Liberation Through Wearing Tantra
Tantra of the Essence of Liberation Through Wearing
from the Khandro Nyingtik
In the language of Oḍḍiyāna: Praddhakānīra
In the language of Tibet: btags grol
In the English language: Liberation Through Wearing
Homage to the self-arisen dhātu,
The clear and empty tila without centre or periphery![1]
The teachers, Samantabhadra and Samantabhadrī,
Taught the self-originated and self-arisen tantra
From the heart of the radiant dharmadhātu expanse:
Ema! Retinue of self-arisen awareness, listen!
Truly, the root of existence is self-grasping.
Thoroughly examined outside and inside—primordially empty and free.[2]
Clear and empty, the doors to fivefold luminescence are open.
Tila, clear and empty, free from any limitations.
Without condition, rest freely and effortlessly.
The three—essence, nature and compassion—
Are awakened as liberation through wearing.[3]
This quintessential tantra in seven lines,
When held as liberation through wearing,[4] empties saṃsāra.
This concludes the Seven-Line Tantra of the Essence of Liberation Through Wearing.
Bearing the seal of enlightened body, the seal of enlightenment speech, and the seal of enlightened mind.
Samaya. Gya. Gya. Gya. Ithi.
| Translated by Adam Pearcey with the generous support of the Tsadra Foundation, 2025.
Bibliography
Tibetan Editions
"btags grol snying po’i rgyud" In snying thig ya bzhi. 13 vols. Delhi: Sherab Gyaltsen Lama, 1975. Vol. 10: 16–17 (1 folio)
"btags grol rgyud drug" In rin chen gter mdzod. New Delhi: Shechen Publications, 2007. Vol. 42: 323–325
Secondary Sources
Gentry, James Duncan. Power Objects in Tibetan Buddhism: The Life, Writings, and Legacy of Sokdokpa Lodrö Gyeltsen. Leiden: Brill, 2017.
Kunsang, Erik Pema. Wellsprings of the Great Perfection: Lives and Insights of the Early Masters in the Dzogchen Lineage. Boudhanath: Rangjung Yeshe Publications, 2006.
Version: 1.1-20250325
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Some editions (and the translation by Erik Pema Kunsang) take this line to be part of the Tibetan title. Here, however, we follow both the Rinchen Terdzö edition and the commentary in treating it as part of the homage. ↩
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This line could be interpreted in several ways. The translation here follows the explanation in the commentary provided in the Khandro Nyingtik itself. ↩
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The final phrase of this line, takdrol (btags grol) in Tibetan, could also be understood as "liberation from imputation/conception". This highlights the ambiguity of meaning in the broader concept of liberation through wearing, especially given the close association of the Tibetan terms btags and brtags. For more on this, see Gentry, Power Objects in Tibetan Buddhism, pp. 254–256. ↩
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Once again, there is an ambiguity to the meaning here. The commentary highlights the alternative reading through its rendering of this line as: "When investigated and held, empties saṃsāra" (brtags shing bcangs pas 'khor ba stongs). ↩
