Friday, November 22, 2024

What is Amitabha Buddha's Dewachen?

 

What's Dewachen?
Dewachen is the blissful Buddha field of Amitabha, one of the Buddha fields of the five families, said to be located in the western direction. 

In Sukhavati, sentient beings experience neither physical pain nor mental suffering, and the causes for their happiness are limitless.

Dewachen, also known as Sukhavati, is a pure land in Buddhism that is said to be a paradise of bliss. It is the western pure land of the Buddha Amitabha, where beings can be reborn based on their faith and aspirations. 

In Dewachen, practitioners can continue their dharma practice and awaken to enlightenment. 

Some causes of rebirth in Dewachen include generating bodhichitta, accumulating merit, repeatedly bringing the Buddha field to mind, and dedicating all one's sources of merit as causes for rebirth. 

In Chinese translation, the land of Sukhavati is known as a pure land (淨土).

Sukhavati, or Dewachen, is the western pure land of the Buddha Amitabha. This land is said to be a paradise of bliss, where beings can be reborn based on their faith and aspirations. 

This pure land offers practitioners the opportunity to continue their Dharma practice and awaken to full enlightenment.

Dewachen is the blissful realm/Buddha field. Blissful Realm, Sukhavati. The pure land of Buddha Amitabha in which a practitioner can take rebirth during the bardo of becoming through a combination of pure faith, sufficient merit, and one-pointed determination. 

One of the main reasons Sukhavati became the most popular pure land is that it is said to be the easiest for practitioners to be reborn in. 

Unlike many other pure lands, which require achievement of at least the first bhumi rebirth in Sukhavati, this can be attained by ordinary beings, solely through their faith in Amitabha and their heartfelt wish to be reborn in his pure land.

Here are some other details about Sukhavati:

Blissful

The word Sukhavati comes from the feminine of sukhavat, which means "blissful.". 

World of Ultimate Bliss

Sukhavati is also known as the World of Ultimate Bliss because its bliss is said to be incomparable to the happiness of human and god realms. Pure Land sutras

The Pure Land sutras describe Sukhavati as a joyous world filled with music and the sound of trees adorned with jewels and bells. Rebirth

The newly dead are said to enter into lotus buds, which unfold when they have attained. Many are said to be reborn on Earth to become Buddhas.

What does Sukhavati look like?

Sukhavati is expressively described in the Pure Land sutras as being a joyous world, soft and glowing, filled with the music of birds and the tinkling of trees adorned with precious jewels and garlands of golden bells.

What is the ceremony of Sukhavati?

The Sukhavati ceremony is performed for the benefit of helping the deceased transition through the Bardo by lessening suffering, fear, and loss and offering focus and clarity.

How to be reborn in Sukhavati?

The four causes of rebirth in Sukhavati are:

1) Generating Bodhichitta.

2) Accumulating merit in many ways.

3) Repeatedly bringing the Buddha field to mind.

4) Dedicating all one's sources of merit as causes for rebirth in that pure realm.

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Please help us develop our Dharma activities that will not only benefit you but all Dharma readers on the planet. Please consider showing your support. Your generosity will certainly help us enhance our work and accomplish more for a better and brighter future.

Thank you for reading. May you find peace and great bliss. With your support, it helps to spread the Buddha’s precious teachings and turn the Dharma wheels in the world. 

Aspiration for Bodhichitta
For those in whom the precious Bodhichitta has not arisen, may it arise and not decrease. But increase further and further. 
Dedication of Merit 
By this merit, may we then obtain omniscience then. 
Having defeated the enemies wrongdoing. May we liberate migratory from the ocean of existence.
With its stormy waves of birth, old age, sickness, and death.
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Wednesday, November 20, 2024

Amitabha Buddha is The Principal Buddha of Western Pure Land

 

Who is Amitabha Buddha?
Amitabha Buddha is the principal Buddha of Western Pure Land Buddhism. He is also known as Amitayus, which is understood to be his enjoyment body. (Sambhogakaya)

The Sanskrit word Amitabha means "infinite light" or "immeasurable light." It is made up of the words amita meaning "infinite" and ābhā meaning "light. 

In Buddhism, Amitabha is a Bodhisattva who rules over a pure land in the west of the universe. He is also known as Amida Buddha in Japanese. The Chinese pronunciation for Amitabha is "阿弥陀佛"  

Amitabha is often depicted seated, wearing a monk's robe, with his hair in hundreds of curls and a cranial bulge at the top.

The name Amitayus is also used for the Sambhogakaya aspect of Amitabha, which is associated with longevity. In Tibetan Buddhism, Amitayus is one of the three deities of long life. 

In Vajrayana Buddhism, Amitabha is known for his longevity, discernment, pure perception, and the purification of aggregates with deep awareness of the emptiness of all phenomena. 

Amitabha is associated with the Diamond Realm (vajradhatu), whereas Amitayus is associated with the Womb Realm (garbhakosadhatu). 

What does Om Ah Hum Hrih mean?

Therefore, by reciting “Om Ah Hum," you receive the blessings of all Buddhas. “Hrih” is the core seed syllable of the Three Root magnetizing deities of the Lotus Family and represents the natural radiance of the wisdom of discernment.

Om Ami Deva Hrih” is the heart mantra of Amitabha Buddha, a Sutra mantra taught by Buddha. 

The mantra “Om Ami Deva Hrih” is said to have many benefits, including:

Liberation from deluded thoughts

The mantra is said to help free the practitioner from thoughts and beliefs that are not serving them. 

Protection

The mantra is said to provide protection from evil spirits, heavenly gods, and 25 great Bodhisattvas. It is also said to protect the practitioner from accidents, fire, floods, and weapons. 

Rebirth in Amitabha's Pure Land

The mantra is said to help the practitioner be reborn in Amitabha's Pure Land, ending the cycle of birth and death. 

Clarity of goals

The mantra is said to help the practitioner clear mental clutter and gain clarity on their life goals. 

Purification of the six worlds

The mantra is said to purify the six worlds: the deva realm, asura realm, human, animal, hungry ghost, and hell realms. 

Empowerment of the six perfections

The mantra is said to empower the six perfections, which are the perfection of generosity, the perfection of ethics, the perfection of patience, the perfection of joyful effort, the perfection of concentration, and the perfection of Wisdom. 

Vajrayana Buddhism

Amitabha is also known in Tibet, Mongolia, Nepal, India, and other regions where Tibetan Buddhism is practiced. 

In the Highest Yogatantra of Tibetan Buddhism, Amitabha is considered one of the Five Dhyani Buddhas, also known as the Five Tathagatas together with Akshobhya, Amoghasiddhi, Ratnasambhava, and Vairocana. 

Amitabha is associated with the western direction and the skandha of saṃjna, the aggregate of perception, or distinguishing, and the deep awareness of individuality.

In Tibetan Buddhism, there exist a number of famous prayers for taking rebirth in Sukhāvatī (Dewachen). 

One of these was written by Je Tsongkhapa on the request of Manjushri. Amitabha is primarily invoked in Tibet during the phowa practices, or invoked as Amitayus—especially in practices relating to longevity and preventing an untimely death.

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Please help us develop our Dharma activities that will not only benefit you but all Dharma readers on the planet. Please consider showing your support. Your generosity will certainly help us enhance our work and accomplish more for a better and brighter future.

Thank you for reading. May you find peace and great bliss. With your support, it helps to spread the Buddha’s precious teachings and turn the Dharma wheels in the world. 

Aspiration for Bodhichitta
For those in whom the precious Bodhichitta has not arisen, may it arise and not decrease. But increase further and further. 

Dedication of Merit 
By this merit, may we then obtain omniscience then. 

Having defeated the enemies wrongdoing. May we liberate migratory from the ocean of existence.
With its stormy waves of birth, old age, sickness, and death.

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Friday, November 15, 2024

The Six Arms White Mahakala - Wealth And Prosperity

Who are Mahakalas? What are the forms?

Mahakala literally translates as Great Time Foe," meaning “beyond time and death.” Maha is Sanskrit and means "great,” and “Kala” means time.

Mahakala emanates from Avalokiteshvara—to remove all our obstacles to practice—and may appear in different forms and colors that symbolize his functions. The most famous of these is six-armed black Mahakala, the ferocious remover of obstacles to our practice. 

There are also two-armed and four-armed forms in different meditation lineages. Most Mahakalas are enlightened protectors, and most, but not all, emanate from Chenrezig. 

Who is White Mahakala? 
White Mahakala is the essence of protection and prosperity in Tibetan Buddhism. He is believed to be an emanation of the Avalokiteshvara, the Lord of the World. As a Bodhisattva, the deity is associated with compassion and wrath in a protective form, which helps overcome obstacles.

The white six-armed form of Mahakala is famous for removing obstacles to our practice involving lack of support, resources, or prosperity, which limit our ability to help other beings. He is the Mahakala who relieves poverty and brings us prosperity. 

White Mahakala brings prosperity and wealth. 

Does it seem counterintuitive that Buddhist practices include “good fortune” practices—especially when Buddha taught renunciation? 

Does it seem selfish to ask for enlightened help with our obstacles, such as poverty, stress, or resources? It shouldn’t. Imagine if fully renounced monks are starving, unable to find a bowl of rice. 

How can they meditate? How can they practice Bodhichitta when they can’t even find food for themselves? And how can the lay community support the monks when they can’t feed themselves? 

White Mahakala is also known as Shadbhuja Sita Mahakala. He is called gon po kar po chag drug pa in Tibetan and the White Lord with Six Hands in English. 

White Mahakala, a wealth deity of the Kriya class of Tantra, satisfies the economic needs of Tantric Buddhists. 

Homage to Lord Chintamani, Holy Avalokiteshvara, the gathered compassion of all Buddhas of the ten directions and three times; to that emanation, the Six-Handed Protector, devotedly with the body, speech, and mind, I bow.”

The white Mahakala is more unusual than the customary black form. He is especially popular in Mongolia as the main protector deity of Mongolia, given such distinction by the third Dalai Lama.

The teachings of the White Mahakala were brought to Tibet in the eleventh century by Khedrup Khyungpopa, who also brought the teachings of the Six-armed Black Mahakala.

Performing the White Mahakala ritual is supposed to bring endless wealth to the needy practitioner in such things as a family, material goods, food, power, knowledge, and spirituality.

The lineage of White Mahakala: Vajradhara, Jnana Dakini, Shri Shavaripa, Lord Maitripa, Mahasiddha Rahulagupta, Khedrup Khyungpo Naljor, Nyam Med Rinchen Tsondru, Bonton Kyergangpa, etc. 

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Assuming this is the case, we are delighted that you are finding our blog useful and valuable. Would you consider making a donation for our Buddhist research and development? 

We need your help to secure the future of scholarly interaction with Buddhism. Since our very first publication of Dharma works and activities in 2008, we have been effortlessly providing free distribution of Dharma posts and articles throughout the previous 16 years. 

We have exceptionally constrained support and do not receive subsidies or funding from people in general.

Please help us develop our Dharma activities that will not only benefit you but all Dharma readers on the planet. Please consider showing your support. Your generosity will certainly help us enhance our work and accomplish more for a better and brighter future.

Thank you for reading. May you find peace and great bliss. With your support, it helps to spread the Buddha’s precious teachings and turn the Dharma wheels in the world. 

Aspiration for Bodhichitta
For those in whom the precious Bodhichitta has not arisen, may it arise and not decrease. But increase further and further. 

Dedication of Merit 
By this merit, may we then obtain omniscience then. 
Having defeated the enemies wrongdoing. May we liberate migratory from the ocean of existence.
With its stormy waves of birth, old age, sickness, and death.
 
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Monday, November 4, 2024

Mahakala is a fierce Dharma protector of Vajrayana Buddhism


The six-armed Mahakala is a fierce protector and guardian of the Dharma. He is a manifestation of Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of compassion, and is a key figure in Tibetan Buddhism. 

Mahakala is often depicted with a dark blue or black body, six arms, and two legs. He wears a tiger skin skirt, a crown of skulls, and a garland of severed heads. He also has three eyes, bared fangs, and a beard. 
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Mahakala's hands hold various items, including a curved knife, a skull cup, a trident, a damaru drum, and a lasso.

Consort 
Mahakala's consort, Shakti, has one face and two arms. She wears a skull crown and many ornaments. Her right hand is behind Mahakala's neck, and her left hand holds a skull cup filled with demonic blood. 
Mahakala's primary role is to help people overcome obstacles to enlightenment. He is a principal protector of the Geluk School of Tibetan Buddhism. 

What is the meaning of six armed Mahakala?

Six-Armed Mahakala (Tibetan: Gon-po Chag-druk) A protector who is a wrathful manifestation of Avalokiteshvara, the Mahakala can be depicted in many forms. There are various aspects of Mahakala, the meditative practices associated with this protector being popular in all four traditions of Tibetan Buddhism.
What does the Mahakala symbolize?Mahakala symbolizes the wrathful aspect of the compassionate mind, transforming energies such as anger into a powerful compassionate force. Mahakala is a Dharmapala, a protector of religious law. He is always depicted as an extremely fierce and terrifying deity. 

The word Mahakala is a Sanskrit word. Maha means 'great' and Kala refers to 'time or death'.. Mahakala means “beyond time or death.

Mahakala's Sanskrit name is Sadbhuja Mahakala, and his Tibetan name is Chadroukpa.
Mahakala has four arms, three eyes, and is of the brilliance of 10 million black fires of dissolution. He dwells in the midst of eight cremation grounds (smasana). He is adorned with eight human skulls, seated on five corpses, and holds a trident (trisula), a drum, a sword, and a scythe in his hands.

But Mahakala is actually a protector deity, and meditators have long relied on his powers to help them through difficulties of all kinds in their daily lives. He represents our natural ability to promote what is sane and decent and to eliminate what is unreasonable and harmful.
For the advanced tantric practitioners, Mahakala fulfills the four enlightened activities. These activities are pacifying interferences, increasing favorable circumstances, gaining control over situations, and, if all else fails, destroying obstacles with wrathful force.

Through adornment with terrifying features, Mahakala can protect people from their worst traits and fears.

Repeating the Mahakala mantra may eliminate all barriers to prosperity, confusion, doubts, and ignorance. He can destroy all encroachments from the adversary, demons, evil, and dark magic. As a result, his technique has been developed by numerous individuals in Tibet.
Why is Mahakala black? 
Mahakala is generally depicted as black in color. Since all the colors get dissolved into black, all the names and forms melt into the deity as well. 

This symbolizes the embracing and encompassing nature of the deity. The color black also represents the absolute or ultimate reality and the nature of Mahakala.

Sternly protect the doctrine of the Buddha! Sternly praise the height of power of the Jewels! Please quell all bad conditions and obstructions, and grant us quickly whatever siddhis we wish. 
Is Mahakala enlightened?
This particular form of the deity Mahakala is the enlightened protector of the Hevajra tantras, a cycle of teachings personified by the tiny blue deity Hevajra in the central roundel of his crown. Mahakala's fierce appearance and grisly attire represent the means to overcoming negativities on the spiritual path.

A large Four-Armed Mahakala torma offering rose high above the upper tier. The lower tier held the eight traditional offerings: argham, padyam, pushpe, dhupe, alokhe, gendhe, newidye, and shabdha (pure drinking water, water for bathing, flowers, incense, light, food, scented water, and music).
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We need your help to secure the future of scholarly interaction with Buddhism. Since our very first publication of Dharma works and activities in 2008, we have been effortlessly providing free distribution of Dharma posts and articles throughout the previous 16 years. 

We have exceptionally constrained support and do not receive subsidies or funding from people in general.

Please help us develop our Dharma activities that will not only benefit you but all Dharma readers on the planet. Please consider showing your support. Your generosity will certainly help us enhance our work and accomplish more for a better and brighter future.

Thank you for reading. May you find peace and great bliss. With your support, it helps to spread the Buddha’s precious teachings and turn the Dharma wheels in the world.

Aspiration For Bodhichitta
For those in whom the precious Bodhichitta has not arisenMay it arise and not decrease. But increase further and further. 

Dedication of Merit 
By this merit, may we then obtain omniscience then. 
Having defeated the enemies wrongdoing. May we liberate migratory from the ocean of existence.
With its stormy waves of birth, old age, sickness, and death.

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I do not own or infringe any copyright on the picture(s).
Picture(s) courtesy and credit to the rightful distributors and/or studios
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Tuesday, October 29, 2024

God of Time, Maya, Creation, Destruction and Power - Mahakala

Mahakala is a deity common to Hinduism and Buddhism. He is also being referred to as the God of Time, Maya, Creation, Destruction, and Power. 

The power of Mahakala 

In Buddhism, Mahakala is regarded as a Dharmapala ("Protector of the Dharma") and a wrathful manifestation of a Buddha, while in Hinduism, Mahakala is a fierce manifestation of the Hindu god Shiva and the consort of the goddess Mahakali he most prominently appears in the Kalikula sect of Shaktism. 

Mahakala appears as a protector deity in the various traditions of Vajrayana Buddhism, like Chinese Esoteric BuddhismShingon Buddhism, and Tibetan Buddhism. He is known as  the Great Black One(大黑天)

Numerous traditions of Mahayana Buddhism rely on Mahakala as a guardian deity (Dharmapala, "Dharma protector"). 
Mahakala is one of the most popular protector deities in Tibetan Buddhism, and he is also sometimes used as a meditational deity (yidam) in tantric Buddhist yogas. 

He is depicted in a number of variations, each with distinctly different qualities and aspects. He is generally depicted as a wrathful deity. 

Mahakala is also an important deity in East Asian Buddhism, where he is generally known as a protector figure. In Japanese Buddhism, Mahakala transformed into a more friendly wealth and luck deity, known as Daikokuten

Mahakala is commonly regarded as the emanation of different beings in different cases, such as HevajraVajradharaAmitabha, and Avalokiteshvara or Akshobhya Buddha. Different tantric cycles, like Guhyasamaja and Chakrasamvara, each contain Mahakala as an emanation of their central Buddha deity. 

Mahakala is almost always depicted with a crown of five skulls, which represent the transmutation of the five klesas (negative afflictions) into the five wisdoms.

He also wears a garland consisting of fifty severed heads; the number fifty is in reference to the number of letters in the Sanskrit alphabet and is symbolic of the pure speech of Buddha. 

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Assuming this is the case, we are delighted that you are finding our blog useful and valuable. Would you consider making a donation for our Buddhist research and development? 

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We have exceptionally constrained support and do not receive subsidies or funding from people in general.

Please help us develop our Dharma activities that will not only benefit you but all Dharma readers on the planet. Please consider showing your support. Your generosity will certainly help us enhance our work and accomplish more for a better and brighter future.

Thank you for reading. May you find peace and great bliss. With your support, it helps to spread the Buddha’s precious teachings and turn the Dharma wheels in the world.

Aspiration For Bodhichitta
For those in whom the precious Bodhichitta has not arisenMay it arise and not decrease. But increase further and further. 

Dedication of Merit 
By this merit, may we then obtain omniscience then. 
Having defeated the enemies wrongdoing. May we liberate migratory from the ocean of existence.
With its stormy waves of birth, old age, sickness, and death.

*Note. 
I do not own or infringe any copyright on the picture(s).
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Tuesday, October 22, 2024

The Great Manifestation of Avaloketishvara Bodhisattva - Mahakala


Mahakala is one of the most popular protector deities in Tibetan Buddhism, and he is also sometimes used as a meditational deity (yidam) in tantric Buddhist yogas. 

He is depicted in a number of variations, each with distinctly different qualities and aspects. He is generally depicted as a wrathful deity. 

What is the meaning of Mahakala? Mahakala: “Great Time." Mahakala is one of the most popular guardians in the Tibetan Buddhist pantheon. 

Here he tramples a corpse while wielding a flaying knife and a blood-filled skull cup, signifying the destruction of impediments to enlightenment. 

In the crooks of his elbows he supports a gandi gong, a symbol of his vow to protect the community of monks. His principal companions, Palden Remati and Palden Lhamo, appear to his left, and Legden Nagpo and Bhutadamara are at his right. 

At lower left is Brahmarupa blowing a thighbone trumpet. He is especially revered by the Sakya order, which commissioned this work. 

This thangka, one of the earliest and grandest of this subject, can be related to murals preserved in the fifteenth-century Kumbum at Gyantse monastery, central Tibet, likely painted under Newari direction.

Mahakala appears as a protector deity in the various traditions of Vajrayana Buddhism, like Chinese Esoteric Buddhism, Shingon, and Tibetan Buddhism. 

Numerous traditions of Mahayana Buddhism rely on Mahakala as a guardian deity (Dharmapala, "dharma protector"). Mahakala is one of the most popular protector deities in Tibetan Buddhism, and he is also sometimes used as a meditational deity (yidam) in tantric Buddhist yogas. 

He is depicted in a number of variations, each with distinctly different qualities and aspects. He is generally depicted as a wrathful deity. 

Mahakala is also an important deity in East Asian Buddhism, where he is generally known as a protector figure. In Japanese BuddhismMahakala transformed into a more friendly wealth and luck deity, known as Daikokuten.

Mahakala is commonly regarded as the emanation of different beings in different cases, such as Hevajra, Vajradhara, Amitabha, and Avalokiteshvara or Akshobhya Buddha.

Different tantric cycles, like Guhyasamaja and Chakrasamvara, each contain Mahakala as an emanation of their central Buddha deity. 

Mahakala is almost always depicted with a crown of five skulls, which represent the transmutation of the five klesas (negative afflictions) into the five wisdoms. 

He also wears a garland consisting of fifty severed heads; the number fifty is in reference to the number of letters in the Sanskrit alphabet and is symbolic of the pure speech of Buddha. 

Do you earnestly cherish our devoted work? 

Assuming this is the case, we are delighted that you are finding our blog useful and valuable. Would you consider making a donation for our Buddhist research and development? 

We need your help to secure the future of scholarly interaction with Buddhism. Since our very first publication of Dharma works and activities in 2008, we have been effortlessly providing free distribution of Dharma posts and articles throughout the previous 16 years. 

We have exceptionally constrained support and do not receive subsidies or funding from people in general.

Please help us develop our Dharma activities that will not only benefit you but all Dharma readers on the planet. Please consider showing your support. Your generosity will certainly help us enhance our work and accomplish more for a better and brighter future.

Thank you for reading. May you find peace and great bliss. With your support, it helps to spread the Buddha’s precious teachings and turn the Dharma wheels in the world.

Aspiration For Bodhichitta
For those in whom the precious Bodhichitta has not arisenMay it arise and not decrease. But increase further and further. 

Dedication of Merit 
By this merit, may we then obtain omniscience then. 
Having defeated the enemies wrongdoing. May we liberate migratory from the ocean of existence.
With its stormy waves of birth, old age, sickness, and death.

*Note. 
I do not own or infringe any copyright on the picture(s).
Picture(s) courtesy and credit to the rightful distributors and/or studios
The picture(s) are intended for editorial use only.