J Indian Philos (2009) 37:4560

DOI 10.1007/s10781-008-9062-8

Why is the Bodiless (an_anga) Gnostic Body (jnana-kaya)

Considered a Body?

Vesna A. Wallace

Published online: 3 December 2008

! Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2008

Abstract This paper analyzes the reasons for which the incorporeal ultimate
reality called the Gnostic Body (jnanakaya) is categorized as a body in the
Kalacakra tradition. It examines the diverse ways in which the body imagery is
applied to ultimate reality within this tradition. Although conceptions of the Gnostic
Body (jnana-kaya) as a special category of the Buddha-body have been included in
all of the unexcelled yoga-tantras (anuttara-yoga-tantras), they are most exten-
sively elaborated upon in the Kalacakra literature. For this reason, the analysis is
primarily based on the Indian Kalacakratantra literary corpus (11th century) (From
among the Kalacakratantra literature, I consulted the Kalacakratrantra with
the Vimalaprabha, Naropas Sekoddesat:ka, Sadhuputras Sekoddesat:ipan: ,
and the S: ad: angayoga
_ of Anupamaraks: ita.) and to the closely related Manjusr-
namasam : gti, Ravisrjnanas commentary on the Manjusrnamasam : gti, the
Amr: takan: ika:tippan: , and Vibhuticandras subcommentary Amr: takan: ikodyotan-
ibandha (12th13th centuries). In so doing, it will bring forth the evaluative and
classificatory usages of the term jnana-kaya in the aforementioned sources, and the
analysis is concerned with both the heuristic and provocative functions of their
discourses. It also addresses the interpretative framework through which the
Kalacakra tradition constructs the notions of embodiment and suggests that Bud-
dhist esoteric discourse can be useful in demonstrating that the concept of a body
can be understood as a broader category that extends from a physical body, to an
immaterial perceptible form, and to the pure nondual awareness. An analysis of the
multileveled constructions of the Gnostic Body (jnana-kaya) in the Indian
Vajrayana tradition opens new questions and new avenues of investigation with
respect to critical assessments of the rubric of the body, while bringing to light
new models of embodiment.

V. A. Wallace (&)
Balliol College, University of Oxford,
Oxford OX1 3BJ, UK
e-mail: vesna.wallace@balliol.ox.ac.uk

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46 V. A. Wallace

Keywords Gnostic body Bliss Gnosis Reflection of Emptiness Realm of

experience Habitus

Introduction

In the Kalacakra tradition, the Buddhas body (buddha-kaya) is characterized as

having two aspectsabsolute and phenomenalin accordance with the Mahayana
Buddhist doctrine of two truths: the ultimate and conventional. Depending upon the
context in which a particular aspect is emphasized, the formless, absolute body of the
Buddha is referred to by various names such as the jnana-kaya (Gnostic Body),
sahaja-kaya, or sahaja-tanu (Innate Body), the mahasukha-kaya (Body of Sublime
Bliss), and the visuddha-kaya (Pure Body).1 It is conceived as a defining character-
istic (laks: an: a) of all Buddha-bodies and as the essence (hr: daya) of all the Buddhas.2
In Indian Buddhist literature in general, the term kaya is frequently used to
convey various variations of similar meanings such as body, heap, accumulation,
world, and multitude. As we will see, in the Kalacakra tradition, the term kaya
conveys almost all of the aforementioned meanings when referring to either the
phenomenal manifestations of the Gnostic Body or to its ultimate aspects. However,
it also carries the meaning of a habitus.
The Gnostic Body is said to transcend the material nature of atoms due to its
freedom from spiritual ignorance (avidya) and resultant mental obscurations, which
are the basis of corporeality. On account of being free from corporeal form, it is
sheer luminosity (prabhasitva).3 As such, it is devoid of shape, thought, and verbal
expression. In other words, being ultimately unmanifest (avyakta) and beyond the
domain of the sense-faculties, it is not a condition for objectification.
While this view of the immateriality of the Buddhas absolute body accords with
the Mahayanas view of nirvan: a without remainder (niropadhi-nirvan: a), it is
supplemented elsewhere by the Buddhist tantric interpretation of emptiness. The
classical Mahayanas interpretation of emptiness as the absence of inherent exis-
tence (nih: svabhava), or as wisdom that perceives phenomenal and personal iden-
titylessness, is here extended to include the absence of material constituents of the
mindbody complex. When the Gnostic Body is characterized as having a form of

1
The Vimalaprabha commentary on the Kalacakratantra (1994, v. 107, p. 202): advayam : jnanam
:
sam : vr: tya suddhakayah: sahajakaya ityarthah: .
2
The Amr: takan: ikodyotanibandha of Vibhuticandra (1994, p. 115): paramaks: arajnanam : vaks: yamanam :
sarvetyadi buddhanam : hr: dayabhutam iti sarvatathagatajnanakayatvad manjusriyah: bodhisattvanan ca
yato vikalpaklesa bodhisattvanam : te vikalpas ca paramaks: are savasananirundhyanta iti.
3
The Vimalaprabha commentary on the Kalacakratantra (1986, p. 23): buddhatvam : nama
sam : saravasanacittam iti/ prakr: tiprabhasvaram : tad eva sam : saravasanarahitam : . Cf. the Amr: takan: ik-
odyotanibandha of Vibhuticandra (1994, p. 183): dharmatarupam : sunyatarupam : niravaran: atvat
prakr: tiprabhasvaram : tasmaj jatasahajanandacandraprabhakr: tir yasya bhagavatah: sa tatha.
The Sekoddesat:ka of Naropa (2006, pp. 193194): vajrasattvabuddhamatarau paramaks: aras-
ukhasvabhavau paraman: udharmatattav adarsapratisenasvapnatulyau paramaks: arasvarupav iti/
. . .tathaparadhyatmika vidya prajnaparamita prakr: tiprabhasvara mahamudra sahajanandarupin:
dharmadhatunis: yandapurn: avastha sahajatanur ityucyate jinaih: .

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Why is the Bodiless (ananga)
_ Gnostic Body (jnana-kaya) Considered a Body? 47

emptiness (sunyata-rupa), or as being the reflection of emptiness (sunyata-bim-

ba), the phrase form of emptiness is understood in both ways: as an appearance
of the emptiness of inherent existence and as an absence of matter.
In the context of yogic experience, the phrase form of emptiness, or empty
form (sunya-bimba) refers to a non-conceptualized appearance (abhasa) of ones
own mind, which spontaneously emerges in empty space as 10 sequential signs
(nimitta) of smoke, mirage, fireflies, and so on.4 This non-conceptualized appear-
ance is a result of the gradual eradication of mental obscurations and dissolution of
the material constituents of the body through the practice of the six-phased yoga
(s: ad: anga-yoga).
_ In the initial phase of the practice, the appearance of the empty
form is seen with the physical eyes. Eventually, through progressive attainment of
extrasensory perception, Bodhisattva stages, and full and perfect awakening
(samyaksam : bodhi), the yog perceives the form of emptiness with a mental
eyewith the divine eye (divya-caks: u), Buddha-eye, wisdom-eye (prajna-caks: u),
and with the eye of gnosis (jnana-caks: u).5
The space-element (akasa-dhatu) in which the appearance of the form of emptiness
arises is called a pure atom (suddhan: u). Here, the word atom does not designate
an irreducible material unit, but is used as a metaphor for the 12 Grounds (bhumis)
achieved on the path to Buddhahood. The yog s achievement of the 12 Grounds is
marked by the purification of the five psychophysical aggregates (skandhas), elements
(mahabhutas), and sense-bases (ayatanas) from mental obscurations (cittavaran: a).
On account of this purification, the yog s material constituents vanish and the state of
being in which all phenomena become of the same taste (sama-rasa) is actualized.6
The empty space that remains after a material substratum of the body has vanished is
metaphorically called the pure atom, or a bindu.

4
Ten daytime and nighttime signs are the signs of smoke, mirage, fireflies, a lamp, a flame, the moon, the
sun, the supreme form, and a bindu.
5
The S: ad: angayoga
_ of Anupamaraks: ita (2000, pp. 9596): atra prathamam : mam: sacaks: us: a yogy
adikarmiko visva<bimba>m : pasyaty abhijnabhir vina/ tato divyacaks: us: a pasyaty abhijnavadhivasat/
tato buddhacaks: us: a pasyati vtaragavadhivasatah: / tatah: prajnacaks: us: a pasyati bodhisattvavadhi-
vasat/ tato jnanacaks: us: a pasyati samyaksambuddhavadhicittavasat sarvopaddhivinirmukta iti/ evam :
tathagatasya pancacaks: um : s: i mam : sadny <uktani> sunyatadarsanam : prati/ anye sattvah:
sunyatadarsanavis: aye jatyandha iti tattvabhavananiyamah: .
6
The Vimalaprabha commentary on the Kalacakratantra (1994, Chap. 5, vs. 166ab and 167a): uktam :
prajnaparamitayam : dharmodgataparivarte buddhanam : kutracid gamanam : va agamanam : va na
bhutam : na ca bhavis: yati na bhavatti/ tena ekarasagre suddhaparaman: au siddharase sarvadhatu-
vedhake adhare sarvabuddhah: samasta ye sunyalaks: an: a niravaran: a iti/ buddhaks: etram : samastam
akarmakam : karmavatarahitam : tribhuvanajanako jnanakayena vks: ayitva suddhan: au sarvabuddhas
te viharanti/ ubhayasamarase suddhan: av iti . . . evam : bhumyadyan: au ragarahitadikr: tsnani saks: at
kr: tany anantany acaladyam : pravis: :tantyarthah: / ihan: usabdenacaladayo bhumaya uktah: na para-
man: avah: / suddhan: usabdena adharabhuta dvadasabhumayah: sarvavaran: aks: ayata ityarthah: /. taih:
sardham : vajrasattvo viharati gagane vartakalam : hi yavad/. . . iha yavat sattvanam : pun: yajnanasa-
m : bharau na bhavatah: tavat tair buddhotpado na dr: syate/ ato viharati gagane dharmakayagata
ityarthah: .
Cf. the Amr: takan: ika of Ravisrjnana (1994, p. 30): dasabhumayo dasadhatunam upasam : harah: / te ca
vayus cittam : bodhicittam : raktamajja asthni snayuh: mam : sam indriyan: i carma ceti/ tes: am upas-
am : harah: samarasbhavah: .
Cf. the Amr: takan: ikodyotanibandha of Vibhuticandra (1994, p. 152): dvadasabhumijnanam :
jnanasam : bharah: . See also the Sekkodesat:ka of Naropa (2006, p. 194).

123
48 V. A. Wallace

It is called a bindu because in the advanced stages of the practice, the form of
emptiness is said to appear to the yog as a bindu, from whose center radiates the
universal form (visva-bimba), described as the body (rupa) of the five unob-
scured (niravaran: a) and imperishable (aks: ara) psychophysical aggregates (skan-
dha), or as a Buddha-body. While the form of emptiness is perceptible to the yog in
this fashion, others engrossed in the dualistic mode of perception are said to see only
empty space, like persons blind from birth. Although the form of emptiness is
ultimately shapeless, it is nevertheless a form that is detected through the absence of
apprehended phenomena.
However, the Gnostic Body of purified psychophysical aggregates transcends
the duality of form and formlessness: it is not characterized by material form
because it is devoid of atomic particles, and it is not characterized by form-
lessness because it has emptiness (sunyata) as its form. Since emptiness is
inseparable from space, its form is the endless space in which myriads of its own
reflections emerge and cease. Therefore, the form of emptiness is also called
emptiness that is endowed will all aspects (sarvakara-sunyata). Being all-
pervading like space and endowed with all aspects, the Gnostic Body is insep-
arable from its appearances (abhasa)namely, the three worlds (traidhatu-
kabhasa) and the three times.7 It is for this reason that its appearance is called
the universal form (visva-bimba). However, although the Gnostic Body is
endowed with all aspects, it is ultimately devoid of any aspects.
Moreover, owing to its unhindered pervasiveness, the Gnostic Body abides in the
diverse bodies of beings. As it is nondual from the sublime bliss (maha-sukha) of
nirvan: a, which is present in the bodies of all beings in the form of sensual bliss, it is
considered to be the Innate Body (sahaja-kaya) of both the Buddhas and all
embodied beings. Thus, while essentially bodiless, it is inseparable from the diverse
bodies of beings throughout sam : sara, although ultimately remaining unaffected by
them. Therefore, one is advised to attend to the phenomenal world in the same way
one attends to the image of the Buddha created for the sake of worship.8 In this
regard, the Gnostic Body can be considered a body in the sense that it is a limitless,
space-like form encompassing all appearances within itself and a habitat of the
corporeal world. For this reason, it is at times referred to as a bodiless (ananga) _
body.

The Gnostic Body as a Realm of Gnosis

Due to the fact that the Gnostic Body is ultimately devoid of corporality and yet
endowed with all forms, its appearances are considered similar to the images in a
7
See the Sekoddesat:ka of Naropa (2006, Chap. 8, v. 146a and its commentary, p. 197): bimbam
:
sunyodbhavam : hetuh: phalam aks: arajam : sukham.
8
The Kalacakratantra (1994, Chap. 5, v. 66, pp. 3738):
sattva buddha na buddhas tvapara iha mahan vidyate lokadhatau
tes: am aradhan: ena tvaparamitabhavas chidyate nirvikalpat/
droham : kurvan hi yog vrajati hi narakam : raudravadyam : mahantam :
tasmac citte visuddhe apyabudhabudhajananam : viruddham : na kuryat//.

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Why is the Bodiless (ananga)
_ Gnostic Body (jnana-kaya) Considered a Body? 49

prognostic mirror. Since the images appearing in a prognostic mirror are not
reflections of actual objects that are external to the mirror, their cause is
immaterial and they themselves are insubstantial. Similarly, the appearances of
the Gnostic Body in the mirror of emptiness, in which all phenomena are at
display, are illusory and insubstantial, for they have no existence outside that
mirror. They are a mere reflection of emptiness (sunyata-bimba), which is
inherently non-arisen although it has a form. Thus, one could say that Gnostic
Body, which has emptiness as its form, is at the same time a mirror and an array
of the reflections of non-existing objects in the mirror. As such it ultimately
exceeds any perception.
While all of the appearances in the mirror of emptiness arise and cease, the
Gnostic Body itself neither arises nor ceases.9 Although its wisdom aspect is pri-
mordially non-arisen, its method, or compassion aspect, is perpetually arisen, for it
can be known by every individual as a nirman: akaya and a sam : bhogakaya. On the
other hand, its empty form is not non-existent because it has arisen from space, and
its imperishable bliss is not existent because it has arisen from the non-conceptu-
alized and illusion-like, empty form.10 Thus, the Gnostic Body transcends the
categories of existence and non-existence in the same way as the image in a
prognostic mirror escapes such a classification. If the image that is perceived by a
virgin in a prognostic mirror were existent, the virgin would see a reflection of her
face instead of some other image. If the image perceived by her were non-existent,

9
The Sekoddesat:ka of Naropa (2006, pp. 198200): bimbasya sarvakarasvacittabhasasyabhava
ucchedo nasti/ . . . abhavac chunyat kevalamalanabhastalad eva pratyatmavedyasya tryadhvat-
raidhatukapratibhasasyotpatteh: / . . .ata eva ruparupavinirmukta ityucyate/ pratisenayam : hi
dapran: adyupalabhyamanasarirayam : na rupalaks: an: am
: paraman: udravyasandohabhavann
arupalaks: an: am upalabhyamanasya durapakramatvat/ tasman na bimbam : bhavam: sam: saram
: ayati
nirvan: am ucchedam ayati naks: aram.
The Sekoddesat:ippan: of Sadhuputra Srdharananda (1997, vs. 152155, p, 142):
prajnahetor ajatatvat prajnahetudbhavam : phalam/
prajnahetor ajatatvat prajnajatam
: na hetujam//
ato na hetujam
: jnanam
: prajnajnanam anuttaram/
phalena hetunanyonyam : na parasparamudran: am//
hetuh: phalam
: ca yat sarvam: tat prattyasamudbhavam/
anyonyamudritam : bimbam : notpannam : na ca nirvr: tam//
prajna catyantanirvr: ta utpannas ca paro ks: arah: /
hetuphalavinirmuktir na parasparamudran: am : //
10
The Sekoddesat:ippan: of Sadhuputra Srdharananda (1997, vs. 2730, pp. 122123):

: sunye yan nanukalpitam/

pihitapihitanetrabhyam
dr: syate svapnavad bimbam : tad bimbam: bhavayet sada//
abhave bimbe bhavana sa yoginam
: na bhavana/
bhavo bhavo na cittasya bimbe kalpitadarsanat//
pratisenam ivadarse pasyet kumary avastujam/
tathattanagatam
: dharmam: yogy ambare pi pasyati//
asya bhavo na bhavah: syat vastusunyarthadarsanat/
vastuno bhavato pi arthah: mayasvapnendrajalavat//

123
52 V. A. Wallace

On the basis of this, it was possible for the Kalacakra tradition to personify the
gnosis of sublime bliss as the A dibuddha Kalacakra. The mutual pervasiveness of
emptiness and bliss, of gnosis (jnana) and the object of gnosis (jneya), as ulti-
mate aspects of the mind and body is figuratively depicted as a couple in sexual
unionKalacakra and Visvamata. Their nonduality is conceived as a neuter-
17
gendered state (napum : saka-pada). This characterization is to point out not
only the nonduality of the Buddhas mind and body but also to indicate ultimate
reality as transcending any gender defining characteristics. It is said that although
the Gnostic Body is often referred to as male because of its relation to the
lineage of sages (r: s: is) through whom it historically emanated itself in the human
world, in reality, it is neither male nor female, for it is ultimately unmanifest
(avyakta). This conception of the omnipresent Gnostic Body as evading the
gender-based classifications has provided the foundation for the androgynous
model of humanity, social order, and the cosmos as a whole, which permeates
this tantric system in various ways.18
The Gnostic Body encompasses various types of gnosis. It is the body of the
gnosis of conventional reality (sam : vr: ti-jnana), which sees all phenomena as
being similar to an illusion; and it is the body of the gnosis of ultimate reality
(paramartha-jnana), which is the non-perception (anupalambha) of any dhar-
mas.19 It is also understood as a bearer (dhr: k) of the vajra of gnosis of the four
types of bliss (ananda) inseparable from the manifestations of the four bodies of
the Buddha. Hence, it is called the Vajra-holder (vajradhara) and is charac-
terized as a collection of the four drops of gnosis (jnana-bindu-samuha). Thus,
in this context, the phrase jnana-kaya is a body in so far as it is understood as
an agglomerate of multifaceted knowledge. However, since the four drops of
gnosis are present in their impure aspects as minute, physical bindus (drops)
within four cakras of the embodied beings, the Gnostic Body is also an
embodied human being in its phenomenal expression.

The Gnostic Body as a Realm of Experience

As mentioned earlier, Gnostic Body transcends the conceptual classifications of the

subject of knowledge and the object of knowledge, because it does not apprehend
external phenomena, but everywhere sees only itself. Therefore, it is a unified state
of knowledge (jnana) and the object of knowledge (jneya), which is achieved
through the realization of the identitylessness (nairatmya) of ones own mind, in
which the apprehending mind (grahaka-citta), or wisdom, has merged into the
17
The Sekoddesat:ka of Naropa (2006, p. 194): akarasambhavah: samyaksambuddhah: prajno-
payatmako vajrasattvo napum : sakapadam : sahajakaya ityucyate jnanajneyatmako hetuphalayor
abhedatvat/ sa ca kalacakrabhagavan paramaks: arah: sukhapadam.
18
The Sekoddesat:ippan: of Sadhuputra Srdharananda (1997, v. 151, p. 28):
bimbam : na bhavam ayati napi nirvan: am aks: aram/
anyonyalingitam _ : santam
: napum
: sakapadam : param//
19
The Am : :rtakan: ikodyotanibandha of Vibhuticandra (1994, p. 128): jnanakaya jnanabindavah: /
sam: vr: tijnanam : mayopamabhavabodhah: / paramarthajnanam
: sarvadharamanupalambhah: .

123
50 V. A. Wallace

she would be able to see nonexistent things such as the hares horn, and the like, but
this is not the case.11
Moreover, just as the virgin does not see the image in a prognostic mirror with
her physical eyes that are covered by blinders, so the empty form of the Gnostic
Body cannot be perceived by visual sense-faculty. It is perceptible only to the mind
because it is nothing other than the reflection of ones own mind, since the mind is
able to perceive its own reflection due to its innate luminosity; and this very
luminosity of the mind is said to be an appearance of the other three Buddha-
bodies.12 Therefore, even though illusory forms of the Buddha-bodies such as
limitless nirman: akayas and sam: bhogakayas may function as the object of cog-
nition for others, they are ultimately not a phenomenon separate from the mind that
cognizes them. In this context, the term jnana-kaya seems to designate the realm
of gnosis, or the realm of mind, which cannot be explained ontologically but
only in terms of its appearances and their functions.

The Gnostic Body as a Collection of Bliss and Gnosis

Furthermore, an appearance of the form of emptiness is said to be the cause of the

imperishable bliss (aks: ara-sukha) attained through the accumulation of 21,600
moments of bliss, which, in turn, gives rise to the gnosis (jnana) of the perfection of
wisdom (prajna-paramita). The indivisible unity of these twoemptiness and
blissis termed the Gnostic Body (jnana-kaya) and defined as the embodiment
(kayatva) of the gnosis of all the Tathagatas.13 The term kaya here clearly sub-
sumes the meaning of a collection, suggesting that the phrase jnana-kaya is to be
interpreted here as a set of bliss and gnosis.
This Kalacakra traditions view of a corporeal body as an extension of the
afflictive and cognitive obscurations implies that even the mind and body that are
characterized by physicality are not two opposing principles but extensions and
expressions of each other. As indicated in the Sekoddesat:ka, the psychophysical
aggregates, elements, and sense-bases (ayatana) are nothing other than incidental

11
The Sekoddesat:ipan: of Sadhuputra (1997, vs. 3334, pp. 123124):
yadi pasyati sadrupam
: svamukham : na pasyati/
: kim
yadi pasyaty asadrupam: sasasr: ngam
_ : katham : na ca//
yadi tavad vastu pratibhati tada katham
: darpan: e sam
: nihitam
: kumarikaya <mu>kham : vid-
yamanam eva na pratibhati/ asad vastv api na pratibhati/ atyantabhavalaks: an: asasavis: an: asy-
apratigamyamanatvat/
na pasyaty anyacaks: urbhyam : svacaks: urbhyam: na pasyati/
dr: syamanam ajatam
: tu kumarya jatakam : yatha//
anyacaks: urbhyam iti lala:tadibhavabhyam: svacaks: urbhyam: na pasyati andhapat:apracchadi-
tatvat.
12
The Amr: takan: ikodyotanibandha of Vibhuticandra (1994, p. 152): dhatugotram : prakr: tis cittasya
prabhasvaretyukte/. . . prabhasvarad eva kayatrayaprathanat/ sahajodaye ks: aran: asambhavad
avyayah: / anyam apeks: ya yogivis: ayah: svayam : bhavati akr: trimatvat sahajah: .
13
The Amr: takan: ikodyotanibandha of Vibhuticandra (1994, p. 115): sarvatathagatakayajnanatvat.

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Why is the Bodiless (ananga)
_ Gnostic Body (jnana-kaya) Considered a Body? 51

(agantuka) habitual propensities of the mind (citta-vasana).14 In contrast, the

Gnostic Body is considered to be a habitual propensity of nirvan: a (nirvan: a-
vasana), which is connately present in the mind of the yog. This view provides
a reason for which it can spontaneously appear as a reflection of the yogs own
mind in the form of various signs (nimitta).15 The mind and its reflection are
said to be nondual, like the moon and the moonlight.16 Just as an eye can see its
own reflection in a mirror, so the yogs apprehending mind (grahaka-citta),
which is wisdom (prajna) that knows the emptiness of all phenomena, sees its
own reflection, which is the apprehended mind (grahya-citta) and characterized
by the emptiness endowed with all aspects (sarvakaropeta-sunyata). The minds
perception of its empty form (sunya-bimba) is defined as self-awareness (sva-
sam : vedana). This self-awareness is said to result in the gnosis of imperishable
bliss (aks: ara-sukha), which is metaphorically called the face of the Buddha
(buddha-vaktra), or the face of gnosis (jnana-vaktra).
Being free from the habitual propensities of sam : sara (sam
: sara-vasana), the
gnosis of imperishable bliss liberates the mind from its obscurations and facilitates
the arising of the new, imperishable psychophysical aggregates. The experience of
the gnosis that is aware of its blissful nature is no longer contingent on the
physical body. The newly emerged psychophysical aggregates, which are mutually
pervasive and indistinguishable due to their immateriality, make up the Gnostic
Body. This means that the Gnostic Body is not just a mere transcendence of the
mindbody complex characterized by materiality but also the manifestation of its
purified aspect. Thus, at the full and perfect awakening, the mindbody complex
is not eliminated but only sublimated. This explains why the Gnostic Body is
considered capable of functioning as the fundamental source of the unlimited
capacities of the body, speech, and mind that manifest as various Buddha-bodies.
This, perhaps, in part explains why in Vajrayana discourse in general, mindbody
imagery is projected onto ultimate reality itself, whose mindbody complex is
interpreted such that emptiness is its form and the imperishable bliss is its the
mind.

14
The Sekkodesat:ka of Naropa (2006, pp. 201202): iha hi yad vaktavyam : murkhaih:
paraman: usandohatmakaih: skandhadhatvayatanair vina cittamatren: a prajnajnanam
: svasam : vedyam
:
na bhavati tan na/ kasmat/ agantukacittavasanavasat/ iha skandhadhatvayatanam : namagantuka-
cittavasana.
15
The Kalacakratantra (1994, Chap. 5, v. 116d): sarvakaram
: svacittam
: vis: ayavirahitam
: naparam
:
cittam eva.
16
The S: ad: angayoga
_ of Anupamaraks: ita (2000, p. 113):
ajatasyaniruddhasya yaj jneyasyeha darsanam/
tat svacittasya nanyasya bahyajneyavibhagatah: //
The Sekoddesat:ipan: of Sadhuputra (1997, v. 24, p. 122):
asyaiva sadhanam : kuryat pratibhasair acintitaih: /
dhumadibhir nimittais taih: prajnabimbair nabhah: samaih: //
asyeti sarvaprapancarahitakayacatus: :tayaikalolbhutanuttaramahasukhasvabhavasya vajra-
sattvasya prajnabimbair nirvikalpanuttaraprajnasvarupaprajnapratibhasakarais ca candrac-
andrikevabhinnaih: .

123
Why is the Bodiless (ananga)
_ Gnostic Body (jnana-kaya) Considered a Body? 53

apprehended mind (grahya-citta), or bliss. In this regard, here too, the Gnostic
Body, consisting of the unified sublime bliss and gnosis, is understood as a body in
the sense that it is a realm pervaded by bliss and cognitive experience. It is said that
this immaterial, luminous gnosis can be still considered a body (kaya) owing to
the pervasiveness of its bliss (sukha-caryatva),20 which radiates limitless emana-
tions of bliss throughout the entire cosmos. It is on account of its blissful nature that
the Gnostic Body is also called the Body of Sublime Bliss (mahasukha-kaya).
The Body of Sublime Bliss is experienced in three different ways in accordance
with different levels of the spiritual conditions of beings. In the case of ordinary
people (pr: thag-jana), who engage in sexual bliss with emission, it is experienced as
an impure (samala) body. A caryas experience it as their stainless (nirmala) bodies,
and in the case of Buddhas, it is experienced as a completely stainless (vimala) body
of the undifferentiated bliss and emptiness.21 Thus, although it is ultimately pure and
incorporeal, it does not escape the possibility of being experienced as impure and
corporeal. Considered as the all-pervasive sublime bliss and the realm of absolute
space (dharma-dhatu), it is interpreted as a cause of the origination of all other
Buddha-bodies and is accordingly termed the progenitor (prajapati) of the Bud-
dhas22 and the Great Body (maha-kaya) of all the Buddhas. Thus, it is the
ultimate source of both sam : sara and nirvan: a: with regard to the former, it is a realm
of experiences within the physical body; and in terms of the latter, it is a realm of
space-embodied bliss. Thus in each instance, it is considered a body (kaya) on
account of being a domain of experience.
The Gnostic Body, known also as Innate Body (sahaja-kaya), is identified as a
gnosis-vajra characterized by compassion. Therefore, it is also referred to as a pure
yoga (visuddha-yoga), or as a vajra-yoga, consisting of wisdom and method.
Owing to the destruction of the fourth (turya) state of the mind, it is purified by
means of liberation through emptiness (sunyata-vimoks: a), or by a gnosis that
apprehends both emptiness as an absence of inherent existence (nih: svabhava) and
the emptiness of the past and the future.23
Although this innate, Gnostic Body is a single unitary reality, it is said to manifest
in four different ways. In accomplishing the goals of others, it becomes the
20
The Am : r: takan: ikodyotanibandha of Vibhuticandra, 1994, p. 195: anangaka _ yo bodhicittavajrah:
sukhacaryatvat kayah: / . . . nirman: akayadnam
: kot:iparyantamahasukhakayam : vispharayati/
21
The Am : r: takan: ikodyotanibandha of Vibhuticandra (1994, pp. 184185): sarves: am : khalu
: visuddhis tathata smr: ta ityukte/ suddhah: sunyah: / . . . trividha tathatasamala pr: thag-
bhavanam
jananam/ nirmala acaryan: am/ vimala sambuddhanam : phalavastha bhutakot:ih: /
22
The Am : r: takan: ikodyotanibandha of Vibhuticandra (1994, p. 165): jnanaprabodhat turyattam :
yatprabhasvaram : tadudbhutatvat tanmayam : jnanasya vidyam : tannirman: atvena prajanam: jananat
patih: prajapatih: .
23
The Sekoddesat:ka of Naropa (2006, pp. 6970): tatra svabhavabhavatah: sunyam/ tasya sunyasya
bhavah: sunyata/ ihattanagatam: jneyam: sunyam/ tasya darsanam : bhavah: sunyata gambhrodara/
attanagatabhavad gambhra/ attanagatadarsanad udara/ tayopalaks: itam
: tadgrahakam : va jnanam:
sunyatavimoks: ah: / tena visuddham : turyavasthaks: ayad aks: aram: mahasukham/ kam : sukham : ta-
drun: addhti karun: alaks: an: am: jnanavajram/ sa eva sahajakayah: prajnopayatmako visuddho yoga
ityucyate/ . . . taduktam : vimalaprabhayam : prathamaslokavyakhyane sa eva sahajakayah: sunyata
vimoks: avisuddho jnanavajrah: sarvajnah: prajnopayatmako visuddhayoga iti.
Cf. this citation with the Vimalaprabha commentary on the Kalacakratantra (1986, Chap. 1, v. 1, p. 45.)
suddhajnanavijnanatmako acyuto binduh: . . . jnanavajrayogo vajrasattvah: .

123
54 V. A. Wallace

dharmakaya, which is neither one nor many.24 This dharmakaya consists of wis-
dom (prajna) that apprehends the minds of others; and it consists of method (upaya),
which is the apprehended mind characterized by compassion. It is the integrated body
(yuganaddha-kaya), in which ultimate and conventional realities are unified.25 This
dharmakaya is the translucent sam : bhogakaya, which is a reflected image (prat-
ibimba) comprised of wisdom that knows the past and future of beings, and of the
method that teaches them by means of unarticulated sounds that issue from it. Be-
cause it is devoid of the pran: ic winds associated with a physical body, its sounds are
like an echo, devoid of verbal expressions, and are present everywhere. To violent
beings, the sambhogakaya appears as the dark Heruka or as the ferocious Vajrab-
hairava in order to tame them. It appears as Vairocana in order to train the deluded, as
Ratnasam : bhava to show generosity to the suffering, as Amitabha to train impassioned
beings, and as Amoghasiddhi to destroy the demons of obstacles (vighna).26
In order to mature sentient beings, this sam : bhogakaya becomes a nirman: akaya.
It shows itself in the three worlds through the illusion (maya) of its limitless
emanations. The illusory body of its emanation, which enters the minds of humans,

24
The Am
: :rtakan: ikodyotanibandha of Vibhuticandra (1994, pp. 9495):
samastabuddhadharmasvabhavataya ca tad eva satyadvayadvaidhbhavasvabhavam: yugan-
addhakhyam ucyate/ tasmad yugganaddhakaya eva dharmakayah: sam : bhogikasvabhavi-
kakayabhyam
: pr: thagbhuto yogipratyaks: avedyah: /
ruparasir ananto me nirman: akaya uttamah: /
rutarasir ananto me sambhogakaya uttamah: //
dharmarasir ananto me dharmakaya uttamah: /
sukharasir ananto me sukhakayo ks: arah: parah: //
evan ca s: od: askalabodhah: paracittajnanapratisabdasadr: sasabdadhigamases: arupasan-
darsanajnanalaks: an: am
:
catuh: kayasvarupam aveditam/ uktan ca srkalacakre
na prajna napy upayah: sahajatanur iyam : dharmakayo babhuva
prajnopayasvabhavah: khalu vigatatamo jnanavijnanabhedat/
so yam : sam : bhogakayah: pratiravaka ivanekasattvarthakartta
sattvanam : pakahetor bhavati punar asau buddhanirman: akayah: //
The Vimalaprabha commentary on the Kalacakratantra (1994, Chap. 5, v. 89, p. 45), where the
following verse is cited from the A dibuddhatantra:
uddhr: tam : man juvajren : a a
dibuddha n niranvayat/
laks: an: am: buddhakayanam : caturn: am: tadvitanyate//
The Sekoddesat:ka of Naropa (2006, pp. 7071): sa eva dharmakayo nimittavimoks: avisud-
dham : cittavajram : jnanakayah: prajnopayatmako dharmatma yoga ityuktah: / sa eva sam : b-
hogakayo pran: ihitavimoks: avisuddham : vagvajram : dinakaravapuh: prajnopayatmako
mantrayoga ityuktah: / sa eva nirman: akayo
nabhisam : skaravimoks: avisuddham : kayavajram : padmaptrayataks: ah: prajnopayatmakah:
sam: sthanayoga ityukta iti.
25
The Sekoddesat:ka of Naropa (2006, p. 198): sunyatakarun: ayor anayoh: sam : vr: tipa-
ramarthasatyasvabhavayoh: sam : yogo mlanam : vajrayogah: / sa cadvayo yuganaddhakhyo ks: aras
cety etad eva tattvam/
26
The Kalacakratantra and the Vimalaprabha (1994, Chap. 5, v. 90, p. 46):
eko sau vajrasattvah: pralayanibho heruko vai babhuva/
raudran: am
: pacanartham: sa ca samayajino mohitanam : sukhartham
:/
ratneso duh: khitanam
: sa ca kamaladharo ragin: am
: ragahetor/
vighnanam : dhvam : sanartham
: tv asikarakamalo moghasiddhir babhuva//

123
Why is the Bodiless (ananga)
_ Gnostic Body (jnana-kaya) Considered a Body? 55

gods, and Buddhas, is a non-arisen phenomenon, devoid of origination and cessa-

tion. Although its emanations are inseparable from various phenomena, they are not
physical bodies (rupakaya). Just as the body of a person who appears in a dream is
a projection of the dreamers mind, so the nirman: akayas are mere projections of
the habitual propensities of the minds (citta-vasana) of ordinary beings. Although
incorporeal, each of these bodies is androgynous in that each can project an
anthropomorphic form through which it appears as simultaneously male and female
to beings on different planes of existence. Thus, all perceptible forms of the Gnostic
Body exist only in relation to other sentient beings and not in and of themselves.27

The Gnostic Body as a Set of Esoteric Teachings and Practices

The immateriality of all the manifestations of the Buddha-bodies is strongly

emphasized throughout the Kalacakra literature, for if the Buddhas were physical
bodies, they would meet their end when their material forms are vanished. The
misconception of the nirman: akayas as physical forms is said to result from the
incomprehension of the profound Buddha-dharma. This misconception is consid-
ered detrimental to ones spiritual progress, for it leads one to deviant practices.
Those who misconceive the Buddhas emanations in this way are said to become
overcome by delusion and hope that their putrid bodies will become Buddhas bodies
in this life. They go for instruction to inauthentic teachers, ingest the five ambrosias
(amr: ta) in the hope of making their bodies ageless and immortal, and in hope of
becoming the Varjasattva himself. They believe that one should actually kill beings
by means of a samadhi focused on a wrathful deity; and they lie, steal, and take other
mens wives. Others, taking the words of evil tantric masters (acaryas) as their
authority, believe that one should follow the path of ten non-virtues by means of
deity-yoga. They ingest substances that are not ritually purified and transformed into
ambrosia and thereby ineffective in bringing about the qualities of Buddhahood.28
27
The Sekoddesat:ka of Naropa (2006, v. 151 and the commentary, pp. 198199):
bimbam : na bhavam ayati napi nirvan: am aks: aram/
anyonyalingitam
_ : santam: napum : sakapadam : param//
anyonyalingitam
_ : santam avikarndriyavikararahitatvat/ idam evobhayatmakam : napum : sa-
kapadam : kevalaprajnopayapaks: ayor abhavat.
28
The Vimalaprabha:tka commentary on the Kalacakratantra (1994, Chap. 5, pp. 7172): ato
bhgavato vacanad rupakayo bhagavan na bhavati sarvabuddhanam : samajitatvat/ yadi rupakaya
buddhah: tada paraman: urupen: api mlanam : na syad iti/ vakyam: srutva tathapi sattva bhagavatoktam :
gambhrodaradharmam : parks: ayitva na gr: hn: anti buddhatvaya gurum : ca parks: ayitva naradhayanti
mahamurkha lobhabhibhuta santa ihaiva janamny asmakam : putisarram : buddhasarram : bha-
vis: yatty asalubdha akalyan: amitrasam : sargad asadgurupadesad
iha vairocanadni pancamr: tani gokudahanadipalani bhaks: yan: i svabhavasuddhani tathagate-
noktani/ ebhir bhaks: itaih: sarram ajaramaram : bhavis: yati vajrasattvo pi varado bhavis: yatti/
anyatra vajrakule krodharajasamadhina pran: ino ghatyah: / khad: gakule moghasiddhisamadhina
satyam : vaktavyam : / ratnakule vairocanasamadhina parasvam : haryam : / padmakule mitabha-
samadhina parastr grahya/ cakrakule vairocanasamadhina pancamr: tapalani bhaks: an: yanti/ apare
pi dasakusaladharmapatha devatayogena yogina kartavya iti/ evam : dus: :tacaryavacanam : pra-
man: kr: tya dasakusalan karmapathan kurvanti asodhitany abodhitany apradpitany anamr: tkr: tani
bhaks: yanti/ tani ca bhaks: itani pancamr: tani na tes: am : bhaks: akanam: buddhatvagun: adayakani bha-
vantti tathagatavacanaprabhodhatvad iti.

123
56 V. A. Wallace

When the secret Vajrayana is properly understood, one knows the Vajrayana
to be itself the unified state of the body, speech, and mind,29 which results from
bliss and gives rise to the gnosis of bliss. Vajrayana itself is said to be the
Gnostic Body for a number of reasons. The gnosis of sublime bliss is such that
it expands (tanyate) as a great tantra (mahatantra), as an extended discourse
(prabandha);30 and the sounds and meanings of its mantras are nothing other
than the sublime bliss of the Gnostic Body, which protects the mind of the
yog.31 Thus, here, the Gnostic Body is considered to be a body in the sense of
being a set of esoteric teachings and practices that have issued from it, point to
it, and lead one to its realization.

The Gnostic Body as a Habitus of All Divine Forms

Since there is nothing separate from the Gnostic Body, one is told that even various
nirgun: a and sagun: a divine forms, which are sought after and worshipped by the
proponents of the Brahman: ic tradition, are contained in it. The Gnostic Body is a
knower of brahman (brahma-vid), as its blissful gnosis is declared to be brahman
on the basis of the statement that the nature of brahman is bliss (anando bra-
hman: o rupam).32 In that regard, the Gnostic Body is characterized as liberation
(moks: a), the fourth pursuit of men. It is also said to be the Brahma of the
Brahman: as, for it is the body of sublime passion and the nature of Brahmas four
faces, characterized by the four Divine Abidings (brahmaviharas). It is the very
nature of Vis: n: u, Rahu, Indra, Tryambaka, and other deities,33 although unrecog-
nized as such by the Brahman: ic sages who consider the older Vedic Dharma to be

29
: sravakapratyekabuddhayanayor uttaram
The Amr: takan: ika of Ravisrjnana (1994, p. 4): guhyam :
vajrayanam
: kayavakcittajnanaikalolbhuto va tatra mahasukharupataya rajata iti guhyara:t.
30
The Amr: takan: ika of Ravisrjnana (1994, p. 8):
mayajale mayajalabhisambodhilaks: an: e tanyate vyutpadyata iti tantram/ . . . mahatantram :
mahasukhajnanam : ity arthah: / uktan ca
tantram : prabandham akhyatam : sam: saram : tantram is: yate/
tantram : guhyam : rahasyakhyam uttaram : tantram ucyate//
31
The Vimalaprabha commentary on the Kalacakratantra (1994, Chap. 3, v. 1, p. 2): mantram iti
jnanam/ manastran: abhavatvat/ Cf. the Amr: takan: ika of Ravisrjnana (1994, p. 28): mahamantram :
mahasukhajnanam : tenottamo niravadyah: tadrupa ity arthah: /
32
The Manjusrnamasang _ ti and the Am : r: takan: ika of Ravisrjnana (1994, v. 19, p. 67):
brahmavid brahman: o brahma brahmanirvan: am aptavan
muktir moks: o vimoks: ango
_ vimuktih: santita sivah:
prakr: tiprabhasvarasunyatakarun: abhinnajnanam : brahma tattadatmyena vetty anubhavatti
brahmavit/ . . . akasasaktacittataya pratyaharadis: ad: angasam
_ : ks: epacaturangabrahmaviha
_ ra-
caturdhyanacaturmukhasvabhavatvad brahma/ brahman: o nirvan: am anandah: / anandam :
brahman: o rupam iti vacanat/ tadaptavan/ sunyatavinirbhagavarttitvan muktih: / . . . sam-
yagjnanagnibhasmkr: tasattvarajastamaskandhatvena vimoks: a evanga _ surupam
: yasya sa
tatha.
33
The Am : r: takan: ikodyotanibandha of Vibhuticandra (1994, p. 199): devanam apy atisayena div-
yatti/ vis: an: ad vis: n: ucyate ity ukter upendra ity arthah: /. . . jagadasya pradesikaskandhamaradeh:
prathamo vinayakah: / kayader anasravata/ muktis tadvisuddhya tryambko mahesvarah: /

123
Why is the Bodiless (ananga)
_ Gnostic Body (jnana-kaya) Considered a Body? 57

natural and innate (sahaja) and the later Buddha-Dharma as artificial (kr: taka).34 In
this way, the Kalacakratantras conception of the Gnostic Body as a single,
indivisible, and omnipresent ultimate reality has allowed for the appropriation and
reinterpretation of the Brahman: ic conceptions of absolute reality and its divine
manifestations. Thus, as the ultimate body of all Buddhist and Braman: ic deities, the
Gnostic Body is understood as a habitat of all divine forms.

The Gnostic Body as a Social Habitus of Gnosis

We are told, the Buddhas abide in their empty form (sunya-bimba) whether they
enter the mothers womb in order to mature ordinary people, whether they arise in a
heaven to eliminate the ego-grasping (aham : kara-grahan: a) of the Sravakas
dwelling in heavens, or whether they manifest in the syllable evam : in order to
establish the great Bodhisattvassuch as Subhuti, Maitreya, and othersin com-
plete and perfect Buddhahood, instructing them in the fourth, Gnostic Body.35 Thus,
the Gnostic Body is not to be seen as static, for although peaceful (santa), it is
continually operative through its luminosity, bliss, and compassion.
The phenomenal aspect of the Gnostic Bodywhether cosmic, social, or indi-
vidualis an appearance of spiritual ignorance whereby one perceives a material form
where there is none and identifies it as I or mine. A phenomenal body is not a
thing in and of itself, but rather a series of experiential events taking place in con-
34
See the Vimalaprabha commentary on the Kalacakratantra (Chap. 5, 1994, p. 95): atha brah-
: dus: :tavacanam iha pragvedadharmah: sahajah: pascat sarvajnadesito dharmah: kr: takah: /
mars: n: am
tasmad vedadharmo jyes: :ta iti.
35
The Kalacarkatantra and the Vimalaprabha (1994, Chap. 5, v. 92, p. 48):
pancaskandhasvabhavair kr: paya vajrayos: idbhages: u/
sattvanam: pacanartham : tv avihitaniyamanam apun: yarjitanam/
suddhavasadike yadviharati bhagavan sravakan: am
: nimittam/
evam : kare sthitir ya paramaniyaminam uttare sthapanartham//
iha yat klesadyavaran: arahitan: am
: garbhavakraman: am : pancaskhandagrahan: am : vajrayos: id-
bhages: u strgarbhe sambhavaya viharan: am : tat kr: paya avihitaniyamanam
: prakr: tajananam
:
apun: yarjitanam
: pacanaya/ tatha
vajrakayasariran: am
: buddhanam: yadanityata/
kadalgarbhatulyes: u ka cinta nyes: u jantus: u//
ityadina nityavadinam: pacanaya/ punah: suddhavasadike yadutpadah: sa sravakan: am : dev-
atvam : gatanam aham : karavinasaya/ idam : devatvam : cyavanakale mahad duh: kham iti desa-
naya tes: am
: pacanam/ evam : kare sthitir ya sunyatayam
: sa paramaniyaminam : subhutyadnam
:
maitreyaprabhr: tnam uttare samyaksambuddhatve sthapanaya caturthakayadesanayeti/
Cf. the Manjusrnamasam : gti and the Amr: takan: ika of Ravisrjnana (1994, p. 55, v. 3):
arupo rupavan agryo nanarupo manomayah: /
sarvarupavabhasasrr ases: apratibimbadhr: k//
akasanis: :thataya sarvacittacaitasikavidyapratibhasanirodhan na vidyate prakr: tisvarupatiriktam
:
rupam : yasya sa tatha/ dharmakayarupakayaikalolbhhavad anavilarupatvad rupavan/ . . .
dvasaptatinad: sahasres: u prakr: tirupen: a sukhadharmadhaturupanispandarupatvan nanarupah: /
ekaks: an: abhisambodhirupatvan manomayah: /. . .visvabimbadarsanena kr: s: n: arekhayam ananta-
ntajnanakayabhinnasambhogakayapratibhasanad ases: apratibimbadhr: k.

123
58 V. A. Wallace

secutive moments. Until the mental obscurations are removed and the material nature
of the mindbody complex sublimated, the phenomenal manifestations of the Gnostic
Body are experienced as the source of bondage and suffering on account of grasping
onto them as real.
Just as a human being is a phenomenal aspect of the unitary Gnostic Body, which
has the capacity for transformation, so is human society. Social hierarchies based on
social class and blood lineages are rooted in the ignorance of social ego, with its
attachments to class distinctions, race, and social status. When a social hierarchical
order is deconstructed through the uprooting of the social ignorance, and when a
new integrated society is constituted, the Gnostic Body is instantiated in the from of
a social body united by gnosis. In this regard, the Gnostic Body is a body in the
sense of a social habitus of gnosis.
Even though the Kalacakra traditions discourse on the Gnostic Body points to
liberation as freedom from a corporeal body and to spiritual progress as a process of
disembodiment, it does not propound a duality between the corporeal body and the
immaterial Gnostic body. The corporeal body is able to function as a soteriological
instrument through which liberation is achieved only because its ultimate nature does
not rest in the transitory psychophysical aggregates and incidental mental obscur-
ations but in the all-encompassing gnosis of bliss. Thus, as we have already seen, the
Gnostic Body is at the same time immaterial and corporeal.

Conclusion

In concluding reflections, I would like to point to the broader theoretical implications

of this analysis of constructions of the Gnostic Body in this tantric tradition. Its
various interpretative characterizations of the Gnostic Body show that not only the
material form that provides the basis for physical experiences can be considered a
body but also the domain of mental experiences. According to the Kalacakra litera-
ture, empty space can be taken as a grand body. An event, in which knowledge and the
object of knowledge are non-differentiated can also be a body, and so too can pure
bliss be a body. As indicated earlier in this paper, this model of embodiment chal-
lenges the prevailing views of what makes up a body by introducing new categories of
embodiment and expanding the existing definitions of the body.
One can also say that while the Kalacakra tradition takes up the body as a useful
category for structuring its practice and constructing its complex theory, it ends
deconstructing the entire category by positing the Gnostic Body as inconceivable
and inexpressible ultimate reality that transcends any categorizations. The tradition
seems to suggest that being an experiential reality, the Gnostic Body cannot be
reduced to any definition but can be only experienced.36 Since the Gnostic Body can
mean a wide variety of different things, it gives way to different conceptualizations,

36
The Sekoddesat:ippan: of Sadhuputra Srdharananda (1997, v. 137, p. 26):

: na sakyate vaktum
evam : samadhirathitaih: sukham/
samadhav aks: aram
: prapya svato vetti mahasukham//

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Why is the Bodiless (ananga)
_ Gnostic Body (jnana-kaya) Considered a Body? 59

none of which is able to encompass it in its entirety.37 Likewise, when grasped in

cognitive terms, it is difficult to definitely determine what the Gnostic Body actually
is, for it can be anything and everything, and ultimately it is neither a thing nor an
absence of the thing, only an experience. In this way, the Kalacakra traditions
exposition of the Gnostic Body confronts us with a paradoxical need to apprehend in
cognitive terms that which by nature evades any cognition, and yet, it itself is self-
cognizant.38

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fasc. 12, 115142.
The S: ad: an_gayoga by Anupamaraks: ita with Ravisrjnanas Gun: abharan: nama s: ad: an_gayoga-t:ippan: .
(2000). Edited by F. Sferra. Serie Orientale Roma (Vol. LXXXV). Rome: Istituto Italiao per lAfrica
e lOriente.
The Sekoddesat:ka by Naropa (Paramarthasam : graha). (2006). Sanskrit text edited by F. Sferra and
Tibetan by S. Merzagora. Serie Orientale Roma, VXCIX. Rome: Istituto Italiano per lAfrica
e lOriente.

37
The Kalacakratantra (1994, Chap. 5, v. 249, pp. 151152):
eko naiko pi caikah: samavis: amasamah: savyavamagrapr: s: :tha
urdvadho vai samantat sitaharitamahavisvavarn: aikarupah: /
hrasvo drghah: plutas cagun: a iti sagun: ah: str naras canarastr
yah: sarvadhara ekah: subhagavarabhagas te namaste namaste//
The Vimalaprabha commentary on the Kalacakratantra (1994, Chap. 5, v. 89, p. 45), where the
following verse from the A dibuddhatantra is cited:
na sannasan na sadasan na capyanubhayatmakam/
catus: kot:ivinirmuktam : natva kayam : mahasukham//
See also the following verses from the A dibuddhatantra cited in the Vimalaprabha commentary
on the Kalacakratantra (1986, Chap. 1, v. 1, p. 44):
astinastivyatikranto bhavabhavaks: ayo dvayah: /
sunyatakarun: abhinno vajrayogo mahasukhah: //
paraman: udharmattah: sunyadharmavivarjitah: /
sasvatocchedanirmukto vajrayogo niranvayah: //
The Sekoddesat:ippan: of Sadhuputra Srdharananda (1997, vs. 148150, p. 28):
nirvan: arahitam : bimbam : sam : sarattam
: aks: aram/
sasvatocchedanirmuktas tayor yogo dvayo parah: //
abhavo nasti bimbasya abhavodbhutalaks: an: at/
bhavo nasty aks: arasyapi bhavasambhutalaks: an: at//
bhavabhavasamayogo vajrayogo dvayo parah: /
ruparupavinirmuktah: pratiseneva darpan: e//
38
The Kalacaktratantra (1994, Chap. 5, v. 98, p. 49):
buddhanam apy agamya tv apramitagun: a buddhanirman: amaya
atmanam : darsayant tribhuvananilaye sakrajalam: yathaiva/
nanabhavair vibhinna sajinasuranr: n: am
: svasvacitte pravis: :ta
es: anutpannadharma payasi nabha iva bhrantidotpattir atra//

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60 V. A. Wallace

Vimalaprabha:tka of Kalkin Srpun: d: arka on Srlaghukalacakratantraraja by Srmanjusryasas.

(1986). Edited by J. Upadhyaya. Bibliotheca Indo-Tibetica Series No. 11 (Vol. 1). Sarnath, Varanasi:
Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies.
Vimalaprabha:tka of Kalkin Srpun: d: arka on Srlaghukalacakratantraraja by Srmanjusryasas.
(1994a) Vol. 2. Edited by V. Dwivedi and S. S. Bahulkar. Rare Buddhist Text Series (Vol. 12).
Sarnath, Varanasi: Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies.
Vimalaprabha:tka of Kalkin Srpun: d: arka on Srlaghukalacakratantraraja by Srmanjusryasas.
(1994b). Vol. 3. Edited by V. Dwivedi and S. S. Bahulkar. Rare Buddhist Text Series (Vol. 13).
Sarnath, Varanasi: Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies.

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