Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This brief text, attributed to Kamalaśīla, presents a sādhana dedicated to the Perfection of Wisdom (Prajñāpāramitā). The work begins with a traditional invocation to Mañjuśrī and identifies the Perfection of Wisdom as the Mother, the source of enlightenment. Rather than detailing a complex meditative visualization or a series of liturgical stages, the text concludes with a specific dietary prescription. It commits the practitioner to a six-month regimen of consuming the juice of unfermented sour gruel, asserting that this physical discipline, combined with meditation on the deity, results in the acquisition of great wisdom. The text thus links the attainment of cognitive and spiritual insight to a combination of devotional focus and a specific somatic practice.
Provenance
About this text
A sādhana dedicated to the Perfection of Wisdom, the Prajñāpāramitāsādhana belongs to the General Unexcelled Yoga Tantra Works. The work is attributed to the Indian author Kamalaśīla. Preserved in the classical Tibetan tradition, the text appears in volume ཞི of the Tengyur under the Tibetan title shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa'i sgrub thabs, where it extends over two pages. The work enacts a practice centered on the Mother, the source of the Perfection of Wisdom, whose meditation subdues all opponents. It describes the deity as having one face and two arms with a white body, and it prescribes a specific somatic discipline: the consumption of the juice of unfermented sour gruel for six months to ensure the practitioner possesses great wisdom. A scholar or serious reader consults this text today to examine the intersection of meditative visualization and dietary prescription within the Indo-Tibetan tradition, observing how the attainment of spiritual insight is linked to a combination of devotional focus and physical regimen.
Cite thisAnuvāda, “A Sādhana of the Perfection of Wisdom” (Toh 2326), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh2326
Summary & commentary
Significance
The work is significant for its attribution to Kamalaśīla, a pivotal figure in the transmission of Indian Buddhist philosophy to Tibet. It illustrates a tradition where dietary restrictions or specific ingestions are integrated into the ritual framework of a sādhana to facilitate intellectual or spiritual breakthroughs.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1
Introduction and Invocation
Provides the title in Sanskrit and Tibetan and offers homage to Mañjuśrī.
2
Practice and Conclusion
Prescribes a dietary regimen of unfermented sour gruel to achieve wisdom and attributes the work to Kamalaśīla.
Themes
Prajñāpāramitā (1-2)
Somatic practices for wisdom (2)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
In the language of India: Prajñāpāramitāsādhanam. In the language of Tibet: Sherab kyi pharol tu phyin pa'i sgrub thabs (The Sādhana of the Perfection of Wisdom). Homage to Mañjuśrī, the Lion of Speech.
I shall explain the sādhana of the Mother. By the mere meditation upon her, who is the source of the Perfection of Wisdom, all opponents are subdued. She has one face and two arms, her body is white and lovely, and her hair is tied up with a slight lock hanging down. She is well-seated upon a white lotus. In her right hand, one should meditate on a lotus of red color. In her left is the Perfection of Wisdom. She is perfectly seated in the vajra posture and beautifully adorned with all ornaments. One should meditate on her in the maṇḍala of the navel. Entering the letter A, she brings about supreme joy. Having generated the samayasattva, one should meditate on the jñānasattva. Through the practice for six months, one will become the Perfection of Wisdom. Through the practice for seven signs, one will become learned in all treatises. Following the sequence of the rising moon, one should meditate for half a month. By the practice of reciting one hundred thousand times, one hundred verses will emerge daily without effort. One will also retain about a hundred texts. The mantra for this is as follows: Oṃ picu picu prajñāvardhani jvala jvala medhāvardhani dhiri dhiri buddhivardhani svāhā. Having empowered this mantra seven times before the sound of a crow is heard, [one should proceed].
If one drinks the juice of unfermented sour gruel for six months, whatever one drinks, one will come to possess great wisdom. This concludes the Sādhana of the Perfection of Wisdom composed by the venerable Kamalaśīla.
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.