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THE DIVINE IN MAN'S LIFE - 3

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Religious thinking, as contrasted with the philosophical quest for knowledge and truth, has often been scorned. This is only justified when,


instead of keeping the religious experience alive, it turns into mere idolatry and blocks every attempt to understand what the religious experience means to a person. But apart from this aberration there is nothing to show that religious and critical thinking contradict each other; rather they are mutually compatible and complementary, the one providing the rich, vivid and

emotionally moving material which is to be investigated critically and constructively by the other. Religious insight, therefore, is not the sum of the sophisticated expressions and statements of an established 'religion', it is the continuous enquiry into their meaning. To understand religious thinking needs a very sympathetic attitude, never the fatuousness of a supposed superiority and 'objectivity'. As L. A. Reid


observes 1: "The understanding of religion requires very sympathetic study; perhaps it requires more-religion itself. Of any human activity which involves feeling and will - such as art - one must say that in order to understand it one must be rather more than sympathetic to it; one must

to some extent be involved in it, even in order (at a different moment) to understand it in a detached way. In trying to understand religion it

would seem that one has to go even further. Religion is not one specific activity like art or philosophy; it is a many-sided and total life. Religion, from the side of the subject, is a commitment, a commitment of faith. And there is a sense in which one simply does not understand what it is all about unless one is already committed and can apprehend its meaning from the inside. Credo ut intelligam. The intellectual, standing outside religion, scrutinizing with cold neutrality, can in fact see very little

1 Ways of Knowledge and Experience. London, George Allen & Unwin Ltd., p. 104.


(except externals - which is perhaps why primitive religions are a favourite hunting ground) of what the believer sees from his side." Reid's words apply not only to the study of primitive religions, they are of equal force for that of Buddhism and the religion(s) of Tibet in

general. Buddhism, above all in its Tantric form, is something that involves the whole man and not merely his brain ; hence no understanding is gained by stating a few historical facts (which even may be doubted as facts about the religion under consideration), by failing to distinguish between literalness and symbolicalness as well as to be aware of their close relationship, and by overlooking the most important point, the adequateness of representation. The vital importance of religious thinking is that its ideas guide behaviour and offer encouragement when man needs it most ; when he is confronted with obstacles he has to overcome in order to work out a richer and fuller life.


The ideas of religious thinking have a peculiar quality. The divine which they attempt to formulate, has, as W. E. Hocking points out 1, "something in it 'like the fear of ghosts' to make early man more timorous in the world than he would have been without it ; and just as evidently it has something in it (like· the guardian spirits, totems, fetishes) to give him greater

confidence in the world than he would have without it". This double aspect of friendliness and severity, quietness and wrathfulness, which on the 'higher' levels we tend to separate into different categories and entities and thereby destroy the coherence and efficacity of the symbol, is conspicuous, in the divine images depicted in Tibetan art and meditated upon when pursuing the path of self-development. A recurrent qualification is that these deities abolish unfavourable conditions and bring about favourable ones. The unfavourable ones are essen­


tially of an inner nature and are, broadly speaking, all forms of emotional disturbances which with demoniac vehemence throw man off his balance and prevent him from pursuing his path of spiritual development 2•


1 Types of Philosophy (Third edition) . New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, p. 18.


2 In Phbkh III 3, 3a, these forces are specified as the Four Maras. They are known by their Sanskrit names as Klesamara, Skandhamara, Mrtyumara and Devaputramara. According to Chz II 32b seq., "Klesamara misleads sentient beings and creates obstacles to the aspirants by making them confused through countless subtle and coarse emotional upsets due to the wrong


belief in that which is not a self as being a self. Skandhamara blocks the way which does not arouse emotive responses and immerses beings in the misery of the three realms in Sarpsara (the sensuous and sensual world, the world of pure form, and the world of formlessness) by letting them believe in the five psychophysical constituents as a self and


That which is experienced in religious thinking is usually called 'God', but this word itself does not solve any problems, because, as C. D. Broad 1 has shown, it is used in at least three different senses, a popular, a theological, and a philosophical one, all of which at times over­


lap and very often have associations and arouse emotions which are not justified by what may be considered as facts. Moreover, while we may dismiss the popular sense of 'God' as too naive and the theological one as too dogmatic and doctrinal, even the philosophical one is open to objections. It may be used in the deistic sense, deism being the doctrine that "there is a. certain part of the Universe which is not existentially dependent on anything else, and that all the rest of the Universe is

existentially dependent on this part of it" 2• Another use is to apply the term 'God' to the whole Universe as having certain characteristics from which all others necessarily follow. This is a kind of pantheism. Lastly the word 'God' is used to denote those features of the Universe which actually belong to it and are not mere distortions or illusory appearances. On


this view the Universe is in reality purely mental and matter, space and motion are distorted appearances of this mind. There is nothing to show that Buddhism falls in with any of these three views. It eschews a First Cause as well as the mentalistic premise that the Universe in its totality is a mind or a society of minds. And it also rejects the thesis that the Universe in all its aspects is God. Therefore, before we speak of God or


Gods in Buddhism and jump to the conclusion that it is something polytheistic or that a theistic element has been introduced into it at a later phase of its development we had better find out what the label 'God' (lha, deva) means in Buddhism.

The Tibetan term lha is used for at least two different conceptions. One refers to one of the six forms of life, all of which are transitory and basically unsatisfactory. The realm of gods differs from that of man in the sense that the gods are happier for longer periods, although for the most part they are morally inferior to man. Their enjoyments are much

become involved in Sa:rp.sara through the affect-arousing organization of these constituents. M:rtyumara deprives beings of their life and at improper times and through death interrupts development, studying, thinking about that which one studies, and contemplating it as it bears on one's life not being allowed to come to its end. Devaputramara comprises Cupid and others". The text then continues to classify these forces as experienced reality.


1 Religion, Philosophy, and Psychical Research. London, Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited, 1953, pp. 159 seqq. 2 Ibid., p. 165.


the same as those in which most of us temporarily indulge, and a sudden transition from one realm to the other would be hardly noticed as such. There is very little sense in trying to reach this paradise as it merely blunts all one's faculties. According to Buddhism the relative ease with which life goes on in paradise is a handicap for winning enlightenment, not a state of exaltedness as in other religions.


The other use of the term lha is to refer to what may be called experiences of 'spiritual forces'. In this sense, 'god' is a mere label for something

in which the sense of the transcendent has found utterance and expression. It does not mean that it is a mind. Moreover, these forces are nothing permanent or immortal. They come into being and work during one's spiritual development and it is through them that we become aware of our transcendence and limitation. And since this awareness is so important for man's life, Tantrism teaches man how to find access to this experience again.


All this shows that there is nothing theistic or polytheistic in Buddhism. For theism in religion is, as F.S.C. Northrop has shown, ((the thesis that the divine is identified with an immortal, non-transitory factor in the nature of things, which is determinate in character. A theistic God is one whose character can be conveyed positively

by a determinate thesis. His nature is describable in terms of specific attributes". It is true that the 'gods' in Buddhism have many specific attributes but these attributes do not exhaust the nature of the god, they are passing ciphers through which we can glean something of the mystery of our being and becoming, all of which can be hinted at but never adequately expressed.


Religious experience is not restricted to certain individuals and occasions. It can, and often does, pervade all phases of human life and may come through such 'ordinary' experiences as love, beauty, danger, fear, and crises. There is a sense in which the transition form one level to another in the course of one's growth can be said to be a

crisis in which a religious experience may come about more easily. The large variety of situations, however, makes for different characteristics and the language and imagery necessarily grows richer and richer in content. But in all these cases the symbolic language exists and functions less to make clear prosak claims to truth than to articulate the emotionally moving content of the religious experience.


26 As guiding principles in the course of self-development religious experiences occupy a prominent position in Buddhism and at each level that experience serves to deepen the understanding of the situation in which man finds himself and to remind him of his obligation which is grounded in his humanity. This has been most clearly elaborated by Tsong-kha-pa, who begins his dissertation with an account of man's learning to appreciate the rich experience Tantrism can offer him. He says :

"A person who wants to reach the plane of omniscience quickly must think and plan as follows: In the same way as I have fallen into the ocean of transmigratory existence, so sentient beings who have been and are like my mother have long drifted about in the abysmal sea of the misery of going from birth to birth. The misery of existence in general and that of the three

evil forms of life in particular, is extremely harsh and has been there since beginningless Sarpsara. For this long time all sentient beings have been and are still worn out by emotional excitability and even now they do not see an end of it. Unless they set out on a path that promises them that they can reach their ultimate goal, they will get

nowhere even if occasionally they come to higher forms of life. Moreover, if they do not eradicate the root of existence, their un-knowing, they will have to roam about in Sarpsara through its power and will experience unimaginable suffering. As only Buddhahood can deliver them from this unbearable suffering, the causal situation for its realization namely the established

number of ten spiritual levels and five paths as well as their succession in a definite gradation, has been explained many times in the scriptures of the Paramitayana.

"Moreover, to reach there it is necessary to store merits and acquire knowledge over a period of thirty-three, seven or three 'countless aeons'. Then, having properly prepared our mind by this ordinary path we have to set out on the Guhyamantra path, the ford for the fortunate ones, the most excellent course in self-development, and the specific path providing the knowledge of how to reach the citadel of Vajradhara in a single life­ time.

"It needs the growth of a special certainty about this path which, in many Tantras and authoritative writings, and by the great accomplished sages, has been said to have the power to make us realize the plane of Vadjradhara in seven or sixteen existences, or in the intermediate state between death and rebirth, or in this very life. As certain people have 27


remarked : If a person who is not suited for the teaching of the Tantras, simply ignores them in spite of there being such a profound path, and merely busies himself with logic and epistemology, he has no chance of setting out on this profound path, and still less is able to make an experience of it. And should he not have heard about it, he is deprived of any opportunity to reach Vajradhara in innumerable 'countless aeons'.


"It will also not do to follow any ordinary path, for our mind needs to be prepared by the path of the three types of man, while detachment, an enlightened attitude, and an unbiased outlook have to be cultivated especially. As to the latter we have to try our best to adopt the view of Nagarjuna and his disciple (.Aryadeva) both of whom have been predicted by the Exalted One in

many Siitras and Tantras. And it also will not do just to set out on the Vajrayana path : if we want to reach the citadel of Vajradhara quickly we must bring about a harmony between the life forces of the path, i.e., the Guru, the tutelary deity, and the spiritual protectors, and our aim or intention of procedure.


"Moreover, we must know well the specific motivating forces for the attainment of the two aspects of the goal, the cognitive and communicative ones, and let them grow and develop within us. Here also, although it is the special feature of the Anuttarayogatantra to teach how an ordinary person, born from a womb, possessing six constituting elementary forces , and being constrained by five fetters , can obtain Buddhahood in a single life-time, we must turn to and depend on Guhyasamaja,

Cakrasamvara, and Vajrabhairava if we want to reach the citadel of

Vajradhara as quickly as possible."

In a highly technical language Tsong-kha-pa then describes the special techniques and experience intensities which are the subject matter of the Guhyasamrijatantra and the Cakrasamvaratantra. The former is classified as a so-called Father-Tantra because it stresses the operational side, while


the latter is a so-called Mother-Tantra because it emphasizes the noetic­ appreciative side of the experience. It is, however, important to note that neither of these two Tantras is in any way one-sided, both features, the operational and noetic ones, intermingle 1. For this reason symbol representations are mostly in the male-female form, the conjugal embrace being the unique way in which a person can achieve the closest spiritual unity

with another. Since in the 'Father-Tantra' the operational or 'male' element dominates, while the appreciative or 'female' one is merely hinted at and implied, in artistic representations the female partner wears clothes. In the 'Mother-Tantra' where the appreciative-cognitive or 'female' element is pre- eminent, the female partner is in the nude.

It is the general feature of growth that the individual's attitudes and traits tend to become organized into larger value systems or frames of reference which help man to adapt to his cultural and spiritual world. There are, doubtless, a variety of such

fundamental frames of reference or leitmotifs which more and more dominate and characterize man's whole life. Thoughts and behaviour may seem unique and particular to a given level within the three types of man, but behind this diversity lies some basic unity-theme which throughout serves as an integrating and co-ordinating focus for a wide range of specific activities which may have

their own peculiar, though subsidiary leitmotifs. This over-arching unitytheme is known as a yi-dam. Its explanation is that it gives mental stability, and only in this sense has the current translation of this term by, 'tutelary deity' any justification. Essentially it is the idea of what man wants to become and achieve, all of which comes to him

in an image that arouses him to action and to which he feels himself irresistibly drawn. Therefore, to turn to a yi-dam and to depend on him means to be clear about one's goal which as a leitmotif will recur in various stages of his development, like the theme that gradually unfolds in a musical sym­phony.

Tsong-kha-pa then continues:

"In order to experience the Development and Fulfilment Stages 2 as detailed in the Cakrasamvaratantra and the· Guhyasamiijatantra, we must depend on the yi-dam Vajrabhairava who dispels unfavourable conditions and brings about favourable ones and quickly grants the highest and


1 Tskhp V 2, r7b seq. ; 25b seq. Khg VII 2, 6oa seq. 2 The Developing Stage is the process of regeneration and transfiguration, the Fulfilment Stage is the deep contentment and awareness in the Developing Stage, both of which ultimately unite.

commonest attainments. He has five special features which are not found with others.


u(I) One such feature has often been described in such works as the ']am-dpal rtsa-rgyud (Mafijusrimulatantra), the gSang-ba spyi-rgyud (Sarvama1J¢ala-samanyavidhinti1J1t guhyatantra), the Phyag-na gtum-chunggi rgyud and others to the effect that, if in this evil age which is worse than ever and where one is oppressed by obstacles through evil spirits, walking corpses, spectres of the

dead, wicked demons, temper-arousing goblins, and false 'leaders' 1, sentient beings do not depend on this yi-dam they will be unable to travel the profound path to its end. Such beings are characterized as lazy, of little intelligence, not keeping their commitments, knowing no restraint, harbouring abominably false views, deluded in analyzing the

meaning of the scriptures, irreverent towards their spiritual teachers and friends, having little compassion, neither self-respect nor decorum, are puffed up with pride in having rejected religion, arrogant because of their fallacious views and deeply immersed in the morass of


bad views, are drunken with the enjoyment of sensual pleasures, shortlived and without merits. Therefore, it is by depending on Vajrabhairava and practising meditation four times a day that they will get rid of these impediments and quickly reach their goal, the citadel of Vajradhara.


"For example when one wants to fetch jewels from an island in the sea it may do to set out in a ship, but it is much better to join an experienced and intelligent captain, who has travelled the route and can be trusted. Then, when one sets out with him in a ship and trusts him on the currents and colour of the sea, the navigation of the ship, the distance of the passage, the

suitability of the voyage, and the rocks and rivers, through his efficiency one will quickly obtain the jewels, banish poverty and get whatever one wants. uThe specific feature of this yi-dam is that the goal or the citadel of Vajradhara is reached quickly when, by meditating on him, we experience the Development and Fulfilment Stages.


"It may be asked whether the experience as pointed out in the Fatherand Mother-Tantras are not ultimately valid and directed towards fulfilment or whatever their nature may be. I will answer this point as I have understood it by the light of Mafijughoa's knowledge.


<(Although each Tantra, be it the Cakrasamvaratantra, the Guhyasamajatantra, the Kalacakratantra, or the H evajratantra, has its own


1 According to Chz II 33b seq., these are forces which bring about mental depression and also physical illness.

special merits of understanding reality, Vajrabhairava sums up all that has been said in the Father-and Mother-Tantras such as the Sampufa.


"(n) This second specific feature of uniting the Father-and MotherTantras is evident from his symbolism. Thus by holding entrails in one of his hands and a brazier in another he points to the apparitional nature of existence and the radiancy of the knowledge of reality as discussed in the Guhyasamajatantra .


"(III) The third specific feature is that by brandishing the Khatvanga (a staff with three heads one upon the other) he points to the bliss that is felt as spreading when a frozen mind is melted in the fire of meditation. This symbol is not found in any Father-Tantra. It indicates the unity of bliss and no-thing-ness as discussed in the Cakrasamvaratantra.


"(rv) His fourth specific feature is that he holds a fire-pot, raises a threatening finger, and carries a man impaled on a stake. These three symbols are not found in any other Tantra. The fire-pot is the symbol of his superior discrimination and under­ standing.


"The threatening finger orders the gods of this world and the ones beyond to listen to him and it means that the ultimate essence of both the Father-and Mother-Tantras is with him. Therefore, if he can threaten the gods of the worlds beyond why cannot he conquer the demons in the ten directions, above and below the earth ? !

{(The symbol of a man impaled on a stake shows that enlightenment is possible even among evildoers such as those who engage in the ten evil deeds, reject religion, and commit unpardonable crimes • Yet there is a marked difference between this symbol and that of a cremation ground.


The latter concerns a mere corpse, this symbol a living individual. "(v) His fifth and last specific feature is the following: It is very important to rely on Mafijugho$a when one strives for Buddhahood, as he is the father of all Buddhas. Mafijugho$a manifests in the wrathful forms


of the Red and Black Yamantaka and the terrible Vajrabhairava. As a result his alertness and discrimination is much greater than it would be if he had remained as himself, because the manifestation, Vajrabhairava, has been deputized, as it were, to assist the aspirant during the periods of his beginning, his goal-attainment, and his spiritual activity.


"His two horns symbolize the starting point or the two truths (conventional and ultimate), the path or fitness of action and intelligence, and the goal or the two existential patterns (cognitive and communicative). From among the many manifestations who act as deputies and who are discussed in other Siitras and Tantras, this protector of religion, dispel­


ling unfavourable conditions and bringing about favourable ones, is the most comprehensive one. "As it is important to follow the graded path of the three types of man, discussed before, the inferior man will have to think that, since he will not be here for long, he will have to take into account transitoriness through death, the relation between the cause and effect of his actions, the general unsatisfactoriness of the world, and the fact that the only


power that can protect him from these vicissitudes is that of taking refuge in the Three Jewels. In order to feel that which he is contemplating, he must turn to the King of the law, Yamantaka, who is also called Lord of death, Witness of good and evil, Punisher of the wicked, Rewarder of the good, the Mirror revealing the relation between the cause and effect of man's actions, and King of the law because he decides according to that which is good and evil or because he acts in accordance with the law. He is also called Karma-Yamantaka, because he is judge and witness of positive and negative deeds.


"As all this belongs to the level of an inferior person, a man who is on this level has to depend on this Karma-Y amantaka in order to gain a vivid experience of his situation.


"The dominant idea of the mediocre man is that it is not only necessary to find the means for a happy state of being, but that one must be active finding deliverance through detachment, because one sees the infinite worlds to be a flaming pit. The vision of the futility of the world, and the consequent achievement of the feeling of disgust with it and

detachment of oneself from it, is the main subject of the training in that which is considered to be ethically commendable. As a matter of fact, ethics and detachment mean the same. Here one has to turn to King Vaisraval).a, for he is the guardian of the disciplinary code among the three sections of the Buddhist scriptures, the guardian of training in the ethically commendable.


The superior being is not concerned with finding deliverance from the world for himself alone, he develops an enlightened attitude in order to deliver all sentient beings, who have been and are like his mother, from the ocean of misery in Sa1p.sara. In order to be alert for this task and to know how to go about it he must rely on the 'Speeder', the great Black Lord of

Transcending Awareness (Mahakala), who has six arms and who is a manifestation of Avalokitesvara (the symbol of the Buddha's Great Compassion). {{Inasmuch as the path of fitness of action and intelligence must develop in us, we must rely on this Lord in order to bring to life this enlightened attitude, especially as he is the 'compassionate' protector of religion.


{{And in order to develop discrimination or an unbiased outlook we must rely on Yamantaka, King of the law, because he is the 'discerning' protector of religion, a deputy of Mafijughoa (symbolizing discernment as it operates on the Buddha-level)". The varying symbolism on the levels described in this significant passage, corresponds to and reflects our growth. First of all, on the

lowest level, we have to develop our sense of discrimination which is the anticipation of the goal of all our endeavours, the realization of unbounded cognition in pure experience. The development of this capacity then leads to restraint and opens us to others through compassion which is the necessary prerequisite for an enlightened attitude and which can operate only when its foundation has been laid by the experience of the previous levels and the lessons they teach us.


There is doubtless a considerable amount of anthropomorphism and mythical thinking involved here, which is unacceptable to many a 'modern' mind who would like to substitute for it 'timeless truths' which precisely because of their timelessness have no meaning to man in time. Another objection that is likely to be raised is that all these gods are doing temporal acts. If it is really true, as theologians claim,

that the Divine is non-temporal, how can we ascribe temporal processes and qualities to that which is non-temporal without becoming involved in endless contradictions ? This difficulty does not exist for a Buddhist, as he does not think in terms of 'things' and their 'qualities', but in terms of dynamic processes which, by virtue of their dynamics and variability, are vivid and therefore 'divine'. The gods are

functions and their formulations in concrete forms are symbols for the inner experiences that attend man's spiritual growth. Even if a person may not be able to describe the feelings which prompted the birth of these symbols, they will be intelligible to anyone who has had the experience which called them forth.


It is the very nature of every living symbol that, on the one hand, it clamours for an interpretation. This, in a certain sense, is an advance on the symbol itself inasmuch as it becomes conceptual and, since concepts are the stock we use in thinking, we thereby are enabled

to understand ourselves, our relation to the world in which we live, and our adjustment to our cultural and spiritual world is facilitated. The danger in this process of interpreting the symbol is that its comprehensive content becomes diluted, thin and fragmentized and so loses much of its emotionally moving power. As a consequence, thinking conceptually may become sterile and barren leading to utter emotional and spiritual starvation. On the other hand, symbols, if they are genuine and not desymbolized signs, tend to point beyond themselves and incite

to further symbol-thinking and an enrichment of the personality, because man's highest endeavours to express what he feels not only as a presence, but also as a need, demand symbols. Although it is important to distinguish between the literal and the symbolical, there is always an irreducible core of literalness in the symbol. If the divine presence is not 'there' and if we cannot communicate with it or if it does not 'speak' to us, the whole basis of

religious symbolism and religious experience is taken away from under us. On the other hand, the symbolic element is as irreducible and unavoidable as the literal one. In its dramatic setting we may speak of religious language as mythmaking, and as L. A. l{eid has demonstrated, ((we have to use various forms of mythological language because we cannot express the transcendent and our sense of it in any other way. We can of course to some extent do so in abstract language of concepts. But as we know, this is extremely thin in content, it tends to be negative ; and even abstract


language (like 'transcendence' itself) strains towards metaphor. Religious (as distinct from theological and philosophical) language is essentially metaphorical, mythicogenic, mythic and even myth-making because man's highest endeavours to express divine things demand all this })1•


Every kind of thinking consists in anticipating one's own actions and those of others. It has a dramatic character which is aptly described as an 'inner forum' on which social acts are performed. Such an inner forum it technically known as a matt4ala. It has a centre which, like a power centre, uniformly spreads into all directions of the compass and, since the centre is the individual himself, this spread into all directions indicates man's orientation in the world. On the whole four degrees have been


recognized and symbolized by four different colours. Thus white stands for the pacificatory and quiet activity, yellow for an expanding and enriching quality, red for majesticalness which, however, is attractive rather than subjugating, and blue-black for the forcible aspect of action • The varying qualities may overlap, as for instance the majestic and forcible, which then is expressed by the colour green. However important the centre of the ma1J4ala may be, it never occurs in a vacuum. The god lives in a palatial mansion, just as man lives in a house; and in the same way as the latter directs his actions, be they pacificatory or t'orcible, to the various parts of his 'world' and communi­


cates with others, men and women, so the god expands and 'deputizes' his entourage of gods and goddesses. The character of the inner forum with its enactment of social acts expresses itself in the communion and interaction between males and females, and the closenesss of this interaction is symbolically represented by the conjugal embrace of the gods and goddesses. This is not because we want to elevate our ordinary


conduct, which may range from a casual sex attraction to a total relationship of two persons in which the physical and spiritual form an indivisible unity, but because the revelation of the divine and transcendent comes to us in earthen vessels. The marked difference between our 'ordinary' social acts and those enacted within the world of the ma1Jrfala, is that the former are mostly

concerned with a world of things where even persons have been degraded into things to be used and manipulated for a certain purpose, while here the interaction takes place between subjects. The contemplation of the ma1Jrfala is thus a projection of one's inner life which reflects back on the subject by bringing about the first dawning of the fact that man's being is not narrowly circumscribed like that of a thing, but stretches out ahead of himself so that he decides the nature of the world in which he lives. This awareness leads him to recognize the importance of the very moment. He realizes that he must act in such a way that if death should strike him now, his life will have been significant and worth-while.


To be compelled to decide here and now is a highly dramatic situation which is not without an element of fear. The object of this fear is not an innerworldly threat, but man's whole existence which may be undone in a moment. To decide is therefore never an isolated event locked up inside of a subject. It refers to a world of things and, above all, of subjects and involves an ordering of the world. Similarly, to decide is also not an


accident added to something already existing and by itself immutable. To decide is the very life of man and from his decisions his actions will spread. Thus, the ma1J¢ala as the visible and emotionally moving expression of the drama of decision and as the incentive for enacting this drama anew, is unique because, in its nature as being evocative of a divine world and of the divine presence felt by the individual who turns to the divine for guidance and support, it gives man access to a world which he needs and which he yet loses again and again. Although man alone must decide the course of his being and becoming, he is not alone at this critical moment.


It is true to say that it is all myth to speak of Yamantaka as 'King of the law', 'Punisher of the wicked', 'Rewarder of the good', or to describe him as a deputy of Mafijughoa who is the symbol and embodiment of all Buddha-knowledge, or as operating on the lowest level of man's development through his fearful form of 'Lord of death'. And yet what


this myth wants to impress on us is vital. Every growth and progress is a kind of dying, but before something can die in us we, as it were, must die with it so that something greater and richer may be born. A man who passes through this drama may well be said to have come to possess deeper and deeper insight. L. A. Reid, in assessing the value of mythic thinking in religion, remarks: ((There is mythic thinking here, and it is necessary. It is not the end or the last word, but only one way in which we physically bodied creatures can live intensely our spiritual life" 1•


The situation changes when the level of the mediocre man is attained. Here assistance is gained from Vaisraval).a whose symbolism with its predominance of yellow and white points to an unfolding of wealth. All the gods who are under his rule have to do with riches. This means that the mood of the situation is a feeling of expansion and enrichment, rather than one of fear which attends our decisions. Inasmuch as here, too, the person's growth and spiritual development is important, enrichment is to be understood as an inner process of enhancement of


values, not as a craving 'to make money and grow rich'. This inner enrichment is intimately related to the observance of that which is ethically commendable. This implies restraint from evil and commitment to positive actions out of whkh the obligation to assist others in their spiritual quest is the natural consequence. Restraint has a stabilizing effect on the person who practises it, while the commitment to positive actions lets all that


which is necessary and helpful for goal-attainment mature within the person. Through this process, by which I myself become aware of my own spiritual needs, my understanding of the needs of others is also made possible and instead of engaging in sentimental actions which do more harm than good because they are grounded in the ignorance of the actual requirement, I am in a position to help others by giving them the chance to let that which is necessary for them mature in them.


Here, too, the symbolism of the 'King of wealth' is suggestive in its literalness. The 'king' administers justice and upholds order and discipline ; and in the experience of the binding force of ethics and obligation I recognize a value relevant to my concrete existence which can prosper only in a condition of orderliness. In the search of all that makes life worth-while and valuable men turn to ethics and moral

philosophy which promise them disciplined help. However, such help is not forthcoming if I gaze abstractly at standards which are divorced from my actual plight and which fail to account for my feeling of being under an obligation to act in a certain way or which, since men try to justify themselves as they are as well as for what they have done, also fail to account for this urge for justification as rooted in the

specific nature of man. The help which man needs is won through the awareness and feeling of existing in ordered activity. And this certainly is an enrichment of the person just as conversely a life of disorder entails frustration and impoverishment.


Again the situation changes when the level of the superior man is reached. Compassion, which is the predominant feature of this type of man, is essentially the intention that all beings may be delivered from misery. The forces of misery that depress man and block his self-development are immense, and forcible endeavour has to be made more than ever to overcome them. No wonder that the guiding principle should

be the 'Black Lord of Transcendent Awareness', because compassion unsupported by knowledge is a mere sentimentality, that leads to nothing and leaves the person on whom it is showered, as destitute and miserable as he was before. All that which is not and cannot be clearly understood as it rises out of the depth of the psychic life of man, and which not only disturbs

but also frequently dominates him, has been concretely formulated as 'demons'. Where these demons are not a mere figure of speech they are the vivid expression of man's active engagement in experienced reality, as it is felt in horror or ecstasy. This feeling that what we can sense points to something hidden, unfathomable, and demonic, strikes us


irresistibly. But to succumb without understanding it, leads to fragmentation. This happens especially when the 'demons' become absolutized as in superstition and aestheticism, where man is at the mercy of his passions and sentiments. It is therefore of utmost importance to destroy these fragmentizing tendencies. But to do so is to recognize them for what they are. This recognition is both spiritual nourishment

('food for thought') and the death of all that which tends to starve man by preventing him from finding himself. In symbol representations Mahakala, the 'Black Lord of Transcending Awareness', wields a flaming dagger with which to cut the thread of life of these demons, and holds a skull brim-full with their brain substance which he pours into his mouth.


Compassion, and especially 'Great Compassion', which is conspicuous by its absence in most of us who nevertheless would like to be considered superior types of man, has ((as its special cause and antecedent the practice of loving-kindness throughout many aeons, as its actuality, (in other words) one feels the plight of any sentient being as acutely as if one's leg were hit by a sharp weapon. As its effect

it has the capacity of developing the noble intention of always being ready (to help) others" 1• This compassion extends to all the six kinds of beings. However, in order to perform its task it must be equal to the cognition underlying and accompanying it. This is achieved in goal-attainment which is the unity of the cognitive, communicative and manifestation patterns realized in Buddhahood. To show that the goal

has been reached and that this compassion covers all sentient beings struggling in the six forms of life, Mahakala, the 'Black Lord of Transcendent Awareness', holds in his second pair of hands a trident symbolic of the three patterns of goalattainment, and a rosary of skulls symbolic of his action which leads all sentient beings out of their state of misery. For the skull itself is a symbol of

transitoriness through death and reminds us of our obligation to show compassion to those who are in the clutches of death. Lastly, in his third pair of hands he holds a drum summoning all powers to obey him and a leash with which to fetter those who might undo the unificatory and developmental process


Against the background of these diverse realms of action and at the base of all our spiritual activity one unifying force is working. This is not to say that it exists outside of ourselves or has a being of its own apart from us; it resides in the maintenance and development of this

unity. Though not in essence something special or distinct from the unitythemes so far considered, its peculiar feature is that it sets off many short­

run activities such as those belonging to each of the three levels of personality, all of which however are directed to the goal or long-time end. However important the knowledge of our goal may be, it is of no concern if it is merely nominal or a purely intellectual apprehension. Knowledge of the goal must be felt and such a feeling is aided by the symbol, while in the search for one's goal both symbolism and abstract propositions must go together. Felt knowledge of man's spiritual growth through all its phases, is expressed in the image of Vajrabhairava. He

may be contemplated as being single or in the embrace with his spouse ; and the difference is that through the former symbolism he points to the cognitive act as it is grounded in the knowing subject, while through the latter to the fulfilment of that which in purely philosophical terms is called 'noetic identity' or 'cognitive union' and of which I have spoken before. However, to speak of it thus in the abstract, in

strictly objective scientific terms, is precisely to leave out the feeling component, the 'involvement', the 'existential' and 'felt' knowledge which alone has any significance for man in his noetic quest. The symbol representation which uses the physical and even the

physiological as its vehicle must be regarded not merely as physical or physiological, but always as expressive of meaning. Meaning is not a constructed intellectual scheme (but neither is it anti-intellectual nor anti-rational) ; it is a personal acquisition, the growing and deepening insight of a thinking, feeling, and acting person through intellectual, emotional, and moral experiences, all of which are


not so many separate items, but the unity of a total life. The 'meaning' of the symbols which gradually dawns upon him who contemplates and immerses himself in Vajrabhairava, is that ((his nine faces point to the ninefold classification of the scriptures ; his two horns to the two truths (conventional and ultimate) ; his thirty-four

arms together with his spirituality, communication and embodiment in tangible form to the thirty-seven facets of enlightenment ; his sixteen legs to the sixteen kinds of no-thing-ness 3 ; his erect penis to the unfolding of bliss ; the human being and the other mammals on which he stands, to


THE DIVINE IN MAN'S LIFE


the eight attainments ; the eagle and the other birds on which he tramples, to the eight surpassing strengths 1 ; his nakedness to his being undefiled by emotional upsets and by intellectual fogs; his hair which stands on end to the citadel that is beyond all worries. In brief,

the thirty-seven facets of enlightenment are the path through which one gains the inner experience of the conventional as being like an apparition and of the ultimate being as limitless as celestial space, both of which are the subject matter or the ninefold classification of

the scriptures and provide a basis for one's setting out on the path. The main purpose of this path is the intuitive apprehension of the ultimate, and this is the understanding of the sixteen kinds of no-thing-ness. This, however, is indivisible from the feeling of great bliss as instrumentality. The goal that is reached by travelling this path, its essential feature being the common and specific attainments, is beyondness in which neither emotional excitability nor intellectual fog obtains "2•


1 The eight attainments and eight strengths refer to Buddha-qualities and Buddha-activities. The former indicate mental stability, the latter unbiased awareness and activity.


2 Phbkh III 3, I6a seqq. The same explanation of the symbols is given in Khg VII 3, 91b seq. Although this description refers to Vajrabhairava when single, it also applies when he has united with his spouse. As detailed on fol. 19a of the above mentioned work, the sexual symbolism refers to the incipient union with no-thing-ness, which happens through 'great bliss'. The latter is never a physiological

tension release. This is plainly stated in all texts on this subject matter. When certain scholars speak of an 'eroticized' form of Buddhism, blowing the trumpets of righteous indignation, they merely advertize their ignorance of the symbol language. As is emphasized in Tskhp XI 12, 5b, in order to enjoy the pleasure of sleeping with a woman no instruction by a Guru as to the significance of 'great bliss' is necessary. Therefore, the less is said about such absurd theories, even if they have been held by very learned men, the better it is.



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