Part Two: The Eighty-Four Mahāsiddhas

This section contains four texts that can be loosely classified as an empowerment, a sādhana, a guru yoga practice, and a series of instructions on the perfection stage (rdzogs rim). The first two feature all eighty-four mahāsiddhas. The guru yoga practice may be adapted to any one of a selection of mahāsiddhas, including two sixteenth-century siddhas who were Tāranātha’s lineage teachers. The fourth text, A Precious Necklace, comprises a series of profound instructions given by some twenty of the eighty-four mahāsiddhas, accompanied by two ḍākinīs, to a yakṣhiṇī (a female spirit) living in a charnel ground.

   It should be noted that the names of the mahāsiddhas vary between different texts and even within the same text. To maintain consistency and avoid confusion, we have chosen one version of each mahāsiddha’s name and employed it throughout.