Toh 1372Personal Instructions on Six-Branched Yoga
Pāli / Sanskrit:Ṣaḍaṅgayogopadeśa
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Exposition of the Scripture on Salvific Six-Branched Yoga
Six-Branched Yoga — Personal Instructions
Background
The Scripture on Salvific Six-Branched Yoga (Ṣaḍaṅga-yogopadeśa) is an early treatise in the Northern Tibetan tradition, belonging to the Tengyur, the collection of treatises on the Buddha Dharma translated from Sanskrit originals. This work profoundly reflects the system of inner yogic practice of the Mahāyāna, especially in the Tibetan school, where six-branched yoga is regarded as an essential path toward supreme awakening.
Six-branched yoga is not a modernized or merely physical system of yoga. It is a profound method of spiritual practice, originating from lofty Mahāyāna teachings and developed by ancient masters into systematic stages of training. This scripture was compiled in the form of “personal instructions” (upadeśa), that is, private instructions from master to disciple, practical and direct in character.
Main Contents
Six-branched yoga (ṣaḍaṅga-yoga) comprises six elements necessary in the cultivation of spiritual refinement:
The first is steadying the posture (āsana), the physical foundation that helps the body remain stable and the mind undisturbed by pain or fatigue. This is not merely sitting still; it is the attainment of harmony between body and mind.
The second is regulation of the breath (prāṇāyāma), the path for controlling vital energy (prāṇa). Through deliberate breathing techniques, the practitioner gradually stabilizes the subtle flow of energy within the body.
The third is withdrawal of sensation (pratyāhāra), the step by which the mind is not drawn away by external objects, but concentrates on the inner world.
The fourth is concentration of the mind (dhāraṇā), in which the mind learns to remain at a single point, without distraction and without dullness.
The fifth is deep meditation (dhyāna), the state in which the mind enters deeply inward, free from discriminating thought.
The sixth is profound samādhi or non-discriminating mind (samādhi), the complete unification of the observing subject and the observed object, reaching a state of mind like a perfectly rounded jewel.
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