Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
The Teaching of the Bodiless Vajraḍākiṇī is a concise instructional text focused on the realization of the non-dual nature of mind through the dissolution of conceptual thought. The text argues that liberation is achieved by untying the knot of ripening and liberation, a process facilitated by empowerment which unravels the seals of conceptualization. It commits the reader to a practice of resting in the state of empty space, where the practitioner identifies with the Glorious Vajra Ḍākiṇī. The text describes a transition from the state of emptiness to the emergence of the sound of compassion, culminating in a state of indivisible great bliss. Finally, it directs the practitioner to transform the contaminated bliss of the physical body into an uncontaminated, equal taste of self-knowing awareness, framing this essence as the secret supreme indivisibility of the guru's speech.
Provenance
About this text
A treatise on the nature of the bodiless dharma of the Glorious Vajra Ḍākinī, the Śrīvajraḍākinīnīṣkāyadharma belongs to the collection of the Śaṃvara and Related Tantras. The work is attributed to the Indian author Tilopa. Preserved in the classical Tibetan period, the text appears in the Tengyur, volume ཟ, where it extends over three pages under the Tibetan title dpal rdo rje mkha' 'gro lus med pa'i chos. The work enacts a process of liberation by untying the knot of ripening and liberation, utilizing empowerment to unravel the seals of conceptual thought. It directs the practitioner to rest in a state lacking inherent existence and to view the samaya as a mirror of the mind. Through this practice, the sound of compassion arises from emptiness and is perfected in a state of indivisible great bliss, allowing the primordial wisdom to open the petals of self-liberation. A scholar or serious reader consults this text today to examine its concise instructions on the dissolution of conceptualization and the realization of the non-dual nature of mind through the identification with the Glorious Vajra Ḍākinī.
Cite thisAnuvāda, “The Teaching of the Bodiless Vajraḍākiṇī” (Toh 1527), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh1527
Summary & commentary
Significance
This work is significant for its emphasis on the transformation of somatic experience into primordial wisdom, a central tenet of Vajrayāna practice. It illustrates the technical application of emptiness and bliss to achieve a state of non-conceptual awareness.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1
Introduction and Invocation
Provides the Sanskrit and Tibetan titles and offers homage to the Wisdom Ḍākiṇī.
2
The Dissolution of Conceptualization
Discusses the unraveling of the mind's knots and the destruction of the web of conceptualization through empowerment.
3
The State of Empty Space
Describes resting in the state of the Bodiless Vajra Ḍākiṇī and the emergence of compassion from emptiness.
4
The Transformation of Bliss
Explains the transition from contaminated bodily bliss to the uncontaminated, indivisible clarity of self-knowing awareness.
Themes
Non-conceptualization (2)
Indivisibility of Bliss and Emptiness (3-4)
Transformation of the Body (4)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
In the language of India: Śrī-vajra-ḍākinī-kāyana-dharma-nāma. In the language of Tibet: Dpal rdo rje mkha' 'gro lus med pa'i chos (The Bodyless Dharma of the Glorious Vajra Ḍākinī). Homage to the Wisdom Ḍākinī!
To her who proclaims the terrifying "Phaṭ! Phaṭ!" in the great charnel grounds, who blazes like the rising moon amidst the darkness of the devouring ḍākinīs; who, uttering "Hūṃ! Hūṃ!", strikes terror into the hosts of piśācas, vetālas, and mātṛkās—to the body of the Queen of Great Bliss, the sovereign of the secret treasury of mantra, I bow.
Emaho! Like a lotus, a jewel, a river, a lion, an elephant, or a deer; like the sun, fire, and crystal—Emaho! May the fortunate ones realize this! The pure expanse of reality, the indivisible realm of great bliss, is the celestial palace of purity, the source of phenomena, the Vajra Consort. Like a piśāca, a madman, or a young child; like clouds, the sky, and lightning; like a jackal, a vetāla, and a sarasa crane—Emaho! May the fortunate ones take this into experience!
The Victorious Ones are always in the state of the great luminosity of meditative equipoise; because it is uninterrupted throughout the three times, it is the nature of the three bodies of the Buddha. Self and other are indivisible; the essence is spontaneously present, glorious, indivisible, and free from conceptual elaboration. Emaho! Samaya!
Emaho! The naked one is the King of the Island; the minister is the guide, the supreme horse; the servants are the great path, and the queen is the lady. May the fortunate ones realize this! Samaya! The sublime Lord of Great Bliss is the unborn, self-arisen Buddha. Emaho!
Untie the knot of the mind of ripening and liberation. Through the outer, inner, secret, and ultimate, empowerment completely unravels the seal of conceptual thought. The knot is the self-liberation of the nature of mind; the web of conceptualization is destroyed. One should rest in the state of the lack of inherent existence. View the samaya as the mirror of one’s own mind. Ahaṃ is the root of the life-force channel. In the mirror of the self-clarity of the nature of mind, having reached the culmination of the fruit of empowerment, wipe away the stains of samsara’s misconceptions. The continuum of the ālaya is primordially pure. In the purity of non-human awareness, look continuously at mere awareness without appearances. The sun of realizing the samaya substances is the great bliss of one’s own mind, free from elaboration. Whoever realizes the non-dual vajra of the unchanging channels, winds, and bodhicitta—that is the supreme, sacred substance. Outwardly, the various appearances are all set upon the single sun of realization; therein, there is no waxing or waning. In conduct, strike a sword into water. Whatever appears, from the very state of non-conduct, practice, O yogi! Just as whatever is struck with a sword in water leaves no trace, with the fearless sword, practice the conduct of the hidden, the ascetic, and the bhusuku, without distinction between formal meditation and post-meditation. Practice the conduct of awareness and mind. Look at the self-liberated Mahāmudrā. One’s own mind is the non-dual Mahāmudrā; it is liberated in the state of the self-liberated mind. Phyag (hand) is the wisdom of emptiness; rgya (seal) is free from the seal of samsara; chen po (great) is the union. Look at the essence, nature, and characteristics in the stainless state of great bliss. Emaho!
Glorious Vajra Ḍākinī, from the state of empty space, like an echo in the language of signs, the sound of compassion arises from the state of emptiness and is perfected in the indivisible state of great bliss. For the lotus of the fortunate mind, the rising sun of primordial wisdom (jñāna) opens the petals of self-liberation that unfold spontaneously. O stainless and majestic one of intellect, in the monastery of Pullahari, dispel the darkness of ignorance in the land of Tibet and pervade it with the light of primordial wisdom. This was spoken by the great Lord Tilopa to Nāropa.
Homage to the glorious Cakrasaṃvara. Turn the wheel of the network of channels and winds. The channels reside within the body: the avadhūtī, the lalanā, and the rasanā; these are the divisions that abide in the four wheels (cakras). "Network" means interconnected. The winds perform all activities; they are the nature of the five and have ten names. In the non-duality of wind and mind, turn the wheel of non-conceptuality. Meditate on the lamp of awareness-primordial wisdom. Awareness is the king of the mind; in the state of spontaneous presence, the lamp of primordial wisdom blazes non-dually. Having dispelled the darkness of ignorance, the stainless light of primordial wisdom pervades. Look at the outer mirror of equal taste. The four elements are of equal taste, and consciousness is the equal taste of meditative absorption (samādhi). The experiences are the four aspects of bliss and clarity. Upon the mirror of the unborn, that which is covered by the dust of mindfulness is opened by the experience of non-mindful awareness. In the pure mirror of the mind, regarding the view of non-dual appearance, wipe away the stains of spontaneously arising conceptual thoughts.
Hold fast to the jewel of the speech of great bliss. Bliss is the clarity of self-knowing awareness; it is the speech of the great, sublime guru. From the bliss of the contaminated body, it is the uncontaminated, equal taste, indivisible. This essence, the secret supreme indivisibility, the nectar found in the mouth—like a jewel, it brings about the welfare of oneself and others. Therefore, O fortunate and noble ones, hold it fast! The great Lord of Yogins, Tilopa, bestowed this upon me on the mountain known as the Ornament. The heart mantra of Secret Mantra, the bodiless vajra words, the profound pith instructions, Nāropa bestowed upon me. At the end of the five-hundred-year period, upon this earth, the lotus of the intellect of those who are worthy vessels will be tamed by your disciples in the Land of Snows—thus I received from the guru’s speech. May all beings flourish in the fruit of Cakrasaṃvara! This concludes the "Dharma of the Bodiless Glorious Vajra Ḍākinī."