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Mimesis: Some Reflections on Bodhicitta Verses in the Second Chapter of the Guhyasamājatantra (Korobov 2010)
Although the ultimate bodhicitta functions within a non-dual model of cognition where oppositions (good and evil, pure and impure, saṃsāra–nirvāṇa, etc.) do not exist, it is traditionally considered to be the wisdom cognising emptiness. In this paper I will try to explore the cognitive nature of the ultimate bodhicitta to answer the question ‘What kind of cognition is the cognising of emptiness?’ In the paper I also will make an attempt to describe the basics of ambivalent Tantric ethics in terms of the phenomenological category of imitation or mimesis.
Verses on the ultimate bodhicitta in the second chapter of the Guhyasamājatantra are a subject of commentaries written by various Tibetan and Indian authors. The paper is supplemented with a translation of Bodhicittabhāvanā written by Ācārya Kamalaśīla. This short text is a commentary on verses proclaimed by Tathagāgata Vairocana in the second chapter of Guhyasamājatantra.
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Sarvatathāgatakāyavākcittarahasyaguhyasamājamahākalparāja
Guhyasamājatantra. (T. Gsang ba 'dus pa’i rgyud; C. Yiqie rulai jingang sanye zuishang mimi dajiaowang jing; J. Issainyorai kongōsangōsaijōhimitsu daikyōōgyō; K. Ilch’e yǒrae kǔmgang samǒp ch'oesang pimil taegyowang kyǒng 一切如來金剛三業最上祕密大教王經). In Sanskrit, "Secret Assembly Tantra; referred to in Tibet as the "king of tantras" (rgyud kyi rgyal po), it is among the most important of what later come to be called anuttarayogatantras, or highest yoga tantras. It is also classified as a "father tantra" (pitṛtantra). The text was likely composed sometime between about 750 and 850 CE. It consists of eighteen chapters, the last of which is a supplement, referred to as the uttaratantra. The Guhyasamāja is one of the earliest tantras to present overtly antinomian practices, notably of a sexual nature, as well as the practices of ingesting impure substances. The text begins with a surprising rendition of the opening line of a Buddhist sūtra (see evaṃ mayā śrutam), when it states, "Thus have I heard. At one time the Bhagavān was residing in the vaginas of the women who are the vajra essence of the body, speech, and mind of all the tathāgatas." Such passages led to the development of sophisticated hermeneutical systems for interpreting the tantras to discover their hidden meaning. Important Indian commentaries on this tantra include the Pañcakrama attributed to Nāgārjuna, the Caryāmelāpakapradīpa attributed to Āryadeva, and the Pradīpoddyotana attributed to Candrakīrti. In the maṇḍala associated with the Ārya tradition of commentary (deriving from Nāgārjuna) there are thirty-two deities. The central deity of the maṇḍala is Guhyasamāja, a manifestation of Akṣobhya, surrounded by Vairocana in the east, Ratnasambhava (or Ratnaketu) in the south, Amitābha in the west, and Amoghasiddhi in the north, each in sexual union with a consort. The central deity is blue in color, with three faces and six arms. Seated in the posture of sexual union, he embraces his consort Sparśavajra. In addition, there are the ten "fierce kings" (krodharāja), eight bodhisattvas, and four goddesses. Like other tantras of its class, the sādhanas of the Guhyasamāja set forth the practice of the stage of generation (utpattikrama) and the stage of completion (niṣpannakrama), with its attendant sexual yogas, toward the achievement of an illusory body (māyākāya). The text was translated into Chinese by Dānapāla around 1002, but was not particularly influential in East Asian Buddhism, where its explicit sexual language offended more prudish Confucian sensibilities. It was translated into Tibetan in the eleventh century by Rin chen bzang po and Śraddhākaravarman. In Tibet, the tantra was highly influential, ranking in importance with the Hevajratantra, Cakrasaṃvaratantra, and Kālacakratantra. (Source: "Guhyasamājatantra." In The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, 334–35. Princeton University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.)
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Bodhicittabhāvanā (Mañjuśrīmitra)
The Bodhicittabhavana, compiled in 8th century CE India and written in Sanskrit, is a foundational Dzogchen meditative treatise authored by Mañjuśrīmitra. Also known as Cultivation of Bodhicitta, Meditation on the Awakened Mind, or Gold Refined from Ore, this root text focuses on the realization of ultimate bodhicitta through non-conceptual awareness. The work was transmitted through the Indian Mahāsiddha Tradition and Mañjuśrīmitra's Dzogchen lineage, with attributed transmission to Garab Dorje and Sri Singha, eventually becoming central to the Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism. Its practice emphasis centers on ultimate bodhicitta realization, non-dual awareness (rigpa), direct introduction to the nature of mind, spontaneous presence and emptiness, and transcendence beyond conceptual fabrication. Philosophically grounded in Mahayana Buddhism, Dzogchen (Great Perfection), Tathāgatagarbha doctrine, the Two Truths framework, and the nonduality of clarity and emptiness, the text relates closely to Garab Dorje's Dzogchen teachings, the Seventeen Tantras of Dzogchen, Śāntideva's Bodhicaryāvatāra (as its relative bodhicitta counterpart), Sūtra Mahāyāna teachings on bodhicitta, and the Mañjuśrīnāmasamgīti. Notable commentators who have interpreted this profound teaching include Longchen Rabjam (Longchenpa), Mipham Rinpoche, Namkhai Norbu, Tulku Thondup, and Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso. (Adapted from Source Feb 9 2026)
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