Articles by alphabetic order
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 Ā Ī Ñ Ś Ū Ö Ō
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0


Yukei Matsunaga Some Problems of the Guhyasamaya Tantra

From Tibetan Buddhist Encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Guhyasamaja akshobhyavajra.jpg






Introduction.


Among the Anuttarayoga-tantras which are . divided into Prajna-tantras or Yogini-tantras (mother tantras) and Upaya-tantras or Maha-yoga-tantras (father tantras) the Guhyasamaja-tantra' is known as the most basic Upaya-tantra text and is a representative Aksobhya-kula tantra. It has been widely adhered to by Indian and Tibetan tantrists and research on this text has continued for a long time. For this reason its historical significance can be compared to the Hevajra-tantra or Sambara-tantra among -the Prajna-tantras.

A considerable number of the Sanskrit manuscripts of the Giihyasamaja- tantra exist in various regions of the world reflecting its long history of wide dissemination. These Sanskrit manuscripts are divided into Purvardha or the first half and the Parardha or second half. Generally speaking, the title Guhyisamaja-tantra indicates only the Purvardha which consists of 18 chapters.

The Parardha has kalpas and sadhanas of the Heruka or Sampta system, and its material is clearly different from the Purvardha. During the later days of the prosperous era of the Guhyasamaja-tantra even the texts of the Prajna-tantra system seem to have been completely incorporated within the - Guhyasamaja-tantra.

The I-chAeh-ju-lai-chin-kang-san-yeh-tsui-shang-pi-mi-ta-chiao-wang Gang1 translated in 1002 A.D. by Shih-huo has 18 chapters.

The De-bzhin-gsegs-pa thams- cad-kyi sku gsuh thugs-kyi gsah-chen gsah-ba hdus-pa zhes-bya-ba brtag-pahi rgyal-po chen-po (Sarvatathjgatakayavjkcittarahasya-guhyasamja nama mahakalparaja), which is the Tibetan translation of Sraddhakaravarma and Rin-chen bzan-po of around the same period, in the Peking edition (81) is treated as a single tantra having- eighteen chapters.


However, in the Derge edition only chapters 1-17 are designated the Guhyasamaja-tantra (442), chapter 18 being treated as a distinct text under the name of rGyud phyi-ma (443, Uttaratantra), Also, the major part of the Indian and Tibetan commentaries classify the first 17 chapters as Mulatantra, while chapter 18 is distinguished as Uttaratantra. The Uttaratantra in a comparison with both the teachings and practices of the Mulatantra hasnumerous expanded forms and hence is generally considered to have appeared later than the Mulatantra.

In general tantras belonging to the anuttarayoga-tantra consist of Mulatantra, Uttaratantra and Akhyanatantras. In the Guhyasamaja circle, the Akhyanatantra are usually considered the following four tantras (443-446): the Sandhivyakar ana-antra, the Vajramala-tantra, the Caturdevipariprccha tantra and the Vajrajnanasamucca^yi-tantra. These Akhyanatantras are found in Tibetan only and have more advanced teaching and practices than the Guhyasamaja-tantra itself.


It is by no means rare that the entire body of’ Buddhist tantras were not compiled with any uniform . .goal, that its various teachings and practices were intermingled and that some particular sadhanas beyond the original tantras were made'. The Mahiavairocana-sutra which is a representative Carya-tantra and the Tattvasamgraha-sutra which is a representative Yoga-tantra have numerous sadhanas beyond the sutras. In Anuttarayoga-tantra one or numerous Utpattikrama and Utpanna- or Sampanna-krama in each school' were created by drawing upon the practices explained in the tantras.


The most important schools within the Guhyasamaja-tantra circle are the Jnanapada school (Ye-ses zhabs lugs) founded by Buddhasrijnana and the Saint school (Phags hkhor) founded by Nagarjuna. The Utpattikrama’s of the jNanapada school are the Samantabhadra nama sadhana (1855) and the Caturahga- sadhana-samantabhadra nama sadhana (1856) while its Sampannakrama is the Muktitilaka nama (1859). The practical order of both of these is incorporated in the Dvikramatattvabhavana nama mukhagama (1853) and each exists only in Tibetan translations. In the Saint school its Utpattikrama is the Pindikrta-sadhana (1796) while the Pancakrama (1802) is its Sampannakrama. The Sanskrit texts describing the practical order of both of the latter have already been discovered and ; published.


Various practices are explained in the Gulhyasamaja-tantra. This text has- as its goal the attainment of Buddhahood in this present life. This is to be . achieved by realizing that one’s body, speech and mind are ess^r^ntially one with the body, speech and mind of the Buddha, even while possessing the human weaknesses of desire, wrath, ignorance, etc. Those practices which have the most systematic form are Caturanga-sadhana .or practical order of four steps and the Sadanga-yoga or yoga of six steps. The four steps of the Caturanga- sadhana are the seva, upasadhana, sadhana and mahasadhana, and these are explained in the twelfth chapter of the Guhyasamaj a-tantra and in its 18th chapter (Uttaratantra), Sadangayoga consists of pratyahara, dhyana, pranayama, dharana, anusmrti and samadhi, these also being explained in the 18th chapter.

In all, the above features characterise the peculiar significance of the Gulyasamnaja tantra.


The bold accounts of sex- and the disgusting explanations concerning the consumption of excrement and human beings which are characteristic of the Guhyasainaja-tant?a have repeatedly . aroused criticism of this text. However, these immoral teachings and practices should be considered the special characteristics of Anuttarayoga-tantra which is an extremely mystical religion.

One of the fundamental attitudes .of the Guhyasamaja-tantra is to find an original pure nature in such deeds which have been negated from an ethical viewpoint.

The special features of the mandala of the Guhyasamaja-tantra are the appearance of goddesses or Saktis as consorts of the Tathagatas and the change 'of the central Buddha from Vairocana to Aksobhya. Within dharani texts admiration towards goddesses has existed from of old. The Mayajala-tantra was the first text from which the Guhyasamaja-tantra drew such accounts, the goddesses appearing thereafter as consorts of the Tathagatas. In the Prajna- tantra five Tathagatas were often converted to certain goddesses.


The Guhyasamaja-mandala was originally structured around the thirteen Buddhas explained in the first chapter.. These are the five Tathagatas Aksobhya (center), Vairocana (east), Ratnaketu (south), Amitayus or Amitabha (west) and Amoghasiddhi (north), their four Saktis Locana, Mamakl, Pandara and Tara and the four Krodharajas (guardians) Yamantakrt, Prajnantakrt, Padmantakrt and Vighnantakrt. Moreover, after the thirteenth chapter the four Krodharajas Yamantaka (Yamantakrt', Aparajita (Prajnantakrt), Hayagrlva (PadmSntakrt) and Vajramrta (Vighnantakrt) are appended and adding six more Krodharajas—Takkiraja, Mahabala, Niladanda, Acala, Usnlsa and Sum- bharaja—there is a total of ten additional Krodharajas.

Aksobhya is positioned as the central Buddha among the five Tathagatas in the basic structure of the Guhyasamaja-mandala. In a process of continual change within tantric texts whereby the position of Vairocana as the central Tathagata was often altered, this . text is recognized as having been formed with the replacement of Vairocana by Aksobhya.



II. The Age of the Guhyasamaja tantra


The Guhyasamaja-tanlra has been transmitted in India as an Uttaratantra of the Tatlvasamgraha-sutra™ Not only the Gukyasarnntja-tantra but all of the teachings, practices and mandalas of Anuttarayogatantra were influenced by the Tjt,tvasjm,grjha-sutrj. On the other hand, the Mahavairocana-sutra which is highly revered in Shingon Mikkyo (Esoteric Buddhism of Japan) had little relationship with the later development of Buddhist tantrism in India and Tibet. Briefly stated, Buddhist tantrism underwent a significant development based on the Tattvasamgraha-sutra which is a representative Yoga-tantra text.


According to the traditions in China and Japan, the Tattvasamgraha-sutra is thought to correspond with the first section of the Chin-kang-ting-ching series which consists of a hundred thousand verses and eighteen sections preached in eighteen synods. An outline of the eighteen sections is said to be noted in the Chih-kang-ting-ching-yii-chHeh-shih-pa-lui-chih-kuei as translated into Chinese by Amoghavajra who had been in India between 744 and 746 A.D. The name “GuhyasamSja-yoga” and a brief explanation of this text does appear in the fifteenth section of the Shih-pa-lui-chin-kuei. If this “Guhyasamaja-yoga” corresponds to the Guhyasamaja-tantra, we must set the date of this tantra before 746 A.D.

In comparing the explanations of the Shih-pa-lui-chih-kuei with those of the Guhyasamaja-tantra in its present form, the former states that the Lord Buddha preached the teachings, mudras and mantras of the Guhyasamaja-yoga at the yosid bhaga or vulva using the coarse speech of the mundane world. Prompted by curiosity, Sarvarilvaranaviskambhi-bodhisattva asked the Lord Buddha why. He replied that it was an effective means for leading the common people to Buddhism and that it was conducive to benefiting others. Thereupon every Bodhisattva revealed four kinds of mandala and four kinds of mudra. With such a brief explication the fifteenth section ends.

A similar discussion can be found in the fifth chapter of the Guhyasamaja-tantra, but it has no relation ' with other chapters. The Shih-pa-lui-chih-kuei does not mention the five Tatha- gatas with their four Saktis among whom Aksobhya-tathagata is the main deity, the attainment of Buddhahood in the present life by the union -of the body, speech and mind (KSyavSkcitta-adhisthana) or the four kinds of discipline (Caturanga-sadhana) which are essential to the practices of the Guhyasamaja- tantra. In contrast the above four kinds of mandala and four kinds of mudra can be found in the Tattvasamgraha-sittra which is a representative Yoga-tantra.

The accounts in the fifteenth section of the Shih-pa-lui-chih-kuei have the color of Anuttarayoga-tantra and the influences of the above Yoga-tantra seem strong. In a comparison with this Yoga-tantra text, the present form of the Guhyasamaja- tantra is not thought to have existed at the time of the Shih-pa-lui-chih-kuei, butthe original text must be considered to have been formed. In the first 'half. of the 8th century which was still a flourishing period for Yoga-tantra, the Guhyasamaja-tantra as an Anuttarayoga-tantra was not completed, but we can probably say it had been in its formative stage. In the Chinese and Tibetan translations of Buddhist texts of this period, there appear only the Kriya, Carya and Yoga tantras. Anuttarayoga-tantras cannot be found at all.


For our next consideration we must give careful deliberation to the period when the Guhyasamaja-tantra was completed. This problem has an intimate relationship with the Jnanapada school. When we compare the respective Utpattikramas and Sampannakramas of the Saint and Jnanapada schools, the Saint school has developed much more well articulated explanations. In the mandala of the Jnanapada school -there are nineteen deities due to the addition of ten Krodharajas to the five Tathagatas and four Saktis explained in the Mulatantra of the Guhyasamaja-tantra. Instead of Aksobhya who is usually mentioned, the central Tathagata of the Jnanapada school is Manjuvajra, this Tathagata appearing only after the thirteenth chapter. However, none of the thirty-two deities of the Saint school can be found in Uttaratantra and, of course, neither in the Mulatantra of the Guhyasamjja. While the Caturanga- sadhana which is the practical order of the Jnanapada school is explained in the Guhy^as(^mUj<i--t^ntt^a> the Pancakrama of the Saint school is not touched upon at all. Not only in regard to the above mandala and sadhana but also in reference to the various practices of the Saint school there is no mention of the Mulatantra or Uttaratantra of the Guhyasamaja as its authority and, instead, there are numerous references to Akhyanatantras. T'his indicates that its expanded form was completed after the formation of the Guhyjsdmjjj-tjntnj.


In Tibetan translations the sadhanas and commentaries of the Saint school were translated only after the 11th century. In comparison the Jnanapada school had an intimate relationship with the Guhyjasamhja-tantra Thus we are able to date the Jnanapada school around the period of the formation of this tantra.

Within the Sjmjntjbhjdrj rama sadhana and the Caturjhgjsjdhjnj-samjntj- bhadri ramd1 of Jnanapada which are the Utpattikrama's of the Jnanapada school some parts of the Guhyjsjmjjj-tantra9 are quoted verbatim. Accordingly, the present form of the Guhyjsamajj-^dnlrj seems to have been completed at the time of Jnanapada.”


In lieu of the dates of Haribhadra and Santaraksita who were clearly contemporaries of Jnanapada and who had ties with him Jnanapada ki period of activity is placed around the latter half of the 8th century. We may also note that Vairocana who was a contemporary of King Khri-srondde-brtsan (ca. 800) had introduced the Sampannakrama of the Jnanapada school from India to Tibet. Compositions of Jnanapada are recorded in the Denkarma catalogue which was written around the beginning of the 9th century. In addition, since a commentary9 on the Guhyasamaja-uttaratantra composed by Visvamitra who belonged to the Jnanapada school and a commentary on the Guhyasamaja-mUla- tantra by Vajrahasa remain in the Tibetan canon as old translations, both commentaries must have been translated before the translations of tantras was prohibited by King Ral-pa-can who acceded to the throne in 815. For all the above reasons we know that the Guhyasamaja-tantra including the Uttara- tantra part was completed during the latter half of the 8th century when Jnanapada was active.


Accordingly, we can probably conjecture that the first ' half of the 8th century was the formative period of the Gukyasamaja-tantra, while the text in its present form was completed in the latter half of the 8th century.


Numerous misconceptions are recorded concerning the age of the Guhya- sarnya-tantra. Since the Tathjgaiagutyakj as quoted in numerous places in §antideva’s 7th century composition the Siksasamuccaya is regar'ded as identical J , J. with the Guhyasamjja-tantra, its formative period is accordingly placed before the 7th century. B- Bhattacharyya also, appends the name Tathjgjtjguhyaka to the title page of his Sanskrit edition of the Guhyasamaja-tan^ra.

However Watters and Winternitz by comparing the quotations of the Siksasamuccaya with the present Guhyasamaja-tantra, conclude that the Tathagataguhyaka and Giihyasamaja-lantra are different texts. .

_ Bhattacharyya’s view that Asanga, the M ahayana philosopher of the 4th century, was the author of the Guhyasamaja-tantra has been denied by many scholars. Later careful consideration was given to the formative period of this tantra' by studying Tibetan materials. Its formative period has been agreed upon in reference to the. Tibetan commentaries and sadhanas on this tantra by Indrabhuti, Nagarjuna and Candraklrti who are generally called Siddhas. Although these Siddhas generally have the same name, they are indeed different individuals, throughout many periods there are numerous different Siddhas who have the same name. In any case we must be prudent in deciding the formative period of the tantras in reference to the period of the Siddhas.

Since there are analogies with the Lahkavatara-sutra and Vaisnavism in the Vajramala-tantra, which is one of the Akhyanatantras of the Guhyasamaja, a study has also appeared which set the formative period of the Guhyasamaja-tantra in the 4th century. If we concur that analogous statements 'were all composed at the same time, for example, the ' explications of the magical rituals of santi, paustika and abhicSrika etc., explained in the Buddhist tantras based on the fact that they appear even in the Atharvaveda, we should be able to trace the era of Buddhist tantrism back before the birth of Christ.


_ We must not forget the existence of the Mayajala-tantra in the process of the formation of the Guhyasamaaa-tantra out of the Tattvasamgraha-sutra. This tantra was translated into Tibetan by Rin-chen bzan-po in the 11th century and . also into Chinese under the name of Tu-fcie-ta-kiao-wang-king by Fa-hsien around the same period. In the second chapter of the Guhyasamaja-tantra the five Tathagatas Vairo- cana, Aksobhya, Ratnaketu, Amitayus and Amoghasiddhi relate certain ideas concerning their respective bodhicitta. The ideas of all these Tathagatas except Vairocana were based on the Mayajala-lantraO2 while Vairocana’s views were incorporated from the Mahavairocana.


The forty-one deities explained in the second chapter of the Mayajala-tantra form the structure of its mandala. These are five Tathagatas with Vairocana as the central deity, four Saktis, four Paramita-bodhisattvas, four Bodhisattvas, sixteen Mahabodhisattvas and eight Krodharajas. The five Tathagatas, four Paramita-bodhisattvas and sixteen Mahabodhisattvas are derived from the mandala of the Tattvasamgraha-sutra, and later the four Saktis and eight Krodharajas were incorporated in the Gukyasamaja-tantra which has ten Krodharajas. It may be presumed that the Mayajala-rantra was formed when the Gukyasamaja-tantra was evolving from the TartvasamgfakassUtra, it having some influence on .the formation of the Gukyasamajasrantra.

Also Vajrahasa’s commentary which is one of the oldest on the Gukya- samajasranrra and which is highly revered by the rNin-ma-pa of Tibet, quotes as an agama the gSak-baki snik-po.2 This gSak-baki snik-po served as the foundation for the Mayajala-tantra and considerably influenced the formation of the Gukya- samajasrantra. III. Composition of tke Tantra. It is generally recognized that the Uttaratantra, i.e. the eighteenth chapter of the Guhyasamaja-tantra which has expanded teachings and practices, was formed somewhat later than the previous Mula- tantra. or first seventeen chapters of the Gukyasamaja-tantra- Similarly, the contents of the Mulatantra are not always consistent and the entire body of the text was not formed at one time. The Mulatantra should also be divided into two parts, i.e., from the first chapter to the twelfth and from the thirteenth chapter to the seventeenth. This will be clarified in the following discussion.

There are four Akhyanatantras of the Guhyasamaja and three among these have been influenced by the Saint School as will be treated below. Since only the Sandkivyakarana which is an Akhyanatantra written in the form of a commentary on the GuhyasamajaSantra remained aloof from the influences . of both the Saint and Jnanapada schools, this text can be said to be an indis- pensible tool for research on the Guhyasamaja-tantra. This Sandkivyakarana isdiscussed in t. e first twelve chapters of the Cufiyasamaja-tantra, but there is no mention of it after the thirteenth chapter. In. fact an examination of the twelve chapters and the latter five chapters raises the question of whether or not their contents, structure and formation are different or not. I will try todeal with this problem through the following four points.

First, in regards to the number of deities in the mandala, a limit of thirteen deities is explained in chapter one, and such is the case until chapter . if i® twelve, but, beginning with chapter thirteen, six additional Krodharajas appear , their mantras and iconography being explained in detail. Thus, in regard to" mandala, we can see these differences.

Secondly, the Caturanga-sadhana explained in the Uttaratantra of the wf if Cuhyasamaja-tantra which is the most important practice of this tantra, in its. original form is found in the twelfth chapter. This has become a basis for arguing that the tantra in its original form may have been completed with the first twelfth chapter.

Thirdly, when comparing the latter five chapters with the first twelve, the length of the chapters has doubled or tripled, numerous expanded mantras appearand the contents of these two sections are quite different.

Finally, the main subjects of the Mulatantra, which are arranged in the form of fifty-two questions and answers in the Uttaratantra, can all be found prior to the twelfth chapter. In fact, the basic part - of the Cuhyasamaja-tantra can be stated to be incorporated within the first twelve chapters.

Based on the above, I think we can divide the structure and contents of the Cuhyasamaja-tantra into the first twelve chapters and the following five chapters. If we do so, we should probably recognize that the latter five chapters were appended after the compilation of the first twelve, the Uttaratantra hence being completed. However, the Uttaratantra text which is quoted in Visvamitra’s commentary and which remains as an old Tibetan translation differs with the present text. Accordingly, it is likely that a small process of development occurred before the present form of the Uttaratantra was completed. IV. Akhyanatantra and the Saint school. There are four representative Akhy anatantras of the Guhyasamaja. These are the Sandhivyakarana, Vaframald, €^1^^0^(111^0:11(1 and Vajrajnanasamiiccaya. In the subcommenthry of the dGe- lugs-pa on the Pradlpodyotana, i.e. commentary on the Cuhyasdmaja-tantra, we find the name of Devendrapariprccha listed as one of the Akliyanatantra- However, since there are no Sanskrit manuscripts or Tibetan translations of such a tantra, the Akhyanatantras have been limited to the above four tantras.


In the last part of the Pindikrta-sadhana which is the Utpattikrama of the Saint school, the Pindikrta-sadhana is described as based on the Gutyasam-aja-tantra and ' the Vajramala-tantra.2* Also, in the beginning of the Pahcakrama, which is its Sampannakrama, it is related that it has to be understood by means of Akhyanatantra. Not only that, the Pradlpodyotana of Candraklrti which is an important commentary of the Saint school relies heavily upon Akhyanatantra rather than Mulatantra. There is no mention of Akhyanatantra in the Sadhana and commentaries of the Jnanapada school. As only the Saint school highly reveres the Akhyanatantra, we can say that the Akhyanatantras excluding the Sandhivyakarana embody a considerably strong Saint .school color.

The thirty-two deity mandala of the Saint school is not described in the Guhyasamaja-tantra and its authority appears to be based only on the Vajramala- tantra.■ This Vajramala-tantra has sixty-eight chapters. Of these the original explanation of the Pindikrta-sadhana of the Saint school is founded only on the chapter sixty-eight. When we compare the explanations of the sixty-eighth chapter of the Vajramala-tantra with the similar parts found in the fourth order of the Pahcakrama, it becomes clear that this section of the Vajramala-tantra has been drawn from, the Pahcakrama. Still, the first order of the Pahcakrama has been directly influenced by the sixty-eighth chapter of the Viyramalli-tantra. It has been verified that the Vajrajhana-samuccaya-tantra which is one of the u Akhyanatantras and the Pradlpodyotana have also mutually influenced one another.

It has become clear that these Akhyanatantras had developed new teachings and practical methods which were influenced by the Saint school, but which cannot be found in the Guhyasamaja-tantra and moreover they were purposely appended to and introduced to the Akhyanatantras.

The reason why this occurred is that the formation of the Saint school took place after the completion of the Gutiyasamaja-tantra. In other words, in order for the Saint school to establish a mew foothold outside the Mulatantra and the Uttaratantra teachings it took as its authoritative base these tantras and then composed or adapted the Akhyanatantras which incorporated a long historical development of the doctrines of this school.

In regards to the period of the tantrists Nagarjuna and Candraklrti, according to some lineages which were transmitted in T ibet, we can presume that these Siddhas were living between the 9th century and the middle of the 11th century. Bu-ston also concurs that the Saint school prospered in this same period. In comparison with the Jnanapada school whose founding is placed at the latter half of the 8th century, we will probably have to recognize that the Saint school was established at a later period.

Although there is a Chinese translation of the Guhyasamaja-tantra, it was not at all accepted in either China or Japan. This occurred because the lefthanded teachings and practices which were incorporated in this Anuttarayoga- tantra were incompatible with the general ethical principles of China and Japan. Moreover, it is thought that there were no acaryas in China who could fully transmit the practices of Anuttarayogatantra. When we compare the Chinese translations of the Guhyasamaja-tantra and Hevajra-tantra to their respective Sanskrit texts and Tibetan translations, we notice an abundance of mistranslations in the Chinese. It may well be that the Chinese translators translated these texts with scarcely any knowledge at all of Anuttarayogatantra.

In contrast, the tradition of the Guhyasamaja-tantra in Tibet immediately attracts our attention. Among the eighteen texts which are highly respected by the rNin-ma-pa, the Guhyasamaja-tantra occupies the first rank. Even during the period of the new Tibetan translations after the 11th century this text still attracted the attention of people. Among the dGe-lugs-pa this tantra is deeply respected as the highest of all tantras and among almost all the schools of Lamaism many commentaries and subcommentaries have been written on it.