- Adi-Buddha
-
Tibetan Tanka representing the Adi-Buddha Vajrasattva. Samantabhadra and Samantabhadri, also considered Adi-Buddha, are above. Gouache on cloth.
In Vajrayana Buddhism, the Adi-Buddha, or Adibuddha (Tibetan: Dang-po'i sangs-rgyas), is the "Primordial Buddha." The term refers to a self-emanating, self-originating Buddha, present before anything else existed. Samantabhadra, Samantabhadri and Vajradhara are the best known names for Adi-Buddha, though there are others. Adi-Buddha is usually depicted as dark blue.
The concept of Adi-Buddha is the closest to monotheism of any form of Buddhism. Even then, Adi-Buddha is recognized as the center of an extended array of peaceful and wrathful deities, which are considered reflections of it. All famous sages and Bodhisattvas are said to be reflections of Adi-Buddha, and many are identified as the "personality" of it.
Adi-Buddha is better compared to the abstracted forces of Brahman, Ayn Sof or Arche rather than a personal creator God in the mold of Yahweh or Ishvara. Also, Adi-Buddha is not said to be the creator, but the originator of all things. Adi-Buddha is a deity in an emanationist sense.
Adi-Buddha is a representation of the interdependence of phenomena, being an entity that can be regarded as a creator in a relative sense. Though phenomena can be symbolically represented in the primordial nature of Adi-Buddha and have in it their collective source, the universe is not regarded as being linearly created, being in a continuous, eternal co-relation with the deity. It also represents the non-duality between the noumenom (the individual's mind), and the phnomena (the cosmos), which are also seen as interrelated.
Contents
Names of Adi-Buddha
Though all Buddhist figures are said to be emanations of the Adi-Buddha, certain Bodhisattvas are revered as its actual personality. This personality is often referred to as Dharmakaya, or "Buddha-body of reality."
Samantabhadra/Samantabhadri
The Bodhisattva Samantabhadra, who, according to the Avatamsaka Sutra made ten great vows, is revered as Adi-Buddha in the Nyingma school of Vajrayana, along with his consort Samantabhadri. The two are usually depicted together in Tantric union. Samantabhadra is dark blue, while Samantabhadri is white. They appear together as Adi-Buddha in the Bardo Thodol (Tibetan Book of the Dead), at the center of the assembly of peaceful deities. Their wrathful forms are Mahotta Heruka and Krodheshvari.
There is some confusion over whether or not the Adi-Buddha Samantabhadra and the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra are in fact the same. Both appear as separate figures in the Bardo Thodol.
Vajradhara
Vajradhara (Dorje Chang) is regarded as Adi-Buddha in the Gelug and Kagyu schools. Vajradhara is also considered the Tantric form of Sakyamuni, the Great Sage of Humans. He also is depicted as dark blue in color. His esoteric doctrines were said to have been handed down to Marpa Lotsawa.
Vairocana
In Mahayana Buddhism, Vairocana is interpreted as the Bliss Body of Shakyamuni, and appears as such in the Avatamsaka Sutra. However, in the Vajrayana text the Mahavairocana Tantra, Vairocana is depicted as the Adi-Buddha. The Mahavairocana Tantra is the basis for Shingon Buddhism, the oldest esoteric school of Buddhist thought in Japan, where Vairocana is called Dainchi Nyorai (大日如來).
Other Adi-Buddhas
Ati Yoga
Ati Yoga (or Primordial Yoga), which is another name for the Tibetan tradition of Dzogchen, employs an Adi-Buddha sadhana, or practice. "Ati" and "Adi" are different orthographic representations of phonemes of the language of Uddiyana which equate to 'primordial' according to Chögyal Namkhai Norbu.
In Hinduism
In Vaishnavism, the term Adi-Buddha applies to the original form of Shakyamuni as an avatar of Vishnu. Shakyamuni is included as one of the ten avatars [1] See also: Sugata Buddha
See also
External links
Notes
Categories:- Buddhas
- Sanskrit words and phrases
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
