Tuesday, August 11, 2026 · 天火 · tianmu.org
Ritual, Vows, and Practice Manuals
Tibetan-preserved Buddhist ritual manuals, vows, sadhanas, refuge rites, practical liturgies, Kalyāṇavarman's charnel-ground meditation stages, Avadhūtipa's six meditation lessons, a source-complete canonical dhāraṇī, and Kambala's vajra-and-lotus instruction on the perfection of wisdom.
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Texts
A Presentation of Six Teachings on Meditative Absorption — D3926Avadhūtipa turns Piṅgalā, a fish-catching heron, a snake, a converted hunter, an absorbed arrow-maker, and a young woman’s bangles into six compact lessons for meditation.Method for Reading a Book — DanashilaA brief tantric instruction from the Tengyur on how to consecrate the act of reading a sacred book through visualization of Vairocana and Buddhalocanā.Personal Instructions on the Noble Perfection of Wisdom — D3919Kambala's compact vajra-and-lotus contemplation moves through the six perfections and sound toward indivisible wisdom beyond sound.Pith Instructions for Entering into Yoga — DharmeshvaraA Yogācāra meditation manual by Dharmeśvara, adding practical instruction to Dignāga’s contemplative verses on the dissolution of duality and the arising of superknowledges. First English translation from the Tibetan Buddhist Tengyur (D4075).Pith Instructions on the Stages of View — Kawa PaltsekA Nyingma doxographical masterwork by Kawa Paltsek (8th century), one of the first seven Tibetan Buddhist monks. Classifies all views from worldly through Atiyoga, includes meditation instructions and signs of realization. First English translation.Sadhana of Ucchusma Jambhala — AryamatiThe Sadhana of Ucchusma Jambhala — a meditation practice for the wrathful wealth deity, by King Aryamati. A compact ritual text from the Dege Tengyur (Tohoku 3744). First English translation from Tibetan. Good Works Translation.Six Branches of Going for Refuge — VimalaA first-ever English translation of Ācārya Vimala's concise verse manual on the six aspects of taking refuge in the Three Jewels, from the Dege Tengyur.The Guru Mandala RitualThe Guru Mandala Ritual — a complete liturgy for the mandala offering to one's teacher, with mantras for each element of the Buddhist cosmos: Mount Meru, the four continents, the seven jewels, the sun and moon, and the seat of awakening. From the Dege Tengyur (Tohoku 3762). First English translation from Tibetan. Good Works Translation.The Noble Dhāraṇī for Recalling Past Lives — D4457A brief canonical dhāraṇī invoking the blessed and noble Lady Who Remembers Past Lives and promising recollection, sovereignty, and freedom from illness to those who preserve and transmit it.The Rite of Confessing Transgressions — DevasantiA monastic confession liturgy for fully ordained monks from the Sarvāstivāda tradition, composed by the paṇḍita Devaśānti and translated into Tibetan by Atiśa (Dīpaṃkara Śrījñāna). First English translation.The Rite of Receiving the Bodhisattva Vow — AbhayākaraguptaA liturgical manual for receiving the bodhisattva’s vow of moral discipline, compiled by Abhayākaragupta from the Bodhisattva Piṭaka. First English translation.The Rite of the Bodhisattva Vow — BodhibhadraThe rite for formally receiving the bodhisattva’s threefold moral discipline — confession, refuge, bodhicitta, and the six perfections. By Bodhibhadra (11th century), teacher of Atiśa.The Sequence of Three Vows — NirmalavajraA liturgical manual for lay practitioners taking three ascending vows — the fasting vow for one day, the lay disciple’s vow for life, and the generation of awakening mind until Buddhahood. By Nirmalavajra, translated into Tibetan by Atulyadāsa and Ngok Lotsāwa Blo ldan shes rab (11th century). First English translation from Tibetan (Tengyur D3978).The Stages of Meditation on Ugliness — D3921Kalyāṇavarman’s compact charnel-ground meditation manual moves from decay imagery to mind-construction, nonarising, compassionate conduct, and freedom from desire.The Sutra of the Three Heaps — Confession of DownfallsThe Nyingma recitation version of the Bodhisattva's Confession of Downfalls, also known as the Sutra of the Three Heaps: refuge, homage to the thirty-five buddhas of confession, confession, rejoicing, dedication, and refuge in the victorious ones.Verses of Auspiciousness on the Five TathagatasFive verses invoking the auspiciousness of the five directional Buddhas of Vajrayana — Vairocana, Aksobhya, Ratnasambhava, Amitayus, and Amoghasiddhi. An anonymous Tibetan Buddhist blessing prayer. First English translation ever produced, from the Tibetan Tengyur (D3782).Verses of Auspiciousness on the Thirty-Seven DeitiesNine verses invoking the auspiciousness of all thirty-seven deities of the Yoga Tantra mandala — the five Tathagatas, four consorts, sixteen family bodhisattvas, eight offering goddesses, and four gate guardians. A complete liturgical map of the Vajrayana ritual cosmos in prayer form. First English translation ever produced, from the Tibetan Tengyur (D3783).Verses of Auspiciousness on the Three JewelsSix verses of blessing invoking the auspiciousness of the three bodies of the Buddha — dharmakaya, sambhogakaya, and nirmanakaya — together with the Three Jewels of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. Composed by the otherwise unknown Indian Buddhist master Prabhakaracandra. First English translation ever produced, from the Tibetan Buddhist Tengyur (D3781).Visualizations of the Eighty-Four SiddhasAn iconographic guide to the visualization of each of the eighty-four Mahāsiddhas — the great accomplished masters of Indian Vajrayāna Buddhism. From the Tengyur, Miscellaneous section. First English translation.
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Begin with [[Buddhist/Tibetan/Ritual, Vows, and Practice Manuals/The Stages of Meditation on Ugliness — D3921|Kalyāṇavarman's stages of meditation on ugliness]], [[Buddhist/Tibetan/Ritual, Vows, and Practice Manuals/A Presentation of Six Teachings on Meditative Absorption — D3926|Avadhūtipa's six meditation lessons]], [[Buddhist/Tibetan/Ritual, Vows, and Practice Manuals/Personal Instructions on the Noble Perfection of Wisdom — D3919|Kambala's D3919 vajra-and-lotus instruction]], or [[Buddhist/Tibetan/Ritual, Vows, and Practice Manuals/The Noble Dhāraṇī for Recalling Past Lives — D4457|the D4457 dhāraṇī]].