notes to chapter two c 235 ored lotus visualized on the top of Meru corresponds to the center of the outer Meru The visualized moon, sun, and Rahu on the lotus symbolize the moon, sun, and Rahu grouped together at the end of the lunar month (day thirty) One then imagines that all aspects (from the tetrahedron up to Rahu) merge into one and are represented by the seed-syllables ham ksha ma la va ya Once again, the world is created from these syllables, starting with space, wind, and so forth, up to Mount Meru, lotus, moon, sun, and Rahu On the top of those, a vajra tent (rdo rje’i gur) is visualized, which contains the complete mandalas of the body, speech, and mind of Kalachakra Thus, in this process there are two creations of the world This part of the creation, prior to the visualization of the deities, is referred to as the supremely victorious mandala Of the four indestructible states (of awakened body, speech, mind, and pristine awareness), this corresponds to the indestructible state of awakened body See Kedrup Norzang Gyatso’s Detailed Elucidation of the Kalachakra Tantra, ff 139a3-140a5 Creatures born from eggs undergo, in a sense, two births (lan gnyis skyes ba ltar): one, when the egg is laid; another, when the egg’s shell is broken Thus, it appears that the creation of the world twice corresponds to such a “double birth.” 16 The “two supremely victorious (rgyal mchog gnyis) contemplations” are the last two of the three contemplations (ting nge ’dzin gsum): the initial union (dang po’i rnal ’byor, prathama prayoga), supremely victorious mandala (dkyil ’khor rgyal mchog, vijaya maṇḍala), and supremely victorious action (las rgyal mchog, vijaya karma) The three constitute a framework of the phase of creation set forth in the Indestructible Garland Tantra This framework also applies to the Chakrasamvara, Hevajra, Guhyasamaja, Chatuhpitha, Mahamaya, Buddhasamayoga, Buddhakapala, and most yoga tantras Kedrup Norzang Gyatso states that the contemplation of the supremely victorious mandala entails aspects corresponding to the formation of the body in the womb, and the contemplation of the supremely victorious action entails aspects corresponding to the faculties (las dbang) and their actions (bya ba) (Detailed Elucidation of the Kalachakra Tantra, f 139a3) 17 Pundarika’s Great Commentary on the Kalachakra Tantra (Toh 1347), vol Da, f 49a5-7 The passage as cited in IOK is corrupt It should read gang skad cig gi gang yin pa de ni for gang zag gcig gi yin pa de ni (p 170, line 18) The text has been translated in accordance with the words as they appear in the Dergé Tengyur 18 The egg of Brahma (tshangs pa’i sgo nga) seems to be a reference to the Hindu belief that the world came into being from an egg created by the god Brahma Fragments of this myth can be found in various places in the Vedas Its more ancient narrative appears in the Mahabharata, as well as in the Vishnu Purana and Bhagavata Purana The myth is also mentioned in more recent works such as the Brahmanda and Manava Dharmashastra According to this story of creation, in the beginning, there was total obscurity, devoid of any manifestation A supreme being, the neuter Brahma, desired to manifest, and so began creation by producing the waters and placing in them a seed That seed developed into an egg, the egg of the female Brahma Within it was the male Brahma in an embryonic form called hiranyagarbha (the embryo of gold) When one year had passed, through the force of Brahma’s thoughts, the egg cracked open and 236 C not es to chapter th r ee there emerged seven terrestrial spheres with the celestial sphere above In that way was created the world (researched by Fabian Sanders) 19 Womb birth (mngal skyes), the exiting from the womb after being conceived in the midst of semen and ovum, is correlated with the visualization of deities being emanated from the seminal essences of the male and female deities in union Birth from an egg (sgong skyes), a form of birth generated from the mixing of consciousness with the red and white vital essences of animals, is correlated with the creation of the deity from a sphere that arises from the merging of moon, sun, and insignia marked by a seed-syllable, and with the creation of the deity from the transformation of an insignia that arises from a seed-syllable between sun and moon Moreover, birth from a womb is also correlated with the creation of the deity through the five steps of actual awakening (including the step of urging with songs the molten form of the deity); and birth from an egg, with the creation of the deity through the five steps of actual awakening without urging with songs Birth from heat and moisture (drod gsher las skyes ba), a form of birth that results from a consciousness having entered a mixture of heat and moisture, is correlated with the deity arising simply from a seed-syllable on a moon, and so forth Miraculous birth (rdzus skyes), the instantaneous emergence of a life form without there having been any substance as its basis, is correlated with the deity created instantaneously within luminous clarity, with not even the seed-syllable as a support (Kongtrul’s Meaning of the Hevajra, f 63a2-6) All the above types of creation may be applied in one sadhana: The step involving the deities of the consecration of the eye, and so forth, corresponds to miraculous birth Creation through the five awakenings corresponds to birth from heat and moisture The retinue deities emanated from the womb of the consort corresponds to womb birth Manifestation from a sphere corresponds to egg birth (Kongtrul’s Manual for the Performance of Retreat on the Tantras of the Marpa Tradition, f 12a4-7) Chapter 3: Entering Pristine Awareness The phrase “sequence of visualization,” or “visualization sequence,” used throughout this section is a rendering of the Tibetan term mngon rtogs, which literally means “full comprehension,” or realization, and refers to the description for visualizing the mandala, deity, and so forth, through which one fully comprehends the intent, meaning, procedure, and so forth, of the practice The Tibetan term sgrub thabs, literally, method of attainment, has been translated in this book by the Sanskrit word “sadhana.” The term mngon rtogs, when referring to the text that sets out the steps of visualization of the deity, is more specific than sgrub thabs However, the two terms are more or less synonymous when sgrub thabs is understood in a restricted sense Indestructible Garland (Toh 445), vol Ca, f 272a1-2 As to the meanings of the terms of “explanatory tantra of the great yoga” and “general explanatory tantra,” “great yoga” is a name used at times for the highest yoga tantra (anuttarayogatantra) and at times for the father tantras (see Kongtrul’s Treasury of Knowledge: Systems of Buddhist Tantra, English translation, pp 273-276) “General” indicates that it is a commentarial tantra, elucidating not one specific tantra such as Guhyasamaja, but all of the highest yoga tantras Thus, the two terms are basically the same in meaning notes to chapter three c 237 The four yogas (rnal ’byor bzhi) form the framework for the creation-phase contemplation taught principally in the Buddhasamayoga, the Red and Black Yamari tantras, and so forth See below, Chapter 3, section entitled “The System of the Yamari Tantras.” This procedure through which the deities of the mandala are emanated from the vital essence varies slightly according to the different tantras and tantric traditions For example, in the Sadhana of Glorious Hevajra, this step is carried out after one has gone through the preliminary of the sadhana and has generated the residence mandala and oneself as the causal vajra-holder, a white form of Hevajra in union with consort, symbolic of the indivisibility of emptiness and compassion From the point of union, light radiates, with sounds, to invoke all buddhas The buddhas are drawn into the mouth of oneself as the main deity At one’s heart they melt, enter the central channel, and through the vajra channel enter the womb of the consort in the forms of eight syllables of vital-essence nature As a result, oneself, one’s consort, and all buddhas are pervaded by pure bliss The syllables are then projected outside the consort’s womb, where they transform into the eight gauris—Gauri, Chauri, Vetali, Ghasmari, Pukkasi, Shavari, Chandali, and Dombini These members of the retinue position themselves in the residence mandala See Kongtrul’s Sadhana of Glorious Hevajra, ff 10b3-11b2 The three contemplations are found in both the system of yoga tantra ( yogatantra) and that of highest yoga tantra (anuttarayogatantra) According to Gö Lotsawa, a distinction was made between outer yoga tantra and inner yoga tantra, with the inner form alone becoming known as the highest yoga tantra (G N Roerich, trans., The Blue Annals, Book VII, The Preaching of the Tantras, p 351) Mahamaya Tantra (Toh 425) Mahamaya is a male heruka, with one face and two arms, depicted standing in a dancing mode while embracing his consort 7 In the context of the phase of creation in general, the yoga of the subtle sphere (phra thig rnal ’byor) is carried out in two ways: a practitioner subject to much discursive thinking would focus on a sphere at the heart or at the upper nose-tip, while someone subject to many emotional afflictions would focus on a sphere at the lower secret nosetip By relying on those concentrations, one brings forth a state of bliss by applying the appropriate type of wind yoga, yoga of inner fire, and so forth (Kongtrul’s Manual for the Performance of Retreat on the Tantras of the Marpa Tradition, f 8b4-6) The Mahamaya subtle-sphere practice in the creation phase seems to be similar to this This explanation is found in Kongtrul’s Sadhana of the Glorious Mahamaya: Essence of Great Bliss, which stems from the teachings of the lineage of Marpa According to this system, the yoga of shape (dbyibs) is equivalent to the phase of creation, the purpose of which is to overcome attachment to the body The yoga of mantra (sngags) consists of mantra recitation, to overcome attachment to speech The yoga of reality (chos) is equivalent to the phase of completion, to overcome attachment to the mind The yoga of shape consists of fourteen steps: (1) making offerings to the master in order to purify oneself (bla ma dag pa’i cho ga) of the karma that projects one into a new life form and completes the conditions of that rebirth; (2) cultivating the four boundless qualities (tshangs gnas bzhi bsgom pa) of love, compassion, joy, and equanimity in order to cultivate positive potential in relation to beings who are suffering and 238 C not es to chapter th r ee in order that the deity manifests as compassion; (3) meditation on emptiness (stong nyid bsgom pa) to cultivate pristine awareness through the purification of the process of death and to use the reality dimension of awakening as the path; (4) visualization of the protective circle (srung ’khor bsgom pa) to prevent obstacles in the birth process and to conquer the four “demonic” forces; (5) creation of the mandala of residence and the resident deities (rten dang brten pa bskyed pa) The creation of the mandala of residence purifies deluded thinking arising from the eight consciousnesses, allows one to realize the mandala as bliss and emptiness, transforms one’s universe, and actualizes the celestial palace of pristine awareness For the creation of the resident deities, one visualizes a lotus with four petals at the center of the mandala On each petal is a syllable ram that turns into a sun disk with a syllable hri in the center This step purifies the intermediate state The four syllables melt into four spheres of vital essence This step purifies the merging of the consciousness with the sperm and ovum Light is emanated from the four spheres whereby the buddhas are presented with offerings and sentient beings are purified The light is drawn back into the spheres, which then become syllables This step purifies the entrance of winds and mind into the embryo Light again radiates and converges, whereby the syllables are transformed into insignia This step purifies the development of limbs of the body Again light radiates and converges, whereby the insignia become four dakinis This step purifies birth from the womb; (6) urging with songs ( glus bskul ba) the central sphere of vital essence to manifest as Mahamaya, the male and female figures, in order to increase the elemental powers of the developing body and mind and to enhance future results; (7) creation of the two main deities ( gtso bo yab yum bskyed ba) to purify the formation of channels and winds; (8) placement of letters ( yi ge dgod pa) in the sense organs to purify the formation of the senses and to strengthen body, speech, and mind, plus the winds and mind; (9) merging of the pristine-awareness deities ( ye shes pa bsre ba) in order to purify the aggregates of feelings and discernments that have developed by the end of the sixteenth year and to symbolize the sameness of the pristine awarenesses of all buddhas; (10) initiation (dbang bskur ba) in order to purify and empower one in the activities of one’s buddha family; (11) offering (mchod pa); (12) praise (bstod pa); (13) tasting the nectar (bdud rtsi myang ba) These three [(11), (12), and (13)] serve to please and exhort vajra body, speech, and mind, and to purify the enjoyment of sense pleasures; (14) bringing to mind the pure nature of what is visualized (rnam dag pa dran pa) in order that, by going beyond dualistic appearances through visualization of the mandala, the mandala itself manifests as pristine awareness The yoga of mantra consists of two aspects: vajra recitation (rdo rje bzlas pa) in order to fulfill one’s own aims; and recitation of the mantra of the main deity and the mantras of the retinue ( gtso ’khor gyi bzlas pa) in order to benefit others This yoga serves to invoke the deity and overcome ordinary speech The yoga of reality (i.e., completion-phase meditation) is as explained in the extensive teaching on this phase but here in particular is in accordance with specific instructions stemming from Kukuripa’s extensive Mahamaya Sadhana (Toh 1627) For a discussion on the phase of completion, see Chapter 10, section entitled “Mahamaya Completion Phase.” 9 Chandrakirti’s Illuminating Lamp (Toh 1785), vol Ha, ff 97b7-98a2 In the Dergé Tengyur edition of this work, the words of the citation differ slightly from those of IOK notes to chapter three c 239 10 Net of Magical Manifestation (Toh 466), vol Ja, f 123b3-6 This citation as it appears in the Dergé Kangyur edition of this work has minor differences, the order of the thirteenth and fourteenth lines being inverted, for example The Net of Magical Manifestation is considered by some to be a highest yoga tantra, while others consider it to be a yoga tantra In the Dergé Kangyur, the Net of Magical Manifestation is included among the highest yoga tantras, while its commentaries (Toh 2513; 2514) are placed among the explanations of yoga tantra 11 Read ’od zer for ’od gsal 12 Body isolation (lus dben), voice isolation (ngag dben), mind isolation (sems dben), illusory body (sgyu lus), luminous clarity (’od gsal ), and union (zung ’jug) are the six stages in the Guhyasamaja completion phase When body isolation is included within vocal isolation, five stages are spoken of See Chapter 7, section entitled “The Arya [Nagarjuna] Tradition.” 13 A passage from Prashantamitra’s Commentary on Difficult Points of the Net of Magical Manifestation Tantra (Toh 2514, vol I, f 306a5-7) defines the natures of these three yogas from the perspective of the phase of creation as follows: The yoga of consecration entails self-consecration by means of mantras and hand gestures The yoga of imagination consists in generating oneself as the deity by first meditating on the ultimate awakening mind and then following the successive steps The yoga of completion consists in instantly emanating and withdrawing the form of the deity 14 The Net of Magical Manifestation of Manjushri (Toh 360), vol Ka This work, the first in the tantric section of the Dergé Kangyur, forms a class of its own One set of commentaries (Toh 1395-1400; 2090-2121) explains it in terms of the system of highest yoga tantra; and another set (Toh 2532-2622), in terms of that of yoga tantra Manjushriyashas (’Jam dpal grags pa), in his Extensive Explanation of Chanting the Names of Manjushri (Toh 2534), and Manjushrimitra (’Jam dpal bshes gnyen), in his Commentary on Chanting the Names of Manjushri (Toh 2532), expound this tantra from the perspective of yoga tantra, while Lalitavajra, in his Extensive Commentary on Chanting the Names of Manjushri (Toh 2533), expounds it from the perspective of highest yoga tantra The authors of the Commentaries by the Bodhisattvas interpret the Net of Magical Manifestation from the Kalachakra point of view It has also been treated from the perspective of the central way and from that of the great perfection Butön and others considered this tantra to be of the class of highest yoga tantra in terms of its nature but explained the sadhana in the format of yoga tantra Kongtrul states that, of the highest yoga tantra families of attachment, aversion, and delusion, Chanting the Names of Manjushri belongs to the delusion family The main deity is usually a male figure without consort, although some sadhanas include a consort However, there is neither the urging of the molten form of the deity nor the creation of the deities by emanating them from the womb of the consort Moreover, Chanting the Names of Manjushri describes the ground, path, and result in detail but merely alludes to practices such as release and union It teaches primarily a nonconceptual form of the phase of creation Kongtrul further points out that although some Indian scholars have explained this tantra in terms of yoga tantra, this does not necessarily signify that it is a yoga tantra, just as the fact that Anandagarbha’s expositions of the Guhyasamaja are written in ... activities of one’s buddha family; (1 1) offering (mchod pa); (1 2) praise (bstod pa); (1 3) tasting the nectar (bdud rtsi myang ba) These three [(1 1), (1 2), and (1 3)] serve to please and exhort vajra... phase of completion, to overcome attachment to the mind The yoga of shape consists of fourteen steps: (1 ) making offerings to the master in order to purify oneself (bla ma dag pa’i cho ga) of the... to enhance future results; (7 ) creation of the two main deities (? ??gtso bo yab yum bskyed ba) to purify the formation of channels and winds; (8 ) placement of letters (? ??yi ge dgod pa) in the sense