The Tibetan Book of the Dead — ed. W. Y. Evans-Wentz

1 According to the esotericism of Northern Buddhism, man is, in the sense implied by the mystical philosophies of ancient Egypt and Greece, the microcosm of the macrocosm,

2 Text: dkyil-hkhor (pron. kytl-khor): Skt. mandala, i.e. conclave of deities.

3 The Tutelary Deities, too, in the last analysis, are the visualizations of the person believing in them, Zhe Demchok Tantra says that the ‘ Devatas are but symbols representing the various things which occur on the Path, such as the helpful impulses and the stages attained by their means’; and that ‘should doubts arise as to the divinity of these Devatads, one should say ‘The Dakini is only the recollection of the body ”’ and remember that the deities constitute the Path’ (cf. A. Avalon, Tantitk Texts, London, 1919, vii. 41).

Pee) LIGHT-PATHS OF THE WISDOMS — 1:23

From the heart of Vajra-Sattva, the white light-path of the Mirror-like Wisdom, white and transparent, glorious and dazzling, glorious and terrifying, made more glorious with orbs surrounded by smaller orbs of transparent and radiant light upon it, each like an inverted mirror, will come -to shine.

From the heart of Ratna-Sambhava, the yellow light-path of the Wisdom of Equality, [glorified] with yellow orbs [of radiance], each like an inverted gold cup, surrounded by smaller orbs, and these with yet smaller orbs, will come to shine.

From the heart of Amitabha, the transparent, bright red light-path of the Discriminating Wisdom, upon which are orbs, like inverted coral cups, emitting rays of Wisdom, extremely bright and dazzling, each glorified with five [satellite] orbs of the same nature,—leaving neither the centre nor the borders [of the red light-path] unglorified with orbs and smaller satellite orbs,—will come to shine.

These will come to shine against thy heart simultaneously.’

O nobly-born, all those are the radiances of thine own intellectual faculties come to shine. They have not come from any other place. Be not attracted towards them; be not weak ; be not terrified ; but abide in the mood of non- thoughtformation.2. In that state all the forms and radiances will merge into thyself, and Buddhahood will be obtained.

The green light-path of the Wisdom of Perfected Actions will not shine upon thee, because the Wisdom-faculty of thine intellect hath not been perfectly developed.

O nobly-born, those are called the Lights of the Four

1 Each of these mystical radiances symbolizes the particular Bodhic, or Wisdom, quality of the Buddha whence it shines. In the Tibetan of our text there is here such fervency in the poetical description of the light-paths that the translator, in order to render something of the beauty of the original language, essayed several renderings, of which the actual rendering is the outcome.

In the Tibetan of our text there is here such fervency in the poetical description of the light-paths that the translator, in order to render something of the beauty of the original language, essayed several renderings, of which the actual rendering is the outcome.

2 ‘The mood of non- thought-formation’ is attained in samdadhi-yoga. This state, regarded as the primordial state of Mind, ts illustrated by the following figure: So long as a man afloat on a river passively submits to the current, he is carried along smoothly; but if he attempts to grasp an object fixed in the water the tranquillity of his motion is broken. Similarly, thought-formation arrests the natural flow of the mind.

p. 124

Wisdoms United, [whence proceeds that] which is called the Inner Path through Vajra-Sattva.!

At that time, thou must remember the teachings of the setting-face-to-face which thou hast had from thy gurzw. If thou hast remembered the purport of the settings-faceto-face, thou wilt have recognized all these lights which have shone upon thee, as being the reflection of thine own inner light, and, having recognized them as intimate friends, thou wilt have believed in them and have understood [them at] the meeting, as a son understandeth his mother.

And believing in the unchanging nature of the pure and holy Truth, thou wilt have had produced in thee the tranquil-flowing Samadhi; and, having merged into the body of the perfectly evolved intellect, thou wilt have obtained Buddhahood in the Sambhoga-K aya, whence there is no return.

O nobly-born, along with the radiances of Wisdom, the impure illusory lights of the Six Lokas will also come to shine. If it be asked, ‘What are they?’ [they are] a dull white light from the devas, a dull green light from the asuras, a dull yellow light from human beings, a dull blue light from the brutes, a dull reddish light from the frezas, and a dull smoke-coloured light from Hell.? These six thus will come to shine, along with the six radiances of Wisdom; whereupon, be not afraid of nor be attracted towards any, but allow thyself to rest in the non-thought condition.

} In the transcendental state of the Illumination of Buddhahood, on the Inner, or Secret, Path, into Vajra-Sattva merge, in at-one-ment, all the Peaceful and Wrathful Deities of the greater mandala described by our text; in all, onehundred and ten,—forty-two in the heart-centre, ten in the throat-centre, and fifty-eight in the brain-centre. (Cf. pp. 217-8.)

(Cf. pp. 217-8.)

2 There are irreconcilable differences between the colours assigned to these light-paths in the Block-Print (25b) and in our MS. The Block-Print gives them as follows: white, from the devas; red, from the asuras; blue, from human beings; green, from the brutes; yellow, from the prefas; smokecoloured from Hell. According to the translator, the colours should correspond to the colour of the Buddha of each Joka, thus: deva, white; asuva, green; human, yellow; brute, blue; pvefa, red; Hell, smoke-coloured or black. Therefore, the Block-Print is wrong in all save the first and last; and the MS. is wrong in assigning dull blue to the human and black or smoke-coloured to the animal world. On folio 23, the MS. correctly assigns yellow to the human world light-path, The necessary corrections have been made in the translation herein and in the corresponding passages in folio 46 following.

panel] LIGHT-PATHS OF THE WISDOMS 125

If thou art frightened by the pure radiances of Wisdom and attracted by the impure lights of the Six Lokas, then thou wilt assume a body in any of the Six Lofas and suffer sangsaric miseries; and thou wilt never be emancipated from the Ocean of Sangsara, wherein thou wilt be whirled round and round and made to taste of the sufferings thereof.

O nobly-born, if thou art one who hath not obtained the select words of the guru, thou wilt have fear of the pure radiances of Wisdom and of the deities thereof. Being thus frightened, thou wilt be attracted towards the impure sangsdaric objects. Act not so. Humbly trust in the dazzling pure radiances of Wisdom. Frame thy mind to faith, and think, ‘The compassionate radiances of Wisdom of the Five Orders of Buddhas! have come to take hold of me out of compassion ; I take refuge in them.’

Not yielding to attraction towards the illusory lights of the Six Lokas, but devoting thy whole mind one-pointedly towards the Divine Fathers and Mothers, the Buddhas of the Five Orders, pray thus:

‘Alas! when wandering in the Saxgsara through the power of the five virulent poisons,’

On the bright radiance-path of the Four Wisdoms united,

May [I] be led by the Five Victorious Conquerors,

May the Five Orders of Divine Mothers be [my] rearguard ;

May [I] be rescued from the impure light-paths of the Six
Lokas ;

And, being saved from the ambuscades of the dread Bardo,

May [I] be placed within the five pure Divine Realms.’

By thus praying, one recognizeth one’s own inner light ; *

1 Text: Bde-var-gshegs-pa (pron. De-war-sheg-pa): Skt. Sugata: literally meaning ‘Those who have passed into Happiness (or attained Mirvana)’—i.e. Buddhas,

2 The five virulent poisons, which, like drugs, enslave and bind mankind to the sufferings of existence within the confines of the Six Lokas, are: lust, hatred, stupidity, pride or egoism, and jealousy,