Nāḍī

Diagram showing the three main channels (nāḍī) of the subtle body, along with five chakras (energetic centers).

nāḍī (T. rtsa) is translated as "channel," "passageway," "vein," "duct," "artery," "root," "pipe," etc.

In Buddhist tantra, the nāḍī refers to the channels of the subtle body, through which the inner winds (prāṇa or vāyu) flow. While these channels can be divided into up to seventy-two thousand, the most important channels are the:

• central (avadhūtī; uma) channel
• right (rasanā; roma) channel
• left (lalanā; kyangma) channel

These channels (nāḍī) intersect at various "nodes" called chakras.

Khenpo Ngawang Pelzang states:

These channels are most commonly distinguished as the three main channels and the five wheels. The three main channels are uma (central), roma on the right, and kyangma on the left. The five wheels are the wheel of great bliss in the head, the wheel of enjoyment in the throat, the wheel of Dharma in the heart, the wheel of manifestation in the navel, and the bliss-preserving wheel in the secret center.

One also refers to seven wheels: the above five wheels to which are added the wheel of blazing fire and the wheel of blaze-causing wind. [...]

So what is known as the vajra body ['subtle body'] consists of the fixed channels and within them the circulating energies ['inner winds'] . These energies are essentially the subtle energies of the five elements, but one also refers to five principal energies and five branch energies. The five principal energies are the life-supporting energy, the upward-moving energy, the downward-moving energy, the fire-equalizing energy, and the pervading energy. The branch energies are the energies that circulate through the five physical sense organs.

Sources

• Khenpo Ngawang Pelzang (2011), A Guide to the Words of My Perfect Teacher, translated by Padmakara Translation Group, Shambhala 

External links

• rtsa, Rangjung Yeshe Wiki
• Subtle channels, Rigpa Shedra Wiki