Guhyagarbha Tantra (with Commentary)
by Gyurme Dorje | 1987 | 304,894 words
The English translation of the Guhyagarbha Tantra, including Longchenpa's commentary from the 14th century. The whole work is presented as a critical investigation into the Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism, of which the Guhyagarbhatantra is it's principle text. It contains twenty-two chapters teaching the essence and practice of Mahayoga, which s...
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Text 8.23 (Commentary)
[Guhyagarbha-Tantra, Text section 8.23]
(Illustrated) by the supreme central deity
Who is endowed in this way.
The conquerors and the supreme conqueror
Are similarly endowed.
As are the twelve (surrounding pairs of Bodhisattvas).
And the six (sages) who have a diffusion of blazing light. [23] ...[Tibetan]
de-ltar ldan-pa'i gtso-mchog-gis /
rgyal-ba rgyal-mchog de-bzhin-du /
bcu-gnyis drug-gi 'od-'phror 'bar / [23]
Commentary:
[When these (deities) have been excellently visualised, there is the third section concerning the radiance of the 尘补峁囜笉补濒补 of the 21,000 buddhas. (It comments on Ch. 8.23):]
Illustrated by (gis) the supreme central deity (gtso-mchog), the male & female Vairocana, who is endowed in this way (de-ltar ldan-pa'i) with the thousand Buddhas, the four (other) enlightened families of conquerors (rgyal-ba) and Samantabhadra the supreme conqueror (rgyal-mchog) are also estimated to be similarly endowed (de-bzhin-du), so that each has a thousand (buddhas), making six thousand. Also endowed in the same way as these are the twelve (bcu-gnyis) (surrounding pairs), namely, the eight pairs of male & female spiritual warriors, and the four pairs of male & female gatekeepers鈥攖welve thousand in number. The six (drug) who have a diffusion of biasing light (-gi 'od 'phro-'bar) are the six sages, who have no female consorts. The 尘补峁囜笉补濒补 to be refined (on this path) altogether has an enumeration of twenty-one-thousand three-hundred-and-twelve (deities). Those who hold it to comprise twenty-four thousand (deities) conceitedly attribute female consorts to the six sages.[1]
[Once this (尘补峁囜笉补濒补) has been experienced, there is the fourth section concerning the refinement of the 尘补峁囜笉补濒补 of inconceivable Buddhas (which comments on Ch. 8.24):]
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Footnotes and references:
[1]:
Lo-chen Dharma艣r墨, op. cit., p. 238, while agreeing that the sages have no consorts, holds that they still number twenty-four thousand because he includes a retinue of inner & outer male & female bodhisattvas associated with their energy channels, alongside the standard enumeration of twenty-three male and seventeen female deities in the limbs.