Kun-tu-zang-po is often
depicted in Tantric art
as a handsome, athletic male,
about sixteen years of age,
naked, and comprised
of non-graspable blue light,
the color of
the cloudless azure sky,
tantalizing, in its beauty.
His name translates into
“all good one”
or Sa-man-ta-bha-dra
in Sanskrit,
and this name infers
that our karmic purification,
no less our spiritual maturation
is as close as passively noticing
during our inhalation
and actively relaxing,
and thus mentally letting-go,
during each exhalation;
especially when this is so mastered
that we are able to practice it:
spontaneously, and habitually,
and easily, and effectively.
His partner is called Kun-tu-zang-mo,
which I’m told is merely
the female version of his name,
and is Sa-man-ta-bha-dri in Sanskrit.
Her body is comprised
of white, non-graspable light
the color of a brilliant, white,
fluffy cloud.
Kun-tu-zang-po and Kun-tu-zang-mo
sporting in tantric union
is known as Kun-tu-zang-po Yab Yum
or the all-good one, father and mother.
I often abbreviate Kun-tu-zang-po Yab Yum,
to merely Yab Yum
in the contemplative notation
found in my guided meditations;
and this Kun-tu-zang-po Yab Yum
is a Yi-dam.
Yi-dam is a Tibetan translation
of the two Sanskrit words
Devi, which is male,
and Deva, which is female.
The literal translation
is deity,
or “object of worship.”
This, could really open a can of worms.
Are we meant to use these terms literally
or figuratively?
About nine centuries ago,
the Tibetan teacher,
Geshe Chekhawa wrote
“Seven Point Mind Training,”
where he cautioned his readers
“…Do not bring a god
down to a demon.”
Remember in the Buddha’s first lesson
he taught that stress is exacerbated
by the tyranny of our physical craving
and our mental clinging.
If we beseech
real or imagined gods
to fulfill our wishes
all we will accomplish…
is to further entrench ourselves
in the harmful habit of indulging
those physical cravings
and mental clingings.
But what if we did NOT
treat real or imagined Yidams
that way?
What if we treated them as a rich source
of eight similes and metaphors,
with which we could blend…
the four bases of mindfulness
with the cultivation of love
and the wisdom of letting go?
From the tantric point of view
the four bases of mindfulness
could be our circumstance, and our body,
and our communication, and our mind.
If we pretend that Kun-tu-zang-po Yab Yum
live in a real or imagined paradise or pure land
which is Va Ti in Sanskrit
we could use it as a tool
to increase our compassion
by wishing that all circumstances
be as fortunate at their pure land.
By pretending
that Kun-tu-zang-po Yab Yum’s pure land
is comprised only of light
we could train in the wisdom of letting go
by contemplating
how each circumstance
could be as non-graspable
as their pure land of light.
Why go to all the bother
of messing around with metaphor
when they could often be
fertile ground for great confusion?
Because, from the point of view
of evolutionary biology,
that part of our brain
that perceives and emotes…
is much older
than the part of our brain
that reasons
and uses language.
And by using imagery
we are communicating
with that old part of our under-brain…
that evolved
to feel, and taste, and smell,
and hear and see, and emote.
By imaging that Kun-tu-zang-po’s
and Kun-tu-zang-mo’s bodies
are healthy and blissful…
we could cultivate compassion
merely by wishing that all bodies
be as blissful as Yab Yum.
By imagining that their bodies
are comprised merely of light
we could train in the wisdom of letting go
by skillfully contemplating
how each body
could be as non-graspable
as Yab Yum of light.
By pretending that mantra
could induce peace
we could train in compassion
by wishing
that all communication
could be as peaceful
as mantra.
By imagining that the mantra
was comprised of light
we could train
in the wisdom of letting go
by skillfully contemplating
how all communication
could be as non-graspable
as mantra of light.
Just as we imagined
that the environment
of Kun-tu-zang-po Yab Yum
was a paradise or pure land,
how their bodies were
blissful, healthy, and beautiful,
and their speech
was peaceful mantra
we could also imagine that their minds
were symbolized
by a sky-blue syllable Hung,
which is a seed recitation,
or Bi-ja Man-tra
if you prefer Sanskrit.
Thus we could train in compassion
by wishing that each mind
be as joyful
as seed Hung.
And we could train
in the wisdom of letting-go
by skillfully contemplating…
how each mind
could be as non-graspable
as seed Hung of light.
Thus from the highest
perspective of Tantra,
we do NOT view
real or imagined entities
as great, celestial,
Santa Clauses
come to fulfill our wishes,
but rather as a fount
of eight similes
that help us train
in love and letting-go.
Those are the eight similes
that are common
to all Yi-dams.
Let’s conclude
with the five similes
unique
to Kun-tu-zang-po Yab Yum.
FIRST – their nudity reminds us
that mindfulness
must be vulnerable
if it is to be effective.
SECOND – their bodies
comprised of light remind us
both of the folly of grasping
and the wisdom of letting-go.
THIRD – their beauty reminds us
of the transformative effect
that comes from indulging
our loving tendencies.
FOURTH – the stability with which
blue Kun-tu-zang-po sits
reminds of the centering that comes…
from marrying awareness
with inhalation
and that serves as an antidote
to scatteredness.
And FIFTH – the abandon
with which white Kun-tu-zang-mo
sports with her tantric partner…
reminds us
of the centered spontaneity
with which we
could approach life…
and also serves as an antidote
to our tendencies
toward contrivance
and being controlling.
These eight general similes
and five specific similes
have the potential to transform
every facet of our existence.
All we have to do
is put them into action.
Let us conclude
with a simple
call to action
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