YOGACARA AND MADHYAMIKA AS THE FOUNDATIONAL PHILOSOPHIES OF VAJRAYANA

Milan Shakya
Buddhist Department
Patan Multiple Campus

S akyamuni Buddha in his lifetime found that this world is full of suffering and before his
enlightenment, he sought the permanent solution to this unsolved predicament. He was the
epitome of wisdom and compassion. He was very skilful too. Skilful means was one of the
attributes of the Lord Buddha. This signifies that he led sentient beings of various inclinations,
predelictions and mental propensities from their suffering to the truth--the sorrow-free state of
Buddhahood. His main intention was to liberate all sentient beings without exception from their
suffering and fill their lives with supreme happiness.
Sakyamuni Buddha presented a vast array of instructions, both conventional and
unconventional. First, the conventional teachings included the preliminary phase of Buddhist
teachings such as the Sravakayana, Pratyekabuddhayana and the advanced phase of Mahayana
teachings. The Buddha gave these teachings in the three turnings of the Wheel of the Dharma. 1
Secondly, the unconventional instructions of the Vajrayana comprises the entire view of the
Buddha's teachings brought to its full maturation, including extensive meditation practices.
In Buddhism, there are three progressive vehicles, Sravakayana, Pratyekabuddhayana and
Samyaksambuddhayana. Samyaksambuddhayana is also called Mahayana because it develops
Bodhicitta and great compassion in order to lead all sentient beings from the suffering of samsara
to perfect Buddhahood. Mahayana is further subdivided in two ways, the vehicle of perfections
(paramitayana) and the Mantra vehicle (mantrayana).2

The Path of Vajrayana

The Vajrayana tradition is known by various names such as the Vajrayana, Tantrayana,
Upayayana, Secret Mantra Vehicle, and Resultant Vehicle (phalayana). Paramitayana is a causal
vehicle (hetuyana) and Mantrayana is a resultant vehicle. The indivisibilty of cause and result,
method and wisdom is called Vajrayana. Vajrayana utilizes skilful means to transform the three
poisons, viz. desire (raga), hatred (dvesa) and ignorance (moha) into wisdom. This is mentioned
in the Guhyasamaja Tantra, “Teachings that purify desire, hatred and ignorance are the vehicle of
Vajrayana. 3
Vajrayana is also called Tantrayana. Tantra means continuity which has no beginning and
end. For example, the beginningless and endless continuity of mind is called Tantra.4 Tantra has
three constituent parts: Ground tantra (hetu or asraya tantra), Method or Path Tantra
(upayatantra) and Fruition Tantra (phala tantra). According to Je Tsongkhapa, ground tantra is
the naturally abiding lineage, the element, the Buddha nature, and the Tathagata essence. It is

1
For the information about these three turnings, see John Powers, Wisdom of Buddha: The
Samdhinirmocana Mahayana Sutra (Berkeley: Dharma Publishing, 1995): 139-141. The sutra is extant
only in the Tibetan version compiled in the Kanjur, the original Sanskrit is no longer extant.
2
Haraprasad Shastri, Advayavajrasamgraha (Baroda: Oriental Institute, 1927): 14. The Sanskrit text reads:
dxfofg+ r låljwd\, kf/ldtfgof] dGqgoZr]lt .==-#= tTj/TgfjnL_
3
Swami Dwarikadas Sastri (ed.), Guhyasamajatantra or Tathagataguhyaka (Varanasi: Bauddha Bharati,
2003): 27. The Sanskrit text reads: /fuåifdf]xjh| jh|ofgk|b]zs .===== ! .. ci6dM
k6nM lrQ;dok6nf] gfd ..
4
Wangchuk Dorje Negi, Vajrayana Darsana evam Sadhana (Sarnath: Central Institute of Higher Tibetan
Studies, 1998): 8.
called the ground because it is the basis of the activity of the path. The path tantras are the paths
which purify that ground. The practices according to the lower tantras include yogas with and
without signs and, according to Highest Yoga Tantra (anuttarayoga tantra), the stages of
generation (utpattikrama) and completion (sampannakrama) that purify the defilements are
related with the suchness of the mind (tathata).5 The Fruition Tantra is the state of the effect, the
Dharmakaya, the complete extinguishment of all defilements as a Vajradhara.6
Vajrayana is also called the secret Mantra Vehicle. According to Je Tsong Khapa, the word
‘mantra‘ means ‘mind-protection’. It protects the mind from ordinary appearances and
conceptions.7 It is secret and hidden, and thus, not appropriate for many people.. Practices for
achieving activities of pacification, increase, control and fierceness are taught in the Mantra
Vehicle in a secret way because those practitioners with impure motivation would harm both
themselves and others. If the mental continuum has not been ripened by the practices common
both to Sutra and Tantra Mahayana--realization of suffering, impermanence, refuge, love,
compassion, bodhicittotpada, and emptiness of inherent existence-- the practice of the Mantra
Vehicle can be harmful through one's false assumption of an advanced practice inappropriate to
one's capacity. According to Je Tsong Khapa, secrecy must be maintained from those who are
not ready for this path.8
There is no distinction between Paramitayana and Mantrayana in terms of their starting
points, both systems comprise the generation of Bodhicitta and the attainment of Complete
Buddhahood. The only difference lies in methodology. The secret Mantra vehicle is very rich in
utilizing skilful methods in order to reach the goal quickly on the condition that the practitioner is
gifted already, versed in the practice of the Paramita vehicle and Sravakayana. As Reginald Ray
observes, “One is first to practice the Hinayana, then the Mahayana, and finally the Vajrayana.
Each subsequent yana rests on the preceding ones: the Hinayana acts as the foundation for the
two higher yanas.”9 In this way, the practitioner first practices the teachings of the Sravaka and
Pratyekabuddha consisting of taking refuge (thereby entering the path) and following the course
of training in ethics, meditation and wisdom. He then practices the Mahayana, the great vehicle,
involving taking the Bodhisattva vows to liberate suffering beings and engaging in the paramitas.
The paramitas are altruistic practices devoted to developing both compassion for all beings and
the wisdom to see the nature of things as they are. Then the practitioner is a fit candidate for the
Vajrayana.
Just as the teachings of the Sravakayana was delivered in the first turning (prathama
dharmacakra pravartana) in Sarnath, the Mahayana teachings on emptiness and compassion in
Grdhakuta hill in Rajagrha in the second, and the third Mahayana teachings of Buddhanature in
Vaisali, Sakyamuni Buddha also taught Vajrayana teachings on the Dhanyakataka mountain. 10
When the time was ripe, it was disseminated extensively by the eighty-four great mahasiddhas.
In addition, philosophically, one must have a sound footing on all four philosophies like
Vaibhasika, Sautrantika, Yogacara, and Madhyamaka. This progressive practice in the higher
training is well highlighted in the Hevajra Tantra:
5
The Vajrayana is classified in four ways: 1. Kriya tantra, 2. Carya tantra, 3. Yoga tantra and 4.
Anuttarayoga tantra.
6
Jeffrey Hopkins (tr.), Tantra in Tibet: The Great Exposition of Secret Mantra by Tsong ka pa (London:
George Allen and Unwin, 1977): 54. This is an English translation of Je Tsong Kha pa's magnum opus
ngag rim chen mo. Je Tsong Khapa (14th century) is the founder of Gelugpa sect of Tibetan Buddhism.
7
Ibid, 47.
8
Ibid.
9
Reginald A. Ray, Secrets of the Vajra World: The Tantric Buddhism of Tibet (Boston: Shambhala
Publications, Inc., 2001): 66
10
Franscesco Sferra (ed.), The Sekoddesatika by Naropa (Rome: Instituto Italiano Per L‘oriente, 2006): 66.
The Sanskrit text reads: u[w|s"6] oyf zf:qf k|1fkf/ldtfgo] . tyf dGqgo] k|f]Qmf
>LwfGo] wd{b]zgf .. ! ..
 The Lord Buddha said, “First of all, the instructions for Uposadha conduct must be
given, then the moral trainings must be taught, after that, the sutranta doctrine
(Sautrantika). Then the Yogacara doctrine should be taught followed by
Madhyamaka doctrine. After teaching all the practices of mantra, then commence
with the instruction on the Hevajra practice. Should the disciple attentively grasp
this, he will succeed without doubt.11

In Advayavajrasamgraha, it is stated,

In the Hearer's Vehicle, the view is explained from the standpoint of Vaibhasika and
Sautrantika. In the Perfection Vehicle, it is explained from the standpoint of
Sautrantika, Yogacara and Madhyamika. In Mantranaya, it is explained from the
standpoint of Yogacara and Madhyamika12

So according to these two texts, even though the Vaibhasika and Sautrantika doctrines are
essential, two underlying philosophies of the Mahayana, the Yogacara and Madhyamika, are
foundational views of the Vajrayana.

Yogacara Philosophy as the Vajrayana Foundation

The 3rd century master Asanga propounded the philosophy of Yogacara (Mind only or
Vijnanavada) based on the third turning at Vaisali and other parts of India. These are propounded
in the Lankavatara Sutra, Samdhinirmocana Sutra and other texts. Vasubandhu (4th century CE)
also further developed the Mind only or Vijnanavada theory in his Vijnaptimatratasiddhi
including Vimsatika and Trimsatika. After Asanga and Vasubandu, the Yogacara developed into
a number of different schools. Chief among the schools are the True Aspect Cittamatrins
(satyakaravadin) and the False Aspect Cittamatrins (mithyakaravadins). They are also
categorized as adherence to scriptures (agamanuyayi) and adherence to logic (yuktyanuyayi).
Asanga, Vasubandhu and others adhere to scriptures whereas Dignaga, Dharmakirti and others
adhere to logic. The Cittamatrins’s teaching include the three natures, eight consciousness,
Buddha nature and forth. By these teachings, the Yogacarins or Cittamatrins prove that external
appearance is false whereas the mind only is the ultimate truth.
Generally, Yogacara philosophy maintains that phenomenal existence which is generally
supposed to have objective reality in the external world, is no other than the “ideation” or
representation (vijnapti), or the generation of images of objects appearing in consciousness
(vijnana). Human beings and objective things, to which various terms - such as “self” (atma),
“living being” (jiva), “pot” (ghata) and “cloth” (pata) are applied, are in reality the
“modifications or transformation of consciousness only.”13 The consciousness that undergoes
modification consists of three strata: 1. the six kinds of consciousnesses produced through the
11
Ram Shankar Tripathi & Thakursen Negi (ed.), Hevajratantram: mahapa itacaryaratnakarasantivira-
cita hevajratantrapanjika muktavalisa valitam (Sarnath: Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, 2001):
222-223. The Sanskrit text reads: eujfg\ cfx M ækf]ifw+ bLot] k|yd+ tbg' lzIffkb+
bzd\ . j}efio+ tq b]zt+ ;"qfGt j} k'g:tyf .. of]ufrf/ ttM kZrft\ tbg' dWods+
lbz]t . ;j{dGqgo+ 1fTjf tbg' x]jh|+ cf/e]t .. u[X0fLoft\ ;fw{+ lzioM l;Bt]
gfq ;+zo .. -x]jh|tGqd\ M @=*÷!)–!!_
12
Sastri, op cit, f.n. 2. tq j}eflifsl:yTof >fjsofg+ k|To]sofg+ r JofVofot] . tq oM
kf/ldtfgoM ;f}qflGts–of]ufrf/–dWodsl:yTof JofVofot] . dGqgo:t' of]ufrf/–
dWodsl:yTof JofVofgot] .====-#= tTj/TgfjnL_
visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory and tactitle senses and the mind, collectively known as
prvritti vijnana, 2. the afflicted "I" consciousness (klistamanovijnana), which accompanies the six
kinds of consciousnesses and clings to alayavijnana as an entity of permanent self, and 3. the
subliminal consciousness, called alayavijnana. In alayavijnana the "impressions" (vasana) of
past experiences are accumulated as the seeds (bija) of future experiences. While the
alayavijnana is dormant, the six kinds of consciousnesses (pravrttivijnana) and the I-
consciousness (klistamanovijnana) are always operative.14 Therefore, the alaya vijnana and the
operative consciousnesses are dependent on each other: the latter is produced from the seed
preserved in the former and in turn, leaves its impression. Thus the modification (parinama) or
“change” of consciousness takes place in two ways: (1) a seed planted by the operative
consciousness becomes ripe in the alayavijnana and the operative arises from the seed. The
alayavijnana remains only for a moment, then is replaced by another consciousness in the next
moment. The successive moments of the alayavijnana form a stream that continues to flow until
the seeds planted in it are completely destroyed or purified into wisdom. The things that are
thought to exist in the external world are therefore the images that appear in this stream of
consciousness.15
The three vijnana are related with the three natures. The Samdhinirmocana Sutra
enumerate the three natures as: 1. imagined nature (parikalpita-svabhava), the dependent nature
(paratantra-svabhava) and the perfected nature (parinispanna svabhava).16 In Asanga’s
Mahayanasamgraha, which deals with the three natures in depth, the imagined and the perfected
natures are two aspects of the dependent nature. He explains that the dependent nature appears as
the imagined nature because of a false imagination or vikalpa and as the perfected nature when
the false imagination is removed.17 The consciousness that arises in each moment with the image
of an object is of dependent nature because its origin is dependent on the impressions of past
experiences present in the alayavijnana. So in other words, samskara or karma is the dependent
nature. Suffering or bondage of samsara is thus caused by the false idea or imagination of there
being something external or real. So long as a content is something external to us, it is a
limitation of ourselves. Owing to this false view, consciousness becomes infected by subject-
object duality; it projects as though objective.18 When the false imagination is completly removed
through the practice of yoga and practices on the path, the person realizes the absence of the
subject-object duality or the clinging to external things as real. This occurs by transformation of
the basis (asrayaparavrtti).19 In this transformation, the seeds are completely destroyed and the
stream of the alayavijnana no longer constitutes the basis (asraya) of existence. In its place,
ultimate reality reveals itself as the real, undifferentiated basis of all living beings. By this asraya
paravritti, the two, alaya and klista, and the pravritti are transformed into the five wisdoms of the
Five Buddhas. 20 At this point, one attains Buddhahood.
In the Vajrayana, the philosophical background of the three natures and the three (or
eight) vijnanas and asraya paravrtti are critical. In terms of practice, the process of tantric
meditation brings the dependent nature of karma of the world into view. On the one hand,
through meditation on emptiness, the defiled, conceptual versions of reality are abandoned. On

13
Haatori Masaki, “Yogacara” in Mircea Eliade & etal. ed. The Encyclopedia of Religion, Vol. 15 (New
York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1987): 526.
14
Ibid., 523-528.
15
Ibid.
16
Powers (tr.), op cit., f.n. 1, : 121.
17
John P. Keenan, The Summary of the Great Vehicle by Bodhisattva Asanga,(Tokyo: Bukhhyo Dendo
Kyokai, 1991): 28-50. The text is a translation of the Mahayana Sangraha.
18
Ashok Kumar Chatterjee, The Yogacara Idealism (New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Pvt. Ltd., 1975): 159.
19
Ibid. 160.
20
Thrangu Rinpoche, The Five Buddha Family and the Eight Consciousnesses (Boulder: Namobuddha
Publications, 1998): 15-24.
the other hand, through visualizing the world as the pure abode of the tantric deities, the
manifestation beyond ego is evident. Through the visualization, the relative world in its
nonconceptual purity (perfected nature) is revealed. This becomes a process of gradual
“purification” (visuddhi) in which there is a severence of the view of reality as impure (imagined
nature) and laden with the conceptual dirt of ego. One’s perception becomes a pure vision
(visuddha darsana or perfected nature), that is, the truth of the dependent nature and its
inseparability from the perfected nature are realized on a tantric level as the inseparability of
appearance and emptiness.
Buddha nature is the another topic explained by Asanga in his commentary to the
Uttaratantra Shastra. According to this text, every sentient being has a Buddhanature. Its essence
is emptiness; its nature is complete clarity and cognizance; and it manifests as compassion.
Buddhanature is a perfected nature and dharmakaya, which exists within the heart of all sentient
beings. 21
However, if we have Buddhanature, why are we so confused and why do we suffer? The
reason, according to the Uttara Tantra is that even if Buddhanature is pure from the beginning,
but it is covered by defilements of all sorts. 22 But these defilements are adventitious, that is, they
are not essential. They in no way actually damage our buddha-nature, they merely hide it from
view. Thus, sentient beings wander in samsara looking for happiness externally and undergo all
sorts of suffering unaware that this jewel resides in our very heart not outside. As explained
earlier, by engaging in the path, we uncover our Buddhanature and become Buddhas. Vajrayana’s
goal is directed towards the uncovering of Buddha-nature within. Meditation is a way of getting
closer to this realization. For example, the practitioner visualizes himself as a fully enlightened
Buddha. This visualization is an imaginative representation of our Buddha-nature within, which
is otherwise inaccessible. Through enacting the tantric liturgies, our own sense of being a
separate, ego-centered self gradually dissolves and is replaced by Buddhanature. Buddhanature is
synonymously known as co-emergent wisdom, the nature of mind, original wakefulness, and so
forth. It represents the ability to rest in the realization of the open, empty, cognizant nature that is
the very core of our being. Living according to Buddhanature, the person deflects from thinking
of himself as a solid and discrete entity, and acts without need for the deliberate and self-
referential strategies of the self-conscious “I”.

Madhyamika Philosophy as the Vajrayana Foundation

The 2nd century Acarya Nagarjuna propounded the Philosophy of the Middle Way
(Madhyamika) based on the second turning at Vulture Peak Mountain. These are set out in the
Prajnaparamita, a genre of sutras with many different extant versions. After Nagarjuna, the
Madhyamaka developed into a number of different schools with prominent teachers..
Chronologically, Buddhapalita (fifth to sixth century) is seen as a father of the Prasangika
Madhyamaka. Bhavaviveka (sixth century) is credited with the founding of the Svatantrika
Madhyamaka.23 Candrakirti (seventh century) was responsible for the prominence of Prasangika
in his Prasannapada and Madhyamakavatara. Santideva (eighth century), also a Prasangika
21
Zuiryu Nakamura, A Study of Ratnagotravibhaga Mahayanottaratantrasastra based on a comparison
and contrast between the Sanskrit Original and the Chinese Translations (1960): 49. ===;
+a'4sfo:km/0fft\ tytf cJolte]btM . uf]qtZr ;bf ;j]{ a'4uef{M z/Ll/0fM .. !
÷@* ..
22
Ibid.. 39-41. z'B'klSni6ta of]uft\ lgM;+Sn]z ljz'l4 . cljlgef{u wd{Tjfb\
cgfef]ufljsNktM .. !÷@% ..
23
Reginald Ray, Indestructible Truth: The Living Spirituality of Tibetan Buddhism (Boston: Shambhala
Publications, Inc., 2002): 396.
practitioner, gave teachings on the six perfections in his famous Bodhicaryavatara, including a
ninth chapter on emptiness. Later masters, notably Shantaraksita and Kamalasila, developed the
Yogacara Madhyamaka, a synthesis of those two schools. Finally, Atisa Dipankarasrijnana was a
Prasangika Madhyamaka teacher..
The teachings on emptiness as commentated and explained by Madhyamaka acaryas are
critical for the Vajrayana practitioner because they establish the ultimately open and
nonobjectifiable (nondual) nature of reality. This means that the subject – the practitioner – is
ultimately nonexistent in a solid or definitive sense and is ungraspable. The object of the practice,
such as the deities encountered in tantric ritual, are equally empty and beyond any thought or
characterization. The various practices themselves are beyond objectification or quantification.
Without such a view of the world of practice as empty in this sense, the practioner would quickly
fall prey to the enticements of spiritual power and gain.
As clarified above, the essence of Madhyamaka philosophy based on the Prajnaparamita
sutra is that all the dharmas of samsara and nirvana are empty of essence, devoid of self-nature
(sarvadharma nihsvabhavata). This means that the normal activity of the conceptual mind, which
attributes qualities and characteristics to all experiences, whether worldly or supermundane,
misses the truth of reality. Underlying this is the idea that things appear because of dependent
origination, otherwise known as relative truth, which itself is illusory. According to ultimate
truth, nothing has its own characteristic. The view of emptiness presupposes the understanding of
these these two truths. Emptiness, however, does not mean that there is nothing at all. As Peter
Della Santina states in his book, The Tree of Enlightenment, “Emptiness is, of course, not
nothingness. It is rather, a kind of openness, a situation in which phenomena exist dependent on
causes and condition.”24 This is reminiscent of Nagarjuna’s introductory verse in the
Mulamadhyamakakarika where he explains that things are unproduced from the very beginning
and do not cease because they do not have an entity of their own. Therefore, samsara and nirvana
are essentially pure and Dharmakaya nature is without conceptualization.25
In addition, Nagarjuna proves the non-production of every dharma with the help of
tratalema theory refuting such concepts as Self production, Other production, Production from
both self and others, and Production without cause. 26 This view is reflected in the Great
Perfection (mahasandhi) and Mahamudra practice of the Highest Yoga tantra. Since everything in
samsara and nirvana is empty of inherent existence, this can be taken as an example of
Vajrayana’s main concern, transforming common experience into the experience of
enlightenment. This transformation is possible because things cannot have any real, permanent
nature of its own.
Nagarjuna also says that if there was such a thing as “own being” (svabhava),,
transformation by means of the path of liberation would be impossible. If each and every
ordinary, afflicted sentient being had his own being, that is, permanent existence, then no matter
how much we practice the dharma, we would never become enlightened. It is because beings are
subject to afflictions (ignorance, attachment and aversion). With the replacement of ignorance
with wisdom, attachment with renunciation and hatred with love and compassion, these
conditions can change. By changing these conditions, we can change the nature of our being and
become Buddhas. Thus, in Vajrayana practice, desires, ignorance and hatred are transformed into
wisdom. As Reginald Ray states:
24
Peter Della Santina, The Tree of Enlightenment (Taipei: The Corporate Body of Buddha Educational
Foundation, 1997): 209.
25
Raghunath Pandeya (ed.), The Madhyamakasastram of Nagarjuna (New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Pvt.
Ltd., 1988): 9. clg/f]wdg'Tkfbdg'R5bdzfZjtd\ cg]sfy{dgfgfy{dgfuddlgu{dd\
oM k|tLTo;d'Tkfb+ k|k~rf]kzd+ lzjd\ . b]zofdf; ;+a'4:t+ jGb] jbtf+ j/d\ ..
26
Ibid. g :jtf] gflk k/tf] g åfEof+ gfKox]t'tM . pTkGgf hft'ljBGt] efjfM Ssrg
s]rg ..
 The teachings on emptiness call into question every painful and depressing
experience, as well as every pleasurable and inflating experience. These teachings
say: "Things are not what you think: if you think, things are a certain way, take a
closer look, you cannot make anything out of your experience." Your experience is
really and trully, beyond words and concepts. It is empty. Therefore, you are left with
nothing to make anything out of. Only when you remain in this open and indefinable
space can the tantric journey continue. So by training the mind thoroughly in the
Madhyamaka, one is laying a foundation that is essential for successful Vajrayana
practice.27

In this way, emptiness and the creative power of the mind are clearly present in the structure of
the Vajrayana techniques of meditation.

Conclusion

In summary, the Vajrayana’s view is reflected in the two-fold philosophy of Madhyamaka and
Yogacara. Underlying Vajrayana’s meditational systems, there is either view, meditation, and
conduct or ground, path and fruition. View or ground are the philosophies described in this paper.
Meditation or the path is a process of actualizing that view and the fruition is enlightenment. So
from the very beginning of Vajrayana practice, view, that is, emptiness and clarity of mind, is
enacted and this characterises all the four tantras, that is, kriya, carya, yoga and anuttarayoga
tantra. Therefore, unless a person is fully grounded in this two-fold philosophy, he can not even
imagine entering the Vajrayana path no matter how many empowerments (abhiseka) he may have
taken. Apart from these ideas, Vajrayana practice also deals with renunciation and bodhicitta
which derive from the Sravakayana and Mahayana (that is, conventional Mahayana). Thus, it can
be said that the Mahayana, with both its wisdom and bodhicitta, is a gateway to the Vajrayana.

May all beings be happy

27
Ray, op cit, f.n. 9, : 97-98