Ä€kÄÅ›agarbha
Ä€kÄÅ›agarbha Bodhisattva (Sanskrit: Chinese: 虛空è—è©è–©; pinyin: XÅ«kÅngzà ng Púsà ; Japanese pronunciation: KokÅ«zÅ Bosatsu; Korean: 허공장보살; romaja: Heogongjang Bosal, Standard Tibetan Namkha'i Nyingpo, Tibetan: ནམ་མà½à½ ི་སྙིང་པོ༠) is a bodhisattva who is associated with the great element (mahÄbhÅ«ta) of space (ÄkÄÅ›a).
Overview
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Ä€kÄÅ›agarbha is regarded as one of the eight great bodhisattvas. His name can be translated as "boundless space treasury" or "void store" as his wisdom is said to be boundless as space itself. He is sometimes known as the twin brother of the "earth store" bodhisattva Ká¹£itigarbha, and is even briefly mentioned in the Ká¹£itigarbha Bodhisattva PÅ«rvapraṇidhÄna SÅ«tra.
KÅ«kai, the founder of Shingon Buddhism, met a famous monk who is said to have repeatedly chanted a mantra of Ä€kÄÅ›agarbha as a young Buddhist acolyte. KÅ«kai took a tutorial with him on Kokuzou-Gumonji (a secret doctorine method, è™šç©ºè”µæ±‚èžæŒæ³•).[1] As he chanted the mantra, he experienced a vision whereby Ä€kÄÅ›agarbha told him to go to China to seek understanding of the MahÄvairocana Abhisaṃbodhi SÅ«tra.[2] Later he would go to China to learn Tangmi from Huiguo, and then go on to found the Shingon sect of esoteric buddhism in Japan.
Sutras
Two Mahayana sutras are known to survive in which Ä€kÄÅ›agarbha Bodhisattva is a central figure:
- 《虛空è—è©è–©ç¶“》 (Ä€kÄÅ›agarbha Bodhisattva SÅ«tra)
- 《虛空è—è©è–©ç¥žå’’經》 (Ä€kÄÅ›agarbha Bodhisattva DhÄraṇī SÅ«tra)
Additionally, he appears briefly in the final chapter of the Ká¹£itigarbha Bodhisattva PÅ«rvapraṇidhÄna SÅ«tra, requesting the Buddha preach on the benefits of praising that sutra and of Ká¹£itigarbha.[3]
Mantras
The mantra of Ä€kÄÅ›agarbha is popularly used by Shingon Buddhists, practitioners of Tangmi, and by artists. It is believed to give rise to wisdom and creativity, and dispel ignorance.
- Chinese: å—ç„¡ è™šç©ºè— è©è–© nÄmo xÅ«kÅngzà ng púsÃ
- Korean: Namu Heogongjang Bosal
- Vietnamese: Nam Mo Hu Khong Tang Bo Tat
- Translation: Homage to Ä€kÄÅ›agarbha Bodhisattva
Another mantra also exists for Ä€kÄÅ›agarbha Bodhisattva:
- Sanskrit: namo ÄkÄÅ›agarbhÄya oṃ Ärya kamari mauli svÄhÄ
- Chinese: å—牟,阿迦æ¨ï¼Œæå©†è€¶ï¼Œå”µï¼Œé˜¿å”Žï¼Œè¿¦éº¼å”Žï¼Œæ…•唎,莎訶ï¼
- Japanese pronunciation: nÅbÅ akyasha kyarabaya on arikya mari bori sowaka
- Translation: In the name of ÄkÄÅ›a-garbhÄya Om Flower-Garland Lotus-Crown may it be accomplished
References
- ↑ Koya-san Fudoin 高野山ä¸å‹•院
- ↑ Abe 2013, p. 74.
- ↑ Åšiká¹£Änanda 2003, pp. 89-93.
Bibliography
- Abe, Ryūichi (13 August 2013). The Weaving of Mantra: Kūkai and the Construction of Esoteric Buddhist Discourse. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-52887-0.
- French, Frank G.; Shih, Tao-tsi; Åšiká¹£Änanda (2003). The Sutra of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha's Fundamental Vows. Corporate Body of the Buddha Educational Foundation.
- ThÃch, Nhất Hạnh (1998). The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching: Transforming Suffering Into Peace, Joy & Liberation : the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, and Other Basic Buddhist Teachings. Broadway Books. ISBN 978-0-7679-0369-1.
- Visser, M. W. de (1931). The Bodhisattva Akasagarbha (Kokuzo) in China and Japan, Amsterdam: The Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Akasagarbha. |
- Gumonji : A possible cure for memory loss The Japan Times
- Japanese Buddhist Statuary: Kokuzo
- The Koyasan Shingon-shu Lay Practitioner's Daily Service
- Headquarters of The Chinese (Hanmi) Esoteric School: Prajna Akasagarbha Teachings available to the general public
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