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Edired by
Michael Zimmermann
Lumbini
2006
Introduction 5
Contributors 243
Index 245
Between the Profane and the Sacred?
On the Context of the Rite of "Liberation" (sgrol bo)'
Carmen Meinert
Object of Research
Carmen Meinert Between the Profane and the Sacred?
represents the elimination of any evil in general; cf' his "Le Ling'a des danses
masques lamaques," 203.
--- -e-eoffrey
Tibet"' in Religon 11
Samuel, "Buddhism and the State in Eighth Century Samuel, "Buddhism and the State,,'7.
studies n ?IATS 2000), ed. Henk Blezer (Brill: 12
Jan Assmann, Herrschaf't und Heil: poritische Theologie in Altagypten, Israel
and secular curture in Tibet. Tibetan
Leiden,2002).JensSchlieteralsoconcludesinhisarticle..Tyrannenmordals of und.Europa (Mnchen: Carl Hanser Verlag, Z00O),69.
as the foundation myth 13
I am currently working on u r"r"ar project financed by the German Research
Konfliktlsungsmodell?" that the regicide may be regarded
as liberation through killing and
a ritual community who interpretedit a posteriori council (DFG) on violence and wrathful activity in Tantric Buddhism at the
repeated it from then on inthe 'cham dances'
--'lo University of Hamburg and plan a number of publications on different facets of this
Cuthy Cantwell has described the psychological interpretation
of this ritual' topic.
See her "To Meditate upon to
namely the liberation of consciousness into a pure realm. Girard describes this ambivalence very well in a discussion of religious
consciousnes s as vajra: Ritual 'Killing and
Liberation' in the rNying-ma-pa sacrifice: "Dans de nombreux rituels, le sacrifice se prsente de deux faons opposes,
Tradition," in Tibetan Studies. Proceedings of the 7th Seminar of the International tantt comme une <<chose trs sainte>> dont on ne saurait s,abstenir sans ngligence
Graz 1995, ed. Helmut Krasser et al', vol' 1 (Vienna: grave, tantt au contraire comme une espce de crime qu'on ne saurait
Association for Tibetan studies, commettre sans
sterreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1997)'
on this topic see
;;l;;"r s'exposer des risques galement trs graves." [Ren Girard, ln violence et Ie
sacr
also Stein, "Le Lingades danses masques lamaques'" (Paris: Hachette Littratures, 1990), 91.
102 103
e
Carmen Meinert Between the Profane and the Sacred?
means.ls What interests me here is the reevaluation of values in the relationship between religion and violence undertaken in other scholarly
fields as well. To be mentioned here amongst others is the publication
ritual context. It is like crossing the threshold which marks the
does one draw the of the Institute of Historical Anthropology Tten im Krieg.rl Besides
transition fiom one system of values to another. How
process various case studies represented in an interdisciplinary approach,
line between the profane and the sacred? V/ithin a contextual
simultaneous yet different articles also analyze some basic concepts of killing-in the
one is confronted with the ambiguity resulting from
context of war and partly in a religious context. They may shed new
different frames of reference; the drawing of borders
and, more
important, the gray zones in between. Therefore, in
this article I will light on both our understanding of ritual killing in Tantric Buddhism in
general and on the imagery applied in Nyi ma 'od ze's affation in
appty two different perspectives: Firstly, in order to'
elucidate
zer and the particular.l8I will outline some of these ideas which are relevant to the
,iructuralty the logic behind the narrative of Nyi ma 'od
continuation of his theme in the 'cham dances, I
will discuss the present research.
context' Here I will
rationale behind legitimizing killing in a religious
to kill and From Inhibition to Kill to Authorization to KiIl
focus on the transition from an inhibition to the authorization
the meaning of ritual in the context of the rite of
liberation' Secondly'
Generally speaking, kilting clearly marks an extreme case of human
uponfurthercloseexaminationoftheDunhuangmanuscriptP'tlb'42'I
of liberation interaction regardless of the ethical, religious and cultural norms set by
will look for evidence documenting the spread of the rite a certain society. Any such norms shouid strive to limit motives which
Dar ma' This
around the time of the assassination of King
gLang
of Dunhuang may legitimize killing since the main intention of any system of laws-
manuscript may date from around the Tibetan occupation
liberation was an be it religious or secular-is (or ought to be) the establishment of a
(eighth to ninth centuries) and confirms that the rite of
practice' space facilitative of peaceful interaction. Jan Assmann has pointed out
integral part of early Tibetan Tantric Buddhist
an admittedly simple pattern of behavior which nonetheless presents a
typical cultural legitimizing of killing: If the space of a given system of
Legitimization of Killing in a Religious Context laws is threatened, violence and even killing is tolerated in order to
to discuss protect one's own space and system and to avert even greater disaster.19
Although the present volume is among the first publications
practice on a larger In such an instance one is confronted with a rather dualistic perception
violence in the context of Buddhist theory and
scale,16 our discussion can greatly benefit
from previous feseafch on the
Buddhism and violence were edited by Karnina Kollmar-Paulenz and Inken prohl
Christoph Kleine's article and published as Zeitschrift fr Retigionswissenschaft (Buclclhismus ttncl Gewatt) I1-2
ts
For a discussion of "ends justifying means" see also (2003).
out the ambivalence of the rite
in this volume (91-3). Cathy Cantwell has also pointed 17
The Institute of Histolical Anthropology is a group of scholars in Germany
as vajra," I08.
of sgrol 4. See her "To Meditate uPon Consciousness aiming to anaryze anthropological problems in an interclisciplinary approach. cf.
E. M. Houben and Karel
16
Mention rnaY be made of the publication edited by Jan Heimich von Stietencron and Jrg Rpke, eds., Tten irn Krieg (Freiburg and Munich:
and the Rationalization of
R. van Kooii, Violence Denied: Violence, Non-Violence Verlag Karl Alber, 1995).
Violence in Soutlt Asian Cultural Hstory (Leiden:
Brill, 1999) and a session on 18
Religion Conference in Relevant articles in the volume mentioned in the preceding footnote a1.e:
Buddhism and violence at the American Academy of Heinrich von Stietencron, "Tten im Klieg: Grundlagen und Entwicklungen,';
Nashville in 2000. MY thanks go to GeoffreY Samuel for this information' Heinrich von Stietencron, "Die rnythische Dimension von Kampf und I.ieg,'; Jan
UnfortunatelY the papers Presented in the proceedings were never published. Assmann, "Agypten und die I.egitimierung des Ttens: ideologische Grundlagen
published on a different occaslon-
However, the materials were PartlY reworked and politischer Gewalt im Alten gypten"; Hans G. Kippenberg, ",pflugscharen zu
Moreover , the Institute for
including the PaPer bY Samuel, ' 'Buddhism and the State." schwertern': Krieg und Erlsung in der vorderasiatischen Relgionsgeschichte.',
University held a conference
Religionswissenschaft (Histot'y of Religion) at Erfurt le
Assrnann, "gypten und die Legitirnierung des Ttens,';SZ-A.
panel on
"Religion(en) im Konflikt" in autumn 2003. The papers presented at the
105
t04
a
Between the Profane and the Sacred?
Carmen Meinert
t07
106
I
Carmen Meinert Between the Profane and the Sacred?
to kill is thus deity.25 In our story, as related by Nyi ma 'od zer, the hero dPal gyi rdo
liberation through killing. The repeal of the inhibition rje is said to cany out an instruction of the protective deity dPal ldan lha
rite, to which a higher
legitimized in a construcled mechanism of this mo. His responsibility for acting out violence is transferred from the
of taking life'
value is then attached than to the expected avoidance individual to a transcendental level. The deity becomes the legitimizing
However,theacceptanceofthispracticevariesgre?tlywithinone,s authority, whereas the individual is reduced to simply executing a
Uy Nyi ma 'od
own tradition. Whereas in some soulces, as exemplifid
liberation is regarded as divine command. In fact, dPal gyi rdo rje is said to be chosen and even
zer andgNubs sangs rgyas ye shes, the rite of
empowered. Accordingly, his act of violence is interpreted as his own
anacceptedpractice-andinaspecifichistoricalmomenteven karmic destiny, which, however, does not seem to entail any significant
of such ritual killing'
encouraged-other sources evidence the outlawing karmic retribution. Thus the narrative of Nyi ma 'od zer already
(bka' shog) of lHa Bla ma
samten Karmay has discussed the ordinance
indicates that the rite of liberation is related to an offering for a deity in
Yeshes,odwhofbughtdoubtfulreligiouspracticesprevailinginthe a ritual context. The individual autonomy of the performer of the ritual
tenth and eleventh centuries including the rites
of sexual union (sbyor
lHa Bla ma's attempts is subordinated to the deity's power.
ba),llberation (sgrol ba) and offering (tshogs)'23
texts and eventually
initiated the second phase of translating Buddhist Meaning of Ritual in the Context of Liberation through Killing (sgrol ba)
Atisa to visit Tibet'
led to the invitation extended to the Indian master
Atisa,s endeavors instigated not only a restriction
of certain Tantric
literature in a broader The above-described process of transformation from inhibition to
practices, but also a re-interpretation of Tantric
atthorization to kill needs a defined space to take place, namely the
i"rr".* ihe prohibition of certain practices indicates aga\n areevaluation space of ritual.26 Here, the ritual is a means of reconciling conflicting
regarding the questions
of values. unf.ortunately, there is scant evidence
was at the turn of views or actions in a purely profane setting. It is a space that enables
of how widespread the practice of liberation actually one to annul temporarily the ordinary order and to establish extra-
thetenthcenturyandwhetheritwasresortedtonotmerelyfor ordinary norms during the time of the ritual. Even deeds that are
ones as well'
soteriologicai reasons but also for very pragmatic generally regarded as improper or even as a crime may become
However,theordinanceoflHaBlamaYeshes'oddemonstratesthe permissible in a ritual context. Yet the license to cany out the ritual act
need to redefine the meaning and function
of Tantric teachings'
of violence is strictly limited to the duration of the ritual.21 Therefore,
Moreover'itsuggestsashiftinemphasistowardsasoteriologicalfrom ritual seems to give rise to a reality that is very different from ordinary
an apoftopaic use of such practices'
life. In the field of the history of religion it is often regarded as a space
Anotherimportantissueintheprocessoflegitimizingkillingina which facilitates the encounter with a "sacred" reality. And it is by
The authorization to
religious setting is the question of responsibility.
dependent means of a conscious repetition of the ritual that such a reality can be
kill in the case of war, siietencron has shown, is not so much experienced continuously by the performer. Thus the ritual becomes a
or ideas, such as
on secular as on religious and transcendental values
way to overcome the gap between a profane and a sacred reality. It
thepreservationofanestablishedcosmicorderorthecommandofa nonetheless provides a defined set of norms on how to relate to the
sacred reality. Generally, these are indicated in the stylized details of
23 ..The ordinance of lHa Bla-ma Ye-shes-'od,,, in Tbetan
Samten G' Karmay,
Aris and Aung San suu Kyi
studies in Honour o rugh Richqrdson, ed. Michael tt Stietencron, "Tten im
Krieg," 34-8.
(Vy'arminster: Aris and Phillips' 1980)' 26
The ritual also needs a certain time to be performed; however, I will not discuss
,o Karmay has pointed ut that due to "malpractice and misunderstanding the
the topic of ritual time in the present context.
they did not even allow Ati6a to
Tibetans are said to have become so worried that 27
See Hans G. Kippenberg, "Pflugsch arerT zu Schwertem," 100-4.
preach tantric teachings." Ibid', 152' Cl' Samuel"'Buddhism and the State'"
109
108
Carmen Menert Between the Profane and the Sacred?
110 111
t
Between the Profane and the Sacred?
Carmen Meinert
u
Between the Profane and tlrc Sacred?
Carmen Meinert
one may larger practice manual or a copy of notes taken by a practitioner during
Dunhuang manuscfipts on Chinese Meditation Buddhism,45 teaching sessions of a master. Still, there is a logical structure to it: from
as the second
see P. tb. 42 as a product of what that scholar classifies a general introduction to Tantric practices, it moves on to the
period of copying work in Dunhuang, dating from the 780s to the
860s;
empowerment and the commitments, and eventually to the actual
it roughly co'elates to the time of the Tibetan dominion over practices of sexual union and liberation. It is only the first section that
Dunhuang. The Tibetan-style script and long format of manuscript
P'
seems to be out of place. This section is a dialogue between a teacher
trb. 42 is similar to that of other manuscripts of this
period according to
and students, within the genre of dris lan (qtestions and answers), that
the classification of UeYama.a6 deals with various topics of Tantric meditation practice, particularly the
From a structural point of view, P. tib. 42 can be divided into
three
by the term rite of sexual union and liberation. In my view, it would be more logical
sections or separate texts whose ends are'clearly indicated for such a passage to be placed at the end rather than at the beginning of
,,end,, (rdzogs so): the first section correlates to part I of the division by
a teaching session.ae
Macdonald and lmaeda (pp. l.l_26.1), the second section coffesponds The second section, stylistically very different from the first, gives a
parts VII-
to rheir parts II to VI (pp. 26.2-61..4) and the third section to general outline of the process of Tantric practice and transmission. It
IX (pp. 62.1_12.4).47 Moreover, the beginning of the first section is covers the following topics: an explanation of the essential meaning of
units is
missing. The assumption that one is dealing with three different Tantras (part II), a theoretical understanding of Tantric practice (part
further supported by an analysis of the style and contents. III), instruction on how to practice Tantra (part IV), three methods of
that
The whole manuscript appears as a compilation of different texts accomplishment (part V) and how a master bestows empowerment (VI).
covef a certain topic within Tantric practice, namely, the rite of
sexual
part of a The third section discusses five commitments (part VII), a basic
union (sbyor ba) andliberation (sgrol bo).or It could have been requirement for any Tantric practice. Then follows an admittedly not
very elaborate description of the ritual practice of sexual union (part
,t Dairhun Ueyama arranged 140 Dunhuang manuscripts on Chinese Meditation VIII) and liberation (part IX). Part IX continues on IOL tib. J 4I9.3rl-
Buddhism in three strata roughly corresponding to the time
before the Tibetan 4. This structure of P. tib. 42 is summarized in the following table:
(from the 760s to the 860s)
domination of Dunhuang, the time of the Tibetan authority
in Jeffrey L'
and the time thereaft"..-th" gist of ueyama's research is summarized First section
of Zen (Berkeley:
Broughton, The Bohiclharm Anthology: The Earliest Records
univrsity of california press, lggg),
gg-104, 152. See also ueyama Daishun, I (l.I*26.1): question and answers on sexual union (sbyor ba)
..Tonko ni okeru zen no shos," Ryukoku daigaku ronshu 421 (1982):90-116, and and liberation (sgrol ba) and related topics
idem, Tonko buko no kenlcyu (Kyoto: Hzokan, 1990),40113'
ou
one is s. tib. 689-1, analyzed on a different occasion. See my Second section
"^u-pl"
forthcoming article "conjunction of chinese chan and Tibetan rDzogs
chen Thought:
t
Carmen Meinert Between the Profane and the Sacred?
Third section span. Is it possibly because they relate to such important but difficult
VII (62.1-63.1): five commitments (dam cig lnga) aspects oflife that these practices are controversial by nature?54
VIII (63.2-68.3): fawakened] activities of a yogi: sexual union I will now turn to P. tib. 42 itself . The first section of questions and
IX (68.412.4): lawakenedl activities of a yogi: liberation answers gives some basic and important information of the context
within which to view the rite of liberation as presented in this
In the following I will summarize some points from the first section and manuscript. Most important here is that the rite of liberation seems to be
focus on a few passages of the third section that are relevant to the performed for soteriological aims. As for the question what the three
present discussion of liberation through killing. But before I turn to the kinds of heat (drod rnams gsum) are in the meditative experience
actual text one additional remark on the position of the rite of liberation according to the authoritative scriptures, it is answered:
within the scope of Tantric practices seems. in order. According to the
doxography of nine vehicles in the ancient school of Buddhism in Tibet, Answer: The term heat refers to the mental momentum,55 the power
the rNying ma pa school, the rite of liberation pertains to the Mahyoga and the signs of experience of the three [kinds of practice, namely]
practices. It is an important part of the communion feast offering sexual union, liberation and food offerings.56 Actually, when one
(tshogs) usually performed on specific days of the month- The ritual approaches the heat, the first of the three heats comes at first.57
t16 IT]
I
Carmen Meinert Between the Profane and the Sacred?
a sacred
deity, namely, the very moment the practitioner has entered of sexual union.62
,"ality. Once the deities are evoked, engaged in their activities, and
To
have accepted the offerings, the signs of heat a'e accomplished.ss The final question and answer in this section focuses on the importance
practice and is of empowerment in performing the rite of sexual union and liberation.
please the deity is a very important issue in Mahyoga
tshig) in the
ven described as an ancillary commitment $tan lag dam In the answer it is clearly stated that empowerment by an accomplished
context of the rite of liberation.5e master is a prerequisite for these practices and it is inappropriate to
question relating perform them simply as one pleases.63
Further down in the first section one finds another
to the rite of liberation: "'When [one performs] the rite of liberation' The next mention of the rite of liberation in this manuscript is in the
person who opening passage of the third section (part VII). There five commitments
what qualities and faults occur?" Interestingly enough' the
answers does not describe any shortcomings of this
practice, and indeed are described-obviously those that form the basis of Mahyoga
practitioner' practice. The passage reads as follows:
classifies it as an advanced practice for an extraordinary
Answer: The so-called liberation means to place [lit' "subdue"] The five commitments: in order to liberate (bsgral ba) all sentient
sentientbeingsinthepeacefulstateinordertoelevatethemtothe beings [by bringing them into the state ofl the highest awakening,
uo
state of highest awakening. It is executed (?) (gnas bstab)
by there is [the commitment of not giving up]64 greatly compassionate
someone who is skilled in mantra, muclra and samdhl'
which fare aggression. In order to subjugate all aspects of Mra, there is [the
ste//
,phiin tas mctiad. nas/"mcio pa bzhes shing gnas bstabs nas// thams
pa'i mtshan ma 'phral du ston pa ste/ sgrol ba'i drod ni de lta bu'o/'
' tn A discussi,on of this issue is beyond the scope of this article and will be phra mo).
th'ee vows' However, here it u'P. tib. 42,24.4-25.3'. lan btab pa'// sgrol ba
considered in a separate study on the iniegration of the zhes bgyi ba ni// sems can bla na
twenty-five ancillary commitments of myed pa'i byang cub du gdon par zhi la mnan pa ste// 'di ltar spyad pa'i sngags dang/
should be mentioned that in ihe context of the
liberation and are called five phyag rgya dang/ ti nge 'dzin la mkhas pa dang/ rdo rje phra mo la goms pa'i nyams
Mahyoga five pertain to the rite of sexual union and
cf' Kong sprul Blo gros mtha' yas' S/zes mchis pas/ gnas bstab pa lags i// phal gyis bgyi ba ma lags ste// sbyor ba'i gnas
"that are to be practice d" (spyad par bya ba);
of Indo-Tibetan Culture, Parts 1-3), ed' skabs dag dang 'dra'o/
bya kun khyab (Kongtrut"i"Encyclopaeclia ut
(New Delhi: International Academy of Indian culture, 19'70), vol' 2 lbid., 25.2-26.7: dris pa// sbyor sgrol clang clngos grub clu bsgrub pa la stsogs
Lokesh chandra
(ah),Is5.24.InthedescriptionofthesecommitmentsbyLilvajra(sGegpardorje) pa// rdo thog pa'i nyams rtsal mches na// slobs pon gyis dbang ma bskur bar// bdag
see his Dam tshig' gsal bkra rang gis bgyid rung ngam myi rung// 'di dag kun ang/ slobs gyis dbang bskur nas//
ne actually finds the e,,presrion "to please the deity";
'grel) vol. g:+S' t.+-Sl: / Iha mnyes bdag gis dam bskongs shing/' ' ' gdod bgyi 'tshal gyi rang dgar bgyir myi rung ngo/ : / rdzogso//
' ud(rgyud nt
ITT
about the term gnas bstab, acompound that is not found
in any of 6a
These five commitments are to be seen in the context of the above-mentioned
u- the ritual'
"1"u. "to execute" five that are to be practiced (spyad par bya ba) (cf. n. 59). For this reason I add in the
the standard dictionaries. In the present context it surely means
a place/basis." The term appears translation of this passage in brackets "[the commitment of not giving up]."
The literal meaning o1 gnas bstab is "to provide 6s
P. tib. 42,62.1-63.I: clam cig lnga ta// sems can thams chacl bla na myed pa'i
again further below in P- t\b. 42,7I'l' Cf ' also n' 70 below'
" ut I huu" not been able to identify the meaning of the term "subtle vajra" (rdo rje byang cub du bsgral ba'i phyir/ snying rje chen po'i zhe sdang dang// bdud i phyogs
118 t19
,
Carmen Meinert Between the Profane and the Sacred?
t20 t2r
e
Carmen Meinert Between the Profane and the Sacred?
placementof[thesyllable]humontheheart(10.2)cutsthepath[tothe
syllablef drang on the sectet Transliteration of P. tib. 42, part IX (68.4-72.4)
estinyl of animals. The placement of [the
ghosts' (70'3) The
,pot .tt, the path lto the destiny] of hungry
the foot cuts the path [to the (68.4) de lct sgrol ba las ni// mchod pa'i rgyu yang rnam pa Inga ste//
placement of lthe *ytUt"1 a on the sole of
theg pa chen po'i chos la skur pa (69.I) 'debs pa dang/ 'phags pa la
destinyl of infernal beings'
'khu dang/ dam chig myed par dkyil 'khor du 'ong ba dang/ lta ba log
pa (69.2) pa dang/ theg pa chen po'i chos la rgyud chad par byed pa
Afterthesepathsarecutoff,thepathofthegodsisopenedand(70.4)
rnams la'o//
afteragteatgatheringofNobleonesisinvited,itisdeemed
appropriate(?skal)tocanyoutthefawakened]activities:(71'1)the
great
of liberation' The de la sgrol ba ni gzhi snying rie (69.3) chen pos Szung 'tshal te
Noble sGrol ,,'u nyi ma6e carries out the activity
(?) (gnas,stobs).,, (1r.2)
wrathfur Lord of awareness provides a place
and wrathful gatherings' gang la bya ba'i dngos po'i gnas lngar/ dpa' bo 'bru lnga bkod pa ni//
Yamntaka entertains the various peaceful
placement-,of the heart khams (69.4) gsum du myi slcye ba'i thabs/ sems i rgyan rnam lnga
such as the chief heruka' (71'3) Then the
on top of the head7l is the heart zhes ang bya/
fsyllable] krong,dark blue [in colour]'
[syllable] of the adamantine weapon'
m spyi gcug du gzhag pa (70.1) ni lha ma yin gyi lam gcad pa'o// hri
r23
122
a
Carmen Meinert Between the Profane and the Sacred?
lche la bkocl pa ni/ myi'i lam gchad pa'o// hum snying kar bkod (70.2) profane one) is viewed through the looking glass of an extraordinary
pa ni// byol song gi lam gcod pa'o/ drang gsang ba'i gnas su bkod pa ni setting (a sacred one)-namely, one created on the basis of Buddhist
yi dags lcyi lam gcod pa'o/ (10.3) a rkang mthil du bkod pa ni dmyal principles. This change of perspective is the first step in the preparation
ba'i lam gcod pa ste/ of performing the rite of liberation. The second step in this preparatory
phase is pointed out in the motivation, which is great compassion. As
Iam 'di rnams bchad nas// lha'i lam phye (70.4) ste// 'phags pa'i tshogs mentioned above, the right motivation is first declared in the
mang po spyan drangs nas// 'phrin las su mdzad pa'i skal ni/ Qf '1) commitments, and it is recalled and really applied during this stage of
/'phags pa sgrol ma nyi mas sgrol bT'i las mdzad// khro chen rig pa'i the ritual.
rgyal pos ni gnas stobs (71.2) gshin rje mthar byed lcyis ni// tshogs rie The last part describes the actual practice and thus the moment when
he ru ka la stsogs pa zhi khro mang po'i tshogs sim bar mdzad/ (11.3) realities are altered-namely, from profane to sacred. The first three
de nas mchogs ma spyi gtsug du/ snying po krong snSo Snag Snas pa paragraphs (69.3*11.3) define the stage of creation in the visualization
ni// rdo rje mtshon cha'i snying po'o/ process of preparing the object, the victim to be liberated. According to
the Tantric outlook, a person is not merely seen as human but as divine,
(11.4) cle las mtshon cha shag ti mang pos lus gshags par byin is here expressed in the term QAka. His body actually turns into a divine
brlab// de nas sgrol ba'i ses bu ni (12'I) sgrol ma nyi mar bsgyur space through the placement of sacred letters, the seed syllables. The
nas// dmyig g.yas pa nyi mar byin is brlab pa'i/ nyi ma'i 'od zer mye sacred space is elaborated by inviting gatherings of deities. The crucial
(72.2) ni/ bag chags bsreg// dmyig 8.yon pa zla bar byin is bslabs pa moment is when the seed syllable krong is placed on the head of this
las// chu'i bskal pa bag (12.3) chags bkru/ ha ha zhes gad mo bsgrags divine being-a syllable that turns itself into a weapon. Usually this part
pa'i rlung gis g.yengs gtor te dbyangs nas// shel (12.4) sSong bzhin du of the liberation ritual is carried out with the use of a ritual dagger, a
yongs su dag par bsam// de nas shra ke ra tsa hum phad lqis mtshon phur ba,ts but here no such object is mentioned explicitly. This is the
gyi bsgral// phase of completion, the moment of actual killing: "This fsyllable]
empowers [in such a way that] it splits the body with several [other]
Some remarks on the structure of P. tib. 42, part IX spears." As a result, the consciousness of the person to be liberated is
transferred into a pure realm.
I will briefly mention a few points that are relevant in this discussion of Earlier I have pointed out a defined logic of transformatory ritual.76
the rite of liberation as a process moving from a profane to a sacred To repeat again, there are the following three phases: firstly, the
reality. As it is clear from the division of part IX into three sections disturbing element is taken out of its normal surroundings; secondly, it
(object of liberation, motivation and actual practice), the main portion is brought into immediate contact with the sacred reality, where it is
of the text deals with the actual practice. In the first part, which dissolved and reformed; and thirdly, it is eventually relocated in the
describes the object of liberation, five causes are mentioned that divine space. The first point is not focused on in our text, but the second
legitimize ritual killing. Although the actual term "enemy of the and third obviously are. And it is the second phase, the stage of
teachings" (bstan dgra) is not applied yet, this meaning is implicit at
least in the first two and the last two reasont.to An ordinary setting (a consciousness as vajra," 108-9. P. t1b. 42, part IX is structurally somewhat similar to
thetext anaTyzedbyStein.ThispartconespondstosectionAof the sgrolba texthe
7a
It seems that in later texts one actually does encounter the term "enemy of the studied; cf. Stein, "Le Linga des danses masques lamaiques," 219.
tt Ibid., zzt-3.
teachings." Usually ten objects (zhing bcu) of liberation-that is, ten causes-are
described. On the term "enemy of the teachings," see Cantwell, "To Meditate upon 'u cf.p.111 above.
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Introductionl
I
I would like to express my gratitude for helpful comments on an earlier draft of
this paper to Karnina Kollmar-Paulenz, MichaelZimmermann, and Helmut Eimer.
2
See Policraticus ItrJS; Katharine S. B. Keats-Rohan, ed., Ioannis Saresberiensis,
Policraticus 1-1V (Tumholt, Belgium: Typographi Brepols Editores Pontificii, 1993),
22910; trans. in Cary J. Nederman, John of Salisbury: Policraticus (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1990), 32-4.
3
Policraticus VIII.|7; see Clemens C. L Webb, ed., Ioqnnis Saresberiensis
episcopi carnotensis Policratici: Sive de nugis curialium et vestigs philosophorum
libri Vlil,2 vols. (London, Oxford: Clarendon, l9O9),2:1604; cf. Robert A. Lauer,
130