Sky Divination: An Elemental Practice from the Unimpeded Sound Tantra

This article comprises an introduction to and annotated translation of passages from the Unimpeded Sound Tantra (Sgra thal 'gyur) and one of its earliest known commentaries from the twelfth century. The passages describe divination practices involving the interpretation of elemental signs that manifest as omens in the sky to determine a community's collective karma and destinies. The article explores how these materials invite reconsiderations of Buddhist contemplatives as world-abdicating renunciates, emphasizing instead a vision of contemplative life immersed within the overlapping social domains of human, non-human, and more-than-human beings.