Bshad pa dang cha mthun gyi rgyud tantra sde bco brgyad

=Eighteen great tantras of Mahayoga=

There are eighteen "great tantras" (Wylie: "rnal 'byor chen po") at the heart of the Mantrayana Mahayoga tradition, grouped into "five root tantras" (Wylie: "rtsa ba sku gsung thugs yon tan phrin las kyi rgyud chen po lnga"), "five practice tantras" (Wylie: "sgrub pa lag len du bstan pa rol pa' rgyud chen po lnga"), and "five activity tantras" (Wylie: "spyod pa'i yan lag tu 'gro ba'i rgyud chen po lnga"), plus "two supplementary tantras" (Wylie: "ma tshang kha bskong ba'i rgyud chen po gnyis").

The Guhyagarbha Tantra (Wylie: "rDo rje sems dpa' sgyu 'phrul drwa ba"; "gSang ba snying po") is the foremost of all of these and it abridges the content of the seventeen others:

Root tantras:

* Equalizing Buddhahood (the tantra of the body) (Wylie: "Sangs rgyas mnyam sbyor gyi rtsa ba mkha' 'gro ma bde mchog rtsa ba'i rgyud")
* The Secret Moon, (the tantra of speech) (Wylie: "dPal Zla gsang thig le rtsa ba'i rgyud")
* The Assembly of Secrets (Guhyasamaja Tantra) (the tantra of mind) (Wylie: "dPal gSang ba 'dus pa")
* The Glorious Supreme Primal Tantra (the tantra of qualities) (Wylie: "dPal mchog dang po")
* The Activity Garland Tantra (the tantra of activities) (Wylie: "Kar ma ma le")

Practice tantras:

* The Heruka Practice Tantra (Wylie: "He ru ka rol pa'i rgyud")
* The Hayagriva Supreme Practice Tantra (Wylie: "rTa mchog rol pa'i rgyud")
* The Compassion Tantra (Wylie: "sNying rje rol pa'i rgyud")
* The Nectar Practice Tantra (Wylie: "bDud rtsi rol pa'i rgyud")
* The Arising of the Twelve Kilayas Tantra (Wylie: "Byit to ta ma rol pa'i rgyud"; "Phur pa bcu gnyis")

Activity Tantras:

* The Mountain Pile (Wylie: "Go 'phang dbang gis bgrod pa ri bo brtsegs pa'i rgyud")
* The Awesome Wisdom Lightning (Wylie: "La spyod pas dor ba rngam pa glog gi 'khor lo'i rgyud")
* The Array of Samayas (Wylie: "gZhi dam tshigs gis bzung ba bkod pa rgyal po'i rgyud")
* The One-Pointed Samadhi (Wylie: "Nyams su ting 'dzin gyis blangs pa rtse gcig bsdus pa'i rgyud")
* The Rampant Elephant (Wylie: "'Phang lta bas bcad pa glang po rab 'bog gi rgyud")

Last Tantras that complete whatever is incomplete:

* The Vairochana Net of Magical Display (Wylie: "rNam par snang mdzad sgyu 'phrul drwa ba'i rgyud")
* The Noble, Skilful Lasso, the Concise Lotus Garland (Wylie: "Thabs kyi zhags pa pad mo'i phreng ba'i rgyud") [Ringu Tulku & Ann Helm, "The Ri-Me Philosophy of Jamgon Kongtrul the Great: A Study of the Buddhist Lineages of Tibet", pg. 75, Shambhala Publications, Boston:2006]

References