Wrathful deities

Last updated
Mahakala statue, holding a flaying knife (kartika) and skullcup (kapala) Tibet, mahakala, guardiano della dottrina sotto l'aspetto gur-gyi mgon-go, 1292.JPG
Mahakala statue, holding a flaying knife (kartika) and skullcup (kapala)

In Buddhism, wrathful deities or fierce deities are the fierce, wrathful or forceful (Tibetan: trowo, Sanskrit: krodha) forms (or "aspects", "manifestations") of enlightened Buddhas, Bodhisattvas or Devas (divine beings); normally the same figure has other, peaceful, aspects as well. Because of their power to destroy the obstacles to enlightenment, they are also termed krodha-vighnantaka, "Wrathful onlookers on destroying obstacles". [1] Wrathful deities are a notable feature of the iconography of Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism, especially in Tibetan art. These types of deities first appeared in India during the late 6th century, with its main source being the Yaksha imagery, and became a central feature of Indian Tantric Buddhism by the late 10th or early 11th century. [2] [1]

Contents

Overview

Vajrayogini, a semi-wrathful dakini who is also known as sarvabuddhadakini, the all-buddha Dakini. Vajrayogini from Thangka.jpg
Vajrayogini, a semi-wrathful dakini who is also known as sarvabuddhaḍākiṇī, the all-buddha Dakini.

In non-Tantric traditions of Mahayana Buddhism, these beings are protector deities who destroy obstacles to the Buddhas and the Dharma, act as guardians against demons and gather together sentient beings to listen to the teachings of the Buddhas. [3] [4] In Tantric Buddhism, they are considered to be fierce and terrifying forms of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas themselves. Enlightened beings may take on these forms in order to protect and aid confused sentient beings. [5] They also represent the energy and power that is needed in order to transform negative mental factors into wisdom and compassion. [6] [7] They represent the power and compassion of enlightened activity which uses multiple skillful means (upaya) to guide sentient beings as well as the transformative element of tantra which uses negative emotions as part of the path. According to Chogyam Trungpa, "wrathful yidams work more directly and forcefully with passion, aggression, and delusion — conquering and trampling them on the spot." [8]

In Tantric Buddhist art, fierce deities are presented as terrifying, demonic-looking beings adorned with bone ornaments (Sanskrit : aṣṭhimudrā) such as human skulls and other ornaments associated with the charnel ground, as well as being often depicted with sexually suggestive attributes. According to Rob Linrothe, the sensual and fierce imagery represents "poison as its own antidote, harnessed obstacles as the liberating force" and notes that they are "metaphors for the internal yogic processes to gain enlightenment". [9]

They often carry ritual implements, or some of the ashtamangala , or "Eight Auspicious Symbols", and are depicted trampling on (much smaller) bodies personifying the "obstacles" that the deity defeats.

Tantric deities

Yidams

In Indo-Tibetan Vajrayana, Yidams are divine forms of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. The tantric practitioner is initiated into the mandala of a particular meditational deity (Sanskrit: Iṣṭa-devatā) and practices complex sadhanas (meditations) on the deity for the purpose of personal transformation. [10] This Deity Yoga practice is central to tantric forms of Buddhism such as Tibetan Buddhism and the Generation stage of the practice is dependent on visualisation based on the vivid iconography associated with their yidam. Yidams can be peaceful, fierce and "semi-fierce" (having both fierce and peaceful aspects), with each category having its own particular set of associated imagery. Fierce deities can be divided into male and female categories. [11] The Herukas (Tb. khrag 'thung, lit. "blood drinker") are enlightened masculine beings who adopt fierce forms to express their detachment from the world of ignorance, such as Yamantaka, Cakrasamvara, Mahākāla, or Vajrakilaya. Dakinis (Tb. khandroma, "sky-goer") are their feminine counterparts, sometimes depicted with a heruka and sometimes as independent deities. The most prevalent wrathful dakinis are Vajrayogini and Vajravārāhī. A common form of imagery is the yab-yum of a Buddha and consort in sexual union.

Wisdom Kings

In East Asian Buddhism, Wisdom Kings (Sanskrit vidyarāja), are seen as divine manifestations of the Buddhas, who act as protectors, messengers, and defenders of the Buddhist Dharma. [12] In East Asian Vajrayana and Chinese Esoteric Buddhism the Five Wisdom Kings are regarded as manifestations of the Five Tathagatas. In Chinese Buddhism, the Eight Wisdom Kings and Ten Wisdom Kings are regarded as manifestations of different bodhisattvas and buddhas. [13] [14] [15]

Protectors

The Protectors (Sanskrit pāla) or Dharmapāla (Dharma protectors), are powerful beings, often Devas or Bodhisattvas who protect the Buddhist religion and community from inner and outer threats and obstacles to their practice. [16] A Dharmapala can also be a Garuda, Nāga, Yaksha, Gandharva, or Asura. [17] Other categories of Protectors include the Lokapālas or "Four Heavenly Kings" and Kṣetrapālas or "Protectors of the Region".

Eight Dharmapalas

A common Tibetan grouping of Dharmapāla is 'The Eight Dharmapalas' (Tibetan : དྲག་གཤེད, Wylie : drag gshed), who are understood to be the defenders of Buddhism. They are supernatural beings with the rank of bodhisattva who "are supposed to wage war without any mercy against the demons and enemies of Buddhism". [18] The Eight Dharmapala are: [19]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vajrayana</span> Indian Buddhist tantric traditions given to Tibet, Bhutan, and East Asia

Vajrayāna, also known as Mantrayāna, Guhyamantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, is a Buddhist tradition of tantric practice which developed in the medieval Indian subcontinent and spread to Tibet, Nepal, other Himalayan states, East Asia, and Mongolia.

A Wisdom King is a type of wrathful deity in East Asian Buddhism.

<i>Dharmapala</i> Guardian gods of Buddhism

A dharmapāla is a type of wrathful god in Buddhism. The name means "dharma protector" in Sanskrit, and the dharmapālas are also known as the Defenders of the Justice (Dharma), or the Guardians of the Law. There are two kinds of dharmapala, Worldly Guardians (lokapala) and Wisdom Protectors (jnanapala). Only Wisdom Protectors are enlightened beings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vaiśravaṇa</span> Deity in Buddhism

Vaiśravaṇa or Vessavaṇa, is one of the Four Heavenly Kings, and is considered an important figure in Buddhism. He is the god of warfare and usually portrayed as a warrior-king.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buddhist deities</span> Divine beings

Buddhism includes a wide array of divine beings that are venerated in various ritual and popular contexts. Initially they included mainly Indian figures such as devas, asuras and yakshas, but later came to include other Asian spirits and local gods. They range from enlightened Buddhas to regional spirits adopted by Buddhists or practiced on the margins of the religion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tara (Buddhism)</span> Female Bodhisattva

Tara, Ārya Tārā, or Shayama Tara, also known as Jetsun Dölma is an important figure in Buddhism, especially revered in Tibetan Buddhism. She appears as a female bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism, and as a female Buddha in Vajrayana Buddhism. She is known as the "mother of liberation", and represents the virtues of success in work and achievements. She is known as Duōluó Púsà (多羅菩薩) in Chinese Buddhism, and as Tara Bosatsu (多羅菩薩) in Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yamantaka</span> "Lord of death" deity in Vajrayana Buddhism

Yamāntaka or Vajrabhairava is the "destroyer of death" deity of Vajrayana Buddhism. Sometimes he is conceptualized as "conqueror of the lord of death". Of the several deities in the Buddhist pantheon named 'Yamāntaka', the most well known, also called as 'Vajrabhairava' belongs to the Anuttarayoga Tantra class of deities popular within the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism.

A yidam or iṣṭadevatā is a type of deity associated with tantric or Vajrayana Buddhism said to be manifestations of Buddhahood or enlightened mind. During personal meditation (sādhana) practice, the yogi identifies their own form, attributes and mind with those of a yidam for the purpose of transformation. Yidam is sometimes translated by the terms "meditational deity" or "tutelary deity". Examples of yidams include the meditation deities Chakrasamvara, Kalachakra, Hevajra, Yamantaka, and Vajrayogini, all of whom have a distinctive iconography, mandala, mantra, rites of invocation and practice.

Heruka, is the name of a category of wrathful deities, enlightened beings in Vajrayana Buddhism that adopt a fierce countenance to benefit sentient beings. In East Asia, these are called Wisdom Kings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vajradhara</span> Buddha

Vajradhara is the ultimate primordial Buddha, or Adi-Buddha, according to the Sakya, Gelug and Kagyu schools of Tibetan Buddhism. It is also a name of Indra, because "Vajra" means diamond, as well as the thunderbolt, or anything hard more generally.

Mahāyoga is the designation of the first of the three Inner Tantras according to the ninefold division of practice used by the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ratnasambhava</span> One of the Five Meditation Buddhas

Ratnasambhava is one of the Five Dhyani Buddhas of Mahayana and Vajrayana or Tantric Buddhism. Ratnasambhava's mandalas and mantras focus on developing equanimity and equality and, in Vajrayana Buddhist thought is associated with the attempt to destroy greed and pride. His consort is Mamaki and his mount is a horse or a pair of lions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jambhala</span>

Jambhala is the God of Fortune and Wealth and appropriately a member of the Jewel Family. He is sometimes equated with the Hindu deity Kubera. Jambhala is also believed to be an emanation of Avalokitesvara or Chenrezig, the Bodhisattva of Compassion. There are five different wealth Jambhalas; each has his own practice and mantra to help eliminate poverty and create financial stability.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tibetan tantric practice</span> Tantric practices in Tibetan Buddhism

Tibetan tantric practice, also known as "the practice of secret mantra", and "tantric techniques", refers to the main tantric practices in Tibetan Buddhism. The great Rime scholar Jamgön Kongtrül refers to this as "the Process of Meditation in the Indestructible Way of Secret Mantra" and also as "the way of mantra," "way of method" and "the secret way" in his Treasury of Knowledge. These Vajrayāna Buddhist practices are mainly drawn from the Buddhist tantras and are generally not found in "common" Mahayana. These practices are seen by Tibetan Buddhists as the fastest and most powerful path to Buddhahood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vajrakilaya</span> Tibetan Buddhist wrathful deity

In Tibetan Buddhism, Vajrakilaya or Vajrakumara is a wrathful heruka yidam deity who embodies the enlightened activity of all the Buddhas. His practice is known for being the most powerful for removing obstacles and destroying the forces hostile to compassion. Vajrakilaya is one of the eight deities of Kagyé.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Three Jewels and Three Roots</span> Outer, inner, secret, and ultimate Buddhist refuge formulations

In Tibetan Buddhism, the Three Jewels and Three Roots are supports in which a Buddhist takes refuge by means of a prayer or recitation at the beginning of the day or of a practice session. The Three Jewels are the first and the Three Roots are the second set of three Tibetan Buddhist refuge formulations, the Outer, Inner and Secret forms of the Three Jewels. The 'Outer' form is the 'Triple Gem', (Sanskrit:triratna), the 'Inner' is the Three Roots and the 'Secret' form is the 'Three Bodies' or trikāya of a Buddha.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kuṇḍali</span> Buddhist wrathful deity

Kundali or Amritakundalin, also known in Chinese as Juntuli Mingwang and in Japanese as Gundari Myōō (軍荼利明王), is a wrathful deity and dharmapala in East Asian Esoteric Buddhism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Japanese Buddhist pantheon</span> Buddhist pantheon of Japan

The Japanese Buddhist Pantheon designates the multitude of various Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and lesser deities and eminent religious masters in Buddhism. A Buddhist Pantheon exists to a certain extent in Mahāyāna, but is especially characteristic of Vajrayana Esoteric Buddhism, including Tibetan Buddhism and especially Japanese Shingon Buddhism, which formalized it to a great extent. In the ancient Japanese Buddhist Pantheon, more than 3,000 Buddhas or deities have been counted, although nowadays most temples focus on one Buddha and a few Bodhisattvas.

References

  1. 1 2 Linrothe 1999, p. 12.
  2. ↑ Linrothe 1999, p. x.
  3. ↑ Linrothe 1999, p. 13.
  4. ↑ Linrothe 1999, p. 25.
  5. ↑ Thurman, Robert (2011). The Tibetan Book of the Dead: Liberation Through Understanding in the Between. Random House Publishing Group. p. 149. ISBN   978-0-307-78402-5.
  6. ↑ Berzin, Alexander; Making Sense of Tantra
  7. ↑ Linrothe 1999, p. xi.
  8. ↑ Chögyam Trungpa. The Collected Works of Chögyam Trungpa: Volume 3, Shambala, 2003, page 438.
  9. ↑ Linrothe 1999, pp. xi–xii.
  10. ↑ Buswell, Robert E.; Lopez, Donald S. (2013). The Princeton dictionary of Buddhism. Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press. ISBN   978-0-691-15786-3.
  11. ↑ Wrathful Deities
  12. ↑ Baroni, Helen Josephine (2002). The illustrated encyclopedia of Zen Buddhism. New York: Rosen Pub. Group. p. 100. ISBN   0-8239-2240-5.
  13. ↑ Hong, Tsai-Hsia (2007). The Water-Land Dharma Function Platform Ritual and the Great Compassion Repentance Ritual (Thesis). OCLC   64281400.[ page needed ]
  14. ↑ Howard, Angela F. (March 1999). "The Eight Brilliant Kings of Wisdom of Southwest China". Res: Anthropology and Aesthetics. 35: 92–107. doi:10.1086/RESv35n1ms20167019. S2CID   164236937.
  15. ↑ Bloom, Phillip Emmanual (2013). Descent of the Deities: The Water-Land Retreat and the Transformation of the Visual Culture of Song-Dynasty (960-1279) Buddhism (Thesis). OCLC   864907811. ProQuest   1422026705.[ page needed ]
  16. ↑ Heart Jewel: The Essential Practices of Kadampa Buddhism, pages 71-3, Tharpa Publications (2nd. ed., 1997) ISBN   978-0-948006-56-2
  17. ↑ Buswell, Robert E.; Lopez, Donald S. (2013). The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. Princeton University Press. pp. 249–250. ISBN   978-1-4008-4805-8.
  18. ↑ "Wrathful Guardians of Buddhism: Aesthetics and Mythology". February 2001. Retrieved 2008-08-31.
  19. ↑ Pearlman, Ellen (2002). Tibetan Sacred Dance: A Journey Into the Religious and Folk Traditions. Inner Traditions / Bear & Co. ISBN   978-0-89281-918-8.[ page needed ]

Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.