The Vast Commentary on Vajrakila

Translated by Martin J. Boord

The original and deeply authoritative text on Vajrakilaya ~ translated into English with Tibetan and Sanskrit script. Included in this book are two short tantras of Vajrakila and a full translation of the commentary on kila rites and their understanding for enlightenment. Composed by Padmasambhava, Vimalamitra, and Silamanju, all evidence points to the fact that these remarkable texts marks the very origin of the tantric cult of the wrathful deity Vajrakila.

Compiled in Nepal more than twelve hundred years ago on the basis of all known kila lore, this is a work of rationalization in which the many convoluted strands of abstract Buddhist philosophy and tantric yoga were skilfully interwoven with the black magic practices of village sorcerers in order to produce a coherent whole that, upon its subsequent transmission to Tibet, was to become one of the most popular and enduring traditions of powerful religious mysticism.

Opening with an assembly of citations of Sanskrit sources that give an idea of the development of kila lore on the southern side of the great Himalayan divide, the book then moves on to the Tibetan texts that show just how this lore was received and understood upon its transmission to the north.

Hardcover · 368 pages