The Tree of Enlightenment
An Introduction to the Major Traditions of Buddhism
by Peter Della Santina
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Part Three
The Vajrayana
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Chapter Twenty-Eight
The Vajrayana Initiation
With this chapter, we come to a rather important topic in any
introduction to the
Vajrayana path. Over the half century or so that
Vajrayana has been
known in the West
and the world at large, it
has been liable to a great deal of
misinterpretation and
misunderstanding. The element that has probably been the cause of
the
greatest
misunderstanding is the institution of initiation. Many
have objected
to initiation being a
component of a path in the
Buddhist tradition.
As mentioned in Chapter 27, there is nothing formally different
in the
Vajrayana
initiation that sets it apart from other rites of
passage which play an
important role in the
Buddhist tradition. It is
hard to understand why people can accept the
refuge ceremony
and the rite of monastic ordination but have difficulty with the idea
of a Vajrayana
initiation. I hope that, by indicating the contents of
Vajrayana
initiation and its role and
function within the tradition,
some of the misinterpretation and
misunderstanding will be
dispelled.
Let us first look at the meaning of the Sanskrit term
abhishekha, which
has been
translated as 'initiation,' 'consecration,'
and even 'empowerment.'
None of these is a
literal translation of
the original term, which in fact means
'sprinkling' or 'watering'--
specifically, sprinkling water on an area of earth, such as a field.
We can begin to learn something about the nature of
Vajrayana
initiation if we consider
why the term abhisheka was
chosen for this ritual. The answer is that
we have here a
ceremony
he purpose of which is to enliven or quicken the disciple's
progress
toward
enlightenment. Just as we might sprinkle water on a field in
which
seeds have been sown,
and by that sprinkling enliven and
quicken the growth of the seeds, so
in the Vajrayana
initiation we
enliven and quicken the growth of the seed of the
disciple's spiritual
potential.
We have here references to ideas that are already well
developed in the
Mahayana
tradition--namely, the notion of the
uddha nature, or the potential
for enlightenment,
that all living
beings possess. The process of growth and fruition of
this spiritual
potential
is quickened by abhisheka, or 'sprinkling'--a clear
indication of the
function of that
sprinkling, or initiation. Although it
is inconvenient to translate
abhisheka as 'watering'
or 'sprinkling,' it
is important to remember that the term refers to a
process rather
different in its purpose and intention from what we might think if we
took it at face value,
regarding it as a sort of initiation into a secret
society or the like.
Let me try to expand on this very fundamental and linguistic
definition
of initiation in the
Vajrayana tradition. Vajrayana initiation
means introducing the
disciple into the mandala,
the
sacred or magic circle, of one of the tutelary deities of the
Vajrayana pantheon--
deities who are special esoteric forms of the
Buddha, meditation on
whom can bring
about enlightenment. In
Chapter 27, we saw that the mandala is a
symbolic representation
of the universe. In the context of an initiation, it represents not the
universe as we know
it, from an unenlightened point of view, but
the sacred or pure
universe that we achieve
on the level of
enlightenment, when our vision is purified of
unwholesome
tendencies.
Much of what I said in Chapter 26 about the
transformation of the five
aggregates into the
five celestial Buddhas
is applicable to this notion of the purified or
transformed universe.
Therefore, when we say that the Vajrayana initiation introduces a
disciple into the
mandala of one of the tantric tutelary deities, what
we mean is that it
introduces him or
her to the purified universe of
one of these deities.
The Vajrayana tutelary deities can be divided into four classes
of
ascending power or
efficacy in bringing about the transformation
from an unenlightened
mode of existence to
an enlightened and
sacred mode of existence: (1) the kriya class, (2)
the charya class,
(3)
the yoga class, and (4) the anuttarayoga class. Initiation is the
introduction of a disciple
into the sacred universe of the tutelary
deity of one of these classes
of tantra. The kriya
class refers to a
group of tutelary deities and practices primarily
concerned with
externalized rituals and practices. Kriya means 'action,' 'ritual,'
'ceremony.' The
tutelary deities who belong to this class are
associated with practices
that are, by and
large, external and
ritualistic. Practices associated with the kriya
class of tantra often
involve vegetarianism, regular and even ritual bathing, and ritual
offering.
In contrast, the tutelary deities of the charya class of tantra are
associated with practices
that have to do primarily with the internal
attitudes, intentions, and
conceptions of the
practitioner. Whereas
kriya tantra practices are external, the
practices associated with the
charya tantra class are usually internal, to the exclusion of the
external practices.
Practitioners of the charya class often present a
much less sociable
appearance than those
of the kriya class of
tantra.
The third class, the yoga class of tutelary deities, is associated
with
a combination of
practices belonging to the kriya and charya
classes. Practices
associated with the yoga
class seek to arrive at a
balance between the external and internal
practices. This balance,
or union, between the internal and external practices is reflected in
the term yoga, which
means 'combination' or 'union.'
In the case of the anuttarayoga tutelary deities, we have a
transcendence or dissolution of
the barriers that define the first
three classes of practice (external,
internal, and the
combination of
the two). Anuttara means 'transcendence,' in this case,
a
transcendence
of external and internal practice alike. Thus the
anuttara class of
tutelary deities and
practices is the most highly
developed within the Vajrayana tradition.
It is at this level
that we
achieve, in its fullest sense, complete integration of
experience into
the Vajrayana
path, integration that leads spontaneously to the
transformation of
being. This is the ideal
I referred to in Chapter
24, when discussing the purpose of the
methodology of the
Vajrayana--namely, complete integration of experience into the
path.
Initiation itself can be of three varieties. The first of these is the
major initiation, which
has a kind of comprehensive,
all-encompassing function. To use a rather
prosaic analogy,
a major initiation might be likened to a license empowering you to
drive all kinds of
motor vehicles, or to the broad powers that a government might give a
special envoy to
take up all decisions regarding a particular set of questions. A major
initiation is a kind of
complete empowerment that usually requires two days. The first day is
given over to
preparatory practices, which in general have to do with the
purification of the disciple.
The second day is reserved for actually introducing the disciple into
the mandala of the
particular deity involved.
The second kind of initiation is the subsidiary initiation, which might
be likened to a
license that empowers you to handle a rare, specialized class of
practices, which are
nonetheless important and highly efficacious.
The third class is even more limited in scope, consisting of rather
simple initiations, often
very brief in terms of the time required to bestow them, that enable
one to engage in
relatively simple practices associated with subsidiary deities
belonging to a larger family
to whom one has already been introduced by means of the appropriate
initiation. These
are sometimes termed 'subsequent initiations,' because they are
traditionally given
subsequent to major or subsidiary ones.
Vajrayana deities are also divided into families (not related to the
four classes of tutelary
deities mentioned a moment ago) that
are associated with the Buddhas of
the Five
Families--Vairochana,
Ratnasambhava, Amitabha, Amoghasiddhi, and
Akshobhya. For
example, the tutelary deity Hevajra is associated with the Vajra
family
headed by
Akshobhya, while Chakrasamvara is associated
with the Buddha family of
Vairochana.
A major initiation can be
likened to the purchase of a season ticket
for a whole series of
events. The season ticket entitles you to participate in any or all of
the events, although
whenever you do you will naturally have to
produce your ticket and
perhaps have it
stamped. Similarly, a
major initiation entitles you to receive a whole
series of subsidiary
and lesser initiations, although, when receiving each initiation, you
will still have toparticipate in the appropriate ritual.
Traditionally, it is the major initiation that provides the disciple
with access to the whole
range of Vajrayana deities and practices.
In recent years, however,
because of the
growing demand for
tantric initiations, Vajrayana masters sometimes
choose to give one
of the lesser, subsequent initiations first, since the practices
associated with them are
simpler. This has sometimes been found
to be useful, in that it serves
as a kind of trial
exposure to
Vajrayana practice, just as one might be given a license to
drive a
motor
scooter before obtaining a license to drive all kinds of motor
vehicles.
All these initiations must be given by a qualified Vajrayana preceptor.
There are two
types of qualification the preceptor may have. In the first case the
preceptor, having
achieved a very high level of mental development, receives direct
empowerment from the
deity concerned. This type of qualification is typified by the cases of
the men of great
attainment, or Mahasiddhas, in India, and also, less commonly, in
Tibet.
The second type of qualification is much more common. In this case the
preceptor
receives the empowerment of the deity from a qualified master. He or
she must also
perform the required meditational practices--the retreats and so
forth--stipulated by the
tradition, so as to secure a sufficiently intimate association with the
deity to function as a
go-between with the power to introduce others to the mandala of the
deity concerned. It is
important that the Vajrayana initiation be received from a preceptor
who has at least the
second type of qualification.
In the course of the Vajrayana initiation, the disciple regards the
preceptor as identical
with the tutelary deity into whose sacred
circle he is being
introduced. Similarly, he
regards the environment,
the situation of the initiation, as identical
with the sacred
universe of
that tutelary deity. In the course of the initiation, he is
introduced to
and
identifies both with that tutelary deity (in the form of the
preceptor
in the initiation) and
with the sacred universe, which is
symbolized by the situation of the
initiation itself.
This process of
introduction and identification takes place through the
use of
symbols.
These symbols are both specific and general. The specific symbols are
best represented
by a variety of ritual objects. These ritual objects are associated
with, and stand for, the
elements or actors who participate in this sacred drama, who inhabit
this sacred universe.
In our discussions of the symbols of the Vajrayana and of the five
archetypal Buddhas of
the Five Families, we spoke of a number of symbols that have particular
meanings (see
Chapters 25 and 26). We spoke of the five Buddha families being
represented by symbols
such as the vajra, the crown, the bell, and so forth. In the Vajrayana
initiation, these
objects function as specific symbols by means of which the disciple can
be introduced to
the sacred universe and then identify himself with that sacred
universe, that pure
experience of an enlightened mode of being. In the course of the
initiation, the disciple is
given a vajra and bell to hold, a crown to wear, and so forth. These
symbolic actions
function to bring about (a) the introduction of the disciple to the
sacred universe, and (b)
an identification of the disciple with that sacred universe.
In addition to these specific symbolic objects, there are also the more
general and
dynamic symbols of identification. These are the symbols of light and
water, which we
also encountered in our discussion of Vajrayana symbolism (see Chapter
25). In the
course of the initiation, light and water are used as a way of
identifying the disciple with
the tutelary deity and with the sacred universe. Light is used as a
medium for identifying
the disciple with the preceptor, who, in the context of the initiation,
is identical with the
tutelary deity. Similarly, water is used as a symbol for identifying
the disciple with the
various levels of understanding of the sacred universe. In the
initiation, both light and
water form a kind of bridge by means of which the two initially
different modes of
being--namely, the distinction between the disciple and the preceptor
in the form of the
tutelary deity, and that between the experience of the disciple and the
experience of the
sacred universe--are identified and made one. The disciple is asked to
participate in the
process by visualizing light and water as media of identification with
the purified
universe portrayed in the Vajrayana initiation.
The initiation is a vehicle for transformation or, to put it more
crudely, for rebirth, or
regeneration. This is indicated by the fact that in a major initiation
the disciple is given a
new name, just as a new name is given when one becomes a Buddhist in
the ceremony of
the taking of refuge, or when one is ordained. The bestowal of the new
name stands for
the regeneration of the disciple in a new form, by virtue of his
introduction to and
identification with both the form of the tutelary deity and the
experience of the sacred
universe.
The initiation is important not only because it is itself an
introduction to and
identification with the sacred universe, but also because it supplies
the disciple with the
methods, or keys, with which he can later reintroduce, re-identify, and
reintegrate himself
with the sacred universe first encountered during the initiation. These
methods or keys are
(i) the vision with which he is supplied in the context of the
initiation, when he sees for
the first time, in symbolic form, the sacred and purified universe; and
(ii) the mantra
appropriate to the tutelary deity that he is given in the course of the
initiation.
By means of this vision and this mantra, the disciple can recreate the
sacred vision,
reintroduce himself to the sacred experience, and re-identify himself
with the sacred
universe. This will occur subsequent to the initiation, in the practice
of the meditation
appropriate to the particular tutelary deity whose initiation the
disciple has received. In
the context of this meditation, he will use the keys received during
the initiation--the
vision and the mantra--to recreate, reintroduce, and re-identify
himself with the sacred
experience on his own. He will then no longer need the support, the
external
environment, of the initiation. Rather, he will be able to recreate,
reintroduce, and re-
identify himself with the pure experience represented by the initiation
by means of the
elements he received there. This is the primary role and function of
the Vajrayana
initiation.
Like other initiations, the Vajrayana initiation brings with it certain
commitments that
must be respected and preserved by the disciple. Prosaic cases, such as
licensing to drive
motor vehicles or to practice medicine, also bring with them a
commitment to respect
certain codes or rules of action and intention. Similarly, in the
Buddhist tradition as a
whole, rites such as taking refuge and ordination into the monastic
order bring with them
certain commitments the disciple is expected to fulfill.
In very general terms, there are three sets of commitments in the
Buddhist tradition--those appropriate for individual liberation (the pratimoksha
vows),
those appropriate for
the resolve to liberate all living beings (the Bodhisattva vows), and
those appropriate to
Vajrayana practice (the Vajrayana vows). In brief, the essential
quality of the
commitments appropriate for individual liberation is the avoidance of
injury to others; the
essential quality of the commitments of the Bodhisattva is to benefit
others; and the
essential quality of the Vajrayana commitments is to regard all living
beings as part of the
pure vision, as deities of the sacred universe which the disciple has
appropriated through
the Vajrayana initiation.
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Contents
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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
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Layout: Nhi Tuong
Update : 11-05-2002
