Root Tantra and Explanatory Tantra in Tsong kha pa’s All Fulfilling Wishes

Abstract

This study summarizes the statements on the root tantras and explanatory tantras in Tsong kha pa’s All Fulfilling Wishes, which is the most detailed commentary on Lūipa’s tradition of the Cakrasaṃvara. Tsong kha pa states that it has been traditionally believed that there are three root tantras: the longer, middle, and shorter. In addition, he mentions that among them, the shorter tantra （Laghusaṃvara） is the only true root tantra. Since the first and second tantras did not exist at the time of Tsong kha pa, in his All Fulfilling Wishes he only cites the Laghusaṃvara as the root tantra.

In general, within most traditions of the Cakrasaṃvara there are two different types of root tantras. The first is the root tantra based on which its continuation tantras were composed. The second type is the root tantra that the explanatory tantras comment on. The Laghusaṃvara is a condensed tantra, which summarizes the longer and the middle root tantras, and it is also a root tantra which is cited and expanded upon by the explanatory tantras.

Tsong kha pa does not explicitly describe which are the explanatory tantras that remark on the Laghusaṃvara. He asserts that the root tantras and explanatory tantras cannot be clearly divided. However, the present Gelugpa tradition explains that there are three root tantras and six explanatory tantras （Vajraḍāka, Yoginīsaṃcāra, Saṃvarodaya, Vārāhy­abhyudaya, Abhidhānottara, and Saṃpuṭa） in the Cakrasaṃvara tradition.