The Crystal and the Way of Light: Sutra, Tantra and Dzogchen by Chögyal Namkhai Norbu

Author:Chögyal Namkhai Norbu
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Dzogchen, Tibetan Buddhism
ISBN: 1559391359
Publisher: Snow Lion Publications
Published: 1986-06-29T00:00:00+00:00

The Sanskrit syllable EVAM (Calligraphy by Namkhai Norbu.)

It is the work done with the Inner Mandala that makes the tantric practices of the Path of Transformation a more rapid path to realization than the practices of the sutras, and there are different types of Yantra connected with the many Mahayoga tantras and their various Heruka [male wrathful yidam, see p.55 and plates 4, 7, 9 and 101 practices.

The primary function of Yantra Yoga is to gain mastery of the prana, the vital energy of the body, by means of a series of movements, or Yantra, that are linked to the breathing process to control, coordinate, and develop it; and to activate the thigle, or kundalini, the vital essence, by means of asana, or positions linked to movement. It is from the Inner Mandala, or subtle energy system, that the physical body develops. In the process of conception the flow of subtle energy animates and develops the fertilized physical ovum in the womb of the mother, and then causes the development of the embryo and, later, the fetus; thus the correct development of the fetus depends on the proper flow of subtle energy. Similarly, throughout life of the individual, health depends on the correct circulation of prana and the balance of the elements. A secondary function of Yantra Yoga can therefore be in helping to keep the individual healthy.

Channels and Chakras

According to Tantra there are 72,000 subtle channels in the Inner Mandala; there are main channels, and lesser channels, which branch and interconnect in a pattern like a tree that has a main trunk, with roots and branches spreading out from it into finer and finer configurations. The points where the subtle channels come together, like spokes coming into a hub, are called chakras in Sanskrit, or khorlo in Tibetan. There are very many of these, but the principal ones are found along the central channel, which is like the main trunk of the tree in the analogy above. The essence of prana, kundalini, or thigle concentrates in these principal chakras, in a subtle channel within the spinal column, called the Gyungpa. At the navel chakra sixty-four channels connect; at the heart chakra, eight; at the throat chakra, sixteen; and at the head chakra, thirty-two.

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