The Ten Stages of the Bodhisattva Path - Seventh Bhumi (7/10)

 

Sarvanivarana-Vishkambhin Bodhisattva 除蓋障菩薩

In Buddhism, Bhumi, or stage. Every stage represents a level of attainment in that case and serves as the basis for the next one. Each level marks a definite advancement in one's training that is accompanied by progressively greater power and wisdom.

Stages, or Bhumi, is a Sanskrit word for "land" or "ground," and the list of ten Bhumis are ten "lands" a Bodhisattva must pass through on the way to Buddhahood. The Bhumis were important to early Mahayana Buddhism. A list of ten Bhumis appears in several Mahayana texts, although they are not always identical. The Bhumis are also associated with the perfections, or Paramitas.

The ten Bhumis literally mean the "grounds" or levels of Bodhisattvas in which the qualities of their training unfold. With the attainment of the tenth Bhumi, one arrives at and eventually reaches perfection at complete enlightenment. 

Maitreya Bodhisattva 彌勒菩薩

Many schools of Buddhism describe some kind of path of development. Often, these are extensions of the Eightfold Path. Since this is a description of the progress of a Bodhisattva, much of the list below promotes the turning from concern for oneself to concern for others.

In Mahayana Buddhism, the Bodhisattva is the ideal of practise. This is an enlightened being who vows to remain in the world until all other beings realise enlightenment.

Here is a standard list taken from the Dashabhumika-sutra, which is taken from the larger Avatamsaka, or Flower Garland Sutra.

In the Ten Bhumis of the Dasabhumika Sutra. It refers to the following ten Bhumis:

1. The stage of joy, in which one rejoices at realising a partial aspect of the truth. 
2. The stage of freedom from defilement, in which one is free from all defilement.
3. The stage of the emission of light, in which one radiates the light of wisdom.
4. The stage of glowing wisdom, in which the flame of wisdom burns away earthly desires. 
5. The stage of the Difficult to Master. (Sanskrit: sudurjaya), in which one surmounts the illusions of darkness, or ignorance as the Middle Way. 
6. The stage of the sixth Bhumi, the manifest (Sanskrit: Abhimukhī) in which supreme wisdom begins to manifest.   
7. The stage of  the seventh Bhumi, the Gone Afar (Sanskrit: Duramgama), in which one rises above the states of the two vehicles. 
   
   Arya White Tara  白度母

The seventh Bhumi, the Gone Afar, is when the Bodhisattvas on the seventh level develop the ability to contemplate signlessness uninterruptedly and enter into advanced meditative absorptions for extended periods of time, thus passing beyond both the mundane and supramundane paths of sravakas and Pratyekabuddhas (hearers and solitary realizers). 

For this reason, this level is called Gone Afar. According to Nagarjuna,

The seventh is gone afar because
The number of his qualities has increased.
Moment by moment, he can enter
The equipoise of cessation 

On this level, Bodhisattvas perfect their skill in means of meditation and practice (Thabs la mkhas pa, Tibetan; Upaya-Kausalya, Sanskrit), which is their ability to cleverly adapt their teaching tactics to the individual proclivities and needs of their audiences. They also develop the ability to know the thoughts of others and, in every moment, are able to practice all the perfections. All thoughts and actions are free from afflictions, and they constantly act spontaneously and effectively for the benefit of others. 

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Please help us develop our Dharma activities that will not only benefit you but all Dharma readers on the planet. Please consider showing your support. Your generosity will certainly help us enhance our work and accomplish more for a better and brighter future.

 

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Aspiration For Bodhichitta

For those in whom the precious Bodhichitta has not arisen

May it arise and not decrease.

But increase further and further.

 

Dedication of Merit

By this merit, may we then obtain omniscience then.

Having defeated the enemies wrongdoings

May we liberate migratory from the ocean of existence.

With its stormy waves of birth, old age, sickness, and death.

 

*Note

I do not own or infringe any copyright on the picture(s).

Picture(s) courtesy and credit to the rightful distributors and/or studios

The picture(s) are intended for editorial use only.

The Noble Immovable Lord - Krodharaja Achala 不動明王

 

A Wisdom King (Sanskrit: Vidyaraja, Chinese: 明王) is a type of wrathful deity. Whereas the Sanskrit name is translated literally as "wisdom / knowledge king(s)," the term vidyā in Vajrayana Buddhism is also specifically used to denote mantras and the term may thus also be rendered "mantra king(s).

A similar category of fierce deities known as Herukas are found in Tibetan Buddhism.The female counterparts of Wisdom Kings are known as Wisdom Queens (Sanskrit : Vidyarajni)

Vidyarajas, as their name suggests, are originally conceived of as the guardians and personifications of esoteric wisdom (vidyā), namely mantras and dharanis. They were seen as embodying the mystic power contained in these sacred utterances.

During the early stages of esoteric (Vajrayana) Buddhism, many of the deities that would become known as vidyarajas (a term that only came into use around the late 7th-early 8th century) were mainly seen as attendants of Bodhisattvas who were invoked for specific ends such as the removal of misfortune and obstacles to enlightenment.

*Krodharaja Achala (In Tibetan word: Tro Wo Gyal Po Me'o wa. In Japanese word: Fudo Myoo, or Fudo Myo-o. In English: The Immovable One, King of the Wrathful). Achala, also known as Krodha Chanda and Chanda Maharoshana, is a meditational deity in wrathful appearance. He is not a protector. There are however forms of Achala that are included in the Anuttarayoga groupings of the Ten Wrathful Ones.

Explanations and descriptions of these deities including Achala are found in the Tantras such as Guhyasamaja, Hevajra, Chakrasamvara, Vajrabhairava, etc. In the context of these Tantras, and the Twelve Wrathful Ones, Achala is a protector deity as part of a group of protectors within a larger system, or cycle, of practice.

Achala, blue, with one face and two hands. The right hand holds a sword raised to the sky. The left, a wrathful [gesture] together with a lasso, held in the heart. Having two red round eyes and pressing the lower lip with the upper teeth. Having a top-knot of black hair. Adorned with jewel ornaments and a white snake necklace. Having a lower garment of tiger skin. Kneeling with the left leg, and the right heel pressing on the seat in a manner of rising.

Very wrathful, blue in colour, with one face, three eyes, brown hair flowing upward and two hands, he holds aloft the flaming sword of wisdom in the right hand. With the left placed at the heart in a wrathful gesture, he holds a Vajra lasso. Adorned with a crown of skulls and gold and jewel ornaments, earrings and necklaces he wears a scarf of green silk and a lower garment of tiger skin.

Kneeling with the left knee pressed down and the right raised, he dwells upon a sun and lotus seat as if about to stand, completely surrounded by the flames of pristine awareness atop a throne supported by the four worldly deities, Brahma, Vishnu, Indra and Shiva. The front is adorned with a sword motif. At the right and left sides are four Achalas, all in the same appearance save for the colours, red, yellow, green and white.

Krodharaja Achala is found in the Siddhaikavira Tantra, commonly known as the White Manjushri Tantra of the Kriya classification. It is from here that he takes on his role as a remover of obstacles and the special protector for the practices of Manjushri. 

Krodharaja Achala is found in the Siddhaikavira Tantra, commonly known as the White Manjushri Tantra of the Kriya classification. It is from here that he takes on his role as a remover of obstacles and the special protector for the practices of Manjushri. In Anuttarayoga, Achala is also known as Candamaharoshana from the tantra of the same name, and has the same appearance with an added consort and nine-deity mandala. 

The Kriya Tantra practice of Achala was popularized by Lord Atisha (982-1054), the founder of the Kadampa School and also by lobpon Sonam Tsemo of Sakya (1142-1182). The commentary is still in use today as the principal explanatory text. The practice of Achala in a standing posture was popularized by both Lord Atisha (982-1054) the founder of the Kadampa School followed by the Mitra Yogin (12th - 13th century) famous for the text known as the Mitra Gyatsa.

In the Kadam Tradition of Atisha, Achala is counted as one of the four principle deities (Kadam Lha Shi): 

[1] Akshobhya 

[2] Avalokiteshvara

[3] Tara  

[4] Achala. 

In this configuration of four, Achala has the same role as a meditational deity and remover of obstacles.

Fudo Myoo, or Fudo Myo-o, is the Japanese version of the Vajrayana Buddhist and East Asian Buddhist deity Acala or Acalanatha. In all its variants and all religions he exists in, Fudo Myoo is a wrathful deity and a protector of Dharma – a set of virtues and personal behaviors considered righteous in multiple Eastern religions, including Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, and others.

Most of all, however, Fudo Myoo’s (Achala Krodharao 不動明王) main goal is to literally frighten people into following the teachings of the Dainichi Buddha, also known as Vairocana or Maha Vairocana in Sanskrit. Dainichi Buddha is an old Indian Buddha that’s integral to Japanese Buddhism. Fudo Myoo is not the only “Myoo” who protects the faith in that Buddha.

Who are the Myō-ō Wisdom Kings in Japanese Buddhism? (Krodharaja Achala)

Fudo Myoo is one of the five Myō-ō of Japanese Buddhism. Also known as the Five Wisdom Kings, Mantra Kings, Knowledge Kings, Kings of Light, Kings of Mystical Knowledge, or just The Vidyaraja in Sanskrit, these five deities include:

1. Gōzanze Myoo – King of the East
2. Gundari Myoo – King of the South
3. Daiitoku Myoo – King of the West
4. Kongōyasha Myoo – King of the North
5. Fudo Myoo – King of the Center.  

(Not to be confused with the Four Heavenly Kings who include Bishamonten/Vaisravana).

* Footnote 

For those who had received the empowerment of this Tantric practice, you are reminded not intentionally or unintentionally to disclose the mantra to the public or anyone who may not have the empowerment or permission to practice, and by disclosing the mantra intentionally or unintentionally is a form of breaking your Tantric Samaya vows to the lineage masters and Dharma protectors. 

Please consult your Guru or a qualified lineage master for Vajrayana practice! Should a devotee even want to start studying and contemplating the Vajrayana practice, then it is truly necessary to first have completed the preliminaries and to be certain and sure that Bodhicitta has arisen and developed in one’s mind.

Vajrayana features countless skillful and powerful methods which, if they are practiced in the proper way, can make the process of accumulation and purification incredibly swift and direct. It is absolutely necessary to have the pure motivation and to know that Vajrayana practice is not carried out to increase one’s own ego, power and self-interests.

Donations for our Buddhist research and development

Do you earnestly cherish our devoted work? Assuming this is the case, we are delighted that you are finding our blog useful and valuable. Would you consider making a donation for our Buddhist research and development?  

We need your help to secure the future of scholarly interaction with Buddhism. Since our very first publication of Dharma works and activities in the year 2008, we had been effortlessly providing free distribution of Dharma posts and articles throughout the previous 14 years.  We have exceptionally constrained supports and do not receive subsidized or funding from people in general. 

Please help us and to develop our Dharma activities that will not only benefit you, but to all Dharma readers on the planet. Please consider showing your support. Your generosity will certainly help us to enhance our work and to accomplish for a better and brighter prospect to come. 

Thank you for reading, may you find peace and great bliss. With your support it helps to spread the Buddha’s precious teachings and turning the Dharma wheels in the world.

Aspiration For Bodhichitta

For those in whom the precious Bodhichitta has not arisen

May it arise and not decrease

But increase further and further.

Dedication of Merit

By this merit may we obtain omniscience then.

Having defeated the enemies wrong-doings.

May we liberate migratory from the ocean of existence.

With its stormy waves of birth, old age, sickness and death.

*Note

I do not own or infringe any copyright of the picture(s).

Picture(s) courtesy and credit to the rightful distributors and or studios.

Picture(s) is/are intended for editorial use only.

Eight Herukas of the Nyingma Mahayoga - No.2 Hayagriva

* The eight Herukas of the Nyingma Mahayoga - No.2 Hayagriva

The Nyingma mahayoga tradition (and their corresponding sadhanas) are said to have been received by Padmakara from the Eight Vidyadharas  or Eight Great Acharyas: Manjushrimitra, Nagarjuna, Vajrahumkara, Vimalamitra, Prabhahasti, Dhanasamskrita, Shintamgarbha and Guhyachandra. They were proficient in the practices of, respectively:

(No.2) Hayagriva (Tibetan: Pema Sung, padma gsung) the wrathful Avalokitesvara, the deity of speech. The wrathful manifestation of Avalokiteshvara who symbolizes enlightened speech, usually depicted as red in colour and with a horse's head protruding from his crown.

Many Buddhist teachers recommend Hayagriva as the practice most needed in modern times of rampant Egoism and Attachment. Hayagriva — Amtitabha’s most wrathful form — is the Heruka (Hero) of the Lotus Padma Buddha Family, the “Incredible Hulk” manifestation of the Compassionate Buddha. His irresistible “active” Discernment Wisdom is what many modern people need.

What is so special about Hayagriva?

“Whoever, including even the insects, has heard the name and mantra of Hayagriva only one time will never again fall into the lower paths.”

Specifically, Hayagriva is described as:

“A swift and powerful means to overcome the negative forces and obstacles. Prayers to Hayagriva are especially beneficial in these degenerate times when sufferings and illnesses are rampant due to the strong delusions of sentient beings.”

In Tibet, Hayagriva was promoted especially by Buddhist teacher Atiśa and appeared as a worldly Dharmapala. His special ability is to cure diseases, especially skin diseases even as serious as leprosy, which is said to be caused by nagas. (Dragon)

What is the benefit of Buddhist Hayagriva mantra?

Praying to Most Secret Hayagriva is a swift and powerful means to overcome the negative forces and obstacles, including those caused by spirit harms. Prayers to the deity are especially beneficial in these degenerate times when sufferings and illnesses are rampant, arising from the strong delusions of sentient beings.

According to the myth, Hayagriva is in the wrathful form of Vajrasattva, who assumes the form Avalokiteshvara and turns into Hayagriva in order to defeat the powerful demon Rudra, who has submitted the gods. He is accompanied by Vajrapani, who assumes the power of Tara and then becomes the wrathful Vajravarahi. 

In his simplest form Hayagriva is depicted with one face, two arms and two legs, and a horse head above his head. Everything about him is wrathful - a scowling face with three glaring eyes, a roaring mouth with protruding fangs, a pose of the warrior’s aggressiveness, a broad belly bulging with inner energy, a sword raised threateningly in his right hand (poised to cut through delusion), his left hand raised in a threatening gesture and snake ornaments. This terrifying aspect expresses compassion’s fierce determination to help us overcome inner egotism and outer obstructions.

* Footnote 

For those who had received the empowerment of this Tantric practice, you are reminded not intentionally or unintentionally to disclose the mantra to the public or anyone who may not have the empowerment or permission to practice, and by disclosing the mantra intentionally or unintentionally is a form of breaking your Tantric Samaya vows to the lineage masters and Dharma protectors. 

Please consult your Guru or a qualified lineage master for Vajrayana practice! Should a devotee even want to start studying and contemplating the Vajrayana practice, then it is truly necessary to first have completed the preliminaries and to be certain and sure that Bodhicitta has arisen and developed in one’s mind.

Vajrayana features countless skillful and powerful methods which, if they are practiced in the proper way, can make the process of accumulation and purification incredibly swift and direct. It is absolutely necessary to have the pure motivation and to know that Vajrayana practice is not carried out to increase one’s own ego, power and self-interests.

Donations for our Buddhist research and development

Do you earnestly cherish our devoted work? Assuming this is the case, we are delighted that you are finding our blog useful and valuable. Would you consider making a donation for our Buddhist research and development?  

We need your help to secure the future of scholarly interaction with Buddhism. Since our very first publication of Dharma works and activities in the year 2008, we had been effortlessly providing free distribution of Dharma posts and articles throughout the previous 14 years.  We have exceptionally constrained supports and do not receive subsidized or funding from people in general. 

Please help us and to develop our Dharma activities that will not only benefit you, but to all Dharma readers on the planet. Please consider showing your support. Your generosity will certainly help us to enhance our work and to accomplish for a better and brighter prospect to come. 

Thank you for reading, may you find peace and great bliss. With your support it helps to spread the Buddha’s precious teachings and turning the Dharma wheels in the world.

Aspiration For Bodhichitta

For those in whom the precious Bodhichitta has not arisen

May it arise and not decrease

But increase further and further.

Dedication of Merit

By this merit may we obtain omniscience then.

Having defeated the enemies wrong-doings.

May we liberate migratory from the ocean of existence.

With its stormy waves of birth, old age, sickness and death.

*Note

I do not own or infringe any copyright of the picture(s).

Picture(s) courtesy and credit to the rightful distributors and or studios.

Picture(s) is/are intended for editorial use only.

Wisdom Deities And Worldly Deities In Tantric Buddhism

Heruka Chakrasamvara and Vajrayogini are emanations of Buddha Shakyamuni

Mountain Gods and Goddesses of Tibet (*Worldly local deities 世俗的神（佛教 ) - of the Himalayan regions are spirits indigenous to a specific geographic region and considered worthy of worship by the local populace. The gods can be considered Bon, Buddhist or regional - equally worshiped by all. The more famous of the gods have been incorporated into religious traditions, losing their local flavour, and worshiped throughout Tibet and the Himalayas.

Note* Worldly Protectors, or Deities, is a Buddhist term used to differentiate between Enlightened (Wisdom) Protectors and Worldly (unenlightened) Protectors.

It can be difficult to classify Mountain Gods and Local Deities as to their status as living beings or entities. They are certainly not human and they don't readily fit into the Buddhist description of the Wheel of Life concept coming from the Abhidharma. They are not gods of the Gods Realm, nor are they animals or hell beings. They seem to fit closer to the Ghost Realm, although not exactly hungry ghosts living in a vast empty, dusty, windswept expanse.

Gods and deities are a common feature of Tantric Buddhism. But who are they and where do they come from? Since deities make up a large percentage of the iconography in Tibetan Buddhist painting, sculpture, and more importantly, meditation practice, it is paramount to understand the answers to these questions. Initially the key thing to learn is that the terms “god” and “deity” are used interchangeably with no intended difference in meaning.

What exactly are gods and deities? There is probably no easy way to answer this question. The most direct route requires dividing the question into two topics. The first topic is a general broad but inclusive definition of the word “god/deity” (in Tibetan: lha, yi dam) based on a general Tibetan understanding and a conservative dose of Western interpretation.

In Buddhism, a yidam is a manifestation of enlightenment and may take the form of Sambhogakāya Buddhas, tantric deities such as Dakinis, Bodhisattvas, Wisdom Dharma protectors (Dharmapalas) or other historical figures such as past gurus or religious leaders.

The second topic is the enumeration of categories and the many traditional lists and subcategories of deities that are referred to in Indian and Tibetan Buddhist texts and traditions.

The Tantric Buddhist definition for “deities/gods” distinguishes between two very important and different types: worldly gods and beyond-worldly gods. Ordinarily most people refer to all deities as gods and all gods as deities, without distinguishing between worlds and beyond-worldly. In general a god is a supernatural being or presence that lives outside of our normal daily reality and who has the power to interact, for good or for ill, in our personal reality through spiritual connection, ritual, or a cause and effect relationship.

Within Buddhism, these worldly gods are understood as sentient beings who have powers and life circumstances that are different from that of normal humans, but occupy and move through the same wheel of existence—samsara—as humans do, based on the laws of cause and effect.

Examples of worldly gods are Brahma, Indra, Vishnu, and Shiva, along with all of the other less familiar Hindu characters. Included amongst these are the Guardians of the Four Directions, the local gods of the various Buddhist regions of Nepal, Tibet, and Bhutan, which include many mountain and regional gods. To the upper left is an example of the worldly god Brahma, with four faces, orange skin, and riding a large goose.

The enlightened or wisdom beings are believed to be unique to Buddhism and live outside of the wheel of existence. They are considered to be enlightened individuals or emanations of enlightened individuals. They are divided into two further categories: individual entities and emanations. Examples of well-known individual entities that have escaped from samsara are Shakyamuni Buddha, Medicine Buddha, and the meditational deity forms of Manjushri, Avalokiteshvara, Vajrapani and Tara (bottom right).

Emanations originate generally from the five symbolic Buddhas (Vairochana, Amitabha, Akshobhya, Ratnasambhava and Amoghasiddhi) or from the Tantric meditation forms of Manjushri, Avalokiteshvara and Vajrapani.  

Hevajra

Examples of emanations are figures such as Hevajra, Chakrasamvara, Vajrayogini,  Kalachakra, Mahakala, and many others. The lists and subcategories of deities can be long and sometimes overlap. Next week we will look at some of the more common and well-known categories of Buddhist Tantric deities such as long-life, power, and deities of protection.

Donations for our Buddhist research and development

Do you earnestly cherish our devoted work? Assuming this is the case, we are delighted that you are finding our blog useful and valuable. Would you consider making a donation for our Buddhist research and development?  

We need your help to secure the future of scholarly interaction with Buddhism. Since our very first publication of Dharma works and activities in the year 2008, we had been effortlessly providing free distribution of Dharma posts and articles throughout the previous 13 years.  We have exceptionally constrained supports and do not receive subsidized or funding from people in general. 

Please help us and to develop our Dharma activities that will not only benefit you, but to all Dharma readers on the planet. Please consider showing your support. Your generosity will certainly help us to enhance our work and to accomplish for a better and brighter prospect to come. 

Thank you for reading, may you find peace and great bliss. With your support it helps to spread the Buddha’s precious teachings and turning the Dharma wheels in the world.

Aspiration For Bodhichitta

For those in whom the precious Bodhichitta has not arisen

May it arise and not decrease

But increase further and further.

Dedication of Merit

By this merit may we obtain omniscience then.

Having defeated the enemies wrong-doings.

May we liberate migratory from the ocean of existence.

With its stormy waves of birth, old age, sickness and death.

*Note

I do not own or infringe any copyright of the picture(s).

Picture(s) courtesy and credit to the rightful distributors and or studios.

Picture(s) is/are intended for editorial use only.