Uṣṇīṣavijayā ("Victorious One with

Ushnisha The ushnisha (, IAST: ) is a three-dimensional oval at the top of the head of the Buddha. In Pali scriptures, it is the crown of Lord Buddha, the symbol of his Enlightenment and Enthronement. Description The Ushnisha is the thirty-second of th ...

"; ; mn, Бизьяа, Намжилмаа, Жүгдэрнамжилмаа, "Crested Ultimate Tara"; zh, 佛頂尊勝佛母) is a

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 L ...

of longevity 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 ...

. She wears an image of

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 ...

in her headdress. With Amitayus and Sitatara, she constitutes the three Buddhas of long life. She is one of the more well-known Buddhist divinities in

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Taman ...

, and

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

Goddess Ushnishavijaya in Stupa - Google Art Project

Since 1571 Namgyälma has been the namesake for

Namgyal Monastery Namgyal Monastery () (also often referred to as "Dalai Lama's Temple") is currently located in Mcleod Ganj, Dharamsala, India. It is the personal monastery of the 14th Dalai Lama. Another name for this temple-complex is Namgyal Tantric Colleg ...

– the personal monastery of all the Dalai Lamas since its establishment by the Third Dalai Lama, Gyalwa Sonam Gyatso – Namgyälma is a female

yidam ''Yidam'' is a type of deity associated with tantric or Vajrayana Buddhism said to be manifestations of Buddhahood or enlightened mind. During personal meditation (''sādhana'') practice, the yogi identifies their own form, attributes and mi ...

and long-life deity of the Kriya Tantra class in Tibetan Buddhism. She is typically depicted as being white in colour, seated, and has eight arms, holding various symbolic implements in each of her hands.

Uṣṇīṣa Vijaya Dhāraṇī Sūtra

The

Uṣṇīṣa Vijaya Dhāraṇī Sūtra The Uṣṇīṣa Vijaya Dhāraṇī Sūtra (Sanskrit: उष्णीष विजय धारणी सूत्र; IAST: uṣṇīṣa vijaya dhāraṇī sūtra, Chinese: 佛頂尊勝陀羅尼經; Pinyin: Fódǐng Zūnshèng Tuóluón� ...

is the Mantra of Usnisavijaya, a very important Dharani in Chinese Buddhism such that a

Chinese Emperor ''Huangdi'' (), translated into English as Emperor, was the superlative title held by monarchs of China who ruled various imperial regimes in Chinese history. In traditional Chinese political theory, the emperor was considered the Son of Heave ...

(唐代宗 776 AD) and a

Japanese Emperor The Emperor of Japan is the monarch and the head of the Imperial Family of Japan. Under the Constitution of Japan, he is defined as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, and his position is derived from "the w ...

(清和天皇 860 AD ) had both enforced all

Buddhist monasteries 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 ...

within their countries to facilitate its practice, after it had been believed to have brought rain to end two events of droughts in history.

References

Bibliography

* Chandra, Lokesh (1980)
Comparative Iconography of the Goddess Usnisavijaya
Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 34, (1/3), 125-137

External links

Sacred Visions: Early Paintings from Central Tibet
an exhibition catalog from

The Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

(fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Usnisavijaya (see index)
Images of Uṣṇīṣavijayā
- HimalayanArt.org

by Chöje Lama Phuntsok in Hamburg, Germany, 2011. Buddhas Tibetan Buddhist deities Female buddhas and supernatural beings Taras {{deity-stub