Toh 1962A Sādhana of Black Yamāri with Three Faces and Six Arms

Exposition of the Sadhana of Black Yamari with Three Faces and Six Arms

Background

This work belongs to the Northern Buddhist Tantric tradition (Vajrayana), preserved in the Tengyur, the collection of treatises in Tibetan Buddhism. Yamari (གཡ་མ་རི, Slayer of Yama) is a protective deity in the system of tantric practice, symbolizing the power to subdue spiritual obstacles as well as the fixed views of ignorance. A sadhana (སྒྲུབ་ཐབས) is a directed method of practice, consisting of stages of manifestation, visualization, and union with the deity through symbolic wisdom.

The image of Yamari with three faces and six arms in the Northern Tibetan tradition bears profound meaning: the three faces represent the three fundamental afflictions (attachment, aversion, and delusion) or the three spheres of the activity of wisdom; the six arms signify the six paramitas (the six perfections) or the six dimensions of deliverance. The color black (nag po) does not symbolize darkness, but is an expression of emptiness and of wondrously arising power beyond concepts of form.

Main Content

The sadhana of Yamari with three faces and six arms is a complex process of practice carried out through principal stages. First, the practitioner performs the preliminaries, including loving-kindness, taking refuge, and generating bodhicitta, the spirit directed toward the benefit of all beings. Next is the generation stage, in which the practitioner visualizes the entire universe dissolving into a sacred altar, and then, from emptiness, Yamari arises in the form of three faces and six arms, each part of the body bearing the symbolism of protective power.

The three faces of Yamari may be understood as expressions of three principal powers: the central face (black) symbolizes essential wisdom; the left face (usually blue) signifies fierce activity; and the right face (usually red) symbolizes compassion and magnetizing power. Each hand holds sacred implements such as weapons (sword, axe), wild emblems, or signs of spiritual development, manifesting different powers in the process of awakening.