Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This extensive commentary on the Vasantatilaka (Drop of Spring) provides a technical manual for the completion stage of tantric practice, focusing on the transformation of the subtle body. The text argues that liberation is achieved through the precise manipulation of winds, channels, and drops (bindu), moving from the generation stage to the realization of the dharmakāya. It commits the reader to a rigorous system of internal alchemy, where the practitioner must purify the aggregates by placing seed syllables within the chakras and managing the movement of bodhicitta. The work integrates physiological descriptions of the body with metaphysical claims about the nature of primordial wisdom, asserting that the union of method and insight manifests as a fire of wisdom that incinerates conceptualizations. By mapping the internal energetic system and the placement of deities and syllables, the text seeks to guide the practitioner toward the state of non-conceptuality and the accomplishment of the three kayas.
Provenance
About this text
An extensive commentary on the Vasantatilaka, the Vasantatilakṭīkā serves as a technical guide to the completion stage of tantric practice. Attributed to the Indian author Vanaratnapāda, the work focuses on the transformation of the subtle body and the realization of primordial wisdom. It was translated into the Tibetan language by Vanaratnapāda and gzhon nu dpal, and is preserved in the Tengyur, volume ཝ, where it is situated within the collection of the Śaṃvara and Related Tantras. The work argues that liberation is achieved through the precise manipulation of winds, channels, and drops, moving from the generation stage to the realization of the dharmakāya. It enacts a system of internal alchemy, directing the practitioner to purify the aggregates by placing seed syllables within the chakras and managing the movement of bodhicitta. By mapping the internal energetic system—including the four wheels and the twelve joys—and the placement of deities, the text asserts that the union of method and insight manifests as a fire of wisdom that incinerates conceptualizations. A scholar or serious reader consults this eighty-six page treatise today to understand the integration of physiological descriptions of the body with metaphysical claims regarding the accomplishment of Mahāmudrā for the benefit of all beings.
Cite thisAnuvāda, “An Extensive Commentary on “The Drop of Springtime”” (Toh 1449), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh1449
Summary & commentary
Significance
The work is significant for its detailed synthesis of subtle body physiology and tantric soteriology, representing the complex intersection of somatic practice and emptiness. For the modern reader, it serves as a primary source for understanding the 'intentional language' (saṃdhābhāṣā) used in high-level tantric systems to encode spiritual experiences in physical terms.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1-12
Introduction and Preliminaries
Initial prostrations, definitions of the relationship between expresser and expressed, and the introduction of the four wheels and seed syllables.
21-90
Subtle Body Physiology and Energetics
Analysis of the channels, the nature of innate bliss, the classification of the 'lowest' gate, and the physical composition of the body's elements.
100-117
Advanced Accomplishments and Kayas
Discussion of supernatural accomplishments, the manifestation of the nirmāṇakāya and dharmakāya, and the union of insight and method through the fire of wisdom.
Themes
Subtle Body Anatomy (3-11, 51, 80, 117)
Seed Syllables and Mantric Symbols (4, 51)
The Three Kayas (6, 109-111)
Intentional Language (Saṃdhābhāṣā) (112)
Union of Method and Insight (111, 114-116)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
AnuvādaAn Extensive Commentary on “The Drop of Springtime”·
In the language of India: Vasantatilakāṭīkā-nāma. In the language of Tibet: dPyid kyi thig le'i rgya cher 'grel pa (The Extensive Commentary on the Drop of Spring). Homage to the glorious Vasantatilaka!
Having prostrated to the All-Knowing Heruka, the pervasive lord whose nature is the thirty-six individual [constituents], I shall gradually analyze the Vasantatilaka.
The great master known as the glorious Śrī Kṛṣṇapāda attained the fourth accomplishment of Mahāmudrā. He was courageous in accomplishing the welfare of himself and others, and like a second [Heruka], he beheld the glorious Heruka face-to-face. He taught the most auspicious and marvelous Yoginī Tantras to those to be trained, causing them to realize the mundane and the supramundane. He exhorted them to observe the particularly exalted conduct, and for the sake of the meaning of those various appearances manifesting in his own insight and the specific distinctions of the manifest instructions, he applied himself with a most luminous intention.
Desiring to express this Vasantatilaka, the ritual manual for the sadhana of the Blessed One, the glorious Heruka, according to the internal stages for his own recollection, he prostrated to the one who is similar to himself and his own form, and applied himself to the points of the ritual manual for the sadhana with the words "Equal and Unequal," and so forth.
In that regard, first, the expressive [word] and so forth shall be explained. The expressive [word] is the Vasantatilaka. The expressed [meaning] is the completion stage.
The relationship is the definition of the expressed and the expresser, because it is the common characteristic of both sound and meaning. The purpose is easy comprehension. The ultimate purpose is the perfect benefit of all beings without exception, preceded by the accomplishment of Mahāmudrā, which is itself preceded by authentic primordial wisdom. This is the summarized meaning. Having prostrated to the Glorious Heruka as described, I shall explain the Vasantatilaka (The Drop of Spring); such is the connection.
If one asks how it is so, it is as follows: "Equal and unequal," and so forth. "Equal" refers to those things of the nature of method, and "unequal" refers to those of the nature of insight. These are the thirty-seven factors of awakening, which are of a non-dual nature with that great bliss and are subsumed within the five paths. They consist of the nature of everything from the application of mindfulness of the body up to the culmination of right absorption. Among those, the twenty-two phenomena are "equal" because they are subsumed within the mundane path. The fifteen phenomena are "unequal" because they are subsumed within the supramundane path.
Alternatively, "equal" refers to the authentic knowledges that arise from the right channel, and "unequal" refers to those that arise from the left channel. These are the six consciousnesses of the eye and so forth, which, when divided into the four joys and so on individually, constitute the twenty-four joys.
The Four Wheels
Through the sequence of entering, abiding, and arising, the four wheels are divided into the three joys and so forth, resulting in the twelve joys. From the satisfaction of all the limbs, there is one. Thus, the Bhagavān, who abides as the nature of the thirty-seven factors of awakening, is the single body of the coemergent. Externally, he is likewise endowed with as many ḍākinīs. In order to realize that very [Bhagavān] as the Lord of the Wheels, it is said: "The channels of one's own body," and so forth. Within one's own body—that is, in the eight gates of one's own body—these channels are designated by the conventions of seeing, hearing, meditating, tasting, and touching; externally, they are the forms of Kākāsyā and the others. Likewise, the four wheels are the emanation and so forth, located respectively at the navel, heart, throat, and crown. They are the natures of the emanation, dharma, enjoyment, and essence bodies, possessing the identity of the wheels of wisdom, mind, speech, and body. As the essence-form of the nature of awakening, in which the conventional and ultimate are inseparable, he is the Lord. His nature is also described as the mantra-body: "Adorned with the thirty-four consonants and the twelve vowels, together with the five vowels." By means of the words of the five vowels, the ten [vowels] plus one are understood.
In that regard, in the center and the four petals of the directions of the dharma-cakra, the five vowels—HŪṂ, AṂ, ĀḤ, HRĪṂ, and KHAṂ—are placed in sequence as symbols; from the arrangement of these seed syllables of the Tathāgatas, the aggregates are purified. In the saṃbhoga-cakra as well, the five seed syllables OṂ, ĀḤ, Ī, Ū, and AṂ are arranged, from which the five elements are purified. Likewise, the twelve vowels excluding the four neuter ones are positioned with their faces to the left and below, and the same [twelve] with their faces to the right and above, making twenty-four; these completely surround the letters beginning with KA, which have upper and lower faces and are accompanied by the anusvāra (ṃ) and visarga (ḥ), which are of the nature of the letter MA. Similarly, those same sixteen vowels, including the neuter ones, doubled, are in the mahāsukha-cakra. The thirty-two letters beginning with KA, doubled and excluding the two letters of the upper and lower [faces], are in the nirmāṇa-cakra. Regarding the arrangement of the twenty-four channels, the letters YA, RA, LA, and VA are at the intermediate points of the dharma-cakra. The sibilants (ūṣman) are situated outside of that as the vessel. In the center of the four cakras are the first vowel, the "cloud-sound" (Ṃ), Brahmā (A), and the "fearless" (AḤ) letters. At Jālandhara is the letter RA, and at the tip of the lower gate is the letter KṢA. Adorned with these is the mantra of the nature of the āli (vowels). This was taught in order to realize the state of being a lord of the ten bhūmis.
Regarding the ten [sites] such as the "abode" (pīṭha) and so forth, which exist through the divisions of body, speech, and mind, they are called the "sovereigns" (īśvara). Furthermore, in what manner are they to be prostrated to, and how is the Vasantatilaka (Spring Drop) explained? These ten bodhisattva grounds, which are of the nature of "Supreme Joy" (pramuditā) and so forth, are the "abodes" and so forth. In the cakras of the body and so forth, through the division of the reverse order, they are the sovereigns or pervasive lords within the locations of the channels (nāḍī) such as "the indivisible one" (abhedā) in the crown and other sites.
These are the ten bodhisattva grounds, wherein the bodhisattvas, through the complete incineration of the afflictive and cognitive obscurations, perceive the truth. By directly realizing the non-conceptual expanse (dharmadhātu), they attain the awakening to be achieved in three incalculable eons. As it is said: "The generation of the mind of awakening on the grounds is held to be through aspiration, the pure superior intention, maturation, and likewise the abandonment of obscurations."
In this context, through the conduct of the ten grounds symbolized by Pullīramalaya and so forth, the three bodies (kāya) of the nature of dissolution and so forth are primarily realized. This is the self-knowing awareness, the glorious Great Bliss (Mahāsukha), which is also known by other names. It is the glorious Heruka himself, the nature of perfectly complete awakening, which is directly manifested very swiftly and brought to perfection in this very life. This is the distinction from the teachings on the Perfection of Insight (Prajñāpāramitā).
Therefore, because the coemergent alone is the master of the stages such as the dharmakāya and the pīṭhas, the Blessed One is understood to be the sovereign of the ten stages. The etymological definitions of the pīṭhas and the stages will be explained later, as they share a common basis. Furthermore, what is it like? It is "all-pervading" (sarvagata); "all" refers to the aggregates and so forth, and because it abides therein by way of the nature of phenomena (dharmatā), it is all-pervading—the dharmadhātu. Regarding the phrase "reached the center of the hearts of all sentient beings": "all sentient beings" refers to cattle, birds, snakes, humans, and so forth. It has reached the center of their own hearts, residing within the anthers of the lotus of the heart in union. It is the nature of the four elements, such as earth, situated above and below in the center of the sun and moon maṇḍalas. It is the nature of the dharmadhātu, subtler than the tip of a hundred-thousandth of a hair, abiding as the nature of the bindu in the form of the inseparable ḍākinīs and heroes of all the wheels. As it is said:
"The single bindu that always abides in the heart is without syllables. For the person who meditates upon it, supreme wisdom will arise."
And:
"When meditating on the union of unions, the single bindu appears. If the union is not joined, the bindu becomes a non-bindu."
Furthermore, what is it like? It is the aspect of space.
It is because of the dharmakāya itself, or because of the very touch and realization within the channels such as the triple-circled [channel] in the form of the five spaces. Furthermore, it is said:
"In the center of the bhaga is the space,
Adorned by the five spaces,
With a navel and a pericarp,
Completely adorned with eight petals."
And so forth. "Supremely peaceful" means that it is supreme because it is the very nature of the ultimate bodhicitta. It is "peaceful" because it is free from conceptual elaboration. Likewise, through the words "Glorious Heruka" and so forth, it is taught for the sake of correctly realizing the essence of bodhicitta, which is the nature of both the ultimate and the conventional. The Glorious Heruka is the embodiment of the four liberations taught in the tantra. That single innate dharmakāya, its nature and its very essence, is the suchness of supreme nirvāṇa.
Likewise, "arising" means arising through emanation. That which emerges in the form of Vārāhī is the "spring" through which the flowers of clairvoyance and so forth arise. Through the application of this, one is in perfect union with Heruka. This is like a drop; it is the blazing fire of wisdom whose nature is the appearance of the drop. It burns the fuel of the aggregates, elements, and sense bases. These are the "emanations" which enter the three cakras upon the central channel. Therefore, it is "blazing," and it is that which possesses the light and the radiance of that [blazing].
Likewise, the three channels, such as the rasanā and so forth, which are the nature of the three families of body, speech, and mind, are the "expansion." They expand into the sacred sites such as Pullīra and the emanation bodies and so forth. That which is "accumulated" refers to the wheels of channels numbering twenty-four, one hundred and twenty, twenty-one thousand, and seventy-two thousand; these are the nature of the infinite heroines. In the form of conventional bodhicitta, the Protector—the Pervasive Lord—resides there.
Furthermore, it is said:
In the feet, the secret place, the anus, the navel, the heart, and the head,
The maṇḍala of the elements reaches Mount Meru and goes behind.
The channels reach the vajra and lotus of the samaya;
To you, the Heruka of the minds of both, I bow.
Within the anthers of the secret ko-ka water,
The five great spaces of the sky reside.
The drop of the dharmadhātu is non-dual and inseparable;
To you, the Heruka who is the innate self, I bow.
From the lightning that moves within the mass of dark clouds,
A supreme light arises that utterly incinerates
Sentient beings and the vessel of the world;
To you, the Mother of Beings, the Heruka-ma, I bow.
From the mass of water in the opening of the navel cakra,
Arising from the union of the vajra and the lotus,
To you, the fire-light of the horse-headed one,
Who is intensely devoted to the drink of the nectar’s flavor, I prostrate.
And so forth.
Having prostrated to the nature of the Dharmakāya, it is also prostrated to that which is other than it, as stated in the Sukha-svaparārtha-sattva-nāma: "of the world" refers to the three realms. "The bliss of self-awareness" is one's own bliss; in the state where it has not been emitted from the mouth of the vajra, it is the nature of the Saṃbhogakāya. Other than that, the "bliss for the benefit of others" is the nature of the Nirmāṇakāya. That which generates the world is precisely that which generates the Tathāgata; because it is of that very nature, it is the "world." This is also stated in the Saṃpuṭa-tilaka:
"Blood is the nature of all ḍākinīs; from the union appearing in the lotus, it is called Padmanarteśvara. Radiating upward and luminous, it is explained as the supreme Vajrasūrya. In the Śrī-vajra-ḍākinī as well: 'Whatever appears and blazes is the Great Sage Vairocana. This supreme Hayagrīva is the limit of the joy beyond joy, because the various winds arise.'"
In this very [text], according to the manner previously explained, it is the body perfectly embraced by Vārāhī. Although the name is not explicitly mentioned in the Śrī-heruka-abhidhāna, through the conventional [designation], one should understand the Blessed One from the expression "Śrī Heruka." The syllable HŪṂ is a sound like an echo, delightful and captivating; that which is the "spring drop" is the nāda. That which produces and proclaims the sound is the drop, the Blessed One. From these very [sources]:
The resonance of the nāda and the bindu alone is their state of meditative equipoise; because it transcends the generation stage (utpattikrama), it is the nature of the completion stage (niṣpannakrama). The phrase "having prostrated" connects to what precedes. If one asks how, it is said: "I shall explain the Vasantatilaka (Spring Drop) extracted from the abodes of yoga." The four abodes of yoga—self, other, mantra, and suchness (tattva)—are explained in sequence as being extracted from the navel, heart, throat, and crown, and are those that enter through the application of going and coming. The ritual of the sādhana that expresses these is also called the Vasantatilaka, just as the Lalitavistara is called the "Unstolen Poetry." If one asks from where this originates, it is explained: from the Śrī Cakrasaṃvara Tantra. Therein, whatever is the path of the stages described as the characteristics of the outer and inner, and likewise as the arisen and the unarisen, shall be explained by way of the nature of suchness; this connects to what precedes. Thus, in the generation stage, it is the maṇḍala circle consisting of thirty-seven, and in the completion stage, it is the great bliss of that same number. Alternatively, it is also understood as the wheel of the channels themselves. The purpose is stated by the words "Glorious Vajraḍākinī" and so forth: this Blessed Lady is the Vajraḍākinī. "Vajra" is the indestructible and the unchanging.
At the location of the gate, it is indestructible. Regarding the statement, "One goes and proceeds to liberation in the waves of the ocean of milk, the nectar that perfectly descends into a single taste upon the face of the ḍākinī": this refers to the Vajraḍākinī, the Blessed Lady of Wisdom, whose body blazes like thousands of drops of bindu. Her light is Vārāhī. Her light and accomplishment arise from the very nature of the dharmatā; they are the perfection of that very nature, because everything is indeed awareness itself.
If one asks, "Does it exist externally?" it is said, "No." It abides and resides within one's own body, the body that is the nature of the aggregates and so forth. This is because it is to be perceived from this very [text] through the sequence previously explained. Therefore, for those individuals of very little desire who are unable to comprehend the extensive tantras, it is clearly understood, and they will realize it exactly as it is. For this reason, it is said that this shall be explained so that the complete stage of completion (niṣpannakrama) may be fully understood within a very brief text.
Here, if one asks, "How should the yogi who has ascended to the stage of completion perform the maṇḍala, the homa, the meditation, and the recitation?" it is said, "No." This is because the generation stage (utpattikrama), or whatever constitutes the physical forms and so forth, are all merely imputed in every respect, and because they are to be accomplished through external requisites; thus, they are artificial and contrived. As for the assembly:
They are of a nature subject to decay, like a vase and so forth. Therefore, the intention is: "What is the use of those who perform artificial and deceptive actions, or of those who meditate?" If one wonders, "If that is so, why did the Blessed One teach [these things]?" he says, "Artificial activities," and so forth. These artificial activities, such as the previously explained maṇḍalas and so forth, exist in order to realize and understand the nature of the accomplishments (siddhi) of the maṇḍalas and so forth; they are taught so that one may comprehend their essential nature, but they are not the nature of the result itself. The nature or essence of these very things is the coemergent accomplishment (sahaja-siddhi). The maṇḍalas and so forth currently being maintained are, in every respect, merely external fabrications based upon that yoga. Therefore, it is also intended that "one should meditate on the maṇḍala within the body." Those who are inclined toward the maṇḍalas and so forth are first led to meditate upon them, and subsequently, by means of that very path, they achieve the natural accomplishment. This teaching is purposeful in that it causes them to abandon attachment to the external and enter into the internal self-nature. He provides an analogy with the words, "Just as those who seek the far shore," and so forth. Just as those who seek to reach the far shore of the ocean and so forth rely on the effort of boats, rafts, and the like, [so too do they rely on artificial means].
When the further shore is reached, one discards [the means] like grass. In the same way, having attained the external maṇḍala, when one attains the internal, self-natured, natural accomplishment, one discards the external; this is the meaning. As it is said: "That which is to be abandoned through the attainment of the arisen method is taught as the method." Thus, for a jewel-like individual who has previously trained, the fabricated maṇḍala and so forth are, in a mere instant, transformed into the unfabricated maṇḍala through intense conviction, and are rendered non-artificial; this is the distinction. Such a type of person is difficult to find, as they are rare among those like the sandalwood who have conviction in the completion stage. One should recognize their type by specific signs, for it is said: "Fire is known from smoke, and water from water-fowl; the family of the bodhisattva is known by signs by the wise." Here, for the time being, awakening is simply the thorough knowledge of the nature. Even if there is nothing being meditated upon, it will become clear. Regarding the doubt that clarity and lack of clarity might both become causes of awakening, it is said: "The maṇḍala and so forth," and so on. For the yogi who possesses a fabricated intention and is engaged in conceptual yoga, the maṇḍala and so forth are first taught; they are to be drawn or visualized. Is all of that good?
Even if it is not excellent, while one is meditating upon it, it will for a time become clear; however, it should be stated that it is not suchness. This is the remainder of the argument. For it is said:
"Adorned with matted locks and possessing light,
With a white sacred thread over the shoulder,
Holding a water-pot and smeared with ash,
Even though stained with impurities—
Whatever it may be, again and again,
Whatever the great deluded ones meditate upon,
That very thing will appear before them."
One might wonder: "Would the infinite activities, such as the maṇḍala and so forth, also then not be suchness?" To address this doubt, it is said: "Together with the infinite activities," and so on. Whatever the Blessed One taught as the tantras endowed with infinite activities for the sake of practitioners weary of various [methods], that is not suchness. Rather, it is with the intention that one may correctly cognize and experience the supreme reality, the coemergent. Why is that? Because while engaging in the meditation for the sake of accomplishing infinite activities, it is through that very door that one destroys the formative activities (saṃskāra). Thus, the intention is that one enters the coemergent, which is the nature of the supreme space and the natural accomplishment of the dharma-nature. Therefore, the teaching of such tantras is not without purpose.
The example is taught by the phrase "for the sake of knowing sounds," and so forth. Just as the non-Buddhist sages compose treatises on grammar for the sake of knowing mere sounds, [so too is the case here].
When performing that, some will not realize suchness. Following the actions exactly as they are, when enumerating the colors and shapes corresponding to them, they act like musicians and singers. Because they lack the [proper] family, a spiritual friend, the accumulation of prior merit, and authentic aspirations, those people will not find the non-proliferated. Only those who possess the family and so forth will directly realize it. As it is said:
"By hearing the vast Dharma,
By relying on a sublime spiritual friend,
And by entering through the family,
One will act without regret."
It is not only that suchness will not be found; as long as one practices meditation while the body is engaged in the application of afflictions and the mind is distracted, that is artificial and will not be attained. Thus, because both are impaired, the practice results in the attainment of delusion and great delusion. For it is said: "A mind endowed with bliss becomes absorption; a mind in meditative equipoise becomes the insight that realizes the way things are."
Also, in the Glorious Guhyasamāja:
"Through the application of the mantra body,
There is no awakening and no meditation.
Having thus summarized the analysis,
When the yoga of awakening is to be meditated upon
In the form of body, speech, and mind,
Absorption is designated as mantra."
And so forth. In order to explain this very point, it says: "Through effort, the afflictions arise," and so on, which is easy to understand. Some may say: "When one realizes non-conceptual absorption, one realizes buddhahood itself, just like meditating on emptiness. Why is that? Because since that state lacks the conceptualizations of both defilement and purification, buddhahood itself is of that very nature." To this, it is said: The claim that "buddhahood comes from non-conceptuality" and that "emptiness is like that" refers to the nature of a mere reflection, a position of form and nihilism; this contradicts the statement that "buddhahood is the abandonment of both sides."
Furthermore, if it is argued that the divine body born from the sequence of the moon, the vajra, and so forth—the conceptualization of the pride of being the Tathāgata—is the cause for attaining buddhahood, then in order to dispel that: "It is not attained even by that which is conceptual." Thus, buddhahood does not arise even from various specific distinctions, because conceptualizations of both the sublime and the non-sublime are indistinguishable in being the very cause of cyclic existence. As it is said: "Whether virtuous or non-virtuous, what difference is there in conceptualization? Due to the reason of the distinction of the support, there is no difference in the way fire burns." If one asks, "Then from what does it arise?"
It is said, "Utterly pure," and so forth. This occurs through the thorough knowledge of the nature of the aggregates and so on. Why is this? Because these aggregates and so forth are, by their very nature, the manifestations of great bliss, the coemergent purity. Therefore, no phenomenon of either separation or union is capable of producing them. This explains that the thorough knowledge of the nature of walls and so forth as being like space is the primary cause and the producer, and nothing else. Furthermore, this occurs through single-pointed devotion to the teacher, the guru, and by taking the samaya as authoritative, but not otherwise.
If one asks: "Well, thorough knowledge does not occur by discarding the knower; if there are two, how can suchness be non-dual?" In response, the text says, "The action and the agent are excluded; action does not exist from the nature," and so forth. This means that the coming and going of things, and so forth, are indivisible from the agents and actions that perceive them; thus, there are two positions. In the first, if there were only the agent, the action would not be established. In the second, what would the agent be, since it is non-different from the action? If one says, "There is a relationship between them," if they were of the same identity, they would be indivisible, and thus the previously mentioned fault would apply. If they were produced from that, then since the agent would have ceased when the action arose, whose action would it be?
How can one speak of an agent? Since all things are momentary, who could be connected to what? Even a connection established through a continuum is merely imputed; it is not a real entity. This is because, as it is said:
"If the knower exists prior to the object of knowledge, upon what could it have arisen?
If the object of knowledge exists prior to the knower, upon what could it have arisen?
If the knower and the object of knowledge exist simultaneously, upon what could they have arisen?"
Therefore, one should not speak of a connection established through the relationship of action and agent, for cause and effect are not established through mutual dependence. Consequently, all these things transcend the entities of agent and action. Since there is no distinction between the knower and the knowing, the non-dual suchness (tathatā) is established. This is also expressed conventionally, for even the wisdom of luminous nature subsides into that very state.
For example, it is like a mirror cleansed of stains with oil and ash, where the breath has ceased and there is nothing to be burned, such that the mass of flames has subsided into the fire. The application of the non-difference of agent and action is such that whatever is non-different from something is of the nature of that thing, like the sweetness of molasses. Since the action is also non-different from the agent, there is no action separate [from it]; this is a logical reason based on essential nature (svabhāva-hetu). Whatever is different from something is not of the nature of that thing, like a cloth [is different] from a pot.
If the action were also separate from the agent, it would not be an action, because of the perception of a contradiction or the perception of a contradictory cause. Well then, if that is so, what is the nature of all phenomena?
To this, it is said: "The nature of all," and so forth. The nature of all phenomena, such as the aggregates and so on, is the essence that is unborn from the beginning, abiding in the emanation wheel of the letter A, established by its own nature. This is because the dharmakāya is without beginning or end. Its analogy is like the ocean, the source of all jewels.
In order to explain the philosophical tenets, it is said: "Always, the conventions of the world," and so forth. For the time being, "the world" refers to the conventions of the existence of a self and so forth, using the examples of others. "The supramundane" refers to one's own school; the contradiction is the convention of the non-existence of a self and so forth. These partisan positions are solely the cause of saṃsāra.
Well then, what is the philosophical tenet like? Regarding the words "Whether existent or non-existent," and so forth: existence and non-existence, as they are renowned in all the teachings, are established by the power of valid cognition. The philosophical tenet is established in such a way that their nature is not apprehended. Why is that? Because valid cognition itself is not established, from where could its established view arise? Since there is no object of comprehension, it is not established; and because valid cognition and the object of comprehension are mutually dependent. Therefore, the philosophical tenet is that which does not abide in any position whatsoever. In order to explain that very point:
Regarding the phrase, "The application of the very nature," and so forth, it is taught that by thoroughly knowing this non-attachment to the two extremes, one will attain buddhahood. Therefore, through the thorough knowledge of the nature, the coemergent is realized; since that itself is the path, it is not [a matter of] seeing, meditating, and so forth. Thus, by relying on the path of the nature, whatever one does—whether enjoying the five sensory qualities, consuming food and so forth that is contrary to worldly conventions, the four modes of conduct, or acting for the benefit of beings—one is liberated; that is, one becomes liberated from the bonds of all views.
This concludes the first detailed explanation from the Great Secret Lamp, the extensive commentary on the Spring Drop.
Next, regarding the phrase "whichever it may be" and so forth: "Then" refers to immediately following the first teaching. As for "those with form," this refers to those who abide in saṃsāra, which consists of the nine abodes of the four classes of sentient beings. Their very bodies are taught within the tantra as having the characteristics of the aggregates and so forth. That very [body] is explained as having the characteristics of the deity, being the nature of the vīra and yoginī. Why is this? Because a deity belonging to the generation stage is not the ultimate deity, as it is artificial. That which is by nature the essence of great bliss is the actual deity, because it arises from and sports in the nature of Ratnasambhava and Vāgīśvara. Here, for the time being, it is the perfect union of the vajra and the padma.
Free from [conceptualization], and by entering into the nature of the infinite appearances of the movements of coming and going—which are the deluded mental engagements of the pride that thinks "this is the self" and of discordant lineages—one possesses innate bliss. One is the emanation of the father and mother, who are the nature of the Great Vajradhara and the Sovereign of Dharma (Dharmeśvarī). My own five aggregates, such as form and so forth, are the Victorious Ones; my eyes and so forth, and the elements such as earth and so forth, are the six Universal Monarchs (Cakravartins) of delusion and the rest, and the goddesses of the families such as Pāpī and the rest. During the stages of the embryo, from the kalala stage up to the tenth month, which is the nature of the ten stages, I receive the empowerment upon the crown of my head with the water of wisdom from their lotuses and vajra-vases. Through the crown of the five drops of the father and the perfect union of their supreme limbs, I obtain the empowerment of the vajra and bell. Because I proceed to the essence of suchness, I obtain the name of a Tathāgata. Following that, because I wear the dharma-robe of the womb, I obtain the vows. Possessing the six breaths of relief, I obtain the prophecy and the breath of relief. Just as the father entered into union, because I abide there without turning back, I obtain the empowerment of non-retrogression.
Because the bodhicitta is consumed and resides within the lotus, those who have received the secret and insight empowerments are of the nature of the dharmadhātu. Therefore, just as all the tathāgatas are, so too am I, and the three realms are also of that same nature, for they are similar in their perfection. Whatever depends upon perfection is pure in its essence of being without intrinsic nature. Therefore, all phenomena are pure by nature, and the self is pure by nature: oṃ śūnyatājñānavajrasvabhāvātmako ’ham.
Having thus analyzed the stage of the naturally established, in order to demonstrate that this very body is of the nature of the tathāgatas, it is said: "Form is the Buddha Vairocana," and so forth. Form is the aggregate of form; because it is perfectly beautiful, Vairocana is of the nature of the mirror-like wisdom, and is not a white external body possessing form. Likewise, feeling—whatever is the self-arisen aspect of the essence inseparable from pleasure and so forth—is Vajrasūrya, who is Ratnasambhava of the nature of the wisdom of equality, and is not a yellow body possessing form. Likewise, perception is called Padmanarteśvara; because he exercises mastery over the reality that is like the Lord of Dance within the lotus, he is Padmanarteśvara.
That which forms these [qualities] such as virtue and so forth, and which is the emanation of sentient beings born from the impelling of the two parts, is the Vajra. Because he is manifest in the midst of the Tathāgatas, he is the Vajra King. At the end of the "separation from joy" is Hayagrīva, the nature of the wisdom of accomplishing activities; he is not [merely] dark blue. That which thoroughly discerns these entities of consciousness is the indivisible being like a vajra; he is Vajrasattva. The characteristic of making the two parts of sattva (purity) and rajas (passion) of equal taste is Akṣobhya, the nature of the wisdom of the utterly pure dharmadhātu of the Mind-Vajra; he is not [merely] an external blue color. Likewise, he is the coemergent nature of all five previously mentioned [deities]. Because he exists as this, he is the one who pervades the forms of all; the Blessed One, the glorious Heruka, is the sixth, the Great Vajradhara. He should be known as awakening, the nature of dharmatā—this is the remainder. As it is said in the Śrī Guhyasamāja: "In brief, the five aggregates are proclaimed as the five Buddhas." And in the Sandhivyākaraṇa: "The aggregates themselves are the perfect Buddhas; for the sake of awakening, they arise as conditions. Those who are called Tathāgatas are joined in non-dual suchness." And in the Candraguhyatilaka:
All these beings
Are the nature of the five buddhas. Behold the supreme, vivid dance of the deity! Where there is only that which is called "great bliss," it dances through the experience of the one as many. Thus it is said. Also, in the Vajrapañjara-ḍākinī:
"Akṣobhya himself is called 'the one who goes' (the world). All desire is utterly abandoned. He is described as the eternal throne, the vajra-holder with the vajra mark, the immeasurable one, explained as Amitāyus. As long as space exists, he is the king of the seven." And so forth.
Likewise, in the Saṃpuṭa:
"The three born from the mother and the three parts born from the father—these six parts of the body are the six bodies of the Tathāgatas." And so forth.
In order to associate the sense bases with the heroes, it is said: "The eye is explained as Mohavajrā," and so on. The two eyes are Mohavajrā; because there is no craving for the object of form, and because of the gathering of that [craving], the thorough engagement with other objects is delusion, which is the clear light. "Vajra" means indivisible; it is explained as Mahābala from the body wheel (kāyacakra). The ear faculty is Dveṣavajrā; from the mind wheel (cittacakra), she is Khaṇḍakapāla. Because of the single taste in apprehending sound, there is aversion toward other conceptualizations. The nose faculty is Īrṣyāvajrā; from the speech wheel (vākcakra), she is Virūpākṣa.
Because this very [nature] is the identity of all, there is no other whatsoever that consumes all odors, for it is the all-pervading one. Regarding the mouth: the tongue faculty residing in the mouth is the Vajra of Attachment; from the Wheel of Speech, it is the First Sprout. The tactile body faculty is the Vajra of Avarice; from the end of the Wheel, it is Vajrasattva. Because it pervades all the faculties, it experiences only the nature of the bliss of touching the lotuses of all the mudrās and nothing else; thus, it is "Avarice." All the sense bases are the mind faculty, Heruka; from the end of the Wheel of Mind, it is the Vajra Body. It should be understood as that which pervades all the faculties; some say it is the sixth, the Universal Monarch (Cakravartin). Alternatively, it is the Earth Essence, Vajrapāṇi, Ākāśagarbha, Lokeśvara, Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin, and the glorious Samantabhadra, because it is said that these are the perceptions of the eyes and so forth. Because they are pierced by the Great Bliss of the Principal [Deity], these are found in the guise of heroes, but they do not hold the vajra and bell, for they are the very nature of the investigation itself. In the glorious Guhyasamāja as well, it is said: "The vajra sense bases themselves are the supreme maṇḍala of the Bodhisattvas." By the words "The one who causes to fall" and so forth, the suchness of the elements is taught.
Here, the earth element is that which is bone, flesh, and so forth; or the emanation wheel (nirmāṇacakra); or the solid tactile sensation at the time of meditative equipoise. This is Pāṭalā and Ḍākinī. One should understand that the destruction of the conceptualization of clinging to that is emptiness, joy, loving-kindness, and the nature of method.
Here, the water element is that which is water, blood, and so forth; or the dharma wheel (dharmacakra); or the moist tactile sensation at the time of meditative equipoise. This is Māraṇī and Lāmā. One should understand that the exhaustion of the conceptualization of clinging to that is the absence of marks, supreme joy, compassion, and the nature of aspiration.
Here, the fire element is the heat in the bodies; or the enjoyment wheel (saṃbhogacakra); or the tactile sensation of fire at the time of meditative equipoise, which is the blazing fire of primordial wisdom (jñāna). This is Ākarṣaṇī and Khaṇḍarohā. One should understand that the destruction of the conceptualization of clinging to that is the absence of wishes, the joy of separation, the joy of union, and the nature of power.
Likewise, here the wind element is characterized by going and coming, contracting and extending; or the wheel of great bliss (mahāsukhacakra); or the expansion at the time of meditative equipoise. Whether it be the abiding, the movement, the sitting, or the rising, or the movement of the twenty-one thousand six hundred breaths during day and night—this is Lāsyā, the Mistress of Dance, the Mistress of Activity who accomplishes the dance of all limbs, and Rūpiṇī.
One should understand [these] as the unconditioned, coemergent joy, equanimity, and the nature of wisdom. These very [four] are the action, dharma, samaya, and mahāmudrā; they are indicated by the symbols e, vaṃ, ma, and yā. Furthermore, it is said: "Earth is called Locanā; the water element is known as Māmakī; fire is Pāṇḍaravāsinī; and wind is renowned as Tārā." And in the Guhyatattvaprakāśa: "The syllable e is to be known as earth; the action mudrā is Locanā," and so forth. Likewise, the Hevajra Tantra states: "Through the union of the bola and kakkola, earth is born therein." Similarly, the space element is the space within the openings of all the channels, or the openings of the sensory gates, or even the space of the pores of the skin; this is Vārāhī, known as Padmajālinī. She is the mistress whose form is like a lotus stalk; she is unstained by the mud of passion, liberated from the conceptualizations of subject and object, and should be understood as pervading the four elements previously explained. Furthermore, it is said: "Abiding in the form of the space element, she is known as Khecarī." And in the Vajrapañjara: "She abides in the center of all the elements." And from the Sandhivyākaraṇa: "By the singular nature of space, the Great Sage dwells here." Thus, the summary is stated with the words "In this way," and so forth.
By this method, the bodies of all embodied beings dwelling in the three realms should be understood as being of the nature of the deity; they are not, however, possessed of external faces, hands, and so forth. Why is this? Because whatever pleasure, suffering, afflictions, actions, birth, destruction, and so on are contained within the casket of the aggregates, all of these are inseparable from that [deity] and are therefore exclusively of the nature of the deity. This very saṃsāra is also precisely nirvāṇa; there is no distinction whatsoever between them. This concludes the detailed explanation of the second extensive teaching from the Great Secret Lamp, an extensive commentary on the Spring Drop, the ritual manual for the completion stage.
For the time being, it has been established in the second chapter that the bodies of all embodied beings are of the nature of the Tathāgata. In order to understand the gates through which they enter and emerge, categorized by the divisions of inferior, middling, and superior, the text proceeds with the brief introduction beginning with "Then," the meaning of which is easy to understand. The detailed explanation beginning with "The single pillar" is then taught: all of these are the bodies of the deity. In that context, "the single pillar" is expressed by the term ka-ba (pillar), referring to the back of the body, starting from between the anus and the nape of the neck, extending as far as the soles of the feet, abiding like a pillar.
On its left and right sides are the twenty-four heroes, and the drops situated on the sides are of the nature of the heroes and yoginīs. These should be understood as being subsumed within the three cakras. In the center of these, the supporting staff—which is the basis for their entry—is the single pillar, which is distinguished by the guise of the Great Skeleton (Mahākaṅkāla) in the nature of Heruka, located below and in the divine abode. As it is said in the Saṃpuṭa:
"The twelve ribs on the sides,
Having become doubled,
Are completely surrounded
By the assembly of heroes and yoginīs.
This spinal column in the form of a staff
Is the support of the supreme Heruka.
The aggregates, elements, and so forth,
The Buddha has designated as the 'pillar'."
And in the Śrī-Vajraḍāka:
"Just as a great pillar
Supports a house of play,
So too the body with its nine gates
Is supported by the spinal column itself."
Alternatively, the "single pillar" refers to the avadhūtī. Regarding the holding of the cakras of all the channels, these are described as follows:
"In the center of the channels is the single pillar.
In the center of the navel is the great cakra,
Possessing sixteen threads.
Through the yoga of union,
It is perfectly endowed with the syllable A.
The nature of all four,
That which abides in its center
Is the pillar, the Great Queen;
She is proclaimed as the avadhūtī."
Thus it is said. In the great cakra, it is adorned with sixteen pillars.
Through the union of the syllable A and the kha-sbyor (union) of the yoga, it abides in the center there by way of being the nature of the support of all. That great queen who has become the pillar is proclaimed as the avadhūtī. Furthermore, as for what it is like: by means of the phrase "the nine streams" and so forth, the detailed explanation of the brief indication of "the nine gates" and so forth is taught. The "nine streams" are those spoken of as the two eyes, the two ears, the two nostrils, the mouth, the secret place, and the anus. Each of these is also proclaimed to have nine types of gates. Thus, the eye faculty is divided into nine levels by way of possessing the dharmas (phenomena) arising from the mind of earth, water, fire, wind, space, consciousness, the virtuous, the non-virtuous, and both. In the same way, the others should also be understood. These are also the nature of the five Buddhas and the four Yoginīs. Thus, it should be understood that each gate is taught as a maṇḍala wheel consisting of ninefold gates. Furthermore, by the statement "likewise, the gates are nine times nine," one should understand that there are eighty-one gates in the body. One should realize that whatever flows from those is the Tathāgata himself. The meaning of that is stated by: "The final gate of the embodied is emanated as the deity of the rigs (family/nature)." Whatever gate belongs to the embodied is endowed with nine aspects.
That is the "lowest" because it is the very form of what is appearing, because it is clearly manifest as an external form, and because it flows and drips excessively; it is "lowest" in this sense, but not because it is inferior. Among these, it is the coarsest, like form in relation to other gates. Because they are the very nature of the nine goddesses of the Tathāgatas previously explained, they are emanated as deities. With the words "the other" and so forth, the brief teaching on the gate of speech is stated. Because it functions between the body and the mind, it is the "intermediate"; the gate of speech should be understood to be of four types. With the words "fire" and so forth, the detailed explanation is stated. Here, the four are explained as fire, wind, the great lord (earth), and water. Residing respectively in the throat, the navel, the secret place, and the heart, they are of the nature of Padmanarteśvara, Hayagrīva, Ratnasambhava, and Akṣobhya. They are of the nature of Khaṇḍarohā, Rūpiṇī, Lāmā, and Ḍākinī. They flow to the right, to the left, to both, and with a sluggish, steady flow, possessing the colors red, green, yellow, and white. Distinguished by the qualities of the principal [deities], they are mutually fourfold in number, flowing twenty-four times during the day and night. Through the processes of entering and so forth, the flow of twenty-one thousand six hundred breaths should be known by self-awareness within the channel-wheels of the entire body.
One should experience the movement and entry of the moments of consciousness as they flow through those [channels] by means of the yoga of going and coming. These themselves are the gates of speech; from the openings of the left, right, and central channels, the great syllables of the Blessed Lady arise. Because cause and effect are inseparable, they are shown to be the gates of those very [channels]. The place where they are clarified is the mouth. These are also the entry and so forth of fire and the other elements. If one asks how, it is said: "Above," and so forth. In successive order, the fire maṇḍala enters above, because the sacrificial fire blazes upward. The wind maṇḍala flows from the side gates, because winds move in a curved manner. The great earth [maṇḍala] flows by touching straight, because of its evenness. Water flows below, because water flows only downward. As it is further said: "The ray of light arising from the right is the maṇḍala of the sacrificial fire; it is clear in the color red. In this, the deity Padmanātha [resides]. White like a conch or a kunda flower, and flowing slowly and steadily, this is the water maṇḍala; in this, the deity Vajranātha [resides]." As it is said in the Four Lamps: "The four movements are above, the sides, straight, and also below." And in the Saṃpuṭa: "Fire and certainly wind..."
Likewise, from the movement of the mind within the cakras, fire, water, the great powerful one (earth), and wind move straight upward and downward. As it is said in the Sandhivyākaraṇa:
"Fire, wind, the great powerful one, and water—
From the movement of the mind within the cakras,
They move straight upward and downward.
In their center is the deity itself;
The fourth is joined with each other."
Regarding the gate of the mind: the third is in relation to the gates of body and speech. "Of the mind" means it is to be understood as merely mental. If one asks how, it is said: "From the distinction of moon and sun." Moon and sun refer to the left and right channels; from the flow of these two, and from the upward movement of the stages of wind as prāṇa and āyāma, and from the downward movement of the stages of substance as semen and blood. Because this is to be realized solely through the subtle yoga, it is the supreme gate.
Likewise, it is said: "From the very entering and emerging." This refers to the entering and emerging of prāṇa and āyāma above, and of the substances below. Alternatively, it is from the entering below and the emerging above. If this is the supreme gate, through what gate and who enters? It is said: "From the lower gate," and so forth. The path of the lalanā is the lower gate. Superior cognition is consciousness.
Regarding the entry into great bliss: when one enters after the two appearances, the coemergent arises, and thus it appears during the spring season. What is called rasanā is the upper gate. The elements, which are of the nature of earth and so forth, appear as the impurities of the eyes and so forth, because they are the very forms of the charnel grounds, such as the smell of rot. Alternatively, from the lower gate, the five aggregates—consciousness and so forth—appear in the bodies of embodied beings, because the five aggregates are the internal self. From the upper gate, the five elements, earth and so forth, arise, because they belong to the external direction. Likewise, this collection of the six consciousnesses, such as the eye-consciousness and so forth, moves through the upper gate in order to grasp the six objects, such as form, which are the nature of the Buddhas, Vairocana and the others. One should understand that as they are entering, they abide in the fulfillment of desire by way of the conceptual adherence to those objects as being deities. Those which have entered within are again released through the upper gate for the sake of enjoying one's own deity. Alternatively, from the wheel of great bliss, consciousness—which is endowed with a particularly exalted cognition—is obtained within the lotus by way of the lalanā path from the lower gate. Through the power of yoga, that very thing is drawn up through the upper path as the element.
It causes the twenty-four elements to expand and brings about birth in the first four abodes. Furthermore, it is said:
The beautiful lady, radiant with the light of the fully expanded sun, from the anthers beautified by the garment of the sound of great power, is graceful at the peak of the head and perfectly filled. The moon, marked by light, rises anew.
The awareness, intoxicated by the taste of various flowers, [perceives] the sounds of the river in the fast, slow, and intermediate [movements]. The bees, having approached, hold a great festival at midnight; the mind that reaches there is wondrous.
The maker of the night, having come near to the setting of the rising [sun], again rises upon the immovable crown from this very place. In the moment when the portion of the two extremes is exhausted, the moon and sun do not appear.
The sun rises in the midst of the ocean waters, and from the peak, the moon sets. When Rāhu, who has gone above, destroys this fire of the time of destruction, he swallows the cool-rayed one below.
The Lotus-Bearer has a lotus-like face; as Locanā, she is very clear, the blending of object and subject. First, this ignorance is other than that; here, the two, the vajra and the lotus, are blended.
In the moment of the practitioner’s pressing of the seed, the three vows are obtained, and the fourth is attained. The garland of parts of the inexhaustible innate abode, at the time of taking it up, is the supreme, beyond expression.
If the well-trained Vajra-Dancer and the words of the guru are realized and attained, [then the result follows].
"Whoever [practices] the supreme or middling [attainments] at that time will obtain definitive certainty; that is the knowledge of reality." Thus it is said. By the words "That very [reality] goes," and so forth, it is taught that the manner of going and coming through the divisions of the upper and lower gates is the manner of requesting the deities to depart and inviting them. At that time, all the Buddhas of the three times are the twenty-four heroes residing in the three cakras, and the twenty-fifth is the glorious Heruka. Likewise, the ḍākinīs are twenty-eight, residing within the channels such as Avadhūtī and so forth, in the wisdom, mind, speech, and body cakras. The "mothers of union" are the accomplished heroes and the coemergent yoginīs who reside by way of the nature of the channels through the gates of the eyes and so forth. Alternatively, the "coemergent accomplishment" is established here as being only naturally accomplished, not as something imputed. To show what kind of divisions there are: entering and reversing, arising and ceasing, emerging and entering, meditative equipoise and non-equipoise, qualities and faults, defilement and purification, pleasure and suffering, and the nature of the conditioned such as pleasure and displeasure—all these that enter through the three gates are the coemergent accomplishment.
One should understand [them] as being the nature of the heroes and yoginīs. This concludes the third detailed explanation from the Great Secret Lamp, an extensive commentary on the Spring Drop, the ritual manual for the practice of the completion stage.
Regarding the realization of the three doors as the mandala of the deities, their locations and so forth are to be shown according to the sequence of the ten grounds. Then, the words "Then..." and so forth are spoken. Because it was spoken immediately after the extensive explanation of the doors, it says "Then." As for "any whatsoever," it refers to any tathāgata whatsoever; it is common to all sentient beings and not exclusive to oneself alone. Regarding "locations and so forth," it is connected to the phrase "are to be shown."
The phrase "nine streams" and so forth explains this: the doors of the body previously mentioned are the nine streams. Those that abide within them are the channels, which are the nine deities of all [the tathāgatas]. Likewise, the ten parts of the avadhūtī channel, beginning from the head and reaching to the center of the bhaga, are to be designated as the ten grounds of the buddhas and bodhisattvas. The intention is: "Once the truth is seen and experienced and perceived internally, what is the use of the path of seeing and so forth, which must be accomplished through great effort?"
Having explained the grounds, the other locations of the grounds are taught, beginning with "the forehead." Here, one should understand the determination and ascertainment of the channel wheels, beginning from the location of the forehead—the wheel of great bliss—within this body.
In that way, only those thirty-two that have reached there are the ones who have gone forth into the Sambhogakāya and so forth. Because the uṣṇīṣa-cakra is the very root of the tree of the body, from this alone the branches—the body—extend downward; thus, the body is a tree. In that regard, there are twenty channels on the four [limbs]—the two arms and the two legs—which face downward; three channels on the three [parts]—the two sides and the back; six channels at the heart and the vajra; and three channels bound in a chain for the caitya of the four cakras. In that way, the channel-cakras are definitely established from the forehead alone. Those thirty-two are the yoginīs, and whatever is bodhicitta flows in accordance with them. Those very ones are the heroes such as Khaṇḍakapāla and so forth. Vajracanda and so forth are the great heroes; Vajracanda is the glorious Heruka. That meaning is taught by the passage beginning with "bodhicitta," and these are, externally, the gates of the body and so forth, the enumerations such as the smell of pus and so forth, and the fierce and wrathful ones and so forth. Internally, they are the names of the regions, such as Jālandhara and so forth, which reside in the twenty-four places beginning with the crown of the head. The classification of these is taught by the passage beginning with "Khecarī" and so forth: those channels from Pullīramalaya up to Mālava are the Khecarīs. Those from Kāmarūpa up to Himālaya are the Bhūcarīs.
Beginning from Pretapuri and extending to Kuluta, these are those who dwell beneath the earth, categorized by the upper, middle, and lower parts of the body. These twenty-four, such as Khecarī and the others, are established upon the ten stages (bhūmis). The channels that are the nature of Kākāsyā and the others are situated at the gates of their respective parts. This is taught by the passage beginning with "body, speech, and mind," where "places" refers to the internal divisions; the remainder of the sentence is that they are situated based on the divisions of the crown of the head and so forth.
These very places and so forth are the supports, and the channels that are the nature of the twenty-four supported [deities] are the ḍākinīs. Likewise, the ten channels that serve as their support are of the nature of the stages. "By way of the nature of how they are situated" means they abide exactly as they are without deviating from their locations. For whichever yogin, in whichever place, the coemergent abides, it is not a conceptual construction.
"These very ones are explained as the stages, such as the Joyful and so forth." In this context, the crown, the crown of the head, the right ear, and the back are the "places" (pīṭha) because the bodhicitta abides there. This is the "Joyful" (pramuditā) stage, because it generates the three joys through the sequence of dissolution and so forth. The left ear, the center of the eyebrows, the eyes, and the base of the shoulders are the "near places" (upapīṭha) because they are close to the places. This is the "Stainless" (vimalā) stage.
This is because the fire of primordial wisdom (jñāna) burns away the stains of conceptual thought. The armpits and breasts are the fields (kṣetra), because the bodhicitta arises in the guise of dust and milk. This is the Radiant (Prabhākari) stage, because by looking at them, the light of the mind’s universal joy is generated. The navel and the tip of the nose are the near-fields (upakṣetra), because they hold the scent and the mucus. This is the Radiant (Arciṣmatī) stage, because it causes the mind of primordial wisdom to shine forth intensely. The mouth and throat are the groves (chanda), because by partaking of flavors, desire is averted. This is the Difficult to Conquer (Sudurjaya) stage, because one is unable to turn back from flavors. The heart and the genitals are the near-groves (upachanda), because those who realize the meaning turn their backs on the ripened food to be consumed. This is the Manifest (Abhimukhī) stage, because it becomes manifest at that juncture or upon ripening. The secret place and the anus are the meeting places (melāpaka), because method and wisdom enter into union, becoming blended and unified within them. This is the Gone Afar (Dūraṅgamā) stage, because the orifice of that channel is far-reaching. The thighs and calves are the near-meeting places (upamelāpaka), because they are blended even more than those previously mentioned. This is the Immovable (Acalā) stage, because it is difficult to turn back from that application. The fingers and the backs of the feet are the charnel grounds (śmaśāna).
Because it is the nature of all abodes, it experiences the state of non-conceptuality. This itself is "Excellent Intelligence" (Sādhumatī), because selflessness is excellent and because it is the very act of cognizing that [selflessness] therein. The thumb and the knee are the "near charnel grounds," as previously described. This itself is the "Cloud of Dharma" (Dharmameghā), because the bodhicitta falls everywhere like a rain of clouds from the crown of the head. These very abodes and so forth, which are perfectly subsumed by the ten grounds, are the ten grounds themselves, because wisdom increases progressively higher and higher through the stages of dissolution and so forth within them.
If one asks, "Whose grounds are these?" it is said, "The faculties" and so forth. These six faculties, such as the eye and so on, are by nature bodhisattvas. Likewise, those aggregates such as form and so forth, which were previously understood to be by nature the Buddhas, have become their grounds. They are called "grounds" because the Buddhas and bodhisattvas who abide by nature are located within these. From this very point, it is not only the āryas who attain Buddhahood; rather, since the aggregates and faculties of ordinary beings (pṛthagjana) are also by nature the Buddhas and bodhisattvas, they too will attain Buddhahood.
This is because, in suchness, the Tathāgatas and ordinary beings are indivisible. One might then ask: "If awakening is attained through three incalculable eons, how can it be attained merely by knowing the aggregates and so forth to be the nature of the Buddhas and so forth?" To this, it is said, "The bodhisattva..." and so on. When the bodhicitta, filled with the thirty-two [deities], is experienced within the vajra mouth or the lotus, at that time they become the Buddhas themselves. Thus, the remainder of the text states that it does not depend on time.
One might then ask: "Is it not the case that the Buddhas reside in the form of wisdom maṇḍalas in Buddha-fields such as Abhirati? How then can we, who are wandering in human existence within saṃsāra, be close to awakening?" To dispel this doubt, it is said, "In one's own body itself," and so on. Awakening is the existence of one who has awakened through realizing one's own nature; that is established as residing in one's own body itself. Precisely this is the Buddha-field, because the naturally established coemergent Buddha resides right here, and not in other places such as Abhirati. Therefore, "other than the body" refers to external locations. Buddhahood is natural, meaning it arises spontaneously.
The nature is that which abides exactly as it has arisen; it is not something that is specially constructed. "Desire" refers to that which is craved and hoped for by those [beings]. Those who have realized and known the completion stage should assert that buddhahood is established solely by way of its own nature, because it is said: "All these wandering beings are the sovereign buddhas." Furthermore, because the state of a Tathāgata occurs beyond death, even the indeterminate conceptualizations have been abandoned. As it is said in the Śrī Hevajra: "There is not a single sentient being who is not a buddha; it is due to their own and their own conceptualizations." And as the master Vajrapāṇi also said: "Men are the form of Vajradhara; women are the Vajra Queen." Likewise, in the Tathāgata-guhya-sūtra: "The conventions of the body, speech, and mind of all sentient beings are the secrets of the three families." And as Jñānapāda also said: "Thus, the Buddhas realize that whatever actions of body, speech, and mind arise from the mind in its various forms are the nature of mudrās and mantras." By the terms "place" and "nearby place" and so forth, the names of the ten grounds previously mentioned are stated.
The etymologies of these terms have been explained previously, as stated in the Great Secret Lamp, the extensive commentary on the Spring Drop (Vasantatilaka), the ritual manual for accomplishing the completion stage. This concludes the detailed explanation of the fourth [chapter].
Then, with the words "whichever [it may be]" and so forth, the text provides the common names for the twenty-four previously mentioned sites and the crown of the head and so on, as well as the nature of the channels residing therein, such as Khecarī and the others. The brief summary and detailed explanation of these are taught; from the words "Then" up to "shall be explained" is the brief summary, which is easy to understand. The detailed explanation begins with "The crown is the land of Malaya" and so forth; this is the third [section of the] detailed explanation.
Regarding that, "Malaya" refers to that which draws forth the bodhicitta—the indivisibility of the conventional and ultimate, which is the nature of great bliss. The land that is of such a nature is the "land of Malaya." It is at that very crown, for it arises there. Because it holds the root of the network of channels, the crown is Jālandhara. It is said that the fierce inner heat (caṇḍālī) flies out through the path of the right ear; because it moves and enters the sky, it is "Goviṣāṇa" (the Cow's Horn). As for its external manifestation, that is Oḍḍiyāna, the right ear. Through the union of these messengers of vowels and consonants with the three mudrās, one should realize the experience of non-conceptual bliss, as it is opened by the staff of Īśvara, the karmic wind; thus it is Arbuda.
The back of the head: from prṣodhara and so forth, the ha becomes da. These four, according to the manner previously explained, should be understood as having the names of the sthāna (abodes). The four channels based upon them are the khecarī (sky-farers); they are the spheres of activity and objects of those who are described as Pracaṇḍā and so forth. Because the four types of conceptualization of phenomena, such as heat and so on, are experienced as great bliss, and because one experiences a particularly exalted joy, this is also the stage of pramuditā (the Joyous). Because it bestows the nature of the go (earth) in the nirmāṇacakra (emanation wheel), it is godāvarī, which is the avadhūtī. Because it holds and covers, it is godāvarī, which is the left ear, for it pervades that. "Joy and joy" are the joys; these are the eyebrows, which are the nature of the lalanā and rasanā. In the center of those is Īśvara; "in the center of whose fire of wisdom" means within the ūrṇā (the hair-treasure between the brows). That very fire of wisdom is the goddess; the fortress of that very goddess is Koṭa here, and the two eyes are Devīkoṭa. It is based upon those, for it is attained there. Likewise, the space between the two shoulders is the hands; the two roots of these are the two shoulders themselves, which are Mālava. Because it destroys and severs the garland of conceptualizations of individual birth, it is called Mālava, for it experiences dissolution. These are the upasthāna (near-abodes).
The channels supported by those are the nature of Vīramatī, Khaṇḍarohā, Laṅkeśvarī, and Druma-cchāyā; they should be understood as the sphere of activity and the objects of the Khecarīs. This refers to the wheel of the mind. The two armpits are Kāmarūpa; that which is intensely desired and seen is the form of desire, which refers to the two armpits. Because "O" signifies going upward, taking, and accepting, the two breasts are Oḍra. These two are fields according to the manner previously explained. The navel and the tip of the nose are Triśakuni and Kośala. Here, "Śakuni" refers to the crow-faced one (Kākāsyā); whichever channel of body, speech, and mind she possesses is Triśakuni, located at the navel because it has the form of a vajra knot. Likewise, the tip of the nose is Kośala; because mucus flows there, it is Kośala. These should be understood as the "nearby fields" according to the manner previously explained. The mouth and throat are Kaliṅga and Lampāka. "Kaṃ" is bliss, and "li" is to go; thus it is Kaliṅga, because during the stage of approach, seeing it generates the joy of the deity. Likewise, because the tongue, which has a great craving for tasting the nectar from the four [gates] of the uvula, applies itself there, the throat is Lampāka.
These should be called the "desires" as explained in the previous commentary. The heart and the bladder are Kāñcī and Himālaya, respectively. Thus, kaṃ is bliss, and añcati means to go or move; it is so called because the drop of amṛta drips from the downward-opening mouth, like the flower of a plantain tree, and because it possesses the māradālinī channel in the form of the syllable hūṃ. Because it is the very seat of the snow-white bodhicitta, the bladder is called Himālaya. These are the "near desires," as before.
Regarding the phrase "in that way" and so forth: the channels supported by those are Dharaṇīndharā, Mahābhairavā, Vāyuvegā, Surābhakṣī, Śyāmādevī, Subhadrā, Hayakarṇā, and Ḍākinīmukhī. One should know these to be the seats of the earth-dwelling goddesses. Because they reside in the center of the body, they are called "earth-dwellers." Likewise, there are two types of signs: the female sign and the anus. These should be known, in their respective order, as Pretapurī and Gṛhadevatā. In this context, preta refers to space. The five spaces, which are like cities, constitute the city; the pair of banners therein is Pretapurī. The opening of the anus is Gṛhadevatā; "house" (gṛha) refers to the body, and the "house deity" is the god Vairocana, because he is the very seat of the fecal element.
These should be understood as the names of the melāpakas (convergences) in their respective order, because at the time of meditative absorption, the two downward paths of the two banners are joined. Likewise, the two thighs and the two calves should be known as Saurāṣṭra and Suvarṇadvīpa. In that regard, the "realm" is like a realm of bliss; the two thighs themselves, at the time of their mutual excellence, and the seeing of that excellence, is Saurāṣṭra. Similarly, the mind of extremely white light is the "good color," and because the two calves are like an island for that, they are the islands. These should be understood as the upamelāpakas (near convergences) as before.
Likewise, the eight toes of the feet and the region of the back of the feet should be known as Nagara and Sindhu. Because the toes do not "go" (na-ga), and because they cause supreme expansion (ra), it is Nagara. Because the bodhicitta drips from the back of the foot to the big toe, the back of the foot is Sindhu. These two, according to the manner previously explained, are the śmaśānas (charnel grounds). The big toe and the knee should be known as Maru and Kulutā. "Ma" is great bliss, and the action of proclaiming that is Maru. "Ku" is conceptual thought, and because it destroys that, it is Kulutā. These two should be described as the upaśmaśānas (near charnel grounds) in their respective order, as before.
"These ten grounds are the places and so forth" means:
They are established by the terminology of the "abodes" and so forth. Regarding the phrase "born in one's own body," this refers to those born together with one's own body produced through the sequence of the ten months; it is not something to be attained through the sequence of the path of seeing. These are distinguished by the divisions of the abodes according to the method of explanation. That very [set] is to be described as the ten grounds by taking one from the nine internal [abodes] together with the external gates. If one asks, "Whose grounds are these?" it is said, "of the Buddhas," meaning those whose nature is the aggregates of form and so forth, and who possess the identity of a single wisdom. Alternatively, the "Buddhas" are the twenty-four heroes by way of the nature of the elements, or the twenty-four channels such as Avadhūtī and so forth are also the Buddhas. The intention is that, with one additional [ground], these heroes and yoginīs are the ten coemergent grounds, or rather, they are the non-imaginary objects of accomplishment. To show that these are not the grounds of the noble ones (ārya) alone, but also of ordinary beings, it is said: "In the wheels of body, speech, and mind," and so forth. Through the previously mentioned sequences, in the twenty-four abodes divided by the wheels of mind and so forth residing in the body, these grounds of the nature of the channels exist as the ten abodes for all embodied beings—those without feet, those with two feet, those with four feet, and those with many feet.
This is because, in terms of suchness, all sentient beings are the lords of the earth.
This concludes the detailed explanation of the fifth extensive teaching from the Great Secret Lamp, an extensive commentary on the ritual of the Spring Drop, the means for accomplishment of the completion stage.
Now, as for the fact that the channels and cakras residing within one’s own body alone are the nature of the ḍākinīs residing in all the cakras: their principal [nature] is the identity of the mantra established by nature. In order to realize these, and to enter the sixth extensive teaching, the text says "Then," and so forth. "Whosoever" refers to the body of the Tathāgata included within all the realms of sentient beings; as before, it is the very essence of the deity arising from the nature of the aggregates and so forth. "According to their respective locations" means that without deviating from their locations, the channels and cakras themselves are to be symbolized as the assembly of yoginīs; this is the brief thematic summary.
By the words "reaching the center of the heart" and so forth, it is taught that the principal [deity] resides there by way of the nature of mantra. Here, the heart of all embodied beings is the eight-petaled channel-cakra of the dharma-cakra, complete with its pistil and filaments, which exists as the nature of the purification of the eight watches. In its center—that is, in the center of that which is like a sesame oil lamp, like a plantain flower, and is called the "three-fold" lower face—[resides the principal deity].
The syllable HŪṂ, the size of a tiny mustard seed, dripping with drops like the dew on a morning grass blade when struck by the rays of the sun, is "indestructible" because it cannot be uttered. It is a "hero" because it is fearless toward all conceptual entities. Because it causes the hearts of all embodied beings to rejoice, it is like the "spring" (vāsanta), and thus it should be understood as the Blessed One, the glorious Heruka; it is not the [deity] with four faces and twelve arms.
This fire of wisdom, which is like the fire of the horse-headed [Agni], blazes from the navel center, having been impelled upward by the karmic wind through the characteristic of the perfect union of the churned and the churning. Having traveled along the upper path, it melts the nectar of the hero residing in the heart, which falls like a continuous stream from a spring. Because this very contact is the non-dual union, it is "entered into equipoise" (samāpanna); thus it is called the "spring drop" (vāsantatilaka).
Regarding this very point, it is said: "He is called Heruka," and so forth. This syllable HŪṂ, described by the characteristics previously mentioned, is the glorious Heruka. Because wisdom blazes, Vajravārāhī is called the "drop." She is the moving and the non-moving, the nature of the world of the stationary and the moving. Having assumed the red color of the previously mentioned Yoginī form, she abides.
Likewise, the Bhagavatī herself, through the divisions of the body and so forth, acts as the inferior, middling, and superior [states] by way of the three doors, performing the acts of going, having gone, and abiding. This is the meaning of the statement: "She alone abides in all embodied beings." In order to show that the principal of the maṇḍala pervades the four cakras, the text begins with "At the navel" and concludes with "Here, one sports in bliss." In that regard, at the navel, the emanation cakra, that very "spring" is in the form of the short syllable A. At the heart, the dharma cakra, it is in the form of the syllable HŪṂ together with the nāda and the bindu. At the throat, the enjoyment cakra, it is in the form of the very long OṂ with three parts; because it circles three times due to the curvature of the channels, it is the entry and emergence of the caṇḍālī. At the forehead, the great bliss cakra, it is the indestructible and unchanging syllable HA, adorned with the nāda and the bindu. That very [syllable] in reverse order—at the forehead, throat, heart, and navel—is the form of the mantra-body of Śrī Heruka. The phrase "the elements such as earth" and so forth explains its support; its buddha-field consists of the four cakras whose nature is earth and the other elements. It flows through the four cakras with the characteristics of the four sessions: day and night, midday, afternoon, midnight, and morning.
The number five hundred and fifty-four is the count of the breaths; that itself is the four faces of the Blessed One who possesses insight. The four moments that symbolize the joy of the various aspects and so forth, the four joys and so forth, and the four applications of the swift, the steaming, the binding, and the manifold—having explained these individually, that itself is his twelve arms. From its entry into the upper [center], there are twelve eyes; from its entry into the middle, there are the twelve weapons. This is the agent and the action; because of the state of equal taste through the nature of burning and increasing, it is the glorious bindu, the springtime form of Vajrasattva. The meaning is: how does he sport in bliss? By relying on the very nature of the four joys, he brings joy to the bodies of all embodied beings.
Thus, having clearly established the central principal deity together with his insight, faces, arms, color, shape, and symbols as the internal form, the source text beginning with "Furthermore, the four petals..." and ending with "The five channels are situated..." is taught for the purpose of realizing the four ḍākinīs of the wisdom wheel and the four offering vases. In that regard, the four located in the eastern, northern, western, and southern directions of the dharma wheel are the holding, the moistening, and...
The characteristics of heat and movement abide in the wisdom wheel, the abode of the Mind Vajra, the glorious Heruka. Those who have reached that state are to be known as the ḍākinīs and so forth: Ḍākinī, Lāmā, Khaṇḍarohā, and Rūpiṇī. Among them, because she dissolves into space, she is Ḍākinī. Because she sports in the water within space, she is Lāmā; this is a reversal of the syllables according to poetic meter. Because she divides and moves through space, she is Khaṇḍa; because she is luminous in that very state through its purification, she is Rōhā. Thus, this is a compound of a common substratum. Because the wind moves into the form of space and purifies it, she is Rūpiṇī.
Having explained the ḍākinīs of the cardinal directions, the vases situated in the intermediate directions are taught by the phrase "situated in the intermediate directions" and so forth. In that very heart of the wisdom wheel, the five nectars flow; the channels situated in the intermediate directions are the form of the vases. The apertures arising from those, which reside in the garland of skulls, are to be known as the four offerings of the nature of nectar. This is taught as a summary by the phrase "of the body" and so forth. In the manner thus explained, one should know that in the center of the body there are five channels: the three circles together with the four ḍākinīs of the offering of the wisdom lotus. Because they are experienced in the form of the nāda, they are not permanent like external things. Regarding the phrase "body, speech, and mind" and so forth:
The channels of the three cakras are taught to be the yoginīs; although they are to be designated as mind, speech, and body, reading them in reverse order is for the purpose of concealing them from those who lack the fortune. Therefore, in the twenty-four locations consisting of the heart and other cakras, as well as the crown and so forth, the twenty-four [yoginīs] such as Pracaṇḍā and the rest abide in the form of channels in each respective place—from the pīṭhas and upapīṭhas up to the upaśmaśānas—abiding ultimately as that which is established by its very nature. For it is said in the Root Tantra: "The ḍākinīs are coemergently accomplished." And: "The channels that arise perfectly at the crown are remembered as 'crown-born'." This very point is taught there. Here, thirty-two channels emerge from the cakra of great bliss. Among those that have arisen, the lalanā, rasanā, and avadhūtī—which sustain the semen, the blood, and both—generate the three elements without exception. They should be understood as having the nature of body, speech, and mind, which are of the nature of sattva, rajas, and tamas. Regarding the names of those thirty-two channels, in the glorious Hevajra: "Abhedā, Sūkṣmarūpā, Cāru, Vāmanī, Kharvarī, Kūrmarī, Dhyāyinī, Īśā, Doṣā, Viṇmūtrā, Mātṛ, Rātri, Prabhāvatī, Ūṣmā, Lalanā, Kuṇḍalā, Rasanā, Khaṇḍarohā, Śaṅkhinī, and Lāṅgulī."
The General Mother, the Cause-Giver, the Separation-Free, the Suffering, the Accomplished, the Fire, and likewise the Good-Minded, the Triple-Circle, the Desirous, the Housewife, the Fierce One, the Māra-Splitter, and the Daughter of Kātyāyana. These thirty-two, together with the four channels of the intervals, make thirty-six. Excluding the Triple-Circle and so forth, and the eight such as the Avadhūtī and so forth, the remaining ones, beginning with the Indivisible, should be known as the twenty-four, beginning with Pracaṇḍā. One should understand that the twenty-four elements, such as the teeth and nails of these, correspond to the Khaṇḍakapālin and the others.
Regarding the etymological definitions of the channels and the ḍākinīs: because the teeth and nails, which are not to be separated, emerge [there], the Indivisible is at the crown of the head. Because the extremely fine hair and body hairs flow [there], the Subtle-Formed is at the crown protuberance. Because the impurities of the skin appear externally as they flow, the Beautiful is at the right ear. Because the flesh of the left side flows [there], or because the element of sattva in the form of the left arises, the Left is at the back of the head. Because the sinews flow [there], or because of vomiting what has been eaten, the Short is at the left ear. Because an unbreakable garland of bones flows like the back of a tortoise, the Tortoise-Born is between the eyebrows. Because it produces and causes the liver to flow, the Meditator is at the two eyes.
In order to scatter the taste of nectar from the heart, there is Dhīṭī (the Empowerer) at the two roots of the upper arms. These eight channels at the pīṭha and upapīṭha are the Khacaryā (Sky-goers) of the Mind Wheel, together with their methods. Because they cause defects and transform the aspects of their own objects, they are the Doṣā (Defect-makers); they are at the armpits, which harm the eye element. Because the mind is transformed by seeing the armpits and anger arises, thinking "this is mine," they are also called Dveṣā (Anger); Dveṣā and Doṣā are synonyms. Because they cause the flow of the feces described as bile, they are the Viṇmukhī (Feces-face); they are at the two breasts. Because they are like a mother (mā) in that the fecal element is stimulated and flows upward to the lungs, or because they generate desire based on the mother and produce living beings, they are at the navel. Because they sleep in great bliss within the strings of the intestines, they are the Śavarī (Mountain-dweller). Because they generate conceptualizations of the night, they are the Rātrī (Night-maker); they are at the tip of the nose. They reside completely surrounding the intestines with a mass of mesentery and fat. Because they cause that to flow, they are the Śvetadātrī (White-giver), or because they provide coolness, they are the Śītaladātrī (Cool-giver); they are at the mouth. Because the fire of hunger is in the stomach and they cause it to flow, they are the Uṣṇā (Heat-maker); they are at the throat. Because the feces flow, they are the Pravāhā (Flowing); from the reversal of the letters, it is Pravā. The Vairocanī (Illuminator) flows at the heart. Because it flows into the vessel of the boundary-limit, she is the Hṛṣṭamukhī (Joyful-face).
From the contact of that, because of the very joy of method and insight, [the goddess] is in the anus. In the wheel of speech, these eight channels—the fields, near-fields, meeting places, and near-meeting places—are the Earth-Dwellers. Because the phlegm of the equalized elements flows [there], she is the Universal Mother (Samānā) in the secret place. Because she mostly consumes flesh, or because she generates the conceptualization of non-union, she is the Separation-from-Union (Viyojanī) in the anus. Because she generates the joy of the spring flowers through the flow of blood, she is the Delicate One (Sukumārī) in the thighs. Since the arising of the dust (ovum) during meditative union is established for all, because she causes that to flow, she is the Accomplished One (Siddhā) in the calves. Because she is the support for the arising of the signs of accomplishment, or because she is the primary factor, fat is the cause for the growth of the body; because she flows [there], she is the Cause-Giver (Hetudāyinī) in the toes. Because the tears of the face are the burning of sorrow, she is the Fire One (Agnī) in the backs of the feet. Because the expulsion of phlegm generates joy for yogins, she is the Noble-Minded One (Sumati) in the big toes. As long as she acts as a defect of mucus, she is the Kātyāyanī in the two knees; thus, in the wheel of the body, these eight channels in what are called the meeting places, near-meeting places, charnel grounds, and near-charnel grounds are the Subterranean Dwellers. Through the phrase "the former gate of speech" and so forth, the etymological definitions of the channels of the wheel of commitment are explained in detail.
Regarding the gateway of speech: the former refers to those gateways of the body. The eight channels of the eyes and so forth are also on the right and left, located in the eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and secret place. Their names are well-known; because they abide in accordance with the samaya that symbolizes the objects, they should be understood as abiding in the samaya-wheel. This is the etymological definition of the channels. The words regarding the sequence of the locations are as previously explained.
The etymological definitions of the ḍākinīs shall now be stated. Here, it has been repeatedly understood that the ḍākinīs of the right alone have arisen from the family of Vārāhī. They are to be described by way of their inseparable forms. In that regard, she who possesses the quality of being extremely fierce and wrathful is Caṇḍākṣī. Because she performs a fierce and sharp burning as long as the left and the other channels reach the abode of great bliss, she is Caṇḍākṣī. Because the two [channels] are clearly manifest in the central channel and possess light with the color of fire, she is Prabhāvatī. She who possesses the secret place, the heart, and the great tip of the nose at the face is Mahānāsā; thus, the ḍākinīs of the locations are according to their actual meaning. She who exists by way of generating the heroes is Vīramatī, because it is said: "The hero from the center of the navel."
This is also the sharp [wisdom] and the gateway that burns the three cakras. Furthermore, because she causes that to increase, she is Kharvarī. Laṅkā is the city of the body; the sovereign or mistress of that is Laṅkeśvarī. Because she increases coolness like the shade of a tree, she is Vṛkṣacchāyā. These are the meanings of the ḍākinīs of the secondary sites, who are the sky-farers of the mind cakra. Because she exerts force like an elephant, she is Airāvatī. Because she cuts through the bowing to the second lamp, she is Mahābhairavā. Because she possesses a swift force like the wind, moving above, below, and in the ten directions, she is Vāyuvegā. Because she drinks the wine which is the amṛta in the second lamp, she is Madirā; she is the lamp of wisdom. These are the meanings of the ḍākinīs of the fields and secondary fields. Because she causes intense joy to arise, she is Śyāmādevī; because she sports in all the cakras, she is also a goddess, and thus she is Śyāmādevī. "Excellent" is the mirror, and "good" is virtue; she who possesses these is Subhadrā. Because she emerges from the right ear like a horse, she is Hayakarṇā. Because she has the very form of a bird's face, she is the ḍākinī Khaṇḍarohā. These are the meanings of the ḍākinīs of the chandohas and secondary chandohas, who are the earth-dwellers of the speech cakra.
Because she moves and returns through the cakras by the force of this [wind], she is the Cakravegā. Because she first divides the Tathāgatas, Locanā, and so forth, and then causes them to enter and be generated again, she is Khaṇḍarohā. Because she drinks the intoxicating wine, she is Śauṇḍinī. Her armor is like a wheel; thus, she is Cakravarmiṇī. These are the literal meanings of the ḍākinīs of the meeting places and near-meeting places. Because she arises from the syllable A, which is extremely heroic, she is Suvīrā. She who possesses the great power of going and coming is Mahābalā. Her nature is to enter the cakras; thus, she is Cakravartinī. She who possesses great diligence upon arising is Mahāvīryā. These are the literal meanings of the ḍākinīs of the charnel grounds and near-charnel grounds. These are the [ḍākinīs] of the netherworld of the body wheel. Because the ten sense faculties, such as the eyes, grasp the objects of consumption and so forth, the eight root channels of the sense faculties are Kākāsyā and the others; these are the etymologies of the heroines of the samaya wheel. Now, the etymologies of the heroes will be explained: because he takes up and stimulates the bodhicitta in the form of teeth and nails at the location of the head, which is a "fragment" (khaṇḍa), he is Khaṇḍakapālin.
Mahākaṅkāla is at the location of the crown of the head; because it takes away the hair and body hair, it is the "Great Skeleton." Because it reaches the base of the ears and stimulates the impurities of the skin, it is the "Skeleton." That which has fangs of a fleshy nature bared at the back is so called; this is the etymology of the heroes of the sthāna (abodes).
Surāri is that which enters the left ear, the enemy of the surā (liquors), that is, the sinews. Amitābha arises from being situated in the middle of the eyebrows and causing an immeasurable garland of bones to enter. Vajraprabha is so called because it causes the liver to enter from the eye which has light like a vajra-jewel. Vajrakāya is so called because it causes the heart to enter from the base of the arm, whose body is as stable as a vajra; these are the etymologies of the heroes of the upasthāna (near-abodes).
Aṅkura is so called because the sprouts of the eyes arise from the armpits. Vajrajaṭila is so called because it generates the bile element, which is like a vajra-tuft of hair, from the breasts. Mahāvīra is so called because the lungs enter from the navel, which also destroys the great vajra. Vajrahuṃkāra is so called because it causes the opening of the intestines to enter from the tip of the nose; these are the etymologies of the heroes of the kṣetra (fields) and upakṣetra (near-fields).
Sadbhūti is the one who increases bliss. Subhadra is so called because it causes the small intestines to enter.
Because it causes the navel to enter from the throat, he is Vajrabhadra. Alternatively, because he turns the wheel of the Dharma of the Vajrayāna—which is virtuous in the beginning, middle, and end—from the throat and the navel, he is also [Vajrabhadra]. Because he causes terror in the hearts of the cowardly and causes the excrement to enter, he is Vajrabhairava. Because he causes the three eyes at the limit of the boundary to enter from the urinary tract, he is Virūpākṣa; these are the etymologies of the heroes of the candoha and upacandoha. Because he is able to sustain the body by causing phlegm to flow from the secret place, he is Mahābala. Because he causes yellow-colored pus to enter from the anus, he is Ratnavajra. Because he causes powerful blood to enter from the thighs, he is Hayagrīva. Because he causes the sweat that pervades the interior of the pores to enter from the calves, he is Ākāśagarbha; these are the etymologies of the heroes of the melāpaka and upamelāpaka. Because he causes the fat in the form of the indivisible syllable HŪṂ to enter from the toes, he is Śrī Heruka. Because he causes the bodhicitta in the nature of tears to enter from the back of the feet, he is Padmanarteśvara. Because he causes white-colored phlegm to enter from the big toes, he is Vairocana.
Because the white moon-fluid (bindu) enters the knees, he is called Vajrasattva; this is the etymological definition of the heroes of the charnel grounds and near-charnel grounds. Regarding those who are currently entering through the flow of the left and right [channels], one should understand that there are seventy-two [deities] through the dissolution, enjoyment, and mastery of the ḍākinīs, those who dwell in the actual near-abodes, and the yoginīs. This meaning is understood from the source text beginning with: "On the wheel of body, speech, and mind, twenty-four are correctly described," and ending with: "These perfections of insight are perfectly situated within the body." The definitive application of the meaning of these words is easy to understand. This concludes the sixth detailed explanation from the Great Secret Lamp, the extensive commentary on the Spring Drop (Vasantatilaka), the ritual manual for the practice of the completion stage.
In order to realize the yoginīs, who are the nature of the channels, as the nature of the factors of awakening, the seventh detailed explanation is taught beginning with the words "Then..." Regarding the phrase "whatever," first, that which is to be known is the source text beginning with: "The application of mindfulness of the body is the ḍākinī," and so forth, concerning the heart center and the others.
One should understand that in these gateways of the body, such as the head and so forth, the channels that are the nature of the ḍākinīs also become the very essence of the factors of awakening. Here, a bodhisattva mahāsattva who desires to manifest complete and perfect awakening into unsurpassed, true, and complete enlightenment should train accordingly in the thirty-seven factors of awakening subsumed within the five paths.
What are those paths? They are the path of accumulation, the path of preparation, the path of seeing, the path of meditation, and the path of no-more-learning.
Regarding that, what is the path of accumulation? It consists of twelve dharmas. What are the twelve? They are the four applications of mindfulness, the four correct abandonments, and the four bases of supernatural power.
What is the path of preparation? It consists of ten dharmas. What are the ten? They are the five faculties and the five powers.
What is the path of seeing? It consists of seven dharmas. What are the seven? They are the seven branches of awakening.
What is the path of meditation? It consists of the branches of the path. What are the branches of the path? They are the eightfold noble path.
What is the path of no-more-learning? It is the final moment of the limit of knowing the path.
If one asks: "What are those factors of awakening? From what do the dharmas arise? And what is awakening?" It is said: Awakening is so called because by means of it, the nature of the essence of all things is to be realized. If one asks: "Is that pervasive?"
It is said: It is pervasive, not merely partial. Why is that? The awakening characterized by the selflessness of the person is the awakening of the hearers (śrāvaka); it is partial. Because it is a clear realization of phenomena as substantial entities, and because one who is thus liberated is fixed in the awakening of a hearer, their awakening is called "limited" because it prioritizes only one's own welfare and is therefore not completely pure.
Awakening, however, arises from the characteristic of both types of selflessness. Perfectly complete awakening (samyaksambodhi) is pervasive and not limited, because it is established through the actual reality (tathatā) of all phenomena. Its constituent branches are the methods, namely the branches of awakening (bodhyaṅga). "Branch," "method," "side," and "that which makes manifest" are synonyms.
From what do these phenomena arise? They arise from the minds of those bodhisattvas abiding on the path, as mental factors to be established; they are comprised of the side of virtue. Because it is untainted (anāsrava), the truth of the path is exclusively virtuous. It is virtuous by way of its classification on the path, in relation to the practitioner who possesses taints.
The five paths should be understood as being subsumed by two. Which two? The mundane path and the supramundane path. In that regard, what are the phenomena of the mundane path?
These are the twenty-two dharmas. What are they? They are the applications of mindfulness, the right abandonments, the bases of miraculous power, the faculties, and those called the powers. In that regard, what are the dharmas of the supramundane path? They are fifteen. What are they? They are the seven branches of awakening and the eightfold noble path.
In that regard, what are the four applications of mindfulness? It is said: the application of mindfulness to the body, the application of mindfulness to feeling, the application of mindfulness to the mind, and the application of mindfulness to dharmas.
Regarding the application of mindfulness to the body: here, in every respect and in every way, as long as this body of oneself and others continues in its stream, whatever appears within the three realms, while one is thoroughly analyzing it, it does not become a single entity. This is because a whole is not established, and because that [whole] is not established, one sees the defects in the ripened, the unripened, the red, the non-red, and so forth. Since a single entity is not established, one analyzes the many atoms that have not arisen as a collection; or, if that collection is realized, it falls away into various atoms. Therefore, because it is devoid of the dharmas of both [self and other], the state of the mind that dwells closely and near to the recollection that "this body is empty" is the application of mindfulness to the body. Likewise, ...
Feelings, which consist of pleasure and so forth, are also eighteen in number because they depend upon the six collections of consciousness. Since even those pleasures and so forth are not established when analyzed in terms of the past and so forth, they are empty. The close abiding of mindfulness that reflects upon this is the application of mindfulness to feelings. Because objects of knowledge are of such a nature, the close abiding of mindfulness that reflects upon the mind as being empty—since it is not established as existing prior to, subsequent to, or simultaneously with [other phenomena]—is the application of mindfulness to the mind. Likewise, the close abiding of mindfulness that reflects upon phenomena categorized as virtuous, non-virtuous, or neutral as being empty, as previously described, is the application of mindfulness to phenomena; this is the path of the bodhisattva. Why is that? Because the three realms consist of the five aggregates. Among these, through the application of mindfulness to the body, one correctly realizes the aggregate of form. Through the two intermediate ones, one realizes the aggregates of feeling and consciousness. Through the [remaining] two, one realizes perception and formations. By the term "phenomena," the common environment of the vessel-world is also included. In the view of the hearers, however, the distinction is that the applications of mindfulness are characterized by impermanence, suffering, impurity, and selflessness, serving as the antidotes to the four distortions of permanence, pleasure, purity, and self.
In the view of Mantra, the ḍākinīs who are the nature of self-awareness are the body and so forth; they should be understood as the form of the nature of phenomena (dharmatā). The meaning of this is taught by such statements as, "The application of mindfulness to the body is the ḍākinī," and so on.
Regarding that, some may wonder how many bases of miraculous power (ṛddhipāda) there are. It is said: there are four bases of miraculous power: the base of miraculous power of aspiration, the base of miraculous power of diligence, the base of miraculous power of investigation, and the base of miraculous power of the mind.
What are the base of miraculous power of aspiration and the others? They are: the base of miraculous power of aspiration accompanied by the formative action (saṃskāra) of abandonment and the absorption of aspiration; the base of miraculous power of diligence accompanied by the formative action of abandonment and the absorption of diligence; the base of miraculous power of investigation accompanied by the formative action of abandonment and the absorption of investigation; and the base of miraculous power of the mind accompanied by the formative action of abandonment and the absorption of the mind.
The meaning of these sūtras is as follows: here, all absorptions are subject to six faults, namely: laziness, forgetting the object of observation, laxity, excitement, non-application, and over-application. If laxity and excitement are combined as one, there are five faults. There are eight formative actions for abandoning these. What are the eight? They are: faith, aspiration, diligence, and pliancy—these four; and mindfulness, [and so forth].
These are eight: vigilance, volition, and equanimity. Among them, the first is the antidote to laziness. Faith is the thorough engagement in virtuous actions. Aspiration is that which abides together with the intention for those actions. Through diligence, laziness is abandoned. The very activity of having actualized that abandonment through pliancy is to be called the basis of miraculous power of aspiration. Through mindfulness, one abandons the forgetting of the object of observation; through vigilance, one abandons laxity and excitement—these are the bases of miraculous power of diligence and investigation. When that which is abandoned through the exertion of the mind and equanimity is to be called the basis of miraculous power of the mind. For that very reason, these are to be called the four bases of miraculous power. This is taught in the Samādhirāja Sūtra: "Abiding in solitude, abiding in detachment, abiding in cessation, and being transformed by total abandonment. Because of being free from application to conditioned objects, that abandonment of substantiality is the basis of miraculous power endowed with abandonment." If these five factors are condensed, the four bases of miraculous power consist of twenty aspects. What is miraculous power? It is "increase" (ṛddhi), because it is derived from the verbal root ṛdh (to increase) with the suffix sāraṇya. Regarding that, there are the ten powers.
That which causes all the qualities of a buddha, such as the fearlessnesses and so forth, to increase and be attained is miraculous power, which is perfect awakening. Because they are like the feet of that [awakening], they are called "feet"; thus, they are the "feet of miraculous power" in terms of what brings about attainment. Although they are common [to other paths], they are the very means of the path, for these two feet alone are the supreme antidotes to the defects of meditative absorption. Their nature consists of the ḍākinīs of the heart wheel: Pracaṇḍā, Caṇḍākṣī, Prabhāvatī, and Mahānāsā.
In that regard, how many faculties are there? There are five. What are the five? They are faith, diligence, mindfulness, meditative absorption, and insight. In that context, on the path of preparation, there are the four dharmas conducive to penetration: "heat," "peak," "patience," and "supreme mundane dharmas."
In this regard, just as heat arises as a precursor to fire when a bodhisattva is oriented toward uncontaminated meditative absorption, the arising of the fire of wisdom from the mind is called "heat." When that very [heat] abides together with an extremely intense superior intention, it is "peak." When that very [peak] has the nature of being patient with the mind, it is "patience." That which arises immediately after patience is the "supreme mundane dharma"; in terms of its application, this is accompanied by the path of preparation.
In that regard, during the first of the stages conducive to penetration, those qualities such as faith and so forth are to be called the five faculties. Among them, faith is the mental conviction in the existence [of the path], the supramundane path, the truths, the Three Jewels, and so on; that is the faculty of faith. The exertion toward the phenomena produced by the faculty of faith is the faculty of diligence. That diligence is of four types: preliminary diligence, irreversible diligence, analytical diligence, and the diligence of accomplishment. The state of repeatedly directing oneself toward the phenomena produced by diligence without verbal expression is the faculty of mindfulness. The mental engagement with the phenomena produced by the faculty of mindfulness, which abides having completely cast aside all other conventionalities, is the faculty of absorption. The correct analytical discernment and investigation of the phenomena produced by the faculty of absorption is the faculty of insight.
Why are they called "faculties"? They are faculties because they cause virtuous phenomena to emerge; they are the primary producers of the five aggregates of defilement and purification. Excluding the faculty of insight, the four ḍākinīs—Vīramatī, Khaṇḍarohā, Laṅkeśvarī, and Drumacchāyā—are faith, diligence, mindfulness, and [absorption].
The absorptions should be understood as being completely pure. In that regard, how many powers are there? There are five. What are the five? They are precisely those previously explained: faith and so forth. If one asks, "Are the functions of the faculties, the powers, and so forth, distinct?" it is said: when faith and the others undergo transformation, they do so by relying on the guise of the faculties. When they cannot be overcome by their opposing factors—lack of faith, laziness, forgetfulness, distracted mental engagement with the source of rebirth, and corrupted insight—they become powers; thus, their functions are distinct. One should understand that the previously mentioned faculty of insight, together with the goddesses of the Wheel of Speech—Dharaṇīdhara, Mahābhairavā, Vāyuvega, Madirā, Śyāmādevī, and Subhadrā—are completely pure. In that regard, how many branches of awakening are there? There are seven. What are the seven? The branch of awakening of correct absorption, the branch of awakening of correct diligence, the branch of awakening of correct joy, the branch of awakening of correct pliancy, the branch of awakening of correct discernment of phenomena, the branch of awakening of correct mindfulness, and the branch of awakening of correct equanimity. These branches constitute awakening on the path of seeing; unobscured wisdom is awakening.
That which makes the mind that sees the truths into absorption is the absorption branch of awakening. That which exerts effort toward reality is the diligence branch of awakening. That which makes the mind free of doubt regarding reality is the joy branch of awakening. Because that very joy brings mastery over body, speech, mind, and action, and thereby abandons the torment of the afflictions, the attainment of extreme coolness is the pliancy branch of awakening. The thorough knowledge of the nature of perfectly complete reality is the discernment of phenomena branch of awakening. The non-forgetfulness of the mind regarding that very reality is the mindfulness branch of awakening. The abandonment of intolerance and attachment toward absorption is the equanimity branch of awakening. Among these, the nature of the absorption and diligence branches of awakening should be known as Hayakarṇī and Ḍākinīmukhī; this is the purity of the heroines of the speech wheel. The purity of the remaining five, beginning with joy, is Cakravegā, Khaṇḍarohā, Śauṇḍinī, Cakravarmiṇī, and Suvīrā.
Having taught the path of seeing as the antidote to the obscuration of afflictions, the path of meditation is taught as the antidote to the obscuration of the knowable; that is the noble eightfold path. What are the eight?
Right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right absorption. Among these, on the path of meditation, the cognition that the cognitive obscurations (jñeyāvaraṇa) lack intrinsic nature is right view; this also includes the view that the next world exists. Having attained that view, focusing on selflessness is right thought. Clearly demonstrating to sentient beings the meaning one has seen is right speech. Consistently virtuous physical conduct is right action, as is causing others to be inspired or even terrified for the sake of disciplining them through miraculous powers (ṛddhi) and so forth. Seeking only the food of meditative concentration (dhyāna) and requisites such as religious robes is right livelihood. Applying oneself in all modes of conduct in accordance with one’s own mind, body, speech, and mental conventions is right effort. As it is said: "In whatever way various objects engage the domain of the powerful Sons of the Conquerors who have entered the conduct, in that very way they apply formative activity (saṃskāra) for the benefit of sentient beings through the power of knowledge." On the path of meditation, not forgetting the object of focus is right mindfulness. The characteristic of right absorption is the unwavering, one-pointed mind, like a vajra (vajra), which becomes increasingly clear up to the stage of Universal Radiance (Samantaprabhā).
Regarding that, the first three are the purification of the body wheel: Mahābalā, Cakravartinī, and Mahāvīryā. Right action is Kākāsyā; right livelihood is Ulūkāsyā; right effort is Śvānāsyā; and right mindfulness is Śūkarāsyā—these are the purification of the gatekeepers. Right absorption is the Blessed One, the glorious Vajra Heruka, which is the purification of the center of the wisdom lotus. The generation of unarisen virtuous dharmas and so forth are Yamadāḍhī and the others—these are the purification of the goddesses of the intermediate points of the samaya wheel.
As for the detailed classification of these thirty-seven factors of awakening: in substance, they are subsumed and transformed by the states of the five faculties and the five powers. The applications of mindfulness are the power of mindfulness or the faculty of mindfulness. The bases of miraculous power are included in the power of wisdom or the power of diligence. The right abandonments are included in diligence. The power of absorption is included in the absorption branch of awakening. The power of diligence is included in the diligence branch of awakening. The power of wisdom is included in the dharma-discernment branch of awakening. The power of mindfulness is included in the mindfulness branch of awakening.
The power of faith is included within the branch of awakening of diligence. The branches of awakening are subsumed within the eight branches of the path as follows: right mindfulness and right absorption are subsumed and included within the branches of awakening of mindfulness and absorption. The branch of awakening of right diligence is included within right effort. The branch of awakening of the thorough discrimination of phenomena is included within right view. Right speech, right action, and right livelihood—these three actions of pure discipline—as well as right view, right intention, right effort, right mindfulness, and right absorption, are derived from the five branches of awakening: the branch of awakening of pliancy and the branch of awakening of equanimity. When correctly subsumed, these become ten entities. Furthermore, these are all subsumed within the three powers of discipline, absorption, and insight. In that regard, right speech, right action, and right livelihood are the actions of pure discipline, while right effort is the fruit of the actions of pure discipline; these constitute the aggregate of discipline. Right view, right intention, the branch of awakening of pliancy, and the branch of awakening of equanimity—these four are the aggregate of insight. Right mindfulness and...
Right absorption is the aggregate of absorption. Discipline and absorption also culminate in insight, according to the reasoning that insight alone is the realizer of phenomena. Thus, it should be understood that the thirty-seven are correctly subsumed by the ten, the ten by the three, and the three by the one.
It is said as follows: here, the thirty-seven—the channels of the nature of the ḍākinīs of perfect awareness previously described, from the crown of the head down to the knees, and the four within the navel wheel—along with the eight gates and the nine channels correctly supported by the locations of the body in the nature of the avadhūtī in the center of those eight, are gathered and enter into the ten central channels. Those ten are further subsumed into the three, such as the lalanā and so forth, and those into the central channel. Thus, the central avadhūtī is the nature of Vajravārāhī. Since the entire assembly of channels becomes clear from that, one relies upon it alone. By these, the two realities—the conventional and the ultimate—are clarified, and the path of their union is made manifest. As it is said:
"Just as many clouds, possessing various shapes and colors,
Having arisen within the expanse of the sky,
Dissolve back into that very same [sky]."
Thus, all natures that have the three appearances as their cause, having entered into all objects, will also enter into the clear light. As it is said, and likewise because it is taught that "form itself is emptiness, and emptiness itself is form," and so forth, and because it is said: "Who would speak of the ultimate as something separate from the conventional?" These [teachings] distinguish the conventional and the ultimate, and by [refuting] the very nature of clinging, they eliminate the other schools who speak of peace, Brahmā, the Sāṃkhya puruṣa, and so forth, as well as our own schools who assert and speak of being without aspects (nirākāra). Enough of this elaboration.
To speak of the main point: thus, these [deities] internally have the nature of the channels, and externally they hold faces, body colors, hands, shapes, weapons, and so forth. Depending on the inclinations of sentient beings, they are established as the maṇḍala circle. In places such as Pullīramalaya, they sport, rejoice, and move about, acting to care for [beings] in the form of field-born (kṣetrajā) goddesses. Likewise, internally as well, they possess faces and so forth. All the channels themselves emerge from the wheel of great bliss (mahāsukha-cakra) and, reaching the end of the vajra and the lotus, become clearly manifest as faces; their sprouts are the many individual directions.
The body is endowed with colors determined by the elements. Thus, the teeth and nails are white; the hair of the head and body is black; the impurities of the skin are dark red; the flesh is red in color; the sinews are white; the chain of bones is white; the liver is very black; the heart is reddish-white; the eyes are white and black; the bile is yellow; the lungs are red; the small and large intestines are white; the abdomen is bluish-grey; the excrement is yellow; the joints are reddish-white; the phlegm is white; the pus is white-yellow like a moon; the blood is red; the sweat is the color of fire; the fat is white; the tears are white like pearls; the saliva is blackish-white; and the mucus is yellow and white—this is the classification of colors.
As for the shape of these, they abide by moving through the left and right in a curved form, established in the posture of the right leg extended and so forth. Regarding these weapons, the curved knife and skull cup should be understood as the nature of the coemergent (sahaja), which cuts through the stains of conceptual construction. Here, the verse says:
"Attaining the nature of authentic experience,
Which severs the stains of conceptual construction,
One is definitively liberated from subject and object;
This is the certainty of the white coemergent.
By the mere touch of it, to the world,
It bestows the very fruit of Buddhahood.
The ten, such as the ḍākinīs, are explained..."
The conceptualization for the sake of reaching the wheel is, by its very nature, indivisible and so forth; it dwells within beings at all times. The great heroes, whose nature is the elements, are perfectly endowed with twenty-four. If the channels located within one’s own body are the heroines, then how could one become deluded and confused here? If one were to discard the external locations such as Pullīramalaya and so forth, thinking they are the families, such meditation is a delusion. Through the possession of internal yoga, yogins attain liberation.
This concludes the extensive explanation of the seventh chapter from the Great Secret Lamp, a detailed commentary on the ritual of the Spring Drop, the means of achievement for the completion stage.
Now, in order to clarify how the external maṇḍala, offerings, recitations, fire rituals (homa), and so forth are to be established internally, the text says, "Then, whatever..." and so on. Since these have already been explained, they are easy to understand. In this context, the body alone should be realized as the maṇḍala; thus, it is connected as the "body maṇḍala." If one asks what it is like, it is described as "great awakening" and so forth. These channels, which are the pure establishments of the thirty-seven factors of awakening (bodhipakṣadharma), are established as the ḍākinīs and so forth who abide in the wisdom, mind, speech, body, and samaya wheels in that very form. This is the explanation of the purity of the supported maṇḍala. If one asks what the cause of that is:
This should be described as the nature of the ḍākinī, which is non-conceptual, without apprehension, and without obscuration. For it is said: "Ḍī means to travel in the sky; she is thoroughly designated as the expanse of the buddhas. The accomplishments that move throughout the entire sky are called 'ḍākinī'." Thus, the channels that move within the great sky of the five wisdoms are the ḍākinīs; therefore, they are called "ḍākinī" because by touching them, the non-conceptual suchness dawns for both.
Having explained the supported maṇḍala, the supported maṇḍala is explained by the passage beginning with "the maṇḍala of the body" and so forth. In this context, the body itself is the maṇḍala because it is the support for the channels and elements that constitute the maṇḍalas of mind, speech, and body, as well as the support for the yoginīs and heroes. For that very reason, it is "delightful," because it does not depend on external colored powders and the like. To show that just as the external maṇḍala has four gates, so too does the internal, it is explained: "In that regard, the four gates of the body maṇḍala are the eyes, the ears, the two nostrils, and the mouth." Alternatively, as it is said, "as previously stated," the three gates mentioned earlier become four by way of their parts: the left and right channels are the gate of mind, which is the first; the four seats of the self and so forth are the gate of speech, which is the second.
The gateways of the body, which consists of nine parts, are of two types: the lower and the upper. Thus, because there are two pillars supporting each of the four gates, there are eight pillars. These are endowed with the pillars of the internal channels, such as the eyes and so forth. Just as the external maṇḍala is square, so too the maṇḍala of the body should be understood as square due to its state of equality. Why is that? Because of that very equality: this body is exactly like that; from the soles of the feet to the crown of the head, it possesses that same measurement, and likewise, when the arms are extended, the measurement is exactly that. As for the external maṇḍala, there are twenty-four [spokes] in the three cakras consisting of Mind, Speech, and Body. Similarly, internally as well, there are the three cakras consisting of twenty-four locations, beginning from the crown of the head and so forth, which serve as the supports for the channels of Mind, Speech, and Body.
Regarding the phrase "On the summit of the mountain of the head," and so forth, this is a brief summary. It is explained and should be understood that on the peak of Mount Meru, which rests upon the four maṇḍalas of wind and so forth, there is the variegated lotus. In exactly that same way, the signs of the maṇḍala within the internal maṇḍala of the body should be realized through the oral instructions of the Guru. Starting from the verse, "The wind residing in the soles of the feet," up to, "By means of the form that is both unmanifest and manifest," [the text continues].
Thus, up to the end of that [verse], the extensive explanation of the suchness of the signs of the maṇḍala shall be explained. At the soles of the feet—that is, beneath the feet—the wind element resides. Because it is distinguished by its very nature of being shaped like a bow, that itself is vairaṃbha. The suffix an is used in the sense of the base itself, as in vāikṛta. The activity whose nature is the location of the feet is called vairaṃbha; by this, the shape of the agent of the wind maṇḍala is also taught. Above that is the junction of the three channels, which is the region of the waist. There, through the liberation of the rakta and the jewel of women and men, the fire maṇḍala, by its triangular nature, abides as a blazing radiance. Above that, from the melting and union of the circular mantra garland, the water maṇḍala naturally abides in the region of the belly. Above that, at the heart, is the square earth maṇḍala, which is like gold. Above that is the region of the throat, which is otherwise known as the spinal column; that itself should be understood as Mount Meru, possessing the eight peaks of the eyes and so forth, and because its four petals are of the nature of precious jewels. From this Mount Meru, at the center of the head, those very thirty-two channels such as Abhedya and so forth are the variegated lotus, which should be understood as the seat of the Blessed One.
Within that, the essence of the vowels and consonants—the thirty-two drops of bodhicitta—is the lunar maṇḍala itself, which is the special seat of the Blessed One. One should understand that the seats being established by their own nature is not taught in some specific tantras. Because the suchness of complete purity is a suchness that is never to be expressed, the seats are differentiated according to the inclinations of individuals. For that very reason, one should understand that for the heroes and yoginīs residing in the three wheels, in some cases there is a lunar seat and in others a solar seat. Regarding the phrase "in the center of that" and so forth: in the center of that, which is the brain, is the indestructible and unchanging syllable Haṃ. From the expansion of the melted amṛta, the cool sensation of the drop is what is called the "drop." Because it transforms into all things, both stable and moving, it is the suchness of the perfectly established abodes, appearing clearly in the form of a seed-syllable, yet remaining unmanifest in the form of the ultimate bodhicitta. For that very reason, it belongs to "all"—those without feet, those with two feet, those with four feet, and those with many feet; those born from eggs, those born from a womb, those born from heat and moisture, and those born miraculously; and to animals, hungry ghosts, hell-beings, gods, asuras, and humans.
The bodies of embodied beings are born from that very reality at the outset; by the power of the father and mother entering into union, at another time, they abide as the melting of the nectar alone. That itself is the nature of the Blessed One Heruka; because it is the nature of phenomena (dharmatā), it pervades all phenomena, and it remains even when Buddhas appear or do not appear. Because all phenomena are primordially unborn, they are dependent origination (pratītyasamutpāda); by the very fact of being these emergent entities, cessation is established. For it is said: "Here, nothing at all is born, and nothing at all dies; the nature of the mind should be known to abide in saṃsāra." Furthermore, the conceptualizations of birth and cessation do not apprehend the entity itself, and even the apprehension of appearances is like an illusion. Therefore, one should not speak of all entities as being born; they should be known as unborn and unceasing. Regarding the teaching on the meditative equipoise of method and wisdom: by that very means, through the wheel of great bliss, one delights the fire of wisdom, which is the nature of the maṇḍala, upon the maṇḍala of one's own body. The nāda is the syllable A residing in the pericarp of the emanation wheel (nirmāṇacakra); "opening" means it has gone by the very nature of moving from its own place.
The meaning is that because of the very craving to drink the water of nectar, one makes it crooked and extracts it from the root. Furthermore, it is said:
When the single agent of all the letters of the nāda is attained,
Because of the distinctions of speech and words,
It abides in the region of the navel.
Depending on the activities of the rising and so forth
Of the winds and the subsidiary winds in the cakras,
By its own nature, it enters into states such as rigidity
And depends upon the others.
The nature of the central channel is described
As having ten aspects and being supported by that very reality.
From the union of the churned and the churning,
It brings about great bliss.
Through the yoga of the upward-flaming [fire],
It burns the aggregates and the sense faculties.
This very form of the fire at the end of the eon
Is the gatherer and the creator of all.
By the nature of the moon and the bindu,
It is the one who brings joy to wandering beings.
In the great cakra of great bliss,
It assumes the form of the indestructible syllable.
Like the light of snow, the light arising from the bodhicitta
Is emitted and, reaching the end of the jewel cakra,
It drips and abides there.
That itself is the life-force of living beings;
That itself is the supreme syllable.
That itself pervades all,
And abides throughout the entire body.
By this, the nāda is made to increase,
And it becomes the portion of the state of joy.
That itself is described as the yoga
Of the bindu of spring.
Therefore, by those two, the maṇḍala which is the nature of the four seats, or...
It is explained that the assembly of maṇḍalas, such as the emanation [maṇḍala] and so forth, is complete; for even externally, the maṇḍala becomes fully perfected by the principal deity together with those resembling him, and not otherwise. Regarding the phrase "that very [body] is the maṇḍala" and so forth, the etymology of the supporting maṇḍala is taught: because it perfectly upholds the nature of the ḍākinīs, heroes, Śrī Heruka, and Vajravārāhī, who are the essence—the channels, elements, ṛtu, and drops—the body alone is to be called the maṇḍala. Maṇḍa is a proximate term; it is derived from the root maṇḍ in the sense of "taking," with the suffix laṭ applied.
By the phrase "the thirty-seven great channels" and so forth, the internal purity is taught: these thirty-seven factors of awakening (bodhipakṣadharma) are of the nature of awareness (vidyā). Through their purity, the previously mentioned wheels of channels (cakras) are themselves the maṇḍala. By the phrase "the bodhicitta" and so forth, the purity of the heroes is taught: those twenty-four elements of the nature of the flowing bodhicitta are "jewels" because they are priceless; they are the maṇḍala of the goddesses' wheels. That which upholds the essence of that maṇḍala is the maṇḍala of the heroes; thus, there are two types of maṇḍalas. Externally, they are square and so forth, while internally, the heart maṇḍala consists of the three wheels and so forth.
Here, externally, the crown of the head and so forth are Jālandhara and the other sites; internally, they are the nature of the channels and elements. These maṇḍalas are not only this one alone; one should understand that these five diverse classes of beings are also its maṇḍala. As it is said: "Pervading and abiding in various ways." Alternatively, in the external maṇḍala, one should worship the internal maṇḍala with the offerings of forms, sounds, and so forth. Internally, the vase is to be understood as the five nectars (amṛta) within the skull-cup (kapāla) for the sake of the offering of bliss. Here, externally, the five sensory qualities such as form and so forth are used to worship the doors of the sense faculties; internally, they are the accomplished substances, the substances that abide as the five spaces that naturally flow. This meaning is expressed by the passage beginning: "Externally, forms, sounds, and so forth." Externally, the coarse and the subtle are shown to the disciples for the sake of bestowing the samaya. Here, through the distinction between the coarse and the subtle, the Bodhisattva Vajradhara brings all beings to the state of Buddhahood. Therefore, Buddhahood and the state of a Bodhisattva are the samaya; because they are bestowed and arise, the state of attainment is reached through this maṇḍala alone. This point is taught in reliance upon the coarse and the subtle. In that regard, the "coarse" refers to the twenty-four elements, and...
The subtle is the bodhicitta. Alternatively, the gross refers to the substances of the impurities arising from the gates, while the subtle is that which causes the melting of the seat of awakening (bodhimaṇḍa). As it is said: "Through the distinction between the gross and the subtle, there are two ways of perceiving entities. The gross substances are of nine kinds; the subtle is the substance of the accomplished fat; and the others are the substances that cause melting."
The principal of the external maṇḍala emanates the hearers (śrāvaka), the solitary buddhas (pratyekabuddha), the perfectly awakened buddhas (samyaksaṃbuddha), Brahmā, and so forth for the sake of sentient beings, while internally it causes them to flow. Thus, the nine gates are as follows: the gates of the hearers and the eyes and so forth are the solitary buddhas, because of their unconditioned nature. Joy and so forth are the perfectly awakened buddhas, while the body, speech, and mind are Brahmā and the others. All of these are perfected from that very maṇḍala; this is the certainty of the maṇḍala.
Regarding the passage beginning with "The internal semen and so forth," the outer and inner nature of the fire offering (homa) is taught. Here, just as in the outer world the fire of wisdom is satisfied from the mouth of the fire of the samaya of the masters who crush the sesame seeds, likewise, the maṇḍala of the buddhas and their sons—the aggregates and so forth—is to be satisfied by the objects such as form, and by the semen and so forth produced from withdrawal (pratyāhāra), concentration (dhyāna), and meditative attainment (samāpatti).
The fire of insight is the inner heat (caṇḍālī), because it is blazing and sharp. Because it burns and blazes, it should be understood as the homa (fire offering). Regarding the passage beginning with "The six sense bases, the elements, and..." the offering is taught. Here, according to the method previously explained, the aggregates are the five ḍākinīs; the six sense bases are the six cakravartins; the elements are the four such as Khaṇḍakapālin and so forth; and the thirty-six channels are the wisdom goddesses and ḍākinīs. Thus, the offering should be understood as whatever sacrificial gift arises from the union of the two—wisdom and method—of these deities and so forth who possess form. Furthermore, it is said: "By meditating on the state of lack of intrinsic nature, one meditates on the form of the deity; that is the offering of the great offering, the means of accomplishment for all Buddhas." This very point is what is meant by the statement: "In order to offer to them with that..." The passage beginning with "The skull of the crown..." teaches the previously explained branches of the homa. The "skull of the crown" refers to the skull of the head; because it serves as the basis for the lunar sacrificial substances, it is the vessel for the substances and nothing else. Likewise, because the substances melt and flow downward through the lalanā and rasanā channels located on the left and right, they should be understood as the darvī (ladle) and sruk (spoon) respectively.
The emanation cakra at the navel is the fire pit, for it is there that the fire falls. From the perfect union of the churned and the churning, that which arises for the sake of the ritual action is the Brahma-fire; it blazes in a triangle at the junction and below it in the secret place. The phrase "by nature" is an ellipsis. Externally, the Brahma-fire is praised as being pacific. Furthermore, it arises from the friction of rubbing wood. Having explained the fire offering (homa), it says: "The nāda is the mantra," and so forth, thus teaching recitation. Because this emerges from the previously mentioned navel location, it is the vital wind (prāṇa); since it is the very cause of all mantras, it is called "mantra." When its entry and so forth occur in a continuous cycle, that is called "recitation" (japa). For that very reason, this natural recitation is said to be common to all the world. As it is also said: "Whatever sentient beings of the three realms, relying on vital wind and effort, recite the king of secret mantras, they abandon the objects of meditation and concentration of the ignorant." Having explained recitation, it says: "By the yoga of the non-dual maṇḍala," and so forth, thus teaching meditation. Externally, it is the individual appearance of yogins who focus on the body, speech, and mind; internally, however, it is:
The meditation is the very appearance of the assembly of mudrās and so forth, individually, within the four maṇḍalas of emanation and the rest. Because they lack inherent existence, they are without apprehension; that very non-dual maṇḍala is the meditation. As it is said:
"In the absence of an entity, the entity of meditation
Is meditation that is not meditation.
Thus, because of the non-existence of entities,
Meditation is without apprehension."
And: "This coemergent essence is the maṇḍala and so forth of the Victorious Ones." With this, the summary is stated. "Of the Victorious Ones" refers to all sentient beings; their maṇḍalas and so forth—what are called maṇḍala, homa, ritual offering, recitation, and meditation—are the natural abiding of that coemergent essence and are not artificial. The artificial is taught solely to demonstrate the meaning of abiding in the coemergent; all sentient beings are Vajradhara himself.
If one wonders, "If these maṇḍalas are externally blessed by an ācārya, who blesses them internally?" it is said:
"The ācārya is the king of the mind,
In the form of the maṇḍala lord."
Because it is the very nature of self-knowing awareness, the Vajradhara of the mind should be understood as being inseparable from the previously mentioned maṇḍala; that itself is the ācārya.
Because he moves about in the guise of one who possesses perfect knowledge, he is called an ācārya (master). This is what is meant by the statement: "By means of the form of the lord of the maṇḍala." Here, one should understand that the word "etcetera" has been elided. He has taught this very point extensively: everything that has been taught regarding the maṇḍala and so forth is to be understood as being contained within this very [body].
If one asks what the maṇḍala and so forth taught here are, they are the requisites of the maṇḍala, the lines, the colored powders, the ritual appropriation of the site, the invitation, the request to remain, the request to depart, the accomplishment of the maṇḍala, the conferral of empowerment, the ritual bathing, the bali offering, and so on. The meaning is that these very things are to be understood and known as the maṇḍala of the body.
In that regard, the central channel is the lines; the colored powders are the semen, urine, and so forth; and the appropriation of the site is the ritual of taking possession of the ten channels subsumed within the twenty-four locations through the stages of dissolution and so on. The invitation and so forth are the stages of entering and so on; the accomplishment of the maṇḍala is the stage of primordial wisdom (jñāna); and the conferral of empowerment is the continuous descent [of nectar] upon the wheel of gods and goddesses seated on lotus thrones from the vase of the vajra-jewel.
By this, the "libation" is the tasting with the tongue of the [substance].
This concludes the eighth detailed explanation from the Great Secret Lamp, an extensive commentary on the Spring Drop, the ritual manual for the practice of the completion stage.
Now, what is this mantra that was previously mentioned as being recited? In order to understand it, the ninth detailed explanation is taught, beginning with the words "Then..." The phrase "any whatsoever" means that the mantra is extracted from the nature of any sentient being whatsoever; one should understand that from this, all mantras are thoroughly produced.
Regarding that, externally, one should draw a triangular maṇḍala and, inside it, a design of an eight-petalled lotus. In its central hub is the syllable A. On the petals, arranged in groups of eight, are the vowels (āli) and consonants (kāli). By means of the elaborations of the fifth of the fifth and so forth, in successive order, the root mantra is to be extracted.
Internally, these triangles are the eight channels of the central root. In the center of the vowels and consonants is the syllable A, which abides as the Blessed One in the form of all letters, words, and speech without exception, as well as great speech. From that very [syllable], the letters become manifest; they produce words, and from those, speech; and from those, great speech, as long as the infinite divisions of worldly phenomena exist.
Regarding the statement, "The eighty-four thousand aggregates of dharma," all of these arise from syllables. Furthermore, because the navel and the secret place are described as the support and the supported, it is said that the emanation wheel alone is the support of mantra. In that way, the syllable A is impartial; the mantras arising from the syllable A perform and engage in the collection of activities, such as pacifying and so forth, through their corresponding forms, but not otherwise. Mantra is the suchness of thorough knowledge. As it is said:
"The mantra of the essence of the single, supreme, unchanging;
By the mere thorough knowledge of that,
Mantras here perform their activities."
And likewise:
"Therefore, mantras are not asserted
To be the actual form of syllables,
Because the channels, being crooked,
Are not capable of acting [as such]."
This is stated by: "By the form of mantra, the collection of activities of embodied beings is performed." Regarding the statement, "The syllables are exactly fifty," and so forth, the second [point] is taught: because the āli vowels are of the nature of method and insight, they are dual. In that regard, if the āli class is excluded, there are thirty-two syllables; since Ra and Kṣa are placed below and above, there are exactly thirty-two kāli consonants. Thus, they should be correctly understood as sixty-four.
The supported are, in actuality, the fifty letters. Based upon the fourteen fields of knowledge renowned in the schools of others, such as the Vedas and so forth, and the five fields of knowledge renowned in our own schools, the letter A functions through those very letters. As it is also said:
"The first one, in the midst of nine,
Which is not bound by the ten—
That which is known as unbound,
That is the realization of the supreme state.
The vowels and consonants also
Follow after the number ten.
Because they are joined together,
Whoever knows them as bound by A is the supreme of beings."
Thus it is said. In the four branches of the Karmavāda Vedas, its arrangement is extensive. In the treatises of the ancient Dharma, these are the fourteen fields of knowledge: grammar, logic, as well as medicine, healing, and the two arts and crafts—these are the five fields of knowledge. All of these are produced from the letter A; therefore, it is the sovereign of all letters. Apart from it, there is no way to produce them. This is what is meant by the statement: "It abides perfectly in the Vedas and so forth."
One should understand that the activity of the letters functions within the mantras of the peaceful, the wrathful, and those of both natures, in the rites of averting and so forth, in the protection wheels, in the external treatises, and in the fields of knowledge previously explained; otherwise, it does not exist even in the slightest. For that very reason:
This extraction of mantras should be understood in all respects as being non-conceptual within the Yoginī Tantras and so forth. That point is expressed by the statement: "Elsewhere, there is not even a slight [difference]." To address the doubts regarding what this mantra is, who the retinue is, where the location is, and how many there are, the source text states: "A KA CA ṬA TA PA YA ŚA, having reached the center," and so forth. This refers to taking the first letter from each of the classes; the vowels and consonants are the nature of all speech without exception and are the cause. There are eight classes. These are the fifty letters; by combining the vowels and consonants, they should be correctly understood as sixty-four. By contemplating one letter in each respective channel, these very fifty letters naturally established in the emanation wheel (nirmāṇacakra) are differentiated by the division into eight groups of eight, and are the nature of the sixty-four deities of the Cakrasaṃvara maṇḍala. One should know that they abide in the eight cardinal and intermediate directions. The phrase "in the center of those" and so forth describes the central principal deity: in the center of those channels whose nature is the vowels and consonants is the Supreme Lord, the Sovereign of the Wheel (Cakravartin), who is the nature of the supreme hero and the yogin. Likewise, having completely set aside the four neutral seed-syllables, the twelve letters beginning with the letter A are the twelve arms of the Blessed One.
The four burnt seeds are Ḍākinī, Lāmā, Khaṇḍarohā, and Rūpiṇī. The letters from ka to ha, marked by the vowel ma (the bindu), are the heroes and heroines of the three cakras. The letters from sa to ha are Kākāsyā and the others. The letter kṣa is the Ḍākinī of exhaustion, and in the center, the letter a is Vajravārāhī. Therefore, she is surrounded by these eight classes; the supreme, unchanging letter a alone is the cause of all mantras, and thus it is by means of this that mantras are produced.
The phrase "the letter a" and so forth explains its benefits: because it clarifies the suchness (tathatā) that is primordially unborn, it is of great significance. Because it is the very agent of those [classes], it is the chief of the classes. "Embodied beings" refers to practitioners or those who speak the words of mantra as authoritative; they too are born and arise from that very [letter]. Thus, it is established that by nature it is the sole support for all the mantras of sentient beings.
The passage beginning with "the sword, the eye medicine," and so forth, states that the accomplishments (siddhi) of the infinite activities arise solely from the thorough knowledge of this, and not from anything else. The five accomplishments of the Vidyādharas of the sword, wheel, jewel, vajra, and lotus are indicated by the sword alone.
That by which one’s shadow is eliminated is the accomplishment of eye-salve, the second. That by which one travels a hundred thousand leagues in a single instant is the accomplishment of foot-ointment, the third. That by which one sees treasures dwelling in the earth, or enters the openings of caves and summons the daughters of the asuras, is the accomplishment of the subterranean realm, the fourth. That by which one enjoys an exceedingly charming yakṣiṇī is the accomplishment of the yakṣa-bodied woman, the fifth. That which, merely by being placed in the mouth, allows one to fly to all the buddha-fields and hear the Dharma from the buddhas is the accomplishment of the pill, the sixth. That by which one accomplishes the eight activities, such as pacification and so forth, is the accomplishment of wandering within the three worlds, the seventh. That by which one transforms stone, copper, and so forth into gold is the accomplishment of mercury, the eighth; these are the eight great accomplishments. Furthermore, there are the accomplishments characterized by the divine eye and so forth, or the subtle and so forth, or the mastery of the body and so forth—both mundane and supramundane. These are the accomplishments adorned by the eight classes, which arise solely from the first vowel; it is said that one does not need to exert effort in their individual elaborations. As for the phrase "whatever slight..." and so forth:
It is taught as the pervasive one because it reaches the ultimate limit of all sentient beings. For embodied beings, it is the producer of the footless and so forth, consisting of the nature of both the clear and the unclear, as well as both together, of words and vowels and consonants; that is the very form of all mantras, because it is born from that and enters within. Alternatively, the sound of great bliss emerging from the region of the navel, or the nāda itself, is the mantra, because it protects the mind. In the secret language, during the attainment of union, all of this—that very assembly of women and men—is made to rejoice by that very sound. By the division of the daṇḍa, that very [sound] which has become victorious causes the division of the bindu to increase; thus, the collection of actions such as these is performed. From the nirmāṇacakra, the great seat of the various knots of all embodied beings, the play of dharma—all letters, words, speech, great speech, and so forth, as well as the fourteen thousand dharmaskandhas—emerges and arises, pervading them. At the time when joy is born: "Whatever was previously grasped, that which is spoken, having the nature of the clear and the unclear, this nāda is explained as the mantra." During joy, anger, dreaming, fainting, the moment of death, waking, and the time of bliss, that very sound is heard. The summary is stated: "In the accomplishment of the mantra previously spoken..."
If there is no certainty that [this applies] to some mantras, why would this [mantra] turn away from the accomplishment of mantra? It is due to whether the meditation is superior or not superior. When that which is pervaded by the syllables of the nature of phenomena (dharmatā) exists, it performs various actions; this very [meditation] is superior. That point is stated by: "The nature of the unborn is the supreme lord of the classes of mantra." This syllable A, which symbolizes the nature of all things unborn from the beginning, by way of that very example, joins those mantras with their respective actions and is thus endowed with the result. For that very reason, it is called the "supreme lord of the classes" by acting as their master; it is not that they are its master.
This concludes the extensive explanation of the ninth detailed teaching from the Great Secret Lamp, a detailed commentary on the ritual of the Spring Drop (Vasantatilaka), the means of achievement for the completion stage.
Now, in order to realize the inexpressible coemergent [wisdom] through the nature of the four wheels of the dharmakāya and so forth, the tenth detailed teaching beginning with "Then" is spoken. "Then" refers to the meaning of immediate succession in relation to the ninth detailed teaching. "Whosoever" means anyone at all.
By means of the forms of dharma and so forth, it is in the manner of the three bodies (kāya). The wisdom of great bliss (mahāsukha-jñāna) is the coemergent (sahaja); "the coemergent shall be explained" is the brief thematic summary. All sentient beings are the three bodies, possessing only the three natures of the coemergent; this is what was taught.
Regarding the passage beginning with "The wheels (cakra) located at the crown and the navel," their locations are described. The two wheels located between the crown and the navel are as follows: because below, they possess the dharma of the earth element through the power of the source of phenomena (dharmodaya), and because above, at the center of the crown lotus, they are of the very nature of the source of phenomena in the form of a triangle, they are of the form of the letter E. Likewise, the two wheels located at the heart and the throat are also of the form of the letter Vaṃ; since the letter Vaṃ is also triangular in its reversed form, they are likewise triangular.
This is what was taught: because both the nirmāṇakāya and mahāsukha wheels are of the nature of wisdom (prajñā), they are also of the nature of method (upāya). In the same way, the heart and throat wheels are also of the nature of wisdom, yet they are also of the nature of method and wisdom, because the avadhūtī pervades them all.
Starting from "In the center of the navel" up to "is said to have eight petals," the four wheels of the nirmāṇakāya and so forth are described as having sixty-four petals, respectively.
There are thirty-two, sixteen, and eight, because they are the nature of the danda, the hour, the transition, and the watch. Just as the external movement of the sun distinguishes the danda and so forth, so too, through the internal movement of the vital breath, these depend solely upon the cakras. These are to be understood from the Kālacakra [tantra], beginning from the "sixty-four petals" and ending with "abiding everywhere." One should realize that the four specific times of wisdom and method alone also become the natures of the nirmāṇakāya and so forth. In that regard, the nirmāṇakāya is at the navel cakra, for it generates the buddhas and bodhisattvas who are the nature of the aggregates and sense bases of all sentient beings. The dharmakāya is at the heart cakra, because it is the very form that gathers the aggregates and elements in the aspect of the syllable HŪṂ and so forth. The saṃbhogakāya is also at the throat cakra, because these [deities] fully enjoy the nectar of the dharma and experience it through generosity. The svābhāvikakāya, the essence of great primordial wisdom, is at the crown cakra, because it is the very nature of the conventional bodhicitta.
"The three bodies truly abide in the center of the body in the form of cakras. The thorough knowledge of the three bodies is said to be the mahāsukha-cakra."
Thus it is said, and likewise:
"By whatever body and deeds benefit beings,
The families, goddesses, and lords of the families,
Are the nature of one’s own body having entered the mantra;
I rely upon them for the sake of the peaceful Vajradhara."
From the passage beginning with "In the center of the emanation wheel" up to the end of "causes the syllable Haṃ to blaze," this source text is taught in order to realize the mantra-body that is the support of the wheels of all sentient beings. In that regard, when the emanation wheel is attained: in the center is the syllable A, and on the petals are the vowels and consonants. In the dharma wheel are the syllable Hūṃ and the seed syllables of the five ḍākinīs, together with the four neuter vowels. In the throat is the syllable Oṃ with four long vowels, or Brahmā surrounded by the sixteen vowels. At the crown is the syllable Haṃ facing downward, surrounded by the vowels doubled. These are to be understood, in their respective order, as the great maṇḍala and the wisdom maṇḍala of union, and the four channels at the edge and center of the flesh of the union-wisdom maṇḍala, which are the wheels of the nature of the Heruka maṇḍala.
Likewise, by the passage beginning with "Renowned as the moon and the sun," the two channels that depend upon the wheels are taught. On the left and right of the wheels are the moon and the sun; from the life-force and downward-clearing winds, the elements of semen and blood flow upward and downward.
One should understand that [the channels] reside in the lalanā and rasanā. By this, it is stated that what appears externally as the moon and the sun is exclusively connected to the internal. In order to clarify the manner in which those substances flow through the gates, it is said, "beginning from the throat," and so forth. The channel explained here on the left side as the lalanā is the one that, starting from the lower face at the throat, flows with intoxicating fluid as far as the center of the navel. Likewise, the channel explained here on the right side as the rasanā is the moon, the semen, and the downward-clearing wind (apāna). In that regard, "the sun" and "the life-force wind (prāṇa)" are the remaining words, [distinguished] by color and function. These two, the moon and the sun, are the two divisions of the gates of the mind; based on the nature of the right and left paths, they flow and circulate by trickling upward and downward. They should be understood as having the nature of Lokeśvara and Ākāśagarbha, and the nature of Amitābha and Ratnasambhava, because it is said: "The immeasurable vajra suns are the two roots that establish saṃsāra." Furthermore, externally, when the sun goes downward behind the setting mountain, the moon goes upward to rise; this is also due to the reversal [of the internal flow]. These moons and suns that depend on the gates of the mind should be understood as the continuous stream in which the coming and going of the heroes (vīra) and ḍākinīs occurs.
Likewise, the twenty-four elements are the heroes (vīra); they are the courses of the moon. Those channels through which blood flows are the ḍākinīs; they are the courses of the sun. Thus, because they are not absent from anyone, it should be understood that they belong to all sentient beings.
In order to demonstrate that the external rising and setting are actually established within the internal [body], it is said: "The rising and the setting," and so forth. In that regard, when the life-sustaining wind (prāṇa) rises in the right nostril, at that time the downward-clearing wind (apāna) sets and departs from the left nostril. In this way, the thorough movement of the moon and sun during day and night is the very abode of all sentient beings; one should understand that sleep and waking are also exactly like that. Likewise, in the state of sleep, there are the lunar and solar portions. Similarly, the states of sleep and waking should be understood as having the nature of the moon and sun, [the Buddhas] Amitābha and Ratnasambhava.
The central pillar is taught in the source text, beginning from "the left and right sides" and ending with "also abides in the lower part," in order to understand that even timely death can be deceived. In the left and right channels are the twelve vowels, excluding the neutral seed-syllables.
In successive order, the lower and upper faces are completely surrounded by the twenty-four consonants, from ka onwards, together with the bindu, which abide in the form of the nāḍī channels by their very nature. This is what is taught by the statement: "One should ascertain this by making it the center." Below, in the path of the downward-clearing wind (apāna), is the syllable kṣa, which protects the downward-clearing wind; above that, which resides in the conch mudrā, is the syllable ra. By the light rays of the syllable hūṃ that has reached the center of the dharma wheel, the vowels and consonants of the left and right [channels] are stirred and enter into the central channel. At that time, by the power of making offerings to the Kalkinī, the yogi deceives death at the appointed time and attains the great meditation of Vajradhara.
Now, in order to realize the nature of the three bodies (trikāya) through the power of the bodhicitta abiding and flowing correctly, it is said: "When at the throat," and so forth. When the moon, which is of the nature of sixteen parts and has the form of nectar, resides at the throat; and likewise at the tip of the nose—that is, at the tips of the heart and navel and at the tip of the vajra—at that time, because bliss is completely perfected, this moon should be called the saṃbhogakāya. From that very distinction, one should understand the Buddhas—that is, the aggregates—to be the supreme svasaṃvedya-kāya (self-cognizing body).
That very reality, when the moon has set from the tip of the vajra and fallen into the bhaga, remaining the size of a mustard seed and entering into the center of the sun—at that time, it is reckoned as the nirmāṇakāya. By the words "Buddha" and so forth, the reason for this is stated: therefore, from the perfect union of the moon and the sun, the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, by the nature of the aggregates and so forth, are emanated and generated. Thus, this is the nirmāṇakāya; because it is like an ordinary being, it is established that the saṃbhogakāya has set, and the nirmāṇakāya performs the welfare of sentient beings.
To understand that when this very [reality] abides in the center of the sun, it enters into what is explained as the nature of the Lotus Dance, it is said: "The King, the Lord of the Lotus Dance." "Lotus Dance" refers to the dance of the lotus; because desire arises therein, he is the Lord of the Lotus Dance (Padmanarteśvara). Because he causes [reality] to appear like vermilion from a seal through perfect union with the blazing sun, he is the "King." That meaning is expressed by the words: "From the union appearing as a lotus." "Appearing as a lotus" is the self-arisen. Through union with that, that which has become one is to be called the "moon" possessing the union appearing as a lotus.
Having spoken of the saṃbhogakāya and the nirmāṇakāya, the dharmakāya is spoken of by the words: "Having the nature of the nirmāṇakāya" and so forth. Therein:
When the sun and moon, which bear the names of the nirmāṇakāya, have set, one enters into that state. If the two appearances attain the state of equal taste, that is bodhicitta—the moon and the sun. That which has become a single, stainless mass is free from the turbidity of the conceptualizations of both; this is what is called the dharmakāya, as it connects with the other [aspects]. How so? The equal taste of the two appearances is the path of saṃsāra; that in which its conceptualizations are severed is what is so described. Because the saṃbhogakāya and nirmāṇakāya are where elaborations are pacified, it is a collective compound of a common locus. It is "peaceful" because it is coemergent. It is "non-dual" because the two mutually exclusive sides have been abandoned. It is "supreme" because it is self-awareness. It is "pure" because it is free from afflictions.
Vajra is emptiness and sattva is compassion; because it is the support for that, it is the nature of Vajrasattva. Because it is the nature of the three doors of liberation as the means and the door of liberation of natural luminosity arising from the means, it is Śrī Heruka. That very thing is to be called the dharmakāya; because it protects the mind, it is the mantra. Because it devours the net of afflictions such as desire like grass, it is the "insect" (rākṣasa). Now, one might ask: "While it is indeed taught as an insect in the Yoginī Tantras, it is not so in the Kriyā and other tantras." [The answer follows:] ...
If one asks, "In what way is the dharmakāya called the 'pervader'?" it is said, "Laughing," and so forth. In the Kriyā and Caryā tantras, it is the mutual laughing of method and insight. In the Yoga tantra, it is gazing. In the tantras of both Yoga and Caryā, it is holding hands; these are the illustrative examples. In the Mahāyoga tantras, it is embracing, and in the Yoginī tantras, it is the "two-by-two." As it is said: "By laughing and gazing, or by embracing and likewise the two-by-two, the four classes of tantra are taught through the intentional language." Thus, having consumed the three—desire, the absence of desire, and [the intermediate state]—because all tantras are established as the "worm" [of realization], there is no fault in saying that the dharmakāya is the pervader. To show that the dharmakāya is the very nature of the maṇḍala wheel, it is said, "All the channels," and so forth. That which is the equal union of all the channels is the "equal union of all channels." These are the twenty-four heroes and the ḍākinīs indicated by them. Their "net" is the assembly; the meaning is that the "binding" therein is the very nature of the ultimate bodhicitta. To show that the dharmakāya is the nature of all aspects, it is said, "The great secret," and so forth.
In these kings of tantras, terms such as "the great secret" and so forth are intentional language (saṃdhābhāṣā). They are to be understood as the earth, water, fire, and wind; as the external and the internal; and as the four wheels (cakra), because they are the nature of phenomena (dharmatā) abiding as the essence of all buddhas and the nature of great bliss. Furthermore, by the words "again" and so forth, that very reality is taught to be the nature of the five buddhas, such as the Mirror-like Wisdom and the rest. Thus, because the diverse maṇḍala of objects of knowledge appears as a reflection, that very reality is the Mirror-like Wisdom (ādarśajñāna). Because the footless and so forth are utterly one, that very reality is the Wisdom of Equality (samatājñāna). Because that very reality engages in individual discernment in the ultimate sense, it is the Discriminating Wisdom (pratyavekṣaṇājñāna). Because from that very reality the welfare of beings is thoroughly engaged, it is the All-Accomplishing Wisdom (kṛtyānuṣṭhānajñāna). Because it is the very form of the nature of phenomena, this is the Wisdom of the Dharmadhātu (dharmadhātujñāna).
Alternatively, by the words "Vairocana" and so forth, this very reality is taught to be the nature of the five buddhas. Thus, because it makes things appear in the manner of self-awareness, it is Vairocana. Because it is unshakable by desire and the rest, it is Akṣobhya. Because the jewels of the Sambhogakāya and Nirmāṇakāya arise from this, it is Ratnasambhava.
That which is the immeasurable light of the nature of primordial wisdom (jñāna) is Amitābha. That from which the activities for the benefit of sentient beings are accomplished without exception is Amoghasiddhi. Having spoken of the ultimate nature, the conventional nature is taught by the passage beginning with "the five nectars" (pañcāmṛta). The five, such as the "great secret," are also the nature of the five nectars; their form as a mass and a drop abides in a state of equal taste in the midst of the five spaces. Furthermore, the great primordial wisdom abiding within one's own body in the conventional sense is what the Buddhas declare to be the utterly pure primordial wisdom—this is the remainder of the sentence. By the term "Vajrasattva," its specific quality is taught: that which is the previously established nature of supreme bliss, independent of causes and conditions, is to be called the dharmakāya. By this, the previously understood ultimate nature itself is shown to be the Blessed One, the glorious Heruka, whose nature is the three bodies (trikāya). In order to show the Blessed Lady Vārāhī, who is inseparable from him, the passage beginning with "this very [wisdom]" is spoken. This very [wisdom], the innate nature of the body itself, blazes in the maṇḍala of the navel of the glorious Heruka; it is that which is to be churned.
The fire-form that is perfectly stirred by the karmic winds born from the practice of churning is itself the innate insight (prajñā) of this [yoga], naturally established like the moon and its light. That very thing is Vārāhī; from the letters vā and rā, it is said that from haṃ, through wind and fire, ramati—meaning "she who causes delight"—flows forth, and thus she is Vārāhī, but she is not the one with a sow’s face. "Spring" refers to the syllable hūṃ and so forth; because it is like a drop (bindu), it is the "drop," for it was explained above that when that is found, there is perfect satisfaction. The phrase "the tip of a hair" and so forth describes its measure: that which has the dimension of a hundred thousand—that is, one hundred thousand—parts of the flesh, like the tip of a hair, is what is meant by that term. By this, its extreme subtlety is understood, for it is the very object to be traversed by the wisdom of the yogi. Furthermore, it is said:
"Her form is extremely subtle, like a lotus fiber;
Pervading and abiding as far as the state of great bliss
That remains after the kalpa-fire has passed,
And which is attained by the Great Being—
She is called the supreme Heruka’s insight."
"Light like a flash of lightning" means like the light of a beautiful garland. "At the time of the deity yoga" and so forth describes its agent: the deity yoga.
At the time of the union of insight and method, that very [fire] blazes as the fire of wisdom. Emerging from all the pores of the yogi’s skin, it intimidates the gods and asuras—the conceptualizations of the aggregates and the sense faculties. Having burned the firewood of the conceptualizations of the form aggregate and the elements within the knots of the dharma and enjoyment wheels, it emerges from the right nostril. Entering through the aperture at the ūrṇā-kośa, it enters the crown apertures of those residing in the ten directions and burns their fourth wheels. Then, emerging again from the left nostril and entering through the crown aperture, it burns as before, thereby causing the Tathāgatas to increase. It becomes stable in the navel maṇḍala and causes [them] to dissolve.
Furthermore, it is said: From the perfect union of the churner and the churned, this fire of wisdom dissolves into the navel maṇḍala. With its blazing appearances, it burns the Tathāgatas residing in the samaya wheel, circles three times around the method residing in the enjoyment wheel, and proceeds to the ūrṇā-kośa. Opening the gateway of the vital point, it enters through the golden door named Jālandhara of the Tathāgatas residing in the ten directions from the place named Oḍḍiyāna. Having first burned their four wheels, [it proceeds].
By the method previously explained, the stream of milk flows and generates joy in the tathāgatas who have been incinerated. This summarizes the stages of the tantra and the stages of wisdom. Regarding the statement, "On the left and right sides, the twelve vowels truly abide," this refers to the stage of mantra. When the dharmakāya is analyzed, it is the secret stage. The summary is stated: therein, regarding the embrace of the three bodies, it is explained as the four cakras, explained as the two appearances, and explained as having realized them in the state of equal taste. Regarding the explanation of the meeting of the nāda and the drop, Heruka and Vajravārāhī are described and spoken of as the "spring" and the "drop." By the terms "going" and "coming," their perfect union is explained.
The explanation of the stages of mantra, tantra, wisdom, and the secret is as follows: "On the left and right sides, the twelve vowels truly abide"—by this phrase, and likewise, starting from "This very [wisdom] is the coemergent insight," up to the words "the cakra, having been perfectly incinerated, emerges," and likewise, "The buddhas who have been incinerated, once again generate joy," and "Having come to the navel maṇḍala, it abides as before"—by these, the four stages of mantra, tantra, wisdom, and the secret are explained and shown.
Likewise, regarding the four cakras, such as the emanation cakra and so forth, there is the arrangement and condensation of the five vowels and so on; the doubling of the two, the āli and kāli; the arrangement of the five seed-syllables such as hūṃ; the arrangement of the neuter seed-syllables; the arrangement of the long brahmā vowels; and the arrangement of the indestructible syllable (akṣara) completely surrounded by the thirty-two āli vowels. These are taught in the source text:
"In the center of the emanation cakra,
It is completely surrounded by the eight classes.
By means of the supreme form of the syllables,
'A' is the most excellent of syllables."
This is an extensive explanation in relation to a brief summary. A brief summary is that which brings about understanding through correct condensation. An extensive explanation is that which is [taught] extensively; this is the remainder of the phrase. These extensive explanations are the meaning of the "chapter" (pariccheda). The meaning of the eight great accomplishments (siddhi), such as the sword and the eye, has already been clearly explained; it is established that these arise from realizing the ritual of the practice of the Vasantatilaka as previously taught.
The brief summary and so forth were spoken in order to fully embrace sentient beings of dull faculties and to demonstrate that this is the domain of individuals with sharp faculties. Regarding the brief summary: "It is the grace of the Guru’s feet."
The dust of the lotus feet of that [guru] is the teacher, a scholar adorned by those skilled in discerning the jewel of suchness (tathatā) that is perfectly realized. Likewise, as it is extensively taught elsewhere, and through the expression of the Wisdom Consort (prajñā) and the grace of that master, one experiences the coemergent (sahaja). Thus, the Blessed One, the Tathāgata, the Supreme Victorious One, who causes the unchanging suchness of each line and each word to appear, has perfectly enjoyed [this] and attained it with effort. That very experience is to be seen within all the sūtras and tantras. As it is said:
"Faith in the scriptures,
Likewise faith in the guru,
Faith in oneself,
And likewise faith in others—
One should grasp [the truth] through these four types of faith."
This is because it is taught in the Secret Suchness Illumination (Guhyatattvaprakāśa). Likewise, the heart mantra (hṛdaya) of oneself, which is endowed with the Vajraḍākinī, is not external. Having done so, I have composed this Spring Drop (Vasantatilaka). Those who hold it with firm faith are immeasurable. Because of the very act of composing a source text (śāstra) held by firm faith, the text is stabilized through the door of a stable nature. Thus, it is said: "The glorious guru, the Buddha," and so forth.
I, Kṛṣṇācārya, who have received the instructions of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas—the Vajra Guru who benefits me—and who abide in the body of a Tathāgata, have here expressed the Vasantatilaka (The Drop of Spring). This work, which consists of ten extensive expositions, is now complete. The meaning is that because it perfectly summarizes the essence of all tantras, it is independent of any other [text].
This concludes the Great Secret Lamp, the extensive commentary on the Vasantatilaka, the ritual manual for the practice of the completion stage. This is the detailed explanation of the tenth extensive exposition.
The Vasantatilaka extensive commentary is finished.
In the forest, the crown jewel of the earth-protecting realm, the springtime treasure of the Indian scholars was perfectly arrayed. At that time, the young bee drank the honey of the complete flower of the Vasantatilaka extensive commentary.
The great scholar of Eastern India known as Vanaratna, having truly touched the drop at the feet of the Blessed One, the glorious Vajrayoginī, and having perfectly attained the joy of the spring of glorious Heruka, was requested by the Dharma King Drakpa Jungné Gyaltsen Pal Zangpo, who possesses the eye that beholds the entirety of the secret treasury of all the Tathāgatas. Furthermore, at the urging of the great realized master of the Zhang tradition, Sönam Rinchen, that very great Paṇḍita [Vanaratna]... [text ends]...