| Lama Jigme's Tips on Meditation and the Spiritual Path |
| Saturday, the 1st of October, 2008 Why is the Buddha of Compassion depicted as if having Four Arms? |
In his book “The Heart Treasure of the Enlightened
Ones,” my kind teacher, Dilgo Khyentse,
who was also the teacher of His Holiness the 14th Dalai
Lama of Tibet
explains…
“…for the present practice, you may…
visualize Chen-re-zig above your head,
thinking of him as NO different from
your root teacher,
the teacher for whom you feel the
greatest devotion.
He {Chen-re-zig} is white in color –
the dazzling white of a snow peak
reflecting a hundred thousand suns,
dispelling the darkness of the whole universe.
He has one head, symbolizing
the oneness of the absolute nautre;
four arms, symbolizing
1. loving-kindeness,
2. compassion,
3. rejoicing and
4. equanimity;
two legs crossed in the Vaj-ra posture,
symbolizing
the sameness of Sam-sa-ra and Nir-va-na;
he is sitting on a thousand-petaled lotus,
symbolizing compassion, and
a moon disc {cushion},
symbolizing voidness.
One pair of hands are together at his heart
and hold a jewel,
which represents the Bo-dhi-chit-ta,
the wish-granting gem
which bestows the supreme
and ordinary siddhis.
Of the other pair of hands,
one holds out a crystal rosary to his right ,
and the other a white lotus
to his left;
the rosary symbolized his unceasing compassion
extending like an unbroken thread
through the heart of every being,
and the lotus,
the unchanging purity of his wisdom,
blooming above the mud of Sam-sa-ra.
The jewel also symbolizes the wisdom-bliss
as the means,
while the lotus symbolize the wisdom-voidness
as the realization.
His beautiful body…
is clad in... jewels and silks…
… the black and white of his two eyes
gazing compassionately upon all beings,
his perfectly arched eyebrows,
the curve of his nose, and his radiant smile.
…his…head – it’s perfect shape
and it’s ornaments,
the golden crown and earrings.
… the rest of his body
and the various ornaments,
the three rows of necklaces,
the antelope skin over his left shoulder
and covering his left breast,
the jeweled bracelets and anklets,
the colorful silken scarves,
the white shawl embroidered with gold,
and the lower garment of five colors.
… you should NOT think of it as something solid
made of flesh, bones and blood
but as like a rainbow, brilliant, colorful,
and clear,
yet without any {grasp-able} substance.
This is the void aspect of Chen-re-zig’s nature,
whish has NO impure or solid constituents;
Chen-re-zig is completely unsullied by the five
aggregates,
which together are what give rise to the idea of
an ego.
…he emanates rays of light,
which… reach out to all beings,
dispelling their suffering,
establishing them in the wisdom of great bliss,
and transforming them
into male and female Bo-dhi-sat-tvas
and {transforming} the whole universe
into a perfect Buddha-field.
The elements of Chen-re-zig’s iconography symbolize
the greatness of his compassion and love as well as his
wisdom of letting go.
Folks we don’t need more dogma…
…and we don’t need more faith.
We need greater love,
we need greater peace,
we need greater good fortune and most of all
we need greater happiness!
Ones,” my kind teacher, Dilgo Khyentse,
who was also the teacher of His Holiness the 14th Dalai
Lama of Tibet
explains…
“…for the present practice, you may…
visualize Chen-re-zig above your head,
thinking of him as NO different from
your root teacher,
the teacher for whom you feel the
greatest devotion.
He {Chen-re-zig} is white in color –
the dazzling white of a snow peak
reflecting a hundred thousand suns,
dispelling the darkness of the whole universe.
He has one head, symbolizing
the oneness of the absolute nautre;
four arms, symbolizing
1. loving-kindeness,
2. compassion,
3. rejoicing and
4. equanimity;
two legs crossed in the Vaj-ra posture,
symbolizing
the sameness of Sam-sa-ra and Nir-va-na;
he is sitting on a thousand-petaled lotus,
symbolizing compassion, and
a moon disc {cushion},
symbolizing voidness.
One pair of hands are together at his heart
and hold a jewel,
which represents the Bo-dhi-chit-ta,
the wish-granting gem
which bestows the supreme
and ordinary siddhis.
Of the other pair of hands,
one holds out a crystal rosary to his right ,
and the other a white lotus
to his left;
the rosary symbolized his unceasing compassion
extending like an unbroken thread
through the heart of every being,
and the lotus,
the unchanging purity of his wisdom,
blooming above the mud of Sam-sa-ra.
The jewel also symbolizes the wisdom-bliss
as the means,
while the lotus symbolize the wisdom-voidness
as the realization.
His beautiful body…
is clad in... jewels and silks…
… the black and white of his two eyes
gazing compassionately upon all beings,
his perfectly arched eyebrows,
the curve of his nose, and his radiant smile.
…his…head – it’s perfect shape
and it’s ornaments,
the golden crown and earrings.
… the rest of his body
and the various ornaments,
the three rows of necklaces,
the antelope skin over his left shoulder
and covering his left breast,
the jeweled bracelets and anklets,
the colorful silken scarves,
the white shawl embroidered with gold,
and the lower garment of five colors.
… you should NOT think of it as something solid
made of flesh, bones and blood
but as like a rainbow, brilliant, colorful,
and clear,
yet without any {grasp-able} substance.
This is the void aspect of Chen-re-zig’s nature,
whish has NO impure or solid constituents;
Chen-re-zig is completely unsullied by the five
aggregates,
which together are what give rise to the idea of
an ego.
…he emanates rays of light,
which… reach out to all beings,
dispelling their suffering,
establishing them in the wisdom of great bliss,
and transforming them
into male and female Bo-dhi-sat-tvas
and {transforming} the whole universe
into a perfect Buddha-field.
The elements of Chen-re-zig’s iconography symbolize
the greatness of his compassion and love as well as his
wisdom of letting go.
Folks we don’t need more dogma…
…and we don’t need more faith.
We need greater love,
we need greater peace,
we need greater good fortune and most of all
we need greater happiness!
| Buddha's Lost Secrets: Tips on Meditation and the Spiritual path - idea #248 from your Buddhism expert |
| Avalokiteshvara, Kuan Yin or Chenrezig... who is this Buddha of Compassion? and why does he have Four Arms? |
| What do we need? |
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