Heruka (CloudMonk.io)
The heruka (Tib. ཧེ་རུ་ཀ་ or ཁྲག་འཐུང་, Wyl. he ru ka or khrag 'thung)— another name for wrathful deity and can refer to Hevajra or Chakrasamvara. In the Nyingma tradition the term is often used to refer specifically to Chemchok Heruka or Yangdak.
Definition
According to a tantra:
:He stands for great compassion.
:Ru means the absence of gathering.
:Ka means not abiding in anything whatsoever.[Quoted in Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö, Yeshe Saldrön.]
In the Zindri, Khenpo Ngakchung says that, according to Patrul Rinpoche, heruka means "one in whom absolute space (he) and primordial wisdom (ka) are united (ru)."[Khenpo Ngawang Pelzang, A Guide to the Words of My Perfect Teacher (Boston: Shambhala, 2004), p. 275.]
In the Nyingma tradition, it is used as a general name for (male) wrathful deities. In the sarma schools of Tibetan Buddhism, Kagyü, Sakya and Geluk, heruka generally refers to Chakrasamvara and other chief deities of the mandalas of the Mother Tantras. The term Heruka can also be used to denote a realized tantric practicioner. [ Katok Situ Chökyi Gyatso, Togden Shakya Shri, The Life and Liberation of a Tibetan Yogi', Shang Shung Publications, 2009, page 243.]. Wyl. khrag 'thung means blood drinker.
Notes
Further Reading
*Padmasambhava & Jamgön Kongtrul, Light of Wisdom, Vol. 1 (Hong Kong: Rangjung Yeshe, 1999), p.64-65 & 170.
External Links
*[http://www.himalayanart.org/pages/herukatypes/index.html Heruka Outline page at Himalayan Art]
Category:Tibetan Terms
Category:Buddhas and Deities