In the middle of the 8th century, there sprouted out many treaties on bodhicittabhqvanq among Indian Buddhists. This tendency may have been influenced and inspired chiefly by the Mahqvairocanqbhisambodhis[tra.
These bodhicittabhqvanq-treatises are composed in order to meditate on one's own mind (svacitta) that is equal to bodhi (/dharmadhqtu). During the meditation, a practician gradually elevates/deepens the state of meditation from the realistic viewpoint to the idealistic one, and then let himself realize his own nature of mind, i.e. 1[nyatq / tathatq.
The movement to build the systematic procedure(krama) of meditation corresponds to the growth of integration of the four Buddhist philosophical systems, as three Bhqvanqkramas of Kamala1] la represent.
These kinds of bhqvanqkrama are systematized by interpreting some verses in later Buddhist tantras such as Guhyasamqjatantra II, XV 135 etc. There exist various types of krama according to the different philosophical traditions. Ratnqkara1qnti interprets these verses from the standpoint of Nirqkqravij`qnavqda, whereas Lak1m] and the followers of Qrya-tradition interpret them from the viewpoint of Mqdhyamika.
I would like to present a sketch of the growth/ sophistication / various philosophical interpretations of these bodhicittabhqvanqkramas with an essay to trace their influence in the Tibetan Esoteric Buddhist Traditions.