Jan-Ulrich Sobisch: Some Aspects of Tantric Ritual Practice in Tibet

73


Some Aspects of Tantric Ritual Practice in Tibet

Jan-Ulrich Sobisch


In this article I am using the term ritual in the broad sense of an activity that is
carried out according to fixed rules, where each element of the order of events,
each formula uttered, and each gesture and so forth contains symbolic value. I
cannot claim to have studied Buddhist tantric rituals in great depth or in a very
systematic manner. The remarks I have to make here are rather derived from my
reading of Tibetan Buddhist manuals of tantric practice together with their in-
structions and commentaries over several years and they pertain to two perspec-
tives of my investigations, namely (1) the attempts of some Tibetans to include
the complete gradual path (Tib. lam rim) within a single ritual session of practice
and (2) the complex systems of correlations in tantric theory and practice.
My interest in tantric ritual in Tibet liesif I may use this nebulous expres-
sionin its spiritual dimension. I am starting out from the assumption that the
ritual in the world of tantrism is the answer to the dilemma that began with the
inexpressibility of the spiritual experience of the master. This dilemma exists in
both directions, namely on the one hand for the master, who has to make his path
to experience traceable (in the true sense of the word), and on the other hand for
the disciple, who is trying to follow the masters path. In this sense the Buddhist
tantric ritual appears to be like a formula through which the reality of the spiritual
experience can be described and made traceable.
In principle, all traditions of Tibetan Buddhism have accepted a particular role
for the ritual as a vehicle of the path, even though this does not seem to have been
the case at all times.
1
And moreover, I would even argue that all Buddhist schol-

1
Several Chinese and Korean masters have taught at the Tibetan bSam-yas monastery
during the eighth century. If we can believe in this respect the Tibetan documents of the
bSam-yas debate, they rejected all ritual practices on all levels of training. One of the most
important background studies of the bSam-yas debate is Davis Seyfort Ruegg, Buddha-
nature, mind and the problem of gradualism in a comparative perspective: on the
transmission and reception of Buddhism in India and Tibet, Jordan lectures in comparative
religion, 13 (London: School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London,
1989). A recent contribution, updating the state of research, is Pasang Wangdu and
Hildegard Diemberger, DBabzhed: The Royal Narrative Concerning the Bringing of
Buddhas Doctrine to Tibet, Beitrge zur Kultur und Geistesgeschichte Asiens, Nr. 37
(Wien: Verlag der sterreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2000), preface by Per
Hrin 15/2008


74
ars of Tibet would agree that the ritual can only be a temporary means, as it is
well known that the Buddha taught that the boat is eventually to be abandoned,
2

that the prjpramit literature speaks of the last of the five paths as of the
path of no more training (aaika mrga),
3
and that for example the final one of
the four yogas (rnal byor bzhi) as taught by the Tibetan master sGam-po-pa in
the eleventh century is the yoga of no more practice (bsgom du med pai rnal
byor).
4
In other words, Tibetan Buddhism is an interesting case to study in this
context, since here we have a highly ritualized form of Buddhism with an overall
agreement that rituals are both an indispensable means and, in the final analysis,
a thing to be abandoned.

1. Including the complete gradual path within a single ritual

In this first part I would like to dwell on a doctrinal position in Tibet, according to
which a ritual tantric practice session can, and in fact should include the complete
stages of the path (lam rim). This position was maintained by one of the early
prominent followers of the Great Seal (phyag rgya chen po) teachings of the
bKa-brgyud-pas, namely Jig-rten-mgon-po (1143-1217), the founder of the
Bri-gung bKa-brgyudpa tradition and chief disciple of Phag-mo-gru-pa rDo-
rje-rgyal-po (1110-1170), one of the four principle disciples of sGam-po-pa bSod-
nams-rin-chen (1079-1153). It was clearly formulated in his most prominent

K. Srensen, 121 pp., 34 pages of faksimile Tibetan text.
2
The theme of the Dharma being a boat to be finally abandoned goes back to the simile of
the raft in the Alagaddupama Sutta (Sutta 22, The Simile of the Snake) of the Majjhima
Nikaya. See Bhikku Nanamoli, tr. and ed., The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha
(Boston: Wisdom Publications, 1995), pp. 228-29.
3
The path of no more training (aaika mrga) is the final one of five paths for the
bodhisattva as explained for instance in the Abhisamaylakra, a commentary by
Maitreya/Asaga on the Prajnapramit Stras.
4
On the yoga of no more practice, see sGam-po-pas replies to Phag-mo-gru-pas
questions, the Phag gru zhus lan 34,5 f. (rTsib ri par ma, Darjeeling: Kargyu Sungrab
Nyamso Khang, 197885, vol. 5): When awareness and empti[ness] are established
together with the mind in the nature through the vital points of the introduction [to the
nature of mind], all mental constructions vanish and disintegrate (cha med la 'gro).
Because one remains in that for a long time joyfully (sing nge), the yoga that is not
practiced arises and all appearances arise as the clear light [of] dharmat (rig pa dang
stong pa ngo sprad pa'i gnad kas ngo bo la blo lhan gyis bzhag tsa na/ rtog pa thams cad
gar song cha med la 'gro ba yin/ de la yun ring du sing nge gnas pas bsgom du med pa'i
rnal 'byor zhes bya ba skyes ste/ snang ba thams cad chos nyid 'od gsal du 'char ro//). We
are awaiting the dissertation of Alexander Schiller on the theme of the four yogas.
Jan-Ulrich Sobisch: Some Aspects of Tantric Ritual Practice in Tibet


75
teaching, the Same Intention (Dam chos dgongs pa gcig pa),
5
and put into prac-
tice for instance in the Fivefold Profound Path of Mahmudr (zab lam phyag
chen lnga ldan), which is a core practice of the Bri-gung tradition.
6


The path-structure of the Fivefold Profound Path of Mahmudr

The Fivefold Profound Path of Mahmudr covers (i) the production of the re-
solve for awakening (Tib. byang chub sems, Skr. bodhicitta), (ii) the practice of
ones own body as the tantric deity (yi dam, ihadevat), (iii) a special guru yoga
focusing on the four kyas of the Buddha, (iv) the practice of mahmudr and (v)
the dedication of merit (bsngo ba, parima). In order to be able to compare these
practices of the Fivefold Path with the stages of the path (lam rim) teachings and
to show how the tradition includes all of these into each single session of practice,
it is first necessary to provide a brief overview of this path. Its practical instruc-
tions are traditionally divided into two vital points, namely 1. of the body and 2.
of the mind. The first refers two the so-called seven-point posture of Vairocana,
i.e. to sit with ones legs folded into the vajra-posture, to keep the spine upright,
the shoulders straight, the head bent slightly forward, both hands on top of one
another at the navel, the tip of the tongue touching the palate and the eyes gazing
along the tip of the nose. The second vital point has three subdivisions, namely
2.1. preliminaries (sngon gro),
2.2. main part (dngos gzhi),
2.3. concluding part (rjes).

5
The dGongs gcig has received little attention until now. Notable exceptions are Dan
Martin, Beyond Acceptance and Rejection? The AntiBon Polemic included in the
Thirteenth-Century Single Intention (Dgongs-gyig Yig-cha) and Its Background in Tibetan
Religious History, Journal of Indian Philosophy 25:3 (1997), pp. 263-305; Leonard van
der Kuijp, An Early Tibetan View of the Soteriology of Buddhist Epistemology: The Case
of Bri-gung Jig-rten-mgon-po, Journal of Indian Philosophy 15:1 (1987), pp. 57-70; Liu
Kuo-wei, Jig-rten-mgon-po and the Single Intention (Dgongs gcig): His view on
Bodhisattva vows and its influence on Medieval Tibetan Buddhism, PhD dissertation
(Harvard University, 2002); and chapter 14 of Jan-Ulrich Sobisch, Three-Vow Theories in
Tibetan Buddhism: A Comparative Study of Major Traditions from the Twelfth Through
Nineteenth Centuries, Contributions to Tibetan Studies, vol. 1 (Wiesbaden: Dr. Ludwig
Reichert Verlag, 2002). The dGongs gcig is now in the focus of a research project by
Khenpo Rangdrol and myself, see http://freenet-homepage.de/jigten-sumgon/.
6
I have briefly explored the Fivefold Path in Jan-Ulrich Sobisch, Phyag chen lnga ldan:
Eine Mahamudra-Praxis der Kagypas, Buddhismus in Geschichte und Gegenwart, hg.
von Lambert Schmithausen (Hamburg: Asien-Afrika-Institut, Universitt Hamburg, 2003),
vol. 8, pp. 139-162. The articles of all eleven volumes of that study program are now
available online at www.buddhismuskunde.unihamburg.de/.
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76
Of these, the first has again three subdivisions:
2.1.1. common outer preliminaries (thun mong phyi yi sngon gro),
2.1.2. uncommon inner preliminaries (thun min nang gi sngon gro),
2.1.3. special bodhicitta preliminaries (khyad par byang sems sngon gro).
Through the first of these, this path covers preliminary practices that are common
in all Buddhist traditions and that function as antidotes to common flaws of men:
2.1.1.1. reflecting the fact that the leisures and endowments of the human birth
are difficult to obtain; this is an antidote to a lifestyle that fails to no-
tice the great possibilities of human life;
2.1.1.2. reflecting death and impermanence as an antidote to laziness and leth-
argy and wasting the leisures and endowments of this body;
2.1.1.3. reflecting karma, cause and result as an antidote to a lifestyle that dis-
regards the consequences of ones deeds,
2.1.1.4. reflecting the disadvantages of sasra as an antidote to the opinion
that existence is pleasurable.
These common preliminaries correspond in contents to four sections in the grad-
ual path or gradual teaching scriptures (lam rim, bstan rim), such as sGampo
pas Juwel Ornament (Dwags poi thar rgyan)
7
where it matches (in this se-
quence) with chapters two, four, six und five, and Phagmogrupas Entering
Gradually into the Buddhas Teachings, where it matches with chapters three,
four, seven and five.
8
This training is also called the four [ways of] turning the
mind (blo ldog rnam bzhi) as it should turn the mind away from sasra.
Next follow the uncommon preliminaries (2.1.2.), and they are uncommon
since they are, at least in the particular manner they are practiced in the Tibetan
vajrayna, not shared by all Buddhists. They comprise refuge, which is to turn
the mental continuum into a proper vessel for the teachings and to protect from
wrong paths (2.1.2.1.),
9
removing impediments and obscurations through the

7
The first translation of this important work for the bKa-brgyud-pas was Herbert V.
Guenther, The Jewel Ornament of Liberation: The Wish-fulfilling Gem of the Noble
Teachings (London: Rider, 1959; later editions at Snow Lion Publications). Several
translations followed, not all of which could match Guenthers pioneering work.
8
This classic of Tibetan scholarship has recently been made available in English and
German languages. The English version is Phagmodrupa, Engaging by Stages in the
Teachings of the Buddha, 2 vols. (Mnchen: Otter Verlag, 2008).
9
That refuge protects from mistaken paths is clearly stated in Khenpo Knchog Gyaltshen,
The Garland of Mahamudra Practices (Ithaca, N.Y.: Snow Lion Publications, 1986), p. 27.
The practices of refuge are mentioned in Phagmodrupa, Engaging by Stages in the
Teachings of the Buddha, ch. 6, and sGam-po-pas The Jewel Ornament of Liberation,
Guenther, ch. 8.
Jan-Ulrich Sobisch: Some Aspects of Tantric Ritual Practice in Tibet


77
practice and recitation of the mantra of Vajrasattva (2.1.2.2.), accumulation of
merit through offering maalas (2.1.2.3.) and blessing the mental continuum
through the practice of a general guru yoga (2.1.2.4.).
10

The special preliminaries (2.1.3.) consist of three trainings, namely love
(2.1.3.1.), compassion (2.1.3.2.) and the production of the resolve for awakening
(2.1.3.3.).
11
These are called special because they are, at least in the particular
manner they are practiced here, unique in the Mahyna and they are practiced to
cultivate especially the altruistic thought, leading to the production of the resolve
for full awakening, which becomes the dominating force on the path.
Then follows the main part (2.2.). In the non-tantric paths, the main part of the
practice would consist of practices for the realization of the selflessness of the
person and the substancelessness of phenomena, or, as it is expressed in the Ma-
hyan, the two selflessnessess. In the mantra paths, the main part of the prac-
tice is aiming at the same goal, but with a much greater variety of methods. Here
the main part of the practice comprises the two paths of ripening (smin lam, 2.2.1.)
and liberation (grol lam, 2.2.2.). The first of these is summarily known as tantric
consecration (dbang), which again has a preparatory part (sta gon), a main part
(dngos gzhi) and a communication of its meaning (brda don phrod pa). The
second, i.e. the path of liberation (grol lam, 2.2.2.), consists of the tantric stages
of production and completion (bskyed rim, 2.2.2.1. and rdzogs rim, 2.2.2.2.) and
may also utilize the special methods of the path of means (thabs lam). If one
analyzes the before mentioned path of ripening (smin lam, 2.2.1.) from the point
of view of tantric practice that utilize the path of means practices (thabs lam), the
first tantric consecration (vase consecration, bum dbang) is connected with the
stage of production (bskyed rim, 2.2.2.1.). All subsequent tantric consecrations
are connected with the path of liberation (grol lam). In particular, the second
tantric consecration is furthermore connected with the practices of the channels
(Skr. ni) and winds (Skr. pra), which are in particular practices of the path of
method (thabs lam), the third tantric consecration is connected with further path
of method practices, namely those of wind (pra) and drops (Skr. bindu) and the

10
This guru yoga practice is general in the sense that it does not focus on the four kyas of
the Buddha, as does the special guru yoga of the Fivefold Path. The four practices of the
uncommon preliminaries are taught in the context of the Fivefold Path in Rig-dzin Chos-
kyi-grags-pa and Lho Dkon mchog 'phrin las rnam rgyal (second author), Phyag rgya chen
po lnga ldan gyi khrid: Phyag rgya chen po lnga ldan gyi khrid kyi zin bris rdo rjei
chang dharma krtii zhal lung: Bri gung Bka' brgyud pa Exegesis of the Lnga Ldan
Precepts of Mahmudr Practice and N ro Chos Drug Practice (Delhi: D. Tsondu
Senghe, 1996), pp. 26, 32, 36 and 43.
11
The special preliminaries are taught in the context of the Fivefold Path in Rigdzin
Chos-kyi-grags-pa, Phyag rgya chen po lnga ldan gyi khrid, pp. 49, 55 and 60.
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78
fourth tantric consecration is connected with the practice of mahmudr.
12

The Fivefold Profound Path of Mahmudr is a path of liberation practice
(2.2.2.), with a stage of production and a stage of completion. The first (2.2.2.1.)
consists of the various stages of the visualization of a deity such as Cakrasavara,
including recitation of mantras and a very abbreviated stage of completion in the
form of the dissolution of the visualization of the deity. The second (2.2.2.2.)
comprises in this context a particular guru yoga and the practice of mahmudr
in a form that differs from the practices of the path of means (thabs lam). In par-
ticular, this mahmudr practice does not directly utilize any of the typical path
of means practices such as the production of inner yogic heat (gtum mo). Never-
theless, according to one commentator, the particular practice of viewing the guru
as the sambhogakya Buddha corresponds to the first two tantric consecrations,
and viewing the guru as the dharmakya Buddha corresponds to the last two
tantric consecrations. While in the techniques of path of means the breakthrough
experience or realization is achieved on the basis of yogic techniques that utilize
ni, pra and bindu, namely through such practices as the six yogas of Nropa,
the Fivefold Profound Path of Mahmudr that is discussed here claims that the
same result is achieved on the basis of guru devotion, in particular by practicing
the guru as the nirmakya, sambhogakya, dharmakya, and svbhvikakya
Buddha. In fact, the commentators of this path are claiming that this path of guru
devotion is the actual path, the only means of realization, and that other tech-
niques will only work when guru devotion is their driving forcewithout guru
devotion tantric practices such as the six yogas of Nropa would be mere gym-
nastics. In reality, it appears to be the case that both paths, i.e. the one that does
not utilize path of means techniques and the one that does, are most often prac-
ticed in alternation. Finally, in conclusion (2.3.) and as is standard Mahyna
usage, whatever merit was achieved is dedicated for the welfare of all sentient
beings (bsngo ba, Skr. parima).
Until now we have discussed the path-structure of tantric paths with and
without the utilization of the path of means. In particular we have tried to get a
general idea of the Fivefold Profound Path of Mahmudr with its preliminaries
and five limbs, namely the practices of (1) bodhicitta, (2) the tantric deity, (3)
guru yoga, (4) mahmudr and (5) dedication of merit. Let us now turn to the
rituals, which claim to include all stages of the path within a single session.

12
I have dealt with these particulars of the Fivefold Path in my forthcoming Guru
Devotion in the Bka' Brgyud Pa Tradition: Its Functioning as the Single Means for the
Arising of Realisation, Proceedings of the IATS (Bonn, 2006).
Jan-Ulrich Sobisch: Some Aspects of Tantric Ritual Practice in Tibet


79
The rituals of the Fivefold Profound Path of Mahmudr

There are numerous liturgies of the Fivefold Profound Path of Mahmudr, both
detailed and abbreviated, and there are numerous rituals that emphasize particular
aspects of the Fivefold Path, such as the preliminaries or the evocation practice of
the tantric deity (Skr. sdhana). But no matter what they are, within the Bri-gung
traditional teachings they all make the claim to completely include all aspects of
the path into one ritual, so that the whole path can be practiced within a single
session.
The demand that each ritual no matter which aspect of the path it empha-
sized would have to cover the whole distance of the path within a single session
was very clearly formulated by Jig-rten-mgon-po in his Same Intention (Dam
chos dgongs pa gcig pa). The fourteenth vajra utterance in the second chapter
reads: All the stages of the gradual path are to be practiced within a single ses-
sion.
13
The great Bri-gung-pa Rig-dzin Chos-kyi-grags-pa (15951659), also
known as Bri-gung Dharmakrti, comments in his commentary on the Same
Intention, the Light of the Sun (Nyi mai snang ba):
14

The intention is that one must practice completely all the stages of the path
within each single session, no matter whether one has six, four or two daily
sessions. In that manner each session is preceded at the beginning by the [first
part of the] stages of the path of the three [kinds of] beings, namely the [con-
templation of] death, impermanence, the leisures and endowments that are dif-
ficult to find, cause and result, and the disadvantages of sasra. Then the gen-
eral intention is that the actual practice in the pramityna is to practice the
meaning of the two kinds of selflessness [and] the mantra practitioner prac-
tices the two stages [of production and completion]. In particular, the heart in-
tention is to summarize the essential condensation of the paths of stra and
mantra within [each] single session into that, which is the heart teaching of
lord Phag-mo-gru-pa, the Fivefold Path of Mahmudr, and to practice it. And
not only that, to bring out from between the paddles of the Fivefold Path the
abandoning of each of the subtle mental stirrings of the afflictions and the ac-

13
The statement is here quoted from the dGongs gcig yig cha, Detailed presentation of
'Bri-gung 'Jig-rten-mgon-po's dGongs gcig precepts of Mahyna Buddhist philosophy by
dBon-po Shes-rab-'byung-gnas (11871241), 2 vols., Bir (H.P.): D. Tsondu Senghe, 1975,
p. 520: lam rim thams cad thun gcig gis nyams blang bya.
14
The Tibetan text of the Nyi mai snang ba is available in several editions. The two recent
ones are Bri Gung Dharma Krti, dGongs gcig grel ba Nyi mai snang ba, Maryland:
Drikung Kagyu Meditation Centre, 1995, the cited passage on pp. 130 ff.; the other one is
The Collected Works (gSung bum) of Kun-mkhyen Rig-pa Dzin-pa Chen-po Chos-kyi
Grags-pa, Dehradun (U.P.): Drikung Kagyu Institute, 1999, vol. 3, pp. 103 f.
Hrin 15/2008


80
complishing of each of the subtle virtuous Dharmas, too, is the essence of the
profound Dharma of the great lord 'Bri-gungpa [Jig-rten-mgon-po]. ()
Some say that these ways [of practice] came to Tibet after Atia, but that is not
the case! Even all of the general and particular practice methods of this pre-
cious bKa'-brgyud such as [of] venerable Mar-pa and rNgog are completely in-
cluded within this [path] and the essential intention of them is just this!
And rDo-rje-shes-rab (13th c.), the first and one of the chief commentators of the
Same Intention, explains in the text that has become famous as the rDor shes
ma:
15

Whoever wishes to be free
from suffering, namely the drifting about in the sasric ocean,
should practice so that from practicing
on one seat and within one session
all the vital points of all basic scriptures and pith instructions
such as the wholesome, excellent, vast and well expressed
piakas, tantra sections, instructions and treatises
taught by the Great Sage, the King of Dharma, and his sons,
all the stages of the teachings and of the path,
are fully complete without exception.
This manner of practicing
is without error the intention of the Buddhas.
Let us therefore have a look at some rituals of the Fivefold Profound Path of
Mahmudr in order to see how they were supposed to cover the whole path
within a single session. The first ritual I would like to investigate is the Recitation
of the Fivefold Mahmudr: Blazing Glory of Blessings (Phyag rgya chen po
lnga ldan gyi ngag don byin rlabs dpal bar). It was composed in 1629 by the
above mentioned Bri-gung-pa Rig-dzin Chos-kyi-grags-pa.
16
It is of the rgyun
khyer genre, i.e. an uninterrupted continuation [of the practice], a ritual that is
supposed to maintain the commitment of the Fivefold Path on a daily basis.


15
This passage is cited from dGongs gcig yig cha, p. 524: sdug bsngal khor bai rgya
mtshor khor ba las,, thar pa dod pai gang zag gang yin des,, thub chen chos kyi rgyal po
rgyal ba sras,, legs spyad dam chos rgya cher rab gsungs pa,, sde snod rgyud sde bka
dang bstan bcos sogs,, gzhung dang man ngag kun gyi gnad rnams kun,, stan gcig steng du
thun gcig bsgom pa las,, bstan pai rim dang lam rim ma lus pa,, ma tshang med par ma
lus kun tshang bar,, nyams len bsgom par bya ba nyams su blang,, tshul di ma nor sangs
rgyas dgongs pa ste.
16
The Tibetan text is contained in The Collected Works (gSung bum) of Kun-mkhyen Rig-
pa Dzin-pa Chen-po Chos-kyi Grags-pa, vol. 13, pp. 71-87.
Jan-Ulrich Sobisch: Some Aspects of Tantric Ritual Practice in Tibet


81
Blazing Glory of Blessings Element of the path
Recollecting the leisure and endow-
ments of human life, impermanence,
death, karma, cause and result, and
the disadvantages of sasra, and
resolve to abandon sasra and to
take this path to nirva.
Common preliminaries:
Turning the mind away from sasra;
renunciation.
Visualizing the refuge tree with all of
its vajrayna elements: principle
guru, lineage gurus, tantric deity,
Buddhas, Dharma, Sagha, protec-
tors of the Dharma.
Cultivating love, compassion and the
resolve for awakening.
Uncommon preliminaries:
(a) Taking refuge. Cultivating love,
compassion and the resolve for awak-
ening (relative bodhicitta).
Visualizing Vajrasattva and reciting
his mantra.
(b) Purifying the mind and removing
impediments.
Visualizing the maala of the uni-
verse and making offerings.
(c) Accumulation of merit.
Visualizing the refuge tree with the
guru in its centre, reciting the names
of the gurus of the transmission line-
age, taking tantric consecration from
him, dissolving the guru with oneself
and becoming one with him.
(d) Blessing ones mental continuum.
Recollecting all sentient beings as
ones mother of past lifetimes, culti-
vating benevolence, recollecting their
unbearable sufferings, cultivating
compassion, benevolent joy and
equanimity. Recollecting the union of
compassion and emptiness.
Special preliminaries:
Recollecting the four immeasurables
(brahmavihra). All of the before men-
tioned elements of the path culminate in
cultivating the resolve for awakening
both on a relative stage and on the level
of absolute bodhicitta.
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82

Blazing Glory of Blessings Element of the path
Visualizing ones own body as the
tantric deity and reciting its mantra.
Main part of the practice:
(a) Practicing the stage of production
(bskyed rim).
Visualizing the principle guru in ones
heart. Reciting the names of the gu-
rus of the transmission lineage, mak-
ing offerings and reciting the mantra
of the guru. Dissolving the guru with
ones own mind.
(b) Practicing the stage of completion
(rdzogs rim).
Practicing mahmudr. (c) Experiencing the result.
Dedicating the merit endowed with
the three purities of a field (i.e. of
recipients being themselves Buddhas
in nature), of a (nondualistic) inten-
tion and the thing to be dedicated
(i.e. the unproduced, pure
Buddhanature).
Conclusion of the practice:
Dedicating the merit.

In short, the five practices of (1) producing the resolve for awakening (bodhicitta)
and of practicing (2) the tantric deity, (3) guru yoga, (4) mahmudr, and (5)
dedication cover the complete Mahyna path from the first cultivation of renun-
ciation to experiencing the final result without entering cessation. Such a session
of practice may take between one and several hours, depending on how much
time the practitioner dwells on the various aspects such as mantra recitation,
visualization, or mahmudr. It is also possible that one element of the ritual
outlined above is taken as the chief focus of a session, for example when a practi-
tioner enters a retreat for several weeks, months or years. In that case he would
practice for example six sessions per day and would finish the prescribed number
of recitations of one element before he would move on to the next. The claim,
however, would still be that the complete path is covered in a single session. Let
us take the example of taking refuge. As is well known, the refuge practice of the
vajrayna Buddhism in Tibet requires onehundred thousand recitations of the
refuge formula, accompanied by the same number of full prostrations of the body.
Only after that number of recitations and prostrations is achieved, the practitioner
will be allowed to move on to the next element of the path. In such a manner he
will practice the four recollections that turn the mind away from sasra (here
each recollection would be practiced for a week), and then he would continue
with the recitations of refuge, vajrasattva, maala offering, guru yoga, and bo-
dhicitta, each with a hundred thousand recitations, and than of the tantric deity
Jan-Ulrich Sobisch: Some Aspects of Tantric Ritual Practice in Tibet


83
(four-hundred thousand mantras), the four guru yogas (each with a hundred thou-
sand formulas), before he would eventually start with the practices of calm abid-
ing (Skr. amata), insight (Skr. vipayan) and mahmudr, for which there exist
no prescribed durations. Finally the prayer of dedication will be repeated a hun-
dred thousand times. If we take a practice session of refuge, for example, the
ritual elements and their path correlations would be as follows:

Ritual element Path element
Preliminary element (a)
Recollecting the leisure and endow-
ments of human life, impermanence,
death, karma, cause and result, and
the disadvantages of sasra, and
resolve to abandon sasra and take
this path to nirva.
Turning the mind away from sasra;
renunciation.
Preliminary element (b)
Refuge prayer and cultivation of love,
compassion and the resolve for awak-
ening.
Refuge and relative bodhicitta.
Main element (a)
Visualization of ones own body as a
tantric deity and of the assembly of
refuge in the space in front.
Stage of production (bskyed rim)
Main element (b)
Recitation of the refuge formula with
prostrations.
Taking refuge, purification, removing
of impediments, accumulation of
merit, blessing the mental continuum.
Main element (c)
Dissolving the refuge visualization
with oneself
Stage of completion (rdzogs rim)
and remaining in a natural state. Experiencing the result.
Concluding element
Dedication of merit.
Dedication of merit.

As we can see, even without touching upon many elements of the full ritual out-
lined above, the ritual is still believed to cover each element of the path from
renunciation to experiencing the result and dedicating the merit. Such a practice
session focusing on one of the elements of the path is like a looking glass that
magnifies that particular element in its center, while all the other practices still
appear, albeit in a condensed form within the preliminary and concluding sections.
Moreover, since the guru is the central figure of the vajrayna refuge visualiza-
Hrin 15/2008


84
tion, there is also a guru yoga involved in this practice,
17
so that the five elements
of the Jig-rten-mgon-pos Fivefold Profound Path of Mahmudr are complete,
namely (1) bodhicitta (as a compulsory element at the beginning of every ritual),
(2) the tantric deity (as which the practitioner visualizes himself), (3) guru yoga,
(4) mahmudr (through the element of remaining in a natural state after the
dissolution of the visualization) and (5) dedication of merit (as a compulsory
element at the end the ritual).
As in this example, the practices of bodhicitta and dedication, i.e. the first and
fifth element of the Fivefold Path, are compulsory elements in every vajrayna
ritual. But what about the three middle elements, namely (2) tantric deity, (3)
guru yoga and (4) mahmudr? According to oral information,
18
the Fivefold
Path is also complete within the practice of the tantric deity alone. Here, as one
element of the tantric ritual, namely a recreation of the first tantric consecration,
the practitioner visualizes himself as the tantric deity and the Buddhas of the five
families in the space in front. The female companions of the Buddhas are bestow-
ing tantric consecration upon the practitioner by pouring water from vases into an
opening at the crown of the head. When this water flows over, it produces a whirl,
which then transforms into the central figure of the maala of the five Buddha
families. In the case of the tantric deity Cakrasavara this would be Buddha
Akobhya. According to my informants, this Buddha, who remains on top of the
crown of oneself as the tantric deity, is henceforth seen to be identical with ones
own principle guru. This element of the tantric sdhana ritual of a deity is under-
stood to be a guru yoga, since the guru is seen as a Buddha and revered by plac-
ing him on the crown of ones head.
Towards the end of the sdhana, the practitioner dissolves the whole visuali-
zation, comprising the outer elements of the visualized maala and himself as
the tantric deity, with a syllable that is visualized in the centre of the heart. Then
the syllable itself dissolves into a fine line, which is the wind (Skr. pra) entered
into the central channel (ni) of the practitioner, and finally even that dissolves.
This comprises the stage of completion (rdzogs rim) within this ritual, and the
practitioner remains in the natural state of mahmudr. Thereby, the path element
of experiencing the result is also contained within the tantric sdhana ritual of a
deity.

17
In how far a guru yoga is involved in other practices not focusing on guru yoga
themselves will be explained below.
18
I received this information from sKyab-mgon Che-tshang Rin-po-che, head of the Bri-
gung bKa-brgyud-pa, in October 2002, explaining it for the practice of Avalokitevara,
and from dKon-mchog Ra-se (bDag-po sPyang-snga Rin-po-che), July 2006, explaining it
for the practice of Akobhya. Both emphasized that their example has to be applied in
general to all tantric deities.
Jan-Ulrich Sobisch: Some Aspects of Tantric Ritual Practice in Tibet


85
The practice of the four kya guru yoga of the Fivefold Path is very elabo-
rated and since that is the focus of another article, I am not repeating its details
here.
19
Suffice it to say that during the ritual the practitioner visualizes himself as
a tantric deity and each of the four guru yogas concludes in a stage of completion
phase, during which the practitioner dwells in the natural state of mahmudr.
Thus the path elements of the stage of production (visualizing the tantric deity)
and of the stage of completion (experiencing the result) are also contained within
each of the four kya guru yogas of the Fivefold Path.
It is readily apparent how the ritual practice of the Fivefold Path with each of
its elements is charged with power and meaning. Whoever performs even only a
single session covers the whole distance of the complete gradual Mahyna path.
This is perhaps in reflection of the promise of the tantric teachings, according to
which the whole Mahyna path, which is usually travelled during millions of life
times, can be accomplished within one life (or at least sixteen lives).
20
Let us now
turn to another aspect of the tantric ritual, namely how the yogi encompasses in
the ritual sdhana practice both in a magical and a soteriological sense the whole
tantric universe with his own body.

2. A complex system of correlations in tantric theory
and practice

There exist certain relations and similarities between the Fivefold Profound Path
ritual and tantric sdhanas in general, and while the sdhana is a part of the ritual
of the Fivefold Profound Path (in the form of the practice of the tantric deity and
as the basis of the four kya guru yoga), the ritual of the Fivefold Profound Path
seems at the same time to go beyond the sdhana, as its scope is the complete
path. Yet at the same time, the sdhana is, when seen through the eyes of the
Fivefold Profound Path, not different from it, as is argued by the tradition. It is in
particular one feature that the commentaries of the sdhana and the path ritual
have in common, which interests me here, namely their emphasis on systems of
analogies.
21


19
See my forthcoming Guru Devotion in the Bka' Brgyud Pa Tradition.
20
For more details on the different explanations of the durations of the tantric path (such
as one to sixteen life times), see Jan-Ulrich Sobisch, Three-Vow Theories in Tibetan
Buddhism, pp. 64 ff.
21
One of the first Western scholars to point out analogical thinking in the tantras was
Alexander Wayman, The Buddhist Tantras: Light on IntoTibetan Esotericism (New York:
Samual Weiser, 1973), especially pp. 30-36. A few interesting remarks can be found in
Shinichi Tsuda, Vajrayoidbhageu Vijahra: Historical Survey from the Beginnings to
Hrin 15/2008


86
The history of the sdhana is a complicated one and we have only begun to
explore it.
22
The form and complexity of the sdhana depends on the historical

the Culmination of Tantric Buddhism, Indological and Buddhist Studies: Volume in
Honour of Professor Jan Willem de Jong on his Sixtieth Birthday, ed. by Luise Anna
Hercus (Canberra: [Australian National University], Faculty of Asian Studies, 1982), pp.
595616. Tsuda speaks of the great contribution of the Tattvasagrahatantra, recognizing
the tantric logic of yoga or logic of symbolism. He draws a line to the idea of upsama
(identification) in the Brmaa literature, which, according to Tsuda, could be formulated
by the tantrist as follows: If the individual existence successfully reorganises itself to be
homologous with the ultimate reality, the former can unite itself with the latter, p. 596. On
the next page he speaks of imitating kyamuni-Vairocanas construction of the universe
homologously according to the system of four kinds of mudrs. On p. 598 he says: We
consider () Tantric Buddhism to be the religion of yoga to unite (yuj) oneself, the
microcosmos, directly with the ultimate reality, the macrocosmos. Yet he seems to
confine this idea to the uniting of the yogi with the deity by means of the three kinds of
symbolic actions of his body (karma-mudr), speech (dharma-mudr) and mind (samaya-
mudr), and he continues () thus he constructs himself into the symbol of the deity.
According to the Tantric logic of symbolism, the symbol itself is identical with what it
symbolises, p. 603. Kurtis R. Schaeffer, The Attainment of Immortality: From Nthas in
India to Buddhists in Tibet, Journal of Indian Philosophy 30 (2002), pp. 515-533, has
drawn attention to the correlation of body and cosmos in nonBuddhist Indian sources, p.
521. Another related phenomenon is the vihra, whose elements of the construction are
interpreted as elements of the path, e.g. the columns placed in the east are the four
samyaprahas, six pramits, four sagrahavastus, and four brahmavihras, etc. Complex
systems of analogies can also be found in the Bar do thos grol, commonly (and
mistakenly) known as the Tibetan Book of the Dead. In the present paper, I am concerned
with the analogies between the tantric deity (with which the yogi identifies) and everything
else (i.e. the outer world but also elements of the path etc.).
22
As early as 1925/28, Benoytosh Bhattacharyya (1897-1964) published a conflation of
the *Sdhanasgara and the *Sdhanaatapacik: Sdhanaml, 2 vols., Gaekwads
Oriental Series nos. 26 and 41 (Baroda: Oriental Institute, Central Library, 1925-1928); see
also Gudrun Bhnemann, *Sdhanaataka and Sdhanaatapacik: Two Buddhist
Sdhana Collections in Sanskrit Manuscript, Wiener Studien zur Tibetologie und Buddhis-
muskunde, Heft 32 (Wien: Arbeitskreis fr Tibetische und Buddhistische Studien,
Universitt Wien, 1994). Attention to the Tibetan tradition of evocation rituals (Tib. sgrub
thabs) was probably first drawn by Stephan Beyer, The Cult of Tr: Magic and Ritual in
Tibet (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1978). Recently, the subject was treated in
a number of articles and monographs, such as Claudine Bautze-Picron, Le sdhana, ce
bizarre genre littraire, Genres littraires en Inde, ed. by Nalini Balbir (Paris: Presses de
la Sorbonne Nouvelle, 1994); and Elizabeth English, Vajrayogin: Her Visualizations,
Rituals, and Forms, Studies in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism (Boston: Wisdom Publica-
tions, 2002). Of great interest are also two recent articles by Jacob P. Dalton, The De-
velopment of Perfection: The Interiorization of Buddhist Ritual in the Eighth and Ninth
Centuries, Journal of Indian Philosophy 32:1 (2004), pp. 1-30, and A Crisis of
Jan-Ulrich Sobisch: Some Aspects of Tantric Ritual Practice in Tibet


87
stage of development of the Buddhist tantras: the first pre-sdhana Buddhist
tantric(?)
23
rituals, later classified as *kalpa or kriy tantra rituals, probably ap-
pearing in India in the first or second century, were predominantly occupied with
mundane or outward rituals for healing and gaining powers.
24
During the
next several hundred years, some dramatic shifts occurred, namely first when
rituals included worship and offering to shrines and visualized Buddhas or bodhi-
sattvas for soteriological purposes, and second when, by the early eighth century,
the ritual worship was beginning to be directed inward toward the practitioners
own body.
25
Sometime between the first and second spread of Buddhism in Tibet,
the niruttarayoga tantras
26
(such as Cakrasavara and Hevajra) with advanced
yogic technologies of the inner body gained a foothold in India and were later
(around late 10th c.) transmitted to Tibet. It is in Tibetan commentaries on the
sdhanas of the yoga and niruttarayoga class of Indian Buddhist tantras, where I
found what could be called an obsession with analogies.
27

The analogies found in sdhanas are of various kinds and qualities. An inter-
esting analogy that appears in many sdhanas among the preliminary stages is the
visualization of the circle of protection (Skr. rakcakram, Tib. srung khor). It is
a preliminary stage of the practice, because it prepares the ground for the deity to
be visualized later. The visualization of the circle of protection has some striking
analogies to the abhidharmic model of the universe, for example when a wall of
protective mantras reaches from the top of the brahma world (brahmamaa)
down to the golden base or the underworld (ratsla). And the mansion that is
visualized on top of all of this, which is modelled with its ground (bhmi), roof
(pajara), canopy (vitna), and several outer walls (prkr) according to a tem-
ple, is surrounded by several outer protective circles, lotusses, vajras, and fire,
like the iron wall surrounding mount Meru. The protective circle, too, is designed
to encompass the whole cosmos.
Another interesting analogy is that between the body and the celestial man-

Doxography: How Tibetans Organized Tantra During the 8th12th Centuries, Journal of
the International Association of Buddhist Studies 28:1 (2005), pp. 115-179.
23
I classify them as tantric because the later Tibetan tradition does so. I am not intending
here to discuss what constitutes the tantric.
24
On the *kalpa tantras (Tib. rtog pai rgyud) see Helmut Eimer, The Classification of
the Buddhist Tantras, Wiener Zeitschrift fr die Kunde Sdasiens, Supplementband 36
(1993), pp. 221-228.
25
See especially the two recent articles of Jacob Dalton (2004, 2005) mentioned above.
26
The terms niruttarayoga or yoganiruttara can be found in Sanskrit manuscripts, whereas
*anuttarayoga, which was commonly used in Western writing, is a mistaken reconstruc-
tion (private communication by Harunaga Isaacson).
27
The restriction to the yoga and niruttara class of sdhanas is due to my own limited
reading, and it may well be that one finds similar analogies also in other works.
Hrin 15/2008


88
sion of the tantric maala in a Guhyasamja ritual:
28

My mouth and nose, anus, and penis are the four gates; the five-coloured winds
of my knowledges () are the five-tiered walls; my tongue perception is the
jewelled border, my intestines the net ().
Such correlations of microcosm and macrocosm abound in sdhanas and their
commentaries and they are in particular found in the body maala (Skr.
kyamaala) where hair, teeth, nails, skin, flesh, sinews, bones, and even the filth,
coiled guts, sweat and feces of the body are correlated with the thirtyseven
factors of awakening, the ten bodhisattva bhmis, the twentyfour tantric sites,
various deities and positions within the maala.
29
In another instance, the practi-
tioner visualizes for example at the head, navel, throat, ankles of the feet, etc.,
Buddhas such as Vairocana, Vajrasrya (= Ratnasabhava), Padmanartevara (=
Amitbha), and Vajrarja (= Amoghasiddhi).
30
These spots are explained in the
commentaries as being the seats of the skandhas, such as form, and the Buddhas
residing in them as their purified state.
31

The ability to perform such sometimes very complex visualizations is meas-
ured by the accuracy and vividness that the practitioner has achieved and some-
times also by the time it takes him to create the visualization. Stephan Beyer
describes such a process in some detail, concluding:
Finally, when the practitioner reaches the fourth and highest level of contempla-
tive ability he is called one who has gained power in knowledge. He has at-
tained a complete control of appearances.
32

And quoting Tsong-kha-pa:
33


28
Stephan Beyer, The Cult of Tr, p. 72.
29
See for example Elizabeth English, Vajrayogin, pp. 197-203.
30
dKon-mchog-ratna (1590-1654), pp. 28 f.: mgo boi dbus su bum las rnam par snang mdzad
(). lte bar a las rdo rje nyi ma () mgrin par hr las padma gar gyi dbang phyug () rkang pai
long bu gnyis kyi og tu he las rdo rje rgyal po.
31
Such visualizations are found in all sdhanas of the higher tantras. My example is
taken from a commentary on a Cakrasavara sdhana (in the tradition of Ghaapa) of the
Bri-gung-pa bsTan-dzin-padmai-rgyal-mtshan (1770-1826), dPal khor lo sdom pa lhan
skyes lha lngai rim pa dang poi dmar khrid bka brgyud gong mai zhal shes zin bris su
bkod pa dril bui zhal lung, p. 704: gzugs phung gi gnas kyi gtso bo mgo bo'i dbus su
bshad pas, byang sems kyi gnas phral ba'i thig le'i nang du, yi ge bu dkar po zhig 'od du
zhu ba las byung ba'i rnam par snang mdzad dkar po phyag g.yas 'khor lo sogs tshig zin
ltar gzugs phung dang ngo bo dbyer med du bsgom etc. Cf. also Elizabeth English,
Vajrayogin, pp. 116 ff.
32
Stephan Beyer, The Cult of Tr, pp. 69-76, present quotation p. 75.
33
The quote is taken from Tsong-kha-pas sNgags rim chen po, P 161/6210, 184.4.7-
Jan-Ulrich Sobisch: Some Aspects of Tantric Ritual Practice in Tibet


89
He is able thereby to empower the appearance of anything he wishes.
What these examples obviously have in common is that it is the body of the prac-
titioner, and not an exterior altar, where the visualizations unfold. In these visu-
alizations, the correlations of the surrounding space, the body and its parts with
the universe, and of the skandhas with Buddhas, serve a double purpose, namely
to gain power over the concrete, outer landscape and to purify, prepare and em-
power the body for the actual practice. Furthermore, when the body and the
skandhas are purified and empowered, by implication the outside world too is
purified and empowered, as the sense organs and consciousnesses through which
the outer world is perceived are a part of the now purified and empowered skan-
dhas, and so forth.
So far, it appears that an important aspect of tantric ritual technique or of
ritual logic is to analogize. By using an analogy within the ritual, the thing
analogized is
controlled, as in the example of the protective circle,
incorporated, as in the example where the different parts of the body are
visualized as elements of the celestial palace, and
purified and empowered, as in the example where the practitioner visual-
izes different Buddhas in the places of the skandhas.
Yet apart from these types of correlations there are also others that go even be-
yond these purposes I have just described. One of these further correlations is the
sequence of visualizations that is known as the five awakenings (pacbhisam-
bodhikrama), which has its roots in the yoga tantras.
34
This practice lies at the
heart of the stage of production practices (utpattikrama). The practitioner visual-
izes in a series a moon disc, a sun disc, the seed syllable of his deity (each on top
of the previous), the emission and retraction of rays and the transformation of the
seed syllable into the deity itself. Here these five elements are correlated with the
five kinds of gnosis, i.e. the mirror gnosis (ajnam), the gnosis of equality
(samatjnam), the gnosis of discrimination (pratyavekajnam), the gnosis
of performance (ktynuhnajnam) and the gnosis pure true reality (su-
viuddhadharmadhtujnam). These five awakenings, again, are correlated with
the three bodies of a Buddha (nirmakya, sambhogakya and dharmakya).
35

Another interesting example can be found in sdhanas of Cakrasavara,
where the practice of the five awakenings is introduced through a complete disso-
lution of the preliminary visualization (which is analogous to the practitioners
death), followed by a contemplation of compassion. This is, according to the

186.2.2.
34
Elizabeth English, p. 150 ff.
35
Elizabeth English, p. 154.
Hrin 15/2008


90
commentary, to be known as the integration of death into the dharmakya (chi
ba chos skur lam khyer). Then the consciousness reappears as the extremely sub-
tle tip of a drop (i.e. the ni of the bindu) that remains in space. This waking
up after first falling into deep unconsciousness, which is correlated to the clear
light of death (chi bai od gsal), is known as the integration of the intermediate
state into the sambhogakya (bar do longs skur khyer bai lam khyer). Having
then gone through the series of the five awakenings, the yogi arises as the deity
(Cakrasavara), which is known as the integration of birth into the nirma-
kya (skye ba sprul skui lam khyer).
36

These two examples obviously go beyond the before mentioned systems of
correlations, where the main purpose of the ritual was to control, purify and em-
power the outer world and the inner body. Here, now, the purpose is obviously a
soteriological one.
In order to gain a deeper understanding of the tantric sdhana, it would be
very profitable to identify all such elements and to try to pinpoint the period when
they were introduced into the ritual. Although this may pose numerous problems
as the sdhanas are known to have grown over time (i.e. older rituals were regu-
larly updated to the new techniques), this and other attempts of dividing the mate-
rial up into periods will certainly be a stimulating exercise.

Conclusion

The complex systems of analogies found in sdhana rituals are evidently of some
importance for the understanding of tantric practice. In those parts of sdhanas
that apparently stem from earliest periods, we often find a kind of magic by
analogy: The outer world is controlled, dominated, and mastered; dangers and
impediments are averted; healing and longevity is achieved. When visualization
is shifted to the interior, further aspects supervene: analogy turns more and more
into a soteriological identificationthe skandhas are the Buddhas and thus pure.
In this way the sdhaka, if he has not spontaneously realized his Buddha nature
during tantric consecration, is gradually led through training and habituation to
realization. In the sdhanas of the yoga and niruttarayoga tantras we find analo-
gies that are retracing the soteriological process, such as in the case of the five
fold awakening (paca-abhisambodhi-krama), or they anticipate it, such as in the
case where awakening at the moment of death, in the intermediate state, or at
birth (following the intermediate state after death) are anticipated. One is tempted
to say that in all this the analogy, which is often only spelled out in the commen-

36
bsTan-dzin-padmai-rgyal-mtshan, pp. 734 and 742.
Jan-Ulrich Sobisch: Some Aspects of Tantric Ritual Practice in Tibet


91
taries, creates a connection with the meaning comprehended by the intellect,
while visualization facilitates the same comprehension intuitively. Thus function
and result of sdhanas appear to be made possible by analogy and visualization.
Both perspectives of the tantric ritual sketched in this articlethe including of
the complete gradual path within a single ritual and the complex systems of cor-
relations in the sdhanasdemonstrate how tantric ritual practice is charged with
power and meaning: a person performing even only a single session covers the
whole distance of the gradual Mahyna path and encompasses both in a magical
and a soteriological sense the whole tantric universe within his own body.

Addendum

I am grateful that the editor affords me the chance to add a few remarks shortly
before this issue goes to the press. A number of things have come to my notice
during the past year through my own ongoing research and through the publica-
tion of part 3 of book 8 of the English translation of Jam-mgon Kong-spruls The
Treasury of Knowledge.
1. The Fivefold Profound Path of Mahmudr did, in its earliest form, not nec-
essarily utilize the tantric deity Cakrasavara. I found other deities such as
Avalokitevara and Vajrasattva mentioned in several sources.
2. The earliest forms of the Fivefold Path appear to have been much less ritual-
ized (in the sense of using elaborate liturgies) than the practices described here
on the basis of the contributions by 17th century master Rig-dzin Chos-kyi-
grags-pa.
3. The later, much more ritualized practices of the Fivefold Path were appar-
ently introduced in order to make this path more accessible to practitioners with
less than highest faculties. In this observation I find myself in complete agree-
ment with the opinion of the present Bri-gung sKyabs-mgon Che-tshang Rin-
poche.
37

4. A short study on the earliest forms of the Fivefold Path by the present author
is under way. My remarks in the present article such as regarding the practicing
of the complete path within a single session remain valid also in the context of
the earliest forms of this path.
5. The peerless Tibetan teacher of the entire path, Jam-mgon Kong-sprul I,
makes in his encyclopedic Treasury of Knowledge [Shes bya kun khyab mdzod]
the following interesting remark regarding the stage of production (bskyed rim)
in tantric sdhanas:

37
Interview in Munich, 18.1.2009.
Hrin 15/2008


92
bskyed rim gyi ngo bo ni ... khyad par skye shi bar do gsum dang rnam pa
mthun par bsgom pa'o.
38

Its special feature is meditation that accords in aspects with birth, death, and the
intermediate state, the three [processes in cyclic existence].
And again (in the context of both the stages of production and completion):
() sbyang gzhi sems can skye ba'i rim pa dang / 'chi ba'i sdud rim gnyis dang
chos mthun pa'i rnal 'byor gyis bgrod par byed pa'i lam yin pa.
39

The two phases serve as paths to cross over [cyclic existence] using yogas that
accord in features with the two processes [in cyclic life] of a sentient being, the
process of birth and the dissolution process at death, the [two] bases to be puri-
fied.
The two expressions dang rnam pa mthun par and dang chos mthun pa seem to
be largely synonymous and as such they appear to be Kong-spruls Tibetan terms
for the phenomenon that I have focused on in the second part of this paper, i.e.
the fact that yoga practice correlates or forms an analogy in some of its aspects or
features with certain aspects of sasaric reality. Through its practice one gains
mastery over these aspects of sasra, thereby using the yoga as a path to cross
over. The function that has the power to get the yogi across and that is provided
by the yoga can therefore perhaps be described as intimate knowledge of and
thereby mastery of sasric reality, as is taught by Ngrjuna in the
Yuktiaik:
40

Existence [= samsra] and nirva
these two do not exist.
Thoroughly knowing existence
is called nirva.

38
p. 50 f.
39
p. 52.
40
Yuktiaik 6; P vol. 95, no. 5225, 11/2/8: srid pa dang ni mya ngan das // gnyis po di
ni yod ma yin // srid pa yongs su shes pa nyid // mya ngan das zhes bya bar brjod //.