In the early 1970s Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche taught the five
wisdom energies to contemporary practitioners as a way of
understanding who we are fundamentally: our personality, our
emotional landscape, and how we relate to others and our world.
The buddha families are traditionally displayed as the mandala
of the five tathagatas, or buddhas. The mandala (from the Sanskrit
for “circle”) aids meditators in understanding how different
aspects of existence operate together in an integrated whole. Each
of the buddhas in the mandala embodies one of the five different
aspects of enlightenment. However, these manifest themselves not
only as enlightened energies but also as neurotic states of mind.
The buddha families therefore present us with a complete picture of
both the sacred world of enlightened mind and the neurotic world of
ego-centered existence. We see that they are indeed the same thing;
the path of awakening is what makes the difference.
Traditionally, at the center of the mandala is Vairochana, lord
of the buddha family, who is white and represents the wisdom of
all-encompassing space and its opposite, the fundamental ignorance
that is the source of cyclic existence (samsara). The dullness of
ignorance is transmuted to a vast space that accommodates anything
and everything.
In the east of the mandala is Akshobya, lord of the vajra
family, who is blue and represents mirror-like wisdom and its
opposite, aggression. The overwhelming directness of aggression is
transmuted into the quality of a mirror, clearly reflecting all
phenomena. Vajra is associated with the element water, with winter,
and with sharpness and textures.
In the south of the mandala is Ratnasambhava, buddha of the
ratna family, who is yellow and represents the wisdom of equanimity
and its opposite, pride. The fulsomeness of pride is transmuted
into the quality of including all phenomena as elements in the rich
display. Ratna is associated with the element earth, with autumn,
with fertility and depth.
In the west of the mandala is Amitabha, buddha of the padma
family, who is red and represents discriminating-awareness wisdom
and its opposite, passion or grasping. The intense desire of
passion is transmuted into an attention to the fine qualities of
each and every detail. Padma is associated with the element fire,
with spring, with façade and color.
In the north of the mandala is Amogasiddhi, buddha of the karma
family, who is green and represents all-accomplishing wisdom and
its opposite, jealousy or paranoia. The arrow-like pointedness of
jealousy is transmuted into efficient action. Karma is associated
with the element wind, with summer, with growing and
completing.
Read more at :
http://www.shambhalasun.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=1658