Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
The Spontaneously Generated Nature is a short ritual or liturgical text that employs the imagery of the Vajrayana tradition to express a state of non-dual realization. The text begins with a formal invocation and a detailed description of the ornaments of Vajraḍākinī, establishing a sacred visual field. It then transitions into a poetic exchange between a male and female practitioner (the Hero and the Yoginī), utilizing metaphors of reflection—such as the moon in water—to illustrate the blending of consciousness with the nature of reality. By referencing samaya substances like raw meat and gokula, the text commits the reader to a path of tantric practice where conventional boundaries and taboos are transcended. The work functions as a meditative tool to evoke the spontaneous nature of enlightenment through the union of method and wisdom, framed within the context of a divine dance performed by Nairātmyā.
Provenance
About this text
A treatise on the spontaneously generated nature of reality, the Sahajānantasvabhāva belongs to the tradition of the General Unexcelled Yoga Tantra Works. The work is attributed to the Indian author Kanthāri. Preserved in the classical Tibetan tradition, the text appears in the Tengyur, volume ཟི, where it extends over two pages under the Tibetan title lhan cig skyes pa'i rang bzhin. The work enacts a ritualized vision of non-dual realization, beginning with an invocation to Vajraḍākinī and a description of her ornaments. Through a poetic exchange between a Hero and a Yoginī, it employs metaphors of reflection and the use of samaya substances—such as raw meat and gokula—to transcend conventional boundaries. A scholar or serious reader consults this text today to examine how the union of method and wisdom is expressed through the imagery of the divine dance and the blending of consciousness with the nature of reality.
The work is significant for its use of the 'spontaneously generated' (sahaja) framework, a central concept in the Highest Yoga Tantra classes. It provides an example of how sensory and transgressive imagery is used to shift the practitioner's perception from ordinary to purified awareness.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1
Invocation and Description
Contains the title in Sanskrit and Tibetan, followed by an homage and a description of Vajraḍākinī's ornaments.
2
Poetic Realization
A dialogue between practitioners using metaphors of nature and tantric substances to describe a state of non-dual delight.
Themes
Vajrayana Iconography (1)
Non-duality and Reflection (2)
Tantric Samaya (2)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
In the language of India: Sahajānantasvabhāva-nāma. In the language of Tibet: Lhan cig skyes pa’i rang bzhin zhes bya ba. Homage to Vajraḍākinī!
The wheel, the earrings, the necklace, the bracelets, and the girdle are excellent and most beautiful upon you. The bola and kaṅkāla are a great wonder of intoxication; in a single instant, the glorious Heruka is pleased. Kye ho! O kinsman, my mind delights in this! Having made the flavors of body, speech, and mind one, and having gathered them into space, the yoga becomes hidden. O Yoginī, my mind delights in this! Bhairava and Kālarātri are trampled beneath the feet. The sounds of He and Hūṃ are projected to the ends of space. Intoxicated by wine in the ten directions—O glorious Yoginī, kye ho! Alas, there is no hero without the Yoginī! In the nature of emptiness and compassion, neither entity nor non-entity exists. Like a form in a mirror divination, it is contained in space. Kye ho! The city of the Yoginīs and the five Mothers! The vowels and consonants, the suns—those who are ignorant of their non-existence are greatly deluded. The vowels and consonants, the sun and moon—those who do not know they are non-existent are like cattle, without a doubt. Through the union of the heroes and Yoginīs, the bonds of existence are severed; how wonderful! Kye ho! O kinsman, my mind delights in this! Having made the flavors of body, speech, and mind one, and having gathered them into the expanse of space, they become hidden. O Yoginī, my mind delights in this! In the center of the four immeasurables, I have never before described any entity.
O Hero, Lord of Yogis, how wondrous! Just as the moon in the water blends with the depths of the stream, O Yoginī, my heart delights in this! This samaya substance of raw meat is truly marvelous! Through attachment to the samaya of gokula and the rest, Nairātmyā performs her dance. O Ho! Sugata, you who possess the seal of Vairocana! O Yoginī, my heart delights in this!
This concludes the work titled The Nature of the Coemergent, composed by the master Kanhari.
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.