Dorje Shugden - Appearance and Symbolism

Appearance and Symbolism

The entry for Dorje Shugden in Frederick Bunce's encyclopedia of Buddhist entities describes Dorje Shugden's appearance as follows:

Face: one, fearsome, bared fangs, three bloodshot eyes, orange flame sprouts from eyebrows and facial hair, yellow brown hair stands on end, from his nostrils issue rain clouds with violent lightening; arms/hands: two, right hand holds flaming sword (khadga, ral-gri), left hand holds skull-cup (kapala, thod-pa) filled with the organs of the five senses, hearts, brains, and blood, in the crook of his left arm rests a mongoose (ichneumon or nakula, nehu-li) and golden goad/hook (ankusha, lcags-kyu); body: bejweled, elephant skin upper garment, loin cloth of tiger skin; legs: two; ornaments: five-skull crown, wristlets, anklets, necklace, garland of fifty freshly severed heads, tiger or elephant skin as a body covering and apron of carved human bones; color: dark red; vahana: carpet of human skins on one hundred thousand thunderbolts (vajra, rdo-rje) on the back of a garuda-like bird (khyung); companion: include Zhi-ba'i-rgyal-chen, rGyas-pa'i-rgyal-chen, dBang-'dus-rgyal-chen, Drag-po'i-rgyal-chen.

All rituals and prayers related to Dorje Shugden refer to him as an enlightened Protector or holy being. For example, one sample prayer to him from the extensive fulfilling and restoring ritual (Tib. kangso) of Dorje Shugden:

You said "I will protect as a wealth of merit for all beings
The sublime, stainless essence of the Sugatas' teachings."
O Hero Manjushri and Yamantaka in a fearsome disguise,
With the strength of a million Dharma Protectors; to you we offer praise.

In regards to Dorje Shugden's "fearsome disguise" praised above, Bernis explains that this wrathful appearance is considered by practitioners to be "merely an external show to help those who are threatened or fearful." Von Brück describes Dorje Shugden's appearance as follows:

His character is fierce and violent and he destroys all enemies. Animals are sacrificed to him symbolically. His abode is full of skeletons and human skulls, weapons surround him and the blood of men and horses form a lake. His body has a dark-red colour and his facial expressions are similar to the well-known descriptions of rakshasas. However, all these attributes are not unique, they are more or less stereotypes for dharma-protectors in general.

According to some adherents, it is correct to consider Dorje Shugden as an emanation of Manjushri but not one who shows the aspect of a worldly being. The form of Dorje Shugden is supposed to reveal the complete stages of the path of Sutra and Tantra, and such qualities are not possessed by the forms of worldly beings. Dorje Shugden appears as a fully ordained monk to show that the practice of pure moral discipline is essential for those who wish to attain enlightenment. In his left hand, he holds a human heart to symbolize great compassion and spontaneous great bliss – the essence of all the stages of the vast path of Sutra and Tantra. His round yellow hat (Tib. sakshu) represents the view of Nagarjuna, and the wave-shaped sword (Tib. chula) in his right hand teaches us to sever ignorance, the root of samsara, with the sharp blade of wisdom (like the sword held aloft by Manjushri and Je Tsongkhapa). This is the essence of all the stages of the profound path of Sutra and Tantra. He rides a snow lion, symbolizing the four fearlessnesses of a Buddha. Geshe Kelsang suggests:

Even Dorje Shugden's form reveals the complete stages of the path of Sutra and Tantra, and such qualities are not possessed by the forms of worldly beings.