Essay name: Hevajra Tantra (analytical study)
Author:
Seung Ho Nam
Affiliation: University of Kerala / Faculty of Oriental Studies
This is an English study of the Hevajra Tantra: an ancient Sanskrit text that teaches the process of attaining Buddha-hood for removing the sufferings of all sentient beings. The Hevajratantra amplifies the views and methods found in the Guhyasamaja Tantra (one of the earliest extant Buddhist Tantras) dealing with Yoga and Mandalas.
Chapter 3 - Tantric Doctrine in Hevajra Tantra
19 (of 138)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
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S奴tra as their source, show that the teaching of a permanent essence
points to the lack of independent existence of the mind, that quality
which when cognized can lead to Buddhahood. Emptiness in general is the
element of [superior] qualities (dharmadh膩tu) because meditation on it
acts as a cause generating the qualities of Superiors. The emptiness of
the mind is singled out as the Buddha nature because it specifically
allows for mental improvement and the cognition of what previously was
not cognized.178
There are many Mah膩y膩na s奴tras that illustrate the truth that Buddha
Gotra or Tath膩gatagarbha is present in all sentient beings from their
inception and continue till Buddhahood is attained. In other words the
Gotra is present in the defiled stated of the beings and continues till the
non defiled state of Buddhahood is realized. The "Vimalak墨rti s奴tra is
one such S奴tra which elucidates this very point.
In the "Vimalak墨rti s奴tra, the term 'tath膩gata gotra' is explained as:
鈥淭he body is the seed, ignorance and partiality are the seeds, greed,
anger, and stupidity are the seeds. The four topsy-turvy views are the
seeds, the five obscurations are the seeds, the six sense-media are the
seeds, the seven abodes of consciousness are the seeds, the eight errors
are the seeds, the nine sources of .anxiety are the seeds, the ten evil
actions are the seeds. To sum it up, the sixty-two erroneous views and
all the different kinds of earthly desires are all the seeds of the
Buddha." And "The lotus does not grow on the upland plain; the lotus
grows in the mud and mire of a damp low-lying place. In the same way,
the Buddha Law can never grow in a person who has perceived the
uncreated nature of reality and entered into correct understanding. It is
only when living beings are in the midst of the mire of earthly desires
that they turn to the Buddha Law."179
In here the lotus is compared to the Buddha nature which remains
unaffected by the pollutants that cover it.
178 Jeffrey Hopkins, Ibid., p.383.
179 Burton Watson., The Vimalakirti S奴tra (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1999), p.95
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