Bija
Encyclopedia
In Hinduism
and Buddhism
, the Sanskrit
term बीज bīja (Jp
. 種子 shuji), literally seed
, is used as a metaphor for the origin or cause of things and cognate with bindu
.
The metaphor is considerably extended in the Consciousness-only teachings of the Yogacara
school of Buddhism. According to this theory, all experiences and actions produce bīja as impressions, stored in the alaya (storehouse) consciousness. The external world is produced when the seeds "perfume" this consciousness. This view of bīja has been equated to meme
s, with the theory itself positing an extreme form of memetics (i.e. reality and existence consist purely of memes).
In Vajrayana
Buddhism and Hinduism
, the term bīja is used for mystical "seed syllables" contained within mantra
s. These seeds do not have precise meanings, but are thought to carry connections to spiritual principles. The best-known bīja syllable is Om
, first found in the Hindu scriptures the Upanishads.
Khanna (2003: p. 21) links mantras and yantra
s to thoughtform
s:
In some tantric traditions, the Bija of the 'Varnamala' (Sanskrit; English: "garland of letters"; which may be rendered as alphabet) are understood as aniconic representations and sound embodiments of the matrikas
(a group of goddesses).
In Tibetan Buddhism
the seed syllables corresponding to the Three Vajras
are: a white oṃ (enlightened body), a red āḥ (enlightened speech) and a blue hūṃ (enlightened mind).
In the Bön tradition of Tibet, it's a little different: a white āḥ, a red oṃ and a blue hūṃ.
Bijas are often the vehicle of esoteric transmission of terma
to a 'terton' (Tibetan; English: "revealer of terma"), such as that experienced by Dudjom Lingpa
.
of the Indigenous Australian peoples is an interesting cross cultural correlate and may be cognate. See also gankyil
of the Vajrayana
tradition which is cognate with bindu
. In the respected fieldwork published in Aboriginal Men of High Degree, A.P. Elkin cites what he in his professional opinion is evidence that traders from Indonesia
brought fleeting contact of Buddhism
and Hinduism
to areas near modern-day Dampier
. Traditions of Mantrayana were also evident in Indonesia, e.g. Candi Sukuh
. And it is in the Vajrayana and Mantrayana traditions of esoteric transmission where bija take precedence. Indeed, bija defines Mantrayana. Elkin interpreted a link between Indigenous Australian
culture and Buddhist ideas such as reincarnation
. He argued this link could have been brought through contact with Macassan traders. There was also speculation due to reports of Chinese
relics appearing in northern Australia dating to the 15th century, although it may have been brought much later through trade rather than earlier exploration. Elkin cited linguistic commonalities of certain far northern Australian indigenous words and lexical items and ancient southern Indian Dravidian languages
. There are also documented analogues and marked similarities in their kinship systems.
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
and Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
, the Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
term बीज bīja (Jp
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
. 種子 shuji), literally seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
, is used as a metaphor for the origin or cause of things and cognate with bindu
Bindu
Bindu is a Sanskrit term meaning "point" or "dot". The feminine case ending is bindi which denotes a small ornamental, devotional and/or mystical dot that is cosmetically applied or affixed to the forehead in Hinduism....
.
Yogacara
Yogācāra is an influential school of Buddhist philosophy and psychology emphasizing phenomenology and ontology through the interior lens of meditative and yogic practices. It developed within Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism in about the 4th century CE...
school of Buddhism. According to this theory, all experiences and actions produce bīja as impressions, stored in the alaya (storehouse) consciousness. The external world is produced when the seeds "perfume" this consciousness. This view of bīja has been equated to meme
Meme
A meme is "an idea, behaviour or style that spreads from person to person within a culture."A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through writing, speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena...
s, with the theory itself positing an extreme form of memetics (i.e. reality and existence consist purely of memes).
In Vajrayana
Vajrayana
Vajrayāna Buddhism is also known as Tantric Buddhism, Tantrayāna, Mantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Esoteric Buddhism and the Diamond Vehicle...
Buddhism and Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
, the term bīja is used for mystical "seed syllables" contained within mantra
Mantra
A mantra is a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that is considered capable of "creating transformation"...
s. These seeds do not have precise meanings, but are thought to carry connections to spiritual principles. The best-known bīja syllable is Om
Aum
Om or Aum Om or Aum Om or Aum (also , written in Devanāgari as and as , in Sanskrit known as (lit. "to sound out loudly"), ', or ' (also as ') (lit. "Auṃ form/syllable"), is a sacred/mystical syllable in the Dharmic or Indian religions, i.e...
, first found in the Hindu scriptures the Upanishads.
Khanna (2003: p. 21) links mantras and yantra
Yantra
Yantra is the Sanskrit word for "instrument" or "machine". Much like the word "instrument" itself, it can stand for symbols, processes, automata, machinery or anything that has structure and organization, depending on context....
s to thoughtform
Thoughtform
A thoughtform is a manifestation of mental energy, also known as a tulpa in Tibetan mysticism. Its concept is related to the Western philosophy and practice of magic. links mantras and yantras to thoughtforms:...
s:
Mantras, the Sanskrit syllables inscribed on yantras, are essentially 'thought forms' representing divinities or cosmic powers, which exert their influence by means of sound-vibrations.
In some tantric traditions, the Bija of the 'Varnamala' (Sanskrit; English: "garland of letters"; which may be rendered as alphabet) are understood as aniconic representations and sound embodiments of the matrikas
Matrikas
Matrikas , also called Matara and Matris , are a group of Hindu goddesses who are always depicted together. Since they are usually depicted as a heptad, they are called Saptamatrikas : Brahmani, Vaishnavi, Maheshvari, Indrani, Kaumari, Varahi and Chamunda or Narasimhi...
(a group of goddesses).
In Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...
the seed syllables corresponding to the Three Vajras
Three Vajras
The Three Vajras namely 'body', 'speech' and 'mind' are a formulation within Tibetan Buddhism and Bon which holds the full experience of the 'openness' of Buddha-nature, void of all bar the 'qualities' and 'marks' and establishes a sound experiential key upon the 'continuum of the path' to...
are: a white oṃ (enlightened body), a red āḥ (enlightened speech) and a blue hūṃ (enlightened mind).
In the Bön tradition of Tibet, it's a little different: a white āḥ, a red oṃ and a blue hūṃ.
Bijas are often the vehicle of esoteric transmission of terma
Terma (Buddhism)
Terma are key Tibetan Buddhist and Bön teachings, which the tradition holds were originally esoterically hidden by various adepts such as Padmasambhava and his consorts in the 8th century for future discovery at auspicious times by other adepts, known as tertöns. As such, they represent a...
to a 'terton' (Tibetan; English: "revealer of terma"), such as that experienced by Dudjom Lingpa
Dudjom Lingpa
Dudjom Lingpa was a great 'meditation' master, visionary and terton of the Nyingma tradition of 'Mantrayana' and a Dzogchen master of the modern era of principal importance, particularly in the area of 'refining perception' or Nang Jang...
.
Cross cultural correlates
GuruwariGuruwari
Guruwari or 'Totem Design' or 'Seed Power' is an idea that appears in the Walbiri language of the culture of indigenous Australian peoples. Guruwari is intimately associated with The Dreaming.-References:...
of the Indigenous Australian peoples is an interesting cross cultural correlate and may be cognate. See also gankyil
Gankyil
The Gankyil[Tibetan:དགའ་འཁྱིལ་] is a symbol and ritual tool in Tibetan Buddhism, Bön, Himalayan Shamanism and Korean Buddhism. In Bön and Nyingma Dzogchen lineages, the Gankyil is the principal symbol and teaching tool: it is symbolic of primordial energy and represents the central unity and...
of the Vajrayana
Vajrayana
Vajrayāna Buddhism is also known as Tantric Buddhism, Tantrayāna, Mantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Esoteric Buddhism and the Diamond Vehicle...
tradition which is cognate with bindu
Bindu
Bindu is a Sanskrit term meaning "point" or "dot". The feminine case ending is bindi which denotes a small ornamental, devotional and/or mystical dot that is cosmetically applied or affixed to the forehead in Hinduism....
. In the respected fieldwork published in Aboriginal Men of High Degree, A.P. Elkin cites what he in his professional opinion is evidence that traders from Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
brought fleeting contact of Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
and Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
to areas near modern-day Dampier
Dampier, Western Australia
Dampier is a major industrial port in the north-west of Western Australia. The Dampier Port is part of the Dampier Archipelago. The port services petrochemical, salt, iron ore and natural gas export industries. Rio Tinto exports large volumes of iron ore through the port, and in September 2010...
. Traditions of Mantrayana were also evident in Indonesia, e.g. Candi Sukuh
Candi Sukuh
Sukuh is a 15th century Javanese-Hindu temple that is located on the western slope of Mount Lawu on the border between Central and East Java provinces....
. And it is in the Vajrayana and Mantrayana traditions of esoteric transmission where bija take precedence. Indeed, bija defines Mantrayana. Elkin interpreted a link between Indigenous Australian
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
culture and Buddhist ideas such as reincarnation
Reincarnation
Reincarnation best describes the concept where the soul or spirit, after the death of the body, is believed to return to live in a new human body, or, in some traditions, either as a human being, animal or plant...
. He argued this link could have been brought through contact with Macassan traders. There was also speculation due to reports of Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
relics appearing in northern Australia dating to the 15th century, although it may have been brought much later through trade rather than earlier exploration. Elkin cited linguistic commonalities of certain far northern Australian indigenous words and lexical items and ancient southern Indian Dravidian languages
Dravidian languages
The Dravidian language family includes approximately 85 genetically related languages, spoken by about 217 million people. They are mainly spoken in southern India and parts of eastern and central India as well as in northeastern Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Iran, and...
. There are also documented analogues and marked similarities in their kinship systems.