Toh 2857A Sādhana of the Five Deity Form of the Tathāgata Lokeśvara

Exposition: The Sādhana of the Five Great Beings of Tathāgata Lokeśvara

Context

The Tengyur (Northern Transmission canon) is a treasury of treatises explaining the Dharma, composed by Indian and Tibetan masters. A sādhana is a genre of work that gives instructions for accomplishment rituals in the esoteric Mahāyāna of the Northern Transmission, especially widespread in the Tibetan tradition. This scripture, The Sādhana of the Five Great Beings of Tathāgata Lokeśvara, belongs to a profound stream of Buddhist thought, in which the holy ones (Tathāgata, bodhisattva) are regarded as manifestations of the lucid, selfless mind of sentient beings themselves.

Lokeśvara (the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara) in the tantric tradition is regarded as the embodiment of the compassion of all Buddhas. The five-deity form (pañcadeva) symbolizes five great vows of awakened aspiration or five dimensions of bodhisattva compassion. Each great being represents a different aspect of the liberation of mind.

Main Content

This sādhana guides the practitioner into the process of visualization and meditation upon Lokeśvara in five divine forms. This Northern Esoteric approach differs from simple accumulative Buddha-recitation: it is an advanced practice requiring a deep foundation of training in the impermanence of speech and the emptiness of person.

The practice begins by erasing all coarse appearances: the bodily form of our own self is regarded as unreal. Then the practitioner visualizes the five Lokeśvaras appearing from the space of mind, each with color, hand implements, and position around the wondrous lion family. The colors usually correspond to the five Buddhas (Tathāgata): white, yellow, red, green, and blue. Each color represents a type of wisdom and a dimension of compassion.

Through the verses, the mantra is recited throughout the practice, especially "OM MANI PADME HUM" (ôm ma ni bát mê hùm), the most renowned mantra of Lokeśvara.