PACIFIC WORLD - The Institute of Buddhist Studies

206Pacific Worldsome background pertinent to Advayavajra’s overarching concern in theKud®≈†inirghåtana. The course of Advayavajra’s career follows a patternsimilar to that of ceratin mahåsiddha-s (and, with some adjustment, of theBuddha himself). He was born to a high caste family, received a superioreducation, both secular, heterodox (t∆rthika), and Buddhist, and thensettled into a monastic life. 12 Mastering the monastic curriculum (consistingof grammar, logic, Buddhist philosophy, medicine, and crafts) andreceiving numerous tantric initiations and practices, he establishes himselfas an eminent scholar. Nonetheless, his understanding is still deficient, andhe lacks realization. As the Tibetan historian Tåranåtha (1575–1634) succinctlyputs it:[At the monastery] his capabilities had become measureless, yet hehad but little comprehension of reality. Following the prediction ofan obligational deity, he proceeded to Ûr∆parvata to seek [theteacher] Ûabari. 13Although tantric teachings had become commonplace in the monasticestablishments of Advayavajra’s day, a recurring theme in the mahåsiddhaliterature is the inadequacy of those institutions for leading the practitionerto the realization of a buddha, even if the institutions were in possession ofthe suitable teachings and methods. Redressing this perceived failure ofthe Buddhist establishment is a primary aim of the ådikarma; and, giventhe course of his life and practice, Advayavajra was perfectly situated toaccomplish this.Ådikarma and PuraΩcara√aThe term employed by Advayavajra to denote the initial phase ofpractice is ådikarma. Normatively, this has the sense of a beginning (ådi)act or endeavor (karma). 14 More technically, it refers to an initial or apreliminary practice that precedes more advanced ones. While Advayavajracertainly employs this usage, he adds a dimension to it that plays somewhaton the term. The initial endeavor remains first, primary, chief (ådi),even after the initial stage of practice (karma). The ådikarma, forAdvayavajra, thus stands perpetually at the beginning, in the sense of“ground.” 15 (Details of this usage are given below.) This having been said,it will nonetheless be useful to examine the more common understandingof ådikarma as “initial endeavor” or “preliminary practice.”In many ways, ådikarma functions in a similar manner as puraΩcara√a,also meaning “preliminary practice.” This is a term used widely in the earlymedieval period by both Hindu and Buddhist communities. 16 BothpuraΩcara√a and ådikarma denote a series of ritualized activities per-