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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

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 2.16.5 (2021)
Generated by 84000 Reading Room v2.1.37

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.

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co.

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.

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

Chapter 1

The First Instruction

1.1

[F.167.a] 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.

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

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.

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)

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.9

The Cakrasaṃvaratantra shares this abrupt beginning. For an in-depth discussion of the implications of this style of introduction, see Gray (2007) pp 28–35.

n.10

S, F.108b, lines 6–7. His attribution is somewhat problematic as he contradicts the tantra by stating that the recipient of the discourse is Buddhaḍākinī, not Mahāmāyā.

n.11

G, pp 2–4.

n.12

English (2002) p 47.

n.13

G, p 6: saiṣeti herukarupā Mahāmāyā. Elsewhere [G, p 20] Ratnākaraśānti identifies Mahāmāyā as the fundamental identity of both the male Heruka and his consort, Buddhaḍākinī. He writes, “The lord of the maṇḍala is the glorious Heruka, who is Mahāmāyā; the vidyā Buddhaḍākinī is also Mahāmāyā because they both possess a singular intrinsic nature” (maṇḍalādhipatiḥ śrīheruko mahāmāyā, tadvidyā api buddhaḍākinī mahāmāyā tayoḥ ekasvabhāvatvāt).

n.14

See particularly Jamgön Kongtrul (2008) pp 69–70 and 183–86. He writes: “The Mahāmāyā and other tantras set forth the threefold [formulation consisting of] appearance, mantra and reality [yogas]. These three apply to both path and result; and within the path itself, to both the creation phase and completion phase.” (We have emended “shape” to “appearance” to conform with the terminology used in this translation.) Though the concepts of the development and completion stages were present in the Indian Buddhist tantric tradition, they never reached the degree of uniformity there that they did in the Tibetan tradition. The terms appear nowhere in the commentarial literature of the Mahāmāyātantra.

n.15

S, F.109b.3–4: sngags zhes bya ba ni mig la sogs pa’i gnas drug tu bkod pa’i oM la sogs pa’i sngags so / dbyibs zhes bya ba ni og gnas ’byung ba’i tshul dang / mdog dang dbyibs dang phyag dang zhal gyi bdag nyid can no / chos zhes bya ba ni kun brtags pa thams cad las rnam par grol ba’i rang bzhin nyid do.

n.16

G, p 28: etaduktaṃ bhavati buddhaḍākinyādiyogaṃ kuṅkumāruṇaṃ kṛtvā vīrabhājane kuṅkumāruṇaṃ praṇavaṃ vicintya tadbindau vīraṃ vinasya praṇavaraśmibhirvīramaruṇīkṛtya vīrādaruṇaraśmirekhādvayaṃ niḥsārya ekasyā agre pāśaṃ dvitīyasyā aṅkuśaṃ vicintayet / sādhyaṃ pāśena kaṇḍe baddhvā aṅkuśena hṛdi viddhvā kṣipramākṛṣymāṇaṃ vicintayet.

n.17

On the ingestion of sexual fluids in these tantras, see Dalton (2004) pp 14–17.

n.18

S, F.213a.

n.19

G, p 37: mahāphalāni tāni jñātvetyarthaḥ.

n.20

We thank Jacob Dalton for bringing this technique of concealment to our attention.

n.21

The description that follows organizes the sequence of visualization following the sādhana composed by Ratnākaraśānti as preserved in the SM.

n.22

The fact that the language of the yoginīs’ song (3.21) is different from that of the root verses is entirely lost in the Tibetan translation. Ratnākaraśānti’s sādhana preserves the original, which is composed in a form of Prākrit distinct from the rest of the Sanskrit verses.

n.23

“Who destroys all that exists:” this translates the Sanskrit bhūtasaṃhārakāriṇī (Tib: ’byung ba yang dag sdud mdzad ma). We have pushed the translation toward the more extreme end of the term’s semantic range in a nod to Ratnākaraśānti, who glosses the term with (pralayakartī), “she who causes annihilation.” [G, p 5] This refers to the dissolution of the universe that comes at the end of the cosmogonic stages of emanation, absorption and dissolution of the universe that are standard in Brahmanical cosmology.

n.24

“Are to be praised:” here we have followed the Sanskrit attested by Ratnākaraśānti which is quite different from the Tibetan translation: the methods (Skt: upāyāḥ) of those who are endowed with the five wisdoms (Skt: pañcajñānināṃ) are to be praised (Skt: pragīyante) [G, pp 9-10]. This is an interesting verse as it seems thematically disjuntive with the preceding and subsequent lines and may have been inserted here by a later redactor. Krṣṇavajra, who is otherwise attentive to every verse, does not acknowledge it at all. Ratnākaraśānti, on the other hand, uses this verse as the basis for an extensive discourse linking into Yogācāra philsophy.

n.25

Ratnākaraśānti identifies the yoginī, mother of yoga (Skt: yogamātā), and the entirety of the three worlds (Skt: traidhātukaṃ aśeṣataḥ) as the praiseworthy methods of the previous verse [G, p 10].

n.26

The second line of this verse begins a new sequence of verses that indentify the accomplishments that will come to the yogī who successfully accomplishes the practices of the Mahāmāyā Tantra. It concludes in verse 1.15.

n.27

“Weaves Indra’s Web:” this translates the Sanskrit indravjālaṃ karoti, which is rendered as mig ’phrul byed in the Tibetan.

n.28

The Sanskrit term vidyā (Tib: rig pa) appears twice in this verse with different connotations. According to Ratnākaraśānti, the first instance is as the techinical term for the central female deity of the maṇḍala, Mahāmāyā, and has therefore been left untranslated. The second instance is in specific reference to the knowledge (Skt: prajñā) that arises from meditation and has here been translated as knowledge [G, p 13].

n.29

The Tibetan translation adds an additional rtag tu, meaning “constant,” which is not attested in any of the commentaries. Because it appears to be largely redundant, it has been omitted here.

n.30

This verse is complicated by two substantial variants. Where the Tibetan translation reads “practice of supreme benefit” (mchog tu phan pa), Ratnākaraśānti reads “practice of supreme settling” (Skt: paramāhita / Tib: mchog tu bzhag pa) [G, p 19]. The similarity of the Sanskrit terms for supreme benefit (parama hita) and for supreme settling (Skt: parama āhita) probably led to a scribal error resulting in different versions of the verse. Because the version found in the Tibetan translation is attested in Kṛṣṇavajra’s commentary, it was followed here, though Ratnākaraśānti’s reading seems clearer. Where the Tibetan translation reads sangs rgyas kun gyi rang bzhin ’bab (“become the nature of all Buddhas”), Kṛṣṇavajra reads sangs rgyas rang bzhin thams cad ’gyur (“everything becomes the nature of the Buddha”) [S, F.206b] which is in agreement with the Sanskrit attested by Ratnākaraśānti and which is followed here.

n.31

Ratnākaraśānti and Kṛṣṇavajra are unanimous in identifying the spiritual attainment of the great commitment with the perfection of the great pill. This relationship is not clear in the Tibetan translation.

n.32

“Mahāmāyā:” though the Tibetan verse reads rgyu ’phrul chen po here, Ratnākaraśānti attests to Mahāmāyā [G, p 20].

n.33

This verse appears to be slightly different in the recension of the tantra used by Ratnākaraśānti. A tentative prose reconstruction would read: “To you (Skt: tvām), the vidyā Mahāmāyā who is the means for accomplishing the three worlds (Skt: mahāmāyāṃ vidyāṃ trailokyasādhanīṃ) I will explain (tad ahaṃ vakṣyāmi) the Vīra, the most excellent among the great yogīs (Skt: mahāyoginām divyam) along with the garland of syllables (Skt: akṣarapaṅktibhiḥ).” [G, p 21].

n.34

Tathāgatas, or “thus-gone ones” here: where the Tibetan translation reads de bzhin gshegs pa kun, Ratnākaraśānti attests to the Sanskrit tāthāgātī, a feminine derivative adjective formed from tathāgata [G, p 22]. In his reading the term is in the singular. Thus in at least one recension of the text the line would read “the splendor of the thus-gone lady.”

n.35

Kṛṣṇavajra reads a different line here. In the recension of the root text available to him, the final line of the text as translated in Tibetan is gar ni thugs rjes bsams bzhin mdzad (“He dances with compassion according to his whim”) [S, F.208a].

n.36

“Virility:” translates the Sanskrit vīrya and the Tibetan brtson ’grus.

n.37

There are a couple of noteworthy variants of this verse found in commentarial works. The version from the Degé edition translated here, which is supported in Kṛṣṇavajra’s commentary, reads: “Vidyā! In the three worlds (Tib: ’jig rten gsum po na) there is nothing equal to my knowledge (Tib: nga yi rig dang mnyam pa med).” The recension of the tantra used by Ratnākaraśānti appears to have, instead, “there is nothing (Skt: nāsti) like you (Skt: te sadṛśī) in the triple worlds (Skt: triṣu lokeṣu)” [G, p 21]. Taranātha attests to yet another variation. In his Lamp of Suchness [F.2b] he cites the same line as “Vidyā! In the three worlds there is nothing like you apart from me” (Tib: rig pa ’jig rten gsum po na / khyod dang mnyams pa nga las med).

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.39

Ratnākaraśānti reads “restriction” (Skt: yantraṇa) in place of “garland” (Skt: mālā) [G, p 27]. In his commentary he connects both restriction and retention with the movements of the breath (yantraṇā dhāraṇā ca prāṇavāyoḥ). A variant of the first line of this verse is attested, in Sanskrit, in a sādhana associated with the Mahāmāyātantra found in the Sādhanamālā (#221 in SM vol. 2, p 434–36): na japaṃ na vrataṃ tasya nopavāso vidhīyate. Kṛṣṇavajra confirms this variant in his commentary.

n.40

“Wisdom syllable:” according to Ratnākaraśānti, this term only appears in some recensions of the text [G, p 27]. As he does not gloss it in his commentary it seems it did not appear in his recension of choice.

n.41

Ratnākaraśānti attests to the syllable ā [G, p 27], which has been used here instead of the syllable a as given in the Tibetan translation.

n.42

Kṛṣṇavajra reads kṣa in place of khe [S, F.211a]; Ratnākaraśānti reads white in place of red [G, p 30].

n.43

The Tibetan syntax differs significantly from the Sanskrit, which has been translated here. In the Sanskrit the subject, the yogīs, is in the plural, not the instrumental as in the Tibetan. The object, the posture (mudrā), is in the accusative singular, not the genitive as in the Tibetan, which construes with the term “sporting lion” (siṃhavikrīḍitā). The Sanskrit attested by Ratnākaraśānti could read as follows: siṃhavikrīḍitāṃ mudrāṃ bandhayanti yoginaḥ [G, p 32].

n.44

“Awakened ones:” the Sanskrit word here is saṃbuddhāḥ, which conveys a slightly different sense than the Tibetan term used, sangs rgyas rnams. Whereas the latter could easily be translated as “buddhas,” the former is best rendered as “awakened ones.”

n.45

Essence of the substances: Ratnākaraśānti reads “the essence of buddhahood” (Skt: buddhātman) in place of “the essence of the substances” (Tib: rdzas kyi bdag nyid). [G, p 34].

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.

n.48

Ratnākaraśānti cites a different line of verse here, which collapses this line and the first line of the next verse: “On the night of the spirits (Skt: bhūtarau) these fruits of accomplishment (Skt: siddhārthaphalāni) are to be placed inside a jackal (Skt: śivāṅgamadhye sthāpyānti).” [G, p 37].

n.49

According to Ratnākaraśānti’s commentary, the deity has a purely white face in the west [G, p 39].

n.50

“Yoginī:” Ratnākaraśānti reads “yogas” (Skt: yogāḥ) [G, p 41] where the Tibetan has “yoginī” (Tib: rnal ’byor ma).

n.51

This line corresponds closely with verse 12.52, line 2 of the Guhyasamājatantra.

n.52

Ratnākaraśānti reads siddhānāṃ kanyām, “the maidens of the siddhas” [G, p 41]. This line corresponds closely with verse 12.52, line 3 of the Guhyasamājatantra.

n.53

This line corresponds closely with verse 12.53, line 2 of the Guhyasamājatantra.

n.54

This line corresponds closely with verse 12.55, line 1 of the Guhyasamājatantra.

n.55

This line corresponds closely with verse 12.55, line 2 of the Guhyasamājatantra.

n.56

In his commentary on verse 3.18 Kṛṣṇavajra gives the mantra as oṁ a guhya aguhya bhakṣa abhakṣe hūṁ [S, F.216a].

n.57

Both Ratnākaraśānti [G, p 160] confirms a genitive relationship between the terms “vajra yoginīs” and “realization,” which has been followed here. The Tibetan editions all contain the agentive kyis.

n.58

This song has been translated from the Prākrit as it appears in Ratnākaraśānti’s sādhana [SM #239, p 460]: hale sai viasia kamalu pabohiu vajjeṁ / a la la la la ho mahāsuheṇa ārohiu ṇacceṁ / ravikiraṇeṇa paphulliu kamalu mahāsuheṇa / a la la la la ho mahāsuheṇa ārohiu ṇacceṁ.

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.

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 the six realms between the highest heaven of the form realm and the realm of dharmakāya.

g.2

Āli kāli

A li kA li

ཨཱ་ལི་ཀཱ་ལི།

āli kāli

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

g.3

Commitment

dam tshig

དམ་ཚིག

samaya

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

g.4

Completion stage

rdzogs pa’i rim pa

རྫོགས་པའི་རིམ་པ།

niṣpannakrama

The second of the two stages of tantric sādhana practiced. Its practices are specific to individual tantric systems but typically include sexual yogas, the consumption of illicit substances, manipulation of the subtle energetic anatomy or resting in an uncontrived state.

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.

g.6

Development stage

skyed pa’i rim pa

སྐྱེད་པའི་རིམ་པ།

utpattikrama

The first of the two stages of tantric practice focused on the visualized development of the tantric maṇḍala and its deities and the recitation of mantra.

g.7

Egg of Brahmā

tshangs sgo nga

ཚངས་སྒོ་ང།

brahmāṇḍā

Traditional Brahmanical term for the created universe.

g.8

Gö Lhetsé

’gos lhas btsas

འགོས་ལྷས་བཙས།

11th century translator and teacher of Guhyasamājatantra.

g.9

Great Illusion

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 “Mahāmāyā.”

g.10

Guhyaka

gsang ba pa

གསང་བ་པ།

guhyaka

A type of semi-divine being frequently found in the entourage of Kubera, the lord of wealth.

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.

g.12

Indra’s Web

mig ’phrul

མིག་འཕྲུལ།

indrajāla

Traditional Brahmanical term for the illusory structure of mundane reality.

g.13

Khaṭvāṅga

kha TwAM ga

ཁ་ཊྭཱཾ་ག

khaṭvāṅga

A staff with a single or three pointed tip and a freshly decapitated head, a rotting head and a skull skewered on its shaft.

g.14

Knowledge

rig ma

རིག་མ།

vidyā

An epithet of the female deity of the maṇḍala (most frequently as the consort of the main deity) who represents knowledge; the tantric consort; knowledge; frequently used in the sense of magical incantations and magical power. Also rendered here as “vidyā.”

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.

g.16

Kukkuripa

ku ku ri pa

ཀུ་ཀུ་རི་པ།

Kukkuripa

Counted among the most famous of the Indian Buddhist Mahāsiddhas and renowned for his association with packs of dogs (kukkura), he is a central figure in a number of tantric lineages, specifically of the Guhyasamāja Tantra and Mahāmāyā Tantra. He was active sometime between the 8th and 10th centuries.

g.17

Mahāmāyā

sgyu ’phrul chen mo

སྒྱུ་འཕྲུལ་ཆེན་མོ།

Mahāmāyā

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.

g.19

Marpa Chökyi Lodrö

mar pa chos kyi blo gros

མར་པ་ཆོས་ཀྱི་བློ་གྲོས།

(1012 - 1097) Tibetan translator and lay practitioner from Lhodrak, traveled several times to Nepal and India to receive tantric Buddhist teachings, notably from Nāropa and Maitripā, and in Tibet established an important set of lineages through his “four pillar” disciples Milarepa, Ngoktön Chöku Dorje, Tshurtön Wangki Dorje, and Metön Tshönpo.

g.20

Movement of breath

srog dang rtsol ba

སྲོག་དང་རྩོལ་བ།

prāṇāyāma

The manipulation of breath by means of yogic exercise. The Tibetan translation of the Sanskrit compound prāṇāyāma is more usually the compound srog rtsol.

g.21

Nāropa

na ro pa

ན་རོ་པ།

Nāropa

Indian scholar and practitioner (956 - 1041), a major figure in the transmission of tantric Buddhism to Tibet; earlier in his life he was an important paṇḍita of Nālandā, but left to become a yogi and siddha, the student of Tilopā, and later the teacher of Kukkuripa, Marpa, and others.

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.

g.23

Sacramental substances

dam tshig gyi rdzas

དམ་ཚིག་གྱི་རྫས།

samayadravya

Sacramental substances ingested as part of tantric ritual; frequently composed of bodily fluids or illicit meats.

g.24

Sādhana

sgrub thabs

སྒྲུབ་ཐབས།

sādhana

The method of practice. Experiential methods for actualizing spiritual attainments and liberation.

g.25

Samaya

dam tshig

དམ་ཚིག

samaya

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

g.26

Semen

byang chub kyi sems

བྱང་ཆུབ་ཀྱི་སེམས།

bodhicitta

In normative Mahāyāna doctrine, bodhicitta refers to the awakened mind both in its relative and absolute aspects. In tantric thought it is frequently used as a code word for semen in the context of its generation and manipulation in sexual yogic rites.

g.27

Spiritual attainment

dngos grub

དངོས་གྲུབ།

siddhi

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

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.

g.29

Vidyā

rig ma

རིག་མ།

vidyā

g.30

Vidyādhara

rig pa ’dzin pa

རིག་པ་འཛིན་པ།

vidyādhara

A type of semi-divine being whose identiy has shifted over time and genre. In their most popular form they are spell (vidyā) wielding (dhara) beings capable of granting magical abilities to those they favor. The Buddhist tradition associated them more closely with soteriological aims, identifying them as realized beings who possess (dhara) knowledge or awareness (vidyā).

g.31

Virile One

dpa’ bo

དཔའ་བོ།

vīra

Closely associated with notions of virility, this term can denote the male deity of the maṇḍala (whose consort is the Vidyā) or the yogī who practices this mode of Tantra.

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.

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.

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.

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