Guhyagarbha Tantra (with Commentary)
by Gyurme Dorje | 1987 | 304,894 words
The English translation of the Guhyagarbha Tantra, including Longchenpa's commentary from the 14th century. The whole work is presented as a critical investigation into the Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism, of which the Guhyagarbhatantra is it's principle text. It contains twenty-two chapters teaching the essence and practice of Mahayoga, which s...
Text 9.21 (Commentary)
[Guhyagarbha-Tantra, Text section 9.21]
Alternatively, with palms joined together,
And in the lap of the great seal.
One who is learned should confer (empowerment) in the maṇḍala
Which is a full finger-span in dimension,
In accordance with the ritual. [21][Tibetan]
yang-na thal-mo rab-bsnol-nas /
phyag-rgya chen-po'i 'phang-du-ni /
dkyil-'khor mdzub-gang tshad-du bya /
mkhas-pas cho-ga ji-bzhin-bya / [21]
Commentary:
[Empowerment in the Mandala of the Male Consort (3418.6-349.5)]
[The second part (of the empowerment into the supreme maṇḍala for those of highest acumen—see p. 812) is the empowerment in the maṇḍala of the male consort. (It comments on Ch. 9.21):]
There is another tradition derived from the (aforementioned) secret empowerment and the empowerment of discriminating pristine cognition in the maṇḍala of the female consort, in which it is revealed that the empowerment is received from the tip of the vajra (penis) of the male consort: Alternatively (yang-na), one who is learned (mkhas-pas) in the skillful means of bliss should visualise himself as the male consort, with palms (thal-mo) in meditative equipoise, joined together (rab-bsnol-nas) (with the female consort) as the great seal (phyag-rgya chen-po) or body of the deity. Then indeed (yang), in the lap of (phang-du-ni) (that deity), he should confer (bya) empowerment on the disciple by means of the pure-essence (=semen) in (du) the maṇḍala (dkyil-'khor) of his penis (guhyavajra) which is a full finger-span in dimension (mdzub-gang tshad).[1] This is done in accordance with the ritual (cho-ga ji-bzhin) of empowerment. Then, the empowerments are completely granted.
There are some who, in this context, first confer the empowerments of ability, and subsequently those of beneficence as a permissory blessing.[2] Or indeed they confer all these through the secret empowerment alone. However this refers only to those (students) of keenest acumen. They have not correctly perceived the statement found in the Sequence of Indestructible Activity Reality (P. 4720) that there is another (order) for those of feeble intelligence.
[This text itself says (Ch. 9.20):]
The empowerments of beneficence
And the empowerments of ability
[Should be given sequentially]
And received with compassion,
Such that they are not unproductive.
This passage mentions the empowerments of beneficence first. The order is such that the vase empowerment is found at the beginning, and is then followed by the secret one, the discriminating pristine cognition, and the fourth (empowerment).[3]
[Empowerment in the Mandala of Coloured Powders (349.5-369.4)]
The second part (of the detailed exegesis of the maṇḍala of images—see p. 812) is the empowerment into the maṇḍala of coloured powders for those of low acumen. This has three subdivisions, namely: the drawing of the maṇḍala; its means of attainment; and the result of this attainment.
[Drawing of the Mandala (349.6-353.6):]
The first of these also has three sections, namely, the rituals for the drawing of the small, intermediate, and large maṇḍalas.
[i. The drawing of the small maṇḍala (comments on Ch. 9.22):]
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Footnotes and references:
[1]:
Cf. Lo-chen Dharmaśrī, gsang-bdag dgongs-rgyan. pp. 271-2 who reads: "taking the female consort into the lap of the male consort, visualised as the great seal of the deity's body, the learned one should perform (the empowerment) in accordance with the ritual, in the supporting maṇḍala where pristine cognition is generated, i.e. the secret vajra (penis) which is symbolised by the five-pronged vajra, one finger span in dimension."
[3]:
This is the order in which the empowerments are presented in the author's synopsis, above, pp. 795-804, and also in works of the bka-ma tradition, e.g., Lo-chen Dharmaśrī, op. cit., pp. 241-280. Interestingly, it requires a rearrangement of the root-verses of the Guhyagarbha. which present the empowerments in the resultant sequence favoured by kLong-chen-pa's exegetical tradition. Cf. Ch. 5. above.