Elements of Tantrik Practice
[Toh. = Ui; Suzuki; Kanakura; Tada : A Complete Catalogue of the Tibetan Buddhist Canons. Sendai (Honshu) : Tohoku University, 1934.]
_____________________________________________________
4. Visualization-Sequences
II.B.1.c.ii.ee.2’.a’.ii’.aa’ (p. 93) Caelestial Palace Residence – the 8 dur-khrod (‘charnel-grounds’) in the directions
ground & its direction [(cardinal directions as in p. 288, n. 4:39)] |
p. 274, n. 3:116(8) alternative names (with assigned directions), according to Jalandhara, ff. 77a1-78b2; Rahulaguhya, ff. 102a2-b3 |
E. "Violently Hostile" |
E. "Violently Hostile" (gTum drag) |
S. "Wild Thicket" |
N. "Wild Thicket" (Tshan tshin >khrigs pa) |
W. Blazing Thunderbolt |
W. "Blazing Fiercely" (>Bar ba >khrug pa) |
N. "Place of Skeletons" |
S. "Terrifying Skulls" (>Jigs byed thod pa can) |
NE. "Terrifying Laughter" |
SE. "Laughing Ha Ha" (Ha ha dgod pa) |
SE. "Supreme Auspiciousness" |
NE. "Exquisite Grove" (Phun tshogs nags tshal) |
SW. "Fearsome Darkness" |
SW. "Fearsome Darkness" (Mun pa mi zad pa) |
NW. "Sounding Kili Kili" |
NW. "Sounding Kili Kili" (Ki li ki li sgra sgrogs pa) |
p. 289, n. 4:40 features of the charnel-grounds – according to Rahula-gupta = (p. 290) Rahula-guhya = (p. 422) Rahula-bhadra : Prakas`a nama S`ri-Hevajra-Sadhana (‘ "Luminous"-named Revered He-vajra’s Exercise’), Toh. 1238, vol. N~a, ff. 101a7-102b3
direction |
east |
south |
west |
north |
tree (s`in) |
s`iris.a (acacia) |
mango |
as`oka (jonesia) |
as`vattha (Ficus religiosa) |
__-faced yaks.a (gnod sbyin) |
elephant |
buffalo |
crocodile |
human |
dig-pala (phyogs skyon) |
Indra |
Yama |
Varun.a |
Kubera |
naga (klu) |
yellow Vasuki |
white Padma |
red Karkatika |
black Taks.aka |
multicolored cloud (sprin) |
‘Roaring’ |
‘Whirling’ |
‘Terrifying’ |
"Sounding Hur Hur" |
mountain (ri) |
4-colored Meru |
white Malaya |
white Kailas`a |
green Mandarava |
stupa (mchod rten) |
white Vajra |
black Vajra |
white "Vajra of Passion" |
white "Vajra Formation" |
direction |
northeast |
southeast |
southwest |
northwest |
tree |
nyagrodha (banyan) |
karan~jaka (Pongamia glabra) |
lataparkati |
arjuna (terminalia) |
__-faced yaks.a |
ox |
goat |
bear |
deer |
dig-pala |
white Is`ana |
red Agnideva |
black Nairr.ti |
azure Vayudeva |
naga |
yellow S`ankha-pala |
azure Varun.a |
white An-anta |
multicolored Kulika |
multicolored cloud |
‘Fierce’ |
‘Thick’ |
‘Filling’ |
‘Raining’ |
mountain |
black ‘Powerful’ |
yellow Gandha-madana |
‘Gold’ |
blue S`ri-Parvata |
stupa |
white "Vajra mind" |
red "Vajra Body" |
white Pretious Vajra |
green "Vajra of the Doctrine" |
[in each case, the animal-faced yaks.a is the vahana (‘vehicle’) of the dig-pala (‘direction-guardian’).]
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5. Bases of Purification
II.B.1.c.ii.ff.1’ (pp. 108-109) Process of Death & Its Purification – signs of dying
p. |
inability |
simile for consciousness |
stopped |
108 |
"to move the body" |
"smoky haze" |
-- |
"the body’s fluids -- ... saliva, and so on – dry up" |
"shimmering mirage" |
33 |
|
"warmth withdraws from the extremities of the body" |
"fireflies" |
40 |
|
108-9 |
"exhalations become longer and one can no longer inhale" |
"perfectly still flame" |
7 |
II.B.1.c.ii.ff.1’ (p. 109) Process of Death & Its Purification – brilliances of death
light |
"__ brilliance" |
visionary simile |
"light" |
white |
"moonlight in a cloudless sky" |
"increase of light" |
red |
"sunlight in a cloudless sky" |
"full culmination of light" |
black |
"perfectly clear sky" : "luminous clarity" |
II.B.1.c.ii.ff.3’ (p. 111) Process of Gestation & Its Purification – growth of embryo (according to 2nd chapter of the Samvara-udaya Tantra = Toh. 373, vol. Kha, f. 266a7-b1)
time : __ week |
shape of embryo |
its Bodish name |
p. 297, n. 5:9 its Samskr.ta name |
1st |
oval |
nur nur |
kalala |
2nd |
bubble |
mer mer |
arbuda |
3rd |
oblong |
tar tar |
pes`in |
4th |
with membrane |
gor gor |
ghana |
5th + |
"fish-like form" |
-- |
pras`akha |
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7. Father Tantra Systems [with details mostly from Taranatha’s Yama-ari, Red, Manual of Instructions on the Completion Phase]
II.B.2.c.i.bb.1’ (p. 149) Common Completion Phase – the 4 yoga-s (in ‘Red’ Yama-ari Tantra = Toh. 474)
__ yoga |
its practice |
its stages |
"initial" |
"shape" |
"self-consecration" [man.d.ala "of thirteen deities" (p. 326, n. 7:59)] |
"consecrating appearances" [universe as caelestial palace (loc. cit.)] |
||
"consecrating the union" |
||
"subsequent" |
"mantra" |
"main" : "wind" yoga ["winds exiting as light" (p. 326, n. 7:60)] |
auxiliaries : "upward transference" of consciousness ["into space", at death (loc. cit.)]; and, transference to one’s master [into the deity Yama-ari "on top of a huge tree" (loc. cit.)] |
||
"surpassing" |
"consecration" |
"one’s own body as method" ["inner fire’ (p. 327, n. 7:61)] |
"another’s body as wisdom" ["yoga of the vital-essence sphere" (loc. cit.)] |
||
"great" |
"pristine-awareness" |
praeliminary : "dissolution of the subtle ["arrayed vital essences" = "the subtle"; "winds of five-colored lights" = "the very subtle" (p. 327, n. 7:62)] and coarse constituents in the central channel" |
"main" : illusory body & luminous clarity as a union ["red four-petalled lotus, with a moon at the center" (p. 328, n. 7:63)] |
||
"supplementary" : 6 ways of averting obstacles |
II.B.2.c.i.bb.2’ (p. 150) Special Completion Phase – the 3 "utterly unelaborate" practices (in ‘Red’ Yama-ari Tantra)
practice |
its manifestation |
|
praeliminary |
guru yoga [guru as ‘Red’ Yama-ari upon throne (p. 329, n. 7:69)] |
|
"main" |
"ineffable pristine awareness" [oneself as Yama-ari, "an empty shell" (p. 330, n. 7:70)] |
|
"concluding" |
6 yoga-s : |
1st "the blessing" ["a "tent" of light" (p. 330, n. 7:71)] |
2nd "compassion yoga" = the unaequalled |
||
3rd causal yoga" = "the root" |
||
4th "wind yoga" = pran.a-yama [oneself as Yama-ari, "a rainbow body, hollow inside." (p. 331, n. 7:71)] |
||
5th "substance yoga" = "the interconnectedness" ["medicines" (loc. cit.)] |
||
6th Vajra-bhairava yoga ["sphere of rainbow light" (loc. cit.)] |
II.B.2.c.i.cc (pp. 151-152) Completion Phase – the 4 yoga-s (in ‘Black’ Yama-ari Tantra = Toh. 467) [with details from Taranatha’s Yama-ari, Black, Manual of Instructions on the Completion Phase according to the Z^an Tradition]
yoga |
pp. 332-334 branch |
||
p. 151 "initial" |
1st p. 332, n. 7:75 |
sor-sdud = prati-ahara |
|
2nd " " |
bsam-gtan = dhyana |
||
3rd " " |
srog-rtsol = pran.a-yama – dewdrop above jewel-syllable |
||
4th " " |
>dzin-pa = dharan.a |
||
5th " " |
rjes-dran = anu-smr.ti – 8-sided jewel emanating and withdrawing a multitude of insignia |
||
6th p. 333, n. 7:75 |
tin-ne->dzin = sama-adhi – "sphere at the point of union is drawn up to the sphere at the heart, where it dissolves." |
||
"subsequent" |
p. 333, n. 7:77 |
1st light emanating from seed-syllable on sun-disk |
|
2nd "light has reconverged" |
|||
3rd "four goddesses ... change into ... a red vital-essence sphere ... at the nose-tip ... of the consort" |
|||
"complete" |
"deliberate behavior with an awareness female." |
||
"great" |
p. 152 "all-encompassing conduct" |
II.B.2.c.i.cc (p. 152) Completion Phase (in Maha-vajra-bhairava Tantra =
Toh. 468)
"gathering of nectar" and "nose-tip yoga" (according to S`anti-pada’s Vajra-bhairava Feast Offering Ritual = Toh. 1995) |
"innate dimension of utterly unelaborate profundity" |
"tiers of the three beings" ["the pledge-being, the contemplation-being, and the pristine-awareness being" (pp. 334-335, n. 7:85)] |
"yoga of the buffalo face and of the erect penis" |
the system of Rwa Lo-tsa-ba |
"horn-tips method for holding the mind" |
"esoteric instructions for wandering at night" |
sKyo tradition [from Amogha-vajra the Younger (p. 335, n. 7:88)] |
"inner fire involving four channel-wheels" (system of Z^an) |
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10. Mother Tantra Systems – Catur-pit.ha, Maha-maya, Buddha-kapala, and Tara-yogini
pp. 379-382 & 385, nn. 10:7-9, 11, 13, 18 locations of subtle semblances (for Catur-pit.ha)
n. |
location |
semblance |
|
379 |
10:7 |
"at the heart" |
"bull’s hoof" |
10:8 |
"below the navel" |
coiled king of the naga-s as "coiled snake in seven rings" |
|
380 |
"above the channel-wheel of the secret place" |
"tetrahedron, ... inside of which is a red syllable" |
|
at "the brahminical aperture" |
"white syllable" |
||
at "the level of the heart" |
white stupa |
||
at "the soles of the feet" |
"syllables of wind and fire" |
||
10:9 |
on "the left side of the heart" |
red "flower of the plantain banana" |
|
381 |
10:11 |
alongside the heart, in "the central channel, where the channel is knotted" |
"bull’s hoof" |
382 |
10:13 |
between navel & crown of head |
"rope of light on which are mounted twenty-one lotuses" |
385 |
10:18 |
"the knots of the central channel" |
"bull’s hoof" |
"path of the uvula" |
"cow’s udder" |
||
"channel in the middle of the heart." |
"bunch of plantain bananas" |
||
between heart & navel |
vase of a stupa, containing vertical cords (channels) |
II.B.2.c.ii.dd (pp. 180-181) Completion Phase – the 3 practices (in Catur-pit.ha ‘4 Seats’ Tantra = Toh. 428-430)
p. |
practice |
essential instruction |
pp. 377-384 aspect |
|||
180 |
praeliminary |
"closing off the nine gateways" [whence "the consciousness can exit at the time of death" (p. 377, n. 10:3)] |
prognosis as per CC & EEC |
|||
exit through __ |
redincarnation as __ |
|||||
navel |
desire-realm god |
|||||
forehead |
form-realm god |
|||||
crown of head |
formless-realm god |
|||||
nostrils |
yaks.a atop Meru |
|||||
ears |
magic-power god |
|||||
eyen |
royal human |
|||||
mouth |
preta |
|||||
urethra |
animal |
|||||
anus |
hell-denizen |
|||||
thunderbolt recitation |
p. 378, n. 10:3 "the two sealings of bliss and emptiness" |
|||||
pervading |
"the inconceivable" |
p. 378, n. 10:4 "At one’s heart is a four-petalled lotus in the center of which is a blue sphere and on each of the ... four petals, a sphere, each of a different color." |
||||
"the action-seal" |
loc. cit. "inner fire offering" |
|||||
180-1 |
pervaded |
p. 180 "root" |
1st p. 379, n. 10:7 at heart 8-petaled waterlily, "red, closed; and inside that, ... a moon disk" |
|||
2nd p. 380, n. 10:8 "nectar flowing from the heart syllable spreads to all the cavities of the channels". |
||||||
3rd p. 380, n. 10:9 at heart, in open red waterlily, "a small bird’s egg" : "at the sole of each foot, from the syllable ..., wind moves". {cf. Orphic "Wind-egg"} |
||||||
4th p. 381, n. 10:10 at heart 8-petaled white waterlily : "On each of the four cardinal petals is a different syllable, and on each of the four intermediate petals, a column of syllables." |
||||||
p. 180-1 "branch" |
1st p. 381, n. 10:11 "bull’s hoof" : "base of the fire ... is blue; the middle part, red; the tip, white." |
|||||
2nd p. 382, n. 10:12 "cow’s udder" : "tent that contains the five" bloodfilled-skullcup-holding d.akini-s |
||||||
3rd p. 383, n. 10:13 "bunch of plantain bananas" |
"upward transference of consciousness" |
|||||
"entering the deceased" {this is Ajivika} |
||||||
"knowing others’ thoughts" |
||||||
"influencing others" |
||||||
4th p. 384, n. 10:14 stupa-vase |
"waking-state appearances" of one’s illusory-body |
|||||
one’s illusory-body in dreams |
||||||
one’s illusory-body in antarabhava |
CC = Bhavabhadra’s Commentary on the Catur-pit.ha = Toh. 1607, vol. >a, f. 260b
EEC = Kalyanavarman’s Exposition of the Exalted Catur-pit.ha = Toh. 1608, vol. Ya, f. 60b1-61b3
II.B.2.c.ii.dd (pp. 181-182) the 4 chapters on the "seat of the secret" in the Catur-pit.ha Mula-Tantra [these are chapters 13-16 of this 16-chaptered tantra (p. 385, n. 10:19)]
p. |
cap. |
its contents |
181 |
1st (?) |
coiled king of the naga-s {male counterpart to Kun.d.alini} ["making the inner fire blaze at the navel (the "fire of Brahma")" (p. 385, n. 10:17)] |
181-2 |
2nd |
p. 181-2 [brtan z^in (p. 386, n. 10:20)] |
p. 182 vital-essence at genitals, at mid-eyebrows, at heart |
||
"closing of the gateways shared" |
||
"cow’s-udder completion phase" |
||
"bull’s-hoof" syllable-practices |
||
ability "to know others’ minds" |
||
"fire-offering rite of the ultimate reality." |
||
182 |
3rd |
"esoteric instructions on the egg-born" |
"plantain-flower" syllable-practice |
||
"upward transference" of consciousness |
||
"entering the deceased" |
||
"its branches" |
||
4th |
"bunch-of-plantain-bananas" syllable-practice |
|
stupa-vase’s "branches of binding the winds" |
||
stupa "esoteric instructions" |
||
stupa-vase’s syllable-practice |
II.B.2.c.ii.ee (pp. 183-185) Completion Phase – the 4 practices (in Maha-maya ‘Great Illusion’ Tantra = Toh. 425)
p. 183 |
pp. 387-391 |
|||
essential instruction |
yoga of __ |
practice |
||
"lesser" |
"shape" |
pp. 387-8, n. 10:34 |
god Vajra-sattva & d.akini Jn~ana-is`vari |
|
"profound" |
"mantra, of channel-wheels" |
1st p. 388, n. 10:35 |
1 ch.-wh. : god Vairocana – lower tips of 3 channels are inserted into tetrahedron at navel |
|
2nd " " " " |
2 ch.-wh.s : thin orange flame riseth from "A" at navel to inverted white "HAM" at crown of head |
|||
3rd " " " " |
4 ch.-wh.s : from navel a very thin, sharp riseth & pierceth heart & throat, pressing to crown of head |
|||
"mantra, of vital essences" |
1st p. 388-9, n. 10:36 |
(according to S`anti-pada’s "esoteric instruction of the upper beads") at heart, open waterlily with sphaere on each of its 4 petals; 3-looped "spider’s thread" whereon are threaded beads of alphabet-letters; in centre is moon with hole in it wherethrough tiny sphaere within it is visible |
||
2nd p. 389, " " |
at genitalia, tiny sphaere upon single anther within closed 8-petaled waterlily |
|||
3rd " " " " |
sphaere rolleth and consumeth. becoming luminous and thereafter elongating |
|||
"mantra, of the subtle" |
1st p. 389, n. 10:37 |
exhale "illnesses, suffering, aging, and death"; inhale "life span". |
||
2nd " " " " |
count breaths in sets of 10; from white moon-disk thread of light encircleth 7 times clockwise |
|||
3rd p. 390, " " |
meeting of the upper & lower winds, vase-holding in "lion’s mode" |
|||
"ultimate" |
"reality" |
1st p. 390, n. 10:38 |
"common" : "using the natural state as the path"-- relax the mind into an "indescribable clarity" |
|
2nd " " " " |
"uncommon" : "using appearances as the path" – sealing the mind, "appearances thereby manifest as bliss" |
|||
"auxiliary" |
"triad of illusions" |
1st p. 390, n. 10:39 |
"waking-state appearances" : all appearances as man.d.ala of Maha-maya |
|
2nd pp. 390-1, " " |
1st |
"grasping the dream-state" |
||
2nd |
"purifying the image of the dream" |
|||
3rd |
"entering luminous clarity in the dream" [one, when "dreams vanish, enters luminous clarity." (p. 391)] |
|||
3rd p. 391, " " |
1st |
"grasping" : resolve to view all dream-appearances as of antarabhava |
||
2nd |
"purifying" : Heruka in union with Maha-maya |
|||
3rd |
"integrating" : develop ability to "recognize the luminous clarity at death" |
(p. 389, n. 10:36) the 3rd practice in mantra yoga of vital-essences (according to Kukkuri-pada’s middle-length sadhana for the Maha-maya Tantra)
site |
color |
element |
shape |
|
crown of head |
green |
wind |
½-moon |
|
heart |
yellow |
earth |
square |
|
navel |
white |
water |
round |
|
"secret place" |
red |
fire |
triangular |
|
above __ |
is __ |
|||
the wind-man.d.ala |
a sphaere |
|||
that |
an upside-down HUM-syllable |
|||
"The movement of the wind ... causes the sphere to roll down to the heart and consume the earth mandala. Likewise, the sphere consumes the water mandala at the navel and the fire mandala at the secret place. As this occurs, the sphere becomes increasingly luminous." |
||||
"Then it rolls back to the crown of the head ... . ... Following that, ... the sphere elongates (becoming like a thread of silk), its lower extremity extending to the lower tip of the central channel. At the level of the navel, that thread-like sphere divides into two branches that reach the nostrils. Synchronized with the phases of the breath, ... from the navel a syllable rolls upward along the right branch and exits from the right nostril". {is a means whereby Daoist internal deities exit the body?} |
{is this "thread of silk" spun by the Chinese silkworm-goddess who is wife of the flayed stallion-god?}
II.B.2.c.ii.ff (pp. 186-187) Completion Phase – the 2 practices (in Buddha-kapala Tantra = Toh. 424; with 3 commentaries : by Saraha = Toh. 1652, by Padma-vajra = Toh. 1653, and by Abhayakara-gupta = Toh. 1654)
p. |
practice |
branch |
pp. 393-395 aspect |
|
186 |
"with a focus" |
"subtle" |
1st p. 393, n. 55 |
"finest particle" out-breath |
2nd " " " " |
"filling up" in-breath |
|||
3rd " " " " |
"stiffening" to "freeze" breath |
|||
4th pp. 393-4, n. 55 |
"vase-shaped holding" : gathering the light at navel |
|||
"vital-essence" |
1st p. 394, n. 56 |
meeting place at crown of head |
||
2nd " " " " |
meeting-place at heart |
|||
3rd " " " " |
meeting place at navel |
|||
"bliss and warmth" |
1st p. 395, n. 57 |
"gathering the winds" : sitting on ground, hands on knees |
||
2nd " " " " |
"opening the entrance to the central channel" : kneeling, hands on thorax |
|||
3rd " " " " |
"forceful" : squatting, each hand in opposite armpit |
|||
with woman |
||||
"without a focus" |
"withdrawal" |
p. 395, n. 58 |
"without any movement of thought" |
|
"meditative absorption" |
" " " " |
"free from reaction to anything" |
||
"winds" |
["to stop the winds ... in the right channel and left channel and make them enter the central channel." (p. 186)] |
|||
187 |
"retention" |
["dissolve into vital essences in the centers of the individual channel-wheels." (p. 187)] |
||
"recollection" |
p. 395, n. 59 |
sigil of empty form, as in the Kala-cakra |
||
"contemplation" |
(p. 394, n. 10:56) for the vital-essence branch-practice (of Buddha-kapala Tantra) : at 5 sites along channel in body, waterlily-blossoms, with each centre (corolla) of each blossom having a written syllable
site |
name |
# of petals |
color of petals |
pedestal of syllable |
color of syllable |
navel |
emanation |
64 |
blue |
sun-disk |
yellow |
heart |
phainomena |
8 |
blue |
moon-disk |
black |
throat |
enjoyment |
16 |
red |
red |
|
crown |
great bliss |
32 |
white |
(inverted) |
white |
anus |
(wind) |
blue |
½-moon |
||
on that |
(fire) |
red |
triangular |
wind causeth fire to blaze, blue flame riseth "through the central channel to touch the syllable at the heart."
II.B.2.c.ii.gg (pp. 187-189) Completion Phase – the 4 yoga-s (in Tara-yogini Tantra = Toh. 448-449, vol. Ca)
pp. 187-8 yoga |
pp. 397-402 aspect |
||
p. 187 "creation" |
1st p. 397, n. 64 |
at one’s heart, 4-armed white Tara, in her heart a moon-disk |
|
2nd " ", n. 65 |
at one’s heart, Tara (as described) |
||
3rd " ", n. 66 |
at right, sun in channel-wheel of phainomena; at left, moon at centre of heart; between sun & moon, 4-armed Tara |
||
p. 188 "subsequent" |
1st " ", n. 67 |
praeliminary : inside the nose, orange smoke with sparks |
|
2nd p. 397-8, n. 67 |
main : "calm abiding" |
||
3rd pp. 398-9, n. 67 – the 9 methods of enhancement practice |
1st |
unborn "A" at centre of heart |
|
2nd |
"HUM" |
||
3rd |
"PHAT." |
||
4th |
(pp. 398-9) of "space" [akas`a] |
||
5th |
(p. 399) "AS" |
||
6th |
"YAM" of wind |
||
7th |
"RAM" of fire |
||
8th |
"VAM" of water |
||
9th |
"LAM" of earth |
||
"surpassing" |
1st p. 400, n. 70 – the 5 main praeliminaries |
1st |
"filling with sound" (rasping inhalation) & "filling without sound" |
2nd |
expelling with sound (rasping exhalation) expelling without sound |
||
3rd |
downward-facing black snake entwined around the central channel |
||
4th |
"vase-shaped union" |
||
5th |
pressing down winds gathered at navel |
||
2nd pp. 400-1, n. 70 – the 5 branch praeliminaries |
1st |
syllable moveth upward through body [-- cureth "heart wind" (p. 401)] |
|
2nd |
(pp. 400-1) syllable riseth through central channel [-- obviateth being "harmed by obstacle-creators" (p. 401)] |
||
3rd |
(p. 401) red warmth moveth upward – cureth "diseases of the windpipe" |
||
4th |
bow & arrow of "HUM" & "PHAT." |
||
5th |
manipulating the sphincter muscles – stabilizeth the downward-voiding wind |
||
3rd pp. 401-2, n. 71 main |
"64" |
"the emissary" (p. 401) ["the female-emissary" [duti] = action-sigil [karman-mudra] (p. 188)] |
|
"great" |
1st p. 402, n. 72 |
"indestructible body" : at navel, "red line" |
|
2nd " " " " |
"indestructible speech" : at navel, waterlily resounding "like the buzzing of bees" |
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3rd " " " " |
"indestructible mind" : at heart, a sphaere radiating light of 5 colors |
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THE TREASURY OF KNOWLEDGE, Lib. 8, Pt. 3 = Elio Guarisco & Ingrid McLeod (transls.) : The Elements of Tantric Practice. Snow Lion Publ, Ithaca (NY), 2008.