Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This fragmentary text presents a mnemonic or symbolic system attributed to Vajraḍākiṇī designed to categorize the three fundamental pillars of Buddhist practice: view, meditation, and conduct. The text functions as a technical guide to terminology, assigning specific natural and material symbols to each category. Conduct is associated with the lotus, lion, and elephant; meditation is linked to the deer, crystal, and sun; and view is represented by the river, fire, and jewel. By mapping abstract spiritual stages onto concrete imagery, the text commits the reader to a symbolic framework where complex philosophical and meditative states are condensed into recognizable signs. The fragment concludes abruptly, suggesting it was part of a larger instructional discourse on the semiotics of tantric practice.
Provenance
About this text
A guide to the symbolic representation of spiritual practice, the dpal rdo rje mkha' 'gro ma lta sgom spyod gsum gyi brda bstan pa is attributed to the glorious Vajraḍākinī. This classical Tibetan work is preserved in the Tengyur, volume ཟ, where it is situated within the canonical collection of the Śaṃvara and Related Tantras. Spanning two pages in this edition, the work enacts a mnemonic system that maps the three pillars of view, meditation, and conduct onto specific symbols. Conduct is associated with the lotus, lion, and elephant; meditation is linked to the deer, crystal, and sun; and view is represented by the river, fire, and jewel. Additionally, the text addresses the concept of equal taste through the figures of the flesh-eater, the madman, and the jackal. A scholar or serious reader consults this fragment today to examine how abstract philosophical and meditative states are condensed into a concrete semiotic framework, providing insight into the technical methods used to categorize and transmit tantric instructions through symbolic imagery.
Cite thisAnuvāda, “The Vajraḍākiṇī’s Teachings on the Terminology of Seeing, Meditating, and Acting” (Toh 1528), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh1528
Summary & commentary
Significance
The work is significant for its use of symbolic shorthand to represent the tripartite structure of Buddhist path-training. It illustrates how Vajrayana traditions employ coded language and imagery to transmit complex doctrinal categories.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1
Symbols of the Three
A listing of symbols corresponding to conduct, meditation, and view.
Themes
View, Meditation, and Conduct (1)
Symbolism and Semiotics (1)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
AnuvādaThe Vajraḍākiṇī’s Teachings on the Terminology of Seeing, Meditating, and Acting·
The glorious Vajraḍākinī taught the symbols of the three—view, meditation, and conduct: the lotus, the lion, and the elephant are the symbols of conduct; the deer, crystal, and sun are the symbols of meditation; and the river, fire, and jewel are the symbols of the view. The Vajraḍākinī taught the three types of equal taste: the flesh-eater, the madman, and the jackal are the equal taste of the body; the zombie, the sarasabū child, and the ascetic are the equal taste of the ascetic discipline; and the sky, the cloud, and the lightning are the equal taste of absorption. The Vajraḍākinī taught the symbols of the three non-dual unions of method and insight: the queen, the servant, and the supreme horse are the symbols of insight; the naked one, the island-dweller, and the great path are the symbols of the union of method and insight. These are the symbols of the body, speech, and mind. Regarding the final fruition, one abides in the expanse of the natural dharmatā; appearances arise as pure; one enters the clear light; the three bodies are spontaneously present; and because the essence is free from conceptual elaboration and unborn, it is not to be sought. These are the vajra verses. They are complete.