Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This ritual text outlines the technical and meditative requirements for the creation of tsa-tsas (clay images). Rather than treating the process as a mere craft, the text frames the act of sculpting as a practice of non-dual yoga tantra. It argues that the physical material of the earth must be transmuted through the practitioner's mental focus, specifically by visualizing the clay as five precious gems. This process of material transformation is inextricably linked to the cultivation of bodhicitta, requiring the practitioner to generate love and compassion for all sentient beings during the construction. Consequently, the text commits the reader to a synthesis of physical labor and advanced visualization, asserting that the efficacy of the resulting image depends upon the yogic state of the creator rather than the inherent value of the materials used.
Provenance
About this text
A ritual guide for the creation of tsa-tsas, the sAts+tsha'i cho ga belongs to the tradition of non-dual yoga tantra. The record provides no information regarding the author or the specific translators responsible for its passage into Tibetan. This classical Tibetan work is preserved in the Tengyur, specifically within volume ཏ, where it is situated in the Non-dual Tantra canonical collection. Spanning a single page in this edition, the text enacts the transformation of physical clay into a sacred object of the Dharma. It argues that the practitioner must utilize the yoga of their own deity to visualize earth as five precious gems, while simultaneously generating love and compassion for all sentient beings and invoking the deities of the three families. A scholar or serious reader consults this text today to understand the synthesis of physical labor and meditative visualization, as it asserts that the efficacy of the resulting image depends upon the yogic state of the creator rather than the inherent value of the materials used.
Sanskrit title
not recorded
Indian author
not recorded
Tibetan translators
not recorded
Canonical collection
Non-dual Tantra
Genre
tantric commentary or ritual text (non-dual yoga tantra)
Cite thisAnuvāda, “A Ritual for Making Clay Images” (Toh 1279), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh1279
Summary & commentary
Significance
The work illustrates the tantric principle of transforming ordinary matter into sacred substance through the power of visualization. For the modern reader, it provides a primary example of how ritual art in the Indo-Tibetan tradition functions as a meditative technology rather than simple iconography.
What the commentary adds
The accompanying commentary provides a detailed breakdown of the ritual process, distinguishing between the physical preparation of the clay and the internal mental shifts required. It expands upon the specific yogic visualizations necessary to achieve the transmutation of the material.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1
Preparatory Visualization
Instructions on the material preparation of clay and the subsequent mental transformation of that material via yogic visualization.
Themes
Material Transformation (1)
Deity Yoga (1)
Reading notes
The text operates within the framework of Non-dual Yoga Tantra, where the physical act of creation is integrated with internal meditative processes.
The transformation of clay into 'precious gems' is a standard tantric trope signifying the transition from the mundane to the divine/pure realm.
Limitations
The provided text is a fragment consisting of a single passage; it lacks the subsequent stages of the ritual, the specific mantras involved, or the final consecration process.
Commentary by gemma4:31b, verified by buddhist-nlp/mitra-qwen35-translate; 0 high · 1 medium · 0 low confidence; 0 unsupported unit(s) removed.
The Ritual for Making Tsa-tsas
Regarding the stages for making tsa-tsas: having prepared clay from the earth, one should, through the yoga of one’s own deity, visualize the clay as the five kinds of precious gems. Then, one should generate love and compassion for all sentient beings and bring to mind the deities of the three families. This is for the purpose of constructing an image of the Dharmakāya for the benefit of sentient beings. Then, one should recite the mantra twenty-one times over the clay:
Namo bhagavate vairocanāya tathāgatāya arhate samyaksaṃbuddhāya | tadyathā | oṃ sukṣme kṣme samaya samaye śānte dānte asamārope analambe taraṃbe yaśovati mahātejani rakule nirvāṇi sarvatathāgata-adhiṣṭhāna-adhiṣṭhite svāhā |
The consecration should be performed with the mantra of dependent origination. This is complete.
Commentary·
1
Literal: The Ritual for Making Tsa-tsas
Regarding the stages for making tsa-tsas: having prepared clay from the earth, one should, through the yoga of one’s own deity, visualize the clay as the five kinds of precious gems. Then, one should generate love and compassion for all sentient beings and bring to mind the deities of the three families. This is for the purpose of constructing an image of the Dharmakāya for the benefit of sentient beings. Then, one should recite the mantra twenty-one times over the clay:
Namo bhagavate vairocanāya tathāgatāya arhate samyaksaṃbuddhāya | tadyathā | oṃ sukṣme kṣme samaya samaye śānte dānte asamārope analambe taraṃbe yaśovati mahātejani rakule nirvāṇi sarvatathāgata-adhiṣṭhāna-adhiṣṭhite svāhā |
The consecration should be performed with the mantra of dependent origination. This is complete.
text
The term refers to the physical clay medium used for the image construction.
lemma: འཇིམ་པ་
text
The practitioner employs a specific yogic visualization to transform the material substance into precious gems.
lemma: རྣལ་འབྱོར་
background
The three families typically refer to the Krama, Anuttarayoga, and Mahayoga classifications in non-dual contexts.
lemma: རིགས་གསུམ་
text
The image is conceptualized as a manifestation of the Dharmakāya, rather than a mere physical representation.
lemma: ཆོས་སྐུའི་གཟུགས་
text
The mantra is dedicated to Vairocana, consistent with the non-dual yoga tantra tradition.
lemma: སྔགས་
text
The final stage involves the ritual consecration (pratiṣṭhā) of the completed image.
The phrase 'རྟེན་འབྲེལ་དག་གི་སྔགས་' (mantras of dependent origination) is ambiguous; it may refer to a specific set of mantras associated with the support/base of the image rather than the philosophical concept of pratītyasamutpāda.