co.

Table of Contents

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.

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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.

Text Body

The Translation
The Foundation of All Tantras, the Great Sovereign Compendium
Emergence from Sampuṭa
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:
6.­5
“The syllable ra is the element of blood.
The ha is the two types of wind.
The sye is said to be phlegm,
And the pa, bile.297 {6.1.5}
6.­6
“The following ra is for chyle,298
The me, for the two types of fat.299
The ra is said to be fire,300
And the mye, flesh. {6.1.6}
6.­7
“The sa is said to be feces,
While the rvā is fatty tissue.301
The tma is said to be skin,
And the ni, bone. {6.1.7}
6.­8
“The sa is said to be urine,
And the dā is thought to be lungs.
The sthi is said to be the lotus,
Moist with wonderful fluid. {6.1.8}
6.­9
“The ta represents semen,
Which comes from bodhicitta.
This has been explained, goddess,
Based on the natures of the channels and sounds.302 {6.1.9}
6.­10
“From the nature of bodhicitta
Comes the embodiment of semen.
The letter ra is said to be body heat;
Bile is produced from blood. {6.1.10}
6.­11
“Phlegm, which is held to be a singular property,
Produces sweat and tendons.
Wind is said to be their master;
As the syllable ha, it is known to be omnipresent. {6.1.11}
6.­12
“In the spaces between the bones
Are planted the five seeds.
On the palate is the ra
And everywhere the sublime four syllables.303 {6.1.12}
6.­13
“At the location of the first enclosure,304 [F.110.b]
And adorned with the five syllables,
Is the letter ha conjoined with the sixth vowel (ū),
Which is proclaimed to be the syllable of consciousness (hūṁ). {6.1.13}
6.­14
“By means of the letter ha,
All buddhas everywhere assemble.
From this source, whose nature is sound,
Emerge the objects of the samaya practice.305 {6.1.14}
6.­15
“Difficult to come by in the three worlds, this source306
Is present at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end.
One can connect to it, just like a churning stick is connected to the act of churning,
By means of mantra recitation, meditation, and so forth. {6.1.15}
6.­16
“Listen to what has been taught in the tantras.
There are two subtle channels inside the womb,
The left and the right. {6.1.16}
6.­17
“In the left one, the white sexual fluid is known to be present;
In the right one, the blood.
Where they come into contact is
The complete sphere of phenomena.307 {6.1.17}
6.­18
“The sattvam principle is the body, rajas is speech,308
And, according to its nature, tamas is mind.
Sattvam is semen, rajas is blood,309
And tamas, foetal development (utpatti). {6.1.18}
6.­19
“Through the meeting of the vajra and the lotus,
Existence and nonexistence become a single taste.
The experience becomes of a single taste.310
Feces, urine, phlegm, blood, and semen as the fifth311 ‍— {6.1.19}
6.­20
“The embryo consists of these five ambrosias,
Therefore it is here called vajrin.312
Bone, marrow, and semen
Are said to come from the father. {6.1.20}
6.­21
“Skin, flesh, and blood
Are said to come from the mother.
These six are described as bodily elements
And are joined together in the embryo. {6.1.21}
6.­22
“A single cell becomes two;
The two become many‍—
Since it has the nature of both one and many,
It is here called vajrin. {6.1.22}
6.­23
“In what is described solely in terms of the movement
Through the subtle channels, those channels have two openings.313
At the time of their convergence,
One can perceive the deity there. {6.1.23}
6.­24
“There is the upper opening and the lower one.
Through the lower one courses consciousness,
And through the upper, the elements. {6.1.24}
6.­25
“The practitioner, having brought together all the channels,
Should visualize it314 entering.
The vajrin is continuously present
At the upper opening of one’s body. {6.1.25} [F.111.a]
6.­26
“In the upper opening315 there is a triple mechanism
Surrounded by nine openings.” {6.1.26}
6.­27

[The goddess asked], “O Blessed One, to what does triple mechanism refer? Why and how is mind always in motion?” {6.1.27}

The Blessed One said:

6.­28
“There are three mechanisms, hence a triple mechanism,
Established as threefold in terms of its parts.
Having the nature of body, speech, and mind,
There are lesser, middling, and superior functions, respectively. {6.1.28}
6.­29
“The body has one thick pillar, the ninefold door,
And five presiding deities.316
This door is the nine orifices,
Therefore it is proclaimed to be ninefold. {6.1.29}
6.­30
“The lower opening is that of the body‍—
It is thick and fashioned by deities.
Because of his mental faculty, a man is exceptional,
Meaning that he is a practitioner.317 {6.1.30}
6.­31
“The movement is distinguished by motion,318
Regularly, at every moment.
Thus, in the case of monopeds,
Bipeds, and quadrupeds, {6.1.31}
6.­32
“Movement is always typified
By the types of wind belonging to them.
The wind is fourfold;
The mind’s mode of resting is twofold.319 {6.1.32}
6.­33

“Through the process of dissolving and circulating the winds, the resting of dissolving and the motion of circulating will always extend to all beings. He who does not know that is mindless, unexceptional, and unintelligent, meaning that he is not a practitioner.320 {6.1.33}

6.­34
“In the southeast, the northeast,
The east, and the west
Are cakras, where mind’s movement
Courses upward, toward the sides, straight, and downward.321 {6.1.34}
6.­35
“Following the division between the moon and the sun,
The third opening is that of the mind.
As it involves both entering and exiting,322
This is the most exalted opening. {6.1.35}
6.­36
“It is the main one, the supreme opening,
Said to be directed both upward and downward.
Consciousness moves through the lower opening,
And the elements move through the upper. {6.1.36}
6.­37
“The five buddhas‍—Vairocana, and so forth‍—
Move toward and settle in the upper opening.
They are situated below,
But are requested to depart upward. {6.1.37}
6.­38
“The mind always moves them
By way of invitation and request to depart. [F.111.b]
All the buddhas of the three times
And the ḍākinīs, the mothers of yogins, {6.1.38}
6.­39
“Activate good and bad qualities
When brought in and expelled,
Their natures thus being pleasure and pain respectively.
As an accomplished being, one will abide in the innate state.”323 {6.1.39}
6.­40
So spoke the blessed vajra holder,
Vajrasattva, the great bliss.324 {6.1.40}
6.­41
Now, the goddess, having inserted
The lord’s bola into her kakkola,
Gratified the great being
And spoke these words: {6.1.41}
6.­42
“Why is your name Vasanta (Spring)?
What is the characteristic of Tilakā (Ornament)?325
How can there be a place for them
For someone abiding in nonduality, and so forth?326 {6.1.42}
6.­43
“Explain to me how Pullīramalaya and the rest
Are said to relate to the distribution of cakras and other entities.
From what do the subtle energy channels emerge?
Tell me what categories these entities fall into.”327 {6.1.43}
6.­44

The Blessed One said, “Listen, O goddess. I will now explain the ultimate secret of secrets. {6.1.44}

“The division of pīṭhas and other pilgrimage places, which correspond in their nature to the subtle channels, is said to be twenty-four-fold. They are found within the cakras of the body, speech, and mind of living beings. They are further linked to the ten bodhisattva levels and the ten perfections. {6.1.45}

6.­45
“The head is the land of Malaya;
The topknot is Jālandhara.
Uḍḍiyāna, for its part,
Is said to be in the right ear. {6.1.46}
6.­46
“Arbuda is the backbone‍—
These four are called pīṭha.
Godāvarī is to be known
As having the same nature as the left ear. {6.1.47}
6.­47
“Rāmeśvara is said to be
In the eye between the eyebrows.328
Devīkoṭṭa is in the eyes,
And Mālava at the base of the arms. {6.1.48}
6.­48
“Those just mentioned are auxiliary pīṭhas‍—
They are established in the cakra of the mind.
Based on the specific nature of these places,
They are said to belong to khecarīs. {6.1.49}
6.­49
“Kāmarūpa is in the armpit;
Oḍra is proclaimed to be on the breasts.
These two are described as kṣetra.329
The navel is thought to be Triśakuni. {6.1.50}
6.­50
“Kośala is the tip of the nose.
These last two are called auxiliary kṣetras. [F.112.a]
Kaliṅga is said to be the mouth,
And Lampāka, the throat. {6.1.51}
6.­51
“These two are called chandoha.
Kāñci is said to be in the heart;
The phallus is Himālaya.
These two are called auxiliary chandohas. {6.1.52}
6.­52
“All these places just mentioned
Are situated in the cakra of speech.
Owing to the specifications of such places,
They are said to belong to bhūcarīs. {6.1.53}
6.­53
“Pretādhivāsinī is in the sexual organ,
While Gṛhadevatā is in the anus‍—
These two are melāpakas.
Saurāṣṭra is said to be in the thighs, {6.1.54}
6.­54
“While the two shanks are said
To have the nature of Suvarṇadvīpa.
The last two are auxiliary melāpakas.
Nagara is known to be in the fingers; {6.1.55}
6.­55
“Sindhu, on the back of the feet‍—
These two are called charnel ground.
The thumb is said to be Maru,
And the knees, Kulatā. {6.1.56}
6.­56
“The last two are called
Auxiliary charnel ground by the ḍākinīs.330
All these are places and they are born with one’s own body‍—
They are thus inside and outside oneself. {6.1.57}
6.­57
“These are the places, within the cakras of the body, speech, and mind,
That have a twenty-four-fold division.
These places are always described
As associated with all manner of ḍākinīs. {6.1.58}
6.­58
“In these places dwell ḍākinīs
In the form of subtle channels.” {6.1.59}
6.­59

This concludes the first part of the sixth chapter.

Part 2

6.­60

“Now I will explain the cakras of subtle channels according to their location in the body of a tathāgata, one that is present in every being.331

6.­61
“The lotus cakra in the center of the chest
Has eight petals and a pericarp.
The channel located in its center
Has the appearance of the flame of an oil lamp. {6.2.1}
6.­62
“It extends and faces down,
Like a plantain flower.
At its center dwells the virile one (Heruka),
The size of a mustard seed. {6.2.2}
6.­63
“He has the form of the indestructible seed syllable hūṁ,
Which flows and has the color of snow.
He is called Vasanta because, like spring,
He brings joy to the hearts of embodied beings. {6.2.3}
6.­64
“Nairātmyā, who has the appearance of vaḍabāgni fire,
Is known as Tilakā.
Fanned by the wind of karma, [F.112.b]
She blazes in the navel cakra. {6.2.4}
6.­65
“Having reached Vasanta, she is gratified,
And becomes established in meditative absorption.
He is the glorious Heruka, the virile one;
He is known as Vasantatilakā. {6.2.5}
6.­66
“Taking the form of a yoginī,
He is present in the animate and the inanimate.
While the winds emerge through the three types of openings,
According to their division into body, speech, and mind, {6.2.6}
6.­67
“He enacts the goings and comings.
He dwells in everyone’s body.
In the navel he takes the form of the letter a,
Which is said to be short. {6.2.7}
6.­68
“In the heart, he abides as the syllable hūṁ,
Which is two measures long.
In the throat he has the form of the syllable oṁ,
Which is said to be three measures long. {6.2.8}
6.­69
“In the forehead he has the form of the syllable haṁ;
He is a sound and an indestructible drop.
According to his distribution between the cakras,
He is the earth and the remaining great elements. {6.2.9}
6.­70
“Presiding over the four temporal junctures,
He emerges in each of the four lotuses.
Being the essence of the four joys,
He is wholly immersed in the practice of the four yogas.332 {6.2.10}
6.­71
“One in nature with the supreme joy,
He assumes the modes of both the action and its agent.333
In the form of Vajrasattva
He plays as he pleases in this334 body. {6.2.11}
6.­72
“On the four petals in the four directions
Are situated
The subtle channels of the four elements,
Resembling oil lamp flames. {6.2.12}
6.­73
“In the intermediate quarters
There are four subtle channels that extend to the other four.
They convey the five335 ambrosias
And assume forms particular to their respective types of worship. {6.2.13}
6.­74
“As they take on their respective forms
They are described as the four types of worship.
Accordingly, the heart center of the body
Has five336 subtle channels situated in it. {6.2.14}
6.­75
“With the division into body, speech, and mind,
There are said to be twenty-four subtle channels.
They are each situated in their particular places,
Following the divisions of pīṭhas, and so forth. {6.2.15}
6.­76
“The channels that originate in the head
Are known as head-born.
The main ones among them are those
With the natures of rajas, sattvam, and tamas, respectively.337 {6.2.16}
6.­77
“The one in Pullīra,338 called Abhedyā,
Is known to nourish the nails and teeth.
The one in Jālandhara, called Sūkṣmarūpā,
Nourishes the hair of the scalp and the body. {6.2.17} [F.113.a]
6.­78
“The one called Divyā339 is situated
In the great pīṭha of Uḍḍiyāna;
Located in the right ear,
She340 nourishes the skin and its hair. {6.2.18}
6.­79
“In Arbuda, the ḍākinī341 Vāmā342
Nourishes the flesh.
The one that courses through the sinews and tendons
Is situated in Godāvarī; {6.2.19}
6.­80
“It is called Vāmanī
And abides in a hard form.
The one in Rāmeśvara
Is commonly known as Kūrmajā; {6.2.20}
6.­81
“Because of her hard form,
She abides as a bone necklace.343
The one in Devīkoṭṭa
Has a soft form, and is called Bhāvikī; {6.2.21}
6.­82
“She nourishes the heart344
And is always present in every living body.345
Sekā is in Mālava;
Located in the heart, she is the queen of the victorious ones. {6.2.22}
6.­83
“The one that nourishes the eyes
Is situated in Kāmarūpa;
It is called Dveṣāvatī346
And is claimed to have a visible form. {6.2.23}
6.­84
“The one in Oḍra carries bile;
She is known as Mahāviṣṭā.
Mātarā, born in Triśakuni,
Is connected with the lungs. {6.2.24}
6.­85
“The divine Śavarī, who wears a garland of intestines,
Flows through Kośala.
Śītadā is in Kaliṅga;
She flows through the sides.347 {6.2.25}
6.­86
“Uṣmā, who resides in the abdomen,
Is the one known [as present] in Lampāka.
Pramāṇā,348 who resides in Kāñcī,
Always carries the feces. {6.2.26}
6.­87
“Hṛṣṭavadanā, in Himālaya,
Extends from the center of the body to the extremities.349
Svarūpiṇī, located in Pretādhivāsinī,350
Carries phlegm. {6.2.27}
6.­88
“The one that always carries pus
Is located in Gṛhadevatā‍—
She is called Sāmānyā,
The supreme goddess ḍākinī.351 {6.2.28}
6.­89
“The one that flows through Sauraṣṭra
Is called Hetudāyikā and contains blood.
The one that carries sweat
Is located in Suvarṇadvīpa; {6.2.29}
6.­90
“Turbulent352 and with a flaming body, [F.113.b]
She is known as Viyogā.
Premaṇī is in Nagara;
She is thick with fat and also carries semen.353 {6.2.30}
6.­91
“In Sindhu there is Siddhā;
She is thought to carry tears of grief.
The one in Maru carries phlegm;
She should go by the name Pāvakī. {6.2.31}
6.­92
“Sumanā is in Kulatā;
She carries saliva and snot.”354 {6.2.32}
6.­93

This concludes the second part of the sixth chapter on the placement of the sites.

Part 3

6.­94

[The goddess said,] “I would like to hear, O lord, how to perform the worship, and so forth, of the inner maṇḍala. I do not know the procedure for the burnt offering rite. Please explain it, O Great Bliss.” {6.3.1}

The Blessed One said:

6.­95
“Deities such as the herukas, and so forth,
Exquisitely manifest in the form of the subtle channels.
The body is a delightful maṇḍala,
Which has four gates, as has been described. {6.3.2}
6.­96
“Its eight pillars being the eight limbs of one’s body,
The maṇḍala is always encircled by them.
Because of the equality among all things,
It is known to be symmetrical, with four sides. {6.3.3}
6.­97
“Being in essence body, speech, and mind, respectively,
The three cakras are said to be a single one.
On the stamens of the lotus on top of one’s head, which is Mount Meru,
There is Vairambhaka and the other three winds, in their right order. {6.3.4}
6.­98
“This maṇḍala is present, having manifested
Through the two stages, as handed down by the succession of gurus.
On the soles of the feet there is the Vairambha wind
In the shape of a bow. {6.3.5}
6.­99
“Located in the triangular area of the abdomen
Is the blazing triangle.
The element of water, in the form of a circle,
Is located in the abdomen. {6.3.6}
6.­100
“In the heart area there is the earth element,
Symmetrically quadrangular in form.
The spinal column, with the form of a staff,
Is just like Sumeru, the king of mountains. {6.3.7}
6.­101
“On a lotus with thirty-two petals,
Located in the area of the head,
The vowels and consonants are exquisitely present‍—
They are claimed to be the thirty-two-fold bodhicitta. {6.3.8}
6.­102
“That which is in the center of the lotus
Is, for its part, described as a moon disk.
The brain inside the head
Is what is said to be present there. {6.3.9}
6.­103
“In its center is the syllable hūṁ, [F.114.a]
Indestructible, in the form of a drop of ambrosia.
All beings have their foundation in this,
As it is the mainstay of animate and inanimate entities. {6.3.10}
6.­104
“Their existence is in the form of this seed syllable,
Whether it takes manifest or unmanifest forms.
The forms of all embodied beings
Are therefore complete from the beginning. {6.3.11}
6.­105
“It is present day and night,
Dripping in the form of ambrosia.
By this ambrosia alone is the ‘sound’ unleashed
And the flame satisfied.355 {6.3.12}
6.­106
“The maṇḍala will become filled with it,
There is no doubt about it.
Only this can be called maṇḍala,
Which is the ultimate essence of all things. {6.3.13}
6.­107
“Since it gathers this essence,356
The maṇḍala is thought to be the body.
The maṇḍala is thus thought to be
The network of thirty-two primary subtle channels. {6.3.14}
6.­108
“This very maṇḍala is the essence‍—
The great jewel of bodhicitta.
In its outer and inner aspects,
It is present pervading everything. {6.3.15}
6.­109
“The outer aspect constitutes the range of engagement
Of all the sense faculties in forms, sounds, and the rest,
While the inner one is present as
The ‘fulfilled’ substances,357 such as semen, and so forth. {6.3.16}
6.­110
“By means of these outer and inner aspects
In their coarse and subtle forms,358 respectively‍—
Their essence being the bodhicitta of the followers
Of the vajra path in their roles of the world’s kinsmen,359 {6.3.17}
6.­111
“The bodhicitta taught in support of the pledge
To become a buddha or a bodhisattva‍—
Awakening can be attained in this very life,
Thanks to this very maṇḍala.360 {6.3.18}
6.­112
“Through this maṇḍala will also come
The final361 attainments of the hearers,
Solitary buddhas, and gods,
Such as Brahmā, and so forth. {6.3.19}
6.­113
“One should perform a burnt offering with appropriate substances‍—
The inner ones, such as semen, and so forth,
And the outer ones, like the aggregate of form and the rest‍—
Offering them in a blazing fire of insight. {6.3.20}
6.­114
“Based on the specificities of the six sense-fields,
The elements, the aggregates, and so forth,
They have the nature of deities,
And likewise, ḍākinīs. {6.3.21} [F.114.b]
6.­115
“The inner worship (yogapūjā) is said to consist of these,
For they are offered by the practitioner in worship.
The skull of one’s own head
Is said to be the vessel for burnt offerings. {6.3.22}
6.­116
“Rasanā (the right channel) is said to be the sacrificial sruva ladle;
Lalanā (the left channel), at the heart cakra, has the nature of the sruk ladle;362
The mouth is averred to be the sacrificial plate,363
While the sacrificial fire pit is located in the hollow of the navel. {6.3.23}
6.­117
“The brahmanical fire, fanned by activating winds,
Is located at the triangle of the abdomen.
The sound of the winds is said to be the mantra,
While their cycling is the repetition. {6.3.24}
6.­118
“The appearances in such meditation
Reflect the practice of the nondual maṇḍala.
Mounted upon the innate nature, this is, accordingly,
The maṇḍala, and so forth, of the victorious ones. {6.3.25}
6.­119
“The teacher is the sovereign mind,
According to his nature of being the lord of the maṇḍala.
He should therefore understand everything in this tantra
Just as explained, starting from ‘Thus.’ ” {6.3.26}
6.­120

[The goddess said:]

“I am still unclear how the lord sports in the forms
Of dharmakāya, sambhogakāya, nirmāṇakāya, and great bliss.
I do not know the categories.
Please tell me, O Great Bliss.” {6.3.27}
6.­121

The Blessed One said:

“The two cakras located at the head and at the navel
Each contain the shape of the letter e.364
Those, on the other hand, that are in the heart and the throat
Bear a semblance to the syllable vaṁ.365 {6.3.28}
6.­122
“The cakra located at the navel
Is a lotus with sixty-four petals.
The one inside the head
Is a lotus with thirty-two petals. {6.3.29}
6.­123
“The one inside the neck
Is a lotus with sixteen petals,
And the one in the heart
Is known to be a lotus with eight petals. {6.3.30}
6.­124
“The nirmāṇakāya is said to be
In the one with sixty-four petals,
Whereas the dharmakāya abides366
In the lotus with eight great petals. {6.3.31}
6.­125
“The sambhogakāya abides in the lotus with sixteen petals,
Whereas in the one with thirty-two petals,
Great bliss, as great gnosis,
Is situated throughout. {6.3.32}
6.­126
“In the center of the nirmāṇa cakra there is,
Surrounded by the eight classes of letters,
That supreme syllable‍—the letter a‍—
Which occupies the foremost position among all letters.367 {6.3.33} [F.115.a]
6.­127
“In the cakra of the dharmakāya
There is the celebrated syllable hūṁ, thought to be indestructible.
It appears in combination with five vowels,
And is adorned with ya, ra, la, and va. {6.3.34}
6.­128
“In the center of the sambhoga cakra
There is the syllable oṁ, which illuminates all letters.
It is surrounded on all sides
By sixteen letters in sets of four.368 {6.3.35}
6.­129
“In the exalted cakra of great bliss
Is the syllable haṁ in the form of a drop.
The sun and the moon are said to be
On its left and right sides respectively. {6.3.36}
6.­130
“In its section starting from the throat
And ending at the center of the navel,
The left channel (lalanā), associated with the sambhogakāya,
Flows downward and carries semen. {6.3.37}
6.­131
“The subtle channel that flows upward (rasanā),
In its section starting from the navel
And ending at the center of the neck,
Is said to carry blood. {6.3.38}
6.­132
“Semen is called moon;
Blood is known as sun.
Mounted upon the two openings,
They are situated below and above respectively. {6.3.39}
6.­133
“For these two, the moon and the sun,
Are known as the duo of subtle channels
That cause the going and the coming
Of the virile ones and the ḍākinīs. {6.3.40}
6.­134
“Their meaning is that of setting and rising,
Similar to falling asleep and waking again.
On the left and the right sides
There are a dozen vowels.369 {6.3.41}
6.­135
“They are said to be facing upward
And are surrounded by the syllables ka, kā,370 and so forth.
The vowels are joined with these downward-facing consonants,
Which have been moved from the sides to the center.371 {6.3.42}
6.­136
“The syllable kṣa, which is called rākṣasa,
Is situated in the lower region of the body.372
When the moon (bodhicitta) is present in the throat cakra
In its mode of intense passion,373 {6.3.43}
6.­137
“It is then called sambhogakāya,
The supreme body of buddhas.
It is so called also when it is at the tip of the [lotus] protuberance,
Having reached the tip of the vajra.374 {6.3.44}
6.­138
“When the sambhogakāya
Has reached the end of its path
And fallen into the bhaga,
It is known as mustard seed.375 {6.3.45}
6.­139
“It is then said to have the nature of the sun
And is called nirmāṇakāya. [F.115.b]
It is by way of this nirmāṇakāya
That the manifestation of buddhas and bodhisattvas are born. {6.3.46}
6.­140
“In that setting sun,
In the form of nirmāṇakāya,
Resides the king Padmanarteśvara,
In union with the lotus which was caused to open its petals. {6.3.47}
6.­141
“When that, which is then called perfect bodhicitta,
Becomes the pure embryonic lump,
It is cut off from the paths of cyclic existence
And is the auspicious state of the cessation of conceptual thinking. {6.3.48}
6.­142
“Nondual and ultimately pure,
It is the nature of glorious Vajrasattva
Called glorious Heruka,
Present in the tantras as a worm.376 {6.3.49}
6.­143
“He is established in the three tantras
As a burst of laughter, a glance, or a handshake, respectively.
He abides as a worm,
Consuming both passion and dispassion.” {6.3.50}
6.­144

This concludes the third part of the sixth chapter on the subtle channel conjunctions which constitute the concealed essence of the ḍākinīs’ net.

Part 4

6.­145

Then the great bodhisattvas, headed by Vajragarbha, with the yoginī Nairātmyā, and so forth, among them, spoke thus:

6.­146
“Please teach us the way to meditate
On the circle of deities according to the order of their arising
And, in particular, the special circle of ḍākinīs
And their secret code-language, {6.4.1}
“As well as the concealed essence, which you mentioned before.”377 {6.4.2}
6.­147

The Blessed One said:

“The concealed essence is located in the center
Of the yoginī’s body in the form of the letter a.
That secret essence is said to be the same
In both its external and internal forms. {6.4.3}
6.­148
“The pleasure derived from the bola is the mahāmudrā;
The abode of the vajra378 is the means.379
The external coupling is explained
As this secret combination.380 {6.4.4}
6.­149
“The three bodies are said to reside within the body
In the form of the three cakras.
The cakra of great bliss is understood
In terms of fully cognizing the three bodies. {6.4.5}
6.­150
“There is dharmakāya, sambhogakāya, and nirmāṇakāya,
As well as the body of great bliss.
The three bodies are situated
Within the womb, the heart, and the throat. {6.4.6}
6.­151
“Wherever any beings
Are said to come into existence, [F.116.a]
There is the creation of the nirmāṇakāya,
For this creation is constant and broad.381 {6.4.7}
6.­152
“Phenomena are the nature of mind382
And the body of phenomena (dharmakāya) is in the heart.
The sambhogakāya is said to be
The enjoyment of the six types of flavors. {6.4.8}
6.­153
“As it383 is firmly rooted in all phenomena,
Everything has its nature.
The sambhogakāya cakra is in the neck,
While the cakra of great bliss is in the head. {6.4.9}
6.­154
“The result corresponding to its cause is in the syllables e-vaṁ;384
The fully matured result is in the cakra of the dharmakāya;
The result consisting of valiant effort is in the cakra of the sambhogakāya;
And the stainless result is in the cakra of great bliss. {6.4.10}
6.­155
“The result is said to be fourfold,
Following the division of the result corresponding with its cause, and the rest.
The partaker in karmic results is the lady Wisdom herself,
When she is stirred by the karmic winds. {6.4.11}
6.­156
“The Sthāvarī division (nikāya) of the canon is in the cakra of nirmāṇakāya,
Since the nirmāṇa creation is constant and enduring (sthāvara).385
The Sarvāstivāda school is in the cakra of dharmakāya,
For the doctrine (dharma) is born from speech (vāda).386 {6.4.12}
6.­157
“The Saṃvidī387 school is in the cakra of the sambhogakāya,
For experiencing (saṃvid) is based in the throat.
The Mahāsāṃghika school is in the cakra of great bliss,
For the great bliss is located in the head. {6.4.13}
6.­158
“The mother’s body is said to be the congregation of monks;
The mother’s belly is the monastery.
Inside the womb, the embryo is the renunciant;
The embryo’s membrane is the flame-colored robe. {6.4.14}
6.­159
“One’s mother is one’s teacher;
Folding one’s hands at the head388 is the salutation.
Worldly activity is the abiding by rules of conduct;
The sound of breathing (a-ham)389 is the mantra recitation. {6.4.15}
6.­160
“In this way a monk is born‍—muttering this mantra,
Naked, and with bald head and face.
With such attributes, there is no doubt
That all beings are buddhas. {6.4.16}
6.­161
“The ten months of pregnancy are the ten stages,
And the beings in the womb are the lords of the ten stages.
Referred to by the name semen, a buddha is implanted
In the bhaga of a queen, which is the realm of Sukhāvatī. {6.4.17}
6.­162
“Without him‍—the semen‍—there would be no bliss,
And without bliss, he‍—the semen‍—would not arise.
So, since these two are ineffective without each other,
In the case of impotence, the bliss can be generated through deity yoga. {6.4.18}
6.­163
“Consequently, buddhas are neither entities,
Nor are they non-entities.
They possess a form with arms and face, [F.116.b]
But in terms of the ultimate bliss, they are formless. {6.4.19}
6.­164
“Therefore, all beings are the innate condition;
The innate condition is said to be their very nature.
With the mind in a purified form,
This nature is nirvāṇa. {6.4.20}
6.­165
“Union with the form of the deity
Is established as soon as one is born
Based on having a face, hands, color, and shape,
But including also base predispositions from the past. {6.4.21}
“In this way, O goddess, is explained390 the usurpassable among all unions.”391
6.­166

Then all the goddesses, headed by Nairātmyā, including Locanā, Māmakī, Pāṇḍaravāsinī, Tārā, Bhṛkuṭī, Cundā, Parṇaśavarī, Ahomukhā and Śaṃvarī‍—yoginīs as numerous as the dust particles on Mount Sumeru‍—became utterly bewildered, fainting and trembling. {6.4.22}

At that moment, all the tathāgatas, headed by Akṣobhya, said this: “May the Blessed One please resuscitate all the hosts of yoginīs.” {6.4.23}

6.­167

Then, having entered the meditative absorption called the “vajra conquering all ignorance,”392 the lord revived all the yoginīs and said:393 {6.4.24}

“Sentient beings are buddhas,
But they are sullied by adventitious defilements.
When these defilements are removed, they become buddhas.
This is so, O Blessed One and other sons of noble family.394 {6.4.25}
6.­168
“If an ordinary man were to eat poison in ignorance
He would fall unconscious.
But if he were free from delusion,
Then knowing the truth would neutralize his affliction. {6.4.26}
6.­169
“One who knows the true nature of poison
Can overcome poison with poison,
Using a potion that would kill
All other creatures. {6.4.27}
6.­170
“Similarly, someone afflicted by flatulence
Is given a dish of beans,
For flatulence is killed by flatulence
After administering a medicine that seems counterproductive. {6.4.28}
6.­171
“Conditioned existence is purified by conditioned existence, [F.117.a]
And concepts are removed by concepts.
Just as water that has gotten inside the ear
Is extracted with more water, {6.4.29}
6.­172
“So too are concepts about entities
Purified with entity-forms of the deity.395
Just as those who have been burned by fire
Apply fire once more as a sudorific, {6.4.30}
6.­173
“So too those burned by the fire of passions
Apply the sudorific of the fire of passion.
Any savage act that binds
Its perpetrator by karma {6.4.31}
6.­174
“Can, in and of itself, when conjoined with skillful means,
Release him from the fetters of conditioned existence.
People are bound by passion,
And only by passion are they released. {6.4.32}
6.­175
“This inverted meditation
Is unknown to orthodox Buddhists or tīrthikas.
In sexual play there are five types of enjoyment
Corresponding to the five elements. {6.4.33}
6.­176
“What is a single great delight
Becomes fivefold when the categories are applied.
The solidity (earth element) is experienced
Through the touch felt when bola and kakkola unite. {6.4.34}
6.­177
“Because the solidity has the quality of delusion,
Delusion is regarded as Vairocana.
Since bodhicitta is liquid,
This liquid is regarded as the water element. {6.4.35}
6.­178
“Since water has the nature of Akṣobhya,
Hatred is the guide Akṣobhya.
When the two organs are united in mutual rubbing
Heat is always born. {6.4.36}
6.­179
“This heat of passion is the vajra state of Amitābha,
For passion is born within heat.
The semen-consciousness deposited in the kakkola
Has the nature of wind. {6.4.37}
6.­180
“This movement of envy is Amoghasiddhi,
For Amogha is born from wind.
Pleasure is the impassioned mind‍—
The jewel with the characteristics of space.396 {6.4.38}
6.­181
“Space is the vajra quality of backbiting,397
For backbiting398 is born from space.
The one great semen-consciousness
Is thus characterized by these five aspects. {6.4.39}
6.­182
“Arisen within the five families,
They are multiplied therein by the thousand.
Still, their nature is but single‍—
The unending, ultimate bliss.399 {6.4.40}
6.­183
“This bliss, however, becomes fivefold according to the division
Into the five mental states of passion, and so forth. {6.4.41} [F.117.b]
6.­184
“Within each of the five families there are multitudes of tathāgatas,
Equal in number to the grains of sand in ten Ganges Rivers.
Within each of these great families there are many families,
And within each of these families there are many hundreds more families. {6.4.42}
6.­185
“These too are big, containing hundreds of thousands of families,
Which have tens of millions, which in turn become innumerable.
Within each of these families there are further innumerable families‍—
All of them arise from the family of the supreme joy.”

So spoke [Vajrasattva]. {6.4.43}


6.­186

[The goddess asked,] “How can all this be contained in the form of a globule the size of a particle?”400 {6.4.44}

The Blessed One said:

6.­187
“It is so because many buddhas can fit in the space of a hair’s width,
Without crowding or causing inconvenience to one another.401 {6.4.45}
6.­188
“Rise, rise, O deities, replete with the ten powers,
Who wish to feast in my house,
And you, sons of the buddha families, who appear through your miraculous powers.402 {6.4.46}
6.­189
“Listen, O goddess, as I will now teach
The characteristics of the emergence from sampuṭa. {6.4.47}
6.­190
“The word rahasye abides in the element earth;403
Parame, in the element water;
Ramye, in the element called fire;
And sarvātmani abides in wind. {6.4.48}
6.­191
“The phrase sadā sthitaḥ expresses
The saṃvara identity404 of all buddhas,
Always present in the form of mirror-like wisdom,
The wisdom of equality, {6.4.49}
6.­192
“The wisdom of clear discrimination,
Or the wisdom accomplishing all actions.
The phrase sadā sthitaḥ thus conveys
The nature of impeccable purity. {6.4.50}
6.­193
“It is thus always present as Vairocana.405
When it is always present as Amoghasiddhi,
It could be in the form of Ratnasaṃbhava,
Or perhaps Amitābha.406 {6.4.51}
6.­194
“It is a drop made of the five ambrosias,
Consisting in its nature purely of mind.
It is also pristine great gnosis,
The nature of all female deities. {6.4.52}
6.­195
“It is called Vajrasattva
And is declared to be the ultimate bliss.
Its self-existing nature, however,
Is known as the dharmakāya. {6.4.53}
6.­196
“This Vajrasattva possesses innate wisdom, Prajñā, [F.118.a]
Established by her nature as part of him.
She is fanned by the activating winds
And blazes in the area of the navel.407 {6.4.54}
6.­197
“She is called Nairātmyā,
Also known as Vasantatilakā.
Her body consists of hundreds of thousands of points of light
As dazzling as a massive flash of lightning. {6.4.55}
6.­198
“During deity yoga practice, however,
These points of light come out
Through the pores of one’s skin into the ten directions,
Threatening all the gods and demigods. {6.4.56}
6.­199
“Having blazed in the dharmakāya cakra at the chest,
The rays of light reach the cakra of the sambhogakāya.
They then exit through the right nostril,
Radiating all around. {6.4.57}
6.­200
“Coming out also through the opening located at one’s crown,
The light rays radiate throughout the ten directions,
Entering the buddhas and bodhisattvas
Through their left nostrils. {6.4.58}
6.­201
“The light rays then enter the cakra at the top of their heads;
Having set their cakra ablaze with light,
[Nairātmyā] should withdraw and re-enter the practitioner
Through the previously mentioned opening at the crown. {6.4.59}
6.­202
“While all the buddhas are being burned up,
She will cause bliss to arise.
Finally, having returned to the area of the navel,
She will abide there as before.” {6.4.60}
6.­203

This concludes the sovereign chapter called Vasantatilakā, the sixth in the great tantra, the “Emergence from Sampuṭa.”