Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This collection of supplementary texts provides technical instructions on the advanced practices of the Vajrayana path, specifically focusing on the intersection of somatic manipulation and cognitive realization. The texts outline a rigorous system of prāṇāyāma (breath control) and the ignition of inner heat (Tummo) to clear energetic channels and facilitate the movement of bodhicitta. This physiological work is integrated with the cultivation of the illusory body and the realization of luminosity, aiming for the attainment of buddhahood within a single lifetime. The fragments further address the application of these techniques during the intermediate state (bardo) to prevent rebirth by blocking the door of the womb. By committing the reader to a precise regime of visualization, meditative equipoise, and the management of vital winds, the texts argue that the transformation of ordinary consciousness into an unsurpassed state is achieved through the union of energetic mastery and the insight of vipaśyanā.
Provenance
About this text
A treatise on the natural state of things and the path to the result, the bka' dpe phyi ma belongs to the classical Tibetan period. The work attributes the transmission of these instructions to the guru Nāropa, who received them from Tilopa on the eastern shore after reciting the secret mantra of Cakrasaṃvara. This text is preserved in the Tengyur, volume ཞི, where it comprises seven pages and is situated within the General Unexcelled Yoga Tantra Works collection. It enacts a system of advanced practice designed for those with the diligence to attain buddhahood in this very life, specifically through the application of prāṇāyāma to ignite fire at the navel and clear the channels of bodhicitta. By integrating the management of drops and the realization of inseparable bliss and emptiness, the work argues for the cultivation of an illusion-like samādhi in which all appearances and wandering beings are seen as illusory. A scholar or serious reader consults this work today to examine the technical intersection of somatic manipulation and cognitive realization, focusing on how the transformation of the illusory body serves as a vehicle for rapid enlightenment.
These texts are significant for their detailed mapping of the 'completion stage' practices common in the Kagyu and Gelug traditions, particularly the lineage of Nāropa. They illustrate the Buddhist technical approach to the body as a vehicle for rapid enlightenment, offering a window into the specific meditative technologies used to navigate death and rebirth.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1-2
Lineage and Somatic Practice
Introduction of the Nāropa lineage and the technical application of prāṇāyāma to ignite inner fire and open energetic channels.
3-5
The Illusory Body and Luminosity
Instructions on treating appearances as illusory and the realization of luminosity during meditative equipoise and deep sleep.
6-7
The Intermediate State and Dissolution
Methods for attaining buddhahood in the bardo and the signs of consciousness dissolution during the dying process.
8-9
Visualization and Wind Mastery
Guidelines for clear visualization using ritual implements and the mastery of vital winds to perceive their colors and movement.
Themes
Somatic Energetics (Prāṇāyāma and Tummo) (2, 6, 9)
The Illusory Body and Non-duality (3, 4)
Luminosity and Consciousness (5, 7)
The Intermediate State (Bardo) (6, 7)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
The Later Scriptural Texts
The great guru Nāropa, by reciting the secret mantra of Cakrasaṃvara one hundred thousand times, caused the earth to tremble and received a prophecy. From the presence of Tilopa on the eastern shore, he received the instructions on the natural state of things, the path, and the stages of the arising of the result.
Regarding that, the natural state of things: the body consists of the five aspects of enlightenment, the channels, the bodhicitta, impure substances, and conceptual thoughts; these are the phenomena that abide in the body. Regarding that, the method for the mind to abide is the great primordial wisdom (jñāna) residing in the body, which is an essence free from arising and ceasing.
The path consists of the generation and completion stages. Regarding that, there are three key points: the body, the time, and the object. Regarding the explanation of the key points of the body: one should straighten [the spine] like a plantain tree, cross [the legs] like a grid, and place the precious jewel straight in the channel. The mudrā of meditative equipoise should be pressed below the navel; the neck should be straightened and the jewel concealed; the chest should be made as vast as space.
Regarding the key points of the object, there are two: the external aspect of white and red, and the internal four wheels (cakras). Regarding that, the methods of the path are beyond counting. Regarding the explanation of the key points of time: there is what is called the time of shifting between the right and left [channels], as well as the four types: sleep, dreams, meditative equipoise, and the ordinary state. Regarding the practice of these four times, one should learn it from the mouth of the guru.
Regarding the key points of the winds, there are four: inhaling, filling, suppressing, and shooting upward like an arrow.
Through the application of prāṇāyāma, fire is ignited from the A at the navel. The four chakras are incinerated, and the openings of the channels are opened. By the flame touching the Haṃ, the channels of bodhicitta are filled. Descending from the A, the drops are released; one should hold to the meaning of the inseparable bliss and emptiness. If one does not know the four applications, there is the danger that qualities will turn into faults. If one does not know how to equalize the four elements, no progress will arise despite meditating; the methods for correction are beyond counting, so the armor of Tummo is of the utmost importance.
As for the arising of the results from that: first, something like heat occurs; second, something like smoke occurs; third, fireflies; fourth, like a butter lamp; and fifth, it arises like the sky. Then, bliss arises and conceptual thoughts are forcefully blocked. Mirages, fireflies, and the rising of dawn occur. As the four elements dissolve into one another, Caṇḍālī blazes forth with force. It is certain that the śukra will definitely descend. These are the signs of the internal blending of heat and cold, appearing like a cloudless sky; it is taught that they arise in sequence and number.
The milk of the white lioness should not be poured into an ordinary, inferior vessel, but into one that is neither of gold nor silver. If, by some chance, it were poured there, the vessel would break and the milk would spill. This pith instruction of the accomplished guru should not be given to those of inferior capacity, but only to fortunate disciples. If it is given to those of inferior capacity, the samaya will be impaired and one will go to hell. Therefore, those with purified karma are essential. This is the "Essential Verses on Tummo," through which one attains buddhahood by meditating.
This is the instruction for those with diligence to attain buddhahood in this very life. Regarding the practice of taking the illusory body as the path: All these appearances and all wandering beings are explained here as being like an illusion. Abiding in the illusion-like samādhi, one sees everything as being just like that. Whether distinguished as outer or inner, nothing is other than an illusion. One should understand this illusory body through the reflection in a mirror. Its colors are like a rainbow, and its pervasiveness is like the moon in water. It is similar to the clear appearance of the image of Vajrasattva well-drawn upon a stainless mirror. Whatever the yogi perceives, each and every thing is analyzed as being like an illusion. Whoever sees [things] as similar to the reflection in a mirror, a dream, an illusion, a bubble, a magical display, like a mirage, a dream, and similar to a city of gandharvas—beings are just like an illusion according to the characteristics taught as being illusory. Within the non-referential conventional, they are thoroughly explained as being like an illusion. There is the illusory body of the pure deity and the illusory body of karmic maturation. Regarding forms, sounds, and likewise smells, tastes, and tactile objects, their engagement with the eyes and so forth is closely analyzed as being like an illusion. Since this has been explained extensively in this very Vajrayāna, what need is there to say more? This is the concise summary of the illusory body for attaining buddhahood through the purification of habitual tendencies. Regarding the instruction for taking dreams as the path: All phenomena are like dreams; they are unarisen by way of their own essence, and in that very purity of nature—
Delusion is taught to be utterly erroneous. When one sees the stainless dreams arising from the vajra, then from the vajra of body, speech, and mind, the unsurpassed state will be accomplished. Here, the meaning is explained in detail through five points, and the path is taken up through four points. Mindfulness, knowing [all] as an illusion, purification, and the instructions on familiarization were previously taught in detail above. As for the practice through the four points: first, seizing the dream; then, purifying and training in the illusion-like; then, abandoning fear; and finally, meditating on the meaning of suchness. Having known all phenomena to be like a dream, one engages extensively for the sake of sentient beings. By taking the path as being like an illusion, one awakens as an illusion. This is the concise instruction on awakening by relying on dreams for those with habitual tendencies.
Regarding taking the clear light as the path: all phenomena are clear light by nature, primordially pure like the sky. The three wisdoms are utterly pure, having the three appearances as their cause. Having entered all objects without exception, one enters into the clear light. It is not empty, nor is it not empty; it is not even perceived as the Middle Way. Just as fish leap swiftly from a clear river, so from the all-empty clarity, the net of magical illusion arises and ceases. This clear light is fivefold: natural clear light, the dawning of the wisdom clear light, the clear light of meditative absorption, the clear light of suchness, and the clear light of realization. Regarding that, there are five times: the time of death and abiding in the central channel.
At the time of meditative equipoise and its reversal, equipoise and post-meditation become of one taste; this is the time of realizing vipaśyanā. From the manifestation of luminosity, the union arises from that.
The "Essential Instructions on Luminosity for Awakening from Deep Sleep":
There are a great many specific types of transference (phowa). They include: transference through training, transference through meditative absorption, transference through prāṇāyāma, transference through physical exertion, transference of consciousness to the guru, forceful transference, transference of the unelaborated dharmakāya, transference of the elaborated rūpakāya, transference of the saṃbhogakāya, and the delightful transference of the ḍākinī. All of these are of one taste.
Regarding the three stages—preliminary, main practice, and conclusion: rotate the knees and snap the fingers; reaching one hundred and eight is the measure of mastery. Once held at the heart, hold it at the throat. When the breath becomes exhausted, rest evenly at the nostrils. If one’s own desire is held in the central channel, draw it into the wheel of bliss; direct the consciousness toward Sukhāvatī and transfer through the Brahma-aperture. Without being afflicted by infectious diseases and the like, this application of transference is supreme. One should transfer when the time has come; to transfer at the wrong time is to kill the gods. Just as from a body of mud, the wisdom body (jñānakāya) emerges spontaneously.
The "Essential Instructions on Transference for Awakening Without Meditation":
Regarding bringing the bardo onto the path: first, by means of the three appearances, identify luminosity through dissolution. Second, through the pure and impure, by way of the illusion-like [nature]...
The method for attaining buddhahood in the intermediate state: the third is blocking the door of the womb, and the fourth is sealing the door of the womb. Regarding that, in the intermediate state of birth and death, one should meditate and train in Tummo and the illusory body to attain buddhahood. Once one has become habituated to that, one should blend the dream and the illusory body to train in the intermediate state of dreams. When the dream and illusory body are mastered, then in the intermediate state of the moment of death, through the merging with the clear light, by means of the "total apprehension" and "subsequent dissolution" of the illusory body, when all habitual tendencies are incinerated and purified by the fire of the clear light, one attains buddhahood in the body of union. For an individual who enters the stages gradually, the manner in which consciousness arises is as follows: the dissolution of appearances, the dissolution of conceptual thoughts, the dissolution of the coarse, and the dissolution of the subtle. Following these dissolutions, through habituation, the natural clear light arises. After that, the union dawns. Two types of bodies arise: the learner and the non-learner. When one becomes a non-learner, it is taught that the fruit has been attained. To explain those points taught above in detail: first, when realization has just dawned in the continuum through scripture, reasoning, and pith instructions, the manner in which appearances cease is taught: form dissolves into sound, sound into smell, and smell into taste; these dissolve sequentially up to the tactile. Earth, water, fire, and wind dissolve sequentially into consciousness, and consciousness dissolves into appearance. The outer sign is to be seen like the rising moon, and the inner sign is the appearance of smoke. That very appearance then expands.
The outer sign of dissolution is like the rising sun; consciousness arises like a lamp. As increase dissolves into attainment, the outer sign is like darkness; insight dawns like a lamp. As attainment dissolves into luminosity, the outer sign is like the dawn of the early morning; the inner consciousness dawns like a cloudless sky. From that luminosity, one should recognize the state of union upon arising. When all habitual tendencies are purified by the fire of the luminosity of manifest enlightenment, it is called the union of learning. When there is no longer a distinction between the basis of purification and the purifier, and familiarity has reached its culmination, it is called the union of no-more-learning; the fruit has been attained. From that, in the intermediate state of existence, one becomes the body of the union of the illusory body and attains the saṃbhogakāya. Through familiarity with that, the door to the womb is closed. If one does not know the union, the birth of existence cannot be averted; therefore, having abandoned all appearances of attachment and aversion, one should join with the consort of mindfulness to choose the womb. By performing the transference of Abhirati, one will be born in whatever place one desires. Death is the emptiness of the dharmakāya, the intermediate state is the saṃbhogakāya, and birth in existence is the nirmāṇakāya. The aspect of birth is method, and its cessation is wisdom that brings an end to existence. This is the "Essential Words on the Intermediate State," the blending of the path of the three intermediate states to attain buddhahood in the bardo of existence. As for the transference of entering a city, this is a specific and clear teaching on the transference of the generation stage.
First, the preliminary training, and then the main practice of clear visualization. At the time of applying the practice, upon a maṇḍala, place a skull-cup possessing the proper characteristics and inscribed with the syllable HŪṂ. By focusing the consciousness upon that, an awareness that is clear, pure, and light will give rise to bliss. The winds and consciousness should also be merged with the external deity and oneself. Initially at a distance of one cubit, then three, and finally seven cubits; through a visualization that is sharp and intense, the yogi is said to achieve the ability to shift [the consciousness] between the upper and lower [realms]. One should also train the power of the winds and mind upon the bodies of flawless sentient beings. Then, by exchanging the physical support, at the time of application to the activity, a supreme companion possessing the samaya is essential. Having exchanged the body, one should act for the benefit of sentient beings. This concludes the concise explanation of the transference of consciousness.
Regarding the pith instructions on the path of methods, the bodhicitta: Gather the four continents and direct the ocean toward the rock. Raise the great banner and turn the spring upward. Draw up the lower wind and cause it to reach the heart. The "roars" of the tigress, the bitch, and the fox are explained as the binding of the upper and lower winds. This is the pith instruction for holding [the winds]. As for the pith instruction for filling the channels: twist the water-vessel to the right and left three times, and perform the movement of the syllables three times. To cause it to pervade the body: twist the throat three times upon the left shoulder and leave it there; do the same for the right. Through the lion’s sport mudrā, the body will be completely pervaded. This is the pith instruction for great bliss. The vital winds should be bound in their place.
Meditate on the channels, winds, and drops as possessing the marks, and on the luminosity and the subsequent permissions. If you gain mastery over the vital winds (prāṇāyāma), you will be able to shift the winds between the right and left; you will perceive their specific colors without sensation. When the signs of binding without harm and the merging of the outer and inner occur, and the signs of the blending of heat and cold arise, the five winds dissolve into luminosity. The Buddha taught that when all necessities arise and the two types of accomplishments are attained, this is the result. If you practice the instructions of the sublime guru like the continuous flow of a river, it is said that the samaya will be fulfilled by that. Whether in dreams or in direct perception, if various miraculous displays occur, they become the path if you recognize them as illusions; if you grasp them as real, they are obstacles. When the two types of accomplishments are attained, obstacles arise as companions on the path. This essence, the condensed secret nectar of the ḍākinīs, is the supreme path of skillful means in Secret Mantra; it is the domain of those with good fortune. This path of skillful means is not granted to all manuals; it is sealed with a threefold seal of secrecy.
Translation status: Not among 84000's published translations. A bibliography of the canon lists 1 English-language publication(s) on this text, e.g. Torricelli, Fabrizio, “A Tanjur Text on gTum-mo: Tôhoku no. 2332 - I” (1996). Tibet Journal 21(1): 30-46. — these may include a full or partial translation. (source: 84000 catalogue + registry; checked 2026-11-10).
Set in Newsreader and EB Garamond; Tibetan in Noto Serif Tibetan; Chinese in Noto Serif SC.