Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This collection of verses delineates the ontological and experiential relationship between method (upāya) and wisdom (prajñā). The text argues that the ultimate nature of reality is a non-dual state, characterized by the absence of subject-object dichotomy and the lack of substantial marks. By identifying the Dharmakāya as a stainless expanse that dispels conceptualization, the work positions the realization of this non-duality as the source of supreme bliss and primordial wisdom. The text transitions from a descriptive analysis of the nature of peace to a prescriptive directive, asserting that saṃsāra is a product of attachment and conceptual obscuration, while nirvāṇa is the state of a mind free from such constructs. Consequently, the reader is committed to a practice of stabilizing the mind through meditation to achieve this cloudless state. The work presents these instructions as a transmission received directly from a guru, framing the theoretical distinctions within a lineage-based pedagogical context.
Provenance
About this text
A treatise on the non-duality of method and insight, the Prajñopāyaviniścayasamudaya originates from the Indian author Camari. Preserved in the classical Tibetan tradition, the work appears in the Tengyur, volume ཟི, where it spans three pages and is categorized within the General Unexcelled Yoga Tantra Works under the Tibetan title thabs dang shes rab gtan la phab pa'i bsdus pa. The work delineates the ontological and experiential relationship between upāya and prajñā, arguing that the ultimate nature of reality is a non-dual state characterized by the absence of subject-object dichotomy and substantial marks. By identifying the Dharmakāya as a stainless expanse that dispels conceptualization, the text positions the realization of this non-duality as the source of supreme bliss and primordial wisdom. It transitions from a descriptive analysis of the nature of peace to a prescriptive directive, asserting that saṃsāra is a product of attachment and conceptual obscuration, while nirvāṇa is a state free from such constructs. Consequently, the reader is directed toward the practice of stabilizing the mind through meditation to achieve this cloudless state. A scholar or serious reader consults this work today to examine instructions obtained from the guru regarding the attainment of the expanse of phenomena.
Cite thisAnuvāda, “A Collection of Verses Distinguishing Wisdom and Method” (Toh 2381), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh2381
Summary & commentary
Significance
The work is significant for its concise synthesis of the non-dual union of method and wisdom, a central tenet of Vajrayāna Buddhist philosophy. It provides a clear distinction between the conceptual obscurations of saṃsāra and the non-conceptual nature of nirvāṇa, offering a roadmap for meditative practice.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1
Introduction and Homage
Provides the Sanskrit and Tibetan titles and offers homage to Heruka and the Dharmakāya.
2
The Nature of Non-duality
Describes the non-dual union of method and insight as a state devoid of marks and subject-object duality.
3
Practice and Transmission
Contrasts saṃsāra and nirvāṇa and urges the practitioner to engage in meditation based on the guru's instructions.
Themes
Non-duality of Method and Wisdom (2)
Conceptualization vs. Non-conceptualization (1, 3)
The Nature of Nirvāṇa (2, 3)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
AnuvādaA Collection of Verses Distinguishing Wisdom and Method·
In the language of India: Prajñopāyaviniscayasamuccaya-nāma. In the language of Tibet: Thabs dang shes rab gtan la phab pa’i bsdus pa zhes bya ba. Homage to the glorious Heruka!
To that which, like a cloud, dispels conceptualization and is naturally stainless; to the Dharmakāya of the Buddhists, which is the non-duality of the equal and the unequal; to the cause of the various embodied Sambhogakāyas; and to the Nirmāṇakāya, the non-duality of method and insight—to that I prostrate. Having condensed this for the sake of myself and others, I, the Vidyādhara Lhamkhan, shall explain the reality of all things without exception for the benefit of unawakened sentient beings. Let the wise listen with devotion!
Based on the conceptualization of entities, the non-entity of selflessness truly arises. Although both are equal in being conceptual, they were taught to lead the childish. In that regard, all afflictions arise from that, as do birth, destruction, and suffering. Because one will not attain liberation through the grasping at both self and other, one should therefore abandon entities and not rely on non-entities either. If a yogi relies on entities, there is nothing other than saṃsāra itself. Because they are mutually related, they are not [independent]; if they are not, self and other are not established. They are, for example, like flowers in the sky. Therefore, one should abandon the false magical display of entities and non-entities. Being without inherent existence and stainless, it is thus renowned as the Perfection (Pāramitā). Pervasive compassion, inseparable [from that], is the method of the yogi. Like water and milk mixed together...
The non-duality of method and insight,
Free from subject and object, without beginning or end,
Stainless, devoid of the marks of substantial entities,
The nature of peace, neither dual nor non-dual.
Abiding in these is the supreme bliss,
Self-knowing primordial wisdom, the expanse of phenomena (dharmadhātu).
It is the peaceful, disciplined Perfection of Wisdom (Prajñāpāramitā).
It possesses the three vehicles and the three bodies (kāyas).
Mantras exceed the count of a hundred thousand sections.
The supreme maṇḍala, the mudrās,
The supramundane and the mundane,
Gods, asuras, Śakra,
Humans, pretas, animals, and so forth—
Like waves upon the water,
They arise from it and dissolve back into it.
Therefore, through method and insight,
One should meditate on the meaning of non-duality.
One should not meditate on emptiness
By means of an unequal mantra,
Nor should one meditate on substantial entities.
The grasping at these two
Is saṃsāra, even if one has passed beyond sorrow (nirvāṇa).
By abandoning impermanence,
The non-referential emptiness is accomplished.
Inexpressible space is compassion;
That very thing is like a wish-fulfilling jewel.
The benefit of beings is loving-kindness;
Like space pervading all,
The non-dual mind is joy.
Regarding both entities and non-entities,
That very equanimity of meditation
Is the meditation on the non-substantial ultimate.
There is no action and no agent,
Neither meditation nor an object of meditation.
Giving and the gift are not established;
The grasped and the grasper,
When analyzed, are afflictions without substance.
The yogi who possesses that very reality
Will accomplish the bodhicitta.
Obscured by attachment, one is in saṃsāra;
Like a cloudless sky, free from conceptual thought, is nirvāṇa.
Therefore, having stabilized the mind,
The wise should practice meditation.
I have written down these instructions obtained from the lotus-like mouth of the guru.
By whatever merit I have gained through this accomplishment,
May the beings of the six realms cross over the mire of afflictions and become stainless;
May they abide in the bodhicitta and attain accomplishment.
This concludes "The Concise Attainment of Method and Insight," spoken by the master Cāmarī.
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.