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五智

Pronunciations

Basic Meaning: five kinds of cognition

Senses:

  • The five kinds of purified cognitive function taught in the Esoteric school 眞言宗. Of the six elements 六大 earth, water, fire, air (or wind), ether (or space) 曇空, and consciousness (or mind 識), the first five form the phenomenal world, or Garbhadhātu, the womb of all things 胎藏界, the sixth is the conscious, or perceptive world, the Vajradhātu 金剛界. The two realms are not originally apart, but one, and there is no consciousness without the other five elements. The sixth element, vijñāna, is further subdivided into five called the 五智 five kinds of cognition:
    1. 法界體性智 dharmadhātu-prakṛti-jñāna, derived from the amala-vijñāna 阿摩羅識; it is the cognition of the embodied nature of the dharmadhātu, defined as the six elements, and is associated with Vairocana 大日, in the center, who abides in this samādhi; it also corresponds to emptiness 空 element.
    2. 大圓鏡智 ādarśa-jñāna, the great mirror cognition, derived from the ālaya-vijñāna 阿賴耶識, reflecting all things; corresponds to water, and is associated with Akṣobhya and the east.
    3. 平等性智 samatā-jñāna, derived from the manas 末那識, cognition of the equality of all things; corresponds to earth, and is associated with Ratnasaṃbhava and the south.
    4. 妙觀察智 pratyavekṣaṇā-jñāna, derived from the manovijñāna 意識, marvelous observing cognition, for exposition and doubt-destruction; corresponds to fire, and is associated with Amitâbha and the west.
    5. 成所作智 kṛtyânuṣṭhāna-jñāna, derived from the five senses 五識, cognition with unrestricted activity, which can perform the double work of self-welfare and the welfare of others; corresponds to air 風 and is associated with Amoghasiddhi and the north.
    These five wisdom-buddhas are the 五智如來. The five kinds of cognition are the four belonging to every Buddha, of the exoteric cult, to which the esoteric cult adds the first, pure, all-reflecting, universal, all-discerning, and all-perfecting (Skt. pañca-jñānāni; Tib. ye shes lnga). 〔瑜伽論 T 1579.30.681b22〕 [Charles Muller, Don Sloane; source(s): Ui, Nakamura, Soothill, Hirakawa, YBh-Ind, JEBD, Iwanami]
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    [Dictionary References]

    Bukkyō jiten (Ui) 281

    Bulgyo sajeon 624a

    Zengaku daijiten (Komazawa U.) 351b

    Iwanami bukkyō jiten 277

    Japanese-English Buddhist Dictionary (Daitō shuppansha) 77b/86

    Zen Dust (Sasaki) 277

    Bukkyōgo daijiten (Nakamura) 372b

    Fo Guang Dictionary 1161

    Ding Fubao

    Bukkyō daijiten (Oda) 1561-3, 550-1*1188-2

    (Soothill's) Dictionary of Chinese Buddhist Terms 120

    Copyright provisions

    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: 2001-11-08

    Updated: 2015-01-20