Chris Brogan made an interesting conversation on his site about superheroes teaming up, and the challenges of facing a medium that’s changing, which C.C. Chapman picked up.

Step back a few hundred years, guys!

In Buddhism, there’s this thing called a mandala. It’s kind of a picture, kind of a map. On the mandala are all these different “Buddhas” - Avalokitesvara, Manjusri, Ratnasambahavva, each with a distinct attribute of some kind.

A lot of people, especially non-Buddhists, who see the mandala, say, “Wow, you sure do have a lot of gods to worship.” Not true. There are none. Zero. The faces in the mandala are attributes, mental abstracts that we can call on when we don’t feel up to a task. Think about a time when you had to go outside your comfort zone. How did you get through it?

Each of the faces and “heroes” in the mandala is the essence of that attribute. Avalokitesvara is the “deity” or “hero” of compassion - pure compassion. When you’re faced with a situation that calls for compassion, and you just don’t have it in you to be what you know the situation needs you to be, you can imagine yourself as an embodiment of Avalokitesvara, compassionate even in the worst of situations. When you’re faced with a situation where you need to be resolute, unwavering, unflinching, even though you’re not so sure yourself, you can feel and imagine yourself to be Fudo-Myo, the immoveable, and in that way use the essence of the heroes in the mandala to empower yourself.

What’s interesting about this is that the heroes in the mandala work together, in a sense. The earth realm is the domain of the commander, the general, the leader who stands firm and exudes confidence and reassurance. The water realm is the domain of the scientist and trickster, the one who knows and can dispassionately assess the situation, creating the perfect solution. The fire realm is the domain of the communicator, the entertainer, the one who can be so compelling that you simply MUST tune in. The wind realm is the domain of the selfless servant, the supporter, the compassionate, who leaves ego at the door and works solely for the benefit of others, of all.

Each of the faces, each of the realms, can’t stand alone. To be “all fire” or “all earth” would severely limit what you can accomplish. True, you may be surrounded by like-minded people, but the solution to a problem you may face could actually be having friendships and alliances with people who have complementary powers, just as the faces in the mandala all are a facet of the total human experience. Just as a diamond can’t have a single face, so can we not be a single heroic type.

In the end, the mandala is you.

So is the hero.

You just have to be willing to leave behind all the misconceptions you have about yourself and be willing to walk into the life of that hero.

For further reading, check out this lecture transcript given by my teacher’s teacher, Stephen K. Hayes.