A class of tantric scripture that generally features elaborate rites directed toward both mundane goals‍—such as health, prosperity, and protection‍—and to the ultimate goal of liberation. In this class of tantra, the practitioners do not identify themselves with the deity as in other classes of tantra, but rather seek their power, assistance, and intervention in pursuit of their goals. The Mañjuśrīmūla­kalpa and Amoghapāśa­kalparāja exemplify this class of tantra.

The vowels (āli) and consonants (kāli) of the Sanskrit alphabet.

This can be a general term for realization, but it refers more specifically to a set of supranormal powers, such as longevity and clairvoyance.

Conventionally, this refers to a pure compassion; ultimately it refers to empty awareness. It can also refer to drops in completion stage practice.

In this context, the vagina. A number of Buddhist esoteric scriptures are set within the bhaga of a female deity from the Buddhist pantheon. As the root term from which the Sanskrit word bhagavat, “Blessed One,” is derived, the term bhaga also means “good fortune.” See “Blessed One.”

In Buddhist literature, this is an epithet applied to buddhas, most often to Śākyamuni. The Sanskrit term generally means “possessing fortune,” but in specifically Buddhist contexts it implies that a buddha is in possession of six auspicious qualities (bhaga) associated with complete awakening. The Tibetan term‍—where bcom is said to refer to “subduing” the four māras, ldan to “possessing” the great qualities of buddhahood, and ’das to “going beyond” saṃsāra and nirvāṇa‍—possibly reflects the commentarial tradition where the Sanskrit bhagavat is interpreted, in addition, as “one who destroys the four māras.” This is achieved either by reading bhagavat as bhagnavat (“one who broke”), or by tracing the word bhaga to the root √bhañj (“to break”).

Same as “inner heat.”

Main subtle channel running roughly in front of the spine.

These are the veins of the subtle body, through which vital winds flow. While they can be divided into up to seventy-two thousand, the most important are the central, left, and right.

In the context of the subtle body, a “circulation” consists of one thousand three hundred fifty breaths over ninety minutes

Lit. “bent, crooked.” In this tantra, this refers to the primary side channel that runs to the right side of the central channel.

A class of powerful non-human female beings who play a variety of roles in Indic literature in general and Buddhist literature specifically. Essentially synonymous with yoginīs, ḍākinīs are liminal and often dangerous beings who can be propitiated to acquire both mundane and transcendent spiritual accomplishments. In the higher Buddhist tantras, ḍākinīs are often considered embodiments of awakening and feature prominently in tantric maṇḍalas. In this text, they are divided according to three types: sky dweller (Skt. khecarī), earth dweller (Skt. bhūcarī), and subterranean dweller (Skt. pātālacāriṇī).

A measure used for astrological movements. This generally refers to a time span of approximately twenty-two and a half minutes or three hundred sixty breaths. This tantra correlates that with the sixty-four channels of the yogic subtle body.

The bare experience of sensory phenomena, without conceptual overlay.

The defining quality of a thing, such as the wetness of water and the heat of fire.

Śākya Yeshé, commonly known by the title Drokmi Lotsāwa, was a Tibetan translator and important figure in the Lamdré (Tib. lam ’bras) lineage. Drokmi’s dates are uncertain, but Tibetan literature offers a range of possible dates beginning in 990 and ending in 1074.For a hagiography of Drokmi, see Stearns 2010, pp. 83–101. For an academic appraisal of his life and works, see Davidson 2005, pp. 161–209.

The ḍākinī associated with the channels of the subtle body.

Indian (possibly Bengali) paṇḍita (994–1043) who visited Tibet three times; teacher of Drokmi Śākya Yeshé; a complex personality and a key figure in the transmission to Tibet of the Hevajra materials later incorporated in the Lamdré (Tib. lam ’bras) tradition.

In the tantric context, a common epithet that can refer to several awakened deities.

In this context, a technical term for a measure of astrological movements and human breaths

Blissful heat cultivated in the completion stage of tantric practice.

One of subtle body’s three primary channels, most often described as either white or red, depending on the system of practice.

According to ancient Buddhist cosmology, this is the great mountain forming the axis of the universe. At its summit is Sudarśana, home of Śakra and his thirty-two gods, and on its flanks live the asuras. The mount has four sides facing the cardinal directions, each of which is made of a different precious stone. Surrounding it are several mountain ranges and the great ocean where the four principal island continents lie: in the south, Jambudvīpa (our world); in the west, Godānīya; in the north, Uttarakuru; and in the east, Pūrvavideha. Above it are the abodes of the desire realm gods. It is variously referred to as Meru, Mount Meru, Sumeru, and Mount Sumeru.

This most commonly refers to a meditation session but derives from the division of a twenty-four-hour day into eight three-hour periods. This also refers to the period in which a person takes two thousand seven hundred breaths.

The subtle wind which, when dividing between physical and mental, refers to the former and is connected with material experience.

Instructions passed down orally by a qualified master that enable a reader to penetrate the full meaning of esoteric scriptures such as this.

The sounds indicated by the Sanskrit vowels and consonants (Skt. ālikāli ), or possibly specifically the syllable oṁ or āḥ.

One of the yogic subtle body’s three primary channels, most often described as either white or red, depending on the system of practice.

The pledges taken by a tantric practitioner in the course of initiation.

The nonconceptual wakefulness that is both the basis for and the result of tantric sādhana practice.

The ḍākinī associated with the winds of the subtle body

The ḍākinī associated with the drops of the subtle body.

The real nature, true quality, or condition of things. Throughout Buddhist discourse this term is used in two distinct ways. In one, it designates the relative nature that is either the essential characteristic of a specific phenomenon, such as the heat of fire and the moisture of water, or the defining feature of a specific term or category. The other very important and widespread way it is used is to designate the ultimate nature of all phenomena, which cannot be conveyed in conceptual, dualistic terms and is often synonymous with emptiness or the absence of intrinsic existence.

Resplendent or clear liquid; here, referring specifically to the seminal drop residing at the crown of all human bodies.

A frequently used synonym for buddha. According to different explanations, it can be read as tathā-gata, literally meaning “one who has thus gone,” or as tathā-āgata, “one who has thus come.” Gata, though literally meaning “gone,” is a past passive participle used to describe a state or condition of existence. Tatha­(tā), often rendered as “suchness” or “thusness,” is the quality or condition of things as they really are, which cannot be conveyed in conceptual, dualistic terms. Therefore, this epithet is interpreted in different ways, but in general it implies one who has departed in the wake of the buddhas of the past, or one who has manifested the supreme awakening dependent on the reality that does not abide in the two extremes of existence and quiescence. It is also often used as a specific epithet of the Buddha Śākyamuni.

Twenty-four sites on the Indian subcontinent that are considered particularly powerful for the practices of the Yoginī Tantras. These map to twenty-four places on the human body in conjunction with the yogic practices of the perfection stage.

Used as a proper name, Vajrasattva is one of the principle deities of the esoteric Buddhist pantheon, regarded as both a source of the Buddhist tantras and the exemplar of the awakened state. As an adjective, the term vajrasattva, literally “vajra being,” can also be applied to other esoteric Buddhist deities, particularly Vajrapāṇi.

A prescribed mode of behavior, typically time-delimited, that is observed in connection with specific rites and practices. In the Yoginī Tantras, these often include transgressive practices such as engaging with impure substances.

A class of Buddhist tantra focused upon the figure of the yoginī and the meditative manipulation of the subtle energetic anatomy of the physical body. This genre is typified by the Hevajra­tantra, Cakra­saṃvara­tantra, and Mahāmāyātantra.