13 Tib. ma-bdun sring-bzhi. On this group of eleven peripheral ḍākinῑs, who are classed as protectors in the retinue of Śrῑdevῑ, see Jigme Lingpa, dPal-chen ’dus-pa.
14 The wardens of the secret abodes (ti-ra gnas-nyul/ gnas-nyul chen-po) are the protector deities associated with the sacred power-places or pilgrimage places of Tibet.
15 Tib. rdo-rje rgyal-thab/thib.
16 Tib. bstan-pa’i sgron-me is here used as an epithet of the assistant vajra-master. DR, p. 416, reads: ston-pa’i sgron-ma.
17 Tib. sgrol-ging bdag-po is an epithet of Citipati, an acolyte of Yama, Lord of Death.
18 i.e. the four female gatekeepers of the wrathful assembly, Vajratejasῑ, Vajrāmoghā, Vajralokā, and Vajravetālῑ, who ‘summon and guide’ (’gug-’dren pho-nya).
19 The rampant egohood which can result from improper application of Buddhist practices, particularly the tantras, is exemplified by the archetypal demonic form Rudra, who is compassionately ‘liberated’ by the wrathful deities. Accounts concerning the past lives of Rudra are to be found in the mDo dgongs-pa ‘dus-pa, Chs. 22-31, 147.5.1ff.; in Yeshe Tshogyal, The Life and Liberation of Padmasambhava, Pt. I, pp. 26-47, and Longchen Rabjampa, GGFTC, pp. 1080-95.
20 Here we follow the Delhi reprint: byings. DR, p. 418, reads gYeng.
21 Tib. byams-mgon thugs-rje-can, i.e. Vajrasattva, to whom this entreaty is made.
22 lit. albugo (ling-tog).
23 Tib. kun-nas zlum-po’i thig-le.
24 Tib. DR, pp. 423-4, gzung-’dzin gnyis-su ’dzin-pa nyon-re-mongs/ rig-pa ye-shes klong-du bshags-par bgyi. Note that the Delhi reprint reads: yod-dang med-par lta-ba nyon-re-mongs/ rtag-chad med-pa’i ye-shes klong-du bshags.
25 On the practices pertaining to this distinction, see Longchen Rabjampa, GGFTC, pp. 900-914.
26 Tib. bhaga.
27 Tib. yi-dam phyag-rgya. On the linking of the seals of the deities and the recitation of mantra, see glossary under Seal and Mantras.
28 i.e. the secret name (gsang-mtshan) conferred by a vajra-master in the course of an empowerment ceremony.
29 Tib. mngon-rtogs.
30 The principal Nyingma text elucidating the integration of the vinaya, bodhisattva, and mantra vows expressed in this verse is Ngari Paṇchen’s Ascertainment of the Three Vows (sDom-gsum rnam-nges).
31 Tib. sKongs-bshags nyams-chags rang-grol. This text, which is included within the wider cycle of The Peaceful and Wrathful Deities: Natural Liberation [through Recognition] of Enlightened Intention, comprises both empowerments and generation-stage practices. See Appendix One.
32 According to the tradition of the treasure-doctrines (gter-chos), there are four kinds of seal associated with the transmission of such teachings, namely: the seal of commitment (samaya-rgya), the seal of treasures (gter-rgya), the seal of concealment (sbas-rgya), and the seal of entrustment or succession (gtadrgya ). See Dudjom Rinpoche, NSTB, Vol. 2, p. 77.
8 Natural Liberation through Recognition of the Visual Indications and Signs of Death
1 Tib. ’Chi-ltas mtshan-ma rang-grol. The recognition of the signs and portents of impending death is also discussed in the context of Tibetan medicine. See Tibetan Medical Paintings, pp. 47-52, and pp. 203-8.
2 Tib. Zab-chos zhi-khro dgongs-pa rang-grol.
3 Tib. bar-do thos-pa rang-grol. See Ch. 11.
4 For a discussion on the Buddhist phenomenological analysis of the aggregate of form (rūpaskandha), which constitutes the human body, see L. Pruden (trans.), Abhidharmakośabhāṣyam., Ch. 1, The Dhātus, pp. 63ff.
5 Indications or symptoms of untimely death (dus-min ’chi-ba) may be treated by ritual purification, as recommended in this text, or by medical means, on which see Tibetan Medical Paintings, p. 85. On the course of the lifespan principle within the body, see Tibetan Medical Paintings, p. 39.
6 The ritual deception of death (’chi bslu-ba) is the subject of Ch. 9.
7 It should be stressed that the specificity of the external signs of impending death and the prognostications listed here are to be understood in the context of the spiritual practices outlined in other chapters of this cycle, since the examination cannot be undertaken in isolation from them.
8 Tib. ’chi-bdag lag-tu song-ba. Lord of Death is an epithet of Yama.
9 i.e. one calendar day or lunar day (tshes), comprising twenty-four hours.
10 Vital breath is an aspect of vital energy (rlung; Skt. vāyu), on which see glossary under Vital Energy.
11 DR, Vol. 3, p. 181, l. 4, reads zhag ’ga’ (‘some days’), but we have taken the present reading from the Delhi reprint.
12 For an account of the examination of dreams from the perspective of Tibetan medicine, see Tibetan Medical Paintings, pp. 49-52, and 205-8.
13 Tib. rgyal-pos srog-gcad. Here we follow the Delhi reprint (p. 438, l. 3). DR, p. 182, l. 1, reads rgyal-po’i srog-bcad.
14 Tib. byang-chub mchog-tu sems-bskyed. See Ch. 1, pp. 14-15.
15 Tib. dbang-gsum dam-tshig. See glossary under Four Empowerments and Commitments.
16 See also Tibetan Medical Paintings, pp. 51-2; and for remote indications of death discernible to the physician approaching the residence of a patient, ibid., pp. 47-8. Note that DR, p. 186, l. 1, reads gzungs for gzugs.
17 i.e. the full-moon day of the lunar month.
18 This mantra is that of the ‘lord who subsumes the lifespan’.
19 The other suitable hand-implements (phyag-mtshan) include the vajra and bell.
20 The letter A is symbolic of emptiness (śūnyatā).
21 This cross-legged posture (rdo-rje skyil-krung) and folded hand-gesture of meditative equipoise (lag-pa mnyam-bzhag) are both aspects of the seven-point posture of Vairocana (rnam-snang chos-bdun), on which see glossary.
22 Tib. brtan-pa’i lha-dang bral-ba.
23 Tib. spyi-gtsug bzlog-na. Our reading here follows the Delhi reprint (p. 450, l. 2). DR, p. 188, 1. 6, has spyi-gtsug ’dug-na.
24 Tib. gnas-lugs zab-mo’i lta-ba.
25 Tib. rlung-yum shor-ba.
26 Note that DR (p. 191, 1. 2) and the Indian reprints all read ‘six months’ (zla-ba drug).
27 For a discussion on the elaborate procedures for urinalysis in general, see Tibetan Medical Paintings, pp. 139-48, and 295-304.
28 On this portent known as ‘setting of the unchanging sun at the summit of Mount Sumeru’ (ri-rab rtse-la mi-’gyur nyi-ma nub), the method of ritually averting death is unspecified in Ch. 9. Note that the Delhi reprint has an annotation adding that: ‘if, instead, there are small circles of light, this portends that the subject will fall ill’.
29 The Delhi reprint has an annotation adding that: ‘if, instead, there is a slight humming sound, this portends that the subject will fall ill’.
30 On this portent known as ‘rupturing of the Wish-granting Tree from the Summit of Mount Sumeru’ (ri-rab rtse-nas dpag-bsam ljon-shing chag), the method of ritually averting death is unspecified in Ch. 9. Note that the Delhi version has an annotation adding that: ‘if, instead, there is a slight trace of evaporation, this portends that the subject will fall ill’.
31 Yavati is more specifically identified as an acolyte of Mahākāla, or as an aspect of Pehar. The Delhi version has an annotation adding that: ‘if, instead, the tuft of hair stands up alone for a short time, this portends that one will fall ill’. On the posterior and pterion fontanelles subsumed in the phrase ltag-pa’i bdud-sgo-dag, see Tibetan Medical Paintings, pp. 249-50.
32 Tib. ’chi-ltas thor-bu. On this category of signs, which are also classified as ‘sudden changes relating to death’ (glo-bur rnam-gyur-gyi ’chi-ltas) within the Tibetan medical tradition, see Tibetan Medical Paintings, pp. 207-8.
33 See Chapter 10 for these practices.
34 As stated in Tsele Natsok Rangdrol, The Mirror of Mindfulness, p. 56, the sequence may alter as far as the dissolution of the outer elements is concerned.
35 At this juncture the secret sign of the impending luminosity appears lik
e a mirage, and the subject’s vision will become unclear. On this dissolution of the earth element into the water element, and its coincidence with the disintegration of the navel energy-centre of the body, see Tsele Natsok Rangdrol, The Mirror of Mindfulness, pp. 54-5.
36 At this juncture the secret sign of the impending luminosity appears like a misty smoke; and the subject’s hearing will become unclear. On this dissolution of the water element into the fire element, and its coincidence with the disintegration of the heart energy-centre of the body, see Tsele Natsok Rangdrol, The Mirror of Mindfulness, p. 55.
37 At this juncture the secret sign of the impending luminosity appears like red fireflies, and the subject’s ability to smell will cease. The location of the body from which the warmth recedes indicates the place of subsequent rebirth, as indicated on pp. 177-9. On this dissolution of the fire element into the air element, and its coincidence with the disintegration of the throat energy-centre of the body, see Tsele Natsok Rangdrol, The Mirror of Mindfulness , p. 55.
38 At this juncture the secret sign of the impending luminosity appears like a flaming torch, and the subject’s ability to taste will cease. On this dissolution of the wind element into the space element or consciousness, and its coincidence with the disintegration of the sexual energy-centre of the body, see Tsele Natsok Rangdrol, The Mirror of Mindfulness, pp. 55-6. The five sense-faculties and the sensory spectra are also dissolved at this juncture. From this point onwards, death cannot be reversed.
39 Note that in other texts of this genre, the descent of whiteness precedes the ascent of redness. However, Jigme Lingpa in his sKu-gsum zhing-khams sbyong-smon follows the sequence outlined here, and according to Tsele Natsok Rangdrol, op. cit., p. 57, it is uncertain whether the whiteness or redness will manifest first.
40 Tib. srog-rtsa. The so-called ‘black life channel’ (srog-rtsa nag-po) is identified with the aorta, in Tibetan medicine, while the ‘white life-channel’ (srog-rtsa dkar-po) is identified with the spinal cord. See Tibetan Medical Paintings, pp. 191-2, and 197-8.
41 On the significance of the syllables HI KA in the transference of consciousness (’pho-ba), see Ch. 10, pp. 203-4.
42 On the dissolution of consciousness into inner radiance (’od-gsal; Skt. prabhāsvara ) during the intermediate state of the moment of death (’chi-kha’i bar-do), see Ch. 11, pp. 227-34.
43 On the mother and child aspects of reality, otherwise known as the naturally occurring inner radiance of the ground and the cultivated inner radiance of the path, see Ch. 11, pp. 227-34. The latter is the intrinsic awareness cultivated by meditators during their lifetime.
44 The period following the cessation of the coarse outer breath (phyi-dbugs) and before the cessation of the subtle inner breath (nang-dbugs), also known as the life-sustaining wind (srog-’dzin-gyi rlung; Skt. prāṇa), is that during which the vital energy and mind are drawn together into the central channel, causing ordinary beings to lapse into unconsciousness. On this distinction between inner breath and outer breath, see also Ch. 11, p. 228.
45 The inner radiance of the path (lam-gyi ’od-gsal) is that experienced by practitioners and yogins through their spiritual practices prior to death. See glossary under Inner Radiance.
46 Tib. gnod-sbyin. Other texts suggest that this mode of rebirth is indicated by the emission of consciousness from the nose. See Lati Rinpoche and J. Hopkins, Death, Intermediate State and Rebirth in Tibetan Buddhism, p. 53; also A. Wayman, The Buddhist Tantras, p. 141. On the term yakṣa, see glossary.
47 On the transference of consciousness (’pho-ba) through the crown fontanelle, and the appearance of serum at the crown of the head as an indication of success in this practice, see below, Ch. 10, pp. 203-4.
48 Tib. sKu-gdung ’bar-ba’i rgyud. This text is one of the Seventeen Tantras of the Esoteric Instructional Class of the Great Perfection (rdzogs-chen man-ngag sde’i rgyud bcu-bdun), and is contained in NGB, Vol. 3.
49 Tib. bTags-grol. This text forms the subject matter of Ch. 14, pp. 347-79.
50 As explained in Ch. 10.
51 Tib. Bar-do thos-grol. This text is the subject matter of Ch. 11, pp. 225-303.
52 Tib. ’Chi-ba bslu-ba. This text is the subject matter of Ch. 9, pp. 184-95.
53 The presence of the Peaceful and Wrathful Deities within the heart and the brain has already been explained in detail. See Ch. 5, pp. 67-88.
9 Natural Liberation of Fear
1 Tib. ’Chi-bslu ’jigs-pa rang-grol. The Tengyur contains a number of ritual texts, similar to the present chapter, concerning the deception of death (’chi-ba bslu-ba; Skt. mṛtyuṣṭhāpaka), including those by Tathāgatarakṣita (T 1702), Vāgῑśvarakῑrti (T 1748), and Ajitamitragupta (T 2839). A hybrid Sanskrit title Krodha amukha bhela is also attributed to the present text.
2 Tib. Zab-chos zhi-khro dgongs-pa rang-grol.
3 The Varanasi reprint, p. 213, reads Vajrakumāra (rdo-rje gzhon-nu). DR, p. 206, 1.I, reads only gzhon-nu. Vajrakumāra is the subject of this invocation, being the embodiment of buddha-activity.
4 The earliest extant literature on guidance through the intermediate states appears to have a strong association with this particular bodhisattva. See e.g. Kāraṇḍavyūhasūtra, and M. Lalou, ‘Chemins du mort dans les croyances de haute-asie’, which includes a translation of an ancient Dunhuang manuscript entitled Exposé du chemin du mort (gshin-lam bslan-ba), where Avalokiteśvara is referred to particularly as a deity who guides and rescues those propelled towards hellish rebirths.
5 On the course of the lifespan principle (tshe’i rtsa), subsuming the five elements, over a monthly cycle, and the location of the vulnerable points of the body in relation to it, see Tibetan Medical Paintings, pp. 39-40.
6 Tib. rlung-gi ’khor-lo. On the meditative stabilities related to the five elements, and the relationship between the five colours, the five elements, and the five seed-syllables, see Longchen Rabjampa, GGFTC, pp. 619-20.
7 These are the vowels (a-li) and consonants (ka-li) of the Sanskrit alphabet, for the symbolism of which see Longchen Rabjampa, GGFTC, pp. 554-99.
8 The deities embodying the elements correspond to those of the Hindu pantheon, e.g. Pavana, who embodies the wind element, Agni who embodies the fire element, Varuṇa who embodies the water element, and Viṣṇu who embodies the earth element. For the Buddhist perspective, see Longchen Rabjampa, GGFTC, pp. 1124-8.
9 YAṂ is absorbed into Pavana, RAṂ into Agni, LAṂ into Visnu, and KHAṂ into Varuṇa.
10 DR, p. 209, l. 3, adds an annotation, suggesting that these should include the breath of horses, elephants and buffaloes.
11 DR, p. 209, l. 4, adds an annotation to the effect that the syllable RAṂ is inserted into the effigy’s eyes, the syllable KHAṂ into its ears, the syllable LAṂ into its tongue, the syllable YAṂ into its nose, and the syllable E into its neck.
12 DR, p. 209, l. 6, adds that the effigy should be black when offered to male malevolent forces (bdud), red when offered to martial haunting spirits (btsan) and hybrid serpentine haunting spirits (klu-btsan), yellow when offered to hybrid serpentine and plague-causing spirits (klu-gnyan) and malign goblins (the’u-rang), white when offered to the king spirits (rgyal-po), green when offered to the female malevolent forces (bdud-mo) and rural divinities (yul-lha), and multicoloured when offered to earth-ogres (sa-srin).
13 Tib. ltas-ngan-gyi bya-sgrog. Feathers of the owl in particular are deemed to be harbingers of ill-omens.
14 The sense organs are here consecrated with seed-syllables indicative of each of the five elements in turn, beginning with LAṂ, the seed-syllable of the earth element.
15 The Heart-mantra of Dependent Origination (rten-’brel snying-po), which liberates the enduring continuum of phenomena and induces the appearance of multiplying relics (’phel-gdung) and rainbow lights, is: YE DHARMĀ HETU-PRABHAVĀ HETUN TEṢĀṂ TATHĀGATO HY AVADAT TESĀM CA YO NIRODHO EVAṂ VĀDĪ MAHĀŚRAMAṆAḤ (‘Whatever events arise from a cause, the Tathāgata has
told the cause thereof, and the great virtuous ascetic has taught their cessation as well’). See also Ch. 14, p. 376; and S. Beyer, The Cult of Tārā, p. 146.
16 On the symbolism of the Sanskrit syllable A, indicative of emptiness, see GGFTC, pp. 559-63. This syllable is frequently utilised as a focal point for the meditations of calm abiding (śamatha), in which case it is visualised at the tip of the nose. There are recorded instances of the syllable actually manifesting on the tip of the nose of certain great meditation masters of the past. See e.g. the life of Kumārādza in NSTB, pp. 568-72.
17 On the seed-syllable BHRŪṂ, the first of the mantras through which the maṇḍala of the peaceful deities is generated, specifically referring to the creative visualisation of the celestial palaces of the deities, see Longchen Rabjampa, GGFTC, pp. 689-90.
18 On the seed-syllable KṢA, which is the final seed-syllable of the mandala of the peaceful deities, specifically referring to Buddha Samantabhadra, see Longchen Rabjampa, GGFTC, p. 591.
19 The short syllable HŪṂ has a contracted anusvāra, in which the crescent and nāda are subsumed in the bindu.
20 The syllable MĀṂ is that of the female buddha Māmakῑ. See Longchen Rabjampa, GGFTC, pp. 691-2.
21 The syllable MŪṂ is that the female buddha Dhātvῑśvarῑ. See Longchen Rabjampa, GGFTC, p. 691.
22 Tib. rtsa gnyid-log. See Ch. 11, p. 228.
23 On the diverse divisions of the Buddhist scriptures (gsung-rab) from the Nyingma point of view, see Dudjom Rinpoche, NSTB, pp. 73-87.
24 The rituals referred to here are somewhat unclear, but for the treatment of diseases pertaining to the five solid viscera and the six hollow viscera, see Tibetan Medical Paintings, pp. 101-2, and pp. 257-8.
25 The following series of signs of near death are observed in the urine specimen. Note that whereas here it is the urine scum (spris-ma) that appears blue or red, in Ch. 8, p. 170, these colours are attributed to the urine vapour (rlangs-pa). See also the elaborate explanations of urinalysis given in Tibetan Medical Paintings , pp. 139-48, and pp. 295-304.
The Tibetan Book of the Dead Page 44