Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
The Vajra Song of Vajrāsana is a didactic composition that outlines the intersection of meditative absorption, non-attachment, and the realization of selflessness. The text argues that the unsurpassed path to awakening is found in a mind that does not dwell on objects, a state the author terms the Queen of Selflessness. This state is cultivated through the stabilization of the aspirational mind, rooted in compassion and love. The work employs metaphorical language, such as the image of the vulture of the mind, to describe the necessity of overcoming wavering mental states to achieve inconceivable emanations through absorption. Furthermore, the text emphasizes the primacy of the Guru's oral instructions over mundane pleasures, suggesting that true liberation is achieved when a practitioner, including the yoginī, transcends dualistic distinctions and commits to the benefit of others through compassion. The reader is committed to a path of rigorous mental discipline and devotion to the lineage of the Guru.
Provenance
About this text
A song endowed with profound meaning and dedicated to the embodiment of the Guru Vajradhara, the Vajrāsanavajragīti originates from the Indian tradition. It is attributed to the author Atīśa Dīpaṃkaraśrījñāna. The work entered the Tibetan language through the efforts of Atīśa Dīpaṃkaraśrījñāna and dge slong tshul khrims rgyal ba, appearing in the classical Tibetan period. It is preserved in the Tengyur, volume ཞ, where it spans four pages and is situated within the collection of the Śaṃvara and Related Tantras. The composition argues that the unsurpassed path to awakening is found in a mind that does not dwell on objects, a state termed the Queen of Selflessness. This state is cultivated by stabilizing the aspirational mind through love, compassion, and non-attachment. Through the use of metaphors, such as the vulture of the mind, the work describes the necessity of overcoming wavering mental states to achieve inconceivable emanations via meditative absorption. A scholar or serious reader consults this text today to examine its didactic approach to the intersection of absorption and the realization of selflessness.
Sanskrit title
Vajrāsanavajragīti
Indian author
Atīśa Dīpaṃkaraśrījñāna
Tibetan translators
Atīśa Dīpaṃkaraśrījñāna, dge slong tshul khrims rgyal ba
Cite thisAnuvāda, “A Vajra Song of Vajrāsana” (Toh 1494), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh1494
Summary & commentary
Significance
The work is significant for its synthesis of emptiness and compassion within a Vajrayana framework. It illustrates the transition from individual meditative absorption to the altruistic activity of a bodhisattva. Its importance rests on the explicit prioritization of oral transmission over independent practice.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1
Introduction and Homage
Invocation of Mañjuśrī and acknowledgement of the buddhahood attained at Vajrāsana.
2
The Nature of Selflessness
Definition of the Queen of Selflessness and the role of non-attachment in stabilizing the aspirational mind.
3
Meditative Absorption
Discussion on the play of absorption and the metaphor of the vulture of the mind to describe mental instability.
4
The Role of the Guru and Compassion
Analysis of the value of oral instructions and the necessity of benefiting others through compassion.
Themes
Selflessness and Non-attachment (2)
Meditative Absorption (3)
Guru Devotion and Oral Instruction (4)
Compassion and Altruism (2, 4)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
In the language of India: Vajrāsana-vajragīti. In the language of Tibet: rDo rje gdan gyi rdo rje’i glu (The Vajra Song of Vajrāsana). Homage to Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta.
To the glorious one who attained buddhahood at Vajrāsana, the very embodiment of the Guru Vajradhara, who reveals this song endowed with profound meaning—to him, perfected in all qualities, I prostrate.
Having completely abandoned all such activities that wither this body and afflict the mind, one realizes that all beings are pure by nature and becomes a buddha at the glorious Vajrāsana.
Having taken the supreme, beautiful lady and accomplished [the practice] with great speed, one enters blissfully upon the banks of the Nairañjanā. Seated at the foot of the Bodhi tree at Vajrāsana, one abides in the absorption (samādhi) that takes the vajra as its metaphor.
O, by means of this unsurpassed path of absorption, the great terrors of the four Māras are conquered. Without abandoning form, through its simultaneous play, one unites with the selfless nature (Nairātmyā). That delightful consort of mine, who is without substance, is free from affliction through passionless peace. She abandons the delusions of existence—birth and death—and bestows and receives unerring great bliss.
In that, there is no color, shape, or dimension. It is without agency, without desire, without birth, and without pride. When the mind enters into that selflessness, one no longer perceives any distinction between self and other. There is no going, no coming, and no abiding anywhere. Just as the essence of space is, so too does the supreme Sage of Yoga play without exception.
I call that the Queen of Selflessness. It firmly stabilizes the aspirational mind of awakening, which arises from non-attachment, love, and compassion. The mind, through natural habituation, does not dwell anywhere. This very reality is the unsurpassed path to awakening.
Those with cataracts speak of seeing hairs in the sky. There is no difference between those with cataracts and all beings; all beings, unborn and without abode, truly appear just like a magical illusion. Do not be attached to the elaborations produced by conceptual analysis; that will not become the unsurpassed path to awakening. There is no bondage other than various conceptual thoughts. Saṃsāra, with its birth and death, is nothing other than that.
I have spoken the heart mantra to the yogis and beings: do not look anywhere because of the movement of conceptual thought. Conceptual thought is not other, and delusion is not other. It is not other than attachment, fear, and anger. Whatever is conceptually imputed is false and inverted. One should certainly desire the great bliss of conceptual imputation. I speak of such meditative absorption as great bliss. There is no harm anywhere from the fear of birth and death.
Though a deer runs everywhere seeing a mirage as water, it will die from exhaustion and find no happiness at all. O, deer of the mind, desiring the water of bliss, do not run toward the mirage of sensory objects! In the mirage of objects, there is no water of bliss. Why run with desire, not knowing the reality of truth? Those animals who seek the pleasure of enjoyments in the city are bound by the tight noose of hair. For one who knows the essence, there is nowhere to go.
Absorption
Through the play of absorption, one emanates the inconceivable. That tree upon which the vulture of the mind relies will never produce the flowers and leaves of bliss. If the vulture of the mind is bound and slain, what could possibly be done by that which is wavering and changing? When the vulture of the mind is released from its bonds, it drinks and eats much flesh and blood, yet remains without hunger. Having destroyed the side of dualistic perception, you exert no effort whatsoever. Through the stability of emptiness, there is no delusion to be abandoned. Do not think of abandoning the bonds of delusion. Whatever arises, look at its source; clear it away with non-conceptual absorption. Wash away all the great stains of discursive thought without exception. Realize that all things are equal, like flowers in the sky. When purified and free from habitual tendencies, the yogi sees nothing. It is like seeing a bee drinking from a flower in the sky. Purified and practicing the pure conduct of the samaya, one contradicts the worldly proliferation of conceptual constructs. Like a bee drinking from a flower in the sky, destroy the delusion of viewing self and other. Having brought down the vajra upon worldly proliferation, abandon the shame of grasping at the world through the avadhūti. Through the two—bodhicitta and compassion—everything will certainly be gathered here in this purification. Whatever the guru’s oral instructions may be, they appear as a precious jewel; what happiness could arise from any other jewel? Without the guru’s pith instructions, no fruit will arise, just as saffron dye does not take on a stained cloth.
If a yoginī experiences [this], she becomes a yogin. Since the bliss generated by the union of other maidens is that which liberates one from the ocean of existence, what is more precious than the oral instructions of the Guru? For a disciple who engages in benefiting others through compassion, alms-seeking while wearing the saffron robes is not difficult to obtain. The syllable ŚRĪ is non-dual wisdom; it is that which demonstrates the indivisibility of all beings. Completely abandon treatises that cause the mind to be deluded, and you will become the ultimate Śrī Heruka. This syllable HE demonstrates the cessation of delusion regarding birth from no cause and so forth, and teaches emptiness. This syllable RU demonstrates the abandonment of death, which is the ultimate reality free from conceptual analysis. This syllable KA demonstrates that which does not abide in either existence or non-existence, and in which there is neither cyclic existence nor nirvāṇa. The meaning taught by these four syllables is the ultimate Śrī Heruka. Thus, in order to show others exactly as the great scholar, the glorious Dīpaṃkara Jñāna, had perceived the nature of reality, this Vajra Song was sung at the great temple of Kyishö Nyethang Tashi Pal when he departed for the abode of Vajradhara. It is complete.