Roger R Jackson the Indian Mahamudra Canons a Preliminary Sketch

8/9/2019 Roger R Jackson the Indian Mahamudra Canons a Preliminary Sketch

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The Indian Mahamudra ‘Ganoids)’: A Preliminary Sketch*

Roger R. Jackson*

Introduction

The main purpose of this article is to provide a preliminarylisting of a variety of text-collections that together constitute

something like a ‘canon’ of Indian Buddhist works on Mahamudra,especially but not exclusively as recognized within Bka’ brgyudtraditions. I construe the term ‘canon’ broadly, as a collection oftexts (usually but not necessarily written) that is especiallyauthoritative for a self-identified religious community or interestgroup. The concept of canon is similar to that of ‘corpus,’ in thateach is a collection of texts, but differs from it in the degree of

authority reserved for texts that are canonical. In this sense, everycanon is a corpus, but not every corpus is a canon.1

In the case of Tibetan Buddhist communities, it is a commonplace now that the term ‘canon’ refers to a multiplicity of textualcollections, including not only the ‘primary’ canons represented bythe various editions of the Bka’ ‘gyur and Bstan ‘gyur, the Rnying

ma rgyud ‘bum, and (arguably) the Bon po Bka’ ‘gyur and Bstan‘gyur but also the ‘secondary’ canons collected by various orders,sub-orders, lineages, and practice traditions, however these may bedefined.2It also is widely accepted that the various Tibetan canons

I would like to thank Matthew Kapstein, Dan Martin, and Klaus-

Dieter Mathes for their assistance in clarifying certain details of thecorpora discussed below, and Lara Braitstein for her careful readingof and comments on an earlier draft of the article. A seminal versionof the article was presented at the Wisconsin South Asia Conferencein 1995.

Roger R. Jackson, Chair, Department of Religion, Director of South Asian Studies, Stephen R. Lewis, Jr. Professor of Religion and the Liberal Arts,

Carleton College, One North college Street, Northfield, MN 55057.1 For a helpful overview of the concept of canon, see Sheppard 1987. My

definition o f the term is a bit like his for “Canon 2,” which is “a list, chronology, catalog, fixed collection, and/or standardized text” (66).

2 Thus, we might identify ‘canons’ related to orders like the Sa skya or Dge lugs, sub-orders like the ‘Bri gung Bka’ brgyud or Ngor pa Sa skya, lineages


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are not for the most part as decisively fixed as those of Westernreligions tend to be, and they often are permeable at theirboundaries.3

Few practice traditions have been as important to TibetanBuddhism as that of the Great Seal, Mahamudra (Tib. phyag rgya chert po). Mahamudra is a multivalent term that may refer, inter alia, to a hand gesture employed in tantric ritual; one of three orfour ‘seals’ to tantric practice; a consort employed in sexual yogapractices; our inherent buddha-nature; the empty nature of alldharmas; the Madhyamaka view; meditation techniques in which

the mind itself is the object; a blissful, innate gnosis that nonduallyperceives emptiness; the siddhi that is the outcome of tantricpractice; and a buddha’s dharmakaya. The term is absolutely centralto conceptions of the basis, path, and fruit of Buddhist life amongthe Bka’ brgyud, was crucial in Zhi byed and Gcod circles, is thefocus of an important oral tradition among the Dge lugs, and findsits place as well in the discourse of the Sa skya and Rnying ma.Like those in other practice traditions, we might regard those with asignificant interest in Mahamudra as belonging to an interest groupwithin and among various religious communities.4

Not surprisingly, the Tibetan passion for the classificationand collection of texts - and for the formation of canons - extendedto works related to Mahamudra. Although Mahamudra came to the

fore as a topic of discourse among the New Translation schools(Gsar ma pa) during the Tibetan “renaissance” of the eleventh andfollowing centuries,5 its roots are found deep in the literature ofIndian Buddhist tantric traditions, where the term appeared withincreasing frequency in the last centuries of the first millennium

152 The Indian International Journal o f Buddhist Studies 9, 200B

like the Ras chung or Dga’ Idan snyan hrgyuds, or practice traditions like Zhi byed or Rdzogs chen — while keeping firmly in mind that these categories are far from exhaustive or mutually exclusive, since, e.g., lineages and practice traditions often are subsumed under orders or sub-orders, virtually all practice traditions have lineages, and most lineages have corresponding practice traditions.

3 For recent discussion o f Tibetan Buddhist canons, see for instance the articles in Eimer 1997 and Eimer and Germano 2002, For a seminal analysis of

Indian Buddhist canons, see Davidson 1990.

4 For an overview o f Mahamudra, see Jackson 2004; for an extensive bibliography of Western works on the topic, see Jackson forthcoming.

5 See Davidson 2005 for an exploration of this term and of the social and historical contours of the period it describes.


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The Indian Mahàmudrà *Canon(s)':A Preliminary Sketch 153

C.E. It became especially prominent in texts classed by Tibetanswithin the Yogini (or “Mother”) subdivision of the Highest YogaTantras (niruttaryogatantra, bla na med pa 'irgyud), e.g., in thecorpora related to Cakrasamvara, Hevajra, and Kàlacakra. It alsowas a frequent point of reference in the many tantric songs - dohàs, caryôgïti, and vajragiti - sung by such mahàsiddhas as Saraha,Tilopa (or Tailopa or Tillipa), and Nàropa (or Nàdapàda), and wasarticulated in philosophical treatises and commentaries by the likesof Maitripa, Sahajavajra, and Jnànaklrti. Over the centuries in India,its connotations became increasingly ultimate and more universal,

such that when texts and traditions related to it were transmitted toTibet beginning in the eleventh century, if was understood by manyto have both Sütrayàna and Mantray ana versions, to beapproachable both by gradual and sudden means, to encompass theentire ground, path, and goal of Buddhist life, and to be relevant tothe view, meditation, behavior, and fruit of the spiritual path.Nevertheless, despite the incontestable influence of Indian masters

and Indian texts, it probably is fair to say that the articulation ofMahàmudrà as a practice tradition and a central topic of discourse islargely a construct of Tibetan scholasticism, beginning with anumber of individuals in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, themost important of whom for our purposes is Sgam po pa Bsodnames rin chen (1079-1153), the source of the Dvags po Bka’brgyud orders in which discourse on Mahàmudrà has been most

prominent and long-lasting. By ‘scholasticism,’ incidentally, Isimply mean the attempt to organize a body or bodies of texts,ideas, and practices into a coherent pattern. And, one consistentfeature of scholastic traditions is the creation of textual collectionsdeemed especially significant and authoritative - in shu t, of canons.

Although a detailed discussion of the origins anddevelopment of a Mahàmudrà canon in Tibet is beyond the scope ofthis paper, this much can be said. It is evident that severalcollections of Indian texts had been linked together as pertaining to‘Mahàmudrà’ by ihe fourteenth century, for in his record ofteachings received (Gsan yig) the great polymath and Bstan ‘gyurredactor, Bu ston rin chen grub (1290-1364),. associates the termwith at least four corpora: the Seven Accomplishment Texts (Grub

pa sde bdun; corpus B, below), the Sixfold Cycle of Essentials (Snying po skor drug; c o r p u s C ) , t h e T w e n ;.y - ri v e T e x t s o nUnthinking {Yid la mi byed pa nyi shu rtsa lnga\ corpus D). and the


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154 The Indian International Jou rna l o f Buddhist Studies 9, 2008

Four Dharma Ordinances {Bka ’ bskul gyi chos bzhi; corpus E).6 Inhis Phyag chen gan mdzod (16,h c.), Padma dkar po pushes back the‘canonization’ of the first three of these at least another century anda half, attributing their association with Mah ámudr á to the founderof the ‘Brug pa Bka’ brgyud, Gtsang pa rgya ras pa Ye shes rdo rje(1161-1211).7And, if we are to believe the reports o f ‘Gos lo ts á baGzhon nu dpal’s Blue Annals (Deb ther sngon po, written in 1478),a number of Indian corpora already were intact and associated withMahámudrá at the time of their transmission to Tibet in the eleventhand early twelfth centuries by the likes of Vajrapáni and Bal poAsu. These corpora include the Seven Accomplishment Texts andthe Twenty-five Texts on Unthinking, as well as the triple Cycle ofEssentials {Snying po skor gsum; corpus A), the Ten Dharmas ofMah ámudrá {Phyag rgya chen po 7 chos bcu; corpus F), and theCycle of Lesser Texts {Phra mo skor, corpus G).8

At roughly the same time, the forerunner of the Zhi byedtradition, Pha Dam pa sangs rgyas (d. Ill 7), is said to have brought

from India seventeen anthologies of texts, three of which explicitlymention Mahámudrá in their titles. These anthologies, whichinclude various Indian tantric texts and songs sung by Pha dam pa’sfifty-four Indian predecessors, eventually found their way into alarger Zhi byed collection that was an important source forpractitioners not only of the short-lived Zhi byed school but also ofthe Gcod practice tradition that sprang from it and permeated a

number of major orders.9 The Zhi byed collection is deserving ofmore detailed study, but it does not, so far as I know, bearsignificantly on the primarily Bka’ brgyud developments withwhich I am most concerned here.

Thus, it may be that some Mahámudrá corpora existed inIndia and were transmitted to Tibet. The introduction of text-

collections associated with a particular term or theme, however, isnot the same as canonization, which is a second-order process ofcategorizing disparate texts and corpora, and usually requires someinstitutional basis and motive for granting them special.status - andthat institutional basis developed, at least among the Bka’ brgyud,

6 Bu 114-17.

7 Pad 4a. I have so far been unable to find evidence for this in the works of Gtsang pa rgya ras pa, and lGos makes no reference to it in the Blue Annals.

* ‘Gos ch. 11: 3b, 8b-9a, 12b; Roerich 1976: 845, 856-57 , 865.

9 See, e.g., [Dam pa sangs rgyas] 1985, Schaeffer n.d., Martin 2006.


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The Indian Mahamudrd ‘Canon(s)’:A Preliminary Sketch 155

only in the mid-to-late twelfth century, as its monasteries grew inwealth and power and Mahamudra became increasingly central theorder’s discourse. Furthermore, the transmission, translation, andcategorization of Indian Buddhist texts during the Tibetanrenaissance was a drawn-out and complex process, and we cannotbe certain that later accounts of it, even by historians as renownedas ‘Gos, are entirely trustworthy, subject as they are (like allhistorical work) to anachronistic projections that reflect theirauthors’ own categories and values as much as (or more than) theydo events in the era they are describing.

In short, while it may be that some collections associatedwith Mah amudr a were brought to Tibet directly from India orNepal in the eleventh century, the attempt among the Bka’ brgyudto link these collections together into an authoritative Mah amudr a‘canon’ seems to be a product of a slightly later time; and if thatattempt cannot be traced explicitly to Gtsang pa rgya ras pa in thelate twelfth or early thirteenth century, it certainly is evident in the

works of Bu ston and ‘Gos lo ts a ba, hence datable to the fourteenthor fifteenth century at the latest.

While the efforts of figures like Bu ston and ‘Gos lo ts a ba(and possibly Gtsang pa rgya ras pa before them) indicate clearlythat attempts were underway within the Bka’ brgyud to describe aMahamudra canon, it is only with the Seventh Karmapa, Chos grags

rgya mtsho (1454-1506), that we have a fully self-conscious attemptto define and collect the full range of Indian Buddhist texts relevantto Mahamudra, i.e., to create a canon as opposed to merelyidentifying it. This the Karmapa did in his voluminous Phyag chen rgya gzhung (Extensive Collection o f Mahamudrd Texts), whichruns to well over two thousand folio sides and covers three volumesin the edition issued by Zhwa mar Rin po che in 1997.10 The two

hundred-plus texts it includes are mostly drawn from the Rgyud‘grel section of the Bstan ‘gyur.11 It includes nearly all of the texts

1(1 See Chos. Another, shorter, text (in dbu med script) bearing the title Phyagchen rgya gzhung, said to have been preserved at ‘Bri gung thel, waspublished in Bir, Himachal Pradesh, in 1985 (Senghe 1985). I have not examined it in detail, but its contents appear to overlap very little with the Seventh Karmapa’s collection; most of them focus on tantric ritual to a much greater degree than the texts in the Karmapa’s Rgya gzhung.

11 The very first text in the collection, the Andvilatantrardja, is found in theRgyud section of the Bka’ gyur, and there are a dozen or so texts that exist in Tibetan translation but did not find their way into the Bstan ‘gyur.


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156 The Indian International Journal o f Buddhist Studies 9, 2008

found in the corpora listed below, and many more besides.Although it is not explicitly subdivided into corpora, a number ofcollections are easily identifiable within it by virtue of theirsequencing, including the Seven Accomplishment Texts, the SixfoldCycle of Essentials, and the Twenty-five Texts on Unthinking, aswell as a series of texts by Saraha, the songs (glu) of variousmahasiddhas, works on view ( Ita ba), and several writings of Atisa.In many instances, the texts are ordered exactly as they are in theBstan ‘gyur, or nearly so. It remains, to the best of my knowledge,the most extensive Mahamudra canon ever to appear in Tibet.12

As extensive as the Phyag chert rgya gzhung is, it neverseems to have superseded earlier ways of delineating a Mahamudracanon, nor did it preclude later attempts to define the texts mostcrucial for understanding and practice of Mahamudra. Thus, thegreat exponent of the Mahamudra meditative path, Dvags po Bkrashis rnam rgyal (1513-87), refers in his Phyag chert zla ba’i' ‘odzer to the Triple Cycle of Essentials, the Seven Accomplishment Texts,

the Sixfold Cycle of Essentials, the Twenty-five Texts onUnthinking, and the Eight Doh a Treasuries {Do ha mdzod brgyad; corpus H),13while his younger contemporary Padma dkar po, as wehave seen, focuses on the three corpora whose association with Mahamudr a he traces to Gtsang pa rgya ras pa: the SevenAccomplishment Texts, the Sixfold Cycle of Essentials, and theTwenty-five Texts on Unthinking. Later authors both inside andoutside the Bka’ brgyud made similar choices. The First PanchenLama, Bio bzang chos kyi rgyal mtshan (1570-1662), in hisautocomm&itary to his root verses on the Dge ldan bka’ brgyudMah amudr a tradition, identifies the Triple Cycle of Essentials andthe Seven Accomplishment Texts as crucial to what he calls TantraMahamudra.14 And, the great Ris med pa encyclopedist and

12 For a preliminary study of certain aspects o f the Karmapa’s collection, see Mathes forthcoming. Mathes also is preparing a full-scale study of the anthology, which will, when it appears, be a major contribution to Mahamudra studies.

13 For the latter, see Do. This is a collection o f dohdkosas by Indian mahasiddhas that was redacted, probably in Tibet, some time before the sixteenth century, and has been reproduced several times since then. See bCapstein 2006: 56-61.

14 See Bio 6b-7a. The Yang gsal sgron me has not yet been translated into English, though it will find its place in an anthology o f Dge lugs pa Mahamudra texts 1 am preparing. See also the gloss o f this passage in Dalai Lama and Berzin 1997: 240.


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The Indian Mahamudra ‘Canonist’: A Preliminary Sketch 157

polymath, ‘Jam mgon kong sprul Bio gros mtha’ yas (1813-99),includes in his voluminous anthology, the Gdams ngag mdzod , aselection of Indian and Tibetan texts related to what he calls theCommon Mah amudr a Cycle (Thun mong phyag chen gyi skor, corpus I); the Indian texts are the Anavilatantrarqja; important doha collections by Saraha, §avari, Tilopa, and Naropa; and Maitripa’sseminal ten verses on reality, the Tattvadasaka.ls

In sum, there is no single, fixed Indian Mah amudr a canon.Rather, there is a partially overlapping set of canons defined by avariety of scholastics - primarily but not exclusively in Bka’ brgyud

communities - over the course of nearly a thousand years. Thoughthe Mahamudra canons are secondary in the sense of consistinglargely of texts from the primary canon, i.e., the Bka' ‘gvur andBstan ‘gyur, they are canonical nonetheless in the authority theybear for Tibetans who are concerned with Mahamudra, whatevertheir sectarian or institutional setting.

In the section that follows, I have listed the corpora thatmost often have been cited as being essential to the study andpractice of Mahamudra. Some, like the Triple Cycle of Essentials,Seven Accomplishment Texts, Sixfold Cycle of Essentials, andTwenty-five Texts on Unthinking, are of considerable antiquity andare cited with great frequency; 1refer to them as “Inner Canon A.”Other sets, such as the Four Dharma Ordinances, Ten Dharmas of

Mahamudra, Cycle of Lesser Texts, Eight Doha Treasuries, andCommon Mahamudra Cycle, may or may not be ancient, and arementioned rather less frequently; I refer to them as “Inner CanonB.” Finally, there are a number of texts from both the Sutra andTantra literature of Indian Buddhism that are frequently cited byMahamudra scholars, yet seldom or never find their way intoMahamudra lists or collections per se; these form an “Outer

Canon.”

SourcesThe texts from which I have drawn my lists represent only a

selection of possible sources,16 but they are not chosen arbitrarily.

15 See ‘Jam: Mar pa bka’ brgyud skor, Gzhung rtsa ‘grel skor: 1--69.

Ih Given its considerable antiquity, it will be important at some point to bring

Zhi byed literature — especially the early anthologies imo the picture, but I have not investigated it sufficiently to include it at present. There also may


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158 The Indian International Journal of Buddhist Studies 9, 2008

They include an extensive record of teachings received by the mainredactor of the Bstan ‘gyur (Bu); a vital historical work by a scholardeeply invested in Mahamudra traditions (‘Gos); two earlyanthologies of Mahamudra works, one brief (Do), the other massive(Chos); the most influential Bka’ brgyud pa compendium ofMah5mudra practice (Bkra); an important historical and analyticalaccount of Mahamudra by its greatest Bka’ brgyud pa theorist(Pad), the seminal Dge lugs commentary on Mahamudra (Bio), anda significant modern anthology of texts from a variety of TibetanBuddhist lineages by a Ris med pa with a strong Bka’ brgyud

background (‘Jam). In abbreviated form, the texts are as follows;full references may be found in the bibliography.

[Bkra:] Dvags po Bkra shis rnam rgyal (1513-87), Phyag chen zla ba’i 'odzer. Tr.: Lhalungpa 1986. (Mentions or lists: A, B,C, D, H)

[Bio:] [Panchen I] Bio bzang chos kyi rgyal mtshan (1570-1662),Phyag chen rtsa bayang gsal sgron me. (A, B)

[Bu:] Bu ston (1290-1364), Bu ston gsan yig. (B, C, D, E)

[Chos:] [Karmapa VII] Chos grags rgya mtsho (1454-1506)(compiler), Phyag chen rgya gzhung. (B, C, D)

[Do:] Do ha mdzod brgyad. (H)

[‘Gos:] ‘Gos lo tsa ba (1392-1481), The Blue Annals: Deb ther

sngonpo. Tr.: Roerich 1976. (A, B, D, F, G)[‘Jam:] ‘Jam mgon kong sprul Bio gros mtha’ yas (1813-99)(compiler), Gdams ngag mdzod, vol. 5. (I)

[Pad:] ‘Brug chen Padma dkar po (1527-92), Phyag chen gan mdzod. (B, C, D)

The CanonsThe corpora that emerge from these sources varyconsiderably as to genre and content. Inner Canons A and B consistprimarily of texts from the ‘Rgyud ‘grel section of the Bstan ‘gyur.The genres most prominent are tantric songs (especially collectionsof dohd and vajragiti), treatises (whether in verse or prose), and afew commentaries on selected treatises. It is worth noting that the

term mahamudra is not necessarily prominent (or even present) in

be important material in early Sa skya pa writings, and in Bka’ brgyad sources ! have not had the opportunity to consult.


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The Indian Mahamudra ‘Canon(s)’:A Preliminary Sketch 159

many of the works that form Inner Canons A and B. Indeed, the textthat is most often listed, Saraha’s Dohakosagiti (or People Doha), never mentions Mahamudra at all. This indicates clearly that thecriterion for a text’s inclusion in a Mahamudra canon - the sign thatit is ‘about’ Mahamudra - is not necessarily its use of the term butits focus on one or more of the themes associated with the term,including Buddha-nature, emptiness, insight into the nature of mind,blissful nondual gnosis, and so on. The Outer Canon - those textsnot included in canonical lists per se but frequently cited by Tibetanscholars of Mahamudra - includes a broad generic range, with many

more texts from the Bka’ ‘gyur than Inner Canons A and B. Itincludes texts that are the common heritage of all Tibetanintellectuals, such as the Prajha.pa.ra.mitd sutras; philosophicaltreatises by the likes of Nagaijuna, Maitreya, and KamalaSila; andthe tantras and tantric commentaries most important for NewTranslation traditions, especially those related to Guhyasamaja,

Hevajra, and Cakrasamvara. The sutras and non-tantric Sastras do

not mention Mahamudra, but may be seen as broadly related to it.The Tantras and their commentaries actually are the sources inwhich Mahamudra is most explicitly addressed; they are in fact theloci classici for understanding the origins of the term.

In the lists that follow, each corpus is arranged in the orderof its appearance in the Derge (Sde dge) edition of the Tibtetan

Tripitaka; each text-listing includes the Sanksrit and Tibetan titles asfound in the Derge edition, Tohoku (i.e., Derge, cited as D) andPeking (P) catalogue numbers.17Where an alternative author or titleshould be noted, it is enclosed in brackets following the name forwhich it is a variant or substitute. In the case of Inner Canons A andB, I have, upon the first occurrence, provided basic - but far fromexhaustive - information about available Sanskrit editions and

Western-language translations; for the Outer Canon, I haveprovided only Sanskrit and Tibetan titles and Derge and Pekingcatalogue numbers, as well as a parenthetical indication if a partialor compbte translation is available in a Western language.

Inner Canon A

A. The Triple Cycle of Essentials (Snying po skor gsum) [‘Gos:ch. 11, 9a (tr.: 857); Bkra: 94a (tr.: 105); Bio: 6b-7a]

17 I have excluded the final ndma or zhes/shes bya ba from titles in which those appear. In addition, I have silently corrected doha to doha.


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Comment: This trilogy of song-collections by Saraha is frequentlycited as a seminal Mahamudra corpus, but does not appearas a unit in either Bu or Chos. This may reflect lingeringcontroversy in Tibet over whether all three really werecomposed by Saraha. For discussion of this dispute, seeGuenther 1993: 9-11, Schaeffer 2005: 73-78. It is worthnoting that the term mahamudra occurs only in the Queen

Doha.

1. Saraha, Dohakosagiti {Do ha mdzod k\>i glu; a.k.a. Dmangs do ha= People Doha) D2724, P3068 (cf. C2; F4; 12)

£


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The Indian Mahamudru ‘Canon(s)’:A Preliminary Sketch 161

1. Padmavajra, Sakalatantrasambhavasamcodani-sriguhyasiddhi [Guhyasiddhi] (Rgyud ma luspa'i don ngespar skul bar byedpa dpal gsang ba grub pa) D2217, P3061

Ed.: Samdhong and Dwivedi 1987: 1-62.2. Anangavajra, Prajnopayaviniscayasiddhi (Thabs dang shes rab

mam par gtan la dbab pa sgrub pa) D2218, P3062

Ed.: Bhattaccharyya 1929, Samdhong and Dwivedi 1987:63-88.

Tr. [Chaps. 1-3]: Snellgrove 1954c.

3. Indrabhuti, Jhanasiddhi-ndma-sadhana [. Jhanasiddhi] (Ye shes grub pa zhes za ba ’i sgrub thabs) D2219, P3063

Ed.: Bhattaccharyya 1929, Samdhong and Dwivedi 1987:89-158.

4. Laksmlnkara, Advayasiddhisadhana [Advayasiddhi] (Gnyis su medpar grub pa'i sgrub thabs) D2220, P3064

Ed.: Samdhong and Dwivedi 1987: 159-64.Ed. & tr.: Shendge 1964, Mishra 1995: 28-36.

5. Darikapa, Qri-Uddiyanavinirgataguhyamahaguhya-tattvopadesa [Guhyatattva] (Dpal u rgyan nas byung ba gsang ba’i gsang ba chen po de kho na nyid kyi man ngag) D2221, P3065

6. Cito [sic for Yogini Cinta], Vyaktabhavananugatatattvasiddhi (Dngos po gsal ba'i rjes su 'gro ba'i de kho na nyid grub pa) D2222, P3066

Ed..: Samdhong and Dwivedi 1987: 165-79.

7. Dombi Heruka, Sri-Sahajasiddhi [Sahajasiddhi] (Dpal lhan cig skyes pa grub pa) D2223, P3067

Ed.: Samdhong and Dwivedi 1987: 181-92.

Ed. & tr.: Shendge 1967: 135-49.

Notes:

(1) Samdhong and Dvivedi 1987 includes nos. 1-4 and 6-7; it lacksno. 5, but includes the Acintyadvayakramopadesa (D2228,P3072; cf. C6) and Advayavivarana-prajhopdyaviniscaya-

siddhi (no Tibetan)(2) Chos appends the following:

1. Indrabhuti, Sahajasiddhi (Lhan cig skyes grub) D2260,P3107


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2. LaksmI Bhattarika, Sahajasiddhipaddhati (.Lhan cig skyes grub kyi gzhung ’gret) D2261, P3108

3. Keralipada, Srl-Tattvasiddhi (Dpal de kho na nyid grub

pa) D2262, P3109

C. The Sixfold Cycle of Essentials (Snyingpo skor drug) [Bu: 115-16; Cho's: vol. om, dkar chag 3b-4a; Bkra: 106a (tr.: 117);Pad: 12a]

Comment: These texts include poetic, systematic, and speculative

works related to the tantras. There is some divergencebetween the lists given by Bu and Chos on the one hand andPad on the other. Pad implies that his enumeration reflectsthat of Gtsang pa rgya ras pa, a century-and-a-half before Buston, but the latter provides the earliest textual reference tothe list of which I am aware.

1. Aryad&va,Cittavaranavisodha-nama-prakarana [Cittavisuddhi- prakarana] (Sems kyi sgrib pa mam par sbyong ba zhes bya ba'i rab tu byedpa) D 1804, P2669

Ed.: Patel 1949.

Tr. [partial]: Snellgrove 1954a.

2. Saraha, Dohakosagiti (Do ha mdzod kyi glu) D2224, P3068 (cf.Al; F4; 12)

3. Nagaijunagarbha [or Maitrlpa], Caturmudraviniscaya [AVS:Caturmudra or Caturmudranvaya, no. 6] (Phyag rgya bzhi gtan la dbabpa) D2225, P3069 (cf. D n3; G2)

Ed.: Shastri 1927: 32-35 (no. 6), SGSTT 1989.

Tr. [partial]: Kvaerne 1975: 117-20.4. Devacandra, Prajhdjndnaprakasa (Shes rab ye shes gsal ba) D2226, P3070 (cf. G3)

5. Sahajavajra, Sthitisamuccaya (Gnaspa bsduspa) D2227, P3071(cf. G4)

6. Kuddall [or Kot ali], Acintyakramopadesa (Bsam gyis mi khyab

pa'i rim pa’i man ngag) D2228, P3072 (cf. B n2)

Notes:

(1) Pad omits nos. 4-5, and includes instead:

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The Indian Mahámudrá ‘Canon(s)’:A Preliminary Sketch 163

4. Saraha, Svadhisthanakrama {Rang byin gyis brlab pa'i rim pa) D2275, P3122

5. Saraha, Tattvopadesasikharadohágiti (.De kho na nyid kyi

man ngag rtse mo do ha'i glu) D2276, P3123

(2) Pad appends these related texts:1. Saraha, Dohákosa-náma-caryáglti {Do ha mdzod ces bya ba spyodpa'i glu) D2263, P3110 (cf. A2; F5)

2. Saraha, Dohakosopadesagiti {Mi zadpa'i gter mdzod man ngaggi glu) D2264, P3111 (cf. A3)

3. Saraha, Kakhadohd [P: Kakhasyadoha] {Ka kha 7 do ha) D2266, P3113

4. Saraha, Kakhadohátippana [P: Kakhasyadohátippana]{Ka kha'i do ha'i bshadpa brispa) D2267, P3114

5. Saraha, Dvádasopadesagáthá {Man ngag gi tshigs su bead pa bcu gnyis pa) D2274, P3121

D. The Twentv-five Texts on Unthinking {Yid la mi byed pa nyi shu rtsa Inga, all by Maitripa/Advayavajra/Gnyis medAvadhütipa) [Bu: 116; ‘Gos: ch. 11, 3b (tr.: 845); Chos: vol.om, dkar chag 4a-4b; Bkra: 94a, 106a (tr.: 105, 117) Pad;16a-b]

Comment: This collection contains a variety of poetic andphilosophical works attributed to Maitripa. Although thetexts are included in many Tibetan Mahámudrá canon listsand are described as being centrally concerned withmeditative unthinking (


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Ed.: Shastri 1927: 56 (no. 17), SGSTT J991.

12. Mahasukhaprakasa (Bde ba chen po gsal ba) D2239, P3084,


13. Tattvaratnavali {De kho na nyid rin po che'iphreng ba) D2240,P3085

Ed.: Shastri 1927: 14-22 (no. 3), not edited by SGSST.

14. Tattvaprakasa {De kho na nyid rab tu bstan pa) D2241, P3086


15. Tathagatapancamudravivarana [AVS: Pancatathagatamudra-vivarana] {De bzhin gshegs pa Inga'i phyag rgya mam par bshadpa) D2242, P3087.


16. Sekakdyasamgraha [AVS: Sekatatparyayasamgraha] {Dbang gidgospa mdor bsduspa) D2243, P3088

Ed.: Shastri 1927: 36-39 (no. 7), SGSTT 1989.17. Samksiptasekaprakriya {Dbang gi by a ba mdor bsdus pa)

D2244, P3089, no AVS

18. Pahcasvabhava [AVS: Pancdkara] {Rang bzhin Inga ma)D2245, P3090


19. Prajnopayakridapanca [AVS: Premapancaka] {Thabs dangshes rab brtse ba Inga pa) D2246, P3091

Ed.: Shastri 19^7: 44 (no. 19), SGSTT 1990:

Tr.: Brunnholzl 2007: 137-38.

20. Dohanidhinamatattvopadesa {Do ha ni dhi zhes bya ba de khona nyid kyi man ngag) D2247, P3092, no AVS

21. Mahayanavimsati [AVS: Mahdyanavimsika] {Theg pa chen ponyi shu pa) D2248, P3093


22. Amanasikdroddesa [AVS: Amanasikdradhara\ {Yid la mi byed pa ston pa) D2249, P3094

Ed.: Shastri 1927: 60-62 (no. 21), SGSTT 1989.23. Tattvamahdyanavimsati [AVS: Tattvavimsika] {De kho na nyid

theg pa chen po nyi shu pa) D2250, P3095


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24. Sekanirdesa {Dbang nges par bstan pa) D2252, P3097 (cf.Gnl)

Ed: Shastri 1927: 28-31 (no. 4), SGSTT 1991.

Notes:

(1) Pad adds: Abodhabodhaka {Ma rtogs pa rtogs'par byed pa)D2297, P3145,no AVS.

(2) No Tibetan list includes Mulapatti Sthulapati, which lacks a

Tibetan translation, but is found at Shastri 1927: 13 (no. 2)and SGSTT 1988.

(3) Caturmudraniscaya {Phyag rgya bzhi gtan la dbab pa) D2225,P3069 (attributed by Tibetans to Nagaijunagarbha, i.e.,Nagaijuna) is included in the Sixfold Cycle of Essentials,but also is found in the AVS under the title Caturmudra (Shastri 1927: 32-35, no. 6) or Caturmudranvaya (SGSTT1989), and therefore attributed to Maitripa. (cf. C3; G2)

Inner Canon B

E. The Four Pharma Ordinances {Bka ’ bskul gyi chos bzhi)[Bu: 116-17]

Comment: This tetralogy, attested by Bu, consists mainly of tantric

commentarial works composed in the eleventh century. Eachof them finds its way into other lists, as well.

1. Maitripa, Kudrstinirghatatika. [AVS: Kudrstinirghatanatippinika]{Lta ba ngan pa sel ba ’i bka ' ‘grel) D2231, P3075 (cf, D3)

2. RamapiTla, ¿ekanirdesapanjika {Dbang bskur ba nges par bstan pa'i dka ''grel) D2253, P3098 (cf. E5)

3. Sahajavajra, Tattvadasakatika {De kho na nyid bcupa'i rgya cher 'grelpa) D2254, P3099 (cf. G6)

Tr.: Brunnholzl 2007: 141-90.

4. Vajrapani, Vajrapada {Rdo rje'i tshig) D2255, P3100 (cf. G7)

F. The Ten Dharmas of Mahamudra {Phyag rgva chen po 7 chos

bcu) [‘Gos: ch. 11, 12b (tr.: 865)]



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Comment: This corpus, said by ‘Gos to have been transmitted byVajrapani, is notable for the range of works by Saraha that itcontains (including three - nos. 6-8 - that feature Mahamudraprominently), and for the fact that, most unusually, itincludes material from the Bka’ ‘gyur: a very short sutra (no. 1) and a brief tantra associated with Cakrasamvara (no.2), along with a commentary on that tantra from the Bstan‘gyur (no. 3).

1. Arya- Atajndna-ndma-mahayanasutra ('Phags pa ’da' kha ye

shes zhes bya ba thegpa chenpo'i mdo) D122, P7902. Anavila-tantraraja {.Rgyud kyi rgyal po rnyog pa medpa) D414,P58 (cf. II)

3. Kumaracandra, Sri-Anavila-ndma-tantrarajapanjikd (Dpal rnyog pa med pa zhes bya ba'i rgyud kyi 'grel pa) D1204, P2334

4. Saraha, Dohakosaglti {Do ha mdzod kyi glu) D2224, P3068 (cf.

A1;C2; 12)5. Saraha, Dohakosa-nama-caryagiti {Do ha mdzod ces bya baspyodpa'i glu) D2263, P3110 (cf. A2; C n2, no. 1)

6. Saraha, Kayakosdmrtavajragiti {Sku'i mdzod 'chi med rdo rje’iglu) D2269, P3115

Tr.: Braitstein 2005: 187-211.

7. Saraha, Vakkosarucirasvaravajraglti {Gsung gi mdzod 'jamdbyangs rdo rje'i glu) D2270, P3116


8. Saraha, Cittakosajavajragiti {Thugs kyi mdzod skye med rdo rje’iglu) D2271, P3117


9. Saraha, Kayavdkcittdmanasikdra {Sku gsung thugs yid la mi byed pa) D2272, P3118

10. Vajrapani, Bhavanakramasatka {Sgom rim drug pa) D2299,P3148

G. The Cvcle of Lesser Texts {Phra mo skor) [‘Gos: ch. 11, 9a

(tr.: 857)]Comment: Also said by ‘Gos to have been transmitted by Vajrap

ani, this corpus is dominated by commentarial texts, many ofwhich are also found in other lists.



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1. Maitripa, Nairatmyaprakasa [P: Nairdtmaprakasa\(Bdag med pa 7 rab tu gsal ba) D1308, P2438

2. Nagarjunagarbha [or Maitripa], Caturmudraniscaya [AVS:Caturmudranvaya] (Phyag rgya bzhi gtan la dbab pa) D2225, P3069 (cf C3; D n3)

3. Devacandra, Prajhajhanaprakdsa (Shes rab ve shes gsal ba) D2226, P3070 (cf. C4)

4. Sahajavajra, Sthitisamuccaya {Gnas pa bsdus pa) D2227, P3071(cf. C5)

5. Ramapala, Sekanirdesapanjika (Dbang bskur ba nges par bstan pa'i dka' 'grel) D2253, P3098 (cf E2)

6. Sahajavajra, Tattvadasakatika {De kho na nyid bcu pa'i rgya cher \grel pa) D2254, P3099 (cf. E3)

7. Vajrapani, Vajrapada {Rdo rje'i tshig) D2255, P3100 (cf E4)

8. Vajrapani, Guruparamparakramopadesa ( Bla ma brgyudpa'i rim pa'i man ngag) D3716, P4539

Note:‘Gos mentions Maitripa’s Sekanirdesa {Dbang nges par bstan pa)

[D2252, P3097] just before the list above; it is unclearwhether he meant for it to be included, (cf. D24)

H. The Eight Doha Treasuries {Do ha mdzod brgyad) [Do; Bkra:94a (tr.: 105)]

Comment: The provenance and date of this anthology of Indiani/oAa-treasuries are uncertain, but it has been reprinted numeroustimes, and remains an important short collection of essential poetictexts, in most of which Mahamudra is a central term. It is notablethat fully half the texts (nos. 3, 4, 7, and 8) are not found in theBstan ‘gyur.

I. Saraha [P: Mahaiabara Saraha, ‘Jam: Savari], Dohdkosa-ndma-mahamudropadesa {Do ha mdzod ces bya ba phyag rgya

chenpo'i man ngag) D2273, P3119 (cf 14)Tr.: Thaye 1990: 80-86.

2. Virupa, Dohakosa {Do ha mdzod) D2280, P3130


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3. Tilopa, Dohakosa {Do ha mdzod) no D or P

Tr.: Thaye 1990: 75-76.

Note: This Dohakosa is not the same as the one found in the

Bstan ‘gyur (D2281, P3128). For an alternative Tibetanedition and a translation of the latter, see Torricelli 1997. ForApabhramia editions, see Bagchi 1935, Bagchi 1937: 61-71;for the Apabhramia with translation, see Jackson 2004: 129-41.

4. Krsnavajra [or Kanha], Dohakosa {Do ha mdzod) D2301, P3150

Tr.: Kapstein 2006: 57-58. Note: As Kapstein observes (2006: 58), this Kan ha Dohakosa bears some similarities to the version found in theBstan ‘gyur (D2301, P3150), but also differs from itsignificantly. For the Apabhramia version of the latter, seeBagchi 1935, Bagchi 1937: 40-47 (ed.), Shahidullah 1928:

71-110 (ed. & tr.), Jackson 2004: 117-28 (tr.).5. Tailopa [Tilopa], Mahdmudropadesa {Phvag rgya chert po ’i manngag, a.k.a. Phyag che ganggama = Ganges Mahamudra) D2303, P3132 (cf. 15)

Ed.: Tiso and Torricelli 1991.

Tr.: Chang 1963, 1986: 25-30, Trungpa 1976: 157-63,

Trungpa 1993: 266-72, Thrangu 2002: 35-41, Brunnholzl2007: 96-101.

6. Saraha, Bhavanadrsticaryaphaladohdgititlka {Lta bsgom spyod pa 'bras bu'i do ha'i glu) D2345, P3173

7. Naropa [or Nadapada], Adhisidhisama {Lta ba mdor bsdus pa) noD or P

Tr.: Thrangu 1997: 11-16.8. Maitripa [sic for Naropa], Mahdmudrasancamitha {Phyag rgya

chen po tshig bsdus pa) no D or P (cf. 18)

Tr.: Kunga and Cutillo 1978: 26-28 (1985: 26-27), Thaye1990: 78-79, Thrangu 1997: 97-100.

I. The Common Mahamudra Cycle {Thun mong phyag chen gyi skor) [‘Jam: Mar pa bka’ brgyud skor, Gzhung rtsa ‘grel skor: 1-69]


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170 The Indian International Journal o f Buddhist Studies 9. 2008

Commment: This nineteenth-century list of Indian and TibetanMahamudra texts important to the Mar pa Bka’ brgyud ispart of ‘Jam mgon kong sprul’s great anthology, the Gdams ngag mdzod. The Indian texts in the listing all are found inearlier corpora. The list forms roughly the first half of acollection of root texts and commentaries related toMahamudra and the Six Dharmas of Naropa. The latter, ofcourse, often are regarded by Bka* brgyud pas as being thecentral practices of tantric Mah amudr a, but I have notlisted them here.

1. Anavila-tantraraja {Rgyud kyi rgyal po rnvog pa med pa) D404,P58 (cf. F2)

2. Saraha, Dohakosaglti {Do ha mdzod kyi glu) D2224, P3068 (cf.Al; C2; F4)

3. [Spar bu ba BN gros seng ge, Dpal sa ra ha 7 gdams pa ’i bsdusdon]

4. Savari, Dohdkosa-ndma-mahamudropadesa D2273 (cf. HI)

5. Tilopa, Mahamodropadesa D2303, P3132 (cf. H5)

6. [Karma pa III Rang byung rdo rje, Phyag rgya chen poganggama 'i gzhung sa bead]

7. [Karma pa III Rang byung rdo rje, Phyag rgya chen po gangg a

ma ’i ‘grel pa]8. Naropa, Mahamudrasahcamitha no D, P (cf. H8)

9. [‘Jam dbyangs mkhan brtse’i dbang po, Dpalna ro p a ’i rdo rje’igsung phyag rgya chen po tshig bsdus kyi man ngag rgyud kyi lung dang byar ba gtso bor bton pa 'i ‘grel chung rtogs

par sla ba]

10. Maitripa, Tattvadasaka D2236, P3080, A21 (cf. D8)11. [Mnga bdag mar pa lo tsa bas dpal sa ra ha las gsan pa ‘i phyag

rg>a chen po yid la mi byed pa snying po don gyi gdams ngag yi ge bzhi pa ’i don rdo rje 7 mgur du bzhengs pa]

12. [Rje btsun mi la 7 phvag rgya chen po ye shes gsal byed kyi rtsaba]

13. [Rje sgam po pa 7 phyag rgya chen po lam gcig chod]


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The Indian Mahdmudra ‘Canon(s)’:A Preliminary Sketch 171

The Outer Canon

As suggested earlier, this is a canon in name only. With theexceptions noted below, the listing here simply includes any text

that is (a) not listed in Inner Canons A or B and (b) cited at leasttwice in Dvags po Bkra shis rnam rgyal’s compendious andauthoritative Phyag chen zla ba 7 ‘od zer. Texts cited five times ormore are indicated by an asterisk after the Tibetan title. Needless tosay, there are many texts from which one could select such a canon,and many approaches to delineating it, but frequency of mention inBkra does seem one reasonable criterion for selection. Because of

the tangential and somewhat arbitrary nature of the Outer Canon, Iprovide less detailed references for the texts here than for thoseabove, omitting extant Sanskrit editions and simply noting theexistence of a partial (pTr.) or complete (Tr.) Western-languagetranslation following the Tibetan catalogue numbers.

SutrasComment: To the best of my knowledge, the term mahdmudra nevei

appears in any Buddhist sutra, and, as noted above, only onesutra, the Atajhana, finds its way into any Bka’ brgyudMahamudra corpus. Nevertheless, because Mahamudracame to have strong associations with Madhyamaka

philosophy in Tibet, sutras seen as foundational to thatschool often were cited by Bkra shis rnam rgyal and otherTibetan Mahamudra commentators.

• Arya-Astasahasrika-prajhapdramitd ('Phags pa shes rab kyipha rol tu phyin pa brgyad stong pa) D12, P734 (Tr.)

• Arya-Prajhaparamitb-sahcayagathbi [Prajndparamita-

samcayagatha] ( Phags pa shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa sdud pa tshigs su bead pa)* D13, P735 (Tr.)

• Bhagavati-prajhaparamita-hrdaya (Bcom Idan 'das ma shes rab k\d pha rol tu phvin pa 7 snving po) [Heart Sutra] D21,P160 (Tr.)

o Note: Although the Heart Sutra only is cited once by

Bkra, it is a foundational text for many TibetanBuddhists, and is crucial to the Mahamudra-orientedZhi byed tradition of Pha dam pa sangs rgyas.


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The Indian International Journal o f Buddhist Studies 9, 2008

Arya-Saptasatika-ndma-prajhaparamitd-mahaydnasutra {'Phags pa shes rab k)>i pha rol tu phyin pa bdnn brgya pa

zhes bya ba thegpa chen po'i mdo) D24, P737 (Tr.)

Ratnakutasutra (Dkon mchog brtsegs p a ’i mdo)* D45-93,P760 (pTr.)

o Note: This is a collection of early Mahayana sutras,from which Bkra generally draws without specifyingwhich text in the collection he is citing. He doestwice cite both the Kasyapaparivarta ( Phags pa 'od srung gi le ’u zhes bya ba theg pa chen po 7 mdo; D87, P760.43) and the Ratnacudapariprccha( Phags pa gtsug na rin poches shus pa shes bya ba theg pa chen p o ’i mdo; D91, P760.47), which formpart of the collection.

Buddha-avatamsaka-nama-mahdvaipulyasutra [Avatamsaka) {Sangs rgyas phal po che zhes bya ba shin tu

rgyaspa chen po'i mdo) D44, P761 (Tr.)o Note: The Dasabhumikasutra, which is part of the

Avatamsaka, is cited independently twice.

Arya-Sandhinirmocana-ndma-mahdyanasutra {'Phags pa dgongs pa nges par 'grol pa zhes bva ba theg pa chen po'i mdo)* D 106, P774 (Tr.)

Arya-Lahkdvatdra-mahayanasutra {'Phags pa lang kar gshegs pa'i theg pa chen po'i mdo)* D107, P775 (Tr.)

A rya- Ghanavyuha-ndma-mahaydnasutra [Gandavyuha){'Phags pa rgyan stug po bkod pa zhes bva ba theg pa cen

po'i mdo) D110, P778 (Tr.)

Arya-Sarvadharmasvabhdvasamatdvipahcitasamadhirdja- nama-mahayanasutra [Samadhiraja] {'Phagspa chos thams cad kyi rang bzhin mnyam pa nyid mam par spros pa ting nge 'dzin gyi rgyal po zhes bya ba theg pa chen po'i mdo)* D127, P785 (pTr.)

o Note: The Samadhiraja sometimes is misquoted byTibetans as including a reference to mahamudrd, but

while the phrase “intrinsic seal of all dharmas”{sarvadharmanam svabhavamudra) does appear init, mahamudrd does not.


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• Arya-Gaganaganjapariprcchd-ndma-mahaydnasutra('Phagspa nam mkha'i mdzod kvis zhuspa zhes bya ba theg

pa chen po'i mdo) D148, P815

o Note: This text is cited only once by Bkra, but itcontains important references to the “seal of thetathagata” and the “seal of suchness,” which haveconnotations that eventually were attached to mah amudra.

• Arya-Sagaramatipariprcchd-ndma-mahdyanasutra {Phags

pa bio gros rgya mtshos zhus ba zhes bya ba theg pa chen po 'i mdo) D152, P819

• Arya-Aksayamatinirdesa-ndma-mahdyanasutra {'Phags pa bio gros mi zad pas bstan pa zhes bva ba theg pa chen po'i mdo) D175, P842 (Tr.)

• Arya-Ratnamegha-ndma-mahdyanasutra {Phags pa dkon

mchog sprin ces bya ba theg pa chen po'i mdo)* D231, P897• Arya-Dharmasahgiti-ndma-mahayanasutra {'Phags pa chos

yang dag par sdud pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po'i mdo) D238, P904

• Uddnavarga {Ched du brjodpa'i tshoms) D326, P992 (Tr.)

Non-tantric sastras

Comment: As with the sutras, the texts listed here have little directbearing on Mahamudra in the narrow sense of the term, butto the degree that they are important for grasping theMahay ana philosophical view and path procedures in which

Mahamudra practice is embedded, they are vital to TibetanMahamudra commentators.

• Nagarjuna [sic for Rahulabhadra], Prajnapdramitastotra {Shes rab gvipha rol tu phin pa’i bstodpa) D1127, P2018(Tr.)

• Nagarjuna, Bodhicittavivarana (Byang chub sems gyi ‘grel

pa)* D1800, P2665 (Tr.)o Note: This is one of the numerous ‘hymns’ attributed

to Nagarjuna that celebrate the natural purity of mind


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and reality, and so were seen as expounding themesrelevant to Mahämudrä.

• Kampala, Ärya-Prajnäpäramitopadesa [Prajnäpäramito-

padesa] {‘Phags pa shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa'i man ngag) D2642, P3466

• Nägäijuna, Prajnä-näma-mülamadhyamakakärikä [. Madhyamakakärikä] {Dbu ma rtsa ba'i tshig le'ur byas pa shes rab)* D3824, P5224 (Tr.)

• Äryadeva, Catuhsatakasästrakärikä [Catuhšataka] (Bstan

bcos bzhi brgya pa zhes bya ba’i tshig le'ur byas pa) D3846,P5246 (Tr.)

• Atiša, Madhyamakahrdayakärikä [Madhyamakahrdaya] {Dbu ma'i snying po'i tshig le'ur byas pa) D3855, P5255

• Candraklrti, Madhvamakävatära {Dbu ma la 'jug pa)* D3861, P5262 (Tr.)'

• Candraklrti, Madhyamakävatärabhäsya {Dbu ma la 'jugpa 'i bshadpa) D3862, P5263

• Säntideva, Bodhisattvacaryävatära [Bodhicaryävatära] {Byang chub sems dpa'i spyodpa la 'jugpa)* D3871, P5272(Tr.)

• Atiša, Satyadvayävatära {Bden pa gnis la jug pa) D3902,P5298 (Tr.)

• Kamalaiila, Bhävanäkrama I (Sgom pa'i rim pa)* D3915,P5310 (Tr.)

• Kamalaiila, Bhävanäkrama II (Sgom pa'i rim pa)* D3916,P5311 (Tr.)

• Kamalaiila, Bhävanäkrama III (Sgom pa'i rim pa)* D3917P5312 (Tr.)

• Atiša, Madhyamakopadeša {Dbu mai’ man ngag) D3929,P5324 (Tr.)

• Atiša, Bodhipathapradipa {Bvang chub lam gyi sgron)* D3947, P5343; or D4465, P5378 (Tr.)

• Maitreya, Mahäyänasüträlankära-näma-kärikä {Theg pa chen po mdo sde'i rgyan shes bva ba ’i tshig le'ur bvas pa)* D4020, P5521 (Tr.)

The Indian International Journal o f Buddhist Studies 9, 2008


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The Indian Mahàmudra ‘Canon(s)’:A Preliminary Sketch 175

• Maitreya, Madhyântavibhahgakàrikâ [Madhyantavibhaga] {Dbus dang mtha' mam par 'byedpa 7 tshig le ’ur byas pa)*D4021, P5522 (Tr.)

• Maitreya, Mahàyânottaratantrasâstra [Uttaratantra, Ratnagotra-vibhàga] (Thegpa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan beos) D4024, P5525 (Tr.)

o Note: Though it never mentions the term, this text onBuddha-nature is of great importance to Bka’ brgyuddiscourse about Mahàmudrà. ‘Gos maintains that itwas ‘rediscovered’ by Maitripa and placed at thecenter of his teaching - and to associate a text withMaitripa is of course to associate it withMahàmudrà.19

• Sàkyasimha, Sütrâlankàravyâkhyâ [P: Sütrâlankàrabhâsya][. Mahâyânasütràlankàrabhàsya] {Mdo sde'i rgyan gyi bshad

pa) D4026, P5527

• Jnànagarbha, Arya-Sandhinirmocanasütre âryamaitreya- kevalaparivartabhâsya [Sandhinirmocanabhâsya] ('Phags

pa dgongs pa nges par 'grel pa'i mdo las 'phags pa byams pa'i le'n nyi tshe'i bshad pa) D4033, P5535

• Asanga, Yogâcàrabhümau sràvakabhümi [Érâvakabhümi] (Rnal 'byor spyod pa'i sa las nvan thos kyi sa)* D4036,

P5537 (pTr.)• Yogâcàrabhümau bodhisattvabhümi {Rnal 'bvor spyod pa'i

sa las byang chub sems dpa'i sa) D4037, P5538 (pTr.)

• Gunaprabha, Bodhisattvabhümivrtti {Byang chub sems dpa'i sa'i 'grelpa) D4044, P5545

• Asanga, Abhidharmasamuccaya {Chos mngon pa kun las btuspa)* D4049, P5550 (Tr.)

• Vasubandhu, Abhidharmakosakârikà [Abhidharmakosa] {Chos mngon pa'i mdzod kyi tshig le'ur byas pa) D4089,P5590 (Tr.)

• Vasubandhu, Abhidharmakosabhàsya {Chos mngon pa'i

mdzod kyi bshad pa) D4090, P5591 (Tr.)

19 See especially Mathes 2008.


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176 The Indian International Journal o f Buddhist Studies 9, 200H

• Nagarjuna, Rdjaparikathdratnamala [P: Rajaparikatha-ratnavali] [Ratnavali] (Rgyalpo la gtam bya ba rin po che'i

phreng ba)* D4158, P5658 (Tr.)

• Nagarjuna, Suhrllekha (Bshes pa'i spring yig)* D4496,P5409 (Tr.)

Tantras

Comment: Although not included in standard Tibetan Mahamudracanon lists, these texts - for the most part drawn from the so-

called Mother (or YoginI) and Father subdivisions ofHighest Yoga Tantra - are among the most important Indiansources for an understanding of the origins and developmentof the concept of Mahamudra. So that these tantras may beseen within their proper context, I have included subheadings for the major tantric corpora of which each one is apart.20

Highest Yoga Tantra: Neither Mother nor Father:

• Mahjusrijnanasattvasya paramdrthandmasanglti [Manjusri- namasahgiti] ('Jam dpal ye shes sems dpa’i don dam pa'i mtshan yang dag par brjod pa) D360, P2 (Tr.)

Highest Yoga Tantra: Mother: Kalacakra:

• Paramadibuddhoddhritasrikdlacakra-ndma-tantrardja[Kala-cakra] (Mchog gi dang po'i sangs rgyas las phyung ba rgyud kyi rgyal po dpal dus kyi 'khor lo)* D362, P4 (pTr.)

Highest Yoga Tantra: Mother: Cakrasamvara:

• Abhidhana uttaratantra [Abhidhanottara] (Mngon par brjod pa'i rgyud bla ma) D369, PI7 (pTr.)

• ¿ri-Vajradaka-ndma-mahdtantraraja (Rgymd kyi rgyal po chen po dpal rdo rje m kha' 'gro) D370 P18

• Sri-Mahdsambarodaya-tantraraja [Samvarodaya\ (Dpal bde mchog 'byung ba zhes bya ba'i rgyud k)>i rgyal po chen po) D373, P20 (pTr.)

• Caturyoginisamputatantra [Samputa] (Rnal 'byor ma bzhi'i kha sbyor kyi rgyud) D376, P24 (pTr.)

211 For a helpful overview, see Wayman 1973: 233-39.


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The Indian Mahamudrä ‘Canon(s)’:A Preliminary Sketch 177

• Sri-Amrtaguhya-tantraraja (.Dpal gsang ba 'dud rtsi’i rgyud kyi rgyal po) D 401, P46

Highest Yoga Tantra: Mother: Hevajra:

• Hevajra-tantraräja {Kye'i rdo rje zhes bya ba rgyud kyi rgyal po)* D417 P10 (Tr.)

• Ärya-Däkinivajrapanjara-mahätantraräjakalpa [Vajrapahjara] ('Phags pa mkha' 'gro ma rdo rje gur zhes bya ba'i rgyud kyi rgyal po chen po'i brtag pa)* D419, PI 1

• Sri-Mahämudrätilaka-näma-yogimtantraräjädhipati (Dpal phyag rgya chen po'i thig le zhes bya ba mal 'byor ma chen mo'i rgyud Icyi rgyal po'i mnga' bdag)* D420, P 12

• Sri-Jnänagarbha-näma-yoginimahätantraräjätiräja (Dpal ye shes snyingpo zhes bya ba mal 'byor ma chen mo'i rgyud kyi rgyal po'i rgyal po) D421, PI 3

Highest Yoga Tantra: Father: Guhyasamäja:• Sarvatathägatakäyaväkcittarahasyo guhyasamäja-näma-

mahäkalparäja [Guhyasamäja] (De bzhin gshegs pa thams cad kyi sku gsung thugs leyi gsang chen gsang ba 'dus pa

zhes bya ba brtag pa'i rgyal po chen po)* D443, P81 (pTr.)

• Sri- Vajramäläbhidhänamahäyogatantra-sarvatantrahrdaya-

rahasyavibhahga [Vajramälä] (Rnal 'byor chen po'i'rgyud dpal rdo rjephreng ba mngon par brjodpa rgyud thams cad kyi snying po gsang ba rnam par phye ba) D445, P82

• ¿ri-Vajrahrdayälahkära-tantra (Dpal rdo rje snying po rgyan gyi rgyud) D451, P86

Yoga Tantra:

• Mahävairocanäbhisambodhivikurvatyadhisthänavaipulya- sütraindraräjä-näma-dharmaparyäya[Vairocanäbhisambodhi] (Rnam par snang mdzad chen po mngon par rdzogs par byang chub pa rnam par sprul ba by in gyis rlob pa shin tu rgyas pa mdo sde'i dbang po rgyal

po zhes bya ba'i chos kyi rnam grangs)* D494, PI26 (Tr.)

Tantric sästrasComment: With the exception of the Ähapramänasamyak, these are

mostly commentaries related to tantras mentioned in the


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178 The Indian International Journal o f Buddhist Studies 9, 200H

immediately preceding list. I have indicated parentheticallythe corpus of which each is a part.

• Saroruhavajra, Hevajratantrapanjiküpadmanï [P: Hevajra-

tantrapahjikdpadmini] [Padmint] (Khve'i rdo rje'i rgyud k\n dka' 'grel padma can zhes bya ha) D 1181, P2311 (Hcvajraand sometimes K àlacakra)

• Prajnàklrti [sic. for Pundarika] Vimalaprabhà-nàma-mùla- tantrânusârinïdvàdasasâhasrikâ-laghukâlacakratantrarâja -tîkâ [Vimalaprabhà] (.Bsdus pa'i rgvud kyi rgyalpo dus kyi 'khor lo'i 'grel bshadrtsa ba’i rgyud kyi rjes su 'jugpa stong

phrag beu pa beu gnvis pa dri ma medpa'i 'od ces bva ba) D1347, P2064 (pTr.) (Kâlacakra)

o Note: Although only mentioned once, this Kâlacakracommentary is of great importance to all NewTranslation School interpretive traditions.

• Candrakïrti, Pradïpodyotana-nàma-tïkà [.Pradipoddyottana](Sgron ma gsal bar byedpa zhes bya ba’i rgya cher bshad

pa) D1785, P2650 (Guhyasamâja)

• Nàgârjuna, Pahcakrama ( Rim pa Inga) D1802, P2667 (pTr.)(Guhyasamâja)

• Âjhàsamyakpramàna-nàma-dàkinyupadesa [Ahapramâna- samyak] (Bka ’ yang dag pa 7 tshad ma shes bya ba mkha ’‘gro ma 7 man ngag) [Bka ’ dpe] D2331, no P

o Note: In a form that differs significantly from thatfound in the Bstan ‘gyur, this anonymousindependent treatise is included by ‘Jam among theIndian texts authoritative for traditions of the SixDharmas of Nàropa; see ‘Jam: Mar pa bka’ brgyud

skor, Thun min chos drug gi skor: 68-89; Kragh,forthcoming.

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Roger R Jackson the Indian Mahamudra Canons a Preliminary Sketch

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