Dharma Protectors--Understanding Your Wisdom Nature. Interview with H.H. the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa Thaye Dorje
What are protectors? In the West, we tend to see them in a dualistic way as an outer thing. Are protectors outer beings?
We have to understand that it is not that there are protectors “out there” who “do something for us”. This is our wisdom nature. When we awaken our wisdom nature this is protection in itself, and this activity is what makes everything happen.
There are two kinds of protectors: worldly protectors, which are more like sentient beings, and the perfect wisdom or dharma protectors. The enlightened ones are the wisdom aspects, for example Mahakala, whose essence is great compassion, just as it is with Chenrezig. This great compassion can show itself in either a peaceful or a wrathful form. Mahakala is the wrathful expression of compassion. The word “wrathful” describes the way they look, and we describe their activity as “powerfully protective”. They act without disturbing feelings. In the West you can only be wrathful with ego, whereas protectors are wrathful without ego. While they usually express themselves on the relative level in a wrathful form, they can also be peaceful.
What is the activity of a protector?
The general activity of a worldly protector is to protector an area, country or place against harmful influences or problems. The foremost activity of a dharma protector is to protect the teachings. Their activity is not so much about outer protection.They help to protect us from the “inner enemies” - the disturbing emotions of attachment, stupidity, jealousy, anger and pride. They help to pacify and control these emotions. This is the protection they provide for dharma practitioners.
Dharma protectors, in the same way as all buddha aspects, are an expression of enlightenment. This then consists of the three qualities of wisdom, power and compassion. We all have buddha nature, and to awaken it we need certain conditions, Creating the correct conditions is also part of protective activity. It stops us from getting into situations with bad conditions and helps us find the best conditions to awaken our buddha nature. In other words, it protects us against obstacles to enlightenment.
Which protectors are most important for our lineage?
The main one is the two-armed Mahakala or Black Coat (Tib. Bernagchen), and there are five others: Dorje Legpa, Shing Chong, Sin Gon, Nam Mang Tho Se and Ngag Chi Dak. The rest of the protectors are bodhisattvas: they are on a bodhisattva level and they perform their activity from that level.
In the Karma Kagyu lineage, Karma Pakshi had a direct vision of Mahakala and fully accomplished that form. You can therefore see him and Mahakala as inseparable.
What does the word Mahakala mean?
If we translate literally from Sanskrit it means “the big black one” . “Maha” is big and “kala” is black. In Tibetan this is Nakpo Chenpo- the Great Black or the Big Black. However, in Tibetan we usually say Bernagchen . “Ber” means coat, “nag” is black and “chen” is having , so we know it as “Black Coat”.
Many people think protectors can prevent them from having accidents. Would you say this is true?
The actual function of dharma protectors is inner protection. This helps to pacify disturbing emotions and give rise to inner wisdom. The actual function of protectors is to remove the obstacles in our normal life, which are the result of our previous karma. In this sense, there could be some protection from accidents. There could be a hindrance, an obstacle in life, such as one’s untimely death, that may be prevented through Mahakala’s activity. By accumulating positive karma, we increase our merit, which in turn can extend our life, as can meditating on our inner life energy. Through this protection, the conditions for performing the actions to accumulate positive karma are also increased.
How would you advise us to explain the essence of Mahakala to people in the West?
For people with a Christian background it looks like we worship the devil, “The Big Black”.
We should explain that these different appearances or forms are needed and that they manifest for the sake of all beings. Some are peaceful and some look like Mahakala, but they are all expressions of compassion . This phrase “expression of compassion” is good for Westerners because it describes something that is the complete opposite of what they see. It helps them understand that acting with compassion does not always mean having a smile. Mahakala comes in this form because people are as they are on the ordinary level, and therefore this appearance is necessary.
The 16th Karmapa called Lama Ole Nydahl a Mahakala who protects the lineage. Do you still see this as Lama Ole’s role?
yes, you can see this in this activity today .In my opinion, he has extended the activity of the Karma Kagyu lineage in the West more than anybody else. Somebody like the 16th Karmapa would say and do things that could activate your mind. His blessing would make that activity even stronger, make it grow and make it possible. We all have this in us, we all have buddha nature, and we all have the qualities of Mahakala in us.
How can we develop the activity of a dharma protector?
For somebody practicing the Vajrayana, the tantra way, there is a gradual progression of one’s accomplishment, which includes the four buddha activities-- pacifying, powerful, fascinating and protective. According to one’s karma, merit and capacity, one can then accomplish all four of these, not just the protective quality, if one has the right inner and outer circumstances.
During our pilgrimage to the Himalayas, we noticed that women were not allowed in Mahakala rooms. Do you know why?
It seems to be a universal phenomenon. There have always been differences in most societies between men and women. All over the world men were considered to be more important than women. In the Himalayas there have not been so any changes over the centuries. Before Buddhism arrived, the Tibetans also had their own tradition, and when dharma came it was combined with this tradition. The dharma will blend with whatever tradition a country has. Depending on the society, it will color certain behaviors. It is not the dharma that says women are not allowed into Mahakala rooms. There is no spiritual reason so it is good to see that it is not part of Buddhism but part of society. By comparison, one hundred years ago women could not vote in Europe.
Some people act in an angry manner and think they are being protective. Seemingly, some act without compassion and use “protection” as an excuse for being angry. What do you think about this?
That would not be protective activity; it would just be anger. This is “like and dislike”. You have to distinguish between whether the ego is involved or not. Whenever ego and disturbing emotions are involved, it is not protective activity.
Can you give some advice on how a Buddhist can physically protect others or fight for his country?
Whenever we talk about protecting our country or planet, killing and harming others will be involved. If you harm another being with ego and anger, then this is not Buddhist activity or dharma activity at all. One should not do it for revenge or anger. If someone was attacked in front of you then you could protect this person of course, but you would try not to harm or kill the attacker in the process. This is a very normal reaction; I think everyone would do it. In some difficult situations, where there is no choice but to act, then you can still do it it without killing. Killing would be the extreme, and in that case one could only do it if one has reached a bodhisattva’s bhumi, the level of Bodhisattva realization. If one does not have an egoistic mind anymore, then one can do it. Otherwise, once one has killed somebody, it is very difficult to get rid of the resulting bad karma.
Could you tell us how the Mahakla knot works?
First of all, it depends on the person who gives blessings to that knot. It has to be someone who is realized, who can therefore give protection. If this is the case, there is definitely blessing. Secondly, it depends on the person who is wearing or using the knot. If you have very strong confidence and think , “I am protected now”, you also create protection around you . It works like that. It is a combination of blessing and your own attitude. When you practice mediation, you have to go through lots of stages and phases involving visualization. For some people this might be not so easy and not so compelling. When you have gaus¹, knots, blessing strings or things like that, you create the energy field without any of the phases or stages. This confidence, the fact that you are convinced, makes it work. When the mind is in a state of pure confidence, it is protective. It does not have to be a knot -- it can be a blessed ring or something else-- it is the state of mind that is important.
What are the benefits of doing the Mahakala puja every day?
The regularity of this practice keeps the favorable conditions for practice and keeps away disturbances. This is the same for any practice we do. In addition, this is the damsig², the samaya that we give. The reason for this promise or commitment is that it makes it possible for the right conditions to be present in one’s life and for them to not be interrupted. That’s why we always do it regularly in our Karma Kagyu practice- to keep away any kind of harm or obstacle. In Tibet, the Mahakala puja was performed for centuries and now it is done in many other places around the world, but what is important is that our own buddha nature is somehow unfolding.
Do you think if we stopped invoking Mahakala that the teachings would disappear? Does the spreading of the Karma Kagyu teachings depend on Mahakala’s activity that happens through the practice of Mahakala?
In some ways yes, and in some ways no. It does not exactly have to be Mahakala; it could be something else. It could be the Great White.
It depends on our inner practice whether the dharma teachings would appear or disappear. As long as we have the inner practice, the Karma Kagyu teachings will always stay. By inner practice, I mean understanding the root and meaning when you do a practice. The root to the practice refers to compassion for the sake of all beings.
Thank you very much.
May this interview benefit countless beings.
The interview was conducted in the summer of 2004 by Pauline Czaja, Steve James and Cristina Ferrando with the help of Hannah Nydahl, Caty Hartung and Tomek Lehnert.
¹Gau: a Tibetan amulet or relic container usually made of metal and worn as jewelry.
²Damsig (dam tshig, samaya in Sanskrit): oath-bound promise, words of honor, sacred vow, indestructible pledge, obligations of Vajrayana.
