Personal Instructions on Experience Singing a Vajra Song by the Forty Siddha-Yogis at the Time of Turning the Wheel of Accumulation in Glorious Uḍḍiyāna, called “The Garland of Golden Drops”
Translated from the Tibetan by buddhist-nlp/mitra-qwen35-translate · machine-assisted
Edition 1.0 · 2026 · not a critical edition machine draft
Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This text presents a series of concise, aphoristic instructions attributed to various Mahasiddhas, including Nāgārjuna, Lūyipa, Nāropa, and Padmavajra. The work functions as a collection of experiential pointers rather than a systematic manual, emphasizing the direct realization of the coemergent nature of reality. The central argument posits that liberation is found not through the artificial imitation of realized conduct or the adherence to dualistic categories of affirmation and negation, but through the non-conceptual experience of the dharmakāya. By weaving together disparate voices from the Uḍḍiyāna tradition, the text commits the reader to a path of non-distraction and the relinquishing of attachment to both external objects and the internal movements of the mind. The goal is the attainment of a state of inseparability where bliss and pure appearances are recognized as identical, leading to the realization of the four kāyas.
Provenance
About this text
A collection of pith instructions on the experience of realization, this work belongs to the General Unexcelled Yoga Tantra tradition. The text attributes its teachings to a series of masters, including Nāgārjuna, Saraha, Lūyipa, Nāropa, and Kṣudrakhaḍgapa. Preserved in the Tengyur (vol. ཟི), where it spans six pages, the work is a product of the classical Tibetan period and is situated within the General Unexcelled Yoga Tantra Works. It enacts a series of aphoristic pointers that warn against the imitation of realized conduct by the unrealized and emphasize the direct recognition of all appearances and sounds as primordially the dharmakāya. By contrasting the power of a universal monarch with the power over saṃsāra attained through the taste of the coemergent, the work argues for a transformation of afflictions into wisdom. A scholar or serious reader consults this text today to examine the transmission of experiential instructions and the specific pedagogical methods used to guide the practitioner toward a non-dual state of realization.
Cite thisAnuvāda, “Personal Instructions on Experience Singing a Vajra Song by the Forty Siddha-Yogis at the Time of Turning the Wheel of Accumulation in Glorious Uḍḍiyāna, called “The Garland of Golden Drops”” (Toh 2449), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh2449
Summary & commentary
Significance
The work is significant as it encapsulates the essence of the Mahasiddha tradition, prioritizing direct experience over scholastic study. For the modern reader, it illustrates the transition from formal Buddhist practice to the 'resultant' path of the Vajrayana, where the ordinary environment is viewed as a treasury of realization.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1-8
Instructions of the Siddhas
A sequence of short teachings from various masters regarding the nature of realization, the role of the guru, and the state of non-duality.
Themes
The Coemergent and Dharmakāya (2-4)
Non-duality and Inseparability (5-7)
Conduct and Realization (1, 6, 8)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
AnuvādaPersonal Instructions on Experience Singing a Vajra Song by the Forty Siddha-Yogis at the Time of Turning the Wheel of Accumulation in Glorious Uḍḍiyāna, called “The Garland of Golden Drops”·
Homage to the gurus! The master Nāgārjuna said:
"One who has not realized should not engage in the conduct of realization; if they do, it is like a commoner violating the king’s law. Those who have realized should not engage in the conduct of the unrealized; if they do, it is like an elephant sinking into the mud."
The master Saraha said:
"Kye ho! Friends, the coemergent is not to be found elsewhere; ask your own face. If you realize the ultimate nature of the other, the mind is nowhere bound and the winds are unceasing."
The master Kāṇhapāda said:
"Ordinary awareness awakens in the center of the heart; within the six consciousnesses, great bliss is uninterrupted. All conceptual analysis is pointless and a cause for distraction. Since there is nothing to meditate upon, rest in the innate state."
The master Samantavajra said:
"Mahāmudrā is spontaneously present within oneself; without thinking, without perceiving, rest naturally without effort. It is unceasing, previously experienced by oneself as self-knowing. It is eternally unchanging; without fixation, it is the union."
The master Kambala said:
"Just as a chariot cannot move without a single wheel, though one exerts effort in generosity and the like, without the guru’s pith instructions, the supreme siddhi will not be attained. Just as vultures with perfected skill and wings soar and fly through the sky, fortunate and sublime yogis, having entered beneath the supreme empowerment and blessings, are at ease."
The master Kambala said:
The ocean, deep and vast, filled with jewels, is a wondrous treasury for the lords of the nāgas. All that appears and resounds is primordially the dharmakāya; for those possessing realization and experience, it is a wondrous treasury. Thus he spoke.
The master Lūyipa said:
If a fierce, unruly dog is smeared with honey on its nose, it will eat in every direction. If empowerment and pith instructions are given to individuals of inferior intellect and meager fortune, their own continuums are scorched. When a sword is placed in the trunk of a brave and steady elephant, it destroys the enemy host. When those of good fortune and intelligence realize the unborn, their conceptual thoughts are destroyed upon meeting the [true] mind. Thus he spoke.
The master Tilopa said:
A bird perching on the golden slopes of Mount Meru abandons its own nature and appears as gold. When a wise person realizes the unborn, they abandon the nature of entities and [attain] great bliss. Thus he spoke.
Tilopa said:
Although one’s own nature is a buddha from the very beginning, through the power of non-realization, one does not see it as such. That which realizes non-duality is Mahāmudrā. In the object of realization, there is neither seeing nor realizing. Thus he spoke.
The master Prajñābhadra said:
Just as a small child, once nurtured, comes to possess the strength of a wrestler, those of small intellect are also led to the Great Vehicle by the pith instructions of the guru. Just as diseases of wind, bile, phlegm, and their combination are cleared by medicine, the diseases of grasping at "I" and "self" are incinerated in a single instant by the pith instructions of the guru. Thus he spoke.
The master Nāropa said:
"Just as a universal monarch
Exercises power over all the continents
With his military hosts,
It is a great wonder
To exercise power over saṃsāra
By finding the taste of the coemergent."
The master Kṣudrakhaḍgapa said:
"Just as iron is transformed into gold
By the power of the alchemical elixir,
Through the power of the precious sovereign,
Afflictions and wisdom become non-dual."
The master Javāripa said:
"Even if one realizes the unborn,
If one lacks experience,
It is like a child being carried off
By the hands of a rākṣasī.
Even if one has experience,
If one has not realized the natural state,
It is like an elephant being snatched away
By a hook."
The master Vasudhara said:
"Until it is realized,
This taste is vastly different from cooked rice.
Likewise, until it is realized,
The distinction between buddhas and sentient beings is examined.
At the time of realization, even saṃsāra is the great buddha.
Therefore, because it is difficult to distinguish
Between realization and non-realization, there is no difference."
The master Dignāga said:
"Abandoning activities is the pith instruction.
Having no longing is realization.
Having no goal to achieve is conduct.
Having no speech is experience.
Having no acceptance or rejection is the fruition."
The master Ḍombi Heruka said:
"For the wish-fulfilling jewel of realization,
Experience brings out its color,
And the power of conduct fulfills all needs and desires.
Those who possess the equal taste achieve it."
Thus he spoke. The master Avadhūti said:
"Through the continuous stream of the guru’s river,
Method and insight are thoroughly victorious.
Upon the wish-fulfilling trees of the coemergent,
The spontaneously present fruit arises, perfected within oneself."
Thus he spoke.
The master Dārikapa said:
"Though great bliss exists within oneself, it is obscured by the delusion of non-realization.
If you desire great bliss to be clear, you must gather the two accumulations.
Even if you strive for a hundred eons without gathering the two accumulations,
It will be meaningless and devoid of purpose; you will not realize great bliss."
Thus he spoke.
The master Kṛṣṇapāda said:
"The essence of the Buddhas of the three times is one.
Its nature is bodhicitta.
If you wish to realize it, leave it just as it is.
If you familiarize yourself with it, it will become manifest."
Thus he spoke.
The master Nagna-Pātra said:
"From the gurus, first realize your own mind.
Then, having made all phenomena inseparable from it,
Dwell in a charnel ground to familiarize yourself with non-duality,
And practice while remaining in meditative equipoise through the conduct of a madman."
Thus he spoke.
The master Vetālasukha said:
"If like a horse, an elephant, or the ocean, one is most blissful.
If like a monkey or a drawing in water, one becomes joyful.
If like a river, the sun, or medicine, one is indivisible.
Like a crest-jewel, an eye, or a wheel, the fruit is attained."
Thus he spoke.
The master Rāmapāla said:
"The supreme vow of all the Buddhas
Is to abide in one's own realization.
Whatever is realized by the innate mind..."
"All buddhas are seen by that," he said.
The master Kukkuripa said:
"If one abides on the level of inseparability, all are fortunate.
If one reaches the depths of the ocean, one is free from poverty.
If one holds a sword in the hand, one has great wealth.
If one reaches the ground of no direction, one meets with kin."
So he said.
The master Caryāpa, the Powerful One, said:
"For yogis, whatever appears is the instruction.
By seeing it, one realizes its non-arising; thus, the master is supreme.
Because it is the means for all to realize non-arising,
When one is free from joy and sorrow, non-duality arises for that person."
So he said.
The master Kumāratāta said:
"Whoever has received the empowerment
Of the guru’s instructions,
And pervades all with the taste of the coemergent,
Seals it with non-arising—the Vajra Holder.
Through the dawning of blessings, inseparable perfect buddhahood is attained."
So he said.
The master Bhaṭipa said:
"All phenomena are joined with one’s own mind as non-dual.
If the experience of realization is devoid of the meaning of the instructions on the definitive meaning,
Great bliss will not be found in glass beads.
If you possess those qualities, rest in your own place without hope or fear."
So he said.
The master Anangavajra said:
"If the mind is not tormented, there is great bliss.
If there is no longing, that is the equal taste.
If free from effort, that is the supreme meditation.
If free from dualistic appearance, that is perfect buddhahood."
So he said.
King Indrabhūti said:
"If the tip of the nose at the time is not endowed with self-consecration..."
"Even if one engages in outer and inner conduct, one will not attain buddhahood. There is no difference between the naturally present bliss and pure appearances. By letting go of attachment, one will attain the supreme experience," he said.
From the mouth of the master Padmavajra:
"Look at the center without looking anywhere else. If one is free from the supreme, there is great joy. If one practices the secret mantra and awareness, one should transform through the signs of yoga," he said.
From the mouth of the princess Lakṣmīkara:
"First, the wise should generate realization. Second, in the forest, meditate on the tip of the nose. When experience arises, one should realize the distinctions of conduct," he said.
From the mouth of the master Padmāpāda:
"Whatever is coemergent, like the eyes of an elephant—if it is touched, it becomes a thorn; if it is relaxed, it is the supreme meditative concentration without grasping," he said.
From the mouth of the master Garbhapāda:
"Having shown the experience of the abiding stream of water, one should proceed through the stages of conduct. By the instructions of the sublime guru, pacify the conceptual thoughts of attachment and aversion," he said.
From the mouth of the master Vajrapāda:
"Bliss! Bliss! The bliss of no-abode. The bliss of the nature of desirelessness. The bliss of knowing all fabrications as that. The bliss of the Buddha without achievement," he said.
From the mouth of the master Ghaṇṭāpāda:
"Some should bind the three—rasanā, lalanā, and avadhūtī—in order to receive self-consecration. The wise should rely on the three—the guru, the mind, and appearances—in order to generate realization," he said.
From the mouth of the master Śūlapāṇi-mūka:
"The four kāyas, free from negation and affirmation, are indivisible. All phenomena, without fixed reference, have a single root. Non-distraction is the path of all buddhas. When there is no partiality, that is the supreme of all yogas." Thus he spoke.
The master Kūṭībhāra said:
"Offerings to the buddhas and the like will yield no result. If there is desire and striving, one will not awaken. Experience increases through the guru’s speech of blessings. This comes from the guru’s pith instructions; it is not through anything else." Thus he spoke.
The master Ajitakeśin said:
"If you rely on a sublime venerable one, you will attain suchness. If you meditate in the open spaces of the forest, you will attain solitude. If you realize all phenomena are mind, there will be no discord. If you drink the milk of space, you will be satisfied." Thus he spoke.
The master Śāntīśvara said:
"If you realize bliss and emptiness free from extremes, you are free from faults by relying on the wish-fulfilling tree. If the person born from the lake knows how to go, the son of the brahmin father and mother will be born." Thus he spoke.
The yoginī Dharmā said:
"Even after donning the great armor, with a courage like a jewel, pour water upon your own mind. Having definitely entered the interior of a human corpse, if you eat the flesh of one who has been born seven times, you will be like a bird in the sky." Thus she spoke.
The master Maitrīpa said:
"Bliss and emptiness indivisible are perfected within the lotus of the heart. The mind of great bliss, inconceivable and unborn, is the mental engagement. The yogi should experience all appearances and sounds as the three equal tastes." Thus he spoke.
"Later, through the arising of my own blessings, I became the indivisible, perfect Buddha," he said.
From the mouth of the yoginī Ghaghā: "Do not look at objects, and do not look at the mind. Do not harbor desires, and do not perform actions. Do not harbor doubts, and do not let your practice degenerate. Let the innate awareness be just as it is, in whatever way it pleases," she said.
From the mouth of Bhūṣuku: "Action is nothing but the suffering of saṃsāra. The yogin who has abandoned action realizes the mind. Not abiding anywhere, it transcends the extremes of permanence and nihilism. Since there is nothing to meditate upon, it is the inconceivable itself," he said.
From the mouth of the yoginī Kaṅkarā: "Non-dual awareness is like water poured into water. Leave the nature unadulterated, like an elephant. Whatever experiences arise, like a monkey, let them be; let the sky of realization pervade everywhere," she said.
This concludes "The Golden Garland of Vital Drops," the pith instructions on experience, consisting of the vajra songs composed by forty accomplished yogins at the time of a gaṇacakra feast in glorious Oḍḍiyāna.
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.