Deity yoga is the practice of generating oneself as the deity within the practice of Tantra. This is what I personally, have learned and understand of deity yoga. I am not an expert, by no means, so I am looking forward to learning from others on this subject.
A couple of things to remember: the term “deity” is not referring to “gods”. The equivalent of a god in Buddhism would be devas and possibly asuras who are the fighting gods. These are not fully transcendent beings and they still abide within samsaric or cyclic existence. That is why they have a preference for worship and require displays of supplication. Although it may seem similar when we leave offerings for a Buddha as some do for a god or goddess, the difference is in the wisdom of the deity. If they are transcendent they recognize the “continuum” between themselves and you. “Continuum” being the translation of “Tantra”. Thus, it is important to choose the deity you practice tantra with carefully as not all are suitable for these practices. The deity should have this understanding of the Tantras or continuum. It is possible that a god or goddess is transcendent in this way and do have realized Buddha nature, but not all have transcendence and find a certain discomfort of giving over their form. It is also possible to find humans who have this transcendent nature, and those people would be the best to develop tantric relations with. Although, it is entirely not necessary to have "tantric relations" with other humans in the commonly miscomprehended physical manner. The recognition of the innate Buddha-nature of every sentient being is tantric relations enough!
To explain the practice briefly, it is a series of visualizations. Starting first with the recognition of the intrinsically empty nature of existence. We perceive the void, and out of that void appears a seed syllable (they differ from deity to deity) upon a lotus and moon disk. Much like the process of conception this is the Development Stage of deity yoga - the sperm (seed syllable) rests within the ovum (lotus and moon disk) This lso known as Mahayoga. From here there I think there are several methods of developing the deity within the practice. There is a spontaneous method, but generally one would recall all the various aspects of the deity and see these characteristics as one's self by reciting or recalling a sadhana.
Some deities are very complex, and one must recall the colour, pose, demeanour, dress, various limbs and implements that the deity uses, plus the surrounding mandala. This may seem like a lot, but we are transforming our body speech and mind, into that of a Buddha. There will be no room to be distracted with worldly concerns. In order to develop the speech of a Buddha, the mantra is recited while in the form of the deity. Now we have the body and speech. By concentrating on this, the mind of the Buddha is developed through the commitment to do this sadhana daily.
Now the Completion Stage. After having developed the deity, and having been able to hold the visualizations and completing the Anuyoga stage, we need to dissolve it back into light – the clear light of the continuum. This is the innate Buddha-nature from which all arises. This is the Atiyoga, or "The Great Perfection" stage, also referred to as "Dzogchen". Here one dissolves the entire visualization into the clear light of the Dharmakaya, like a sand mandala being blown away by the wind. This is the recognition of the impermanent and illusory nature of appearances. We remain in this state for as long as possible. This is an important stage for keeping the psychological aspects of the mind under control. Dissolution is the key to not developing grasping, arrogant characteristics when identifying with deities. Also, when re-arising as one's self, remember to dedicate the merit of the practice to all sentient beings. This will also help to maintain the “View”.
The proper view is necessary when doing deity generation, of selflessness. This is done for the benefit of all sentient beings. It is not for power or personal gratification, or to enhance one's sex life. Which is why these practices don't mix well with deities who take themselves too seriously and may have some contempt for humanity. Basic rule here is that “What you pay attention to, you become conscious of.”, which is a quote from the late Ian Lungold, who has nothing to do with Tantra or deity yoga, AFAIK, but I think it sums up this practice very well.
That is all I have for now. I hope there can be discussion on this to further the understanding of this practice. |
