buddhist teaching
“if songs are sung from joy then let the supreme songs regarding the vajra be sung. When joy arises, if the yogi dances for the sake of liberation, then let him dance the vajra posture with full attention”
-Hevajra Tantra
In all the major Buddhist Tantras the central deity is often depicted as wrathful one. The obvious reason for this conceptualization is that he is considered like a warrior who devours all kinds of enemies mainly the host of Mara. To command the sexual energy one should be like a victor (a vira) and if one has to command sexual force while in unity with the consort; than this kind of mind set is required.
A sadhaka should be fearless, vira, passionate, full of vitality and at the same time compassionate, like the deity depicted in the Tantras. From the life of many Tibetan Vajrayana yogiÂ’s we find that during secret initiation often by various means guru checks above mentioned warrior qualities in the yogi. When yogi Kyung-po-Nal-jor arrived in the So-sa-ling cemetery to meet Niguma for secret teaching, he confronted a dark brown dakini. She was dancing above him in the sky, adorned in ornaments of human bones and holding a khatvanga and human skull.
When he prostrated to her, thinking that she is Niguma, she ferociously said to him, “I am a flesh-eating demoness. When my retinue arrives you will be in great danger. They will surely devour you. You must quickly flee.” But yogi Kyung-po-Nal-jor once again prostrated her showing his fearlessness and requested for Tantrik teachings. Than pleased by his courage she initiated him in secret Tantrik sadhana of five Tantrik systems i.e. Chakrasamvara, Mahamaya, Hevajra, Guhyasamaja, and Yamantaka.
To live in the wrathful mindset a Tantrik wears some specific costumes, for example a sadhaka of Hevajra tantra wears circlet, ear ring, necklace, hand ornaments, girdle, khatvanga, hand drum etc. He eats four kinds of foods, drinks vari (semen), he sings and dance like a warrior i.e. vajra song, he adorns his hands with five skulls; he smears ashes of cremation ground.
He is heroic in his appearance as well as in his three kinds of actions.
He has cast aside all beliefs in the reality of matter and mind as well as all beliefs of this world. He is graceful, passionate, and full of energy and awe-inspiring. He is compassionate in nature and peaceful, his splendor and grace is incomparable. Likewise, his consort too is wrathful as in Tantras female deity is depicted.
On the symbolic level the appearance of the deities are somewhat different; Hevajra tantra says that what a sadhaka wears is nothing other than five Skandhas which forms the body of Buddha. It is said that Aksobhya is symbolized by the circlet, Amitabha by earring, Ratnesha by necklace, Vairochana by hand ornaments, Amogha by girdle, wisdom by khatvanga and means by hand drum etc. One important aspect regarding wrathful appearance of Tantrik deities is this that it is imaginatively generated quality for the purpose of unity. During generation stage a sadhaka generates in him the wrathful qualities of the deity since it is necessary for accomplishment stage, in which the same generated deity enters in union with the female deity.
For this very purpose the costumes and their way of live is so dreadful. The dance performed during Tantrik rites are customary to the arousing of the wrath in the tantrikÂ’s mind so for he could be able to perform well. Tantra scripture says- master of the mandala arising in the form of Hevajra should enter in the mandala dancing the majestic postures of Vajrasattva. He majestically utters humÂ… hum and terrifying syllable hiÂ…hiÂ….therefore Tantrik union can not be accomplished without wrathful approach. In normal life one experiences a state of chaos during union but since we are not concerned with the mastering of Bodhichitta and experience the highest bliss; we let it fall. While a Tantrik enters in union with a consort for mastering the entire situation of chaos hence mastering of the libidinal energy for the higher purpose i.e. to attain the ultimate bliss of mother-father union.
>>>> Article is from my upcoming book on Buddhist Tantra
Author is an art critic and writer of three books 'Contemporizing Buddha', ' Hindu Tantra Yoga' and 'Concerning The Spiritual In Art-an Indian modern art perspective'. He has been awarded with 'Lalit kala Academy Scholarship Award' for art criticism in 2005. Currently working on a book 'Buddhist tantra yoga'. He lives and works in Delhi India.
