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by Chris Wilkinson

Those who Reach the Other Side

In Tibetan art, his stream of Enlightenment, a river of illumination, illustrated by a rainbow from one figure to another, and by the rainbow halo surrounding an Enlightened OneÑshown also as by the water ways that demark the Divine Image from the parameterÑis often expressed through six varieties of beings: 1) the Monastics; 2) the Rulers; 3) the business people; 4) the ascetics; 5) the women; and 6) non-human beings (mi ma yin), such as gods, angels, or dragons.

These are the transmitters and protectors of the Dharma. All of these transmissions survived from the earliest times, and the way the transmission of Enlightenment came down within these groups is revealed in each Thangka.. Often, two or more traditions would come together. On other occasions, there would be breakups.

In the endless search for the "happy medium," many combinations become possible. A king may become an ascetic and then a wandering monk. A beggar may become a monk, then a scholar, and then an ascetic. An individual may live out a number of roles in his or her life, or may enact several roles simultaneously during the life. A god might take the form of a woman, become a nun or ascetic, and then become a traveling teacher. In one Sutra, preserved in the Pali language, a dragon requests membership in the order of monks, but is refused on account of his not being human. Thus the heroic characters of the tradition reveal that one may use any single pathway, or a combination of them. Their transmissions, however, are always kept clear.

In Buddhism it is common to have received teachings on a number of different levels, and the student is expected—especially on entering the esoteric pathways—to know each Guru and each promise he or she made. The Monk or Nun will always remember the teacher that ordained them. The importance of the teacher is never forgotten.



Copyright © 1998 Shelley and Donald Rubin Foundation, Shelley and Donald Rubin