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Nyorai
The Japanese word is the translation of the Sanskrit and Pali word '' Tathagata'', the term the historical Buddha used most often to refer to himself. Among his Japanese honorifics, it is the one expressing the highest degree of respect. Although originally applied only to Buddha himself, with the advent of Mahayana Buddhism Tathāgata (and therefore ''Nyorai'') came to be used for all those who have achieved enlightenment, entities which occupy the highest of the four ranks of the Japanese Buddhist pantheon. Their rank is accordingly called the . Etymology The Buddhist honorific ''Nyorai'' is the Japanese translation of ''Tathāgata'', a Sanskrit and Pali compound word whose exact meaning is uncertain. It was widely used in Indian religions other than Brahmanism as a term of respect for religious figures of exceptional stature, but it ended up being used only by Buddhism. Sanskrit grammar offers two possibilities for breaking up the compound: either ''tathā'' (thus) and ''ā ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japanese Buddhist Pantheon
The Japanese Buddhist Pantheon designates the multitude (the Pantheon) of various Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and lesser deities and eminent religious masters in Buddhism. A Buddhist Pantheon exists to a certain extent in Mahāyāna, but is especially characteristic of Vajrayana Esoteric Buddhism, including Tibetan Buddhism and especially Japanese Shingon Buddhism, which formalized it to a great extent. In the ancient Japanese Buddhist Pantheon, more than 3,000 Buddhas or deities have been counted, although nowadays most temples focus on one Buddha and a few Bodhisattvas. History Pre-sectarian Buddhism had a somewhat vague position on the existence and effect of deities. Indeed, Buddhism is often considered atheistic on account of its denial of a creator god and human responsibility to it. However, nearly all modern Buddhist schools accept the existence of gods of some kind; the main point of divergence is on the influence of these gods. Of the major schools, Theravada tends to de-emp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amitābha
Amitābha ( sa, अमिताभ, IPA: ), also known as Amitāyus, is the primary Buddha of Pure Land Buddhism. In Vajrayana Buddhism, he is known for his longevity, discernment, pure perception, purification of aggregates, and deep awareness of emptiness for each phenomenon. According to a Pure Land Buddhist scripture, he possesses infinite merit that results from good deeds over countless past lives as Dharmākara. Doctrine Attainment of Buddhahood According to the '' Larger Sūtra of Immeasurable Life'', Amitābha was, in very ancient times and possibly in another system of worlds, a monk named Dharmākara. In some versions of the sūtra, Dharmākara is described as a former king who, having come into contact with Buddhist teachings through the buddha Lokeśvararāja, renounced his throne. He then resolved to become a Buddha and to create a ' (literally "buddha-field", often called a "Pureland" or "Buddha Land": a realm existing in the primordial universe outs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bhaisajyaguru
Bhaiṣajyaguru ( sa, भैषज्यगुरु, zh, t= , ja, 薬師仏, ko, 약사불, bo, སངས་རྒྱས་སྨན་བླ), or ''Bhaishajyaguru'', formally Bhaiṣajya-guru-vaiḍūrya-prabhā-rāja ("Medicine Master and King of Lapis Lazuli Light"; zh, t=藥師琉璃光(王)如來, ja, 薬師瑠璃光如来, ko, 약사유리광여래), is the Buddha of healing and medicine in Mahāyāna Buddhism. Commonly referred to as the "Medicine Buddha", he is described as a doctor who cures suffering (Pali/Sanskrit: dukkha/ duḥkha) using the medicine of his teachings. Bhaiṣajyaguru's original name and title was ''rāja'' (King), but Xuanzang translated it as Tathāgata (Buddha). Subsequent translations and commentaries followed Xuanzang in describing him as a Buddha. The image of Bhaiṣajyaguru is usually expressed with a canonical Buddha-like form holding a gallipot and, in some versions, possessing blue skin. Though also considered to be a guardian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vairocana
Vairocana (also Mahāvairocana, sa, वैरोचन) is a cosmic buddha from Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. Vairocana is often interpreted, in texts like the ''Avatamsaka Sutra'', as the dharmakāya of the historical Gautama Buddha. In East Asian Buddhism ( Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Vietnamese Buddhism), Vairocana is also seen as the embodiment of the Buddhist concept of śūnyatā. In the conception of the 5 Jinas of Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism, Vairocana is at the centre and is considered a Primordial Buddha. Vairocana is not to be confused with Vairocana Mahabali, son of Virochana. Literary and historical development Vairocana Buddha is first introduced in the ''Brahmajala Sutra'': Vairocana is also mentioned in the ''Avatamsaka Sutra''; however, the doctrine of Vairocana is based largely on the teachings of the ''Mahavairocana Tantra'' (also known as the ) and to a lesser degree the '' Vajrasekhara Sutra'' (also known as the Tantra). In the ''Avatam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Honji Suijaku
The term in Japanese religious terminology refers to a theory widely accepted until the Meiji period according to which Indian Buddhist deities choose to appear in Japan as native ''kami'' to more easily convert and save the Japanese.Breen and Teeuwen (2000:95) The theory states that some ''kami'' (but not all) are local manifestations (the , literally, a "trace") of Buddhist deities (the , literally, "original ground").Satō Masato (2007) The two entities form an indivisible whole called '' gongen'' and in theory should have equal standing, but this was not always the case. In the early Nara period, for example, the ''honji'' was considered more important and only later did the two come to be regarded as equals.Basic Terms of Shinto During the late Kamakura period it was proposed that the ''kami'' were the original deities and the buddhas their manifestations (see the ''Inverted honji suijaku'' section below). The theory was never systematized but was nonetheless very pervasive a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prabhutaratna
Prabhūtaratna ( Skt: प्रभूतरत्न; Traditional Chinese: 多寶如来 or 多寶佛; Simplified Chinese: 多宝如来 or 多宝佛; pinyin: ''Duōbǎo Rúlái'' or ''Duōbǎo Fó''; Japanese romaji: ''Tahō Nyorai'' or ''Tahō Butsu''), translated as Abundant Treasures or Many Treasures, is the Buddha who appears and verifies Shakyamuni's teachings in the Lotus Sutra and the Samantabhadra Meditation Sutra. In the Lotus Sutra In the 11th chapter of the Lotus Sutra, Prabhūtaratna is described as living in a land "tens of millions of billions of countless worlds to the east" called "Treasure Purity.". Here he resides within a stupa translated variously as the "Precious Stupa," the "Treasure Tower," the "Jeweled Stupa," or the "Stupa of the Precious Seven Materials." Prabhūtaratna is said to have made a vow to make an appearance to verify the truth of the Lotus Sutra whenever it is preached in the present or future. In the chapter, as Shakyamuni is preaching, P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lumbini, in what is now Nepal, to royal parents of the Shakya clan, but renounced his home life to live as a wandering ascetic ( sa, śramaṇa). After leading a life of begging, asceticism, and meditation, he attained enlightenment at Bodh Gaya in what is now India. The Buddha thereafter wandered through the lower Indo-Gangetic Plain, teaching and building a monastic order. He taught a Middle Way between sensual indulgence and severe asceticism, leading to Nirvana, that is, freedom from ignorance, craving, rebirth, and suffering. His teachings are summarized in the Noble Eightfold Path, a training of the mind that includes meditation and instruction in Buddhist ethics such as right effort, mindfulness, and ''jhana''. He die ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mahayana Buddhism
''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing branches of Buddhism (the other being ''Theravāda'' and Vajrayana).Harvey (2013), p. 189. Mahāyāna accepts the main scriptures and teachings of early Buddhism but also recognizes various doctrines and texts that are not accepted by Theravada Buddhism as original. These include the Mahāyāna Sūtras and their emphasis on the ''bodhisattva'' path and ''Prajñāpāramitā''. ''Vajrayāna'' or Mantra traditions are a subset of Mahāyāna, which make use of numerous tantric methods considered to be faster and more powerful at achieving Buddhahood by Vajrayānists. "Mahāyāna" also refers to the path of the bodhisattva striving to become a fully awakened Buddha ('' samyaksaṃbuddha'') for the benefit of all sentient beings, and is thus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ratnasambhava
Ratnasambhava ( sa, रत्नसम्भव, lit. "Jewel-Born") is one of the Five Dhyani Buddhas (or "Five Meditation Buddhas") of Mahayana and Vajrayana or Tantric Buddhism. Ratnasambhava's mandalas and mantras focus on developing equanimity and equality and, in Vajrayana Buddhist thought is associated with the attempt to destroy greed and pride. His consort is Mamaki and his mount is a horse or a pair of lions. Textual History The first documented mention of Ratnasambhava is found in the '' Suvarṇaprabhāsa Sūtra'' and in the Guhyasamāja Tantra (4th Century CE), and he subsequently appears in a number of Vajrayana texts. The most elaborate account of him is to be found in the ''Pañcakara'' section of the ''Advayavajrasaṃgraha.'' In the Śūraṅgama mantra ( Chinese: 楞嚴咒; pinyin: ''Léngyán Zhòu'') taught in the Śūraṅgama sutra ( Chinese: 楞嚴經; pinyin: ''Léngyán Jīng''), an especially influential dharani in the Chinese Chan tradition, Ratnasa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wisdom Kings
A Wisdom King (Sanskrit: विद्याराज; IAST: ''Vidyārāja'', ) is a type of wrathful deity in East Asian Buddhism. Whereas the Sanskrit name is translated literally as "wisdom / knowledge king(s)," the term '' vidyā'' in Vajrayana Buddhism is also specifically used to denote mantras; the term may thus also be rendered "mantra king(s)." ''Vidyā'' is translated in Chinese with the character 明 (lit. "bright, radiant", figuratively "knowledge(able), wisdom, wise"), leading to a wide array of alternative translations such as "bright king(s)" or "radiant king(s)". A similar category of fierce deities known as Herukas are found in Tibetan Buddhism. The female counterparts of Wisdom Kings are known as Wisdom Queens (Sanskrit (IAST): ''Vidyārājñī'', Chinese: 明妃, ''Míngfēi'', Japanese: ''Myōhi''). Overview Development ''Vidyārājas'', as their name suggests, are originally conceived of as the guardians and personifications of esoteric wisdom (''vidyā''), ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ashuku Nyorai (Akshobhya Buddha)
Akshobhya ( sa, अक्षोभ्य, ''Akṣobhya'', "Immovable One"; ) is one of the Five Wisdom Buddhas, a product of the Adibuddha, who represents consciousness as an aspect of reality. By convention he is located in the east of the Diamond Realm and is the lord of the Eastern Pure Land Abhirati ('The Joyous'). His consort is Lochanā and he is normally accompanied by two elephants. His color is blue-black and his attributes include a bell, three robes, and staff, as well as a jewel, lotus, prayer wheel, and sword. He has several emanations. Textual history and doctrine Akshobhya appears in the Akṣobhyatathāgatasyavyūha Sūtra (), which was translated during the second century CE and is among the oldest known Mahayana or Pure Land texts. According to the scripture, a monk wished to practice the Dharma in the eastern world of delight and made a vow not to harbor anger or malice towards any being until he achieved enlightenment. He duly proved "immovable" and when ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Akshobhya
Akshobhya ( sa, अक्षोभ्य, ''Akṣobhya'', "Immovable One"; ) is one of the Five Wisdom Buddhas, a product of the Adibuddha, who represents consciousness as an aspect of reality. By convention he is located in the east of the Diamond Realm and is the lord of the Eastern Pure Land Abhirati ('The Joyous'). His consort is Lochanā and he is normally accompanied by two elephants. His color is blue-black and his attributes include a bell, three robes, and staff, as well as a jewel, lotus, prayer wheel, and sword. He has several emanations. Textual history and doctrine Akshobhya appears in the Akṣobhyatathāgatasyavyūha Sūtra (), which was translated during the second century CE and is among the oldest known Mahayana or Pure Land texts. According to the scripture, a monk wished to practice the Dharma in the eastern world of delight and made a vow not to harbor anger or malice towards any being until he achieved enlightenment. He duly proved "immovable" and whe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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