Abstract
The Compendium of Principles (Sarva-tathāgata-tattva-saṃgraha-nāma-mahāyāna-sūtra, De bzhin gshegs pa thams cad kyi de kho na nyid bsdus pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo) represents a watershed in the development of Indian Buddhist tantra and also played a central role in the transmission of tantric Buddhism from India to Tibet. This paper will briefly look at the emergence in India of tantric Buddhist practices involving deity yoga and wrathful deities and activities, with a focus on the Compendium of Principles and its provenance, the traditions that grew up around it, and the cultural context in which the practices developed. The main section of this paper will examine the transmission of the Compendium of Principles and its associated texts and meditative systems from India to Tibet and the Tibetan attitudes toward tantra that it reflects. It will pay particular attention to issues of patronage, proscription, and other socio-political factors during (1) the first transmission of Buddhism (snga dar) in the eighth and ninth centuries, (2) the period following the collapse of the Tibetan empire, (3) the early part of the second transmission of Buddhism (phyi dar) in the tenth and eleventh centuries, and (4) the later period of the subsequent role of the Yoga Tantras in Tibet.
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