1 00:00:14,600 --> 00:00:21,160 [Auto-generated transcript. Edits may have been applied for clarity.] So welcome everyone to this, which is the second talk in the fourth series of our Padmasambhava and Tibet seminar. 2 00:00:22,480 --> 00:00:28,040 There will be another couple of talks still to come, this Trinity term, and you can find details on our website. 3 00:00:28,640 --> 00:00:36,080 You just have to google Padmasambhava or Diana and Tibet seminar and you'll find it all our talks are published as video podcasts. 4 00:00:36,840 --> 00:00:41,440 They're available from our own web pages at the Wilson College Tibetan and Himalayan Studies cluster. 5 00:00:42,520 --> 00:00:46,640 They're also available from the Central University of Oxford podcast pages and of course, 6 00:00:46,920 --> 00:00:49,960 from Apple Podcasts and many other sites of that kind as well. 7 00:00:51,160 --> 00:00:59,880 Please try not to interrupt during the recording. The discussion periods after the talks are not a podcast, and they are open to the entire audience, 8 00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:04,160 so please don't hesitate to join in the discussions and ask questions then. 9 00:01:05,920 --> 00:01:10,600 So today it's our very great pleasure to welcome doctor Amber Moore, who's joining us from Canada. 10 00:01:11,960 --> 00:01:17,440 Amber Marie Moore is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Toronto specialising in Buddhist philosophy. 11 00:01:18,240 --> 00:01:25,680 Tibetan, Newar and Nepalese Buddhist manuscripts and narratives, Shariah dance and the intersection of philosophy and Buddhist Tantra. 12 00:01:27,080 --> 00:01:29,880 Her research looks at the idea of philosophy as a practice, 13 00:01:30,680 --> 00:01:38,480 and draws on Vajrayana Buddhist sources to envisage envision new positions on the nature of being, the self and the idea of liberation. 14 00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:47,800 Her forthcoming book is titled The Life and Legend of Vajra Yogini, the Sanko from the money seller Mahayana. 15 00:01:50,480 --> 00:01:56,320 Her PhD titled The Legend of Ugra Tara Virginia, A study of the name of Buddhist Money sila maha Vadhana, 16 00:01:57,520 --> 00:02:05,160 was completed in 2024 and quickly won awards including the Britain Nepal Academic Council's PhD Dissertation Prize for 2025. 17 00:02:06,880 --> 00:02:10,840 So, Amber, many thanks for taking the time to speak to our seminar and over to you. 18 00:02:12,760 --> 00:02:22,480 Thank you and welcome. Dear colleagues and friends, I know some of my friends from the Canadian Niwa were planning on attending today, 19 00:02:22,960 --> 00:02:30,120 and welcome to you anytime if you're here. Thank you so much, Robert, for asking me this question. 20 00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:34,080 If Union is a Pita, then what is a Pita? 21 00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:45,080 Because I truly did not realise how much my research had addressed this question of what is a Pita and how many resources I had to draw on. 22 00:02:45,960 --> 00:02:53,920 You know, for this talk today, which I hope will eventually become a paper of some kind, and I look forward to expanding on the topic. 23 00:02:54,920 --> 00:03:01,320 So today we're going to look at the figure of Padmasambhava in Newari sources and Newari Buddhism. 24 00:03:02,360 --> 00:03:10,120 Who is called Udayana Acharya and the idea of encounter as the sacred domain of the Vajra Yogini in newer Buddhism. 25 00:03:10,880 --> 00:03:13,760 So these two topics will be addressing today. 26 00:03:14,640 --> 00:03:23,960 This is a topic in general that's very dear to my heart, and I love to discuss the intersection of kind of yogic vision, 27 00:03:24,560 --> 00:03:34,480 whether it's from the Dogen path or the Mahamudra path, and how it how it intersects with sacred geography and the perception of our external reality. 28 00:03:35,040 --> 00:03:42,880 So this is a very interesting topic. And I think for the Tibetan specialists, it will be a little bit different. 29 00:03:43,320 --> 00:03:52,600 But I think, uh, the newer perspective is always, uh, very informative and, uh, mind expanding. 30 00:03:53,600 --> 00:04:03,960 So let's continue with this. Okay. 31 00:04:04,600 --> 00:04:11,960 So we have this question. What can we learn about Udayana and Padmasambhava from newer Buddhist accounts and sources? 32 00:04:13,240 --> 00:04:18,160 So we have basically three kinds of resources available to us within Buddhism. 33 00:04:19,560 --> 00:04:24,480 Uh, Nepal, uh, the context of the continuous Sanskrit, 34 00:04:25,560 --> 00:04:32,960 Vajrayana Buddhism that developed continuously within a culture of Brahmanical and Shaiva religion and sacred sites. 35 00:04:33,360 --> 00:04:43,880 So you have transcultural contexts between Gandhara, the Swat valley where Udayana is thought to have been, and the Kathmandu Valley. 36 00:04:44,840 --> 00:04:54,600 We have a wealth of Newar manuscript sources on Udayana and Padmasambhava or Udayana Acharya as a historical and mythical figure. 37 00:04:55,280 --> 00:05:01,560 Now I've only just started to look into this. The sources I found were quite interesting and we'll look at that. 38 00:05:01,920 --> 00:05:11,040 But in general, he was not a figure that was emphasised in the early period with the transmission of Buddhism to Tibet. 39 00:05:11,960 --> 00:05:21,440 And then we also have plenty of resources as to how people are understood and utilised in their water sources and accounts and how, 40 00:05:22,160 --> 00:05:25,520 uh, this might have been the case also with Udayana. Of course. 41 00:05:28,480 --> 00:05:28,840 It's a place. 42 00:05:36,040 --> 00:05:47,400 So this idea of imagining or reimagining what Udayana as a site would have been like, and how this relates to the arrival of Buddhism in Tibet, 43 00:05:49,120 --> 00:05:57,120 numerous Buddhist accounts and manuscript sources recorded in Proselyte and Jamal, handwritten in Devanagari and translated into Nepal Bhasa, 44 00:05:57,600 --> 00:06:03,840 are of unimaginable value for gaining a glimpse into how Vajrayana Buddhism has functioned across Buddhist Asia, 45 00:06:04,200 --> 00:06:07,520 including Ludhiana, a mobile culture of trade, 46 00:06:07,960 --> 00:06:14,760 transmission and pilgrimage embedded within Brahmanical norms across India, Central Asia, Nepal and the northwest, 47 00:06:15,680 --> 00:06:22,320 including areas of Gandhara, Kashmir, which is perhaps Udayana before the arrival of Buddhism in Tibet. 48 00:06:22,720 --> 00:06:29,520 So before the arrival of Buddhism in Tibet, before and during the time then of King Songtsen Gampo, 49 00:06:30,120 --> 00:06:39,680 seventh century Nepalese Buddhist such as Buddha Bhadra for a century, then later a contemporary of King Songtsen Gampo was Kilimanjaro. 50 00:06:40,840 --> 00:06:50,320 Then they were the Nepalese Manju, who was known to have even translated work into the so-called newly formed Tibetan language. 51 00:06:51,590 --> 00:07:04,070 Tala, Rima and Suniti were figures who were even involved during the reign of the Long Dharma and the fall of Dharma in Tibet. 52 00:07:04,950 --> 00:07:11,510 They travelled to Central Asia, India, Gilgit and even translated Chinese canonical works during that time. 53 00:07:12,750 --> 00:07:17,110 So of course, we all know. And for those friends who are here today who are not specialists. 54 00:07:18,070 --> 00:07:27,750 Shanta. Raksha was invited to Tibet by King Songtsen Gampo to teach being a renowned scholar. 55 00:07:28,230 --> 00:07:41,150 And this is well documented in our sources. As are as is the the Queen, the the Nepalese Pragati Devi who became the Tibetan Queen. 56 00:07:43,510 --> 00:07:46,070 These are figures who are well known from that period. 57 00:07:47,190 --> 00:07:57,230 But there is really not any emphasis that we see on the role, on the historical role of Padmasambhava or Udayana Acharya in this early period. 58 00:07:57,950 --> 00:08:06,990 So this is this is of interest and I just I included this little image of Padmasambhava that was um, I think, 59 00:08:07,270 --> 00:08:14,270 of one of the very early images and I'm just thinking of like these paleo Tibetan number 44 and all of these, 60 00:08:14,870 --> 00:08:24,030 uh, manuscripts from, from Dunhuang in this that mention Padmasambhava are about, I think, the 10th century and so on. 61 00:08:24,270 --> 00:08:30,270 So not that early, um, not as early as some of these other figures. 62 00:08:32,430 --> 00:08:36,430 So that's what I'm talking about when I talk about the early period. So something to think about. 63 00:08:36,830 --> 00:08:40,910 Not to say that he wasn't there, but somehow in the mix. 64 00:08:43,750 --> 00:08:47,710 Mobile narratives across cultures. So this is what we have. 65 00:08:47,990 --> 00:08:53,270 We have a situation where there are many, many shared narratives between Nepal. 66 00:08:54,230 --> 00:08:58,750 The area of the Swat Valley and Khotan. So examples of this. 67 00:08:59,470 --> 00:09:08,110 Um, so this is to say, just in the broader perspective, not just with regard to, uh, Viceroy Yana Buddhism and uh, 68 00:09:08,270 --> 00:09:19,910 pitta sites and localised tantric sites in terms of Mahayana works, in terms of the other kinds of Mahayana glorification of specific sacred sites. 69 00:09:21,190 --> 00:09:27,310 Um, and of course, then later, uh, the tantric information as well is being shared. 70 00:09:28,550 --> 00:09:38,790 But all of this is, is our kind of like, mobile travelling accounts between Kashmir, the Swat, Swat Valley, Dunhuang, Kathmandu Valley. 71 00:09:39,830 --> 00:09:45,990 So for one example, we have the tale of Go Puja, Foxtail Mountain in Nawa. 72 00:09:46,470 --> 00:09:54,590 That's the some some Hagg. The Cow Tale hillock at Swayambhu North is shared between Khotan and Kathmandu. 73 00:09:55,950 --> 00:09:57,710 Also it's at Swayambhu. 74 00:09:58,310 --> 00:10:08,110 Nath is also a localised version of the education of Pancha Shiksha Parbat I shared between Khotan or Hotan and Kathmandu as well. 75 00:10:08,830 --> 00:10:13,070 We also have examples of the Jataka as um or evidence. 76 00:10:14,710 --> 00:10:22,990 This is the Rajkumar Mahasabha Aradhana Inn in Nepal Bhasa in the in the newer Buddhist version. 77 00:10:23,990 --> 00:10:27,790 And so the Viagra Jataka is between Gandhara Taxila. 78 00:10:28,430 --> 00:10:35,910 We have mainly the material account. So above in this picture here you can see this is the picture of the Bodhisattva maha Sattva, 79 00:10:36,470 --> 00:10:41,390 who sacrificed his own body to the mother tiger to feed the cubs. 80 00:10:41,910 --> 00:10:47,270 This famous story. Um. Whereabouts came the Buddha's first five disciples. 81 00:10:48,790 --> 00:10:57,190 Who were the five cubs? And this is a story that was widely spread at an early period and not present in the Pali Canon. 82 00:10:57,750 --> 00:11:07,030 So we have this northern, northern Mahayana traditions, and then we also have the shared account of the chakra samsara, 83 00:11:07,790 --> 00:11:14,470 mandala pietas from the Rudra and Sati myths, and also the vajra systems, 84 00:11:14,870 --> 00:11:21,950 as well as other monolith sized traditions that include all of the 24 sacred sites, 85 00:11:22,390 --> 00:11:27,870 including the pittas across Buddhist Asia, including Kashmir and the Kathmandu Valley. 86 00:11:28,670 --> 00:11:36,830 And so we're going to look at examples and actual accounts of all of these new our Buddhist system. 87 00:11:39,470 --> 00:11:49,030 So what is a pitha for Buddhists? Now we might be familiar with this idea of the of the Shakti Peeth and but for Buddhists, 88 00:11:49,790 --> 00:11:57,630 how are they kind of interacting with and incorporating that into the practice of Vajrayana Buddhism? 89 00:11:58,350 --> 00:12:06,590 So it seemed to be almost a requisite that the site was not Buddhist, but that it was reinterpreted as such. 90 00:12:06,910 --> 00:12:12,070 But we'll see later that there was also the kind of pitas which were the Sahaja, 91 00:12:12,830 --> 00:12:19,310 the kind of spontaneously arising pittas that were commonly associated with the 92 00:12:19,550 --> 00:12:25,150 more landscape oriented types of pizzas with rocks and water and so forth. 93 00:12:25,990 --> 00:12:37,430 But anyway, let's just look at one definition here that, um, uh oh, sorry to Nico Suki, Suki I here I failed to mention his second name. 94 00:12:38,270 --> 00:12:44,230 Uh, has has mentioned for us a Pita is defined in the Buddhist and Byron cycles as 95 00:12:44,430 --> 00:12:48,510 a place where the Yogi needs dwell in marginal and low and liminal locales, 96 00:12:49,630 --> 00:12:53,870 and congregate and communicate in a coded language that's from Davidson. 97 00:12:55,750 --> 00:13:02,590 So these are not static divinities or practitioners of yoga or dhyana residing at a site, especially in the newer tradition, 98 00:13:03,270 --> 00:13:08,310 but being to facilitate enlightenment in dependence upon meditative practice, 99 00:13:08,830 --> 00:13:15,950 yogic perception and pure vision of the Vajrayana yoga, who encounters them regarding such meeting places. 100 00:13:16,950 --> 00:13:20,670 So pitas are meeting places and meeting places are pietas. 101 00:13:22,070 --> 00:13:27,830 Um, sometimes one category subsumes the other and sometimes it's reversed. 102 00:13:29,190 --> 00:13:33,230 Um, the higher Fischer Tantra states they're at that meeting place, 103 00:13:33,790 --> 00:13:40,190 abiding within that sacred domain, meaning to do whatever the Yogi needs, say Tantra. 104 00:13:40,830 --> 00:13:45,310 Malayalam. Devi. Yoga. Karam. a retired variety, Eugenia. 105 00:13:48,270 --> 00:13:52,070 So there's many accounts of this happening. 106 00:13:52,790 --> 00:13:58,510 And the individuals who who have these kinds of interactions in inter-war Buddhism. 107 00:13:59,190 --> 00:14:05,270 And this just gives us an idea of kind of how we would imagine the land of Udayana to be. 108 00:14:06,310 --> 00:14:12,110 And when Vijaya asked, what, oh Lord, are these places of meeting these Melaka? 109 00:14:13,110 --> 00:14:25,190 The Lord replies, listing the ten site categories that the Tadi the Arpita Chatra pita is the abode upper pita, the sub abode kshetra is area. 110 00:14:25,630 --> 00:14:33,990 And then we go into all of the ten categories that are traditionally associated with the chakra symbol at the larger chakra samsara. 111 00:14:34,990 --> 00:14:46,150 Um, kind of concept. So this is the these are the the definitions places where Yogi needs to dwell. 112 00:14:46,550 --> 00:14:55,750 Now, how did they dwell there? How did they get there? And how, um, are the yogis, the practitioners of yoga? 113 00:14:56,150 --> 00:15:03,230 Male or female? Um, coming into congregation with them? 114 00:15:09,590 --> 00:15:14,710 So we should do whatever the yogini are telling us. Whatever they say, we need to do it. 115 00:15:15,030 --> 00:15:25,030 So going back to this phrase, uh, there are two kind of examples of this that we have from the newer Mani Sharma Vana maha Vandana, 116 00:15:25,550 --> 00:15:30,110 one from the Mani section and the other from the Chevalley section. 117 00:15:31,510 --> 00:15:35,430 Um, here the Maitri Bodhisattva says, oh great King Brahma. 118 00:15:36,190 --> 00:15:39,790 Do not forget, your wishes will come to fruition. And why is this? 119 00:15:40,350 --> 00:15:47,710 because in our country, in the northern regions, up close to the Himalayan mountain range, there is a mountain called Moneta. 120 00:15:48,670 --> 00:15:57,390 Okay, so this is the site where the yogini is arising. There is located a vara called Padma Mala. 121 00:15:58,670 --> 00:16:02,350 At this vihara there resides the glorious goddess Uttara Yogini. 122 00:16:03,190 --> 00:16:08,030 If you go there, worship her and listen to her advice. You will need to do just as she orders. 123 00:16:09,110 --> 00:16:12,590 So the story goes on and he does everything that she tells him to do. 124 00:16:12,950 --> 00:16:21,670 And then he, uh, is able to produce an heir with his wife, who ends up to be the Bodhisattva Nishida. 125 00:16:22,910 --> 00:16:35,470 So even in the Mahayana, in is in Buddhism, we have the presence of these yogini and yogini giving the directions. 126 00:16:36,750 --> 00:16:40,990 Okay. Because if you don't do what they say. Then this is what will happen. 127 00:16:41,510 --> 00:16:45,350 So the glorious Goddess Eugenie was delighted and replied. 128 00:16:45,910 --> 00:16:47,870 And this is from the shockwave section. 129 00:16:48,350 --> 00:16:56,670 Oh son, I am overjoyed having heard your aspirations and for this very reason, I now know that you should be the one to maintain my daily Nitya Puja. 130 00:16:58,070 --> 00:17:05,910 Okay, so at this place I would be pleased if your lineage Santana would undertake all the activities and duties related to worship. 131 00:17:06,630 --> 00:17:16,230 So this place is talking about Sanchi, the sanctuary yogini site, uh, where the yogini is dwelling and people are coming to meet her there. 132 00:17:17,070 --> 00:17:25,390 Uh, for as long as your lineage remains steadfast in this place, know that until then, I too will remain here at my place. 133 00:17:26,110 --> 00:17:34,630 So? So this shows the idea that they are not inherently attached with the site, but rather exist as I, 134 00:17:35,390 --> 00:17:42,390 as I had mentioned in conjunction with the perceptions, the practice and the aspirations of the Yogi. 135 00:17:43,390 --> 00:17:48,710 Because if a time comes when your lineage fades into decline. No, to that I will forsake this place. 136 00:17:49,390 --> 00:17:56,030 So she just makes that clear. So that idea is coming clear coming through very clearly in this work then. 137 00:18:07,070 --> 00:18:16,470 So what is the essence of Arpita. We have really these two kinds of perspectives, two perspectives that are maybe more. 138 00:18:16,870 --> 00:18:22,870 One seems to be maybe more associated with the Indic sphere of Vajrayana practices, 139 00:18:23,470 --> 00:18:30,270 and the other is maybe more associated with the Himalayan areas where Vajrayana Buddhism is practised. 140 00:18:30,950 --> 00:18:38,820 But it's not quite clear. So we have two options a being a female being or a stone. 141 00:18:39,380 --> 00:18:45,180 So we have these sisters coming into contact, having these encounters with yogini at the pizza sites. 142 00:18:46,220 --> 00:18:56,340 But what are they actually experiencing? Some are coming into contact with real living beings who are manifesting as a vision or as an actual being, 143 00:18:56,860 --> 00:19:00,340 and some are coming into contact with stones, 144 00:19:01,220 --> 00:19:11,900 notably mani stones from which they emerge, or which they are kind of symbolised by as an autochthonous deity. 145 00:19:12,500 --> 00:19:16,980 So female beings. This perspective is from Abeokuta. 146 00:19:17,820 --> 00:19:28,180 Gupta and Sakura Akita were proponents of magical female beings constituting the essence of the pit as not and not the presence of sex, 147 00:19:28,620 --> 00:19:40,900 rocks and spring formations. So we have rocks in the form of, like the vulva, for example, of the magical being, the deity or what have you. 148 00:19:41,300 --> 00:19:50,420 The presence of sex, rocks and massive rock formations like the Money Sheela formations is however well attested in the newer and Tibetan traditions. 149 00:19:50,940 --> 00:19:55,180 Again, this is what Suzuki is informing us of, very helpfully. 150 00:19:56,020 --> 00:20:02,220 And then we have the other perspective the mani ratna. 151 00:20:02,660 --> 00:20:06,620 So the mani stone, it can be a gemstone or just a regular stone. 152 00:20:07,700 --> 00:20:12,060 Uh, Mani Amani. Sheela. And this is an example of one we see here on the right in the picture. 153 00:20:13,860 --> 00:20:14,620 So Mani stones, 154 00:20:15,220 --> 00:20:28,180 rock lingas and Dharma ideas manifested in the landscape as one form of pitha that kind of exemplifies that idea of the solitary yogini, 155 00:20:29,060 --> 00:20:35,700 and the idea that you can have a place there that you come to encounter, that being at this site. 156 00:20:36,380 --> 00:20:43,740 So in the tenure attributed to Naropa and translated by Marpa, 157 00:20:44,420 --> 00:20:49,460 it was defined the essence of the pitta was defined as a place where yogini is reside as 158 00:20:49,700 --> 00:20:54,580 consisting of naturally occurring in geological rock formations of various and iconic shapes, 159 00:20:54,940 --> 00:20:59,780 including rock lingas. Dharma ideas. Dharmakaya is here. 160 00:21:00,420 --> 00:21:03,460 This is the the the source, the Dharma source. 161 00:21:03,740 --> 00:21:07,020 The two triangles intersecting. Manifested in landscape. 162 00:21:07,940 --> 00:21:16,020 This was the Sri Chakra sambar of the kavana ascribed to Naro Pada Naropa, which has no attested Sanskrit witness. 163 00:21:17,380 --> 00:21:26,140 So this could perhaps be a reflection of the places where Naropa and Marpa were staying, 164 00:21:26,540 --> 00:21:30,820 the kinds of pitas, the kind of yogini they were encountering. But this is not known. 165 00:21:31,180 --> 00:21:36,580 And this is just a guess that it's possible this could be an apocryphal text. 166 00:21:37,620 --> 00:21:40,660 Um, but this is just something that needs to be looked into. 167 00:21:41,420 --> 00:21:47,060 So this whole idea of this Marni Stone here, uh, this one is, in fact, 168 00:21:47,300 --> 00:21:55,940 the residence of actual Buddha, which is directly in front of the Saint Yogini site. 169 00:21:56,740 --> 00:22:03,500 Because the Mani stone from which she emerged from is actually hidden underneath the temple. 170 00:22:04,020 --> 00:22:07,340 But when they did the temple renovation, I saw it. 171 00:22:07,460 --> 00:22:12,460 You can still see it as an actual stone, uh, but it's usually covered up. 172 00:22:12,620 --> 00:22:23,740 So this one is just as an example. So again, using the money stone, some yogini are born from pietas and some are innate Sahaja Yogis. 173 00:22:25,500 --> 00:22:37,260 So I would say that, uh, when I say born from Peethas, these are the pizzas that are already established as a system within the process of mandala. 174 00:22:38,340 --> 00:22:45,740 Mandala modernisation of an area such as the larger Indic scheme, 175 00:22:46,260 --> 00:22:51,700 or smaller and smaller schemes ranging from the Kathmandu Valley to each individual town. 176 00:22:51,980 --> 00:22:53,340 And I'll show you how that works. 177 00:22:53,900 --> 00:23:03,660 But the Sahaja Yogis are seeming to be, um, these ones that are associated with the money stones, association with money. 178 00:23:04,140 --> 00:23:07,020 The money stone does not limit the activity to one site. 179 00:23:07,260 --> 00:23:14,580 But these places of meeting transmitted in local histories have have historically been established as newer temple sites. 180 00:23:15,300 --> 00:23:20,660 So, for example, then we have a city at the city vegetarian, 181 00:23:21,980 --> 00:23:30,180 who is having this encounter with yogini or Ayyavazhi yogini meaning meaning that she's just a Buddhist. 182 00:23:30,620 --> 00:23:42,020 You get yogini of some kind at Sanchi, where the the temple is established and where the his whole lineage of Acharya Nura was established. 183 00:23:42,940 --> 00:23:51,500 Then we have the example of Vajra Pada at this at near Swayambhu, at the roundly smashing the cremation ground there. 184 00:23:51,700 --> 00:24:00,980 That's just down from Swayambhu. And you have the, the video, Shruti Bhartiya Yogini is there and we have his whole encounter there, 185 00:24:01,220 --> 00:24:05,060 and he actually remained for his entire life at that cremation ground. 186 00:24:05,460 --> 00:24:16,260 And then you have the newer Badri temple, the yogini parking and the experiences of, of Naropa there. 187 00:24:16,660 --> 00:24:22,300 So all of these sites became established yogini sites that began with the initial encounter. 188 00:24:23,220 --> 00:24:28,260 And in many cases, you will see at these sites that there is at least one mani stone. 189 00:24:29,380 --> 00:24:34,700 made by Bodhisattva tells an account of how Vajra Yogini spontaneously emerged from the Mani stone. 190 00:24:35,020 --> 00:24:38,700 Here we can see the actual account that we'll just look at very quickly. 191 00:24:41,060 --> 00:24:50,940 So this is again from the Mani Shiloh. And the stone is a massive and flat stone that's located under the shrine. 192 00:24:51,620 --> 00:24:56,820 It says at that time I was the bodhisattva called Maharaja during the serving. 193 00:24:58,820 --> 00:25:03,060 During this time in Nepal. There was a lake. It was huge. 194 00:25:03,500 --> 00:25:09,580 There was Himalayan mountains and one of them is the Multitude Mountain. Up on this mountain there emerged to Mani stone. 195 00:25:10,060 --> 00:25:16,340 It blazed and sparkled from a hole. In the middle of this massive and wide stone emerged the glorious goddess. 196 00:25:17,820 --> 00:25:22,220 Eugenie. She took the form of a divine flame. 197 00:25:23,020 --> 00:25:29,340 And we can see in our Buddhism how the relationship of the of the fire to the yogini. 198 00:25:30,980 --> 00:25:34,540 This is something I noted just while reading that there. 199 00:25:34,900 --> 00:25:44,980 Actually, Datu masala is considered the heart of Udayana, and I don't know if, um, the Tibetan studies scholars have seen this in the Tibetan sources, 200 00:25:45,540 --> 00:25:51,700 but I thought it was very interesting that there's also a Datu Mala located or localised at Sanchi. 201 00:25:52,140 --> 00:25:55,700 I thought that was kind of interesting. Beside note. 202 00:25:59,660 --> 00:26:08,700 And here we have the account of liberation of Washoe City at Saku, um, along with his wife Gana Devi. 203 00:26:10,780 --> 00:26:14,700 So here we can see kind of an account of encounter. 204 00:26:16,060 --> 00:26:24,860 While Acharya and his wife were singing a sutra, Genie became kindly disposed and splendours rays of light shone forth from her body. 205 00:26:26,300 --> 00:26:28,660 She transformed into a blazing fire. 206 00:26:29,380 --> 00:26:38,860 It was a fire that encircled her body, but was no longer, but then became no longer visible and or her form became no longer visible. 207 00:26:39,340 --> 00:26:45,740 Rather. And she was completely composed of fire. How can one, how can one describe this wondrous light? 208 00:26:46,020 --> 00:26:49,300 It blazed just like a fire. It was neither hot nor cold. 209 00:26:49,940 --> 00:26:54,380 A beautiful conflagration of flames. So the story goes on. 210 00:26:54,740 --> 00:27:00,700 And they eventually merge with this fire, um, of the yogini disappear. 211 00:27:01,540 --> 00:27:10,860 And as we can see from the the title of this chapter, which is CD given, uh, uh, 212 00:27:13,180 --> 00:27:23,540 so this is the story of the liberation in the single life of the sage and the avatar CD. 213 00:27:35,540 --> 00:27:46,580 And now, in addition to these kind of individual yogini pizza sites, we have the the classic 24 abodes, 214 00:27:47,780 --> 00:27:54,060 which are also referred to as pizzas, which are sub classified into ten special types of places. 215 00:27:54,820 --> 00:27:59,780 So many of us are familiar with this, but just to review, we have the pizza, 216 00:28:00,220 --> 00:28:10,380 the category of pizzas proper, which is the the category under which the place of Udayana was included. 217 00:28:11,820 --> 00:28:19,300 So then the Himalaya, as we see down here, is considered to be in the one that's in Nepal. 218 00:28:19,940 --> 00:28:24,300 So in terms of the schematic of the larger chakras and bar Environment of the we. 219 00:28:24,900 --> 00:28:32,100 We know that of the existence of Himalaya, which is equated to Nepal, and then Udayana, which was equated to the Swat Valley. 220 00:28:32,380 --> 00:28:35,540 So we have this kind of vast and sprawling conceptualisation. 221 00:28:36,940 --> 00:28:44,940 We have the meeting places, the cemeteries, um, all of these, um, kind of requisite parts of the chakra, 222 00:28:45,300 --> 00:28:54,380 sambhar mandala and many of which you can see behind me here from this, uh, this neighbour tanka chakra, sambar and bajra yogini. 223 00:28:56,140 --> 00:29:00,060 But how are they in placed at this site? 224 00:29:00,860 --> 00:29:10,980 So scholar and vegetarian, um, the main military, uh, uh, 225 00:29:11,460 --> 00:29:20,420 for many of the lineages and and student of Badri Ratna Vajra charity has said that Vajra chariots involved in Bodhisattva chariot activities. 226 00:29:21,060 --> 00:29:23,540 So the the body set for activities. 227 00:29:24,860 --> 00:29:31,340 Create at least one chakra wherever they settle and construct a vihara there for the proper propagation of Buddhism. 228 00:29:32,060 --> 00:29:32,940 So we can see. 229 00:29:33,340 --> 00:29:49,020 So obviously Padmasambhava is also practising the bodhisattva area, and so it's expected that the Bhattacharya will establish at least one chakra, 230 00:29:49,660 --> 00:29:58,140 at least one mandala, including the body speech and mind mandalas wherever they reside. 231 00:29:58,980 --> 00:30:02,180 So we can see it's basically connected to the yogic practitioner. 232 00:30:04,140 --> 00:30:12,620 So with, uh, so here, uh, this is a fabulous diagram given by Naresh and Bhattacharya, and we can see the location, 233 00:30:14,140 --> 00:30:24,540 um, in proximity to each other, um, of all of the 24 sacred States which fall into those ten subcategories, 234 00:30:25,700 --> 00:30:35,660 and with the red dot being the general location of Udayana and the blue dot being the location of Himalaya, 235 00:30:36,260 --> 00:30:42,180 which is equated basically to either all of Nepal, the Kathmandu Valley, and in. 236 00:30:42,660 --> 00:30:48,420 In one instance, as we'll see with the actual Greek fari, a site at Pashupatinath. 237 00:30:51,820 --> 00:30:59,660 So we have this. Oh, and just to see here. 238 00:31:00,020 --> 00:31:07,220 So this, uh, site in Himalaya is called the subcategory of Kandahar. 239 00:31:08,300 --> 00:31:14,300 So upper Kandahar, um, near Kandahar, sometimes it's called. 240 00:31:14,780 --> 00:31:25,170 So let's look at how this Particular site manifests within this configuration of the modernisation. 241 00:31:28,130 --> 00:31:34,730 And we have Tibetan accounts, Nepalese accounts and newer accounts of this site. 242 00:31:35,050 --> 00:31:44,570 So here is one Tibetan account of Nepal as a whole, as the one Grand Pita of Upper Kandahar, of Himalaya. 243 00:31:45,650 --> 00:31:56,570 So from the death and I didn't in the future, I need to include all of the different source texts but in the translation, but in the Tibetan text. 244 00:31:57,250 --> 00:32:01,570 But anyhow, we have from the deathless nectar for the ear of the people, of the land of snows. 245 00:32:02,090 --> 00:32:07,250 A guide to the Sacred sites of Nepal. The magnificent land of near Kandahar. 246 00:32:09,690 --> 00:32:20,730 Well, this is what Nima is saying when he describes Nepal wrathful husband and wife Tamar and glorious Haruka abiding together with him, 247 00:32:21,450 --> 00:32:25,970 where clouds of darkness and tackiness gather through abiding in great primordial wisdom, 248 00:32:26,610 --> 00:32:35,130 the sacred sites and subsidiary places inhabited by the mandalas of the worldly gods were converted, as were the lands and subsidiary lands. 249 00:32:35,810 --> 00:32:40,250 Subsidiary lands Zhengzhou subsidiary Tongzhou, the charnel ground, 250 00:32:40,730 --> 00:32:48,210 subsidiary charnel grounds and so forth to the basis and those supported I pay homage stories I 251 00:32:48,330 --> 00:32:52,290 heard about qualities and the power of listening to those stories is like that of a great universe, 252 00:32:52,930 --> 00:33:00,330 because these places are endowed with such power. The stories of near Kandahar in Nepal are like a rosary of rays of light. 253 00:33:00,570 --> 00:33:08,290 Upon the peak of the eastern mountain, a ornament to the ears of the people of the land of snows, the great land of near Chon, Doha. 254 00:33:09,810 --> 00:33:18,650 This is a region of Nepal and it's a great sacred site which is primordial, primordial, established, and where doctors and kiddies naturally gather. 255 00:33:18,930 --> 00:33:28,690 Now, the Tibetan texts tend to dwell on Doc as Indochinese, whereas the newer text seem to speak most often of yogis. 256 00:33:32,850 --> 00:33:43,090 So then we have, uh. So the Tibetan conceptualisation of the pitta Doha is referring to Nepal as a whole. 257 00:33:44,050 --> 00:33:49,130 So then we have the idea of a further localised Upper Caqueta, 258 00:33:50,210 --> 00:34:01,290 which is at the very Pashupatinath Pashupatinath site on the actual hill there in Japan. 259 00:34:02,330 --> 00:34:09,130 So the British Fairy Temple on the Bagmati River is a famous Shakti pitta associated with the descent of sorts. 260 00:34:10,010 --> 00:34:14,730 So we can see kind of the dynamic of this, uh, the reinterpret, 261 00:34:15,410 --> 00:34:24,810 the the kind of picture which is a reinterpretation and the fact that this is totally not problematic for newer Buddhists. 262 00:34:25,530 --> 00:34:29,130 This very site represents two different things. 263 00:34:29,650 --> 00:34:38,810 The the actual pita site of Doha Himalaya within the grand scheme, the place where Viracocha and deity reside. 264 00:34:40,450 --> 00:34:46,890 But it also is the site and the sacred pitta of the Buddhist yogini Naga of the Hey Vajra Tantra, 265 00:34:47,370 --> 00:34:52,210 which is also located and in place in the Nepal Mandala. 266 00:34:53,410 --> 00:34:57,490 It just depends on which basic practice the yoga is doing, 267 00:34:57,970 --> 00:35:05,210 and this site is to is to be visited for privacy for pizza Siva and is the topic of the chariot, the $3 Camelot. 268 00:35:05,650 --> 00:35:12,010 This is such a beautiful chariot. Um, and we can look at it sometime. 269 00:35:13,290 --> 00:35:22,130 Hopefully. But for Tibetans, this same site is interpreted as the pilgrimage site of Azure Varahi, known as Pokemon. 270 00:35:23,530 --> 00:35:34,250 So we see there's a non problematic overlap of sites and interpretations based on the practice of the yogic practitioner. 271 00:35:34,890 --> 00:35:45,930 And I think that's why we can for sure say that, uh, Padmasambhava was from Udayana, so Udayana surely was at the site. 272 00:35:47,850 --> 00:35:58,050 So now I've gone. I've. I've included the whole translation of the tree to Kamala here, just to see that it showed that it includes Veera Patra Devi. 273 00:35:59,250 --> 00:36:02,450 It includes, um, a description. 274 00:36:03,810 --> 00:36:06,890 Um, so this has an accompanying, uh, 275 00:36:07,170 --> 00:36:16,490 dance as well in practice that's associated with it and it's carried out at certain times at this site at Greyish Fairy. 276 00:36:22,330 --> 00:36:29,610 So here we also have a Tibetan account of the actual fairy pizza as part two. 277 00:36:30,250 --> 00:36:38,890 So so so. This is from a Gurung Lama close to Pashupati Ghulam, which is called Ghulam in Tibetan. 278 00:36:39,370 --> 00:36:48,570 On the north bank of the Bagmati river is Gujarati. This site is the site of the Devi or Uma and is known to Tibetans as the water of his womb. 279 00:36:49,130 --> 00:36:52,250 At this site, generations of kings of Nepal, they established the temple, 280 00:36:52,690 --> 00:36:58,690 a beautiful temple and at the centre um, there is a support in the shape of a female birthing place. 281 00:36:58,970 --> 00:37:05,970 So this would be in the Tibetan. This would be the name, a place which is self arisen at the centre of her secret place. 282 00:37:06,370 --> 00:37:10,410 All two wallet water streams forth. So it's a spring. It overflows into a pool. 283 00:37:10,930 --> 00:37:17,970 In recent times there's been an eight petalled lotus lid fashioned placed over top of it, and there's a bit of a description here. 284 00:37:18,970 --> 00:37:30,250 Um, but I think the key point here is that this very site, um, this very specific site, which is considered the vulva of Varahi, 285 00:37:31,210 --> 00:37:40,410 is interpreted as that of the one to be tamed, so that of the one to be subjugated or reinterpreted, 286 00:37:41,490 --> 00:37:44,410 which is the sign of the goddess Uma Devi, um, 287 00:37:45,330 --> 00:37:54,770 and that of the one and that of the one who does the taming being the secret sky of the mother of the victors and the adamantine sound Vajra. 288 00:37:55,090 --> 00:37:59,370 Varahi. So this is just a perspective on how that works. 289 00:38:06,890 --> 00:38:14,530 And we can see just the smaller local, uh, Mandala mandala of the Kathmandu Valley. 290 00:38:15,090 --> 00:38:19,810 So Lalitpur has its own mandala with pitas, Bhaktapur, 291 00:38:20,970 --> 00:38:31,570 Madhupur also um in all the various uh newer lineages, and we also have uh associated with Sanchi itself. 292 00:38:32,170 --> 00:38:44,810 We have a whole list that's included in the Shalimar video of all of the the pitas located in Sanchi and in Kantipur according to Naraka and area. 293 00:38:45,250 --> 00:38:52,970 And this is Narasimhan Bhattacharya himself, uh, working on a stone powder mandala. 294 00:38:53,650 --> 00:39:03,290 This is a of the five Buddhas, not of Sri Yogini, but just to show that in its artistic, uh, depiction. 295 00:39:06,610 --> 00:39:09,930 So anyhow, so now we've looked a bit at, um, 296 00:39:10,930 --> 00:39:17,570 the idea of what appetite is and where Buddhism and what we might know then about 297 00:39:18,290 --> 00:39:22,650 how it's interpreted within the kind of scheme of Brahmanical religions and 298 00:39:22,810 --> 00:39:28,490 the kind of culture of Sanskrit Buddhism I keep including this picture to which 299 00:39:28,810 --> 00:39:33,130 is because there's always mention of the pitta and the three petalled lotus. 300 00:39:33,730 --> 00:39:41,770 And this is actually the mantra of um Raja yogini in the, um, patchouli script. 301 00:39:44,410 --> 00:39:54,690 So now I just want to take a few minutes here. We've gone on quite a bit about, um, the account of Udayan Acharya as the Lord's guru, uh, in Nepal. 302 00:39:56,570 --> 00:40:03,370 So I haven't been able to find many accounts yet. I'm working on it, and I know that there are many more. 303 00:40:04,050 --> 00:40:11,570 But what we will see here is something which is quite unfamiliar To the kind of Lotus born guru Guru Rinpoche. 304 00:40:13,050 --> 00:40:16,250 Accounts and stories that we hear of. 305 00:40:16,810 --> 00:40:22,410 From the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. So it's it's quite interesting and entertaining. 306 00:40:23,250 --> 00:40:32,250 So we have this account, um. Spoken by Maitreya Bodhisattva, who paid reverence and requested Jayasimha, Lord Buddha. 307 00:40:32,970 --> 00:40:37,170 Oh, Lord, we wish you listened to the Gandhara Vita raga mahatmya. 308 00:40:37,810 --> 00:40:45,410 So the Vita raga are also these sacred sites that are connected with bodhisattvas that were established in the valley. 309 00:40:46,250 --> 00:40:50,130 May you grant the permission for this story. So it starts. 310 00:40:50,690 --> 00:41:04,570 Udayan Acharya having established a Vani Keshava, Vishakha made a decision to accomplish the eight Perfections or the eight accomplishments Ashta CD. 311 00:41:06,290 --> 00:41:09,690 Uh. And they have some, uh. What are these in the. In Tibetan? 312 00:41:11,210 --> 00:41:16,250 Okay. I'll come to that later. These are the the the general accomplishments. 313 00:41:17,170 --> 00:41:22,290 So, uh, of the yogic. Um, Sid does. So he proceeded north, uh. 314 00:41:24,930 --> 00:41:30,330 And climbed up above the Kacha Parbat mountain, donning the skin of an elephant. 315 00:41:30,810 --> 00:41:36,250 He sat on the seat of Kusha grass and raised 30, raised a 32 petaled lotus, uh, sorry, 316 00:41:36,610 --> 00:41:42,690 32 petaled umbrella as a practice of tapas while performing 32 million offerings with devotion. 317 00:41:43,450 --> 00:41:50,650 In this way he continued the practice of spiritual austerity, but resided, um, but residing there at the same mountain. 318 00:41:51,130 --> 00:42:00,370 Ganesha noticed that he was not included at that time, and he climbed up to the top of the mountain and saw that the Lord, having not invited him, 319 00:42:01,090 --> 00:42:03,210 had even invited Indra and all the gods, 320 00:42:04,450 --> 00:42:10,530 but having already completed devotional prayers and the offering of the feast, they had already taken their leave. 321 00:42:11,370 --> 00:42:16,730 So we have this kind of interaction between Acharya and Ganesha. 322 00:42:17,410 --> 00:42:22,850 So the question that will come up in my mind is, is that when I ask, uh, 323 00:42:23,370 --> 00:42:29,530 my newer Buddhist friends and is like, Who is Padmasambhava in the newer tradition? 324 00:42:29,890 --> 00:42:35,890 Oh, we have, uh, Odeon Acharya. Odeon Acharya does all of these things, but it seems so different. 325 00:42:36,770 --> 00:42:43,010 Um, so you have to wonder, is this the same figure? Is this a different perspective, a different lineage? 326 00:42:43,850 --> 00:42:49,010 So you have this interaction of Odeon Acharya with Ganesha and and what happens. 327 00:42:49,450 --> 00:42:52,730 So so he's very upset that he wasn't invited to the feast. 328 00:42:56,170 --> 00:42:59,610 At that time. Okay. 329 00:42:59,890 --> 00:43:02,650 And then what happens? Oh, I'm not sure if I have that. 330 00:43:05,760 --> 00:43:10,040 Or maybe I didn't include the rest of the story, but what happens is that Ganesha becomes angry. 331 00:43:11,320 --> 00:43:21,280 Um, he says, okay, even you're even sitting on this elephant skin and you're just you're disgracing me and you're embarrassing me. 332 00:43:21,640 --> 00:43:25,280 But then somebody else arrives and says, what are you doing? 333 00:43:25,680 --> 00:43:33,600 You're distracting the great Indian acharya from accomplishing his Ashta CDs, and, um, kind of reprimands Ganesh. 334 00:43:34,120 --> 00:43:38,280 So you have these accounts that occur in this film. 335 00:43:39,400 --> 00:43:41,800 So we have this little image of this famous Purana. 336 00:43:42,320 --> 00:43:50,320 So this is a very fairly late text, but this is basically the glorification of the entire, um, Kathmandu Valley. 337 00:43:50,760 --> 00:43:58,480 And it's linked to the establishment of this frame and the idea and you also have the stories 338 00:43:59,040 --> 00:44:04,200 of all of the bodhisattvas and saints who perform their deeds in the Kathmandu Valley. 339 00:44:04,600 --> 00:44:10,880 So we have in the fifth chapter quite a few stories of Odia Acharya from this text. 340 00:44:11,480 --> 00:44:15,920 This text is probably from the 14th or 15th century. 341 00:44:16,560 --> 00:44:22,920 But you know, it's it's always various layers of combined text, so it's hard. 342 00:44:24,200 --> 00:44:30,760 Um, you know, as Kathi always says, to really put a date on a text because it's layers and layers of combine. 343 00:44:31,800 --> 00:44:44,720 So then just to point out that the Gandhara raga is associated with the Pieta of Jala Vinayak Vinayaka of Jala Vinayaka. 344 00:44:48,440 --> 00:44:54,240 Okay, so to take a quick look at the second story here from the uh, the Swayambhu Purana, 345 00:44:56,320 --> 00:45:05,240 uh O Maitri Bodhisattva Acharya reached near this time he reached near the mountain, and he sat on a small mound blowing his conch. 346 00:45:05,680 --> 00:45:08,960 Chanting mantras, meditating and performing japa and tapas. 347 00:45:09,920 --> 00:45:15,480 The sound of the conch blown by acarya, was heard by the compassionate Lord residing in Sukhothai, 348 00:45:16,320 --> 00:45:19,880 and having heard the sound and understood everything through his samadhi yoga, 349 00:45:20,280 --> 00:45:25,520 he summoned the Bodhisattva and requested the Garbha Bodhisattva go to Nepal Mandala 350 00:45:26,000 --> 00:45:30,920 to the mountain where Odia acharya is performing his tapas and liberate him. 351 00:45:31,200 --> 00:45:37,720 So there's this whole story of Bodhisattva. He manifested from the conch shell. 352 00:45:42,160 --> 00:45:46,040 And seeing this thought, Acharya thought, how fortunate am I today? 353 00:45:46,400 --> 00:45:49,720 My birth has become meaningful. My aspirations will come to fruition. 354 00:45:50,400 --> 00:45:57,440 And saying this, Odia Acharya worshipped Garbha Bodhisattva in various ways with devotion and recited stotra and prayers. 355 00:45:57,880 --> 00:46:01,880 At this time, the bodhisattva proclaimed O. dear, oh dear. 356 00:46:03,120 --> 00:46:04,040 Blessed is your penance. 357 00:46:04,520 --> 00:46:15,520 By your merit, you have thereby attained the Ashta cities, so that I will thereby leave a part of my radiance here illuminated on this large stone. 358 00:46:15,840 --> 00:46:24,120 So again, this so many different and iconic representations there, the bodhisattvas look again. 359 00:46:24,400 --> 00:46:30,440 Oh, Diana, just as I said, the eight bodies of us have already manifested in this Nepal mandala in the form of renunciation. 360 00:46:31,640 --> 00:46:34,800 So you have these kind of accounts which are so different, 361 00:46:35,360 --> 00:46:45,720 but are also definitely of interest and not to be ignored in the grand scheme of the study of Udayana, Padmasambhava and Tibet. 362 00:46:46,400 --> 00:46:49,000 And I'll be interested to see what else we come up with. 363 00:46:49,200 --> 00:46:58,160 My conclusions are basically that the the concept of pittas were and are an absolute necessity for the Vasilyevna yoga. 364 00:46:58,720 --> 00:47:07,680 So basically, uh, perpetuating them, creating them, encountering them, and having the encounters with these, 365 00:47:08,280 --> 00:47:13,960 um, either female beings or an iconic beings at these sites is absolutely necessary. 366 00:47:14,920 --> 00:47:24,440 So they will be wherever the Vajrayana yoga is. And there was a targeted practice in pilgrimage worship at these pitas across Nepal, 367 00:47:25,560 --> 00:47:29,520 um, which may have been something that's shared with the an idea of Ludhiana. 368 00:47:30,480 --> 00:47:33,800 Accounts and songs about the poets are popular among Newari Buddhists. 369 00:47:35,560 --> 00:47:41,120 May help us to imagine, um, what Diana may have been like as a place, 370 00:47:41,920 --> 00:47:47,840 or perhaps what is a state of liberation and awakening conclusions about the figure. 371 00:47:49,720 --> 00:47:56,920 The same figure are not, but not foregrounded, and they were a Buddhist history and culture in the early stages, uh, 372 00:47:57,120 --> 00:48:06,880 although in the later stages, of course, associated with major and Applebee's sites and Roebling, the Bagel and Mellon and so on and so forth. 373 00:48:07,800 --> 00:48:14,280 Um, perhaps there was a prevalence of similar cities or so many similar cities in Nepal from an early period. 374 00:48:15,000 --> 00:48:23,640 If you read the stories, it just seems like on every hilltop there's a siddha who is congregating with yogis and becoming enlightened. 375 00:48:24,120 --> 00:48:30,800 So it seems like this was fairly common and but, um, but who knows. 376 00:48:31,120 --> 00:48:36,160 It's very interesting. And I thank you again, um, for this wonderful opportunity. 377 00:48:37,160 --> 00:48:41,640 And this is, of course, the Vajra, the den Vajra peta. 378 00:48:43,600 --> 00:48:46,880 A little picture of that that I included in the final slide. So thank you, everybody. 379 00:48:47,400 --> 00:48:50,560 I'm sorry for going on for so long, and I look forward to your questions. 380 00:48:51,200 --> 00:48:54,360 And, um. Yeah. 381 00:48:55,040 --> 00:48:55,560 Meeting further.