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TABLE OF CONTENTS The Circuits of Borobudur's Bodhisattva Machine The Abrupt Transition at the Summit The Seed and Embryo of Buddhahood The Buddha of the Lankavatara Sutra |
All that exists is contained within the suchness or "tathata" of the Buddha and all beings participate in the nature of the Tathagata, whose Absolute Body penetrates all living beings. The Lankavatara Sutra also puts forth the proposition that all beings contain the seed of Buddhahood. That which nourishes this universal germ is called the womb of the Tathagata (Tathagata-garbha) and it is within this womb and no where else that the birth of a Tathagata takes place. (12) According to the sutra's composer, the Tathagata-garbha is, in essence, good as well as free from both limitation and non-limitation. However, it holds within itself "...the cause for both good and evil, and by it all the forms of existence are produced.... It is like a great ocean in which the waves roll on permanently but the [deeps remain unmoved].... The body itself subsists uninterruptedly, quite free from the fault of impermanence, unconcerned with the doctrine of ego-substance, and thoroughly pure in its essential nature." (13) In one
particular passage of the sutra, the Buddha identifies the
Tathagata-garbha with the psychological mind state known as the
Receptacle-of-impressions (Alaya-vijnana), which serves as the vehicle
through which all karmic consequences are transfer "Mahamati, this domain of the Receptacle-of-impressions, which is the Tathagata-garbha, is primarily pure, and is beyond the (speculative) views of the philosophers, the self-enlightened ones, and of all the disciples; and yet it appears to them (as being) impure, as it is soiled by these external defilements; but not so to the Tathagatas. (For) again, Mahamati, to the Tathagatas it is the realm of direct perception, like (seeing) the Amalaka (myrobalan fruit) in the palm of the hand." This clarification was undoubtedly required because of the composer's uses of the term Tathagata-garbha in several different ways at various stages: as a germ or seed; as an embryo; and as the matrix of the intrinsically-pure, essential and super-mundane Dharma. Photo (right): The
pattern
of the lotus seed can be seen above the lotus petals that serve
as the base for each of the summit's 72 stupas. "Thus, in the case of embryo (garbha seen as potentiality for Buddhahood) one can speak of an impure condition, while in the case of womb, or essence (garbha taken as fulfillment, or actualized Buddhahood) the impurities have been removed, as a result of the purifying process of meditation.... Thusness defiled (the embryo of the Tathagata) is the Tathagata-garbha, and Thusness undefiled is Enlightenment (dharmakaya)." (14) This multivalent view of the Tathagata-garbha is also to be found in the Srimala, an earlier Buddhist scripture to which the composer of the Lankavatara Sutra sometimes defers. "Lord
this Tathagata-garbha is It is
"...not born, does not die, |
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When the Lankavatara Sutra refers to the evolving state of the Tathagata-garbha, the meaning of the term "...is very appropriately rendered by the words embryo, germ, or seed, which suggest a dynamic, active sense. A third possible intermediate, meaning---rendered by the words womb, matrix, or receptacle--as something potentially active but dormant (like a seed or an embryo) is conferred by Tathagata-garbha when (it is) explicitly equated with the Alaya-vijnana (Receptacle-of-impressions), a situation uniquely evidenced in the Lankavatara Sutra." (16) As the germ of Buddhahood, the Tathagata-garbha lies concealed and dormant within all sentient beings, whether or not it is ever induced to grow and bear fruit. What prevents this germ from blossoming into Tathagatahood is the fact that we remain "...bound like mummies by the heavy intellectual and affective coverings and obstructions that lie in our way of attaining supreme enlightenment. The intellectual one may not be so difficult to overcome as far as the intellect alone is concerned as it is detached altogether from the influence of the passions; but these passions constituting the very root of personality form the hardest knot to be untied by all earnest followers of Buddhism. "The Buddhists, however, have no desire to extinguish all the affective factors that make up the human heart. What they mean when they say that one should extirpate all the passions in order to attain perfect freedom is that our passions, as they are generally harbored, are deeply rooted in the idea of Self and inseparably joined with all the egotistic impulses, and that therefore they should be disjoined and set free for the working of great compassionate heart, which, in conjunction with Prajna, supreme wisdom, makes up the life of the Mahayana Buddhist." (17) On the basis of the above, we may now entertain the proposition that one intended function of Borobudur's enclosed gallery spaces was to block all outside influences from impinging on the minds of the worshippers within. No longer enmeshed in the mind-habit discrimination that external influences foster, the celebrants were free to concentrate upon the monument's internal presentation of the essence of the Tathagata's intrinsically pure dharma. In this way, the monument's design acts to enable one of the pivotal doctrines of the Lankavatara Sutra: to allow the mind to experience a turning-away or 'revulsion' from the pursuit of sense-objects and the ego-soul, with the end result that a revelation of the truth of suchness (tathata) takes place. (18) Within the closed confines of Borobudur's womb-world, the seed of Buddhahood is awakened from its slumbering state. Like the lotus flower that rises up toward the sun, it is nourished and induced to grow upwards in its quest to make direct contact with the Tathagata's radiance. (19) |
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Likewise, when one
understands that the body, property, and abiding place are the particularizations of the all-conserving Receptacle-of-impressions (Alaya-vijnana), one is
freed from ideas such as perceived and perceiving and attains to a
state of no image and shadow. "O Mahamati, such a Bodhisattva-
Mahasattva will before long realize the sameness of Samsara and
Nirvana." (20)
These
formidable males beings represent the elemental earth forces of Indian
folklore called Yakshas that the populace of ancient India worshipped
as tutelary deities. With the spread of Buddhism, these demigods were
absorbed into the lower levels of the new religion's cosmology. The
female figures to either side of each yaksa represent the celestial
nymphs or Apsaras-- fertility deities who originally may have been
associated with the monthly lunar cycle.
The Buddha of the Lankavatara Sutra frequently uses the metaphor of the "Castle of the Gandharva" to refer the illusion of birth and the existence of Self in the phenomenal world. Like a mirage or the reflection of the Moon in water, it is an illusion of mere appearances that vanishes into thin air as soon as one approaches it. "All these individual objects (dharmas) have never been born, but they are not exactly non-existent either; they resemble the Gandharva's castle, a dream, and magical creations." (21) At the same time, however, the Buddha states that birth is not something that one should imagine to be non-existent, simply imagined or empty like a dream. "The nature of
birth is like an image appearing in a mirr The sutra's association of the mirage-like powers of the Gandharva with the illusory nature of human existence is a concept that is far older than this particular text. According to Buddhagosha, "Gandharva" (Pali: Gandhabba) is a technical term that refers to "the being about to enter the womb...being driven on by the mechanism of karma." (23) In Buddhist Tantras: Light on Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Alex Wayman examines how certain Buddhist texts have described an "Intermediate State" that was believed to precede re-birth. Within this particular context, the entrance or presence of the Gandharva was considered to be a prerequisite if the sexual union of parents is to result in conception. Wayman also notes that whenever this term is applied within a tantric context, "...it seems to mean the state that begins when a Gandharva is headed toward a particular womb--as well as a sojourn in that womb." (24) The Buddha of the Lankavatara Sutra also refers to this Intermediate State during a discourse concerning the non-existence of phenomena from the Absolute point of view. According to the Tathagata, phenomenal activity is a representation of one's own mind that underscores the deceptive nature of all one's perceptions and judgments. (25) "Further, Mahamati, as to the Sense-consciousness, because it is the cause of attachment to sense-objects at various levels, the Sense-consciousness proceeds to union with another destiny. O Yes, Mahamati, indeed there is an instrumental cause (on account of) the secondary and primary elements of earth, but (the Sense-consciousness itself) does not belong to the primary elements. "Why so? Because it is this way: The characteristics of a living thing [state of being, concrete state, embodiment] of those that have union with the shape being chosen (acquired) are due to the occurrence of the coitus of the parents, but this does not take place when there is no presence of a subtle body [getting embodied in a concrete state of a living thing]." (26) "Life
itself represents the outcome of a complex interplay between the
primary and secondary, or derivative factors, as well as the immat Returning to our application of the Lankavatara Sutra to what can actually been seen at Borobudur, the presence of fertility symbols and the Gandharva on the monument's exterior walls suggest a preparation for a rebirth for those who pass beyond the portal. The process of rebirth begins as soon as worshippers step inside the monument's outermost walled perimeter to experience the hidden, womb-like world of the monument's lower gallery levels. One need not rely on the Gandharva to be Borobudur's sole means for indicating a re-birth awaits those who pass through the monument's gates, for the kala heads over the monument's gateways are acknowledged symbols for indicating this transition. However, if we examine the south-facing doorway at the nearby Buddhist temple of Candi Kalasan (below left), we find that the Javanese artist has elected to integrate Gandharvas into the kala motif itself. Candi Kalasan image niche (right)
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Throughout the Lankavatara Sutra, the composer employs the term Tathagata-garbha in a manner that suggests a relationship with the word "soul" (Atman). In Hindu texts such as the Upanishads, the Atman is conceived to be the essential and eternally abiding nature of the Self that is the microcosmic equivalent of the macrocosmic universal ground of being (Brahman). In the Lankavatara Sutra, however, the Tathagata carefully establishes that his teachings do not in any way contravene the Buddhist doctrine of Anatman, which is the denial of the reality of a Self independent of causes and conditions. "My Essence-of-Buddhahood is not equal to the Atman doctrine taught by the heretics. For what the Tathagatas teach, Mahamati, is the doctrine of Essential Nature of Buddhahood having the meaning of being devoid of will-effort, ineffable, inborn, Nirvana, Reality-limit, Voidness.... "The Tathagatas, the Arhats, the Fully-enlightened Ones, teach the doctrine pointing to the Essence-of-Buddhahood for the purpose of making the immature cast aside all trace of fear due to (the teaching of) Selflessness, and (for the purpose of realizing) the state of non-imagination and non-discrimination. "But, Mahamati, (I hope that) the present and future Bodhisattvas, the great beings, would not become attached to the idea of Selfhood. Mahamati, as a potter makes various vessels from a mass of clay of one sort through the combination of effort, thread, water, stick and manual skill, likewise, Mahamati, the Tathagatas preach the doctrine of Selflessness of dharmas, combinations of skills and means, with insight; so, either through the teaching of the Essence-of-Buddhahood, or through the doctrine of Selflessness, like the potter, in various ways, they teach through synonyms, figurative expressions and terms. Because of this reason, Mahamati, the teaching of the Essence-of-Buddhahood is not the same as the Doctrine of Selfhood (Atman) of the philosophers." (28) Here the Buddha defines the Essence-of-Tathagatahood in terms of his exercise of skillful means (upaya) for the purpose of aiding those who are not yet ready to perceive the egolessness of all things without trepidation. The Essence-of-Buddhahood is to be regarded a temporary metaphysical expedient that can be used to further the spiritual progress of others. It is not to be regarded as an actual substance with a reality in and of itself. Its inspirational power comes from its symbolic role as "...the seed of Buddhahood present in all things, as well as the ideal embodied in the religious law, or Dharma, which envelops the entire universe with its receptive, womb-like quality." (29) Nonetheless, in other respects the Essence-of-Buddhahood is indeed comparable with the Hindu concept of Atman, not only in its historical and philosophical associations but also with regards to the ancient Vedic metaphor of the "Golden Embryo" (hiranyagarbha), which figures so prominently in the early Hindu conception of the creation of the universe. (30) According to the Book of Manu, in the beginnnning this universe "...existed in the shape of Darkness, unperceived, destitute of distinctive marks, unattainable by reasoning, unknowable, wholly immersed, as it were, in deep sleep. Then the divine Self-existent (Svayambhu, himself) indiscernible, (but) making (all) this, the great elements and the rest, discernible, appeared with irresistible (creative) power, dispelling the darkness.... He, desiring to produce beings of many kinds from his own body, first with a thought created the waters, and placed his seed in them. That (seed) became a golden egg, in brilliancy equal to the sun; in that (egg) he himself was born as Brahman, the progenitor of the whole world. "The waters are called narah, (for) the waters are, indeed, the offspring of Nara; as they were his first residence (ayana), he thence is named Narayana. From that (first) cause, which is indiscernible, eternal, and both real and unreal, was produced that male (Purusha), who is famed in this world (under the name of) Brahman." "The divine one resided in that egg during a whole year, then he himself by his thought (alone) divided it into two halves; And out of those two halves he formed heaven and earth, between them the middle sphere, the eight points of the horizon, and the eternal abode of the waters. " (31) |
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The Buddha of the Lankavatara Sutra is neither the Sakyamuni nor any other Buddhist deity that is mentioned in the Mahayana scriptures. Identified as the Mind King (Viraja) who is beyond all theorization, the Tathagata of the Lankavatara Sutra is said to be perceived by those who are removed from all thought and knowledge. Located beyond the Ten Stages of Bodhisattvahood, he is reached through the meditative state or "samhadi" known as Maya-like, within which all doings cease, emancipation obtains, and both the knowing and the known are transcended. The ancient origin of the name Viraja can be traced from the earliest Vedic scriptures to the Brahmanas and the Puranas. Whenever this name is evoked, we are confronted with the earliest known prototype of a paradox that is along the lines of the eternal riddle: "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" The Buddhist world would later adopt a transformed version of this paradox, which is presented in the form of the Bodhisattva-son Manjusri who is called the "mother of all the Buddhas." In the Rig Veda and the Satapatha Brahmana he is simply known as Viraj, while in the later Pauranic texts, he becomes known as Viraja or Vairaja. In all cases, however, this "father of the son who is the man" continues to appear as one or more of the major participants in the creation of all life. According to the Rig Veda, Viraj is born from the primordial male being (Purusha) of a thousand heads, a thousand eyes, and a thousand feet, whose form initially pervades all of existence, "encompassing whatever has been and whatever is to be.... "From the Purusha Viraj was born, and from Viraj came the Purusha, who, having been born, ranged beyond the Earth before and behind. When the gods spread the sacrifice with the Purusha as the offering, spring was the clarified butter, summer the fuel, and autumn the oblation." (32) Viraj is also called "...the glory of Mitra (the sun) and Varuna (the sky).... When the sacrifice was accomplished, by it Rishis, men, and our progenitors were created; beholding them with the eye of the mind, I glorify those who of old celebrated this sacrifice." (33) The Satapatha Brahmana links Viraj with the Purusha Narayana (a form that combines Vishnu with Brahma), who conducts a sacrifice that enables him to overpass all beings and thereby become everything that exists. The text states that Viraj emerged from the Purusha Narayana's body, and then from out of Viraj was born the Purusha who became the sacrifice! The ensuing sacrifice is further defined as a forty-day performance, which the text states "amounts to a Viraj," a reference to the fact that the Viraj meter, according to the rules of Sanskrit poetry, consists of precisely forty syllables. This performance is replicated in a later portion of the text, which describes the procedures for building the sacrificial altar of ancient Vedic ritual. (34) Bricks bearing the name Viraj are laid down in groups of ten on all four sides of the altar's fifth layer, which symbolizes the the 'shining ones' that the Devas saw after having ascended to "...what is above the air and below the sky. While meditating, they saw the fifth layer, the far-shining heaven.... For whosoever shines in all directions, he alone shines far and wide." (35) The forty Viraj syllables and their corresponding forty bricks inside the Vedic altar of sacrifice bring to mind the forty stupas located on the summit's top two round terraces, an area that some scholars speculate was once gilded in gold. However, a previously cited metaphor from the Lankavatara Sutra, which compares the Essence-of-Buddhahood to the gold that remains hidden in the ore, suggests an alternative proposition--that it was the statues themselves that were gilded rather than the stupa exteriors. In this event, the stupa piercing holes would have emitted flashes of light whenever direct sunlight was present, a phenomenon that will make this proposition all the more plausible when we later examine one of the possible reasons behind the existence of these perforations.
The Satapatha Brahmana also states that the two arms of Viraj are present in the altar in the form of the two bricks that are laid down on either side of the altar's "spine." A possible acknowledgment of this dimensional relationship occurs in the Lankavatara Sutra, when the Buddha says: "Within the body, measuring one vyana...the measure of two extended arms...there is a world; the cause of its rising, the attaining of cessation, and the path (pratipad)--this I teach to sons of the Victor (i.e., to the Bodhisattva sons)." (36)
The proportions that Borobudur's architect used in laying out the head, body and foot of the monument's plan reflect rhythms that compare favorably with the proportion ratios that were later incorporated into the mandala traditions of Tibetan Buddhism, where the tripartite design of the kalachakra mandala, for example, represents the body, speech and mind of the Buddha. Elsewhere in the Lankavatara Sutra, the Buddha provides the following information concerning his parentage. "My mother is Vasumati; my father is the wise Prajapati; I belong to the Katyayana family, and my name is Viraja the Victor and my family name is "Somagupta" (protected by the moon). (37) Vasu can mean "dwelling in the air" when applied to the Devas so designated but also can be "good" or "brilliant," while the word mati is Sanskrit for "thought." Here once again we encounter the riddle of the chicken or the egg type, because the interlocutor of the Lankavatara Sutra is Mahamati, the "Great Thought," who is the spiritual son of the Buddha Viraj, while his mother Vasumati--the "Brilliant Thought" is his mother. According to the Satapatha Brahmana, Prajapati is the "Man in the Sun" who is symbolized by the golden effigy that is placed on top of a golden plate symbolizing the Sun. His father Prajapati is not only the acknowledged successor to the Purusha of the Rig Veda's hymn of creation but also the precursor to Brahma--the Hindu god of creation. In addition, the Sutra's reference to the union of the man in the sun (Prajapati) with the sky (Mahamati) is the analog of the previously quoted reference from the Rig Veda, which states that Viraj is the "glory of Mitra (the sun) with Varuna (the sky)." In the Book of Manu, Viraj is presented as the son of the creator. "Dividing his own body, the Lord became half male and half female; with that (female) he produced Virag. But know me, O most holy among the twice-born, to be the creator of this whole (world), whom that male, Virag, himself produced, having performed austerities." (38) In the Matsya Purana, Brahma's act of incest with his female half Satarupa (his daughter in one sense, his sister in another) produces the 'first father' of mankind Manu, who is also identified as Viraj. In the Brahma Purana, Apava Prajapati Vasishtha "...becomes two-fold, and in the capacity of his male half begets offspring by the female. Again it is said Vishnu created Viraj, and Viraj created the male, which is Vairaja or Manu, who was thus the second interval, or stage, in creation. That is...the first stage was the creation of Apava, or Vaisishtha, or Viraj, by Vishnu, through the agency of (either) the hiranyagarbha (golden embryo) or Brahma; and the next was that of the creation of Manu by Viraj.... This account therefore...appears to be essentially the same with that of Manu; and we have Brahma, Viraj, (and) Manu, instead of Brahma and Manu." (39) According to the Vayu Purana, when Brahma abandoned his body because it was not radiant, he caused it to be split into two. "With one half of his body he became a man. With the other half he became a woman...Satarupa. Then the Lord created the earth (for the support of created beings and) created desires also. This body of Brahma pervaded the earth and heaven by its greatness (while) the previous body stood enveloping the firmament. The woman Satarupa who was born of half the body of the creator performed a severe penance for a million years and obtained a man of brilliant fame as her husband. He was called Manu, the first born of god Brahma. Seventy-one sets of four Yugas, constitute what is called his "Manvantara." "Having obtained Satarupa...as his wife, he sported with her. The first act of coition happened in the beginning of the Kalpa (i.e., in the "Golden Age" of the Krta Yuga). Brahma created Viraj. That Viraj became the man (Purusha). As the king had been created mentally, he became known as Vairaja Manu. That creation of subjects is called Vairaja. In that creation, Manu is the man (the progenitor of the human race)." (40) The
precise timing of this primordial
birth-event is reflected in
the Lankavatara Sutra, where the Buddha Viraja states that he is only
born at the beginning of the Krta Yuga. "Thus
there are the Golden Age (Krta Yuga), the age of triads (Treta Yuga),
the age of two (dvapara Yuga), and the age of vice (Kali Yuga); the
lion of the Sakyas will appear in the age of vice, I and others in the
Golden Age.... Kasyapa, Krakucchanda, and Kanaka, who are the removers,
and I, Viraja, and others--these Buddhas belong to the Golden Age (Krta
Yuga)." (41) The Sanskrit scholar H. H. Wilson has suggested that Viraj may have been intended to represent all male animals, with Satarupa being the representative of all the females. In an alternate interpretation, Rig Veda translator Wendy O'Donniger believes that Viraj represents the female side of creation that only later came to be defined by the Sanskrit word Prakriti. In either case, Viraja is the representative of the primordial life force from which all of creation springs. At Borobudur, the ever-present vegetation that covers the walls and blossoms throughout the bas-relief panels continually evokes the theme of primeval life force. Even the kala heads and makaras are comprised of streams of vegetation, together with the component parts of various animals. As the Lankavatara Sutra states, all that exists is contained within the suchness or "tathata" of the Buddha and all beings participate in the nature of his Absolute Body, which penetrates all living beings. |
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FOOTNOTES: (12)
Suzuki, D.T., translator. The
Lankavatara Sutra. New Delhi: Motil Banarsidass (1999): xlii [Reprint of 1932 edition]. (13) Ibid. p. 190 and Sagathakam Verses 746-750. (14) Sutton, Florin Giripescu. Existence and enlightenment in the Lankavatara Sutra. Albany: University of New York Press (1991): 71. (15) Ibid. pp. 64-65. A second quotation from Sutton, which originates in another Buddhist text, further defines the Essence of the Tathagata. "And now, in
every living being, "The essence
that exists since beginningless time "The Buddha's
body penetrates everywhere, "It is
indivisible from the Buddha's properties, (16) Ibid. p. 52. (17) Suzuki, D.T. Studies in the Lankavatara Sutra. New Delhi: Motil Banarsidass (1999):177 [reprint of 1930 edition]. (18)
Suzuki, D.T., translator. The
Lankavatara Sutra. New Delhi: Motil Banarsidass (1999): 77
[Reprint of 1932 edition]. (19) Sutton, p. 53, 54 and 66. (20) Suzuki,
D.T.
Studies in the Lankavatara Sutra. New Delhi:
Motil Banarsidass (1999):96-98 [reprint of 1930 edition]. (21) Lankavatara Sutra, p. 144. (22) Lankavatara Sutra, p. 77. (23) Wayman, Alex. The Buddhist Tantras. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul (1974):212. This concept may even have been known to the Javanese, who formerly associated the semi-divine gandharva with the forces of sexual attraction. The Old Javanese word gandharwwawiwaha or "gandharva marriage" refers to the union of two people without any ceremony, based only on the mutual agreement of the two partners. (24) Ibid. pp. 212 and 218. (25) Suttton, p. 131. (26) Ibid. p. 90. (27) Ibid. (28) Ibid. pp. 55-56. (29) Ibid. p. 289. (30) Ibid. p. 62. (31) Book of Manu I.5-13 (32) Rig Veda 10.90.5 (33)
Wilson, H.H. The Rig Veda Samhita. London: W. H.
Allen (1850-1888):440 [vol. VI]. (34) Satapatha Brahmana, XIII Kanda, 6 Adhyaya, I Brahmana, 3. (35) Satapatha Brahmana, VIII Kanda, 5 Adhyaya, I Brahmana. (36) Lankavatara Sutra, Sagathakam Verse 672. (37) Lankavatara Sutra, Sagathakam Verse 799. (38) Book of Manu, I.32.33. (39)
Wilson,
H.H.
The Vishnu Purana. Calcutta: Punthi
Pustak (1972):46 [reprint of 1866 edition]. (40) Vayu Purana, 10.1-10.15. (41) Lankavatara Sutra, Sagathakam Verses 794 and 802. |
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red from one state of
existence to all following states.
The
Buddha
of the Lankavatara
Sutra teaches that all things have no self substance. They are
"...like a cloud, like a circle traced out by a revolving fire-brand,
or like the air-castle of the Gandharvas (celestial musicians)...."
Unborn, like an illusion, a mirage, the reflection of the Moon in water, or a dream,
external objects are mere manifestations of the mind that are perceived due to the false discrimination that has existed since time immemorial. Once they are
viewed in this fashion "...the world ceases to be conditioned by the
false discrimination worked out in one's own mind, one does away with
the terminology belonging to such false discrimination and with the
signification of words such as predicating and predicated."
At Borobudur, each of the four
walls that form the
monument's outermost enclosure is lined with 108 relief panels, 102 of
which portray either male or female anthropomorphic figures and six
that present vegetation sprouting out of water pots. Twenty-four
of the panels per monument side present the image of a muscular male
who has round eyes and sports a bushy mustache. He holds a club in his
left hand and is flanked to either side by standing female figures. In
other words, the 24 panels per monument side collectively present a
total of 72 standing figures. 
Each side of the monument also presents an
additional 24 panels, each of which contains the image of a handsome
youth. These beings represent the celestial musicians called the
Gandharvas. To either side of each Gandharva panel is a separate panel
that portrays a single standing apsara. Here again we encounter a
second configuration of panels that presents a total of 72 figures per
monument side. In addition, each side of the monument presents six
panels that portray water pots containing vegetation. On one side of
each panel there is a standing Apsara, while on the other there is a
water spout that terminates in a makara head that is supported by a
squatting dwarf. 
or, which, while it is devoid of oneness
and otherness, is not altogether non-existent. Like the Gandharva's
city, [Maya, a dream. etc.], which appears depending upon causes and
conditions, the birth of all things is not no-birth [in a relative
sense]. It is on account of general usage that a dualistic
discrimination is set up as regards persons and things; but this is not
clearly understood by the ignorant so that [the thought of] an ego-soul
and individual objects is cherished." (
erial
factors, such as the shape of an intermediate state of being known as
Gandharva, seeking its embodiment. This explanation is consistent with
the Buddhist tradition, as first explained in the Assalayanasutta of
the Majjhima-Nikaya: 'We do know, sir, how there is conception. There
is here a coitus of the parents, it is the mother's season and the
gandhabba is present; it is on the conjunction of these three things
that there is conception.'" (
