Ceremonial Objects Of The Buddhist Faith, Page 3
Drum Used for Exorcism
This large pellet drum is used
together
with a bell and trumpet
fashioned from a
human thigh bone to create an
eerie
musical accompaniment for the
esoteric
'cutting' or ãchödä (gcod)
ritual. The
drum is made of two shallow
wooden bowls
joined at their bases, with
the two open
sides covered with a green
stained skin.
A heavy woven strip of fabric
is tied
around the drum, leaving a
length to
serve as the handle. Also
attached are
two cords, one on either side,
with a
pellet of stitched cloth at
the end of
each to produce the sound when
the drum
is rotated. Although popularly
thought
to be an exorcism rite, on a
deeper
level the ãchödä ceremony has
the aim of
'cutting through' (gcod)
conceptual
distortions (vikalpa, rnam
rtog) which
give rise to the process of
duality in
the apparent world, i.e. the
belief in a
real apprehending subject and
apprehended object. This sense
of
duality leads to all egotism
and
emotional conditions, the
presence of
which keeps sentient beings
separated
from the realization of their
own true
nature, i.e., Buddha-Nature
(tathagatagarbha, de bzhin
snying po).
Therefore it is necessary to
eliminate
or sever these discursive
processes.
Having done so, one becomes
free from
all dichotomies including fear
of birth
and death, etc. The meditation
that
accompanies the ritual takes
the form of
a sacrifice in which the
practitioner
imaginatively offers his or
her body,
senses, and life itself to a
female
manifestation of the Buddha.
The rite is
an hallucinatory evocation
during which
terrifying deities and demons
appear to
the meditator. In fact, it is
recommended that the practice
of chöd be
carried out in cementeries
filled with
corpses, jackals, vultures,
etc. so that
the practitioner's deeply held
sense of
ego manifests even more
strongly than
usual in order that it may be
completely
sacrificed.
Ritual Dagger (kila, phur
pa)
The phurba (kila, phur pa) or
ritual
dagger is a tantric ritual
implement
used symbolically to conquer
evil
spirits or negative emotional
states, as
well as avert obstacles.
Phurbas are
used in esoteric rites by high
level
tantric practitioners. The
phurba is
made in three separate
segments: the
head, the shank, and the
triangular
blade. The three-sided blade
has two
serpent-like creatures called
nagas
(klu) entwined around it, and
above each
of the corners of the blade
there is a
gilded crocodile (makara). The
shank is
comprised of two inverted
lotuses at the
center, with what appear to be
decorative knot-designs on
either side.
Finally, at the top of the
dagger are
the three heads of the deity
Vajrakilaya, each with three
eyes,
blazing bushy hair and
eyebrows and
skull crowns with turquoise
inlay. The
triple-head is crowned with a
miniature
half-vajra. When using the
phurba, the
meditator recites the
appropriate
liturgy, and invites the
actual deity to
abide within the dagger. The
practitioner then imagines
that he or
she is frightening and
subduing the evil
spirits by impaling them with
the blade.
Ritual Crown (dbu
rgyan)
A lama 'crown' consisting of
five thin
copper (?) panels with arched
tops,
painted gold, and attached to
each other
with a red cord. In the center
of each
panel is a Sanskrit syllable
corresponding to one of the
five
meditational or ãcosmicä
Buddhas
(dhyani-buddha). The crown is
worn
together with a stitched
fabric topknot
with loosely hanging strands
of cotton
in the rear. Such crowns are
used by
lamas and monks during certain
religious
ceremonies such as tantric
initiations
rituals (abhisheka, dbang),
and are
styled after the iconographic
representations of 'Enjoyment
Body'
(sambhogakaya, longs sku)
Buddhas'
ornaments, which are in turn
based upon
the traditional garb of the
royal class.
While wearing the crown, the
lama or
monk visualizes himself as the
actual
deity. Such crowns may be worn
by
several initiates at once
during a large
initiation ceremony, or
individually by
a single monk during a
'self-initiation'
ceremony. They may also be
worn during
certain ritual dances.
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