home introduction collection exhibits links
Page 9 of 24

by Chris Wilkinson

The Transmission of the Dharma

As there have been endless enlightened ones across time and space, and it is the natural impulse of Enlightenment to reach out to the unenlightened, there is a continual progression of illumination radiating from the Enlightened to the unenlightened. It may be said that every representation of Buddhist art, literature, society, and culture is in some way a manifestation of this impulse to spread Enlightenment. This impulse to transmit Enlightenment and an individual's desire to become enlightened come together to make a bond of transference in which the inspiration of an enlightened awareness may be realized. It is like the day meeting the night with the rising of the dawn

In Buddhism, it is not only Buddhas that are enlightened ones. Buddhas are those beings to have gone from a state of unEnlightenment and reached the state of Enlightenment. This is why one of the epithets of a Buddha is Thus Gone One. There are also beings who always were, are, and will be enlightened, usually called "Gods Who Transcend the World" (Lokottaradeva). These so called "Gods" are not to be confused with the Gods of The World (Lokadeva), whose lives are complete with all the glories of this world, but who ultimately must pass on and take rebirth in another guise. There are also beings that have realized Enlightenment, but have choosen not to leave the world out of the desire to transmit Enlightenment within the world. These beings are called Enlightened Beings (Bodhisattvas).

In many cases, a single enlightened being may manifest in any of these ways, even at the same time, for Enlightenment is beyond the binding logic of time, space, and categorization. An example is the Buddha Amithabha, Limitless Light, manifesting as the Guru Padmasambhava, "Lotus Grower," who in turn manifests as the King Gesar of gLing, an epic hero of the transmission of Enlightenment as well as Royal conquest in Tibet.



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