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Примечания к приложениям

Note to appendix 1

1. Sources for this appendix include mKhas pa Ide’u chos ’byung, 390-94; sBa bzhedzhabs btags ma, Stein 1961, pp. 87-89; Chos ’byung me tog snyingpo sbrang rtsi’i bcud pp. 451-53; mKhaspa’i dga’ ston, vol. 1, pp. 467-81; rGya bod kyi sdepai gyes mdo, pp. 297.1.3 ff.; rGya bodyig tshang, pp. 458-70; and Bu ston chos ’byung, Szerb 1990, pp. 62-80. For the sNgon gyigtam me togphreng ba, the tables in Uebach 1987, pp. 39-43, are most helpful for that important source.

Notes to appendix 2

1. The sGa theng ma (162.4) organizes the exegesis of this section as the basis for a certain kind of appearance (rten: sentient beings, yogins, and Sugatas), the appearance (snang bar. impure, experience, pure), and the cause of the appearance (rgyu: defilements, concentration). Other commentaries follow a rten, rgyu, snangba scheme, which is reflected in the sentence syntax (Bande ma 6.1; Sras don ma 30.6; gNyags ma 23.3). The commentaries emphasize that the cause of pure appearance is not specified and is the “dissolution of the four movements” (gros bzhi thims pa\ Sras don ma 43.1; gNyags ma 25.5; sGa theng ma 170.5; Bande ma 8.2;) which the text later identifies (see sections I.B.3 and III.F) as the means of entering the thirteenth stage of Vajradhara. This explanation is not entirely satisfactory, for it ignores the strong parallelism of the text here, indicating that the means might be considered the sku gsung thugs mi zadpa rgyan gyi ‘khor lo, although this is doctrinally problematic.

2. This idea is quite old, being at least evident from the time of the Mahayanabhidharmasutra’s statement, quoted, for example, in Ratnagotravibhagabhasya to I.152: anadikaliko dhatuh sarvadharmasamasrayah | tasmin sati gatih sarva nirvanadhig- amo ‘pi ca || There is a beginningless element, the basis of all phenomena. When it occurs, all avenues of being occur, as well as the realization of nirvana. See Johnston (Ratnagotravibhaga), p. 72, n.; and Takasaki 1966, p. 290, n., for some references.

3. Here the commentaries indicate that the physical body is also the articulate continuity (bshad rgyud) as well as the continuity of method. Sachen explains that it is the articulate continuity as well, because it is the means to realize the potenrials in the causal continuity of the underlying consciousness (Sras don ma 50.5-6; sGa theng ma 183.5; gNyags ma 27.2-4; these do not entirely agree with one another). The explanation is minimally incomplete and indicates the problems of the early commentaries yet reflects the text in some sense, since the term “articulate continuity” is included in I. B.2.e.

4. The three sites (gdan : pitha according to Pod nag 162.2) are those of (a) the Buddhas and bodhisattvas, (b) the vidyas and the goddesses, and (c) the masculine and feminine angry guardians (krodha). These are recognized in four mandalas\ the colored dust mandala (rdul mtshon gyi dkyil ’khor), the gnostic beings’ mandala (ye shes kyi dkyil ’khor), the commitment beings’ mandala (dam tshiggi dkyil ’khor), and the mantric mandala. Alternatively, the sGa theng ma (177.3) lists five: the colored dust mandala, the physical mandala (lus dkyil), the qualities’ mandala (bhaga i dkyil ’khor), the bodhicitta mandala, and the absolute awakening mandala (don dam pa byang chub). Each of these mandalas is also employed during the causal consecration, that is, the fourfold initiatory events that occur: the vase, secret, insight-gnosis, and fourth initiations. Both the sGa theng ma (183.6) and Sras don ma (51.2,55.3) state that the first “etc.” indicates the vase consecration, while the second indicates the three higher consecrations. Other explanations are, for example, found in Bande ma 14.1-5. gNyags ma 28 is unclear on the text at this point.

5. Each of the four consecrations – vase, secret, insight-gnosis, and fourth – is divided into five further topics (a quinary for each), although at least one source adds a sixth topic before the five. See chapter 8, table 7, page 310.

6. For each of the consecrations there are five samaya, a term that includes both vows and sacramental behavior: contemplative, performative, consumptive, shielded, and inseparable samayas, according to the following chart (sGa theng ma 260.3262.5; Bande ma 63.2-64.3):

 

Samaya

Vase consecration

Secret consecration

Insight- gnosis

Fourth consecration

Contemplative

Utpattikrama

Svadhisthana- krama

Mandala cakra

Three vajra waves

Performative

Three realities

Four self-born  

Four ascending joys

Four descending joys

Consumptive

Five nectars and meats

Emptiness and clarity

Bliss

Bliss and emptiness

Shielded from

Twenty-two breaches of commitments

All problems within the veins or wind

Six forms of semen release

Obscurations from ignorance

Inseparable

Never apart from the vajra and ghanta

Soft and harsh breath as appropriate

Physical or imaginary consort

Padmini consort, physical or imaginary

Notice that the samaya are, in part, a restatement of the twenty categories in the “four quinaries of the path” given in the previous section (chapter 8, table 7), especially noticeable in the contemplative and performative rows, which mimic the path and perspective of the previous diagram.

7. Five daka are listed to whom reparations are to be made: (a) the Vajradaka, who is the guru; (b) the Jnanadaka, which is concurrent with the sambhogakaya; (c) the Matrikadaka, who is the nirmanakaya; (d) the *Mamsabhaksanadaka, who is the Smasanadhipati; and (e) the Samayadaka, who are the adamantine relatives and friends in the sacred community. See sGa theng ma, 265.1-3, Bande ma, 65.3.

8. Depending on the variety of fault, offerings of external goods and their appropriation, along with the internal experiences of enjoyment, may be offered to a physical consort dressed in ornaments, or she may be offered to the teacher. Alternatively, for the more important transgressions of the five samaya noted in the preceding table, the five daka may be appeased. These variations are indicated by the “etc.” of the line.

9. This idea is an extension of the doctrine that in the Vajrayana, the defilements of the individual become the nature of his path: skyon yon tan du slang bai gdams ngag (Sras don ma, 22.6-23.2). Compare Hevajra-tantra I.ix.19 and see the discussion of the epithets of the Lam-Tras in chapter 8.

10. The four fruitional consecrations are identified as the four ways of dissolution (‘gras bzhi thim), those pertaining to the channels, the syllables, the nectar, and the vital air (rtsayige mdud bdud rtsi rlunggi ’gras) made possible by the four causal consecrations. These four result in the four (or five) bodies of the Buddha. See Sras don ma, 168.5-70.4; sGa theng ma, 275.2-76.5. There is an alternative discussion in sGa theng ma, 267.3-5, which says that an idea of fruitional consecration is known in nonesoteric Buddhism as well, a recognition that the idea of abhiseka first arose to show that a bodhisattva was coronated as the successor of the Buddha(s); see Dasabhumika, chapter 10, passim.

11. Three extremely important lists are mentioned in passing but are not actually specified in this first part of the Lam ‘bras rtsa ba\ the four epistemes, the four aural streams, and the five forms of interdependent origination. The first list (sGa theng ma, 276.5-80.2; Sras don ma, 170.5-75.5) indicates the authoritative nature of knowledge gleaned from (a) the scriptures, which are the word of the Sugata (bde bar gshegs pa i bka yang dag lung gi tshad ma); (b) the instructions of the guru (rang gi bla ma rdo rje slob dpon gyi nyams kyi man ngag tshad ma); (c) the experience gained in yoga (rnal ‘byorpa bdag nyid nyams myong rjes su dranpai tshad ma); and (d) the interdependent continuity as sequential (dngos po’i mtha’ rten cing ‘brel bar ‘byung ba lo rgyus kyi tshad mao). The final one needs some comment. It is interpreted in Sa-chen’s commentaries simply as pratityasamutpada defined in a time-space continuum, that is, not the interrelation of events in the horizon of present experience but through time as well, definitely in keeping with normative Indie descriptions of the doctrine. This definition is explicitly encountered in section I.F.5. In the exegesis for that section, Sa-chen specifies that lo rgyus tshad ma indicates the gradations of realization, from the mundane path through the absolute awakening of the Buddha (sGa theng ma, 301.3-5, and see the note to I.F.5). However, the later tradition almost invariably interprets this as the authoritative nature of the lineage and uses this to justify giving the lineal hagiographies (lo rgyus) pride of place in the bundled materials comprising the Lam-’bras, and the lineage intersection is broached in a single note in Sras don ma, 203.4-5: “And in one sense, this episteme indicates the realization of interdependence, so that from the Adibuddha Vajradhara until one’s own teacher, there has been the lineage of instructions from mouth to ear.” I have not seen this application of pratityasamutpada in Indie materials. While pratityasamutpada certainly does define the interrelation among elements composing the ostensible continuity of a person through the previous, present, and future fives, I have never seen it represented as the continuum of relations among lineal teachers, meant to include their hagiographical identities. Conversely, lo rgyus clearly means the chronology of events and points to a genre of literature: the annals. Perhaps the Sa-skya use indicates a greater semantic field in the tenth and eleventh century, which was excluded as the term became completely identified with the hagiographical genre. For the context of the esoteric appropriation of epistemological language, see Davidson 1999; for the tshad ma bzhi as appropriated by bKa’-brgyud-pa masters, see Martin 2001b, pp. 158-76.

12. Generally Sa-chen’s commentaries invert the order of the members of this section, dealing with perspective first (I.D.4-6) and then with meditation (I.D.i- 3). The ’A ‘u ma, 202-8, is a curious exception to this practice, for it retains the order as given in the Lam ‘bras rtsa ba. According to sGa theng ma, 287.3-4, the three on perspective apply to pacific contemplation (samatha) as the antidote to obscurations on the defiling emotions (klesavarana), whereas the three concerning meditation (bsamgtan : dhyana) apply to superior insight (vipasyana) as an antidote to obscurations about the knowable (jneydvarana).

13. The gNyags-ma, 56.3-4, fists the three as the mode without the fault of incongruity with the nonduafity in thusness (ngo bo nyid la zung jug ‘gal dus skyon med), the mode without the fault of incongruity with the emptiness and clear fight of self-originated great gnosis (rang byung ye shes chen po gsal stong ‘gal ‘dus skyon med), and the mode without the fault of incongruity with the bliss and emptiness of simultaneous joy found in the natural and the pure (lhan skyes dang shin tu mam dag la lhan cig skyes pa’i dga’ ba bde stong ‘gal dus skyon med). The poisons here are enumerated as eight; sGa theng ma, 287.5.

14. sGa theng ma, 289.4-5, says that members of each of the categories should be avoided, for example, onions, and specific members should be enjoyed, partaken of, consumed, experienced, and other forms of consumptive significance under the general aegis of “relied on” (bstenpa : *alambayitavya).

15. The four channels of existence are the two main veins on either side of the body, which separate into four below the navel, a front and a back branch for each of the two. The cakras are rather complex in the Lam-’bras system: within two the bodhicitta is nonmoving (acala : mig.yo), but within four it is mobile. Beyond them, the twelve great joints of the body (tshigs cheri) have their own cakras. The “others” reference the thirty-two subsidiary veins, and their thirty-two knots; sGa theng ma, 293.5-94.4.

16. Section I.D.3.b refers to the central or the “nirvana vein” (mya ngan las ‘das pai rtsa), whereas section I.D.3.a identifies the release of the samsara veins. The line indicates that only one knot is untied on both the first and twelfth stages of the bodhisattva. Yet each of the intermediate stages (2-11) is responsible for the release of three knots, at the beginning of each stage, in the middle of each stage, and at the conclusion of each stage. The term la dor ba found in sections I.D.3 and I.D.6 is rare. It appears connected to la zlo ba, la zla ba, and related cognate forms (e.g., la zlas pa). The Tshig mdzod chen mo defines the former as an old (rnying) term, signifying a decision (thaggcodpa) or conclusively surpassed an obstacle (la brgal zin pa). This latter is probably the metaphorical nexus, crossing over (rgal ba /zlo ba) a mountain pass (la). Its semantic field indicates the conclusion or accomplishment with finality and, in the Sa-skya usage, has a decisiveness to its cognitive value, indicating that the individual has arrived at this conclusion with intellectual as well as meditative effort, since it is applied to the environments of both contemplation and perspective. Here, for example, it indicates that when a bodhisattva stage is accomplished by untying one or three knots, then the bodhisattva does not reverse down the path; sGa theng ma 295.5; compare Sras don ma, 183.1, 191.2-197.5, and sGa theng ma, 287.2.

17. The poisons here are two: ignorance and the pursuit of conceptualizations; sGa theng ma, 281.2. The definition of jug sel lam in sGa theng ma, 283.5 – 6, involves the use and understanding of rudimentary breathing techniques.

18. This statement is the essence of the esoteric technique and is ostensibly meant to attract those entrapped in the enjoyment of the senses; sGa theng ma, 285.1-2; and rGyud sde spyi i mam par gzhagpa, SKB II.7.2.6-9.1.2.

19. For the Sa-skya tradition in general and the Lam-’bras in particular, this statement denotes the recognition of three levels of realization: the elements of reality for all beings are constituted by mind; that very mind is illusory; and the illusion is without self-nature. See sGa theng ma, 286.5-6.

20. The second of the important unarticulated lists in this section, the snyan brgyud bzhi, are regarded by nearly all Sa-skya authorities as one of the great defining strategies for the Vajrayana in general and the Lam-’bras in particular. Briefly, (a) the nondiminution of the river of consecration (dbanggi chu bo ma nub pa) indicates that the consecration has been maintained undiminished during the ritual of consecration, during the visualized consecration practiced daily, and through the receipt of the fruits of consecration at the moment crossing through the twelfth- and-a-half stage of the Buddha to the citadel of Vajradhara. (b) The nonseverance of the stream of benediction (byin rlabs kyi brgyud pa ma nyams pa, or ma chad pa) indicates that the teachers of the tradition have themselves retained the four conclusions of practice, experience, benediction, and accomplishment, (c) The nonreversal of the thrust of instruction (gdams ngaggi sarga ma log pa) would seem to indicate – and was explained to me byThar-rtse mkhan-po – as not confusing the order of instruction, but Sa-chen’s commentaries unequivocally declare this to be the capacity of the lineage to instruct the individual on how signs of impediment may be turned into ornaments of accomplishment. The problem is with the word sarga, an Indie term, normatively meaning a category in a progression, a definition that recognizes multiple hermeneutic strategies. Finally, (d) the ability to satisfy the concerns of the faith (mos gus kyi bsampa tshimpar nuspa) denotes the capacity of the teacher to provide correct instruction and motivation, so that the student comes to the conclusion that the teacher is in reality indistinguishable from the very Buddha himself. See Sras don ma, 197.5-201.3; sGa theng ma, 296.2-99.2; and Grags-pa rgyal-mtshan’s short work on (a), his (dBang dus dang lam dus dang mthar phyin gyi lam ‘bras bui dus kyi) ’Gros bzhi thimpa contained in the Pod ser, 336.539.6. For its hagiographical background, see chapter 1.

21. This section is even more peculiar than the previous allusions to important categories in that it is quite extensive yet never identifies the five pratityasamutpada, which it contextualizes without specific identification. According to the commentaries ascribed to Sa-chen, the five are the external, the internal, the secret, the reality, and the final interdependent origination (phyi, nang, gsang, de kho na nyid, mthar thuggi rten cing ’brel bar ’byung ba)\ Sras don ma, 204.5 – 205.2; sGa theng ma, 301.3- 302.6. The discussion in I.F is about seven circumstances contextualizing these forms of interdependence: (a) their basis for actualization; (b) their conclusion; (c) their self-nature; (d) among the four paths (the incomplete awakening of sravaka, pratyekabuddha, bodhisattva, or the great awakening of the Buddha), to which they apply; (e) among the four epistemes, to which they apply; (f) their object of realization; and (g) the forms of interdependent origination that are referred to here.

22. As is clear from the discussion of I.C, the term lo rgyus principally indicates a sequence of years and has come to mean a genre of literature: traditional annals. Here, the text refers to a sequence of phenomena, and in Sa-chen’s commentaries, to the sequence of realization, from the mundane path, through the stages of the bodhisattva, concluding with the final realization of Vajradhara. See sGa theng ma, 301.3- 5; Sras don ma, 203.1-5.

23. The Sras don ma, 205.4-213.5, seems to read this and the corresponding line in I.G.2 as rnal ’byorpa i lam gyi bar chad bzhi ni, indicating four obstacles for each of the two paths. This is an important interpretation, and Sa-chen states that the yogin involved in skillful means has four obstacles and eight protections (four using skillful means, three using insight, and one using interdependence), as does the yogin in I.G.2. The circumstances common to both, I.G.3, has fourteen protections for this obstacle. This means there are thirty forms of protection in all. See sGa theng ma, 303.2-3; Sras don ma, 205.4-5. Clearly, this is a topic with multiple consequences proposed for the psychological and spiritual health of the yogin, and separate treatises were written from Sa-chen onward to respond to threats to the yogin’s health and practice through the agency of these obstacles. See the materials collected in the Podser, 166-71, the Pusti dmar chung, 104-91, and the Man ngag gees pa btuspa, 268-71.

24. The two paths are the generation and completion paths (utpatti-sampanna- krama), outlined in chapter 1. For each of the four categories of consecration discussed by the Lam-’bras teachers, there are four views and four accomplishments; see section I.B.2.b and table 7 in chapter 8. The signs are the three varieties of corporeal, dexterous, and vocal, which are called for at the time of consecration or the tantric gathering (ganacakra) but which are not universally employed. The ten paths, etc., indicates the two paths of utpatti-sampannakrama, and the previously mentioned perspectives and final positions. Later, the text discusses the dedication of the “four awakenings” (sad ma bzhi, II.D) to the category of the path of insight, but the Sras don ma both acknowledges this statement and extends its application to protection applied to both paths; see Sras don ma, 213 ff.

25. The commentaries identify fourteen required forms of protection that are common to both kinds of yogins: those pertaining to the six veils, the six forms of seminal fluid loss, and the two obscurations from which protection is needed. These protections apply to both the paths of skillful means and insight; see sGa theng ma, 319.1-33.5; Sras don ma, 222.5-41.4.

26. The interpretation of ‘khor lo ‘cham pa is difficult because it is described as both a process and a result. It seems to be an earlier spelling of ’jam pa, especially as used in ‘jam khrid, “to lead by coaxing or cajoling,” or perhaps from ’chams pa, “to harmonize.” The most developed description is that found in Sras don ma, 18.1-3: “coaxing of the cakras’ indicates that leading up through the worldly path, the four – the vein/physical mandala, the letters/bhaga mandala, the fluid/bodhicitta mandala, and their pervading winds – intermittently the interdependant origination is sometimes correct and sometimes not. When it is correct and they are in harmony together (’cham), then good experiences arise. But when they are not correct, then one needs to coax along (or harmonize, reading ’cham for ’char) the collection of interdependant elements. This is similar to an unfinished water mill or an unfinished wagon wheel (which needs coaxing to move when out of kilter).” A similar description is found in sGa theng ma, 333.5-34.1. While Thar-rtse mkhan- po explained ’cham pa to me in the sense of “to dance,” it also has a subsidiary sense of bringing disparate elements into harmony or the gentle methods to lead it to that state. The commentaries are unanimous in declaring this second section to be entirely occupied with the mundane path (‘jig rten pa i lam), while the third section is supermundane (jig rten las das pa), and that is where the cakras turn easily (‘khor lo bskor ba). Whatever the precise semantic value of ’khor lo ‘cham pa, it is clear that it was understood to apply to the practice of the yogic regimen by those yet to accomplish the first stage of the bodhisattva.

27. The commentaries identify more than one list of “four fruits” here, the first being based on four of the five fruits known to the Sarvastivada Abhidharma and subsequently used in Mahayanist analysis: visamyogaphala, vipakaphala, nisyanda/sahajaphala, purusakara/vimalaphala (gNyags ma, 71.2 – 3); these are applied to the mundane path. Moreover, four fruits of the first of the accomplishments (grub mtha dang po) are listed along with fruits applied separately to each accomplishment of the four abhiseka. It is unclear which of these many lists of the four fruits were referenced in the text; see Sras don ma, 254.1-58.2; sGa theng ma, 345.4-49.4.

28. The “three means of coalescing the essence” (khanu du lugs gsum) identifies three ways in which experience is developed by those on the path: those who obtain their experience based on the maturation of practice accrued in a previous lifetime (las ’phro can ranggis khams ’du ba), those who experience based on their devotion and interest (mos gus can byin rlabs kyis khams ‘du ba), and those who experience based on their effort and exertion (brtson ’grus can ‘bad rtsol gyis khams ‘du ba). To each of these are applied the seven categories of the seven balanced modes (phyogs medpa). In each, the first of the balanced modes is that of the means of coalescing the essence itself. So gNyags ma, 73.1-2: “awakening to the balanced maturation accrued from a previous lifetime, the vital wind is turned back in a balanced mode. Accordingly, the fire of internal heat blazes in a balanced mode, the channels experience discomfort in a balanced mode, the essence is coalesced in a balanced mode, the defiled super consciousness (sasravabhijna) arises in a balance mode, and the undefiled super consciousness (andsravabhijna) arises in a balanced mode. ”The other two categories of “coalescence of the essence,” “through devotion and interest,” and “through exertion and effort,” are practiced in this way as well. The gNyags ma continues to explain that if one goes through all twenty-one of these levels, then supreme success will certainly be obtained in this lifetime. Similar explanations found in Sras don ma, 258.2-63.1; sGa theng ma, 349.4-51.6.

29. The use of normative Mahayanist categories to explain esoteric practice is a peculiar emphasis of the Sa-skya system and is seldom more curious than in this application. The gNyags ma, 69.6-70.1, explains: “If one traverses the path according to the thirty-seven elements of awakening, then at first the four bases of psychic power act as an antidote to taking the phenomenal world as an impediment [literally, an enemy]. Then the four bases of recollection act as an antidote for those taking emptiness as an impediment. Finally, the four correct renunciations operate as an antidote for those overcome by bliss. These twelve eliminate the mundane path. As for the supermundane path, up through the sixth level of the bodhisattva, there are the seven factors of awakening, on the next four levels operate the five faculties, on the next two operate the five powers, and the eight consciousnesses based in the 12 – i/2th level are the eight-fold noble path. Thus the root supermundane path is cut off by the twenty-five factors of awakening.” Yet we may note that the use of these categories are in practice redefined to describe esoteric practice, fitting the new esoteric wine into the old Mahayanist bottles.

30. According to the commentaries, this section is the middle of a fist of “three ways the mind is stabilized” (sems gnas lugs gsum)\ the mind is stabilized by reversing the vital wind (rlung log pas sems gnas), by the self-empowerment of vital wind and mind (rlung sems bdag byin gyis brlabs pas sems gnas), and by the complete intermingling of the mind and the physical basis (rten mnyam du ‘drespas sems gnas)] Sras don ma, 263.1 – 3; sGa theng ma, 351.6 – 352.5.

31. The four rddhipada are normative to Buddhism, but here they are clearly forms of internal wind; compare Gethin 1992, pp. 82-85; Dayal 1932, pp. 104-6; sGa theng ma, 353.4-5; Sras don ma, 266.2-3.

32. “Undissipated cultivation” is the translation of sgompa mi ‘chor ba (perhaps *asamharya-bhdvana, but with no attestation seen), an important term in the Lam- ’bras. The term is used as a qualifier in three other contexts: bsgompa mi ‘chor ba’i phyi i rten ‘brel in I.C, bsgompa mi ‘chor bai dranpa nye bargzhagpa bzhi in II.E, and bsgom pa mi ‘chor ba i yang dag par spong ba bzhi in II.F. The most complete definition is provided by the Sras don ma, 266.1-2: “Undissipated cultivation is the harmonization of interdependence within oneself so that it is known as the contemplation itself. Undissipated cultivation is the arising of experience without reference to other methods which have in fact no means for the harmonization of interdependence within one’s body. Because of the essential nature of the internal interdependence, and because it is known as that which is the contemplation of the path, it is called undissipated cultivation.” This is a clarification and expansion of the definition found in the sGa theng ma, 353.3-4.

33. The commentaries do not exactly agree with the evident sense of the text. The masculine, feminine, and neuter winds are treated as the activities (‘jugpa) of karmavayu, as is thod rgal ye shes me ‘bar bai rlung, making this the fourth. Indeed, the commentaries separate the rdzu ‘phrul gyi rkang pa bzhi (as a different set of rlung based on the four elements of earth, wind, water, and fire) from the subsequent set, even though it appears clear that this is the significance of the text, and attempt an integration of the various lists of vital wind; see sGa theng ma, 353.4; Sras don ma, 266.2 – 3; gNyags ma, 74.

34. Thod rgal ye shes kyi me ‘bar ba. Thod rgal became one of the grand operative terms of the sNying-thig movement within the rDzogs-chen path of the rNying-ma. Clearly, those communities wishing to define the hermeneutics of the psychophysical yogic practices employed this term, and they were evidently drawing on its use in the context of the Prajnaparamita literature. While there is a modern disinclination to see these individual applications of the word thod rgal as similar in any manner, such disinclination apparently stems from the institutional desire to harden boundaries.

35. The “implement of the winter wind” is glossed as its frigid bite; see gNyags ma, 74.1. With the middling and final “coalescence of the essence,” the discomfort will diminish, and eventually only benefit will remain. The significance of the term rtsa dral is somewhat difficult, since the normal meaning of dral ba is “to burst or render apart” and is cognate to ral ba, “to tear,” “to be slashed by a sword.” Here, though, the early use of dral ba, the perfect participle, is the action of opening channels (rtsa dral) or loosening knots (mdud dral); compare sGa theng ma, 424.5.

36. Sems gnas is glossed as sems nyams. Sras don ma, 269.2; sGa theng ma, 355.1; gNyags ma, 75.1.

37. The five primary vital winds are the prana/srog dzin, the samana/mnyam gnas, the apana/thur sel, the udana/gyen rgyu, and the vyana/khyab byed. See Guenther 1963, p. 271, for these equivalents, although reassessment seems overdue. The subsidiary vital winds are the rgyu ba, the rab tu rgyu ba, shin tu rgyu ba, the mngon par rgyu ba, and the yang dag par rgyu ba. Each of these ten is understood according to the seven determinants of its names, locus, function, discomfort encountered when constrained, meditation, fault of its stiffening, and method of preparation; gNyags ma, 7 6.4. This results in the seventy instructions (man ngag: upadesa) of the vital wind. The commentaries introduce around this area of the Lam ‘bras rtsa ba a new discussion, which is not directly reflected in the text, concerning the seven essentials of the practice of vital wind (rlung gi nyams su blang ba’i gnad bdun bstan pa)\ Sras don ma, 269.6-93.1; sGa theng ma, 355.4-68.6.

38. gNyags ma, 80.1-2, indicates that the essences open up like the unfolding of butter in curd being churned and that these nuclear essences become fused to their respective cakras (known as “citadels”) by the combination of their presence there and the activity of contemplation, in the way that the samayadakas and the jnana-dakas become fused and empowered; compare sGa theng ma, 369.5-70.1.

39. This differentiation is according to the three categories of “heat”: that preceded by conceptualization (mam rtog sngon du song ba’i drod), that relating to the coalescence of essences (khams dgu duspa’i drod), and that heat arising from the incineration of the seminal fluid and its coalescence (thig le ’bar xhing duspa i drod)\ each of these is further divided into the divisions of visions, dreams, and physical experiences; see Sras don ma, 36.5-37.6; gNyags ma, 81-84; sGa theng ma, 371.4-6. Later, II.C, “undissipated cultivation,” is equated with the external dependent origination and defined in the context of II.E with the preponderance of mental control (Sras don ma, 359.1-2): “Concerning undissipated cultivation, beyond this point the body and speech are accorded less importance and mind becomes the chief component, so we call the cultivation undissipated.”

40. According to the gNyags ma, 81.3, this section begins the first of the three ways of explaining the path (lam khrid lugs gsum): that by means of vital wind (rlung gis lam khrid), that by means of the essential nectars (khams bdud rtsis lam khrid), and that by means of the channels and letters (rtsa yi ges lam khrid). This is one of the two principal hermeneutical techniques in the path, which is begun here with the mundane path and completed later under different conditions with the supermundane path; gNyags ma, 67.6-69.2; sGa theng ma, 334.6-38.5; Sras don ma, 241.6-47.2.

41. Again, we must rely on the commentaries to make sense of the text. The gNyags ma, 81.2-83.3, explains that when one or another of the vital airs associated with one of the five elements becomes empowered and supreme, it provides the three: physical experience, dreams, and visionary experience. Not only does the empowerment of the vital air of fire cause the vision of the burning of the triple world, but one also dreams of a city of fire, and one’s bodily hair and skin feel hot and sensitive. Not only does the empowerment of the vital air of water make one feel cold, but one also dreams of a boat on the ocean and has visions of the four oceans, etc. Not only does one dream of flying, but also one feels like one is racing like a horse and dreaming that the whole universe is like a whirlwind. The commentaries also rearrange the text, by pulling up from below the phrase nam mkha dang mnyam pa dang spu Jus bde as a form of experience of vital wind to be explained with the other forms of vital wind. So not only does one have the physical sensation of pleasure in the follicles, but one also experiences a vision of predominant emptiness and dreams of unhindered appearance in all directions. All five elemental vital winds accordingly have three experiences, making the fifteen experiences. These are substantially different from another list of fifteen experiences listed in the context of the “triple appearance”; see Sras don ma, 34.3-39.5. We may note that the element of earth has been left out of the discussion in the Lam-Tras text and must be inferred; gNyags ma, 83; sGa theng ma, 375.6.

42. The term spu lu(s) is apparently unattested in our lexicons; I take it to indicate the follicles of the bodily hairs (spu) taken as a whole, encompassing the entire surface of the skin. We note again that the commentaries reorder the discussion and that this last fine is considered in conjunction with similar discussions after the element water and before considering all four great elements together, for example, sGa theng ma, 375.1.

43. gNyags ma, 84.3, has the second of the three ways of explaining the path, that through the essential nectars (khams bdud rtsi’i lam khrid) beginning in this section and completed later in the supermundane path.

44. Finally, gNyags ma, 85.2, has the third of the three ways of explaining the path, that through the channels and letters (rtsa yi ges lam khrid) beginning in this section and also completed later in the supermundane path.

45. This continues the explanation of the path, but through fourteen letters (rtsa yi ge bcu bzhi’i lam khrid). The importance of this section is not immediately evident in either the text or in such a modest title as “fourteen letters.” However, both the Sras don ma (323.6-34.4) and the sGa theng ma (386.4-400.2) use this section as a heuristic to express the fundamental subtle arrangement of the veins, the letters, and the operation of the subtle body, technically known as the “natural condition of the vajrakaya (rdo rje’i lus kyi gnas lugs).

46. gNyags ma, 89.5, says that this means the experience of all four of the levels of dhyana found in the world of form.

47. gNyags ma, 91.1-2, following the same theme of the wind, explains that the intermediate level of mundane practice brings lesser discomfort, like the cold suffered from the spring wind.

48. These visions of the intermediate coalescence of the essence (khams ‘dus pa bar pa) are real in a way that those of the first coalescence are not but do not have the transcendental valence of the final coalescence. Technically, these are given different nomenclature: sGa theng ma, 385.6-86.1: “These [visions] in the case of the first coalescence are uncertain and erroneous appearance; for the intermediate they are certain and visionary appearance; for the final they are very certain and arise as the appearance of clarity.”

49. One of the more curious titles, given that this section is so short.

50. While the Sras don ma and sGa theng ma agree that these letters are the fourteen letters of the bha ga’i dkyil ’khor, they do not precisely agree on the arrangement of the letters and even observe that there is no common opinion in the tantras about the location of the bha ga i dkyil ‘khor. See Sras don ma, 323.6-34.2; sGa theng ma, 386.1-400.2; see also the Bha ga’i yi ge bcu bzhi in Pod ser, 183-85. Generally, however, the section refers to the fourteen letters at the base of the spine where the three major veins come together in a triangle. There the veins form knots or ganglia (mdud), which appear in the shape of letters: ОМ, AH, HUM, with letters representing the six realms of existence in close proximity, and five other letters (mostly inverted) below these, one of them being KSA. The letter RA, however, is not noted, and there is no explanation why the text indicates this – although it appears clear that it relates directly to demons (srinpo : raksasa). These letters were first mentioned in the commentary to I./.c.ii, but not directly in the text itself. The demons, etc., means that all demons and demonesses are available and are also seen within these knots, as are images of tigers and snakes, corresponding to these items in the external world; Sras don ma, 344.1-5,346.4-48.6. “That which has a bell” indicates the central channel, since the lower end of the central channel is bell-like, but the sound emitting from it is like the sound of a bee buzzing around a flower, not the sound of a bell; sGa theng ma, 406.4.

51. Bhavagra is frequently taken, as it is here, as the limit of mundane existence, to be transcended with the supermundane path; see Abhidharmakosa VI.44-45, 73.

52. The five paths are those of accumulation, application, vision, cultivation, and the final path; the ten stages are those of the bodhisattva. A useful demonstration of the relationship of these two arrangements can be found in Conze 1957.

53. The ternaries are the three kinds of experiences occurring to meditators: signs, visions, and dream experiences; each of these is graded by the three levels of intensity (drod) on the path, lower, medium, and supreme; see Sras don ma, 352.2. Here undissipated cultivation is simply identified with the external dependent origination; for its definition, see note 32.

54. This explanation is consistent with other interior explanations found in esoteric commentaries; see Ratnakarasanti’s Mahamayatantratika Gunavati, 3-4. The definition of a dakini given in the Sras don ma is interesting: “Traveling and journeying to the spaces in the citadels of the precious veins, it is called dakini.”

55. Here and in II.F, the text invokes the well-known four aids to penetration (nirvedhabhagiya-dharma): heat (usmagata), zenith (murdhan), tolerance (ksanti), and highest worldly dharmas (laukikagradharma). For this material, see Sravaka-bhumi, Shukla 494.20-500.15. Our text, however, interprets these in a very idiosyncratic manner, not in a manner familiar to the Abhidharma or Prajnaparamita literature. Zenith, for example, is equivalent here to the zenith of existence (bhavagra), and tolerance is identified with the tolerance toward unarisen phenomena (anutpattikadharmaksanti). These interpretations are highly irregular, and the former specifically calls into question the Indie nature of this section of the text. We note that Sras don ma (27.3, 357.4) and sGa theng ma (414.2) read bskyang for gtang, that is, “guarding” for “accepting.”

56. Another group of items alluded to in the text but not enumerated. All the commentaries discuss this item in relation to I.G.2, since the yogin occupied with insight is first mentioned there. The four awakenings (sad pa bzhi) are those by experience (nyams kyis sad pa), by meditation (ting nge ‘dzin gyis sad pa), by mantras (sngags kyis sad pa), and by the combination of the four perspectives and the four accomplishments, as indicated in table 7, chapter 8, on the twenty aspects of the path (ltagrub gyis sad pa). See Sras don ma, 213.5-18.5; gNyags ma, 63.4-5; sGa theng ma, 311.2-15.2.

57. Devaputra Mara is the last of the standard grouping of the four Maras, including the Maras of death, the aggregates, and the defilements; see Sravakabhumi, 343-45. This last form is the Mara identified with the divinity tempting the bodhisattva immediately before awakening. See Lalitavistara, 218-34, 254-56 (esp. 22.9); Dayal 1932, pp. 306-16. The difference between yogins occupied with skillful means and yogins occupied with insight was discussed earlier in I.G.1-3.

58. Another group of four not identified in the text, although this group is far more standard, as the four bases for recollection: body, feelings, mind, and events (kayavedanacittadharmasmrtyupasthanani) of normative Buddhism that form part of the thirty-seven branches of awakening. See Dayal 1932, pp. 82-101; Pagel 1995, pp. 381-89; Gethin 1992, pp. 29-68. We may note, though, that the explanation of these in the Lam-’bras commentaries is exclusively esoteric. The four bases for recollection are thought to be the antidote suitable for a yogin experiencing emptiness as a problem; Sras don ma, 359.3.

59. During the generation stage, the yogin dissolves himself into emptiness and then must regenerate himself as a divinity out of emptiness in the form of the samayasattva while summoning the jnanasattva. The text makes a case for the equivalence of both meditation on form and emptiness – the equal divisions – and this section focuses on those for whom emptiness has become an impediment. We also may note that the “chosen divinity” (istadevata) is unspecified, indicating that the association of the text with the Hevajra system is purely adventitious, although in keeping with the principles of the yogini-tantra practices.

60. This section is somewhat chaotic and multidimensional, causing the commentaries generally to introduce the section as the fruit of the previous section, whereas at the end it is sometimes identified with the four bases of psychic power; compare Pod nag ma, 138.5, Sras don ma, 378.6, sGa theng ma, 341.6.

61. The discomfort of the practices no longer afflict the channels of the yogin, so the winds are without the bite associated with winter.

62. The six recollections are not part of the normative list of the bodhipaksika- dharmas and are not included in the twelve bodhipaksika-dharmas classified in the mundane path in the Lam-’bras. Here they are simply defined as the objects of the six senses; Sras don ma, 367.4.

63. Note that the ttvmprahana (spong ba) is interpreted here according to its literal and evidently erroneous etymology, rather than according to its normative Buddhist reading as equivalent to pradhana, primary effort. Compare Dayal 1932, pp. 101-3; Pagal 1995, pp. 397-99; Gethin 1992, pp. 69-103.

64.I thank Cy Stearns for pointing out to me that the commentaries interpret “12” as if it were “20,” apparently in the interests of social propriety, for all versions of the text agree on a twelve-year-old girl. A padmini is considered ideal, especially for the practice during the fourth consecration; she has images of a lotus (padma) on the palms of her hands and the soles of her feet and naturally exhibits the moods of happiness, joy, and the like. The yogin searches for the vein by a surprising ritual involving strapping the young lady to a saddle, tying cloth around parts of her torso, and working a greased oblong ball of felt and cotton up her rectum. This is supposed to bring the convergence of the three channels in her vaginal passage and cause a pointed “nose” to emerge from the central channel. This “dakini’s nose” is like a pointed spike and is supposed to penetrate the head of the disciple’s penis while engaged in the intercourse required for the fourth consecration in this system; sGa theng ma, 423.1-24.5; Sras don ma, 364.4-66.1.

65. Here, as elsewhere, there are insufficient grammatical markers to reveal the significance of the text without the commentaries. Sras don ma, 370.1-6; sGa theng ma, 424.3-25.3 state that the A comes from the heart area and merges with one of the A letters (phyi dbyibs A) among the fourteen just noted. The two forms of vital wind simply indicate that all the ten primary and subsidiary winds are also forced into the central channel, and the “seasoned intelligence” means that they disciple has practiced this for some time.

66. Sras don ma, 370.6-71.1; sGa theng ma, 424.6-25.3: the body (= right channel) and the speech (left channel) merge with the mind (= central channel) in a configuration reminiscent of the fully cross-legged position referred by Hathayogins as the “lotus position,” but often by esoteric Buddhist representatives as the vajra position.

67. The “A of external form” is one of the fourteen letters in the pelvic region and represents the “nose” at the end of the central channel; Sras don ma, 379.3. “Essence” indicates the experience of the emptiness of essence; Sras don ma, 379.6-80.1. “Proper nature” signifies the experience of nonduality; Sras don ma, 380.1. And “characteristics” indicate the experience of the provisional reality of skillful means, which is summarized as superimposition; Sras don ma, 380.1.

68. Each of these sections is predominantly composed of signs: the signs of reality (de kho na nyid kyi rtags : *tattvacihna), the internal signs and the external signs. The commentaries point out that these are the reverse of the natural order, as we have seen elsewhere, for example, I.D.; Sras don ma, 385.2-3. Here, the marks of reality are metaphors: the four citadels for the four cakras (navel, heart, throat, head) and the three ladies for the three principal veins; Sras don ma, 387.6-88.1. They have been equated with the seven factors of awakening (saptabodhyangani), which are normatively referred to as the penultimate of the seven categories of the thirty-seven limbs of awakening. Compare Dayal 1932, pp. 149-55; Genthin 1992, pp. 146-89.

69. sGa theng ma, 436.4-6, indicates that this is the method for eliminating the gross and moderate conceptualization that is to be eliminated.

70. Note that the Lam-’bras follows the model given in the Dasabhumika that increases the realization by powers of ten for each level of the bodhisattva, starting from the hundred of the first level. The verb sgul ba normatively indicates agitation or trembling and may render some form of the Sanskrit √kamp, “to vibrate.” The descriptive apparatus, both here and later in the text, describes the capacity to see or visit these pure lands, in accordance with the standard descriptions found in the Dasabhumika, 30.4, “and he rattles a hundred world systems” lokadhatusatam ca kampayati, p. 36, II. 22d, “they shake, illuminate, and cross over a hundred fields” kampenti ksetrasatu bhasi samdkramanti |. It is not exactly clear why the scripture has bodhisattvas engage in rattling all these worlds, except perhaps as an extension of the old Buddhist mythology about the quaking of the earth during specific events in the Buddha’s fife, like the defeat of Mara.

71. The Sras don ma, 389.1-2, says that these are the standard Mahayana contemplations, such as the suramgama-samadhi, the simhavijrmbhita-samadhi, similarly sGa theng ma, 438.1.

72. This is the perception of the letter NR among the fourteen letters in the bha ga i dkyil ‘khor, sGa theng ma, 438.6.

73. He is apprehensive that he might yet return to birth among the other realms of existence; sGa theng ma, 439.3-4, Sras don ma, 390.2-3.

74. This is the grub mtha to the vase consecration; see table 7, chapter 8.

75. gNyags ma, 106.3-4, and Sras don ma, 257.3, describe the capacity to perform the miracles, some of which are associated with Virupa in the hagiographical literature: turning back a river, holding the sun and moon in place, passing effortlessly through walls and mountains, and so forth.

76. This means that during the practice of the completion process, the yogin does not ejaculate, but in the fourth or “natural” moment (sahajaksana) with the “natural” bliss (sahajananda), the yogin’s body is filled with bliss and he is overcome.

77. The commentaries indicate that the normal inhalation is twelve inches and exhalation is the same, making a total movement of the breath of twenty-four inches. With this stage, the inhalation/exhalation cycle is reduced by one inch in either direction, making a total cycle of twenty-two inches. With succeeding stages, the breath is reduced by an inch, so that on the twelfth stage, the breath is entirely arrested and the twelve steps in dependent origination are entirely reversed, indicating that ignorance is eliminated; see Sras don ma, 393.5-94.4.

78. This indicates the consecrations received during the practice of the path (lam dus). Because of the yogin’s accomplishment, from the second to sixth stages, he gets them from the nirmanakaya, whereas we see ascending orders of the bodies of the Buddha granting consecrations further along the path.

79. The five faculties (pancendriyani) are, in addition to those found in normative articulation of the thirty-seven branches, the specifically esoteric faculties of immunity from being afraid or disturbed by various manifestations of the winds associated with the great elements (earth, air, fire, water, space) because these vital airs have been subdued. Compare Dayal 1932, pp. 141-49; Gethin 1992, pp. 104-40; Pagel 1995, pp. 399-401; Sras don ma, 399.3-5; sGa theng ma, 446.5-47.1.

80. The five abilities are forms of siddhi, like passing through earth or rendering himself invisible; Sras don ma, 399.5-6. The gazes, here classified as either four or eight, are a development of the four gazes recognized in the Hevajra-tantra I.xi.1-7. Compare Dayal 1932, pp. 141-49; Gethin 1992, pp. 1 ff.; sGa theng ma, 447-3-5

81. The six seed syllables are A (for gods), NR (for humans), SU (for demigods) PRE (for ghosts), DU (for animals), and TRI (for denizens of hell). These are part of the architecture of the bhagamandala\ for mutually incommensurate descriptions of this mandala, see Sras don ma, 324.3-34.2, and sGa theng ma, 386.1-400.2.

82. The general characteristics (samanyalaksana) of the dharmas constitute the “four seals of reality”: all compounded elements are impermanent; all defiled elements are distressing; all dharmas are nonself; and only nirvana is peace. The specific characteristics (svalaksana) of the dharmas change with each. Generally, because of the influence of the Abhidharmakosa, the later Indian Buddhists and most Tibetan Buddhists accepted the seventy-five dharma schematism of the Sarvasti- vada, and each of these bears its own characteristic. See Abhidharmakosa, 1.27, VI.14.

83. The eight source letters are A KA CA TA TA PA YA SA. The term phyi mo can denote a root (rtsa ba) or foundation (gzhi) for something. The sGa theng ma (448.4-5) states that from the short a in the navel cakra, the two syllables E WAM arise. From the E, the short A (of the eight letters) arises. From the WAM, the syllables KA CA TA TA PA YA SA arise. From the A, the sixteen vowels (ah) separate off as the external circle. From the KA (sic), the thirty-four consonants (kali) separate out. From these vowels and consonants, all letters arise; from letters come names, and from names arise words. Thus, command over the scriptures is through seeing and controlling the letters arising in the navel cakra. Compare Sras don ma, 401.1-4.

84. This is a reference to w. 28c-29d of the Manjusrinamasamgiti: “The syllable A, the foremost of all phonemes, of great meaning, the supreme syllable. Aspirated, unoriginated, without uttering a sound, [Manjusri] is the foremost cause of all expression, shining forth within all speech.” The context of the six-foot verse clearly indicates the bodhisattva Manjusri, and his capacity for expression is the cause for his sometimes identification as the lord of speech (vagisvara). For the entire text and translation of the Manjusrinamasamgiti, see Davidson 1981. Normatively, “pure sounds” (brahmasvara) indicate the quality of the Buddha’s speech and constitute one of the thirty-two marks of the Buddha. Here they refer to the three A-s: the “heart A, the navel A, and the external form A”; Sras don ma, 402.3, sGa theng ma, 449.6 – 50.4. The first and last are found in the bhagamandala in the genital area, so that the metaphor and terminology of heart may be misleading.

85. This difficult sentence has become a focus for rearrangement and rereading. The Sras don ma reads ’khor bzhi rgyal ba instead of rgya and rearranges the syntax to have this follow sa bdunyan cad, whereas the rest of the early commentaries read it as printed but interpret it differently. Perhaps the most persuasive interpretation is found in the gZhu byas ma, that the four seals are found in the four cakras: kar- mamudra in the nirmanacakra in the navel, the dharmamudra in the dharmacakra in the heart, the mahamudra in the sambhogacakra in the throat, and the samayamudra in the mahasukhacakra in the fontanel; gZhu byas ma, 162.6. The commentaries use this opportunity to develop a grand arrangement, linking the vision of pure lands with a triple continuity (rgyud gsum), triple appearance (snang gsum) system, the four mandalas of the channels, the letters, the seminal fluid, and the essential gnostic wind, and the physical container/mental contained system; Sras don ma, 403.3-406.3; sGa theng ma 450.5-53.3.

86. The sGa theng ma, 454.6-55.1, says that the ground to be purified, in this case the mind, is in the text here associated with the path, whereas in III.A and B it is associated with the consecration.

87. The bodhicittamandala is understood here as the “quintessential essence” (dwangs ma’i dwangs ma) because it has arrived at the fontanel and represents the great essence which has been repeatedly purified by the interdependence of the path of the winds, the mind, and the serus substances; Sras don ma, 408.4-5. The five powers (pancabalani) arise out of the control of each form of wind as it is brought into the central channel, and the five vital winds of the bodhicitta mean that each essential wind is mixed inseparably with one of the five nectars as a physical manifestation of the bodhicitta’, Sras don ma, 408.4. For the five powers as functions of the thirty-seven branches of awakening, see Dayal 1932, pp. 1141-49; Gethin 1992, pp. 140-45; Pagel *995> PP- 4°i“3-

88. Sras don ma, 408.6-412.6, discusses the practice of the internal stages of the mandalacakra practice and how one then obtains the consecrations of the three bodies of the Buddha, the consecrations of the five forms of gnosis, the consecrations of the five mudra, the consecrations of the eleven Herukas, the consecrations of the twenty-four realities of the divinities, and the consecrations of the four factors of reality. See similar lists with a somewhat different explanation in sGa theng ma, 456.4-463.2.

89. Yum gyi bha ga is often glossed as the dharmodaya in which the mandala is constructed by visualization, or the dharmodaya as the vaginal form. The dharmodaya is an inverted triangle or tetrahedron, inside the protective walls of vajra and within which the palace is visualized. Sras don ma, 414.3-4, however, gives four interpretations of bhaga; compare sGa theng ma, 464.4.

90. The six supercognitions are not part of the normative list of the thirty-seven bodhipaksikadharmas.

91. This means that the yogin no longer breathes at all, since he does not need external breath to survive and since the vital wind has been entirely drawn into the central channel and all the vowels have been arrested along with all the forms of conceptualization; Sras don ma, 416.5-17.1.

92. The last section of the thirty-seven branches of awakening is the eightfold noble path (asta margangani), which is so well known. Here, though, the eight are reinterpreted esoterically as the purification of the eight forms of consciousness; compare Sras don ma, 426.3-5; Dayal 1932, pp. 155-64; Gethin 1992, pp. 190-226; Pagel 1995, pp. 391-95. The two fruits are the path to liberation through signlessness (animittavimoksamukha) by means of the stiffening of the right (channel) object wave and the path to liberation through wishlessness (apranihitavimoksamukha) by means of stiffening the left (channel) subject wave; Sras don ma, 426.5-6.

93. One of the standard signs of the great acts of the Buddha, especially awakening; see the Lalitavistara, 254.12: sadvikararh ca dasasu diksu sarvalokadhatavo ’kampat prakampat samprakampat |.

94. Sras don ma, 427.4, describes a scenario in which there is a great sound because the four Maras have been defeated, resulting in the noise of a rain of meteorites, the roaring of the ocean, the shocking crash of cymbals, and so forth. The sounds mentioned at this point in the Lalitavistara seem to be primarily those of joy and acclaim, 254.17-18: dasasu diksu bodhisattvas ca devaputras canandasab- dam niscarayamasuh – utpannah sattvapanditah |, and compare 256.12.

95. Sras don ma, 427.6, says that all the phenomena of samsara and nirvana are now seen within the mustard seed-size essential essence of the consort’s vagina, without any differentiation of existence or size or quality, and so forth.

96. Ha ri ma of the text is a corruption (Prakrit hanima?) of animan, the first of a standard list of the eight forms of dominion (aisvarya or isvaratvam = dbang phyug), identified in such references as the Yogasutra-vyasabhasya to Yogasutra 3.44: the capacity to become minute (animan), buoyant (laghiman), massive (mahiman), obtaining everything (prapti), unrestrained (prakamya), controlling (vasitvam), with mastery (isitrtvam), and concluding things as he likes (kamavasayitvam); see Prasada 1912, pp. 248-50; compare Sras don ma, 429.2-30.6. Bande ma, 140.5-6, indicates that the verse containing these qualities is from a Thun mong ma yin pa’i gsang ba, which I have not been able to identify, although the fist is alluded to in various sources. See Krsnayamari-tantra, 74.20.

97. This is the final of the three realities, that of the entrance to the liberation of emptiness (sunyatavimoksamukha), the concluding member of the two fruits listed in III.D.i. It indicates the complete arrest of the wave of conceptualization; Sras don ma, 432.1-2.

98.1 have not seen this metaphor before. The commentaries explain it away by indicating the fontanel as this city and its opening up as the conclusion of the yogic practice, for example, Sras don ma, 432.3.

99. The multiple etc. indicates that the other activities mentioned above in conjunction with vibration, such as teaching (III.A), are also included.

100. Lam-’bras masters consistently define the final fruit by means of the dissolution of the four gradations or functions of the body. By means of the vase consecration, the fruit acquired is the dissolution of the various channels into the central channel, which is ultimately transformed (gnas gyur: paravrtti) into the nirmanakaya. The secret consecration causes the letter mandala to dissolve finally into the HAM in the fontanel, and the transformation of these letters brings the sambhogakaya. Likewise, the relationship between the third consecration, the nectar mandala, and the dharmakaya. Finally, the fourth consecration dissolves the vital wind into the gnostic wind in the central channel, which is transformed into the svabhavikakaya. None of these is the mind itself, and the mind is transformed into a fifth body, in which’ the suvisiuddhasvabhavikakaya is called the *anabhogakdya\ Sras don ma, 437.3-40.3; sGa theng ma, 481.3-85.3. The problems previously experienced were primarily on the mundane path, although some continued through the supermundane path; Sras don ma, 442.1-6.

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