Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This text presents a series of cryptic instructions delivered by the Great Hunter to Kamalaśīla, structured as a collection of symbolic pointers rather than a linear philosophical treatise. The work is organized around the identification of specific signs associated with different stages of the spiritual process: meditation, conduct, the result, and the path. By employing paradoxical imagery and metaphors—such as the peacock's food, the gait of a rabbit, and the nature of the sky—the text avoids direct conceptual explanation in favor of an enigmatic style typical of certain tantric traditions. It commits the reader to a non-conceptual mode of understanding, where the realization of the nature of reality is mirrored in the dissolution of dualistic distinctions, such as the distinction between the sky and its magical display. The text concludes by emphasizing the inherent clarity of the mind when left undisturbed, challenging the reader to move beyond the binary of affirmation and negation.
Provenance
About this text
An instruction on the signs of meditation, conduct, the result, and the path, this work belongs to the General Unexcelled Yoga Tantra Works. It is attributed to the Indian author Mahāśabara, who is identified in the text as the Great Hunter delivering teachings to Kamalaśīla. Preserved in the classical Tibetan tradition, the work appears in volume ཟི of the Tengyur, where it extends over three pages. The text enacts a series of cryptic and paradoxical pointers, utilizing enigmatic imagery—such as the gait of a rabbit, the scent of sandalwood, and the behavior of a madman—to convey spiritual realizations. Rather than providing a linear philosophical treatise, it employs these symbols to guide the practitioner toward a non-conceptual understanding of the path. A scholar or serious reader consults this work today to examine the specific symbolic language and instructional methods used within the Unexcelled Yoga Tantra tradition to describe the internal signs of realization and the nature of tantric conduct.
Cite thisAnuvāda, “Advice on the Important Points of Kamalaśīla by the Great Hunter” (Toh 2447), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh2447
Summary & commentary
Significance
The work is significant for its depiction of a transmission between the Great Hunter and Kamalaśīla, suggesting a layer of esoteric instruction alongside Kamalaśīla's known role in formal Indian Buddhist logic. For the modern reader, it illustrates the use of 'twilight language' or symbolic coding to convey experiential insights that resist literal translation.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1
Signs of Meditation
Uses metaphors of light, medicine, and nature to describe the indicators of meditative realization.
2
Signs of Conduct
Describes the behavioral manifestations of practice through paradoxical roles and animal imagery.
3
Symbols of the Result
Addresses the nature of the final outcome, noting the singularity of the result.
3-4
Symbols of the Path
Discusses the process of the path, emphasizing non-effort and the non-duality of appearance and essence.
Themes
Non-duality (4)
Symbolic and Cryptic Instruction (1-4)
Inherent Clarity (4)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
AnuvādaAdvice on the Important Points of Kamalaśīla by the Great Hunter·
Homage to the glorious Heruka!
The sign of realization blessed by the ḍākinīs:
Sesame seeds make the lamp shine bright.
Like medicine consecrated by mantra,
The peacock’s food is not for others.
The scent of sandalwood and the musk deer’s navel,
The waves of water are the ocean itself.
The nature of clarity is like white cotton cloth.
Since a mountain cannot be moved,
The snow mountain is nothing other than water.
Fragrance and garlic are not different.
The qualities of the sun and moon are luminous.
One does not seek the tracks of a bird.
Space is not the domain of logicians.
The maṇḍala’s directions are perfectly level.
Like a rare vulture’s perch on a charnel ground.
The peerless, wondrous crystal jewel.
Thus the great hunter Saraha showed the signs of the View to Kamalaśīla.
Homage to the glorious Heruka!
The sign of meditation blessed by the ḍākinīs:
In the charnel ground of the dense forest,
Having met with Nairātmyā,
With the intention of the rising sun,
Like a man who has finished his work.
Having honored the jewel on the crown of the head,
Like a dog in an empty house,
The physician’s purpose is lost, carried into space.
Like the flow of a great river,
Place it upon the kuśa grass of the sage.
Like a lamp shielded from the wind,
One should polish the mirror of white silver.
Like a mother separated from her beloved child,
A tortoise in a bronze basin in the sun.
The skilled archer practices with diligence;
The arrow-maker focuses the mind on one point.
Through the core of the instructions, one is certainly liberated.
Like ornaments made of gold,
One should taste the flavor of molasses.
Thus, the Great Hunter taught the signs of meditation to Kamalaśīla.
Homage to the glorious Heruka!
The signs of conduct blessed by the ḍākinīs:
Adopting the manner of a bride or a madman,
He sells the elephant and kills the wild boar.
The fish is vast in the great ocean;
The forests are utterly consumed by fire.
Sometimes he rides a swift horse;
With the weapon of a sharp curved knife,
He sports in the charnel grounds as a jackal.
He constantly enjoys the food of offerings;
The hawk’s skill is certainly fierce.
The fox sports in the charnel grounds;
Drinking beer is like seeing the objective realm.
The flower is an illusion, the bee is the mind;
The young child is like a lion in a mirror.
The tiger roams without fear;
Always holding a lamp,
He rides an elephant and runs everywhere.
Thus, the Great Hunter taught the signs of conduct to Kamalaśīla.
Homage to the glorious Heruka!
The signs of the fruit blessed by the ḍākinīs:
Born from the center of the lotus stamen,
The crystal light rays shine from within.
Who painted the patterns of the peacock?
The rainbow is a magical display of the sky.
Non-conceptual hope fulfills the wish-fulfilling jewel.
Without wings, one cannot fly.
Fire is produced from the fire-drill through effort;
The wood burns itself.
The color of gold is brought out by borax.
A man without enemies is free from caution.
What does the man who has awakened from sleep think?
Look at the child being deceived by the letter "A."
Space, space, the nature of space;
The small streams merge into the expanse of the ocean.
The magical display of the sky is most wondrous.
There are not many moons in the water. Thus, the Great Hunter taught the symbols of the result to Kamalaśīla.
Homage to the glorious Heruka!
The symbols of the path blessed by the ḍākinīs:
Without exceeding the measure of the summary,
Observe the gait of this rabbit.
There is no room for the hawk’s claws;
It always rides upon the edge of the wheel.
There is no room for the potter’s son;
The sword is cherished for its tempered edge.
By the wind fanning the fire,
The dense forest of the charnel ground is consumed.
Observe the brahmin spinning thread;
The supreme person has finished their task.
That small-hearted one is a human corpse.
Without the lamp being moved by the wind,
The churning rope of the wheel must be severed.
Like the sun rising in a cloudless sky,
The southern clouds are to be dispersed by the wind.
This rainbow deceives the childish;
Observe the lord of the border fortress.
Keep watch over the treasure of jewels;
Space is certain to be liberated by space.
Thus, the Great Hunter taught the symbols of the path to Kamalaśīla.
Homage to the glorious Heruka!
The symbols of experience blessed by the ḍākinīs:
The white moon is a gradual process;
The rainbow is beautiful in the sky itself.
If the youth understands what is said,
He cannot be made to speak by filling him with water.
Like the appearance of mist and clarity,
The poor woman possessing a treasure is a great wonder.
Salt dissolves into the river itself.
A bird cannot transcend the sky.
Do not place your trust even in a kinsman who deceives you with an enemy.
The tempered sword is a great wonder.
The king’s queen does not fear;
The fox does not frighten the lion.
The bird in the sky exerts no effort; the sky and its magical display are not distinct. Who is able to devour the sky? If water is left undisturbed, it becomes clear. "This is it," or "This is not it"—who made this, who understands it, and who is it? Thus, the great hunter Ba demonstrated the symbolic signs of experience to Kamalaśīla.
Homage to the glorious Heruka! The symbolic signs of the essential points blessed by the ḍākinīs: The lion, the elephant, and the wild boar are slain; like a trunk severed from its roots, the wild animals of the forest are caught in a trap. Let the crow on the raft go wherever it pleases; like a reflection in clear water, one cannot paint the sky with colors. A mountain is not moved by the wind; the great ocean is unmoving in its depths. That person of small heart is fortunate. Children fear a stuffed lion; observe the behavior of the bee with your mind. Keep the grief for your dead son in your heart. The person holding a lamp in their hand should lead the way for everyone. Then, the outer and inner of space are blended. Thus he spoke; the great hunter Ba demonstrated the essential instructions to 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.