The Five Stages of Guhyasamaja, and a very syncretic Pratisara with PratyangiraFrom 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 emptinessthe mahamudra endowed with the supreme of all
aspectsthat 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 rjei 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 (rgyui 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 recitedrather, 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 ones body as opposed to the mandala
circle (dkyil khor khor lo) aspect of the phase of completion, which relies on anothers
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 ones
reflection in the mirror. The colors are clear and unmixed, like a rainbow. A single
one pervades everywhere, like the moons 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
heats 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.
Gandrakirtis 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 Hierophants 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 womans 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, [Hemādris 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 womans 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.
