Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This Hevajra sādhanā, titled "Illuminating Suchness," provides a comprehensive ritual manual for the generation and completion stages of deity yoga. The text guides the practitioner through the preparation of a sacred space, the generation of bodhicitta, and the complex visualization of the Hevajra maṇḍala, including the summoning of the central deity and his retinue of goddesses and protectors. It commits the reader to a rigorous process of mental transformation, utilizing seed syllables, mantras, and the visualization of the deity's form to dissolve ordinary perception into the experience of primordial wisdom. The work concludes with a detailed symbolic exegesis, where the physical attributes of the deity and the architecture of the maṇḍala are mapped onto Buddhist philosophical concepts, such as the seven branches of awakening and the four seals of the Dharma, thereby transforming a ritual procedure into a meditative map of enlightenment.
Provenance
About this text
Dedicated to the practice of Hevajra, the Hevajrasādhanatattvoddyotakaranāma belongs to the tradition of the Non-dual Tantra. The work is attributed to the Indian author Kṛṣṇa Paṇḍita. It entered the Tibetan language through the efforts of Kṛṣṇa Paṇḍita and dge slong tshul khrims rgyal ba, and is preserved in the Tengyur, volume ཉ, where it spans twenty-one pages. In the classical Tibetan tradition, the work is known as the dgyes pa'i rdo rje sgrub pa'i thabs de kho na nyid gsal bar byed pa zhes bya ba. The text enacts a ritual process beginning with homage to Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta and Hevajra, followed by the generation of bodhicitta for the benefit of all sentient beings. It instructs the practitioner to occupy a comfortable seat in a location such as a charnel ground, using the hook of light rays from the syllable HŪṂ to summon the Blessed One while offering mentally emanated flowers. A scholar or serious reader consults this work today to examine the specific ritual instructions for summoning the deity and the preliminary commitments to the path of unexcelled Mahāyāna awakening.
The work is significant for its integration of ritual praxis with a systematic symbolic interpretation of the deity's form. It demonstrates how the Hevajra tradition utilizes the body and the maṇḍala as mnemonic devices for internalizing complex doctrinal points regarding emptiness and the path to awakening.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1-13
Preliminary Rituals and Generation
Includes homage, refuge, bodhicitta, and the detailed visualization of the maṇḍala's elements, seed syllables, and the appearance of the central deity.
14-16
Mantra and Deity Invocation
Focuses on the recitation of mantras, the emergence of specific goddesses, and the sealing of the maṇḍala.
17-20
Meditative Absorption and Practice
Discusses the state of waveless bliss, the use of mantras to overcome weariness, and the specific iconography of the Six-Armed and Four-Armed forms.
21-28
Symbolic Clarification
An analytical section that explains the philosophical meaning behind the deity's ornaments, the maṇḍala's structure, and the four seals of the Dharma.
Themes
Visualization and Seed Syllables (5, 9, 12, 13, 15)
Symbolic Mapping of Doctrine (21, 23, 25, 26, 27)
Non-duality and Emptiness (4, 16, 17, 22)
Ritual Implementation and Mantra (2, 14, 18)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
AnuvādaA Hevajra Sādhana called “Illuminating Suchness”·
In the language of India: Hevajrasādhanatattvodyotakara-nāma. In the language of Tibet: dgyes pa'i rdo rje sgrub pa'i thabs de kho na nyid gsal bar byed pa zhes bya ba. Homage to Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta!
Oṃ, homage to Hevajra!
To the illusory entity emanated from the essence analyzed as one and many,
Who bears a body like the clouds at the time of destruction, embraced by sublime insight,
Surrounded by goddesses emanated by the purity of suchness arising from the vajra—
To Hevajra, whose form is wrathful through compassion, I perpetually prostrate.
To the Vajradhara who clarifies the glorious heart of the Heruka,
To that Guru, Samayavajra, I prostrate.
First, one should focus on the realm of sentient beings who are weary from the afflictions of various types of suffering. With a mind governed by the flavor of supreme compassion, one should cultivate the ten perfections, such as generosity. Possessing a continuum of a purified mind, the yogi—having received empowerment and authorization into the maṇḍala of the glorious Hevajra and being skilled in the samayas and conduct—should rise at dawn and visualize the syllable HŪṂ, the supreme first letter, upon a sun maṇḍala arising from the syllable RE at one's own heart.
In a pleasing location such as a charnel ground, one should sit upon a comfortable seat. Possessing the mudrā of meditative absorption, one should summon the Blessed One—who possesses the colors, hands, and implements to be described later—using the hook of light rays arising from the syllable HŪṂ. Gazing toward the direction of space, one should worship him with mentally emanated offerings of flowers and so forth. Then, one should worship with the five sensory qualities by means of the goddesses Gaurī and the others, who arise from the seed syllable at the heart.
In this regard, Gaurī holds in her hand a skull-cup marked with a deer. Caurī has her hands busy with a vessel filled with self-arisen flowers. Vetālī has her two hands busy with a vessel of water. Ghasmarī holds a vessel filled with meat. Pukkasī holds a vessel filled with sandalwood. Śavarī pours honey from a vessel. Caṇḍālī makes offerings while beating a hand-drum. Ḍombī embraces [the deity] around the neck and enters into union.
Then, in the presence of that very Blessed One, one should perform the confession of misdeeds and so forth: "I individually confess all my misdeeds. I rejoice in the merit of all the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and ordinary beings. Until I reach the seat of awakening, I take refuge in the Buddha Vajradhara, who possesses great compassion, and in the entirety of the Mahāyāna Dharma."
To the irreversible bodhisattvas and the assembly of goddesses, the Saṅgha, I go for refuge. I shall generate the mind set upon unexcelled, perfect, and complete awakening (bodhicitta) in order to accomplish the benefit and happiness of all sentient beings, and to establish them in the ultimate nirvāṇa, the awakening of a Buddha. To that end, I shall rely upon this very path of the unexcelled Mahāyāna. I offer myself to all the Buddhas and bodhisattvas. I shall dedicate all these roots of virtue toward unexcelled, perfect, and complete awakening. Having spoken thus, and having prostrated and offered the torma, one should also please [the deities] by reciting the hundred-syllable mantra:
Oṃ śrī heruka samayam anupālaya herukatvenopatiṣṭha dṛḍho me bhava | anurakto me bhava | sutoṣyo me bhava | supoṣyo me bhava | sarvasiddhiṃ me prayaccha | sarvakarmasu ca me cittaṃ śreyaḥ kuru hūṃ | ha ha ha ha hoḥ | bhagavān heruka | mā me muñca herukabhava mahāsamayasattva āḥ hūṃ phaṭ vajra muḥ.
With these words, one requests them to depart. Then, one should cultivate love characterized by the quality of equality toward all sentient beings, like a single beloved child; compassion characterized by the desire to turn them away from suffering and the causes of suffering; and joy characterized by delight in accomplishing and generating divine happiness for them.
Then, one should cultivate equanimity characterized by the desire to accomplish the path in the form of unsurpassed bliss for those very beings.
"Beings are empty of intrinsic nature,
Signless and without cause;
Since all are free from conceptual construction,
Even aspirations are completely abandoned.
All objects of knowledge should be known in that way;
My own mind, which is like an illusion,
Is produced by the aspect of ignorance;
Through its cessation, it will cease."
One should then consecrate with the mantra: Oṃ śūnyatājñānavajrasvabhāvātmako ’haṃ.
Then, for the purpose of protection:
"Having first visualized a sun from the syllable ra,
From that sun, a hūṃ arises as a crossed vajra.
With that very vajra, one should visualize
The enclosure and the canopy."
The meaning of this is as follows: through the radiation and reabsorption of the sun and the crossed vajra, they become one. From that, one should visualize a vajra ground below, a vajra canopy above, a vajra enclosure in the middle, and a blazing vajra fire outside of it, stabilizing it with the mantra: Oṃ rakṣa rakṣa hūṃ hūṃ hūṃ phaṭ svāhā.
In the center of that, one should visualize the source of phenomena (dharmodaya), triangular in shape and white like the autumn moon, which is the very essence of the wisdom of the utterly pure expanse of reality (dharmadhātu).
In the center of that, from the syllable yaṃ, arises a blue wind maṇḍala in the shape of a bow, marked by two fluttering banners. Above that, from the syllable repha (ra), arises a red triangular fire maṇḍala, marked at its corners with the syllable raṃ. Above that, from the syllable baṃ, arises a white circular water maṇḍala, marked with a vase. Above that, from the syllable laṃ, one should meditate upon a yellow square earth maṇḍala, marked at its corners with vajras. Within that very place, the meditator himself abides as the very distinction of supramundane wisdom.
Then, within the source of phenomena (dharmodaya), from the total transformation of the four great elements, upon a multicolored lotus, at the hub of a multicolored vajra, is the celestial palace (vimāna) of the nature of various jewels, the essence of Vairocana, the city of great liberation. It is square with four doors, adorned with eight pillars, possessing various garlands and yak-tail fans, and beautifully decorated with vajra lines. It has various fluttering banners and the sound of small bells. It possesses the supreme qualities of sensory desire and is adorned with all necessities. It is beautified by necklaces and half-necklaces, and by four archways. It is endowed with jewels and adorned with rows of parapets. On the offering ledge, the sixteen offering goddesses perform worship. The blue goddess of the lute is Vīṇā-vilāsinī, and the yellow goddess of the flute is Gītā.
The dancer is a green clay pot; the laughing one is a white and red drum. The dancer has her hands in a circling gesture; the singer is accompanied by cymbals. The incense-offerer is blue; the flower-offerer is white. The lamp-offerer is like the light of a lamp; the perfume-offerer and the taste-offerer are red in color. The touch-offerer possesses a green mirror; the dharma-offerer is white, each with their own characteristic. All of them have two hands.
Outside, within the vajra fence, is the terrifying charnel ground. There are the fierce, the violent, and the harsh, as well as garlands of blazing fire, and those with terrifying skull-cups. Starting from the left, in the directions of the East and so forth, in the northeast is the Fierce Laughter; in the southeast is the Forest of Īśvara; in the southwest is the Terrifying Darkness; and in the northwest, the Resounding Kīlikīla.
The Śirīṣa, Aśvattha, Kaṅkeli, and Cūta trees are in the order of the East and so forth. The great Karanja tree, the Lata creeper, and the Arjuna tree are located in the directions of Indra, Kubera, and the noose-wielder (Varuṇa), and the direction of the King of the Dead (Yama).
In the northeast, the southeast, the southwest, and the northwest are the lords of the Nāgas: Vāsuki, Takṣaka, Karkoṭaka, Padma, Mahāpadma, Hulunta, Kulika, and Śaṅkhapāla. Then there are the Roaring, the Whirling, the Terrifying, the Reversing, the Thick, the Filling, the Rain-bringer, the Fierce, and the Lord of Clouds, in sequence.
Among them, Śakra is mounted upon an elephant, yellow in color, and holds in his left hand a skull-cup marked with a vajra.
Vaiśravaṇa rides a yakṣa; he is yellow in color, with a protruding belly and a dwarf’s form, holding a skull-cup and a staff in his left hands. Varuṇa rides a makara; he is white in color, adorned with snake ornaments, and holds a skull-cup and a noose in his left hands. Yama rides a buffalo; he is blue in color, with a protruding belly and yellow hair bristling upward, having a dwarf’s form and holding a skull-cup and a staff in his left hands. Īśāna rides an elephant; he has three eyes, is white in color, and holds a skull-cup and a spear in his left hands. Agni rides a goat; he is orange-red in color, has four arms, yellow hair, and holds a triple-staff, a skull-cup, and a rosary. The Lord of the Rākṣasas rides a corpse; he has a dwarf’s form, is blue in color, with yellow hair blazing upward and a protruding belly, holding a sword and a skull-cup in his left hands. Vāyu is blue in color, rides a deer, has a peaceful face, and holds a banner. All these World Protectors possess their respective colors, seats, and hand-symbols, and all of them pay homage to the Blessed One with their right hands. The colors of the clouds are like those of the World Protectors. The nāgas reside upon them, and all of them have their palms joined. The field-protectors residing on the eight trees have faces like those of the mounts of the eight directional guardians, with reddish-yellow hair bristling upward. The one residing on the śirīṣa tree is called the Saṅgha of the Gods, and is white in color.
The one residing in the cūta tree is called Yama, blue in color. The one residing in the aśoka tree is called Megharāja, red in color. The one residing in the Bodhi tree is called the Yakṣa General, yellow in color. The one residing in the karañja tree is called the Assembly of Sages, red in color. The one residing in the latā tree is the host of rākṣasas, blue in color. The one residing in the arjuna tree is called Vāyu-rāja, green in color. The one residing in the great tree is called the Assembly of Pretas; he should be visualized as smoke-colored.
The charnel grounds of the eight directions are adorned with severed heads, corpses, prostrate bodies, those impaled on stakes, skulls, skeletons, the vāgura (ox-hide), crows, ravens, owls, vultures, and vetālas (reanimated corpses) uttering the sound "phaṭ." All of these without exception were visualized by those who attained accomplishment in the past. They should be visualized as being adorned by yakṣas, rākṣasas, pretas, piśācas, apasmāras, grahas, ḍākinīs, and khecarīs, together with the practitioners.
Its central lotus has various petals and a filament. In the four gates and the four intermediate directions are various lotuses and moons. Brahmā, Indra, Upendra, Rudra, Yama, and likewise the Lord of Yakṣas, Nairṛti, and Vemacitrin—these four Māras are situated in the center upon a sun maṇḍala.
Pressing down upon the terrifying heart, upon that, atop the central seat, from the fifteen vowels arises a moon maṇḍala, the essence of the mirror-like wisdom. Above that, from the thirty-four consonants arises a sun maṇḍala, the essence of the wisdom of equality. In the center of that, from the complete transformation of the syllables Aṃ and Hūṃ, there arises a curved knife and skull-cup joined together, containing their own seed-syllable heart mantra, the essence of the wisdom of individual discernment. From that and from those, emanate infinite tathāgatas of the yoginī families; having established all beings in the nature of the Buddha, they gather back into that very place and become one, which is the essence of the all-accomplishing wisdom. Then, from the complete transformation of the moon, the sun, the hand symbols, and the seed-syllables, one should meditate upon the Blessed One Vajrasattva, with the colors, shapes, hands, and implements to be described, embraced by a consort who is his own self-appearance, the essence of the wisdom of the utterly pure dharmadhātu. These are the five aspects of manifest awakening. Then, visualizing the syllables Aṃ and Hūṃ supported by two syllables Hoḥ in the space, one should meditate that they are perfectly summoned by the sound of intense joy, enter the mouth of the Blessed One, and fall into the lotus of the Blessed Lady.
Then, through the fire of great passion, the Blessed One together with the Blessed Lady melts. One should visualize this as the maṇḍala of the form of the melted bodhicitta. Then, in order to rouse him, the four goddesses, Pukkasī and the others, who have arrived from their respective directions, sit upon their seats in their respective directions and exhort him with four verses:
"Arise, O Compassionate One, who liberates!
Pukkasī, protect me!
Abandon this very nature of emptiness,
And grant me the union of great bliss.
If you do not remain, I shall die;
Hevajra, arise!
Abandon this very nature of emptiness,
And grant the attainment of the fruit to Śavarī.
O Lord of Joy, having invited the guests of the world,
Why do you remain in emptiness?
Since I cannot find the directions without you,
Caṇḍālī, I offer this prayer.
I know your heart;
Illusionist, arise!
I, Ḍombī, am clever;
Do not sever the stream of your compassion!"
Immediately after being thus exhorted, from the melting into the moon, upon the maṇḍalas of the moon and sun, the two seed-syllables are in the center of the curved knife and skull-cup. From the application of radiating from those, having benefited beings in the form of the wheel of yoginīs, they are reabsorbed into those very [syllables]. Then, from the complete transformation of the moon, sun, seed-syllables, and hand-symbols, one should meditate on oneself as the second form of the glorious Heruka.
Trampling the earth with his feet, he threatens the gods and asuras. Wrathful, with eyes red and round, his form is youthful and in the prime of life. He has eight faces and sixteen arms, and with four feet he strides forth, treading equally upon the four Māras. His head is adorned with a garland of skulls; his terrifying body is smeared with ashes. He performs the dance in the half-lotus posture. His central face is a great black, the right is like a kunda flower, and the left is red and most fearsome. The upper face is smoke-colored and distorted; the remaining faces are like bees, and each has three eyes. From his mouths he emits the syllable HŪṂ, and he is adorned with the five mudrās. Black in color and most terrifying, his crown is adorned with a crossed vajra. He possesses the nine dramatic sentiments: the erotic, the heroic, the fearsome, the fierce, the laughing, the terrifying, the compassionate, the wrathful, and the peaceful. His orange-red hair blazes upward; he strikes terror even into the terrifying. He wears a necklace of severed heads, and his radiance is like the fire at the end of an eon. In the eight skull-cups of his right hands, one should know the sequence of the elephant, horse, donkey, ox, camel, human, śarabha, and cat. In the eight skull-cups of his left hands are earth, water, wind, fire, moon, sun, Yama, and Vaiśravaṇa. In union with Nairātmyā, his own manifestation, he is adorned with the five mudrās. With two arms, one face, and two feet, she holds a curved knife and a skull-cup.
Then, one should visualize the syllable HŪṂ upon a skull-cup on the sun at the heart of the Blessed One, and the syllable AṂ upon the curved knife on the moon at the heart of the Blessed Lady. On the head, there is a white lotus and moon with the syllable OṂ. On the throat, there is a red lotus and source of phenomena (dharmodaya) with the syllable ĀḤ. At the heart, one should meditate on a multicolored lotus and sun with the syllable HŪṂ. In the eyes, upon a moon maṇḍala and a wheel, is white Vajrā, arisen from the syllable A. In the ears, upon a sun and a vajra, is blue Nairātmyā, arisen from the syllable AṂ. In the nose, upon a sun and a jewel, is yellow Gaurī, arisen from the syllable I. In the tongue, upon a lotus and a sun, is red Vārīyoginī, arisen from the syllable Ī. At the crown of the head, upon a crossed vajra and a sun, is green Vajraḍākinī, arisen from the syllable U. At the heart, upon a multicolored lotus and a vajra, one should contemplate white Nairātmyā, arisen from the syllable AṂ. All these goddesses hold a skull-cup and a khaṭvāṅga in their left hands, and a curved knife in their right hands. Following that, at the navel, there is a white sixty-four-petaled lotus and a moon with a white OṂ. On the eight central petals, arranged counter-clockwise, are A, KA, CA, ṬA, TA, PA, YA, and ŚA. On the four intermediate petals of the eight-petaled multicolored lotus at the heart, which faces downward, are YA, RA, LA, and VA. On the four directional petals are the four: A, I, E, and O.
At the navel is the syllable HŪṂ facing downward. In the center of the sixteen-petaled red lotus of the throat, which faces upward, are the four syllables Ā, Ī, Ū, and AI in counter-clockwise order on the four cardinal petals. At the center is the syllable AṂ. At the head, on the center of a thirty-two-petaled white lotus, is the syllable HAṂ facing downward.
Following that, light rays in the form of black hooks emanate from the seed syllable at the heart of the Blessed One, inviting all the Tathāgatas. Looking toward the expanse of space, they are perfectly worshipped by the eight Mātṛs, and one should then offer the request for empowerment, saying: "May all the Tathāgatas please confer empowerment upon me."
Then, from those Buddhas in the form of the Great Being Heruka, immeasurable Yoginīs are emanated. Through the empowerment conferred by the vases, which are the nature of the five Tathāgatas, a rain of flowers and a rain of saffron will fall. Rūpavajrā and the others offer praise, while Buddhalocanā and the others sing vajra songs. Immediately upon the empowerment, one should visualize the Victorious One Akṣobhya as an ornament upon the crown of the head. This is called the "Initial Yoga," the first absorption, which is the Svabhāvakāya.
Following that, as before, one should visualize the syllable OṂ on the head of the Blessed Lady, HŪṂ at her heart, and the syllable ĀḤ on the anthers. Then recite: OṂ PADMA SUKHADHARA MAHĀRĀGA SUKHAṂ DATTA.
CATURĀNANDA BHAGA VIŚVA HŪṂ HŪṂ HŪṂ | KARYAṂ KURUṢVA ME |
From the syllable HŪṂ, one should meditate on the Blessed One’s vajra; from OṂ, the jewel; and from PHAṬ, the aperture. Then, reciting: OṂ VAJRA MAHĀDVEṢA CATURĀNANDA DĀYAKA KHAGAMUKHA EKARASANĀTHA HŪṂ HŪṂ HŪṂ KARYAṂ KURUṢVA ME SIṂ SIṂ SIṂ HA HA HA, one should initiate the joy.
Then, exhorted by the sound of entering into union, all the Tathāgatas enter through the path of the mouth and melt into the heart. They then melt into the moon within the lotus via the path of the vajra, and from the complete transformation of the syllable GAṂ, one should visualize Gaurī, black in color, holding a curved knife and a rohita fish, emanating from the heart of the Wisdom Consort. Having emerged, she performs the benefit of sentient beings and takes her place upon the seat at the eastern gate.
Similarly, from CAṂ, Caurī, the color of madder, holding a hand-drum and a sow, is at the seat of the southern gate. Similarly, from VAṂ, Vetālī, yellow in color, holding a tortoise and a skull-cup, is at the western gate. Similarly, from GHAṂ, Ghasmarī, green in color, holding a snake and a yogic vessel, is at the northern gate.
Similarly, from PAṂ, Pukkasī, like a sapphire, holding a lion and a battle-axe, is in the northeast corner. Similarly, from ŚAṂ, Śavarī, white in color, holding a monk and a mendicant’s staff, is at the seat in the southeast corner.
Likewise, from caṃ arises Caṇḍālī, azure-blue like the sky, holding a wheel and a plowshare; she is upon the seat in the southwest corner. Likewise, from ḍaṃ arises Ḍombinī, of variegated color, holding a vajra and making the threatening gesture (tarjanī-mudrā); she is to be visualized upon the seat in the northwest corner. Having thus visualized the complete maṇḍala, one should summon the wisdom maṇḍala with light rays from the seed syllable at the heart. Looking toward the space in front, one should expel obstructing spirits (vighna) with the eight-faced mantra and offer the water for the feet (argha) with: oṃ śrī heruka arghaṃ pratīccha svāhā. One should offer the water for the feet with: oṃ śrī heruka pādyaṃ pratīccha svāhā. One should offer the water for the face (ācamana) with: oṃ śrī heruka añcamānaṃ. Then, with: oṃ gaurī ākarṣaya jaḥ, oṃ caurī praveśaya hūṃ, oṃ vetālī bandha vaṃ, and oṃ ghasmarī toṣaya hoḥ, one should summon, cause to enter, bind, and bring under control. One should meditate on the wisdom wheel and the commitment (samaya) maṇḍala as being of one equal taste. Having summoned the wisdom maṇḍala with the hook of light rays from the seed syllable at the heart and made offerings, one should request the conferral of empowerment. Then, one should meditate on them conferring empowerment upon oneself. Upon the heads of those who have received empowerment are the Victorious Ones (jina). Among them, Akṣobhya is upon Pukkasī and Gaurī; Vairocana is upon Śavarī and Caurī.
Caṇḍālī and Vetālī are to be sealed by Ratnasambhava; Ḍombinī and Ghasmarī are to be sealed by Amitābha. Then, having gazed upon the fully perfected maṇḍala and cultivated the conviction that it is like an illusion and like a dream, one should make offerings to the maṇḍala together with the principal deity by means of clouds emanated from the eight offering goddesses, which are themselves emanated from the seed syllable at the heart.
Then, one should offer praise to them directly:
"Homage to Heruka, the great terrifier with bared fangs,
Adorned with a garland of intestines,
Who partakes of the great flesh!"
Then, from the syllable Yaṃ arises a wind maṇḍala; upon that, from Raṃ, a fire maṇḍala; and in the center of that, a skull cup arising from Aṃ, containing the substances marked with Oṃ. Above that is a vajra arising from Hūṃ. Through the union of the vajra and lotus, fire blazes, which boils those substances until they are ripened and melted. By the light rays of that, the amṛta from the seed syllables at the hearts of all the Tathāgatas is drawn forth and unified. One should consecrate it with "Oṃ Āḥ Hūṃ" and meditate that from the syllable Hūṃ, the tongue becomes a white vajra. Having visualized the maṇḍala wheel at the heart upon a sun disk, one should satisfy oneself and the maṇḍala wheel with that amṛta.
"In the delightful city of the Mātṛs,
One should meditate on the principal deity in this manner."
"Attain the bliss without waves; by the waveless, bliss itself." Regarding this, the second is the absorption of the Supreme Sovereign of the Maṇḍala, which is the Saṃbhogakāya. Through the light rays of the seed syllable at the heart, the sentient beings of immeasurable and limitless world-systems are purified into the form of Śrī Heruka, perfectly summoned, and caused to enter the maṇḍala. One should contemplate the maṇḍala as oneself, oneself as the wisdom-being (jñānasattva), the wisdom-being as the hand-symbol (cihna), the hand-symbol as the seed syllable, the seed syllable as the drop (bindu), and from the drop, in an instant, clearly visualize the form of the maṇḍala-cakra. In that way, one should repeatedly emanate and reabsorb. This is the yoga of the drop for those whose minds are weary.
Having caused all the Tathāgatas to enter through the absorption of great bliss, one should hold and contemplate the maṇḍala-cakra within the interior of a jewel the size of a white mustard seed, situated in the center of one's own seed syllable at the tip of the lotus of wisdom. Thereupon, the five signs will arise. "Afterwards, one should emanate through the yoga of recollection" refers to the subtle yoga. Thus, by emanating a mass of immeasurable light rays perfectly accomplished from wisdom in an instant, one should meditate until the entire [practice] is completely perfected through the nature of the yoga of recollection, which is the union of seeing oneself and others.
If weariness arises from meditation, one should recite the mantra, yet one should not become attached even to the mantra. In this regard, one should apply the mind to the subtle element and stabilize the mind at the tip of the nose, then recite by joining the sequence of entering, abiding, and emerging with the three syllables. Alternatively, one should visualize the thirteen syllables blazing like a garland of lamps upon a sun maṇḍala at the heart, and recite with certainty just as they have been visualized by the mind: oṃ devapicu vajra hūṃ hūṃ hūṃ phaṭ svāhā. This is called the "Supreme Sovereign of Actions" and is the third absorption, the nirmāṇakāya. Then, in order to accomplish all activities, one should recite the garland mantra. Furthermore, one should imagine the garland mantra emerging from the seed syllable at the heart of the maṇḍala circle, and imagine the mantra being uttered from the mouths of all the faces and all the goddesses. If one wishes to arise, one should meditate on being absorbed within the seed syllable at the heart of the goddess circle, and meditate on the supporting maṇḍala as being extremely vast. One should then dedicate the merit with this verse:
"By this merit, may I attain omniscience,
And having conquered the enemies of faults,
May I deliver beings from the ocean of existence,
Which is turbulent with the waves of aging, sickness, and death."
Thus one should make the aspiration:
"Born into the family, possessing the samaya,
Free from madness, teaching Hevajra with joy,
Devoted to the guru and endowed with compassion..."
May it be so in birth after birth. May I hold the vajra and ring the bell in my hands, read this profound Dharma, and partake of the consort’s fluid as equal food—may it be so in birth after birth.
Then, one should visualize the sentient beings of saṃsāra in the form of Heruka, and ascertain that the four great elements are the essence of the four, such as Pukkasī and the rest. In that way, one should perform everything with the divine pride of Hevajra. During the midday and afternoon sessions as well, one should likewise sit on a comfortable seat, and in an instant, generate the intense visualization of oneself in the form of Hevajra. One should then look at the goddesses arising from the seed-syllable at the heart in their respective positions, and perform the entry of the wisdom-being (jñānasattva), the conferral of empowerment, the offerings, the praise, the tasting of the nectar (amṛta), the recitation, and so forth.
At the time of sleep, the wisdom-being arises from the seed-syllable at the heart and is visualized in the direction of space. One should make perfect offerings with the eight mātṛs, recite the hundred-syllable mantra, and finally, with the word "Muḥ," request them to depart. The maṇḍala circle is then withdrawn into the heart, and having performed the application of the limbs, one should sleep while visualizing all these various things as the essence of coemergent joy. One is awakened by the songs of the four goddesses, and having risen, one should perform everything as before. In this way, one should practice constantly until the signs of accomplishment (siddhi) appear. Having seen them, one should practice according to the tantra.
The Six-Armed One is likewise: in the first left hand is a trident, in the first right hand a vajra, in the second left hand a bell, and in the second right hand a curved knife. With the remaining two hands, he embraces the Wisdom Consort. Similarly, for the Four-Armed One, the first right hand holds a vajra and the left a skull-cup; with the remaining two, he embraces the Wisdom Consort. Likewise, for the Two-Armed One, the right hand holds a vajra and the left a skull-cup as he embraces the Wisdom Consort. One should meditate on these in the form of the principal deity of the maṇḍala. All of these should be meditated upon just as the Sixteen-Armed One was. If one becomes weary of recitation and meditation, one should cultivate the conviction that all are utterly pure. As for the sixteen arms, they are the sixteen emptinesses. What are they? They are: internal emptiness, external emptiness, internal and external emptiness, the emptiness of emptiness, great emptiness, ultimate emptiness, conditioned emptiness, unconditioned emptiness, emptiness beyond extremes, emptiness without beginning or end, emptiness of non-renunciation, natural emptiness, the emptiness of all phenomena, the emptiness of specific characteristics, the emptiness of non-apprehension, the emptiness of non-entities, the emptiness of intrinsic nature, and the emptiness of the intrinsic nature of non-entities—these are the sixteen arms. The four means of attraction are the four legs: generosity, pleasant speech, purposeful conduct, and [acting in accordance with others' needs].
It is the consistency of meaning. The skin is the seven branches of awakening (bodhyaṅga). Which are they? They are the branches of awakening known as mindfulness, diligence, joy, pliancy, absorption, equanimity, and the thorough discernment of phenomena (dharmapravicaya). These are the skin. The flesh is Pukkasī. The blood is Śavarī. The semen is Caṇḍālī. The fat and marrow are Ḍombinī. The bones are the four truths: suffering, the origin, cessation, and the path.
The eight faces are the eight liberations (aṣṭavimokṣa). Which are they? Seeing form as emptiness; seeing internal form as emptiness; seeing the view produced by the beautiful and the ugly as emptiness; seeing the base of infinite space as emptiness; seeing the base of infinite consciousness as emptiness; seeing the base of nothingness as emptiness; seeing the base of neither perception nor non-perception as emptiness; and seeing the cessation of perception and feeling as emptiness.
Because it arises from great passion, the left face is beautifully held. Because it is the pure self of great delusion, the face resides on the right. In order to pacify the four Māras and to pacify all afflictions (kleśa), the two pairs of right and left faces should be known as black and wrathful. The root face should be known as arising from great hatred, great delusion, and great passion.
He abides in the manner of the nine moods. To symbolize his non-duality with space, the upper face should be understood [as blue]. Possessing the nine aesthetic moods (rasa), they are: the seductive, the heroic, the terrifying, the fierce, the laughing, the awe-inspiring, the compassionate, the wrathful, and the peaceful; these are what are called the nine moods. In order to abandon wrong livelihood, the fangs are slightly bared. The movement of the frowning brows is to abandon wrong views. The three eyes are the three doors of liberation: emptiness, the absence of marks, and the absence of aspiration. By this very sequence, the eight faces and twenty-four eyes arise. Furthermore, because he pervades all sentient beings with great compassion, they are all red. Because of his mind of loving-kindness, the body color is black. The marks are the five Victorious Ones (Jina): Akṣobhya is held on the head in the form of a wheel; Amitābha is held as an earring; Ratnasambhava abides as a jewel on the neck; Vairocana is held as a bracelet; and Amoghasiddhi is held as a girdle. The four Māras—the Māra of the aggregates, the Māra of afflictions, the Māra of the Lord of Death, and the Māra of the Son of the Gods—are trampled underfoot in the forms of Brahmā, Indra, Upendra, and Rudra; this is the meaning of the statement that they are the very essence of desire, hatred, delusion, and envy.
The ten non-virtuous actions are the garland of skulls. What are they? They are: killing, taking what is not given, sexual misconduct, lying, divisive speech, malice, idle gossip, covetousness, harmful intent, and wrong view. The armlets are the four bases of supernatural power: aspiration, diligence, mindfulness, and discernment. The anklets are the five supramundane aggregates: discipline, insight, absorption, liberation, and the wisdom of seeing liberation.
To demonstrate the height and depth of the channels, he stands in the dance posture of the half-lotus. To abandon false desire, he sits upon a yoginī lattice seat. To completely abandon fear, his body is smeared with the dust of ashes. To demonstrate the nature of existence as being without entity and the form as being without self-nature, he is embraced around the neck by Nairātmyā. Her curved knife and skull cup are the very essence of method and insight. The samayas of the elephant and so forth, which reside in the eight skull cups of his right hand, correspond respectively to: the disease of the humors, contagious fever, throat inflammation, poison, piercing pain, tumors, abdominal swelling, and infectious diseases. The earth and so forth, which reside in the eight skull cups of his left hand, should be understood respectively as: desire, hatred, delusion, divisive speech, envy, pride, arrogance, and worldly craving.
Having conferred the empowerment, all...
Having attained unsurpassed primordial wisdom, they wear the sublime guru Akṣobhya upon their crowns. In order to generate the light of primordial wisdom, they illuminate [the world] with a lattice of light rays. This is the purity of the central deity of the maṇḍala.
Now, the purity of the goddesses shall be explained. Gaurī is the essence of the aggregate of form. Caurī is the essence of the aggregate of feeling. Vetālī is the essence of the aggregate of perception. Ghasmarī is the essence of the aggregate of formations. Pukkasī is the essence of loving-kindness. Śavarī is the essence of compassion. Caṇḍālī is the essence of joy. Ḍombinī is the essence of equanimity.
The curved knife in Gaurī’s right hand signifies the severing of false conceptualizations. The raw fish in her left hand signifies the collection of habitual tendencies of saṃsāra. The hand-drum in Caurī’s right hand signifies the thorough accomplishment of method and insight. The pig in her left hand is the essence of delusion. The tortoise in Vetālī’s right hand is the essence of emptiness. The lotus vessel in her left hand is the essence of compassion. The snake in Ghasmarī’s right hand is the nature of hatred. The yogic vessel in her left hand is the essence of method and insight. The lion in Pukkasī’s right hand terrifies the elephants of Māra’s hosts. The battle-axe in her left hand signifies the cutting down of the tree of hatred.
The monk on the right of Śavarī is to be understood as the accomplishment of the fivefold meditation on the answers. The mendicant’s staff on the left signifies the accomplishment of non-dual wisdom. The wheel on the right of Caṇḍālī signifies the severing of wrong views. The plowshare on the left signifies the uprooting of the afflictions of ignorance. The vajra on the right of Ḍombinī signifies the realization of indivisible wisdom. The threatening gesture on the left signifies the subduing of the malevolent. The three eyes of all these gaze upon the past, the future, and the present. The two hands are the nature of the two formless [realms]. What are the two formless [realms]? They are called space and consciousness. Desire, hatred, delusion, slander, anger, envy, attachment, and pride are the seats of Brahmā and the others. The five mudrās are the five views; which ones? The view of the transitory collection, wrong view, the view of holding to extremes, the view of holding views as supreme, and the view of holding discipline and ascetic observances as supreme. The face is contorted and the hair is bristling upward in order to abandon the angry mind. Now, the purity of the maṇḍala shall be explained: the assembly of body, speech, and mind is the maṇḍala. It is square by way of the aspects of the Four Truths. The four gates are established in order to terrify the four Māras.
The four corners are conceived as the very nature of the four brahmā abodes. It is beautifully adorned by eight pillars, which are the very nature of the eight consciousnesses. What are those consciousnesses? They are the eye consciousness, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mental consciousness, the afflicted mental consciousness, and the ālaya consciousness. The eight vases are the eight forms; which are they? They are called earth, water, fire, wind, color, odor, taste, and tangible objects. The branches of the mouth-ornament are the eightfold path; which are they? They are called right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right absorption. The five jewels are the five powers: the power of faith, the power of diligence, the power of mindfulness, the power of absorption, and the power of insight. The necklaces of the maṇḍala signify the destruction of the afflictions known as desire, hatred, delusion, and pride. The half-necklaces signify the destruction of the secondary afflictions. "By the distinction between existence and non-existence, the mind which is fully expanded is taught in the ultimate sense to be the canopy." The archways are the branches of absorption. What are they? They are the approach, the near-approach, the accomplishment, and...
This is the great accomplishment. The victory banners are also those very same things. The wisdom of the eightfold path is adorned with a garland of yak-tail whisks. The four seals of the Dharma are endowed with vajra lines. What are they? They are: all contaminated phenomena are suffering; all conditioned things are impermanent; all phenomena are selfless; and nirvāṇa is peace. Loving-kindness, compassion, and so forth are the flowers, incense, lamps, and perfumes. In this way, the inner nature of the maṇḍala should be understood to apply to the outer as well.
Now, the charnel grounds will be described: "By this reasoning of the movement of the breath, they are explicitly called 'charnel grounds'." Thus, the so-called "charnel ground" is the body, the earth element. Because it protects the field, it is the "field protector," which is the wind. Because its nature is to burn and cook, it is the nāga. Because it has the characteristic of space, it is the tree. Because it has the essence of water, it is the cloud. Gain and loss, fame and insignificance, blame and praise, pleasure and suffering, and so forth, are the world-protectors. Illness and so forth are the pretas, bhūtas, piśācas, and so on. The eight charnel grounds are the eight limbs. In the center of these, the Blessed One, by nature the supreme joy, dwells surrounded by the yoginīs. The faults of grasping at "I" and "mine" are the turbulent waves and the grasping raft.
Those dwelling within the ocean of cyclic existence, blinded by the end of their lives, may be forever delivered from it all by means of the boat of suchness, through the merit born from composing this clarification of suchness.
The Hevajra Sādhana: Clarifying Suchness, composed by the master Paṇḍita Kṛṣṇapāda, is hereby complete.
The great scholar of Brahmin lineage, who delights in benefiting the Buddha’s teachings, the one named Kṛṣṇa, and the monk Tsultrim Gyalwa translated this. By whatever virtue is obtained from this, may all wandering beings, having realized the two stages and the four mudrās, attain the state of the Vajra Holder.