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Mahāyoga (Sanskrit for "great yoga") is the designation of the first of the three
Inner Tantras Classes of Tantra in Tibetan Buddhism refers to the categorization of Buddhist tantric scriptures in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism. Tibetan Buddhism inherited numerous tantras and forms of tantric practice from medieval Indian Buddhist Tantra. There were ...
according to the ninefold division of practice used by the
Nyingma Nyingma (literally 'old school') is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. It is also often referred to as ''Ngangyur'' (, ), "order of the ancient translations". The Nyingma school is founded on the first lineages and transl ...
school of
Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...
. Mahāyoga is held to emphasise the
generation stage The fundamental practice of Vajrayana and Tibetan tantric practice, Tibetan tantra is deity yoga (''devatayoga''), meditation on a chosen deity or "cherished divinity" (Skt. ''Iṣṭa-devatā,'' Tib. ''yidam''), which involves the recitation o ...
(or "development stage") of Tantra, where the succeeding two yana,
anuyoga Anuyoga (Skt. अनुयोग 'further yoga') is the designation of the second of the three Inner Tantras according to the Yana (Buddhism)#The nine yanas, ninefold division of practice used by the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism. As with the ...
and
atiyoga Dzogchen (, "Great Perfection" or "Great Completion"), also known as ''atiyoga'' ( utmost yoga), is a tradition of teachings in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and Yungdrung Bon aimed at discovering and continuing in the ultimate ground of existence ...
, emphasise the
completion stage The fundamental practice of Vajrayana and Tibetan tantra is deity yoga (''devatayoga''), meditation on a chosen deity or "cherished divinity" (Skt. ''Iṣṭa-devatā,'' Tib. ''yidam''), which involves the recitation of mantras, prayers and vi ...
and the synthesis or transcendence of the two, respectively.


Practice

Reginald Ray Reginald Ray (born 1942) is an American Buddhist academic and teacher. Ray studied Tibetan Buddhism, traditional shamanic wisdom, and yogic-contemplative practices with the Tibetan refugee and recognized Vajrayana traditional-wisdom holder Chög ...
(2002: p. 124) associates the Mahāyoga with removing aggression, or anger. An embedded quotation by Tulku Thondup identifies the focus of Mahayoga as viewing the universe as a manifestation of the Buddhist deities, a practice associated with the
two truths The Buddhist doctrine of the two truths (Sanskrit: ''dvasatya,'' ) differentiates between two levels of '' satya'' (Sanskrit; Pali: ''sacca''; word meaning "truth" or "reality") in the teaching of the Śākyamuni Buddha: the "conventional" or " ...
doctrine that recognises both a conventional and an ultimate truth:
Mahāyoga-yana is associated with the masculine principle and is for those whose primary defilement is aggression. In Mahāyoga, one visualizes oneself as the divinity with consort. "All manifestation, thoughts and appearances are considered to be the sacred aspects of the divinities within relative truth," in the words of Tulku Thondup. By visualizing all phenomena as the deities of the mandala of buddhahood, in the development stage, all appearances are purified.Ray, Reginald A. (2002). ''Indestructible Truth: The Living Spirituality of Tibetan Buddhism - The World of Tibetan Buddhism Volume One''. Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.: Shambala Publications, Inc. . P.124.
Ray (2002: p. 124) highlights the pre-eminent usage of
visualization Visualization or visualisation may refer to: *Visualization (graphics), the physical or imagining creation of images, diagrams, or animations to communicate a message * Data visualization, the graphic representation of data * Information visualiz ...
amongst the techniques of tantric sadhana and the teaching of the "eight cosmic commands":
One particular keynote of mahāyoga-yana has to do with the use of visualization. In the Vajrayana in general, one visualizes oneself as the buddha, thus giving external form to the enlightenment within. Like-wise, one visualizes the external world as pure and sacred, thus under-cutting the usual practice of taking things as impure and defiled. In mahāyoga, one comes to the realization that actually all of our everyday experience is a visualization. Just as we can visualize ourselves as a buddha and the world as pure, so we can visualize ourselves as an existent ego and the world as defiled. Realizing that all of our images and conceptions of reality are in fact complex visualizations, we gain a unique entry into the underpinnings of the conventional world and gain a certain kind of unparalleled leverage over it. This is reflected in the mahāyoga-yana teaching of the "eight cosmic commands," eight kinds of ways to intervene in the operation of the conventional world and alter its momentum for the benefit of others.


Mahāyoga textual tradition

As with the other yanas, Mahāyoga represents both a scriptural division as well as a specific emphasis of both view (Tibetan: ''ta-ba'') and practice (Tibetan: ''yod-pa''). Mahāyoga scriptures are further divided into two sections: the Sadhana section, consisting of practice texts for meditation on specific deities, and the Tantra section. In introducing the ''mTshams brag Edition of the Collected Tantras of the Ancients rnying ma rgyud 'bum'', the textual tradition of the Mahāyoga-yana, the "Tibetan and Himalayan Library" states:
The Mahāyoga section of the Collected Tantras of the Ancients is the largest of the three. It is divided into two major sections: the Tantra Series (''rgyud sde'') and the Practice Series (''sgrub sde''). One of the seminal Tantras of the Ancients found in this section is the Secret Essence Tantra or ''gsang ba'i snying po'i rgyud'', which has spawned not only a plethora of Indo-Tibetan commentaries but also a heated debate in Tibet over its authenticity.Source

(accessed: Saturday May 2, 2008)
The "Tibetan and Himalayan Library" states that "although the ''mTshams brag'' edition of The Collected Tantras does not rigorously organize its texts according to sub-categories, the Mahāyoga category can be further subdivided according to the following scheme": #Tantra Series (''rgyud sde'') ##The eightfold set of root Magical Emanation Tantras (''Mayajala'', ''rtsa bar gyur sgyu 'phrul sde brgyad'') ##The eighteenfold set of explanatory tantras (''bshad pa dang cha mthun gyi rgyud tantra sde bco brgyad'') (see below) ###Enlightened Body (''sku'') ###Enlightened Speech (''gsung'') ###Enlightened Mind (''thugs'') ###Enlightened Qualities (''yon tan'') ###Enlightened Activities (''phrin las'') ##Miscellaneous #Practice Series of the Eight Proclamation Deities (''sgrub sde bka' brgyad'') ##The Practice Series (''sgrub sde'') ###Summary of the Highest Intention (''bla ma dgongs pa 'dus pa'') ###Consortium of Sugatas (''bde gshegs 'dus pa'') ###Miscellaneous ##The Eight Proclamation Deities (''bka' brgyad'') ###The Mañjushrī Cycle on Enlightened Form ('''jam dpal sku'i skor'') ###The Lotus Tantras on Enlightened Communication (''pad ma gsung gi rgyud'') ###The Real Tantras on Enlightened Mind (''yang dag thugs kyi rgyud'') ###The Nectar Tantras on Enlightened Qualities (''bdud rtsi yon tan gyi rgyud'') ###The Sacred Dagger Cycle on Enlightened Activities (''phrin las phur pa'i skor'') ###The Cycle on Invoking the Fierce Ma-mo Deities (''ma mo rbod gtong skor'') ###Offerings and Praises to Protect the Teachings (''bstan srung mchod bstod'') ###The Cycle on Fierce Mantras (''drag sngags skor'') ###Miscellaneous ##Miscellaneous #Miscellaneous


The eightfold set of root Magical Emanation Tantras

* gsang ba'i snying po de kho na nyid nges pa (Skt: śrī guhya garbha tattva niścaya) * sgyu 'phrul bzhi bcu pa (Skt: guhya garbha tattva niścaya) * gsang ba'i snying po de kho na nyid nges pa (Skt: guhya garbha tattva viniścaya) * gsang ba'i snying po de kho nyid nges pa sgyu 'phrul brgyad pa'i rgyud (Skt: guhya garbha tattva niścaya māyā jālāṣṭa tantra) * lha mo sgyu 'phrul dra ba chen mo'i rgyud (Skt: devī jālī mahā māyā tantra) * 'jam dpal mtshan brjod (Skt: ārya mañjuśrī nāma saṃgīti) * sgyu 'phrul le lhag (Skt: ārya vikalpa rāja / māyā jāla sarga śata sāhasrika lakṣaṇa sarva tantrāgama / sarva tathāgata guhya guhya garbhya hiṃsa bala nāma cakra varti citta phala) * gsang ba'i snying po de kho na nyid nges pa sgyu 'phrul dra ba bla ma chen po (Skt: guhya garbha tattvaṃ niścaya māyā jālottara mahā tantra)


Eighteen great tantras of Mahāyoga

The 'eighteen great tantras' (Wylie: ''bshad pa dang cha mthun gyi rgyud tantra sde bco brgyad'') from the Tantra series described above are at the heart of the Mahāyoga tradition. These are grouped into 'five root tantras' (Wylie: ''rtsa ba sku gsung thugs yon tan phrin las kyi rgyud chen po lnga''), 'five practice tantras' (Wylie: ''sgrub pa lag len du bstan pa rol pa' rgyud chen po lnga''), and 'five activity tantras' (Wylie: ''spyod pa'i yan lag tu 'gro ba'i rgyud chen po lnga''), and the 'two supplementary tantras' (Wylie: ''ma tshang kha bskong ba'i rgyud chen po gnyis''). Together they are known as the ''Māyājāla''. They are as follows: The " Guhyagarbha Tantra" (Wylie: ''rDo rje sems dpa' sgyu 'phrul drwa ba''; ''gSang ba snying po'') is the foremost of all of these and it abridges the content of the seventeen others as follows:


Root tantras

* Equalizing Buddhahood (the tantra of the body) (Wylie: ''Sangs rgyas mnyam sbyor gyi rtsa ba mkha' 'gro ma bde mchog rtsa ba'i rgyud'') Skt: sarva buddha sama yoga tantra rāja * The Secret Moon, (the tantra of speech) (Wylie: ''dPal Zla gsang thig le rtsa ba'i rgyud'') Skt: candra guhya tilaka * The Assembly of Secrets (
Guhyasamāja Tantra The ''Guhyasamāja Tantra'' (Sanskrit: ''Guhyasamājatantra''; Tibetan: ''Gsang ’dus rtsa rgyud'', Toh 442; ''Tantra of the Secret Society or Community''), also known as the ''Tathāgataguhyaka (Secrets of the Tathagata),'' is one of the most ...
) (the tantra of mind) (Wylie: ''dPal gSang ba 'dus pa'') Skt: sarva tathāgata kāya vāk citta rahasyo guhya samāja nāma mahā kalpa rāja * The Glorious Supreme Primal Tantra (the tantra of qualities) (Wylie: ''dPal mchog dang po'') Skt: śrī paramādya nāma mahāyāna kalpa rāja * The Activity Garland Tantra (the tantra of activities) (Wylie: ''Kar ma ma le'') Skt: tantra rāja mahā karma māla


Practice tantras

* The
Heruka :''Heruka is also a name for the deity of the Cakrasaṃvara Tantra.'' ''Heruka'' (Sanskrit; Tibetan: ), is the name of a category of wrathful deities, enlightened beings in Vajrayana Buddhism that adopt a fierce countenance to benefit sentient ...
Practice Tantra (Wylie: ''He ru ka rol pa'i rgyud'') Skt: śrī heruka tantra * The
Hayagriva Hayagriva, also spelled Hayagreeva ( sa, हयग्रीव IAST , ), is a Hindu deity, the horse-headed avatar of Vishnu. The purpose of this incarnation was to slay a danava also named Hayagriva (A descendant of Kashyapa and Danu), who ...
Supreme Practice Tantra (Wylie: ''rTa mchog rol pa'i rgyud'') Skt: sarva tathāgata guhya sandhi śrī aśvottama lalita sama tantra nāntra * The Compassion Tantra (Wylie: ''sNying rje rol pa'i rgyud'') Skt: śrī heruka karuṇā krīḍita tantra guhya gaṃbhīrottama * The Nectar Practice Tantra (Wylie: ''bDud rtsi rol pa'i rgyud'') Skt: mahā tantra rāja śrī amr̥ta lalita * The Arising of the Twelve
Kilaya In Tibetan Buddhism, Vajrakilaya (Skt. ''Vajrakīlaya''; Tib. རྡོ་རྗེ་ཕུར་པ་, ''Dorje Phurba'', Wyl. ''rdo rje phur pa'') or Vajrakumara (Skt. ''Vajrakumāra''; Tib. རྡོ་རྗེ་གཞོན་ནུ་, '' ...
s Tantra (Wylie: ''Byit to ta ma rol pa'i rgyud''; ''Phur pa bcu gnyis'') Skt: kīlaya dvādaśa tantra mahāyāna sūtra


Activity Tantras

* The Mountain Pile (Wylie: ''Go 'phang dbang gis bgrod pa ri bo brtsegs pa'i rgyud'') * The Awesome Wisdom Lightning (Wylie: ''La spyod pas dor ba rngam pa glog gi 'khor lo'i rgyud'') * The Array of Samayas (Wylie: ''gZhi dam tshigs gis bzung ba bkod pa rgyal po'i rgyud'') Skt: mahā samaya racita sarva kaṭa tantra * The One-Pointed Samadhi (Wylie: ''Nyams su ting 'dzin gyis blangs pa rtse gcig bsdus pa'i rgyud'') Skt: āryāvalokiteshvara samādhyeka tantra * The Rampant Elephant (Wylie: Phang lta bas bcad pa glang po rab 'bog gi rgyud'') Skt: hasti gajipa dama tantra


Last Tantras that complete whatever is incomplete

* The Vairochana Net of Magical Display (Wylie: ''rNam par snang mdzad sgyu 'phrul drwa ba'i rgyud'') Skt: guhya garbha tattva niścaya * The Noble, Skilful Lasso, the Concise Lotus Garland (Wylie: ''Thabs kyi zhags pa pad mo'i phreng ba'i rgyud'') Skt: ārya kala pāśa padma māle saṃgraha


Eight Herukas of the Nyingma Mahāyoga

The eight Herukas (Wylie: ''sgrub pa bka’ brgyad'') of the
Nyingma Nyingma (literally 'old school') is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. It is also often referred to as ''Ngangyur'' (, ), "order of the ancient translations". The Nyingma school is founded on the first lineages and transl ...
mahāyoga tradition (and their corresponding sadhanas) are said to have been received by
Padmakara Padmasambhava ("Born from a Lotus"), also known as Guru Rinpoche (Precious Guru) and the Lotus from Oḍḍiyāna, was a tantric Buddhist Vajra master from India who may have taught Vajrayana in Tibet (circa 8th – 9th centuries)... According ...
from the Eight Vidyadharas ( Tib. ''Rigdzin''), or Eight Great Acharyas: Manjushrimitra,
Nagarjuna Nāgārjuna . 150 – c. 250 CE (disputed)was an Indian Mahāyāna Buddhist thinker, scholar-saint and philosopher. He is widely considered one of the most important Buddhist philosophers.Garfield, Jay L. (1995), ''The Fundamental Wisdom of ...
, Vajrahumkara,
Vimalamitra Vimalamitra () was an 8th-century Indian Buddhist monk. His teachers were Buddhaguhya, Jñānasūtra and Śrī Siṃha. He was supposed to have vowed to take rebirth every hundred years, with the most notable figures being Rigzin Jigme Lingpa, ...
, Prabhahasti, Dhanasamskrita, Shintamgarbha and Guhyachandra. They were proficient in the practices of, respectively, 1)
Yamantaka Yamāntaka ( sa, यमान्तक Yamāntaka) or Vajrabhairava (; ; ko, 대위덕명왕 ''Daewideok-myeongwang''; ja, 大威徳明王 ''Daiitoku-myōō''; mn, Эрлэгийн Жаргагчи ''Erlig-jin Jarghagchi'') is the "destroyer of ...
(Tib. ''Jampal Shinje'', ''’jam dpal sku'') the wrathful
Manjushri Mañjuśrī (Sanskrit: मञ्जुश्री) is a ''bodhisattva'' associated with '' prajñā'' (wisdom) in Mahāyāna Buddhism. His name means "Gentle Glory" in Sanskrit. Mañjuśrī is also known by the fuller name of Mañjuśrīkumārab ...
, the deity of body
2)
Hayagriva Hayagriva, also spelled Hayagreeva ( sa, हयग्रीव IAST , ), is a Hindu deity, the horse-headed avatar of Vishnu. The purpose of this incarnation was to slay a danava also named Hayagriva (A descendant of Kashyapa and Danu), who ...
(Tib. ''Pema Sung'', ''padma gsung'') the wrathful Avalokiteshvara, the deity of speech
3) Vishuddha/Sri Samyak (Tib. ''Yangdak Thuk'', Wylie: ''yang dag thugs'') the wrathful
Vajrapani (Sanskrit; Pali: Vajirapāṇi, meaning, "Vajra in ishand") is one of the earliest-appearing bodhisattvas in Mahayana Buddhism. He is the protector and guide of Gautama Buddha and rose to symbolize the Buddha's power. Vajrapāni is also c ...
deity of mind
4) Vajramrita (Tib. ''Dudtsi Yonten'', ''bdud rtsi yon tan'') the wrathful
Samantabhadra Samantabhadra (Lit. "All Good", or "Always Auspicious") may refer to: * Samantabhadra (Bodhisattva), a bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism associated with practice and meditation * ''Samantabhadra'' (Tibetan: ''Kuntu Zangpo''), the name of a Buddha, ...
, the deity of enlightened qualities
5)
Vajrakilaya In Tibetan Buddhism, Vajrakilaya (Skt. ''Vajrakīlaya''; Tib. རྡོ་རྗེ་ཕུར་པ་, ''Dorje Phurba'', Wyl. ''rdo rje phur pa'') or Vajrakumara (Skt. ''Vajrakumāra''; Tib. རྡོ་རྗེ་གཞོན་ནུ་, '' ...
/Vajrakumara (Tib. ''Dorje
Phurba The ''phurba'' (; alternate transliterations: ''phurpa'', ''phurbu'', ''purbha'', or ''phurpu'') or ''kīla'' (Sanskrit Devanagari: कील; IAST: kīla) is a three-sided peg, stake, knife, or nail-like ritual implement traditionally associate ...
'', ''phur ba ‘phrin las''), the wrathful Nivaranavishkambin, the deity of action
6) Matarah (Tib. ''Mamo Botong'', ''ma mo rbod gtong'') the wrathful Akasagarbha, the deity of calling and dispatching
7) Lokastotrapuja-natha (Tib. ''Jigten Chotod'', ''’jig rten mchod bstod'') the wrathful Ksitigarbha, the deity of worldly offering and praise
8) Vajramantrabhiru (Tib. ''Mopa Dragnak'', ''mod pa drag sngags'') the wrathful
Maitreya Maitreya (Sanskrit: ) or Metteyya (Pali: ), also Maitreya Buddha or Metteyya Buddha, is regarded as the future Buddha of this world in Buddhist eschatology. As the 5th and final Buddha of the current kalpa, Maitreya's teachings will be aimed at ...
, the deity of wrathful mantras


Diffusion

The Tibetan master Pelyang (dPal dbyangs) was influential in bringing Mahayoga to
Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
. He was known for his focus on view as opposed to practice.{{Cite web, url=http://search.lib.virginia.edu/catalog/libra-oa:5851, title=Lamps for the Mind: Illuminations and Innovation in dPAL Dbyangs's Mahãyoga, last=Takahashi, first=Kammie Morrison, date=2009, website=UVA Library {{! Virgo, language=en, access-date=2017-08-06


References


External links


Mahā-yoga Tantra in the ''Collected Tantras of the Ancients''
Nyingma tantras Vajrayana practices Buddhist tantras