What is the "magical net" in the Guhyagarbha Tantra?

Question

The Luminous Essence: A Guide to the Guhyagarbha Tantra says "This universal tantra of the great Magical Net is a secret among secrets".

Later it says:

Accordingly, mahāyoga teaches the complete nature of the ground, path, and fruition of the entire mantra vehicle. It is, therefore, essential to develop certainty regarding all aspects of mantra practice based on mahāyoga. Mahāyoga belongs to the inner tantras of secret mantra, and can itself be divided into an infinite number of categories. These all come about through the play of wisdom of the magical net.

Later they refer to "the wheel of the magical net." In several other places "magical net" is mentioned.

What is the magical net? Is that literally the etymology of "Guhyagarbha"? Searching the web reveals mayajala, but no insight is to be gained easily looking at that word.

Answer 1

Magical net is an allegory for upaya - a skillful approach to teaching Dharma by taking advantage of student's own inertia, as opposed to pushing student by force.

In other words, when a good teacher of dharma masters the skill of seeing from the student's (often somewhat confused) perspective, a talented teacher then can operate within that perspective to help the student follow along and gradually adopt The Right View. This often works better than forcing an immature student into the mandala of fruition.