Amoghasiddhi (

Devanagari Devanagari ( ; in script: , , ) is an Indic script used in the Indian subcontinent. It is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental Writing systems#Segmental systems: alphabets, writing system), based on the ancient ''Brāhmī script, Brā ...

: अमोघसिद्धि) is one of the Five Wisdom Buddhas of the

Mahayana Mahāyāna ( ; , , ; ) is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, Buddhist texts#Mahāyāna texts, texts, Buddhist philosophy, philosophies, and practices developed in ancient India ( onwards). It is considered one of the three main ex ...

and

Vajrayana ''Vajrayāna'' (; 'vajra vehicle'), also known as Mantrayāna ('mantra vehicle'), Guhyamantrayāna ('secret mantra vehicle'), Tantrayāna ('tantra vehicle'), Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, is a Mahāyāna Buddhism, Mahāyāna Buddhis ...

tradition of

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

. He is associated with the accomplishment of the Buddhist path and of the destruction of the poison of

envy Envy is an emotion which occurs when a person lacks another's quality, skill, achievement, or possession and either desires it or wishes that the other lacked it. Envy can also refer to the wish for another person to lack something one already ...

. His name means ''Unfailing Accomplishment''. His consort is Tara, meaning ''Liberator'' and his mounts are

garuda Garuda (; ; Vedic Sanskrit: , ) is a Hindu deity who is primarily depicted as the mount (''vahana'') of the Hindu god Vishnu. This divine creature is mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain faiths. Garuda is also the half-brother of the D ...

s. He belongs to the family of

karma Karma (, from , ; ) is an ancient Indian concept that refers to an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptively called ...

whose family symbol is the double ''vajra''.

Characteristics

Amoghasiddhi is associated with the conceptual (Skt: samskara)

skandha ' (Sanskrit) or (Pāḷi) means "heaps, aggregates, collections, groupings, clusters". In Buddhism, it refers to the five aggregates of clinging (), the five material and mental factors that take part in the perpetual process of craving, cli ...

or the conceptual mind (as opposed to the non-conceptual or sensational mind). His action towards the promotion of Buddhist paths is the pacification of evils. This is symbolised by Amoghasiddhi's symbol, the moon. He gestures in the

mudra A mudra (; , , "seal", "mark", or "gesture"; ) is a symbolic or ritual gesture or pose in Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. While some mudras involve the entire body, most are performed with the hands and fingers. As well as being spiritual ges ...

of fearlessness, symbolising his and his devotees' fearlessness towards the poisons or delusions. He is usually coloured green in artwork and is associated with the air or wind element. His season is autumn and his heavenly quarter is the northern buddha-kṣetra called Prakuta. In the Śūraṅgama mantra ( Chinese: 楞嚴咒;

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' ...

: ''Léngyán Zhòu'') taught in the Śūraṅgama sutra ( Chinese: 楞嚴經;

: ''Léngyán Jīng''), an especially influential dharani in the Chinese Chan tradition, Amoghasiddhi is mentioned to be the host of the Karma Division in the North, one of the five major divisions which controls the vast demon armies of the five directions.

Gallery

File:Jin Dynasty statue of Amoghasiddhi (不空成就佛 Bùkōngchéngjiùfó), one of the Five Tathagathas (五方佛 Wǔfāngfó) or Five Wisdom Buddhas (五智如来 Wǔzhì Rúlái) at Shanhua Temple (善化寺) in Datong, Shanxi, China.jpg, Jin dynasty (1115–1234) statue of Amoghasiddhi in Shanhua Temple in

Datong Datong is a prefecture-level city in northern Shanxi Province, China. It is located in the Datong Basin at an elevation of and borders Inner Mongolia to the north and west and Hebei to the east. As of the 2020 census, it had a population o ...

Shanxi Shanxi; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanised as Shansi is a Provinces of China, province in North China. Its capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level cities are Changzhi a ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, one out of a set of statues of the Five Tathagathas File:Ming era statue of Amoghasiddhi (不空成就佛 Bùkōngchéngjiùfó), one of the Five Tathagathas (五方佛 Wǔfāngfó) or Five Wisdom Buddhas (五智如来 Wǔzhì Rúlái) at Huayan Temple (華嚴寺 or 华严寺), Shanxi, China.jpg,

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

(1368–1644) statue of Amoghasiddhi in Huayan Temple in

, one out of a set of statues of the Five Tathagathas File:Periodo yongle nella din. ming, amoghasiddhi, uno dei 5 buddha celestiali, seduto nel gesto di meditazione e rassicurazione, 1403-24 ca.jpg,

figurine of Amoghasiddhi, made during the reign of the

Yongle Emperor The Yongle Emperor (2 May 1360 – 12 August 1424), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Chengzu of Ming, personal name Zhu Di, was the third List of emperors of the Ming dynasty, emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1402 to 142 ...

, early 1400s File:蓮華院多宝塔の不空成就如来.jpg, Modern statue of Amoghasiddhi in Renge-in Tanjō-ji,

Kumamoto Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Kumamoto Prefecture has a population of 1,748,134 () and has a geographic area of . Kumamoto Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the north, Ōita Prefecture t ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. File:Amoghasiddhi1.jpg, Amoghasiddhi, depicted with green skin File:Tibetan Amoghasiddhi Buddha.jpg, Close up view of Amoghasiddhi from a Tibetan painting, 1300–1400 CE

References

External links

Symbolism of the five Dhyani BuddhasSacred Visions: Early Paintings from Central Tibet
an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Amoghasiddhi(see index) {{Authority control Buddhas Buddhism in China Chinese gods

Characteristics

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading

External links