Toh 2851A Sādhana Teaching the Maṇḍala Arranged in Accordance with the Six-Syllable Tantra

The Scripture of the Intimate Practice of Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara According to the Six-Syllable Scripture

Background

In the Vajrayana Tantric tradition, the Kangyur preserves the most profound practices of the Buddhadharma, among which sādhana (སྒྲུབ་ཐབས།), the intimate instructions for practice, is regarded as the key that opens the door of liberation. This scripture, Toh 2851 in the Tantra section, presents a method of meditation for constructing the mandala of Avalokiteśvara, the bodhisattva of compassion, based on the Ṣaḍakṣara Tantra, the Six-Syllable Scripture.

The term “six syllables” (षड्अक्षर, ṣaḍakṣara) refers precisely to the famous sacred mantra: “Om Mani Padme Hum,” the supreme six syllables of Avalokiteśvara, representing impartial compassion that pervades all beings. This scripture is not an ordinary preaching sutra, but an advanced technical instruction in meditation (sādhana), used to generate Avalokiteśvara in the divine form (yidam) through the mandala, the spiritual circular field.

Main Content

This sādhana guides practitioners to construct the mandala of Avalokiteśvara in a systematic manner, according to the sequence prescribed in the Six-Syllable Scripture. Here, the mandala is not merely a two-dimensional image, but the entire universe recreated within the practitioner’s mind.

The process of practice proceeds through three basic steps: first is the generation of compassion (bodhicitta), in which the practitioner arouses boundless compassion and the wish to lead all beings out of suffering. Second is signlessness (śūnyatā), the recognition that all phenomena lack an independent essence, so that the mind is freed from rigid impressions. Third is the arising of the mandala and the deity, through reciting the syllables and visualizing the mandala arising from infinite space.

At the center of the mandala is Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, six-armed in form, with a smiling face, a body white like moonlight, and hands holding symbolic implements of compassion and bodhicitta.