![Buddhist Pantheon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Buddhist_Pantheon.jpg)
The Japanese Buddhist Pantheon designates the multitude (the
Pantheon
Pantheon may refer to:
* Pantheon (religion), a set of gods belonging to a particular religion or tradition, and a temple or sacred building
Arts and entertainment Comics
*Pantheon (Marvel Comics), a fictional organization
* ''Pantheon'' (Lone S ...
) of various
Buddhas,
Bodhisattvas
In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood.
In the Early Buddhist schools ...
and lesser
deities
A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greate ...
and eminent religious masters in
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
. A Buddhist Pantheon exists to a certain extent in
Mahāyāna
''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhism, Buddhist traditions, Buddhist texts#Mahāyāna texts, texts, Buddhist philosophy, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BC ...
, but is especially characteristic of
Vajrayana
Vajrayāna ( sa, वज्रयान, "thunderbolt vehicle", "diamond vehicle", or "indestructible vehicle"), along with Mantrayāna, Guhyamantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, are names referring t ...
Esoteric Buddhism
Vajrayāna ( sa, वज्रयान, "thunderbolt vehicle", "diamond vehicle", or "indestructible vehicle"), along with Mantrayāna, Guhyamantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, are names referring t ...
, including
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...
and especially Japanese
Shingon Buddhism
Shingon monks at Mount Koya
is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asia, originally spread from India to China through traveling monks such as Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra.
K ...
, which formalized it to a great extent. In the ancient
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
ese 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
Pre-sectarian Buddhism, also called early Buddhism, the earliest Buddhism, original Buddhism, and primitive Buddhism, is Buddhism as theorized to have existed before the various Early Buddhist schools developed, around 250 BCE (followed by later ...
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
''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...
tends to de-emphasize the gods, whereas
Mahayana
''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 bra ...
and
Vajrayana
Vajrayāna ( sa, वज्रयान, "thunderbolt vehicle", "diamond vehicle", or "indestructible vehicle"), along with Mantrayāna, Guhyamantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, are names referring t ...
do not.
The rich Buddhist Pantheon of northern Buddhism ultimately derives from
Vajrayana
Vajrayāna ( sa, वज्रयान, "thunderbolt vehicle", "diamond vehicle", or "indestructible vehicle"), along with Mantrayāna, Guhyamantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, are names referring t ...
and
Tantrism
Tantra (; sa, तन्त्र, lit=loom, weave, warp) are the esoteric traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism that developed on the Indian subcontinent from the middle of the 1st millennium CE onwards. The term ''tantra'', in the Indian ...
. The historical devotional roots of pantheistic Buddhism seem to go back to the period of the
Kushan Empire
The Kushan Empire ( grc, Βασιλεία Κοσσανῶν; xbc, Κυϸανο, ; sa, कुषाण वंश; Brahmi: , '; BHS: ; xpr, 𐭊𐭅𐭔𐭍 𐭇𐭔𐭕𐭓, ; zh, 貴霜 ) was a syncretic empire, formed by the Yuezhi, i ...
.
[''Buddhist art & antiquities of Himachal Pradesh, up to 8th century A.D.'' Omacanda Hāṇḍā p.8]
/ref> The first proper mention of a Buddhist Pantheon appears in the 3-4th century '' Guhyasamāja'', in which five Buddhas are mentioned, the emanations of which constitute a family:[''An Introduction to Buddhist Esoterism'' Benoytosh Bhattacharyya p.12]
/ref>
By the 9th century under the Pala Empire, Pala king Dharmapala
A ''dharmapāla'' (, , ja, 達磨波羅, 護法善神, 護法神, 諸天善神, 諸天鬼神, 諸天善神諸大眷屬) is a type of wrathful god in Buddhism. The name means "''dharma'' protector" in Sanskrit, and the ''dharmapālas'' are als ...
, the Buddhist Pantheon had already swelled to about 1,000 Buddhas. In Japan, Kūkai
Kūkai (; 27 July 774 – 22 April 835Kūkai was born in 774, the 5th year of the Hōki era; his exact date of birth was designated as the fifteenth day of the sixth month of the Japanese lunar calendar, some 400 years later, by the Shingon sec ...
introduced Shingon
file:Koyasan (Mount Koya) monks.jpg, Shingon monks at Mount Koya
is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asia, originally spread from India to China through traveling monks suc ...
Esoteric Buddhism
Vajrayāna ( sa, वज्रयान, "thunderbolt vehicle", "diamond vehicle", or "indestructible vehicle"), along with Mantrayāna, Guhyamantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, are names referring t ...
and its Buddhist Pantheon, also in the 9th century.
Hierarchical structure of the Buddhist pantheon
The Buddhist Pantheon in Japanese Buddhism is defined by a hierarchy in which the Buddhas occupy the topmost category, followed in order by the numerous Bodhisattvas, the 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 Vajraya ...
, the Deities, the "Circumstantial appearances" and lastly the patriarch
The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certai ...
s and eminent religious people.
A famous statue group, the mandala
A mandala ( sa, मण्डल, maṇḍala, circle, ) is a geometric configuration of symbols. In various spiritual traditions, mandalas may be employed for focusing attention of practitioners and adepts, as a spiritual guidance tool, for e ...
located at Tō-ji
, also known as is a Shingon Buddhist temple in the Minami-ku ward of Kyoto, Japan.
Founded in 796, it was one of the only three Buddhist temples allowed in the city at the time it became the capital of Japan. As such it has a long history, h ...
temple in Kyōto
Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the c ...
, shows some of the main elements and structure of the Buddhist Pantheon. The mandala was made in the 9th century and offered to Kūkai
Kūkai (; 27 July 774 – 22 April 835Kūkai was born in 774, the 5th year of the Hōki era; his exact date of birth was designated as the fifteenth day of the sixth month of the Japanese lunar calendar, some 400 years later, by the Shingon sec ...
.[Musée Guimet exhibit] A duplicate was brought to Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, by Emile Guimet
Emil or Emile may refer to:
Literature
*'' Emile, or On Education'' (1762), a treatise on education by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
* ''Émile'' (novel) (1827), an autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life
*'' Emil and the Detecti ...
at the end of the 19th century, and is now located in the Musée Guimet
The Guimet Museum (full name in french: Musée national des arts asiatiques-Guimet; MNAAG; ) is an art museum located at 6, place d'Iéna in the XVIe arrondissement, 16th arrondissement of Paris, France. Literally translated into English, its ful ...
.
Japanese Buddhism incorporated numerous Shintō deities in its pantheon and reciprocally. Japanese Shingon also has other categories, such as the Thirteen Buddhas
The is a Japanese grouping of Buddhist deities, particularly in the Shingon sect of Buddhism. The deities are, in fact, not only Buddhas, but include bodhisattvas and Wisdom Kings. In Shingon services, lay followers recite a devotional mantra ...
.[''Sources of Japanese tradition'' William Theodore De Bary, p.338](_blank)
/ref> Zen Buddhism
Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...
however clearly rejected the strong polytheistic conceptions of orthodox Buddhism.
Level 1: Buddhas (Nyorai-bu)
A Buddha is one who has attained enlightenment and reached the state of nirvana. Buddhas are distinct from Bodhisattvas because they have chosen to leave earth.
Five Wisdom Buddhas
The five Wisdom Buddhas (五仏) are centered around 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 ...
(Japanese: Dainichi Nyorai, 大日如来), the supreme Buddha. Each of the four remaining Buddhas occupies a fixed cardinal point
The four cardinal directions, or cardinal points, are the four main compass directions: north, east, south, and west, commonly denoted by their initials N, E, S, and W respectively. Relative to north, the directions east, south, and west are a ...
. Each of them is a manifestation of Buddhahood, and each is active in a different world-period, in which they manifest themselves among Bodhisattvas and humans. An enlightened being is one who embodies the qualities of the five Buddha Families, or the five Wisdom Buddhas, and in doing so has shed the negative emotions which cause pain and suffering throughout life. These five key emotions are known as “disturbing” emotions and they include: attachment, anger, ignorance, pride, and envy. When these emotions are exercised they cause ourselves and others around us harm and suffering and can potentially cause a lower level reincarnation in the next life. Therefore, by eliminating these emotions allow one to attain enlightenment by recognizing and becoming one with the five Wisdom Buddha.
These " Dhyani Buddhas" form the core of the Buddhist pantheistic system, which developed from them in a multiform way. At the Musée Guimet, the five Buddhas are surrounded by protective Bodhisattvas. The five Wisdom Buddhas are known as, Akshobhya, Ratnasambhava, Amitabha, Amogasiddha, and Vairocana. They each have varying characteristics and attributes specific to their purpose.
The first Buddha, Akshobhya, is colored blue and sits in a vajra posture with his hand touching the ground. The color blue and the vajra posture symbolize changelessness and permanance which is particular to him because he focuses on easing emotions that spur from anger. His wisdom is known as the “mirror-like” wisdom because when one is freed from anger and the feelings accompanied with anger, one is able to have an unbiased awareness of our daily experiences. "Mirror-like" wisdom is the idea that one can see things for how they really are instead of having a blurred perspective that is caused from one's anger getting in the way of seeing the truth.
The second Buddha, Ratnasambhava, is concerned with the enrichment of oneself. When one has been cleansed of the disturbing emotion of pride, one's ego becomes objective and this enables fairness and equality in regards to all aspects of one's life. This Buddha is a yellowish, gold color and he holds a wish-fulfilling jewel in his hand. The golden color is meant to symbolize wealth in a fulfilled sense and the wish-fulfilling jewel symbolizes his activity of enrichment because it is able to grant any desirable wish. This Buddha sits in vajra posture which represents fulfillment and suggests supreme generosity by giving the mudra
A mudra (; sa, मुद्रा, , "seal", "mark", or "gesture"; ,) is a symbolic or ritual gesture or pose in Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. While some mudras involve the entire body, most are performed with the hands and fingers.
As wel ...
hand gesture.
The third Buddha, Amitabha, is focused on the elimination of the strong feeling of desire. Desire is one of the five disturbing emotions that causes one to have neverending wants and ultimately cultivates suffering. If one cannot attain his desires then he will feel unfulfilled and empty. The loss of great desire allows one to rise above to a more simplistic way of life with overwhelming gratitude. With recognition of this Buddha one will be able to find appreciation in the small things and see things for their true worth with an unbiased perspective. Buddha Amitabha is from the lotus family and is seated in vajra posture with his hands placed in the meditative posture for mental clarity.
The fourth Buddha, Amogasiddha, is focused on the strength of wisdom and the elimination of jealousy. Jealousy is a hindrance in which infringes on and distracts from ones wisdomly abilities. Buddha Amogasiddha’s activity is “meaningful accomplishment” which spurs from undistracted and engaged wisdom. With great wisdom, one is able to observe and overcome trivial uprisings in an intelligent and calm manner. His right hand is gesturing "fearless protection" from things that may hinder one's wisdom.
The fifth Buddha, Vairocana, is focused on the elimination of ignorance from one's mental state. Ignorance makes one’s perspective unclear and causes one to make judgements from a subjective view. Buddha Vairocana holds the wheel of dharma, the symbol of buddhist law, in his hands. The gesture of the wheel of dharma serves the purpose of symbolizing uninterrupted knowledge of how the world works. The wheel represents knowledge of the Buddhas teachings which lead one to enlightenment.
There is also a multitude of other Buddhas, such as Yakushi
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 ...
, the Buddha of medicine. Buddha Yakushi was widely worshipped during the Heian Period in Japan. Yakushi was known as the Medicine Buddha
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 people would pray to him for protection against vengeful spirits and natural disaster. Yakushi can be recognized in Buddhist art by the iconography of the medicine jar which he holds in his hand.
Level 2: Bodhisattvas (Bosatsu-bu)
A bodhisattva is one who has attained enlightenment and has chosen to stay on earth and spread his knowledge of enlightenment to others so that they too can gain enlightenment. Bodhisattvas are paragons of compassion in Mahayana Buddhism. In the Buddhist Pantheon, besides the past and future Buddhas, there are numerous Bodhisattvas as well.
Sometimes, five main "Matrix" Bodhisattvas are determined (五大菩薩), grouped around a central Bodhisattva, Kongō-Haramitsu (金剛波羅蜜菩薩) in the case of Tōji Temple.
Beyond these five main Bodhisattvas
In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood.
In the Early Buddhist schools ...
, there exists a huge number of other Bodhisattvas, all beings who have postponed enlightenment for the benefit of helping mankind.
File:Kongohou_Bosatsu_Vajraratsa.jpg, Kongōhō Bosatsu / Vajraratsa.
File:Daizuigu Mahapratisara.jpg, Daizuigu.
File:Jizo-osorezan-jpatokal.jpg, Jizō.
File:KOKYUZO Akasagarbha Shingoji.JPG, Kokūzō.
File:Chinese temple bouddha.jpg, Seishi
Seishi (written: 聖史, 正士, 正史 or 誠志) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include:
* (born 1945), Japanese jurist
* (1902–1974), Japanese physicist
* (born 1974), Japanese manga artist
* (1902–1981), J ...
.
Level 3: Wisdom Kings (Myōō-bu)
The Wisdom Kings (Vidyârâjas) were initially divinities of Esoteric Buddhism but were then later adopted by Japanese Buddhism as a whole. These Gods are equipped with superior knowledge and power that give them influence on internal and external reality. These Kings became the object of personification, either peaceful in the case of female personifications, and wrathful in the case of male personifications. Their aggressivity expresses their will to get rid of negative forces in devotees and in the world. They are therefore an expression of the Buddha's compassion for all beings.
Five Wisdom Kings
The Five Wisdom Kings
A Wisdom King (Sanskrit: विद्याराज; International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''Vidyārāja'', ) is a type of Wrathful deities, wrathful deity in East Asian Buddhism.
Whereas the Sanskrit name is translated lite ...
(五大明王) are emanations of the Buddhas and protect them. They are usually represented as violent beings. They represent the ambivalent in nature, and seem to derive from ancient Yaksa and Brahmanical
The historical Vedic religion (also known as Vedicism, Vedism or ancient Hinduism and subsequently Brahmanism (also spelled as Brahminism)), constituted the religious ideas and practices among some Indo-Aryan peoples of northwest Indian Subco ...
tradition.
Beyond the five principal kings, numerous other 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 Vajraya ...
exist with a great variety of roles.
Other Wisdom Kings
Many more 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 Vajraya ...
also exist with numerous functions. In general, the Wisdom Kings are viewed as the guardians of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.
File:Ususama.jpg, Ususama
Ucchuṣma (Chinese: 穢跡金剛; Pinyin: ''Huìjì Jīngāng''; Rōmaji: ''Ususama Myōō'') is a Vidyārāja in Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism.
Ucchuṣma's full name in Sanskrit sources is ''Vajra Krodha Mahābala Ucchuṣma'' (lit. " ...
.
Image:Bato Kannon painting.jpg, Hayagriva
Hayagriva, also spelled Hayagreeva ( sa, हयग्रीव IAST , ), is a Hindu deity, the horse-headed avatar of Vishnu. The purpose of this incarnation was to slay a danava also named Hayagriva (A descendant of Kashyapa and Danu), who ...
.
File:Mahamayuri statue.jpg, Mahamayuri
Mahamayuri ( sa, महामायूरी ("great peacock"), ''Kǒngquè Míngwáng'', vi, Khổng Tước Minh Vương, ja, 孔雀明王, ''Kujaku Myōō'', ko, 공작명왕 ''Gongjak Myeongwang''), or Mahāmāyūrī Vidyārājñī is a b ...
.
Level 4: Heavenly deities (Ten-bu)
Gods, although benefiting from an exceptional longevity, nevertheless are submitted to the cycle of rebirths, and remain outside of the world of enlightenment and Nirvana
( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...
. They are aiming to reach Nirvana eventually, however, and therefore endeavour to help Buddhism and its devotees. According to Buddhist cosmology, adopted from Indian cosmology, the deities live in the Three Worlds and are positioned hierarchically according to their position in respect to the cosmic axis of Mount Sumeru. High above the mountain resides Brahma
Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 21 ...
, on the summit reside the Thirty Three Gods with Indra
Indra (; Sanskrit: इन्द्र) is the king of the devas (god-like deities) and Svarga (heaven) in Hindu mythology. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes/ref> I ...
as their king, at half-height reside the God Kings of the Orient, and at the bottom inferior deities.
Numerous deities are included in the Buddhist pantheon.
The term ''Ten'' (天) is the equivalent of the Indian ''Deva
Deva may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Deva'' (1989 film), a 1989 Kannada film
* ''Deva'' (1995 film), a 1995 Tamil film
* ''Deva'' (2002 film), a 2002 Bengali film
* Deva (2007 Telugu film)
* ''Deva'' (2017 film), a 2017 Marathi film
* Deva ...
'' and designated the higher divinities from the Four Heavenly Kings
The Four Heavenly Kings are four Buddhist gods, each of whom is believed to watch over one cardinal direction of the world. In Chinese mythology, they are known collectively as the "Fēng Tiáo Yǔ Shùn" () or "Sìdà Tiānwáng" (). In the a ...
up. The term ''Jin'' (神) designated lower-level deities.
The Four Heavenly Kings
The Four Heavenly Kings are four Buddhist gods, each of whom is believed to watch over one cardinal direction of the world. In Chinese mythology, they are known collectively as the "Fēng Tiáo Yǔ Shùn" () or "Sìdà Tiānwáng" (). In the a ...
are an important part of these deities.
File:Zouchou.jpg, The Heavenly King
Heavenly King or Tian Wang () is a Chinese title for various religious deities and divine leaders throughout history, as well as an alternate form of the term '' Son of Heaven'', referring to the emperor. The Chinese term for Heavenly King consis ...
Zōchō.
File:Bonten_Brahma.jpg, Bonten (梵天)/ Brahma
Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 21 ...
.
File:Hachi_Dairyuuoo_Nagaraja.jpg, King Nanda
Nanda may refer to:
Indian history and religion
* Nanda Empire, ruled by the Nanda dynasty, an Indian royal dynasty ruling Magadha in the 4th century BCE
** Mahapadma Nanda, first Emperor of the Nanda Empire
** Dhana Nanda (died c. 321 BCE), last ...
, one of the Hachi Dairyūō (八大竜王)/ Nagaraja
Nagaraja ( sa, नागराज ', ) is a title used to refer to the nagas, the serpent-like figures that appear in Indian religions. It refers to the kings of the various races of the nāga, the divine or semi-divine, half-human, half-serpen ...
.
File:Marishiten_Marici.jpg, Marishi-Ten
Mārīcī (Sanskrit: मारीची, lit. "Ray of Light"; Chinese: 摩利支天; pinyin: ''Mólìzhītiān''; Japanese: ''Marishiten''), is a Buddhist god (devi) or goddess, as well as a bodhisattva associated with light and the Sun. By mos ...
(摩利支天)/ Marici.
File:Ugajin_masculine_form.jpg, Ugajin
is harvest and fertility ''kami'' of Japanese Mythology.Watsky, Andrew Mark. (2004). Ugajin is represented both as a male and a female, and is often depicted with the body of a snake and the head of a bearded man, for the masculine variant, or ...
(宇賀神), masculine form.
File:Ugajin_feminine_form.jpg, Ugajin
is harvest and fertility ''kami'' of Japanese Mythology.Watsky, Andrew Mark. (2004). Ugajin is represented both as a male and a female, and is often depicted with the body of a snake and the head of a bearded man, for the masculine variant, or ...
(宇賀神), feminine form.
Incomplete list of Mikkyō
is a Japanese term for the Vajrayana practices of Shingon Buddhism and the related practices that make up part of the Tendai and Kegon schools. There are also Shingon and Tendai influenced practices of Shugendō.
Mikkyō is a "lineage traditio ...
devas originated from Hindu deities
Hindu deities are the gods and goddesses in Hinduism. The terms and epithets for deities within the diverse traditions of Hinduism vary, and include Deva, Devi, Ishvara, Ishvari, Bhagavān and Bhagavati.
The deities of Hinduism have evolved ...
:
* Kangiten
Kangiten or Kankiten ( ja, 歓喜天, "god of bliss"; Sanskrit (IAST): ), also known as Binayaka (毘那夜迦; Skt. ), Ganabachi (誐那鉢底, alternatively Ganahachi or Ganahattei; Skt. ), or more commonly, Shōten or Shōden (聖天, lit. " ...
(歓喜天) / Ganesha
Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is found throughout India. Hindu d ...
* Taishakuten (帝釈天) / Indra
Indra (; Sanskrit: इन्द्र) is the king of the devas (god-like deities) and Svarga (heaven) in Hindu mythology. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes/ref> I ...
* Benzaiten
Benzaiten (''shinjitai'': 弁才天 or 弁財天; ''kyūjitai'': 辯才天, 辨才天, or 辨財天, lit. "goddess of eloquence"), also simply known as Benten (''shinjitai'': 弁天; ''kyūjitai'': 辯天 / 辨天), is a Japanese Buddhist god ...
(弁財天) / Saraswati
Saraswati ( sa, सरस्वती, ) is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, art, speech, wisdom, and learning. She is one of the Tridevi, along with the goddesses Lakshmi and Parvati.
The earliest known mention of Saraswati as a go ...
* Kisshōten
Kisshōten (, lit. "Auspicious Heavens"), also known as Kichijōten, Kisshoutennyo (吉祥天女), Kudokuten (功徳天) is a Japanese female deity, adapted via Buddhism from the Hindu goddess Lakshmi. Kisshoutennyo is sometimes named as one o ...
(吉祥天) / Lakshmi
Lakshmi (; , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism. She is the goddess of wealth, fortune, power, beauty, fertility and prosperity, and associated with ''Maya'' ("Illusion"). Alo ...
* Bichūten (毘紐天) / Vishnu
Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism.
Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...
* Daikokuten
Daikokuten ( 大黒天) is a syncretic Japanese deity of fortune and wealth. Daikokuten originated from Mahākāla, the buddhist version of the Hindu deity Shiva, conflated with the native Shinto god Ōkuninushi.
Overview Mahākāla in East Asia ...
(大黒天) / Mahakala
Mahākāla is a deity common to Hinduism and Tantric Buddhism. In Buddhism, Mahākāla is regarded as the sacred '' Dharmapāla'' ("Protector of the Dharma"), while in Hinduism, Mahākāla is a fierce manifestation of the Hindu god Shiva and th ...
* Daijizaiten (大自在天) / Mahesvara
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...
*Umahi (烏摩妃) / Uma
Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi in ...
* Katen (火天) / Agni
Agni (English: , sa, अग्नि, translit=Agni) is a Sanskrit word meaning fire and connotes the Vedic fire deity of Hinduism. He is also the guardian deity of the southeast direction and is typically found in southeast corners of Hindu ...
*Jiten (地天) / Prthivi
Prithvi or Prithvi Mata ( Sanskrit: पृथ्वी, ', also पृथिवी, ', "the Vast One") is the Sanskrit name for the earth, as well as the name of a devi (goddess) in Hinduism and some branches of Buddhism. In the Vedas, her ...
*Nitten (日天) / Surya
Surya (; sa, सूर्य, ) is the sun as well as the solar deity in Hinduism. He is traditionally one of the major five deities in the Smarta tradition, all of whom are considered as equivalent deities in the Panchayatana puja and a m ...
*Gatten (月天) / Chandra
Chandra ( sa, चन्द्र, Candra, shining' or 'moon), also known as Soma ( sa, सोम), is the Hindu god of the Moon, and is associated with the night, plants and vegetation. He is one of the Navagraha (nine planets of Hinduism) and ...
*Suiten (水天) / Varuna
Varuna (; sa, वरुण, , Malay: ''Baruna'') is a Vedic deity associated initially with the sky, later also with the seas as well as Ṛta (justice) and Satya (truth). He is found in the oldest layer of Vedic literature of Hinduism, such ...
*Fūten (風天) / Vayu
Vayu (, sa, वायु, ), also known as Vata and Pavana, is the Hindu god of the winds as well as the divine massenger of the gods. In the ''Vedic scriptures'', Vayu is an important deity and is closely associated with Indra, the king of ...
*Kumaraten (鳩摩羅天) / Kumara
*Naraenten (那羅延天) / Narayana
Narayana (Sanskrit: नारायण, IAST: ''Nārāyaṇa'') is one of the forms and names of Vishnu, who is in yogic slumber under the celestial waters, referring to the masculine principle. He is also known as Purushottama, and is co ...
*Rago (羅睺) / Rahu
Rāhu (Sanskrit: राहु, 16px, ☊) is one of the nine major celestial bodies (navagraha) in Hindu texts and the king of meteors. It represents the ascension of the moon in its precessional orbit around the earth, also referred as the ...
*Izanaten (伊舎那天) / Ishana
Ishana (Sanskrit: ईशान, IAST: Īśāna), is a Hindu god. He is often considered to be one of the forms of the Hindu destroyer god Shiva, and is also often counted among the eleven Rudras. In Hinduism, some schools of Buddhism and Jainis ...
* Enma
In East Asian and Buddhist mythology, Yama () or King Yan-lo/Yan-lo Wang (), also known as King Yan/Yan Wang (), Grandfatherly King Yan (), Lord Yan (), and Yan-lo, Son of Heaven (), is the King of Hell and a dharmapala (wrathful god) sa ...
(閻魔) / Yama
Yama (Devanagari: यम) or Yamarāja (यमराज), is a deity of death, dharma, the south direction, and the underworld who predominantly features in Hindu and Buddhist religion, belonging to an early stratum of Rigvedic Hindu deities ...
Level 5: Circumstantial appearances (Suijakushin)
Although divinities are considered to be subjects to the law of impermanence, Buddhism nevertheless considers that men should place themselves under their protection. When Buddhism entered Japan in the 6th century numerous Shintō
Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintoist ...
divinities (''kami
are the deities, divinities, spirits, phenomena or "holy powers", that are venerated in the Shinto religion. They can be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, or beings and the qualities that these beings express; they can also be the sp ...
'') were also present in the Japanese islands, although they had no iconography
Iconography, as a branch of art history, studies the identification, description and interpretation of the content of images: the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do so, and other elements that are distinct fro ...
. The ''shuijakushin'' category is specific to Japan and provides for the incorporation into Buddhism of these Shintō ''kami''.
The Buddhist term "Gongen
A , literally "incarnation", was believed to be the manifestation of a buddha in the form of an indigenous kami, an entity who had come to guide the people to salvation, during the era of shinbutsu-shūgō in premodern Japan.Encyclopedia of Shint ...
" 権現 or "Avatar
Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearanc ...
" (meaning the capability of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to change their appearance to that of a Japanese ''kami'' to facilitate conversion of the Japanese) thus came into use in relation to these gods. Shintō deities came to be considered as local appearances in disguise of foreign Buddhas and Bodhisattvas (). Thus numerous Shinto
Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...
figures have been absorbed as Buddhist deities. This was also sometimes reciprocal, as in the case of Buddhist Benzaiten
Benzaiten (''shinjitai'': 弁才天 or 弁財天; ''kyūjitai'': 辯才天, 辨才天, or 辨財天, lit. "goddess of eloquence"), also simply known as Benten (''shinjitai'': 弁天; ''kyūjitai'': 辯天 / 辨天), is a Japanese Buddhist god ...
and Shinto ''kami'' Ugajin
is harvest and fertility ''kami'' of Japanese Mythology.Watsky, Andrew Mark. (2004). Ugajin is represented both as a male and a female, and is often depicted with the body of a snake and the head of a bearded man, for the masculine variant, or ...
.
This syncretism
Syncretism () is the practice of combining different beliefs and various school of thought, schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or religious assimilation, assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in t ...
was officially abolished by the establishment of the Meiji Emperor
, also called or , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession. Reigning from 13 February 1867 to his death, he was the first monarch of the Empire of Japan and presided over the Meiji era. He was the figure ...
in 1868 with the '' Shinto and Buddhism Separation Order'' (神仏分離令, also 神仏混淆禁止 ''Shinbutsu Konkō Kinshi'').
The Six Kannon are a group of deity sculptures that were originally placed together in the temple at Daihoonji. The sculptures were made by the sculptor Jōkei in 1224. The idea of grouping statues together is popular in Buddhism because it is said that it increases the power of the deities when they are shown as a group. However, it is popular for the Six Kannon to be enshrined at temples throughout Japan individually as well. The group of six consists of Shō Kannon, Thousand-armed Kannon, Horse-headed Kannon, Eleven-headed Kannon, Juntei Kannon, and Nyoirin Kannon. These Six Kannon although alike, have distinct attributes which set them apart from one another.
File:Atago Gongen.jpg, Circumstantial appearances of Mount Atago
''Mount Atago is a very common name for peaks all over Japan.''
is a 924m mountain in the northwestern part of Ukyo-ku, in the city of Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an islan ...
(愛宕権現), in the shape of General Jizō.
File:Konpira Daigongen.jpg, Kompira Daigongen (金毘羅大権現), divinity of the Inland Sea
An inland sea (also known as an epeiric sea or an epicontinental sea) is a continental body of water which is very large and is either completely surrounded by dry land or connected to an ocean by a river, strait, or "arm of the sea". An inland se ...
and ships.
File:Sambou Koujin Fire Divinity.jpg, Sambō Kōjin (三宝荒神), the Fire Divinity. Uses the power of fire for the Buddhist cause.
File:Zaou Gongen Circumstancial appearance of Mount Yoshino.jpg, Zaō Gongen (蔵王権現), circumstantial appearance of Mount Yoshino
is a mountain located in the town of Yoshino in Yoshino District, Nara Prefecture, Japan that is a major religious and literary site. It is renowned for its cherry blossoms and attracts many visitors every spring, when the trees are in blossom ...
.
Level 6: Religious masters (''Kōsō''・''Soshi'')
Buddhism has also created an iconography for the saint men who assisted to its diffusion. These are historical beings, although some legendary elements can be attached to them. Some, such as Kōbō-Daishi, the founder of Shingon Buddhism
Shingon monks at Mount Koya
is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asia, originally spread from India to China through traveling monks such as Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra.
K ...
, are the subject of a devotion equivalent to that of the Buddhas or Bodhisattvas. Some have also acquired the qualities of protective spirits, such as ''Battabara
Battabara 跋陀婆羅 (a.k.a. Bhadrapāla, Baddabara, Battabara bosatsu, Battabara sonja and Kengo Daishi) is the Japanese patron deity of baths and bathing. Originally a Buddhist monk from India
India, officially the Republic of India (H ...
'' protector of the baths, or ''Fudaishi
Fudaishi (Japanese; Chinese 傅大士 Fù Dà Shì, also known as Shanhui, Fuxi, Shuanglin dashi, and Dongyang dashi) (497 – 569) was a Chinese Buddhist monk who was later deified as the Japanese patron deity of libraries. He is traditiona ...
'', protector of monastical libraries. The list of these religious masters consists of men from the "Three Countries" where Buddhism was born and then prospered along the Silk Road
The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and reli ...
: India, China, Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. The Sixteen Arhats, saint men who were predecessors or disciples of the Buddha, are also part of this category.
File:Shotoku_Taishi.jpg, Shōtoku Taishi, Prince Shōtoku.
File:Kobo Daishi.jpg, Master Kōbō Daishi founder of Shingon
file:Koyasan (Mount Koya) monks.jpg, Shingon monks at Mount Koya
is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asia, originally spread from India to China through traveling monks suc ...
Buddhism.
File:Ingada Sonja.jpg, Ingada sonja, one of the Sixteen Arhats.
File:Battabara sonja.jpg, Battabara, Battabara sonja, 跋陀婆羅尊者, protector of the baths.
File:Fu-Daishi.jpg, Fudaishi
Fudaishi (Japanese; Chinese 傅大士 Fù Dà Shì, also known as Shanhui, Fuxi, Shuanglin dashi, and Dongyang dashi) (497 – 569) was a Chinese Buddhist monk who was later deified as the Japanese patron deity of libraries. He is traditiona ...
, 傅大士, an originator of Tendai and Zen, also invented rotating libraries for prayers.
File:Nichiren Shounin.jpg, Nichiren Shōnin, 日蓮聖人, founder of the Nichiren Buddhism.
Eight Legions ( ja, 八部衆, ''Hachi Bushū'')
In Sanskrit, these classes of beings are called the Aṣṭagatyaḥ or the Aṣṭauparṣadaḥ.
# Japanese Buddhist pantheon#Level 4: Heavenly deities (Ten-bu), Tenbu ( ja, 天部) / Deva
Deva may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Deva'' (1989 film), a 1989 Kannada film
* ''Deva'' (1995 film), a 1995 Tamil film
* ''Deva'' (2002 film), a 2002 Bengali film
* Deva (2007 Telugu film)
* ''Deva'' (2017 film), a 2017 Marathi film
* Deva ...
# Japanese dragon, Ryū ( ja, 龍) / Nāga, Naga
# Yasha ( ja, 夜叉) / Yaksha
# Kendatsuba ( ja, 乾闥婆) / Gandharva
# Ashura ( ja, 阿修羅) / Asura (Buddhism), Asura
# Karura ( ja, 迦楼羅) / Garuda
# Kinnara ( ja, 緊那羅) / Kinnara
# Magoraga ( ja, 摩睺羅伽) / Mahoraga
See also
* Buddhist deities
* Religion in Asia
Notes
{{Buddhism topics
Buddhism in Japan
Japanese deities
Buddhist deities