Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This instructional fragment outlines the preliminary meditative requirements for the creation of tsa-tsas (clay images). Rather than focusing on the technical aspects of sculpting, the text argues that the physical act of casting must be preceded by a specific internal cognitive alignment. The author commits the practitioner to a three-stage preparatory process: the physical arrangement of materials, the adoption of a deity-identity through visualization, and the cultivation of the four immeasurables. The process culminates in a conceptual transformation of the raw material; by employing a specific mantra regarding the nature of phenomena, the practitioner is instructed to perceive the clay as unobservable. This suggests that the efficacy of the sacred image depends not on the material itself, but on the practitioner's ability to dissolve the conventional reality of the medium before shaping it.
Provenance
About this text
Providing pith instructions for the casting of tsa-tsas, the sAts+tsha gdab pa'i man ngag is a work of the classical Tibetan period. This instructional piece is preserved in volume ཡ of the Tengyur, where it is situated within the Other Wisdom Tantras collection and spans two pages. The work enacts a ritualized process for the creation of clay images, prioritizing internal cognitive alignment over technical sculpting. It directs the practitioner to prepare the clay, visualize themselves as the meditational deity, and meditate on the four immeasurables. By employing a mantra concerning the utterly pure nature of phenomena, the practitioner transforms the clay into an unobservable state before generating it into the form of Heruka in union with his consort through three rituals. A scholar or serious reader consults this text to understand how the efficacy of a sacred image is predicated on the practitioner's ability to dissolve the conventional reality of the medium through specific meditative and mantra-based preparations.
Cite thisAnuvāda, “Personal Instructions on Making Clay Images” (Toh 1641), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh1641
Summary & commentary
Significance
The text illustrates the intersection of ritual art and meditative practice in the Tibetan tradition, where the material process is subordinate to the mental state of the artist. For the modern reader, it demonstrates how the concept of emptiness is applied practically to the transmutation of physical matter into a sacred object.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1
Pith instructions for casting tsa-tsas
Guidelines for the meditative preparation and conceptualization of clay prior to sculpting.
Themes
Visualization and Deity Yoga (1)
Nature of Phenomena (1)
Ritual Preparation (1)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
AnuvādaPersonal Instructions on Making Clay Images·
Regarding the pith instructions for casting tsa-tsas: First, having prepared the clay, place it before you. Visualize yourself as the meditational deity and meditate on the four immeasurables. Then, using the mantra of the utterly pure nature of phenomena, meditate on the clay as being unobservable. Through the three rituals, generate it into the form of Heruka in union with his consort. Then, with light rays from the hrīḥ or hūṃ at the heart, summon all the buddhas and bodhisattvas and dissolve them into the Heruka in union. Subsequently, through the union of the father and mother, they melt into light. As they abide as the bodhicitta, consecrate it with the twenty-one heart mantras of Heruka and cast the tsa-tsas with that very [mantra]. Visualize each tsa-tsa as an individual Heruka, and from each one, emanate and reabsorb many Herukas, thereby contemplating the perfection of the welfare of oneself and others. Finally, conclude with the mantra of dependent origination.