The Guhyagarbha Tantra (Skt.; Tib. རྒྱུད་གསང་བ་སྙིང་པོ་, Gyü Sangwé Nyingpo; Wyl. rgyud gsang ba'i snying po, "The Tantra of the Secret Essence" or the "Secret Womb Tantra") is the most important Buddhist tantra of the Mahayoga class and the primary tantric text studied in the Nyingma tradition.[1] It is the main Nyingma source for understanding empowerment, samaya, mantras, mandalas and other Vajrayana topics, and has influenced the Dzogchen tradition. The Nyingma scholar Longchenpa sees it as "the highest summit of all vehicles, the source of all verbal transmissions, the great great shortcut of the vehicle of all Buddhas of the three times, the most secret."[1]
Its full title is the Glorious Web of Magical Illusion, The Secret Essence Definitive Nature Just As It Is (Tib. Pal Gyutrül Drawa Sangwé Nyingpo De Kona Nyid Ngé Pa, Wyl. dpal sgyu 'phrul drva ba gsang ba'i snying po de kho na nyid nges pa). It is also often called TheTantra of the Web of Magical Illusion (Tib. Gyutrül Drawa Gyü, Wyl. sgyu 'phrul drva ba rgyud).
The Secret Womb actually refers to a collection of nineteen texts in the Tibetan canon. The main works include a short version in twenty-two chapters, an intermediate version (forty-six chapters) and a long version (eighty two chapters).[1] These texts describe a mandala of forty-two peaceful deities and fifty-eight fierce deities. According to John Powers, its central teaching "holds that all things manifest spontaneously (thams cad rang snang), and mind and primordial wisdom also manifest spontaneously (sems dang ye shes rang snang)."[1] The Secret Womb texts discuss numerous tantric Buddhist topics, such as the creation of mandalas, the practice of controlling the winds and drops within energy channels, the purification of the five aggregates, and the qualities and activities of the Buddhas.[1]
Tibetan interpreters generally see the Secret Womb Tantra as a guide to the Buddhist practice of Mahayoga, also termed deity yoga, a tantric method of realizing the true nature of reality and attaining Buddhahood. This method mainly relies on the imagination to create a Buddha image in one's mind during a tantric ritual and then to merge this Buddha with oneself.[1]
"The iconography and symbolism of the hundred peaceful and wrathful deities presented in the Guhyagarbha Tantra subsequently gave rise to a whole genre of literature in Tibet known as the Cycles of the Peaceful and Wrathful Deities (zhi-khro)."[3]
The Wrathful Deities of the Guhyagarbha Tantra. Tibetan thangka from 18th century. Middle figure is Mahottara Heruka, upper left figure is Ratna Heruka, upper right is Padma Heruka, lower center is Buddha Heruka, lower right is Karma Heruka, and lower left is Vajra Heruka. All of them have a consort. Surrounding these figures are the 58 wrathful deities.
Vilāsavajra dpal gsang ba snying po’i ’grel pa rin po che’i spar khab slob dpon sgeg pa'i rdo rjes mdzad pa - "Blazing Palace".
Longchenpa (1308–1363) mun sel skor gsum - "Trilogy of Dispelling Darkness" - Three commentaries on the Guhyagarbha Tantra:
dpal gsang ba snying po de kho na nyid nges pa'i rgyud kyi grel ba phyogs bcu'i mun sel/ -"Dispelling Darkness in the Ten Directions" - Detailed commentary on the Guhyagarbha Tantra
dpal gsang ba snying po'i spyi don legs par bshad pa'i snang bas yid kyi mun pa thams cad sel ba/ - "Dispelling the Darkness of the Mind" General meaning of the Guhyagarbha Tantra
dpal gsang ba snying po'i rgyud kyi bsdus pa'i don ma rig mun pa thams cad sel ba/ - "Dispelling Darkness of Ignorance" - Condensed meaning of the Guhyagarbha Tantra
Minling Lochen Dharma Shri (1654–1718) -
dpal gsang ba snying po de kho na nyid nges pa'i rgyud kyi 'grel ba gsang bdag dgongs rgyan/ - Textual exegesis of the Guhyagarbha Tantra
dpal gsang ba snying po de kho na nyid nges pa'i rgyud kyi rgyal po sgyu 'phrul drwa ba spyi don gyi sgo nas gtan la 'bebs par byed pa'i legs bshad sang bdag shal lung/ - General commentary on the Guhyagarbha tantra.
Mipham (1846–1912) gsang 'grel phyogs bcu'i mun sel gyi spyi don 'od gsal snying po/ - An exegesis of Longchenpa's commentary on the Guhyagarbha Tantra
Dodrup Chen III, Jigme Tenpai Nyima (1865–1926) - dpal gsang ba’i snying po’i rgyud kyi spyi don nyung ngu’i ngag gis rnam par ’byed pa rin chen mdzod kyi lde mig "Key to the Precious Treasury" - A General Commentary on the Guhyagarbha Tantra.
Khenpo Shenga (1871–1927) - Annotated Commentary on the Guhyagarbha Tantra
^ abcdefPowers, John. Guhyasamaja-Tantra and Guhyagarbha-Tantra, in "Damien Keown, Charles S. Prebish (editors), Encyclopedia of Buddhism, Routledge, 2013."
^Dharma Fellowship (2005). Biographies: Pramodavajra, Regent of the Divine. Source: [1] (accessed: November 15, 2007)
^Gyurme Dorje, A Brief Literary History of the Tibetan Book of the Dead in "Graham Coleman, Thupten Jinpa. The Tibetan Book of the Dead: First Complete Translation (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) Penguin, 2007."
References
Dharma Fellowship (2005). Biographies: Pramodavajra, Regent of the Divine. Source: [2] (accessed: November 15, 2007)
Germano, David (2002). . THDL. Archived from the original on 2007-12-16.
Dorje, Gyurme (n.d.). . (Reading Room). Wisdom Books. Archived from the original on 2008-10-06. Parts: ,, , , , .
Garson, Nathaniel DeWitt (2004). "Penetrating the Secret Essence Tantra: Context and Philosophy in the Mahāyoga System of rNying-ma Tantra". PhD Thesis. Department of Religious Studies, University of Virginia. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
Guenther, Herbert V. (2001). Matrix of Mystery: Scientific and Humanistic Aspects of rDzogs-chen Thought. Boston: Shambhala Publications.
Martin, Dan (1987). "Illusion Web: Locating the Guhyagarbha Tantra in Buddhist Intellectual History". In Beckwith, Christopher I. (ed.). Silver on Lapis: Tibetan Literary Culture and History(PDF). Bloomington: The Tibet Society. pp. 175–220.[dead link]
Mipham, Jamgon (2009). . Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications. ISBN978-1-55939-327-0. Archived from the original on 2012-03-06. Retrieved 2009-06-06.
Sherab, Khenchen Palden and Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal. (2011). Splendid Presence of the Great Guhyagarbha: Opening the Wisdom Door of the King of All Tantras. Sidney Center, New York: Dharma Samudra. ISBN978-0-9820922-0-0
Dorji, Wangchuk (2002). "An Eleventh-Century Defence of the Authenticity of the Guhyagarbha Tantra". In Eimer; Germano, David (eds.). The Many Canons of Tibetan Buddhism. Leiden: Brill.
Van Schaik, Sam (2007). "In search of the Guhyagarbha tantra". EarlyTibet.com.
External links
Guhyagarbha Tantra in Ripa Wiki , 2019 Sep 20 visited
January 15, 2023
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The Guhyagarbha Tantra Skt Tib ར ད གསང བ ས ང པ Gyu Sangwe Nyingpo Wyl rgyud gsang ba i snying po The Tantra of the Secret Essence or the Secret Womb Tantra is the most important Buddhist tantra of the Mahayoga class and the primary tantric text studied in the Nyingma tradition 1 It is the main Nyingma source for understanding empowerment samaya mantras mandalas and other Vajrayana topics and has influenced the Dzogchen tradition The Nyingma scholar Longchenpa sees it as the highest summit of all vehicles the source of all verbal transmissions the great great shortcut of the vehicle of all Buddhas of the three times the most secret 1 Contents 1 Overview 2 Commentaries 3 See also 4 Notes 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External linksOverview Edit The peaceful and fierce deities Tibetan Thanka depicting peaceful deities 19th century Giumet Museum At the center is primordial Buddha Samantabhadra Its full title is the Glorious Web of Magical Illusion The Secret Essence Definitive Nature Just As It Is Tib Pal Gyutrul Drawa Sangwe Nyingpo De Kona Nyid Nge Pa Wyl dpal sgyu phrul drva ba gsang ba i snying po de kho na nyid nges pa It is also often called The Tantra of the Web of Magical Illusion Tib Gyutrul Drawa Gyu Wyl sgyu phrul drva ba rgyud The Nyingma school holds that Garab Dorje received the empowerment and transmission of the Mahayoga teachings of the Guhyagarbha from the indian Mahasiddha Kukuraja 2 The Secret Womb actually refers to a collection of nineteen texts in the Tibetan canon The main works include a short version in twenty two chapters an intermediate version forty six chapters and a long version eighty two chapters 1 These texts describe a mandala of forty two peaceful deities and fifty eight fierce deities According to John Powers its central teaching holds that all things manifest spontaneously thams cad rang snang and mind and primordial wisdom also manifest spontaneously sems dang ye shes rang snang 1 The Secret Womb texts discuss numerous tantric Buddhist topics such as the creation of mandalas the practice of controlling the winds and drops within energy channels the purification of the five aggregates and the qualities and activities of the Buddhas 1 Tibetan interpreters generally see the Secret Womb Tantra as a guide to the Buddhist practice of Mahayoga also termed deity yoga a tantric method of realizing the true nature of reality and attaining Buddhahood This method mainly relies on the imagination to create a Buddha image in one s mind during a tantric ritual and then to merge this Buddha with oneself 1 According to Gyurme Dorje The iconography and symbolism of the hundred peaceful and wrathful deities presented in the Guhyagarbha Tantra subsequently gave rise to a whole genre of literature in Tibet known as the Cycles of the Peaceful and Wrathful Deities zhi khro 3 The Tibetan Book of the Dead Bardo Thodol is one such zhi khro text Commentaries Edit The Wrathful Deities of the Guhyagarbha Tantra Tibetan thangka from 18th century Middle figure is Mahottara Heruka upper left figure is Ratna Heruka upper right is Padma Heruka lower center is Buddha Heruka lower right is Karma Heruka and lower left is Vajra Heruka All of them have a consort Surrounding these figures are the 58 wrathful deities Vilasavajra dpal gsang ba snying po i grel pa rin po che i spar khab slob dpon sgeg pa i rdo rjes mdzad pa Blazing Palace Vimalamitra 8th century rdo rje sems dpa i sgyu phrul dra ba i rgyud dpal gsang ba i snying po shes bya ba i spyan grel pa Eye Opening Commentary on the Secret Essence P4756 dpal gsang ba snying po i don bsdus grel piṇḍartha Ball of Meaning Rongzom Pandita Chokyi Zangpo 1012 1088 Tibetan ར ད ར ལ གསང བ ས ང པ དཀ ན ཅ ག འག ལ Wylie rgyud rgyal gsang ba snying po dkon cog brel Longchenpa 1308 1363 mun sel skor gsum Trilogy of Dispelling Darkness Three commentaries on the Guhyagarbha Tantra dpal gsang ba snying po de kho na nyid nges pa i rgyud kyi grel ba phyogs bcu i mun sel Dispelling Darkness in the Ten Directions Detailed commentary on the Guhyagarbha Tantra dpal gsang ba snying po i spyi don legs par bshad pa i snang bas yid kyi mun pa thams cad sel ba Dispelling the Darkness of the Mind General meaning of the Guhyagarbha Tantra dpal gsang ba snying po i rgyud kyi bsdus pa i don ma rig mun pa thams cad sel ba Dispelling Darkness of Ignorance Condensed meaning of the Guhyagarbha Tantra Minling Lochen Dharma Shri 1654 1718 dpal gsang ba snying po de kho na nyid nges pa i rgyud kyi grel ba gsang bdag dgongs rgyan Textual exegesis of the Guhyagarbha Tantra dpal gsang ba snying po de kho na nyid nges pa i rgyud kyi rgyal po sgyu phrul drwa ba spyi don gyi sgo nas gtan la bebs par byed pa i legs bshad sang bdag shal lung General commentary on the Guhyagarbha tantra Mipham 1846 1912 gsang grel phyogs bcu i mun sel gyi spyi don od gsal snying po An exegesis of Longchenpa s commentary on the Guhyagarbha Tantra Dodrup Chen III Jigme Tenpai Nyima 1865 1926 dpal gsang ba i snying po i rgyud kyi spyi don nyung ngu i ngag gis rnam par byed pa rin chen mdzod kyi lde mig Key to the Precious Treasury A General Commentary on the Guhyagarbha Tantra Khenpo Shenga 1871 1927 Annotated Commentary on the Guhyagarbha TantraSee also EditEighteen great tantrasNotes Edit a b c d e f Powers John Guhyasamaja Tantra and Guhyagarbha Tantra in Damien Keown Charles S Prebish editors Encyclopedia of Buddhism Routledge 2013 Dharma Fellowship 2005 Biographies Pramodavajra Regent of the Divine Source 1 accessed November 15 2007 Gyurme Dorje A Brief Literary History of the Tibetan Book of the Dead in Graham Coleman Thupten Jinpa The Tibetan Book of the Dead First Complete Translation Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition Penguin 2007 References EditDharma Fellowship 2005 Biographies Pramodavajra Regent of the Divine Source 2 accessed November 15 2007 Further reading EditGuhyagarbha Tantra Tibetan Text at THDL Dudjom Jikdrel Yeshe Dorje Dorje Gyurme 2005 The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism Its Fundamentals and History 2 ed Boston Wisdom Publications ISBN 0 86171 199 8 Germano David 2002 A Brief History of Nyingma Literature THDL Archived from the original on 2007 12 16 Dorje Gyurme n d The Guhyagarbha Tantra Introduction Reading Room Wisdom Books Archived from the original on 2008 10 06 Parts 2 3 4 5 6 Garson Nathaniel DeWitt 2004 Penetrating the Secret Essence Tantra Context and Philosophy in the Mahayoga System of rNying ma Tantra PhD Thesis Department of Religious Studies University of Virginia a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help Guenther Herbert V 2001 Matrix of Mystery Scientific and Humanistic Aspects of rDzogs chen Thought Boston Shambhala Publications Martin Dan 1987 Illusion Web Locating the Guhyagarbha Tantra in Buddhist Intellectual History In Beckwith Christopher I ed Silver on Lapis Tibetan Literary Culture and History PDF Bloomington The Tibet Society pp 175 220 dead link Mipham Jamgon 2009 The Luminous Essence A Guide to the Guhyagarbha Tantra Ithaca Snow Lion Publications ISBN 978 1 55939 327 0 Archived from the original on 2012 03 06 Retrieved 2009 06 06 Sherab Khenchen Palden and Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal 2011 Splendid Presence of the Great Guhyagarbha Opening the Wisdom Door of the King of All Tantras Sidney Center New York Dharma Samudra ISBN 978 0 9820922 0 0 Go Lotsawa Zhonnupal Roerich George N 1949 The Blue Annals 1998 reprint ed Delhi Motilal Banarsidass ISBN 81 208 0471 6 Dorji Wangchuk 2002 An Eleventh Century Defence of the Authenticity of the Guhyagarbha Tantra In Eimer Germano David eds The Many Canons of Tibetan Buddhism Leiden Brill Van Schaik Sam 2007 In search of the Guhyagarbha tantra EarlyTibet com External links EditGuhyagarbha Tantra in Ripa Wiki 2019 Sep 20 visited Six part series of Gyurme Dorje s introduction to Guhyagarbha Tantra Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Guhyagarbha tantra amp oldid 1092546229, wikipedia, wiki, 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