(6) 2.4-5.9.2. 1 A part of the elaborate ceremonies which occur also at Asvalayana Gnhya Sutras i. 3. T and at Paraskara Gnhya Sutras I. I. 2. So AV. 7. 99. i; gat. Br. 1.1.1.22; r. 7. 3. 2; Asvalayana Grihya Sutras 2. 5. 2; Gobhila Gnhya Sutras i. 7. 9; Katyayana 3rauta Sutras 2. 3. 6. and pours off the remainder in the mixed potion. A Hail to the semen! Thus he makes an oblation in the fire and pours off the remainder in the mixed potion.

(6) Whoever may wish, ( I would attain something great! — in the northern course of the sun, on an auspicious day of the 1 M % half month of the waxing moon, having performed the Upasad ceremony for twelve days, having collected in a dish of the wood of the sacied fig-tree (udambara\ or in a cup, all sorts of herbs including fruits, having swept around, having smeared around, having built up a fire, having strewn it around, having prepared the melted butter according to rule, having com- pounded the mixed potion under a male star, he makes an oblation, saying: — ' However many gods in thee, All-knower, Adversely slay desires of a person, To them participation I here offer! Let them, pleased, please me with all desires! Hail! Whoever lays herself adverse, And says, "I the deposer am!" To thee, O such appeasing one, With stream of ghee I sacrifice. Hail! ' a. ( To the chiefest, hail! To the best, hail! ' — he makes an oblation in the fire and pours off the remainder in the mixed potion. A Hail to breath (prana) \ ' To the most excellent, hail! ' — he makes an oblation in the fire and pours off the remainder in the mixed potion. A Hail to speech! £ To the firm basis, hail!' — he makes an oblation in the fire and pours off the remainder in the mixed potion. A Hail to the eye! 'To attainment, hail!'— he makes an oblation in the fire and pours off the remainder in the mixed potion. A Hail to the ear! ' To the abode, hail! ' — he makes an oblation in the fire and pours off the remainder in the mixed potion. A Hail to the mind! -where some of the same directions occur. Another parallel passage is Chand.

(1) Then the manner of the application [of the instructions] is: When the breathing is about to cease, it is best if the Transference hath been applied efficiently; if [the application] hath been inefficient, then [address the deceased] thus: O nobly-born (so and so by name), the time hath now come for thee to seek the Path [in reality]. Thy breathing is about to cease. Thy guru hath set thee face to face before with the Clear Light; and now thou art about to experience it in its Reality in the Bardo state, wherein all things are like the void and cloudless sky, and the naked, spotless intellect is like unto a transparent vacuum without circumference or centre. At this moment, know thou thyself; and abide in that state. I, too, at this time, am setting thee face to face.

(28) Let there be soundless repetition of OM and meditation thereon.

(17) Therefore the acts of sacrifice, gift, and austerity, enjoined by the scriptures, are always begun by the followers of the Vedas with the utterance of “Om.”

(13) But if one flee from them, through awe and terror being begotten, then, on the Ninth Day, the blood- drinking [deities] of the Vajra Order will come to receive one. Thereupon, the setting-face-to-face is, calling the deceased by name, thus: O nobly-born, listen undistractedly. [He of the blood-drinking Vajra Order named the Bhagavan Vajra-Heruka, dark-blue in colour; with three faces, six hands, and four feet firmly postured; in the first right hand [holding] a dorje, in the middle [one], a skull-bowl, in the last [one], a battle axe; in the first of the left, a bell, in the middle [one] a skull-bowl, in the last [one], a ploughshare: his body embraced by the Mother Vajra-Krotishaurima, her right [hand] clinging to his neck, her left offering to his mouth a red shell [filled with blood], will issue from the eastern quarter of thy brain and come to shine upon thee. Fear it not. Be not terrified. Be not awed. Know it to be the embodiment of thine own intellect. As it is thine own tutelary deity, be not terrified. In reality [they are] the Bhagavan Vajra-Sattva, the Father and Mother. Believe in them. Recognizing them, liberation will be obtained at once. By so proclaiming [them], knowing them to be tutelary deities, merging [in them] in at-one-ment, Buddhahood will be obtained.

(25) [Instructions to the Officiant]: If it be an illiterate boor who knoweth not how to meditate, then say this: O nobly-born, if thou knowest not how thus to meditate, act so as to remember the Compassionate One, and the Sangha, the Dharma, and the Buddha, and pray. Think of all these fears and terrifying apparitions as being thine own tutelary deity, or as the Compassionate One. Bring to thy recollection the mystic name that hath been given thee at the time of thy sacred initiation when thou wert a human being, and the name of thy guru, and tell them to the Righteous King of the Lord[s] of Death. Even though thou fallest down precipices, thou wilt not be hurt. Avoid awe and terror.

(6) Now, toward morning, having prepared melted butter in the manner of the SthaHpaka, he takes of the Sthallpaka and makes a libation, saying: ' To Agni, hail! To Anumati, hail! To the god Savitri (' Enlivener/ the Sun), whose is true procreation z (satya-prasava), hail! ' Having made the libation, he takes and eats. Having eaten, he offers to the other [i.e. to her]. Having washed his hands, he fills a vessel with water and therewith spi inkles her thrice, saying: — 'Arise from hence, Visvavasut Some other choicer maiden seek! This wife together with her lord — '

(4) The oblation is Brahman, the offerings are Brahman, the sacrifice is Brahman, and by absorption in action which is Brahman, Brahman alone shall be reached by him (by the sacrifice).

(22) World Honoured One, we shall soon realize a great benefit resulting from our meeting and paying obeisance to this man now. And living beings, hearing this sutra now or after the Buddha’s nirvana, will also realize a great benefit; how much more so, if after hearing it, they believe, understand, receive and uphold it or read, recite, explain and preach it, and practice its Dharma accordingly? He who receives this sutra with both hands, will in reality secure the treasure of the Dharma-gem; if, in addition, he reads, recites and understands its meaning and practices it accordingly, he will be blessed and protected by all Buddhas. Those making offerings to this man (Vimalakirti), will through him automatically make offerings to all Buddhas. He who copies this sutra to put it into practice, will be visited by the Tathagata who will come to his house. He who rejoices at hearing this sutra, is destined to win all knowledge (sarvajna). And he who can believe and understand this sutra, or even (any of) its four-line gathas and teaches it to others, will receive the (Buddha’s) prophecy of his future realization of supreme enlightenment.”

(3) In sitting down, after dropping the lids, one establishes a plumb-line with the eyes and shifts the Light downward. But if the transposition downward is not successful, then the heart is directed toward listening to the breathing. One should not be able to hear with the ear the out- going and intaking of the breath. What one hears is that it has no tone. As soon as it has tone, the breathing is rough and superficial, and does not penetrate into what is ine. Then the heart must be made quite light and insigni icant. The more it is released, the less important it becomes; the less important, the quieter. All at once it becomes so quiet that it stops. Then the true breathing is manifested and the form of the heart can be made conscious. When the heart is light, the breathing is light, for every movement of the heart brings about breathing power. If the breathing is light, the heart is light, for every movement of the breath affects the heart. In order to steady the heart, one begins by cultivating the breathing power. The heart cannot be in luenced directly. Therefore the breathing power is used as a handle, and this is what is called protecting the collected breathing power.

(2) During this interval, the directions are to be applied [by the lama or reader]: There are those [devotees] of the perfected stage and of the visualizing stage. If it be one who was in the perfected stage, then call him thrice by name and repeat over and over again the above instructions of setting-face-to-face with the Clear Light. If it be one who was in the visualizing stage, then read out to him the introductory descriptions and the text of the Meditation on his tutelary deity, and then say, O thou of noble-birth, meditate upon thine own tutelary deity. — [Here the deity's name is to be mentioned by the reader.] Do not be distracted. Earnestly concentrate thy mind upon thy tutelary deity. Meditate upon him as if he were the reflection of the moon in water, apparent yet in-existent [in itself]. Meditate upon him as if he were a being with a physical body.

(1) Repeat this distinctly and clearly three or [even] seven times. That will recall to the mind [of the dying one] the former [i.e. when living] setting-face-to-face by the guru. Secondly, it will cause the naked consciousness to be recognized as the Clear Light; and, thirdly, recognizing one's own self [thus], one becometh permanently united with the Dharma-Kaya and Liberation will be certain.

(8) He who closes all the doors of the senses, confines the mind within the heart, draws the prāna into the head, and engages in the practice of yoga, uttering Om, the single syllable denoting Brahman, and meditates on Me— he who so departs, leaving the body, attains the Supreme Goal.

(2) World Honoured One, if there are people who receive, uphold, read, recite and practice this sutra, I and my followers will provide them with all the necessaries of life. If this sutra is kept in a town or a hamlet, in a grove or a desert, I and my followers will come to the place of the preacher to listen to its Dharma. I shall cause the unbelievers to develop faith in this sutra. As to the believers of it I shall protect them.”

(20) To the assembled Deities, to the Tutelaries, to the Gurus, Humbly is obeisance paid: May Liberation in the Intermediate State be vouchsafed by Them.

(11) Thereupon, Lunar Canopy came to the Tathagata Bhaisajya, bowed his head at his feet and stood at his side, asking: ‘World Honoured One, (I have heard that) the offering of Dharma surpasses all other forms of offering; what is the offering of Dharma?’

(16) To this gods and men who were saved attested, thus, the Three Treasures appeared in the saha world to save living beings with this profound Dharma which, when applied, fails never to Nirvana lead. You are the king physician who destroys old age, illness and death. So your unfathomable Dharma of boundless merits, I salute.

(15) Yet, though set face-to-face thus, if, through power of evil propensities, terror and awe being produced, not recognizing them to be tutelary deities, one flee from them, then, on the Eleventh Day, the blood- drinking Lotus Order will come to receive one. Thereupon the setting-face-to-face is, calling the deceased by name, thus: O nobly-born, on the Eleventh Day, the blood-drinking [deity] of the Lotus Order, called the Bhagavan Padma-Heruka, of reddish-black colour; [having] three faces, six hands, and four feet firmly postured, the right[face] white, the left, blue, the central, darkish red; in the first of the right of the six hands holding a lotus, in the middle [one], a trident-staff, in the last, a club; in the first of the left [hands], a bell, in the middle [one], a skull-bowl filled with blood, in the last, a small drum; his body embraced by the Mother Padma-Krotishaurima, her right hand clinging to his neck, her left offering to his mouth a red shell [filled with blood]; the Father and Mother in union; will issue from the western quarter of thy brain and come to shine upon thee. Fear that not. Be not terrified. Be not awed. Rejoice. Recognize [them] to be the product of thine own intellect; as [they are] thine own tutelary deity, be not afraid. In reality they are the Father -Mother Bhagavan Amitabha. Believe in them. Concomitantly with recognition, liberation will come. Through such acknowledging, recognizing them to be tutelary deities, in at-one-ment thou wilt merge [into them], and obtain Buddhahood.

(4) Some, again, constantly practising the regulation of prāna, offer the oblation of prāna into apāna, and apāna into prāna, or stop the passage of both prāna and apāna. Yet others, restricting their food, offer their prānas in the prānas.