• The Collection
  • The Kangyur
  • Tantra
  • Tantra Collection
  • Unexcelled Yoga tantras

This rendering does not include the entire published text

The full text is available to download as pdf at:
https://read.84000.co/data/toh425_84000-the-mahamaya-tantra.pdf

སྒྱུ་འཕྲུལ་ཆེན་མོའི་རྒྱུད།

The ​Mahā­māyā Tantra

Mahā­māyā­tantra
དཔལ་སྒྱུ་འཕྲུལ་ཆེན་མོའི་རྒྱུད་ཀྱི་རྒྱལ་པོ།
dpal sgyu ’phrul chen mo’i rgyud kyi rgyal po
The King of Tantras, the Glorious ‌Mahāmāyā
Śrī­mahā­māyā­tantra­rāja­nāma
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Toh 425

Degé Kangyur, vol. 80 (rgyud ’bum, nga), folios 167.a–171.a.

Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee
under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha

First published 2013
Current version v 2.16.6 (2021)
Generated by 84000 Reading Room v2.14.6

84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha is a global non-profit initiative to translate all the Buddha’s words into modern languages, and to make them available to everyone.

Warning: Readers are reminded that according to Vajrayāna Buddhist tradition there are restrictions and commitments concerning tantra. Practitioners who are not sure if they should read this translation are advised to consult the authorities of their lineage. The responsibility for reading this text or sharing it with others who may or may not fulfill the requirements lies in the hands of readers.

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co.

Table of Contents

ti. Title
im. Imprint
co. Contents
s. Summary
ac. Acknowledgments
i. Introduction
+ 3 sections- 3 sections
· The Text
· About the Translation
· Note
tr. The Translation
+ 3 chapters- 3 chapters
1. The First Instruction
2. The Second Instruction
3. The Third Instruction
c. Colophon
ab. Abbreviations
n. Notes
b. Bibliography
+ 2 sections- 2 sections
· Sanskrit and Tibetan Sources
· English Sources
g. Glossary

s.

Summary

s.­1

The Mahāmāyātantra, named after its principal deity Mahāmāyā, is a tantra of the Yoginītantra class in which Mahāmāyā presides over a maṇḍala populated primarily by yoginīs and ḍākinīs. The practitioner engages the antinomian power of these beings through a threefold system of yoga involving the visualization of the maṇḍala deities, the recitation of their mantras, and the direct experience of absolute reality. As well as practices involving the manipulation of the body’s subtle energies, the Mahāmāyātantra incorporates the transgressive practices that are the hallmark of the earlier tantric systems such as the Guhya­samāja­tantra, specifically the ingestion of sexual fluids and other polluting substances. The tantra promises the grace of Mahāmāyā in the form of mundane and transcendent spiritual attainments to those who approach it with diligence and devotion.


ac.

Acknowledgments

ac.­1

This text was translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee. The translation was prepared by Ryan Damron with the assistance of Catherine Dalton, and was edited by Andreas Doctor.

This translation has been completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.


i.

Introduction

i.­1

The Mahāmāyātantra, named after its principal deity Mahāmāyā, belongs to the class of Yoginītantras. According to the post-tenth-century classification scheme of the Tibetan New Schools (gsar ma), the Mahāmāyātantra is categorized as a Mother tantra (ma rgyud) among Unexcelled Yoga tantras (bla na med pa’i rnal ’byor gyi rgyud, yoga­niruttara­tantra ). It earns this classification due both to the importance placed on female divinities in the tantra’s maṇḍala and to its inclusion of practices focused on the manipulation of the body’s subtle energies. In this tantra, Mahāmāyā presides over a maṇḍala populated primarily by yoginīs and ḍākinīs, those semi-divine female figures known throughout South Asian tantric traditions for the power they derive from being propitiated with blood, flesh, and sex. The practitioner engages the antinomian power of these beings through a threefold system of yoga involving the visualization of the maṇḍala deities, the recitation of their mantras, and the direct experience of absolute reality. The Mahāmāyātantra also incorporates the transgressive practices that are the hallmark of earlier tantric systems such as the Guhya­samāja­tantra,1 specifically the ingestion of sexual fluids and other polluting substances. The tantra promises the grace of Mahāmāyā in the form of mundane and transcendent spiritual attainments (siddhi) to those who approach it with diligence, courage, and devotion.

The Text

About the Translation

Note


The Translation
The King of Tantras, the Glorious Mahāmāyā

1.
Chapter 1

The First Instruction

[F.167.a]


1.­1

Homage to the Glorious Vajraḍākinī!

I pay homage to the protector of beings, Glorious Vajraḍākinī,
Universal sovereign of the ḍākinīs, the very essence of the five wisdoms and three bodies.
1.­2
I pay homage to all the vajraḍākinīs
Who cut the bonds of conceptual thought and descend to act in the world.

2.
Chapter 2

The Second Instruction

2.­1
Now, following that, I will explain the sublime secret syllable that bestows the result of the spiritual attainment for the practice of the great queens of yoga.
2.­2
Merely visualizing her, the yoginī grants the best of things.
Apply the first syllable and sustain the upward breath.38
2.­3
Taking that which comes at the end of the eight together with ū and the bindu,
The yogī moves the downward breath, abandoning the real and unreal. [510]

3.
Chapter 3

The Third Instruction

3.­1
Now comes a thorough explanation of the supreme accomplishment of the samaya:
The ingestion of the other gathered substances that bestow the result of omniscience.
3.­2
By their mere consumption the mothers of the spirits are accomplished:46
Elephant and horse, and so too cow and dog.
3.­3
Mixed with the great one and also the five wisdom nectars,
From the fourteenth to the eighth they are combined and mingled together.47

c.

Colophon

c.­1

It was translated and edited by the Indian preceptor Jinavara and the great Tibetan translator Gö [515] Lhetsé.


ab.

Abbreviations

G Guṇavatīṭīkā
S Mahāmāyātantrasya vṛtti smṛti
SM Mahāmāyāsādhanam (in Sādhanamālā)

n.

Notes

n.­1
The Mahā­māyā­tantra clearly postdates the Guhya­samāja­tantra because of the instances of intertextuality indicated below in notes 3 and 51–55. The Guhya­samāja­tantra, and similar works like the Guhya­garbha­tantra demonstrate significant iconographic and ritual innovations over those works typically identified as Yoga‌ tantras, such as the Sarva­tathāgata­tattva­saṃgraha. Beginning in approximately the eighth century ᴄᴇ, the pacific and regal Vairocana was replaced at the center of tantric maṇḍalas by deities associated with the vajra family, frequently in the wrathful form of Akṣobhya known as Heruka. This shift is related to the introduction of transgressive practices and a wrathful, mortuary aesthetic into the established structure of the Yoga‌ tantras, leading some Indian Buddhist commentators to begin to refer to Mahāyoga, or “Great yoga,” tantras. In the later Tibetan doxographical schemes of the New Schools these tantras would be identified as Father tantras (pha rgyud), joining the Yoginītantras in the class of Unexcelled Yoga tantra (yoga­niruttara­tantra). The Yoginītantras would build upon the framework of these tantras as they introduced their own unique iconographies and practices.
n.­2
On the dating of the Cakra­saṃvara­tantra, see Gray (2007) pp 11–14, and Sanderson (2009) pp 158–69.
n.­3
Verses 3.12–14 of the Mahā­māyā­tantra contain a number of close correspondences with verses 12.52, 53, and 55 of the Guhya­samāja­tantra.
n.­4
Regarding Ratnākaraśānti’s dating, see Isaacson (2001) p 458, n 4.
n.­5
For the dating of Kṛṣṇavajra, see Isaacson (2001) p 457, n 2.
n.­6
Tāranātha, F.3a.7–3b.6. Although there is no definitive evidence, some assert that Kaṇha and Kṛṣnācārya are identical.
n.­7
’gos lo tsa wa (1988) pp 208–9.
n.­8
See bibliography.
n.­38
“Sustain the upward breath:” this translates the Sanskrit ucvāsasam kurute, which is rendered in the Tibetan translation as dbug gtang bar bya.
n.­46
“Mothers of the spirits:” we have here followed Ratnākaraśānti in reading the Sanskrit term gūḍhamātaraḥ [G, p 36], which appears as ’byung po mi rnams in Tibetan translation. In South Asian mythology, the gūḍhas are a class of beings that attend upon Kubera, the lord of wealth.
n.­47
Kṛṣṇavajra identifies this line as corrupt [S, F.213b]. He notes that it should read “from the eighth until the fourteenth,” which is the span of seven days mentioned in the next verse.

b.

Bibliography

Sanskrit and Tibetan Sources

dpal sgyu ’phrul chen po’i rgyud kyi rgyal po. Toh. 425. Degé Kangyur, vol. 80 (rgyud ’bum, nga), folios 167a–171a.

dpal sgyu ’phrul chen mo’i rgyud kyi rgyal po. Lhasa Kangyur, vol. 82 (rgyud ’bum, nga), folios 43a–49b.

sgyu ’phrul chen mo’i rgyud. Narthang Kangyur, vol. 83 (rgyud ’bum, nga), folios 38a–44b.

dpal sgyu ’phrul chen po’i rgyud. Peking Kangyur, rgyud ’bum, vol. nga, folios 153a–157a.

sgyu ’phrul chen mo’i rgyud. Stok Palace Kangyur, vol. 94 (rgyud ’bum, ga), folios 344b–349b.

dpal sgyu ’phrul chen po’i rgyud kyi rgyal po. bka’ ’gyur (dpe bsdur ma) [Comparative Edition of the Kangyur], krung go’i bod rig pa zhib ’jug ste gnas kyi bka’ bstan dpe sdur khang (The Tibetan Tripitaka Collation Bureau of the China Tibetology Research Center). 108 volumes. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 2006-2009, vol. 80 (rgyud ’bum, nga), pp 536-547.

Kṛṣṇavajra. sgyu ’phrul chen mo’i rgyud kyi ’grel pa dran pa (*Mahā­māyā­tantrasya vṛtti smṛti) [Recollection: A Commentary on the Mahāmāyā Tantra]. Toh. 1624, Degé Tengyur vol. 25 (rgyud ’grel, ya), ff. 201.a–219.a. (S)

Ratnākaraśānti. Guṇavatīṭīkā [A Commentary Endowed with Qualities]: (1) dpal sgyu ’phrul chen mo’i ’grel pa yon tan ldan pa. Toh. 1623, Degé Tengyur vol. 25 (rgyud ’grel, ya), folios 180b–201a. (2) Mahāmāyātantram with Guṇavatī by Ratnākaraśānti. Rare Buddhist Text Series vol. 10. Edited by Samdhong Rinpoche and Vrajavallabh Dwivedi. Varanasi: Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, 1992. (G) (3) Kaiser Library, Kathmandu (ms. 226). Palm leaf manuscript in Golmola script. (4) Nepal National Archives, Kathmandu (ms. 2–906). Nepali paper manuscript in Devanāgarī script.

____________. Mahā­māyā­sādhanam [A Sādhana for the Mahā­māyā­tantra]: (1) sgyu ma chen mo’i sgrub thabs (Mahāmāyāsādhanam). Toh. 1643, Degé Tengyur vol. 25 (rgyud ’grel, ya), folios 269b–273b. (2) In Sādhanamālā vol. 2. Edited by Benoytosh Bhattacarya. Baroda: Oriental Institute, 1968. pp. 458–64. (SM)

Tāranātha. dpal rgyud kyi rgyal po sgyu ’phrul chen mo ma ha ma ya’i rgya cher bshad pa de kho na nyid kyi sgron ma [The Lamp of Suchness: A Detailed Explanation of the Glorious King of Tantras, the Mahāmāyātantra]. In gsung ’bum, ’dzam thang par ma ed., vol. 11 (da), pp 465-657. dzam thang dgon: [s.n.], 199-. (TBRC W22276)

____________. sgyu ’phrul chen mo’i khrid yig rgyal ba’i lam bzang [The Excellent Path of the Victorious Ones: The Instruction Manual for Mahāmāyā]. Ibid., vol. 11 (da), pp 447 - 464.

____________. dpal ma ha ma ya’i dkyil ’khor gyi sgrub thabs rin chen myu gu [The Jeweled Sprout: A Practice Manual for the Maṇḍala of the Glorious Mahāmāyā]. Ibid., vol. 11 (da), pp 431 - 445.

’gos lo tsa wa gzhon nu dpal. deb ther sngon po. New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture, 1974. Translated as The Blue Annals, see below.

English Sources

Dalton, Jacob (2004). “The Development of Perfection: The Interiorization of Buddhist Ritual in the 8th and 9th Centuries.” Journal of Indian Philosophy 23 (2004): 1–30.

___________ (2005). “A Crisis of Doxography: How Tibetans Organized Tantra during the 8th–12th Centuries.” Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 28:1 (2005): 115–181.

English, Elizabeth. Vajrayoginī: Her Visualizations, Rituals, and Forms. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2002.

’gos lo tsa wa. The Blue Annals. Translated by George N. Roerich. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1988.

Gray, David B. The Cakrasaṃvara Tantra (The Discourse of Śrī Heruka): A Study and Annotated Translation. New York: American Institute of Buddhist Studies, 2007.

Isaacson, Harunaga. “Ratnākaraśānti’s Hevajrasahajasadyoga: Studies in Ratnākaraśānti’s Tantric Works I.” In Le Parole e i Marmi: studi in onore di Raniero Gnoli nel suo 70° compleanno. Serie Orientale Roma XCII. vol. 1. Roma: Istituto Italiano per l’Africa e l’Oriente, 2001, pp. 457–487.

Kongtrul, Jamgön. The Treasury of Knowledge: The Elements of Tantric Practice. Translated by Elio Guarisco and Ingrid McLeod. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications, 2008.

Sanderson, Alexis. “The Śaiva Age.” In Genesis and Development of Tantra, edited by Shingo Einoo, pp. 17–349. Tokyo: Institute of Oriental Culture, University of Tokyo, 2009.


g.

Glossary

g.­1

Akaniṣṭha

  • ’og min
  • འོག་མིན།
  • Akaniṣṭha

The highest of the buddhafields. The term can be used to indicate the pure realm of the dharmakāya in general or can refer to the six realms between the highest heaven of the form realm and the realm of dharmakāya.

1 passage contains this term:

  • 2.­16

Links to further resources:

  • 36 related glossary entries
g.­2

Āli kāli

  • A li kA li
  • ཨཱ་ལི་ཀཱ་ལི།
  • āli kāli

The vowels (āli) and consonants (kāli) of the Sanskrit alphabet.

1 passage contains this term:

  • 1.­19

Links to further resources:

  • 1 related glossary entry
g.­3

Commitment

  • dam tshig
  • དམ་ཚིག
  • samaya

The level of commitments specifically associated with tantric practice. Also rendered here as “samaya.”

3 passages contain this term:

  • 1.­22
  • n.­31
  • g.­25

Links to further resources:

  • 12 related glossary entries
g.­5

Ḍākinī

  • mkha’ ’gro ma
  • མཁའ་འགྲོ་མ།
  • ḍākinī

Like yoginīs, these are semi-divine female beings who have long haunted the margins of South Asian culture. They are frequently propitiated in order to acquire mundane and transcendent spiritual accomplishment.

9 passages contain this term:

  • s.­1
  • i.­1
  • i.­2
  • i.­5
  • i.­7
  • 1.­1
  • 2.­15
  • n.­13
  • g.­33

Links to further resources:

  • 8 related glossary entries
g.­11

Heruka

  • he ru ka
  • ཧེ་རུ་ཀ
  • Heruka

The wrathful form of Akṣobhya, buddha of the vajra family, who appears in the center of many tantric maṇḍalas. He is typicaly depicted wearing mortuary implements and wreathed in flame.

7 passages contain this term:

  • i.­8
  • i.­9
  • i.­17
  • n.­1
  • n.­13
  • g.­9
  • g.­17

Links to further resources:

  • 1 related glossary entry
g.­15

Kṛṣṇavajra

  • nag po rdo rje
  • ནག་པོ་རྡོ་རྗེ།
  • Kṛṣṇavajra

An 11th or 12th century Buddhist commentator. Wrote Recollection: a commentary on the Mahāmāyā Tantra.

14 passages contain this term:

  • i.­3
  • i.­6
  • i.­11
  • i.­14
  • i.­19
  • n.­5
  • n.­30
  • n.­31
  • n.­35
  • n.­37
  • n.­39
  • n.­42
  • n.­47
  • n.­56
g.­17

Mahāmāyā

  • sgyu ’phrul chen mo
  • སྒྱུ་འཕྲུལ་ཆེན་མོ།
  • Mahāmāyā

The female central deity of the Mahā­māyā Tantra who appears in the form of the male Heruka. She was also a popular form of the Brahmanical great goddess (Mahādevī), to whom the Buddhist figure is intimately related. Also rendered here as “Great Illusion.”

20 passages contain this term:

  • s.­1
  • i.­1
  • i.­5
  • i.­6
  • i.­7
  • i.­8
  • i.­9
  • i.­13
  • i.­16
  • i.­17
  • i.­18
  • 1.­5
  • 1.­22
  • 1.­25
  • n.­10
  • n.­13
  • n.­28
  • n.­32
  • n.­33
  • g.­9

Links to further resources:

  • 2 related glossary entries
g.­18

Mahāyoga

  • rnal ’byor chen po’i rgyud
  • རྣལ་འབྱོར་ཆེན་པོའི་རྒྱུད།
  • mahā­yoga­tantra

A term used to describe the later tantras of the Yoga class that incoporated more transgressive pactices and a wrathful aesthetic. Typified by the Guhya­samāja­tantra and Guhya­garbha­tantra.

1 passage contains this term:

  • n.­1
g.­22

Ratnākaraśānti

  • rin chen ’byung gnas zhi ba
  • རིན་ཆེན་འབྱུང་གནས་ཞི་བ།
  • Ratnākaraśānti

An important 11th century Buddhist monastic scholar who wrote prolifically on a number on both Mahāyāna and Mantrayāna works.

33 passages contain this term:

  • i.­3
  • i.­6
  • i.­9
  • i.­12
  • i.­15
  • i.­16
  • i.­19
  • n.­4
  • n.­13
  • n.­21
  • n.­22
  • n.­23
  • n.­24
  • n.­25
  • n.­28
  • n.­30
  • n.­31
  • n.­32
  • n.­33
  • n.­34
  • n.­37
  • n.­40
  • n.­41
  • n.­42
  • n.­43
  • n.­45
  • n.­46
  • n.­48
  • n.­49
  • n.­50
  • n.­52
  • n.­57
  • n.­58

Links to further resources:

  • 1 related glossary entry
  • View the 84000 Knowledge Base article
g.­25

Samaya

  • dam tshig
  • དམ་ཚིག
  • samaya

The level of commitments specifically associated with tantric practice. Also rendered here as “commitment.”

2 passages contain this term:

  • 3.­1
  • g.­3

Links to further resources:

  • 12 related glossary entries
g.­27

Spiritual attainment

  • dngos grub
  • དངོས་གྲུབ།
  • siddhi

The mundane and transcendent abilities that are conferred through the perfection of yogic practices.

17 passages contain this term:

  • s.­1
  • i.­1
  • i.­2
  • i.­5
  • i.­14
  • 1.­22
  • 1.­23
  • 1.­24
  • 1.­33
  • 2.­1
  • 2.­20
  • 3.­6
  • 3.­11
  • 3.­23
  • 3.­24
  • n.­31
  • g.­24

Links to further resources:

  • 13 related glossary entries
g.­28

Unexcelled Yoga tantra

  • bla na med pa’i rnal ’byor gyi rgyud
  • བླ་ན་མེད་པའི་རྣལ་འབྱོར་གྱི་རྒྱུད།
  • yoga­niruttara­tantra

A category of tantra that includes the so-called father tantras like the Guhya­samāja Tantra and the “mother,” or Yoginī, tantras into a single genre of tantra.

1 passage contains this term:

  • i.­1
g.­32

Yoga

  • rnal ’byor
  • རྣལ་འབྱོར།
  • yoga

A term which is generally used to refer to a wide range of spiritual practices. It literally means to be merged with or “yoked to,” in the sense of being fully immersed in one’s respective discipline.

11 passages contain this term:

  • s.­1
  • i.­1
  • 1.­11
  • 1.­12
  • 2.­1
  • n.­1
  • n.­14
  • n.­25
  • n.­50
  • g.­4
  • g.­18

Links to further resources:

  • 3 related glossary entries
g.­33

Yoginī

  • rnal ’byor ma
  • རྣལ་འབྱོར་མ།
  • yoginī

With a long history in South Asian folklore and religious traditions, yoginīs are liminal, trangressive and often ferocious semi-divine female figures associated with the bestowal of temporal and transcendent spiritual accomplishment. In Buddhist tantra they are identical to ḍākinīs.

26 passages contain this term:

  • s.­1
  • i.­1
  • i.­2
  • i.­5
  • i.­7
  • i.­8
  • i.­17
  • i.­18
  • 1.­11
  • 1.­25
  • 1.­27
  • 1.­29
  • 2.­2
  • 2.­15
  • 3.­12
  • 3.­17
  • 3.­21
  • 3.­27
  • n.­22
  • n.­25
  • n.­50
  • n.­57
  • g.­5
  • g.­28
  • g.­33
  • g.­34

Links to further resources:

  • 1 related glossary entry
g.­34

Yoginītantra

  • rnal ’byor ma’i rgyud
  • རྣལ་འབྱོར་མའི་རྒྱུད།
  • yoginī­tantra

The last development of Buddhist tantra in India; focused upon the figure of the yoginī and the meditative manipulation of the subtle energetic anatomy of the physical body. Typified by the He­vajra­tantra, Cakrasaṃvaratantra and the Mahā­māyā­tantra.

5 passages contain this term:

  • s.­1
  • i.­1
  • i.­2
  • i.­14
  • n.­1

Links to further resources:

  • 2 related glossary entries
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