White Tara — Deity Yoga
After the Lama’s visit the village has been flourishing. It is as if people have been reminded of their Buddhist convictions and have begun to set their lives on the right track again, that of the eightfold path. I have never seen so many faces at the temple or at meditative centers as much as I have the week following his visit. Furthermore, everyone is keeping busy but with a sense of purpose. All the time and effort that was put into preparing for the visit has been put into cleaning it up. The town was a mess, the path on which everyone waited for the Lama, and on which he travelled to the temple was littered with prayer scarves, celebratory ribbons, empty food wrappers and what garbage one would expect resulting from the aftermath of a huge and festive celebration. There is much cleaning up to be done, which I am glad to help with. Most people are helping to pick up garbage and clearing the streets. The builders are taking down the throne, the ritualists are cleaning the temple including the cleaning of the offering bowls and butter lamps, and the scholars are writing a ‘thank-you’ letter to the administration of the Lama, thanking him for his wise words and gracious presence. But more importantly what the visit from the Lama has shown us is how close we can become to Buddhahood, the goal of every Buddhist, through his example. It is important not to forget that however life may hit us with such tragedies, as a hailstorm or sickness, it is important not to attach ourselves too much to these things, but instead with the stillness. This is what I am going to focus on now that the Lama is gone.
But you may wonder, how does one do so? How does one get closer to Buddhahood, other than having faith? The Lama helped us out with this question. It cannot simply be understood or ‘thought of’ through mere reflection, it must be actively practiced; one must take time out of their day to work on such things as getting in contact with your inner Buddha. I am not alone in my endeavors; I have also encouraged my neighbors and my wife to partake in such practices daily with me. The most common and active practice of doing this is called Deity Yoga, a practice that helps one identify with a particular fully enlightened being, or a ‘Buddha,’ in order to realize or actualize our innate inner Buddha nature. By using visualization, chanting, mantra recitation, and meditation – all active forms of cultivation- we focus on one deity in particular and visualize ourselves as that deity, meanwhile visualizing our surroundings as that deities mandala. In visualizing ourselves as already enlightened, and merging ourselves with this heavenly deity through meditation we can actually replace our consciousness with theirs and gain quicker and more direct access to such a heavenly realm. It is important that we do not picture any sort of physical form, like a regular body, but instead picture an appearance that is inseparable from emptiness, like a reflection in a mirror. The idea of this practice is to help us transcend or abandon the delusion of ‘separateness’, also known as the belief in “I” or the “other”. Seeing ourselves as the deity is like looking in the mirror and seeing the reflection of a true enlightened nature. The clearer we can see this picture, the closer we become to identifying ourselves with the deity and, or, forming a relation to him with our own Buddha nature. As this relation deepens, we come to realize that delusion and obstruction are mere illusions and result from the energies of a deluded mind.
It is important to pick the right deity to visualize in these yogic practices because by reciting their mantra and trying to become them through visualization, we actually get closer and closer to developing that deity’s qualities ourselves. Because our baby is on the way I have chosen the deity known as ‘White Tara’ for both my wife and I to visualize during deity yoga. She is one of the main figures and most suitable option for our coming baby because she promotes long life, peace, prosperity and health; furthermore, she is a beautiful, loving mother figure – as my wife is. Her body is brilliant like a thousand autumn moons, she is seated in the vajra or ‘thunderbolt’ posture with legs crossed, above an open lotus and white moon disc. She is the ‘all seeing deity’ sporting seven eyes. The first three are on her face, one of which is in the middle of her forehead, symbolizing her ability to see the ultimate reality; whereas, her other two eyes, situated like normal eyes, allow her to simultaneously see dual worlds. Finally, she has one eye on each palm of her hands and feet, representing the fact that all her actions are governed by wisdom and compassion. Because she has seven eyes, she can clearly see all beings in the realms of existence and her expression is that of utmost kindness and limitless compassion.
One of the Lessons taught by the great Lama was that the body of a Buddha, not so much in the physical sense, but more so in the sense of the powers his body encompasses, is attained through the meditation on it. I hope as I recite the mantras of White Tara, my life and that of my wife’s and future child’s will be prosperous and long; furthermore, I hope to be able to encompass qualities of compassion, kindness and wisdom.
