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In Tibetan art, his stream of Enlightenment, a river of illumination, illustrated by a rainbow
from one figure to another, and by the rainbow halo surrounding an Enlightened
OneÑshown also as by the water ways that demark the Divine Image from the
parameterÑis often expressed through six varieties of beings: 1) the Monastics; 2) the Rulers;
3) the business people; 4) the ascetics;
5) the women; and 6) non-human beings (mi ma yin), such as
gods, angels, or dragons.
These are the transmitters and protectors of the Dharma.
All of these transmissions survived from the earliest times, and the
way the transmission of Enlightenment came down within these groups is revealed
in each Thangka.. Often, two or more traditions would come together.
On other occasions, there would be breakups.
In the endless search for the "happy medium," many combinations become
possible. A king may become an ascetic and then
a wandering monk. A beggar may become a monk, then a scholar, and then an
ascetic. An individual may live out a number of roles in his or her life, or
may enact several roles simultaneously during the life. A god might take the
form of a woman, become a nun or ascetic, and then become a traveling teacher. In
one Sutra, preserved in the Pali language, a dragon requests membership in the
order of monks, but is refused on account of his not being human. Thus
the heroic characters of the tradition reveal that one may use any single
pathway, or a combination of them. Their transmissions, however, are always
kept clear.
In Buddhism it is common to have received teachings on a number of
different levels, and the student is expected—especially on entering the
esoteric pathways—to know each Guru and each promise he or she made. The Monk
or Nun will always remember the teacher that ordained them. The importance of
the teacher is never forgotten.
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