Showing posts with label Five Wisdom Buddhas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Five Wisdom Buddhas. Show all posts
20130109
Vairocana Mantra
Just as Amida is
compassion personified,
so too is Vairocana
wisdom personified.
As the Nembutsu is
Amida calling,
the Vairocana Mantra
is Wisdom calling.
Vairocana is a celestial Buddha being the Adi Buddha which represents that wisdom of transcendental reality, the True Reality of Being and Non-Beinng. This reality is non-dual because it is empty of ignorance and because samsara is the root of nirvana.
For it is suffering that motivates us to seek its cure through understanding of the Four Noble Truths and to engage in spiritual activities that result in the spiritual treasures of teaching the Dharma, humility, meditation, giving, and fearlessness to cure spiritual ignorance out of which craving arises, the destruction of anger and hate, eradication of selfishness, neutralizing pride and greed, and pacification of envy.
Vairocana: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vairocana
Five Wisdom Buddhas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Dhyani_Buddhas
The Five Wisdom Buddhas
Symbolically, the Five Wisdom Buddhas represent the five aspects of spiritual wisdom of the Buddha.
Commonly found in Vajrayana mandalas, the Five Wisdom Buddhas are also the main objects of worship in Shingon Buddhism, a variety of esoteric Japanese Buddhism that arose in Japanese before Vajrayana Buddhism became known.
Vairocana is considered the Adi-Buddha of the Five Wisdom Buddhas, with the other four Buddhas assigned to cardinal directions.
Based on the Yogācāra elaboration of concepts concerning the jñāna (spiritual knowledge) of the Buddhas of the Trikaya, the Five Wisdom Buddhas are a later development used to symbolize the aspects of the Dharmakaya (truth-body), which embodies the principle of enlightenment.
First, two Buddhas appeared in Yogacara sutras which represented wisdom and compassion - they were, respectively, Akṣobhya and Amitābha. To embody the aspects of power, or activity, and the aspect of beauty, or spiritual riches, two more Buddhas were added, Amoghasiddhi, and Ratnasaṃbhava. Finally, the central figure became Vairocana.
Thus power represents spiritual activity, while beauty represents spiritual riches.
Traditionally, Aksobhya is the eastern Buddha of consciousness as an aspect of reality, working for the joy of all beings, while Amitabha is the western Buddha of comprehensive love, working for the enlightenment of all sentient beings.
Amoghasiddhi is the northern Buddha of the conceptual mind that conquers all evils, while Ratnasambhava is the southern Buddha of the mind developing equanimity and equality to destroy greed and pride.
Meanwhile, Vairocana is the celestial Buddha (Adi Buddha) who is the embodiment of Emptiness.
Five Wisdom Buddhas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Wisdom_Buddhas
Commonly found in Vajrayana mandalas, the Five Wisdom Buddhas are also the main objects of worship in Shingon Buddhism, a variety of esoteric Japanese Buddhism that arose in Japanese before Vajrayana Buddhism became known.
Vairocana is considered the Adi-Buddha of the Five Wisdom Buddhas, with the other four Buddhas assigned to cardinal directions.
Based on the Yogācāra elaboration of concepts concerning the jñāna (spiritual knowledge) of the Buddhas of the Trikaya, the Five Wisdom Buddhas are a later development used to symbolize the aspects of the Dharmakaya (truth-body), which embodies the principle of enlightenment.
First, two Buddhas appeared in Yogacara sutras which represented wisdom and compassion - they were, respectively, Akṣobhya and Amitābha. To embody the aspects of power, or activity, and the aspect of beauty, or spiritual riches, two more Buddhas were added, Amoghasiddhi, and Ratnasaṃbhava. Finally, the central figure became Vairocana.
Thus power represents spiritual activity, while beauty represents spiritual riches.
Traditionally, Aksobhya is the eastern Buddha of consciousness as an aspect of reality, working for the joy of all beings, while Amitabha is the western Buddha of comprehensive love, working for the enlightenment of all sentient beings.
Amoghasiddhi is the northern Buddha of the conceptual mind that conquers all evils, while Ratnasambhava is the southern Buddha of the mind developing equanimity and equality to destroy greed and pride.
Meanwhile, Vairocana is the celestial Buddha (Adi Buddha) who is the embodiment of Emptiness.
Five Wisdom Buddhas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Wisdom_Buddhas
20130104
Buddhism Isn't About A King in Heaven
Buddhism is documented to have a founder who went to a Buddhist Heaven through a process called parinirvana, and vehemently denied he will reincarnate. In fact, there is no affirmed reincarnation of the Buddha because that would be sacrilege.
Instead you can pick and choose of several Buddhas to acquire wisdom, conquer illness, live a long life of boundless compassion and/or acquire boundless wisdom, etc. knowing full well that they actually represent various aspects or qualities of the mind.
All the devas, daemons and other mythological creatures have had the Buddhadharma preached to them, thus making them protectors of the Dharma.
And even they too represent qualities of the mind.
Are you following me now?
Buddhism is all about the mind, and protecting it from suffering through meditation, firs to calm your mind until it can clearly realize peace of mind as path to happiness.
Even the different worlds in Buddhist cosmology from hell to hungry ghost to human to devas to Tusita Heaven are merely qualities of the human mind!
Indeed, the old Zen saying, "If you see the Buddha, kill hiom!", actually means "If you have a vision of the Buddha, awaken from your dream since it is not the Buddha but your desire to become a buddha."
Thus, Buddhism is actually an Asian psychology which will drive the mad even crazier and render the truly devoted, devoted, gentle, and peaceful.
However, the Lesser Vehicle of the Way of the Monks is known to turn said monks into mighty warriors both in Sri Lanka and in Southeast Asia.
Sadly though, they happen to be sexist and old-fashioned.
Such is the way of South East Asia.
As for Buddhism, there isn't a king in heaven. There are five Wisdom Buddhas which are reflections of the wisdom of the primordial Buddha, the Adi-Buddha, who actually isn't a living being.
One can say Adi-Buddha was present before everything else in the universe existed but not in the sense of an actual living being.
Imagine though that the Adi-Buddha is in the centre of 108 peaceful and wrathful deities who are reflections of it. Imagine further that all famous sages and Bodhiattvas are too reflections of the Adi-Buddha. Imagine even further than you and I are also reflection of Adi-Buddha, for we are all potential buddhas.
Yet Adi-Buddha is first and foremost the Original Beginning, the Unending One, and the ultimate reality all in one, and then some!
Adi-Buddha does not create; for he is the originator of what became this universe.
It is he who pours out the stuff of which this reality is made of.
All phenomena is symbolically represented by the primordial nature of Adi-Buddha; for all phenomena have in Adi-Buddha their collective source,
Being in a continuous, eternal co-relation with the deity, Adi-Buddha also represents the non-duality of the individual's mind and the cosmos, which are interrelated.
For your mind creates the cosmos, just as the cosmos creates the atoms of which your body consists and the air that your breath.
Who needs a king in heaven when you have Adi-Buddha being the source of reality itself?
Who needs a creator god when Adi-Buddha is the origin of the universe itself?
Adi-Buddha: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adi-Buddha
Dharmakaya: click on the label "Dharmakaya"
Instead you can pick and choose of several Buddhas to acquire wisdom, conquer illness, live a long life of boundless compassion and/or acquire boundless wisdom, etc. knowing full well that they actually represent various aspects or qualities of the mind.
All the devas, daemons and other mythological creatures have had the Buddhadharma preached to them, thus making them protectors of the Dharma.
And even they too represent qualities of the mind.
Are you following me now?
Buddhism is all about the mind, and protecting it from suffering through meditation, firs to calm your mind until it can clearly realize peace of mind as path to happiness.
Even the different worlds in Buddhist cosmology from hell to hungry ghost to human to devas to Tusita Heaven are merely qualities of the human mind!
Indeed, the old Zen saying, "If you see the Buddha, kill hiom!", actually means "If you have a vision of the Buddha, awaken from your dream since it is not the Buddha but your desire to become a buddha."
Thus, Buddhism is actually an Asian psychology which will drive the mad even crazier and render the truly devoted, devoted, gentle, and peaceful.
However, the Lesser Vehicle of the Way of the Monks is known to turn said monks into mighty warriors both in Sri Lanka and in Southeast Asia.
Sadly though, they happen to be sexist and old-fashioned.
Such is the way of South East Asia.
As for Buddhism, there isn't a king in heaven. There are five Wisdom Buddhas which are reflections of the wisdom of the primordial Buddha, the Adi-Buddha, who actually isn't a living being.
One can say Adi-Buddha was present before everything else in the universe existed but not in the sense of an actual living being.
Imagine though that the Adi-Buddha is in the centre of 108 peaceful and wrathful deities who are reflections of it. Imagine further that all famous sages and Bodhiattvas are too reflections of the Adi-Buddha. Imagine even further than you and I are also reflection of Adi-Buddha, for we are all potential buddhas.
Yet Adi-Buddha is first and foremost the Original Beginning, the Unending One, and the ultimate reality all in one, and then some!
Adi-Buddha does not create; for he is the originator of what became this universe.
It is he who pours out the stuff of which this reality is made of.
All phenomena is symbolically represented by the primordial nature of Adi-Buddha; for all phenomena have in Adi-Buddha their collective source,
Being in a continuous, eternal co-relation with the deity, Adi-Buddha also represents the non-duality of the individual's mind and the cosmos, which are interrelated.
For your mind creates the cosmos, just as the cosmos creates the atoms of which your body consists and the air that your breath.
Who needs a king in heaven when you have Adi-Buddha being the source of reality itself?
Who needs a creator god when Adi-Buddha is the origin of the universe itself?
Adi-Buddha: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adi-Buddha
Dharmakaya: click on the label "Dharmakaya"
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