The Religions Book

159

Buddhist monks perform a ritual at

a northern Indian monastery. The bright

clothing and headdresses are intended

to engage believers emotionally.

See also: Symbolism made real 46–47 ■ Living the Way of the Gods 82–85 ■ Devotion through puja 114–15 ■ Buddhas and
bodhisattvas 152–57 ■ Sufism and the mystic tradition 282–83 ■ Devotion to the Sweet Lord 322

BUDDHISM

early 8th century, it was in a form
influenced both by the general
Mahayana tradition, which had
already spread to China, and by
the devotional tradition (bhakti)
of Hinduism that had developed
in India during the previous
centuries. Bhakti involved a
more personal and emotional
engagement with worship, which
was taken a step further in both
Hinduism and Buddhism with
the development of Tantra.
Tantra involves not just
thinking about what will be
achieved by spiritual practice,
but also a process of acting out.
For instance, rather than simply
visualizing an image of a buddha,
the practitioner imagines him
or herself as that buddha. This
process of emotional engagement
involves the whole person, not
just the intellect, encouraging
him or her to feel what it would
be like to be enlightened.
So, for example, the mudras
that are made in Tantric worship
are the same as those depicted
on the images of buddhas and

bodhisattvas. Each of the mudras

expresses a particular quality: an

open-handed gesture, palm turned

outward, expresses generosity;

the fearless mudra with the right

hand raised as though giving a

greeting, a blessing, or even

a stop sign, is believed to induce

a feeling of determination. By

making these gestures, a Buddhist

imitates the image of the buddha

or bodhisattva, and thereby

identifies with what it represents.

Chanting, mudras, and other

aspects of Tantric Buddhism aim

to immerse the worshipper in a

dramatic expression of what the

path toward enlightenment is

about, by not just explaining it,

but making it feel real.

Personalized rituals

Tantric rituals are performed

under the instruction of a teacher,

or lama, who selects those that

are likely to be of particular

value to each individual. In other

words, practitioners are given

an individualized set of images

to visualize, mantras to chant,

and mudras to perform, depending

on their personal inclinations and

what they hope to achieve.

Although there are Tantric

aspects to publicly accessible forms

of Tibetan worship, many Tantric

rituals are designed to be performed

in private and their details are

generally kept secret. But, whether

performed in private or public, the

feature common to all is that beliefs

and values are acted out using

esoteric texts and actions. ■

Tibetan lamas

In Mahayana Buddhism, a

bodhisattva is someone who

remains on earth to help others,

perhaps through many lifetimes

(p.155). Tibetan Buddhism refines

the idea to a tulku, or “reincarnate

lama”—lama being the title given

to a senior Buddhist teacher in

Tibet. When a great lama dies, it is

thought that another will be born

to carry on his work. A search is

made for the new lama, and the

child candidate is expected to

identify objects from his past life as

a sign that he is indeed the

reincarnation. There are

hundreds of tulku: perhaps the

best known is the Dalai Lama,

considered the incarnate form

of Avalokiteshvara, a bodhisattva

of compassion and the patron

deity of Tibet. While he is

regarded as the bodhisattva’s

latest manifestation, he remains

an ordinary human, albeit one

with the extraordinary vocation

of expressing Avalokiteshvara

in today’s world.

The Dalai Lama is the 14th in line

from Tsongkhapa, who founded the

Gelugpa sect of Tibetan Buddhism

in the 15th century.