?nandagarbha is an Indian priest of Tantric Buddhism of the Yoga class who was highly praised by Tibetan tantric masters (ācāryas). He composed six treatises concerned with a sort of Ma?dalasādhanopāyikā which mainly consists of three stages of contemplation (trisamādhi; ti? ?e hdsin gsum po). His work and thought have not been studied yet to any great extent. The present author aims at clarifying his understanding of the meaning of practicing the Ma?dalasādhanopāyikā in the context of his whole system of tantric rituals, on the basis of an analysis of the contents of the Ma?dalasādhanopāyikā described in each of his works. The Ma?dalasādhanopāyikā is a yogic method for the completion of a ma?dala and is supposed to be practiced by a tantric master, according to ?nandagarbha. All of his six treatises agree that it consists of three stages of contemplation followed by "coming near while offering." At the first stage of contemplation a tantric master observes the essence (ra? bshin) of his mind (sems) for the purpose of acquiring the wisdom (ye ?es) of the Supreme Lord "rnam par sna? mdsad chen po," who is Dharma Body (chos kyi sku), omnipresent, and ultimately not different from one's mind. At the second stage of contemplation a tantric master forms a detailed image of the ma?dala which comprises deities who are born from the Supreme Lord. The wisdom obtained through the practice of the first stage of contemplation is the essence of compassionate mind (sñi? rje), so that the wisdom is followed by operating the compassionate mind. Therefore, the purpose of practicing this stage of contemplation is to promote a tantric master's compassionate mind on the basis of the wisdom gained through the practice of the first stage of contemplation. At the third stage of contemplation a tantric master brings all forms of existence into unity with the ma?dala while pondering on the contents of the ma?dala's deities' compassionate performances, in order to consolidate the ma?dala. As the ma?dala is a spatial incarnation of the Supreme Lord's compassionate mind based on his wisdom, the practice of this stage of contemplation proves to be for the sake of fixing the tantric master's compassionate mind based on his wisdom. At a form of contemplation called "coming near while offering," a tantric master gives offerings symbolized as mantra and mudrā to the deities of the ma?dala, who are called from Buddha Lands to the ma?dala. Since a tantric master does not always complete his yoga in a one-time or few-times practices of the three stages of contemplation, he expects the deities to help him complete it in return for his offerings. (This contemplation seems to have something to do with the popularity of offering rituals in those days: through the practice of those rituals one expected the effect of speeding up to enlightenment (abhisambodhi) as a present from the deities.) Those are the contents of Ma?dalasādhanopāyikā by ?nandagarbha. He defines it as "the means for coming near beforehand (s?o? du bsñen bahi cho ga)." Taking the Ma?dalasadhānopāyikā's purpose into consideration, "coming near" seems to denote "coming near to the essence of the ma?dala." Moreover, since the Ma?dala rituals such as tantric initiation (abhiseka), homa ritual, and so on are to be conducted after the practice of Ma?dalasādhanopāyikā, "beforehand" means nothing but "before Ma?dala ritual." When we accept this interpretation, it may safely be said that the Ma?dalasādhanopāyikā has some organizational relation to Ma?dala ritual. According to ?nandagarbha, the Ma?dalasādhanopāyikā is a self-reflective yoga, whereas the Ma?dala ritual is a deed in which a tantric master can actually supply his disciples and believers with the profits of the religious or secular level by using a drawn ma?dala. Since the essence of the ma?dala is the Supreme Lord's compassionate mind based on his wisdom, which is ultimately not different from a tantric master's mind, the ma?dala can not be prop
