se most worshipped
are Amitabha, Sakya and Bhaishajyaguru or the Buddha of Healing:
among the Bodhisattvas, Avalokita, Maitreya and Manjusri.

There is nothing in the above differing materially from Chinese or
Japanese Buddhism. The peculiarities of Tibet are brought out by the
tantric phase which those countries eschewed. Three characteristics of
Tibetan Tantrism, which are all more or less Indian, may be mentioned.
Firstly, all deities, even the most august, become familiar spirits,
who are not so much worshipped as coerced by spells. The neophyte is
initiated into their mysteries by a special ceremonial:[1034] the
adept can summon them, assume their attributes and attain union with
them. Secondly, great prominence is given to goddesses, either as the
counterparts of male deities or as independent. Thirdly, deities
appear in various forms, described as mild, angry or fiendish. It is
specially characteristic of Lamaism that naturally benevolent deities
are represented as raging in furious frenzy.

Whether the superhuman beings of Tantrism are Buddhas, Bodhisattvas,
or Hindu gods like Mahakala, it is correct to describe them as
deities, for they behave and are treated like Indian Devas. Besides
the relatively old and simple forms of the various Buddhas and
Bodhisattvas, there are many others which are usually accommodated to
the system by being described as protecting spirits, that is virtuous
and religious fiends who expend their ferocity on the enemies of the
Church.

Of these Protectors there are two classes, which are not mutually
exclusive, namely, the tutelary deities of individuals, and the
defenders of the faith or tutelaries of the whole Church. The former,
who are extremely important in the religious life of the Lamas, are
called Yi-dam and may be compared with the Ishta-devatas of the
Hindus: the latter or Chos Skyon correspond to the Dharmapalas.
Every Lama selects a Yi-dam either for life or for a period. His
choice must remain a secret but he himself has no doubts, as after
fasting and meditation the deity will appear to him.[1035] Henceforth
he every morning repeats formulae which are supposed to give him the
appearance of his tutelary and thus scare away hostile demons. The
most efficacious tutelaries are tantric forms of the Dhyani Buddhas,
especially Vajrasattva, Vajradhara and Amitayus. The deity is
represented not in the guise of a Buddha but crowned, robed, and
holding a thunderbolt, and his att