Why are Vajrasattva, Tara and Ushnisha Vijaya described as the Three Supremes or the Three Special Deities? In all lineages of Buddhism, the triad of practice represents: purifying Ignorance to attain wisdom; overcoming our fears and poisons to remove suffering; and ultimately, to triumph over death, through Enlightenment. As Dharmakaya Supreme Buddha, Vajrasattva, represents Wisdom. As Karma Mother, Green Tara is Supreme Compassionate Method and Wisdom. As the Crown of All Buddhas, Usnisha Vijaya is the Supreme Realizations overcoming Death itself.
We can describe these three as the Three Jewels, or as the Three Supremes, or the Three Great Bodhisattvas, or as the Three Roots. All of these describe the same trinity of wisdom, compassionate method, and realizations (Enlightenment.) The Three Supremes overcome the three great obstacles: Ignorance (with Wisdom), the Poisons (with Compassionate Method) and Death itself (with Enlightened Realizations.)
Three Supremes
The Triumphant Buddha Trinity, are often known as the “Three Special Deities” or the Three Supremes: Vajrasattva, Tara, and Ushnisha Vijaya, representing the rapid path to realizations and Enlightenment. Together, they symbolize the Three Jewels, the three aspects of practice, which are wisdom, compassionate method and activity; and also overcoming the three major obstacles of ignorance, suffering, and death.
In the practice of the Three Supremes, we have the Wisdom of Vajrasattva, who purifies the poison of ignorance; the Enlightened Activities of Tara, which represents overcoming the eight dangers in Samsara; and the Compassionate method of Ushnisha Vijaya, which helps us overcome the obstacle of death.
Video: Ushnisha Vijaya’s Supreme Dharani from Sutra:
This is explained in the opening praises of several of Marpa Lotsawa’s practice sadhans. For exmaple, from the Sadhana of Venerable Tara:
“Arising from the Ushnisha, Namgyalma, destroying the Lord of Death ; Tara, who liberates the fears of Samsara; Lord of All Families, Vajrasattva; I bow to the wonderful and supreme deities.”
Three Supremes of Practice
The Three Supremes, or Three Aspects, complete all three areas of Practice, which are Wisdom, Compassionate Method, and Activities. The Three Supremes represent the same thing as the Three Jewels, the Three Great Bodhisattvas and the Three Roots.
- The Three Jewels of Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, represent, respectively, Wisdom, Compassionate Method, and activities.
- With the Three Great Ones, the Bodhisattvas: Manjushri represents Wisdom, Avalokiteshvara represents Compassionate methods, and Vajrapani represents the power of activities.
- With the Three Roots: Guru or Teacher represents the root of Wisdom, Yidam represents the root of Compassionate method, and Dakini represents the root of activities.
- Symbolizing the Threes in Vajrayana are the practice supports of bell, vajra and mala. Bell represents Wisdom, Vajra represents compassionate means, and mala represents activities, realizations and accomplishments.
All of these are reflections of the same Three Supremes, the same practices and wisdoms, presented in various ways to convey core truths. Regardless of how you visualize or practice the three supremes, every Buddhist practice includes an equal emphasis on Wisdom, Compassionate Method and Activity.
Video: The King of Prayers (Samantabhadra’s aspiration), for example, begins with Refuge in the Three Jewels, Roots and then the Seven Limbs (the limbs of practice) — a supreme practice in Mahayana Buddhism:
You can think of it as two, plus one, in the old metaphor of the wings of a bird. Wisdom and Compassion are the two wings, but the bird only flies when both wings flap — the activities of wisdom and compassion working together.
For example, Buddha attained Enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree. If he simply wanted to help himself, we would never have heard of his triumph. Instead, he then applied his wisdom and compassion, by teaching his disciples, which became the recorded Dharma teachings. He also shared his realizations in Enlightened Activities — teaching the Dharma in such a compelling way that the Sangha community grew and spread around the world. Without the Sangha’s activity we would never have heard of the Dharma.
For this reason, we don’t only take Refuge in Buddha. We don’t only take refuge in Dharma. We take refuge in all Three: Buddha Dharma and Sangha; or Teacher, Yidam and Dakini, or Vajrasattva, Ushnisha Vijaya and Tara, or Manjushri, Avalokiteshvara and Vajrapani.
Wisdom without Compassion is incomplete. Wisdom and Compassion without activity is a flightless bird. We have to flap our wings with Enlightened Activities, to fly to the other shore of Enlightenment.
The Three Supremes from Marpa Lotsawa
In several lineage teachings transmitted by Marpa Lotsawa, the Three Supremes are Vajrasattva, Tara and Ushnisha Vijaya, the Three Great Buddhas. Why these three? Although all Buddhas are Conquerors, these three specifically represent conquering the three largest obstacles to realizations: overcoming ignorance; the five poisons and eight dangers; and ultimately, realizations that take us to the other shore, or Enlightenment.
Together, they represent the triad of practice: purifying our ignorance and negative karmas; overcoming our fears, the poisons and our dangers; and ultimately triumph over death when we attain Enlightenment.
Among the most beautiful of practices is the Three Special Deities practices, brought from India to Tibet by the great translator hero-teacher Marpa Lotsawa.
Marpa Lotsawa and the Three Supremes
Marpa Lotsāwa (མར་པ་ལོ་ཙཱ་བ་ཆོས་ཀྱི་བློ་གྲོས་, 1012–1097), sometimes fully known as Marpa Chökyi Lodrö or more familiarly referred to as Marpa the Translator, was a pivotal figure in Buddhism. Renowned for bringing extensive Vajrayana teachings from India, he played a crucial role in the establishment of the Mahamudra teachings and lineages. In recognition of his significant impact, the lineage he founded, the Kagyu, is often called Marpa Kagyu.
The Lotsawas or great translators of Tibet were genuine Dharma heroes and treasures. They spent their entire lives in difficult journeys of months or years to India, through a landscape of perils. For this reason, Tara was their constant companion, protecting them as they journeyed. Their lives were epic in scope and scale, and their contribution to the Dharma is supreme.
Video: 100 syllable mantra of Vajrasatttva:
Of these, Marpa was the greatest. His most famous student was the great Milarepa. Yet it is Marpa who brought the teachings treasured in many lineages today.
Each journey over the mountain passes brought danger from the elements and bandits. He spent many months struggling to journey to India and Nepal, to learn from the greatest Mahasiddhas, including Naropa.
The scale of his grand journey was as epic as Xuanzang, the 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk who inspired the epic novel Journey to the West, and who heroically brought back 657 Buddhist texts from India to China.
Marpa traveled seven times from Tibet to India and four times to Nepal. On his third visit, Marpa went through another battle with the elements as he searched for the elusive Naropa, who was hidden in the wilderness in retreat. He was nowhere to be found, yet Marpa knew Naropa would be his main guru. With determination, trust, and devotion, Marpa finally found Naropa and received the ultimate teachings and instructions from him.
Tara’s mantra 108 times is part of any practice of the Three Supremes:
To Learn More about the Three Special Ones:
Merit Practice of the Three Special Deities
The cycle of teachings from Marpa on the Three Special Deities includes separate practices for each of the three, but all sadhanas start with the praise to all Three Special Deities. We might focus on our Yidam as a main practice, but start with the praise, prostration and offerings to the Three Special Deities. The following recitation is from the Sadhana of Venerable Tara called Udamvara Flower, a subsection of the Three Special Deities passed down from Master Marpa the Translator. Here we only recite the frontal generation together with the seven limbs of practice and visualized offerings, followed by the mantras.
In all Vajrayana practices of most Yidams we recite the 100-syllable mantra of Vajrasattva first, to purify. In this concise merit practice, we prostrate, make offerings, and perform the 7 limbs of practice as the King of Prayers. This is followed by Vajrasattva mantra, Tara mantra and Ushnisha Vijaya mantra. For a longer practice, you would include the 21 praises to Tara and the Ushnisha Vijaya Dharani. If you practice a Yidam, you might follow the merit practice with your self-generation practice.
“Arising from the Ushnisha, Namgyalma, destroying the Lord of Death ; Tara, who liberates the fears of Samsara; Lord of All Families, Vajrasattva; I bow to the wonderful and supreme deities.
In the Three Supremes Vajrasattva, Tara, and Usnihsa Vijaya, in the Three Jewels, Buddha, Dharma, and Supreme Assembly, in the Three Roots Guru, Yidam and Dakini, I take refuge until Enlightenment. By the merit of my generosity and other deeds, may I attain Buddhahood for the sake of beings.
Instantly, The entire merit field appears before me.
I prostrate with complete purity to Three Supremes, the Three Jewels and the Three Roots and all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas who dwell in the ten directions and three times.
I offer real and imagined flowers, incense, butter lamps, scent, food, music, and so forth. Assembly of Three Supremes, please accept it.
I confess all my faults from beginningless time until now, committed with a mind under the sway of the afflictions, such as the ten nonvirtues.
I rejoice in whatever merit has been accumulated in the three times by Hearers, Solitary Realizers, Bodhisattvas, ordinary beings, and others.
Please turn the wheel of the Dharma according to the intentions and mental dispositions of sentient beings.
Until Samsara is emptied, please do not pass into Nirvana but look with compassion upon sentient beings that are drowning in the ocean of suffering.
May whatever merit I have accumulated become the cause of Enlightenment for the benefit of sentient beings.
May all beings have happiness and the causes of happiness. May they be free from suffering and the causes of suffering. May they not be separated from the sublime happiness that is free from suffering. May they rest in the great equanimity that is free of the duality of attachment and aversion.
Thus one gathers the accumulations through prostrating, offering, confessing, and generating the two types of bodhichitta of the preliminaries.
Now, while holding the visualization the merit field, I recite the mantras of the three supremes. As I recite, I see green light going out from the hearts of the Three Supremes, blessing all beings in the entire universe, then returning and blessing my own body, speech and mind.
Oṃ Vajrasattva samayam anupālaya Vajrasattva tvenopatiṣṭha dṛḍho me bhava sutoṣyo me bhava supoṣyo me bhava anurakto me bhava sarva siddhiṃ me prayaccha sarva karma sucha me chittaṃ śreyaḥ kuru hūṃ ha ha ha ha ho ḥbhagavan sarva tathāgata vajra mā me muñcha vajrī bhava mahā samaya sattva āḥ
Om Tare Tuttare Ture Svaha
Om Brum Svaha Om Amtrita Ayur Da Dai Svaha
By the power of praising and supplicating you, wherever I and others reside may illness, obstructive spirits, poverty, and fighting be pacified, and may the Dharma and auspiciousness flourish.
Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and the Sangha, please heed me. From the great, beginningless Samsara, I and all beings have performed the virtue of cultivating generosity and ethical discipline and have rejoiced in the expression of these deeds. By the virtue practiced thus, with the mind of holy generosity, may ornaments and belongings become the host of practitioners, and for the sake of our parents, teachers, masters, and all sentient beings, may we achieve Buddhahood. By the merit arisen from this virtue, may we acquire all the perfections such as life, merit, enjoyment, a retinue, and virtuous practice, and may all obstacles be pacified without exception.
May I attain Enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings.