Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This text serves as a technical manual for the identification, classification, and rectification of root transgressions (downfalls) within the Vajrayāna tradition. The author establishes a rigorous taxonomy of offenses based on severity—categorized as superior, middling, and inferior—and correlates these levels with specific durations of non-confession and the nature of the act, such as the misuse of weapons or the failure to maintain the yidam deity. The work commits the reader to a strict adherence to samaya (sacred bonds), emphasizing the necessity of the master's guidance and the danger of teaching secret instructions to unsuitable vessels. Beyond diagnosis, the text provides a prescriptive system for purification, detailing a nine-part ritual process involving specific quantities of fire offerings, torma, and recitations. By linking ethical conduct and ritual precision to the attainment of the two siddhis, the text argues that the restoration of impaired samayas is a prerequisite for spiritual realization.
Provenance
About this text
An extensive commentary on the root downfalls of the Vajrayāna, the Vajrayānamūlāpattiṭīkā is a work of the General Unexcelled Yoga Tantra tradition. It is attributed to the Indian author Garbharipāda. Preserved in the classical Tibetan period, the text appears in the Tengyur, volume ཟི, where it extends over sixteen pages. The work functions as a technical manual for the identification, classification, and rectification of root transgressions. It establishes a rigorous taxonomy of offenses—categorized as superior, middling, and inferior—and correlates these levels with specific durations of non-confession and the nature of the act, such as the misuse of weapons. The author emphasizes the necessity of the master's guidance and the danger of teaching secret instructions to unsuitable vessels, while detailing a prescriptive system for purification involving ritual processes, fire offerings, and recitations. A scholar or serious reader consults this text today to understand the intersection of ethical conduct and ritual precision, specifically regarding the maintenance of samaya and the mechanisms for purifying violations within the Vajrayāna framework.
Cite thisAnuvāda, “An Extensive Commentary on the Root Transgressions of the Vajra Vehicle” (Toh 2486), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh2486
Summary & commentary
Significance
The work is significant for its detailed quantification of ritual penance, reflecting a tradition that views tantric vows as legally binding commitments with specific cosmic consequences. For the modern reader, it illustrates the intersection of ethics, hierarchy, and ritual technology in Indo-Tibetan Buddhist praxis.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1-13
Classification of Transgressions
Defines various root downfalls, including the failure to confess, the improper dissemination of secret teachings, and the disparagement of women as the nature of insight.
14-20
Rituals of Purification
Outlines the nine-part ritual for mending samaya violations, specifying the number of offerings and recitations required for different levels of practitioners.
Themes
Samaya and Vows (4-10, 13-14)
Ritual Penance and Purification (14-16, 19)
The Role of the Master (2, 5-6)
Gradation of Offenses (2-3, 7-9, 12)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
AnuvādaAn Extensive Commentary on the Root Transgressions of the Vajra Vehicle·
In the language of India: Vajrayānamūlāpattitīkā. In the language of Tibet: rDo rje theg pa’i rtsa ba’i ltung ba’i rgya cher ’grel pa (An Extensive Commentary on the Root Downfalls of the Vajrayāna). Homage to Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta!
I prostrate to the twelvefold assembly: the Bodhisattvas who are the emanations of the three bodies, the kings who discipline through the various bodies, those who teach the noble and profound meaning, and the masters from whom the oral lineage was received.
Based upon the great tantra which is like a precious jewel, and having established it as the foundation, I shall explain the meaning of practice by gathering [the essentials] from all the tantras.
In this regard, there are three teachings: the impairment and non-impairment of the samaya, and the ritual for restoration. Regarding the samaya of the Vajra Master, there are nine levels: the three degrees of impairment—great, middling, and small.
To harbor an evil intention toward the master and, having struck him with harsh words or weapons, to fail to confess and repent for a long time is a great impairment. To strike with weapons and so forth, yet fail to confess and repent for a short while, is a middling impairment. The smallest impairment is to harbor an evil intention and fail to confess and repent for the duration of a month.
Regarding all three of these, the Lake-Born [Padmasambhava] taught that if one reverses the mind and the actual act, and so forth, and becomes even more greatly deluded or equal in understanding [the gravity of the act], it is a [great] impairment. Alternatively, the "greatest of the great" among the nine is to harbor the aforementioned intention and kill the master, failing to confess for a year. The middling is as before, but failing to confess for half a year. The smallest is failing to confess for a month. The third [category] is when the master is not killed; failing to confess for a year is the "middling of the great."
For the medium [offense], it is half a year; for the inferior, up to one month. Once those two are completed, at the end of the year, the medium is taught to be half a year, and the inferior is to remain for one month. Regarding the two types of masters taught: the Vajra Master and the mere Master. For the Vajra Master, who has blessed the three—body, speech, and mind—all [samayas] are to be calculated. Regarding the nine masters of the treatises, one should examine whether they are the mere inferior or those whose branches are equal to the head. The Vajra Master is of three types: the root and the two branches; all nine are to be calculated. From the sixth mudrā downwards, the third is the Karma Master. Regarding the two—the root and the pith instructions—the teaching of the root and the pith instructions is as follows: if the pith instructions are greater than the root, the root is greater than the pith instructions; if the root is small, they are equal. If the pith instructions are greater than the pith instructions, it is taught as the reverse of the above. The master who gives the prophecy is equal to the mudrā itself. This is the root samaya of the master. Regarding the impairment of the samaya of the brothers, there are nine and three [levels]: the superior, medium, and concise/expanded. The impairment of the superior of the superior is when, with evil intent, one strikes with a weapon or a club and does not confess for a year; this is the "superior of the superior." The "superior of the medium" should be known as half a year. The "superior of the inferior" is three months. The samaya of the medium of the superior is known to be one month. The medium of the medium is half a month; the medium of the inferior is one day. Regarding the impairment of the samaya of the inferior, having spoken harsh words, for one month...
Not confessing is the highest of the lowest; the middling should be known as half a month; the lowest is from one day onwards. These are taught as three divisions: having struck with a weapon, a staff, or the like, and not confessing for a short time after death—that is the highest. The middling is having struck with a drawn weapon without death; the lowest is having spoken harsh words and not confessing once a day has passed. This is the measure of violating the samaya of a vajra sibling.
Regarding the measure of violating the samaya of transgressing the Sugata’s word: although there are hundreds of thousands of millions of samayas, they are all subsumed within the Sugata’s word. This is the most pervasive distinction: when acting as a vajra master, if one fails to perform the rituals correctly for the sake of the students and beings, doing so for a year is the highest of the highest; doing so for nine months is the middling; do six months, know it as the lowest. The highest of the middling is three months; the middling of the middling is one month; the lowest of the middling is half a month; the highest of the lowest is one day.
Under the influence of pride and the desire for fame, if all the rituals are mistaken, that is the highest; if half the rituals are mistaken, that is the middling; if one ritual is mistaken, that is the lowest. Regarding the sequence of these causes, if one continuously performs mistaken rituals, it becomes a very great fault. If one does not confess for a long time, yet exerts oneself in confession, that is disparaged. If one does not perform mistaken rituals continuously, but only once or twice, that is disparaged; if there is a distinction between great and small, that is praised. Thus, the ninefold divisions of high and middling should be understood by the wise through careful examination. Alternatively, both the practitioner and the master—
Since the word of the Sugatas is so vast, after having received the empowerment, one must not teach those who lack empowerment and samaya, or those who are unsuitable vessels. Furthermore, if one forgets the yidam deity after having received empowerment and so forth, and does not take it up again; if one does not meditate during the sessions; if one neglects the yoga of food and torma offerings, the yoga of outer and inner fire rituals, the essence mantras and mudrās, and the cycles of offerings and so on; or if one has made a vow before the yidam deity or the master, yet abandons or fails to confess these and forgets them; or if one does not carry the vajra, bell, and rosary—the three—because they have not been consecrated, or because there are errors in their material or dimensions, or if one sells, shares, or entrusts them to others; one should understand that while there is a fault in not having consecrated them, it is minor. Regarding volumes, books, and so forth, as well as ritual implements such as the khaṭvāṅga, there is a distinction between major and minor faults depending on whether they have been consecrated as described above. In particular, the practitioner should offer all items, such as the vajra and bell, to the principal deity and others, and then maintain them in a manner that is consistent with the Dharma and pleasing to the mind. Regarding the three vows—the Prātimokṣa, the Bodhisattva, and the inner Vidyādhara vows—the latter two also serve as the support for the Vidyādhara vow, or else they are subsumed within the Vidyādhara vow. Even the ten non-virtues and so forth are subsumed within these three. The distinctions lie in what is to be abandoned and what is not, as well as the actual act, the intention, the time, the circumstances, and the stages of the yogic mind. If one does not understand this, or even if one acts [without such understanding], it will result in a downfall.
Even if one does not perform [the practice], it becomes a downfall. Therefore, with devotion to the master, one should understand [the teachings] through the pith instructions. Regarding the ten dharma activities and so forth, if one does not know how to meditate on the pith instructions—in short, all the dharmas of the Word—one must understand all the modes of dharma according to the Dharma. If one does not know this, the samaya is impaired. Stepping over or treading upon the body [of a deity], flowers, or the shadow of the master and so forth, or failing to respect the empowerment—these intermediate samayas all become "great" after a year has passed. If half a year has passed, they become "middling." The lowest should be known as one month. This is the samaya of the Sugata’s Word. By abandoning the mind of loving-kindness toward sentient beings, the samaya is impaired. To show the degrees of that: if one is angry with a person of a pure field, abandons the mind of loving-kindness, and strikes them with a weapon, a staff, or the like, and does not perform confession for a year, it is the "greatest of the great." For the middling, it should be known as half of that. For the lowest, it is one month. If one acts as described toward a person of an impure field and does not confess for a year, it is the "greatest of the middling." For the middling, it is half a year; for the lowest, it should be known as one month. If one acts as described toward others, such as sentient beings, and does not confess for a year, it is the "greatest of the lowest." For the middling, it is half a year; for the lowest, it is one month. If one strikes a person of a pure field many times in a single day, it is the "greatest." For an impure person, it is the middling. For an ordinary sentient being, it is the lowest. If one strikes many [times], or if there is confusion regarding the number [of times], [the degrees are determined accordingly].
The mind, the entities, and so forth, should be understood from the mouth of the master. Regarding pure and impure individuals, other sentient beings, and the like, if one does not sustain them with the four types of generosity through the torment of body, speech, and mind for six periods of the day and night—up to the point of death for those sentient beings—one’s samaya is impaired, as described above; this should be understood from the mouth of the master. This is the samaya of abandoning the mind of loving-kindness.
The root of the Dharma is the bodhicitta. To abandon that is to impair the samaya. The measure of the superior, middling, and inferior [degrees of impairment] is taught as follows: having generated the bodhicitta of a mantra yogi, if one then turns back and enters the bodhicitta of a Śrāvaka and remains so for a year, if one does not perform confession, that is the superior [degree]. The middling is half a year, and the inferior should be known as one month. Half a month, seven days, and one day are the superior, middling, and inferior of the inferior. The former [year] is the middling; the superior is entering the mind of a non-Buddhist for one year, half a year, or one month—this is the superior of the inferior. This is the samaya of abandoning the mind.
Regarding the samaya of disparaging the Dharma—the tenets of oneself and others—the measure of the superior and middling is taught: if one disparages the Dharma and does not confess for a year, that is the superior. The middling is half a year, and the inferior should be known as one month. Constantly disparaging without confessing for a year, half a year, or a month are the superior, middling, and inferior of the superior. The former is the middling; the inferior is half a month, one day, or seven days—these are the superior, middling, and inferior of the inferior. This is the samaya of disparaging the Dharma. Regarding sentient beings who are not yet fully ripened...
Regarding the samaya of proclaiming secrets, the measures of superior, middling, and inferior [transgressions] are taught as follows: there are two types of those who are "unripe": those who have not received empowerment and those who are dull-witted or mute. If one teaches the secret pith instructions to such individuals and does not confess [the fault] within a year, it is the superior of the middling [category]. If it is half a year, it is the middling of the middling; the inferior should be understood as one month. To repeatedly proclaim [the secrets] to many such individuals for a year, half a year, or half a month constitutes the superior, middling, and inferior [degrees] of the superior [category]. To remain for one year in a state where the dharma has become superficial is the superior of the inferior; the middling and inferior of the inferior are half a year and one month, respectively. Alternatively, regarding the profound meanings, half a month, seven days, and one day are the superior, middling, and inferior of the inferior. Or, the wise master should understand these three through the context of the confusion. This is the samaya of proclaiming secrets.
Regarding the samaya of disparaging the aggregates, which are the nature of the five buddhas, the measures of superior, middling, and inferior are taught: if one does not recognize the aggregates as the pride of the deity, or having recognized them, abandons them and does not perform confession for a year, it is the superior of the middling. Half a year is the middling of the middling; the inferior is one month. Half a month, seven days, and one day are the superior, middling, and inferior of the inferior. To repeatedly disparage and torment [the aggregates] out of ignorance constitutes the superior, middling, and inferior of the superior [category]: one year, half a year, and one month. This is the samaya of disparaging the aggregates.
Regarding the samaya of harboring doubt toward phenomena that are pure by nature:
Regarding the pith instructions on the root winds: if one harbors doubt for a year concerning the profound meaning of the "once-difficult" [practice] and so forth, and does not confess it, this is the "best of the best." For the "middling," it is one month or one year; for the "lowest," it is one month or one year. Regarding the remaining [samayas], doubt for a year is the "best of the middling," and the other two cases should be treated as above.
From the illusion-like samādhi, there are the two deity yogas and the three common [samayas] of outer, inner, and ignorance. Alternatively, for the two aforementioned [cases], half a month, seven days, and one day are the "lowest," "middling," and "best" respectively. This is the samaya of harboring doubt.
Regarding the samaya of always maintaining loving-kindness toward the "wicked": the samaya is impaired if one fails to do so toward those called "wicked"—namely, the master, vajra siblings, and those who have become enemies of yoga and destroy the teachings, and others of that sort. If one remains for a year without confessing such wickedness, it is the "best of the best." The other two cases are as above. Excluding the master, [failing to confess toward] vajra siblings is the "best," "middling," and "lowest" of the middling. Excluding those two, the remainder are the "best," "middling," and "lowest" of the lowest. Alternatively, if one calculates the number of days for all three of these, it is as above. This is the samaya of loving-kindness toward the wicked.
Regarding the samaya of conceptualizing phenomena that are free from names and so forth: if one conceptualizes phenomena that are free from elaboration for one year and does not confess it, nor does one engage others in doing so, [it is a fault]. The other two cases are as above.
Not applying it to others but only to oneself, from a year down to a month, should be understood as the middling superior and middling. Not grasping at things as real but desiring to seek them, likewise from a year down to a month, is the inferior superior, middling, and threefold. This is the samaya of conceptual grasping. Regarding the samaya of disparaging the minds of sentient beings who possess faith: turning individuals who possess faith away from the profound Dharma and engaging them in the teachings of the non-Buddhists, from a year down to a month, is the superior superior, middling, and threefold. Turning them away from the profound meaning and engaging them in the Śrāvaka vehicle is the middling superior and threefold, according to the same measure. Turning them away from the profound meaning and engaging them in the Pāramitā vehicle is the inferior superior, middling, and threefold. Alternatively:
To turn others away from the Vehicle of the Perfections and lead them into the vehicles of the non-Buddhists is the middling [breach]. To turn them away from the Śrāvaka vehicle is the lowest. Regarding Secret Mantra, to turn many away is the highest; to turn a few away is the middling; and to turn only a very few away is the lowest. This is the samaya of disparaging the mind.
To find the samayas exactly as they are and yet not rely upon them is the measure of a degenerated samaya. Regarding the root and branch samayas, not maintaining them for a day and night, and not adopting the five sets of five [practices] such as conduct, and so forth, for a period from a year down to a month without confessing them, constitutes the three levels of the highest [breach]. Not adopting the root [samayas] but merely setting them aside constitutes the three levels of the middling [breach]. Not adopting the branch [samayas] constitutes the three levels of the lowest [breach]. Alternatively, [if the duration is] half a month, seven days, or a single day, these are the three levels of the middling [breach].
Not relying for three [periods] of the lowest [grade] in a single day and night is the samaya. Regarding the samaya of disparaging women, who are the nature of insight (prajñā): it is like training from the hide of an ox up to the representation by sound. Relying upon a woman who is the illusory nature of insight, a qualified karmamudrā, and having become trained in that, one then relies upon the goddess of the mind, and thereafter relies upon caṇḍālī itself. From then on, relying upon the consort of insight until the stage of co-emergent joy, one generates the stages of insight. Thereafter, the siddhi of the mudrā is attained. Thus, to disparage and abandon women who are insight—if [this occurs] for a full year, it is the highest of the highest; if for half a year or one month, it is taught as two [grades]. If a yogi on the path disparages such a woman who is the nature of insight, it is taught as the three [grades] of the middling. If one constantly disparages all those who lack the [proper] marks and does not confess, if a full year passes, it is the highest of the lowest; if for half a year or one month, it is taught as two [grades]. This is the samaya of disparaging insight. This concludes the teaching on the measure of the impairment of the highest and middling root samayas.
Regarding the teaching on the branch samayas: a yogi of mantra should rely on three ways of taking [a consort] with persistence. These are: taking the consort of another; engaging with one's own yoginī for the sake of passion; and engaging with ordinary conduct without performing the consecration. As for engaging with one who lacks the marks: for a yogi on the path of passion, in order to first subdue passion and enter into the profound meaning, one who possesses great passion—
[The text continues with the specific instructions for the yogi’s conduct.]
This was taught by the Sugata, the Victor. For the yogi on the path of liberation, the aforementioned [methods] are not taught. At the time of the activity and the yoga, the mental goddess of beautiful form—when during the feast circle (gaṇacakra) or the time of conduct—to contemplate her with devotion is the samaya. Once the signs are present and stability is attained, those who desire the supreme siddhi quickly, having been prophesied by a yoginī, that person, through gods and so forth, by attending for one day, one month, or six days, will attain the supreme. Through the devotion of a non-attached yogi, by relying on insight for a single moment, the siddhi of the mudrā will be attained. The sequence of the activity for that purpose is to rely solely on the ḍākinīs who dwell on the [spiritual] levels and upon suchness. To act in delusion without knowing it thus, and to act continuously for a period of years without confessing, is the superior [type of transgression]. That which is less than that is to be known as the middling. To act only once is the inferior. This is the samaya of taking [the consort] by force. Regarding a consort who has not been [properly] introduced, if a mantra practitioner seeks to obtain the nectar without the pith instructions having been transmitted to the ear by the Guru Vajrācārya, but instead acts with hypocrisy after investigating by force, to do so continuously for a period of years without confessing is the superior [transgression]. That which is less than that is the middling; to do it only once is the inferior. This is the samaya of not having attained [the consort]. This is the samaya of the feast circle. To engage in strife and dispute regarding the Teaching, to [give] the profound empowerment and pith instructions to those who are not disciples of the same master, and to explain the non-profound to the assembly—
When, after a dispute, weapons or clubs are mixed and one does not confess even slightly, this is the highest [offense]; for the middling, the mixing of weapons or clubs for a short duration; and for the lowest, the endurance of harsh words. If death occurs, it should be calculated as the middling or below for the master; this is the violation of the samaya of the assembly.
Even if one knows the branches of the secret dharma, if one does not teach them to others due to a poor intellect, or if one knows the pith instructions but does not teach them to a person who has become a suitable vessel—this is the highest [offense]; not teaching to many suitable vessels is the middling; and not teaching to even one is the lowest. Alternatively, the three times should be understood as above; this is the samaya of not giving the transmission.
When a faithful sentient person, the cause of the dharma, asks about the Mahāyāna dharma with respect, being a vessel for the Mahāyāna, if one does not answer but instead engages in talk of letters, this is the highest [offense]; for the middling, engaging in neutral talk; and for the lowest, engaging in the talk of the Śrāvakas. The three times should be understood as above; this is the samaya of teaching erroneously.
Staying among the Śrāvakas for seven days, and having heard the Mahāyāna dharma, to then slander it; or staying among them for seven days and then abandoning it; or if, during the time of the year, one does not confess—this is the highest [offense]; staying for three days is the lowest; and for the other two, it is as above. Alternatively, for those of a similar class, the two below should be calculated; this is the samaya of sleeping [among them] for seven days.
Without knowing the wisdom of yoga, to say, "I am a mantrika," or to practice a samādhi without yoga—this is the samaya of false pride.
Through the pride of a few mere words, one repeatedly claims to be a mantrika. If one does not confess for a year, that is the worst case; if it is less than that, it is even worse. One should know these two cases. Regarding the samayas of ignorance: to teach the outer Dharma to sentient beings who are unsuitable vessels, yet to teach the secret Dharmas to such persons, or to show the secret pith instructions to those who have only been shown the outer teachings—repeatedly showing or showing to many, if one does not confess for a year, that is the worst case. One should understand these two cases as before. For all those samayas, the wise should examine the time, the intention, and the substance, and then perform the ritual of praise or blame according to whether they are great or small, equal, or incomplete. If one does not know this, then the three and nine [categories] are the limits; even if there are more, it is better. These are the measures for the impairment of the samayas.
To show the measure of non-impairment: if the aforementioned [faults] do not occur, or if it is for the sake of the Master, the Three Jewels, the vajra brothers, or beloved sentient beings, then even if [faults] occur that are not the best or the middling, the Sugata has taught that they do not become impaired. Even if it benefits the body and becomes an aid to meditative concentration, the Sugata has taught that it is not necessarily impaired. For the sake of taming sentient beings and for the purpose of leading sentient beings, the Sugata has taught that it does not become impaired. The wise should understand the sequence of permissions and prohibitions based on profound insight and the pith instructions from the Master’s own mouth.
This is the teaching on the measure of not violating the samaya. Now, the ritual for mending the violation of samaya is taught; this ritual should be understood as having nine parts. The best [practitioner] should meditate for one year, performing four sets of twelve gaṇacakra feasts, seven hundred and twenty homa fire offerings, and seven hundred and twenty bali offerings. At that time, the Vajra Master and the Vajra brothers should be invited. If the Vajra Master is not present, one should use an image, or else shoes or clothing; or else, generate [the presence] by means of the syllables of the name. Light rays radiate, and the Master summons the consciousness and binds it to that [support]. Viewing [the support] as the form of the yidam deity or Akṣobhya, one performs the generation stage for each session and recites the mantra three hundred thousand times. By the light rays of the wheel of syllables, the obscurations of the body, speech, and mind of both oneself and the Master are purified. The homa likewise purifies them. Through the offering of the gaṇacakra, the gathering and radiating of the wheel should be purified. This is the offering of the gathering and radiating of the wheel. With the first bali, one purifies and makes offerings; with the middle, one protects and increases [merit]; and with the last, one ensures that no harm is done. One should perform the confession continuously and also perform other roots of virtue, such as [dedicating] conditioned merit. Having done that, one should again take the three vows from the Master, enter the maṇḍala, and receive empowerment. If there is no Master, one should receive them from a learned Vajra brother; if even that is not available, one should receive them from the yidam deity. By doing so, one will be purified and will also attain the siddhis.
The middle and the lowest [levels] should also be understood as being mixed half and half. For the superior of the middle [level], in one month, one should perform thirty fire offerings, thirty-two sets of thirty torma offerings, three feast circles, and thirty thousand recitations, with confession during the intervals. For the middling of the middle [level], in twenty days, one should perform twenty fire offerings and tormas, two feast circles, and twenty thousand recitations. For the lowest of the middle [level], one should perform ten fire offerings, ten tormas, and ten thousand recitations. When performing these rituals, even if the master and the assembly are not present, the two yogis should perform the taking and giving. For the superior and middling of the lowest [level], in seven days, one should perform seven fire offerings and tormas, one thousand recitations, one feast circle, and the confession. For the middling of the lowest [level], in three days, one should perform three fire offerings and tormas, begin the offerings, five hundred recitations, and the confession. For the lowest of the lowest [level], in one day, one should perform one torma and one fire offering, one hundred recitations, and the confession. By doing so, one will become pure. If the feast circle is not available, the fulfillment is done by fire offering alone. For the three superior [levels], the fire offerings should be thirty thousand, twenty thousand, and ten thousand. For the three middling [levels], the fire offerings should be five thousand, one thousand, and five hundred. For the three lowest [levels], the fire offerings should be one hundred, fifty, and twenty-five. By doing so, one will become pure. It is taught that for a yogi who has not performed fire offerings, the work should be done through recitation. For the three [levels], there are three each of superior, middling, and lowest.
Seven hundred million, three hundred million,
One hundred million, seventy thousand, thirty thousand,
Ten thousand, seven thousand, three thousand,
One thousand, seven hundred, and three hundred:
By performing in this manner, one becomes pure.
If a yogi cannot achieve this,
Then by relying on the ritual of the great torma,
Just as in the fire offering,
The impairments will be purified and restored.
Through the three types of accomplishments arising from
Fire offerings, recitations, and torma offerings,
The impairments of the samaya will be restored.
It is taught that once the common accomplishments are achieved,
The supreme accomplishment is also achieved through the lineage.
When the impairments of the samaya have been restored
By the accomplishments arising from meditation,
Both types of accomplishments will be attained.
Regarding the ritual for the remaining [practitioners]:
Setting aside the three superior masters,
The ritual of the three middling ones is taught for the superior [practitioners],
And the ritual of the three inferior ones is taught for the middling [practitioners].
For the inferior [practitioners], the superior [method] is a single fire offering,
The middling is a torma or recitation,
And the inferior is an offering to the guru.
As for the pith instructions for the guru offering:
Having prepared three or one maṇḍalas,
Upon a beautiful, completed maṇḍala,
Arrange offerings of exquisite flowers.
Dressing in clean clothes and kneeling,
Perform seven, ten, or twelve [prostrations],
In accordance with other rituals.
Specifically, having gathered one's own sins
Into a web of light rays,
Draw them out and, upon the lotus seat,
Before the guru, yidam, and the Three Jewels,
Purify and confess the sins
Through the yogic machine of one's own light rays.
Alternatively, by acting in this way with a mind like an illusion,
One will become pure.
Regarding the explanation of the branch rituals: they should be understood according to the three final root [samayas] in their proper sequence. Regarding the explanation of the specific rituals: having summoned the vajra siblings, for the purification of obscurations and the generation as deities, the offerings and so forth are as before. If it should change in that way, it is also as before. At the time of transgressing the Sugata’s command, for whichever [samaya] has degenerated, one should perform the purification and so forth; having dissolved the deity of the family, or the hand-symbol, or the garland of vowels and consonants, it should be understood as before. Regarding the samaya of loving-kindness toward sentient beings, having summoned whichever has been abandoned, one should perform the purification and so forth as before, through both the actual and the mental [means]. Regarding the abandonment of bodhicitta, that is also taught as twofold: outer and inner. The outer is as before; the inner is that which has not been seized by the rakta. Having dissolved all its purifications and so forth into the upper and lower heart [centers], one should understand the mental and actual [means] regarding one’s own volume, or another’s volume, or that very object, as before. After that, one should ripen it once more. Alternatively, for the yidam deity and so forth, one should perform the specific purification through speech as before. Having visualized the aggregates as the deity, one should perform the ritual of purification by contemplating the inner offering and the inner fire offering. In that state of the natural dharma, for that very reality in which doubt is cast, having contemplated that very nature, one should perform the pure offerings and so forth as before, for that very reality, whether as the deity, the tilaka, the syllables, or the caṇḍālī. One should purify malicious sentient beings and make offerings to the guru and siblings. One should have devotion to the meaning of emptiness.
Upon the heads of the guru and the yidam, at the uṣṇīṣa which is the sign of the dharmakāya, one should perform special offerings. Having summoned sentient beings endowed with faith and performed the purifications and so forth, one should accomplish the maṇḍala, confer empowerment, and teach the meaning of the profound pith instructions; one should perform offerings and so forth while visualizing them as deities. Recalling all the samayas, one should visualize everyone as deities; in particular, regarding the conduct and so forth, one should visualize the five families of fathers and mothers and perform offerings and purifications. Having summoned all the wisdom consorts, one should purify them and visualize them as goddesses; one should contemplate various special offerings. Having summoned the lords and their retinues, one should perform the purifications and so forth as before. Alternatively, to reverse attachment to the ordinary, one should bless the space and so forth, view the deity yoga, and satisfy them with mutual offerings. Having purified the ordinary tongue, one should bless it as a vajra tongue; whatever is explained, one should perform the purifications, the superior intention, and so forth, remaining well-settled. In particular, through the vajra light rays, one should recite and satisfy them with offerings. Having summoned those to be taught, one should perform the rituals of healing and purification. Having summoned the vajra brothers and sisters, the purifications and so forth are as before. Having summoned sentient beings who are suitable vessels, one should perform the purifications and so forth, and teach through the actual secret and through visualization. For all those with faith, it is as before: the purifications and so forth are taught through both the actual and the visualized methods. The śrāvakas and others are to be purified, and one’s own self is to be purified.
One should apply oneself earnestly to the deity of yoga. This is the purification of pride and the like. Having performed the ritual in that way, and having restored impaired samayas, it is taught that the two types of siddhis will be attained. For a person who is a beginner, because various conceptualizations arise in nine ways, the level of a Vidyadhara will not be attained; since impaired samayas will occur, if the ritual of restoration is not performed, one will fall into the three lower realms and the Vajra Hell. After remaining there for countless eons, one will then experience heat and cold for eons. After that, having remained for a long time as an animal or a hungry ghost, and then, after a long time as a dull-witted or mute sentient being, finally, through the seeds of former virtue, one may meet the compassion of the Sugatas. If one’s samayas are impaired there, one will fall downward once again; if they are not impaired, one will ascend upward. Therefore, generate great earnestness. Since the hundreds of thousands of myriads of samayas are clear in all the scriptures and tantras, the wise should adopt them. This was taught for the sake of those of inferior intellect. Those who disparage the Mahayana, and especially those who disparage the Secret Mantra, will have their tongues pierced with stakes and be forced to drink molten bronze for as long as the eon lasts. Therefore, one must not disparage this Secret Mantra. To the extent that it does not contradict any of the tantras, the samayas are like the ground; by relying on the practice and the masters, may the Buddha, like a sprout, be accomplished. At the upper level of the Jewel Cave, for those whose essence-samayas are impaired—
Because I did not know the ritual for fulfillment, I was afflicted by the illness of the ḍākinīs. Then, the Great Master, having confessed to the ḍākinīs through vajra songs of praise, repeatedly requested that the profound rituals hidden throughout all the ḍākinī tantras be revealed. The ḍākinīs then taught the Dharma, and this lineage that the Great Master transmitted into my own ears, I have subsequently arranged in stages for the sake of yogis. May the Sugata ḍākinīs grant their forbearance. This concludes the Arrangement of the Instructions of the Master Bhavipa, composed by the Great Master, the venerable Snying-po.
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.