Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was residing in the company of the goddesses. The Goddess asked him, “What method saves beings who are drowning in the ocean of cyclic existence, and how does the deity liberate them from cyclic existence?”
The Blessed One replied, “I will address those points in terms of the means by which wisdom is present during the generation and completion stage yogas. Listen well, Goddess. The generation stage leads one to abide in cessation and reveals the correct path that grants the result. Then one should perform with certainty the type of consecration that involves the use of a consort. One should then practice the elimination of movement and then focus on that. The generation stage is endowed with the correct path through correlation with the physical person.
The Blessed One replied, “The fact of arising refutes nonexistence; this is the space vajra. It is utterly devoid of self and is the moment of bliss. It arises like the expansive feeling of happiness that arises when the entire population of a city that has been oppressed by force is released from bondage.”
“Blessed One,” asked the Goddess, “why is it necessary to stabilize the body? Is it not the case that it is no longer present after the blood and bodhicitta have combined in the pathway and one has been liberated from false appearances? Does it grant the result, or did you describe it in terms of practical application for those who wish to reveal it?”
The Blessed One replied, “The body is called ‘vajra.’ This is similar to the correlation between the illusory being and the physical person. ‘The blood after it has combined in the pathway’ means that blood has combined in the vajra’s pathway at the time that understanding of complete equality dawns through the movement of blood in the five aggregates via the lalanā, rasanā, and avadhūtī. ‘The functional body’ refers to the body that moves, lacks endurance, and is subject to impulses. That is the functional body. I spoke of having performed a function for those who are confused about functionality.”
“What is the Dharma?” asked the Goddess. “What teachings have you given from the collection of Dharma? Was this done for the happiness and welfare of human beings, for a specific purpose, or so that they might gain the desirable result of eliminating disease?”
The Blessed One replied, “I will explain how beings who have taken a human birth can easily attain the siddhis for whatever Dharma they practice. The eight great siddhis are the sword, collyrium, pill, and swift feet siddhis, together with rendering medicines effective, competence in mantras, and mercury and alchemy. In addition to attaining the eight great siddhis, a person can attain any other siddhi using the tantras of Mahākāla, and they will surely do so with ease.”
The Blessed One replied, “Its concealing is widely described as an excellent means of protection and the proper way to conceal oneself, even from the drumming of horse hooves.”
The Blessed One replied, “There are thirty-two channels. There is restraining inhalation and exhalation and releasing the breath that has arisen within the body, which is set in motion by the sun and the moon. To express the exact calculation, there are twenty-one thousand six hundred movements of breath, with a moment consisting of an inhalation and exhalation.”
“Blessed One,” asked the Goddess, “did you sanction what Kāmadeva revealed, the conditions that ensued when Nārāyaṇa, the fulfiller of desire, took on an illusory form and, for the sake of Lakṣmī and Sarasvatī, became a protector deity who delivered the destitute from darkness?”
“Goddess,” the Blessed One replied, “as the beings of Jambudvīpa cycle through cyclic existence, they give rise to delusion, desire, jealousy, and slander. Since that is the case, and since they have faith in what glorious Mahākāla has taught, like Nārāyaṇa, I have taught the practice of generating Kāmadeva and his retinue of sixty-four ḍākinīs.”
The Blessed One replied, “The term mahākāla refers to the long duration of time that it takes to visualize and remain as Mahākāla, as well as the fact that one performs this every day and at the best time for doing so. Alternately, the term mahākāla refers to something that requires a long time, namely, performing the rites for Mahākāla in their entirety.”
The Blessed One replied, “Ma refers to the fact that he is a compassionate being, and hā refers to the fact that he possesses insight, and to insight itself. Kāla is a combination of two syllables that together mean ‘time’ and that signify method and insight in union as great compassion.
“There are eight yoginīs who appear in this tantra and are respectively identified as the queens of the yogas of paralyzing, expelling, paralyzing an army, and hostile rites. They are generated through the visualization of Caṇḍeśvarī, Carcikā, Kālikā, Kulikeśvarī, Khaṇḍaruhī, Dantotkaṭī, Pracālī, and Maheśvarī.
“Someone with insight into grasping, for whom time is essential, seeks liberation. For them, there is no meditator and no object of meditation. The visualizations are not produced by anything. Then, through mastery over the afflicted mind, the mind is freed of imputation. They can assume the form of Vetāli without generating it, and, when moving among the five families, they can accomplish any rite just as it was taught. They can pursue one after the other whether or not it is the appropriate particular lunar day, guaranteeing the attainment of any siddhi. Such are the fruits of this Dharma instruction.”
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was residing in the company of the goddesses. The Goddess asked him, “What method saves beings who are drowning in the ocean of cyclic existence, and how does the deity liberate them from cyclic existence?”
The Blessed One replied, “I will address those points in terms of the means by which wisdom is present during the generation and completion stage yogas. Listen well, Goddess. The generation stage leads one to abide in cessation and reveals the correct path that grants the result. Then one should perform with certainty the type of consecration that involves the use of a consort. One should then practice the elimination of movement and then focus on that. The generation stage is endowed with the correct path through correlation with the physical person.
The Blessed One replied, “The fact of arising refutes nonexistence; this is the space vajra. It is utterly devoid of self and is the moment of bliss. It arises like the expansive feeling of happiness that arises when the entire population of a city that has been oppressed by force is released from bondage.”
“Blessed One,” asked the Goddess, “why is it necessary to stabilize the body? Is it not the case that it is no longer present after the blood and bodhicitta have combined in the pathway and one has been liberated from false appearances? Does it grant the result, or did you describe it in terms of practical application for those who wish to reveal it?”
The Blessed One replied, “The body is called ‘vajra.’ This is similar to the correlation between the illusory being and the physical person. ‘The blood after it has combined in the pathway’ means that blood has combined in the vajra’s pathway at the time that understanding of complete equality dawns through the movement of blood in the five aggregates via the lalanā, rasanā, and avadhūtī. ‘The functional body’ refers to the body that moves, lacks endurance, and is subject to impulses. That is the functional body. I spoke of having performed a function for those who are confused about functionality.”
“What is the Dharma?” asked the Goddess. “What teachings have you given from the collection of Dharma? Was this done for the happiness and welfare of human beings, for a specific purpose, or so that they might gain the desirable result of eliminating disease?”
The Blessed One replied, “I will explain how beings who have taken a human birth can easily attain the siddhis for whatever Dharma they practice. The eight great siddhis are the sword, collyrium, pill, and swift feet siddhis, together with rendering medicines effective, competence in mantras, and mercury and alchemy. In addition to attaining the eight great siddhis, a person can attain any other siddhi using the tantras of Mahākāla, and they will surely do so with ease.”
The Blessed One replied, “Its concealing is widely described as an excellent means of protection and the proper way to conceal oneself, even from the drumming of horse hooves.”
The Blessed One replied, “There are thirty-two channels. There is restraining inhalation and exhalation and releasing the breath that has arisen within the body, which is set in motion by the sun and the moon. To express the exact calculation, there are twenty-one thousand six hundred movements of breath, with a moment consisting of an inhalation and exhalation.”
“Blessed One,” asked the Goddess, “did you sanction what Kāmadeva revealed, the conditions that ensued when Nārāyaṇa, the fulfiller of desire, took on an illusory form and, for the sake of Lakṣmī and Sarasvatī, became a protector deity who delivered the destitute from darkness?”
“Goddess,” the Blessed One replied, “as the beings of Jambudvīpa cycle through cyclic existence, they give rise to delusion, desire, jealousy, and slander. Since that is the case, and since they have faith in what glorious Mahākāla has taught, like Nārāyaṇa, I have taught the practice of generating Kāmadeva and his retinue of sixty-four ḍākinīs.”
The Blessed One replied, “The term mahākāla refers to the long duration of time that it takes to visualize and remain as Mahākāla, as well as the fact that one performs this every day and at the best time for doing so. Alternately, the term mahākāla refers to something that requires a long time, namely, performing the rites for Mahākāla in their entirety.”
The Blessed One replied, “Ma refers to the fact that he is a compassionate being, and hā refers to the fact that he possesses insight, and to insight itself. Kāla is a combination of two syllables that together mean ‘time’ and that signify method and insight in union as great compassion.
“There are eight yoginīs who appear in this tantra and are respectively identified as the queens of the yogas of paralyzing, expelling, paralyzing an army, and hostile rites. They are generated through the visualization of Caṇḍeśvarī, Carcikā, Kālikā, Kulikeśvarī, Khaṇḍaruhī, Dantotkaṭī, Pracālī, and Maheśvarī.
“Someone with insight into grasping, for whom time is essential, seeks liberation. For them, there is no meditator and no object of meditation. The visualizations are not produced by anything. Then, through mastery over the afflicted mind, the mind is freed of imputation. They can assume the form of Vetāli without generating it, and, when moving among the five families, they can accomplish any rite just as it was taught. They can pursue one after the other whether or not it is the appropriate particular lunar day, guaranteeing the attainment of any siddhi. Such are the fruits of this Dharma instruction.”
Sutraya