Read Tantric Techniques Online
Authors: Jeffrey Hopkins
Tags: #Health & Fitness, #Yoga, #Body; Mind & Spirit, #Meditation, #Religion, #Buddhism, #General, #Tibetan
Bu-tön introduces the topic by citing a passage in the
Wisdom Vajra Compendium,
c
an explanatory Tantra in the Guhyasam
ā
ja cycle and thus a Highest Yoga Tantra, that indicates that there is no imagination of oneself as a deity in Action Tantra:
d
Those who are terrified and are very cleanly, who lack the excellent bliss of a wisdom-being and lack pride in themselves as a deity, who are not an object of the unusual practice, and who practice with thoughts on the features of defects abide in Action Tantra.
Bu-tön elaborates on the meaning:
e
“Those who are terrified and are very cleanly” are terrified of the profound meaning [of reality].
f
The meaning of “who lack the excellent bliss of a wisdom-being and pride in themselves as a deity” is that they do not generate [that is,
a
Extensive Presentation of the General Tantra Sets,
86.6-88.7.
b
Ibid., 54.5-61.7.
c
ye shes rdo rje kun las btus pa zhes bya ba’i rgyud, vajrajñ
ā
nasamuccaya-n
ā
matantra;
P84, vol. 3.
d
Extensive Presentation of the General Tantra Sets,
84.4; cited by Tsong-kha-pa,
Deity Yoga,
47.
e
Extensive Presentation of the General Tantra Sets,
86.5.
f
Tsong-kha-pa (
Deity Yoga,
58) identifies “One who is terrified” differently as referring to “several types of trainees of Action Tantras who are frightened and terrified by the activity of single-pointed cultivation of deity yoga.”
304
Tantric Techniques
imagine] themselves as deities and do not [perform the practice of ] the wisdom-being [that is, the actual deity] entering into themselves. This is clear in fact and also is what earlier lamas have said. Also, such is explained in Shr
ī
dhara’s
Commentary on the Difficult Points of the “Yam
ā
ri Tantra”: Innate Illumination
a
as well as a commentary on the
Vajrapañjara Tantra,
b
and so forth. However:
Buddhaguhya in his
Commentary on the “Concentration Continuation”
says:
c
The
Glorious Condensed [Tantra of ] Imaginations
d
teaches familiarization with the selflessness of phenomena and deity yoga in a great many passages; therefore, I will not cite them here. In such tantras the bodies of deities and the repetition that is performed prior
e
to the secret mantra concentrations on sound [that is, before the concentrations of abiding in fire and in sound] are described. Those [rites of deity yoga] that were not described in whatsoever [tantras] due to [the mental outlook of ] trainees were set forth in the
Questions of Sub
ā
hu
f
which is a tantra containing the rites of all tantras,
g
the
Glorious Condensed [Tantra of ] Imaginations,
and so forth.
[Buddhaguhya] uses as his sources the
Condensed [Tantra of ]
a
gshin rje gshed kyi rgyud kyi dka’ ’grel lhan cig skyes pa’i snang ba, yam
ā
ritantrapañjik
ā
sahaj
ā
loka
; P2781, vol. 66. Tsong-kha-pa cites the passage; see
Deity Yoga,
48.
b
As mentioned in an earlier note, there are three commentaries—by Devakulamah
ā
mati (P2326), by K
ṛṣ
h
ṇ
ap
ā
da (P2325), and by Indrabodhi (P2324), the last being Indrabh
ū
ti according to the Tohoku catalogue.
c
bsam gtan phyi ma rim par phye ba rgya cher bshad pa, dhy
ā
nottarapa
ṭ
ala
ṭī
k
ā
;
P3495, vol. 78. Tsong-kha-pa cites the first two sentences of this passage; see
Deity Yoga,
51.
d
rdo rje khro bo’i rgyal po’i rtog pa bsdus pa’i rgyud, vajrakrodhar
ā
jakalpalaghutantra;
P319, vol. 7.
e
bsam gtan du byas
(87.2) should read
bsam gtan
sngon
du byas
in accordance with Buddhaguhya’s text (P3495, vol. 78, 71.1.5).
f
dpung bzang gis zhus pa’i rgyud, sub
ā
huparip
ṛ
cch
ā
tantra;
P428, vol. 9.
g
The
Questions of Sub
ā
hu
is a
general
Action Tantra, applicable to all lineages of trainees, as opposed to Tantras spoken only for a specific lineage, and thus contains “the rites of
all
tantras.”
Controversy over Deity Yoga in Action Tantra
305
Imaginations,
the
Vairochan
ā
bhisambodhi Tantra,
a
the
Vajra-p
āṇ
i Initiation Tantra ,
b
and so forth. Also, he describes deity yoga as being generation of oneself as a deity by way of the six deities. Moreover, his description is similar in his
Commentary on the
“
Vajravi
ḍā
ra
ṇ
a Tantra.”
c
The master Varabodhi, in his
Condensed Means of Achievement of Susiddhi
describes generation of oneself as a deity:
d
Do not think that the stages of the yoga of achieving a deity are not taught in Action Tantras. Though the Supramundane Victor did not teach these in most [Action Tantras], they are taught as main subjects in the
Vajrap
āṇ
i Initiation
and the
En-try to the Ten Principles.
e
In brief, all feats depend on a secret mantra deity and on suchness; if these are deficient, activities of pacification and so forth will not be achieved. Hence, these should be understood through a guru’s explanations and through a little analysis of the features of tantras. Thus, a divine body is to be generated through these stages.
These two masters do not speak of the entry of a wisdom-being [that is, an actual deity entering into the imagined deity].
The master N
ā
g
ā
rjuna speaks of self-generation and en-try of a wisdom-being as well as initiation in his
Means of Achievement of the Retention of the Thousand-Armed Avalokiteshvara.
f
Also, self-generation, entry of a wisdom-
a
rnam par snang mdzad chen po mngon par rdzogs par byang chub pa rnam par sprul ba, mah
ā
vairocan
ā
bhisa
ṃ
bodhivikurvat
ī
;
P126, vol. 5. Tsong-kha-pa holds that this is a Performance Tantra.
b
lag na rdo rje dbang bskur ba’i rgyud chen po, vajrap
āṇ
i-abhi
ṣ
ekamah
ā
tantra;
P130, vol. 6. Tsong-kha-pa considers this a Performance Tantra.
c
rdo rje rnam par ’joms pa zhes bya ba’i bzungs kyi rgya cher ’grel pa rin po che gsal ba, vajravid
ā
ra
ṇ
i
[or
vid
ā
ra
ṇ
a
]
n
ā
madh
ā
ra
ṇīṭī
k
ā
ratn
ā
bh
ā
svar
ā
;
P3504, vol. 78. The tantra itself is not extant in Tibetan, nor has the Sanskrit been located to date.
d
Tsong-kha-pa cites the same passage, except for the last sentence; see
Deity Yoga,
52. Varabodhi’s text is
legs par grub par byed pa’i sgrub pa’i thabs bsdus pa, susiddhikaras
ā
dhanasa
ṃ
graha;
P3890, vol. 79.
e
de kho na nyid bcu la ’jug pa, *da
ś
atattv
ā
tara
.
f
spyan ras gzigs dbang phyug phyag stong sgrub thabs, sahasrabhuj
ā
valokite
ś
varas
ā
dha—
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Tantric Techniques