Sūryaprabha (literally "Sunlight",

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

: 日光菩薩;

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...

: ''Rìguāng Púsà'';

Rōmaji The romanization of Japanese is the use of Latin script to write the Japanese language. This method of writing is sometimes referred to in Japanese as . Japanese is normally written in a combination of logogram, logographic characters borrowe ...

: ''Nikkō Bosatsu'') is a

bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a person who has attained, or is striving towards, '' bodhi'' ('awakening', 'enlightenment') or Buddhahood. Often, the term specifically refers to a person who forgoes or delays personal nirvana or ''bodhi'' in ...

whose specialty is sunlight and good health. Sūryaprabha is often seen with

Candraprabha Candraprabha (lit. 'Moonlight', zh, 月光菩薩, link=no; pinyin: ''Yuèguāng Púsà''; Rōmaji: ''Gakkō or Gekkō Bosatsu'') is a bodhisattva often seen with Sūryaprabha, as the two siblings serve Bhaiṣajyaguru. Statues of Candrapr ...

, as the two siblings serve

Bhaiṣajyaguru Bhaiṣajyaguru (, zh, t= , , , , ), or ''Bhaishajyaguru'', formally Bhaiṣajya-guru-vaiḍūrya-prabha-rāja ("Medicine Master and King of Lapis Lazuli Light"; zh, t=藥師琉璃光(王)如來, , , ), is the Buddha of healing and medicine i ...

. Statues of the two closely resemble each other and are commonly found together, sometimes flanking temple doors. They are also recognized in mainland Asia as

devas Devas may refer to: * Devas Club, a club in south London * Anthony Devas (1911–1958), British portrait painter * Charles Stanton Devas (1848–1906), political economist * Jocelyn Devas (died 1886), founder of the Devas Club * Devas (band), ...

. In

Chinese folk religion Chinese folk religion comprises a range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese, including the Chinese diaspora. This includes the veneration of ''Shen (Chinese folk religion), shen'' ('spirits') and Chinese ancestor worship, ances ...

, the solar god Taiyang Xingjun is depicted as his incarnation. His sacred day is the first day of the second lunar month in the

Chinese calendar The traditional Chinese calendar, dating back to the Han dynasty, is a lunisolar calendar that blends solar, lunar, and other cycles for social and agricultural purposes. While modern China primarily uses the Gregorian calendar for officia ...

In literature

''The Scripture of the Medicine Buddha'' (Bhaisajya-guru-vaidūrya-sūtra) states: "In that country, there are two Bodhisattvas, Mahāsattvas: one named Sun Illuminating All and the other named Moon Illuminating All. They are the supreme among the countless Bodhisattvas." The ''Empowerment Sutra'' (灌顶经) states: "There are two Bodhisattvas, one named Sun Radiance (Nichiyō) and the other named Moon Purity (Gekjō). They are the successors to the Buddha's position, both have the ability to uphold the true

Dharma Dharma (; , ) is a key concept in various Indian religions. The term ''dharma'' does not have a single, clear Untranslatability, translation and conveys a multifaceted idea. Etymologically, it comes from the Sanskrit ''dhr-'', meaning ''to hold ...

Treasure of the Medicine Buddha." ''The Record of Awakening and Zen'' quotes from Volume 1 of the ''Commentary on the Scripture of the Medicine Buddha'' (药师经疏): In the past world, during the time of

Dipankara Dipankara (Pali: ''Dīpaṅkara''; Sanskrit: ', "Lamp bearer") or Dipankara Buddha is one of the Buddhas of the past. He is said to have lived on Earth four asankheyyas and one hundred thousand kalpas ago. According to Buddhists, Dipankara wa ...

, a Brahman (a Hindu priest or ascetic) and his two sons made a shared Bodhisattva vow to alleviate the suffering of all sentient beings. Impressed by their determination, Dipankara advised the Brahman to change his name to "Yao Wang" (Medicine King) and his sons to "Ri Zhao" (Sunlight) and "Yue Zhao" (Moonlight). Through their spiritual journey, the trio achieved

enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...

—the Brahman becoming the Medicine Buddha and his sons attaining the forms of Sunlight Bodhisattva and Moonlight Bodhisattva. It's believed that Moonlight Bodhisattva, like Sunlight Bodhisattva, also has a close connection to the Great Compassion Mantra (''Da Bei Zhou'') of

Avalokiteśvara In Buddhism, Avalokiteśvara (meaning "the lord who looks down", International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ), also known as Lokeśvara ("Lord of the World") and Chenrezig (in Tibetan), is a Bodhisattva#Bhūmis (stages), tenth-level bodhisattva associ ...

Bodhisattva. For all practitioners who wholeheartedly recite the Great Compassion Mantra, Moonlight Bodhisattva, along with countless divine beings, will come to enhance the efficacy of their mantra recitation. After reciting the Great Compassion Mantra, if practitioners can further recite the Moonlight Bodhisattva Dharani, Moonlight Bodhisattva will come to offer protection, enabling the practitioner to eliminate all obstacles and illnesses, accomplish all virtuous dharmas, and stay away from various fears.

References

Shinto and Buddhist Corner, accessed 20 May 2006
Bodhisattvas Bhaiṣajyaguru Twenty-Four Protective Deities Solar gods {{Mahayana-stub

In literature

See also

References