Ögyen Rig-nga and Buddha Families

Buddha families from a different tradition

Many Buddhist traditions talk about the Buddha families as a means of working with our emotions - within the Aro gTér we use the form of Ögyen Rig-nga - Padmasambhava manifesting as the Buddha of the Five Elements.

Ögyen Sa-Rig - Padmasambhava and Yeshé Tsogyel manifest as the Buddhas of the Earth Element.

Ögyen Chu-Rig - Padmasambhava and Yeshé Tsogyel manifest as the Buddhas of the Water Element. 

Ögyen Mé-Rig - Padmasambhava and Yeshé Tsogyel manifest as the Buddhas of the Fire Element.

Ögyen rLung-Rig - Padmasambhava and Yeshé Tsogyel manifest as the Buddhas of the Air Element.

Ögyen mKha-Rig - Padmasambhava and Yeshé Tsogyel manifest as the Buddhas of the Space Element.

We do not currently have a thangka representing Ögyen Rig-nga but I'm delighted that I've been able to commission one to be produced by Naljorma Dzüdrül so that should be manifesting shortly.

The process of creating a namkha begins by looking at ones psychological and emotional states and thinking about it in relation to the five elements as depicted in the table below.

Element	Response to Intrinsic Spaciousness	Distorted energy	Liberated energy
Earth element	Insubstantiality, hollowness, fragility Feeling of insignificance	Cultivation of solidity and power, arrogance, poverty, miserliness	Equanimity, equality, balance, harmony, generosity/wealth
Water element	Fear of recognised threats	Anger, aggression, hatred, violence	Clarity, mirror-like wisdom, penetrating insight
Fire  element	Isolation, loneliness, separation, desolation	Obsessiveness, compulsion, indiscriminate possessiveness, consumerism	Compassion, discriminating wisdom, pure appropriateness
Air  Element	Groundless anxiety, Fear of an indirect threat, vulnerability	Envy, paranoia, suspicion, jealousy	Self-fulfilling activity, free and fluid capacity for action, confidence
Space element	Bewilderment – feeling overpowered and overwhelmed by spaciousness	Intentional ignorance, deliberate torpor, wilful stupidity, depression	Infinite unrestricted intelligence, pervasive wisdom

One then designs the weave to increase the liberated energy or reduce the distorted energy. The mantras of Ögyen Rig-nga are recited as you weave to empower the namkha.