Great Liberation by Hearing in the Intermediate States

pp. 72-73 praesiding deities of rebirth-realms

p.

psychic channel

its semblance

god

his body-color

held by him

72

one's crown

branch

S`akra

white

lute

 

occipetal

ox-horns

Vema-citra

green

armor

73

'life-force'

crystal tube

S`akya-muni

yellow

mendicant's rod

 

energy-centre

 

Sthira-simha

blue

book

 

bliss-sustaining

 

Jvala-mukha

red

[wish-granting] casket

 

energy-centre

 

Dharma-raja

black

flame & water

pp. 78-80 blood-drinking Heruka-s

p.

psychic channel

__ Heruka

his face (3 : + white & red)

78

central, in brain

Maha-uttara

brown

79

central, on throne

Buddha

reddish-brown

 

eastern

Vajra

dark-blue

79-80

southern

Ratna

dark-yellow

80

western

Padma

dark-red

 

northern

Karma

dark-green

embracing spouse, of each, is __-krodha-is`vari

pp. 81-2 the 8 +Matar-as

p.

psychic channel-branch of one's skull

matr.

her color

held by her

81

eastern

Gauri

white

corpse-cudgel & skull

 

southern

Cauri

yellow

arrow, shooting from bow

 

western

Pra-moha

red

crocodile-emblazoned victory-banner

 

northern

Vetali

black

blood-filled skull

 

south-eastern

Pukkasi

red-yellow

entrails, devouring

82

south-western

Ghasmari

green-black

stirring blood-filled skull with vajra

 

north-western

Can.d.ali

pale-yellow

human corpse & eating its heart

 

north-eastern

S`mas`ani

blue-black

tearing apart the head & body of a bloated corpse

pp. 82-83 the 8 animal-headed +Pis`aci-s, in outer circle

p.

psychic channel-branch of one's skull

pis`aci : "__-mukhi" ("__-mouth")

her color

held by her

82

eastern

Sim-ha (lioness)

brown-black

carrying a corpse in her mouth

82-3

southern

Vyaghri (tigress)

red

with her arms crossed

83

western

S`r.gala (she-jackal)

black

eating entrails

 

northern

S`vana (bitch)

blue-black

tearing apart a bloated corpse

 

south-eastern

Gr.dhra (vulture)

white-yellow

carrying a human corpse draped over her shoulder

 

south-western

Kanka (kite)

red-black

large human corpse

 

north-western

Kaka (crow)

black

skull & sword

 

north-eastern

Uluka (owl)

dark-blue

vajra

p. 84 the 4 Female Gate-keepers

at __ gate of skull, within one's brain

female gate-keeper : __-headed

her color

held by her [as her name-glyph]

eastern

mare

white

ankus`a ("hook")

southern

sow

yellow

pas`a ("noose")

western

lioness

red

sphot.a ("chain")

northern

snake

green

ghan.t.a ("bell")

pp. 85-87 the 28 Is`vari-s = animal-headed Queens of Yoga [Yoga-rani-s]

in the minor channels of the __ courtyard of one's skull, the 6 Queens of Yoga who enact rites of __

yoga-rani

her color

she is __-headed

held by her

p. 85 eastern, pacification : pacify our fears

Manu-raks.asi

brownish white

yak

vajra

Brahman.i

yellowish white

snake

waterlily

Raudri

greenish white

leopardess

trident

Vais.n.avi

bluish white

weasel

wheel

Kaumari

reddish white

brown-bear

short pike

Indran.i

white

black-bear

noose of guts

southern, enrichment : enrich pristine cognition

Vajra

yellow

bat

razor

S`anti

reddish yellow

crocodile

vase

A-mr.ta

reddish yellow

scorpion

waterlily

Saumi

whitish yellow

hawk

vajra

Dan.d.i

greenish yellow

vixen

cudgel

Raks.asi

blackish yellow

tigress

blood-filled skull

p. 86 western, subjugation : assure our independence

Bhaks.asi

greenish red

vulture

club

Rati

red

mare

human torso

Rudhira-mati

pale red

garud.i

cudgel

Eka-carin.i Raks.asi

red

bitch

vajra

Manas-harika

red

hoopoe

arrow from bow

Siddha-kari

greenish red

doe

vase

northern, wrath : destroy confused perceptions

Vayu-devi

bluish green

wolf

ensign

Agnayi

reddish green

ibex

firebrand

Varahi

blackish green

sow

noose of fangs

Camun.d.i

reddish green

crow

infant corpse

Bhujana

blackish green

elephant

bloated corpse

Varun.ani

bluish green

snake

snake-noose

         

eastern

[Maha-kali]

white

cuckoo

iron hook

southern

[Maha-chagala]

yellow

goat

noose

86-7 western

[Maha-kumbha-karn.i]

red

lion

iron chain

87

[Lamba-udara]

dark green

snake

bell

p. 412, n. 26 in version B, Vayu-devi is depicted snake-headed [in accordance with Pelasgian wind-god Ophion], instead of wolf-headed [as in accord with Chinese / Turkish wind-god]

pp. 96-101 deities of substances

p.

deity

substance

on throne supported by __

holding __

96

Samanta-bhadra

sky

   
 

+Samanta-bhadri

crystal

   

97

Vai-rocana

conch

lions

 
 

Vajra-sattva

azure

elephants

 
 

Ratna-sambhava

gold

horses

 
 

A-mita-abha

copper

peafowls

 

97-8

A-mogha-siddhi

turquoise

civan~-civaka birds

 

98

+Dhatu-is`vari

moonlike [selenite]

   
 

+Buddha-locana

beryl

   
 

+Mamaki

minium

   
 

+Pan.d.ara-vasini

fire-crystal [garnet]

   
 

+Samaya-tara

sapphire

   
 

Ks.iti-garbha

snow

   
 

Maitreya

cloud

 

"blossoming orange-bush" [golden bough?]

99

Samanta-bhadra [again!]

amber

 

grain-sheath

 

Akas`a-garbha

burnished gold

 

sword

 

Ava-lokita-is`vara

coral

   
 

Man~ju-s`ri-kumara-bhuta

minium [again!]

 

lily

 

Ni-varan.a-vis.kambhin

night-flowering waterlily

 

book

 

Vajra-pan.i

emerald

   

99-100

+Lasya

quartz

 

mirror

 

+Pus.pa

pearl

 

white waterlily

 

+Malya

saffron

 

garland

 

+Dhupa

gold [again!]

 

censer

 

+Gita

marshmallow

 

lute

 

+Aloka

pink waterlily

 

butterlamp

101

+Gandha

poppy

 

perfume-filled conch

 

+Narti

marine

 

food [kelp?]

pp. 160-162 signs in dreams, prognostic of death

p.

of riding __

 

160

cat

towards the east: king-spirits

 

red-faced white monkey

 

tiger

towards the south: Yama

 

fox

 

corpse

161

buffalo

 

pig

 

camel

 

donkey

     
 

other than riding

 
 

eating faeces

signs of death

 

wearing black yak-hair clothes while plunging

 

being trapped in wicker-basket or in snare

 

being bound with iron chains

 

copulating repeatedly with black figure or animal

 

being disembowelled by black woman

one will die within a year

 

black man wielding iron mace, telling to depart

 

being dragged along by black rope leashing neck

 

being inside moated red castle

 

being decapitated, and one's head carried off

 

being surrounded by crows or by preta-s

 

being led away in bridal procession

 

being naked, one's hair cut, beard shaved

 

associating with friends who have died

 

being dragged along by crowd of dead people

 

jumping into water

 

sinking into mud

 

being swallowed by a fish

 

entering a womb & falling asleep

 

being overcome in battle

 

wearing red clothing, adorned with red garlands

 

repeatedly picking red flowers

 

climbing a mound of red shellac

162

having one's head wearing a red silk turban

 

out of one's head, twigs with birds nesting

 

falling asleep repeatedly in charnel ground

 

being old and carrying a heavy burden

 

sun & moon falling, leaving one in darkness

 

jumping headlong into a pit

 

dancing with a host of ogres

 

setting out to distant lands with no returning

 

sun & moon being eclipsed

father, mother, or teacher will die

 

sun & moon repeatedly setting

p. 163 secret signs of death

semen of man blackish yellow; or,

menstrual blood of a woman whitish

death after 2 months

semen of a man reddish

die after 6 months

semen interspersed with globules; or, menstruant woman dreaming of picking red flowers

die [imminently]

continuous spermatorrhoia by man

die after 4 months

mole appearing on glans penis

"indestructible"

undistracted and constant sexual desire

pp. 165-167 signs of remote death

p.

1stly: incompleteness in mirror-reflection, of one's__ (bodily member)

death after __

165

hand-held implement

7 years

 

right hand

5 years

 

left hand

3 years

166

right leg below knee

2 years

 

left leg

1 year

 

right part of head

9 months

 

left part of head

7 months

 

head above neck

5 months

 

head & neck

3 months

 

upper trunk

2 months

 

lower trunk

1 month

 

right side of body

29 days

 

left side of body

21 days

     

166

2ndly: overall in mirror-reflection, of one's body

death after __

 

square

5 months

 

round

4 months

 

semicircular

3 months

 

oblong

2 months

 

triangular

1 month

 

resembling bundled corpse

1/2 month

 

upside-down {cf. spells in Coffin Texts, not to walk upside-down in realm of the dead}

10 days

   

167

3rdly: __ (color), incompleteness in mirror-reflection, of one's __ (bodily member)

indication that one hath displeased __ (deities)

 

white, fading from centre

serpentine water-spirits; king-spirits

 

black, fading from right

beguiling forces

 

red, fading from left

own lifelong companion gods

 

yellow, fading from head

bewitchers

 

blue, fading from legs

lake-dwelling medicinal spirits

 

hazy & diffuse

imprecatory female spirits

 

yellowish & uneven

spirit-lords of the soil

 

garish, irregular, variegated

the 8 classes of spirits

pp. 168-171 signs of near death

p.

sign

death after __

168

gathering of the personal daimones of the elements

9 days

 

blockage of the passageway of the vital breath

9 d.

 

scaling of the mountain of the elements

5 d.

 

escape of the mother-like vital breath

3 d.

169

rupture of the edge of the earth-element

10 d.

 

collision of vital energy and mind

6 d.

 

cutting-off of the bridge of the nose

7 d.

 

impediment

5 d.

 

cutting-off of the intervening muscle

1 d.

 

blockage of the path of the elements

2 1/2

 

black spot

2 d.

 

blockage of the stairway of the ears

1/2 d.

 

rupture of the support of the water-element

2 weeks

 

hands shake

swiftly

170

severing the bond between atmosphaere & earth

19 d.

 

fall, from Mt. Su-meru, of rider on white lioness

15 1/2 d.

 

vanishing of the froth of the ocean

9 d.

 

ceasing of monks' smoke in earth-element cities

9 d.

 

setting of sun at summit of Mt. Su-meru

3 or 7 d.

171

interruption of sound of the of the d.akini-s within Mt. Su-meru

7 or 13 d.

 

rupturing of the wish-granting tree atop Mt. Su-meru

5 d.

 

1-legged black Yavati against wish-granting tree

7 d.

p. 172 signs of death in not seeing one's own body-part

body-part / form

death after __

tip of nose

5 months

tip of tongue

3 days

left eye

7 months

breath

10 days

reflection

too

pp. 177-179 signs indicating place of subsequent rebirth, according to the Tantra of the Cremation of Corpses

pp. 177-179 bodily functions as signs

rebirth as __

pp. 178-179 weather as signs

right hand quivereth; one talketh nonsensically

asura

yellowish-black colouds; thunder & lightning

left nostril mucus; left eye cooleth

nara

fine silken clouds; sun & moon encircled by aureoles

one uttereth animal-sounds; genitalia cool

tiryag

unbroken black cloud

skin yelloweth; hunger with genital-fluid flow

preta

mist; windless; rain in evening

right leg shaketh; defaecation; anger; soles of feet cool

niraya-sattva

sky brown; blizzards

pride; ears cool

yaks.a [instead of deva!]

atmosphaere clear; windless

pp. 189-191 ritual for averting signs of near death

p.

body-part shewing sign

means of averting death

189

fingernails

feast to 7 monks; take vows

 

corneas of eyen

cast terracottas into lake; recite Hear-mantra of Dependent Origination

189-190

hair of neck-nape

effigy of black dough with berries into fire-pit

190

ankle-bones

undress westward at sunset; bark as hound

 

teeth

wearing goat-skin, face sunrise and bleat thrice

 

nostrils

visualizing "A" on nose-tip, recite "A" 21 times

 

limbs

depict with shellac a 4-spoked wheel on each limb; bath in consecrated water

 

eyen

hold party for children; wear red clothing

190-1

right cheek

recite "E" 21 times

191

breathing

praepare molasses-paste

 

nose

visualize white "HUM" on nose-tip

 

weeping

visualize "BHRUM" on eyen

 

left cheek

visualize "KS.A"

 

ears

visualize "MAM"

 

thorax-xiphoid

visualize "MUM"

pp. 191-193 ritual for averting the signs, of omissions of body-parts from one's reflected image optically projected onto the sky, of remote death

p.

body-part shewing sign

means of averting death

191

hand-held implement

108 feasts on behalf of guru

 

right hand

gull-feather head of lion on 7-grain dough-effigy to be carried northward towards royal manor

192

left hand

casting into river a dough effigy on weasel-skin containing teeth of tigre & of black hound

 

right leg below knee

offering acacia- or juniper-torches at sunset

 

left leg

white-earth (clay) effigy having its heart pierced with notched birchwood stake

 

right part of head

make thorned-surface black amulet of fruits of black-wooded trees, with label of mountain-willow wood inscribed with names of the 12 year-signs, to be carried by black-clad into cemetery

 

left part of head

bury 25-grain dough-effigy having its heart pierced with human-, horse-, & hound-bones

 

head above the neck

burn thorn-bushes

193

head & neck

bury, in charnel-ground, paper with bija-mantra-s of the 5 elements witten on it; one's body charcoal-blackened, at noon on 9th day sprint in cardinal directions

 

upper trunk

burn label inscribed with names of the 12 year-signs

 

lower trunk

burn at charnel-ground human bones found there

 

right side

recite dharan.i of +Us.n.is.a-vijaya; mould terracotta imprints

 

left side of body

wear red clothing

pp. 193-194 ritual averting further signs of near death, in urine-vapor

p.

colors of urine-vapor

ritual

193-4

reddish-blue

dough-effigy of the 12 year-signs; burn birchwood, in cemetery to the northeast

194

blackish

scatter mixture of powdered iron & copper with grains

 

red & spotted

carry to a main road to the east substitutes with red-flag & porcupine-quill attached to each

 

none

facing west at noon, inscribe elemental bija-mantra-s on the skull of a horse

pp. 321 (with p. 432) animal-headed assessors of the souls of the dead

__ mgo (__-headed)

__ Spirit

holding __

human

Dharma-raja ("righteousness king") {cf. Melki^-s.edeq "king of righteousness"}

 

glan ([black] ox)

Raks.a [Protector]

black lasso

spre (monkey)

>byun (Elemental)

balance & weights

phag (swine)

dur (Cemetery)

wooden tablet

sbrul (snake)

sdug (Venom)

mirror

dom (bear)

gtum (Ferocity)

bellows

sen (lion)

srnam (Awe)

hammer

khyun (garud.a)

>dab-chags (Bird)

saw

 

good conscience

white pebbles

 

bad conscience

black pebbles

 

Maha-karun.ika ("greatly merciful") {cf. [Qabbalist] "Long Face"}

"hidden by a curtain"

types (paradigms) of the accuseds

p. 325 the wicked accused

country

Tamra-lipti in Tamra-dvipa ("Copper Isle")

city

S`anti-kala ("peacetime")

father died

8 years earlier

mother died

5 years earlier

current year

Water Sow (final in cycle of 60)

name in east

red-handed butcher

name in south

wrongdoing Laks.a-naraka ("mark-of-hell")

name in west

black low-caste butcher

name in north

black killer of all

caste

can.d.ala

   

pp. 330-332 the righteous accused

country

Kama-rupa

nickname

'monkey-head'

killed his own

father

stoned

camel of his neighbor S`ri-bhadra

pushed over cliff

young elephant of scribe Prajn~a-mati

[Curiously, the judgements seem interchanged:

here the can.d.ala caste, so fulsomely praised in the Tantra-s, is derogated;

the Copper Isle of Padma-sambhava, usually glorified, is here derogated;

killing of stock-animals for food is punished, while wanton killing of work-animals is unpunished;

and parricide is treated as a venal misdemeanor!] [Is this whole episode intended as a joke?]

p. 341 hosts of welcoming d.akini-s, from:

land of the d.akini-s [D.akini-des`a]

Od.d.iyana

["Whisk-isle"] Camara-dvipa

Copper-colored Mountain [Tamra-varn.a Giri]

Mt. Potalaka

pure realm of the sky-farers [Kha-ga-s]

pp. 355-356 amid rainbow-fringed hued light, bone-relics of corpses, retrieved after cremation

p.

mantra

__-colored

__ relics

indicating

from __

355

jina-jik

5

pan~ca-ra-m

buddha-bodies

heart

 

vajra-dhr.k

blue

churi-ra-m

enlightened

blood

356

ratna-dhr.k

yellow

seri-ra-m

fulfilment of desire

serum

 

arolik

red

s`ari-ra-m

unborn reality

flesh

 

prajn~a-dhr.k

green

nyari-ra-m

emanational body

marrow

pp. 368-369 liberation of mental constructs by the 8 Matar-as

p.

matr.

effect

368

Gauri

subdue dissonant mental constructs

 

Cauri

propell into higher rebirths

 

Pra-moha

steer (pilot)

 

Vetali

liberation into enlightened intention

 

Pukkasi

propell away from dissonant states

 

Ghasmari

purify existence

369

Can.d.ali

sever erroneous thoughts

 

S`mas`ani

sever buttresses of dissonant states

pp. 369-370 purification of existence by the 8 Pis`aci-s

p.

pis`aci : "__-mukhi" ("__-mouth")

purification

369

Sim-ha (lioness)

in its primordial nature

 

Vyaghri (tigress)

purify in its entirety

 

S`r.gala (she-jackal)

purify from their roots

 

S`vana (bitch)

churn depths of existence

370

Gr.dhra (vulture)

sever roots of 3 poisons

 

Kanka (kite)

guide from pit of existence

 

Kaka (crow)

purify in creative play

 

Uluka (owl)

sever buttresses of errors

pp. 370-371 growth of the 4 immeasurable aspirations by beings with the help of the 4 Female Gate-keepers

p.

mantra

female gate-keeper

help

370

jas

Ankus`a ("hook")

pull beings from existence

 

hum

Pas`a ("noose")

tie mental errors

371

vam

Sphot.a ("chain")

bind state of ignorance

 

hos

Ghan.t.a ("bell")

subdue the 5 poisons

The Tibetan Book of the Dead. composed by Padmasambhava; revealed by Karma Lingpa; translated by Gyurme Dorje; edited by Graham Coleman. Viking Penguin, NY, 2006.