Text 6.7 (Commentary)

[Guhyagarbha-Tantra, Text section 6.7]

There are the kings and queens of the circle,
Then, starting from the right, there are respectively
The one of sight, the one of hearing.
The one of scent, and the one of savour.
Along with the assembled host of their queens.
And in the corners between these are
The one of the eyes, the one of the ears.
The one of the nose, and the one of the tongue.
Along with the assembled host of their queens.
In the courtyard are revealed the six sages
And to the front and rear the pair who are
The active subject and the passive object.
At the four embrasured gates abide the subjugators
Along with the assembled host of their queens. [7] ...

[Tibetan]

'khor-lo rgyal-po rgyal-mo-dang /
gYas-nas mthong-thos snom-pa-dang /
myong-dang btsun-mo'i tshogs-su bcas /
gru-chad-la-ni mthong-byed-dang /
thos-byed snom-byed myong-byed rnams /
btsun-mo'i tshogs-dang bcas-par gnas /
bar-khyams-la-ni thub-drug-dang /
mdun-dang rgyab-tu byed-pa-dang /
bya-ba-dag-ni gnas-par-bstan /
sgo-khyud bzhi-la 'joms-pa-ni /
btsun-mo'i tshogs-dang ldan-par gnas / [7] ...

Commentary:

[ii. The second, concernins which deities are present in which locations, (comments on Ch. 6.7):]

At the centre and on the four spokes of the main circle ('khor-lo) there are the kings (rgyal-po) or five male consorts beeinning with Vairocana, and (dang) the queens (rgyal-mo) or five female consorts. Then, starting from the right (gYas-nas) or the south-eastern direction of the central deity (Vairocana) and at the extremities of the four spokes, there are respectively Kṣitigarbha, the one of sight (mthong); Vajrapāṇi, the one of hearing (thos); Ākāśagarbha, the one of scent (snom-pa); and (dang) Avalokiteśvara, the one of savour (myong-dang); along with the assembled host (tshogs-su bcas) of their queens (btsun-mo'i), namely, Lāsyā, Mālyā, Gītā, and Nartī.

Similarly, in the (la-ni) four corners between these (gru-chad), starting from the south-east, there are (gnas) respectively Maitreya, the one of the eyes (mthong-byed-dang); Nivāraṇaviṣkambhin, the one of the ears (thos-byed); Samantabhadra, the one of the nose (snom-byed); and Mañjuśrī, the one of the tongue (myong-byed-rnams), along with (dang-bcas-par) the assembled host (tshogs) of their queens (btsun-mo'i), namely, Dhūpā, Puṣpā, Ālokā, and Gandhā, in a posture of embrace.

In the (la-ni) outer courtyard (bar-khyams) are the six eases (thub-drug) of the gods and so forth, whose respective abodes accord with the following description from the Sequence of Light (T. 4731):

In the south-east are the gods
In the south are the human beings.
In the south-west and north-west
Are the tormented spirits and animals respectively,
And in the north and north-east
Are the antigods and the denizens of hell respectively.

And (dang) to the front and rear (mdun-dang rgyab-tu) of the central deity there are revealed (gnas-par btsan) in the eastern and western directions of the inner courtyard the pair (dag-ni) who are the active male subject (byed-pa) and the passive female object (-dang bya-ba)—respectively Samantabhadra who activates the glow that arises, and Samantabhadrī who is the basis for the glow that arises. This is because all maṇḍalas are shown to arise from these two.^[1]

Now, there are some who hold that these two are present to the rear and front of the central deity, some who hold that they lie to the east and west of the courtyard, and some who hold that they are within the heart-centre of the central deity. However these statements do not arrive at the definitive essence, which is as follows: in this context, the male & female consorts Samantabhadra, who are the basis for the glow that arises, are explained to be in the courtyard. The male 8- female consorts Samantabhadra who are associated with the central deity of the maṇḍala are not differentiated (in this context) because they are themselves the five enlightened families. Also. when they are explained to be among the forty-two (deities), this refers to the description of the peaceful deities of the buddha-body of perfect rapture in their apparitional mode. and not to the teaching concerning the central deities who are the active subject and passive object. Then, when the male & female consorts Samantabhadra are visualised in the heart-centre of the central deity during contemplative meditation, this refers to the apparitional perfection stage. At that time when the mind apprehends the inner radiance of the nucleus, inner radiance is apprehended by meditation on the buddha-body of reality, the male-female Samantabhadra, a full finger-span in size.^[2]

As has previously been Indicated, the male & female Samantabhadra are present in the field of the buddha-body of reality because they are free from conceptual elaboration. Thence, in the spontaneous Bounteous Array which is the pristine cognition of sameness throughout the four times, the male & female consorts of the buddha-body of perfect rapture are present, forming the five enlightened families. And thence, in the world-systems of those to be trained, the natural expressions of Vajrapāṇi, Vajrasattva, the six sages and so forth are present. For example, in this Buddha-field the transcendent lord known as Śākyamuni was seen as the emanational body by pious attendants, self-centred buddhas, ordinary individuals, and those (Bodhisattvas) who were on the paths of provision and connection, but he was seen as the body of perfect rapture by sublime bodhisattvas and so forth.^[3]

At the four embrasured sates (sgo-khyud bzhi-la), starting from the east, the subjugators ('joms-pa-ni) of the four demons, namely, the four wrathful deities Yamāntaka, Mahābala, Hayagrīva, and Amṛtakuṇḍalin, along with the assembled host (tshogs-dang ldan-par) of their queens (btsun-mo'i), namely, Aṅkuśā, Pāśā, Sphotā, and Gaṇṭhā, abide (gnas) in a display of the nine dramatic airs.

These nine dramatic airs are described as follows in the Garland of narration (klog-gi phreng-ba):^[4]

Erotic, heroic, and ugly,
Wild, fierce, and terrifying.
Compassionate, awesome, and peaceful—
These nine dramatic airs are possessed.

At this Juncture, there are some agitated by the mirage of wrong view who have degenerated from genuine experience, and who are stranded in the desert sands of error, hard to traverse, saying that the central deity and the retinue are erroneous because Samantabhadra the teacher of this tantra has been ejected to the periphery of the maṇḍala, while Akṣobhya has been installed at the centre. in response to this there are some who say that (Samantabhadra) brings out the greatness of the retinue. Just as father Influences his child; and there are some who say that the (Samantabhadrī), the passive object, is arrayed at the centre and (Samantabhadra), the active subject, then abides at the periphery, in the manner of a fortune-teller casting lots. And, there are yet others who say that Akṣobhya is depicted in the centre because in the situation of the ground the central deity is mirror-like, in the situation of the path he becomes the ground-of-all or basis of buddha-body and pristine cognition, and in the situation of the result the mirror-like pristine cognition is revealed as the central deity. However the excellent points made in all these statements have not been properly understood.^[5]

It is not even certain that (a deity) will emerge at the centre because he is the expositor (of a particular tantra). Otherwise, Śākyamuni would implicitly emerge at the centre (of the maṇḍala) in the Magical Net of Mañjuśrī (T. 360) and in the Purification of All Evil Destinies (T. 483), whereas it is Vairocana and Jñānasattva who do respectively emerge. The central deities and retinues of these (tantras) would in that case be defective. In all maṇḍala of the Kriyātantras too, the sage (Śākyamuni) and Vajrapāṇi would implicitly emerge at the centre because they are the expositors, for which reason those (Kriyātantras) with Vairocana or Akṣobhya and their retinues as the central deities would be in error. Such implications could not be avoided.

Rather, it is the case that the male-female Samantabhadra arrayed in the courtyard is revealed as the basis for the glow that arises, but is never depleted as the central deity. Nor is Akṣobhya installed at the centre, because it is Vairocana, the deity of buddha-mind who is so depicted. Indeed, this very defect (of an erroneous central deity) does not exist because he himself is the teacher, the male-female Samantabhadra. You (sophists) are extremely deluded with regard to the resultant vehicle of indestructible reality. Since your intellects do not focus even on the merest description of (Samantabhadra) as the central deity and as the basis for (the glow) that arises, how can you contradict the meaning of these secret mantras? You should instead enter paths which have been revealed by cowherds!^[6]

[iii. The third aspect (of the maṇḍala of the supported deity) concerns the symbolic hand-implements which they hold. (It comments on Chapter 6.8):]

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Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Tibetan byed-pa-po kun-tu bzang-po gdangs-kyi 'char-byed-dang bya-ba-mo kun-tu bzang-mo gdangs-kyi 'char-gzhi. On this expression, in addition to the following explanation, see above, Ch. 1, p. 401-403 and notes 87-89.

[2]:

Tibetan tshon gang-ba.

[3]:

Cf. the above quoted passages, pp. 488-491, concerning the way in which the body-body is said to assume different appearances. kLong-chen-pa, p. 235.4, also reads 'phags-pa rnams-kyi instead of 'phags-pa rnams-kyis.

[4]:

This passage corresponds to Hevajra Tantra. II, v, 26.

[5]:

As kLong-chen-pa explains below, pp. 648-9, these statements confuse the position of Samantabhadra as expositor, central deity and basis for the arising glow of the deities. On his controversial placement of Vairocana rather than Akṣobhya at the centre, see above. Ch. 1, pp. 399-401.

[6]:

Tibetan ba-lang rdzi-dag-gis bstan-pa'i lam. Cf. kLong-chen-pa's above remark, p. 578, note 29