Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
The Five Verses on Penetrating Insight (Nirbheda-pañcaka) is a concise instructional work attributed to the master Maitrīpa. The text focuses on the non-dual nature of reality, specifically the inseparability of the practitioner, all sentient beings, and the Buddha. By asserting that the realization of the Buddha reveals all beings as the Buddha, the work argues for a primordial purity that transcends conventional distinctions. The text commits the reader to a view of non-differentiation, where the act of realization is not the creation of a new state but the recognition of an inherent, primordial condition. Structurally, the provided fragments indicate the work concludes with a fifth chapter dedicated to this theme of inseparability, suggesting a progressive pedagogical movement toward the ultimate realization of non-duality.
Provenance
About this text
A treatise on the nature of inseparability, the Nirvedhapañcaka (Tibetan: mi phyed pa lnga pa) belongs to the General Unexcelled Yoga Tantra Works. The work is attributed to the Indian author Maitrīpa. It entered the Tibetan tradition through the efforts of the Indian abbot Vajrapāṇi and the translator lo tsa ba rma ban, and it is preserved in the Tengyur (vol. ཝི), where it extends over two pages. The work argues for a primordial purity, asserting that the realization of the Buddha reveals all beings as the Buddha. It specifically demonstrates the inseparability of the antidote and suchness, presenting a view of non-differentiation where realization is the recognition of an inherent condition rather than the creation of a new state. The structure of the work concludes with a fifth chapter dedicated to this theme of inseparability. A scholar or serious reader consults this classical Tibetan text today to examine its concise instructional approach to non-duality and its pedagogical movement toward the ultimate realization of the inseparables.
The work is significant for its attribution to Maitrīpa, a central figure in the Mahāmudrā tradition. It illustrates the transition of Indian Buddhist non-dual philosophy into the Tibetan canon via translators like Vajrapāṇi and Ma-ban.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1-2
Chapter Five: Inseparability
A concluding section discussing the primordial purity of the Buddha and the non-dual identity of all beings.
Themes
Non-duality and Inseparability (1-2)
Primordial Purity (1)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
In the language of India: Nirbheda-pañcaka. In the language of Tibet: Mi phyed pa lnga pa (The Five Inseparables). Homage to the Buddha!
If one realizes the Buddha, all beings are the Buddha; the realization of the Buddha is the kinsman. O, the Buddha is primordially pure! How is the Buddha’s teaching realized? This demonstrates the nature of the inseparability of the antidote, suchness, and the fruit, which is the teaching on the essential nature.
Wisdom is stainless emptiness, possessing the nature of spontaneously present compassion. That too is born from conditions, yet it is utterly free from existence and non-existence. This demonstrates the nature of realizing inseparability.
The emptiness of phenomena is most wondrous; compassion is most marvelous. The power of Cakrasaṃvara is wondrous; the purity of the conventional is most marvelous. This explains the power of the utterly inseparable coemergent.
How can that which is beyond expression be explained? If explained, who among beings would understand? If realized, it is the unchanging itself; it appears as spontaneous presence. This demonstrates the difficulty of finding a person who has devotion for the profound way of the Dharma, which does not abide through compassion.
The body is the seed of one’s own karma; whatever is the fruit of the severing of the vital points, I do not harm others. O, through that very suchness, one is patient. This demonstrates that the Bodhisattva embraces and holds in mind all sentient beings whose intellects are entangled by the knots of the threads of their own karma.
The fifth [chapter], the Inseparability, composed by the master Maitrīpa, is complete. It was translated by the Indian abbot Vajrapāṇi and the translator Ma-ban.
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.