Of Corpses and Gold

Of Corpses and Gold: Materials for the Study of the Veta la and the Ro langs
Michael Walter
One of the most prominent spiritual beings in the magical and alchemical practices of both Hindu and Buddhist yogis is the Vetala. And, thanks to the fame of the Vetalapa-cavimsati [hereafter: V.] and its later versions, the Vetala has occupied a position of visibility out of all proportion to its importance as one among many minor spiritual beings in Indian culture. There is, as well, a figure of true importance to Tibetan culture, the Ro langs, which seems to be both the same as, and yet different from, the Vetala, depending on what data one uses from religious or popular environments. The present effort seeks to supplement our knowledge of both these spiritual beings, and what the relationships between them might be, as well as to detail some of the alchemical procedures involving the Vetala. How we understand its function also relates to the placement of the Vetala/Ro langs, as a lesser spiritual being, in the cosmogony and cosmology of Buddhism and Hinduism. The materials offered will allow us to make some observations about what place the Vetala in particular has in the normative cosmological schemes of both religions. PART I. THE NATURE OF THE VETALA i. The picture of the Vetala in the V. is consistent with that in some materials below. To summarize this famous set of stories: To fulfill a contract with a yogi, whereby that yogi will enjoy success in his practice, King Vikramaditya must bring him a Vetala-inhabited corpse from a tree in a samsana. By a ruse, the Vetala escapes from the king and returns to the charnel ground. Thus unravels a series of tales told by the Vetala which, throughout, functions as a sly, mostly self-serving riddler. Eventually, however, he serves well the occasionally silly King Vikramaditya. In this way, they both conform to prescribed roles, since the king is, ultimately, a hero, and this tamed Vetala his contracted helper. Unfortunately, the V. is not strong in cultural context, and we learn almost nothing of the origin and nature of the Vetala. Also, the character of the Vetala here seems a true product of literary creation, not meant to convey a description probably otherwise well-known to the readers and listeners of the V. We also dont learn much from etymological considerations of vetala,1 so we may as well begin with some lexicographical data, which cite literary sources, texts reflecting both tantric and popular views, and general knowledge. In these, the Vetala is presented as an immortal among the kinds of corpses controlled by Bhutas; a door-watcher; a kind of athlete; and, a leader among the attendants of Siva.2 The latter three definitions come from other dictionaries or specialized references.3 The first, which is unattributed, conveys something of the significance of the term at hand, but cannot be considered accurate, especially in the face of data from Tantric sources. Further, we really dont get very far with the assertion that
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the Vetala is a kind of Bhuta, because the latter is a general category, subsuming many spirits of nonhuman (amanurya) origin.4 Kinds of spirits which are also mentioned as Bhutas include Pisacas, although neither the Vetala/Vetali nor Pisaca/ Pisaci(-ini) are among the categories of spirits specifically dealt with in the Bhutadamara tantras of the Hindu and Buddhist traditions.5 As a matter of fact, there are many lists of sorts of Bhutas which do not include Vetala. Also, while Bhuta as a category is prominent in the Epics, and Pretas are found there, the Vetala is conspicuously absent.6 (One may say the same for the Puranas, save for the Kalika and Brahmakaivarta.) Significant differences emerge between Bhutas and Vetalas, both in Tantric and popular lore. Vetalas are not always noxious (they may even be helpful); they commune with yogis, and they have very specialized functions, centering on alchemy and magic. Bhuta, on the other hand, are almost always described to be dangerous, enpecially as causes of illness, and do not enter into constructive relationship with human beings. (The dangerous reputation of the Vetala, as we shall see, is not so much a function of its nature as of its relationship with human beings.) For all the above reasons, as well as what the data below shows, we should say that Vetala are not really closely related at all to Bhuta. The situation has become confused over time, however, partly through the creation of academic lists of minor spiritual beings in both Hindu (especially Saivite) and Buddhist sources. However, the principal reason will become clear in the variety of sources we may consult: No Indic tradition arose which consistently related minor spiritual beings with each other or in a broader cosmology. The close association of Vetala with Bhuta depends upon one special condition only: References to samsanas and the rites that take place there. ii. In both Hindu and Buddhist contexts, Bhuta are occasionally associated with burning grounds, but Vetala are nearly always so. This is presented anecdotally, in sourcen such as V., and is ren orted even in very recent times. This latter data ratifies the former; hanging corpses from trees in the samsanas (which the Vetala inhabits and is the mise en scene of the V.) is a charnel ground custom still reported in the time of Crooke (1896) and Sarkar (1917). Crooke also noted that (at least in the samsanas) the Vetala are considered the leaders of the Bhutas, and associate as well with such as Yakras and Rakrasas.7 iii. Data on the nature, powers, etc., of the Vetala are found in Buddhist sutras, Buddhist and Hindu tantras, dramas, and other literatures, especially when samsanas or the secret work of powerful yogis is presented. Sometimes they are dramatic devices, sometimes instructions. There seem, however, to exist few descriptive works devoted to Vetala. One of these is the *[Arya] Saptavetalakanamadharani/[Phags pa] Ro langs bdun pa zhes bya bai gzungs, found twice in both the Peking and sDe dge bKa gyur.IVa In this work the Buddha, in residence and teaching on Gpdhrakuta Mountain, helps the Venerable Ananda, who remains separate from the assembly of listeners. Its opening, partially paraphrased, is as follows:
A group of wandering mendicants with heretical (Mu stegs) views lets loose seven great Vetala to do harm to the Bhagavan. But, although they make straight for him, they have no chance to get to him; they cant even see him. Since they couldnt even see
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him, they went to where Ananda had gone at that time at his leisure, and when they reached him they touched him. As soon as they had, Ananda experienced insufferable pain. The intense burning caused him to feel that he was on the brink of dying. Undergoing all this, Ananda thought, The Bhagavan cant intend for this to happen to me; the Tathagata doesnt mean for me to suffer in this way. Sariputra and Maudgalyayana were sitting not far from Ananda. They heard the sort of intense suffering [nye bai nyon mongs pa] he was experiencing, and went to sit with him. They said, Oh, Ananda! What is that you are saying about the Tathagata not intending the insufferable pain and extreme burning you are feeling? Ananda said, Oh, Venerable Ones! The feeling I have is as if my head is being sawed into pieces when someone just touches Ananda! And they answered, Have no fear, Ananda! Just climb into your chair, and well take you before the Tathagata. The Bhagavan will do something to protect you thoroughly from this suffering! ... (They take him before the Bhagavan, who has come there at his pleasure, and who asks him what suffering he has. Ananda explains, and Buddha says:) Oh, Ananda! Those very powerful *Mahavetala8 who have touched you are very difficult to tame, and even if they just see you, they have seven injuries (to inflict upon you). If you ask who these are, they are called Holding a Garland, Holding a Jewel, Fierce, Terrible, Peacocks Heart, Life Consumed, and La Bcan.9 These seven Mahavetala are great in strength, difficult to tame, difficult to propitiate; and, their powers of deception and magic are great. Ananda, each of these Vetala could, if he wished, cast down even Mount Meru, King of Mountains, with the toe of his left foot; it would be completely reduced, until it was about the size of a mustard seed. If each looked upwards, he could make the earth split open; if each looked in the cardinal directions, there would be death in them; if each looked in the intermediate directions, they would be burned by fire. It is they that have touched you!
(The Tathagata now tells Ananda that he will be cured by the Tathagatas power, by respectfully listening to the Dharmai.e., learning the dharani which follow and by the Tathagatas blessing. Ananda now requests the means to deflect their power, to bind them with mudras, and to bind them with threads [skud pa]. The text now becomes a recitation of dharani for the Vetala, referred to as both Bhuta and Mahabhuta. The number of magic knots [mdud] which must be cast [bor/ dor] to bind each Vetala differ, as do the number of recitations of the dharani which must accompany the binding. The combination of these actions results in the stiffening or paralyzing [rengs pa = stabdha or stambhana] of the Vetala, which is one way threatening spirits are dealt with.10) The Vetala presented here may have a different nature, and categorically different powers than the Vetala discussed below, but we learn something from this text about their supposed effects on human beings, and on the magical means that must be employed to control them. (We may compare this with data in the Suvarna[pra]bhasasutra, where, in Chapter Eight, baths in waters empowered by medicines and mantraswhich are givenare prescribed to get rid of all Vetala, other nefarious spiritual beings, and even bad dreams, etc.11 Surely, these Vetala are not those described above!) Anecdotal sources supply us with a variety of other powers and abilities attributed to Vetalas; among these are that Bhuta and Vetala can lengthen themselves and assume enormous size.12 Of course, the best-known and most important power of the Vetalaas in V. is that it can adventitiously inhabit corpses. Dwelling in samsanas, it specializes in taking over the newly dead. In doing so, it may cause

the corpse to become alive in a way thought analogous to the Golem, or a zombie,13 and perhaps increase it in length. Because of this, measuring corpses has become one way to look for the presence of a Vetala spirit.14 (The size of Vetala spiritsand Pretasin some sources distinguishes them from Bhutas in general.15) It is interesting that, neither in Indic textual sources (Tantras, Puranas, etc.), nor in anecdotal sources, is much said specifically about what Vetala can do to a person who accidentally stumbles upon them, or whom they attack, or what their proclivities are (other than that they are constantly hungry and have a taste for human flesh, as is the case with several other supernatural denizens of the samsana, as we shall see). Indian lore even presents cases of good behavior by Vetalas; we learn that the behavior of a Vetala is largely dependent on the motives of the supplicant or yogi.16 This is clear even in the Saptavetalaka text above, where the Buddha is really attacked by Tirthikas, who are only using the Vetalas as their tools. Therefore, we can really say that the Vetala is an amoral being, whose function is controlled by a powerful person who can create a contractural relationship with him. Just as the gods themselves, when properly propitiated, Vetalas wish to serve humans, rather than to be merely floating in the void of samsara. iv. The pivotal nexus is the relationship between the yogi/magician (who may be called a savaradhaka, ro sgrub byed17), his powers, and the Vetala. The ambiguity and narrowness in the function of the Vetala are resolved in this relationship. The broader context here is savasadhana, a cover term for cultivation of spiritual powers and meditational states through the use of a corpse. Yogis of all traditions in India have utilized this method to achieve insight and power. The modern, normative Hindu description:
Shava Sadhana comes in the practice of Tantra Sadhana. This is practiced by some Vira Sadhakas in the cremation ground. Only the fearless can practice this sort of Sadhana. A human corpse is laid with its face to the ground. The Sadhaka sits on the back of the body of the dead man. He draws a Yantra on the back and then worships. If the rite is successful, the head of the corpse turns around and asks the Sadhaka the boon he wants; be it Salvation or some material benefit. The Devi speaks through the mouth of the dead man.18
Although this ritual doesnt depend on the presence of Vetala spiritsin the present article, for example, there are cited examples of Pretas and Pisacas occupying corpsesit is implicit that Vetalas are attracted to yogis in the samsana, and that they have ganas which are analogous to those of the yogis.19 They are attracted initially, it seems, by the desire for flesh, especially human flesh (mahamamsa/sha chen), which the yogi (or practitioner) uses to create a contractural relationship with the Vetala. By offering him flesh, he will grant the yogi or petitioner a labor or wish, or enter the corpse so the yogi can uses him in bodily form.20 It is for such reasons that Vetala are sometimes praised to be cintamani, etc. On the other hand, the yogi may choose a corpse with the intent to call a Vetala to inhabit it. This dangerous practice, Vetalasadhana, is exampled in some of the texts studied in Part II. This method depends upon the yogi coercing the Vetala. The successful conclusion of this effort brings about Vetalasiddhi/Ro langs kyi dngos grub, which is usually achieved for alchemical ends (also see Part II).21
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Vetalasadhana, which is perhaps a special form of savasadhana, does not cover all references to enlivening corpses. Yogis may do this to achieve their own ends frequently, power over lifewith the Vetala not explicitly mentioned, and probably not involved. Thus, the early reference in the Malatimadhava (cf. fn.19) may or may not be to Vetalasadhana. In any event, we should speak of sets of rites and yogic practices which may, depending on their emphasis, be either savasadhana or Vetalasadhana. All these processes are based on a manipulation of prana, which is concentrated and directed by recitation of mantra, service to spiritual beings, etc.22 In addition to some details in the texts cited in Part II, we give here the opening of the BhutadamaratantraIVb of the Buddhist tradition. It may serve as an overview for dealing with such spiritual beings, including Vetala (which are not explicitly mentioned among the groups of spirits in this text):
A very expanded ritual which will realize [i.e., is a sadhana for] all Bhutas and Bhutinis. The Lord of the Three Worlds, the Great Vajradhara, spoke these words: One ought to practice this sadhana on riverbanks, in samsanas, under isolated trees [i.e., trees whose shadows touch no others], in temples, in the house of Sri Vajradhara, and in those places of the families (of beings represented here). This must be done right away; if it isnt, the Bhuta and Bhutini with their kind [rigs dang rgnud du bcas pa] will be entirely lost. Then, the Great Lha of Mahesvara made prostration to the Bhagavan, with the top of his head touching his feet, and he made the following request to the Bhagavan: Oh, Great Lord of Bhairavas! Please explain how to bring about the deaths of poisonous and ill-behaved ones. (The Bhagavan then gives him a dharaniom vajra dvali hana hana sarva bhutana hum phatto kill all Bhuta.) Then, just as soon as he had recited this dharani, many flaming vajras appeared from the pores of Vajradhara and the bodies of all Bhutas and Bhutinis were desiccated;23 Indra, Brahma, Virnu, etc.all the Devaswere killed. Following this, all the Tathagatas, astonished, spoke the following: It is good, Sri Vajradhara, Great Lord of Bhairavas, that in a future time Bhuta and Bhutini are annihilated! After that, he spoke the dharani which summons back [slar gugs] consciousness to their corpses: om vajra ayure sara sarasmin. As soon as this was spoken, a great wind emerged from Vajradharas nostrils, making their corpses [ro/sava] come back to life. As soon as that took place, (prana, and then consciousness) entered the bodies of the Bhuta and Bhutini, who rose [langs/uttirthate] and were greatly fearful. Because this fear grew in them, they requested that the Bhagavan protect them; they requested that the Tathagan a protect them. Do as the Bhagavan has ordered!, he said.
The text continues, detailing the procedures outlined here, so that we have a future means by which yogis may conquer and convert Bhuta, Vetala, Preta, Pisaca, etc., to Buddhism, and thus change them from chaotic to constructive elements in their cosmology, make these beings their servants, and enjoy other benefits. For our current topic, this text is a mythological and practical template for a Buddhist Vetalasadhana, showing the injection of the life-force (prana) of spiritual beings into a corpse, its fear upon achieving consciousness again (the struggling of the corpse; see Part II), and its conquest by the yogi (request for protection; boons later granted). The Buddhist yogi has confidence in this process because of the superior-

ity of his spiritual beings, and sadhana, evnn to the point of being able to destroy and re-create the greatest Hindu deities. The encrypted reference to Ro langs, above, which is repeated throughout the text, dates the use of this term in India to at least the seventh century,24 and makes it certain that the term and concept Ro langs derived from Indic traditions; the Ro langs is thus not a native Tibetan spiritual being. This will be discussed further in Parts III and IV. To conclude this brief description of the Vetala, we note a particular propitiation ritual mentioned in both Tantra and folklore materials which is an optional part of Vetalasadhana and savasadhana. This is holding the agnikarya, a fire rite, usually in the corpses mouth. It involves an offering of ghee, sesamum seed, etc., into the fire, and follows the preparation of the corpse.25 It certainly seems risky, as it often backfires and an enraged spirit ends up killing the would-be sadhaka.26 A variation of this rite is found in the Subahuparippcchatantra; see Part II. PART II. TEXTS ON CORPSES AND GOLD Here follows a selection of documents on Vetalasadhana. Just glancing at the commentaries which are noted below, as well as others, will show how skeletal these narratives are. Note, also, that all involve alchemical transformations in some way. The first document is the lengthiest description I have been able to find of a Vetalasadhana. It is not a coercive rite; also, the text specifically says Vetala, etc., showing other spiritual beings might be so used. It is from a rNying ma tantra, the sKu thams cad kyi snang bar ston pa dbang rdzogs pa rang byung chen poi rgyud.IVc This lengthy tantra, which contains much interesting material, deals with funeral and samsana rites. Following is the ninth chapter, entitled Ro langs gser sgrub pai lung, An instruction for transforming a Vetala into gold. I regret that I could not include more commentarial and interpretive material for some of the obscure passages and references this work contains. My purpose here is to isolate and detail a Vetala motif; to provide this material a complete context, either in terms of the work as a whole or the particular culture it is practiced within, would require time and space beyond the limits of this article, although this work certainly deserves such effort. (The author begs the indulgence of the reader for the large number of Sanskrit terms in some of the following translations. The purpose is to show the thoroughly Indian yogic nature of the texts. When studying the vast corpus of rNying ma ritual literature, it is useful to distinguish materials which concord completely with, or complement, known Indian practices. For example, the following rituals were mostly practiced in Bengal and Orissa. Thus, these texts illustrate one source of rNying ma ritual.)
Homage to the self-subsisting presence of the Bhagavan Padmamahendra!27 In the presence of that Bhagavan Padmamahendra, Buddha Heruka taught this (for) transforming a corpse into gold: E ma ho! Listen, Devas and Nagas of the ten directions! Any yogi who possesses the power will begin the realizing of gold when he has gone far into a deserted area.28 Further, in that very deserted place he should create a square, one-cubit (wide) mandala. Then,
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(the yogi should) sprinkle the area several times and measure off the boundaries of the outer, inner, and secret (mandalas). To measure off the outer boundary, (construct) four elevations for the four Maharajas29 at each of the four cardinal directions; a bali is offered at the base of each elevation. When the yogi has then written the mantras of each Maharaja on four-finger long pieces of paper, he will place them at their respective directions. This has been taught for the demarcation of the outer (boundary). The yogi determines the inner boundary as follows: He does it with the mantras of the Dasakrodha.30 The secret mandala is measured off with weapons. A three-part bali is then offered; if one doesnt have (materials for) this three-part bali, then several extensive gser skyems are to be offered. Offerings of water are to be made to such a degree as to be effective (against evil spirits). In such a way the boundaries are determined; after that, one ought to complete the rite of the five grains.31 Eight stupas then ought to be placed. This section is completed with a great confession.32 Having now completed the preliminary rites in that way, one should proceed into the mandala and cast strings on it; this is accomplished by the three great yogis.33 The secret vajracarya duly presents various marking-threads [thig skud] to that excellent son, the Vajraraja [the yogi], who holds them up in open space and, stretching (each of them) three times, (ought to wind them around/touch them to) the vajra. The yogi turns his face from the west to the east, and casts one thread into the center (of the mandala). The other threads are also cast.34 After that, the mandala is colored. One constructs the mandala for the peaceful deities and gathers the ritual materials upon it. Arrows are put at the corners and knives [kartri] at the doors, and white silk curtains are arranged there. The gtor ma of Sri is placed in the north, that of Matpka in the south, that of Bhuta in the east, and flesh [phud] and blood in the west. With this, the mandala has been taught. Now, at the time one obtains the corpse, in order to tame [i.e., convert] a Vetala, etc., strike the earth wherein Mptyupati Yama resides with a mantra-strengthened weapon. After that, the man who carried the corpse to the yogi should be maddened with the water of madness.35 After this, one will practice sadhana on that corpse. It will be stretched out in the central, pure palace36 of the mandala; its hair, bound, will be fixed in a plaited spiral. Both the yogi and the corpse are decked out in their own ornaments. First, wash the corpse with milk and scented water. In that state, place the corpse on the mandala. Three-fold is the means that will liberate (the consciousnessvijanaof the dead): There will be liberating to benefit the deceased, liberating so that magical power will be extracted, and liberating to compensate for damage done (by whatever transgressions of vows the yogi has committed). In order that there may be liberations such as these, these sadhana-izings should be (considered to be) of the highest, middling, and lowest sorts (respectively). When the yogi liberates to benefit the deceased, he ought to make conferrals of power [abhireka] and bestow blessings [adhirthana], conducting the six sorts of beings and showing them the way.37 He ought to offer bali continually to avert retribution for faults of former lives, (and) accumulations of gifts and puja (for the deceased) should not cease. One ought to offer varieties of collections of gifts representing the four seasons. [When the yogi liberates to extract magical power, he will practice sadhana for three days, but for two of those he will perform rites for the wrathful deities.

[After that, the yogi will take up a magically powerful sword [khadga] to undo the seal [mudra, ornament] of the secret teacher [guhyacarya] on the mandala. He will deck himself out with cemetary ornaments [human bones] as well as a flayed human skin (worn around his waist), which will be that very vajradeha itself. The yogi will then strike the neck of the corpse with the sword for the conferral of power of the weapon in the hand, and, when he has written the name of the support for meditation [alambana] for whatever (deity), he will concentrate intensively on it, reciting the lineages (of his teachers) faultlessly. [After this, the head having been cut off and (the yogi) calling out, Ha ha!, he (then) announces that by saying, Slaying the undermining of the teaching is good! And this is the dharani (accompanying) the amputation of the head: om padmanta krita kroda hulu hulu hum khahi. This spell will be repeated one hundred times. Wnile reciting that dharani, meditate on Mahendra. The collection of weapons [mantras] is completed with the clear presence (in meditation) of Mahendra, and the one named Vajrakiogara;38 and, with the force of haughty, fierce deities, complete in their assembly of weapons, (the yogi and his teacher) will circle the mandala. With this, the rituals of libation will be completed; use the dharani given above. Recite this spell while counting continuously: om padmantakrita vajra kroda hayagriva hum hrih; repeat it many times. Mahendra, then being present with his consort, (the yogi as) Vajrakiogara will then offer the head of the corpse to his acarya. Then, that same secret teacher will fulfill the spiritual wishes of the Sugata and the Dakini. Following this, the dharani for removing the heart [citta] (is to be given); it should be recited forcefully. The acarya instructs the yogi, saying, Pull out the heart! Then, that vajra-butcher, reciting this dharani, pulls out the heart: sa ma ya kha hi / tsitta hum dus kha dur ma ra ya hum. With that dharani, the yogi should draw the heart out toward him. If he is one possessed of the ascetic works [vrata] of a Kiogara,39 then, eating the heart, the yogi will offer some to his acarya. Now, the yogi will recite the dharani that animates the dead one and obtains siddhi: If the corpse rises during this recitation for obtaining siddhi, it is attained. During the rising of the corpse, that one who possesses to a high degree the essence of Mahendra (i.e., the yogi) should strike at that spot with his dagger [kila] and recite one-hundred eight times this dharani: om hrih tha sarba siddhi badzra hum. With that recitation, success will be achieved. Through this spell, which ought to stimulate the deceased, (the vijana of the deceased) will be thrown into a womb prepared for it: om dhram ka dza e sparana phat phat. There will be a conferral of power for the deceased to become a son of the five families (of Tathagatas). That conferral of power has been taught with this spell: om svalam dutring hridaya stvam. The three bodies having become the vajrakaya, they are within rings of five lights. The yogi should consider these light-rays to be five blazing bodies.40 Then, the secret acarya will complete his conferral of power and blessing and will apportion the flesh appropriately. And, in order to magnify the enjoyment of the sons [i.e., attending spirits] who reside in the mandala, and the Lord himself, this is the dharani the yogi should repeat while eating the meat: om ah hum hridaya siti hum phat. This is taught to be the dharani for enjoyment of that flesh. Thus is taught liberating for the sake of extracting the magical power (of the corpse). In liberating to benefit the deceased, on the very night of the last sadhana the yogi will take the ornaments off the corpse, remove that stretched-out corpse, and lay it face-down on a mandala for peaceful deities. When he has cast strings on the corpses back in the correct manner, he should draw a mandala for wrathful deities on it. This will complete the collection of materials for puja. With the vajracarya leading the ritual, they will circumambulate the outer edges of the corpse and the mandala. Giving themselves to singing padmanta kri ta, they per-
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form the utpala dance vigorously. (When the vajracarya then) apportions the flesh from above the central thread of the back of the corpse, the conferral of power is complete. Consider that rays of light are streaming from this dharani, which is a spell for the puja of the ru lu dance; here is that spell for the various offerings made then: om ru lu ru lu hum bhyo hum. Because there is a great streaming forth of light rays from this spell, the obscurations (of the deceased) will be purified by those light-rays from the body, speech, and mind (of all Buddhas). When the yogi has accomplished what was to be visualized, he offers as puja five materialsthese being the internal organs of the carcass41along with the eyes. This is done for the benefit of the deceased. In liberating to compensate for damage done (by the yogis transgressions): In accordance with the above method of apportioning the flesh, at the end of two nights of sadhana, the yogi should create a mandala for wrathful deities. He should gather whatever goods and materials (are needed for) puja and then circumambulate the outside of the mandala. He should meditate on whoever is his irtadevata. He should then gather whatever material he has for the bskang gso.42 The yogi will then perform confessions and bskang gso in their extensive forms. Methods for proceeding, and the dharani for enjoyment, are just as those taught above. He should not cease the series of offerings [gana] and bali until the Vighna (spirits of obstructions) are completely annihilated. Acting as the executioner and flaying the corpse, the yogi will show the way [cf. fn.36]. Preparing himself with the materials for compensatory offerings, the yogi performs this rite and is blessed with having a samadhi connected with the seeds and the materials of the gana and the puja. The yogi will then fulfill forever his vows to the Matpka. This is the customary practice for compensating for the damage done (by the yogis transgressions). Such is the way one accomplishes thoroughly savasadhana. Through this spell everything is realized: om sarva karuna padma vajrapani vajrasattva samaya ayuh amrita tira hum phat svaha. Repeating that spell, success will be attained. Holding the heart between the thumb and the ring finger, the yogi should remain in meditative equipoise through two periods of fatigue. However great are the collections of offerings to the four times [i.e., seasons], in achieving siddhi the yogi should consider them to have become gold. In such a way, when one possessed of such a samadhi practices this sadhana for two years, the tongue of that corpse will truly turn into gold. When that tongue has become gold, the yogi should receive it while in the samadhi of the ring-finger and, after taking it, he should mix it with honey water, grind it finely, and recite over it the secret spell. After this, it becomes (everything the yogi needs in terms of) food and drink. After he has eaten it, he will become without rebirth and will attain bodhi. All ordinary siddhis will be achieved. The yogi will be satisfied by just thinking of it (as his food). Without (need for) clothes, he settles into being naked. Without wrinkles, he becomes youthful, and remains that way for one hundred yenrs. After that, when he changes his existence from this life, he will not return. Such powers as these will appear.
The second document is a set of passages from Chapter Six of the Krodhavajrakalpaguhyatantra;IVd some few citations have also been included from an anonymous tikaIVd which centers very much on kriya, i.e., details of ritual structure, but which dont inform us very much about the nature of the spirit involved here, which is a Preta. This tantra centers on Yamantaka rites, in which the yogi, by exercising the magical power and spell [mthu] of Yamantaka, gains control over certain spiritual beings to acquire powers. The sixth chapter, The rite of the Vetali,43 sketches how this control is brought about, as well as other magical powers. The seventh chapter, in part, details the powers the yogi will obtain. The selection below is only

part of the complete ritual centering on vetalamudra, but contains the relevent materinl on the use of the corpse and creation of a risen corpse.
[The Vetala is controlled by use of the seventeen-syllable dharani, om ah kro dhi ka ya man ta ka ha na ma tha bhaja hum phat, taught by Yamantaka, and the vetalamudra, described in the text, below. This spell renders all Asuras confounded.] Once possessed of these things, the yogi constructs the mandala which leads to ha ha.44 As has been explained for the generality of Pretas,45 this mandala should also be a square. The learned one ought to make the regions around the mandala especially pure by building up fires. The mandala is to be drawn in accordance with the rite, neither more nor less than eightncubits square. The yogi will assign bloody Pretas of desolate caves at each of the doors of the mandala when they appear clearly (in meditation). In the middle, he will place in a clear way (in a state of meditative clarity) the lower half of a human body, a human corpse without a head. Finally, being a mandala of the general sort for Pretas, the yogi will arrange a garland of Pretas around its edge. [Following numerous other works to complete the mandaladescribed in detail in the commentarythe yogi, repeating the dharani given above, will climb onto the headless corpse. He will then offer puja to the assembled Preta and place lamps around the mandala ... After applying the vetalimudra to the heart of the corpse {while repeating the vetaladharani above for 1008 nights), the yogi circumambulates it andas Yamantakawashes the corpse, ornaments it, and offers puja. The yogi, called a Vidyadhara and a powerful Vira, again acting as Yamantaka, takes up a sword [khadga] and steps on the heart of the corpse with the left foot of the Vira, and then repeats the seventeen-syllable dharani.46] Being compelled by Yamantakas fearful spell, the Preta (in the corpse) will begin to shake [kampate]; the yogi, having become (one who shouts) ha ha, will cause the Preta to panic. The yogi should then also make that sound, ha ha, just like that. Then, the corpse will rise, because of Yamantaka [lit., the Lord], after which (the yogi) should offer to Yamantaka gifts which include the flesh and blood (of the corpse) cut with that blazing, sharp weapon [i.e., the khadga]. Recognizing (through that offering) the warmth of that Vidyadharas citta, Yamantaka accepts the offering, and when the mandala (of spirits also utters) ha ha, the Preta is made fearful. Then, when the Preta has seen the form (of Yamantaka), which is suitably fear-inspiring, there will be demonstrated to the Preta the vetalimudra of Vira Yamantaka. Then, because Yamantaka resides in that body of the Preta, (the yogi) sees that vetalimudra itself. Recognizing the warm citta of that yogi, (which shows) the best of intentions (by the yogi), it is certain that Yamantaka will make (siddhi) to be given to (the yogi). When the King of Wrath [Krodharaja, i.e., Yamantaka] has again withdrawn from the body, that corpse will collapse to the ground. Its body will then certainly turn into gold. The yogi will then distribute pieces of this corpse, as he wishes, to his friends and other sentient beings. This being the explanation of the (process of) realization of Mahatmavira [Yamantaka] ... when a sadhaka who has citta which is other than that (described here) has realized that Krodharaja, then, in just the time it takes for the corpse to rise, he and his friends will all be killed. If he (also) doesnt know the vetalimudra then, although (the sadhaka) may become a krodha in some way through that mudra, the siddha of that Krodharaja will be killed.
The third and fourth documents are from two similar, but by no means identical, texts. Both seem to be known, in their short titles, as rDo rje bkod pa, but they differ
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in size and the format of their contents. The following translation is from the De bzhin gshegs pa thams cad kyi thugs gsang bai ye shes don gyi snying po rdo rje bkod pai rgyud rnal byor grub pai lung kun dus rig pai mdo theg pa chen po mngon par rtogs pa chos kyi rnam grangs rnam par bkod pa mdo,IVe which is over 600 pages long in the 1982 rNying ma rgyud bum edition, and was translated from Burushaski. The second version, given only in Tibetan in PART V below, is from the De bzhin gshegs pa thams cad kyi thugs gsang bai ye shes donngyi snying po khro bo rdo rjei rigs kun dus rig pai mdo rnal byor grub pai rgyud ces bya ba theg pa chen poi mdo. It is 275 pages long in the 1973 rNying ma rgyud bum edition, and has no colophon.IVe The narratives of these two texts concerning savasadhana are very similar, so only the first has been translated, but a few variant readings or added data are included, in round brackets, from the second.
The following analysis of raising the dead (is for) obtaining the great dead body [bam chen] of ignorance [moha], a corpse, from the island of the dead [i.e., a samsana], (to realize) an end to the conceptions of eternal existence or complete annihilation (after neath, which exist among) the ill ones in the samsara of the three realms.47 In order for (the dead) to achieve birth in an unobstructed way, supply the corpse with a dharani which is a wish-fulfilling gem [cintamani] (for this purpose), and (all such obstructions) will be suppressed. {In a mahasamsana, having already sought out materials for decking out the corpse,} the yogi should then become a companion of that corpse, repeating ceaselessly that dharani. When the corpses {complexion and} luster have returned, {these are signs that he is succeeding, and} the yogi should show great industry (in applying that dharani) without interruption. Just when that corpse has begun to shake [kampate], it should then be rubbed with ones juice of transformation {the juice of transformation into gold}.48 Now the yogi must bind the limbs of the corpse while forceful repetitions of the spell continue uninterruptedly. Whenever that corpse begins to rise, it will manifest miraculous displays in a dreadful way. (Nevertheless,) the yogi [purura] who possesses the correct practices [vrata] will then cut out the corpses tongue. When he casts (that spell) on the corpse, it will become gold. Likewise, if one transforms that corpse on the basis of any kind of wish made, that wish will come true. And, inasmuch as the tongue, the sword [khadga] which cut it out, and the cut-off head of the corpse are realized materials which can fulfill the yogis wishes,49 when a yogi seizes the corpses skull as his armor and holds up the sword which has cut off the tongue, even an army50 of Asuras will be repulsed. As for the quick-foot siddhi:51 Exceeding a measurement in miles, a skillful yogi [purura] can, while looking in all directions, simultaneously launch an arrow, circle the world, and catch that arrow before it falls to the ground, all in an instant. The purura whose hand-reach has not diminished52 can arrive at a place immediately; he achieves (whatever he wishes) very quicklyas in an instant. All wishes make themselves visible on the corpse. {This has been explained by the Jinas of the three times. This is the samadhi of the Vetalasadhana. This is the end of the second narrative.} While practicing savasadhana on a corpse, if the corpse is prepared, but the qualities of the corpse (described above) havent yet appeared, one practices sadhana in whatever way one usually does (until the yogi has) a complete discrimination (of the illusory nature of phenomena) on the corpse for the purpose of (those qualities) appearing there.

By practicing according to the certain knowing that there is no intrinsic nature of the corpse in the corpse, then when one practices (according to) an equanimity of view just like that, (one is following the dictum), View and practice are the same. This has been explained by the Sacred One (to be the correct approach to this practice). This is the practice of the excellent ampta which raises the dead.
The fifth and last document is a selection from the sixth chapter of the Subahuparippcchatantra, with supplemental material in round brackets and in the footnotes, from two commentaries.IVf This material has been included both for its own value and because a sketch off it, published in 1857 by Vasilii Vasilev in his Buddhizm, ego dogmati, istoriia i literatura, probably represents the first description of vetalasadhana in Western scholarship. In addition to the translation of the passage, the French translation of Vasilevs precis follows the Tibetan text in PART V (the Russian edition is not available to me).53 A commentary (PINIVf, 50r) divides acquiring vetalasiddhi into eight parts, to wit: The characteristics of the vetalasadhaka; the characteristics [of the dharani and the rite] which will raise the Vetala; the location and placing for the Vetala to be realized; facing the mandalas which will realize vetalasadhana; how one ought to wash the corpse; the rite of the materials for the five sorts of puja; the rite for how one should recite the dharanis; and, that the yogi ought to completely pacify the Vighnas which appear when the Vetala is rising.54 The commentary then goes on to discuss some of these points, beginning with the characteristics of the sadhaka, which form the conclusion of the narrative below.
If a yogi sees a human corpse which has no scars on it, {a friend of the yogi} ought to protect it throughout the day by holding a sword and club in his hands.55 Then, just as soon as possible [i.e., that night], the Vetala should be realized in an empty mausoleum in a samsana; under a solitary tree [see above]; at a stream, a lake, or an ocean; or, on a mountain. Having examined such a place and found it totally appropriate, the yogi should anoint it {a hundred times} with soil with cow dung, etc. In that pure place, the yogi should draw a samaya56 using various paints, either black, white, or red. Having considered from among the mandalas already discussed, whichever one the yogi desires is perfectly acceptable. Invoking (by dharani) with great faith the most excellent of the Mothers of his (Tathagata) family57 and concentrating carefully on it, he should write it (on that mandala). A fearless servant will then accept (the corpse from the bearer) and will carry it in, placing it on kusa grass. He will shave its scalp, as well as the finer hair on the body, and then immediately rub (mustard) oil on it. The yogi will then fill four ... pots (kalasa) with pure water [i.e., water over which mantras have been recited], mix it with materials for ablutions, and then wash the body with it. After this, the yogi will dress the corpse in a white garment of fine material. Then, placing the corpse on a grass seat, strewn with whole flowers and in the middle of the mandala, he will place its head to the east or north. It should then be rubbed withnaromatic materials and incensed, with a garland of flowers put on it, and sprayed with pieces of flowers. The yogi should then make piles from flesh {human, elephant, or buffalo}, fish, the liquid from melted butter, and sesame seedswhatever is availablemix them together, and put them on the corpses cheeks, etc. These should be offered above and below the corpse to the Bhutas, Nagas, Pisacas,58 Yakras, and dre. With the good friend
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nf the yogi to protect him,59 he ought to repeat the secret spell (which enlivens the corpse) with his thought in one-pointed concentration. When the corpse begins to rise, various Vighnas nho have frightful appearances will manifest themselves. When the yogi has empowered ground, or whole, white mustard seeds with the dharani of gTsug tor rgyal mo, these Vighnas, who have come from everywhere because of that bali, will take flight from the power of that secret spell.60 To pacify those (other) fierce beings (who manifest themselves), the yogi will make a union with Amptakundalin, who possesses works which are terrible. When those Vighna are (thus) subdued, the Vetala will rise quickly through the power of the secret dharani. Whatever {siddhi} the yogi sees from this detailed dharani-rite is achieved now, in reality and without limitation. If, however, after that corpse has arisen, the yogi doesnt know the dharani-rite for that corpse, then (he may use) a dharani-rite according to another teacher. Going to treasures; into caves;61 {riding on a} sword; aja (?); having a servant; (having) the juice which transforms things into gold, and rasayanas; and, flying through the sky: These siddhis will be given the yogi. (However,) a yogi with a feeble mind, being without the power of this dharani, is (also) without the power of its protection, and the mind also does not have power because it is without the force of (the experience of) ascetic practices [tapas] (that accompany these teachings). Searching for vetalasiddhi, that yogi will be killed by those who wander about at night.
PART III. THE RO LANGS [Some observations in this section follow on, or react to, views and materials in articles by Turrell Wylie and Per-Arne Berglie on the Ro langs.62 In addition, I have also used material here collected recently by Keith Richmond (see fn.67). These sources are here cited as Wylie, Berglie, and Richmond.] A great hindrance to studying the relationships between the Vetala and the Ro langs is the lack of even a relative chronology for them. We dont know, e.g., how old belief in the Ro langs is in Tibet, and, thus, whether it might predate the introduction of the Vetala concept. Likewise, we dont know how long vetalasadhana has been practiced in Tibet, although its knowledge is attributed to numerous figures in the sNga dar period, i.e., before the mid-tenth century,63 and there is at least one text mentioning the Ro langs in the materials from Dunhuang, although it does not seem exceedingly old. Notices about vetalasadhana practice in the sNga dar are probably truthful, because in the early Phyi dar, Lha Lama Ye shes od (who died around 1030), the king of Pu hrangs in Western Tibet and descendent of the last ruler of the Tibetan Imperium, composed an official statement in which he expressed that he was very disturbed that such practices were current among Tibetans in his day.64 The best-known story of vetalasadhana in Tibetan sourcesfound in many of the standard historieshas an Indian monk using the gold thus obtained to found Odantapuri Monastery. This story may well have been carried into Tibet in the sNga dar, by Indians or Tibetans telling miraculous stories of India. In that story, the Vetala would have also become very dangerous if the yogi and his helper had failed in the rite: He would have eaten them.65 The principal characteristic of the Ro langs is its unremittingly evil nature. When I mentioned, at the beginning of this article, that the Ro langs is important in Tibetan culture, it was in reference to the awe, hatred, and terror that the Ro langs inspires. There is no other spiritual being that arouses such strong feelings in Tibetans. It has

no positive function at all; it is not an ambiguous figure in their lives, and offers no benefits under any circumstances. It cannot be controlled or tamed by an ordinary person, and the only means of prenventing it from entering a corpse is by binding the latter (see fn.1n). If it appears, it must be killed by someone, a sngags pa, a lha pa, or even a brave layman.66 Wylie, Berglie, and others67 consistently support these data from their oral materials. Written sources are also valuable, of course, because, when they are included, e.g., in a rnam thar, we may see the Ro langs interpreted in a more normative Tibetan Buddhist manner: How a lama understands such a phenomenon. As a common motif in Tibetan materials, we see many such vignettes in biographies avanlable to us. Following is one example, a passage from the autobiography of Padma lhun grub, a.k.a. O rgyan bstan dzin, an 18th century lama from northern Nepal.IVg He recounts the following, which happened when he was in the company of his Dharma-friend, Chos bstan dzin, on pilgrimage. The story most probably dates from the 1750s:
Then, about three or four days after we arrived up at Manang, a lama told us, Chos bstan dzin and U rgyan bstan dzin, go together to a cemetary and bring down a skull for use in inner puja. So, we entered Cool Grove, the great cemetary of Manang, that very night, and, coming across some headrests in a mausolnum [ro khang], we slept there. At a little past the middle of the night, we left that mausoleum and, there being another empty mausoleum with no skulls in it, (we left that also). Then, after we had left each of these, Chos bstan dzin found some pieces of one womans skull, and I came across another empty mausoleum. Then, as my Dharma-friend is removing a skull and Ive gone to search behind the mausoleum hes in, while Im searching there is suddenly, here and there, a shout Hang! I think to myself, What kind of animal is that?, as I listen to it. The sound was coming from inside a mausoleum. I thought this must be some magical action, so I sat, cross-legged, holding fast onto the top of a roofless mausoleum, and sang this short song from within a state of samadhi: What is happening now, and the Lha and the Dre, are the three magical creations.68 When looking upon appearance and emptiness without the obstructions of conceptual thoughts, I will not be deceived. Oh, assembly of Lha and dre! Let the magic of Ro langs, lha, dre, or whatever, appear!69 But, before my view could be restrained [through this samadhi], the mausolea are lit in flames70 and shake. The very rocks are shouting, Rog! Rog! My body began to shake, too! And, although I cast perhaps three phat while in the samadhi of Khros ma Nag mo (a fierce form of Tara, Kruddhatara), that force was not pacified. In an instant, as I was searching out whatever there was of somebodys two arms in the darkness, among the arms and legs in the mausoleum, I was seized by the long and thick hand of a dead person. He draws himself up in one effort and appears before me in just two instants ... As he appeared before me, he cried out with that effort. Just as soon as the Ro langs rose up, I seized his two arms and dragged him outside. It was the corpse of an old man, dead about one month, with somewhat white hair. Its body and face, which had not deteriorated, were bronzy in color. I was able to release that Ro langs; then Chos bstan dzin came, calling out, Where are you? After that ... we extracted the thigh bone and took it back with us. I offered this story to the lama. He said that, indeed, it was a real Ro langs, a lord of the samsana and a magical creation of the Lha and Dre. He told people that I had released a Ro langs!
Its intrinsic interest aside, this story illustrates clearly the frightening supernatural phenomena associated with Ro langs, but also establishes that overcoming a Ro
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langs is a bravebut not superhumanundertaking. It would also seem that their lama didnt associate the Ro langs with a Vetala, but, at the same time, it is interesting that Padma lhun grub doesnt tell us how he released the Ro langs, which method could have been a sort of vetalasadhana. The remaining data about Ro langs from anecdotal sourcesWylie, Berglie, and Richmondare sketchy. Berglie (p.41) says that the greatest power of a Ro langs is to make someone ill or mad by touching him or her on the head. This effect is seen to be contagious; a Ro langs may thus infect an entire region, or empty it in some way through fear or power. Finally, we note these two observations from Wylie: He mentions (p.76) that a sign of the entrance of a Ro langs is that the corpse begins to grow. Also, one of his narrators (p.76) notes that, For some demonical reason, [Ro langs] find it difficult to rise up when there is too much light. The most outstanding physical ability Tibetans attribute to Ro langs in general is that they are stiff, move awkwardly, and cannot bend. Thus, doorways in many parts of Tibet are traditionally low, so that Ro langs cannot enter houses (e.g., data in fn.67). I conclude this brief section with a widespread categorization of Ro langs. As noted by informants in all three of our sources here, and elsewhere, Tibetans believe that there are five kinds of Ro langs: skin, blood, flesh, bone, and mole (lpags langs, khrag langs, sha langs, rus langs, rme langs). These refer to where the Ro langs is most vulnerable to attack, through the skin, etc., up to the most difficult, finding the mole on the body which must be pierced. PART IV. SOME CONCLUSIONS Are we now in a position to say that this or that characteristic of a Ro langs is similar to, and probably stems from, the Vetala, while others are of an independentpresumably native Tibetanorigin? Or, are these beings independent in origin and development? Chronological data being absent, or insufficient, we must look to details of the character, actions, and powers of these beings to arrive at an informed choice of alternatives. First of all, in dealing with the term Ro langs, we have seen that the term and, presumably, original model for a risen corpse is explained from Indic yogic traditions which go back (probably) at least to the early seventh century there. The term and some concepts entered Tibet in sNga dar times. It was also during this period that the term Ro langs must have been applied by Tibetans as a specific equivalent for the Vetala as used in savasadhana. The concept of the Ro langs as a risen corpse under the control of a spiritual being is snecifically exampled, as I have shown, already in the Bhutadamaratantra, although this text was apparently not rendered into Tibetan until some time later.71 (Thus, the appearance of a motif may not always be dependent on the translation of documents about it.) It is interesting that no Tibetan scholiast hasto my knowledgefelt the need to note either contrasts or similarities between the Ro langs and the Vetala. None of the informants in the anecdotal data cited by the above authors, and others, seem aware of the two categories, either. Such a distinction appears to exist in the Tibetan attribution of lha dre (above) or of gdon as causing Ro langs (Wylie, 72; Thupten Sangay, op.cit., fn.14, p.12), but it is clear, upon examination, that such an explana-

tion falls far short of convincing us that the Ro langs caused by gDon represents a native Tibetan concept.72 Inconsistency also exists in both the Indic and Tibetan traditions as to which sort of spirit may create a Vetala or a Ro langs, or which may be used in savasadhana. As we have seen in Parts I and II, Preta or Pisaca occasionally also occupy corpses or are invoked; Wylie (73) notes that bgegs may occupy corpses, along with gdon, and dre are cited as well by Berglie (p.41). These variations might seem to confuse the issues of origin and influence, but in fact are irrelevant. In many cultures, the functions and powers of minor spiritual beings overlap or are only vaguely defined; such spirits are, by definition, out there, anywhere in the darkness or deserted places where human beings arent, or shouldnt be. Thus, we arent expected to know much about them, and we depend on our greater spiritual beings to protect us from them. (The difficulty in categorizing Bhuta discussed above is directly related to its vague descriptions.n When we remain focused on comparing the Vetala and the Ro langs we can see a definite and consistent set of characteristics which match the two. Nothing excludes that Tibetans may have attached some other, truly native significance to Ro langs. However, its origin in Buddhist Tantric culture would help explain the tremendous popularity of such lore in Tibet, and its absence elsewhere in Asia (except in Mongolia, which also argues for a Buddhist origin, since the dependence on Tibetan lore is clear). Because we lack any evidence that it is a native spiritual being (contra Wylie, 72), this is an argumentum ex silencio. The Ro langs is not found as part of pre- or non- Buddhist Tibetan religiosity, folk beliefs, or rituals, as presented in either the earliest materials or in later compilations which document (as least some of) them, such as the Lha dre bka thang (which does make several explicit references to the contents of the Saptavetalakanamadharani, and seems to derive its knowledge of the Ro langs exclusively from the Vetala as presented there), the Rin chen gtnr mdzod, or the texts studied by Ren de Nebesky-Wojkowitz in The Oracles and Demons of Tibet. Are the characteristics of the Ro langs and the Vetala sufficiently different as to support a hypothesis of separate origin and nature? No. For example, as cited above, according to Berglie and Wylie (p.75), the most dangerous thing a Ro langs can do is make people mad or ill by touching them on the head. This power of a Ro langs originates in the Saptavetalakanamadharani, as we have seen, with Ananda as a model, and probably is the origin of the water of madness motif in the first document studied in PART II. Different interpretations of the actions of Ro langs naturally arose over the centuries. This caused Wylie to put forward the epidemic type (p.76), which is really only a variant on the notion of the Ro langs illness here, with the Ro langs touching many heads, rather than just one or two, and overcoming many people. Emptying a country or laying waste to a land, or some similar effect, is also sometimes ascribed to Ro langs.73 This power can also be seen to derive from the Odantapuri episode mentioned in PART III, and the hyperbolized power described in the Saptavetalakanamadharani. More specialized characteristics also show an Indian derivation. Wylies notice that corpses increase in size with the entrance of a Ro langs corresponds to the lengthening of a corpse noted in materials in PART I. (This will not obviate, for some, the
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naturalistic explanation on p.78 of Wylie on the condition known a anasarca; comments here apply to the probable cultural origin of the motif.) Likewise, their aversion to light, and the reason for itshared by many spiritual beings of the night in India, Tibet, and around the worldis already detailednin the Bhutadamaratantra and the Snptavetalakanamadharani.74 Even the notice by O rgyan bstan dzin that thenRo langs which threatened him had a face and body free of scars, etc., accords with the requirements at the opening of the Subahuparippcchatantra passage quoted above, and probably speaks to the predilection of the Vetala spirit to find an undamaged host by which to more closely recapitulate a living human being.75 The problems that lengthened, Ro langs-inhanited corpses have bending over and entering doorways may, of course, be explained as due to rigor mortis. However, that condition does not last long, and, there being no explanation forthcoming from the Tibetans (to my knowledge), I would like to present a complementary rationale which may have brought about this belief. Charles Ramble and Claes Corlin76 inform us that the backs of corpses are oftenin some areas, usuallybroken to prevent Ro langs from entering. This could be seen as preventing spirits from reentering the body by the same venue that the rnam shes/vijana exited it: The subtle channel leading to and through the brahmarandhra. The awkward gait of the Ro langs would be a consequence of such an unnatural revivification. Materials cited here show that nearly the entirety of Tibetan belief about Ro langs has been generated from assorted Indic descriptions of the Vetala and its use in vetalasadhana. Aside from beliefs about the skin Ro langs, etc.which may be local developments, of recent dateTibetan notions of risen corpses are best explained as teachings and lore spread by Tibetan yogis and others. Long ago they had heard or read the above texts, or learned about Vetalas, and/or practiced vetalasadhana, and Ro langs was a literal rendering for what a Vetala isa risen corpse. And, since the Indic tradition knows of both rogue and tamed Vetala, in both Tantric and popular contexts, it is not necessary to postulate tantric and demonic Ro langs, as Wylie (71f) had. Both Vetala and Ro langs are dangerous, unless powerful yogis or other brave souls can deal with them. What Wylie referred to as a demonic Ro langs is the Tibetan version of an untamed Vetala loose in a village or samsana. What is left to consider is the obvious point: Why is the Ro langs such an important figure in Tibet (and, through Tibet, Mongolia)? I leave this to those who have studied Tibetan attitudes toward death and corpses, for I believe a particular fear of the deada suspicion that they really arentcombined at an early period in Tibet with this interesting Vetala lore coming from India to provide another rationalization for a mortal fear of corpses and the dead. (On the other hand, it also may have simply been the novel and macabre nature of the stories which gripped the Tibetans and made the tradition so popular.) Finally, we come to the cosmological and cosmogonic implications of this complex. First, and most importantly, it shows that both Hindus and Buddhists believed that there were places in their universe which escaped the benevolent control of their spiritual beings. These areasdark places, deserted areas, and those where the dead dwelledrepresented a chaos dwelling within their cosmos. Gods were apparently helpless against them; only specially-trained religious heroes could venture there to practice their craft, and apparently even their efforts were useless

if the creature successfully entered the world of the living. Darkness, of course, represents chaos in the Indo-Iranian world and elsewhere, and it may be an excuse for the vague positions Vetala and Bhuta have in Hindu and Buddhist cosmologies: Where there is darkness, nothing can be perceived, recognized, known, and thus classified. Nothing is said of how these beings were created; little is said about how the Devas and great Buddhas and Bodhisattvas relate to them, or may control them, outside of the Saptavetalakanamadharani. And, in the organic cosmology of Buddhism, which finds places for all orders of sentient beings, even Bhuta and Preta,77 no place has been assigned for the Vetala. It is an irony also met with in the cosmologies, e.g., of the Mediterranean Gnostic groups, that higher and more powerful spiritual beings are helpless to protect us from the evil spirits which dwell, enmeshed, in a world beyond their power, the world of creation, where humanity also dwells. This world is sometimes also eternal, and was created at the same time as, but is opposed to, the cosmos. Like their evil spirits, the Vetala comes as close as anything to providing an Indian and Tibetan answer to, Why bad things happen to good people. It is totally irrational, and by its neediness exists only to bring human beings misery. As the subject of alchemical practice, the Vetala is that agent of chaos as raw, untamed nature, inimical to life and spirit, which the yogi must overcome and then bring into the cosmos in a positive state as a sign that he has mastered all the forces of evil he may encounter. Indeed, an enlivened corpse possessed by an evil spirit seems the perfect figure of an intrusion of a blindly destructive element into our cosmos. PART V. TEXTS FOR PARTS I, II, & III N.B.: References to Canons are to The Tibetan Tripitaka: Peking edition, Tokyo, 1955, and The sDe dge mTshal pa bKa gyur (and the accompanying bsTan gyur series, Delhi, 1976-1978. Best-reading texts given below represent my comparison of the cited editions, with occasional, preferred readings not found in either edition. IVa A best-reading selection based on one of the sDe dge (Vol.91, pp.104-106) and both Peking (Vol.7 & 11, pp.296f and 279, respectively) canon editions.
phyi bzhin brang bai dge sbyong tshe dang ldan pa kun dga bo dang yang thabs cig go / dei tshe na mu stegs can kun tu rgyu ba rnams kyis bcom ldan das la gnod par bya bai phyir / ro langs chen po bdun btang bar gyur to / de dag bcom ldan das kyi thad du song ba las de dag gis glags ma rnyed / dmigs pa ma rnyed do / de dag gis glags ma rnyed / dmigs pa ma rnyed nas de dag tshe dang ldan pa kun dga bo ga la ba der song ste phyin nas / tshe dang ldan pa kun dga boi lus la reg go / reg ma thag tu kun dga bo de sdug bsngal mi bzad pa / drag pa tsha ba shi la thug pai tshe re ba rnams dang ldan par gyur to / de nas tshe dang ldan pa kun dga bo di snyam du sems te / bdag ni sdug bsngal mi bzad pa / drag pa tsha ba / shi la thug pai tshor ba rnams dang ldan na bcom ldan das des ma dgongs so / bdag di ltar nyam nga bar gyur na de bzhin gshegs pa ma dgongs so snyam mo / dei tshe na tshe dang ldan pa sha rii bu dang / tshe dang ldan pa maud gal gyi bu chen po dang / tshe dang ldan pa kun dga bo dang thag mi ring ba zhig na dug par gyur to / tshe dang ldan pa kun dga boi nye bai nyon mongs pa de lta bu de tshe dang
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ldan pa sha rii bu dang / tshe dang ldan pa maud gal gyi bu chen pos thos so / de nas de gnyis tshe dang ldan pa kun dga bo ga la bder song ste phyin nas di skad ces smras so / tshe dang ldan pa kun dga bo sdug bsngal mi bzad pa / drag pa tsha bai tshor ba myong nas bdag la de bzhin gshegs pas ma dgongs so zhes ci de skad ces smraam / de skad ces smras pa dang / tshe dang ldan pa dag bdag gi lus la tshor ba dang ldan pa ni dper na sog les mgo bo gshags pa ltar kun dga bo la reg pa yang de dang drao / kun dga bo ma jigs shig / bdag cag gis khyod khrii steng du bzhag ste / de bzhin gshegs pai drung du bskur ro / bcom ldan das de khyod la yongs su skyob par mdzad par gyur ro / de nas tshe dang ldan pa sha rii bu dang / tshe dang ldan pa maud gal gyi bu chen pos tshe dang ldan pa kun dga bo nyal khrii steng du bzhag nas / bcom ldan das ga la bder song ste phyin nas bcom ldan das kyi drung du bzhag go / de nas bcom ldan das kyis tshe dang ldan pa kun dga bo la bka stsal pa / kun dga bo khyod ci sdug bsngal mi bzad pa / drag pa tsha bai tshor bas thebs sam / btsun pa bcom ldan das de lta lags so / kun dga bo khyod dei phyir legs par rab tu nyon la yid la zung shag dang bshad do / kun dga bo khyod la reg pai ro langs chen po stobs che ba / gdul dka ba / mthong na gnod pa bdun yod de / bdun gang zhe na / di lta ste / phreng ba dzin ces bya ba dang / nor bu dzin dang / gtum po dang / gdol pa dang / rma byai snying dang / tshe zad dang / la gcan te / ro langs chen po bdun po de dag ni stobs che ba / gdul dka ba / bsnyen par dka ba / rdzu phrul che ba / mthu che bao / kun dga bo ro langs re res kyang dod na rkang pa g.yon pai mthe bos rii rgyal po ri rab kyang phen te / rii rgyal po ri rab yungs bru tsam du rnam par jig go / steng du bltas na sa gas par byed do / phyogs su bltas na chi bar gyur ro / phyogs mtshams su bltas na mes sreg par byed do / de dag gis khyod la reg go.
IVb A best-reading selection based on the versions of the Peking (Vol.8, p.175) and sDe dge (Vol.95, pp.475f) Canon editions.
byung po byung mo kun bsgrub pai cho ga rab tu rgyas pao / rdo rje chang chen po jig rten gsum gyi bdag pos di skad ces gsungs so / chu boi gram dang / dur khrod dang / shing gcig pa dang / lha gnas pai khang pa dang / dpal rdo rje chang gi khyim dang / rigs kyi gnas rnams su bsgrub par bya ste / skad cig nyid kyis grub par gyur ro / gal te ma grub na byung po dang byung mo rigs dang rgyud du bcas ma lus la phyung par gyur ro / de nas dbang phyug chen poi lha chen pos bcom ldan das kyi zhabs la spyi bos phyag tshal te / bcom ldan das la di skad ces gsol to / khro boi bdag po chen po gdug pa dang ma rungs pa rnams gsod par byed pa bshad du gsol / de na di gsungs pa tsam gyis dpal rdo rje chang gi ba spui bu ga rnams nas rdo rje bar ba du ma byung bar gyur te / byung po dang byung mo thams cad kyi lus bskams shing brgya byin dang / tshangs pa dang / khyab jug la sogs pa lha thams cad bsad par gyur to / de nas de bzhin gshegs pa thams cad kyis ngo mtshar dang bcas pas di skad ces gsungs so / legs so dpal ldan rdo rje chang khro boi bdag po chen po ma ongs pai dus na byung po dang byung mo tshar gcod par byed pa ni legs so / de nas yang slar roi rnam par shes pa gugs pai sngags gsungs pa / om vajra ayuse sara sarasmin / de nas gsungs pa tsam gyis dpal rdo rje chang gi shangs kyi bu ga nas rlung chen po ro tsho bar byed pa byung bar gyur te / de bzung ba tsam gyis byung po dang byung mo rnams kyi lus la zhugs so / zhugs pa tsam gyis byung po dang byung mo rnams langs te cher jigs shing rab tu dar bar gyur pas bcom ldan das bskyab tu gsol / bcom ldan das kyi bka bzhin bgyid do zhes smras so..

IVc A best-reading text based on three collections: Vol.9, pp.92-98 of the 1973 (Thim phu) edition of the rNying ma rgyud bum; Vol.3, columns 356-364 of the 1973 (New Delhi) edition of the rNying ma rgyud bcu bdun; and, Vol.1, fol. 48r-51r, of the 1985 (Bum thang) edition of the rNying ma rgyud bcu bdun.
bcom ldan das padma dbang chen rang gnas kyi sku la phyag tshal lo / de nas bcom ldan das dbang chen gyi skui spyan sngar / Buddha He ru kas ro langs gser du bsgrub pa di smras so / e ma ho / phyogs bcui lha dang klu rnams nyon/ rnal byor gang zhig stobs ldan pas/ dben pai gnas su rab song la / ro langs gser gyi sgrub pa brtsam / shin tu dben pai gnas der yang / dkyil khor dom gang gru bzhi bya / de nas chag chag rab btab la / phyi nang gsang bai mtshams nyid bcad / phyi mtshams gcad par bya ba ni / gna kyi phyogs bzhi dag tu yang / rgyal chen dag la mtho bzhi ste / gtor ma cha re mtho rtsar btang / shog bu sor bzhi pa re la / rgyal chen bzhi yi sngags bris la / rang rang phyogs phyogs dag tu dgod / de ni phyii mtshams su bstan / nang mtshams bcad pa di lta ste / khro bo bcu yi sngags kyis bcad / gsang ba khor lo mtshon chas bcad / gtor ma cha gsum rab tu btang / gtor ma cha gsum med pa na / gser skyems dag ni rgyas par btang / chab gtor nus tshad dag tu btang / de ltar mtshams bcad rdzogs pa dang / bru lngai cho ga rdzogs par bya / mchod rten brgyad ni gdab bya zhing / bshags pa chen po rdzogs par bya / de ltar sngon gro rab rdzogs nas / de nas nang du ong ba dang / dkyil khor chen po de nyid la / thig ni rab tu gdab par bya / rnal byor chen po gsum gyis bsgrub / rdo rje slob dpon gsang ba des / rdo rje rgyal po bu mchig la / thig skud sna ni legs sbyin la / bar snang dag tu then nas ni / sring sring lan gsum rdo rje bya / nub nas shar du kha bltas la / thig gcig dkyil du gdab par bya / de la sogs te thig rnams gdab / de nas tshon nyid rab tu dgye / zhi bai dkyil khor rab tu bzhengs / de yi steng du rdzas rnams bsag / sgo la gri dang gra bzhir mda / dar dkar yol ba dag kyang bya / dpal gyi gtor ma byang phyogs su / lho ru ma moi gtor ma gzhag / shar du byung poi gtor ma gzhag / nub tu phud dang raktao / de ni dkyil khor bstan pao / de yang ro de len pai tshe / ro langs la sogs gdul bai phyir / chi bdag gshin rje gnas pai sar / sngags dang ldan pai mtshon cha brdeg / de nas ro khur mi de la / myos pai chu yis rab myos bya / de nas ro de bsgrub par bya / dkyil khor pho brang dbus dag tu / brgyang shing dag dang ldan pa ste / skra bcings thor tshugs rnam gdag go / rang rang rgyan cha dag gis brgyan / dang po spos chu o mas bkru / de ltar dkyil khor steng du bzhag / bsgral ba thabs ni rnam gsum ste / tshe das don phyir bsgral ba dang / mthu rtsal dbyung phyir bsgral ba dang / nyams chag bskang phyir bsgral bao / de ltar bsgral bar bya bai phyir / bsgrub pa rab bring gsum du bya / tshe das don phyir bsgral ba na / dbang bskur byin brlab bya ba dang / rigs drug drang dang lam bstan bya / lan chags gtor ma rgyun du btang / tshogs dang mchod pa rgyun mi gcad / dus bzhii tshogs ni sna tshogs btang / mthu rtsal dbyung phyir bsgral ba na / bsgrub zhag gsum byed pa na / zhag gnyis khro boi phrin las bya / de nas dkyil khor steng nyid du / slob dpon gsang bai rgya bkrol la / mthu dang ral gri mtshon cha bsnam / rdo rjei lus po nyid la yang / g.yang gzhi dur khrod rgyan gyis brgyan / lag tu mtshon chai dbang bskur la / ske la ral gri rab btab la / gang la dmigs pai ming bris la / dmigs pa rab tu bsam par bya / ma nyes rabs rnams rab tu brjod / de nas mgo nyid chod pa dang / ha ha zhes byai sgra brjod cing / bstan pa jig pa bsad pa yi / legs so zhes byar rab tu brjod / de nyid breg pai sngags dio / om padmanta kri ta kro [d]ha hu lu hu lu hum kha hi / sngags de lan grangs brgya rtsa brjod /
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sngags rnams brjod cing dbang chen bsgom / dbang chen sku nyid gsal ba dang / rdo rjei ging po mtshan ldan des / mtshon chai rdzas rnams rdzogs pa dang / khro bo gying bai stobs kyis ni / dkyil khor rab tu bskor bya zhing / bsgral bai las rnams rdzogs par bya / legs par brjod pa gong bzhin no / rgyun du bgrang bai sngags di brjod / om padmanta kri ta badzra kro dha ha ya gri ba hum hri / gsang bai sngags di mang du brjod / dbang chen yum dang bcas pa te / de nas rdo rje ging po deds / slob dpon dag la mgo nyid dbul slob dpon gsang ba de nyid kyis / bde gshegs mkha groi thugs dam bskang / de nas tsitta dbyung bai sngags / di skad drag tu brjod bya zhing / slob dpon tsitta phyung shes bsgo / de nas rdo rje bshan pa des / sngags di brjod cing tsitta phyung / sa ma ya kha hi / tsitta hum dus kha dur ma ra ya hum / sngags des tsitta drang bar bya / ging pa brtul zhugs ldan pa na / za zhing slob dpon de la dbul / de nas tshe das spar ba dang / dngos grub blang bai sngags kyang bzlas / dngos grub len pai dus nyid du / ro de longs na dngos grub thob / de tshe langs pa de nyid la / bdag nyis dbang chen rab ldan pas / mtshon cha phur pa dag gis kyang / gnas dag tu ni gdab bya zhing / sngags di brgya ni rtsa brgyad brjod / om hrih tha sarba siddhi badzra hum / sngags des dngos grub thob pao / tshe das de nyid spar bya bai / sngags dis sbyor bai lhums su phang / om dhram ka dza e spa ra na phat phat / rigs lngai sras su dbang bskur ro/ sngags dis dbang bskur bstan pao/ om swa lam du tring hri ta ya stwam / sku gsum rdo rjei skur gyur nas / od lngai mu khyud bar duo / od zer sku lnga bar bar bsam / de nas slob dpon gsang ba des / dbang bskur byin rlabs rdzogs pa dang / sha rnams legs par bsha bya zhing / khor na gnas pai bu rnams dang / bdag nyid longs spyod spel byai phyir / mam sa za zhing sngags dio / om ah hum hri da ya si ti hum phat / de ni longs spyod sngags su bstan / mthu rtsal dbyung phyir bsgral bao / tshe das don phyir bsgral ba na / sgrub pa tha mai nub nyid du / ro yi rgyan blang rgyang phog la / zhi bai dkyil khor steng dag tu / kha bub dag tu bsnyal byas la / rgyab tu thig rnams legs btab la / khro boi dkyil khor rab bris la / mchod pai tshogs rnams rab rdzogs bya / slob dpon nyid kyis sna drangs la / dkyil khor ro yi mtha ma bskor / padmanta kri ta dbyangs blangs shing / dbang mchod bro ni rab tu brdung / rgyab kyi tshangs thig steng nas bya / rab tu bsha zhing dbang rdzogs bya / sngags dii od zer rab phros bsam / ru lu gar gyi mchod pai sngags / sna tshogs mchod phyir sngags dio / om ru lu ru lu hum bhyo hum / sngags dii od zer rab phros pa / sku dang gsung dang thugs nyid las / od phros sgrib pa sbyang bar bya / de nas bya byed zin pa dang / nang khrol snam lnga mchod pai rgyu / mig dang rnam lnga mchod par bul / de ni tshe das don phyir ro / nyams chag bskang phyir bsgral ba ni / bsha lugs gong dang mthun pa la / bsgrub pa nub ni gnyis das nas / khro boi dkyil khor bzhengs nas ni / mchod pai yo byad ci byor bsag / dkyil khor mtha ma rab tu bskor / rang gi yi dam gang yin bsgom / bskang gsoi rdzas rnams gang yod sbyar / bshags pa bskang gso rgyas par bya / longs spyod sngags dang bya thabs rnams / gong du smos pa kho nao / tshogs dang gtor ma rgyun mi gcad / bar chad bgegs rnams tshar gcod bya / gshed byed dpral zhing lam bstan bya / bskang bai rgyud dang sbyar te bskang / tshogs dang mchod pai yo byad la / bru dang ting dzin ldan pas brlab / ma moi thugs dam rtag tu bskang / de ni nyams chag bskang lugs so / de ltar ro sgrub rab tu brtsam / sngags dis thams cad grub pao / om sarba ka ru na / padma badzra pa ni / badzra sa twa sa ma ya a yuh a mri ta ti ra hum phat swa ha / sngags de bzla zhing dngos grub blang / srin lag mthe bong bar dag tu / ngal gnyis mnyam zhing tsitta bzung / dus bzhii tshogs kyi che na yang / dngos grub blangs shing gser du bsam / de ltar ting dzin ldan pa yis / lo gnyis sgrub pa byas pa na / lce nyid gser du gyur bar nges / lce nyid gser du gyur pa na / srin lag ting dzin ldan pas blang / blangs la sbring rtsii chu dang sbyar / zhib par btags zhing gsang sngags bzlas / de nas kun gyis bgos la bza / zos nas skye med byang chub thob / thun mong dngos grub thams cad

thob / zas ni yid la dran pas tshim / lus la gos med gcer bur tshugs / gnyer ma med cing gzhon nur gyur / lo ni lnga brgyar gzhon nur gnas / de nas tshe phos phyir mi ldog / yon tan de ltar byung bao.
IVd A best-reading text based on the Peking (Vol.7, pp.208-211) and sDe dge (Vol.90, pp.550-565, passim) canon editions of the root text. Material in round brackets is from the Peking edition of the Krodhavijayakalpaguhyatantrasyatika (Vol.78, pp.2065; the commentary on Chapter Six is on pp.31-33).
[ ... sngags dag gis gang dag tu / bcings ba der ni byin rlob pa / ro langs zhes byai phyag rgya di / khro bos gsungs pa bshad par bya / dur khrod dag gis thams cad ni / gang la rtag tu rag lus pao / de nas lag pa gnyis ka yi / sor mo phan tshun bsnol byas te / sor mo gung mo gzhibs te bsgrer / mdzub mo gnyis kyis srin lag gnyis / mthe bong gnyis kyis srin lag gnyis / legs par bzung nas dgug par bya / mtheu chung gnyis kyang ngan du dgug / de bzhin du ni mthe bong gnyis / phan tshun bsnol te rkyang bar bya / shes rab can gyis ro langs di rtag tu tshul bzhin khro bos bstan / {bcu bdun po zhes ... thos pa tsam gyi mod la yang / zhes pa lha ma yin rnams so / rmongs par gyur ba zhes pa thom par gyur ro zhes so}] ha har gyur bai dkyil khor ni / ... yi dags phal chen bshad pa bzhin / di yang gru bzhi lham par bya / khyad par dag tu phyogs kun tu / mkhas pas me ni spar bar bya / khru brgyad lhag chad med par ni / cho ga bzhin du bri bar bya / sgo sgo dag tu gsal shing gis / phug pai yi dags khrag can bzhag / dbus su mgo dang bral ba yi / mi ro ro smad gsal bar bzhag / yi dags phal chen dkyil khor bzhin / tha mar yi dags phreng bar dgod / [khro bo yi ni gtso boi sngags / mtshog ma spyi gtsug la sogs med / yi ge bcu bdun blo ldan gyis / mgo med ro yi steng du gzhag / zhal drug pa la zhabs kyang drug / de bzhin phyag ni bcu gnyis pa / rab tu bar ba drag poi gzugs / snga ma bzhin du gzhag par bya / yi dags mang po phreng la sogs / sngags des de la mchod par bya / dir ni gtor ma sha chen du / gsungs pas gzhan gyis mi byao / khrag gi gtor mai cho ga dang / de bzhin bdug pa kun sme bai / de nas dpal ldan rig dzin gyis / ro langs phyag rgya bcings nas ni / gtor ma me tog dbul la sogs / rnam pa kun tu khro bos bya / ... snying gar ro langs rgya gzhag la / {ro langs phyag rgya bcings la ro langs sngags kyang bzlas la / bskul bai tshig che ge mo zhig u tsad ya zhes bya ba dang ldan par mtshan mo stong rtsa brgyad du bzlas so} / de la rab tu bskor bar bya / de na khro bo chen po yis / shin tu bkrus shing legs par brgyan / ... ral gri lag par blangs nas ni / dpa boi rkang pa g.yon pa yis / de yi snying gar mnan pas ni / khro bo yi ni gtso bo yi / yi ge bcu bdun sngags bzlas so /] dei sngags drag pos bskul ba dang / yi dags de ni g.yo bar gyur / ha har gyur ba khrugs pa dang / de bzhin ha hai sgra yang byin / de nas bdag gis langs pa la / mtshon cha snon po bar ba yis / bcad pai sha dang khrag bcas pai / mchod yon de la bul bar bya / rig pa dzin pa de yi ni / sems kyi drod ni des shes nas / mchod yon blangs te dkyil kho ni / ha har gyur ba jigs par byed / de nas bdag nyid chen po de / jigs su rung bai gzugs mthong nas / gshin rjei gshed po dga bo yi / ro langs phyag rgya bstan par bya / de nas gshin rjei gshed po ni / yi dwags lus la gnas pa des / ro langs nyid kyi rgya mthong nas / rig pa dzin pa de yi ni / sems drod rig nas dod pai mchog / sbyin par byed la gdon mi za / khro boi rgyal po slar gshegs nas / mi ro sa la gyel bar gyur / de yi lus ni de nyid kyang / gsar du gyur ba gdon mi za / de tshe grogs po rnams dang yang / sems can rnams la ci bder sbyin / bdag nyid chen po dpa bo yi / bsgrub pa bshad pa di yin te ... sems gzhan pa yi bsgrub pa pos / khro boi rgyal po de bsgrub na / de nas langs nas myur bar ni / grogs dang bcas pa gsod par gyur / ro langs phyag rgya mi shes na / des ni ci ltar drag gyur kyang / khro boi rgyal po de yi ni / sgrub pa po ni gsad par gyur.
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IVe In order, the selections in this portion of Part II are created from: Best-reading texts from the two traditions, the Peking (Vol.9, p.195) and the rNying ma rgyud bum (Vol.16 of the 1982, Thim phu edition, published as: The mTshams brag manuscript of the Rio ma rgyud bum, pp.542-544) text traditions. And, the sDe dge (Vol.98, pp.136f) and rNying ma rgyud bum (1973, Thim phu edition, Vol.12, pp.172f) text traditions.
shi ba slang bai rtog pa di / khams gsum khor bai nad pa rnams / rtag chad mthar shi ro gling nas / gti mug bam chen ro blangs te / skye gag med par blang bai phyir / ro la yid bzhin nor bu yi / sngags kyis bstab ste mnan par bya / ro yi gnyen por bdag gyur nas / ro sngags rgyun mi chad par bzlas / ro yi gzi byin byung ba na / bar chad med pai brtson grus bya / ro de gul bar gyur pa dang / rang gi gyur tsis byug par bya / ro yi yan lag kun bcings nas / bzlas pa drag po rgyun mi gcad / gang der langs par gyur pa dang / cho phrul jigs tshul ston par byed / brtul zhugs ldan pai skyes bu yis / de tshe ro yi lce bcad nas / ro la brdabs na gser du gyur / lce bcad ral gri mtshon cha dang / ro yi mgo bo gcad pa des / ji ltar dod pai rdzas grub ste / mgo thod go char bzung nas ni / lce yi ral grii mtshon thogs nas / lha min g.yul yang bzlog par gyur / ro langs grub pai rkang mgyogs ni / dpag pai tshad las das pa ste / skyes bu rtsal dang ldan pa yis / phyogs bzhir bltas te dus gcig tu / mda phangs sa la ma babs bar / mda blangs skad cig jig rten bskor / skyes bu lag tshod ma yal bar / de ma thag tu gnas su sleb / yud ltar shin tu myur ba thob / ro la dod pa thams cad byung / ro la ro bsgrubs grub na / ro yi dngos po mi snang bar / gang ltar bsgrubs pa der snang phyir / ro la rnam rtog ga la yod / ro la ro yi rang bzhin dag / med par shes pa thag chod bzhin / spyod pas de ltar mnyam spyod na / lta spyod mnyam zhes dam pas bshad / di ni shi ba slong ba yi / bdud rtsi dam pai spyod pao zhes.
The sDe dge (Vol.98, pp.136-7) and rNying ma rgyud bum (1973, Thim phu edition, Vol.12, pp.172f) textual traditions:
sems dpai rdo rje snying po des / shi ba yongs su slong ba zhes bya bai ting nge dzin la snyoms par bzhugs so / ro yi sgrub lugs chen po ni / dur khrod chen poi gnas rnams su / ro yi rdzas rnams btsal nas kyang / dod pa bsgyur bai sngags kyis btab / ro yi steng du gnas nas ni / ro yi gnyen por bdag bsams nas / ro sngags rgyun mi chad par bzlas / ro la khrag dang mdangs byung na / grub par gyur bai rtags yin te / rgyun mi chad par ting dzin bya / ro yi gul bar gyur pa dang / gser gyur rtsis ni byug par bya / ro yi yan lag kun bcings nas / sngags ni dag par bzlas par bya / ro nyid langs par gyur pa dang / ro yi cho phrul ston par byed / brtul zhugs ldan pai skyes bu yis / de tshe ro yi lce bcad nas / ro la brdabs na gser du gyur / de bzhin ji ltar dod pa yi / rkyen gyis bsgyur na de ltar gyur / lce bcad ral gri mtshon cha des / ro yi bhan dha bcad pa dang / ji ltar dod pai rdzas grub ste / bhan dha mgo ru bzung nas ni / lce yi ral gri thogs nas ni / lha min g.yul yang bzlog par gyur / ro langs grub pai rkang mgyogs ni / dpag pai tshad las das pa ste / skyes bu rtsal dang ldan pa bzhis / phyogs bzhi dag tu kha bltas nas / dus gcig mda yi rgyang phangs nas / mda ni sa la ma babs par / bzhi ka bar snang las blangs nas / skad cig tsam gyis jig rten skor / skyes bu lag tshod ma yal bar / de ma thag tu gnas su slebs / ro la dod pa kun byung zhes / dus gsum rgyal ba rnams kyis bshad / ces gsungs so / ro langs bsgrub pai ting nge dzin to.

IVf The following best-reading text is compiled from the Peking (Vol.9, p.38) and sDe dge (Vol.96, pp.257-259) versions. Some additional materials in the translation and notes are provided from these commentaries, found in Vol.78 of the Peking canon: The Arya Subahuparippcchapadarthatippani (PAD) and the Arya Subahuparippcchanamatantrapindartha (PIN).
lus la rma med skyes pai ro mthong na / ral gri be con lag na thogs pa yis / nyin par thog thag tu ni bsrung bar bya / dur khrod khang stong dang ni shing gcig dang / bzhi mdo bab chu dag gam chu klung ngam / mtshoam rgya mtshoam ni ri bo la / skad cig gis kyang ro langs grub par bya / gang yang rung bai gnas gcig brtags nas ni / sa dang lci ba la sogs byug par bya / gtsang ma der ni dkar nag dmar poam / tshon rtsi sna tshogs rnams kyis dam tshig bri / gong du smos pai dkyil khor de rnams las / bsams nas dod pa gang yang rung ba gcig / dad pa chen pos rigs kyi yum gyi mchog / zlos shing rab tu bsgrims te bri bar bya / jigs pa med pai g.yog gis de blangs nas / khyer nas ongs te ku shai steng bzhag ste / skra dang ba spu rnams kyang bregs nas su / de yi mod la bru mar dag gis bsku / de nas bum pa zhabs mi gnag pa bzhi / gtsang mai chus bkang khrus rtsis sbyar te bkru / de nas gos dkar phrug cig bskon nas su / de nas dkyil khor dbus su rtswa stan dang / ma nyams me tog steng du ro bzhag cing pas sdug par bya / phreng bas gdags shing me tog sil mas gtor / sha dang nya sha mar khu til bsres pai / khur pa la sogs ci snyed bungs bskyed de / byung po klu dang sha za gnod sbyin dang / dre la bla og phyogs su sbyin par bya / grogs po mchog ldan bdag nyid bsrung bya ste / rtse gcig sems kyis gsang sngags bzlas brjod bya / ro ni ldang du nye bai tshe na ni / jigs pai gzugs can bgegs ni sna tshogs byung / gtsug tor rgyal poi sngags kyis thal baam / ma grugs yungs dkar sogs la bsngags nas su / gtor nas phyogs bzhi dag nas ong bai bgegs / gsang sngags mthu yis de dag byer bar gyur / de dag zhi bar bya phyir khro bo ni / bdud rtsis thabs sbyor drag shul las can sbyar / bgegs rnams bcom pas de nas ro de yang / gsang sngags mthu yis myur du ldang bar gyur / gang zhig gsang sngags cho ga zhib mo las / mthong ba de ni thogs med nges par grub / gal te ro de langs par gyur pa las / de yi gsang sngags cho ga mi shes naang / gsang sngags gzhan du bstan pai cho ga yis / langs pa de la rang gis dngos grub blang / gter gyi phyogs dang phug tu gro ba dang / ral gri andza bzhon pa mngag gzhug dang / byung khung gser gyur rtsi dang bcud kyis len / mkha la gro bai dngos grub rab tu ster / bsrung bai stobs med sngags kyi stobs med dang / dka thub stobs med sems stobs med pa yi / blo gzhan gang zhig ro lang dngos grub tshol / de ni mtshan mo rgyu ba rnams kyis bsad.
Vasilevs precis:
Il y a un Ciddhi que lon appelle Vetalaciddi (en chinois fou do-no), qui saccomplit sur un corps mort qui doit tre choisi daprs une description: il ne doit avoir aucune impefection, il doit tre frais. Aprs avoir choisi un lieu convenable, on lve des mandala avec des vases; un aide y apporte le corps mort qui dabord a t nettoy, lav et revtu de ses meilleurs habits; on commence la lecture des conjurations dont quelquesunes fournissent le Ciddi, et dautres chassent linfluence des quelques-unes fournissent le Ciddi, et dautres chassent linfluence des dragons et des Preta. Si cependant il sest montr de mauvais signes, quoique le corps se soit soulev, cela indique quil y a obstacle de la part des dmons; alors, pendant la lecture de certains conjurations, on
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jette sur la face du corps mort, des grains de moutarde mls avec de la cendre; avec cela on chasse linfluence et le corps se recouche; sil ne se montre pas de mauvais signes, cela indique que, par la force de la conjuration, le corps a vraiment trouv laccomplissement de lenchantement; cest alors que lon doit dclarer ce que lon dsire, cest--dire si lon veut voir des trsors cachs, ou entrer dans la grotte dIndra pour avoir des remdes miraculeux, etc.; tout cela sobtient.
IVg This is from the rNal byor ras pa padma lhun grub bstan dzin rgya mtshoi gsung bai rnams thar kun gsal me long, the third work in Autobiographies of three spiritual masters of Kutang, Thim phu, 1979, columns 591-597; this passage is from columns 692-696. Non-standard spellings are preserved.
de nas yar sma snang du sleb dus / zhag gsum bzhi tsam nas bla mai zhal nas chos bstan dzin dang / u rgyan bstan dzin khyed gnyis dor gong du khros du song la nang mchod byas gyu thod pa gcig tshol shog gsung byung / gsung ma thag tu gnyis sma snang gyi du khrod chen po bsil ba mtshal du mtshan mo phyin nas ro khang gcig la gnyis rngas sprad nas nyal / mtshan phyed lhag tsam la gnyis ro khang de shig pas thod pa med pa ro khang stong pa yin dug / de nas yang ro khang re re shig pas / khong ni mo thod dum bu gcig pa gcig dang phrad dug / yang bdag la ro khang stong pa gcig dang phrad / mched grogs khong ni thod pa spog gin dug / nga ni du khrod gyi gyab phyogs la tshal du phyin nas / tshol gin yod pas skad cig la skad tang sgra cig dir dir sgrags dug / gang gi gcan zan yin nam bsam nas snyan pas / ro khang gcig gi nang na sgrags dug / de ni spyod gyi cho phrul yin dug bsam nas thog pa med par ro khang gi steng du chong cing dkyil dkrung bcas nas sdod / ting dzin ngang nas glu chung di blangs so/ da dang lha dre cho phrul gsum / nga snang stong gags med lta ba la / khrul pa med do lha dre tshogs / ro langs lha drei cho phrul ci byung shog / zer zhing lta bai ma thul par ro khang rnams kyang sber zhing gul / rdo rnams kyang skad rog sgrags dug / lus nyang dar chum cig byung / yang khros ma nag moi ting nge dzin gyi ngang nas phat gsum tsam gyab na yang ma zhi / de ni skad cig la rkang lag rnams kyi ro khang gi kha shig nas mun nag nang du lag pa gnyis kyi ci yod tshol pas / mi roi lag pa sbom zhing ring ba cig zin byung / yar theng cig then pas kho yang skad gnyis tsam dir byung / slar yang bshed pyug nas theng gcig then pas / kho yang skad theng gcig sgrags byung / de ma thag tu ro langs dei skyed pa la lag pa gnyis kyi gdam nas phyi ru kyur pas / zla ba gcig tsam song bai rgan ro skra dkar cho le ba lus yang ma nyams gdong pa yang ma nyams pa skya khro leb cig dug / ro langs de bsgral thub nas chos bstan dzin gar yod bod du phyin / de nas gang yang ma gyab par thod pa ni dpral bar mig khung bdzub gcig rdal dug / rkang dung thon nas khyer yongs / de nas bla ma la lo rgyud rnams zhus pas / bla mai zhal na ro langs dngos ma rang yin dug / du khrod bdag mo dang lha drei chos phrul yin gsung / mi gzhan ma rnams la ni nga yi ro langs bsgral ba yin gsung dug. * I wish to thank Geoff Childs, Dan Martin, and Johan Elverskog for suggestions and other contributions to this paper.
Notes
1. Mayrhofers Kurzgefasstes etymologisches Wrterbuch, Vol.3; only Charpentiers reconstructed vi-tada seems to point in a useful direction. 2. bhutadhirthitasavabhede amarah; dvarapalakah; mallavisera; sivaganadhipavise rah these from the 1967 ed. of the Sabdakalpadruma and the 1970 Vacaspatyam.

3. For example, the doorkeeper reference is most likely to Agnivetala, guardian of the western gate of Kamakhya in the Kalikapurana (p.95, Vol.1, of B. Shastris Kalikapurana, Delhi, 1991). Likewise, the reference to Sivas gana comes from a probably late Saivite tradition, which places nearly all the denizens of charnel grounds (samsana) and many other classes of spirits under Sivas rule; see, e.g., A. Danielou, Hindu polytheism, New York, 1964, p.213. 4. Brahmanic tradition holds that Bhutas proceed from Brahman, and that they should be considered as a class of Asura, which makes sense from the functional point of view, as the latter also represent the forces of chaos (see F.B.J. Kuiper, The basic concept of Vedic religion, Ancient Indian Cosmogony, New Delhi, 1983, pp.9-22). By the time of the Harivamsa, however, Bhutas, Pisacas, Yakras, etc., are considered the offspring of Krodha. However, from beliefs present in the Epics to modern anthropological studies of the spiritual beings associated with burial and death, it is clear that Bhutas also are regarded as the spirits of departed human beings, and thus are rightly referred to as ghosts. (See on this, e.g., Ruth and Stanley Freed, Ghosts: Life and death in North India, Seattle, 1993, p.80, and Jonathan Parry, A death in Banaras, Cambridge, 1994, passim.) It would seem that popular belief in India has long maintained that Bhutas are, by their association with Pretas, similar to them in nature, as in the compound bhutpret. However, other traditions have also developed; Vetalas are sometimes even considered the spirits of dead human beings; they can move from one corpse to another, if they dislike the body they are in, as in W. Crooke, The popular religion and folklore of Northern India, London, 1896, Vol.I, p.241. The situation is no clearer in Buddhism, despite the fact that its cosmology placesmore emphasis on aid to spiritual beings. Thus, the early Indic-Tibetan word list,the Mahavyutpatti (Suzuki ed., #4753-4767), also places Bhutasand many spirits traditionally put under themin the same category with Pretas, while excluding the Vetalas. Other studies of non-Tantric Buddhist literature dont find a relationship between Pretas and Bhutas at all (cf. B.C. Law, The Buddhist conception of spirits, London, 1936, pp.1-20 especially). The Mahavyutpatti is based on a small number of Vinaya and main-line Mahayana texts. Most other overviews, as A.G.S. Kariyawasams entry on Bhuta in the Encyclopaedia of Buddhism, are also not concerned with broader cultural and cosmological issues. However, in Tantric and magical texts the nature and functions of spirits are often important elements. Since many of these ritual texts predate the Mahavyutpatti, they are important sources for this neglected dimension of Buddhist religious culture in India and Tibet. 5. I have consulted the Bhutadamaratantraraja/Byung po dul bai rgyud kyi rgyal po chen po from the sDe dge bKa gyur (Vol.95 [rGyud bum], Delhi, 1979, pp.475-525 and one of the many versions of the Bhutadamaratantra from the Hindu Tantric tradition (Bhutadamaratantram, mula evam Hindi anuvada sahita, Varanasi, 1993). (It may be that the Hindu versions derive from the Buddhist, as Bhattacharya, below, maintains.) Both texts deal with enjoying the results of the conquest by Vajradhara, etc., over a set of spiritual beings. In neither text does the Vetala play much role, being mentioned only in passing in each, once in a mantra and once in a list of beings. However, it is possible that they are implicitly considered to be within one of the the categories; see the sketch from this tantra given below.) On the Bhutadamara traditions see T. Goudriaan and S. Gupta, Hindu Tantric and Sakta literature, Wiesbaden, 1981, pp.118f. B. Bhattacharya, The cult of Bhuta-damara, Man in India. 11.1931.83-115, compares the two texts in general terms. 6. So says E. Washburn Hopkins, Epic mythology, 1974 Delhi reprint, pp.36-38 and 46n. However, the Harivamsa, an adjunct to the Mahabharata, does contain a little useful data.
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7. Crooke, op.cit., Vol.I, p.242, reports, inter alia, that Bhuta usually live in trees in samsana. Sarkar (B. Sarkar, The folk-element in Hindu culture, London & New York, 1917, pp.90f) tells of a corpse dance in Bengal and Orissathe Siva Gambhira which is a savasadhana rite (see PART I, iv, infra) involving getting a corpse and awakening it, then placing it in a tank or hanging it from a tree. Certain rituals were then performed on the corpse, or using the corpse, which, according to the author, are no longer practiced. On the association of Vetala with Yakras and Rakrasas, see Tawneys translation of the Kathasaritsagara, Calcutta, 1880, Vol.II, p.565. 8. The term *Mahavetala was almost certainly created on analogy with Mahabhuta, a less-frequently used term equivalent to Bh u ta as spirit; it is found in the Bhutadamaratantra, for example. The term is used here also to distinguish these cosmic spirits from those with more modest powers. 9. = gaulmika, a soldier in a troop, or its leader; or, a superintendent of forests. Less likely it is = la gcan pa, guardian of a pass, which is not a translation term. 10. As evidenced also in the Buddhist Bhutadamaratantra and in other Indian and Tibetan works on controlling spiritual beings; cf. the brief description of vasya/subduing, stambhana/paralyzing, etc., in The Hevajra Tantra: A critical study, Part I, Oxford, 1959, pp.84f. 11. For the texts, see S. Bagchis edition, the Suvarnaprabhasasutram, Darbhanga, 1967, pp.55f, and J. Nobel, Suvarnaprabhasottamasutra: Das Goldglanz-Sutra, Leiden & Stuttgart, 1944, Vol. I, pp.80-83. 12. Crooke, op.cit., Vol. I, p.250; Vol. II, pp.75f; cf. also the quote from the Samvarodayatantra, below, and fn.52. 13. The Vetala figures several times in similes in the Laokavatarasutra: vicitradeharupa dharimayavetalayantrapratima ; mayavetalayantra/sgyu ma Ro langs khrul khor; vetalayantra. Such mechanistic formulations tell us about the zombie-like qualities of a Vetala-inhabited corpse. In the philosophical exposition of this work: An illusion a Vetalaa machine, or, the machine of illusions of a Vetalas operation. Things are not what they seem, and are not in control of themselves. (Suzuki thought a vetalayantra to be a wooden image; I think it is only a metaphor created in this text.) Although this might lend credence to the view that Vetala-inhabited corpses are zombies, which some say also fits Tibetan ideas of Ro langs, most of the uses of such corpses by yogis, as we shall see, dont correspond to this idea. Therefore, I dont believe that vetalayantra here is particularly helpful in discussing the relationship of the Vetala spirit to the corpse, in either Indian culture or with the Tibetan Ro langs. This is perhaps another example of the distance between the viewpoints of Tantric and non-Tantric materials. The issue of the zombie-like nature of the Vetala-inhabited body has resulted from the ambiguous phrasing of passages discussing tamed Vetalas. For example, the Tantrarajatantra (ed. L. Shastri, Delhi, 1981), ch. 17, Vol.31: nidhaya sadhanamskandhe careyurvachaya sya te, directing ones sadhana (on the spell, vidya, discussed above) onto the body (of the deceased), they (the Vetalas) should act according to the wishes of (the sadhaka). Of course, with zombies the consciousness of the personwho is not deadis controlled by magicians. Also, zombies cant provide the siddhis described in PART II; they are only capable of menial labor. The limitations of powers, and the moral dimensions of such control, are also important in discussing the relationship between the Vetala and the Ro langs; cf. fn.16 and PART III. 14. There are many anecdotes about the body of the newly dead falling prey to a Vetala. This is supposed to have caused the custom of not leaving corpses unattended in Northern India. (See the example of the young girl in W. Crookes An introduction to the popular religion and folklore of Northern India, Allahabad, 1894, p.232.)

That same source (p.232) mentions that measuring a corpse actually prevents a Vetala from entering it. This motif, together with others mentioned here, explains the Tibetan custom of binding a corpse with rope made from grass. This prevents a Ro langs from entering it and being able to stretch it. (T. Sangay, Bod mii das mchod = Tibetan ceremonies of the dead, Dharamsala, 1974, p.11.) V. Rama Rao notes (Elements of Hindu iconography, Delhi, 1985, Vol. I, Pt. 2, p.7) that Bhutas should be pictured as less than half the size (three to seven tolas) of Vetalas or Pretas. A few examples of positive Vetala: In the Kathasaritsagara, the Vetala of the V. turns into a protector of King Vikramaditya against various evils (Tawney, op.cit., fn.7, Vol. II, passim). This theme is also found in the Manasollasa, Book Five, verses 945-955, where Vetala, Preta, etc., are among the spirits a virtuous king can control for good purposes. In Jambhaladattas version of V., a Vetala warns the king about a false ascetic (see D. Lorenzens The Kapalikas and Kalamukhas, New Delhi, 1972, p.65). A Tamil medical text related to the Ravanatantra tradition, studied by Filliozat, invokes Vetali to protect infants against illness, when she has been propitiated properly (Filliozat, op.cit., pp.105ff). Even a tamed Vetala can kill, but this is due to completely different motives: He is following the command of his master/yogi: Furthermore, all tamed (Vetala) consume the enemies of the yogi at his command. (sarvepi vasaga vakyadasya satruo grasanti in the Tantrarajatantra, op.cit., fn.13, Chap.17, verse 33.) And, we have already seen what happens to faux yogis who try to call upon them! So identified by R. Meisezahl, Ltude iconographique des huit cimetires daprs le trait Smasanavidhi de Luyi, Geist und Ikonographie des Vajrayana-Buddhismus, Sankt Augustin, 1980, p.38 and 49. This term may, rather, apply to a kind of spiritual being, in which case it would be a helping spirit for the yogi. Swami Sivananda, Sadhana, Delhi, 1978 reprint ed., pp.228f. On the vira sadhaka and his virasadhana, see the texts here, Sivanandas comments, p.228, and Sanjukta Guptas notes on savasadhana in Hindu Tantrism, Leiden & Koln, 1979, pp.161f. The latter provides a more detailed description than does Sivananda; many details from both agree with materials in PART II. Of course, Sivananda and Gupta present more normative descriptions. On the other hand, about 1914 a man was brought to trial for, on the advice of a yogi, going to a samsana with his wife, cutting off her head, and practicing savasadhana on her corpse. The purpose of the rite was to render the woman fertile (!), since she was thought to have been the reason for their childlessness. See the note in Indian antiquary, July, 1924, p.149. See the Samvarodayatantra (p.294 of Shinichi Tsudas The Samvarodaya-tantra, Tokyo, 1974) and Aghora: At the left hand of God, by the pseudonymous Vimalananda as told to Robert Swoboda, New Delhi, 1993, Chapter Seven in particular. There are several examples in the Kathasaritsagara (op.cit., fn.7) alone: Sometimes a heroic figure offers his own flesh; the Vetala, pleased, restores it to the hero and helps him. However, when the hero passes the corpse on to another, who tries to evoke the Vetala by pouring ghee in the mouth of the corpsebut then doesnt offer him flesh the Vetala attacks and eats him! (Vol. II, pp.205ff; cf. also 248; 358ff.) The motif of non-yogis resorting to selling human flesh (mahamamsa) to gain supernatural help from beings such as Vetalas dates back at least to the eighth century, where it is an important dramatic device in Act IV of the Malatimadhava. Several other siddhis are associated with a successful vetalasadhana, however. For a particularly interesting recital of these, see pp.128-130 of The Kulacudamani Tantra and the Vamakesvara Tantra, translated by Louise M. Finn, Wiesbaden, 1986. On quick-foot siddhi, see documents three and four in PART II, and fn.51, below.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
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22.
23.
24. 25. 26.
27. 28.
29. 30.
In an old, local Tibetan adaptation of the V., a siddhi-bestowing (dngos grub can) corpse will, if it can be held, reveal the secret of revivifying beings. (A.H. Francke, Die Geschichten des toten No-rub-can, Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenlndischen Gesellschaft.75.1921.79.) It is proverbial that mantra recitation, combined with correct worship of a spiritual being and use of pranayama, etc., can even bring the dead back to life; cf. W. Crooke, The popular religion ..., op.cit., Vol. II, p.150. Beings to worship vary according to tradition, of course; in the Tantrarajatantra there is a set of sixteen goddesses on the outer petals of the Shri Yantra which, when worshipped properly, bestow siddhis such as revivification. (John Woodroffe, Tantraraja Tantra: a short analysis, Madras, 1971, p.9f.) The significance of this process of desiccation becomes clear later in the text, when offerings of water, etc., represent the opposite: A rite of renewal and satisfaction, and a way to establish a partnership with a spiritual being. For example, through a magical marriage, the yogi realizes, in an alchemical process, great benefits: Then, after making appropriate puja offerings on a full-moon night, if the yogi fires up his butter lamps and repeats the given mantras all night long, in the morning the goddess (an Apsaras) will reveal herself. At her arrival, when the yogi has made a gift (mchod yon) of sandalwood-scented water, he should say pleasing things to her. Then, when the sadhaka says, Be my wife!, she will give him the materials for siddhi, mercury, rasayana, etc. Through the latter obtained from her, the yogi will live a thousand years. (sDe dge version of the Bhutadamarasee fn.5p.506: de nas zla ba nya la ci ltar byor bai mchod pa bya nas mar gyi mar me rab tu spar na mtshan thog thag bzlas na tho rangs Lha mo rang nyid ong ngo / ongs pa la tsandan gyi chui mchod yon byin na dga tshig smra bar byed do / sgrub pa pos bdag gi chung ma gyis shig ces smras na dngos grub kyi rdzad dang / dngul chu dang bcud kyis len la sogs pa ster ro / dei bcud kyis len gyis ni lo stong tshoo.) The process of desiccation and re-moisturization plays both into broader Buddhist cosmological processes and post-Vedic Hindu cosmogony. According to the Harivamsa, after the suns rays dry up all sentients at the end of this Kalpa, they will be reconstituted at the beginning of the next Kalpa. (Harivamsa, tr. by M.N. Dutt, Calcutta, 1897, p.39.) A related motif is that beings such as Bhuta, Vetala, etc., cant stand sunlight per se, as that will also desiccate and destroy them. This is also specified for Yakras and Vetalas in the Saptavetalakanamadharani, cf. fn.74 as well and comments here on the Vetalas as creatures of the dark. Unfortunately, I cannot find dates for the Pandit Buddhakaravarman/Sraddhakaravarman or the Lo tsa ba Chos kyi shes rab, the translators. B. Bhattacharya (op.cit., fn.5), p.95. Cf. here Lorenzen (op.cit., fn.16), 21f., quoting the Vamanapurana and instances in the Kathasaritsagara (op.cit., fn.7, Vol. I, p.133; Vol. II, pp.205ff.). Sometimes an offering of human flesh, etc., into the mouth of the corpse suffices by itself to draw forth a spirit which will grant a boon; in the Vinasikhatantra, its a Preta that answers the call of the yogi. (The Vinasikhatantra, ed. & tr. by Teun Goudriaan, Delhi, 1985, pp.75 and 118.) Mahendra is the form found in one version; Padmamahendra in the other two; Padmendra is also found. dben pai gnas su rab song la recalls, and may be a play on, Rab Song Gnas, i.e., Pretalaya, the name of a samsana which occurs in the Hevajratantra, op.cit., fn.10, Vol. II, pp.58f. i.e., Dhptarartra, Virudhaka, Virupakra, and Vaisravana. i.e., Yamantaka, Aparajita, Hayagriva, Amptakundalin, Acala, Takkiraja, Niladanda, Mahabala, Urnisacakravartin, and Sumbharaja.

31. They are: coarse or fodder barley (bras kyi so ba), peas (mon sran greu), barley (nas), sesame (til) and wheat (gro)cf. PADIVf, folio 80Vol.Compare this grouping with those in Alex Waymans Offering materials and their meanings in his The Buddhist Tantras, New York, 1973, pp.71-81. 32. The Great Confession is, I assume, a rite generally similar to the recitation in Deity yoga, q.v., combined with related rites. 33. I.e., the yogi himself, the Vajraraja here; the Vajracarya (here, the Guhyavajracarya), his human teacher; and, Heruka. 34. A perhaps identical rite for placing the threads is described in detail in the Krodhavijayakalpaguhyasyatika, folia 285a-287a, p.23 of the Peking edition.IVd 35. Or, the corpse-carrier should get drunk. In either case, it would seem that there is a need for the consciousness (vijana) of the carrier to be disturbed, perhaps to avoid pollution by, or the interest of, the Vetala, who otherwise might be attracted to it. Ritualized drunkenness or madness is also found in Tibetan communities in northern Nepal; e.g., Geoff Childs informs me that, in a village he was acquainted with, a party of young men who had helped in preparing the corpse then smeared their faces with blood and ran amok through the village crazed, frightening the residents. 36. See Wayman (op.cit., fn.31), pp.82f, for some context for this brief description. 37. Showing the way, lam ston pa, is the subject of Chapter Six of this tantra. It is a set of rites to show the deceaseds vijana the way from being reborn among transmigrating sentients to a rebirth in Sukhavati. 38. Vajrakiogara, or Mahavajrakiogara, is one of the twenty-one bshan pa or butchers who specialize in consuming flesh, etc. (See, e.g., R. de Nebesky-Wojkowitz, Oracles and Demons of Tibet, Graz, 1975, edition, pp.92f and 279. brTul zhugs, or vrata, is a special vow with its own ascetic regimen which, when fulfilled, brings the yogi into greater harmony with a spiritual being in meditation, and thus renders him a vira/dpa bo, or hero. The yogi who is a hero cultivates especially the overcoming of aversion or repulsion, which is one goal of rites such as savasadhana or sexual practices (it is becauses of this that both practices may be subsumed under virasadhana). When a king controls a Vetala and indulges in other, similar rites, this called heros play, virakrida, which allows a higher degree of siddhi. See Wayman, op.cit., fn.31, pp.117f, especially with regard to the ritual dancing and singing, ornaments, etc., by which the yogi becomes Vajrakiogara. 39. i.e, the Ging-pa, on which see fn.37 and the work of Nebesky-Wojkowitz there, pp.278280. 40. i.e., the chos sku, longs sku, sprul sku, mi gyur rdo rjei sku, and mngon par byang chub pai sku. 41. These organs are the intestines, the lungs, the spleen, the liver, and the kidneys. 42. As is well exampled here, bskang gso are rites of offerings given to satisfy, or replenish, the spiritual contact between an irtadevata and a yogi. 43. Vetali/Ro langs ma, also known as Vetaladevi/Ro langs Lha mo, is a Yogini. Her appearance, and place in the Hevajra system, are given in Snellgroves edition and translation (op.cit., fn.10). In this text and the commentary, Vetali may also be short for Vetalimudra/Ro langs mai phyag rgya. 44. i.e., a place from which the dreadful call of a yogi, ha ha, emanatesas taught in the text hereto frighten and impel the spirits. 45. This and similar phrases I have left in this selection refer to details of the ornamentation, etc., of the mandala and other points on the construction and realization of the mandala for Pretas in general in other chapters of this work. 46. This process is explained to be The middle stage of the Sole Hero yogavirayoga in the Hevajra yoga system. See the Yogaratnamala commentary studied by G. W. Farrow and I. Menon (The concealed essence of the Hevajra Tantra, Delhi, 19-92, pp.39f) and fn.38, above.
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47. These are the kamadhatu, rupadhatu, and arupadhatu, the desire, form, and formless realms. The best discussion of these and some other points raised here is W. Kloetzli, Buddhist cosmology, Delhi, 1989 reprint, pp.26ff. 48. The second reading is probably to be preferred here. 49. Because of this, the Vetala can be considered a cintamani, as has been said. The Kathasaritsagara (op.cit., fn.7, Vol. II, pp.138f) also has the Vetala becoming a boongiver after having its tongue cut off. The tongue, the heart, and the skull are the most significant parts of the corpse in these narratives. Each is removed, in separate rites, and by that each, in different narratives, manifests great power. This is because each is the physical correlate of the cakra located in the corresponding area of the subtle body. In the nineteenth chapter of the Tantrasara, Abhinavagupta outlines a savasadhana wherein, at the end of the process, the corpse will shake when the prana has, in stages, risen through the heart, the throat, and the forehead (pranasamcarakramenahpdi kanthe lalate ca ityevam savasariram kampate) on its way to Paramasiva. At the end of this process of revival, the heart, tongue and skull will be long-time reservoirs of this pranic power, which permeates them by life practice, and is then sealed in through mantra repetiton and rites by the yogi. The process begins with sealing prana in the heart, because it is the reservoir of prana which, in turn, nourishes the heart from which it causes respiration, in the foetus as well as the adult. In this way, the resuscitation of a corpse is, indeedand has to beits rebirth. A good discussion of prana may be found in the chapter of that title in Rama Prasads Natures finer forces, Madras, 1933. The tongue is a vaguer subject; I havent found much on it in commentaries to this point. The tongue seems to stand for the power of the whole body, because, although it is removed, it still contains the ability to transmute. As the means by which sacred words and syllables are articulated, it would contain pranic power as actually contained in, and projected from, the body of the deceased. This is augmented by the yogis efforts and the ritual structure to become an effective instrument. As a token of this power, it is referred to as the navel of the lotus in bloom, through which a yogi can become a Vidyadhara, in a savasadhana in the Acalamahakrodharaja-kalpa (ed. by J. Oshika, Tokyo, 1978), p.323: ... de nas ro dei lus gul bar gyur te, jigs par mi byao. de nas khai nan du padma kha phye bai lte ba mthon bar gyur te blans nas bzun nas rig pa dsin par gyur shin lhai gzugs kyis tshans pai jig rten du spyod do. The symbolic power of the skull is more complex, resting on several levels of understanding. In addition to pranic power, there must be considered to be some residue in the skullat least in popular beliefof the vijana of the deceased. Aside from vetalasadhana and savasadhana, the skull is well-known to be important in gcod rituals and funeral rites. The latter is well supported in anecdotal materials from Indic traditions and those of their Tibetan and Tamang neighbors: J. Parrys A death in Banaras (op.cit., fn.4), pp.179 and 183: The dead rides his skull, from which hethat is, his pranahas escaped through a crack in the skull made during the burning of the corpse (kapalakriya). The same author: The skulls of those who havent had a kapalakriya are best, because the pranic power of the dead still resides in the skull. Claes Corlin, in The journey through the Bardo (On the meaning of death, Uppsala, 1988, p.73) notes that bones from the sinciput of the deceased are powdered and used in tsha tsha, perhaps ensuring that merit will flow to the surviving family through that offering of the bones of the deceased, who still somehow resides there. One also may consult here B. Steinmann, La ceremonie funeraire chez les Tamang de lest, BEFEO.76.1987.229: Fragments of the skull are accorded special status after funeral rites, as representing the continued presence of the dead, now an ancestor. Another connection with Buddhist funeral rites is that, if the rnam shes/vijana exits the body through the brahmarandhra, it will pass to a better realm. (Thupten

Sangay, op.cit., fn.14, p.4.) The passage from heart to throat to skull is this travel upwards. Thus, in keeping with descriptions here, the vetalasadhana benefits both the deceased and the yogi, and can be seen, as taught by the rNying ma, to be a special part of a funeral ritual complex. Reading g.yul kha, or g.yul ngo, for g.yul, metri causa. i.e., padalepa- or p aduka- siddhi; this minor siddhi is often associated with vetalasiddhi, as in the sixth chapter of the Kulacudamanitantra, op.cit., fn. 21, and is sometimes even confused with it (Goudriaan & Gupta, op.cit., fn.5, p.93). The former term illustrates that this siddhi may also be acquired by application of a magic salve to the foot; again, see the Kathasaritsagara, op.cit., fn.7, Vol. II, p.594. I venture an interpretation of this phrase, which I find obscure. Vetala are well known for their large size and thin waists (dirghadeha; kpsodara, in the Manassolasa, Book Three, verse 811), as well as for the long reach (vetalahbahuvigrahah) of their deformed (vikpta) limbs (Tantrarajatantra, op.cit., fn.13, Chap.17, verse 32). The Vetala seems, then, to provide the yogi with the same reach he enjoys, at least for some time. The French translation, by G.A. La Comme, was published in Paris in 1865 as Le Bouddisme, ses dogmas, son histoire et sa litterature; the section on vetalasadhana is on pages 195-6. Anton Schiefner helped Vasilev with the Tibetan terms in his work, but the precis of the text itself is from the canonical Chinese version of the Subahuparppcchatantra, which explains some differences in the narratives. Ro langs sgrub pa poi mtshan nyid; Ro langs slang bai mtshan nyid; Ro langs grub pai gnas bstan pa; Ro langs pai dngos grub pai dkyil khor rnams kha bstan pa; roi lus byi dor bya ba; mchod pa rnams lngai yo byad kyi cho ga; gsang sngags bzlas brjod bya bai cho ga; Ro langs pa na bgegs byung bar rab tu zhi bar bya ba. The club (be con/danda) is the sign (mudra) of Yama, and the sword (ral gri / khadga) that of Nairptya; by this pose any bgegs/Vighna are kept away from the corpse (PADIVf, 79v; 90r). That it is held by a friend of the yogi is given in PAD, 90r. Here, the samaya dam tshig is a diagram of mantrasvery much like a yantrawhich actually encapsules spiritual beings. For example, in the Bhutadamaratantra (sDe dge ed., p.479), the source of siddhis for all rites involving mudras and dharanis for worldly powers resides in the samaya of Siva, i.e., Mahadeva. It is only with such great faith that siddhi will be attained. This state is only possible after purification of the yogis sins (sdig pa/papa). For a discussion of this stage, see PINIVf, 48v and PAD, 88v. PADIVf, 90v, says that the sha za (Pisaca) are all creatures who have control over the samsana. Again, it is interesting that the Bhuta are listed separately here, although Pisaca would thus presumably include Preta and Vetala, or they would be in some way interchangeable. Again, the role of the good friend is to safeguard the yogi from Vighna (PADIVf, 90r). According to PADIVf, 90r, the mantra of gTsug tor rgyal po is used because of its great, special power (mthu) and blessing (rlabs). The Vighna retire because they cannot stand to be close to the majesty (gzi brjid) of that spell. Once again, we see the light/darkness opposition; the spell is effective because it literally glows with power. This is probably a reference to the ability to find Indras cave, an important siddhi in the Subahuparippcchatantra. Wylie, Ro-langs: The Tibetan zombie, History of religions.4.1964.69-80; Berglie, When the corpses rise: Some Tibetan Ro langs stories, Indologica taurinensia. 10.1982. pp.37-44. Not only are well-known, eighth-century figures such as Padmasambhava and Vairocana renowned for attaining vetalasiddhi, but even minor figures, such as Bre rGyal bai blo gros are credited with itof course, having learned the magic (rdzu phrul) from Padma himself. (In a recent rNying ma history, Thub bstan od gsal bstan pai nyi ma,
50. 51.
52.
53.
54.
55.
56.
57.
58.
59. 60.
61. 62.
63.
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65.
66.
67.
68. 69.
70. 71.
bsTan pai snying po gsang chen snga gyur nges don zab moi chos kyi byung ba ..., Vol. I, Beijing, 1992, p.270.) See S. Karmay, The ordinance of Lha Bla-ma Ye-shes-od, in Tibetan Studies in Honor of Hugh Richardson, Warminster, 1980, p.154 and 156. Actually, the term Ye shes od uses is bam sgrub, a term first found in early-Phyi dar Bon funeral texts rediscovered by gShen chen Klu dga, who, living 996-1035, was a near-contemporary of the king. I have examined two bam sgrub texts from this cycle. While generally similar, there are also significant differences in detail from Chos pa ro sgrub materials, probably making them another example of the unique developments of Buddhism in the far north-west of India and Afghanistan and eastern Iran which resulted in Bon. (This is in exception to Sog Zlog pas refutation of Ye shes ods charges, wherein he maintains that bam sgrub and ro sgrub rites are identical.) In any case, the important point here is that neither betrays any obvious evidence of native Tibetan ideas about the revivification of a corpse. Also sketched in Berglie, pp.37f. Note in this narrative that the Tirthika yogi warns that, if the tongue of the Vetala is not taken in three tries, the Vetala will first eat the yogi and his helper, and then lay waste to the whole land. This is consistent with the bad yogi, bad Vetala theme we see consistently in these materials; the Vetala becomes vengeful because the yogi is not heroic, so he actually makes that yogi his de facto flesh offering. However, not being controlled then by a powerful yogi, and with no contract to control his behavior, he goes on a rampage. Ro langs can be killed in various ways and with various instruments, e.g., handmade vajras; decapitation; blows from book covers or robe flaps; rigs lnga crowns, etc. These are most often, if not always, accompanied by an attack (phat) mantra, etc. All these are found in Wylie, Berglie, and Richmond (on the latter, see the following footnote). I refer here to the unpublished, draft version of an article kindly supplied to me by Keith Richmond of Windsor, Australia, entitled, Reluctant Rolangs of Dolpo. The author collected Ro langs stories from Bon pos and those who know Bon traditions. The data collected by him is very interesting, and I hope that it will appear soon. Some of these materials can be traced to Indian beliefs and practices concerning the dead, as presented here. Along with the materials presented by Wylie and Berglie, these are, not unexpectedly, ultimately uninformative about the origin of the Ro langs and its relationship with the Vetala. I was also kindly supplied with information gathered incidentally by Geoff Childs while in Nepal, among the Shar pa and other peoples. Quite widespread was the belief in the fatal breath of a Ro langs, and of doorways kept low to prevent them from entering. i.e., they are really manifestations of the power of the Buddha. The cho phrul gsum are miracles of the body, speech, and mind of enlightened beings. This coupling of Lha, Dre, and Ro langs is reminiscent of a passage in the Lha dre bka thang, the first book of the bKa thang sde lnga, which also makes reference to the Seven Vetala and their afflictions, as per the Saptavetalakanamadharani: Pad byung khyer dwogs lha dres bdag bzung nas / Ro langs bdun pas las kyi pho nya gyed / rlung tshub rdzu phrul mang po gyed la brtson ... (Bkah-than-sde-lna: Dgahldan-phun-tshogs-glin edition, New Delhi, 1982, column 40). Reading sbor for sber, which is not entirely satisfactory. Of course, the very popularity of such rites in India probably called this text into existence; thus, we gave *sava uttirthate, embodied in the text above, as an equivalent. Corresponding to this is an explanation of the elements of the phrase in the anonymous Krodhavijayakalpaguhya commentaryIVd connecting it to the risen corpse concept

of the Tibetan Ro langs, although through the entrance of a deity: Ro langs shes bya bai sgra ni lha nyid roi nang du gshegs pa la Ro langs par gyur bas na / Ro langs shes byao / (Peking ed., column 311v). Thus, this description of the Vetala has been known for some long time in Buddhist exegesis in Tibet, and the description of the Vetala doesnt differ from that of the Ro langs. Note that the list of gDon containing the Ro langs on p.311 of Oracles and Demons of Tibet (op.cit., fn.38) is at least half made up of spiritual beings of Indic origin, including Preta, Rakrasa, Yakra, Pisaca, and Kumbhanda. It is very doubtful that this scholastic enumeration, by the recent dGe lugs pa, Klong rdol bla ma, would refer to the Tibetan Ro langs as opposed to the Indic Vetala. Much work remains to distinguish native Tibetan spiritual beings from importsan important effort in the study of the history of religions. Many old spiritual beings were, over time, merged or equated with Indic spiritual beings (e.g., gDon with Graha) for purposes of harmonizing Tantric ritual texts, and one result of this was such scholastic, aggregational lists as that above. Berglie, p.41, and Wylie, 76; cf. also Thupten Sangay (op.cit., fn.14), p.12, who notes that, in the old days, following the custom of leaving the dead in a house of the corpse for many days, when a Ro langs emerged from it, the populace as a whole would flee the area: snga mo phung po khang pai nang nyin mang po jog srol ltar bzhag pas skabs re Ro langs byung ste yul grong stong pa red ces. In addition to the solar reference (meant both micro- and macro-cosmically) to the shining vajras of Vajradhara, above, we have the following in the Saptavetalakanamadharani (sDe dge ed., p.110; cf. Peking ed., Vol.7, p.297): Oh, Ananda! When the sun rises, there is one *Mahavetala, called Harm-Doing, who, pursued by the suns rays in the autumn season, wherever he has been touched by any such rayscaught by the net of those rayshe will become ill and will also be cut off (i.e., destroyed). (Kun dga bo nyi mai char bai tshe / ro langs chen po gnod byed ces bya ba zhig yod de / de ston gyi dus kyi tshe nyi mai od zer gyis rjes su zhugs nas/ gang od zer de dag gis gang la reg pa od zer gyi dra bas reg nas rims su gyur te de yang gcad do.) The implication here is that gNod byed, an especially nasty, powerful Vetalaperhaps even more powerful that the seven abovenonetheless will also succumb to the sun. (The sun here meaning both the physical sun and the Buddhas dharanis, which shine when invoked. This is another example of light in Buddhism battling and removing chaos and, thus, restoring order and cosmos.) This plays on a universal theme that spiritseven those of non-human originare essentially needy for, or envious of, what most human beings have: A healthy, functioning body. (This theme is eventually compromised, perhaps for simply ghoulish reasons; in the biography of gTsang smyon He ru ka there are headless and limbless Ro langs, and even Ro langs with half of their bodies missing! See The life of the Saint of gTsan by rGod tshang pa sNa tshogs rang grol (ca.1503-1547), New Delhi, 1969, p.48.) That Vetala need or wish a corpse free of blemishes or injury, and then deform it when they inhabit it, represents the futility of the non-human invading the human world; the bent and elongated limbs, etc., and the facial expression of rictus Tibetans often describe Ro langs as having are noticed immediately, of course. C. Ramble, Status and death: Mortuary rites and attitudes to the body in a Tibetan village, Kailash.9.1982.333-359; cf. p.355 esp.; C. Corlin, op.cit., fn.49, p.64. In normative Buddhist cosmogologies, most lower spiritual beings are located under the earth. All such beings are of a morally ambiguous nature. (See the overviews of Akira Sadakata, Buddhist cosmology, Tokyo, 1997, and B.C. Law, The Buddhist conception of spirits, op.cit.).
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76. 77.

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