Mahayoga

Mahayoga ( mahāyoga ^IAST , Tib. རྣལ་ འབྱོར་ ཆེན་པོ་ , Wiley rnal 'byor chen po ) is the first of the three inner tantras, according to the nine-fold classification of the Nyingma school . Mahayoga in Sanskrit means "Great Yoga." It is called that because it surpasses the “outer” Yoga Tantra. Maha Yoga roughly corresponds to the anuttara yoga tantra of new schools ^[1] .

There are four levels of initiation in Mahayoga. The first level of initiation more or less corresponds to the three lower classes of tantra. It is called vessel initiation ( Wylie bum dbang). And the three subsequent empowerments are unique to the inner tantras. They are:

secret dedication ( Wylie gsang bang)
dedication wisdom ( wiley ye shes dbang)
fourth initiation or word empowerment ( Wiley tshig don dbang)

The main emphasis in the Maha-Yoga Tantra is on the stage of generation, in contrast to Anu-Yoga, where the stage of completion is emphasized, and Ati-Yoga , which is transcendent to both. Lochen Dharma Sri writes:

Mahayoga is mainly based on the generation stage. In it, by comprehending and advancing in the experience of the inseparability of the “two higher truths”, liberation is achieved ^[2] .

According to Longchen Rabjam , the Mahayoga Tantra is the paternal tantra that was preached to practitioners whose dominant defilements are anger and clinging to concepts.

Content

Passing Mahayoga teachings

According to tradition, King Jah, who lived in the Indian country of Sahora, received the teachings of mahayoga directly from Buddha Vajrasattva . He also received the transmission of these teachings from Vimalakirti, who in turn received them from Vajrapani on Mount Malaya in Sri Lanka. Subsequently, these teachings were passed from teacher to student, and eventually they were received by Buddaguhya, who gave them to Vimalamitra and Padmasambhava . Both gave teachings to their closest students. So the Mahayoga teachings spread in Tibet ^[3] .

Mahayogi Tantras

In Mahayoga Tantra there are two main sections of the texts - eighteen Tantras and Sadhana. According to Gyurmed Tsewang Chogdrub, the main tantras of Mahayoga are ^[2] :

Tantra Guhyagarbhamajalja, the root of all the tantras of Maha Yoga

The five main tantras:

Tantra Tela - “the tantra of the unity of the buddhas, the root tantra of the bliss of the dakini” - Sangye Nyamjor ( Wiley sang rgyas mnyam sbyor)
Tantra Speech, - "root tantra of the essence of the secret moon" - Dasang Tigle ( Wiley zla gsang thig le)
Tantra Uma, - "a collection of secrets" - Sangwa Dupa ( Wiley gsang ba 'dus pa)
Tantra Kachetsv, - "the first highest illustrious" - Palchog Tangpo ( Wiley dpal mch'og dang po)
Tantra of Action, - “necklace of deeds” - Karma Male ( Wiley kar ma ma le)

The five tantras sadhan:

Tantra, the sadhana of the body, - "Tantra of the manifestation of Heruka" - Heruka Rolpa ( Wiley he ru ka rol pa'i rgyud)
Tantra, sadhana of speech, - “Tantra of manifestation of Hayagriva” - Rolp's tachog ( Wiley rta mchog rol pa'i rgyud)
Tantra, the sadhana of the mind, - “tantra of compassion” - Nyingje Rolpa ( Wiley snying rje rol pa'i rgyud)
Tantra, the sadhana of quality, “the tantra of manifesting Amrita” - Dudzi Rolpa ( Wiley bdud rtsi rol pa'i rgyud)
Tantra, the sadhans of deeds, - “Tilthra 12 Kilaya” - Phurpa Chunyi (Witley byit to ta ma rol pa'i rgyud, or phur pa bcu gnyis)

Five actions tantra:

“The Tantra of the Mighty Elephant” - Langchen Rabbog ( Wylie 'phang lta bas bcad pa glang po rab' bog gi rgyud)
“Tantra of mountain peaks” - Rivo Tsegpa ( Wiley go 'phang dbang gis bgrod pa ri bo brtsegs pa'i rgyud).
“The Tantra of the Intimidating Thunderbolt” - Yeshey Ngamlog ( Wylie la spyod pas dor ba rngam pa glog gi 'khor lo'i rgyud)
“Tantra ordering samay” - Tamzig Kodpa ( Wylie gzi dam tshigs gis bzung ba brod pa rgyal po'i rgyud)
“Tantra connecting everything at one point” - Tingdzin Tsechig ( Wylie nyams su ting 'dzin gyis blangs pa rtse gcig bsdus pa'i rgyud)

Two additional tantras:

“The network of the magical manifestation of Vairochana” - Namnang Gytrul Trav ( Wylie rnam par snang mdzad sgyu 'phrul drwa ba'i rgyud)
"Arkan method - lotus garland tantra" - Tabkyi Zhagpa (Wyli thabs kyi zhags pa pad mo'i phreng ba'i rgyud)

Sadhans of the Eight Great Heruks

The texts relating to the eight great mandalas of deities are divided into two types - canonical writings ( Wiley bKa'-Ma) and discovered treasures ( Wiley gTer-Ma). Sometimes to these eight add more mandalas Lama Rigdzin, which ultimately gives nine mandalas. These include:

Manjushri Yamantaka ( Wiley 'jam dpal gshin rje gshed; Jampal Shijeshe) - the deity of the body
Padma Hayagriva ( Wiley Padma rTa mGrin; Padma Tadrin) - deity of speech
Vajraheruka ( Wiley Yang-dag; Yangdag) - deity of mind
Vajramrita ( Wiley Che mChog bDud rTsi Yon Tan; Chechog Dutsi Yonten) - the deity of quality
Vajrakilaya / Vajrakumara ( Wiley rDo rJe Phur Pa; Dorje Purpa) - deity of action
Matarah ( Wiley Ma Mo rBod gTong; Mamo Botong) - worldly deities of incitement and destruction
Locastotrapuja ( Wiley 'Jigs rTen mChod brTod; Jigten Chodtod) - worldly deities of offering and praising
Vajramantrabhiru ( Wiley dMod Pa Drag sNgags; Mopa Trag-Ngag) - worldly deities of exorcism
Guru Vidyadhara ( Wiley Bla Ma Rig 'Dzin; Lama Rigdzin) - Guru (spiritual teacher)

Notes

↑ Chogyal Namhai Norbu Rinpoche “A Short Review of Tibetan Buddhist Traditions”
↑ ¹ ² Tulku Thondup. Buddha mind. Anthology of Longchenpa texts by Dzogpa Chenpo. - Sattva, 2006. - p. 464.
↑ Reginald A. Rey. Unbreakable truths. - Astrel, 2004. - p. 441.

[1] Chogyal Namhai Norbu Rinpoche “A Short Review of Tibetan Buddhist Traditions”

[autogenerated1-2] ¹ ² Tulku Thondup. Buddha mind. Anthology of Longchenpa texts by Dzogpa Chenpo. - Sattva, 2006. - p. 464.

[3] Reginald A. Rey. Unbreakable truths. - Astrel, 2004. - p. 441.