Acting on behalf of living beings in the form of a Piśācῑ,
Carrying a corpse in her mouth, and shaking her mane
To stir cyclic existence to its depths.
I bow down to red, tiger-headed Vyāghrῑmukhῑ,
Acting on behalf of living beings in the form of a Piśācῑ,
With her two arms crossed, and staring with bulging eyes
To overwhelm attachment to cyclic existence.
I bow down to black, fox-headed Sṛgālamukhῑ,
Acting on behalf of living beings in the form of a Piśācῑ,
Brandishing a razor, and devouring lungs and a heart
To purify dissonant mental states in their basic nature.
I bow down to blue-black, wolf-headed Svānamukhῑ,
Acting on behalf of living beings in the form of a Piśācῑ,
Tearing apart a corpse, and staring with bulging eyes
To stir the pit of cyclic existence.
I bow down to white-yellow, vulture-headed Gṛdhramukhῑ,
Acting on behalf of living beings in the form of a Piśācῑ,
Clawing a bloated corpse, and extracting the entrails
To sever the three poisons from their roots.
I bow down to red-black, kite-headed Kaṅkamukhῑ,
Acting on behalf of living beings in the form of a Piśācῑ,
Carrying a bloated corpse, draped over her shoulder
To extract [beings] from the pit of cyclic existence.
I bow down to black, crow-headed Kākamukhῑ,
Acting on behalf of living beings in the form of a Piśācῑ,
Brandishing a sword, and drinking blood from a skull
To consume and liberate dissonant mental states.
I bow down to blue-black, owl-headed Ulūkamukhῑ,
Acting on behalf of living beings in the form of a Piśācῑ,
Holding an iron hook,9 and carrying a blood-filled skull
To draw [beings] free from the false mentality of cyclic existence.
I bow down to horse-headed Aṅkuśā at the eastern gate,
Acting on behalf of living beings in the form of a female gatekeeper,
Horse-headed, white, and holding an iron hook,
The force of her immeasurable compassion
Guiding [those trapped in] cyclic existence away from the lower realms.
I bow down to sow-headed Pāśā at the southern gate,
Acting on behalf of living beings in the form of a female gatekeeper,
Sow-headed, yellow, and holding a noose,
The force of her immeasurable loving kindness
Constricting the false mentality [of beings].
I bow down to lion-headed Sphoṭā at the western gate,
Acting on behalf of living beings in the form of a female gatekeeper,
Lion-headed, red, and holding an iron chain,
The force of her immeasurable sympathetic joy
Shackling the dissonant mental states generated by ignorance.10
I bow down to snake-headed Gaṇṭhā at the northern gate,
Acting on behalf of living beings in the form of a female gatekeeper,
Snake-headed, green, and holding a bell,
The force of her immeasurable equanimity
Subduing the cognitive resonances of the five poisons.11
I bow down to the Projectress who Casts a Noose,12
Manifestation of the natural purity of reality,
Clothed in flayed hides, she unites the three levels of existence
With the [pure buddha] fields, however these may manifest,
And casts her noose of solar rays,
Projecting [beings of] the trichiliocosm into higher rebirths.
I bow down to the Projectress who Casts a Pike,13
[Holding] a blood-filled skull, and casting a pike,
She purifies the five dissonant mental states
To dispel permanently the diseases of conceptual thought,
The force of her compassion, rich in skilful means,
Projecting human beings into higher rebirths.
I bow down to the Projectress who Rings a Bell,14
Holding to her heart a blood-filled skull,
She subjugates the entire trichiliocosm
To secure ignorant sentient beings in [reality’s] expanse,
The resonance of her charisma
Projecting [beings of] the chiliocosm into higher rebirths.
I bow down to the Projectress who Carries a Garuḍa,15
Her body an exquisite white-yellow,
[Signifying] her proficiency in the rites of pacification and enrichment.
Holding to her heart a blood-filled skull
To overpower the five sensory desires,
She carries a vajra and a large garuḍa,
Projecting the gods into higher rebirths.
I bow down to the Projectress who Casts a Shooting Star,16
Her awesome body an exquisite blue-black,
[Holding] a vajra and casting a shooting star
To avert the intensity of ‘The Great Battle’,17
She drinks blood from a skull,
Projecting the antigods into higher rebirths.
I bow down to the Projectress who Holds a Thunderbolt-garland,18
Her body part red and part black,
[Signifying proficiency in the rites of] subjugation and wrath,
Her facial expression fixed in domination.
To purify and ease outer and inner obscurations,
[She wields] a vajra and thunderbolt-garland,
Projecting anguished spirits into higher rebirths.
I bow down to the Projectress who Wields an Eagle-feathered Banner,19
Her body part white and part black,
[Signifying] her proficiency in the rites of pacification and wrath,
Drinking blood from a skull
To dissolve delusion [into emptiness],
[She holds] a vajra and wields an eagle-feathered banner,
Projecting animals into higher rebirths.
I bow down to the Projectress who Holds a Sword,20
Her body part yellow and part black,
[Signifying] her proficiency in the rites of enrichment and wrath,
Drinking blood from a skull
To dissolve the hells into emptiness,
[She holds] a vajra and a sword,
Projecting the hell-beings into higher rebirths.
I bow down to yak-headed Manurākṣasῑ,
The brownish white yoginῑ, holding a vajra and skull.
I bow down to snake-headed Brahmāṇῑ,
The yellowish white yoginῑ, holding a vajra and lotus.
I bow down to leopard-headed Raudrῑ,
The greenish white yoginῑ, holding a vajra and trident.
I bow down to weasel-headed Vaiṣṇāvῑ,
The bluish white yoginῑ, holding a vajra and wheel.
I bow down to brown bear-headed Kaumārῑ,
The reddish white yoginῑ, holding a vajra and pike.
I bow down to black bear-headed Indrāṇῑ,
The white yoginῑ, holding a vajra and noose of entrails.
I bow down to bat-headed Vajrā,21
The yellow yoginῑ, holding a jewel and razor.
I bow down to crocodile-headed Sāntῑ,
The reddish yellow yoginῑ, holding a jewel and vase.
I bow down to scorpion-headed Amṛtā,
The reddish yellow yoginῑ, holding a jewel and lotus.
I bow down to hawk-headed Saumῑ,
The whitish yellow yoginῑ, holding a jewel and vajra.
I bow down to fox-headed Daṇḍῑ,
The greenish yellow yoginῑ, holding a jewel and cudgel.
I bow down to tiger-headed Rākṣasῑ,
The blackish yellow yoginῑ, holding a jewel and blood-filled skull.
I bow down to vulture-headed Bhakṣasῑ,
The greenish red yoginῑ, holding a lotus and club.
I bow down to horse-headed Ratῑ,
The red yoginῑ, holding a lotus and human torso.
I bow down to garuḍa-headed Rudhiramadῑ,
The pale red yoginῑ, holding a lotus and cudgel.
I bow down to dog-headed Ekacāriṇῑ,
The red yoginῑ, holding a lotus and vajra.
I bow down to hoopoe-headed Manohārikā,
The red yoginῑ, holding a lotus and a bow and arrow.
I bow down to deer-headed Siddhikarῑ,
The greenish red yoginῑ, holding a lotus and vase.
I bow down to wolf-headed Vāyudevῑ,
The bluish green yoginῑ, holding a crossed-vajra and ensign.
I bow down to ibex-headed Agnāyῑ,
The reddish green yoginῑ, holding a crossed-vajra and firebrand.
I bow down to sow-headed Varāhῑ,
The blackish green yoginῑ, holding a crossed-vajra and a noose of fangs.
I bow down to crow-headed Cāmuṇḍῑ,
The reddish green yoginῑ, holding a crossed-vajra and an infant corpse.
I bow down to elephant-headed Bhujanā,
The blackish green yoginῑ, holding a crossed-vajra and a bloated corpse.
I bow down to snake-headed Varuṇānῑ,
The [bluish] green22 yoginῑ, holding a crossed-vajra and a noose of snakes.
I bow down to cuckoo-headed Vajrā [Mahākālῑ],
The white gatekeeper, holding a vajra and iron hook.
I bow down to goat-headed Vajrā [Mahāchāgalā],
The yellow gatekeeper, holding a jewel and a noose.
I bow down to lion-headed Vajrā [Mahākumbhakarṇῑ],
The red gatekeeper, holding a lotus and an iron chain.
I bow down to snake-headed Vajrā [Lambodarā],
The blackish green gatekeeper, holding a crossed-vajra and a bell.
While reciting this prayer, all the male and female yogins present should remove their outer garments and, as they make [successive] full-length prostrations, they should respectfully pay homage [to the deities]. While respectfully narrating this eulogy in a melodious voice and enacting the hundredfold homage, one should mentally admit and feel remorse for all one’s negativities and obscurations, which have been, are being and will be accumulated.
This Natural Liberation of Negativity and Obscuration is an extraordinary [method for] purifying obscurations, by enacting in full the one hundred and ten homages23 to the Peaceful and Wrathful Deities. Whatever other [confessional] practices one may [generally] undertake, such as the Reparation and Confession of the Hells,24 the merits accrued by one who practises in this manner are immeasurable. Therefore, one should persevere diligently with the enactment of this Hundredfold Homage.
May [the influence of this] Natural Liberation of Negativity and Obscuration through [Enactment of] the Hundredfold Homage to the Hundred Sacred Enlightened Families of the Peaceful and Wrathful Deities not be exhausted until cyclic existence has been emptied.
This most profound teaching is an ancillary chapter of the Liberation by Hearing in the Intermediate States, a supporting text to the Reparation and Confession of the Hells, and a synopsis of the three editions [long, medium and short] of the Peaceful and Wrath ful Deities: The Ritual Purification [entitled Natural Liberation of Feelings]. It should be propagated everywhere and enacted energetically at all times without interruption.
7
Natural Liberation through Acts of Confession
CONTEXT
In addition to the experiential cultivation of the nature of the deity, as outlined in the previous two chapters, the act of confession plays an important role in purifying the negativity and obscuration that has, according to the Buddhist perspective, clouded our minds over a beginningless cycle of lifetimes.
In Buddhist practice this process of purification, which includes the reparation of commitments and vows, is enhanced by the engagement of the ‘four antidotal powers’. In the context of this cycle of teachings the four powers are:1. The power of reliance, which here refers to the visualisation of the hundred Peaceful and Wrathful Deities.
2. The power of the actual antidote, which here refers to the recitation of the Natural Liberation through Acts of Confession, together with the practice of the Hundred-syllable Mantra of Vajrasattva.
3. The power of remorse, which is the genuinely remorseful recollection of all negative acts previously committed.
4. The power of resolve, which is the pledge never to engage wilfully in such negative actions again.
Before beginning the confessional practice, it is recommended that the practitioner should make actual or mentally emanated offerings before his or her altar. Then, each afternoon, while sitting on the floor in front of the altar, the practitioner should engage in this practice, with the palms of the hands placed together, chanting the words lucidly and with conviction. For as long as practitioners have not gained full accomplishment in the practices of this cycle of teachings, inappropriate negative actions of body, speech and mind should be continuously confessed.
Herein is contained the Natural Liberation through Acts of Confession, in the Presence of the Peaceful and Wrathful Deities,1 an extract from the Peace ful and Wrath ful Deities: A Pro found Sacred Teaching, [entitled] Natural Liberation through [Recognition of] Enlightened Intention.2
I respectfully bow down to Samantabhadra, Mahottara,
And the assembly of Peaceful and Wrathful Deities!
May the degenerations [of our commitments] be purified!
In order that the degenerations [of our commitments] may be naturally purified, without being renounced, the [following] Natural Liberation through Acts of Confession, in the Presence of the Peace ful and Wrath ful Deities, which is an extract from the Peaceful and Wrathful Deities: Natural Liberation through [Recognition of] Enlightened Intention, is [now] presented. Be persevering in this regard, O Children of Posterity! SAMAYA!
This [confessional practice] is presented in six parts, namely: confession [in the presence] of the inexpressible truth, confession in the presence of the Peaceful Deities, confession in the presence of the Wrathful Deities, the plaintive confession of rampant egohood, confession in the presence of the view, and confession [in the presence] of all Those Gone to Bliss.
PRELIMINARIES
The invitation and request for [the confessional field] to be present
OṂO, supreme buddha-body of pristine cognition,
Even though, like the [clarity of the] waxing moon,
You are free from conceptual elaboration in this natural maṇḍala,
Your compassion [radiates to all] without bias, like the rays of the sun.
Please be present here, and attend to us!
The homage to the three buddha-bodies, which compose the Peace ful and Wrathful Deities
I bow down to the three buddha-bodies of the Peaceful and Wrathful Deities:
To the Buddha-body of Reality, the inexpressible and unwavering discriminative awareness,
To the supremely blissful Buddha-body of Perfect Resource, the lords of the five enlightened families,
And to the Buddha-body of Emanation: extensive, compassionate and skilful.
The three fold of fering of [outer] phenomena, [inner] cloud-masses, and secret [substances]
By arraying the vast and pure expanse of space,
With [billowing] clouds of unsurpassed Samantabhadra-like offerings,
Whether they be actually gathered together or imagined,
We dedicate [to you] oceans of outer, inner and secret offerings.3
The secret of fering of supreme bliss
May [the deities] be delighted by the non-dual ‘generative essence’4
Whose [blissful] single savour indicates a [pristine] state,
Where all the infinite maṇḍalas of the conquerors, without exception,
Are established,
beyond conjunction or disjunction,
In the secret womb of Samantabhadrῑ.
The affirmation of vows within the modality of the view
Since the nature of mind is the great expanse of reality,
And all things are pure atemporal inner radiance,
This yoga is itself the inexpressible and inconceivable expanse.
Everlastingly we bow down to the mind of enlightenment,
Which is [the realisation of] sameness!
The call to the assembly of Peaceful and Wrathful Deities for attention
ĀḤ In the atemporal omnipresence of the Great Perfection, which is Samantabhadra,
Is [displayed] the maṇḍala of the outer, inner, and secret arrays.
Here, the expanse of male and female deities is the [natural] purity of mundane existence,
The Tibetan Book of the Dead Page 14