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Vairocana

File:Mahavairocana.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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Also known as Great Sun Buddha, Great Vairocana

Vairocana ("The Sun", "Solar" or "Shining" in Sanskrit), also known as Mahāvairocana (Great Sun), is a major Buddha from Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. He is often compared to the Sun, because both bestow their light impartially upon all beings. However, unlike the Sun, whose light can be blocked, and which disappears at night, Vairocana's light is omnipresent, impossible to block, and shines eternally. Hence, he is called the "Great Sun". In East Asian Buddhism, Vairocana is called () or ().

Key facts

Buddha.mongolian_name
Машид гийгүүлэн зохиогчMasida geyigülün zohiyaghciБярузана, Машид Гийгүүлэн Зохиогч, Гэгээн ГэрэлтBiruzana, Masida Geyigülün Zohiyaghci, Gegegen Gereltü
Buddha.korean_name
비로자나불毘盧遮那佛RR: Birojana Bul
Buddha.thai_name
พระไวโรจนพุทธะRTGS: Phra wịrocana phuthṭha
Buddha.indonesian_name
Wairocana
Buddha.vietnamese_name
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
Buddha.veneration
Mahayana, Vajrayana
Buddha.attributes
Śūnyatā
Buddha.name
Vairocana
Buddha.image
File:Mahavairocana.jpg
Buddha.caption
A medieval Japanese painting of Vairocana of the Vajradhātu Maṇḍala forming the wisdom-fist mudra.
Buddha.sanskrit_name
वैरोचन Vairocana
Buddha.burmese_name
ဝေရောစန
Buddha.chinese_name
大日如來 Jyutping: Daai6 Jat6 Jyu4 Loi4Pinyin: Dà Rì Rú Lái毘盧遮那佛Jyutping: Bei2 Lou4 Ze1 Naa5 Fat6Pinyin: Pí Lú Zhē Nà Fó
Buddha.japanese_name
romaji: Dainichi Nyorairomaji: Birushana Butsu
Buddha.tibetan_name
རྣམ་པར་སྣང་མཛད་Wylie: rnam par snang mdzadTHL: Nampar Nangdze

via Wikipedia infobox

~29 min read

Encyclopedic overview

20 sections
Contents
  • Three Types of Bodies
  • Five Buddhas
  • Manifestations
  • Overview
  • In Mahayana sutras
  • Relationship with Śākyamuni
  • In East Asian Buddhism
  • Relationship with Amitabha
  • Mantras and dharanis
  • Mantra of Light
  • Chinese Buddhism
  • Japanese Buddhism
  • Five element mantras
  • Dharani
  • Statues
  • Gallery
  • See also
  • Sources
  • Bibliography
  • External links

Vairocana ("The Sun", "Solar" or "Shining" in Sanskrit), also known as Mahāvairocana (Great Sun), is a major Buddha from Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. He is often compared to the Sun, because both bestow their light impartially upon all beings. However, unlike the Sun, whose light can be blocked, and which disappears at night, Vairocana's light is omnipresent, impossible to block, and shines eternally. Hence, he is called the "Great Sun". In East Asian Buddhism, Vairocana is called () or ().

In Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism, Vairocana is the () of all Buddhas (the Dharma-body is the "true body" of all Buddhas, equivalent to the Ultimate Reality), which is formless, omnipresent, self-existent, eternal, indestructible, unable to be defiled, and is the source of all manifestations. The historical Gautama Buddha is one of the emanation bodies of Vairocana Buddha.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Vairocana” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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