Abstract
In 1910,J. Kats published the Sang Hyang Kamahāyānikan (SHK), including the text of the Sang Hyang Kamahāyānan Mantranaya (SHKM). In 1915, a Japanese scholar, Unrai Ogiwara, pointed out several parallel verses in the SHKM and the Chinese version of the Mahāvairocana-sūtra.
In 1950, Shinten (Shiro) Sakai, also Japanese, identified verses 26 to 42 of the SHKM with verses in the Chinese and Tibetian translations of the Adhyardhaśa-tikāprajñāpāramitā-sūtra. I found the SHKM verses 10 & 11 equivalent to verses in the Sarvadurgatipari-śodhana-tantra, and identified verses 12 & 13 with phonetic transliteration in the Chinese translation of Tattvasaṃgraha. SHKM verse 13 was also found to be equivalent to verses in the Sarvadurgatipariśodhana-tantra and the Sarvavajrodaya; and verses 14 & 15 to verses in the Kriyāsaṃgrahapañjikā and verse 19 in the Sarvavajrodaya.
According to Advayavajra of the late 10th century, Mahāyāna Buddhism was divided into two sects, Pāramitānaya and Mantranaya. Mantranaya was the esoteric form of Mahāyāna, which was, the later period, called Mantrayāna or vajrayāna. I believe that the SHKM was used as a manual for initiating new disciples into the Mantranaya sect in Old Java.
After commenting on Mantranaya and giving a short history of Mantranaya Buddhism in Old Java, this paper discusses the SHK, focussing on the attainment of Buddhahood by means of breath control with the germ-syllable ‘am-ah’; and it describes the Javanese Mantranaya Mahāyāna pantheon, in which the Supreme Being, symbolized by Sang Hyang Diwarūpa, assumes the body of the Bhaṭāra Hyang Buddha, which then manifests itself as Bhaṭāra Ratnatraya (Śākyamuni, Lokeśwara and Bajrapāṇi) and Bhaṭāra Pañca Tathāgata.
