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
43 (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)
[commentary of 1.1.4] 'Being (sattva)': Means the existent being. Existence is
characterised by actions that produce effects (arthakriy膩k膩ritva) which are the basis
for belief in the manifested external world (idampratyayak峁nam). The 'existent
being' is characterized by the Aggregate of the Five Components of Phenomenal
Awareness (pa帽caskandha). (YM)67
Thus in Hevajra Tantra, and "Yogaratnam膩l膩, the Madhyamika
Pr膩sangika as well as the Yog膩c膩ra Sv膩tantrika view has been expounded.
However, N膩g膩rjunap膩da's statement in "Yogaratnam膩l膩, upholds the
supremacy and accuracy of the Pr盲sangika view of the ultimate truth. It
is not sufficient to discuss the Yog膩c膩ra Sv膩tantrika and the Madhyamika
Pr盲sangika view of Emptiness and selflessness, the Cittam膩tra view on
the same topic needs mentioning As with the Madhyamika, we shall
primarily rely on the works of the great dGe lug ba scholars like Tsong
kha pa, Jamyang Shey Ba, Jang gya and so forth for a brief study of the
Cittam膩tra doctrine and the influence it exerted on "Hevajra Tantra.
4. The Cittam膩tra View of Emptiness
Cittam膩tra or the Proponents of Mind Only' are so called because they
propound that all phenomena are of the mere entity of the mind. Also,
because they settle the practice of the deeds of the path from the yogic
point of view, they are also called 'Yogic Practitioners'.
The tenets of the Mind only school are as follows:
paratantram kalpitam/ etat trayam paramarthato n膩sty eva katham n膩sti ukta帽 ca
Bhagavat膩 'Cittam膩tram Bho Jinaputr膩 yaduta traidh膩tukam' iti tat katham styam
uktam viney膩n膩m r奴p膩dyabhinive艣aprah膩峁嚹乺tham/ atr膩rthe N膩g膩rjunap膩dair uktam
cittam膩tram idam sarvam iti y膩 de艣an膩 mune岣�/ uttr膩saparih膩r膩rtham b膩l膩n膩m s膩 na
tattvata岣�// tasm膩t paramarthato n膩sty etac cittam/ iyat膩 sarvabh膩v膩n膩m tattvam
uktam// (HT[S].,part2, p.116)
67 sato bh膩va岣� sattvam artha姆riy膩k膩ritvam idam pratyayalak峁nam/
pa帽caskandh膩tmakam// (HT[S].part2, p.105.3-4)
- 48 -
www
