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Tibetan Buddhism: Local Deities and Tantric Rituals

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by Pia von Barby April 20, 2012 RELB 2054





The Tibetan pantheon is one of the largest of the world, as it includes both Tibetan deities and Buddhist gods. The local deities were originally included into Buddhism after Padmasambhava tamed them. However, these deities and spirits continuously pervade the landscape of Tibet and are still potentially malevolent. As Pragmatic Practitioners, laypeople are concerned with this-worldly success and so must maintain a good relationship with the deities. Since everyday Tibetan life is very much affected by local deities, laypeople depend on the superior power of the lama to maintain their relationship. His power is grounded in Tantra and his communication with Tantric deities, who are able to exert control over the local deities. When performing rituals to control or appease the local deities, the lama explicitly or implicitly includes the Buddhist doctrine, often through the concept of skillful means, which fuses Tibetan and Buddhist ideas together.


Tibetan life is filled “not merely with hardships and risk, but with unseen and essentially unknowable forces, malign in their operation” (Weedon 170). As Pragmatic Practitioners, laypeople are “concerned with this world-goals such as health and prosperity” (Samuel 7). Mumford’s three chronotopes also match up with these different practitioners, so Pragmatic Practitioners represent the ancient matrix, as they are concerned with crops and the well-being of the village. Local deities are considered to be cause everyday fortune and misfortune.


The connection between local deities and malevolent spirits is unclear, but it is common knowledge that these deities have an entourage of malevolent spirits. Due to their immediate effects, Tibetans are more concerned with their relationship with the local deities, while “heavenly deities have little or no place in lay people’s folk-religion rituals” (Samuel 163).

However, the Buddhist gods, or heavenly deities, and the local deities, or worldly gods, are fit into the same system. The term “lha” can be used to describe local deities, Buddhists gods in heaven, and Tantric gods which indicates a possible blurring of the lines between them, “particularly in lay art” (Samuel 166). This blurring of the lines illustrates the fluidity of Tibetan Buddhism, which is particularly what allows Tibetan culture and Buddhism to interact.


Instead of forcing an entirely new system of beliefs on the Tibetans, lamas aimed to include some beliefs that were already present in Tibet, such as the deities. Within the category of “protectors of the religious law,” (De Nebesky-Wojkowitz 3) there are two subcategories: the gods that are protectors of the Buddhist doctrine and potentially harmful non-Buddhist gods “who were later subdued and compelled to assume the position of protectors of the Buddhist religion” (De Nebesky-Wojkowitz 3).


The local deities are “controlled the rough power of their vows,” (Samuel 165) which illustrates the binding power of the Dharma. The power of the lama is grounded in Tantra and his ability to communicate with Tantric deities. Tantric deities are emanations of the Buddha and their minds never diverge from the Dharma. While the worldly deities have taken vows to protect the Dharma, their mind is “not the mind of the Buddha,” (Samuel 164) so they are still potentially harmful.

Tantric deities are considered to be more powerful than worldly gods and “ideally speaking, they enable a competent lama to keep the worldly gods in order” (Samuel 167). Nevertheless, laypeople ensure that they directly maintain a beneficial relationship with the worldly gods, showing that instead of completely replacing Tibetan beliefs, Buddhism coexists with them. The worldly godsintention may be “closer to or further away from the Buddha’s intentions,” (Samuel 165) which allows for a continuum within them. This again exemplifies the flexibility of Tibetan Buddhism, since while the worldly deities are bound by the Dharma, they still have ability to harm laypeople.


One reason that the Tantric deities so easily fit into the Tibetan belief system is that they “correspond to underlying properties of the universe and human nature rather than the illusory realm of karmic appearance” (Samuel 164). This directly relates to the fact that most laypeople are Pragmatic Practitioners and focus on reaping the benefits of the Dharma in this lifetime, unlike Karmic or Bodhi Practitioners, who think beyond this lifetime. By being able to gain material benefits, the Tibetans are more likely to seek the help of the Tantric deities and in turn accept the superior power of the Dharma and the lama. The idea of their next lifetime or escaping samsara entirely is not a practical concern to most laypeople, as they have to care for their families and the rest of the village.

Through rituals, the lama is able to fulfill the laypeople’s pragmatic needs, while also including Buddhist concepts. Tantra provides the lama and the laypeople with the “magical technology” (Samuel 258) necessary to handle the worldly gods. While some rituals specifically target a certain deity or problem, others can be more general rituals. Most of these rituals have the same basic structure, in that the lama performs a sadhana, which is a “meditative visualization technique by which a Buddhist attempts to “accomplish” identification with…enlightened beings in the Tantric Buddhist pantheon” (Gyatso 266).

The lama’s power is anchored in his communication with the Tantric deities, as he employs their power. An example of such a Tantric ritual is the ts’ewang, which is a life empowerment ritual and is said to “confer concrete benefits such as long life and health” (Kohn 227). Also, students must receive this empowerment before being able to enter the Tantric practice.

These empowerment rituals were originally a private affair, but have been “supplemented by a uniquely Tibetan celebration: the mass empowerment” (Kohn 225). Large groups of people attend the ts’ewang, because “these benefits come to all who attend whether or not they receive the full impact to the ceremony” (Kohn 227). Thus, while laypeople may not exactly understand the ritual in full, or attend it for its original purpose, they are aware of the possibility of gaining good karma. This reflects that despite mostly focusing on pragmatic gain, laypeople have accepted the idea of rebirth and karma.

The lamas recognize that most laypeople are Pragmatic Practitioners, but instead of reprimanding them for this, they see these rituals as an opportunity of “‘sowing seeds’ within the karmic continuum” (Samuel 260) which may come to fruition in a future lifetime, “when they will actually have the opportunity to pursue the practice in full” (Samuel 260). Furthermore, human life is greatly valued in Buddhism, as it is considered the basis of achieving Enlightenment. One should wish for a long life, so that one can practice Buddhist teachings. The idea of first having to fulfill basic human needs before being able to practice the Dharma more fully is appreciated by the lamas.

The lama also utilizes Tantric powers when performing a ritual as defense against malevolent spirits, in which his “destructive power comes to the fore” (Samuel 265). In this type of ritual, the malevolent spirits are summoned by the lama through the help of a Tantric deity to enter the torma, which is then destroyed. The dead bodies of the spirits are used as an offering to the deities of the mandala, “while their consciousness is sent to rebirth in the heaven of Guru Rimpoch’e” (Samuel 265). This ritual directly illustrates the fusion of Tibetan and Buddhist ideals. The lama aims to destroy the malevolent spirits, which is intrinsically a concern of the Tibetan laypeople. However, the ritual does not end with the lama simply defeating the deities.

It is specifically said that they are sent to be reborn in Guru Rimpoch’e’s heaven, which is again a reference to the person who originally tamed the local deities. The lama includes an undeniably Buddhist idea, rebirth, in this pragmatic ritual, showing that pragmatic concerns and Buddhist ideas can coexist. Just like humans, the deities also have the ability to be reborn and climb the rungs of samsara. This ritual represents the Bodhi Orientation more, since the lama wishes to help all beings. This orientation also maps onto Mumford’s historical becoming, in which there is a combination of harmony with the local deities and well being of the community, as well as individual material.

Another Tantric ritual that embodies the combination of Tibetan and Buddhist ideas is the arrow-shooting festival, Da Gyab. Tibetan males in every household partake in this festival in order to “subdue the demonic forces for that year” (Mumford 123). The lama draws a male and a female demon on a board, which the males shoot their arrows at, while the lama chants mantras. This festival represents an older warrior-like image, as the Tibetan males fight against the demonic forces to ensure success for the next year. The festival also exemplifies Mumford’s historical becoming, since the community fights against the demonic forces together, but there is less of an emphasis on harmony and mediation, as in the ancient matrix. Once again, the laypeople’s focus on material gain and safety is represented.

In the village of Gyasumdo, Lama Dorje’s priority during this festival is to transmute it into a Buddhist context. He connects the idea of the warrior to the “Tibetan legend of the battle between gods and demigods over the wish-granting tree at the beginning of time” (Mumford 124). While the lama insists that it is both his chants and the arrows that subdue the demons, “the lay males are ambivalent regarding the lama’s contribution” (Mumford 124). Also, the laypeople and the lama view the evil that they are fighting differently. While the laypeople see it as malevolent spirits that stand in the way of a good harvest and health, the lama views them as spirits that oppose the Dharma and harm Buddhism. By considering the demons as harmful to the Dharma, the lama transmutes the original meaning of the festival “into a higher battle for the establishment of the dharma” (Mumford 124).

All three of these rituals, the ts’ewang, the defense ritual, and the arrow-shooting festival possess multiple layers of interpretation. The possibility for several layers of interpretation, the idea of upayakausalya or skillful means, is what allows Buddhism to thrive within the Tibetan culture. Through skillful means, the lamas are able to use seemingly unconventional practices in order to teach the Dharma, such as performing rituals for material gain. While the lama performs rituals for the laypeople as Pragmatic Practitioners, these rituals are “‘sowing seeds’ within the karmic continuum,” (Samuel 260) so that the laypeople may fully practice the Dharma in another lifetime.


Furthermore, while the lama performs these rituals, his “role in relation to the Bodhi orientation is still present, implicitly and often explicitly too, in the background” (Samuel 258). Since the lamas act out of bodhicitta, his goal is not only to gain Enlightenment for himself, but also to help all other sentient beings. So, by protecting the laypeople from harm, he alleviates another cause of suffering they experience within samsara. Aside from just considering the local deities as hindrances for worldly success, they can also be seen as “obstacles and problems that may arise along the path to bodhi” (Samuel 174). So, by defeating the worldly gods, the lama makes the path towards the Bodhi Orientation, and ultimately Enlightenment, more accessible to the laypeople.

The subjugation of local deities through Tantric ritual allows the lamas to incorporate Buddhist doctrine, particularly in that these deities were forced to become protectors of the Dharma themselves. While the laypeople still value the power of the local deities and still believe that they can be harmful if ignored, they recognize Tantric ritual, and so the Dharma, as being a superior power through which these deities can be tamed. The Buddhist teachings are either included explicitly or implicitly, often through skillful means, depending on how the lama best sees fit.

Bibliography

De Nebesky-Wojkowitz, Réne. Oracles and Demons of Tibet: The Cult and Iconography of the Tibetan Protective Deities. Kathmandu: Book Faith India, 1993. Print.

Gyatso, Janet. "An Avalokitesvara Sadhana." Religions of Tibet in Practice. Ed. Donald S. Lopez. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1997. 266-270. Print. Kohn, Richard J.. "A Rite of Empowerment." Religions of Tibet in Practice. Ed. Donald S. Lopez. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1997. 225-233. Print. Mumford, Stan. Himalayan Dialogue Tibetan Lamas and Gurung Shamans in Nepal. Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press, 1989. Print.

Samuel, Geoffrey. Civilized Shamans: Buddhism in Tibetan Societies. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1993. Print.

Weedon, William S. "Tibetan Buddhism: A Perspective."Philosophy East and West. 17.1 (1967): 167-172. Print.





Source

https://www.academia.edu/27605326/Tibetan_Buddhism_Local_Deities_and_Tantric_Rituals