Esoteric Buddhism as self-deification

Nicolas Poussin (1594–1665), A Dance to the Music of Time (detail) (c 1634-6)

Mahāyāna Buddhism now generally accepts that because of Buddha Essence (buddhadhātu), all sentient beings are potential Buddhas, and through the “purification” of that Essence they can become Buddhas themselves or have access to a Buddha’s realization. In Mahāyāna, Buddhas are not human beings, although they are thought to be able to manifest in a human body, follow the career of a future Buddha, become a full blown Buddha and “pass into nirvāṇa”, in order to reveal and show the path to Buddhahood.

“The basis of purification is the eternal, noncomposite realm of reality [dharmadhātu] that fully permeates all beings as the buddha nature [sugatagarbha][1].”

Although the heart is often seen as the seat of the Essence (t. khams s. dhātu), dharmadhātu permeates the entire body. Compare with Logos (divine energy) permeating the entire body through the soul in e.g. Hermetism and Gnosticism. Esoteric Buddhism (vajrayāna, Dzogchen, etc.) teaches that Buddha Essence abides in the human body as a divine body (t. lha’i sku) or Vajra Body. The Mahāyāna Trikāya theory[2] allows for that possibility.

“The basis of purification, which is this very buddha nature, abides as the body with its clear and complete vajra signs and marks. A similar form is used as the path and leads to the fruition of purification: that very divine form that existed as the basis[3].”

The “purification” of the Buddha Essence, the dharmadhātu and their “innate” divine body can be seen as a “self-deification” process from a human point of view. This “self-deification” takes place in two main stages called Generation/Creation Stage and Completion/Perfection Stage, hence the title of Jamgon Kongtrul’s text and the English translation : Creation and Completion.

The Buddha Essence and its innate “pure” divine form is what we “really” are, the “impure” human form we inhabit is temporary and due to impure perception. As long as we don’t recognize and realize our true Essence, we will continue to inhabit “impure” forms and live in an illusion.

Compare with e.g. Gnostic writings such as The Apocalypse of Peter and what Elaine Pagels (The Gnostic Gospels, 1990, Penguin Books) writes about light as a vehicle and about becoming “spiritually alive”.

“Peter, deep in trance, saw Christ, who explained that "I am the intellectual spirit, filled with radiant light[4]."

“Through this vision, Peter learns to face suffering. Initially, he feared that he and the Lord "would die"; now he understands that only the body, "the fleshly counterpart," the "substitute," can die. The Lord explains that the "primal part," the intelligent spirit, is released to join "the perfect light with my holy spirit[5]." (Elaine Page 1990, p. 108)

In the different parts of the Creation Stage (t. bskyed rim), self-deifiers and candidates for full future Buddhahood imagine themselves already as Deities, and purify their current human existence and previous existence, whilst reappearing as the Deity and identifying with it, instead of continuing to identify with their impure human form. The identification with the divine form requires working with the subtle energies of the psychophysical body, through visualizations, haṭhayoga (t. rtsa rlung thig le), yantras, Mudrā practice, etc., simultaneously purifying the human form and letting emerge the divine form, that is already there in essence, and that will serve as a light vehicle before and after the death of the impure human body[6].

When seen as they really are, all appearances are no longer ordinary and impure, but pure and divine, because of “The Secret Essence, Definite Nature Just As It Is[7]” (dPal gsang ba’i snying po de kho na nyid nges pa). This is not presented as a “skilful method”, but as a definite (t. nges pa) method that cuts through illusion so that the divine essence can freely flow. Once illusion/darkness is removed the Divine Light shines forth unimpededly. Full Buddhahood is not different from this, according to esoteric Buddhism, and more specifically in Dzogchen as taught by teachers like Rongzompa (11th), Longchen Rabjam (14th), Ju Mipham (19-20th) etc. To them it actually is the only path to become a perfect Buddha, and Madhyamaka’s emptiness (or anatta, the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path) won't get you there, at least not all the way.

It seems difficult to use the Divine as the highest reality and authority, and also present it as a skillful method or technique (Buddhism), but it does seem one can “skillfully” use Buddhism to lead non-theists to the Perfect Light...

“Then, in the beginning of Kali-yuga, the Lord will appear as Lord Buddha, the son of Añjanā, in the province of Gayā, just for the purpose of deluding those who are envious of the faithful theist.” (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.3.24[8] also see “Purport”)

There is nothing wrong with the divine objectives and methods of esoteric Buddhism or of Dzogchen[9], if they were clearly presented as such, including and especially to a Western audience of newly converted Buddhists, but unfortunately most often they are not, hence the many “misconceptions” and “misunderstandings” in Buddhism, and almost as many books and articles on how Buddhism is misunderstood. The reality of esoteric Buddhism does not hold up against the common understanding of what “Buddhism” is about, and in particular the notion of “skilful means” (upāyakauśalya). Doctrines and methods qualified as “definitive meaning” (t. nges don s. nitārtha) changed that. Unless “definitive meaning” is considered as having a similar function as movies announced as based on “real events”...

“Tibetan Buddhist spiritual practice centers around the deities in its devotional rituals and meditation techniques. It may be disconcerting for those who have heard that Buddhism is a "nontheistic" religion to discover an elaborate system of worship with a pantheon of goddesses and gods. It is for this reason that some other Buddhist schools have considered the Buddhism in Tibet to be corrupt or untrue to its original form. However, these deity practices are deeply rooted in the very foundations of Buddhist thought and represent an exceptionally skillful use of technique to evoke realization of those ideas on the deepest levels.” (Creation and Completion, 2002)

A distinction must be made between gods and rebirth in saṃsāric heaven(s), to which mainstream Buddhism has the same attitude, and supermundane deities (yidams, herukas, etc.) and Buddhas.

“[Misconception n° 10]. All spiritual traditions, Buddhism included, are different paths to the same mountaintop. Many great Buddhist figures, from the Japanese Zen master Dogen to the current Dalai Lama, state unequivocally that enlightenment is accessible only to those who follow the Buddhist path. One can get only so far (generally, rebirth in heaven) by following other religions; only Buddhism has the path to liberation from suffering. All roads may lead to the base camp, but only Buddhism leads to the summit.” (Ten misconceptions about Buddhism, Robert E. Buswell Jr. and Donald S. Lopez Jr., November 19, 2013)

Icarus and Daedalus (1799), Charles Paul Landon

“Only Buddhism has the path to liberation from suffering”, the proof remains in the pudding. Besides, Tibetan Buddhism and Dzogchen are quite clear about the summit and that not all Buddhism leads there. Nirvāṇa, the end of suffering (t. mya ngan las 'das pa), is not the mountaintop for Mahāyāna and esoteric Buddhism. A teacher like Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche (1933-2023) is quite outspoken about deities not being a skillful means, but supermundane beings, including Dharmapalas. Some Dharmapalas, e.g. Six-armed Māhakāla, are yidams. In an interview with Thrangu Rinpoche published in Creation and Completion.

“Devas can be gods of the desire realm, gods of the form realm, or gods of the formless realm. They are mundane, samsaric beings. The other type of being, referred to as lha or deva or deity, is supermundane, beyond the world. These are beings who have such wisdom, and especially such stable bodhichitta, such commitment to the welfare of others and to benefiting the teachings, that they are entirely unlike a mundane being. Dharmapalas can be thought of as beings who are completely and utterly committed to the welfare of others and therefore are very active in accomplishing their welfare. You could say that dharmapalas are included within the class of things that we call "devas," just as some awakened people are included within the class of what we call "humans." But not all humans are awakened, and not all devas are dharmapalas. There are all different sorts of people. Some people are wonderful and some are horrific. It is the same way with devas. There are wonderful devas, horrific devas, and everything in between. Dharmapalas are a kind of wonderful deva.“ (Creation and Completion, 2002)

All qualities and activities are already present on the level of Buddha Essence and need a perfected divine form or vehicle to join with the Perfect Light and/or become fully operational. Without deification (saṃbhogakāya) these supramundane activities for the sake of mundane beings would be impossible.

***

[1] Sarah Harding, Creation and Completion, Essential Points of Tantric Meditation by Jamgon Kongtrul, Wisdom Publications, 2002, p. 8. The quote is from Jamgon Kongtrul’s Lam zhugs kyi gang zag las dang po pa la phan pa'i bskyed rdzogs kyi gnad bsdus:

sbyang gzhi chos dbyings rtag brtan 'dus ma byas//
bde gshegs snying pos gro kun yongs la khyab//

[2] The earliest source for a dharmakāya and rūpakāya as prototype for the three kāyas is generally considered to be the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra (Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Verses), composed around the 1st century BCE. The Trikāya theory is explicitly taught in the Tathāgatagarbha Sūtra, the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra, the Lotus Sūtra, etc.

[3] Sarah Harding (2002), p. 10. Quote from bsKyed rdzogs gnad bsdus :

de yang sbyang gzhi bde gshegs snying po nyid//
rdo rje mtshan dpe gsal rdzogs skur bzhugs pas//
de dang 'dra ba 'i rnam pa lam byed kyis//
sbyangs 'bras gzhi la yod pa 'i lha sku nyid//

[4] “Gnostic accounts often mention how the recipients respond to Christ's presence with intense emotions—terror, awe, distress, and joy.

Yet these gnostic writers do not dismiss visions as fantasies or hallucinations. They respect—even revere—such experiences, through which spiritual intuition discloses insight into the nature of reality. One gnostic teacher, whose Treatise on Resurrection, a letter to Rheginos, his student, was found at Nag Hammadi, says: "Do not suppose that resurrection is an apparition [phantasia; literally, "fantasy"]. It is not an apparition; rather it is something real. Instead," he continues, "one ought to maintain that the world is an apparition, rather than resurrection." Like a Buddhist master, Rheginos' teacher, himself anonymous, goes on to explain that ordinary human existence is spiritual death. But the resurrection is the moment of enlightenment: "It is . . . the revealing of what truly exists . . . and a migration (metabole—change, transition) into newness." Whoever grasps this becomes spiritually alive. This means, he declares, that you can be "resurrected from the dead" right now: "Are you—the real you—mere corruption? . . . Why do you not examine your own self, and see that you have arisen?" A third text from Nag Hammadi, the Gospel of Philip, expresses the same view, ridiculing ignorant Christians who take the resurrection literally. "Those who say they will die first and then rise are in error." Instead they must "receive the resurrection while they live." The author says ironically that in one sense, then, of course "it is necessary to rise 'in this flesh,' since everything exists in it!” Elaine Pagels, 1990.

[5] Apocalypse of Peter, 83.12-15, in NHL 344

[6] For further reference on Self-deification in a different context and with a different meaning I add below a footnote (103) of M. David Litwa’s Desiring Divinity, Self-deification in Early Jewish and Christian Mythmaking, Oxford University Press Inc, 2016, .

“Neoplatonists believed that our souls, though immaterial, needed a physical, luminous vehicle. See further E. R. Dodds, Proclus: The Elements of Theology (Oxford: Clarendon, 1963), 313–21; H. J. Blumenthal, “Soul Vehicles in Simplicius,” in Platonism and Late Antiquity, eds. Stephen Gersh and Charles Kannengiesser (South Bend: University of Notre Dame Press, 1992), 173–88; John Dillon, “Plotinus and the Vehicle of the Soul,” in Gnosticism, Platonism and the Late Ancient World: Essays in Honour of John D. Turner, eds. Kevin Corrigan and Tuomas Rasimus, NHMS 82 (Leiden: Brill, 2013), 485–96.”

[7] Title of the English translation of the Guhyagarbha Tantra followed by the Commentary by Longchen Rabjam entitled Thorough Dispelling of Darkness throughout the Ten Directions, translated by Lama Chonam and Sangye Khandro of the Light of Berotsana Translation Group under the guidance of Khen Rinpoche Namdrol, Snow Lion Publications 2011.

[8] tataḥ kalau sampravṛtte
sammohāya sura-dviṣām
buddho nāmnāñjana-sutaḥ
kīkaṭeṣu bhaviṣyati

[9] E.g. this video by Mingyur Rinpoche (What is Dzogchen) to get an idea.

“[Father Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche] said, "Are you meditating?"
I said, "Yes."
He said, "Oh, actually there's nothing to meditate on. The view is fake, the meditation is fake.”
“Wow!” My mind became like "huh." It was a great introduction of Dzogchen for me, really cutting through concepts. That was really beneficial for me. So this is the Dzogchen style of cutting through the conceptual mind.”

"Trekchö" means "cutting through" — cutting through concept, or our ordinary conceptual box, or what we sometimes call a "prison."

After this introduction (khregs gcod), the student is ready for the real work, self-deification (thod bgal).