2.­191
  • 2.­200
  • 2.­203
  • 2.­207
  • 3.­18
  • 3.­26
  • 3.­84
  • 3.­142-144
  • 3.­148
  • 3.­159
  • 4.­3
  • 4.­24
  • 4.­26-27
  • 4.­43-44
  • 5.­24
  • 5.­27
  • 5.­33
  • 5.­35-36
  • 5.­49
  • 5.­89
  • 5.­130
  • 6.­8
  • 6.­19
  • 6.­61
  • 6.­70
  • 6.­97
  • 6.­101-102
  • 6.­122-125
  • 6.­137
  • 6.­140
  • 7.­6
  • 7.­9
  • 7.­65
  • 7.­68-69
  • 7.­74-75
  • 7.­80
  • 7.­83
  • 7.­112
  • 7.­129-130
  • 7.­161
  • 7.­164-165
  • 7.­171
  • 7.­177
  • 7.­181-183
  • 7.­187
  • 7.­195
  • 7.­207-208
  • 7.­216
  • 7.­221
  • 7.­225
  • 7.­248-249
  • 7.­260
  • 7.­275-276
  • 7.­294
  • 7.­300
  • 7.­327
  • 7.­329
  • 7.­338
  • 7.­348
  • 8.­5
  • 8.­8
  • 8.­16
  • 8.­18
  • 8.­22
  • 8.­25-26
  • 8.­41
  • 8.­50
  • 8.­60
  • 8.­86
  • 8.­91
  • 8.­97
  • 9.­4
  • 9.­15
  • 9.­34
  • 9.­60
  • 9.­70
  • 9.­101-102
  • 9.­119
  • n.­92
  • n.­98
  • n.­205
  • n.­208
  • n.­231
  • n.­237
  • n.­362
  • n.­374
  • n.­521
  • n.­536
  • n.­543
  • n.­549
  • n.­603
  • n.­633
  • n.­683
  • n.­714
  • n.­834
  • n.­845
  • n.­997
  • n.­1002
  • n.­1005
  • n.­1007
  • g.­261
  • g.­332
g.­161

lotus family

Wylie:
  • pad+ma’i rigs
Tibetan:
  • པདྨའི་རིགས།
Sanskrit:
  • padmakula

One of the five buddha families.

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­47
  • 1.­150
  • 2.­190
  • 3.­120
  • 3.­143
  • 10.­13
  • g.­204
g.­165

mahāmudrā

Wylie:
  • phyag rgya chen po
Tibetan:
  • ཕྱག་རྒྱ་ཆེན་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • mahāmudrā

Awakened state described as the union of wisdom and means.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­149
  • 2.­99
  • 6.­148
g.­167

Mahāsukha

Wylie:
  • bde chen
  • bde ba chen po
Tibetan:
  • བདེ་ཆེན།
  • བདེ་བ་ཆེན་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • mahāsukha

One of the epithets of Saṃvara.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­155
  • 1.­157
  • 2.­151
  • n.­324
  • n.­907
g.­172

Māmakī

Wylie:
  • mA ma kI
Tibetan:
  • མཱ་མ་ཀཱི།
Sanskrit:
  • māmakī

The chief goddess of the vajra family, personifying the true nature of the element of water.

Located in 12 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­148
  • 2.­198
  • 3.­151
  • 6.­166
  • 7.­129
  • 7.­135
  • 7.­137-138
  • 7.­155
  • 8.­23
  • 10.­13
  • n.­1055
g.­176

Māra

Wylie:
  • bdud
Tibetan:
  • བདུད།
Sanskrit:
  • māra

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Māra, literally “death” or “maker of death,” is the name of the deva who tried to prevent the Buddha from achieving awakening, the name given to the class of beings he leads, and also an impersonal term for the destructive forces that keep beings imprisoned in saṃsāra:

(1) As a deva, Māra is said to be the principal deity in the Heaven of Making Use of Others’ Emanations (paranirmitavaśavartin), the highest paradise in the desire realm. He famously attempted to prevent the Buddha’s awakening under the Bodhi tree‍—see The Play in Full (Toh 95), 21.1‍—and later sought many times to thwart the Buddha’s activity. In the sūtras, he often also creates obstacles to the progress of śrāvakas and bodhisattvas. (2) The devas ruled over by Māra are collectively called mārakāyika or mārakāyikadevatā, the “deities of Māra’s family or class.” In general, these māras too do not wish any being to escape from saṃsāra, but can also change their ways and even end up developing faith in the Buddha, as exemplified by Sārthavāha; see The Play in Full (Toh 95), 21.14 and 21.43. (3) The term māra can also be understood as personifying four defects that prevent awakening, called (i) the divine māra (devaputra­māra), which is the distraction of pleasures; (ii) the māra of Death (mṛtyumāra), which is having one’s life interrupted; (iii) the māra of the aggregates (skandhamāra), which is identifying with the five aggregates; and (iv) the māra of the afflictions (kleśamāra), which is being under the sway of the negative emotions of desire, hatred, and ignorance.

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­131
  • 3.­12
  • 7.­26
  • 7.­331
  • 9.­8
  • 10.­34
  • n.­1144
  • n.­1167
g.­183

melāpaka

Wylie:
  • ’du ba
Tibetan:
  • འདུ་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • melāpaka

A type of power place where yogins and yoginīs congregate.

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • 5.­3
  • 5.­10
  • 5.­17
  • 6.­53
  • n.­1584
  • g.­102
  • g.­221
g.­186

mudrā

Wylie:
  • phyag rgya
Tibetan:
  • ཕྱག་རྒྱ།
Sanskrit:
  • mudrā

Seal; ritual hand gesture; female consort in sexual yoga.

Located in 21 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­44
  • 1.­61
  • 1.­131
  • 2.­97-98
  • 3.­25
  • 4.­11
  • 7.­28
  • 7.­69
  • 7.­233
  • 7.­276
  • 7.­281
  • 7.­327
  • 7.­338
  • 8.­142
  • n.­27
  • n.­531
  • n.­1045
  • n.­1217
  • g.­61
  • g.­299
g.­191

Nairātmyā

Wylie:
  • bdag med ma
Tibetan:
  • བདག་མེད་མ།
Sanskrit:
  • nairātmyā

“No-self”; Heruka’s consort personifying the absence of self.

Located in 18 passages in the translation:

  • 3.­1
  • 3.­15
  • 3.­81
  • 3.­94
  • 3.­99
  • 6.­64
  • 6.­145
  • 6.­166
  • 6.­197
  • 6.­201
  • 8.­136
  • 8.­139
  • n.­147
  • n.­294
  • n.­325
  • n.­377
  • n.­2220
  • g.­294
g.­196

oblation

Wylie:
  • gtor ma
Tibetan:
  • གཏོར་མ།
Sanskrit:
  • bali

An offering of edibles to a deity or spirit.

Located in 31 passages in the translation:

  • 5.­124
  • 5.­132
  • 7.­99
  • 7.­121
  • 7.­245
  • 8.­148-149
  • 9.­31
  • 9.­60
  • 9.­69
  • g.­7
  • g.­14
  • g.­31
  • g.­38
  • g.­40
  • g.­53
  • g.­65
  • g.­78
  • g.­82
  • g.­98
  • g.­99
  • g.­112
  • g.­116
  • g.­121
  • g.­130
  • g.­154
  • g.­163
  • g.­192
  • g.­282
  • g.­296
  • g.­361
g.­208

path of mantra

Wylie:
  • sngags kyi lam
Tibetan:
  • སྔགས་ཀྱི་ལམ།
Sanskrit:
  • mantramārga

One of the three vehicles of Buddhism.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­6
  • n.­62
g.­210

perfection of wisdom

Wylie:
  • shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa
Tibetan:
  • ཤེས་རབ་ཀྱི་ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • prajñāpāramitā

One of the six perfections (generosity, morality, and so forth). For the deity, see “Prajñāpāramitā.”

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­86
  • 5.­85
  • 8.­33
  • g.­215
g.­211

pīlava

Wylie:
  • ’thung gcod
Tibetan:
  • འཐུང་གཅོད།
Sanskrit:
  • pīlava

A type of power place where yogins and yoginīs congregate.

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • 5.­4
  • 5.­12
  • n.­222-223
  • g.­103
  • g.­133
  • g.­136
  • g.­155
g.­212

pīṭha

Wylie:
  • gnas
Tibetan:
  • གནས།
Sanskrit:
  • pīṭha

A type of power place where yogins and yoginīs congregate.

Located in 12 passages in the translation:

  • 5.­3
  • 5.­6
  • 5.­16
  • 6.­44
  • 6.­46
  • 6.­75
  • 6.­78
  • g.­17
  • g.­119
  • g.­171
  • g.­227
  • g.­301
g.­215

Prajñāpāramitā

Wylie:
  • shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa
Tibetan:
  • ཤེས་རབ་ཀྱི་ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • prajñāpāramitā

“Perfection of Wisdom,” one of the six perfections personified.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­181
  • 2.­183
  • 8.­26
  • g.­210
g.­223

principle

Wylie:
  • de nyid
Tibetan:
  • དེ་ཉིད།
Sanskrit:
  • tattva

Literally “thatness”‍—in the general sense it is the true nature or reality of things; in a ritual sense (as, for example, “the principle of the bell”), it is the principle (in this case wisdom) that has become in the ritual the nature of the bell.

Located in 20 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­244
  • 8.­1-3
  • 8.­10-12
  • 8.­38
  • 8.­52
  • 8.­55
  • 8.­58
  • 9.­34
  • 9.­61
  • n.­708
  • n.­713
  • n.­802
  • n.­995
  • n.­1031
  • g.­61
  • g.­249
g.­224

Pṛthivīvajrā

Wylie:
  • rdo rje sa
Tibetan:
  • རྡོ་རྗེ་ས།
Sanskrit:
  • pṛthivīvajrā
  • pṛthvīvajrā

One of the goddesses in the maṇḍala of Vajrasattva.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­161
  • 3.­153
  • 8.­121
  • n.­1511
g.­225

Pukkasī

Wylie:
  • puk+ka sI
Tibetan:
  • པུཀྐ་སཱི།
Sanskrit:
  • pukkasī

One of the female deities in the retinue of Hevajra.

Located in 9 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­121
  • 3.­5
  • 3.­25
  • 3.­29
  • 3.­95
  • 7.­148
  • 8.­129
  • 8.­137
  • n.­1055
g.­228

queen

Wylie:
  • btsun mo
Tibetan:
  • བཙུན་མོ།
Sanskrit:
  • yoṣitā

In Tibetan, btsun mo is an honorific term for a woman of rank, also understood to mean lady, queen, or consort.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­2
  • 1.­133
  • 1.­164-165
  • 6.­161
g.­235

Raudrī

Wylie:
  • rdo rje drag mo
Tibetan:
  • རྡོ་རྗེ་དྲག་མོ།
Sanskrit:
  • vajraraudrī
  • raudrī
  • raudrā

One of the goddesses in the maṇḍala of Vajrasattva.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­160
  • 3.­152
  • 8.­121
  • n.­908
  • n.­1050
g.­239

Śabdavajrā

Wylie:
  • sgra yi rdo rje ma
Tibetan:
  • སྒྲ་ཡི་རྡོ་རྗེ་མ།
Sanskrit:
  • śabdavajrā

One of the goddesses in the maṇḍala of Vajrasattva.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­161
  • 3.­153
  • 8.­121
g.­240

sage

Wylie:
  • drang srong
Tibetan:
  • དྲང་སྲོང་།
Sanskrit:
  • ṛṣi

Sage, seer; it seems that this word can also denote a class of semi-divine beings.

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • 3.­169
  • 4.­1
  • 7.­253
  • 7.­257
  • 10.­52
  • 10.­54
  • n.­1182
g.­244

samaya

Wylie:
  • dam tshig
Tibetan:
  • དམ་ཚིག
Sanskrit:
  • samaya

The bond between the practitioner and the deity, and also between the master and the pupil, forged at the time of an initiation.

Located in 42 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­162
  • 2.­7-8
  • 2.­12
  • 2.­33
  • 2.­35
  • 2.­97
  • 2.­101
  • 3.­119
  • 5.­91
  • 5.­112
  • 5.­121-122
  • 5.­142
  • 5.­148
  • 6.­14
  • 7.­243
  • 8.­149
  • 8.­159
  • 9.­74
  • 9.­87
  • 9.­91
  • 9.­106
  • 10.­1
  • 10.­48-50
  • 10.­53-54
  • n.­64
  • n.­68
  • n.­100
  • n.­277
  • n.­609
  • n.­852
  • n.­1116
  • n.­1130
  • n.­1178-1180
  • n.­1185
  • g.­59
g.­245

samayasattva

Wylie:
  • dam tshig sems dpa
Tibetan:
  • དམ་ཚིག་སེམས་དཔ།
Sanskrit:
  • samayasattva

The form of the deity generated and visualized by the practitioner.

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • 9.­90
  • n.­1077
  • n.­1097-1098
  • n.­1131
  • g.­124
g.­247

sambhogakāya

Wylie:
  • longs sku
Tibetan:
  • ལོངས་སྐུ།
Sanskrit:
  • sambhogakāya

“Body of bliss,” one of the three bodies of the Buddha.

Located in 23 passages in the translation:

  • i.­5-6
  • 2.­62
  • 6.­120
  • 6.­125
  • 6.­130
  • 6.­137-138
  • 6.­150
  • 6.­152-154
  • 6.­157
  • 6.­199
  • n.­374
  • n.­383
  • g.­59
  • g.­291
  • g.­310
  • g.­334
  • g.­337
  • g.­342
  • g.­346
g.­250

Saṃvara

Wylie:
  • bde ba’i mchog
  • bde mchog
Tibetan:
  • བདེ་བའི་མཆོག
  • བདེ་མཆོག
Sanskrit:
  • saṃvara
  • śaṃvara

A wrathful deity of the heruka type.

Located in 15 passages in the translation:

  • i.­12-14
  • i.­24
  • i.­37
  • 1.­102-103
  • 2.­105
  • 6.­191
  • n.­404
  • n.­408
  • g.­70
  • g.­107
  • g.­167
  • g.­249
g.­254

sattvaparyaṅka

Wylie:
  • sems dpa’i skyil mo krung
Tibetan:
  • སེམས་དཔའི་སྐྱིལ་མོ་ཀྲུང་།
Sanskrit:
  • sattvaparyaṅka

Sitting posture with the left foot drawn to one’s perineum and the other one extended slightly (typically, the posture of Tārā).

Located in 9 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­170
  • 2.­184
  • 3.­47
  • 3.­54
  • 3.­57
  • 3.­68
  • 5.­33
  • 8.­61
  • 8.­93
g.­256

Śavarī

Wylie:
  • ri khrod ma
Tibetan:
  • རི་ཁྲོད་མ།
Sanskrit:
  • śavarī

One of the female deities in the retinue of Hevajra.

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­121
  • 3.­6
  • 3.­28-29
  • 3.­95
  • 6.­85
  • 8.­137
g.­259

self-consecration

Wylie:
  • rang byin blabs pa
Tibetan:
  • རང་བྱིན་བླབས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • svādhiṣṭhāna

This is a consecration of oneself (in the Sanskrit compound, the word “self” is in a genitive case relationship with “consecration”).

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­7
  • 6.­1
g.­264

siddhi

Wylie:
  • dngos grub
Tibetan:
  • དངོས་གྲུབ།
Sanskrit:
  • siddhi

Accomplishment in general; supernatural power, especially, one of the eight magical powers.

Located in 10 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­121
  • 1.­145
  • 1.­168
  • 2.­97-98
  • 2.­159
  • 2.­168
  • 7.­340
  • n.­1117
  • n.­1401
g.­270

skillful means

Wylie:
  • thabs
Tibetan:
  • ཐབས།
Sanskrit:
  • upāya

Means and methods available to realized beings; represented by and refers to the male consort in sexual yoga.

Located in 28 passages in the translation:

  • i.­9
  • i.­12
  • i.­15
  • 1.­9
  • 1.­42
  • 1.­69
  • 1.­106
  • 1.­153-154
  • 1.­168
  • 2.­41
  • 2.­48
  • 2.­65
  • 2.­98
  • 2.­102
  • 2.­116
  • 3.­91
  • 3.­172
  • 6.­174
  • 8.­30
  • 9.­17
  • 10.­39
  • 10.­41
  • n.­5
  • n.­289
  • n.­610
  • g.­62
  • g.­249
g.­271

skull

Wylie:
  • thod
Tibetan:
  • ཐོད།
Sanskrit:
  • yogapātra
  • kapāla

The vault or calvaria of a human skull used as a cup held by some wrathful deities, often filled with blood; or a skull cup used as a ritual implement.

Located in 77 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­128
  • 2.­132
  • 2.­137-138
  • 2.­141
  • 2.­143
  • 2.­145-149
  • 2.­151
  • 2.­186-187
  • 2.­189
  • 2.­191-193
  • 2.­195-200
  • 2.­202
  • 2.­204
  • 2.­206-207
  • 3.­13
  • 3.­19
  • 3.­21-28
  • 3.­30
  • 3.­103
  • 3.­147
  • 3.­172
  • 4.­22
  • 4.­38
  • 5.­125
  • 5.­158
  • 6.­115
  • 7.­6
  • 7.­29
  • 7.­33
  • 7.­65
  • 7.­172
  • 7.­221
  • 7.­276
  • 7.­278
  • 7.­281
  • 7.­299
  • 7.­302
  • 7.­311
  • 7.­337
  • 8.­125-127
  • 9.­44
  • 9.­51
  • 9.­75
  • 9.­83
  • 9.­101-102
  • 9.­118
  • n.­132
  • n.­139
  • n.­462
  • n.­742
  • n.­1030
  • n.­1094
  • g.­140
g.­273

source of phenomena

Wylie:
  • chos kyi ’byung gnas
Tibetan:
  • ཆོས་ཀྱི་འབྱུང་གནས།
Sanskrit:
  • dharmodaya

The universal matrix represented as a triangle or two interlocking triangles; in the tantric viśuddhi (pure correspondences) system, it corresponds to the triangular area between a woman’s legs.

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­133
  • 1.­165
  • 3.­83
  • 6.­3
  • n.­364
  • n.­603
  • n.­738
  • g.­336
g.­274

sphere of phenomena

Wylie:
  • chos kyi dbyings
Tibetan:
  • ཆོས་ཀྱི་དབྱིངས།
Sanskrit:
  • dharmadhātu

See “dharmadhātu.”

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­31
  • 5.­28
  • 5.­104
  • 6.­17
  • 8.­48
  • 9.­12
  • n.­844
  • g.­75
g.­290

Tārā

Wylie:
  • sgrol ma
Tibetan:
  • སྒྲོལ་མ།
Sanskrit:
  • tārā

Female bodhisattva of compassion; the chief goddess of the activity family, personifying the true nature of the element wind; one of the five goddesses personifying the five “hooks of gnosis.”

Located in 23 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­152
  • 2.­168
  • 2.­170
  • 2.­206
  • 3.­151
  • 6.­166
  • 7.­141
  • 7.­157
  • 7.­161
  • 7.­179
  • 7.­224-225
  • 7.­242
  • 7.­274
  • 7.­336
  • 7.­340
  • 9.­36
  • 9.­74
  • 9.­98
  • 10.­13
  • n.­793
  • n.­1055
  • g.­254
g.­291

tathāgata

Wylie:
  • de bzhin gshegs pa
Tibetan:
  • དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • tathāgata

“One gone into thatness” or “one come from thatness,” “thatness” being the nature of dharmadhātu, the empty essence imbued with wisdom and compassion; the term may refer to any tathāgata (either human or the celestial sambhogakāya), or to Buddha Śākyamuni, in which case it is capitalized (the Tathāgata).

Located in 57 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­2
  • 1.­48-50
  • 1.­94
  • 1.­104
  • 1.­108-109
  • 1.­111
  • 1.­164-166
  • 2.­106
  • 2.­109
  • 2.­130
  • 3.­114
  • 3.­140
  • 3.­143-144
  • 5.­89
  • 5.­106
  • 6.­60
  • 6.­166
  • 6.­184
  • 7.­58-60
  • 7.­146
  • 7.­233
  • 7.­242
  • 7.­272
  • 7.­290
  • 7.­296
  • 8.­34
  • 8.­129
  • 9.­1
  • 9.­29-30
  • 9.­53
  • 9.­71
  • 10.­13
  • 10.­45
  • 10.­56
  • n.­40
  • n.­112
  • n.­331
  • n.­692
  • n.­728
  • n.­756
  • n.­821
  • n.­1024
  • n.­1031
  • n.­1033
  • n.­1055
  • n.­1057
  • n.­1084
  • g.­195
g.­310

Vairocana

Wylie:
  • rnam snang mdzad
  • rnam par snang mdzad
Tibetan:
  • རྣམ་སྣང་མཛད།
  • རྣམ་པར་སྣང་མཛད།
Sanskrit:
  • vairocana

A sambhogakāya buddha personifying (in the systems taught in the Sampuṭodbhava) the true nature of the aggregate of form.

Located in 29 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­46
  • 1.­53
  • 2.­186
  • 3.­144
  • 3.­150
  • 5.­77
  • 5.­155
  • 6.­37
  • 6.­177
  • 6.­193
  • 7.­148
  • 7.­152-153
  • 7.­157
  • 7.­272
  • 7.­331
  • 8.­4
  • 8.­60
  • 8.­62
  • 8.­64
  • 9.­58
  • 10.­7
  • 10.­51
  • n.­167
  • n.­316
  • n.­610
  • n.­728
  • n.­1033
  • g.­2
g.­311

vajra

Wylie:
  • rdo rje
Tibetan:
  • རྡོ་རྗེ།
Sanskrit:
  • vajra

Diamond; thunderbolt; scepter used in tantric rituals; non-duality; male sexual organ.

Located in 264 passages in the translation:

  • i.­6
  • 1.­2
  • 1.­30
  • 1.­51
  • 1.­94
  • 1.­103
  • 1.­164-165
  • 2.­2
  • 2.­9
  • 2.­25
  • 2.­28
  • 2.­86
  • 2.­91
  • 2.­109
  • 2.­114
  • 2.­117
  • 2.­121
  • 2.­128
  • 2.­133
  • 2.­138-139
  • 2.­144-145
  • 2.­150
  • 2.­153
  • 2.­157
  • 2.­190
  • 2.­195
  • 2.­204
  • 3.­2
  • 3.­4
  • 3.­14
  • 3.­17
  • 3.­21
  • 3.­27-28
  • 3.­39
  • 3.­50
  • 3.­62
  • 3.­64
  • 3.­84
  • 3.­100
  • 3.­110-112
  • 3.­114
  • 3.­118
  • 3.­124
  • 3.­133
  • 3.­135-140
  • 3.­142-146
  • 3.­157-159
  • 3.­173
  • 4.­3
  • 4.­10
  • 4.­27
  • 4.­29
  • 4.­33-35
  • 4.­57
  • 5.­25
  • 5.­28
  • 5.­95
  • 5.­107-108
  • 5.­110
  • 5.­122
  • 5.­124
  • 5.­154
  • 6.­19
  • 6.­40
  • 6.­110
  • 6.­137
  • 6.­148
  • 6.­167
  • 6.­179
  • 6.­181
  • 7.­9
  • 7.­113
  • 7.­134
  • 7.­137
  • 7.­169
  • 7.­183-184
  • 7.­187-188
  • 7.­191
  • 7.­193-195
  • 7.­202
  • 7.­206
  • 7.­208
  • 7.­218
  • 7.­221
  • 7.­228
  • 7.­233-235
  • 7.­248-249
  • 7.­254
  • 7.­260
  • 7.­272
  • 7.­276
  • 7.­280
  • 7.­288
  • 7.­290
  • 7.­293
  • 7.­296
  • 7.­305-306
  • 7.­311
  • 7.­313
  • 7.­327-328
  • 7.­331-333
  • 7.­342
  • 7.­350-351
  • 8.­2
  • 8.­4
  • 8.­9-16
  • 8.­19-20
  • 8.­26
  • 8.­28
  • 8.­30-34
  • 8.­36
  • 8.­50
  • 8.­52-53
  • 8.­55
  • 8.­88
  • 8.­94
  • 8.­125-127
  • 8.­129-132
  • 8.­134
  • 8.­140
  • 8.­142
  • 8.­147
  • 8.­150
  • 9.­14
  • 9.­16
  • 9.­21
  • 9.­23
  • 9.­28
  • 9.­52-53
  • 9.­58
  • 9.­63
  • 9.­66
  • 9.­94
  • 9.­103
  • 10.­1-3
  • 10.­33-34
  • 10.­48-50
  • 10.­53
  • n.­53
  • n.­132
  • n.­137
  • n.­140
  • n.­151
  • n.­162
  • n.­165
  • n.­171
  • n.­183
  • n.­267
  • n.­271
  • n.­288
  • n.­293
  • n.­324
  • n.­359
  • n.­374
  • n.­378
  • n.­392
  • n.­582
  • n.­609
  • n.­612
  • n.­645
  • n.­665
  • n.­676
  • n.­690
  • n.­696
  • n.­712
  • n.­714
  • n.­728
  • n.­756
  • n.­786
  • n.­802
  • n.­809
  • n.­820
  • n.­826-827
  • n.­829
  • n.­836
  • n.­845
  • n.­847
  • n.­872
  • n.­878
  • n.­959
  • n.­972
  • n.­992
  • n.­1000
  • n.­1004-1005
  • n.­1015-1016
  • n.­1021
  • n.­1043
  • n.­1055
  • n.­1058
  • n.­1099
  • n.­1101
  • n.­1113
  • n.­1130-1131
  • n.­1178-1180
  • n.­1398
  • g.­49
  • g.­99
  • g.­312
  • g.­319
  • g.­332
  • g.­346
  • g.­357
g.­312

vajra bell

Wylie:
  • rdo rje dril bu
Tibetan:
  • རྡོ་རྗེ་དྲིལ་བུ།
Sanskrit:
  • vajraghaṇṭā

Bell with a handle in the shape of a vajra scepter.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­153
  • 2.­193
  • 8.­17
  • n.­827
g.­313

vajra family

Wylie:
  • rdo rje’i rigs
Tibetan:
  • རྡོ་རྗེའི་རིགས།
Sanskrit:
  • vajrakula

One of the five buddha families.

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­47
  • 1.­148
  • 3.­118
  • 3.­143
  • 5.­152-153
  • g.­172
g.­314

vajra water

Wylie:
  • rdo rje chu
Tibetan:
  • རྡོ་རྗེ་ཆུ།
Sanskrit:
  • vajrodaka

Urine; it is referred to as “vajra water” when used in rituals.

Located in 10 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­34
  • 5.­116-117
  • 7.­113
  • 7.­121
  • 7.­349
  • n.­68
  • n.­274
  • n.­586
  • n.­598
g.­316

Vajrabimbā

Wylie:
  • rdo rje gzugs brnyan
Tibetan:
  • རྡོ་རྗེ་གཟུགས་བརྙན།
Sanskrit:
  • vajraviśvā
  • vajrabimbā

One of the goddesses in the maṇḍala of Vajrasattva.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­160
  • 3.­152
  • 8.­121
g.­318

Vajraḍāka

Wylie:
  • rdo rje mkha’ ’gro
Tibetan:
  • རྡོ་རྗེ་མཁའ་འགྲོ།
Sanskrit:
  • vajraḍāka

A wrathful deity.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­1
  • app.­8
  • n.­955
  • n.­2232
g.­319

Vajraḍākinī

Wylie:
  • rdo rje mkha’ ’gro ma
Tibetan:
  • རྡོ་རྗེ་མཁའ་འགྲོ་མ།
Sanskrit:
  • vajraḍākinī

One of the goddesses in the maṇḍala of Vajrasattva; one of the five ḍākinīs visualized on the five prongs of the vajra scepter.

Located in 19 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­161
  • 3.­51
  • 3.­53
  • 3.­94
  • 3.­153
  • 4.­73
  • 7.­133
  • 7.­135
  • 7.­153
  • 7.­307-308
  • 8.­9
  • 8.­121
  • 8.­136
  • 8.­148
  • 8.­152
  • n.­955
  • n.­1551
  • n.­2238
g.­322

Vajragarbha

Wylie:
  • rdo rje snying po
Tibetan:
  • རྡོ་རྗེ་སྙིང་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • vajragarbha

A bodhisattva; in some parts of the Sampuṭa Tantra, he is the interlocutor of the Blessed One.

Located in 48 passages in the translation:

  • i.­8
  • i.­24
  • 1.­2
  • 1.­4
  • 1.­6
  • 1.­14
  • 1.­88
  • 1.­92
  • 1.­130
  • 2.­110
  • 2.­163
  • 3.­37
  • 3.­127
  • 3.­140
  • 3.­142
  • 4.­1
  • 4.­13
  • 5.­2
  • 5.­5
  • 5.­24
  • 5.­42-43
  • 5.­73-74
  • 6.­145
  • 7.­1
  • 7.­3
  • 7.­15
  • 7.­99-100
  • 7.­239
  • 8.­1-2
  • 8.­39
  • 8.­59
  • 8.­66-67
  • 8.­118
  • 9.­1
  • 9.­31
  • 9.­34
  • 10.­56
  • n.­257
  • n.­294-295
  • n.­556
  • n.­878
  • n.­1631
g.­337

Vajrasattva

Wylie:
  • rdo rje sems dpa’
Tibetan:
  • རྡོ་རྗེ་སེམས་དཔའ།
Sanskrit:
  • vajrasattva

The sambhogakāya buddha who delivers the Sampuṭodbhava; he also represents the aggregate of consciousness.

Located in 84 passages in the translation:

  • i.­13-14
  • i.­24
  • i.­37
  • 1.­10
  • 1.­53
  • 1.­95
  • 1.­98
  • 1.­167
  • 2.­8
  • 2.­30
  • 2.­86
  • 2.­103
  • 2.­130
  • 2.­154
  • 2.­209
  • 3.­2
  • 3.­89
  • 3.­140
  • 3.­145
  • 3.­162
  • 5.­28
  • 5.­36
  • 5.­68
  • 5.­78
  • 5.­90
  • 5.­94
  • 5.­105
  • 6.­2
  • 6.­40
  • 6.­71
  • 6.­142
  • 6.­185
  • 6.­195-196
  • 7.­26-27
  • 7.­29
  • 7.­31
  • 7.­123
  • 7.­230
  • 7.­237
  • 7.­290
  • 8.­33
  • 8.­120
  • 8.­123
  • 9.­32
  • 9.­112
  • 10.­3
  • n.­57
  • n.­93
  • n.­236
  • n.­240
  • n.­257
  • n.­294-295
  • n.­324
  • n.­464
  • n.­617
  • n.­831
  • n.­879
  • n.­1055
  • n.­1100
  • n.­1131
  • n.­1508
  • n.­1631
  • g.­187
  • g.­188
  • g.­224
  • g.­230
  • g.­235
  • g.­239
  • g.­249
  • g.­316
  • g.­319
  • g.­324
  • g.­330
  • g.­331
  • g.­333
  • g.­338
  • g.­340
  • g.­345
  • g.­351
  • g.­362
g.­338

Vajrasaumyā

Wylie:
  • rdo rje zhi ba ma
  • rdo rje zhi ba mo
Tibetan:
  • རྡོ་རྗེ་ཞི་བ་མ།
  • རྡོ་རྗེ་ཞི་བ་མོ།
Sanskrit:
  • vajrasaumyā

One of the goddesses in the maṇḍala of Vajrasattva.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­160
  • 3.­152
  • 8.­121
g.­343

Vajravārāhī

Wylie:
  • rdo rje phag mo
Tibetan:
  • རྡོ་རྗེ་ཕག་མོ།
Sanskrit:
  • vajravārāhī

A Buddhist goddess related to Vajrayoginī.

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­134
  • 4.­33
  • 7.­212
  • 7.­298
  • n.­1000
  • n.­1058
g.­345

Vajrayakṣī

Wylie:
  • rdo rje gnod sbyin ma
Tibetan:
  • རྡོ་རྗེ་གནོད་སྦྱིན་མ།
Sanskrit:
  • vajrayakṣī
  • vajrayakṣā

One of the goddesses in the maṇḍala of Vajrasattva.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­161
  • 3.­153
  • 8.­121
g.­356

Vetalī

Wylie:
  • ro langs ma
Tibetan:
  • རོ་ལངས་མ།
Sanskrit:
  • vetalī

One of the female deities in the retinue of Hevajra.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­121
  • 3.­24
  • 3.­29
  • 3.­57
  • 3.­95
g.­358

vidyā

Wylie:
  • rig ma
Tibetan:
  • རིག་མ།
Sanskrit:
  • vidyā

Knowledge; the power of mantra (of a female deity); female mantra deity; female consort in sexual yoga.

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • 3.­4
  • 5.­138
  • 5.­140
  • n.­627
  • n.­1326
  • n.­1901
  • g.­61
g.­359

vidyādhara

Wylie:
  • rig pa ’dzin pa
Tibetan:
  • རིག་པ་འཛིན་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • vidyādhara

“Knowledge holder”; one possessed of magical powers; a class of semi-divine beings.

Located in 9 passages in the translation:

  • 5.­139
  • 10.­12
  • 10.­25
  • 10.­27
  • 10.­29
  • n.­66
  • n.­152
  • n.­1137
  • n.­1156
g.­368

wisdom con­sort

Wylie:
  • rig ma
  • shes rab
Tibetan:
  • རིག་མ།
  • ཤེས་རབ།
Sanskrit:
  • vidyā
  • prajñā

See “consort (female).”

Located in 34 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­5
  • 2.­11
  • 2.­14
  • 2.­16-17
  • 2.­37
  • 2.­45
  • 2.­98-99
  • 2.­101
  • 2.­133
  • 2.­139
  • 2.­142
  • 3.­4
  • 3.­148
  • 5.­156
  • 7.­101
  • 7.­233
  • 7.­238-239
  • 9.­76
  • 10.­8
  • 10.­21
  • 10.­24
  • 10.­31-32
  • n.­66
  • n.­70
  • n.­293
  • n.­691
  • n.­1090-1091
  • n.­1143
  • g.­61
g.­370

yakṣa

Wylie:
  • gnod sbyin
Tibetan:
  • གནོད་སྦྱིན།
Sanskrit:
  • yakṣa

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A class of nonhuman beings who inhabit forests, mountainous areas, and other natural spaces, or serve as guardians of villages and towns, and may be propitiated for health, wealth, protection, and other boons, or controlled through magic. According to tradition, their homeland is in the north, where they live under the rule of the Great King Vaiśravaṇa.

Several members of this class have been deified as gods of wealth (these include the just-mentioned Vaiśravaṇa) or as bodhisattva generals of yakṣa armies, and have entered the Buddhist pantheon in a variety of forms, including, in tantric Buddhism, those of wrathful deities.

Located in 16 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­141
  • 2.­179
  • 3.­168
  • 7.­58
  • 7.­60
  • 7.­225
  • 7.­234
  • 8.­6
  • 8.­71
  • 8.­149
  • 10.­9
  • 10.­25
  • 10.­28
  • 10.­56
  • n.­520
  • n.­1157
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    84000. Emergence from Sampuṭa (Sampuṭodbhavaḥ, yang dag par sbyor ba, Toh 381). Translated by Dharmachakra Translation Committee. Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2025. https://84000.co/translation/toh381/UT22084-079-008-chapter-2.Copy
    84000. Emergence from Sampuṭa (Sampuṭodbhavaḥ, yang dag par sbyor ba, Toh 381). Translated by Dharmachakra Translation Committee, online publication, 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2025, 84000.co/translation/toh381/UT22084-079-008-chapter-2.Copy
    84000. (2025) Emergence from Sampuṭa (Sampuṭodbhavaḥ, yang dag par sbyor ba, Toh 381). (Dharmachakra Translation Committee, Trans.). Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. https://84000.co/translation/toh381/UT22084-079-008-chapter-2.Copy

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