Vairocana

This article is about the primordial buddha Vairocana. For the Tibetan translator, see Vairotsana.

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.^[1] Vairocana is often interpreted, in texts like the Avatamsaka Sutra, as the Dharmakāya^[2][3][4] of the historical Gautama Buddha.

Vairocana
The Spring Temple Buddha, a colossal statue of Vairocana, in Lushan County, Henan, China. It has a total height of 153 meters (502 ft), including the 25 meter (82 ft) lotus throne which the statue stands on.
Sanskrit	वैरोचन Vairocana
Burmese	ဗုဒ္ဓဘုရားရှင်
Chinese	大日如來 (Pinyin: Dàrì Rúlái) 毘盧遮那佛 (Pinyin: Pílúzhēnà Fó)
Japanese	大日如来（だいにちにょらい） (romaji: Dainichi Nyorai) 毘盧遮那仏（びるしゃなぶつ） (romaji: Birushana Bosatsu)
Korean	대일여래 大日如來(RR: Daeil Yeorae) 비로자나불 毘盧遮那佛(RR: Birojana Bul)
Mongolian	ᠮᠠᠰᠢᠳᠠ ᠭᠡᠢᠢᠭᠦᠯᠦᠨ ᠵᠣᠬᠢᠶᠠᠭᠴᠢ Машид гийгүүлэн зохиогч Masida geyigülün zohiyaghci ᠪᠢᠷᠦᠵᠠᠨ᠎ ᠠ᠂ ᠮᠠᠰᠢᠳᠠ ᠭᠡᠢᠢᠭᠦᠯᠦᠨ ᠵᠣᠬᠢᠶᠠᠭᠴᠢ᠂ ᠭᠡᠭᠡᠭᠡᠨ ᠭᠡᠷᠡᠯᠲᠦ Бярузана, Машид Гийгүүлэн Зохиогч, Гэгээн Гэрэлт Biruzana, Masida Geyigülün Zohiyaghci, Gegegen Gereltü
Thai	พระไวโรจนพุทธะ (RTGS: Phra wịrocana phuthṭha)
Tibetan	རྣམ་པར་སྣང་མཛད་ Wylie: rnam par snang mdzad THL: Nampar Nangdze
Vietnamese	Đại Nhật Như Lai 大日如來 Tỳ Lư Xá Na 毘盧遮那 Tỳ Lô Giá Na Phật 毗盧遮那佛
Information
Venerated by	Mahayana, Vajrayana
Attributes	Śūnyatā
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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.^[5] Mahāvairocana is often translated into East Asian languages as "Great Sun Buddha" (Chinese: 大日如來, Japanese: Dainichi Nyorai) Buddha.^[5] 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 the entire universe, the Dharmadhātu.^[5]

Vairocana is not to be confused with Vairocana Mahabali, son of the asura Virochana, a character in the Yoga Vasishta. Vairocana Buddha is also not to be confused with another Buddha that appears in some Mahayana sources called "Rocana".

Literary and historical development

Vairocana Buddha is first introduced in the Brahmajala Sutra:

Now, I, Vairocana Buddha am sitting atop a lotus pedestal; On a thousand flowers surrounding me are a thousand Sakyamuni Buddhas. Each flower supports a hundred million worlds; in each world a Sakyamuni Buddha appears. All are seated beneath a Bodhi-tree, all simultaneously attain Buddhahood. All these innumerable Buddhas have Vairocana as their original body.^[6]

Vairocana is also mentioned in the Avatamsaka Sutra; however, the doctrine of Vairocana is based largely on the teachings of the Mahavairocana Tantra (also known as the Mahāvairocana-abhisaṃbodhi-tantra) and to a lesser degree the Vajrasekhara Sutra (also known as the Sarvatathāgatatattvasaṃgraha Tantra).

In the Avatamsaka Sutra, Vairocana is described as having attained enlightenment immeasurable ages ago and residing in a world purified by him while he was a bodhisattva. He also presides over an assembly of countless other bodhisattvas. He may be considered the celestial existence (saṃbhogakāya) of Gautama Buddha, who came to be as Vairochana's earthly rebirth from his previous existence in Tushita heaven.^[7] Similarly, the Brahmajala Sutra also states that Shakyamuni was originally named Vairochana, regarding the former as a physical incarnation (nirmāṇakāya) of the latter.^[7]

Vairocana is also mentioned as an epithet of Gautama Buddha in the Samantabhadra Meditation Sutra, who dwells in a place called "Always Tranquil Light".^[8] 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, Vairocana is mentioned to be the host of the Buddha Division in the centre, one of the five major divisions which dispels the vast demon armies of the five directions.^[9]

Vairocana is the Primordial Buddha in the Chinese schools of Tiantai, Huayan and Tangmi, also appearing in later schools including the Japanese Kegon, Shingon and esoteric lineages of Tendai. In the case of Huayan and Shingon, Vairocana is the central figure.

In Chinese and Japanese Buddhism, Vairocana was gradually superseded as an object of reverence by Amitābha, due in large part to the increasing popularity of Pure Land Buddhism, but veneration of Vairocana still remains popular among adherents.

During the initial stages of his mission in Japan, the Catholic missionary Francis Xavier was welcomed by the Shingon monks since he used Dainichi, the Japanese name for Vairocana, to designate the Christian God. As Xavier learned more about the religious nuances of the word, he substituted the term Deusu, which he derived from the Latin and Portuguese Deus.^[10][11]

The Shingon monk Dohan regarded the two great Buddhas, Amitābha and Vairocana, as one and the same Dharmakāya Buddha and as the true nature at the core of all beings and phenomena. There are several realizations that can accrue to the Shingon practitioner of which Dohan speaks in this connection, as James Sanford points out:

[T]here is the realization that Amida is the Dharmakaya Buddha, Vairocana; then there is the realization that Amida as Vairocana is eternally manifest within this universe of time and space; and finally there is the innermost realization that Amida is the true nature, material and spiritual, of all beings, that he is 'the omnivalent wisdom-body, that he is the unborn, unmanifest, unchanging reality that rests quietly at the core of all phenomena".^[12]

Helen Hardacre, writing on the Mahavairocana Tantra, comments that Mahavairocana's virtues are deemed to be immanently universal within all beings: "The principle doctrine of the Dainichikyo is that all the virtues of Dainichi (Mahāvairocana) are inherent in us and in all sentient beings."^[13]

According to the Buddhāvataṃsaka Sūtra, the whole universe is a vast pure buddha-field which has been purified by Vairocana Buddha. This is the view of Pure Land which is found in the Chinese Huayan tradition.^[14] According to this view, our world is just one small part of this universal Pure Land which is named: "Ocean of worlds, whose surface and inside are decorated with an arrangement of flowers" (Sanskrit: Kusumatalagarbha-vyūhālamkāra-lokadhātusamudra).^[15] It is also called the "Lotus Treasury World" (Chinese: 華蔵世界, Skt. Padmagarbha-lokadhātu), since it is an array of billions of worlds in a lotus shape.^{[citation needed]}

In the cosmology of the Avatamsaka sutra, our world is just one of the immeasurable number of worlds in a multiverse called "Ocean of worlds, whose surface and inside are decorated with an arrangement of flowers" (Kusumatalagarbha-vyuhalamkara-lokadhatu-samudra).^[16] The Avatamsaka states that this entire cosmos has been purified by the Buddha Vairocana through his bodhisattva practices for countless aeons, after having met countless Buddhas. The sutra also states that our world is in Vairocana's buddhafield.^[17] Vairocana is closely associated with Shakyamuni Buddha, in some cases he is even identified with him in the Avatamsaka Sutra.^[18] Huayan generally sees Shakyamuni as an emanation body (nirmanakaya) from the ultimate Buddha Vairocana ("The Illuminator").^[19]

A painting of Vairocana at Hwaeomsa

Furthermore, Huayan thought sees the entire universe as being the very body of Vairocana, who is seen as a supreme cosmic Buddha. Vairocana is infinite, his influence and light is limitless, pervading the entire universe.^[20] Furthermore, Vairocana is really the ultimate principle (li), the Dharmakaya, Suchness and "the substance underlying phenomenal reality".^[21] However, while Vairocana as ultimate principle is eternal, it also transforms and changes according to the needs and conditions of sentient beings. Furthermore, Vairocana is empty, interdependent and interfused with all phenomena in the universe.^[21] Thus, Vairocana is both immanent (due to its dependent and interfused character) and transcendent (as the immutable basis of all things).^[22]

According to Fazang, while the nirmanakaya Shakyamuni taught the other Mahayana sutras, Vairocana teaches the Avatamsaka Sutra through his ten bodies which are: the All-Beings Body, the Lands Body, the Karma Body, the Śrāvakas Body, the Pratyekabuddha Body, the Bodhisattvas Body, the Tathāgatas Body, the Wisdom Body, the Dharma Body, and the Space Body.^[23] Fazang sees these ten bodies as encompassing all phenomena (animate and inanimate) in the "three realms", i.e. the entire universe.^[24]

Mantras and Dharanis

Numerous mantras, seed syllables and dharanis are associated with Vairocana Buddha.

A common basic mantra is the following:^[25]

Oṃ Vairocana Vaṃ

Another popular Vairocana related mantra is the Mantra of Light, which is popular in Japanese Buddhism, including Shingon. This is:

Oṃ Amogha Vairocana Mahāmudrā Maṇipadma Jvala Pravartāya Hūṃ

Another mantra associated with Vairocana is the following Shingon school mantra:

Namo Mahāguru Vairocana Vajra (Jp: namu daishi henjō kongō 南 無 大 師 遍 照 金 剛)

This mantra is also the mantra of Kukai, the founder of the Shingon school.^[26] Its inner meaning is an invocation to Dharmakāya Mahāvairocana Buddha as the great universal teacher.

Five element mantras

Five syllable mantras (Japanese: goji shingon) symbolize how all things in the universe (here: the five elements) are modes and emanations of Vairocana. One such mantra which is used in the Shingon school is:^[27][28]

aḥ vi ra hūṃ khaṃ

Each syllable is correlated with earth, water, fire, air, space respectively, while Vairocana is the sixth element - consciousness (vijñana). In the Mahavairocana sutra the mantra appears as: Namaḥ samanta-buddhānām a vi ra hūṃ khaṃ. According to East Asian mantrayana writers like Kakuban, this mantra can lead to enlightenment.^[28] According to translator Dale A. Todaro, the mantra's syllables have numerous symbolic correlations aside from the five elements, including: "the Five Buddhas (Mahavairocana, Aksobhya, Ratnasambhava, Amitabha, and Amoghasiddhi respectively); the five colors yellow, white, red, black, and blue; five organs (liver, lungs, heart, kidneys, spleen); five Chinese elements (wood, metal, fire, water, earth); and so on."^[28] A slightly longer variation of this mantra, also found in Shingon is:^[29]

Oṃ a vi ra hūṃ khaṃ vajra dhātu vaṃ

This version includes another mantra associated with the Vajradhātu mandala. There is another five element mantra of Vairocana, which is:^[30][31][28]

A vaṃ raṃ haṃ khaṃ

An alternate version sometimes appears with a Buddha vandana (homage) as follows:^[32][33]

Namaḥ samanta-buddhānām A vaṃ raṃ haṃ khaṃ

"A" is the seed syllable mantra (bījamantra) of Vairocana in the Garbhadhatu mandala, while "Vaṃ" is the seed syllable of Vairocana in the Vajradhātu mandala. Thus, this five element mantra contains both main seed syllables of Vairocana in the East Asian Esoteric tradition. Furthermore, these two seed syllables are sometimes combined into one mantra: "A-Vaṃ".^[30][31]

Dharani

A longer dharani associated with Vairocana is the Sarvadurgatiparishodana dharani (Complete removal of all unfortunate rebirths), also known as Kunrig mantra in Tibetan Buddhism. This dharani is found in the Sarvadurgatiparishodana tantra which depicts Vairocana at the center of a mandala surrounded by the other four tathagatas.^[34] The dharani is as follows:^[35][36]

OṂ namo bhagavate sarva durgati pariśodhana rājāya tathāgatāyārhate samyaksambudhāya tadyathā OṂ śodhane śodhane sarva pāpam viśodhani śuddhe viśuddhe sarvakarmāvarana viśodhani svāhā! ^[37]

Statues

With regard to śūnyatā, the massive size and brilliance of Vairocana statues serve as a reminder that all conditioned existence is empty and without a permanent identity, whereas the Dharmakāya is beyond concepts.

The Spring Temple Buddha of Lushan County, Henan, China, with a height of 126 meters, is the second tallest statue in the world (see list of tallest statues).

The Daibutsu in the Tōdai-ji in Nara, Japan, is the largest bronze image of Vairocana in the world.

The larger of the Buddhas of Bamiyan in Afghanistan that were destroyed by talibans was also a depiction of Vairocana.

In Java, Indonesia, the ninth-century Mendut temple near Borobudur in Magelang was dedicated to the Dhyani Buddha Vairocana. Built by the Shailendra dynasty, the temple featured a three-meter tall stone statue of Vairocana, seated and performing the dharmachakra mudrā. The statue is flanked with statues of the bodhisattvas Avalokiteśvara and Vajrapani.

Gallery

• 
  Tang dynasty statue of Vairocana (Dàrì Rúlái) at Longmen Grottoes, Luoyang, Henan, China. The statue was completed in the year 676 and is 17.14 m high and has 2 m long ears.
• 
  Southern Song Dynasty (1127–1279 CE) cliff carving of Vairocana (centre), with Manjushri (left), and Samantabhadra (right) among the Dazu Rock Carvings at Mount Baoding, Dazu District, Chongqing, China
• 
  Ming dynasty statues of Vairocana (center), flanked on the far left by Amitabha and on the right by Bhaisajyaguru. Projecting tongues from Vairocana's throne are petals that symbolize his radiance in infinite directions.
• 
  Ming dynasty (1368–1644) statue of Vairocana in Huayan Temple in Datong, Shanxi, China, one out of a set of statues of the Five Tathāgatas
• 
  Jin Dynasty (1115–1234) statue of Vairocana in Shanhua Temple in Datong, Shanxi, China, one out of a set of statues of the Five Tathāgatas
• 
  Tang dynasty bronze statue of Vairocana. 8th century.
• 
  Copper alloy statue of Vairocana, made in China during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). Displayed at the Cantor Center for Visual Arts.
• 
  Ming dynasty bronze statue of Vairocana. Displayed at the Buddhism Sculpture Gallery in Aurora Museum, Pudong, Shanghai.
• 
  Statue of Vairocana, made in China during the Qing dynasty. 19th century. Made of jade, gilt bronze, enamel, pearls and kingfisher feathers. Displayed at the Royal Ontario Museum.
• 
  Vairocana statue in Sam Poh Wan Futt Chi, a Chinese Buddhist temple in Cameron Highlands, Pahang, Malaysia
• 
  Shrine to Vairocana in Zhusheng Temple, Hunan, China
• 
  Vairocana at Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum, Chinatown, Singapore
• 
  Seated iron statue of Vairocana in Borimsa Temple, on Gaji mountain in Jangheung County, South Jeolla, South Korea
• 
  A gilt-bronze statue of Vairocana Buddha, one of the National Treasures of South Korea, at Bulguksa
• 
  The Great Buddha of Tōdai-ji, at a Kegon Buddhist temple in Nara, Japan
• 
  Vairocana with Avalokitesvara and Vajrapani. 9th century, Indonesia
• 
  Multi-headed Sarvavid Vairochana, Central Tibet, circa late 13th – early 14th century
• 
  Vairocana statue in Northern Vietnam, 19th century AD, Nguyễn dynasty

See also

• Amaterasu
• Acala
• Dakini
• Ghanavyūha Sūtra
• Mantra of Light

Sources

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7. Xing, Guan (2005). The Concept of the Buddha: Its Evolution from Early Buddhism to the Trikāya Theory. Psychology Press. p. 169-171. ISBN 978-0-41533-344-3.
8. Reeves 2008, pp. 416, 452
9. The Śūraṅgama sūtra : a new translation. Hsüan Hua, Buddhist Text Translation Society. Ukiah, Calif.: Buddhist Text Translation Society. 2009. ISBN 978-0-88139-962-2. OCLC 300721049.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
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12. James H. Sanford, 'Breath of Life: The Esoteric Nembutsu' in Tantric Buddhism in East Asia, ed. by Richard K. Payne, Wisdom Publications, Boston, 2006, p. 176
13. Helen Hardacre, 'The Cave and the Womb World', in Tantric Buddhism in East Asia (Wisdom Publications, Boston, 2006), p. 215
14. Prince, Tony (2014). Universal Enlightenment, An introduction to the teachings and practices of Huayen Buddhism, pp. 222-223. . Kongting Publishing Company Ltd. Taiwan.
15. Susumu, Otake, "Sakyamuni and Vairocana", in Gimello et al. (2012). Avataṃsaka Buddhism in East Asia: Huayan, Kegon, Flower Ornament Buddhism ; origins and adaptation of a visual culture, p. 37. Asiatische Forschungen: Monographienreihe zur Geschichte, Kultur und Sprache der Völker Ost- u. Zentralasiens, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, ISBN 978-3-447-06678-5
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20. Cook (1977) pp. 90-91
21. Cook (1977), pp. 93-104.
22. Cook (1977), p. 105.
23. Lin, Weiyu (2021). Exegesis-philosophy interplay : introduction to Fazang's (643-712) commentary on the Huayan jing (60 juans) [Skt. Avataṃsaka Sūtra; Flower garland sūtra] — the Huayan jing tanxuan ji [record of investigating the mystery of the Huayan jing]. p. 33. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Library.
24. Lin, Weiyu (2021). Exegesis-philosophy interplay : introduction to Fazang's (643-712) commentary on the Huayan jing (60 juans) [Skt. Avataṃsaka Sūtra; Flower garland sūtra] — the Huayan jing tanxuan ji [record of investigating the mystery of the Huayan jing]. p. 34. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Library.
25. "Vairocana-Mahāvairocana mantras and seed syllables". www.visiblemantra.org. Retrieved 2023-08-16.
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27. Stone, Jacqueline I. (2016). Right Thoughts at the Last Moment: Buddhism and Deathbed Practices in Early Medieval Japan, p. 499. University of Hawaii Press.
28. Giebel, Rolf W.; Todaro, Dale A. (2004). Shingon Texts, Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, pp. 247-248. BDK English Tripi†aka 98-I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII.
29. "Shingon Buddhist Intl. Institute: The Daily Shingon Service". www.shingon.org. Retrieved 2024-08-08.
30. Soothill, William Edward; Hodous, Lewis. A Dictionary of Chinese Buddhist Terms: With Sanskrit and English Equivalents and a Sanskrit-Pali Index, p. 293. 1977. Motilal Banarsidass Publ.
31. Snodgrass, Adrian. The Matrix and Diamond World Mandalas in Shingon Buddhism, p. 748. Aditya Prakashan, 1988
32. 蓮舎, 経史 (2013). "HASUYA Kyoshi『大日経』にみられる諸儀礼について ―「五字厳身観」と「六月念誦」― [A study of rituals in the Mahāvairocanābhisaṃbodhi-tantra]". 佛教文化学会紀要. 2013 (22): L112–L132. doi:10.5845/bukkyobunka.2013.22_L112.
33. "Buddha Vairocana Prayer Wheel". www.buddhatoothrelictemple.org.sg. Retrieved 2024-08-08.
34. Huntington, John C.; Bangdel, Dina. The Circle of Bliss: Buddhist Meditational Art, p. 106. Serindia Publications, Inc., 2003.
35. FPMT, 2021. Ten Powerful Mantras for the Time of Death.
36. Baruah, Bibhuti (2000) Buddhist Sects and Sectarianism, pp. 205-206. Sarup & Sons.
37. Skorupski, Tadeusz. The Sarvadurgatipariśodhana Tantra: Elimination of All Evil Destinies : Sanskrit and Tibetan Texts, Motilal Banarsidass, 1983, p. 126.

Bibliography

• Birmingham, Vessantara (2003). Meeting The Buddhas, Windhorse Publications, ISBN 0-904766-53-5.
• Cook, Francis H. (1977). Hua-Yen Buddhism: The Jewel Net of Indra, Pennsylvania State University Press.
• Cook, Francis H. (1972). 'The meaning of Vairocana in Hua-Yen Buddhism, Philosophy East and West 22 (4), 403-415
• Park, Kwangsoo (2003). A Comparative Study of the Concept of Dharmakaya Buddha: Vairocana in Hua-yen and Mahavairocana in Shingon Buddhism, International Journal of Buddhist Thought and Culture 2, 305-331
• Reeves, Gene (2008). The Lotus Sutra: A Contemporary Translation of a Buddhist Classic. Somerville: Wisdom Publications. ISBN 978-0-86171-571-8.

External links

• Sacred Visions: Early Paintings from Central Tibet, an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Vairocana (see index)