Anuttarayoga Tantra (Skt.; Tibetan: bla-na-med-pa'i rgyud)
Anuttarayoga Tantra (Skt.; Tibetan: bla-na-med-pa'i rgyud) [ anuttara-yoga-tantra Encyclopedia.com] , often translated as Unexcelled Yoga Tantra or Highest Yoga Tantra, is a term used in Tibetan Buddhism in the categorization of esoteric tantric Indian Buddhist texts that constitute part of the Kangyur, or 'translated words of the Buddha' in the Tibetan Buddhist canon. In the New Schools of Tibetan Buddhism, Anuttarayoga Tantra is the highest of four classes and is
associated with the Mahamudra route to enlightenment. In the classification of the Dzogchen system, used by the Nyingma, it is considered equivalent to the Mahayoga tantras. ["The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism: Its Fundamentals and History" by Dudjom Rinpoche. Wisdom Publications, 2002. ISBN-10: 0861711998. page 283] . Dalai Lama XIV states: "old translation Dzogchen and new translation anuttarayoga tantra offer equivalent paths that can bring the practitioner to the same resultant state of Buddhahood". [cite book|last=Gyatso|first=Tenzin |coauthors=Alexander Berzin|title=The Gelug/Kagyu Tradition of Mahamudra|publisher=Snow Lion Publications|location=New York|date=1997|pages=p.243|isbn=1-55939-072-7]
The practice of Anuttarayoga Tantra in the Vajrayana tradition of Tibetan Buddhism is characterized by the requirement of empowerment from a qualified guru, usually a lama, use of ritual techniques, and the practice of various meditative and subtle body yogas, to effect personal transformation and attain enlightenment through the realization of the self as a Meditational Deity, or Yidam. According to Miranda Shaw, Anuttarayoga Tantra texts "have remained at the forefront of contemplation, ritual, and interpretation throughout the Himalayan Buddhist sphere". [cite book|last=Shaw|first=Miranda|title=Passionate Enlightenment::Women in Tantric Buddhism|publisher=Princeton University Press|date=1995|pages=p.15|isbn=0-691-01090-0]
Anuttarayoga Tantra literally means 'Unexcelled Union Continuity'. While the term is frequently translated as 'Highest Yoga Tantra' in English writings, this is not quite accurate. The Tibetan term "bla med" (back translated to Sanskrit as "anuttara") is a negation of a comparative—not or none ("med"/"an"-) higher ("bla" /"uttara")—rather than a superlative. Had the authors of this term intended to indicate directly "highest," superlatives were readily available: e.g. "mchog" ("supreme" or Sanskrit "uttama", "highest"). Rather, they chose consistently to use a comparative rather than a superlative. Similarly, the terms used in Sanskrit also uniformly utilize comparatives: "yogottara" ("higher than yoga") and "niruttara" (also a negation of the comparative). English usage, and European usage in general, has largely overlooked this nuance.
Anuttarayoga in Tibetan classification
The term appears in the 'Five Groups of Dharma', according to Pabongka Rinpoche. [cite book|last=Rinpoche|first=Pabongka|title=Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand: A Concise Discourse on the Path to Enlightenment|publisher=Wisdom Publications|location=Boston|date=1997|pages=p.173]
They comprise:
- the sutra Mahayana Dharma
- the Outer Tantras - the Kriya, Charya and Yoga Tantras
In the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, Anuttarayoga tantra is sometimes used as a synonym for the Mahāyoga tantra of their nine-yāna formulation, wherein six levels are articulated in two triads, the 'Outer' and 'Inner' tantras. The Outer Tantras are Kriyā, Caryā, and Yoga tantra. The Inner Tantras are Mahāyoga, Anuyoga, and Atiyoga.
In the New Schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the four categories of tantras are Kriyā tantra, Caryā tantra, Yoga tantra and Anuttarayoga tantra. A further sub-classification is sometimes made among Anuttarayoga tantras into 'Father', 'Mother', and 'Non-dual' tantras, although this latter category is the subject of some controversy.
Varieties of Anuttarayoga Tantras
Five collections of Anuttarayoga tantras became prominent in Tibet initially: Guhyasamāja or 'Esoteric Community', Yamāntaka or 'Death Conqueror' (alternatively known as Vajrabhairava or 'Vajra Terrifier'), Hevajra or 'O, Vajra!', Mahāmāyā or 'Great Play of Illusion' and Cakrasaṃvara or 'Wheel of Great Bliss'. The Kālacakra or 'Wheel of Time' tantra, was disseminated slightly later. To date, the term 'Anuttarayoga Tantra' has not been discovered in Indian sources, wherein the categories used are "Mahāyoga", and "Yogottara", "Yoganiruttara", or "Yoginī-tantras" for what the Tibetans consider "Father" ("pha rgyud") and "Mother" Tantras ("ma rgyud").
The "mahāyoga-tantras" of Pala Empire India became known in Tibet as 'Father Tantras' ("pha rgyud"). According to the Gelug view, following Tsongkhapa's reasoning, Father Tantras emphasize the creation of a Buddha form through the cultivation of an illusory body, on the basis of practices with the energy system of the subtle body. Earlier Sakya masters and Kagyu scholars had viewed Father Tantras as emphasising the practice of blissful awareness. [cite book|last=Gyatso|first=Tenzin |coauthors=Alexander Berzin|title=The Gelug/Kagyu Tradition of Mahamudra|publisher=Snow Lion Publications|location=New York|date=1997|pages=p.243|isbn=1-55939-072-7] Father Tantras have also been seen as emphasizing the use of anger ("pratigha") as the path of practice, focusing on the 'emptiness' aspect of Buddha nature. The post-Tsongkhapa Sakya scholar Tagtsang Lotsawa identified Father Tantras as those that emphasise the secret, or hidden, empowerment of the four empowerments of Anuttarayoga Tantra. The secret empowerment plants seeds for achieving an illusory body. Among the Father Tantras are Guhyasamāja and Yamāntaka.
The "yoginī-tantras" which became known in Tibet as 'Mother Tantras' ("ma rgyud") emphasize the development of enlightened awareness (the "mind" of the phantasm body) through the cultivation of the fundamental pure mind of all beings, known as 'brilliance' (prabhāsvara) (frequently translated, following the Tibetan, as 'clear light'). They focus on devotion as the foundation of tantric practice. [cite book|last=Simmer-Brown|first=Judith|title=Dakini's Warm Breath:The Feminine Principle in Tibetan Buddhism|publisher=Shambhala Publications Inc.|location=Boston & London|date=2002|pages=p.141|isbn=978-1-57062-920-4] They are also considered to emphasize the utilization of desire ("tṛṣṇā") as the path of practice, focusing on the brilliant ("prabhāsvara") aspect of Buddha nature. Among the Mother Tantras, the most prominent is the Cakrasaṃvara. The practice of Vajrayogini evolved out of the Cakrasaṃvara and is now a "de facto" practice in its own right. Other Mother Tantras are Hevajra and Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇa.
Non-dual tantras utilize both anger and desire as an antidote to delusion (avidyā), focusing on both the physical and mental, void and brilliant, aspects of enlightened mind. The example typically advanced for this category is the Kālacakra. The Sakya tradition also considers Hevajra to be a non-dual tantra but other traditions classify it as a yoginī-tantra.
In Practice
In the Deity Yoga practices of Anuttarayoga Tantra, two stages are practiced: the Generation Stage and the Completion Stage. [cite book|last=Beer|first=Robert|title=The Encyclopedia of Tibetan Symbols and Motifs|publisher=Serindia Publications Inc.|date=2004|pages=p.142|isbn=1932476105] In some tantras both stages can be practiced concurrently, in others 'Generation Stage' must be perfected before starting to practice 'Completion Stage'.
