The Concealed Essence of the Hevajra Tantra: With the Commentary Yogaratnamala

366 Pages·2003·18.409 MB·English

by  G.W. Farrow, I Menon

'Ihe Concealed r:Essence of the
T
HEVAJRA ANTRA
'With the Commentary
YOGARATNAMALA
G.W. Farrow
I. Menon

THE CONCEALED ESSENCE OF
THE HEVAJRA TANTRA

The Concealed Essence of
the Hevajra Tantra
With the Commentrary
Yogaratnamiilii
Translated into English and Edited by
G.W.FARROW
and
I. MENON
MOTILAL BANARSIDASS PUBLISHERS PRIVATE LIMITED
DELHI
First Edition: Delhi, 1992
© MOTILAL BANARSIDASS PUBLISHERS PVT. LTD.
Au. RIGHTS RESERVED
ISBN: 81-208-0911-4
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Contents
Preface vii
Introduction xviii
Acknowledgements x.Lii
A Note Regarding the Translation x.Liii
List of Texts Consulted x.Lvi
A Table of the Textual Contents of the Hevajra Tantra x.Lvii
Hevajra Tantra Part 1-The Awakening of the Vajragarbha
1. Vajra Family 3
2. Mantras 25
3. Deity 37
4. Consecration by the Deity 47
5. True Principle 49
6. Application of the Vow 61
7. Secret Sign Language 71
8. Circle of the Yogini 83
9. Purification 111
10. Consecration 119
11. Various Rites 139
Hevajra Tantra Part II-The Illusion
1. Rite of Establishing Sanctity 147
2. Definition of the Accomplishment 153
3. Fundamentals of All Tantras 179
4. Seals 205
5. Manifestation of the MaQ.qala of Hevajra 241
6. Painting the Portrait of Hevajra 263
7. Bock and Feast 267
8. Discipline 271
9. Arrangement of Mantras 275
10. Recitation of Mantras 287
11. Means to Attain the Innate 289
12. Instruction for the Four Consecrations 293
A Glossary of Important Terms 297
Index 305

Preface
Since the 1960's I l;lave been able to travel through parts of North Africa,
the Middle East, India, Nepal and South-~ast Asia. I have lived in India
and Nepal for fifteen years and during my stay there I was introduced to
various Hindu and Buddhist sects. I have had personal contact with
meditation masters of both religions including Neem Karoli Baba,
Deoria Baba, Baba Ram Sevak Das, Mustram Baba, Ganesh Baba, Ram
Nath Aghori Baba, Bhairava Baba, Vasudev Baba, Tarrig Rinpochel
Trungu Rinpoche and Lama Sanjur. This contact has given me a broad
view and a lasting interest in the practice of yoga and in the literature of
the various sects to which these yogis belong.
Since coming into contact with my co-translator and editor I. Menon
our research into the tantric methods of practice led to the study of both
Hindu and Buddhist tantric literature.We have translated some pre
viously untranslated tantric works. In addition to the translation pre
sented here we have translated later Hindu tantric works such as the
Saktapramoda, Syamru-ahasyarp, Tararahasyarp, Yogakall).ika, siuvollasa
Tantra etc., as well as earlier tantric works including the
Kaulajnananimaya, selected chapters of Abhinavagupta's Tantraloka,
the Vajrayana Buddhist Cai)damaharosaiJa Tantra, and also other texts.
For the most part the Hindu tantric works we examined were
concerned with cosmology, the different grades of practitioners and their
appropriate styles of practice, the rituals for propitiating a variety of male
and female deities, the rites of magic, KUQdaliru yoga and the definition
oft he nature of the guru and the realised practitioner. Among the existing
Hindu tantric works we found that the most interesting are those
belonging to the Kashmiri Saiva tradition, especially th-:>se of the
Kashmiri tan~a. Abhinavagupta, some texts of the Snvidya tradition
and texts belonging to the Natha Yogi sect.
However, many basic questions regarding the foundations of the
tantric method still remained to be conclusively answered. Namely, why
male and female deities? Why certain colors and forms for these deities?
Why and what are the families (kula) of deities? How are these families
able to transform the manifested natures? Why is it necessary to propi
tiate and visualise the forms of the deities and their mal)dalas? How is
viii The Concealed Essence of the Hevajra Tantra
the complete union achieved? What is meant by 'the complete union' and
how is the fruit of that union defined?
In the course of our research we were first introduced to the text of
the Yogara01ama1a by way of the critical version published in the Roman
scrlpt in Professor D.L. Snellgrove's Hevajra Tantra, A Critical Study,
volume II. This critical version has drawn upon manuscripts deposited in
the archive libraries ofCambridge and Kathmandu. We are indebted to
Professor Snellgrove for making available the critical texts of both the
Hevajra Tantra and the Yogaratnamala.
Readings of the Hevajra Tantra and Yogaratnamala established that
these texts contained definitive information regarding the principles of
tantric theory, practice and experience. Therefore, we decided to trans
late both the Hevajra Tantra and the Yogaratnainala. In order to commence
our research and translation work we obtained photo-copies of other
versions of these two texts as well as copies of various other Buddhist
Tantric texts from the National Archives of the Government of Nepal.
We consulted the twelfth century, incomplete text of the Yogaratnamala
deposited in the Royal Asiatic Society in Calcutta. In order to clarify
some parts of the root text and the commentary we also consulted a photo
copy of a manuscript of Ratnakarasanti's Muktavall which is another
commentary on the Hevajra Tantra. The Muktavali incorporates and
amplifies the interpretation found in the Yogaratnamala.
The Hevajra Ta..'1tra dates from approximately the eighth century
A.D. The treatise is composed of discourses between the Bhagavan
Buddha and his disciple Vajragarbha. In the second part there are dis
courses between the Bhagavan and his consort as well. These
discourses are the vehicle v.{hich intmduce the theory, practice and
experience of the Krama, the Processes of the Buddhist tantric method.
The Hevajra Tantra,like other Buddhist Siitras and Tantras, ;::ommences
with the Nidanavakyam, the Fundamental Statement. This opening state
ment of doctrine begins with the crucial phrase evaiJl maya srutarp (Thus
have I heard). The Fundamental Statement is the source for the expose
of the Upaya, the Means, the modes of practice which are introduced and
outlined in the first chapter and which are then further explained and
elaborated in the rest of the treatise. This Fundamental Statement and the
tantric system of language which is contained within it's composition
will be explained and discussed in the Introduction.
The YogaratnamaHi also k.i10wn as the Hevajra Pafijika was written
around the ninth century A.D. and is a commentary on the Hevajra
Tantra. The Yogaratnamala was written in the Pafijika style by the pandit