Vairochana

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 ''Avatamsaka Sutra'', Vairocana is described as having attained enlightenment immeasurable ages ago and residing in a world purified by him while he was a bodhisattva. He also presides over an assembly of countless other boddhisattvas. He may be considered the celestial existence (saṃbhogakāya) of Gautama Buddha, who came to be as Vairochana's earthly rebirth from his previous existence in Tushita heaven. Similarly, the ''Brahmajala Sutra'' also states that Shakyamuni was originally named Vairochana, regarding the former as a physical incarnation (''nirmāṇakāya'') of the latter.

Vairocana is also mentioned as an epithet of Gautama Buddha in the ''Samantabhadra Meditation Sutra'', who dwells in a place called "Always Tranquil Light". 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, Vairocana is mentioned to be the host of the Buddha Division in the centre, one of the five major divisions which dispels the vast demon armies of the five directions.

Vairocana is the Primordial Buddha in the Chinese schools of Tiantai, Huayan and Tangmi, also appearing in later schools including the Japanese Kegon, Shingon and esoteric lineages of Tendai. In the case of Huayan and Shingon, Vairocana is the central figure.

In Chinese and Japanese Buddhism, Vairocana was gradually superseded as an object of reverence by Amitābha, due in large part to the increasing popularity of Pure Land Buddhism, but veneration of Vairocana still remains popular among adherents.

During the initial stages of his mission in Japan, the Catholic missionary Francis Xavier was welcomed by the Shingon monks since he used ''Dainichi'', the Japanese name for Vairocana, to designate the Christian God. As Xavier learned more about the religious nuances of the word, he substituted the term ''Deusu'', which he derived from the Latin and Portuguese ''Deus''.Francis Xavier and the Land of the Rising Sun: Dainichi and Deus
Matthew Ropp, 1997.

The Shingon monk Dohan regarded the two great Buddhas, Amitābha and Vairocana, as one and the same Dharmakāya Buddha and as the true nature at the core of all beings and phenomena. There are several realizations that can accrue to the Shingon practitioner of which Dohan speaks in this connection, as James Sanford points out:

Helen Hardacre, writing on the ''Mahavairocana Tantra'', comments that Mahavairocana's virtues are deemed to be immanently universal within all beings: "The principle doctrine of the ''Dainichikyo'' is that all the virtues of Dainichi (Mahāvairocana) are inherent in us and in all sentient beings."Helen Hardacre, 'The Cave and the Womb World', in ''Tantric Buddhism in East Asia'' (Wisdom Publications, Boston, 2006), p. 215

Statues

With regard to śūnyatā, the massive size and brilliance of Vairocana statues serve as a reminder that all conditioned existence is empty and without a permanent identity, whereas the Dharmakāya is beyond concepts.

The Spring Temple Buddha of Lushan County, Henan, China, with a height of 126 meters, is the second tallest statue in the world (''see list of tallest statues'').

The Daibutsu in the Tōdai-ji in Nara, Japan is the largest bronze image of Vairocana in the world.

The larger of the Buddhas of Bamiyan in Afghanistan that were destroyed was also a depiction of Vairocana.

In Java, Indonesia, the ninth-century Mendut temple near Borobudur in Magelang was dedicated to the Dhyani Buddha Vairocana. Built by the Shailendra dynasty, the temple featured a three-meter tall stone statue of Vairocana, seated and performing the dharmachakra mudrā. The statue is flanked with statues of the bodhisattvas Avalokiteśvara and Vajrapani.

Gallery

File:Vairocana, Fengxian Temple, Longmen Grottoes (10240207654).jpg, Tang dynasty statue of Vairocana (''Dàrì Rúlái'') at Longmen Grottoes, Luoyang, Henan, China. The statue was completed in the year 676 and is 17.14m high and has 2 m long ears.
File:Dazu 2007 807.jpg, Southern Song Dynasty (1127–1279 CE) cliff carving of Vairocana (centre), with Manjushri (left), and Samantabhadra (right) among the Dazu Rock Carvings at Baodingshan, Dazu District, Chongqing, China.
File:Jinan 2009 1480.jpg, Ming dynasty statues of Vairocana (center), flanked on the far left by Amitabha and on the right by Bhaisajyaguru. Projecting tongues from Vairocana's throne are petals that symbolize his radiance in infinite directions.
File:Ming Vairocana statue (大日如来, Dàrì Rúlái; 毘盧遮那佛, Pílúzhēnà Fó), one of Five Tathagathas (五方佛 Wǔfāngfó) or Five Wisdom Buddhas (五智如来 Wǔzhì Rúlái), Huayan Temple (华严寺), Shanxi, China.jpg, Ming dynasty (1368-1644) statue of Vairocana in Huayan Temple in Datong, Shanxi, China, one out of a set of statues of the Five Tathāgatas
File:Jin Dynasty Vairocana (大日如来, Dàrì Rúlái; 毘盧遮那佛, Pílúzhēnà Fó), one of Five Tathagathas (五方佛 Wǔfāngfó) or Five Wisdom Buddhas (五智如来 Wǔzhì Rúlái) at Shanhua Temple (善化寺), Shanxi, China.jpg, Jin Dynasty (1115–1234) statue of Vairocana in Shanhua Temple in Datong, Shanxi, China, one out of a set of statues of the Five Tathāgatas
File:唐 青銅鎏金大日如來像-Buddha Vairocana (Dari) MET DP170158.jpg, Tang dynasty bronze statue of Vairocana. 8th century.
File:VairochanaMingCopper.jpg, Copper alloy statue of Vairocana, made in China during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). Displayed at the Cantor Center for Visual Arts.
File:Ming Bronze Vairocana Buddha.jpg, Ming dynasty bronze statue of Vairocana. Displayed at the Buddhism Sculpture Gallery in Aurora Museum, Pudong, Shanghai
File:Vairochana Buddha, China, Qing dynasty, 19th century AD, jade, gilt bronze, enamel, pearls, kingfisher feathers - Royal Ontario Museum - DSC03754.JPG, Statue of Vairocana, made in China during the Qing dynasty. 19th century. Made of jade, gilt bronze, enamel, pearls and kingfisher feathers. Displayed at the Royal Ontario Museum.
File:001 Main Vairocana Buddha Statue (9141769268).jpg, Vairocana statue in Sam Poh Wan Futt Chi, a Chinese Buddhist temple in Cameron Highlands, Pahang, Malaysia
File:Vairocana, Zhusheng Temple (Hunan).jpg, Shrine to Vairocana in Zhusheng Temple, Hunan, China
File:Vairocana at Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum.JPG, Vairocana at Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum, Chinatown, Singapore.
File:Seated Iron Vairocana Buddha of Borimsa Temple(장흥 보림사 철조비로자나불좌상).jpg, Seated iron statue of Vairocana in Borimsa Temple, on Gaji mountain in Jangheung County, South Jeolla, South Korea
File:Bulguksageumdongbirojanabuljwasang (Seated gilt-bronze vairocana buddha statue of Bulguksa Temple).jpg, A gilt-bronze statue of Vairocana Buddha, one of the National Treasures of South Korea, at Bulguksa.
File:TodaijiDaibutsu0224.jpg, The Great Buddha of Tōdai-ji, at a Kegon Buddhist temple in Nara, Japan.
File:Seated Dainichi Nyorai.jpg, Statue of Vairocana by Unkei, National Treasures of Japan, at Enjō-ji
File:Buddha Mendut.jpg, Vairocana with Avalokitesvara and Vajrapani. 9th century, Indonesia.
File:Sarvavid Vairochana, From a Set of the Five Jina Buddhas, based on Complete Purification of All Evil Rebirths (Sarva Durgati Parishodana Tantra) LACMA AC1994.121.1 (cropped).jpg, Multi-headed Sarvavid Vairochana, Central Tibet, circa late 13th - early 14th century

See also

* Mantra of Light

Sources

Bibliography

*Birmingham, Vessantara (2003). ''Meeting The Buddhas,'' Windhorse Publications, .
*Cook, Francis H. (1977). ''Hua-Yen Buddhism: The Jewel Net of Indra,'' Pennsylvania State University Press.
*Cook, Francis H. (1972). 'The meaning of Vairocana in Hua-Yen Buddhism, Philosophy East and West 22 (4), 403-415
*Park, Kwangsoo (2003)
A Comparative Study of the Concept of Dharmakaya Buddha: Vairocana in Hua-yen and Mahavairocana in Shingon Buddhism
International Journal of Buddhist Thought and Culture 2, 305-331
*

External links

New York Public Library Digital Gallery, early photograph of Hyōgo DaibutsuSacred Visions: Early Paintings from Central Tibet
an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Vairocana (see index)

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Buddhas

Shingon Buddhism
Vajrayana
Buddhism in China