Text 9.16 (Commentary)

[Guhyagarbha-Tantra, Text section 9.16]

Body, speech, mind, and all phenomena
Do not abide in any respect, and are non-referential.
Like an optical illusion, through this union.
Meditate on the space within space. [16]

[Tibetan]

lus-ngag-sems-dang chos thams-cad /
gang-la'ang mi-gnas mi-dmigs-te /
mig-yor tshul-du sbyor-ba-yis /
nam-mkha'-la-ni nam-mkha' bsgom / [16]

Commentary:

[The offerings of discriminative awareness which does not abide in the two extremes:]

The conflicting apprehension, attachment and ordinary thoughts of these male & female consorts who are equipoised in non-duality should be purified right where they are. Therefore, the body, speech, and mind (lus-ngag-sems) of oneself and the female consort, and (dang) the nature of all (thams-cad) outer and inner phenomena (chos) indicated by bliss do not abide in any (gang-la'ang mi-gnas) objective respect, and are non-referential (mi-dmigs-te) also in terms of a subjective mind. in that disposition, like an optical illusion (mig-yor tshul-du) which is non-existant but apparitional, and through this union (sbyor-ba-yis) of the male & female consorts in non-duality, one should meditate on the space (nam-mkha' bsgom) of the unimpeded pristine cognition or mind-as-such within the space (nam-mkha'-la ni) of the uncreated expanse where skillful means and discriminative awareness are without duality. One should become equipoised and playful in the essence of their indivisible reality.^[1]

iii. The third aspect (of the empowerment into the maṇḍala of the female consort—see p. 812) concerns the actual entrance and the empowerment (345.3-348.6). its two subdivisions are therefore the entrance and the empowerment.

[The former (comments on Ch. 9.17):]

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Footnotes and references:

[1]:

This non-dual union of subjective ye-shes and objective dbyings is emphasised in Anuyoga. Cf. NSTB, Book 1, Pt. 4, pp. 162bff.