Cakrasaṃvara- The tantric emanation of Avalokiteśvara

Meaning of Cakrasaṃvara

Cakrasaṃvara stands for the Wheel of Bliss, representing the triumph over desires and ego. He is a tantric meditational deity that associates with the highest yoga tantra, Anuttarayoga, in Vajrayana Buddhism.

The significance of Cakrasaṃvara in Tibetan Buddhism

Cakrasaṃvara is a significant deity meditated upon by the eighty-four Mahasiddhas. He stands as a primary Buddha in the six yogas of Naropa and serves as the principal Yidam and Heruka of the Kagyu sect in Tibetan Buddhism. Cakrasaṃvara features prominently in Himalayan monasteries, thangkas, mandalas, and statues, especially within the Kagyu, Sakya, and Gelug schools of Tibetan Buddhism, as well as in Newari Buddhism.

The Vajracharyas of Patan and Kathmandu in Nepal consider Cakrasaṃvara to be their tutelary or Yidam deity. They follow an ancient tradition of practicing Cakrasaṃvara tantra, which is a sophisticated method of contemplation to realize the clear light and emptiness aspects of the mind.

Story of Cakrasaṃvara

In a time long past, eight malevolent beings from the celestial, human, and Naga realms descended upon Earth, claiming twenty-four territories under the guise of space wanderers, land inhabitants, and subterranean dwellers. Their malevolent influence brought immense suffering to all. As per the Tantric Buddhist traditions, the historical Buddha Shakyamuni, from the Dharmakaya state, manifested in the Sambhogakaya as the formidable Cakrasaṃvara, vanquishing these interlopers. Consequently, these twenty-four domains became the palaces of Cakrasaṃvara.

The Association of Cakrasaṃvara with Hinduism

Followers of Hinduism frequently view Cakrasaṃvara as an embodiment of Lord Shiva and Parvati, deeply rooting their veneration in ancient scriptures such as Tantrasara and Cakrasaṃvara Tantra. These texts offer detailed instructions on rituals, meditation practices, and mantras related to Cakrasaṃvara, emphasizing the importance of spiritual union.

Cakrasaṃvara’s Integration into Tibetan Buddhism

The transition of Cakrasaṃvara from Hinduism to Tibetan Buddhism involved significant adaptation and evolution. Within Tibetan Buddhism, Cakrasaṃvara took on a new form, blending local Tibetan beliefs with Indian Tantric traditions. This divine figure emerged as a key icon in the Kagyu and Gelug schools, among others, showcasing an extraordinary synthesis of spiritual customs.

Iconography of Cakrasaṃvara

Cakrasaṃvara possesses a deep blue body, four faces, and twelve arms. He holds His radiant, red-colored consort Vajravarahi in an embrace that is both tranquil and intense. Crowning His topknot is a crescent moon. Other forms of the deity, with varying numbers of limbs, are also common, particularly the two-armed variant.

Significance of blue and red colors of Cakrasaṃvara and Vajravarahi

Both the deities Cakrasaṃvara and Vajravarahi are Buddhas by their own right. His blue-hued body in a dynamic dance posture represents the boundless sky and the vast expanse of Buddhist teachings. His consort Vajravarahi exemplifies the indissoluble union of wisdom and compassion on the path to enlightenment. Her red body and intense expression symbolize her capacity to cut through ignorance and attachments.

Forms of Cakrasaṃvara

There are three forms of Cakrasaṃvara – Luipa, Ghantapa, and Krishnacharin. The Luipa and Ghantapa forms are quite similar, differing from Krishnacharin in the color depiction of the four heads. In Luipa and Ghantapa, the right face is yellow, the central face is blue, the left face is green, and the back face is red, while in Krishnacharin, the right face is white, the central face is blue, the left face is red, and the back face is yellow.

Another difference is that in Luipa form, the consort, Vajrayogini, red in colour with one face and two hands, is in a posture with both legs around the torso of Chakrasamvara. While in Krishnacharin form the left leg of the consort, Vajrayogini, is outstretched and presses to the ground. The right leg is wrapped around the torso of Chakrasamvara.

The four faces, each a different color, symbolize the transformation and purification of the four poisons—ignorance, jealousy, desire, and pride—into wisdom.

The depiction of Cakrasaṃvara with multiple heads and arms symbolizes the deity’s power to transcend duality and represent the unity of existence. Each head signifies a different aspect of wisdom, while the numerous arms reflect the deity’s ability to undertake a variety of actions simultaneously.

Significance of Yab-Yab form of Cakrasaṃvara

Yab-Yam, representing the union of masculine and feminine energies, the father-mother posture, symbolizes a state of harmonious balance that is central to Tantric philosophy. In this depiction, Cakrasaṃvara and His consort Vajravarahi are not separate entities as a typical husband and wife might be. Their divine embrace symbolizes the unity of supreme bliss and emptiness, which are fundamentally identical in nature.

Minor Deities under the left and right foot of Cakrasaṃvara

Cakrasaṃvara stands on minor deities. Beneath His right foot lies the red-hued, four-armed Kalaratri, symbolizing the night of time and representing Nirvana. Under His left foot is the blue-hued, four-armed Bhairav, the terrifier, embodying Samsara. Cakrasaṃvara rises above these extremes, assuming a warrior pose with his left knee bent and his right leg extended at an angle.

Cakrasaṃvara adorns a garland of fifty freshly severed skulls around his neck and waist, with one prominently hanging between the two figures. His expression is fierce, with two eyes fixed on his consort Vajravarahi, and the third, which perceives reality, gazing upward. He is clad in a tiger skin loincloth, and He wears a crown or headband, a symbol of sovereignty, embellished with skulls. His garland of fresh severed heads symbolizes his victory over ego grasping and self-cherishing attitudes.

Twelve Arm form of Cakrasaṃvara

In the twelve-armed form of Chakrasamvara, each of the twelve arms holds a ritual object, symbolizing the triumph over particular obstacles inherent in self-centered consciousness.

In His primary arms, He clasps His consort Vajravarahi, with arms crossed at the wrists (Vajrahumakara mudra), holding the Vajra and Bell in the Hum sound gesture. The Vajra here represents the indestructible truth, while the act of holding both the Vajra and Bell signifies the harmonious union of compassion and wisdom, and the destruction and transmutation of egotistic processes.

In His other left hands, He holds the Khatvanga staff, symbolizing the blissful thought of enlightenment. The skull-cup, held next, signifies the eradication of the distinction between existence and non-existence. The Vajra Lasso represents the binding of beings to wisdom across lifetimes, and the severed four-faced head of Lord Brahma symbolizes His victory over the allure of divinity.

In His right hand, He holds damaru, symbolizing His joyous voice. The Vajra chopper cuts off the six defects, pride and rest. The axe cuts off birth and death at the roots and the trident shows that He has overcome the evil of the threefold world.

In other representations, Cakrasaṃvara also holds the flayed skin of the elephant of ignorance behind His back, another symbol of moving from obstacles to enlightenment (This reminds me of Gajasurasamhara form of Lord Shiva).

In fact, there are various forms of Cakrasaṃvara, each presenting with a different number of faces, hands, and accompanying retinues.

Two Arm Form of Cakrasaṃvara

In the more straightforward rendition of Cakrasaṃvara, He appears with just two hands either as a solitary figure in union with Vajravarahi or encircled by four dakinis as well. These four dakinis surround the four directions. Cloaked in deep blue-black hue He stands gracefully atop a radiant sun-disk. His hands are cross in an embracing mudra also holding a vajra and a bell alongside mother Vajravarahi. Mother Vajravarahi at His side wields a curved knife and a skull cup symbolizing the same the act of ego dissolution and blissful wisdom.

The all-encompassing wisdom fire envelops Cakrasaṃvara. His right leg extends grounding on the back of the fierce Bhairav, while His left leg bends slightly on the chest of Kalaratri.

This form is most popular in Drigung Kagyu lineage and is known as the five-deity form of Cakrasaṃvara.

The posture of Vajravarahi

In this idol, Vajravarahi extends Her left leg to rest Her foot on Cakrasaṃvara’s right foot. Her right leg folds over His thighs. She dons a small crown and wields a skull cup and a vajra chopper (Kartika or a curved knife), both positioned behind Cakrasaṃvara. Her form, along with the skull cup brimming with blood and the curved knife, embodies profound symbolism, signifying the transcendence of worldly attachments and the severance of egos and illusions.

She also dons an ornate girdle and bracelets of human bone on her wrists and ankles. In her right hand, she wields a Kartika, while her left arm wraps tightly around Cakrasaṃvara, her face tilted upwards.

Significance of Yib-Yab form

Contrary to endorsing violent or sexual acts, tantric figures serve as antidotes to the mental states that generate such desires. According to the traditional views, it is these desires that need to be subdued.

Following the Tantric path of spiritual awakening

For all Tantric deities it is crucial that one receives the detail instructions and initiations in these teachings directly from an authentic teacher of a valid lineage when the time and conditions are right.

These deities symbolize the essence of Tantra and the path to the spiritual enlightenment.

The Teachings of Cakrasaṃvara

Cakrasaṃvara highlights the holistic essence of being, urging people to integrate both spiritual and physical aspects of life. The numerous arms and heads represent the merging of varied experiences and energies into a singular spiritual journey.

Cakrasaṃvara serves as a guide in the quest for transcendence, aiding individuals in releasing their egos and broadening their narrow viewpoints.

References

Buddhist Deities and Masters – An introduction by Chandra B Sakya

The iconography of Nepalese Buddhism by Min Bahadur Shakya

The Indian Buddhist Iconography by Benoytosh Bhattacharyya

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