Toh 409Vị Vương Mật Điển Vinh Quang: Kim Cương Bố Úy Phá Hoại

Summary

This short tantra, The Fearsome Vajra of
Destruction, presents a dialogue between the bodhisattva Vajragarbha
and the Blessed One, in which the latter gives detailed explanations of the
meanings of the terms that constitute the tantra’s title. The majority of the
tantra deals with elucidations of the various aspects of the word vajra, which center on a vajra’s
quality of indestructibility and its ability to crush and destroy dualistic
concepts.

Acknowledgements

This publication was completed under the patronage and supervision of
84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.

The text was translated, edited, and introduced by the 84000 translation
team. Bruno Galasek-Hul produced the translation and wrote the introduction.
Ryan Damron edited the translation and the introduction, and Dawn Collins
copyedited the text. Martina Cotter was in charge of the digital publication
process.

Introduction

In The Fearsome Vajra of Destruction,
the bodhisattva Vajragarbha asks the Blessed One to explain the meaning of the key words from
the tantra’s title. When the Blessed One finishes his initial short
exposition of these terms, Vajragarbha, requests a more detailed
explanation. The Blessed One assents by further elaborating on the terms,
with most of his exposition focused on the term vajra. He explains vajra using the threefold framework of the “true
vajra” (don gyi rdo rje),
the “symbolic vajra” (rtags kyi rdo
rje), and the “material vajra” (rdzas kyi rdo rje). Each of these categories is
then elaborated on based on how they crush and destroy the dualistic
concepts of subject and object. The Blessed One’s explanation seems to
center on the quality of hardness and indestructibility ascribed to a vajra,
a term that can also be translated as “diamond.”

The Fearsome Vajra of Destruction is
classified as an Unexcelled Yoga class (rnal ’byor bla na med pa’i rgyud), the highest of
the four classes of tantra according to the new traditions (gsar ma) of the period of the
later transmission (phyi
dar) of Buddhism in Tibet. Within this class, the tantra belongs to the so-called Rali tantras
(ra li’i rgyud), a
group of tantras that form a subset of thirty-two shorter explanatory
tantras from the Śaṃvara corpus in the Yoginītantra section (rnal ’byor ma’i rgyud) of the
Degé Kangyur. Except for the
title that seems to coincidentally contain the term vajrabhairava, which is also the
name of the fierce buffalo-headed deity Vajrabhairava, The Fearsome Vajra of Destruction does not appear to have any
explicit connection to the corpus associated with Vajrabhairava in the
Kangyur. Because of their
disputed status as authentic documents of Indian tantric Buddhism, the Rali
tantras were excluded from the Kangyurs of Narthang and Lhasa (the latter
being mainly based on Narthang).

According to the translator’s colophon, The
Fearsome Vajra of Destruction was translated by the Indian
paṇḍita Gayādhara and the Tibetan translator Drokmi Lotsāwa Śākya Yeshe
(’brog mi lo tsā ba śākya ye
shes), who also translated the other thirty-one Rali tantras
in this group. This information suggests that the text was
translated in the first half of the eleventh century ce. Nothing certain is known about the Indian provenance of these
texts, as there are no extant Sanskrit versions and they are not cited or
referenced in other works of Indic Buddhism.

This English translation was prepared on the basis of the Tibetan
translation preserved in the Degé Kangyur, in consultation with the Stok
Palace Kangyur and the comparative notes in the Comparative Edition
(dpe bsdur ma) of the
Degé Kangyur.

The Translation

The Fearsome Vajra of Destruction

Homage to the glorious Heruka.

Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was staying on top of
Mount Meru together with an inestimable assembly, when the bodhisattva
Vajragarbha circled the Blessed One three times, folded his hands, and
asked:

“Compassionate Blessed One, please explain:

What does vajra mean,
and what is fearsome?

What does destruction mean, and what about tantra?

Please explain what king means.”

The Blessed One replied:

“Vajra has three
aspects,

That are fearsome to the māra of the afflictive emotions and
the others,

And destructive to the enemy, the afflictive emotions, and
so forth.

It is these that are taught to be king.”

Vajragarbha spoke again:

“This does not provide specifics for the individual terms, so please
explain them in detail.”

The Blessed One replied:

“Vajra has three
aspects:

The true vajra, the symbolic vajra,

And the material vajra.

Now, to explain the true vajra:

“It is explained as the true
vajra

Because it is undivided by dualistic thinking.

Each of the four initiations are vajras

And are described as ‘the four vajras.’

“The symbolic vajra is of three kinds:

Three-pronged, five-pronged, and nine-pronged.

The three prongs represent body, speech, and mind;

The five prongs represent the five wisdoms;

And the nine prongs represent the nine levels of the three worlds.

“The true vajra is of four kinds:

“The deity, with its colors and implements,

Connected to the vase initiation, is vajra

Because it crushes and destroys

The dualistic concepts of subject and object.

“The channels, winds, and drops,

Connected to the secret initiation, are vajra

Because they crush and destroy

The dualistic concepts of subject and object.

“Innate joy and the other joys

Connected to insight-wisdom are vajra

Because they crush and destroy

The dualistic concepts of subject and object.

“The emptiness of the self-aware mind itself,

Connected with the fourth initiation, is vajra

Because it crushes and destroys

The dualistic concepts of subject and object.

“Next is the symbolic vajra:

The three-pronged vajra is explained as body, speech, and mind,

Because a vajra crushes and destroys

Attachment, anger, and delusion.

“The five-pronged vajra symbolizes the five wisdoms

Because it crushes and destroys

The five afflictions of pride and the rest.

“Next, the material vajra

Is taught to be of four kinds:

“When sharp and triangular it pierces,

When four sided it purifies,

When round, it destroys all that is material,

While one with five angles fulfills desires.

Such are the material vajras.

“The meaning of tantra
is fourfold:

There are the two tantras, causal and resultant,

And the ultimate tantra that is king.

By gaining mastery over them all,

The tantra of wrong view is eliminated.”

The Blessed One finished speaking, and the countless bodhisattvas in
the assembly felt joy and devotion, and then rejoiced. After circling the
Blessed One to the right three times, they disappeared by using their
individual, miraculous powers.

“The Destruction of The Glorious
Vajrabhairava, A King of Tantras,” is complete.

Colophon

This was translated by the paṇḍita Gayādhara and the translator-monk
Śākya Yeshé.

Notes

Abbreviations

C
Choné

D
Degé

J
Lithang

Y
Yongle

Bibliography

Tibetan Sources

Modern Sources