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113-591: Originally a minor deity described as a messenger or acolyte of the buddha Vairocana , Acala later rose to prominence as an object of veneration in his own right as a remover of obstacles and destroyer of evil, eventually becoming seen as the wrathful manifestation of either Vairocana, the buddha Akṣobhya , or the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī . In later texts, he is also called Caṇḍaroṣaṇa ( चण्डरोषण , "Violent Wrathful One", IPA: [t͜ɕɐɳɖɐˈroːʂɐɳɐ] ) or Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇa ( चण्डमहारोषण , "Violent One of Great Wrath", IPA: [t͜ɕɐɳɖɐmɐɦaːˈroːʂɐɳɐ] ),

226-559: A Vietnamese Buddhist monk in the Zen tradition, who states that "Buddha was not a god. He was a human being like you and me, and he suffered just as we do." In a similar fashion, Jack Maguire, a Western monk of the Mountains and Rivers Order in New York, writes that Buddha is inspirational based on his humanness: A fundamental part of Buddhism's appeal to billions of people over the past two and

339-520: A "three-pronged vajra sword" ( 三鈷剣 , sanko-ken ) . In some cases, he is seen holding the "Kurikara sword" (倶利伽羅剣, Kurikara-ken ), a sword with the dragon ( nāga ) king Kurikara (倶利伽羅; Sanskrit: Kulikāla-rāja or Kṛkāla-rāja ) coiled around it. The flaming nimbus or halo behind Acala is commonly known in Japanese as the " Garuda flame" (迦楼羅炎, karura-en ) after the mythical fire-breathing bird from Indian mythology. There are two main variations in

452-463: A Buddha is considered to be a transcendent being, who is all-knowing , immeasurably powerful , with an eternal lifespan. His wisdom light is said to pervade the cosmos, and his great compassion and skillful means are limitless. This transcendent being is not understood as having a normal physical human body, instead, Mahayana defends a kind of docetism , in which the Buddha's life on earth (as Shakyamuni)

565-399: A Buddha is fully awakened and has completely purified his mind of the three poisons of craving , aversion and ignorance . A Buddha is no longer bound by saṃsāra , and has ended the suffering which unawakened people experience in life. Most schools of Buddhism have also held that the Buddha was omniscient . However, the early texts contain explicit repudiations of making this claim of

678-526: A Buddha. The Mahayana tradition generally follows the list of "Twelve Great Buddha Acts" (Skt. dvadaśabuddhakārya ). These are: The Pali suttas do not have such a list, but the Theravada commentarial tradition lists 30 obligatory acts of a Buddha. Various Mahayana sutras and treatises contain explanations of the nature of a Buddha and the various attributes which Buddhas are said to have. These attributes are significantly different and more exalted than

791-406: A classic list of " supernormal knowledges " (Skt. abhijñā , Pali : abhiññā ) that a Buddha has attained through spiritual practice. There is an ancient list of "six classes of superknowledge" (Pali: chalabhiññā, Skt. ṣaḍabhijña) that Buddhas have which are found in various Buddhist sources. These are: Buddhist texts include numerous stories of the Buddha's miracles , which include displays of

904-423: A clepsydra (see water clock ), which ultimately exerted force on a lug to rotate toothed-gears on a polar-axis shaft. With this, the slow computational movement rotated the armillary sphere according to the recorded movements of the planets and stars. Yi Xing also owed much to the scholarly followers of Ma Jun, who had employed horizontal jack-wheels and other mechanical toys worked by waterwheels. The Daoist Li Lan

1017-417: A half millennia is the fact that the central figure, commonly referred to by the title "Buddha", was not a god, or a special kind of spiritual being, or even a prophet or an emissary of one. On the contrary, he was a human being like the rest of us who quite simply woke up to full aliveness. The various Buddhist schools hold some varying interpretations on the nature of Buddha. All Buddhist traditions hold that

1130-478: A later stratum (between 1st and 2nd century BCE) called the Buddhavamsa , twenty-one more Buddhas were added to the list of seven names in the early texts. Theravada tradition maintains that there can be up to five Buddhas in a kalpa or world age and that the current kalpa has had four Buddhas, with the current Buddha, Gotama, being the fourth and the future Buddha Metteyya being the fifth and final Buddha of

1243-534: A noose or lasso ( pāśa ) and an upraised sword. Some depictions portray him trampling on the elephant-headed Vighnarāja (lit. "Ruler of Hindrances", a Buddhist equivalent god Vinyaka , albeit interpreted negatively as one who causes obstacles), signifying his role as the destroyer of impediments to enlightenment. He may also be shown wearing a tiger skin, with snakes coiled around his arms and body. By contrast, portrayals of Acala (Fudō) in Japan generally tend to conform to

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1356-550: A question, and always in meditation ( samādhi ). A doctrine ascribed to the Mahāsāṃghikas is, "The power of the tathāgatas is unlimited, and the life of the buddhas is unlimited." According to Guang Xing, two main aspects of the Buddha can be seen in Mahāsāṃghika teachings: the true Buddha who is omniscient and immeasurably powerful, and the manifested forms through which he liberates sentient beings through skillful means. For

1469-519: A red (赤不動, Aka-Fudō ) or yellow (黄不動, Ki-Fudō ) complexion. The most famous example of the Aka-Fudō portrayal is a painting kept at Myōō-in on Mount Kōya ( Wakayama Prefecture ) traditionally attributed to the Heian period Tendai monk Enchin . Legend claims that Enchin, inspired by a vision of Acala, painted the image using his own blood (thus explaining its red color), though recent analysis suggests that

1582-491: A teacher to point out the dharma. A samyaksambuddha re-discovers the truths and the path to awakening on their own, and then teaches these to others after his awakening. A pratyekabuddha also reaches nirvana through his own efforts, but is unable or unwilling to teach the dharma to others. An arhat needs to follow the teaching of a Buddha to attain Nirvana, and may also preach the dharma after attaining nirvana. In one instance

1695-463: A threatening gesture at Vasudhā [i.e. the earth], Kneeling on the cap of his left knee. He has Akṣobhya for his crest jewel; He is of blue color and wears a jewel diadem. "A princely youth, Wearing Five Braids of Hair, Adorned with all the ornaments, He appears to be sixteen years old, And his eyes are red—he, the powerful one." In Nepalese and Tibetan art, Acala is usually shown either kneeling on his left knee or standing astride, bearing

1808-466: Is a cog-wheel (chi lun) with 43 (teeth). There are also hooks, pins, and interlocking rods one holding another (kou chien chiao tsho hsiang chhih). Each (wheel) moves the next without reliance on any human force. The fastest wheel turns round each day through 2928 teeth (chhih), the slowest one moves by 1 tooth in every 5 days. Such a great difference is there between the speed of the wheels, yet all of them depend on one single driving mechanism. In precision,

1921-466: Is a good summary of the deity's depiction in South Asian Buddhist art. "His right hand is terrifying with a sword in it, His left is holding a noose; He is making a threatening gesture with his index finger, And bites his lower lip with his fangs. "Kicking with his right foot, He is smashing the four Māras . His left knee is on the ground. Squint eyed, he inspires fear. "He points

2034-455: Is all pervasive. This view can be found in numerous Mahāyāna sources, like the Avatamsaka sutra . Mahāyāna buddhology mainly understands the Buddha through the "three bodies" ( trikaya ) framework. In this framework, the historical Buddha or other Buddhas who appear human are understood docetically as magical "transformation bodies" ( nirmanakaya ). Meanwhile, the real or ultimate Buddha

2147-538: Is also someone who fully understands the Dharma , the true nature of all things or phenomena ( dharmas ), the ultimate truth . Buddhahood (Sanskrit: buddhatva; Pali : buddhatta or buddhabhāva ; Chinese : 成佛 ) is the condition and state of a buddha. This highest spiritual state of being is also termed sammā-sambodhi (Sanskrit: samyaksaṃbodhi; "full, complete awakening") and is interpreted in many different ways across schools of Buddhism . The title of "Buddha"

2260-606: Is an Ashoka pillar at the site today. Ashoka's inscription in the Brahmi script is on the fragment of the pillar still partly buried in the ground. The inscription made when Emperor Asoka at Nigali Sagar in 249 BCE records his visit, the enlargement of a stupa dedicated to the Kanakamuni Buddha, and the erection of a pillar. Yi Xing Yi Xing ( Chinese : 一行 ; pinyin : Yī Xíng ; Wade–Giles : I-Hsing , 683–727), born Zhang Sui ( Chinese : 張遂 ),

2373-452: Is an important observance, but perhaps not as much as the observance of "seven times seven days" (i.e. 49 days) signifying the end of the "intermediate state" ( bardo ). Literature on Shingon Buddhist ritual will explain that Sanskrit "seed syllables", mantras and mudras are attendant to each of the Buddhas for each observance period. But the scholarly consensus seems to be that invocation of

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2486-498: Is commonly shown as having either black or blue skin (the Sādhanamālā describes his color as being "like that of the atasī ( flax ) flower," which may be either yellow or blue), though he may be at times portrayed in other colors. In Tibet, for instance, a variant of the kneeling Acala depiction shows him as being white in hue "like sunrise on a snow mountain reflecting many rays of light". In Japan, some images may depict Acala sporting

2599-487: Is disagreement among scholars regarding this issue, as well on the general relationship between Buddhism and theism . Since Buddhas remain accessible, a Mahāyānist can direct prayers to them, as well as experience visions and revelations from them. This has been very influential in the history of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Furthermore, a Mahāyāna devotee can also aspire to be reborn in a Buddha's Pure Land or Buddha field ( buddhakṣetra ), where they can strive towards Buddhahood in

2712-431: Is identified in one text as "the lord of the various categories [of gods ]." An iconographic depiction known as the "Two-Headed Rāgarāja " (両頭愛染, Ryōzu Aizen or Ryōtō Aizen ) shows Acala combined with the wisdom king Rāgarāja (Aizen). Acala is sometimes described as having a retinue of acolytes, the number of which vary between sources, usually two or eight but sometimes thirty-six or even forty-eight. These represent

2825-475: Is most commonly used for Gautama Buddha , the historical founder of Buddhism, who is often simply known as "the Buddha". The title is also used for other beings who have achieved awakening and liberation (or vimoksha ), such as the other human Buddhas who achieved enlightenment before Gautama; members of the Five Buddha Families such as Amitabha ; and the bodhisattva Maitreya , known as the "Buddha of

2938-474: Is otherwise not shown to the public, though copies of it have been made. One such copy, made in the 12th century, is kept at Manshu-in in Kyoto . The deity is usually depicted with one head and two arms, though a few portrayals show him with multiple heads, arms or legs. In Japan, a depiction of Acala with four arms is employed in subjugation rituals and earth-placating rituals (安鎮法, anchin-hō ); this four-armed form

3051-434: Is red-skinned and holds a vajra in his left hand and a vajra staff in his right hand. The two are said to symbolize both Dharma-essence and ignorance, respectively, and is held to be in charge of good and evil. Kiṃkara and Ceṭaka are also sometimes interpreted as transformations or emanations of Acala himself. In a sense, they reflect Acala's original characterization as an attendant of Vairocana; indeed, their servile nature

3164-438: Is reflected in their names ( Ceṭaka for instance means "slave") and their topknots, the mark of banished people and slaves. In other texts, they are also described as manifestations of Avalokiteśvara ( Kannon ) and Vajrapāṇi or as transformations of the dragon Kurikara, who is himself sometimes seen as one of Acala's various incarnations. Two other notable dōji are Matijvala (恵光童子, Ekō-dōji ) and Matisādhu (恵喜童子, Eki-dōji ),

3277-466: Is said to be a powerful deity who protects the faithful by burning away all impediments ( antarāya ) and defilements ( kleśa ), thus aiding them towards enlightenment. In a commentary on the Mahāvairocana Tantra by Yi Xing , he is said to have manifested in the world following Vairocana's vow to save all beings, and that his primary function is to remove obstacles to enlightenment. Indeed,

3390-602: Is the Dharmakaya , the body of ultimate reality. Thus, the Ratnagotravibhāga ( Analysis of the Jeweled Lineage ), a key Mahāyāna treatise, defines the Buddha as "the uncompounded (asamskrta), and spontaneous (anabhoga) Dharmakaya" and as "self-enlightened and self-arisen wisdom (jñana), compassion and power for the benefit of others." This ultimate awakened reality is understood and interpreted in numerous different ways by

3503-673: Is the formless Dharmakāya identical with space , he has no fixed abode; his only dwelling is within the hearts of sentient beings. Although the minds and inclinations of sentient beings differ from each other, in accordance with each one's desires, he bestows blessings ( 利益 , riyaku ) and provides whatever is being sought. At that time, the great assembly, having heard this sūtra, rejoiced greatly, faithfully accepted it, and put it into practice. The bīja or seed syllables used to represent Acala in Japanese Buddhism are hāṃ ( हां / हाँ ) and hāmmāṃ ( हाम्मां / हाम्माँ ),

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3616-523: The Acchariyābbhūtasutta of the Majjhimanikāya along with its Chinese Madhyamāgama parallel is the most ancient source for the Mahāsāṃghika view. The sutra mentions various miracles performed by the Buddha before his birth and after. The Chinese version even calls him Bhagavan , which suggests the idea that the Buddha was already awakened before descending down to earth to be born. Similarly,

3729-686: The Amoghapāśakalparāja Sūtra and the Vairocanābhisaṃbodhi Sūtra . As Caṇḍaroṣaṇa or Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇa, he is the primary deity of the Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇa Tantra and is described in the Sādhanamālā . The Japanese esoteric Buddhist tradition and Shugendō also make use of the following apocryphal sutras on Acala: At that time, in the great assembly [of Vairocana], there was a great wisdom king. This great wisdom king possesses great majestic power (大威力, daiiriki ). Having

3842-606: The Chinese translation of Sanskrit Acala(nātha) Vidyārāja ), while in Japan, he is called Fudō Myōō , the on'yomi reading of his Chinese name. Acala (as Fudō) is one of the especially important and well-known divinities in Japanese Buddhism , being especially venerated in the Shingon , Tendai , Zen , and Nichiren sects, as well as in Shugendō . Acala has been worshiped throughout

3955-587: The Five Great Buddhas , who appear both as gentle bodhisattvas to teach the Dharma and also as fierce wrathful deities to subdue and convert hardened nonbelievers. Under this conceptualization, vidyārājas are ranked superior to dharmapalas ( 護法善神 , gohō zenshin ) , a different class of guardian deities. However, this interpretation, while common in Japan, is not necessarily universal: in Nichiren-shū , for instance, Acala and Rāgarāja (Aizen Myōō),

4068-560: The Fudō-hō ( 不動法 ) , or ritual service to enlist the deity's power of purification to benefit the faithful. This rite routinely involves the use of the Homa ritual ( 護摩 , goma ) as a purification tool. Lay persons or monks in yamabushi gear who go into rigorous training outdoors in the mountains often pray to small Acala statues or portable talismans that serve as his honzon . This element of yamabushi training, known as Shugendō , predates

4181-483: The Mahāvairocana Tantra and Yi Xing's commentary on the text ("with his lower [right] tooth he bites the upper-right side of his lip, and with his left [-upper tooth he bites] his lower lip which sticks out"), these attributes were mostly absent in Chinese and earlier Japanese icons. Acala's mismatched eyes and fangs were allegorically interpreted to signify both the duality and nonduality of his nature (and of all reality):

4294-469: The Simpsapa sutta states that the Buddha had way more knowledge than what he taught to his disciples. The Mahāsāṃghikas took this further and argued that the Buddha knew the dharmas of innumerable other Buddhas of the ten directions. Mahāyāna Buddhism generally follows the Mahāsāṃghika ideal of the Buddha being a transcendent and all-knowing (sarvajña) being with unlimited spiritual powers. Guang Xing describes

4407-561: The Song dynasty (960–1279) era historical text of the Song Shi mentions Yi Xing and the reason why his armillary sphere did not survive the ages after the Tang (Wade–Giles spelling): A jade balancing mechanism (yu heng)(ie. the escapement) is erected behind (lit. outside) a curtain, holding and resisting (chhih o) the main scoops (shu tou). Water pours down rotating the wheel (chu shui chi lun). Lower, there

4520-610: The Three Kingdoms , and the Daoist Li Lan (c. 450) of the Southern and Northern Dynasties period. It was the earlier Chinese inventor Zhang Heng during the Han dynasty who was the first to apply hydraulic power (i.e. a waterwheel and water clock ) in mechanically-driving and rotating his equatorial armillary sphere . The arrangement followed the model of a water-wheel using the drip of

4633-487: The abhiññās, healings, elemental magic (such as manipulating fire and water), and various other supernatural phenomena, traveling to higher realms of Buddhist cosmology , and others. One of the most famous of these miracles was the Twin Miracle at Sāvatthī , in which the Buddha emitted fire from the top of his body and water from his lower body simultaneously, before alternating them and then expanding them to illuminate

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4746-524: The dharmas of the countless buddhas of the ten directions." It is also stated, "All buddhas have one body, the body of the Dharma." The concept of many bodhisattvas simultaneously working toward Buddhahood is also found among the Mahāsāṃghika tradition, and further evidence of this is given in the Samayabhedoparacanacakra , which describes the doctrines of the Mahāsāṃghikas. Guang Xing writes that

4859-473: The kalpa . This would make the current aeon a bhadrakalpa (fortunate aeon). In some Sanskrit and northern Buddhist traditions however, a bhadrakalpa has up to 1,000 Buddhas, with the Buddhas Gotama and Metteyya also being the fourth and fifth Buddhas of the kalpa respectively. The Koṇāgamana Buddha , is mentioned in a 3rd-century BCE inscription by Ashoka at Nigali Sagar , in today's Nepal . There

4972-572: The main deity ( honzon ) at many temples and outdoor shrines. Acala, as a powerful vanquisher of evil, was regarded both as a protector of the imperial court and the nation as a whole (in which capacity he was invoked during state-sponsored rituals) and the personal guardian of ritual practitioners. Many eminent Buddhist priests like Kūkai, Kakuban , Ennin , Enchin, and Sōō worshiped Acala as their patron deity, and stories of how he miraculously rescued his devotees in times of danger were widely circulated. At temples dedicated to Acala, priests perform

5085-474: The sanrinjin (三輪身, "bodies of the three wheels") theory, based on Amoghavajra's writings and prevalent in Japanese esoteric Buddhism ( Mikkyō ), interprets Acala as an incarnation of Vairocana. In this system, the five chief vidyārājas or Wisdom Kings (明王, Myōō ), of which Acala is one, are interpreted as the wrathful manifestations (教令輪身, kyōryōrin-shin , lit. ""embodiments of the wheel of injunction") of

5198-580: The "Thirteen Buddhas" had evolved later, around the 14th century and became widespread by the following century, so it is doubtful that this practice was part of Kūkai's original teachings. Bùdòng Míngwáng (Acala) worship in China was first introduced into China during the Tang dynasty after the translation of esoteric tantras associated with him by monks such as Amoghavajra and Vajrabodhi. Iconography of Acala has been depicted infrequently in some temples and grottoes from

5311-560: The 9th century have this to say of Yi Xing's work in astronomical instruments in the 8th century (Wade–Giles spelling): One (of these) was made in the image of the round heavens (yuan thien chih hsiang) and on it were shown the lunar mansions (hsiu) in their order, the equator and the degrees of the heavenly circumference. Water, flowing (into scoops), turned a wheel automatically (chu shui chi lun, ling chhi tzu chuan), rotating it (the sphere) one complete revolution in one day and night. Besides this, there were two rings (lit. wheels) fitted round

5424-416: The Buddha as a supreme person who is neither a God in the theistic sense, nor a deva , nor a regular human . Thus, the Buddha is seen as a very special and unique class of persons called a "great person" (mahāpurisa). Andrew Skilton writes that the Buddha was never historically regarded by Buddhist traditions as being merely human. Instead, he is seen as having many supranormal powers ( siddhi ), such as

5537-692: The Buddha as having ten characteristics (Ch./Jp. 十號). These characteristics are frequently mentioned in the Pāli Canon as well as in other early Buddhist sources as well as in Mahayana texts , and are chanted daily in many Buddhist monasteries. The ten epithets are: The tenth epithet is sometimes listed as "The World Honored Enlightened One" (Skt. Buddha-Lokanatha ) or "The Blessed Enlightened One" (Skt. Buddha-Bhagavan ). According to various Buddhist texts, upon reaching Buddhahood each Buddha performs various acts ( buddhacarita ) during his life to complete his duty as

5650-504: The Buddha in Mahāyāna as an omnipotent and almighty divinity "endowed with numerous supernatural attributes and qualities". Mahāyāna cosmology also includes innumerable Buddhas who reside in innumerable buddha fields ( buddha kshetra ). The Mahāyāna Lotus Sutra , for example, says the lifespan of the Buddha is immeasurable. It also says that the Buddha actually achieved Buddhahood countless eons ( kalpas ) ago and has already been teaching

5763-489: The Buddha is equipped with the following supernatural qualities: transcendence ( lokottara ), lack of defilements, all of his utterances preaching his teaching , expounding all his teachings in a single utterance, all of his sayings being true, his physical body being limitless, his power ( prabhāva ) being limitless, the length of his life being limitless, never tiring of enlightening sentient beings and awakening pure faith in them, having no sleep or dreams, no pause in answering

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5876-411: The Buddha. Mahāyāna buddhology expands the powers of a Buddha exponentially, seeing them as having unlimited lifespan and all-pervasive omniscient wisdom, as omnipotent, and as able to produce an infinite number of magical manifestations (nirmanakayas) as well as being able to produce pure lands (heaven-like realms for bodhisattvas). The Early Buddhist texts (and other later sources as well) contain

5989-437: The Dharma through his numerous manifestations ( nirmana ) for eons. In spite of this transcendent nature, Mahāyāna also affirms the immanent nature of Buddhahood in all beings (through the doctrine of Buddha-nature , which is seen as something that all beings have). This view of an immanent Buddha essence in all normal human beings is common throughout East Asian Buddhism . The myriad Buddhas are also seen as active in

6102-460: The Japanese Fudō sits or stands erect, suggesting motionlessness and rigidity. The sword he wields may or may not be flaming and is sometimes described generically as a "jeweled sword" ( 宝剣 , hōken ) or " vajra sword" ( 金剛剣 , kongō-ken ) , which is descriptive of the fact that the sword's pommel is in the shape of the talon-like vajra (金剛杵, kongō-sho ). It may also be referred to as

6215-586: The Mahāsaṃghikas, the historical Gautama Buddha was one of these transformation bodies (Skt. nirmāṇakāya ), while the essential real Buddha is equated with the Dharmakāya . As in Mahāyāna traditions, the Mahāsāṃghikas held the doctrine of the existence of many contemporaneous buddhas throughout the ten directions. In the Mahāsāṃghika Lokānuvartana Sūtra , it is stated, "The Buddha knows all

6328-575: The Middle Ages and into modern times in Nepal, Tibet, China and Japan, where sculptural and pictorial representations of him are most often found. Acala first appears in the Amoghapāśakalparāja Sūtra (不空羂索神変真言經, pinyin : Bùkōng juànsuǒ shénbiàn zhēnyán jīng , translated by Bodhiruci circa 707-709 CE), where he is described as a servant or messenger of the buddha Vairocana : The first from

6441-613: The Tang through to contemporaneous times, usually as part of a set depicting the Eight Wisdom Kings or Ten Wisdom Kings , In modern times, he is revered as one of the eight Buddhist guardians of the Chinese zodiac and specifically considered to be the protector of those born in the year of the Rooster. He is also frequently invoked during Chinese Buddhist repentance ceremonies, such as the Liberation Rite of Water and Land , along with

6554-640: The Tao of Heaven, everyone at that time praised its ingenuity. When it was all completed (in +725) it was called the 'Water-Driven Spherical Bird's-Eye-View Map of the Heavens (Shui Yun Hun Thien Fu Shih Thu) or 'Celestial Sphere Model Water-Engine' and was set up in front of the Wu Chheng Hall (of the Palace) to be seen by the multitude of officials. Candidates in the imperial examinations (in +730) were asked to write an essay on

6667-436: The bell being struck automatically to indicate the hours, and the drum being beaten automatically to indicate the quarters. All these motions were brought about (by machinery) within the casing, each depending on wheels and shafts (lun chu), hooks, pins and interlocking rods (kou chien chiao tsho), coupling devices and locks checking mutually (kuan so hsiang chhih)(ie. the escapement). Since (the clock) showed good agreement with

6780-456: The best possible conditions. This practice is the central element of East Asian Pure Land Buddhism . Some modern Buddhists have argued that the Buddha was just a human being, albeit a very wise one. This is a common view in Buddhist modernism , which sought to teach a form of Buddhism that was modern , rational and scientific . One figure who sees Buddha as mainly human is Thích Nhất Hạnh ,

6893-407: The celestial (sphere) outside, having the sun and moon threaded on them, and there were made to move in circling orbit (ling te yun hsing). Each day as the celestial (sphere) turned one revolution westwards, the sun made its way one degree eastwards, and the moon 13 and 7/19 degrees (eastwards). After 29 and a fraction rotations (of the celestial sphere) the sun and moon met. After it made 365 rotations

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7006-437: The common Theravada goal of individual liberation, or arhatship . Buddhahood is the state of an awakened being, who, having found the path of cessation of dukkha ("suffering", as created by attachment to desires and distorted perception and thinking) is in the state of "no-more-Learning". There is a broad spectrum of opinion on the nature of Buddhahood, its universality, and the method of attaining Buddhahood among

7119-580: The cosmos. Mahayana sutras contain even more extensive miracles. In the Vimalakirti Sutra , the Buddha display the true pure nature of his " buddha field " to everyone on earth, who suddenly beholds the world as a perfect world filled with jewels and other majestic features. Likewise, in the Lotus Sutra , the Buddha shakes the earth and shines a beam of light which illuminates thousands of "buddha-fields". Some Buddhists meditate on (or contemplate)

7232-594: The current kalpa (Pali: kappa, meaning eon or "age") called the good eon ( bhaddakappa ) and three are from past eons. One sutta called Chakkavatti-Sīhanāda Sutta from an early Buddhist text called the Digha Nikaya also mentions that following the Seven Buddhas of Antiquity, a Buddha named Maitreya is predicted to arise in the world. However, according to a text in the Theravada Buddhist tradition from

7345-515: The deity is Oṃ caṇḍa-mahā­roṣaṇa hūṃ phaṭ , found in the Siddhaikavīra Tantra . The text describes it as the "king of mantras" that dispels all evil and grants "whatever the follower of Mantrayāna desires". Fudō Myōō (Acala), was never popular in Indian, Tibetan or even Chinese Buddhism, but in Japan it became the object of a flourishing cult with esoteric overtones. The cult of Acala

7458-524: The description given in the Amoghapāśakalparāja Sūtra and the Mahāvairocana Tantra : holding a lasso and a sword while sitting or standing on a rock (盤石座, banjakuza ) or a pile of hewn stones (瑟瑟座, shitsushitsuza ), with his braided hair hanging from the left of his head. He may also be depicted with a lotus flower - a symbol of enlightenment - on his head (頂蓮, chōren ). Unlike the South Asian Acala, whose striding posture conveys movement and dynamism,

7571-416: The destroyer of the strength of demons" who slays ghosts and evil spirits with his fierce anger. In Tibetan Buddhism , Acala or Miyowa (མི་གཡོ་བ་, Wylie : mi g.yo ba ) is considered as belonging to the vajrakula ("vajra family", Tibetan: དོ་རྗེའི་རིགས་, dorjé rik ; Wylie: rdo rje'i rigs ), one of the Five Buddha Families presided over by the buddha Akṣobhya and may even be regarded, along with

7684-652: The different Mahayana schools. The Buddha-nature doctrines of Mahayana Buddhism also consider Buddhahood to be a universal and innate property which is immanent in all beings. Most Buddhists do not consider Gautama Buddha to have been the only Buddha. The Pāli Canon refers to many previous ones (see list of the named Buddhas ), while the Mahayana tradition additionally has many Buddhas of celestial origin (see Amitābha or Vairocana as examples. For lists of many thousands of Buddha names see Taishō Tripiṭaka numbers 439–448). The Theravada Buddhist tradition generally sees

7797-439: The elemental, untamed forces of nature that the ritual practitioner seeks to harness. The two boy servants or dōji (童子) most commonly depicted in Japanese iconographic portrayals are Kiṃkara ( 矜羯羅童子 , Kongara-dōji ) and Ceṭaka ( 吒迦童子 , Seitaka-dōji ) , who also appear as the last two of the list of Acala's eight great dōji . Kiṃkara is depicted as white in color, with his hands joined in respect , while Ceṭaka

7910-430: The engine can be compared with Nature itself (lit. the maker of all things; tsao wu che). As for the rest, it is much the same as the apparatus made (long ago) by I-Hsing. But that old design employed mainly bronze and iron, which corroded and rusted so that the machine ceased to be able to move automatically. The modern plan substitutes hard wood for these parts, as beautiful as jade... Earlier Tang era historical texts of

8023-409: The fallibility of arhats. Of the 48 special theses attributed by the Indian scholar Vasumitra to the Mahāsāṃghika sects of Ekavyāvahārika , Lokottaravāda , and Kukkuṭika , 20 points concern the supramundane nature of buddhas and bodhisattvas. According to Vasumitra, these four groups held that the Buddha is able to know all dharmas in a single moment of the mind. Yao Zhihua writes: In their view,

8136-644: The figure of a stout young boy. The deity was apparently popular in India during the 8th-9th centuries as evident by the fact that six of the Sanskrit texts translated by the esoteric master Amoghavajra into Chinese are devoted entirely to him. Indeed, Acala's rise to a more prominent position in the Esoteric pantheon in East Asian Buddhism may be credited in part to the writings of Amoghavajra and his teacher Vajrabodhi .

8249-412: The first escapement came, in +725 (AD), I-Hsing and Liang Ling-tsan arranged for two jacks to strike the hours, standing on the horizon surface of their sphere or globe. In regards to mercury instead of water (as noted in the quote above), the first to apply liquid mercury for motive power of an armillary sphere was Zhang Sixun in 979 AD (because mercury would not freeze during winter). During his age,

8362-472: The first two of Acala's eight great acolytes. Matijvala is depicted as white in color and holds a three-pronged vajra in his right hand and a lotus topped with a moon disk on his left, while Matisādhu is red and holds a trident in his right hand and a wish-fulfilling jewel ( cintāmaṇi ) on his left. The eight acolytes as a whole symbolize the eight directions, with Matijvala and Matisādhu representing east and south, respectively. As noted above, Acala appears in

8475-434: The future who will attain awakening at a future time." In Theravada Buddhism , a Buddha is commonly understood as a being with the deepest spiritual wisdom about the nature of reality who has transcended rebirth and all suffering . He is also seen as having many miraculous and magical powers . However, a living Buddha has the limitations of a physical body, will feel pain, get old and die. In Mahayana Buddhism however,

8588-656: The gods (devas) and humans since he has attained the highest liberation, whereas the gods are still subject to anger, fear, and sorrow. In the Madhupindika Sutta (MN 18), Buddha is described in powerful terms as the Lord of the Dhamma and the bestower of immortality. Similarly, in the Anuradha Sutta (SN 44.2), Gautama Buddha is described as the "supreme man" and the "attainer of the superlative attainment". Because he has attained

8701-467: The guardian deity Vajrapani to be other, more likely prototypes for Acala. He notes: "one could theoretically locate Acala's origins in a generic Śiva , but only in the sense that all Tantric deities can in one way or another be traced back to Śiva ." Faure compares Acala to Vajrapani in that both were originally minor deities who eventually came to occupy important places in the Buddhist pantheon. Acala

8814-569: The highest spiritual knowledge, the Buddha is also identified with the Dhamma (the most fundamental reality) In the Vakkali Sutta (SN 22.87). In the early Buddhist schools , the Mahāsāṃghika branch regarded the buddhas as being characterized primarily by their supramundane ( lokottara ) nature. The Mahāsāṃghikas advocated the transcendental and supramundane nature of the buddhas and bodhisattvas and

8927-507: The iconography of Acala / Fudō in Japan. The first type (observable in the earliest extant Japanese images of the deity) shows him with wide open, glaring eyes, straight hair braided in rows and two fangs pointed in the same direction; a lotus flower rests above his head. The second type (which first appeared in the late 9th century and became increasingly common during the late Heian and Kamakura periods), by contrast, portrays Acala with curly hair, one eye wide open and/or looking upwards, with

9040-464: The idea that the lifespan of a Buddha is limitless is also based on ancient ideas, such as the Mahāparinirvānasūtra's statement that the Buddha's lifespan is as long as an eon ( kalpa ) but that he voluntarily allowed his life to end. Another early source for the Mahāsāṃghika view that a Buddha was a transcendent being is the idea of the thirty-two major marks of a Buddha's body. Furthermore,

9153-672: The image may have been actually created much later, during the Kamakura period . The most well-known image of the Ki-Fudō type, meanwhile, is enshrined in Mii-dera (Onjō-ji) at the foot of Mount Hiei in Shiga Prefecture and is said to have been based on another vision that Enchin saw while practicing austerities in 838. The original Mii-dera Ki-Fudō is traditionally only shown to esoteric masters ( ācārya ; 阿闍梨, ajari ) during initiation rites and

9266-433: The introduction of Acala to Japan. At this time, figures such as Zaō Gongen ( 蔵王権現 ) , who appeared before the sect's founder, En no Gyōja , or Vairocana, were commonly worshiped. Once Acala was added to list of deities typically enshrined by the yamabushi monks, his images were either portable, or installed in hokora (outdoor shrines). These statues would often be placed near waterfalls (a common training ground), deep in

9379-452: The latter being a combination of the two final bīja in his mantra: hāṃ māṃ ( हां मां ). Hāṃ is sometimes confounded with the similar-looking hūṃ (हूं), prompting some writers to mistakenly identify Acala with other deities. The syllables are written using the Siddham script and is conventionally read as kān (カーン) and kānmān (カーンマーン). Three mantras of Acala are considered to be

9492-486: The mantra-lord (i.e., Vairocana), in the direction of Nairṛti (i.e., southwest), Is Acala, the Tathāgata's servant (不動如來使): he holds a wisdom sword and a noose ( pāśa ), The hair from the top of his head hangs down on his left shoulder, and with one eye he looks fixedly; Awesomely wrathful, his body [is enveloped in] fierce flames, and he rests on a rock; His face is marked with [a frown like] waves on water, and he has

9605-472: The mechanical engineer and politician Liang Lingzan , is best known for applying the earliest-known escapement mechanism to a water-powered celestial globe . However, Yi Xing's mechanical achievements were built upon the knowledge and efforts of previous Chinese mechanical engineers, such as the statesman and master of gear systems Zhang Heng (78–139) of the Han dynasty , the mechanical engineer Ma Jun (200–265) of

9718-410: The mountains and in caves. The daimyo Takeda Shingen is known to have taken Fudō Myōō as his patron (particularly when he transitioned to being a lay monk in his later years), and has commissioned a statue of Fudō that is supposedly modelled after his face. Acala also tops the list of Thirteen Buddhas . Thus Shingon Buddhist mourners assign Fudō to the first seven days of service. The first week

9831-629: The names by which he is more commonly known in countries like Nepal and Tibet . In East Asian esoteric Buddhism , Acala is classed among the Wisdom Kings ( Vidyārāja ) and is preeminent among the five Wisdom Kings of the Womb Realm . Accordingly, he occupies an important hierarchical position in the Mandala of the Two Realms . In China , he is known as Bùdòng Míngwáng (不動明王, "Immovable Wisdom King",

9944-474: The new armillary (clock). But not very long afterwards the mechanism of bronze and iron began to corrode and rust, so that the instrument could no longer rotate automatically. It was therefore relegated to the (museum of the) College of All Sages (Chi Hsien Yuan) and went out of use. Yi Xing wrote a commentary on the Mahavairocana Tantra . This work had a strong influence on the Japanese monk Kūkai and

10057-514: The other Wisdom Kings where they are given offerings and intreated to expel evil from the ritual platform. Buddhahood In Buddhism , Buddha ( / ˈ b uː d ə , ˈ b ʊ d ə / , which in classic Indic languages means "awakened one") is a title for those who are spiritually awake or enlightened , and have thus attained the supreme goal of Buddhism, variously described as nirvana ("blowing out"), bodhi (awakening, enlightenment), and liberation ( vimutti, vimoksa ). A Buddha

10170-512: The other deities of the kula , as an aspect or emanation of the latter. He is thus sometimes depicted in South Asian art wearing a crown with an effigy of Akṣobhya. In Nepal , Acala may also be identified as a manifestation of the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī . He has a consort named Viśvavajrī in both the Nepalese and Tibetan traditions, with whom he is at times depicted in yab-yum union. By contrast,

10283-416: The other narrowed and/or looking downwards, an iconographic trait known as the tenchigan (天地眼), "heaven-and-earth eyes". Similarly, one of his fangs is now shown as pointing up, with the other pointing down. In place of the lotus flower, images of this type may sport seven topknots. Although the squinting left eye and inverted fangs of the second type ultimately derives from the description of Acala given in

10396-416: The region immediately south of Lake Baikal — latitude 50°N . There were three observations done for each site, one for the height of polaris , one for the shadow lengths of summer, and one for the shadow lengths of winter. The latitudes were determined from this data, while the Tang calculation for the length of one degree of meridian was fairly accurate compared to modern calculations. Yi Xing understood

10509-460: The standard in Japan. The most widely known one, derived from the Mahāvairocana Tantra and popularly known as the "Mantra of Compassionate Help" (慈救呪, jikushu or jikuju ), goes as follows: The "Short Mantra" (小呪, shōshu ) of Acala - also found in the Mahāvairocana Tantra - is as follows: The longest of the three is the "Great Mantra" of Acala, also known as the "Fire Realm Mantra" (火界呪, kakaishu / kakaiju ): Another mantra associated with

10622-401: The sun accomplished its complete circuit. And they made a wooden casing the surface of which represented the horizon, since the instrument was half sunk in it. This permitted the exact determinations of the times of dawns and dusks, full and new moons, tarrying and hurrying. Moreover there were two wooden jacks standing on the horizon surface, having one a bell and the other a drum in front of it,

10735-467: The superknowledges ( abhijna ), the capacity for a very long lifespan, as well as the thirty-two marks of a great man . In the Pāli Canon , the Buddha is depicted as someone between a human and a divine being. He has a human body that decays and dies, and he was born from human parents (though some sources depict this as a miraculous birth). The most important element of a Buddha is that they have attained

10848-509: The supreme spiritual goal: nirvana . This is what makes him supreme and what grants him special powers. This view of the Buddhas a supreme person with many superpowers, but which has a physical body that has many limitations of a human form was also shared by other early Buddhist schools like the Sarvastivada school, and the Dharmaguptaka . In the Pāli Canon, the Buddha is asked whether he

10961-441: The tantra instructs the ritual practitioner to recite Acala's mantras or to visualize himself as Acala in order to remove obstacles. From a humble acolyte, Acala evolved into a powerful demon-subduing deity. In later texts such as the Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇa Tantra , Acala - under the name Caṇḍaroṣaṇa ("Violent Wrathful One") or Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇa ("Violent One of Great Wrath") - is portrayed as the "frightener of gods, titans , and men,

11074-485: The term buddha is also used in Theravada to refer to all who attain Nirvana , using the term sāvakabuddha to designate an arhat, someone who depends on the teachings of a Buddha to attain Nirvana. In this broader sense it is equivalent to the arhat. In Mahāyāna Buddhism meanwhile, a Buddha is seen as a transcendent being who has extensive powers, such as omniscience , omnipotence , and whose awakened wisdom (buddha-jñana)

11187-471: The two vidyārājas who commonly feature in the mandalas inscribed by Nichiren , are seen as protective deities (外護神, gegoshin ) who respectively embody the two tenets of hongaku ("original enlightenment") doctrine: "life and death ( saṃsāra ) are precisely nirvana " (生死即涅槃, shōji soku nehan ) and "worldly passions ( kleśa ) are precisely enlightenment ( bodhi )" (煩悩即菩提, bonnō soku bodai ). The Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇa Tantra 's description of Acala

11300-431: The upward fang for instance was interpreted as symbolizing the process of elevation towards enlightenment, with the downward fang symbolizing the descent of enlightened beings into the world to teach sentient beings. The two fangs also symbolize the realms of buddhas and sentient beings, yin and yang , and male and female, with the nonduality of these two polar opposites being expressed by Acala's tightly closed lips. Acala

11413-402: The variations in the length of a degree of meridian, and criticized earlier scholars who permanently fixed an estimate for shadow lengths for the duration of the entire year. Yi Xing was famed for his genius, known to have calculated the number of possible positions on a go board game (though without a symbol for zero as he had difficulties expressing the number). He, along with his associate,

11526-480: The various schools of Buddhism. The level to which this manifestation requires ascetic practices varies from none at all to an absolute requirement, dependent on doctrine. While most schools accept the bodhisattva ideal, in which it takes aeons to reach Buddhahood, not all agree that everyone can become a Buddha, or that it must take aeons. In Theravada Buddhism , Buddha refers to one who has reached awakening (bodhi) through their own efforts and insight, without

11639-409: The virtue of great compassion (大悲徳, daihi toku ), he appears in a blue-black form. Having the virtue of great stillness (大定徳, daijō toku ), he sits in an adamantine rock. Having great wisdom (大智慧, daichie ), he manifests great flames. He wields the great sword of wisdom to destroy greed, ignorance and hatred . He holds the snare of samādhi to bind those who are hard to tame. Because he

11752-406: The way a Buddha is understood in non-Mahayana Buddhism. Some of the key attributes of Buddhahood in Mahayana buddhology include: In the earliest strata of Pali Buddhist texts , especially in the first four Nikayas , only the following seven Buddhas, The Seven Buddhas of Antiquity ( Saptatathāgata ), are explicitly mentioned and named (see for example SN 12.4 to SN 12.10). Four of these are from

11865-677: The west in the northern quadrant is the acolyte Acala (不動使者). In his left hand he grasps a noose and in his right hand he holds a sword. He is seated in the half-lotus position . More well-known, however, is the following passage from the Mahāvairocana Tantra (also known as the Mahāvairocanābhisaṃbodhi Tantra or the Vairocana Sūtra ) which refers to Acala as one of the deities of the Womb Realm Mandala : Below

11978-566: The world, guiding all sentient beings to Buddhahood. Paul Williams writes that the Buddha in Mahāyāna is "a spiritual king, relating to and caring for the world". This view entails a kind of docetism regarding the "historical" Buddha, Shakyamuni . His life and death were a "mere appearance," like a magic show; in reality, the Buddha still exists and is constantly helping living beings. Because of this transcendental view, Mahāyāna Buddhologies have sometimes been compared to various types of theism (including pantheism ) by different scholars. There

12091-416: Was a deva or a human, and he replies that he had eliminated the deep-rooted unconscious traits that would make him either one, and should instead be called a Buddha: one who had grown up in the world but had now gone beyond it, as a lotus grows from the water but blossoms above it, unsoiled. The Pāli Canon also states that Gautama Buddha is known as being a "teacher of the gods and humans," superior to both

12204-399: Was a Chinese astronomer, Buddhist monk, inventor, mathematician, mechanical engineer, and philosopher during the Tang dynasty. His astronomical celestial globe featured a liquid-driven escapement , the first in a long tradition of Chinese astronomical clockworks . In the early 8th century, the Tang court put Yi Xing in charge of an astrogeodetic survey. This survey had many purposes. It

12317-484: Was a magical display which only appeared to have a human body. A being who is on the path to become a Buddha is called a bodhisattva . In Mahayana Buddhism , Buddhahood is the universal goal and all Mahayanists ultimately aim at becoming a Buddha, in order to benefit and liberate all sentient beings. Thus, Buddhahood is the goal for all the various spiritual paths found in the various Mahayana traditions (including Vajrayana , Zen , and Pure land ). This contrasts with

12430-551: Was an expert at working with water clocks, creating steelyard balances for weighing water that was used in the tank of the clepsydra, providing more inspiration for Yi Xing. Like the earlier water-power employed by Zhang Heng and the later escapement mechanism in the astronomical clock tower engineered and erected by Su Song (1020–1101), Yi Xing's celestial globe employed water-power in order for it to rotate and function properly. The British biochemist, historian, and sinologist Joseph Needham states (Wade–Giles spelling): When

12543-449: Was established in order to obtain new astronomical data that would aid in the prediction of solar eclipses . The survey was also initiated so that flaws in the calendar system could be corrected and a new, updated calendar installed in its place. The survey was also essential in determining the arc measurement , i.e., the length of meridian arc -although Yi Xing, who did not know the Earth

12656-548: Was first brought to Japan by the esoteric master Kūkai , the founder of the Shingon school, and his successors, where it developed as part of the growing popularity of rituals for the protection of the state. While Acala was at first simply regarded as the primus inter pares among the five wisdom kings, he gradually became a focus of worship in his own right, subsuming characteristics of the other four vidyarāja s (who came to be perceived as emanating from him), and became installed as

12769-465: Was spherical, did not conceptualize his measurements in these terms. This would resolve the confusion created by the earlier practice of using the difference between shadow lengths of the sun observed at the same time at two places to determine the ground distance between them. Yi Xing had thirteen test sites established throughout the empire, extending from Jiaozhou in Vietnam — at latitude 17°N — to

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