I den tifying Body Isolation i73 but from striving in bodhicitta does the yogi become the deity I am every buddha and every hero is me Therefore, by yoga with the deity, I will practice.327 The bodhicitta mentioned in this citation from the Illusory Samvara Tantra is the bodhicitta of indivisible bliss and emptiness The Hevajra Tantra also says: Definitively, the purity of all phenomena is spoken of as their reality Outwardly, their individual divisions are spoken of as the purity of the deities.328 Also: Purity is the nature of self-perception; freedom is not by another purity Because objective phenomena are pure, the self-perceived great bliss ,329 There are three purities All external and internal phenomena being deter mined as empty o f existing by way of their own nature is known as the purity of their reality and is the general purity Meditation on the individual aggre gates of form and so on as deities is the individual-deity purity The great bliss perceived by the individual yogi is the purity of self-perception On the sec ond of these purities the same tantra says: In the practices of the generation stage, this purifies the aggregates.330 Therefore the individual-deity purity that does not involve meditation on deities by way of great bliss is said to belong to the generation stage Great bliss is the completion-stage purity, while purity of reality is common to both stages [102] Therefore, if you not understand the body-isolation deity-meditation practices of the completion-stage practitioner as explained above, there will 174 A Lam p to Illum inate the Five Stages be no deity-meditation method to produce the exalted-wisdom body at this time, and although it may be posited as a completion-stage practice, the result cannot be differentiated from the method of producing the deity of the man tra body, and consequendy it will not be an insight o f this crucial point The great bliss of this stage is not established on the generation stage, how ever, and between the completion of the generation stage and the start of body isolation, there is no evident method for its development Even dur ing the time of body-isolation practice, there is no apparent method for its development So how is great bliss produced at this time? Because this is a very difficult point within this topic, it will be explained by describing the sequence of attainment The sequence o f generation stage and the special body isolation W hat is the definitive sequence from the body-isolation practices o f the gen eration stage to that of the completion stage? Generally, a complete medita tion on the coarse and subtle generation stages acts as a ripening o f the roots of virtue needed for the development of all the completion stages Therefore it also acts as a ripening for the development of the completion-stage bodyisolation practices Specifically, the meditation on the deity implement or subtle drop within the jewel is a method of gathering the winds from the left and right channels into the dhutl Then, when the great bliss, as described above, is induced through this practice, it becomes an actual meditation on body isolation and is related in this way to subtle generation stage Where is it taught that the subde meditation involving the lower gateway acts as a method for gathering the two winds into the dhutl ? Pranayama as taught in action and performance tantras is unable to gather the two winds into the dhutl, as was explained previously In pranayama meditation taught in highest yoga tantras, the Kalacakra corpus teaches many times that prdna refers to the two winds of the right and left channels, and aydma means to stop these winds from flowing in the right and left channels and to bring them to the dhutl Candralurti s Illum inating Lamp and others not explain the meaning of pranayama in that way, but the effect of its medita tion is the same Therefore, when commenting on the statement from Later Tantra that the subtle meditation on the secret tip is pranayama, Oral Teachings ofM anjusri states: In the manner of rajas, tamos, and sattvaT the drop descends from the lotus of the heart I den tifying Body Isolation 17 to abide within the center of the jewel Think o f it in the supreme form of the five elements, possessing the nature o f the five wisdoms, blazing with the five rays of light, the subtle implement of your own deity.332 Then, as a summary: Breath is stopped, the branch of the empty state [103] Therefore the inhaling and exhaling of the breath at the nostrils is halted, and this is the branch of creating the empty state of that process This teaches that the branch of pranayama and the branch of halting the breath are one and the same Tathagatavajra also says: In the nature of the five elements, the life wind descends, con densed into the form of a bodhicitta drop the size of a mustard seed, and reaches the tip of the vajra Meditate upon it with individual withdrawal, spoken of above, and with meditative absorption and its five branches This is also drop yoga and is for stopping the breath emerging to the outside Because of this, in the Guhyasamaja Later Tantra, it is called prdnaydma This is only an illustration The meditative absorption of the yoga of the subde vowels and consonants at the navel or of the drops at the heart and so on will also fulfill the function of stopping the breath from emerging and is also known as prdnaydma Specifi cally, by the power of these types of meditative absorptions, the life wind is stopped from flowing through the left and right chan nels, and so the endeavor (ayama) of the prana wind within the dhuti, wherever it will flow, is known as pranayama,333 Therefore, through subtle meditation on the lower gateway, the winds flowing from the left and right channels to and from the nostrils are halted and brought into the dhuti, and therefore in the Later Tantra this is called pranayama That is only a partial illustration, because meditation involv ing focus upon drops and syllables at the navel, heart, and so on is clearly explained as being pranayama and fulfills the very same function This expla nation should also be applied to all completion-stage teachings on placing ij6 A Lam p to Illum inate the Five Stages syllables at places where cakras are situated Concerning the mention of med itation byway of individual withdrawal and meditative absorption, he asserts these two to be generation stage, and so these are understood as meditations on the generation stage One particular Indian text from the Jnanapada tra dition on the six yogas also explains it this way Abhayakaraguptas Sheaves o f Instructions mentions an eight-petal lotus within the jewel, and Short Teaching on Initiations speaks of “the lotus of the jewel.” These also refer to the above, and by subtle meditation at these places, the winds can be brought to the dhutl In Abhayakaraguptas Vajra Garland Mandala Procedures, when it says, “Looking at the place within the jewel,” “jewel” is changed to “lotus” when speaking of women.334 This is similar to what is being described here, and therefore this practice refers to the female form too The Arya tradition teaches that first you practice subtle meditation in the jewel W hen that is stable you meditate upon the mandala within the drops sent into the lotus of the mother Therefore generation-stage practitioners can meditate to a level of great stability on the subtle mandala, [104] but except for those winds that are easy to gather, they will find it difficult to dis solve the two winds inside the dhutl Thus, in all probability, when the subtle mandala has become stable and practitioners enter the body-isolation prac tice, they meditate upon the drop or implement within the jewel, but after the two winds have entered the dhutl, they meditate on the union of bliss and emptiness and so on of actual body isolation The teaching from the Later Tantra on the pranayama of meditating on the drops at the heart and lower gateway is explained as being the branch of halting the breath by Buddhasrijnanas Oral Teachings ofM anjuiri\ the mean ing of this is clearly explained by two Indian texts In particular, they explain that all the meditations on drops and letters placed at the sites of the cakras and so on become causes for gathering the winds into the dhutl, thereby mak ing pranayama vaster in its scope This is a truly wonderful teaching If you not know this, pranayama becomes much smaller in its scope, and you will not understand the need to apply the pranayama of the six yogas taught in many highest yoga tantras Moreover, if you not understand the point of the meditation involving clearly visualized cakras and the placing of drops and syllables, you will not understand the point of the meditations involv ing the placement of drops and syllables at places where the cakras are not clearly visualized, such as can be found in the two Guhyasamaja traditions, the five-stage practices of Ghantapada, and so on Therefore you will clearly Identifying Body Isolation 177 not develop any great ascertainment of the ultimate points of the instruc tions O n the other hand, if you understand this process, it will with out doubt lead to a wonderful ascertainment of the essential points of the instructions on these practices Not knowing precisely how to meditate on the completion-stage body isolation of this tradition comes from the fault of not understanding how the meditation on the subtle drops acts as a prânâyâma practice for gathering the two winds and how that is able to induce the great bliss Having completed the coarse and subtle generation stages, you can cause the bodhicitta to descend from the crown to the tip of the secret place by relying upon a wisdom consort, and with a strong and stable focus you will be able to halt it with the syllablephat Through this you will be able to develop the four joys This, however, does not arise from the two winds having been gathered within the dhütl and dissolving there, and so this cannot be said to be the great bliss of the completion stage Therefore meditating on the aggre gates and so on as deities by way o f this kind of bliss-and-emptiness union is not asserted as the body-isolation practice of the completion stage Identifying body isolation The tradition of others Our own tradition The tradition o f others Many Tibetan lamas assert four kinds of body isolation, explained as follows The Compendium o f Practice says: This formation of a body exists as a heap A portion of flesh and so on up to: eyes, limbs, and so forth collected together are known as a heap.™ [105] This collection of thirty-six unclean substances is the body, which is explained as meaning a “heap.” Therefore this section teaches body isolation in terms of its form, and its “isolation” from the superimposition of it as clean and in ... stage, and so these are understood as meditations on the generation stage One particular Indian text from the Jnanapada tra dition on the six yogas also explains it this way Abhayakaraguptas Sheaves... the outside Because of this, in the Guhyasamaja Later Tantra, it is called prdnaydma This is only an illustration The meditative absorption of the yoga of the subde vowels and consonants at the. .. two winds into the dhutl ? Pranayama as taught in action and performance tantras is unable to gather the two winds into the dhutl, as was explained previously In pranayama meditation taught in highest