Buddhism : 2014

Symbolic Representations of Divinity

Chenrezig
is a bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. Portrayed in different cultures as either male or female and is said to emanate as the Dalai Lama. A bodhisattva is an enlightened being who has decided to delay becoming a fully enlightened Buddha and who lives in a compassionate spirit life for the sake of all beings He has taken vows to save all beings. With a mantra, Om mani padme hum! (Hail the jewel in the lotus), he tirelessly attempts to deliver all beings from suffering. He appears in many different forms to assist suffering beings. He can be portrayed in several different forms, two of the most popular being as a white deity with either four arms or 1000 arms; the extra arms symbolize his ability to help many beings simultaneously.

In Tibetan Buddhism, Tara came into existence from a single tear shed by Chenrezig. When the tear fell to the ground it created a lake, and a lotus opening in the lake revealed Tara. In another version of this story, Tara emerges from the heart of Chenrezig. In either version, it is Chenrezig's outpouring of compassion which manifests Tara as a being.

Tārā
in Tibetan Buddhism, is a female Bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism who appears as a female Buddha in Vajrayana Buddhism. She is known as the "mother of liberation", and represents the virtues of success in work and achievements.
The most widely known forms of Tārā are:

Green Tārā, known as the Buddha of enlightened activity
White Tārā, also known for compassion, long life, healing and serenity; also known as The Wish-fulfilling Wheel, or Cintachakra
Red Tārā, of fierce aspect associated with magnetizing all good things
Black Tārā, associated with power
Yellow Tārā, associated with wealth and prosperity
Blue Tārā, associated with transmutation of anger

She is known as Tara, a Sanskrit word meaning Star. We hear the echoes of Her name in the Latin Terra, Mother Earth. The Druids called their Mother Goddess Tara. An ancient saga of Finland said to be 5 million years old speaks of Tar, the woman of wisdom. An ancient tribe of indigenous peoples in the South American jungles, the Tarahumara, worship the Goddess. The Cheyenne people tell of Star Woman who fell from the heavens to the earth, and that out of Her body all essential food grew. She sent Her people to mate with the more primitive inhabitants of earth, thereby giving them the capacity for wisdom. This legend is echoed in the more modern research of Z. Sitchin who tells of IshTar who came to earth from another planetary system and instructed her people to intermarry with earthlings, making them capable of many things. Such an enlightened one has attained the highest wisdom, compassion and capability. Tara is so highly thought of that she is said to be the Mother of all the Buddhas.

Ganesh
Ganesha also appears in Buddhism. In one Tibetan form he is shown being trodden under foot by Mahākala, a popular Tibetan deity. Other depictions show him as the Destroyer of Obstacles, sometimes dancing. Ganesha is depicted as the child of Shiva and Shakti (Parvati, Uma). The Divine Mother, Shiva and Shakti are a symbolic representation of the Third Logos, Binah in Kabbalah, which is the aspect of the superior trinity that creates. In Buddhism, this is known as the Nirvanakaya, the body of formation, that level of Divinity that creates. Ganesh is the child of the union of Shiva and Parvati. Here Shiva has a trident and an OM on his hand, he gives these to his son Ganesha. Parvati also infuses her power into her child, so Ganesha represents the collected power of Shiva and Parvati. We see this symbolism in Egypt as well; this trimurti or trinity is represented as Osiris and Isis who have a son Horus. In the Egyptian mythology, Horus is the same symbol as Ganesha. He is a son of God, an embodiment of Divinity who has a mission to accomplish in order to serve Divinity and act as their agent.