Hierarchy of the Vajrayana Sacred Realm

In the luminous heart of Vajrayana Buddhism, the world is not merely as it seems. It shimmers with hidden dimensions, veils parting to reveal mandalas of light, where every being is a mirror, every form a metaphor, and the mind itself—a boundless sky of awakened possibility. Unlike a simple hierarchy of gods or deities, the Vajrayana pantheon is more like a symbolic mandala—a sacred map filled with enlightened energies, archetypes, and meditative tools. Each figure represents a different aspect of awakened mind and plays a specific role in helping practitioners move toward enlightenment.

Tibetan prayer flags are printed with images of Buddhist deities, symbols, mantras and prayers. One purpose of these Newsletters is to provide some understanding of their deep meanings. Please remember that all these deities are not to be considered external beings. They are aspects of our innate consciousness in symbolic forms. All these Sanskrit and Tibetan names may seem complicated, but there's a coherent and profound system to be found in these ancient teachings. I apologize for the long length of this Newsletter. I didn't quite realize what I was getting myself into when I began this topic.

At the heart of the Vajrayana Buddhist tradition is the Primordial Buddha. Primordial means "existing from the very beginning, timeless, beyond life and death." In Sanskrit this "Ati Buddha" is called Samantabhadra, "The All Good" or Vajradhara, "The Holder of Indestructible Truth.". In Tibetan, the name is Kuntuzangpo, "The All Pure". His naked form, deep blue like the vast sky, symbolizies unborn intrinsic awareness. He iis often depicted in union with Samantabhadri (Tibetan: Kuntuzangmo), together representing the inseparable qualities of space and awareness. The Primordial Buddha represents the deepest level of truth—called the Dharmakaya—which is formless, timeless, and beyond duality. It’s not a creator god, but the pure awareness from which all Buddhas and reality itself continuously emerge. Ati Buddha is not a deity to be worshiped but represents the innate nature of the mind, which is already perfectly enlightened, luminous, and free from delusion.

Vajrasattva (Tibetan: Dorje Sempa) occupies a distinct and foundational position within the Vajrayana Buddhist hierarchy. He is regarded as an emanation or reflection of the Ati Buddha, manifesting the pure awareness and compassionate activity of the primordial Buddha in a more accessible and relational form—that of a bodhisattva. Unlike the Five Dhyani Buddhas of the next category, who represent specific wisdoms, Vajrasattva does not belong to that grouping. Instead, he is invoked in many practices to help purify negative karma and mental obscurations that obstruct spiritual realization. In this way, Vajrasattva serves as the primordial bodhisattva of purification and esoteric transmission.

In the Tibetan Book of the Dead (Bardo Thödol), Vajrasattva is portrayed as the lord of all the deities that appear in the intermediate state after death (bardo), including the full array of peaceful and wrathful manifestations of enlightened mind. As the universal purifier, Vajrasattva is central to maintaining the integrity of tantric vows (samaya). Practitioners commonly recite the 100-syllable mantra of Vajrasattva as a means of purifying negative actions, cleansing obscurations, and restoring broken commitments. This practice ensures the ethical and energetic purity necessary for deeper realization within the Vajrayana path.

Vajrasattva Thangka

Canvas Size: 13" x 15"   Brocade Border Size: 23" x 38" Price $375

From the silence of primordial awaress arise the Five Dhyani Buddhas; eternal presences of light and wisdom. They are not distant gods, but constellations within the sky of mind—

each one a path, a transformation, a way to turn emotional poison into enlightened nectar.

These Wisdom Beings were discussed in the June 2025 Newsletter.

At top center - (flanked by two lineage teachers)

Vajradhara

Ati Buddha of the Mahamudra traditions

Vairochana in the center (white),

The wisdom of spaciousness

Akshobhya, in the east (blue)

The wisdom of mirror-like clarity

Ratnasambhava, in the south (yellow), The wisdom of equanimity

Amitabha, in the west (red)

The wisdom that discerns the ultimate nature of reality from appearances.

Amoghasiddhi, in the north (green)

The power of All-accomplishing Wisdom

Bodhisattvas

Surrounding the Dhyani Buddhas are the Bodhisattvas, who embody the compassionate and skillful activity of the enlightened state. There are countless bodhisattvas across all ten directions. Every Buddha has an entourage of bodhisattvas. Every practitioner on the path to Buddhahood is a bodhisattva in training.

4 - Armed Avalokiteshvara

Hand Painted Thangka: Canvas size:16"X24." Silk brocade size: 28"x 51" $450

Thangka Photos: 5"x7" $6 8"x12" $15

Bodhisattvas often appear alongside Buddhas, acting as their helpers and active expressions of their qualities.The main ones, called the "Eight Great Bodhisattvas," each embody a key aspect of enlightened mind:

Avalokiteśvara (Chenrezig)– compassion

Mañjuśrī – wisdom

Vajrapāṇi – power

Kṣitigarbha – stability

Samantabhadra – conduct

Maitreya – loving-kindness

Ākāśagarbha – space-like wisdom

Sarvanivāraṇaviṣkambhin – removal of obscurations

Avalokiteshvara

The Bodhisattva of great compassion is one of the most widely practiced yidams in Vajrayana Buddhism, especially for cultivating bodhicitta, the mind of compassion.

Silk Screened Print on cotton

Size: 15"x21" Price: $18

Chakrasamvara

An important yidam in the Highest Yoga Tantra practices Vajrayana tradition. his name means “Wheel of Supreme Bliss”, symbolizing the union of bliss and emptiness—the heart of tantric realization.

Hand-painted Thangka

Canvas size: 17"x23" Brocade Border:29"x 51"

Price: $450

Central to Vajrayana practice are the Yidams, or meditational deities. Deities from other categories, such as Bodhisattvas, may be classified as Yidams when, through ritual initiation, they are used in personal meditation practices.  In advanced meditation, practitioners visualize themselves as these deities and recite the respective mantras in order to connect with the Yidam's enlightened qualities.

Yidams can appear in peaceful, semi-wrathful and wrathful forms. They are not gods to worship, but symbols of enlightenedt energies that help transform negative emotions into wisdom. The main yidams in Vajrayana Buddhism vary somewhat by lineage (Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya, and Gelug), but across traditions there is a core group of principal yidams.

Peaceful Yidams are usually associated with serenity, clarity, and wisdom. They are often practiced to purify obscurations and cultivate inner peace.

Avalokiteśvara (Chenrezig) is the embodiment of compassion and is associated with the mantra Om Mani Padme Hum.

Manjushri embodies wisdom. He Wields a flaming sword of insight and holds a scripture. His main mantra is Om Ah Ra Pa Tsa Na Dhih.

Green Tārā, embodying Swift, active compassion is one of the most widely practiced yidams. Her energy saves beings from fears and dangers. Her mantra is OM TARE TU TARE TURE SOHA

White Tāra Embodies long life, healing, and serenity. She is invoked in longevity practices.

Vajrasattva is the yidam used for the purification of mind and karma. The deity is visualized while reciting the 100 syllble mantra. This is one of the main practices of ngondro (preliminary practices).

Amitābha - The main deity in the Pure Land Buddhism (in China, Japan, Korean,Vietnam), Amitabha, the Buddha of Boundless Light is also used as a peaceful yidam in the Tibetan Vajrayana traditions.

Wrathful and Semi-Wrathful Yidams

These deities are fierce in appearance but motivated by compassion. Their energy cuts through ego, obstacles, and ignorance. The most widely invoked wrathful yidams are;

 Vajrakilaya (Dorje Phurba), the wrathful form of Vajrasattva is known for removing obstacles and destroying negative forces. It is a main Yidam practice for the Nyingma tradition

Yamantaka (Vajrabhairava), the wrathful form of Manjushri, destroys death and ignorance. It is especially central in the Gelug tradition.

Cakrasaṃvara Heruka represents the union of bliss and emptiness. A central yidam in Kagyu and Sakya lineages. He is usually shown in union with Vajravārāhī.

 Hevajra is a tantric Buddha symbolizing the union of wisdom and skillful means and is sspecial in the Sakya school.

Vajrayoginī is a female tantric Buddha embodying the path to enlightenment through the body and desire. Fierce, in dancing posture, and wearing skull ornaments, she is mainly used mainly in the advanced tantric practices.

Kurukullā is semi-wrathful form of Tārā used in magnetizing practices.

Hayagrīva – Wrathful protector and healing deity.

Guhyasamāja – One of the most esoteric yidams; symbolizes complete tantric integration.

Kalachakra – A very advanced yidam representing the totality of time and space.

Green Tara

When used as a yidam, Green Tārā is visualized not as external, but as your own awakened nature—the feminine aspect of wisdom and fearlessness within.

Silk-screened print on cotton

Size: 15"x 21" Price: $18

White Tara

White Tārā is meditated upon to extend one’s lifespan and heal illness. As a yidam, she serves as a mirror for one's innate, pure potential to manifest calm, enduring compassion

Silk-screened print on cotton

Size: 15"x 21" Price: $18

Kurukulle

Silk-sreened print on cotton

Size: 22"x 30" Price: $18

Kurukullé is a fierce female yidam who embodies the power of magnetizing, enchanting, and transforming desire into enlightened activity. Red in color and dancing in flames, she channels the energy of wisdom and passion to subdue delusion and attract all that benefits beings on the path to liberation. As a yidam, Kurukullé is visualized and meditated upon to transform desire and attachment into enlightened awareness and to attract favorable conditions for spiritual growth. Embodying radiant confidence and wisdom, her energy subdues and transform obstacles, negativity, and harmful forces. Her mantra is: OM KURUKULLE HRIH SVAHA

Black Mahakala

Dharma Protectors (dharmapāla) occupy a unique and vital role in the Vajrayana pantheon. These beings, often wrathful in appearance yet compassionate in nature, serve as guardians of the Buddhist teachings, its practitioners, and the sacred spaces. Their task is to protect not only the external environment but also the inner landscape of the practitioner's mind. They are invoked in rituals, visualizations and protector practices to remove hindrances, ensure the purity of spiritual lineages, and support the practitioner in their journey toward enlightenment. Despite their wrathful forms, Dharma Protectors are considered expressions of enlightened mind. Their fierce iconography—bulging eyes, snarling mouths, weapons, and adornments of bone and flame—is deeply symbolic. They trample demons not to annihilate beings, but to destroy ignorance, negative karma, and afflictive emotions.

Dharma Protectors are traditionally classified into three categories.

Wisdom Protectors, are fully enlightened beings—emanations of Buddhas or Bodhisattvas—who appear in wrathful forms to subdue negativity and safeguard the spiritual path. Some leading examples of Wisdom protectors are

Mahākāla, a wrathful emanation of Avalokiteśvara, who appears in various forms across different lineages.

Palden Lhamo, a fearsome female protector who serves as the personal guardian of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government.

Vajrapāni, representing the power of all Buddhas, also manifests as a protector in this category.

Worldly Protectors are powerful spirits or deities originally outside the Buddhist pantheon who have been subjugated and oath-bound by great tantric masters such as Padmasambhava. These beings, though not fully enlightened, have sworn to protect the Dharma and are ritually honored to maintain harmony and effectiveness in spiritual practice.

Nechung - The state oracle of Tibet

Tsiu Marpo - A key protector in the Sakya lineage,

Dorje Legpa - Once a mountain spirit, he was transformed by oath into a fierce protector.

Gyalpo Spirits - A class of worldly spirits, who were subdued and bound by oath

Shinje Yab-Yum Role - Worldly protector in some Gelug and Kagyu practices

Tenma Goddesses – Twelve female protectors, each guarding a region of Tibet

Rahula - His worldly form is a wrathful protector associated with the sky and eclipses

Lesser Guardian Spirits, while not central figures, play an important role in maintaining environmental balance and spiritual harmony. Offerings are often made to these beings to prevent disturbances and encourage supportive conditions for practice. These spirits and elementals such as Nagas, Nyen, and Don are very interesting in themselves and worth devoting more space than is available in this essay. They will be discussed in a future Newsletter.

Dakinis

In the luminous world of Vajrayana Buddhism, Dakinis, the Sky Dancers of Wisdom,

are embodiments of awakened energy, messengers of insight, and protectors of the sacred. Known in Tibetan as khandroma, “she who moves through space,” she is the feminine principle of wisdom manifest in a form both terrifying and beautiful. She is a mirror to the practitioner's mind, a messenger of direct realization, and a guide through the shifting dreamscape of samsara and nirvana alike. 

Historically, Dakinis were associated with the cremation grounds of India—haunting places where the boundaries of life and death blur - evoking an edge of danger and liberation. In Tibetan Buddhism, they evolved into central figures within the highest tantric teachings, where they dance in the space between form and emptiness, wisdom and wildness - expressing both the play of ultimate wisdom and the fierce compassion that awakens the heart and burns away illusion.

Dakini represent the spontaneous, liberating energy of wisdom that cannot be grasped but can be realized. They are often portrayed as a fierce, nude, dancing woman, adorned with bone ornaments and holding a curved knife and skull cup.Their nakedness is symbolic: they wear no conceptual clothing, no social mask, no armor of dualistic thought. The Dakini's dance in the sky, symbolizes boundless awareness; moving freely through the space of ultimate reality. Fire surrounds her, not as destruction but as transformation. She rides the winds of wisdom and appears wherever the practitioner dares to surrender certainty in exchange for insight. She is both wrathful and compassionate, because to liberate the mind sometimes requires the blade as much as the balm.

Dakinis manifest on many levels, each expressing a dimension of awakened activity. On the highest level, they are fully enlightened beings—Wisdom Dakinis—such as Vajrayoginī or Samantabhadrī - embodiments of non-dual awareness. On subtler levels, they may appear during meditation as visionary guides, yidams, who transmit blessings and teachings. They may also arise as forces of activity in the practitioner’s life—signs, coincidences, dreams, or people who catalyze transformation. And, at the most immediate level, Dakinis may appear in human form: realized yoginīs, female teachers, consorts, or even ordinary women whose presence brings about deep spiritual awakening. Many of treasure teachings (terma) in the Nyingma tradition were revealed by Dakinis, who act as keepers of sacred knowledge, releasing the teachings when the world is ready.

In poetic vision, the Dakini may be heard whispering through the silence: “I am the wind at the edge of your thought, the fire beneath your stillness. Where you cling, I vanish. Where you leap, I fly.” To follow her is not to find certainty, but to discover vastness. She is not elsewhere. She is the very space of your own awareness—dancing, flaming, laughing—in the mirror of the sky

Top Row: Buddha Eyes ------------Coil of Joy ---------------- Eternal Knot

2nd Row: Double Dorje --------------- Dragon ----------------------- Garuda

3rd Row: Lotus ----------------------------OM ------------------------ Snow Lion

4th Row: Sun & Moon----------------- Tiger ---------------------- Wind Horse

We originally chose Flexfit caps for embroidering the logos of our "Dharma Caps" product line because of their superior quality, stylish design, and excellent craftsmanship. Their spandex sweatband creates a fitted cap that offers exceptional comfort. Unlike adjustable caps, fitted styles come in two distinct sizes—small/medium and large/extra-large. While I appreciate the quality of these caps, the downside is that stocking two sizes for each design requires twice the inventory space compared to adjustable options.

With 13 designs available in three colors and two sizes, we ended up managing 78 individual product variations. This became particularly challenging when the company implemented a new minimum order policy requiring four dozen units per design, color, and size. Due to space limitations in our warehouse, it became impractical to continue with the fitted style. As a result, I decided to switch to adjustable caps, which will reduce our inventory volume by half.

Flexfit is the U.S. distributor for Yupoong, Inc., a South Korean company known for producing high-quality headwear in Southeast Asia. Besides supplying fitted caps to Flexfit, they also supply high quality adjustable caps. We will be phasing out the fitted caps, replacing the inventory with adjustable caps. While this is happening, both fitted and adjustable will appear as options in the shopping cart.

Although most of the world's headwear is made in China, we have avoided working with Chinese manufacturers due to their treatment of the Tibetan population. I did a little digging into the factories that Yupoong. The company appears to be widely respected in the industry and is actively incorporating recycled and organic materials into its product lines, along with pursuing formal sustainability certifications. Their manufacturing facilities in Bangladesh and Vietnam—where our caps are made—are certified to meet key labor standards and are committed to providing safe, humane working conditions.

"At this very moment for the people and the nations of the earth

may not even the words - disease, famine, war and suffering be heard;

but rather may their moral conduct, merit, wealth and prosperity increase

and may supreme good fortune and well being always arise for them."

This beautiful prayer, written by HH Dudjom Rinpoche, is shown in

Tibetan and in English on this flag dedicated to world peace.

Set of 5 flags on rope - $12

Set of 10 flags on rope - $22

Set of 25 flags on rope - $28

The rice paper print chosen for June's drawing depicts a Heruka. The one legged stance (dakini posture), symbolizing meditative stability, indicates to me that the deity may be Chakrasamvara, the embodiment of great bliss and emptiness..Herukas are tantric deities usually depicted in a wrathful form and embodying the fierce compassion that destroys ignorance and ego. Although they may look fearsome, Herukas are not evil—they are manifestations of enlightened mind taking wrathful form to help beings.The name "Heruka", meaning “blood drinker”, refers to enlightened beings who assume terrifying appearances not out of anger, but to help beings overcome obstacles, delusions, and deep karmic obscurations. In this print, deity is in union (Yab/Yum) with his consort (maybe Vajravarahi) symbolizing the union of wisdom (prajña) and method (upaya)—the essence of enlightenment.

The red stamp at the bottom of the print typically serves as an authenticating seal, artist’s mark, or collector’s impression. These stamps are often applied in red cinnabar ink and carry cultural, spiritual, and artistic significance. The stamp on this print is the single Chinese character, "Dao," meaning The Way or The Path, representing the universal principle or natural order of existence. It may have been added by the artist or studio to evoke a connection with Buddhist ideals.

If you'd like a chance to win this print, email me your name and address to prayerflags2@gmail.com.

Please don't forget to include your mailing address.

Congratulations to Jesse Strickler of White Plains, New York

for winning the bordered print of the Wish Fulfilling Prayer of Guru Rinpoche

During the Tibetan 5th month, the Nagas are preparing for their summer season. If you make offerings to them on a Naga Offering (teb) day, in turn they will help you fulfill your wishes. If you make offerings to them on a negative (dok) day, your offering becomes poison, pus and blood and they will surely flee.

While there are many good days to perform offering ceremonies this month, the best day is July 10th (full moon).

Bodhinath Stupa - Kathmandu, Nepa

Please send us photos of your prayer flags so we can share them.

Any size, shape and format is okay.

Email prayerflags2@gmail.com

Links to all the previous Newsletters can be found in the Newsletters Archives.

Please pass the link on to any friends who mignt be interested.

If you have any questions, comments, or ideas for my newsletter, please write.

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Thank you for taking the time to read my newsletter.

Timothy Clark

Owner of Radiant Heart Studios