Mahakala
Mahakala ( Sanskrit महाकाल mahākāla m., From mahā , “large”, and kāla , here “black, dark blue”, in another context also “time”, for example in kālacakra , Tibetan : mgon po nag po , also Gönpo Nagpo ) is one Buddhist deity of Tibet , Mongolia and Manchuria . He is venerated in Japan as Daikoku ( 大 黒 ) and belongs to the Shichi Fukujin there . Mahakala appears as a so-called “wrathful deity”, not untypical for “protector of Buddhist teaching” ( Dharma ), also called Dharmapala .
Like other deities in the Buddhist pantheon, Mahakala was adopted from Hinduism . There he is considered an wrathful expression of Shiva . In Buddhism it is mostly seen as the wrathful and powerful expression of compassion by the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara (a Bodhisattva is an "enlightening being" who postpones his enlightenment or, more precisely, the extinction of self -hood in nirvana out of compassion for all human beings). Mahakala is often represented together with his companion Palden Lhamo in a total of around 75 different manifestations, many of which are symbols for different emotions.
Legend of the origins of Mahakala
For meditation in is Tibetan Buddhism often a reflection of a meditational deity ( yidam ) as a thangka , a Tibetan scroll painting, is used. One such yidam meditation deity is Avalokiteshvara (Tibetan Chenresig ), who is considered to be very powerful and powerful. He is the Buddha of all-embracing unconditional compassion and the patron deity of Tibet.
On thangkas , Avalokiteshvara is often depicted with four, sometimes very many arms and eleven heads. His only task ascribed to him, to support all beings to free themselves from suffering, he does justice on the one hand in the gentle, compassionate form. But not everyone can be helped with peaceful methods. In this case, as an expression of sheer compassion, Avalokiteshvara can take a wrathful form - the form of the "Great Black".
Legend has it that in order to face the confusion of the mind, Avalokiteshvara created himself as a wrathful mahakala. He uttered the dark blue syllable "Hum" and transformed into this dark, powerful protector. This serves the practitioner only to remove disturbing influences and to protect against external, internal and secret obstacles on the way. Its four main activities are: taming, enriching, attracting and destroying what is harmful. According to Buddhist belief, Mahakala tames the mind, enriches it with wisdom, attracts good conditions and destroys everything that hinders it. And it should fulfill all sincere wishes that support the ultimate desire for liberation. The methods he uses can be harsh and very violent and testify to Mahakala's uncompromising, quickness, and personal sacrifice of authority.
iconography
Death and destruction are ultimately the themes on every thangka (scroll painting) of Mahakala. But what is destroyed? Mahakala's compassion is about the destruction of the self-destructive ego that is attached to a world of illusions. It thus radically and clearly serves the liberation from the illusion of the ego, the overcoming of the ego and its painful actions against oneself and others - the death of the ego. In the iconography of Buddhist painting, there are certain shapes and facial expressions by which one can recognize demons. Mahakala's face has exactly these attributes. It usually has a head with three protruding eyes (looking past, present and future). His eyebrows are like small flames and his beard is hooked in shape. He looks like a demon but is not a demon. As a mirror of evil, it is there to deter and fight demons. The crown of five skulls (symbolic of the five poisons of the spirit: greed, anger, ignorance, pride and jealousy, which he transforms) and the third wisdom eye indicate that he is not a demon. Mahakalas of up to 75 manifestations can have two to sixteen arms. Mainly the 6-armed Mahakala is seen as a direct manifestation of Avalokiteshvara , as he is mostly, but not exclusively, worshiped in the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism.
Example: Iconography of Chag Drugpa, a six-armed Mahakala
In one of his six hands he holds a cleaver and a skull bowl filled with blood or brain matter, which he holds in front of his heart (symbol for wisdom and method and for cutting off all wrong ideas), a prayer chain made of skulls (with which he is incessantly for the good of all beings reciting mantras), an hourglass-shaped hand drum (for the sound of emptiness, which attracts the dakinis , the sky dancers), a noose (with which he ties all enemies, but also ties the practitioner himself to his vows) and a trident ( trishula , symbolic for Buddha , the Buddhist teaching Dharma and the community of practicing Sangha ). The trident and the hourglass drum Damaru are reminiscent of the Hindu symbols of Shiva , whose embodiment is Mahakala in Buddhism. In addition, Mahakala tramples on an elephant being, which stands for worldly orientation, but also for the unbridled spirit. All symbols of death, threat and destruction are consciously used to teach people who are afraid of death true death - the death of the self. Mahakala makes the little self shudder so that it can give up the fight against its true nature and bow to the unity of all being.
Assignment of forms of manifestation to the Tibetan schools
Six-armed mahakalas
The form called Nyingshuk was brought into being by Khyungpo Naljor, the founder of the Shangpa-Kagyu School, and from there it spread to all major schools: Sakya , Nyingma and Gelug , as well as the various Kagyu lines. There are also termas- based lineages for various other forms of the six-armed mahakala. Nyinghsuk, although originating from the Shangpa tradition, is not the main protector of the Shangpa-Kagyu school. He is shown in a dancing posture, not standing upright, and is the meditation deity of a very advanced Mahakala practice.
There is also a white six-armed mahakala (Skt: Shad-bhuja Sita Mahakala; Tib. Wylie: mGon po yid bzhin nor bu), which is very popular among Mongolian Gelugpas.
Four armed mahakalas
Various four-armed mahakalas (Skt. Chatur-bhuja Mahākāla, Tib. Wylie: mGon po phyag bzhi pa) are the main protectors of the Karma-Kagyu , Drigung-Kagyu and the Drugpa-Kagyu schools of Tibetan Buddhism. A four-armed Mahakala is also known in the Nyingma school, while the main protector of the teachings of the Great Consummation (Sanskrit Maha-Ati , Tibetan Dzogchen ), which are a cornerstone of the Nyingma teachings, is Ekajati (Tibetan ral chig ma ), a half-angry deity.
Two-armed mahakalas
The best-known two-armed Mahakala is called Bernagchen ("black coat") in Tibetan and is above all a protector of the Karma Kagyu school, although it comes from a terma of the Nyingma school and from the Karma Kagyu school only at the time of the second Karmapa Karma Pakshi has been integrated. In many representations he is accompanied by Rangjung Gyalmo. It is often assumed that the “black coat” is the main protector of the Kagyu School, but it is actually the main protector of the Karmapas and the Mahamudra teachings (Tibetan Tschag-Chen , “Great Seal”). Mahakala Chakshipa, a four-armed Mahakala, is strictly speaking the main protector of the school. Chakdrupa, a six-armed mahakala, is also very common in the Kagyu school.
Panjaranatha Mahakala, "Lord of the Diamond Tent", with the sound stick as a recognition attribute, is an emanation of Manjushri and a special protector of the Sakya school.
Shaivism
In Hinduism, Mahakala is a name of Shiva, z. B. is mentioned several times in the Shiva temple in Ujjain by Kālidāsa. But he is also the name of one of his main guardians (Sanskrit: gaṇa) together with the bull Nandi and is represented in many North Indian temples. His Shakti is Mahakali. Another form of mahakala is kala-mahakala, which works in the dissolution of the universe.
literature
- Martin Gimm : On the Mongolian Mahâkâla cult and the beginning of the Qing dynasty - the inscription Shisheng beiji from 1638. In: Oriens Extremus, Vol. 42, 2000–2001, pp. 69–104.
- René de Nebesky-Wojkowitz : Oracles and Demons of Tibet: The Cult and Iconography of the Tibetan Protective Deities. Paljor Publications, India 2002, ISBN 81-86230-12-2 .
- Susa Nientiedt: Mahakala, the great black man, Shri Devi and Ekajata - origin, radiations and meaning. Verrückter Yogi Verlag, Bochum 2007, ISBN 978-3-940197-09-2
- William Stablein: Healing Image: The Great Black One. Snow Lion Graphics, 1993, ISBN 0-943389-06-2 .
Web links
- Literature by and about Mahakala in the catalog of the German National Library
- Buddhist Protector: Mahakala (All Forms). himalayanart.org
- Wrathful Deities: Mahakala. Mahakala Thangka Center (twelve different Mahakala scroll paintings)