Jñānasiddhi introduces the theme of realization granting a yogin protection from spirit beings
in its first chapter on "The Instruction on Ultimate Reality" (tattvanirdeśa). Indrabhūti introduces the apotropaic function of an embodied realization of ultimate reality following his verses praising the guru, the guru's ability to grant consecration, and the importance of maintaining the samayas:
That yogin who is the nature of all buddhas, Having become a lord of the world |
Shall be praised by the hosts
Including all of the gods, their hands joined. || 1.38 || The heroes, the bodhisattvas with their
Great powers and the buddhas too, | The great beings who are always
Present as vajra bodies protect [him]. || 1.39 || He is the chief of the true dharma
Who sets forth upon the path of the buddhas. | The respectful ones who are fully endowed With the highest authority praise [him]. || 1.40 || Likewise, the guardians of the world and others Who attack with great force |
Are there, protecting him
As he travels through all kinds of places. || 1.41 || And the māras and vighnas
Who are present in every region, | Do not create any obstacle for him
And [when] frightened, they disperse. || 1.42 || All the gods, etc., the siddhas,
All who course and do not course in space, | Who are fearful of lower rebirths
Also do not injure him. || 1.43 || There is a loss of vigor [and a loss]
Of the attainment of a perception of gnosis | If, due to their delusion,
Deluded beings cause [him] harm. || 1.44 ||189
This passage is perhaps one of the most explicit indications in the corpus of The Seven Siddhi
Texts that the gnosis conferred upon a disciple through consecration is considered an
effective means to ward off attack from harmful spirit beings.
Jñānasiddhi also preserves an older conception of guarding the body against such
attacks along with this component from the esoteric, initiatory traditions. Indrabhūti's eighth chapter on "The Method for Attaining the Accumulations of Merit and Wisdom"
(puṇyajñānasambhāraprāptyupāya) opens with a liturgy for the seven limb prayer followed by a maṇḍala offering and a samaya rite for which the reader is referred to the
[Sarvatathāgata]tattvasaṁgraha. The transgressive element is missing from this passage, and seems to be explicitly rejected in verse 8.19 where Indrabhūti clarifies characterizes the
samaya "established in tantras such as the Tattvasaṁgraha" as explicitly proscribing acts
such as killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, and speaking falsehood.190 Thus in this case the
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 189!Indrabhūti,!"Jñānasiddhi,"!in!Guhyādi\aṣṭasiddhisaṁgraha,!edited!by!Samdhong!Rinpoche!and! Vrajvallabh!Dwivedi!(Sarnath:!Central!Institute!for!Higher!Tibetan!Studies!Rare!Buddhist!Texts!Project,! 1987),!96–97.! 190!Indrabhūti,!"Jñānasiddhi,"!119.!! sarvakalpavimuktātmā!gṛhṇīyāt!samayādikam!|! tattvasaṃgrahatantrādau!sthitaṃ!samaysaṁvaram!||!8.18!||! prāṇinaśca!na!te!ghātyā!adattaṃ!naiva!cāharet!|! nācaret!kāmamithyā!vā!mṛṣāṃ!naiva!hi!bhāṣayet!||!8.19!||! ! One!who!is!free!from!all!conceptual!thought,!! Should!take!the!samayas,!etc.!|! The!samayas!and(vows!are!established!! In!tantras!such!as!the!Tattvasaṃgraha,!etc.!||!8.18!||!!! ! One!should!not!kill!living!beings.!!
generation of bodhicitta also bears its more traditional exoteric connotation and the samayas are directed at the cultivation of virtue and merit, not a ritualized rhetoric of transgression. The passage does, however, indicate the specific function that consecration plays in initiating the sādhaka into the apotropaic cult of protection from the buddhas and bodhisattvas against a host of malevolent spirit beings. The passage reads:
One must understand this bodhicitta. Otherwise, should one have an incorrect | [Understanding], it is not called bodhicitta. If there is inequality, || 8.25 ||
Gnosis that is free from beginning, Middle, and end does not arise, | All of the vajra-holders never Confer the consecration, || 8.26 || And all of the hostile ones such as
The gods and the like do not protect him. | Therefore, a yogin with knowledge of method Is the only friend of all sentient beings. || 8.27 || Thus one should generate a completely
Non-deceptive [and] steadfast intention. | By doing this, the perfect buddhas
Who accomplish everything are pleased. || 8.28 || The ones who overpower with
Great force bestow the blessing, and |
There are no misfortunes such as māras and vighnas, etc., Who search for an opportunity [to do harm]. || 8.29 || Vajrapāṇi and the like are pleased [and]
[And] always protect [him]. |
The best of human beings, [the sādhaka] attains The purification of all misdeeds. || 8.30 ||191
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! One!should!not!take!what!has!not!been!given..!|! One!should!not!act!upon!improper!desire.! One!should!never!speak!falsehood.!||!8.19!||!! ! 191!Indrabhūti,!"Jñānasiddhi,"!120.! bodhicittam!idaṃ!jñeyam!anyathā!vitathaṃ!bhavet!|! bodhicittaṃ!na!tan!nāma!viṣamatvaṃ!yadā!sthitam!||!8.25!||! na!tad!utpadyate!jñānam!ādimadhyāntavarjitam!|!
Indrabhūti argues for a specifically apotropaic result that one attains through the proper generation of bodhicitta and completion of the two accumulations that must be taken as equally soteriological and apotropaic both in its motivation and its end result. Mastery of the exoteric understanding of bodhicitta functions as a precondition for initiation into the esoteric apotropaic cult. The elements of the exoteric model linking the cultivation of virtue and insight into reality to the pacification of spirit beings are thus present, but they are augmented here with the ritual mechanics of consecration.