Sahajavajra

ལྷན་ཅིག་སྐྱེས་པའི་རྡོ་རྗེ་

Sahajavajra(b. c. 11th century - )

Indian author of tantric works who was a student of Maitrīpa and was known for a commentary on his teacher's work the Tattvadaśaka.

Library Items

Book

A Fine Blend of Mahamudra and Madhyamaka

The collection of twenty-six texts on non-conceptual realization is the result of blending the essence and tantric mahamudra teachings of Saraha, Nagarjuna and Savaripa with a particular form of Madhyamaka philosophy, called 'non-abiding' (apratisthana), which aims at radically transcending any conceptual assessment of true reality. This goal is achieved by "withdrawing one's attention" (amanasikara) from anything that involves the duality of a perceived and perceiver. The result is a "luminous self-empowerment," Maitripa's (986–1063) final tantric analysis of amanasikara. The collection of texts on non-conceptual realization plays a crucial role, as it constitutes, together with Naropa's teachings, the main source of bKa' brgyud lineages. The edition and translation of this collection is followed by another text attributed to Maitripa, the *Mahamudrakanakamala, which was translated by Mar pa Lo tsa ba Chos kyi blo gros (11th century) into Tibetan. The *Mahamudrakanakamala picks up on the themes of the collection and shows that all aspects of Maitripa's mahamudra were indeed passed on to early bKa' brgyud masters. Besides an English translation and analysis, the present publication contains a new edition of the available Sanskrit on the basis of the editio princeps by Haraprasad Shastri, the edition of the Studying Group of Sacred Tantric Texts at Taisho University, the Nepalese manuscript NGMPP B 22/24, and the manuscript no. 151 from the Todai University Library. The Tibetan edition of all texts is based on the Derge and Peking bsTan 'gyur and the dPal spungs edition of Karmapa VII Chos grags rgya mtsho's (1454-1506) Collection of Indian Mahamudra Works (Phyag rgya chen po'i rgya gzhung). (Source Accessed Feb 11, 2020)

Mathes, Klaus-Dieter. A Fine Blend of Mahāmudrā and Madhyamaka: Maitrīpa's Collection of Texts on Non-conceptual Realization (Amanasikāra). Philosophisch-Historische Klasse Sitzungsberichte 869. Beiträge zur Kultur- und Geistesgeschichte Asiens 90. Vienna: Österreichischen Akademie Der Wissenschaften, 2015. https://austriaca.at/7786-9inhalt?frames=yes.

Mathes, Klaus-Dieter. A Fine Blend of Mahāmudrā and Madhyamaka: Maitrīpa's Collection of Texts on Non-conceptual Realization (Amanasikāra). Philosophisch-Historische Klasse Sitzungsberichte 869. Beiträge zur Kultur- und Geistesgeschichte Asiens 90. Vienna: Österreichischen Akademie Der Wissenschaften, 2015. https://austriaca.at/7786-9inhalt?frames=yes.;A Fine Blend of Mahamudra and Madhyamaka;Mahamudra;Madhyamaka;Maitrīpa;Klaus-Dieter Mathes; A Fine Blend of Mahāmudrā and Madhyamaka: Maitrīpa's Collection of Texts on Non-conceptual Realization (Amanasikāra);Maitrīpa;Sahajavajra;Rāmapāla

Mentioned in

The Mahāmudrā Interpretation of the ''Ratnagotravibhāga''

At least two of the masters who are mentioned in the context of the meditation tradition of Tsen are known to have given mahāmudrā explanations on the basis of nontantric Mahāyāna works. Besides Zhönu Pal, this can be also confirmed now for the Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorjé, who in his newly discovered Dharmadhātustotra commentary equates prajñāpāramitā with mahāmudrā, both being for him a defining characteristic of the dharmadhātu.

The ''Uttaratantra'' and Mahāmudrā

Brunnhölzl, Karl. "The Uttaratantra and Mahāmudrā." In When the Clouds Part: The Uttaratantra and Its Meditative Tradition as a Bridge between Sūtra and Tantra, 151–282. Boston: Snow Lion Publications, 2014. As stated before, texts such as CMW, those by Mönlam Tsültrim, GC, the Eighth Karmapa’s Lamp, and GISM all establish connections between the Uttaratantra and Mahāmudrā. Such connections are also found in a number of Indian and Tibetan Mahāmudrā works. Usually, these connections are made in the wider context of the Mahāmudrā approaches that came to be called "sūtra Mahāmudrā" or "essence Mahāmudrā" (the Mahāmudrā approach that is beyond "sūtra Mahāmudrā" and "tantra Mahāmudrā").

Other names

Natekara · other names

Affiliations & relations

Maitrīpa · teacher