Garchen Rinpoche on Deity Yoga

"The ground of the mind is itself the deity... So that it's not the case that you need to transform your form into a divine form, but rather you realize that your form IS the divine form... You awaken to your own innate primordial divinity, rather than to the transformation of your ordinary mind into something else that can be called a deity."

[H.E. Garchen Triptrul Rinpoche, "Teachings and Commentary on ‘The Three Statements that Strike the Essential Points…' by Patrul Rinpoche"]

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on Deity Yoga

Avalokitesvara, the thousand-eyed, thousand-armed buddha, is considered by many to be the Buddha of ultimate compassion. The most globally renowned Tibetan mantra, known as the Mani mantra (Om mani padme hum...), is the mantra of Avalokitesvara, also known as Chenrezig in Tibetan. The Mani is offered and repeated as a way to bless the greatest, and even the smallest of creatures, with the heart of oneness. It is an offering of deep compassion—a heart of gratitude, blessing for others and a feeling of relation to all.

When in practice, a mantra as uncomplicated as six syllables, like the Mani mantra, can serve to focus and re-focus our attention on one beneficial thought form—compassion. Single-pointed focus is very beneficial in the practice of meditation, and mantra is an exemplary means to cultivate the skill. Mantra is, at its simplest, the spoken repetition of what is good. By focusing my mind on the power of blessing, and in doing so, unifying the mind and heart, I direct my heart toward compassion and my thoughts toward the good of all. Om mani padme hum. Om mani padme hum. Om mani padme hum…

When I focus my mind on compassion, thoughts arise that question my sense of care, or lack thereof, for others, or which question my view of compassion for myself. By simply allowing this thought process, my mind can then very naturally be directed to return to thoughts of oneness and well-being. Over time, nurturing compassionate thought and inner dialogue can truly change us if we let it. As we learn the practice, questions dissolve, and a more real understanding of compassion emerges. We then are able to access the feeling of, a true awareness of full compassion for self and others—a moment of the direct experience that overshadows any negativity or questioning that came before. It is then that we can practice what is, in Tibetan Buddhism, referred to as deity yoga.

Deity yoga is a method of practice in meditation where we envision our own being as the Buddha's being. In Tibetan, the yidam is the chosen buddha, or the one we may relate with the strongest, to visualize in practice. "The yidam is the expression of one's own basic nature, visualized as a divine form in order to relate with it and express its full potentiality."* We consciously free our image of self to allow for the possibility that we could be the perfection of the Buddha, in this case, fully compassionate. As Avalokitesvara embodies this attribute and extends that compassion to all beings and all life, so we imagine our own bodies and minds to likewise be truly concerned for all those who suffer and to carry within a sense of honor for and relation to all things—a spirit of ultimate compassion in every cell, that permeates all of existence.

Avalokitesvara's thousand eyes are said to see, to bear witness to all suffering. That is his vast visionary power. Avalokitesvara's thousand arms are said to reach out in service to all who suffer. That is his great offering to all. Can we for a moment let go of the limited view we have, of what we are capable of doing in the face of suffering? And instead, be the Buddha who sees and helps all; imagine ourselves in that way. Can we bring in the image of this bright Buddha—through union with the crown of our head—into the body? And let the oneness sink in. And let it change us.

I am able to bear witness to all the suffering I see and experience in my world. I even have the potential to see suffering far outside my world. But am I conscious in my response to it? When we find ourselves asking this central question, we can use practices of visualization and mantra, like deity yoga, to literally shift perceptual states – to access that place within ourselves which is already sure of the pure heart we hold. The practice assists us by finding the place within which knows the beauty and simplicity of an open heart and a helping hand, and by helping us make the conscious choice to bring that forward—to tap into it, for its power and the strength of its view of life.

Like a Buddha of ultimate perfection, we are originally blessed. Our fundamental nature is good, but practice is the path that helps us to see that for ourselves. Eventually, a compassionate awareness of the heart merges with our thoughts, our thoughts can merge with our practice, and then the practice will become our view of life. As this view stabilizes, compassionate thought and action potentially become our everyday experience, and we as practitioners, become extensions, or emanations as they are referred to in Tibetan tradition, of the Buddha's great blessing. Om mani padme hum.

*quote from Chögyam Trungpa's introduction to, and translation of The Tibetan Book of the Dead (1975).

Visualization / Affirmation
I see myself having a thousand eyes to take in and have a heart for
the poor, the sick and the ill, and those who love them.
I visualize the thousand arms emanating from my body offering all the compassion
of my true heart for change to these conditions, and an end to suffering.
I imagine my body as the pure light of compassion and blessing to all those
I encounter, and to all who see me.
By practicing daily in this way, I focus light on suffering, my heart on positive
change, and my sense of what is possible, on the ultimate.
Om Mani Padme Hum.
Om Mani Padme Hum.
Om Mani Padme Hum.