Pali canon (Buddhism). The Pali canon contains three passages in which the Buddha describes pressing the tongue against the palate for the purposes of controlling hunger or the mind, depending on the passage. However, there is no mention of the tongue being inserted further back into the nasopharynx as in true khecarī mudrā. The Buddha also used a posture where pressure is put on the perineum with the heel, similar to modern postures used to stimulate Kundalini. In the Mahāsaccaka sutta (MN 36), the Buddha mentions how physical practices such as various meditations on holding one's breath did not help him "attain to greater excellence in noble knowledge and insight which transcends the human condition." After trying these, he then sought another path to enlightenment. The term haṭha yoga was first used in the c. 3rd century Bodhisattvabhūmi, the phrase na haṭhayogena seemingly meaning only that the bodhisattva would get his qualities "not by force". Transition from tantric Buddhism to Nāth hatha yoga Tantric Buddhism The earliest mentions of haṭha yoga as a specific set of techniques are from some seventeen Vajrayana Buddhist texts, mainly tantric works from the 8th century onwards. In Puṇḍarīka's c. 1030 Vimalaprabhā commentary on the Kālacakratantra, haṭha yoga is for the first time defined within the context of tantric sexual ritual: While the actual means of practice are not specified, the forcing of the breath into the central channel and the restraining of ejaculation are central features of later haṭha yoga practice texts. The c. 11th century Amṛtasiddhi is the earliest substantial text describing Haṭha yoga, though it does not use the term; it is a tantric Buddhist work, and makes use of metaphors from alchemy. A manuscript states its date as 1160. The text teaches mahābandha, mahāmudrā, and mahāvedha which involve bodily postures and breath control, as a means to preserve amrta or bindu (vital energy) in the head (the "moon") from dripping down the central channel and being burned by the fire (the "sun") at the perineum. The text also attacks Vajrayana deity yoga as ineffective. According to Mallinson, later manuscripts and editions of this text have obscured or omitted the Buddhist elements (such as the deity Chinnamasta which appears in the earliest manuscripts and was originally a Buddhist deity, only appearing in Hindu works after the 16th century). However, the earliest manuscript makes it clear that this text originated in a Vajrayana