A yidam is a type of tutelary or meditational deity

A yidam is a type of tutelary or meditational deity associated with various forms of visualization meditation within Vajrayana Buddhism (Keown, 2004, p. 340). It may be either female or male and may assume a peaceful or wrathful form depending on the practitioner’s own nature and karmic weight (Rinpoche, 1998, p. 442).Yidam is an abbreviation of the Tibetan yid-kyi-dam-tshig, which means “sayama of mind” or “sacred bondage of the mind” (Harding, 2005; Beer, 2003, p. 261). It is a manifestation of the enlightened mind.

The yidam is one of the Three Roots, which are the tantric equivalent of the Three Jewels referred to in exoteric sutras (Buddha, dharma, and sangha) (Rinpoche, 2018). Tibetan Buddhism scholar Judith Simmer-Brown (2002) refers to the Three Roots as “the dynamic energy cells of tantric practice” (p. 139). That is, they comprise the very heart of Vajrayana practice. They include the lama, yidam, and dākinī. The lama is a living representation of enlightenment and the source of blessings; the dākinīs are a class of saintly female figures who protect and bestow liberated activities upon the practitioner; and the yidam is the source of accomplishment and refers to a variety of appearances that the Buddha can take (Beer, 2003, p. 259).

As the spiritual teacher and ritual expert, the lama may select a yidam that they feel is suited for the student. Alternatively, the lama may tell the student to make the choice independently, in which case the student is instructed to open their heart to the yidam and associated practice that speaks to them (Rinpoche, 2018). There are a number of yidams to select from, some of which include Mahākāla, Hayagrīva, Cakrasamvara, Heruka, Avalokiteśvara, Vajrabhairava, and Vajrayoginī (Keown, 2004, p. 340). While all yidams bring about the same result of an awakened state of being, each one is represented by a distinct set of images and symbols and emphasizes a different aspect of practice (Rinpoche, 2018).

Known as sādhana in Sanskrit, tantric meditation involving the yidam is divided into two stages (Keown, 2004, p. 242). During the generation stage, the practitioner steadily visualizes the yidam and mandala so as to transform their body into the yidam at the center of the universe (Heruka, 2010, p. 253). The self is identified with the form and mind of the yidam and the mandala is reimagined as the world. Tibetan translator and lama Sarah Harding notes that this form of meditation uses one’s “natural self-imaging tendency” to construct a more real version of reality than that which one currently envisions (Harding, 2005). The Words of My Perfect Teacher highlights a crucial aspect of this process of visualization:

“The teacher Vajrasattva embodies the hundred deities in one…While you meditate on him, consider him as being one in essence with your own root teacher” (Rinpoche, 1998, p. 279).

In Vajrayana practice, the lama and the yidam are inseparable. When the practitioner creatively imagines the yidam during meditation, it is an act of simultaneous devotion to the meditational deity and to the teacher (Simmer-Brown, 2002, p. 141). This devotion, in turn, represents the practitioner’s commitment to their own inherent wakefulness (Simmer-Brown, 2002, p. 141). Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism is unique in that it teaches that enlightenment is attainable for every living being within this very lifetime (Keown, 2004, p. 292). Thus, the yidam is a reminder of the practitioner’s own imminent enlightenment. It represents the lama’s spiritual guidance, the lineage of liberated teachers, and the pure, awakened mind of the practitioner (Simmer-Brown, 2002, p. 149).

During the subsequent completion stage, the practitioner dissolves their visualization of the yidam and mandala into emptiness and nature of mind. This type of meditation relies on the belief that the mind is so powerful that it can actually create transformation. By revisualizing the surrounding world and reimagining the self in the form of the yidam, the practitioner is able affect change in the self and the world. Thus, the practitioner’s identification with the form and mind of the yidam serves the purpose of devotion and transformation. The Words of My Perfect Teacher describes this process of completion:

“Now visualize that…[t]he yidams and deities of the four and six classes of tantra surrounding the teacher also consume the nectar, absorbing it through hollow tongues whose shapes correspond to the symbol associated with each deity. As a result you complete the accumulations, clear away obscurations, purify all violations and breaches of samaya, and attain the common and supreme accomplishments” (Rinpoche, 1998, p. 300).

It is at this point that the practitioner’s notion of duality becomes dissolved. A constant source of suffering, subject-object duality is described as the strict opposition between the inflated self-image and the objectification of all else (Simmer-Brown, 2002, p. 149). The completion stage involves a radical transformation in one’s understanding of the yidam as an objective, external entity. The practitioner must recognize their imminent awakening by assuming the pure and liberated form of the yidam.

Interestingly, some Buddhist practitioners, including Lama Michel Rinpoche, believe that the yidam is more than a deity with which the meditator connects. Rather, it is an entire system of enlightenment and the heart of Vajrayana practice. Michel Rinpoche calls the yidam “a life dedication” and “a system in which we live…exist…[and] experience reality” (Rinpoche, 2018). It is through the yidam that one focuses their mind and transforms their reality. Each tutelary deity is a complete system, providing the matter and refuge through which one can transform their mind toward enlightenment (Rinpoche, 2018).

References

Beer, R. (2003). The Handbook of Tibetan Buddhist Symbols. Boulder, CO: Shambhala Publications.

Harding, S. (2005). What is a Yidam? Retrieved from https://www.lionsroar.com/dharma-dictionary-yidam/.

Heruka, T. (2010). The Life of Milarepa (A. Quintman, Trans.). New York, NY: Penguin Books.

Keown, D. (2004). A Dictionary of Buddhism. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Rinpoche, M. [NgalSo Ganden Nyengyu]. (2018). What is a Yidam and how do we choose one? Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQtDDOUsOnQ.

Rinpoche, P. (1998). The Words of My Perfect Teacher (Padmakara Translation Group, Trans.). Boston, MA: Shambhala Publications.

Simmer-Brown, J. (2002). Dakini’s Warm Breath: The Feminine Principle in Tibetan Buddhism. Boston, MA: Shambhala Publications.

Source

{http://encyclopediatibeticas19.wescreates.wesleyan.edu/yidam/]