The Tree of Enlightenment
An Introduction to the Major Traditions of Buddhism
by Peter Della Santina
---o0o---
Part Three
The Vajrayana
---o0o---
Chapter Trenty-Five
Myth and Symbolism
In Chapter 24 we talked about how the special characteristic of the
Vajrayana is its
use of the totality of experience to achieve direct or immediate
knowledge of nonduality.
In turning the totality of experience to the use of this spiritual or
religious endeavor, it is
important that we select elements of experience that are specially
powerful and
meaningful. This does not exclude using the totality of our experience
for our spiritual
progress. Rather, it means that we focus first on types of experience
that are particularly
powerful and meaningful, using them as the building blocks of our
transformed vision.We then extend that transformed experience so that it eventually
encompasses all
experiences, even those that were originally less significant.
Initially, then, we select elements of experience that are specially
potent and powerful. In
the process, certain archetypal elements are isolated. Archetypal
elements of experience
are those that have a very deep-seated mode of being within both an
individual
consciousness and our collective consciousness (that is, the sum total
of all individual
consciousness).
Let us look at some specific examples of archetypal experience. The
first belongs to the
realm of myth. The most dominant feature of myth is the struggle
between good and
evil.
This is perhaps the primordial, fundamental mythological theme, and has
been worked
out in myths from the beginning of time up to the present day. For
example, the crux of
the contest between Rama and Ravana in the Ramayana is the struggle
between the forces
of good and the forces of evil, and this continues to be a dominant
theme in most popular
myths. Not so long ago, we even saw the theme of the struggle between
good and evil
mythologized in the popular science-fiction movie Star Wars.
We see this theme also in the attitudes and rhetoric of politicians and
national leaders. For
example, when U.S. President Ronald Reagan called the USSR 'the Evil
Empire,' he was
borrowing a phrase from Star Wars to indicate his conviction that the
struggle between
the democratic world and the communist world was one of good against
evil. This is a
very important theme in human culture. When we call this theme a
mythological one, it
does not devalue it. If anything, this increases its value because it
gives that theme a
superhuman dimension, a universal significance. To call a theme
mythological does not
make it unreal--in fact, it makes it more so.
Good and evil are, of course, a duality (like subject and object, self
and other, samsara
and nirvana, and the rest).The transcendence of the duality of good and
evil, the mastery
of and assimilation of evil by good, is represented symbolically in the
appearance of the
deities of the Vajrayana pantheon. In Chapter 24, we talked about how
we could
transform elements of experience and put make use of them for our
spiritual progress.
What we have here is the mastery of what we would normally think of as
evil by good--
namely, the assimilation and transformation of the mythical totality of
evil in the form of
specific elements of the Vajrayana pantheon.
This explains the general appearance of the deities of the Vajrayana
pantheon. Those of
you who have seen tantric paintings and sculptures may have wondered
why the deities
wear necklaces of severed heads, ornaments of bone, and so forth, and
also at the
prevalence of animal skins, skeletons, weapons, and the like. Why, in
Vajrayana
iconography, is there so much of the macabre?
The answer is that the ornaments of bone, human and animal parts,
weapons, and so on
are all paraphernalia of the forces of evil as they are conceived of in
our collective
consciousness. The fact that they are now worn and wielded by Vajrayana
deities
symbolizes several things: (1) it symbolizes the victory of good over
evil; (2) it indicates
the use of the power of evil for the purpose of good; and most
importantly, (3) it
represents the union and transcendence of the duality of good and evil,
nirvana and
samsara.
On a mythical scale, this is how we are to understand the particular
nature of the
appearance of the Vajrayana deities--as an expression of the mastery
and transformation
of evil, and as an expression of the transcendence of the duality of
good and evil.
The Vajrayana also promotes the equality of objects of desire and
aversion. This equality
implies transcendence of the opposites of desire and aversion, good and
evil. In the
symbolism of the Vajrayana, we find objects of desire and aversion in
close proximity.
For example, we find jewels and severed heads, a desirable female form
and a corpse,
lotuses, the sun and the moon and blood, meat and bones side by side in
the same portrait.
All these objects occurring side by side are symbolic of the
transcendence of the dualities
of good and evil, desirable and undesirable, pure and impure, and the
like.
Let us examine, in slightly more concrete terms, the particular forms
of some of the
archetypal symbols we find in the Vajrayana, many of which have still
to do with the
transcendence of duality. First let us consider the symbol of the union
of male and
female, which is so dominant in the Vajrayana tradition. This is a
symbol that is
archetypal in the sense that it has always been a fundamental part of
the experience of
living beings. It is a deep-seated element in the individual and
collective consciousness of
living beings. The union of male and female has served as a symbol of
the union of
opposites--very often as a symbol of the union of heaven and earth--in
the arts, poetry,
and literature of most cultures at one time or another.
In the Vajrayana, we find the prevalent use of this very powerful and
meaningful element
of experience to depict or symbolize the union of emptiness and form,
nirvana and
samsara, wisdom and compassion. The female aspect stands for emptiness,
nirvana, and
wisdom, as we saw in Chapter 22, where insubstantiality was represented
in the form of
the goddesses Nairatmya and Vajravarahi. The male aspect stands for
form (phenomenal
appearance), samsara, and compassion (skillful means). The female can
also stand for
emptiness and the male for luminosity, and so on.
Another prevalent symbol used in Vajrayana iconography is the tree,
which is a symbol
of life, growth, and development. When taking refuge at the beginning
of a session of
Vajrayana meditation, the meditator often pictures the objects of
refuge placed in a tree.
Like the union of male and female, the tree is an archetypal symbol
that has cross-cultural
significance.
I have been surprised to find the tree appearing in the symbolism of
almost all the major
religious and cultural traditions throughout the world. In the
Christian tradition, we find
the tree of knowledge in the Garden of Eden. In the Buddhist tradition,
too, the tree is an
important archetypal symbol. Specifically, the refuge tree may be
identified with the pipal
or bodhi tree. But the tree of enlightenment goes back to a period in
Indian cultural
history before the time of the Buddha Shakyamuni. It seems also to have
been important
to the people of the Indus Valley civilization, which flourished in the
third millennium
B.C.E.
If we look further at Vajrayana iconography, we often find a deity
placed upon a throne
in a tree. The throne is an archetypal symbol of royalty, of
sovereignty and mastery, as
are the crown and scepter. You may recall that in Chapter 22 we said
that the Vajrayana
takes its name from the vajra, the scepter of Indra, which is a symbol
of mastery. There is
no doubt that these symbols are important in our individual and
collective consciousness.
Even in republican societies, there is a great fascination with
royalty. Americans probably
read more about the English royal family than do Englishmen. There are
probably more
television documentaries and dramatizations about the English royal
family produced in
America than in England. Even the institution of the presidency has
come to be
associated with all kinds of symbols of sovereignty.
Like the symbol of the tree, royal symbolism is found in most of the
major religious
traditions. Jesus spoke about the kingdom of God and was called the
king of the Jews.
The Buddha has been called the king of the Dharma and the king of
physicians. The first
discourse the Buddha delivered, popularly known as The Discourse of the
Turning of the
Wheel of the Dharma (Dhammachakkappavattana Sutta), is actually
entitled The
Discourse of the Founding of the Kingdom of the Dharma.
Like the tree, light and water occupy prominent places in Vajrayana
symbolism. Fire
often surrounds the deities. Light is an important medium for
identification between the
meditator and the visualized forms of the deities. Fire and light are
very important and
meaningful elements of our human experience. It is probably through the
discovery of
fire that people became civilized. All of this is still very clearly
evident today, for don't
we all like to kindle, watch, and manipulate fire? In the Vajrayana
tradition, fire stands
for the flames that consume and destroy ignorance.
Water is more crucial to our existence than food and is, of course,
necessary for the
fertility of the earth. Not surprisingly, water also plays an important
role in the Vajrayana,
where it is the symbol of initiation--the tantric ritual which
stimulates the seed of
spiritual potential. Just as by watering the soil, a seed of grain
comes to life, so by being
sprinkled in the ritual of initiation, the seed of one's spiritual
potential puts forth its
sprout, which can then grow into the fully realized and transformed
mode of being, the
reality of Buddhahood.
The symbol of the lotus is not peculiar only to the Vajrayana but
exists in all Buddhist
iconography. It is more culturally specific than the other symbols we
have considered
thus far. The lotus is perhaps most closely linked with the Indian
cultural consciousness,
where it is a powerful symbol of spiritual growth and transformation.
For this reason, it
appears in the Vajrayana as a symbol of spiritual growth,
transcendence, and
transformation.
In the Vajrayana, there is also the very particular use of letters,
words, and mantras. This
is, again, archetypal, in the sense that it is a deep-seated and
powerful element in the
individual and collective consciousness. For 'primitive' and 'modern'
people alike, the
name of a thing is a source of power over it. Ancient peoples achieved
mastery over the
forces of nature by giving those forces names. For instance, by calling
the thunderstorm
'Indra,' the old Brahmins established a mechanism and degree of control
over it.
This is also clearly reflected in our own experience. If someone
side-swipes your car in
the parking lot, you do not have any power over him or her if you do
not know their
name, but if you know the name of the person responsible, you can claim
damages.
Names are, therefore, power. In a sense, a name creates the reality of
the object for which
it stands. For example, when I say the word 'diamond,' in a sense the
reality of that
object is created for all of us. Recognizing this power of letters,
names, and words, the
Vajrayana employs them in the form of mantras in order to bring about a
certain kind of
reality.
In the Vajrayana, the naive assumption of the power inherent in names
that was
characteristic of early human existence is replaced by a critical
understanding of the way
names and words work to create a particular reality. The way they work
is through the
power of the mind. It is the power of the mind that enables letters,
words, names, and
mantras to possess a particular kind of creative reality.
Thus we find, in Vajrayana symbolism, a liberal and intentional use of
these verbal
symbols as vehicles for concentrating the mind's power to create and
transform. For
example, we symbolize the mind with the Sanskrit syllable Hum, and use
that symbol as
a vehicle for representing the mind visually as the seed of the various
deities of the
Vajrayana pantheon. A deep-seated archetypal role is played by letters,
words, and names
in our individual and collective consciousness. The Vajrayana uses this
archetypal power
in its symbolism, in order to describe the mind and facilitate its use
in mastering and
transforming experience.
Vajrayana iconography also recognizes the importance and significance
of colors as
symbols of certain tendencies and attitudes. This is something that has
also been
acknowledged by modern psychologists. In the mid-1930s, a famous
American
psychologist persuaded a popular cigarette company to change the logo
on its packaging
from green to red; overnight, sales shot up by 50 to 60 percent. When
that limited run of
packages with the red logo was sold, the manufacturer went back to the
green logo and
sales dropped by the same amount. When the logo was changed to red
again, sales shot
up again. Ever since, advertisers and designers have paid very close
attention to the
effects of color on prospective buyers.
This is also recognized in the Vajrayana tradition. There are
particular roles and uses for
particular colors. White, for example, is a symbol of purity--a
significance which is
common, universal, and apparent. But white is also a symbol of
opaqueness, ignorance,
and, alternatively, a symbol of the knowledge of the Dharmadhatu. This
last explains
why, in the mandala of the five celestial Buddhas, Vairochana is
portrayed as white in
color, and why, in the Vajrayana pantheon, Vajrasattva is portrayed as
white to indicate
his importance for the purification of sins.
Blue or black is a symbol of immutability. Black, unlike any other
color, cannot be
changed. Blue is a color that symbolizes hatred, on the one hand, and
the knowledge that
reflects all phenomena without distorting them, on the other (like the
blue of water that
reflects innumerable objects impartially). Therefore, blue is the color
of what is called the
mirror-like knowledge.
Red, which is the color of fire, is a symbol of desire and also stands
for the knowledge of
discrimination.
These colors are used to carry symbolic messages in connection not only
with the five
celestial Buddhas, but also with other tantric deities. These messages
often operate at an
unconscious or subconscious level, but their particular significance
nonetheless triggers
certain emotions or reactions (again, often on a subconscious level).
One example of this
is the fact that smokers who bought the cigarettes with the red logo
instead of the green
one did not know why they were moved to do so.
Let us now look at some of the more particular objects we find in
Vajrayana art and
iconography, and at their specific meanings--objects like the support,
or base, of
Vajrayana deities, the objects the deities hold in their hands, and the
ornaments that adorn
their bodies. The Vajrayana deity Vajrakilaya, for example, tramples on
two deities of the
Hindu pantheon, Shiva and Parvati. Initially, one might think that this
is merely a kind of
triumphalism on the part of the Buddhists, but the significance is
actually far more
important. Shiva and Parvati stand for the extremes of eternalism and
nihilism. The base
on which Vajrakilaya stands is therefore a symbol of the transcendence,
or avoidance, of
these two extremes. Again, we find the Vajrayana deity Mahakala
standing on a corpse.
The corpse represents self, ego, and substance; Mahakala's trampling it
thus represents
his triumph over the idea of self, or substance.
Many of the Vajrayana deities hold knives in their hands. This is
anticipated in Mahayana
iconography, where we find Manjushri holding a sword of wisdom with
which he cuts
through the net of ignorance. In the hands of the Vajrayana deities,
too, knives are
instruments symbolizing the wisdom with which they cut through
ignorance and
delusion.
In Vajrayana iconography we also find deities drinking from skull cups
filled with blood,
which represents the afflictions. By drinking this blood, the deities
symbolically show
their ability to assimilate and neutralize the afflictions.
We find Vajrayana deities commonly holding a vajra and bell. The vajra
is a symbol of
skillful means, and the bell is a symbol of wisdom. Their holding the
vajra and bell stands
for the unity of skillful means and wisdom, appearance and emptiness,
samsara and
nirvana.
Many Vajrayana deities, too, have crowns of five skulls on their heads.
These five skulls
stand for the five transcendental knowledges, or wisdoms, that belong
to the five celestial
Buddhas: (a) the knowledge of the Dharmadhatu, (b) the mirror-like
knowledge, (c) the
knowledge of equality, (d) the knowledge of discrimination, and (e) the
knowledge of
accomplishment. Many of their bodies are adorned with six ornaments of
bone--
bracelets, anklets, girdles, and so forth. These six ornaments stand
for the Six Perfections
of generosity, morality, patience, energy, concentration, and wisdom.
The fact that we find such objects prevalent in Vajrayana iconography
does not merely
indicate some kind of fascination with the bizarre and macabre. Rather,
these objects are
very closely connected with several levels of meaning: (i) a very deep
unconscious (or
subconscious) level of meaning, (ii) a level of meaning that has to do
with cultural
archetypes, and (iii) a level of meaning that is very specifically and
precisely related to
particular elements of the Buddhist path.
On the broadest level, we have been dealing here with great, sweeping
dualities:
mythological themes, the theme of good and evil, the archetypes of male
and female, and
so forth. More specifically, we have been dealing with archetypes that
have particular
power and meaning for living beings--the archetypes of the tree,
throne, fire, and so
on;
the extremes of eternalism and nihilism; the values of skillful means
and wisdom. On an
even more specific level, we have been looking at symbolic objects that
relate to
particular items of Buddhist doctrine, like the five transcendental
knowledges and Six
Perfections.
What I have tried to do in this chapter is give some indication of the
way Vajrayana
myths and symbols work, and of the meaning of the various portrayals
and images we
find in Vajrayana iconography. It is a mistake to regard the imagery
and symbolism of
the Vajrayana as in any way arbitrary, accidental, or simply
sensational. On the contrary,
the Vajrayana tradition makes a conscious and carefully calculated use
of myth and
symbol for the particular purpose of accelerating the practitioner's
progress toward
Buddhahood.
---o0o---
Contents
|
01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11
| 12 | 13
| 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41
---o0o---
Layout: Nhi Tuong
Update : 11-05-2002
