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wrathful deities
wrathful deities. In tantric Buddhism, certain deities are depicted in a ferocious and terrifying form. These forms have various layers of symbolic meaning. Most simply, they represent the vice of hatred (dveṣa), which is one of the three roots of evil (akuśala-mūla), and all the other negative emotions associated with it, such as anger. On another level they are a reminder that when properly channelled through the use of tantric practices, the misdirected psychic energy of negative emotions can be transformed into a more spiritually productive form and turned against the hatred itself in order to obliterate it. Each of the five Jinas has a wrathful (krodha) form, and these symbolize their victory over the various passions and desires. Known collectively as the ‘five kings of knowledge’ (vidyārāja), they are Acalanātha, Trailokavijaya, Kuṇḍalī, Yamāntaka, and Vajrayakṣa. In iconographic depictions such as maṇḍalas, Acalanātha appears in the centre, and the others to the east, south, west, and north in the order mentioned.
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DAMIEN KEOWN. "wrathful deities." A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. DAMIEN KEOWN. "wrathful deities." A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O108-wrathfuldeities.html DAMIEN KEOWN. "wrathful deities." A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2004. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O108-wrathfuldeities.html |
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Wrathful deities
Wrathful deities. Deities who, in Buddhist tantra, convey the transcendence of dosa (hate), itself one of the three major impediments to the attainment of enlightenment. Wrath is thus the purified form of hate, turned against the self in its emotional indulgence. Wrathful deities are depicted in fierce and fearsome guises, but this is intended to represent the attitude necessary to transform hate into wrath against itself (and the other ‘poisons’ of the mind).
In W. religions, the wrath of God is the righteous anger of God against wrong-doing, which in the Bible often carries with it punishment of wrong-doers, combined (in Christianity and Islam) with the threat of eternal punishment. The wrath of God thus becomes an invitation to moral seriousness. |
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Cite this article
JOHN BOWKER. "Wrathful deities." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN BOWKER. "Wrathful deities." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Wrathfuldeities.html JOHN BOWKER. "Wrathful deities." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Wrathfuldeities.html |
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