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The Indian Buddhist Iconography, Mainly Based on the Sadhanamala and Other Cognate Tantric Texts of Rituals c9.s3: 4. Godhead in Buddhism

The Indian Buddhist Iconography, Mainly Based on the Sādhanamālā and Other Cognate Tāntric Texts of Rituals c9.s3

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4. Godhead in Buddhism

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There is a great deal of confusion regarding the true nature of the deity whether it is of the Hindu or Buddhist conception. The general belief is that the deity is nothing more than an idol, and therefore, not worthy of any attention. The deities are connected, as all students of Tantra know, with Sādhana and Siddhi, and the conception of godhead therefore is an essentially spiritual or psychic matter.

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The Sādhana is concerned with the process for worshipping a particular deity as has been made abundantly clear in the previous section. This consists in meditation in a quiet place and there practise Yoga till a state similar to deep sleep is brought about. In this state of deep sleep the ascetic communes with the Infinite Spirit or the inexhaustible store-house of energy, which is supposed to be the highest creative principle behind the world structure. By this communion the ascetic draws forth energy from that inexhaustible store-house and becomes powerful himself. This process of the realisation of the Infinite Spirit is what is called Sādhana. The deity is part of this psychic process.

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The Tantras are, in fact, sciences dealing with psychic matters, and give directions for a variety of psychic exercises. It therefore stands to reason that the Tantra is a science or a Vidyā requiring competent preceptors and efficient disciples. Like all other sciences the Tantra is not also open to all and the sundry, but only for those who are initiated into the mysteries of the science, and are competent to follow the prescribed practices with patience and zeal. These are the right type of disciples for Tāntric practices, and may be called the Adhikārins or rightful persons. In many Tāntric works long chapters are devoted to the qualifications of the preceptors and disciples and there are also rules for their respective competence to give or receive initiation.

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The Adhikārin must have a certain equipment before he proceeds to receive his initiation in the Tantra from a preceptor. And, in fact, as the Tantra path is an exceedingly difficult path, the disciple is required to have a great deal more equipment than is necessary for persuing any other Vidyā known to ancient India. First of all, the neophyte must be patient, enduring, devoted and sincere, and he must serve his preceptor with whole-hearted devotion. But the most important equipment necessary for him is that he should be proficient in the art of Yoga and Haṭhayoga without which it is not possible to proceed with any Sādhana worth the name or with any difficult Tāntric practice. The process of the visualisation of the deity requires intensive training as the following account will show.

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The difficult psychic process is described in detail and in an elaborate form in the Guhyasamāja which may be called the Bible of the Tāntric Buddhists. A perusal of the book makes it clear that when the Bodhicitta or the Will to Enlightenment mingles with Śūnya or the Infinite Spirit in the highest state of meditation the mind-sky is filled with innumerable visions and scenes, until at last, like sparks the individual visualises letters or germ syllables, which gradually assume the shape of deities, first indistinct, then changing into perfect, glorious and living forms, the embodiment of the Infinite Śūnya. They appear in bright, effulgent, gorgeous and divine beauty in form, ornaments and dress. Violent deities in like manner appear before him in the most violent form conceivable, in an awe-inspiring manner with dishevelled hair, blood-shot eyes, bare fangs, decked in ornaments of human skulls, severed heads and human bones, with frightful weapons and dress. These beings both benefic and malefic, are known as deities, and once realised they never leave the ascetic but become instrumental in bestowing on the ascetic more and more spiritual and psychic powers.

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The process of the evolution of the deity is described in Tāntric works, where clear-cut statements are made on the origin of the deities and their gradual evolution from the germ syllable. In the Advayavajrasaṅgraha, for instance, it is said :

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"The form of the deity is an explosion of the Śūnya. It is by nature non-existent. Whenever there is an explosion it must be Śūnya in essence."[¹]

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¹ ADV. p. 50, lines 7, 8.

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In another place in the same book it is declared :

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"From the right perception of Śūnyatā proceeds the germ-syllable; from the germ-syllable proceeds the conception of an icon, and from the icon its external representations. The whole process therefore is one of dependent origination."[²]

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² ADV. p. 51, lines, 6, 7.

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The equipment necessary for persons competent to worship and realize deities, and the nature of the evolution of the deities have already been indicated. Now it is necessary to state the views of the Guhyasamāja regarding the principles of god-realisation, and the various experiences through which the Sādhaka has to pass before the deity is realised and visualised. The Guhyasamāja[³] calls this process Upāya (means) which is recognised as of four kinds, Sevā, Upasādhana, Sādhana and Mahāsādhana. Sevā (worship) is again sub-divided into two, namely, Sāmānya (ordinary) and Uttama (excellent). Of these two, the Sāmānya Sevā consists of four Vajras : first, the conception of Śūnyatā; second, its transformation into the germ-syllable; third, its evolution in the form of a deity, and the fourth, the external representation of the deity.

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³ Guhyasamāja, chapter, 18, pp. 162, 163.

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In the Uttama Sevā (excellent worship) Yoga with its six limbs should be employed. These six limbs are: Pratyāhāra, Dhyāna, Prāṇāyāma, Dhāraṇā, Anusmṛti and Samādhi. Pratyāhāra (control) is here described as the process by which the ten sense-organs are controlled. Dhyāna (meditation) is explained as the conception of the five desired objects through the five Dhyāni Buddhas, namely, Vairocana, Ratnasambhava, Amitābha, Amoghasiddhi and Akṣobhya. This Dhyāna is again subdivided into five kinds: Vitarka (cogitation), Vicāra (thinking), Priti (pleasure), Sukha (happiness), and Ekāgratā (concentration).

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Prāṇāyāma (breath control) is the control of the breathing process by which breath which is of the nature of the five Bhūtas (elements) and the five kinds of knowledge, and is like a bright gem, is drawn from inside and placed as a lamp at the tip of the nose and is meditated upon.

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Dhāraṇā (meditation) is the meditation of one's own Mantra on the heart, and the placing of it on the Prāṇabindu (heart centre) after restraining the jewel of sense-organs. When this is done Nimittas (signs) make their appearance. These signs are of five kinds and appear in succession. The first is the sign of the Marīcikā (mirage), the second is that of smoke, the third is of fire-flies, the fourth is of light, and the fifth of constant light like a cloudless sky.

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Anusmṛti (memory) is the constant meditation of the object for which the psychic exercise is undertaken, and by this Pratibhāsa (revelation) takes place. After commingling the two elements Prajñā (knowledge) and Upāya (means) the whole objective world should be conceived as contracted in the form of a lump, and this should be meditated upon in the Bimba (icon-circle). By this process the transcendental knowledge is suddenly realised by the worshipper and is known as Samādhi (visualisation).

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For the purpose of visualisation it is necessary that the process should be continued for six months and this is done according to the Guhyasamāja always while enjoying all kinds of desired objects If within six months the deity does not show herself the process should be repeated thrice while following the rules of restraint duly prescribed. If the deity is not visualised even after this, it should be forced by the practice of Haṭhayoga. By this Yoga the ascetic most certainly attains the knowledge of the deity.

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The above incidentally shows what part is played by Rājayoga and Haṭhayoga in the process for the realisation of the deity. It shows also that the Tantra begins where Yoga ends. Therefore, the worshippers of the deity must first be adepts in Yoga before they make an attempt to follow the more advanced science of the Tantra which obviously, is not meant for ordinary people. The conception of godhead in Buddhist as well as in the Hindu Tantra is thus philosophically most profound.

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The individual soul is variously called the Bodhisattva (Bodhi Essence), Bodhicitta (Will to Enlightenment), Jīvātman (individual soul) while the Infinite or the Universal soul is variously known as Śūnya Brahma and Paramātman. When they combine in the state of the highest meditation and concentration, an artificial condition akin to deep sleep is brought about, and the deity appears in the mind sky in flashes and sparks. The nature of the Jīvātman being finite, it is not possible to realise the Infinite in its entirety, that is to say, the result of the mystic experience of the Jīvātman also remains finite. And as the object for which the worshipper sits in meditation is different in different cases the deity visualised also becomes different. It is the Bhāvanā (desire) of the worshipper which is of the nature of a psychic force that reacts on the Infinite Energy, giving rise to different manifestations according to the nature of the reaction. The nature of this reaction is of illimitable variety and thus the resultant deity also appears in an infinite variety of forms, and this seems to be the chief reason why we find gods and goddesses of different forms in the pantheons of both the Buddhists and the Hindus. The ascetic who visualises a particular deity, generally makes it a rule to record the process by which the visualisation of a particular deity took place, for the benefit of his disciples in order that the latter may realise the deity in the easiest and most efficient manner.

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The Infinite Energy is Śūnya in Vajrayāna, and this Śūnya is invoked by the worshippers of different classes with different desires and different degrees of mental development. As Śūnya is invoked in for thousand and one purposes, it manifests itself in thousand and one ways, in thousand and one forms, and it is precisely in this manner that the number of deities in the Buddhist pantheon increased to an enormous extent. The psychic exercise prescribed in the case of different deities is different in the Sādhanas. The Sādhanas become less or more difficult according to the mental capacity of the worshippers, who are generally classified as High, Middling or Low. The regulation of life in the case of the worshippers of different classes become more or less stringent according to the degree of psychic progress.

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In the realisation of the deity, there are thus three elements, the worshipper, the deity and their connection or identity. These are named in the Tantric works as the Bodhicitta, the Mantrapuruṣa (Mantra body) and the Ahaṃkāra (identity). The worshipper is called the Bodhisattva (Bodhi essence), and his mind is known as the Bodhicitta (Will to Enlightenment). The deity is the embodiment of the cluster of letters contained in a Mantra which are dynamized by excessive concentration and repetition. The sacred words or letters set up strong vibrations and ultimately condense themselves in the form of deities and this is called the Mantrapuruṣa (Mantra body) or Mantra person. But before the Mantra person is visualised there must always be a complete identity between the Bodhicitta and the Mantrapuruṣa. The subject is both interesting and important for the study of gods and goddesses, and therefore merits a detailed treatment.

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The Vajrayāna conception of the Bodhi mind appears to be the same as advocated in Yogācāra, an idea of which can be gained by a reference to the Tattvasaṅgraha of Śāntarakṣita. The Bodhi mind is like a continuous stream of consciousness which changes every moment; the consciousness of the previous moment giving rise to or causing the consciousness of the succeeding moment. The chain of momentary consciousness which is without a beginning or an end, operating in unison with the all powerful act-force leads it either to degradation or to emancipation according as the actions done are good or bad. The Bodhi mind is by nature surcharged with impurities such as desire, memory, existence, non-existence, subject, object and the rest which are all unreal. To purify this chain of consciousness is the sole aim of the Bodhisattva, but so long as impurities are not removed, it will be subject to a series of transmigrations either in the world of gods or men, or of animals, birds, ghosts and demons.

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According as the impurities are removed one after another, the Bodhi mind commences an upward march in the different spiritual spheres, called Bhūmis, and stays in them only so long as it is not qualified to ascend to a higher sphere. The number of Bhūmis are recognized generally as ten and the Sūtra which describes them is called the Daśabhūmika Sūtra. The Bodhi mind obtains emancipation, or in other words when it crosses the ten Bhūmis mentioned above, it is rewarded with moniscience. These Bhūmis are not meant for the Hīnayānists but were exclusively designed for the Mahāyānists who are the real Bodhisattvas. No Buddhist will be called a Bodhisattva who has no compassion for suffering humanity or who will not be prepared to sacrifice his all for the benefit of others, The Vajrayānist conception is the same, and it defines Bodhi mind as one where Śūnya and Karuṇā (compassion) work in unison. In the eye of a Vajrayānist the external world has much the same significance as it appears in Yogācāra. The Tantras characterize the external world with its movable and immovable objects like a pot, picture, carriage, house, stone-house, mountains and the rest as reduced by reason to mere appearances, in the same way as magic and dream are considered to be appearances. Therefore, the Vajrayānists hold that external objects have no greater reality than magic, mirage, shadow or dream, and their reality cannot be proved by reason.

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The Mantras or mystic syllables constitute the backbone of Vajrayāna worship, and are of illimitable varieties. The Mantras are mostly unmeaning words but they sometimes reveal the influence of some unknown language. The Vajrayānists maintain that the Mantras are endowed with great powers. "What is there impossible" they say, "For the Mantras to perform if they are applied according to rules?" It is also said that through repeated mutterings of the Mantras such power is generated that it can astonish the whole world. The Mantra has power even to confer Buddhahood or omniscience. The merits that accrue from the repetitions of the Mantra of Mahākāla are so numerous that all the Buddhas taken together cannot count them even if they were to count without cessation for a number of days and nights. By the Dhāraṇī of Avalokiteśvara even an ass can memorize three hundred verses. The Mantra of Ekajaṭā is said to be so powerful that the moment it is uttered a man becomes free from danger, he is always followed by good fortune and his enemies are all destroyed. The repetition of the mantra is however to be done with the greatest care, for instance, it should not be muttered too quickly nor too slowly. The mind at the time of repetition should be concentrated on the letters of the Mantra and should be free from all evil thoughts, and the mantra should not be repeated when the mind is fatigued or tired.

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Thus it can be seen that the Vajrayānists believed that the Mantras were endowed with dynamic power. Their power consisted in the arrangement of the syllables, the purity of which is to be guarded with the greatest care. The Mantra is required to be received with proper ceremonies from a competent preceptor. The Mantra is powerful when it comes from a preceptor who is pure, and has repeated continuously so as to visualize the Mantra person or the deity sacred to the Mantra. The letters of the Mantra can only be dynamized by continual repetition by day and at night until the deity is visualized. When the Mantra becomes powerful the vibrations let loose by the Bodhi mind react on the universal Śūnya which explodes in consequence in the divine form of the deity and appears before his mind sky. According as the calling signal is different in different cases the deity becomes different, and thus its number increases. The deities are nothing but the forms created by the force of word or letter vibrations, and by continuous practice anyone can visualise the deity. The Mantra idea is not only logically correct but also philosophically profound.

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The relation between the caller and the calling deity is one of identification. It is called Ahaṃkāra or the identity of the Bodhi mind with the deity, the manifestation of Śūnya or the ultimate reality. The identity is established with the Mantra “I am the goddess and the goddess is in me”. The worshipper should conceive himself as the deity with the same complexion, form and limbs as described in the Sādhana and should, instead of worshipping any external object, worship himself. The Bodhi mind and the deity apparently signify duality but their duality disappears with enlightenment. The Bodhi mind is of the nature of Śūnya and the deity is a manifestation of Śūnya and, therefore, both have the same origin. But to realise that the two are the same requires perfect knowledge. Continuous meditation and austerities enable the worshipper to shed the veil of ignorance which makes one thing appear as two. The Bodhi mind is further called Karuṇā (compassion) and the ultimate reality as Śūnyatā, and when the two commingle, it is called Advaya or non-duality. As copper leaves its dirty colour (and become gold) when it comes in contact with the magic tincture (of alchemy), even so, the body leaves off its attachment, hatred, etc. when it comes in contact with the tincture of Advaya. This Advaya is a form of cognition where the Bodhi mind commingles with Śūnya and becomes one with it. To symbolize this principle Vajrayāna brought in the conception of the Yab-yum form of deities in which the deity appears locked in close embrace with his Śakti or the female counterpart. When the deity is single, it means that the female counterpart has merged into the deity even as salt melts in water. The deity is Śūnya and the female principle is the Bodhi mind, or the first is the ultimate reality and the female is Karuṇā (compassion). The Bodhi mind can become ultimate reality through the one principle of Karuṇā. This Karuṇā is symbolized in the form of Avalokiteśvara, the great compassionate Bodhisattva who sacrificed his Nirvāṇa in order to serve his fellowmen.

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From the foregoing even a casual observer can find that the Vajrayānists formulated the principle that behind the creation there is an indomitable will which multiplies in the form of words and gradually condense themselves in the form of the deity. The female counterpart is a further grossening process. This is the creative process, grossening process and the process of evolution. This process can only be stopped by the principle of Karuṇā (compassion) which gradually leads the Bodhi mind to soar higher and higher, and to become finer and thinner before it merges in Śūnya. According to Vajrayāna, therefore, the reverse process of involution starts only when the Bodhi mind is surcharged with Karuṇā or compassion.

Cites (5)