Tibetan Buddhism has a complex pantheon of divine beings, many of which can be seen on the walls and ceilings of Buddhist temples in Tibet.
There are various classes of supernatural beings within the pantheon. These include the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, female deities, protector gods, defenders of the faith, guardians of the four cardinal points, and minor gods and supernatural beings. Many of the most important gods have various manifestations.
But how is such a pantheon of beings compatible with Buddhism? In theory, these deities do not exist as independent beings but rather represent aspects of innate human potential, such as compassion, wisdom, and mental discipline. So, they are symbols of abstract qualities that come from a person’s mind or the collective mind. The personification gives the devotee something to focus on as a vehicle for meditation and transformation.
Let’s learn a little about some of the supernatural representations that exist in Tibetan Buddhism.
The Buddhas
The Buddhas are envisioned as an unending chain of enlightened beings. This is why representations of a thousand Buddhas are often seen in temple complexes. There are past Buddhas and future Buddhas, and time is not necessarily seen as linear, so multiple Buddhas can exist at the same moment.
While Shakyamuni is the historical person of the Buddha, legendary stories known as the Jataka tales tell stories of his deeds in previous lives. It also relates that he was once a Bodhisattva in Tushita, the Buddhist heaven, before he descended to earth and manifested as a human being. The arrival of a future Buddha in the new age is also foretold. He is Maitreya, who is currently a Bodhisattva waiting in heaven for the right time to descend to earth as Manushi Buddha.
The Buddha is also believed to have three kayas, which is loosely translated as “bodies”, but are best described as three distinct but simultaneous manifestations.
The first is the Dharmakaya, which is the “truth body” and represents the elemental and primordial nature of the Buddha.
The second is the Sambhogakaya, which represents the transcendent Buddha. He is actually five Dhyani Buddhas, each of which is represented by different colors and hand gestures. Each represents different elements, such as the senses, the mind, the physical body, and the personality. They are represented sitting at the four cardinal points of the compass with a presiding Buddha in the center. The usual set of five Dhyani-Buddhas are as follows: Akshobya in the east, Amitabha in the west, Ratnasambhava in the south, and Amoghasiddhi in the north, and Vairocana in the center.
The third is the Nirmanakaya, which is the transformation body and is the human existence of the Buddha as a teacher. Called Manushi Buddhas, they are people believed to have advanced through previous lives and incarnations to become Bodhisattvas, and upon their final achievement, supreme enlightenment, reach Buddhahood. They can also be mortal manifestations of the Dhyani Buddhas.
The Bodhisattvas
The Bodhisattvas are Buddha-like beings, but they are active and tirelessly exert themselves on behalf of mortal beings. They are people who have reached the threshold of Nirvana, meriting the final step of liberation, but who choose to remain in the worldly cycle of Samsara (birth, death, suffering, and rebirth) to help others achieve enlightenment.
In addition to mortal Bodhisattvas, there are celestial Bodhisattvas, who stand out as legendary heroes. While there are too many to enumerate, a triad of three is given particular importance: Avalokiteshvara the Bodhisattva of compassion; Manjushri the Bodhisattva of wisdom, and Vajrapani the Bodhisattva of power.
Avalokiteshvara is the best-loved of the Bodhisattvas. He is the symbol of mercy, the greatest of helpers, and the successive Dalai Lamas are considered to be his incarnations. In one form, Avalokiteshvara is shown with eleven heads, and sometimes with a thousand hands, each with an eye on the palm. This represents the legend attached to his name, “the lord who looks down”: in his sorrow at seeing the misery of our world, his head broke into ten pieces; his spiritual father, the Dhyani-Buddha Amitabha, reattached them, and with his thousand-eyed-hands, Avalokiteshvara can see all sorrow and stretch out a hand to each sufferer.
Manjushri carries in his right hand a flaming sword, which cuts through ignorance, and with his left carries the book of wisdom, generally resting on a lotus flower. According to legend, Manjushri found a great lake surrounded by mountains in what is now the Kathmandu Valley. With a great blow of his sword, he opened a gateway through the mountains, through which the waters rushed, thus draining the lake and creating what came to be Nepal.
Vajrapani holds the supreme magic symbol, the vajra, a thunderbolt. Vajarapani appeared in early texts as a minor deity, a guardian or protector of the Buddha. He was then exalted to be one of the three great ones. As the supreme warrior of the faith, tireless, relentless, and with inexhaustible determination, he combats demons and falsehood.
Female Goddesses
The first Vedic gods in India, such as Indra and Agni, were male. With the ascendance of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva as the Hindu focal deities, feminine divinities arrived as consorts of the great Hindu triad. These are Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge, arts, and sciences; Lakshmi, the goddess of beauty and wealth; and Parvati, whose ferocious forms are Durga and Kali, goddess of death.
The earliest divinities in Tibetan Buddhism were similarly male, but female divinities were developed through contact with Hinduism.
Tara or Dolma is a Bodhisattva and the feminine counterpart of Avalokiteshvara. She is ever-caring and a symbol of compassion. Although she is paired with Avalokiteshvara, they appear as the male and female sides of the principle of compassion, as spiritual mates (thus celibate consorts). According to one well-known legend, a tear from the eye of Avalokiteshvara formed a lake, out of which rose a lotus flower. As the petals opened, the goddess Tara appeared.
Another legend says that a 7th-century Tibetan king named Songtsen Gampo married a princess from Nepal and a princess from China. They both convinced him to introduce Buddhism into Tibet. They are envisioned as incarnations of Tara, the Chinese princess the white Tara representing purity, and the Nepali one the green Tara, who is divine energy.
The goddess Prajnaparamita bears the name of the book of supreme, perfect wisdom, which she personifies.
Saraswati, although originally a Hindu deity (consort of Brahma, she is the goddess of learning, music, and poetry), became a consort of the great Bodhisattva Manjushri.
Yi-Dam – Protective Gods
Believers put themselves under the protection of a yi-dam, a protector, guardian deity, or tutelary god, who becomes one’s particular, personal divinity. This is done through a special initiation, under the officiation of a lama. Thereafter, the identity of one’s yi-dam is secret.
Dharmapala
These fierce deities are described as the protectors of universal law and they fight tirelessly against both demons and enemies of Buddhism. They are the beings of monstrous, even demonic appearance themselves. Armed and horrific in appearance, their ferocious faces expressing relentless determination, they are champions of the faith, heartening mortal beings and inspiring fear in evil spirits.
The Eight Dharmapalas are Beg-tse, Tsangs-pa, Kuvera, Lhamo, Yama, Yamantaka, Hayagriva, and Mahakala. They are characteristically depicted wearing crowns of skills, trampling demons, and drinking from a skull full of blood.
Palden Lhamo
Palden Lhammo is shown riding a mule with an eye on its haunch, of which the reins are poisonous snakes. She killed her own son, thus honoring her vow to do so if she could not convert all her people to Buddhism. She is the special protectress of the Dalai Lama.
Yama and Yamantaka
Yama is the lord of hell and god of death. He is sometimes depicted with a water buffalo’s head. According to legend, robbers stole a buffalo and cut off its head. Entering a cave, they found an ascetic meditating there and cut off his head to kill their witness. The ascetic seized the buffalo’s head and placed it upon his own neck, then killed the robbers and went on a rampage of fury.
The terrified people appealed to Manjushri for protection and, taking the form of Yamantaka, he conquered Yama. Yama wears a disc, the wheel of the law, on his chest. Yamantaka is usually shown with a thunderbolt in his hair.
Hayagriva
Known as the horse-necked one, Hayagriva wears a horse’s head in his headdress, and is sometimes winged. The horse is an important Tibetan symbol. The image of a winged horse appears along with printed prayers on the prayer flags seen everywhere in Tibet. They help the wind carry prayers out across the world. Hayagriva’s neighing frightens demons away.
Mahakala
Mahakala’s name signifies the great black one. Gompas often have a special chamber dedicated to Mahakala which is only open to make initiates. According to legend, the gods held an assembly to choose the protector of religion and selected Mahakala. Mahakala has enormous power to overcome all negative elements.
Guardians of the Four Cardinal Points
Also known as the Lokapala, these are four kings, dressed and armed as warriors, whose images often guard the entrance of sanctuaries. They may be painted on the wall of the porch leading into the prayer hall or on the internal wall itself or stand sentinel as statues near the entrance.
They are identifiable by their colors and symbolic objects: the white lord of the east holds a lute, the blue or green lord of the south holds a sword, the red lord of the west holds a snake and a shrine, and the yellow lord of the north holds a banner and a mongoose.
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