notes to chapter eight c 335 being) (rdzogs rim sems dpa’ sum brtsegs); the yoga of the buffalo face (ma he’i zhal ); the yoga of the erect penis (mtshan ma gyen sgreng) 86 This is the tradition of Ra Lotsawa Dorjé Drak (Rwa lo tsa ba rdo rje grags) Ra Lotsawa received the Black Yamari, Red Yamari, and Vajrabhairava transmissions mainly from the Nepalese Mahakaruna and greatly propagated them in Tibet It is said that the disciples to whom he gave the Red Yamari transmission numbered two thousand His main disciple, Ra Chorab, as well as other of his many disciples, taught these tantras extensively 87 We have not been able to trace the following esoteric instructions: the horn-tips method for holding the mind (rwa rtse sems ’dzin); the esoteric instructions for wandering at night (mtshan mo rgyu ba’i mang ngag) 88 The Kyo tradition (skyo lugs) stems from Lama Kyo who received the teachings of Vajrabhairava from Amoghavajra (the younger) when Amoghavajra visited Tibet 89 The inner fire involving four channel-wheels ( gtum mo ’khor lo bzhi pa) refers to the practice of igniting the inner fire in the region of the fourth channel-wheel, that of the navel 90 Presumably the Zhang tradition (zhang lugs), which stems from Chodru Lotsawa Sherab Lama (mentioned above, Chapter 7, n 81) 91 The Net of Magical Manifestation of Manjushri (Toh 360), also known as Chanting the Names of Manjushri, is considered to be in a class by itself because this work has a set of commentaries as a highest yoga tantra (Toh 1395 to 1400; 2090 to 2121) and another set as a yoga tantra (Toh 2532 to 2622) As a highest yoga tantra, it is explained in terms of the Kalachakra tantra and in terms of the father tantra of the delusion ( gti mug) class It is possibly because of this last point and because Yamari is considered a wrathful aspect of Manjushri that here the completion phase of the Net of Magical Manifestation of Manjushri is mentioned in the context of the discussion of the completion phase of Yamari This scripture, Net of Magical Manifestation of Manjushri, has also been explained in terms of the great perfection (dzogchen) by Garab Dorjé (Toh 2093) and Vimalamitra (Toh 2092) The tantra itself was first translated by Rinchen Zangpo and subsequently revised by several translators Chapter 8: Mother Tantra Systems: Kalachakra and Hevajra 1 Here the title Supreme Primordial Buddha refers to the Kalachakra Concise Tantra contained in the Kangyur (Toh 362) and also the teachings of the Kalachakra in general Continuation of the Guhyasamaja Tantra (Toh 443), vol Ca, f 154a6 The Chakrasamvara Abridged Tantra (Toh 368, vol Ka) is considered to be the Chakrasamvara Root Tantra This citation is found at f 13a7 Hevajra Tantra Two Examinations (Toh 417 and 418), vol Nga This citation is found at f 19a4 of the Dharma Chakra (Rumtek) edition 336 C not es to chapter eigh t 5 In the Beijing edition of IOK, the a chung is missing from under the in the word pratyahara The text speaks of consuming or eating (za ba) and seizing (len pa), since the objects of the senses are desired and consumed as though being eaten and seized by the senses Here, the metaphors are applied to the inner images of luminous clarity experienced by pristine awareness See Taranatha’s Meaningful to Behold: Manual of Instructions on the Indestructible Yoga’s Profound Path, f 15a5-7 Kongtrul’s presentation of the six branches is taken from Taranatha’s Meaningful to Behold: Manual of Instructions on the Indestructible Yoga’s Profound Path The three unmoving faculties (mi g.yo gsum ldan) are those of body, speech, and mind The first, the body unmoving (lus mi g.yo ba), refers mainly to the eyes, held in a relaxed and natural way, focused in space at a level above the eyebrows, neither too open nor closed One assumes the meditation posture and abandons all other physical activities For the second, unmoving speech (ngag mi g.yo ba), one applies the essential points regarding speech as explained in the instructions of the three isolations For the third, unmoving mind ( yid mi g.yo ba), one applies the essential points regarding mind in accordance with the instructions of the three isolations One focuses the mind sharply on the obscurity of space at the level where the eyes are focused, and remains without thoughts (a summary of Taranatha’s Meaningful to Behold: Manual of Instructions on the Indestructible Yoga’s Profound Path, ff 11b7-12b3) The term “two passages” (bgrod pa gnyis) refers to what appears as the movement of the sun towards south (lho bgrod ) and its movement towards the north (byang bgrod ) One passage begins on the winter solstice and corresponds to the ascending phase of the solar energy; the other begins on the summer solstice and corresponds to the ascending phase of the lunar energy These phases are known as passages toward the south and the north because during the six months between one solstice and the other, winter and summer, when observing the sunrise everyday from a given point, one has impression that the point from where the sun rises shifts day by day toward the south or north 10 This possibly refers to the monthly cycle of the vital essence (khams ’pho ba) moving into the places of the elemental energy (bla) of one’s body In this cycle, the vital essence in males (starting from the first day of the new moon) ascends from the left foot to the crown of the head, where it remains during the fifteenth day of the waxing moon Then, it gradually descends to the left foot, where it remains during the thirtieth of the lunar month In females, the vital essence begins its cycle from the right foot See Gyalwa Yang-gönpa’s Secret Description of the Vajra Body, ff 28b3-29b4 11 Time junctures (dus sbyor, lagna) refers to the junctures between one zodiac sign and another The occurrences of junctures correspond to the flowing of the winds through channel-spokes Each day, the winds flow through the spokes of the twelve main channels at the navel in twelve cycles called transits (’pho ba) Each of these transits comprises 1800 respirations (breathing in, the pause within, and breathing out), for a total of 21,600 daily breaths, corresponding to the external motion of the sun, which transits the twelve houses of the zodiac every day These transits are called junctures “Even and uneven transits” refers to their transits in the sixty-four channels of the navel notes to chapter eight c 337 channel-wheel, which at times take place in two channels, and at other times, in three, four, and so on See also Kongtrul’s Treasury of Knowledge: Systems of Buddhist Tantra (English translation), p 438, n 24 12 See above, Chapter 6, n 33 13 Thirty-six psychophysical constituents (phung khams sum cu so drug): the six aggregates (forms, feelings, recognitions, mental formations, consciousnesses, and pristine awarenesses); the six elements (earth, water, fire, wind, space, and consciousness); the six sense powers (eye sense power, ear sense power, nose sense power, tongue sense power, body sense power, and mental sense power); their six objects (visible forms, sounds, odors, tastes, tangible objects, and mental phenomena); the six action faculties (mouth faculty, arms faculty, legs faculty, anus faculty, urinary faculty, and regenerative faculty); and their six activities (speaking, taking, going, discharging feces, discharging urine, and emitting seminal fluid) (Kongtrul’s Treasury of Knowledge: Systems of Buddhist Tantra, English translation, p 172) These thirty-six, in their pure state, are the thirty-six deities of the Kalachakra mandala Each branch of the sixfold yoga, as explained in this text, purifies a group of six of those constituents 14 Each of the six groups is named according to the group’s element The group associated with the branch of withdrawal is called the pristine-awareness-element group; that associated with the branch of meditative absorption, the space-element group, and so on 15 The power of the words of truth (bden tshig) means that the words one speaks come true As for fruitions of mantras (sngags ’bras), Nagarjuna, in writing of the benefits of the branch of withdrawal (sor sdud ), states that the yogin absorbed in withdrawal (i.e., focused on the transcendent path that implements the three types of conduct, elaborate, etc.), as he enjoys all objects, is blessed by all “mantras,” which means by all buddhas, who encourage him and declare that he is the very nature of a buddha (Nagarjuna’s Large Commentary on the Eighteenth Chapter [of the Guhyasamaja Tantra], f 312a5-6) See also Taranatha’s Meaningful to Behold, f 17a1; and Naropa, Iniziazione Kalacakra (in Italian), trans R Gnoli and G Orofino, p 218 16 The purified six constituents manifest as the six deities Vajrasattva, Prajñāpāramitā, Samantabhadra, Śabdavajra, Śumbharāja, and Raudrākṣi See Naropa’s Commentary on the Summary of the [Kalachakra] Initiation (Toh 1351), vol Na, ff 288b4-289a3; Naropa, Iniziazione Kalacakra (in Italian), trans R Gnoli and G Orofino, pp 77, 369-370 17 The branch of meditative absorption is accompanied by five qualities: intelligence (shes rab, prajñā), examination (rtog pa, vitarka), analysis (dpyod pa, vicāra), joy (dga’ ba, nandā), and bliss (bde ba, sukha) Intelligence means to be fully absorbed in the ten signs of luminous clarity Examination consists in knowledge of the characteristics of the empty forms, which have the aspects of phenomena, while experiencing such characteristics as being simply mind nature Analysis is the ascertainment or experience of mind nature manifesting as empty forms, free from dualistic concepts of subject and object Joy is the mental pleasure, focused outward, that arises as a result of contemplation, and is likened to an unprecedented sense of comfort Bliss arises as a 338 C not es to chapter eigh t result of contemplation, is focused inward, and is experienced as contemplation itself manifests as bliss This is an unshakeable bliss (mi g.yo ba’i bde ba), which causes the body to be pervaded by a special refined bliss In this branch of yoga, all of the images of the three realms of existence, included in the ten signs and seen in the yoga of withdrawal, become clearer The multicolored images of various forms, sounds, odors, tastes, and tactile sensations manifest in spheres of light with the five qualities of being radiant, subtle, shining, vibrating, and difficult to destroy Within these spheres, many buddhas are seen These are realized to be manifestations of mind nature Eventually all karmic appearances are understood as illusions (a summary of Taranatha’s Meaningful to Behold, ff 19b1-20a5) 18 Five kinds of clairvoyance (mngon shes lnga): divine eye, divine ear, recollection of previous lives, knowledge of others’ minds, and miraculous powers 19 The purified six constituents manifest as the six deities Akṣobhya, Vajradhātviśvarī, Vajrapāṇi, Dharmadhātuvajra, Uṣṇīṣachakravartin, and Atinīlā 20 According to some descriptions, the three channels—left (lalanā), right (rasanā), and central (avadhūtī)—have positions below the navel that differ from those above the navel Below the navel, the left channel bends to the center to become the pathway of fecal waste; the right channel bends to the left to become the pathway of urine; and the central channel bends to the right to become the pathway of semen (Naropa, Iniziazone Kalacakra, in Italian, trans., Gnoli and Orofino, p 272) There are, however, contradictory descriptions For a discussion of the positions, functions, names, and so forth, of the three channels in the Kalachakra system, see Kedrup Norzang Gyatso’s Detailed Elucidation of the Kalachakra Tantra, ff 88b2-7 and 202a3-203b2 21 See above, Chapter 6, n 33; Chapter 7, n 46 22 The vajra body, or subtle body, is formed by the triad of channels (rtsa), winds (rlung), and vital essences (thig le) 23 This, as specified by Taranatha in Meaningful to Behold, enables the yogin to withhold and reverse the movement of the coarse bodhichitta (seminal fluid) (f 27a2) 24 Read dung for rung (appearing twice in this passage) Kedrup Norzang states that the left and right channels below the navel are known as the feces channel and urine channel, respectively; and the central channel below the navel is known as the channel of descending seminal fluid (Kedrup Norzang Gyatso’s Detailed Elucidation of the Kalachakra Tantra, f 170a1) See above, Chapter 8, n 20 Kongtrul writes that the right channel, known as rasana (ro ma), and the left channel, lalana (rkyang ma), branch off from the central channel four finger-widths below the navel They knot themselves around the central channel at the navel and separate again, then join at the kidneys, coming together at the heart region where they knot again around the central channel At the throat, they form another knot around the central channel Again they separate and then join at the brahminical aperture at the crown of the head From there, the right and left channels bend downward The right enters the right nostril, and the left, the left nostril Four finger-widths below the navel, after joining the central channel, they extend downward The lower extremity of the right channel expels menstrual blood in females, and holds and voids fecal notes to chapter eight c 339 waste in both males and females The lower extremity of the left channel in both males and females holds and emits urine See Kongtrul’s Commentary on the Profound Inner Reality, ff 51a7-52a5 See also Kongtrul’s Treasury of Knowledge: Systems of Buddhist Tantra (English translation), pp 172-176 25 The purified six constituents manifest as Amoghasiddhi, Tārā, Khagarbha, Sparśavajra, Vighnānthaka, and Ativīryā 26 Taranatha’s Meaningful to Behold, from which this section is taken, reads ’dres pa (f 30a5) in place of IOK’s ’brel ba The translation is made in accordance with Meaningful to Behold 27 The upper and lower winds are the life-sustaining wind and the downward-voiding wind In this branch, the wind of the central channel itself (i.e., the right and left winds and the life-sustaining and downward-voiding winds, which have already mixed in the six channel-wheels through the yoga of the vase-shaped holdings of breath) is made to dissolve into emptiness by way of entering the vital essence in the central channel (Taranatha’s Meaningful to Behold, f 30b2) 28 In the simplest description, the channel-wheels (’khor lo, cakra) number four: the navel channel-wheel with sixty-four spokes or “petals,” heart channel-wheel with eight spokes, the throat channel-wheel with sixteen spokes, and forehead channelwheel with thirty-two Taranatha notes that most Kalachakra commentaries, when discussing the branch of retention, mention only four channel-wheels (Meaningful to Behold, f 30b3) However, since retention has to be accomplished also in relation to the crown-of-the-head channel-wheel, here the meditation has to include five channel-wheels The Kalachakra system in general speaks of six channel-wheels: The channel-wheel at the crown of the head is green in color, with four spokes; the channel-wheel of the forehead, black in color, with sixteen spokes; and the channel-wheel of the throat, red in color, with thirty-two spokes The spokes of these three channel-wheels resemble the downward ribs of an umbrella The channel-wheel of the heart is white in color, with eight petals; the channel-wheel of the navel, yellow in color, with sixtyfour channels; and the channel-wheel of the secret place, located eight or ten fingerwidths below the navel, blue in color, and with six channels The spokes of these three channel-wheels resemble the upward ribs of an umbrella The lower part of the central channel, called shankhini, is blue in color; the lalana and rasana below the navel channel-wheel to the secret channel-wheel are black and yellow, respectively (a summary of Taranatha’s Meaningful to Behold, ff 35b-37a2) See also Kongtrul’s Treasury of Knowledge: Systems of Buddhist Tantra (English translation), pp 172-176 29 By eliminating physical suffering such as aging and illness, gaining the capacity to use emotional afflictions as the path through understanding their natures, attaining powers such as that of longevity, and not being bound by attachment to sense pleasures, one overcomes, to a certain extent, the so-called “four demons” (bdud bzhi, catvarimara)—the demon of the aggregates, of the emotional afflictions, of death, and of self-complacency Moreover, by means of the dissolution of the ten winds, one gains special strengths related to body, speech, and mind, such as those mentioned in Kalachakrapada’s Oral Tradition: not feeling hungry despite not having eaten for ... monthly cycle of the vital essence (khams ’pho ba) moving into the places of the elemental energy (bla) of one’s body In this cycle, the vital essence in males (starting from the first day of the new... words of truth (bden tshig) means that the words one speaks come true As for fruitions of mantras (sngags ’bras), Nagarjuna, in writing of the benefits of the branch of withdrawal (sor sdud ),... black and yellow, respectively (a summary of Taranatha’s Meaningful to Behold, ff 35b-37a2) See also Kongtrul’s Treasury of Knowledge: Systems of Buddhist Tantra (English translation), pp 172-176