Does Anybody Else Have Clear Body Experiences?

[shaberon]

Posted by Ernie Nemeth (here)
I don't do cemetary meditation but I do do subway meditation. Does that count? Lot of walking dead around...

It would, or does for me. Technically, anything can be a form of Yoga, whereas by calling it Raja Yoga and the like, means the specific spiritual rites or meditation sessions.

It is horrible. All of those walking dead have Buddha Nature, same as me, and yet I am going to imagine their ribcages falling out, or what happens when you go on the tracks.

Speaking as someone who at times has been able to see auras, some of them are appalling.

This paradoxical collision of love to all beings with the actual atmosphere of disgust and violence that suffuses the world is how we generate Bodhicitta which magically activates Buddha Nature within us; the potential of it is *true* but the realization of it is very difficult. When practitioners have an easy life then yes it seems easy but then when the test comes, hell hits home and you see how weak you really are and better start listening closely.

[Old Student]

The Cunda Mudra or Mula Mudra was said to "resemble" Dharmacakra Mudra without being able to tell the difference.

I was not aware of this, there are a lot of competing versions of Cunda Mudra I think, but the statuary of Cunda and of Prajnaparamita are close and those which are close have her doing Dharmacakra Mudra.

Marit--Anubha--Cum is the seed syllable of Cunda, which becomes the Nun Sati. And then the second line is something about the Five Knoledges being centered and aligned, Dhruvam meaning Pole Star, or, as in Dhruvam Arya Tara, which is Durgottarini.

If that means Sati in any way, they are standing on her vagina. Again, if not literally her, it suggests someone related/knowledgeable of/lineage of, etc., and Sati is the Pithas. Nepal is, of course, commercialized, so even a travel agent can say the Guhyeshvari temple is dedicated to Sati.

This would certainly line up with your previous post of Cunda being a fire at the base of the spine.

Yes, ultimately it is Amitabha + Pandara, but that is on some higher plane; the more active part, the Bodhisattva, goes as described in sadhanas.

This is the pairing I have heard of.

[Old Student]

And so forth. Again, we know there was an academic impulse which felt all of the Sanskrit had to have a small, exact match in English, which is certainly not the case. If only they would leave the original terms along with their "version" of it, we could decide for ourselves how well they are doing, rather than being told.

In this case the translation is coming from the Chinese, and Cleary is kind of known for translating everything, so that even the names get translated (Victor Mair does the same thing with Zhuangzi). Some of the bodies have designated Chinese names and can be worked backwards probably.

Although Khadga Siddhi is the name for the Transcendent or Lokottara Siddhis-- Generation and Completion--the Laukika may be described as:

Khadga

Anjana (can see devas and other such beings)

Padalepa (speed)

Antardhana (personal invisibility)

Rasarasayana (nectar, ambrosia)

Khecara

Bhucara (Bali)

Patala

Last time I checked, Flitting appears to be a type of invisibility, and, the majority of what you discuss is a type of Khecara.

The Sanskrit terms I am able to find for Act as a verb are Abhini and Acar, Kriya and Karma being nouns.

"Act!" so far involves pushing myself through something like a dissolve, it has resulted in "traveling" if that's what it would still be called when you "went" to places by being them, and it has involved some kind of pressing outwards that is similar to the dissolve. I think it is related to flitting but I haven't accomplished much yet so I'm not sure.

I will fail, miserably, and probably wander in Preta Loka for incalculable eons, it does not matter, Tara will be there and she is able to manifest the same result as Jnanadakini does, Transference. I am so slow I will probably watch the whole earth vaporized by black fire and then I will lie dormant in the Alaya until some other bungling Creator sets up another ball of suffering. Maybe then I will figure out where Turquoise Leaves is, and at least this will quit happening so badly.

That's an awful lot of failure, the length of those eons will be quite a while.

Someone once told me that sneezing was equivalent to death in suspending all your processes for like a microsecond.

It most surely stops your heart momentarily, I'm not sure that is equivalent to death, at least we are required to revive people who are a lot further down the road.

That is why if you managed to trigger Vairocani and Varnani without being well-grounded and prepared for it, you might wind up completely schizophrenic. Those who actually witness the Dawning of Deities without any training, frequently result in temporary or permanent madness, H. P. Lovecraft style. That whole subject of his forbidden books and insanity may well have been based in his awareness of the Book of the Dead.

I suppose this is a very real fear. Both when I first experienced my clear body and when I had my first shaking with the Dakinis, I worried a lot about what would be the line after which I might not be 'sane'. It wasn't so intense for the clear body experience, it was so riveting and went on so long I didn't really think it was out there for long. But the first couple of shakings I worried first about physically hurting myself because of the violence of some of the movements and about what might happen if I didn't "return" from visions and such. Both turned out to be unfounded fears (well, I'm not the judge of whether somebody with really strict ideas would think me insane).

Now there is such a thing as White Pratisara who is similar to Mrtyuvacana, and is the outer deity of Vajrapanjara Tantra:

Darn, what a beautiful statue. I spent some days at one point looking to see if there was a deity with a sword and a wheel, because one identified in my shaking, and could find none. I guess I didn't know where to look.

Yellow Mayuri is in Ratna Family in the normal spot, who has something to do with Marici:

aśoka-vṛkṣopaśobhitā

which looks like it has to do with Seven Poisons and Raudra's Skull:

sasaptaviṣasañchādanakarī
saraudrakapilādirākṣasīvidhvaṃsanakarī

and she is a type of Nectar Eye, Amrita Vilokini and the Garbha or Womb of all Raksas.

I am not familiar with "Nectar Eye"?

[shaberon]

Posted by Old Student (here)
Darn, what a beautiful statue. I spent some days at one point looking to see if there was a deity with a sword and a wheel, because one identified in my shaking, and could find none. I guess I didn't know where to look.

Pratisara is "similar" to Mrtyuvacana, but much more active.

Mrtyuvacana is possibly just a synonym for Sita Tara; she just has a basic White Tara form (Varada and Utpala), except she has Vajra Feet, like Mahattari is a basic Green Tara form, except she has Vajra Feet. The only real exercise on Mrtyuvacana is her Mantra Wheel, which is at the heart, having eight spokes, so, similar to that of Pratisara. Then Sita is White Vajra Tara, who has Vajra Feet, and is fiery, this being Nagarjuna's White Tara. So in looking around for the original or most basic White Tara, it is those, and when they say Sita Tara nowadays it no longer means them.


Pratisara has the phrase:

māyāsvapnasamaṃ

Maya and Dream are the same, possibly ending on your word that sounds like "summon".

It is a somewhat infrequent stock phrase, used in Sadhanamala about a dozen times, except for Prajnaparamita who says Citta Maya Samam.

Pratisara is a bridging deity from Mayajala Tantra to Hevajra.

Her Maya phrase otherwise exists in only a few tiny little corners of the universe, such as Vijnana Bhairava:

tat asaara tayaa devi
vijneyam jalavat shakra
maya svapna upamam chaiva
gandharva nagara bhramam 9

which is identical in Tantra Rasa.


Maitreya:

evam svabhavaparinispanna mayasvapnapratibhasopamah


Lankavatara Sutra:

4. maya - svapna - svabhavasya
dharmakayasya kah stavah,
bhavanam nihsvabhavanam yo
'nutpadah sa sambhavah.


And in Anupamaraksita's Sadanga Yoga which is a bad scan; this is a cleaner copy.


There is the Dream of Maya.

I am not familiar with "Nectar Eye"?

But you are familiar with goddess Locana.

You said you see her in a normally meditative pose along with a type of Cunda arisen from Prajnaparamita.

Locana's name refers to Eye and her special technique is Dharmadhatu Parishuddhi, i. e., non-dualizing purifications which reveal the Dharmadhatu in stages.

In terms of a magic eye or vision that a person possesses, there is an initial kind called Divya Caksus which is Divine Eye.

Locana is Buddha Eye.

As we follow the sadhanas, there are a few places where the quality or degree of Eye appears to increase, until there is an Amrita Locana or Nectar Eye which is Prasanna Tara, a Golden Maha Ghora deity.

So if you go back to the Avadhutipa image, you find the two White Taras, One is Athisha's Seven Eye Tara which is the most popular, nationalized one. The other is the only one named Sita Tara in Sadhanamala, and it is this one, Ngor lineage, which has images of some of the other obscure Sadhanamala Taras, such as Prasanna. The Sanskrit material I talk about can be found around Sakya Town and Ngor, which, do not, relatively speaking, go all that far into Tibet, and some material in Bhutan. You can say it had momentum coming from Nepal and then went kind of squish, splat, around the Tibetan frontier, i. e. due to Atisha and Kadam and Gelug influence.

Janguli for example never gained traction because Tibet has no snakes. I suppose they overlooked the unusual statement that calls her a Mountain Girl despite all of her known history being from the south and east.

And so, yes, having Locana then means we can ask if she is of Vairocana nature or of Akshobya.

It does not matter whether Akshobya emanated her as to whether she is his consort.

If you thought Manjuvajra's hypostasis was difficult, look at Dhamadhatu Vagisvara:


Vajrasattva emanates Manjughosha.

Manjughosha emanates Akshobya and others, and Usnisa and Locana.

Akshobya emanates Vajrasattva and three others and Mamaki.

Ratnasambhava emanates no Prajna.

Amitabha emanates Pandara.

Amoghasiddhi emanates no Prajna.


Mamaki appears given to Ratnasambhava by Akshobya, Locana to Akshobya by Manjughosha, and then Tara is given to Amoghasiddhi by "someone" who must be among the "others".

This mandala is considered Vairocana Atman, Dharmakaya.

The previous, Maha Vajradhatu, is Vairocana Sambhogakaya.

The first stage is really in another book, Vairocana Abhisambodhi, where Locana is with Vairocana and so on, Nirmanakaya.



The Amitabha--Pandara couple are never really said to do anything because Amitabha is on a higher plane. The Dhyani Buddhas are almost like Vajradhara, Unmanifest, the difference being that they more directly are able to refer their agents into human consciousness. They are lords of Dhyani in that they are basically always meditational.

Amitabha emanates or remanifests himself as Amitayus and Avalokiteshvara.

If Amitabha is Infinite, Avalokiteshvara is all possible states of consciousness in our solar system.

Avalokiteshvara has a lot of forms, 108 in one Nepalese collection alone. His main tantric form is Padmanarttesvara. This is also the same name used by Amitabha in Dakini Jala. It is a very all-encompassing and powerful name for Lotus Family. It is part and parcel with the Four Dakinis. They, themselves, are a mobile ring, from Guhyajnana to Chakrasamvara to Samputa to Padmanarttesvara to Hevajra, you find them. That is why a Guhyajnana-based understanding is key to all of the Highest Yoga tantras.

One can find, for instance, her name deleted and the Four Dakinis mantra stuck in Padmasambhava Guru Yoga:

harinisa radza hriya tsitta hring hring dzahÎ
sarva siddhi pala hungÎ

HARINISA RACA HRIYA CITTA HRĪṆ HRĪṆ JAH
SARVA SIDDHI PHALA HŪM

It is in the section where heart-rays fill the universe and hook the four classes of dakas.

The odd salutation, Hriya, is followed followed by Citta and Hrim (Maya), then Hook All Power and Fruit.

It sounds to me a lot like solo Guhyajnana is mainly about heart-summoning the actual presence of dakinis. If Raca is "to arrange, place in order", and Hriya seems to be timed with heart-hooking, then it is like saying Four Dakinis, I summon you with my Heart, arrange yourselves neatly in your proper places.

If I had a good bond to Lotus Family, I would do it, but I don't. That is why I take Ganapati as an outer Avalokiteshvara. His consort Sumukhi is Hrim. Hrim is Maya which is one of the first syllables that can be taught, whereas Hrih, for some reason, is an exclusive variant for Lotus Family. Hrim mainly has characteristics of Vairocana Mayajala, it is the Mirror syllable, however the beginning of Sadhanamala gives Amitabha this Hrim for his seed.

Avalokiteshvara and Manjushri use it a little bit, and then it is found on the following goddesses:

Mahacina Krama Tara

Durgottarini

Laughing Ekajati

Marici Vajradhatvishvari

Kurukulla

Armor Deities


If I look for a basic, outer goddess, we are back to Sword Yogini or Mahacina Krama. And, then, it is actually linked through various Ekajati forms. So, in that pronunciation, it mainly seems to fall into her hands.



Amitabha does not have that many Taras. There is Bhrkuti. Avalokiteshvara however has Guhyajnana Dakini in his heart; she is not a Tara, is not necessarily easily approachable or nice.


There is such a thing as Lotus Family Varahi. She is with Nagarjuna's Green Tara IWS 145. It is a basic Tara with White Pratisara holding a gem and a white lotus marked with a flask, Yellow Marici with a Vajra and Asoka branch, Red Pig Face Varahi, and Very Wrathful Black Ekajati, these latter two being tantric deities with knife and skull.

That retinue explains why untitled image 40336 is linked on the Pratisara page.

Therefor, the previous one is Nagarjuna's Tara:







then Pratisara:







Marici:






Varahi:







and Ekajati:








This retinue follows after Svapna Tara. We have identified their book for them. All you have to do is match the names to the numbers, Not very hard. But that is very unusual that Pratisara is shucked from her home base and shows up here. Then it cranks out a full-on Tramen. I think it will take you to that level.

This is an usual Tara I never paid attention to because she doesn't have a name. It is still just Tara, although apparently a devlopment of Nagarjuna's Khadira Tara with Ekajati and Marici. This lineage passed to Atisha and it says there is another through Chandragomin where the attendants differ slightly--who knows what that means.

In this case, Ekajati is in Vajra Family in the North. So it is as if Amoghasiddhi Tara entered the center of an Akshobya mandala and bumped out Vajra Family. Pratisara is in Vairocana Family which is unusual but acceptable, Marici is in Jewel Family which is unusual but acceptable, and Red Varahi is almost never in Lotus Family, but, she never has full pig face unless as Artha Siddhi. So that is also weird.

Basic Marici seeks tantric Varahi in order to hyopstasize. Even though it is a simple Marici, it is unique, and suggests thinking of her as a type of Vajra Surya, because if sometimes deities can be named for their primary item, this would be Vajra Marici.

Pratisara appears to be doing a Flask Initiation. Porting the results of her Mahabala Krama here.

You rarely see mixed appearances in a ring. This is like the Gauris of Dakini Jala who are in various moods.

[shaberon]

In going through Sadhanamala, most of what I am doing could be described as "geometrical", i.e. I try to find the patterns and connections; plus, when there is a singular or rare use of something, I figure it pares down to what the intended entity actually is. So for example, in thinking of Nagarjuna as one of the most important Mahasiddhas, then we see what comes up as "White Tara", and that even his "Green Tara" plainly shows an outer-to-inner transition by accumulating tantric deities in a strange way.


Even so, we lack much understanding of what the book actually says, especially considering it has a mediumishly-long introduction, which may not quite be as demanding as Hevajra Tantra, but it does appear to presume familiarity with the STTS to Guhyasamaja trend. NSP is a small collection of mostly difficult practices used for Completion Stage; Sadhanamala rather appears to bridge Yoga and/or Generation Stage into it.

Among the academics, there is what is classed as an "older style" called NSB mantras, because in tantras such as Vairocana Abhisambodhi, the stock phrase is Namo Samanta Buddhanam, which then disappears and is not found with Akshobya or more complex rites. This is entirely related to how Buddha realizes Enlightenment by operating the Dharmadhatu.

Sadhanamala instead is dealing with Namo Samanta Vajranam.

This has almost only one meaning: Canda Roshana Vajrapani and Acala.

A Japanese whisper says:

The Unmoving Curse, part of the mantra of Acala. By calling on the name of the mantra of this fierce Vidyaraja, Kaede is exercising a highly offensive houjutsu.


People will include it in their own smorgasbord of Vedic, Buddhist, and Aramaic ideas while stating that Manasa is Vasuki's sister.


Or it is in a more canonical version of Fudo the Immovable.

Or it is in a smattering of looks at Ucchusma, Maha Pranaye, and Mahabala. That also tosses in "suru, suru", which is instantly recognizable to me as an obscure phrase from Ganapati Hrdaya. Even in a terrible article that is a strand of mantras tossed into a Japanese and Indonesian salad, the associations are pretty clear.

From my previous notes:

Pratisara is considered to be particularly beneficial for the laity, i. e. non-monks.

Manjushri has a wrathful form named Acala or Vidyaraja Chandra Maharoshana considered the consort of Mamaki. This one is called Fudo-myoo in Japan.

But more directly, it is Vajra Name initiation. And, from VAT where we talk about Buddha's initiation, it is going to overhaul NSB mantras into this NSV format. Again, this is completely based on summoning the Dharmadhatu and "opening" it:


VAT First part of Enlightenment

Describing from, what we take to be Arapacana sources:

Mantra fills all hopes (i. e., needs for enlightenment) in the enormous mandala whose perimeter is Speech.

Then He enters the samadhi called: Viewing the pure peak (i. e. Mt. Meru) of the wide banner of Dharma.

Emanations, the Nirmanakaya fill the outer worlds.

This empowers the Dharmadhatu and He proceeds to the samadhi called: Having the treasure womb of the Dharmadhatu.

He then states the mantra whose source is the Dharmadhatu:

Namah samantabuddhanam
Dharmadhatu-svabhava atmako ham


It will bring in Vajra Kavaca (Armor), Tathagata Caksur (Buddha Eye), Gagana Samasama which would more or less mean the same as Khasama, "Equal to Sky", which appears to purify the Dharmadhatu with Jvala and possibly Nirajan, i. e., fire, light, and heat.

So this really all is Akasha Garbha or the King of Space or the male equivalent of Queen of Space Mamo Botong/Ekajati; he is Vajra Garbha in Sarvadurgati Parishodana. Note the reverse, Garbha Vajra, in rare circumstances used for Sattvavari. But until you need their subtle points, Acala Vajrapani Akashagarbha is pretty much one beast.




The beginning of Sadhanamala appears to take Gaganaganja Samadhi and increase it to Lion's Roar Samadhi, while forcing Amoghasiddhi to arise from Wrathful Vajrapani. It appears to have to do with the inevitable male seed, and something closely corresponding to Vajrakilaya or any of the tantras via wrathful nature progressing into Karma Family. The book is making sure you have Five Families and then offers you various Samaya Beings and Ista Devatas available for the various operations.


In Sadhanamala, Vajranam is quickly coupled to Vajrasana Mudra or Vajrosnisa Mudra, and Vajra Mandala, Panjara--Vajragrabhuvana, Vajra Jvala, Mahasimabandha with Vajre and Vajrini, and then on to Acala Mudra which comprises of Offerings like Gandha:

bhagavati sphura himaṃ gaganakaṃ mahodeyesarvārthasādhani

Puspa:

sarvatathāgatānāṃ āvarttāvarttamahāpuṣpavati


Dhupa:

agraśikhe dhūmaśikhe

Dipa:

jvalante dīpajyotiśikhe


Naivedya:

baliṃ dadāhi mahābali


That represents what we have been calling the second group, Inner Offerings, corresponding to the senses and converting Indriya to Bala. If it is Bala enough, then, they can continue to represent up to Five Dissolutions. We can see it begins with a type of Gagana Samadhi which is the source of meaning, Artha, in the sadhanas. Then you get stages of Flower Garden, Smoke Tuft, and Fire Tuft progressing to Mahabala.




Followed by the Ten Directions. Then it sounds like the two thumbs gesture is equivalent to upwards hair along with Six Syllable mantra, which then compresses to a Five Syllable mantra based on Vira or Hero. Next:

sarvamudrāsaṅgrahabhūtaṃ samantāvabhāsoṣṇīṣaṃ dharmacakraṃ


Dharmacakra Mudra gains the unusual mantra:

āḥ maṃ haṃ

and then there is a recitation of a mantra involving:

cchinda cakreṇa vajriṇi

recollecting that Chin Mudra = Dharmachakra Mudra, this leads to an Urdhva Dharmodaya Mudra. In this section, there is:

balandade tejomālini

"Give us power, Fire Garland".


Then it gets to a Rasmi Malini Mudra involving:

dharmadhātvabhyantarasaṅgate

Yame or Yama seems to be present; it is at that point you ask for the Anuttara Siddhis.

The Dharmadhatu Mudra seems to be "baddha", or locked in, and you go to Sva Devata Mudra, using its mantra in a way that looks like the 7 x 8 Ganapatis of Kashi:

saptāṣṭavārān


It doesn't care if you use Manjushri, Tara, etc., it just matters to use the appropriate forms and mantras geared to your arena of practice. Like if you are indicated to focus on Vadiraj Manjshri, it may be flexible enough to provide you a few options, but you wouldn't just turn to Vajananga for no reason.

It is a Cakra Puja for Samantabhadra.

It looks like your Flower Forest transforms into the Buddha Ksetra.

At that point you go to a Vidyadhara initiation of the Five Knowledges.

It appears to say the wisdoms are made from Visaya and Patala, i. e. Poison and the Underworld, by this sadhana.

The Vidhi of this sadhana becomes an Anu for Yathasakti (corresponding, relative, like, such as Shakti), and perhaps the Nine "Spaces":

nāvasāditavyam

Virya Rupa and Karma Rupa spill forth from this, and Amoghasiddhi is Tri-samaya Raja.

It accomplishes Sima Bandha and was written by Pandita kumudākaramatipādānām and is the Tri-Samaya Raja explanation here.

So if you only know Trisamadhi of Three Families as "mere" ritual or blind repetition, that is not going to cut it here, you are relegated to Kriya--Chara until they really have Bhava and Atma Vidya and you are ready to use them to, shall we say, trigger a volcano.





Section Two takes Acala and then gives Karunatmaka as the antidote for Suffering. Acala--Space or Void is not just nothingness, but, is where the One Element, Buddha Nature, lives, and why we hustle Karuna out of it.

The Tri-samaya as a whole goes into:

Vajradharasangiti Stuti


So yes, that is basically like saying Vajradhara Namasangiti, or, Chanting the Names of Vajradhara Together. As we know, he hasn't any names. It is indirect. He can wait behind the Curtain while the Meditation Lords of various Families disperse Bodhisattvas to give us something to work with.

Then you have the Five Dhyanis to begin with. Now your practice has upgraded from Kriya--Chara to Maha Yoga Tantra. Written by Pandita ratnākaraguptapādānām.





Section Three gives a Sadanga Nyasa, brings in Buddha and uses Akshobhya as Vajrasana Rupa, then has self-identity with Dharmadhatu, does Completion Stage, and is considered Vajrasana Bhattaraka Explanation, and then Section Four is Vajrasana Sadhana. Section Five is another Vajrasana Sadhana. These are relatively brief.



In Section Six, it uses Sadaksari Mahavidya. Seven is a Karanda Vyuha Amnaya sadhana, and then it proceeds to the many kinds of Avalokiteshvara. So if the intro told me to use a Six Syllable mantra, my instinct would not be to try Om Manipadme Hum Hrih, which is not how it is supposed to work, but Om Manipadme Hum tied to this Mahavidya who will explain Six Families to us on at least a conceptual level, and back it up with any of the information we need for it to make sense, it is all intended to work with her, even if her article is only a couple of paragraphs.



Vajrasana is only mentioned again by Manjushri Vak Sadhana, and then more elaborately in a model appearing to correspond to the whole intro under Manjuvajra 83.

Vajrasana (Seat or Throne) would be Bodhgaya, or, Vajrasana is a lineage master of the singular Locana and Medicine Buddha practice, or, it just means Vajra Feet.


It looks to me like Sadhanamala begins with a stripped-down, somewhat generic practice equivalent to the more detailed Sarvadurgati Parishodana. I would just call this Vajrapani, but that would have the weakness of being able to just be some kind of protective Bodhisattva with little meaning. So it is more like that Vajrapani which Vajrasattva has increased to.

Since we can say in parallel that Mahabala Krama is handled by Ganapati and Pratisara, then, it is not too difficult to say it could be accomplished in a Dharani and Mahavidya style, as opposed to a formal school and rigid adherence to its procedures.



I saw something else in there reminiscent of odd phrases such as Kula Akula, except it sounds something like circle and not circle: Vartta Avartta. This is from Puspa or Flower Offering mantra:

traiyadhvikānāṃ sarvatathāgatānāṃ āvarttāvarttamahāpuṣpavati




An old Theosophist article will tell us one of the names for "India" is "Arya Varta", meaning the spread of Brahmanical civilization from the level of Kshetra, individual plantations, to Vartta, or circles of plantations, and then Arya is the grand unity of all such Vartta.

Sama Vartana is like a prodigal return circle, at the end of his school while he is a Brahmacarin, he returns home, undergoes this ceremony, and then is considered ready for marriage.

It could also be said that Vartta is a complete circle, whereas Avartta is not, it is twisting or curling; and so even in a Newari lexicon, it means twisted hair between the brows, that is, between the eyes, which are Vartta, and then by further implication, it just means between the brows.

An example of "twisting" is in another old Theosophist article, manava avartta, "whirlpool of human life", that is, the law of reincarnation due to ignorance.

It must be an uncommon phrase or pilosophy, having few sources. It is in Markendya Purana:

CHAPTER - 40

DATTATREYA said: - There are many obstacles to the Yogin's realization of the spirit. Hear I shall describe them briefly. (1) He longs for actions of desire, objects of human enjoyment, women, fruits of charity, learning, magical powers, wealth, heaven, the dignity of the celestials, the station of the king of celestials, chemical works, the raising of winds, sacrifices,

entrance into fire and water, the fruits of all sorts of gifts and Sraddhas, religious regulations, and as well as that of fasting, the performance of Purta acts, the adoration of the deities and all other pious observances. He longs for all these being surrounded by those impediments. (2-4) If his mind is inclined towards this the Yogin should withdraw it; and then uniting his mind with Brahman he should liberate it from all these evils. (5) All these impediments being remedied, other evils again overtake a Yogin originating from the qualities of goodness, passion and ignorance. (6) There are five dreadful impediments which the Yogin meets with in (the way of his) Yoga - they are Pratibha, relating to intellect; Sravana, relating to the organ of hearing, Daivi, belonging to gods, Bhrama or wandering, and Avartta or whirlpool. (7) That by which the meanings of the Vedas, of the Kavyas (poetical literature) and endless learning and mechanical arts are unfolded to the Yogin is called Pratibha. (8) That by which one understands the endless meanings of the sounds, and catches sound even from a distance of a thousand Yoyanas is called Sravana. (9) The wise designate that state as Daiva in which, he, equal to a deity, sees completely the eight quarters like a mad-man. (10) The shortcoming by which the mind of the Yogin wanders about without definite object and trangressing all sacred injunctions, is called Bhrama. (11) The whirlpool of knowledge, agitated like that of water, destroys (the equanimity of his) mind and this impediment is called Avartta. (12) All those born in the order of deities, having their Yoga destroyed by these dreadful obstacles, repeatedly turn round and round. (13) Thus covering himself with the white blanket of his mind, the Yogin, fixing his mind upon Him, should meditate upon the Great Brahman. (14) Restraining his senses and living on restricted food, the Yogin, intent on practising Yoga, should conceive in his head the seven subtile elements1 such as earth etc.. (15) Let the Yogin meditate upon the earth and he would attain to felicity. He should first conceive himself as earth and then shake off its fetters. (16) In the same way he should comprehend the property of savour or taste in Apas or water, the property of form or colour in Tejas or fire or light, the property of tangibility in Vayu or air, and sound in Akasa or ether and he should afterwards cast off these conceptions from his mind. (17-18) When again by his mind (Manas)2 he enters into the minds of all creatures, his mind by such steadying becomes subtle. (19) After attaining the intellectual perception of all creatures and then the most subtle intellect, one versed in Yoga should cast it off. (20) O Alarka, the Yogin, who, after duly comprehending these seven elementary particles, drives them away from his mind, does not suffer from rebirth. (21) Observing gradually the subtlety of the seven elementary particles by Dharana or steadying of mind and dismissing them gradually, the self-controlled Yogin attains to the most accomplished state. (22) O king, by being excessively attached to things which he holds dear, he is deceived. (23) Thus after comprehending that these subtle elementary particles are connected with each other, the man, who dismisses them, attains to a great state. (24) The distaste for elemental creation, engendered in the mind of a man conversant with the knowledge of truth, by the perception of seven elementary particles, leads to his liberation.




That is the basis of the Theosophical doctrine in nearly a nutshell, being the Five Elements, Buddhi, and Ahamkara.

Buddhism has a strand of Atreya and Dattatreya both in the ancient connection in Matangi, and in whatever may be considered the admixture of Nath.

Ahamkara may be similar to what we call Asta Vijnana, or maybe the eighth consciousness. General yoga is saying there is something there to be destroyed. Buddha says something more like no, there isn't anything there to begin with--these are the remedies against things which make it seem like there is.

The Purana goes on to describe Laukika Siddhis. I am not aware if that system has anything resembling what we call Lokottara Siddhis.


Halahala Lokeshvara is distinctly the Samvartana in Sadhanamala; however, we would immediately call to mind the first attendant of Marici 134:

varttalīṃ raktāṃ varāhamukhīṃ caturbhujāṃ sūcyaṅkuśadhāri-dakṣiṇahastāṃ pāśaśokadhārivāmahastāṃ raktakañjukāṃ


It is relatively common as an adjective, but, operationally, appears confined to these two.

Its relative is less common, and, in a mantric sensse, Avarrta relates to Kurukulla, Dhvajagrakeyura, Jvalamukhi, and the Vina Mudra somehow done by Usnisa Vijaya.

And so on a weighted basis it comes out as most meaningful to Marici and this is her Kalpoktam or how she explains her sadhana method and so we should appreciate her title here which is:

niruttarasukhāsaṅgaprajñāpāraṅgatān gurūn /


She is the Guru of the Prajnaparamita Sangha interested in Highest Yoga (niruttara) Bliss (Sukha).

Before she even mentions her companions, she is going to call for Fist, and, so, she has just knocked us back to this subject which is like a "synthectic" mudra developed by Vajrapani or Vajra Abhisekha.


If so, her role becomes:

mārīcyai vighnānutsāraya

In a Three Face Eight Arm form that is Gauri colored, arising from Yellow Mam, crowned by Vairocana, and evidently an extension of Vajra Marici, having that as her primary item. This is also a Caitya application. That means a special teaching moment in the Akanistha.

She has her regular gear Needle and Branch, and, so, if you do this, piggies will come. That is why we better take her requisite seriously. You can follow Yoga more or less up to Vairocani and Khandaroha, which enable Heruka and Vajravarahi. Similarly with Vajra Fist and this Marici. If you understand her summary, it just means to understand and accomplish this stage, using *any* of the methods, which are not randomly made-up, but, drawn from a particular scheme.

[Old Student]

Mrtyuvacana is possibly just a synonym for Sita Tara...

My dictionary, with a slightly different spelling, MrtyuvaJcana, translates the name as "Death cheater".

Maya and Dream are the same, possibly ending on your word that sounds like "summon".

It is a somewhat infrequent stock phrase, used in Sadhanamala about a dozen times, except for Prajnaparamita who says Citta Maya Samam.

Pratisara is a bridging deity from Mayajala Tantra to Hevajra.

So then the Prajnaparamita phrase is, "Mind and Maya are the same?" When I see these things, I remind myself that maya also means 'magic'. Interesting that she links to the Mayajala Tantra (aren't there 8 of these?). I spent quite a bit of time trying to get a translation one specific of these at one point. Niguma is also the Mistress of Illusion which I think is also Maya in her works.

But you are familiar with goddess Locana.

You said you see her in a normally meditative pose along with a type of Cunda arisen from Prajnaparamita.

Locana's name refers to Eye and her special technique is Dharmadhatu Parishuddhi, i. e., non-dualizing purifications which reveal the Dharmadhatu in stages.

In terms of a magic eye or vision that a person possesses, there is an initial kind called Divya Caksus which is Divine Eye.

Locana is Buddha Eye.

As we follow the sadhanas, there are a few places where the quality or degree of Eye appears to increase, until there is an Amrita Locana or Nectar Eye which is Prasanna Tara, a Golden Maha Ghora deity.

If Locana is Buddha's Eye, would she also be the "One True Eye" of the Buddhas referred to in the Avatamsaka? (I apparently had the chapters wrong when I wrote the other day, Chapter 26 is the Dasabhumika not Chapter 29, which means I am about to start reading it.)

And so, yes, having Locana then means we can ask if she is of Vairocana nature or of Akshobya.

It does not matter whether Akshobya emanated her as to whether she is his consort.

She is always together with flying over snow. Usually flying over snow is related somehow to the Pamir Mountains, for some reason. Or maybe that's a metaphor for something.

You rarely see mixed appearances in a ring. This is like the Gauris of Dakini Jala who are in various moods.

And Ekajati has all her teeth. Her name means 'One Braid' so I've never understood the teeth thing.

[Old Student]

So this really all is Akasha Garbha or the King of Space or the male equivalent of Queen of Space Mamo Botong/Ekajati; he is Vajra Garbha in Sarvadurgati Parishodana. Note the reverse, Garbha Vajra, in rare circumstances used for Sattvavari. But until you need their subtle points, Acala Vajrapani Akashagarbha is pretty much one beast.

(assuming Sattvavajri).
So from the other piece you had done, I got the distinct impression that reversal plus feminizing the name was an older way of constructing the consort name and just feminizing was newer. If I take that to be the case, then Akasha Garbha is also Vajra Garbha, then Garbha Vajri would be his old form consort, and if this is Sattvavajri, then Pratisara and Ekajati would be related somehow.

When she (Pratisara) identified to me (twice), her wheel was turned by 90 degrees so that the axle would be horizontal parallel to her body.

The Purana goes on to describe Laukika Siddhis. I am not aware if that system has anything resembling what we call Lokottara Siddhis.

The list you gave was for the Laukika Siddhis, is the list similar for the Lokottara Siddhis?

[shaberon]

Posted by Old Student (here)
My dictionary, with a slightly different spelling, MrtyuvaJcana, translates the name as "Death cheater".

Maybe I said it backwards.

Versus "Sita Tara" as would be found in any current definitions, from which you would get Atisha's Tara and others related to Long Life Trinity, in Sadhanamala, Sita Tara most literally as a personal name means the Four Arm deity doing her unique Utpala Mudra, and as an internal name within the sadhanas, it is Mrtyuvacana and Vajra Tara.

Mrtyuvacana's name totally has that dual meaning. She is Explaining to you how to Cheat Death.

Philosophically, that is not quite the same as asking for a long life, it is more esoteric and suggestive of Vajra Kaya, which makes this all seem like a progression, since Amaravajra is only found in the same Sakya and Ngor branches, and she is the par excellence Vajra Kaya goddess of really doing it in full awareness.

So then the Prajnaparamita phrase is, "Mind and Maya are the same?" When I see these things, I remind myself that maya also means 'magic'. Interesting that she links to the Mayajala Tantra (aren't there 8 of these?).

There are several, Vajrasattva Mayajala is Guhyagarbha/Book of the Dead, Vairocana Mayajala is closer to VAT and Namasangiti Manjuvajra, and I think there was a Padmanarttesvara Mayajala, or, at least, Avalokiteshvara.


Krsnacharya's Kurukulla is Maya Jala Maha Yoga.


Prajnaparamita is brief enough that we can look at this whole piece. This is a Two Arm (presumably) Yellow Form, and, from voidness, Pam arises, then, the deity arises from Dhih which is her special or compound syllable.


157.

kvacin manorame sthāne niṣadya ca sukhāsane /
maitrīkṛpānvito yogī mantarm uccārayet tridhā //
oṃ śūnyatākjñānavajrasvabhāvātmako 'ham /
iti sthiracalān bhāvanātmadehaṃ ca sarvathā /
śūnyaṃ vibhāvya cittena svapne svapnasamena tu //


That is not her, yet, it quickly refers to carrying Maitri, etc., into the Void, which is standard, so then you do the Voidness or Void Gnosis mantra, and it looks like in the setting of voidness that you dwell on Mind having a Dreamlike quality. I am not completely sure about the syntax, but it should be close to that.

Color is not given but when it is, Pam is red, and I have not come across an explanation for this other than if it is Pandara as the Dharmadhatu. First, it makes a Lotus and Moon Seat, upon which a Yellow Dhih transforms into Prajnaparamita:

paṃkārākṣaraniṣpannapadmacandrāsanasthitaṃ pītadhīḥkāram
āropya tenātmānaṃ bhagavatīṃ prajñāpāramtiāṃ dvibhujāṃ
vicitrabhūṣaṇāṃ vicitravastradharāṃ vyākhyānamudrayā samupeta-
satkārām -
śṛṅgāraikarasopetāṃ vajraparyaṅkasaṃsthitām /
sapustakanīlābjaṃ [ca] bibhrāṇāṃ vāmapārśvataḥ //


She has Vajra Feet and next it is going to put the Three Syllables in her Three Places:


śiraḥkaṇṭhahṛdaye[ṣu] sthāneṣu candrasaṃsthitaḥ //
tritattvakaṃ oṃ āḥ hūṃ,

The chanting seems to make Dhih emit Yellow Rays:

oṃ āḥkārayor madhyacandre dhīḥkāraṃ pītaraśmikam /
vibhāvya ca tataḥ pītāṃ rūpiṇīṃ bhāvayed(t) [vratī] //
prajñāṃ prajñāpāramitāṃ prajñāsambṛtiyogataḥ /
paramārthaṃ gataṃ rūpaṃ vakṣye prajñātmakaṃ mahat //

That suggests her common Gate Gate mantra is being referred to and that it is the Paramartha or Ultimate Meaning of her Speech Body, and then it looks like a contraction of Prajna Atmako Ham similar to Voidness mantra, and Mahat at least Puranically refers to cosmic Manas, i. e. self-less or bounday-less.


yanniṣṭhāṃ prāpya sambodhir jāyate kramayogataḥ /
vibhāvya sitaṃ citteśam śaraccandrasamaprabham //

That sounds like filling the Mind with Moonlight.

The next part relates the senses to Grahya Grahaka or Grasper and Grasped:

viśvaṃ sacarācaram tādṛk paścāt tad api khopamam /
niḥśeṣakalpanāśūnyaṃ svayaṃ śūnyamarūpi vā //
rūpaśabdagandharasasparśādigrāhyagrāhakakalpanairanāliptaṃ
cācintyapratyayodayaṃ samyaksambodhipadaṃ cittaṃ sarvajñatāpadam /

It is the Foot of Samyak Sambodhi and the mind's root of all real knowledge.


tatrāyaṃ japyamantraḥ oṃ prajñemahāprajñe śrutismṛtivijaye
dhīḥ svāhā / prajñāpāramitābhāvanāṃ kurvatā mayā
yatpuṇyam avāptam -
tenāstu nikhilo lokaḥ prajñāpāraparāyaṇaḥ /

// prajñāpāramitāsādhanam //


She is fusing Sruti (Hearing) and Smrti into her Dhih syllable.

If Locana is Buddha's Eye, would she also be the "One True Eye" of the Buddhas referred to in the Avatamsaka? (I apparently had the chapters wrong when I wrote the other day, Chapter 26 is the Dasabhumika not Chapter 29, which means I am about to start reading it.)

I expect so, unless it means the Divya Caksus which is mostly similar but not completely under her dominion. When it becomes deified, as far as I know, that would be Locana.

She is always together with flying over snow. Usually flying over snow is related somehow to the Pamir Mountains, for some reason. Or maybe that's a metaphor for something.

Locana over snow. Snow is a form of Water. Pristine mountain snow is *the* premier "recorder" of astral light and can be used to witness events of the past. Steel is similar, though far weaker.


Ice may be Earth of Water. If you go back to the Markendeya quote, it basically describes a similar beginning as in Vishuddhi Magga meditation, whereby instead of any random object like in Theravada, you use the Elements. It then however instructs you to practise them backwards, and then in all sorts of weird orders and build bigger sets of patterns, and so instead of thinking Earth is just Earth, then you have Earth of Water, Earth of Fire, and so on.

Locana is said to be Water just in that limited series of mandalas which place Water as the first element in the East. Otherwise she is Earth. You are over the snow which covers the earth and have stopped short of saying Locana "is" snow by simply associating her with a certain scene.

And Ekajati has all her teeth. Her name means 'One Braid' so I've never understood the teeth thing.

That is why I lean towards "synonymous with Ekaggata". In certain Tibetan images, she has a single braid, one tooth, one eye, and one breast. Like many of their Taras, I do not find this one in an Indian source. I think they may have run with the metaphor. There is no requirement it means anything to do with her form since as "One More Birth", Ekajati Pratibaddha looks to have been an old, widespread Sutra term, versus "state of Vajradhara" which probably only comes from the tantras.

When Sadhanamala wants to refer to her hairstyle, it says:

jvalatpiṅgalordhvakeśāṃ

piṅgalajaṭā

supiṅgaikajaṭā

āpiṅgaikajaṭāṃ

piṅgorddhvakeśāṃ

ūrddhvakeśāṃ

atipiṅgaikajaṭāṃ

So, I am kind of wrong, because anywhere it has -aikajata is just using the combining form of Ekajata.

Only one more deity seems to have -aikajata hair, which is Mahacina Krama Tara.

Whether this has to do with tantric flame-swept hair looking like one braid, or, if it is supposed to mean she just does not have that much hair, I am not sure.



Lokottara Siddhis only mean Generation and Completion Stage, i. e., is the Lokottara Vada or Transcendent School of Buddhism which has no Hindu equivalent that I am aware of.

Buddhist practices are always only based on Bodhi Mind, which becomes Vajrasattva, and intensifies the Lokottara Siddhis to the level of Buddha's performance, by using Six Limb Yoga.

It is like we already have all the knowledge and information about the highest Jana, Infinite Nothingness of Nothingness, the subject is complete.

We can neither perceive it with a completely purified mind, nor manifest perfection when we stop doing it.

It cannot be much different from the types of tantric experiences I have had, he was just much better at it than me.

Once we describe what it takes to get to Completion Stage, there is nothing to add, only a small handful of simple maneuvers. Anything else that sounds like some kind of Siddhis would just get lumped in to Laukika which "are" eight, to put an easy mark on it, but, really, they are vast in number.

Lokottara has no other kinds, it is just preparation for, and doing, the Complete Ritual, Nispanna Krama. To call it "Completion" makes it sound like you are doing something to complete something. The "completion" is the Generation which is like developing an embryo, from which a "complete" person is born. It means you are complete with the knowledge and abilities to actually do the rite. You have Heruka Yoga. The Heruka is that gestating-then-complete thing.

You can train in Suksma Yoga prior to Heruka's arising, and then you just continue Suksma Yoga with the Complete Ability.



The idea of "consort" is not automatic and has to be earned, and, according to Katyayani, by a fight.

And so if you are able to see couples in union, that is a Yoga view of Union, in other words you see them as separate entities from yourself.

As disciples, we are not supposed to think of that, we use the Bhava and Anuraga to cultivate love and it is like a story of approach.

As an initiate, you yourself would become such-and-such a deity, and, if it says they would enter union, then you do.

In the case of Karma Mudra, it will be a person doing it, but the ultimate sense of Sparsha Vajra is Contact, as in contact the deity, meaning from the practice of Inverted Stupa, your Earth Square finally touches their Earth Square, and it is a Caitya moment. It is a divine contact which isn't necessarily sexual but is on another plane altogether.


I was modestly successful with Maha Ganapati as I was able to obtain some useful information, which assists the Karuna, maybe it is half the needed information, but it wasn't the half I was looking for.


As a mantric couple with his consort, they would be Hrim Gam.



According to a post, most "female Ganapatis" are Upa Vidyas (Near or Approach Knowledge) but there are only a few who are Mahavidyas, including:

Vinayaki= Ganapatya Adi shakti Vinayaki is the Shakti of purna Brahma adi Vinayaka, who gave birth to this whole universe. She is indifferent with Kali ( the eighth head of Goddess Guhya kali is adi mata Vinayaki). She holds this whole universe in her belly thus she is Lambodari. She became Siddhi and buddhi to help Lord Ganapati in Sristhi leela. Her mantra is equal to all 10 Mahavidya combined. Her mantra is given to Ganapatya sadhakas after completing all other sadhana.

Sumukhi or Pisacha Sundari ( guhya vidya of Ucchista Ganapati also known as Hadi 15 Ucchista Ganapati ).


They say she is a Pisaci...Sumukhi is Matangi...Matangi is an eldritch crossroad where Buddhism meets Dattatreya's lineage and is a likely source of Mantrayana and thereby Tantrayana as a whole. Matangi is then called a Pisaci in Buddhism directly by her name, i. e. it is not concealed behind a special Red Ucchista with a different name, it is just that Matangi is a Pisaci which can then be shown to transform into the Gauris of tantrism.

[shaberon]

It is like being hit over the head when you see Marici in Stupa requires mastery of Vajra Fist.

She has not yet become Vajradhatvishvari and it looks to me like Fist has a lot to do with opening the way for this.

It perhaps could be said that currently, Prajnaparamita is appropriating Marici. When she has thus murti in a purified, i. e. self-arisen and luminous state, they both become Vajradhatvishvari.

Prajnaparamita becomes Vajradhavishvari by appropriating Marici and radiating light.

Fist is a system built on the original "flagship" mandala of Prajnaparamita and is known across the orient as Vajrasekhara, whereas we can find a central Asian Dharani variant as Guhyavajradhatu. The Fist or Musti is really a high power seal over anger in Kama Loka. It is Kriya-Chara if you get all the instructions and follow them; it is Yoga when it acquires its inner meaning of actually working.

If I look at Vajrasattva, he is going to be forced by Vajrapani to become Vajrahumkara; If I look at tantra, Akshobya is going to force me to take Fist. If I look at this in Sadhanamala, it will make Amoghasiddhi the Lord of Tri-samaya. If this is bizarre, weird, and unnerving to me now, I can take Mahattari as the directress in her Saptavidhanuttara. If I do that it will no longer be weird. If I take Tara, Amoghasiddhi will no longer be weird and difficult. Natural.


Vajramusti is a giant in Ramayana, and a Kinnara Maid in Karanda Vyuha 6.4; it is also a weapon, and synonymous with martial arts generally.


Rather than saying "names of Bodhisattvas", the definition specifies Vajramusti is one of the sixteen samādhi deities appearing in the Vajradhātu-mahāmaṇḍala, according to the Nāmamantrārthāvalokinī v5.32-35. That is Namasangiti commenting his own Vajradhatu.

So it is not too hard to see that Fist is also a Mudra developed by Akshobya initiation, and, overall, it is the male-based Vajrosnisa system of Vajrasekhara, and so anyone in Shingon would likely agree we have the Indian names from their practice.

And so if it seems critical for Marici, elsewhere it does appear in an uncommon manner in Sadhanamala. Involved, but maybe not quite as specially as for her. However, there are a couple spots where it comes close. First is Halahala Lokeshvara:


pṛthag muṣṭidvayaṃ baddhvā madhyame kṛtaśṛṅkhale /


And if he is referring in some way to Vajrashrnkala, it turns out in her tiny little piece she has:


hastadvayena pṛthak pṛthak vajramuṣṭiṃ kṛtvā
kanīyasīṃ tarjjanīṃ ca śṛṅkhalākāreṇa bandhayet /


And in all the literature, Shrnkala is some weird divestment of Chain from its expected use in Lotus Family on the more generic deity Sphoti. And then Vajrashrnkala has no simple samaya or anything and just appears as a bridging goddess into Hevajra Tantra.

The only exception is that it appears you could force her if you could navigate three Dharanis with Guhyasamaja Manjuvajra.

She is an Amoghasiddhi Tara, and, she has Fist. That is more precisely applicable than the fact of it perhaps being with a couple wrathful male deities.

If I get Vajrashrnkala, Marici in Stupa will have me.




Now in looking at Guhyasamaja it may be hard to draw a "steady state" as the theme appears to be motion, i. e., entry into union and then rotation of partners. And so it would be misleading to say "the Guhyasamaja mandala" since there are multiple kinds, and, Manjushri has some special duplicated Manjuvajra mandala which underhandedly employs Dharanis such as Cunda which are not seen in the other formats.

If you really look at the magnified Manjuvajra, it is a bit perplexing compared to the description by the museum in Torino which is taken from NSP.

They say Vajradhatvishvari--who does not appear in the list of deities--is "tied" to Manjuvajra, except it looks like Union without any tying feature. I think we recently saw something recently where it looked like there was some kind of pre-union tie, but, I will have to go back and look, I cannot remember what that was.

Locana is the Eight Arm Yellow figure in the southeast. Who is Akshobhya bumping?

They say the five Prajnas in union with the Dhyanis are not counted in the list of deities.

Okay, well, the second ring starts with Sattvavajri in the East, who is a relatively small figure "underneath" Akshobya, followed by the other Vajris, and then Cunda in the northeast, Ratnolka, Bhrkuti, up to Vajrashrnkala.

The Vajris and Prajnas are already deployed.


The colors are weird, the South is Red and the couple has a reversed color scheme of the central one. West is totally White, whereas in the East, the deities at least seem light blue. The North is its usual Green, but has Red Deities.

Red Amoghasiddhi was in the West in Vajravilasini's rite.

Red Amoghasiddhi is probably Paramasva.

Who are those Dhyanis' consorts?

If the central is "Sparsha Vajra as Vajradhatvishvari", I would guess they are Rupa Vajra, Sabda Vajra, etc., not redundant Prajnas as the article states.

If I understand this, Sparsha or Contact means the sense of touch has been applied to the upward life wind, and the rotation of yoginis flows from this and so you would get Sound Object as Vajradhatvishvari and so forth until Dharmadhatu Vajra as Vajradhatvishvari was established.

The movement of the sense of touch is due to Nirmana Chakra and Locana commandeering Earth Element.

So not only is this already a bit weird since Manjuvajra runs some esoteric format of Guhyasamaja, but, even in Bhattacharya's "Bodhisattvas Comparison", he makes a transition from the older, Samantabhadra-based ring, which then makes another change into a very esoteric format--which ends with Samantabhadra.


Manjuvajra's male Bodhisattvas start with Maitreya and Manjushri. In Sarvadurgati Parishodana, it is similar, but, knowing that Maitreya will begin Amoghasiddhi's planetary cycle, it is of note that this group begins with Maitreya and Amoghadarsin, who is in Akshobhya's Family, followed by Surangama and Gaganaganja (the first two samadhis), progressing to Vajragarbha in Amoghasiddhi's Family, and ultimately ending on Samantabhadra, who was not in Manjuvajra's roster. The Sarvadurgati version is also used in Vajradhatu. Manjuvajra temporarily suspends Samantabhadra.


Manjuvajra 20, the NSP description of the linked mandala, makes no mention of Vajradhatvishvari, union, or Rupa Vajra, etc., not listed whatsoever, but someone is obviously in the mandala. The first, Manjuvajra 1, is simpler, with Ten Wrathful Ones, regular Dhyanis and Prajnas, and then the six Vajra Objects up to Dharmadhatu Vajra. You can easily find these six in his second ring, as corner goddesses, except two extras are stuffed towards the lower or eastern side:






Okay, That one was made for the transmission of Guhyasamaja, and, matches NSP--but it also follows the same shady secret.

Since it is easy to recognize by the unusual lower two deities, then we can find the central deity may enter union:







Then you can find them all doing it:









Or possibly doing it with Pink Vajradhatvishvari ejected to the East:






And then what is unusual, in the Vajravali relationship, there is Lokeshvara Guhyasamaja upper left, the more common Akshobya Guhyasamaja lower left, and then Manjuvajra seems to have discarded his Guhyasamaja mandala altogether and moved to 20 with the big Cunda in the Northeast:










There are three principal lineages for this form of the meditational deity Guhyasamaja. The first is the lineage of Abhayakaragupta contained in the Vajravali text. The second lineage is that of the Yogini Risul and Nyen Lotsawa, no.44 in the Gyu de Kuntu set of mandalas. The third lineage belongs to Marpa Lotsawa and the text is found in the Kagyu Ngag Dzo.

Nyen is in the Jnanapada lineage, Vajradhara to Manjushri to Jnanapada started this.

In the recent stuff about Buddha's initiation, when said that is is "probably from Arapacana sources", it means that Arapacana is a specialized script of a lost language. It probably was Gandharan or Khotanese and is part of Arapacana Manjushri as used in Namasangiti.

[Old Student]

I expect so, unless it means the Divya Caksus which is mostly similar but not completely under her dominion. When it becomes deified, as far as I know, that would be Locana.

So I chased these three terms down, and got the following:
Caksus is a vidya
Locana is a prajna
Vilokin is becoming aware of and included both sight and touch (sparsha).

Locana over snow. Snow is a form of Water. Pristine mountain snow is *the* premier "recorder" of astral light and can be used to witness events of the past. Steel is similar, though far weaker.

That's interesting. The "events of the past" would comport with the Pamir mountains, they were a some kind of icy burial place and they are also sort of one of those places where Shambala was supposed to have been.

You are over the snow which covers the earth and have stopped short of saying Locana "is" snow by simply associating her with a certain scene.

I have recently been 'traveling' by being the scenes, rather than flying over them or looking over them. It's interesting you would say that.

Whether this has to do with tantric flame-swept hair looking like one braid, or, if it is supposed to mean she just does not have that much hair, I am not sure.

She's not the only one, Manjushri is supposed to have a specific number of locks on his forehead, too. But the one tooth thing makes her look like a can opener.

[Old Student]

Vajramusti is a giant in Ramayana, and a Kinnara Maid in Karanda Vyuha 6.4; it is also a weapon, and synonymous with martial arts generally.

That's quite a range, especially if you add in what you said about the mandala.

They say Vajradhatvishvari--who does not appear in the list of deities--is "tied" to Manjuvajra, except it looks like Union without any tying feature. I think we recently saw something recently where it looked like there was some kind of pre-union tie, but, I will have to go back and look, I cannot remember what that was.

I don't see any tying, either.

In the recent stuff about Buddha's initiation, when said that is is "probably from Arapacana sources", it means that Arapacana is a specialized script of a lost language. It probably was Gandharan or Khotanese and is part of Arapacana Manjushri as used in Namasangiti.

I have not heard of this one.

[shaberon]

Posted by Old Student (here)

In the recent stuff about Buddha's initiation, when said that is is "probably from Arapacana sources", it means that Arapacana is a specialized script of a lost language. It probably was Gandharan or Khotanese and is part of Arapacana Manjushri as used in Namasangiti.

I have not heard of this one.

Arapacana or Enlightenment? Arapacana is Gandharan possibly Aramaic in origin. This one is actually one of the most commonly-practiced Manjushris, which is why I have not dealt with it much. But yes, evidence chases it down to some of the oldest copies of Sutras and the northwestern area, as you have mentioned a few times for, apparently, other reasons. Arapacana Manjushri is another hypostasis of Dhih, which I correspondingly used with Sarasvati and Prajnaparamita, or, the female equivalent.


Just a few posts above:

VAT = Vairocana Abhisambodhi Tantra


it is one of the few arenas in which Buddha's Enlightenment is portrayed.

And so we see we get to the section about Vajra Name Initiation.

There is a question of some debate amongst lineage masters as to whether Buddha was born having this initiation, since, he was "in the state of Vajradhara", or, if it was necessary for the Tathagatas to give him a fresh one.

Because of that issue, a few tantras may describe Abhisambodhis or Initiations slightly differently; they still are in the same order and the higher ones are like specific-to-Buddha initiation or could not be obtained from his Aryan path alone.

VAT means Buddha Initiation is an Abhisambodhi Sequence.

If I understand that from the Sanskrit view, it is a bit more explanatory than the later more technical descriptions about Three Lights and so on. I know that it is something like the genetic material of Buddha's Initiation and that the technique is sharpened by performance of the Six Yogas to which, the Abhisambodhis could probably be said to be attached around the stage of Dharana.

VAT does not encompass all details about Lokottara Siddhis, but, it is crucial for Kaya Vajra, or Nirmana Chakra, the physical body as encompassed by the Gold nature of Locana. More or less equivalent to Body Mandala in any practice. It does have an esoteric shifting from Prajnaparamita to Locana and I believe a "doubling" of something related to that.

The "standard" version of Buddha Body I suppose is Buddha as Sarvavid Vairocana in Sarvadurgati Parishodana. Sarvavid is still the principal for Vajradhatu, it is still the same nature of the chakra or kaya. Perhaps one could say if an interest in samadhi from withdrawing the winds is shown, then, a type of fundamental Ignorance about the body has been dismissed, and therefor Ignorance Vairocana has taken over the Earth Element.


In Locana's terms you mentioned:

Caksus is a vidya

Locana is a prajna

Vilokin is becoming aware of and included both sight and touch (sparsha).


Yes, the sense of vilokin there is similar to why we would say Avalokiteshvara does not mean "He is looking down at you", it has more to do with the adjective or quality or you having this type of enhanced vision or perception.

Usually if something is Vidya it can be ordinary, mundane knowledge, such as the vidya of absorbing poison with charcoal, or of culturing yogurt, and so here we can fairly ask if you have Atma Vidya in these and it means do you have the knowledgeable aware experience. It is not itself really an occult term. Yes or no.

A demi-god or worldly sprite could therefor actually assist you in such matters.

If the pursuit of Vidya turns to esoteric matters, then the designation Maha Vidya more appropriately means something that assists in supra-mundane knowledge or spirituality, and Samadhi from its Mantra Japa is this practice. And so Vidya legitimately functions as an arc from anything in the world to "vidya of the rite". The more meaningful it is to rites, the more it generally means Mantra, until you get to the state of Vidyadhara which is produced by the extraordinary Throat Energy that the average person does not have.

Similarly, yes, I would think it is roughly that Caksus could be Worldly, it could be limited to the astral copy of the physical plane, and so it is a physiological apparatus that is not necessarily getting spiritualized until Locana sinks in. As a Prajna, one could perhaps say that Locana is Dharmadhatu Wisdom. If she starts in the center when only Five Families or Wisdoms are taught, and, her career is Dharmadhatu Parishuddha, this is in keeping with the notion of the skill of a transcendental Eye increasing. At a certain point, the Bodhisattva Path is called the Path of Seeing, I believe having to do with not having to exert so much effort to compose a Samadhi, but to actually see signs of fruit.

We have many Buddhist Mahavidyas such as Janguli, Grahamatrika, or Sadaksari. The interesting thing about Sadhanamala being a Sadaksari-triggered outburst of Avalokiteshvara is in its being compiled by Abhayakaragupta, who also did NSP and Vajravali. Abhayakara is said to be an emanation of Avalokiteshvara. Prior to but possibly the last before the attempt to set up tulkus in Tibet as what we call Dalai and Panchen Lamas.

Wisdom Library is misleading in calling Sadhanamala "a 5th century text". That is not the case, this one was completed in 1165, which could reasonably said to contain some material that probably does go back that far. And so accordingly, we would probably say something like Sutra Nagarjuna transmitted material that has to do with Tara, whereas tantric--alchemist Nagarjuna had realization of her in Akanistha and transmitted a sadhana basket which involves a slightly different White Tara than ordinarily practiced now--as well as a Green Tara equivalent to Samadhi that has a correspondingly unrolling retinue and plane of existence. That is what is in Sadhanamala.

The actual Sita Tara does a rare Blue Lotus Mudra, and Mahattari holds a special Fiery Blue Lotus and certainly appears to be the progenetrix or intended root of Tara Samadhi and Tri-samadhi.

They have Vajra Feet.

As one can see that will settle into place as utterly unique in the overall pantheon of Tara iconography.


The Marici referred to as her Kalpoktam form is two things. Highly distributed. She is in medieval Indian stonework as well as spread across China in this form. It is in Ngor and Bari lineage in practically the same version that is in Sadhanamala. Marici is so powerful that her version in NSP is just the same Kriya tantra mandala available to neophytes where everything else is "forbidden". And so this Kalpoktam is easily visible as a public standard of some kind of higher or more powerful Marici.

The second thing is that is The End of such esoteric Maricis as found so far anywhere in the world except Bhutan. Her even more majestic forms are only in Sadhanamala.

Kalpoktam is something of an incredible threshhold.

I cannot imagine why she is attended by Varttali, except Vartta has something to do with Flower Offering and Marici is an Asoka gardener like in Ramayana, and then this Varttali is the beginning of something like a pig farm. Is it a zero or bindu? I am not sure. I am sure it is not being used to say something like "round eyes" in these cases, like when it is her name, if you want to call me Circle, why don't you call me Chakra or something. This sub-pig has Marici's Needle and Asoka herself. Needle as Avadhut and Varttali as Aura?

If I try to ignore Tramen Varahi as long as possible, she will intervene, when, according to Nagarjuna's Green Tara, one approaches a tantric form of Ekajata, or, according to this, Kalpoktam Marici. The two seem to be secretly related since Green Tara brings in Vajra-holder Marici, and Kalpoktam largely corresponds to this, also holding it.

Ganapati and Hayagriva are not Tramen because they are artificial.

Varahi is also related to Vasudhara and we can see Vasudhara also asks for Musti and is a Stupa goddess.

I believe we could say Parasol is in Stupa as Grahamatrika.






Kalpoktam Marici has already come up as a subject, but, without the awareness of what it means for her to want you to have this Fist or Akshobhya initiation, which is the very beginning of the book where she is among its major features.

We have seen this before, Indian prior to 1100, which makes it obvious about the Stupa, her Vajra, and the presence of Boar:








Here, her Vajra is a bit more meditative:







Her worldly-interactive form uses Bay Green Horses in the Tibetan records:








However in this Kagyu Stupa moment, she is on Mother Sow sleeping with Piglets:









who take over:









Her retinue attendants come in the order Red, Yellow, White, Red:









In Sadhanamala she has Seven Boars and is in Pratyalidha in her chariot. She uses Yam to generate a Vayu or Wind Mandala--usually a Crescent--and then:

haṃkārajacandrasūryyagrāhimahograhāhu-samadhiṣṭhitarathamadhye devīcatuṣṭayaparivṛtām

Ham syllable emanates a moon and sun and Marici is in Samadhi in her chariot surrounded by friends.

She ostensibly is in the place of Triangle of Inverted Stupa. Not the design or visualization, but, in the role of it.


Vadali is a Kumari Rupini. Varali is a Surupini in Pratyalidha. Varahamukhi is a Divya Rupini. If this means "seated Pratyalidha" then it could be Tara-posed as in the mandala picture.

After they are cast, Lion Vairocana shows up doing a Bodhyanga mudra, and, it looks like he self-generates you into this Marici form out of an Asoka branch and then you give variations of the mantra to "your" four attendants.

The mandala artist may have ignored the pig faces, although this is his Tibetan-to-English version:

[30] Kalpoktam Marichi. "Inside a vase stupa ...Marichi, with a body yellow in colour, three faces and eight hands. The main face is yellow, the right red and the left a blue pig face. Each face has three eyes. The four right hands hold, a vajra, hook, arrow and needle. The four left, a branch of the ashoka [tree], bow, thread and a wrathful gesture. Wearing a red inner garment and adorned with jewels and a garland of small bells. In the east is red Vettali with a pig face. [With] four hands the right hold, a needle and hook. The left, a lasso and [branch of] the ashoka tree. Wearing a red inner garment. In the south is yellow Vadali with four hands, the right hold a branch of the ashoka [tree] and a needle, the left a vajra and lasso. In the west is white Varali with four hands, the right [hold] a vajra and needle, the left a lasso and branch of ashoka [tree]. In the north is red Varahamukhi with three eyes [and] four hands. The right hold a vajra and arrow, the left a lasso and branch of the ashoka [tree]. Also, all are youthful maidens, adorned with all ornaments. Seated in a posture with the left leg extended." (Ngorchen Konchog Lhundrub 1497-1557).

I see a misspelling that would make you think Varttali is Vetali.

Varttali's Red Inner Garment is really a Kanjuka or Underwear, which is hard to see, the only other one is Red Oddiyana Marici 139 in Yellow Underwear. Well, this one, Kalpoktam, may be emitting the red light from her underwear:

raktāmbarakañcukotarīyāṃ



The attendants are nearly identical, unless we identify them as Underwear, Kumari, Surupini, Divya.

With the spelling Kancuka, it is on Sita Tara, multiple Maricis, and Kurukulla 177 and 181.

The clothing of the retinue is not mentioned, it would seem to follow the principal, especially if their items are also the same (although maybe in different hands).

If Sita is also some kind of Underwear Samaya, we can see a bit about how or why she has a Five Buddha Crown. That is another reason she is not the common Amitabha goddess. I believe she is the first one to show Pancha Jina like this.

I have always thought this was legitimate since to Shiva, Kancuka--Bodice means the Veils of Maya over Shakti.

These are the Subtle Veils and she is really attacking Vajra Ignorance, which becomes almost as if saying ignorance of Vajra Kaya. Mundane ingnorance had more to do with placing Locana in the Nirmana, and this Marici and Pigs is occult ignorance. And so when we get to this part, we must be doing Amoghasiddhi's work. What?

Yes, it will take dakinis and pranic energies to get it to work, which would be examples of his field, Activity.

The closer you get to a full manifestation of Varahi, the less the clothing will be. Although these attendants appear to be Tramen, they are not horrible, as if they are currently restrained and prepared to remain so. Marici is not a Tramen since the Ghona specifically represents a "tiny residue" of ignorance. If Parnasabari was not a safe Pisaci they would not broadcast her on a worldwide basis. These are Yidams or Ista Devatas that include the power level Gauri--Pisachi. The dangerous Pisacis are one's own personal components or ingredients.

The kancuka is something like a tunic, and it is underwear in the sense that usually one or more wrapping scarves or shawls are added to it. It is conceivable that maybe you see their cleavage now. When you do them individually it is a form of Jah Hum Vam Hoh. So it is like Vairocana is setting up the Four Activities of Marici here. They are with Eight Arm Yellow Marici 137, the larger Kalpokta Marici 142 that for example adds Kha Khahi as Bali mantra, and the relatively brief Samskipta Marici 146.


The only thing much similar to Marici is War Chariot Mahamaya Vijayavahini, who is perhaps mostly associated with Kunkuma, the Red Powder of Kumari--Varahi.

Vadali has, is, or takes, a Kumari. As a female Vadala, she is damage, weather-beaten, maybe a whirlpool. Kunkuma is said to un-damage the female by relieving her A-Dhih or Adhim or sexual anxiety. It does that. I don't know if Vadali is in some kind of damaged condition. I don't think so. I think it is more likely that she may be damaging. Kumari may be Wrathful Varahi.

Varali is most likely the Moon. If she is a Surupini maybe she is Sumukhi. Hard to say. The last one Varaha Mukhi is like saying Boar Face is a Divine Form. In no case do any of these have the specific name Vajravarahi, whose original conversion name was Vajramukhi.

Solo Pig Face's name is Arthasiddhi, again more or less suggesting the pig stands for ignorance of the siddhis.

Again if the Family and relationships seem complex, the Boar power is simple enough, is all the insatiable forces erupting from Hell, and, you have to heal them by solarizing them. If successful it is not a nightmare and you are considerably liberated with respect to the subtle world.

That is a Tramen.

It is the same power as Pisacis or tantric Gauris. Those also seem to have the motif that reverting it to a human face is like finding its peaceful side and overcoming the related ignorance. The wrathful side is the brain, so, yes, if you do not purify and control it, all kinds of terrible things follow.


That again is why if we approach the tantras then the basic Gatekeepers of Nirmana Chakra--Cuckoo, Goat, Lion, and Snake--these are not real Tramen because they are explanatory ideas to get one to begin the process of Pranayama blending mantra and wind there. It gives the sense of rhythm and the impression of Four Activities. They can become like the Paramadya goddesses. This is incredibly calming, Shamata, leading to "the cathartic", Prasrabdhi or Tranquility. And so you do get a Little Red Lion here in the West with a Chain. But then if we go into sadhana practice, two things will happen, the Lion Face will vanish, and the Chain will become like a papery image, generic, until it can be found that its power is intentionally gained in another Family, and handed over. The installation of Amoghasiddhi as Tri-samaya Raja means that the strength of Mudras has been increased to Bandha or "Locked" and Chain Activity is also Bandhaya, the Chain is the Lock, not a catching or pulling implement.



And then we would find Lion Face actually does return on the pure red Zhiro Bhusana, like Sumukhi, completely red.

She is not Wrathful or a Tramen. How does she do it? Does she have Hindu Pratyangira--Narasimhi's head grafted on??

The commonly-known Lion Face is Simhamukha who is always a Wrathful Jnanadakini. Even in the very rare instance of Red Simhamukha, she is still not as red as Zhiro Bhusana.

Zhiro Bhusana is Nyan's Vajrayogini. It is evident she is a Guru to Guhyajnana Dakini. And those are all about numerical increase, like this Circle, or Zero, or Flowers, or Pigs, this one is Dakinis.

Varahi is like the admixture of this essence with something that was sealed by Bhu--Vasudhara in a different realm for a reason, it is dangerous to us.

Zhiro Bhusana rather has the feel of a maturing of the Little Red Lion Gatekeeper.

That first small ring of Gatekeepers is really just so someone who may be disoriented can harness their forces. You are going to center it in the abdomen and then when something seems to kick in, you are doing a meditation to essentially Pave it with Golden Ground like Marici, except it is Vairocana and Locana who emerge from some kind of ethereal dormancy in Space and take over your earthly body.

Further along, this gets turned into a furnace, so, we can honor the quality of Sita Vaideha who glowed like luminous molten gold while she was immune to fire during doubts about her integrity. Daughter of Bhu--Vasudhara.










This is not the same Marici and is utterly unidentified as to even what country it came from. It appears to be an Amitayus Marici with a Vase, and maybe a Pig in her hand. Here she is over a Naga bearing a platter of gems:

[Old Student]

Quick note, I will finish later,

How are you parsing the first line here:

haṃkārajacandrasūryyagrāhimahograhāhu-
samadhiṣṭhitarathamadhye devīcatuṣṭayaparivṛtām

Ham syllable emanates a moon and sun and Marici is in Samadhi in her chariot surrounded by friends.

If I break it
haṃkāra jacandra sūryyagrāhi mahograhāhu
it is
haṃkāra "the sound of ham" which seems right and then,
jacandra "light of the moon" or "born of the moon" which is okay and then,
sūryyagrāhi "sun-seizer" or "eclipse of the sun" which is what?, and then,
mahograhāhu = maha ugra hāhu = great fiercest or great most wrathful.

One could almost think this is talking about 'ham' creating the solar diamond ring of an eclipse?

[shaberon]

Posted by Old Student (here)
Quick note, I will finish later,

How are you parsing the first line here:

haṃkārajacandrasūryyagrāhimahograhāhu-
samadhiṣṭhitarathamadhye devīcatuṣṭayaparivṛtām

Ham syllable emanates a moon and sun and Marici is in Samadhi in her chariot surrounded by friends.

If I break it
haṃkāra jacandra sūryyagrāhi mahograhāhu
it is
haṃkāra "the sound of ham" which seems right and then,
jacandra "light of the moon" or "born of the moon" which is okay and then,
sūryyagrāhi "sun-seizer" or "eclipse of the sun" which is what?, and then,
mahograhāhu = maha ugra hāhu = great fiercest or great most wrathful.

One could almost think this is talking about 'ham' creating the solar diamond ring of an eclipse?

I haven't! I am not that good at it.

The "-kara" I am not sure means "sound". Very standard with any syllables, such as "sitahrihkara". So I think it is supposed to mean the visual. I personally cannot visualize syllables and do not know what they even look like, so, at most, usually I might have a red or white glowing dot or something, but, I actually do focus on its sound.

It would be hard to do Nyasa or Armor Deities that way, but, one by one, it works.

Suryagraha could be eclipse, or, more specifically, Eclipse should be Suryagrahana.


I thought the second word was some kind of Maha Graha, but, I think you are right, it probably has the combined form of Ugra and that would make Maha Ugra:

Hahū (हहू).—A Gandharva with the sun in summer.*

* Vāyu-purāṇa 52. 7.

hāhū (हाहू).—f hāṃhūṃ n (hāṃ & hūṃ Imitative words.) "Ahem" or other audible expiration as made to intimate wakefulness, attentiveness, presence &c.


Grahi is feminine for Graha.

Karaja refers to: “born of kamma” in karaja-kāya the body sprung from action, an expression always used in a contemptible manner, therefore=the impure, vile, low body'.


I am not sure it is always "contempitible" here, as it is common with nearly a hundred instances such as:

candrasthahuṃkārajavajraṃ

āḥkārajapadme

The latter being something like "Ah becomes or transforms into a lotus". It is like the difference when a syllable transmutes into something, versus it sprouting another stem where the lotus grows and makes something else.

Those phrases are near the beginning of Sadhanamala in Vajrasana sadhana followed by:

śirasi candre sita-oṃkārajāṣṭāracakre candrastha-oṃkāram iti kāyaviśuddhibhāvanā /


So a similar phrase is used with White Om at the head which purifies Body or Kaya.

What is unique for Marici is Hahu. Only one. Anything similar is just in a phrase of "hahumkara" like the one above, which does not seem intended with Marici. This is also the only Grahi. So I am guessing:

Suryagrahi = Surya female spirit

Maha Ugra Hahu = something unique from the Puranas.


Vayu Purana ch. 52 is Deities Attendant upon the Chariot of the Sun. Every two months, there is a rotation of Gandharvas, Apsaras, Nagas, Yakshas, and Sages--the latter almost certainly being the Vairajas or Jivanmuktas. These beings cause the sun to produce radiance. Some of what the Vayu says about these:

The twelve groups of seven (Saptaka) are the presiding
deities of them with their place of residence.
These make the Sun inflated by their radiance.
Their radiance is excellent.

By the distinguished hymns of prayer, the
sages adore the Sun. Gandharvas and Apsarasas
attend upon him with dance and music.

Gramanls, Yaksas and Bhutas, organise a
terrific gathering. The snakes carry the sun and
the Yatudhanas follow him. Worshipping the
Sun from the time of rising, the sages
Balakhilyas lead him to the mountain of
Sunset.

The way that sun shines forth for them, well accomplished by radiance and in accordance
with the powers, penance, Yogic power,
truthfulness, righteousness and strength of these
deities, in the same way, these abide herein for
two months each over the Sun.

The sages, the gods, the Gandharvas, and the
groups of Pannagas or snakes and bevies of
nymphs, the Gramanls and likewise the Yaksas
and Yatudhanas manifoldly. These gleam forth
and rain forth, shine forth, emit out breeze and
generate or procreate, herein proclaimed as such
drive away (lit. refute) the inauspicious acts of
the Bhutas.

...

The Sun pleases the gods by the means of
nectar and by means of the ray (Susumna), the
Sun develops the Moon in the bright half (of the
moon) day by day and it is complete (full of the
full moon days). Devas imbibe its nectar during
the dark half.

After being sucked thus, the moon has only
two digits left at the end of the dark fortnight
and percolating down by rays, the manes
consume the nectar by Svadha, the manes, the
gods and the Saumyas drink that very way the
oblation of kind of the deceased.

By the sun, the rays or kine, consolidated as
such and by waters well-distilled by rain and by
well-grown medicinal herbs, the mortals satiate
their hunger by food and slake (the thirst) by
waters.

By nectar becomes the satiety for half a
month of the gods and of the manes; for half of
a month by Svadha (call) by food constantly
sustain (themselves), the mortals, and the sun
bears all that by the beams.

The Sun moves ahead by the horses in the
form of rays consumes waters by the rays. At
the hour of their release, he discharges them.
Thus the Sun sustains the mobile and immobile
beings perpetually.

The Sun by the green horses is carried
along, consumes (lit. drinks) waters by the rays
thousand fold. While being carried by green
horses, he (Sun) showers it again.


Hahu was once cursed to become a Makara, and attacked Gajendra.

Arthur Avalon uses Hahu in an expression about how a sadhaka masters music, dance, and song, a Pandita, that singing makes a Gandharva.


This involves the Vairajas, i. e. what HPB considered a sort of Hindu Nirmanakaya, and, which, may be associated with the deity Viraj. Again this is like a concatenation of Vimala, which is a relatively common title from Katyayani to Manjushri. However as Viraj, we only have Parasol and maybe one more.

Viraj is likely the oldest type of Shakti, honored at Jaipur.

Mahogra could even be an individual name, as in an army of Daityas subjugated by Durga.


It may be that Moon and Sun become the Grahis Mahogra and Hahu.

Such entities "refute the inauspicious acts of the Bhutas".

Again this basic term Graha is like asking whether the planet "grips" you or vice-versa, and, it is the same root for Grasper and Grasped terminology in Buddhist philosophy and the tantra of the two nerves, Vairocani and Varnani, Solar and Lunar.

The sadhana does seem to say that whatever this/these entity/entities is/are, dwells in samadhi inside the Chariot.

The Purana just said they are in the Chariot. It has Green Horses. Remind the Tibetans about Vayu Purana.

This may be simply to associate Marici with the strongest summer sun. It may be a code for two important Bija mantras. It does, however, roll right back in to Svaha and the Solar and Lunar Pitris, the Triangle or three formless planes and square or four form planes. Saumya apparently has to do with Lunar Pitris, which makes sense as to why they seem peaceful and lunar in Buddhism, but, do not seem to represent all possibilities or the Moon as a whole. Satisfied-by-oblation aspect of it.

[Old Student]

Arapacana or Enlightenment? Arapacana is Gandharan possibly Aramaic in origin. This one is actually one of the most commonly-practiced Manjushris, which is why I have not dealt with it much.

My guess is that it's one of several attempts to make Persian easier to write that were subsequently used as lingua franca scripts everywhere by sailors etc. This one apparently was ordered the way it was so that people could remember their prayers.

In Locana's terms you mentioned:

Caksus is a vidya

Locana is a prajna

Vilokin is becoming aware of and included both sight and touch (sparsha).


Yes, the sense of vilokin there is similar to why we would say Avalokiteshvara does not mean "He is looking down at you", it has more to do with the adjective or quality or you having this type of enhanced vision or perception.

Part of the reason I flagged this is because that makes vilokin something similar to what I use in my notes which is 'listening' because that's what it is called in push hands, but it's an attempt to push awareness further than the senses are offering, which I thought it was cool that this concept exists related to sight instead.

I cannot imagine why she is attended by Varttali, except Vartta has something to do with Flower Offering and Marici is an Asoka gardener like in Ramayana, and then this Varttali is the beginning of something like a pig farm. Is it a zero or bindu? I am not sure. I am sure it is not being used to say something like "round eyes" in these cases, like when it is her name, if you want to call me Circle, why don't you call me Chakra or something. This sub-pig has Marici's Needle and Asoka herself. Needle as Avadhut and Varttali as Aura?

Interesting thing: I talked to my native source about Marici's pigs pulling her chariot instead of Ushas' horses. They said it makes a lot of sense since Marici is light. The pigs are ignorant and they pull the chariot into the darkness of ignorance, whereupon she is light so she brings light to that darkness.

I would never have thought of it that way.

Yes, it will take dakinis and pranic energies to get it to work, which would be examples of his field, Activity.

I have something to report about the word "Act!" that I keep hearing. It is a specific action a kind of voluntary flitting -- except that while I put myself through it, it did not seem that I chose the place or person. The traveling to and from is the thing I described to you before, where I seem to travel by embodying places instead of just visiting them. The form at least for now (only happened once) is the same, as a silvery skinned or maybe lightning skinned dakini. The context was a death, I was there as a first light of death or a last light of life, it seemed. As usual, over in an instant but with a lot of afterwards rumination.

[Old Student]

Suryagraha could be eclipse, or, more specifically, Eclipse should be Suryagrahana.

Apparently, Suryagraha is still eclipse even in some modern Indian languages.

After being sucked thus, the moon has only
two digits left at the end of the dark fortnight
and percolating down by rays, the manes
consume the nectar by Svadha, the manes, the
gods and the Saumyas drink that very way the
oblation of kind of the deceased.

Maybe the passage is related to something like this process.

I'm glad you had all that on 'hahu', I couldn't get anything except that it can be a superlative ending. Since the line starts with hamkara(ja) perhaps it is just ending with ham-hum.

[shaberon]

Posted by Old Student (here)
Part of the reason I flagged this is because that makes vilokin something similar to what I use in my notes which is 'listening' because that's what it is called in push hands, but it's an attempt to push awareness further than the senses are offering, which I thought it was cool that this concept exists related to sight instead.

Yes. Eye is visual at first, but, then, it is Whole Body. And then with the senses purified things can change and Sound will likely become major. And so if you keep opening it, even better. Know something that you have no way of knowing.

Interesting thing: I talked to my native source about Marici's pigs pulling her chariot instead of Ushas' horses. They said it makes a lot of sense since Marici is light. The pigs are ignorant and they pull the chariot into the darkness of ignorance, whereupon she is light so she brings light to that darkness.

I would never have thought of it that way.

Yes the Horses are more like raw power and the Boars are the Noumenal Path.

Ignorant Pigs = contaminated senses = Gauris or Tramen that may be repellent if not dangerous

You can harness the Pigs but not from Mortal Desire but from Divine Desire subordinating the Iccha, Will, or Samsara.

Horse is the regular symbol of Jewel Family and so an obvious solar mark.

Marici is mainly a blend of Jewel and Tathagata Families.

Tathagata Family is Ignorance which is why Vajravarahi is primarily of that family.

I have something to report about the word "Act!" that I keep hearing. It is a specific action a kind of voluntary flitting -- except that while I put myself through it, it did not seem that I chose the place or person. The traveling to and from is the thing I described to you before, where I seem to travel by embodying places instead of just visiting them. The form at least for now (only happened once) is the same, as a silvery skinned or maybe lightning skinned dakini. The context was a death, I was there as a first light of death or a last light of life, it seemed. As usual, over in an instant but with a lot of afterwards rumination.

I was doing something like that.

Not so close.

It is hard to slow down and savor these processes. Again by Enlightenment, it means a nice slow look at something that is natural but instantaneous and unconscious.

Once you start finding yourself at the threshhold where souls leave their bodies for the other side, then you are in something that sounds more familiar to me.



I put credence in Vayu Purana since that is where we take the existence of Vairocani to be described.

We ignored the Vairajas until their explanation was demanded. Marici has spoken of a particular one of some eighty-four beings.

If Marici may be saying Ham Hum by borrowing a summer Gandharva...which she could access these as her Kriya mandala appears to include timekeeping units...well we have studied how Hum is considered a solar syllable, unlike Om, which is universal dawn, Hum is individualized and resides in the Heart and resonates through Sesha and Varuni at the bottom of the Talas. Mirror-ish.

Ham is a relatively standard syllable for White Bodhicitta. If one has done Pranayama up to the point it may activate the head, then a white syllable is visualized there. it may be Om, or other things, but, Ham is a viable option and moreso because it is not used for much of anything else, and if thought of as an abbreviation for Aham or ego, that is the idea. Line it up in your sights and burn it, power of Ananga, Kamadeva, incinerated, body-less.

And so Ham or other syllable is like the secret location of where did 1/8 of Surya's rays go when Samjna demanded he be tempered?

In the Moon, relatively speaking, the personal White Moon.

Melting Ham is the First Joy.

If I wanted to summarize the Fist and Akshobhya Abhiseka I just told you to figure out, I would probably say Hum, and if I wanted to aim for the next bullseye it would probably be the White Moon or Ham. And then beyond this you mainly just have Picuva and Oddiyana and Vajradhatvishvari Maricis. It seems to me like a reasonable frame for Kalpoktam and the Eight Arm forms and Stupa moment using Ham and Hum.



In the grammar it seems normal to write 1-2-3-4 is A-B-C-D, and I am guessing Marici here may be saying 1-2 is A-B:

haṃkāraja [candra sūryya] grāhi [mahogra hāhu]

Mahogra may be symbolic of the Lunar Pitris--Barhisads and Hahu of the Solar Agnishwattas.

Susumna personally is the Avadhut, while, in esoteric astrology, it is the Ray from the Sun to the Moon, which is why everything alludes to the waxing and waning cycles and Purniman or Purnamasa, the human spirit or monad, is Full Moon Sacrifice. And so Vajrasattva is the first part of the practical path of the reflection as he wanders to the White Moon or First Joy and/or First Void. It is also the Vowels.

In sadhana practice, what happens is, the following is Mandala, and then after that you have opening the Dharmadhatu like Buddha was doing. There is not much variety to this except maybe the names of a few of the countries. You cast Ground or Vajra Bhumi and then you are going to raise Mt. Meru and populate it:

...on an earth, completely pure, of great power with a ground of gold, ...surrounded by an outer wall of iron mountains, in the middle is ...the king of mountains Sumeru. East Purvavideha; south Jambudvipa; west Aparagodaniya; north Uttarakuru; Deha and Videha; Chamara and Apachamara; Sata and Uttaramantrina; Kurava and Kaurava; treasure mountains, wishing trees, wishing cows, uncultivated crops, precious wheels, precious jewels, precious queens, precious ministers, precious elephants, precious excellent horses, precious generals, great treasure vases; goddesses of beauty, garlands, song, dance, incense, flowers, lamps and perfume; sun, moon, precious umbrellas, banners - victorious in all directions..." (Extracted from the long mandala offering prayer written by Chogyal Pagpa).

The Sun and Moon are in the sky above the respective protective items, umbrella and banner.

Parasol is a wildcat, and from the standpoint that Six Arm forms are a tantric barrier within the Akshobhya process, what happens is she loses her Parasol item and therefor has a form that artists refuse to paint since that is too confusing. She also has the six arm form Maha Pratyangira, and, I suspect it is likely to say, Grahamatrika.

She continues emerging and when she has Eight Arms she gets her stuff back and has also acquired a Banner and we can find her pointing the items at the targets:






Her basic form is popular in Mongolia and has Vajra Feet and a form of Amoghasiddhi's Abhaya Mudra:



















In the last one you see Atisha's Seven Eye Tara. It is correct that Mongolia is hers. Parasol however could not originally have had this association. Metamorphosis particular to them.


I am not quite sure what this Kalpoktam Marici is up to; there are four virtually identical forms having the same Four Attendants and the sadhanas are clearly associated, they seem like degrees.


In looking for something distinctive, there is for Eight Arm Yellow Marici 137:

upaviśya svahṛdaye rātridinabhedena akārā-kāraniṣpannau śaśisūryyau

Sasisurya, one word, Moonsun.



This Bhagavati arises in a Flower or Puspa and Others Sampujya.

It says something like Night is broken when Ah becomes the two orbs.

A more serious Yellow Lion Vairocana comes up, who is:

padmagarbhasiṃhāsane

and whose Mudra Locks the Seven Jewels of Enlightenment:

bodhyaṅībaddhamudrakaṃ


He brings in Eight Arm Marici, who uses a similar process as before but it manifests her Charioteer:

yaṃkārajavāyumaṇḍale haṃkāranirmmito rāhuḥ /

so Eclipse is built in. Despite Vairocana's presence, Marici is crowned by Ratna.

Now she is with Bandhuka Flower and has Raktam Varttulam which in this case would mean round red eyes.

It looks like all of the retinue are in caityas in red underwear:

sarvvā etāścaityakūṭāgārasthā nānālaṅkāraratnamukuṭarakta-kañcukottarīyāstrinetrā

You do Four Activities mantra and make Jnana Sattva Pravesa Mudra. And afterwards you Mutter Vajrasattva.



Samskipta Marici 146 is the briefest one with less details and has the following:

vāyumaṇḍalaṃ haṃbhavarāhuṃ candrasūryau grasamānaṃ

and it refers to Hook with respect to the attendants, so, would obviously be placed prior to 137.

If Hahu was maybe, perhaps, a kitschy Gandharva for Ham and Hum, well, there you go. It may have been but there is the simpler version Ham becomes Rahu who holds a moon disk and a sun disk.




Kalpokta 142 is significantly longer.

Right at the start it says she is in Vairocana Family (and has his crown) and that Kalpokta Vidhi is the sadhana krama here. Then is seems to say she is the source of the initiatory mandala:

śrīmārīcyudayamaṇḍalābhiṣikto

She mentions Sakalasattva, which is among her running topics, and again she requires Fist which seems to Noose:

bhagavatīm avatāryya mārīcīvighnotsāraṇamantreṇa gandhodakaṃ

Offering Goddesses present themselves, everything returns to Voidness, and it then seems to say why Pam is in the majority of spawn sequences:

bījaṃ māyopamākāraṃ traidhātuṃ ca viśeṣataḥ /

It is Maya Bija of the Three Worlds.



Vairocana coes up again, and conjures Marici from Ardhendu Bindu, i. e. a Crescent and Dot. Her Lamp Body is a Mountain of Luminous Gold:

jāmbūnadaprabhākārāṃ dīptadehāṃ

and evidently has a kati--waist sutra--cord and Kinkini bell girdles.

She has a sneaky Kadamba Tree:

Lalanapriya

She has Utphulla Locana, very wide open eyes.

She conjures a more complex Charioteer:

yaṃbhavaṃ vāyavyamaṇḍale haṃkārapariṇataṃ rāhugrahaṃ hastābhyāṃ
grastaṃ candrasūryyau vidā dinakāraṃ niśigataṃ candramasaṃ


It seems to be identifying Rahu with the Moonsun entity, if that is what has been hinted at. The second part refers to divinity and full moon.

Her first attendant is for:

kalpoktavidhinā abhipretasiddhim

Abhipreta is dear to, wished for, loved, desired, etc.

next:

mukhacakṣuṣīṃ sīvantīṃ dakṣiṇato

The third one does Stambha and last is for:

sarvvasattānupasa

Noose and all Sattvas; Noose closely corresponds to Entering the Mandala stage; and Eight Arm Marici mostly acts up to Noose, but here, it specifies something about Shrnkala before reciting Four Activities:

tarjanyaṅkuśabandhena kaniṣṭhayā sahāṅkuśī bāhugranthikaṭāgrābhyāṃ
śṛṅkhalāpṛṣṭhayoś ca pīḍanād iti /

There is a Marici Mudra and Samaya to the devata.

The initiation is a Ghrni or Ray of Mahamudra.

It is interesting that the relevant mantra just says Earth, Sky, Sun:

samamadhyamottamāṅgā śeṣā vajrāñjaliprabhā //
iti mūrdhni sthāpya oṃ bhūḥ khaṃ māṃ abhiṣiñceti mantreṇa
vairocanaḥ kanakābho nodhyaṅgyavasthitaḥ śirasi dhyeyaḥ /

Vajrasattva is Muttered and finally:

prāpnuvantu padaṃ sattvā mārīcījñānanirmalam //
oṃ kha kha khāhi khāhi gṛhṇa gṛhṇa gṛhṇantu sārvabhautikā
baliṃ mama śāntiṃ kurvantu svāheti balimantraḥ /

She takes something like an Usnisa Dharani for her Bali mantra.





Abhipreta has nothing to do with Preta--Ghosts and is more closely related to Artha Siddhi. From an Arabic interpretation of Patanjali:

videhānām indriyāṇām abhipreta-deśa-kāla-viṣayāpekṣo vṛtti-lābho vikaraṇabhāvaḥ ‘Extra-sensory perception consists in accomplishing the function of the senses with regard to (any) desired place, time or object independently of the body’.

Abhipreta Artha Siddhi as a Buddhist stock phrase exaplining "artha".

In a general definition of Kamya.


Abhipreta six times in a glossary translating to Chinese characters.


Padma Purana 1.65.10:

abhipretārthasiddhyarthaṃ pūjito yaḥ surairapi |
sarvavighnachide tasmai gaṇādhipataye namaḥ || 10 ||


That is instantly recognizable to me because Ganadhipatiye is used in Ganapati Hrdaya.

So, although it sounds like ghosts and due to the wrathful prerequisite, we might think she was talking about Bhutadamaru or something, it is much closer to Artha Siddhi, the only form of Vajravarahi that has a full pig's face like her retinue.

I think it is Puranic, and Ghrna must be the secret sun which appeared to be used as a syllable in Varamrita Tantra. Hahu may be a misprint for Rahu. Maybe not.

It kind of just says "may you accomplish the desired object", which is not really that different from Vajrasattva mantra, in the part Sarva Siddhim me Prayaccha, Sarva Karma sucha me.

Marici is supposed to show a lot more vivid detail about it than he does.

She does have a six arm form that is similar to this one and probably meant as an intermediate practice.

White Marici is above this, along with a few others. Marici is pretty similar to Parasol in having a collection of forms that change attributes and grow in power. In most other cases, if you take a single name like Cunda or Ekajati, they have huge gaps in the middle. Or Bhrkuti just stops. Vasudhara has a thorough and solid beginning and gets six arms and a stupa and does not appear to proceed into a correspondingly major form. Meanwhile, Parasol is a very relevant item to Marici, when it becomes supported by Brahma, Indra, etc.

Kalpoktam Marici seems pretty close to the ability to do Stupa meditations, which are grounded in Akanistha, whereas Vajradhatvishvari Marici by adding the Parasol attribute really seems to have accumulated *everything*.

She lacks much of the "dark side" represented by Mahacina Krama Tara --> Nairatma --> Ekajati --> Kama Dhatvishvari.

But again, these are mainly the two nerves, Solar and Lunar, Vairocani and Varnani.

When we use those names we become highly aware it will unleash something called Vajravarahi, but, ultimately they are really the constitution of Tri-kaya Vajrayogini which is Cinnamasta.

The simple Green Tara with Marici and Ekajati evolves through Amoghasiddhi rites into this. According to Sadhanamala, Akshobhya initiation turns Amoghasiddhi into Tri-samaya Raja. He will establish the bonds which open Tri-samadhi and establish Tri-kaya. Then you start getting more intense actually-manifested deities and a very subtle, but farily well-mapped practice.

[Old Student]

Tathagata Family is Ignorance which is why Vajravarahi is primarily of that family.

Why would the "Thus born" be ignorant? I thought they were enlightened.

It is hard to slow down and savor these processes. Again by Enlightenment, it means a nice slow look at something that is natural but instantaneous and unconscious.

Once you start finding yourself at the threshhold where souls leave their bodies for the other side, then you are in something that sounds more familiar to me.

I don't see how it is any different than enlightenment things. I arrive, try to pull someone towards enlightenment and leave. It is what I was doing even though they were dying. I felt I had to say something. I said, "If you can see me, you have nothing to fear." Which is true. I spent hours afterward thinking of all the ways that could be taken.

upaviśya svahṛdaye rātridinabhedena akārā-kāraniṣpannau śaśisūryyau

Sitting one's own heart night-day are the same, the 'A' syllable completed Moonsun.

I'm not really understanding that, it seems like one sits until night and day become the same completing the 'A' syllable and then 'Moonsun"?

so Eclipse is built in. Despite Vairocana's presence, Marici is crowned by Ratna.

So the only thing I can think of that is like a ray of light in the eclipse is that diamond ring light formation when the total eclipse starts to end.

Abhipreta six times in a glossary translating to Chinese characters.

It translates each time to 可愛, which means beloved or lovable. My Sanskrit dictionary also gives "something or someone dear."

I think it is Puranic, and Ghrna must be the secret sun which appeared to be used as a syllable in Varamrita Tantra. Hahu may be a misprint for Rahu. Maybe not.

This is an interesting idea, given how the two characters are written.

[shaberon]

Much of this has been posted before, but, I am trying to get a good look at "the instructions". I try to interiorize most everything, repetition helps, and my career is still like an attempt to move a Laya Yoga experience into Buddhist practice. Some of these basics are much, much more difficult than ineffable Bliss! I can almost just breathe and get that when conditions are right. Getting Buddha's Wisdom has more to it. Perhaps it is more like directing a play. We are given the script, but, if I cannot get some recalcitrant actor to make a stellar performance, then I am just a reader without much power.

Wayman's "Introduction to the Buddhist Tantras" has this material, and, I think, we are less interested in the "divisions" of Kriya/Chara/Yoga/Yoganiruttara, less interested in Father/Mother/Non-dual, and more in the guts of what makes it tick.

It is "how to do tantra", instead of Sutra with meditations, or what an Ngondro is. It is Deity Yoga with visualizations. So it pre-supposes Ngondro and Guru Yoga.

It begins with the subject of "the Six gods", which is a bit misleading, since no particular entities are named. It is more like six aspects of Vajrasattva or "a deity".

The first one of these is a formula, Atma Tattva + Devata Tattva = Tattva Devata.



Atma Tattva is the first step in Kriya-Chara. It is a continuance of Samkhya which says there are twenty-five tattvas, to Shiva who says thirty-six, which is the model for Thirty-seven point enlightenment. Thirty-six is of profound numerological significance, a third of a rosary (108).

Siva says there are five pure tattvas, seven pure-impure ones consisting of Maya, Five Kancukas, and Purush, and then several lower tattvas.

These tattvas are described as the process of creation:

The vibrant creative energy of Parashiva, known as Spanda, moves him to manifest himself these 36 tattvas as a līlā or divine play.

Beneath Purusha are the aspects of a person in general Hindu philosophy:

Consciousness within the limited purusha forms the citta made of Intellect (buddhi), Ego (ahamkāra), and Mind (manas), known collectively as the antahkarana, or "inner organ". Buddhi is the first evolute of prakṛti. It represents the capacity of discernment. It evolves into ahamkāra after buddhi differentiates a notion of a limited individual self. That external sense of self is then experienced through the sensory mind (manas). Ten indriyas (five sense organs and five action organs), five tanmātras (subtle elements such as Smell), five mahābhūtas (gross elements such as Earth), and the sensory mind evolve from ahamkāra.

The main difference is that the same type of skeleton is used by Gaudiyas and Vedantins who say there is a god and a permanent soul/self, whereas Buddhism just says there is activity of Skandhas, but they do not constitute any type of abiding personal entity. This Buddhist un-teaching was prevalent enough that around the tenth century, it was necessary to write Atma Tattva Vivekha to refute it. Same subject. They say "it is a thing", compared to which, we only have the center of Catuskoti.

So although the "higher" part of Shiva's tattvas may be disputed by Buddhism with perhaps a few name changes or differing definitions, the lower group of Indriyas, Tanmatras, and Mahabhuts is close to the same.


Our definition of Atma Tattva--a reality where no "self" is believed to administer the skandhas--should be understood along with a Sutra-level recognition of Voidness.


According to Mkhas grub-je:

The Self Reality ( *atma-tattva ) is the contemplation (bhavana) that (1) is
free from such concepts as singleness and multiplicity by recourse to
the reasoned formulations of the Madhyamika; and (2) which decides
that one’s own mind is void because accomplished by intrinsic nature.

This Atma Tattva poses itself with Devata Tattva, i. e. the contemplation of a deity.

They are equivalent to the contemplation of voidness in the higher Tantra divisions that attends the muttering of such expressions as svabhava and sunyata.

I have never Muttered svabhava, it has always seemed like a one-use eraser. Sunyata is much different, e. g. for Vajra Tara, and so I am already doing a Devata Tattva on her.

In Tson-kha-pa’s Shags rim chen mo, 60a-6, ff., the first god is called the don dam pahi lha ( *paramartha-deva ) and consists in the pride that oneself is one with the god (bdag dan lha gnis gcig par na rgyal byas te), indissoluble like the mixture of water and milk.

The combination makes a Reality God: Tattva Devata. This is "the first god".

"You" are not a permanent entity, neither is it, you are a witness of "some processes", and the Deity is one that is not dependent, nor false, nor bait for some new suffering; it lacks faults. Neither one of you have intrinsic or truly-established existence, you are united by being mutual outcroppings of Void.



As we have seen, this Kriya-Chara Devata has six iterations, related to Abhisambodhi, which are:

Abhi. no. 1, meditation on sixteen kinds of voidness, and God no. 1, contemplation of voidness;

Abhi. no. 2, symbols of consonants, and God no. 2, sound god;

Abhi. no. 3, sees directly the Samantabhadra, and God no. 3, the God seen on one’s own mind;

Abhi. no. 4, beams of light from all three realms enter thunderbolt of his heart, and God no. 4, the rays, together with the gods, withdrawn;

Abhi. no. 5, transformation into body with Characteristics and Minor Marks, and God no. 5, blesses spots in his body.


After the five Abhisambodhis, the Buddha appears in the world of men,; this phase is indicated by God no. 6, the yogin returning to the world while holding on to a divine consciousness.


Voidness, whether as one or sixteen kinds, has to be appreciated in order for any of these tantras to work. If it does not make sense, you need to recite Prajnaparamita Heart mantra or something, until you get it. But then if we were to assert there is voidness or no-self, then we are just kind of advertising this first step. It is a necessary preliminary, but is not really what the rest of this material is about.



Second:

And so you get this Tattva Devata and subject it to Dharani, which is male--mantra, and female--vidya:

his aspect (akara) is the intonation of the sounds of the dharani to
be muttered. That [aspect] as the mind’s sole meditative object ( alam -
bana) is the Sound God (*sabda-devata).

That is a Sabda Vajra, a mental-only object made of sound. Here, you Mutter until it is the only object. And so when I mutter Ganapati and in between the lines, I can feel other sounds or thoughts bubbling up, then I am stuck here.



Third:

Then one imagines that his own mind ( citta ) transforms itself in the sky
into a moon disk ( candra-mandala ) upon which the god to be contem¬
plated is that very god in essence. The contemplation of its aspect as
the aspect of the letters, the color of liquid gold, of the dharani to be
muttered, is the Letter God ( *aksara-devata) .

The Shags rim chen mo, 60b-4, makes it clear that the Letter God is the inseparable
union of oneself and the God Reality like the attachment of pure quicksilver to golden
sand.

For those Sound and Letter Gods, it is satisfactory to use either the
long ( dirgha ), the essence (hrdaya), or the near-essence ( upahrdaya )
dharani.

It doesn't matter what deity or mantra. You need to be able to see the letters and make a much stronger link than stage one where it was "accepted" or "believed".

When I can get my Ganapati mantra to calm down and not be subject to subconscious pressure, then I am stuck with the fact that I cannot really see Gam, I can barely remember what an Om looks like. I may know perfectly well, physiologically, how to raise prana through the crown aperture, but that does not mean I can do a proper Deity Yoga since I cannot see this stuff.



Fourth is really Hook Rays, common to sadhanas, which for Letter God means they issue from the Letters, but, it is a general principle of filling space with purification and returning to manifest something:

Then the rays, together with the gods, are withdrawn, absorbed by the
letters; and the moon, together with the letters, transforms itself into
the perfected body of the god to be contemplated. This as the meditative
object is the Form God (*rupa-devata).

At the time of doing service through contemplation of Self Generation,
one need only contemplate the Lord ( *prabhu ) but not his retinue ( pari -
vara ), palace ( vimana ), etc.

I think that is why some of these sadhanas appear to conjure the same deity twice. They hook everything in and "transform into a perfected body". I should try that. At first I am trying to get a dancing Ganapati at the Khecara point, and then a calm one in the heart. I am no good at this, either, but a batch of Hook Rays might be more helpful than a blank re-appearance.



Fifth is a Nyasa god:

If one does not know [them] to that extent, he touches
those places with a single dharani and seal of that particular Family
among the three Families. And having been [thus] blessed (adhisthita),
they are the Seal God (*mudra-devata).

That is equivalent to the blessing of the sense bases (ayatana) in the
higher Tantra divisions.

You do not really even have to know a Nyasa and can just use Family bonds. Almost anything will work here, if you are good enough to actually get the blessing. Jinajik, Arolik, and Vajradhrk are the main Guhyasamaja Three Families' mantras. If you have Ganapati or "some deity", it would be ok to work with this basic format. Ganapati has a Hindu Nyasa; I am not sure whether to try that, it may be fairly extensive. But these patterns are accessible on basic Taras and Manjushris and so forth before becoming complex.



Sixth is a Luminous god:

Then, while the aspect of the god is bright, one fortifies the ego ( aham -
kara or garva). That [aspect] taken as the mind’s sole meditative object
is the Sign God ( *nimitta-devata ).

This sixth obviously cannot differ much from Vajrasattva and Vajragarvi. One meditates in the luminosity while working on the pyshological mind rather than the intellect within the senses.




So then there is a debate about how many technical aspects of Buddhism are allowed in or are taught in Kriya-Chara. That matters less if we look at the distinction between Yoga and Highest Yoga:

In the Yoga Tantra one generates the self into a god, draws in the
jnana beings, is conferred Initiation, applies the seal of the Master of the
Family, and finally asks the god to depart. In the Anuttara Tantra one
generates the self into a god, draws in the jnana beings, is conferred
Initiation, applies the seal of the Master of the Family, and at the con¬
clusion the gods are not asked to depart.


Without the empowerment, one does not self-generate, and so we are trying to get as far as possible in Kriya--Chara--Yoga without it. Sounds odd. Well, Devata Tattva is obviously not a self-generation. How much of this can be performed while viewing an "external" deity that is "inseparable from me"?

That is like reversing their argument. They are trying to say that self-generation may be allowed in the lower classes of tantra. But if those classes can be done without it, what is the limit?

We already have initiations in Guru Yoga. Nothing new about this technique. It may be done without generating any other Devata. So, a similar process with "someone else" should be fine.

I am not sure we should draw in Jnana Sattvas. They are supposed to blend with our Samaya Sattva, a Pledge or Symbolic Being. Ultimately, the Samaya is like a good mental image of a coffee cup, and the Jnana is like its self-arisen superior form. I would think it is useless to contemplate or visualize with effort a Jnana Sattva. It needs to be ready to go on its own. That is why we mainly focus on Samaya beings. So for instance if I have no real communion with Cunda, then I take her minor red form and attempt these techniques with it. If she ever stabilized then maybe I try going further.

If she "clicks" and starts working, then, maybe we try a Jnana Sattva--and this separate/other/upgraded form is something unique to Buddhism which distinguishes it from other tantras. And even Jnana Sattvas are not pat or are not static or a form of praise:


The symbolic being is the one united with the image of deity through the
force of fierce striving for union, resolute application, and samadhi on that sole object.
There are two kind of knowledge being: (a) the being born from the perfections {para-
mita) and (b) the being born from knowledge ( jnana ). The being born from the per¬
fections is the one disposed to seek in ever higher steps by way of the stages (bhumi)
[usually ten in number] and perfections ( paramita) [usually six in number]. The being
born from knowledge is the corporeal manifestation of the Lord and retinue arisen
from the higher comprehension ( adhigama) of the pure Mind of Enlightenment.


If you cannot exhibit Paramitas or Jnana, it is futile to attempt working with a Jnanasattva. You are still Aryan.


in the Dhyanottara-tika (Toh. 2670) he [Buddhaguhya] quotes the * Vajrosnlsa-tantra and the *Vajravidarana-vaipulyatantra ,
showing the method of contemplating the six gods...

Vajrosnisa, as a total system, subsumed in Kalpoktam Marici's Fist, is not different from the Kriya--Chara basics.


Without self-generation, we would mainly be sacrificing siddhis:

Acarya *Varabodhi explains in his lucid exposition
(i.e. Toh. 3066) of the Susiddhi that if there were no revulsion from the
ordinary pride by means of the contemplation of the self as a god, or
if there were no contemplation of voidness in the sense of the natural
state of all things, there would be no siddhis , such as ‘appeasing’, at all;
and he points out that the Vajrapany-abhiseka-tantra says the same.
Therefore, if there were no Self Generation in the Kriya Tantra, no
siddhis whatsoever could be accomplished through the Kriya Tantra.

That is part of the argument for allowing self-generation in Kriya. But again, if I perceive a front-generated deity as "non-different", mentally, and it causes a revolt against mundane Pride or Ego, I am not sure what I am missing by it not desending on my body. I cannot see my back. If I tried 360-degree vision, I could probably see an Amitabha deity behind me much easier than I can see my back.



Another "shift" going into Yoga is Pranayama because:

The Anuttara pranayama means the abolition
of the coursing into the right and left channels; the present pranayama [i.e. of the
Kriya Tantra] means the abolition of the coming and going of the wind (vayu) riding
on discursive thought (vikalpa), as well as the inner containment [of the wind].

On what occasion should that [particular pranayama] be contemplated?
On the occasion of yoga with signs (sanimitta-yoga). And on what
occasion within that [yoga with signs] should it be contemplated? It is
contemplated on the occasion of service ( seva ) in the Kriya and Carya
Tantras, either after completing contemplation of the six gods, or after
accomplishing Generation in Front, as the case may be.

For the sake of what requirement is it contemplated? The requirement
to solidify the meditative object involving the abolition of the craving
for ordinary appearances and involving the transfiguration of one’s
body into that of a god. For solidifying that, the requirement to inhibit
the escape of the mental elements.

What is the profound means of inhibiting that? The mind’s steed is
the vital air (vayu); therefore, when the vital air is contained within,
the mind is held with no freedom of its own. That is why one contem¬
plates the prana-ayama.

What is the procedure in this contemplation? Controlling the vital
centers of the body, one draws the upper vital air (urdhva-vayu) inside
to the navel, pressing it down; and draws the lower vital air (adhas-vayu)
up to the navel, holding it there. The mind is fixed solely upon the god.
Thereupon, when one is no longer able to retain the vital air, it is emitted,
and while one is relaxing, the mind is fixed solely upon the god. Then
he again holds the vital air within and contemplates in the same manner.

It looks like you have done well in Yoga when it becomes easy to draw the prana into the Three Channels. In Kriya-Chara, it is mainly just to "hold still" and get rid of distractions and stop it from leaking; in Yoga, you bind these doors and pull it inwards in reverse, from elaborate networks to more basic pathways until it centers in the navel.


So in the many stages of progress, Pranayama at first smoothes Vikalpa or discursive or distracting thought, until, eventually, energy is restricted to the Avadhut.


And even with a Yoga view or Front Generation, one may:


There are six things, offering and so on, to be done while accomplishing
the Generation in Front: generation of the residence; invitation to the
gods to be residents and offering of seats; exhibition of the seals; offering
and praising; confession of sins; contemplation of the four boundless
states.


"Residence" includes Flask, Golden Ground, Ocean of Milk, Mt. Meru, and everything up to stupas of the nature "victorious" and "radiant".

Invitation requires oblations and uses the two thumbs gesture.

Exhibition of Seals uses Vajra Samaya Mudra, then the seals of Three Families, and Removes Obstacles.

Praise uses the more formal Offerings.

The last two are fairly familiar, Confession is just that, with generation of Bodhicitta, and the Brahma Vihara.

This is considered part of Muttering.

It is the Ground, only varying by Front or Self Generation:

For the genuine muttering
one must complete the four members of muttering. Consequently, the
Dhyanottara says, “Immerse yourself in the sound, the mind, and the
ground.”

The “ ground ” member : The “ground” (T. gzi , S. *vastu ) is the body
of the god in whose heart the dharani wheel is deposited. Of the two
kinds, the “subjective ground” (bdag gi gzi) is the contemplation of
oneself transfigured into a god; and the “objective ground” {gzan gyi
gzi) is the contemplation of the god generated in front.

The other two members of Muttering are visual--the Shape of the syllables--and their Sound:

The member of immersion in mind (*citta-nimna): This has the vivid
meditative object (< alambana ) consisting in one’s mind (citta) in the shape
of a moon -mandala in the heart of the deity generated in front.

The member of immersion in sound (*svara-nimna): This has the vivid
meditative object consisting in the letters of the dharanl to be recited,
located upon that [moon -mandala].

in the first case (T, the first kind [Ground]),
there are three meditative objects: the god, the moon, and the dharani -
garland; in the second case (T, the second kind), there are two medita¬
tive objects: the moon and the dharani-garland; in the third case,
there is only one meditative object: the sound [of the dharani]. A single
person must proceed by these three steps.


The way in which one concludes the four members of muttering is to
offer his roots of merit (kusala-mula) as a cause ( hetu ) for siddhi to the
deity by means of the seal of the flask (kalasa-mudra ).

Having recited for the main part of the watch, the steps of release at
the limit of the watch are this: One releases in reverse order to the se¬
quence in which the six gods were contemplated.

Thus, from hearing the Sound, one goes back to seeing the Letters, and then goes to dwelling on only the moon. The moon is released by dwelling on just the body of the deity; that body in front, by thinking only of one’s own divine body.

That divine body of Self Generation is released by thinking only of
the syllables in its heart; that, in turn, by dwelling on the sound; the
sound, in turn, by dwelling on the Knowledge Body of the god; that, in
turn, by dwelling on the Dharma-kaya. In turn, unsupported by that,
one should dwell on the Self Reality (*atma-tattva). That, in turn, is
released by thinking of the Maturation Body ( vipaka-kaya ) which ap¬
pears as an illusion, mirage, and so forth.

Having summarized by steps those meditative objects, finally he is
equipoised (upeksha) in voidness ( sunyata ). Thereupon, because he emerges in
the fashion of an illusion, even at the time of giving up the watch, he
should not release his hold on divine egoity. This procedure is equiv¬
alent to the unification in the phase of the Anuttara [Tantra ].


When you get to the "limit" of the Six Gods meditation, you transit to Flame (ignoring bodily sensations except for Tummo), then Sound (using Concentration Hero), which is different from Muttering because you hear the Sound in the Flame, rather than producing it. You do this until every detail of the deity is vivid; this is Sanmitta, Yoga with Signs. The details may be "Rough"--his general shape and location--or "Fine", where the eyes, etc., are vivid.

At the limit of that Sound is the practice of Yughanadda. The Flame and Sound Yogas here are Generation Stage (Utpatti).

Even when one reaches the limit of the meditations with signs he is
still without the basic antidote that eradicates the root of the ‘cycle of
transmigration’ (samsara). For eradicating the root of samsara, one
must have the yoga without signs (animitta-yoga). In the latter contem¬
plation, one does not contemplate any conventional aspect, such as the
body of a god, but contemplates according to the precepts through
becoming skilled in the analyzing contemplation (dpyad sgorri) and the
stoppage contemplation (hjog sgom) of voidness.

That is necessary for Maha Siddhis--such as life for eons--but not minor siddhis like assuaging illness or demons. When it manifests Prasrabdhi, the physical and mental cathartic, you are on the Path of Insight.

The Susiddhi explains that when one is in the phase of yoga of the
deity, these are the omens that his muttering and contemplation are
succeeding: trifling hunger, freedom from illness, outstanding awareness,
great and strong nimbus ( tejas ), good dreams and prophetic dreams,
rapture during the muttering, negligible fatigue, emission of fragrant
odors, earnest application to acquiring merit, deep reverence toward
the deity.

The Dhyanottara explains the causes for departure of the deity to
be these: lack of faith, slothfulness, discomfiture by hunger and thirst,
distraction, downheartedness, doubts concerning the rite, disinclination
toward the muttering and meditation, delight in idle talk, prohibited
pursuits, demonic obsession, the dreaming of bad dreams, and so on;
and explains the causes for approach of the deity to be these: the allaying
of craving, hatred, pride, deceit, and so on, and the continuous dwelling
of the mind in the muttering.





Buddhaguhya’s extended commentary on the Mahavairocana-tantra (Toh. 2663,
the Hgrel bsad) states in the commentary on the first chapter that of the four bodies
of the Buddha, two do not teach, namely, the Dharma-kaya and the body residing
in the bodhicitta. By the blessing ( adhisthana ) of those, the other two bodies, the
Sambhoga-kaya and Nirmana-kaya, teach the Dharma. The first two bodies are
beyond speech, the other two, expressive. To use the terminology of Junjiro Takakusu,
The Essentials of Buddhist Philosophy, 2d ed. (Honolulu, 1949), p. 149, the first two
are the Buddha’s static aspect, the other two his dynamic aspect. The Diamond Realm
(vajra-dhatu ) and Nature Realm ( dharma-dhatu ) correspond, respectively, to these
two aspects. These two realms are represented symbolically by the two chief mandalas
of the Japanese Shingon Sect. Buddhaguhya explains in the same place that dharma
is of two kinds: dharma of full comprehension and dharma of scripture (rtogs pahti
chos dan luh gi chos). The dharma of full comprehension is, in turn, of two kinds:
supreme ( paramartha ) and conventional ( samvrti ). The supreme kind has the char¬
acteristic of thusness, the void intrinsic nature.





Chara Tantra is mainly expressed by VAT which takes place in a flowery realm like Avatamsaka:

Kusumatalagarbhalamkara

which is similar to ones described in Vajrapani Abhiseka Tantra and in what they call Buddhavatamsaka.

Of this Chiliocosm:

The object is to merge one’s stream of conscious¬
ness ( citta-sarjjtati ) with that of a Bodhisattva of the tenth stage in the retinue of the
Sambhoga-kaya (cf. Chapter I, p. 21, above) and thus to receive the teaching of the
Sambhoga-kaya.

VAT apparently only has three mandalas, the three tiers of Vairocana's palace, starting with one where he looks West.

Vajrapani Abhiseka Tantra is accepted as Vajra Family Chara tantra; no corresponging Padma tantra exists in Tibet.

Chara takes the Samvara and Samaya of Kriya tantra and adds Purva Seva.

It re-iterates the stages of Muttering and adds the moon-disk like a mirror with two surfaces in the deity's heart, Manas and Buddhi:

The other side of the buddhi-mmor reflects the revived residual
traces ( samskara ), as in remembrance and the dream state. In the present Buddhist
nomenclature, the first side of the buddhi is called the manas- face; the reverse side of
the buddhi , the buddhi- side. Hence, the limit of Yoga with images is still involved with
the first side of the “mirror” but with eidetic or “realistic” imagery. Thereafter, Yoga
without images is involved with the reverse, or inward-directed, side, on which one
cognizes things as arising dream-like or as void.

This is the habituation in the decisive knowledge that concludes through
higher cognition that all things ( sarvadharmah) are void and not isolated,
as regards accomplishment by intrinsic nature.

The “signature” {lag rjes) of that intense contemplation is the trans¬
figuration of the body of the deity on the manas-facQ (yid no) as though
before the eyes, after reaching the limit of Yoga with images. And when
he contemplates in the manner by which that brightness appears only
on the buddhi- side {bio kha phyogs pa) 10 without leaving it, and the body
of the deity appears to be like the illusion of a void accumulation, he
is able to attract the complete characteristics of higher vision {vipasy-
ana). 11

The method of intense contemplation in Yoga without images is
explained intensively in the above way by the Vairocana (Toh. 494) as
well as in the concise commentary (the Pindartha, Toh. 2662) by Buddha-
guhya. Moreover, it is consistent with the Madhyamika BHavana-
krama.

In the Carya Tantra section of Tsoh-kha-pa’s
Shags rim chen mo, only the last of the three works (sgom rim tha ma ) is cited. This
is a passage including a quotation from the Arya-Ratnamegha-sutra, and Tson-kha-
pa’s comments (92a-l): “This states that the analysis by discriminative insight (pra -
tyaveksana-prajha) is the engagement in Yoga without images, and states accordingly
that if one gives up the discriminative insight, he does not engage in Yoga without
images.”

Tson kha pa has exchanged Amitabha's Wisdom for the non-tantric Higher Vision, Insight, or Vispassa.


To increase to the level of Yoga Tantra, it says that Sambhogakaya Vairocana does not move from Akanistha; but he emanates a Nirmanakaya to the top of Mt. Meru. There, he Turns the Wheel of the Law of Yoga, which emits STTS.

Buddhaguhya says the combination of Jewel and Karma Families therein is from Jewel being the Wishes of living beings, and Karma the action that grants them, rolled into one family here.

Yoga is intended to filter those candidates who delight in Samadhi. The Jewel-like candidate loses interest in siddhis other than Lokottara siddhis.

In Yoga, the Seals become very important, although there are different ways of doing them. The tantras state that effective seals, Samaya Mudra on up, depend on Vajrabandha. Vajrasattva is a dharani for Vajrabandha, whereas Vajradrsti is a dharani for the eyes. It is the Action or Karma Seal that is Vajra Musti (Fist).

One mutters Vajrasattva, executes the Vajrabandha, and then sees with Jnana Caksus. In Yoga, it focuses on Vairocana Vajradhatvishvara, and in Highest Yoga, on Vajradhatvishvari.

Here, a White Vajra on a Moon becomes equivalent to Five Families. You mutter that, and then do a samadhi that annihilates Skandhas.

Paramadya says you should have Anuraga towards the deity.

It says there is a third aspect of Highest Yoga besides Generation and Completion:

purification of attendants ( *anucara-visuddhi )

This refers to deifying the Skandhas, Pithas, and so on. That is built in to practically everything, so I did not realize it was a "subject".

When you have used Tantra of Cause to begin a Completion Stage practice, eventually, hopefully, you enter:


Tantra of Effect. This is the rank of Vajradhara, which is the supreme
attainment. The terminology ‘pair combined beyond learning’ (asaiksa-
yuganaddha) and ‘rank possessing the seven members of the samputa ’
has the same meaning.

The seven members of the samputa are as stated by the acarya
Vagisvarakirti [presumably in his Saptariga, Toll. 1888, Derge Tanjur Rgyud]: ‘(1)
Sambhoga [-kaya], (2) samputa , (3) Great Beatitude ( mahasukha ), (4) no intrinsic
nature ( nihsvabhava ), (5) state of being filled with compassion, (6) non-interruption,
and (7) no cessation’.





Somehow, for the famous and/or arbitrary "Seventeen deity retinue", In Lui-pa’s Sri-Bhagavadabhisamaya-nama (Toh. 1427), the female deities of this mandala are made to correspond to the thirty-seven bodhipaksya dharmah.

That is Thirty-seven point Enlightenment which has a standard format--but this is the "Yoga transition" version:



According to Padmavajra’s Tantrarthdvatdravydkhyana (Toh. 2502), which we cite in abbreviation as
Avatara-vyakh , there are thirty-seven categories (tattva), which we give in Sanskrit
reconstruction:

(1) hrdaya, (2) mudra, (3) mantra, (4) vidya, (5) adhisthana, (6) abhiseka, (7) samadhi, (8) puja,

(9) atmatattva, (10) devatattva, (11) mandala,

(12) prajna, (13) upaya, (14) hetu, (15) phala,

(16) yoga, (17) atiyoga, (18) mahayoga, (19) guhyayoga, (20) sarvayoga,

(21)japa, (22)homa, (23) vrata, (24) siddhi, (25) sadhana, (26) dhyana, (27) bodhicitta,

(28) sunyata-jnana, (29) adarsa-jnana, (30) samata-jnana, (31) pratyaveksana-jnana, (32) krtyanusthana-jnana, (33) visuddhadharmadhatu-jnana,

(34) akarsana, (35) pravesana, (36) bandhana, (37) vaslkara.


It has given us Six Wisdoms, which is difficult for Five Families.



The four degrees of approach seem inverse to Kama Loka in Manjari Amnaya:

it is said that the joy of the laughing
deities is illustrated by that of the Nirmanaratis; the joy of the gazing deities, by that
of the Paranirmitavasavartins; the joy of the embracing deities, by that of the Tusitas;
and the joy of the deities in coitus, by that of the Trayastrimsas, the Caturmahara-
jakayikas, and humans. These joys are also called the four joys {dgah ba ~ S. nanda
or ananda ).

Laugh or Smile implies at a distance with furtive, coquettish glances, whereas Gaze means in each others' eyes with tons of "I like you". Embrace can be holding hands or any kind of touching.

I am not sure what "illustrated" means here. It has written planes in the order 5-6-3- 2 and 1 combined.

Tsem Rinpoche has a completely uninformative Vajrayogini self-initiation.

That is a real thing, and why there is "Vajrayogini for the West". Even though he doesn't explain it, he does place Khandarohi over Vajrayogini:







and then comes Ucheyma:







Same subject. We lack his extensive background, but, if followed closely, it will work.

[shaberon]

Posted by Old Student (here)
Tathagata Family is Ignorance which is why Vajravarahi is primarily of that family.

Why would the "Thus born" be ignorant? I thought they were enlightened.

It is accepted to name a Family for its opposing sin.

Moha Ignorance = Tathagata

Dvesa Rage = Vajra

Lobha Greed = Ratna

Raga Attachment = Lotus

Irsya Jealousy = Karma

and by extension:

Sakkaya Ditthi or belief in skandhas = Vajrasattva

Atta Dristi or any view of separate self or duality = Vajradhara


Because we are mostly impure, names like Moha and Dvesa are quite common. Most of these things operate "by way of axis", i. e., if I can prevent Rage even when tested by a serious disturbing factor, then I am exhibiting or learning a bit of Mirror Wisdom.

I don't see how it is any different than enlightenment things. I arrive, try to pull someone towards enlightenment and leave. It is what I was doing even though they were dying. I felt I had to say something. I said, "If you can see me, you have nothing to fear." Which is true. I spent hours afterward thinking of all the ways that could be taken.

I can imagine.

I used to live near a hospital, and, so, in opening Bardo consciousness, I was sensitive to the same plane where all that death was taking place. Although I never got that close to anyone. It was more like "programs running in background".

It is interesting that in the projection, you could think of something to say, whereas the things that are more direct with Dakinis do not seem to grant much verbal access.

upaviśya svahṛdaye rātridinabhedena akārā-kāraniṣpannau śaśisūryyau

Sitting one's own heart night-day are the same, the 'A' syllable completed Moonsun.

I'm not really understanding that, it seems like one sits until night and day become the same completing the 'A' syllable and then 'Moonsun"?

You are right, Dina is Day, I mixed it up with Divya.

I took bhedena = bhedana, "break", but this could be wrong.

The unusual spelling can hardly be found, such as in Candi Vachaspati:

dina phalabhedena

which is in her line about Varnane.

then she has a kramena dinabhedena, apparently referring to seven days of the week.

or it is in an Angiras text:

evamanyeṣu navasu jātahomātparaṃ pṛthak /
dinabhedena tannyūno datto bhavati putrakaḥ // Ang_1.406 //

As bhedena, "with separation, different" in Srimad Bhagavatim; or, diversity. Or, in Trika, division (into two sections). Or:

Bhūta (भूत) refers to “living beings”, according to the Śivapurāṇa 2.2.43.—Accordingly, as Śiva said to Dakṣa:—“O patriarch, listen to another statement of mine with a clear conscience. Although it is based on the qualitative aspect it is esoteric. [...] In that supreme, sole, universal God which is the pure Self, the ignorant sees different living beings (i.e., bhūta—bhedena bhūtāni), Brahman, Īśvara etc.”.

So I would guess the phrase means the "split" of night and day, i. e., Dawn.

Kara Nispanna usually means "arises as the complete...", and so if Ah is the complete Moon and Sun, it is like a primordial syllable emanating all the Vowels and Consonants.

First, you are Sukhasana Upavista, seated in Sukhasana, which otherwise has a standing equivalent. Sukhasanamurti is a red, wrathful Shiva. Even for him, the pose means:





Tara.

The Sukhasana pose may be taken as Rajalilasana or Lalitasana with one leg resting flat on the seat and another knee is raised upwards from it and the right arm, as danda-hasta or gaja-hasta, is stretched out and is placed on the raised knee.

You do Musti this way, and then, wash your face it looks like, and Punar Upavisya, "again, sit". And then probably Ah syllable is in your heart, and it may mean to do this at the time of Dawn. The preponderance of "sakala" may mean dawn, or, the first of Shiva's fifteen steeps of reversing the Tattvas. Chances are Bhedena is just the time, if it is describing outer ritual like "wash your face", it may be speaking in simplistic terms here. Or, it may mean that night is in your heart and you are letting light in. But I would tend to think it is the time, since then Ah becomes forms of Moon and Sun, and next a Yellow Am becomes the first Marici; she gets erased, and Am makes the eight-spoked wheel.

Vairocana's heart has a Moon with Mam syllable which becomes an Asoka Flower, or, rather, it grows one and Mam emits rays. Then Ah becomes a sun disk and Mam becomes Marici. And so it seems like an example of Hook Rays inviting her major form, as, in her first appearance, she was not described.

Vairocana's bija here is Mom which I believe is from Armor Deities, is the center of his wheel here.

This one is really difficult! At least to read it when you don't know the language very well.

so Eclipse is built in. Despite Vairocana's presence, Marici is crowned by Ratna.

So the only thing I can think of that is like a ray of light in the eclipse is that diamond ring light formation when the total eclipse starts to end.

Well, the commentaries want us to remember that her Charioteer is Rahu, not Rahula.

According to the museum, the bronze Marici pictured previously has Rahu with a Makara head over the boars, and Marici is holding a Ganapati in her Vandanabhinaya Mudra.

A Six Arm Marici from Bihar has Rahu, and some other female over him:

I think it is Puranic, and Ghrna must be the secret sun which appeared to be used as a syllable in Varamrita Tantra. Hahu may be a misprint for Rahu. Maybe not.

This is an interesting idea, given how the two characters are written.

Sometimes, we can find things that are mistakes or definitely wrong. Others, we just look the wrong way.

In Brahmanda Purana, Varuna and Stuta or Suna had a son named Vaidya, father of Ghrni and Muni, who devoured girls, then devoured each other, and, after devouring, they met with destruction.

There is also a Vyaghrini, Tiger Face. In many of these cases, "ghr" still means to grab, to seize. However, Ghr could mean "to sprinkle", as well as shine.

"Which" Ghr, and whether Hahu or Rahu, is difficult to say.

I am however glad that Marici tells us to back-engineer Fist, and, we don't have to, since that recently came out on its own.

That is like the whole Shingon system, except, when you have a potential seventh Family, female deities, and a lot more information, you can see how Shingon is "bounded" by the tantric system. Even if Marici is the Rising Sun of Japan. If they do not see her as taking Fist and making inroads to Vajravarahi, they have only partial use of her.

If we put the four Eight Arm sadhanas in order, it would definitely be a thing that elaborates itself. Pretty straightforward. Except for the meaning of it. Subtle.