Vairochana is an emanation of Adibuddha and represents the cosmic element of form (rupa). He is the primordial wisdom of the sphere of reality. His is in the center of the mandala consisting of the five Transcendental Buddhas, and his rites pacify negative emotions. He is white and his two hands are held against the chest with his thumbs and forefingers touching. He radiates the light of Buddhahood and his consort is Akashadhateshvari, who is the sovereign lady of infinite space. So the dance of light and the space for it to radiate through creates the united dance of Dharmadhatu. It is this dance that is represented by these unions and the sexual imagery depicted in Tantra (concerns powerful ritual acts of body, speech and mind).
White Tara, the Mother of all the Buddhas, bestows the gift of longevity and is an elegant emanation. She energizes those who visualize her, and that energy can be invested in one’s spiritual practice. She is still and centered sitting in a full lotus, belonging to the Lotus Family of Amitaba. She has seven eyes: one each on the soles of her feet; one each on the palms of her hands; one each in the normal place on her face and one in the "third eye" position on her forehead. Several important White Tara practices have been passed down through the Karmapas and Dalai Lamas.
FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS- The truth of suffering (sickness, old age and death); The truth of the origin of suffering; The truth of the cessation of suffering; The truth of the path that leads to the cessation of suffering (the eight-fold path).
MANDALA- A painted circular diagram or sacred circle of the process by which the cosmos unfolds from its center. It is used as a point of focus in Tantric meditation, and demonstrates total interdependence and the void nature of all apparently separated things.
TANTRA- In the context of Buddhism it refers to the texts that outline the practices of Vajrayana. These practices make use of yoga, visualizations, mantra, mudras and other ritual.
MANTRA- A ritual using seed sounds for the purpose of concentration. Using mantra helps the practitioner connect with the aspect of enlightenment the deity embodies.
MUDRA- These are hand gestures that have specific meanings and certain deities can be identified by the ones they use.
TRANSCENDENTAL BUDDHAS- Most commonly referred to as Dhyani Buddhas; they are emanations of Adibuddha and serve as the meditation Buddhas. These five Buddhas in meditation are inseparable, and represent different aspects of Buddhahood. They incarnated forms of mystical wisdom have been placed in a sophisticated system that has developed over many centuries. Each one represents a family with their related aspects and a direction. Each is related to a skanda and how it can be transformed. These five Buddhas are also known as Tathagatas (the Perfect Ones) and Jinas (Conquerors). They are shown in five different seated meditation poses (mudras). Variochana occupies the center with Akshobya in the East, Amitayus in the South, Amitaba in the West and Amogasiddhi in the North.
Realms:
ANIMAL REALM- One of the six realms of existence, it is where consciousness is consumed by survival.
GOD REALM- One of the six realms of existence, this refers to those in a blissful or heavenly state of mind.
HUMAN REALM- One of the six realms of existence when one has gained a balance of compassion and awareness. It is the starting point on the path to enlightenment.
HUNGRY GHOSTS- One of the six realms of existence when beings cannot consume enough to satisfy their cravings or hunger. It is depicted by a being with a huge stomach and a pin hole for a mouth.
To fill the needs of these new doctrins and to provide the images for the yogic meditational exercises a new imagery developed: a pentade of five "Djanibuddhas" who are the visible (macocosmic) personifications of the different aspects of an impersonal, completely transcendet, undivided Adibuddha.
1. There are five Djanibuddhas (Akshobya, Ratnasambhava, Amitabha, Amogasiddhi), the fifth called Vairocana is their center. His emblem, is a thunderbolt, "vajra" (Sanscrit), (Tib.: Phurbu) or a "diamond" (Tib.: dorje), a symbol of the speed with which this technique works and of the clarity of its insights. This "instrument" gave the system its name: Vajrayana.
2. Buddhas and Boddhisatvas exhibit complimentary female manifestations. They may appear entirely in their female Gestalt (Prajna) or in sexual union (Tib.: Yab-Yum) with their male complements.
3. The super-mundane Absolute of the Tantra is equated with the Nirvana of the Mahayana. It is associated with a sixth Buddha or Adhibuddha who unifies all opposites including those of the five Djanibuddhas, who are his emanations. The Addhibuddha can be apprehended only in a mystical vision as a "Great White Light" (Bardo Tödol, "Tibetan Book of the Dead") during advanced, deep meditation or in dying. - Nevertheless, in certain Tibetan representations the Addhibuddha appears blue and stark naked in Yab-Yum with his white and equally naked Prajna.
Tantric Sexual Practices. To the Western mind, formed by Christian mores (Augustinus), it is hard to accept and understand the all-pervasive, omnipresent sexual imagery in Tibetan religious paintings and sculpture: Sexual unions in Yab-Yum, fierce male figures with erections, and female figures performing erotic dances in full nudity.
Sexual practices are an important part of Tantric meditational exercises. The male-female polarity is irrefutably fundamental to life, and because the Tantra attempts to reconcile and remove polarities as the source of suffering, it endowed the sexual union between man and woman with numinous significance.
The woman intuitively "knows" the unity of all opposites (insight), but cannot express it, the man with his analytical faculties can "give these insights names" (awareness) but cannot grasp their emptiness: make love as a powerful meditational exercise to gain and combine "Insight" and "Awareness". The off-spring of their union is Active Compassion for both. Unequivocally the Tantric texts state that man cannot obtain this Ultimate Awareness without a female consort.
The roots of these practices lie in the animist fertility rites of the mother cults of India and - surprisingly - in Chinese Daoist longevity techniques.
Extreme sexual yoga positions are depicted in profusion in the sculptures of the Shivaite temples, e.g., of Khajuraho (11th cent), and under the eaves of all Shiva temples in Nepal: women display their vaginas, or appear in union with man or animal to ward off evil and dangerous spirits.
Well documented (see Needham) in a number of Chinese texts, the Daoist methods had the typically Chinese objective to increase the life and strength of the male practinioner by copulating with as many women and as often as possible - without ejaculation.
Sperm is the highest form of chi, the vital essence that courses through the meridians (channels) connecting the accupuncture points of Chinese medicine. The purpose of copulation was to press the chi up the spine into the head, where it would stimulate the highest vital center, the supreme chakra of Kundalini yoga. In order to accomplish this the woman had, during intercourse, to press with two fingers on the first chakra (perineum) behind the testicles of her partner. The pressure prevented the sperm from being ejaculated and drove it - up the spinal meridian - never mind that it actually ended up in the bladder. . . This takes some practice, and it is certainly not a recommended safe birth-control method! -
The Tibetan techniques, couched in the veiled mystical "shadow-speak" of the Tantras, are less graphical and appear to have higher spiritual aims than to merely lengthen life. It appears that the man had to learn how to bring the woman to orgasm without ejaculating - which works with some and not with others. . .
Witrh the exception of Dzokchen, all Tantric systems, like the Chinese Dao, abhor the loss of "precious" male chi. In her autobiography Yeshe Tsogyel, the Khadroma-partner of Padmasambhava, describes the transport of chi up and through the 8 or 9 (Bön counting!) Kundalini chakras in (mystical) detail, and she practices this technique as well as her male partner.
As an example of "veiled" Tibetan language ("shadow-talk"), the famous Mantra, "Om Mane Padme Hum" (Om, the precious jewel is in the lotus chalice, Hum) has also a well-understood sexual meaning, in which the "jewel" (mane/vajra) is the male member and padma, the "lotus chalice", the female organ. . . - For an excellent, entirely a-mystical discussion of these subjects see Needham, Science and Techology in China , Vol. 5.2.!
The Mandala
Mandalas (Sanscrit: circle) are geometric designs, using squares and circles, that can be two-dimensional paintings, or three-dimensional architecture. The Chörten and the architecture of Tibetan sanctuaries are mandalas. In a few cases entire monastic complexes are layed out as a mandala, the most famous example is Samye Gompa.
The mandala is a symbolic, visual representation of the abstract concept of the devine or the sacred, and as such it is universal. The ancient Greek mazes and those in Gothic cathedrals (Chartre), and the cruciform Byzantine churches of Eastern Orthodoxy, most Turkish and many of the Iranian mosques are in effect three-dimensional mandalas. The mandala may also be related to the Pythagorean quadrature of the circle, and its mystical use in Sufism, the Kabala, and Western alchemy.
Using Indian precedences the mandala appears in Buddhism very early as the Stupa that represented the Buddha in 2nd-century-BC India. The most famous example is Sanchi.
Painted two-dimensional mandalas appear in the 8th or 9th cent. with the rise of the Vajrayana. They are circular or square arrangements of the four Djanibuddhas surrounding the fifth in the center. This type of mandala became the major iconic image of Tibetan Buddhism. Its use is restricted to Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, Mongolia, and North-Western China.
The Tibetan mandalas are at the same time cosmograms of the exoteric and psychograms of the esoteric world seen by the student. Inside a circular fence rests a square cross (dual-diamond-cross, vishva-vajra) into which other concentric squares or circles have been inscribed. This "mystical garden" has four gates in the four directions, and on each side appears one of the four Buddhas or their Bodhisattvas. The tutelary Yidam resides in the center, his Paradise. Depending on the complexity of the mandala, a large number of secondary manifestations of the Yidam may appear in the corners or in further, inscribed circles. The main entry into the mandala is from the East, the lowest gate.
The outer circular fence of the mandala is a ring of fire. It is followed by a circle of vajras and a ring showing the eight graveyards of India (only in mandalas of fierce manifestions). The innermost fence is a circle of lotus petals. These fences protect the sacred garden and the meditator from evil influences. In scaling them the student sacrifices his karmic "clothing" until he stands naked before the gates of the inner sanctum.
Mandalas serve primarily as an aid to guide the visualizations of the meditator, who at first invokes the undifferentiated Void of the Adhibuddha from which slowly, bathed in light rays, form the ordered details of the mandala of his personal Yidam. In doing so the Yidam and the surrounding figures are considered evanescent projections of the mediator's inner Buddha Nature, they appear before his eyes like fleeting dreams. As his mind wanders through the gates of this hortus mysticus he identifies with all its figures in sequence until he reaches the center, the Paradise of his Yidam. After meditating on all aspects of the Yidam he recalls their impermanent nature, they are after all, like everything else, only a projections of his mind, and in dissolving the images he returns his gaze back at the Absolute Void.
Samantabhadra - The Spiritual Emanation of Vairocana
Vairocana's color is white. He is called the maker of perfect light. His spiritual emanation is Samantabhadra, the bodhisattva of universal kindness.
Samantabhadra
The Bodhisattva and Spiritual Emanation of Vairocana
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The music of being is the glory of awareness, the constant hum of change
It is the choirs of heaven and the whirling planets,
leaving trails of mist for others to follow
It is laughing and singing, tears of joy flowing amid the sound of great rivers
It is the opening of the Great Door
The root of the heart courses onward
To swirl around the chains which bind men to illusion
They sway, they tie, the body dances
Rising in ecstasy, throbbing, thrilled
The energy spills out, bursting forth
Radiant into the world
Flowers crown the head of the sage
Starlight with rays in all directions
It is the shining light of Truth, and the mind and body
Are but the bulb, or as clouds on a windy day
Blown, scattered, dancing in fragments
Delicate scales of butterflies, or wave-crashed spray
Dancing in the moonlight.
The music of ecstasy calls forth movement
For the great powers of the universe are pulsating
The infinite chorus is singing praises
Emotions push and pull, like taffy or rubber
And burst, in pieces like stars
Only listen, listen clearly, and you may hear it
The delicate pulse of pleasure coursing your spine
The sensual thrill of delight
The cry of agony, of too much pleasure, too much sensitivity
Pushed to its utmost, the touch of a song
Upon the delicate center
Ecstasy calls forth shivers of wonder, vibrations of joy, the sharing of love
It is not for the one
It is union with the many
There is no space or time
There is no separation
There is no stillness, not yet
But there is singing
It brings forth from each person his deepest desires
Fulfills them, light fills them
Light fills the world, and the bud is full-blown
Open and praising in shining song
The wonder of eternity.
Locana
The Shakti of Vairocana
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The musicality of being is a great mountain cracking open
Splintering powerful lights and shining colors in all directions
It is the rumbling of massive ice flows, bursting open
That the inside may be seen, of new and clear crystal
I am the opening one, the knife which slashes the Void
Spilling out from within the jewels which it holds
Like a bandit, splitting his burlap bags to see the silver and gold
Like a king scattering precious stones
Like a saint, rending his body that the animals may eat
I am creativity, birth, and new beginnings
My light is mother of pearl, shining silver at a distance
Shining all colors when close
I open the tree that the branch may grow
I spread the tissues of women that the infant may emerge
I cause rain in great profusion
New worlds, the exploding of great suns
The entrance of new ideas
I open the skies that light may shine down, that plants and animals may flourish
I open the eyes of all beings, that they may perceive around them
The endless birth
My lord is Vairocana, the most high one
He is the essence of being, the beginning of existence
He has no form, yet he creates order
He is the first shimmering light which floats upon the Void
He is nothingness whose desire to create
Has created me
He is endlessly sweet, the nectar of true knowledge
He is pure and delicate, yet endlessly powerful
When all form is destroyed, by fire and black rain
He is untouched, to begin again
The cycles of creation.
Tibetan for Tara = She who has that crossed over
White Tara is often referred to as the Mother of all the Buddhas. She represents the motherly aspect of compassion. Her white colour indicates purity, but also indicates that she is Truth, complete and undifferentiated.
Ayra Taraya Namah!
Hail to the Noble Tara!
Goddess of Infinite Compassion
Protectress of Human Beings
as they cross the Ocean of Existence
Om Tasa Tarini Karuna Sambhave Svaha
The 7-eyed goddess of purity and transcendental wisdom, Tara was born of a single tear of compassion shed by Avaloketishwara on seeing the suffering of humanity. She grants a long life, fearlessness, patience and peace. Her symbol is a white or pink paeonia flower (sanskrit: Upala). She can be associated with the full moon and is seen as an emanation of the fire element (Buddha Amithaba). Her short mantra is:
Om Tare Tuttare Ture Svaha
May all sentient beings
have happiness and its causes,
May all sentient beings
be free from suffering and its causes.
May all sentient beings
never be separated from sorrowless bliss.
May all sentient beings
abide in equanimity, free of bias,
attachment and anger.
White Tara is an emanation of Tara who is connected with longevity. One calls on her for health, strength, and longevity.
Her white colour indicates purity, but also indicates that she is Truth complete and undifferentiated.
She wears the Bodhisattva ornaments.
She has seven eyes: the two usual eyes, plus an eye in the centre of her forehead and eyes in her hands and feet. These indicate that she sees all suffering and all cries for help, even in the human world, even in the worlds of pain, using both ordinary and psychic or extraordinary means of perception. She carries day lotuses.
This Tara is also known as Samaya Tara, meaning Vow Tara. This refers to Tara's vow to save all beings and also to our vow, which is a Bodhisattva vow like Tara's.
Whereas the Green Tara is a young girl and has a mischievous or playful nature, the White Tara is represented as a mature woman, full-breasted and wise.
Some practitioners comment that the energy of the two Taras feels a little different.
Green tara is very immediate and quick. One calls to her for immediate assistance, and also often for help with worldly things like lover, wealth and so on, as well as spiritual things. She feels very close.
White Tara seems to help more with longer-term problems, particularly problems of physical or mental health. It sometimes seems as if she is more distant, harder to contact at first. Then it is as if she sends us healing energies and mystical power and understandings.
Often one sees, in pictures of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara (Tib: Chenrezigs), the two Taras in front of him - the White Tara to his right, and the Green to his left.
Similarly, Padmasambhava (Tib: Guru Rinpoche) is depicted with two of his consorts. The Indian princess Mandarava, with whom he accomplished[ the Rainbow Body practice, is identified with White Tara. The Tibetan princess Yeshes Tsogyal, his consort and a source of many important lineage teachings (for example the Kandro Nyin-thig), is identified with the Green Tara.
White Tara is Buddha family (some also consider her to be partly in Lotus family), whereas Green Tara is in the Action family and is the consort of Amorgasiddhi, the Buddha of that family. The practices of both are very important: White Tara is especially important in the Sakya teachings.
White Tara has her own mantra. It is: OM TARE TUTARE TURE MAMA AYURPUNYE JNANA PUTIN KURU SVAHA. (Ohm Tahray Totahray tooray mahmah ahyoopoonyay jahnah pooteen kooroo swah hah).
White Tara is a female enlightened being whose function is to bestow long life, wisdom, and good fortune. It is said that living beings receive Tara's blessings as swiftly as the wind moves, because she is the manifestation of the wind element of all Buddhas.
MOON, LONG LIFE, COMPASSION
The White Tara has seven eyes that allow her to look upon
beings in every realm of existence with clear-sighted wisdom
and heartfelt compassion. She can lengthen one's life span
and helps in overcoming life threatening hindrances. She is
the most popular feminine deity and shines her healing light
unconditionally as does the "full" moon.
