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yi-dam

A Dictionary of Buddhism | 2004 | 483 words | Copyright

yi-dam (Tib.). A tutelary deity associated with tantric Buddhism. The image and attributes of the deity are appropriated and used during personal meditation (sādhana) for the purpose of transformation through self-identification. Examples of yi-dams include Cakra-saṃvara, Hayagrīva, Heruka, Mahākāla, Vajrabhairava, and Vajrayoginī, all of whom have a distinctive iconography and are the object of cultic practices such as rites of propitiation.

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DAMIEN KEOWN. "yi-dam." A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 12 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

DAMIEN KEOWN. "yi-dam." A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (February 12, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O108-yidam.html

DAMIEN KEOWN. "yi-dam." A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2004. Retrieved February 12, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O108-yidam.html

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