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Mahāpratisarā
Mahāpratisarā (Ch: 大随求菩薩; pinyin: ''Dàsuíqiú''; Jp: ''Daizuigu'') is a female Buddhist deity in East Asian Buddhism and Vajrayana Buddhism. She is sometimes presented as the consort of Vairocana or as an emanation of Ratnasambhava Buddha.Bhattacharyya Benoytosh (1924). The Indian Buddhist Iconography Mainly Based on the Sādhanamālā and Other Cognate Tāntric Texts of Rituals', pp. 116-117. Oxford University Press. Mahāpratisarā is the main deity of the fivefold Pañcarakṣā set of protector deities and thus she is often shown surrounded by the other four protector goddesses. In the Indian Tantric Buddhist ''Sadhanamala'', she is depicted as yellow in complexion, with three faces with three eyes each, ten arms, carrying various implements and weapons. In East Asian Esoteric Buddhism, this deity is found in the Garbhadhatu Mandala and is associated with protection. She is invoked through her mantra which is believed to fulfill the wishes of sentient bein ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pañcarakṣā
Mahāpratisarā statue, Bihar, 10th century ''Pañcarakṣā'' means "Five Protectors". It is the title of a Buddhist text in Sanskrit, a name for a set of five '' dhāraṇīs'' as well as the name of a set of Buddhist protector goddesses identified with these incantations. It is an early work in the ''dhāraṇī'' genre of Buddhist literature, with Tibetan records mentioning it by about 800 CE. The ''Pañcarakṣā'' manuscripts survive in Tibet, Nepal and India in many divergent versions. The text includes spells, a list of benefits by its recitation, and the ritual instructions on how and when to use it. In the Buddhist tradition, each of the "Five" protections that are mentioned in the ''Pañcarakṣā'' are Buddhist deities (goddesses). The five protective ''dhāraṇī-goddesses'' are: * Mahāpratisarā Mahāpratisarā (Ch: 大随求菩薩; pinyin: ''Dàsuíqiú''; Jp: ''Daizuigu'') is a female Buddhist deity in East Asian Buddhism and Vajrayana Buddhism. She is so ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kiyomizu-dera
is a Buddhist temple located in eastern Kyoto, Japan. The temple is part of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto UNESCO World Heritage Site. History The temple was established in 778, during the late Nara period, by Enchin Shonin, who was a priest from Nara (the capital of Japan from 710 to 784). He is said to have received a vision telling him to construct the temple next to the Otowa spring. In 798, the shogun Sakanoue Tamuramaro improved the site by including a large hall that was reassembled from the palace of Emperor Kammu (r. 781–806). The emperor had left Nara to escape the strong influence that the Buddhist monasteries had on the government there. During this period there was a strong rivalry between the Kofuku-ji and the Kiyomizu-dera temples, and both had influence around the region. Many of the temple's present buildings were constructed in 1633 on the orders of the shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu. There is not a single nail used in the entire structure. It t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kanshin-ji
is a Buddhist temple located in the Teramoto neighborhood of the city of Kawachinagano, Osaka Prefecture, in the Kansai region of Japan. It is one of the head temples of the Kōyasan Shingon-shū branch of Shingon Buddhism. The temple has several National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties. Its precincts were designated a National Historic Site in 1972. and a Japan Heritage site. History According to tradition, En no Gyōja founded a temple called "Unshin-ji" in the year 701. Just over a century later, in 808, Kūkai visited this temple and initiated worship of the Big Dipper, building seven cairns corresponding to the seven main stars in that constellation, which still remain in the precincts to this day. Kanshin-ji is the only temple in Japan that enshrines the Big Dipper. Again per tradition, Kūkai returned to the temple in 815 and carved a statue of Nyoirin Kannon and renamed the temple "Kanshin-ji". While there are innumerable folklore references to Kūkai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buddhist Deities
Buddhism includes a wide array of divine beings that are venerated in various ritual and popular contexts. Initially they included mainly Indian figures such as devas, asuras and yakshas, but later came to include other Asian spirits and local gods (like the Burmese ''nats'' and the Japanese ''kami''). They range from enlightened Buddhas to regional spirits adopted by Buddhists or practiced on the margins of the religion. Buddhists later also came to incorporate aspects from the countries to which it spread. As such, it includes many aspects taken from other mythologies of those cultures. Buddhas A Buddha is a being who is fully awakened and has fully comprehended the Four Noble Truths. In the Theravada tradition, while there is a list of acknowledged past Buddhas, the historical Buddha Sakyamuni is the only Buddha of our current era and is generally not seen as accessible or as existing in some higher plane of existence. The Pali literature of the Theravāda tradi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guimet Museum
The Guimet Museum (full name in ; ''MNAAG''; ) is a Parisian art museum with one of the largest collections of Asian art outside of Asia that includes items from Cambodia, Thailand, Viet Nam, Tibet, India, and Nepal, among other countries. Founded in the late 19th century, it is located in the XVIe arrondissement, 16th arrondissement of Paris, France, at 6, place d'Iéna. Its name literally translated into English is the ''National Museum of Asian Arts-Guimet'', or ''Guimet National Museum of Asian Arts''. History Founded by Émile Étienne Guimet, an industrialist, the museum first opened at Lyon in 1879 but was later transferred to Paris, opening in the place d'Iéna in 1889. Devoted to travel, Guimet was in 1876 commissioned by the minister of public instruction to study the religions of the Far East, and the museum contains many of the fruits of this expedition, including a fine collection of Chinese and Japanese porcelain and objects relating not merely to the religions o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ratnasambhava
Ratnasambhava (, lit. "Jewel-Born") is one of the Five Dhyani Buddhas (or "Five Meditation Buddhas") of Mahayana and Vajrayana or Tantric Buddhism. Ratnasambhava's mandalas and mantras focus on developing equanimity and equality and, in Vajrayana Buddhist thought is associated with the attempt to destroy greed and pride. His consort is Mamaki and his mount is a horse or a pair of lions. Textual History The first documented mention of Ratnasambhava is found in the '' Suvarṇaprabhāsa Sūtra'' and in the Guhyasamāja Tantra (4th Century CE), and he subsequently appears in a number of Vajrayana texts. The most elaborate account of him is to be found in the ''Pañcakara'' section of the ''Advayavajrasaṃgraha.'' In the Śūraṅgama mantra ( Chinese: 楞嚴咒; pinyin: ''Léngyán Zhòu'') taught in the Śūraṅgama sutra ( Chinese: 楞嚴經; pinyin: ''Léngyán Jīng''), an especially influential dharani in the Chinese Chan tradition, Ratnasambhava is mentioned to be the h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dharani
Dharanis (IAST: ), also known as (Skt.) ''vidyās'' and ''paritas'' or (Pal.) ''parittas'', are lengthier Buddhist mantras functioning as mnemonic codes, incantations, or recitations, and almost exclusively written originally in Sanskrit while Pali dharanis also exist. Believed to generate protection and the power to generate merit for the Buddhist practitioner, they constitute a major part of historic Buddhist literature. Most dharanis are in Sanskrit written in scripts such as Siddhaṃ as can be transliterated into Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, Sinhala, Thai and other regional scripts. They are similar to and reflect a continuity of the Vedic chants and mantras. Dharanis are found in the ancient texts of all major traditions of Buddhism. They are a major part of the Pali canon preserved by the Theravada tradition. Mahayana sutras such as the Lotus Sutra and the Heart Sutra include or conclude with dharani. Some Buddhist texts, such as ''Pancarakṣa'' found in the h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heian Period
The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a period in Japanese history when the Chinese influence on Japanese culture, Chinese influences were in decline and the national culture matured. The Heian period is also considered the peak of the Japanese Emperors of Japan, imperial court, noted for its Japanese art, art, especially Japanese poetry, poetry and Japanese literature, literature. Two syllabaries unique to Japan, katakana and hiragana, emerged during this time. This gave rise to Japan's famous vernacular literature, with many of its texts written by court ladies who were not as educated in Chinese as their male counterparts. Although the Imperial House of Japan had power on the surface, the real power was in the hands of the Fujiwara clan, a powerful Kuge, aristocratic family wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Womb Realm
The Mandala of the Two Realms (Traditional Chinese: 両界曼荼羅; Pinyin: ''Liǎngjiè màntúluó''; Rōmaji: ''Ryōkai mandara''), also known as the Mandala of the Two Divisions (Traditional Chinese: 両部曼荼羅; Pinyin: ''Liǎngbù màntúluó''; Rōmaji: ''Ryōbu mandara''), is a set of two mandalas in East Asian Esoteric Buddhism, particularly prominent within Chinese Esoteric Buddhism as well as the Shingon and Tendai traditions of Japanese Buddhism. The Dual Mandala comprises two complementary mandalas: the ''Womb Realm Mandala'' (, Traditional Chinese: 胎蔵界曼荼羅; Pinyin: ''Tāizāngjiè màntúluó''; Rōmaji: ''Taizōkai mandara'') associated with compassion and the ''Diamond Realm Mandala'' (Sanskrit: ''vajradhātu'', Traditional Chinese: 金剛界曼荼羅; pinyin: ''Jīngāngjiè màntúluó''; rōmaji: ''Kongōkai mandara'') associated with wisdom. The Dual Mandalas represent distinct yet non-dual dimensions of the enlightened cosmos centered on the u ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinese Esoteric Buddhism
Chinese Esoteric Buddhism refers to traditions of Tantra and Vajrayana, Esoteric Buddhism that have flourished among the Chinese people. The Tantric masters Śubhakarasiṃha, Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra, established the Esoteric Buddhist ''Zhenyan'' (, "true word", "mantra") tradition from 716 to 720 during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang. It employed mandalas, mantras, mudras, abhisheka, abhiṣekas, and deity yoga. The Zhenyan tradition was transported to Japan as Tendai and Shingon Buddhism by Saichō and Kūkai, as well as influencing Korean Buddhism and Vietnamese Buddhism. The Song dynasty (960–1279) saw a second diffusion of Esoteric texts. Esoteric Buddhist practices continued to have an influence into the late imperial period and Tibetan Buddhism was also influential during the Yuan dynasty period and beyond. In the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) through to the modern period, esoteric practices and teachings became absorbed and merged with the other Chinese Buddhist tradi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vairocana
Vairocana (from Sanskrit: Vi+rocana, "from the sun" or "belonging to the sun", "Solar", or "Shining"), also known as Mahāvairocana (Great Vairocana), is a major 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 Asian Buddhism ( Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Vietnamese Buddhism), Vairocana is also seen as the dharmakāya (the supreme buddha-body, the body of ultimate reality), and the embodiment of the Buddhist concept of wisdom and purity. Mahāvairocana is often translated into East Asian languages as "Great Sun Buddha" ( Chinese: 大日如來, pinyin: ''Dàrì Rúlái'', Japanese: ''Dainichi Nyorai''). In the conception of the Five Jinas of Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism, Vairocana is at the centre and is often considered a Primordial Buddha. In East Asian esoteric Buddhism, Mahāvairocana is considered to be a Cosmic Buddha whose body is th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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'' literally means 'spelled sounds'. Pinyin is the official romanization system used in China, Singapore, Taiwan, and by the United Nations. Its use has become common when transliterating Standard Chinese mostly regardless of region, though it is less ubiquitous in Taiwan. It is used to teach Standard Chinese, normally written with Chinese characters, to students in mainland China and Singapore. Pinyin is also used by various Chinese input method, input methods on computers and to lexicographic ordering, categorize entries in some Chinese dictionaries. In pinyin, each Chinese syllable is spelled in terms of an optional initial (linguistics), initial and a final (linguistics), final, each of which is represented by one or more letters. Initi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
