VAJRA-YANA miscellany

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>Pho-ba commentary [rN~in-ma]

p. 43 central channel

"running

where it is

like the

from four finger widths below the navel

closed

 

to the crown cakra, eight finger widths behind the original hairline

open.

 

It is straight and thin

 

shaft of an arrow,

soft and flexible

 

petals of a lotus flower,

and luminous

 

light of a butter lamp."

p. 43 "Its diameter is that of one’s own little finger."

pp. 43-44 the 3 "concentric shafts of light" constituting the central channel

p.

shaft

its color

-kaya

43

central

red

sambhoga-

 

middle

blue

dharma-

43-44

outer (p. 43)

white

nirmana- (p. 44)

pp. 44-45 environs of the heart cakra

p. 44

"a luminous membrane of light closes the central channel ... .

 

Above this luminous membrane an eight-petaled white lotus cups a sphere of shimmering green energy. The eight petals signify ...

the five senses, ...

the ... primordial ground of all ordinary experience,

the ideational aspect ... to integrate sense data ..., and

the ego-defiled aspect that gives rive to afflicted emotions.

 

The shimmering green energy, which is also described as the "wind of karma," expresses the mind’s ever-present quality of motility – its ability to go anywhere instantaneously.

 

Cognition, mind’s other quality, is embodied in a clear t’higle of consciousness that rests lightly on the vibrating green energy. ...

p. 45

The consciousness t’higle is the size of a small pearl and is iridescent ... like "the egg of a masal bird." ... two extraordinary birds in sexual union. Simultaneously each produced from its mouth a jewel-like egg with rings of the five colors."

p. 57 locket in heart of Amita-ayus (who is sambhoga-kaya, as distinct from Amita-abha)

"composed of a moon disk over a sun disk, in the center of which is a red syllable Hri. The red syllables of Amitayus’s mantra are arranged in a counterclockwise direction on the perimeter of the sun disk, facing outward, ... the five lights radiate brilliantly in all ten directions".

pp. 58, 60-61 realms of colored light

p.

58

58

58, 60

60

60

color

white

red

(58) blue

yellow

green

enlightened __

body

speech

mind

qualities

activities

__ of emptiness

form

sound

?

?

?

__ awareness

dharma-dhatu

discriminating

mirror-like

aequalness

all-accomplishing

purifying __

grasping

perception

(58, 60) consciousness

feeling

impulses

fortifying __

realization

inner heat

(60) blood, lymph

skin, bones, organs

vital energies

pp. 60-61 macrocosm

(61) [5th] space

(61) [3rd] flowing lava of hot volcanoes

(61) [2nd] oceans, waterfalls, lakes

(60) [1st] gold, jewels, minerals

(61) [4th] air, universal winds

Chagdud Khadro : P’howa Commentary. Padma Publishing, 1998.

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Sherpa "Calling of Lost Souls"

p. 337 concentric walls which encircle the shaman's body

wall

material of wall

outer

iron

mid

bronze

inner

crystal

p. 337 Khyun (Garud.a) birds &

p. 338 Dul serpents around shaman's body

direction

color of khyun and dul

on right

white

on left

golden

in back

red

in front

green

above

blue

p. 343 mythic locales of the 5 trees & the 5 lamps

p. 344-345 mythic locales of the leg-bone flutes, of the drum-skins, and of the rosaries

a tree and lamp of __

from the __

p. 344 bone

pp. 344-345 skin

p. 345 rosary

gold

East

tiger

tiger

wood

copper

South

peafowl

peafowl

copper

iron

West

yak

daemon-king

iron

turquoise

North

singi karmo

white dragon

turquoise

conch (in centre)

Above = land of gods

dragon

s^ingi karmo

crystal

land of humans

 

black serpent

 

pp. 417-418 nights of the moon's shining upon objects of the body-parts

night

object

body-part

4th

crystal

hip-bone

5th

sack

stomach

6th

prayer-flag

appendix

7th

clouds

lungs

8th

stupa

heart

9th

box

lips

10th

flute

nose

11th

mirror of fate

forehead

12th

crown

head

13th

grass

hair

14th

name

immaterial region above scalp

p. 418, fn. 6

dharma-body

patient

walnut

kidney

5 noble classes

hand

mirror

sternum

box

larynx

p. 423 hooking the bla

if the patient is __

create a ritual symbol for __

p. 424 patient's __ foot on symbol

female

swastika

left

male

vajra

right

Robert Raymond Desjarlais: Samsara's Sadness. PhD diss., U. of CA at Los Angeles, 1990.

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General Praesentation of the Classes of Tantra

p. 15 Vaibhas.ika sects

Maha-sanghika

"great community"

Purva-s`aila

"inner rock"

   

Apara-s`aila

 
   

Haima-vata

"snow-possessing"

   

Loka-uttara-vadin

"world-outer-exposition"

   

Prajn~apti-vadin

"determinate exposition"

Arya-sarva-asti-vadin

"noble every existence exposition

Mula-sarva-asti-vadin

"fundamental every existence exposition"

   

Kas`yapiya

"tortoise"

   

Mahi-s`asaka

"greatness-instructors"

   

Bahu-s`rutiya

"much-heard"

   

Tamra-s`at.iya

"copper-clad"

   

Vibhajya-vadin

"discriminating exposition"

Arya-sthavira

"noble elders"

Jeta-vaniya

"jeta grove"

   

Abhaya-giri-vasin

"fearless mountain abiders"

   

Maha-vihara-vasin

"great-monastery abiders'

Arya-sammitiya

"noble consensus"

Kauru-kullaka

 
   

Avanta

 
   

Vatsi-putriya

calf-son

p. 25 of the Tatha-gata family

the 5 Vidya-rajn~i goddesses, for goddess Marici

Maha-sahasra-Pra-mardani

Maha-mayuri

Maha-prati-sara

Maha-s`ita-vati

Maha-mantra-Anu-sarin.i

   

the Us.n.is.a goddesses

Us.n.is.a-vijaya

Sitatapatra

Vimala-us.n.is.a

Us.n.is.a-prabha

p. 43 # of anuttara-yoga tantra-s

60 million yogi tantra-s

16 million yogini tantra-s

Guhya-samaja ("Secret Assembly") Tantra

p.

numeric

56

17 chapters which are the root of the 18th chapter

 

53 quaestions & answers

57

20 rituals

 

49 "suchnesses" for the generation-stage

Sonam Dragpa (bSod-nams grags-pa): Overview of Buddhist Tantra. Translated by Martin J. Boord. Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, Dharamsala, 1996.

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Secret temple at Potala

"self-reflections of the body's purified channels, energies, and subtle essences." (p. 119)

p.

ordinal # of vision

manifestation

119

1st

"the fluttering and undulating vajra chain ... with countless minor circles like pearls on a string" (as mentioned in the Tantra of the Studded Jewels)

 

2nd

"five-coloured horizontal and vertical streamers of light, in the forms of checkered and criss-crossed designs ... and countless other shapes"

120

3rd

"Circles appear in clusters of fives or nines with no fixed patterns, alone or in formations"

 

4th

"to nakedness ... the luminous displays"

pp. 119-120 body, speech, and mind of the 4 visions

p.

#

vision

body

speech

mind

119

1st

 

"a tortoise placed in a basin"

"that of a mute"

"a bird caught in a snare"

     

"the inner winds ... are ... still"

 

"complete cessation of ... thinking"

119-120

2nd

p. 119 "a bird ready to soar"

pp. 119-120 "a sick person who is free of all" praetense

p. 120 "unrestrained utterance of a madman free of all" praejudice

p. 120 "under the influence of a mind-altering drug"

120

       

"thought processes dissolve into the primordial expanse"

120

3rd

"completion": all-encompassing displays

"elephant sinking into the mud"

Kumbha-an.d.a "child whose melodious voice captivates"

"a person recovering from smallpox"

         

"you can soar through the skies and traverse through the earth"

 

4th

"Spontaneous" Praesence

"a bird freed from a trap"

"an echo"

"being hit in the heart by an arrow"

         

"you will capture the kingdom of" Samanta-bhadra

[The paraphrases on pp. 119-120 differ slightly from the translation on pp. 127-128.]

pp. 127-128 translation of the wall-inscriptions on the western mural painting

#

p. 127, col. 2 vision

p. 127 body

pp. 127-128 speech

pp. 127-128 mind

p. 128 attainment

1st

"Direct Vision of the Dharmata"

col. 1 "a tortoise in a basin"

p. 127, col. 1 "that of a mute"

pp. 127, 128 "a bird captured in a snare"

 
 

"the centre of the wisdom man.d.ala"

       

2nd

"Vision of Increasing Experience"

col. 2 "someone afflicted with illness"

p. 128, col. 2 "someone crazy from depression"

p. 128, col. 2 r.s.i "intoxicated by liquor"

 
 

"surrounded by a rain of pran.a wings"

       

3rd

"Vision of the Culmination of Awareness"

col. 2 "an elephant sinking in the mud"

p. 128, col. 2 "capturing of a" Kumbha-an.d.a child

p. 127 "someone who has been cured of smallpox"

col. 1 Sambhoga-kaya

 

"fully spreading" tig-le -s (bin.d.u-s)

       

4th

"Vision of the Exhaustion of Dharmata"

col. 2 "As a sign no insects will disturb you." {cf. insects depicted as "Pathogenic agents in the body" in TC, p. 365 (Fig. 31)}

p. 128, col. 2 "someone having an arrow held on his head"

p. 128, col. 2 "someone being hit in the heart with an arrow" {of Kama = Cupid}

col. 1 "the result"

 

"liberated into the Clear Light"

     

col. 2 "like a corpse in a cemetery"

[as organized in the commentary, including pp. 119-120]

TC = Schipper & Verellen (eds.): The Taoist Canon. The U of Chicago Pr, 2004.

p. 128, cols. 1-2 solar & internal visions

[col. 1] "Look at the sun with half-closed eyes. Watching for seven days, many" tig-le -s "will appear.

cf. the Amitayus-dhyana Sutra for sun-gazing

A net with square patterns, with eyes like yaks and different masks will appear.

cf. net of Indra; eyen covering Indra's body

Various thrones, attributes, and back curtains will appear.

cf. throne of indra

A string of water like a thread gathers into the awareness.

cf. INDu "drop" of INDra

As it says in the "Garland of Pearls", a pointing-out instruction which is like the son [autocommentary?] of the "Garland of Precious Light":

cf. pearls strung on net of Indra

it is like piercing someone from the heart up to the crown of the head so that the back, the head and the stomach are"

 

[col. 2] "empty inside, and putting a butter lamp in it."

 

Ian A. Baker: The Dalai Lama's Secret Temple. Thames & Hudson, 2000.

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