notes to chapter ten c 395 mary of Taranatha’s Buddhakapala Tantra Instructions on the Completion Phase, pp 744.3-747.2) 57 After having meditated for a long time on any of the previous three aspects of innerfire practice, if one has not been able to manifest the pristine awareness of bliss and warmth, one must apply the enhancement practice related to the winds, for which there are three parts: gathering the winds at the entrance to the central channel; opening the entrance to the central channel; and applying a forceful method For the first, gathering the winds at the entrance to the central channel, there are two steps: The first entails a breath technique while maintaining the physical posture of the legs in the bodhisattva mode, hands on knees, and back straight After expelling the residual breath, one immediately draws in the upper wind, manipulates the lower wind, and so on, through the steps of the technique, which cause the winds to gather at the entrance to the central channel For the second step, in the same physical posture as the previous, one imagines that, as one exhales, the central channel collapses One repeats that many times For the second, opening the entrance to the central channel, there are two steps: The first involves the same physical posture and manipulation of the upper and lower winds as done in the previous The second requires one to place the knees on the ground, clasp the hands together in the area just above the kidneys, and draw up the wind into that area The rest is the same as the previous practice Finally, as one breathes out, one manipulates the head and trunk according to the instructions In that way, the entrance to the central channel is opened For the third, applying a forceful method, there are two steps: The first entails being in squatting position, performing the specified vase-shaped holding of the breath, and so forth The second entails physical manipulation, with each hand, in turn, folded in a vajra fist and tucked into the opposite armpit, whereby the left armpit and then the right are filled with wind These are the two steps in the forceful method by which the winds can be directed to the left and right During the two vase-shaped holdings, one performs one vajra breathing of eleven syllables: as one breathes in slowly, one imagines that the inhalation is accompanied by the sound of om; as the breath pauses in the center of the body, the sound of hri; and so on See Taranatha’s Buddhakapala Tantra Instructions on the Completion Phase, pp 747.2-749.4 58 For the yoga of withdrawal, one assumes the physical posture specified in the instructions, keeps the eyes focused wherever suitable, above, below, or straight in front, and remains in an uncontrived state of clarity, without any movement of thought For the yoga of meditative absorption, one remains without contrivance or modification, free from reaction to anything that arises, understanding that all experiences are simply manifestations of the mind These two teachings are elucidated in Saraha’s Songs (a summary of Taranatha’s Buddhakapala Tantra Instructions on the Completion Phase, pp 749.5-750.1) 59 The contemplation of the seal of empty form in this tantra corresponds to that of the Kalachakra See Chapter 8, section entitled “Recollection.” 60 See Chapter 8, n 74 61 The tantras of Tara in the highest yoga tantra section of the Dergé Kangyur are two: 396 C not es to chapter ten The Ultimate Essence of Tara, Origin of All Rites, King of Yogini Tantras, Toh 448, vol Ca; and The Ultimate Essence of the Origin of All Rites, Toh 449, vol Ca The second is a continuation of the first The first of the tantras was translated by Buddhanatha, Nirvanashri, and Taranatha, and revised by Purnavajra; the second, translated by Buddhanatha, Nirvanashri, Taranatha, and Purnavajra Taranatha also wrote a commentary on the first called Tara Tantra Commentary, a discussion of how the tantra fits into the category of highest yoga tantra, as well as an elucidation called Radiant Lamp (sGrol ma ’byung ba’i rgyud kyi bsdus don gsal ba’i sgron me) In the colophon to his translation of The Ultimate Essence of Tara, Taranatha writes: Having received this tantra from the great adept Buddhanatha, who was born in South India, and then again from the Indian scholar Nirvanashri, I, the vagabond, translated it in accordance with the Commentary on the Difficult Points by the great Indian scholar Naraditya, considering it my duty to so Later, at the feet of the scholar Purnavajra and in accordance with the extensive commentary of Dipamkarashrijnana, I revised that tantra somewhat Then, in keeping with the great oral tradition of Shantigupta and relying on a large body of notes from the oral transmission of Shantigupta, and in particular, in accordance with the “Great Guru from the South,” Buddhanatha, I corrected and refined it In the colophon to his translation of The Ultimate Essence of the Origin of All Rites, Taranatha writes: I have studied this tantra in detail under the venerable Buddhanatha, the worthy one of realization, wise in the indestructible way (vajrayana), who was born in the locality of Rameshvara The straightforward parts I translated based on my own knowledge The difficult parts I had to revise many times with the help of my notes and a great deal of research I later made my final translation with the help of the Indian scholar Nirvanashri and the scholar Purnavajra, relying thoroughly on their individual explanations (TBRC, W22276, vol 2302, pp 326-327) According to Taranatha, these tantras are parts of a much larger tantra, no longer extant There is also a tantra of Tara contained in the kriya tantras in the Kangyur, with a similar title: Tantra of Tara, Mother of All Buddhas: Origin of Various Rites (De bzhin gshegs pa thams cad kyi yum sgrol ma las sna tshogs ’byung ba zhes bya ba’i rgyud ) (Toh 726) This tantra was translated into Tibetan by Chökyi Zangpo and the Indian Dharmashrimitra Part of that Tibetan text has been translated into English by Martin Willson in In Praise of Tara Although this tantra is listed in the Tohoku catalogue, it is not found in the set of the Dergé Kangyur, rGyud ’bum division, kept at Kalu Rinpoché’s monastery in Sonada, West Bengal 62 The root text mentions only three yogas The third yoga, the surpassing yoga (shin tu rnal ’byor), is absent from the root texts in both editions of IOK 63 The related aspects (’khor) of the phase of creation are meditations such as the wheel of protection that not exactly pertain to creation-phase meditations that accord in features with death, the intermediate state, and birth notes to chapter ten c 397 64 For the burning away of negative karma (sdig pa sreg pa), one imagines oneself as the pledge being, or just in ordinary form At one’s heart, in the middle of the channelwheel of phenomena, sits radiant white Tara with four arms In her heart is a moon disk with tam surrounded by her mantra The mantra syllables blaze with white fire, which pervades the body of the pristine-awareness being (Tara herself ) as one repeats the mantra Gradually, that fire spreads throughout three channels and the five channel-wheels so that one’s body, inside and outside, blazes with white fire that consumes all negative karma and obstacles Then, the flames enter all sentient beings by way of their nine orifices As a result, a sphere at the heart of each being becomes in essence a mass of white fire, which pervades the entire body, burning away all of that being’s negative karma and obstacles Finally, all fires merge with the fire at one’s heart (a summary of Taranatha’s Tara Tantra Manual of Instructions for the Practice, pp 761.4-762.4) 65 For the averting of obstacles (bar chad zlog pa), one imagines that at one’s own heart is the pristine-awareness being, Tara herself, as described in the previous note At her heart is the contemplation-being, the syllable tam, green, blazing with radiant fire, which enters and pervades the three channels and four channel-wheels One visualizes all illnesses, harm-doers, obstacles, and so forth, being consumed by fire, reduced to ashes, and scattered by the wind, or driven out through the pores of the skin The mantra is repeated during the visualization (a summary of Taranatha’s Tara Tantra Manual of Instructions for the Practice, pp 762.5-763.3) 66 For the yoga through which the blessing enters oneself (byin rlabs ’jug pa’i rnal ’byor), one imagines that the pure essence of the right channel, which includes the inner fire at the navel, becomes a sun at the center of the channel-wheel of phenomena The pure essence of the left channel, which includes ham at the crown of the head, becomes a moon at the center of the heart Between the sun and moon is the indestructible wind, the green syllable tam From the merging of sun, moon, and tam one arises as Tara, with four arms At the heart on a moon is green tam radiating light At the forehead is om; at the throat, ah; and just below the channel-wheel of the heart, hum Without distraction, one mentally recites the four syllables Following that, one visualizes the vajra tent of protection (a summary of Taranatha’s Tara Tantra Manual of Instructions for the Practice, pp 763.3-764.7) 67 For the preliminary practice of the subsequent yoga, one assumes the seven-pointed posture of Vairochana, with eyes focused at the tip of the nose One visualizes inside the nose an orange light resembling smoke with sparks Alternatively, the eyes are focused at the root of the nose (between the eyebrows), where one visualizes a white sphere, very luminous If one is not comfortable with either of those two methods, one focuses the eyes at a point in space one hand-span or one cubit from the brow One remains in the natural state without the slightest projection of thought These methods result in the arising of many favorable signs, the alleviation of sickness, stabilizing of vital essence, and development of the contemplation of calm abiding The main practice of remaining in the equipoise of naturally pure reality depends on one’s having achieved a stable contemplation of calm abiding, which is the basis of the yoga The mind is directed inward, in the manner of recognizing one’s own awareness In other words, one looks straight at mind, remaining in the contemplation of unceasing awareness-emptiness, a state beyond description that recognizes mind as 398 C not es to chapter ten naturally present Whatever thoughts or appearances arise, from the very moment of their occurring, one recognizes their essence as naturally present The enhancement practice of this tantra has two main aspects: enhancement through the methods of the retention mantras; and enhancement by means of the yoga for conquering demonic forces The first has many categories in which are included nine esoteric instructions on the methods of the retention mantras The first method, the retention mantra of unborn a, is to focus the mind at the center of the heart and to imagine the sound of the syllable a One then examines the essence of that sound It does not manifest as an object to the five senses, nor does it exist anywhere outside or inside the body; it is therefore beyond definition One focuses directly on this clear arising of the sound, always aware that the sound does not exist in its own right Then one makes the sound and examines whether there is a relation between that sound and the sound that one has focused on during practice One understands that the utterance is a separate sound and that these two have no relation Since the syllable a is the root of all syllables, when one understands that it is without inherent nature, one understands that all sound and speech are empty If one has not ascertained that that is so, one should apply the method to other terms or names, according to the instructions The second method is the retention mantra of hum Within the state of calm abiding, one focuses the mind inside the body as one emits the sound of a long hum One then cultivates the five pristine awarenesses: To remain free of thoughts, without creating anything, is the pristine awareness of the ultimate dimension of phenomena To focus directly on the essence of the mind while being in that state is the mirror-like pristine awareness To look straight at inner and outer phenomena—the body and mind and all that arises—and simply to relax without effort is the sameness pristine awareness After the body of the deity suddenly manifests as clarity and emptiness, to remain without modifying anything is the pristine awareness of discernment To meditate on intense compassion for all sentient beings while sustaining the previous state is the pristine awareness of accomplishment One contemplates each of those five for a short time—about the time it takes to eat a morsel of food As one shifts from one to the next, one emits a long hum Then, one returns to the original state of calm abiding with the sound of a long hum and remains in that way for a long time Through this, one gains the capacity to carry out various visualizations in every instant The third method is the retention mantra of pat When, from within the state of calm abiding, there arises a stimulus for thoughts, one resolves to restore the calm state by saying the syllable pat When a thought does arise, one does not intentionally cut the thought but simply utters the syllable sharply As the thought vanishes, one does the same In short, whether there is an occasion for the arising of a thought or for the cessation of one, one reacts in no way but simply brings to mind that syllable and says it loudly The fourth method is the retention mantra of kam Whenever there arise strong thoughts that adhere to characteristics as inherently real, one meditates on all things as space For example, when one sees a person and discerns that it is a person, one utters kam and imagines that the person vanishes into space Then one remains for a while in meditation In the same way, one applies the meditation to all objects that are apprehended as something real and, in particular, all objects and events that produce notes to chapter ten c 399 emotional reactions—the “highs and lows” of pleasure, pain, joy, sadness, fear, anxiety, shame, pride, and so forth The fifth method is the retention mantra of ah For this, while uttering the sound of ah, one looks straight at the essence of both sides of dualistic appearances and thereby destroys duality through the understanding of sameness In other words, when suddenly there arises the impression of two, for example, oneself and an enemy, one looks directly at the two aspects and remains in the state in which the conceptual characteristics that define those two collapse By applying that meditation to all factors—good and bad, high and low, big and small, favorable and unfavorable, right and left, center and extreme, pleasant and unpleasant—one comes to realize their sameness The sixth method is the retention mantra of ya, for which one imagines a mandala of wind and utters the syllable yam One focuses on one’s abode, whatever its size, color, or shape, and examines whether it exists as something apart from one’s mind Other than being something that merely appears, it doesn’t have any inherent reality at all Understanding that, one remains in meditation on clarity and emptiness Then, one focuses on the tactile sensation of wind by allowing the breeze coming in from a window to strike one’s body, and one trains in mixing one’s mind with the sensation of the lightness and softness of the wind From time to time, one imagines that one’s own body dissolves into that sensation of the wind, and while repeating the syllable, one remains in meditation without thoughts The seventh method is the retention mantra of For this meditation, which is similar to the previous, one imagines a mandala of fire, utters ram, and trains in mixing whatever is experienced with the aspect of fire The eighth method is the retention mantra of va, for which one imagines a water mandala, utters vam, and trains in mixing all experience with the aspect of water The ninth method is the retention mantra of la, for which one imagines an earth mandala, utters lam, and trains in mixing all experience with the aspect of earth Those last four branches, the sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth, are branches of the fifth method (a summary of Taranatha’s Tara Tantra Manual of Instructions for the Practice, pp 765.1-771.2) 68 For enhancement by means of the yoga for defeating demonic forces, one remains in the state of calm abiding Whenever there are conditions that stimulate the arising of thoughts, one makes the sound of hum and cuts the arising itself In the post-meditation period, one mixes that method with various activities while one continues to rely on the practice of the subsequent yoga As one moves, for example, from the upper floor of a house to the lower, or from a bright place to a dark one, or from inside to outside, or vice versa, in other words, as one shifts from one time, place, or situation to the next, one is aware of particular changes, or reactions, of mind that manifest With each change, one makes the sound of the syllable to cut the reaction and mixes the experience with emptiness The same procedure is applied to experiences such as joy, suffering, attachment, hatred, fear, and so forth: one utters the syllable, cuts the reaction, and mixes the experience with emptiness Similarly, when one thinks of enemies who have caused one harm, one utters the syllable to cut the reaction; when thinking of one’s friends and relatives, the objects of one’s attachment, one does the same to cut the attachment One mixes these experiences with one’s own mind and remains in contemplation Moreover, one exposes oneself to various circumstances—whether ... Ultimate Essence of Tara, Origin of All Rites, King of Yogini Tantras, Toh 448, vol Ca; and The Ultimate Essence of the Origin of All Rites, Toh 449, vol Ca The second is a continuation of the first... surpassing yoga (shin tu rnal ’byor), is absent from the root texts in both editions of IOK 63 The related aspects (? ??khor) of the phase of creation are meditations such as the wheel of protection... projection of thought These methods result in the arising of many favorable signs, the alleviation of sickness, stabilizing of vital essence, and development of the contemplation of calm abiding