Tibetan Buddhism: Tantric Ritual In Buddhist Art

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Tantric Ritual in Tibetan Buddhism

Jeffrey Mullooly

HAA 220: Buddhist Art
Professor Hansman
6 November 2015

Buddhist Deity Vajrasattva with Bell (Ghanta) and Thunderbolt (Vajra)
18th Century Tibet
Brass with Coral and Turquoise
52 x 39.1 x 32.1 cm
Art Institute of Chicago Asian Art Gallery 140
Gift of Mrs. Joseph Valentine, 1958.169 Vajrayana Buddhism, also known as The Diamond Vehicle which signifies the indestructible nature it possesses, is a form of Buddhism that employs esoteric imagery in a significant way to achieve enlightenment. Through the use of mantras, hand-gestures known as mudras, mandalas, and other ritual forms of worship, like performing magical incantations, cham dancing, and even yoga, which has become …show more content…
For it practitioners, Vajrayana enables a person to reach nirvana, a state of no longer suffering, in a single lifetime rather than passing through countless lives before achieving this escape. In Theravada Buddhism, which stresses an ascetic path to enlightenment, monks as well as lay people hope to acquire merit in a particular lifetime, so they can reincarnate into the next with improved karma, thus moving one step closer to nirvana. Mahayana Buddhism, which is the basis for Vajrayana, promises escape to both monks and lay people, but devotees must still gain merit over the course of an inestimable number of lives before the ultimate level of spiritual insight is realized. …show more content…
Older imagery from India showing the historical Buddha in acetic garb look quite different from this figure. Vajrasattva has a wardrobe of long flowing robes, ornate jewelry, and an ornamental crown, so to look like that of a young prince, almost like the historical Buddha pre-enlightenment. The use of turquoise and coral stones also positive symbols in Tibetan Buddhism. Turquoise was a sacred stone to both the Egyptians and Persian communities as it represented purity. For Tibetan Buddhists, however, it symbolizes human aging. “Living” turquoise has a blue hue, whereas “dead” turquoise is white or black. In the natural aging process of turquoise, exposure to light and body oils darkens the color, eventually turning it black, thus comparable to death. Consequently, wearing "living" turquoise is a desired quality, as it will give long life to the wearer. Another notable color in Buddhism is coral, which like turquoise is symbolically rooted in life and death, because coral is actually made up of the tiny skeletons of reef-like plants. It is considered one of the five sacred stones in Vajrayana, and embodies the energy of life
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