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Thread: Nirakara and Shentong Buddhism, Tara, Sadhanas, Sanskrit culture

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    Default Re: Nirakara and Shentong Buddhism, Tara, Sadhanas, Sanskrit culture

    Lion's Roar and related scriptural content, basic Vajra Tara


    Some of what we have comes from a single manuscript. Much of it is quite rare. All of it is just in the shadow of monoliths of heavily-distributed material such as Lotus Sutra or the Guru Yoga of Padmasambhava. We just want to get a few things that support the tenets of a particular system and describe what it is.

    When one knows that Carl Jung was one of the first westerners to be considered "knowledgeable" in "Tibetan Buddhism", let us consider his ability as...approximately average...and out-do it. Rather less so in his immediate footsteps, but, to raise Lions.


    We have not used Sutras very much, which are normally the main vehicle of teaching. Golden Light Sutra on the first page is kind of in its own context. There is another which is shorter which actually begins a kind of hidden backbone.

    The key ingredient in the Final Turning of the Wheel of Dharma is Womb of Compassion, Garbhadhatu, or Tathagatagarbha. This states that Buddha Nature is inherently potential in all beings. Although it was represented earlier, it is also in the brief Lion's Roar Sutra of Queen Srimala Devi translated by Alex Wayman. Or in an alternate translation, or BDK version. A complete Sanskrit version has not survived, but extensive quotations are found in the Sanskrit text of the Ratnagotravibhāga as well as some recently discovered fragments conserved in the Schøyen Collection.

    The Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra was translated to Chinese in 436 CE by Guṇabhadra (394-468).

    It is smaller than Golden Light, maybe around forty or fifty pages. We will use some of its contents.


    This Sutra is chiefly quoted in Ratna Gotra Vibhaga, or RGV, ca. 300-400, also called Uttaratantra. This text was originally composed in Sanskrit, likely between the middle of the third century and no later than 433 CE. Authorship is uncertain, the Tibetan tradition states it was taught by the Bodhisattva Maitreya and transmitted via Asanga, while the Chinese tradition states it was written by a certain Sāramati. Modern scholarship favors Sāramati. [or Sthiramati]

    The RGV itself has very little commentarial evidence or evident history for many centuries, even though it was spread far and wide.

    Ratnamati was said to be a major proponent of this doctrine ca. 500, and became a teacher to Nagarjuna, another well-known proponent being Sthiramati. Notable exegetes of the Ratnagotravibhāga have been Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen, Gö Lotsawa Zhönnu-pel, Gyaltsab Je, and Jamgon Ju Mipham Gyatso, amongst others. In 1997, a Tibetan fragment was taken from the envelope of a Mahatma letter, and is Ratna Gotra Vibhaga verse 21.

    The main subject of RGV is Seven Vajra Pada (vajra subjects or mysteries) and Buddha Nature.

    Buddha

    Dharma

    Sangha

    Dhatu

    Bodhi

    Guna

    Karma


    This is in the first verse, which summarizes the whole text.

    These already have the pattern of Five Families, but not in order. The first three or Triple Jewel are Tathagatha, Vajra, and Lotus Families, and then Guna is Jewel and Karma is just Karma. If the other two were similar to names or characteristics of two more Families, that would make sense, if Vajrasattva is a Dhatu as in the experience of a Mental Element which more properly is becoming a Gnostic Element, Bodhi is what is cultivated, Anuttara Samyak Sambodhi, which makes Anuttara Samyak Sambuddha or Complete Manifest Buddha which is the goal of Buddhism. Dhatu equates to Dharmakaya, Bodhi to Anuttara Samyak Sambodhi and Nirvana in the original text. It says Bodhi is to be understood according to the Arya Srimala Sutra.

    Concerning the stray quote, Takasaki's translation of verse 21 is:


    From the ultimate standpoint,
    Buddhahood is the sole Refuge of the world,
    Because the Sage has the body of the Doctrine,
    And because in that the Community sets the ultimate goal.


    The Tibetan fragment was:

    “The only refuge for him who aspires to true perfection is Buddha alone.”





    From the standard commentary, verse 21 is:

    Paramarthika Buddhatva (Paramartha as an adjective or adverb towards Buddha-Dhatu, Buddha-Gotra, or Buddhatva, original terms for Japanese Bussho) is the One Refuge

    The Sage Muni has the Dharmakaya

    in which the Sangha sets a goal of realization: nistha = nisthâdhigama-paryavasāna, and tannisthatva = dharmakāyaviśuddhinistha.

    And it tells us this Refuge of One, Ekayana, is to be understood in detail according to the Arya Srimala Sutra. This is right after explaining Dharma as two-fold, i. e. teaching as Sutra and words, versus Realization, the goal set by the Sangha. Ekayana is a standard teaching from Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, is related to most of the Mahayana Sutras, but post-Indian Buddhism, is mainly represented by China. Srimala is considered the primary scriptural advocate for Buddha Nature in India. It is associated with Mahasamghika, thought mainly to have issued from Andhra Pradesh, south of Orissa, which has Amaravati and Venkateswara located there.

    The "Maitreya" line, for the Second Transmission to Tibet concerns Ratna Gotra Vibhaga, Sublime Continuum, or Uttaratantra Sastra (Seven Vajra Points attributed to Sthiramati by the Chinese). Santipa quotes from it. This line includes:

    Naropa (950-1040) --> Ratnakarasanti (Santi pa) --> Atisha and Maitripa (ca. 1000); Maitripa-->Anandakirti in Srinagar-->Ratnavajra-->Sugata --> Sajjana or Satyajnana (source of the full RGV book)-->Ngok Lotsawa-->Tsen Kawoche-->Third Karmapa (Luminous Heart), Dolpopa.

    Dolpopa personally coined the term "Shentong", and was a mentor of Taranatha. The line includes Ratnakarasanti who culled "Nirakara" from the Sanskrit atmosphere of the time. Because he composed Vajra Tara 110 in Sadhanamala, then we might expect "the Nirakara system" to be effective in the whole thing generally. As far as I can tell, it is.


    One can find in the Sanskrit Canon's RGV right near the beginning has Manjushri Tathagata adjoined to the main topic of Seven Vajra Words. GRETIL RGV also in Sanskrit. Or it is in a major work, Takasaki's 1966 translation.

    RGV is about one third quoted material, including Tathagatagarbha Sutra, and also:

    1) Dhāranīśvararājasūtra (or Tathāgatamahākarunāsūtra), from which
    the 7 Vajrapadas are derived as the body of the treatise, (v. 1, 2 dhāranirājasūtra).

    It has twenty known sources, and eight unknown.

    Although Srimala Sutra is later than Tathagatagarbha Sutra, it is more explanatory, and the most-quoted work here. Lankavatara Sutra is believed to post-date RGV because it is not used. RGV does not deal with Alaya, and Lankavatara does. RGV is attempting to attach its Germ philosophy to the Sunya of Prajnaparamita Sutra, i. e. it is pretty specifically saying that it is an important addition, improved explanation or practice, deeper in the same vein. The system from Samdhinirmocana (ca. year 150) is doing a similar thing, which itself was the Third Turning of the Wheel, explaining the Three Natures.

    Lion's Roar speaks on its own, and then it comes back as the major basis of one of the highest faculties in RGV, Bodhi. So we will expand on this subject later. Isn't it what Prajnaparamita is chanting about? I think so.

    One can see why Lankavatara Sutra is in its own kind of commentarial class, and, I believe while in one place it does say "eight consciousnesses", in another, it says "six or seven".






    Vajrasattva and Vajradhara


    There are two books that could perhaps be called "the books of tantric Vajrasattva and Vajradhara".

    The first, Khasama, was linked on the first page I think in the first post. That one is a pretty light and easy read as far as these things go. Later, we found a forward-ness of the goddess Sattvavajri in STTS, and here is a correspondence.

    The querent in Khasama, Sattvavajra, has a standard enough meaning:

    sems dpa’ rdo rje - indestructible cognitive responsiveness, vajra-being, indestructible being, vajra of the mind, nature of the mind, great being, Sattvavajra.


    In thinking of Khasama's main emphasis, Luminosity, well, this is really the same as that in Luminous Heart, which of course is way more precise and traces the idea from Sutra Nagarjuna through all Yogachara. This Luminosity is both Tathata or Suchness, as well as the definitive feature of Shentong. But it is just a development from Prajnaparamita.

    In the Pañcavimsati Prajñaparamita sutra, the prabhasvara-citta is interpreted thus:

    This mind (citta) is no-mind (acitta), because its natural character is luminous. What is this state of the mind’s luminosity (prabhasvarat)? When the mind is neither associated with nor dissociated from greed, hatred, delusion, proclivities (anusaya), fetters (samyojana), or false views (drsti), then this constitutes its luminosity. Does the mind exist as no-mind? In the state of no-mind (acittat), the states of existence (astit) or non-existence (nstit) can be neither found nor established... What is this state of no-mind? The state of no-mind, which is immutable (avikra) and undifferentiated (avikalpa), constitutes the ultimate reality (dharmat) of all dharmas. Such is the state of no-mind.

    Mahayana texts like the Ratnagotravibhanga, also associate prabhsvara with awakening (bodhi) and also another term, natural or original purity of mind (cittaprakrtivisuddhi).

    In Tibetan Buddhism, the luminous mind (Tibetan: gsal ba) is often equated with the Yogacara concept of svasaṃvedana (reflexive awareness). It is often compared to a lamp in a dark room, which in the act of illuminating objects in the room also illuminates itself.

    Versus the blackness of Deep Sleep:

    If one has the ability to remain lucid during deep sleep, one will be able to recognize the luminosity of death and gain Buddhahood. This is called the meeting of mother and child luminosities, resulting in the state of thukdam at death.

    Luminous Heart by H. H. Ranjung Dorje 3rd Karmapa is a major primordial stamp for Kagyu Shentong. He makes significant use of the Seventh Consciousness. It is a much more difficult book than Khasama and it begins with a significant critical history of Yogacara. Rather dense.

    As we may have said, "Alaya" has probably caused more "splits in schools" than any other term. In standard Yogacara, it is called the Eighth Consciousness, but it is just a sort of automated cosmic reflex, to which beings are bound by the Twelve Chains of Dependent Origination, with Craving and all the rest. Your lifetime makes something like "fingerprints" on it, which you will pick back up when you reincarnate.

    Some schools absorb or transmute it, and there is also a train of thought that postulates a Ninth or Vimala Consciousness which is behind it.

    The view from Shentong is that the Alaya is not really part of man, and when you purify the Seventh Consciousness, you reject it and it ceases affecting you, is effectively destroyed. So, it is, effectively, a system of Seven. The obscuration in the seventh principle is Drsti, which is any self-view from the slightest duality on out.

    false idea of self; (atmadrsti); Self-belief

    It can be considered cumulative to the sixth obscuration, Sakkaya Ditthi, since it includes:

    5) Five types of dṛṣṭi:[4] i) satkāyadṛṣṭi (view related to the accumulation of perishable things, i.e., the five skandhas)

    In Prajnaparamita Sutra, its first four definitions appear to equate to the Catuskoti. The center of the Catuskoti is the Ratna Gotra. The Calming to be accomplished here means all the psychic winds and not just what can be had from analysis.

    So it is violated as soon as a wind is disturbed, one has left the state of Vajradhara.

    The substance of these two more psychological sins, compared to the gross emotional sins of the Five Dhyani Buddhas, is really just in the Four Noble Truths. The Third Truth tells me "It can be overcome by the Path", and when I commit Sakkaya Ditthi, it says the Path is irrelevant or the Path does not apply to me. The Fourth Truth, "It has been overcome by Buddha crossing the Path", is violated by Drsti which says the Path is wrong. This Afflicted Mind, called Klista Manas, is perhaps even better translated as Addicted Mind. In English, at least, we have a lot that tells us how "deeply rooted" addiction is, which is a lot better sense of what we are dealing with.


    To do this seventh purification is mainly by yoginis, i. e. Vajrayogini, which purifies the nadis and subtle body. Correspondingly, there is a male seed which is "above" Vajrasattva who already has a reputation for being indirect. Vajradhara has something to say, and it is built into Lama Chopa which is the Guru Yoga of the Gelugs. If we are also in a position for Vajradhara to be building things into Guru Yoga, he can still do this. Right now we just want to be aware of it, because it is like the Hevajra Tantra, it is written from the view of Completion Stage. Vajra Mala or what we call Vajra Rosary is an Appendix from pp. 423-777 in a Columbia partial PhD fulfillment from David Kittay.

    Tson kha pa is used in Lama Chopa, even so, he could not explain this in all its details. It is commenting Guhyasamaja into Chakrasamvara. In Vajra Rosary, Vajradhara is understood as Guru, and the way he does this, is that he asks questions which are answered by Mahasukha Vajrasattva.

    Mahasukha Vajrasattva is a snarky character who did not think anyone would understand him, and he hid his teaching in all the tantras. So he clearly discusses it in Vajra Rosary, and, even if we scan the entire Dharma, we will hardly find anything else that will focus on Hum Hoh.

    The "commitment body" is called the practitioner's body, and from then on, his identity is Vajrasattva or the one experiencing Gnosis of the various experiences. One who becomes Vajrasattva as meant by Vajra Rosary is also Vajrabhairava, Chakrasamvara, Kalachakra, Manjushri, etc.

    Non-conceptuality is Thatness or Suchness and Mahamudra and is the main theme of Vajra Rosary:

    The term “non-conceptual” (nirvikalpa, rnam par mi rtog , rnam rtog med pa) is
    used thirty-three times in the Vajra Rosary. Non-conceptuality is deployed as a synonym for emptiness and it is used to describe the fourth ecstasy, innate ecstasy occurring when the enlightenment spirit dissolves in the navel chakra and “is born in the Great Bliss Wheel [crown chakra].”

    The text describes as “true yoga” the part of the practice of vajra repetition where the yogi counts the one hundred eight conceptual energy-winds in the “supreme practice of non-conceptuality.” When the enlightenment spirit overflows from the crown chakra, it goes to the wind chakra between the eyebrows where it is held there by the yogi in a state of “non-conceptuality.” When the “great non-conceptual energy-wind” flows through the central channel, overcoming the conceptual energy-winds: “Non-conceptual bliss/ Will be achieved/ Through the reality/ Of mantra.” The achieving of the state of non-conceptuality is crucial: “Whoever always achieves/ Nonconceptuality/ Effects all actions/ And becomes an expert.”

    It defines Vajradhara as the seed of non-conceptual mind which is responsible for all the winds. In other words he is like Klista Manas without the Klista--some have tried to call this Alaya Vijnana, others, Vimala. The non-conceptual mind can only really be clear when it is solely mounted on the non-conceptual wind.

    Similarly to the important teaching of Four-fold Om, Vajra Rosary deals with Om as A U M. The syllable Hum is actually Ha plus A U M. That is how Hum is "universal Om" individualized in a Jiva or individual being, "Ha" indicating "I".

    So this is a subject to be expanded considerably later. It is beyond the Four Cakra system of basic Pranayama.




    Compared to Vajra Rosary, in Sadhanamala, Nirvikalpa is almost unheard of, but could be called a "main point" of Vajra Tara 110. Something like the crowning achievement in Yoga is the baseline for Vajra Rosary Tantra. So this state would be relatively far along in the system of Tara.

    Upacara is mentioned twice in Sadhanamala, once near the beginning related to Gandha and other Offerings. Then it appears with Vajra Tara 94 in a very unusual way. It is at a point where Tara has a fairly complete mandala inhabited by goddesses who are the Ten Paramitas, and what you are going to do is:

    cittavākkāyādhiṣṭhānābhiṣekabindusūkṣmayogajāpādayo


    Three Vajras (Citta Vak Kaya) Consecration (Adhisthana) Initiation (Abhiseka) Seed (Bindu) Suksma Yoga Japa (Muttering) Dayo (Source)

    Then there is the peculiar

    atrāyaṃ upacāraḥ /


    which has no discernable meaning other than descended from, or in the teaching of, Sage or Rishi Atri:

    Atraya (अत्रय).—A tribe (Atris).*

    * Matsya-purāṇa 114. 43.


    Vajra Tara then refers to a Patancala (Hem of a Garment) mantra and saptabhimantritam. The latter is a tricky word since there is a prevalent remark from Srila Prabhupada saying it is "seven times three", which it is probably not, since we can find Saptabhi four times in Maha Sudarsana Vadana as Saptabhi Ratna, or Seven Jewels. Seven kinds in Mahabharata. Seven in the generations of Aditi. An exact copy is found in a Bewitching mantra said to prevent premature ejaculation:

    saptAbhi-mantritaM

    seven times

    which with Vajra Tara is making something like a refuge bond to:

    vindhyāṭavīm

    which we have found is a mask for Vindhya Durga, but, exactly which "Vindhya Hills" are meant, can change. They range from near Bihar to near Bombay. It also implies the Sabari or Forest Maiden class of yoginis.

    The mantra appears to overpower the threats of tigers and other wild animals, represented mantricly by Anaya or misfortune.

    This section is shared with Vajra Tara 93 and 110, without mentioning Atreya. The three together are the only instances of "vindhya".

    Sage Atri was an Ayurvedic physician from Taxila, Gandahar. Even closer to the view of inner meaning is probably his son, Dattatreya, i. e. "Giver of Atreya", the Honey Bee Yogin. And so as we look more at Sabaris, it appears, yes, there is a practice of untold antiquity from herein. Our yoginis seem to capture this, as well as enfolding the ancient Viraja of Jaipur.

    The region of Atri's descendants ca. year 1,000 was Kalinga and Andhra Pradesh.


    So we could say Vajra Tara appears to inhale a great deal of this south Indian influence, while being attached to the Hevajra Tantra of later origin. Likewise, she covers most of the gap between us and Vajra Rosary.

    Vajra Tara has a couple of lead-ins. For one, she uses a regular Mahakarunika Tara dharani. Secondly, the only thing in Sadhanamala attributed to Nagarjuna is White Vajra Tara 96, who strongly resembles Mrtyuvacana, except whereas Mrtyuvacana bears a Wheel on her chest and probably has her knees in a cloth, White Vajra Tara has the Mantra Wheel in her Heart and is a Bhattarika.

    Towards the end of her practice she enters Great Blaze or Mahatejah:

    (ārya)vajratārā mahātejāḥ sarvasiddhipradāyikā /
    dattvā tu dakṣiṇāṃ vā['pi] suvarṇarajatādikam //


    No one else in the book has that state, the only other use of it is in describing the fire at the end of time. There are a few uses of plain Teja, which again are more "descriptive of" something, rather than they "are someone".

    In this condition, the second line says:

    Giving from her right hand, Gold (Suvarna), Silver (Rajata),

    Ādika (आदिक).—a. (At the end of comp.) Beginning with, and so on.

    Ādika (आदिक):—(ind) etcetera.


    She does this as a result of you previously mentally reciting Tara mantra and:

    kavitā vaktṛtā caiva prajñā cātyantanirmalā

    Poet Voice is therefor Prajna Catya (hidden) Anta (at the end) of Nirmala:

    Nirmala (निर्मल) refers to “pure (i.e., a pure state)”, according to the Śrīmatottara-tantra, an expansion of the Kubjikāmatatantra: the earliest popular and most authoritative Tantra of the Kubjikā cult.—Accordingly, “By the practice of the Yoga of Stillness [i.e., nirācārayoga], one obtains the fruit. She whose nature is movement (cara) moves, (and her movement is) divided into (downward) motion (cāra) and upward motion (uccāra). That should be known as Stillness (nirācāra). Stillness is not other (than this). (This is) where actions (cāra) cease along with the activities (karman) of speech, mind, and body. When a pure (nirmala) state arises, that is said to be Stillness”.

    kalpāntaṃ (api) jīvanopāyam uktaṃ vajrabhṛtā svayam //

    The Explanation Livelihood--Means (of subsistence) is said to be Vajra Bhrta:

    1) Borne.

    2) Supported, maintained, cherished, fostered.

    3) Possessed, endowed or furnished with.

    4) Full of, filled with.

    in one's own-nature.

    This is almost identically the same conclusion as Mrtyuvacana 103:

    kavitā vaktṛtā medhā prajñā caikāntanirmalā /

    as well as 112.

    Nirmala seems to be uncommon as a term meaning "pure form", and has a few more instances similar to here with Manjushri and Marici. "Bhrta" is relatively uncommon, but has the same meaning in the phrase Five Nectars Bhrta Five Buddhas in a Flask. This phrase is also with Vajra Tara 97 who pretty plainly says that is the way of gaining Heruka:

    buddhaiḥ herukarūpaiḥ pañcāmṛtabhṛtapañcatathāgatātmakaiḥ kalaśaiḥ

    So this first Vajra Tara is telling us to get in "the state of Vajra", whereas the main Yellow Vajra Tara has this name because Vajra is her main item. Because she is in Jewel Family, and, the few Jewel Family tantras that we have any fragments of, are the Paramadya, and the Vajramrita, she is like the next thing to those.

    White Vajra Tara and Mrtyuvacana seem to have a progression to Four Arm Sita Tara, who then in turn is interested in Crown Initiation or Five Buddha Crown, from which the upgraded Vajra Tara is taking the presence of Five Families for granted and manipulating it.

    This White Vajra Tara is evidently a slight increase of Mrtyuvacana. She enters Mahatejah, i. e. becomes Fiery. And we can perhaps see her difference in an incredibly well-preserved 1100s Bengali Prajnaparamita manuscript. I do not really know that it is these Sadhanamala Taras which are in the Sutra. But we know there are relatively few Vajra Feet Taras. So they wind up strongly resembling White Vajra Tara and Green Mahattari Tara:








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    Default Re: Nirakara and Shentong Buddhism, Tara, Sadhanas, Sanskrit culture

    I can't help by wonder, if through going around and withing all of these aspects of religions and spiritual views, you have not encountered an extended form of 'Shinbutsu shugo", in a way.

    So many conflicting news really, after you look very deep, so, how do you know if you have not gone into that territory?
    Tired

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    Default Re: Nirakara and Shentong Buddhism, Tara, Sadhanas, Sanskrit culture

    Points on Buddha Nature and No Self



    Yogacara dwells on what is a fairly simple ideal of Three Natures. First is called Parikalpita, which is artificial, false imagination. The second is called Paratantra, which means Other-Dependent, which is a more subtle realm of duality and cause and effect, similar to the Chains of Dependent Origination and the Alaya. These minds bar the one who is interested in the third nature, which is Paramartha, or Parinispanna, which is the One Existence or Absolute.

    HPB actually did a decent job in handling the remedies of the Three Natures as No Ego, Suchness, and Ultimate Meaning. No Ego corresponds to the change spoken of as Vajrasattva or Nairatma in the sixth principle, and Suchness is really a pranic condition purifying the seventh and producing Luminosity. This then allows one to experience the Third Nature, which, just doing so, in itself, is Ultimate Meaning. And so when you dismiss the deletrious effects of the first two natures, the last is just self-existent.


    If we think about No Ego, what is it there is not, Nairatma or no atma?


    There will be an odd sort of word reversal from early times:

    The Pudgalavāda or "Personalist" school of Buddhism broke off from the orthodox Sthaviravāda (elders) school around 280 BCE. The Pudgalavādins asserted that, while there is no ātman, there is a pudgala or "person", which is neither the same as nor different from the skandhas.


    Prajnaparamita says there is nairatmya of dharmata (things) and pudgala (persons or people). The Pudgala which is said not to have an ego or self:

    It signifies a sentient being who is a mere combination of material as well as mental processes [Skandhas].

    Neither is there such a thing that is independent of them. No ego there either.

    There isn't one, instead, the Skandhas are the Dhyani Buddhas.


    However, if we allow a "minor slip" about "atma" as in "something not defined as the thing there is not", then Ratna Gotra Vibhaga 1.52 is a straight copy of Bhagavad Gita 13.32, replacing atman with dhatu:

    Bhagavad-gītā 13.32:

    yathā sarva-gataṃ saukṣmyād ākāśaṃ nôpalipyate |
    sarvatrâvasthito dehe tathâtmā nôpalipyate || 13.32 ||

    Just as all-pervading space, due to its subtlety, is not tainted, so the ātman, everywhere established in the body, is not tainted.

    Ratna-gotra-vibhāga 1.52:

    yathā sarva-gataṃ saukṣmyād ākāśaṃ nôpalipyate |
    sarvatrâvasthitaḥ sattve tathâyaṃ nôpalipyate || 1.52 ||

    Just as all-pervading space, due to its subtlety, is not tainted, so this [the dhātu], everywhere established in the living being, is not tainted. ("Ayam", meaning "this", refers to the dhatu of verse 1.49).


    It has, perhaps, feminized it, since in the tantras, Dhatus or Elements are female.

    The Catuskoti is a famous riddle in the overall schools of Nagarjuna and it can go in vast and difficult detail, but, I am going to suggest to interpret it physiologically and with the Four Activities.

    Because we know how a mandala works, we know that male deities, or, in their absence, Gatekeepers "shear the limbs" off the Four Extremes. These are found to be mental conceptual positions which are untenable in reality. Using it removes logic and changes the state of mind. A thing, or person, concept, etc., cannot be imputed with truly-established versions of these following characteristics.

    The 'Four Extremes' (Tibetan: མཐའ་བཞི, Wylie: mtha' bzhi; Sanskrit: caturanta; Devanagari: चतुरन्त) is a particular application of the Catuṣkoṭi:

    Being (Wylie: yod)
    Non-being (Wylie: med)
    Both being and non-being (Wylie: yod-med)
    Neither being nor non-being (Wylie: yod-med min)

    They are limbs, cross-shaped, and so whatever kind of mind is balanced in the center of this, is balanced in a mandala.

    A thing or person doesn't exist, it doesn't not exist, it does not do both together, it does not lack either one.


    This Catuskoti is the Jewel of the Doctrine; See RGV Chapter Two:

    Dharma as the Second Vajra-point. “From the Jewel of the Buddha comes the Jewel of the Doctrine.”

    I bow before the sun of-the Doctrine,
    Which is neither non-being nor being,
    Nor both being and non-being together,
    And neither different from being nor from non-being;
    Which cannot be speculated upon and is beyond explanation,
    But revealed [only] by introspection and is quiescent;
    And which, with rays of light of the immaculate Wisdom,
    Destroys passion, hatred and darkness
    with respect to all the basis of cognition.


    It has basically just explained such a mind as sun of the Law of everything, Dharma, which is Prajna.

    The Madhyamika or Prasangika tendency is to say that nothing can be said of this center, other than it must be Emptiness, so this is generally called Rangtong, meaning itself is Void.


    That is why the Shentong view is ordinarily shunned, because it is saying the center has no natures other than its own. Even worse, it proceeds to utilize this type of ineffable domain of its own in a basic way.


    Both the Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra and the Ratnagotravibhāga enunciate the idea that the buddha-nature is possessed of four transcendental qualities:

    Permanence

    Bliss

    Self

    Purity


    The buddha-nature is ultimately identifiable as the dharmakāya.

    These are, perhaps, more lucid points than the fact that much smaller remarks may be found in much larger Sutras, such as in Mahaparinirvana Sutra, Atman is explained as Tathagatagarbha, Buddha Nature.

    Lankavatara Sutra:

    745. Those theorisers who are destitute of the principle are lost in the forest of Vijnanas;
    seeking to establish the theory of an ego-soul, they wander about here and there.

    746. The ego (atma) characterised with purity is the state of self-realisation; this is the
    Tathagata's womb (garbha) which does not belong to the realm of the theorisers.


    There is a type of ego or self which not only is not like the one there is not, it is permanent. Purity must mean it has purified all the stages of the Dharmadhatu. It must be a result of a practice, not intellectuality.

    For a practice, Prajnaparamita Sutra on Dharani explains all the Bodhisattvas as having dharani, describes it mainly as words, qualities, and Upekka, and:

    is contained in one element (dhātu), one basis of consciousness (āyatana) and one aggregate (skandha), namely, dharmadhatu, dharmāyatana and saṃskāraskandha.

    Nine knowledges (jñāna) cognize it [Note: it is outside the knowledge of destruction of the afflictions (kṣayajñāna)]. One single consciousness (vijñāna) is aware of it [Note: the mental consciousness (manovijñāna)]. According to the Abhidharma, this is the definition of dhāraṇī.



    Dhatu has to do with Expansion usually experienced as multiple Elements.

    There is almost no discernible difference between the terms Akash and Prakriti, both existing in grades. Moreover, the Akasha Dhatu is not quite the same as the Mental or sixth element "stuff", which has been called Vijnana, Citta, Vajra, Dharma Dhatu.

    Mahayana texts like the Ratnagotravibhanga, also associate prabhasvara with awakening (bodhi) and also another term, natural or original purity of mind (cittaprakrtivisuddhi).



    Occult Ether--Akash is of the nature of Root Matter--Prakriti which resembles Space but also Luminosity. And so it is possible that the term Prabhasvara on its own means more "luminous" than it is "Natural Luminosity", i. e. the difference is that it may be something formed into a syllable or object which glows, whereas root matter is formless.

    Prakrti is in Sadhanamala somewhat selectively.

    Vistara Khasarpana and Vistara Tara do Prakrti Parishuddha. This would likely be the practice of it. Then there is a result. Prakrtiprabhasvara is used by Manjushri a few times, and is the environment of Advayavajra's (Maitri's) Vajravarahi:

    raktapaṃkārajam aṣṭadalapadmaṃ tadvaraṭake ālikālipariṇatacandra-
    sūryyasampuṭamadhye raktavajrāntargataṃ raktavaṃkāraṃ prakṛtiprabhāsvaraṃ
    paśyet /




    White Kurukulla appears to do Emptiness Mantra so that Atma--perceiving Akash--is in every way linked to Prabhasvara:

    oṃ śūnyatājñānavajrasvabhāvātmako 'habhityanena
    mantreṇa śūnyatāṃ vibhāvya tritattvenādhiṣṭhāya punar ātmānam
    ākāśe citralikhitam iva prabhāsvararūpaṃ cintayet /


    A meditation on Space, per se, is short of the Prabhasvara or Absolute Object by the two natures, False and Dependent, which effectively translate into the tantras as the first two Voids, equivalent to the first two Abhisambodhis, Moon and Sun. And so the basic Yogacara is actually a difficult experience to attain, since that is physiological, and could be said to have a spring-like resistance against one's consciousness. Those are the two branch nerves, Lalana and Rasana. The Moon and Sun are associated with the Victory items Banner and Parasol. So the purpose of a Parasol dharani should start settling into place.




    So we would say the "no self" meditations are accurate, but perhaps provisional, not ultimate.

    What Buddha actually said about Atta or Atma was terse and paradoxical:

    The most common metaphysical “Self” against which the Buddha was arguing is implicitly defined in his Anatta Lakkhana Sutta, The Discourse on Anatta. For something to be atta, according to this view, it needed three components. It had to have complete control over the body, feelings, thoughts, impulses, intentions, consciousness, or perceptions. It had to be permanent. And it had to be blissful. In this discourse, the Buddha makes it clear that nothing in our psycho-physical experience has these three qualities and is therefore fit to be regarded as an atta or self.

    Contrary to popular conception, we have no record of the Buddha ever saying, “There is no self.” In the entire preserved volumes of the Buddha’s discourses, in only one place did someone actually ask the Buddha: “Is there no self?” The Buddha refused to answer the question. The same person then asked: “Is there a self?” This too the Buddha declined to answer [in fact he smiled]. What the Buddha did say repeatedly is that no particular aspect of our psycho-physical being qualifies as atta or the Self.

    Ok, so nothing in us. That says nothing to Bodhicitta, which arises from an impulse outside the human psyche, or to the Buddha Nature, which must have pre-dated our birth.

    "Self exists" is a false premise, assert the early Buddhist texts. However, adds Peter Harvey, these texts do not admit the premise "Self does not exist" either because the wording presumes the concept of "Self" prior to denying it; instead, the early Buddhist texts use the concept of Anattā as the implicit premise. According to Steven Collins, the doctrine of anatta and "denial of self" in the canonical Buddhist texts is "insisted on only in certain theoretical contexts", while they use the terms atta, purisa, puggala quite naturally and freely in various contexts.

    There isn't any bundle called self to deny or remove.

    However, Buddhism also eschews the "opposite":

    Buddha criticized the materialistic annihilationism view that denied rebirth and karma, states Damien Keown.

    In Pali:

    In the conventional sense, “attā” means “a person”.
    The deeper meaning when pronounced “atta” is “in full control”, the opposite of which is anatta (“helpless”) as in the Tilakkhana.
    Depending on the context, one needs to pick the correct meaning.
    When one attains the true “atta” state (Nibbāna), one has become “nātha“, which is still used in Sinhala meaning “found refuge or salvation”. As long as one remains in the 31 realms (this world), one is “anātha” (which is the Sinhala word for anatta) or “helpless”.
    “Attanō nāthō” means “the refuge is within oneself.” Thus, “Attā hi attanō nāthō” means “one’s refuge is within oneself.”
    “parō siyā” means “outside oneself”. Thus “kō hi nāthō parō siyā” means “how can one find refuge outside oneself”?
    “Sudda” means “clean.” Thus, “attanā hi sudanténa” means (by cleansing one’s own (mind)”.


    So, one might say the understandings of "soul--Atma" are subject to the Catuskoti. The Buddhist Anatta doctrine may well instead be saying that sentient beings are utterly ignorant and helpless, especially in terms of rebirth, whereas Buddha is like a lord or Natha and utterly helpful in these terms.



    From Vishuddhimagga, the Tamraparniyas state that Hrdaya-vastu (Heart seed) is the seat of Mano-vynana-dhatu (Manas or soul); it exists in Formless arupa loka, that there is Formless "arupa matter". Northern Abhidharma knows of hrdaya-vastu as mana indriya or mano-dhatu. "Dhatu" or "element" may also be called gotra (seed--lineage) or akara (source; not a-kara, "handless" or inactive). Hṛdaya-vastu [hadaya-vatthu] means heart-basis. The heart is considered as the physical support of all cittas other than the two sets of fivefold sense consciousness which take their respective sensitivities as their bases. The hṛdaya-vastu is described as the seat of thought and feeling -- the basis of mind. It is the seat of the divine intuition and of the Buddha-nature.

    It has been said that all the dharmas of the constituted world are included in one skandha i.e. Rupaskandha, one ayatana i.e. Mana-ayatana, and in one dhatu i.e. Dharmadhatu only. Tathagata garbha is 'suchness with defilement', which is the emptiness of the minds of sentient beings. Dharmakaya is 'suchness without defilement', which is the emptiness of the omniscient mind of a buddha. Defilements or klisto manas constrain the Alaya to being Alaya Vijnana, known to the Sinhalese as Bhavanga Vijnana. Alaya is automatic; quit defiling it, and it shines.


    According to Skandha terminology:

    The vijnana-skandha is the mana-ayatana consisting of seven dhatus: Six vijnanas (Intellect plus five senses) and the mano-dhatu or the Mind.

    It does not give the original term for "Intellect", but, presumably, that is calling the sixth principle Dharmadhatu, and the seventh, Manodhatu.


    Samskaraskandha is so called because it conditions (abhisamskaroti) the conditioned dharmas (samskrtas); that is to say, it creates and determines the five skandhas of the future existence...The Samskaraskandha is regarded as one of the seven things (dravyas) which are called Dharmayatana and Dharmadhatu, the other six things being the Vedana-skandha, the Samjna-skandha, Avijnapti, Akasa, Pratisamkhyanirodha and Apratisamkhyanirodha.


    Avijnapti is "no information" or un-manifest, imperceptible form or action, in a group which ends with:

    1) Asaṃskṛta (असंस्कृत, “unconditioned”) refers to a set of “three unconditioned things” as defined in the Dharma-saṃgraha (section 32):
    ākāśa (space),
    pratisaṃkhyā-nirodha (observed cessation),
    apratisaṃkhyā-nirodha (unobserved cessation).

    That is like a view of seven skins or mental components without respect to Rupa Skandha or the senses--so it is a body-less or mental-only dharmadhatu, whereas usually it is obscured by its own action:

    Pravritti vijnana is further divided into seven vijñānas, namely, cakṣu, ghrāṇa, śrotra, jihvā and kāya-vijñānas representing the five sense-cognitions, and mano-vijñāna or normal consciousness, and a seventh, kliṣṭa-manovijñāna, representing continuous consciousness, is added to them. There is a sort of intermediary between the sixth manovijñāna and the Ālaya. By the first five vijñānas, an object is imagined or rather sensed; by vijñāna (manovijñāna) it is ‘thought’; by manas (kliṣṭa-manovijñāna) it is perceived; and at the background of these all is the synthetic unity of ‘apperception’ called citta or Ālaya.


    Tantras will raise one through the gods dwelling in the winds who have non-apperception. That would be to defeat or remove the Alaya. But then there definitely is a "sort of intermediary", difficult to pierce even when given the methods.
    Last edited by shaberon; 30th July 2021 at 06:36.

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    Default Re: Nirakara and Shentong Buddhism, Tara, Sadhanas, Sanskrit culture

    Quote Posted by Mashika (here)
    I can't help by wonder, if through going around and withing all of these aspects of religions and spiritual views, you have not encountered an extended form of 'Shinbutsu shugo", in a way.
    My Japanese is pretty weak.

    The earliest part of Buddhism I encountered was that of Bodhidharma as carried in martial arts. But that was very basic, and I don't know many of their advanced terms. So I don't know what that is. According to English, I do not think Yoga is a "religion", and its spirituality is not "views" since it can be observed as subtle changes that take place within a human being, so it is mainly a "practice".

    I have encountered an extended form of something, which is too much noise and distraction to practice the way I would like to, and therefor more time spent with the books, but it is all in trying to get closer to Refuge of One as described. So I would have to ask what the Japanese means. The intention is more like their "Bussho".

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    Default Re: Nirakara and Shentong Buddhism, Tara, Sadhanas, Sanskrit culture

    Quote Posted by shaberon (here)
    Quote Posted by Mashika (here)
    I can't help by wonder, if through going around and withing all of these aspects of religions and spiritual views, you have not encountered an extended form of 'Shinbutsu shugo", in a way.
    My Japanese is pretty weak.

    The earliest part of Buddhism I encountered was that of Bodhidharma as carried in martial arts. But that was very basic, and I don't know many of their advanced terms. So I don't know what that is. According to English, I do not think Yoga is a "religion", and its spirituality is not "views" since it can be observed as subtle changes that take place within a human being, so it is mainly a "practice".

    I have encountered an extended form of something, which is too much noise and distraction to practice the way I would like to, and therefor more time spent with the books, but it is all in trying to get closer to Refuge of One as described. So I would have to ask what the Japanese means. The intention is more like their "Bussho".
    I think i understand now, thanks

    Shinbutsu shugo was in reference to how in Japan Buddhism and Shinto merged into a new form of practice, but not entirely, in a way that you can still tell which is which, but both are part of the entire religion in use. A lot of stuff from other religions or ideologies was merged into Shinto, it has multiple 'gods', like Amaterasu, all the elements, even people can become kami, while Buddhism doesn't do the same and only has buddhas, and the process to become one is very specific. And even if those two aspects are a bit incompatible, the merging of both still works somehow, on a day by day basis
    Tired

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    Default Re: Nirakara and Shentong Buddhism, Tara, Sadhanas, Sanskrit culture

    Surangama Sutra and Sitatapatra Parasol


    Here is a brief view on early Mahayana:

    Some scholars have traditionally considered the earliest Mahāyāna sūtras to include the very first versions of the Prajñāpāramitā series, along with texts concerning Akṣobhya Buddha, which were probably composed in the 1st century BCE in the south of India. Some early Mahāyāna sūtras were translated by the Kuṣāṇa monk Lokakṣema, who came to China from the kingdom of Gandhāra. His first translations to Chinese were made in the Chinese capital of Luoyang between 178 and 189 CE.

    A list of ten translations at the time includes Prajnaparamita Sutra and Surangama Sutra. Wiki implies the modern version came from a later translation as if there are no manuscripts from the first.

    The Sutra is relatively unknown in Tibet, although they have the Parasol deity. Bu-ston said one of their Sutra copies was Chinese, perhaps implying the other was Indian. An original Sanskrit source is not known, but around 2010 a majority was discovered. Henan Nanyang Bodhi Temple originally had one Sanskrit language manuscript Shurangama sutra, consisting in total 226 leaves, of which 6 were missing... according to introduction, it contains the Śūraṅgama Sūtra and most probably the only extant Sanskrit manuscript dating from the Tang Dynasty. The letters are roundish and belongs to a type used in South India...



    Ven. Hsuan Hua says in another Alaya commentary:

    Someone wants to know what the seven great elements are that are the Treasury of the Thus Come One, as discussed in the Shurangama Sutra. They are “great” because they fill every place and pervade the Dharma Realm. They aren’t just in one place, nor is there any one place where they are not present. There is no place they are, and no place where they are not. All seven are that way, but people only see a small amount of them, and are unaware of their filling the Dharma Realm. Instead, people feel they themselves are the great element, far greater than the other seven.

    The Seven Great Elements

    The element of Earth
    The element of Water
    The element of Fire
    The element of Air (wind)
    The element of Space
    The element of Vision
    The element of Consciousness

    People fail to recognize the seven as great and either don’t know about them, or add themselves as the eighth great. Their reasoning then goes that since the other seven greats need the eighth great to know them so they won’t remain unknown, the eighth must therefore be the greatest.

    According to Shurangama, the various assets on the Nidana wheel are the Suchness of the Treasury, but it is not said they penetrate the Dharma Realm (Ultimate Meaning or Paramartha) as do the Seven.

    He also says about the Bodhisattva Grounds:

    The Unmoving Ground is the Eighth Ground. Prior to the eighth ground, that is, on the seventh ground, the seventh consciousness relinquishes its innate attachment to the eighth or storehouse consciousness being the self. This takes place as the seventh consciousness transforms itself into the Wisdom Whose Nature is Equality.

    So the group of consciousnesses does correspond to the Bhumis or Paramitas. We said the flaw of the Seventh Consciousness, Addicted Mind or Klista Manas, is Drsti, which is any self-view, and this quote is telling us that the seventh or Upaya Paramita is the killing of Drsti versus Alaya. This section adds:

    The principle now being explained will lead to an explanation of the seven elements - earth, water, fire, wind, emptiness, perception, and consciousness - as pervading the dharma-realm. The five skandhas, the six entrances, the twelve places, the eighteen realms discussed before explained the wonderful true suchness nature of the treasury of the Thus Come One, but it was not said that they pervaded the dharma-realm.

    Ven. Hsuan Hua believes the Sutra was found by Nagarjuna in the Naga realm.


    Shurangama Mantra contains all of the major 32 Tantric deities of the Nagarjuna introduced practice of the Guhyasamaja Highest Yoga Tantra Sadhana contained in the Geluk tradition of Tibetan Vajrayana Tantric Buddhism Buddhism. Thus, in many ways one could say the Shurangama Mantra is Highest Yoga Tantra Vajrayana Buddhism buried within the Chinese Chan and Pure Land traditions including references to many Iṣṭha-devatās Avalokiteshvara as Mahakala, Ganapati, Vajrayogini and Heruka Chakrasamvara in the form of Umapati and Rudra. Because of its vastness of deities including Brahma, Indra, Rudraya and his consort Uma, Narayana, Varuna, and Ganesh as Ganapati the Shurangama Mantra acts as a Buddhist bridge to devotional Hinduism.




    Shurangama harnesses Matangi without saying anything about her. In Buddhism, Matangi becomes a chandali prostitute, tempts Ananda, and then Shurangama Sutra happens to purify and replace mortal desire with Parasol. In Shurangama, Avalokiteshvara is described as reaching enlightenment by concentration or samadhi on the sound or nada. Jamgon Kongtrul calls it extremely important, and synonymous with Bindu, Mahamudra, Mahasukha, Vajra, Yeshe Wind or Lung, Ham, Sugatagarbha, Sherab phar phyin or Prajnaparamita.

    Something is going on here because Matangi is in the oldest, original "mantranaya" or mantra practice presumed to have associated visualizations, prior to any known tantric literature, such as VAT.

    This book is not called a tantra, it is a Sutra, that is, publicized. And so if you pick it up in a casual manner, Matangi might not really mean anything. But she, so to speak, already has a life of her own as a yogini. According to a dharani dissertation:

    ..and the ‘six syllables mantra' (sadaksari-vidya) promulgated by the Buddha in the second or third century CE Sarvastivada's Sardulakarnavadana (Divy: 613-614). In this text the incorporation of the mantric lore belonging to the ‘holders of knowledge' (Skt. vidyadhara) and to the followers of the non-Vedic goddess Matangi into Buddhism is dramatized, through the monastic ordination of ‘Prakrti' (‘nature'), daughter of the mahavidyadhari Matangi, that, despite falling in love with Ananda, finally she became a nun through the Buddha's mantric power.


    And then we find her, roughly contemporaneously, appearing as a "non-Vedic" Gauri goddess in literature as far off as Gandhara, and so then the Sutra is probably not much of a secret, if you have learned anything about her. There were probably more yogic practices in the wild, you might have gotten it firsthand.




    There is a modern online Surangama Sutra on City of Ten Thousand Buddhas. There is an older version with Ven. Hsuan Hua commentary.

    There is also an older 1967 Charles Luk translation.



    Of the four ranks of Samadhi, it is self-definitive as the first kind, Hero's March:

    The Śūraṅgama Sūtra teaches about the Śūraṅgama Samādhi, which is associated with complete enlightenment and Buddhahood. This samādhi is also featured extensively in the Śūraṅgama Samādhi Sūtra, another Mahāyāna text. It is equally praised in the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra, where it is explained by the Buddha that this samādhi is the essence of the nature of the Buddha and is indeed the "mother of all Buddhas."The Buddha also comments that the Śūraṅgama Samādhi additionally goes under several other names, specifically Prajñāpāramitā ("Perfection of Wisdom"), the Vajra Samādhi ("Diamond Samadhi"), the Siṃhanāda Samādhi ("Lion's Roar Samādhi"), and the Buddhasvabhava ("Buddha-nature").

    The Śūraṅgama Sūtra contains teachings from Yogācāra, Buddha-nature, and Vajrayana. It makes use of Buddhist logic with its methods of syllogism and the catuṣkoṭi "fourfold negation" first popularized by Nāgārjuna.


    On her own, part of Parasol's teachings involve the nefarious:

    vajrapāṇi guhyakādhipati

    And if we ask why she might be related, if not equivalent to, and perhaps more powerful and accessible than the Vajrasekhara system which mainly operates on Bodhisattva Vajraosnisa, that is easily found in her Long Dharani:

    bhagavan tathagatosnisa sitatapatra maha vajrosnisa ,
    maha pratyangire maha sahasra bhuje sahasra-sirse ,


    which also borrows directly from Cunda's mantra:

    namah saptanam samyak-sambuddha kotinam


    This is commonly taught as a number, "koti" = ten million, in other words saluting an egregious number of Buddhas. However, because it may have other meanings:

    9) A class, department, kingdom

    11) The pinnacle, peak (śikhara)

    It is not out of line to think it may simply mean Seven Buddha Families.


    Parasol deity can be described as using mantras of increasing size, until in Nepal, she has a large dharani, and, then, an ultra-massive Paramartha Dharani, which is the only one of its kind that I know of. Meanwhile, her form changes from having two, to four, six, eight, and ten arms, and she has a Universal or 1,000 Arm form.

    So it is not good to say "the Parasol mantra" because there are several. There were a few good recordings of these short ones, but they were taken down. There is a medium-length one from the Bari lineage which actually invokes her as Khasama, which is almost the only use of this word in the world aside from the title of that tantra.

    TADYATHA OM ANALE ANALE KHASAME KHASAME BHAIRE BHAIRE SAUME SAUME SARVA BUDDHA ADHISHTHANA ADHISHTHITE SARVA TATHAGATA USHNISHA SITATAPATRE HUM PHAT HUM MAMA HUM NI SVAHA

    In an alternate version, Bhaire = Vire, and Saume = Some. The end of this mantra is the common short mantra. In Sanskrit, "mama" has to do with me/mine, whereas words meaning "mother" use a "t", such as Mata or Matr. And so if she is doing something to "me", such as Raksa Mam is "protect me", what is she doing?

    The only other halfway normal word is "Ni", which is "to lead, to govern", which becomes conjugated through forms of "naya", which is why the last line of Mahakarunika Dharani, Jvalanam Apanaye Svaha, means Blazing Wisdom, Lead Me Away. In reverse, if we take a look at Naya, it says it comes from Ni:

    Naya (नय).—a. [nī bhāve ac]

    1) Leading, conducting.

    2) A guide.

    3) Suitable, right, proper.

    -yaḥ 1 Guiding, leading, managing.


    In Sarvadurgati Tantra, there is Body Mandala as we have shown, but, an alternate method is using Nine Usnisa deities. Further, the Vajrahumkara deity effectively "makes" Vajrosnisa by converting Padmantaka into him. This is parallel to Vajrosnisa in the Vajrasekhara system.

    Parasol is equivalent to "that", mostly in and of herself. In other words, she is defined as the first class of samadhi, and is at the least equal to Body Mandala as understood in tantra, but since we have found she is an Adi Prajna, her practice goes way beyond Protection and Prayer Flags, as we will eventually show.


    Instead of dealing with her personal practice mantras right now, there is a more important thing from the Sutra. Here it is nothing but a chant on Pancha Jina or Five Dhyani Buddhas. It is pretty compelling, along the lines of the first Usnisa Vijaya dharani. This is not the whole sutra, just the Five Assemblies mantra. The Sanskrit Five Assemblies is about halfway down that page.




    Its recital will give you some Medicine Buddha protection. He says it should be combined with Prajnaparamita, Vispasi, Simhanada, and Mahakaruna.

    Importance of the Śūraṅgama Mantra by Venerable Master Hsuan Hua:

    When there is no longer anyone who can recite the Śūraṅgama Mantra, then very quickly the world will be destroyed, because the Proper Dharma no longer abides.

    As long as there is even one person who can recite the Śūraṅgama Mantra, the demons, ghosts, and strange entities don’t dare show themselves in this world.

    They fear the mantra.

    But when not even one person can recite the Śūraṅgama Mantra by heart, then those weird entities, those demons and ghosts will come out of hiding. Depraved and up to no good, they will not be recognized by most people. At this point in time, since there are still those who can recite the mantra from memory, those malevolent beings haven’t made their appearance yet. And so, if you want to keep the world from being destroyed, quickly learn the Śūraṅgama Mantra and read the Śūraṅgama Sūtra to keep the Proper Dharma in the world.


    "Arising historically from the chaitya (funerary mounds) of early Buddhism and symbolically from the tope (ushnisha), bundle of hair, on the crown of the Buddha's head, the stupa is viewed as a physical representation of the unseen enlightened mind of a Buddha - incorporating both the blueprint for the path to enlightenment and enlightenment itself."

    The main Boudhnath Stupa in Nepal is Avalokiteshvara. Note the placement of Parasol, White, and Green Tara:







    Under Avalokiteshvara, above Marici:







    Under Bodhisattva Nagaraja:







    Mongolian:







    Last edited by shaberon; 30th July 2021 at 18:49.

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    Default Re: Nirakara and Shentong Buddhism, Tara, Sadhanas, Sanskrit culture

    Quote Posted by Mashika (here)
    while Buddhism doesn't do the same and only has buddhas, and the process to become one is very specific. And even if those two aspects are a bit incompatible, the merging of both still works somehow, on a day by day basis

    In Nepal, the female Buddha Prajnas are simply called Shaktis.

    The main, male-based system as dominant in Japan could be described as simply a "part" of the goddess-based dharani process.

    The system of Nepal and trans-Himalaya is much more like Shaktism. A vast amount of our deities are of non-Buddhist origin. The specific way that Buddha achieved Enlightenment was during Union with Tilottama:

    Tilottama is an Apsara in Indra's court. In Sanskrit, Tila means seasme, and since Vishwakarma created her from from seasme seeds (on the advice of Lord Brahma), she is known as Tilottama.


    esoterically, to me she becomes a Jnana Mudra or generic name for a thing I can't do. Literally, since Uttama means "finest", sesame is small to begin with and the seeds are ground, she means the "finest particles", i. e. subtle or Suksma body of the most refined order.

    But most of what I have to say unrolls from the previous post about Parasol. In large part showing a high similarity to Shaktism; or, we could just say that Indrabhuti was a devotee of Jagganatha. Or we could describe it as a form of Lakshmi Tantra. That is the main point in talking about Indian Buddhism. Sabaris could be the most important thing...
    Last edited by shaberon; 30th July 2021 at 18:55.

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    Default Re: Nirakara and Shentong Buddhism, Tara, Sadhanas, Sanskrit culture

    Nagaraja, Parasol and Vajrasattva mantras, Manjushri Mulakalpa


    IWS could almost be called the Book of Nagaraja.

    There is an opening sequence of Taras, and many sages or Mahasiddhas, and it culminates on Nagaraja being revered by Manjushri, Avalokiteshvara, Maitreya, and Varana Niskambin. Then it kicks into Guhyasamaja and shows all the tantric deities such as these. In fact it starts with Guhyasamaja Manjuvajra.

    After Manjuvajra, it soon moves to Armor Deities using Dakini Jala names, or, what it calls Armor Vajrasattva, Armor Vairocana, Armor Black Heruka, Armor Padmanarttesvara, Armor Vajrasurya, and Armor Paramasva. White Vajrasattva has six arms, the rest of them are four armed drummers. These are followed by Varahi, Yamini, etc., the more well-known Armor goddesses, more four armed drummers. So far no one has pointed out that the inscriptions use Dakini Jala names and that Paramasva is assuredly not Hayagriva.

    I already knew how Nagaraja works through Manjuvajra and what the Armor is, in relation to the fact it is nested with Seven Syllable deity and its relations. I did not know that was how these illustrations ran. Makes perfect sense to me.

    However it means the pictures do not one-to-one match the sadhanas. In many cases it individually lists retinue members, or different numbers might be together, and perhaps a few are skipped. Notwithstanding the flux, it has the characters of hundreds of sadhanas in the order written.

    So it does begin with several familiar public figures in a way that almost says "Sutra", and then it takes four Maha Bodhisattvas from the familiar male-based system and does this:





    And then you are in Guhyasamaja.

    There was no "system", there was no Vajrosnisa emanated from a six by six matrix with scores of re-iterations, nothing like VAT and STTS or Vajrasekhara to gird you for the experience, it just starts.

    Well, Nagaraja did something.

    If you would tend to guess, well, he just used the capstone from Vajrasekhara, and plugged it into some kind of a freak machine, that is probably a fair estimate. We can tell he is there because he is two colors, blue body, white face.

    According to general information:

    He holds the two hands at the heart in a special gesture and the head is adorned with a hood of seven snakes. There are three primary purposes for practicing this meditational form of Nageshvara. The first is to employ Nageshvara as a meditational deity and remove defilements along with disease and obstacles created by naga spirits. Secondly, Nageshvara rituals are used to produce rain. Thirdly, Nageshvara is also employed in the creation of ritual vases with the intention of promoting environmental health and stability.

    It is believed to be a Candrakirti and Atisha lineage, which espouses Prasangika which is a view we are more or less refuting, which to me sounds like the wrong way of putting it, because we are just doing a few small modifications. Until a person is really ripened to understand those, it is all the same. It is probably fair to say Mahayana looks at all of itself as basically the same. It does tend to say that Hinayana and Sravaka Buddhism is about like Aryan Hinduism. The main difference in Mahayana is the ideal of Bodhisattva practice. And then for example we are just saying we are using a certain system to make it more powerful. One could do whatever kind of reading and meditation to establish the first Bodhisattva Bhumi, but, it is a lot faster and more direct to call it Vajrasattva and raise that through a personal bond.

    “Muditā is to wish that beings obtain joy as a result of happiness (sukha). Muditā is practiced to remove dissatisfaction (arati) toward beings”

    This attitude is the complement of karuna: while karuna shares the sorrow of others, mudita shares their joy. Mudita is the direct antidote to envy. Envy arises over the good fortune of others: it resents those who achieve position, prestige, power, and success.

    In Bodhisattva practice, each Paramita or Perfection corresponds to a Ground or Bhumi:

    Bhumi means the place where sattas with similar characters arise and dwell.

    Most of them would translate into stages of radiance, except, perhaps:

    The first bhūmi, the Very Joyous. (Skt. Pramudita), in which one rejoices at realizing a partial aspect of the truth.

    It certainly involves a heightened aspect of Mudita, which is Vajrasattva.

    I listened to the recording a few times, but, I never practiced it. Months later I was working on a post and spontaneously knew the whole mantra. That doesn't usually happen. Anyway, there are different styles until you can find a comfort zone with them. Noticeably, Tibetan mantras are given fast, they believe numbers are important, so that more is better. Here are some Russian EBM chicks called Wonderband doing a Tibetan Vajrasattva:





    It is about the same, except Benzi = Vajra, Benzasato = Vajrasattva.

    Most countries also have their own way of saying "Svaha". China and Tibet is Soha, Vietnam is Shoha, parts of India say Swaha.

    And so we said Parasol must be something close to the abilities of Nagaraja, because he went from "Sutra" as just a sort of formal hello, and then started Guhyasamaja, and, I am not sure how many total tantras or sadhana cycles are in IWS, including points that do not seem to be Prasangika or Gelug dominated, particularly since the tantric deities start with Manjuvajra.

    Sadhanamala "is not" the book of several things, such as Viswamata, the goddess of Kalachakra. It spends about three lines on her. It is somewhat mild towards Parasol. It has a few short, almost identical articles, related to her Six Arm form, and so we don't want that yet. Have to look around.

    According to Teahouse:


    From the Trayatrimsa heaven, Buddha emanated light from his ushnisha – the oval at the top of his head which symbolises the attainment of enlightenment. The light materialized in the syllables of the goddess’s mantra, and then in the goddess herself. This legend also explains her full name, Ushnisha Sitatapatra (Tib. Tsugtor Dugkar), which expresses her nature, combining the protective power and the luminosity of the supreme spiritual achievement."]From the Trayatrimsa heaven, Buddha emanated light from his ushnisha – the oval at the top of his head which symbolises the attainment of enlightenment. The light materialized in the syllables of the goddess’s mantra, and then in the goddess herself. This legend also explains her full name, Ushnisha Sitatapatra (Tib. Tsugtor Dugkar), which expresses her nature, combining the protective power and the luminosity of the supreme spiritual achievement.



    There is a Lotsawa House translated Parasol Dharani Sutra where the Khasama mantra is called her Quintessence mantra. Khedrub je calls it the "most complete" version of her in the Tibetan canon. That may be, but there is something considerably more than that,



    There is a very short Mipham Parasol sadhana using the short mantras. If we look back at the Nagaraja and Parasol thangka in the previous post, we will observe that she is doing Granting Refuge mudra, whereas the two Taras are both doing Varada or Boon Giving mudra. And so we will copy something which does not give its source and fix that. It advises you get empowered for the practice. We don't really even do the parts that mainly need it, which is the mudra and the self-generation.

    Refuge Mudra:

    The gesture may be made in several ways – with the palm facing upwards and outwards, or downwards so as to subdue the object that is the cause of fear. In another variation, the index, middle or ring finger may be joined with the thumb tip to form a circle, with the remaining three extended upwards. Taking refuge is the union of the male and female principle, while the other fingers represent the Buddha, dharma, and sangha (The Three Jewels).



    Here are two versions of the short mantras. The first is more emotional and has some Tibetan stuff in the middle and goes back to the mantra. Tibetans tend to say "Ushnisha" as "unika".




    Om Sarva Tathagata Usnisa [Sitatapatra] Hum Phat Hum Mama Hum Ni Svaha

    Hum Mama Hum Ni Svaha


    So he didn't use her full name, but, it is in a Chinese version which is almost militant:






    She is definitely a destroyer, but, she is also a or the entry to samadhi.

    The Mantra Recitation

    First, visualize the universe in the color white. Then, the whole universe dissolves into a white "Om" syllable. Then from the white "Om," arises the Buddha Mother Sitatapatra. (Sitatapatra has one head, two arms, three eyes (the third eye in located between the eyebrows), her left hand holds a parasol, the right hand is in the wish-bestowing mudra, and she sits in the meditation style on a lotus.)

    Then, you recite the mantra:

    Om sarva tathagata anika sitatapatra hum phat! hum mama hum ni svaha! (Long mantra)
    Hum Mama hum ni svaha! (short mantra)

    Recite the long and short mantra 108 times each.

    Entering the Samadhi of Sitatapatra

    Form the Sitatapatra Mudra, this mudra is only available to people that have taken refuge under a guru.

    Recite the Four Syllable Mantra:

    Ja (visualize Sitatapatra appearing in the sky above you.)
    Hum (Sitatapatra moves to the space above your head.)
    Vam (the lotus in the center opens. On the lotus, there is a white "Om." Sitatapatra enters and sits on the lotus in the center of your heart.)
    Hoh! (While on the lotus in the center of your heart, Sitatapatra starts to emanate a form facing you.)

    Visualize that the parasol of Sitatapatra covers your house or Buddha altar. Then visualize Sitatapatra's crown chakra opening, and a white "Om" comes out and forms a parasol. This parasol then also covers your house or altar.
    Recite the mantra 108 times:

    Hum Ma Ma Hum Ni Svaha!

    Praising Protectress Sitatapatra

    Recite the following praise. Ring your dorje bell and damaru if you have one:

    Abiding in the selfless void,
    manifests a white Sitatapatra
    With one face, two arms, and three eyes;
    Wearing a jeweled crown and layers of celestial garments.
    Every palm possess an eye,
    Her left hand holds a parasol and her right forms the refuge-granting gesture.
    She sits in the in the Full Lotus position on the lotus-moon;
    Om Vajra samaya Jah!

    Dedication

    Recite the dedication prayer once:

    The Supreme Crown of all Tathagatas,
    Manifest on the clouds in the heavens.
    The powerful and liberated White Parasols,
    I prostrate to every one of them;
    May my practice of the White Parasol,
    speedily accumulate the invincible Dharma Light,
    Shielding all beings and subjugating all maras;
    Together, may we all soar to the Buddha-Lands!


    I am not sure the form description is really part of the "praise recital". You would try to see her while using the Samaya mantra. And part of what you are supposed to be seeing is a magical enhancement of the Parasol item and that she does something similar out of her head.

    We will suggest it is a companion of the Naga Crown of Nagaraja, which is composed of seven serpents:







    Ok. And there is a goddess-based dharani system similar to what he has? Yes, from the Big Ekajati in the first post, Janguli:






    And what is she doing? She is the Buddhist name of Matangi. She is barely known in Tibet. She has three forms but only one mandala, which is in Krsna Yamari Tantra.

    Krsna Yamari Tantra is part of what is in Paramartha Parasol, along with Bhutadamara Tantra.

    This is one of the main uses of having "captured" non-vedic pisaci or gauri class goddesses, besides being Hevajra's inner ring.

    Acharya Tathagata Raksita made famous the teachings of the short Charya Tantra of Bhutadamara. In the Vajravali of Acharya Abhayakaragupta there are three mandalas of Bhutadamara, these, extracted from the Tantras contain the essence letters, the long mantra is not taught...now, for the Vajrapanjara, it is said; Trailokyavajra's greater and lesser Bhutadamara meditations are based on this - which is found in the Sadhanasamgraha [Sadhanamala]."

    Bhutadamara's mandala is mostly filled with Hindu deities. The more noticeable part, going by the site's assessment, upper register figures include 1. Janguli or Yellow Tara, 2. Arya Janguli, 3. Vishvamatra, 4. Janguli, 5. Chunda, 6. Vajradhara, the rest Ekajatas. And so in this view, Janguli is over the whole Bhutadamara mandala, along with what looks like the Big Laughing Ekajati:









    Some of the lower ones are probably Marici.

    Nagarjuna sent Master Ludrup to get the original prayer wheel from Bodhisattva Naga Raja. Nagarjuna gave Lion Face Dakini the practice of Prayer Wheel, and from her to Tilo. This is usually what Nagarjuna looks like:







    Ok. Anyone else?

    Dhyani Buddha Amoghasiddhi:





    And actually Manjushri does it.

    But before that happens, in Mahayoga, the five transcendent sadhanas are Manjusri Yamantaka (enlightened form), Padma Hayagriva (enlightened speech), Visuddha (enlightened mind), Vajramrta Mahottara (enlightened qualities), and Vajrakllaya (enlightened activity).


    Yamantaka is central to understanding this scheme because:

    There is a massive and very important "proto-tantra", Manjushri Mulakalpa (MMK), in which Yamantaka produces a vast retinue. It is like a primeval stamp for the way retinues are cast in "tantric texts" like Mahamayuri Vidyarajni, and of course the tantras themselves. To note, it happens to cast Vajrabhairava as a minor retinue figure, and Vajravarahi likewise, but using her STTS ordination name, Vajramukhi. It is approximately datable to the sixth century, with the Sanskrit text being much larger than the Tibetan or Chinese. Bhattacharya says it:

    ...is decidedly the earliest work of Mantrayana at present available. It is written in the Saṅgīti style in prose and in verse, and in an archaic style closely resembling the Gāthā style, and is written throughout in what is called the Mixed Sanskrit.

    It must post-date the Amitayus Sutra or Sukhavati Vyuha.

    The Mantras of some of the Dhyāni Buddhas are indeed to be found in the Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa although not exactly in the same meaning and form as in the later Guhyasamāja. The Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa further speaks of Mantrayana but it does not refer to Vajrayāna which is mentioned for the first time in the Guhyasamāja the Tantra of Secret Communion.

    Elsewhere he says:

    With regard to the antiquity of Cundā in the Buddhist pantheon, it may be said that the very first mention of her name Candrā which is considered to be the same as Cundā, appears in the Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa, the composition of which is usually placed cir. 200 A. D. As Cundavajrī, she finds mention in one of the earliest Tantric works, the Guhyasamāja which was written most probably in the time of Asaṅga, cir. 300 A. D.

    So it is thought the compilations were begun quite early, achieving their final form around 700 or so.

    There are sometimes said to be three forms of Yamantaka: Red Yamari, Black Yamari and Vajrabhairava. However, Nepal has Yamari practice in all five families/colors. These are extensions of the basic principle, Yama (Death) Antaka (put an end to). And so these are closely equivalent to Trailokyavijaya, and a part of Body Mandala. All parallels of overcoming death and related psychic planes in Kama Loka. If "black" or Krsna Yamari is part of this, so is a dharani practice adjunct to it.

    MMK is like a "who's who" directory for a vast amount of deities, although in later works, some are omitted and others come in. The retinues all have remarks like "these, and thousands of others". So it is a bit open-ended rather than being a "final word" on the assemblies.

    The Families are only slightly different in MMK or Shurangama; they exist therein, as well as at least four in Golden Light Sutra.


    According to a Dharma Wheel discussion on Shurangama, The five Great Hearts Mantra of the Five Family Buddhas in Sanskrit:

    104: Chedana
    105: Akala
    106: Mrtyu
    107: Prasamana
    108: Karim

    On its last page, Shurangama is called foundational to tantra.
    Last edited by shaberon; 31st July 2021 at 18:27.

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    Default Re: Nirakara and Shentong Buddhism, Tara, Sadhanas, Sanskrit culture

    Bhrkuti and MMK, Parnasabari, Parasol, Marici


    With Avalokiteshvara, his Karuna-emitted goddesses were Tara and Bhrkuti. And so they are recurrent in his retinues. As a pair, they are similar to Vajrasattva; Tara will not turn male, but, will become the normally-male Upaya and Bhrkuti will become Prajna. Going the other way, I am not aware of an instance where male deities become normally-female Prajna.

    Bhrikuti is not an originally-Hindu goddess, but, she becomes one in Kubjika Tantra. She is a four arm Jain Yakshi from am eleventh-century work, but, was also a male Yaksha with the twenty-first Jina:

    Bhṛkuṭi and Gandhārī (Digambara: Cāmuṇḍī) are his respective Yakṣa and Yakṣiṇī.

    From what little I know of Jainism, its origin as a known practice was at the same time as Buddhism in Bihar. That would suggest that the Yaksha-harnessing as shown by Buddha was not necessarily an invention, it was part of the ethos everywhere, and he turned out to be the best at handling it. That is probably not what the Jains would say. But if this iconography is part of their "historical sages" or Jinas, then, it may be the original understanding of "bhrkuti" as a proper name.


    When I started trying to figure out Tara, I saw that Tibetan Bhrkuti is always depicted with an angry scowl. But most of her sadhanas are peaceful. As a lower-case word, it means "knitted brows", but this does not have to be angry, it could be a glance of concentration, or, a subtle vibration of the ajna center. The resolution about angry looks was found in a different form of Bhrkuti Tara:

    The concept of Bhrikuti Tara is noted in the earliest text of Arya Manjusrcemulakalpa. Bhrikuti Tara appears along with Arya Tara and a host of other feminine divinities called Vidyarajnis in Chapter 2 named Mandalavidhana Parivarta of that sutra. Bhrikuti is also mentioned in Hevajra Tantra (2nd chapter). Bhrikuti Tara is generally depicted as a companion deity of some forms of Avalokiteshvara viz. Khasarpana, Padmanarteshvara, Amoghpasa, etc. Bhrikuti appears in different forms. When she appears in blue color, Bhrikuti Tara is depicted as three headed and a six armed form. When yellow; she is single faced three eyed and four armed and with frowning eyebrows. Her four hands hold a rosary, a trident, a Kalasa and display Varada Mudra.

    which, in the Nepalese version, explains the Blue form as Wrathful. But this is not found in those sadhanas. It may just be Tara Fourteen. The usually-yellow one appears to be significant for bonding into Lotus Family, but, since she is not Red, she does not seem preliminary, and since she has four arms and carries an initiation pitcher, then she is more along the lines of a relatively easy, friendly attainment.


    Taranatha in his history of Buddhism in India describes a visit of an Upasaka Santivarman from Pundravardhana to the top of the Potala hill, the abode of Avalokiteshvara. It is said that Santivarman once prayed to Bhrikuti to cross a sea and there appeared a girl with a raft and who took him across.

    While climbing Potala hill, an Upasaka saw an image of Bhrikuti on the way up the hill. It is also said that Bhrikuti Tara manifested herself as a Nepalese princess in seventh century, who was married to the Tibetan king, Tsrong Tsong Gampo (617 – 650 A.D.). Bhrikuti Devi was instrumental in diffusing Buddhism in Tibet. Bhrikuti Tara brought the artistic images of Arya Tara, Avalokiteshvara and Akshobhya Buddha into Tibet.

    So, she is considered a type of Nirmanakaya preacher on the slopes of Mt. Potalaka.


    They are not "related namesakes", historical Bhrkuti is viewed as an actual emanation of Bhrkuti.

    According to Atisha's legend, the king of Tibet sent a treasure train to Nepal to get Bhrkuti based on seeing her in a dream. The offering was originally refused in the following way:

    When they arrived in Nepal they met with the king. Gartong Tsen offered the gifts and asked for the princess for the king of Tibet, while Thönmi Sambhota acted as translator. The king of Nepal flew into a terrible rage and told them, “You are insulting me greatly! I will only give my daughter to someone of my own rank and I am superior to the king of Tibet: I have the holy Dharma and supports of the Buddha's body, speech and mind from the time of Buddha Kashyapa. The Dharma has been well established here since king Kri Kri, who reigned at the time of the Buddha Shakyamuni. My riches are like the smoke of the eternal fire, plates are never empty of food, the sound of flour mills never ceases. In Tibet, the king of the hungry ghosts, doesn't have all this, and since there is no law, thieves reign and battles rage. I won't give him my daughter!”


    So although he expresses it in a different way, he at least believes that something has been established there for a long time. Most of the other historical Buddhas were said to visit there, and the last Buddha, Gautama, established what we know as modern disciplic succession.

    Concerning his daughter she is certainly early if not the first to be recognized as such a tantric deity. She has easily accessible Nirmanakaya forms and then her blue wrathful form which seems to take place with the display of the overall Tara Family or Twenty-one Taras. Otherwise in a retinue or on her own it seems she should be peaceful. It is possible for her to be white, but, she is usually yellow. As yellow she is usually a Pitcher or initiation deity.

    That may seem unusual because she is in Lotus Family, but, she is Jupiterian, Bhrim--Bhrkuti. And since this is "accessible", it would then have continuity from Jewel Family because of Bhrim--Cintamani.

    Lotus Family is very Sutra-based, but, historical Bhrkuti was also a messenger of tantric Akshobhya.

    And so it may be from the Sutras and called Kriya, but, this chiefly means it does not contain the whole teaching there. Moreover, it makes the actual bond which we do not really have, which is why the advanced tantras are not really going to do anything for us.

    On 84000, There is a "Mother of Avalokiteshvara Dharani", who is not named, and is presumed to be understood as "Tara", but if so, also as pisaci--gauri as within the dharani itself:

    tadyathā | ili mili | cili mili | kuntule kuntule kuntule | śire śiśire viśire | vīrāyai gauri gāndhāri drāmiṭe mātaṅgi pukkasi kaṣṭaya māṃ | caṇḍāli huttu mālini hūṁ | dhu dhu mālini | cile mile | gṛhṇa saumyadarśani | kuru candra­mukhi | laghu­mānayante ārya­dakṣiṇa­bhuje | sarvavidyānām prasādhane | sarva­vidyānām īśvari svāhā ||


    I saw that when I was looking for anything with Bhrkuti, but, otherwise, it turns out they have delivered the goods. This is a hundred-year project, with, for example, Dakarnava Tantra in progress. But they have recently published possibly one of the most important things, Manjushri Mulakalpa, in English and Sanskrit.

    According to the translators its magnitude is such that:

    The MMK has been likened to an encyclopedia of knowledge, and the description of the audience is one of the many types of valuable information found in the MMK. The list of attendees, which includes more than 1,300 names, was possibly intended to serve as a “Who’s Who” of Buddhism, and illustrates the extent and structure of the Buddhist pantheon. The deities are listed in groups according to a hierarchical order, while the list of the Buddhist saṅgha in attendance blends the traditional with the historical in its inclusion of the names of many beings that regularly featured in Buddhist literature prior to the MMK. Its other “encyclopedic” content includes astrology (with lists and descriptions of personified astrological categories); geography; types of languages and their geographical distribution; history (presented, in the narrative context of the MMK, as prophecy), including lists of kings and accounts of historical events that emphasize the history of the Buddhist religion; types of persons based on medical categories; types of dreams; and many other subjects. Much of its main ritual content is also presented in encyclopedic format, as is seen in the descriptions of hundreds upon hundreds of different mudrā gestures, mantras, and other ritual elements arranged into categories. This encyclopedic character of the MMK is reflected in the size of the glossary accompanying this translation, which includes more than 2,000 entries.


    Usnisa deities are particularly exalted.

    However, when it comes to its esoteric content, the MMK itself clearly states:


    “This Dharma treasury of the tathāgatas is extremely occult, as it depends in every respect on mantras. It must not be taught to those who have not received the samaya from the master, or those who do not understand the samaya. Why is this? This is because it is secret. It is an occult teaching; it is a teaching [arising from] omniscience. No beings should ever reject or take it lightly” (54.­5 ).


    It surprisingly has not a single commentary.

    Due to design, the Sanskrit is in one drop-down cell, but all the English is individual chapters.

    And when looking here, Bhrkuti more or less spans the whole book.

    By sifting her selections, we will find out something about her character, or about the scenes or patterns that MMK is built on, or both.


    Close to the beginning, after what looks like a section for Vajrapani is one for Abja (Lotus) Kula, which is, a, very weird, Avalokiteshvara. As well as select standard epithets, he is also Naksatra Raja. He then seems to produce his Queen by samadhi, and she is:

    tārā sutārā naṭī bhṛkuṭī • anantaṭī lokaṭī bhūmiprāpaṭī vimalaṭī sitā śvetā mahā­śvetā pāṇḍaravāsinī lokavāsinī vimalavāsinī • abjavāsinī daśa­bala­vāsinī yaśovatī bhogavatī mahā­bhogavatī • ulūkā • alūkā • amalāntakarī vimalāntakarī samantāntakarī {B11r} duḥkhāntakarī bhūtāntakarī śriyā mahā­śriyā stupaśriyā • anantaśriyā lokaśriyā vikhyātaśriyā lokamātā samanta­mātā buddhamātā bhaginī bhāgīrathī surathī rathavatī nāgadantā damanī bhūtavatī • amitā • āvalī bhogāvalī • ākarṣaṇī • adbhutā raśmī surasā suravatī pramodā dyutivatī taṭī samanta­taṭī jyotsnā somā somāvatī māyūrī mahā­māyūrī dhanavatī dhanandadā suravatī lokavatī • arciṣmatī bṛhannalā bṛhantā sughoṣā sunandā vasudā lakṣmī lakṣmīvatī rogāntikā sarvavyādhicikitsanī • asamā devī khyātikarī vaśakarī kṣiprakarī kṣemadā maṅgalā maṅgalāvahā candrā sucandrā candrāvatī ceti // 1.50 //


    At least some of these, Nati, Bhrkuti, etc., continue into Dakarnava's mandala. It also appears to contain Taras of Jewel and Karma Families, which perhaps is because this is Kriya or even just "mantranaya" which does not have the advanced explanation of families yet.

    Tara--Bhrkuti--Pandara is followed by what look like Pisacis or Gauris:

    ap1.­51
    etaiś cānyaiś ca vidyārājñibhiḥ parṇaśavarī-jāṅgulī-mānasī-pramukhair {S11} ananta­nirhāra­dharma­dhātu­gagana­svabhāvaiḥ sattva­caryāvikurvitādhiṣṭhānasañjanitamānasaiḥ dūtadūtī ceṭaceṭī kiṅkarakiṅkarī yakṣayakṣī rākṣasarākṣasīṃ piśācapiśācī abjakulasamayānupraveśamantravicāribhiḥ yena taṃ śuddhāvāsaṃ deva­bhavanaṃ {B11v} śuddhasattvanivastaṃ tena pratyaṣṭhāt / pratiṣṭhitāś ca bhagavataḥ śākyamuneḥ pūjākarmaṇodyuktamānasā abhūvan sthitavantaḥ // 1.51 //


    So Bhrkuti of 1.50 is associated with Lakshmi, Mayuri, and also Dasa Bala, followed by a form of Dharmadhatu Gagana Svabhava, which appears to be mastered by Parnasabari. The sattvas or beings are of Carya or Conduct Upholding Samaya, Vikurvita, "assuming various shapes", Adhisthana or Consecration, Sanjanita, "produced or brought forth", Manasa, mentally.


    Not much further along in 1.56 is Vajrabhrkuti following Vajrapani, with also Mamaki, Rupini, Vajrakamini, Vajrasrnkhala, Vajramusti, etc., and so this perhaps is Blue Bhrkuti of Tara verse fourteen. It is unmistakable that Vajrapani brings his own crowd or "family", distinct from Buddha or Avalokiteshvara. Again, one might say that Mamaki and Vajrasrnkhala move around when the full display of Families is "understandable".


    next:


    tasyāpi dakṣiṇato bhagavatī pāṇḍaravāsinī padmahastā dakṣiṇena hastena bhagavantaṃ {B38r} śākya­muniṃ vandamānā padmāsanopaniṣaṇṇā jaṭāmakuṭadhāriṇī śvetapaṭṭa vastranivastā paṭṭāṃśukottarāsaṅginī kṛṣṇabhasmatrimuṇḍī kṛtā / evaṃ tārā bhṛkuṭī svakasvakāsaneryāpathe susthitā kāryā / upariṣṭāc ca teṣāṃ bhagavatī prajñāpāramitā tathāgatalocanā • uṣṇīṣarājā ca kāryāḥ // 2.140 //


    Prajnaparamita has a relationship to Locana, the tantric purifier of Dharmadhatu, being the major subject of Sutra Prajnaparamita. The "Sutra-only" following also has its corresponding name, "Paramitanaya". We are not saying it is wrong, the MMK is developing a more powerful approach, especially with the Paramita Dharanis of Namasangiti Manjushri.

    Bhrkuti re-surfaces further along in the book:

    bhṛkuṭī caiva + + + mahāśriyā yaśasvinī /
    sitākhyāḥ sarvamantrās tu catuḥkumāryā mahodadhau // 30.13 //




    There appears to be a bridge between families:

    madhye padmakule siddhir yugānte vajrakulasya tu /
    praṇidhānavaśāt kecit mantrā siddhyanti sarvadā // 32.35 //

    ap32.­36
    avalokiteśo mañjuśrī tārā bhṛkuṭī ca yakṣarāṭ /
    sarve māṇicarā yakṣā sidhyante sarvakālataḥ // 32.36 //

    ap32.­37
    rāgiṇo ye ca mantrādyā prayuktā sarvadaivataiḥ /
    sidhyante kaliyuge kāle laukikā ye sucihnitāḥ // 32.37 //


    Ji as a Lotus Family root syllable as used by Sitabani is evident here:

    evaṃ padmakule padmamudreṇa sahitā / mantraṃ bhavati / oṁ jiḥ jiḥ jināṅgabhṛdbhayabhedine svāhā / eṣa mantraḥ • avalokiteśvarasya bodhi­sattvasya padmamudrayā saṃyuktaṃ sarvakarmikaṃ bhavati / anena japtena sarvaṃ padmakulaṃ japtaṃ bhavati / anena siddhena sarvaṃ padmakulaṃ siddhaṃ bhavati // 37.98 //


    And the relatively rare mantra of Pandara related to that of Simhanada:

    ap37.­99
    paṇḍaravāsinyā vā mahāvidyayā / mantraṃ cātra bhavati / oṁ kaṭe vikaṭe nikaṭe kaṭaṅkaṭe kaṭavikaṭakaṭaṅkaṭe svāhā / mudreṇaiva yojayet padmamudreṇa vā sarvakarmikā bhavati / rakṣā ca kartavyā sarvaśmaśānagatena // 37.99 //

    ap37.­100
    evaṃ tārā bhrukuṭī candrā hayagrīvasyeti vidyārājasannipātaparivarte vā ye kathitāḥ sarvam asaṅkhyaṃ cā padmakulaṃ prayoktavyam mudrāmantraiś ca kalpavistaraiḥ // 37.100 //





    Lotus Family and Usnisa mantra:


    vijayoṣṇīṣamantrādyāṃ padmapāṇiṃ salokitam /
    avalokitanāthaṃ ca bhṛkuṭī tārāṃ yaśasvinīm // 50.14 //

    ap50.­15
    devīṃ ca sitavāsinyāṃ mahāśvetā yaśovatīm /
    vidyāṃ bhogavatīṃ cāpi hayagrīvaś ca mantrarāṭ // 50.15 //

    ap50.­16
    ete hy abjakule mantrā pradhānā jinaniḥsṛtā /
    ekākṣaraś cakravartī vā mantrāṇām adhipatiṃ prabhum // 50.16 /



    similar:

    tārāṃ ca bhṛkuṭīṃ caiva tathā paṇḍaravāsinīm /
    mahāśvetāṃ tathā vidyāṃ māmakyāṃ kuliśodbhavām // 52.130 // {V449}

    ap52.­131
    uṣṇīṣaprabhavāṃ sarvāṃ locanāṃ caiva devatām /
    sarvāṃ tathāgatīṃ vidyāṃ mañjughoṣaṃ ca dhīmatam // 52.131 //

    ap52.­132
    mahā­sthāmaṃ samantaṃ ca tathā padma­dharaṃ prabhum /
    mayāpi loke yakṣeśaṃ bodhi­sattvaṃ maharddhikam // 52.132 //





    dharmacakre tathā ramye mahābodhivane tathā /
    yatrāsau bhagavān śāntiṃ niropadhiṃ ca praviṣṭavān /
    tatra sādhyau • imau mantrau tārā bhṛkuṭī ca devatā // 53.812 //

    ap53.­810
    samudrākūle tathā nityaṃ visphūrjyāṃ saritāvare /
    gaṅgātīre tu sarvatra sādhanīyābjasambhavā // 53.813 //

    ap53.­811
    yo 'sau bodhi­sattvas tu candranāmātha viśrutaḥ /
    sa vai tāram iti proktā vidyārājñī maharddhikā // 53.814 //

    ap53.­812
    strīrūpadhāriṇī bhūtvā devī viceruḥ sarvato jagataḥ /
    sattvānāṃ hitakāmyārthaṃ karuṇārdreṇa cetasā // 53.815 //

    ap53.­813
    sahāṃ ca loka­dhātusthāṃ strī•ākhyam iti vartate /
    maharddhiko bodhi­sattvas tu daśabhūmyānantaraprabhuḥ // 53.816 /


    Bhrkuti is in the first, and, I think that is literally the last, chapter.

    It is a lot like the Three Jewels as a nucleus of Three Families, which, the Noumenal path is saying cause to expand a wider variety, and while these are going to become greatly amplified, you still revert to a trinity or Three Vajras or Body--Speech--Mind.

    Commensurately, MMK does mention Sitatapatra a few times, in parts unclear if it may be the similarly-named male, but, she seems to be related to Usnisa Vijaya. It seems to have early on an equivalent of Navosnisa Body Mandala, and so it does use the male in some cases. Without, exactly, highlighting her name, in Chapter Twenty-six, they give:

    According to procedure, one should place the parasol above one’s head and recite the mantra. The vidyā will attend upon one of her own accord...At the final stage during the full moon, one should prepare many offerings and, holding them up in one’s hands, recite the mantra until [the parasol] blazes with light. When taking hold of it, one will become a monarch of vidyādharas. Doing this during the full moon every month, one will succeed within five fortnights, during the prātihāra fortnight. Once this practice is accomplished, all phenomena will become apparent. One will attain all the [five] superknowledges. One will become a siddha praised by all the buddhas and bodhisattvas, and one will be able to adapt to every being. [F.207.a] [F.224.a] In the next world, too, one will become a monarch with a retinue of thousands.

    Yes, if one takes hold of the actual Parasol that I would understand here, it would blaze with light. I have no knowledge of it affecting any physical umbrellas. It is a Vidya...you do your best and the resultant experience arrives.


    MMK also has Mayuri in what looks like a Moonlight to Gold samadhi:

    āryaprajñāpāramitā•āryacandrapradīpasamādhi•āryadaśabhūmika•āryasuvarṇaprabhāsottama•āryamahā­mā yūrī •āryaratnaketudhāraṇīm / {S110} eṣām anyatamānyatamaṃ vācayed yugamātrasūryapramāṇatālam /

    There seems to also be a sequence of gaining yellow or gold or kanaka from the yaksas, and, in a few spots, it gives us members of some of the classes or kingdoms.



    Yet even this mammoth tome can only manage to say "Viraj" three times:

    anena vartmanā gacchan mantrarūpeṇa dehinām /
    nirvāṇapuram āpnoti śāntanirjarasampadam /
    aśokaṃ virajaṃ kṣemaṃ bodhiniṣṭhaṃ sadāśivam // 15.217 //

    being an example. Not necessarily even a name here.


    This early text has a familiar face:

    namaḥ samanta­buddhānām apratihatagati pracāriṇām /
    tadyathā / {B31r} oṁ śrīḥ // 2.65 //

    ap2.­66
    eṣā vidyā mahā­lakṣmī lokanāthais tu deśitā /
    mudrā sampuṭayā yuktā mahā­rājyapradāyikā // 2.66 //

    Mahalakshmi worships Bhairava according to Abhinavaguta; and it is Pradhanika Rahasya used after Durga Saptasati which places her in the Adi Shakti role, that part I think is the same as Lakshmi Tantra. One could dispense with personal names by calling it Prakriti:

    The Prādhānika Rahasya (प्राधानिक रहस्य, “The Secret Relating to Primary Matter,” or “The Preeminent Secret”) takes as its point of departure the Brahmāstuti’s phrase “differentiating into the threefold qualities of everything”. In considering how the singular ultimate reality assumes the multiple forms of the phenomenal universe, the Prādhānika Rahasya first describes the differentiation of the guṇas as taking place within the Devī herself and remaining at the unmanifest (avyākṛta) stage.

    Candi Path says:

    You have told me about the different incarnations of Chandika,
    Oh great among Brahmins , it is only proper that you tell me,
    About the basic nature of the Goddess who is behind these.


    So it then says Mahalakshmi is "behind" Candi or Durga. Candi Path or Devi Mahatmya says Mahalakshmi is Parameswari, and has both Mahamaya and Mahavidya kicking along.


    MMK is fluent with Yakshas, Pisacis, and deities such as Mayuri and

    etaiś cānyaiś ca vidyārājñibhiḥ parṇaśavarī-jāṅgulī-mānasī-pramukhair


    At 28.36-37, there is Prajnaparamita, shortly followed by Nagaraja and Parnasabari.


    One of the main "tantric rites" in MMK is to commission a painting. And in this example, to me, it looks like it goes on to a "miscellaneous rite" which is probably not literal, but sounds like "tantric instructions" which are more explicit in "the tantras", which means "Guhyasamaja Tantra and the rest...", and so it excludes MMK, because if anything, it would require a spoken explanation. Here is this particular painting:



    “One should commission a painter to paint, while observing the ritual fast, on an undamaged, shorn cloth and using uncontaminated paints, Noble Mañjuśrī sitting on a lotus seat and teaching the Dharma. On his right is Noble Mahāmekhalā, and on his left, Noble Prajñāpāramitā. The latter is reciting mantras, is adorned in all types of adornments, and is dressed in white clothes. Below Noble Mañjuśrī, there is a lotus lake dotted with many different species of lotus, where two nāga kings, their bodies submerged, hold lotus stalks in their hands. {28.36}

    28.­37
    “Noble Aparājitā, to one side, is destroying vināyakas and obstructers. Her mouth is blazing with fire and her brow is knitted. On the other side there is Noble Parṇaśavarī. She is dark, with red eyes, and she holds a noose and an axe in her hands. Mounted upon a peacock, she is the practitioner’s protectress. The practitioner, for his part, should be painted holding a garland of lotuses in his hands and looking at the face of Noble Mañjuśrī. Above Noble Mañjuśrī two gods should be painted, holding in their hands yak-tail whisks, flower garlands, and drums. {28.37}

    28.­38
    “One should install this painting facing west in a caitya containing relics and recite the mantra ten million times. At the end of the recitation, one should offer a large pūjā, have the Prajñāpāramitā read aloud, and recite the mantra ten thousand times while looking at Mañjuśrī’s face. The painting will subsequently shake. One will obtain a kingdom and the divine eye. One will become a vidyādhara and will laugh, will become a wheel turner, and will teach. One will attain [F.227.b] [F.244.b] the first bodhisattva level and will listen to Mañjuśrī’s Dharma teachings. {28.38}

    28.­39
    “One should, in front of the same painting, obtain ghee from a tawny cow that has given birth to a calf of the same color, place it in a copper bowl, and recite the mantra until the ghee becomes hot, then emits smoke, and then bursts into flames. If one drinks it when it becomes hot, one will become supremely intelligent with the power to remember [everything heard]; if one drinks it when it emits smoke, one will become invisible; if one drinks it when it bursts into flames, one will be able to walk on air. One should place the ghee inside a bowl of unbaked clay with a lid, wrap the bowl in sweet flag and royal jasmine flowers, and recite the mantra until sprouts appear. If one eats the sprouts, one will be able to retain in one’s memory [everything heard]. If one recites the mantra another ten million times, one will behold Mañjuśrī in person, hear his Dharma teachings, and have faith in them. {28.39}


    Parnasabari becomes the leader of Vidyarajnis or Pisacis. The translators omitted that Her Noose and Axe are:

    Vyagra (व्यग्र).—a.

    4) Being in motion (as a wheel).


    and that Krsna is usually Dark Blue.

    Nobody would be surprised that Prajnaparamita deity shows up with Manjushri, but here she is accompanied by Aparajita and Parnasabari. Mahamekhala as a goddess name is less distinguishable. Here are a couple portions of Jvalamukhi Dharani which I noticed are actually quite close to passages in Dakarnava:

    siṃharūpe khaḥ gajarūpe gaḥ trailokyodare mahāsamudra-mekhale

    mahā-paśumohani yogeśvari tvaṃ ḍākini sarvvalokānāṃ vandani

    Mekhala is used as a name of her there.


    And so most scenes of Buddha's Enlightenment show it being witnessed by Bhu Devi, who does Sparsha Mudra or Earth Touching gesture to show her consent. At Ratnagiri, it was found that Aparajita was added to this.

    Among written records that turn out to be older than any surviving Buddhist books, there is a civil record of ca. year 300 of a woman offering gold to Parnasabari. That sort of weakens any proposition that no one knew about Parnasabari until her name vaguely emerged out of some iteration of MMK. Parnasabari's closest next-of-kin is Janguli, the Buddhist name of Matangi, which would have held this esoteric meaning at least as far back as the Ramayana. Mayuri is as old as Rg Veda. None of them have their origin from Buddhism; it would perhaps be more accurate to say they have an aspect that is now Buddhist.

    Those are all Dharani goddesses. If you did "dharanis by days of the week", which is really a ca. 1600s household convention, Wednesday would be "Prajnaparamita or Parnasabari". Well, Parnasabari is one of the most heavily-promoted deities in modern times as well, in response to Covid 19, there were a lot of empowerments. Yes, her primary use is as a disinfectant for public gatherings, but, much like Pancha Raksa, this simply overlooks a few things. Her main identifying feature is Parna or wearing leaves of herbal and Ayurvedic properties. She also typically squats on her heel, which represents tantric reversal of Prana:








    At Gyantse Kumbum:







    From Honey Doctrine, much as Savitri Gayatri is Prana, from which all singing and chanting is supposed to be based in Prana, we found that Marici Prana is an epithet of Sarasvati in Golden Light Sutra:

    you stand on one foot, and are clothed in a garment made of grass.

    She is Lunar and has Eight Arms. Drdha the earth goddess goes on to manifest palaces of the Seven Jewels. So here we already have a format of the trinity of an Apri Hymn, with Sri, who confers the Crown Initiation, Sarasvati, and Drdha.

    So we go, wait, grass skirt, and then what, she teaches the art of bathing in aromatic and Ayurvedic herbs.

    Given the setting, one would expect that Parnasabari would have been the immediate association of a new teaching such as "Marici Prana cross Sarasvati".


    Parnasabari is in Siddhaikavira Tantra, and is further mentioned in the Hevajra Tantra, Part 2, Chapter 4, 'Seals'.

    The herbalist Marici Prana Sarasvati is, perhaps, the White Parnasabari of Samputa Tantra, part of the hypostasis of Marici, or close. In this case, Himalayan Art has done a cool update, at least to her source texts, by taking a section from 84000 on this very thing. She is summoned on a sun disk in the sky, similar to a standing version of the above, and then:

    She is nevertheless white when raining down
    The five-colored nectar of the five buddhas. {7.4.73}

    Her right and left faces are as previously described. So should the
    practitioner meditate for the sake of pacifying all illusion that stems from
    misapprehension. Parṇaśāvarī truly is the remover of all illnesses.


    Firstly, this is not bleach, it is faults due to Maya Avidya or Parikalpita, error in any of its reckonings. Secondly she just commandeered the First Joy of the tantras.

    If someone can visualize the occurence, that is one thing, but at this point, it would have to correspond to a physiological and psychological revolution. Then yes, it would make sense that Hevajra Tantra would take this for granted in the second chapter. Samputa is where, so to speak, it is learned and established.


    So, if it can be seen that there is a dharani process which is similar to the "lower tantras" of STTS, Vajradhatu, Vajrasekhara, etc., then we see at least one of them is fairly advanced in the Samputa system, which is a ca. 10th century compilation based on Vajrasattva; it is "synthetic", like a progressed Khasama Tantra. Marici also happens to have a manifestation right at the start of Samputa. In Sadhanamala, Marici is the unique Vajrasattva Ishvari.


    One of the largest and most advanced in our line of tantras is Dakarnava, of which there is only a partial Sanskrit version available, which comes from a study of Apabrahmsa or what you might call "intentionally defective" language. Buddhism only partially uses classical, gramatically-correct Sanskrit, and has become considered its own language, BHS or Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit. For example, in many cases, a word is used in a rare definition, or in a way that has actually been changed from regular language. And then some of it is garbled with dialects, or intentional misspelling, or word breaks in the wrong place.

    Dakarnava is a Sangiti, a community song.

    It is a Yogacara practice which includes Yantra. It appears to be a Nirakara-qualified Yogacara with absence of the objective world.

    He says he did not dare try to figure out how to write it in English.

    It looks like it uses an odd Six Chakra system neglecting the crown:

    nabhithia — nabhisthita — Seated on the Manipura Cakra also called Nabhi-
    padma, which is at the spinal centre of the region of the navel.

    There are six centres of Consciousness (Caitanya), called
    Cakras or Ikulinas, which are the seat of Sakti (Energy) inside the
    Meru or the spinal column. These are — (i) Muladhara, (2) Svadhi-
    sthana, (3) Manipura, (4) Anahata, (5) Vishuddha and (6) Ajna.

    Its name for Sense Object is Visaya, which has an unusual definition consisting of siddhis well before written tantras:

    Viṣaya (विषय, “object”).—What is the meaning of ‘nature of the objects identified’ (viṣaya)? The objects of thoughts in the mind of others which the owner of mental-modes knowledge wishes to cognize are its subjects. according to the 2nd-century Tattvārthasūtra 1.25, “Telepathy (manaḥparyaya) and clairvoyance (avadhi) differ with regard to purity (viśuddhi), spatial-range, and species of the knower and the nature of the objects (viṣaya) identified by them”.


    If MMK names around 1,300 deities, Dakarnava is almost as big.

    But just by dealing with Twenty-one Taras, we would have Parasol, Parnasabari, Marici, etc., and if we look at Namasangiti Dharanis, many of those are the same.

    Marici is what...a special kind of prana from the sun...Parnasabari is a terrestrial kind, i. e. you eat leaves, related to Digestive Fire.

    Taranatha followed and collected every kind of Tara he could. If one does this, in the yogic sense, when you can get Tara to function or appear, you are that corresponding Vajrasattva--considering Marici, the last or twenty-first Tara, as his Ishvari. If you can gain Locana, you are that corresponding Vairocana. So there is less need to focus on the male aspect, since the goddesses or Taras are the experience itself. If you have the experience, that is what the male was supposed to "learn". And Tara is very immanent.

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    Default Re: Nirakara and Shentong Buddhism, Tara, Sadhanas, Sanskrit culture

    Tara Twelve and Nada Bindu, Day--Night Tara, Bhrkuti, Paramita system of Manjushri, Janguli and Gandhari




    A few years back, when I first questioned what might be the Sanskrit equivalent of Tibet's Tara Twelve, it seemed like Prasanna. However I stopped short because the verse is one of the few that refers to form, saying "Amitabha and crescent moon in her hair". And there is one that matches this, which is Day--Night Tara. And I noticed another good updaye at Himalayan Art, it is just a Miscellaneous Forms page, but it has these, Mahacinakrama, and Cintamani, and a few others.

    Here is some of the difference in systems. The one promoted by Atisha uses all of the same basic form, with different colors and symbols. The Suryagupta system uses advanced forms. And so it turns out this Tara Twelve may be "yellow or white" and it is one of these that may be one of the strangest looking Taras of all time.


    The Accomplishing All Auspiciousness Tara has four faces and eight arms, peaceful in appearance, yellow in colour (sometimes white). The eight hands hold the Eight Auspicious Symbols: 1. Parasol 2. Golden Fish 3. Treasure vase 4. Lotus 5. Right-turning Conch Shell 6. Glorious Endless Knot 7. Victory Sign 8. Wheel.








    Comparatively, there is an Atisha two-arm version with a knot on her lotus representing the Eight Symbols.

    Her meaning in Tibetan is similar to Tashi Delek:

    Tashi is the Tibetan word that means "auspicious circumstances," and Donje means "fulfilling" or "actualizing."

    And from her source texts, most of Tara is considered Kriya such as the beginning:

    Toh 724. The Great Practice Manual of Tārā of the Upswept Tresses (āryatārāmūlakalpa, རལ་པ་གྱེན་བརྫེས་ཀྱི་རྟོག་པ་ཆེན་པོ། · ral pa gyen brdzes kyi rtog pa chen po).


    However, the Twenty-one Praises of Tara is considered Highest Yoga, and they mainly use a Tibetan translation, although it is also found in transliterated Sanskrit as part of the larger tantra The Source of the Different Activities of Tārā (Toh 726). In this tantra, the Buddha reveals the praise in the form of an incantation (dhāraṇī), a circumstance that prompted the Tibetan translators to transliterate the Sanskrit text of the praise rather than translate it into Tibetan. The relationship between these two versions in the Kangyur is not clear.

    Toh 726. The Tantra of Tārā, Source of All the Different Activities (tārāviśvakarmabhavatantra, སྒྲོལ་མ་ལས་སྣ་ཚོགས་འབྱུང་བའི་རྒྱུད། · sgrol ma las sna tshogs 'byung ba'i rgyud).


    So in this case the actual 84000 document is not that useful because it is an English version of the Tibetan. They do however tell us:

    Regarding the Indian commentarial literature on the praise, there are seven related texts preserved in the Degé Tengyur. These comprise two sādhanas attributed to Nāgārjuna (Toh 1683–84) as well as two sādhanas (Toh 1685–86) and three commentaries attributed to Sūryagupta (Toh 1687–89). Sūryagupta’s commentaries, rather than explaining the meaning of the words in the praise, focus on the iconography of each of Tārā’s twenty-one forms, describing her color, seat, posture, number of faces and arms, implements, and hand gestures. In Tibet, many scholars composed a variety of commentaries and sādhanas related to this praise.


    We would conclude that what they have is not what we mean by "dharani", which is the original song itself. It's not Tibetan, and does not really discuss forms. It is mainly about Tara's ability to open twenty-one knots in the subtle body, to reveal twenty-one aspects of Dharmakaya. As soon as we say it is an Atisha or Suryagupta version, then it becomes a specific practice one way or the other. On its own, it is just a learning device, through which the powers of particular Taras will amplify in conjunction with how you train them individually. But if you use those Kriyas to penetrate the other meaning, eventually the song is non-different from the Akanistha where Tara is.



    According to another Tashi Donje page, her mantra and form are:

    OM TARE TUTTARE TURE MANGALAM SHRI MAHA PANI SVAHA

    TASHI DÖNJÉ MA is peaceful and gold in color. A rain of nectar and auspicious symbols descends from her body, benefitting all beings, plants, and harvests, establishing the entire world in perfect balance and prosperity. Upon her utpala flower is an auspicious infinity knot. Atop her crown are Buddha Amitabha and a crescent moon. Light radiates from her body, the infinity knot, the crescent moon, and Buddha Amitabha.


    And so the image above is supposed to be the same deity just described.

    I do knot know if Himalayan Art followed my deduction based on the meaning, but, what they have linked as All-Accomplishing Tara really is Prasanna.


    The trouble is that, going by the meaning, Prasanna is not an invocative samaya being whatsoever. As a common word, Prasanna ha many meanings related to bright, clear, pellucid, flowing, something that is well within Santosa or Contentment or the Fourth Activity.

    If tantric Locana is similar to Caksus or Eye of the Sutras, this is a type of scaling power.

    1) Cakṣus (चक्षुस्, “visual power”).—the 2nd century Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra (chapter XIV) attributes five cakṣus or visual powers to the Buddha.

    These are:

    the fleshly eye (māṃsacakṣus),
    the divine eye (divyacakṣus),
    the wisdom-eye (prajñācakṣus),
    the Dharma-eye (dharmacakṣus),
    the buddha-eye (buddhacakṣus).

    The same list occurs in Mahāvastu, I, p. 158, and Dharmasaṃgraha, chap. LXVI.


    By comparison, Prasanna is Amrita Locana or Nectar Eye. And so this is a tantric condition above Kurukulla. Prasanna appears to have this kind of role in Samputa Tantra.



    Day--Night Tara has a fiery white Tara, which sounds like Vajra Tara, except this one is Wrathful:








    Verse Twelve says:

    namaḥ śikhaṇḍa-khaṇḍêndu-mukuṭâbharaṇôjjvale |

    amitābha-jaṭâbhāra-bhāsvāra-kiraṇa-dhruve ||



    Homage to you, whose diadem is a crescent moon,

    All your adornments dazzle brightly.

    Excellent perpetual light shines

    From Amitābha at your topknot.


    Some of the commentary that, I guess, has been added to Suryagupta's commentary, enumerates each Tara as a kind of stage, practice, or ability:

    The ultimate meaning of the first line is ‘direct perception,’ the second line means the ‘enhancing experience’ and the last two of the lines mean ‘the completion stage of the expansion of primordial wisdom and kāyas of the fourth empowerment--abhisekha,’(Word).

    Sometimes I do not quite get how they extract such meanings, and see others.

    The commentary breaks down what to me is an unusual term for "Crescent Moon":

    khaṇḍa not full (as the moon); indu (m) – a drop; the drop or spark in the sky, i.e. the moon

    and might have also pointed out the end:

    dhruve (f/V) – steady, firm, constant, certain, safe.



    Indu is "the Moon" in later Puranic sources, but elsewhere in its definition:

    (indu is said to mean in the Veda a drop of Soma juice, a bright drop or spark; sutāsa indavaḥ Rv.1.16.6)

    [Vedic or Veda] a drop (especially of Soma), Soma, [Ṛg-veda; Atharva-veda; Vājasaneyi-saṃhitā]

    2) a bright drop, a spark, [Taittirīya-saṃhitā]

    perhaps connected with bindu, which last is unknown in the Ṛg-veda

    10) designation of the Anusvāra


    Amitabha in the Crescent is definitely a tantric bindu, a Red and White one, or Bindu Nada. Or the other way around, such as Nadabindu Upanishad.

    Here bindu – ‘is a throbbing point of stress or a pulsation called spanda’ and Naad – ‘is the generic potency representing all undifferentiated sounds’”. The latter is represented by the Chandra or ‘half-moon’ adorning Shiva’s matted hair. Together they symbolize the anunasik or the ‘nasal-hum’.









    From various Bindu quotes:

    Strictly speaking, Bindu is a Circle with Void inside--O.

    Nada and Bindu are the progenitors of Tattvas. Nada is white and Bindu is red. Skanda Purana says that Siva-Sadasiva is of the nature of Nada (divine sound) sitting in AkArapIthikA (Pedestal of the letter A) and Five-letter Mantra Namasivaya. Parasiva and ParAsakti, ontologically superior to Nada and Bindu, are Soundless and motionless (NiSabda and NiSpanda). Sabda = sound. Spanda = contraction and expansion, vibration, motion. Nada transforms into Bindu which is Isvara Tattva, the origin of the worlds. Bindu's abode is Satyaloka, which abides in the pericarp of the thousand-petalled Lotus...

    Dhyāna of the formless (Nirākāra) and attributeless (Nirguṇa) is Suksma Dhyāna. The latter again is of two kinds: (a) Bindudhyāna, (b) Sūnyadhāna, The Bindu or Point has neither length nor height nor depth nor breadth. It is however united with Māyā (Māyāyukta); It is from this Bindu that Brahma, Visnu and Mahdvara and others originated. Meditation on that which is undifferentiated (Aparicchinna), attributeless, changeless, incomprehensible Sat Cit Ananda is Śūnya-Dhyāna. This is beyond the scope of mind and speech.


    Those are non-Buddhist definitions, but sound about the same. If this is about sound, and, oh, here it is in a song, in the only part that refers to an image, and, this is the image, it fits one Tara.


    Day and Night Yoga are already defined as the practices of Body Mandala, leading to the Ten Signs, Smoke and the rest, one done with a clear sky, the other in darkness.

    The RG 60 version of her omits the crescent. IWS 136 does have it. Avalokiteshvara personally arises to emanate these Taras, which utilize the song. Wrathful Night Tara arises from Hum and has her own mantra.

    Going from her name:

    nyin zhi mtshan khro

    A Sakya catalog says:

    Sādhana of sGrol ma Nyin zhi mtshan khro and collected rituals according to the Indian text of Nyi ma sbas pa.

    In other words, there is no Sanskrit text remaining, but it is from India.

    There is a writeup about her from one person's long term Tibetan-to-English Tara practices. Many other things are there, something from Nagarjuna. This type of instruction is tricky, sort of a blur of commands of other things you are supposed to know.


    I am not sure if you get a feedback loop by using verse twelve to represent a goddess who comes back telling you to sing the whole song. This is almost the only place in the song that form is even mentioned, and this is the only Tara that matches the description.

    Tibetan Zhi is Pacification, the First Activity, on into peace, calmness, cessation, and nirvana.

    Peace, or Santi, is on several Sadhanamala deities, but not on a basic Green Tara.

    This one is, if anything, Peaceful Tara, and the other one, Wrathful Tara. From time to time, she hits the ground with her left hand. Otherwise, there are no personal names, or suggestion that "Avalokiteshvara emanates Tara and Bhrkuti".


    Because "Peaceful" is not useful as, and may not even be, a name, it would seem that any of the Sragdhara or other Lotus Family Taras probably are, peaceful, anyway. Sragdhara 109 hasn't really got a mantra; seems to be saying to use certain ones, and explaining Stuti or the Sragdhara hymns found elsewhere.

    The relatively short Tara 108 before her is Amitabha Garbha Tantra. At first, this is a large Mahakarunika Tara dharani, and then:

    Om Manitare Hum

    This pair, 108-109, is most likely intended as a unit. It appears to summarize or indicate what we found missing from IWS Avalokiteshvara, a sudden interjection of Jewel Family.


    So if we think of Body Mandala, yes, in the advanced tantras, it becomes a large set of Twenty-four Pithas and so on, but, as Pratyahara and Dhyana, it has to do more with "generating one's form into the Body of the deity". And so what we are able to do instead is use the outer or Yoga visualization until such a time as you find the right empowerment for a self-generation.

    Without this, coming from a background in western magic up to things like Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram (LBRP), I did not know what was going on with some kind of shift that had more to do with Prana, which I observed as "starting with the Bees in springtime", which was actually a form of Day Yoga. I did not experience Ten Signs, but, I did experience one, and pursued it due to curiosity. A few months later, I was in Night Yoga, observing more signs in darkness. And then, yes, it is not a joke; what prana can do when de-coupled from its regular programming is not for the faint of heart.





    Part One of IWS is Rinjung Gyatsa, mainly beginning with Tara. Part Two is Narthang Gyatsa, having Parasol near the start. Part Three is Vajravali of Abhayakaragupta.

    The opening Taras are a fair comparison of Atisha and other lineages. One of the others is from Nyan Lotsawa. IWS 9 is his often-confused "Six Limb Tara" sometimes drawn with six arms, but, she means Six Limb or Sadanga Yoga. She is just a basic Green Tara crowned by Amoghasiddhi, but, she does the sly move of summoning Tara from Potala, i. e. Lotus Family, as if in order to grant six yogas, it emphasizes this or these first. She uses normal Tara mantra, Tara Mahakarunika Dharani, and 108 Names of Tara, in other words her Kriya basket.

    That is like a double bind, if I get Lotus Family first, that is what I do, but even if I understand Karma Family and try to attain all six yogas, it is still going to require Lotus Family practice at an early stage. Getting her to do Karma Family Mahattari and summon Tara from Akanistha is more subtle or a higher stage. In trying to explain the difference, it would be like Akanistha is totally severed from this world, whereas Potalaka is similar to Meru in having stages of ascent and centering from here.

    Nyan composed many sadhanas, and it is his Vajrayogini that we will use as a close parallel of Tinuma Vajrayogini of the Sakya Golden Dharmas, which is their basket of Completion Stages in Highest Yoga. One can almost see the whole "system of Tara and Vajrayogini" just with his basic Green Tara and one more.

    That is not terribly different from the opening of Tri-samaya Raja in Sadhanamala, which takes the more commonly-seen interaction between Vajra and Lotus Families and places it all in the hands of Amoghasiddhi.

    Then there is a recommendation of:

    stotraṃ vajramaṇḍalālālaṅkāramahāyogatantre


    meaning a song related to something known as Vajra Mandala established by Tri-samaya Raja and evidently only repeated by Vajra Tara 110.


    And so if it is a Mahayoga text, then, what one can make of Body Mandala is equivalent to Dakini Jala, which is Body Mandala according to Mahayoga. Whereas Dakini Jala would be like an accumulation of practices from various sources, such as Sadhanamala Taras. A single one of its mandalas is considerably beyond that of, for instance, Dhanada Tara. And so the mandala's second feature besides the deities is the environment, or its components. Therefor, we have another track dealing with the Grounds and Fence and so on. We can learn this and again train it more or less short of the point of self-generation.


    Some of Sadhanamala's deities may be mentioned in external sources, but it has a few of its own remarks about ones related to specific other tantras:


    Khasarpana 15 uses Vairocana Abhisambodhi Tantra.

    Picuva Marici is Tantra Amnaya. Any Hindu yogi would understand this. It would be like saying Picu Amnaya, similar to Gotra or specific lineage of succession, versus Pascim Amnaya or other "directions" which describe branches of yoga in other areas generally using different baskets of teachings from various sages. And so this would pretty much tell us that Sadhanamala Mahayoga is a Marici Tantra.

    Vajrasarasvati 161 is part of Krsna Yamari Tantra; so is 167.

    Kurukulla 181 is part of Maya Jala Mahayoga Tantra.

    Kurukulla 183 is part of Hevajra Tantra; so is 187.

    Nairatma 228 is part of Hevajra Yogini Tantra. However, Vajra Tara has everything to do with the establishing of the "Nairatma environment", and is elsewhere accepted as a Highest Yoga Completion Stage. Another thing about Vajra Tara is the Paramitas. The "system of Tara" does use retinues of increasing numbers of these Paramitas, Whereas Manjushri has all of them at once. And so we are using Manjushri as a kind of blueprint since some of these are beyond normal comprehension. From the tantric terms, the higher Paramitas are the Four Dakinis, and are involved with what is considered the Irreversible Path. Many Sutras and practices refer to only six Paramitas. Prajnaparamita deity is seen as the leader of these outer Paramitas, which we are trying to live all at once, and her "definition" owes to the synthetic extraction of all of them.


    It, perhaps, has a little extra gravity towards Krsna Yamari as compared to any other "destroyer of death" method.

    So does Janguli.

    We will try to explain her with Manjushri in a moment.

    Until one can really master the pranas and the signs, one is in the Day--Night Yoga of Body Mandala, which can mainly be trained with dharanis and outer visualizations, which may even work its way into some of the Third Yoga or Pranayama. This type of stable, relatively well-informed practice would have helped me far more than a few other things which caused "the energy of the centers" to ramp up really quickly.

    If "Dhyana" or the Second Yoga here equates to "the Nine Dhyanas", which are not really mandalas or retinues, but, sort of generic states of mind, as long as it remains weak or interruptable, it is Dhyana. When it becomes strong, Bala, or uninterruptable by ordinarily-noticeable distraction, it is Sampatti or the tantric Gauris.


    Both of these major deity systems stem from curing leprosy. Suryagupta had it, did Tara practice of his time, and came out with what is really its own specific mandala system and tantra, is a specific application of Twenty-one Taras. Also, a nun, Bhikshuni Sri Lakshmi, had it so bad her hands came off and she ate like a dog, and by following Avalokiteshvara, they re-grew. On the Eighth Bhumi, she saw Amoghapasha with the Kriya deities around him. On the Tenth Bhumi, she saw 1,000 Arm Avalokiteshvara with all four classes of tantra deities inside him. And so there is a fasting ritual and the practice of Eleven Face Avalokiteshvara which are hers.


    From MMK, it is apparent that the slightly-mismatched Bhrkuti is an avid devotee of Lotus Family. But due to her name, Bhrikuti is usually shown scowling:






    However IWS followed at least this part of the sadhana accurately and drew her as peaceful:








    While we found she does have a Blue Six Arm form which really is Wrathful, it is however correct that she can change into a blue-green color by taking the center of Amoghapasha's retinue:






    Yellow on the outside, blue on the inside, something like that?

    The other goddess present is Ekajati.




    I misspoke, Ekajata 127 is the second Nagarjuna practice in Sadhanamala, having a spelling error.

    Nagarjuna's Maya Jala Maha Tantra.




    Namasangiti Manjushri is a system of himself through seven mandalas.

    It starts with Manjuvajra, acquires Sarasvati, and goes through Vajradhatu Mandala which it teaches how to re-arise as Vajradhatu Maha Mandala. And it culminates with Dharmadhatu Vaigishvara Manjughosha (DDV), which has at least a couple hundred entities. However, the majority of these are not particularly original, being standard affairs like the Planets and the Mansions of the Moon.

    What Manjughosha does represent is Body Mandala of the Navosnisa system because he has the eight male Usnisas around him. And his other main unique feature is his Paramitas system. These are in the Four Families on a quadrant layout as usual, which quadrants are represented by, as far as I know, the unique:

    Inner Gatekeepers Dharma, Artha (Analysis), Nirukti (Etymology), and Pratibhana (Context).

    Secondly, one finds that there are systems of "classically six", "ten in the Sutras", "eleven in the tantras", and in certain rare cases, larger amounts of Paramitas or Bodhisattva Perfections. It is usually the same list which just keeps getting longer.

    Namasangiti matches Eleven, however, it is unique for adding a special introductory Paramita called Ratna Paramita, so it actually shows Twelve.

    Also, Bhattacharya misspelled some of the dharanis, which we corrected from Nepalese sources.

    Samantaprabha is a Mahamudra term for the Eleventh Bhumi, which is used here.

    Lotus Family governs Discipline, which is sometimes called Mastery, depending on accomplishment I suppose. Grounds are Vajra Family, Paramitas are Ratna Family like the first one implies, Dharanis are Karma Family. All of these devis are in a simple Heruka two-arm form with a Family Symbol and a personal item, much like Atisha's Taras, except Prajnaparamita is in her Four Arm Golden form. If she is the Perfection of Prajna, the Nirakara system is saying she is not only the nearly-unattainable totality of perfection itself (as was usually taught in Paramitanaya or Sutra-based practice), she is in the first tiny little taste of Prajna in a crude and ineffective manner, and constitutes the bridge all the way through.

    So we will tab this out where the first and last ones are split off, and the block of Ten matches Paramitas as known in the Sutras. Its special first Bhumi is Zeal and the Discipline is like Prana or Amitayus:


    Discipline--Vasita...........Ground--Bhumi.....Paramita..........Dharani

    Ayur............................Adimukticarya........Ratna .............Vasumati Mahalakshmi

    Citta............................Pramudita..............Dana..............Ratnolka
    Pariskara......................Vimala...................Sila...............Usnisavijaya
    Karma..........................Prabhakari.............Ksanti.............Marici
    Upapatthi......................Arcismati...............Virya..............Parnasabari
    Rddhi...........................Sudurjaya..............Dhyana............Janguli
    Adimukti.......................Abhi-mukhi............Prajna.............Ananta-mukhi
    Pranidhana...................Durangama.............Upaya.............Cunda
    Jnana............................Acala...................Pranidhana.......Prajnavardhani
    Dharma........................Sadhumati...............Bala.......Sarvakarmavaranavishodani
    Tathata........................Dharmamegha........Jnana.............Aksayajnanakaranda

    Buddhabodhiprabha.......Samantaprabha....Vajrakarma..Sarvabuddhadharmakosavati


    So there are several practices already combining Dana, Sila, Ksanti, Virya, Dhyana, and Prajnaparamita.

    Here we see Dhyana or the Second Yoga, and if we peek "above" this, we see Upaya which is Sadhana which is the Fifth Yoga.

    So if one had a "system of Seven" with respect to standard Paramita lists, Upaya--Sadhana would in a sense be at the top over Prajnaparamita. This is, in a way, how Sarvadurgati Parishodhana works with respect to the Naga Kingdom, and Janguli is a close parallel of this. And as soon as I look here, she assists Dhyana, having Parnasabari and Marici as close neighbors, which makes sense according to how we found these in the tantras.

    On a dharani basis, Janguli is as powerful as something that enfolds one of the most important things in Sarvadurgati Parishodhana, as well as Krsna Yamari as a "destroyer of death" which is equivalent to parts of the same. This is what the Naga Hood has to do with.

    If the most powerful meditation I am likely to pull off any time soon is actually Dhyana, to which Janguli is a patroness, then part of this is getting fluent with six or seven Paramitas.

    If this has some special friendly outreach deity of its own unique system, you get Mahalakshmi, similar to Ila Devi.

    If we get to Upaya, it brings in Cunda, which sounds like it is saying Vajrakilaya, because it is in this tantra where she becomes a consort in the base of the spine, which is not a state we are directly teaching or "activating". We are mainly trying to learn this Upaya.

    Beyond that, you get Prajnavardhani, which is Picu or Sarasvati--Prajnaparamita fusion mantra. More powerful than it may look as a relatively accessible mantra. Here, Prajnaparamita is using something entirely different, which is old and gone from most Buddhism nowadays:


    Boundless Gate--Nirhara--Anantamukhi is Dana or First Paramita, Generosity, according to Tson Khapa:


    As to living beings who dispute with others,
    It is tightfistedness that is the root cause.
    So renounce that which you crave.
    After you give up craving, the formula will work.

    In Namasangiti, it "is not" a Paramita, but, is the Dharani that corresponds to Prajnaparamita, which is kind of a "loop back to beginning" anyway, being a blend of the prior Paramitas.

    The dharani uses Sarasvati, Asanga Vihara, and has a few regular phrases such as:

    Dharani dharma ni-dhana gotre samanta-prabhe.

    Dharani is the Dharma (Truth, Law, or Prajna) of Nidhana (Hidden Treasure and/or of Kubera) in the Gotra (lineage) of Samantaprabha (pinned to the Eleventh Bhumi just a moment ago).

    It is probably in a Japanese study of a 1916 book wherein it is also Amida Dharani Sutra and the spelling used appears to be "mukha". It has a Jnanagarbha commentary, and so this thing was all over Nalanda originally.

    The best, or, in fact, only authority on it would be Jnanagarbha, and we would have to dig to find whatever he said.

    Its title however is mixed in with a relatively widespread Eight Naginis mantra which has an individual of the same name.

    The Eight Naginis mantra is interesting because they do not have their own names, they are just the "mukhi" of their male counterpart, and so you get ones like Ananta Mukhi, which is the same name as the Buddhist Dharani "Endless Gate". There, the same word for "mouth" also means "door or gate".

    Ananta is Sesha whose embodied radiance is Varuni. She is the light in the Talas or Underworlds, which increase by orders of darkness and density, as if they are anti or negative light. He claimed her when she was churned from the ocean of milk.

    One site lists Bharati avatars such as Draupadi, and says of others:

    SAUPARNI ,VARUNI , PARVATI avatara

    Sauparni is wife of Garuda no avatara . [Garuda does not have avatars]
    Varuni is wife of SESHA [same as Ananta]
    REVATI is varuni avatara with SRIDEVI avesha
    Peya is also varuni with shanti avesha
    Parvati avatara is Sati Shailaja Girija .

    Revati and Varuni are also related to Balarama. There is a Gaudiya view which is slightly different than others as usual. Urmila is Revati and Varuni combined. So this is very intricate.

    Balarama is what we know as Hercules, i. e. Hari Kula or Vishnu's Family. This is the location of the Central Spiritual Sun according to Koothoomi. When it is revealed, Sesha will spew dark venom all over the planet and we will be no more.


    Revati is the Ram's Horn or First Point of Aries, so, marks the beginning of that type of time cycle, whereas Varuni, or at least her husband, has to do with the end of one. Revati is the incarnation of Naga Lakshmi after Urmila.

    "Because she was from an earlier yuga, Revati was far taller and larger than her husband-to-be, but Balarama, tapped his plough (his characteristic weapon) on her head or shoulder and she shrunk to the normal height of people in Balarama's age."

    That Plough is really his "Hercules symbol" and winds up in the hands of one of the Gauris in Dakini Jala. Their sons were killed, but, their daughter marries Arjuna's son, and Arjuna's wife was a Naga Kanya.

    That is the relationship of Garudas and Nagas. Finite Time Cycles (Garudas) cutting up Infinite Time (Nagas). Obviously those are "natural enemies", yet basically immune to each other.

    Ananta was also the first Kirat king, followed by Vasuki and others. Kirats are, socially, a human Naga kingdom, emigrated by Manjushri from the Mongolian borderlands to Nepal.

    What is going on is intended to lead to non-dual union of the Naga Kingdom as well:







    The deity Varuna is really part of this, and if for example we look at Eight Nagas in Sarvadurgati, it will make another loop:

    anantaṃ
    takṣakaṃ caiva karkoṭaṃ kulikaṃ tathā||

    vāsukiṃ śaṃkhapālaṃ
    ca padmaṃ vai vāruṇaṃ tathā||


    When you use that list, you get Varuna whose shakti is obviously Varuni, except that one is Mother Varuni, and the one we use is Varuni, Daughter of Varuni, who I guess loops back to the beginning as Ananta Shakti. Hold on, what do you mean, the first one uses the daughter of the last one?

    That converts me to Shentong just by even seeing it.

    "Phana" is the word for "Hood", whose definition links to:






    This bronze sculpture shows an image of Nagakanya (detail of head), from the 20th century A.D.—This image of Nagakanya is seated on Makara, under the canopy of a nine-hooded serpent (naga-phana) with her right hand holding a conch.

    It is Hindu from Nepal.


    And so with Sarvadurgati or Janguli, you have an "attack mode" against Poisons or Hindrances, converting them into Paramitas, which is running through the Naga Kingdom. Since this is relatively far from a preliminary, one is best off with individual and small bundles of Paramitas first.

    What we have is a representative form of Agni (Homa) and a relatively dark revelation of Varuna relegated mostly to the Waters of Chaos on their own, sixth, or Buddhic plane, which is Formless, and so again we show or say very little of it. Varuni of the tantras is not his wife on their plane, but, a descent of her into ours, used to re-adjust or contact the higher plane.


    Janguli is found in older sources with a group, some of which are recognizable as dharanis, some are not. It includes Gandhari, which would seem to be famous, as queen of an area. But what is more strange than her being almost completely hidden is the fact that here, Buddhism is drawing a deity from Mahabharata, later on, tantric Hinduism is going to take her practice from Buddhism as a carbon copy.

    Among other fine works, Gudrun Buhnemann has a paper on Hindu Tantras that take mantras from Buddhism--mainly Jambhala and Vasudhara as Yakshas, and Yamantaka. She also fills in a valuable blank for us since she provides a dharani torn off a few of our "missing pages", being Sadhanamala Gandhari 205 lines 5-16. On comparison, we have the whole dharani, so this is perhaps instrumental in letting us know that not much of the beginning is actually missing. A few of her epithets include:

    diptatejayai

    Dipta is from the same root as Dipa or Lamp, and is not only brilliant, but hot. As a name it is used once, Diptacakra, as per Vajrakilaya and base of the spine.

    ugrabhimabhayanakayai yoginiyai bhismabhaginiyai

    Bhima or Bhisma, either side of the spelling of the terrifying trait and/or Bhisma, the Mahabharata character.

    It specifically says in the Dharani she has twelve arms, and, like Prasanna, she does not have any intermediary, developmental forms.


    anekarUpavividhavesadhariniyai

    An-eka, not one, many, Rupa (Form) Vividha (manifold) Avesa Dharini

    Her attributes include multiple types of Avesa or Possession, so, if we do knot know one, we cannot really know her at all.


    The last line says it is the Vidhi, rite or performance of, Karma (Activity) Prasara (extending, spreading) Aneka, multiplicity. She has this multiplicity in terms of fiery brightness, and in terms of possession.



    Similar to some of these dharani phrases, the paper mentions Gatekeeper Abhimukha of VAT.

    But they (the Hindus) also kept a second Gandhari dharani:

    om rastidehim coktajikadha omkarim katyayanim nairrtyam kalim mahakalim
    vajrakalim yasasvinim sukalim agneyam vayavyam kalikam panktisaktim santaksim
    indranim yaksakauberim mahesvarim vaisnavim camundim raudrim varahim kauberim
    yas canya mama samaye tisthanti tannamavartayisyami / sighram grhna / om
    lala culu puraya dhara anaya subhage / avisa bhagavati / mahavajragandhari
    siddhacandravajrapanir ajnapayati hrim hah ham ham ham hum phat svaha /


    Rasti--to have or be patience

    Dehi--body, corporeal body

    Ca + Ukta = cokta, that which is uttered, said, explained

    Ji, to overcome like Jaya, or, a pisaci

    kaḍha (कढ).—m Ebullition. A vehement impulse or emotion.

    2 fig. Boiling or sensation of extreme heat in the head (as from the long continuance of a load). 2 fig. A vehement impulse or emotion (to cry, fight, argue with, scold).

    Buhnemann questioned Omkari and Katyayani, although I do not see why they would not fit. Omkari is the same principle as just illustrated by Nadabindu. This has a slightly different mantra, with a slightly less sophisticated intent than the first one.

    It has to do with the sixth sign, Virgo. Katyayani is the sixth Durga. Virgo is attached to Libra, the Scales of Justice; Gandhari wore a blindfold. Virgo has the equivalent sign in Indian astrology as the Kanya (which also means "maiden").

    It sounds like a retinue, Katyayani is implicitly in the Ishana or northeast, Nairti or Southwest is occupied by Mahakali with several epithets, Agni--Southeast and Vayavya--Northwest are occupied by Kalika and Pancha Shakti.

    Santaksi is Pacification followed by what appears to be Eight Mothers.

    If this has a Buddhist source, then Kalika is a singular name in Buddhism:

    Kālikā (कालिका) is the Goddess of the South-east corner in the sādhana of the sixteen-armed variety of Mahākāla, as mentioned in the Sādhanamālā (a collection of sādhana texts that contain detailed instructions for rituals).

    Kālikā in the South-east corner is blue in complexion, has two arms carrying the kapāla and the kartri, and stands on a corpse in the ālīḍha attitude. [...] These four deities are nude, and look terrible with bare fangs, three eyes and dishevelled hair. [...]

    Obviously you are making a Samaya with the canya--Kanyas and mama (me).

    Something stands up: Tan or Tannam, this, Avartta Yisyami.


    Yisyami is almost a unique word found in Bhagavad Gita.

    The mental tensions are omnipresent in our lives. The tornados that lift us out of ground. As if sabotage
    and peace unroot us from staying inline with our purpose. Resulting in living an uncontrolled and unhappy
    life. It is said in the Gitâ (chap. 18 verse 66)

    “sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja aham tvam sarva papebhyo moksayi yisyami
    ma sucah”

    We must abandon all karmas, all religions, all beliefs that we are who we are. We must let go and trust.

    Shree Krishna said: Sarva dharmaan parityajya maam ekam sharaNam vraja l Aham tvaam sarva paapebhyo mokshayishyaami maa shucahaa ll

    । ॥८॥ Give up all (the other) dharmas and seek Me alone and My refuge. I will absolve you of all sins and liberate you. Do not despair.

    Sarva-dharman-parityajya
    mam-ekam saranam vraja
    aham tva(tvam) sarva-papebhyo
    moksa yisyami ma sucah.

    Leaving all other ways, come my way.
    Resort only to me. Do not grieve. Take
    refuge in Me, and surrender. I shall liberate
    you from all sins.

    That is from one of the three Charam Slokas or ultimate slokas.

    Yisyami is in Devi Mahatma with Nasa and Bhaksa, and it is also with both Hindu and Buddhist Halahalas or Nilakanthas. Sadhanamala's Gandhari uses their spelling of it:

    āvarttayiṣyāmi

    This is more closely related to terms for circle:

    āvartta (आवर्त्त).—m (S) A whirlpool or whirlwind. 2 Revolving or turning round.

    compared to "varttayisyami" in other editions.

    It is not quite unique, but it is very rare and distinguishable; Sanskrit words do not begin with "yis-". And if it is strongly linked to a phrase dealing with Eka Saranam, that is still what we are doing, despite Three Jewels or some number of Families, the ultimate One in practice is Tathagatagarbha or Buddha Nature.

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    Default Re: Nirakara and Shentong Buddhism, Tara, Sadhanas, Sanskrit culture

    The Secret Doctrine of Dakini Jala, Vajra Family Isvaris, Inverted Stupa


    In Hinduism, "Rahasya" is a phrase meaning "secret doctrine", which is somewhat common, having probably at least twenty works described that way. Buddhism has it, but much more sparingly, only around three. One of these is on the subject of Dakini Jala. It is a type of commentary, Samapta, something like a conclusion about the beings found in sadhanas. In Sadhanamala, this kind of summary is also used a few times. So it does not contain a lot of names and mantras. It molds how they work with the teachings and yoga techniques, again much like a blueprint.

    Because it is relatively small, we are going to quote from it heavily in order to see its pattern, something like an increase of the primordial one given in Sarvadurgati Parishodhana.


    Concerning the detailed text which this is based on, the compilers of Samputa Tantra told us the first line of Dakini Jala was "famous", so I tried to see how.

    The translator of Sarvadurgati Parishodhana, Szanto, gave the beginning of it which is just "sanskrit notes" from a talk in Munich.


    Sarvabuddhasamāyogaḍākinījālaśaṃvara [< Paramādya , Tōh. 488]



    rahasye parame ramye sarvātmani sadā sthitaḥ |sarvabuddhamayaḥ sattvo vajrasattvaḥ paraṃ sukham || 1.1

    asau svayaṃbhūr bhagavān eka evādhidaivataḥ |sarvabuddhasamāyogaḍākinījālaś(/s)aṃvaraḥ || 1.2

    na rāgo na virāgaś ca madhyamā nopalabhyate |sarvastrīmāyamudreyam advayaṃ yānam uttamam || 1.3

    sarvāsām eva māyānāṃ strīmāyā praviśiṣyate |prakṛtyaiva hi sā siddhā prabhāvena svabhāvataḥ || 1.4

    anayā striyas triloke 'smiṃ gauravyam upayānti hi |duścāriṇyo pi sidhyante sarvalābhasukhotsavaiḥ || 1.5



    “secret and supremely blissful nature of all beings/things” (rahasye parame ramye sarvātmani), wherein "Secret" means his unity with Dakini Jala. Generally it means "Secret Doctrine".

    I am not quite sure that "Ramye" = "blissful nature", since this latter is already attested by such phrases as Svabhava Mahasukha.

    Ramye is not particularly common in Sadhanamala, although it is near the beginning in a way that seems to pass the Five Buddhas through Rasa resulting in a type of Ramye siddhi. And the weird Pancha Raksa 206 mentions it right before Products of a Cow. But otherwise it is just in compounds.



    When feminized, Ramya may mean "night", but, usually, is like a female Rama, like Remati or Ramate "playful", delightful, pleasing, E. ram to sport. So, it perhaps is a bit more like Vkridita or Lion's Sport or Tara's Activity. It is being used about dakinis, so, making them play, or something close to that, is in all these metaphors.

    Something could just "be" beautiful or blissful; if it becomes sexual, it is Lama, and if it becomes a sport of arising the Vyuha, samadhis and dakinis and so forth, it is Ramya.

    Union with dakinis is the supreme sport of all or universal atma. That seems to be what it says, something a little more effervescent than "in a condition of bliss".



    It is quoted by David Gray shortly after telling us that Candamaharoshana begins with Vajrasattva in the Vagina of Vajradhatvishvari.

    Laghutantratika, which is Vajrapani's commentary on the Six Yogas, has:

    rahasye ḍākinīguhye sarvātmani sadā sthitaḥ|
    sarvadūtīmayaḥ sattvo vajrasattvo mahāsukhaḥ|| [6]



    Chakrasamvara Tantra has:

    uttarādapi cottaraṃ ḍākinījālasaṃvaram |
    rahasye parame ramye sarvātmani sadā sthitaḥ || 2 ||

    and in another area seems to equate "rahasye parame" with Heruka Yoga.


    It occurs partially in Vajradaka Chapters Eleven and Fifteen, which are the Subtle Body Yoga, which culminate in Mrtyu Vacana or Cheating Untimely Death.

    It is in Caryamelakapradipa as Vajrasattva Rupa which is Vikurvita, i. e., changeable. Shown on one page, this begins with Khasama, and can be found as a Khasama Tantra, leading to Khasama Viraj.





    So far, in the description of Body Mandala, there are "the Signs, Smoke and the rest..." which, at this stage, could perhaps be called Appearances. You may physically see and hear things which do not have an outer stimulus. This is similar to the goddess ring of Outer Offerings.

    With the use of Pranayama, however, the nature of the Signs changes completely, into something that obliterates mind and the senses as we know them. This is the process that is akin to Death and referred to as Dissolutions. You may feel the body itself "go away". There are two schools of thought here. One says it begins with Mirage, the other, Smoke. Dakini Jala goes with Smoke, and there are a couple of good reasons here. I had no clue it was a synonym for Prana, but, it starts this way in Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, which we have described as the immediate forerunner of the Buddhist system. Secondly, within Buddhism, it is the color of the Sixth Yoga, Samadhi, shown by Karma Family deities, related to Mahavidya Dhumavati. So the symbol itself is everything from a tiny twinge, to the full meditative stability of, Prana.

    These Five Dissolutions end on Sky, parallel to Five Inner Offerings ending on Food. Higher Tantras are then going to take this for granted and convert Sky into the Three Voids, Moon, Sun, and Black. And so Sky is about the same as what is later called Moon. That is a junction, a clue, a prod or something, if you can get this Sky, there is little left to accomplish in Yoga, and at that point, empowerment into a Yidam such as Chakrasamvara would work right.






    Dakini Jala Samvara Rahasya has a subtitle:

    anaṅgayogipraṇītam

    Ananga, as applicable to Kama, it alludes to his having been reduced to ashes, by the eye of Siva, for having disturbed his devotions, and rendered him enamoured of Parvati.

    1) Bodiless, without a body; formless, incorporeal

    1 Sky, air, ether.


    Praṇīta (प्रणीत).—p. p.

    1) Put forward, advanced, presented.

    2) Delivered, given, offered, presented.

    3) Brought into, reduced to.

    4) Executed, effected, performed.

    5) Taught, prescribed.

    6) Cast, sent, discharged.

    7) Brought to, set.

    8) Written, composed.


    It opens with:

    om namaḥ śrīvajrayoginyai



    The first line is:

    praṇīpatya jagannāthaṃ dākinījālasaṃvaram |
    rahasyaṃ paramaṃ guhyāṃ likhyate'naṅgayoginā || 1||


    It has already used Jaganatha and Vajrayogini. By saying this title, the yogini is not "necessarily" Ekajati, Marici, Jnanadakini, or any of those. She is more open and universal, like Siddharajni and Guhyajnana Dakini.

    The first section is summarized as:

    vajrapade ca pañcavidhā for the purposes of śrīsamāje buddho bhagavānāha.

    Vajra subjects of Fivefold Knowledge.


    This starts with:

    kumbho guhyābhiṣeka śca prajñājñānābhidhānakaḥ |

    Which is a significant subject, Prajnajnana is an initiation "above" tantric Varuni or the Flask--Vase that we would start this with. In general information from Wiki:

    In Vajrayana Buddhism or Mantrayana Buddhism, one enters into the path of Vajrayana Buddhism by receiving the four stages of tantric empowerments, or abhisheka: the vase abhisheka, secret abhisheka, prajnajnana abhisheka, and word abhisheka. The abhiseka rite (wangkur) is a prelude for initiation into mystical teaching. There are four classes of abhiseka, each being associated with one of the four Tantras. They are master consecration, secret consecration, knowledge of prajna, and the fourth consecration.

    Related to Orgasmic Bliss.

    Oxford:

    prajnajnana-abhisheka (“The Gnosis of the Consort”)


    The First Knowledge tells us the Transcendent or Lokottara Siddhis (Generation and Completion Stages) owe to the Four Immeasurables, Love--Metta, Joy--Mudita, Compassion--Karuna, and Resolve--Upekka:

    lokottarasiddhisādhanātha catvāro brahyāvihārā bhāvanīyā maitryādikrameṇa tu | tatra trayo lokasaṃvṛtyādyuktā bhagavatā | premātiśayena kumbhasya sparśanād maitrī | guhyo vajrapraveśāt tataḥ samadhikatayā karuṇā | muditā hṛṣṭacittatayā padhme vajrasphāraṇāt | upekṣā iti aśeṣakalpanākalaṅkāpagamanāt | śuddhalaukikalpalyā (lya) rtha ca taccaturtha lokottaramiti nispandasukhatvād [iti] bhagavato niyamaḥ | tathā coktam

    paramākṣarayogena sādhayet siddhimuttamām |
    sādhite cittavajre tu tannāsti yanni (nna) siddhayati ||

    There you have Citta Vajra, which in the Second Knowledge, obtains the Pinda and subjects it to a consort:

    dvividhaṃ cittavajraṃ tu piṇḍacittaṃ prakāśaṃ ceti | piṇḍacittaṃ karmamudrādhyānam , prakāśaṃ mahāmudreti | etacca sadgurupadeśato'vagantavyamiti |

    The Third Knowledge has a Subtle Body and Four Joys:

    vajradehe

    tatra kāyānandaḥ (nda) vāgānandaḥ (nda) cittānandaḥ (nda) jñānānandaḥ (nda) bhedeneti |


    The Fourth Knowledge looks like their Purification:

    caturtho jñānasaṃśuddhiḥ kāyavakcittasaṃśodhakaḥ


    And in the Fifth Knowledge, mundane siddhis are fulfilled by three classes of Dakinis:

    pātāla bhūcara khecara laukikaśabdena


    That implies, but does not expressly state, Twenty-four Pithas and so on. It is in the format that Patala Vasinis are "under" and Bhucaris are "on" the ground, which is probably an increase over the first format where Bhucari is "under".

    Like Abhisambodhis, these experiences squeeze out a Perfect Image.


    After the Five Knowledges, there is Bimba, "Reflection", a manifest Form, idealized as reflecting a primary orb such as the Moon. It comes from non-dual Bodhicitta and harnesses the Three Worlds:

    bhage liṅgaṃ pratiṣṭhāpya bodhicittaṃ na cotsṛjet |
    bhāvayed buddhabimbaṃ tu traidhatukamaśeṣataḥ || iti ||


    Amrita Kundalin appears:

    svābhaprajñāyāmamṛtakuṇḍalyā


    Svabha Prajna is a term for "cosort", such as with Manjuvajra; and the ending of that looks feminized.

    There are sixteen voids and joys related to the Avadhut:

    ṣoḍaśānandātmakaṃ sukhamaya [ma] avadhūtyāṃ


    It is based in four major Pithas:

    catuṣpīṭhe coktam '' mantrādātmapīṭham , ātmapīṭhātparapīṭham , ātmapīṭhātparapīṭham , parapīṭhāttattvapīṭham , yāvadeti taditibodhicittam avadhūtyāṃ saṃvareṇa iti padasaṃcārakramaḥ |


    It brings in some of the Seals:

    karmamudrāprasaṅgena jñānamudrāprasaṅgena sthiracarasvabhāvātmakaṃ


    It is still, perhaps, also a Prajnaparamita Tantra:

    tadeva prajñāpāramitā sarvākāravaropetā śunyatā ca , sā śrīsaṃvarottare kāmasiddhirityuktā bhagavatā , prajñātantratvāditi | ata evoktaṃ bhagavatā '' paramākṣarayogena mahāmudrāṃ vibhāvayet '' |


    With an intensified Vajrasattva:

    sa eva vajrasattvaḥ paramākṣarasukha iti |


    It seems to have Vajragarbha as an important vehicle of Prajna Upaya:

    tathā coktaṃ vajragarbheṇa '' pūjāvidhirmulatantroktaḥ yathā prajñopāyavidhānena pūjayed yogavit sadā


    And then you are in Candali Yoga:

    yoga iti caṇḍālī śuklayoraikyam |


    Which is related to Adi Buddha:

    bhagavatā svayaṃ śrīcakrasaṃvare ādibuddhe



    It refers to Brahma Vairocana Buddha, Vishnu Buddha, and Shiva Buddha. Then:

    sarvo ratnasaṃbhavaḥ , sa eva raktadhātustasya cyavanābhāvād duḥkhasyābhavaḥ | ataḥ ''sukhaduḥkhāntakṛnniṣṭhā vairāgyamupadhipakṣayaḥ '' |


    Together they are the place of the Divine Eye:

    sarvātmani sthito divyacakṣuṣā


    It appears to attribute itself to Bhima or Bhisma:

    paṇḍitā bhimānaṃ tyakatvā sadgu [ru]


    Which is similar to Hevajra explaining the Six Yogas in Six Colors:

    ato hevajroktā ṣaḍaṅgabhāvanā kṛṣṇa rakta pīta harita nīla śuklamiti


    Which is equivalent to Vajradhara doing it:

    tathā coktam ṣaḍaṅgabhāvanayā nūnaṃ vajradharatvaṃ siddhayati |



    The main middle portion of the text consists of the Six Yogas followed by the Five Dissolutions:

    pratyāhārastathā dhyānaṃ prāṇāyāmaśca (mo'tha) dhāraṇā |
    anusmṛtiḥ samādhiśca ṣaḍaṅgo yoga iṣyate || (18|140)


    Pratyahara is going to take the Bimba and fuse it with Amrita Kundali and Samjna. The "Lump" is then taken into Dhyana which is Emptiness of Citta Pravrtti, i. e. of forwards or form-involved mind:

    atra pratyāhāraśabdena traidhātukabuddhabimbadarśanam | kuṇḍalyā saha yogataḥ | atrāmṛtakuṇḍalīsaṃjñayā sandhyābhāṣānte vā svarityukto bhagavatā | asya piṇḍārtha sadgurupadeśato'vagantavya iti | dhāraṇādikena tu | tato dhyānaṃ nāma śūnyeṣu sarvabhāveṣu cittapravṛttiḥ | vitarko nāma bhāvagrahaṇaṃ cittasya | vicāreṇa (ro) nāma

    bhāvaprakāśaḥ | pritītirnāma sarvabhāveṣu cittāropaṇam | acalaṃ sukhaṃ nāma sarvabhāvebhya sukhasampattiḥ | cittasyaikāgratā nāma bimbena sa [ha] cittasyaikīkaraṇamiti |

    evaṃ pañcadhyanāṅgamucyate

    vitarkaśca vicāraśca prītiścaiva sukhaṃ tathā |
    cittasyaikagratā caitra pañcaite dhyānasaṃgrahāḥ || (gu| sa| 18|143)


    It wants you to get Sukha into the Sampatti level, and put Vitarka, Vicara, Priti, and Sukha together into Citta Ekaggata or one-pointedness or the male seed. That is what it wants for Body Mandala, i. e., these qualities fused into the Bimba or image.

    This cycle is in Prajnaparamita Sutra; Guhyasamaja adds Objects and the Five Buddhas.

    ...according to the 2nd century Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra (chapter XXVIII).—“are vitarka and vicāra one and the same thing or are they two different things? Answer.—They are two different things. Vitarka is the first moment of a coarse mind, vicāra is a more subtle (sūkṣma) analysis. Thus, when a bell is struck, the first sound is strong, the subsequent sound is weaker; this is vicāra”.

    Also, “although the two things reside in the same mind, their characteristics re not simultaneous: at the moment of vitarka, the vicāra is blurred (apaṭu); at the moment of vicāra, the vitarka is blurred. Thus, when the sun rises, the shadows disappear. All the minds (citta) and all the mental events receive their name prorata with time: [vitarka and vicāra are distinct names of one single mind]”.

    This cycle should concoct "the first Dhyana":

    the first absorption has thinking, reflection, and the happiness and joy born of seclusion


    Seclusion = the seclusions of Body Mandala in Day and Night Yoga.

    Vitarka can be a condition of Samsara associated with mind, or, it can be an Upaklesa, a minor defilement. The conditions and the minor defilements both end with:

    vitarka (thinking),
    vicāra (reflection).

    If those quit moving in their normal course, and go to the Priti and Sukha also given here, that seems to be the Point.




    Speech Mandala begins with Pranayama which directs us to the Three Syllables, Om Ah Hum:

    tataḥ prāṇāyāmo nāma lalanāvāmadakṣiṇamarganirodhaḥ | ayameva vasanta kālaḥ | avadhūtīmadhyamāṅge prāṇavāyoḥ samapravṛttiriti | tatranilayogenāvadhūtyāṃ saṃcāra iti | tasya omkāreṇa uccā (cchvā) saḥ , āḥkāreṇa niḥśvāsaḥ | om huṃ kāreṇa nirodhaścandraravirāhusvabhāvena kurute yogī | iti prāṇāyāmāṅgamucyate |


    The Fourth Yoga, Dharana, is going to tell us something about the Elements or Mahabhuts, which we are going to explain as the Inverted Stupa, as one can see it begins from the Navel or Nabhau:

    tato dhāraṇā nāma prāṇasya māhendravāruṇāgnivāyumaṇḍalā (le) nābhau ktiścaiva (hṛdi kaṇṭhe) lalāṭe praveśaḥ | na bāhyānirgamaḥ | indau prāṇapraveśanamiti dhāraṇāṅgamucyate |




    Mind Mandala is of the last pair.

    The Fifth Yoga, Smrti, refers to Luminous or Prabha mandala:

    tato'nusmṛtirnāma sveṣṭadevatādarśanaṃ pratibimbākāraṃ vikalparahitaṃ tasmādane karaśimasphuradūpākāraṃ prabhāmaṇḍalam | tato'nekākārasphuradrapāṃ (paṃ) traidhatukaṃ sma (spha) raṇamiti , anusmṛtyaṅgamucyate |


    The Sixth Yoga, Samadhi, is the condition related to the Ista Devata or Yidam, and to the extensive teaching of non-duality with Yoginis and Mahamudra:

    tataḥ samādhirnāma iṣṭadevatānurāgād yadakṣarasukhaprāptiḥ , tasyāmekīkaraṇam | grāhyāgrāhakatāvirahitaṃ cittaṃ samādhyaṅgamucyate tathāgateḥ | iha ṣaḍaṅgabhāvanāyoge [ne] ti saṃkṣepeṇoktam , vistareṇa abhidhārnaparamādyatantre ca sadgurupadeśato'vagantavya iti yoginīmahāmudrāsiddhayarthineti


    Six Limb Yoga is part of the Svadisthana stage:

    ṣaḍaṅgaṃ bhāvayed yogī svādhiṣṭhānamahaniśam |
    drutaṃ siddhimavāpnoti uktaṃ vajrabhūtā svayam || (he|ta| 1|8|24)

    atra bhagavataḥ pratijñā

    sarvacintāṃ parityajya dinamekaṃ parīkṣayet |
    yadi na syāt pratyayo'tra tadetanme mṛṣā vacaḥ || iti ||


    Then you get the Five Dissolutions, Dhuma--Smoke, Marici--Mirage, Khadyota--Fireflies, Dipa--Lamp, and Gagana--Sky:

    tatra pratyayo dhūmādinimittam | prathamaṃ dhūmanimittam , dvitīyaṃ marīcikākāram , tṛtīyaṃ khadyotākāram , caturtha pradīpo (pa) nimittam , pañcamaṃ nirabhragagana sannibha [ma] iti |


    This class of samadhi is described as:

    māyājālasamādhipaṭale prokttaṃ proktaṃ bhagavatā , tadyathā

    gaganodbhavaḥ svayambhūḥ prajñājñānānalo mahān |
    vairocano mahādīptirjñānajyotivirocanaḥ ||

    jagatpradīpo jñānolko mahātejāḥ prabhāsvaraḥ |
    vidyārājogramantreśo mantrarājo mahārthakṛt ||


    It arises from Gagana, i. e. the second class of samadhi, Gaganaganja.

    And it is this method which earns unity with the Dakini Jala:

    tathā coktaṃ ḍākinījāla saṃvare bhagavatā

    The Stillness intended here is powerful enough to cause Suspended Animation. The difference between this and some other yogas is that we have also formed a Bimba or a vehicle intended to Emerge from this state as perfectly as it went in. That is Nirakara.

    At this point, the mandala is equivalent to Canopy or Vajra Panjara:

    punaścoktaṃ vajrapañjare


    Followed by the Six Limbs cause the Dakini Cakra to Play, which is Svadisthana and the Four Elements:

    ṣaḍaṅgaṃbhāvayet tasmat svā[dhi] ṣṭhānasamaṃ tataḥ |
    sarvāṅgasundaraṃ ramyaṃ sarvāsaṅga vivajitam ||

    ramyaṃ tu ḍākinīcakraṃ svādhiṣṭhānaṃ mahādbhutam |
    yadudeti kṣaṇenaiva gurupādaprasādataḥ ||

    sarvabuddhasamāyogaḍākinījālasamvare śrīvajrasattva saṃyogakalpa dvitīyo (ye) 'pyuktaṃ bhagavatā

    svādhiṣṭhānād


    It is a method from Vasubandhu:

    tathā coktamāryavasubandhupādaiḥ

    tad bhagavato hṛdayo (yaṃ) nābhijñā (jña) sya vacanam |



    Vajrasattva has not just Voidness, but, a Samantabhadra aspect in the knowledge Vajradhara is like a Guru of Sukha:

    tathā coktam vajrasattvasaṃbuddhai nanyit (nyā) śūnyatā gaditā | (śunyatā) ato hi samantabhadrasya deśanā

    ākāśayava yogena gṛhlanti jñānasāgarāḥ |
    atha vajradharo rājā mahāsukha vivardhanam ||
    samaya deśayet sarva buddhatvaphaladāyakam |
    sukhairhṛṣṭai stathā nṛtyairgītavādyaivikurvaṇaiḥ ||
    gandhamālyavilepanaistu vidyārājaḥ prasiddhayati |
    yathā sukhaṃ sukhaṃ vādye yathārucitaceṣṭītam ||



    The familiar Buddha is related to Sutra Vairocana, to tantric Vajradhara:

    nityaṃ ca guravedeyaṃ tasmād buddha (tva) samo guruḥ |
    yathā vairocano nāthastathā vajradharo guruḥ ||


    It is related to Vipula Siddhi of the dharanis:

    sādhayet vipulāṃ siddhi gurorājñāṃ praṇayata (jñāprapālanāt) ||


    Because we already have a rather large exposition of Vipula Siddhi, there is, so to speak, a Yoga practice that works like this, minus the self-generation.

    Instead, we are going to get the Inverted Stupa and a hypostasis of Varuni, or, i. e. the first initiation of which this text is dealing with the third. This Rahasya is a bit of a generic skeleton of Generation Stage. It accompanies a tantra with an under-used teaching, Moods, which is reflected on Marici in Sadhanamala. She is very relevant when talking about these outlays of Vairocana such as done here.



    And so it is built on a pantheon that does not, for instance, use Lotus Family to give us Long Life Trinity. Instead we get Padmanarttesvara which directs us to other practices.

    Dakini Jala begins the Peaceful and Wrathful format of the more well-known Kagye or Zhitro. Its peaceful central couple or Sixth Family is somewhat fluid:

    Vajradhara (or Vajrasattva or Samvara) + Samvari (Vimala--Katyayani--Bhairavi--Ucchista-- Shrikshetreshvari at the navel or Oddiyana Pitha in Orissa)

    Samvari is one whom you might think means something like a female Chakrasamvara, however, at the end of a list of Shakti Pithas, she is found as an equivalent of Vimala:

    Kuruksetra — Kubjika; Nila, x Prana (Siva — Sthanu) ; Prana (Aruneksanii, Ita-
    Ueksaiia) ; Pltha (Daksinagulpha — Savitrl — Sthanu) ; Siva (Mahapltha ; —
    Daksinagulpha — Samvari, Vimala — Samvarta) ; near Thanesar in
    the eastern Punjab.

    That one means, at Kurukshetra, Kubjika resides, and then the various Shiva/Shakti combinations said to function there. Right Ankle is home of Savitri. Right Ankle is Samvari, or Vimala and Samvarta. This Samvarta is also a Mandala in Hindu tantra.

    Sam Vari is "full water" or high tide. She is also a Tamang Poultry Farmer who started Boudhanath Stupa in Nepal, is addressed as a Dakini in prayer, and even has her picture in a Lama Chopa article. She for some reason had Kasyapa's relics. There are multiple versions of the stupa's history, but these are the only real meanings of Samvari.

    Samvari or "full water or high tide" is also a Nepalese Nirmanakaya mentioned by Chokyi Lodro.

    bde mchog ma - {bya rdzi gsal le'i bu mo bde mchog ma} woman called Samvari, daughter of sale the chicken farmer; built the Boudha Stupa [RY]


    Samvari is also in Chapter Six of Samputa tantra, an enquiry about the subtle body where we find:

    Section Three is operation of the channels similar to Inverted Stupa, called Yoga Puja.

    Section Four explains deities and the secret circle of dakinis, to which:

    Then all the goddesses, headed by Nairātmyā, including Locanā, Māmakī, Pāṇḍaravāsinī, Tārā, Bhṛkuṭī, Cundā, Parṇaśavarī, Ahomukhā and Śaṃvarī—yoginīs as numerous as the dust particles on Mount Sumeru—became utterly bewildered, fainting and trembling. {6.4.22}




    Genesis and History gives Vajrasattva's inner retinue in a weird way:


    Second, it is in the tradition of this Tantra that we see for the first time
    in the Mantranaya the practice of the ganamandalam, orgiastic worship in an
    assembly consisting of a male and a group of female adepts (yoginiganah) person-
    ifying the deities of the cult, with a jargon of special terms and gestures known
    as chommah to be used in these gatherings.

    The practice and the jargon are outlined by Aryadeva in his Caryamelapakapradipa
    (section on prapancatacarya) on the authority of this Tantra. The Yoginis per-
    sonified here are the twenty that form the retinue of Vajrasattva, the eight pecu-
    liar to him being Samvari, Ahosukha, Pradipa, Sisya, Buddhabodhi, Dharmacakra,
    Trailokya, and Kamalata.

    I have not been able to find that section.

    Samvari could be a dharani-based equivalent of samvara, the Three Vows. The relation of this to Bliss Samvara is more or less within an article on a Mongolian figurine:

    Samvara, whose name in Sanskrit means "obligation" or "vow," is one of the great tutelary or patron deities (yidam) of Tibeto-Mongolian Buddhism. He is usually depicted in his fierce (heruka) form, with twelve arms and four heads, together with his equally angry consort, Vajravarahi (Diamond Sow). In this combination, Samvara is called Paramasukha Chakrasamvara--Supreme Bliss Samvara, joined to the Wheel of the Law.

    Bliss Samvara is then Tibetan Demchok, which is in Jewel Family. Wouldn't happen without some kind of basic Samvara.

    As synonyms:

    The taking of vows, or samvara, or commitments, samaya, is primarily a means of regulating individual conduct or activity. Equally it is a means of securing a particular view or level of meditation.

    Samvara in Nitya Puja. Samaya is mostly something you do, to uphold, whereas Samvara is what you restrain, to prohibit.

    sāṃvara (सांवर).—m Recovery of strength; recruiting of spirits; regathering of pristine health.

    We cannot tell if the original text says anything about Samvari. By correspondence, she would have to resemble Sattvavajri, or Vajrasattvatmika or Garvi, or whoever one thinks Vajrasattva is most directly affiliated to.


    In terms of Yoga, Vajrasattva will seem to be being sent to someone.


    In Samvarodaya Tantra, the males-first Armor Deities are the Wrathful Buddhas of Dakini Jala. Then it is the female-based Armor deities which use Vairocani. A Hum-arisen Vajrasattva Heruka obtains her as consort. We have Nineteen Chapters of Samvarodaya in Sanskrit, Tibetan, and English. This Vairocani flows from the hypostasis of Varuni. So this is a very explanatory tantra. It is also a somewhat later synthetic extraction, more or less intended to take Dakini Jala and whisk it into Completion Stage. And so here we will also say that this Vairocani is Puranic or, rather, Upanishadic, and probably one of the first written records about using this type of Yoga deity is in the Tattiriya Aranyaka rescensions, ca. 300 B. C.




    Dakini Jala's Wrathful aspect is centered on Vajra Family:

    Heruka + Isvari (equivalent to Jnana Dakini and other central Yidams of most Akshobhya tantras)


    who have the inner ring we are calling Gauris:

    Gauri, Cauri (Vajracandesvari), Pramoha (Vajranarayani), Vetali, PukkasI, Candali, Ghasmari (Vajramaheshvari), and Herukasamnivesa/Herukasamnibha


    These are the same as with Hrih-arisen Heruka of Samputa Tantra Chapter Eight, which ends with:

    oṁ sumbhani dīptasamayavajre hūṁ phaṭ | herukasaṃnibhāyāḥ || 8.4.16 ||

    Similar to Diptachakra, the light blue consort of Vajrakilaya. Since this has to do with the base of the spine, then, this Nadir or underworld goddess, Sumbhani, is arising, related to Serpent and Noose and Aparajita.

    Herukasamnibha ("fully alike Heruka") is a name that disappears from the Hevajra system. It is as if she is removed from the last position of the flat plane, and sucked down into a lower position. This corresponds to the appearance of Usnisa deities, who enter the Zenith or upwards position. Prior to this attainment, retinues are flat. Vajra Tara splits Usnisa and Sumbha like this.

    Otherwise these Gauris are the wrathful aspect of Generation Stage resulting from Candali or Fierce Woman or Fiery Woman, non-different from one's own inner being, able to produce Sampatti.

    This is related to Cemetery Yoga. And so with this ring, there is a continuous unit from Dakini Jala, which may have been prior to or thereabouts the year 700, conveyed into Samputa, which is a ca. 900s synthetic text which still saw this as fit to remain intact.

    Janguli, for example, can serve as an Isvari in Vajra Family, as she also holds the Serpent which becomes Sumbha's Noose. It is like she is taking any of the Aparajita or Amoghapasha Nooses to another place. Janguli similarly disappears by name from any further exaltations in the tantras.

    If we are not going to visualize union, it does not have to specifically be Heruka's consort.

    Other Vajra Family emanations could be used, such as Mahacinakrama Tara, which Bhattacharya translates as:

    ...[she] stands in the Pratyalldha attitude, and is awe-inspiring with a garland of heads hanging from the neck. She is short and has a protruding belly, and her looks are terrible.

    Her complexion is like that of the blue lotus, and she is three-eyed, one-faced, celestial and laughs horribly. She is in an intensely pleasant mood, stands on a corpse, is decked in ornaments of snakes, has red and round eyes, wears the

    garments of tiger-skin round her loins, is in youthful bloom, is endowed with the five suspicious symbols, and has a protrudiug tongue. She is most terrible, appears fierce, with bare canine fangs, carries the sword and the Kartri in the

    two right hands and the Uptala and the Kapala in the two left. Her Jatamukuta of one coil is brown and fiery and bears the image of Aksobhya within it.


    He says that one was originally by Sasvata Vajra, and copied into the Hindu Tantrasara very literally including the crown of Akshobhya, which is not normally such a feature in Hindu Tantras as it is in ours. By comparison, a later Tibetan description says:

    Mahachinakrama Tara (Tib.: gya nag gi rim pa drol ma).

    "Tara, black, [with] one face and four hands. The first two [hands] hold a curved knife and skullcup. The lower right a sword and the lower left an utpala. [With] three eyes and bared fangs, brown hair bristling upwards, swelling breasts and a belly hanging down. Having a lower garment of tiger skin and adorned with skulls and snakes. Standing on a corpse seat in a manner with the left leg extended." (One Hundred Methods of Accomplishment, Konchog Lhundrub, 1497-1557).



    Mahacinakrama Tara is superficially more directly linked to cemeteries, whereas Janguli is more advanced or is a kind of composite alchemy from there.

    Isvari could also be comparable to Varadhativishvari, since the Four Families are basic and straightforward:

    Vairocana + Locana, Vajrasurya + Mamaki, Padmanartesvara + Pandaravasini, Paramasva + Tara


    So this is a temporary shuffle of the nature "while Mamaki is in Jewel Family".



    At a more advanced stage, there literally is a Vajra Family Muttering goddess:

    Vajracarcika, who is three^eyed and one^faced, dances in the Ardhaparyanka attitude on a corpse, is emaciated in appearance and looks terrible with bare fangs. Her neck is embellished by a

    garland of human heads, and she is decked in ornaments of bones, is endowed with the five auspicious symbols, bears the image of Aksobhya on the crown, is clad in garments of tiger skin and has dishevelled hair. She is six-armed and

    carries in her three right hands the Vajra, the sword, and the Cakra and in her three left the Kapala, the jewel and the lotus. She is red in colour but changes to white and other colours in accordance with the different purposes for

    which she is invoked.

    ...a vivid idea of her terrible form, with the skeleton of her fleshless body showing through the skin in all its nakedness, and her vulture-like claws enhancing the fierceness of her appearance."


    And so that is who we will eventually use, in conjunction with Ghasmari.


    However the Cemeteries are a vast area, and Carcika like Janguli is not really an example of a basic deity to start it with.

    Luminous Wisdom gives a short article on the Gauris, with Hevajra's Ghasmari as the purified sixth principle, manas of self-grasping, or sakkaya-ditthi or what we have called Sixth Skandha and Gnosis Element. Nairatma "is" this principle, Ghasmari is its purified state. That site is using the Guhyagarbha Gauris, which are in more horrible forms, and change the last one, Herukasamnibha, to Smasani. They say the order of Gauris is not "fixed", can be reversed, etc., but before we can do that, we need to see how they work with the Asta Vijnana, which is simple enough that the sixth goddess is the sixth principle, and so on. Then we can cordon off the eighth one who is "Alaya", which is similar to when the eighth male Bodhisattva is Maitreya--not really a part of our organism, but an ideal future state.

    That would be like pinning the schismatic disputes between schools onto Herukasamnibha and letting her handle it until she is ready to osmose into a new name or form.

    Dakini Jala Rahasya does not mention any Asta Vijnana terminology, but that is what Gauris are, not at a Sutra level, but at the time of intense experience, which is why we will plot them according to the Cemeteries.

    In Sadhanamala, Ghasmari is in the northern quadrant of Nairatma's retinue as Rame, right after Vetali is "Scent Object" and the like, but this name indicates little other than seed syllable Ram, feminine of Rama, and to delight or enjoy, like Ramate. Nairatma has a personalized retinue mixing older and newer Gauris. She mentions that the Bhucari, i. e. the Nadir or Sumbha goddess, is Sparsha, whereas the polar or Usnisa goddess is Dharmadhatu. That is the idea behind the vertical axis or 3-D.

    Nairatma simultaneously is two things, Vijnana Skandha, and Mano or the Sense of Manas. Ghasmari is not; she would have to be Taste. But this type of Nairatma practice is virtually equivalent to Hevajra Tantra. It presumes you already have a highly-functional, integrated practice. In other words, we are best off meeting Ghasmari on an individual basis and why she was so powerful over Isana Maheshvara, and then in the full set of cemeteries, she is cleaning the sixth principle. That is exactly what the Vajri goddesses are going to do to Nairatma:

    kavacamebhir mahāśuddhyā indriyāṇāṃ viśuddhaye /

    That is from Kavaca, a type of armor covering where for example, Raga Vajri is at the mouth.

    The Gauris in the retinue have multiple roles, Four are Elements, then six are most likely Visaya or Objects, and then the six Vajris are body placements.

    Nairatma goes on to Ali Kali Sampatti and Mutttering and all this is like a samvara to her:

    nairātmyayoginyā[ścaiva] saṃvaraṃ kathāymi te /
    mahāmudrā sthitā nābhau mahāsukhakarā śubhā /
    tīkṣṇatvād agnirūpeṇa ruṣitā sā tu mātṛbhiḥ //

    She is going to draw Great Bliss and Mahamudra from the navel, and then there is a sharp, fiery form which is the Mother.

    And so what happens here is a bit more difficult change from the same flat plane of Gauris appearing in Samputa Tantra.




    An article on a 15th century Nepalese bronze Mahacina tells us she is counted among Twenty-one Taras, and is also "assimilated" to Prajnaparamita.

    Her two articles in Sadhanamala are a sadhana and a samapta.

    The first line suggests cemetery or smasana as to where to meditate on her:

    ekalṅge śmaśāne vā śūnyāgāre ca sarvadā /
    tatrsthaḥ sādhayed yogī vidyāṃ tribhavamokṣaṇīm //


    She for some reason uses the "cute" title Tarini:

    ātmānaṃ tāriṇīsamam //

    This is used with a few others, such as Ekajati, Dhvajagrakeyura, Sragdhara, Tarodbhava Kurukulla, Durgottarini, and the very first line of Vajra Tara 110 says you have to do all of her first:

    praṇamya tāriṇīṃ bhaktyā sarvasampattivardhanīm /


    Prior to that, Mahacinakrama however is a type of "doorway rite" to the voice of Yogacara:

    dvāravidhiṃ vakṣye yogācārānusārataḥ /


    And we have found another pattern inside Sadhanamala, to which you would have to be familiar with Sage Narada's musical system to realize it is talking about the fourth note here:

    caturthasvarabhūṣitam //


    sphuraddīptamindubindusamanvitam /

    It seems to develop Tram and Ham syllables leading to:

    khaḍgasthāne vicakṣaṇaḥ /

    Ekajati also does this.

    Mahacinakrama Tara develops the Poet or Mahakavi power, same as Nagarjuna's Ekajati 127 and White Ekajati 128.

    Gudrun Buhnemann translates Mahacinakrama Tara.

    Ekajati and Mahacina are not quite identical as she says: Mahacina uses Hrim Hum, Ekajata has Hrim Trim Hum--Trim being a Hindu syllable for Tara or Ugra Tara. Mahacina is the only Ugra Tara in Sadhanamala.

    She believes the author was relatively late:

    Sasvatavajra, who is identified with Prajnaraksita, a disciple of Naropa


    Chokyi Nyingje probably is with Ekajati 124, although she makes a colored lotus and then a skull. Buhnemann's translation however also says Mahacina makes a skull pedestal, however after a red lotus. Her explanation that Padmabhajana ("lotus vessel") = Skull is from Hevajra II.3.58, and says it is similar in Sadhanamala 260.12. She says that the Sword also transforms into a Bone Rosary. The setting is:

    Probably a lonely isolated place. Ekalinga is explained in Tarabhaktisudharnava,
    p. 139.30-140.1 as a place where only one linga (landmark or sivalinga) is found within an area
    of five krosas.

    Some Hevajra synonyms are given in Indian Esoteric Buddhism:

    padmabhajana = kapala (lotus vessel = skull)


    A bit cluttered, but, Yoga Nidra is a bit more flexible:

    Padmabhajana( lotus vessel) is the four wheels (cakra [of the
    is kapala (skull) body] [one of which] is either the

    wheel at the head or the wheel at
    the navel; or it is the kakkola of the
    karmamudra...the four wheels are
    the padmabhajana...

    And actually if we take an esoteric look at "kapala", it will also divert from "skull" and follow the stream of bliss.

    Padmabhajana appears equivalent to skull on Nairatma 228, Varahi 224 appears to place the Five Nectars in it, Varahi 218 appears to stick a sword and Four Maras in it, White Ekajati appears to turn a Padma into it, Ekajati 125 stands on it, and Simhanada Lokesvara 25 appears to be holding it in his left hand. So Sadhanamala appears to only use "Lotus Vessel" as meaning "Skull", it is not like a plain Lotus, or a Red Lotus, or a Lotus Seat.

    The skull, itself, is then originally Emptiness, then probably as iterated by Yoga Nidra.

    Sword is a special item, like an outreach from Karma Family, used mainly on two Nepalese Sword Yoginis, one of which is Guhyajnana Dakini, and the other, Mahacinakrama Tara. But this latter is perhaps a bit of a fake since she converts it into Bone Rosary. The other thing not mentioned much about Mahacina and Ekajati is that they are Attahasa, loud, horse-like laughter. In conjunction with the science of Sound and the portrayal of Moods, that is a lot of power. Guhyajnana, comparatively, directly imparts the Four Dakinis which are the core of all the rest of the tantras, as well as the Padmabhajana when that is translated as Four Chakras. The dakinis are weird, they are lateral and vertical. They are the four major petals of the Mahasukha Chakra at the top of the head, or, they are the stack of the four basic chakras.


    Then, they are also four major petals of the heart, and Vajra Family mainly governs the heart. When its real energy is in play, then you are more readily apt to have more powerful manifestations, particularly the Six Arm deities. These are something like punctuation marks. Hindusim is averse to using such forms. And so if we look at how deities develop, Ekajati is reasonably well-known to have two, four, or eight arms.

    Ekajati seems to fail to have a six arm form. Instead there is Bhrkuti and Mahapratyangira in Vajra Family.

    Parasol exists but loses her Parasol item when having six arms. The form and role appear to be intercepted by Grahamatrika, who has no introductory forms. Parasol instead is or becomes, Pratyangira.

    White or Sita Tara enters Karma Family and is "in the middle of the cemeteries" and may have to do with the Peaceful Cemeteries, of which Sitabani is the first one.


    Chakrasamvara and Hevajra are both mainly based on the pattern of two, four, and six arm forms of the same deity, related to a primary one with twelve or sixteen.

    Parasol also does this, whereas most other goddesses are only bits and parts of it. Vasudhara perhaps also mimics it.


    The reason Mamaki does not need to be specifically used as Isvari is because Mamaki is Varuni. And when we use a special form of Varuni, she continues through the tantras as Khandaroha, i. e. one of the Four Dakinis who are pretty much permanent.

    Mamaki is also Pratisara, who is mainly in Jewel Family, so, when Mamaki is with Ratnasambhava or Vajrasurya, then Pratisara is very appropriate. Pratisara is an outer-to-inner invocative Yidam, who does Raudra Krama or Mahabala Krama, i. e. the wrathful practice of harmonizing the winds while burning garbage out of the cemeteries. She is also Vipula Siddhi as mentioned here.

    So in the idea of Inverted Stupa, being something like a calendar, Pratisara and Vasudhara and Parasol, Sutra and dharani related deities, mostly Nirmanakaya Bodhisattva forms, are something like the second level of focus, and then the dakinis and yoginis such as Ghasmari and Carcika are the third. This third part is equal to Dharana as defined by the Rahasya. It is not quite Dharana if given from the view of Completion Stage.

    In English, it may be accurate to say that this Pranayama and Dharana are used to put you into a spiritual state, and then the Citta Visuddhi or Mind Mandala is an actual spiritual condition that is using the heart as intended.

    The way the Inverted Stupa is a Noumenal clock and not a ladder-style activation is something like this. You start in the navel; eighty percent of the time, this means Svadisthana Cakra, but, we are allowed to use it as Manipur or Solar Plexus. The beginning phase we are talking about is the mixture of Wind, Heat, and Mantra. This rises, which is pleasant, but that is just Tapas. In Buddhism, the First Joy is when the risen heat melts the white bodhicitta of the head. And then Ananda consists of its descent as nectar, it has to pass the throat, and eventually it will drip onto the knots at the Bull's Hoof or heart channel, of which there are six, three pairs, it is considered to be generally atrophied and shut off moreso than any other organ. And so you have to be well into Suksma Yoga to start softening it. This is the "next" stage or Citta Mandala in the Inverted Stupa, which is not a physical step up since obviously the heart is right over the solar plexus, it presumes you have the mantric or Throat or Lotus Family power to shape the energies around the head and beget the Nectar or Amrita. It is a time, and, quite possibly a long time, after the Generation Stage aspect we are going to emphasize in the first half or three parts of the glyph.

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    Default Re: Nirakara and Shentong Buddhism, Tara, Sadhanas, Sanskrit culture

    Mahacina, the Paramitas, Sri Mahadevi or Mahasri and their Sutras, Dhanada, Seven Syllable deity, Jnanadakini



    According to Bhattacharya, a Prajnaparamita manuscript bearing the date A.D. 1071, is there in the holding of the Asiatic Society, Calcutta. Interestingly, this manuscript contains the illustration of a male divinity with the accompanying inscribed label reading: Mahacine Manjughosah.

    In the famous iconographic set in a Nepalese Astasahasrika (Cambridge 1643)
    Mahācīne occurs three times once for *Mañjughoṣaḥ *[folio 202v], once for
    *Samantabhadraḥ* [folio 127r], and once for* Buddharūpaka Lokanāthaḥ*
    [folio 123v].


    Manjughosha is Manjushri, and of Bodhisattvas, such as Manjushri, Samantabhadra, and Avalokiteshvara, the Prajnaparamita Sutra says:

    These leaders among the Bodhisattvas appear in the threefold world (traidhātuka), create for themselves innumerable bodies by transformation, enter into saṃsāra and convert beings. From such exploits (adbhuta) comes the entire very profound prajñāpāramitā.


    It is not very surprising, as the records of Nepal state that Manjushri came from Wu Tai Shan mountain in the frontiers or borderlands outside the main Chinese Kingdoms, so it is in the region of "Greater China" or Mahacina. Historically, this "was" an area, but, due to emigration, became a culture that mostly entered India along the Eastern Silk Road, becoming the Nagas of Assam and across the trans-Himalaya.

    And so by Mahacina, it seems to mean a Tara practice derived from this culture, rather than from the Wu Tai Shan area. And so the Kamarupa Pitha of Assam is a major Pitha in any tradition. Since we have a Maha Cina Tara in Nepal that keeps saying think of Kamakhya Devi, here is something from an Indian study in Chapter Three concerning Assam:

    Tara was worshipped as Mahacina Sweta Tara along with Sambara Heruka at
    Kamakhya in the seventh –eight century when Kamarupa developed as a center of
    Vajrayana. There are various Vajrayana pantheons such as Sambara Heruka,
    Kurukulla Vajravarahi and Vajra-Vairocini were prevailed in Kamahhya.

    Heruka was worshipped in Kamarupa (at Nilachala) in the form of
    Sambara Heruka along with its consort Tara Kurukulla.
    The concept of Heruka is revealed in Kamakhya tantra,
    which is an offshoot of Hevajra tantra.


    So it also appears Vairocani was enmeshed in this practice prior to the composition of Samvarodaya Tantra.

    That is a bit odd they say Mahacina Sweta = White Tara. Most comparisons are with Blue Ugra Tara who is also established at Kamakhya.



    Here is some fairly recent Newari Art using her with a few Sadhanamala Taras. Eight Arm Samaya Tara as shown here is for Twenty-one Taras. This is based on showing Karma Family Tara in multiple aspects. Dhyani Buddha Amoghasiddhi is Haritam, lighter vegetative green, and Samaya Tara on the lower left is Syama or Dark Green. Sambhoga Kaya Tara in the middle is Blue-Green. Descending on the right are Dhanada, Three Eyed White Tara, Mahacinakrama Tara, and Vajra Tara:







    It is non-iconic, there is no scripture that puts Vajra Tara in an Amoghasiddhi retinue. However, such things are usually designed according to a handful of personal practices. Once could say that Karma Family Dhanada teaches most of a mandala, and Vajra Tara finishes it, so there perhaps is a subject or theme here.


    Now, a glimpse at the Paramitas. In Namasangiti, they are just themselves, so it is just Dana Paramita is a deity and that's it, and so on. In other places, some one or thing may stand for them.


    Like Sadhanamala, Dharani Samgraha is "shaped" in that it is relatively meager on some things, and then contains some of its own material not found elsewhere. Sragdhara Tara is part of this, and, also, it has a gigantic Pancha Raksa. In Dharani Samgraha, when you read through it, that perhaps is the climax, Pancha Raksha followed by two of the most powerful dharanis which are at the level of Adi Prajnas, Parasol and Vasudhara, or Kolhapur or Purnagiri or Pulliramalaya Mahalakshmi, in the guise of Mahamaya Vijayavahini. After these, there is only a brief sequence until Vajra Tara, the Paramitas, Twenty-one Taras (which opens by praising Ekajati), Mahakala.

    Because it is uncommon, we will add these Paramita Dharanis at the end here.



    In some cases, we are able to find minor focus on some of the Paramitas. Mantranusarini focuses Ksanti Paramita:

    Patience is the supreme austerity;
    Patience is the supreme nirvāṇa‍—so proclaims the Buddha.


    In some cases, they are shown indirectly. In Sarvadurgati, Offering Goddesses are Eight of the Paramitas. These become the Peaceful counterparts of Wrathful Gauris and Tramen. The tantra itself also has a practice that is the direct application of Paramitas. The same suggested grouping of basic or Arhat Paramitas is in Sarvadurgati Parishodana. The Sarvadurgati tantra text uses the term Monlam which is commonly understood and translated as Pranidhana Paramita. So this is what they mean is conveyed as a seventh Paramita after Consecration of the Chakravartin with Seven Precious Items (it is really the eighth).


    With the Six Families method is that in Abidhanottara (a form of Chakrasamvara tantra), there are six Bhumis in order of Vajrasattva, Buddha, Jewel, Lotus, Vajra, Visva Daka. Then, Acala is a divider to the four magical females such as Lama, Khandaroha, Dharmamegha, and Rupini.



    There is one place Paramitas are transmitted, in a text designated as Bhakti or Sraddha, the
    Prophecy of Sri Mahadevi which is set in Sukhavati with Avalokiteshvara as the querent, and Sri Mahadevi slithers up by his side as if she belonged in the midst of ten million Buddhas:

    Then Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Ārya Avalokiteśvara asked the Bhagavān, “Bhagavān, where did Śrī Mahādevī generate her roots of virtue?”

    The Bhagavān replied, “Śrī Mahādevī [F.247.b] generated roots of virtue in the presence of tathāgatas as numerous as the grains of sand of the River Ganges. O Avalokiteśvara, previously, in the past in a world system called Ratna­saṃbhavā...

    and we can guess why the name of its Buddha is often abbreviated:

    Ratna­ kusuma ­guṇa ­sāgara ­vaiḍūrya ­kanaka ­giri ­suvarṇa ­kāṃcana ­prabhāsa ­śrī

    She is going to convey six Paramitas.

    Śrī Mahādevī generated roots of virtue in his presence and in the presence of many other tathāgatas, too. Now, the names of the tathāgatas make Śrī Mahādevī’s roots of virtue flourish and come to fulfillment. They stay with her always, these names which here in this world Śrī Mahādevī recites precisely and which...will bring the six perfections to fulfilment.

    She will be a Buddha Ratnasambhava in a future Jewel World.

    She then has 108 names renowned as Stainless--Vimala.

    These include Padmasambhava and Daksayani, as well as Prabhasvara and Beloved of Kubera.

    She has a dharani based from Ganga and Savitri and the Four Vedas.



    That is different from the Mahasri Sutra, which has twelve names.

    Buddhist Lakshmi, like Mayuri, mainly shows traffic between Jewel and Karma Families, yet here she is also connected to Lotus and Tathagatagarbha, and it is territorial, so she can take over a house or land.

    Lotus Family has the Messenger Mahasri, which is right from Mahasri Sutra, which is her dharani, distinguished from Golden Light Sutra and Kolhapur Mahalakshmi. It is very short, and very specifically to provide treasure, but requires our work to revert to her Sanskrit names. It looks strange, but, Kriya Tantra is not supposed to talk about a Jewel Family for her to be in.






    Dhanada Krama Tara is shown in prominent gatherings of Paramita-type deities assembled under tantric deities.

    And she, apparently, does mean a "gathering" in the sense of plural treasure(s). The reason for her placement involves a Buddhist definition which would mean six or seven Paramitas. What this does is take the older, Pali Buddhism which lacked any clear Bodhisattva Path, and gives it the Second Turning of the Wheel, as these treasures will mostly become the Paramitas which define the growth of a Bodhisattva.

    Dhanada, as the "giver of Dhana" has these dhanas or treasures:


    The seven qualities of conviction, virtue (see sila), conscience and concern, learning, generosity (see dana), and wisdom. Source: Pali Kanon: Manual of Buddhist Terms and Doctrines.

    'treasures', a term for the following 7 qualities:

    faith,

    morality,

    moral shame,

    moral dread,

    learning,

    liberality and

    wisdom. Cf. A. VII, 5, 6.

    See 'Treasures of the Noble', by Soma Thera (BODHI LEAVES B. 27, BPS).


    From the Pali Sutra:

    The treasure of Saddhā (faith), the treasure of sīla (moral conduct), the treasure of hiri (shame of wrongdoings), the treasure of ottappa (fear of wrongdoings), the treasure of suta (listening), the treasure of cāga (giving/generosity), and the treasure of paññā (wisdom).

    From another glossary:

    Seven noble treasures (七聖財) include (1) faith, (2) wisdom, (3) observing the precepts, (4) hearing teachings, (5) having sense of shame, (6) having sense of dishonor, and (7) abandoning afflictions.

    Seven would match the tantras, since it would be Upaya Paramita, which involves Sadhana, and thereby calming the Afflicted Mind by reversing the winds. In that list it has evicted Dana or Caga.

    These are also the Treasure Tower of Lotus Sutra.


    Fear and shame are perhaps more worldly than transcendent as Paramitas are:

    Together with hiri, these two cetasikas guard the world in the favourable social conditions. These two cetasikas are called lokapala dhamma.

    Those are both inhibitory, like samvara, whereas a Paramita is more of a positive display of something. In Sanskrit:

    The difference between hri (self-respect) and apatrapya (decorum) is that hri means to refrain from unwholesome actions due to one's own conscience, while apatrapya means to refrain from unwholesome actions to avoid being reproached by others.

    Sila and Prajna are Paramitas, Caga is Dana Paramita. So, this is about half of the system of Bodhisattva Perfections from the later Prajnaparamita Sutra.

    There is also "listening or learning", and Sraddha which is faith through the confidence of knowledge.

    One might say that Dhyana Paramita is based in the learning part, and Sraddha really requires Virya or is the mental aspect of energy:

    Śrāddha (श्राद्ध) is a Sanskrit word which literally means ‘anything or any act that is performed with all sincerity and faith (śraddhā)’.


    Past a certain point, one doesn't really need any regulation about the regulation of bad behavior. Those perhaps are subsumed in Ksanti--patience, which also has to deal with the bad behavior of others, as well as inner impulses.






    Sadhanamala Dhanada is "Haritasyamam" which sounds mid-toned. Dhanada's animal vehicle is not mentioned and Newaris portray her on a human. Dhanada is in Sadhanamala and in IWS where she is considered Green Vasudhara, and shown after Manohara Vasudhara, and before a type of Ila Devi:




















    In the primary image of Seven Syllable deity from the 1100s, the lower register is Dhanada, Tarodbhava Kurukulla, Prajnaparamita, Cunda, and (likely) Vasudhara. On this particular subject, one of the oldest artifacts has been kept in high regard as being the best illustration of cemeteries. Maybe so. It is the form used in Vajradaka sadhana.

    Here is an 1100s Nepali thangka showing the Six Yogini retinue around Avalokita Chakrasamvara and the consort Lasya, accompanied by six female retinue figures and surrounded by a palace, mandala circle and extensive cemetery scenes according to the tradition of the Indian siddha Advayavajra as found in the teachings of Mitra Yogin. A description for this deity and retinue can also be found in the edited Bhattacharya version of the Sadhanamala Sanskrit text (see #250) where the tradition is attributed to the Indian siddha Durjayachandra.

    The deity uses Seven Syllables and manifests Seven Jewels of Enlightenment:








    Dhanada, Tarodbhava Kurukulla, Prajnaparamita, Cunda, Vasudhara

    If we were to accept the last one as accurate, would we say the bottom row indicating the deity's vehicles or interaction with the world, are these all outer samaya beings with easy invocative greetings?

    No.

    Dhanada is "difficult".

    The last three have public faces, but are extensive.

    Tarodbhava Kurukulla is related to Golden Drop Lakshmi.

    This painting is the age of the original text of Sadhanamala.

    It matches the highest iteration of retinues we are looking at, Vajraraudris as the Seven Jewels of Enlightenment being the inner ring.


    But beforehand, we are missing things like the Six Yoginis of the Families, a bundle of Paramitas, and the Cemeteries which are all around the thing.

    All the Paramitas are also shown as levels of a Stupa which interestingly adds Ratnaparamita at the top.


    Bhumis and Paramitas are supposed to operate in accordance with Yogacara, which has said the Seventh Bhumi and Upaya Paramita removes Afflicted Mind, and then that working third subtle mind is able to cross the remaining Bhumis:



    Penetration of the Dharmadhatu is with the three subtle minds: first of which (incomparable) opened by the first Five Bhumis, second (unfathomable) by the Seventh, and the third (inconceivable) is in the irreversible bhumis eight and up.

    Incomparable mind: First, joyful through giving (Pramudhita from dana); Second, purity through morality (Vimala from sila), Third, luminous through forbearance (Prabhakari from ksanti), Fourth, radiant through striving (Arcismati from virya), Fifth is mediation through meditation (Sudurjaya from dhyana).

    Unfathomable mind: Sixth is Facing through insight (Abhimukhi through prajna), Seventh is Far-going through great means (Durangama through upaya-kausalya).

    Inconceivable mind: Eighth is Motionless through strength (Acala from bala), Ninth is good-minded through aspiration (Sudhamati from pranidhana), Tenth is cloud of doctrine through wisdom (Dharma-megha from jnana).





    The relation of Peaceful to Wrathful could perhaps be described by the denizens:

    In the Cemeteries, where Yakshas regulate life wind, Naga Kings are cultivation of Paramitas.

    Nagas held the teaching; Avalokiteshvara gave some to humans, Tara gave some to Nagas. The words have been retrieved, but, it is up to the individual practitioner to emulate the process with their mind and body. A naga will either poison or perfect you, depending on how you interact with it. Again, one of the oldest Sutra-based messages was to give love to the Naga kingdom. That may seem a little more normal now than it did originally. But it does take a change in default relationships.



    The Paramitas and/or Prajnaparamita are Sutra-based, but not different from tantra.

    There is an esoteric, or "Vajra Prajnaparamita" who is called Guhyajnana, Kungamo, Lekyi Wangmo, Karma Indranila, Karmeshvari. The primordial transmission is Vajradhara to Vajrasattva, Heruka, Vajradharma, dakini Karmeshvari, to the Vidyadharas. Tantra of the Sun of the Brilliant Expanse was taught by the female buddha Samantabhadri to the dakinis of the five families.

    Kungamo is the wisdom dakini who conferred empowerment upon Guru Rinpoche. She is also known as the dakini Leykyi Wangmo, Nyida Ngodrub or as Guhyajnana, the chief of wisdom dakinis. Wellsprings of the Great Perfection has a chapter with her song of realization.

    Guhyajnana is considered somewhat equivalent to Vajrayogini, whereas Simhamukha (Wrathful Jnanadakini) was her practice that she transmitted.

    Guhyajnana is an arm of Vimala Guru, who is Vajradhara in a Pandita hat.

    According to Atisha's Bodhipathapradipa, a Brahmacari or celibate monk cannot be initiated by Guhyajnana; you have to enter tantrism first.



    Chod is considered based on Wrathful Prajnaparamita:

    Cho (gcod). Literally ‘cutting.’ A system of practices based on Prajnaparamita and set down by the Indian siddha Phadampa Sangye and the Tibetan female teacher Machig Labdron for the purpose of cutting through the four Maras and ego-clinging.

    In Guru Rinpoche's terms:

    Samantabhadra is the foundation of all perception and Samantabhadri is the empty quality within all these
    perceptions. Moreover, while Samantabhadri is called the ground of emanation, her
    emanation is the great mother of dharmakaya, the female buddha Prajnaparamita.
    Vajra Varahi is a sambhogakaya emanation of Prajnaparamita, as are the five female
    buddhas Dhatvishvari, Mamaki, Buddhalochana, Pandaravasini, and Samayatara,
    who are consorts of the five male buddhas. On the nirmanakaya level
    Prajnaparamita’s emanation is Arya Tara.


    However it is Jnanadakini which is in Nyingma and also our Sarma tantras such as Samputa:

    We should not think of her as a kind of lady or a sort of statue.
    Jnanadakini is related with our knowledge, our
    understanding. The instant presence we talk about is
    Jnanadakini. If we are not in that state, Jnanadakini does not
    exist. She is the essence of all Jnanadakinis or wisdom
    dakinis, the union of all three kayas. The dharmakaya aspect
    is Samantabhadri; the sambhogakaya aspect is Guhyajnana
    (Sangwa Yeshe in Tibetan); one nirmanakaya manifestation
    is Gomadevi and another is Mandarava. Her real essence is
    the state of our teacher manifesting in the form of the Wisdom Dakini. This is why we call her Guru Jnanadakini.


    She is almost the same thing as Vajravarahi, but, whereas Varahi is a lineage, Guhyajnana is a spontaneous awareness. She happens to meld into the Jnanadakini transmission very well. However we do not really use the name "Samantabhadri" either.



    This is unidentified except that it comes from the 1700s.

    She is between Cintamani and Ila Devi Vasudhara. Cinnamasta is the topmost deity, and Guhyajnana is on the left in the row under her. Straight down to the lower left is Carcika. The two deities directly under Jnanadakini are Kurmapadi Vairocani and Bharati:










    Different deity systems attach various amounts of Paramitas to themselves, and so while they have tantric explanations that are more than a single word definition, there are also invocations of their personal presences.





    Dharani Samgraha is difficult, but, near the end, it does have a minor Paramitas system.

    This is soon after the phrase:

    prajñāpāramitā nādasvabhāvaḥ

    So, Prajnaparamita is and/or can arise from Nada.

    The Paramitas follow a short Vajra Tara dharani which includes the phrase "sarva dusta". In Sadhanamala, Sarvadusta is in Tara Mahakarunika dharani, is part of Marici Vajradhatvishvari, and is a power in Marici retinues. "All evil" sounds like it would be common, but, it is not. So even this little whisper lets us know the short dharani is in relation to Vajra Tara as we know her, who automatically deploys Ten Paramitas, but now we get the mantras of six.


    The Paramita dharanis are short, and it still tells you "samapta" each time.

    namo ratna trayāya || om amoghapāśa mahādāna pāramitā paripūraye hūm om dala' vidala' vividha vicitra sarvasatvo pabhoga sarvva tathāgata mahādāna pūjāmegha pravaḻīya' gāraye mahāpadma pāṇi hūm phaṭ svāhā || iti dānapāramitā nāmadhāraṇī samāptaṁ || 103 ||

    om namośrī lapāla mitā yai || om amogha śrīlapāramitā sambhara' bhara' mahāśrevda satva padma vibhūṣita bhūṁjārtha samantāvalokite hūm phaṭ svāhā || iti śīla pāra mitā nāma dhāraṇī samāptaṁ || 104 ||

    om namo kṣānti pāra mitāyai om amogha śīla mahā kṣānti pāramitā valokite vala' samcara' mahāvīryya valajñāna mahābodhyakṣa valabodha niya hūm phaṭ svāhā || iti kṣānti pāramitā nāma dhāraṇī samāptaṁ || 105 ||

    om namo vīryya pāramitāyai || om amoghaśīla mahāvīryya pāramitāya kṣādhipati satvakṣamaṇīṣphala' mahāntala mahāmaitrī kārūṇika sarvva satva vatsaramasta karuṇāḥ sarvasatva amanātha hūm phaṭ svāhā || itivīryya pāramitā nāma dhāraṇī samāptaṁ || 106 ||

    om namo dhyāna paramitā yai | om sarvatathāgata amogha mahākaṇika dhyāna pāra mitā samādhi sarvasatva vimokṣa aprakamyakaḥ cura 2 dhurū 2 hūm 2 phaṭ svāhā || ti dhyāna pāramitā nāma dhāraṇī samāptaṁ || 107 ||

    om namo prajñā pāramitāyai || om namo amāghayā śamamahāprajñā pāyaphsaraṇa buddhi mahābuddhi parasara 2 mahāprasara 2 samanta buddhi avalokite cajña ṣo prajñāpāyadarppadaraṇī mahāprajñā yabhadhāraṇī tukṣa 2 mahānuna hūm 2 phaṭ svāhā || itiprajñāpāramitā nāma dhāraṇī samāptaṁ || 108 ||


    Heart mantra of Six Paramitas holder:

    om namo bhagavabhyaiṣadhāra mitāyai || om namo dharmmakāya saṁbhoga kāya nirmmāṇakāya || tadyathā || om dānapāramitā śīlapāramitā kṣāntipāramitā viryyapāramitā dhyānapāramitā prajñāpāramitā sarvvadharmmaśūnyatāca bodhi 2 mahābodhaya hūm hūm hūm phaṭ svāhā || itiṣadadhāra mitā nāma hṛdayadhāraṇī samāptaṁ || 102 ||


    Followed by sevenfold Cunda:

    om namoḥ saptasaptīnāṁtathā gatānāṁ samyakkaṁ buddha koṭī nāṁ || tathayā || om cule cule cunde svāhā || iti cunde bhagavanya dhāraṇī pratidinayaḥ śviddhāra ye vdācayenkikhāpayata || aṣṭotbhara vāraṁjayetaṁ || tasyasarvva pāpaṁrikṣayaṁ yānticatu rvarga phalaṁprāpyateti || āryyacundā nāma dhāraṇī samāptaṁ || 110 ||


    Anyway, you take the heart mantra and learn their names and values. Then you can pick up each individual mantra, which all start with a form of Amogha, or Not Ignorant, unable to fail. Most of them have another stuck inside them. So for example, to do the heart mantra, you just say "Om" one time and repeat:

    dānapāramitā śīlapāramitā kṣāntipāramitā viryyapāramitā dhyānapāramitā prajñāpāramitā sarvvadharmmaśūnyatāca bodhi bodhi mahābodhaya hūm hūm hūm phaṭ svāhā


    You definitely want to self-generate, not deity forms, but the inner states of being. If these are focused, it should open Six Families rather well. The first resembles Vajrasattva, the second, Vairocana, because it is converting to tantra. The Paramitas produce the Grounds, so, i. e. I can practice Prajnaparamita and all six, without really being on the first Ground or Bhumi yet. Training these particular qualities are what all Mahayana does. When you add mantra to it, then it becomes more powerful, and when it becomes animated in a sadhana, more powerful still.

    This works at face value, if I am going to attack the strongest weakness first and I have no patience, then I mantrify Ksanti and meditate on the value of patience. When they are no longer weaknesses, they just keep getting better. The Paramitas remain in place with the two Yoga deities equivalent to Highest Yoga Completion Stage, Vajra Tara, for whom they are ad hoc as if by a magic wand, and Manjushri, who has a larger and more comprehensive version than given here.
    Last edited by shaberon; 26th August 2021 at 07:31.

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    Default Re: Nirakara and Shentong Buddhism, Tara, Sadhanas, Sanskrit culture

    Guhyajnana Dakini, the Inverted Stupa, and Vairocani



    From the Red Jnanadakini in the prior post, one finds the standard form of Guhyajnana Dakini. We have also tried to describe her as an immanent presence, whereas what looks like a similar name, Jnanadakini, is something far different. So if by doing the appropriate sanctifications and so forth and, perhaps to one's surprise, there becomes a dakini presence, without any further knowledge, it is Guhyajnana Dakini. There are a few reasons for saying this.

    First, just by correlating the meanings. Her retinue ring is "mobile". It appears on several of the Highest Yoga Tantra deities, and so it has to do with realities or experiences that lie far inside the practice. And just like it is said, sometimes when you first taste it, you go way deeper in the Mirror Wisdom than what "transferring out of the conceptual level" might seem to tell you, it is also possible that something animate might arise as something more than an "odd phenomenon". Guhyajnana Dakini is the only center for the ring of Four Dakinis outside of the major tantras. So, you might not have to do a whole Chakrasamvara rite in order to manifest her. She could "come through", because this is a form of awareness. Parasol is a Yidam who may easily "come through" *if* you say her mantra, but Guhyajnana might do it even if you were trying something else, because these kinds of deities are awarenesses.

    Secondly, she is the Heart of Avalokiteshvara.

    Thirdly, she is Wangmo, or initiation, in terms of an actual inner experience.

    Fourthly, her sadhana says she has "no need for empowerments and the like".

    You don't need someone to bestow her on you.


    The Vimala Guru as previously mentioned is not a well-known form of Vajradhara, and, it is accompanied by a lesser-known White Guhyajnana who has on what I call her Fancy Pants, which means Sambhoga Kaya:






    The central figure is King Konchog Bang, but, this is explained better on p. 164, which concerns Atisha's disciple Dromton, believed to be an emanation of Avalokiteshvara. And Dromton was said to have been this legendary king in a previous incarnation.

    It does not sound like an Indian name, it is one of those things like "yisyami" that doesn't quite fit the language base. No king's name like this has ever been uncovered.

    Later, H. H. The Great Fifth Dalai Lama was said to be a reincarnation of Dromton. And he has this title because he was really the first person to be called "Dalai Lama", but, there had been four previous abbots at his monastery, who were given the title posthumously.

    Atisha did not have all the Vajrayogini lineages, which remained in Nepal with the Phamting brothers. These were installed into the Gelug school by Pabonkha in the 1800s, who got it from the Sakya.

    And so we cannot really say much about this ancient pre-Dalai Lama incarnation with Guhyajnana Dakini, but we do know that she had been around considerably prior to Atisha (ca. 982-1054).

    Her relationship with Padmasambhava (ca. 750) was rather sudden:

    When he requested empowerments from Anandi, the dakini Guhyajnana manifesting in the form of a Buddhist nun, she transformed him into a Hum syllable and swallowed him. Passing through her body, he received the outer, inner, and secret empowerments in their entirety before emerging from her lotus.



    There was a remark by Lama Yeshe:

    This is the mantra of rik-pa chen-mo, or great wisdom, Vimala Ushnika.

    It takes him a long time because he forgot to give it. There was a lot to say about stupas. Vimalosnisa is a funeral deity. Instead of that, we are going to say something different about stupas.



    Elizabeth English's Vajrayogini text explains that her practice order should be:

    In the first stage, Vairocani ten and thirteen syllable version

    In the second stage, Varnani with retinue:

    Dakini (east) is blue-black, Lama (north) is green, Khandaroha (west) is red, and Rupini (south) is yellow. The iconography of the arms is shown in the delightful red dakini from Khara Khoto (plate 2).

    (Bhaga, Mahasukha Chakra, or Jnana Chakra)

    §11 The four goddesses are presided over by the buddha Ratnasambhava, bearing him as the seal in their crown. Between them, on the intermediate petals, are four skull bowls that contain semen (bodhicittam). In similar texts, other impure substances are mentioned inside the skull bowls, such as menstrual blood, or the five nectars and five lamps (see below), all of which are transformed into an elixir like quicksilver. The bowls themselves are pure white ("like a conch, jasmine, or moon") and may be visualized balancing elegantly on top of ornamental vases.

    Then eight wrathful animal-headed deities of Amoghasiddhi Family are added in the second half of that stage.

    The final part is Thirty-seven point with the Pithas.

    Elizabeth states that it (the Vajrayogini sadhana) really says this format, which heretofor had simply been suggested by the structure of the ritual itself.

    So if we look at Varnani fairly, she has the full Inverted Stupa and a retinue who is able to display "quicksilver", this symbolizes the whole Suksma Yoga. A whole stage is dedicated to her in five-fold form.

    What we have said is that Guhyajnana Dakini is a parallel equivalent to this five-fold form, and that Ziro Bhusana is that Vajrayogini who is "over" the whole five, she is not Amoghasiddhi spawning a ring of Tramen, she is not designated to bundle all the additional material. She, perhaps, releases endless dakinis, but she works with Guhyajnana if there is call for it.


    And so it is more accurate to say that Vairocani only represents about half of the Inverted Stupa, and, some sadhanas are also written that way.

    In total, these deities are the Three Channels:

    In the central portion of this [dharmodaya- triangle] is the syllable hrim, which is described as yellow in color, (v. 3) [Trikayavajrayogini] arises from it and is [also] yellow. She is by nature (svayam) situated in the avadhuti, but in lalana (Varnani) she is very dark, and in rasana (Vairocani) she has a white [color].



    The Inverted Stupa is the way to do a tantric sadhana. It is mentioned frequently by the Pabonkha lineages, but they kind of fly through it and talk about it as a visualization. Actually, it is very important to follow what it is saying, and halfway into this thing is very deep.



    The "glyph"--and I do not really know a proper name for it--begins at the bottom and goes up:


    It begins in Void, or Space Element, and says it implies Mind Element. The "top ornament" is a Nada Bindu consisting of a Crescent Moon, Sun, and Fiery Jewel, as in a regular Stupa. As to why we would invert one, first of all, it is as if that one in the link is given from Completion Stage, because it is the Dharmakaya. When we can quickly and stably enter a Dharmakaya meditation, we have finished what is being discussed now.

    So you can visualize a small fiery shape, or your third eye, or something like that. And this can be seen as its own class, stage, or phase of meditation, because it may be extremely difficult, or it may be like nothing. Again, this is supposed to be a shift from the Sutra-based concept of Voidness, to a "click", where it kicks in as a valid aspect of reality, and you feel something.



    Relaxation is one thing that starts any yoga

    When one is ready to do Pratyahara, from this point in void arises a Yam syllable. And you get what are called "mandalas", but they are just shapes.

    Wind Mandala arises from Yam, from void, or from Bindu-Nada, which is the top ornament of a normal stupa. What the Inverted Stupa is saying is that its Wind symbol, the Crescent, is the legs, i. e. in a lotus or vajraparyanka or similar yogic pose. It has at least two features; one, it is also the shape and force of a Bow. And so, at the most basic level, we are quelling and reversing ordinary habits like walking around and going to the bathroom. When this life-force starts moving towards the center of the body, there are Victory Banners on the horns of the Crescent which begin to flutter. This is the Wind which is then being aimed into the Agni Kunda or Trikona or Triangle.

    That is stated awkwardly on the image, but Yam is Air which has an original association with "Sense of Touch--Entire Surface" of an ordinary worldly being. And so the change that is made in Guhyasamaja is to "Sense of Touch--Space Element". Pratyahara means Withdrawal, Air is the life wind, and so you are letting go of the limbs and senses. One could conceivably spend ages in Pratyahara. And, it is half of Body Mandala, along with Dhyana. Because Muttering is part of Six Limb Yoga, and something like 126 mudras from STTS is not, we could easily imagine a few seed syllables and deities such as Pratisara and Vasudhara would go along better, and this Crescent is approximately equal to the first Two Yogas or Body Mandala.




    They put two comments on the third part, the Red Triangle, which arises from Ram, the fire syllable.

    On the left it could just say "Inner Fire at the Navel". On the right they are talking about the Three Voids of Completion Stage, which again we are unlikely to need very soon, and it is not that at first.

    The glyph itself is the syllable E in Brahmi script, half of E Vam, a Yoni.

    The important thing is the Cups because those are structured like a Homa. Half the Tibetan tantras tell you to make Nectar in one skullcup. Sometimes they say two. It may sound redundant to say those contain meats and nectars; the second means fluids, such as blood. Buddhist symbolic meat is very strange--even that represents a prohibition from killing. They are elephants and horses and so on, and so if you have dog meat, it is really a stuffed suit, it is an animal skin which has been filled with emulsified meat.

    The third skullcup is Varuni (Soma).

    And what you are doing is brewing a potion with all of that in the fourth cup, and attempting to boil that with the heat of Tapas, or inner fire at the navel. The comment on the right mentions transformation into Amrita. And so this represents the eventual high point of outer Yoga, we will try to effect this transformation and subject it to a Taste Offering, which is Rasa, which is also the tantric name for the Moods.

    The inner fire has four or more deity names depending on the tantra, but, if you are using Varuni to get there, the primary outcome is Vairocani. Because this is a tangible result, it makes sense that you do not invoke this deity to make a samaya to her, you would do that when the time is obviously right. That is why we will largely ignore Varnani except for informational purposes.


    It is at that point that prana is really thought of as entering and interacting with the throat center. However this is not represented on the Inverted Stupa. The Circle is the Heart, but it really means a physiological loop made when the boiling process melts the white bodhicitta of the head, and it has dripped down to unlace the heart. That constitutes the Third Joy. Comparatively, we might say some yogas kind of leave you hanging if you manage to get what we call the First Joy. And yet it is possible a person could understand and complete what we just called Rasa and their heat ascends adequately and the moment happens. If so it may take a while to get used to what is going on, but eventually you want the stuff to drip down into your throat. After you can gather it there, then you want to be able to let it drip to the heart. Then you are in the Citta Cakra.

    And so then they run out of things to say about an "implied earth element".

    Well, after the descending Bodhicitta has done some work on the heart, eventually it is going to ooze further down, and you want to collect it in The Vessel, Bharati, which is full of boiling orange liquid. When the Bodhicitta hits it, the mixture will cool and turn to Mercury--Quicksilver. It is this which then ascends like in a thermometer and can exit the Brahmarandra beyond the head.

    That is Suksma Yoga.

    Eventually you can do Transference, which uses this method to move the Awareness Drop out of the heart and into the deity.

    And so the top of our Inverted Stupa merges into the base of the real one, which belongs to the deity. If we have done much with absorbing the Seven Jewels of Enlightenment, we should be in its heart:







    If we read that "from the ground up" in terms of the practitioner, we will go through the Dissolutions, Earth will dissolve into Water, and so on. It does not represent a physical human being, but it does represent the yogic transcendence of the human form.

    The Inverted Stupa is not a physical representation of a human being, it is a Time representation of a yogin.

    Its first three symbols correspond to fairly easy to determine mental and physical states, which, to the practitioner, may mean months, if not years. Yeshe Tsogyal was trained and spent months if not years naked on a snow mountain with no Tapas. Maybe one or two people out of a hundred can go right to it. But this is this Fierce Woman of training; Vairocani originates from Taittirīya Āraṇyaka 10 verse (ascribed with a terminus ad quem of 3rd century BCE), which hails Durgā as follows:

    “tām agnivarṇām tapasā jvalantīm vairocinīm karmaphaleṣu
    juṣṭām, durgāṃ devīṃ śaraṇam ahaṃ prapadye sutarasi tarase namaḥ,”

    which Coburn translates:

    “In her who has the color of Agni, flaming with ascetic power (tapas), the offspring of
    Virocana (vairocani) who delights in the fruits of one’s actions. In the goddess Durgā do I take
    refuge; O one of great speed, (well) do you navigate. Hail (to you)!”

    This verse is duplicated verbatim in Ṛg Vedic Khila, Rātrī Sūkta (4.2.13). (From Mother of Power, Mother of Kings)

    Tattiriya Aranyaka chapter ten is actually Mahanarayana Upanisad.

    This is Durga Suktam.

    According to Kamakoti, the main point of the Aranyaka is what Buddha called an Inner Homa:

    An important highlight of this Script is the „Manasika
    Yagjna‟ which has ready applicability to the present generation; one may not be able to execute Agni
    Karyas or even time for Introspection withstanding the harsh winds of materialism and family
    responsibilities...

    Now, of course, the main reason this point would be swept under the rug is because the Upanishad text as a whole is still based on male Narayana and so it is Vaisnavite. Vairocani only appears in the Vayu and one or two other Puranas, whereas the major Vaisnavite Purana, the Bhagavata, omits her.


    It is not necessarily too sectarian, because, according to Wiki:

    The Upanishad, despite its title which means "Great Narayana", is notable for glorifying both Narayana and Rudra (Shiva), both as the first equivalent embodiment of Brahman, the concept of ultimate, impersonal and transcendental reality in Hinduism.

    If you just look at that page, it unmistakably highlights Tapas.

    According to a discussion, its important practice is Nyasa.

    To Her, Who is of the colour of Fire (Agni Varna) and blazing with Tapas (Tapasa Jwalantim); Who was born of that Fire (of Tapas) (Vairochinim), and Who is worshipped through Fruits of Actions (Karma Phalas) (offered to Her Fire as oblations)


    then she has an identity of Tapas.

    "energy belonging to the Absolute in its various manifestations" actually all comes out of her name according to some.

    Yet another version says "you are born of the fire of tapas (vairocani), the fruits of all actions belong to you".


    It is probably also the first recorded mention of Katyayani (Kanyakumari).

    If Mahanarayana Upanisad makes a hypostasis of Vishnu and Shiva, here is Bhima Devi in Adbhuta Ramayana:

    You are Virupa (i.e., you have unconventional, distorted, terrifying
    and ugly features— see also verse nos. 54, 66 and 76) on the one
    hand, and on the other you are Surupa (i.e., one who is pleasant,
    charming and endearing to look at— see verse no. 39 also). You
    are Bhima (the divine consort of both Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu,
    i.e., Goddess Parvati and Laxmi respectively).

    Vairocani has indicated that the so-called competitive males are...sort of equal...Bhima is the consort of both of them, i. e., is Mahalakshmi.

    Vairocani is sort of the common property of anyone willing to find her, and would only be Buddhist if used with such an intent. I know her, but I thought she was an "it" or a "that", and so it is pretty easy to see why the appropriate meditation would have been more beneficial.


    Before we play the Upanishadic song, here from the end of Dharani Samgraha is a Stotra or song for Vairocani, and then few Jewel or Golden Light deities:


    om namo bhagavatyai āryya śrīvūjavairocanī devyau || davītvameva girijā karmmalā tvameva ṣadamāvatī tvaṁ mamāsitārāṇī devamātā prajñā samūhaḥ balāmṛta pūrṇṇa virajā sahajā svabhāvāḥ | vakratrayāṁta parivārttiyaḥ viśvamātā vidayanprabhāvasvara jñānagamyāḥ tubhyaṁna vajavairocanaṇī devīsvamāyadayadā vichitaṁ siddhidītubhyaṁ namostumamasāva vuṣā girānaḥ || iti śrīvairocaṇī devīstava strotraṁ samāptaṁ || 116 ||


    om namo bhagavate || om namaḥ śrīratnaśikhinaḥ tathāgatasya || om namaḥ śrīsuvarṇṇa puṣṇe jāla raśmi ketu nāma tathāgatasya || om namaḥ śrī mahādīpa rājo nāma tathāgatasya || om namaḥ śrī rucitareketunami bodhisattvasya || om namaḥ śrīsuvarṇaprabhā sottamānāma bodhisattvasya || om namaḥ śrīvarṇagandho nāma bodhisattvasya || om namaḥ śrīsadāprarudito nāma bodhisattvasya || om namaḥ śrīdhamagito nāma bodhisattvasya || purāstimenāśrī akṣobhya nāma tathāgatasya || dakṣiṇe śrīratnaketu nāma tathāgataḥ || paścime śrī amitābhanāma tathāgataḥ || uttare dundurbhisvaro nāma tathāgataḥ || suvarṇaprabhā sottama sūtrendrarāje imāni bodhisattvanāmāni ye dhārayanti te bodhitasattvā nityaṁjāti smaro bhaviṣyanti || iti śrīsuvarṇaprabhāsottame sūtrendrarāje sarvabuddhabodhisattvanāma saṁdhāraṇī samāptaḥ || 121 ||




    This is Durga Suktam from 300 B. C., and, the singer does very well with "h". In our Roman script, "m" is nasalized chanting like in Om, whereas a final "h" is an aspirated echo, and so the syllable Ah really sounds like Ah'a--quite a few of these lines end on "h", you can hear it pretty easily.






    Greenmessage translation:

    जातवेदसे सुनवाम सोममरातीयतो निदहाति वेदः ।
    स नः पर्षदति दुर्गाणि विश्वा नावेव सिन्धुं दुरितात्यग्निः ॥१॥
    Jaatavedase Sunavaama Somam-Araatiiyato Nidahaati Vedah |
    Sa Nah Parssad-Ati Durgaanni Vishvaa Naave[a-I]va Sindhum Durita-Aty[i]-Agnih ||1||

    Meaning:
    (We offer our oblations to the Fire of Durga to cross over this very difficult ocean of worldly existence)
    1.1: To that Jataveda (one from whom the Vedas are born) we press out the Soma (i.e. Invoke Her ardently); (We invoke that Jataveda) Who consumes by Her Fire of Knowledge (Veda) all the Adversities (within and without) (And frees us from the bondage of the world),
    1.2: May that Agni (Fire of Durga) carry us over this Ocean of the World which is full of Great Difficulties and beset with great Perils; like a Boat (carrying one over a very rough Sea),

    तामग्निवर्णां तपसा ज्वलन्तीं वैरोचनीं कर्मफलेषु जुष्टाम् ।
    दुर्गां देवीँशरणमहं प्रपद्ये सुतरसि तरसे नमः ॥२॥
    Taam-Agni-Varnnaam Tapasaa Jvalantiim Vairocaniim Karma-Phalessu Jussttaam |
    Durgaam Devii[ngu]m-Sharannam-Aham Prapadye Su-Tarasi Tarase Namah ||2||

    Meaning:
    (We offer our oblations to the Fire of Durga to cross over this very difficult ocean of worldly existence)
    2.1: To Her, Who is of the colour of Fire (Agni Varna) and blazing with Tapas (Tapasa Jwalantim); Who was born of that Fire (of Tapas) (Vairochinim), and Who is worshipped through Fruits of Actions (Karma Phalas) (offered to Her Fire as oblations),
    2.2: To that Durga, to that Devi, I take Refuge (Sharanam Aham) by falling at Her Feet (Prapadye); (O Mother Durga, I Prostrate before You) Please ferry me mercifully (over this Ocean of the World full of great Difficulties and Perils),

    अग्ने त्वं पारया नव्यो अस्मान् स्वस्तिभिरति दुर्गाणि विश्वा ।
    पूश्च पृथ्वी बहुला न उर्वी भवा तोकाय तनयाय शंयोः ॥३॥
    Agne Tvam Paarayaa Navyo Asmaan Svastibhir-Ati Durgaanni Vishvaa |
    Puush-Ca Prthvii Bahulaa Na Urvii Bhavaa Tokaaya Tanayaaya Shamyoh ||3||

    Meaning:
    (We offer our oblations to the Fire of Durga to cross over this very difficult ocean of worldly existence)
    3.1: O Agni (Fire of Durga), You Who are eulogized (for carrying one across this Samsara); Please ferry us (too), by carrying us (i.e. our Souls) over Your Auspicious Nature, and make us cross this World full of Great Difficulties (Samsara), ...
    3.2: ... (and also spread Your Auspicious Nature over the) Land and Earth, (so that the Earth) becomes abundantly Fertile and Green (and we feel Your presence in external Nature); And fill us, (We who are) Your Children with Your Bliss (so that we feel Your presence internally),

    विश्वानि नो दुर्गहा जातवेदः सिन्धुं न नावा दुरितातिपर्षि ।
    अग्ने अत्रिवन्मनसा गृणानोऽस्माकं बोध्यविता तनूनाम् ॥४॥
    Vishvaani No Durga-Haa Jaatavedah Sindhum Na Naavaa Durita-Ati-Parssi |
    Agne Atrivan-Manasaa Grnnaano-[A]smaakam Bodhy[i]-Avitaa Tanuunaam ||4||

    Meaning:
    (We offer our oblations to the Fire of Durga to cross over this very difficult ocean of worldly existence)
    4.1: O Jataveda (one from whom the Vedas are born), You remove (grave) difficulties in all the Worlds; Please carry us like a Boat in this very difficult Ocean of the World (Samsara),
    4.2: O Agni (Fire of Durga), our Minds are invoking You (ardently) like sage Atri (who continuously chants the mantras), and our beings are (now) filled with Your Consciousness (by continuously invoking You),

    पृतनाजितँसहमानमुग्रमग्निँ हुवेम परमात्सधस्थात् ।
    स नः पर्षदति दुर्गाणि विश्वा क्षामद्देवो अति दुरितात्यग्निः ॥५॥
    Prtanaa-[A]jita[ngu]m-Sahamaanam-Ugram-Agni Huvema Paramaat-Sadhasthaat |
    Sa Nah Parssad-Ati Durgaanni Vishvaa Kssaamad-Devo Ati Durita-Aty[i]-Agnih ||5||

    Meaning:
    (We offer our oblations to the Fire of Durga to cross over this very difficult ocean of worldly existence)
    5.1: (She is) the (Great) Fire Who is Invincible in Battle, and charges ahead in a Terrible manner conquering (the Enemies); We invoke Her together from the Highest Assembly (i.e. ardently invoke Her together with the greatest reverence),
    5.2: May that Agni (Fire of Durga) carry us over this World full of Great Difficulties, by (charging ahead and) Burning to ashes the very difficult Enemies (within us) with Her Divine Fire,

    प्रत्नोषि कमीड्यो अध्वरेषु सनाच्च होता नव्यश्च सत्सि ।
    स्वां चाग्ने तनुवं पिप्रयस्वास्मभ्यं च सौभगमायजस्व ॥६॥
    Pratnossi Kam-Iiddyo Adhvaressu Sanaac-Ca Hotaa Navyash-Ca Satsi |
    Svaam Ca-Agne Tanuvam Piprayasva-Asmabhyam Ca Saubhagam-Aayajasva ||6||

    Meaning:
    (We offer our oblations to the Fire of Durga to cross over this very difficult ocean of worldly existence)
    6.1: You are lauded for spreading Bliss in the Sacrifice since ancient times (The Bliss resulting from killing the inner Enemies); You act as a Hota (Invoker of Bliss) by abiding as a New Maiden (Who is eternally young and free of decay) (in the Sacrificial Altar within the Hearts of the Devotees),
    6.2: Your own Conscious Form, O Agni (Fire of Durga) is a source of Happiness (Bliss) for us, and a source of Welfare for our Sacrifice,


    गोभिर्जुष्टमयुजो निषिक्तं तवेन्द्र विष्णोरनुसंचरेम ।
    नाकस्य पृष्ठमभि संवसानो वैष्णवीं लोक इह मादयन्ताम् ॥७॥
    Gobhir-Jussttam-Ayujo Nissiktam Tave[a-I]ndra Vissnnor-Anusamcarema |
    Naakasya Prssttham-Abhi Samvasaano Vaissnnaviim Loka Iha Maadayantaam ||7||

    Meaning:
    (We offer our oblations to the Fire of Durga to cross over this very difficult ocean of worldly existence)
    7.1: With Senses (i.e. Mind and Heart) Pleased (by Your Blissful Presence) and becoming Unattached (to the external world), we are Infused with Your (Devotion), O the Highest One; May we Follow (i.e. Immerse ourselves in) Your All-Pervading (Blissful Consciousness) ...
    7.2: ... within the Spiritual Sky (Chidakasha), and dwell here in this Vaishnavi Loka (World of Your All-Pervading Consciousness), being Intoxicated (by Your Blissful Nature),

    ॐ कात्यायनाय विद्महे कन्याकुमारि धीमहि
    तन्नो दुर्गिः प्रचोदयात् ॥
    Kaatyaayanaaya Vidmahe Kanyaakumaari Dhiimahi
    Tan-No Durgih Pracodayaat ||

    Durga Gayatri:
    1: Om, (Let our mind contemplate) on Devi Katyayani to know Her (Conscious Form); (And then) Meditate on that Kanyakumari deeply (Who is the Universal Mother),
    2: May that (Fire of) Durga awaken (our Consciousness).

    ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥
    Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih

    Om, (May there be) Peace, Peace, Peace
    Last edited by shaberon; 6th August 2021 at 09:29.

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    Default Re: Nirakara and Shentong Buddhism, Tara, Sadhanas, Sanskrit culture

    Vasudhara and Paramitas




    Vasudhara is a pre-Buddhist deity. She is easy to find these days as "Wealth", but, we are going to go into her Yaksha meaning, and start with whatever she holds is not money and goods.

    She is frequently considered an earth goddess, but, less commonly, she is also the sun. I have even seen some weird research stating she is a white hhole at the beginning of time. Well, there is what we might call the specifically-Earth planet goddess, who is Bhu Devi, Prithvi, or Drdha, who is the well-known witness of Buddha's Enlightenment.

    Vasudhara is more like the whole physical plane.

    If we just look at her name, it will give us back the tantric system. It just means "holder or bearer of vasu". This is similar to "vasini": E. vas to abide or dwell.

    The Vasus are fairly well-known, and we can see this in a few comments from Quora:


    The Vasus are elemental gods, who are described in some accounts as the attendant deities of Indra and later Vishnu, who is also known as Vasubandhu (relation of Vasus).

    Vasubandhu just happens to be the name of one of the main originators of Buddhist Yogacara.

    There is a chart of two versions of their names on Wiki. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasu starts in Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, and then they are re-named in Mahabharata, but the same entities are meant. It says:

    In the Ramayana the Vasu is child of the Aditi and Kashyapa. The Mahabharata relates how the Vasus, led by "Prithu" (presumably here a male form of Prithvi), were enjoying themselves in the forest, when the wife of Prabhasa (also referred as Dyu) spotted an excellent cow and persuaded her husband Prabhasa to steal it, which Prabhasa did with the agreement and aid of Prithu and his other brothers. Unfortunately for the Vasus, the cow was owned by the sage Vashishta who learned through his ascetic powers that the Vasus had stolen it and immediately cursed them to be born on earth as mortals. Vashishta responded to pleading by the Vasus by promising that seven of them would be free of earthly life within a year of being born and that only Prabhasa would pay the full penalty.



    Vashishta is the sage who discovered Buddha's "illicit" Mahacina practice. The Five Cows or Gomata are also the Senses, with the "excellent" Prsni or Kamadenhu being Cintamani or "Wish-granting". Prabhasa "is" Sky--Akash, but means luminous.

    What is being skipped is that, much earlier, in the cosmic plane, the Pleiades had deceived Agni to become their mate, from which "Maya seeds" were produced, which descended to the astral plane or River Ganges. That is who the Vasus "choose for their mother" and incarnate the maya seeds. Svaha gives Six Agni Seeds to Ganga.

    As seven children were born, one after the other, Ganga drowned them in her own waters, freeing them from their punishment and the king made no opposition. Only when the eighth was born did the king finally oppose his wife, who therefore left him. So the eighth son, Prabhasa incarnated, remained alive, imprisoned in mortal form, and later became known in his mortal incarnation as Bhishma.

    The real name of Pitamah Bhishma was Devavrata (in duapar yug). He was the grandfather of both the Pandavas and Kauravas and participated in the Mahabharata war.


    The Vasus are the Five Elements, where Sky, Dyaus, or Akasa = Prabhasa or Radiance, which is Bhisma. For the time being, let us say he must be pretty powerful, and is kept under wraps by Gandhari.

    There is also, Sun, Moon, and "Stars"--Naksatra or Dhruva, which, with us, is a synonym of Dharmakaya. We would not usually think of these as elements, except there are really seven, and these symbols are less astronomical, but rather match the Three Voids, and Sun and Moon appear over many deities, with the third being more abstract. And so our Grounds of transformation for that is the Three Channels.


    Allright. Vasudhara helps combine what anyone may learn fairly easily as Five Elements, to another three things which are a bit more profound, more subtle and intricate. They are not really forms, it is more as if they are inside the mirror, that is to say it is Mirror Wisdom which dawns and reveals to you itself and others. In our practice it is defined as gnostic. You have to have Vajrasattva Samaya in order to get there.

    Concordantly, Vasudhara is one of the three Adi Prajnas in Nepal, a special league above the normal wheels of five or six families. That seems to have followed the general pattern that: a person starts with the Three Jewels as the Three Families of Kriya, there is an expansion to more families, and you do some operations and fuse them back into a trinity. These Adi Prajnas are fusions of multiple families. Parasol is a purely Buddhist deity, that is, a direct mental emanation from Buddha himself. Vasudhara is more like Prakriti. Guhyeshvari is more like Nairatma, is not something you can directly pick up and start using like those two, derives from an initiatory experience. More specifically, she is Mamaki.


    Vasudhara, besides "Wealth", is also frequently summarized as "Buddhist Lakshmi".

    In this context, it is accepted that Sita Videha was an incarnation of Vasudhara.

    I did not know much about Sita; her syllable is Sim, which is a peace or shanti syllable, and she is often white, and her name means "white", so you figure that's that. But what is more telling is that "white" means "purity", which is her character, and, one of her important scenes is a Trial by Fire. Her integrity is doubted, so, she is put to one of those medieval tortures of walking through flames. She is unaffected in any discomforting way, and becomes Luminus Gold.

    That is Earth swept by Fire.

    In the Aranyakas, Earth and Fire are the real pranic speech required to chant or use mantras effectively. The Earth "is" the speech, and, the Fire or Agni is the illumination of mind flowing through it.

    In the Buddhist subtle body, that is our Nirmana Cakra or first chakra. Because this derives from a harmonious field of mantric emanations, which is Sarasvati, this is why it sometimes looks like Sarasvati is the same thing as Lakshmi. She is not, but, is part and parcel of getting her to work, so, she is often included in the same texts.



    Vasudhara is not a deity who is very abundant in the mandalas of others.

    In Sadhanamala, one of the normal Khasarpana attendants is Arya Tara; nothing much is said of her form, except that she holds an utpala. However, in Khasarpana 15, she is:

    tārā kanakaśyāmavarṇā

    Tara of dark gold color.

    In Khasarpana 16, she is spontaneously replaced by Arya Vasudhara, everyone else being the same.


    Vasudhara 213 with a retinue is Akshobhya Dharinim, whereas 215 that uses her Nidhana mantra is crowned by Ratnasambhava. That just says that 213 "bears Akshobhya", not "bears Akshobhya on the crown" as Bhattacharya says. It may imply it, but it doesn't say it.

    214 has her own mudra, and in 216, she holds her own personal book, rather than that of Prajnaparamita.

    These are all the simple Ila Devi form, the first one being for the mandala, the last ones pertaining to her Dharani.

    Her personal Dharani is from her personal book, and, then she is also first of the Dharani goddesses of Namasangiti. Here he misspelled her name:

    "Sumati pita dhanyamanjaridhara". NSP, p. 57

    The right holds the common symbol, the Visvavajra.

    It should be:

    1a) Vasumatī (वसुमती).—(River) a river of the Bhadrā country.*

    1b) A daughter of the Vāleya Gandharvas; originator of Vasumati Suta gaṇa.*

    * Vāyu-purāṇa 69. 21.

    1c) Earth.*

    * Vāyu-purāṇa 97. 16.

    Vasumatī (वसुमती) is another name of Rājagaha, the ancient name for Rajgir.

    Vasumati (वसुमति).—name of the mother of the Buddha Viraja (2): °tiḥ, n. sg., Laṅkāvatāra-sūtra 364.13 (verse).


    It is the same dharani(s) either way, the only difference in Namasangiti being that her right hand holds a Crossed Vajra, whereas otherwise she is generally similar to Tara:







    Vasudhara's mandala is made up of reflections of herself, Vasumati being among these. This aspect is more specifically Earth, whereas you could probably say, Vasudhara is not, just, earth.

    Sadhanamala is relatively brief on her.


    She is in Siddhaikavira Tantra, and in her own sources, and also in Dharani Samgraha.

    I found her dharani because I was looking for something else, which is stuck to her in a unique manner. Another thing that is stuck to her is "Ramya", which generally only otherwise appears in unrelated combinations. One example is that another form of Lakshmi, Mahamaya Vijayavahini, includes:

    vasudhārāṁyāti bhavāna |

    We will study that soon because someone translated it, since it has things that would retroflexively be considered a bit exciting in Hinduism. But that means she helps cultivate Vasudhara.

    Vasudhara helps cultivate Ramya, which we have found strewn across the beginning of Dakini Jala and a few things based from it.

    This dharani is in a limited category called "Buddha Speech":

    buddhabhāṣitaṁ samāptam

    Without going into the whole thing, just to grab its salient features, the first thing is that she does have something to do with the Paramitas:

    dharaṇī dhāraṇī dhātrī taraṇyā bhaktiṣambharā | prajāpāramitā devī prajā śrībuddivarddhaṇī ||


    "Sambhara" is a "requisite", of which there are two kinds, Punya--Merit, and Jnana. This has said something like dharani is required for Bhakti--Devotion to Prajnaparamita.

    She is already aware that Prajnavardhani is a fusion with Sarasvati, because the next thing out of her mouth is:


    vidyādharī śivā śuṣkāśānta savatra mābhṛkā | taruṇī tāruṇī devī vidyādāne sarasvatī ||


    Whereas the Pancha Raksa are Raudra Krama or a "fierce method", hers is "terrifying, the ultimate ugly of the ugly":

    bhīmā ugrāugraprarākramā ||


    Nevertheless, she is going to dive into the first Paramita, Generosity, with her Nidhana--Hidden Treasure:

    dāna pāramitādevī varṣaṇī divya rupiṇī | nidhāna sarva māṁṅgalya kīrtilakṣmī yaśaḥ śubha ||


    Well, she is a Bodhisattva. She has to be interested in giving it away. And, it is followed by "Sarva Mangalam", which is a Buddhist version of the Masonic "So mote it be!", except it says good fortune to all. I use it. And this was spoken by Lakshmi here.

    She has the only Tapasi in the book; here is where it falls:


    dahanī māraṇī caṇḍī śravarī sarva māgṛkā | kṛtāntatrāsinībhīmokomārī viśvarupinī | vīryapāramitādevī jagadānandalocanī | tāpasī ugratārācaṛddhi prarapradā ||


    Oh. In her case, it is a property of Ugra Tara. "Ca" is just an article, and Prada is giving, in this case, evidently continuously, by Ugra Tara. And then this Tapas energy makes Virya or Energy Perfection Paramita. We could have randomly guessed, but, that clears things up. It happens to have gone through a universal or Visva Rupini form which at times is Candi, or, it is Marani, "striking or beating" or, while there might be different Candis in every village in India, this is much more specific:

    Māraṇī (मारणी) is the name of a deity to be contemplated upon by a practitioner purifying his correspondences (viśuddhi), according to the 12th-century Abhisamayamañjarī. Māraṇī is alternatively known by the name Māmakī one of the traditional consorts of the Buddha and a mother of the yogatantra system. The contemplation is prescribed as a preliminary ritual for a yogin wishing to establish, or reestablish the union with a deity.

    Māraṇī is associated with the element water and the color black. She is to be visualised as assuming a kāpālika form, naked with loose hair and holding tantric attributes in their four arms.


    Māraṇī (मारणी) is the name of a deity associated with the Bhūta (element) named Ap, according to the 9th century Vajraḍākatantra chapter 1.16-22.


    The dharani has not properly quoted a retinue from anywhere; the first name is not even a name:

    Dāhani (दाहनि).—(?) , must mean burning, as adj. or n. act.; so both edd., no v.l.: tuṣādy-aṅgāra-dāhani-kumbha- sādhana-pakvaśilāpacanāgnijalapraveśana- Lalitavistara 249.11 (prose).


    Angara is Heat which is the esoteric name of Mars, which with Dahani is affecting a Kumbha or initiation flask, which of course is fairly similar to getting Ghasmari to hold an Agni Kunda or Fire Pot and attempt to make Nectar with us.

    Pacanāgni (पचनाग्नि):—[from pacana > pac] m. a fire for boiling



    The cluster singles out the Buddhist entity Mamaki, having Ugra Tara as a type of underling or emissary into peoples' yoga practices.

    After struggling with Mahacinakrama Tara 101, we reached the conclusion that Ugra Tara was striking and beating. That is the only place that an apparently common name such as Ugra Tara is in Sadhanamala. In Dharani Samgraha, Ugra Tara has a couple of stand-alone pieces, but, she is internal to Vasudhara here. The phrase "mahacina" is only used one time in the Samgraha, and it is given to someone else:

    mahācīnasyaviṣaye maṁjuśrīḥ


    Asya and visaya both have potential meanings of "place, region, district"--I am not sure what it says there, but, he is not a Krama, which is a "method or teaching of", which is why we usually spell out Mahacinakrama with Tara

    .

    Next, Vasudhara seems to say the Paramita of Patience begets Dhyana:

    kṣānti pāramitādevī śilīnī dhyāna dhāyinī | padmanī padmadhārīca padmosana sūkhāsinī ||




    Ja is the "birth syllable", followed by Hemavarnaprabhakari, Golden Light:


    jāhemavarṇaprabhākarī | cintāmaṇi dharā devī prajāpuṣṭaka dhāraṇī ||


    having a Cintamani in one hand, and a Prajnaparamita text in the other.

    She is something like a Ratnadhatvishvari Ishvari, with an Ajna stuck in the middle:

    mātarī sarva būddhānāṁ ratnadhajñātveśvareśvarī |


    Here, she spits out some Buddhist-ese related to the underworlds (Sapta Patala):

    bhindinī sarvamorāṭhāṁ saptapātalakṣobhiṇī ||

    Akṣobhiṇī (अक्षोभिणी).—(= Pali akkhohiṇī), a high number: Lalitavistara 151.4 (verse).

    It has nothing to do with Akshobhya, and no other definitions, is not "really" Sanskrit, if it can only be found in Buddhist books where it has a recognized meaning. Although Hindu Ugra Tara is a carbon copy of ours, down to the distinctive "crowned by Akshobhya", they fixed the grammar and spelling problems.


    She is the Mother of the Vedas, and the Four Immeasurables give Sarasvati Fierce Eyes:

    drāhyāṇī vedamātā ca guhyātaguhyanivāsini | sarasvatī viśālākṣī caturbrahmavihāriṇī ||

    Vedamātar (वेदमातर्):—f. die Mutter des Veda, Bez. der Sarasvatī, Sāvitrī und Gāyatrī [Taittirīyāraṇyaka 10, 36]


    She is a very good Ramya, in fact she is a Buddha along those lines:

    tathāgati mahāramya vajīṇī vajadhāriṇī | karmadhātveśvarī vidyāviśvajvālābhamaṇḍalī ||


    Karmadhatvishvari sounds like she is spawning Karma Family, which makes favorable sense related to Ramya.


    She soon brings in the Bodhyanga or Jewels of Enlightenment:

    bodhīnī sarvasatvānāṁ bodhyaṁgakṛtaśeṣanī | dhānyādimūkta | saṁpanno advayādvayabhāṣiṇī ||


    She is of great peace and has Tri Rupa, which is probably the Tri-kaya, and is the Ishvari of the occult powers of Yogini tantra:

    vāgīśvarī mahāśānti goptitrīdhanaddā | ntrīrupadhāriṇī siddhā yogīnīyoga īśvarī |


    Then she is either committing blasphemy, or installing transcendental reality as a living presence, or maybe both:

    caturādya satyadeva ṛddhisiddhīpradāyinī |


    Here is something that it is said Buddha refuted, almost the same as Atma, it is the Sat or "Real Existence" of the trinity Sat--Chit--Ananda. It seems to me that he refuted "words about" this stuff, and was only interested in someone discovering the state. In Hinduism, Sat or Satya refers to:

    1 The abode of Brahman and of truth, the uppermost of the seven worlds or lokas above the earth

    And in Buddhism:

    Satya (सत्य) or Dvisatya refers to the “two truths” as defined in the Dharma-saṃgraha (section 95):

    saṃvṛti-satya (conventional truth),
    paramārtha-satya (ultimate truth).


    From the Nirakara view, the Cittamatra teaching that mind always has an Image, or that it always changes from moment to moment, limits one to Samvrtti Satya.

    Buddhism has billions if not everlasting words about Paramartha, as in the knowledge and practice of the best way of using it, but almost nothing about it, except Srimala Devi on Buddha Nature. Or the Formless Dhyanas. I don't even like to mention it on my own, and just refer to the fact it is in the teachings.

    We talk about going to the state, but the main thing to say about it is silence.

    The underlying structure of its body is not Buddhist, fairly commonly known as the Fourth State:

    Garuda puranam

    The state called the Turiya (lit, beyond the three states of existence) and in which the self-controlled individual is neither awake nor asleep, neither utterly forgetful nor laboring under delusion, and does not perceive the objects of the senses, occurs when the individualised self, by withdrawing the mind with the cognitive organs from the objects of perception, by merging the sense of egoism in the principle of intellection, by annihilating intellection with the principle of Nature (Prakriti), and by annihilating Prakriti with the energy of the psychic force (Chit Shakti), holds its self within its own self, the self-illuminant, the pure knowledge, the immortal purity, the eternal bliss without action, and running through all. This is what is called to be in the Turiya state.

    The psychological state of deep dreamless sleep (turīya) resembles to a degree the absolute quiescence of the Universe after dissolution (pralaya) when all existences return to the state of the Great Night (Mahārātri).


    What is being given is, rather, a Buddhist method of harnessing natural forces which are accessible by yogic means. The yogic method that is discernably different in any of our schools is Generation and Completion stage.

    With Vasudhara, this ability becomes the source of:


    Ṛddhi (ऋद्धि) or Ṛddhyabhijñā refers to “magical powers” and represents one of the five superknowledges (pañcābhijñā) according to the 2nd century Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra chapter X. It includes the four kinds of gamana or movement, nirmāṇa or creation and āryaṛddhi or noble magical power. Pañcābhijña represents one of the qualities possessed by the Bodhisattvas that accompanied the Buddha.

    The five abhijñās are:

    magical power (ṛddhi),
    the divine eye (divyacakṣus),
    the divine ear (divyaśrotra),
    knowledge of others’ minds (paracittajñāna);
    memory of former lifetimes (pūrvanivāsānusmṛti).

    Rddhi Vasita or "Mastery" is equal to the Fifth Bhumi and the Fifth Paramita, Dhyana. So, if we barely know what Dhyana is by scratching its surface, that is the full-blown version. This may take some time.

    A person who is on the Fifth Bhumi is in a pure fantasy of a worldly being. And that sounds like the fullness of the Second Yoga only.

    This Rddhi is really a Shakti who helps explain the Puranic hypostasis we are actually using:



    Ṛddhi (ऋद्धि, “prosperity”):—Name of the younger of two wifes of Varuṇa, who is the presiding deity of the invisible world and represents the inner reality of things.

    Varuṇa (वरुण, “mysterious, hidden”):—In Vedic hinduism, he is the regent of the western direction and personifies the mysterious law of the Gods. He presides over he relationship of humans with the Gods. He is the presiding deity of the invisible world and represents the inner reality of things, higher truth, and order in their transcendent aspects, beyond understanding. He is also the lord of the causal waters that surround the world.

    He lives in the most beautiful world called Vibhāvarī. As the King and justice-giver, Varuṇa’s duty is to punish the guilty. He has two wifes (Ṛddhi and Vāruṇī) and has three sons and one daughter:

    Puṣkara,
    Bāla,
    Surā
    and Adharma

    Surā (सुरा) and Soma (सोम): These were the principal drinks of the Ṛgvedic Aryans.

    3a) Surā (सुरा).—Is Stutā; mother of Kali; as Vāruṇi devī.*

    * Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa III. 59. 9; IV. 9. 65.

    Sura (सुर) refers to an epithet of the Devas, appointed to them after they accepted Surā (Goddess Vāruṇī), according to the Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa 4.9.66-69. Accordingly, “when the ocean of Milk was once again churned by the Devas and Dānavas, goddess Vāruṇī with tremulous eyes on account of inebriety, rose up even as the Siddhas in the firmament began to think—‘What is this’? She smilingly stood in front of the Asuras. The Daityas did not accept her. Therefore, they became Asuras. They were given the appellation Asura in the sense ‘Those who do not have Surā (liquor)’ Thereupon, she stood in front of Devas. On the direction given by Parameṣṭhin (Brahmā) Devas joyously accepted her. In view of the fact that they accepted Surā, they became glorified by the appellation Sura”.

    Daityas are the offspring of Diti. Kaśyapa’s sons by Aditi became Devas (Āditeyas) and his sons by Diti became Asuras (Daityas). One of Diti's would-be offspring is sliced into seven by seven pieces, which become the Marut Gana or circle of lifewinds of a human being. Aditi is Formless Unbounded Space, whereas Diti is Bounded Space or Form and so, i. e. a necessary vehicle to contain the Maruts. I think this is one of the only ways to begin to understand the Puranas. This is before Varaha, Vishnu's Boar incarnation, which represents the formation of Earth's crust, his Shakti being Varahi, which is why she is earthy to begin with.

    Kasyapa is the Bed of Life, Tortoise, or progenitor of all the bodies in the kingdoms of nature.

    And so this is extremely archaic, because it is talking about Mind giving off lifewaves in space according to design and evolution, from an abstract akashic condition through the formation of the solar system.


    Sura (Brandy) is generally equivalent to Varuni, daughter of Varuni.

    And from this, it appears that Sila will be perfected:

    atharā śīlasaṁpannaḥ sajāti smaraṇo bhavet ||


    Like Paramartha, the sadhanas are going to fall about dead silent on Varuna.

    With orthodox Hinduism, he is in the Conch Water used at the beginning of rituals.

    In Buddhist tantra, he gets evicted. We don't have "holy water". We have a Sacred Flask called Alcohol, which, even when this is done in an ordinary physical ritual by priests, it is fake, usually black tea. It only becomes effective at the time Varuni is invoked into it. And so for the purposes of Yoga, you could use tea, a protein shake, your idea of an entheogen Soma, or nothing but a mental one.

    In order to pursue that, there has to be Vasudhara first.


    Some of her resources include:

    GRETIL Vasudhara Dharani Sutra, and a translation. Here, along with Nidhi Khanda Sutra, saying that in Pali, she is just called Nidhi.

    Vasudhara Dharani may be easier to read on DSBC. Vasudhara Nama Dharani Stotram is the same as we just got from the Samgraha.

    Nidhi Khanda Sutta with translation. It is one of the suttas of the Khuddakapatha (Khp.p.7). A man buries treasure that he may use it later, but very often he loses it; not so is the treasure laid up by the doing of good deeds. Frequently used during Vassa in Ceylon; also as a mention of Nibbana or Nirvana in Pali.

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    Default Re: Nirakara and Shentong Buddhism, Tara, Sadhanas, Sanskrit culture

    Vasudhara, Apri Hymn, and Hevajra



    Vasudhara has an antiquity from at least the time of the first Historical Buddha:

    In Swayambhu Purana, Vispasi went to Mount Phullocca and observed the light of the Swayambhu. Vasudhara dwelt on Mount Phullocca and made rivers flow. Then Manjushri came and split open the lake at Kathmandu with his Chandrahasa sword (30,000 years ago according to geologists). He was initiated by Guhyeshvari in her worshippable form, Eighteen Arm Saffron Khaganana. Krakucchanda was after him.




    In a full Homa, Vasudhara's role is Holder of the Vase or Flask, sometimes in Orange, Reddish-Brown, or Black, which is both evolved from her preliminary invocative form, and the key component for success.


    So, she really has several names and forms in sadhanas. It has been said she does the familiar pattern of arising in two, four, and six arm forms. But there is not a four arm form that resembles her basic one. Four Arm Dhanada is Vasudhara, but is Green. The closest thing would be Prajnaparamita.

    A sub-name of herself is Vasumati, which is in Lankavatara Sutra after the explanation of Buddhahood being attained in Akanistha (neither Kama Loka nor Formless Realm), wherein Buddha says:

    798. My mother is Vasumati, my father is the wise Prajāpati; I belong to the Kātyāyana family, and my name is Viraja the Victor.



    Vasumati appears with the main basic Vasudhara form, Ila Devi.

    Ila is the consort of Budha--Mercury. Tara abandoned Jupiter as a symbol of rebellion against rote memorization, routine, superstition, mentality of a Tirtha and so forth, things that leash a disciple to the lowest tantras. She enjoyed the Moon--Soma instead, and their somewhat androgynous child was Budha--Mercury. The Lunar Dynasty is the offspring of Ila and Budha, also known as the Ailas ("descendants of Ilā").

    Om Illayah Namah

    Ila is somewhat androgynous as well, and we do not much deal with a male earth deva, although this androgyny is behind Mahamaya Tantra.

    Vasudhara is a Yakshi, and she will present other forms which are not all that dramatic, but, if we follow the structure of Yoga, it is going to pan out with her as the supreme central figure, which, if we did Highest Yoga, would enter Union.



    Red Vasudhara mating with Jambhala comes from the Jnanadakini and Virupa Chakrasamvara lineage.


    This Red or Pink Cup Vasudhara becomes Jambhala's consort Sukha Bharati. The explanation for this is Vedic:

    "Bharati is also called Mahi, the Large, Great or Vast. The three, Ila, Mahi or Bharati and Saraswati are associated together in a constant formula in those hymns of invocation in which the gods are called by Agni to the Sacrifice.

    Iḷā sarasvatī mahī, tisro devīr mayobhuvaḥ; barhiḥ sīdantvasridhaḥ.

    “May Ila, Saraswati and Mahi, three goddesses who give birth to the bliss, take their place on the sacrificial seat, they who stumble not...”

    ...The formula is expanded in Hymn 110 of the tenth Mandala of Rg Veda:

    ā no yajñaṁ bhāratī tῡyam etu, iḷā manuṣvad iha cet ayantī; tisro devīr barhir edaṁ syonaṁ, sarasvatī svapasaḥ sadantu.


    Among the Vedic traditions is a class of hymn called an Apri Sukta. Ultimately the hymn addresses the Lord of the Forest, Majestic Tree, or Lord of Trees, Vanaspati. The hymns end with Svaha. Agni is at the beginning, then a few others, the Doors Dvarah and Durah (increasers of Rta), Night and Dawn (naktosasa, usasanakta, usasa; Mothers of Rta), two Divine Hotras--daivya hotara--who remain unknown, then Ila--Sarasvati--Bharati, then Tvastir (Architect) and Vanaspati and Indra.

    Hymn X.110 would generally be understood as Parasu Rama's lineage. Barhish is usually Kusha grass as Buddha also used for a mat during enlightenment. Tanunapat "Son of thyself" is a title of Agni referring to different methods of fire manifestation. In one version, "Ida instructs us (causes us to perceive) as she did Manu", and the goddesses rest on same Kusha grass. So if we did this in a Buddhist way, it's not an animal sacrifice unless of our own animal nature, and we take it for inner meaning. We could make some other kind of offering. One could compare all tenkinds of Apri hymns for one the most Astrologically sympathetic. It is all the same framework of the ancient Fire Philosophy invocation of White Sarasvati with Red and Yellow Vasudhara.

    Ila is food, a milch cow, mother of a herd, dripping with clarified butter. The devas made her the teacher of man. Agni is at her feet or is her son. His third birth place is in the waters apsu, he dwells in secret, gives three times seven secret names, reveals treasures to those who serve Rta. Ila shows the way.

    The goddess iḍā- or iḷā- is daughter of manu- or of man thinking on and worshipping the gods; she is the wife of budha- and mother of purū-ravas- (Lunar Dynasty);in another aspect she is called maitrāvaruṇi- as daughter of mitra-- varuṇa-, two gods who were objects of the highest and most spiritual devotion. According to Aurobindo, "She also is connected with Surya, the Sun, as when Agni, the Will, is invoked to labour by the rays of the Sun, Lord of the true Light, being of one mind with Ila, iḷayā sajoṣā yatamāno raśmibhiḥ sūryasya. She is the mother of the Rays, the herds of the Sun. Her name means she who seeks and attains and it contains the same association of ideas as the words ŗtam and Rishi. Ila is the vision of the seer which attains the truth."

    "manuṣvad iha cetayantī" is one of her most common phrases, the last term referring to sentience and animation. "May Ila, Saraswati and Mahi, three goddesses who give birth to the bliss, take their place on the sacrificial seat, they who stumble not", in whom there is no false movement with its evil consequences, duritam, no stumbling into pitfalls of sin and error. Saraswati is the Word, the inspiration that comes from the ŗtam, the Truth-Consciousness. Bharati and Ila are different forms of the same Word or knowledge, in Aurobindo's understanding. He gets it as Bliss, by which we would mean Sambhogakaya.

    Bharati is drink, sometimes called Hotra Bharati. She is the vastness of luminosity. According to Aurobindo, this relates to Brihad and Brihaspati--Jupiter., and she is "for the sacrificer, a branch covered with ripe fruit". She is also described as varūtrī dhiṣaṇā, a widely covering or embracing Thought-power. So, he has just vividly described Cintamani, even to the seed syllable. She indicates the universal well, and so we can see the purpose of the meditation if starting with that basic Yellow form and then separating her into Ila and Bharati, and so on from there.


    Sarasvati can even be mimicking and buffoonery. All three are understood as communication between mortal and divine according to Yajur Veda:

    adityair no bharati vastu yajnam
    sarasvati saha rudrair na avit
    idopahuta vasubhih sajosa
    yajnam no devir amrtesu dhatta

    May Bharati with the Adityas love our sacrifice
    Sarasvati with the Rudras [Maruts] (helps us?)
    Ida invoked with vasus in union
    Our sacrifice, oh goddesses, place with the immortals.


    These three goddesses are consistently found in the eighth verse of all ten gotra lineages of Apri Hymns.

    Those Hymns all start with a particular sage's perception of pure consciousness of Agni and all are similar. Arrangement of the Rig Veda shows organization where the Bhrigu-Angiras lines are separated. The hymns vary by whether they invoke Tanunapat or Narasamsa or both. It is the very last section around the last Apri which refers heavily to such things as Pitris, Mrtyu, seven ancient Rishis, Angiras, and others, giving it a distinct atmosphere, referring to X.85 and forward. The first main group of Sages centers on Atreya, referring to the Moon as the parent of Budha-Mercury, Atri is the source of Soma-Moon. The candelabra style balance of gotras:

    Bhrigu--Gritsamada
    Viswamitra
    Angiras--Gautama
    Atri
    Angiras--Bharadvaja
    Vasishtha
    Pragata





    Gavesanam, On the Track of the Cow, explains Ida. Physically it is a food offering with milk, curds, etc. offered to the priest with:

    surupavarsavarna ehi

    you of fair rain color, come here (every shade of krsna)

    ida ehy adita ehi sarasvaty ehi rantir asi ramatir asi sunary asi

    Come Ila, Aditi, Sarasvati, you are delight, delighting, and fair


    Saptadevagavi, or Seven Names of the Cow. This is part of idopahvana or invocation of Ila, starting low and building up:

    bhuyasy ehi, sreyasy ehi, vasiyasy ehi, citta ehi, dadhisa ehi, 'da ehi, sunrta'ehi ti

    Come greater one, better one, richer one, desired one, thoughtful one, Ila, truthful one (or Ida with Six Cows)


    Saptamanusagavi is spoken by attendants when the voice is raised:

    cid asi mana'si dhir asi ranti ramatih sunuh sunari'ti


    Citta, manas, and dhih are involved with Ranti, Ramatih, Sunuh, Sunari (daughter of Manu)

    devir devair abhi ma nivartadhvam / syonah syonena ghrtena ma sumaksata / na ma idam upa / dambhisak rsir brahma yad dade / samudrad udacann iva sruca / vag agre viprasya tisthati srngebhir dasabhir disan

    Return to me with the gods, o goddesses / sprinkle me thoroughly with the lovely sweet ghee, o lovely sweet ones / this shall not harm me, what the rsi, the Brahman, has given / scooping as though with a ladle out of the ocean / Speech stands before the ecstatic poet, pointing with ten horns.

    While this is going on, one meditates that Vayu is the calf of Ila.

    vayava ida te mata

    Holding the idapatra or offering to the mouth:

    ido'pahuta / upahute'da / upo asmam ida hvayatam (repeatedly)

    The ida is called, called is the ida, and may the ida call us

    another says:

    matre' vatsam upavasrjati

    He lets the calf go to the mother

    Ila is the rain and the milk above Bharati and Sarasvati, who flow on her stream, the last being visible and five-fold, or completing seven rays; when the milk becomes luminous and multicolored, that cow is Prsni.


    That is a "section". In a Buddhist Homa, it is common to quickly ask Earth goddess for permission first, and the Apri Hymn is a bigger version of that. And so we probably should, if we are using one of its deities as basically the Grail quest.

    Ila Devi is the simple form of Six Arm Vasudhara who is a Stupa goddess.

    She is the first Namasangiti Dharani, or, she is the dharani for Sunday.





    In Sadhanamala, Vasudhara's mandala is a four-goddess version of the following. They all have similar names and mostly arise from Vam syllable.


    Vasudhara Yantra - auspicious for the acquisition and accumulation of wealth.

    The central Vasudhara has one face and two hands with the right in a gesture of generosity holding a jewel and the left at the waist holding a stalk of grain. At the heart, written in a circle of Tibetan letters is the shortest mantra of Vasudhara - om va su dha ri ni sva ha. The right leg is pendant with the foot resting on a wealth vase and bowl of jewels. The left leg is drawn up in a relaxed posture; seated in the center of an eight petaled lotus. Surrounding that, on the eight circling petals are eight forms of Vasudhara all identical in appearance except for the mantra in the heart which is different for each:







    Vasudhara will also bring in Srim syllable, the Lunar one, related to Sri. In Ayurveda, It is much like milk in nature, and in qualities very sedating and sleep-promoting. It is nurturing and is also the mantra of the Cosmic Cow in Hinduism as Go-Mata, the Mother-Cow, of which the earth itself as seen as an energy.

    The mantra “Śrīṃ” is said to have a feminine and cooling energy that helps calm and cool the mind and is good for anger and rage and other fiery emotions. It relates to shriya (prosperity). It relates to the Hundu Goddess Lakshmi, goddess of wealth and prosperity and also aggravates the Ayurvedic dosha or biological humor of Kapha (phlegm). Śrīṃ as the sound “Sha” relates to the Soma-shakti and Apas or Waters, making the sound of a stream (sha).




    The short dharani in the lineage of [IMG]Jamari[/IMG] was also used by H. H. Seventh Panchen Lama and gives her a Fruit:

    her right hand holds a reddish blue picula fruit, her left an ear of rice; she stands with feet together on two jewel
    vases with their bases meeting and streams of jewels pouring forth from their mouths.









    It is this form which will become Gopali, or acquire the Gomata or Five Cows.

    Entering the Manadala, you go through the Forest after the Sabaris, and Gopali is around Jamdhi at the base of Mt. Meru.

    This Fruit Holder also has Manohara in her mantra. The first Red Vasudhara is Manohara, who is related to Sum--Sudhana Kumara. I did not know who he was, because he is really a Sutra character involved with Avalokiteshvara, and appears in the Amogapasha mandalas, one of which Vasudhara seems to have invaded. Although Manohara had something to do with Sudhana Kumara, in the tantras, she is the Hook goddess, and is going to go on to something else. If you scrutinize it, I believe it is the same move as pulled off in the male-based Vajrosnisa system done to Lotus Family or to Padmantaka and shown in the resultant format by Vajrahumkara. At the very least, it is a change in the existence of an ordinary human beng into something skilled with wrath and fire.

    Sudhana Kumara is man in the Chiliocosm, wherein a "world" is a sentient being, as it is made of Mt. Meru.

    That part is probably completely Buddhist, whereas Gopali has plenty of its own background.

    Vayu as the calf is from Yajur Veda on the role of the sacrificer in the new and full moon sacrifices.

    In a commentary, the calf returned to its mother is Vayu joined to Ida (Cow). Their meeting is the Viraj, When the calf is being milked, the milk belongs to the Aswins, when done, to the Viswadevas.




    As an idea about wrathful practice, Maruts are normally called Storm Gods and considered quite dangerous, which is literally true. On the other hand, it is like a matter of harnessing, converting, and re-directing them, which is pulling the body's prana back from its senses and towards the Fourth State.

    The Yajur has a Marut hymn which says that the divine body is broken into four chunks and that part of the destiny is to unite Rudras with Maruts:


    I hail the dear names of yon impetuous ones,
    That, O Maruts, calling they may rejoice.
    For glory they are wreathed in flames,
    In the rays (of the sun), adorned with rings they (are accompanied) with singers;
    They wearing daggers, impetuous, fearless,
    Here found the dear home of the Maruts.
    First let Agni with the Vasus aid us;
    Let Soma with the Rudras protect (us);
    Let Indra with the Maruts act in due course;
    Let Varuna with the Adityas quicken us.'
    God Agni with the Vasus,
    Soma with the dread forms,
    Indra with the Maruts, worthy of sacrifice,
    Varuna with the Adityas hath been in harmony with us.
    As the Adityas are united with the Vasus,
    The Rudras with the Maruts,
    So, O thou of three names,
    May the All-gods without anger be of one mind.


    So there are a heck of a lot of Hindu tantras based on Eleven Rudras. These are the older name for something such as Shiva or Bhairava. It says these are united with the Maruts. So a Raudra Krama is this method of practice. Similarly, if this is carried forward to a face-to-face encounter and there is a group of goddesses headed by Raudri, we would expect it to mean she has Raudra Krama well in her bag. Further, since there is, and it sounds wrathful, I was misled, this group is actually Saumya or pleasant. So, it then also makes sense they may also be past the Gauris, who are frequently horrible.



    A bit further along is an even stranger section where Ida shows back up in the context of the Aswins:


    a What went new that became fresh butter; what crept that became clarified butter; that which became firm became ghee.
    b Thou art the breath of the Açvins; of that to thee let the two give whose breath thou art; hail! Thou art the breath of Indra; of that to thee let him give whose breath thou art; hail! Thou art the breath of Mitra and Varuna; of that to thee let them give whose' breath thou art; hail! Thou art the breath of the All-gods; of that to thee let them give whose breath thou art; hail!
    c Stream of ghee, path of ambrosia,
    Given by Indra, presented by the Maruts,
    Thee Visnu perceived,
    Then Ida moved thee in the cow.
    d Let the god Savitr set thee free for life, for living, with the Pavamana Stoma, with the path of the Gayatra (Saman)...



    In Tattiriya Aranyaka, the same concept is presented; Bharati is called Aditi; Vasat ("in the power of") is the invocation for Aswins; on p. 79, Viraj is Food. There, Prana is also called Yama with the Angirases and Pitris (p. 78), as well as the most Indra-like fire. Aditi or Agni and the Vasus are also time cycles or seasons. Pravargya is the head of the sacrifice (Aditya or the Sun), Wind is its body. Udumbara Wood is Food. In the older systems, the 'one' Prana is Rudra-Atman, and so his descendants and branches are "the Rudras" and then "the Maruts".




    A study from University of Kerala has a good picture of a stonework Vasudhara still intact at Ratnagiri.


    A Vajravali relationship thangka shows Usnisa Vijaya, Pratisara and Pancha Raksa, Grahamatrika, Vasudhara:





    We can observe the two on the right have "switched" the southern color to blue.

    Six Arm Vasudhara has an upraised right hand, which may hold a rosary or have various names, but is "the gesture associated with singing" (Sagara Nirghosa).

    In a larger version from the Met, she is over her own Ila Devi form, and is also effectively the center of four of the Pancha Raksa who are in the corners, bracketed by the Eight Auspicious Symbols:






    The mandala page says the corresponding text implies Vasudhara is Prajnaparamita, as well as the center of Pancha Raksha.

    In her 108 Names she is also Kama Dhatvishvari, same as Lakshmi of Hevajra Tantra. The 108 Names which is translated is the same as our dharani with the Paramitas. Because it is a selection of three manuscripts in Europe, it has attempted to "clean errors", which means the Karma Dhatveshvari of the Nepalese version is Kama Dhatvishvari in the...exports. Doing so, they also removed Ugra Tara:


    vīryapāramitā devī jagadānandarocanī |

    tāpasī ugrarūpī ca ṛddhisiddhibalapradā || 7 ||

    "Rupi" is given without any notes of emendation, whereas all three manuscripts said "Karma". When he guesses what the names really are, he uses Jagadanandalocani. Dharanis are like that. Where the Nepalese has "Sravari", not a word, he gives "Savari" which is of course meaningful. I suppose you are intended to mispronounce it, and yet understand what you are saying. "Karma Dhatvishvari" isn't really anything, and "dhatvishvari" is a rare title; Dharani Samgraha only otherwise mentions Vajradhatvishvari one time in the middle of something else. Sadhanamala only attributes it to Marici, and gives Khasarpana 26 the following retinue:

    tato dakṣiṇe āryatārāsudhanau, vāme bhṛkuṭīhayagrīvau, pūrve vairocanaḥ, dakṣiṇe ratnasambhavaḥ, paścime amitābhaḥ, uttare amoghasiddhiḥ, āgneyyāṃ locanā, naiṛtyāṃ māmakī, vāyavyāṃ pāṇḍarā, aiśānyāṃ vajradhātvīśarī /


    So if Vasudhara did a little weird over-writing with Amoghapasha, here, Vajradhatvishvari does so with Khasarpana. Again, from what I can tell, these two Lokeshvaras are equivalent to the beginning of tantra, and then to Vairocana Abhisambodhi Tantra.

    In the translated 108 Names of Vasudhara, "Granting power, success, and boons" for the end of verse Seven is underwhelming. The second line summarizes the majority of all tantra. Rddhi and Siddhi are Ganapati's two consorts. "Tara" and "Rupi" are not spelling errors, they are complete variations.

    This type of translating is very literal and completely misses the rare to unique statements, such as when we can't find Tapasi or Ramya in 534 dharanis out of the same book, and we could almost just call those Generation and Completion Stage.

    Because Vasudhara is equivalent to Lakshmi who is already known as Kamadhatvishvari, that should be the correct meaning, if not spelling. This again has its relatively mundane meaning since people have learned the word, but, it has more to do with the Dhatu or Element of the entire Kama Loka, which, we would say, is years worth of tantric practice in methods of cleaning and openng its sub-planes.



    In tantra, Prithvi means Earth Element rather than Earth planet. When they want to have the planet, it is Bhu Devi, who rides a Boar. Well, if I look at the Aranyakas, "earth" already has a double meaning like that. In the tantras, Prithvi is usually Locana. For some reason, Prithvi is picked out from the elements, along with Sabda or Sound from the senses, in order for Raudri to do her business.


    And, we can find he has an exact match for Vajraraudris as they are given in Samputa Tantra:

    raudrī śuklavarṇā |
    dakṣiṇe vajrabimbā pītavarṇā |
    paścime rāgavajrā raktābhā |
    uttare vajrasaumyā haritābhā || 3.4.48 ||
    aiśānyāṃ vajrayakṣī ca sitapītābhā |
    āgneyyāṃ vajraḍākinī pītaraktābhā |
    nairṛtyāṃ śabdavajrā tu raktanīlābhā |
    vāyavyāṃ pṛthivīvajrā tu haritasitābhā


    Sixteen Arm Hevajra's inner circle is the Gauris, or should be in his full mandala. But he as an individual is also arranged in "relationship form" like the above, with his two, four, and six arm forms. So for instance, you look to the northwest and can easily find green and white Prithvi, in the evolutionary or increasing mandalas in this 1500s Ngor Hevajra:







    Hevajra's Body Mandala is Two Arm Weapon Bearing form, seventeen deities. Speech Mandala is Four Arm with Blue Varahi, thirteen deities. His Mind Mandala has two stages, Abbreviated and Complete. In the first he is with Blue Six Arm Vajrasrnkhala, who is perhaps a bit darker, and in the final one, it is Two Arm Light Blue Vajrasrnkhala. Both of these have seventeen deities, with the difference being their color change. The big Hevajra is his Essence or Heart.

    According to Christie's, the center is Jnanadakini with Abhayakaragupta. Their image zooms for better detail, and, it is nice to add some free information, since the thing cost nearly a million dollars.

    To clarify, for Chakrasamvara, it is based from Varahi in three Families, Tathagata, Vajra, and Jewel. Hevajra, however, is with three different consorts, those two and Nairatma.

    In the Raudris retinue, Bimba is Ekajati, and Yakshi is Hariti. Finding Vajradakini in the Fire area sounds like the making of her as an Usnisa deity, which is the body or Nyasa of Jnanadakini, that Vajradakini is her fiery crown. Jnanadakini is also part of Samputa.

    Following that same logic, Earth Object has just been placed into Air Element.


    Vajrasaumya appears to be the Moon in Sarvadurgati Parishodana. Saumya is the first goddess for Vajramrita, and:

    The place of the moon in the maṇḍalam.*

    * Vāyu-purāṇa 53. 59.

    A class of Pitṛs who drink Soma's svadha; deities of Ṛtus and hence Ṛtvas; Pitṛs born of Soma.*

    * Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa II. 23. 39, 75; 28. 4, 15, 18, 70; Matsya-purāṇa 102. 20; 126. 69; 141. 4, 13, 16. Vāyu-purāṇa 52. 67; 56. 13, 16, 66; Viṣṇu-purāṇa II. 12. 13.

    Belonging or relating to sōma or the moon, lunar.



    Some of these retinue members were identified in Forbidden City.

    Her oldest surviving thangka dates from 1051, and is "the mandala", except she is over Ila Devi who has Vajra Feet. It seems to be the four goddess version, although they have their own colors:






    It was noted that Vasudhara sadhanas do not give her any pose, which is why she is often depicted standing:

    Last edited by shaberon; 8th August 2021 at 18:55.

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    Default Re: Nirakara and Shentong Buddhism, Tara, Sadhanas, Sanskrit culture

    Vasudhara with other deities



    So far, if one studies mandalas generally, Vasudhara is not someone who keeps cropping up everywhere, like Ekajati for example. However she is by no means isolated. In fact she is thoroughly comprehensive. She never really leaves. She has a type of crucial capability which is a complement to the roles of other deities, in some of the main explanatory scriptures we have. We can also pluck her from something I can't understand at all, except they retain Sanskrit for the mantras.


    This first seems to be based on using her two and six arm forms, and red.

    There is a Vietnamese text called Mat Tong, which, in an automated translator, means Secret Letter. It seems to be a cleaner beginning of Vasudhara Sutras and Sadhanas which is over forty pages.

    The "Letter" is about Vasudhara from the start, giving her Nidhana mantra.

    Going by the Sanskrit subjects, it then talks about:

    Ratnasambhava

    Padma Kula

    Naga Raja


    There are a few of her sub-names from the mandala, and then a strand of Kamala epithets, such as:

    Kamala Locana

    As far as I can tell, Kamala corresponds to tantric Lakshmi, having lower and higher forms.

    After more text, there is the appearance of:

    Red Jambhala

    Part of his procedure is:

    Om Dakini-Jambhala Sambhara Svaha


    It sounds like a requirement for Jambhala to get a dakini, and obviously just a tongue's twist from Dakini Jala Samvara, which is the successful application of the "Net" of them.


    Vasudhara is then evoked through a few different dharanis.

    At the end, her Heart Mantra uses Lakshmi, and her Near-heart Mantra uses Lakshmi Bhutalanivasini. As per a previous mantra, it probably should be Lakshmi Bhuta-mani Vasini. Since Bhutas and Vasus are both Elements, and Kamala is Lakshmi, then yes we think she is having a tantric experience with Jambhala. We should probably think of this as a courtship or pursuit. This again is an underlying four count rhythm in tantra, to Smile, Gaze, Embrace, and Enter Union. And so Vasudhara frolicking with Jambhala is practically its own separate subject, but for the most part it means she becomes Red as Manohara, and works until there is Bharati, who is mantrified in stages of Bliss, being Sukha, Maha Sukha, and Sukha Vardhani.

    Vasudhara is said to show "maturing", like ripening of the earth.

    Esoteric Vasudhara is the "public face" of Varahi. And this Matured one is hard to find, but her faces should be Saffron, Honey, and Vermillion, and here she could perhaps be under a Kinnara which is equivalent to Karma Family:








    In this Newari version, if not with Green Janguli below her, it is someone similar, receiving a stream of gems. Around the Kinnara are serpent-hooded Yakshis.




    Tara's Saptavidhanuttara uses a Nyasa or placement of twenty-six deities, including several male Bodhisattvas. So it is noticeable when you get to the end of the roster, which is probably legs or feet, you place Dhanada and Vasudhara, as if they were right and left of each other. That is the only time Vasudhara is mentioned.

    At that point, you have already done two Taras, then you do the Nyasa on your body, and then you finally summon Akanistha Tara. Again, she is more or less equivalent to the whole Vajradhatu mandala, and so it is not unusual that you invoke the Five Dhyani Buddhas. After that, you invoke forty Taras, which can be designated as "groups" interspersed with "individual practices". And so it starts with Arya Tara and Five Sense Offerings, followed by:

    Prasanna

    Sukla

    Dhanada


    Then there are Prajnas and Colors, followed by:

    Vajra Tara

    Ekajati

    The whole thing is a Vajra Flower Offering.


    In the final verse, it names Mahattari and Prasanna, followed by Makuta or Crown worship.

    Evidently, Mahattari starts the exercise alone, is replaced by other Taras, and comes back at the end to join Prasanna.

    So, if you follow the motion, we find:

    Dhanada and Vasudhara together

    Dhanada and Prasanna together

    Prasanna




    In Swayambhunath, Vasundhara Mandir, a temple for incarnations of goddess Lakshmi, Annapurna, called Vasudhara.

    It has an interesting photo which won't hotlink but is worth looking at, six arm black basalt Vasudhara lined with red paint looking fiery.

    Rough Guide to Nepal shows in its Swayambhunath layout that Vasudhara and Annapurna are "synonymous".

    Tibetan Art says of its tantric Annapurna thangka that she is:

    Lachamikalasa (Lakshmi-kalasha)

    i. e., Skullcup Lakshmi.

    The Newari tradition does not say Annapurna is Ila or Bhu, but, rather, Six Arm Vasudhara, which is supposed to be a profound occult Dawning of a deity, this six-armed thing.


    Tara One in the Tibetan systems does not seem to have an Indian original. I would say there is a resemblance to Pitha Ishvari, or Pithesvari Tara, who is tantric, but, a simpler, pre-indicator of Jnanadakini. Arrow Dakini and/or how Saraha got this practice may stem from a relatively unknown, forgotten yogini mentioned in Women in India:

    The most notable yogini author is Vajravati (Diamond-like
    Woman), the author of the manual for Pithesvari, the Wrathful Red Tara.
    Women teachers Lakshminkara, Mekhala, and Kanakhala composed the
    manuals for Severed-Head Vajra-yogini Tara.

    Vajravati’s narrative states that she was once a respected, pure minded
    brahman woman who carefully observed caste rules. Sensing her spiritual
    potential, a Tantric Buddhist of the weaver caste invited her to reject orthodoxy and to become his disciple. Convinced that he could teach her Buddha’s wisdom, Vajravati accepted him, thus crossing the barriers of gender and caste. Vajravati later devised a meditative technique through which the aspirant imagined she was Red Tara in a standing yogic pose on a lotus.

    Red Tara is often shown with a bone necklace signifying communion with
    death, and her hands hold a diamond spear (vajra) and a blue lotus. Despite
    the fearful symbols, the technique is believed to bring enlightened bliss.


    Miranda Shaw has a Vajravati article, stating that her story was recorded by Lakshminkara, that she was a disciple of Anandavajra by way of song, and that she wanted her lineage to be passed to girls instead of boys.

    In Female Founders, Vajravati and Siddharajni are mentioned side-by-side. The second of these was perhaps an office or title or Tulku in India occupied by someone who was effectively Guhyajnana Dakini. The last known one of these was profoundly influential to Rechung:

    When Rechungpa first met Siddharajñi, her powerful presence
    made his hair stand on end. He trembled, wept, and threw himself
    to the ground at her feet, placing her feet on his head in a gesture
    of supreme respect.

    She may have had an ordinary appearance but:

    His purified vision revealed her to be seated in a jeweled bower, a type of canopy designed to welcome and honor a Buddha.

    She had attained revelation directly from Amitayus and so is a major source of Long Life practice, as well as a few things on Guhyajnana Dakini.



    Vajravati is maybe still a bit powerful for the novice. Again this is something that looks like it would probably be a common word, but turns out to be a selectively rare title.

    Vasudhara and Pratisara share Vajrini and Vajravati epithets.

    Compare Pratisara Dharani and a Vasudhara recording with the printed words. That one is just a "reading", like you aren't going to say "Hrdayam" and use the Heart Mantra one time. Not musical, but allright if you want a pronunciation guide.

    In fact, like with the 108 Names, it's not really like a crossword puzzle we are trying to solve which name to what number. The total number means a "rosary", which means "this is what you repeat". This one has twenty verses, you do not need to repeat the end part about "if you do this each day...", perhaps maybe just on the last round.

    On that translation, it is great that linguists know the prose or narrative quite well, but they often are not asking the right questions, or looking at it from the point of view of practice.

    I don't necessarily care if Vasudhara is perfect. She doesn't need anything to progress. When I see something like that about Virya Paramita, I take it more as a command to myself to graft onto her qualities, and, if she says go through Ugra Tara, I will. It would be weird to describe her as Ugra Rupini when at the beginning and end she is Saumya. If I follow the instructions reasonably well, then I get Tapas. So it hits like a ton of bricks, compared to thinking that it is important to tell her she already excels at it. We're not trying to re-ify her. She only has meaning as much as I can internalize it, which is only so much in the words, and more in the change of state that takes place during the recital.




    Samputa Tantra Chapter Seven uses Agni Homa, starting with Vasudhara who is revered by Vajrasattva, a naked woman, Agni who may burn in various ways, into Mahavairocana or any main deity, inside a bhaga is Tara who has Sixteen Arms and Seven Faces, Emerald Color, with an upper Donkey Face or any form desired, called Heruki, emanates yourself as Manjushri and Vajrabhairava, Marici spawns, White Vajra Family Parnasabari arises on a sun disk in the sky, one becomes Vajrakrodha Gazing at Vajravarahi into Vajradakini, and then it looks like Hayagriva holds the power of Paramesvara. This evolves towards Sri Paramadya and Mahasukha Vajratejah, ending with Ananta Puja.




    I looked in Swayambhu Purana for Annapurna and she is not there. So if anything, she is understood as Vasudhara. So I looked for her and she does not come in until Chapter Seven and then is in most of the rest of the chapters.

    This area of the text appears to be an initiatory lineage from Vajracharya Santa Sri, who is, or who is being mentioned concurrently with Disciple Mahamati.

    The subject deals with Dharmadhatu and Caitya--Stupa.

    Now if we recall the Samputa passage about Fire opening the Space of Wind, that is why Vahni is a regular synonym for Fire:


    vāyupure pratiṣṭhāpya vahnipuro'gnidevatā|

    nāgapure ca nāgendro vasupure vasundharāṃ||157||


    There are verses for Vayu, including Bhakti and Bhajan to Nandi (Shiva's Bull).


    It appears to reflex to Agni:

    nīrogyaṃ śrīsamāpannaṃ kāmabhojyaṃ sadā bhave|

    ye cāpyevaṃ samārādhya sagaṇāṃ vahnidevatāṃ||168||


    It is correct that "kambhojya" is a term that "came to mean" Cambodia, but, it has Indian significance prior to that.


    Then to Vasudhara in their accent, connected with Bhava of Sampatti:

    bhadraśrīratnasaṃpattikāmabhojyaṃ sadā bhave|

    ye cāpyevaṃ samārādhya sagaṇāṃ śrībasundharāṃ||172||


    And then speaks of Six Gunas and Six Dharma Samapattis of Caitya Manjushri.

    Then there is a Vimala Atma of Bhadra Sri Sad Guna.

    Vimala Atma of Parishuddha Indriya.

    Four Brahma Vihara, Ten Bhumis.

    Bhaskara or Radiance of Six Dharmas as the Pada of Sambuddha.







    Chapter Eight is aimed at Bhupalas, such as Pisaci, Dakini, etc., and Vimala Atma of Tri-Ratna.

    It has Gosringa Parvati's place.

    It seems to give Jagganatha = Dharmadhatu and starts Pancha Deva again.

    At 107 you find Maheshvari Khaganana.

    Going through a process, it gives Vasudhara in a similar way to the last chapter after Agni and a Serpent Hood:


    tathā vāyupure vāyudevatāṃśca yathāvidhi|

    agnipure'gnidevaṃ ca nāgapure phaṇeśvarān||134||



    vasupure vasundhārāṃ saddharmmaśrīguṇapradāṃ|

    śāntapure maheśānaṃ sambaraṃ sagaṇaṃ kramāt||135||


    Perhaps Nagas = Water and Vasudhara = Earth; and it turns out the key component of this book is Fivefold Form pinned to Six Gunas, which I take to be Dhruvam.


    So there is a recurrent Vasudhara formula, usually close to Khaganana and Caitya Manjushri, but the Purana is really a Mahayoga Tantra, and Vasudhara drops out of use because it is not completely about her since, for example:

    In Chapter Three, Mahadevi Khaganana Dharmodaya comes up right after Heruka Mandala; she comes up four more times, so, this is largely about her. It also looks like there is Manjushri with Samvari which makes Prasanna Atma.


    Khaganana is a sadhana form of Guhyeshvari, as is Agni Yogini. Vasudhara is tightly entwined to Highest Yoga, which is something like the sole domain of Guhyeshvari.

    But Guhyeshvari is also Mamaki, who is Pratisara, and also Varuni. It is very obvious with Varuni, because seed syllables are almost always a deity's initial, such as Pram--Pratisara (or Prajnaparamita). Varuni is never called by Vam like Vasudhara, she is Mam for Mamaki.


    So there are proliferous reasons for presenting Vasudhara and Pratisara prior to Varuni. One could perhaps say "Pratisara is optional", but, it is a good option. She is, mantricly, and by mainly being in Jewel Family, almost the same as Vasudhara, but Vasudhara's Gopali form is liable for the Yogurt, Curds, or Khay used in the Homa. This seems to be a dual symbol both of the Akash as it is in nature, as well as luminosity of the mind. Luminosity is inseparable from Voidness. When you are able to retain the state of Voidness, increasing degrees of Luminosity will happen. Vasudhara is reliable for, I suppose, this "transition".

    The "maturing" of the cows and/or the yogurt produced thereby is like the "maturing" of the overall Vasudhara above.


    There does seem to be a switch where Six Arm Vasudhara or Annapurna is equivalent to Bharati, which is like a specially-upgraded container for Varuni as Amrita. Bharati of the sadhanas, as her form, just has the same Skullcup as anyone, but, it has no meaning until the Amrita or Nectar has descended all the way back down to Nirmana Cakra, which then becomes The Vessel, Bharati, making a silvery, cool nectar, which you had better bless before you use it. Because I have used it by raw instinct without any blessing, I may have gotten some bliss and insight, but, also, dumped psychic poison into my aura. And so I strongly suggest not using any of the forceful methods because it sounds interesting.

    Wiki's Six Dharmas page has reasonable information on this. Bharati is, so to speak, within or through the Ah syllable. Calling it Six Dharmas is a specifically different set from Six Yogas. Swayambhu Purana just mentioned this above. The Yogas are so you can do the Samadhi used by the Dharmas, which all require the Triangle of Inverted Stupa. And so in the first instance, one can easily imagine Bharati related to Nirmana Cakra where they say filling and flowing back up:

    it is instructed that the practitioner should hold the breath below the navel to make the A-letter flare up like a flame, the fire reaching so high that the flames strike the letter Ham visualized in the great-bliss-cakra. This causes an energy called bodhicitta (byang sems), which is stored in this cakra, to trickle down through the central channel. As it fills up the different cakras on its way down, it generates different experiences of bliss. After reaching and filling the navel-cakra, the bodhicitta is visualized as flowing back up, while yogi continues to use the gtum mo breathing technique of holding the breath for as long as possible in the abdomen. At the end of the practice, the practitioner stops visualizing (yid la mi byed) the channels, winds, and drops, and instead rests in an uncontrived state of Mahamudra.

    Another meditation manual by Gampopa also mentions a practice that relies on visualizing a drop (thig le, *bindu) between the eye brows. This bindu descends and ascends through the central channel, spreading a sensation of bliss-emptiness along the way. Regarding post-meditation, the yogi is "instructed to train in experiencing all sensory impressions as blissful and to maintain a constant sense of inner heat and the soothing, cooling bliss of the descending bodhicitta. It is said that the experience of everything as being blissful will automatically give rise to the experience of non-thought (mi rtog pa, *nirvikalpa).


    So there, he basically says the activity or play of bliss is what leads to non-conceptual mind. A few of Tson kha pa's comments are:

    Every time one practices one of this six dharmas, one must first generate inner heat, along with the four blisses and merge this with meditation on emptiness. Once mastered, tummo is then applied to the practice of illusory body, and based on illusory body yoga, one practices radiance/clear light yoga.

    Light from this flame rises up the central channel, where it melts the drop of white bodhimind substance abiding within the crown chakra. This drips down like nectar, filling the AH-stroke mantric syllable at the navel chakra. One meditates single-pointedly on the AH-stroke, until the signs of stability arise. When meditative stability has been achieved then the radiance of the light from the inner fire will illuminate the inside and outside of one's body, as well as one's dwelling place and so forth, rendering them as transparent as a piece of kyurura fruit held in the hand.

    Then one can also bring the drop back up the central channel, experiencing the blisses again but starting from the navel chakra.


    It is less often obvious with "Six Dharmas of Naro", but, with his "sister", Niguma, it becomes evident there is a Seventh Dharma, Transference, which is what Jnanadakini is doing. And so some of these synopses like the Wiki stuff are dangerous because they are not really alerting you as to what the second, or ascending set, of Four Joys is going to do, and therefor the Circle of Inverted Stupa is really more important as the Third Joy. You could almost say the Second Joy is automatic, since the throat is directly fastened to the head and you have long since given it an appropriate energetic boost. From there, getting the Bodhicitta to work its way down could get way more complicated, pursuing any other possible avenues, including squeezing past and largely ignoring the heart. And so you really do want to take that Third Joy and rest there, which means Tara is untying Hridaya Granthi, and we are after what is in there spiritually, moreso than the physiological possibilities correct or otherwise.

    This is quite similar to Citta Cakra of the tantras, which in Sarvadurgati Parishodhana is occupied by White Vajrapani, and we would suggest the Six Arm Sukla Tara mentioned above is an Ekavira or solitary hero quite similar to this. Sukla is white but she is in Karma Family like Dhanada. So you do see White and Green Tara that have been extruded from their common practices together there.

    So although the general information is correct, you can do something similar to the beginning heat and melting with any kind of yoga, but I think the subsequent Citta Cakra and Bharati should be taken very seriously. You are either losing the main benefit, at best, if not damaging yourself, if you slip outside these guidelines.




    Vase Initiation is the first one, Vasudhara has to do with Vase, and the only physical "technique" to be applied is Soft Vase Breathing. As the very light version, you just "breathe the pot-shaped", which means to breathe down into your abdomen and expand it and retain it, with the breathing and musculature very gentle.

    When combined with the Crescent of Inverted Stupa, it means you want to feel the center of your downwards lifewinds rising up to your concentration point in the "navel". And then when you can feel this happening, you want to try to lower the center of your upper winds from the heart down to meet the other. Eventually, these two will hook or handshake, and then you have that Pranayama which is going to be able to raise your inner heat. That is all you need, and it is best to go really slow, it could take six months or a year or two. If it was easy, everyone would already be doing it.

    It is a bit like saying all the Wisdoms unfurl from the Mirror Wisdom, all the Yoga experiences go into and come from the Vase in one or other of its meanings.

    Varuni is moreso the fluid flowing through it. The reason she is not just like Water or Varuna is because with her you invoke Kha--Akash into the liquid.

    It takes a lot of that to manifest the Prasanna as referred to by a few of these explanatory practices.

    The changes of names are changes of states and perceptions. Even if they are both outer deities, even Pram--Pratisara and Vam--Vasudhara will have slightly different effects. For example, when centered, Vasudhara mainly replicates herself, whereas Pratisara will voluntarily give up the seat if you want to center it on Pramardani or any of them.





    Filed under "Green Tara" but gold-leaved, this is an unusual Vasudhara with her toe on a Tortoise, which is Kasyapa or the Bed of Life or all of the lower kingdoms of nature:

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    Default Re: Nirakara and Shentong Buddhism, Tara, Sadhanas, Sanskrit culture

    Vasudhara, Prithvi and Kamadhenu, Gopali and Alakavati and the Crescent



    As a pilgrimage site, Vasudhara is in Book Three, Vana Parva or Aranyaka of the Mahabharata which tells us:

    O virtuous one, one should next proceed to Vasudhara adored by all. The moment one arrives at that tirtha, one acquireth the fruit of the horse-sacrifice. And, O thou best of the Kurus, by bathing there with subdued soul and rapt attention, and giving oblations of water unto the gods and the Pitris one ascendeth unto the region of Vishnu and is adored there. In that tirtha, O bull of the Bharata race, there is a sacred lake of the Vasus. By bathing there and drinking of its water, one becometh regarded of the Vasus.




    In Buddhism, we have found Vasudhara as something like a necessary condition, who develops some of her own forms, but mostly continues in the tantras by other names.


    Although the Vasudharas in Sadhanamala are beguilingly brief, they are three different kinds.

    The first sadhana at 213, where she seems to be in Vajra Family and emanates her retinue, in its first line tells you to self-generate as Jambhala first:

    vibhāvya jhaṭiti jambhalarūpam ātmānaṃ

    and gives her a nickname:

    kṛtvā mahatī śrīr bhavati /




    The next two Vasudhara sadhanas are just her, basically her form, mantra, and mudra, in Jewel Family. This contains something that sounds more like you begin a sadhana from voidness by issuing Nada Bindu as the seed syllable or Bija:

    ṣaṣṭhasya tṛtīyakaṃ bījaṃ arddhendubindu


    This special misspelling of Ardhendu Bindu sounds like it means Nada Bindu, since Ardhendu is a word for "Crescent". It is based from a root roughly meaning "half", such as Ardhanarisvar is the dual-sexed combination of Siva and Shakti in one body, Ardha Nari, half woman.

    Spelled correctly, it is found in Sadhanamala with Vadiraj Manjushri, but either way is only otherwise with goddesses, Mrtyuvacana, Ekajati, Marici, and Kurukulla.

    With Maya Jala Kurukulla 181, it is used in her Nyasa with the "sounds" or "notes" such as "Pancamasvara" from the musical system or scale, which we see nested in Sadhanamala like an accumulating treasure stored with various goddesses.

    While it is correct that Buddhism changes if not removes things that are found in the overall systems of Sanskrit spirituality, it takes in a lot of it wholesale, so this music remains conversant with the teaching of Narada, sort of like letters are mostly the same alphabet. Narada is a bit more difficult than Sound and Speech, where we can find Ardhendu Bindu in relation to the origin of the alphabet:

    Para Bindu is in the cosmos and individual. From it arises:

    Sakti-->Primordial Sound-->Nada-->Nirodhika-->Ardhendu and Bindu-->from Bindu, fourfold Om or the four levels of Speech.

    A similar chain is found on p. 10 of Sarada Tilaka Tantra, shortly after it reminds us that Sveda refers to "sweat-born". This is the idea of White Kurukulla, so much nectar she exudes it as sweat. Then, Ekajati is said to be sweat-born from Buddha. And so I am wondering if Mahacina Tara as recorded in Assam as being Sweta "white" is not also sveda "sweat", since those other two use white forms to encapsulate their meaning.


    In Buddhism, we would tend to say Suchness of the Tathagata is Luminous Mind. But if you are familiar with the mantra Tat Tvam Asi and understand that Tat is Sat, we can sift through the explanation of Tattva as Thatness:

    Sakti has twelve states of evolution (downstream cascade of and or upstream Tattvas) from the Unmanifest to the Gross: Unmana1, Samana2, Vyapini3 , Anjani4 , Mahanada5, Nada6, Nirodhini7, Ardhachandra8, Bindu9, Ma-kAra10, U-kAra11, and A-kAra12. 10, 11, 12 are part AUM (Om).

    Going from Aum to Unmana is Sloka 42 of Vijnana Bhairava tantra.

    It uses "half moon" or Crescent and Bindu, underlying which is the unstruck Nada.


    And so I think we are going to find that then, parts eight to twelve, are basically the same, but I am not sure that Buddhist vocabulary retains that initial sequence. But if we note their term for the middle part:


    Nirodhika fire refers to the goddess in superior control or full power, which is called nirodhika, in the power or vahni of unmanifest sound or Para Nada.


    the action, practice, or experience is clearly one of the core meanings in Buddhism even from the original Pali:


    Nirodha (निरोध, “cessation”) refers to the third of the “four noble truths” (caturāryasatya) as defined in the Dharma-saṃgraha (section 21).

    s. Nirodha (“extinction”); - of craving: tanhakkhaya.


    So it shatters the Twelve Causes of Dependent Origination (Paratantra), which is similar to the Second Void and stability of Luminous Mind. The End of Suffering as per the Four Noble Truths is ultimately the One Law or Refuge of One.

    It is not found in the lower Dhyanas, but only in Sampatti:

    'extinction'; s. nirodha-samāpatti, anupubba-nirodha.

    (Cessation) nirodha is the cessation of all aggregates and consciousness as a whole - even at a subtle level. In order to be experienced, it does require some specific determinations and the development of considerably more concentration than the one required for experiencing nibbana.

    So it is even "higher than" or "beyond" Nirvana. It is the ninth or final sampatti.

    Cessation of suffering hinges on cessation of everything.

    It is part of Transcendental Wisdom or Jnana, that of the Tenth Stage Bodhisattva or state of Vajradhara:

    Jñāna (ज्ञान) refers to a set of “eleven knowledges”, according to the 2nd century Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra chapter 38.

    The Bodhisattva-mahāsattva must fulfill completely the eleven knowledges (ekādaśa-jñāna):

    the knowledge of things (dharmajñāna),
    subsequent knowledge (anvayajñāna),
    the knowledge of another’s mind (paracittajñāna),
    conventional knowledge (saṃvṛtijñāna),
    the knowledge of suffering (duḥkhajñāna),
    the knowledge of the origin of suffering (samudayajñāna),
    the knowledge of the cessation of suffering (nirodhajñāna),
    the knowledge of the path of the cessation of suffering (mārgajñāna),
    the knowledge of the cessation of the impurities (kṣayajñāna),
    the knowledge of the non-rearising of the impurities (anutpādajñāna),
    the knowledge conforming to reality (yathābhūtajñāna).




    Back to Sadhanamala, Vasudhara's simple Jewel Family sadhanas call her:

    avatāryya mahatī


    Mahatī (महती).—Nārada’s Vīṇā (Lute).

    Sanskrit id., of Nārada's ‘seven-stringed’ lute

    synonymous to Mahi or Bharati:

    mahatī (f.) great; big; extensive.

    synonymous to Mahatattva:

    Mahatī (महती):—(a) see [mahat]


    This again is a rare or specific title.

    Vajrananga Manjushri 60 has:

    punaḥ paurṇamāsyāṃ mahatīṃ pūjāṃ

    Mahati Puja appears to be Vistara Tara 98, and the two basic Vasudhara sadhanas.

    Purniman or Purnamasa is Full Moon; in the Puranas, he is a far higher and more primordial entity than Kasyapa and Manu and so forth, who are the elaboration of the planetary sphere. Following a study by an original Indian Theosophist, we found that this, in Theosophy, should have been "the Monad". And so it has to do solely with spiritual existence, and the full subject, according to Koothoomi, was supposed to have been Amrita. Because we understand what Amrita is in practice, which involves the phases of the moon leading to full as the manifestation or perfection of Vajrasattva, that is how Theosophy should have worked.


    Vasudhara 216 is the Upadesa (exegesis or instructions) for her Dharani, which more or less means exposing her simple sadhana form to additional mantra practice until she starts to change.

    It says to use a Manasa Rupa or mental form, you do not have to go to her effigy in Kathmandu.

    It is the Adhaya, similar to the ending -udaya or -odaya "Source" like in Dharmodaya, of a siddhi or power of the heart:

    mahāmaitrīcittamālāmbyābhimatasiddhyai hṛdayam ādhāya

    Maha Maitri (Great Love) Citta (Mind) Mala (Rosary) Ambya (Chanter) Abhimata (Beloved or favorite person or thing)


    and:

    pāṭhāvasāne ca śucipradeśe

    Patha is path, reading, recital, committed to memory.

    Suci is a Needle, or, the son of Agni which is Solar Fire, or, purity.

    Pradesa, "sphere of application".


    Other forms of Vasudhara than that minor view are related to Prithvi.

    Prithvi may be a different cow from Kamadhenu, which came from the Ocean of Milk. Prithvi--Cow was a form assumed by Earth when harassed by Prithu, from a page on Prithvi showing a few of her names:

    Medini ("Nurturer")
    Prshni ("Mother of Plants")
    Vanaspatinam Grbhir Osadhinam ("Womb of Forest Trees and Herbs")

    Ratnagarbha ("Repository of Gems"")
    Ratnavati ("Abounding in Jewels")
    Vasundhara ("Bearer of Treasure")

    "Do you, therefore, for the benefit of mankind, give me that calf by which I may be able to secrete milk. Make also all places level, so that I may cause my milk, the seed of all vegetation, to flow everywhere around."

    He therefore having made Swayambhuva Manu the calf, milked the Earth, and received the milk into his own hand, for the benefit of mankind. Thence proceeded all kinds of corn and vegetables upon which people now subsist.

    This legend, with considerable variation, is found in most of the Purānas; Soma, Indra, Yama, and others taking the place of Manu as the calf, whilst Prithu's place as the milker is taken by the Rishis, Mitra, etc.


    Milk in turn leads to Nectar (or honey) in Vishnu Purana:

    7. The broad-earth, which the sleepless gods ever attentively guard, shall milk for us precious honey, and, moreover, besprinkle us with glory!

    Which uses a Vessel in a Secret Place:

    60. She whom Visvakarman (the creator of all) did search out by means of oblations, when she had entered the surging (flood of the) atmosphere, she, the vessel destined to nourish, deposited in a secret place, became visible (to the gods) and the (heavenly) mothers.

    61. Thou art the scatterer of men, the broadly expanding Aditi that yields milk according to wish. What is wanting in thee Pragâpati, first-born of the divine order (rita), shall supply for thee.


    Earth is Aditi, Formless Space, Mother of the Vasus, of the Sun, of Tvastr, of the "Thirty-three" gods of Indra Heaven including Rudras. No, not in her manifested nature, but in the greater spiritual continuity when seen in reality or as per the Honey Doctrine.

    They mention a form similar to Dhanada, although it does not seem so easy to find:

    Prithvi Sukta (Bhumi Sukta) is a celebrated hymn of the Atharva Veda (AVS 12.1), which consists of 63 verses dedicated to Prthivi (the Earth). In art, she is typically represented as a woman with four arms and a green complexion.


    Mother Bhumi is often depicted in votive statuary, seated on a square platform which rests on the back of four elephants, who represent the four corners of the world. When depicted with four arms, the paraphernalia she holds are a pomegranate, a water vessel, a bowl containing healing herbs, and another containing vegetables. When shown with two arms, she holds a blue lotus known as Komud or Uttpal, the night lotus, in the right hand. The left hand may be in the Abhaya Mudra (fearlessness), or the Lolahasta Mudra, which is an aesthetic pose meant to mimic the tail of a cow.


    From a post on Earth Devi:

    The hymn of these verses is known as "Prithivi Sukta" in Atharva Veda. In these verses, prithi is described as vasudhara or vasudha.

    and:

    The famous Bhu suktham is part of Pancha suktham and appears in Taittriya Samhita and also Rigveda.

    Some of her sixty-three verses include:


    Because of your anger from which emanated the earth and grew, May you sustain it! May the vasus, rudrAs, AdityAs and ViSvadevAs come together and take the collective responsibility to return to me my bhagavat bhakti that I threw away on ground because of my anger!

    She might be addressed by Her many names: medinI, devI, VasundharA, VasudhA, VaasavI (as indrA as a representative, activates) but She is for sure with divine spiritual splendour and is the ear, eye and the mind of the pitrs (manes).

    devI hiraNya-garbhiNI devI prasUvarI | 8 |

    Meaning: The goddess of Earth (Mother Earth) is pregnant with the whole universal gold egg, as the best creator and the best sustainer.

    You are named 'sAvitrI' since You are associated with the Sun by Your wonderful brightness. You are our presiding deity benevolent, self-luminous and a benign care-taker, day and night.

    om dhanurdharAyai vidmahe sarvasiddhyai ca dhImahi | tanno dharA pracodayAt || 13 ||

    Meaning: We worship Her by knowing Her as One who (wields the bow and looks also like a bow, lean in the middle) is adorning the bow. For that purpose we meditate upon the One who blesses us with all success (sarva siddhi). May that dharaNi dharA/BhUmi devI, prompt us for that meditation!


    The Bow or Dhanu is also a symbol for the Crescent. And, she is also:

    Om Vasundharaya vidhmaye bhutdhatriya dhimahi tanno bhumi prachodayat.


    Bhuta Dhatri, i. e., holds the elements that we are going to "expand" and "enhance" to be perceived in the tantras as the Four Dakinis, for example.



    She is also in Maha Narayana Upanishad, where we got the Durga--Vairocani Suktam.


    Kamadhenu or Surabhi is often portrayed as the mother of other cattle as well as the eleven Rudras. In iconography, she is generally depicted as a white cow with a female head and breasts or as a white cow containing various deities within her body.

    Kamadhenu, the "cow of wishes or desires," has a bovine body, a female head, polychromatic wings like a tropical bird, and a peacock's tail. Her milk is streaming over a Shiva linga, only to be channelled by the yoni to become a sacrificial oblation in the sacred fire.

    Kamadhenu is also well-known through its other five forms: Nanda, Sunanda, Surabhi, Susheela and Sumana.

    Kamadhenu is regarded as a form of Devi (the Hindu Divine Mother) and is closely related to the fertile Mother Earth (Prithvi), who is often described as a cow in Sanskrit.

    Here is a thesis on Buddhist Earth Deity, which shows her commonly in East Asia wringing water out of her hair. Vasudhara is called "relatively minor", so the author probably has not studied Nepal. In any case, she more commonly has an offering bowl, so, if that's what she was doing at Buddha's enlightenment, it is an important way to know her.

    According to the Yogini's Eye, several deities do not really originate from the original pile of basic Kriya deities. The following are Generation/Completion Stage deities, which were tapered down to also be available in Kriya: Tri-samaya vyuha, Vasudhara, Marici, Bhutadamaru, and Zungdranga whatever that is. So, the rituals are not the same, they have a Kriya version and the Anuttara version. This is according to Abhayakaragupta. However, the deities are the same. So in setting up basic Vasudhara and Marici, this is doing exactly as he advises in order to learn outer practices that directly continue in tantra.



    Vasudhara's mate Jambhala is quite intricate as well, and seems to be interested in working with all colors. One of the ways he does this is to intercept her Six Arm form. Tsonkhapa describes him, "Yaksha Jambhala, having the colour of gold, Vajradhara Father and Mother as a crown, three faces, yellow, black and white. With six arms the three right [hands] hold a bijapuraka [fruit], hook and arrow. The three left [hold] a consort similar in appearance, a good lasso together with a mongoose, and a bow. With a large belly and dwarfish in form, the hair is bound in tufts, adorned with jewels and wearing garments of various silks."

    So there is such a thing as Yellow Vasudhara as an emanation of Vajradhara, or rather the crown signifies experience in a Vajradhara-based practice of Highest Yoga.











    IWS is much more concrete about the "alterations" to basic Vasudhara, first just in examining the immediate sequence. This is Day/Night Tara, Pitheshvari, and Cintamani:




    The very next one is Manohara Vasudhara, Green Vasudhara--Dhanada, followed by what seems to be a seated Cintamani or Yellow Vasudhara Ila Devi:






    Those are followed by Jambhala, several Taras, and/or Parasol.

    Manohara seems to be caught up in the method of "saying Hara twice" such as in Parnasabari's verse twenty of Tara's praise:


    namaś candrârka-saṃpūrṇa-nayana-dyuti-bhāsure |

    hara-dvirukta-tuttāre-viṣama-jvara-nāśini ||


    Hara dvirukta means hara is spoken twice.


    "Homage to you, whose two eyes, the sun and the moon

    Radiate sublime luminous light.

    Uttering HARA twice and TUTTĀRE

    You dispel all horrifying epidemics."


    I am not sure if that has anything to do with a Parnasabari mantra.


    Om Tare Tuttare Ture Nama Tare Manohara Hum Hara Svaha

    in Tibet is for a Yellow-Red Saffron Tara called Ritod Loma Jonma.


    Comparatively, Four Arm Sita's mantra is:

    oṃ namas tāre manohare huṃ hare svāhā

    Manohara can, of course, be an ordinary phrase, something like "captivating the mind by beauty", so, like bhrkuti, it can be an adjective for anyone if desired, as well as being the proper name of Red Hook goddess.

    In one interpretation, "Hara (to snatch) twice" means peaceful and wrathful mantras; first being the standard Tara mantra, second is:

    Om Nama Tare Namo Hare Hum Hare Svaha

    This idea of the two mantras is used exactly in the Peaceful-Wrathful Day-Night Tara Sadhana from Tilo.


    This is a type of Manohara called Secret Accomplishment Arya Rakta Tara:






    Under her are Ila Devi with Four Activities; beside her are Vajrakilaya and Marici riding her boar in an adventurous fashion. Yes, Bhu Devi has a boar, which she mounts in a more normal fashion. But it is also the vehicle of basic Marici. So right there, we can associate the Sun with a Luminous Mind on Earth. Marici is complex; her main vehicle is really a Chariot, which, in one form is pulled by Seven Horses in a way similar to the Hindu Legends, but afterwards, these are replaced by Boars. One aspect of Marici's Boar Chariot is that they pave the ground into gold. Nothing could be much more symbolic of the Nirmana Cakra and First Bhumi.


    And so we are getting Red Vasudhara out of a "Hara twice" practice, implying the kind that has Wrathful White Night Tara.

    She is eventually going to swing her hook at a male deity.


    In some accounts, Red Jambhala has an elephant head and/or a mouse (a "treasury mouse" that may look like a mongoose) and has thereby osmosed Ganesh. White is considered a form of Avalokiteshvara. Yellow is sometimes holding a lemon or citron, origin of his name perhaps (jambhara), meaning filled with seed (bijapuraka) which is full of semen. White, Red, Yellow, and Green Jambhalas all get Vasudhara. She brings treasure vases and the one who has the most is Mahalakshmi (nine). Yellow, Black, and Green Jambhala have the same mantra. They are not very complicated, and what Vasudhara and Jambhala do is preside at Blessing Ganapati's Wheel, where Ganapati is understood as a disguise of Avalokiteshvara. This torma ritual has already used the Vase, with a sprinkler bound to kusha grass and peacock plume, one mentally uses a moonstone vase, within which is a moon disk covered with dharanis radiating golden light. The rays draw in the deities and the mental vase enters the physical one. Then five colored thread is used to contact a vajra to these three deities represented by wheels. Finally is Blessing the Treasury's Riches.

    Jambhala's scale is that Red is almost always shown in union, and Blue is not, and it tramples Ganesh.


    One can observe a divergence in him. His blue and green forms mainly pertain to Kalachakra Tantra. So it is going to acquire retinues and work in ways that cease to resemble Sarma tantras or Chakrasamvara. However, if I am in Sarma and I follow a dharani-based goddess version up to the point where a male is inevitably in union with her, then Bharati is going to get Red Jambhala. Her tier includes Tarodbhava Kurukulla, who isn't anyone's consort, and Tinuma Vajrayogini, neither is she, although Zhiro Bhusana Vajrayogini is a close correspondence to her. The first tier is Dakinis, which we will just summarize as Guhyajnana Dakini.

    And so when she finally achieves union, this practice is IWS 319 Red Jambhala "for vitality practice" and says he is crowned with Vajrasattva.

    And so if we start from a basic yellow Vasudhara, she has two tracks: get bigger (six arms), or turn red. Well, she is also green. Ancient research says Prithvi is green, but it is hard to find one. In terms of a four arm green goddess, there is Dhanada Vasudhara, and Durga from Sarvadurgati Parishodhana. We are going to say that "yellow to red Vasudhara" is actually "under" or "within" her green form, which is parallel to Mahasri Tara:


    IWS 325 is Lion-mounted, Srim-arisen Green Mahalakshmi, crowned by Yamantaka, surrounded by a host of yaksha matrkas. She is a Prajnaparamita goddess accomplished from Gagana Ganja Samadhi. For purposes of her Offering mantras, her name is Sri Devi.


    So, ok. We can get an idea of what Gaganaganja is. That is the second class of samadhi after Hero's March or Surangama, which is the domain of Parasol.
    Buddhist Literature in Turkestan placed the following together:

    Ananta Mukha Dharana
    Shurungama Sutra
    Parasol's Pratyangira Dharani

    So one probably wants this considerably prior to Yamantaka.


    Gaganaganja is part of Prajnaparamita philosophy and practice, so, this Mahalakshmi cannot have an inner driver that is anything other than Prajnaparamita. She has mixed this with the second level of samadhi, which sounds physiological, rather close to Dakini Jala Rahasya in symbolizing a physiological void gnosis that takes place in Sky Element. Allright, so one uses Varuni to increase one's uptake of Sky or Akash. That is for any kind of tantric ritual. This Mahalakshmi says you have accomplished Yamantaka. That is probably the main difference between her and Mahasri Tara of Sadhanamala. Whereas Mahasri's mantra is quite similar to that of Dhanada, Mahalakshmi adds Kamala, in fact she is pretty plainly Kamala Mahalakshmi. Again you can translate that in plebian terms, but, it is one of the most tantricly-significant names you can give, since Mahalakshmi is Adi Shakti, and Kamala is the highest tantric experience of her.

    Green Tara in the sense of Karma Family such as Mahattari and Dhanada goes there.

    It then gives a series of four Vasudharas that are not the same as in Sadhanamala.


    326 is the basic Vasudhara sadhana from the dharani. Around her are the whole host of female treasure-owners such as Dhana Sri (Nor-dpal mo). So we could probably say this first one is like in Sadhanamala.


    327 is Jamari's Vasudhara standing on Two Vases. The recitation is also a flower offering, where you visualize a white umbrella coming to the top of the head. We saw this as its own icon, so, it probably is a stage or Samaya, and what do you know, you use an actual parasol silently without the name.


    Interestingly the next two specify Front Generation of Vasudhara. Both of them still work with praise as per the 326 dharani version, so they are obviously related, and yet they are obviously more intense:

    328 is Gopali Vasudhara, who comes from Alakavati Pure Land and makes Vajra Samaya. She is basically identical to Jamari's Vasudhara, except her back rests against a Bodhi Tree. Her mantra is:

    Om Jamdhi-katha Manohara Sarva Bhana Patta-Ratno Hum Jrum Hum Hum Svaha

    She has the Gomata or Kamadhenu herd (five).

    329 is Manohara, related to Hook and Hri. She works like Gopali, coming from Alakavati.


    And so this is Mahalaksmi, followed by mantra Vasudhara and dharani Vasudhara:





    Followed by Gopali and Manohara:








    So these last two are begotten from working with the first two. They come from some other place. Physically, Alakavati is a place where Buddha converted beings while pursuing the maddened elephant.

    It is in the Blue Annals starting from a point of Five Dakinis teaching to Saraha:

    lchang lo chan, the Paradise of Vajrapānni, originally Vajrapānni was believed to have been the son of Vai Śravana residing in Alakavati on the southern slope of Mount Meru

    It has the same meaning with Kyungpo Naljor, the founder of Shangpa Kagyu, where it is specifically called a paradise of a Buddha.


    It has to do with emanational presence:

    "that of the nirmanakaya the spheres of Alakavati, Tusita,..."

    Potala and Alakavati as part of a common Sukhavati prayer.


    The closeness of Alakavati and Tusita is found in a Dunhuang manuscript, where it is explained the tone of this literature looks at rebirth in Pure Lands as a necessary phase in the career of the Bodhisattva, rather than the later "Book of the Dead" teachings which exhort the deceased to "attain Buddhahood this very moment" whenever a phenomenon dawns.

    Alakavati and Potalaka are called earhtly paradises. Vajrapani and Avalokiteshvara both have these methods of being directly accessible to the earth plane. Alakavati is part of Mt. Meru, the part that you enter. The other three faces or slopes are usually said to be outright inaccessible to human beings, although there is some indication you might be able to get there, intentionally or otherwise. Here, the metaphor is we are lost in the woods, hearing the Kinkini or bells on the silver anklets of Sabaris, whom we may not be able to see. They will help us mount and ascend the peak, which is to become more and more centered in the Avadhut and the ability to use the upwards force to access the state of mind or Akanistha that is the summit of Mt. Meru and a complete Mandala.

    It would give us an accurate analogy that Vasudhara : Alakavati as Bhrkuti : Potalaka.

    Vajrapani is chimerical because as Vajra Family, he does not really belong in the south, as a Bodhisattva, he should not be able to consort with Mamaki, who is going to run around with others anyway.

    Vasudhara is only partially in Vajra Family, but since she and Jambhala are Yakshas, they all interact.

    Ganesh, who is usually called Ganapati in Buddhism, is absorbed into Amritakundalin, but also into Jambhala. Ganapati is usually considered a form of Avalokiteshvara, and it seems Jambhala sometimes is also just Avalokiteshvara or Vajrapani. The translator of 108 Names of Vasudhara did not notice that one of them is Vainayaki, which is Elephant Head or a female Ganesh, who is nearly hidden out of existence from the Hindu pantheon.

    Alakavati is even used in Mayuri Mandala, which also shows us the following presence of Gauris:

    Aparajita Vidyaraja Mantra [om huru huru candali matangi svaha] for Boundary or Sima




    From a multi-lingual Sutra Pitaka:

    The disciples are then guided to recite secret mantra of Vajrasamaya. Let the disciples to open their ear. Scatter flowers as abhiseka ritual which is according to Dharma. Entering this altar can be considered as entering all mandalas. All heavenly maras and vinayakas will submit to practioner’s order. Later on practioners will be born in the Alakavati palace of Vaisravana.

    And, after Ucchusma and Mamaki:

    Furthermore, facing eastern direction practioner should recite root mantra in front of these holy paintings. Practioner should only consume alms food. He/she shouldn’t speak anything as if a piece of wood. When practioner has already got stable foundation, then he should continue by reciting the mantra 600.000 times. He/she should climb to a mountain peak and construct a secret mandala as explained before. He/she should hold a sword during mandala construction. Chen incense (Chenxiang), Yujin flower, dan white sandalwood should be burnt days and nights incesantly. He will attain the leadership of Vidyarajni and attain all spiritual realizations (siddhi). Practioner will get glorious power and his/her life span will be very long like sun and moon. After the end of practioner’s life, he/she will be born in Alakavati Palace.



    In Praise of Tara:

    In particular, these Tantras were again recited and taught by our Teacher (Buddha Sakyamuni), since it is taught in their Explanatory Tantra, the *Qiikinf [dakini?]-guhya-bindu, Tantras taught by the Lion of the Sakyas, on the peak of Potala Mountain. The traditional story of this, from the lips of my predecessors, is as follows. It is said that after the Teacher had agreed to demonstrate to sentient beings the deeds of Awakening, He sat on the Bodhimanda (the 'seat of Enlightenment' beneath the bodhi tree at Bodhgaya) and with a ray of light from the point between His eyebrows He filled all the abodes of the Maras. When, thereupon, the armies of the Maras assembled, Tara laughed eight times, so that they all fell on the ground in a faint. Then the Teacher transformed Himself into the Fierce, Immovable One (Krodhacala), and subdued the Maras with the samadhi that crushes all Maras. Afterwards, when He had become fully Enlightened on the seat of Enlightenment, He became nondual with the Tathagata Akshobhya, and when the Goddess Tara worshipped Him, taught Her Tantra at length. He similarly taught at length the mandala of the Conquerors (Jinas) of the Six Families. Then, so that the Tantras He had thus explained would not disappear, He wished to show them to sentient beings of the six types of destiny. Going to Potala Mountain with a host of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, He gave empowerment to countless, innumerable sentient beings, including devas, nagas, yaksas, and gandharvas. When He had explained to them the Mantra Vehicle, He established them in siddhi. Finally, He entrusted the Tantras to Vajrapani. They were practised in Alakavati and the other abodes of the vidyadharas. So that not all the Tantras would disappear from the world of human beings, Vajrapani became King Indrabhuti, wrote all the Tantras in books, and concealed them as a so-called Dharma Treasury . After that, it is said they were practised by Heroes (vira) and yoginis.


    In other places, it is said some tantras are kept on Mt. Potalaka, and Tara's tantras went into the Naga realm.

    copy with perhaps different bugs

    It also mentions:

    ...in a very short daily practice of Vasudhara ('Stream of Wealth'), the wealth-granting form of Tara, by His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche, the preparatory practices are condensed into a single stanza expressing these two thoughts: NAMO!

    To Guru, Three Jewels and Ven'rable Lady Devotedly I go for Refuge. To free Migrators throughout space from sorrow and want, I'll practise the Goddess Stream of Wealth.


    So she has Karuna or an effective remedy for the sorrows of others.



    According to Sacred Visions about a yellow form of Vaisravana:

    Here, Vaishravana, as protector of the Buddhist faith (dharmapala) , appears in his golden form, riding a white snow lion and accompa­nied by a larger entourage. He carries a victory ban ner (dhvaja) and a mongoose spitting jewels, the lat­ ter being a symbol of his association with wealth and abundance. As is appropriate for a deity sometimes connected with military campaigns, Vaishravana wears military armor and is accompanied by the Eight Lords of the Horses (ashvapati): Jambhala, Manibhadra, Purnabhadra, Bijakundalin, Kubera, Atavaka, Panchika, and Samjneya (nos. 5-12). The identities of his two regal standing atten­dants are uncertain, although they are integral to Vaishravana's iconography and appear, much as they do here, in Vaishravana paintings from Tibet, China, and Central Asia. The cows, trees, and pond that surround the vase beneath Vaishravana may allude to his Alakavati Paradise . Eight snake deities (nagarajas) control the region below.


    Allright. So Gopali's scenery is reflective of Alakavati. The place itself is above the Naga layer of Kamaloka. So, if we are "climbing" towards it, that is something that must be "conquered".

    Her mantric character is Jamdhi-katha; although she says Manohara, she does not say Hara twice.

    Jāṃdhi (जांधि).—A mountain on the base of Meru; north of the Mahābhadra lake.*

    * Bhāgavata-purāṇa V. 16. 26; Vāyu-purāṇa 36. 32; Viṣṇu-purāṇa II. 2. 29, 44.

    Kathā (कथा).—[kath ni° a]

    1) A tale, story; °प्रावीण्यम् (prāvīṇyam) U.4. historical knowledge.


    Sarva Bhana, all words, sayings, names, sounds, etc., and a jeweled

    Paṭṭa (पट्ट).—A plate or cloth or other substance to be presented with prescribed mantras as gift during an eclipse.

    She also slips in the syllable Jrum, which has little other use in Buddhism other than Vajrabhairava's heart mantra, where it is less distinct, along with other syllables ending in -um. Lakshmi Tantra definitely uses it with her Jaya form. Jaya's anga mantras are jram, jrim, jrum, jrlm, jrem, and jrom with tam. Her heart bija mantras for her dark blue companions Jayanti and Vijaya, Aparajita, Siddhi, are jim, vim, am, sim, with tam, their name, and svaha. For example:

    Om Jim Tam Jayantiyai Svaha

    By anga mantra, it means something like building blocks, so this appears to be a special J for Jaya.

    "Jim" is an older syllable for Lotus Family, derived from "Jina" or "conqueror". Jrim is for Amitabha or Vajrapani.

    Vajrabhairava brings up the Jrum syllable in a section that seems to be talking about Inverted Stupa in a difficult way:

    With the blood of old camels and crows one draws the wheel and puts it in between the two legs of the image, and in front of me one draws a figure of a camel in blood. One should place it on top, and if one is well endowed with the absorption of the air element29 there is no doubt [the subject) will be driven away.

    29. If this meditative absorption is successfully accomplished the half-moon shaped wind mandala can come into operation.

    This is for "driving away", related to Phat syllable, several times...but, the same power works the other way:

    Then, if he wants to summon, he thinks of a wind mandala arisen from the syllable YAM and above it a moon mandala arisen from an A and above that the form ot Yama holding a hook and a noose in his hands. In the yoga of the Buffalo-headed One, he commands: 'Go. Yama, and quickly summon such-and-such a woman from such-and-such a land!'.


    It does, actually, describe Inverted Stupa in a difficult way:

    Now the practice of the meditation of melting141 will be told. He thinks of the subject before him. He thinks of a wind mandala arisen from the syllable YAM on his two legs. Above those in his secret place he should think of a triangular red fire mandala blessed with a RAM.

    Merely by this practice that woman melts. Like the sacred fig tree it will doubtless melt.


    It apparently has to turn elsewhere to describe what it is talking about:

    141. 'Melting' refers to the process whereby the crown cakra (psychic nerve centre) is activated by the opening of the central channel. The Hevajra-tantra says (Sneligrove 1959: 50): 'Candali blazes up at the navel She bums the Five Buddhas. She burns Locana and the others. HAM is burnt and the Moon melts'.

    And so I ignored the fact that its "second half" was something weird, and we will also guess this is about the only place that "navel" is not the seat of the Triangle. But, this energy is what proceeds to summon and cause to remain:

    Then, if he wants to bring a king or a royal minister into his power, the devotee who is in the yoga of the Buffalo-headed One thinks of himself as red. He should be above where the subject is, and he arises as Manjusri red in colour holding a hook and noose in his hands.


    So Gopali uses a Jrum syllable in a more evident way than how it is stuck in cycles made by Vajrabhairava or Jaya.

    She is doing it in a way that takes Vasudhara "of the Dharani" and mingles her with Jamdhi or the base of Meru, acquiring a Tree and Cows. She carries a spark of Manohara. And so if we focus her, one might look for it to become a scene of Luminous Cows. Similarly, in the Homa, there is a Yogurt being made from their Milk (Akash) which produces Luminous Mind.

    If we follow Mahattari's example, then, one could start with Ila with the Nidhana mantra, move to the form on Two Vases with a longer dharani, and then Gopali.

    Let us repeat her and combine with image:

    Om Jamdhi-katha Manohara Sarva Bhana Patta-Ratno Hum Jrum Hum Hum Svaha













    This is far better off with an extended view on the Crescent itself than those quick "mentions" of it. She is in Alakavati, which is shown to be not really Akanistha, but, a purified approach to Meru, which is virtually identical to the meaning of the Crescent. From this view, Sarvavid Vairocana is at the top facing East, not towards us. And so it is not a position where there is much need to enter him/self-generate as the deity.

    Furthermore, Gopalis are known to be excited about Krishna, but they used Kunkuma or red powder on themselves to relieve sexual anxiety (Adhim). So, in a Homa, besides a container for Vasudhara, there is a container of Red Powder for Kumari.

    If one thinks of this yogurt as being magically infused with sunlight during its creation, and this nutrient causes luminous mind in a way that is highly sensitive to sound, and that Ganapati more or less surrenders his existence to insure it works, that is part of what is happening.

    We are doing this while achieving ever more powerful Nectars until obtaining that of Tvastr.

    The Homa has, so to speak, multiple Vasudharas as input, and Annapurna as output. It becomes Buddhist and tantric by the use of Varuni, by the use of any Buddhist Yidam such as Tara or Chakrasamvara, and then by the conversion of Agni to work in a Buddhist manner, that is, Generation and Completion Stages.




    From a Bengali catalog of a ca. 1118 Palm leaf of 8,000 verse Prajnaparamita, it uses the same three-panel system we still see in IWS, and their identifications are:

    ­1/A1­7
    IS 4­1958 ­ 1/A2
    Folio from an Asthasahasrika Prajnaparamita ms: left Samantabhadra, centre Amitabha, right Manjusri Vadirat

    IS 5­1958 ­ 1/A3
    left Maitreya, centre Sri ­Potalake Lokanatha, right Lokanatha

    IS 6­1958 ­ 1/A4
    left Vajrapani, centre Vajrasattva, right Ksitagarbha (?)

    ­IS 7­1958 ­ 1/A5
    left Bodhisattva Sarvanivaranaviskambhin, centre Vajradhatvisvari, right Akasagarbha (?)

    IS 8­1958 ­ 1/A6
    left Mahasri Tara, centre Lokanatha, right Ucchusma Jambhala

    IS 9­1958 ­ 1/A7
    left Marici, centre Vasudhara, right Parnasabari



    So far I have found almost nothing musical for Vasudhara. This is a recent Chinese version of her short mantra, which for some reason she is reciting as:

    Om Vasudhare Svaha, Om Vasudhare Ni Svaha

    It is usually just a different form of the mantra that says "Vasudharani", but, I suppose you can braid the mantras.






    Archaeologists refuse to name what is perhaps the best-kept Tara artifact in the world. If she is offering fruit or gems, it probably has to to with Vasudhara:






    The top is well-known as Amitabha with Vajrapani and Lokeshvara. Across the bottom are serpent-hooded figures much like in the Newari Vasudhara posted above.

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    Default Re: Nirakara and Shentong Buddhism, Tara, Sadhanas, Sanskrit culture

    Crescent of the Inverted Stupa, also called Inner Offering, Inner Mandala, Burnt Offering, Bali Offering, Five Nectars, or Nadi Dakini Jala, along with Muttering Pratisara and Protecting the Womb




    This is a progression from the first stage of Muttering, which we represented with Prajnaparamita on page one. There, it is perhaps semi-tantric in the academic sense, because it involves mantra associated with a visualization.

    It does not have to be done exactly that way, but, the Three Syllables Om Ah Hum and that style of meditation are something you should be comfortable with first.

    This part is more tantric because the previous ingredients are combined with physiological changes, mainly in terms of the nervous system.



    We want to do meditations first on Space Element, and a visualization of everything reducing to a point, vanishing, and eventually re-emitting a point and everything. This point is also called Flame among the Ten Signs, i. e. a tiny point-like flame, maybe in the space in front of you, or perhaps in the ajna or similar center. The visual experience should mesh with a similar one of sound, and so it is a tiny point-like flame in a crescent, as used in written syllables.

    On its own it would be silent, but, it has a similar appearance, without the support or filament of the Ah-stroke in the navel:







    And so we are in a kind of transition where this visual, auditory Flame is going to merge into that "condition" of a different Ah of altered prana shown there, using an utterly different procedure than these elemental syllables are used in any other way. Someone may, perhaps, spontaneously accomplish this, but most devotees will find it time-consuming if not impossible. I am not sure. I think I probably spent around Six months in something like Day Yoga where phenomena were "appearances", but, once I kind of uncovered the stage being discussed in this post, I experienced a relatively quick chain reaction equivalent to a Suksma Yoga cycle. Took only about half as much time, probably less. From there, it took, probably years to figure out things which actually are quite plainly presented by the Nirakara system. So I was in a partially-poisoned condition due to lacking any blessings or merit, and partly sandbagged by the lack of a good guide, which is what Refuge in this Dharma means.



    Prajnaparamita is in one syllable, Ah, and at first, this is the Throat Center. The exercises started this way are intended to make the one above inherently manifest "without effort" in terms of its visualization or existence. Most of us will have to perform Yoga with minor results referred to as "with effort", such as if we are able to see the most basic Cintamani Tara or Ila Devi, we have to work at the concentration, and it is pale and fickle.


    In Prajnaparamita Sutra,

    The wind arises in space and reaches the Mahābrahmā gods and the levels formed of the seven jewels [Kamaloka] which all rest on the wind.

    So, if you already have the flaming point, then, instead of the stroke as above, to do Generation Stage, it makes a Blue Yam syllable, resembling:









    The Wind is our prana or life-force, so, it doesn't matter now how good we can visualize or not, because that should correspond to how well we can do Pratyahara or withdraw the winds. And so you try to see this syllable arise with the original Flame, eventually you can just let its blue light sweep the thing and magnify a Blue Crescent above it, which is a Wind Mandala.

    Blue Yam arises, making a Blue Wind Mandala, which is the crescent shape, with white banners at the horns over two vases. The Banners are said to activate the wind. It is also a drawn bow, representing the lower center. The Crescent is the legs, or a bow, a spring power we want to aim at the central at the triangle or navel or solar plexus, and if there is an effect, these are fluttering Banners.

    At the corner of the edges of this bow-shaped mandala, there are two vases. Inside these vases, there are banners and the difference between these banners and victory banners as these are more like flags or pennants, and also, victory banners usually have decorations at the top but there are no such decorations on these flags.

    The Crescent is Inverted, or resembles the legs facing outwardly, and so the Bow is aimed at the center and up.

    "Yam" is a syllable indicating "restraint", such as in Yama, Niyama, or Pranayama.


    Wind and the Inverted Stupa



    In Lamaism, L. A. Waddell found the assembly:

    Mrtyuvacana Tara with Kurukulla and a male Wrathful Niladanta Krodha Raja.

    Here is an intense Kurukulla page which explains Vayumukhi as "gods dwelling at the speed of wind".


    Vajra Tara says:

    tatrādau yaṃkāreṇa vāyavyaṃ dhanvākāraṃ
    dhūmavarṇaṃ koṭidvaye calatpatākāṅkam

    [There or present] Yam Northwest [Wind or Vayu direction] in Bow Form, Smoky color two horns so as to move [Kankam]; this seems to refer to a hill, the river Ambaranadi flows off the slope of Meru and crosses it and a lot of other hills to reach the western ocean. Or, it means golden or refined, like an elision of kanaka.


    In Sadhanamala, a complete Inverted Stupa may be found with Hariharihari Vahana Lokeshvara 34, Vajra Tara 94 [should say 97], Vajra Tara 110, Ekajati 123, and Varahi 225.

    Krukulla 181 uses half of it.

    Vajra Tara 95 makes an upright stupa.

    Marici 134 uses Wind Mandala to cast her retinue, 137 turns it into Rahu. So Marici is kind of reversing the "rite" where we saw it is used to "drive someone away", which itself is Phat syllable, and so you can think of that in terms of wrathful nature versus the impediments.

    We are in Body Mandala, which in one sense employs Nirmana Cakra, and another, the head. The way to understand Wrathful Activity is that the brain is not the mind. The brain is the Body. The Heart is Mind. The Wrathfuls are reflex emanations from the heart center, inhabiting the head, who burn out and clear the yogic obstacles in the brain. That is part of getting the whole Inverted Stupa to work.



    In other places the Inverted Stupa is described, one is Vajradaka Tantra, based on using one Cup:

    In his Bodhicittāvalokamālā, Kalāka teaches a meditation on syllables, fire and fluid and their effects. The Vivṛti calls this practice the refining of the fivefold immortal nectar (bdud rtsi lnga sbyang ba) and explains details of this practice as follows. Having transformed himself into Vajraḍāka, the practitioner visualizes a wind disk from the letter Yaṃ, a fire disk from the letter Raṃ above it, a skull bowl from the letter A above them...



    After criticizing the attempt to make Kurukulla into a "basic Red Tara", she nevertheless also has a good description of it, in what may be called Red Tara but at least plainly says Kurukulla Sadhana, which uses Dakini Jala Gauris, except Herukasamnibha has become Dombini. It then uses Amrita Kundalin All-Purpose Mantra, and does Inner Offering, which is one of the clearest translations of a Completion Stage Inverted Stupa. This describes what is the equivalent of two skullcups, and so what we are going to do is pick away Kurukulla's personal things and have a third cup for Varuni and mainly work on half of it or Generation Stage.

    "INNER OFFERING Out of the state of emptiness appears a YAM from which arises a blue air mandala in the shape of a bow-marked with banners..."

    It quickly goes to the advanced details. But those don't work without this important step.

    With respect to Kurukulla, in Sadhanamala, she is a rare recipient of Ksha (Earth) syllable, as well as being Nag Kanya on her white form when blended with Seven Syllable deity.





    In Samputa Tantra, what I have been calling Inverted Stupa is Section 6.3 here. Its self-description is:

    sarvanāḍīsamāyogo ḍākinījālasaṃvaraḥ ṣaṣṭhasya tṛtīyaṃ prakaraṇam ||

    Dakini Jala of the Nadis Samayoga, i. e. union with all.

    Because it uses the leading character of Chakrasamvara Tantra, it is related to the same explanation, except Union of All Buddhas has become Union of All Nadis.

    Again this is a Completion Stage format and we are not quite going to literally follow it either; this one is unusual in making Water Circle in the Abdomen and Earth Square in the Heart. We have been saying Water Circle = Citta Chakra = Heart and that Square is "undefined".

    Like most of the others, we can use the beginning of it in a general way.

    It uses a specific name for Wind.

    Prajnaparamita Sutra:

    The winds that arise from the four cardinal directions cannot shake mount Sumeru, but, at the end of the great kalpa, the P’i lan (Vairambha) winds arise and blow on mount Sumeru like a pile of straw.

    Further:

    “The winds coming from the four cardinal directions cannot shake mount Meru, but at the end of the great kalpa, the P’i lan wind arises and blows [upon mount Meru] like a pile of straw.” At k. 17, p. 188b: “The winds coming from the eight directions cannot shake mount Meru, but at the end of the kalpa, the P’i lan winds arise and blow on mount Meru like a pile of straw.”

    These P’i lan winds are the vairambha or vairambhaka of the Sanskrit texts (Divyāvadāna, p. 90, 105; Kośa, VI, p. 155) and the verambha of the Pāli texts (Saṃyutta, II, p. 231; Aṅguttara, I, p. 137; Jātaka, III, p. 255, 484; VI, p. 326). According to the Saṃyutta (l.c.), the verambha winds blow in upper space (upari ākāsa). When a bird encounters them, the verambha winds strike it and its claws, wings, head and body are scattered.

    It is also a mundane term for winter wind, or a violent whirlwind that can stop a fierce wind.


    Its metaphysical correspondence is also very old in the Subala Upanishad of Sukla Yajur Veda concerning consciousness departing the body or universe.


    To get an elaborate description that is a bit more generic than the Kurukulla one, we will then know that this applies to some of the Sadhanamala Taras, as well as to the things which follow it in the same text, such as Jnanadakini.

    Samputa says:

    [The goddess said,] “I would like to hear, O lord, how to perform the worship, and so forth, of the inner maṇḍala. I do not know the procedure for the burnt offering rite. Please explain it, O Great Bliss.” {6.3.1}

    The Blessed One said:

    6.­95
    “Deities such as the herukas, and so forth,
    Exquisitely manifest in the form of the subtle channels.
    The body is a delightful maṇḍala,
    Which has four gates, as has been described. {6.3.2}

    6.­96
    “Its eight pillars being the eight limbs of one’s body,
    The maṇḍala is always encircled by them.
    Because of the equality among all things,
    It is known to be symmetrical, with four sides. {6.3.3}

    6.­97
    “Being in essence body, speech, and mind, respectively,
    The three cakras are said to be a single one.
    On the stamens of the lotus on top of one’s head, which is Mount Meru,
    There is Vairambhaka and the other three winds, in their right order. {6.3.4}

    6.­98
    “This maṇḍala is present, having manifested
    Through the two stages, as handed down by the succession of gurus.
    On the soles of the feet there is the Vairambha wind
    In the shape of a bow. {6.3.5}

    6.­99
    “Located in the triangular area of the abdomen
    Is the blazing triangle.
    The element of water, in the form of a circle,
    Is located in the abdomen. {6.3.6}

    6.­100
    “In the heart area there is the earth element,
    Symmetrically quadrangular in form.
    The spinal column, with the form of a staff,
    Is just like Sumeru, the king of mountains. {6.3.7}

    6.­101
    “On a lotus with thirty-two petals,
    Located in the area of the head,
    The vowels and consonants are exquisitely present—
    They are claimed to be the thirty-two-fold bodhicitta. {6.3.8}

    6.­102
    “That which is in the center of the lotus
    Is, for its part, described as a moon disk.
    The brain inside the head
    Is what is said to be present there. {6.3.9}

    6.­103
    “In its center is the syllable hūṁ, [F.114.a]
    Indestructible, in the form of a drop of ambrosia.
    All beings have their foundation in this,
    As it is the mainstay of animate and inanimate entities. {6.3.10}

    6.­104
    “Their existence is in the form of this seed syllable,
    Whether it takes manifest or unmanifest forms.
    The forms of all embodied beings
    Are therefore complete from the beginning. {6.3.11}

    6.­105
    “It is present day and night,
    Dripping in the form of ambrosia.
    By this ambrosia alone is the ‘sound’ unleashed
    And the flame satisfied.355 {6.3.12}

    Comm1 (486) has, “Then, ‘that alone,’ meaning the dripping letter haṁ, ‘opens,’ or exalts ‘the sound,’ meaning the gtum mo, which is in the image of blood.” Comm2 (932) has instead, “ ‘That alone opens the door,’ meaning that the door of the treasury of the wind of space, which belongs to the heat of gtum mo, is opened, and through that the bodhicitta in the head is melted, based on which the ambrosia drips during one’s inhalations and exhalations night and day, thereby filling the maṇḍala.”


    By "two stages" of 6.98 is likely meant the Buddhist Lokottara Siddhis, Generation and Completion Stage.


    6.­106
    “The maṇḍala will become filled with it,
    There is no doubt about it.
    Only this can be called maṇḍala,
    Which is the ultimate essence of all things. {6.3.13}

    6.­107
    “Since it gathers this essence,
    The maṇḍala is thought to be the body.
    The maṇḍala is thus thought to be
    The network of thirty-two primary subtle channels. {6.3.14}

    6.­108
    “This very maṇḍala is the essence—
    The great jewel of bodhicitta.
    In its outer and inner aspects,
    It is present pervading everything. {6.3.15}

    6.­109
    “The outer aspect constitutes the range of engagement
    Of all the sense faculties in forms, sounds, and the rest,
    While the inner one is present as
    The ‘fulfilled’ substances, such as semen, and so forth. {6.3.16}

    6.­110
    “By means of these outer and inner aspects
    In their coarse and subtle forms, respectively—
    Their essence being the bodhicitta of the followers
    Of the vajra path in their roles of the world’s kinsmen, {6.3.17}

    6.­111
    “The bodhicitta taught in support of the pledge
    To become a buddha or a bodhisattva—
    Awakening can be attained in this very life,
    Thanks to this very maṇḍala. {6.3.18}

    6.­112
    “Through this maṇḍala will also come
    The final attainments of the hearers,
    Solitary buddhas, and gods,
    Such as Brahmā, and so forth. {6.3.19}

    6.­113
    “One should perform a burnt offering with appropriate substances—
    The inner ones, such as semen, and so forth,
    And the outer ones, like the aggregate of form and the rest—
    Offering them in a blazing fire of insight. {6.3.20}

    6.­114
    “Based on the specificities of the six sense-fields,
    The elements, the aggregates, and so forth,
    They have the nature of deities,
    And likewise, ḍākinīs. {6.3.21} [F.114.b]

    6.­115
    “The inner worship (yogapūjā) is said to consist of these,
    For they are offered by the practitioner in worship.
    The skull of one’s own head
    Is said to be the vessel for burnt offerings. {6.3.22}

    6.­116
    “Rasanā (the right channel) is said to be the sacrificial sruva ladle;
    Lalanā (the left channel), at the heart cakra, has the nature of the sruk ladle;
    The mouth is averred to be the sacrificial plate,
    While the sacrificial fire pit is located in the hollow of the navel. {6.3.23}

    6.­117
    “The brahmanical fire, fanned by activating winds,
    Is located at the triangle of the abdomen.
    The sound of the winds is said to be the mantra,
    While their cycling is the repetition. {6.3.24}

    6.­118
    “The appearances in such meditation
    Reflect the practice of the nondual maṇḍala.
    Mounted upon the innate nature, this is, accordingly,
    The maṇḍala, and so forth, of the victorious ones. {6.3.25}

    6.­119
    “The teacher is the sovereign mind,
    According to his nature of being the lord of the maṇḍala.
    He should therefore understand everything in this tantra
    Just as explained, starting from ‘Thus.’ ” {6.3.26}

    6.­120
    [The goddess said:]

    “I am still unclear how the lord sports in the forms
    Of dharmakāya, sambhogakāya, nirmāṇakāya, and great bliss.
    I do not know the categories.
    Please tell me, O Great Bliss.” {6.3.27}

    6.­121
    The Blessed One said:

    “The two cakras located at the head and at the navel
    Each contain the shape of the letter e.
    Those, on the other hand, that are in the heart and the throat
    Bear a semblance to the syllable vaṁ. {6.3.28}

    6.­122
    “The cakra located at the navel
    Is a lotus with sixty-four petals.
    The one inside the head
    Is a lotus with thirty-two petals. {6.3.29}

    6.­123
    “The one inside the neck
    Is a lotus with sixteen petals,
    And the one in the heart
    Is known to be a lotus with eight petals. {6.3.30}

    6.­124
    “The nirmāṇakāya is said to be
    In the one with sixty-four petals,
    Whereas the dharmakāya abides
    In the lotus with eight great petals. {6.3.31}

    6.­125
    “The sambhogakāya abides in the lotus with sixteen petals,
    Whereas in the one with thirty-two petals,
    Great bliss, as great gnosis,
    Is situated throughout. {6.3.32}

    6.­126
    “In the center of the nirmāṇa cakra there is,
    Surrounded by the eight classes of letters,
    That supreme syllable—the letter a—
    Which occupies the foremost position among all letters. {6.3.33} [F.115.a]

    6.­127
    “In the cakra of the dharmakāya
    There is the celebrated syllable hūṁ, thought to be indestructible.
    It appears in combination with five vowels,
    And is adorned with ya, ra, la, and va. {6.3.34}

    6.­128
    “In the center of the sambhoga cakra
    There is the syllable oṁ, which illuminates all letters.
    It is surrounded on all sides
    By sixteen letters in sets of four. {6.3.35}

    6.­129
    “In the exalted cakra of great bliss
    Is the syllable haṁ in the form of a drop.
    The sun and the moon are said to be
    On its left and right sides respectively. {6.3.36}

    6.­130
    “In its section starting from the throat
    And ending at the center of the navel,
    The left channel (lalanā), associated with the sambhogakāya,
    Flows downward and carries semen. {6.3.37}

    6.­131
    “The subtle channel that flows upward (rasanā),
    In its section starting from the navel
    And ending at the center of the neck,
    Is said to carry blood. {6.3.38}

    6.­132
    “Semen is called moon;
    Blood is known as sun.
    Mounted upon the two openings,
    They are situated below and above respectively. {6.3.39}

    6.­133
    “For these two, the moon and the sun,
    Are known as the duo of subtle channels
    That cause the going and the coming
    Of the virile ones and the ḍākinīs. {6.3.40}

    6.­134
    “Their meaning is that of setting and rising,
    Similar to falling asleep and waking again.
    On the left and the right sides
    There are a dozen vowels. {6.3.41}

    6.­135
    “They are said to be facing upward
    And are surrounded by the syllables ka, kā, and so forth.
    The vowels are joined with these downward-facing consonants,
    Which have been moved from the sides to the center. {6.3.42}

    6.­136
    “The syllable kṣa, which is called rākṣasa,
    Is situated in the lower region of the body.
    When the moon (bodhicitta) is present in the throat cakra
    In its mode of intense passion, {6.3.43}

    6.­137
    “It is then called sambhogakāya,
    The supreme body of buddhas.
    It is so called also when it is at the tip of the [lotus] protuberance,
    Having reached the tip of the vajra. {6.3.44}

    6.­138
    “When the sambhogakāya
    Has reached the end of its path
    And fallen into the bhaga,
    It is known as mustard seed. {6.3.45}

    6.­139
    “It is then said to have the nature of the sun
    And is called nirmāṇakāya. [F.115.b]
    It is by way of this nirmāṇakāya
    That the manifestation of buddhas and bodhisattvas are born. {6.3.46}

    6.­140
    “In that setting sun,
    In the form of nirmāṇakāya,
    Resides the king Padmanarteśvara,
    In union with the lotus which was caused to open its petals. {6.3.47}

    6.­141
    “When that, which is then called perfect bodhicitta,
    Becomes the pure embryonic lump,
    It is cut off from the paths of cyclic existence
    And is the auspicious state of the cessation of conceptual thinking. {6.3.48}

    6.­142
    “Nondual and ultimately pure,
    It is the nature of glorious Vajrasattva
    Called glorious Heruka,
    Present in the tantras as a worm. {6.3.49}

    6.­143
    “He is established in the three tantras
    As a burst of laughter, a glance, or a handshake, respectively.

    6.­144
    He abides as a worm,
    Consuming both passion and dispassion.” {6.3.50}

    6.­145
    This concludes the third part of the sixth chapter on the subtle channel conjunctions which constitute the concealed essence of the ḍākinīs’ net.




    If we begin using this, we will be lucky to get anywhere close to Water Moon or Svadisthana of the following. According to Samvarodaya Tantra and Jamgon Kongtrul, the yoginis, lamas, or karmamudras are:

    The Path of Great Bliss of the Lower Door

    It is for someone who has stabilized the path of total liberation of the upper door.


    Someone who has stabilized the path of the upper door refers to:

    (1) To develop what has not been developed is to perfect the yoga of
    approach through four practices: accomplishing the body of reflected
    form, establishing the ground of the affinity, the movement of the three
    secrets, and the dance of the water moon.

    (2) To stabilize what has been developed is successful attainment through
    evoking the activity of peaceful and wrathful candallı of the channels,
    currents, vital essence drops, and pristine awareness in the body’s chakras
    endowed with four hidden things.

    (It has a third stage, Enhancement.)

    One turns without bias the wheel of introductory instructions that reveal
    the real face of candali, the great profound mystery that all phenomena
    are the utter inseparability of the ground that is to be purified, the path
    that purifies, and the purity of the result. By being skilled at gathering
    all phenomena of the path and its result in the essence of candali—the
    profound appearance of the yoga of every phenomenon—then it is all
    gathered into the single sufficient pristine awareness of all appearance.
    That is the meditation.


    Sexual yoga is intended for those who are stable in stage two of the upper door. Two is Encounter with Peaceful and Wrathful Candalis. That is a more generic name for what I am calling Gauris because the retinue is headed by Gauri, and includes Candali. But Candali is perhaps the main name for the inner fire of the navel and the heat yoga stemming from it in most of these texts.

    Moving three secrets is closer to what is done by Muttering. And so you would have to understand about Svadisthana in the Five Stages that trigger Abhisambodhis. It requires partial manifestation of Sambhogakaya. This is the culmination of "approach" or "development". Obviously part two requires an alert navigator of the whole subtle body.

    Wind is what moves, and Mind arises on it and supported by it.

    At first, it deals with the Bimba or form of the deity and the Grounds, close to what is meant by Body Mandala. And then there is mainly Muttering until you have Water Moon. So that is a limiting sign on the Yoga Pranayama practices we have, like their boundary, or something like a balloon they are in.


    There are various ways you can train it, the following is spellcraft from Buddha.




    Muttering Pratisara


    Pratisara is similar to a feminized version of an Amoghapasha retinue member, Sudhana Kumara, who is also Manidhari Vajrini, or, that is his mantra, his name is actually Manidharin or Sudhana.


    Pratisara is a profound dharani system which is mostly in its own league, even a magnum opus. Comparatively, Vasudhara is built into the Homa, which is a vast subject rather like getting a degree in, whereas Pratisara is very nearly her own personal equivalent in grandeur to that fire sacrifice, which, when performed in all its intricacies, can go on for something like three days.

    If Parasol was a spell that sprung out of Buddha mentally, Pratisara is like an ordinarily-spoken correspondence.


    She does not have the scaling evolutionary forms as shown on other deities. She is literally a household item, and at the same time complex. So this is saying we can try to visualize her like that. I can't do it. So that fact that she is kind of big is not quite the same as saying that most of the larger forms in other sadhanas are clairvoyant, self-arisen emanations of the deity itself. She is big in theory, but it doesn't matter if we can't really see her. She has tremendous power which is within her mantras and dharanis.

    In the structure of Sadhanamala, the previous deity was Carcika whose name literally means "muttering". And then if I look at the first Pratisara, that is all she is doing. I am not sure if there is anything else which is quite as close as a set of parentheses around this subject.

    She has the whole ball of wax that took I don't know how many articles to present with Prajnaparamita, and then all she is really doing is her own brand of this same Muttering.

    Despite her big form, she is pretty simple, once you have the hang of those basics.



    namo mahāpratisarāyai

    Sadhanamala Pratisara 194 just starts from Sunyata. You have done preliminary exercises and used Purity Mantra to enter Voidness. At this point, you could use the Flame and then the Yam syllable and the Crescent, as an outer symbol if you want, or, it can be part of yourself, and then instead of it proceeding to the Ram syllable, we can let it pick up Pratisara. And there is no reason not to take a moment and explore its blue habitat and its intended function.

    So instead of going to any of its more difficult extrapolations. we will cut it short, and while we are oberving the Crescent, during this time, the syllable Ah arises on it. This probably should be a white form, as then:


    akārajendumaṇdale pītapraṃkārajaṃ

    Ah syllable makes:

    Indumaṇḍala (इन्दुमण्डल).—the orb or disc of the moon.


    And so relative to the Crescent, Ah should project the moon disk outwardly to a spot where we can place Pratisara as if we were having a conversation.

    On this Full Moon projected from the Crescent, there becomes a Yellow Pram:


    प्रां


    Her syllable Pram is said to be prahvara, stooping, inclined, bowing to, or devoted to. 1) Pravara (प्रवर) denotes properly the ‘summons’ addressed to Agni at the beginning of the sacrifice to perform his functions. But as Agni was then invoked by the names of the ancestors of the Purohita, the term Pravara denotes the series of ancestors invoked. So it has to do with the elder, the lineage, and summons.

    Try to make it steady, and then you can imagine it spinning, glowing, or both, and there is a burst of rays which become Pratisara.



    She does have a simple white single-follower form strongly resembling Mrtyuvacana that is from Vajrapanjara Tantra. The more common larger one comes from Maya Jala or Vairocana Abhisambodhi Tantra.

    She has many iconic variations; 194 is yellow, has eight arms, and four faces, which can be remembered as lacking green. Here is a Chinese one:







    Tibetan:






    Her items are:

    dakṣuṇabhujaī khaḍgacakra-triśūlaśaradharāṃ vāmabhujaiḥ paraśucāpapāśavajradharāṃ

    Right hands, Sword, Wheel, Trident, Arrow, and the left have Axe, Bow, Noose, and Vajra.

    The way that works is her main item is really Sword, so she resembles Sword Dakini, and her secondary item is Axe, so she resembles Parnasabari. Because Parnasabari's main pose resembles the Crescent, she also is similar, although that has to do with Vajra Family. So far, we have seen multiple ways in which we are sort of bombarded by a wrathful Vajra Family practice essentially necessary for transcending the Kama Loka, such as Vasudhara will lead you into it. She says almost the same thing, by hinting at Ugra Tara who is effectively Sword Dakini or Mahacinakrama Tara, and this is Pratisara's main personal item. If you are like me and can't visualize all those details, we try if anything to base it from Sword and Axe.

    Her environment:

    viśvapadmacandrāsane lalitākṣepasaṃsthitāṃ raktaprabhāmaṇḍalāṃ
    sarvvābharaṇabhūṣitāṃ vicitravastravasanāṃ paṭṭāṃśukottarīyāṃ
    nānāratnamukuṭīm /

    She is on a double lotus and moon seat, with limbs at ease, in a glow of red light, having all celestial ornaments, variegated clothing, patta sukha uttara which is probably "the finest silks", and she is crowned by:

    Nānāratna (नानारत्न) refers to “precious gems”, according to verse 1.40 of the 8th century Saundaryalaharī composed by Ādi Śaṃkarācārya in praise of Supreme Goddess Śaktī.—There is a reference about a rainbow that is formed out of the effulgence of the ornaments made out of precious gems (i.e., nānāratna), worn by Her. This poetic parlance speaks about the rays emanating from the gems, appearing like a rainbow.

    nānāratnavasundharā (नानारत्नवसुंधरा).—f (S) The earth teeming with gems and precious things. An exclamation made when any wonderful thing is presented or mentioned.

    Nānāratnavyūha (नानारत्नव्यूह).—m., name of the Bodhisattva's palace in Kapilavastu [in Nepal]: Lalitavistara 100.7.




    Pratisara is the only place I know of where she changes her Throat Light to Yellow:

    evaṃ vicintya tataḥ kāyavākcittacandreṣu
    oṃ āḥ huṃ sitapītanīlatryakṣarāṇi cintayet / tataḥ
    stānāntare candrasthapraṃkāraṃ vicintya nānāvidhadevatībhi-
    r ātmānaṃ pūjitaṃ dṛṣṭvā tāvad bhāvayet yāvat khedo na
    japet / khedo sati svahṛccandre muktāhāropamaṃ mantraṃ
    paśyan japet / oṃ maṇidhari vajriṇi mahāpratisare huṃ huṃ
    phaṭ phaṭ svāhā /


    So you go into what you are able to learn of the Three Vajras or Tri-samaya or Body, Speech, and Mind, and then you Mutter the Three Syllables Om Ah Hum as we did with Prajnaparamita, except Ah is now Yellow.

    While you are doing Three Syllables, in the

    antara (अंतर).—n (S) Intermediate space or time, interval.

    which could be "interior to", or "space between syllables", or any length of time.

    A Moon (in other words, her base) with Eight Pram syllables emits, along with the central Pratisara:

    Nanavidha (ननविध) refers to a “nine-fold classification” of dharmas, according to the 2nd century Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra chapter XLIX. Taken individually (pratyeka), dharmas are ninefold (nanavidha):

    They have existence (bhava),
    Each has its own attribution,
    Each has its own power (bala),
    They each have their own causes (hetu).
    They each have their own object (ālambana).
    They each have their own effect (phala).
    They each have their own essence (prakṛti).
    They each have their own limits (paryanta).
    They each have their own opening up (udghāṭana) and preparations (prayoga).


    Devatī (देवती) or Devatā.—(the form °tī is cited by [Ardha-Māgadhī Dictionary] from a manuscript work as = Devakī, the mother of Kṛṣṇa!), divinity: only noted in Sādhanamālā, but fairly com- mon there, by the side of devatā; devatyaḥ, °tyo Sādhanamālā 140.11; 180.10; 185.19; -tyor, loc. dual, 191.22; daśade- vatīparivṛtaṃ 195.6; sarvāsāṃ °tīnāṃ 199.4, etc.

    Atibhī (अतिभी).—f. [ati bibheti asyāḥ darśanāt; bhī-kvip] Lightning flash of Indra's thunderbolt.

    By "attribution", I expect they mean "name". This is not talking about dharmatas or "things", but teachings that are true or real or Prajna.


    Pratisara has jewelry or ornaments.

    We have to Bind her. Pratisara of course needs no help with this, it means when we are in her communion, the stability of watching her do it, transfers to us. It is something one can feel, but it is represented on all deities who wear jewelry. Blue Two Arm Samvara, bde mchog lhan skyes, cakrasamvara sahaja, innate (sahaj) sambara gives a general view of the ornaments:

    the five (pancamudra, phyag rgya lnga) or six symbolic ornaments (sanmudra, phyag rgya drug) are:

    1) circlet (cakrin, gtsug gi 'khor lo), a wheel on the crown of the head, symbolizing aksobhya and homage to the guru and deity;
    2) earrings (kundala, karnavatamsa; rna cha, snyan cha, snyan rgyan) amitabha and the deafness to evil words against one's guru;
    3) necklace (kanthin, kanthika, hara, grivabharana; mgul rgyan), a short necklace or choker symbolizing ratnasambhava and the recitation of mantras;
    4) bracelets (rucaka, kankana, kataka; lag gdub), vairocana and the abandonment of taking life;
    5) girdle or belt (mekhala, katibhusana, katisutra; ska rags; rked rgyan; 'og pag or 'og pags), amoghasiddhi and the service of the mudra;
    6) ashes (bhasman; thal ba); this is worn only by male deities


    Again, there is a female equivalent for the last one, Kunkuma or Red Powder.


    H. H. 3rd Karmapa Rangjung Dorje explained that outer tantric symbols meant internal things:

    For instance, "tree" is the central channel (Sushumna or Avadhuti); "charnel grounds" are the doors of the senses. "At night" is thirty-two branches of the central (twenty-four divine abodes and eight charnel grounds); "an empty place" is again the central, where we mix wind and bodhicitta; "solitude" refers to not letting the winds go out the senses. This is "good meditation".

    "Consort" is the Ah syllable in the belly. "Akshobya's circlet" means the bodhicitta of the crown is unwavering; "Amitabha's earrings" that white bodhicitta is restrained and inner heat burns; "Ratnesa's necklace" that bodhicitta accumulates at the throat; "Vairocana's wrist bangles" that the ancilliary winds are bound; "Amogha's sash" that the downward winds are bound. "Five meats and nectars" means that preventing the winds from entering the left and right channels prevents aging and death.
    Dikpalas or Local Protectors represent the downward wind; Lokapalas or Realm Protectors represent the life wind of the heart (sok lha). Nagas are the cultivation of Paramitas. Innate or lhan skyes dakinis inhabit Akanistha and are meditation deities. Field-born are called zhang skyes and inhabit the sacred sites. Mantra-born are called sngags skyes and are in undetermined places.


    Amogha's sash, or belt, means the downward winds are bound, i. e. strongly resembles the Crescent. Vairocana has somewhat taken Amoghasiddhi's original role in "all limbs", since the wrists are more like "all sufaces" or "all limbs" compared to the belt. In the tantras, Karma Family does seem to move internally and compete with Jewel Family for the Navel and base of the spine, whereas his basic initial identification is Touch, Air--All Surfaces. Vairocana is sort of supposed to move outward from Space Element to Earth--Form--Body.



    Following Traktung Rinpoche, who also takes this quite seriously and repeatedly scoffs at fancy dress or dharma items paraded by popinjays, he explains:

    Breathe in through the nose and you can swallow it at the end and you push the air down. You don’t take a big huge breath. You’re not going to hold it for a long time. You tighten the perineum towards the end of the in breath and
    you hold and you push the upper wind down and draw the lower wind up and they kiss in the
    middle at the belly. That’s called the vase breath. The gentle vase breath just means that you’re
    not taking a very big breath and you’re not holding it for a long time. So, you breathe in and
    you hold like that and while you hold you also hold the movement of all conceptuality. This is
    the true recitation that accomplishes the deity’s mind stream because the deity’s mind is devoid
    of all conventional conceptuality. It’s empty and clear and brilliant vibrancy. That is the true
    manner of the deity’s recitation. One moment of Cessation Recitation is like a million recited
    mantras.

    When you do the Vajra Recitation you develop tremendous pliancy — subtleness in
    relationship to appearance and unborn awareness. So all of these are excellent. One can do —
    first the Vajra Recitation when you come to recitation time. You got the visualization stable
    here. You do a little Vajra Recitation and then Cessation Recitation and then do your
    Accumulation Recitation of the actual mantra, which is being repeated. And obviously that
    should take up the majority of your time because: (A) none of you are going to be able to hold
    the samadhi’s of the other two very well, and (B): you need to accumulate tremendous
    numbers. It’s not a question of coming to some number but you need tremendous,
    unimaginable numbers of recitation. And then when you tire of recitation in this fashion you
    can do Vajra Recitation again or Cessation Recitation. You can recite in this fashion
    throughout a period of practice, alternating between them or sometimes stop and go back to
    simply concentrating on the stable clarity of the deity.





    So we Mutter her quieter and quieter while drawing more downwards-winds up to the core. Meditate her meaning, and go into Om Ah Hum and melt her with Four Abhiseka. Then the Shamatha or tranquility.

    From an OM at her crown chakra are emitted white nectars and rays of light. They
    dissolve into my crown chakra, purify the unwholesome karmas and obstacles concerning my
    body, and confer the vase empowerment. The blessings of the Gurus’ bodies enter my body.

    From an AH , at her throat chakra are emitted yellow nectars and rays of light. They
    dissolve into my throat chakra, purify the unwholesome karmas and obstacles concerning my
    speech, and confer the secret empowerment. The blessings of the Gurus’ speech enter my speech.

    From a HUM I at her heart chakra are emitted blue nectars and rays of light. They
    dissolve into my heart chakra, purify the unwholesome karmas and obstacles concerning my
    mind, and confer the wisdom empowerment of pristine awareness. The blessings of the Gurus’
    minds enter my mind.

    From the three syllables at her three chakras are emitted white, yellow and blue nectars and
    rays of light. They dissolve into my three chakras, purify the unwholesome karmas and obstacles
    concerning my body, speech and mind, and confer the fourth empowerment, the word
    empowerment. The blessings of the Gurus’ bodies, speech and minds enter my body, speech and
    mind.


    You can coalesce her into her mantra at your heart:

    oṃ maṇidhari vajriṇi mahāpratisare huṃ huṃ phaṭ phaṭ svāhā

    and just use it mentally at that point.


    194 appears to be simply conjuring her form and Muttering her.

    In the type of sadhana I do, I would then go back through Purity Mantra and return to Vajradhara and conclude the practice. But it is true these kinds of mantras and dharanis are "portable" and you can use them any time. Pratisara is really a Yidam or Ista Devata, so we are looking at her in that regard. Meditating on her is like one and the same as having the protection as a by-product. "Protector" is a specific role for a deity, such as done by Parnasabari or White Mahasri, whereas the Raksas are really Yidams and Vidyadharis.




    While crowned in Ratna Family, in 195, she

    tataḥ svahṛdayān nirgataraśmibhir akṣobhyādīn sañcodyā-
    nīya abhiṣekaṃ gṛhītvā mukuṭe adhipatim akṣobhyaṃ cintayet /

    is the Vadin, explainer of Akshobya Abhisekha, related to Crown or Mukuta.

    and then on to Vajrasattva Hundred Syllable mantra.


    196 appears to use her to manifest the Pancha Raksa, although still could be considered relevant to or as her as individual practice.





    In her role with the Pancha Raksa and in Samputa, they are thought of as protectors of pregnancy, whereas that is symbolic of the Puskara or Blue Lotus in Generation Stage.

    Here is another example with her from Samputa that is a rite like a "coded siddhi":

    “The twenty-seventh method;

    “He should draw a wheel with eight spokes in the center of a moon disk. In the divisions he should draw, in short, a vajra scepter, a banner, an axe, a trident, a noose, a double vajra scepter, [F.133.b] a khaṭvāṅga, and a goad. In the center of the circle he should draw a full moon disk and, in the center of this moon, he should write, “May such and such a man and such and such a woman obtain a son.” In the hub of the wheel he should write the following mantra:

    “Oṁ, Maṇidharī! Vajriṇī! Mahāpratisarā! Hūṁ hūṁ! Phaṭ phaṭ! Svāhā! {7.3.74}

    7.­206
    “Then, in the center of a moon disk, he should write this mantra:

    “Oṁ, Amṛtavilokinī! Protectress of the womb! Summoner of the being to be born! Hūṁ hūṁ! Phaṭ phaṭ! Svāhā! {7.3.75}

    [Mayuri's mantra]

    7.­207
    “If he writes this mantra on birchbark using saffron and bovine orpiment while the moon is in the asterism of Puṣya, and wears it, he will obtain a son. {7.3.76}


    In the main, it is referring to the "two halves" of Vajrasattva, put together as an embryo of something which can be said to be "complete" or "born" afterwards as self-arisen Heruka.


    So as much as Pratisara 194 looks to be rather specifically the experience of Vajra Muttering, her overall dharani system is a Raudra Krama equivalent to most if not all of Generation Stage, which she and/or they are the Protectors of.

    Although Abhisekha means "initiation" generally, Abhisinca specifically means consecration by sprinkling.


    She is going to deliver Vajrasattva mantra if you don't already have it, and, part of her epithet Vajrini is related to the end of his mantra:

    Vajribhava Mahasamaya Sattva Ah


    The previous line in his mantra had said "give me the Vajra state of the Tathagatas", but, at the end, it is Vajrasattva's own nature which is dependent on Vajris. The being of great samaya is manifested by, or cultivated by, Vajri.


    According to Longsal:

    VAJRIBHAVA.: Make me a Vajra holder


    And since this Vajri is an entire class of goddesses including Cundavari used in STTS, Guhyasamaja, etc., and they are generally Objects, making them related to the Gauris and to the Offering Goddesses, we see that Vajrasattva is usually sent to Sattva Vajri of Vajra Family first. It is as if she is "in the tantras", but, not yet qualified to be an emanation by Vajrasattva.

    If Vajrasattva represents the First Bhumi, the mantra for that is:

    Ground (bhumim): Om medini vajribhava vajrabandha hum.

    Vajribhava is actually a specific initiation in Zhije, via Nine Vajrachandalis. The elixir goddesses are crowned with a thousand Buddhas until excess water rises up and they become crowned with Akshobya.

    There are at lest a few ways we can find it used synonymously in certain practices:

    Black Jambhala does Vajribhava with the Five Tathagatas pouring nectar into your head until it overflows and the head is adorned with Ratnasambhava.

    Hevajra uses the Five Tathagatas and the Nectar consecrates the centers, possibly intending the Four Joys, before overflowing and Akshobya does some crowning. A longer form applies it to each Tathagata individually.

    Vajra Samaya = Vajribhava Abhisinca

    If we follow Marici, it will open Samaya to Vajradakini.

    The last being what we want, as it is using a system of Taras to cohere to, for example, Jnanadakini.

    By the time anyone does much, at all, with either Vasudhara or Pratisara, one is prompted in that very direction.

    Both of them have expansive dharani systems which we will add at some point.

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    Default Re: Nirakara and Shentong Buddhism, Tara, Sadhanas, Sanskrit culture

    The Five Stages of Guhyasamaja, and a very syncretic Pratisara with Pratyangira





    From the previous posts, we got an idea that the Five Stages or Panchakrama which includes the Abhisambodhi sequence is a parallel, alternate expression of the Six Yogas, and that the sixth yoga or samadhi should be right around the Abhisambodhis.

    Pancha Krama feeds into commentaries such as Aryadeva's Caryamelakapradipa, Candrakirti's Pradipoddyotana, Naro's Rim-nga Dud-pa, ''Condensed Explanation of the Five Levels of the Completion Stages [of Sangwa Dupa] (Tibetan name of Guhyasamaja). Or, Compendium on the Five Stages, Skt: Pancakramasamgrahaprakasa Tib: rim pa lnga bsdus pa gsal ba D Toh 2333, from a modern transmission.

    In academic history, this was hardly understood and brought most to light in European language by Alex Wayman , ca. 1977. Wayman's Yoga of the Guhyasamaja Tantra in a viewer, or in pdf. Or another copy on one page.

    However, Francesca Fremantle translated the entirety in A Critical Study, 1971.

    Most of Wayman's book is not really the tantra, but, comparative arguments of how the Five Stages, Six Yogas, and Generation and Completion Stage, correspond and work together.

    That presentation seems a lot more difficult. We are, mostly, starting from the view of the Six Limb Yoga system of Tara, and so the Five Stages can simply attach themselves. Before resorting to the many arguments, we can first simply discover the Five Stages as a footnote for Jamgon Kongtrul's Book Eight, Part Four, where he is on the subject of the Third Stage, which is Illusory Body, which in its first paragraph presumes all Six Yogas:


    Both the yogas that do not use elaborations and characteristics and those
    that do use elaborations and characteristics are foundations for accomplishing meditative absorption [Dhyana]. Isolation of body is the basis for the isolation of speech, the vajra repetition.135 Isolation of mind develops
    from that. Once these three isolations have preceded, the stages of illusory body that develop from emptiness or bliss arise automatically.

    In this context, making a connection with the special vital points in the
    yoga without characteristics brings the three doors [of body, speech, and
    mind] to rest without movement. In the yoga with characteristics, the
    vital points and functions of the body are bound. The speech is the vajra
    repetition of energy vase-breathing.136 In the mind, impressions subside
    within melting bliss. This is slightly different than the three isolations
    and the way to practice them described in the Guhyasamaja. However,
    both make the same vital point: that the arising of meditative absorption, which is the actual thing to be accomplished, is a function of the energy currents entering, abiding, and dissolving in the central channel.

    [He then explains that even at just an intermediate level, one may experience the Dissolutions and Three Lights. However, at this time, they are obscured by many prakritis made of concepts.]


    In practice based on the yoga with characteristics, one may use vajra
    repetition and the isolation of mind as actually found in the tradition
    of Guhyasamaja, or what arises from the candalı yoga that was described
    before. In either case, once one has become well accomplished in the
    basic foundation of the root yoga with its distinctive qualities of the
    three isolations, one may unite in action-mudra with a qualified awareness partner or with a pristine awareness-mudra emanated by meditative absorption. With this impetus, the cause of the nondissipating body, the
    primordially abiding as unity itself, arises with luminous clarity as the
    three vajras [following] the progressive and reverse manifestations of the
    three lights. This makes one free of obscuration.

    This process is the hidden meaning freely elucidated in the general
    commentarial tradition of the Kagyu in an unbroken continuity up to
    the present. It is the position of the Eighth Lord and others that there are
    two presentations concerning this instance of illusory body: in conjunction with Guhyasamaja primarily, when it is based on the three isolations, and in conjunction with the intentions of Cakrasamvara, Hevajra,
    and Guhyasamaja, when it is based on the mudras.

    The third of five stages, forms of emptiness of individual
    withdrawal and meditative stability
    Are the meaning of mahamudra, so are hidden elsewhere.
    This [completely pure illusory form] is basically the same as the forms
    of emptiness—the mahamudra endowed with the supreme of all
    aspects—that arise from the self-blessing in the third of the five stages
    of Guhyasamaja, 138 and from the individual withdrawal and meditative
    stability of vajra yoga.139 It is the extremely profound, hidden meaning
    from the oral explanations to disciples, a pith instruction of the main
    practice of the hearing lineage. Therefore it is not generally presented
    in the practice guides, but hidden elsewhere. Scholars who are bloated
    by mere book learning cannot understand these points properly...

    138

    The five stages in the Guhyasamaja Tantra are (1) speech isolation (ngag dben) or
    vajra repetition (rdo rje’i bzlas pa); (2) mind isolation (sems dben); (3) illusory body
    (sgyu lus) or self-blessing (bdag byin rlabs); (4) luminous clarity (’od gsal ); and (5)
    union (zung ’jug). Body isolation (lus dben) is included in speech isolation as its
    preliminary.

    139 Six Limb or Sadanga Yoga.


    Here for additional reference is Kongtrul's Book Six, Part Four.

    To mesh the Pancha Krama and the Six Yogas, Body Mandala = Body Isolation, i. e. it is isolated, the main two ways to meditate being either towards open sky or cave-like darkness. It is the first Two Yogas. The second two are Speech Mandala or Speech Isolation, and the final two with Samadhi are Mind Mandala or Mind Isolation. Therefor our definition of "samadhi" comes down to "the kind that arises in this mind isolation and has meditative equipoise during the remaining stages".

    So the majority of what we are working on as outer devotees, the first Two Yogas, does not even count as a stage, it is just an appended requirement to Speech Isolation.

    The Six Yogas are actually in the sixth part of Maitri Upanishad, the first clear use of the term Samadhi, but in a different order.


    In both of Kongtrul's books, his subject is really Luminous Clarity, used almost two hundred times in each one. He describes how it turns into the "Creator" on a moment-to-moment basis, which is, although it is mind's natural state for all beings, their layers of mind arise over it on a moment-to-moment basis. If thought of like a minute quantum of time on the Planck scale, the arising of minds on wind can produce forty or more unnecessary conditioning factors in every smallest unit of time. The reversal of this creation is a natural experience during sleep and death, and so tantra is like a slow-motion close observation of it.

    If we recall from Pali that to the mind, there are seven permanent Cetasikas, i. e. like Purified Elements, and a laundry list of temporary or evoluted ones, this is much like the "concepts" he says that shroud our performance of the yoga technique:

    The three lights manifest in a progressive order from pure mind. The coarse mind evolves from that, possessing the eighty natural conceptions.

    After the reverse progression of the three lights has stopped and everything dwells only in emptiness, it is the subtle mind. The ultimate mind of awakening that is free of fixation on the characteristics of the emptiness experience, named “manifest awakening” (mngon par byang chub), is luminous clarity. It is explained as the very subtle mind. Therefore, the mind that is referred to as the stained causal continuum (rgyu’i rgyud ) is the subtle aspect, and the stainless causal continuum is the very subtle aspect of mind.

    Because Luminous Clarity is so predominant and it results from the Three Lights, the description of this phenomenon is repeated in several places. Because I have experienced this, I understand it in any of its uses, but I would have liked to have had this superior guide when I was doing it. You will see how it will come in like a snowball gathering momentum. And so to unfold these Five Stages of Guhyasamaja somewhat, it can start in Note 135:



    1. Vajrajapa

    Sometimes translated as “vajra recitation,” although
    nothing is recited—rather, the meditation is performed again and again. In general
    it is a name for breathing practices associated with visualized syllables. There are
    many types of vajra repetition, but the general designation is of a way to practice
    mantra silently rather than an actual recitation. Here it is the stage of speech isolation
    (ngag dben) in the five-stage format of the completion phase in the Guhyasamaja
    Tantra. In this, the principal energy currents, especially that of the
    life-force (srog), are made to enter, abide in, and dissolve in the central channel.
    Essentially it is a practice to purify the energy currents.

    136 rlung bum pa can: breath retention that holds the upper and lower
    energy currents in the abdomen, like in a vase. Here it is the way to practice vajra
    repetition in the isolation of speech.



    Muttering progresses from verbal, to whispered, to silent or mental. It swings to a subtle mental condition and achieves occult Pranayama. Then it uses the Magic Circle. For occult Vajrajapa, the preliminary is Body isolation or Guru Yoga and Tri-samadhi as we may be able to do it. Our Yoga training really lies here, and, it is possible to begin experiencing the Signs and maybe the Three Lights whenever they may arise. We cannot say it takes x time or y scripture. But we can say that if you continue the practice, by definition it will begin here.


    2. (text is defective)

    In the mind isolation stage, through the force of meditation, the winds that serve as the mounts for conceptions merge for brief periods in the channel-wheels. Due to this, and from the stabilization of the vital essences, there arises the pristine awareness of bliss and emptiness.

    At the mind isolation stage, during each session of equipoise, the eighty
    manifest conceptions are stopped. As a result, the practitioner has the impression that the pristine awareness [experienced] during that session encompasses all phenomena, but in fact it does not do so. In addition [to that
    experience of pristine awareness], a practitioner at the stage of illusory body
    will experience an infinity of appearances of mandalas.

    The agent that directly effects the attainment of the illusory body is
    the final example luminous clarity, termed the “final luminous clarity of
    mind isolation.”

    When such luminous clarity is experienced, in the second moment, the
    awakened body of mind and wind is attained. That final example luminous
    clarity manifests just like the luminous clarity does in the process of disso-
    lution at death.

    So when we are experiencing the Three Lights during their initial onset, the accompanying Prabhasvara is called an "Example". And so the practice of Mind Mandala achieves the best Example Prabhasvara. But remember this is the closure of two categories: it is the last of the Three Vajras (Mind Mandala), and it is the last of the Six Yogas Samadhi). From this view, whatever comes next is really within the Mind Mandala or Samadhi, meaning the rest of the Five Stages are the increase of Samadhi.


    An experienced yogin, by working on the channels, winds,
    and vital essences, brings about the three-stage experience of light and the luminous
    clarity of mind and attains the final mind-isolation (sems dben mthar thug pa), which is
    the actualization of the subtle wind and mind. On the basis of the subtle wind and
    mind, the yogin arises in the illusory body, which serves as the cause of the same type for
    the form dimension of awakening (rupakaya), while the subtle mind serves as the cause
    of the same type for the reality dimension of awakening (dharmakaya).

    Pranayama or the Third Yoga is capable of making the lights and luminous clarity manifest, and then:

    Then, by means of the fourth [Fourth Yoga, Dharana], retention, through the experience of the four joys
    in the descending and ascending order, the innate bliss of the mind of luminous clarity
    is conjoined with emptiness, and the pristine awareness of bliss and emptiness is developed. Thereafter, with the fifth [Fifth Yoga, Smrti], subsequent application, the real empty form of the male
    and female deities in union is actualized. Simultaneously, the practitioner repeatedly
    enters the state of pristine awareness of bliss and emptiness in which observer and observed are one. By relying on the great seal of the empty form with the last branch, that
    of contemplation [Sixth Yoga, Samadhi], one proceeds through the twelve levels of realization, gradually exhausting the 21,600 karmic winds until the mind of luminous clarity arises as immu-
    table bliss, the awakened dimension of great bliss.




    And so within or by the end of this Mind Isolation, you have gone through Generation Stage and are in Completion Stage. And so what follows in the Five Stages corresponds to the beginning of the Six Dharmas that are done in Completion Stage:


    3. Svadhisthana

    3. Self-blessing (rang byin rlabs, svadisthana): an aspect of the phase of completion that
    aims at direct experience of the pristine awareness of the four joys, the innate joy in
    particular, through practices based exclusively on one’s body as opposed to the mandala
    circle (dkyil ’khor ’khor lo) aspect of the phase of completion, which relies on another’s
    body (that of the consort) (MH, f. 79a5-6). In a threefold system, the phase of completion comprises relative self-blessing, ultimate luminous clarity of the great seal, and their
    inseparability or union. Here, self-blessing includes all aspects of the inner fire and illusory body.

    In describing it as one of three main aspects of the causal phase of completion (with mandala circle and
    mahamudra), Kongtrul states that whether or not one is meditating on the actual
    central channel, it is the meditation where one visualizes usually either fire or vital
    essence drops or letters, etc., in the central channel, because wherever one focuses
    the mind, the energy currents will gather there (TOK 2: 686; SBT, 243-4). In this
    case, based on the Guhyasamaja Tantra, self-blessing is equivalent to the third of
    the five stages, the stage of illusory body.

    As this work with Luminous Clarity appears to be launched in Mind Isolation, it accumulates through the stages:

    When the energy current dissolves in the heart center and only energy-mind arises from special emptiness
    as the deity, it is the real illusory body. When just the energy current dissolves
    normally (rang gar) and only energy-mind arises as the deity, it is posited as the
    concordant illusory body. The way this illusory body is illustrated by the twelve
    examples is the same as [described] before. [In the Five Stages] Nagarjuna states: ‘A
    reflection in the mirror should be known as an illusory body. The colors are like a
    rainbow. It pervades like a water moon.’ The form is instantly complete, like one’s
    reflection in the mirror. The colors are clear and unmixed, like a rainbow. A single
    one pervades everywhere, like the moon’s reflections in water.

    In this Kagyu tradition, ascertaining that whatever appearances arise
    in the impure environment and its inhabitants are all illusion is impure
    illusory body, and transforming those very appearances to those of deities and ascertaining the same thing is pure illusory body, conventionally speaking. The explanations on the five stages in the Guhyasamaja Tantra
    explain that the illusory body at the end of the three isolations is the
    impure, and the illusory body that is one part of the union refined by
    luminous clarity is pure illusory body.



    "All aspects" of inner fire have already been taught and practiced.


    4. Luminous Clarity

    Although this is practically Kongtrul's "subject", as a "stage", then it should be said that here is where you have the first Four Abhisambodhis, Moon, Sun, Germ Syllable, Hand Symbol. If it seems weird and arbitrary to just say that, then if we look at the original Nagarjuna Pancakrama, the title of Part Four is Abhisambodhi. By altering the title to Luminous Clarity or Prabhasvara is like saying you have to have the physio-mental process engaged, and not just going through a Kriya ritual performance that looks like Abhisambodhi. And so we are kind of just borrowing some translated Kongtrul while the original just sits there.



    (1) The pristine awareness of nonthought: The appearance of inner
    heat’s blazing stops the movement of energy currents and the engagement
    with objects by the sense faculties. Once such emanating thoughts
    are brought to an end, one abides in total nonthought.

    (2) The pristine awareness of bliss: Blazing inner heat melts the bodhicitta
    and the joy that is generated illustrates the pristine awareness of
    bliss.

    (3) The pristine awareness of clarity: When all dualistic thoughts are
    purified within the central channel, the pristine awareness of the union
    of bliss-emptiness or clarity-emptiness arises through the progressive and
    reverse sequence of the three lights in the stages of visualization [Three Voids, Prabhasvara, and Reverse Order].


    The life supporting wind [Vajradhatvishvari] is connected to and supports the universal
    ground. During life, this energy current generates the conception of self and all
    conceptual constructs and is known as the afflicted mind [Klista Manas].

    In the fourth stage, that of luminous clarity, whose
    nature is the path for attaining the direct realization of the emptiness of innate great
    bliss, the winds of the emotional afflictions and their seeds are vanquished.



    So it turns out Vajradhatvishvari is directly intermixed with the seventh principle in practice, in the same way as was said of the Mountains of Vajrayogini.

    If afflictions afflict, the wind slips out of the central; or, if the winds slip, subtle and coarse minds arise. This is Vajra Ignorance.

    If not, one transits the stage of Impure Illusory Body and eventually performs the Highest Union of Pure Illusory Body and Luminous Clarity [clarity of the Great Void, Absolute Object, Paramartha, or Prabhasvara]. This is Yughanadda, Pair United, or Yoganiruttara Yoga, last of the Five Stages.

    From Luminous Clarity, Union arises, and Union Purifies Luminous Clarity.



    The stage of Union should be said to match the Fifth Abhisambodhi, Perfect Image:


    5. The supreme method that is distinguished by great bliss enables one to
    attain the body of Vajradhara, the state of union, in one lifetime. Union is translating zung du ’jug pa, which literally means “entering into a pair.” In this instance, it refers to the union of pure illusory body and actual luminous
    clarity, the highest freedom and realization. Kongtrul considers illusory body in a general
    sense to be the essence of all Buddhist practice and calls the following dharmas of
    dream and luminous clarity “branches”.



    Illusory Body is not considered the same as self-arisen White Heruka, so, in that sense, Kongtrul is placing Illusory Body on a bit of a pedestal. The thing I do not notice him saying is that Heruka is also for Vajra Kaya or Deathless Body. This may be the same term used for "subtle body" as per the Pithas and Nadis and so forth, and the difference is something like this: a person with Rainbow Body dies, and is seen to manifest it. The person in Vajra Kaya does not die perhaps for centuries and could for example just move into another body. This person is also a Delok or experiences Suspended Animation. It is the full strngth of Nirodha.

    From Book Six, Vajrasattva as Prajna--Upaya becomes:

    Moreover,
    in the phase of completion, the realization of luminous clarity (’od gsal,
    prabhasvara) is wisdom, and the ensuing illusory body (sgyu lus, mayadeha)
    of the deity actually manifesting is method.


    Other synonyms of non-duality, or Prajna plus Upaya and the name of their Union, noted by Alex Wayman:


    Also vajrin , who is chief of the
    vijaya-mandala, plus the dakini , plus any yoga (of both) occur
    themselves for mayadehin. The two lines refer to the two samadhis
    of mayadehin (possessor of Illusory Body).
    Prakasika on Yoga (Vol. 60, p. 295-2 : Those are the four [...] (?)
    of the ‘Stage of Generation’, whereby one accomplishes the
    samadhis of ‘Initial Praxis’, etc. In the present case, yoga is
    ‘means’ (upaya), anuyoga is ‘insight’ ( prajna ), atiyoga is entrance
    into their union; mahayoga is the attainment of great bliss ( maha-
    sukha) from their union.

    Besides, we may interpret that the terms ‘yoga’, ‘atiyoga’,
    and ‘mahayoga’ of nidana verse 32, refer to the yoga mastery
    of the three lights, as is suggested by the synonyms of the lights
    in verse 25, sunya, atisunya, and mahasunya. Thus the yogin
    with such mastery can evoke automatically the dakini of sunya
    (aprajita), the vajrin of atisunya (supaya), or their
    androgynous union. Notice also the series of terms in the full
    title of the Guhyasamajatantra : rahasya, atirahasya, mahaguhya,
    in which mahaguhya is understood to include both rahasya
    and atirahasya.


    In the ultimate sense, mother, sister, and daughter refer to the luminous clarity of the three awakened dimensions: mother refers to dharmakaya; sister, to sambhogakaya; and daughter, to nirmanakaya.


    Wayman believes that an avid pursuit of Yoga Tantra is equivalent to Generation Stage:

    The set of three samadhis constitute a terminology in common between the Yoga-tantra and the Anuttara-yoga-tantra classes of tantric literature. Even though there are some differences in explanation of those three, there are strong indications that the Stage of Generation of the Anuttarayoga-tantra is the por­tion of that kind of Tantra that has practices shared with the Yoga-tantra. The three samadhis are called ‘preliminary praxis* (prathamaprayoga), ‘triumphant mandala’ (vijaya-mandala), and ‘victory of the rite’ (karma-vijaya).


    He figured out something about the Flask:

    The first initiation, that of the flask, is laid in the Stage of Generation, and is usually divided into five initiations of the flask, going with the five Tathagatas, and all accompanied by sprinkling rites.

    Gandrakirti’s Guhyasamajabhisamayalamkara-vrtti (PTT, Vol. 62, p. 26-5) mentions three kinds of ‘flask initiation’ : outer, inner, and ‘pregnant’ (phyi dari nari dari sbas paho). The outer kind uses a flask made of precious material for the five initiations of the flask. The inner kind also uses a precious flask for the five kinds of ambrosia, empowered by the Tatha­gatas. The ‘pregnant’ kind also has two varieties, ‘means’ (upaya) and ‘insight* (prajna) flasks. The pregnant flask of means has the water from the mouth of the guru; the pregnant flask of insight has the water from the lotus of the prajna lady.

    The ‘pregnant’ kind of flask initiation appears to be the ‘unshared kind’ (atadharana) involved with the Hierophant’s Initiation. In the latter initiation, the candidate is given the vidya (goddess) called the ‘seal pledge’ (mudra-samaya) and made to enter the union ‘bliss-void’ (sukha-sunya) by embracing that vidya.


    So we are mostly going to focus in Generation Stage and the Flask, but, you should be aware that it is an indeterminate time between when you may see signs of appearances, such as smoke, wavy and undulating, or mirage, shiny and shimmering, and then them becoming all-devouring experiences. When powerful enough, this induces the Three Lights or the Three Voids. I am not sure this has a name, because calling it Prabhasvara or Luminous Clarity only implies the experience of the three as necessary to get there. Dakini Jala Rahasya stops shy with Gagana or Sky or Space Element, at the cusp of it starting. They could be called Abhisambodhis, except it does not include the end. Just like the average person is not going to enter the Crescent and immediately crank out high quality Pranayama, when you face the first void you are just going to faint and get nothing really from it. You have to hold out through the first two, but, then the black one is equivalent to Dreamless Sleep and unconsciousness--and here, it is more like hitting it with enough energy so you just blink through without swooning or any loss of lucidity. You have to do this, well, and be able to control the rebuild wisely with the rites of the Families when arising in reverse order. But that is essentially the "yoga technique" we are trying to "generate", which is taken for granted in the higher tantras. That is, of course, because, although difficult, a number of people have really done it.

    We could probably get eight or ten of Kongtrul's descriptions. But, if we focus this subject, following Wayman, it is Upaya:



    What is that 'Means’ when Father Tantra and upaya-tantra are
    identical ? It is taught by the Dakarnava (Toh. 372) in these words.

    In the king of Tantras among the ‘yogas' —

    Knowing them and the varieties of their rites,

    I have explained the Illusion of the Clear Light
    To the illusory world.

    How is that passage explained ? The explanation is sugges¬
    tive (neya). By whom [is it explained] ? By Vajradhara himself.
    What [does he explain] ? The ‘Means’ of producing the Illusory
    Body. To whom [does he explain] ? To the world of candidates
    (vineya). Where ? Dividing the Anuttra Tantra into [maha] yoga-
    tantra and yogini-tantra — in the ‘kings’ of the [maha] yoga-tantras
    taken by themselves. By what method is it done ? One generates
    in the forward direction the three [called] Light (aloka), spread-of-
    Light (alokabhasa), and Culmination-of-Light (alokopalabdhi), to¬
    gether with the Clear Light (prabhasvara), and at the time of emerging
    from the latter, in the reverse direction one accomplishes the
    Illusory Body from the five rays of wind (vayu) riding on the four
    Voids. The method consists in emerging in the Illusory Body from
    the Clear Light by way of knowing in exactitude such things as
    the coming forth with skill and the varieties of their rites.


    This Upaya corresponds to Smrti of the Six Yogas.

    Skilled at it = has Smrti, which automatically results in Samadhi.

    Weak at it = is training Smrti

    Unable to = is training Pranayama at most

    That is male, i. e. Father Tantra or Guhyasamaja--those which teach elaborately the coming forth with skill in the method of accomplishing the Illusory Body from the five rays of wind rigid on the four Voids in the part of the Means--to which Samvara and Buddhasamayoga (Dakini Jala) are Mother Tantra, those which teach elaborately the subject matter of the Knowledge of the indissolubility of Beatitude and Void on the side of the Void.


    So that explanation of Upaya speaks of Three Lights, whereas the quote about Anuttara Samyak Sambuddha or Complete Manifest Buddha will divulge them in Three Voids terminology. Just as there is a fourth light, there is a fourth void, here, called Sarva Sunya, which in Yoga we also call Parasunya:



    The method by which the Teacher Bhagavat became a Buddha, according
    to the Anuttara school, is not discussed in such Tantras as the Kalacakra
    (Toh. 362), Hevajra (Toh. 417-418), and the Samvara (Toh. 368). The
    explanation according to the cycle of Samaja (Toh. 442 and 443) is given
    by both the Arya school and the Jnanapada school. The explanation
    in the Caryamelapakapradlpa (Toh. 1803) by Aryadeva is followed by
    the Arya school; and that found in the larger of the two Manjusri-mukha-
    gama , the larger (Toh. 1853) and the smaller (Toh. 1854), is followed by
    the Jnanapada school. There is no divergences between the two schools.


    The Teacher Bhagavat Sakyamuni, taking recourse to the Paramita
    vehicle collected the equipment for three incalculable aeons, then became
    equipoised in the Space-filling samadhi as a Bodhisattva of the tenth
    stage in the last existence. At that time, the Buddhas of all the ten
    directions assembled, aroused him from that samadhi by snapping their
    fingers, and said to him, “You cannot become a Manifest Complete
    Buddha by this samadhi alone.” “Then, how shall I do it?”, he implored
    them. Thereupon all the Buddhas of the ten directions summoned the
    daughter of the gods Tilottama 23 and bestowed concretely the third
    initiation, the Insight-Knowledge Initiation ( prajna-jnana-abhiseka ).
    After that they revealed the steps of Abhisambodhi 24 and bade him
    contemplate them. At midnight he successively dissolved the three
    voids [into one another]; 25 and the universal void (sarvasunya), which
    is the Clear Light of the [Absolute] Object ( *artha-prabhasvara ), came
    into direct view. He emerged from that [Clear Light] in the pure illusory
    body, 26 and all the Buddhas bestowed upon him the fourth initiation
    and bade him perform the acts [of a Buddha]. As a consequence, at the
    initial appearance of dawn, he shed, by means of the adamantine samadhi
    (vajropama-samadhi), the subtlest obscurations of the knowable ( jheya -
    varana). Thus he attained the rank of Vajradhara, the union beyond
    learning (asaiksa-yuganaddha ), and became a Manifest Complete Buddha.


    23 Tilottama...is cited this way: “She the Lightning Flash ( vidyut-prabha ), or as called by another
    name. Daughter of the Gods ‘Best of Drops’ (Tilottama)”...includes Thig le mchog ma among the Apsarasa, who are the consorts of the Gandharvas. Presumably she is the drop in the “drop of springtime” ( vasanta -
    tilaka )...Vasanta-tilaka, or Candall, is shown to
    have a lustre like the dazzle of lightning, and is also called the Goddess Nairatmya...And that blazing
    pervades the ten directions like a lightning flash and informs the retinue
    (parivara), the Sravakas, the Pratyekabuddhas, and the Bodhisattvas that someone
    has been made a Buddha,...

    That universal flash is Marici.

    25 notes on Jnana...for the dissolution of the voids into one another. But
    at that point the terminology is presented by citta being drawn into caitta , and the
    latter being drawn into avidya. For the same process, using the terminology of the
    voids, see ibid., pp. 259-60, where it is shown that void ( sunya ) is a synonym of citta,
    further void ( atisunya ) a synonym of caitta, and great void ( mahasunya ) a synonym
    of avidya.

    26 the body developed by the “steps of production” is the mantra-body {shags kyi sku), while the one developed by
    the “steps of completion” is the knowledge-body (ye ses sku). The latter body, in
    turn, is of two kinds, (also) knowledge-body (ye ses sku) and pure-body (mam par
    dag pahi sku). Of these last two, the knowledge-body is the impure illusory body;
    and the pure-body is that knowledge-body purified in the Clear Light.


    Citta, Caitta, and Avidya, or Sunya, Atisunya, and Mahasunya. Those are synonyms of the Three Lights, Aloka, Alokabhasa, and Alokapalabdhi, or White, Red, and Black, or, the Three Skullcups.

    The Fourth State is called Sarva Sunya or Parasunya, and Prabhasvara.

    I am not sure the cycle has its own single name, except it is Upaya when understood as Smrti and Sadhana.

    That Upaya is a spiritual practice. I am not quite sure anything prior qualifies.


    Moreover, before getting to lights or voids, one must first dissolve the Elements. To do so burns the Buddhas--i. e., the Skandhas are interrupted--and burning the Elements or Prajnas eliminates Senses. And so if you dispose of the first one, Earth slips into Water, and so you lose the sensation of solidity and the track of the mind being wired to the outer environment. When Water merges into Fire, Taste and Feeling are cancelled, nothing is good or bad or has qualities. When Fire merges into Air, you lose discriminative perception, so that a chair is a lawnmower, but neither one is really anything, and when Air merges into Space, you are unable to construct a thought. During this process, a being may believe that its body is burning, or that there is some kind of threat, and it could go horribly wrong. If not, you are much more intensly concentrated, probably to the degree of Sampatti.

    So that is why we have a prior stamp of Five Dissolutions, like in Dakini Jala Rahasya, symbolized by Five Inner Offerings ending on Food. We want to get this down before adding the Abhisambodhi material.



    ‘Yoga' is defined as the equipoise of insight and means. Nagarjuna likewise depicted this Prajna--Upaya in terms of the Six Yogas. "Emanating into the sky" sounds like the fifth dissolution, thereby prepared to use the Voids:

    1. Insight is the sense organs and means is the sense
    objects. The yoga of their equipoise and enjoyment, is
    pratyahara.

    2. Insight is the sense organs and means is the Tathagatas. The yoga as their equipoise, is dhyana.

    3. Insight is paramartha-bodhicitta and means is samvrtibodhicitta. The yoga as their equipoise, involving the
    emanation and reunification of them in upper and lower
    sequence, is prana-ayama.

    4. When insight and means are as previous, the yoga of
    their equipoise, holding the bindu the size of a mustard
    grain in (or at) the three ‘tips of nose’, is dharana.

    5. When insight and means are the Tathagatas embraced
    by the goddesses, the yoga of emanating into the sky, as
    their equipoise, is anusmrti.

    6. When insight and means are the Dharmakaya and the
    Sambhogakaya, the yoga of joining them with the Nirmanakaya as their equipoise, is samadhi.












    Although she does have her own dharani system, there is a very amalgamated Pratisara which appears to have several Buddhist aspects, but seems as if it may have been absorbed by a temple of Pratyangira--Narasimhi, whose mantra is Ham Ksham, representing the two "wings" of the Ajna center.

    She is difficult, because she has a common story, and an almost-invisible subtle one.

    Usually she is thought of as Lion Face.


    Pratyangira Narasimhi or Simhamukha Lakshmi is found in Shaktism, Pratyangira is Siddhilakshmi, a form of Guhya Kali. In Durga tradition, Pratyangira is Purna Chandi, the fiery destructive power of Brahman. In the Vedas, Pratyangira is Atharvana Bhadrakali, the goddess of Atharva Veda and magical spells.


    There is an odd parallel to the sort of Yogacara dispute about whether there are seven or eight minds, in terms of how many Matrikas and how does the last one work:


    In the Devi Mahatmya, at times, Narasimhi is mentioned in place of Camunda (seventh Matrika). In some versions, the Matrikas are counted as eight (ashta-matara) by including Narasimhi. There is also a tradition of Ashtamatrikas, eight Matrikas, which is prevalent in Nepal region. In Nepal, the eighth Matrka is Maha-Lakshmi (she is different from Vaishnavi). Narasimhi does not figure in the lists of Devi Purana and in Nepal. Narasimhi is also known as Narasimhini or Narasimhika.

    Narasimhi is said to have came out from the heart of the Devi. As Matrka, Narasimhi is regarded as an independent deity; and not as a female counterpart of Narasimha.


    So, ok. Maybe she later had that form or incarnation with Narasimha, but it is not who she originally is.


    The "shakti of Narasimha" is not necessarily original Pratyangira because she was emanated by Sage Angiras, who is the father of Brihaspati--Jupiter. The Wiki page gives this much to it:

    ...when two Rishis, Prathiyangira and Angiras, were meditating they re-discovered a Goddess through a Moola Mantra who was nameless. Later She privileged the rishis by naming Herself after them and hence She was called as Prathyangira Devi.

    And so if we look around, almost all of her origin myths are an emanation by Shiva or as Vishnu's consort, but the main one is these Agni-possessed sages using mantra to bring something nameless out of Void. Here is a very meager article on her revelation.

    From another page:

    This Devi's upasana is mentioned in Atharvana veda. Hence, she is called Atharvana Bhadra Kali. Her upasana is also mentioned in Vana Durga Kalpa, Lakshmi Tantra, Rudra Yamala Tantra. Her Dakshinakali Tantra, Bhadrakali Tantra and Ghuhyakali Tantra are mentioned in Kalikopanishad Tantra...This Devi is worshipped by Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara. Brahma created Brahma Kritha Pratyangira. Vishnu created Vishnu Narayan Kritha Pratyangira. Shiva created Shiva Kritha Pratyangira.


    Because she does not really have an origin from a single deity, but manifests those later, her mantric discovery by Sages must be why the same statement is mysteriously copied on almost any temple page:

    She holds the combined destructive power of Vishnu, Shiva and Shakti.


    So, as manifested by Angiras, she was like dattatreya, bearing the essence of the primordial trinity, rather than any of its individual parts.


    The word angira is similar to Angaraka (Mars). According to Bhārata he was son of Agni. When Agni began to practise penance, Aṅgiras himself became Agni and surpassed him in power and lustre...

    Etymologically Aṅgira is connected with the word Agni and is often regarded as its synonym.


    descendants of Aṅgiras or of Agni (mostly personifications of luminous objects)

    the hymns of the Atharva-veda, [Taittirīya-saṃhitā]


    Angiras is related to heat and prana.


    Angiras is also is important because close to Atharvan, which ultimately has to do with getting Nectar in the Homa, and so if we coalesce these characters into such a role:


    Fire by Friction in the Secret Doctrine is the occult Marriage. Agni Pavamana is the father of Saharaksa, fire of the Asuras. In the fire of Humans, Agni Vaisvanara dies while carrying offerings to the gods. Then the son of Atharvan (Angirasa) Churns the Cloud to produce the fire Puskarodadhi--Atharva Alaukika Agni or Dakshina Agni--by non-rubbing or without friction. Angirasa with Pratyangira brings forth Narasimhi who was nameless at the time. She originally takes the name Pratyangira. Adi Shakti grants her the defensive boon of invincibility to all, including Adi Shakti. Her second boon is invincibility (or un-stoppability) in any attack she commits.


    The very beginning hints it has non-Buddhist components:

    The emanation of pratya~NgirA who may be specifically combined with R^ikShakarNi and karNamoTini is chaturmukhA mahApratisarA.

    Karnamoti is in Matsya Purana, Kubjika Tantra, the Yoginis of Narasimha Vyuha, and:

    Karṇamoṭī (कर्णमोटी) is the name of a Goddess (Devī) presiding over Devīkoṭa: one of the twenty-four sacred districts mentioned in the 9th century Vajraḍākatantra (chapter 18). Her weapon is the śūla.

    E. karṇa the ear, muṭ to rub, ghañ and ṅīp affixes; this is sometimes written karṇamoṭi.

    "Mut" has the meaning "to rub", but, moreover, in the direction of "grind" or "powderize". But, from Hindi:

    Motī (मोती):—(nm) pearl.

    This noun is not used in that many combinations, but it is in figures of speech:

    —[pironā] to string pearls together; to write distinctly and beautifully; —[bharanā] to embellish a woman’s head with stringed pearls; to amass a fortune without toil; to give a rich and auspicious make-up; —[se muṃha bharanā] to bestow infinite riches on one who brings good news.

    Now if we glance at the Narasimha article, we can quickly find that he, first, emitted shaktis to destroy demons, but, secondly, these shaktis remained excited and violent, and so he emitted a second group to subdue and pacify those. This theme resembles the story of Narasimha himself, and other similarly violent episodes with other deities. So what appears to be a Narasimha source is from the same site with this weird Pratisara.



    So if Karnamoti has a singular source related to Narasimha, what is this Vyuha and/or its story from?

    According to a post:

    So, I actually know of no Nrisimha tantra. I just postulated such because of the

    two great mantra treatises and upanishads, the Nrisimha

    Purvatapaniya/Uttaratapaniya.



    Narasimha Upanishad is considered a Vaisnavite text, appended to the Atharvaveda. Its antiquity is "prior to the seventh century". The text is notable for asserting a fourfold identity, that Atman (soul, self) is same as Om, Brahman (Absolute Reality) and Vishnu Man-Lion avatar Nrisimha.




    The other devi name is less prevalent:


    Ṛkṣakarṇī (ऋक्षकर्णी):—[=ṛkṣa-karṇī] [from ṛkṣa] f. Name of a Yoginī, [Hemādri’s Caturvarga-cintāmaṇi]

    Ṛkṣa (ऋक्ष, “bear”)

    ṛkṣa (ऋक्ष).—n S A bear. 2 n A star or a constellation.

    Ṛkṣa and nakṣatra, sometimes used interchangeably as synonyms in the text, however, are different in a strict technical sense. Ṛkṣa is the Plaedis or constellation of seven stars (the Great Bear, Seven Sages), while nakṣatra literally means a star, asterism (that is, a constellation of heavenly bodies), 27 number...In the context of village planning and measurement, the text sates that among the stars, the ones that are pūrṇa, odd (literally, “full, complete”), are auspicious and the ones that are karṇa, even (literally, “ear”), inauspicious.


    The strange Pratisara continues by giving a name to no less than Ganesh--Vinayaka's consort Vinayaki:

    He shall first worship vinAyaka meditating on him embracing his shaktI madanAvatI.


    According to, I suppose, the most Vaisnavite source in the world, ISKCON:

    Mādana (मादन).—A category of highly advanced ecstasy in which the lovers meet together and there is kissing and many other symptoms.

    also:

    madana : (m.) the God of love. (nt.), intoxication.

    and by this name, Madanavati is a minor deity in Kubjika tantra, associated with Kama and Svadisthana cakra.




    He shall take water in his water pot with:

    oM vajrodake huM phaT ||


    Is it an invocation of Vajradaka? Here, Daka is difficult to reduce to being "male dakini". It not only specifically means "Drum" as an item held by Heruka, as an ending, it may be:

    Daka (दक).—n.

    (-kaṃ) Water. E. See udaka, the initial vowel being dropped.

    and so in the standard manner of combination, Vajra + Udaka = Vajrodaka. Whereas Vajra + Daka = Vajradaka.

    So there, it is Vajra Water, used for washing, drinking, and consecration; but then it appears to be deified. There is a Nyasa which uses the following group twice:


    Pratisara, Tarini, Vajrodaka, Ugra Tara, Ekajati, and Pinga Ugra Ekajati.




    A yantra is made, which appears to complete the Pancha Raksa in a very altered form:

    mahAmantrAnudhAraNi, mahAsasrapramardhani, mahAmantrAnutsArini and ShaShTI will be daubed with yellow turmeric. The circle termed mahApratisarA will be daubed with red kumkuma and in its center huM phaT will be written.


    So they have possibly two versions of "mantranusarini", while having omitted Sitabani. That Mayuri is present will become more obvious as it proceeds:

    Once the yantra is ready the yoni mudra will be shown before it.

    He shall meditate upon mahApratisarA emerging from the third eye of pratya~NgirA.

    The first 3 deities are in padmAsana bearing 4 heads. ShaShThi has 6 heads and is seated on a mayUra.


    It must be a Mayuri form, but, because sasthi just means "sixth":

    An epithet of Durgā in the form of Kātyāyanī.

    Katyayani has no relation to peacock, other than being given its color on certain occassions.

    Sasthi has further definitions drawn from this very material:

    8) [v.s. ...] Name of a divine mother or goddess often regarded as a form of Durgā (supposed to protect children and worshipped on the sixth day after delivery), [Nṛsiṃha-tāpanīya-upaniṣad; Saṃskārakaustubha]

    9) [v.s. ...] = indra-senā, [Nṛsiṃha-tāpanīya-upaniṣad; Religious Thought and Life in India 229.]

    Indrasenā (इन्द्रसेना).—and Citra-sena, m. proper names

    Indrasenā (इन्द्रसेना).—[feminine] Indra's weapon, personif. as his bride; a woman’s name.


    This Mayuri appears to have six faces, equivalent to Mars which does match the peacock, and yet at the same time is called Indra's Vajra or shakti. She does have a relation to newborns, which may be why she has become related to the Pancha Raksa.



    The yantra has corner deities such as Kali and Kalaratri, and Four Gatekeepers.

    It does become aware of the Hevajra-based single-follower mode:

    Then japa is done with the mantra (she may alternatively be mediated as vajra pa~njara bhAsitA mahApratisarA with two hands holding a chakra and khaDga and just one head).

    The same formula is inserted into the terminal part of the pratya~ngirA rite with several oblations made into the fire of ghee, oil or tila.


    It is possible to find Pratyangira--Narasimhi used in Buddhism:

    In a standard form of Buddhist Eight Direction protectors, Southwest, the most unfavorable direction, is protected by the syllable "Ksham". They use it as a seed for Nirrti-Rakshasa and Mother Khadgadharini, Sword Holders. These are placed with Rahu due to the Swords. Northwest is usually given to Yogeshvari, Chandi or Narasimhi.


    However, Buddhism has a specific form using this name, who is not a Lion Face, but is a Sword Devi:

    Mahāpratyaṅgirā is blue in colour, six-armed, and one-faced. She shows in her three right hands the sword, the goad, and the varadamudrā, and in her three left hands she holds the tarjanī with the noose against the chest, the red lotus and the trident; she originates from the syllable “Hūṃ”, bears the image of Akṣobhya on her crown, is decked in all sorts of ornaments, and is young and beautiful.


    But overall, in the Dharanis, Pratyangira is more of a name for Parasol than her own.

    That is almost to say, Buddha re-emanated the same thing Angiras and Pratyangira did. He did his strictly by Vajra Japa, that is what it says. Because he, in turn, asserts the validity and legitimacy of sages such as Angiras, there is no reason to think he would not pull off such a move. Pratyangira Parasol will become one of our principal deities. And again it is rather strange that we see her six arm form loses her parasol item, resembles Grahamatrika, and so it is likely that Sadhanamala's Mahapratyangira is really a Vajra Family emanation of Parasol similar to this.


    I am not sure if the sadhana, which does not give its source, is an attempt to cloak Pratisara into Vaisnavite Narasimha terms. They seem to do a similar thing by calling Buddha the Ninth Vishnu avatar.

    We have Lion Faces that are not called Pratyangira, and Pratyangiras that do not have lion faces. That seems like a pretty strong suggestion to overlook the well-known one, and think in terms of one of such a primordial existence that she is basically a sister to the planet Jupiter, infused by undifferentiated deities, arising namelessly from void.


    Furthermore, it brings us right back to the Guhyasamaja topic where we wanted to make the point of Vajra Kaya. Well, early on, we made a point about Mrtyuvacana and Sita Tara who kept going mostly in the Sakya Ngor lineage. And as we study this, we got to a mass of red deities which perform about all the Yoga we can teach as non-initiates. We see they accept the Yoga deities such as Namasangiti Manjushri and Vajra Tara as effective for Completion Stage. But there is another one, which has at least the power level of Prasanna Tara. In this example, she herself is the fullness of this Vajra Kaya.

    Nectar or Amrita is the negation of Mrtyu or Death, a-mrtyu. In just the same way, Immortality is Amara Vajra, i. e. a-mara or negation of Mara, which is Noumenal instead of physical. And so we talk about the syllable Hum, and what Amaravajra uses is Humkara, or Hum Hand, as her central gesture:







    Humkara gesture, usually as seen by Vajrasattva, Vajradhara, and limited others, which is hands crossed over the heart with vajra and bell (usually). This gesture originates from the Root Tantra or Guhyasamaja and is ultimately used by Kalachakra. Samvara also uses it. This mudra is significant enough to have its own deity, Humkara.

    Humkara is the same as Vajravali lineage held by Dolpopa and shared with the original Bodong-pa school used by Tibet's highest female tulku. Vajravali is a famous collection of around 40 Sadhanamala lineages still used in Tibet. Dolpopa is the Shentong Master, so to speak.

    Roughly, we know that Humkara deity does something to the Ten Wrathful Ones so that a Lotus Family or Fire Deity interfaces with Vajrosnisa or the fiery crown, which is contemporaneous with crossing or purifying the Kama Loka.




    In the center of the next thangka Humkara is said to be with Red Varahi holding a knife. The top goddesses are not called anything other than Red Vajrayogini. The males are Rechungpa's White Amitayus, White Samvara, and Blue Avalokiteshvara Heruka.

    At the lower left is the peaceful goddess [Usnisa] Vijaya (Tib.: nam gyal ma. English: Victorious), white, with one face and two hands holding a gold visvavajra to the heart in the right hand and a begging bowl in the lap with the left. Adorned with various silks, gold and jewel ornaments, she sits on a white lotus with a pink hue surrounded by a blue nimbus and bright red aureola. At the right side is White Wisdom Illuminating Vajravarahi (Tib.: pag mo she rab sal che) with one face and two hands holding upraised in the right a gold vajra and a skullcup to the heart with the left. Adorned with bone ornaments and a garland of skulls she stands surrounded by flames of wisdom fire. Varahi nevertheless has a White Heruka, like many.

    At the bottom stands the very rare Amaravajra "Adamantine Deathlessness" also called Maha Pratyangira "Great Repulser". And this multi-armed goddess arises from Hum and shows us humkara gesture:









    "At the bottom center is the slightly wrathful long-life deity Amaravajra Devi (Tib.: chi me dor je lha mo), white with eight faces and sixteen hands holding various objects. Adorned with a crown of skulls, wrathful ornaments, a necklace of heads and a tiger skin as a lower garment. Standing above a sun disc and multi-coloured lotus she is surrounded by the orange flames of wisdom fire." The top right is Seven-Syllable Samvara-Avalokita with Lasya. You can usually determine this pretty quickly by their rainbow flames, which are possibly unique to them.

    So now you see a major point of Seven Syllable deity. Something other than Illusory Body or anything easily conceivable.


    Amaravajra showing Humkara:







    If Pratyangira is the strongest counter against black magic when thrown in an outer direction, if reversed inwardly, this strongest destruction amounts to the strongest preservation of life. We would say it is a condition of the Dharmakaya, a high communion to it via the subtle body. Even this is not Complete Enlightenment, but it is well along the Path.

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    Default Re: Nirakara and Shentong Buddhism, Tara, Sadhanas, Sanskrit culture

    Twenty-one Taras and Krsna Yamari


    According to a Jonang site's list of the Twenty-one Taras of Suryagupta or Ravigupta:


    I have restricted myself to the description of only those Tārās who are actually called Tāra or have Tārā appended to their name.

    Well, most of them have it somewhere or another, such as Bhrkuti Tara, who he nixed...and if we followed the logic, we would have, for example, Padmatara...which we don't exactly have, except by way of inference.

    Suryagupta has no extant Sanskrit originals, so, whatever could be gained from it is from back-translating the Tibetan.


    And also they say:


    Another important source for the iconography of Tārā, of several so far unmentioned aspects, is the 12th century Indian Sanskrit manuscript known as the Sādhana-mālā or Sādhana-samuccaya...Clearly, a lot remains to be done. Knock yourselves out!

    Sadhana Samuccaya is something like eighty percent identical to Sadhanamala, probably the closest thing to a version of it that entered Tibet. Yes, there are some unmentioned aspects in Sadhanamala, so we are doing that.

    In describing five sets of Taras, Himalayan Art lists Sadhana Samuccaya as a Tara system...with no information. So on another page, they placed a few Twenty-one Taras thangkas as examples of it, because they do not match any standard system.

    If it is smaller than Sadhanamala, there is not really any way it could even have that many basic forms. Those thangkas are, probably, personal variations to Atisha's system.

    The systems are based from either Lotus or Karma Family Green Taras. Or, there is good reason to think of Tara One as Lotus Family, and there is usually a Karma Family Tara outside of, or the source of, twenty-one more.


    As one Tara who is not remotely simple, having come over from India as one of the final transmissions, the Jonang site refers to Tarayogini, a transmission from Buddhaguptanātha, who was probably one of the last known Indian siddhas of his kind, through the Situ Panchens, Taranatha, and Jamgon Kongtrul. Tara Yogini is mentioned in Book Eight, Part Three.

    Himalayan Art calls this Samaya Tara Yogini, although the text's title is Tara Yogini Tantra.

    So, this reinforces knowing that Mamaki and Pandara were transferred from India around Taranatha's time, so was Tarayogini. Although by the 1200s, most of the Buddhist universities and widespread system were dismantled, it certainly seems to have persisted in enclaves even in south India for centuries.

    Twenty-one Praises of Tara is Karma Family Yogini Tantra, as is Khasama for Vajrasattva Family, and Dakini Jala and Candra Guhya Tilaka are for All Families Equally.


    Rigpa Wiki puts the full Tara lists from Suryagupta and Longchen Nyintik together. This second one is a terma tradition, similar to, but not identical to, Suryagupta. And somehow, they managed to convert the end back to the Sadhanamala Taras:

    18. Mayuri

    19. Parasol

    20. Parnasabari

    21. Marici


    It has a few other Taras that were already in other systems:

    2. Sarasvati

    4. Usnisavijaya

    5. Kurukulla

    6. I believe is Raudri or Candi: sgrol ma 'jigs byed chen mo; Drolma Jikché Chenmo

    8. Aparajita

    9. Kadhiravani Tara

    11. Vasudhara

    12. we have already translated as Prasanna Tara: Drolma Tashi Dönché;

    14. Bhrkuti


    Comparatively, Suryagupta has 7--Pramardani, and 17--Sukha Sadhani, as others which may be pretty close to Indian Taras. It seems to have the same for 12--Prasanna. But this again is one of the only verses that say anything about Tara's appearance, and there is approximately one, Day--Night Tara, which matches.


    Examples of "jigje":

    The terrifying Manjushri is Yamantaka or Dorje Jigje

    At Sera, the three inner chapels, sequentially, are the Jampa Lhakhang, the Neten Lhakhang and Jigje Lhakhang. Jigje Lhakhang houses the image of Bhairava with his consort Bhairavi, Shri Devi and other protector deities.




    Suryagupta has a "role" for the goddess of each verse, things like Final Samadhi and Transference.

    Anyway, it is not Twenty-one Taras, it is Twenty-one Praises of Tara. The verses don't have names and faces. But the song as a whole has a purpose. Tara unties twenty-one knots of the subtle body, which open Twenty-one aspects of Dharmakaya.

    This set of qualities comes from Abhisamayalamkara, one of the Five Books of Maitreya. This has over twenty Indian commentaries, including four by Haribhadra alone. In Tibetan, it has been done by Tson kha pa, Patrul Rinpoche, and Mipham, among others.

    Abhisamayalamkara is part of the main curriculum, which ends on Uttaratantra, which is RGV or Ratna Gotra Vibhaga, the last book of Maitreya.

    It is a commentary on the hidden meaning of the Prajñaparamita Sutras, describing the entire journey of the bodhisattva, from the generation of bodhichitta to the attainment of full omniscience.

    Interestingly, the first of the site's famous quotes from RGV is the one on the Mahatma letter.

    "Curriculum" pertains to the shedra, which is the school where monks and nuns study the most important Buddhist scriptures, based on the explanations of their teacher, or khenpo. Including basic education like grammar and history, it takes around twelve years traditionally. There is a current facility in Karnataka, South India, with about a thousand monks and nuns who take six years of Sutra and three of Vajrayana. And look, you would not see our basic topics until your fifth year:

    Treatise on the Sublime Continuum [RGV] by Maitreya, with the commentary by Khenpo Shenga
    The Lion's Roar [of Srimala Devi]: A Commentary on Sugatagarbha by Mipham Rinpoche

    In your seventh year, you would be on:

    Essence of Clear Light (Tib. འོད་གསལ་སྙིང་པོ་, Ösel Nyingpo, Wyl. 'od gsal snying po) — an overview of the Guhyagarbha Tantra by Mipham Rinpoche based on Longchenpa's commentary, Dispelling Darkness in the Ten Directions.

    In the ninth year, you would get Mind's Repose, Kagye', Akanistha, and Life force.

    I suppose it would be as a reading subject that you pass or fail. It may not be asking for self-examination in a Yoga practice.


    It would probably cause someone to memorize all of the twenty-one Dharmakaya points.

    What we would do is say, well, point one is Thirty-seven point Enlightenment, Suryagupta says Tara One does Enlightening Activity, and she is named Vira Tara in two systems. Is this the name of any Tara elsewhere, no, but in Dharani Samgraha, it is a unique epithet for Sitabani. Should we use her because of the name? Or is Pithesvari a greater resemblance to Suryagupta's Vira Tara form? Do all of Suryagupta's roles definitively match the points? No.

    Each verse of this song has its own commentary. In Praise of Tara has relied primarily on Sanskrit manuscripts, but, the scan is poor. There is another excellent commentary where for example Tara One has her own page, and so on. And I think they have the same Sanskrit as the book, but, the commentary is from within the solely-Tibetan tradition of Tara. And so instead of just saying you can follow the links and it tells you everything, which it does, we want to see how it might be compatible with Taras from the Sanskrit system, which is where it came from and evidently was still significant enough in the 1600s to send people to Tibet.

    Prasanna was not called Tashi Donje', and would I go up to H. H. Tenzin Gyatso saying hello Mr. Ocean?

    No, and if we were to say in Indonesia, they are avid about getting material that is mostly in their native language but still uses Sanskrit names and mantras, it would be something like that. The medieval empire there was dedicated to building Hindu and Buddhist temples alike since they believed they were different schools of mantra, and they wanted the mantras.

    Names in Tibetan systems of Tara sometimes do not match each other, and half of them do not match anything from the Sanskrit sadhanas. What we can say more or less for sure is that no, the original system was not all of the Tibetan ones generally given. Then we could add, well, some of them are clearly the same, and what most of the systems have in common is that Tara Twenty-one is Marici.

    So, if we start with the first verse to see if it may resemble a goddess with her own identity and practice, what happens?



    The translation of the first verse appears to refer to Tara's emanation by Avalokiteshvara and says:

    Homage to mother Tārā, swift and fearless,

    Your eyes are like flashing lightning.

    Born from the blossoming stamens

    Of the lotus face of the Lord of Three Worlds.



    But from what little I know, I do not see "lightning" or "eyes" in the Sanskrit first verse:

    namas tāre ture vīre kṣaṇair dyuti-nibhêkṣaṇe |

    trailokya-nātha-vaktrābja-vikasat-kesarôdbhave ||




    I suppose it may not be a hundred percent rule, but, the ending -e is the invocative form of a name, such as Kurukulle. It is used limitedly in this song, but in the first line, it just looks like three names, Tara Tura Vira. Rather than "Tara who is swift and strong", it doesn't translate because it is just the invocation Namas tare ture vire. Sort of like saying Tara Bhrkutyai.


    "Ksana" has many definitions for "moment", but, derived from Ksan, "to injure or kill", makes sense together with its meaning from Prajnaparamita:

    “In the time of a finger-snap (acchaṭā-mātra), there are sixty moments (kṣaṇa); in each kṣaṇa, the mind is born (utpāda) and ceases (bhaṅga); but as it arises in a series, we know that this is a mind of desire (rāgacitta), that, a mind of anger (dveṣacitta), or a mind of delusion (mohacitta), a mind of faith (prasādacitta), or a pure mind (viśuddhacitta) of wisdom (prajñā) or rapture (dhyāna)”.

    In one Ksana, a Bodhisattva with Abhijna goes everywhere.

    The Four Formless Dhyanas and Four Immeasurables do not exist for a Ksana.


    So the mind creates its dharma or reality in an instant, which immediately perishes. Therefrom, it can get an extended meaning:

    Kṣaṇa (क्षण).—m. (= Pali khaṇa), birth under favorable conditions. There are 8 akṣaṇa (q.v.) but only 1 kṣaṇa, viz., birth as a man in the ‘middle region’, where a Buddha is to be expected, at a time when he is born, and with the mental capacity to assimilate his doctrine.


    Next there is Dyuti, which could be translated as Splendor or Glory, a form of light with beauty, majesty, and dignity.


    However Martin Wilson says:

    standard phrase for lightning. According to J, it is a simile expressing brightness.

    iksana has the senses both of 'look, Sight, eye' and of 'caring'

    He at least took a moment to ask a friend about it and did not get the answer "lightning".


    "Dyut" becomes "lightning" as Vidyut; the root word is basic, but also means:

    2) To make clear, explain, elucidate.

    Yāskācārya, in the Nirukta, gives the etymological meaning of the term deva as:

    devo dānādvā dīpanādvā dyotanādvā dyusthāno bhavatītivā/

    According to him, deva is called so as because of making gifts to the earthly beings or for being brilliant or radiant, or because he belongs primarily to the heavenly sphere. The etymological meaning holds the term deva can be derived from the root dā, dīp or dyut. Patañjali, the great grammarian, has derived the term deva from root div, to shine...the gods are nothing but the defied and personified phenomena of nature. Yāskācārya has etymologized the term on the basis of such natural observation.

    Perhaps Dyut is more like a deva or a Dipa--Lamp. Perhaps it means Vidyut and was tightened up to match the meter. Since we can also compare the Nepalese dharani version, line one is even harder to find "lightning" in it:

    namaskāre ture vīra kṣaṇyūtitibhekṣaṇe |

    There, you don't even get "Tara", it would just be Tura. "Nibha" is hard to pick out, although it still ends with Iksana.


    The root Iks is usually the second half of a compound, or, a verb whose object follows. It can have to do with ordinary sight, or:

    —to see in one’s mind, think, have a thought, [Śatapatha-brāhmaṇa; Chāndogya-upaniṣad; Mahābhārata; Bhagavad-gītā] etc.;


    The verse doesn't seem to say anything about her eyes or whether she comes or arrives, but something more like:

    In an instant of creation and destruction, Tara sees through compassion, directly and mentally, which is Explanatory Light and Glory.

    At the very least, it sounds like she has the Abhijna to move any and everywhere. She has this ability. It doesn't seem to say she has done anything, but more like we are happy this is possible.



    The second line appears pretty solidly about her origin from Avalokiteshvara:


    "Abja" is an archaic term for Lotus Family.

    vaktrab-ja 'facial lotus': literally 'face-water-bom', with double meaning: (a) since 'water-born' is a standard expression for 'lotus': 'lotus face', a common honorific term for any deity's countenance; (b) 'born from water from the face', i.e. a lotus born from tears.

    Kesara, 2 (fr. kesa) filament of flowers, hairy structures of plants esp. of the lotus


    No, it is far from her ultimate origin, since the Buddhahood of Tara predates that of Avalokiteshvara by several world-systems. But in the case of ours, we could say he was crying for help, so she came through.

    If you want to look at Mahakarunika, it is in that.


    Thupten Shedrub Gyatso gives commentary that uses the interpretation of "eyes", so this verse is praising Tara's form:

    The outer meaning of the praise literally praises the nirmāṇakāya aspect of the Noble Lady. In the inner aspect of the praise, if not taken literally, her sambhogakāya and dharmakāya aspects are praised. The “Savior of the Three Worlds” is the dharmakāya, and its manifestation is the rūpakāya, or “form body,” (which is composed of the sambhogakāya and nirmāṇakāya).

    Wilson's scheme of the song goes like this:

    1, Praise in terms of Her Sambhogakaya aspects, includes:

    a. b.

    Praise in terms of peaceful aspects (2 -7) Praise in terms of fierce aspects (8- 14).

    a, Praise in terms of peaceful aspects, includes six homages. i. Praise in terms of the brightness and luminous radiance of Her

    countenance...

    C, Praise in terms of Her activities, includes six homages.

    Kayas ('Bodies') (2- 15) Praise in terms of Her activities (16- 21).





    I am under the impression that Avalokiteshvara's Mount Potalaka is actually Pothigai:

    The Pothigai hills are mentioned as Potiyil, Potiyal, Pothikai and Potalaka in historical sources largely in relation to the river Tamraparni and the ancient Sage Agastya.

    Agastyamalai is home to the Kanikkaran people, one of the oldest surviving hunter-gatherer tribes in the world.

    Ca. 6,000':










    So when she comes, part of her main function is to repair our aura.

    These twenty-one knots in the subtle body, or, specifically on the Avadhut, are said to be in pairs, of which three are at the heart. Six total knots of the heart. Worst kind of spiritual congestion. Nothing else is that blocked off. I do not have a list of these knots handy; there would be seven more pairs, and an odd one. They are probably pairs since at the given spot, it is kinked by both Lalana and Rasana. This process is similar to other yoga which expresses it as Granthi Bhedini; bhedini had general meanings of breaking, separating, etc., but also:

    bhēdī (भेदी) [or द्या, dyā].—a (bhēda) That knows the secrets, mysteries, minutiæ (of a place, kingdom, business, process)

    Tara commits this action twice, once to the underworlds, and once to Ripu Gatra:

    Ripu (रिपु).—m.

    (-puḥ) An enemy. E. rap to speak, to abuse

    1) Ripu (रिपु):—[from rip] mfn. deceitful, treacherous, false, [Ṛg-veda]

    1) Gātra (गात्र):—[from gā] a n. ‘instrument of moving’, a limb or member of the body, [Ṛg-veda; Atharva-veda]


    The standard commentary calls it "bodies of enemies", but, in Buddhism, we mostly think of this internally; if she breaks false motion internal to the body, that sounds quite close to opening multiple subtle knots. But I am not sure there is a way to express "which, where" like the Pitha system; this way seems more abstract, wherein a good result automatically happens.



    Tibet Art's Suryagupta print gives Tara's assignments. They do not seem to be in linear order like stages. Does this seem to follow the pattern of Nirmanakaya, Peaceful and Wrathful Sambhogakaya, and Activities?

    One accomplishes enlightened Activity.

    Two removes nightmares and untimely death. Three is for prolonging life and enlightened Qualities. Four is Usnisa Vijaya in standard role. Five is Subjugation and removal of fear. Six purifies the Ten Directions. Seven is Transference.

    Eight = Completion Stage. Nine = Consecration, Ten = Entering the Mandala, Eleven = Increase, Twelve = Homa, Thirteen Subdues Hindrances; Fourteen = Circle of Protection.

    Fifteen = Purifying Mental and Emotional Defilements, Sixteen = Cutting Attachments, Seventeen subjugates obstacles, Eighteen cures Naga diseases, Nineteen pacifies Dreams, Twenty removes Disease, Twenty-one is Sky-going and attaining Akanistha in this lifetime.

    So, if we are not really doing Suryagupta's system, the qualities of Dharmakaya perhaps are more important, and she is a Yogini tantra because she will make it an experience in the subtle body. What we can do is collate the information with a few suggestions of Indian Taras. The actual idea is that the Tara group and individual Tara practices amplify each other.

    One could see it that originally, Avalokiteshvara wept from two eyes and emanated Bhrkuti at the same time. You could say this first Tara is Peaceful Bhrkuti and Fourteen is Wrathful Bhrkuti. If you let Twelve be Day--Night Tara, then maybe the whole thing divides into Peaceful and Wrathful halves. This song is one of the few things that has this kind of adjustability built into it. Because Bhrkuti is already in it, and has lots of other appearances, and Pithesvari is probably in Tathagata Family, I am left thinking that Sitabani is really a good choice for Tara One. She is never really "first", in anything, until we recall the fact that she means the main charnel ground in Bihar, which was obviously significant in Buddha's time, and remained the main point of origin of tantric practice for probably as long as it lasted. Padmasambhava killed someone for the intentional reason to be banished there. Even though the goddess is not well-known, no matter how much you pursue the subject, she has always been there in the background. And again this represents the Peaceful Cemeteries, and may be the only one we even have a name for.











    We once saw a suggestive manuscript, MSD4 I think it was, where the folios could fold together to suggest consorts. If so, White Tara can join Manjuvara Vajrasattva, Durgottarini and Kadhira could go to Black Yamari and Vignataka, Eight-armed Vajra Tara and Marici could go to Samvara and Hevajra.

    Even if it does not work like that, we can see at least for example that some of the Sadhanamala Taras are thought of as compatible with Black or Krsna Yamari.

    There is something about Krsna Yamari that makes it Mahayoga, which seems to be an approximate term for Generation Stage. I am not very familiar with this phrasing. It is part of the "Four Yogas" that all have "Yoga" in their name. Those were used as classifications of levels from basic to tantric practice. Their combination or all-at-once is explained in Krsna Yamari.

    It is generally held that Generation and Completion Stage were first described in Guhyasamaja Tantra, however, what perhaps is more important is the Esoteric Community based from it, because:

    Guhyasamaja lacks purification of death, intermediate state, and rebirth, as do most male Mahayoga tantras. Guhyasamaja does not instruct in Karmamudra or its purifying process. It does not deal with the Relative Illusory Body, the Three Minds, or Passionate Dharma.

    Then Sridhara says four empowerments are necessary in Krishna Yamari: Crown, Sword, Union of Vajra and Bell, and Drinking the Moon, and restates this elsewhere in unique terminology:

    After seeing a terrace with a banner,
    Then the milk is accomplished.
    Through becoming skilled in single-mindedness of milk,
    Mahamudra is thoroughly accomplished.

    It says if you are fortunate, you can enter Guhyamantra, and then Hevajra. The Hevajra's instructions are complete, whereas the Five Stages of Guhyasamaja are so only because of special oral instructions passed down the transmission.


    Guhyamantra means the Mantra Body of Vajrasattva. If you do this well, then you can just do Hevajra. In other words, it is not necessary to do Guhyasamaja, and then perform the next tantra, and so on down the line like the curriculum at school.


    That is what we are doing. It is Vajrasattva with more and more various "mantras", taken in various ways such as Cintamani Tara and so on. If followed steadily, then, yes, eventually one could actually do Hevajra, moreover, we will even Chain ourselves to it, and it will become like horses chomping at the bit.


    And so Yamari has Mahamudra, which, as far as I know, includes whatever may have been neglected by Guhyasamaja or other tantras that lack what is thought of as a kind of full-spectrum picture.

    Krsna Yamari Tantra is published in Tibetan and Devanagari. The introduction informs us it was important enough to be largely copied into a Saivite Tantra.

    It is the only place where Janguli has a mandala. Also, Paramartha Parasol dates itself to Samvat 1026, which is usually about 57 years ahead of the western calendar, so, around ca. 970., clocks in at about 145 manuscript pages, and Krsna Yamari Tantra or something from it comprises the majority of pp. 69 to 81. This Yamari is mainly found in Sakya and Ngor in Bari lineage.

    And so it deals with the Four Yogas that constitute Mahayoga, which seems to have about the same meaning as Yoga Tantra. It is in Tri-samaya Raja 2 at the beginning of Sadhanamala, right after the Five Buddhas are greeted:

    016ḷ11 rasaṃ rasāyanaṃ tattvaṃ pravadanti varāṇi ca //
    016ḷ12 aśeṣāḥ siddhayo ramyā vipulā arthasampadaḥ /
    016ḷ13 sarvāśāparipūriṃ ca dadanti manasepsitāḥ /
    016ḷ14 jñānam āyurbalaṃ vegaṃ dadanti paramaṃ śubham //
    016ḷ15 iti / etad eva stotraṃ vajramaṇḍalālālaṅkāramahāyogatantre
    016ḷ16 'pi sānusaṃsaṃ sampaṭhitam iti /


    Rasayana Tattva? Yes, this is exactly the high end we are going for, in an attempt to produce Nectar and Offer it to a Taste Goddess for judgement.

    The Pada, feet, or basic explanation is in Ramya and Vipula Siddhis. The first is the famous beginning of Dakini Jala, and the second is Pratisara.

    Pari-puri is "all-perfecting" or "all-ripening", often a name for Tara Twenty-one, Marici.

    Jnana or Gnosis of Life, Strength, Power.

    That is the Song of Vajra Mandala or Mahayoga Tantra.

    Krsnacarya's Kurukulla 181 is śrīmanmāyājālamahāyogatantrāt.

    Mahayogeshvari is a selective title for Durgottarini, Janguli, and Varahi.



    The mantric identity of this Vajra Mandala is that of Prakara mudra which is Nyasa. You have already given yourself Vajrosnisa, then you mantrify yourself in Vajra Feet, and then you do this. Although it is a mudra, I believe you are also casting what is usually called Rekhe or Fence, since Prakara is:

    Vajraprākāra (वज्रप्राकार):—[=vajra-prākāra] [from vajra > vaj] m. a [particular] Samādhi, [Kāraṇḍa-vyūha]

    Prākāra (प्राकार) refers to “enclosing walls”, according to Tantric texts such as the Kubjikāmata-tantra


    And it is followed by Panjara or Canopy which also has a Nyasa. In fact, the Nyasa is three parts, Fence, Tent, and Blaze, and then it does Sima or boundary. You enter the state of Acala, turn to the Sky, and do an extremely strange Flower Offering:

    āvarttāvarttamahāpuṣpavati

    So those are components of a full mandala. Vajramandala is used by Vajra Tara 97 and 110.

    However, Prakara is also something like a "content boundary". Sukla Tara 105 has its features. She is in the middle of a Fence, and is in the middle of the Cemeteries. Her mantric identity is the state of Acala and:

    Ānimitta (आनिमित्त, “signlessness”)

    Bodhisattva Quality Two in the simplest terms says:

    A stanza says:

    When words (vāda) are stopped
    The functioning of the mind (cittapravṛtti) also ceases.
    This is non-arising (anutpāda), non-cessation (anirodha)
    The similarity with nirvāṇa.

    Ānimittasamādhi is suppressing all the marks of the dharmas (sarvadharmanimitta) and not paying attention to them (amanasikāra).

    The section is dealing with a barrage of hundreds of possible samadhis at one and trying to designate main categories. Because it then also mentions the state of Acala, then Sukla Tara is something like this.

    She is in the Cemeteries, but not "in a cemetery", is a peaceful white Karma Family goddess. It should be implicit that this is not a particularly easy condition to enter. The Fence is the second component, which sits on the Ground or Bhumi, which is mostly symbolized by or developed from Vajrasattva practice.





    So, ok, it is argued that the "strange words" in Krsna Yamari do not refer to a "special Completion Stage", because the clear intent is Mahamudra. However, what is, apparently, to some practitioners, a "rapid fusion into Mahayoga" is what comes across as a more powerful practice of Generation Stage. Because Paramartha Parasol has an equally-large section after dealing with this, perhaps then she is as powerful as Completion Stage. "Milk" does not sound strange to me, in fact it sounds good for a "rapid fusion".

    At any rate, Mahayoga also came forward unexpectedly where we can find some of the Krshna Yamari Tantra in a recent paper on:



    Apabhraṃśa verses in tantric Buddhist texts instead seem to be reserved for particularly intimate junctures and esoteric contexts, where the speaker speaks in a different language/register and level of discourse entirely. These dohās, “password” verses, and offering and initiation verses, speak directly to their subjects, an intimacy that contrasts markedly with the surrounding text. Indeed, in their use they resemble mantras and dhāraṇīs. This link between language register and esoteric content deserves a deeper analysis, and this paper will consider a particular subset of these Apabhraṃśa verses: “Goddess songs” in creation-stage mandala rituals. In these rituals, a group of four yoginīs call out to the sādhaka with Apabhraṃśa verses, appealing to him sexually and pleading for him to honor his commitments and finish his ritual practice. This trope occurs in the Hevajra Tantra, the Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇa Tantra, the Abhayapaddhati, the Buddhakapāla sādhanā in the Sādhanāmālā, the Kṛṣṇayamāri Tantra, and the Khasama Tantra.


    As to Yamari:

    The final sādhanās appear in a text that does not easily fit into our received classification standards for tantric Buddhist texts. The Kṛṣṇayamāri Tantra seems to straddle both canons of the Mahāyoga tantras and Yoginī tantras. This ambiguity is made clear in its name; Kṛṣṇayamāri is closely related to the wrathful Buddha Yamāntaka/Vajrabhairava. As such, the Kṛṣṇayamāri Tantra would seem to be more accurately classified as a Mahāyoga tantra, a fact corroborated by its maṇḍala, comprising a majority of male Yamāris with four yoginīs (Figure 4 [see below]). This is a clear contrast with the maṇḍalas of the previous texts in which yoginīs predominate; however, here as well, yoginīs call out to the practitioner in Apabhraṃśa verses. In addition, while the first sādhanā discussed here (anuyoga) exhibits the same ritual trope seen in the previous texts, the second sādhanā (mahāyoga) significantly subverts it.

    These Apabhraṃśa verses appear in the root verses of the Kṛṣṇayamāri Tantra, the anuyoga verses in the seventeenth chapter and the mahāyoga verses in the twelfth chapter. Chapter seventeen begins with the Buddha visualizing different Buddha-forms (buddhabimbaṃ), and then the text declares that the practitioner becomes the cakra-bearer by the practice of the four [Vajra] songs (associated with the four yoginīs). On the other hand, chapter twelve begins with the Buddha entering into different meditative concentrations (samādhi), each associated with one of the text’s four yoginīs (Vajracarcikā, Vajravārāhī, Vajrasarasvatī, and Vajragaurī), and thereupon recites each yoginī’s specific verse. However, the actual contextualization of these verses within detailed sādhanā instructions does not appear in the root verses. Instead, they are provided in the commentary composed by Kumāracandra.

    Anuyoga is the second phase of the four-fold yoga, defined in the root verses as the “arising of the stream of Vajrasattva” (after the generation of Vajrasattva in the first phase, “yoga”). Anuyoga begins with summoning and worshipping the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, and afterwards one visualizes the maṇḍala and numerous Sanskrit syllables stationed throughout. After dissolving the maṇḍala, one sees Vajrasattva, after which the four yoginīs appear. An important note here is that each of these yoginīs (Vajracarcikā, Vajravārāhī, Vajrasarasvatī, and Vajragaurī) are associated with long-standing Buddhist meditative states: loving kindness (maitrī), compassion (karuṇā), empathetic joy (muditā), and equanimity (upekṣā). These yoginīs then sing the verses sung by the Buddha at the beginning of chapter seventeen.

    uṭṭha bharāḍaü karuṇākoha |
    tihuaṇa saalaha pheḍahi moha ||

    (Vajracarcikā)

    Arise, O Bhagavan, whose feigned wrath is compassion.
    Cut the delusion of the material world!

    e caumāra parājia rāula |
    uṭṭha bharāḍā citteṃ vaüla ||

    (Vajravārāhī)

    You’ve overcome the four Māras, O Royal One.
    Arise O Bhagavān, [my] mind is stricken.

    loaṇimanti acchasi suṇṇe |
    uṭṭha bharāḍā loaha puṇṇe ||

    (Vajrasarasvatī)

    Summon forth the world, you who dwells in emptiness.
    Arise O Bhagavan, by the merit of the world!

    kaï tu acchasi sunaho viṃtti |
    bodhisahāva loaṇimaṃti ||

    (Vajragaurī)

    Why do you dwell in emptiness?
    O Nature of Enlightenment, summon forth the world!

    Immediately following these verses, the practitioner visualizes more syllables and the sādhanā culminates in one becoming the Buddha Dveṣayamāri. The next phase of the four-fold yoga is “atiyoga,” after which the practitioner enters the final phase of the four-fold yoga, “mahāyoga.” While the verses in anuyoga display the same conventions observed in the previous texts, the sādhanā of mahāyoga significantly subverts them. Mahāyoga is defined as the “entrance to the gnosis-cakra (jñāna-cakra), tasting its nectar, as well as the Great Worship and Praise.” In this sādhanā the practitioner beseeches the Buddhas for consecration, visualizes the assembly of Yamāris and yoginīs with their tutelary Buddhas, and engages in more subtle yoga within the visualized maṇḍala. Thereupon, the practitioner takes on the face or form (Skt. mukhena) of the maṇḍala’s four yoginīs in turn, and worships the maṇḍala with the songs uttered by the Buddha in chapter twelve of the root text:

    aḍeḍe kiṭṭayamāri guru raktalūva sahāva |
    haḍe tua pekhia bhīmi guru chaḍḍahi koha sahāva ||

    (Vajracarcikā)

    A ḍe ḍe Black Yamāri Guru, you are wrathful in form and nature.
    Seeing you I grow frightened, O Guru, abandon this wrathful nature.

    païṇaccaṃte kaṃvi aï saggamaccapāālu |
    kiṭṭa bhinnāñjaṇa kohamaṇu ṇaccahi tuhu ve ālu ||

    (Vajravārāhī)

    You dance and upend everything in heaven, on earth, and in the underworld.
    Dark like black eyeliner, you dance like a Vetāla, O Fierce One.

    kālākhavva pamāṇahā bahuviha ṇimmasi rua |
    vajjasarāssaï viṇṇamami ṇaccahi tuha mahāsuharua ||

    (Vajrasarasvatī)

    You are black, short in stature, and take on various forms,
    You dance and you are of the nature of great bliss, I, Vajrasarasvatī supplicate you.

    hrīḥ ṣṭrīḥ manteṇa pheḍahi kehu tihuaṇa bhānti |
    karuṇākoha bharāḍaü taha kuru jagu pekkhanti ||

    (Vajragaurī)

    With the mantra hrīḥ ṣṭrī, cut the delusion of the three realms!
    Therefore, O Great Lord, Whose Wrath is Compassion, do [your duties!], [for] the world looks on.

    In the root verses of chapter twelve, the Buddha recites these verses after entering the respective samādhis of the four yoginīs (i.e., the four brahmāvihāras), and in this sadhana, the practitioner does as well. Thus, the long-standing Buddhist brahmavihāras are imagined as yoginīs in a tantric context. Afterwards, the practitioner prostrates before each of the maṇḍala’s Yamāris and the ritual is complete.

    The Kṛṣṇayamāri Tantra’s seventeenth chapter ends with the text’s four yoginīs singing another Apabhraṃśa song. After the root text defines the four-fold yoga (KYT 17.8-11), Vajrasattva recites the intermediary verses of the chapter, which preach a variety of fairly common tantric Buddhist injunctions (e.g., maintaining loving kindness to all beings (13), not disrespecting the guru (12), respecting women (16), etc.). After hearing Vajrasattva’s speech, “all the assembled Buddhas whose forms were great supreme bliss” became silent and then burst forth with an upsurge of song (udāna). These seven verses are an apophatic description of the state of consciousness that arises from the practice of Vajrasattva (vajrasattvaprayogena): astonishing (suvismayam), eternal (śaśvataḥ), and devoid of material elements and bodily experience. Inspired by this Sanskrit udāna, Mahācarcikā and the other yoginīs respond with an udāna in Apabhraṃśa:

    ṇimmala śuddhadeho paramānaṃda |
    puṇṇassāvego sambandha ||

    This Supreme Joy is Stainless and Pure in Body,
    It is divorced from both Merit and Sin.

    karuṇācittaṃ acchaï savva |
    eku mahādhani tathatā davva ||

    All that exists is the Mind of Compassion,
    One great treasury of suchness and substance.

    paramānanda saï asahāva |
    mahāsuha bhāveṃ dhamma sahāva ||

    Supreme Joy lacks inherent essence,
    The nature of Dharma is Great Bliss.

    ṇaitahi bhaaṇa du pūrṇayāu |
    palaaü attīṇaiva sabhāu ||

    Therefore there is neither form, merit, nor sin.
    And also neither arising nor pure release.

    These verses do not follow the pattern of the songs from the rest of the texts cited so far, and Bhayani notes are considerably corrupt, making them very difficult to translate. These verses also likely presented issues for Kumāracandra, who glosses over only the two most obvious terms from verses twenty-nine and thirty (ṇimmala→nirmala, śuddha), and whose running commentary on verses thirty-one and thirty-two is extremely loose and boilerplate in content. These issues aside, these verses are significant for underscoring the connection between Apabhraṃśa verses and yoginīs in this text, and also serve as a capstone for the chapter as a whole. Furthermore, they stand out in the text like a mantra or dhāraṇī, highlighting the significance of this language in tantric Buddhist texts.


    He has two other forms; in this mandala, he is surrounded by Eight Yamaris, and the goddesses are in the corners of a 1500s Nepalese piece:
















    So, this tantra would even at the most superficial appear related to Sadhanamala in the subject of Mahayoga. Secondly, it uses Parnasabari and Janguli in some manner that is not directly in Yamari's mandala. Then, Vajrasarasvati is perhaps only found in Sadhanamala. Varahi is "substantial" in it, but, it is not the Book of Varahi since hers is Guhyasamajasadhanamala having forty-six practices.

    In going through it and trying to clip out the presence of Varahi from any of our Yoga practices, there is one candidate for Vam syllable which is Vajracarcika. Apparently she flips around to become the first retinue member here (in terms of goddesses).

    The next candidate for Vam is Vajravairocani, who would really be in Armor Deities.

    That is how much Guhyamantra can be done by avoiding actual tantras and deities such as Vajravarahi, which do have a lot to do with direct transmissions. By using a few stock figures such as Ghasmari and Carcika, it will accumulate a more powerful Generation Stage such as that of Krsna Yamari, which highly resembles it, by way of a complete accident.

    You might do something weird like stick Janguli in Twenty-one Taras. One might say well, she is just a tantric Sarasvati, who is already there. Some systems go ahead and say Cunda is Candra which is Sarasvati. I am starting to think we have reason to say Cunda is something else (The Impellor). Oddly, her name is not even translated into Tibetan, it is phonetic, Tsun da. And then "tsun" is the same root as in the title "Jetsun", i. e. respected for wisdom.

    Sarasvati is normally Tara Two and in this case, is usually presented in her simple two arm form with her Hrim Mirror.

    There is a Vajrasarasvati in Yamari's retinue, while his consort is Wrathful Sarasvati as Vetali.

    So it actually is Manjushri and Sarasvati in wrathful form.

    Before long, we will put together the song, its dharani version, the corresponding information, and a few suggested Taras where the Tibetan ones are inscrutable.
    Last edited by shaberon; 14th August 2021 at 19:06.

  40. The Following User Says Thank You to shaberon For This Post:

    Bill Ryan (14th August 2021)

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