The Ninth Chapter of
the commentary on
The Great Perfection:
The Nature Of Mind, The Easer Of Weariness 
called the Great Chariot


OM AH BANZA DHARA HUM

(Vajradhara Mantra)

 

 

Unifying The Developing Stage And The Perfecting Stage

After training our being by the paths of the ordinary vehicles, comes the path manifesting the unified kayas within one lifetime. The ninth topic of the main subject is the chapter on the Practice of Unifying the Developing Stage and the Perfecting Stage.

The general topic has three sections,

A. Resolving the view

B. Practicing the meditation

C. Dedicating the merit

A. Resolving the view

There are nine sections:

· 1. The instruction to train in the Vajrayâna, the essence of the teachings.

· 2. Why mantra-yana is more noble than the stages of characteristics.

· 3. Why those to be tamed are taught.

· 4. The three from kriya to yoga.

· 5. How these are classified as the external secret mantra.

· 6. The divisions of the three inner tantras.

· 7. How these are individually maintained.

· 8. The ways in which the highest three are the principal ones.

· 9. The way of meditating on all dharmas as the nature of the mandala.

1. The instruction to train in the Vajrayâna, the essence of the teachings:

When the excellent mind of bodhicitta has been aroused,
We can enter into the stages of developing and completion,
As they occur in the outer and inner secret mantra.

As just explained, after being taught how to enter according to the vehicles of cause and characteristics, as the fruition, there is the instruction to enter the vehicles of secret mantra. The details of these vehicles are the current topic.

2. Why mantra-yana is more noble than the stages of characteristics.

Why?

Here there are many means and also no difficulties.
Though the meaning is one with that of the other yanas,
There is no confusion about the means of entering.
Those of the sharpest powers are empowered in these four,
Kriya, Charya, and yoga, and also Anuttara.

Though the Buddha taught inconceivably many vehicles in accord with the minds of sentient beings, they are all included within three. The Mahayana is taught to have the duality of cause and fruition. The causal vehicles are taught to be the means of first entering. Their fruition is taught to be the Vajrayâna. The Net of Miracles of Manjushri says:

By the skillful means of the various vehicles,
Having the divisions of the benefit of beings,
As for the definite outcome of the three vehicles,
It exists as fruition, the single vehicle.

These vehicles are also ascertained as two. Since individuals in the Mahayana have two families, it is taught that there are two kinds of skillful means or paths. Individuals who have little craving for desirable qualities or who have renounced these desirable qualities, and wish for liberation, are taught the bodhisattva vehicle. For those unable to abandon desirable qualities, there is the skillful means of the stages of secret mantra.

These two families train in their two paths until the path of seeing arises. The time when this arises is called the path of seeing by the bodhisattvas. This same wisdom of complete non-thought is designated "the supreme siddhi of Mahamudra" by mantra-yana. [1] The time until this arises, using the individual methods [2] of these paths, is respectively long and short.

In the vehicle of characteristics, apparent aggression is abandoned, and by kindness alone without many other means, the attempt is made to gain the one benefit or goal, establishing the fruition. There are great agonies of asceticism.

It is not skillful in profound means of practice. Since it is a means of practice for those whose powers are relatively dull, all this is practiced by dualistic abandoning and antidotes. Since the aspect to be abandoned is not brought to the path, half of what there is never becomes part of the path. This is a narrow path and a lesser cause of enlightenment.

The tantras reject those methods. When apparent aggression is produced, there are many means for dealing with it. Here too there may be kindness, or in the developing stage it is seen as illusion-like, or in the completion stage as the wisdom of non-thought, or by working with that very aggression, it becomes the mirror-like wisdom, and so forth.

Asceticism of body, speech, and mind plays a minor part. When the single goal is established, since this and that means beyond the scope of thought are possessed, it is established with certainty. Having been produced for those of sharpest powers, kriya, upa, yoga, and the great yoga of Anuttara-tantra are taught. The Lamp of the Three Methods says:

Not unintelligent about the single goal,
Having many means and therefore not ascetic,
Having been produced for those with the sharpest powers,
The mantra vehicles are especially noble.

3. Why those to be tamed are taught

Why are these four tantras taught?

They are graded by time and caste, and powers of the mind.
The yugas are krita and treta, dvapara and kali.
Bhramins and kshatriyas, vaishyas and shudras [3] are the castes;
The powers are dull and average; sharp and very sharp.

Kriya chiefly teaches baths and cleansing rites.
Chary teaches that actions of the body and speech
Are equal in importance with meditations of mind.
Yoga teaches that meditation is most important.
Actions of body and speech are just accompaniments.

Annotator is free from actions of the three gates.
There is no conception of separate subject and object.
Their ultimate concern is the luminous nature of mind.
Cleansing rites are few, or even are discarded.

In regard to time, kriya is completed in one kalpa. Since there will be no cause of manifesting the kleshas of a sentient being, like the humanoids of Kurava the northern continent, kriya yogins do not depend on vows and discipline, or virtuous antidotes of mind. Purificatory rites of body and speech and actions alone become the focus.

In regard to the four castes, the Brahmin or priestly caste is tamed by means of rites of purification and asceticism, without engaging in others. Those of dull powers who do not understand the great undertakings of mind, can see this Dharma of actions of body and speech, and enter into those. Depending on those three purposes they are taught tantras chiefly teaching washing, rites, and purification, Amoghabasha, and Supreme Insight, Well Established, the
Appearance of the Three Worlds, etc.

Also, this is most taught in the first krita yuga, because little secret and stealthy desire arises as a cause of manifesting kleshas.

In the times of enjoyment and light karma of the treta yuga, actions of body and speech are constrained, and objects of purification and rites become one of two goals, for those of the warrior-ruler kshatriya caste who are not so entirely devoted to purification rites. Having realized things realizable by middling powers, they are taught upa tantras, the Lotus Peak and others with their three families of deities. Acts of body and speech and meditation of mind are equally taught.

In the dvapara yuga, kleshas are coarser, and meditating according to mental activity and so forth becomes the goal. The merchant vaishya caste is widely devoted, and this is taught for those who are capable and of sharp powers, chiefly with mental meditation, with those of body and speech just as an accompaniment. In yoga tantra they abandon the lower realms and are taught the Vajra Space and so forth.

In the kali yuga, when lives are about a hundred years, the dark age, the time of indolence of impetuous stupidity, the goal will come about only by means of mind. Tribal people or the shudra caste, have no purificatory rites at all, but great ascetic discipline. This is to be realized by those of very sharp powers, from all actions of body, speech, and mind not being conceptualized with grasping and fixation, accepting and rejecting, asserting and denying, hope and fear and so forth, but being realized as non-dual. Since the nature of mind, the greatness of primordial Buddhahood is self- existing, there is the great dharma that seeks for no other Buddha than that, Anuttara yoga tantra. The Net of Miracles with its short explanation of peaceful and wrathful deities, Chakrasamvara, Guhyasamaja and so forth are taught. The Secret Establishment says:

Since students have the time
And the fortune of being tamed
The four great styles of mantra
Are famed throughout the world.

4. The three from kriya to yoga

These individual stages are explained:

The Sage has said that the tantras of kriya, chary, and yoga
Are the tantras of action, total comportment, and mental union.

Kriya is the tantra of action, upa that of comportment, and yoga that of yogic union. These three famous tantras were taught by the Sage. They resemble the vehicles of external marks in having rites of purification and vows of activity.
The Sage called them the tantra or continuity vehicles.

5. How these are classified as the external secret mantra:

As for these great tantras:

These are the outer mantra. One cannot meditate
On yab yum deities, united in sexual union.
There is no teaching of the five meats and the five amritas.
They remain entirely in rites of purification.

In kriya and upa tantra there are male and female sattvas. These deities of vidya mantra and dharani remain in the manner of master and servant and companion respectively, and there is no union with them. In yoga tantra the great four-fold arrangement of the mandala is taught as Sambhogakaya, but there is no union with it. By meditating successively on upaya and prajña, the developing and completion stages are separated. There is no use of the five meats and five amritas as samaya substances. These are grasped as defiled objects to be purified. The Tantra of the Play of the Great Power says:

Clouds of enjoyment of upaya and prajña
Are the principal means of establishing wisdom.
As for the five meats and the five amritas
And the highest play of mahasukha
These wonderful ways of being are absent here.
Those with the lesser fortune of tormenting rites
Of purity do not have such things as these.

6. The divisions of the three inner tantras:

As for the divisions of the three inner tantras:

There are three divisions within Anuttara tantra,
These are the father and mother and the non-dual tantras.
Respectively each of these has as its emphasis
The developing and perfecting stages and their union.
These three yanas are known as maha, anu, and ati.
The deities may unite, and in holy substances
There is no distinction of what is clean or defiled.
Rather it is taught that all is of one taste,
Regarded as the play of a single mandala.

The Guhyasamaja and the Yamantaka and such yoga tantras are Maha-yoga, the aspect of the skillful means of the developing stage. The completion stage of Maha-yoga chiefly teaches prana. These include Yangdak, Vajrakilaya, Chakrasamvara, Hevajra, and so forth.

The prajña mother tantras are called anu yoga. Chiefly the completion stage of prajña is taught. The completion stage also chiefly works with the elements of bodhicitta and bindu, desiring the completely non-conceptual wisdom of bliss and emptiness.

The non-dual tantras, The Great Net of Illusion and so forth, are called ati yoga. This chiefly teaches the essence of prajña and upaya without adding and taking away, the union of the developing and fulfilling stages. In the completion stage from prana, nadi, and bindu are created bliss, luminosity, and non-thought, and the inconceivable luminosity of the great wisdom. Each of these three, as a symbol of the union of upaya and prajña, visualizes the embrace of yab yum.

Since the meaning of this is being without accepting and rejecting, denying and asserting, clean and defiled, and such accepting and rejecting of good and bad, there is a play of samaya substances such as meat and liquor and so forth, and it is maintained that all dharmas are one in the enlightened mandala of primordial Buddhahood. The king of the tantras that ascertain the such-ness of the secret essence The Great Net of Illusion says:

Since it is the characteristic of all dharmas that they have a single essence with primordial Buddhahood, they are inseparable from it.

7. How these are individually maintained

As for the way of maintaining these tantras:

In kriya we are inferior and the gods supreme.
We are like servants and the deities are the masters.
By practicing in that style, the siddhis will be received.
In Chary we view ourselves and the gods as being equal.
We are samayasattva, the deity jqanasattva.
The deity occupies the space in front of us.
Siddhi is received in the style of two friends.
In yoga while the two are actually non-dual,
The god is summoned to union and afterward dismissed.
Siddhi is received like water poured into water.

In kriya tantra, the jqanasattva deity is said to be like a king. We as servants hope to receive siddhi. The Tantra of Receiving the Siddhis of all the Families says:

The lord is viewed as a king,
And we see ourselves as servants.
Siddhi, the essence of tantra,
Is excellently received.

As for upa tantra, in front of the samayasattva, our visualization of the deity, we receive siddhi from the jqanasattva deity, visualized as a friend or companion. The Razor of the Three Families says:

With the deity as friend or companion
Ultimate siddhi is to be received.

In yoga tantra, we meditate on ourselves in union with the deity. The jqanasattvas of union are drawn in and dissolve into us. By sealing with the four Mudras and so on, even when the offerings, praises, recitation, and so forth have been finished, one still supplicates. When non-duality actually occurs, siddhi is said to arise. The Dorje Jungwa says:

We receive non-dual Dharmadhatu and
The highest ultimate siddhi.

We are blessed with the Tathágata, padma, and vajra families of the external mantra, sealed with the samaya, dharma, karma, and Maha Mudras.

8. The ways in which the highest three are the principal ones

As for mahayoga-tantra:

In Maha, the chief means is prana and the developing stage;
In anu the dhatu and prajña in the completion stage;
In ati it is the wisdom where everything is non-dual;
But in all of them all dharmas are eternal equality.
The practice is done in the style of knowing that this is so.

Since all dharmas exist as primordially unborn emptiness, the nature of mind is known to be nature-less like the sky. As for the practice, the Secret Assembly says:

Since these things are primordially unborn,
There are neither dharmas nor dharmata.(i.e. dharmin, the realm of dharmas, and dharmata, their real nature)
They are nature-less like the space of the sky.
This is the way enlightenment is taught.

This was explained above. The Miracles of Fierce Lightning [4] says:

E ma'o! Free from all dharmas of things,
Free from skandhas and dhatus, and ayatanas,
We completely abandon grasping and fixation.
Since all dharmas are nature-less equality,
One's own mind is also primordially unborn.
This is what is called the nature of emptiness

When this is known, the stage of visualizing the mandalas of the father tantras of upaya becomes upaya. The pranas of the five elements are completely purified. Luminosity/emptiness, the wisdom of complete non-thought, is the main point. By that the supreme and ordinary siddhis are established.

In the mother tantras of prajña, complexities of the developing stage are minimized. the dhatu of the great bliss, the space of speech, is the mandala of the bhaga or womb of the syllables. In the stages leading to supreme enlightenment, another's body is the prajña or mudra, and in one's own body, depending on upaya, mahasukha establishes enlightenment by the wisdom of the four joys.

In the non-dual tantras, as distinguished from both these stages, luminous dharmata (i.e. dharmin, the realm of dharmas, and dharmata, their real nature), the great wisdom without one and many, is the main point and enlightenment is established. There is the three-fold luminosity of bliss, clarity, and non-thought. First from the workable dhatu self-existing samádhi arises. From that, supreme unchanging bliss pervades the whole of space, filling it with undefiled bliss. In the central channel the great essential clarity of the other two luminosities occurs. By the power of the inner five pranas, the motionless luminous clarity of wisdom arises in the four Dhyanas. Externally the five lights of the five wisdoms, appearing as kaya, bindu, and shining light, fill the whole of space. The Net of Miracles of Manjushri says:

This vivid shining of the light of wisdom
Is the lamp of wisdom which is the light of beings.
This, the great brilliance, is luminosity.

Also:

To view possession of the garland of brilliance is sweet.
The blazing light of goodness is the glorious knot of eternity.

As the radiance of the five lights enters into the central channel, when the essence of the earth prana enters, mind rests within it. As external yellow light illuminates Ratnasambhava, pride is transmuted and the wisdom of equality is revealed. We are empowered with the samádhi of the ground of exhaustion, crossing to the southern ratna family pure land, Ratnakuta. [5]

By the essence of the water prana entering the central channel, within it the essence of undisturbed mind is illuminated. Externally, by white light by illuminating Akshobhya, the mirror-like wisdom is revealed. Hatred is purified. We are empowered with the exhaustion-water samádhi, crossing to the eastern vajra family pure land, Abhirati.

By the prana of the fire essence entering into the central channel, within it the blissful heat arises. Externally by red light illuminating Amitabha, discriminating awareness wisdom is revealed. We cross to the western padma family pure land, Sukhavati.

By the prana of the air essence entering into the central channel, within the movement and increase of mind is attained. Externally, by green light illuminating Amoghasiddhi, the all-accomplishing wisdom is realized. Envy is purified. We are empowered with the exhaustion-prana samádhi, crossing to the northern karma family pure land of, Karmaprasiddhi.

By the prana of the supreme non-conceptual space essence, universal dharmata (i.e. dharmin, the realm of dharmas, and dharmata, their real nature), entering into the central channel, within there is complete non-thought. Externally, by blue light illuminating Vairochana, the Dharmadhatu wisdom is revealed. Ignorance is purified. We are empowered with the exhaustion sky-realm, Akanishta Gandavyuha, the pure land of Heavenly Enjoyment. The Great Net of Illusion says:

Thus the fortunate yogin
Has the five lights of the wisdoms.
The five kayas cross to their lands.
The five exhaustions are gained.

9. The way of meditating on all dharmas as the nature of the mandala.

Now as for the teaching that all dharmas, as the complete perfection of Buddhahood, have the nature of the three mandalas:

Since we and all other beings are primordially enlightened,
The style of meditation involved in the two stages
Sees the dharmas of skandhas, dhatus, and ayatanas
As being the luminosity of a single mandala.

All dharmas should be known to be of the nature of the three mandalas of primordial Buddhahood. Within the mandala of the nature of the ground as spontaneous presence, there is conviction about the view. Within the mandala of the path as profound samádhi, one practices meditation. Within the mandala of the fruition as supreme enlightenment, the two benefits are perfected.

Within the first there are two divisions. These are the pure ground, the natural state, and the impure ground, the way of confusion. The first is the primordially empty nature of mind, the essence of Dharmakaya. Its arising as the luminous nature of Sambhogakaya is the source of Nirmanakaya. It is open and accommodating like the sky. It is luminous like the sun and moon. As with a wish-fulfilling gem, all that is desired is self-arising. The five kinds of kaya, speech, mind, quality, and action exist primordially as the intrinsic qualities of Buddhahood. The Secret Essence says:

Emptiness is the mind of self-awareness.
This is primordial knowledge of ego-less-ness.
There is neither concept nor conceiver.
Therefore the fixated memory is transformed.
Wondrous body and speech and the field of qualities
Are the same and not other. That is how it is.

Also the All-Creating King says:

Kye! listen to me Mahasattva:

The nature of me, the doer of all, enlightenment
Is a self-existing nature that does not need to be sought.
This is Trikaya, the essence of all the victorious ones.
My uncreated nature exists as Dharmakaya.
My uncreated essence is Sambhogakaya.
My manifested compassion is Nirmanakaya.
No fruition established by seeking has been taught.
Primordial self existence, it does not need to be sought.

Above what is referred to by such passages was called the dhatu or essence. This exists primordially with the spontaneous presence of the Buddha qualities.

The impure ground, the way of confusion, is as already described. The Secret Essence says:

E Ma'o, from out of sugatagarbha
Comes the confusion of karma, our discursive thoughts.
Variety, mind, and action, existing, suffering and such;
The "me" and the "mine" are grasped as being individuals.

Also:

It is faulty concepts that are the root of samsara.
These have their arising when there are thoughts of self.
The powers of sense, birth and destruction, body and action,
The infernal machine of existing, suffering, and so on;
Is nothing whatsoever except a misconception.

From the individual rounds of beings within the six lokas, in particular for human beings, at the beginning of their confusion, when they are grasped by existence in a womb, at first the two eyes and the knot of nadis in the navel develop. Then the body is produced from the essences, which will become the sense-faculties, existing as the three nadis.

Within them are the three syllables OM AH HUM. Externally these produce the three supports of body, speech, and mind. Internally, they produce the three supports of passion, aggression, and ignorance. Secretly they produce the supports of enlightened body, speech, and mind.

The central channel reaches above to the aperture of Brahma, and below to the secret place. The white Roma nadi and red Kyangma are to right and left of the light blue central channel. In enlightened body, speech, and mind they are the three-fold existence of mahasukha.

Mutually and continuously they have twenty-one knots. These are the chakras of the nadis: The navel emanation chakra has sixty-four nadi petals. The throat enjoyment chakra has sixteen. The heart dharmachakra has eight nadi petals. If they are joined with the four kayas and the different wisdoms, in addition to these, at the crown of the head, there is the chakra of great bliss with thirty-two nadi petals. From the viewpoint of the five self-existing kayas, in addition to these, in the secret place, is the chakra of guarding bliss with seventy-two nadi petals, which has the powers of the essential elements.

If the six chakras are listed in order, the secret center is the chakra of wisdom. The throat center is the chakra of enjoyment-activity. The central channel is the chakra of mahasukha. The crown of the head is the chakra of the realm of space. The heart is the dharmachakra. The navel is the chakra of emanation.
According to The Net of Illusion, they are the seeds of purifying the impure six kinds of sentient beings. The purifiers are the six sages of the six realms. When they are purified by the six perfections, the six wisdoms, the usual five wisdoms plus the inconceivable wisdom, are attained.

Each chakra with the first knot between each one makes twelve. Completing these at the end, pure prana as a thirteenth is maintained to complete the bhumi of the great wisdom.

The Kalachakra has six chakras and six nadis between them. These have twelve kinds of ejection of prana, associated with the twelve nidanas. The power of not ejecting bindu, turning it back above to the secret wisdom chakra, is said to be a sign of the first bhumi. One kind of ejection of prana is stopped. One nidana is purified. Similarly, between that and the space of the sky chakra twelve levels are crossed. Twelve kinds of ejection of prana are stopped. Twelve nidanas are purified. By the bindu reaching the sky realm chakra, it is maintained that one is enlightened.

According to the Root tantra of Miracle there are two chakras. These are the peaceful heart chakra and the wrathful crown chakra. Within these the coarse nadis are equal to the number of deities. These are 42 and 58, 100 altogether. The fine nadis are countless. The Great Illusion says:

Roma, Kyangma, and Kundarma.
Are between the chakras like pillars.
The branching petals are countless.
As for elements and pranas,
The descending wisdom nadis
Are a thousand in number.
As the square of seventy two,
There are twenty thousand
And 600,000 pranas.
These have been maintained to be the great moving ones.
There are 84,000 others.

The Five Hundred Thousand says:

The associated nadis
Spread and fill the body
These 72,000 nadis.
In the body are goddesses.

Also:

Of the 72000 nadis, the different kinds are explained.

In one day there are said to be 620,000 actions of prana. They make up a "horse" to carry the 84,000 small moving ones, whose number is equal to that of the false conceptions and kleshas. When kleshas are moving about, it is maintained that an equal number of these pranas are moving about. By nature the male prana, "moving upward," dwells above, and the female prana, "downward voiding," dwells below. As for the mother, if the I prana "equally-abiding" co- exists, the three existences are explained.

As for the pranas in the nadis there are the following:

· 1 life-holder,

· 2 equalizer,

· 3 fire,

· 4 upward moving,

· 5 downward voiding.

As said above: The actions are:

· 1 maintaining life,

· 2 bodily existence,

· 3 making heat,

· 4 the exhaling and inhaling of the breath,

· 5 going, staying and casting off impurities.

These are called ordinary and the five external pranas.

The five internal pranas are the five pranas of the five elements. These are:

· The yellow earth prana, the red fire prana, the white water prana, the green air prana, the blue space prana.

As for their functions, they exist as a support for the inner skandhas, dhatus, and ayatanas. When impure they are the ground of proliferation of the five poisons, and when pure of the five wisdoms.

The five secret pranas, the five wisdoms, have no coarse forms.

The great essential elements are two, the white and the red. From roma and kyangma they abide in the petals of the individual nadis. For women, left and right are reversed. In particular, the moon, roma, descends from above at the crown of the head. The sun, kyangma, rises from the A below in the secret place.
In a man's kyangma and woman's roma at the bottom there is a knot, so that the red and white elements do not drip. As the knots in the nadis are released, the virtues of the paths and Bhumis are perfected. As the knots in the central channel are released, two by two, each of the ten Bhumis are perfected. In attaining the good qualities of those, each of the essential elements and prana elements seem to enter them.

For example, as the first two nadi knots are released, the two essences enter into the central channel. When the four great nadis of the navel emanation chakra are released, the qualities of the first bhumi appear to arise. When the nadis of the four chakras are released, the four kayas are attained and the four wisdoms manifest.
Now in the ordinary nadi knots the red and white essences exist as the embrace of the hero and heroine. The veins are like water pipes, and the elements like the water inside them. Prana is like pressure. Their going and coming when moved by that, constitute the vajra body. This is the support of the great wisdom.
In particular in the Mahamaya Tantra, in the empty center of the heart, the essences go into eight subtle nadis as if they were being licked up. [6] There are three dharmata nadis, one wisdom nadi, three autonomy nadis, and one quality nadi. The Secret Drop of Vimala says:

The way they exist is known to be eight-fold.

The commentary says:

In the empty center of the heart, the essence in the nadis goes into the eight subtle nadis as if they were being licked up. There are three dharmata nadis, one wisdom nadi, three autonomy nadis, and one quality nadi.

These eight should be known like that.

The central three are the support of the unchanging dharmata of Trikaya. (i.e. dharmin, the realm of dharmas, and dharmata, their real nature) In front the nadi of mirror-like wisdom produces the support of the four wisdoms. Behind and to the right are the nadis of qualities producing the support of the arising of the Buddha fields, palaces and so forth. To the left, by the three poisons autonomy nadi, confused appearance of the individuating characteristics of the three realms is produced.

Moreover, in the sheath [7] of the dharmata nadi, in the midst of drops of yellow light, the letters of the ground of purification, SU and TRI, are the seeds of asuras and animals. The purifier OM is the essence of the kayas and wisdoms. The intrinsic light of the syllables is like a brocade tent. In the square sheath of the blue wisdom nadi, is the purifier HUM and the ground of purification the seeds of gods and human beings A and NRI [with backwards kiku] They have white, red, and blue light.
In the red semi-circular sheath of the autonomy syllables the purifier is AH and the ground of purification is the seeds of the prêtas and hell beings PRE and DU. Also at the time of impurity, habitual patterns produced by karma and kleshas are collected above the six syllables. The retinue created by anger, resentment, and so on are collected above the DU; by desire above the PRE; by pride above A and NRI; by envy above SU; and those created by ignorance are collected above the TRI. At the time of realization, the virtues of the intrinsically-existing power of wisdom are collected above the three syllables of body, speech, and mind.

Meditations on forms of the deities and so on connected with body are placed above OM. Those involving mantra recitation and so on are above AH. Meditation on non-thought and so on are above HUM. The letters that are the ground of purification and all the habitual patterns above them are purified. The same text says:

In the dharmata-nadi a yellow light dwells.
The shape is spherical. It is like flowing mercury.
The essence is OM. The seed is SU and TRI.
The colors of these three are like a brocade tent.
Within the wisdom nadi is a blue light.
Its shape is square. It is like a noose or coiled snake.
It is like a lump of violet amethyst crystals.
The essence is HUM. The seeds are A and NRI.
In the autonomy nadi is a red light. Its shape is a red semi-circle.
The style is of illusory refreshing-cleansing water like the brilliant arising of dawn.
The color is the red of molten copper.
The essence is AH. The seeds are PRE and DU.
At the time of non-realization, with A NRI and so forth, it is the cause of samsara.
At the time of realization, there are TE O and so forth.
Mixing these two is called "quasi-mixing, since bodhicitta is as before."

The four nadis are the natural state of consciousnesses. The same text says:

The four aspects, and six particulars, in the middle of eight...
Four refers to the dharmata, wisdom, autonomy, and quality nadis.
As for the particulars, there is yellow light existing as alaya consciousness, blue light existing as the mind consciousness, red light existing as klesha-mind, and dark red light existing as the five sense-consciousnesses.
At the side of the yellow light are OM SU, and TRI.
Covered by the blue light are HUM A and NRI. Covered by the red light are AH PRE and DU.
The dark red light has the faults and virtues.
A and NRI cause corruption of the breath.
SU and TRI cause corruption of the nadis.
PRE and DU cause corruption of the blood.
As for the arising of gods and human beings, by producing the mind consciousness, the seeds
A and NRI are embodied.
As for the arising of animals and asuras, by producing alayavijqana, the seeds SU and TRI are embodied.
As for the arising of the prêtas and hell beings, from producing the five consciousnesses and klesha mind, the seeds PRE and DU are embodied.
Thus all the sentient beings of the six lokas individually exist.

In the center of the eight nadis in the heart center, is the essence of the nadis, like white silk cords, very fine, like twisted single hairs of a horse's tail. The mixed essence of blood and breath, is very subtle, consisting of Dharmakaya bodhicitta having light of the five colors, the luminosity of dharmata. (i.e. dharmin, the realm of dharmas, and dharmata, their real nature) The Description of the Marks says:

The splendid knot of eternity of excellent blazing light.

In the heart palace of the dharma field of Akanishta, the Buddha embodying the Tathágatas of the five families, Samantabhadra, remains continuously for all time. The Two Examinations says:

The great wisdom has its dwelling in the body.
Conceptions are abandoned in the truth.
Universal wisdom pervades all things.
Embodied existence does not arise from the body.

Also:

This is also known as great sugatagarbha.

The Uttaratantra says:

Because the perfect Buddha kaya radiates
Because of being inseparable from such-ness,
And because of having the gotra, all embodied beings,
Always have the essence of Buddhahood.

The Dohakosha says:

Though there is something somewhere, in a certain place,
That does not entail that it must always be seen.
It is explained by the shastras of the capable ones,
That Buddhahood in the body is not realized.

Buddhahood is the wisdom nadi. When all the essences of prana and mind are gathered together, the field of nirvana, spontaneous appearance, the house of light, the wisdom-lamp of the Bardo, arises. This is the completely pure field of Akanishta called Gandavyuha. If yogins make an effort, all the essences of prana and mind will be perfected there. The aspect of appearance, the five lights, and the aspect of emptiness, Dharmakaya, will be mixed in one taste. the two accumulations of the path will be completed. As the two kayas manifest we become "enlightened in Akanishta."

The light of wisdom in the central channel and the nadis are one with this, in the sense that the nature of mind is the support of luminosity. How is this explained? From the central channel, in the center of the heart, comes very subtle light like ten separately divided single hairs of a horse's tail transparently existing, connecting the pranas.

If it is made into a support, some masters say that this is the true central channel, so that the three nadis need not be combined in the central channel. Though they explain it that way, since as all the pranas enter the central channel, the essence of the prana of the central channel must enter into the wisdom nadi, it is suitable for them to be connected.

At the time of death all the essences and pranas collect in the central channel. The pranas and essences of the central channel are gathered into the ultimate essence, and from that luminosity is maintained to arise. The kayas and fields of the five families are taught to arise by the essence of this during five days of Dhyana in the Bardo. Therefore this essence is the very secret great ultimate secret. The Commentary of the Secret Drop says:

"In the center of the eight,"

They are therefore one. Thus the essences of the nadis go into the eight subtle nadis as if they were being licked up. Their shape is said to be like eight twisted cords.
The eight main essences, the ultimate nadi essences, are like white silk cords, with a shape is like twisted cords.

In size, they are like ten divided hairs of a horse's tail. Within these, which are like white silk cords, goes the blood essence of a vibrant vermilion like the mother's essence. Within that the essence of breath like bright, pure gold in a brocade, curls like steam. Within that the breath essence is light of various colors. The interior of that light is called the center. "Na," in, has the meaning that they abide within it.

In the center of that light abides the great bindu, bodhicitta. It is like precious jewel anthers in a pipe of molten gold or filled full of the white precious stone kekeru. It abides there with a color like the rising sun. Since that is the essence of Dharmadhatu, the cause of the absolute and relative, "I prostrate to that."

Since this luminous nature of mind is all-pervading, all beings are primordially enlightened. Even when they are wandering in samsara, that mind does not move and is not harmed or degraded. By their being enlightened it is no better than it was before. The Uttaratantra says:

Later as before,
Changeless dharmata. (i.e. dharmin, the realm of dharmas, and dharmata, their real nature)

The Fierce Lightning says:

Clouds of bodhicitta spread and pervade everywhere, as oil pervades sesame seeds.

Then also this is taught:

E Ma'o, Primordial Dharma completely pure.
Though it appears as variety, conceptually it is secret.
This is because its essence is inexpressible.
It is hard to teach to those who are not vessels.

E Ma'o, In the primordial purity of the three-fold world,
By faulty conceptions conceiving of ego, the root of samsara,
Beings who have aimlessly wandered over a very long time
Grasp at inappropriate objects of joy and sorrow.
By the power of errors of their wrong conception,
They wander among the turning wheels of samsara.
Without things of wrong conception there is bodhicitta.
Even that hellish machine is its inexhaustible ornament.
The five degenerations are places of happiness.
The five skandhas are completely perfected as the kayas.
The root of samsara itself, all our faulty conceptions,
Is explained to be the essence of enlightenment.
The outer and inner vessel and contents of the world
Are thus the father and the mother of the enlightened state.

By that it is taught that all dharmas exist as bodhicitta. With that the teaching of the way of confusion of impure sentient beings is completed. Now there is the teaching that all is primordially enlightened.

The five skandhas, though apparently impure, have the enlightened nature of the five fathers. The five elements have the enlightened natures of their five consorts. All concepts are enlightened in the mandala of bodhicitta, and there is not even an atom of dharmas other than that. The Secret Essence says:

E Ma'o,
As for the five-fold limbs of the vajra skandhas,
They are known as the five perfected Buddhas.
The many dhatus and ayatanas
Are the various bodhisattvas appearing in person. [8]
Earth and water are Lochana and Mamaki.
Fire and air Pandaravasini and Tara.
The space of sky is the consort of the Lord. [9]

Everything in the three realms is the Dharma.
Without remainder this is the Buddha field.
Dharmas that are other than Buddhahood
Never will be found by Buddhahood.

In particular, Buddhahood is the luminous nature of mind. The Kunje says:

As for there being a Buddha who is other than the mind,
This has never been taught by the King, the Doer of All.
It will not be taught later and it is not taught now.
Therefore we should know that mind is Buddhahood.

The Secret Assembly says:

External to the preciousness of mind,
There are no Buddhas and there are no sentient beings.

The Establishment of Wisdom says:

Ultimate luminosity of mind,
Total purity of Buddhahood,
Self-arising, unmade by anyone,
Having existed from all eternity.

In brief, all appearances are the mandala of body. All sounds are the mandala of speech. All cognitive apprehension [10] is the mandala of mind. These three should be known. The Kunje says:

Kye! the teacher of teachers! The doer of all, the King,
Makes a display of the essence mandala of body.
Thus all the dharmas of appearance and existence
Have been displayed as the unborn state of Dharmadhatu.
For the sake of their inmost meaning, "No accepting, no rejecting," [11]
This too is displayed by me, the doer of all, the King.

Kye! The teacher of teachers! The doer of all, the King,
Makes a display of the essence mandala of speech.
Thus are all dharmas, resounding with the voice of meaning, [12]
Revealed to be [13] the spoken word of unborn space.
They embody the inexpressible heart of speech. [14]
This too is my display, as the doer of all, the King.

Kye! The teacher of teachers! The doer of all, the King,
Makes a display of the essence mandala of insight. [15]
All concepts involved with knowing and remembering
Are seen as myself, the unborn, the doer of everything.
The body, speech, and mind of me, the doer of all,
Are mandalas resting in uncreated naturalness. [16]

Having realized the meaning of this state
Perfected in a moment, without any need for arrangement,
One enters the essential heart of the self-existing.

Thus the appearance of variety is produced. Since it is nature-less, it is exhaustion/perfection. [17] The mandala of the fundamental meaning should be known to be without producer or produced. Regarding the nature of that mandala, the same text says:

Kye, as for the mandala of me the Doer of All,
It is taught as a perfect self-arising mandala.
By perfecting the essence of all without remainder,
There is no birth and there is no proliferation
The uncreated mandala is perfect all at once.

Kye, in the center without error, essence of the meaning,
Samsara is perfected as the bliss of samsara/nirvana.
That is the mandala that is the root of all essences.
Realize that all mandalas are included in that.

Kye, the mandala of me the King, the Doer of All,
Is the perfect mandala of all without remainder.
By whoever perfects it, that will be realized
Learn the meaning of the uncreated mandala.

Kye by me the teacher of teachers, the Doer of All,
By the unborn mandala of bodhicitta,
All-pervading, without any coming and any going,
By realizing that one enters the meaning of the unborn.

Therefore, vajra beings, you as well as I,
Should realize the meaning that does not exist in the world.
Anyone who has the realization of that
Will be empowered as the King, the Doer of All.

All the skandhas, dhatus, ayatanas and so forth, the viewpoint of everything that appears, are enlightened as the nature of the deities. There are no good and evil, or accepting and rejecting. From the viewpoint of empty dharmata (i.e. dharmin, the realm of dharmas, and dharmata, their real nature), complexities of existence and non-existence are completely pacified. This is the fundamental mandala of the spontaneously present nature. By realizing that, all the dharmas of the phenomenal world of samsara and nirvana are known as the mandala. Whatever appears is cherished as wisdom. The Secret Essence says:

By the yogin who realizes the great perfection,
The origin of suffering is realized as the mandala.

By these the teaching of first resolving the view is completed.

B. The explanation of meditation practice, together with its action of ripening and freeing.

Ĝ 1. The brief teaching of how to do the meditation of the developing stage

Ĝ 2. The ways of entering into the completion stage

Ĝ 3. The path that produces liberation, the extensive explanation of the developing and completion stages

1. The brief teaching of how to do the meditation of the developing stage.

There are five sections:

· a. Meditation in the style of being born from an egg.

· b. Meditating in the Manner of being born from a womb.

· c. Meditating in a way like birth from heat and moisture.

· d. Meditation in the manner of spontaneous birth.

· e. Which style should be chiefly used.

a. Meditation in the style of being born from an egg.

Second, within the practice of meditation, there are the stages of the power of ripening the ground, and the stages of developing and completion that liberate the path. From the three sections of extensive explanation of the actions associated with these and with the associated samayas, now there is the brief explanation of the way of meditating in the developing stage:

There are four styles of practice that match with the four births.
To cleanse habitual patterns of being born from an egg,
By going to refuge and arousing bodhicitta,
And briefly doing the practice of the developing stage,
Complete the offerings that invite the field of merit.
And also by meditation on the absence of self-nature,
Previously completing the two accumulations,
Extensive meditation, through their being primordial,
On both the stage of development and the stage completion,
Is like an egg from which a bird will then be hatched.
Perform the short and elaborate development and completion.

In this first stage of secret mantra, in however many samádhis of visualized deities as we meditate, habitual patterns of the four modes of birth are trained and harmonized. These are taught as four. The Net of Miracle says:

There are four modes of birth that are to be purified.
Therefore, visualization has four different stages.
These are the greatly complex and the complex,
And those without and completely without complexity.

This is explained as it was clearly presented by the great master Vimalamitra. Those who are born from an egg are as if twice born. When one meditates on the samádhi of great complexity, first one goes for refuge and arouses bodhicitta. One instantly visualizes oneself as the chief deity and consort. In the space in front, one invites the mandala of the deities. One makes offerings and praises to that mandala, confesses evil deeds, rejoices, invites the turning of the wheel of dharma, supplicates for desirable qualities, and dedicates the merit. Then after one says "VAJRA MUH go to your own places," or meditates for a while in objectless meditation, one gathers the two accumulations of merit and wisdom. This is the brief meditation.

Then, arising from emptiness and meditating on the mandala of the individual deities is the extensive meditation.

b. Meditating in the Manner of being born from a womb

From that, there is a brief treatment of meditation with few complexities:

In purifying vasanas of being born in a womb,
There is refuge, bodhicitta, and the seed from emptiness;
The symbol, then the body with its rays of light and such.
Then the extensive stages, as they were done before,
Development and completion do not have the brief version first;
As from prana and mind, and both the red and white bindus
Come oval, oblong, lumpy, becoming solid and so on,
Until at last the completed body has been born.

Just as for those who are born from the womb the body is born after being gradually completed, in this kind of development meditation first one goes to refuge and arouses bodhicitta. Then with the svabhava mantra from emptiness, just as the red and white bindus gather together to constitute consciousness, there is the seed syllable of the deity, for example HUM. Like the development of the embryo as an oval and oblong, from HUM comes a vajra. Like the oblong and solidification, from the vajra as a cause of the body comes a mass of the five lights, and as the embryo, like Vishnu's body manifesting as a fish and a tortoise, from the light comes the body, and the meditation of the developing stage is completed.

Sometimes, from the seed comes a mass of light and syllables, from which the body is maintained to appear. As the brief developing stage and offerings to the field of merit are omitted, there are fewer complexities.

c. Meditating in a way like birth from heat and moisture:

To purify patterns of birth arising from heat and moisture,
After refuge and bodhicitta, just from speaking the name
The luminous deities will arise from emptiness.
Then one meditates on development and completion.
As life can be born from a combination of heat and moisture,
And thus its birth will be accomplished with great ease,
There is no need for complexities of seeds and symbols.

Just as birth from heat and moisture is easily established, having gone to refuge, and aroused bodhicitta, just from saying and remembering the name of the deity it is visualized from emptiness. Here the complex stages from the seed syllable up to the body are omitted.

d. Meditation in the manner of spontaneous birth:

To purify the vasanas that lead to spontaneous birth,
Development and completion are clear instantaneously.
As what has spontaneous birth will be born in a moment,
Meditation in the stages of development and completion
Need not come gradually from the name [of the deity.]

As what is spontaneously born is instantly established, on remembering the deity the meditation is instantly clear and complete. The deity is visualized from the name alone and complexities are unnecessary.

e. Which style should be chiefly used:

Thus when we deal with these four styles of meditation,
Chiefly in meditating in these ways which are summarized,
In order to cleanse the vasanas, meditate on them all.
In particular the beginners should use the birth from an egg.
When there is some steadiness, use the birth from a womb.
When steadiness is great, use birth from heat and moisture.
When we are truly familiar, becoming perfectly steady,
Then we should use the instant style of spontaneous birth.

Persons should train in all the styles of meditation. Chiefly we should use the style of womb-birth. Beginners should meditate from stage to stage, training in these ways of meditation as summarized. Moreover, having meditated many times on the developing stage, one should then chiefly train in the completion stage. These four stages respectively should precede the first, second, third, and fourth of the four ways of meditating in the completion stage.

2. The ways of entering into the completion stage,

From the four sections

· a. The ways with and without appearance

· b. The way of arising of developing and completion without gathering or separation

· c. The process of meditation in the developing stage and completion stage

· d. The power of ripening the ground

· e. The details of the associated practice and samaya are explained as additional points.

a. The ways with and without appearance.

Now we shall enter into the completion stage:

From the time they appear, their nature is simplicity.
As for the stages of unwavering form-meditation,
Beginners should stop attachment to the developing stage.
Mere appearance will remedy attachment to true existence.
Stabilized ones should break attachment to completion.
Emptiness will remedy fixating characteristics.

Thus, having gathered in gradually there are nada and bindu, and very fine life letters like a hundred divided [18] hairs of a horse's tail. That dissolves into Dharmadhatu and rests there. Beginners meditate in the formless completion stage. By that conceptual attachment to the individualizing marks of things of the developing stage is overcome. In the developing stage, rest in motionless mind without emanation or gathering. The arising of the wisdom of bliss, clarity, and non-thought is the completion stage with appearance. As the object of meditation for those with little familiarity or stabilization, it produces the antidote to one-sided attachment to emptiness.

b. The way of arising of developing and completion without gathering or separation.

Of this meditation:

Later whatever appears is the means of development.
Awareness without a grasper is the prajña of completion.
There is never anything added or anything taken away.

Here as before, by becoming very familiar and stable, all activities become appearance/emptiness, sound/emptiness, insight/emptiness. This is prajña in which natures are not truly existent. This arising of naturally non- conceptual shamatha is the completion stage of the pure nature. The completion stage of many individual tantras is taught in accord with this. This is from the general viewpoint. Some Maha-yoga texts have five stages:

· 1). A self-blessing stage

· 2). A vajra variety stage

· 3). A jewel fulfilling stage,

· 4). A jalandhara (net-holder) [19] stage,

· 5). An inconceivable stage.

In the first, to produce shamatha, meditate in the developing stage, within the heart center visualizing bindus as globes of light.

Externally the motion of prana arises. After the time of the colors of the five elements has passed, by meditating in that way, all external sickness, dons, evil deeds, and obscurations are purified.

At the time of entering internally, similar to attainment of the Buddha qualities and so on, in the light of the heart center, mental grasping is quickly uplifted [20] by establishing the wisdom of non-thought.

As for attaining the ordinary and supreme siddhas, the Five Stages says:

Always there within the heart,
The single bindu has no arising.
For the person who becomes familiar with that
Wisdom will certainly arise.

Bindu has already been explained.

Second, in the vajra variety stage, the pranas are united. In the center of the five chakras meditate on the five symbols of the five families. In the head is a wheel, in the throat a jewel, in the heart a vajra, in the navel a lotus, and in the secret space a sword. During the meditation, the Buddhas of the ten directions and so forth dissolve into the respective symbols. By meditating that the mind grasps them, shamatha arises.

Third, in the jewel fulfilling stage, by the play of co-emergence or great bliss, from within the four chakras the wisdom of the four joys is produced and wisdom is recognized.

Fourth, in the jalandhara stage the symbols of the five families become the bodies of the deities. By the descent of amrita from the place of union of the deities and their consorts, the body is filled. By the bliss of the fire of tummo burning the HAM syllable, the mind is focused on bliss. By the firelight of wisdom of tummo all the realm of the Tathágata is burned and consumed. The Dakini Ocean says:

As tummo burns at the navel
All the joints will be consumed.
As the eyes and such are burned
By that the bindu drips.

As it goes to the ends of the nadis
Of which there are 72,000
Like threads woven into in a net
By its passing the taste is experienced

By that there is realization of union and the focus of samádhi increases.

As for the inconceivable stage, In the center of the globes of light in the heart, from visualizing HUM and the individual seed syllables of the deities, light is emanated. It touches all of samsara and nirvana. Buddhas and beings, all the realms of the animate and the inanimate, melt into light and dissolve in the light in the heart center. The body dissolves into light. The light dissolves into the HUM, and that into the shabkyu. That dissolves into the body of the syllable, then into the head and the crescent, the crescent into the bindu, and the bindu into nada, the non-conceptual space, which is the source of bindu.

In emanation, from emptiness, expand that these proliferate from one to another and are as before. As for meditating that they dissolve again, the meaning is inconceivable dharmata, as the union of vipashyana and shamatha. (i.e. dharmin, the realm of dharmas, and dharmata, their real nature)

Having attained that is enlightenment.

Beginners meditate stage by stage. Having done that training, they train as the stages arise in their being, not necessarily in the order they were taught.

c. The process of meditation in the developing stage and completion stage.

What is accomplished in these ways of meditating in the developing and completion stages?

Development stops attachment to appearance as truly existing.
Completion abandons the thought that it is just illusion.
When there is no attachment to appearance or emptiness,
Then there is the pure nature that is without duality,
Between the stages of development and completion.

The developing stage meditates on the external environment as the palace. Grasping the ordinary appearance of objects as individuating characteristics of earth and rocks and so on is abandoned. By meditating on the inhabitants, sentient beings, as gods and goddesses, attachment to the individuating characteristics of sentient beings and desire and hatred toward them is abandoned. A clear view of one's own skandhas, dhatus, and ayatanas, clearly perceives that this is primordially so. By that obscurations of Rupakaya are abandoned. The collection of merit is completed. The arising of the samádhi of shamatha and so forth has many purposes.
In the three tantras of external mantra, yoga tantra and so forth, the developing stage is sealed by the four Mudras. There is meditation on the four objects of mindfulness body, feeling, mind, and dharmas, as illusion-like, and the gathering together of meditation and post-meditation. Though these occur, the profoundest great stages are absent in these vehicles.

In Anuttara tantra, prajña and upaya beyond the scope of thought are taught. By meditating on the completion stage, there is little attachment to the previous developing stage. All dharmas, like illusion, are abandoned. Free from all conceptual thoughts of "this and that," having purified the obscurations of Dharmakaya, one is joined to the natural state.

This is realization of Mahamudra.

Here the nature is the primordial existence of the ground, the nature of the vajra body. Having come to know the nature of mind and the essence of reality, one becomes familiar with them. Here one depends on one's own body as the upaya and the body of another as the prajña or wisdom-consort. One's own body is used in tummo, illusory body, dream, luminosity, Bardo, transference and so forth. These completion stage practices establish enlightenment through effort in one's own mind without dependence on another.

When using the body of another, the yogin goes to the pith of prana, nadi, and bindu, and makes bliss into the path. As for the purpose, by abandoning attachment to the developing stage, the divine nature is realized, and by the particular means employed, bliss, emptiness, and non-thought arise. By everything being brought to the path, whatever appears arises as dharmata. (i.e. dharmin, the realm of dharmas, and dharmata, their real nature) By realizing the wisdom of co-emergence, doubts are washed away, and so forth beyond measure.

As for the teaching of the nyams, the experiences, of Buddhahood:

Here the Vajrayâna reaches its ultimate end.
Those persons who are sharp in the powers of their minds
Will attain to perfect Buddhahood within this very life.
Then in every world where there are beings to be tamed,
Their various Buddha activities will be spontaneous.
This secret path of directness is utterly profound.
It is the path that is taken by countless Vajradharas.
It is the path that should be used by fortunate ones
Who want to be liberated within this very life.

This path liberates those of sharp powers of mind within this very life, so that before long the great deeds of a Buddha spontaneously arise for whatever beings there are in the world to be tamed. The Tantra of the Vajra Secret says:

As for the siddhi of unsurpassable mantra yana,
When someone practices totally using the highest effort,
There is enlightenment within this very life.
Then the teacher acts within the field of beings.
This is the ultimate path directly to enlightenment,
As it was formerly traveled by countless Vajradharas.

Those of good fortune who desire liberation should depend on this path, and strive appropriately with great effort.

d. The power of ripening the ground,

There are three sections teaching the stages

· 1) As for its being received in general and in terms of our own tradition

· 2) How the four unsurpassable empowerments are completely received

· 3) The peak of all the yanas

1) As for its being received in general and in terms of our own tradition

Now as for the teaching of the stages of the power of ripening the ground, mantra-yana:

Using whichever of these tantras arouses devotion
Let us establish the state of perfect enlightenment.
First consider the precepts taught in each tradition
Of initiation, permission blessings, and empowerment.
By doing so our minds will be completely ripened.

"Abhishiqca" occurs when defilements are washed away, and by powers being established "empowerment" arises. Because defilements in the being of students are purified, powers are produced of later attaining the enlightenment of Buddhahood and meditating on particular incidental paths. After the details of the initiatory liturgies of permission blessings, empowerments, and so forth of the various individual tantras have been explained, one starts to practice.

In the initiatory rites and permission blessings of kriya tantra, depending only on the mandala, disciples are empowered by the water of the vase and merely by the mantra permission blessings being bestowed; they become suitable vessels for meditating on the view.

In upa tantra, by the empowerments of the five abhishekas of insight, six with the discipline abhisheka, disciples become suitable vessels.

In yoga tantra, preceded by the five abhishekas of insight, when the vajra master abhisheka has been completely bestowed, students become suitable vessels. Here the empowerment uses a sand-painting mandala, one painted on cloth, one of flower clusters, or the body mandala. By the lesser empowerment there is a mandala of images, in the middle one uses only heaps of flowers or symbols of the deities and so forth. The highest, the body mandala is bestowed depending on the body, speech, and mind of the guru. The Ghanta says:

Though from two created essences
These students desire empowerment,
These beings are non-dual
With the self-existing mandala.

2) How the four unsurpassable empowerments are completely received

In these ways:

Within the excellent, secret path of the Maha yoga,
There are the four empowerments producing ripening,
and development and completion, that bring us liberation.
The vase empowerment is that which purifies the body.
The secret one the speech, and prajnajqana the mind.
The word empowerment is that which cleanses habitual patterns.
Also by this empowerment the siddhis are conferred.
The first three of these complete the accumulation of merits.
The fourth empowerment completes the accumulation of wisdom.
The obscurations of kleshas and knowables are removed.
So through the ripening of gaining the four empowerments,
Cultivate liberation through development and completion.

In the tradition of Maha yoga there are the well-known four empowerments:

· 1) The vase empowerment purifies defilements of body. One is empowered to meditate in the developing stage.

· 2) The secret empowerment purifies obscurations of speech. One is empowered to meditate on tummo or chandali.

· 3) The prajnajqana empowerment purifies obscurations of mind. One is empowered to meditate on bliss emptiness, the wisdom of complete non-thought.

· 4) The precious word empowerment purifies all defilement. One is empowered to meditate on Mahamudra, the natural state.

By the first three the accumulation of merit is completed. obscurations of the kleshas are purified. By the fourth the accumulation of wisdom is perfected. obscurations of knowables are purified. If they are related to the paths and Bhumis, the vase empowerment is the path of accumulation, the secret empowerment is the path of preparation.

Prajnajqana is the path of seeing. By the empowerment in Mahamudra the path of meditation is completed. By completing these four empowerments one is ripened. By meditating in the developing and completion stages, one is freed.

3) The peak of all the yanas:

Now from the teaching of the stages of secret mantra in general, in particular the peak of all tantras is entered according to the Non-dual Tantra of the Great Illusion:

  Whoever wants to enter the vision of ati yoga,
Receiving full empowerment, possessing the samayas...

First, in the stages of empowerment, Lesser ones use a sand mandala, and supreme ones enter using the mandala of the body of the vajra master. The great bliss mandala uses the mandala of the two bodies of the father and mother, and the details of the five families as depicted in the sand mandala. The Secret Tree says:

As for the mandala of mahasukha,
There are two ways of dividing and also five.
If those who have faith have also completely entered,
Desire and pleasure become equanimity.

Here the ten empowerments of benefit and the five empowerments of power are completed. As for the first ten, according to the same text they are those of the:

· 1). Head ornament

· 2). Crown

· 3). Garland,

· 4). Armor

· 5). Victory banner

· 6). Mudra,

· 7). Parasol

· 8). Vase,

· 9) Eating the five meats

· 10) Drinking the five amritas.

The second five are:

· 1). The empowerment of the listener, the student

· 2). The empowerment of the explainer, the teacher

· 3). The empowerment of Buddha activity for the benefit of others

· 4). The empowerment of the universal word of a vajra king

· 5). The empowerment of the supreme secret

These fifteen are divisions of the four empowerments. The ten including the vase empowerment are preliminary to the action of the vase and are collectively called the vase empowerment. From the secret empowerment the supreme secret and prajnajqana empowerments arise.

As for the word empowerment, after the empowerment of the universal word of a vajra king has been taught, the explainer and Buddha activity empowerments are the action of this.

As for the listener, since upaya is increased, it is included within these. If the way of inclusion is done differently, the benefits will not arise, so do not proceed in that way.

If these empowerments are completed or also if other unsurpassable empowerments like these are obtained, then one has the good fortune of practicing the path of these.

e. The details of the associated practice and samaya are explained as additional points.

Now from the two sections on the practice of mantra and samaya,

1) the samayas connected with the empowerments will be explained.

· a) The essence of samaya is the particular excellent thought of guarding without faults the good discipline of entering into mantra.

· b) The divisions are the root and branch samayas.

a) The essence of samaya:

Within the first are the three samayas of body, speech, and mind.

i) The body samaya:

In the body samaya one meditates on the bodies of the deities, and refrains from unwholesome actions of body such as cutting off life, taking what is not given, dirty deeds, and all their aspects.

ii) The samaya of speech:

In the samaya of speech one recites mantra and eliminates the four unwholesome kinds of speech and all their aspects.

iii) The mind samaya:

In the mind samaya, one meditates in profound samádhi and refrains from the three unwholesome actions of mind and all their aspects.

In brief, in bodily practice of ordinary aspect of body, speech, and mind, does not contradict the samaya of true body, speech, and mind. If one divides these rather briefly, the Wheel of Entering into the Discipline of the Array of Samaya says:

From beings' thirty-three ripenings,
There are three samayas of mantra.
To fix the particulars,
Of body, speech, and mind,
Each of these has nine.
They are known from the aspects
Of entering and action.

Samayas of body, speech, and mind exist because beings exist primordially as Buddhas. Since siddhi is attained from not transgressing these, they ought to be kept. The threefold samayas of body that ought to be kept are outer, inner and secret. Each of these is again divided into outer, inner, and secret

· 1). In the outer of outer one abandons taking what is not given

· 2). The inner of outer is abandoning dirty deeds

· 3). The secret of outer is abandoning the cutting off of life.

The Mansions of the Vajra Essence Tantra says:

The outer samaya of body
Is divided into three.
By taking what is not given
The external is transgressed.
The limbs of the sign of transgression
Are outbreaks of disease.
An unbearable variety
Arises in the body.

Dirty deeds are the inner
As a sign of transgressing this
There will be diseases
Arising in the senses.

Cutting off life is the secret.
As a sign of transgressing this
Disease of the vessel of meaning [21]
Will be experienced by yogins.

Regarding the means of keeping these, the Tantra of Unbroken Samaya says:

By a yogin who has the signs,
For outer of outer activities
Seven clay sculptures and drawings, will liberate evil deeds.

Samaya is guarded by making colored statues and paintings of the gods seven times. Also the same text says:

The way for the inner of outer
Is sculpting seven statues
By consecrated efforts
And offering them to the guru.

One should make seven statues of the deities of mantra and offer them to the guru. Also the same text says:

If the sign has arisen
Of secret of outer transgression,
Nine or eleven vajras
Or bells should be offered the guru.

As for the outer, inner, and secret of inner, the Golden Mansion Tantra says:

As for outer of inner, relatives
And their fathers and mothers,
As well as one's own body
Should never be degraded.

The inner of inner, in general,
For the greater and lesser vehicles,
Is desiring to enter, and entering and as for entering,

Degrading or trying to harm
The grasped reflection of body,
If the ornament is degraded,
The body of Buddhahood
Redeems it a hundred times.

For the secret of inner,
Because one's personal body
Is the mandala of deities,
Eat medicine and food
That have been mixed with poison.
Even if stabbed by weapons,
Be without the path of defilement,
Or receiving a hundred bodies,
Later they will experience the torments of the hot hells.

In amending these violations, confess with remorse. As for the three of the secret of body, the Glorious Edifice of the Sun and Moon Tantra says:

If with vajra brothers and sisters
One defiles the body ornament,
Offending with striking hand
If another enters into it
This will increase the cause
Of the unremitting Hell.

Within it greatly mixes
And widely proliferates.
Even just as a joke
Striking or trying to strike

If even in a dream,
One so endangers one's consort,
Until one has confessed it,
This equals the actual deed.

The secret of secret, the guru
Do not defile even his shadow
In Guru's pure presence also
One should never grasp a weapon.

Do not extend hands and feet
Or lie down in his presence.
Sit properly cross legged
And do not turn the back.

Shoes, and seats, and mounts
And elegant ornaments
Such things as parasols
Ought to be left behind.

In the guru's pure house also
One should never hold
Or keep within the hand
A weapon or a stone.

100,000 times worse
Is disrupting the teacher's house,
And doing any evil deed
That makes a mock of his body.

Such limitless evil deeds
As carelessness with the guru
If one does not scrutinize them,
Will have limitless consequence.

Even if one had attained
The supreme kayas of fruition
The ripening of this
Would be indescribable.

Evil deeds involving the guru involve karma a hundred thousand times heavier than others. If they are done, confess them continuously for a whole day. Even if they were not actually done, anything involving his body, should be confessed before him.

The samayas of speech are three times three in a similar way.

1). In the outer of outer, abandon speaking falsely.

The Edifice of the Wheel Tantra says:

By devoted practice of mantra,
Beings are purified.
By having spoken false words
Because of selfish desire.

And having taken delight
In the speaking of such words,
We will lose the ability
To recite mantra genuinely.

With others our speech will be impotent.
By harming our own speech
The tongues of other beings
Will descend on us like vultures.

With a body covered with moles.
We will live in the north.
We will experience suffering
In various lower realms.

2). The inner of outer is not speaking slander.

The same text says:

Those beings who dwell in mantra
But tear at others with slander,
When they teach the dharma
Will never gather a retinue.

Whatever they do goes wrong
If this is not analyzed,
They will make many enemies.
Who stab their bodies with weapons.

Having died and been reborn,
They will have bodies with claws.
Then they will experience
A succession of lower realms.

 3). The secret of outer is not speaking harshly of others.

The same text says:

Speaking harshly builds up karma
Both earlier and later
Beings without kindness are angry
Even with their friends.

They overturn even the Dharma.
When they die and transmigrate
These very arrogant people.
Will go to the lower realms.

As for the inner:

· 4). If one reviles those who speak the Dharma, that is the outer.

· 5). If those who practice, that is the inner.

· 6). If those who meditate, that is the secret.

The Array of Samaya Tantra says:

Those who glorify and denigrate
And speak reviling words
Of those who are abiding
In the discipline of mantra,

And of those who teach the Dharma
And of practitioners,
And those who meditate,
Diminishing others' discipline,

Diminish their own possessions
Certainly forgetting
And totally overthrowing
The Dharma for themselves.

Against their expectations
They will then experience
Sufferings without limit
Within the lower realms.

· 7. The outer of secret is reviling and denigrating one's vajra brothers and sisters.

· 8. The inner is to speak disparagingly of the guru's consort and close retinue.

· 9. The secret is denigrating the guru.

The Chagya Nyijor Tantra [22] says:

With Vajra brothers, the consort and retinue,
If they violate in speech
Within the three lower realms

For a hundred million kalpas
They will suffer especially
Harshly and unendurably.

Beings who experience this
As a later sign
Of what they formerly did,

In their successively experience.
By former deeds, during this life,
Their station will be low,
Even if formerly high.
As soon as they are reborn
They will experience this.

As for the karmic destiny
They have produced by that,
In this life as servants
The karma of speech they hear.

Will come from the tongues of the retinue and other lesser beings
The stream of speech which is pure
Of the incidental will cease.

With the guru's wife and children,
And whomever is close to him,
If one violates the command and transgresses in one's speech
The karma is twice the former.

Of the guru in particular
If root and branch violations
Are spoken in one's speech,
If one has speaks exaggerations
Or denigrating words,
It is a thousand times worse.

The ripening is unbearable.
By gradations one becomes separate,
Torn away from the holy guru,
This occurs at once.

The samayas of mind are also three times three.

1). As for the outer of outer, ill-will is abandoned.

The Tantra of Receiving the Essence says:

Those who to vajra holders
Either others or themselves
Harbor malicious ill-will
Their bodies will have lesions.
For every time they have done this,
Receiving 5000 bodies,
They will certain be born in hell.

2). The inner of outer is abandoning craving and malice.

The Meteoric Iron Blazing Like Fire says:

If for an ordinary being,
The mind of ill-will arises
Their evil deed will be equal
To an ordinary person
Who has cut off 300 lives.

If possessing signs of a teacher
Embodied ones go wrong, with one who abides in mantra
It is a hundred times that;

With vajra brothers and sisters
It is seven times more;
With a guru of tantra
Still a hundred times more;
And with one's own root guru
A hundred thousand times.

3). The secret of outer is perverting the doctrine of oneself and others.

As for a person who does this, the Great Array says:

Of either the doctrines of oneself or others
If one makes a wrong path which degrades the Dharma,
One violates this root samaya of mind.
In the earthly realm the sufferings of fire
Will be experienced for a very long time.
By one's own wrong views of doctrine arising,
There will be no way to be free from hell.

From the three of inner mind,

· 4). The external is wrong action,

· 5). The internal is wrong meditation

· 6). The secret is wrong view.

What is wrong is to be abandoned. The Tantra of the Crystal Palace says:

Wrong view, meditation, and action
These are the great wrong path.
All the sufferings of beings
Will ripen within the mind.

As for the three secret ones,

· 7). The external is not paying attention to the meditation and action.

· 8). The inner is not paying attention to the yidam deity.

· 9). The secret is not paying attention to the guru and one's vajra brothers and sisters.

The Cast Lotus Expanse says:

One whose action of mind is frivolous
Transgressing in the dharmas of attention
Who has not properly turned the mind to them,
With destroyed and violated intention
Will experience suffering in the Avici Hell.

Remedy violations of every aspect of these and try to confess them. That completes the teaching of the root samayas.

2) The five times five branch samayas,

a) The samayas of the five things to be known.

Since all dharmas are primordially enlightened, it should be known that:

· 1). The five skandhas are the five fathers,

· 2). The five elements are the five consorts,

· 3). The five consciousnesses are the five bodhisattvas,

· 4). Their five objects are the five female bodhisattvas,

· 5). The five collections of thoughts are the five mandalas.

The Array of the Three Samayas says:

First as for the samayas of things that should be known:
The five skandhas, elements, and consciousnesses
The five organs, and their objects, and such things
Are in nature the deities and the mandala.

It is also explained like that in the Kunje.

b) The five samayas that are to be performed

These are the great samaya. By those who are capable, when they are performing benefits for others, there may be cutting off life, taking what is not given, impure conduct, and false speaking. The same text says:

As for the samayas to be performed
Tana, gana, [23] taking what is not given
Dirty deeds, and false speaking,

As for its five aspects those wise in skillful means if they see that harm will come from not performing them
They will do them.

Also the Bodhisattva Pitaka says:

For those who have great skillful means,
The kleshas are the limbs of enlightenment.

In accord with that explanation, without being bound up with one's own benefit, acting when there is an opportunity to benefit others is as taught previously.

c. The samayas of the five things to be accepted,

Excrement, urine, rakta, white bodhicitta, and human flesh are the five essences. [24] The former text says:

As for the five samayas,
Of the five to be accepted
They are excrement, and so on, the five samaya substances.

Regarding their qualities the Vajra Tent of the Dakinis says:

Yogins who are relying
On immovability
Will abandon all diseases.
And always have great brilliance.
As for the vajra sun
It never will grow old.
Relying on vajra Dharma,
One has all one needs. [25]
Creatures' bodily vajras
Are the king who possesses the meaning.
All splendid goals are accomplished
That yogin will go to peace.

By drinking the immovable
Sustained 5000 fold. [26]
One's throne will then express
Ten million vajra suns.
Times beyond all measure
In countless numbers of lives.
As limitless as space,
Being drawn by seven horses,
With two limitless vajra suns,
Are the roots of gathering a retinue.
If yogins depend on these,
They are equal to those of good fortune.

d. The samayas of the five things that are not to be abandoned.

The five poisons or kleshas should not be viewed as enemies, as they are by the shravakas. Being of the nature of wisdom, they should be brought to the path. The former text says:

As for the five samayas
Of not abandoning,
The five poisons of the kleshas,
Passion, aggression, and so forth,
As the great secret vajra samaya,
The five kleshas are transformed,
Becoming the five wisdoms.
These five poisons are not abandoned
But accepted as the five wisdoms.

If the five poisons are exhausted by skillful means they are not abandoned because:

· 1). They become associated with the path,

· 2). They are of the nature of wisdom,

· 3). They are primordially unborn space,

· 5). All dharmas are of the nature of equality without accepting and rejecting.

These are called the samayas of not abandoning. The ordinary forms of the five poisons are not made into the path even in Vajrayâna. In reality, when they are exhausted by skillful means, and bodhisattvas make them into the path, the purified kleshas are gathered into one.

e. The five samayas to be established:

One makes an effort to establish the previous five topics within one's being. The same text says:

As for the five samayas
Which are to be established,
The five skandhas and five elements,
The consciousnesses and objects,
Are established as the mandala.

Perfecting the three samádhis
And the five aspects of ritual.
The mandala of the five families
Of victorious ones is established.

Our minds should therefore strive
In these samádhis and rites.

The three samádhis are:

· 1 the such-ness samádhi

· 2 the all-illuminating samádhi

· 3 the cause samádhi

The five rites are:

· 1 visualizing the deities

· 2 reciting mantra

· 3 meditating in samádhi

· 4 abiding in samaya

· 5 offerings and torma

In general according to the Miracles of Secret Mantra the Secret Essence has five root samayas, ten branch samayas, and four great samayas, nineteen altogether. The root five are

· 1 not abandoning the three jewels

· 2 reverence for the guru

· 3 not cutting short mantras and Mudras

· 4 being kind to those who genuinely abide on the Mahayana

· 5 not speaking the secret to others

The same text says:

Not abandoning the matchless,
Reverencing the guru,
Not cutting off mantra and mudra,
Being kind to those
Who abide on the genuine path,
Never telling the secret
To those who are outsiders.
These five are the root.

Within the ten branches are the five samayas of not abandoning. The same text says:

Ignorance and passion,
Aggression, pride, and envy
These are the five samayas
That are not to be abandoned.

As for the samayas of the things to be accepted it says:

The red and white essences,
Human flesh, and excrement
Are the pure vessel and essence
And should not be rejected.

The four great samayas are the fundamental four, regarding cutting off life and so forth.

In new translation mantra, samayas to be guarded and samayas to be performed are distinguished. As for the first, fourteen root downfalls and so forth are explained in their particular traditions. As for the second, knowing the nature of the five meats and five amritas, one should enjoy them.

The five meats are those of the cow, elephant, dog, human, and horse. The five amritas are excrement, urine, semen, blood, and brains and so on. As for the benefits of eating these, the Shri Guhyasamaja says:

As for the high samaya
Of eating human flesh,
The excellent three vajras
Will be established by that.

As for the high samaya
Of eating human shit,
One will be the leader
Of all the vidyadharas.

By the high samaya of eating the flesh of cows,
One has the five attainments
Of the higher perceptions.

By the pure samaya
Of eating the flesh of horses,
One becomes a master
Of invisibility.

By the high samaya
Of eating the flesh of dogs,
All the host of siddhis
Are perfected and established.

By the high samaya of eating the flesh of elephants,
One becomes supreme
A solid vajra sender.

Also:

The flesh of cows and horses
Should be eaten as food
If we eat no other food great minded bodhisattvas
And Buddhas will be pleased.

Also:

Excrement and semen,
Blood and all the others,
Should be offered to deities.
When this is done the Buddhas
And bodhisattvas are pleased.

If one does not have them, make food in their form or visualize eating them. The same text says:

As for pure human flesh
If it is fully visualized,
One will gain all the siddhis
That are part of the secret body,
The secret speech, and mind.

Also:

If none of the meats are there,
One can visualize them.
Performing this vajra union,
One will be blessed by the Buddhas.

By practice of these actions like those of worldly degraded people, liberated from all attachment, one will have the virtues of being without good and evil, pleasing the dakinis and mahasiddhas, and so forth.

4) How to guard these samayas

They are guarded by means of mindfulness, attention and conscientiousness, by being upright, and having fear and reverence.

As for mindfulness, not forgetting the details of samaya, and what is permitted and prohibited, one keeps them in mind. Day and night one makes vows of bodhicitta and confessing and vowing to refrain.
As for conscientious attention, having examined to see whether the three gates abide in samaya or not, if anything that one does goes against samaya, one abandons it. What does not go against it, one practices.
As for being careful, as one is careful about great enemies and friends, when samaya is harmed and there is danger of going to the lower realms, hold it very tightly.
As for shame, if ones samayas proclaimed before the guru are transgressed, thinking that no one is lower than oneself, one should exhaust or avoid the slightest fault of the root and branch violations depending on oneself.
As for decency the guru, yidam, dakinis, and great beings are decent individuals. If one thinks they have been agents of degradation, depending on others, one should guard against that.
As for guarding fear, having thought of one's faults of transgression against samaya, we should not let go of it even if we die.
As for guarding devotion, inspired by the great benefit, devotedly guard samaya.

5) The meaning of the word, "samaya," dam tshig in Tibetan, has two meanings. If what is true and holy "dam" is guarded, non virtue is burned away, "tshig."

Also, if one transgresses what is holy in body, speech and mind, one will be damned and burned in the fires of hell. The Tantra of the Array of Samaya says:

SA, in producing that level
If, MA, it is not transgressed,
All the siddhis will be bestowed.
YA, if this is weakened
DAM, it must be restrained
If this should be let go
That is called transgression,
TSHIG, if that is transcended,
We experience fires of suffering.

As for the benefits of guarding samaya, within this life all our wishes will be established, everyone will be pleasant to us, all the dakinis will bless us, all the accumulations will be gathered, and no obstacles will arise. Even if our effort and powers don't go the distance, as long as samaya is not transgressed, in seven lives or sixteen we will certainly be liberated, attaining ultimate Buddhahood. The Secret Essence says:

By abiding within the samaya of equality
The equality of the great perfection will be gained.

The two bad consequences of transgression within this life are that everyone will be unpleasant and there will be many diseases and obstacles. What we want will not be established. Even if it rains, little will grow and so forth-- everything we do will go wrong, and various kinds of unpleasantness will arise. Not to mention that in the next life, we will go to hell. The same text says:

Those without root defilements
Need not struggle to cure them.
An instant of denying them
And faults will not arise.
But if there is transgression
Of the major root samayas
All practice will go wrong.
Various unpleasant fruitions
Are gathered in spite of ourselves.
If there is transgression
Of the branch samayas,
Without attaining fruition,
We fall to the lower realms.

The Two Examinations says:

Snakes who tell the secret
And thieves who steal the dharma,
Set fires all over the earth.

Also:

Plagues and calamities
And various obstacles,
Kings and fires and serpents
Floods, dakinis, and bandits
Vicious attacks of Dvns
And agents of perversion.
Destroyed by such assassins
Beings will go to hell.

6) Means of confession.

Now the means of confession are explained.

a) Divisions:

Divided by time all transgressions are of four kinds:

· 1). Going against samaya is not longer than a day.

· 2). Less than a month is a fault.

· 3). A breach is more than that up to a year.

· 4). Up to two and three years is severance of samaya.

Transgressions up to these, if they are confessed with great exertion, are purified. It is taught that confessions of those which cannot not be purified will not be received by one who is like the guru. The Tantra of the Array of Samaya says:

Generally for the different samaya transgressions
The division is distinguished by the time.
Going against samaya is violation
Which has lasted not longer than a day.
If one makes confession of the object
It is fully remedied by that.

A fault of samaya lasts up to a month.
It is remedied by strong remorse.
If one breaches samaya for a year
Uninterrupted confession will remedy that.
A longer time of up to two or three years,
Is said to be a severance of samaya.
It is repaired with immensely strong confession.

More than three years, is simply incurable.
If it is received, both master and student burn.
Certainly in the subterranean realm
They will only suffer continuously.

Transgressions are classified either depending on the essence or on time. Those known by the essence are transgressions of the root and branch samayas described before. For those depending on time, the degree of transgression depends on how soon it was confessed. By teaching these, the divisions are fully explained. As for how to amend, the same text says:

Going against samaya is confessed
With the performance of a ganachakra.
Transgression is remedied by one's possessions.
Breaches are repaired with spouse and children,
With possessions and acts of body, speech, and mind.
Severance is remedied with one's life.

Faults up to a day are remedied by a ganachakra. Having joined one's palms before the guru and so forth, say:

Guru, great vajra holder please consider us. For us by the power of confusion such and such errors have arisen. These, which we purify by confessing, we supplicate you to purify.

Say this three times, with lamentation and remorse. Later commit yourself to keep trying not to do these things again. By the gate from which the transgression arose, as an antidote do homage and so forth.

For violations up to a month, offer your cherished possessions to the person who was the object. Then remedy with a ganachakra as before.

For those up to a year, in addition to that, impoverish yourself, and offer your cherished spouse and children.

Up to three years, also with strong effort accomplish heavy deeds of sacrifice for the sake of others, gurus, and so forth.

Moreover, transgressions done in dreams, and bad lapses of slandering others should be told. Examining to see what was said of others in speech or mind, even in fun, all these should be confessed. The Great Array says:

To the guru and close retinue
To vajra brothers and sisters,
Not the smallest evil
Of spoken words should be said,
In nuance or reality.
Or just in dream or mind,
They all should be confessed.

If actual and mental faults,
Remain un-grasped by memory,
Passed by and not confessed,
Pulled down by that halter
One goes to the lower realms.

When one has done these, one will be liberated from the transgression by: Performing feasts, fire offerings, and service to the guru in body and speech, requesting empowerment, in the four periods doing the hundred syllable mantra, offering mandalas, trying to establish the ten virtues such as furthering life, reciting sutras and dharanis and so forth, expressing the virtues of others, telling one's hypocritical transgressions to all tantrikas in the ten directions, wishing for virtue, and pleasing those who rejoice in it, and meditating in samádhi and on kindness and so forth, the four immeasurables, etc.

To confess and remedy offenses worthy of hell, if this is done on the eighth day of the lunar month, all transgressions up to that time will be remedied:

b) The Liturgy:

In the space in front visualizing the guru, yidam, and assembly of deities of the mandala, prostrate, make offerings, and confess the evil deeds.
Then, from their body, speech, and mind, there arise red, white, and blue light rays. By their dissolving into one's own body, speech, and mind, all transgressions and defilements are purified. After the evil deeds and obscurations of all sentient beings are also purified, they become light and dissolve into the heart center of the guru.
Here, while the mind rests in equality like the sky, as one does the dedication, it is excellently taught that all transgressions will be purified.
As for the measure, if the obscurations have been purified, in dreams one will be dressed in white, one will reach the peaks of mountains, the sun and moon will rise together and so forth. That completes the presentation of samaya.

7) The conduct accompanying that.

a) General:

The benefits of the view and meditation, and the special qualities are established. As for the essence, after one meditates in samádhi, guarding the experience in post-meditation brings the benefit of mixing meditation and post meditation.

Moreover in terms of the lesser conduct of shravakas and the supreme conduct of bodhisattvas, as the benefit for oneself, by pacification and taming one binds non-virtue of body and speech. As the benefit for others there is the conduct of the six perfections.

The four teachings of the vast and extensive secret mantra for:

· i). Beginners

· ii). Those for whom a little experience has arisen

· iii). Those with a little stability

· iv). Those who have attained great stability.

i). As for the first, chiefly activities between sessions are done. There are the yogas of food, torma, making tsha tshas, water offering to the prêtas, mandalas, prostrations, and reciting sutras; seven fold service, offerings of writing and such, the ten-dharma activities.
As for the practice, the preliminary part is arousing bodhicitta. The main part is the unborn. Afterwards complete by dedicating the merit. As for the ten-dharma activities, The Tantra of Realizing all the Actions of the Oral Instructions says:

Transcribing, doing Pujas, giving, and listening;
Reading and comprehending, explaining, and reciting,
Contemplating and meditating on these things.
These ten acts of dharma have limitless merit.

ii). When a little experience has arisen through these, it is called the practice of Samantabhadra. As for the second topic, the practice of those for who this has arisen somewhat, the experience arising in meditation becomes of equal taste with post-meditation, joined with all the self-appearances of the senses. As within the meditation of the developing stage, when one is meditating on the mandala of the yidam deity; in post-meditation too all appearances are viewed as the illusion-like divine mandala. Become familiar with that. Within the meditation of the completion stage, whatever experiences of the nyam arise are joined in equal taste to all the self-appearances [27] of post-meditation. In brief, when the practitioner rises from meditation, and when various objects are experienced, at the time of enjoying form, sound, smell, taste, and touchables, all these are known to have the nature of the deities. These are also known as one's own mind. The mind is known as emptiness by the deities' divine realization and activity. By that there is the divine offering of the play of wisdom. Practice this as dharmata dissolving into dharmata. (i.e. dharmin, the realm of dharmas, and dharmata, their real nature) All the sense appearances of post- meditation become associated with the path. One's own five skandhas are OM, the five fathers. Form and so forth, their five objects are SUM, the five consorts. obscurations and so forth are HUM, the offering deities. One practices by visualizing these. The Secret Essence says:

The senses, and the limbs and consciousness,
Become the completely ripened syllable OM.
Meditate on the perfect mandala
And on the mandala of the wrathful ones.

Form and sound, smell and taste and touch
Become the completely ripened syllable SUM.
Meditate on the mandala of the consorts.
And on the mandala of the wrathful consorts.

Clothes and ornaments, eating, drinking, and songs,
Verses and dances, heaped-up clouds of feasting
Are known as HUM, when they are fully practiced.
The wondrously risen mandala is attained.

These are known as secret or insight activities. Whoever does them between sessions will have these beneficial experiences, and by relying on non-harming, harm will be abandoned.

iii). In the practice when experience is slightly stabilized, since these same experiences are beneficial, the discipline of insight should be practiced. This is with, without, and completely without complexity.

1) The practice with complexity is undertaken by those who are young in age with much vigor and little prajña. In a retreat house, doing sadhana, they do a ganachakra and confession. Have collected yogins and yoginis, complete in their ornaments, equal to the number of deities, and having meditated on the developing and completion stages, at the end while doing songs and dances, manifest desire without clinging. In six months, or whatever it takes, siddhi will be attained.

2) The practice without complexity, is to be done by those of middle age, prajña, and vigor. Like the other before, practice alone with an authentic consort or perhaps two or three together.

3) The practice supremely without complexity is done by those who are old with little vigor but much prajña.

In solitary places like charnel grounds, abandoning physical consorts, they unite directly with the vidya of co-emergent wisdom herself, and do kusulu practice.
Except for eating, sleeping and voiding waste, they abandon all other activities, and practice in emptiness.

Moreover since these are practices of taming the kleshas by wisdom, these words are said. In these cases if there are many emanations and gatherings of insight, finally the various activities of "cutting the continuity of the city" of samsara will be completed, and the primordial activity of doing nothing at all will be established. That is the benefit off these practices. The Song of the Oral Instructions of the Inexhaustible Treasury says:

Sometimes abiding in charnel grounds the "lamps" are practiced.
With fearless mind one sleeps in places haunted by prêtas.
Associating with outcasts, the wheel of taste is straightforward.
There is no "who does what" and no grasping the proper rules.

There is an assembly of sacred celebration
Yogins come together with many songs and dances,
With flutes and other instruments, they make delightful music.
The assembly sing and dance with the six dances of heruka
Their minds are so uplifted that there is no sadness at all.

Wearing robes on their backs and ornamented with copper,
With wheels in the topknots clinging to their heads.
All their limbs adorned with ornaments of bone,
With elephant and tiger skins tied above and below,
Carrying khatvangas and sounding the bells in their hands.

They excellently perform the actions of the great secret,
The delightful celebration of intoxicated insanity.
Forbidden activities that are shameful to perform,
Like drunken elephants plunging hugely into a lake,
Performing degraded acts, they are freed like a flying arrow.

This is the called the "activity of all the protectors." The Guhyasamaja says:

All the acts of desire,
If one manages to do them,
Just as one would like,
By such a wealth of union,
One quickly gets enlightened.

Also:

Unbearable self-denial
Is not to be relied on.
Rely on desirable qualities
To quickly be accomplished.

What's more, by this path without accepting and rejecting, the Buddhas are very pleased. The same text says:

Buddhas and bodhisattvas
And those who know the practice
Of the highest action of mantra,

Attain immovability,
Supreme in the highest Dharma,
By relying on all enjoyables.

That these practices are connected with the proper kinds of beings and times is important. If beginners do this feast practice or try to perform the "activity of all the protectors," they will just go to the lower realms.

8) Fruition: the two siddhis.

a) relative:

Having attained the benefits of the path by these activities, one will quickly attain the two siddhis. There will be the eight karmas, eight ordinary siddhis, and so forth. As for the eight karmas, the Two Examinations says:

The powers, higher perceptions, destroying hosts of enemies, driving away, killing, magnetizing, pacifying, and enriching will really be performed.

As for the eight ordinary siddhis, the Vajra Tent says:

With these there is no problem.
The eye potion and swift running,
The wondrous enchanted sword,
Finding treasures under the earth,
Magic pills and flying,
Becoming invisible,
The elixir for making gold.
By pleasing the vajra-holders.
One quickly becomes accomplished.

The Secret Essence says:

The mudra of songs and dances
Goes in a rush to the sky.

The mudra of songs and verses,
Attains the siddhis of Dharma.

The mudra of dress and ornament,
Gains the blazing, invincible king.

The mudra of eating and drinking,
Grants wish-fulfilling amrita. [28]

The mudra of vowels and consonants,
Makes anything into anything.

b) absolute:

Supreme siddhi is the establishment of Buddhahood. The Two Examinations says:

As for Trikaya being within the body,
That should be expressed by the form of samsara.
As for Trikaya being completely known,
That is expressed by the wheel of great bliss.

By that the explanation together with the subsidiary points is completed.
 

3. The path that produces liberation, the extensive explanation of the developing and completion stages.

Ĝ a. The developing stage

Ĝ b. The completion stage

Ĝ c. The accompanying samaya and action practice

a. The developing stage:

There are five sections.

· 1) Meditation on the protection circles.

· 2) Meditating on the mandala.

· 3) Meditating on the deities.

· 4) How to meditate on the great mandala of the environment and inhabitants.

· 5) How to recite the mantra.

1) Meditation on the protection circles:

Now we will enter into the details of meditation on the mandalas of samádhi. In a solitary and compatible place

Sitting in cross-legged posture upon a comfortable seat,
Having taken refuge and aroused the bodhicitta,
Then from within the nature of simplicity,
Where dharmas all are empty and ego does not exist,
The syllable HUM arises, then in turn from that,
Extending above and below, as well as in all the directions,
The deployment of the protective circle is huge and vast.
Its ten spokes have the marks [29] of the ten wrathful deities.
The circle is splendid with blazing fire within and without.

First, as for the preliminaries, sit cross-legged on a comfortable seat. Visualizing the guru and the assembly of deities of the yidam mandala in space, take the three refuges and as it is explained in the Sparking Precious Net:

Myself as well as limitless sentient beings,
Are in reality primordial Buddhas,
By I who know that this is really so,
May supreme bodhicitta be aroused.

Having said that three times, with the Svabhava mantra all dharmas are established as the great emptiness.
This is the such-ness samádhi. The Great Development and Completion says:

HUM
The nature of bodhicitta, which is completely pure
Is primordially unborn, and eternally all-encompassing,
Limitless, topless and bottomless, boundless in every direction,
A non-existing, unperceivable state of simplicity,
Inexpressible beyond thought, a perfect space of equality.

The Principal Heruka says:

This inconceivable space of Dharmadhatu
Is free from all concepts and discursive thoughts.
This inconceivable space of Dharmadhatu
Is not perceived, as space is not perceived.

Meditate like that. From the state of Dharmakaya is manifested the auspicious coincidence of the arising of Rupakaya. As all lesser productions are exhausted in the empty nature of the great perfection, one necessarily unties the knot of attachment to things and characteristics. The Stages of the Path says:

By emptiness all paths are mark-less-ness.
Attachment to ego grasping is liberated.

Then, in order to untie the knot of one-sided attachment to emptiness, there is meditation in the all-illuminating samádhi. The appearance of all dharmas is nature-less. With illusion-like compassion, meditate for a little while the natural luminous wisdom of self-awareness without a grasper. The same text says:

Get accustomed to the king of self-awareness,
And so supreme enlightenment will be gained.
Therefore after the such-ness of seeing this
Rest in the ground of arising of compassion.
Their rising in sequence like this is a certainty.

Then from the two sections on the cause samádhi, play is the circle of what is to be guarded. Here from HUM, in the limitless universal brilliance of the space of the sky, comes a ten-spoked wheel. Between rim and center, in the empty space inside, which is equal to Dharmadhatu, the ten spokes are transformed into ten lotus, sun, and moon seats marked with HUM.

Above is Humkara. To the east is Vijaya. To the southwest Blue Danda. To the south Yamantaka. To the southwest Achala. To the west Hayagriva. To the northwest, Not Attained by Others To the north Amritakundalin. To the northeast All-Victorious in the Three Realms, below Mahabala.

Each of them has one face and two arms ornamented with all the supreme [30] and Nirmanakaya ornaments the right leg is bent and the left extended. They hold scepters symbolizing their respective families or a bell and vajra. the two wrathful ones above and below are of the Tathágata family. They hold wheels. Those to the east and southeast, of the vajra family, hold black and white vajras. Those to the south and southwest, of the ratna family, hold dark yellow gems.

Those to the west and northwest, of the Padma family, hold dark red eight petalled lotuses. Those to the north and northeast, of the karma family, hold dark green crossed vajras and swords.

In the extensive version, in their three centers and six hands are the lady tramens. Their six feet are on the seats of the protectors of the ten directions Each has the five symbols signifying increase and so forth of the five families.

These should be learned elsewhere.

As for the main topic, the cause samádhi: Having meditated on oneself briefly as the chief deity, see the palace, whether visualized or not, as empty. It is joined with the meditation of the seed syllable of visualizing the deity.

2) Meditating on the mandala:

Above and below the center of this protective circle, in the great space between the spokes on each of which is one of the ten wrathful ones, in the center is a four-spoked wheel from the transformation of Bhrum:

In the center is the great mandala of Samantabhadra.
There are four sides, and four gateways, topped by aches.
The five-colored walls have ledges where there are the five sense-pleasures.
The cornices have garlands with jeweled pendent strings.
The eaves are decorated with balustrades and railings.
Ornamenting the dome is a precious-jewel vajra.
There are eight charnel grounds that surround the mandala.
In the center there is a seat of a lotus, sun and moon,
Supported by lions, elephants, horses, peacocks, and shang shang

This is the visualization of the support, the palace. The display of the field and palace is within the luminous nature of mind is. This is the dwelling place of Samantabhadra. Moreover within each of the visualizations is the mandala of Samantabhadra. Meditate on this as being as limitless as the sky.
To the right and left of each of the four gates, are the two pillars of the gateways. The three gates of liberation are in every direction.
The body of the palace is cubic. The five-layered wall is blue, green, red, yellow, and last white. These five are transparent like a rainbow. The four raised areas are the four wisdoms, the mirror-like wisdom and so forth. As a symbol of the Dharmadhatu wisdom, in the middle is a circular vase pervading the whole of space. At the top of these walls are the precious cornices. On top of those are the precious eaves [31] in the form of little dome-like shapes, [32] outside of which are variegated chains of garlands and pendants of jewels and pearls. Moving with the sun and moon pranas, supporting the chains, is a precious railing, [33] built in the shape of chörtens.
In the middle is the vase like a circular raincoat. the shrine hall's stratified roof above the eaves, covering the internal space, has a roof in two stages, above, in the center, center and on the four sides spreading like a five pointed vajra fence. It is marked at the top with a vajra and precious jewel finial.
At each side of the gates in the four directions two pillars support the archways. Each archway has four layers, adorned with various ornaments. On top of them is a wheel turned by two deer, at whose center is a life tree of precious substances.
At the four corners are victory banners and on long poles are hanging pennants. From the edges of the stories tipped with precious bells, are lifted garlands stretched from the center of the vajra finial to the sides of the archways, from their jingling giving a pleasant sound.
There are Jeweled yak tails and silk tassels, [34] with precious staffs and sun and moon finials. There are many kinds of deities and divine ornaments, and heaps of offering clouds from all the ten directions.
Outside the outer walls are ledges of desirable qualities, red where many transparent-appearing offering goddesses on sun and moon seats pour offerings of the five desirable qualities with a flourish.
Then there is a courtyard or field, green appearing around which, in the eight charnel grounds, are the eight self- arising stupas, Deje Tsegpa [35] and so forth, and Garab Dorje (Prahevajra), Manjushrimitra, Padmasambhava,
Vimalamitra, and so forth, the eight teachers. The charnel grounds are adorned with eight fires, eight lakes, eight clouds, eight trees, eight lokapalas, eight deities, eight nagas, and so forth.
In the center of the palace is a throne whose center is adorned with a lion, the east with an elephant, the south with a horse, the west with a peacock, the north with a shang shang. On that is a sun, moon and jewel seat. In the other places of the deities, meditate that there are self-arising lotus, sun, and moon seats equal to the number of the deities. The Secret Essence says:

Wisdom is visualized in the four directions and center.
With the spontaneous presence of the limitless mandalas,
By yogins with realization of the great perfection,
The mandala of the source of arising is realized.
A wheel with four spokes and a rim, a courtyard adorned by a cube.
Having square gateways, with music like heaps of various clouds.
This is adorned by forty-two different mandalas.
Great lion, elephant, horse, and garuda thrones float in space
With sun and moon and lotus or jewel seats.

Here as the garuda and peacock both are alike in overcoming poison, there is no distinction between union and purification in overcoming the poison of desire.
The four great layers of the archways are divided into halves by sub-layers making eight. The Fierce Lightning of Illusion says:

In the space which is the space of the human mind
The edifice of the four elements is spontaneously present.
On top of that arising from the four kinds of jewels
Spontaneously present and completely immeasurable,
As for the beautiful ground, which is supported by that,
It is carpeted with various kinds of jewels.

Giving way when pressed down, raising back on lifting,
On that there is the edifice of the palace itself.
With its cubic shape it is very beautiful.
It is made of four different kinds of precious jewels.

In the center of the structure is a four-spoked wheel,
Also made of four different kinds of precious jewels.
At the peak of the vase [36] is the crest ornament of dharma,
Variegated like the feather of a peacock.

Each of the four gates is adorned with an arch.
At the sides are eight pillars holding up the archways.
At the center of each is a vertical four-spoked wheel.
The navel supports a tree made of precious substances.
The squares of the courtyards are beautifully brilliant.
The precious light rays collect together like a staff.

The deities have seats of a lotus, sun, and moon.
They sit on blazingly brilliant excellent jewel seats.
The foot supports of the precious thrones are beautiful.
The excellent ornaments that adorn this wondrous palace
Blaze with suns, and moons, and various precious jewels.

Canopies, victory banners, food, and parasols,
Flowing silken streamers and long garlands strung with pearls,
Covered with ringing bells and the finest yak tail whisks,
Adorned with various kinds of musical instruments.

The assembly of worldly deities is beautiful.
These and other ornaments are inconceivably excellent.
The four gates of the palace are adorned with elephants.
The silk tassels [37] hanging from the archways
Are brilliant with a cascade of golden bells,
And chains with the symbols of the three excellent jewels.

The front of each gate is adorned with matching potted palms.
They have fine form and fragrance, and shine with radiance.
In these potted palms are cuckoos and so forth
Auspicious birds whose melodious voices resound with song.

In front of each gate is a washing pond of excellent shape,
Whose water fully possesses the eight limbs of excellent taste [38]
In each are inconceivable countless gods and goddesses.

Outside the surrounding walls of this palace of deities
Are peaks and places for walking of indescribable beauty.
These and so forth are inconceivably excellent.
Primordially self-established without needing to be sought.

If this mandala is associated with the three purities of ground, path, and fruition, the ground is that all sentient beings exist like that primordially. Therefore the four gates are the four immeasurables. The four archways are the four foundations of mindfulness. The five-fold wall is the five wisdoms. The eight pillars are the limbs of the eight-fold noble path. The bells, collections of za ra or bakuli, garlands of suns and moons, yak tails and jewels are the five senses and powers. The parasols are Dharmadhatu. The wheels are the four truths. The cornices are the changeless nature of mind.
The garlands and pendants are the seven limbs of enlightenment. The eaves are the great compassion. The stupas of the railing are inconceivable dharmata. (i.e. dharmin, the realm of dharmas, and dharmata, their real nature) The circular vase is the wisdom of Dharmadhatu. The four rises are the four excellent wisdoms. The five seats are the essential purity of the five poisons. The vajra and jewel finial is the primordial luminous nature of mind. The eight charnel grounds are the eight consciousnesses. The eight teachers are the eight self-arising wisdoms. The eight fires are the completely torment of false conceptions. The eight trees are the eight natures of the kleshas. The eight ponds are the eight-fold purifying path. The eight deities are the eight gates of siddhi. The eight nagas are the assembly of eight qualities. The eight lokapalas are the eight collections of merit and wisdom. That faults at the time of impurity and enlightened virtues correspond two by two is kindness. For example, as the five kleshas are counted as an aspect of the five wisdoms.
If they are connected to the path, they are associated with the thirty-seven factors of enlightenment. The four archways are the four foundations of mindfulness. The four tassels or ribbons are the four genuine abandonment’s. The four ornaments of wheels and so forth are the four legs of miracle. The five-fold wall is the five faculties The cornices, garlands and pendants, eaves, railings, and overflowing containers are the five powers. The five animals, the lion and so forth, plus the sun and moon are the seven limbs of enlightenment. The eight pillars are the eight limbs of the noble path.
The stairs by which the gates are entered are the six perfections. The four pillars are the four immeasurables. These three together at each gate are the three gates of liberation. These are the virtues from the path of accumulation through the path of meditation.
If it is connected with the fruition, the connection is with the qualities of the level of Buddhahood. As for the thirty-seven factors of completing the path, from this way of connecting, in particular the four fearlessnesses are the lion-thrones. The ten powers are the elephant thrones. The ten faculties are the peacock thrones. The four legs of miracle are the horse thrones. That all knowables are unobstructed is the shang shang thrones. The five wisdoms are the walls. The inexhaustible wheel of ornament of body, speech, and mind is the swirling light rays. The protectors of beings are the parasols. The matchless finial and so forth are adornment by the ultimate Buddha qualities. These are arranged as in the net of illusion. The details are as extensively explained there.
Though some tantrikas say that these things that are connected are not really in the mandala, this tradition of mantra is a wrong conception. Here the beautiful symbols appear like reflections in a mirror. From the power of display of these qualities, the palace and deities naturally-arising like a rainbow should be known to exist spontaneously. When the ground is free from all obscurations, the power of self-appearances of Akanishta actually will manifest. The Net of Illusion says:

The inconceivable self-existing mandala
By which all sentient beings are consecrated,
Possesses the perfection of all mandalas
Along with their environments and inhabitants.

3) Meditating on the deities:

Now we shall discuss the mandala of the inhabitants, the deities. Within this palace, on thrones of lions and so forth, from the transformation of the seed syllables of the individual deities:

There are the deities of the five families with their consorts
There are also eight male and eight female sattvas.
There are also four male and four female doorkeepers.
The Buddhas of the six lokas are in their proper places.
Their bodies, perfect in color, scepters, and ornaments,
Emanate limitless light rays to the limits of the directions.

In the center is Vairochana together with Akashadhatvishvari, dark blue. In the east is Akshobhya together with
Mamaki, white. In the south is Ratnasambhava together with Buddhalochana, yellow. In the west is Amitabha together with Pandaravasini. In the north is Amoghasiddhi together with Tara.
On the ground below them is a four-spoked wheel. There the five families abide. Outside of the wheel is a square and four square patterns. At each of the bordering corners inside and out there are two deities making eight altogether.
At the southeast corner is Kshitigarbha and Lasya, the goddess of grace green-blue. In the southwest is
Akashagarbha and Mala, dark blue [39] and blue in the northwest are Avalokiteshvara and Gita. In the northeast are
Samantabhadra and Gandhe green-yellow.
On the edges of the courtyards are the six Buddhas. At the east gate are Yamantaka and his consort. At the south gate are Vijaya and consort at the west gate are Hayagriva and his consort. At the north gate is Amritakundalin and his consort. They stir up the continuum a little so that it will unite.

4) How to meditate on the great mandala of the environment and inhabitants.

In particular as for its being taught that action and doer are displayed in the courtyard, this is the courtyard of
Vairochana's heart:

Within the heart-center of the principal deity,
Ground-Samantabhadra is being embraced by his consort.
His body is adorned with the major and minor marks.
In color he is like a spotless sapphire sky.
He is seated in cross-legged posture in a blazing globe of colors? [40]
Meditate that from this light rays are emanated.
They purify the vessel and essence of the world.
All is completely pure as the gods and goddesses.

In the heart center of Vairochana on a sun and moon disk is Samantabhadra, in meditation with his consort, dark blue. By the emanation of light rays of all colors, [41] all the environment and inhabitants of the phenomenal world become one with the palace of deities. Meditate that all dharmas become of the nature of the Buddha field of Akanishta Gandavyuha. As this is joined with the texts, the Fierce Lightning says:

In the numerous host of wisdom deities
Who are the inhabitants of this palace
The deities are united with their consorts.

At the center in the heart of the glorious palace
Is Vairochana along with his mudra consort.
They are of the color of Indranila. [42]
As their emblem they hold wheels in their hands.

In front of that hero is Vajrasattva with consort,
Having the colors of conch shell and of crystal.
As their sign they hold vajras in their hands.

To the right is the Bhagavan Ratnasambhava.
He is of yellow color like Jambunada.
As his sign he holds an eight-sided jewel.

Behind is lord Amitabha, colored like ruby.
As his emblem he grasps a crimson lotus.

To the left is the lord Amogasiddhi.
With a body color like Indranila.
As his emblem he is bearing a sword.

They are all adorned with peaceful ornaments,
And are wearing the crown of the five families.
They are sitting in full lotus posture
With long necklaces and customary armlets.
Their bracelets and their earrings are exquisite.
The major and minor marks are all complete.

The consorts who are embraced with the left arm
Are Samantabhadri and Lochana
Mamaki, Pandaravasini, and Tara.
They embrace the lords of upaya with the right hand.
With the left they grasp their signs and bells,
With customary ornaments like the fathers'.

The spokes of the wrathful wheel are self-existing.
In front of it there is a beautiful rise.
In the deities' hands are vajras of light blue.
Their sign is the three-pointed vajra that they hold.

To the right of these is Kshitigarbha.
Green-blue in color grasping a precious sprout.
Behind this mandala is Akashagarbha.
He is blue and holding his symbol, a sword.

To the left embraced by beautiful Gita.
Lord Avalokiteshvara is light red.
He grasps a lotus, his customary sign.
His topknot is adorned with jqanasattvas.
He sits in the cross-legged position of the sattvas
Adorned with the customary ornaments.

Embracing these above four deities
Are the consorts Nritya, Lasya, Mala, and Gita.
Their right hands by upaya grasp the principals.
The left are in dance mudra, with mirror, and mala
They have a vina; [43] and their ornaments
Are like those of the principal deities.

As for the beautiful squares that are at the borders
They are white to signify kindness or maitri.
They are adorned with beautiful snake-wood gandis.

In the square that is on the southern border
Is Nirviranavishkambin who is blue,
Holding in his hand a dharmachakra.
Beautiful on the border to the southwest
Is light red Maqjushrikumara.
He holds as his symbols a lotus and sword.
Beautiful on the border to the northwest,
Is Samantabhadra yellow-green in color.
His emblems are a jewel and ear of grain.
At the corner of the northeast intermediate direction
To the left of these who were just described above
Embracing these above four deities
Are the consorts gandha, pushpa, Gita, and Dhupa
With their right hands they embrace their consorts.
With the left they are holding their own signs.
With customary ornaments as before.

At the four gates are the four conquerors.
Blazing Yamantaka is dark blue
With a goat's head holding the scepters of confidence

Dwelling as the guardian of the east
Is blazing Vijaya, who is dark yellow,
Holding a vajra at the southern gate.
Blazing dark red is horse-headed Hayagriva,
Holding a skull and snake at the western gate.

Blazing Amritakundalin, dark green,
Holds a crossed-vajra at the northern gate.
He is standing in a dancing posture,
Adorned with the various charnel ornaments.

All these show their teeth in a frightening way
They are all enveloped in blazing fires
The sounds of HUM and Phat are loudly resounding.

Embracing these above four deities
Are Shemo, Gyaljema, Tamdrinmo, and Khyilma.
Awesome, holding iron chains and bells.
Their scepters are iron hooks and iron nooses.
Their accoutrements are like those of the conquerors.
Those at each of these gates are self-existing.

Within the beautiful courtyards of the palace,
Are the great sages, the six Nirmanakayas.
They show whatever bodies [44] are needed for taming.
And so the accoutrements they show are uncertain.

In these beautiful courtyards, in the front and back
Are Jepapo and -mo, of sky-like color.
They are resting in the state of samádhi.
These and so forth are inconceivably excellent,
Unexpressed and inexpressible.

The palace is filled by a host of deities.
The limitless mandala is self-existing.
In the heart centers of these excellent deities
Are jqanasattvas whose light is full of colors
On their tongues are the syllables of their signs.
Their own signs clearly appear over all the Mudras.
They are of every color, with all the styles,
Soft, supple, caressing, yielding, and young,
Clear, brilliant, and abundantly bountiful
They are consecrated with brilliant blazing.
That divine nature illumines the mandala.

Pure of the five skandhas, these are the pure deities of the five families. The deities with their consorts are explained as the union of appearance and emptiness. The eye, ear, nose, and tongue are the four inner bodhisattvas.
Form, sound, taste, and touch are their four consorts, the four inner female bodhisattvas. The pure eye, ear, nose, and tongue powers are the four external sattvas.
The four times, the past, future, present, and inconceivable dharmata, are the outer female bodhisattvas. (i.e. dharmin, the realm of dharmas, and dharmata, their real nature) Touch, the toucher, the touched, and awareness of touch having symbolized sense consciousness, sense, sense-object, and the four gates are the pure forms of the four ayatanas arising from sense consciousness. All dharmas are neither eternal nor nothingness. They have no self-natures and no characteristics. These are the four gates of dharmata.

The pure existence of the six kleshas, six perfections, six kinds of beings, and six purifying sages, and alaya and alayavijqana is Samantabhadra and his consort. All these deities presently divided from alaya are joined to the collections of consciousness with their faculties and objects. This is the situation of impurity. If they are purified, they are joined to the wisdoms and Buddha fields. Knowing them in that way is knowing them as the pure deities.

5) How to recite the mantra:

After the nature of the mandala thus elucidated has been known as one's own mind, from the seed syllables in the heart centers of the deities filling the space of the sky, the mantra garland goes from the mouth of the deity into that of the consort, and from the secret space, on the tips of whirling light rays, come a host of syllables and bodies of deities and countless scepters. In the world they do benefit for sentient beings. Think that the self-sound of mantra resounds like a thousand thunders OM AH HUM SVAHA or OM HUM HRAM HRIH AH.

Recite the three syllables and the seeds of the five Buddha families.
They become unborn sound-emptiness, like an echo.
Let yourself come to rest in this un-fabricated state.

Recite the three syllables and the seed syllables of the five families. It is like the unborn roar of a thousand thunders. Within that rest in meditation without artificiality. Also abandoning the faults of additions and omissions and reciting too fast, slow, weakly or, strongly, do the recitation. This very sound emptiness of reciting the mantra is the completion stage of sound. From that state, undisturbed mind and yoga without attachment should be produced.

b. The completion stage,

There are three sections:

· 1) The main explanation of how to meditate.

· 2) How afterwards one gathers everything into the conception-less.

· 3) The stages during the sessions.

1) The main explanation of how to meditate:

At this time:

Our minds are eternally of the nature of the deities.
Our bodies are the mandala; the words of our speech are mantra.
Within the great wisdom everything is self-perfected,
Wisdom and samaya are a non-duality.
Nothing needs to be summoned and there is nothing that comes.
Therefore, there is nothing that we could ask to depart.
There is no good and evil, no accepting and no rejecting.

This primordial mandala has always been within us.
By supplicating when we know that this is so,
This, which is un-established, will never be made to be.

Having supplicated simply by knowing that all dharmas are the single mandala of Buddhahood, we do the recitation, offerings, and praises, within the state of everything being the great spontaneous presence of the nature of one's own mind. Nevertheless in the yanas below yoga tantra there is attachment to the duality of good and evil, and therefore the jqanasattva enters into one from outside, and also the departure of the deities after the session is not explained in the same way. The Wondrously Arisen King says:

Within the primordial mandala of self-existing equality,
Having attained the knowledge that one was always there,
By different stages of mind involved with meditation,
Inviting and supplicating is not necessary.

Since body is established as the deity, speech as mantra, and mind as samadhi, practice does not differentiate samayasattva and jqanasattva. There is no contradiction between this and saying that beginners and those who delight in complexity should invite jqanasattvas and make offerings and praises to them. The Secret Essence says:

We enter the three thousand worlds as a few tiny syllables,
From space we invite the mandala make our offerings.

2) How afterwards one gathers everything into the conception-less.

Afterwards, there is a gradual gathering in of attachment.
Rest in simplicity without conceptions of anything.
When not there in illusion like the moon in water,
Dedicate the merit to help all sentient beings.

Here beginners gradually gathering in, meditate on emptiness and then by having trained in that very visualization of exhaustion, meditating within the illusory state of appearance/emptiness, dedicate the merit.

3) The stages during the sessions:

Act as if all is illusion, emptiness/luminosity.
All appearances and sounds are deities and mantra.
All memories and thoughts are self-arising wisdom.
From moment to moment this should be known unwaveringly.

During meditation on the mandala of the deities, and also in post-meditation, the environment, the apparent phenomena of the world, are the palace, and the beings who inhabit the world are the gods and goddesses. All sounds are mantra. All cognitions are self-arising wisdom. They rest shimmering in the great non-grasping where whatever arises and is encountered is liberated. So that they do not become ordinary appearances and thoughts of the five poisons, try to remain there undistracted day and night.

c. The accompanying samaya and action/practice,

Ĝ 1) The instruction to keep pure samaya

Ĝ 2) Delineating the particular times of practice and accomplishing

Ĝ 3) How from the virtues the fruition manifests

1) The instruction to keep pure samaya,

Now as accompaniments to the practice of secret mantra:

Let us purely keep our root and branch samayas.
Know and accept them purely. Do not give up, but act.
Five times five samayas are meant to be accomplished.
These twenty-five can be summarized under body, speech, and mind.
Let us try to keep our minds completely pure.

As explained before, guard the three root samayas and the five times five branch samayas. In brief, train in mind being pure and faultless as the chief samaya. The Tantra of the Array of Samaya says:

What is often talked about
As "samaya blah-blah-blah"
Is guarding one's own mind
In a state of purity.
Samaya is a great wonder.
So all the Buddhas have taught.

The Individual Enlightenment says:

Performing no evil deeds,
Acting in perfect virtue,
One's mind is completely tamed.
Thus it is taught by the Buddhas.

That is enough for a brief summary, but for the extended version, there should be as many samayas as the assembly of thoughts of sentient beings. The Secret Essence says:

As for this samaya
It is most wonderful.
In the ten directions
In all of the six lokas,

As many as thoughts of beings
Inhabiting the three realms,
There are that many samayas
For the purpose of taming them.

Accountable samayas exist in relation to relative truth. In relation to absolute truth all dharmas are inexpressible, beyond any limits that could be guarded, the great suddenness, the unestablished samaya of Samantabhadra.
The same text says:

As the un-established ultimate,
The mudra of supremacy,
The King Samantabhadra,
Everything is established.

The All-Creating King says:

Kye! As for the samaya of me the doer of all,
It is unborn like the sky, beyond all partiality,
Without the duality of guarding and non-guarding,
Realize the samaya of the King, the doer of all.

2) Delineating the particular times of practice and accomplishing:

Moreover to complete the two accumulations and pacify all hindrances accomplish siddhi and therefore remedy all violations:

On the fifteenth day of the month and the time of the new moon,
And also on the feast days of the eighth and twenty-ninth,
And the tenth day and night of the waxing and waning moon,
Perform the proper approaching and accomplishing
With feasts and offerings, confession and amending.

There are six times for accomplishing siddhi and the remedy of confessing. These are the fifteenth day of the month, the time of the empty sky of the new moon, and the eighth, twenty-fifth, tenth, and twenty-ninth days of the month. On these externally dakinis are abroad, and internally the pranas are especially well gathered in the nadis. These are called "the times of close gathering." In particular, the night of the tenth day of the waxing moon and the night of the twenty-fifth, the tenth day of the waning moon, in the places of practice, those who have the dakini practices gather to accomplish whatever karmas they want to attain. They should exert themselves in the four, approaching and so on, and make feast offerings and confessions. By that, on these days of the month all transgressions will be remedied. The supreme and ordinary siddhis are quickly accomplished. Moreover in single trees, rock mountains, islands in lakes and, so forth there are gatherings of the dakinis at the auspicious times, which are therefore called places of "gathering near."

The four inner chakras are always included in the dhatu and wisdom. This is called "gathering at the auspicious time at the place of drawing near."
The external places are the twenty-four places and so on. The "near" place is any place where the dakinis are.

Internally they are the twenty-four places of the petals of the nadis, the crown of the head and so on. The secret great bliss is the ground of offering. This is the "place of drawing near.

3) How from the virtues the fruition manifests,

Since on all these days the supreme level is chiefly established, arising from the secret individual tantras and oral instructions:

Let us earnestly try to reach the profoundest piths
Of the yoga of prana and mind, of nada and bindu.
By meditating on the path that unifies,
The experiences of bliss, luminosity, and non-thought.
Let us be vajra-holders within this very life.
Let us attain the state of perfect enlightenment.

As for the supported, the samádhi mandala, yogins familiar with the upaya of the developing and completion stages always train in the completion stage of the great wisdom, knowing how to meditate on the above-taught nature of prana, nadi, and bindu as it is and in its ultimate arising. When one dwells in non-dual wisdom, by the tummo of the navel, the drops of the melting element at the crown of the head, the great essence, fall from the throat into the heart center. They activate the secret center and the downward going prana is reversed. By its essence going into the heart, the support of the above-mentioned bodhicitta, mixed with light, is touched by that, so that the luminous nature of mind is pervaded by mahasukha even more than before.

When the nature of bliss, luminosity, and non-thought arises, rest in the subtle light of the heart center. By the arising of inconceivable wisdom whose body is space, this is called treading on the level of the great Dhyana. At that time, body, speech, and mind become one and inseparable, and it is said that the three realms are not separate.

Also as for the nadi petals of the heart center and their essences, the Commentary of the Secret Drop says:

"Whoever has that absorption" and so forth, means whoever has that absorption has the essential nature. If it so exists, as for the white silk essences of the nadis which are like twined cords, their producing the essence of the skandhas from non-obstruction is the essence of arising. It appears as earth. This is the consort who illuminates the Buddhas' eyes, Buddhalochana. That is the wisdom of the great emptiness. It produces the support of everything not being other than the state of complete purity.
These white silk cords are vibrated by the vermilion sound essence. As for its existing like the essence of the mother, since it has made the skandhas primordially pure, that arising essence appears as water. This is the consort Mamaki. The wisdom of equality is the nature that combines all these in a single space without separation.
The breath-essence, gold, existing under the earth as mere vapor, producing the primordial support of the rising and motion of the skandhas, appearing as the air element is Tara and all- accomplishing wisdom. This nature produces the essence of great bliss.
Moreover, the primordial heat-essence, like the sun resting in a mirror, existing as a mere fragrance, ripens as the apparent element fire. This is Pandaravasini and discriminating awareness wisdom. It is the wisdom lamp of realizing everything as the space of mahasukha.
In the center of that light, consisting of the great bindu, bodhicitta is the great essence. It produces the support of the primordial luminosity of the skandhas. It is the essence of arising, appearing as space and the nadis. That is the wisdom of the great pervasiveness, the consort
Samantabhadri revealing the luminous state of everything as the space of authenticity, appearance/emptiness. The essence like a flower of molten gold is prajña, the nature of all the consorts.
What is like precious saffron anthers is the essence of the king of Upaya, Samantabhadra, and so forth, the father deities. Moreover, the precious white stone ke ke ru, seemingly filling all gaps, is the mirror- like wisdom. By that the essence of bodhicitta is seen as if unseen, without a seer, and nothing to see.
That which is the father is the mother. That which is the mother is the father. They are seen as radiance without difference. That should be viewed as that having that itself. That is called bindu.
What exists in that way is the union of upaya and prajña. Not only that, but it exists as all the three realms. That nature of bodhicitta is viewed. It should be continuously viewed and magnetized.

In the center of the eight nadis of the heart, are the essence nadis, divided like ten hairs of a horses tail and no bigger, and within that the blood essence is the breath. The essence of breath is luminous like light. For example, like the oily wick of a blazing lamp, self-arising wisdom is luminous with the brilliance of the five lights. The essence of the elements goes up and down, since they dwell there like many oils, and like the blazing up of a luminous lamp, self-arising wisdom also produces great luminosity within the body, and in all the nadi petals. Since bliss increases, it arises as the wisdom of self-awareness. Here appearance is the five fathers. All the solid earth of the nadis and so forth is

Buddhalocana. Moisture and water are the great essence Mamaki. Bliss and heat are Pandaravasini. Lightness and movement are Tara. Since simple space is inseparably united with these ladies, this is called the great union. At that time, the body, speech, and mind syllables of the nadis blaze with light. When the syllables of the basis of purification have been burned, no karma and habitual patterns are conceptualized. Liberation of samsara into dharmata is produced. (i.e. dharmin, the realm of dharmas, and dharmata, their real nature)

This is supported by the nadis. By breath bliss is moved. By heat bliss is ripened. By space, the space of equality/equanimity of the great perfection is produced. Realization of the complete liberation of the three worlds as Samantabhadra is produced.

The same text says:

If it is asked, "If one meditates like that, what happens, and from what does it arise?" What is being talked about is the wisdom of Buddhahood. It is the arising of space as form. The great yoga is not different from the three realms. From what does it arise? From the great essence, profound and unbroken, from that it arises. If it is asked what comes from that, From that that arises. That itself arises, so it is said.

When bindu-bodhicitta has just become workable and radiant, above and below OM are SU and TRI and above and below HUM are AH and NRI. Above and below AH are PRE and DU blazing with light. The bindu drops of the essence become nature-less. Since bindu is nature-less, in the nadis like white silk cords no bigger than ten hairs of a horse's tail only the vibrating vermilion essence of the mother exists producing desire within the great bliss. By that blazing with light, the breath essence like gold in a brocade, abiding as a mere vapor produces movement within the great bliss. That blazes with light. Within it the essence of heat, like the sun in a mirror, existing as a mere fragrance, ripens the great bliss. Blazing with light, it becomes the nature-less great essence.

Arising only in the form of space, all the three worlds spontaneously rise as non- individualized wisdom, so it is said. This bindu-bodhicitta arising as the form of space is Dharmakaya. That is called "just so."

Then within the navel the nadi petals blaze, and regarding how the heart bodhicitta is illumined by that and made to blaze with light, the same text says:

The secret prajña bindu is called space and so forth. This secret prajña is called the bindu having the nature of Samantabhadri. This is Dharmadhatu. Where does it dwell? In the navel. In the center of sixty-four nadis dwells the sun. What is its nature like? It is like prajña and upaya. Arising from that bindu, all marks being grasped is the fathers. It is upaya. As for this nature-less bindu being Dharmadhatu, this is prajña, the mothers. Thus bindu consists of inseparable prajña and upaya. From that bindu form and the three realms arise. All these elements in a mandala of forty-two do not become many Becoming a mandala, since all these are the bindu of Dharmadhatu, they are said to develop or be sealed as everything. Here the five wisdoms are spontaneously present. They exist and are seen as five and so-called. As the above essences become radiant from the power of heat, their heat descends.

This is the bindu of the nature of Samantabhadri. Its dissolving downward is called "descending." The bindu of the nature of Samantabhadri blazes with light. This is called the blaze of dissolving into the essence of the heart center. By this the great essence brilliant gold, until then existing under a covering, having existed as a mere vapor, blazes with light, having become the radiant drops of the essence. Without the ground of breath, it becomes ever weaker until it is motionless. If that motion is absent, its causeless fruition existing as the great bliss is called the great-bliss offering. That heat of great bliss dissolving into the above bindus is called urging the bindus to blaze with light. Moreover, by the heat of the heart center the bindus descend. By their touching the bliss heat in the center of the nadi petals, again that heat becomes the essence. When it dissolves into the heart-center essence, by the ceasing of the cause of coarse prana, bindu rests without coming and going in the heart. Existing motionlessly, it is dharmata, absolute truth. (i.e. dharmin, the realm of dharmas, and dharmata, their real nature)

Then by the heat of the heart center, touching the essence in the center of the nadis of the throat, the essence proliferates in the heart. Also, by the ceasing of prana it rests in dharmata (i.e. dharmin, the realm of dharmas, and dharmata, their real nature), about which the same text says:

This light of the great essence dissolving into the bindu of the throat is called union. Where does it dwell? In the center of sixteen nadis, as a lotus blossom, it is said to be in a nadi mandala of two fives and six. Energized by the heat below, it blazes with light. Existing as the great bliss, this is called the great bliss. The great bliss is spontaneously present. After this it does not move back. The great rejoicing should be offered. By what is called the merit of the arising place of knowables and so forth, knowables are objects, and arisings [45] are thoughts. Exhaustion is radiant bindu. This is called the wisdom of exhausting thoughts through light and luminous bindu. Bindu itself without nature appears as the great bliss. This is called the music of the play of bliss. That is called bindu entering into and dwelling in the place of great bliss.

Moreover, when the heat of the heart center dissolves into the throat-bindu, prana and thoughts do not wander.

This is the virtue of breath dissolving into bindu. As for heat, at the time of non-identification, or non-grasping at essences, [46] when passion has been exhausted, there is the wisdom of great bliss. As for breath, at the time of non- identification, when aggression is exhausted, it is the wisdom of luminosity/emptiness. When the empty hollows of the nadis are not identified, that is the time of exhausting ignorance, the wisdom of the simplicity of Dharmadhatu.

Now the heat of the throat enters the essence at the crown of the head. Regarding how the wisdom of bliss, luminosity, and non-thought is produced, the same text says:

"In a mandala of three tens and two" and so forth having come into the center of thirty-two, having come into the center of space, it exists as moon-bindu-bodhicitta.

That same bindu is the substance of Buddhahood, Dharmakaya, the main point. The perfection of the mandala of the ten directions and four times is this itself. Body, speech, mind, quality, and action are this same bindu.

But after the bindu of the great bliss has been touched by the light of that throat bindu, dissolving into light, it becomes a coronation vase of the nature of the great bliss. The three realms become non-different. After wisdom has arisen in the form of space, it becomes Dharmakaya pure of all things. In this sense, the yogin who becomes Dharmakaya will see the faces of all the Buddhas at once.

Moreover, that great essence in the center of the space chakra at the crown of the head, blazing with light because of that heat, is the mahasukhakaya. Having reached that, by enlightenment one treads on the level of the great ushnisha. If the four stages of this are briefly summarized, first in the center of the navel, the aspect of heat, the bindu having the essence of the sun, in the center of sixty-four nadis, is made into a condition by touching the heat in the essence of the heart center. Then the wisdom of Nirmanakaya is realized.

When the heat blazes upward touching the great essence of the heart center, the prana and breath essence subsides. False conceptions are pacified. This is the wisdom of Sambhogakaya. Since the essence of this mode of dharmas is free from producing movement, prana and mind dissolve back into luminosity as the great wisdom. However, as for the essences increasing in the nadi petals being the wisdom of bliss-emptiness, it is not so. These essences are collected back into the essences in the center of the four essence chakras. A non-supreme luminosity arises. The bliss- heat-desire aspect is the wisdom of bliss. The moving breath prana-dissolving aspect is the wisdom of luminosity. Mixed with the space element aspect within the nadis, these arise as the three wisdoms of non-thought. This is called the circle [47] of the three wisdoms. As for the fruition of all these, incidentally one has mastery over life and is established as a rigdzin of Mahamudra. By attaining the virtues of the paths of seeing and meditation, as signs of that level one sees many Buddha fields, accomplishes great samádhis and miracles, and benefits beings with inconceivable emanations and Dharmas. Finally, by Buddhahood, the spontaneous presence of wisdom manifests. The same text says:

"This is the ultimate empowerment." As for this and so forth, the yogin who is capable of this is empowered with mastery of life and so forth, whatever is desired. There is no other empowerment than this. By oneself existing as the mandala, as above in the supreme samádhi, one becomes the mandala. Here by this self-existing Buddhahood in which the two accumulations are perfected, since one becomes all mandalas, their many enjoyments and ornaments do not fail to occur, this is called the ornament. "By the dual perfection, the union of bindu..." Since bindu is workable, there is Dharmakaya.

This arises from perfecting the two accumulations. Such a yogin by the great compassion for sentient beings of the ten directions and four times, does benefits like dream or illusion and liberates them from samsara.

By these passages the teaching of extraordinary completion stage is completed. Now as for the summary of the developing and completion stage:

By having the single yoga,
All mandalas are accomplished.
Therefore this itself
Develops as well as perfects
The realm of Samantabhadra.
Moreover as above,
In regard to elaboration,
There are complex and very complex, and also supremely complex.
Inconceivable to thought, the limitless mandalas
Become spontaneous presence.

These are the incidental verses:

Here first is the presentation from the viewpoint of those who are not able to enter into the extensive developing stage or only devote themselves to the completion stage with little elaboration. As for the explanation that all will be meditated upon by meditating on the single deity, after going to refuge and arousing bodhicitta, as it says in the Secret Essence:

This rootless nature of mind
Is the root of all the dharmas.
The nature of the mind
Is the nature of the syllables,
The precious wishing clouds.

Also:

A is the middle way
Of having no conceptions
In between emptiness and a non-empty reality,

All is just a name,
A whirling syllable garland
Abiding as all the Buddhas.

By reciting A A A, all dharmas in a state without one and many are un-obscured in the center of a sky free from clouds. In the center of the sun and moon shining brilliantly with rays of light, glorious Samantabhadra and Samantabhadri are non-dual. Having the mudra of meditation, as the nature of Dharmakaya they are without the customary ornaments. Meditate on them in the midst of encircling light rays of the five colors, and that by the light of the palaces of Akanishta all the space of the sky is filled, so that the phenomenal world blazes with light.

OM AH HUM A A. Saying this as many times as you can, rest in the ultimate space of the sky. By this meditate on all the mandalas of the Buddhas, since this is their source. The Secret Essence says:

In the limpid center of space on a sun and moon,
Meditating on the king of wisdom,
Seated cross-legged, in meditation pasture,
We are meditating on all the mandalas
Of the victorious ones without remainder.

Then as for how meditating in a single completion stage is meditating on them all, visualize that in the heart of the one meditating like that, brilliantly blazing globes of light, having the radiance of the five wisdoms of non-thought, take hold of the mind and render it immovable. When prana becomes immovable, whatever is perceived will not exist.

One can rest for a day and night within the wisdom without one and many. Lights and rainbows appear. Buddha fields are visibly seen. By mixing day and night the mind rests in self-awareness wisdom with no rising or setting. Except for making clear that one's mind has been like that primordially, in attaining Buddhahood no other nature is attained. The Secret Essence says:

In the four times and in the ten directions
No other perfect Buddha will be found.
Mind itself is perfect Buddhahood.
Do not search for any other Buddha.

This kind of developing and completion stage unites all the mandalas of developing and completion. All the siddhis are accomplished. Little omissions and additions to rituals are no hindrance to siddhi. There are measureless benefits. The same text says:

By completely uniting all mandalas,
All mandalas are accomplished.
Now there will be no transgressions
Of additions or omissions.

Now, as explained above, in the brief teaching and the details of the extensive meditation on the mandala, these details should also be trained in. First, train successively in the three samádhis, the such-ness samádhi and so forth until the signs are attained. Then from a white A by emanating and gathering fine A's, emanate and gather the vowels and consonants. Do the same from the seed syllable of the deity. The same text says:

A

From white A, which has become completely stable,
Other very fine A syllables emanate.
Having filled and illumined the directions,
Even when they are gathered back again,
They are stable without increase and decrease.
From these the brightly blazing assembly of names
Is similarly emanated and gathered back.

Meditate on the seed syllables of the deities until they are clear. The virtues of this are long life, freedom from disease, not being harmed by obstacles of obstructing spirits and dvns, accomplishing the four karmas, and uniting with the supreme level. The same text says:

This dependent arising of the vajra siddhi
Becomes the cause of wisdom.

Then meditate successively on the body of the deity, the ornaments, the syllable at the heart center, and the consort. Then while meditating on the retinue, Akshobhya and so forth, one after another, meditate on development and completion as one. At this time the signs of perfecting the path of accumulation arise.

Then on a rise in front visualize the retinue with Akshobhya as the principal one. Perfectly visualize behind the mandala the retinue with Amitabha as the principal one. This is the mandala of three groups. Train in these as body, speech, and mind.

Then on a rise to the south and north visualize the mandalas of Ratnasambhava and Amoghasiddhi. These are quality and action. This is the mandala of five groups.
Then with the gatekeepers in union with their consorts, this is the root of all mandalas. There is no need to meditate on any other, since this is the mandala in which all others are included. These gatekeepers of the four directions are the gatekeepers of the four directions of all mandalas. For example, below the rise in the east are Ankusha and consort as gatekeepers. To the right below Ratnasambhava are Pasha [48] and consort. The west and north are similar. The faces of all these deities are seen from whatever direction they are viewed. The same text says:

From every direction their faces are clear and vivid.

Meditate on them facing in the direction of the principal deity. At that time, the virtues of the four stages of the path of preparation are perfected.
Then in the four directions above and below meditate on the mandalas of the five families.

In the east is the mandala of Vajrasattva, like that there are 5 times 5. In the south, west and north too, are three more, with 5 times 5. In the center is the mandala of Vairochana with 5 x 5. Within the 25 mandalas, the number of deities of the root mandala is 422. The rises 388 these 170 multiplied by 5 equals 850, by meditating on those the virtues of the path of seeing are perfected.

Then the 1000 and 20,000 appearance-producing Buddhas of the lower seven Bhumis are perfected.

Then meditating on those as limitless as space, there are limitless self-existing mandalas. The virtues of the three pure levels are perfected. These very numerous teachings are established. This style is explained in the Great Net of Illusion Some deities are deities of blessing body, speech, and mind. Some are crown-ornament deities. Some are heart syllable jqanasattvas. These divisions should be understood from the Secret Essence and so forth. By that the explanation together with the subsidiary points is completed.

C. The dedication of merit

Now there is the dedication of merit:

Thus by this utterly secret, unsurpassable heart,
Beset by karma and kleshas of beings here in samsara,
Yet living so close to the palace of Sri Heruka himself,
May the weariness of mind come to rest this very day.

By the power of wondrously risen unsurpassable virtue, may all beings preoccupied by the games of the kleshas be liberated from the city of samsara. May they effortlessly reach the primordial city of Heruka whose primordial ultimate nature is self-existing. May they be confirmed by joy. May their weariness be relieved by the goodness of the Dharma of complete liberation.

Fully illumined by massive accumulations of virtue,
By the limitless radiant wisdom of the sun and moon,
May beings truly vanquish the darkness of the four continents.
May appearance of the good path of freedom be produced.

From the principal essence amid a measureless ocean,
By the crown jewels of the nagas, the two accumulations,
May degenerations of many births be cleared away.
By the wealth of the Dharma wishing-rain, may they be fulfilled.

By the power of riding the horse of the excellent vehicle,
Completely carried away from the three worlds that burden beings,
When all has been transformed to the path of enlightenment,
May they cross to the city of the great liberation.