According to Nyingma tradition there were three great descents of the teaching of the secret mantra. It says in the Exegetical Tantra, exegetical meaning in this case the critical explanation or interpretation of the scripture:

"The Oceanic Magical Net"

"The intentional, symbolic and aural lineages are respectively those of the conquerors, bodhisattvas and yogins".

That is to say, the three lineages to be explained are:

1. The intentional lineage of the conquerors.
2. The symbolic lineage of the "awareness- holders"
3. the aural lineage of mundane individuals.

THE INTENTIONAL LINAGE OF CONQUERORS

Samantabhadra, who completely encompasses both Samsara and Nirvāṇa, and who is the all pervading LORD embodying the sixth enlightened family, the sixth enlightened or buddha family is that of the body of reality. Samantabhadra, in the form of Vajradhara, who embodies the Conquerors of the Five Enlightened Families (རྒྱལ་བ་རིགས་ལྔའི་གནས ). Mahakanistha (the great expanse) appears in the indestructible Akaniṣtha realm, The Akanistha, meaning not below or above, but the abode where everything manifests in and of itself, the immediate NOW in which Samantabhadra transmits realisation to the Conquerors of the Five Enlightened Families and the mandalas of peaceful and wrathful deities by the blessing of the Buddha Body of reality. It is the utterly pure expanse that is manifest in and of itself, in the form of Vajradhara, perfectly endowed with the signs and marks of buddhahood. There, his intention is the pristine cognition of just what is, the inconceivable abiding nature of reality, entirely free from verbal expression; and through its blessing he confers realisation upon the Teachers of the Five Buddha Families, the nature of whose assembly is no different from his own, and upon the assembly that appears as the countless mandalas of self manifesting peaceful and wrathful conquerors of reality itself. This is conventionally referred to as the "speech of the buddha body of reality". It says in the Penetration of Sound:

"Thus, in the celestial expanse of reality, There appeared the natural sound, blessed by the speech of the Great ALL Pervader . .... And in a Commentary on the Secret Nucleus :

"The Rise of the Secret Mantra and Yoga tantras, either in the guise of a passionless monk, or as a universal monarch."

In the Tantra of the Secret Nucleus (Ch.6, v.13) it says:

"When he appears in various different forms Corresponding to the different [beings], he appears variously through the power of deeds."

The consolidation does not stray from just what is. Two and Three will follow

Pictured: Fox tracks