Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This ritual text outlines the procedural and meditative requirements for the cremation of remains within a Vajrayana Buddhist framework. The text prescribes a specific sequence of ritual actions, including the bestowal of the vajra, bell, and crown, alongside the administration of the Vajra Vow. Central to the ritual is the requirement for the practitioner to maintain a specific meditative state: the intense visualization of the samaya-being and the wisdom maṇḍala as being of one taste. The text argues that the physical act of cremation must be synchronized with this internal realization to avoid the spiritual transgression of destroying a caitya. By linking the physical disposal of the body to the attainment of non-dual awareness, the text commits the reader to a practice where ritual precision and meditative visualization are inseparable, framing the cremation not as a mere funeral rite but as a continuation of the deceased's and the practitioner's spiritual path.
Provenance
About this text
A ritual for the cremation of remains, the gdung bsreg pa'i cho ga belongs to the tradition of the Non-dual Tantra. The work is attributed to the Indian author Aśoka. It was translated into classical Tibetan by Aśrījñāna and the lo tsa ba dge slong dpal gyi snying po, and is preserved in volume ཏ of the Tengyur. The ritual enacts a precise sequence of physical and meditative requirements, beginning with the bestowal of the crown, bell, and vajra, and the administration of the Vajra Vow. It argues that the practitioner must intensely visualize the wisdom maṇḍala and the samaya-being as having become of one taste during the cremation process; failure to synchronize the physical act with this internal realization is equated to the destruction of a caitya. A scholar or serious reader consults this two-page text today to understand the intersection of ritual precision and non-dual visualization, where the disposal of the body is framed as a spiritual practice requiring the integration of external form and internal meditative state.
The text is significant for its illustration of how Vajrayana Buddhism transforms funerary rites into advanced meditative practices. It highlights the tradition's emphasis on the 'one taste' of purity and emptiness, suggesting that the physical remains of a practitioner are treated as sacred objects (caityas) requiring specific ritual handling.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1
Ritual Instructions
Instructions on the bestowal of ritual implements and the Vajra Vow.
2
Meditative Requirements
The necessity of visualizing the wisdom maṇḍala to avoid the spiritual error of destroying a caitya.
Themes
Ritual Implements and Vows (1)
Non-dual Visualization (2)
Sacrality of Remains (2)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
The Ritual for Cremating the Remains
Homage to the glorious Vajraḍākinī.
Having bestowed the vajra and bell upon the hands, and having placed the excellent crown upon the head, one should also bestow the Vajra Vow; this is the very pith instruction for bestowing the vow. One should establish the eyes and so forth, as well as delusion and the other [afflictions], within the three levels of the three torma offerings. Through the application of the vajra hearth, the cremation of the remains should be performed correctly. On the third day, the collection of bones should be properly gathered. They should be washed with fragrant milk, and with that, a stūpa should be constructed.
The meaning of this is as follows: first, one should perform the ritual washing with fragrant substances and bestow the crown and so forth. Having drawn the maṇḍala and performed the maṇḍala accomplishment and so forth, one should confer the empowerments of water, crown, vajra, lord, name, and vase. Then, generating oneself in the form of one’s chosen deity, and preceded by the summoning of the wisdom being (jñānasattva) and so forth, one should perform the blessing of the eyes and so forth. One should then recite many mantra collections, perform offerings, praises, and the tasting of nectar (amṛta). Having performed many mantra recitations, one should generate the fire deity in the hearth according to the ritual, and within his heart, generate the maṇḍala of Vajrasattva or one’s own chosen deity together with the retinue. Then, one should request the wisdom being of the deceased’s body to depart.
The meaning is that one should intensely visualize the samaya-being and the wisdom maṇḍala as having become of one taste, and thereby cremate the remains. If one does not act in that way, it will be equivalent to destroying a caitya. This concludes the ritual for cremating the remains. Translated by the great Indian abbot Āśrijñāna and the translator, the monk Śrīgarbha. The meaning of the Vajrapañjara was composed as a pith instruction by Aśoka.