NOTES

TRANSLATOR’S INTRODUCTION

1. In Tibetan, there are two extant autobiographical accounts of Jamgön Kongtrul’s life, not to mention the writings of his student Karma Tashi Chopel, and the later abridged biographies contained in the Buddhist histories of Zhechen Gyaltsab (1910) and Dudjom Rinpoche (1964). Gene Smith was the first Western scholar to appraise the life and works of Kongtrul in his groundbreaking introduction to the Indian edition of The Treasury of Knowledge, published in 1970. The longest account in English is Richard Barron’s (2003) translation, and there are also short hagiographies to be found in Dudjom Rinpoche 1991 and in Ringu Tulku 2006.

2. Jamgön Kongtrul’s exhaustive studies are fully documented in the record of his received teachings (gsan yig), which was devotedly compiled by Karma Tashi Chopel.

3. This encyclopedic work has already been translated and published by Snow Lion in ten volumes, under the title The Treasury of Knowledge.

4. A searchable online catalog to the expanded seventy-two volume Shechen edition is accessible at http://rtz.tsadra.org/index.php/Main_Page.

5. This has a supplement, entitled Treasury of Extensive Pronouncements, which contains Jamgön Kongtrul’s miscellaneous textual commentaries.

6. On the Tsadra Foundation’s current project and aspiration to translate this entire anthology, see http://tsadra-wp.tsadra.org/translation/treasury-of-precious-instructions.

7. gDams Ngag Mdzod [A Treasury of Instructions and Techniques for Spiritual Realization], compiled by ’Jam-gon Kon-sprul Blo-gros-mtha’-yas. Reproduced from a xylographic print from the Dpal-spungs blocks (Delhi: Ngawang Lungtok and Ngawang Gyaltsen, 1971).

8. See also Jamgön Kongtrul’s own detailed exposition of these eight lineages of spiritual attainment in Jamgön Kongtrul 2007, 63–339.

9. A brief account of the life of Sherab Ozer and his spiritual revelations is found in Yeshe Gyamtso 2011, 235–38. On Pelri Tekchokling Monastery in upper Chongyé, which he founded circa 1570, see Akester 2016, 438–39; see also Dorje 2009, 248. It was here that Rigdzin Jigmé Lingpa studied and practiced during his early formative years. The verses in question derive from Sherab Ozer’s Deathless Nectar of Meditation, which, together with his Deathless Nectar of Study and Reflection, is extant in Jamyang Khyentsé Wangpo, in his Collected Works, vol. 6, pp. 327–74. A translation and transliteration of this passage is found in Deroche 2009, 328–35. Jamgön Kongtrul reiterates the initial verses of this passage, as annotated by Jamyang Khyentsé Wangpo, in his introduction to The Catalog of The Treasury of Precious Instructions, DNZ, Book 18, p. 405 (Barron 2013, 35–36; also Kapstein 2007, 110–29). On this, see also Kapstein 1996, 277. Among the eightfold classification outlined here, much has been documented in recent decades regarding the origins, development, and revival of the Shangpa Kagyu tradition. See Kapstein 1980, 138–44; Namka Samdrub Gyeltsen, Biographies of the Abbatial Succession of the Shangpa Kagyu; Akester 2016, 549–50; and also Sheehy, forthcoming.

10. These include five scholars representing the early phase of Buddhist propagation in Tibet: Tonmi Sambhoṭa (early to mid-seventh century), Vairotsana (eighth to ninth century), Kawa Peltsek (eighth to ninth century), Chokro Lu’i Gyeltsen (eighth to ninth century), and Zhang Yeshedé (eighth to ninth century), along with five representing the later phase: Lochen Rinchen Zangpo (958–1055), Dromton Gyelwei Jungné (1005–1064), Ngok Lotsāwa Loden Sherab (1059–1109), Sakya Paṇḍita Kunga Gyeltsen (1182–1251), and Go Lotsāwa Khukpa Lhetsé (early eleventh century).

11. These miscellaneous writings for the most part concern the spiritual attainments of the foremost bodhisattvas: Avalokiteśvara, Mañjughoṣa, Vajrapāṇi, Amitāyus, Tārā, and Jambhala, as well as the instructions of Bodongpa, Rongton Sheja Kunrik, and Śāntigupta.

12. The catalog has already been translated in Barron 2013.

13. See Snellgrove 1989; also Peissel 1967, and Jackson 1976.

14. This biographical sketch of Kunga Drolchok derives from Cyrus Stearns, Treasury of Lives, https://treasuryoflives.org/biographies/view/Kunga-Drolchok/TBRC_P2387.

15. This undated manuscript from Dzamtang is digitally accessible at BDRC (W2MS2257).

16. Held at Tibet House, and digitally accessible at BDRC (W1CZ1130).

17. There is a two-volume manuscript accessible at BDRC (W4CZ15391); see also Kunga Drolchok, The Outer, Inner, and Secret Biographies of Venerable Kunga Drolchok.

18. This is the view that all the attributes of buddhahood are extraneously empty of mundane impurities and defilements, but not intrinsically empty in a nihilistic sense, their experience thereby transcending all notions of existence and nonexistence. On the life and work of Dolpopa, see the definitive study in Stearns 2010; also Ruegg 1963.

19. Contemporary descriptions of Takten Puntsoling and its environs are found in Peljam, Abridged History of the Abbatial Succession of the Jonangwa, pp. 27–31. See also Akester 2016, 615–28; and Dorje 2009, 348–50.

20. The philosophical and political controversies are clearly presented in Stearns 2010, 69–77.

21. On the Mongolian dimension, see Stearns 2010, 73–77.

22. His teaching career in these regions is narrated in Ngawang Namgyel, A Brief Lucid Biography of Venerable Ngawang Trinlé.

23. A detailed account of Dzamtang Monastery can be found in Peljam, Abridged History of the Abbatial Succession of the Jonangwa, pp. 39–59. For brief descriptions in English, see Gruschke 2001, 72–78; also Dorje 2009, 776–77.

24. The formal translations of these twelve chapter titles are as follows:

1. Supplication to the Lineage of the One Hundred and Eight Guideboooks, Easy to Recite and Clearly Listing to Some Extent the Names of the Lineage Holders, pp. 1–37 by Kunga Drolchok, Rearranged by Jamgön Kongtrul

2. Supplement to the Supplication of the Lineage of the One Hundred and Eight Guidebooks, p. 39 by Zhalu Choktrul Losal Tenkyong

3. Life-Sustaining Verses Introducing the Source of the One Hundred and Eightfold Profound Guidebooks, pp. 41–46 by Kunga Drolchok

4. Multiple Approaches of the Wondrous Doctrine, Enhancing the Summary of the One Hundred and Eight Guidebooks, pp. 47–66 by Kunga Drolchok

5. Historical Anecdotes of the Lineage of the One Hundred and Eight Guidebooks, pp. 67–98 by Kunga Drolchok

6. Supplement to the Historical Anecdotes of the Lineage of the One Hundred and Eight Guidebooks, pp. 99–116 by Tāranātha

7. The Ordinary Preliminary Practices of the One Hundred and Eight Guidebooks, pp. 117–120 by Kunga Drolchok

8. The Extraordinary Preliminary Practices of the One Hundred and Eight Guidebooks, pp. 121–126 by Kunga Drolchok

9. The Actual Texts of the Profound One Hundred and Eight Guidebooks, pp. 127–353 by Kunga Drolchok

10. The Marvelous Key Commenting on the Contents of the One Hundred and Eight Guidebooks, pp. 355–361 by Kunga Drolchok

11. A Specific Listing of the One Hundred and Eight Guidebooks, Along with the Listing of the Names of Their One Hundred and Eight Protectors and the Listing of the Names of Their One Hundred and Eight Empowerments, pp. 363–374 by Kunga Drolchok

12. A Cornucopia of Blessings Documenting the Oral Instructions of the Teacher concerning the Methods for the Conferral of Empowerment of the Book Containing the One Hundred and Eight Guidebooks, pp. 375–380 by Zhalu Choktrul Losal Tenkyong

CHAPTER 1: LINEAGE PRAYERS OF THE ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHT GUIDEBOOKS

1. Khrid brgya’i brgyud ’debs brjod bde brgyud pa’i mtshan sdom cung zad gsal bar bkod pa, DNZ, vol. 18, pp. 1–37.

2. The four attachments (zhen pa bzhi) comprise (i) attachment to this life (tshe ’di la zhen pa), (ii) attachment to cyclic existence (’khor bar zhen pa), (iii) attachment to self-interest (bdag don la zhen pa), and (iv) attachment to prejudices (phyogs ’dzin ltar zhen pa).

3. These are the titles of the core chapters of Tokmé Zangpo’s Seven-Point Mind Training as presented in his Practical Implementation of the Bodhisattvas.

4. These seven focuses (dmigs yul bdun) for the cultivation of loving-kindness and compassion include (i) one’s own mother, (ii) all relatives headed by one’s father, (iii) all human beings—extending from one’s own compatriots to those of the four continents, (iv) denizens of the hells, (v) anguished spirits, (vi) animals, and (vii) gods. See Tokmé Zangpo, The Heart of Dependent Origination, in his Collected Works, p. 195.

5. The four malevolent forces or devils (bdud bzhi) to be severed comprise (i) the malevolent force of the afflicted mental states (nyon mongs pa’i bdud), (ii) the malevolent force of the psychophysical aggregates (phung po’i bdud), (iii) the malevolent force of the lord of death/impermanence (’chi bdag gi bdud), and (iv) the malevolent force of the divine prince (lha bu’i bdud). On this enumeration, see also Nordrang Orgyan, Compendium of Buddhist Numeric Terms, pp. 674–75.

6. Tib. skye med chig chod. This expression is also translated by Harding in Jamgön Kongtrul 2016 as the “unborn single cut.”

7. These three essential points comprise (i) the yoga of continuous cultivation in this life (tshe ’dir sgom pa rgyun gyi rnal ’byor), (ii) the yoga of the transference of consciousness cultivated at the time of death (’chi khar sgom pa ’pho ba’i rnal ’byor), and (iii) the yoga of mingling and transference cultivated in the intermediate state (bar dor sgom pa bsre ’pho’i rnal ’byor).

8. Kusulu the Younger is generally identified with Mitrayogin, a teacher of Atiśa (982–1054) and contemporary of Dharmakīrti of Sumatra, but elsewhere he is mysteriously revered as a teacher of Tropu Lotsāwa (1173–1236).

9. The seven renunciations (spong bdun) are the forsaking of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, falsehood, slander, verbal abuse, and futile chatter. See Nordrang Orgyan, Compendium of Buddhist Numeric Terms, p. 1677.

10. For illustrations and descriptive detail of these eight aspects of Tārā, who protects from the eight fears or dangers, see Mullin and Watt 2003, 79–96.

11. The four deities of the Kadam tradition are Munīndra, Acala, Avalokita, and Tārā. The three doctrines (chos gsum) comprise the sixteen heart spheres—namely, (i) the four spheres of the supporting maṇḍala (rten dkyil ’khor gyi thig le bzhi), (ii) the six spheres of the supported deities (brten pa lha’i thig le drug), and (iii) the six spheres of the guru of the root lineage (rtsa brgyud bla ma’i thig le drug).

12. The Six Descents (bka’ babs drug) of the transcendent perfection of wisdom are sequentially associated with the following locations: the paradise of Tuṣita, source of happiness; the underworld of nāgas, source of resources; the learned paṇḍitas of Bengal, source of awareness; the southern land of Beta, source of enlightened attributes; the western land of Oḍḍiyāna, source of blessings; and the isle of Viśvakoṭacandana, source of wonder.

13. The five paths (lam lnga) are those of provisions, connection or preparation, insight, meditation, and conclusion or no-more-learning. The three austerities (dka’ thub gsum) are the practices associated respectively with pious attendants, hermit buddhas, and bodhisattvas.

14. The three promulgations of the Buddhist discourses by Śākyamuni Buddha respectively concern (i) the path that leads to the cessation of suffering, (ii) the nature of emptiness, and (iii) the attributes of the buddhas. The three sorts of person are those of inferior, average, and superior acumen.

15. Otherwise known as Nyangro Kunga Dorjé.

16. Otherwise known as Pakton Samten Zangpo.

17. This refers to the commentary of Bodong Paṇchen entitled Summation of the Real (dPal de kho na nyid ’dus pa’i snying po chos spyod rab tu gsal ba’i snye ma), which is discussed below.

18. The four primary elements are earth, water, fire, and wind.

19. That is to say, in this context the preliminary practices extract elixir that reduces the weight of the physical constituents; the main practices control the movement of the vital essence within the body; and the subsequent practice engages with a female mudra, endowed with appropriate signs.

20. The six yogas of continuous flow (chu bo rgyun gyi rnal ’byor rnam drug) in this context may refer to the six doctrines (chos drug), culminating in the practices of consciousness transference and intermediate state, rather than the six-branch yoga (sbyor drug).

21. Also known as Mar Tsondru Dorjé.

22. The variant Khenchen Jangchubseng is also found.

23. These seven religious kings and the dates traditionally ascribed to them are (i) Sucandra (Zla ba bzang po, 977 B.C.E.), Sureśvara (Lha’i dbang po, 877 B.C.E.), (iii) Tejī (gZi brjid can, 777 B.C.E.), (iv) Somadatta (Zla bas byin, 677 B.C.E.), (v) Sureśvara (Lha’i dbang phyug, 577 B.C.E.), (vi) Viśvamūrti (sNa tshogs gzugs, 477 B.C.E.), and (vii) Sureśāna (Lha’i dbang ldan, 377 B.C.E.). See Henning 2007, 365.

24. The twenty-five Kulika kings of Śambhala and the dates traditionally ascribed to them are as follows: (i) Yaśas (Grags pa, 277 B.C.E.), (ii) Puṇḍarīka (Padma dkar po, 177 B.C.E.), (iii) Bhadra (bZang po, 77 B.C.E.), (iv) Vijaya (rNam rgyal, 24 c.e.), (v) Sunitra (bShes gnyen bzang po, 124), (vi) Raktapāṇi (Phyag dmar, 224), (vii) Viṣṇugupta (Khyab ’jug sbas pa, 324), (viii) Arkakīrti (Nyi ma grags, 424), (ix) Subhadra (Shin tu bzang po, 524), (x) Samudravijaya (rGya mtsho rnam rgyal, 624), (xi) Aja (rGyal dka’, 806), (xii) Sūrya (Nyi ma, 1027), (xiii) Viśvarūpa (sNa tshogs gzugs, 1127), (xiv) Śaśiprabha (Zla ’od, 1227), (xv) Ananta (mTha’ yas, 1327), (xvi) Mahīpāla (Sa skyong, 1427), (xvii) Śrīpāla (dPal skyong, 1527), (xviii) Hari (Seng ge, 1627), (xix) Vikrama (rNam par gnon pa, 1727), (xx) Mahābala (sTobs po che, 1827), (xxi) Aniruddha (Ma ’gags pa, 1927), (xxii) Narasiṃha (Mi’i seng ge, 2027), (xxiii) Maheśvara (dBang phyug chen po, 2127), (xxiv) Anantavijaya (mTha’ yas rnam rgyal, 2227), and (xxv) Cakrī (’Khor lo can, 2327). On discrepancies and for alternative listings, see Henning 2007, 365–66.

25. These components of the six-branch yoga according to the Tantra of the Wheel of Time are presented below.

26. These terms appear to reflect the inspiration that Menlung Guru may have derived from the revelations of Guru Chowang. See RTD, vol. 59, p. 5b. The five sibling frailties (gud chung spun lnga) comprise the three poisons with the addition of pride and jealousy.

27. The term fierce inner heat describes the function of the channel below the navel cakra, literally known as the “fierce one” (caṇḍālī, gtum mo). Whenever the term occurs throughout this text, it refers to practices associated with this specific channel, which assumes the form of an ashé (the stroke of the letter a, written as “།” and known as a thung or a shad according to its uncreated intrinsic nature and its shape, respectively). On the practice of the fierce inner heat, see also Jamgön Kongtrul’s explanation in Jamgön Kongtrul 2007, 158–73.

28. These are the procedures outlined in Kṛṣṇacārin’s Perfection of the Path of Fierce Inner Heat, which is contained in DNZ, vol. 6, pp. 43–53. Briefly stated, there are four phases of this practice, each of which has its distinct conclusion: (i) continuum (rgyud) refers to the “timeless presence of the three maṇḍalas based on the four cakras,” (ii) mantra (sngags) refers to the blazing of the stroke of the letter a (a thung) at the navel cakra, (iii) pristine cognition (ye shes) refers to the diffusion of coemergent delight through the upward movement of vital essence through the central channel, and (iv) secrecy (gsang ba) refers to breath control.

29. In terms of these three channels of the subtle body, semen (khu) is here associated with the left channel, and blood (khrag) with the right channel.

30. At this point in the Tibetan text this lineage prayer is preceded by the number fifty, which has been moved for the sake of consistency to its rightful position below.

31. This appears as an alternative title for The Attainment in Proximity to a Stupa.

32. Here the text (p. 20, line 3) in error retranscribes dPal ldan tshul krims ba.

33. Instruction Entitled Three Emerging from Two (gNyis las gsdum ’byung gdams pa) refers to a text by Ngawang Chodrak, based on a pithy quatrain attributed to Ngorchen Kunga Zangpo. It suggests that the extensive, middling, and abridged visualizations originated from two lineage transmissions, long and short. The full text, entitled The Way of Enacting the Blessings of the Elucidation of the Symbolic Meaning according to the Path and Its Fruition, Along with the Meaning of the Emergence of Three from Two, SLC, vol. 19, pp. 121–27. Alternatively, it has been suggested that this terse expression could imply that the three extensive, middling, and abridged visualizations originated from the two aspects of the main practice—the determining of the view of discriminative awareness and the experiential cultivation of the view through skillful means, which are outlined below.

34. The actual name of the brother of Kyoton (skyo ston sku mched) appears to be unknown.

35. The five vocalic syllables A, I, Ṛ, U and Ḷ, known as the “five syllables of great emptiness” (stong chen yig lnga), represent the transformation of the five psychophysical aggregates and are contained in the letter VAṂ. The six consonantal groups (velars, palatals, cerebrals, dentals, labials, and sibilants), known as the “six syllables of the vital essence” (thig le’i yig drug), are contained in the letter E. These are unified in the Great Seal union of bliss and emptiness. See Jamgön Kongtrul 2005, 187–97.

36. Specifically, the “application at the spleen and kidney cavities” (mchan khung sbyor ba) concerns the region below the navel, the “meditative concentration of the ‘cow udder’ ” (ba nu’i bsam gtan) concerns the navel cakra, the “awns of the plantain” (chu shing snye ma) concerns the central channel within the heart cakra, and the “hoofprint of a bull” (glang rmig rjes) concerns the heart cakra.

37. These are the syllables ha, ri, ni, and sa, on which see below.

38. This guidebook is also substituted by The Inner Guidance of Nairātmyā.

39. Tib. rang zhal lha yi sku.

40. This insertion must only refer to Kunga Drolchok and his successors.

41. The entrustment seal (gtad rgya) denotes the transmission of an authoritative rediscovered or revealed scriptural treasure, in this case the Sekharma of Guru Chowang.

42. Elsewhere written as Ras chen ro skom pa.

43. Tib. bCu chos gdams pa. This refers to the title of a work by Jigten Gonpo, generally entitled Drops of Nectar: Sacred Teachings of Drigungtel.

44. The allusion here is to Tashipel, the founder of Taklung, whose work on the Six Doctrines is entitled Wish-Fulfilling Gem (Yid bzhin nor bu). The expression “auspicious mound of glory” (bkra shis dpal rab rtsegs pa) could refer either to his own name (Tashipel) or to the later lineage holder named Tashi Peltsek.

45. The positioning of Lorepa here, immediately following Rechungpa Dorjé Drak, would seem to be untenable.

46. That is to say, the four precious teachers of Yangonpa were Kodrakpa, Gotsangpa, Sakya Paṇḍita, and Drigung On.

47. The four rites are pacification, enrichment, subjugation, and wrath.

48. Drushulwa (Gru shul ba) is also written in our text as drag shul ba, and elsewhere as gro shul ba.

49. See their individual biographies by Abhayadatta, Narrative of the Eighty-Four Great Accomplished Masters, TPD, vol. 48, pp. 413–556.

50. Elsewhere written as Dza ma ri pa.

51. This figure is also known as Kangyurwa Śākya Zangpo.

52. The “four mothers and seventeen offspring” (ma bzhi de bu bcu bdun) appear to be mentioned only obliquely in the source text (see RTD, Delhi ed., vol. 92, p. 173). There is a sense that the four mothers are the four ḍākinīs of pristine cognition mentioned in the lineage prayer, in which case their seventeen offspring would include the treasure finder and subsequent lineage holders whose names are listed in RTD, Delhi ed., vol. 92, p. 173. Alternatively, the expression may possibly denote a series of primary and secondary instructions within this cycle of revelation.

53. On Namdrol [Sengé] Zangpo (ca. 1504–1573), see BDRC; see also Treasury of Lives. https://treasuryoflives.org/biographies/view/Namdrol-Zangpo/9923.

54. These comprise the eight freedoms (dal ba brgyad) and ten opportunities (’byor ba bcu), which are considered prerequisite for the successful practice of dharma. Birth as a human being with the freedom and opportunity to follow the Buddhist path is regarded as difficult to attain and a precious circumstance. In the preliminary practices of the tantra path, in order to establish an appreciation for the significance of human rebirth, the freedom one has from eight unfavorable rebirths is a focus of contemplation, together with contemplation of the ten favorable opportunities. The eight freedoms are the freedoms from the following eight states: birth in the hells, birth as an anguished spirit, birth as an animal, birth as an uncivilized or barbarous person, birth as a long-living god, birth into a society that holds mistaken beliefs, birth in an age devoid of Buddhism, and birth with limited faculties. Among the ten favorable opportunities, there are five that are personally acquired and five contingent on external factors. The former include the favorable opportunities of being born as a human being, in a civilized society, with perfect sense faculties, not being engaged in a conflicting lifestyle, and having confidence in Buddhism. The latter include the favorable opportunities of being born in an aeon when a buddha has appeared, when the sacred teachings have been taught, when they are still being practiced, and when one actively engages in their practice and finds a qualified spiritual mentor (kalyānamitra). See Patrul Rinpoche 1994, 19–37.

55. Kunga Lekgyel (Kun dga’ legs rgyal) appears to be the name of a well-known scribe who was a contemporary of Tāranātha.

56. This is why, in the English translation, the names have been standardized and listed in the preambles that accompany the contracted variants of the Tibetan metrical verses.

57. This is the personal name of Jamgön Kongtrul, compiler of The Treasury of Precious Instructions.

CHAPTER 2: SUPPLEMENTARY PRAYER TO THE LINEAGE

1. Khrid brgya’i brgyud ’debs kha skong, DNZ, vol. 18, p. 39.

2. In the verses that follow, the full name of each lineage holder has been given, integrating the author’s verses and annotations. Draktopa Choku Lhawang Drakpa is an important lineage holder of the Kālacakra and Shangpa teachings. He was also the one who encouraged Tāranātha to write the Supplement to the Historical Anecdotes, contained in chapter 6.

3. The author’s annotation adds that her title is Jonang Jetsunma and her secret name is Ratnavajriṇī (Rin chen rdo rje ma).

4. The author here includes an annotation indicating that the lineage also descended from Kunzang Wangpo and Tsewang Norbu to Ngawang Namgyel, who was the nephew of Dzalongkar Lama.

5. This figure also appears to be known as Trulzhik Kunzang Choying Rangdrol.

6. The author’s annotation here suggests that he was the vajra master of Jonang Puntsoling.

7. Another author’s annotation suggests that he and his predecessor both transmitted the lineage to Zhalu Lotsāwa Losal Tenkyong.

8. There is a reference in Tsewang Norbu’s Inventory to the Meritorious Offerings Made to Jonang Takten Puntsoling (in his Collected Works, vol. 2, p. 450) alluding to the instruction on the six-branch yoga that he himself received on six occasions from Lama Dampa Kunzang Wangpo, and to the offerings he presented to Jonang, in consideration of the future development of this tradition.

CHAPTER 3: THE LIFE-SUSTAINING PRAYER OF THE ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHT GUIDEBOOKS

1. Zab khrid brgya dang brgyad kyi khungs gleng ba’i zhabs rten tshigs su bcad pa, DNZ, vol. 18, pp. 41–46.

2. Tib. rgya mo’i thags kyi ’phrul ’dra’i mig yangs. Ringu Tulku adds that Chinese silk weaving is exemplary because all delicate designs become clear when each thread is placed without mistake. This requires a very clear head and sharp eyes.

CHAPTER 4: AN AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF THE ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHT GUIDEBOOKS RECEIVED

1. Khrid brgya’i spyi chings rnam par spel ba ngo mtshar chos kyi sgo mang, DNZ, vol. 18, pp. 47–66.

2. An epithet of the primordial buddha body of reality, here in the form Mahāvajradhara.

3. This quatrain includes the four-syllable signature of the author’s name, Kunga Drolchok, as do the concluding verses of certain other chapters and each of the one hundred and eight individual guidebooks contained in chapter 9. The transliterated Tibetan is retained in parentheses in this first instance for the aid of the reader, but subsequently dropped. In Tibetan these signature syllables are conventionally marked by subscript circles, equivalent to underlining. In the translation they have been replicated by bolding.

4. See also Jamgön Kongtrul’s succinct explanation of the four seals in the context of Śāntigupta’s Hevajra transmission, translated by Guarisco and McLeod in Jamgön Kongtrul 2005, 165.

5. “She who is endowed with all the finest aspects” (rnam kun mchog ldan ma) is a metaphor for extrinsic emptiness (gzhan stong).

6. Tib. myang ba stong pa’i dug ro. Here, the analytical approach adopted by certain exponents of intrinsic emptiness (rang stong) is contrasted with the experiential approach of the exponents of extrinsic emptiness (gzhan stong).

7. The four great lakes (rgya mtsho bzhi) comprise Manasarovar, Namtso, Nubtso, and Kokonor. See Nordrang Orgyan, Compendium of Buddhist Numeric Terms, p. 555.

8. Inexhaustible intelligence (akṣayamati, blo gros mi zad) is the name of a bodhisattva to whom the Akṣayamatinirdeśasūtra (T 175) was revealed. In terms of its meaning, it is said to comprise eighty inexhaustible attributes that are retained. See Pekar Zangpo, Structural Presentation of All the Discourses, pp. 236–37.

9. Here the text has an annotation that reads “Such as [in disputation between] Sakya and Ngok, Sakya and Tropu, Sakya and Drigung, Sakya and Kagyu, Sakya and Geluk, or Jonang and Zhalu.”

10. The eighteen schools of monastic discipline that were well documented in ancient India comprise the four basic monastic orders that were then subdivided into eighteen. Among them, the Mūlasarvāstivāda order had seven subdivisions—namely, the Kāśyapīya, Mahīśāsaka, Dharmagupta, Bahuśrutīya, Tāmrasatīya, Vibhājyavādin, and the basic subdivision known as Sarvāstivādin. These are the lineages derived from the students of Rāhulabhadra. Their language was Sanskrit, and their robes had between twenty-five and twenty-nine patches, with the motifs of the blue lotus (utpala), the lotus (padma), and the gemstone (ratna). The Mahāsaṃghika order had five subdivisions—namely, the Pūrvaśaila, Haimavata, Prajñāptivādin, Lokottaravādin, and the basic subdivision known as Uttaraśaila. These were the lineages derived from the students of Mahākāśyapa. Their language was Prakrit, and their robes had between twenty-three and twenty-nine patches, with the motifs of the svāstika and the glorious heart orb (śrīvatsa). The Sthavira order had three subdivisions—namely, the Jetavanīya, Abhayagirivādin, and Mahāvihāravādin. These are the lineages derived from the students of Mahākāṭyāyana. Their language was Apabhraṃśa, and their robes had between twenty-one and twenty-nine patches, with the motif of the conch shell. The Sammitīya order had three subdivisions—namely, the Kaurukullika, Āvantaka, and Vatsīputrīya. These were the lineages derived from the students of Upāli. Their language was Paiśācika, and their robes had the same number of patches as those of the Sthaviras, their motif being the sorsika flower.

11. The three kinds of faith (dad pa gsum) comprise confidence, conviction, and longing. See Nordrang Orgyan, Compendium of Buddhist Numeric Terms, p. 296.

12. The distribution of Kadampa instructions among the One Hundred and Eight Guidebooks accords with Kunga Drolchok’s own analysis, on which see below, chapter 10.

13. Kunga Drolchok’s analysis of the Sakya and Kagyu instructions contained in the One Hundred and Eight Guidebooks is found in chapter 10.

14. The two stages of the path (lam rim pa gnyis) comprise the generation and perfection stages of meditation, the former emphasizing the visualization of meditational deities and the latter emphasizing internal yogic practices. For Jamgön Kongtrul’s explanation of the distinction between these stages and their respective attributes, see Jamgön Kongtrul 2008, 59–135.

15. The level of an adamantine holder (rdo rje ’dzin pa’i sa) denotes the thirteenth or buddha level.

16. The four reliances (rton pa bzhi) comprise (i) reliance on the sacred doctrine rather than individuals, (ii) reliance on meanings rather than words, (iii) reliance on pristine cognition rather than consciousness, and (iv) reliance on definitive meaning rather than provisional meaning. See Zhang Yisun et al., Great Tibetan-Chinese Dictionary, p. 1080.

17. Nubpa Rigdzin Drak is said to have been a disciple of Drakpa Gyeltsen.

18. There appears to be no extant writing contained in the Collected Works of Chogyel Pakpa that pertains to this cycle. There is, however, a short text entitled Instruction on Parting from the Four Attachments contained in the Collected Works of Sakya Paṇḍita, vol. 1, p. 470; and also DNZ, vol. 6, pp. 314–15, which is translated in Jinpa 2006, 525–26.

19. Zarjang Pukpa Kunga Lekpei Rinchen is said to have been a disciple of Ngorchen Kunga Zangpo.

20. This is Gorampa Sonam Sengé’s Mind Training: A Key to the Profound Essential Points of the Guidebook Entitled Parting from the Four Attachments, translated in Jinpa 2006, 529–39.

21. This work by Kunga Tashi (1349–1425), who was given the title “doctrinal king of the Great Vehicle” (theg chen chos kyi rgyal po) by the Ming emperor, appears to be no longer extant. As indicated above, Changlungpa Zhonu Chodrub was active during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

22. The root text of the Mind Training of the Great Vehicle is attributed to Atiśa and contained in DNZ, vol. 3, pp. 405–28; and translated with annotations in Jinpa 2006, 71–82. The original Tibetan formulation of mind training in seven points is recognized as the work of Chekhawa Yeshé Dorjé (1101–1175) and his disciple Sé Chilbupa Chokyi Gyeltsen (1121–1189), on which see the translations in Jinpa 2006, 83–132. Two traditions subsequently evolved based on the interpretation of the term substratum or basis of all—as emptiness in the view of Lhading Jangchub Bum (fl. twelfth century) and as the uncontrived natural mind, in the view of Gyelsé Tokmé Zangpo (1295–1369). It is the latter’s instruction entitled The Seven-Point Mind Training of the Great Vehicle that Kunga Drolchok recognizes as the second of his One Hundred and Eight Guidebooks. See below, chapter 9, n. 4. On the background to this extensive literature, see Jinpa 2006, 1–15.

23. Jangsem Zhonu Gyelchok (fl. fourteenth century) compiled the core texts of mind training in a new anthology, entitled Compendium of Eloquence on Mind Training, which forms the basis of The Great Collection, translated in Jinpa 2006. He is said to have synthesized the approaches of both Lhading Jangchub Bum and Gyelsé Tokmé Zangpo. A catalog of its contents is also included in DNZ, vol. 3, pp. 377–78. His disciple Mu Konchok Gyeltsen (1388–1469) assisted with that compilation and in addition authored a separate commentary entitled Supplement to the Oral Tradition, also translated in Jinpa 2006, 431–515, which is based on the Great Public Exposition of Sangyé Gompa (1179–1250) and represents a distinct tradition of mind training.

24. Ngulchu Chodzongpa is an alternative name of Gyelsé Tokmé Zangpo (1295–1369). Drogon Pelden Yeshé (fl. fourteenth century) was his disciple and biographer.

25. Hor Kabzhipa Sengé Gyeltsen (fl. late fourteenth–early fifteenth centuries) was the disciple of Drogon Pelden Yeshé. There is a brief biography contained in Kadampa Anthology III, pp. 3–10. His extensive five-notebook supplementary compilation does not appear to be extant, distinct from the Great Aural Transmission of Mind Training.

26. The preliminary practice entitled the Supporting Doctrine (sNgon ’gro rten gyi chos) constitutes the first of the seven points of mind training, and the setting of the mind on an altruistic attitude (sems bskyed) is the second. Kunga Drolchok’s remark suggests that he received direct instruction on the remaining five points that constitute the main practice through a text entitled Cycle That Adopts the Calmness of Visualization, which has not yet been identified. It may possibly be a work associated with Kunga Drolchok’s own teacher, Kunga Chogdrub.

27. This guidebook entitled The Heart of Dependent Origination is the redaction introduced by the Jonangpa master Muchen Gyeltsen Pelzangpo (fl. thirteenth–fourteenth centuries), on which see below, chapter 9, n. 18.

28. The Carrying of Happiness and Suffering on the Path is contained in the Collected Works of Tokmé Zangpo. On this transmission and its antecedents, see below, chapter 9, n. 25.

29. It is suggested there that Remdawa Zhonu Lodro (1349–1412), who received this instruction directly from Gyelsé Tokmé Zangpo, wrote the notes that formed the basis of the fourth guidebook. However, there does not appear to be any Memorandum on the Teachings of Gyelsépa in Remdawa’s Collected Works, distinct from Tokmé Zangpo’s text.

30. On The Mind Training according to Sumpa Lotsāwa, which is translated in Jinpa 2006, 215–16, see below, chapter 9, n. 33.

31. This Direct Guidance of Avalokiteśvara according to the Tsembupa Tradition is the thirty-second guidebook of the present anthology. See below, chapter 9, n. 273.

32. This is the eighty-third guidebook in the present anthology, on which see below, chapter 9, n. 851. The memorandum on the oral instruction was apparently committed to writing by Gyamawa Lodro Gyeltsen (1390–1448), although he is not named in the lineage prayer of chapter 1.

33. The six guidebooks associated with Tokmé Zangpo therefore comprise (i) The Seven-Point Mind Training of the Great Vehicle, (ii) The Heart of Dependent Origination, (iii) The Carrying of Happiness and Suffering on the Path, (iv) The Mind Training according to Sumpa Lotsāwa, (v) The Direct Guidance of Avalokiteśvara according to the Tsembupa Tradition, and (vi) The Coemergent Union of the Great Seal.

34. Kunga Drolchok’s sixth guidebook entitled The Severance of Machik Labdron is based on the revelation of Samten Ozer entitled Wish-Fulfilling Gem: An Instruction on the Inner Meaning, on which see below, chapter 9, n. 35. Our text misreads spyod yul for gcod yul.

35. These are possibly included among Kyemé Dopa Chokyi Sherab Jodenpa, The Ten Approaches to the Oral Instruction. These comprise (i) the approach to means for attainment and spiritual accomplishment (sgrub thabs dngos grub sgo ’byed), (ii) the approach to dream yoga and the sun and moon [channels] (rmi lam nyi zla sgo ’byed), (iii) the approach to liberating consciousness transference (’pho ba thar pa’i sgo ’byed), (iv) the approach to the intermediate state and inner radiance (bar do ’od gsal sgo ’byed), (v) the approach to dependent origination that dispels obstructions (gegs sel rten ’brel sgo ’byed), (vi) the approach to enlightened attributes that brings forth success (bogs ’don yon tan sgo ’byed), and (vii–x) the four rites of the approach to enlightened activity that benefits others (gzhan don phrin las sgo ’byed).

36. The “inner examples” denotes Śākya Chokden’s Guidebook on the Three Essential Points, contained in his Collected Works, vol. 8, pp. 371–74.

37. The name “Great Guidance of Zhalupa” (Zha lu pa’i khrid chen) reflects the important contribution of Buton Rinchen Drub to this transmission, on which see below, chapter 9, n. 54.

38. Chimchen Namka Drak (1210–1285) was seventh in the abbatial succession of Nartang.

39. The Commentary on the Transcendent Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand Lines (’Bum ṭīk) is contained in vols. 4–5 of the Collected Works of Rongton Sheja Kunrik.

40. On the lives of these three seminal figures in the early, intermediate, and later transmissions of Pacification, see Roerich 1949, 867–982. Their transmissions may be described as “later” in relation to that of Dampa Sangyé himself.

41. See below, chapter 9, n. 270.

42. On this instruction manual of Sherab Bumpa, which was compiled by his disciple Gyelsé Tokmé Zangpo, see above, chapter 4, n. 33, and below, chapter 9, n. 273. I have not yet located a distinct text entitled Great Guidance (Khrid yig chen mo) in the Collected Works of Lama Dampa Sonam Gyeltsen, which does, however, include several short texts of Avalokiteśvara mantra and dhāraṇī recitation (vol. 1, pp. 801–13).

43. That is to say, rather than this Barawa/Drukpa tradition, Kunga Drolchok counted the transmission outlined above, in the corresponding lineage prayer: Chiwo Lhepa, Drak Marwa, Lhatsun Gonserwa, Tukjé Tsondru Chojé, Sherab Bumpa, Gyelsé Tokmé Zangpo, Gyamawa Yonten-o, Lotsāwa Drakpa Gyeltsen, Jangsem Konchok Gyeltsen, and Kunga Chogdrub.

44. The term solitary hero (ekavīra, dpa’ bo gcig pa) indicates a male meditational deity without a female consort.

45. Tib. Phyag rdor gtum po’i gsang ba bsam gyis mi khyab pa. See below, chapter 9, n. 282.

46. Tib. Ku ru kulle’i gsang khrid. See below, chapter 9, n. 289.

47. This “unwritten” Aural Transmission of Kālacakra (Yi ge med pa’i dus ’khor snyan brgyud) originated from Menlungpa Sonam Pel, who visited Śambhala in person and later appears to have been inspired by the revelations of Guru Chowang. See chapter 9, n. 330.

48. See below, chapter 9, n. 368. The origins of the system and this attribution are discussed in Davidson 2005, 183–89.

49. These eighteen traditions are outlined in Dhongthog Rinpoche 2016, 94–95.

50. Dhongthog Rinpoche 2016, 95–96.

51. On the eighteen traditions of common descent (spyi babs srol bco brgyad), the twenty-four or twelve extensive subdivisions, the four primary divisions (rtsa ba’i gyes pa bzhi), and the two traditions of Drokmi and Gyijo, see Dhongthog Rinpoche 2016, 94–96.

52. The tradition of the Great Vehicle (theg chen lugs) is associated with Sakya itself, and the tradition of Ngor (ngor lugs) with Ngorchen Kunga Zangpo and his abbatial succession.

53. This instruction manual, composed by Lama Dampa Sonam Gyeltsen, is contained in DNZ, vol. 5, pp. 329–423.

54. Tib. ma pang du bu bcug pa.

55. On these eight or nine subsidiary cycles of the path (lam skor phyi ma brgyad/dgu) that also descended through Drokmi, see Davidson 2005, 194–204; and Dhongthog Rinpoche 2016, 91–92. They were redacted in Tibetan by Drakpa Gyeltsen; their Indian origins are respectively attributed to Khanitra (The Inconceivables, guidebook 44, chapter 9, n. 425; DNZ, vol. 6, pp. 81–118), Saroruha/Padmavajra (The Nine Profound Methods, guidebook 45, chapter 9, n. 438; DNZ, vol. 6, pp. 19–41), Ḍombī Heruka (The Attainment of Coemergence, guidebook 46, chapter 9, n. 453; DNZ, vol. 6, pp. 7–17), Kṛṣṇacārin (The Perfection of the Path of Fierce Inner Heat, guidebook 47, chapter 9, n. 465; DNZ, vol. 6, pp. 43–53), Acyutakāṇha (The Straightening of Crooked Posture, guidebook 48, chapter 9, n. 475; DNZ, vol. 6, pp. 43–53), Indrabhūti (The Path of the Female Mudra, guidebook 49, chapter 9, n. 481; DNZ, vol. 6, pp. 119–36), Vāgīśvarakīrti (The Great Seal Devoid of Letters, guidebook 50, chapter 9, n. 495; DNZ, vol. 6, pp. 67–79), and Nāgārjuna (The Determination of Mind, or The Attainment in Proximity to a Stupa, guidebook 51, chapter 9, n. 505; DNZ, vol. 6, pp. 59–65). The order of the last three has been adjusted here to reflect their order in chapters 1 and 9.

56. All of the foregoing six guidebooks are contained in DNZ, vol. 6, pp. 289–303, under the collective title Instruction Manuals with Spiritual Connections to the Six Gatekeepers (sGo drug la gsang ba’i sgo drug chos ’brel du grags pa’i khrid yig). These six gatekeepers were the renowned custodians of Nālandā Monastery—namely, Śāntipa, source of The Mingling of Sutra and Tantra, on which see chapter 9, n. 510); Prajñākaragupta, source of The Dispelling of Obstacles due to External Demons, on which see chapter 9, n. 517; Jñānaśrī, source of The Dispelling of Obstacles due to the Agitation of the Physical Body by the Elements, on which see chapter 9, n. 519; Ratnavajra, source of The Dispelling of the Obstacles of Meditative Stability and Mind, on which see chapter 9, n. 522; Nāropā, source of The Great Seal Dispelling the Three Sorts of Suffering, on which see chapter 9, n. 524; and Vāgiśvarakīrti, source of The Clear Recollection of the Innate State, on which see chapter 9, n. 533.

57. Here, the male is considered to be the “referential basis” (ltos gzhi) for this practice, and the female is the “referential object” (ltos chos). Our text misreads ltos bzhi for ltos gzhi.

58. Khyenrab Chojé of Zhalu is otherwise known as Rinchen Chogdrub Pelzang. Chapter 9 attributes the last of these four guidebooks to him and the previous three to Samdingpa Zhonu Drub.

59. Khyungpo Neljor’s Emanational Navel Cakra is replaced in chapter 9 with The Inner Guidance of Nairātmyā.

60. On these sources, see below, chapter 9, n. 972.

61. This would appear to be Mu Sangyé Rinchen, the eighth preceptor of Ngor (1450–1524). In chapters 1 and 9, however, this guidebook is attributed to Yarlungpa Sengé Gyeltsen.

62. In the last three quatrains, the first two syllables of each line of the Tibetan verse exhibit the poetic ornament of repetition (yamaka, sbyar ba).

CHAPTER 5: HISTORICAL ANECDOTES OF THE LINEAGE HOLDERS

1. Khrid brgya’i brgyud pa’i lo rgyus, DNZ, vol. 18, pp. 67–98.

2. Presumably this refers to Kunga Chogdrub, the tutor and teacher (yongs ’dzin bla ma) of Kunga Drolchok.

3. In Tibetan, this quatrain exhibits the poetic ornament of repetition (yamaka, sbyar ba) with respect to the final syllable of one line and the first syllable of the next line.

4. Khon Konchok Gyelpo’s dates are 1034–1102. This event would therefore have occurred circa 1113.

5. On the birth and life of Sachen Kunga Nyingpo, see Davidson 2005, 294–321; and Dhongthog Rinpoche 2016, 56–59.

6. Eulogy to Sachen, dated 1164, is contained in Sonam Tsemo, in his Collected Works, vol. 1, pp. 151–52.

7. The life and work of Jetsun Drakpa Gyeltsen, one of the sons of Sachen Kunga Nyingpo, are discussed in Davidson 2005, 341–70; also Dhongthog Rinpoche 2016, 60–62. The quotations here have not yet been identified.

8. See above, chapter 4, n. 25.

9. The source of this citation from the sutras has not yet been identified.

10. The Wheel of Sharp Weapons and The Peacock’s Neutralizing of Poison are attributed to Atiśa’s teacher Dharmarakṣita. See the translations in Jinpa 2006, 133–70.

11. The Adamantine Song of Chanting Meditation is attributed to Atiśa’s teacher Mitrayogin, also known as Kusulu the Younger. See the translation in Jinpa 2006, 171–75.

12. For Atiśa’s own account of his voyage across the Andaman Sea to Sumatra, see Jinpa 2006, 57–70.

13. Stages of the Heroic Mind, in one hundred and two quatrains, is attributed to Serlingpa Dharmakīrti. See the translation in Jinpa 2006, 177–94. The eighteen factors (chos bco brgyad) to be carried on the path are outlined in a separate work, also attributed to Serlingpa, entitled The Leveling-Out of Conceptions, on which see the translation in Jinpa 2006, 195–96.

14. The Leveling-Out of Conceptions, v. 3, translated in Jinpa 2006, 195.

15. On this compilation, see above, chapter 4, n. 23.

16. This citation is not found in Jinpa’s (2006) translation of Zhonu Gyelchok’s text. According to Ringu Tulku (oral communication, February 26, 2019), this passage may have been considered by some as an interpolation.

17. This citation has not been identified elsewhere.

18. This group of nine lesser paṇḍitas (paṇ chung dgu) included Sugataśrī, Jayadatta, Vibhūticandra, Dānaśīla, Saṅghaśrī, Jīvagupta, Mahābodhi, and Kālacandra.

19. See the translation of these verses in Jinpa 2006, 213–14.

20. These four monastic communities (tshogs sde bzhi) founded in Tibet by Śākyaśrī comprise Neudongtsé Tsokpa (sNe’u gdong rtse tshogs pa), Drachi Tsongdu Tsokpa (Grwa phyi tshong ’dus tshogs pa), Dranang Gyeling Tsokpa (Grwa nang rgyal gling tshogs pa, founded by Jangchub Pel), and Tsang Cholung Tsokpa (gTsang chos lung tshogs pa). See the recent study in Heimbal 2013.

21. This original Severance text by Āryadeva the Brahmin is variously entitled Esoteric Instructions of the Transcendent Perfection of Wisdom, Fifty-Verse Poem, or Great Poem. Its later inclusion in the Nartang edition of the Tengyur would not contradict the comment of Kunga Drolchok who notes its absence from the Tengyur manuscripts of the sixteenth century. See the translation by Harding in Jamgön Kongtrul 2016, 3–11.

22. These practices are contained in her Great Bundle of Precepts: The Source Text of Esoteric Instructions on Severance: The Profound Transcendent Perfection of Wisdom. See the translation by Harding in Jamgön Kongtrul 2016, 13–27.

23. The primary revelation of Samten Ozer, the so-called new pronouncement (bka’ gsar ma), is formally entitled Severance of Demonic Forces: Essence of Profound Meaning. Its eight appendices (le’u yan lag brgyad) are enumerated in the bibliography. On Samten Ozer, see also Jamgön Kongtrul 2016, 233–44.

24. The full title of this text is Esoteric Instructions on Resting in the Nature of One’s Own Mind: Spoken by Sublime Avalokita to the Great Accomplished Master Mitrayogin. It is contained in DNZ, vol. 16, pp. 497–523. The miraculous life of Mitrayogin is recounted in Roerich 1949, 1030–43.

25. DNZ, vol. 16, p. 500, line 1.

26. It is unclear whether Hor Kabzhipa’s two doctrinal collections, large and small (chos tshoms che chung gnyis), are extant.

27. Following Dhītika, the succession is said to have passed through Micchaka (Bhi bhi ka la), Buddhānandin, Buddhamitra, Bhikṣu Pārśva, Punyayaśaḥ, Aśvaghoṣa, Nāgārjuna, Āryadeva, Rāhulata, Saṃghānandi, Bhikṣu Arhat, Saṃghayaśaḥ, Kumārata, Śayata, Vasubandhu, Manorhita, Haklenayaśaḥ, and Siṃhabodhi.

28. This incident is recounted by Tāranātha in Chattopadhayaya 1970, 141–42.

29. Cf. Tāranātha’s account of the two brothers in Chattopadhayaya 1970, 154–75.

30. This is the final quatrain from Nāgārjuna’s Refutation of Disputed Topics and is not found, as our text suggests, in Sixty Quatrains on Reasoning. Note also that in the first line, our text reads gang gis rten cing for gang gis ston cing.

31. These verses are found toward the end of Rongton’s biography, entitled Wondrous Ocean of Faith, in Collected Works of Rongton Sheja Kunrik, vol. 1, p. 99.

32. Our text reads gra’i sman gcig du sman gcig pa for gra sman gcig pa.

33. See Roerich 1949, 347–50.

34. This denotes a particular type of Tibetan monastic footwear (sha gzugs ma), on which see Zhang Yisun et al., The Great Tibetan-Chinese Dictionary, p. 3362. It suggests that Candrakīrti was engaged in prostrations over some distance.

35. Tib. g.yar, literally “lent out.” Stearns 2010 (p. 42) reads “rediscovered by.”

36. See Stearns 2010, 42–43.

37. The expression “single-deity single-vase” transmission (lha gcig bum gcig) denotes a simple vase empowerment ceremony, generally associated with action tantra deities, especially the long-life empowerment of Amitāyus, but also in respect of other deities, such as Vajraviḍāraṇa.

38. The expression “my father, the great translator” (pha lo chen) suggests that sixteenth-century Lochen Rinchen Zangpo was the father of Kunga Drolchok.

39. Despite this assertion, there appears to be no evidence of special terminology derived from the extant versions of Heruka Galpo in Dg. NGB. The distinctive expressions that appear in the lineage prayer in chapter 1 do have a certain affinity with the terminology of Guru Chowang’s revelations, as has already been noted.

40. The purification of the seven aspects of consciousness—the afflicted mental consciousness and so forth (nyon yid bdun sbyong tshul)—would denote the purification of the five sensory consciousnesses, along with mental consciousness and afflicted mental consciousness, but exclude the substratum consciousness.

41. On these transmissions stemming from Gayādhara, see Davidson 2005, 178–83; also Dhongthog Rinpoche 2016, 81–87.

42. These are all enumerated in Dhongthog Rinpoche 2016, 95–96.

43. Dhongthog Rinpoche 2016, 98–102.

44. Dhongthog Rinpoche 2016, 91–92; also Davidson 2005, 194–204.

45. Drakpa Gyeltsen mentions the empowerment of the profound path (zab lam gyi dbang) very briefly in his Analysis of Empowerment, SLC, vol. 11, p. 42, line 1.

46. On these seventy-two tantras, see Stearns 2001, 255n234. The four profound doctrines (zab chos bzhi) comprise (i) the secret path, (ii) the profound path, (iii) the protectors of Virūpa, and (iv) the Vajravidāraṇa. See Dhongthog Rinpoche 2016, 246n200.

47. Tib. go ’byed rnam gsal dpe brjod skad gnyis zung sbyor. Dhongthog Rinpoche 2016, 98–100.

48. See Tsongkhapa 2013, 140, 277, 281–83, 359, 438–39.

49. On Mu Konchok Gyeltsen (1388–1469), see Stearns 2006, 246–47, 304.

50. Chojé Zung (Chos rje gzungs), also known as Dzongpa Zung-gi Pelwa (1306–1389), is counted among the disciples of Lama Dampa Sonam Gyeltsen in the lineage of the Path and Its Fruition.

51. See Drakpa Gyeltsen, in his Collected Works, vol. 3, pp. 383–87 on Khecarī; and pp. 410–36 on the central channel.

52. Kunga Zangpo, Useful Rites for All the Means for Attainments of Mahāyoga Entitled Ornament of All Secrets, in his Collected Works, vol. 3, pp. 239–85.

53. This refers to Tsongkhapa’s Exegesis of the Five Stages according to Cakrasaṃvara Entitled Opening the Eyes of the View concerning the Concealed Meaning, in his Collected Works, vol. 10, pp. 115–86.

54. This would be Taktsang Lotsāwa Sherab Rinchen’s Descriptive Basis of Cakrasaṃ-vara according to the Tradition of Ghaṇṭhāpāda, in his Collected Works, vol. 4, pp. 260–79.

55. Drakpa Gyeltsen, Elucidation of the Five Stages, in his Collected Works, vol. 3, pp. 242–63.

56. Pakpa Lodro Gyeltsen, Pith Instructions of the Five Stages, Collected Works, vol. 2, pp. 278–91.

57. The text of Tsokgompa Kunga Pel (1210–1307) and the notes of Zhang Dodé Pel (fl. thirteenth century) do not appear to be extant.

58. There is an extant translation by Marpa Chokyi Wangchuk of Vāgīśvaragupta’s Pith Instruction of Nondual Meditative Concentration of Glorious Cakrasaṃvara Entitled Fierce Inner Heat of Yoga, T 1508, TPD, vol. 11, pp. 1775–77.

59. Gungru Sherab Zangpo’s A General Description of the Four Stages and A Particular Exegesis of the Vital Essence of Spring have not been located in his extant works.

60. This can be seen in the final chapter of the Vital Essence of Spring, TPD, vol. 11, pp. 833–37, which refers to all four cakras. I have not located the Instruction Manual Entitled Oral Discussion (Khrid yig gsung bgros ma), which should not be conflated with Mu Konchok Gyeltsen’s Mind Training: Supplement to the Oral Tradition, translated in Jinpa 2006, 431–515.

61. Nub Cholung (gNubs chos lung). Sonam Rinchen appears to have flourished in the fourteenth century.

62. In 1435, Rinpung Norbu Zangpo (Rin pungs drung chen nor bzang) seized power from the Pagmodrupa dynasty following the death of King Drakpa Gyeltsen (r. 1409–1434). He became the governor (drung chen) of Tibet, and his son Donyo Dorjé inflicted a decisive defeat on the Pagmodrupa forces in 1478. Rinpung’s rule continued until they, in turn, were eclipsed by the Samdrubtsé fiefdom in 1565.

63. On the three appearances according to the Path and Its Fruition (lam ’bras snang gsum), see Stearns 2006, 25–27, and the commentary on pp. 319–94. Nordrang Orgyan (Compendium of Buddhist Numeric Terms, p. 330) enumerates them as (i) impure appearances, (ii) appearances of the sacred doctrine, and (iii) physical appearances.

64. This text may possibly be the Instruction on Cheating Death (T 2839), which is attributed to Ajitamitragupta, an epithet of Jetāri.

65. The eight freedoms and ten advantages (dal ’byor bco brgyad) form the initial contemplation of the common preliminary practices, which, in the context of the present work, are mentioned in chapter 7. They are enumerated above, chapter 1, n. 54.

66. Our text reads bod gdong for bong gdong.

CHAPTER 6: SUPPLEMENTARY HISTORICAL ANECDOTES

1. Khrid brgya’i brgyud pa’i lo rgyus kha skong, DNZ, vol. 18, pp. 99–116.

2. The longer and shorter texts concerning Vajravārāhī in the form Dvimukhā (Zhal gnyis ma’i gzhung che chung) are Śūnyatāsamādhi’s Attainment of the Pristine Cognition of the Real, T 1551, and his Transference of Pristine Cognition, T 1553.

3. The longer and shorter texts on Vajravārāhī in the self-decapitating form Chinnamuṇḍā (dBu bcad ma’i gzhung che chung) comprise Śrīmatī’s Means for Attainment of Decapitated Vajravārāhī, T 1554, and Virūpa’s Means for Attainment of Decapitated Vajravārāhī, T 1555. See English 2002, 94–103.

4. The longer and shorter texts concerning Vajravārāhī in the form Sarvārthasiddhā (Don grub ma’i gzhung che chung) comprise Avadhūtipā’s Means for Attainment of Sarvārthasiddhā, T 1552, and Advayavajra’s Rite of the Means for Attainment of Vajravārāhī Entitled Sarvārthasiddhā, T 1578.

5. Rite of Burnt Offerings (sByin sreg gi gzhung) is Buddhadatta’s Rite of the Burnt Offering of Vajrayoginī, T 1556, on which see English 2002, 384n4.

6. On Vārāhī according to the pith instructions of Oḍḍiyāna (oḍḍiyāna gsang ba’i man ngag gi phag mo), see also English 2002, 75.

7. This is also attributed to Avadhūtipā. It is possible that this reference may denote another text attributed to Śabaripā entitled the Means for Attainment of Vajrayoginī, T 1550.

8. See English 2002, 50.

9. These denote the four successions of the transmitted teachings (bka’ babs bzhi) that fell to Tilopā and Nāropā. Among them, the first line of succession was from Vajradhara through Indrabhūti the Great, Sahajayoginī, Bhisukalpa, Saraha, and Nāgārjuna. It concerned the Tantra of the Secret Assembly, the Tantra of the Four Adamantine Seats, and the oral instructions of illusory body and transference of consciousness from the Six Doctrines. The second line of succession was from Vajradhara, through Jñānaḍākinī, Kukkurāja, and Caryāpā. It concerned the Tantra of Mahāmāyā and the oral instructions of dream yoga from the Six Doctrines. The third line of succession was from Vajradhara, through Vajrapāṇi, Ḍombī Heruka, Vīṇāpavajra, and Kambalapāda. It concerned the mother tantras headed by Cakrasaṃvara, and the oral instructions of luminosity from the Six Doctrines. The fourth line of succession was from Vajradhara, through Vajrapāṇi, Anaṅgavajra, Padmavajra, and Kusalibhadra. It concerned Hevajra, and the oral instructions of the fierce inner heat from the Six Doctrines.

10. On this guidebook attributed to Karmapa Rangjung Dorjé, which is contained in DNZ, vol. 9, pp. 17–37, see below, chapter 9, n. 780.

11. Elsewhere she is considered to have been Nāropā’s sister.

12. The five culminations (mthar thug lnga) achieved by Khyungpo Neljor included Hevajra, the culmination of fierce inner heat; Cakrasaṃvara, the culmination of the action seal; Guhyasamāja, the culmination of the illusory body and luminosity; Mahāmāyā, the culmination of dream yoga; and Vajrabhairava, the culmination of enlightened activities. See Jamgön Kongtrul 2007, 233–36.

13. Clarifying the Six Doctrines (Chos drug gi tshig gsal) also known as The Inventory (Thems yig), by Khyungpo Neljor, copied down directly from Nigumā, is in DNZ vol. 11, pp. 9–10.

14. The general Nigumā and Shangpa cycles are contained in DNZ, vols. 11–12. The two tantras containing the quintessential Shangpa teachings—namely, the Tantra of the Ocean of Vows (sDom pa rgya mtsho’i rgyud) and the Tantra of the Precious Ocean (Rin chen rgya mtsho’i rgyud)—were not translated into Tibetan. Khyungpo Neljor received their teachings from Vajrāsanapāda. See Jamgön Kongtrul 2007, 248n47.

15. This quotation has not yet been identified.

16. The five signature Shangpa teachings are described in the mnemonic device of a tree as the roots, trunk, branches, flowers, and fruit. See Jamgon Kontrul 2007, 238–49.

17. The Three Nails of the Pith Instructions of Secret Attainment (gSang sgrub man ngag gzer gsum), committed to writing by Nyenton Chokyi Sherab based on the revelation of Sukhasiddhi, is contained in DNZ, vol. 12, pp. 315–28.

18. The Six Doctrines of Sukhasiddhi are contained in DNZ, vol. 12, pp. 299–313. Some chapters of the present anthology suggest that The Emanational Cakra of the Navel is a substitute or even an alternative title for The Inner Guidance of Nairātmyā, the guidebook that immediately follows.

19. These five aspects comprise enlightened mind (byang sems), divine body (lha sku), resolute devotion (mos gus), abiding nature (gnas lugs), and dedication (bsngo ba).

20. For an account of the legendary error of Buddhajñānapāda, who requested empowerment from an emanational maṇḍala rather than his teacher, see Dudjom Rinpoche 1991, 494–96.

21. DNZ, vol. 8, pp. 202–33.

22. Also known as Zhang Lotsāwa Jangchub-o (b. 1237).

23. There appears to be no extant teaching attributed to Tsami Sangye Drak and pertaining to Cakrasaṃvara, which is entitled On a Single Seat (sTan thog gcig ma).

24. Jigten Gonpo’s Tenfold Doctrinal Instruction (bCu chos) is contained in Drigungpa Anthology, vol. 30, pp. 305–22. Note that our text reads chos bcu for bCu chos.

25. Jigten Gonpo’s The Threefold Doctrine (gSum chos) is contained in Drigungpa Anthology, vol. 30, pp. 323–32.

26. These three stems (sdong po gsum) therefore comprise (i) the view that accords with the tradition of Gampopa (lta ba sgam po lugs), (ii) the oral instructions that accord with the tradition of Rechungpa (gdams ngag ras chung lugs), and (iii) the auspicious circumstances that accord with Tsangpa Gyaré’s own tradition (rten ’brel kho bo lugs). Respectively they pertain to the The Means for Attainment of the Guru, The Common Savor, and The Auspicious Circumstances.

27. The eight great instructions (khrid chen brgyad) of Tsangpa Gyaré are enumerated in the Ornament Adorning the Eight Great Instructions (DNZ, vol. 10, pp. 173–87) and may be paraphrased as follows: (i) the instruction on devotion to the teacher; (ii) the instruction of The Coemergent Union of the Great Seal that introduces ordinary minds to the genuine pristine cognition; (iii) the instruction of the extraordinary path of skillful means that actually and uncontrollably confers the coemergent pristine cognition by refining the auspicious circumstances of subtle energy and mind in the adamantine body; (iv) the instruction of unerring secret conduct and reversal meditation that accomplishes all things, carrying all common and uncommon misfortunes as an aid, allowing all harmonious circumstances to arise on the path, and all obstacles to be rendered harmless; (v) the instruction of profound pure visions and purification; (vi) the instruction that is impartial with respect to the eight worldly concerns; (vii) the instruction of loving-kindness and compassion that enables fortunate individuals to traverse in a short time the key stages of all profound and excellent paths that lead to enlightenment; and (viii) the instruction of causes and fruition, dependent origination, through which all things are dependently originated.

28. In succession, these were On Repa Darma Sengé (1177–1238), Zhonu Sengé (1200–1266), Nyima Sengé (1251–1287), Sengé Sherab (1236–1280), Pokya Rinchen Sengéwa (1258–1313), Sengé Gyelpo (1289–1325), Jamyang Kunga Sengé (1314–1347), Dorjé Rinchen (fl. fourteenth century), and Jamyang Lodro Sengé (1345–1390).

29. See below, chapter 9, n. 1043. The instruction known as the “vitality essence” (srog thig) corresponds to Ga Lotsāwa’s Heart Essence of Mahākāla, vol. 92, pp. 365–78.

30. This Instruction on the Book with a Sash (Be bum sku rags la gdams pa) would correspond to Ga Lotsāwa, Means for Attainment of Glorious Four-Armed Jñānanātha Mahākāla with Two Cakras according to the Kurakma Indic Text, DNZ, vol. 10, pp. 471–96. Pagmodrupa himself authored the Essential Instruction on Kurakma, in his Collected Works, vol. 7, pp. 447–60; and The Secret Attainment of Kurakma: A Pith Instruction of Profound Summation, in his Collected Works, vol. 4, ff. 408b–426b.

31. Texts representing these aspects of raven-faced Mahākāla (bya rog gdong can) are found in Drigungpa Anthology, vols. 91–92. The aspects with four cakras are exemplified in the Secret Attainment That Reveals the Oral Instruction of Glorious Mahākāla with Three Channels and Four Cakras, vol. 92, pp. 315–30; and the aspects with five cakras are exemplified in Uncommon Oral Instruction of Guidance on Mahākāla with Five Cakras, vol. 92, pp. 331–48. The aspects with two cakras include Secret Attainment of Kurakma with Two Cakras, vol. 92, pp. 259–86; and those with a single cakra include Kurakma: The Secret Attainment of Mahākāla with One Cakra, vol. 92, pp. 177–88. On the iconography, see Willson and Brauen 2000, nos. 351–353, 356.

32. This refers to the distinction between the lower rites (smad las) of exorcism and so forth, and the higher rites (stod las) of spiritual accomplishment.

33. Possibly Ratnagiri (Rin chen ri bo) in Odiviśa and Devagiri (Lha’i ri bo) in Mahārāṣṭra, near Ajanta.

34. The Seven Sections of Spiritual Attainment (Grub pa sde bdun) comprise the seven treatises contained in the first part of volume wi of the Derge Tengyur (TPD, vol. 26, pp. 3–191; T 2217–2223), which are respectively by Saroruhavajra, Anaṅgavajra, Indrabhūti, Lakṣmīkarā, Dārikapa, Cito, and Ḍombī Heruka.
   The Six Essential Cycles (sNying po bskor drug) comprise (i) the Treasury of Spiritual Songs by Saraha (T 2224), (ii) the Establishment of the Four Seals by Nāgārjuna (T 2225), (iii) the Pith Instructions of the Inconceivable Stage by Togtsepa (T 2228), (iv) the Purification of Mental Obscuration by Āryadeva (T 1804), (v) the Luminosity of Pristine Cognition by Devākaracandra (T 2226), and (vi) the Synthesis of Abiding by Sahajavajra (T 2227).
   The Twenty-Four Doctrinal Cycles of Nonmentation (Amansikāra, Yid la mi byed pa, a ma na si’i chos bskor nyi shu rtsa bzhi) are the works of Maitrīpā (also known as Advayavajra) contained in the Advayavajrasaṃgraha and in vol. wi of the Derge Tengyur. They are variously said to number twenty-four, twenty-five, or twenty-six (T 2229–2254; TPD, vol. 26, pp. 288–523). In our text, the number is given as twenty-two, and these are supplemented by four further texts, collectively known as the Four Doctrines Exhorted by Injunction (bKa’ yis bskul ba’i chos bzhi), making up the full cycle. On this corpus, see Higgins 2008, 255–303. Also on the variant listings of these texts, see Mathes 2009; and for a complete translation of the texts in this cycle, see Mathes 2015.

35. Translated in Guenther 1993, 106 (v. 75).

36. Generally, Luipā is given as the first and Vyāli as the last. See Robinson 1979. The order presented here—from the “holder of the sword, bull, and fish” (ral gri khyu mchog ro tsa na) to the “holder of the peacock and treasure vase” (rma bya gter gyi bum pa)—may perhaps suggest “from Khaḍgapa, Gorakṣa, and Luipā, to Śabaripā and Vyāli.”

37. See Robinson (1979, 23), who gives the king’s name as Kunji.

38. This is Abhayadattaśrī, Narrative of the Eighty-Four Accomplished Masters, pp. 413–556, translated in Robinson 1979; and Abhayadattaśrī with Vīraraśmi, The Essence of the Realizations of the Eighty-Four Accomplished Masters and Their Significance, pp. 562–667.

39. Dudjom Rinpoche 1991, 607–14.

40. Dudjom Rinpoche 1991, 617–35.

41. Dudjom Rinpoche 1991, 538–42; also 555–68.

42. This is the transmission of Aro Yeshé Jungné, on which see Dudjom Rinpoche 1991, 708n896.

43. Dudjom Rinpoche 1991, 510–13.

44. On the activities of Dungtso Repa, see Yeshé Gyamtso 2011, 201–2.

45. This would have been the year 1607.

CHAPTER 7: THE ORDINARY PRELIMINARY PRACTICES

1. Khrid brgya’i sngon ’gro thun mong ba, DNZ, vol. 18, pp. 117–20.

2. The verses of this quatrain in Tibetan are characterized by reduplication of the final syllable of each line, in the initial syllable of the following line.

3. See above, chapter 1, n. 54.

4. On this contemplation of impermanence and death, see Patrul Rinpoche 1994, 39–59.

5. Patrul Rinpoche 1994, 61–99.

6. Patrul Rinpoche 1994, 101–31.

7. Patrul Rinpoche 1994, 195–234.

8. Here, the emphasis is on the twofold practice of calm abiding (śamatha, zhi gnas) and higher insight (vipaśyanā, lhag mthong).

9. On the formulation of these “signature” quatrains of verse, see above, chapter 4, n. 3.

CHAPTER 8: THE EXTRAORDINARY PRELIMINARY PRACTICES

1. Khrid brgya’i sngon ’gro thun mong ma yin pa, DNZ, vol. 18, pp. 121–26.

2. These verses concerning the consecration of the terrain, cited by many authors of diverse traditions, derive from the Incantation Rite of the Extraordinarily Vast Aspiration of the Seven Sugatas Compiled from the Sutra, TPD, vol. 38, p. 909.

3. Each aspect of this visualization has an apparitional or apparent form (rnam pa) and an underlying essential reality (ngo bo). The truth of cessation (nirodhasatya, ’gog pa’i bden pa) denotes the fourth of the noble truths, the fruitional cessation of cyclic existence. The ten powers (daśabala, stobs bcu) mentioned here are those of the buddhas (daśatathāgatabala, de bzhin gshegs pa’i stobs bcu), comprising (1) qualitative knowledge that positive contingencies are indeed positive contingencies (sthānasthānayathābhūtaprajñāna, gnas la yang gnas su yang dag pa ji lta ba bzhin du rab tu shes pa); (2) qualitative knowledge that negative contingencies are indeed negative contingencies (asthānāsthānayathābhūtaprajñāna, gnas ma yin pa la yang gnas ma yin par yang dag pa ji lta ba bzhin du rab tu shes pa); (3) qualitative knowledge through contingencies and causes of the maturation of the past, future, and present actions of sentient beings, and of those who undertake such actions (atītānāgatapratyutpannasarvakarmasamādānahetuvipākayathābhūtaprajñāna, ’das pa dang ma ’ongs pa dang da ltar byung ba’i las rnams dang las yang dag par len pa rnams kyi rnam par smin pa gnas kyi sgo dang rgyu’i sgo nas yang dag pa ji lta ba bzhin du rab tu shes pa); (4) qualitative knowledge of multiple world systems and diverse sensory bases (nānalokadhātunānadhātuyathābhūtaprajñāna, ’jig rten kyi khams du ma pa khams sna tshogs pa yang dag pa ji lta ba bzhin du rab tu shes pa); (5) qualitative knowledge of the diversity of volitions and the multiplicity of volitions with respect to other sentient beings and other individuals (anyasattvpudgalanānādhimuktyanekādhimuktiyathābhūtaprajñāna, sems can gzhan dag dang gang zag gzhan rnams kyi mos pa sna tshogs nyid dang mos pa du ma nyid yang dag pa ji lta ba bzhin du rab tu shes pa); (6) qualitative knowledge of other sentient beings and other individuals who are of supreme acumen and those who are not (anyasattvpudgalendriyavarāvarayathābhūtaprajñāna, sems can gzhan dag dang gang zag gzhan rnams kyi dbang po mchog dang mchog ma yin pa nyid yang dag pa ji lta ba bzhin du rab tu shes pa); (7) qualitative knowledge of the paths that lead everywhere (sarvatragānīpratipadyathābhūtaprajñāna, thams cad du ’gro ba’i lam yang dag pa ji lta ba bzhin du rab tu shes pa); (8) qualitative knowledge of all the dissonant and purified mental states associated with the faculties, powers, branches of enlightenment, aspects of liberation, meditative concentrations, meditative stabilities, and formless absorptions (sarvendriyabalabodhyaṅgavim okṣadhyāna-samādhisamāpattisaṃkleśavyavadānavyuthānayathābhūtaprajñāna, dbang po dang stobs dang byang chub kyi yan lag dang rnam par thar pa dang bsam gtan dang ting nge ’dzin dang snyoms par ’jug pa’i kun nas nyon mongs pa dang rnam par byang ba dang ldang pa shes pa yang dag pa ji lta ba bzhin du rab tu shes pa); (9) qualitative knowledge of the recollection of multiple past abodes, and of the transference of consciousness at death and birth in respect of all sentient beings (anekapūrvanivāsānusmṛticyutyutpattiyathābhūtaprajñāna, sngon gyi gnas rnam pa du ma rjes su dran pa dang sems can rnams kyi ’chi ’pho dang skye ba yang dag pa ji lta ba bzhin du rab tu shes pa); and (10) qualitative knowledge that through one’s own supernormal cognitive powers one has actualized, achieved, and maintained in this very lifetime the liberation of mind and the liberation of discriminative awareness in the state that is free from corruption because all corrupt states have ceased (āsrvavakṣayayathābhūtaprajñāna, zag pa zad pa yang dag pa ji lta ba bzhin du rab tu shes pa).

4. On the significance of taking refuge, see Patrul Rinpoche 1994, 171–92.

5. These verses are found in the Maṇḍala Rite of the Transcendent Lord Glorious Cakrasaṃvara, TPD, vol. 11, p. 723, except for the last line, which reads dpal ldan he ru ka rang bya.

6. These verses are also found in Jamgön Kongtrul, All Requisite Quintessential Oral Instructions of the New and Ancient Traditions Useful for the Yoga of Retreat Sessions, GDKT, vol. 12, pp. 305–84.

7. Jamgön Kongtrul, All Requisite Quintessential Oral Instructions, GDKT, vol. 12, pp. 305–84.

8. This practice is analogous to the purification of Vajrasattva, on which see Patrul Rinpoche 1994, 263–80.

9. On the maṇḍala offering in general, see Patrul Rinpoche 1994, 283–95; and on the offering of the body maṇḍala in the context of Severance, see Patrul Rinpoche 1994, 297–307.

10. With regard to this conflation of macrocosm and microcosm, the substratum (ālaya, kun gzhi) denotes the ground-of-all, or its substratum consciousness. The four continents surrounding Mount Meru in traditional cosmology comprise Pūrvavideha, Jambudvīpa, Aparagodānīya, and Uttarakuru. The four immeasurable aspirations concern the cultivation of loving-kindness, compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity. The solar and lunar channels are the right and left channels of the subtle body. The red and white vital essences in their coarsest forms are menses and semen; see Gyalwa Yangonpa 2015, 289–92. The seven insignia of royal dominion (saptarājaratna, rgyal srid sna bdun) are those enjoyed by universal emperors during an ideal perfect age—namely, the wheel, the gemstone, the queen, the minister, the elephant, the horse, and the general (or the householder). The five solid viscera (don lnga) comprise the heart, lungs, liver, spleen, and kidneys, while the six hollow viscera (snod drug) comprise the stomach, gallbladder, large intestine, small intestine, urinary bladder, and the “reservoir for reproductive fluid” (sam se’u). See the illustrations in Parfionovitch et al. 1992, 1:43–44, 2:199–200.

11. The seven aspects of sublime spiritual wealth (’phags pa’i nor bdun) comprise faith, ethical discipline, generosity, study, conscience, shame, and discriminative awareness. See Dudjom Rinpoche 1991, 2:153.

12. These verses of maṇḍala offering are found in several sources within the Compendium of Sādhanas (sGrub thabs kun btus) anthology.

CHAPTER 9: THE ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHT GUIDEBOOKS

1. Zab khrid brgya dang brgyad kyi yi ge, DNZ, vol. 18, pp. 127–353.

2. Zhen pa bzhi bral gyi khrid yig. The author’s primary sources for the first guidebook are Nub Rigdzin Drak’s List of Instructions in the Form of a Memorandum, DNZ, vol. 6, pp. 315–17, translated in Jinpa 2006, 527–28; and Sakya Paṇḍita’s Instruction on Parting from the Four Attachments, in his Collected Works, vol. 1, p. 470; also DNZ, vol. 6, pp. 314–15, translated in Jinpa 2006, 525–26. On their antecedents, especially Drakpa Gyeltsen’s Root Verses of the Account of Sachen Kunga Nyingpo’s Encounter with Mañjughoṣa, and other related texts contained in the Cycle of Mind Training: Parting from the Four Attachments, DNZ, vol. 6, pp. 305–56, see the translations in Jinpa 2006, 517–66. As mentioned above, chapter 1, n. 2, the four attachments to be separated are (i) the attachment to this life, which is contrary to the sacred doctrine; (ii) the attachment to cyclic existence, which is contrary to emancipation; (iii) the attachment to self-interest, which is contrary to the enlightened mind; and (iv) the presence of grasping, which is contrary to the right view.

3. These are translated in Jinpa 2006, the former on pp. 527–28, and the latter on pp. 525–26.

4. Theg chen blo sbyong don bdun ma’i khrid yig. The primary source of the second guidebook is Tokmé Zangpo’s The Seven-Point Mind Training of the Great Vehicle, DNZ, vol. 4, pp. 189–214, which is also contained in the Collected Works of Tokmé Zangpo, Concise Interpretation of the Verses of the Aural Transmission of the Seven-Point Mind Training, and more elaborately in Great Aural Transmission of Mind Training. The earlier texts of Chekhawa and Sechilbupa are translated in Jinpa 2006, 83–132. The seven points respectively concern (i) the preliminary supporting teachings (sngon ’gro rten chos); (ii) refinement in the twofold enlightened mind—relative and absolute—that constitutes the main practice (dngos gzhi byang sems gnyis rab ’byongs), (iii) transforming negative circumstances into the path (rkyen ngan byang chub kyi lam du khyer ba), (iv) integration of a lifetime’s experiential cultivation (tshe gcig gi nyams len chig sgril); (v) the measure of mind training (blo sbyong pa’i tshad bstan pa), (vi) the precepts of mind training (blo sbyong gi bslab bya bstan pa), and (vii) the commitments of mind training (blo sbyong gi dam tshigs bstan pa).

5. Tokmé Zangpo, DNZ, vol. 4, p. 191. line 4–p. 192, line 2.

6. Tokmé Zangpo, vol. 4, p. 192, line 2–p. 195, line 6.

7. The substratum consciousness (ālayavijñāna, kun gzhi rnam par shes pa) is differentiated from the seven other aspects of consciousness (rnam shes tshogs bdun), including the five aspects of sensory consciousness, mental consciousness, and afflicted mental consciousness. See Jamgön Kongtrul’s explanation in Jamgön Kongtrul 2012, 511–30.

8. Tokmé Zangpo, DNZ, vol. 4, p. 195, lines 3–4.

9. That is to say, in walking, strolling, sitting, and sleeping.

10. The practice of exchanging compassion for the suffering of others (gtong len) is explained in Patrul Rinpoche 1994, 223–28.

11. Tokmé Zangpo, DNZ, vol. 4, p. 195, line 6–p. 202, line 5.

12. Tokmé Zangpo, vol. 4, p. 200, line 7.

13. Tokmé Zangpo, vol. 4, p. 202, line 5–p. 204, line 5.

14. On these five powers (stobs lnga)—(i) the power of the seed of virtuous action (dkar po’i sa bon stobs), (ii) the power of propulsion (’phen stobs), (iii) the power of familiarity (goms stobs), the power of eradication (sun byin stobs), and the power of aspirational prayer (smon lam stobs)—see also Jinpa 2006, 112–15.

15. Tokmé Zangpo, DNZ, vol. 4, p. 204, line 5–p. 205, line 6.

16. Tokmé Zangpo, vol. 4, p. 205, line 6–p. 208, line 5.

17. Tokmé Zangpo, vol. 4, p. 208, line 5–p. 214, line 3.

18. rTen ’brel snying po’i khrid yig. The primary source is attributed to the Jonangpa master Muchen Gyeltsen Pelzangpo (fl. thirteenth–fourteenth centuries), although his name does not appear in the lineage outlined above in chapter 1. There is an extant work by him entitled Profound Guidance on the Dependent Origination of Past Actions, Causes, and Fruition, but any relationship between the two texts is yet to be determined. Another version attributed to Tokmé Zangpo is found in the Collected Works of Tokmé Zangpo (Zhigatse ed.), pp. 193–200, and also in Kadampa Anthology II, pp. 287–300. The lineage prayer in chapter 1, on the other hand, ascribes the origin of this instruction to Dromtonpa, from whom the related Guide to the Heart of Dependent Origination, translated in Jinpa 2006, 423–429, possibly derives—its authorship has been attributed to both Dromtonpa and Puchungwa Zhonu Gyeltsen (see Jinpa 2006, n. 811).

19. The annotation in the text reads khyad par sngon ’gro.

20. The annotation in the text reads byams pa.

21. The annotation in the text reads snying rje.

22. The annotation in the text reads brje ba.

23. The annotation in the text reads gtong len.

24. These three ancillary meditations are explained in Tokmé Zangpo, Collected Works, pp. 199–200; also Jinpa 2006, 427.

25. sKyid sdug lam ’khyer gyi khrid yig. The primary source is Remdawa Zhonu Lodro’s Memorandum on the Teaching of Gyelsépa, which does not appear to be extant apart from the text contained in Tokmé Zangpo’s Collected Works (Zhigatse ed.), pp. 201–5. See also above, chapter 4, nn. 28–29. A related instruction is also translated in Jinpa 2006, 213–14, who in his n. 335 discusses the antecedents of this instruction in the writings of Śākyaśrī (1127–1225) and Tropu Lotsāwa Jampapel (1173–1236).

26. The carrying of happiness on the path by means of relative enlightened mind, which is discussed in this paragraph, appears to be missing from the extant text of Tokmé Zangpo and may possibly reflect Remdawa’s distinctive approach.

27. The introduction to happiness in the buddha body of reality (skyid pa chos skur ngo sprad pa) is discussed in Tokmé Zangpo, Collected Works, p. 202.

28. The introduction to happiness in the buddha body of perfect resource (skyid pa longs skur ngo sprod pa) is discussed in Tokmé Zangpo, Collected Works, pp. 202–3.

29. The introduction to happiness in the buddha body of emanation (skyid pa sprul pa’i skur ngo sprod pa) is discussed in Tokmé Zangpo, Collected Works, pp. 203–4.

30. Tokmé Zangpo, Collected Works, p. 203.

31. Tokmé Zangpo, pp. 204–5.

32. Tokmé Zangpo, p. 205.

33. Sum pa’i blo sbyong gi khrid yig. The primary source of this guidebook, attributed to Lama Dampa Sonam Gyeltsen (1312–1375), has not yet been identified in his extant Collected Works. The significance here is that it was he who imparted the instruction to Gyelsé Tokmé Zangpo, in whose Collected Works there is an extant Homage to the Teachers of the Aural Transmission of Sumpa Lotsāwa. A related text entitled Mind Training of Sumpa Lotsāwa is translated in Jinpa 2006, 215–16.

34. The dangerous passageway of the mental body (yid ’phrang) refers to the pitfalls that the mental body may experience during the intermediate state of the rebirth process, after death. See Dorje 2005, 273–303.

35. Ma gcig gi gcod kyi khrid yig. The primary source is Nyakton Samten Ozer’s Wish-Fulfilling Gem: An Instruction on the Inner Meaning, the third of the eight appendices to his Severance of Demonic Forces: Essence of Profound Meaning, pp. 71–96. Some phrases from that text have been inserted here in square brackets for the sake of clarity. Thanks to Sarah Harding for help in accessing these sources. Jamgön Kongtrul’s anthology on Severance is contained in DNZ, vol. 14, and translated by Harding in Jamgön Kongtrul 2016.

36. An annotation in the text here accordingly reads sngo ’gro lta ba| yum don sngo sprad pa.

37. Nyakton Samten Ozer, Wish-Fulfilling Gem, p. 81, line 7–p. 82, line 2.

38. Nyakton Samten Ozer, p. 82, line 2–p. 83, line 2.

39. Nyakton Samten Ozer, p. 83, line 8–p. 84, line 2.

40. Nyakton Samten Ozer, p. 84, line 2.

41. Nyakton Samten Ozer, p. 84, line 7–p. 85, line 1.

42. Nyakton Samten Ozer, p. 85, lines 5–6.

43. The annotation in the text accordingly reads bdud bzhi dbyings su gcod pa. The four devils to be severed are enumerated here (Nyakton Samten Ozer, Wish-Fulfilling Gem, p. 86, lines 5–7) as (i) devil of impeded senses (thogs bcas kyi bdud), (ii) devil of unimpeded thoughts (thogs med kyi bdud), (iii) devil that induces exaltation (dga’ byed kyi bdud), and (iv) demonic forces that induce egotistical pride (snyems byed kyi bdud).

44. Nyakton Samten Ozer, Wish-Fulfilling Gem, p. 87, lines 1–2.

45. Nyakton Samten Ozer, Wish-Fulfilling Gem, p. 87, line 3–p. 88, line 8. On this devil of impeded senses, see also Harding (2003) 2018, 117–18, 309–10; also Jamgön Kongtrul 2016, 303.

46. Nyakton Samten Ozer, Wish-Fulfilling Gem, p. 88, line 8–p. 90, line 7. On this devil of unimpeded thoughts, see also Harding (2003) 2018, 118–19, 310; also Jamgön Kongtrul 2016, 303.

47. Nyakton Samten Ozer, Wish-Fulfilling Gem, p. 90, line 7–p. 92, line 3. On this devil that induces exaltation, see also Harding (2003) 2018, 119, 310–13; also Jamgön Kongtrul 2016, 303.

48. Nyakton Samten Ozer, Wish-Fulfilling Gem, p. 92, line 3–p. 95, line 1. On this devil that induces egotistical pride or inflated pride, see also Harding (2003) 2018, 120–122, 313–316; also Jamgön Kongtrul 2016, 304.

49. An annotation in the text accordingly reads rjes spyod pa.

50. Nyakton Samten Ozer, Wish-Fulfilling Gem, p. 95, lines 1–8.

51. sNying po don gsum gyi khrid yig. The primary source, attributed to Mitrayogin and Tropu Lotsāwa, is contained in DNZ, vol. 16, pp. 605–7.

52. An annotation in the text indicates that these immediate perceptions refer to the intermediate state after death.

53. DNZ, vol. 16, pp. 605–7.

54. Sems nyid ngal gso’i khrid yig. The primary source is Yangtsewa Rinchen Sengé’s text, which appears to be no longer extant. Its antecedents include the revelation that Avalokiteśvara imparted to Mitrayogin, entitled Resting in the Nature of Mind, which is contained in DNZ, vol. 16, pp. 497–523. Its immediate successors include the contributions of Yangtsewa’s illustrious disciple Buton Rinchen Drub, whose compilation of relevant scriptural quotations from the sutras and tantras is found in DNZ, vol. 16, pp. 553–65.

55. The sevenfold posture of Vairocana that clarifies the meditative state of mind comprises (i) a straight spine, (ii) hands positioned in meditative equipoise, (iii) elbows slightly protruding, (iv) chin slightly lowered, (v) eyes unwavering, (vii) lips resting naturally with the tongue against the palate, and (vii) legs crossed in the adamantine posture. See Khenchen Thrangu 1993, 21–25, for a lucid and succinct explanation.

56. Tib. glang skyong ba.

57. On an earlier reference to the three metaphors of the swordsman, bull, and bird, see DNZ, vol. 16, p. 502, line 6–p. 503, line 3.

58. sKyes bu gsum gyi khrid yig. The primary source is Chimchen Namka Drak, Excellent Path of the Three Sorts of Person, contained in Kadampa Anthology II, vol. 47, pp. 227–66. Later works include Tāranātha’s Guidance on the Pith Instructions of the Three Sorts of Person on the Stages for Entering the Buddhist Teaching Entitled Nectar Essence, DNZ, vol. 3, pp. 181–273.

59. Among these, (i) the ripening results of any contaminated virtue or nonvirtue may be exemplified by the contaminated psychophysical aggregates that one presently has; (ii) results corresponding to their causes on the basis of past experience may be exemplified by the enjoyment or prosperity experienced in future lives by one who has practiced generosity in this life; (iii) results corresponding to their causes on the basis of past activities may be exemplified by the desire to perform negative deeds in this life when one has already performed negative deeds in past lives; and (iv) predominant results may be exemplified by rebirth in a negative environment due to having practiced negativity in former lives, and rebirth in a positive environment due to having practiced virtue in former lives.

60. The five acquisitive aggregates (pañcopadānaskandha, nyer len gyi phung po lnga) comprise physical forms, feelings, perceptions, formative predispositions, and consciousness. See Jamgön Kongtrul’s (2012, 477–531) presentation.

61. bsTan rim gyi khrid yig. The primary source of this guidebook, here attributed to Chim, is actually Drolungpa Lodro Jungné, The Great Sequence of the Teaching, Kadampa Anthology I, vol. 4, p. 35–vol. 5, p. 322. It takes the form of a commentary on Atiśa’s Lamp for the Path of Enlightenment. There is also a summary by the same writer, entitled Synopsis of the Great Sequence of the Buddhist Teaching, contained in Kadampa Anthology I, vol. 5, pp. 243–323. On this genre, see also Jackson 1996.

62. The text (p. 144, line 3) accordingly has the annotation tshul gnas.

63. On these distinctions from a Tibetan perspective, see Choying Tobden Dorje 2014, 242–54.

64. See Choying Tobden Dorje 2014, 255–91.

65. The text (p. 145, line 3) accordingly has an annotation that reads thos bsam sgom.

66. Srid zhi mnyam nyid kyi khrid yig. The primary source, the adaptation of Chimchen Namka Drak, has not yet been located elsewhere. There are other extant versions, including Rongton Sheja Kunrik, Essence of the Key to the Guidance on the Sameness of Existence and Quiescence, according to the Tradition of Atiśa, in his Collected Works, vol. 1, pp. 324–29; and Tsongkhapa Lobzang Drakpa, Guidance on the View of the Sameness of Existence and Quiescence, in his Collected Works, vol. 15, pp. 767–817.

67. This accords with the annotation kun rdzob, found in our text, p. 145, line 7.

68. This accords with the annotation don dam, found in our text, p. 146, line 5.

69. Literally “without negation or proof” (dgag sgrub bral ba).

70. dBu ma chen po’i khrid yig. The primary source, attributed to Jangsem Dawa Gyeltsen, has not yet been located elsewhere. There are other distinct but related texts, including the Sakya monk Yeshe Gyeltsen’s Pith Instruction of the Great Middle Way, contained in Kadampa Anthology I, vol. 22, pp. 5–28; and also Chimchen Namka Drak’s Guidance on the Middle Way, Kadampa Anthology II, vol. 17, pp. 171–208.

71. This accords with the annotation sngon ’gro, found in our text, p. 147, line 2.

72. The annotation here reads shes rab.

73. Here there is an annotation reading thabs.

74. Here there is an annotation reading thabs byung.

75. On the four sorts of physical activity (spyod lam rnam bzhi), see above, chapter 9, n. 9.

76. That is to say, the eight extremes (mtha’ brgyad) of arising, cessation, nihilism, eternalism, coming, going, diversity, and identity.

77. See the alternative translation of this guidebook in Kapstein 1996, 282–83.

78. bKa’ gdams lkog khrid kyi khrid yig. The primary source is said to be Shawo Gangpa’s Trilogy of Pulverizing, which does not appear to be extant as a distinct work; nor does any adaptation by Chimchen Namka Drak appear to be extant.

79. Thub pa’i khrid yig. The primary source for guidebooks numbered fourteen to seventeen, collectively entitled Four Deities of Kadam (bKa’ gdams lha bzhi), is Chimchen Namka Drak’s Instructions of the Four Deities of Kadam: Essential Fusion of the Path of Sutra and Mantra, DNZ, vol. 4, pp. 367–433. These four guidebooks respectively concern Munīndra, Avalokiteśvara, Acala, and Tārā. On their antecedent in the transmission to Atiśa, see Jinpa 2008, 80–94; and for iconographic and liturgical details, see Willson and Brauen 2000, nos. 39, 103, 174.

80. The three religious robes (tricīvara, chos gos gsum) comprise (i) the outer robe (saṃghāṭī, snam sbyar), (ii) the upper robe worn by all mendicants (uttarasaṅgha, bla gos), and (iii) the inner robe (antarāvāsa, mthang gos).

81. Calm abiding may be practiced with an external support (rten bcas kyi zhi gnas)—that is, physically present; or without an external support (rten med kyi zhi gnas)—that is, with a visualized object. In the former case, calm abiding may have a partial support, such as a stone or any ordinary object (cha shas kyi rten bcas), or a perfect support (rdzogs pa’i rten bcas), such as a buddha image or seed syllable. On the practice of calm abiding, see Khenchen Thrangu 1993, 17–62.

82. The nine phases of calm abiding (śamatha, gzhi gnas) comprise (i) mental placement (cittasthāpanā, sems ’jog), (ii) total or perpetual placement (saṃsthāpana, kun tu ’jog pa), (iii) definitive or integrated placement (nges par ’jog), (iv) intensified placement (upasthāpanā, nye bar ’jog), (v) controlling (damana, ’dul byed), (vi) calming (śamana, zhi bar byed), (vii) intensified calming (upaśamana, nye bar zhi bar byed), (viii) perpetual or one-pointed placement (rgyun gcig tu byed), and (ix) placement in meditative equipoise (samasaṃsthāpa, mnyam bzhag). See Jamgön Kongtrul’s presentation in Jamgön Kongtrul 2012, 428–29. Khenchen Thrangu (1993, 54) includes a chart depicting the relationship between these nine techniques of calm abiding and their associated mental powers and levels of engagement, which is based on Asaṅga’s Level of the Pious Attendants (T 4036).

83. The practice of higher insight (vipaśyanā, lhag mthong) focuses on the nonself of individual persons (pudgalanairātmya, gang zag gi bdag med), (ii) the nonself of phenomena (dharmanairātmya, chos kyi bdag med), (iii) the nonself of the causal basis (hetunairātmya, rgyu’i bdag med), and (iv) the nonself of the essential nature (svabhāvanairātmya, ngo bo’i bdag med). On this practice in general, see Khenchen Thrangu 1993, 54, 65–107.

84. Mi g.yo ba’i khrid yig.

85. The eight great nāgas (aṣṭamahānāga, klu chen brgyad) comprise Ananta (mTha’ yas), Takṣaka (’Jog po), Vāsuki (Nor rgyas), Śaṅkhapāla (Dung skyong), Padma (Pad ma), Mahāpadma (Pad ma chen po), Karkoṭa (sTobs rgyu), and Kulikā (Rigs ldan ma).

86. As below, the ten-syllable mantra (yi ge bcu pa) is OṂ CAṆḌA MAHĀROṢANA HŪṂ.

87. According to Vasubandhu (1988–90, chap. 3, vv. 85b–89c), one double arm span or bow span (dhanus, mda’ rgyang) equals four cubits (hasta, khru), one earshot (krośa, rgyangs grags) equals five hundred bow or double arm spans, and one yoking distance (yojana, dpag tshad, approximately 7,315 meters) equals eight earshots.

88. On Nezur Yeshé Bar (1042–1118), see also Treasury of Lives and (TBRC P1316).

89. sPyan ras gzigs kyi khrid yig. The pervasion of space with compassion is the hallmark of this guidebook.

90. “Sunlight” (sūryaprabha, nyi ma’i ’od).

91. “Power of the conqueror” (jinendra, rgyal ba’i dbang po).

92. “Great medication” (mahoṣadha, sman chen po).

93. “King of diversity” (chitrarāja, sna tshogs pa’i rgyal po).

94. The twelve branches of scripture (dvādaśāṅgapravacana, gsung rab yan lag bcu gnyis) altogether comprise discourses (sutra, mdo sde), proverbs in prose and verse (geya, dbyangs bsnyad), prophetic declarations (vyākaraṇa, lung bstan), verses (gāthā, tshig bcad), aphorisms (udāna, ched brjod), legends or frame stories (nidāna, gleng gzhi), extensive teachings (mahāvaipulya, shin tu rgyas pa), tales of past lives (jātaka, skyes rabs), marvelous events (adbhutadharma, rmad du byung), narratives (avadāna, rtogs brjod), fables (itivṛttaka, de lta bu byung ba), and established instructions (upadeśa, gtan phab). See the analysis offered in Butön Rinchen Drup 2013, 17–18.

95. “King of victory banners” (dhvajāgra, rgyal mtshan gyi rgyal po).

96. sGrol ma’i khrid yig. The function of this guidebook is to offer protection from fears.

97. For illustrations and descriptive detail of these eight aspects of Tārā, who protects from the eight fears or dangers, see Mullin and Watt 2003, 79–96.

98. Tā rā mkhyen.

99. Po to ba’i dpe chos kyi khrid. The primary source of this guidebook, attributed to the writings of Hor Kabzhipa Sengé Gyeltsen, does not appear to be extant apart from this synopsis. Its antecedent is the seminal text of Potowa Rinchen Sel (1027–1105) entitled The Parables of Potowa: A Heap of Gems, which is not included in DNZ but is published in Gangs can rig mdzod lde mig. The text takes the form of parables pointing to the compatibility and incompatibility of persons of the three sorts of capacity to engage in the practice of the sacred doctrine.

100. Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 2, pp. 17–19.

101. Mental inertia (yid ’dus) is here exemplified by meditative absorption, sleep, and torpor.

102. Potowa Rinchen Sel (Parables of Potowa, chap. 2, pp. 19–22), following Vasubandhu, adds faithlessness as a sixth stain to be abandoned.

103. Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 2, pp. 22–23.

104. Potowa Rinchen Sel, chap. 2, pp. 23–25.

105. Potowa Rinchen Sel, chap. 4, p. 32. The citation is from The Parables of Potowa: A Heap of Gems (dpe chos), root verses, p. 1. Note that our text reads sngon pa for ston pa. There are two parables here indicating that this guidebook has been authentically transmitted and not fabricated. The methods by which genuine teachers grant instruction, illuminating the path, are (i) by imitating one’s own teacher (that is, like a child in its father’s voice), and (ii) offering a last will and testament to the wind, which may or may not be disregarded.

106. On these parables, including “the wedding invitation” (gnyen sbron), see Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 5, pp. 32–44.

107. On these parables, including “the killing of a field mouse” (bra ba bsad pa), see Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 5, pp. 44–50.

108. On the parables from “the grass on a castle roof” (mkhar thog rtsva) to “the watchtower” (so kha’i mkhar), see Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 6, pp. 51–56.

109. On the parables from “the child losing its last morsel of food [in a time of famine]” (byis pa’i sne zan) to “cold sealing wax” (la cha grang mo), see Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 6, pp. 56–60.

110. On the parables from “dislike for this transient state” (’di na mi dga’ ba) to “the sthavira named Vṛddhaja” (rGan po skyes), see Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 7, pp. 60–77.

111. On the parables from “clutching at death” (shi sbar) and continuing through to the parable of “grassland [unwarmed by the evening sun]” (spang thang), see Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 7, pp. 77–81.

112. On the parables from “[positive actions] with positive returns” (bzang lan) to “[nonwithdrawal from the sacred doctrine] despite being enslaved by the trichiliocosm” (stong gsum bran khol) and “[not being swayed by hatred] even though one might be killed” (bsad kyang rung), see Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 8, pp. 82–96.

113. On the parables from “the loss of good fortune” (skal chad) to “being stuffed with tea and cheesecake [but lacking faith]” (ja thud ’grangs), see Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 8, pp. 96–104. Note that our text reads ja thug drang for ja thud ’grangs.

114. On the parables from “Nanda (dGa’ bo)” to “seeing the [irreversible] goal” (mtha’ mthong), see Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 9, pp. 105–11. Nanda was the younger half brother of Śākyamuni Buddha who was shown the defects of cyclic existence by the Buddha and eventually renounced them to attain arhatship.

115. On the parables from “the monkey in a trap” (rnyong la spre’u) to “[the reversing of] a falling boulder of copper ore” (zangs rbab [zlog]), see Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 9, pp. 112–20. Our text reads zang sbab for zangs rbab zlog.

116. On the parables from “bridling a horse” (rta la srab) to “the two divine princes” (lha gnyis bzhin), see Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 10, pp. 120–27.

117. On the parable from “crossing a river without being able to ford a ditch” (yur chu gtsang po) to “the eagle and the monkeys” (bya glag spre’u), see Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 10, pp. 127–34. Note that the latter parable is missing in our text, and that this section actually appears to have thirteen parables.

118. On the parables from “begging for alms” (bsod snyoms) to “two sibling monks of Gyel” (rgyal btsun spun), see Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 11, pp. 135–37. The former parable is missing in our text. With regard to the latter, the story goes that one of the siblings drank ale and the other did not. Not surprisingly, however, when the one who did drink visited Radreng, he returned home as a nondrinker, but the one who did not drink visited Lhasa and returned home as a drinker.

119. On the parables from “feeding off an invalid when hungry, in the manner of Bonpos and wild horses” (ltogs na nad pa bon po rta) to “finding a small room [in a blizzard]” (khang bu rnyed), see Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 11, pp. 137–42.

120. On the parables from “the well of gold bursting forth” (gser gyi khron rdol) to “the goat herder” (ra ’ded), see Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 12, pp. 143–48. The former suggests that disciples should not be distracted whatever the teacher says. If the teacher preaches without practicing the sacred doctrine, there will be no practical application.

121. On the parable from “the [functionless] water mill made of wood” (shing gi rang ’thags) to “the [impotent] castrated bull” (’og med glang ’dra) and “an ordinary agate stone [instead of a wish-fulfilling gem]” (mching bu), see Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 12, pp. 149–51. In the latter case, our text reads ’phying bu for mching bu.

122. On the parables from “the two [breastfed] babies—one with a mouth and one without a mouth” (bu chu kha can kha med)—to “[Potowa’s exemplary disciple] Sherab Yonten” (Shes rab yon tan), see Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 13, pp. 151–55.

123. On the parables from “[Potowa’s failed disciple] Ngapa Gyagar” (Ngang pa rgya gar) to “the child named Analé” (A na le), see Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 13, pp. 155–61.

124. On the parables from “the baby and a chick who are both dependent on its mother” (bu chung bye phrug ma la rag) to “[Nāgabodhi] swallowing [Nāgārjuna’s] spittle [and attaining the first bodhisttva level]” (lud pa thob pa), see Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 14, pp. 161–66.

125. On the parables from “[Atiśa’s disciple] Shik Chawa (Shig ’cha’ ba) to “the monkey’s [stolen] food” (spre’u yi zas), see Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 14, pp. 166–69.

126. On the parables from “the sweet ball of molasses” (bur sgor) to “our past history, [which has brought about our present excellent condition]” (nged kyi gna’ gtam), see Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 15, pp. 169–71. Note that our text reads rna gtam for gna’ gtam.

127. On the parables from “[the disconsolate bride] saying to her mother, ‘I have been [harmed]!’ ” (a ma nga ni) to “[the accepting] of an [inferior] goat or bird [as compensation] rather than a [superior] horse or a yak” (rta g.yag ra dang bya), see Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 15, pp. 171–72.

128. On the parables from “Atiśa (A ti sha) [who accumulated merits in former lives]” to “[meritoriously responding to Mangyul] while sitting on one’s seat” (stan la ’dug pa), see Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 16, pp. 173–81.

129. On the parables from “having acquired a body with unfavorable conditions” (mi khom lus blangs) to “having sold a [wish-fulfilling] gem [for a pittance]” (nor bu btsongs pa), see Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 16, pp. 181–85.

130. That is to say, the four conducive factors (’khor lo bzhi) for monks are (i) living in a facilitating place, (ii) relying on a holy person, (iii) making aspirational prayers, and (iv) accumulating merit. See Zhang Yisun et al., Great Tibetan-Chinese Dictionary, p. 413.

131. On the parables from “the pathway [to enlightenment]” (’gro sa lam) to “the resemblance of [remedial enlightened mind] to nectar” (bdud rtsi ’dra ba), see Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 17, pp. 185–87.

132. On the parables from “[the essenceless] plantain” (chu shing) to “the [hibernating] marmot” (’phyi ba), see Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 17, pp. 187–88. Note that our text reads ’chi ba for ’phyi ba.

133. On the parables from the “[mother’s nurturing of an infant from the size of] a worm [to the size of a yak]” (’bu srin [g.yag tsam]) to “[the stabbing of] an enemy with a sword” (ral gri dgra), see Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 18, pp. 188–91.

134. Tib. ba gtor. See Āryasūra 1895, 218–27. Note that our text reads bu stor for ba gtor.

135. Tib. chus khyer. See Āryasūra 1895, 234–44.

136. Tib. ma skyes dgra. See Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 18, p. 191.

137. On the parables from “the mother’s [love] for her child’ (ma ni bu la) to “[the loving sthavira] Gyelshé (rGyal she), see Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 19, pp. 192–95. On this figure, see also Roerich 1949, 1003. Our text reads rgyal sho for rgyal she.

138. On the parables from “the burning fire [of hatred]” (sreg byed me ni) to “[the limited loving-kindness of Jangpa Sherab Bar] in the face of his mother’s suffering” (ma la sdug), see Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 19, pp. 195–96. Our text reads ma la sgrig for ma la sdug.

139. On the parables from “[compassion] for the blind roaming in a wilderness” (dmus long ’brog ’khyams) to “[the incident] at Nadong [where Khampa Jampel’s mother suffered a dog bite]” (yul sna gdong), see Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 20, pp. 196–99.

140. On the parables from “the mantrin who slew a goat” (sngags pa ra bsad) to “the falcon and the wolf” (khra spyang), see Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 20, pp. 199–200.

141. On the parables from “the desire [of a thirsty man] for water” (chu ’dod) to “training in the seven attributes [of a bodhisattva]” (chos bdun bslab), see Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 21, pp. 202–13.

142. On the parables from “[inadequate aspiration] like a foe banished from the land” (dgra bo yul ’byin) to “the mantrin [deceitfully] selling butter” (sngags pa mar ’tshong), see Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 21, pp. 214–24.

143. On these parables, from “the snake slithering from its hole” (sbrul lkogs) to “[Jowo Rinpoché saying,] ‘I am skilled [in acts of liberality]’ ” (kho mkhas); as well as “the hermit monk” (dgon pa’i dge slong), “the reading aloud [of the sutras]” (kha ton klog), “the royal class [protecting the lowly]” (rgyal rigs), and “the mendicant dwelling in a fearsome place” (’jigs sa’i rab byung), see Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 22, pp. 225–29.

144. On the parables, from “an [oblivious] skunk attracted to butter” (mar la ti tos) to “the [unclean] feast offered by northern [brigands]” (byang pa’i ston mo), as well as “the wild [brigand] burned by fire” (mes tshig rgod), “the lion [in mendicant’s garb]” (seng ge) and “the [hypocrite] licking a butter lamp” (kong bu ldag), see Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 22, pp. 229–31.

145. On the parables from “[the nonattachment to] grass or impurities” (rtsva ba’am mi gtsang) to “the gilded manuscripts of the Transcendent Perfection of Wisdom” (gser ’bum), as well as “the absorbing [of all things] with moisture” (rlan gyis sdud), “[the able-bodied] person with legs and eyes” (rkang mig ldan), and the parables from “parents acting without sadness” (pha ma mi skyo) to “[acting on behalf of others as you would in the case of] your own body” (rang lus), see Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 23, pp. 234–49.

146. On the parables from “the [greedy] dog” (khyi ’dra) to “raising oneself up and then crashing down” (btegs nas brdabs), as well as “the incineration by the fire [of afflicted mental states]” (mes bsregs), “the wingless bird” (’dab gshogs med pa’i bya), and the parables from “selling a blanket at a loss” (snam bu bor btsongs) to “[the northern brigands] inflicting harm instead of benefit” (phan gnod skyel), see Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 23, pp. 249–57.

147. On the parables from “the earth [that supports all things]” (sa dang) to “[the travails of] Sadāprarudita” (rTag tu ngu), see Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 24, pp. 257–63.

148. On the parables from “the dog that cannot bear a load” (khyi khal mi theg) to “the glib [and false promise] of sweet [outcomes without prior effort]” (kha bde mngar ba), see Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 24, pp. 263–67.

149. On the parables from “[Ma of Penyul] acquiring the fortress [of Dro]” (phya mkhar thob ’dra) to “drinking [completely] whatever little one has” (nyung thug ’thung ba), see Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 25, pp. 267–74.

150. On the parables from “[old] tripe [shriveling in] fire” (grod lkogs me) to “[the misplaced efforts of] Semodru [of U]” (se mo ’bru ba), see Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 25, pp. 274–77. Note that our text reads drod lkog me for grod lkogs me.

151. On the parables from “pure water in a clean container” (dri med snod du chu gtsang) to “seeing [one’s past life] on the basis of an icon” (sku mthong shig), see Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 26, pp. 278–84. Note the alternative reading: sku mthong shi ba.

152. On the parables from “the impure vessel” (ma dag snod ’dra) to “the lady of the North [inexperienced in farming but proud of her harvest]” (byang pa mo bzhin) and “[the meditator] without signs [of realization]” (rtags med ’dra), see Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 26, pp. 284–89.

153. On the parables from “the sighted person [leading the blind]” (skyes bu’i mig) to “the excellent vase [that is never diminished]” (bum bzang), see Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 27, pp. 289–314.

154. On the parables from “hundreds [of blind people without a guide]” (brgya phrag) to “[a deer] chasing a mirage” (smig rgyu snyegs pa), see Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 27, pp. 314–24.

155. On the parables from “handcrafted [buddhahood]” (lag gi bzo byed) to “[the disciple who became accomplished despite misinterpreting] the mantra MARAṆA JAḤ” (ma ra [na] dza), see Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 28, pp. 324–26. On the parables from “[Atiśa finding] no [suitable teacher of mantras] in Tibet” (bod na mi ’dug) to “Apo [passing the buck and] saying he did not know” (nga la cha med a pho zer), see Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 28, pp. 326–33.

156. On the parables from “[the irrigation pool] fed by a mountain spring” (phu chu rdzing) to “Atiśa [encountering Ḍombīpa who was] of an inferior social class” (a ti sha dang rigs ngan bzhin), see Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 29, pp. 333–38.

157. On the parables from “the child who claimed not to be inferior to his] paternal ancestors” (pha mes) to “the brahmin who obtained the accomplishment of] swift-footedness” (rkang mgyogs), see Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 29, pp. 338–40.

158. On the parables from “[the perfected workmanship] of a goldsmith or silversmith” (gser dngul mgar ba) to “[the boatman crossing a river] with a safety towrope” (’brel thag can), see Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 30, pp. 340–46.

159. On the parables from “the [passing] comet [that self-destructs]” (skar mda’) to “offering someone a pull rope [after weighing him down with an anchor]” (sdog pas phul), see Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 30, pp. 346–49. Note that the text reads rtog pas phul for sdog pas phul.

160. On the parables of “the conclusive investigation of enemies” (dgra zin phye bar), “[the balanced raising of a grain container from] its four corners,” “[the accurate counting of Bon ritual ingredients required] for a single doughball” (zan rdog gcig), “the rubbing of sticks to make fire” (gtsub shing me), and “[the exemplary pursuits of] Sadāprarudita and Subhadra” (rtag tu ngu dang nor bzang), see Potowa Rinchen Sel, Parables of Potowa, chap. 31, pp. 350–53.

161. Thig le bcu drug gi khrid yig. The primary source is attributed to the memorandum of Nyukla Paṇchen Ngawang Drakpa (1458–1515) but seems not to be extant in his Collected Works. Kunga Drolchok also states that he himself rewrote it on the basis of the original. Related texts by Jamgön Kongrul and Konchok Tenpei Dronmé are contained in DNZ, including Liturgy of the Means for Attainment and Empowerment Rite of the Sixteen Spheres Entitled Ornament of Compassionate Emanation, DNZ, vol. 4, pp. 283–315; Quintessential Practice of Meditation and Recitation for the Sixteen Spheres, DNZ, vol. 4, pp. 317–26; and Jamyang Khyentsé Wangpo’s Quintessential Stages of Profound Guidance on the Sixteen Spheres according to Kadam Entitled the Boon of the Two Accomplishments, DNZ, vol. 4, pp. 327–49. The commentary by Khenchen Nyima Gyeltsen (1223–1305) is translated in Jinpa 2008, 395–452.

162. On the cultivation of the four spheres of the supporting maṇḍala (rten dkyil ’khor gyi thig le bzhi), the six spheres of the supported deities (brten pa lha’i thig le drug), and the six spheres of the teachers of the root lineage (rtsa brgyud bla ma’i thig le drug), which find their coalescence in the sphere of enlightened mind (byang chub sems kyi thig le), see Jinpa 2008, 395–452.

163. Jinpa (2008, 427–28) refers to this sphere as the generation of one’s own mind in the form of Mahākāruṇika.

164. Jinpa (2008, 428–30) refers to this sphere as the generation of oneself as Buddha Śākyamuni.

165. Jinpa (2008, 430–31) refers to this sphere as the generation of oneself as Avalokiteśvara with either four or forty arms.

166. Jinpa (2008, 432) suggests that this is associated with the third sphere, and that the visualization of Prajñāpāramitā has Atiśa Dīpaṃkara on the right and Śākyamuni on the left.

167. Jinpa 2008, 431–34.

168. Jinpa 2008, 434–38.

169. Jinpa 2008, 438–40.

170. In this context, the five recollections (rjes dran lnga) comprise (i) guruyoga, which is the recollection of the teacher (bla ma rjes su dran pa’i bla ma’i rnal ’byor); (ii) meditation on the nature of your body as the deity (lus lha’i rang bzhin du sgom pa); (iii) continuous recitation of mantra in your speech (ngag la sngags kyi bzlas brjod dang ma bral ba); (iv) meditations on emptiness, loving-kindness, and compassion, as the abiding nature of your mind (sems kyi gnas lugs stong pa nyid du sgom pa dang / byams snying rje sgom pa); and (v) the dedication of merit so that the roots of virtuous action might be perfected and refined (dge rtsa rdzogs byang du bsngo ba). See Dungkar Lobzang Trinle, Great Dictionary of Dungkar, p. 166.

171. Shes phyin bka’ babs drug gi khrid yig. The primary source of this guidebook has not yet been identified in Rongton Sheja Kunrik’s Collected Works. Mention is made, however, of these six descents (bka’ babs drug) in his Sequence of Practicing the Path of the Transcendent Perfection of Wisdom Entitled Lamp Clarifying Darkness, in his Collected Works, vol. 4, p. 4. Accordingly, the Six Descents of the Transcendent Perfection of Wisdom are sequentially associated with the following locations: the paradise of Tuṣita, source of happiness; the underworld of nāgas, source of resources; the learned paṇḍitas of Bengal, source of awareness; the southern land of Beta (Vaidarbha), source of enlightened attributes; the western land of Oḍḍiyāna, source of blessings; and the isle of Viśvakoṭacandana, source of wonder. Another text in his Collected Works entitled Safe Ford of the Path of Liberation Experientially Cultivating the Six Transcendent Wisdoms (vol. 1, pp. 115–17) is dissimilar in content.

172. Among these eight phases of clear realization, the three understandings (mkhyen pa gsum) comprise understanding of all phenomena (sarvākārajñāna, rnam mkhyen), understanding of the aspects of the path (mārgajñatā, lam gyi rnam pa shes pa nyid), and understanding of omniscience (sarvajñatā, thams cad shes pa nyid). The four applications (sbyor bzhi) comprise clear realization of all phenomena (sarvākārābhisambodha, rnam kun mngon rdzogs rtogs pa), culmination of clear realization (mūrdhābhisamaya, rtse mor phyin pa’i mngon rtogs), serial clear realization (ānupūrvābhisamaya, mthar gyis pa’i mngon rtogs), and instantaneous clear realization (ekakṣaṇābhisamaya, skad cig ma gcig gis mngon par rtogs pa). The fruition is the buddha body of reality (dharmakāya, ’bras bu chos sku). Interspersed through these eight phases of clear realization are seventy subtopics.

173. This most extensive version of the The Transcendent Perfection of Wisdom in sixteen volumes is not extant.

174. The sixfold summation (don bsdus drug tu ’byed pa) denotes the longer recensions, known as the “six mothers” (yum drug), which are respectively entitled (i) The Transcendent Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand Lines (Śatasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā, T 8, in twelve volumes, twenty-five fascicles, and seventy-two chapters); (ii) The Transcendent Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines (Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā, T 9, in three volumes, seventy-eight fascicles, and seventy-six chapters); (iii) The Transcendent Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines (Aṣṭādaśasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā, T 10, in two and a half volumes, sixty fascicles, and eighty-seven chapters); (iv) The Transcendent Perfection of Wisdom in Ten Thousand Lines (Daśasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā, T 11, in one and a half volumes, thirty-four fascicles, and thirty-three chapters); (v) The Transcendent Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Aṣṭasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā, T 12, in one volume, twenty-four fascicles, and thirty-two chapters); and (vi) The Verse Summation of the Transcendent Perfection of Wisdom (Prajñāpāramitāratnaguṇasañcayagāthā, T 13, in nineteen folios). The threefold summation (gsum du ’byed pa) denotes the reduction of these six to the long, medium, and short versions.

175. This refers to the analysis of the four sequential phases of application (rim sbyor; that is, phases iv–vii) and their many subtopics, including the four grades of ascertainment (nges byed bzhi) that denote the fourfold gradation of warmth, peak, acceptance, and supremacy experienced during the phase of culminating clear realization.

176. The pacification (zhi byed) of suffering is the theme of the next guidebook.

177. Zhi byed lam lnga’i khrid yig. This instruction originated in Tibet through Padampa Sangyé. The primary source of the present guidebook is attributed to Rongton Sheja Kunrik, although no text of this title is found in the ten volumes of his Collected Works, and his name does not figure in the corresponding lineage prayer in chapter 1. In content, however, the text corresponds to Nyemdo Sonam Pel’s Guidance of the Five Paths of the Pacification of Suffering, a Sacred Doctrine Derived from the Lineage of the Great Accomplished Master Dampa Sangyé, Entitled Oral Transmission of the Supreme Attainment of Taintless Light, DNZ, vol. 13, pp. 409–38. It is possible that Rongton’s notes were based on this work. The references that follow and the relevant comments in square brackets all derive therefrom. Coincidentally, the Collected Works of Rongton Sheja Kunrik (vol. 1, pp. 64–69) contain an unrelated instruction entitled Guidance on the Five Paths according to the Tradition of Atiśa. Jamgön Kongtrul’s complete anthology of the instructions on Pacification is translated by Harding in Jamgön Kongtrul 2019 (509–35), including Nyemdo Sonam Pel’s text with appended biographical information concerning the author.

178. Nyemdo Sonam Pel (DNZ, vol. 13, p. 413, line 5) reads bho lo ltar gzengs pa (bristling or upturned like the leaves of an elm tree). According to this interpretation, bho would be equivalent to ye ’bog (elm tree).

179. This is a simplified version of the refuge tree. The added text derives from Nyemdo Sonam Pel, DNZ, vol. 13, pp. 413–14.

180. Tib. gang du’ang ma ’ongs. The sense of this incomplete phrase is suggested in Nyemdo Sonam Pel, DNZ, vol. 13, p. 416, line 4.

181. Nyemdo Sonam Pel, DNZ, vol. 13, pp. 417–18.

182. Nyemdo Sonam Pel, vol. 13, pp. 418–19.

183. Nyemdo Sonam Pel, vol. 13, p. 419.

184. Tib. skam thag chu nang nas chod. On this obscure expression, see Nyemdo Sonam Pel, DNZ, vol. 13, p. 420, line 5–p. 421, line 1. This is an example of an “essential point that is counterintuitive or paradoxical” (gya log gi gnad), stating the opposite of what is generally accepted, as, for example, treating fevers with heat and chills with cold. See Jamgön Kongtrul 2019, 519.

185. Nyemdo Sonam Pel, DNZ, vol. 13, pp. 421–22.

186. Nyemdo Sonam Pel, vol. 13, p. 424.

187. Nyemdo Sonam Pel, vol. 13, pp. 424–25.

188. Nyemdo Sonam Pel, vol. 13, pp. 425–26.

189. Nyemdo Sonam Pel, vol. 13, p. 426.

190. Nyemdo Sonam Pel, vol. 13, pp. 427–28.

191. Nyemdo Sonam Pel, vol. 13, pp. 428–29.

192. Nyemdo Sonam Pel, vol. 13, p. 430.

193. Nyemdo Sonam Pel, vol. 13, pp. 430–431. These words attributed to Kamalaśrīvajra are found in Nyemdo Sonam Pel, DNZ, vol. 13, p. 431, line 1.

194. Our text reads ma bsnyes pa for bsnyes pa.

195. Nyemdo Sonam Pel, DNZ, vol. 13, p. 431.

196. Nyemdo Sonam Pel, vol. 13, pp. 432–33.

197. Nyemdo Sonam Pel, vol. 13, pp. 433–34.

198. Nyemdo Sonam Pel, vol. 13, p. 434.

199. Nyemdo Sonam Pel, vol. 13, p. 435.

200. Nyemdo Sonam Pel, vol. 13, p. 435.

201. Nyemdo Sonam Pel, vol. 13, p. 436.

202. Cf. Nyemdo Sonam Pel, vol. 13, p. 436.

203. Nyemdo Sonam Pel, vol. 13, p. 437.

204. sGom rim thog mtha’ bar gsum gyi khrid yig. The primary source is Rongtonpa’s three-part commentary that comprises the Commentary on the First Stage of Meditation Entitled Ornament Illuminating Calm Abiding and Higher Insight, the Commentary on the Second Stage of Meditation Entitled Moonbeams of Abiding, and the Commentary on the Final Stage of Meditation Entitled Drumbeat of the Gods. These are all found in his Collected Works, vols. 8–9. The antecedent is Kamalaśīla’s original text Three Stages of Meditation (Tribhāvanākrama). Among the three stages of meditation, the first emphasizes calm abiding and textual exegesis; the second emphasizes the integration of calm abiding with higher insight, along with experiential cultivation of the path; and the last emphasizes higher insight and the refutation of alien perspectives.

205. Byams pa’i chos lnga’i [sgom] khrid. The primary sources of this guidebook are the commentarial writings of Chomden Rikpei Reldri, four of whose relevant treatises are still extant, namely, (i) Flower Ornament Commentary on the Ornament of Clear Realization, Collected Works of Chomden Rikpei Reldri, vol. 4; (ii) Flower Ornament of Exegesis on the Ornament of the Sutras of the Great Vehicle, Kadampa Anthology III, vol. 61, pp. 415–66, and Collected Works of Chomden Rikpei Reldri, vol. 2, pp. 33–188; (iii) Flower Ornament Commentary on the Supreme Continuum of the Great Vehicle, Kadampa Anthology III, vol. 62, pp. 745–74; and (iv) Flower Ornament Commentary on the Distinction between Phenomena and Reality, Collected Works of Chomden Rikpei Reldri, vol. 5, pp. 669–96. His Flower Ornament Commentary on the Distinction between the Middle and Extremes appears to be no longer extant.

206. See above, chapter 9, n. 175.

207. See next note.

208. Ornament of Clear Realization is translated by Conze in Maitreyanātha 1954 and Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche 2004. See also the commentaries of Vimuktasena (T 3787) and Haribhadra (T 3791), translated in Sparham 2006–12. The practice of the six transcendent perfections—generosity, ethical discipline, tolerance, perseverance, meditative concentration, and wisdom or discriminative awareness—is the focus of the Six Mothers, on which see above, chapter 9, n. 174.

209. The three aspects of generosity (sbyin pa gsum) are material generosity (zang zing gi sbyin pa), fearless generosity (mi ’jigs pa’i sbyin pa), and doctrinal generosity (chos kyi sbyin pa).

210. The four additional transcendent perfections comprise method, power, aspiration, and pristine cognition. The refinement of the ten bodhisattva levels and the ten corresponding transcendent perfections is the focus of the Sutra of the Ten Levels.

211. Ornament of the Sutras of the Great Vehicle is translated in Maitreyanātha and Āryāsaṅga 2004, and with commentaries in Jamgön Mipham 2018. The points listed here suggest a progression from preparation through main practice to conclusion, and they appear to essentialize the content of the Ornament of the Sutras of the Great Vehicle, although the actual wording does not derive from that text, nor is it found in Chomden Rikpei Reldri’s source text, Flower Ornament of Exegesis on the Ornament of the Sutras of the Great Vehicle, Kadam Anthology III, vol. 61, pp. 415–66. I am grateful to Stephen Gethin for his comments on this passage.

212. On the eight aspects of consciousness, see above, chapter 9, n. 7.

213. Distinction between Phenomena and Actual Reality is translated in Jamgön Mipham 2004.

214. Distinction between the Middle and Extremes is translated by the Dharmacakra Translation Committee in Maitreya and Jamgön Mipham 2006. The expression “causally concordant conduct” (rgyu mthun spyod) here denotes the practice of the transcendent perfections. See Maitreya and Jamgön Mipham 2006, 126.

215. Maitreya and Jamgön Mipham 2006, 125–26.

216. Distinction between the Middle and Extremes, chap. 5, vv. 4–6, on which see Maitreya and Jamgön Mipham 2006, 126–29.

217. The ten facilitating modes of doctrinal conduct (grogs chos spyod bcu) comprise transcribing the scriptures, making offerings, generosity, study, reading, memorizing, explaining, reciting, reflecting, and meditating. See Distinction between the Middle and Extremes, chap. 5, v. 9, and Maitreya and Jamgön Mipham 2006, 131–32.

218. Distinction between the Middle and Extremes, chap. 5, v. 11a–b, on which see Maitreya and Jamgön Mipham 2006, 133–42.

219. See Five Treatises of Maitreya, Tib. ed, p. 149.

220. Supreme Continuum of the Great Vehicle is translated in Takasaki 1966 and Arya Matreiya and Acarya Asanga 1985. The seven adamantine topics (rdo rje’i gnas bdun) comprise buddha, sacred doctrine, monastic community, buddha nature, enlightenment, enlightened attributes, and enlightened activities.

221. The nine examples (dpe dgu) indicative of the presence of naturally luminous buddha nature are the buddha in a decaying lotus, honey amid bees, grains inside their husks, gold in filth, a treasure underground, shoots piercing their fruits, a buddha icon inside tattered rags, a future monarch in a poor woman’s womb, and an image of precious metal in a clay mold. See Arya Matreiya and Acarya Asanga 1985, 51–69.

222. Rang stong gi lta khrid. The primary source is said to be Patsab Nyima Drak’s Abridgement of the Essentials of the Root and Commentary of the Introduction to the Middle Way, which does not appear to be extant. Patsab Nyima Drak is well known as the translator of Candrakīrti’s Autocommentary on the Introduction to the Middle Way, which is an antecedent to this guidebook. Another important source is Remdawa Zhonu Lodro’s Great Commentary on the Introduction to the Middle Way. DNZ (vol. 4, pp. 549–64) contains a later text by Ngamring Mangto Ludrub Gyatso (1523–1596) entitled Essence of Nectar: An Instruction on the View of the Middle Way in Conformity with the Texts of the Two Great Promulgators.

223. gZhan stong gi lta khrid. The primary source of this guidebook is stated to be Tsen Khawoché’s Hook of the Lotus, which has not yet been located. DNZ (vol. 4, pp. 565–86) includes Jamgön Kongtrul’s own instruction, entitled Instruction on the View of Extrinsic Emptiness: Immaculate Moonlight of Adamantine Reality.

224. The two buddha bodies of form (gzugs sku gnyis) comprise the buddha body of perfect resource (longs spyod rdzogs pa’i sku) and the buddha body of emanation (sprul pa’i sku). On this distinction, see Dudjom Rinpoche 1991, 123–38; and on the three natures, see Jamgön Kongtrul’s explanation in Jamgön Kongtrul 2012, 59–61.

225. sBas don kun gsal gyi khrid yig. The primary source is stated to be Kunga Drolchok’s own writing, based on the advice of his teacher Zelmo Drakpa Drakpa Yeshé concerning the two hundred and thirty instructions of Bodongpa Choklé Namgyal’s enormous compilation entitled Summation of the Real. The content of this guidebook relates to many others within the One Hundred and Eight Guidebooks of Jonang, and appropriate cross-references have been added. There is a text entitled Elucidation of the Concealed Meanings [of Yogatantra] contained in Bodongpa’s Collected Works (vol. 71, pp. 417–503), but this focuses largely on Vajrabhairava and, with the exception of a single reference, it is not the source of Kunga Drolchok’s presentation. There are also interesting parallels in the tantra sections of Bodongpa’s Cornucopia Clarifying the Essential Doctrinal Practices of the Glorious Summation of the Real, pp. 313–412.

226. It is explained in Bodongpa Choklé Namgyal’s Elucidation of the Concealed Meanings [of Yogatantra] (p. 2, lines 5–6) that the eradication of hostile and obstructing forces (dgra bgegs tshar gcod pa) is based on Vajrabhairava, and the acceptance of fortunate disciples (skal ldan rjes ’dzin) is based on Akṣobhyavajra.

227. The Unelaborate Practice (sPros med) and The Four-Stage Yoga (rNal ’byor bzhi) correspond respectively to Kunga Drolchok’s guidebooks 64 and 65. See also Jamgön Kongtrul 2008, 148–52. In terms of Bodongpa’s Summation of the Real, this section corresponds to vols. 70–73 of his Collected Works.

228. The first four of these are mentioned in Choying Tobden Dorje 2017, 276–77; and on the Lobo Lotsāwa tradition in particular, see Jamgön Kongtrul 2008, 151–52.

229. Jamgön Kongtrul 2008, 151–52; Choying Tobden Dorje 2017, 276–77.

230. According to Jamgön Kongtrul (2008, 152n80), this text of Devākaracandra was not included in the Tengyur.

231. The text reads dag gdong for drug gdong.

232. Of these texts, The Mental Focus on the Horns of Bhairava corresponds to guidebook 66 in the present anthology.

233. Vajrapāṇi in the Form Mahācakra corresponds to guidebook 36 in the present anthology, and The Coemergent Union [of the Great Seal] (lhang cig skyes sbyor) to guidebook 83.

234. See Tsongkhapa 2013, 46–47. In terms of Bodongpa’s Summation of the Real, this section corresponds to vols. 59–70 of his Collected Works. Among these listed texts, the Tantra Requested by Devendra was not translated into Tibetan.

235. Tsongkhapa 2013, 60.

236. This corresponds to guidebook 62 in the present anthology.

237. Not extant in the Collected Works of Marpa Lotsāwa Chokyi Lodro. According to Tsongkhapa 2013, the Five Stages Perfected on One Seat (Rim lnga’i gdan rdzogs) is attributed to Serdingpa Zhonu O.

238. This corresponds to guidebook 63 in the present anthology.

239. The five syllables of great emptiness (stong chen yig ge lnga) are the five vowels, and the six syllables of the vital essence (thig le yig ge drug) are the six classes of consonants. See the detailed explanation in Jamgön Kongtrul 2005, 187–97. I have not yet located this in the Root Tantra (T 368), but there are references to EVAṂ in the Tantra of the Origin of Glorious Samvara (T 373).

240. The profound abodes are the twenty-four sacred places, divided into outer, inner, and extraneous categories of buddha body, speech, and mind. See below, chapter 9, n. 738. The ashé is visualized as the support of the fierce inner heat.

241. See guidebook 67 in the present anthology.

242. The one hundred sacral aspects (dam pa rigs brgya) are the psychophysical aggregates, elements, and consciousnesses in their purified state. See Dorje 2005, 388–94.

243. Cf. guidebook 73 in the present anthology.

244. Cf. guidebook 72 in the present anthology.

245. This pertains to guidebook 70 in the present anthology.

246. This corresponds to guidebook 69 in the present anthology.

247. See guidebooks 38, 68, and 75 of the present anthology.

248. This corresponds to guidebook 71 in the present anthology.

249. Cf. guidebook 34 in the present anthology.

250. These are exemplified in guidebooks 76–78, 81, and 90–92 of the present anthology. In terms of Bodongpa’s Summation of the Real, this entire section on Cakrasaṃvara corresponds to vols. 74–93 of his Collected Works.

251. Cf. guidebook 58 in the present anthology.

252. Cf. guidebook 11 in the present anthology.

253. Cf. guidebook 1 in the present anthology.

254. The sixteen methods of guidance listed here accord with the Tibetan commentarial tradition on the perfection-stage practices. They comprise (i) the guidance of the three purities (dag pa gsum khrid); (ii) the guidance of the three coemergent states (lhan skyes gsum khrid); (iii) the continuous guidance of the profound and illuminating river (zab gsal chu bo’i rgyin khrid); (iv) the guidance on the view that equipoises existence and quiescence (srid zhi mnyam sbyor lta khrid); (v) the guidance that introduces the meaning of the four innate coemergent states (gnyug ma lhan skyes bzhi don du ngo sprod khrid); (vi) the guidance on secret conduct with respect to the central channel by means of coercion (spyod pa thog rdzis kun ’dar gsang spyod khrid); (vii) the guidance combining three concealed exegeses of the introductory narrative (gleng gzhi sbas bshad gsum sbyor ba’i khrid); (viii) the guidance on the six-branch yoga (yan lag drug khrid)—composure, concentration, breath control, apprehension [of the complete deity], subsequent recollection, and meditative stability; (ix) the guidance on the four aspects of mingling, transformation, and discriminative awareness (bsre ’pho shes rab rnam bzhi); (x) the guidance on the means of separation from attachment (chags bral thabs khrid); (xi) the guidance of the alluring messenger (chags can pho nya’i khrid); (xii) the guidance on the balancing of the generation and perfection stages (bskyed rdzogs cha mnyam khrid); (xiii) the guidance on the perfection stage in which the body appears as a deity (rdzogs rim lus lha khrid); (xiv) the guidance on the final thoughts of clinging to the generation stage (bskyed rim zhen rtog mthar khrid); (xv) the attainment of the three roots combined (rtsa gsum dril sgrub); and (xvi) the guidance on devotion and the vitality of the teacher (mos gus bla ma’i srog khrid). In addition, there are sixteen extant commentaries on the Tantra of Hevajra, which are of Indian origin, and among these, two were not translated into Tibetan.

255. Cf. guidebook 43 in the present anthology.

256. Cf. guidebook 59 in the present anthology. In terms of Bodongpa’s Summation of the Real, this entire section on Hevajra corresponds to vols. 94–102 of his Collected Works.

257. The eighteen yogic exercises focusing on the fire within the channel of fierce inner heat (gtum mo’i me dmigs bco brgyad) derive from the Aural Lineage of Cakrasaṃ-vara (bDe mchog snyan brgyud). They are described individually in Thupten Phuntsok, Yogic Exercises of the Channels and Winds, pp. 11–20.

258. Contained in SLC, vol. 10, pp. 293–97.

259. Cf. guidebook 40 in the present anthology.

260. See Jamgön Kongtrul 2007, 189–90. In terms of Bodongpa’s Summation of the Real, this section on Kālacakra corresponds to vols. 113–18 of his Collected Works.

261. Cf. the seventeen transmissions outlined in Jamgön Kongtrul 2007, 290–91.

262. Tshe khrid. The primary source is stated here to be Kunga Drolchok’s own instruction manual. Its antecedent is the Guidance on Amitāyus according to the Tradition of Siddhirājñī, which derives from the instruction of Barawa Gyeltsen Pelzang (1310–1391), founder of a subbranch of the Drukpa Kagyu school. A related work entitled Profound Guidance on the Generation and Perfection Stages of Amitāyus according to the Tradition of Siddhirājñī: Ocean of Deathless Nectar is found in Drukpa Kagyu Anthology, vol. 23, pp. 506–66.

263. The four lower elements (’og ’byung ba bzhi) comprise earth, water, fire, and wind.

264. These are the five pure essences (dvangs ma lnga) of the five gross material elements: earth, water, fire, wind, and space.

265. sGrol dkar gyi khrid yig. The primary source, attributed to the oral teachings of Atiśa and entitled Instruction on Long Life through the Virtuous Lady Cintāmaṇicakra according to the Pure Tradition of Glorious Dīpaṃkara: A Basket of Nectar, is contained in GDKT, vol. 4, pp. 569–98. For iconographic and liturgical details, see Willson and Brauen 2000, no. 4.

266. The mantra of Tārā in the form Cintāmaṇicakra is: OṂ TĀRE TUTTĀRE TURE MAMA ĀYUR PUṆYE JÑĀNA PUṢṬIM KURU SVĀHĀ. See Willson and Brauen 2000, 237–39.

267. These verses employ the poetic ornament of repetition, whereby the final word of each line is repeated in the first word of the immediately following line. This is a feeble attempt to recreate the pattern in translation.

268. Tib. nang grub kyi skabs su ’khor ’das snod bcud kyi chos bcu bzhi. This enumeration is found in Terdak Lingpa’s Outer Attainment and Long-Life Empowerment of Amitāyus, Lord of the Dance, Entitled Downpour of Nectar, from the Profound Path: Gathering of All the Sugatas, RTD, vol. 24, no. 26, p. 390. This text states that these fourteen attributes are also found in other compatible modes of instruction, and adds that these all originate from the power and glory of the potent pure essences that are the attributes of the inhabited world and its sentient inhabitants.

269. Tshe dpag med dkar po’i khrid yig. The primary source, attributed to Chak Lotsāwa Chojé Pel, does not appear to be extant as a distinct text outside this anthology. The transmission stems from Mitrayogin. For iconographic and liturgical details, see Willson and Brauen 2000, no. 182.

270. dMar khrid dpal mo lugs kyi khrid yig. This guidebook is attributed to Atiśa’s disciple Yolton/Yolgom Chowang and is contained in the Cycles of Means for Attainment and Initiations for Eleven-Faced Sublime Avalokiteśvara according to the Tradition of the Nun Lakṣmī, GDKT, vol. 3, pp. 51–82. There is another short text in DNZ, vol. 17, pp. 22–25, by Jamyang Khyentsé Wangpo, entitled The Direct Guidance of Avalokiteśvara according to the Tradition of the Nun Lakṣmī: The Swift Path Integrating the Essentials of Experiential Cultivation. For iconographic and liturgical details, see Willson and Brauen 2000, no. 104.

271. dMar khrid zla rgyal lugs kyi khrid yig. The primary source is attributed here to both Dzimchen Gyeltsen Pelzang and Rongton Sheja Kunrik, although the antecedent of these instructions is traced to the bodhisattva Candradhvaja. A related text entitled Direct Guidance of Avalokiteśvara according to the Tradition of the Bodhisattva Candradhvaja is found in DNZ, vol. 17, pp. 39–40. Rongton Sheja Kunrik’s actual composition, The Direct Guidance on Avalokiteśvara according to the Tradition of the Bodhisattva Candradhvaja Entitled White Lotus, is contained in his Collected Works, vol. 1, pp. 398–402. I have not separately located either the brief notes of Zhang Ring Kyitsa Ochen or the extensive analysis by Dzimchen Gyeltsen Pelzang, although Kunga Drolchok states that these are all subsumed in the present guidebook.

272. The three deportments (’khyer so gsum) are those of buddha body, speech, and mind, on which see Nordrang Orgyan, Compendium of Buddhist Numeric Terms, p. 203.

273. dMar khrid tshem bu lugs kyi khrid yig. The primary source is attributed to Chojé Sherab Bumpa, a teacher of Tokmé Zangpo. It is not contained in DNZ, vol. 17, although it is listed in the catalog. See Jamgön Kongtrul 2013, 110n482. However, the text is found in Tokmé Zangpo, Memorandum on Mind Training Along with the Memorandum on the Direct Guidance, contained in Kadampa Anthology II, pp. 301–80; and in Sangyé Phuntsok, ed., The Doctrinal Cycle of Mahākāruṇika according to the Tradition of Tsembupa. On this transmission, see also Roerich 1949, 1043–44. Note that in the Tibetan text corresponding to this chapter 9, this guidebook precedes those of Lakṣmī and Candradhvaja, but the order has been rearranged here so as to conform to the earlier historical chapters.

274. In this context, the term five awakenings (byang chub lnga) would seem to refer to the five phases of manifest awakening (mngon byang lnga) experienced during the generation stage of meditation, commencing with the visualization (out of emptiness) of the moon disk, followed by the sun disk, the seed syllable, the symbolic attribute, and the complete form of the deity. There are also outer and inner explanations of these five awakenings (mngon byang lnga) that accord respectively with yogatantra and unsurpassed yogatantra, indicating how the physical body is formed. On this, see Gyalwa Yangonpa 2015, 224–30.

275. dMar khrid skyer sgang pa’i lugs kyi khrid yig. DNZ, vol. 17, pp. 8–19. The primary source attributed to Choku Śākya Rinchen appears not to be extant as a separate work outside this anthology.

276. bDe mchog gi dmar khrid. The primary source for this guidebook is Ghaṇṭāpāda’s shorter means for attainment entitled Coemergent Cakrasaṃvara (bDe mchog lhan skyes, T 1436). There are also other extant means for attainment of Cakrasaṃvara in the solitary hero form by Ḍombipā (T 1464) and Nāropā (T 1472). Kunga Drolchok also associates this and the immediately following guidebook with a nonextant work of Tokmé Zangpo entitled Direct Guidance on All the Meditational Deities in General. The virtually identical wording in these two guidebooks suggests a common origin.

277. The five meats (sha lnga) comprise elephant, human, horse, dog, and ox or peacock. The five nectars (bdud rtsi lnga) comprise excrement, urine, human flesh, blood, and semen.

278. Kye rdo rje’i dmar khrid. The primary source of this guidebook is said to be Ānandavajra’s means for attainment, possibly the one entitled Glorious Hevajra (T 1302). There is another extant text referring to the solitary hero form of Hevajra by Kṛṣṇacārin (T 1252). As stated above, Kunga Drolchok also associates this and the immediately preceding guidebook with an apparently nonextant work of Tokmé Zangpo entitled Direct Guidance on All the Meditational Deities in General.

279. Phyag rdor ’khor chen gyi khrid. The primary source of this guidebook is said to be Marton Chokyi Gyeltsen’s The Perfection Stage of Vajrapāṇi in the Form Mahācakra Endowed with Four Blessings. The actual Tantra of Vajrapāṇi in the Form Mahācakra is contained in GDKT, vol. 8, no. 46. There is also a short but incomplete tract concerning this perfection-stage practice by Akhu Ching Sherab Gyatso (1803–1875) entitled Continuing Explanation of the Perfection Stage of Vajrapāṇi in the Form Mahācakra.

280. This alludes to the process through which, according to the ancient Indian philosophical system of Sāṃkhyā, all phenomena unfold from the dichotomy of “soul and egocentricity of primal matter” (bdag gtso bo’i nga rgyal). See, for example, the Tibetan account of Longchen Rabjam in Choying Tobden Dorje 2017, 25–32.

281. See the diagrams and description of these four cakras in Rangjung Dorjé 2014, 198–208. There is also a detailed description of the four cakras and their channel branches in Gyalwa Yangonpa 2015, 230–59.

282. gTum po’i khrid. The primary source of this guidebook, formally entitled Inconceivably Secret Guidance of Vajrapāṇi in the Form Caṇḍa (Phyag rdor gtum po’i gsang ba bsam gyis mi khyab pa), appears to be based on a Jonangpa text attributed to Sangdak Drubchen, the teacher of Tulku Jodenpa (ca. 1292–1361). For similar iconographic and liturgical details, see Willson and Brauen 2000, nos. 156–58.

283. This guidebook alludes to three main aspects of Vajrapāṇi corresponding to ground, fruition, and path. These commence with Vajrapāṇi who appears to the minds of living beings as a sentient being (’gro rgyud sems can su snang ba’i phyag na rdo rje).

284. Vajrapāṇi who appears to fruitional minds as a buddha (’bras rgyud sangs rgyas su snang ba’i phyag na rdo rje).

285. Vajrapāṇi who appears to the minds of those on the path as a sublime being (lam rgyud ’phags par snang ba).

286. Literally, “in his lap” (pang na).

287. Phag mo kurma pā da’i khrid. The primary source of this guidebook is attributed to Chak Lotsāwa Rinchen Chogyel, but there appears to be no extant version outside the present anthology. For iconographic and liturgical details, see Willson and Brauen 2000, no. 85.

288. The five symbolic regalia (phyag rgya lnga) with which female deities are endowed comprise the crown ornament, the earrings, the choker, the bracelets, and the girdle.

289. Ku ru kulle’i khrid. Formally entitled The Secret Guidance of Kurukullā (Ku ru kulle’i gsang khrid), this secret practice is associated with the Sakya lineage and found in a selection of instructions, exemplified in Drakpa Gyeltsen, Collected Works, vol. 3, pp. 488–92. There are several other means for attainment in the Tengyur (T 1314–1318). For iconographic and liturgical details, see Willson and Brauen 2000, nos. 201–5.

290. See the diagram in Rangjung Dorje 2014, 199.

291. See the diagram in Rangjung Dorje 2014, 205.

292. This verse is cited in several texts with variant readings, for example, Jālandharipā’s Brief Exegesis of the Means for Attainment of Hevajra Entitled Pure Adamantine Lamp, TPD, vol. 5, p. 252.

293. sByor drug gi khrid. The primary source of this guidebook is Kālacakrapāda’s The Six-Branch Yoga (T 1732), which is also contained in DNZ, vol. 15, pp. 6–13. The Sanskrit sources are summarized and elaborated by Tāranātha in his Guidance on the Adamantine Yoga of the Profound Path Entitled Meaningful to Behold, Collected Works of Tāranātha, vol. 7, pp. 1–107; DNZ, vol. 15, pp. 133–231; and in his Tract on the Evidence of the Signs of Realization of the Six-Branch Yoga, Collected Works of Tāranātha, DNZ, vol. 15, pp. 233–68. For Jamgön Kongtrul’s presentation of the six-branch yoga, see Jamgön Kongtrul 2008, 154–61; and for his own elaborate commentary, see Khedrup Norsang Gyatso 2004, 439–584.
   According to the historical information presented in chapters 1, 4, and 5 of the present work, this instruction was originally recognized as the fortieth of the one hundred and eight guidebooks. It appears to have been moved later to become guidebook 90 in the sequence, as the numbering in the Tibetan text of chapter 9 suggests. For the sake of consistency, however, in this translation it has been moved to its more appropriate position, and the subsequent guidebooks from 41–90 have been renumbered throughout this present chapter.

294. See Thupten Phuntsok, Treasure Ocean of Tibetan Lexicography, p. 3451.

295. According to Tāranātha (Collected Works of Tāranātha, vol. 7, pp. 16–17; also DNZ, vol. 15, p. 150, lines 4–5), the four things to be disregarded (ltos med bzhi) are the resources of mundane body, speech, and mind, along with consciousness transference (’pho ba), but in this preliminary phase, only the first three are applicable.

296. The flow through the right nostril begins during each two-hour period with the wind of the earth element, and through the left nostril it concludes with the wind of the earth element. See Gyalwa Yangonpa 2015, 272. On the significance of the stabilizing wind of the earth element (sa rlung) for beginning the practice of the fierce inner heat, see also Gyalwa Yangonpa 2015, 276–77.

297. See Tāranātha, in his Collected Works, vol. 7, p. 32.

298. The monkey hour (dgong cha) refers to the late afternoon, before sunset. Our text reads dgongs cha.

299. Cf. the explanation of these ten signs in Tāranātha, in his Collected Works, vol. 7, pp. 33–35; also his Tract on the Evidence of the Signs of Realization of the Six-Branch Yoga, DNZ, vol. 15, pp. 240ff.

300. The expression “emptiness in all its finest aspects” (sarvākāraguṇopetaśūnyatā, rnam pa mchog dang ldan pa’i stong pa nyid) is elaborated in the context of extraneous emptiness (gzhan stong). It also denotes the continuum of the ground according to Great Madhyamaka. See Dudjom Rinpoche 1991, 169–77.

301. Jonang Kunpang Chenpo Mikyo Dorjé, Quintessential Commentary on the Six Branches, DNZ, vol. 15, p. 21, lines 2–4; also Tāranātha, in his Collected Works, vol. 7, pp. 41–42. The five ancillary aspects are (i) discriminative awareness, (ii) ideation, (iii) scrutiny, (iv) extraordinary joy, and (v) bliss of extreme physical refinement.

302. These are the certainties of place, time, and appearance endowed with the major and minor marks. See Tāranātha, DNZ, vol. 15, p. 249.

303. Cf. Tāranātha, in his Collected Works, vol. 7, p. 43–44; also Tāranātha, DNZ, vol. 15, pp. 249ff.

304. This posture is formed by the hands, legs, and elbows assuming the shapes of opposing triangles that resemble the stoves or hearths of a cooking tripod. These, in turn, have outer, inner, and secret aspects, so that they come to number eighteen. See Roberts 2011, 343. The posture is illustrated in Baker 2019, 157.

305. The gesture of the fist (khu tshur), also known as the “gesture of the adamantine fist” (vajramuṣṭi, rdo rje khu tshur), is formed with the ring finger extended and the others drawn in.

306. This text is commented on by Tāranātha, in his Collected Works, vol. 7, p. 45. The six verses state (i) once the channels have been refined by the adamantine recitations of the preliminary practices, the vital breath is induced into the central channel by applying the filling and release of gentle wind (’jam rlung dgang gtong); (ii) the vital breath that has been induced into the central channel is secured by applying the rough vase breathing (rtsub rlung bum pa can); (iii) if the vital breath is not induced or is not secured by these methods, the right and left channels should be blocked by applying the forceful method of rough breathing (rtsub rlung bstan thabs); (iv) when the lower gate has been forcefully closed by that blockage, liberation will be attained through the application of the upper gate; (v) the elixir of internal nectar will be savored by the threefold movement of the uvula; and (vi) the intermingling of the vital breath with the downward purgative wind and the attainment of deathlessness will be achieved by applying the ignition of the fierce inner heat. The first four of these pertain to the branch of breath control and the last two to the branch of retention.

307. These practices known as “adamantine recitations” (rdor zlas) are discussed in Tāranātha, in his Collected Works, vol. 7, pp. 45–47.

308. Tāranātha, Collected Works, vol. 7, pp. 47–48.

309. Tāranātha, vol. 7, pp. 48–51.

310. Tāranātha, vol. 7, pp. 53–56.

311. Tāranātha, vol. 7, p. 47–48.

312. Tāranātha (Collected Works, vol. 7, p. 48) notes that it is at this time that the filling and release of wind and the vase breathing should be applied.

313. The text here misreads song bsam dag for sor bsam dag.

314. Tāranātha, Collected Works, vol. 7, pp. 51ff.; and also under the fourth branch, retention, Collected Works, vol. 7, p. 64.

315. Tāranātha, Collected Works, vol. 7, pp. 61–68, discusses the fourth branch in detail.

316. Tāranātha, Collected Works, vol. 7, p. 63.

317. Tāranātha, Collected Works, vol. 7, pp. 77–78; also Rangjung Dorje 2014, 198–202. Our text reads rgya for brgyad.

318. Tāranātha, Collected Works, vol. 7, pp. 64ff.

319. Our text here omits the heart cakra, which has four and eight channel branches. See Tāranātha, Collected Works, vol. 7, p. 78; also Rangjung Dorje 2014, 202–4.

320. See Tāranātha, Collected Works, vol. 7, p. 78; also Rangjung Dorje 2014, 202–4.

321. See Tāranātha, Collected Works, vol. 7, p. 78; also Rangjung Dorje 2014, 204–6.

322. See Tāranātha, Collected Works, vol. 7, p. 78; also Rangjung Dorje 2014, 206–8, on the forehead cakra.

323. See Tāranātha, Collected Works, vol. 7, p. 78; also Rangjung Dorje 2014, 211–12.

324. See Tāranātha, Collected Works, vol. 7, pp. 83–84, where it is explained that yogins of lowest capacity who have thin generative fluid should depend on the action seal in addition to the Great Seal and the seal of pristine cognition, those of slightly thick generative fluid who are of average capacity should depend on the Great Seal and the seal of pristine cognition, while those of highest capacity who have extremely thick generative fluid should depend on the Great Seal alone.

325. That is to say, the seal of pristine cognition and the action seal. See Tāranātha, in his Collected Works, vol. 7, p. 84.

326. This fifth branch is discussed in detail in Tāranātha, in his Collected Works, vol. 7, pp. 69–86.

327. The text reads dus sbor gyi rlung for dus sbyor kyi rlung. These are the number of breaths taken by an average male in the course of a single day. On this term, see Thupten Phuntsok, Treasure Ocean of Tibetan Lexicography, p. 1513.

328. A single cycle of respiration (dbugs ’byung ’jug) comprises a single exhalation of breath followed by an inhalation of breath.

329. The sixth branch is discussed in Tāranātha, Collected Works, vol. 7, pp. 86–90; and on the attainment of the twelve levels in relation to the six cakras, see Tāranātha, in his Collected Works, pp. 100–101.

330. Dus ’khor snyan brgyud kyi khrid. The primary source of this guidebook is said to have been the writing of Khewang Rinchen Zangpo, who asserted his confidence in the unusual terminology of Menlungpa Sonam Pel. The latter had obtained this aural transmission of Kālacakra directly from Śambhala and integrated it with the terminology of the Great Perfection and Heruka Galpo cycles of the Nyingmapa, probably under the inspiration of Guru Chowang.

331. The following passage derives from Gampopa’s Synopsis of the Meditations of Sutra and Tantra, which is contained in the latter’s Miscellaneous Works (gSung thor bu). Words in square brackets reflect the original.

332. Our text reads khong slod for khong glod.

333. The exact source of this citation has not yet been identified. The title Total Liberation through Singular Knowledge (gCig shes kun grol) suggests some affinity with the revelations of Guru Chowang, as do the related Dzogchen terms mentioned above: “ease of singular resolution” (chig chod blo bde), “total liberation through singular knowledge” (gcig shes kun grol), “permeating all things in a singular utterance” (gcig brjod kun khyab), and the “unraveling of knots in a singular meditation” (gcig bsgom mdud grol). So far I have been unable to locate this passage in his extant writings, despite the occurrence of such terms in, for example, the Opening of Pristine Cognition: A Tract concerning the Empowerment of the Expressive Power of Awareness of Buddhasamāyoga according to the Yangti Class of the Great Perfection, Along with the Extensive Empowerments of the Expressive Power of Awareness according to the Chiti Class and the Ordinary Class, RTD, vol. 59, no. 1; the related Naturally Arising Pristine Cognition, Gathering and Elucidating the Instruction Manual of the Buddhasamāyoga according to the Yangti Class of the Great Perfection: Essence of All the Tantras, Transmissions, and Pith Instructions, RTD vol. 59, no. 2; and the Introduction to the Path of Pristine Cognition, the Extracted Liturgy of the Preliminary Practices for Buddhasamāyoga according to the Yangti Class of the Great Perfection, RTD, vol. 59, no. 3.

334. This long citation with verses of irregular length has not yet been identified.

335. The pure ten signs (rtags bcu rnam dag) are equivalent to the renowned monogram of the Kālacakra named rnam bcu dbang ldan, in which seven mantra syllables and three Sanskrit accents are vertically stacked. From top to bottom, the seven mantra syllables ha kṣa ma la va ra and ya, respectively, represent the blue realm of the gods of formlessness, the green realm of the gods of form, the multicolored realm of the gods of desire along with Mount Meru, the yellow earth element, the white water element, the red fire element, and the black wind element. The three accents comprise the visarga (rnam bcad), the biṇḍu (rjes su nga ro thig le), and the vibration (nāda).

336. These twenty-one thousand six hundred breaths are equivalent to sixty hours. See Khedrup Norsang Gyatso 2004, 602.

337. See above, chapter 1, n. 26.

338. O rgyan bsnyen sgrub kyi khrid. The primary source of this guidebook is attributed here to Dawa Sengé, Connecting Exegesis of the Rites of Service and Attainment Entitled Wish-Fulfilling Gem, DNZ, vol. 15, pp. 511–74. Its antecedents are to be found in the Ritual Service and Attainment of the Three Adamantine Realities, DNZ, vol. 15, pp. 499–509, and in the commentary of Sonam Ozer, which may no longer be extant.

339. The three postures of the upper, middle, and lower body, as explained below, respectively control the upper, middle, and lower winds. See Dawa Sengé, Connecting Exegesis, p. 514, lines 5–6.

340. Dawa Sengé, Connecting Exegesis, p. 517, lines 4–6–p. 518, line 1.

341. Dawa Sengé, Connecting Exegesis, p. 518, lines 4–5. On the primary and ancillary winds and their functionality, see also Gyalwa Yangonpa 2015, 264–70.

342. Here the text misreads stong du ’tshang na.

343. Dawa Sengé, Connecting Exegesis, p. 520, line 6–p. 521, line 2.

344. Dawa Sengé, p. 521, lines 3–4.

345. Dawa Sengé, p. 522, line 7–p. 523, line 2.

346. Dawa Sengé, p. 524, line 7–p. 525, line 4.

347. Dawa Sengé, p. 525, line 4–p. 526, line 1.

348. Dawa Sengé, p. 526, lines 1–5.

349. Dawa Sengé, p. 526, lines 5–7.

350. Dawa Sengé, p. 527, lines 4–6.

351. Dawa Sengé (Connecting Exegesis, p. 527, line 6) suggests that this should be done with mental focus on the movement of an individual’s own breathing, and in a nonconceptual disposition.

352. Dawa Sengé, Connecting Exegesis, p. 527, line 4–p. 528, line 1.

353. Dawa Sengé (Connecting Exegesis, p. 528, line 2–p. 530, line 2), by contrast, suggests that the shapes of these four planetary divinities correspond to those of the four elements in the sequence wind, water, fire, and earth.

354. Alternatively, the wind element is repeated here.

355. Dawa Sengé, Connecting Exegesis, p. 531, line 1–p. 532, line 1.

356. Dawa Sengé, p. 532, line 3.

357. Dawa Sengé, p. 532, line 3–p. 533, line 6.

358. Dawa Sengé, p. 533, line 7–p. 534, line 5.

359. Dawa Sengé, p. 534, line 7–p. 535, line 3.

360. The fourfold union denotes (i) the lower wind through which the maṇḍala of the element and the seat are visualized, (ii) the upper wind through which the seed syllables are visualized, (iii) the middle wind through which the hand emblems are visualized, and (iv) their union through which the deity is generated.

361. Dawa Sengé, Connecting Exegesis, p. 536, line 7–p. 537, line 6.

362. Or alternatively, bhasudhi.

363. Dawa Sengé, Connecting Exegesis, p. 537, line 6–p. 537, line 7.

364. Dawa Sengé, p. 537, line 7–p. 538, line 2.

365. Dawa Sengé, p. 538, line 2–p. 538, line 4.

366. The twelve great rites (las chen bcu gnyis) are enumerated in Nordrang Orgyan, Compendium of Buddhist Numeric Terms, p. 2774.

367. Dawa Sengé, Connecting Exegesis, p. 538, line 4–p. 539, line 2.

368. Lam ’bras bu dang bcas pa’i khrid. The primary source of this guidebook is Lama Dampa Sonam Gyeltsen’s Instruction Manual Elucidating the Concealed Meaning, DNZ, vol. 5, pp. 329–423. Its antecedents include texts attributed to Virūpa and Sachen Kunga Nyingpo, such as the Root Verses of the Path and Its Fruition, which are contained in DNZ, vol. 5, pp. 1–11, translated in Davidson 2005, 189–94. The origins of the system and this attribution are discussed in Davidson 2005, 183–89; and the lives of the early lineage holders are presented in Stearns 2001.

369. This is the first of the three categories of appearances (snang ba gsum) according to the Path and Its Fruition, on which see Lama Dampa Sonam Gyeltsen, DNZ, vol. 5, p. 338, line 4–p. 351 line 7; also Stearns 2006, 338–76.

370. On these distinctions, see Stearns 2006, 338–376.

371. Stearns 2006, 338–60.

372. Stearns 2006, 346–50; also Patrul Rinpoche 1994, 63–66.

373. Stearns 2006, 339–46; also Patrul Rinpoche 1994, 68–69.

374. Stearns 2006, 350–53; also Patrul Rinpoche 1994, 66–71.

375. Stearns 2006, 356–59; also Patrul Rinpoche 1994, 72–76.

376. Stearns 2006, 359–60; also Patrul Rinpoche 1994, 76–78.

377. Stearns 2006, 360–63.

378. Stearns 2006, 363–76.

379. See above, chapter 1, n. 54; also Patrul Rinpoche 1994, 22–30.

380. These comprise the realizations of pious attendants (śrāvaka), hermit buddhas (pratyekabuddha), and buddhas.