(6) Be not fond of that dull bluish-yellow light from the human [world]. That is the path of thine accumulated propensities of violent egotism come to receive thee. If thou art attracted by it, thou wilt be born in the human world and have to suffer birth, age, sickness, and death; and thou wilt have no chance of getting out of the quagmire of worldly existence. That is an interruption to obstruct thy path of liberation. Therefore, look not upon it, and abandon egotism, abandon propensities; be not attracted towards it; be not weak. Act so as to trust in that bright dazzling light. Put thine earnest thought, one- pointedly, upon the Bhagavan Ratna-Sambhava; and pray thus: Alas! when wandering in the Sangsara because of the power of violent egotism, on the radiant light-path of the Wisdom of Equality, May [I] be led by the Bhagavan Ratna-Sambhava; May the Divine Mother, She-of-the-Buddha-Eye, be [my] rear-guard; May [I] be led safely across the fearful ambush of the Bardo; And may [I] be placed in the state of the All-Perfect Buddhahood.' By praying thus, with deep humility and faith, thou wilt merge into the heart of the Bhagavan Ratna- Sambhava, the Divine Father-Mother, in halo of rainbow light, and attain Buddhahood in the Sambhoga-Kaya, in the Southern Realm Endowed with Glory.

(9) O nobly-born, if thou art one who hath not obtained the select words of the guru, thou wilt have fear of the pure radiances of Wisdom and of the deities thereof. Being thus frightened, thou wilt be attracted towards the impure sangsaric objects. Act not so. Humbly trust in the dazzling pu7re radiances of Wisdom. Frame thy mind to faith, and think, 'The compassionate radiances of Wisdom of the Five Orders of Buddhas have come to take hold of me out of compassion; I take refuge in them.'

(6) If thou dost not recognize the radiance of thine own intellect, think, with faith, 'It is the radiance of the grace of the Bhagavan Ratna-Sambhava; I will take refuge in it'; and pray. It is the hook of the grace- rays of the Bhagavan Ratna-Sambhava; believe in it.

(4) Be not fond of the dull white light of the devas. Be not attached [to it]; be not weak. If thou be attached to it, thou wilt wander into the abodes of the devas and be drawn into the whirl of the Six Lokas. That is an interruption to obstruct thee on the Path of Liberation. Look not at it. Look at the bright blue light in deep faith. Put thy whole thought earnestly upon Vairochana and repeat after me this prayer: Alas! when wandering in the Sangsdra, because of intense stupidity, On the radiant light-path of the Dharma-Dhdtu Wisdom May [I] be led by the Bhagavan Vairochana, May the Divine Mother of Infinite Space by [my] rearguard; May [I] be led safely across the fearful ambush of the Bardo; May [I] be placed in the state of the All-Perfect Buddhahood.'

(8) Even though thou shouldst flee from it, it will follow thee inseparably [from thyself]. Fear it not. Be not fond of that dull green light of the Asura-loka. That is the karmic path of acquired intense jealousy, which hath come to receive thee. If thou art attracted by it, thou wilt fall into the Asura-loka and have to engage in unbearable miseries of quarrelling and warfare. [That is an] interruption to obstruct thy path of liberation. Be not attracted by it. Abandon thy propensities. Be not weak. Trust in the dazzling green radiance, and putting thy whole thought one-pointedly upon the Divine Father-Mother, the Bhagavan Amogha-Siddhi, pray thus: Alas! when wandering in the Sangsara because of the power of intense jealousy, On the radiant light-path of the All-Performing Wisdom May[I] be led by the Bhagavan Amogha-Siddhi; May the Divine Mother, the Faithful Tara, be [my] rear-guard; May [I] be led safely across the dangerous ambush of the Bardo; And may [I] be placed in the state of the All-Perfect Buddhahood.' By prayer thus with intense faith and humility, thou wilt merge into the heart of the Divine Father- Mother, the Bhagavan Amogha-Siddhi, in halo of rainbow light, and attain Buddhahood in the Sambhoga-Kaya, in the Northern Realm of Heaped-up Good Deeds.

(15) Under the Bodhi tree You conquered Mara, obtained Ambrosia, realized Nirvana and won Bodhi. From mind, thought and feeling are You free, thereby, overcoming heresies, turning thrice in the chiliocosm the wheel of the Law that is pure and clean at heart.

(18) O nobly-born, if one recognize not one's own thought-forms, however learned one may be in the Scriptures — both Sutras and Tantras — although practicing religion for a kalpa, one obtaineth not Buddhahood. If one recognize one's own thought-forms, by one important art and by one word, Buddhahood is obtained.

(5) Be not fond of the dull, smoke-coloured light from Hell. That is the path which openeth out to receive thee because of the power of accumulated evil karma from violent anger. If thou be attracted by it, thou wilt fall into the Hell-Worlds; and, falling therein, thou wilt have to endure unbearable misery, whence there is not certain time of getting out. That being an interruption to obstruct thee on the Path of Liberation, look not at it; and avoid anger. Be not attracted by it; be not weak. Believe in the dazzling bright white light; [and] putting thy whole heart earnestly upon the Bhagavan Vajra-Sattva, pray thus: Alas! when wandering in the Sangsara because of the power of violent anger, On the radiant light-path of the Mirror-like Wisdom, May [I] be led by the Bhagavan Vajra-Sattva, May the Divine Mother MamakI be [my] rear-guard; May [I] be led safely across the fearful ambush of the Bardo; And may [I] be placed in the state of the All-perfect Buddhahood.' Praying thus, in intense humble faith, thou wilt merge, in rainbow light, into the heart of the Bhagavan Vajra-Sattva and obtain Buddhahood in the Sambhoga-Kaya, in the Eastern Realm called Pre- eminently Happy.

(25) O nobly-born, listen unto me undistractedly. By merely recognizing the Four Kayas, thou art certain to obtain perfect Emancipation in any of Them. Be not distracted. The line of demarcation between Buddhas and sentient beings lieth herein. This moment is one of great importance; if thou shouldst be distracted now, it will require innumerable aeons of time for thee to come out of the Quagmire of Misery.

(18) If thou recognizest in that manner, exerting thy faith and affection towards the tutelary deities and believing that they have come to receive thee amidst the ambuscades of the Bardo, think, '[I] take refuge [in them]'; and remember the Precious Trinity, exerting towards them [the Trinity] fondness and faith. Whosoever thine own tutelary deity may be, recollect now; [and] calling him by name, pray thus: '[Alas!], wandering am I in the Bardo; run to my rescue; Uphold me by thy grace, O Precious Tutelary!' Calling upon the name of thine own guru, pray thus: '[Alas!] wandering am I in the Bardo; rescue me! [O] let not thy grace forsake me!' Have faith in the Blood-Drinking Deities, too, and offer up this prayer: Alas! when [I am] wandering in the Sangsara, through force of overpowering illusions, On the light-path of the abandonment of fright, fear, and awe, May the bands of the Bhagavans, the Peaceful and Wrathful Ones, lead [me], May the bands of the Wrathful Goddess Rich in Space be [my] rear-guard, And save me from the fearful ambuscades of the Bardo, And place me in the state of the Perfectly-Enlightened Buddhas.

(4) At this stage, thou must not be awed by the divine blue light which will appear shining, dazzling, and glorious; and be not startled by it. That is the light of the Tathagata called the Light of the Wisdom of the Dharma-Dhdtu. Put thy faith in it, believe in it firmly, and pray unto it, thinking in thy mind that it is the light proceeding from the heart of the Bhagavan Vairochana coming to receive thee while in the dangerous ambuscade of the Bardo. That light is the light of the grace of Vairochana.

(3) Mahakasyapa:

The Buddha then said to Mahakasyapa:

“Go to Vimalakirti to enquire after his health on my behalf.”

Mahakasyapa said:

“World Honoured One, I am not qualified to call on him to inquire after his health. The reason is that once when I went begging for food in a lane inhabited by poor people, Vimalakirti came and said:

“Hey, Mahakasyapa, you are failing to make your kind and compassionate mind all-embracing by begging from the poor while staying away from the rich. Mahakasyapa, in your practice of impartiality, you should call on your donors in succession (regardless of whether they are poor or rich). You should beg for food without the (ulterior) idea of eating it. To wipe out the concept of rolling (food into a ball in the hand), you should take it by the hand (i.e. without the idea of how you take it). You should receive the food given without the idea of receiving anything.

When entering a village, you should regard it as void like empty space. When seeing a form, you should remain indifferent to it. When you hear a voice, you should consider it (as meaningless as) an echo. When you smell an odor, take it for the wind (which has no smell). When you eat, refrain from discerning the taste. Regard all touch as if you were realizing wisdom (which is free from feelings and emotions). You should know that all things are illusory, having neither nature of their own nor that of something else, and that since fundamentally, they are not self-existent, they cannot now be the subject of annihilation. Mahakasyapa, if you can achieve all eight forms of liberation without keeping from the eight heterodox ways (of life), that is by identifying heterodoxy with orthodoxy (both as emanating from the same source), and if you can make an offering of your (own) food to all living beings as well as to all Buddhas and all members of the Sangha, then you can take the food. Such a way of eating is beyond the troubles (of the worldly man) and the absence of the troubles of Hinayana men); above the state of stillness (in which Hinayana men abstain from eating) and the absence of stillness (of Mahayana men who eat while in the state of serenity); and beyond both dwelling in the worldly state or in nirvana, while your donors reap neither great nor little merits, what they give being neither beneficial nor harmful. This is correct entry upon the Buddha path without relying on the small way of sravakas. Mahakasyapa, if you can so eat the food given you, your eating shall not be in vain.”

“World Honoured One, when I listened to his words which I had never heard before, I gave rise to profound reverence to all Bodhisattvas and thought, ‘His wisdom and power of speech being such, who will fail to develop a mind set on supreme enlightenment?’ Since then I have refrained from urging people to follow the practices of sravakas and pratyeka-buddhas. Hence, I am not qualified to call on him to inquire after his health.”

(37) At this time, if one can recollect the Great Symbol [teachings] concerning the Voidness, that will be best. If one be not trained in that, train the [mental] powers into [regarding] all things as illusion [or maya]. Even if this be impossible, be not attracted by anything. By meditating upon the Tutelary Deity, the Great Compassionate [One], Buddhahood will be obtained in the Sambhoga-Kdya.

(10) Be not attracted towards the dull blue light of the brute-world; be not weak. If thou art attracted, thou wilt fall into the brute -world, wherein stupidity predominates, and suffer the illimitable miseries of slavery and dumbness and stupidness; and it will be a very long time ere thou canst get out. Be not attracted towards it. Put thy faith in the bright, dazzling, five-coloured radiance. Direct thy mind one- pointedly towards the deities, the Knowledge-Holding Conquerors. Think, one-pointedly, thus: 'These Knowledge-Holding Deities, the Heroes, and the DdkinTs have come from the holy paradise realms to receive me; I supplicate them all: up to this day, although the Five Orders of the Buddhas of the Three Times have all exerted the rays of their grace and compassion, yet have I not been rescued by them. Alas, for a being like me! May the Knowledge-Holding Deities not let me go downwards further than this, but hold me with the hook of their compassion, and lead me to the holy paradises.'

(5) Virtuous Ones, if you want to realize the Buddha body in order to get rid of all the illnesses of a living being, you should set your minds on the quest of supreme enlightenment (anuttara-samyak-sambodhi).”

(4) Therefore, with the sword of Knowledge cut asunder the doubt born of ignorance about the Self, dwelling in the heart and take refuge in Yoga. Arise, O Arjuna!

(3) Maitreya, there are two classes of newly initiated Bodhisattvas who cannot understand very deep Dharmas: those who have not heard about profound sutras and who, giving way to fear and suspicion, cannot keep them but indulge in slandering them, saying:

‘I have never heard about them; where do they come from?’, and those who refuse to call on, respect and make offerings to the preachers of profound sutras or who find fault with the latter; these are two classes of newly initiated Bodhisattvas who cannot control their minds when hearing the deep Dharma, thereby harming themselves.

(24) Know at that time that it is the Sidpa Bardo [in which thou art]. Invoking, by name, the Compassionate One, pray earnestly, thus: 'O Compassionate Lord, and my Guru, and the Precious Trinity, suffer it not that I (so-and-so by name) fall into the unhappy worlds.' Act so as to forget this not.

(9) By thus praying, one recognizeth one's own inner light; and, merging one's self therein, in at-one-ment, Buddhahood is attained: through humble faith, the ordinary devotee cometh to know himself, and obtaineth Liberation; even the most lowly, by the power f the pure prayer, can close the doors of the Six Lokas, and, in understanding the real meaning of the Four Wisdoms united, obtain Buddhahood by the hollow pathway through Vajra-Sattva.

(12) If you are not able to do My yoga taking refugee in Me, then renounce all actions and the fruits thereof, self-controlled.