The physical yoga instructions in Virūpa’s Amṛtasiddhi text, as composed by Amoghavajra, begin with a number of foundational positions, such as the lotus cross-legged posture and lying flat on the back. This post presents a selection of physical yoga practices performed from a position settled on the base of the spine.

I have interpreted the Tibetan phrase mar gyi tshigs pa as referring to the lower end or base of the spine, and the phrase mar gyi tshigs pa brtan par bya as “firmly securing the lower end of the spine.” In my view, the instructions suggest that the yogin tilts the body slightly backwards so as to settle firmly on the base of the spine before performing the subsequent exercises. This interpretation is my own understanding of the postures described in the text.

The sitting posture called tsog gu in Tibetan has been translated here as "squatting posture." The principal characteristic of tsog gu'i 'dug stangs is that the knees are held upright or erect. This posture may be assumed in a variety of ways: with the legs crossed or held parallel, with the buttocks resting on or raised above the ground.

I have translated mgrin pa dgug as "draw in the throat" rather than "bend the throat," which I used in some earlier translations. This instruction is often rendered as "bend the neck." According to Tāranātha, however, the posture should be performed in such a way that the back of the neck is stretched without excessive bending. It is also sometimes described as pressing the chin against the chest so that the larynx is slightly compressed.

Note: This post is for educational and informational purposes only. The author has no first-hand experience of the practices described here. The translations and accompanying notes are based solely on textual study and should not be regarded as practical instruction.

1.

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།མར་གྱི་ཚིགས་པ་བརྟན་བྱས་ཤིང་། 
།སྒལ་ཚིགས་བསྲང་ལ་མགྲིན་པ་དགུག 
།རྐང་གཉིས་དག་དང་ལག་གཉིས་ནི། 
།ནམ་མཁའ་དག་ལ་གདེང་བྱས་ཏེ། 
།ལན་བདུན་བར་དུ་སྤྲུག་པར་བྱའོ།

2.

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།ཚིགས་པའི་མར་མཚམས་བརྟན་བྱས་ཏེ། 
།ལག་གཉིས་ས་ལ་བཙུགས་བྱས་ནས། 
།སོར་བཅུ་བསྣོལ་བའི་སྟེང་དག་ཏུ། 
།ཞབས་གཉིས་གཤིབས་ལ་བརྟན་བྱས་ནས། 
།ཅོག་གུའི་ཚུལ་གྱིས་འདུག་བྱ་སྟེ། 
།སྒལ་ཚིགས་བསྲང་ལ་མགྲིན་པ་དགུག 
།བྲང་ཁོག་དག་གི་སྦྱོར་བ་ཡིས། 
།གཡས་གཡོན་རབ་ཏུ་བསྲང་བྱ་སྟེ། 
།གཞུངས་པ་ལན་བདུན་བསྲང་བར་བྱ།

3.

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ཚིགས་པའི་མར་མཚམས་བརྟན་བྱས་ཏེ། 
།རྐང་གཡོན་ཅོག་གུར་འདུག་བྱ་སྟེ། 
།སྒལ་ཚིགས་བསྲང་ཞིང་མགྲིན་པ་དགུག 
།ལག་གཉིས་སོར་བཅུ་བསྣོལ་བྱས་ནས། 
།སྟོབས་བསྐྱེད་ཕྱིར་བཟློག་བརྐྱང་བ་ལ། 
།རྐང་གཡས་དྲག་ཏུ་བརྐྱང་བྱས་ཤིང༌། 
།སོར་བཅུའི་རྒྱབ་གཏད་ཕུལ་བྱས་ཏེ། 
།རྐང་གཡོན་དག་ཀྱང་དེ་བཞིན་ནོ།

4.

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།ཚིགས་པའི་མར་མཚམས་བརྟན་བྱ་སྟེ། 
།ལག་གཉིས་སྟོབས་བསྐྱེད་ཐལ་མོ་ནི། 
།གཡས་གཡོན་གཉིས་སུ་ས་ལ་བཙུགས། 
།རྐང་གཉིས་སྟོབས་བསྐྱེད་རྟིང་པ་ནི། 
།རེ་མོས་དག་གི་སྦྱོར་བ་ཡིས༑ 
།བརླ་ཤ་གཉིས་ལ་བརྡེག་པར་བྱ།

5.

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།ཚིགས་པའི་མར་མཚམས་བརྟན་བྱ་སྟེ། 
།རྐང་གཡས་བཀུག་པའི་མགུལ་པ་ནི། 
།མཇིང་པ་དག་ལ་རྒལ་བྱ་སྟེ། 
།རྐང་གཡོན་སྟོབས་བསྐྱེད་ལངས་བྱ་ཞིང་། 
།ཐུགས་ཀར་ཐལ་མོ་སྦྱར་བྱས་ཏེ། 
གཡོན་པ་ཡང་ནི་དེ་བཞིན་ནོ།

6.

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།ཚིགས་པའི་མར་མཚམས་བརྟན་བྱ་སྟེ། 
།རྐང་གཉིས་བཀུག་པའི་མགུལ་པ་ནི། 
།མཇིང་པ་དག་ལ་རྒལ་བྱ་ཞིང་། 
།ལག་གཉིས་ས་ལ་བཙུགས་བྱས་ནས། 
།སྟོབས་བསྐྱེད་རབ་ཏུ་ལྡིང་བར་བྱ།

7.

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།ཚིགས་པའི་མར་མཚམས་བརྟན་བྱ་ཞིང་། 
།རྐང་གཉིས་བསྣོལ་བའི་སྦྱོར་བ་ཡིས། 
།རྐང་གཡས་གཡོན་དུ་བརྐྱང་བྱ་ཞིང་། 
།རྐང་གཡོན་གཡས་སུ་བརྐྱང་བྱས་པས། 
།ལག་གཉིས་སྟོབས་བསྐྱེད་ཐལ་མོ་ཡིས། 
།རྐང་གཉིས་སོར་མོ་བསྡམ་བྱ་སྟེ། 
།ཁོང་པ་དག་གི་སྦྱོར་བ་ཡིས། 
།རིམ་གྱིས་གཡས་སུ་གཅུས་བྱས་ཏེ།
།གཡོན་པ་དག་ཀྱང་དེ་བཞིན་ནོ།

8.

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།ཚིགས་པའི་མར་མཚམས་བརྟན་བྱ་སྟེ། 
།རྐང་མགོ་གཤིབས་པའི་སྦྱོར་བ་ཡིས། 
།ནམ་མཁའ་དག་ལ་བཏེག་བྱས་ཤིང་། 
།ལག་གཉིས་སྟོབས་བསྐྱེད་གྲུ་མོ་ཡིས། 
།རྐང་གཉིས་བྱིན་པ་བརྟེན་བྱས་ནས། 
།ལག་གཉིས་སོར་བཅུ་བསྣོལ་བྱས་པས། 
།བོལ་གོང་མགུལ་བར་བསྡམ་པ་བྱ།

9.

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།ཚིགས་པའི་མར་མཚམས་བརྟན་བྱ་སྟེ། 
།ལག་གཉིས་སོར་བཅུ་བསྣོལ་བྱས་པས། 
།ཕྱིར་བཟློག་གྱེན་ལ་བསྒྲེང་བྱས་ནས། 
།རྐང་གཉིས་གཤིབས་པའི་སྦྱོར་བ་ཡིས། 
།སྟོབས་བསྐྱེད་ལན་བདུན་འཕྲ་བར་བྱ།

10.

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།ཞབས་གཉིས་པད་མའི་སྐྱིལ་ཀྲུང་བཅའ། 
།སྐྱིལ་ཀྲུང་གྱེན་ལ་བསླང་བྱ་སྟེ། 
།ཚིགས་པའི་མར་མཚམས་བརྟན་བྱས་ཏེ། 
།སྒལ་ཚིགས་བསྲང་ལ་མགྲིན་པ་དགུག 
།ལག་གཉིས་གཤིབས་ལ་ཁུ་ཚུར་བཅང་། 
།སྟོབས་བསྐྱེད་མདུན་དུ་བརྐྱང་བར་བྱ།

11.

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།ཚིགས་པའི་མར་མཚམས་བརྟན་བྱ་སྟེ། 
།རྐང་གཉིས་མགུལ་པ་བསྣོལ་བྱས་ནས། 
།མཐིལ་ཟུར་གཉིས་ནི་ས་ལ་གཟུགས། 
།སྒལ་ཚིགས་བསྲང་ལ་མགྲིན་པ་དགུག 
།ལག་གཉིས་བསྣོལ་བའི་ཐལ་མོ་ཡིས། 
།པུས་མོ་གཉིས་ནི་བསྡམ་བྱས་ཏེ། 
།སྟོབས་བསྐྱེད་རབ་ཏུ་བསྒོམ་པར་བྱའོ།

12.

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།ཞབས་གཉིས་པདྨའི་སྐྱིལ་ཀྲུང་བཅའ། 
།པད་མ་གྱེན་ལ་བསླང་བྱ་སྟེ། 
།ཚིགས་པའི་མར་མཚམས་བརྟན་བྱས་ནས། 
ལག་གཉིས་ཏྲེ་ཤ་བསྡམ་བྱ་ཞིང་། 
།སྐྱིལ་ཀྲུང་བར་དུ་བསྡམ་བྱ་སྟེ། 
།སྒལ་ཚིགས་བསྲང་ལ་མགྲིན་པ་དགུག།

This post presents an English translation of the section on prāṇāyāma (srog rtsol) from the Six-Limbed Yoga (Ṣaḍaṅga Yoga) according to the tradition of Anupamarakṣita, as presented by the sixteenth-century Tibetan master Pema Karpo of the Drukpa Kagyü tradition. Readers interested in prāṇāyāma instructions from other Tibetan Buddhist traditions may check my earlier posts. In the present post, I have omitted two of the four ancillary practices of prāṇāyāma.

Instructions on prāṇāyāma vary across Tibetan Buddhist traditions. Pema Karpo begins with bodily posture and eye-position, features that are commonly found in other systems. He then presents the actual practice of prāṇāyāma in five parts: exhalation, inhalation, gathering, vajra-japa, and ancillary practices. While these categories broadly resemble those found elsewhere, both the details of the practices and the ancillary methods differ from those found in other texts and traditions.

Pema Karpo cites a verse from the Root Tantra and explains that the lotus refers to the body and the vajra to the central channel. This passage also serves as a useful reminder that such terms do not always carry sexual symbolism and must be interpreted according to their context. According to Pema Karpo, the goal of prāṇāyāma is not merely to block the movement of the airs in the side channels, but to direct all the vital airs (vāyu, rlung) into the central channel and the indestructible bindu within it. The successful entry of the air into the central channel is presented as the true accomplishment of prāṇāyāma and the basis for the subsequent limb of yoga.

Links to my earlier posts on prāṇāyāma in the Six-Limbed Yoga (Ṣaḍaṅga Yoga) according to different Tibetan Buddhist traditions:

• Vajrayāna Ṣaḍaṅga Yoga’s Prāṇāyāma: Paṇḍita Śākya Śri’s method of Prāṇāyāma

• Prāṇāyāma — The Kashmiri Somanātha’s Tradition (Drikung Chungtsang Choekyi Drakpa (17th century)

• Prāṇāyāma in Ṣaḍaṅga Yoga: A Six-Limbed Yogic Method According to Tsongkhapa

• Prānāyāma: Ṣaḍaṅga Yoga [Six Limbs of Yoga] text by Tārānāthā

• Pranayama Instructions by Jonang Kunpang-pa

• Prāṇāyāma practice of Ṣaḍaṅga Yoga: Kālachakrapāda

Prāṇāyāma

Prāṇāyāma, the third limb of Ṣaḍaṅga Yoga, is explained in three parts:

1. Body posture [controlling the five senses and the vital air].

2. Eyes position.

3. The actual practice of prāṇāyāma.

I. Bodily Posture

Press the vajra-cord [perineum] with the heel of the right foot, while the heel of the left foot supports the toes of the right foot. As for the position of the arms, either cross them over the chest and clasp the opposite armpits, or place the hands over the knees. Keep the upper body upright, bend the neck slightly forward, and press the chin against the larynx. Place the tongue against the palate, keeping the teeth and lips slightly parted.

II. Eye-Position

As for the gaze, adopt the Amṛtakuṇḍalī-dṛṣṭi [Amrta-whorl-gaze]. Roll the eyes upward and direct them towards the centre of the eyebrows, as though the two eyes were being brought together into one.

III. Prāṇāyāma

As for the actual practice of prāṇāyāma, it is taught in five parts:

1. Quick exhalation

2. Inhalation and kumbhaka

3. Gathering [air into the central channel]

4. vajra breathing

5. Prāṇāyāma ancillary practices

1. Quick exhalation

While maintaining the bodily posture and gaze described above, exhale twenty-one times at an appropriately swift pace. Visualise that all karmic airs are being expelled and emptied out. Through this, all the residual [harmful] airs within the body's seventy-two thousand channels are cleared away, and all the airs that give rise to conceptual thoughts are expelled and dissolve into space.

2. Inhalation and kumbhaka

Slowly draw in the upper air from a distance of about sixteen finger-widths and press it down within. Slightly draw up the lower air from below and unite the two. Hold them together for as long as possible. This is vase breathing [kumbhaka].

3. Gathering [air into the central channel]

Visualise a single black vajra—the central channel, within the lotus of the body [here, “lotus” refers to the body and “vajra” to the central channel], and imagine that the openings of all the subsidiary channels in the body are facing towards the central channel.

Then, slightly turn the tip of the nose [together with the head] towards the right knee and draw in the breath. Direct the air straight to the navel region and retain it there for as long as possible. Draw the lower air and the mind there as well. When you are no longer able to hold the airs, release them.

Next, slightly turn the tip of the nose towards the left knee and draw in the breath, directing it straight to the navel region. The rest is the same.

Then, slightly direct the tip of the nose forwards and draw in the breath, directing it straight to the navel region. The rest is the same.

Thereafter, visualise that all the airs and essences [bindus] of the body gather within the central channel [Avadhūtī]. Finally, by means of a yogic technique accompanied by a grunting sound, draw the airs upward and imagine that they dissolve into an essence [bindu] at the forehead. Focus the mind there. Then release the air.

IV. Vajra breathing

There are two types: vajra-japa with and without mental support.

(i) Vajra Breathing with Mental Support

Focus on a Tummo [caṇḍālī] within the Avadhūtī [central channel] at the centre of the navel nadi-cakra. It is as fine as the tip of a hair and about four finger-widths in height.

When exhaling, visualise the air moving outward, circling clockwise around the central channel, like the syllable ĀḤ in motion. When drawing the breath in, visualise the air entering the central channel in a counter-clockwise direction, like the syllable OṂ being gathered inward.

When retaining the breath with the upper and lower airs united, focus the mind on the syllable HŪṂ as the embodiment of non-dual wisdom.

Continue the vajra-japa [the cycle of exhalation, inhalation, and retention] until the colour of the breath becomes visible.

(ii) Vajra Breathing without Mental Support

The second, vajra-japa without mental support, is to settle the mind in the state of the non-duality of air and mind. To do this, first hold the kumbhaka breath. Then, merging the mind with it, rest the mind evenly in a state free from any mental support or object of focus.

V. Ancillary practices of prāṇāyāma

As for the ancillary practices of prāṇāyāma, there are four: 1. For the attainment of vast activities, one strikes the vital points of the maṇḍalas of the four elements. 2. For the attainment of immortality, one tastes the nectar of the small tongue. 3. Dispersing the nectar between the eyebrows to attain khecara. 4. For union with the supreme state, one controls the vajra-waves of the throat.

1. Striking the Vital points of Mandalas of Four Elements

[This is a generation and dissolution practice of the four elements]

2. Relishing the nectar from the small tongue [lambikā] to attain immortality

At dawn, mix a small amount of sugar and black pepper with the milk of a red cow. Hold it in the mouth, gently swishing it around and savouring it for a long time. Finally, allow it to descend gradually into the stomach without noticing it going down.

As for the visualisation, visualise a moon disc at the forehead maṇḍala. Upon it are the sixteen vowels, from which nectar drips down. Visualise a white syllable SŪṂ facing downward within the opening of the small tongue, which is connected to the forehead. Through it, the nectar flows down and descends from the small tongue.

Then imagine that the entire body is filled with nectar. Move and rub the small tongue with the tongue. Finally, inhale air through the mouth and, at the same time, swallow together with the air the saliva dripping from the uvula. In this way, fill the stomach.

By this method, old age such as the appearance of grey hair and death are put to shame, and immortality is attained.

3. Dispersing the nectar between the eyebrows to attain khecara

While drawing the breath in through the mouth, visualise that the airs of the five elements, together with their respective qualities, enter through the mouth in the form of their corresponding colours: the lightness of air, the warmth of fire, the moisture of water, the solidity of earth, and the clarity and luminosity of space.

These elemental airs mingle into a single taste with the nectar of the small tongue that descends from the vowels of the moon disc [at the forehead]. Draw up the lower air.

At the centre of the navel nadi-cakra, visualise a Tummo [caṇḍālī] resembling a lightning rod, eight finger-widths in height. When the union [of the upper and lower airs] strikes it, imagine that it bursts into flame with a crackling sound, like sesame oil poured onto a flame.

Finally, settle the mind in emptiness.

The three doors of the vāyus—body, speech, and mind—are an important concept in Vajrayāna Buddhism. The following translation is based on Tāranātha’s commentary on the Vasantatilakā of Kṛṣṇācārya. According to this Cakrasaṃvara tradition, the yogi blocks the nine doors of the body and the four doors of speech, while opening the two doors of the mind.

The four doors of speech are identified with the four nāḍī-petals of the heart cakra, through which flow the natural elemental vāyus. The secondary vāyus, known as the vāyus of manifestation, flow through the nine bodily openings, the seven openings of the head and the two lower openings. Through these arise the various conceptual thoughts and sensory perceptions.

With regard to the two doors of the mind, two explanations are commonly encountered. In the first, the two doors are the forehead and the crown, corresponding to the two upper terminations of the central channel. In the second, the upper door is the crown and the lower door is the navel. Tāranātha, however, presents a different interpretation in which the two doors of the mind are located at the heart and navel cakras. The channel-knots (granthi) of the heart and navel nāḍī-cakras function as the door panels. When these knots are loosened or opened through yogic practice, the doors of the mind are said to open, allowing the vāyus to enter the central channel.

The passage translated below explains these three doors of the vāyus and their significance within the dzogrim practice of the Cakrasaṃvara tradition.

Cakrasaṃvara Maṇḍala and the Body Maṇḍala

The symbolism of the Cakrasaṃvara maṇḍala may also be understood in relation to the subtle body. The square palace with its four gates represents the body itself. The four yoginīs residing upon the four nāḍī-petals of the heart cakra correspond to the four channels of the heart through which flow the vāyus of the four elements. The four gates likewise symbolize these four channels.

The eight charnel grounds surrounding the palace represent the eight bodily openings, with the two nostrils counted as a single opening. The four urns filled with amṛta situated upon the four nāḍī-petals symbolize the bodhicitta bindu residing within the heart centre.

At the navel cakra burns the inner fire (caṇḍālī or tummo), personified as Vajravārāhī, who in this tradition is called Tilakā. Through yogic practice, this inner fire causes the white bodhicitta bindu at the heart, representing Cakrasaṃvara to melt and descend. This union of Tilakā and Cakrasaṃvara forms the symbolic meaning of the title Vasantatilakā (“Spring Tilakā”), where the warming power of the inner fire melts the nectar-like bodhicitta, just as the warmth of spring melts snow.

TARANATHA’S TEXT

The Three Doors: Body, Speech, and Mind

There are the nine doors of the body, the four doors of speech, and the two doors of mind.

(i) The Nine Doors of the Body

As the Saṃpuṭa Tantra states, “[the house with] a single pillar and nine doors.” In relation to the channels, the “single pillar” refers to the central channel; in relation to the body, it refers to the spinal column. The “nine doors” are the nine bodily openings. These openings are the principal gateways through which the vāyus that sustain and constitute the body move inward and outward. For this reason, they are known as the nine doors of the body.

(ii) The Four Doors of Speech

There are four gates corresponding to the four nāḍī-petals in the four directions of the heart nāḍī-cakra. Through these four gates flow the vāyus of the four elements: from the east, the air of water; from the north, the air of air; from the west, the air of fire; and from the south, the air of earth. Since the vāyus that produce speech and vocal expression move inward and outward through these channels, they are known as the four doors of speech.

(iii) The Two Doors of Mind

The two channel-knots of the central channel at the heart and the navel nāḍī-cakra are like door-panels through which the prāṇa-vāyu and apāna-vāyu, the root of all the vāyus, move inward and outward. The hubs, or centres, of the heart and navel nāḍī-cakras are themselves these two doors.

Since the prāṇa-vāyu is connected with the vasanta [spring-like bodhicitta or white bindu] of the heart, it is called the “vāyu of the moon.” Since the apāna-vāyu is connected with the bindu at the navel and the caṇḍālī (Tummo, inner heat), it is called the “vāyu of the sun.”

Because prāṇa and apāna are the two principal vāyus at the time when consciousness departs and re-enters the body, and because the heart and navel are the gateways through which this movement occurs, these two are also called the doors of the mind.

The “Lotus Posture” in the Amṛtasiddhi

One foundational seated posture that repeatedly appears throughout the Amṛtasiddhi yoga manual raises a question: what exactly is meant by the “lotus posture”?

In Amoghavajra’s Amṛtasiddhi yoga instructions, most of the physical practices begin with what is simply called the “lotus posture” (pad ma’i skyil krung), rather than the “vajra posture” (vajrāsana), the signature crossed-legged posture of Vajrayana Buddhist traditions. Yet the text never clearly explains how this “lotus posture” is actually to be performed. As a result, it remains difficult to determine exactly what kind of seated posture the text has in mind.

To understand this problem more clearly, we first need to look at how Tibetan Buddhist sources themselves describe the “lotus posture” (pad ma’i skyil krung).

One description of the “lotus posture” can be seen in images of the male and female deities in union. In these depictions, the male deity sits in the vajra-posture (vajrāsana), that is, in a tightly crossed-legged seated position. The female deity, seated upon his lap, wraps her legs around his waist, forming what is described as the “lotus posture.” In this form, the legs curve into a rounded shape, with the soles of the feet lightly touching one another. This is one of the best-known Buddhist descriptions of the “lotus posture.”

Another common description of the ‘lotus posture’ found in Tibetan Buddhist sources is the posture in which the right calf [lower leg] is placed over the left, allowing both knees to rest upon the ground. For further discussion of other important Buddhist seated postures, readers may consult my previous post, “Seven Important Buddhist Āsanas (Seated Postures).”

It is also important to compare the “lotus posture” described in Buddhist and Brahmanical yoga traditions. The term does not always refer to the same seated form in both traditions. In Brahmanical tradition, padmāsana, now widely known as the “full lotus” posture, corresponds more closely to the Buddhist vajrāsana, since both describe a tightly locked crossed-legged seated posture, as shown in the image below.

This becomes especially important when we look at Tibetan Vajrayāna trülkhor [physical yoga] practices. In these practices, vajrāsana [fully crossed legs] is the main seated posture most commonly used, although other forms of sitting are used as well such as sattva posture. This can be seen in the Sakya Lamdré Thirty-two Trülkhor practice, in the textual instruction and illustration, where nearly all the physical practice are performed in vajra posture [vajrāsana]. Readers interested in this system may also consult my translation, The Thirty-Two Yogic Trülkhor

The Amṛtasiddhi, however, presents a rather different picture. Throughout the text, many of the physical practices are performed in what is simply called the “lotus posture.” Yet in Buddhist traditions, the expression “lotus posture” does not necessarily mean a tightly locked, fully crossed-legged posture.

At first glance, one might therefore assume that the “lotus posture” mentioned in the Amṛtasiddhi refers to one of the more common Buddhist seated forms rather than to the full lotus posture. However, after carefully reading the instructions for the physical yoga practices, another possibility begins to emerge.

Although the text gives only limited clues, several instructions strongly suggest that the “lotus posture” described in the Amṛtasiddhi may actually refer to a fully crossed-legged posture — namely vajrāsana.

One particularly important example appears in the following instruction from the Amṛtasiddhi:

“Place the feet in the lotus cross-legged posture. Then cross the arms behind the back and grasp the big toes.”

Although the Amṛtasiddhi describes this posture simply as the ‘lotus posture,’ the instruction itself strongly suggests that the legs are arranged in a fully crossed-legged position. In Brahmanical traditions, the same posture is formed with the legs in padmāsana [full lotus] and is known as Baddhapadmāsana, as shown in the Jogapradīpikā. In Vajrayāna Tibetan Buddhist traditions, however, the posture is performed with the legs in vajrāsana [fully crossed legs]. A similar posture also appears in the Sakya Lamdré Thirty-two Trülkhor tradition, where the seated position is explicitly described as the vajra posture rather than the lotus posture.

If this interpretation is correct, an important question still remains: what exactly does the posture termed vajrāsana refer to in the text?

Vajrasana [Vajra posture]

The following yogic posture is commonly known in Brahmanical yoga traditions as “Rooster Pose” (Kukkuṭāsana). Although the Amṛtasiddhi does not explicitly provide a name for this posture, the instructions clearly describe the same bodily form. Significantly, the posture is performed with the legs arranged in vajrāsana, a term which here appears to denote a fully crossed-legged posture.

A very similar posture is also found in the Sakya Lamdré Thirty-two Trülkhor tradition, where it is referred to as “Swan’s Wings” (Haṃsa Pakṣa). In the root text itself, the precise type of crossed-legged posture is not specified. However, one commentary explicitly states that the legs should be placed in vajrāsana (rdo rje’i skyil krung).

Amṛtasiddhi

“Arrange the legs in vajra posture (vajrāsana). Having made fists with both hands and inserted them inside the crossed legs, generate all the strength and plant the hands upon the ground. Placing the weight upon the hands, lift the crossed legs into the air.”

Sakya Lamdré Thirty-two Trülkhor Root Text

“In Haṃsa Pakṣa, after inserting the hands into the legs, the legs are bent and the weight of the body is placed upon the hands. This is the Swan-Wing Trülkhor.”

Sakya Lamdré Thirty-two Trülkhor Commentary

“In the vajra cross-legged posture, cross the arms with the fists over the chest. Then bring the fists together inside the thighs and place them upon the ground. Straighten the elbows and place the weight of the body upon them. Raise the crossed legs almost to the elbows and remain seated in this way.”

This raises an important question: do both the “lotus posture” and the “vajra posture” mentioned in the Amṛtasiddhi refer to fully crossed-legged postures, or does the term “lotus posture” denote a different seated form that is not necessarily fully crossed-legged?

The question of the “lotus posture” in the Amṛtasiddhi therefore remains more complex than it appears. If the “lotus posture” and the “vajra posture” in the text ultimately refer to the same seated posture, why are two different terms used? On the other hand, if they do not refer to the same posture, then what exactly is the “lotus posture” described throughout the Amṛtasiddhi? The text itself does not provide a definitive answer, leaving the question open for further research.

These seven trülkhors are called btsan thabs sbyor ba’i ’khrul ’khor (“trülkhors of forceful methods”). For readers’ reference, btsan thabs sbyor ba is one of the commonly used Tibetan terms for Sanskrit haṭhayoga.

One of the most interesting aspects of these trülkhors is their similarity to several primary trülkhors found in the Shangpa Kagyü Amṛtasiddhi tradition especially [Mahā]bandha, [Mahā]vedha, and Amgrol (the Haṭhayogic Mahāmudrā). They also resemble the six primary trülkhors of the Cakrasaṃvara Hearing Lineage transmitted through Marpa Lotsāwa.

The present text belongs to the Drukpa Kagyu tradition and is preserved in the collected works of Pema Karpo as well as in the Drukpa Dharma Treasury.

In an earlier post, I discussed the similarities between the six primary trülkhors of the Cakrasaṃvara Hearing Lineage and the primary trülkhors found in the Shangpa Amṛtasiddhi cycle of thirty-two trülkhors. Similar parallels can also be seen here, especially in the first, fourth, fifth, and sixth trülkhors.

• The first trülkhor is not exactly the same as the Haṭhayogic Mahāmudrā technique, which the Shangpa Amṛtasiddhi tradition calls Amgrol. However, several important features are very similar: pressing the left heel against the perineum, extending the right leg forward, grasping the right big toe with the right hand, and keeping the spine straight. One notable difference is that the yogi here strikes the right heel against the left foot or ankle region, perhaps to apply deeper pressure to the perineum.

• The posture in the fourth trülkhor is almost identical to the [outer] Bandha technique found in the Amṛtasiddhi thirty-two trülkhors.

• The posture and movements of the fifth trülkhor are very similar to the [outer] Vedha technique, especially the hand position placed on the ground. In the Amṛtasiddhi, this hand gesture is called liṅga mudrā — holding the right thumb with the left hand — together with lifting the buttocks and striking them against the calves.

• The sixth trülkhor does not exactly match any posture or movement found in the Amṛtasiddhi thirty-two trülkhors, though some aspects resemble Vedha practice, perhaps the [inner] Vedha.

Readers interested in the Haṭhayogic Mahāmudrā (Amgrol), Mahābandha (Bandha), and Mahāvedha (Vedha) as described in the Shangpa Kagyü thirty-two trülkhor cycle may consult my full translation: The Sun that Clarifies the Practice of the Thirty-two Trülkhors of Amṛtasiddhi.

Note: I have not included the names of each trülkhor here. However, the names themselves show some similarities to those found in the six primary trülkhors of the Cakrasaṃvara Hearing Lineage text.

Trülkhors of the Forceful Method

1.

[Bending the left leg], press the vajra cord [perineum] firmly with the heel of the left foot, while holding the upper part of the foot with the left hand. Then place the right foot straight in front, about a span away. Grasp the big toe of the right foot with the thumb, index finger, and middle finger of the right hand. Straighten the spine and forcefully hold the kumbhaka breath. Then, with the right heel, press strongly against upper part of the left foot near the ankle. Do this nine times. At the end, massage the whole body and release the breath.

2.

Here there is no other difference [from the earlier method], except that a distance of about five finger-widths is kept between the two feet.

3.

In a squatting posture, cross the two legs [with the knees upright] and grasp the [opposite] big toes with the middle fingers of both hands crossed over one another. Then pull the lower body upward three times to the right, left, and centre. At the end, as before, massage the whole body and release the breath.

4.

In a standing position, place the two feet side by side, keeping about a span’s distance between them. Thread both hands inside the thighs and grasp the big toe of each foot with the thumb, index finger, and middle finger. Then, using the same breathing method as before, draw the lower body upward as strongly as possible and to the full extent of one’s ability. Afterwards, sit down and, as before, massage the body and release the breath.

5.

Stand with the feet evenly side by side, keeping about a span’s distance between them. With the right hand clenched into a fist, [bending the body downward,] place it on the ground about three spans away from the feet. With the left fist, grasp the right thumb in a pressing manner. Then, using the same breathing method as before, control the lower body, lift [the buttocks], and strike them firmly against the inner calves three times. Afterwards, sit down and, as before, massage the body and release the breath.

6.

Sit in a vajra cross-legged posture. Place the hands upon the knees and rotate the waist three times to the right and left. Then plant the hands behind the back, stretch the legs out forcefully, and [by bending the legs] strike the [heels against the] buttocks three times. At the end, proceed as before.

7.

Stand with the sole of the left foot and the right knee planted on the ground. Bind the palms together [with the fingers interlocked] and turn the palms outward. Then, strongly extend the body [and the arms upward] toward the left sky, tensing the body. Reverse the same to the right side. At the end, shake [the body] with the “horse-voice” technique, massage the body, and expel the breath outward.

The bhru breathing practice is a distinctive yogic method attributed to an enigmatic figure whose name appears in Tibetan sources in several variant spellings, including Jahar-pīr (ཛ་ཧར་པཱིར་), Jaha-vīra (ཛ་ཧ་བཱི་ར), and Jabhira (ཛ་བྷི་ར). He is described as a jogi and a mahātapasvin (great ascetic). On the basis of the names of his lineage successors—such as Brahmanātha, Māṇikanātha, and Vajranātha—it is highly likely that he was connected to the Nātha yogi tradition. At the same time, the presence of the title pīr (a Muslim saint) within his name suggests a possible Islamic element. This is further supported by a form of salutation associated with him in the guru yoga section, in which the practitioner kneels with the hands placed on the knees, raises the right hand to the forehead three times, and recites ‘nama Jaharpīr,’ which may reflect elements of Islamicate devotional practice.

However, there was another Indian saint with a similar name Jaharpīr (Jahar-peer/Poison-saint) in north-west India (11th or 13-14th) famously known as Gogga pir or Gugga pir (who was a prince and has some connection with Gorakhnatha). He is revered by both Hindu and Muslim communities and is well known in Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. Jahar-peer is also mentioned in the Sikh Gurbani: Jahar peer Jagat Guru Baba (Translation: Jahar Peer, Guru of the entire world). However, according to the Sikh, Jahar peer is an attribute of Guru Nanak in the Sikh Gurbani.). He is worshipped for ailments like snake bites in India. There is a secret instruction attributed to the Buddhist yogi on how to neutralise the potency of poison. If you would like to read more about Indian account of Jahar-pir or Goga pir, here is the link Pilgrimage to the Abode of a Folk Deity.

Jahapīr is said to have had eight chief disciples (བུ་ཆེན་བརྒྱད་): Vajranātha, Brahmanātha, Devanātha, Śrīnātha, Jinabhira, Māṇikanātha, Paṇḍita Sokhya, and Amarasukha. His influence appears to have been considerable in Tibet, particularly within the Sakya, Nyingma, and Kagyu traditions. Jamyang Khyentse Wangchuk (16th century) is regarded as the first Tibetan lineage holder of these teachings, having received them from Māṇikanātha. Drikung Namchag Mebar (16th century) also received the complete transmission from Paṇḍita Vajranātha when he and his eleven students arrived in Tibet.

The present short text is drawn from Lelung Zhepé Dorjé’s Secret Wisdom Cycle of the Ḍākinīs and is accompanied by a commentary. The translation presented here includes both the root text and its commentary. What distinguishes this bhru breathing method is that, in addition to kumbhaka (breath retention), it incorporates a practice of sustaining oneself on the subtle essence of the sky—drawn in through the breath—while abstaining from ordinary food and drink. Through this integrated method, it is said that one may attain the deathless state. The text also includes auxiliary yogic techniques, such as blocking the four sensory gates and performing ninefold trülkhor movements, to clear illnesses, particularly those affecting the head and the sense faculties.

Several lineage transmissions of this teaching are preserved in Tibetan sources. For example:

I. Sakya lineage (Jamgön Ame, 27th Sakya Trizin):
Gorakṣa → Jaha-bira → Māṇikanātha → Jamyang Khyentse Wangchuk → Öser Tsencan → Drupchok Wangchuk Rabten → Künga Döndrup → Sakya Trizin

II. Mindroling lineage (Terdak Lingpa):
Jaha Bir → Brahmanātha → Māṇikanātha → Khyentse Wangchuk → Zhönu Tobden → Wangrab → Sönam Chokdrup → Kunkhyen Lama → Terdak Lingpa

III. Lineage recorded by Jamgön Kongtrul:
Padmasambhava → Jaha-vīra → Brahmanātha → Māṇikanātha → Khyentse Wangchuk → Jampa Kelsang → Wangchuk Rabten → Zhalupa Sönam Chokdrup → Fifth Dalai Lama → Pema Trinley → Morchen Jungné → Chögley Namgyal → Jampa Ngawang Tenzin → Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo → Jamgön Kongtrul

Text and Translation

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published

ན་མ༔ གུ་རུ་རཊྣ་ཡེ། 

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published

།གང་ཞིག་འཆི་མེད་སྒྲུབ་འདོད་པས། 
།རྣམ་ཤེས་གཞོན་པ་དབང་དུ་བྱ། 
།དེ་ཡི་ཚུལ་ཡང་བསམ་ཡས་ལ།
།ཚེགས་ཆུང་དོན་ཆེ་འདི་ཉིད་ལོང་།

Expelling the residual harmful air through the nose

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published

།རང་ཉིད་ཀུན་ཏུ་བཟང་པོར་བསྒོམ། 
།ཉི་མར་དབྱུང་ནས་ཟླ་བར་རྔུབ།

Expelling residual harmful air through the mouth

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published

།ཀེང་རུས་གདན་གྱི་འདུག་སྟངས་ཀྱིས། 
།ཀ་ལིང་ཀ་ནས་དྲག་པོར་གསུམ། 
།ཁོང་འདར་ཤིན་ཏུ་ཐོན་པར་དབྱུང་།

Main practice: Bhru breathing method

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།ཅི་བདེར་འདུག་པའི་རྣལ་འབྱོར་པས། 
བྱ་ལམ་ཟ་ཞིང་དྲག་པོར་རྡུབ། 
།ཇི་སྲིད་ལྟོ་བ་མ་ཁེངས་པར། 
།དེ་སྲིད་ཚོད་དང་སྦྱར་ཞིང་བྱ།
།སོ་མ་སིནྡྷེ་ཅི་བདེར་བཞག།
།འགྲོ་བར་རྩོམ་ན་ཅུང་ཟད་མནན།

Duration and Dietary Discipline of the Practice

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།བྷྲུ་རླུང་འདི་ཉིད་བདུན་ཕྲག་གསུམ། 
ཟས་གཞན་སྤངས་ཏེ་བསྒོམ་པར་བྱ། 
།དེ་ནས་རིམ་གྱིས་ཟླ་བ་དྲུག 
།བསྒོམས་ན་འཆི་མེད་འགྲུབ་བོ་གསུངས།

Yoga of action

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།སྒོ་བཞི་བཀག་པའི་སྦྱོར་བ་དང༌། 
།དགུ་ཕྲུགས་འཁྲུལ་འཁོར་སྦྱོར་བ་ཡིས། 
།འགོ་བའི་ནད་རྣམས་ཀུན་བྱང་ནས། 
།སྐྲ་ལི་ནག་ཅིང་འཁྱིལ་བར་འགྱུར།

Concluding remarks

This trülkhor set comes from the Cakrasaṃvara Hearing Lineage cycle, attributed to Marpa Chökyi Lodrö of the Kagyu tradition. It comprises six primary trülkhors and thirty-nine secondary ones. This post presents only the six primary trülkhors; translations of the secondary practices will be shared in due course.

In the Vajrayāna subtle body system, the bindu is understood to descend through the body from the crown and to dissipate, leading to illness and bodily weakness. These trülkhors function as a forceful method for reversing the downward flow of the bindu: first holding it to prevent its escape, then drawing it upward, and finally distributing it throughout the body. Accordingly, two of the trülkhors serve to hold the bindu, two to draw it upward, and two to spread it throughout the body.

I have consulted a few commentarial works to better understand the steps of these trülkhors, though they are not entirely consistent for example, the text by the 9th Tai Situ. In what follows, I will outline the underlying principles of holding, reversing, and spreading the bindu, along with the associated breathing techniques, as explained by Drukchen Pema Karpo (16th century). As I have noted elsewhere, Vajrayāna trülkhor consists of three components: body posture, breathing technique, and mental support. In Pema Karpo’s text, the mental support [visualisation] and breathing technique are explained, but for the bodily posture he gives only the names of the trülkhors, without detailing their steps.

1. Holding the bindu

First, allow the [bodhicitta] bindu to descend. Once it has descended, apply the method of holding the bindu. The bindu is held within the avadhūti (central channel).

Visualisation: Focus the mind steadily, without movement, at the lower end of the central channel, visualising a white, shiny bindu the size of a pea.

Breathing method: As soon as the bindu has descended, contract the anus and forcefully draw the lower air upward [apāna-vāyu]. Then press the upper air downward [prāṇa-vāyu] and spread apart the anus.

Trulkhors: Lion’s play and Tigress Vomiting

2. Reversing the Bindu Upward

Once the bindu has been held, immediately reverse it upward.

Visualisation: Visualise the bindu moving upward through the central channel like an arrow shot, and imagine it dissolving into the haṃ at the crown of the head.

Breathing method: Forcefully draw the lower air upward and unite it with the upper air, then stabilise it in an upward direction. As the bindu is drawn upward from the penis to the navel, apply the sound hi hi; from the navel to the heart [chest], hum hum; from the chest to the throat, ha hag; and from the throat to the crown, hi hig.

Trulkhors: Elephant’s poise and Tortoise contracting.

3. Spreading the Bindu

Visualisation: Visualise the bindu from the crown’s haṃ filling the entire nadi-chakras. As it spreads, the channel knots formed by the compressed channels are disentangled. Imagine the bindu, vāyu, and nāḍīs mixing together in a one-taste [eka-rasa].

Breathing method: Hold the kumbhaka breath of union [of upper and lower airs], filling the entire body.

Trülkhors: The Peacock’s Flight and the Garuḍa’s Flight.

Analogies for Holding, Drawing, and Spreading the Bindu (Pema Karpo)

1. Being skilled in holding is like blocking the outlet of a reservoir.

2. Being skilled in drawing upward is like drawing water from a well with a rope.

3. Being skilled in spreading is like a woman releasing water across a field.

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Similarities in Amrtasiddhi and Chakrasamvara hearing lineage’s primary trulkhors

The Cakrasaṃvara Hearing Lineage trülkhor contains six primary trülkhor and thirty-nine secondary trülkhor, whereas the Amṛtasiddhi contains ninteen secondary trülkhors, with twelve primary trülkhor. The three primary trulkhors from Cakrasaṃvara Hearing Lineage text namely Elephant Poise, Peacock’s Flight and Tortoise contracting show some resemblance with the Amṛtasiddhi’s [mahā]vedha and [mahā]bandha practices.

In both Elephant Poise and the Amṛtasiddhi’s outer [mahā]vedha trülkhor, the practitioner places the hands on the ground [though in a different manner], raises the buttocks, and strikes the buttocks upon the heels. Likewise, in both Peacock’s Flight and the Amṛtasiddhi’s inner [mahāvedha] trülkhor, the practitioner grasps the corresponding big toes with the hands, alternately lifts the buttocks and heels, and strikes them upon the ground.

Similarly, in both the Tortoise contracting and the Amṛtasiddhi’s outer [mahābandha] trülkhor, the practitioner wraps the arms around the corresponding legs from inside to outside and grasps the big toes, an action which the text states helps to draw the bindu upward.

Six Primary Trulkhors

I. Loin’s Play

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སེང་གེ་རྩེ་བ་སྐྱིལ་ཀྲུང་བཅའ། །
ལག་གཉིས་བསྣོལ་ལ་རྐང་ལ་འཇུས།
གྱེན་ལ་འཐེན་ལ་ཀློད་པར་བྱ། །
དེ་ཡིས་ཐིག་ལེ་འཛིན་པར་བྱེད།

II. Elephant Poise

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གླང་ཆེན་འགྱིང་བའི་འཕྲུལ་འཁོར་ནི།
རྐང་གཉིས་བར་དུ་མཁྱིད་གང་བཞག།
ལག་གཡོན་སྟེང་དུ་ལག་གཡས་བཞག།
འཕོངས་དང་བྱིན་མཇུག་ལན་དགུ་བརྡབ། 
ཐིག་ལེ་གྱེན་ལ་འདྲེན་པར་བྱེད། 

III. Peacock’s Flight

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རྨ་བྱ་འཕུར་བའི་འཕྲུལ་འཁོར་ནི།
ལག་གཉིས་རྐང་བའི་མཐེ་བོང་བཟུང༌།
འཕོངས་དང་རྟིང་པ་རེས་མོས་བརྡུང་།
ཐིག་ལེ་ལུས་ལ་ཁྲེམས་པར་བྱེད།

IV. Tigress Vomiting

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སྟག་མོ་སྐྱུག་པའི་འཕྲུལ་འཁོར་ནི།
སྐྱིལ་ཀྲུང་བར་དུ་ལག་གཉིས་བཅུག།
རོ་སྟོད་བསྙེགས་ཤིང་སྐྱུག་ཚུལ་དགུ།.
དེ་ཡིས་ཐིག་ལེ་འཛིན་པར་བྱེད།

V. Tortoise Contracting

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རུས་སྦལ་བསྐུམ་པའི་འཕྲུལ་འཁོར་ནི།
རྐང་གཉིས་བར་དུ་ཁྲུ་གང་བཞག།
ལག་གཉིས་བརླ་ཡི་ནང་ནས་ནི། 
ཕྱིར་ལ་བཏོན་ལ་རྐང་ཐེབ་བཟུང༌། 
ཐིག་ལེ་གྱེན་ལ་འདྲེན་པར་བྱེད།

VI. Garuda’s Flight

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བྱ་རྒོད་འཕུར་བའི་འཕྲུལ་འཁོར་ནི། 
རྐང་པ་འཐེང་འགྲོས་རེས་མོས་བྱ། 
ལག་པ་ཕྱོགས་བཅུར་སྤྲུག་ཅིང་འཁྲབ། 
དེ་ཡིས་ཐིག་ལེ་ཁྲེམས་པར་བྱེད།

These instructions on physical yoga practice are drawn from the Amṛtasiddhi Seventeen Principal Practices, attributed to Virūpa (Birwapa) and written by Amoghavajra. As is typical in Vajrayāna trülkhor systems, these physically oriented yogas consist of three components: lus gnad (body postures), rlung gi gnad (breathing techniques), and dmigs pa’i gnad (mental supports). The breathing method is incorporated only in the main phase of each sequence.

The author refers to the physical instructions presented in this post—excluding the breathing techniques—as lus gnad, which is generally translated as “key body postures.” Many of these postures are complex and bear resemblance to āsanas found in Haṭha Yoga and other Brahmanical sources. However, unlike in those traditions, these postures are not individually named within the sequence itself.

That said, in the Amṛtasiddhi Seventeen Principal Practices, each of the seventeen principal practices is assigned a name in both Tibetan and Sanskrit. Each principal practice consists of approximately six to nine yogic sequences, divided into preliminary, main, and postliminary phases. A close reading of the text suggests that the name assigned to each principal practice corresponds specifically to its main phase. Accordingly, in this post, I present the names of the physical yoga practices in relation to the corresponding main phase within each sequence. The numbering in the Notes on Translation corresponds to the numbering of each physical yoga practice presented with the Tibetan text and translation.

Some of these names correspond to breathing methods, such as kumbhaka (bum pa can), pūraka (gang ba can), and recaka (re dza ka). Many others, however, are unusual and difficult to interpret. I have therefore attempted to identify and reconstruct them as carefully as possible.

In the Amṛtasiddhi Seventeen Principal Practices, the fundamental breathing technique consists of uniting the upper air (prāṇa-vāyu) and the lower air (apāna-vāyu) by drawing the lower air upward and pressing the upper air downward at the navel region, together with the application of the throat lock (drawing the chin towards the chest). It should be noted, however, that this core breathing technique has eleven different variations.

Notes on Translation

1. Chariot’s Wheel

The Tibetan name for this lus gnad (body posture) is shing rta’i ’khor lo (“chariot’s wheel”). The Sanskrit term is given in transliteration as dza ra na. Tibetan sources are often inconsistent in their rendering of Sanskrit, and such spellings can be difficult to reconstruct with certainty. By comparing the transliterated form with the Tibetan designation, I suggest that dza ra na corresponds to Sanskrit cakraṇa or cakra (“wheel”), likely related to expressions such as śakaṭa-cakra (“chariot wheel”).

2. Hanging Upside Down [Holding] a Stick

The Tibetan name for this lus gnad (body posture) is mgo thur dbyug pa’i sbyor ba (“upside-down stick method”). The Sanskrit term is given in transliteration as u dza ni. I have not been able to identify a corresponding Sanskrit form that clearly matches either the Tibetan designation or the transliterated spelling. For the sake of convenience, I render the term as Ujani. This posture resembles the Tapakarasana illustrated in Jogapradipika.

3. Channel-Cleansing

The Tibetan name for this lus gnad (body posture) is rtsa stong ’khyil ba’i sbyor ba. According to the author’s commentary, the term stong here means “empty,” that is, empty of impurities through the cleansing of the channels. The term ’khyil ba is also explained in some contexts as purification or cleansing (’khyil ba ni rnam par dag pa’o).

The Sanskrit term is given in Tibetan transliteration as sa ra na (sarana). In light of the explanation “cleansing the channels and making them empty” (rtsa bshal ba btang zhing rtsa stong du byed pa’o), this may represent a misspelling of Sanskrit kṣālana (“washing, cleansing”). The text says,

ས་ར་ན་ཞེས་པ་རྩ་བཤལ་བཏང་ཞིང་རྩ་སྟོང་དུ་བྱེད་པའོ།

4. Binding the Nine Channels

The name of this lus gnad (body posture) is rtsa dgu bcings pa’i sbyor ba (“binding the nine channels”). The Sanskrit term is given in Tibetan transliteration as rna ba na li pra bha dha (རྣ་བ་ན་ལི་པྲ་བྷ་དྷ་). Based on the Tibetan designation, this likely corresponds to Sanskrit nava-nāḍī-prabandha (“binding of the nine channels”). This posture is also widely known as baddha-padmasana (“bound lotus posture”). I have translated srog shing dgu yi as srog shing dgug pa’i sbyor ba.

6. Caṇḍālī / Tummo

This lus gnad (body posture) is called caṇḍālī (gtum mo, tummo). The posture appears to involve the sealing of the nine doors of the body: the two lower doors [anus and genitalia] are bound with the heels; the nose, mouth, and eyes are controlled through the throat lock; and the ears are closed with the hands (crossed over). The instruction to “press the Uḍḍiyāna” is less straightforward. Uḍḍiyāna the sacre site usually refers to the ears, in this context also I have understood it as referring to the ears, based on the overall logic of closing the sensory openings.

7. Jālandharī / Jaladharī

This lus gnad is known as Jaladhari or Jalandhari. Mahasiddha Jalandhari is famously seen in this posture as shown in the image. Tibetan term dra mig [jala] here refers to the channels.

9. Kumbhaka

This lus gnad is called bum pa can (“kumbhaka”). However, the Sanskrit term given in the text is pūraka. On the basis of the Tibetan designation and the breathing technique, the intended term is more likely kumbhaka rather than pūraka (inhalation).

I have understood the Tibetan word rbe sha as referring to the muscles of the arms. The term sprul pa in this context refers to the navel, as in lte ba sprul pa’i ’khor lo (navel nirmana-cakra).

TIBETAN ROOT TEXT AND ENGLISH TRANSLATION

1. Chariot Wheel

ཤིང་རྟའི་འཁོར་ལོ་ (Skt. ཛ་ར་ན་ / cakram)

།ཞབས་གཉིས་གཤིབས་པའི་སྟོབས་ལྡན་གྱི།
།བྲང་པ་ས་ལ་བཙུགས་བྱ་སྟེ།
།ཞབས་གཉིས་རྩ་བ་བཏེག་བྱས་ནས།
།དང་པོ་བྱིན་གཉིས་བརླ་ལ་སྦྱར།
།ལག་གཉིས་བསྣོལ་བའི་ཐལ་མོ་ཡིས།
མཆན་གཉིས་དག་ནས་བསྡམས་བྱས་ཤིང་།
།ཚིགས་པ་བསྲང་ཞིང་མགྲིན་པ་དགུག།
འོག་རླུང་དྲག་པོར་ཐེན་བྱ་སྟེ།
།སྟེང་རླུང་དྲག་པོར་མནན་བྱས་ནས།
།སྟོབས་རྣམས་རབ་ཏུ་བསྐྱེད་བྱ་སྟེ།
།སྟོད་སྨད་དག་ཏུ་བསྡམས་བྱས་ཤིང་།
།སྐུ་སྨད་དག་ལ་ལྗག་[ལྗིད་]བསྐུར་ནས།
།འགྲེང་བའི་ཚུལ་གྱིས་ལྡང་བར་བྱ།

2. Hanging Upside-down [holding] stick

མགོ་ཐུར་དབྱུག་པ་ (Skt. ཨུ་ཛ་ནི་ Ujani)

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ཞབས་གཉིས་གཤིབས་པའི་མགུལ་པ་རུ།
དྷའུ་རིས་རབ་ཏུ་དབྲེལ་བྱས་ནས།
ནམ་མཁར་རབ་ཏུ་གདགས་བྱས་ཤིང།
མཐོ་གང་མཚམས་སུ་ལྡིང་བྱས་པས།
ཐབས་དང་མཐུན་པའི་དབྱུག་པ་ནི།
ཁྲུ་གང་སོར་བཞིའི་ཚད་ལྡན་པ།
ལག་གཉིས་སྟོབས་བསྐྱེད་བཟུང་བྱས་ནས།
འོག་རླུང་དྲག་པོར་ཐེན་བྱ་སྟེ།
སྟེང་རླུང་དྲག་པོར་མནན་བྱ་ཞིང།
ལུས་སྤྱི་རབ་ཏུ་དགང་བྱ་སྟེ།
སྒལ་ཚིགས་མགྲིན་པ་དགུག་བྱས་པས།
འགྲེང་བའི་ཚུལ་གྱི་ལྡང་བར་བྱ།

3. Channel-cleansing

རྩ་སྟོང་འཁྱིལ་པའི་སྦྱོར་བ་ (Skt. ས་ར་ན་ / Kṣālana)

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རྩ་བཤལ་བཏང་བའི་སྦྱོར་བ་ཡིས།
ཞབས་གཉིས་པདྨའི་སྐྱིལ་ཀྲུང་བཅའ།
ལག་གཉིས་སྟོབས་བསྐྱེད་སོར་བཅུ་དང།
རྐང་གཉིས་སོར་བཅུ་བསྣོལ་བ་ཡིས།
དྲག་པོར་བསྡམ་ཞིང་མནང་བྱས་ནས།
འོག་རླུང་དྲག་པོར་ཐེན་བྱ་སྟེ།
སྟེང་རླུང་དྲག་པོར་མནན་བྱ་ཞིང།
སྒལ་ཚིགས་བསྲང་ལ་མགྲིན་པ་དགུག།
ལུས་ཀྱི་སྟོབས་རྣམས་བསྐྱེད་བྱ་སྟེ།
གཡོབ་པའི་ཚུལ་གྱི་འབད་པར་བྱ།

4. Binding the nine channels

རྩ་དགུ་བཅིངས་པའི་སྦྱོར་བ་ (Skt. nava-nāḍī-prabandha)

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ཞབས་གཉིས་པདྨའི་སྐྱིལ་ཀྲུང་བཅའ།
ལག་གཉིས་རྒྱབ་ཏུ་བསྣོལ་བྱས་པས།
རྐང་གཉིས་མཐེབ་མོ་བཟུང་བྱ་སྟེ།
འོག་རླུང་དྲག་པོར་ཐེན་བྱས་ནས།
སྟེང་རླུང་དྲག་པོར་མནན་བྱས་ཤིང།
སྒལ་ཚིགས་བསྲང་ལ་མགྲིན་པ་དགུག།
སྲོག་ཤིང་དགུ་ཡི་[དགུག་པའི་]སྦྱོར་བ་ཡིས།
སྟོབས་རྣམ་རབ་ཏུ་བསྐྱེད་བྱས་ནས།
རིམ་གྱིས་ལུས་བཀུག་དཔྲལ་བ་ནི།
སྟན་ལ་ལན་གསུམ་གཏུག་པར་བྱ།

5. Joining the ocean [belly] to the Meru [spine]

རྒྱ་མཚོ་རི་རབ་སྦྱར་བ་ (Skt. bhetali/Vetali)

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ཞབས་གཉིས་པདྨའི་སྐྱིལ་ཀྲུང་བཅའ།
ལག་གཉིས་སྟོབས་བསྐྱེད་ཐལ་མོ་ཡིས།
བརླ་སྒང་གཉིས་ནི་མནན་བྱ་སྟེ།
རྒྱ་མཚོ་རི་རབ་སྦྱར་བྱས་པས།
སྒལ་ཚིགས་བསྲང་ལ་མགྲིན་པ་དགུག།
འོག་རླུང་དྲག་པོར་ཐེན་བྱ་སྟེ།
སྟེང་རླུང་དྲག་པོར་མནན་བྱ་ཞིང།
བསྟོད་དུ་བརྒྱང་ཞིང་བསྡམ་བྱས་པས།

Breathing technique: Forcefully draw the lower air and fill it upward.

6. Caṇḍālī (Tummo)

གཏུམ་མོ་ (Skt. ཙན་དྷ་ལི་/caṇḍālī )

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ཞབས་གཉིས་རྩ་བས་གསང་སྒོ་བསྡམ།
ལྷན་ཅིག་སྐྱེས་པའི་ཕྱག་རྒྱ་ཡིས།
ཨུ་རྒྱན་དག་ནི་མནན་བྱ་སྟེ།
རིན་ཆེན་ཚིགས་པ་དྲང་བར་བྱ།
མགྲིན་པ་དག་ཀྱང་དགུག་བྱ་ཞིང།
སྒོ་ལྕགས་དག་ཀྱང་གཞུག་པར་བྱ།
སྟེང་རླུང་དྲག་པོར་མནན་བྱ་ཞིང།
འོག་རླུང་ཅུང་ཟད་ཐེན་བྱ་སྟེ།
སྤྲུལ་པ་དག་ཏུ་བསྐྱིལ་བྱས་ནས།
དྭངས་སྙིགས་འབྱེད་པའི་སྦྱོར་བའོ།

7. Jaladhari/Jalandhari (འཇའ་ལ་དྷ་རི་)

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ཞབས་གཡས་བརྐྱང་བའི་སྦྱོར་བ་ཡིས།
སྟོབས་བསྐྱེད་ས་ལ་བཙུགས་བྱ་སྟེ།
ཕྱག་གཡོན་སྟོབས་བཀྱེད་གྲུ་མོ་ཡིས།
ཞབས་གཡོན་གྱེན་ལ་བལྟབ་པ་ཡི།
མགུལ་པ་དག་ནས་བསྡམ་བྱ་ཞིང།
ལག་གཉིས་སོར་བཅུ་བསྣོལ་བ་ཡི།
རྡོ་རྗེ་ཕྱེད་མགོཨིའི་ཕྱག་རྒྱ་བྱིས།
སྤྱི་གཙུག་དག་ཏུ་བཙུགས་བྱས་ནས།
འོག་རླུང་དྲག་པོར་ཐེན་བྱ་སྟེ།
སྟེང་རླུང་དྲག་པོར་མནན་བྱ་ཞིང།
དྲ་མིག་དགང་བའི་སྦྱོར་བ་ཡིས།
བྲང་ཁོག་མདུན་དུ་བསྒུར་བྱས་པས།
བདེ་བ་རབ་ཏུ་སྐྱེ་བའོ།

8. Recaka (རེ་ཛ་ཀ་)

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ཞབས་གཉིས་པདྨའི་སྐྱིལ་ཀྲུང་བཅའ།
ལག་གཉིས་བསྣོལ་བས་མཆན་འོག་བསྡམ།
འོག་རླུང་དྲག་པོར་ཐེན་བྱས་ནས།
སྟེང་རླུང་དྲག་པོར་མནན་བྱ་ཞིང།
མགྲིན་པ་དགུག་ཅིང་སྙིང་ག་མནན།
ཐད་ཀར་བརྡེག་ཅིང་བསྣུན་པ་དང།
གཡས་གཡོན་བསྣུན་ཞིང་བརྡེག་བྱས་པས།
མགྲིན་པ་བསྐོར་བའི་སྦྱོར་བ་ཡིས།
མགྲིན་པ་གཡས་གཡོན་དེ་བཞིན་ནོ།

9. Kumbhaka

བུམ་པ་ཅན་

I.

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ཞབས་ནི་པདྨའི་སྐྱིལ་ཀྲུང་བཅའ།
ལག་གཉིས་རྦེ་ཤ་བསྡམ་བྱ་སྟེ།
གྲུ་མོ་གཉིས་ཀྱི་སྤྱི་ཟུར་མནན།
ལག་ངར་གཉིས་ནི་བསྣོལ་བ་ཡིས།
ཞག་གཉིས་རྩ་བ་མནན་བྱས་པས།
སྒལ་ཚིགས་མགྲིན་པ་དགུག་བྱས་ནས།
འོག་རླུང་དྲག་པོར་ཐེན་བྱས་སྟེ།
སྟེང་རླུང་དྲག་པོར་མནན་བྱས་པས།
སྤྲུལ་པ་དག་ཏུ་བསྐྱིལ་བྱ་སྟེ།

II.

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ཞབས་ནི་པདྨའི་སྐྱིལ་ཀྲུང་བཅའ།
པུས་པོ་ས་ལ་བཙུགས་བྱ་སྟེ།
ལག་གཉིས་རྦེ་ཤ་བསྡམ་བྱས་ནས།
ཞབས་གཉིས་མགུལ་པའི་ཐད་སོ་ནས།
མཐོ་གང་གཅལ་བའི་ས་མཚམས་སུ།
གྲུ་མོ་གཉིས་ནི་བཙུགས་བྱ་སྟེ།
འོག་རླུང་དྲག་པོར་ཐེན་བྱས་ནས།
སྟེང་རླུང་དྲག་པོར་མནན་བྱ་ཞིང།
སྒལ་ཚིགས་མགྲིན་པ་དགུག་བྱ་སྟེ།
སྟོབས་བསྐྱེད་དྲག་པོར་མནན་པར་བྱ།

10. Pūraka

གང་བ་ཅན་

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ཞབས་གཉིས་པདྨའི་སྐྱིལ་ཀྲུང་བཅའ།
པདྨའི་སྐྱིལ་ཀྲུང་མཚམས་དག་ནས།
མཐོ་གང་སོར་བརྒྱད་གཞལ་བྱ་སྟེ།
ལག་གཉིས་སོར་བཅུ་བསྣོལ་བྱས་ནས།
ཕྱིར་ལ་བཟློག་ཅིང་བརྐྱང་བྱ་སྟེ།
སྒལ་ཚིགས་བསྲང་ལ་མགྲིན་པ་དགུག།
འོག་རླུང་དྲག་པོར་ཐེན་བྱས་ནས།
སྟེང་རླུང་དྲག་པོར་མནན་བྱས་པས།
སྟོབས་རྣམས་རབ་ཏུ་བསྐྱེད་བྱ་སྟེ།
དགང་བའི་ཚུལ་གྱིས་སྒོམ་པར་བྱ།

This Hindu tale of the churning of the ocean is retold in many Tibetan texts. Within this narrative, it explains how hostility arose between the demigod Rāhu, the maker of eclipses, and the sun and moon.

These hostile dynamics are also applied in Vajrayāna subtle body yoga, where Rāhu becomes an indispensable ally of the yogi, devouring the inner sun and moon of the subtle body. In this context, the central channel itself is referred to as the “channel of Rāhu.”

Jamyang Loter Wangpo (19th–20th century) explains what “Rāhu devouring the sun and moon” means within the subtle body system:

“This is called ‘the sun and moon, the four pairs, being devoured by Rāhu.’

The two (right and left) channels are the sun and moon of the channels.
The two breaths, incoming and outgoing, are the sun and moon of the airs.
The two syllables, a (at the navel) and haṃ (at the crown), are the sun and moon of the syllables.
The two elements, white and red, are the sun and moon of the bindu.

When these four pairs dissolve into the central channel, this is called ‘being devoured by Rāhu.’”

The same text also describes the outer Rāhu and the inner, subtle-body Rāhu, the latter being identified with the central channel, which extends from the crown to below the navel:

According to the Kālacakra Tantra: externally, the head of Rāhu is water, the tail is fire, and the body in between is clear like crystal. In the same way, internally, the head of the central channel is the white element, the bodhicitta bindu, the syllable haṃ [at the crown]; the lower end is the red element, the short a, associated with tummo [at the navel]; and in between, the prāṇa-vāyu is clear like space. Therefore, this is called the inner Rāhu.

The three channels that run upward are distinguished at the guhya-cakra. The three channels above this point are identified as the channels of the sun, moon, and Rāhu, rather than the lower channels below the guhya-cakra. The same text presents these three as three tips, like a trident, through which water, fire, and space flow respectively through the channels of the moon, sun, and Rāhu.

“There are three upward tips: the tip of Rāhu abides in the centre; the tip of the sun is on the right; the tip of the moon is on the left. Water, fire, and space circulate.”

Churning of the Ocean

In the tale of the churning of the ocean, there once fell a rain of poison from the sky, causing harm to sentient beings. At that time, under the instruction of Brahmā, the gods gathered on one side and the anti-gods (asuras) on the other.

The lord Viṣṇu took hold of Mount Mandara from above. The serpent Vāsuki served as the churning rope, and the mountain was supported from below by the back of a great tortoise. In this way, they churned the vast ocean of milk.

Then there arose a being of deadly poison called kālakūṭa. When Viṣṇu swallowed it, he lost consciousness, fell to the ground, and lay unable to speak. Śiva (Maheśvara) drew it out and placed it in his own throat. As a result, his throat turned blue (Nīlakaṇṭha).

Then, when the crescent moon arose, Śiva (Maheśvara) took it and placed it upon his head. Then the glorious Śrī arose, and Viṣṇu took her. Then horses, the heavenly tree (pārijāta), and other things arose, and Indra, together with other gods, took them as they saw fit.

Then four exceedingly beautiful women arose. When they were asked, “Who are you?”, they replied: “I am called wine. If I am drunk, intoxication, fainting, pride, and various such transformations will arise.” When this was said, the demigods (asuras), being afraid, did not drink it, and thus came to be known as non-gods. But the gods drank it, and thus came to be known as gods.

Then, when the nectar (amṛta) arose, the demigods (asuras) took away eight great vessels filled with it. The gods became greatly dejected. At that time, Viṣṇu transformed himself into an exceedingly beautiful woman and went there, while Indra, in an invisible form, remained in the sky. Then the demigods thought, “This is our woman,” and set her to guard the nectar, while they themselves went off to bathe. At that moment, Viṣṇu and Indra stole the nectar and carried it to the residence of Indra.

As they returned from bathing and did not see the nectar, they searched for it intently. When they heard that it had been taken by the gods, they thought it must be true, since the gods go upward into the sky.

Then the gods assembled in order to partake of the nectar. At that time, Rāhu assumed the form of a god, entered among them, and obtained a share of the nectar. The Sun [god] saw this and said to Viṣṇu, “This is Rāhu.” Thereupon, he cut off his head with his wheel. Nevertheless, since he had partaken of the nectar and it had reached [upto his throat], his head remains even now, while the rest of his body died. From that time, enmity arose between Rāhu and the Sun, and thus he seizes and obscures the disc of the Sun.

I have not been able to identify the name or title of this Tibetan text. It is drawn from the Rinchen Terzö Chenmo (Schechen Monastery collection).

The descriptions of defects in the channels are similar to those found in the Amṛtasiddhi, which I have recently posted, though the methods of remedy differ. The remedies involve both trülkhor and medicinal treatments; here, I have included only the trülkhor section.

Trülkhor as in general consists of the coordinated application of bodily posture, breathing technique, and mental support.

TRANSLATION

In general, when the channels become dry, the body also becomes emaciated; when the channels become impaired, the body likewise becomes impaired. Thus, whatever faults arise in the channels give rise to corresponding ailments in the body. Therefore, if the faults of the channels are not cleared, the vital airs within the channels, and the mind that rides upon them, will not function properly.

The causes of defects arising in the channels are: forceful or violent physical activity; falling from heights; practising trulkhor without proper breath control; and improper eating, drinking, and conduct.

The signs or symptoms of faults arising in the channels are: sensations of numbness in the body; heat or boiling sensations; itching; burning; stabbing pain; and pain throughout the body. The experiential signs include disturbances caused by non-human entities in dreams. There also arise excrescences, abscesses, warts, paralysis, and many other undesirable conditions.

Remedies

The remedies are trülkhor and medicine.

Defects of the channels and their trülkhor remedy

1. Severed channels:

Trülkhor remedy: Wherever a channel is severed, whether in the upper or lower part of the body, assume the sevenfold posture of Vairocana. With the breath properly controlled, apply the visualisation of the channels and channel-wheels (nāḍī and nāḍī-cakra). Then rub and massage the area wherever there is discomfort. If you cannot reach it with your own hands, have a companion perform the massage.

2. Withered channels

Symptom: When the channels become dry or withered, the body develops itching and the limbs become emaciated.

Trülkhor remedy: Sit [body] in a cross-legged posture, with the mind resting in meditative equipoise, and the breath properly held. First, rub the palms together until they become warm. Then rub from the crown of the head down to the soles of the feet, spreading warmth throughout the whole body. Next, rub again from the soles of the feet up to the crown of the head. When the hands reach the crown, expel the residual air [within the channels] through the nose and gently shake the entire body.

This clears the defects of dried channels and increases the strength of the body.

3. Twisted channels

Trülkhor remedy: First, while lying down, expel the residual air from within the body several times. Then, [sitting up in a cross-legged posture], by holding a gentle breath twist the body to the right and left repeatedly. Finally, allow the body and mind to settle in equipoise without movement.

4. Agitated channels

Symptom: When the channels become agitated, the body and arms begin to shake.

Trülkhor remedy: First, place the body in a comfortable position, then rub and massage the entire body. Next, lie on your back and, with both arms, alternately make a movement like drawing a firm bow, three times each. The same should be done with the legs. Then extend both arms and legs upward towards the sky and draw them in towards the chest. At first do this slowly, then increasingly more forcefully, twenty-one times, and then relax. Finally, expel the residual air within the body with a long “ha” exhalation. This clears the ailments.

All activities should be performed in a relaxed manner. When sitting, assume the sevenfold posture of Vairocana and maintain gentle breathing. When lying down, adopt the Buddha’s sleeping posture, and avoid improper sitting or sleeping positions.

5. Rigid and impaired channels

Trülkhor remedy: Retain the breath in kumbhaka (vase breathing). Apply a piece of oil-soaked felt, warmed over a fire, repeatedly to the affected area. This is beneficial.

This material forms part of the Amṛtasiddhi corpus attributed to Virūpa and written down by Amoghavajra. What is particularly distinctive about this corpus is that, unlike other Amṛtasiddhi sources, it contains a large number of physical yogic practices. It not only describes the constituent subtle elements of the body, such as the channels nāḍī, vāyu, bindu, sun, and moon, but also includes a dedicated section on their defects and the methods for remedying them.

Another unusual feature of this corpus is that, rather than presenting the well-known system of three principal channels (right, left, and central), it speaks of five principal channels. Although Amoghavajra does not explicitly define these five, his other writings suggest a possible framework. The system appears to be based on the distinction between upper and lower channels, demarcated at the secret chakra, located approximately eight inches below the navel. The three channels above this point are referred to as the upper channels, while the three below are the lower channels. On this basis, the five principal channels may be understood as the right and left channels above, the right and left channels below, together with the single central channel.

This post presents a translation of a detailed account of the defects of the nāḍīs, explaining how they arise through diet, behaviour, and physical strain, how they manifest in the body and mind, and how they may be corrected through specific postural techniques (lus gnad) and related methods.

TRANSLATION

I. Numbers of Channels

In general, the nāḍīs (channels) in the human body are said to be too numerous to count. For the sake of presentation, however, they are traditionally described as numbering seventy-two thousand. This is then condensed into smaller groupings: from 72,000 to 360, then to 141, to 72, to 32, to 9, and finally to the five principal channels.

II. Formation of Channels

The channels are described as abiding in various forms: like a central column (srog shing / iṣikā), like the mesh of a net (dra mig / gava-akṣa), like woven threads, like the trunk of a tree, like a bundle of snakes, like nāḍī-petals, and like knots, and so forth.

III. Functions of Channels

As for their functions, they bring about clarity and obscuration, cause [the mind] to move or to settle, and enable it to engage [with their objects].

IV. Defects of Channels

As for their defects, the channels may become impaired, tangled, stiff, cracked, split, shrunken, and so forth.

V. Methods for Removing Defects

As for the methods of remedying these defects, there are four: postural technique (lus gnad), mental support (dmigs pa), substances (rdzas), and blessings (byin rlabs).

Defects of the Channels & Remedy

1. Impaired channels

Cause: Its causes are sleep, women [sexual activity], and alcohol.

Symptom: Its symptoms are emaciation, frequent yawning, and loss of appetite, and others.

Remedy (Postural Technique, lus gnad):

2. Entangled channels

Cause: The causes are coldness (śīta), disturbing or agitated dreams, and intense fear (bhīta).

Symptom: The symptoms include fainting and a fixed, unblinking gaze.

Remedy (Postural Technique, lus gnad):

3. Rigid channels

Cause: This arises from an imbalance in the temperature of food.

Symptom: The symptoms include twisting or coiling of the lower intestines (rgyu zhabs), crying out in distress, and difficulty in breathing.

Remedy (Postural Technique, lus gnad):

4. Ruptured channels

Cause: The causes are over-satiation from food, excessive passage of food, and the failure of food to reach its proper place.

Symptom: The symptoms are bloating and pain in the stomach or intestines.

Remedy (Postural Technique, lus gnad):

5. Severed channels

Cause: The causes include jumping, lifting heavy objects, carrying heavy loads, and drawing a stiff bow, among others.

Symptom: The symptoms are sharp, shooting pains that arise when standing up suddenly or during physical activity.

Remedy (Postural Technique, lus gnad):

6. Shrunken channels

Cause: This arises from keeping the body bent or contracted for too long, and from sitting in one position for extended periods.

Symptom: The symptom is a crooked or bent gait, especially affecting the areas of the body that have been held in that position.

Remedy (Postural Technique, lus gnad):

Note: The cover image is AI-generated and intended as a visual aid to one of the pose.

Fire-Pit Posture

The Fire-Pit Posture is used to generate heat more rapidly in the body, particularly in cold conditions and in the practice of tummo. It is called “fire-pit” (Tib. me thab, Skt. Agnikunda) because the posture functions like a hearth, serving as the base that supports and contains the fire of tummo.

The full name of this posture is “Strapping the Six Fire-Pits” (me thab drug ’ching ba or thab ‘gal). It is referred to as “six fire-pits” because the arrangement of the arms and legs forms six triangular shapes (trikoṇa / gru gsum), resembling the structure of a traditional fire-pit.

The term “strapping” indicates how the posture is secured: the tripod structure formed by the legs and buttocks is either bound using a yoga strap or held firmly in place by the arms, which themselves function as a strap.

Formation of the Posture

This posture is built upon the foundational sevenfold posture [look at previous post]: the spine is kept straight, the shoulders drawn slightly back, the neck slightly bent, and the tongue resting against the palate. The distinguishing features lie in the specific arrangement of the arms and legs, together with the use of a strap to stabilise the lower body.

Legs

The Tibetan term for this leg position is tsog pu (“knees held upright”). The legs are crossed, typically with the left leg inside and the right outside although a few sources mention the reverse arrangement. The knees are raised and held upright, and the buttocks and the feet remain firmly planted on the ground like a tripod.

Yoga Strap

A yoga strap is used to secure and maintain the position of the legs. It is tied around the waist and looped around the lower shins, holding the structure of the posture firmly in place.

Arms

There are few variations:

• First variation: The elbows rest on the corresponding knees, while the arms cross so that each hand is placed on the opposite shoulder.

• Second variation: The arms themselves function as a strap, encircling and holding the knees in position by clasping or joining together.

• Third Variation: The hands are placed below the navel in dhyāna mudrā: the right hand rests upon the left, both palms facing upward, with the thumbs gently pressing one another.

• Fourth variation: Placing the hands on the adjacent knees.

When It Is Used

This posture is generally employed at night, particularly for the rapid generation of inner heat in cold conditions and in the practice of tummo. During the day, the vajra cross-legged posture is more commonly adopted in Tummo practice.

Function of the Posture

(From tummo practice based on the four nāḍī-cakras associated with Sakya tradition)

• Legs:
  Cross the legs at the ankles by wrapping the right leg around the left, and secure them with a yoga belt. In this way, the lower vāyu (apāna-vāyu) is naturally restrained.

• Hand placement:
  Place the hands in dhyāna mudrā at the pubic hairline and gently press the thumbs together. This is said to open the lower mouth of the avadhūtī [central] channel. An analogy is given: like a fish opening its mouth when touched at the forehead. Pressing the thumbs below the navel also helps to generate heat more rapidly.

• Spine:
  Keep the back straight. This helps prevent disorders arising from obstructed or trapped vāyu [in the channels].

• Neck:
  Bend the neck slightly, like an iron hook (elephant goad). This supports control of the upper vāyu (prāṇa-vāyu) and assists in directing it downward below the navel [after inhalation].

• Anus:
  Leave the anus relaxed. This helps reduce potential adverse effects of the practice.

This post presents Vairocana’s posture of seven distinctive features, a classical seated posture widely used in Tibetan Buddhist meditation and yogic practice. It explains the underlying principle of lus gnad and how specific bodily configurations influence the subtle channels, vital airs, and vital essences. The discussion also outlines the functional role of each component of the posture, particularly in relation to the regulation of the five primary vāyu and the arising of non-conceptual wisdom (nirvikalpa-jñāna). Practical instructions for forming each aspect of the posture are also provided.

Sevenfold Posture of Vairocana

Vairocana’s Posture of Seven Distinctive Features is a classic and widely recognised seated posture, applied in both meditation (such as Śamatha and Vipaśyanā) and yogic practices (such as Tummo and Ṣaḍaṅga Yoga). Although minor variations particularly in the positioning of the hands and gaze occur depending on the specific practice (for example, vajra-fist hand positions or an upward or forward gaze), its essential structure remains consistent. It is also sometimes referred to as the “Sevenfold Posture of Tilopa” or the “Sevenfold Posture of Dhyāna.”

The Tibetan term lus gnad (lü né) denotes bodily posture in a broad sense, encompassing both seated and non-seated postures, comparable to āsana, whereas trülkhor comprises not only bodily posture but also breathing techniques and mental focus. While the expression (lus gnad or lus kyi gnad) literally means the “vital point” or “crucial locus of the body,” in this context it refers specifically to the subtle body, particularly its channels (nāḍī). Accordingly, lus gnad designates a bodily posture that directly influences these subtle structures. Each specific posture acts upon the channels of the body and thereby regulates the vāyu and bindu that flow through them. As Longchen Drimé Özer (14th century) states:

All problems arise from faults in bodily posture (lus gnad): when posture is incorrect, the channels (nāḍī) are disturbed, which in turn disrupts the vāyu and bindu.

The Sevenfold Posture Consists of:

• Legs: seated in the vajra cross-legged posture

• Spine: kept straight and upright

• Shoulders: slightly drawn back, with the chest open

• Hands: placed in dhyāna-mudrā, positioned below the navel

• Neck: gently bent, with the chin slightly drawn towards the chest

• Tongue: resting lightly against the palate

• Gaze: directed towards the tip of the nose

Function of the posture

More precisely, each bodily posture helps to regulate the five primary vāyu. Thus, sitting in vajrāsana helps to subdue and direct the apāna-vāyu into the central channel; the hands placed in dhyāna-mudrā likewise regulate the samāna-vāyu; maintaining a straight spine with the shoulders extended supports the vyāna-vāyu; bending the neck influences the udāna-vāyu; and placing the tongue against the palate, together with the proper gaze, helps to direct the prāṇa-vāyu into the central channel. When all these karmic vāyu enter the central channel, non-conceptual wisdom (nirvikalpa-jñāna) is said to arises. In the practice of Tummo (inner heat), the vajrāsana or vajra cross-legged posture helps to generates heat. Forming the hands in dhyāna-mudrā, positioned approximately four finger-widths below the navel, helps to open the mouth of the central channel and gives rise to bliss. Maintaining a straight spine allows the vāyu to move into their proper pathways and locations.

How to Form Each Posture

1. Legs: Vajra Cross-Legged Posture

The vajra cross-legged posture is a distinctive Buddhist seated posture in which the historical Buddha is said to have attained complete enlightenment. Hence it is stated: rdo rje skyil krung rdzogs sangs rgyas (“In the vajra cross-legged posture, complete Buddhahood is attained”).

This posture is known by two Sanskrit terms: vajrāsana (rdo rje gdan or rdo rje ‘dug stangs) and vajraparyaṅka (rdo rje skyil krung). In the wider yoga community, it corresponds to what is commonly called the full lotus posture. In this posture, each foot is placed on the opposite leg, between the calf and the thigh. The right leg is wrapped over the left [some texts advices to leave a space of approximately four finger-widths between the two heels].

2. Upper Body: Straight Spine and Shoulders slightly drawn back

Maintain an upright spine, with the upper body neither inclining forward nor backward. The chest is open, and the shoulders are drawn slightly back.

3. Hands: Dhyāna-mudrā (Mudrā of Equipoise)

The hands are placed in dhyāna-mudrā, held approximately four finger-widths below the navel. The right hand rests upon the left, with the palms facing upward, and the thumbs lightly touching or gently pressing against each other.

4. Neck: Slightly Bent

The chin is gently drawn towards the chest, applying a slight pressure at the throat (larynx), while the back of the neck remains extended.

5. Tongue: Resting against the palate

Rest the tip of the tongue against the palate. In some yogic practices, this is said to help draw down the nectar (amṛta) from the small tongue.

6. Eyes: Gaze at the Tip of the Nose

Keep the eyes open and steady, with the gaze directed towards the tip of the nose. The gaze should be relaxed and unfocused, extending only a short distance, traditionally described as about the length of a yoke.

Note: This posture is at times described as the sixfold posture of Vairocana, reflecting the enumeration of six components.

This text is attributed to a siddha named Kṛṣṇacaryāvrata (Tib. brtul zhugs kyi spyod pa nag po pa, “the Black One”), associated with the Sakya tradition. It was written down by Jetsun Drakpa Gyaltsen (1147–1216). The title of the text is “Instruction on Straightening the Crooked Nāḍīs, Vāyus, and Bindus, composed by Nagpo Utsita.”

Who is Nagpo Utsita?

As the text states that it is composed by “Nagpo Utsita,” one might initially assume that this refers to a single individual. However, a closer reading of the text suggests that “Nagpo” (Kṛṣṇa, “the Black One”) refers to Kṛṣṇacaryāvrata himself, who received this instruction from a siddha named Utsita.

Who is Nagpopa (Black One)?

Regarding the siddha known as Nagpopa (“the Black One”), there appear to be two figures bearing this name in the Sakya tradition:

• one identified as a disciple of Virupa

• another identified as a disciple of Jalandhara

The siddha associated with the present text is the latter, the disciple of Jalandhara. However, when comparing related sources, there remains the possibility that these two figures may in fact be the same individual. In at least one account, a siddha named Nagpopa is said first to have studied under Jalandhara and later to have travelled to Uḍḍiyāna, where he received teachings from Virūpa.

Who is the Siddha called Utsita?

A reader in the comments has suggested that the Sanskrit name Utsita may represent Acyuta (“the imperishable” or “the deathless”), and this is a very strong possibility, especially given that the siddha in the present text is described as free from ageing and death. However, I will retain my original interpretation below while keeping this possibility in view.

When reading Tibetan sources, two prominent siddha lineages emerge: that of Gorakṣa and that of Kṛṣṇa (Kanha, “the Black One”). These two figures appear to belong to roughly the same period, and there are narratives describing their meeting and exchange.

Gorakṣa’s teacher is Minapa, who in several sources is also referred to as Acinta (Acintya). Tibetan Buddhist materials make it clear that both Gorakṣa and Caurangi are disciples of Minapa. This is also reflected in a Gorakṣa doha preserved in the Tengyur, where Minapa is referred to as Acinta:

Having served and venerated Caurangi with devotion,
The seed of the elements was thereby sown.
Acinta revealed the nectar of immortality;
Through this, Gorakṣa realised the nondual.
Wondrous indeed is Gorakṣa, the cowherd, king of the three worlds.

In the hagiographical accounts of Gorakṣa, the story of Caurangi is also recounted in detail how his limbs were severed, and how the guru Acinta instructed Gorakṣa to care for him.

There is therefore a strong possibility that Minapa is also known as Macchindra (Matsyendra). In this context, the Tibetan form a tsin dra (ཨ་ཙིནྡྲ་) may represent a variant or corrupted rendering of Macchindra.

In the present text, however, the siddha Utsita is said to have as his teacher Maheśvara (Śiva). This is significant, since in Vajrayāna and Nāth traditions it is widely known that Minapa (Matsyendra) received teachings while inside the belly of a fish, overhearing the dialogue between Śiva and Umā.

On this basis, it is plausible that the name “Utsita” may represent a scribal or phonetic corruption of “Acinta,” which itself may in some cases stand for Macchindra (Matsyendra/Minapa). If so, the siddha named Utsita in this text could potentially be identified with Minapa/Macchindra.

However, this identification is not without difficulty. There is also another siddha known as Acinta (sometimes referred to as the “Avaricious Hermit”).

TRANSLATION

Homage to all the excellent gurus.

The siddha Kṛṣṇacaryāvrata, together with his disciples, set out from Jālandhara. All the yogins had gone on ahead, and while he was following behind along the road, he reached the outskirts of a great town.

Having arrived there, he overheard some people talking. They were saying:

“A few days ago there was a man here called Ucitta the Immortal. He travels through the sky; he does not grow old and does not die.”

On hearing this, he asked, “Where is he now?”

They replied that they did not know his exact dwelling place. Some said, “He stays on that rocky mountain,” while others said, “He stays in that small forest,” and they pointed out a nearby grove.

When he went to that forest, he saw a man seated in meditation naked, blue in colour, and with a body that appeared like ice.

Without examining who he was, Kṛṣṇacaryāvrata immediately bowed down and requested that he accept him as a disciple.

The man said, “I cannot tame you. Do not bow down before requesting the teachings.”

Then they had the following conversation:

Kṛṣṇacaryāvrata: Who is your teacher?

Immortal Ucitta: My teacher is Maheśvara, the disciple of Vajradhara.

Kṛṣṇacaryāvrata: Where is he now?

Immortal Ucitta: He is beneath the earth, in the ninth subterranean realm, within the hollow interior of Mount Meru, abiding in union with the goddess Umā.

Kṛṣṇacaryāvrata: When will he arise from that meditative absorption?

Immortal Ucitta: He will arise at the end of around two thousands Buddhas.

Kṛṣṇacaryāvrata: If that is so, do you accept that this teaching of yours is a path to Buddha[hood] or not?

Immortal Ucitta: Yes, I do.

Kṛṣṇacaryāvrata: In that case, please accept me as your disciple.

Immortal Ucitta: If that is so, then this is my teaching.

And Immortal Ucitta spoke the following verse:

Holding the vayus by means of a wrathful posture,
One abandons grey hair and wrinkles;
Freed from old age and death,
One becomes deathless like space.

This instruction is called “straightening the crooked nāḍīs, vāyus, and bindus.”

The crooked nāḍīs are the two side channels, the right and the left (roma and kyangma).
The crooked vāyus are the two movements of inhalation and exhalation.
The crooked bindus are the two, semen and blood.

To straighten these crooked nāḍīs, vāyus, and bindus means that [the lower ends of the left and right channels, together with the vāyus and bindus that move within these solar and lunar channels, enter into the central channel (the channel of Rāhu). By binding or restraining the nāḍīs, vāyus, and the bodhicitta-bindu, this becomes the path to Buddha[hood].

The stages for undertaking this practice are as follows:

For a few days, massage the body and engage only in unhurried and relaxed activities. At the beginning of the practice, sit on a comfortable seat, and then:

Preliminary

• Take refuge in the Three Jewels.

• Cultivate bodhicitta.

• Visualise the guru above the crown of the head and generate devotion.

• Bring to mind one’s personal deity (yidam).

Then, the main practice is as follows:

“Holding the vāyu by means of a wrathful posture” (i.e. the meaning of the first line of the verse):

• Assume a proper cross-legged posture.

• Form vajra fists and place them on the knees.

• Keep both eyes open and direct the gaze upward.

• Press the tongue against the palate.

• Set the teeth together and spread the lips.

Then:

• Unite the upper vāyu (prāṇa) and the lower vāyu (apāna).

• Forcefully press the abdomen against the spine.

• With the hands in vajra fists, gradually extend them away from the knees until the elbows reach the knees.

• Tighten the entire body so that the muscles of the arms and calves become taut, and a slight tremor arises.

At that point, the vāyu is restrained (bound).

Signs and regulation of the practice:

When performing such forceful trulkhor, if a burning sensation arises in the chest, or pain occurs in the head, one should release the exertion. If this does not subside, one should call out loudly and take some food.

One should perform this trulkhor approximately twenty-one times. Then, releasing the exertion, while body in relax recognise the mind as luminous and empty.

Thereafter, as before, one again continue the trulkhor applying exertion. Practising in this way, without relying on a fixed number or duration of sessions, there will come a point when, immediately upon performing the trulkhor, one enters into a samādhi of luminous emptiness. When this occurs, the first trulkhor has been perfected.

In order to stabilise the above trulkhor, one should also practise the following trulkhors:

• Form vajra fists with both hands. Place the left hand at the chest and raise the right hand upward into the sky.

• Then unite the upper vāyu (prāṇa) and lower vāyu (apāna), tighten the body, and practise as before.

• Then reverse the hand positions: raise the left hand and place the right at the chest, and practise as before.

• Then move the right and left arms in the manner of drawing a bow, and practise as before.

• Then raise both hands upward into the sky and, as before, tighten the body and practise.

• Then, forming vajra fists with both hands, cross the hands over the chest, and again practise as before.

In this way, whichever trulkhor is practised, if a samādhi of the inexpressible [suchness, nonduality, free from conceptual elaboration] arises within one’s continuum, this is the sign of having perfected the practice. If grey hair and wrinkles appear, one should apply saliva to them and massage. By doing so, they will disappear.

The “fourfold breathing technique” is a distinctive Vajrayāna Buddhist method taught in several Tibetan Buddhist traditions. In this method each stage of the breath must be practised carefully and in the correct sequence in order to cultivate proper kumbhaka breathing, which is an essential element of Dzogrim (rdzogs rim, completion stage) practice. It is also said that if the method is practised incorrectly, it may cause more harm than benefit.

It is taken from the collected works of Pema Karpo (16th century). I have translated the same breathing technique from another text in an earlier post—click here to read it: Kumbhaka pot breathing practice.

Fourfold Breathing Technique

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published

།རླུང་ལ་སྦྱོར་བ་བཞི་ལྡན་ཏེ། 
།རྔུབ་དང་དགང་དང་གཞིལ་བ་དང༌། 
།འཕང་བར་བྱ་དང་རྣམ་པ་བཞི།

How the practice should be performed is taught through these similes:

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published

ལྕགས་ཀྱུ་བཞིན་དུ་དགུག་པར་བྱ། 
།བུམ་པ་བཞིན་དུ་དགང་བ་དང༌། 
རྒྱ་མདུད་བཞིན་དུ་བསྡམས་ནས་སུ། 
མདའ་ལྟར་གྱེན་དུ་འཕང་བར་བྱ།

Draw in the breath like a hook [hook-shaped air passage].
Fill it like a pot [two third with upper air and one third with lower air].
Bind it tight like a knot [air held immovably].
Then shoot it like an arrow [projecting upward].

How it is done is as follows:

1. Drawing in the breath:
Without making any sound, the air is drawn inward through both nostrils. At the same time it is pushed downward to the area directly behind the navel.

2. Filling (kumbhaka / pot):
Two-thirds of the upper air (prāṇa-vāyu) are pressed downward, while one-third of the lower air (apāna-vāyu) is drawn upward from behind, and the two airs are united. This is likened to the saying that two-thirds of a pot should be filled with water and one-third left empty.

3. Binding / pressing down/retention:
When one reaches the point where it can no longer be maintained, the air below the navel is gently pressed downward. A short inhalation is then taken again and pressed down. This is called binding or pacifying.

4. Releasing the breath:
When the air can no longer be held and must be released, it is expelled through both nostrils—gently at the beginning and the end, but more forcefully in the middle.

1. Introduction

2. Structure of the text

3. Translation of the Amṛtasiddhi thirty-two Trülkhor

4. Translator’s Note

   (1) Amgrol

   (ii) Similarities between the Shangpa Amṛtasiddhi Thirty-two Trülkhors and Trülkhor Systems from Other Kagyü Traditions

   (iii) Saṃpuṭa Yoga [mūlabandha]

Introduction

The Amṛtasiddhi teachings of Virūpa travelled from India to Tibet, where they were preserved within the Shangpa Kagyü tradition, while in India elements of these teachings were later incorporated into Brahmanical Haṭha Yoga texts. Several of the yogic techniques described in the Amṛtasiddhi, especially Mahāmudrā, Mahābandha, and Mahāvedha, later appear in Brahmanical Haṭha Yoga texts, suggesting that the Amṛtasiddhi may have played a role in the early formation of the Haṭha Yoga tradition. Moreover, several yoga postures preserved in the Tibetan Amṛtasiddhi texts attributed to Amoghavajra appear to predate the āsanas described in later Haṭha Yoga manuals.

This text is particularly important for several reasons. First, it appears to be the earliest Tibetan Amṛtasiddhi yoga manual composed by a Tibetan author. The Amṛtasiddhi root texts and the related works attributed to Edeva and Amoghavajra found in Tibetan tengyur collection and Shangpa teaching cycles were composed by Indian yogis, whereas this text represents the Tibetan reception and transmission of that tradition.

Second, the text shows how Virūpa’s (Birwapa’s) Amṛtasiddhi practices were adopted and practised in Tibet especially in Shangpa Kagyu tradition. Third, this work became a standard form of the Amṛtasiddhi yoga manual and provides a systematic presentation of the trülkhor practices. The text is quite long, and some of the technical details, especially the breathing instructions are difficult to translate precisely, but I have done my best to render them as clearly as possible. The annotated notes in the original text were also helpful in guiding the translation.

Amṛtasiddhi Lineage Masters in the Shangpa Kagyu Tradition

• Virūpa from Uḍḍiyāna
  (In some texts, also referred to as Black Virūpa or Krishna Virūpa)

• Krishna Vipra from ‘phreng ba can
  (Tib. Dramzé Nakpo, “Black Brahmin”)

• Durtrö Nakpo from Oḍiviśa
  “Black Charnel Ground Dweller”

• Latö Gönpo from uncertain place north of Ganges

• Sangye Nyentön from Rigong
  (also known as Rigongpa)

• Tsöndrü Sengé
  (also known as Sangye Tönpa)

Sangye Nyentön [aka Rigong pa, 1175-1255] is the first Tibetan Shangpa master who received the Virupa’s Amrtasiddhi [It hasn’t come down through Niguma, Sukhasiddhi or Khyungpo Naljor]. He received the teaching from a person called Latö Gönpo [most probably an Indian yogi] whose teacher was Durtrö Nakpo [an Indian master]. To read the story about how he received this teaching, click here to read my previous post: From India to Tibet: The Journey of the Amṛtasiddhi Lineage and Teachings.

Tsöndrü Sengé (also known as Virya Siṃha, 1207–1278) was the second lineage holder of the Amṛtasiddhi teachings and the author of the present text. Born into a Bön family, he later received teachings within the Kagyu tradition. From an early age, he aspired to meet a great yogi, whether from India or Tibet. Eventually, one of his teachers directed him to Rigongpa Sangye Nyentön, from whom Tsöndrü Sengé received the teachings and transmissions of the Shangpa lineage.

The Amṛtasiddhi texts composed by Indian masters mention three principal practices: Mahāmudrā (phyag rgya chen po), Mahābandha (bsdam pa chen po), and Mahāvedha (‘bigs pa chen po). In contrast, the present text composed by Tsöndrü Sengé presents four main trülkhors: Am-grol, Vedha, Bandha, and Mahāmudrā. The term Am-grol appears to be a new designation used by Shangpa masters for the [Haṭhayogic] Mahāmudrā technique. For a more detailed discussion of the meaning of this term and the practice itself, see the “Translator’s Note” section at the end.

There is also a strong possibility that the secondary trülkhors, particularly those of the head, neck, upper body, legs, and arms, were influenced by trülkhor practices found in other completion-stage (rdzogs rim) of Kagyu traditions. I have noted some similarities between those practices and the present text, which are discussed in the “Translator’s Note” section. In this text, Mahāmudrā does not refer to the [Haṭhayogic] Mahāmudrā technique, but rather to a cross-legged meditative posture. Interestingly, unlike the Tibetan Amṛtasiddhi texts preserved in the Tengyur collection, this text retains the Sanskrit terms bandha and vedha rather than translating in Tibetan.

The thirty-two trülkhors of the Amṛtasiddhi are composed of one preliminary practice called Jita-karma (also mentioned in the Amṛtasiddhi root text preserved in the Tengyur), twelve main trülkhors, and nineteen secondary trülkhors, thirty-two in total.

Structure of the text

1. Title

2. Homage Verses

3. The Essence of the Topic

4. One Preliminary Trülkhor [Jhita-karma]

5. Twelve Main Trülkhors

   • Four outer mudrās

   • Four Inner mudrās

   • Four Secret mudrās

   • Summary

6. Nineteen Secondary Trülkhors

   • Saṃpuṭa Yoga- Reversal of the white bindu-1

   • Spreading the white bindu-1

   • Spreading the red bindu-1

   • Head-4

   • Upper Body-3

   • Arms-4

   • Abdomen-3

   • Legs-2

7. Closing Summary

8. Conclusion

9. Colophon

TRANSLATION

Title: The Sun that Clarifies the Practice of the Thirty-two Trülkhors of Amṛtasiddhi

I. Homage to the Amrtasiddhi’s lineage masters

བླ་མ་དམ་པའི་ཞབས་ལ་གུས་པས་ཕྱག་འཚལ་ལོ།

Vajradhara

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བདེ་ཆེན་རྒྱལ་པོ་ལྷུན་གྲུབ་འདུས་མ་བྱས། 
ལོངས་སྤྱོད་རྫོགས་སྐུ་རྡོ་རྗེ་ཆང་ཆེན་དང།

Virūpa [Birwapa]

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ནུས་པ་མཐར་ཕྱིན་རྟོགས་པ་མཆོག་གྱུར་པའི། 
རྣལ་འབྱོར་དབང་ཕྱུག་དཔལ་ལྡན་བིརྺ་པ།

Kṛṣṇa Vipra (Black Brahmin)

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དངོས་གྲུབ་ཀུན་བརྙེས་ལུས་སེམས་འཆི་མེད་འགྱུར། 
ཀུན་གྱིས་མཆོད་བསྟོད་བྲམ་ཟེ་ནག་པོ་དང།

Durtrö Nakpo (Black charnel ground dweller)

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ཡིད་དམ་མཁའ་འགྲོས་བར་དོར་སངས་རྒྱ་བར། 
།དངོས་སུ་ལུངས་བསྟན་དུར་ཁྲོད་ནག་པོ་དང།

Latö Gonpo

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བདེ་ཆེན་ཕྱག་རྒྱས་ཉོན་མོངས་རྩ་མདུད་བཀྲོལ། 
ཟག་མེད་རབ་རྒྱས་ལ་སྟོད་མགོན་པོ་དང།

Sangye Nyentön (Rigongpa)

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གང་ལ་ཐོགས་མེད་གནམ་ལྕགས་འབར་བ་ཡང། 
མེ་ཏོག་རྒྱན་གྱུར་སངས་རྒྱས་གཉན་སྟོན་དང།

II. The Essence of the Topic

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དུས་གསུམ་སངས་རྒྱས་བླ་མའི་ཞབས་པད་ལ་། 
ལུས་ངག་ཡིད་གསུམ་དངས་ཞིང་གུས་བཏུད་ནས། 
བརྗོད་བྱའི་སྙིང་པོ་ལུས་སེམས་འཆི་མེད་ཀྱི། 
སངས་རྒྱས་ཚེ་འདིར་ངེས་པར་འགྲུབ་བྱེད་ཅིང།

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ཉེས་སྐྱོན་ཀུན་སེལ་ཡོན་ཏན་རབ་རྫོགས་པའི། 
འཆི་མེད་གྲུབ་པའི་འཁྲུལ་འཁོར་བདུད་རྩི་འདི། 
སློབ་མ་མཆོག་གིས་གསོལ་བ་བཏབ་པའི་ངོར། 
དབྲི་བསྣན་མེད་པར་བླ་མའི་གསུང་བཞིན་བྲི།

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དེ་ལ་རྗེ་བཙུན་བིརྺ་པའི། 
ཐུན་མོང་མ་ཡིན་གདམས་པའི་མཆོག།

Quote from Amrtasiddhi root text

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ཕྱག་རྒྱ་ཆེན་པོ་རྣམ་བཤད་པ། 
རྒྱུད་རྣམས་ཀུན་ཏུ་སྦས་པའི་དོན། 
མི་ནི་གང་གིས་ཐོད་པ་ཡི། 
ལྷ་རྣམས་ཀུན་གྱིས་མཆོད་པར་འགྱུར། 
སྐྱེ་བ་བྱེ་བ་སྟོང་དག་ཏུ། 
ལེགས་ལས་རྒྱ་ཆེན་རྣམས་བྱས་པས། 
དེ་ཐོས་འཁོར་བའི་རྒྱ་མཚོ་ལས། 
ཕ་རོལ་དུ་ནི་རྣལ་འབྱོར་འགྲོ། 
ཆོས་དང་ལོངས་སྤྱོད་སྤྲུལ་པ་དང། 
བདེ་ཆེན་ཚེ་འདིར་ཐོབ་པར་འགྱུར། 
གང་ཞིག་དད་དང་བརྩོན་འགྲུས་ལྡན། 
བློ་ལྡན་དབང་རྫོགས་ལེགས་ཐོབ་ཅིང། 
ཁྱད་པར་འདིར་ནི་དབང་དབང་ཐོབ་པས། 
ལམ་འདི་ལ་ནི་འབད་པར་བྱ༎

III. Amrtasiddhi Trulkhors

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འཆི་མེད་གྲུབ་པའི་འཁྲུལ་འཁོར་ལ་།
སྔོན་འགྲོ་རྩ་བ་ཡན་ལག་གོ།

1. Preliminary trülkhor (Jhita-Kharma)-1

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འཁྲུལ་འཁོར་ཀུན་གྱི་སྔོན་འགྲོ་བའི། 
རླུང་རེངས་འདུལ་བ་འདི་བཞིན་བྱ།

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ཕྱི་ནང་བདུད་རྩིའི་འཁྲུས་བྱས་ལ། 
སྟན་ལ་གར་སྟབས་ལངས་བྱས་ནས། 
གཡོན་པའི་བརླ་ལ་གཡས་པ་ཡི། 
རྐང་པའི་མཐིལ་ནི་སྦྱར་བྱས་སྟེ། 
དེ་བཞིན་གཡས་པ་ལ་འང་ཤེས་པར་བྱ།

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ཞུན་ཆེན་འབྲུ་མར་ལ་སོགས་པ། 
ལག་པའི་མཐིལ་དུ་བླུག་བྱས་ནས། 
རླུང་གི་སྦྱོར་བ་ལེགས་ལྡན་པ། 
སྤྱི་བོའི་གཙུགས་ནས་རྐང་མཐིལ་བར། 
ལུས་ཀུན་ལ་ནི་ཁྱབ་པར་བྱུག།

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རྩ་རྣམས་འདུས་པར་ནན་ཏན་བསྐྱེད། 
ཤུགས་དང་ལྡན་པ་ཤིན་ཏུ་གཅེས། 
རང་གི་ལུས་ཀུན་མ་ཁྱབ་ན། 
ཕྱག་རྒྱ་ལ་སོགས་བྱུག་པར་བྱ།

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དེས་ནི་རླུང་རེངས་གཞིལ་བ་སྟེ། 
ལུས་མཉེན་ཞིང་བལ་ལྟ་བུར་ཡང། 
ཟས་རྣམས་འཇུ་ཞིང་དངས་སྙིགས་འབྱེད། 
ལུས་ཀྱི་མདངས་གསལ་ཐིག་ལེ་འཕེལ། 
རྩ་རླུང་ཐིག་ལེའི་ཟུག་རྣམས་སེལ།
བགེགས་རྣམས་ཐམས་ཅད་རང་དག་འགྱུར་།

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སྟོབས་ཀྱི་འཁྲུལ་འཁོར་འདི་ཡི་ནི། 
སྟེང་དུ་ལྷའི་འཇིག་རྟེན་བསྐྲག། 
རྐང་པ་འོག་ཏུ་བརྐྱང་པ་ཡི། 
ཀླུ་རྣམས་ཀུན་ཀྱང་བསྐྲག་པར་བྱེད། 
ལག་པ་བརྐྱང་བསྐུམ་འདི་ཡིས་ནི། 
ཕྱོགས་བཞི་དག་ཀྱང་གཡོ་བར་བྱེད། 
འདི་ནི་རྫ་ཧི་ཏེའི་སྐར་མའོ།

II. Main Trulkhors—12

Four mudrās

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དེ་ནས་རྩ་བའི་འཁྲུལ་འཁོར་བཤད། 
ཨང་གྲོལ་ལས་ཀྱི་ཕྱག་རྒྱ་དང། 
བེ་ཏ་ཆོས་ཀྱི་ཕྱག་རྒྱ་སྟེ། 
བྷན་དྷ་དམ་ཚིག་ཕྱག་རྒྱ་དང། 
ཕྱག་རྒྱ་ཆེ་དང་རྣམ་བཞིའོ།

Twelve main trülkhors

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དེ་ལ་ཕྱི་ནང་གསང་གསུམ་སྟེ། 
རེ་རེ་ལའང་བཞི་བཞིར་འདོད།

(I) The four outer Mudras

དང་པོ་ཕྱིའི་འཁྲུལ་འཁོར་གྱིས།

1. Am-grol— karma-mudrā

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ཨང་གྲོལ་ལས་ཀྱི་ཕྱག་རྒྱ་ནི། 
བདེ་བའི་སྟན་ལ་སྒལ་ཚིགས་བསྲང། 
གཡོན་པའི་རྟིང་པས་གཤང་ལ་དགག། 
རྩ་བ་དམ་དུ་མནན་པར་བྱ། 
རྩ་སྒོ་གཉིས་ནི་དམ་དུ་བསྡམ། 
རྐང་གཡས་ཅུང་ཟད་བརྐྱང་བྱས་པས། 
མཐེབ་ཆེན་ལག་པ་གཡས་ཀྱིས་བཟུང། 
ཅུང་ཟད་གྱེན་དུ་བཀན་པར་བྱ། 
ལག་པ་གཡོན་པས་བོལ་གོང་ནས། 
བཟུང་ལ་རླུང་རོ་དྲག་ཏུ་འབུད། 
ཁམས་འདུས་མི་འབྱུང་དགོས་པ་ཡོད། 
གཡས་གཡོན་གཉིས་ནས་རླུང་རྔུབས་ནས། 
དབུ་མའི་སྒོ་རུ་བཙུད་བྱས་པས། 
ཞེན་པ་དང་ནི་གདུང་བ་སྤོང། 
དགོས་པ་རྩ་གསུམ་དབང་དུ་སྡུད། 
གསུམ་པོ་གཅིག་ཏུ་གྱུར་པ་ཡི། 
ཕྱག་རྒྱ་ཆེན་པོ་གྲུབ་པར་འགྱུར། 
དེ་ལྟར་འཁྲུལ་འཁོར་ཐམས་ཅད་ལ། 
མཁས་པས་དབང་གིས་ཤེས་པར་བགྱི། 
དེ་ནས་མགྲིན་པ་དགུག་བྱས་ལ། 
སྟེང་འོག་རླུང་གཉིས་ཁ་སྦྱར་ནས། 
ཡར་ལ་ཐེན་པ་དྲག་ཏུ་བསྡིག། 
ཇི་སྲིད་ཐུབ་ཚད་བར་དུའོ། 
ཉི་ཟླ་གཉིས་ནི་བཅག་པར་བྱ། 
སྒོ་དགུ་དག་པའི་སྦྱོར་བའོ།

2. Vedha—Dharmamudrā

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published

བེ་ཏ་ཆོས་ཀྱི་ཕྱག་རྒྱ་ནི། 
ལུས་བསྒྱུར་རྐང་གཉིས་གཤིབས་པའི་བར། 
སོར་ལྔ་དག་གི་ཚད་ཙམ་བཞག། 
རྐང་པའི་བྲང་པ་སོར་མོ་རྣམས། 
ས་ལ་སྙོམས་ཤིང་བརྟན་པར་གཟུགས། 
ཐབས་དང་ཤེས་རབ་ཚུལ་གྱི་ནི། 
ལག་པས་ལིང་ག་བསྡམ་པར་བྱ། 
གཡོན་པས་གཡས་པའི་མཐེབ་ཆེན་མནན། 
རྐང་ལག་བར་དུ་མཐོ་གསུམ་མོ། 
དེ་ནས་མགོ་བོ་དགུག་བྱ་སྟེ། 
ཡར་ལ་དལ་བུས་ཐེན་ནས་ནི། 
འཕོངས་དང་བརླ་གཉིས་བྱིན་རྟིང་ལ། 
བརྟན་པར་དྲག་ཏུ་བརྡབ་པར་བྱ། 
ཇི་སྲིད་ཐུབ་ཚད་བར་དུ་སྤྲུག། 
རླུང་གིས་རླུང་ནི་བཤིག་པར་བྱ། 
རླུང་གིས་རླུང་ལ་བསྣུན་པར་བྱེད། 
རླུང་གིས་རླུང་ནི་གསད་པར་བྱེད། 
རླུང་གིས་ཡོངས་ལ་ཁྱབ་པ་ཡི། 
རླུང་གིས་དངོས་གྲུབ་ཐམས་ཅད་འབྱིན། 
རླུང་གིས་འཆི་བ་མེད་པར་འགྱུར། 
དེས་ན་འཆི་མེད་གྲུབ་པ་ཞེས། 
བིར་ཝ་པ་ཡིས་གསུངས་པ་ཡིན།

3. Bandha— Samayamudrā

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published

བྷན་དྷ་དམ་ཚིག་ཕྱག་རྒྱ་ཡི། 
རྐང་པའི་བར་དུ་ཁྲུ་གང་གཞལ། 
ལག་གཉིས་རྐང་པའི་ནང་ནས་ཕྱིར། 
འཁྱུད་པས་རྐང་པའི་མཐེབ་ཆེན་གཉིས། 
ལག་པའི་གུང་མཛུབ་མཐེ་པོས་བཟུང།
ལངས་ནས་མགོ་བོ་དགུག་བྱ་སྟེ། 
ལུས་པོ་དྲག་ཏུ་བཅུད་ལ་བོར། 
བཤང་ལམ་འཁོར་ལོ་གྱེན་ལ་བཟློག། 
རྩ་དང་ཐིག་ལེ་གྱེན་ལ་ཕྱོགས། 
ནད་རྣམས་ཐམས་ཅད་བཅོམ་ནས་ནི། 
ཕྱ་རྒྱ་ཆེན་པོའི་དོན་ཡང་རྫོགས། 
ཇི་ལྟར་བར་སྣང་ནམ་མཁའ་ལ། 
སྤྲིན་ཚོགས་འབར་བ་འཁྲིགས་པ་དེ། 
རླུང་གི་ཤུགས་ཀྱིས་གཏོར་བ་ལྟར། 
དེ་ལྟར་ལུས་འདི་དག་ཀྱང་ནི། 
ནད་ཀྱིས་ཡོངས་སུ་གོས་གྱུར་ཀྱང། 
ཐབས་ཀྱི་རླུང་གིས་གཞོམ་པར་བྱ།

4. Mahāmudrā

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published

ཕྱག་རྒྱ་ཆེན་པོ་བསྟན་པ་ནི། 
རྐང་པ་ཅུང་ཟད་བསྣོལ་བྱས་ནས། 
སྒལ་ཚིགས་བསྲངས་ལ་ཚོག་བུ་བྱ། 
ལག་གཉིས་པུས་མོའི་སྟེང་དུ་བསྣོལ། 
མཐེབ་ཆེན་སྦོ་ཤ་གཡས་གཡོན་མནན། 
རླུང་གི་[ནི་]བག་ཙམ་བཟུང་བར་བྱ། 
དབང་པོ་ངལ་ཞིང་དུབ་པའི་ཚེ། 
རྩེ་གཅིག་སེམས་ཀྱི་ངང་དུ་བཞག། 
ཡིད་ལ་མི་བྱེད་ཕྱག་རྒྱ་ཆེ། 
འདི་ཡི་སྟོབས་ཀྱིས་འབྱུང་བར་འགྱུར།

Summary of the above four outer mudras

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published

ཨཾ་གྲོལ་དགུ་ལ་བེ་ཏ་གསུམ། 
བྷན་དྷ་གཅིག་ཏུ་ཤེས་པར་བྱ།

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published

དེ་ལྟར་ཙེ་གཅིག་ཉམས་བླངས་པས། 
རགས་པ་ཉོན་མོངས་རླུང་ཐུལ་ཏེ།
ལས་ཀྱི་རླུང་རྣམས་གསོད་པ་ཡིས། 
ནད་གདོན་མི་ཚུགས་འཇོམས་པར་བྱེད། 
ལུས་ཡང་མདངས་གསལ་ཟོ་མདོག་བདེ། 
ཐིག་ལེ་འཕེལ་བས་ལུས་སྟོབས་རྒྱས། 
ཕྲ་རླུང་རང་གནས་དག་པ་ཡིས། 
ཡེས་ཤེས་རླུང་རྒྱས་ཟག་མེད་ཀྱི། 
བདེ་བ་ཕྱོགས་མེད་རྒྱས་པར་འགྱུར།

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published

ལུས་ནི་འཆི་མེད་ཉི་ཟླ་བཞིན། 
སེམས་ནི་འཆི་མེད་ཕྱག་རྒྱ་ཆེ། 
འདི་ལས་འབྱུང་གི་གཞན་གྱིས་མིན། 
ལོ་ཟླས་བོགས་ཐོན་སངས་རྒྱ་བ། 
མཚན་ལྡན་རྩ་ལས་རྟོགས་པར་བྱ་། 
ཡང་ན་འོག་རླུང་གནད་ཀྱིས་སོ།

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published

འཆི་མེད་ལག་སྣེ་བཅུད་བསྡུས་པ། 
རླུང་ཐེབས་བཅུ་གསུམ་གསད་པ་འདི། 
བྲམ་ཟེ་ནག་པོའི་ཁྱད་ཆོས་ཏེ། 
དེ་ཉིད་མཚན་ལྡན་ལྔ་བཅུར་བཅས། 
ལུས་སེམས་འཆི་མེད་གྱུར་ནས་ཀྱང། 
མཐར་ཐུགས་བདེ་སྟོང་དབྱེར་མེད་མཆོག། 
དག་པ་མཁའ་སྤྱོད་གནས་སུ་གཤེགས། 
དེ་རྣམས་ཕྱིའི་འཁྲུལ་འཁོར་རོ།

(II) Second, the four inner mudras

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published

དེ་ནས་ནང་གི་འཁྲུལ་འཁོར་བཤད།

1. Am-grol

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published

ཨཾ་གྲོལ་སྐྱིལ་ཀྲུང་སྒལ་ཚིགས་བསྲང། 
ལག་གཉིས་བསྣོལ་ལ་ངར་གདོང་ངམ། 
ཡང་ན་བོལ་གོང་དག་ནས་བཟུང། 
གོང་བཞིན་དྲག་ཏུ་བསྡིག་པར་བྱ།

2. Vedha

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published

བེ་ཏ་ཆོས་ཀྱི་ཕྱག་རྒྱ་ནི། 
རྐང་མཐིལ་གཉིས་གཤིབས་ས་ལ་བཞག། 
པུས་མོ་ཙོག་པུ་ཅུང་ཟད་བྱ། 
རྐང་པའི་བར་དུ་ལག་གཉིས་བརྐྱང། 
མཐེབ་འཛུབ་རྐང་འཐེབ་གཉིས་བཟུང་ནས། 
རྟིང་པ་སྤྲད་ནས་མ་བྲལ་བར། 
འཕོངས་དང་རྟིང་པ་རེ་མོས་ཀྱིས། 
ས་ནས་བཏེག་ལ་བརྡབ་པར་བྱ། 
སྔགས་དང་ཕ་རོལ་ཕྱིན་པ་ཡི། 
ལམ་མཆོག་ཆིག་རྫོགས་དག་ཏུ་འདོད། 
དུར་ཁྲོད་ནག་པོའི་མུ་དྲ་ཡིས། 
དེ་ཉིད་གཅིག་པུ་ཉམས་བླངས་པས། 
ལུས་སེམས་འཆི་མེད་གྱུར་ནས་ཀྱང། 
སློབ་མའི་ཚོགས་བཅས་མཁའ་ལ་གཤེགས། 
དུས་དེར་བཅུ་གསུམ་ས་ཐོབ་འགྱུར།

3 Bandha

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published

བྷན་དྷ་དམ་ཚིག་ཕྱག་རྒྱ་ནི། 
ལངས་ལ་རྐང་གཡོན་གཡས་པས་མནན། 
ཅུང་ཟད་བསྣོལ་ལ་རྐང་མཐིལ་གཉིས། 
ས་ལ་མཉམ་བཞག་བརྟན་བྱས་ནས། 
རོ་སྟོད་གླང་ཆེན་སྣ་ལྟར་དགུག། 
ལག་གཉིས་བསྣོལ་ལ་རྐང་པ་ཡི། 
མཐེབ་ཆེན་གཉིས་པོ་བཟུང་བྱས་ནས། 
འོག་རླུང་དྲག་ཏུ་བསྐུམ་ལ་གདོན།

4. Mahamudra

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published

ཕྱག་རྒྱ་ཆེ་ལ་སྒལ་ཚིགས་བསྲང། 
སྐྱིལ་ཀྲུང་ལྟེ་འོག་མཉམ་བཞག་གི། 
ཕྱག་རྒྱ་ངང་པའི་གཤོགས་པ་ལྟར། 
དཔུང་པ་གཉིས་ནི་བརྐྱང་བྱས་ནས། 
རླུང་ནི་བག་ཙམ་བཟུང་བྱས་ཏེ། 
ཡིད་ལ་མི་བྱེད་ངང་ལ་བཞག། 
ནང་གི་ཕྱག་རྒྱ་རྣམས་བཞིའོ། 

(III) Third, the four secret mudras

དེ་ནས་གསང་བ་བཤད་པར་བྱ།

1. Am-grol

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published

ཨཾ་གྲོལ་སྐྱིལ་ཀྲུང་ལུས་བསྲངས་ནས། 
ལག་གཉིས་བརྐྱང་ལ་རྒྱབ་ཏུ་བསྣོལ། 
གཡོན་པའི་སྟེང་དུ་གཡས་བཤག་སྟེ། 
གོང་བཞིན་དྲག་ཏུ་བརྡིགས་པར་བྱ།

2. Vedha

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བེ་ཏ་ཆོས་ཀྱི་ཕྱག་རྒྱ་ནི། 
ཕྱི་དང་ལུས་གནད་འདྲ་བ་ལས། 
ཅུང་ཟད་ཐེན་ཞིང་ཆུང་ངུ་བརྡབ། 
དེ་ཡང་དལ་ཞིང་བརྟན་པར་བྱ།

3. Bandha

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བྷན་དྷ་དམ་ཚིག་ཕྱག་རྒྱ་ནི། 
སྐྱིལ་ཀྲུང་ས་གནོན་ཕྱག་རྒྱ་བྱ། 
རོ་སྟོད་གཡས་གཡོན་དྲག་ཏུ་བཅུད། 
ཨོག་མས་བྲང་རུས་ནོན་པོ་གཅེས།

4. Mahamudra

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དེར་རྗེས་ཕྱག་རྒྱ་ཆེན་པོ་ནི། 
ལུས་བསྲང་རྡོ་རྗེ་སྐྱིལ་ཀྲུང་བྱ། 
པུས་མོའི་སྟེང་དུ་ལག་པ་གཉིས། 
མཆོག་སྦྱིན་ཕྱག་རྒྱ་ཅུང་ཟད་བཀན། 
དམིགས་མེད་རང་ཤར་ཕྱག་རྒྱ་ཆེ། 
ཡིད་ལ་མི་བྱེད་དོན་རྟོགས་འགྱུར༎ 
གསང་བའི་ཕྱག་རྒྱ་རྣམ་བཞིར་འདོད།

Summary of the outer, inner and the secret mudras (main trulkhor)

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ཕྱི་ནང་གསང་གསུམ་འཁྲུལ་འཁོར་ལ། 
རླུང་རོ་དྲག་ཏུ་འབུད་པར་བྱ། 
རླུང་གསུམ་རྔུབས་ནས་འོག་རླུང་བསྡམ། 
ཀུན་གྱི་གནད་དུ་ཤེས་པར་བྱ། 
ཁྱད་པར་ཨང་གྲོལ་རྣམ་གསུམ་ལ། 
སྒལ་ཚིགས་དྲང་པོར་བསྲངས་བྱས་ནས། 
རྒྱ་མཚོ་རི་རབ་ངོས་ལ་སྦྱོར། 
ཨོག་མས་བྲང་རུས་ནོན་བྱས་ནས། 
དལ་ལ་དྲག་ཏུ་བསྡིག་པར་བྱ། 
ཚངས་པའི་གནས་ནི་གཡོ་བར་འགྱུར།

III. Secondary Trulkhors (Nineteen)

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དེ་ནས་ཡན་ལག་འཁྲུལ་འཁོར་རྣམས། 
ལེགས་པར་བཤད་ཀྱིས་གུས་པས་བཟུང།

1. Saṃpuṭa Yoga (mūlabandha)—the upward reversal of the bindu

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ཁ་སྦྱོར་སེམས་དཔའི་སྐྱིལ་ཀྲུང་ལ། 
ཨང་གྲོལ་བཞིན་དུ་དྲག་ཏུ་བསྡིག། 
དེས་ནི་ཀུ་ད་རྒྱས་པར་འགྱུར། 
བཤང་ལམ་འཁོར་ལོ་གྱེན་དུ་བཟློག། 
ཐིག་ལེ་སྒྲ་གཅན་གྱེན་དུ་བསླང། 
རྩ་རྣམས་ཐམས་ཅད་རབ་ཏུ་གཡོ། 
མཆོག་གི་རྩ་ནི་གྱེན་དུའོ། 
ལུས་ངག་ཡིད་གསུམ་སྦྱོར་བ་ཡི། 
སྐུ་གསུང་ཐུགས་ནི་སྒྲུབ་པ་ཡིན། 
གོམ་པ་བརྟན་པར་གྱུར་པ་ཡིས། 
རང་གི་མེ་ནི་གསལ་བའོ། 
ཕྱག་རྒྱ་འདི་ཡིས་ཐམས་ཅད་དུ། 
རྣལ་འབྱོར་པ་ནི་ངེས་པར་འགྲོ། 
འདི་ནི་ཁ་སྦྱོར་སྦྱོར་བ་སྟེ། 
རྩ་བའི་སྡོམ་པ་འདོད་པའོ། 
འདི་ནི་རླུང་གི་སྦྱོར་བ་ཡིན།
མཁས་པ་རྣམས་ཀྱིས་འདི་བསྒྲུབ་བོ།

2. Spreading the white Bindu

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ཐིག་ལེ་དཀར་བ་དགྲམ་པ་ནི།
རྡོ་རྗེ་སྐྱིལ་ཀྲུང་སྒལ་ཚིགས་བསྲང། 
སྤྱི་བོའི་གཙུག་ནས་རྐང་མཐིལ་བར། 
ལག་པ་གཉིས་ཀྱིས་བསྲུབ་ཅིང་མཉེ། 
རྗེས་ལ་རོ་སྟོད་དྲག་ཏུ་སྤྲུག། 
རྩ་རྣམས་ཐིག་ལེས་ཁྱབ་པར་འགྱུར། 
རླུང་སྦྱོར་ལྡན་པས་རླུང་དང་བསྲེ། 
ཡེ་ཤེས་ཆེན་པོར་བསྐྱལ་བར་བྱ།

3. Spreading the Red Bindu

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ཐིག་ལེ་དམར་བ་དགྲམ་པ་ནི། 
སྐྱིལ་ཀྲུང་གང་བདེ་སྒལ་ཚིགས་བསྲངས། 
ལག་གཉིས་ཁུ་ཚུར་རྐེད་པ་བརྡུང། 
མདུན་དུ་ལག་གཉིས་དྲག་ཏུ་སྤྲུག།
བརྡུང་དང་སྤྲུག་པ་རེ་མོས་བྱ།
རྗེས་ལ་རོ་སྟོད་དྲག་ཏུ་སྤྲུག།
ཆོད་དང་ཁྲེམས་པ་དུས་ཅིག་འབྱུང། 
དཀར་དམར་ཆ་སྙོམས་ལུས་ལ་ཁྲེམས། 
བཅུ་གསུམ་ས་མཆོག་ཐོབ་པར་འགྱུར།

4-7. Four Head Trulkhors

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མགོ་བོའི་འཁྲུལ་འཁོར་རྣམ་བཞི་ནི། 
རྡོ་རྗེ་སྐྱིལ་ཀྲུང་ས་གནོན་མཐུན།

(i) Head

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དང་པོ་ལག་གཉིས་མགོ་བོ་དང། 
བྱད་དང་ལྟག་པ་བསྲུབ་ཅིང་མཉེ། 
མགོ་ནད་སྐྲ་དཀར་སྙེར་མ་སེལ། 
མགོ་བོའི་རྩ་མདུད་གྲོལ་བར་བྱེད།

(ii) Eyes

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གཉིས་པ་མིག་གི་འཁྲུལ་འཁོར་ནི། 
སྡང་མིག་བལྟ་ཞིང་དྲག་ཏུ་བགྲད། 
གཡས་གཡོན་སྟེང་འོག་ཀུན་ཏུ་བལྟ། 
དྲག་ཏུ་བསྐོར་ཞིང་ལག་མཐིལ་བསུབ། 
མིག་ནད་སེལ་ཞིང་རྩ་མདུད་གྲོལ། 
ཆུ་བུར་རབ་རིབ་དག་ནས་ནི། 
ཡེ་ཤེས་སྤྱན་དང་ལྡན་པར་འགྱུར།

(iii) Throat

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གསུམ་པ་ལག་གཉིས་ས་གནོན་བྱ། 
ཕྱོགས་བཞིར་གཡོ་ཞིང་དྲག་ཏུ་བསྐོར། 
རྗེས་ལ་ལག་མཐིལ་མིག་བསྡམས་ནས། 
སྟེང་རླུང་དྲག་ཏུ་བསྡམས་བྱས་པས། 
མགོ་རླུང་ཟི་དང་འཐོམ་པ་དང། 
མགྲིན་པའི་ནད་སེལ་རྩ་མདུད་གྲོལ། 
གསུང་དབྱངས་དྲུག་ཅུ་ཐོབ་པར་འགྱུར།

(iv) Neck

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བཞི་པ་ས་གནོན་ཕྱག་རྒྱ་ལ། 
མདུན་དང་གཡས་གཡོན་རྩངས་པ་ཡིས། 
རླུང་རྔུབ་མགོ་ལྟར་གསུམ་གསུམ་བྱ། 
རྒྱབ་ཏུ་སྐྱེད་སྐྱེད་ལན་གསུམ་མོ། 
སྐེ་ཡི་ནད་སེལ་རྩ་མདུད་བགྲོལ།

8-10. Three trulkhors of Upper Body

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རོ་སྟོད་འཁྲུལ་འཁོར་རྣམ་གསུམ་ནི། 
སེམས་དཔའི་སྐྱིལ་ཀྲུང་བྱ་བ་མཐུན།

(i) Upper body twist

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དང་པོ་ས་གནོན་ཕྱག་རྒྱ་བྱ། 
གཡས་ནས་གཡོན་དུ་དྲག་ཏུ་འཐེན། 
གཡོན་ནས་གཡས་སུའང་དེ་བཞིན་ནོ། 
གཡས་གཡོན་གསུམ་གསུམ་སྐྱེད་ཅིང་གདེང།

(ii) Upper claw-fight

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གཉིས་པ་སྟོད་ཀྱི་སྡེར་འཛིངས་ནི། 
གུང་མོ་གཉིས་བརྐྱང་གཞན་རྣམས་བསྣོལ། 
ལག་པ་དྲག་ཏུ་བརྐྱང་བྱས་ནས། 
ནུ་མ་གཡས་གཡོན་དེ་ཡི་དབུས། 
གསུམ་གསུམ་ལན་དགུ་བརྡེག་པར་བྱ།

(iii) Lower claw-fight

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གསུམ་པ་སྨད་ཀྱི་སྡེར་འཛིངས་ནི། 
ལག་པ་བསྐུམ་ལ་དྲག་ཏུ་བརྐྱང། 
པུས་མོ་གཡས་གཡོན་དེ་ཡི་དབུས། 
གསུམ་གསུམ་ལན་དགུ་བཅུ་ཞིང་བརྡེག།

Benefits

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དེ་གསུམ་སྟོད་ཀྱི་རྩ་མདུད་གྲོལ། 
རོ་སྟོད་ནད་རྣམས་སེལ་བར་བྱེད། 
ཁྱད་པར་སྙིང་རླུང་ལ་སོགས་པའི། 
ཁམས་འདུས་ཐམས་ཅད་འདི་ཡིས་སེལ། 
རླུང་ནི་དྲག་ཏུ་འབུད་པ་གཅེས།

11-14 Four trulkhors of Arms

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ལག་པའི་འཁྲུལ་འཁོར་རྣམ་བཞི་ནི། 
རྡོ་རྗེ་སྐྱིལ་ཀྲུང་སྒལ་ཚིགས་བསྲང།

(i) Shoulders

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དང་པོ་དཔུང་པ་གཡས་གཡོན་གཉིས། 
རེས་མོས་ཕྱི་དང་ནང་དུ་བསྐོར། 
དེ་ནས་གཡས་གཡོན་ཕྱི་ནང་དུ། 
དུས་ཅིག་དྲག་ཏུ་བསྐོར་བར་བྱ། 
སོག་པའི་ནད་སེལ་རྩ་མདུད་གྲོལ།

(ii) Arms

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གཉིས་པ་ལག་གཉིས་རེ་མོས་ཀྱིས། 
རྡོ་རྗེ་ཁུ་ཚུར་བཅངས་བྱས་ནས། 
ཚུར་བསྐུམ་ཕར་ལ་དྲག་ཏུ་བརྐྱང།

(iii) Hands

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གསུམ་པ་ལག་གཉིས་སོར་མོ་རྣམས།
ཚུར་བསྐུམ་ཕར་ལ་བརྐྱང་བྱས་ནས། 
དུས་ཅིད་དྲག་ཏུ་སྤྲུག་པར་བྱ།

(iv) Extended Arm Gaze

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བཞི་པ་ལག་གཡས་བརྐྱང་ནས་ནི། 
མགོ་བོ་དཔུང་པ་དག་ལ་སྦྱར། 
སོར་ལྔ་དྲག་ཏུ་བརྐྱང་བྱས་ནས། 
མིག་གཉིས་དྲག་ཏུ་གཏད་པ་གཅེས། 
དེ་བཞིན་གཡོན་ལའང་ཤེས་པར་བྱ།

Benefits

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 ལག་པའི་ནད་སེལ་རྩ་མདུད་འགྲོལ། 
དྲ་བས་འབྲེལ་ཞིང་འཁོར་ལོ་འབྱུང།

15-17 Abdomen Trulkhor

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ཕོ་བའི་འཁྲུལ་འཁོར་རྣམ་གསུམ་ནི།

(i) Abdominal Massage

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དང་པོ་སུ་ར་དགང་པ་ཡི། 
ཡན་ལག་འདི་ལྟར་ཤེས་པར་བྱ། 
རྐང་གཉིས་གཤིབས་ནས་དྲང་པོར་ལངས། 
ལག་མཐིལ་གཉིས་ཀྱིས་ཕོ་བ་དང། 
བསུས་པ་དྲག་ཏུ་བསུག་ཅིང་མཉེ།

(ii) Abdominal trulkhor

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གཉིས་པ་ཕོ་བའི་འཁྲུལ་འཁོར་ནི། 
སྐྱིལ་ཀྲུང་ས་གནོན་སྒལ་ཚིགས་བསྲང། 
རྒྱ་མཚོ་རི་རབ་ངོས་ལ་སྦྱར། 
གཡས་གཡོན་བསྐོར་ཞིང་དྲག་ཏུ་སྤྲུག།

(iii) Abdomen Strike

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གསུམ་པ་སྐྱིལ་ཀྲུང་སྒལ་ཚིགས་བསྲང། 
ལག་གཉིས་སོར་མོ་ཕྱིར་བསྣོལ་ཏེ། 
སྤྱི་བོར་བཏེག་ནས་ཕོ་བ་ལ། 
ལག་མཐིལ་གཉིས་པོ་དྲག་ཏུ་བརྡེག། 
རླུང་གིས་དགང་པ་ཤིན་ཏུ་གཅེས།

Benefits

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འཁྲུལ་འཁོར་དེ་གསུམ་ཕོ་བ་ཡི། 
རྩ་མདུད་གྲོལ་ཞིང་ནད་རྣམས་སེལ། 
ཁྱད་པར་ཕོ་གླང་ལ་སོགས་པའི། 
མ་ཞུའི་ནད་རྣམས་སེལ་བར་འགྱུར།

18-19 Legs

རྐང་པའི་འཁྲུལ་འཁོར་རྣམ་གཉིས་ལ།

(i) Shaking legs#

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དང་པོ་ལངས་ལ་རྐང་པ་གཉིས།
རེ་མོས་དྲག་ཏུ་སྤྲུག་པར་བྱ།

(ii) Stretching

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གཉིས་པ་སྟན་ལ་འདུག་བྱས་ནས། 
རྐང་གཉིས་རེ་མོས་དྲག་ཏུ་བརྐྱང། 
མཐེ་བོང་བསྐུམ་པ་ཤིན་ཏུ་གཅེས།

Benefits

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རྐང་པའི་ནད་སེལ་རྩ་མདུད་གྲོལ། 
འཁོར་ལོའི་མཚན་དང་རུས་སྦལ་ཞབས། 
ཆུ་དང་མཁའ་ལ་བྱ་བཞིན་འགྱུར།

Closing Summary

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དེ་ལྟར་སྔོན་འགྲོ་རྩ་བ་དང། 
ཡན་ལག་བཅས་པའི་འཁྲུལ་འཁོར་། 
དང་པོ་སེམས་བསྐྱེད་གསོལ་བཏབ་ནས། 
རླུང་རོ་དྲག་ཏུ་ཕྱིར་ཕུད་ཏེ། 
འཁྲུལ་འཁོར་བཅས་ལ་སྲོག་རྩོལ་དང། 
དབུ་མར་དྲག་རྔུབ་འོག་རླུང་བསྡམ། 
སྟེང་འོག་རླུང་གཉིས་ཁ་སྦྱར་ནས། 
དལ་ལ་སྙོམས་ཤིང་དྲག་པ་གཅེས། 
ཀུན་གྱི་གནད་དུ་ཤེས་པར་བྱ། 
དེ་རྣམས་རྗེ་བཙུན་བིརྺ་པའི། 
ཀུན་ལས་ཁྱད་འཕགས་གདམས་པའོ།

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གང་གིས་འཆི་མེད་འཁྲུལ་འཁོར་འདི། 
བརྩོན་འགྲུས་དྲག་པོས་ཉམས་བླངས་ན། 
བཞི་བརྒྱ་རྩ་བཞིའི་ནད་རྣམས་སེལ། 
ལས་ངན་འབྱུང་པོའི་གདོན་ཚོགས་འཇོམས། 
རྒ་ཤིས་ཟིལ་གྱི་མི་ནོན་ཅིང། 
སྐྲ་དཀར་གཉེར་མ་མི་འབྱུང་སྟེ། 
ཤ་འཁྲེགས་ལུས་ཡང་དབང་པོ་རྣོ། 
ལྟ་བའི་མི་ངོམས་གཟི་བརྗིད་ཆེ། 
མཚན་ལྡན་ལྔ་བརྒྱ་བརྟེན་འགྱུར་ཀྱང། 
འདོད་པའི་ཞགས་པས་མི་འཆིང་ཞིང། 
བཅུ་དྲུག་ལོན་པ་ལྟ་བུར་འགྱུར།

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སེང་གེ་རྩལ་དང་གླང་ཆེན་སྟོབས། 
རྟ་མཆོག་བང་དང་མཉམ་པ་དང། 
ས་དང་མཁའ་ལ་བྱ་བཞིན་འགྲོ། 
ཉོན་མོངས་རྩ་མདུད་གྲོལ་གྱུར་ནས། 
རྩ་རྣམས་དབུ་མར་ཐིམ་པར་འགྱུར། 
ལས་ཀྱི་རླུང་རྣམས་དག་ནས་ནི། 
ཡེ་ཤེས་ཆེན་པོའི་རླུང་དུ་འགྱུར། 
ཟག་བཅས་ཐིག་ལེ་དག་གྱུར་ནས། 
ཟག་མེད་ཡེ་ཤེས་རྒྱས་པར་འགྱུར།

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ལུས་ནི་འོད་ལུས་འཆི་བ་མེད། 
སེམས་ནི་འཆི་མེད་ཕྱག་རྒྱ་ཆེ། 
འདི་ལས་འབྱུང་བས་བིར་ཝ་པས། 
འཆི་མེད་འཁྲུལ་འཁོར་ཞེས་སུ་གསུངས།

Conclusion

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ཁྱད་འཕགས་འཆི་མེད་འཁྲུལ་འཁོར་འདི། 
སྣོད་ལྡན་སློབ་མ་རྣམ་གཉིས་ཀྱིས། 
པཱུ་ཇ་རྒྱ་རྩ་མན་དལ་འཕུལ། 
ཉམས་ལེན་ལོ་གསུམ་དམ་བཅས་ནས། 
ལུས་སྲོག་འཕུལ་ནས་གསོལ་བཏབ་ངོར། 
ལྷག་ཆད་མེད་པར་ཡི་གེར་བཀོད། 
དེ་ལ་མཁའ་འགྲོས་བཟོད་པར་མཛོད། 
དགེ་དེས་རྡོ་རྗེ་འཛིན་ཐོབ་ཤོག།

Colophon

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རྗེ་བཙུན་བིརྺ་པས་མཛད་པའི་འཆི་མེད་གྲུབ་པའི་འཁྲུལ་འཁོར་སུམ་ཅུ་རྩ་གཉིས་ཀྱི་ལག་ལེན་གསལ་བྱེད་ཉི་མ་ཞེས་བྱ་བ་བླ་མའི་ཕྱག་ལེན་ལྟར་ཥ་ཀྱའི་དགེ་སློང་རྡོ་རྗེ་འཛིན་པ་བིར་ཡ་སིམ་ཧས་ལྷག་ཆད་མེད་པར་ཡི་གེར་བཀོད་པ་འདི་ཡོངས་སུ་རྫོགས་སོ།

Translator’s Note

I. ཨཾ་གྲོལ་ Aṃ-grol

Etymology:
The Haṭhayogic Mahāmudrā technique is referred to by the Shangpa masters as Aṃ-grol, rather than Mahāmudrā, and corresponds to the Karma-mudrā. By reading Tāranātha’s instructions and commentaries on the Amṛtasiddhi trülkhor practice of the Shangpa tradition, we may gain insight into the meaning of the term Aṃ-grol.

The syllable Aṃ refers to the navel syllable ཨཾ (Aṃ). In other Vajrayāna completion-stage traditions (rdzogs rim), the syllable Aṃ signifies the tummo, although the Amṛtasiddhi itself does not explicitly mention tummo. The Tibetan word grol means liberation. Thus Aṃ-grol may be understood as the liberation of the syllable Aṃ.

The following excerpt from Tāranātha’s text explains the inner principle of the Aṃ-grol (Haṭhayogic Mahāmudrā) practice, and shows that the Aṃ in Aṃ-grol refers to the navel syllable Aṃ.

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ལྟེ་བའི་ཨཾ་ཡིག་འབར་བའི་མེ།
ལུགས་(ལུས་)རྣམ་ཐམས་ཅད་ཁྱབ་པ་ལས།
གཏུན་བརྡུང་བྱས་པའི་མེ་ལྕེ་རྣམས།
ཐུར་དུ་བབ་པར་བསྒོམ་པར་བྱ།
མེ་ལྕེ་གསང་བའི་སྒོ་རུ་ཐོན།
ལྟེ་གསང་གཉིས་ལ་སེམས་གཏོད་ཅིང།
མིག་ནི་སྣ་རྩེར་བལྟའ་བར་བྱ།
ལས་ཀྱི་ཕྱག་རྒྱའི་མན་ངག་ཡིན།

Breathing technique:

The breathing technique in the Aṃ-grol (Haṭhayogic Mahāmudrā) practice described in this text is somewhat difficult to understand. However, by reading Tāranātha’s instructions, it becomes clearer that the upper air and the lower air are united, then drawn upward and thrust downward. In the following instruction, it is said that the air should be thrust downward using the inner yogic technique described as pounding like a pestle.

རྟིང་པ་ཕྱོགས་གཅིག་གིས་འོག་སྒོ་གཉིས་ཀྱི་བར་བསྡམ། གཅིག་གི་སྟེང་ནས་མནན་ཏེ་ཅུང་ཟད་སྒུར་བ་ཡིན། ལག་གཉིས་གཅིག་གིས་རྐང་རྩེ་དང་གཅིག་གིས་བོལ་གོང་ནས་བཟུང་བ་ཡིན། རླུང་བཤང་སྒོ་བཙུམ་སྟེ་འོག་རླུང་ལྟེ་བར་དྲངས། དེ་ལ་སྟེང་རླུང་ཁ་སྦྱར་ཏེ་གཡས་གཡོན་དབུས་གསུམ་གྱིས་གཏུན་རྡུང་དྲག་ཏུ་བྱེད་པ་ཡིན།

II. Similarities between the Shangpa Amṛtasiddhi Thirty-two Trülkhors and Trülkhor Systems from Other Kagyü Traditions

I have found some similarities between a particular trülkhor practice from the Cakrasaṃvara Hearing Lineage and the present text. Both contain systems of main trülkhors and secondary trülkhors. The Amṛtasiddhi trülkhor system contains four main trülkhors: Am-grol, Bandha, Vedha, and Mahāmudrā, which are further classified into twelve forms. These four main trülkhors, especially Am-grol, Bandha, and Vedha, and their terminology are distinctive features of Virūpa’s Amṛtasiddhi tradition.

The particular trülkhor text from the Cakrasaṃvara Hearing Lineage contains six main trülkhors. Three of them are, quite surprisingly, very similar to the Vedha (mahāvedha) and Bandha (mahābandha) practices found in the Shangpa tradition’s Amṛtasiddhi trülkhor system. I discussed this in a previous post. Click here to read: Three Trülkhor from the Cakrasaṃvara Hearing Lineage: Parallels with the Shangpa Amṛtasiddhi Trülkhor.

The secondary trülkhors in the Amṛtasiddhi thirty-two trülkhor system such as the trülkhors of the head, neck, upper torso, arms, legs, and abdomen are quite similar to trülkhor practices found in other Tibetan traditions. In particular, they resemble the thirty-nine secondary trülkhors found in the Cakrasaṃvara lineage. They also show similarities with trülkhor practices preserved in the Drukpa Kagyü tradition. For a translation of that material, see my earlier post: The Profound Yogic Path: Trülkhor Practice.

For example, the upper-body trülkhors preserved in the Cakrasaṃvara Hearing Lineage show notable structural similarities with the upper body trülkhors described in the Amṛtasiddhi thirty-two trülkhor system. In both systems, the practices involve strong twisting of the upper torso, and the other one stretching of the arms, and striking the hands in same position on the chest region. The benefit of these trulkhors are also stated: releasing the channel-knots of the upper body.

།སྟོད་ཀྱི་འཁྲུལ་འཁོར་རྣམ་བཞི་ལ། །སྐར་མདའ་བསྣོལ་བ་ལག་པ་གཉིས། །དཔུང་གཉིས་འཇུས་ལ་གཡས་གཡོན་གཅུད། རི་རབ་གཅར་ལ་ལག་པ་གཉིས། །རྡོ་རྗེ་བསྡམས་ལ་རྩེ་གཅིག་བསྒྲེང༌། །ནུ་མ་གཡས་གཡོན་རྐན་ལ་བརྡབ། །བྲང་གི་དཀྱིལ་དུ་ལན་གཅིག་བརྡབ།

III. Saṃpuṭa Yoga [mūlabandha]

Saṃpuṭa Yoga (kha sbyor sbyor ba) here is basically a form of bandha. Interestingly, the Amṛtasiddhi calls it specifically as mūlabandha [root lock]. The following lines appear in both the Sanskrit Amṛtasiddhi (edited and translated by James Mallinson) and the Tibetan Amṛtasiddhi text.

Sanskrit text:

ayaṃ ca saṃpuṭo yogo mūlabandho ‘pyayaṃ mataḥ

Tibetan text:

འདི་ནི་ཁ་སྦྱོར་སྦྱོར་བ་སྟེ་།་རྩ་བའི་སྡོམ་པར་[བསྡམ་པ་]འདོད་པའོ།

In this practice, the practitioner reverses the anal chakra upward by forcefully drawing the lower air upward while drawing the belly inward toward the spine. Through this, the bindu flows upward and bliss spreads throughout the body. The wording here is noteworthy. Instead of the expression “root lock” (rtsa ba’i bsdams pa), the text uses rtsa ba’i sdom pa, which literally means “root vow” or “principal vow.” This suggests an interpretive nuance: through this practice the practitioner [a monk] prevents the fall of bindu (or semen) and thereby protects the vow. In this sense, the practice functions not only as a physical lock but also as a method for maintaining the root vow.

• The Sanskrit name Kṛṣṇa Vipra (“Black Brahmin”) is recorded in the writings of the Fourth Zhamar, who also held the transmission of Virūpa’s Amṛtasiddhi teachings.

According to the colophon of the text, this Amṛtasiddhi yoga manual is attributed to Virūpa (Birwapa, སློབ་དཔོན་ཆེན་པོ་བིར་ཝ་པ) and was written down by Amoghavajra. The text discusses the functions of the bindu, its beneficial qualities, and its defects.

The present text focuses specifically on the defects of the bindu and their remedies, which are classified under lus gnad (physical yogic techniques employing specific bodily postures), medicinal substances, and blessings. In this post, only the lus gnad section is included.

In Vajrayāna Buddhism, the subtle body’s bindu (thig le) does not refer exclusively to seminal drops. The two primary bindus are the white element: the refined quintessence of semen which abides as haṃ at the crown, and the red element: the refined quintessence of blood, also known as karmacaṇḍālī which abides below the navel.

These two bindus are regarded as the generative bases of the multitude of bindus throughout the body. They are also sometimes described as the bodily essence (khams; Skt. dhātu) that flows through the channels. Certain systems classify twelve refined fluids or clear bodily essences and twenty-four impure bodily essences, corresponding to the twenty-four nāḍīs and sacred sites as shown in previous post. These are said to support physiological processes such as the growth of teeth and nails. In Amoghavajra’s Amṛtasiddhi, sixteen distinct types of bindu are described, located in various parts of the body, including the back of the ears and the hips.

What are the “upper air” and the “lower air”?

The Amṛtasiddhi frequently employs the phrases“upper air” and “lower air” in its yogic instructions.

The three principal channels: right, left, and central channels are functionally divided into upper and lower segments. The point of demarcation is the guhya-cakra (the secret chakra), located approximately eight inches below the navel. Above this point are the three upper channels; below it, the three lower channels.

Through the three upper channels flows the prāṇa-vāyu, which has a natural upward tendency. For this reason, in practice it is pressed downward. Through the three lower channels flows the apāna-vāyu, which naturally moves downward and is therefore drawn upward during yogic practice. Thus, in the terminology of the Amṛtasiddhi, prāṇa-vāyu corresponds to the “upper air,” and apāna-vāyu to the “lower air.”

Note: The first remedy (lus gnad) corresponds to the physical [hathayogic] Mahāmudrā technique.

TRANSLATION

Function of the Bindu (thigle)

When the thigle is clear, it generates strength in the body.
When the thigle is unclear, it weakens the body.
When the thigle leaks or escapes, the body declines.
When the thigle is retained, the body flourishes.

Defects of the thigle & Remedy

I. Thigle leaking inside the torso of the body

Cause: It results from excessive exertion and fatigue.

Symptom: There is a loss of lustre in the complexion.

Remedy: Perform this lus gnad

By generating strength in the left leg,
Bind the root of the foot (left heel) firmly to the yoni.
Having shaken the body and drawn the lower air,
Forcefully fill up the upper body. 

Measuring a distance of two spans and four fingers,
From the position of the left ankle,
Without failing to examine the boundary line,
Stretch out the right leg forcefully,
Grasping the tip of the (right) foot,
Pull it, generating strength in both hands,
And sit properly on the seat.

Having forcefully drawn in the life bearing air (prāṇa vāyu), 
Bend the neck, pressing (chin) on the chest. 
Refined fluids of the body,
And also the nine doors of the body will be blocked. 

Having forcefully disciplined the wild-agitated vāyu,
With a clear and stable mental object,
By generating strength and strength alone,
Equalise the very life bearing air.

Remembering the seat of effort (sun vāyu),
Remaining fixed just on the moon,
That very thing by the yoga of evenness/equalising (vāyu), 
Will completely end the vāyu of the conceptual mind.

II. Dispersion of thigle to the joints

Cause: It arises from laziness or lethargy in one’s activities.

Symptom: There is swelling and protrusion of the joints.

Remedy: Rotate the joints.

III. Thigle dripping like tears

Cause: It arises from intense joy and intense anguish.

Symptom: Thick flow of tears.

Remedy: Seated in the vajra cross-legged posture, with the hands in dhyāna-mudrā, turn or roll the eyes upward.

IV. Thigle dripping like saliva

Cause: It arises from uncleanliness and from the ingress of impure particles.

Symptom: There is profuse flow of saliva.

Remedy: Seated in the lotus cross-legged posture, with the hands in dhyāna-mudrā, draw in a cooling breath [through the mouth].

V. Thigle dripping like mucus

Cause: It arises from cold and hunger.

Symptom: Mucus flows profusely.

Remedy: Seated in the vajra cross-legged posture, press the thighs with the palms of the hands. Straighten the spine, bend the throat (bringing the chin towards the chest), and slowly rotate the neck. Place the tongue against the palate, and cause the amṛta to descend from the throat.

VI. Dripping or discharge of the actual thigle

Cause: It is discharged due to malevolent influences, illness, [sexual] desire, and intense engagement.

Remedy: Perform this lus gnad: press or draw the abdomen back towards the spine.

This great bliss is more secret than the secret, more subtle than the subtle. Let alone directly realising it within oneself, it is exceedingly difficult even to understand it properly.

When one cultivates samādhi in which the mind rests one-pointedly and attains firm mental stillness, there arises mental pliancy. As this develops, it activates the vital air throughout the body, from head to toe. From this arises physical pliancy, characterised by a smooth and deeply pleasant sensation. As a result, pleasant feeling arises in the body and great joy arises in the mind.

However, such pleasant feeling and joy cannot compare with the great bliss (mahāsukha) of Anuttarayoga Tantra, known as sahaja ānanda (co-emergent bliss). The bliss that arises from mental and physical pliancy is common to both Buddhist and non-Buddhist traditions. By contrast, the sahaja ānanda described in Anuttarayoga Tantra is generated through activating the vajra body (its nāḍīs, vāyus, and bindus) during the completion stage. The difference between these two kinds of bliss is like that between sky and earth.

You may wonder what the secret lies in here. The secret is this: when the crucial points of the vajra body are activated, the movement of the vital air in the right and left channels ceases. The vital-air enter the central channel and begin to move there. This causes the inner heat (tummo) between the navel and the perineum to blaze forth, melting the crown bindu (the HAM). As a result, the vital air that sustains the movement of conceptual mind dissolves. Emptiness becomes manifest, and simultaneously the co-emergent bliss arises.

So what is meant by “to unite bliss and emptiness inseparably as one”?

It means the great bliss, the mind itself transforms into the very nature of the mind that realises emptiness. Just as we speak of “cultivating devotion,” where the mind itself becomes the nature of devotion.

It does not mean uniting bliss and its emptiness as though they were two separate entities brought together. If great bliss and it’s emptiness were separate from the outset, the yogin could never unite them into an indivisible unity. Nor does it mean merely applying an analysis of emptiness to the experience of great bliss—such as analysing that great bliss lacks inherent existence. If that were the case, the indivisibility of bliss and emptiness could not arise.

Note: Excerpt from Tsechokling Yongzin Yeshe Gyaltsen (18th century). Translation mine.

These bodily postures (lus gnad) are practised during tögal after khregs chöd, in order to obtain the visions of primordial wisdom. Two key elements are involved in these postures: the posture itself and the gaze. I have not included the translation of the gaze instructions here, in order to keep the presentation less complex. The text emphasises the importance of these postures:

The inherent radiance of primordial wisdom—the power of natural expression—abides within the nāḍī-petals [channels]. Without perfecting these postures, one will be unable to activate this inherent radiance, and the visions of primordial wisdom will not appear in the sky. Moreover, without the proper gaze, one will be unable to see them.

These sets of bodily postures are not selected from different texts or from different parts of a larger work. Rather, they come from a text devoted specifically to bodily postures, accompanied by illustrations and drawings. The first three postures are the well-known “three kāya sitting postures”: the lion, elephant, and ṛṣi postures, whose respective visual targets are the sun, moon, and lamp.

By gazing at these targets with the eyes slightly closed, the practitioner is said to perceive visions at the level of the brows. First appears the vision of the “lamp of pure space,” which resembles a rainbow or a peacock’s feather. Next, within that, appears the “lamp of the empty sphere,” like ripples on a pond when a stone is thrown. Finally, within that, arises the vision of the “vajra chains of rigpa,” resembling a fine horsehair with knots.

These three postures are said to be applied continuously [during tögal practice]. The next two: numbers four and five serve as supplements to the first three and are used as forms of resting (and the rest of the postures as well). The following five postures: numbers six, seven, eight, nine, and ten are related to the five primordial wisdoms. The final seven are presented as secondary postures. Throughout this system of bodily postures, the gaze appears to be of crucial importance.

First three images are from Lhasa Lukhang mural.

TRANSLATION

1. Dharmakāya Lion’s Pose

Sit like a lion at the mouth of its den. Place the soles of the feet firmly on the ground in a squatting position. Form vajra-fists and place the hands down near the big toes. Extend the torso like a lion, drawing the neck slightly back.

2. Sambhogakāya Elephant’s Pose

Lie like an elephant, with the front of the body facing downward. Fold the legs back with the toes extended behind, and lie prone with the knees drawn in towards the chest. Plant the elbows on the ground and support the chin with the hands. Draw the neck slightly backward.

3. Nirmanakaya Rishi’s Pose

Sit like a rishi squatting. Place soles of the feet on the ground. Bring the ankles close together, pressing the knees against the chest. Wrap the arms around the knees. Straighten the spine and slightly loosen the neck.

4. Abhisambodhikāya Vulture’s Pose

Sit with the soles of the feet planted on the ground, without allowing the buttocks to touch the ground. Thrust the torso forward and extend the arms behind along the sides of the body like a bird’s wings, placing the hands upon the buttocks.

5. Vajrakāya Vajra Pose

Join the soles of the feet together and set the heels against the perineum. Then join the palms together and place them at the crown of the head.

6. Dharmadhātu-jñāna Sevenfold Posture

Sit with the legs in a cross-legged posture. Place the hands in dhyāna mudrā. Rest the gaze on the tip of the nose. Keep the spine straight. Place the tongue against the palate. Let the teeth and lips remain gently parted, without fully touching. Breathe gently.

7. Ādarśa-jñāna sitting posture

Lean the body down on the right side, planting the right elbow on the ground. Rest the cheek on the right hand. Place the left hand at the right armpit, [with the legs folded back] and the toes pointing backward.

8. Samatā-jñāna Posture

Lie supine and extend the arms and legs.

9. Pratyavekṣā-jñāna Posture

Either in a squatting position or seated cross-legged, cross the arms and grasp the opposite upper arms.

10. Kṛtyānuṣṭhāna-jñāna Posture

[Stand with] the right leg extended and the left leg bent, with the hands in a threatening mudrā [gesture].

Alternatively, stand with the left leg extended and the right leg bent, with the arms crossed at the chest.

11. Garuḍa Pose

[Sitting] bring the soles of the feet together in front. Form vajra-fists and place them upside down on the thighs. Bend the neck slightly.

12. Tiger’s Pose

Bring the soles of the feet together in front. Place the hands [on the ground] near the groin and bend the neck slightly.

13. Man’s Pose

From a rishi seated posture, wrap the arms around the legs and interlace the fingers beneath the thighs.

14. Fox’s Pose

[From seated] Place the soles of the feet on the ground, with the ankles side by side. Form a vajra-fist in each hand, with the thumbs tucked in, and place the hands on the ground beside each foot. Draw the shoulders upward and straighten the spine.

15. Vulture’s Pose

Place the legs as in vajra pose [heels pointing towards the perineum], but extend them slightly outward. Form a vajra-fist in each hand and plant them on the ground behind, beside the hips. Stretch the channels at the back of the neck [drawing the chin closer to the chest] and straighten the spine.

16. Malla (Wrestler’s) Pose

Sit in a [vajra] cross-legged posture. Plant the elbows on the thighs and support the jaw with the hands.

17. Water-monster’s Pose

Sit in a [vajra] cross-legged posture. Place the hands on the knees. Draw the back of the neck slightly backward.

Vajrayāna, or Buddhist tantra, is an embodied system of practice. It teaches a swift path to Buddhahood in this very life, or in the bardo, by using the body itself as the path. This is accomplished through working with the body’s rtsa (nāḍīs), rlung (vāyu), and thig le (bindu). This emphasis is distinctive when compared with non-tantric Mahāyāna presentations. In tantra, the body is sacred and indispensable, and is regarded as the abode of deities and buddhas. Tārānātha’s commentary on the Vasanta-tilakā states:

རང་ལུས་ཉིད་ལ་སངས་རྒྱས་གནས།
གཞན་ནི་གང་ནའང་ཡོད་མ་ཡིན།
ལུས་ལས་གཞན་དུ་སངས་རྒྱས་ཉིད།
མི་ཤེས་པ་ཡིས་བསྒྲིབས་པའི་ལུགས།

The Buddha abides in one’s own body
and does not exist anywhere else.
To seek the Buddha outside the body
is the doctrine of ignorance.

As Tārānātha explains, the meaning of this verse is that, in general Mahāyāna Buddhism, a sentient being’s nature has been buddha from primordial time. It is only a matter of clearing away temporary defilements; apart from that, there is no buddha to be attained that is newly produced. And in Vajrayāna, the principal cause for the attainment of Buddhahood is the purification of one’s own body’s nāḍī, vāyu, and bindu. Apart from working with one’s own nāḍī, vāyu, and bindu, there is no other means of attaining Buddhahood.

In the Vajrayāna vajra-subtle-body system, the nāḍīs have a feminine aspect and abide in the form of yoginīs or ḍākinīs. The respective dhātu (the constituent element of the body) that flows within each nāḍī is male-aspected, and abides in the form of ḍākas and vīras (dpa’ bo). Thus, in this configuration of twenty-four channels and their respective dhātus, each is represented by a specific male and female consort in union. The following is an excerpt from Tārānātha’s commentary on the Vasanta-tilakā by Kṛṣṇācārya.

ཉི་ཞུ་རྩ་བཞིའི་དབྱེ་བ་ཡིས། རྩ་རྣམས་ཀུན་གྱི་གནས་དག་ནི། ཀུན་ནས་ཡང་དག་བཤད་པ་ཡིས། གནས་འདི་རྣམས་སུ་མཁའ་འགྲོ་མ། རྩའི་གཟུགས་ཀྱིས་ཡང་དག་གནས།

མི་ཕྱེད་མ་ལ་སོགས་པའི་རྩ་ཉེར་བཞི་ནི། རབ་ཏུ་གཏུམ་མ་ལ་སོགས་པ་རྣལ་འབྱོར་མ་ཉེར་བཞི་དང། སོ་སེན་སྐྱེད་པའི་རྒྱུའི་ཐིག་ལེ་ལ་སོགས་པ་ཁམས་ཉེར་བཞི་ནི། ཁཎྜྲ་ཀ་པ་ལ་སོགས་པ་དཔའ་བོ་ཉེར་བཞིའི་རང་བཞིན་དུ་གནས་པ་ཡིན་ནོ།

Note:

• The following list is based on Tārānātha’s and Drikung Chokyi Drakpa’s texts. The deity names given in the Tibetan text correspond, to a large extent, to the names given in the Devanāgarī script in the accompanying image. Image credit to Himalayan Art Resources.

• In Vajrayāna Tibetan Buddhism, the term maṇḍala (dkyil ’khor) is interpreted as “extracting the essence” (snying po len pa). The meaning of mandala according to the following verse from the Root tantra.

  Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published

  དཀྱིལ་ནི་སྙིང་པོ་ཞེས་བྱ་སྟེ།  
  །བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་ནི་བདེ་ཆེན་པོ། 
  །ལེན་པར་བྱེད་པས་དཀྱིལ་འཁོར་ཉིད། 
  །འདུས་པ་དཀྱིལ་འཁོར་ཉིད་དུ་བརྗོད།
  [Skt. maṇḍalaṃ sāramityuktaṃ....maṇḍalaṃ mīlanaṃ matam

  The dkyil (mandala) is called the essence. When the essence is extracted the bodhicitta, which is the great bliss, and there is union. It is called mandala.

  Samputta:

  Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published

  དང་པོ་ཀུན་གྱི་སྙིང་པོ་མཆོག 
  །ལེན་ཅིང་གཅོད་པ་ཉིད་ཀྱི་ཕྱིར། 
  །ལུས་ནི་དཀྱིལ་འཁོར་ཉིད་དུ་བརྗོད།

  The body is called the mandala because it extracts the supreme essence and cuts off [the conceptual mind].

Twenty-four nāḍīs designated with the names of the twenty-four sacred sites (pīṭha) and yoginīs

1. Pūrṇagiri (པུ་ལིར་)

Location: Head
Nāḍī function: Through this nāḍī flows the constituent element of nails and teeth.
Yoginī designation: Pracaṇḍā (Rab gtum ma) Nāḍī name: Abhedyā (mi phyed ma)

2. Jālandhara (དྲ་བ་འཛིན་པ་)

Location: Crown of the head
Nāḍī function: Through this nāḍī flows the constituent element of hair and body-hair.
Yoginī designation: Gtum mig ma Nāḍī name: sūkṣmarūpā (phra gzugs ma)

3. Oḍḍiyāna

Location: Right ear
Nāḍī function: Through this nāḍī flows the constituent element of skin and odour.
Yoginī designation: Prabhāvatī Nāḍī name: divyā (rtse ba ma)

4. Arbuda (ཨརྦུ་ད)

Location: Back of the neck
Nāḍī function: Through this nāḍī flows the constituent element of flesh.
Yoginī designation: Sthūlanāsā Nāḍī name: (Tib. g.yon pa ma)

5. Godāvarī (གོ་དཱ་བ་རི)

Location: Left ear
Nāḍī function: Through this nāḍī flows the constituent element of sinews.
Yoginī designation: Vīramatī Nāḍī name: vāminī (thung ngu ma)

6. Rāmeśvara (ར་མེ་ཤྭ་རར་)

Location: The spot between the eyebrows
Nāḍī function: Through this nāḍī flows the constituent element of bone.
Yoginī designation: Vāmanī Nāḍī name: kūrmajā (rus sbal skyes ma)

7. Devīkoṭa (དེ་ཝཱི་ཀོ་ཊ)

Location: The two eyes
Nāḍī function: Through this nāḍī flows the constituent element of the liver.
Yoginī designation: Laṅkeśvarī Nāḍī name: bhāvakī (sgom pa ma)

8. Mālava (མ་ལ་ཝ)

Location: The shoulders
Nāḍī function: Through this nāḍī flows the constituent element of the heart.
Yoginī designation: Chāyā Nāḍī name: sekā (dbang ma)

9. Kāmārūpa (ཀཱ་མ་རཱུ་པ)

Location: The armpits
Nāḍī function: Through this nāḍī flows the constituent element of the eyes.
Yoginī designation: Erāvatī Nāḍī name: (Tib. skyon ma)

10. Oḍra (ཨོ་ཊེར་)

Location: The breasts
Nāḍī function: Through this nāḍī flows the constituent element of mkhris pa.
Yoginī designation: Mahābhairavī Nāḍī name: (Tib. mjug ma)

11. Triśakuni (ཏྲི་ཤ་ཀུ་ནེ)

Location: The navel
Nāḍī function: Through this nāḍī flows the constituent element of the lungs.
Yoginī designation: Vāyuvegā Nāḍī name: (Tib. ma mo)

12. Kośala (ཀོ་ས་ལ)

Location: The tip of the nose
Nāḍī function: Through this nāḍī flows the constituent element of the intestines.
Yoginī designation: Chang ’thung ma Nāḍī name: (Tib. mtshan mo)

13. Kaliṅga (ཀ་ལིངྐ)

Location: The mouth
Nāḍī function: Through this nāḍī flows the constituent element of the hip ligaments.
Yoginī designation: Śyāmādevī Nāḍī name: śītadā (bsil sbyin ma)

14. Lampāka (ལཾ་བཱ་ཀ)

Location: The throat
Nāḍī function: Through this nāḍī flows the constituent element of the stomach.
Yoginī designation: Subhadrī Nāḍī name: ūṣmā (tsha ba ma)

15. Kāñcī (ཀཉྩི)

Location: The heart
Nāḍī function: Through this nāḍī flows the constituent element of faeces.
Yoginī designation: Aśvakarṇā Nāḍī name: pravaṇā (gzhol ma)

16. Himālaya (ཧི་མཱ་ལ་ཡ)

Location: The testicles
Nāḍī function: Through this nāḍī flows the constituent element of —.
Yoginī designation: Khagamukhā Nāḍī name: hṛṣṭā (rangs ma)

17. Pretapurī (པྲེ་ཏ་པུ་རི)

Location: The genitals
Nāḍī function: Through this nāḍī flows the constituent element of bad kan (kaphaḥ).
Yoginī designation: Cakreśvarī (’khor lo’i dbang phyug ma) Nāḍī name: rūpiṇī (gzugs can ma)

18. Gṛhadeva (གྲྀ་ཧ་དེ་ཝ)

Location: The anus
Nāḍī function: Through this nāḍī flows the constituent element of pus.
Yoginī designation: Khaṇḍarohā Nāḍī name: (Tib. Thung mong ma)

19. Saurāṣṭra (སཽ་རཱཥྚ)

Location: The thighs
Nāḍī function: Through this nāḍī flows the constituent element of blood.
Yoginī designation: Śauṇḍikā (liquor seller) Nāḍī name: hetudāyikā (rgyu sbyin ma)

20. Suvarṇadvīpa (ཝརྞ་དྭཱིཔ)

Location: The calves
Nāḍī function: Through this nāḍī flows the constituent element of sweat.
Yoginī designation: Cakravarmī Nāḍī name: viyogā (sbyor bral ma)

21. Nāgara (ནཱ་ག་ར)

Location: The toes
Nāḍī function: Through this nāḍī flows the constituent element of fat.
Yoginī designation: Suvīrā Nāḍī name: premaṇī (sdug gu ma)

22. Sindhu (སིནྡྷུར)

Location: The ankles
Nāḍī function: Through this nāḍī flows the constituent element of tears (mchi ma).
Yoginī designation: Mahābalā Nāḍī name: siddhā (grub ma)

23. Maru (མ་རུ)

Location: The thumbs and big toes
Nāḍī function: Through this nāḍī flows the constituent element of saliva.
Yoginī designation: Cakravartī Nāḍī name: pāvakī (‘tshed ma)

24. Kulatā (ཀུ་ལུ་ཏ)

Location: The knees
Nāḍī function: Through this nāḍī flows the constituent element of mucus.
Yoginī designation: Mahāvīryā Nāḍī name: sumanāḥ (yid bzang ma)