gods to hold the ceremony. The preparatory day also
included the performance of a fire ritual (homa) for the
sake of purity and auspiciousness. After the mandala
was constructed and consecrated by the master, the
candidate would be prepared by some teaching. After
being presented with a piece of kushaor other variety
of grass, the candidate would be told to place the con-
secrated grass under the pillow and to remember what-
ever dreams might occur in the night. Auspicious dreams
(e.g., a sunrise or a view from the pinnacle of a high
mountain) would mean that the candidate was appro-
priate; conversely, inauspicious dreams (e.g., impris-
onment or losing one’s way in a unknown place) might
convince the master than the candidate was inadequate
to the task, and cause the consecration to be canceled
or postponed.
On the day of the consecration, the candidate would
be brought in, sometimes blindfolded, to relate the
dreams. The blindfold or screen would then be re-
moved and the mandala revealed. The master would
then have the candidate throw a flower into the mandala
to determine which of the five families (buddha, vajra,
ratna, padma,or karma) the person belonged to, so
that the appropriate MANTRAand form of the buddha
could be conferred. The candidate was then conse-
crated by anointing from a pot of water, by conferring
a vajra-scepter, by bestowing a ritual bell, by placing a
crown on the candidate’s head, by entrusting a bud-
dha’s mantra to the candidate, and by granting the can-
didate a new name. Other subsidiary consecrations
could be added as well, but the above were standard,
although the order in which they were granted would
vary with the event or lineage. The candidate was in-
structed especially in the proper use of the mantra and
in the ritual of contemplation on the buddha, and was
further granted the authority (in some traditions) to
become a teacher. Vows of secrecy were essential to
this process, even though the content of the secrets
continued to change as the understanding of the rit-
ual and its literature progressed. Other vows would in-
clude nonrepudiation of mantras, acquiescence to the
authority of the buddhas, and acquiescence to the
authority of the candidate’s master (who was the bud-
dhas’ representative), all allied with the general com-
mitment to cultivate the attitudes associated with the
Mahayana. Increasingly, the candidate was instructed
to visualize himself as the buddha or bodhisattva on
whom the flower fell during the mandala rite. Finally,
the candidate was granted the authority to perform rit-
uals (especially fire rites) associated with pacification,
accumulation, subjugation, and destruction; these
were traditionally exercised on behalf of patrons and
so represented the newly consecrated master’s poten-
tial source of income.
By the late eighth century, the development and in-
stitutionalization of the new “perfected” (siddha) fig-
ures in Indian Buddhism led to a change in some of
the initiatory rituals. In siddha-inspired literature, the
above rites all came to be subsumed into the category
of the “jug” or “ewer” consecration, since the candi-
date’s aspersion from a pot was its hallmark. Added to
this were three new forms of consecration, derived
from siddharituals, for ascension to kingship over ce-
lestial sorcerers (VIDYADHARA): the secret consecration,
the insight/gnosis consecration, and the fourth conse-
cration. The first was secret, for the master was to cop-
ulate with a woman (often a prostitute), and the
candidate was instructed to consume the ejaculate. In
the insight/gnosis consecration, the candidate himself
copulated with the consort, experiencing great bliss as
a symbol of liberation. The fourth consecration was
the revelation of a symbol to the candidate, who was
expected to understand its significance.
These new rituals were not introduced without
comment, for they represented a dramatic reorienta-
tion toward the fundamental values of Buddhist cler-
ical celibacy. Although multiple opinions on their
desirability or necessity were voiced throughout the
ninth to twelfth centuries, they were eventually enacted
almost exclusively in a visualized form, rather than the
literal enactment seen earlier. Over time, the new con-
secrations were combined with new forms of yoga
developed from non-Buddhist analogs and a new set
of vows and sacraments (samaya) were added to pro-
vide a framework for the yogin’s subsequent behavior.See also:Mahasiddha; TantraBibliography
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1987.INITIATION