Tantric Symbolism

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>From _Foundations of Tibetan Mysticism_ by Lama Anagarika Govinda

 

Part Three. Padma: The Path of Creative Vision

 

2

THE ANTHROPOMORPHIC SYMBOLISM

OF THE TANTRAS

 

The abstractness of philosophical concepts and conclusions requires to be

constantly corrected by direct experience, by the practice of meditation

and the contingencies of daily life. The anthropomorphic element in the

Vajrayana is therefore not born from a lack of intellectual understanding

(as in the case of primitive man), but, on the contrary, from the conscious

desire to penetrate from a merely intellectual and theoretical attitude to

the direct awareness of reality. This cannot be achieved through building

up convictions, ideaIs, and aims based on reasoning, but only through

conscious penetration of those layers of our mind which cannot be reached

or influenced by logical arguments and discursive thought.

Such penetration and transformation is only possible through the

compelling power of inner vision, whose primordial images or 'archetypes'

are the formative principles of our mind. Like seeds they sink into the

fertile soil of our subconsciousness in order to germinate, to grow and to

unfold their potentialities.

One may object, that such visions are purely subjective and therefore

nothing ultimate. However, words and ideas are nothing ultimate either; and

the danger of getting attached to them is all the greater, as words have a

limiting, narrowing tendency, while experiences and symbols of true visions

are something that is alive, that is growing and ripening within us. They

point and grow beyond themselves. They are too immaterial, too

'transparent', too elusive, to become solid or 'thingish', and to arouse

attachment. They can neither be 'grasped' nor defined, nor circumscribed

exactly. They have the tendency to grow from the formed to the formless -

while that which is merely thought-out has the opposite tendency, namely,

to harden into lifeless concepts and dogmas.

The subjectivity of inner vision does not diminish its reality-value.

Such visions are not hallucinations, because their reality is that of the

human psyche. They are symbols, in which the highest knowledge and the

noblest endeavour of the human mind are embodied. Their visualization is

the creative process of spiritual projection, through which inner

experience is translated into visible form, comparable to the creative act

of an artist, whose subjective idea, emotion, or vision, is transformed

into an objective work of art, which now takes on a reality of its own,

independent of its creator.

But just as an artist must gain perfect control over his means of

expression and makes use of a variety of technical aids in order to achieve

the most perfect expression of his idea, in the same way the spiritually

creative man must be able to master the functions of his mind and use

certain technical aids in order to embue his vision with the power and

value of reality. His technical aids are _yantra_, _mantra_, and _mudra_:

the parallelism of the visible, the audible and the tangible (i.e., what

can be felt). They are the exponents of mind (_citta_), speech (_vak_,

_vaca_), and body (_kaya_).

Here the term _'yantra'_ is used in the sense of _mandala_ (Tib.:

_dkyil-hkhor_),the systematic arrangement of symbols on which the process

of visualization is based. It is generally built upon the shape of a four-,

eight-, or sixteen-petalled lotus-blossom (_padma_) which forms the visible

starting-point of meditation.

_Mantra_ (Tib.: _gzuns_, _snags_), the word-symbol, is the sacred

sound, transmitted from _guru_ to _chela_ (disciple) during the ritual of

initiation and in the course of the spiritual training. The inner

vibrations set up by this sacred sound and its associations in the

consciousness of the initiate, open his mind to the experience of higher

dimensions.

_Mudra_ (Tib.: _phyag-rgya_) is the bodily gesture (especially of the

hands) which accompanies the ritual act and the mantric word, as well as

the inner attitude, which is emphasized and expressed by this gesture.

Only through the co-operation of all these factors can the adept build

up his spiritual creation bit by bit and realize his vision. This is not a

matter of emotional ecstasy or unrestrained imagination, but a consciously

directed creative process of realization, in which nothing is left to

chance and in which there is no place for vague emotions and confused

thinking.

'The old Buddhist idea, that actions carried out _"kayena, vacaya uda

cetasa"_ [in body, speech or thought] produce transcendental effects, in so

far as they are karma-producing expressions of the human will, gets a new

meaning in the _Vajrayana_. It corresponds to the new conviction of the

immense importance of ritual acts: the co-ordination of the actions of

body, speech and mind (thought) enables the sadhaka to insert himself into

the dynamic forces of the cosmos and to make them subservient to his own

purposes.' (H. von Glasenapp.)1

The dynamic forces of the universe, however, are not different from

those of the human soul, and to recognize and transform those forces in

one's own mind - not only for one's own good, but for that of all iiving

beings - is the aim of the Buddhist Tantras.

The Buddhist does not believe in an independent or separately existing

external world, into whose dynamic forces he could insert himself. The

external world and his inner world are for him only the two sides of the

same fabric, in which the threads of all forces and of all events, of all

forms of consciousness and of their objects, are woven into an inseparable

net of endless, mutually conditioned relations.

The word _'tantra'_ is related to the concept of weaving and its

derivatives (thread, web, fabric, etc.), hinting at the interwovenness of

things and actions, the interdependence of all that exists, the continuity

in the interaction of cause and effect, as well as in spiritual and

traditional development, which like a thread weaves its way through the

fabric of history and of individual lives. The scriptures which in Buddhism

go under the name of _Tantra_ (Tib.: _rgyud_) are invariably of a mystic

nature, i.e., trying to establish the inner relationship of things: the

parallelism of microcosm and macrocosm, mind and universe, ritual and

reality, the world of matter and the world of the spirit.

This is the essence of Tantrism, as it developed with logical

necessity from the teachings and the religious practice of _Vijnanavadins_

and _Yogacarins_ (the former name emphasizes more the theoretical or

philosophical, the latter more the practical aspect of the same School of

Mahayana-Buddhism). Like a gigantic wave the Tantric conception of the

world swept over the whole of India, penetrating and modifying Buddhism and

Hinduism alike and obliterating many of their differences.

 

1 _Dir Entstehung des Vajrayana_, Zeitschrift der Deutschen

Morgenlandischen Gesellschaft, Band 90.

[Guest guest]

thank you Dharma....this is exquitely stated.....nothing can be added or

detrached.....^^~~~~~

Tantric Symbolism

 

> From _Foundations of Tibetan Mysticism_ by Lama Anagarika Govinda

>

> Part Three. Padma: The Path of Creative Vision

>

> 2

> THE ANTHROPOMORPHIC SYMBOLISM

> OF THE TANTRAS

>

> The abstractness of philosophical concepts and conclusions requires to be

> constantly corrected by direct experience, by the practice of meditation

> and the contingencies of daily life. The anthropomorphic element in the

> Vajrayana is therefore not born from a lack of intellectual understanding

> (as in the case of primitive man), but, on the contrary, from the

conscious

> desire to penetrate from a merely intellectual and theoretical attitude to

> the direct awareness of reality. This cannot be achieved through building

> up convictions, ideaIs, and aims based on reasoning, but only through

> conscious penetration of those layers of our mind which cannot be reached

> or influenced by logical arguments and discursive thought.

> Such penetration and transformation is only possible through the

> compelling power of inner vision, whose primordial images or 'archetypes'

> are the formative principles of our mind. Like seeds they sink into the

> fertile soil of our subconsciousness in order to germinate, to grow and to

> unfold their potentialities.

> One may object, that such visions are purely subjective and

therefore

> nothing ultimate. However, words and ideas are nothing ultimate either;

and

> the danger of getting attached to them is all the greater, as words have a

> limiting, narrowing tendency, while experiences and symbols of true

visions

> are something that is alive, that is growing and ripening within us. They

> point and grow beyond themselves. They are too immaterial, too

> 'transparent', too elusive, to become solid or 'thingish', and to arouse

> attachment. They can neither be 'grasped' nor defined, nor circumscribed

> exactly. They have the tendency to grow from the formed to the formless -

> while that which is merely thought-out has the opposite tendency, namely,

> to harden into lifeless concepts and dogmas.

> The subjectivity of inner vision does not diminish its reality-value.

> Such visions are not hallucinations, because their reality is that of the

> human psyche. They are symbols, in which the highest knowledge and the

> noblest endeavour of the human mind are embodied. Their visualization is

> the creative process of spiritual projection, through which inner

> experience is translated into visible form, comparable to the creative act

> of an artist, whose subjective idea, emotion, or vision, is transformed

> into an objective work of art, which now takes on a reality of its own,

> independent of its creator.

> But just as an artist must gain perfect control over his means of

> expression and makes use of a variety of technical aids in order to

achieve

> the most perfect expression of his idea, in the same way the spiritually

> creative man must be able to master the functions of his mind and use

> certain technical aids in order to embue his vision with the power and

> value of reality. His technical aids are _yantra_, _mantra_, and _mudra_:

> the parallelism of the visible, the audible and the tangible (i.e., what

> can be felt). They are the exponents of mind (_citta_), speech (_vak_,

> _vaca_), and body (_kaya_).

> Here the term _'yantra'_ is used in the sense of _mandala_ (Tib.:

> _dkyil-hkhor_),the systematic arrangement of symbols on which the process

> of visualization is based. It is generally built upon the shape of a

four-,

> eight-, or sixteen-petalled lotus-blossom (_padma_) which forms the

visible

> starting-point of meditation.

> _Mantra_ (Tib.: _gzuns_, _snags_), the word-symbol, is the sacred

> sound, transmitted from _guru_ to _chela_ (disciple) during the ritual of

> initiation and in the course of the spiritual training. The inner

> vibrations set up by this sacred sound and its associations in the

> consciousness of the initiate, open his mind to the experience of higher

> dimensions.

> _Mudra_ (Tib.: _phyag-rgya_) is the bodily gesture (especially of the

> hands) which accompanies the ritual act and the mantric word, as well as

> the inner attitude, which is emphasized and expressed by this gesture.

> Only through the co-operation of all these factors can the adept

build

> up his spiritual creation bit by bit and realize his vision. This is not a

> matter of emotional ecstasy or unrestrained imagination, but a consciously

> directed creative process of realization, in which nothing is left to

> chance and in which there is no place for vague emotions and confused

> thinking.

> 'The old Buddhist idea, that actions carried out _"kayena, vacaya uda

> cetasa"_ [in body, speech or thought] produce transcendental effects, in

so

> far as they are karma-producing expressions of the human will, gets a new

> meaning in the _Vajrayana_. It corresponds to the new conviction of the

> immense importance of ritual acts: the co-ordination of the actions of

> body, speech and mind (thought) enables the sadhaka to insert himself into

> the dynamic forces of the cosmos and to make them subservient to his own

> purposes.' (H. von Glasenapp.)1

> The dynamic forces of the universe, however, are not different from

> those of the human soul, and to recognize and transform those forces in

> one's own mind - not only for one's own good, but for that of all iiving

> beings - is the aim of the Buddhist Tantras.

> The Buddhist does not believe in an independent or separately

existing

> external world, into whose dynamic forces he could insert himself. The

> external world and his inner world are for him only the two sides of the

> same fabric, in which the threads of all forces and of all events, of all

> forms of consciousness and of their objects, are woven into an inseparable

> net of endless, mutually conditioned relations.

> The word _'tantra'_ is related to the concept of weaving and its

> derivatives (thread, web, fabric, etc.), hinting at the interwovenness of

> things and actions, the interdependence of all that exists, the continuity

> in the interaction of cause and effect, as well as in spiritual and

> traditional development, which like a thread weaves its way through the

> fabric of history and of individual lives. The scriptures which in

Buddhism

> go under the name of _Tantra_ (Tib.: _rgyud_) are invariably of a mystic

> nature, i.e., trying to establish the inner relationship of things: the

> parallelism of microcosm and macrocosm, mind and universe, ritual and

> reality, the world of matter and the world of the spirit.

> This is the essence of Tantrism, as it developed with logical

> necessity from the teachings and the religious practice of _Vijnanavadins_

> and _Yogacarins_ (the former name emphasizes more the theoretical or

> philosophical, the latter more the practical aspect of the same School of

> Mahayana-Buddhism). Like a gigantic wave the Tantric conception of the

> world swept over the whole of India, penetrating and modifying Buddhism

and

> Hinduism alike and obliterating many of their differences.

>

> 1 _Dir Entstehung des Vajrayana_, Zeitschrift der Deutschen

> Morgenlandischen Gesellschaft, Band 90.

>

>