Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
The Five Stages (Pañcakrama) is a technical manual on Vajra Recitation within the Yoga Tantra tradition, attributed to Nāgārjuna. The text outlines a path toward the realization of non-dual reality by integrating somatic control, mantra, and meditative visualization. It begins with the precise manipulation of internal winds (prāṇa) and the use of seed syllables (OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ) to bridge the gap between conventional expression and the non-conceptual ultimate. The work commits the reader to a rigorous discipline of self-consecration and the cultivation of a 'vajra body' of supreme joy. Central to its argument is the collapse of dualities—such as merit and sin, or the distinction between different persons—into a single state of union. By synthesizing the generation and completion stages, the practitioner is led toward the clear light of emptiness and the attainment of the five bodies and superknowledges of a Buddha, emphasizing that the path is realized through the union of agent and action.
Provenance
About this text
A treatise explaining the stages of Vajra Recitation in accordance with the Yoga Tantras, the Pañcakrama (Tibetan: Rim pa lnga pa) serves as a guide for practitioners established in the generation stage who seek the completion stage. The work is attributed to the Indian authors Nāgārjuna and Śākyamitra (II). It was translated into the Tibetan language by Śraddhākaravarman and the translator zhu chen gyi lo tsA ba ban+de rin chen bzang po. This classical Tibetan translation is preserved in the Tengyur (vol. ངི) and is situated within the canonical collection of the Guhyasamāja and Related Tantras, where it extends over twenty-five pages. The work enacts a technical discipline centered on the suchness of the winds, instructing the practitioner to visualize a mustard seed at the tip of the nose and examine the flow of internal winds across the throat, heart, navel, and secret lotus. By integrating secret mantra and the visualization of a five-colored jewel, the text provides a method for meditating on the abode of supreme wisdom. A scholar or serious reader consults this manual today to understand the precise somatic and meditative requirements of the completion stage, specifically the manipulation of the fire maṇḍala and the internal timing of the winds.
Sanskrit title
Pañcakrama
Indian author
Nāgārjuna, Śākyamitra (II)
Tibetan translators
zhu chen gyi lo tsA ba ban+de rin chen bzang po, Śraddhākaravarman
Cite thisAnuvāda, “The Five Stages” (Toh 1802), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh1802
Summary & commentary
Significance
The work is significant for its detailed integration of subtle body physiology with the philosophy of Mahāmudrā and the Yoga Tantras. Its attribution to Nāgārjuna and its translation by Rinchen Zangpo highlight its importance in the early dissemination of Indian tantric systems into Tibet.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1-9
Foundations of Vajra Recitation
Introduction to the stages of recitation, focusing on the movement of internal winds, the use of seed syllables, and the role of the guru.
10-15
Nature of Consciousness and Subtle Body
Analysis of the thirty-three natural qualities, the solar maṇḍala, and the dissolution of appearances into the clear light.
16-20
Philosophical Framework and Conduct
Discussion on the Middle Way, the nature of the dharmadhātu, and the prerequisites for receiving the teachings.
21-27
Self-Consecration and Ritual Practice
Instructions on self-consecration, the illusion-like nature of reality, and the importance of offerings to the guru and Vajrasattva.
28-33
The State of Union
Description of the non-dual state of union, the synthesis of generation and completion stages, and the final aspiration for Buddhahood.
Themes
Subtle Body and Winds (2-4, 11-12)
Non-duality and Union (16, 30-32)
Clear Light and Emptiness (13, 21, 28-29)
Guru Devotion and Empowerment (7, 18-20, 24-26)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
In the language of India: Pañcakrama. In the language of Tibet: Rim pa lnga pa (The Five Stages). Homage to Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta.
Bowing to the glorious Great Bliss, the protector who is the essence of all Buddhas, I shall explain the stages of Vajra Recitation in accordance with the Yoga Tantras. For those who are well-established in the generation stage and desire the completion stage, the Perfect Buddhas have taught this method as being like the rungs of a ladder.
That which is the life-force of sentient beings, known as "wind," performs all activities. It is the vehicle of consciousness, possessing the nature of the five and the ten names. Through the gradual realization of the reality of the winds, one correctly enters the reality of the mantra. Having realized the focal point of the mantra, one trains in the vajra recitations. Through vajra recitation, the yogi will attain the focal point of the mind. Abiding in the illusion-like samādhi, one is purified by the ultimate reality. Arising from the ultimate reality, one attains non-dual wisdom. Abiding in the samādhi of union, one no longer trains in anything further. This is the perfected yogi; he is also the great Vajradhara. Endowed with the supreme of all aspects, he then becomes omniscient. The three realms of the past, the future, and the present are seen without exception in a single instant, as they are completely purified by the clear light. These realities have been sealed within the glorious Guhyasamāja Tantra; following the explanatory tantras, they should be understood from the mouth of the guru.
Regarding that, first of all, one should engage with the words of the Root Tantra that teach the suchness of the winds:
"Visualize a mustard seed at the tip of the nose;
Within the moving and non-moving mustard seed,
By examining it with the secret mantra,
One meditates on the abode of supreme wisdom.
A five-colored jewel, the size of a mustard seed,
The yogi, through knowledge, should always meditate
Diligently at the tip of the nose."
This is an explanation given with intentional meaning (saṃdhāyabhāṣita). Regarding the explanation of these vajra words, the Explanatory Tantra known as the Questions of the Four Goddesses states:
"The supreme essence from the essence,
The secret of all the Buddhas,
That which abides as the self of all—
That I shall explain, O Goddess.
The reality of the five wisdoms,
The size of a mustard seed,
The deity residing in its center,
Possessing the nature of the unmanifest and the manifest."
Furthermore, this very point is clearly taught in the Explanatory Tantra of the Guhyasamāja:
"The breath, the nature of the five wisdoms,
The essence of the five elements,
Having been extracted in the form of a sphere,
One should examine it at the tip of the nose.
A five-colored jewel,
Explained as 'vitality' (prāṇa) and 'effort' (āyāma).
Having visualized one's own mantra at the heart,
One should place the vitality within the drop (bindu)."
This is also explained again in the Explanatory Tantra known as the Vajramālā:
"The 'mustard seed at the tip of the nose'
Is the examination of vitality and effort.
Abiding in vitality and effort,
One meditates on the five lights as the Buddhas.
Emerging definitively from the upper nose..."
Left, right, both, and moving slowly—these are the four ways [the winds] flow. This is explained as the internal time. It demonstrates the coming and going at the throat, the heart, the navel, and the secret lotus. It is taught that they abide in their respective order throughout the time of each half-watch.
The element that emerges from the right is the fire maṇḍala itself; it is red in color and luminous, the movement of the Lotus Lord. The element that emerges from the left is called the wind maṇḍala; it appears as a greenish-yellow, the movement of the Karma Lord. The element that emerges from both is a brilliant yellow in color; it is the maṇḍala of the Great Powerful One, the movement of the Jewel Lord. The element that moves slowly and without [distinct] movement is pure and appears like crystal; it is the water maṇḍala itself, the movement of the Vajra Lord.
The wind that abides throughout the entire body and engages in all activities is the essence of Vairocana; it emerges from the body at the time of death. This clear suchness of wind is the very essence of the five primordial wisdoms. It is not the domain of childish yogis, nor is it understood by logicians.
Having thus taught the suchness of the winds, one should now enter the root tantra itself to teach the suchness of the mantra.
From the vajra body, speech, and mind of the supreme secret itself, which is the essence that universally invokes all the secret mantras of the body, speech, and mind of all the tathāgatas, he spoke these condensed mantras through the definitive expression of the path of words: OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ.
The recitation that realizes the meaning,
From the excellence of the absence of intrinsic nature,
As analyzed by the buddhas of the three times,
Is explained as the vajra recitation.
One should not recite while eating alms,
Nor should one be attached to what is not solicited.
Enjoying all desires,
Recite without impairing the branches of mantra.
This very explanation is explained again, as it was spoken in the Sandhivyākaraṇa-tantra (The Tantra of the Prophetic Intention), and thus one should engage with it:
Then the glorious Great Vairocana,
The pervasive lord, addressed him again:
"O progenitor of all sentient beings,
This mind, which possesses various forms,
Therefore, although it has become without entity,
It is renowned throughout the realms of existence.
The bodhicitta, equal to space,
Which perfectly experiences [all things],
And acts for the benefit of wandering beings—
Please teach that to the supreme person.
Having known merely the method of accomplishment,
They explain the tantras.
Thinking, 'I am a master,'
They will speak in the future.
Saying, 'These are my very words,'
They deceive the foolish.
They do not know the intended bodhicitta
According to its actual meaning."
Then the Lord, the Blessed One,
The Great Sage Vairocana,
Having spoken "Excellent" three times,
He spoke this to Vajrapāṇi: "I shall explain the reality of the non-conceptual ultimate by distinguishing its aspects: the expressed, that which is accompanied by an object, the symbolic, and the ultimate. The verbal expression is common to all; that which is accompanied by an object is buddhahood itself. The reality of mantra is explained as the symbolic; the ultimate is suchness. The first one is in the middle of nine; that which is not bound by the ten is called 'unbound.' Knowing that is the supreme state. The vowels and consonants are the letters; they follow the number nine. Bound by the letter A, they are perfectly joined. Whoever knows this is the leader of beings. Endowed with the limit of the elements, the sixteen parts and so forth abide. Endowed with five sets of five, the four are definitely joined into three. Together with the letter Āṃ and the long vowels, the qualities, conjunctions, and so forth are equal to the directions. From the short vowels, they become pure. If it is neither one nor many, then whichever letters were previously explained, and whichever are directed toward them, are female, male, or neuter; they are thoroughly analyzed according to the elements and so forth. Having understood them as being below and above, one should definitely join them with the intellect. These mantras of expression arise from the essence of non-existence. That which is the form of total transformation, whatever is indicated as a deity, is the object of observation. The symbolic is the abiding in the three realities; it is the characteristic of the natural recitation. The wisdom explained by the letter A has become the heart-essence of all buddhas. With Oṃ, sentient beings are perfectly gathered."
One should thoroughly visualize the Buddha’s body; with HŪṂ, sentient beings are perfectly emanated. One should thoroughly visualize the Buddha’s mind; ĀḤ is that which abides. One should thoroughly visualize the Buddha’s speech; through the sequence of entering, abiding, and arising, one dwells in the foundation of insight and method, reciting the mantra limbs without impairment. Regarding the recitation explained for Pāṇḍaravāsinī and the others: two hundred and twenty-five [recitations] for each of the four [families], when properly condensed, are nine hundred for the four applications. As for the nine hundred taught in the sequence of twenty-four, from their individual emergence, there are twenty-one thousand six hundred. To clarify this very internal time, the Guhyasamāja Explanatory Tantra states: "By this ritual of knowledge, through the thorough application of the four sessions, one should recite the mantra limbs without impairment, characterized by a count of one hundred thousand." And: "For one whose meditation is interrupted, the yogi should abandon external recitation. How does the Blessed Vajra-holder, the Vajra-Self, recite the meaning of the mantra? Just as one who has already found the elephant would search for the elephant’s tracks, once the mantra-body is manifest to oneself, why search for anything else? Furthermore, any Vajra-holder who possesses the three applications: inviting, requesting to depart, and likewise requesting to remain; having invited through the act of remaining, one requests to depart swiftly; by neither of these, one requests to remain. This is the unsurpassed accomplishment of the various abodes."
"Quick, concise, and slow, combined with the mantra—these the guru should explain with great effort into the ear of the disciple. Then, in order to demonstrate the supreme method of the Lord of Yogis, I shall explain the secret syllables that bestow the fruit of yoga. Merely by contemplating them, the yogi shall be granted the supreme. By the application of the first syllable, one should always inhale. The syllable 'U', together with the bindu, which is joined with the end of the eighth [vowel], the yogi should use for exhaling. This is explained as the recitation of one's choice. Twenty thousand, one thousand, and likewise six hundred—this is the number of recitations for the lord of yogis during a day and night. This subtle application is explained here through secret intention. Although there is no reading or chanting, it is nevertheless explained as recitation. By means of this vajra recitation, one should practice according to the ritual; through the samādhi as described before, all activities are to be accomplished."
Furthermore, from the Mahāyoga Tantra known as the Advayasamatāvijaya: "Having recited the peerless mantra, the practitioner of the sādhana should practice. By that, in one month, the three realms will be accomplished without a doubt. Having recited the mantra arising from consciousness, which possesses the six characteristics, and having prostrated to Vajrasattva, it will be accomplished on the full moon."
In this, no ascetic observances are explained; no rosary is required, and no mantra is required. The practices of recitation and fire offerings are reversed from one to the other. Whatever is appropriate for the sake of the syllable ya, those who desire accomplishment should engage in the welfare of beings by means of the three, ra and so forth. In the respective maṇḍalas of fire, wind, the great powerful one (earth), and water, two activities each abide during the time of each half-watch. By diligence in offering, one becomes an offerer; by diligence in recitation, one is purified; by diligence in fire offerings, one attains prosperity; by diligence in meditative concentration, one attains liberation. Once the mantrin has understood it thus, he should act like a child when going about. By means of that non-conceptual nature, the secret mantras will be accomplished. This is the accomplishment of the Vajra of Speech; this clarifies the reality of mantra. Through the differentiation of the three wisdoms, one is definitely applied to Mind Only. To those who disparage the guru, who are deceitful and lack faith, who are conceited about their mantras and arrogant from seeing books—to those who lack faith and have inferior empowerments, even the sequence of discourse should not be told. To whoever is respectful and endowed with faith toward the guru, who is constantly diligent in serving with devotion, and who is a supreme disciple who retains what they have heard—for such a one, there is no need to examine the guru’s grace. If someone should fall from the peak of the king of mountains, they will fall even if they think, "I shall not fall." If one receives the beneficial oral instructions through the guru’s grace, one will be liberated even if one thinks, "I shall not be liberated."
This is the stage of Vajra Recitation, the first stage composed by the master Nāgārjuna.
Homage, bowing down; homage, bowing down. Homage, homage, homage, bowing down. Just as one praises and prostrates, to whom is one praising, and by whom is one praising? Just as water is placed in water, and just as butter is mixed with butter, the thorough seeing of one’s own wisdom is here what constitutes homage. However, until omniscience is attained, that will not be directly perceived. One who is shrouded in the darkness of ignorance will obtain illumination through grace.
Emptiness, the very great emptiness, the third, the great emptiness, and the fourth, the all-empty, are the distinctions of cause and effect. Through the union of insight and method, the perfection will be attained. Having attained the perfection, the all-empty luminosity—the pure stage of the cause—and the union of the three consciousnesses, through the equal union of the three empties, the unsurpassed state will be attained.
Appearance, emptiness, and insight are the mind and the dependent nature. Its nature is the radiance of emanation; this shall now be explained. Detachment, the intermediate, and likewise the great; the movement of the mind coming and going; likewise the three such as sorrow; peace, conceptualization, and fear; intermediate fear and extreme fear; craving, intermediate craving, and extreme craving; grasping; non-virtue, hunger, and thirst; feeling, and intermediate feeling.
The moment of intense sensation, the knower, and the four holders of knowledge; discernment, a sense of shame, compassion, and the three types of affection; suspicion, intentionality, and what is known as envy—these are the thirty-three natural qualities. They are the self-awareness of embodied beings, and in the form of conventional clarity, they are definitively explained by the name "night." Likewise, they are called "woman," and are also like "gentle." They are also the name for "left," the lunar maṇḍala, and the "lotus-like." They are the cause for stabilization, the first letter together with the bindu, appearing like the rays of the moon, and the authentic arising of the wisdom of appearance. Possessing the method of extreme emptiness, it is called the "increase of appearance." Likewise, it is explained as the "imagined" and as the mental factors. Attachment, clinging, and likewise joy, intermediate joy, and intense joy; delight, great satisfaction, wonder, and likewise laughter; contentment, and likewise embracing, kissing, and sucking; stability, diligence, pride, action, seizing, strength, enthusiasm, and the innate itself; likewise the intermediate innate and the intense innate; the renowned, the playful, and resentment; virtue, clear speech, truth, and likewise untruth and certainty; non-grasping, generosity, incitement, and likewise the hero; shamelessness, deceit, malice, cruelty, and crookedness—these are the forty characteristics.
The moment of extreme emptiness is the name for what is born by day; it is shown as the rough [nature] on the right. It is the name for the solar maṇḍala, and likewise the name for the vajra. One should know that very part as being adorned with two bindus. Like the rays of the sun, it also arises from the union of the increase of appearance. It is the attainment of appearance, and likewise the near-attainment; it is the thoroughly established itself, and is called ignorance itself. With the words of the great emptiness, the Victorious One spoke these enumerations. The moment of intermediate passion, forgetfulness, delusion, becoming mute, weariness, laziness, and likewise doubt—these seven moments of ignorance are to be known by the subtle yogi. It does not possess the seed-bindu, nor does it arise through the gateway of the winds. That which is the attainment of appearance is the characteristic of the fully perfected. These very one hundred and sixty subtle natures arise day and night by means of the causal vehicle of the winds. A moment, an instant, a brief duration, a blink of an eye, and likewise a clap of the hands—a moment is explained as the snapping of fingers. An instant is the circling of a mustard seed; a brief duration is merely the inhalation and exhalation of breath. A blink is the interval of closing the eyes; a clap is the striking of the two hands together—these are the characteristics of the moment and so forth. The wisdom of mere self-cognition is without characteristics, like space; nevertheless, there are its divisions: the nature of night, day, and the junction.
Having explained the three aspects of mind—appearance, the increase of appearance, and likewise the near-attainment of appearance—I shall now describe their accomplishment. When the winds, in the form of subtle bodies, become perfectly mixed with consciousness and emerge through the pathways of the sense faculties, they apprehend objects. When one possesses appearance and the wind becomes the vehicle, then all those natures arise without exception or remainder. Wherever the wind abides, those respective natures will arise. As long as the wind does not circulate and appearance becomes unmoving, by becoming the cause of the two appearances, one should discern the nature of the self. Just as in the attainment of appearance, it becomes the limb of both. Among all illusions, the illusion of a woman is preeminent. The distinction between the three wisdoms will be clearly illustrated by this. Passion itself, the absence of passion, and that which is between the two—these three arise from the union of the vajra and lotus of the two organs. The union of the two wisdoms is explained as meditative equipoise. Through the union of the two wisdoms and the activities as previously described, whatever wisdom is attained with effort is the attainment of appearance. If the union of the lotus and vajra does not exist even conventionally, yet one experiences it even once, it will be accomplished through the power of yoga. Having understood the distinctions of the nature of the engagement of wisdom as it truly is, one should again [realize] that very nature.
The yogi should always symbolize this: Just as various clouds, with diverse colors and shapes, arise in the expanse of the sky and then dissolve back into that very same space, so too all natures, which have the three appearances as their cause, enter the clear light without exception after having engaged with their objects. Because they do not know such a nature, those shrouded by the darkness of ignorance perform virtuous and non-virtuous actions and wander through the five realms of existence. Having committed the acts of immediate retribution and so forth, they are boiled in the hells and other such places; having performed virtues such as generosity, they are honored in the higher realms and so forth. Obtaining birth here again and again for thousands of immeasurable lifetimes, the deluded mourn, thinking, "This is the ripening of my past karma." But by means of the way in which natures appear, those who know that very reality and possess primordial wisdom are completely liberated from the cage of cyclic existence. This essence of insight should be visualized as a moon mandala. One will see the nature of the mind itself, just as one sees the form of the moon itself. Then, focusing on the moon, one should clearly visualize the vajra symbol. This is explained as the method for the yogi arising from the vajra. The union of the moon, the vajra, and so forth is the meeting of the mind and mental factors; from the union of insight and method, the form of the deity arises. Sealed by the four mudrās and maintaining the divine pride, one is endowed with the generation stage.
The mantra practitioner shall always engage in the conduct. As it is extensively taught in various places such as the Glorious Guhyasamāja, as long as one is engaged in meditation, one is a beginner. Now, the clarity of the complete yoga shall be explained: the purification of the three voids is here explained as the clear light (prabhāsvara). That is described as the "all-void" (sarvaśūnya), the purification of the three wisdoms (jñāna). Through the purification of wisdom, one realizes suchness—the unsurpassed omniscience, which is unchanging, without appearance, non-dual, and supremely peaceful. It is neither existent nor likewise non-existent; it is not within the domain of words. Then, from the pure clear light, the three wisdoms arise; one comes to possess the thirty-two major marks and the eighty minor signs. Endowed with the supreme of all aspects, one then becomes omniscient. As it is said in the Lalitavistara Sūtra: "The Tathāgata Śākyamuni, desiring this manifest enlightenment, thought, 'I shall attain the state of Buddhahood, the Great Void.' While he sat in the immovable samādhi on the banks of the Nairañjanā River, at that time the Victors, the Space-Vajras, sat as numerous as a pod of sesame seeds. They snapped their fingers at the Son of the Victors and spoke to him with a single voice: 'This meditative concentration is not pure; by this, the ultimate is not attained. Focus upon the clear light, which is supreme like the expanse of space. Having attained the state of clear light, you will be born in the form of the Utterly Joyful (the first bhūmi).'"*
At that time, the vajra body of supreme joy will be attained. Having heard that sound in this way, he then released the immovable samādhi. Thus, at the hour of midnight, the Son of the Victor focused upon reality itself: the body was neither straight nor was it crooked; through the exhaling and inhaling of breath, he was neither speaking nor not speaking; his fine eyes were neither closed nor were they open. The great wonder of the emptiness of all, the great wisdom that is pure and luminous—through the kindness of the Guru himself, he then came to see it clearly. The three realms of existence—past, future, and present—he saw in their entirety in that single instant. Holding the utterly pure luminosity, through the vajra-like samādhi, at the time of the dawn’s breaking, adorned with illusory qualities such as the moon in water and a mirage, he sat at the heart of enlightenment and conquered the māras. Having perfectly attained the unsurpassed wisdom, the Protector of the Śākyas taught that very reality here for the benefit of the three worlds of beings. The teaching of manifest enlightenment is explained as the wisdom of reality itself. Even those who have committed the five crimes of immediate retribution, or those humans of meager merit, will obtain this—which is like a wish-fulfilling jewel—through the kindness of the Guru. Acting as they please in their conduct, they are the future perfect Buddhas. They are neither attached nor free from attachment; they are not even perceived in the middle way.
Neither empty nor non-empty, it is not even perceived as the Middle Way. This very union of all Buddhas is thus clearly taught. That reality which is free from the three wisdoms was spoken with intentional meaning. Likewise, from the Chapter on Bodhicitta in the glorious Guhyasamāja, the characteristics of manifest enlightenment are taught through verses beginning with "non-existent" and so forth. That which is the purification of desire and the rest is also taught in the Śrīparamādya. The Tathāgata himself has also taught that very reality as the emptiness of all things. Whatever reality is closely demonstrated in the various sūtras and tantras, it is all from this very state of emptiness; nothing else was taught therein. Of the eighty-four thousand heaps of Dharma spoken by the Great Sage, the characteristic of manifest enlightenment is taught as the essence of essences. Whether they have matted hair, are naked, have shaven heads, or wear crowns, those who enter the ascetic life with various signs and desire manifest enlightenment—if they are inferior in that very reality, then through their sequence of ascetic conduct and so forth, because they are inferior in the wisdom of reality, they will not find liberation. Through the initial application of karma, the eighth ground will be attained. By seeing through the three appearances, one is firmly established on the ten grounds. Having perfectly attained manifest enlightenment, one approaches the Pure Abodes. Not returning from the Buddha-fields, one becomes omniscient in this very life. In the source of phenomena, manifest enlightenment is the vast music of passion and the rest.
The manifest awakening of the dharmadhātu occurs through conduct as it is found. Whatever clear realization arises is the unsurpassed manifest awakening. Through conduct such as that with elaborations, the yogi trains here. If that which is primordially pure by nature were established by its very essence, what would be the use of the application of training? Suchness does not arise from conceptualization. Whoever conceptualizes it in this way has abandoned the stages of wisdom. Because they do not know its distinctions, they must train once again. Even if one relies on the fourth [empowerment], knowing the distinctions of the natural appearances, if one does not train in the three [others], the fruit will not be attained. Just as fire resides within wood but will not emerge without friction, likewise, without the training for awakening, it will not arise in this very life. Those with deceitful and lazy minds, who disparage the guru and boast of having received empowerment, possess inferior intellects and will not attain perfect omniscience. They see the faults of the guru as afflictions, not his qualities. Without performing service, they desire to attain reality quickly. Thinking the words are not authentic, they become angry and fickle. When they see the guru in the midst of the assembly, they turn their backs; then, having gone to a secluded place, they prostrate. Such a disciple of base nature and inferior character should be completely abandoned, even if they are one's own student. Even if they are born of the royal or merchant castes and are of the highest lineage...
One should never place [the teachings] before such a person. However, one who possesses supreme qualities and diligence in wisdom, or who is devoted to the guru and views them as equal to a Buddha, who has realized the teachings of the Victorious One and has profound faith in the doctrine—because such a person is a fit vessel here, one should bestow the kindness [of the teachings] upon them.
Even if one has heard many tantras and is well-trained in the scriptures, if they have little service for the guru and have not received the oral transmission, they lack the authority even for their own benefit; their treatises are merely a cause for weariness.
On the other hand, one who is fortunate and has received the pith instructions of reality, whose intellect is not dull and who is able to apply the meaning, should engage in teaching with the intention to benefit others. If they lack the quality of eloquent speech, they will be treated with contempt.
One who has heard many tantras, is wise, knows the six parameters, possesses mindfulness, intelligence, stability, and a perfect diligence, and who has served the feet of the guru and received the oral transmission of the pith instructions of the King of Tantras—it is appropriate to teach these to such a person.
Through the kindness of the Noble Vajra [Holder], I have heard many tantras. By the merit accumulated by Śākyamitra, who distinguished the path to enlightenment with clear and refined words, may all become vessels for enlightenment, the ripening of which is wisdom and clarity.
This concludes the second stage, titled "The Unsurpassed Intention," which is the stage of total purity and complete purification, composed by the master Śākyamitra.
Homage to the Great Vajra, the chief of all Vajra-holders.
I shall explain the stages of self-consecration out of compassion. In this regard, first, having followed the generation stage and received empowerment, one who understands the intent of the four classes of tantra, possesses insight, maintains the seclusion of body, speech, and mind, and upholds what has been heard, and who has a superior devotion to the two truths, should properly please the Vajra Master. Following that, once the Guru has been pleased, one should perform a great feast offering and offer a sixteen-year-old girl to the Great Vajra Master. After that, having received from the presence of the Guru the pith instructions on the stages of self-consecration, one then receives the secret empowerment along with the granting of the rosary, water, the perfect Buddha, the vajra and bell, the mirror, the name, the master, and the authorization. Having received these, one should praise the Guru with this praise:
Your body is not hollow;
Though it lacks flesh, bone, and blood,
Like a rainbow in the sky,
You manifest your body.
Your body is without illness or impurity;
Though hunger and thirst do not arise,
For the sake of following the world,
You demonstrate worldly activities.
Like the moon in water, you are ungraspable;
You do not abide in any phenomena.
Without pride and without delusion,
I prostrate to you, the non-referential.
Whether walking, staying, or likewise sleeping,
In all modes of conduct,
You are always in meditative equipoise;
I prostrate to you, the non-referential.
Through the illusion-like samādhi,
You manifest great miraculous powers;
You enter into meditative equipoise in the non-dual;
Homage to you, the non-referential!
Having thus praised the Vajra Master with this perfect praise, one should make this request in order to listen to the teaching with these verses:
O Omniscient One, embodiment of the aggregate of wisdom,
Who completely purifies the wheel of existence,
Through the jewel of your explanation today,
O Lord, please grant me your grace.
Having abandoned the lotus feet of no other,
O Lord, I have no other refuge.
O Hero among beings, Great Sage,
Therefore, please satisfy this supreme intellect.
Having heard these words of fearless supplication,
The Guru should generate compassion for the disciple
And then begin the self-consecration.
The stage of self-consecration
Is the teaching on the relative truth;
It is attained through the kindness of the Guru,
And not otherwise.
For one who has not found the stage of self-consecration,
Their labor in the Sūtras, Tantras, and treatises
Will be without purpose.
Having attained the stage of self-consecration,
The Lord, the essence of all Buddhas,
Will undoubtedly attain Buddhahood
In this very life.
The samādhi of self-consecration
And likewise the state of clear light—
Through the distinction of cause and result,
These are taught as the two truths.
Through the stage of self-consecration,
The clear light will be attained.
Therefore, by the Vajra Master...
First, the self-consecration is taught: All beings lack independence; they do not arise independently. Its cause is the clear light; the clear light is the all-empty. By whatever mind the childish are bound in the fetters of saṃsāra, by that very same mind the yogi proceeds to the state of the Sugatas. Here, there is nothing whatsoever that is born, nor is there anything that dies. One should understand that saṃsāra itself abides as the nature of the mind. Without the application of the winds, the nature of the mind cannot be grasped. With the nature of the mind as the cause, karma and birth arise everywhere. That very [nature], in perfect union with the winds, again arises as the body of the yogi in the three consciousnesses; that is explained as the "illusory body." Therefore, all beings are explained here as being like an illusion. Abiding in the illusion-like samādhi, one sees everything as being like that. Form, feeling itself, perception, mental formations, and the fifth, consciousness, as well as the four elements, the eyes and so forth, and the objects themselves—the five cognitions themselves, distinguished as outer and inner—all are nothing other than illusion. Through the reflection in a mirror, the illusory body is to be understood. Its colors are like a rainbow; its pervasiveness is like the moon in water. Free from both existence and non-existence, Vajrasattva is well-painted; it is like a reflection appearing clearly in a stainless mirror.
The body endowed with the supreme of all aspects,
Which one never tires of beholding,
Is shown to the excellent disciple;
This is explained as "self-consecration."
By means of the characteristic of being taught as an illusion,
This very [body] is closely indicated.
The illusion of the relative truth
Is also the saṃbhogakāya.
That itself becomes the gandharva-being;
That itself is also the vajra-body.
That is the very nature of Vajrasattva;
Therefore, engage in the offering of oneself.
Since one is oneself all the buddhas
And all the bodhisattvas,
Therefore, with every effort,
One should always make offerings to oneself.
The application of mantras and mudrās,
Conceptualizations such as the maṇḍala,
And all such things as fire offerings and torma offerings—
These should always be treated as like an illusion.
Pacifying, enriching,
Likewise, magnetizing and wrathful activities,
And whatever else such as summoning—
All should be made like a rainbow.
Graceful gestures, enjoyments,
The cultivation of song and music, and so forth,
And engaging thoroughly in the arts—
These should be made like the moon in water.
Regarding forms, sounds, and likewise smells,
Tastes, and tactile objects,
The engagement of the eyes and other senses—
These should be closely examined as being like an illusion.
In the Vajrayāna itself,
What need is there to say more here?
Whatever the yogi perceives,
Each and every thing should be examined as like an illusion.
Whoever sees things as like a reflection in a mirror,
A dream, an illusion, a bubble,
Or a magical trick,
That person is explained to be the principal [practitioner].
Seeing and touching are just like the world of illusion;
In the pure conventional, without objective reference,
They are explained to be like a magical illusion.
Whichever sense faculty becomes the path,
One should transform it into that very essence.
Through the application of non-equipoise,
One joins in equality with all the Buddhas.
In every way, from every side, and in all things,
One’s own self is always, in every aspect,
The very nature of all Buddhas;
One will see that siddhi for oneself.
The nature of all supreme bliss is the Great Being,
Who moves and dwells throughout the world.
Places, food, clothing, and so forth,
Are obtained in an instant within the sky.
One will sever the cycle of existence
And teach the most excellent path to beings.
Worshipped by all, including the gods,
One will be prostrated to again and again.
Just as the Teacher, the Perfect Buddha,
Went forth desiring the welfare of the world,
So too the great yogi
Gathers the various aspects of primordial wisdom.
Because Vajrasattva is the symbol,
There is nothing whatsoever that cannot be accomplished.
The Great Seal of Great Bliss
Will be accomplished by oneself.
Karma, afflictions, the karmic body,
The agent, and the result itself—
These are like a mirage, a dream,
And are similar to a city of gandharvas.
Those who do not know such a samādhi
And who perceive things as truly existent,
For those in whom various attachments have arisen,
They are healed by the medicine of illusion.
Those who have not received from a guru
The pith instructions on self-consecration,
And who focus on permanence and nihilism,
Those people will turn back.
Having abandoned all other offerings, one should properly undertake the offering to the guru. By pleasing him, the supreme wisdom of omniscience will be attained. Having made offerings to the Vajrasattva who is the unsurpassed master, what merit remains uncreated? What austerity remains unpracticed? Whatever is most delightful and most extraordinary, that very thing should be given to the guru by one who desires the inexhaustible reality. The master removes sin; the master dispels fear; the master ferries one across the ocean of suffering and its terrors. One who is defiled by pride, who disparages the authentic stages, and who treats the reality of the Dharma with contempt—to such a person, the reality should not be taught. To one who is respectful to the guru, who speaks the truth, who is highly learned, whose mind is single-pointed, and who guards the conduct of the samaya, the stages should be taught. This is the third stage, the Stage of Self-Consecration, composed by the master Nāgārjuna.
Having prostrated to Vajrasattva, who teaches the emptiness of all things, I shall explain this fourth stage of manifest enlightenment. This self-arisen Blessed One is the sole deity of great selfhood; because he bestows the quintessential instructions, the Vajra Master is even more sublime than that. Having truly pleased him, for a year or even a month, one should please that guru and make offerings to the best of one's ability. One should offer a mudrā, well-trained according to whatever resources are available.
In the center of the maṇḍala of the assembly, one should perform the offerings according to the ritual. Then, by partaking of the five sensory qualities, the great yogi is pleased. Through the ritual of meditative union, the appearances are generated. With great effort, the bodhicitta is placed in the kalaśa and other vessels. At midnight, the guru, out of compassion, bestows the empowerment upon the excellent disciple. Having correctly received the empowerment, at the time of dawn, the disciple, with palms joined, should please the guru with offerings and praise:
"O you who are liberated from the three realms, who have become equal to space, and who are unstained by desires—to you, the non-referential, I prostrate.
You do not rely upon the aggregates, the elements, or the sense bases; you are liberated from all distortions—to you, the non-referential, I prostrate.
Without conceptualization and without discursive thought, your mind is utterly non-abiding; to you with the inconceivable mind, the non-referential, I prostrate.
Just as space has no location, is without elaboration, and is unstained, so too you possess a mind equal to space—to you, the non-referential, I prostrate.
I wish to behold the manifest enlightenment, the nature of which is the emptiness of all. Having praised the guru with palms joined, the disciple should again make this request:
'O Great Protector, I wish to behold the manifest enlightenment that is liberated from karma and birth, and which has abandoned the three appearances.
The great wisdom of all Buddhas, the abode of all Tathāgatas.'"
I seek the unsurpassed vajra wisdom, the great master.
I seek the great vajra, which is without beginning or end, is peace,
completely purifies all afflictions, and purifies body, speech, and mind.
By thus expressing these authentic qualities, the yogi should please [the guru].
Generating compassion for the disciple, one should then begin this very sequence.
The night is the portion of appearance; the radiance of the sun’s rays is the increase of light.
The twilight is the attainment of light, which repeatedly proceeds by way of its own natures.
That which is neither night, nor day, nor twilight, and is utterly free from natures—
that is the moment of awakening, as explained by the supreme guru, the object of the yogi themselves.
When the end of twilight is not destroyed and the mass of darkness has entirely passed,
until the sun has risen, this moment is explained as the stainless, authentic limit.
The supreme master, free from cataracts, shows the external awakening to the disciple.
The inner bliss, free from turbidity, is attained in moments of the awakening of a Buddha.
Whether arising at the end or arising at the beginning,
whether arising in the middle or arising in the center,
whether arising at the limit or arising at the end—all these,
the Holy One has taught, are empty.
Where there is no going and no coming, no exhaustion and no increase,
neither entity nor non-entity,
wondrous in form yet not wondrous,
not remaining and not moving swiftly,
that which is free from the conventions of existence and non-existence.
Merit is not form, nor is it the form of sin. Merit is not the self of sin, yet it is supreme. The Buddhas have taught that all of this is empty. Through this, the yogi attains suchness. He is the sole friend of the world, the nature of both the moving and the unmoving. He is the lion among men, whose nature is primordial wisdom. Having attained an inexhaustible body, he is the cause of all beings without exception. Though his body is crooked, he is straight. Though he does not dwell on a seat, he is ever-dwelling. Though his eyes are closed, they are wide open. Though he is not in meditative equipoise, he is in equipoise. Though he possesses speech, he is beyond expression. Though he possesses enjoyments, he is free from grasping. Though he is the protector of the world, he is free from others. Whoever realizes suchness has exhausted all faults. Then, the disciple who has received the pith instructions should train in the two yogas: the stage of total apprehension and likewise the stage of subsequent dissolution. From the head down to the feet, until reaching the heart, the yogi enters the ultimate reality; this is explained as "total apprehension." First, the moving and the unmoving are made into clear light, and subsequently, one makes oneself so; this is the stage of subsequent dissolution. Just as the breath dissolves completely into a mirror, so too does the yogi repeatedly enter the ultimate reality. Whether walking, sitting, lying down, or eating, whether closing or opening the eyes, or even when laughing, through this application of meditative concentration, the knower of suchness remains forever.
Through the stages of self-consecration,
That very light and form, together with consciousness and wind,
Will occasionally arise for the benefit of sentient beings.
Just as fish quickly leap from a clear river,
So too, from the luminous emptiness of all things,
The net of magical illusion emerges.
Regarding the examination of Mahāmudrā
In relation to the Buddhas of the five families:
The arising of the five-colored lights
Is like a rainbow in the sky.
Whether binding the mudrās,
Or reciting secret mantras,
Or performing any other activity,
One should abide in the ground of universal emptiness.
Eating everything, looking at everything,
Prostrating to everything, and going everywhere,
Possessing the signs of performing all actions—
Through universal emptiness, these are accomplished.
The bodhicitta known as the ultimate,
Which the fortunate and excellent disciple has received as pith instructions,
Should be received once more from the guru,
With palms joined and holding flowers.
Free from all entities,
Abandoning the aggregates, elements, and sense bases,
And the duality of subject and object,
It is the selflessness of phenomena, the peerless,
One’s own mind, primordially unborn,
The very essence of emptiness.
Then, one should offer a suitable gift to the guru:
Precious jewels, houses, elephants, and horses,
Realms, bedding, and so forth,
Male and female servants, beloved wives,
And daughters who are most charming.
If one should offer even oneself,
What need is there to mention the rest?
Having received the guru’s kindness, one who possesses a stainless and stable mind, the master of all things—
The nature of the Buddha’s nirvāṇa is clarity, purity, and the supreme, subtle peace. That very nature, non-dual, free from conceptualization, and eternally blissful, is what the yogi should meditate upon. Through merit and the liberation from non-merit, one becomes the Blessed Vajrasattva here and now. This is the stage of manifest awakening to supreme secret bliss, composed by the master Nāgārjuna; it is the fourth stage.
Having prostrated to the Protector, the self-nature of all Buddhas, who is free from all duality, I shall write the final stage, that of union. Because the two conceptualizations of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa have been abandoned, that in which all things become one is explained as "union." Having understood the afflicted and the purified as the ultimate itself, whoever understands them as one understands union. The conceptualization of things with attributes and the conceptualization of things as non-existent—the yogi practices these simultaneously; that is the knowledge of union. The two-fold mind of "grasped" and "grasper" does not exist; where there is an indivisible mind, that is explained as "union." Having abandoned the minds of permanence and nihilism, the wise one who abides in this stage of union knows reality. Knowing wisdom and compassion as one, wherever one enters, that is explained as "union"; this stage is the domain of the Buddhas. Through the meditative equipoise of method and wisdom, one understands the inclusion of all things.
Where the Great Yoga abides, that is the union. Where there is no conceptualization of what is called "with remainder" and likewise "without remainder," that is the union. Where one is liberated from the two conceptualizations of the selflessness of the person and the selflessness of phenomena, that is the definition of union. Having known the stages of knowing suchness, the union of that very suchness within the clear light of self-consecration is this stage of union. Grasping as a whole, subsequent dissolution, entering, abiding, and then arising—when these are equalized, that is the union. When the conventional and the ultimate are known in their respective parts and then perfectly blended, that is explained as the union. Focusing on suchness itself and then arising from it—this is the union, the inexhaustible abode of the yogi. Having abandoned the two states of sleep and waking, being free from both sleeping and waking, the Teacher declared that to be the union. Where all these—meditative equipoise and non-equipoise—are absent, the yogi who has abandoned both existence and non-existence abides in the union. Liberated from mindfulness and non-mindfulness, characterized by constant emergence, the yogi acts at will, abiding in the stage of union. Liberated from attachment and non-attachment, possessing a body of supreme joy, they remain for as long as cyclic existence endures.
It is the meditation on union. The essence of the indivisible agent and action—whatever the yogi knows to be such is explained as union. This is the first stage, the generation stage; furthermore, the completion stages—wherever these two become one, that is explained as union. That which is thought of as the completely pure deity and that which is thought of here as the impure—whatever is perceived as indivisible is union. By abandoning the two conceptualizations of "having form" and "formless," the lord of yogis who realizes peace has attained union. The yogi who abides in the present is one who dwells in the stage of union; he sees that very omniscience and is called the "grasper of the manifold." Fully awakened through the Net of Magical Illusion, he has reached the far shore of the ocean of saṃsāra. The great yogi who has done what was to be done abides in the manner of the two truths. That very non-dual wisdom is non-abiding nirvāṇa. He is the Buddha, Vajrasattva himself, and likewise the Lord of All. The vajra-like samādhi is also that very state of the completion stage; it is explained as non-dual with the illusion-like samādhi. Whatever sounds, such as "unborn" and so forth, which teach non-dual wisdom—all of these are its words; it is explained that there are no others there. The Buddhas, as numerous as the sands of the river Ganges, have realized this very state, which abandons the positions of existence and non-existence.
Accomplishing the nature of Mahāmudrā,
Abiding in the state of union,
The great yogi in training,
Through meditating on union,
Their conduct is also non-dual with that.
Just as oneself, so is the enemy;
Just as a wife, so is a daughter-in-law;
Just as a prostitute, so is a mother;
Just as a Brahmin, so is an outcaste;
Just as skin, so is clothing;
Just as jewels, so is chaff;
Just as wine, so is urine;
Just as food, so is excrement;
Just as the fragrance of camphor,
So is the scent arising from excrement;
Just as words of praise,
So are words of abuse;
Just as the fierce Vajra-holder,
Just as day, so is night;
Just as a dream, so is what is seen;
Just as destruction, so is abiding;
Just as happiness, so is suffering;
Just as hatred, so is a son;
Just as the Avīci hell, so is the higher realms;
Likewise, so are sin and merit.
Knowing this, the one possessing wisdom
Acts in all ways without conceptualization.
If all the hidden ascetic practices are accomplished,
All perfections will be achieved.
Through whatever merit is gained
By explaining this supreme fifth stage,
May the world, by means of this
Samādhi of union, come to play.
The fifth stage, the stage of union, composed by the master Nāgārjuna, is complete.
The five stages of the completion process composed by the Noble One:
By following the guru’s instructions to purify the five paths,
One is freed from the five obscurations and attains the five wisdoms.
May I become a buddha, possessing the five bodies and the five superknowledges! This was translated and edited by the Indian abbot Ācārya Śraddhākaravarman and the chief editor and translator, the monk Rinchen Zangpo. Later, it was compared with a manuscript from the Central Land by the Indian abbot Kamalagupta and the translator Rinchen Zangpo, and thus finalized.
Translation status: Not among 84000's published translations, and not in progress there. Translations published elsewhere have not been searched for, so one may exist. (source: 84000 catalogue + registry; checked 2026-11-10).
Set in Newsreader and EB Garamond; Tibetan in Noto Serif Tibetan; Chinese in Noto Serif SC.