ABSTRACT
I ntrod uction A preeminate sadhana ("evocation of deity") sequence in the Buddhist Tantras, occurring innumerable times in the Sadhana-mdld and similar literature, is the order ( I ) realization of the void (Hmyatdbodhi) ; (2) imagining there a germ syllable (bija} ; (3) from that generating a hand symbol (cihna)-the emblem of the deity ; and (4) from that accomplishing the body of the deity.
