Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This text provides a concise instructional guide on the realization of suchness (tattvasamata), positioning the direct experience of the mind's nature above formal ritualistic and conceptual practices. The author begins by critiquing a variety of spiritual activities—including mandala rituals, mantra recitation, and fire offerings—arguing that when these are performed through the lens of pride, desire, or hatred, they remain bound by the causal mechanisms of samsara. The text argues that liberation is found not in external ritual or intellectual adherence, but in the realization of the indivisible nature of the mind. It commits the reader to a practice of non-abiding and the cessation of mental movement, directing the practitioner to abide in the taste of equality. By contrasting the 'noose of karma' with the 'great secret yoga,' the work advocates for a shift from performative religious activity to a direct, non-dual state of consciousness.
Provenance
About this text
An instructional work originating from glorious Oḍḍiyāna, the Śrīuḍḍiyānavinirgataguhyamahāguhyatattvopadeśa belongs to the General Unexcelled Yoga Tantra Works. The text is attributed to the Indian author Dārika, referred to in the closing as the great master Dārikapa. Preserved in the classical Tibetan tradition, the work appears in volume ཝི of the Tengyur as the dpal u rgyan nas byung ba gsang ba'i gsang ba chen po de kho na nyid kyi man ngag, spanning three pages. The work argues that liberation is found in the realization of the indivisible nature of the mind and the cessation of mental movement, directing the practitioner to abide in the taste of equality. It specifically critiques formal ritualistic activities—such as maṇḍala rituals, fire offerings, and the recitation of secret mantras—asserting that when these are performed with pride, desire, or hatred, the practitioner remains bound by the noose of karma and the cycles of saṃsāra. A scholar or serious reader consults this text today to examine its positioning of the direct experience of suchness above performative religious practices, offering a concise guide on the great secret yoga of the yogi.
Cite thisAnuvāda, “Personal Instructions on Suchness, the Great Secret of Secrets Coming from Glorious Uḍḍiyāna” (Toh 2221), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh2221
Summary & commentary
Significance
The work is significant for its critique of ritualism in favor of a direct-realization approach characteristic of the Mahayoga or Dzogchen traditions. It highlights a tension within Indo-Tibetan Buddhism between formal liturgical practice and the internal realization of the nature of mind.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1
Introduction
Titles in Sanskrit and Tibetan and traditional homages.
2
Critique of Ritualism
An analysis of how various spiritual practices remain within samsara when driven by karmic afflictions.
3
Instruction on Non-Abiding
Guidance on realizing the indivisible nature of the mind and abiding in the taste of equality.
Themes
Samsara and Karma (2)
Nature of the Mind (3)
Non-abiding and Equality (3)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
AnuvādaPersonal Instructions on Suchness, the Great Secret of Secrets Coming from Glorious Uḍḍiyāna·
In the language of India: Śrī-odiyāna-viniguhyamahāguhyatattvopadeśa. In the language of Tibet: dpal (urgyan, u-rgyan) nas byung ba gsang ba'i gsang ba chen po de kho na nyid kyi man ngag. Homage to the glorious Vajrasattva. Homage to the Great Compassionate One.
The body is conceptualized with its parts; renunciation is suchness without parts. One who knows the part-possessor and the partless is liberated without doubt. All things are in a state of equality; their swift entry is difficult. Completely free from examples and logical proofs, it is naturally luminous and abides as the innate. It transcends the object of analysis; it is non-contentious, peaceful, and weaponless. It abides in the definitive dharmadhātu; it is unprovoked and unchanging. It is utterly empty and stainless, beyond sound and devoid of qualities. It abides as the nature of all things. That which dwells within all beings is realized as the Buddha-body. The wise should meditate on it entirely, without example and without conceptualization. Whatever is conceptualized without analysis is the conceptualization of all things. That conceptualization and the suffering of saṃsāra—I have not made clear in this tantra. This dharma is taught individually to those who possess the capacity for knowledge. Free from the obscurations of the afflictions and having completely abandoned all karmas, if one thoroughly understands suchness here, one will be liberated from the conceptualizations of existence. Regarding the pure nature of things, those who conceptualize it as a mere nature do not know the ultimate.
Bound by the noose of karma, some perform maṇḍala rituals; some act with pride while reciting secret mantras; some are holders of secret mantras; some perform fire offerings and sacrifices; some abide in arrogance; some rely on desire and hatred. All of them remain within the saṃsāra of karma. If one understands this great secret, in which all beings abide, there is no sin whatsoever, and there is nothing at all to be prohibited. Even if all actions are performed, one is liberated in a body without stain. All actions abide in that; it is the sovereign of all actions. It dwells perfectly within the body, speech, mind, and so forth, as well as the senses and the intellect. Constantly and thoroughly analyzed, it is unstained by the faults of the body. Pure by nature, it abides as the three kāyas. It is not the conceptual mental consciousness. Therefore, all things, day and night, abide in that. Seeing and so forth are its very nature; the Omniscient One sports and dwells therein. Through the ritual of insight and method, the yogi should apply action and dharma in equality. With an even mind toward the equal and the unequal, the yogi should apply dharma and action in equality. Whether possessing qualities or lacking them, it is the self, the agent, the gatherer, and the sovereign. This great secret abides in all beings; it is not for those with overweening pride. By the nature of mind and mental factors, one awakens oneself to great bliss. One should meditate on the nature of bodhicitta, which is a reality that does not exist within saṃsāra.
Having realized the nature of the mind, in which the natures of both are indivisible, one should abandon all movement of the mind and abide in the taste of equality. This is the great secret, the non-abiding, the great secret yoga of the yogi. This concludes the Instruction on Suchness, the Great Secret of Secrets, originating from glorious Oḍḍiyāna, composed by the great master Dārikapa.
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.