Cakrasaṃvara Tantra
The Cakrasaṃvara Tantra, Chinese: 胜乐金刚 shènglè jīngāng; Tibetan: Khorlo Demchog Gyud (Tibetan: འཁོར་ལོ་སྡོམ་པ / བདེ་མཆོག, Wylie: khor lo sdom pa / bde mchog gi rgyud) is considered to be of the mother class of the Anuttara Yoga Tantra in the Indo-Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhist tradition. Chakrasamvara Tantras (Tib.: kor lo dom pa gyu): the name of a group of related texts forming the principal anuttarayoga tantra class for the Wisdom (mother) classification. The Sakya Tradition maintains three principal lineages of Chakrasamvara (Luipa, Nagpopa, Ghantapa) and many minor traditions. There are over fifty lineages of Chakrasamvara practice in Tibet
Chakrasamvara Tantra(Skt. Cakrasaṃvara Tantra; Wyl. khor lo bde mchog gi rgyud) also known as the Sriherukabhidhana and Laghusamvara, belongs to the Mother tantra class of Highest Yoga Tantras.
The central deity of the mandala, Samvara, is one of the principal iṣṭha-devatā, or meditational deities of the Sarma schools of Tibetan Buddhism.
Saṃvara is typically depicted with a blue-coloured bodyr faces, and twelve arms, and embracing his consort Vajravarahi (in Chinese 金刚亥母 jīngāng hàimǔ)in the yab-yum position. Other forms of the deity are also known, with varying numbers of limbs. Saṃvara and consort are not to be thought of as two different entities, as an ordinary husband and wife are two different people; in reality, their divine embrace is a metaphor for the union of great bliss and emptiness, which are one and the same essence.
Samvara manifests in a number of forms, including a two-armed form. As one of the principal yidams of the Kagyupa lineage of Tibetan tantric Buddhism, he is most often depicted in this form and in union with the red Wisdom Dakini Dorje Phagmo. In Western meditation texts the name Cakrasamvara or Korlo Demchog is often translated to mean Highest Bliss. Meditation on Korlo Demchog is an advanced practice transmitted by ones lama, and binds the mind of the meditator to enlightenment itself.
Further Reading
- David B. Gray, The Cakrasamvara Tantra: A Study and Annotated Translation, American Institute of Buddhist Studies, 2007
- Lama Kazi Dawa Samdrup, Śri Cakrasaṃvara Tantra, Adyita Prakashan, New Delhi, 1987
- Ringu Tulku, The Ri-me Philosophy of Jamgön Kongtrul the Great (Boston & London: Shambhala Publications, 2006), pages 87-88.
