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Essay name: Hevajra Tantra (analytical study)

Author: Seung Ho Nam
Affiliation: University of Kerala / Faculty of Oriental Studies

This is an English study of the Hevajra Tantra: an ancient Sanskrit text that teaches the process of attaining Buddha-hood for removing the sufferings of all sentient beings. The Hevajratantra amplifies the views and methods found in the Guhyasamaja Tantra (one of the earliest extant Buddhist Tantras) dealing with Yoga and Mandalas.

Chapter 2 - Place of Hevajra Tantra in Tantric Literature

Page:

15 (of 32)


External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)


Download the PDF file of the original publication


Copyright (license):

Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)


Warning! Page nr. 15 has not been proofread.


emanate a particular colour in each of the six levels of the Six yogas
such as black in level one and so forth. This does not mean that the two
texts are prescribing very different kinds of Six yogas, it seems more
logical to accept the view that "Hevajra Tantra, mentions the practise of
emanating special colours at different levels of the Six yoga practise in
addition to the Six yoga practise recommended by "Guhyasamāja Tantraj.
This can be deduced from the fact that the Six yoga practice
recommended in Kālacakra Tantra (much later tantra) is identical to the
one mentioned in "Guhyasamāja Tantra. The 'Hevajra Tantra, clearly
amplifies the views and methods found in the "Guhyasamāja Tantra, and
emphasizes the direct experience of the Innate (sahaja) and the Great
Bliss (mahāsukha) which characterise the Mahāmudrā Accomplishment.
1) History of "Hevajra Tantra
The Sanskrit text of the "Hevajra Tantra, dates from approximately
the eighth century A.D. The treatise is a recording of discourses
between the Bhagavan Buddha and his disciple Vajragarbha in the first
part followed by discourses between the Bhagavān and his consort
These discourses are the vehicle which introduce the theory, practice and
experience of the Krama, the Processes of the Buddhist tantric method.
Of the Tantras composed between the 8th and the 11th centuries
besides Hevajra Tantra, we may refer to such works as Rakta-Yamāri,
Ārāli, Buddhakapāla, Mahāmāyā (Sanskrit Mss. available), Tilaka or
Mahāmudrātilaka, Kṛṣṇayamāri, Sampuṭa or Caturyoginīsampuṭa (Sankrit
mss. available), Yoginīsamcaryā, Vajrāmṛta (Sanskrit Mss. available), and
Kālācakra (Sanskrit Mss. available). Most of these texts and their
authors are mentioned by Lāma Tāranātha. According to him the "Hevajra
Tantra was introduced by Padmavajra and Kambala. Padmavajra is
mentioned in the list of teachers given in the Pag-Sam-Jon-Zang and
translations of his works are preserved in the Tibetan Tanjur. Tāranātha
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