In the Vajrayana
tradition, psychology, physiology, and cosmology are closely interrelated. In
this chapter I would like to show how this is the case, and also sketch in general
terms the benefits of this interrelationship.
Let us begin by referring once
again to the idea of interdependence and interpenetration. Interdependence is
synonymous with relativity, or emptiness, and it is one of the two pillars of
the Vajrayana tradition. In this particular context, interdependence has a specific
meaning--namely, interpenetration. Insofar as everything depends on everything
else for its existence and nature, so everything holds within itself the seeds,
the causes and conditions, of everything else. Specifically, we can understand
this by focusing on the idea of the interdependence of the parts and the whole.
The nature of the whole depends on the nature of the parts, and the nature of
the parts depends on the nature of the whole. This is the interdependence of parts
and whole.
Traditionally, we see this idea elaborated in the Mahayana in parables
such as that of the net of Indra. In this parable, each part of the net depends
for its existence and nature on the other parts, and each small part of the net
in a sense contains in miniature the characteristics of the net as a whole. This
idea of interdependence or interpenetration of parts and whole became very important
in China, too, where it is probably the single most important idea in Hua-yen
philosophy, or the philosophy of totality.
The idea of interpenetration is
found in the Vajrayana tradition as well, where we can see it expressed even in
the term tantra itself. You may remember that tantra refers primarily and literally
to the idea of the weave in a piece of cloth or fabric (see Chapter 22). Using
the analogy of cloth or fabric, we can understand the interpenetration of parts
and whole when we see that a small section of fabric reveals the pattern that
extends throughout the whole.
The idea of the interpenetration of parts and
whole is also expressed in the Vajrayana in the notion of the interpenetration
of individual beings (who here represent the parts, or microcosms) and the universe
(which represents the whole, or macrocosm). This notion of man and the universe
as microcosm and macrocosm is the first idea I want to consider by way of introduction
to a more specific treatment of psychology, physiology, and cosmology in the Vajrayana.
To
understand the dynamic role of psychology, physiology, and cosmology in the Vajrayana
tradition, we need also to recall the second fundamental idea of the Vajrayana
tradition--the idea of the variability of experience. This is expressed in the
experience of Asanga, who saw the Buddha Maitreya first not at all, then in the
form of a diseased dog, and finally in his celestial and transformed aspect. This
idea is also expressed in the fact that the beings who inhabit the six realms
of existence view phenomena differently: this is the variability of experience
relative to the conditioned state of one's mind. Thus reality is dependent on
the conditions of one's mind: an impure mind will perceive and experience reality
in one way, whereas a transformed and purified mind will experience it in another.
It is important to keep both interpenetration and the variability of experience
in mind if we are going to understand the relationship between the individual
and the universe in Vajrayana psychology, physiology, and cosmology, and if we
are going to understand how this relationship functions dynamically to bring about
the transformation that is the goal of Vajrayana practice.
Let us first look
specifically at psychology within the Vajrayana tradition. Thus far I have been
at pains to show that the Vajrayana is a natural and logical development of the
Buddhist tradition as a whole, as we find it embodied in the Theravada and Mahayana.
Given this fact, it is not surprising that Vajrayana psychology takes as its basic
building blocks elements which belong to a system that is central to Buddhist
psychology in general.
These building blocks are the five aggregates. As in
the Theravada and Mahayana, the five aggregates of form, feeling, perception,
volition, and consciousness function as the basic components of Vajrayana psychology.
In the impure condition of mind--the condition common to all of us before we have
transformed our experience--these five aggregates are associated respectively
with the five afflictions, or defilements, of ignorance, pride, attachment, envy,
and aversion. You will notice the presence of the three basic afflictions that
are causes of the experience of suffering and, in addition to them, the afflictions
of pride and envy.
We can also see the five afflictions in relation to the
five realms of existence that are not conducive to liberation. In this context,
ignorance corresponds to the realm of animals, pride to the realm of the gods,
attachment to the realm of the hungry ghosts, envy to the realm of the demigods,
and aversion to the realm of the hell beings. It is interesting to note that the
five afflictions also constitute the causes of birth in the five unfavorable realms
of existence.
This is the picture of reality seen from the point of view of
the untransformed mode of being, the impure vision which is typical of our experience,
and which was typical of Asanga's experience when he was unable to see Maitreya.
Even in the Perfection of Wisdom literature, we find statements to the effect
that, as a Bodhisattva progresses toward Buddhahood, his aggregates become perfectly
pure. In the Vajrayana, this general statement is given positive and specific
content so that, in Vajrayana psychology, the five aggregates are transformed
and appear in the form of the five celestial Buddhas when the mind has been purified
by the cultivation of wholesome conditions. Thus, in their transformed mode of
being, the five aggregates appear as the five celestial Buddhas: the aggregate
of form, when purified, appears in the form of the Buddha Vairochana; feeling,
in the form of Ratnasambhava; perception, in the form of Amitabha; volition, in
the form of Amoghasiddhi; and consciousness, in the form of Akshobhya.
Some
of you may have seen these five celestial Buddhas iconographically portrayed in
the mandala, a sacred or magical circle which is a representation of the purified
or transformed universe. What the five celestial Buddhas represent is the five
components of psycho-physical being in their transformed and purified mode of
being. The five celestial Buddhas together represent the transformation of our
impure experience into a purified, or liberated, mode of being.
Incidentally,
these five celestial Buddhas are also said to be the Buddhas of the Five Families:
the Buddha, Ratna (or jewel), Padma (or lotus), Karma, and Vajra families, respectively.
These are the symbols that stand for the five aggregates in their transformed
mode of being.
Just as, on the untransformed and impure level, the five aggregates
are associated with the five afflictions, so on the transformed and purified level,
the five celestial Buddhas correspond to the five transcendental knowledges, or
wisdoms. The first of these transcendental knowledges is the knowledge of the
Dharmadhatu, which corresponds to the Buddha Vairochana. The knowledge of the
Dharmadhatu is the knowledge of things as they are in reality, the knowledge of
the quintessential nature or character of things. In other words, the Dharmadhatu
is that essential nature of all phenomena which is their emptiness, their nonduality.
Thus the transformed aggregate of form is the Buddha Vairochana, and this transformation
similarly implies a transformation from the affliction of ignorance to the transcendental
knowledge of the true nature of all things, or emptiness.
Second, with the
Buddha Ratnasambhava, who is the transformed appearance of the aggregate of feeling,
we have a transformation of the affliction of pride into the transcendental knowledge
of equality. This is the knowledge which makes all things equal. Here, again,
we have a specific echo of something which occurs in the Perfection of Wisdom
literature. In the Heart Sutra, it is said that the perfection of wisdom makes
the unequal equal. In the case of Ratnasambhava, we have the knowledge which makes
things equal. More than anything else, the knowledge of equality sees no distinction
between samsara and nirvana. The transcendental knowledge of equality which sees
no distinction between samsara and nirvana enables the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas
to operate freely in the world.
Third, in the case of the aggregate of perception,
which in its transformed and purified dimension becomes the Buddha Amitabha, we
have a corresponding transformation of the affliction of attachment into the transcendental
knowledge of discrimination. This is the knowledge which is able to see all things
according to their individual characteristics. In a sense, this corresponds to
the knowledge of the Dharmadhatu, which is the knowledge of the quintessential
and universal character of all things--that is, emptiness. As a complement to
the knowledge of the Dharmadhatu, we have the knowledge of discrimination, which
is the knowledge of the particular characteristics of all things.
Fourth, in
the case of the aggregate of volition, which on the purified level takes the form
of the Buddha Amoghasiddhi, we have a transformation of the affliction of envy
into the transcendental knowledge of accomplishment. This knowledge is the ability
to know with precision the exact situation of all sentient beings so that they
can best be helped to progress toward Buddhahood.
Finally, in the case of the
aggregate of consciousness, which on the purified level takes the form of the
Buddha Akshobhya, we have a transformation of the affliction of ill-will into
the transcendental knowledge known as the mirror-like knowledge--the ability to
reflect all things in the manner of the mirror. The mirror reflects precisely
whatever is presented to it but remains itself unchanged, unaffected by the images
that it reflects.
You can see that there is here a symmetrical arrangement
of basic psycho-physical constituents, with the five aggregates on the impure
level corresponding to the five celestial Buddhas on the purified level. Similarly,
there is a symmetrical arrangement of the five afflictions on the untransformed,
or impure, level corresponding to the five knowledges on the transformed and purified
level.
This symmetrical arrangement between an impure and a pure experience
is carried over into the building blocks of matter as well. On the purified level,
the five elements of the world--earth, water, fire, air, and space--take the forms
of the five celestial female deities who are consorts of the five celestial Buddhas.
The element of space, which corresponds to the aggregate of form, is transformed
on the purified level into a female deity who is the consort of the Buddha Vairochana.
The elements of earth, fire, air, and water, which correspond to the aggregates
of feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness, respectively, are transformed
at the purified level into the female deities who are the consorts of Ratnasambhava,
Amitabha, Amoghasiddhi, and Akshobhya, respectively.
In Vajrayana psychology,
therefore, we have aggregates, afflictions, and elements on the ordinary, impure
level which are transformed on the purified level into the five celestial Buddhas,
the five transcendental knowledges, and the five female deities who are consorts
of the five celestial Buddhas. We have two levels of experience that are symmetrical,
one level of experience being typical of an impure form of existence, the other
of a purified form of existence. This is the basic scheme of Vajrayana psychology.
In
the system of Vajrayana physiology, these five celestial Buddhas, along with their
five consorts, are found within the body of each individual person. They are situated
at five centers of psychic energy, called chakras, which are found within the
body of every person. The five centers of psychic energy are situated at the top
of the head, the throat, the heart, the navel, and the genitals. At each place,
there is one of the five celestial Buddhas with his consort seated on a lotus
throne: the Buddha Vairochana, who is the purified dimension of the aggregate
of form, is at the top of the head; Amitabha, who is the purified dimension of
perception, is at the throat; Akshobhya, who is the purified dimension of consciousness,
is at the heart; Ratnasambhava, who is the purified dimension of feeling, is at
the navel; and Amoghasiddhi, who is the purified dimension of volition, is situated
at the genitals.
There are a number of channels of psychic energy, called nadis,
connecting these centers of psychic energy. Although there are a great number
of these channels, there are three which are very important: the central psychic
channel (avadhuti), which runs directly from the top of the head to the genitals
and which connects the five cakras; and the two psychic channels on the right
and left of the central channel (the rasana and lalana, respectively). On the
level of advanced Vajrayana practice, the practitioner is able to manipulate and
direct the flow of psychic energy--which is none other than the energy of mind
alone--through these psychic channels. This enables him or her to unite the opposites
which are reflected in the psycho-physical experience of the individual person
and in the universe as a whole, in order to realize within him- or herself in
meditation the absolute union of all opposites, the annihilation of all dualities,
which is the goal of tantric practice.
Through this very brief portrayal of
Vajrayana physiology, you can see how the basic building blocks of psycho-physical
experience, be they viewed from the impure level or from the purified level, are
reflected in the physiological makeup of the person.
Through achieving the
union of opposites within his psycho-physical experience as an individual person,
the Vajrayana adept is able to bring about the transformation of his vision of
the universe as a whole. He is able to do this because his body is a microcosm
of the universe. In Vajrayana cosmology, the features of the universe as a whole
are present within the psycho-physical experience of each person. Mount Sumeru,
the central mountain of the universe according to Buddhist cosmology, is situated
within the body of the practitioner, just as the sun and moon, the sacred rivers
of India, and pilgrimage places are found within the body in a microcosmic way.
Not
only are these features of the universe situated within the body but so, too,
are the primary features of the transformed or purified experience. We have already
seen that the five celestial Buddhas are found within the body at the five centers
of psychic energy. In the same way, we find that the experience of the individual
person is in fact none other than the experience of the celestial or purified
universe, so that the body is in fact the celestial mansion of the divine Buddhas.
In Vajrayana psychology, physiology, and cosmology, therefore, we find the real
meaning of the expression that 'The body is a temple.' It is a temple that contains
the celestial Buddhas, who are none other than the transformed mode of being of
the ordinary mode of being of the psycho-physical components, or aggregates.
You
can see how, in the Vajrayana tradition, a close correspondence is drawn between
the ordinary level of experience and the purified level of experience. This correspondence
is established through the idea of microcosm and macrocosm. Specifically, the
Vajrayana supplies a special psychological and physiological scheme of the elements
of experience precisely so that they can be subjected to the direct and efficient
manipulation of the mind. This scheme employs the centers of psychic energy and
the channels through which psychic energy flows.
What I have tried to do in
this chapter is show that, in the Vajrayana system of psychology, physiology,
and cosmology, as in Vajrayana myth and symbol, we do not have an arcane and exotic
portrayal of haphazard or arbitrary forms. Rather, we have a very carefully designed
system which accords with the fundamental principles of the Buddhist path to liberation.
What we have is really just a particularly rich and colorful development of the
suggestions we have seen in the earlier Buddhist traditions, in the psychology
of the Abhidharma and in the Perfection of Wisdom literature. In the Vajrayana
tradition, all these suggestions receive a very definite content. The Vajrayana
supplies colorful, bright, and attractive representations of the various components
of psycho-physical experience, and a description of how their transformation can
be achieved through the gradual purification of one's mode of being.
[Taken from Peter Della Santina., The Tree of Enlightenment. (Taiwan: The Corporate Body of the Buddha Educational Foundation, 1997), pp. 234-242].