Searching for Meaning in Tibetan Wrathful
Imagery
Buddhistdoor International
Tinley Fynn 2014-10-24
Tibetan
Vajrayana imagery, for the most part, illustrates fantastical
literary texts by reflecting metaphor and symbolism. Notions of
aesthetic achievement and the sense of beauty within this tradition
rest on complex foundations tied to the religious phenomena
expressed in the artworks. Practically every object, from the
highest to the humblest, reflects religious thought and contains
symbolism that is often bewilderingly abstruse.
During
the time I spent working in museums and galleries, I came to
realize the difficulties of deciphering meaning in religious works
of art, in particular for those who have no knowledge of the
relevant tradition. What, for example, would one make of a highly
iconographical work such as Millais’s Christ
in the House of His Parents with
no knowledge of Christianity or its iconography? Much of its
spiritual affective power would be lost.
One
of the most common difficulties or misconceptions relating to
Vajrayana imagery seemed to occur when people encountered the
wrathful forms of enlightened beings for the first time. For
example, I was working in a museum that had recently acquired an
imposing image of the wrathful deity Mahakala. The piece attracted
a lot of attention from staff as well as the public due to its
heavy physical presence and exquisite detail, but particularly on
account of Mahakala’s captivating, wild-eyed countenance and
gruesome paraphernalia. After talking with visitors, it became
clear that many were misinterpreting the image as a vision of brute
destruction, a force to be feared. But Mahakala is in fact a fierce
emanation of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, and is especially
revered in his role as a compassionate protector.
The
confusion arose from Mahakala’s fierce appearance, with his inky,
midnight coloring, curling beard, and fiery eyebrows. In the
aforementioned image, he is depicted wearing a Brahmin cord of a
live green snake coiled around his bulging belly. Beneath it rests
a grisly garland of wonderfully individualized severed heads,
strung by the topknots in their hair. As a fierce manifestation of
Avalokiteshvara, Mahakala takes on such a fearsome form in order to
conquer all emotional afflictions and to dispel spiritual obstacles
for all sentient beings. These hindrances are embodied in the
myriad dreadful creatures that surround Mahakala in the
thangka.
In
one hand he grasps a vajra-handled
chopper, a blade symbolic of the wisdom of the Vajrayana vehicle
and a common implement of wrathful deities. In his other hand rests
an upturned skull-cup (Skt. kapala),
in which he grinds all negativities. These consist of the
afflictions that cloud the mind; the five “poisons,” or ignorance,
attachment, anger, pride, and jealousy; and all other delusions.
These impurities are symbolized by the blood and liquefied brains
of demons, which fill the cup. The imagery reflects the actual use
of the skull-cup in tantric ritual as an alembic for the
transmutation of obstructions to enlightenment into the elixir of
immortality (Skt. amrita)
(“immortality” in the Tibetan Vajrayana tradition being understood
as non-duality rather than corporeal deathlessness), wisdom, and
compassion. It is one of the most profound ritual objects and
symbols within Vajrayana iconography, and is imbued with extensive
levels of meaning. Simply put, it is a metaphor for Mahakala’s
true, enlightened nature as the ultimate embodiment of compassion,
one of the core principles in Buddhism.
This
lyrical and symbolic (rather than realistic) approach reflects the
complex network of semiotic, doctrinal, and mythological
associations in Vajrayana iconography. An understanding of the
sophisticated imagery and metaphors contained within Tibetan art is
crucial if we wish to appreciate its theological
concepts.
At
times, the problem viewers faced was not that they did not
understand the dense religious iconography and symbolism in the
paintings, but that they could not even clearly identify the
imagery. I only realized this after I had given a talk on a
depiction of a multi-limbed, multi-headed Vajrabhairava in sexual
union (T. yab-yum),
when a colleague from another department told me how many times she
had walked past the work without being able to make out the
deities’ interlocking forms. Once she was able to do so, the layers
of meaning gradually unfolded before her as she spent more time
contemplating the piece, and through further guidance, learned more
about it. The depiction of deities in sexual union, or
“father-mother” embrace, represents another central concept within
Tibetan Buddhism: the non-dual nature of ultimate reality. It was
only by identifying the figures and the concepts they represent
that she was able to appreciate the mastery of the work’s dense but
coherent design of spiritual clarity and rhythmic force.
The
way in which we display objects can also drastically alter our
understanding of them. An example of this is the way we so often
see traditional Tibetan thangka
paintings
displayed, removed from their original cloth backings and inserted
into modern frames to appeal to a Western aesthetic sensibility.
This deliberate alteration of an artwork, usually without
indication on the labeling, could be seen to deprive the viewer of
an authentic experience that includes a sense of place, history,
and usage.
Furthermore,
the current trend toward whitewashed galleries and increasingly
spare supplemental information and labeling only exacerbates the
issue and confuses many viewers who may need further guidance.
Something as simple as providing photos of how a thangka
is
displayed in a monastery—usually alongside a panoply of ritual
items—could help the viewer in understanding the thangka’s
place
within the religious and ritualistic context for which it was
originally intended. Whilst focusing on aestheticism, “art for
art’s sake,” aesthetic distance, or formalism can be instructive
and worthwhile endeavors, when taken in isolation these approaches
tend to overlook the larger and often central meaning of a piece,
which can potentially be of so much benefit to viewers.