The Eight Guises of Padmasambhava:
The eight manifestations of Padmasambhava point to the initiations that the great guru himself had to undergo. He meditated and theorized for a long time and practiced tantric rites so that he kept reaching higher levels in his development.
At the very top sits the dhyani Buddha Amitabha. From top to bottom, and left to right, the guises are: Padmasambhava with his consort, Mandarava, as the blue Adi Buddha in yab-yum, and to the right, portrayed absolutely like a Buddha, Padmasambhava as the Second Buddha, called Shakyasimha or Shakya Senge, which literally mean Lion of the Shakyas, and epithet for Shakyamuni Buddha.
To the left, below the Adi Buddha, sits Loden Chogse, the Proclaimer of Wisdom, with a skull cup and a damaru. To the right, portrayed sitting down in almost identical manner, is Padma Gyalpo or Padma Raja.
Below Mandarava stand Senge Dadog, a fierce form of Padmasambhava as a dharmapala. In the lower left sits the wise teacher Pemasambha who is giving instruction, and across from him is an eight guise, Nyima Oser, the gur, as a gently smiling yogi or siddha, who after years of meditation, was able, in a charnel yard, to catch rays of sunlight in his hands.