Magining Enlightenment: Icons and Ideology in V Imagining Enlightenment: Icons and Ideology in Vajrayāna Buddhist Practice
Abstract
Iconography has been used to represent the experience of awakening in the Buddhist traditions for millennia. The Mahāyāna Buddhist traditions are especially renowned for their rich pantheons of buddhas and bodhisattvas who illuminate and inspire practitioners. In addition, the Vajrayāna branch of Mahāyāna Buddhism presents a host of meditational deities (yidam) who serve as catalysts of awakening. These awakened beings are regarded
as objects of refuge for practitioners, both female and male, who visualize themselves in
detail as embodiments of specific enlightened figures, female or male, with all their
enlightened qualities. These meditational deities, which are mentally constructed and
insubstantial by nature, are distinguished from worldly deities (deva) who also inhabit the
Buddhist pantheon and may be supplicated for attaining worldly boons. This article
explores the philosophical foundations of Varjrayāna Buddhist practices, the ontological
status of these archetypes of awakening, and the epistemological process of visualizing
oneself an enlightened being as a skillful means to achieve awakened realization.
Scholars generally regard Mahāyāna Buddhism as a natural focus of religious studies because of its rich pantheon of buddhas and bodhisattvas. The Vajrayāna branch of Mahāyāna Buddhism especially has numerous Bmeditational deities^ (yidam) who inhabit the tantric Buddhist pantheon, along with a host of other supernormal beings such as dakas, dakinīs, and dharmapalas who act as defenders of Dharma.1 Many
scholars understand yidams to be Buddhist versions of the divine,2 but they are not
neatly commensurate with other beings inhabiting the Buddhist pantheon or the
divinities of other religious traditions.3 Some may understand them to be divine fictions
constructed to lead aspirants on the path to awakening. Artists may see them as creative
imaginations or representations.4 During a private conversation in 1985, H.H. the Dalai Lama told me these beings can be understood as projections of the mind. In this article,
I explore the philosophical foundations of Tibetan Buddhist iconography and ideology,
with special attention to their implications for gender identity.
Icons of Awakening
The Buddhist conception of the universe is philosophically nontheistic, concerned
primarily with overcoming suffering rather than with the existence or non-existence
of a supreme being or deities. At its core are the three characteristics of existence
that phenomena are unsatisfying, impermanent, and insubstantial, or empty of inherent existence. Early detractors regarded Buddhism negatively as a decadent,
atheist belief system (Offermanns 2005). Even some Buddhist practitioners have
argued that Buddhism can be regarded as atheistic, due to the absence of a supreme being in the likeness of the God of Abrahamic traditions.5 On the other hand,
Buddhism cannot be labeled atheistic because devas (deities), also known as or
devatās, have been an integral feature of Buddhist cosmology from the time of
Buddha Śākyamuni onward. A common epithet of the Buddha is Bteacher of gods
and human beings^ (sattha devamanussanam) (Thepyanmongkol 2010). Buddhists
may petition devas for protection and blessing, a custom prevalent in South and
Southeast Asian cultures, but they do not go for refuge in them, since the devas
themselves are still trapped in cyclic existence, the wheel of repeated birth, death,
and rebirth (sam.sāra). Only buddhas (fully awakened beings), bodhisattvas (beings on the path to full awakening), and others who are highly advanced on the path
are qualified to be relied upon as objects of refuge. Some have regarded these
supernormal beings dismissively, arguing they are evidence of the degeneration or
corruption of Bpure^ Buddhism due to Hindu or indigenous influences.6 However,
the Buddha himself is acknowledged to have been a bodhisattva in past lives while
working to become fully awakened and the devas were painted into the Buddhist pantheon from the very beginning as the bestowers of boons. Buddhist followers
simply adjusted their perspectives on supernormal phenomena and accommodated
them, reinterpreting them through a Buddhist lens.
Mahāyāna Buddhism developed a variety of philosophical schools, methods of practice, and cultural expressions. Multiple interpretations of key teachings are common. In terms of method, Tibetan scholars typically distinguish two branches of
Mahāyāna practice: the pāramitāyāna (perfection vehicle, also known as sūtrayāna)
and the mantrayana (mantra vehicle, also known as tantrayāna or vajrayāna). Adherents of both branches generally accept the pivotal Mahāyāna concept of
tathāgatagarbha (Bwomb of enlightenment^) that each sentient being possesses the
potential to become perfectly awakened.
The potential for awakening is a birthright of all sentient beings; that is, all sentient beings, by virtue of possessing conscious awareness, are capable of purifying and awakening that awareness. The wise among them, mostly human beings, evolve toward that goal by following the path outlined by the Buddha. The
Buddha taught that world systems come into existence and disintegrate as a result
of cause and conditions—the inexorable law of cause and effect. The Buddha’s teachings guide human beings toward an understanding of how the law of cause and effect operates, and therefore how to avoid misfortunes by purifying their own
unwholesome propensities and karma through the use of countless skillful
methods for creating wholesome actions and avoiding unwholesome actions.
Vajrayāna practice accelerates this practice by recognizing, praising, and identifying with the commendable qualities of the awakened ones (buddhas) and
meditational deities (yidams), who represent the embodiments of enlightened qualities that lead to full realization as displayed by all buddhas. Over time, lineages of accomplished gurus have promulgated systems of practice that use enlightened archetypes to awaken, strengthen, and enhance realizations of the Buddha’s insights on ethics, creativity, and wisdom.
In the Vajrayāna tradition, numerous buddhas and bodhisattvas serve as yidams, or meditational deities. However, the word Bdeity^ is used advisedly, since it has, in general, a wide range of denotations in religious studies, particularly in tantric studies. A deity may manifest in either a peaceful or wrathful
aspect and deities in multiple forms may also appear in both peaceful and wrathful
aspects. Avalokitśvara, the bodhisattva of compassion, whose face reflects serenity
and benevolence, is an example of a deity in peaceful form, whether with two
arms, four arms, or a thousand arms. Yamantaka, Hevajra, and Mahakala are
examples of deities who appear in wrathful form. The wrathful deities are not
demons—a common misconception—but manifestations of one’s own mind that
forcefully eliminate all inner and outer obstacles to awakening.
In the Vajrayāna Buddhist tradition, yidams appear in both female and male forms. Remarkably from a gender-binary perspective, practitioners of both genders engage in the practice of either female or male yidams. By engaging in the
practice of the sādhanā, a complex series of recitations, visualizations, and
contemplative exercises of a specific yidam, the practitioner aims to manifest
and literally embody all the unique, enlightened physical, verbal, and mental
qualities of that yidam. The yidam that is most widely practiced today by both
women and men is Tārā, an enlightened being in female form who appears as
both a bodhisattva (prior to full awakening) and as a buddha (after realizing full awakening). Appearing in India as early as the sixth century, Tārā vowed to
liberate sentient beings, taking the form of a woman. Once upon a time, in a
universe called Manifold Lights, she took rebirth as a princess named Yeshe Dawa (BMoon of Wisdom^). After making many millions of offerings to a
Buddha named Dundubhi-svara (BDrum-Sound^) and his attendants, she generated bodhicitta, the altruistic aspiration to become a fully awakened Buddha. At
that time, some monks encouraged her to take a male body, but she rejected
their suggestion, saying: Here there is no man, there is no woman,
No self, no person, and no consciousness.
Labelling Bmale^ or Bfemale^ has no essence, But deceives the evil-minded world (Willson 1996).
Instead of taking a male body, she vowed:
There are many who desire
Enlightenment in a man’s body, but none who work for the benefit of sentient beings in the body of a woman. Therefore, until sam.sāra is empty, I shall work for the benefit of sentient beings in a woman’s body.
After accumulating merit and wisdom for many millions of years, Tārā attained the final goal of perfect awakening and continued her mission of working to liberate sentient beings from suffering.
Tārā appears in 21 different aspects, each in a unique pose with specific qualities and abilities to benefit beings.8 Two of the most prevalent manifestations are Green Tārā, who embodies virtuous activity, and White Tārā, who helps practitioners to live a good and long life. Tārā is renowned for her power to swiftly remove mental defilements and to work ceaselessly for the benefit of all living beings. Also known as the Bsavioress^ and the Bmother of all Buddhas,^ Tārā is the focus of devotions performed daily by
millions of devotees throughout the Tibetan cultural sphere, including Tibet itself,
Bhutan, Sikkim, and other areas of Himalayan India, Mongolia, Nepal, and the
Buddhist republics of Russia. In these devotions, Tārā is embodied by monastic and
lay practitioners alike. The presence of highly accomplished, fully awakened beings in
female form, such as Tārā, continues to inspire women as well as men and men up to
the present day. Tārā’s popularity among Himalayan peoples may help explain the
relatively high status of women in these cultures.
Tārā is just one of countless yidams available to aspirants. Once a practitioner chooses a suitable yidam, or the guru selects one, the practitioner receives an empowerment (abhis.eka) during which the guru authorizes the initiate to engage in the tantric practices using that deity as the object of visualization.9 First, the practitioner visualizes
the yidam externally and then internally, identifying completely with the body, speech,
and mind of the yidam. Generating the Bdivine pride^ of being the yidam, the
practitioner replaces his or her ordinary perception of identity with a fully enlightened
identity. This shifts the practitioner’s awareness from the typically deluded, unawakened mode of perception common to ordinary beings in the mundane world into a
perfectly awakened mode of perception that is distinctive to an enlightened being. The
practitioner then generates pride in embodying that being. As John Powers explains,
Divine pride is essential because it overcomes the sense of oneself as ordinary.
Since one’s goal is to become a fully awakened buddha, one attempts to view oneself in this way. Divine pride is different from ordinary, afflicted pride because it is motivated by compassion for others and is based on an understanding of
emptiness. The yidam and oneself are both known to be empty, all appearances
are viewed as manifestations of the luminous and empty nature of mind, and so
the divine pride of deity yoga does not lead to attachment, greed, and other
afflictions (Powers 2007).
The practitioner not only engages in visualization of an awakened being but also imagines performing the enlightened activities of that awakened being in order to benefit all sentient beings.
The act of imagining oneself as a fully awakened being in an alternative gender, initially during the meditation session and ultimately during every moment of day and night, requires a shift in gender perception from the practitioner’s accustomed mode to the gender of the yidam for a sustained period of time. The practitioner is required not only to embody the enlightened qualities of the specific yidam but, depending on the
gender of that yidam, may also be required to dissociate from his or her accustomed
gender and to embody an alternative gender. In effect, the practitioner is required to let
go of his or her accustomed gender identity and any attachment to that identity for the
duration. Because gender identity is a strong feature of most people’s personal identity,
inculcated practically from birth and reinforced through years of social conditioning, it
seems reasonable to suppose that releasing one’s accustomed identification with a
particular gender would naturally, gradually result in releasing attachment to the self,
at least in some measure. It could even be that letting go to attachment to a particular
gender identification could free one, for the duration of the sādhanā, from whatever
negative associations and gendered expectations the practitioner has experienced over a
lifetime, or even multiple lifetimes. The implications for those who identify as or are
identified with a despised or depreciated gender classification are significant. The
opportunity to disassociate oneself from the negative attitudes and experiences related
to the despised gender identity could be very liberating, at least for a given period of
time. Psychologically, this respite from painful associations can be very healing.
Philosophical Foundations
The Vajrayāna Buddhist tradition, also known as tantrayāna (Badamantine vehicle^) or
mantrayāna (Bsecret mantra vehicle^), is renowned for its use of advanced meditation practices that simulate enlightenment. These Bdeity yoga^ (devatti-yoga) practices of
visualizing oneself as an enlightened being are held to be an effective means to achieve
awakening swiftly. Widespread misconceptions abound; for example, detractors declare
that tantric Buddhism is an aberration from the Buddha’s original teachings or an
amalgamation of Buddhist and pre-Buddhist animistic beliefs (Lopez 1999).
Buddhist philosophers and practitioners in the Tibetan cultural sphere declare unwaveringly, however, that Vajrayāna derives authentically from Indian traditions and is firmly grounded in Mahāyāna principles and practices, with the additional
use of mantras, mudrās, mandalas, and advanced meditation practices for embodying enlightened awareness.10
As a branch of Mahāyāna Buddhism, the goal and fruit of Vajrayāna practice is
Buddhahood. In Vajrayāna, the means for achieving this is to question and to subvert
attachment to all ordinary, distorted perceptions, especially notions of personal identity,
including gendered ones. The prerequisites for embarking on the bodhisattva path of Mahāyāna practice are the Three Principles of the Path to Enlightenment, eloquently elucidated by the Indian scholar-monk Atīśa in his Bodhipratipa (Lamp for the Path):
renunciation, the enlightened attitude (bodhicitta), and direct insight into emptiness
(śūnyatā) (Rinchen 1999). Renunciation is defined as the determination to foreswear
rebirth in cyclic existence (sam.sāra). The enlightened attitude is the altruistic aspiration to achieve the perfect awakening of a buddha in order to free all sentient beings
from suffering. Direct insight into emptiness is the wisdom that understands the true nature, meaning the lack of inherent existence, of all phenomena. Without these three
prerequisites, which are necessary for entering even the mainstream bodhisattva path,
Vajrayāna practice is impossible or even dangerous.
To elaborate on the first principle, perfect renunciation means to abandon all attachment to cyclic existence and all actions (karma) that lead to further rebirth, especially unwholesome actions that lead to rebirth in the Bunfortunate migrations,^
or lower realms of existence as an animal, hungry ghost, or hell being. To become a
fully awakened Buddha requires the practitioner to avoid all unwholesome actions and
mental factors, and to instead cultivate all wholesome ones. To illustrate, a serious
practitioner avoids all harm to sentient beings—physical, verbal, or mental. Taking the
life of a sentient being (any being with consciousness) is regarded as especially
unwholesome and typically leads to rebirth in a hell realm. Not only is rebirth in a
hell realm tortuous but it can also last for an extremely long time, which poses a serious
obstacle to achieving liberation.
The second requisite principle for achieving perfect awakening is to generate the bodhicitta (Benlightened attitude^), the altruistic resolve to become a fully awakened being in order to liberate all sentient beings from suffering. The Indian master Śantideva regarded this enlightened resolve as the essence of the 84,000 teachings of the Buddha. There are seven steps for cultivating the enlightened attitude, based on the
understanding that all sentient beings have taken rebirth in cyclic existence time and
again, and have therefore been related to each other in a multitude of ways. The seven
steps are (1) recognizing that all sentient beings have been our mother at some point in
time, giving birth to us and showering us with loving kindness an infinite number of
times; (2) recognizing that we owe a debt of gratitude to all these sentient beings who
have been our mother and cared for us so lovingly; (3) determining to repay the
kindness of all these sentient beings; (4) generating loving kindness (maitrī), the wish
that all sentient beings achieve happiness; (5) generating compassion (karunā), the
wish that all beings be free from suffering; (6) generating the special thought (Tibetan:
lhak sam) of oneself taking on the responsibility of liberating all sentient beings from
suffering; and (7) generating bodhicitta, the altruistic aspiration to achieve perfect
awakening, recognizing that ultimately only a Buddha has the capacity to liberate all
sentient beings from suffering (Tsomo, 2015a).
The third requisite principle is direct insight into emptiness (śūnyatā). The root cause of unskillful actions and therefore of sentient beings’ involvement in cyclic existence is ignorance, or not understanding the true mode of existence of phenomena. Ignorant
sentient beings mistakenly perceive fleeting phenomena to be permanent, unsatisfying
phenomena to be satisfying, and insubstantial phenomena to be truly existent. Gaining
insight into emptiness is the key corrective to these misconceptions.
In the practice of Vajrayāna, meditation is enhanced through yogic techniques
such as meditation on the winds and channels of the body. The ability to gather the
72,000 winds (Tibetan: lung) or energies of the body into the central psychic channel is cultivated so that, at the time of death, one may direct one’s consciousness to a Pure Land, such as the Pure Land of Amitābha Buddha. In each of the four
classes of tantra—action, performance, yoga, and highest yoga (anuttarayoga)—
the practitioner generates a vivid visualization of a specific yidam, then identifies
with all the qualities of the yidam, and finally generates the divine pride of actually
being the yidam. At the time of death, this eventuates in being reborn in the Pure Land of that specific yidam.
The enlightened figure that is the focus of one’s visualization may appear either in peaceful or wrathful form. The purpose of the practice is not to eliminate, overcome, or even transform mental defilements but to encounter them and utilize them as the path to awakening. Like fertilizer, afflictive emotions such as desire, if used skillfully, may be a
means of realizing the path.11 For example, in all four classes of tantra, the practitioner
consciously generates four types of bliss—expressed as looking, laughing, embracing,
and union—and utilizes them as tools for cultivation (Tsong-kha-pa Blo-bzang-gragspa 1975). The male/female symbolism is code for the complementarity of skillful means (upāya), associated with the male principle, and wisdom (prajñā), associated
with the female. The male and female deities in union (yab-yum) signify the nonduality
of skillful means and wisdom, or bliss and emptiness.
Prior to embarking on tantric practices, a practitioner is required to have a solid
understanding of basic Buddhist teachings. A practitioner trains daily in ethical conduct
(śīla), meditative concentration (samādhi), and wisdom (prajñā). Further, a practitioner
cultivates the six perfections (pāramitā): generosity (dāna), ethical conduct, patience
(ks.antī), joyful effort (vīrya), concentration (dhyāna), and wisdom.
The third of the six perfections of the bodhisattva is patience, a valued antidote to anger. The Fourteenth Dalai Lama likens the practice of patience by the bodhisattva to the patience of a mother when her baby Bkicks her, pulls her hair, and sticks a finger in her eye. She is patient, knowing how long her task will take. In the same way, a Bodhisattva is willing to spend an aeon to achieve one slight improvement in one sentient being.^13
In addition to the three principles of the path that serve as prerequisites, a Vajrayāna practitioner is required to complete the preliminary practices (ngön dro): 100,000 repetitions each of the refuge formula, prostrations, the 100-syllable mantra of Vajrasattva, the mandala offering, and guru yoga. Guru yoga practices vary considerably, according to the guru’s instructions, but each involves a visualization with the guru at the center of a lineage tree, surrounded by an assemblage that serves as a composite of the objects of refuge. Through the power of visualization, one evokes the presence of these enlightened beings as a source of teachings and blessings. After completing these preliminary practices, one seeks to receive an empowerment
(abhis.eka) from a qualified tantric master. This empowerment initiates one into the
mandala of a specific yidam. The rite typically entails receiving four successive
empowerments: vase, secret, knowledge, and word.14 As mentioned earlier, the yidam
that is visualized and eventually embodied may be either a buddha or a bodhisattva,
male or female, and in addition, may appear in either peaceful or wrathful form.
Initially, the practitioner visualizes the yidam in the space in front, in progressively
greater and greater detail. Gradually, in visualization, the yidam is brought to the space
on the top of the practitioner’s head, facing forward. Ultimately, again in visualization,
the yidam is visualized as moving down into the practitioner such that the body, speech,
and mind of the yidam and the body, speech, and mind of the practitioner merge and
become one. The goal is for the practitioner to embody all the enlightened qualities of
the yidam physically, verbally, and mentally. As the sādhanā progresses, the practitioner visualizes all living beings throughout space and time in the likeness of the
yidam: all forms are seen to be the form of the yidam, all sounds are perceived to be the
sound of the yidam’s mantra, and all thoughts are realized to be the enlightened awareness of the yidam.
The ontological status of the yidam is open to debate; is it real or metaphorical? The most important thing to understand is that the yidam must not be reified or essentialized, for that would be to defeat the entire point of the exercise. The key point is to
realize the ultimately empty nature of all aspects of the practice, including the practitioner, the practice itself, and the sentient beings toward whom one directs or dedicates
the merit of the practice. The yidam who is the object of one’s visualization and the
mandala that is both the perfectly purified abode of the yidam and an enlightened
universe are recognized as being empty of true existence by nature.
Simultaneous with the attainment of perfect enlightenment (samyaksambodhi), one achieves the two bodies of the Buddha: the dharmakāya (Btruth body^) or formless enlightened awareness of an awakened being and the rūpakāya (Bform body^), a body that may be perceived by sentient beings. The truth body may be understood in two aspects: the omniscient nature of enlightened awareness (jnana dharmakāya) and the empty nature of enlightened awareness (svabhavakāya). The form body may also be understood in two aspects: the enjoyment body (sambhogakāya) that can be perceived
by beings in the Pure Land and the emanation body (nirmanakāya) that can be
perceived by ordinary sentient beings in the world. To achieve the truth body
(dharmakāya), through the practice of meditative equipoise, one cultivates wisdom or
insight into emptiness. To achieve the form body (rupakāya), one cultivates skillful means (upāya) out of compassion. The cultivation of wisdom results in the cognitive
perfection of a Buddha, whereas the cultivation of skillful means culminates in the
physical perfection of a Buddha. The causes and consequences of actions are
similar by nature; that is, imprints of accumulated wisdom give rise to the
dharmakāya, while the imprints of skillful methods give rise to the rupakāya.
Meditation on emptiness is essential, but meditation on emptiness alone is inadequate for the achievement of enlightenment. Meditation on emptiness needs to be
conjoined with altruism and appropriate skillful methods to alleviate the sufferings
of and bring happiness to all living beings.
Cultivating Enlightened Awareness
Buddhist tantra uses visualization as a means of transformative thinking, utilizing
ordinary mental defilements like anger and desire as instruments on the path of enlightenment by facing them directly and gaining insight into their true nature. The
practice contains elements of visionary experience common to other spiritual traditions,
but in the case of Buddhist tantra, the ability to control visual projections is essential.
BDeity yoga,^ visualizing oneself as an awakened being and ultimately becoming that
being, is the heart of the practice. The activities of tantric deities include pacifying,
increasing, empowering, and destroying. Although some of the awakened beings
portrayed in Buddhist tantra have corollaries in Hindu tantra,
15 they are not seen as
ordinary gods, but as archetypes of one’s own enlightenment. As Miranda Shaw puts it,
While Mahayana writers and iconographers introduced divinities of recognizably
Buddhist provenance, they often drew attributes from earlier figures and Hindu deities, adding their own distinctive stamp through an innovative combination of
classical iconographical elements, a Buddhist origin myth, and salvific activities
of a decidedly Buddhist cast.... The female figures display the defining bodhisattva attributes of wisdom, compassion, and commitment to the liberation of all
beings (Shaw 2006).
The major differences between Hindu tantric system and Buddhist tantric system are seen in The Three Principles of the Path. In addition to developing perfect renunciation and generating the bodhicitta, tantric Buddhist practitioners conceive of the buddhas and bodhisattvas as being empty of absolute or eternal existence, like everything else in the phenomenal world. Further, in the practice of Buddhist tantra, by visualizing and identifying with the qualities of a specific awakened being, one simulates the entral to Vajrayāna practice, first as
a simulation of the attainment of awakening and eventually as an actualization of it. The cultivation of the enlightened body of a Buddha is achieved through various practices, including deity yoga practice, and culminates in a body (rupakāya) with 32 major and 80 minor marks at the time of perfect enlightenment (samyaksambodhi). In the Buddhist tantric mode of cultivation, after visualizing the yidam in the space in front of oneself, one unites one’s body, speech, and mind with the yidam’s enlightened body, speech, and mind. All forms become the enlightened form of the yidam, all
sounds become the mantra of the yidam, and all cognition becomes the enlightened wisdom of the yidam. Unlike worldly pride, which is regarded as a mental delusion and
one of the chief obstacles to spiritual attainment, generating the Bdivine pride^ of
embodying the yidam is said to expedite the achievement of perfect awakening. For this
reason, Vajrayāna, the practice of tantra, is known as the swift path. While it charts a
speedy course to the ultimate achievement of awakening, the path also entails responsibilities and risks. Misusing and abusing the practice by transgressing the fourteen root
precepts is said to land one for countless eons in Vajra Hell, a realm of grave suffering
reserved for those who create egregious misdeeds.16 For this reason, Vajrayāna is also
known as the steep but dangerous path.
The representation of sexual union between two enlightened beings, male and
female, is symbolic of the union of wisdom and compassion that is required for
becoming a Buddha. The practice of Vajrayāna begins by receiving an empowerment
from a qualified lama (meaning guru or spiritual teacher). One then makes a pledge
(samaya) to observe the tantric vows, that is, to refrain from the fourteen root downfalls
and auxilliary transgressions, the fourteenth root downfall being, notably, Bdespising
women, whose essence is wisdom,^ inclusive of both extraordinary and ordinary
women (Je Tsongkhapa 2005). Having made these commitments, one then hones one’s
ability to concentrate single-pointedly on complex visualized images of buddhas and
bodhisattvas, down to each hair of the eyebrows. For most practitioners, including all
celibate monastics, tantric practices are accomplished through visualization; only a
highly advanced yogi is qualified to practice with an actual consort. A monk or nun
who is qualified to engage in these practices must first relinquish the monastic vows.
If the yidam is shown in sexual union, the practitioner consciously generates
successive levels of sexual desire in order to understand the true nature of desire.
In Buddhist tantra, practice with an actual consort, as opposed to a visualized consort, was an option for a highly advanced practitioner, provided that the person was not under monastic vows and satisfied the prerequisite three principles of the path: perfect renunciation, the enlightened attitude of thorough-going altruism, and direct insight into emptiness. Adherents of all Tibetan Buddhist schools, including the Gelugpa (BVirtuous Ones^), regard the authentic practice of sexual yoga as virtuous, provided the rigorous, nearly impossible requirements are met. A person under
monastic vows and most other practitioners rely on a visualized consort rather than an actual living consort.
In Vajrayāna, visualization practice is used to transform perceptions and thereby the
ways we respond to the world. The yidam that is the focus of tantric practice is an
archetype of enlightenment and is understood to be empty (śūnya) of true existence,
just as buddhas, bodhisattvas, ordinary beings, and all other phenomena are empty by
nature. The yidam that is the object of deity yoga, whether in peaceful or wrathful form,
is understood to be an archetype of enlightenment and a product of one’s own mind.
The yidam is usually selected by one’s lama, as an expression of his/her skillful means
(upāya), and reflects the synergy or compatibility of the yidam and the karmic affinities
of the practitioner. An understanding of the process of visualization requires an
understanding of human consciousness and the way human beings habitually misperceive reality. Instead of perceiving phenomena purely and directly, the awareness of
ordinary individuals is typically mediated and distorted by labels, concepts, and
judgments. The root cause of these distortions, the mental defilements, obstructs one’s
perception of the true nature of phenomena, which may result in unwholesome actions.
The process of visualizing oneself as an awakened being is a means of cutting through
mental defilements powerfully and precisely, and averting unwholesome actions and
their consequences. As one becomes intimately familiar with the visualized yidam and
identifies intimately with that being’s enlightened qualities, one simultaneously gains
insight into the true nature of one’s own mind and one’s potential for enlightenment.
By honing the ability to construct the yidam and environs, one becomes adept at
understanding the mind’s ability to consciously project mental forms and content. In the
process, one also recognizes the tendency both to perceive, misperceive, and construct
one’s experience mistakenly, distorted by habitual tendencies such as greed, hatred, and
other destructive emotions. In tantric meditation practice, one gains mastery through a
process of mental deconstruction, constructive projection, and realization, instead of
remaining a hapless victim of mental afflictions, misperceptions, and mental projections. One aspect of the process is nurturing the ability to control one’s mind; another
aspect is constructing an ideal universe and manifesting an enlightened mode of
perception that is spontaneously wise and compassionate. Not only does the practitioner use archetypes of peace, generosity, and loving kindness but also powerful thoughts
and emotions such as desire and anger, as skillful means of effecting awakening.
The enlightened forms used as objects of Vajrayāna meditation practice are intricate and varied. As one progressively envisions, supplicates, and embodies these enlightened figures, one generates a nondual awareness of both the ordinary, unenlightened
state of consciousness and the ultimate, enlightened awareness of the yidam. This
process is analogous to the nondual status of sam.sāra and nirvāna, both empty by
nature. Calm abiding (samathā) and insight (vipasyanā), the two primary streams of
meditation practice, are used alternately, first, to analyze and, second, to fix the mind on
emptiness. In Vajrayāna practice, the enlightened form of the yidam is understood to
simultaneously be conventionally existent and ultimately empty. Just as sam.sāra and
nirvāna are both ultimately empty, the conventional level of reality exists simultaneously with its lack of inherent existence. So, while the ultimate aim of tantric practice
is the perfect awakening of a Buddha, practical benefits may also be gained from the
practice, such as the ability to overcome obstacles, subdue negative forces, and enjoy
long life and good health.
The tantric texts describe ritual practices (sādhanā) that integrate a variety of methods and practices related to the yidam.
A tantric sādhanā begins with going for refuge and the generation of bodhicitta, the altruistic attitude that aspires to liberate
all beings from suffering. Next, the practitioner consciously dissolves ordinary reality into emptiness and, in its place, constructs a visualization of the yidam, to whom homage is offered and supplications and offerings are made. Light rays generated from the yidam remove all one’s impurities and karmic obstructions, transforming the environment into the pure abode of the yidam. The body, speech, and mind of the practitioner and all sentient beings become identified with the enlightened body,
speech, and mind of the yidam. As described, all forms are seen as the form of the yidam, all sounds as the mantra, and all thoughts as the perfect wisdom of the enlightened ones. A mantra visualized at the center of the practitioner’s heart is then recited for as long as possible. The practice concludes with dissolving the entire visualization back into emptiness. Next, one meditates on the empty nature of one’s own mind. Finally, one dedicates to all sentient beings the merit that has accrued through the practice. The yidam is visualized as abiding within an elaborate mandala,
or pure, enlightened abode that may be made of various materials, accompanied by the
chanting of a liturgy that includes praises, requests, mantras (sound syllables), and
mūdras (ritual hand gestures). As described earlier, the form of the yidam is visualized
in the space in front, then on the crown of one’s head, until eventually one embodies the
yidam, becoming one with that being’s enlightened body, speech, and mind. An
example of a sādhanā is the Avalokiteśvara practice for cultivating compassion.
In Vajrayāna practice, the senses are not ignored or suppressed; rather, they are given
full rein with a totally transformed imagination, coupled with the enormous responsibility to maintain awakened awareness every moment of day and night. The creative
power of imagination to transform mind and emotions cannot be dismissed. Because
imagination and reality are interwoven, creative imagination can also be an effective
means of transforming the world around us. Rather than squandering the power of
imagination and precious time on trivialities, they can be used to transform the world
by cultivating insight, compassion, and enlightened awareness. The power of tantric practice is not simply theoretical, but is attested by the attainments of practitioners such
as the Fourteenth Dalai Lama and a host of realized beings produced in Tibet since the
Vajrayāna texts and teachings were first introduced from India—superheroes who
vanquish destructive emotions and self-interest. In the end, these practices lend truth
to the adage: BIf we can transform our minds, we can transform our world.^ Now is
indisputably the time to do so.