Three Roots - Correspondences

Correspondences

Dilgo Khyentse, head of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism until his death in 1991, explained The Twilight Language correspondences and polyvalent meaning of the Outer, Inner and Secret aspects of the Three Jewels:

The outer three jewels are the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. The Three jewels have an inner aspect, known as the Three Roots: the Guru (or Teacher), who is the root of blessings; the Yidam, who is the root of accomplishment; and the Dakini, who is the root of enlightened activity. Although the names are different, these three do not in any way differ from the Three Jewels. The Guru is the Budha, the Yidam is the Dharma, and the Dakinis and Protectors are the Sangha. And on the innermost level, the Dharmakaya is the Buddha, the Sambhogakaya is the Dharma, and the Nirmanakaya is the Sangha.

The Three Roots formulation also fits into the framework of the Three Vajras of a Buddha where they are seen as equating to the following forms: the protector is the Body, the Yidam is the Speech and the Guru is the Mind. According to the Handbook of Tibetan Buddhist Symbols:

"The trinity of body, speech, and mind are known as the three gates, three receptacles or three vajras, and correspond to the western religious concept of righteous thought (mind), word (speech), and deed (body). The three vajras also correspond to the three kayas, with the aspect of body located at the crown (nirmanakaya), the aspect of speech at the throat (sambhogakaya), and the aspect of mind at the heart (dharmakaya)."

Pabongka Rinpoche identifies the seed syllables corresponding to the Three Vajras as: a white om (enlightened body), a red ah (enlightened speech) and a blue hum (enlightened mind).