390 C not es to chapter ten gradual halting; and a forceful halting For the first, one adopts the appropriate posture and expels the residual breath ten times with a long sound, followed immediately by inhalation and the bringing together of the upper and lower winds through the steps of the technique One focuses on the meeting of the winds and brings to mind bliss and heat For the second, the forceful halting, one does a forceful form of the vase-shaped holding while in “lion’s mode.” However, this is not done more than a few times in a session (a summary of Taranatha’s Mahamaya Tantra Manual of Instructions: The Excellent Path of the Victorious Ones, pp 818.5-819.7) 38 The common practice of the ultimate yoga of reality (mthar thug chos kyi rnal ’byor thun mong ba) has two aspects: using the natural state as the path (rang bzhin lam khyer); and using appearances as the path (snang ba lam khyer) To use the natural state as the path, having adopted the proper physical posture, one relaxes the mind in its natural state and looks directly at mind nature An indescribable clarity will manifest, whereupon one remains in a state of meditative equipoise To use appearances as the path, one looks directly at the various manifestations of the six consciousnesses and recognizes that they are merely appearances With that knowledge, and without trying to modify anything, one experiences what arises as manifestations of the inseparability of appearance and emptiness In the uncommon practice of the ultimate yoga of reality (mthar thug chos kyi rnal ’byor thun mong ma yin pa), one uses the natural state as the path by implementing the bliss derived from mantra yoga Recognizing the mind as the inseparability of bliss and emptiness, one remains in contemplation One uses appearances as the path by sealing the appearances of the six consciousnesses with the mind of inseparable bliss and emptiness All appearances thereby manifest as bliss (a summary of Taranatha’s Mahamaya Tantra Manual of Instructions: The Excellent Path of the Victorious Ones, pp 819.7-820.5) 39 The triad of illusions (sgyu ma sum brgyud ) refers to the illusions of daytime, or waking-state appearances (snang ba sgyu ma), the illusions of dreams (rmi lam sgyu ma), and the illusions of the intermediate state (bar sgyu ma) The instructions on the illusions of waking-state appearances are to meditate on oneself and all appearances as the mandala of Mahamaya and to develop strong conviction that all these appearances are merely manifestations of one’s mind and that whatever appears has no inherent existence but is illusory in nature The instructions on the illusions of dreams consists of three parts: grasping the dream state; purifying the images of the dream; and integrating the dream practice with luminous clarity (i.e., entering luminous clarity in the dream) For the first, one visualizes a four-petalled lotus at the throat, with the specified syllable at its center and one on each of the four petals Before going to sleep one resolves to recognize the dream For the second, once one can recognize dreams as dreams, one resolves to transform the appearances of that night’s dream into the mandala of Mahamaya During the day, one meditates that all waking-state appearances are the mandala At night, as the illusory appearances of the dream begin to manifest, one brings to mind the Mahamaya mandala, thereby transforming the dream images into the mandala For the third, during the day and right into the evening, one strongly resolves to apply the mantra yoga and the reality yoga in the dream state and thereby enter luminous clarity To use the mantra yoga in dream, one recollects the instructions as one starts to dream, meditates on a sphere of vital essence at the heart, and as the appearances of notes to chapter ten c 391 dream vanish, enters luminous clarity By applying the yoga of reality, one sustains the contemplation of luminous clarity for longer periods The instructions on the illusions of the intermediate state also consist of three parts: grasping, purifying, and integrating For the first, during the day, one develops the strong conviction that all waking-state appearances are intermediate-state appearances When going to sleep, one resolves to view all dream appearances as those of the intermediate state To consistently grasp the dream as the intermediate state amounts to grasping the intermediate state itself For purifying the intermediate state, having developed the conviction that all waking-state appearances are intermediate-state appearances, with the resolve to transform these illusory appearances into forms of the deity and the mandala, one imagines oneself as the Heruka in union with consort, the environment as a celestial palace, and all sentient beings as Mahamaya with consort, or as one’s teacher with consort Here, as for the previous, it is very important to develop a strong conviction that everything is without inherent reality For integrating, one applies the instructions of dream practice as they relate to the intermediate state, thereby developing the ability to enter luminous clarity in sleep in order to eventually recognize the luminous clarity at death (a summary of Taranatha’s Mahamaya Tantra Manual of Instructions: The Excellent Path of the Victorious Ones, pp 820.5-822.2) 40 Six oral essential instructions ( gdams ngag bka’ drug) and the six collections of activation rites based on meditative absorption (bsam gtan gyi las tshogs drug) are instructions related to magical activities, such as fierce rites to be used to dispel serious interferences, taught in the two latter chapters of this tantra See Taranatha’s Mahamaya Tantra Detailed Exegesis, p 591.1-4 41 Mahamaya Tantra (Toh 425), vol Nga, f 167b7 42 Mixing (bsre) and transference (’pho) See Chapter 8, “The Hevajra Completion Phase,” section entitled “The Fifth.” 43 Mahamaya Tantra (Toh 425), vol Nga, f 168a3 The six lines read: a li ka li mnyam byas te/ ri mo de la sbyar bar bya/ ri mo steng tu ’bar bar mthar/ ’og tu ’babs par byed pa’o/ khu ba’i tshul gyis ’babs pa ste/ bdud rtsi’i thigs pa’i gzugs las so For an explanation of the words of the citation, see Krishnasamayavajra’s Commentary on the Mahamaya Tantra: Recollection (Toh 1624), vol Ya, f 206a5-b5 44 Mahamaya Tantra (Toh 425), vol Nga, f 168a6 For an explanation of the words of the citation, see Krishnasamayavajra’s Commentary on the Mahamaya Tantra: Recollection, Toh 1624, vol Ya, f 207b3-4 45 Mahamaya Tantra (Toh 425), vol Nga, f 169a7 The Dergé Kangyur edition reads: gong bur song ba’i yid de yis (“through the mind that has entered the sphere”) IOK reads gong bur sad pa’i ’od de yi For an explanation of the words of the citation, see Krishnasamayavajra’s Commentary on the Mahamaya Tantra: Recollection (Toh 1624), vol Ya, f 212b5-6; and Ratnakarashanti’s Commentary on the Mahamaya (Toh 1623), vol Ya, f 195b1-2 46 Mahamaya Tantra (Toh 425), vol Nga, f 168b5 Read dang po’i yi ge’i sbyor ba yis See Ratnakarashanti’s Commentary on the Mahamaya, Toh 1623, vol Ya, f 192a1-b1 47 Mahamaya Tantra (Toh 425), vol Nga, f 169a6 The term for exhalation and inha- 392 C not es to chapter ten lation here is srog rtsol Ratnakarashanti explains that srog means exhalation; rtsol, inhalation (Ratnakarashanti’s Commentary on the Mahamaya, Toh 1623, vol Ya, f 194b4) Taranatha writes that, according to the instructions of the earlier masters, the breath moving outward is srog; the breath moving inward, rtsol According to Krishnacharya, srog dang rtsol ba means wind (prana); and srog rtsol, when referring to practice, is a name for the yoga of the winds The Commentaries by the Bodhisattvas and other works explain that srog means “wind”; and rtsol, “to halt.” What is meant here, however, is the halting of the winds through the application of the vase-shaped holding (Taranatha’s Mahamaya Tantra Detailed Exegesis, p 641.4-5) 48 Mahamaya Tantra (Toh 425), vol Nga, f 169a5 See Ratnakarashanti’s Commentary on the Mahamaya, Toh 1623, vol Ya, f 194b2 49 Mahamaya Tantra (Toh 425), vol Nga, f 168a4 See Ratnakarashanti’s Commentary on the Mahamaya, Toh 1623, vol Ya, f 89a6-b1 50 Mahamaya Tantra (Toh 425), vol Nga, f 169a7 See Ratnakarashanti’s Commentary on the Mahamaya, Toh 1623, vol Ya, f 195a 51 Mahamaya Tantra (Toh 425), vol Nga, f 170b4 Krishnasamayavajra explains that “the supreme three dimensions (sku gsum) are bestowed” means that one acquires the perfect ability to grant mundane powers and the ultimate power of awakening, in accordance with the wishes of all beings, due to attainment of the dimension of reality (dharmakāya), the dimension of enjoyment (sambhogakāya), and the manifest dimension (nirmāṇakāya) of awakening (Krishnasamayavajra’s Commentary on the Mahamaya, Toh 1624, vol Ya, f 217a5-6) In other words, the instructions bring about the attainment of the three dimensions Taranatha explains that the clarity of the mandala of the deity is the manifest dimension; the bliss in which mind, winds, and vital essences are altered, the dimension of enjoyment; and the nonconceptuality of emptiness, the dimension of reality (a summary of Taranatha’s Mahamaya Tantra Detailed Exegesis, pp 671.7-672.2) 52 Warmth (drod ) refers to the stage of warmth on the path of preparation as delineated in the tantric path Generally, that stage is attained when, by gathering winds and mind in the central channel during the completion phase, one realizes the small, middling, and great degrees of pristine awareness of bliss and emptiness Thus, the stage of warmth is distinguished according to three degrees, the lesser warmth (drod chung ngu), middle warmth (drod ’bring), and great warmth (drod chen po) The realization of the lesser warmth of the phase of completion allows one to engage in the tantric activities (spyod pa) specified for the phase of completion The realization of the great warmth allows one to apply the completion-phase practices with a consort As one arises from the final-example luminous clarity of the great full culmination, one attains the body of wind and mind This is posited as the peak (rtse mo) stage of the path of preparation 53 The cycle of the Buddhakapala (Sangs rgyas thod pa) as contained in the Kangyur and Tengyur includes the root tantra (Toh 424) and the three commentaries (Toh 1652, written by Saraha; Toh 1653, by Padmavajra; and Toh 1654, by Abhayakaragupta, which Taranatha declared to be the best) In addition, Saraha composed a notes to chapter ten c 393 sadhana (Toh 1655); a sacrificial food offering to spirits (Toh 1656); and a mandala rite (Toh 1657) The central deity of this tantra is blue, with one face and four arms In his right hands, he holds a curved knife and skull-cup; in his left hands, staff and vajra He embraces his consort Blissful (sNa tshogs bde ma) (also known as Samantabhadri) She is red, with one face and four arms In her right hands, she holds a small drum and curved knife; in her left, staff and skull-cup (Saraha’s Commentary on Difficult Points of the Buddhakapala, Toh 1652, vol Ra, f 220b1) The colors of the two deities and their insignia can vary See Taranatha’s Buddhakapala Tantra Sadhana Ritual, pp 692.5-693.1 54 Saraha, also known as Brahmana Rahula, was born in Orissa As a child, he became extremely learned in the traditional knowledge of his time On one occasion, while teaching other brahmin youths, he was offered the nectar of wisdom in the form of beer by Vajrayogini in the guise of a barmaid He drank without hesitation Because of this, the brahmins tried to dishonor him but were not successful He later became a monk in central India and studied with Avitarka Saraha soon was considered the monk most knowledgeable of Buddhist doctrine It is said, however, that he learned the sutras and tantras mainly through mystic encounters with Vajrapani and other deities He eventually became abbot of Nalanda where he greatly propagated the path of the universal way Then, aspiring for authentic experience, he became a wanderer In the course of his travels, he met a yogini who was a fletcher’s daughter She introduced him to the true meaning of the teachings He relied on her as his consort while doing the work of a fletcher At one time, a king, wishing to test his knowledge, journeyed with his attendants to meet Saraha, who then revealed his high state of realization through mystic songs He is known to have been the tantric master of Nagarjuna, as well as the preceptor from whom Nagarjuna received monk’s ordination For details of his life, see Taranatha’s Histories of the Masters of the Seven Transmissions 55 For the practice of the yoga of the subtle completion phase, first of all one recites a mantra for protection Then, in an instant, one visualizes oneself as Buddhakapala, blue in color, one face, four arms, in dance posture, left leg extended, on a seat of lotus, sun, and corpse The ancient sadhanas and esoteric instructions describe his hair as yellow and flying upward However, Abhayakara’s commentary describes his hair as resembling that of Chakrasamvara He has six bone ornaments and a necklace of heads, and he embraces his consort Blissful who is red and without ornaments For the actual practice of the yoga of the subtle, one applies the four yogas of wind The first is called the “finest particle” (rdul mtha’ can), the name referring to the outbreath phase of the method, which is done very slowly and without sound, in an uninterrupted stream, stirring not even “the finest particle.” The second is called “filling up” ( gang ba can), referring to the in-breath phase, done very slowly and without sound The third is called “stiffening” (rengs ba can), which means to “freeze” the wind, meaning that one halts the out-breath for a time (For these first three, in conjunction with the coming and going of the breath, one visualizes light coming and going) The fourth is called the “vase-shaped holding” (bum pa can), which is done following training in the gentle-wind technique, without sound The name “vaseshaped holding” refers to the shape of the union of the upper and lower winds at the 394 C not es to chapter ten navel As one inhales, one imagines that the upper wind in the body, in the form of light, gathers at the navel As one draws up the downward-voiding wind, one imagines that the lower wind, in the form of light, gathers at the navel The union of the winds at the navel forms a vase-like shape (a summary of Taranatha’s Buddhakapala Tantra Instructions on the Completion Phase, pp 742.3-744.2) 56 For the vital-essence yoga of the inner-fire practice, done in conjunction with vajra recitation, there are three aspects: For the first, one visualizes three channels and four channel-wheels The central channel, the size of an average arrow, is blue, the upper tip reaching the crown of the head, the lower tip reaching four finger-widths below the navel The right channel is red; the left, white, their lower tips inserted in the lower tip of the central channel; and upper tips, in the two nostrils One visualizes the navel channel-wheel (called “emanation”) with sixty-four spokes or “petals,” yellow, with the specified syllable, blue, on a sun disk at its center, inside the central channel; the heart channel-wheel (called “phenomena”) with eight spokes, blue, with a black syllable on a moon disk at its center inside the central channel; the throat channel-wheel (called “enjoyment”) with sixteen spokes, red, with a red syllable at its center inside the central channel; and the crown channel-wheel (called “great bliss”) with thirty-two spokes, white, with an inverted white syllable at its center inside the central channel At the anus is a mandala of wind, blue, half-moon in shape, and on that, a mandala of fire, red, triangular One clears out the residual breath with sounds, as described in the instructions One then applies the specified breathing method, imagining that the upper wind flows through the right and left channels and enters the lower tip of the central channel By manipulating the downward-voiding wind, one causes the wind at the anus to move and the fire (of the fire mandala) to blaze The mixture of fire and wind enters the central channel and touches the syllable at the navel As a result, a blue flame from the inner fire, extremely hot, rises through the central channel to touch the syllable at the heart Infinite light radiates from the heart, filling all of the 72,000 channels of the body and melting the vital essence contained in them The light issues forth from the pores of the skin and gathers the pure essences of the bodies, voices, and minds of all sentient beings, along with the essences of the elements, earth, etc These enter through the pores of one’s skin, gather at the crown of the head, and so on, through the steps of the visualization, finally dissolving into the heart syllable For the second aspect of the vital-essence practice of inner fire, one does the previous visualization up to the light issuing from the pores of the skin Then, the pure essences of the universe and all beings enter the crown of one’s head, descend through the central channel, and so on The meeting place of the flame and the vital-essence flow is at the heart Throughout this visualization, one applies the vase-shaped holding For the third aspect, the visualization is as for the previous, except that the meeting point of the flame and flow is at the navel One applies the vase-shaped holding For all three aspects, one may apply the vajra recitation, in which case one would dispense with the vase-shaped holding and breathe normally Synchronized with the phases of the breath, one focuses, in turn, on the inner fire blazing; vital essence descending; and the meeting point of flame and flow This describes the vitalessence yoga of the inner fire for which one’s own body is used as method (a sum- ... power of awakening, in accordance with the wishes of all beings, due to attainment of the dimension of reality (dharmakāya), the dimension of enjoyment (sambhogakāya), and the manifest dimension (nirmāṇakāya)... emptiness, the dimension of reality (a summary of Taranatha’s Mahamaya Tantra Detailed Exegesis, pp 671.7-672.2) 52 Warmth (drod ) refers to the stage of warmth on the path of preparation as delineated... and great warmth (drod chen po) The realization of the lesser warmth of the phase of completion allows one to engage in the tantric activities (spyod pa) specified for the phase of completion The