Berzin Archives: The Five Buddha-Family Traits in Daily Life

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Here is something that on the surface seems to be akin with astrology, but it is much more scientific than that. The Five Buddha Families represent the 5 main afflictions that keep us from being happy, as well as the kind of wisdom that they can potententially transmute into. The Five Buddha Families are central to Tantric Buddhism - like a hub from which all the other practices radiate from. Berzin is very scholarly and his stuff reads a little dry. That is to his credit though because the information he transmits is incredibly thurough. In my writing I try to get at the feel of a thing and probably flub most of the details. I’ll be writing up what I know of Tantra over time and I hope that different styles will help to clarify, rather than confuse the real meaning of Tantra. Any mistakes are my own. They are definantly not the mistakes of the Dharma. They are definantly not the mistakes of the great teachers I have learned from.

Buddha-families - more fully, Buddha-family traits - refer to aspects of Buddha-nature that all of us have, even worms. In general, Buddha-nature factors allow for or account for everyone being able to become a Buddha. More precisely, they are factors associated with each individual’s tainted mental continuum that either transform into or are responsible for the various aspects of a Buddha.

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According to the Gelug presentation, we all have simultaneously in each moment of experience:

mirror-like awareness, of merely taking in all the information of the object - Buddha family,
equalizing awareness, of objects fitting equally into a pattern or a universal - jewel family,
individualizing awareness, of an object as a specific individual - lotus family,
accomplishing awareness, to relate to an object or to do something with it or in response to it - karma family,
reality (Skt. dhamadhatu) awareness of (a) objects as “this” or “that,” (b) of the pattern they fit into as “this” or “that” pattern, (c) of them as having “this” or “that” individuality, and (d) of relating to them in “this” or “that” manner. This is in terms of conventional or superficial truth. In terms of deepest truth, this is awareness of objects’ lack of fitting into solid categories, but rather their openness to change and mental labeling - vajra family.

When mixed with confusion about how we and everything actually exist, these five types of deep awareness distort into the five disturbing emotions and attitudes:

naivety, with which we do not take in all the information or do not take into account all the causes and effects of something,
arrogance, with which we consider others and ourselves in the light of one quality and then consider ourselves better. Also stinginess, with which we do not want to share our good qualities or possessions with others.
longing desire and attachment, with which we single out one person or item, consider it special, and then, if we do not have it, feel we must have it or, if we do have it, we do not want to let go,
jealousy, with which we see someone else accomplishing something and, instead of trying to accomplish it ourselves, we feel jealous,
anger, with which we strongly identify something as “this” and not “that,” and then reject it strongly for not being “that.”