Nine peaceful expressions
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The nine peaceful expressions (Wyl. zhi tshul dgu) are characteristics of peaceful deities.
According to the Magnificent Wisdom Lightning Tantra, they are:
- Each of their supreme forms
- Possesses nine traits.
- They are soft, well-proportioned,
- Firm, supple, and youthful;
- Clear, radiant, attractive,
- And blazing with intense presence.[1]
This results in the following list:
- Soft (mnyen pa)
- Well-proportioned (lcug pa)
- Firm ( 'khril bag chags ba)
- Supple (sgeg bag chags, ldem bag )
- Youthful (gzhon tshul)
- Clear (gsal ba)
- Radiant ( 'tsher ba)
- Attractive (lhun stug pa)
- Intense presence (g.zi byin)
Patrul Rinpoche's Clarifying the Difficult Points in the Development Stage and Deity Yoga, a commentary on Jigme Lingpa's Staircase to Akanishtha, explains them as follows:
- The deity’s form, face, arms, and so forth should be soft, not hard like bone or wood.
- They should be well-proportioned, with the thickness of their bodies gradually tapering at the waist.
- Their flesh should not be loose, but firm.
- They should be supple as well, in the sense that their joints and so forth are flexible.
- Their bodies should be healthy and their skin delicate, thus youthful.
- Their colors should be distinct and clear and they should be radiant, in terms of the boundless light they project.
- Their forms should also be majestic, beautified with the signs of superior beings, and, hence, attractive.
- Finally, they should have an intense presence that overwhelms everything with its splendor.[2]