『탄트라정수(Tantrasāra)』 제11장에 나타난 샥티파타(śaktipāta)의 고찰

Abstract

Śaktipāta means the descent(pāta) of śakti. Śakti is the active aspect of Śiva which is understood as God(Īśvara) in religious side, and also as consciousness(cit) in philosophical side. So the meaning of the falling of śakti is that Śiva reveals his own the state of Śiva consciousness on limited souls. By the falling of śakti, the limited souls become God. This paper studies on śaktipāta in the chaper 11 of Tantrasāra written by Abhinavagupta. He was a great scholar of Advaita śaiva and also a tāntrika in Kashmir in the 10th century. He wrote the religious masterpiece Tantrāloka, and summarized it to Tantrasāra in which chapter 11 is focused on śaktipāta. He firstly presents the doctrines of śaktipāta of Śaiva dualists(Śaivasiddhānta), and then controverts them. He presents arguments that śaktipāta comes from the arising of correct knowledge, and then refutes them by the proof that the will of God and karma which is claimed as the cause of correct knowledge is not correct argument. In the second place, he presents doctrines of the balance between opposite karmas (karmasāmya) and a ripening of impurity(malaparipāka) which are known as representative doctrines on śaktipāta of Śaiva dualists, and also reputes the doctrines. After above arguments, he explains simply śaktipāta doctrine of Advaita śaiva, and then presents the nine types of śaktipāta which are sorted by the ability for śaktipāta of people. In this śaktipāta system, he situates types of śaktipāta belong to Advaita śaiva to rank from the first grade to the third one higher than the types of śaktipāta from the doctrines of Śaiva dualists or other doctrines. Through his śaktipāta system, we can understand that he tries to unite all doctrines of Śaiva which he situates Advaita śaiva to the highest rank, and Śaiva dualists and others to lower rank.