The symbolism of Heruka's body Flashcards
Dark-blue colour
Wisdom Truth Body
Head of Brahma
Nature Truth Body
Skulls
Enjoyment Body
Crossed vajra of various colours
“My hair is tied up in a topknot marked with a small crossed varja of various colours”
Emanation Body
Heruka has attained the four bodies and we should strive to do the same.
Need to abandon all objects to be abandoned, the phenomena of the basis.
Practice all stages of the path to enlightenment, the phenomena of the path.
Twelve arms
Teaches us to abandon the cycle of twelve dependent-related links, samsara
Elephant skin
Teaches us to abandon the ignorance of self-grasping.
Lower garment of a tiger skin
Teaches us to abandon hatred
Axe
Teaches us to abandon the faults of body, speech and mind.
Curved knife
Teaches us to abandon conceptions grasping at extremes
Three-pointed spear
Teaches us to abandon all imprints of the delusions of the three realms.
Long necklace of fifty human heads
Teaches us to abandon ordinary appearances and conceptions by purifying the fifty inner winds.
The bared fangs
Teach us to overcome the four maras.
Heruka’s changing facial expressions
Teach us to turn away from wrong views and adopt correct views
His treading on Bhairawa and Kalarati
Teach us to abandon the two extremes of existence and non-existence, and the two extremes of samsara and solitary peace.
Six mudra-ornaments
Teach us to train in the six perfections
Four faces
Teach us to realize emptiness by meditating on the four doors of perfect liberation:
1. Emptiness (the emptiness of all functioning things)
2. Signlessness (the emptiness of their causes)
3. Wishlessness (the emptiness of their effects)
4. Non-production (the emptiness of all non-produced phenomena)
Skullcup brimming with blood
Blood symbolizes great bliss, skullcup symbolizes emptiness.
Together they symbolize the union of the two.
Half moon on the left side of Heruka’s crown
Symbolizes the white bodhichitta in the crown melting and descending through the central channel, giving rise to the experience of the great bliss of the four joys.
Ashes smeared all over his body
Symbolize this bliss pervading his entire body
Heruka embracing Vajravarahi
Symbolizes that we need to complete our training in great bliss first with a visualized wisdom mudra and then with an actual action mudra.
Heruka & Vajravarahi
Symbolizes Buddha’s omniscient mind, the indivisible union of bliss and emptiness.
Heruka holds a vajra and bell
Symbolizing method and wisdom; together they teach us that we need to accomplish the union of method and wisdom.
Elephant skin
Need to abandon the ignorance of self-grasping
Tiger skin
Need to abandon hatred
Nothing to symbolize attachment
We need some slight attachment in order to develop great bliss.
Sound of damaru
Invokes all the Buddhas so that we can receive their blessings.
Damaru
Symbolizes the blazing of the inner fire.
Bell
Symbolizes clear light.
Vajra noose
Our mind should always be bound by bliss
Khatanga
Teaches us to recognize that the ultimate bodhichitta of inseparable bliss and emptiness appears as Heruka’s mandala and Deities.
Heruka’s hair tied up in a top-knot
Teaches us that the realizations of generation stage and completion stage, and all other good qualities, are accomplished gradually.
Three eyes
Symbolize his omniscient wisdom knowing all objects of the three times.
Rosaries of five-pronged vajras
Symbolize five exalted wisdoms.
Purpose of contemplating the symbolism:
Improve our divine pride and clear appearance of ourself as Heruka.
‘In the precious celestial mansions as extensive as the three thousand worlds’
We should visualize the celestial mansion as large as the entire universe.
