Do not be afraid! Do not be terrified! And do not be awed! Recognise this to be the buddha-body of your own intrinsic awareness. These are your own meditational deities, so do not be terrified. This, in reality, is the transcendent lord Vairocana and his consort, so do not be afraid. Recognition and liberation will occur simultaneously!
If, upon hearing these words, [the deceased] recognises the meditational deities, he or she will dissolve indivisibly [within them] and thereby attain buddhahood in the Buddha-body of Perfect Resource.
Yet should [the deceased], once again, flee in awe and terror and thereby not attain recognition, then, on the ninth day, the Vajra family of blood-drinking deities will come to escort him or her.
Again, calling the deceased by name, the introduction should be given with the following words:
O, Child of Buddha Nature, listen without distraction. He who is called the transcendent lord Vajra Heruka, of the Vajra family of blood-drinking deities, will arise from the eastern direction of your brain and appear before you. His body is dark blue in colour, with three faces, six arms and four legs, [firmly] set apart. His right face is white, the left red and the central face is blue. In his six hands he holds, on the right in the first hand, a vajra, in the middle one, a skull-cup and in the last hand an axe, and to the left, in his first hand, he holds a bell, in the middle one, a skull-cup and in the last a ploughshare. The female consort Vajrakrodheśvarῑ is embracing his body, her right hand clasped around his neck and her left offering a skull-cup filled with blood to his mouth.
Do not be afraid! Do not be terrified! And do not be awed! Recognise this to be the buddha-body of your own awareness. These are your own meditational deities, so do not be terrified. This, in reality, is the transcendent lord Vajrasattva and his consort, so do not fear them. Be devoted to them! Recognition and liberation will occur simultaneously!
If, upon hearing these words, [the deceased] recognises the meditational deities, he or she will dissolve indivisibly [with them] and thereby attain buddhahood in the Buddha-body of Perfect Resource.
Yet, if those individuals who are greatly obscured by past actions, again flee in awe and terror and thereby do not attain recognition, then on the tenth day, the Ratna family of blood-drinking deities will come to escort them.
Again, calling the deceased by name, the introduction should be given with the following words:
O, Child of Buddha Nature, listen without distraction. On the tenth day, he who is called Ratna Heruka, of the Ratna family of blood-drinking deities, will arise from the southern direction of your brain and appear before you. His body is dark yellow in colour, with three faces, six arms and four legs, [firmly] set apart. His right face is white, the left red, and the central face is a burning dark yellow. In his six hands he holds, on the right in the first hand, a jewel, in the middle one, a khaṭvāṅga and in the last hand a club and to the left, in his first hand, he holds a bell, in the middle one, a skull-cup and in the last a trident. The female consort Ratnakrodheśvarῑ is embracing his body, her right hand clasped around his neck and her left offering a skull-cup filled with blood to his mouth.
Do not be afraid! Do not be terrified! And do not be awed! Recognise this to be the buddha-body of your own awareness. These are your own meditational deities, so do not be terrified. This, in reality, is the transcendent lord Ratnasambhava and his consort, so be devoted to them! Recognition and liberation will occur simultaneously!
If, upon hearing these words, [the deceased] recognises the meditational deities, he or she will dissolve indivisibly [with them] and thereby attain buddhahood [in the Buddha-body of Perfect Resource].
Yet, even after receiving this introduction, there are those who, owing to their negative habitual tendencies, will nevertheless flee in awe and terror. Not recognising their own meditational deities, they will perceive them as Yama and thereby the recognition will not occur. So it is that, on the eleventh day, the assembled deities of the Padma family of blood-drinking deities will come to escort the deceased.
Again, calling the deceased by name, the introduction should be given with the following words:
O, Child of Buddha Nature, [listen without distraction]. On the eleventh day, he who is called the transcendent lord Padma Heruka, of the Padma family of blood-drinking deities, will arise from the western direction of your brain, in union with his consort, and appear vividly before you. His body is dark red in colour, with three faces, six arms and four legs, [firmly] set apart. His right face is white, the left blue, and the central face is dark red. In his six hands he holds, on the right in the first hand, a lotus, in the middle one, a khaṭvāṅga and in the last hand a mace and to the left, in his first hand he holds a bell, in the middle one, a blood-filled skull and in the last a small drum. The female consort Padmakrodheśvarῑ is embracing his body, her right hand clasped around his neck and her left offering a skull-cup filled with blood to his mouth.
Do not be afraid! Do not be terrified! And do not be awed! Contemplate them with joy. Recognise this to be the buddha-body of your own awareness. These are your own meditational deities, so do not be terrified. This, in reality, is the transcendent lord Amitābha and his consort, so be devoted to them! Recognition and liberation will occur simultaneously!
If, upon hearing these words, [the deceased] recognises the meditational deities, he or she will dissolve indivisibly [with them] and thereby attain buddhahood [in the Buddha-body of Perfect Resource].
Yet, even after receiving this introduction, there are those who are held back by their negative habitual tendencies and there are those who will not recognise their meditational deities because they have fled in awe and terror. The recognition not having been attained, so it is that, on the twelfth day, the assembled deities of the Karma family of blood-drinking deities, followed by the Gaurῑ, the Piśācῑ, the Female Gatekeepers, and the Īśvarῑ, will come to escort the deceased. Since an even greater fear and terror will arise if these are not recognised, again, call the deceased by name, and offer the introduction in the following words:
O, Child of Buddha Nature, listen without distraction. When the twelfth day comes, he who is called the transcendent lord Karma Heruka, of the Karma family of blood-drinking deities, will arise from the northern direction of your brain, in union with his consort, and appear vividly before you. His body is dark green in colour, with three faces, six arms and four legs, [firmly] set apart. His right face is white, the left red, and the central face is an awesome dark green. In his six hands he holds, on the right in the first hand, a sword, in the middle one, a khaṭvāṅga and in the last hand a mace and to the left, in his first hand he holds a bell, in the middle one, a skull and in the last a plough-share. The female consort Karmakrodheśvarῑ is embracing his body, her right hand clasped around his neck and her left offering a skull-cup filled with blood to his mouth.
Do not be afraid! Do not be terrified! And do not be awed! Recognise this to be the buddha-body of your own awareness. These are your own meditational deities, so do not be terrified. This, in reality, is the transcendent lord Amoghasiddhi and his consort, so regard them with intense devotion! Recognition and liberation will occur simultaneously!
If, upon hearing these words, [the deceased] recognises the meditational deities, he or she will dissolve indivisibly [with them] and thereby attain buddhahood [in the Buddha-body of Perfect Resource].
Based on the spiritual teacher’s [former] oral instruction, as one recognises these [visionary appearances] as the natural expressive power of awareness, naturally manifesting, liberation will occur. This is like one who recognises a stuffed lion-skin to be a stuffed lion. The nature of the stuffed lion is such that if its actual nature is not recognised it will generate awe and terror. But, as soon as someone points out what this really is, the façade is penetrated, and the fear dissolves. Similarly, here, when the assembly of blood-drinking deities arises, with their huge bodies and thick limbs, filling the whole of space, [the deceased] undoubtedl
y becomes awed and terrified. But, immediately upon hearing this introduction, the deceased will recognise the appearances to be natural manifestations [of actual reality], or to be their own meditational deities. [As this recognition occurs,] the two [aspects of inner radiance], the ‘mother inner radiance’, which was formerly [introduced] through the spiritual teacher’s guidance, and the ‘naturally arising child inner radiance’, [the experience of] which emerges subsequently [as the result of practice], meet together - in other words, like meeting an old friend, [the inner radiance] that dawns face to face with oneself does so in a naturally liberating manner and one will be naturally freed within [the expanse of] naturally radiant intrinsic awareness.
If this introduction is not received, even good persons may turn away at this point and continue to roam within cyclic existence. [As this occurs] then, the female wrathful deities, the eight Gaurῑ, and the eight Piśācῑ, [the latter] having diverse [animal] heads, will emerge from within the brain [of the deceased], and appear before him or her. Again, calling the deceased by name, the introduction should be given in the following words:
O, Child of Buddha Nature, listen without distraction! The eight Gaurῑ will now be emerging from within your own brain and appearing before you. Do not be afraid! From the eastern direction of your brain the white Gaurῑ, holding a human corpse as a cudgel in her right hand and a blood-filled skull in her left hand, will arise before you. Do not be afraid! From the southern direction, the yellow Caurῑ, shooting an arrow from a bow; from the west, the red Pramohā, holding a crocodile victory-banner; and from the north, the black Vetālῑ, holding a vajra and a blood-filled skull, [will arise]. From the south-east, the red-yellow Pukkasῑ, holding entrails in her right [hand] and eating them with her left; from the south-west, the green-black Ghasmarῑ, holding a blood-filled skull in her left [hand], stirring this with a vajra in her right hand and drinking awesomely; from the north-west, the white-yellow Caṇḍālῑ, tearing apart the head and body [of a bloated corpse], holding the heart in her right hand and eating the body with her left; and from the north-east, the blue-black Śmaśānῑ, tearing a head and body apart and eating them, [will arise]. These eight Gaurῑ, who are indicative of the [eight] classes [of consciousness], will emerge from within your own brain, and surround the five blood-drinking deities and their consorts. Do not be afraid!
O, Child of Buddha Nature, listen without distraction! The eight Piśācῑ, who are indicative of the sense objects, will emerge, and appear before you, encircling this array. From the east, the dark brown Siṃhamukhῑ, lion-headed, her two arms crossed on her breast, carrying a corpse in her mouth and shaking her mane; from the south, tiger-headed, the red Vyāghrῑmukhῑ, her two arms crossed, snarling and staring with bulging eyes; from the west, fox-headed, the black Śṛgālamukhῑ, holding a razor in her right hand, and entrails in her left, eating the entrails and licking the blood; from the north, wolf-headed, the black-blue Śvānamukhῑ, tearing apart a corpse with her two arms and staring with bulging eyes; from the south-east, vulture-headed, the white-yellow Gṛdhramukhῑ, carrying a large human corpse over her shoulder and holding a skeleton in [both] hands; from the south-west, kite-headed, the black-red Kaṅkamukhῑ, carrying a large corpse over her shoulders; from the north-west, crow-headed, the black Kākamukhῑ, holding a skull in her left [hand], a sword in her right, and eating a [human] heart and lungs; and from the north-east, owl-headed, the blue-black Ulūkamukhῑ, holding a vajra in her right [hand], wielding a sword in her left and eating flesh. These, the eight Piśācῑ, indicative of the sense objects, will emerge from within your brain and arise before you, encircling the five blood-drinking deities and their consorts. Do not be afraid! Recognise all that arises as the natural expressive power of awareness, manifesting naturally.
O, Child of Buddha Nature, the four Female Gatekeepers will also emerge from within your brain and appear before you. Recognise them! From the eastern direction of your brain the white horse-headed Aṅkuśā, a blood-filled skull in her left hand; from the south, the yellow sow-headed Pāśā, holding a noose; from the west, the red lion-headed Sphoṭā, holding an iron chain; and from the north, the green snake-headed Ghaṇṭā, holding a bell, will instantaneously arise.6 These, the four Female Gatekeepers, will indeed emerge from within your brain and appear before you. Recognise them, as they are your own meditational deities!
O, Child of Buddha Nature, on the periphery of these thirty deities, who are the wrathful Herukas [and their retinues], the twenty-eight Īśvarῑ will emerge from within your brain and appear before you. They will have diverse [animal] heads and bear diverse weapons. But, do not be afraid! Recognise all that arises as the natural expressive power of awareness, manifesting naturally. Now, at this most critical point, remember your spiritual teacher’s oral instructions.
O, Child of Buddha Nature, from the east, the six yoginῑ of the east will emerge from within your brain and appear before you: the brownish white yak-headed Manurākṣasῑ, holding [a vajra and] a skull; the yellowish white snake-headed Brahmāṇῑ, holding a lotus; the greenish white leopard-headed Raudrῑ, holding a trident; the bluish white weasel-headed Vaiṣṇāvῑ, holding a wheel; the reddish white brown-bear-headed Kaumārῑ, holding a pike; and the white black-bear-headed Indrāṇῑ, holding a noose of entrails in her hand.7 Do not be afraid!
O, Child of Buddha Nature, from the south, the six yoginῑ of the south will emerge from within your brain and appear before you: the yellow bat-headed8 Piṅgalā, holding a razor; the reddish yellow crocodile-headed Śāntῑ, holding a vase; the reddish yellow scorpion-headed Amṛtā, holding a lotus; the whitish yellow hawk-headed Saumῑ, holding a vajra; the greenish yellow fox-headed Daṇḍῑ, holding a cudgel, and the blackish yellow tiger-headed Rākṣasῑ holding a blood-filled skull in her hand.9 Do not be afraid!
O, Child of Buddha Nature, from the west, the six yoginῑ of the west will emerge from within your brain and appear before you: the greenish red vulture-headed Bhakṣasῑ, holding a club; the red horse-headed Ratῑ, holding a large torso; the pale red garuḍaheaded mighty one [Rudhiramadῑ, consort of Mahābala], holding a cudgel; the red dog-headed [Ekacāriṇῑ] Rākṣasῑ, wielding a vajra-razor in her hand; the red hoopoe-headed Manohārikā, firing an arrow from a bow; and the greenish red deer-headed protectress of wealth, [Siddhikarῑ, consort of Vasurakṣita], holding a vase in her hand.10 Do not be afraid!
O, Child of Buddha Nature, from the north, the six yoginῑ of the north will emerge from within your brain and appear before you: the bluish green snake-headed Vāyudevῑ, brandishing an ensign; the reddish green ibex-headed Agnāyῑ, holding a glowing fire-brand; the blackish green sow-headed Varāhῑ, holding a noose of fangs; the reddish green crow-headed Vajrā [Cāmuṇḍῑ], holding an infant human corpse; the blackish green elephant-headed Bhujanā, holding a club and drinking blood [from a skull]; and the bluish green snake-headed Varuṇānῑ, holding a noose of snakes in her hand.11 Do not be afraid!
O, Child of Buddha Nature, the four yoginῑ who are the [four] female gatekeepers will emerge from within your brain and appear before you: from the east, the white cuckoo-headed Vajrā [Mahākālῑ], holding an iron hook; from the south, the yellow goat-headed Vajrā [Mahāchāgalā], holding a noose; from the west, the red lion-headed Vajrā [Mahākumbhakarṇῑ], holding an iron chain; and from the north, the black-green snake-headed Vajrā [Lambodarā], holding a bell in her hand. These four yoginῑ, the female gatekeepers, will indeed emerge from within your brain and appear before you. Do not be afraid!
Since these twenty-eight Īśvarῑ emanate naturally from the expressive power of the naturally arising deities, which are the wrathful Herukas - recognise them now!
O, Child of Buddha Nature, through the expressive power of emptiness, the Buddha-body of Reality has arisen as the peaceful deities, recognise this! Through the expressive power of radiance, the Buddha-body of Perfect Resource
has arisen as the wrathful deities.12 Recognise this!
At this time, when the assembly of the fifty-eight blood-drinking deities manifests from within your brain, you should recognise all that arises as the naturally arising luminosity of your own awareness. Then, [if recognition occurs], you will immediately attain buddhahood, inseparable from the blood-drinking deities.
O, Child of Buddha Nature, if even now you do not recognise this [reality], and become afraid and turn away from the [visionary appearances], you will go on to experience yet further suffering. If recognition does not occur, all the blood-drinking deities will be perceived as Yama. You will be overwhelmed by fear, by awe and by terror at [the sight of] all the blood-drinking deities; and you will faint. Those [visionary appearances], which are natural manifestations [of actual reality], will [seem to] have become demons, and you will continue to roam in cyclic existence. But [even now], if you are not awed and not terrified, you will avoid the continued wandering within cyclic existence.
The Tibetan Book of the Dead Page 29