The Tibetan Book of the Dead
Page 12
I bow down, make offerings, take refuge, and pray:
As soon as we die and begin to transmigrate,
At that very moment, when the visions of the intermediate state of reality dawn,
And we roam [alone] in cyclic existence [driven] by deep-seated confused perceptions,
May the four Piśācῑ, starting with Siṃhamukhῑ, draw us forward,
Leading us on the path of pure [radiant] light,
Which is the purity of the naturally manifesting eight objects [of consciousness].
May the four Piśācῑ, starting with Gṛdhramukhῑ, support us from behind,
And thus [encircled] may we be rescued
From the fearsome passageway of the intermediate state,
And be escorted to the level of an utterly perfected buddha.
OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ
In the channel branch at the eastern gate of the skull, within one’s brain,
Is horse-headed [Aṅkuśā], white in colour, carrying an iron hook and a skull.
In the channel branch at the southern gate of the skull, within one’s brain,
Is sow-headed [Pāśā], yellow in colour, holding a noose and a skull.
In the channel branch at the western gate of the skull, within one’s brain,
Is lion-headed [Sphoṭā], red in colour, holding an iron chain and a skull.
In the channel branch of the northern gate of the skull, within one’s brain,
Is snake-headed [Ghaṇṭā], green in colour, holding a bell and a skull.21
To you, the Four Female Gatekeepers, who are pristine cognition in emanational form,
I bow down, make offerings, take refuge, and pray:
As soon as we die and begin to transmigrate,
At that very moment, when the visions of the intermediate state of reality dawn,
And we roam [alone] in cyclic existence [driven] by deep-seated confused perceptions,
May Aṅkuśā and Pāśā draw us forward,
Obstructing the entrances to confusion through the four types of birth,
And opening the doors to the four rites of pure enlightened activity.
May Sphoṭā and Ghaṇṭā support us from behind,
And thus [encircled] may we be rescued
From the fearsome passageway of the intermediate state,
And be escorted to the level of an utterly perfected buddha.
OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ
In the minor channels of the eastern outer courtyard of one’s skull,
[Stand] the six Queens of Yoga who enact the rites of pacification:
Yak-headed Manurākṣasῑ, brownish white, and holding a vajra;
Snake-headed Brahmāṇῑ, yellowish white, and holding a lotus;
Leopard-headed Raudrῑ, greenish white, and holding a trident;
Weasel-headed Vaiṣṇāvῑ, bluish white, and holding a wheel;
Brown bear-headed Kaumārῑ, reddish white, and holding a short pike;
And black bear-headed Indrāṇῑ, white, and holding a noose of entrails.
O you, the six yoginῑ from the east, who enact the rites of pacification,
Perform the rites which pacify our fears of the intermediate state!22
OṂ ĀḤ ŪṂ
In the minor channels of the southern outer courtyard of one’s skull,
[Stand] the six Queens of Yoga who enact the rites of enrichment:
Bat-headed Vajrā,23 yellow, and holding a razor;
Crocodile-headed Śāntῑ, reddish yellow, and holding a vase;
Scorpion-headed Amṛtā, reddish yellow, and holding a lotus;
Hawk-headed Saumῑ, whitish yellow, and holding a vajra;
Fox-headed Daṇḍῑ, greenish yellow, and holding a cudgel;
And tiger-headed Rākṣasῑ, blackish yellow, and drinking from a blood-filled skull.
O you, the six yoginῑ from the south, who enact the rites of enrichment,
Perform the rites which enrich pristine cognition during the intermediate state!24
OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ
In the minor channels of the western outer courtyard of one’s skull,
[Stand] the six Queens of Yoga who enact the rites of subjugation:
Vulture-headed Bhakṣasῑ, greenish red, and holding a club;
Horse-headed Ratῑ, red, and holding a human torso;
Garuḍa-headed Rudhiramadῑ, pale red, and holding a cudgel;
Dog-headed Ekacāriṇῑ Rākṣasῑ, red, and holding a vajra;
Hoopoe-headed Manohārikā, red, and firing an arrow from a bow;
And deer-headed Siddhikarῑ, greenish red, and holding a vase.
O you, the six yoginῑ from the west, who enact the rites of subjugation,
Perform the rites which assure our independence during the intermediate state!25
OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ
In the minor channels of the northern outer courtyard of one’s skull,
[Stand] the six Queens of Yoga who enact the rites of wrath:
Wolf-headed Vāyudevῑ, bluish green, and brandishing an ensign;
Ibex-headed Agnāyῑ, reddish green, and holding a firebrand;
Sow-headed Varāhῑ, blackish green, and holding a noose of fangs;
Crow-headed Cāmuṇḍῑ, reddish green, and holding an infant human corpse;
Elephant-headed Bhujanā, blackish green, and holding a bloated corpse;
And snake-headed Varuṇānῑ, bluish green, and holding a noose of snakes.
O you, the six yoginῑ from the north, who enact the rites of wrath,
Perform the rites which utterly destroy the confused perceptions of the intermediate state!26
OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ
At the [outer] eastern gate of one’s skull is Vajrā [Mahākālῑ],
White, cuckoo-headed, and holding an iron hook;
At the [outer] southern gate of one’s skull is Vajrā [Mahāchāgalā],
Yellow, goat-headed, and holding a noose;
At the [outer] western gate of one’s skull is Vajrā [Mahākumbhakarṇῑ],
Red, lion-headed, and holding an iron chain;
And at the [outer] northern gate of one’s skull is Vajrā [Lambodarā],
Dark green, snake-headed, and holding a bell.
O you, the four female gatekeepers, Queens [of Yoga] who enact the emanational rites,
Perform the rites which obstruct the doors [leading] to [mundane] rebirth from the intermediate state!27
OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ
To you, the Twenty-eight Iśvarῑ, Queens of Yoga,
I bow down, make offerings, take refuge, and pray:
As soon as we die and begin to transmigrate,
At that very moment, when the visions of the intermediate state of reality dawn,
And we roam [alone] in cyclic existence [driven] by deep-seated confused perceptions,
May the seven Iśvarῑ of the east draw us forward,
Leading us on the path of radiant light,
Which is [a vibrance of] sounds, lights and rays.
May the seven Iśvarῑ of the south support us from behind,
May the seven Iśvarῑ of the west support us from the perimeter,
And may the seven Iśvarῑ of the north destroy [and liberate] our enemies,
And thus [encircled] may we be rescued
From the fearsome passageway of the intermediate state,
And be escorted to the level of an utterly perfected buddha.
OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ
At this time when we dwell within the intermediate state of living,
The assembly of the sixty blood-drinking deities28
Is radiantly present within the celestial palace of the skull, at the crown-centre, within one’s brain —
Embodied in the form of a cluster of five-coloured lights.
Yet, as soon as we die and begin to transmigrate,
This assembly of blood-drinking deities will emerge from the brain,
And appear [before us], filling the entire trichiliocosm.
[Each of] the central and peripheral [forms]
Will be endowed with fearsome ornaments and attire.
[Resounding] within an immense space,
Vibrant with sounds, lights and rays,
The bodily demeanour of these wrathful deities
Will be elegant, heroic and terrifying,
Their roar wild, murderous and awesome,
Each blazing with compassion, wrath and fierce aversion,
Adorned by face markings of human ash, blood, and grease;29
Dressed in skirts of moist hide and flayed tiger skin;
Decorated with skull garlands and wreaths of snakes;
Resplendent in a blazing mass of fire which pounds
With the cries of ‘HA HA HŪṂ PHAṬ Strike! Slay!’,
Reverberating like a thousand peals of thunder.
Fully arrayed with hand-emblems and multifarious faces,
Displaying the arts of transformation,
They will pulverise and rock the infinite trichiliocosm.
At that very moment when the fierce sounds, lights and rays
Dawn before us in terrifying manifestation,
O you, the compassionate assembly of wrathful blood-drinking deities,
O Beings of Compassion, do not withhold your compassion at that [time]!
As we roam [alone] in cyclic existence [driven] by deep-seated habitual tendencies,
May the assembly of wrathful blood-drinking [deities] draw us forward,
Leading us on the path of [radiant] light,
Which is free of fear and terrifying perceptions!
May the assembly of wrathful female deities, Queens of the Expanse, support us from behind!
May the assembly of the Mātaraḥ, Piśācῑ, and Female Gatekeepers support us from the perimeter!
May the Eight Great Projectresses [who propel beings to exalted rebirths],
Propel us from our [mundane] states [into higher rebirth]!
May the diverse animal-headed Iśvarῑ eliminate all obstacles!
May the four supreme Female Gatekeepers obstruct the entrance to [mundane] births;
And thus [encircled], may we be rescued
From the fearsome passageway of the intermediate state,
And be escorted to the level of an utterly perfected buddha.
OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ
When we roam alone, separated from our loved ones,
And [myriad] images of emptiness arise, naturally manifesting,
May the buddhas [quickly] release the power of their compassion,
And may the fear of the awesome and terrifying intermediate state be annulled.
When the radiant light path of pristine cognition dawns,
May we recognise [its nature], without awe and without terror,
And as the [manifold] forms of the Peaceful and Wrathful Deities arise,
May we be fearlessly confident, and recognise [the characteristics of] the intermediate state.
When we experience suffering, as the result of negative past actions,
May our meditational deities utterly dispel all such misery,
And as the natural sound of reality reverberates like a thousand peals of thunder,
May [all sounds] be heard as the sacred resonance of the Greater Vehicle.
When we are driven on by past actions, without a refuge,
May the Great Compassionate One, Mahākāruṇika, protect us,
And as we experience suffering generated by habitual tendencies and past actions,
May the meditative stabilities of inner radiance and bliss [naturally] arise.
May the fields30 of the five elements not rise up as a hostile force,
But may we see these as the buddha fields of the five enlightened families!31
By the blessing of the spiritual teachers of the oral lineage,
By the compassion of the assembly of Peaceful and Wrathful Deities,
And by the force of the purity of my altruistic aspiration,
May all the aspirational prayers, here expressed,
Be immediately realised.
CONCLUSION
If one consistently perseveres in this Spiritual Practice of the Peaceful and Wrathful Deities, together with the recitation of the aspirational prayers, even the negativity and obscurations caused by past actions which involve the five inexpiable crimes will be purified. Even the very hell realms themselves [can] be stirred [by the power of this practice]. If this practice is followed, there is no doubt that one will be born as an awareness holder amongst the fields of the Conquerors. For it is said in the transmitted precepts of the Transcendent One Samantabhadra himself:
‘One who respectfully pays homage to the maṇḍala
Of the Peaceful and Wrathful Deities of the Magical Net,
Will purify each and every transgression [of the commitments].
Even the negativity of the five inexpiable crimes will be purified.
Even the hell realms themselves may be stirred [by the force of this practice],
And one will become recognised as an awareness holder,
Among the fields of the Conquerors.’
The advantages which accrue from engaging in the Spiritual Practice as here set down, are extremely great. It is said that just by simply hearing, once, the names of the deities of this maṇḍala, one will avoid rebirth in the lower existences, and buddhahood will eventually be attained. Samantabhadra himself has said:
‘If anyone hears, only once, the names of these deities of the maṇḍala, he or she will be saved from falling into the great hells.’
And:
‘Anyone who respectfully pays homage
To the natural maṇḍala of the Magical Net,
Will purify each and every transgression [of the commitments].
The commitments will be repaired, and accomplishments attained.’
Therefore, since the advantages of following this practice are beyond expression, one should persevere with this Spiritual Practice and [consistently] visualise one’s own body as the assembly of the Peaceful and Wrathful Deities. Thus, the supreme and common accomplishments will be attained in this very life; and after one has died, when the visions of the Peaceful and Wrathful Deities dawn during the intermediate state of reality, one will dissolve indivisibly with the meditational deities, and buddhahood will be attained.32 Experientially cultivate this [Spiritual Practice]! Do not forget its words and meanings even if you were to be pursued by a hundred assassins. Embrace it! Hold it [to your heart]! Read it aloud! Comprehend it in its entirety! Keep it in mind, fully and accurately!
This most lucid Spiritual Practice, which is a coalescence of the [full means of accomplishment of the] Peaceful and Wrathful Deities is the experiential cultivation associated with the Liberation by Hearing in the Intermediate States.33 It is the essence of the Peaceful and Wrathful Deities: The Ritual Purification entitled Natural Liberation of Feelings.34 It is a supporting text to the Natural Liberation of Awareness: Secret Empowerment of the Intermediate States,35 and it is the main practice associated with the Reparation [of Commitments] and Confession: Natural Liberation of Transgressions.36 It is the path of liberation followed by fortunate beings. May [the influence of] this Spiritual Practice: Natural Liberation of Habitual Tendencies not be exhausted until cyclic existence has been emptied.
SAMAYA rgya rgya rgya dge’o
6
Natural Liberation of Negativity and Obscuration through [Enactment of] the Hundredfold Homage to the Sacred Enlightened Families
CONTEXT
This practice reinforces the previous meditation, taking the form of a physical prostration to each of the Peaceful and Wrathful Deities in turn. This Hundredfold Homage can be done on its own or immediately after the practice of the Natural Liberation of Habitual Tendencies. It can also be practised whenever feast-offerings are performed in conjunction with The Natural Liberation of Feelings or
whenever the practitioner makes offerings of incense, flowers and butter-lamps to the deities.
Practitioners should make these prostrations while clearly visualising before them the form of the deity, in perfect detail, and while experientially cultivating the deity’s nature and the inner meaning of the symbolism. Also, as the colophon recommends, the practitioner should concurrently: ‘mentally admit and feel remorse for all one’s negativities and obscurations, which have been, are being and will be accumulated.’
Herein is contained an ancillary chapter of the Liberation by Hearing in the Intermediate States,1 entitled Natural Liberation of Negativity and Obscuration through [Enactment of] the Hundredfold Homage,2 [which is an extract from] the Peaceful and Wrathful Deities: A Profound Sacred Teaching, [entitled] Natural Liberation through [Recognition of] Enlightened Intention.3
I respectfully bow down to Samantabhadra and Mahottara,
To the assembly of Peaceful and Wrathful Deities,
And to the assembly of the hundred sacred enlightened families.
Having purified all negativity and obscurations,
May I act so as to guide all beings to the pure buddha fields!
I [now] present this Natural Liberation of Negativity and Obscuration through [Enactment of the Hundredfold] Homage, a method for performing a hundredfold homage to the infinite Peaceful and Wrathful Deities of the hundred sacred enlightened families, by which negativity and obscuration may be purified. Cherish your zeal in this [practice] throughout the three times!
NAMO!4
I bow down to5 Samantabhadra, the Buddha-body of Reality,
Father of all buddhas, the natural purity of mental consciousness,
The primary buddha, unchanging body of light,
Sky [blue], and seated in the posture of meditative equipoise.
I bow down to Samantabhadrῑ, the supreme consort,