A Supreme Wisdom Dakini In The Vajrayana Buddhism - Simhamukha

Simhamukha is a supreme dakini in Tibetan Buddhism, who combines anthropomorphic and zoomorphic features. She is a wrathful emanation of Guhya Jnana Dakini (Tib. Sangwa Yeshe Khandroma) and is revered in the Nyingma school as one of Padmasambhava’s main teachers.

In Hevajra Tantra, she appears as one of the eight female spirits *(Tranen Gye) who arise during the intermediate state between lives (bardo). In this role she is also found in the cycle of tantric texts The Web of Magical Illusion (Gyutrul Drawa) to which the Guhyagarbha Tantra belongs. In the Eight Sadhana Teachings (Drubpa Kagye), transmitted in the 8th century in Tibet by Padmasambhava, she appears as a goddess who subdues demons and evil spirits.

*(Tranen Gye) - * The eight tramen (Sanskrit Pisaci) are animal-headed deities (tramen literally means “hybrid”). They are: 

1. Simhamukha, 
2. Vyaghrimukha, 
3. Srigalamukha, 
4. Shvanamukha, 
5. Gridhamukha, 
6. Kangkamukha, 
7. Kakamukha, 
8. Ulumukha.   

Simhamukha is associated with exorcist rituals that prevent black magic and eliminate harmful effects. The ritual practice includes the use of a Kapala and a metal mirror on which dharmodaya (The source of reality”, symbolically depicted in the shape of a tetrahedron) is painted with red powder, in the center of which is written HUNG, the bija mantra of the wrathful goddesses. 

The mantra of Simhamukha is extremely secretive and must be kept secret. A minimum requirement is an oral transmission. Oral transmission (Tibetan word is Lung, Sanskrit word is agama) — The verbal transmission of a teaching, meditation practice or mantra from guru to disciple, the guru having received the transmission in an unbroken lineage from the original source.

The mantra of Simhamukha is known as “the fierce mantra of fourteen letters that averts all magical attacks” (ngag drag log yige chuzhipa). It can be pronounced in a reverse way during extremely wrathful rituals, and it can also be written on the human body to create the so-called “Vajra armor” (Dorje gotrab) of the subtle body.

Simhamukha’s practice is based on the Tantric principle that emotions are an integral part of human nature and must be cultivated and subordinated to the ultimate goal. Through the process of transformation (gyur lam), negative emotions transform into enlightened awareness, which is symbolically expressed through the manifestations of various deities.

The figure of the lion-faced goddess symbolizes the enlightened essence of anger, which is the wisdom, clear as a mirror. The goddess embodies the higher wisdom that realizes emptiness and is beyond dualities. Although she is completely liberated from cyclical existence, Simhamukha manifests in a divine body to help sentient beings attain the Buddhahood through a process of meditative identification with her enlightened qualities.

Her divine forms appear as a result of her great compassion for the sole purpose of freeing beings from their suffering. Her figure is also an embodiment of great bliss (Dechen), which is spontaneous because it does not depend on external objects and great because it can never be destroyed. 

According to Vajrayana philosophy, this bliss is related to the original nature of the mind and manifests itself spontaneously when the attachment to the illusory world, which is the real cause of suffering, is completely removed. This is what leads to the achievement of absolute freedom.

As a supreme Dakini, Simhamukha presents the feminine principle as an independent force that is not merely a complement to man. She is also the embodiment of the strength needed to achieve the ultimate goal. Without the merging of the masculine and feminine aspects, consciousness cannot reach the necessary wholeness and attain enlightenment.

This is the meaning of the ** third empowerment in the system of Anuttara Yoga – to initiate the practitioner in the various aspects of wisdom that appear in the form of Dakini.

** According to the inner tantras (Gang Gi Gyu), there are four types of initiations (Wang): 

1. Vase empowerment (Bum Dbang), 
2. Secret empowerment (Sang Wang), 
3. Knowledge-wisdom empowerment (Sherab Yeshe Kyi Wang) 
4. Precious word empowerment (Tshig Wang). 

They aim to purify the physical, verbal, mental, and subtle defiles and to develop the potential for attaining the four bodies of the Buddha – Nirmanakaya, Sambhogakaya, Dharmakaya, and Svabhavikakaya.   

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.

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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 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.