- Dhritarashtra – The Heavenly king of the Eastern Direction
- Virudhaka – The Heavenly King of the Southern Direction
- Virupaksha – The Heavenly King of the West Direction
- Vaishravana – the heavenly king of the North Direction
- Achala – One of the five wisdom kings of womb-realm
- Akshobhya Buddha – the second Dhyani Buddha
- Amitabha Buddha – the fourth Dhyani Buddhas
- Amoghasiddhi Buddha – The last of the five Dhyani Buddhas
- Ratnasambhava Buddha – The third of the five Dhyani Buddha
- Vairocana Buddha – the first of the five Dhyani Buddhas
- Aparmita Buddha – One of the three Buddhist Deities of long-life
- Avalokiteśvara – the Bodhisattva of compassion
- Amoghapasha Lokeshvara – The eight-armed form of Avalokiteshvara
- Cakrasaṃvara- The tantric emanation of Avalokiteśvara
- Cundi – The Female manifestation of Avalokiteshvara
- Sahasrabhuja Lokeshvara – thousand armed Avalokiteshvara
- Padmapani Lokeshvara – the oldest form of Avalokiteshvara
- Vajradharma Lokeshvara – A form of Avalokitesvara
- Hayagriva – the wrathful emanation of Avalokiteshvara
This article is about Vairocana Buddha – the meaning of word Vairocana, who is Vairocana Buddha, His Iconography and His mention in the ancient literature.
Meaning of the word Vairocana
In Sanskrit, Vairocana (Vi + Rocana) signifies ‘like the Sun’ or ‘pertaining to the Sun.’ Vairocana represents luminosity or the embodiment of light—the life force that brightens the universe. In Tibetan Buddhism, the Vairocana Buddha is a resplendent emblem of enlightenment, wisdom, and universal compassion. Light and radiance intimately associate with His name and attributes. He casts life-giving rays that initiate, nurture, and maintain, akin to the Sun’s role in supporting all life on Earth.
Who is Vairocana Buddha
Vairocana Buddha embodies the Buddhist concept of emptiness and the limitless aspect of reality. He is the cosmic Buddha, with the universe as his form. As the cosmic Buddha, he encourages individuals to transcend the mundane and connect with the cosmic forces that pervade the cosmos, nurturing a harmonious existence within it.
Vairocana Buddha is the essential teacher whose absence would have meant the non-existence of Buddhism and the absence of a path to enlightenment.
Vairocana Buddha is the progenitor of the other four Buddhas: Ratnasambhava, Akshobhya, Amitabha and Amoghasiddhi, earning him the title of Adi-Buddha. He encapsulates the collective essence and virtues of these Buddhas, and thus is the Supreme or Eternal Buddha. His pure white complexion symbolizes the unity of all colors of light. Through his immaculate white form, Vairocana Buddha radiates purity.
Wisdom of Vairocana Buddha
The wisdom of Vairocana Buddha embodies the Dharmadhatu – the realm of truth where all things exist as they truly are. This knowledge is pure; hence it is the Su-Vishuddha Dharma Dhatu Jnana.
Dharma Dhatu Jnana signifies the interconnectedness of all events. Vairocana Buddha personifies this wisdom, aiding individuals in transcending their personal experiences to grasp the unifying principle that unites all life.
The wisdom of Vairocana Buddha is synonymous with the all-encompassing wisdom of the Dharmakaya. In Buddhism, the Dharmakaya represents the ultimate and the most profound reality of the universe.
Iconography of Vairocana Buddha
Mudra of Vairocana Mudra
In Vajrayana Buddhism temples, the five Buddhas are arranged in a mandala, with Vairocana at the center and the other four Dhyani Buddhas at the cardinal points. Vairocana Buddha is typically larger than the surrounding Buddhas.
His hands are in the Dharmachakra mudra, the gesture of symbolizing the turning of the wheel of teaching. In this mudra, the hands are against the chest, with the tip of thumbs and index fingers of both hands touching to form a circle. The left hand, facing inward, covers the right hand, which faces outward. The other fingers are extended.
The Dharmachakra mudra symbolizes a significant event in Shakyamuni Buddha’s life—his first teaching to his disciples at Deer Park in Sarnath upon achieving enlightenment. It represents the beginning of the spread of the profound teachings of Dharma, putting the metaphorical wheel of Dharma into motion. The Buddha’s act of turning the wheel of Dharma brought light to people’s hearts, eradicating the shadows of ignorance.
Vairocana represents the idealization of the Buddha’s central role as a teacher, without which Buddhism and the path to enlightenment would not exist.
Symbol of Vairocana Buddha
The Dharmachakra symbolizes his teachings. Its eight spokes represent the Noble Eightfold Path, which Gautama Buddha expounded in his first sermon following his enlightenment.
Color of Vairocana Buddha
Vairocana Buddha is of white color, which symbolizes pure consciousness. He presides over the element of ether and personifies the skandha of consciousness.
The Throne of Vairocana Buddha
He sits upon a lotus throne, supported by the formidable might of two lions, rulers of the animal realm, whose authoritative roars command silence from all. In a similar vein, the roar of Buddha’s teachings silences the mundane voices of daily life, rendering them insignificant. These lions represent courage, audacity, and a spirit that eagerly forges ahead.
The bija, consort, spiritual son and residence of Vairocana Buddha
His bija is the universal sound Om as he embodies the wisdom of all Buddhas. His consort is White Tara, and the spiritual son is Manjushree. He resides in Aknistha Gahanaryuha heaven which exists in the center.
Is Vairocana historical buddha like Shakyamuni Buddha?
Vairocana Buddha is not a historical figure like Shakyamuni Buddha. In the Dharamalakshanna sect of Mahayana Buddhism, he is the Svabhavika Kaya of Shakyamuni Buddha. The Svabhavika Kaya represents the original, unmanifested, and inconceivable aspect of the Buddha from which all Buddhas emerge and to which they return after achieving Nirvana.
Vairocana Buddha in Ancient literature
Mahavairocana and Vajrasekhara Sutra
The doctrine of Vairocana Buddha is largely based on the teachings of the Mahavairocana Sutra and to a lesser degree on the Vajrasekhara Sutra. The Mahavairocana Sutra dates back to the seventh century. It is the earliest comprehensive manual of Buddhist Tantra. In Mahavairocana Sutra, Vairocana Buddha is the universal Buddha from whom all other Buddhas originated. He is the source of enlightenment who help others to be free from causes and conditions.
Brahmjala Sutra
The Brahmajala Sutra, a fifth-century manuscript written in Sanskrit and later translated into Chinese by Kumarajiva (read comment below to know more about him), introduces Vairocana Buddha. The text mentions,
“Now, I, Vairocana Buddha, am sitting atop a lotus pedestal. On a thousand flower surrounding me are a thousand Shakyamuni Buddha. Each flower supports a hundred million worlds. In each world, a Shakyamuni Buddha appears. All are seated beneath a Bodh-tree and all simultaneously attain Buddhahood. All these innumerable Buddhas have Vairocana as their original body.”
Avatamsaka Sutra
Vairocana is also mentioned in the Avatamsaka Sutra, a voluminous text believed to be composed by multiple authors. Its initial segment was finalized in the fifth century, with additional parts potentially appended up until the eighth century.
In the Avatamsaka Sutra, also known as the Flower Garland Sutra, Vairocana is depicted as having achieved enlightenment countless years prior and dwelling in a realm purified by Him. He oversees a gathering of innumerable Bodhisattvas.
Samantabhadra Sutra
In the Samantabhadra Meditation Sutra, also known as the Sutra of Meditation on the Bodhisattva’s Universal Virtue, Vairocana is depicted as a Buddha with characteristics akin to those of Shakyamuni Buddha. He is described as roaming in a realm named Always Tranquil Light.
Vairocana Buddha in Chinese and Japanese Buddhism
He is a prominent figure in the Chinese Huayen school of Buddhism and is also central to later schools such as Japanese Kegon and Shingon Buddhism. Vairocana is particularly revered for transforming the delusion of ignorance into the wisdom of Dharma. Over time, however, the significance of Vairocana Buddha has been overshadowed In China by the widespread devotion to Amitabha Buddha.
Teachings and Philosophies of Vairocana Buddha
Vairocana Buddha encourages the cultivation of virtues such as wisdom, compassion, and mindfulness. The goal of this spiritual journey is to attain Nirvana, a state of sublime bliss and liberation from the cycle of rebirth, achieved through a series of transformative experiences.
Reciting the Vairocana mantra offers several benefits, including the purification of the mind and body from pollutants, contributing to foster inner peace and mental clarity. It aids in overcoming obstacles and challenges by converting negative energy into positive energy. Additionally, it enhances knowledge and insight, aiding individuals in seeing the reality and achieving serenity.
References
Buddhist Deities and Masters – An introduction by Chandra B Sakya
The iconography of Nepalese Buddhism by Min Bahadur Shakya
“The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World” by William Dalrymple
While reading the book “The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World” By William Dalrymple. I realized that Kumarajiva played a significant role as a bridge between Indian and Chinese Buddhism. I am putting the excerpts from the book about Kumarajiva. I find this book very insightful and hence highly recommend it to buy and read.
“Kumarajiva (344–413) was the brilliant and prolific half-Indian translator who rendered complex Mahayana Buddhist texts such as the Lotus Sutra from Sanskrit into Chinese with far greater clarity and precision than ever before. In time this bilingual monk would become the most influential translator, transmitter and interpreter of
Buddhist texts in Chinese and one of the most celebrated of all Indian Buddhist missionaries in China. His work did much to ease the passage of Buddhism into China.
Kumarajiva was the son of a Brahmin Indian minister, probably originally from Gandhara, whose family had served as officials in the court of Kucha for many generations; his mother was a young Kucha princess, the sister of the King of the wealthy oasis who had become an independent monarch after the fall of the Kushans. Kumarajiva was born at a time of great Indian influence on Central Asia and grew up speaking both Gandhari – a form of Indian Prakrit – and Kuchean, the easternmost of Indo-European languages.
Kumarajiva’s mother was clearly a remarkable woman in her own right: brilliant, independent and forceful. According to Kumarajiva’s friend and biographer Huijiao: The king had a younger sister who had just reached the age of twenty. She was known for her sharp wits and could commit to memory things she had just seen or heard. She had a red mole on her body that was indicative of her mothering a wise child. Princes from distant kingdoms had sought her hand in marriage, but she would not consent to any. When she saw the young minister, Kumärayäna, she desired to marry him. Therefore she forced him to take her as his wife and became pregnant with Kumärajiva. Already when Kumärajiva was in the womb, his mother could feel her own mind becoming sharper.
After Kumärajiva had been initiated into spiritual field, he said that when he studied the traditional Buddhist texts ‘he was like one who does not recognise gold and considered stone to be a thing of wonder’. He made a formal conversion to Mahayana Buddhism, then returned home to Kucha to preach the new doctrine under the patronage of his uncle, the King. Here Kumarajiva found important Mahayana texts in the library, and his biographers tell many tales of the efforts made by devils to distract him from his studies.
It was Kumarajiva’s fate to live at a time of great unrest in China, known as the age of the Sixteen Kingdoms. In 384 CE, when Kumarajiva was about forty, Kucha was suddenly attacked and looted by the armies of a warlord called Lu Guang. Kumarajiva found himself seized as part of the loot and transported to the General’s capital in Gansu. There he quickly mastered Chinese. Although Kumarajiva was now a celibate monk, the General believed he was too brilliant and charismatic a figure not to have children. Kumarajiva put up resistance at first, so the General got him drunk and tempted him into sleeping with a beautiful courtesan. This was the first in a number of such incidents that eventually resulted in Kumarajiva fathering twins, thus breaking all monastic codes.
Seventeen years later, in 401, Kumarajiva was captured for a second time, and this time he was transported to the Chinese capital, Chang’an, on the orders of the Emperor Yao Xing. Fortunately in the Emperor he found a patron who not only venerated him as a powerful acharya or guru, but also understood the value of his rare linguistic talents. The Emperor put Kumarajiva in charge of an office of translation, summoning several thousand talented translator monks and theological specialists from across China and Central Asia to work alongside him, including his Kashmiri friend Dharmamitra, also from Kucha, and several of his former Mahayana students from Kashgar. The greatest Mahayana master of the day, Huiyuan, added his thoughts in a lengthy correspondence with Kumarajiva that itself went on to become a classic Mahayana text. All the scholars were provided with writing materials as well as a corps of editors and copyists.
Soon a remarkable body of scholars had gathered and a highly structured method of working was established. Doctrinal and theological issues were debated; old and flawed translations were compared to Sanskrit originals, and Daoist terminology and concepts alien to the original texts were weeded out. Kumarajiva also became famous for teaching advanced techniques of meditation. For thirteen years, until his death in 413, Kumarajiva and his fellow translators laboured away. The result was a series of 300 translated works notable for their quality as much as their quantity, and remarkable for their spectacular fluency and readability, quite free from the technical vocabulary for which higher Buddhist theology is often notorious. Kumarajiva felt free to edit portions that appeared verbose to Chinese ears, while retaining their essential ideas. This led some monastic pedants and puritans to make unkind jokes linking the looseness of Kumarajiva’s translations to the looseness of his morals.
Kumarajiva’s version of the Lotus Sutra is still in common use across China today and is preferred by many Buddhists to more accurate but less fluent later reworkings