Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This text, titled Svacittayogigranthakathopadeśa in Sanskrit and Rnal ’byor pa rang gi sems mdud pa ’grol ba’i man ngag in Tibetan, provides pith instructions aimed at liberating a practitioner from the mental constraints or knots of their own mind. The work frames the attainment of merit and wisdom through a state of complete perfection that is characterized by a lack of conceptual reference. By directing the yogin toward the realization of the unborn, the text commits the reader to a practice of non-conceptual meditation intended to dissolve cognitive obstructions. The provided fragments indicate a structure that includes a traditional invocation to Avalokiteśvara and a concluding section that references a guru named Maitrī Ananda, identified as a hidden Buddha, suggesting the instructions are situated within a lineage of esoteric transmission.
Provenance
About this text
A set of instructions for the yogin to untie the knots of his own mind, the Yogisvacittagranthamocakopadeśa belongs to the General Unexcelled Yoga Tantra Works. The work is attributed to the Indian author Mitrayogin. It was translated into classical Tibetan by gnubs lo tsa bas and is preserved in volume ཟི of the Tengyur. The text enacts a process of liberation from mental constraints, directing the practitioner toward the realization of that which is unborn—the causal agent of both saṃsāra and nirvāṇa. By pursuing a state of complete perfection free from conceptual reference, the practitioner seeks to attain merit and wisdom. The work opens with an invocation to the Noble Avalokiteśvara and concludes with a reference to a guru named Maitrī Ananda, described as a hidden Buddha who delivered these words in Tibet. A scholar or serious reader consults this two-page treatise to examine the specific pith instructions used to dissolve cognitive obstructions and to understand the lineage of esoteric transmission associated with the realization of the unborn.
Cite thisAnuvāda, “Personal Instructions on a Yogi’s Liberation from the Restraints of Their Own Mind” (Toh 2468), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh2468
Summary & commentary
Significance
The work is significant for its focus on the internal psychological liberation of the yogin, emphasizing the transition from conceptual thought to non-conceptual wisdom. Its mention of a hidden Buddha as a guru suggests it belongs to a tradition of secret or revealed instructions common in Indo-Tibetan tantric practice.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1
Introduction and Invocation
Contains the Sanskrit and Tibetan titles and an homage to Avalokiteśvara.
2
Conclusion and Lineage
Describes the attainment of non-conceptual wisdom and mentions the guru Maitrī Ananda.
Themes
Non-conceptual realization (2)
Mental liberation (1-2)
Guru transmission (2)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
AnuvādaPersonal Instructions on a Yogi’s Liberation from the Restraints of Their Own Mind·
In the language of India: Svacittayogigranthakathopadeśa. In the language of Tibet: Rnal ’byor pa rang gi sems mdud pa ’grol ba’i man ngag (The Pith Instructions for the Yogin to Untie the Knots of His Own Mind). Homage to the Blessed One, the Noble Avalokiteśvara.
Emaho! That which is unborn from the very beginning, the causal agent of both saṃsāra and nirvāṇa, is none other than that which dwells in the center of one’s own heart; it is to be known from the mouth of the guru.
Kye ho! O fair-faced one, listen to me! That very cause by which one is bound is the path by which one is liberated. Here, there is no bondage whatsoever. In a vast city of dreams, an illusory person enjoys pleasures; at the time of enjoyment, there is no enjoyment. One should understand appearance and mind in this way.
The manifold appearances are one’s own mind, like a gathering of emanations. One’s own mind is like a rainbow; it is the innate luminosity, spontaneously present. Whatever arises is that very thing, yet it has not arisen anywhere at all. Therefore, whatever is born is unborn; the unborn itself is the manner of arising.
Like a reflection in a mirror, the sound of a lute, an emanated monk, or a miraculous feat, realize the characteristics of existence and non-existence, arising and ceasing, and coming and going. Like illusory horses and elephants, appearances are dependently originated. Just like the autumn sky, one should apply the three dharmas of luminosity.
Emaho! O great king of yogins! Emaho! It is neither bound nor liberated! Emaho! It is not abandoned, but spontaneously present! Emaho! Emaho! Great bliss! By the power of great compassion for beings who have not realized this, [one acts] with autonomy.
The merit and wisdom of the complete perfection of all aspects, free from conceptual reference, shall be attained. This concludes the instructions for loosening the knots of one’s own mind.
When the guru known as Maitrī Ananda—the hidden Buddha himself—arrived at the great and auspicious marketplace of Gurmo Rinpoche Ling in the heart of the Land of Snows, Tibet, he spoke these words for the sake of the great masters of Sutra and Mantra: Gya, Dre, Lam, Lo, Dro, and Shen. This is the Mahāmudrā Decisive Word Doha, translated by Gnubs Lo-tsā-ba.
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.