Toh 361 — Summary of Empowerment

Sekoddeśa

Translated by the Vienna Buddhist Translation Studies Group under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha

Summary of Empowerment

F.14.a Homage to Glorious Kālacakra!^[1]

Sucandra requested:

The sevenfold and threefold empowerment,

And also the unsurpassable one, O Teacher—

Explain them to me in short,

For the sake of mundane and supramundane accomplishments! {1}

The Illustrious One replied:

Listen, O Sucandra! I will explain to you in summary

The empowerment and its purpose; these sevenfold,

Threefold, and unsurpassable empowerments;

And the movement in the channels and its control. {2}

In the tantras there are three types of summaries

And three types of explanations [pertaining to the Sekoddeśa],

Including the precise summary, the extensive summary,

The precise explanation, and the other (i.e., the extensive explanation). {3}

The summary and explanation

Are referred to as the recitation of the tantra.

The precise summary and the [precise] explanation

Are word-by-word commentaries. {4}

The extensive summary and the [extensive] explanation

Are commentaries that indicate the entirety of the meaning.

They must be composed by those who have obtained supramundane knowledge,

Not by mere scholars. {5}

Through these six [summaries and explanations],

The tantra of the Ādibuddha called Kālacakra is perfect:

Perfect through fourfold vajrayoga;

Perfect through the four types of awakening; {6}

Perfect through the psycho-physical aggregates,

Elements, sense bases, and six families;

Perfect through the five chapters, on the world realm and so forth;

And perfect through [adherence to the principle of] two truths. {7}

First, there is the sevenfold empowerment

To introduce the childish;

Then the threefold one in terms of the relative truth of the world;

And the fourth in terms of the ultimate truth. {8}

The teaching of myself, the vajra holder,

Concerning phenomena, is in terms of the twofold truth:

The relative truth of the world

And the ultimate truth. {9}

The sevenfold empowerment, O King,

Consists of those of water,

Crown, ribbon, vajra and bell,

Great vow, name, and permission. {10}

The purification of body, speech, and mind, F.14.b

With two each, comprise the first six empowerments;

The purification of wisdom, the permission empowerment.

The other purifications are the purification of the elements and so forth: {11}

The water empowerment is the purification of the elements;

That of the crown is the purification of the psycho-physical aggregates;

That of the ribbon is the purification of the perfections;

Those of the vajra and the bell are for the great immovable bliss {12}

And one’s uninterrupted buddha speech, respectively—

They are the purification of the sun and moon [so that they are united] into one.

The purification of the objects and sense faculties

Is the vajra vow that remains intact. {13}

The name empowerment is the purification of love, compassion, joy, and equanimity.

That of permission is the purification for achieving buddhahood.

These seven empowerments must only be given

After having created the maṇḍala. {14}

Next follows the vase empowerment, the secret empowerment,

That called wisdom from a prajñā,

Then, again, that of great prajñā,

Which is known as wisdom gained from her. {15}

The first three are, respectively, moving, moving, and vibrating,

And the supreme one is beyond vibration.

The first three empowerments are taken, respectively,

As the purification of body, speech, and mind, {16}

And the fourth is the purification of wisdom.

The purification of body, speech, and mind.

The three correspond to the level of a child, adult, and elder,

And the fourth to the level of the universal ancestor. {17}

From touching the breast of the prajñā,

There is the bliss of descending bodhicitta.

The adept empowered by the breast is the child

Because such bliss is attained from touching the breast. {18}

From moving the vajra in the secret part for a long time,

The bliss of the further-descending bodhicitta has arisen.

The adept empowered by the secret part is the adult

Because such bliss is attained from the secret part. {19}

From moving the vajra in the secret part for a long time,

The bliss of vibration has arisen at the tip of the vajra.

The adept empowered by the wisdom from a prajñā is the elder

Because of having realized the bliss from vibration. {20}

That which has arisen from passion for the mahāmudrā

Is bliss without vibration.

The adept empowered by the great prajñā is the universal ancestor

Because he realizes the [blissful] state without vibration. {21}

The universal ancestor should be known

As the creator of all protectors.

Being in a state without duality or movement,

He is called Vajrasattva, the Great Being, and Bodhisattva, F.15.a {22}

The Commitment Being,

Fourfold Vajrayoga,

And finally, here, Kālacakra—

The one bestowing liberation on yogins. {23}

This practice must be accomplished

Through manifestations, that are not mentally produced (Skt. acintitaiḥ),^[2]

Namely, the ten signs beginning with smoke,

Which are reflections of insight, similar to the sky. {24}

They are beyond existence and nonexistence.

Their status (Skt. artha) is certain from one’s own experience.

They are entirely devoid

Of accumulations of atoms and particles. {25}

They are smoke, a mirage,

A firefly, a lamp, a flame, the moon, the sun,

Darkness, digit of the moon, and the great drop—

This clear reflection of everything. {26}

With eyes neither closed nor open,

This reflection is seen in emptiness,

Like in a dream. Without conceptualizing it,

One must constantly meditate on this reflection. {27}

Once the reflection [is seen] in the non-existent (i.e., cloudless sky),

The meditation is not the [conceptual] meditation of yogins;

To the mind appears neither existence nor nonexistence,

Because of seeing the reflection of emptiness^[3] without having imagined them. {28}

Just as a virgin sees in the divinatory mirror

The magical image of something unreal,

So, too, the yogin of true reality sees in space

Past and future phenomena. {29}

The object in the reflection is not something real

Because she sees what is empty of real entities.

Something consisting of nonexistent entities

Is like an illusion, a dream, or magic. {30}

Yet, even though it does not exist,

The manifestation of a phenomenon is observed.

It is like a wish-fulfilling jewel

That fulfills the hopes of limitless beings. {31}

In the magical image, the virgin

Sees a thief and so forth not yet seen [by the officiants].

Having gone there, the officiants of the divination

See him with their ordinary eyes. {32}

If she sees a real form,

Why does she not see her own face?

But if she sees an unreal form,

Why does she not see a hare’s horn? {33}

She sees neither with other/superior eyes,^[4]

Nor with her own eyes.

What is being seen has not arisen—

It is like the child of a virgin. F.15.b {34}

Once the reflection is seen,

One must immediately perform breath control,

Because body, speech, and mind

Should be arrested in the three upper and three lower channels. {35}

With regard to the channels—which are the path for

The moon, the sun, Rāhu, excrement, urine, and semen,

And which correspond to the families of the elements of

Water, fire, space, earth, wind, and wisdom— {36}

The channels of body, speech, and mind are taught to be,

With regard to the vital wind and downward-moving wind, respectively,

The channels of the moon, the sun, and Rāhu,

As well as those of excrement, urine, and semen. {37}

The moon is the body of means,

The sun is the speech of insight,

The channel of excrement is the body of insight,

The channel of urine is the speech of the omnipresent. {38}

One upward and one downward—the two channels of mind

Carry Rāhu and the semen, respectively.

The mind of means is the channel of Rāhu,

And the mind of insight is the channel of semen. {39}

Upward and downward and combined with body, speech, and mind,

These channels are the six families.

They reside in embodied beings

As the aspects of means and the aspects of insight. {40}

Due to strong winds above and below,

Signs of death emerge in the channels of body and speech.

Birth, death, and duration

Are related to the channels of Rāhu and of semen. {41}

At the time of birth, death, and during intercourse,

The channel of semen [swells].

Rāhu flows upward during equinox,

When the sun passes [from one sign to the other]. {42}

At the moment of transit, [each time] the ascendant rises,

The middle channel carries the breath of equinox.

It lasts fifty-six and one-quarter breaths, O protector of men,

Counting inhalation and exhalation as one. {43}

In one day and night there are six hundred

Seventy-five [breaths in the middle channel].

The winds—twenty-one thousand

Six hundred times {44}

Minus those [675 breaths]—

Flow in the left and right channels.

They flow in the middle channel for three years

And three fortnights during one hundred years. {45}

In the upper part, the left and right channels

Are the moon, lalanā, and iḍā; and the sun, piṅgalā, and the other (i.e., rasanā).

These two have the nature of water and fire,

And are taken to hold the lotus (i.e., Amitābha) and the jewel (i.e., Ratnasambhava). {46}

In the lower part, there are the two channels of excrement and urine,

Having the nature of earth and wind. F.16.a

They are the middle and left channels,

And are known to hold the disc (i.e., Vairocana) and the sword (i.e., Amoghasiddhi). {47}

In the upper and the lower part, the middle and right channel,

Are those of Rāhu and semen.

They have the nature of emptiness and wisdom,

And both are known to hold vajras (i.e., Akṣobhya and Vajrasattva). {48}

The channel of excrement connects with the path of the moon,

The channel of urine with the path of the sun,

And the channel of semen with the path of Rāhu.

The latter is responsible for birth, death, [the breath of] equinox, and intercourse. {49}

The avadhūtī above the navel is called

Suṣumnā, the channel of darkness.

The channel of the semen below is called

Sky-goer face (Skt. khagamukhā) and conch-shell channel (Skt. śaṅkhinī). {50}

Passing through the lotuses of the navel, heart, throat,

Forehead, and crown of the head,

[The vital wind in the avadhūtī] transports earth into water, water into fire,

Fire into wind, and wind into emptiness—in the mode of dissolution. {51}

Exhaling and inhaling again,

It reenters the earth element by way of production.

The avadhūtī runs

From center to center {52}

And carries body, speech, and mind

At the navel and the secret lotus of the jewel.

Exhaling and inhaling,

It has the nature of dissolution and production, respectively. {53}

The śaṅkhinī carries the downward-moving wind

Of all living beings.

Due to the bliss of [enjoying] women,

It carries semen; and at the time of menstruation it carries blood. {54}

The left and right channels above,

And those carrying excrement and urine below,

Refer to the factors of insight and means respectively,

As do the channels of menstrual blood and semen. {55}

Carrying menstrual blood, the śaṅkhinī is called caṇḍālī.

Carrying semen, it is called khagamukhā.

Above, the avadhūtī is called ḍombī in women referring to menstruation;

In men it is called avadhūtī. {56}

The five maṇḍalas, starting with consciousness,

Always flow in the left channel;

The ones starting with earth, in the right channel;

The sixth (i.e., that of wisdom), in the middle channel. {57}

On the lotus petals at the level of the navel are,

In successive order, sixty maṇḍalas.

At the time of the left and right ascendants,

Constituted by the six starting with Aries and the six starting with Taurus, {58}

The vital breath flows in the two nostrils in due order

To the base, the left, the right, above, and to the middle,

Passing through one maṇḍala after the other,

Starting with earth, during each daṇḍa.^[5]F.16.b {59}

One nāḍikā^[6] successively

Carries 360 breaths.

Five of them

Carry 1,800. {60}

One day and night have 60 nāḍikās;

They are the maṇḍalas of the body [starting with earth].

The vital breath flows to the center of the petals (space) and then, in due order,

Above (wind), to the right (fire), left (water), and below (earth). {61}

In the left nostril the elements always start with space,

And in the right with earth in reverse order.

In the left occurs formation starting with consciousness,

And in the right occurs dissolution starting with earth. {62}

The earth is below and the wind above—

They are insight and means respectively.

Therefore, the [secret] empowerment happens through

The thumb and the ring finger in the mouth [of the disciple]. {63}

Fire is on the right and water on the left—

They are insight and means respectively.

Therefore, the mudrā of the sword is formed with

The middle and index fingers. {64}

The void is above and the immovable below—

They are insight and means respectively;

Therefore, the mudrā of the fangs, which has the shape of a half-moon,

Is formed with the little fingers looking like a hooked knife. {65}

The union of the ten maṇḍalas

Is that of the ten fingers, one [hand] with the other,

Palms joined above the head.

This is the mudrā of the one-pointed vajra and knife. {66}

The equinox in the middle channel

Causes creation and dissolution.

Having entered the middle channel, the psycho-physical aggregates,

Elements, and the three vajras [of body, speech, and mind] become one. {67}

When the channels of the moon and the sun are blocked,

The channels of excrement and urine become blocked.

When the channel of Rāhu is blocked,

The channel of semen below becomes blocked. {68}

When [the upper ones] are released, the respective lower ones are then released,

Causing creation and dissolution.

This is the movement in the channels

Along the threefold paths of both the vital wind and the downward-moving wind. {69}

If excessive vital wind flows

In the left or right channels

For one or five nights [and days],

Then one will die within three years. {70}

[If the vital wind flows] with the death sign of the sun in the right channel,

For five, ten, fifteen, twenty, twenty-five,

Twenty-six, and twenty-seven [nights and] days,

Then for thirty-three (i.e., fifteen, ten, five, and three nights and days), {71}

The life of embodied beings will be gone F.17.a

Within a period of three, two, or one year,

Six, three, two, or one month,

Fifteen, ten, five, or three days, respectively. [Then only] two, [and finally only] one day [are left].^[7] {72}

With the ascent of the moon from the base

In the left channel, one by one,

For days and months,

In steps of three days and three months, {73}

The days of death signs increase

And the months of virtue decrease.

Further, death ascends in the middle channel

At the completion of one hundred years. {74}

Its ascent occurs in relation to even and odd days

And in relation to the maṇḍalas arisen at the time of birth

Once the two parts [of the lotus] on the right and left side

[Consisting of six petals each] have been destroyed. {75}

Otherwise, there will be no death

When the two parts [of the lotus] remain

Due to the movement of [vital wind in those] left and right parts,

And because the five maṇḍalas [of earth and the rest] remain active. {76}

Knowing the defining characteristics of the death signs,

[The adept] must bring the vital wind into the drop.

Based on the bottom of the avadhūtī,

Great immovable bliss must be cultivated. {77}

One needs to keep the vajra continuously erect,

Because the paths of the moon and the sun are suppressed.

Otherwise, the vital wind

Will not enter the body of the avadhūtī, {78}

Nor will the downward-moving wind enter the śaṅkhinī;

And, as a consequence, there will be death.

This circumvention of the death signs

Will occur through the four joys of the yogin. {79}

The initial joy is the descent of the semen

From the lotus at the crown of the head to the one between the eyebrows.

Between the throat and the heart there is the supreme joy;

From there, descending further, the intense joy. {80}

This variegated joy (i.e., intense joy) [occurs until the semen is] at the navel.

At this point, having entered the secret lotus,

The semen descends into the vajra jewel,

Causing coemergent joy—so long as it is not emitted. {81}

Therefore he is called the all-pervading lord of immovable great passion.

Being in nonabiding nirvāṇa, [he avoids these two situations:]

[The semen abiding at the crown of the head] due to the lack of passion,

And blissful emission, which is abiding nirvāṇa.^[8] {82}

The manifestation of the moon drop of semen is located at the crown of the head,

And the phase of the full moon in the lotus of the secret part.

The sixteenth phase is located in the lotus of the jewel,

At the tip of the vajra. {83}

After that, at the beginning of the dark period,

There is the phase of emission.

The sun, because of the absence of passion,

Arrives at the place of the tuft [between the eyebrows] at the time of the new moon. {84}

The sixteenth solar phase F.17.b

Is located in the lotus at the crown of the head.

Because of non-attachment to passionate bliss in this state,

It is called moonless. {85}

In all corporeal beings, at the time of death,

The lunar nectar moves downward;

The solar blood upward; and the consciousness, which is Rāhu,

To what is characterized by becoming (i.e., rebirth). {86}

For this reason, O King,

You must make the lunar nectar move upward,

The solar blood downward,

And the consciousness, which is Rāhu, to immovable bliss. {87}

The full moon of the lunar nectar

Occurs for all buddhas in the lotus of the tuft between the eyebrows,

And the new moon of solar blood in the secret part.

The sixteenth phase of these two occurs in the crown of the head and the jewel. {88}

This vajra verse of the Teacher

Is in opposition to the situation of corporeal beings.

His nirvāṇa is nonabiding,

In opposition to the elements. {89}

The mind in the jewel, the speech in the secret part,

And the body in the navel emerge from great bliss.

The dharmakāya, saṃbhogakāya, and nirmāṇakāya

Radiate from this pure body. {90}

What emerges from below, O King, belongs to means,

And what emerges from above belongs to insight (Skt. prajñā).

The body vajra of the prajñā is at the forehead.

The vajras of speech, mind, and wisdom {91}

Are at the lotuses of the throat, heart, and navel.

They (i.e., the vajras of body, speech, mind, and wisdom) radiate from the nirmāṇakāya and the other bodies.

The psycho-physical aggregates and elements radiate

From unobstructed bliss (i.e., the body of Vajrasattva). {92}

Due to the union with a karmamudrā,

The visualized support of a jñānamudrā,

And the unique union with a mahāmudrā,

Immovable bliss increases. {93}

Of that which has increased, there is no increasing;

Of that which has diminished, there is no diminishing.

Of that which has set, there is no setting;

Likewise, of that which has risen, there is no rising. {94}

Of that which is illuminated, there is no illumination;

Of that which is obscured, there is also no obscuring.

Of that which is born, there is no taking birth;

Of that which is dead, there is no dying. {95}

Of that which is liberated, there is also no liberation;

Of that which does not abide, there is no nonabiding.

Of that which does not exist, there is no nonexistence;

Of that which exists, there is no existence. {96}

Of that which moves, there is no movement;

And of that which does not move, there is no nonmovement.

The rise and fall of all phenomena,

Which lack their own nature, are thus an illusion. F.18.a {97}

Elements neither come into nor pass out of existence

By means of their own nature.

This manifold world lacks its own nature

And has the unique characteristics of [apparent] existence and [ultimate] nonexistence. {98}

When embracing one’s prajñā (i.e., karmamudrā), the bodhicitta

Enters the vajra jewel, which by then is inside the lotus.

When the moon (i.e., bodhicitta) has entered into the jewel, it is in vibration.

The meditation on the unchangeable [mahāmudrā] is free from vibration. {99}

The meditation on body, speech, and mind

Is based on the channels of body, speech, and mind.

The fusion of the three vajras [of body, speech, and mind]

In the śaṅkhinī is the meditation on jñāna. {100}

Because of attachment to the prajñā, the drops

Trickle from the head via the aforementioned stages,

And enter the stage of the full [moon].

They are fixed through [meditation on] the ultimate. {101}

Just as the waxing moon

Becomes gradually full along its phases—

Its fullness due to the receding of its shadow,

And not because of being annihilated and made full again— {102}

So the waxing wisdom

Becomes gradually full along the bodhisattva levels—

Its fullness due to the receding of defilements and so forth,

And not because of being annihilated and made full again. {103}

Just as the moon, with the mark of the rabbit in its middle,

Does not remain in the phase of the full moon,

So, too, the mind does not remain in unchangeable bliss

Because of its mark of saṃsāric imprints. {104}

The waxing and waning fortnights

Are established as the bright and the dark.

The full moon in between these two

Does not remain at its fullest. {105}

Fully complete enlightenment in one instant

Is immovable in its fullness.

When the bodhicitta is in the vajra jewel,

It fills all moments with this experience. {106}

[The mind vajra] is neither based on the bright fortnight,

Nor does it go to the dark one.

It is located in the middle of the two sides—

Based on the full moon, without duality. {107}

Its waxing starts from the crown of the head

And becomes full in the vajra jewel.

Due to lack of passion, these lunar phases are lost. Because of this loss,

[The solar blood] starts from the vajra, becoming full [at the crown of the head]. F.18.b {108}

For corporeal beings, waxing happens again at the crown of the head,

And fullness in the [vajra] jewel.

Due to lack of passion, these lunar phases are lost,

But there is no loss of wisdom (i.e., the sixteenth lunar phase). {109}

Its (i.e., bodhicitta’s) nature is great bliss

And is praised using the metaphor of the full moon.

All other things are the cause

Of creation and dissolution [of sentient beings’ great bliss]. {110}

Just as the moon [proceeds] through its two fortnights

And the sun through its two routes,

So nirvāṇa proceeds from existence

And existence from nirvāṇa. {111}

Immovable great bliss is completed

Through the [bodhisattva] levels during the full moon,

With the help of 21,600 breaths,

Which are devoured by moments of immovable bliss. {112}

It (i.e., immovable bliss) is without the two fortnights,

And is completed through the [bodhisattva] levels.

Its true meaning has twelve aspects,

And its immovable character has sixteen aspects. {113}

Through the [bodhisattva] levels it is full

In twelve aspects, being supreme nonduality.

The bodhicitta, which is full through the lunar phases,

Has sixteen aspects. {114}

It is of one meaning, a phenomenon beyond duality,

The ultimate, indestructible.

It is bodhicitta in the state of fullness,

Completely full in every way. {115}

It is the great passion, which starts with freedom from passion,

Vajra body, great immovable bliss,

Completely full, and unpolluted

By the imprints of both sides (i.e., passion and freedom from passion). {116}

Just as the waters of rivers become the same

As the ocean upon entering it,

So, too, the entirety of existence becomes the same

As the immovable upon entering it. {117}

Just as a set of metals becomes an elixir

When it is devoured [by mercury],

And just as the nature of seeds is acquired through the seeds

And beyond measure^[9] at the time of fruition, {118}

So, too, the entirety of existence,

When devoured by supreme immovable (bliss),

Becomes supreme immovable bliss,

Which embraces all aspects. {119}

He who is bitten does not notice the pain

In the wound or elsewhere,

Nor does he notice objects through his sense faculties,

When the poison develops its full effect. {120}

Likewise, the yogin does not experience true bliss F.19.a

In the vajra jewel or elsewhere,

Nor does he notice objects through his sense faculties,

When the bodhicitta has reached the phase of the full moon. {121}

Just as the great elixir is first present

In only one part of the metal,

And then penetrates to every part of the metal

When red-hot from violent fire, {122}

So, too, the immovable bliss is first present

In only one part (i.e., the vajra jewel)

And then penetrates every part of the mind

When the latter is red-hot from the fire of desire. {123}

Just as metals that are penetrated by the elixir

Have no stains anywhere,

So, too, the penetrated mindstreams

Have no imprints anywhere. {124}

Just as metal transformed into gold

Becomes stainless through fire,

So, too, the mind, repeatedly red-hot from the fire of passion,

Becomes stainless. {125}

Just as a stone clearly shines

When touched by a great jewel,

So, too, the mind becomes blissful

Through contact with immovable bliss. {126}

But why all these words here?

On the level of the relative truth of the world,

The power of the elixir is incomprehensible

In terms of penetrating metal. {127}

How much more, on the level of ultimate truth,

Is the power of wisdom incomprehensible

In terms of penetrating the mind

Defiled by adventitious stains? {128}

The stains are neither externally added to the mind,

Nor are they older than the mind.

They are neither born elsewhere than the mind,

Nor do they remain inexhaustibly in the mind. {129}

If the stains were externally added,

Then the mind would have been stainless beforehand.

If they had existed before the mind,

Then what could they have arisen from? {130}

If they had arisen without the mind,

Then they would be like a sky-flower.

If they had always resided in the mind,

Then they could never be eliminated. {131}

Just as the stains of copper

Are eliminated through union with an elixir,

And its existence—which remains stainless—

Is not eliminated, {132}

So, too, the stains of mind

Are eliminated through its union with emptiness,

And its wisdom—which remains stainless—

Is not eliminated. F.19.b {133}

Just as iron that has been penetrated by the elixir

Does not revert to the nature of iron,

So, too, the mind that has been penetrated by bliss

Does not revert to a state of suffering. {134}

There is no greater transgression than the lack of passion;

No greater merit than supreme bliss.

Therefore, the mind should constantly embrace

Immovable bliss, O King! {135}

Without having made love, a young maiden

Cannot describe sexual bliss.

Having made love in her youth,

She will know great bliss for herself. {136}

Likewise, bliss cannot be described

By those without meditative concentration.

When immovable bliss is attained in meditative concentration,

The yogins will know it for themselves. {137}

Even the omniscient ones are uncertain

About recognizing the bliss which arises from the immovable.

Thus, a state without passion must be avoided by all means,

Because, without it, the mind will lack bliss. {138}

It is recorded that from emission the lack of passion is born,

And from the lack of passion, suffering.

From suffering, the elements of men are ruined,

And from ruining the elements, death will come. {139}

From death a new existence will follow,

And from that again, death and transmigration.

Accordingly, the existence of sentient beings

Comes from the lack of passion and nothing else. {140}

Therefore, one must avoid with all effort

The passion of emission.

By doing so, the yogin proceeds

From the fetters of saṃsāra to immovable bliss. {141}

Without passion one would not [even] be a [good] lover

And not seek out the Kāmaśāstra.

Why, then, would a yogin (likewise) wish for suffering

With regard to this tantra proclaimed by me?^[10] {142}

Through a state in which the semen remains immovable,

[The yogin] must attain supreme immovable (bliss).

Once the support has reached the state of emission,

The supported will be passionless.^[11] {143}

The relation of support and supported remains

As long as [the mind] does not proceed to the immovable.

Once the mind has attained the immovable,

It is without the characteristics of support and supported. {144}

For the adept whose body has been born from the immovable

And whose bodhicitta has reached the cakra at the forehead,

Neither the union of the two series of vowels and consonants

Nor the syllable hūṁ is needed anymore, O King. {145}

The reflection, arisen from emptiness, is the cause, F.20.a

And bliss, born from the immovable, is the result.

The cause is sealed by the result,

And the result is sealed by the cause. {146}

Holding the reflection of emptiness is the cause,

Holding immovable compassion is the result.

Bodhicitta—which is inseparable from

Emptiness and compassion—is not emitted. {147}

The reflection is free from nirvāṇa

And the immovable transcends saṃsāra.

Their union is supreme nonduality,

Free from eternalism and nihilism. {148}

Because the reflection has the character of having arisen

From nonexistence, it is not nonexistent.

Because the immovable, in turn, has the character of having arisen

From existence, existence does not apply to it. {149}

The perfect union of being and nonbeing

Is the nondual, supreme vajrayoga.

It is beyond form and nonform,

Like a magical image in a mirror. {150}

The reflection is not immersed in cyclic existence,

Nor is the immovable immersed in nirvāṇa.

Their mutual connection is peace:

The supreme neutral state. {151}

Because insight has not arisen from a cause,

The result has arisen from insight as [its only possible] cause.

That which has arisen from insight has not arisen from a cause,

Because insight has not arisen from a cause. {152}

Therefore, the wisdom is the unsurpassable

Prajñā cum wisdom,^[12] which has not arisen from a cause.^[13]

There is no mutual sealing, one by the other,

Through result and cause. {153}

Cause and result—everything—

Has arisen through dependence.

The reflection, in which [the two] are mutually sealed,

Is neither born nor extinguished. {154}

[Its] prajñā [aspect] is constant extinction

And [its upāya aspect,] the supreme immovable, is [always] present (lit. “arisen”).

Free from cause and effect,

There is no mutual sealing. {155}

The vision of knowable objects in this world,

Which are neither born nor extinguished,

Are one’s own mind, and nothing else.

This is because external objects of knowledge are [only mentally] separated [from oneself]. {156}

Therefore nothing can seal itself,

With itself, anywhere.

Can a great sword cut itself

With its own blade? {157}

Just as one experiences bliss through union

In a dream with the daughter of a barren woman,

So, too, one experiences bliss for oneself F.20.b

By serving the reflection emerging from space (Viśvamātā, i.e., mahāmudrā). {158}

Neither insight nor means [are independent].

The coemergent one (i.e., Kālacakra) in union with his prajñā

Is full of bliss, indeed,

And without any hindrances. {159}

It is unstained like the sky,

Without object or sense faculty,

Present in everything,

Indivisible, without distinctions. {160}

Self-arisen are Vajrasattva [at the secret part],

The supremely immovable one with the great intent,

And Mahāsattva [at the navel], whose passion is great,

Giving joy to sentient beings. {161}

Self-arisen are Bodhisattva [at the heart], whose hatred is great,

The great enemy destroying defilements;

And Samayasattva [at the throat], whose delusion is great,

Clearing the delusion of deluded intellect. {162}

Self-arisen are Vajrayoga [at the forehead], whose anger is great,

The great enemy of wrathful demons;

And Kālacakra [at the crown of the head], whose attachment is great,

Removing the passion for fleeting bliss. {163}

“The vajra is indivisible”—with that the Illustrious One

Taught [Vajrasattva’s] great intent.

Being (Skt. sattva) refers to the unity of the threefold existence.

It is said to be the supreme immovable bliss. {164}

The one whose supreme immovable bliss is complete,

Who has become perfect through the bodhisattva levels,

Is Mahāsattva, whose passion is great,

Giving joy to all sentient beings. {165}

Being a hero persevering in enlightenment

Without wavering, he is Bodhisattva,

Whose hatred is great, the great enemy

Of all hatred, defilements, and so forth. {166}

For he whose lunar nectar or semen has not been emitted,

The commitment (Skt. samaya) is the devouring [of bliss].

Due to these circumstances he is called Samayasattva,

Clearer of the delusion of deluded intellect. {167}

[Vajrayoga] is the unity of all vajras,

Endowed with insight, bodies, and the immovable.

His anger is great,

Being the great enemy of wrathful demons. {168}

Given his means of great immovable bliss,

[Kālacakra] never abandons the welfare of sentient beings.

Having great attachment, he liberates sentient beings F.21.a

And removes the passion for fleeting bliss. {169}

These six forms of deities are also said

To be the families of the six aggregates:

Wisdom, sensation, consciousness, matter, karmic formations,

And discrimination—all of them in an immovable state. {170}

Likewise they are also, in order,

The elements of wisdom, fire, space, earth,

Wind, and water; the sense faculties of

The mind, the eyes, ears, the body, nose, and tongue; {171}

And the cognitive objects of mental objects (Skt. dharmadhātu),

Visible objects, sound, touch, odor, and taste.

The terrifying King of Wrath with six faces

Is purified with regard to these six families. {172}

The body, the secret organ, and the mind have always been

The threefold maṇḍala [of the Buddha’s body, speech, and mind].

These three vajras, each consisting of insight and means,

Are in the state of Vajrasattva. {173}

These means of accomplishing empowerment,

The means of accomplishing the supreme immovable,

Together with the channels and families,

Have been explained in summary, O [Su]candra.^[14] {174}

This concludes the summary of the means of the supreme immovable empowerment (i.e., the “Sekoddeśa”), from the fifth chapter of the [“Paramādibuddha” that begins with the] chapter on the world realm.

Colophon

It was translated, edited, and finalized by the Kashmiri paṇḍita Somanātha and the Tibetan translator and monk Dro Sherap Drakpa. Rinchen Gyaltsen retranslated, edited, and corrected it in accordance with the commentary (Skt. ṭīkā) of glorious Nāropa.

Notes

“Kālacakra” is according to the Sanskrit, which accords with the Tibetan translation of Ra Chörap and Samantaśrī. The translation by Dro Sherap Drakpa and Somanātha reads “Vajrasattva” (Tib. rdo rje sems dpa’). See Orofino 1994, 54.
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The Tibetan translation has “inconceivable” (bsam gyis mi khyab pa) for acintita, and links it as a genitive attribute to “smoke” in the third line. However, see verse #UT22084-077-002-128, where the reflection (i.e., smoke and the other signs is seen without conceptualizing it).
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The Sanskrit has bimbe, and the Tibetan stong par. However, from the context the reading śūnyatābimba is required.
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See Nāropa’s commentary (Sferra and Merzagora 2006, 1465): “She sees neither with other/superior eyes, i.e., those appearing on the forehead” (anyacakṣurbhyāṃ lalāṭādibhavābhyāṃ na paśyati).
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One daṇḍa or ghaṭikā is equivalent to 24 minutes. See Gnoli and Orofino 1994, 277 fn. 1.
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One nāḍikā is equivalent to 24 minutes. See Gnoli and Orofino 1994, 279 fn. 1.
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When there are two days left, the wind flows in the left channel, and when there is only one day left, it flows in the middle channel. See Gnoli and Orofino 1994, 290.
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Nāropa’s Sekoddeśaṭīkā gives the following commentary on this verse: “The semen of bliss, which, due to the lack of passion (the absence of passion) abides at the crown of the head, is abiding. Emitted from the jewel of the vajra, it is nirvāṇa. This king of bliss is someone whose nirvāṇa is nonabiding, because of pervading the space between the crown of the head and the jewel of the vajra” (virāgād rāgavigamād uṣṇīṣasthaṃ yat saukhyaṃ śukram tat pratiṣṭhitam / yat tu vajramaṇeś cyutaṃ tan nirvāṇam / ayaṃ tu sukharāja uṣṇīṣavajramaṇyantarālavyāpitvād apratiṣṭithanirvāṇaḥ. See Sferra and Merzagora 2006, 165, l. 16–18).
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Skt. mānavarjitam; Tib. nga rgyal spangs. In their edition of the Tibetan of Nāropa’s commentary, Sferra and Merzagora (2006, footnote p. 373) explain that the Tibetan translation of the Sekoddeśaṭikā translates the Sanskrit māna° as nga rgyal, but a more correct interpretation (tshad) can be found in Vijayendra’s *Sekoddeśaṭippaṇī (dbang mdor bstan pa’i brjed byang).
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The reading of this verse according to the Sekoddeśa as quoted in Sahajavajra’s Sthitisamāsa (gnas pa bsdus pa, Toh 2227, Degé 97.a.6–7, Peking 104.b.5–6)https://read.84000.co/translation/toh2227.html makes better sense than the corresponding verse from the versions of the Sekoddeśa itself in the Kangyur. The Sthitisamāsa reads chags bral ’dod ldan ma yin te / / ’dod pa’i sbyor thabs mi (Degé: ’di) ’dod na / / nga yis bstan pa’i (Degé, Peking: pa) rgyud du (Peking: rgyun du) yang / / ci ste rnal ’byor sdug bsngal bskyed.
Even in the worldly art of love one avoids fast emission. All the more should a tantric yogin avoid emission, thus not creating suffering in accordance with tantras. To be sure, the Kālacakra prescribes the avoidance of emission.
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The support is here the seminal drop, and the supported the yogin.
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I.e., taking prajñājñāna as a dvandva compound. See Vimalaprabhā (Dwivedi and Bahulkar 1994) on v. 5.114 (vol. 3, 5320-22): “Here, insight and wisdom are the perceiving mind and the perceived object of this perceiving mind, respectively. The ten [signs] starting with smoke, like a magical reflection in a mirror, are wisdom. The idea is that this is the mind insofar as it is the perceived object.” (iha prajñā ca jñānaṃ ca yathāsaṃkhyaṃ grāhakacittam, tasya ca grāhakacittasya yo daśavidho dhūmādiko grāhya ādarśābhāsaḥ pratisenāvat, sa eva jñānaṃ grāhyacittam ity arthaḥ |). The alternative would be taking prajñājñāna as “wisdom from a prajñā” and translate: “Therefore, the unsurpassable wisdom is not the wisdom from a prajñā, which has arisen from a cause.”
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The alternative would be taking prajñājñāna as “wisdom from a prajñā” and translate: “Therefore, the unsurpassable wisdom is not the wisdom from a prajñā, which has arisen from a cause.”
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DEITY FAMILIES

* Tentative interpretation.** Alternate common designations in brackets.*** Reordered to match v. #UT22084-077-002-280.

Verses	Aspect	Vajrasattva	Mahāsattva	Bodhisattva	Samayasattva	Vajrayoga	Kālacakra
#UT22084-077-002-270	cakras	secret	navel	heart	throat	forehead	crown
#UT22084-077-002-273	purifies*	threefold existence	passion	hatred	delusion	anger	attachment
#UT22084-077-002-279	aggregates [**]	wisdom	sensation [feeling]	consciousness	matter [form]	karmic formations	discrimination [perception]
#UT22084-077-002-280	elements	wisdom	fire	space	earth	wind	water
#UT22084-077-002-280	faculties	mind	eyes	ears	body	nose	tongue
#UT22084-077-002-281	objects	sounds	tastes	mental objects	odors	tangible objects	visible objects
#UT22084-077-002-281***	objects reordered	mental objects	visible objects	sounds	tangible objects	odors	tastes

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