Yidam is a type of deity associated with tantric or Vajrayana Buddhism said to be manifestations of Buddhahood or enlightened mind. During personal meditation practice, the yogi identifies their own form, attributes and mind with those of a yidam for the purpose of transformation. Yidam is sometimes translated by the terms "meditational deity" or "tutelary deity". Examples of yidams include the meditation deities Chakrasamvara, Kalachakra, Hevajra, Yamantaka, and Vajrayogini, all of whom have a distinctive iconography, mandala, mantra, rites of invocation and practice. In Vajrayana, the yidam is one of the three roots of the "inner" refuge formula and is also the key element ofdeity yoga since the 'deity' in the yoga is the yidam.
Etymology
Yidam 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.This is said to be the act that balances energies coursing within the pranic ida and pingala channels in the subtle bodies of both participants. The practitioner focuses on and identifies with the resultant Buddha-form or 'meditation deity', the yidam associated with IDA channel The Sanskrit word ' or ' a compound of iṣṭa + devatā is a term associated with yidam in many popular books on Buddhist Tantra but has not been attested in any Buddhist tantric text in Sanskrit.
The yidam appears as one of the Three Roots in the Tibetan Buddhist 'Inner' refuge formulation. The iconography of the yidam may be 'peaceful', 'wrathful' or 'neither peaceful or wrathful', depending on the practitioner's own nature. The yidam represents awakening and so its appearance reflects whatever is required by the practitioner in order to awaken. The guru will guide the student as to which yidam is appropriate for them and then initiation into the mandala of the Ishta-deva is given by the guru, so that deity yoga practices can be undertaken. In essence, the mindstream of the guru and the yidam are indivisible. The yidam is considered to be the root of success in the practice.
The Vajrayana traditions of China, Korea and Japan, while smaller and less prominent than Indo-Tibetan tantric Buddhism, are characterized in part by the utilization of yidams in meditation, though they use their own terms. One prominent ishta-devata in East Asian Vajrayana is Marici. In the Shingon tradition of Japan, prominent yidam include the "five mysteries of Vajrasattva," which are Vajrasattva, Surata/Ishta-vajrinī, Kelikilā-vajrinī, Kāmā/Rāga-vajrinī, and Kāmesvarā/Mana-vajrinī.
The principal yidam in the Newar Vajrayana tradition of Nepal are Chakrasamvara and Vajravarahi. In that tradition, three components are essential to a temple complex: a main shrine symbolizing Svayambhu Mahachaitya; an exoteric shrine featuring Buddha Shakyamuni and other buddhas and bodhisattvas; and an esoteric shrine dedicated to the yidam, to which only initiates may be admitted.
During the practice of the generation stage, a practitioner establishes a strong familiarity with the Ishta-deva by means of visualization and a high level of concentration. During the practice of the completion stage, a practitioner focusses on methods to actualize the transformation of one's own mindstream and body into the meditation deity by meditation and yogic techniques of energy-control such as kundalini. Through these complementary disciplines of generation and completion one increasingly perceives the pervasive Buddha nature. Judith Simmer-Brown summarises: Berzin in discussing Buddhist refuge commitment and bodhisattva vows frames a caution to sadhana: In the Vajrayana practices of Tibetan Buddhism, 'safe direction', or 'refuge' is undertaken through the Three Roots, the practitioner relying on an Ishta-deva in deity yoga as a means of becoming a Buddha.
Common yidams
Some common yidams include Hayagriva, Vajrakilaya, Samputa, Guhyasamaja, Yamantaka, Hevajra, Kurukulla, Cakrasamvara, Vajrayogini, and Kalachakra. Also, other enlightened beings such as the regular forms of the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Padmasambhava, certain Dharmapalas, Dakinis, Wealth Deities, and yab-yum representations, among others, can also be practiced as a yidam. Avalokiteshvara, Tara, Manjusri, Hevajra and consort Nairatmya, Heruka-Chakrasamvara and consort Vajravarahi, etc. are frequently chosen as yidams, 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 Ishtadevas are considered as the emanation of the adept's own mind.
