In Vajrayana Buddhism, a Yidam (Tibetan) or Ishtadevata (Sanskrit) is a fully enlightened being who is the focus of personal meditation, during a retreat or for life. The term is often translated into English as meditational deity. A Yidam is an enlightened being with whom one identifies during meditation: one perceives his or her own Buddha nature through such identification. Some common Yidams include Hayagriva, Vajrakilaya, Samputa, Guhyasamaja, Yamantaka, Hevajra, Kurukulle, Cakrasamvara, Vajrayogini, and Kalacakra. Also, other enlightened beings such as the regular forms of the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Guru Rinpoche, certain Dharmapalas, Wealth Deities, and yab-yum representations, among others, can also be practiced as a Yidam. A mandala used in Vajrayana Buddhist practices. ... The Tibetan language is typically classified as member of the Tibeto-Burman which in turn is thought by some to be a branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family. ... The Sanskrit language (Skt. ... Bodhi, the Pāli and Sanskrit word for awakening or enlightenment, is an abstract noun formed from the verbal root budh (awake, become aware, notice, know or understand), corresponding to the verbs bujjhati (Pāli) and bodhati or budhyate (Sanskrit). ... A large statue in Bangalore depicting Shiva meditating Meditation is the practice of focusing the mind, often formalized into a specific routine. ... The term retreat has several related meanings, all of which have in common the notion of safety or temporarily removing oneself from ones usual environment. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Buddha-nature (originally in Sanskrit, Buddha-dhatu - Buddha Element, Buddha-Principle) is a doctrine important for many schools of Mahayana Buddhism. ... In Hinduism, Hayagriva is a minor avatar of Vishnu. ... Yamantaka is a Mahayana Buddhist Ishtadevata, popular within the Geluk school of Tibetan Buddhism, and celebrated also in Nepal. ... The tutelary god Hevajra is described, with all the rites and ceremonies used in his worship, in the sutra of the Hevajra tantra, which figured historically in the conversion of the Mongolian emperor Khubilai in the thirteenth century A.D. Iconography Hevajra is represented with eight heads, sixteen arms, and... Heruka (Chakrasamvara) is a principal Deity (Tantric Buddha) of the class of Mother Tantra in Tibetan and Indian Buddhism. ... Vajrayogini or Vajravarahi (Tibetan: dor je phag mo, English: the Vajra Sow) is a tantric Buddhist deity whose sadhana (practice) originated in India between the 10th and 12th century. ... Kalachakra is a term used in tantric Buddhism that means time-wheel or time-cycles. ... Prince Siddhartha Gautama as a bodhisattva, before becoming a Buddha. ... Guru Rinpoche, the patron saint of Sikkim. ... This article is about the Buddhist concept; see Anagarika Dharmapala for the Sri Lankan monk. ... The Yab Yum is an exclusive brothel in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. ...

Yidams are not to be equated with deities, patron saints or guardian angels found in the Jewish, Christian and Muslim traditions. They are both a specific Buddha-form and the student's basic nature or potential to become a Buddha. The student visualizes the outstanding characteristics of the yidam until he achieves complete union with it. The yidam, which can be masculine or feminine, may refer to the personal deity, the nature of which corresponds to the individual psychological temper of each adept. In several forms of the church of Christianity, but especially in Roman Catholicism, a patron saint has special affinity for a trade or group. ... A guardian angel is a spirit who is believed to protect and to guide a particular person. ... The word Jew ( Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination of these attributes. ... A Christian is a follower of Jesus Christ. ... A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم, Turkish:Müslüman, Persian:مسلمان, Bosnian: Musliman) is an adherent of Islam. ... The shield and spear of the Roman God Mars are often used to represent the male sex In heterogamous species, male is the sex of an organism, or of a part of an organism, which typically produces smaller, mobile gametes (spermatozoa) that are able to fertilise female gametes (ova). ... The mirror of the Roman Goddess Venus is often used to represent the female sex. ... The adept masters the highest of esoterical knowledge. ...

Avalokiteshvara, Tara, Manjusri and particularly Kalachakra, Hevajra and consort Nairatmya, Heruka-Chakrasamvara and consort Vajravarahi, etc. are frequently chosen as Yidam, but any deity of the tantric pantheon may be adopted as such. The yidam is used as a means or a goal of transformation towards full enlightenment. According to certain traditions, the yidam are considered as the emanation of the adept's own mind. The term yi-dam is said to be a contraction of Tib. yid-kyi-dam-tshig, meaning "samaya of mind"- in other words, the state of being indestructibly bonded with the inherently pure and liberated nature of mind. In Mahayana Buddhism, Avalokitesvara or Avalokiteshvara is a bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. ... a. ... Statue of Manjusri (Monju) at Senkoji in Onomichi, Japan Mañjuśrī (Ch: 文殊 Wenshu or 文殊師利 Wenshushili; Jp: Monju; Tib: Jampelyang), also written Manjushri, is the bodhisattva of keen awareness in Buddhism. ... Kalachakra is a term used in Tantric Buddhism that means time-wheel or time-cycles. It refers both to a Tantric deities (tib. ... The tutelary god Hevajra is described, with all the rites and ceremonies used in his worship, in the sutra of the Hevajra tantra, which figured historically in the conversion of the Mongolian emperor Khubilai in the thirteenth century A.D. Iconography Hevajra is represented with eight heads, sixteen arms, and... Heruka is a principal Deity (Tantric Buddha) of Mother Tantra, who is the embodiment of indivisible bliss and emptiness. ... A mandala used in Vajrayana Buddhist practices. ... Mind refers to the collective aspects of human intellect and consciousness that originate in the brain and which are manifest in some combination of thought, perception, emotion, will, memory, and imagination. ...

See also

• Yab-yum
• Ishta-deva
• Wisdom Kings

The Yab Yum is an exclusive brothel in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. ... Ishta-Deva, or Ishta Devata is a term from Hinduism that means chosen Deity or revered aspect of God by a devotee and is a widely held concept in Smartism. ... Mahamayuri the Peacock Wisdom Queen, c. ...

External links

• The Bodhi-Tree meditation - A Buddhist Practice that is directed by a Yidam