Tenencia de la tierra

In meeting Vajrasattva (Tibetan Dorje Sempa) in this chapter, we are en- countering for the first time a Buddha w h o does not appear in the Mahayana sutras, only in the tantras. He is a rather mysterious, even eso- teric, figure, w h o plays a n u m b e r of important roles in Tantric practice. Sometimes he appears as a kind of reflex of the deep blue, immutable Buddha, Aksobhya. At other times he appears as the 'adi-Buddha' - pure white, naked and unadorned, in sexual embrace with a white female partner. Adi means from the beginning or primordial. This does not mean he has existed since the beginning of creation - Buddhism does not think in those terms. T h e adi-Buddha does not appear at a first point in time, he transcends time altogether. He represents the potential of the mind to transcend the continuum of time and space, a potential that is al- ways available to us. W h e n you emerge beyond these limitations of con- sciousness, you find you are Enlightened. N o t only that; beyond time, you find you have always been Enlightened. In your essential nature you have always been a 'diamond being', have always been Vajrasattva. This diamond nature, outside time, is totally pure. It has never been sullied or stained by any of your actions within time. Hence Vajrasattva represents the beginningless purity of your deepest nature. T h e path to Enlightenment of the devotee of Vajrasattva, then, is a path of ever- increasing purification.

O n e of the most important sets of meditation practices in the Tantra, used in slightly varying forms by all schools of Tibetan Buddhism, is

A Guide to the Deities of the Tantra

known as the mulct, or Foundation, Yogas.18 These are often performed as

preliminaries to the practice of Highest Tantra (anuttarayoga), and are in themselves extremely effective methods of self-transformation.

T h e first, according to a c o m m o n Nyingma classification,19 is Going for

Refuge and Prostrations. This involves visualizing a vast assembly of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and other symbols of the transcendental path, and reciting a formula committing yourself to attain Enlightenment. At the same time you make full-length prostrations on the ground, and imagine all living beings reciting and prostrating with you. This recita- tion and prostration is repeated 100,000 times over a period of months or years. Performed wholeheartedly, this practice greatly deepens your commitment to following the Buddhist path to its endless end.

T h e aim of the second practice is the development of the Bodhicitta, the cosmic will to Enlightenment. Again, there is a verse to be recited

100,000 times. By the time this is completed, you know that you can never be satisfied with making your own escape from the prison of samsara. You are n o w committed to engineering a 'mass breakout' - to helping all living beings to attain Enlightenment.

O u t of the first two mula yogas comes the determination to gain Enlight- enment as fast as possible, so as to help all living creatures w h o have been circling in samsara since beginningless time. But, according to Buddhist tradition, you too have been taking rebirth since beginningless time, and in all those lives, being unenlightened, you have presumably been piling up unskilful deeds, which hinder you from gaining Enlightenment. H o w on earth can you ever purify yourself?

It is here that Vajrasattva comes to your rescue. T h e third Foundation Yoga involves repeatedly visualizing Vajrasattva and reciting his mantra - once again until the number of recitations reaches 100,000. This practice is a very deep purification of all levels of your being - body, speech, and mind.

It is very important to understand h o w this purification works. T h e purificatory practice is not of the same order as the unskilfulness which it purifies. (After all, if that were the case, since you have been heaping up hindrances since beginningless time it would take endless aeons to purify

Vajrasattua - Prince of Purity

them.) On the contrary, Vajrasattva's purification comes about through the realization that in your deepest nature you were never impure. Your true Vajrasattva nature is beyond time and space. It is primordially

pure because it is on a level of 'existence' to which karma does not apply. That is why it can purify all your karma.

Sadhanas of purification of Vajrasattva are m u c h used in the Tantra. They are performed as part of the Foundation Yogas, and frequently as a daily practice. They are also used to repair infractions of vows, whether the Bodhisattva ordination vows or the Tantric samaya - the vows taken during Tantric initiation. There are many such sadhanas, though the differences between them are relatively superficial.

In sadhanas of purification, Vajrasattva is usually visualized as white in colour, though different sadhanas may specify slightly different forms. In some he holds a vajra to his heart and a bell at his left hip or knee, in others he holds the vajra and bell crossed. In some he is a single figure, in others he appears in the form known as Heruka Vajrasattva, embracing his white Tantric consort.

There are other sadhanas of Vajrasattva in which he may appear in other colours. Frequently he is a deep or sapphire blue. I know of devotees who visualize a yellow form. You also find mandalas of Vajrasattvas of the same five colours as the Buddhas: white, yellow, red, blue, and green. However, we shall concentrate here on a form of Vajrasattva meditation which is used for purification, as it is in this context, as a purifier of faults and negative karma, that he is most commonly invoked.