A Principal Yidam of the Highest Tantra

Chakrasamvara (Tibetan Khorlo Demchok) is a principal meditational deity (yidam) of the Highest Yoga Tantra class in Tibetan Buddhism, especially central to the Kagyu and Sakya schools and important also in the Gelug. He is a heruka, a wrathful, dynamic enlightened form, typically depicted dark blue, many-armed, and in union (yab-yum) with his consort Vajravarahi (Vajrayogini), an image that expresses in visual form the tantric union of bliss and emptiness, and of method and wisdom, rather than anything literal. His extensive tantra, mandala and cycle of practice are among the most important in the Tibetan tradition.

Like other tantric deities, Chakrasamvara is understood not as an external god to be petitioned but as a form of the practitioner's own enlightened potential, taken up in visualization for the sake of transformation; his practice is esoteric and is traditionally undertaken only after initiation and under the guidance of a qualified teacher.