大日

Vairocana, or Mahāvairocana [lang id =1028]大日如來; [lang id =1028]遍照如來; [lang id =1028]摩訶毘盧遮那； [lang id =1028]毘盧遮那; [lang id =1028]大日覺王 The sun, "shining everywhere" The chief object of worship of the Shingon sect in Japan, "represented by the gigantic image in the temple at Nara." (Eliot.) There he is known as Dai-nichi-nyorai. He is counted as the first, and according to some, the origin of the five celestial Buddhas (dhyāni-buddhas, or jinas). He dwells quiescent in Arūpa-dhātu, the Heaven beyond form, and is the essence of wisdom (bodhi) and of absolute purity. Samantabhadra [lang id =1028]普賢 is his dhyāni-bodhisattva. The [lang id =1028]大日經 "teaches that Vairocana is the whole world, which is divided into Garbhadhātu (material) and Vajradhātu (indestructible), the two together forming Dharmadhātu. The manifestations of Vairocana's body to himself―that is, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas ―are represented symbolically by diagrams of several circles ". Eliot. In the [lang id =1028]金剛界 or (sa) vajradhātu maṇḍala he is the center of the five groups. In the [lang id =1028]胎藏界 or Garbhadhātu he is the center of the eight-leaf (lotus) court. His appearance, symbols, esoteric word, differ according to the two above distinctions. Generally he is considered as an embodiment of the Truth [lang id =1028]法, both in the sense of (sa) dharmakāya [lang id =1028]法身 and (sa) dharmaratna [lang id =1028]法寳. Some hold Vairocana to be the (sa) dharmakāya of Śākyamuni [lang id =1028]大日與釋迦同一佛 but the esoteric school denies this identity. Also known as [lang id =1028]最高顯廣眼藏如來, the Tathagata who, in the highest, reveals the far-reaching treasure of his eye, i.e. the sun. [lang id =1028]大日大聖不動明王 is described as one of his transformations. Also, a (sa) śramaņa of Kashmir (contemporary of Padma-saṃbhava); he is credited with introducing Buddhism into Khotan and being an incarnation of Mañjuśrī; the king Vijaya Saṃbhava built a monastery for him.