DDB: 五智如來 | five buddhas as incarnations of distinct types of cognition

Digital Dictionary of Buddhism

五智如來

Pronunciations

Basic Meaning: five buddhas as incarnations of distinct types of cognition

Senses:

Mahāvairocana 毘盧遮那, who embodies the complete cognition of the essential nature of the dharmadhātu 法界體性智;
Akṣobhya 不動佛, who embody the mirrorlike cognition 大圓鏡智;
Ratnasaṃbhava, who embodies the cognition of equality in nature;
Amitâbha 阿彌陀, who embodies the subtle observing cognition 妙觀察智, and
Either Amoghasiddhi or Śākyamuni, who embody the cognition with unrestricted activity. 成所作智. See also 五佛.

[Charles Muller; source(s): JEBD]

五智五佛; 五佛; 五如來 The five dhyāni-buddhas, or Wisdom-Tathāgatas of the Vajradhātu 金剛界, idealizations of five aspects of wisdom; possibly of Nepalese origin. The Wisdom Buddha represents the dharmakāya or Buddha-mind, also the Dharma of the triratna, or trinity. Each evolves one of the five colors, one of the five senses, a Dhyāni-bodhisattva in two forms one gracious, the other fierce, and a Mānuṣi-Buddha; each has his own śakti, i. e. feminine energy or complement; also his own bīja, or germ-sound 種子 or 印 seal, i. e. 眞言 real or substantive word, the five being for 大日 aṃ, for 阿閦 hūṃ, for 寶生 ? hrīḥ, for 彌陀 ? aḥ, for 不空 ? āḥ. The five are also described as the emanations or forms of an Ādi-Buddha, Vajrasattva; the four are considered by others to be emanations or forms of Vairocana as the Supreme Buddha. The five are not always described as the same, e.g., they may be 藥師 (or 王) Bhaiṣajya, 多寶 Prabhūtaratna, Vairocana, Akṣobhya, and either Amoghasiddhi or Śākyamuni. Below is a classified list of the generally accepted five with certain particulars connected with them, but these differ in different places, and the list can only be a general guide. As to the Dhyāni-bodhisattvas, each Buddha evolves three forms 五佛生五菩薩, 五金剛, 五忿怒, i. e. (1) a bodhisattva who represents the Buddhaʼs dharmakāya, or spiritual body; (2) a vajra or diamond form who represents his wisdom in graciousness; and (3) a fierce or angry form, the 明王 who represents his power against evil. (1) Vairocana appears in the three forms of 轉法輪菩薩 Vajra-pāramitā Bodhisattva, 遍照金剛 Universally Shining Vajrasattva, and 不動明王 Ārya-Acalanātha Rāja; (2) Akṣobhyaʼs three forms are 虛空藏 Ākāśagarbha, 如意 complete power, and 軍荼利明王 Kuṇḍalī-rāja; (3) Ratnasaṃbhavaʼs are 普賢 Samantabhadra, 薩埵 Sattvavajra, and 孫婆 or 降三世明王 Trailokyavijayarāja; (4) Amitâbhaʼs are 觀世音 Avalokitêśvara, 法金剛 Dharmarāja, and 馬頭明王 Hayagrīva, the horse-head Dharmapāla; (5) Amoghasiddhiʼs are 彌勒 Maitreya, 業金剛 Karmavajra, and 金剛夜叉 Vajrayakṣa. The above bodhisattvas differ from those in the following list:

Table 1

Name	Chinese	Position	Element	Sense	Color
Vairocana	大日	center	ether	sight	white
Akṣobhya	阿閦	east	earth	sound	blue
Ratnasaṃbhava	寶生	south	fire	smell	yellow
Amitâbha	彌陀	west	water	taste	red
Amoghasiddhi	不空	north	air	touch	green

Table 2

Germ	Animal	Dhyāni-Bodhisattva	Buddha
aṃ	lion	Samantabhadra 普賢	Krakucchanda
hūṃ	elephant	Vajrapāṇi 金剛力士	Kanakamuni
? aḥ	horse	Ratnapāṇi 寶手	Kāśyapa
? hrīḥ	goose or peacock	Avalokitêśvara 觀音	Śākyamuni
? āḥ	garuḍa	Visvapāṇi ?	Maitreya

[Charles Muller; source(s): Soothill]

〔佛頂尊勝心破地獄轉業障出三界祕密三身佛果三種悉地眞言儀軌 T 906.18.914b10〕 [Charles Muller]

Search SAT

Search INBUDS Database

Feedback

[Dictionary References]

Bukkyō jiten (Ui) 282

Bulgyo sajeon 624a

Japanese-English Buddhist Dictionary (Daitō shuppansha) 78a/86

Bukkyōgo daijiten (Nakamura) 372c

Fo Guang Dictionary 1162

Ding Fubao

Bukkyō daijiten (Mochizuki) (v.1-6)1283a, (v.9-10)492c

Bukkyō daijiten (Oda) 550-3

(Soothill's) Dictionary of Chinese Buddhist Terms 120

The rights to textual segments (nodes) of the DDB are owned by the author indicated in the brackets next to each segment. For rights regarding the compilation as a whole, please contact Charles Muller. Please do not reproduce without permission. And please do not copy into Wikipedia without proper citation!

Entry created: 2001-09-08

Updated: 2010-06-05