Paramabuddha (Pha Dampa Sangye) and Ayyappa
(article in web format at - http://www.wayofbodhi.org/paramabuddhapadampa-sangye-ayyappan/)
- Yogi Prabodha Jnana & Yogini Abhaya Devi
Paramabuddha, statue from Tibet,( Picture courtesy:
Himalayan Art Resources)
Paramabuddha (Pha Dampa Sangye) is a Buddhist Mahasiddha from South India who lived
in the 11th-12th Century CE (AD). He traveled to Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan and China and led
many disciples to great realization. In praise of his realization, his disciples called him Pha
Dampa Sangye or Paramabuddha (Supreme Buddha, who is like a father). Based on the
Tibetan biographies, his birthplace can be identified to be in Kerala, near Sabarimala hills.
One of his main teachers was another Buddhist Mahayogi named Aryadeva (not same as
Nagarjuna’s disciple Aryadeva).
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It is highly possible that Paramabuddha’s Guru Aryadeva is none other than Ayyappa of
Sabarimala. As per Paramabuddha’s biographic sources, Aryadeva’s (Ayyappa’s) gurus
were also great Buddhist masters such as Mahasiddha Śarāha and Yogini Sukhasiddhi.
Now Ayyappa is worshipped as a god, yogi, guardian deity, etc by the people all over South
India. There are various legends about Ayyappa and the unique worship methods of
Ayyappa followers that have some striking similarities with our context.
Paramabuddha also has a lineage coming to him from Mahasiddha Śabareesha (Savaripa)
through Matripa (Advayavajra). Paramabuddha’s Pacification (zhije) tradition became one
of the eight great traditions of Buddhism in Tibet. Chod practice formalized by his
disciple Yogini Machig Labdron is very popular in Vajrayana circles around the world,
particularly amongst Yogis and Yoginis.
Paramabuddha’s place of birth
In his biography ‘ ཕ་དམ་པ་དང་མ་ཅིག་ལབ་sgrོན་gyི་rnམ་ཐར། ’ by མཁའ་spyོད་དgyེས་པའི་rd:་rj<། , the birthplace of
Paramabuddha (Padampa Sangye) is described in this way,
“His birthplace is in southern land of བེ་དྷའི་yuལ། (be dha’i yul) , the country of
charasimha (ཙ་ར་སིང་ང་། ). .. Most people of that land followed Mahayana Buddhism and
were open-minded. .. Being not far from the ocean, there were much variety of herbs
and other precious substances. Since the place is auspicious for perfecting samadhi,
many practitioners gathered there. Since it is near to the glorious mountain of the
South, it is blessed by Avalokitesvara and the people took to heart the teachings on
virtuous conduct. And, since it is near to the sandalwood forest of Bhishikota in the
South, it also flourished with the teachings and blessings of Khadiravani Tara. His
(Paramabuddha’s) birth was in a village, a very wondrous place connected to the
forest of Sage Arya (drang srong arya), which also a place of many physically strong
people.”
Resolving Be-dha’i-yul
As we shall see, all indications regarding the place from the above passage, except the
reference to “be-dha’i-yul” points to Sabarimala in Kerala. Often place names of India are
translated to Tibetan based on the word meaning. However, be-dha does not become a
meaningful word. Hence, many scholars assumed it to be the transliteration of an Indian
sound, and thus guessed the place to be in Vidharbha. Alternatively, Dan Martin, a
Tibetologist, in his blog article [Ref-1], pointed out that a number of earlier biographical
sources on Paramabuddha gives the place name to be བེ་ཏའི་yuལ། (be ta’i yul), which means
the ‘land of coconuts’. However, he took that phrase as a cover-all term for entire South
India and then went on to identify the place to be Andhra Pradesh. The main reason for
that identification was the mention of the glorious mountain (which usually is a reference
to Sri-Parvata in Andhra Pradesh). In that case, the rest of the indications in the above
passage do not match well.
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Kerala is well-known as the land of coconut. The entire land of Kerala between mountain
and ocean is a narrow strip that is suitable for the natural propagation and growth of
coconut and is thickly populated with coconut trees. When this inference is taken along
with all other indications in the above quoted passage, the place can be clearly identified
to be Kerala, and specifically Sabarimala. Interestingly Dan Martin also noted in his article
about the striking parallel between the postures of Paramabuddha and Ayyappa, but he
left it open there. We were also curious about this parallel for a long time. Once “be-dha’iyul” is corrected as “be-ta’i-yul” matching with the earlier sources, we could make the
following inferences.
Inference from other Indications
In the quoted passage above, Charasimha is a reference to the Chera kingdom of Kerala
during that time (11th Century CE). The mention about the flourishing of Mahayana
Buddhism in that country can also be validated. The records such as Paliyam copper plate
inscription and the epic named ‘Mooshikavamsham’ make it evident that a reputed
Mahayana monastery named ‘Sreemoolavasam’ <www.wayofbodhi.org/sreemoolavasam/>
was still active in Kerala during that time. Further, an 11th Century manuscript of
Prajnāpāramitāsūtra from Nepal (now preserved in Cambridge Museum) contains an
image of the much famed Avalokitesvara statue from Sreemoolavasam monastery,
revealing its glory in that period. There are also many ancient Buddha and Bodhisattva
statues unearthed from various parts of Kerala. The mention of the forests and mountains
as not being far from the ocean also matches well for Kerala than any other place.
The glorious mountain of the South, especially connected to Avalokitesvara is Potala, the
pure land of Avalokitesvara. It is identified to be Agastyakootam (Potikai in Tamil), deep in
the forest at the southern border between Kerala and Tamil Nadu. [Ref-2]
Bhishikota is not clearly identified. However, from the caption given for another image in
the above-mentioned manuscript of Prajnāpāramitāsūtra, it can be seen that the sacred
place of Khadiravani Tara is in Kongumandala. Kongumandala (also known as Kongunadu)
was part of the Chola kingdom of Tamil Nadu. Its adjacent mountain terrains in the Kerala
- Tamil Nadu border were also part of Chera kingdom during some periods. Since the
reference of Bhishikota is to a sandalwood forest in Kongumandala, this could be around
Marayoor in present-day Kerala. An ancient Buddha statue was unearthed recently from
this place.
A place between Agastyakootam and Kongunadu that is known as the forest of Sage Arya
is Sabarimala that comes right in the middle of Agastyakootam and Kongunadu.
Since the names are often translated from their Sanskrit form to the Tibetan language
based on the word meaning, the name, drang srong arya (Sage Arya) would need to be
translated back to the local form. In Dravidian language (Tamil) this would become
‘Ayyamuni’. This could very well be a reference to the famed Ayyappa of Sabarimala. The
reference to ‘a place of many physically strong people’ also matches with this because the
Malayaraya tribe living there also had accounts of warefare and victory, including a war
led by Ayyappa before he leaving the mundane life. We will come back to the story of
Ayyappa down the line for the benefit of those readers who are not familiar with him.
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Interestingly, Sreemoolavasam, the most famed Mahayana Buddhist monastery of ancient
Kerala, is also located to be near Thrikkunnaapuzha by many historians.
Thrikkunnaapuzha is on the coast close to where the river Pampa from Sabarimala flows
down to the ocean.
The Story of Paramabuddha’s Birth
According to the biographic sources, Paramabuddha’s mother used to travel in deep
forests for collecting medicinal herbs and other substances for making incenses. She
belonged to a family that made incenses with such rare substances. Paramabuddha’s
father used to travel to far away places to trade these. From this, we can infer that
Paramabuddha’s parents were from the Dravidian tribes of that place. In another Tibetan
biography, དེབ་ཐེར་sŋོན་པོ། by འགོས་ལོ་rʦཱ་བ་གཞོན་nu་དཔལ། it is told that Paramabuddha’s father’s
name is Tsondru Goccha. When this is translated back to the local Dravidian language, it
could be a name such as Veeran or any other name with similar meaning.
Paramabuddha’s mother used to go to deep forests with other relatives to collect the
precious medicinal herb of Haritaki (ཨ་ru་ར། ) that grows only in certain seasons. In one
such trip, when she reached the sandalwood forest, she had a vision of Khadiravani Tara.
Later she also had visions of bodhisattvas such as Avalokitesvara, Vajrapani, and
Manjushri. Avalokitesvara spoke to her that a seventh ground bodhisattva will be born to
her and that she should name him as ‘Ajitanātha’. In fact, Paramabuddha (Pha Dampa
Sangye) is a name that he got later in Tibet from his disciples out of their respect. The
name he used in his writings is Ajitanatha.
Guru Aryadeva (Ayyappa)
Ajitanatha went on to learn Buddhist philosophy and the practice of Mahayana and
Vajrayana from 54 Gurus. Ten of his Gurus were yoginis. According to him, his principal
Guru is a Buddhist Yogi named Aryadeva. (Not same as Nagarjuna’s disciple Aryadeva.) It
is also mentioned that Guru Aryadeva was Paramabuddha’s maternal uncle. Aryadeva is a
Sanskrit name that transforms into Ayyadeva in Dravidian language. Ayyadeva may be
more popularly known as Ayyappa.
It may be noted that mahasiddhas are often known by such local names than their formal
Sanskrit names. For example, another Buddhist Mahasiddha, Śabareeśa is more popularly
known as Śavaripa. Similarly, Mahasiddha Krishnāchārya becomes Kanhappa and
Mahasiddha Tillipāda becomes Tilopa. In the same way, Aryadeva or Ayyadeva would be
more popularly known as Ayyappa. This could very well be the person whom localities
worship as Swami Ayyappa in Sabarimala. He is also said to have lived in the same
timeframe (the 11th Century) as Paramabuddha. (There is also a lineage from Mahasiddha
Śabareesha to Paramabuddha through Mahasiddha Maitripa (Advayavajra). We will come
to that in another post later.)
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Old Statue of Sabarimala Ayyappan
(Picture courtesy: PK Sajeev)
The information that we could gain from Tibetan sources regarding Paramabuddha’s Guru
Aryadeva (Ayyappa) are the following:
1. There is a forest known as Ayyamuni’s (Ayyappa’s) forest between Potala
(Agasthyakootam) and Sandalwood forest of Khadiravani Tara (Kongunadu)
2. Paramabuddha’s principal Guru was his maternal uncle and Buddhist Mahayogi
Aryadeva (Ayyappa)
3. A short text of Buddhist teaching composed by his Guru Aryadeva (Ayyappa) was
translated into Tibetan by Paramabuddha and taught in Tibet. It is named, ཚIགས་བཅད་ཆེན་
མོ།
4. Aryadeva’s main Gurus were Mahasiddha Śarāha and Yogini Sukhasiddhi
More details on Ayyappa
Sabarimala is an extremely popular pilgrimage place now amongst South Indians. They
consider it as the seat of Swami Ayyappa. He is regarded as a great yogi or an avatar who
lived around the 11th Century CE. As for who Ayyappa is there are many legends. Some of
the most famous legends are:
1. He was originally a warrior from amongst the local tribals (Malayarayar). He led a war
to protect the Malayarayar clan from the invasion of Cholas. After the victory, he left
the mundane life and went up to Sabarimala and stayed there. Thus he became a great
yogi, but the type of meditation that he followed is usually not discussed. However, he
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was then worshiped as the principal guardian by the tribals. There is also a related
story of the young Ayyappa learning martial arts from a martial arts family called
Cheerappanchira.
2. The king of Pandalam found him in the forest as a small baby. The king adopted him as
his child. Later, the queen had another son and so the queen conspired to eliminate
him during his youth by sending him alone to the forest to fetch leopard’s milk.
However, the young man returned with a pack of leopards, mounting himself on one of
the leopards. Thus he tamed the king and the queen and then left home and went to
the mountain at Sabarimala stayed there in meditation.
3. Later, the Brahminical tradition considered Sabarimala to be the shrine of DharmaŚāstha. According to them, Dharma-Sastha is a God, as the son of Lord Siva and Lord
Vishnu.
A Siddha statue from Varkala. Currently in Napier Museum,
Trivandrum.
Connections with These Legends
Of these, the former description matches well with the depiction of Aryadeva as the Guru
of Paramabuddha (Pha Dampa Sangye) in the Tibetan biographic sources. As we have
seen, Paramabuddha’s family and thus his uncle Aryadeva are from the local Dravidian
tribe. The reference to ‘a place of many physically strong people’ in the biographical
account regarding the place of birth of Paramabuddha could also be an indication to the
martial training that people from this tribe undertook. The name of the tribe, Malayaraya
could have its origin as Malaya-rāya, meaning the rulers of Mayala mountain. (The
western ghats to the South was known as Malaya earlier.)
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It is also interesting to note that Sabara is a common name for tribals in many parts of
India who lived in forests and organized as smalls countries of their own within their
forest settlements. There are many historical records of warfare where Sabaras either
helped other kings in their war or fought against the invasion by neighboring kings. So, it
is quite possible that Ayyappa was a warrior in the early part of his life. Later, he would
have taken to Buddhism, practiced Vajrayana in Sabarimala and became a Mahasiddha
there. Thus, he would have also become the guardian of the people there.
The legend associated with Pandalam king also has striking parallels with the legends of
Guru Padmasambhava - such as miraculous birth, adoption by a king, taming beings by
appearing on a tiger, etc. Though Guru Padmasambhava and Ayyappa are not the same,
the similarity in the legend could be due to the Vajrayana connection and the Mahasiddha
appearance of both of them. In Vajrayana systems, such hagiographical accounts have a
special purpose for the disciples in their practice.
Dharma Śāstha
As for the Brahminical legend of Dharma-Śāstha, it is already a well-known fact that
Śāstha is an epithet of the Buddha. Amarakośa, the Sanskrit dictionary gives Sastha as one
of the eighteen synonyms of the Buddha. In Pali Suttas, there are a number of places
(including Mahaparinibbana-sutta, ) where the Buddha refers to himself as Sattha (the
Pali equivalent of Sastha). In fact, the literal meaning of Sastha ( བstན་འཛIན། ) is the one who
holds the teaching or śāsana. Dharma-Śāstha means the one who holds the authentic
teaching of the Dharma, in other words, a lineage master of Buddhism. According to the
Theravada, only the Buddha is considered as Sattha, and not other teachers of Dhamma.
However, according to Mahayana and Vajrayana, Bodhisattvas who attained the grounds
are also considered as Sastha.
Etymology of Ayyappa
Many other similarities between Buddhism and Ayyappa practice are well known to
Keralites, and that led to the belief in some of them that Ayyappa’s origin is in Buddhism.
The connection through the name Sastha, as explained earlier, is the foremost amongst
those. The Buddhist root of the name Ayyappa is also well known. It derives from Ayya
(Arya) + Appa (respected). Ayya (Arya) refers to a person who reached the path of seeing
or beyond in the Buddhist path.
Legend about Ayyappa’s Parents
The legends say that Ayyappan’s parents performed a meditation retreat on the
neighboring mountain of Ponnambalamedu before the birth of Ayyappa, as per the
instruction of another yogi. It is possible that there was a shrine of Avalokitesvara there
earlier. It is also possible that Mahasiddha Sabareesha (Savaripa) was that yogi who
instructed them, because Sabareesha is known as the lord of the Sabara clan, and lived
possibly in 10th-11th Century. (We will cover this in a separate article later.) However,
Ponnambalamedu falls in a reserved forest with no permission for pilgrims to enter. There
are rumors of remains of an ancient shrine there, but it is unconfirmed. There is an annual
function associated with Sabarimala temple, where traditionally an approved person from
the Malayaraya tribe goes up to Ponnambalamedu and lights up a fire there.
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Iconographic Identifications
Many people in Kerala already consider that the statue of Ayyappa at Sabarimala is that of
the Buddha, because of the many commonalities they see between Buddhism and the
Ayyappa practice. Though Dharma-Sastha is included as a deity of Hinduism in South
India now, there is no such deity in Hinduism in North India. Even in South India, such a
practice started only within the last millennium. So, it is widely assumed that DharmaSastha was a Brahminized deity with its origins in the vestiges of Buddhism after its
decline in South India.
However, it is unlikely that the Ayyappa statue of Sabarimala is that of Sakyamuni Buddha
(Gautama Buddha). It is not typical for Buddha to be depicted in this specific posture.
Further, the Buddha would be always depicted with monastic robes. Kesari Balakrishna
Pillai, a historian considered this statue to be that of Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara and Dr.
Ayyappan, another historian considered it to be Bodhisattva Samantabhadra [Ref-3].
(Could not get access yet to the direct works of these historians to see their reasoning). It
is true that there are many statues of Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara and Samantabhadra in
South India, particularly with postures involving meditation belt. (We will cover that in
another post later.) However, the posture of Ayyappa statue at Sabarimala is atypical for
the depiction of Avalokitesvara or Samantabhadra though the meditation belt is in
common. We can see that there are striking parallels between the posture of Ayyappa
statue and that of the pacification posture of Paramabuddha. Thus, it is very likely that
Ayyappa is indeed Aryadeva / Ayyadeva, the Buddhist Mahasiddha, the Guru of
Paramabuddha.
The Iconography of Paramabuddha and Ayyappa
Paramabuddha (Padampa Sangye) is depicted in various postures. Amongst those, there
are two postures that are very popular for Paramabuddha.
The first and foremost is with both feet on the lotus seat with both the knees up and
closer to the chest, firmed up with a meditation belt. This posture is important in the
Pacification (zhije) practice that Paramabuddha taught in Tibet. While depicting
Paramabuddha in this posture, most often both the hands will be held in vitarka mudra
(the symbol of giving teaching) or triratna mudra (the symbol of triple jewels - Buddha,
Dharma and Sangha). The statue of Lord Ayyappa at Sabarimala also has striking parallels
with this posture of Paramabuddha. Since we know that Paramabuddha’s Guru Aryadeva /
Ayyadeva also gave a teaching on Pacification, this posture of Ayyappa statue is an
additional proof that Ayyappa also practiced and taught this teaching. This is a further
proof for Ayyappa being same as Paramabuddha’s Guru Aryadeva / Ayyadeva.
The other popular posture of Paramabuddha, is that of rajaleela-asana (the posture of a
king’s play), with one leg folded down on the lotus seat as in lotus posture, but with the
other leg folded and raised up in a manner of ease, often with meditation belt used to firm
up in that position. This depiction of him is usually related to Chod (severance) practice.
This posture is also common for the general depiction of bodhisattvas.
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Paramabuddha,( Picture courtesy: Himalayan Art
Resources)
Paramabuddha
(picture courtesy Way of Bodhi)
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Other Buddhist Influences on the Ayyappa Practice
Unlike typical Hindu temples, Ayyappa followers mainly chant sharanam (refuge) to
Ayyappa. Many people consider this custom also to be originating from its Buddhist roots.
However, they chant “Sharanam Ayyappa”, instead of the typical Buddhist trisharanam of
“Buddham śaranam gacchami, Dharmam śaranam gacchami, Sangham śaranam
gacchami”. It is possible that “Sharanam Ayyappa” is based on its Vajrayana roots of
considering Guru as the condensed essence of all the three jewels.
As another similarity, unlike the present golden statue, the statue that was used before
1950 (given in picture) is depicted to be in meditation. Also, unlike traditional Hindu
temples, Ayyappa shrine in Sabarimala never had a history of prohibiting people of any
caste or varna from entering and praying there. Many people consider this also to be due
to the Buddhist origin of the temple.
Mandala Puja
Another striking connection is the Mandala-puja which is an uncommon practice at
Sabarimala. Traditionally people used to visit Sabarimala only in a specific period of the
year, and that too after observing strict vows of renunciation for forty-one days.
(Nowadays people also go with a much shorter period of observance or even without such
observance.) During this period, their main training is to consider themselves equal to
Lord Ayyappa. They are also supposed to train in seeing others who have taken similar
vows as Ayyappa. After such individual observance of vows, they travel together to
Sabarimala in the deep forest, to the shrine of Ayyappa. Currently, their practice at the
temple ends with praying and making offerings, while the temple rituals are done by a
Brahmin priest. Then they formally end the strict vows upon returning to home.
It is very likely that this custom was a partial continuity of an earlier Vajrayana practice at
that place. The forty-one day period of the observance of the vow would have been earlier
meant for strict individual retreat ( sེན་པ། ) as per Vajrayana practice, and training in pure
view. Later, all those who had been initiated and completed such retreats would have
assembled together in the deep forest for the final stage ( sgruབ་ཆེན། ) of practice in a single
mandala, as is typical of Vajrayana practice. The annual pilgrimage season of forty-one
days in Sabarimala is known as Mandala-puja. This name would have originally come up
in relation to the great assembly of the practitioners in one mandala as taught in
Vajrayana. It is possible that in the olden days, the practitioners would have done a group
practice ( sgruབ་ཆེན། ) there for many days, instead of just praying and returning immediately.
This custom could have started while Mahayogi Aryadeva (Ayyappa) was residing and
teaching there, and would have over time lost the meaning.
Paramabuddha’s Journey to Tibet
After receiving teachings from many Gurus, Paramabuddha (Padampa Sangye) engaged in
meditation retreats in many parts of India. He also wandered in many places as an
Avadhoota (careless yogi). Once when he was meditating at Potala (Agasthyakootam), he
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had a vision of Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. He was instructed by Avalokitesvara to travel
to the snow mountains and turn the Wheel of Dharma there. Later, he received similar
instructions also from his root Guru Aryadeva. Thus he traveled to Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal,
China, etc. They received him with great reverence and felt that his realization is like that
of the Buddha himself. Thus they called him Pha Dampa Sangye ( Parama Buddha, who is
like a father). That is how Ajitanatha received the name Paramabuddha.
The Essence of the Teaching
Paramabuddha had many disciples in Tibet. The most well-known amongst them was
Machig Labdron, the great yogini of Tibet. Paramabuddha summarized the essence of the
Paramabuddha statue in the ancient Kumbum
Monastery, Tibet
teachings of his Guru Aryadeva (Ayyappa) in this way to Yogini Machig Labdron:
“Turn away from all non-virtuous aims.
Dispel all resistance.
Cultivate what seems impossible.
Severe all bondages.
Recognize your emotions.
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Wander through fearsome and isolated places.
Understand that all beings are empty like the sky.
Discover the Buddha in you while you wander in the wilderness.
Then, your teachings will be radiant
Like the Sun in a cloudless sky.”
Conclusion
Here we have discussed about Paramabuddha, his birthplace, and his Guru. There are
some established facts and some possibilities. They are:
Facts:
1. Between Avalokitesvara’s Potala and Khadiravani Tara’s holy place in Kongunadu,
there is a place known as the forest of Sage Arya (Ayyamuni)
2. Mahayana was flourishing in that place during that period.
3. Mahasiddha Paramabuddha (Pha Dampa Sangye) was born in Kerala near that forest.
4. He is from a Dravidian family there
5. His uncle and principal Guru was Aryadeva, another Buddhist Mahayogi (not same as
Nagarjuna’s disciple Acharya Aryadeva who also comes in the list of 84)
6. Aryadeva’s Gurus where Mahasiddha Śarāha and Yogini Sukhasiddhi
Possibilities:
1. The mention regarding the forest of Sage Arya (Ayyamuni), could be about Sabarimala,
the forest of Ayyappa
2. Aryadeva (Ayyadeva), uncle and Guru of Paramabuddha, could be Ayyappa of
Sabarimala, a Buddhist yogi.
From the five circumstances of place of birth (forest between Agastyakootam and
Kongunadu), period of living (11th Century CE), the style of teaching (Buddhism,
Vajrayana, sitting posture of Pacification), name (Ayyadeva / Ayyappa), family background
(and related legends), the above possibilities can be inferred.
These facts and possibilities need to be seen only as a part of a quest to understand
history. Making claims for places or statues is not at all relevant to Buddhism. Buddhism is
not about religious clinging and the Buddha always taught to go beyond such
attachments. Further, we do not gain by sticking to our past. Rather, we should move
forward in discovering the Buddha in our own being. As Bodhidharma said, “Whoever
denies entry to the three poisons (attachment, hatred and ignorance) and keep the
doorways of senses pure, body and mind calm, has one’s own body as a great Sangharama
(vihara). The sublime form of the Tathagata cannot be cast in stone or metal as they are
subject to decay. The practitioners can cast a Buddha within their body by … smelting and
refining their own true nature (Buddha-nature) and pouring it into the mold of paramitas
…”
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However, it is beneficial to understand such historic connections as it removes the
obstacles that the wrong history imparts to our minds. It is highly beneficial localites to
understand that Kerala flourished with all vehicles of the Buddhist teachings such as
Sravakayana, Mahayana and Vajrayana and that its effects in culture and traditions are
still visible. Further, it greatly helps a practitioner of Buddhism in Kerala to know that
Kerala too was blessed by so many Buddhas and Bodhisattvas such as Avalokitesvara,
Khadiravani Tara, Sabareesha, Ayyappa, Paramabuddha, Bhavaviveka, Vajrabodhi, etc.
Appreciating history can thus generate more auspicious circumstances for practice.
References
Ref-1: Martin, Dan (2010), South India in Tibetan Geography, WWW https://tibeto-logic.blogspot.com/
2010/10/south-india-in-tibetan-geography.html (extracted on 2018)
Ref-2: Hikosaka, Shu (1989), Buddhism in Tamil Nadu: A New Perspective, Madras, Institute of Asian
Studies
Ref-3: Sadasivan, S.N. (2000), A Social History of India, APH Publications
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