..续本文上一页 of the buddha within can unfold and manifest through the compassionate blessing of what is called “sign yidam.” By understanding the relationship between the outer and inner yidam and by practicing according to the precious instructions, a student can realize the inner nature of the own mind and manifest his or her hidden treasure that is always and already slumbering within. Meditation practice is more than wishful thinking.
The main yidam in every visualization practice is surrounded by an entourage of images who also represent values of goodness and worth. They are yidams too, so there is the entire surrounding in which qualities of being manifest in a great variety of ways.
The Sanskrit term mandala can be translated into Tibetan as byin-“khor, which means “centre and periphery,” i.e., “centre and everything surrounding it, everything taking place within a specific surrounding.” In the context of yidam meditation, the yidam is the centre and the surrounding is the pure palace and realm of a specific buddha.6
The idea behind generating and meditating the outer surrounding of a yidam is to realize the inseparable nature of outer objects that are usually apprehended delusively. By meditating the yidam in the centre and the entire landscape as pure manifestations of being, a practitioner can realize the inseparability of his or her way of seeing the world, the term “world” referring to all objects fit to be apprehended. The mandala is the visual support during yidam practice, and it varies in each ritual.
There are three-dimensional structures that somewhat resemble architectural models, and each aspect is visualized as part of the entire mandala. Should a three-dimensional mandala not be available for one”s practice, then a drawing can be used to serve as a map to focus one”s attention upon. In that case, the mandala can be painted on a piece of cloth or strewn with coloured kernels on a platform or table. Many yogis do not need complex structures when visualizing a mandala, so they arrange grains heedfully on a plate as a representation while reciting the prayers, which is sufficient.
In general, everything is by nature free of being pure or impure. If seen impurely, appearances manifest impurely to such a person, because he or she has given free reign to karmic tendencies that obscure pure perception and cognition. In such cases, appearances do manifest as a menace; they can even be seen as a threat. Those living in what is defined as the hell realm really experience the very expression of their own hatred or anger. Those living in the hungry-ghost realm really experience the very expression of their own avarice. Animals born in their realm of being live in stupidity and sadly experience the excruciating fear and pain of being devoured alive. One”s own mental state determines the realm one lives in.
What do human beings experience
The realm of human beings is, in fact, the very embodiment of great attachment and desire. Almost every thought we have, every word we speak, and every move we make is based upon our ingrained sense of need. We always seem to need and therefore want something, and it is just this wanting that determines our actions. When pleasures have been achieved, we want something else or more because we are bored again, so we perpetuate wanting and do what we can to satisfy our boundless desires, that started to churn the moment we were born and hardly leave us until we die. We are then born again after a short while with the very same inclination. This never-ending sense of need is in truth desire and attachment that manifests openly through the exterior world that appears to us and through the inner world that we experience. This is the case for all living beings that live and experience the world…
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