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Generation Stage
In Tantric Buddhism, the generation stage (T:kye rim; S:utpatti-krama) is the first phase of meditative Buddhist sadhana associated with the 'Father Tantra' (Wylie: pha-rgyud; pa-rgyud) class of anuttara-yoga-tantras of the Sarmapa or associated with what is known as Mahayoga Tantras by the Nyingmapa. An example of a 'Father Tantra' is the Guhyasamaja Tantra.
The generation stage engages creative imagination or visualization as an upaya or skillful means of personal transformation through which the practitioner (sadhaka) either visualizes a meditational deity (yidam) or refuge tree before themselves in front generation, or as themselves in self generation, to engender an alteration to their perception and/or experience of the appearance aspect of reality.
The complement of the generation/development/creation stage is the completion stage (T:dzog rim; S:saṃpanna-krama). Link
The Mother Tantra
The Mother Tantra is attributed "within the [root] texts themselves to Kuntu Zangpo (Kun tu bzang po [Samantabhadra, "Totally Good One"]), the Primordial Buddha Himself;" a characteristic that is shared with other Bon and Nyingma high tantra and dzogchen texts. And has the quite unique characteristic that the male aspect represents the emptiness quality and the female aspect the clarity of the Natural State, which is usually inverted in other tantric texts. Furthermore, "[t]he Mother Tantra is also unique among the Higher Tantras as a whole because, whereas it does employ the transformational process of the Kyerim [generation stage] and the Dzogrim [completion stage], its overall view is that of Dzogchen.”
Dzogchen is the highest teaching in this tradition, and its method of practice is of self-liberation (rang grol) into the non-dual single essence (thig le nyaggtig).
According to the Bon tradition, the Root Texts of the Secret Mother Tantra are said to be originated in the dimension of Bon (ban sku), shared by the male and female Primordial Buddhas in the "Eternal Divine language" (gyung drung lha'i skad), then transmitted in Sanskrit to a retinue of skygoers amongst whom the principal was Zangza Ringtsun (bZang za ring btsun, "Goodwife Longexcellence"), an emanation of the great Cham Ma (Byams ma, "Loving Mother"). The Teachings of the Mother Tantra were revealed by her to three teachers who propagated the Mother Tantra in three different among the Nagas in the netherworld, and Milu Samlek (Mi lus bsant legs) among humanity on earth.
According to the Secret Mother Tantra texts, Milu Samlek then composed three commentaries in order to elucidate their meaning, and transmitted the teachings to his disciple Mushen Namkha Nangwa Dogchen (dMu gshen nam mkha' snang ba'i mdog can). The latter, after practicing on the slopes of Mount Kailash, bestowed the initiation and instructions to the Bon pandit Anu Tragtak (A nu 'phrag thag)f who in turn handed this teachings down to Sene Gau (Sad na ga'u) of Zhang Zhung. Sene Gau translated the teachings from Zhang zhung to Tibetan. It was during his time that the first persecution of Bon teachings and practitioners took place, under the reign of the Tibetan Buddhist king Drigum Tsenpo (Gri gum btsan po, ca. 683 B.C.E.), and therefore, "the custodianship of these texts of the ma rgyud was delivered by Sad ne ga'u into the hands of the six Dakinis of the Path, the Jarama (bya ra ma) or watchers," "who served as the 'treasure protectors'." Under king Trisong Detsen (Khri srong Ide btsan, 790-848 C.E.) the Bonpos suffered a second persecution, and it was not until the twelfth century that the Secret revelation of the Mother Tantras were rediscovered by Guru Nontse (Gu ru rnon rise) in the rock of Dungpor (Dung phor bkra shis) near the village of Tanag (rTa nag) in the central province of Tsang, "[h]ence this collection of Terma became known by the name of the Dung phor ma." Guru Nontse then gave this collection of teachings to Zhonu (gZhon nu). But the Secret Mother Tantra Cycle was not the only Mother Tantra Cycle. Link
