- Anuttarayoga Tantra
Anuttarayoga Tantra (Skt.; Tibetan: bla-na-med-pa'i rgyud) [ [http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O108-anuttarayogatantra.html anuttara-yoga-tantra] Encyclopedia.com] , often translated as Unexcelled Yoga Tantra or Highest Yoga Tantra, is a term used inTibetan Buddhism in the categorization ofesoteric tantric IndianBuddhist texts that constitute part of theKangyur , or 'translated words of the Buddha' in theTibetan Buddhist canon . In the New Schools of Tibetan Buddhism, Anuttarayoga Tantra is the highest of four classes and is associated with theMahamudra route to enlightenment. In the classification of theDzogchen system, used by theNyingma , it is considered equivalent to theMahayoga tantras. ["The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism: Its Fundamentals and History" by Dudjom Rinpoche. Wisdom Publications, 2002. ISBN-10: 0861711998. page 283] .Dalai Lama XIV states: "old translationDzogchen and new translation anuttarayoga tantra offer equivalent paths that can bring the practitioner to the same resultant state ofBuddhahood ". [cite book|last=Gyatso|first=Tenzin |coauthors=Alexander Berzin|title=The Gelug/Kagyu Tradition of Mahamudra|publisher=Snow Lion Publications|location=New York|date=1997|pages=p.243|isbn=1-55939-072-7]The practice of Anuttarayoga Tantra in the
Vajrayana tradition of Tibetan Buddhism is characterized by the requirement of empowerment from a qualified guru, usually alama , use ofritual techniques, and the practice of various meditative andsubtle body yoga s, to effect personal transformation and attain enlightenment through the realization of the self as a Meditational Deity, orYidam . According to Miranda Shaw, Anuttarayoga Tantra texts "have remained at the forefront of contemplation, ritual, and interpretation throughout the Himalayan Buddhist sphere". [cite book|last=Shaw|first=Miranda|title=Passionate Enlightenment::Women in Tantric Buddhism|publisher=Princeton University Press|date=1995|pages=p.15|isbn=0-691-01090-0]Translation terminology
Anuttarayoga Tantra literally means 'Unexcelled Union Continuity'. While the term is frequently translated as 'Highest Yoga Tantra' in English writings, this is not quite accurate. The Tibetan term "bla med" (back translated to Sanskrit as "anuttara") is a negation of a comparative—not or none ("med"/"an"-) higher ("bla" /"uttara")—rather than a superlative. Had the authors of this term intended to indicate directly "highest," superlatives were readily available: e.g. "mchog" ("supreme" or Sanskrit "uttama", "highest"). Rather, they chose consistently to use a comparative rather than a superlative. Similarly, the terms used in Sanskrit also uniformly utilize comparatives: "yogottara" ("higher than yoga") and "niruttara" (also a negation of the comparative). English usage, and European usage in general, has largely overlooked this nuance.Anuttarayoga in Tibetan classification
The term appears in the 'Five Groups of
Dharma ', according toPabongka Rinpoche . [cite book|last=Rinpoche|first=Pabongka|title=Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand: A Concise Discourse on the Path to Enlightenment|publisher=Wisdom Publications|location=Boston|date=1997|pages=p.173] They comprise:
*Dharma of theShravaka s
*Dharma of thePratyekabuddha s
*thesutra Mahayana Dharma
*theOuter Tantras - theKriya ,Charya andYoga Tantras
*Anuttarayoga TantraIn the
Nyingma school ofTibetan Buddhism , Anuttarayoga tantra is sometimes used as a synonym for the Mahāyoga tantra of their nine-yāna formulation, wherein six levels are articulated in two triads, the 'Outer' and 'Inner' tantras. TheOuter Tantras areKriyā ,Caryā , andYoga tantra . TheInner Tantras are Mahāyoga,Anuyoga , andAtiyoga .In the New Schools of
Tibetan Buddhism , the four categories oftantras areKriyā tantra ,Caryā tantra ,Yoga tantra and Anuttarayoga tantra. A further sub-classification is sometimes made among Anuttarayoga tantras into 'Father', 'Mother', and 'Non-dual' tantras, although this latter category is the subject of some controversy.Varieties of Anuttarayoga Tantras
Five collections of Anuttarayoga
tantras became prominent inTibet initially:Guhyasamāja or 'Esoteric Community',Yamāntaka or 'Death Conqueror' (alternatively known asVajrabhairava or 'Vajra Terrifier'),Hevajra or 'O, Vajra!',Mahāmāyā or 'Great Play of Illusion' andCakrasaṃvara or 'Wheel of Great Bliss'. TheKālacakra or 'Wheel of Time' tantra, was disseminated slightly later. To date, the term 'Anuttarayoga Tantra' has not been discovered in Indian sources, wherein the categories used are "Mahāyoga", and "Yogottara", "Yoganiruttara", or "Yoginī-tantras" for what the Tibetans consider "Father" ("pha rgyud") and "Mother" Tantras ("ma rgyud").Father Tantras
The "mahāyoga-tantras" of
Pala Empire India became known in Tibet as 'Father Tantras' ("pha rgyud"). According to theGelug view, followingTsongkhapa 's reasoning, Father Tantras emphasize the creation of a Buddha form through the cultivation of an illusory body, on the basis of practices with the energy system of thesubtle body . EarlierSakya masters andKagyu scholars had viewed Father Tantras as emphasising the practice of blissful awareness. [cite book|last=Gyatso|first=Tenzin |coauthors=Alexander Berzin|title=The Gelug/Kagyu Tradition of Mahamudra|publisher=Snow Lion Publications|location=New York|date=1997|pages=p.243|isbn=1-55939-072-7] Father Tantras have also been seen as emphasizing the use of anger ("pratigha") as the path of practice, focusing on the 'emptiness' aspect ofBuddha nature . The post-Tsongkhapa Sakya scholar Tagtsang Lotsawa identified Father Tantras as those that emphasise the secret, or hidden, empowerment of the four empowerments of Anuttarayoga Tantra. The secret empowerment plants seeds for achieving an illusory body. Among the Father Tantras areGuhyasamāja andYamāntaka .Mother Tantras
The "yoginī-tantras" which became known in Tibet as 'Mother Tantras' ("ma rgyud") emphasize the development of enlightened awareness (the "mind" of the phantasm body) through the cultivation of the fundamental pure mind of all beings, known as 'brilliance' (prabhāsvara) (frequently translated, following the Tibetan, as 'clear light'). They focus on devotion as the foundation of
tantric practice. [cite book|last=Simmer-Brown|first=Judith|title=Dakini's Warm Breath:The Feminine Principle in Tibetan Buddhism|publisher=Shambhala Publications Inc.|location=Boston & London|date=2002|pages=p.141|isbn=978-1-57062-920-4] They are also considered to emphasize the utilization of desire ("tṛṣṇā") as the path of practice, focusing on the brilliant ("prabhāsvara") aspect ofBuddha nature . Among the Mother Tantras, the most prominent is theCakrasaṃvara . The practice ofVajrayogini evolved out of the Cakrasaṃvara and is now a "de facto" practice in its own right. Other Mother Tantras areHevajra andCaṇḍamahāroṣaṇa .Non-dual Tantras
Non-dual tantras utilize both anger and desire as an antidote to delusion (
avidyā ), focusing on both the physical and mental, void and brilliant, aspects of enlightened mind. The example typically advanced for this category is theKālacakra . The Sakya tradition also considers Hevajra to be a non-dual tantra but other traditions classify it as a yoginī-tantra.In Practice
In the
Deity Yoga practices of Anuttarayoga Tantra, two stages are practiced: theGeneration Stage and theCompletion Stage . [cite book|last=Beer|first=Robert|title=The Encyclopedia of Tibetan Symbols and Motifs|publisher=Serindia Publications Inc.|date=2004|pages=p.142|isbn=1932476105] In sometantras both stages can be practiced concurrently, in others 'Generation Stage' must be perfected before starting to practice 'Completion Stage'.References
Further reading
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*
* Tribe, Anthony (2000). "Tantric Texts: classification and characteristics" in Paul Williams and Anthony Tribe, "Buddhist Thought: A Complete Introduction to the Indian Traditions" (London and New York: Routledge, 2000), pp. 202–217
*ee also
*
Buddhist texts
*Tantras
*Vajrayana
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