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 1 - Tantric Buddhism
35 (of 63)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
Download the PDF file of the original publication
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
prasanga (reductio ad absurdum) to be the real method of Nagarjuna and
鉅赌
School of the
of
膧rya Deva. He therefore initiates the Pr盲sangika School
M膩dhyamika. Bh膩vaviveka (Bhavya), a younger contemporary
Buddhap膩lita, criticises the latter for merely indulging in refutation
without advancing a counter-position. He seems to have held that the
Madhyamika could consistently advance an opposite view. When the
satk膩ryav膩da is criticised, the opposite view of cause and effect being
different should be set forth. It is not quite clear what exactly
Bh膩vaviveka, who was himself a Madhyamika, meant by this. Probably, he
would have liked to take a particular stand with regard to empirical
reality, or his aim was to vindicate the empirical validity of both the
alternatives in turn.
turn.
Bh膩vaviveka is the founder of the Sv膩tantra
(Sv膩tantrika) Madhyamika School which had some following and which
later on gave rise to combination with the Sautr膩ntika and Yog膩c膩ra.
Candrak墨rti criticises him severely for being inconsistent, although a
Madhyamika, in advancing independent arguments and for his fondness for
exhibiting his skill as a logician. He is even castigated for his inaccuracy
in stating the opponent's position.54
Tsong kha pa's argument is read as a distortion of the Indian sources
or as a careful elaboration of their implications, it is clear that Tsong
kha pa's text is more than a slavish reproduction of the Indian tradition.
It is a strong act of philosophical interpretation.
Tsong kha pa argues that Bh膩vaviveka thinks things like coiled snakes
are established with their own identity (svalak峁峁嘺siddha) conventionally.-
He is prepared to accept that coiled snakes that are not falsely
superimposed on coiled ropes have some conventional reality, but his
method does not require him to accept the Yog膩c膩ra definition of that
reality. Nor does he seem eager to accept this aspect of the Yog膩c膩ra as
a stepping stone to something else. 55
This concept of analysis lets Tsong kha pa draw a sharp distinction
54 T.R.V. Murti. The Central Philosophy of Buddhism, A Study of Madhyamika
System, pp.95-96.
55 Georges B.J. Dreyfus and Sara L. McClintock (ed.), Ibid, pp.183鈥�184.
40 -
