ABSTRACT
Esotericism of the Buddhist Tantras begins with what are called the “three mysteries of the Buddha,” but these could also be translated the “three secrets of the Buddha”. As Padmavajra explains them in his Tantrārthāvatāra Commentary (Toh. 2502, Derge ed., 147a-2, IT.), the secret Body, Speech, and Mind of the Tathāgatas, are these:
Secret of Body: Whatever form is necessary to tarne the living beings.
Secret of Speech: Speech exactly appropriate to the lineage of the creature, as in the language of the yakṣa-s, etc.
Secret of Mind: Knowing all things as they really are.
Since the candidate aims to correlate his body, speech, and mind with those three of the Buddha, at once Padmavajra’s simple explanation shows the limitation of some Western expositions of the Tantra. For example, S. B. Dasgupta, An Introduction to Tantric Buddhism, devotes Chap.V (The Element of Esoteric Yoga) to the tantric theory of the body, claiming that this is the fundamental stress of the Buddhist tantrists, that they seek to find the truth along with perfect bliss in the body, on the basis of its arrangement of cakra-s and so on. Then Agehananda Bharati, The Tantric Tradition, has his longest chapter (also No. 5) on mantra, claiming that this is “the chief instrument of tantrism.” John Blofeld, The Tantric Mysticism of Tibet is on the right track with his brief section “The interplay of body, speech, and mind,” where the body does prostrations, makes gestures (mudrā), etc.; speech utters mantra-s; and the mind visualizes the deity.