KONGŌKAI GO BUTSU, TAIZŌKAI GO BUTSU 金剛界五佛, 胎藏界五佛

[“The Five Buddhas of the Diamond Realm & the Five Buddhas of the Womb Realm”].

Manuscript on paper, in scroll format. Ten hand-colored illus. & several smaller black-ink illus. Scroll (310 x 7000 mm.). [Japan]: [Kamakura period, ca. 13th century].

A scroll with an inventory of the Buddhas of the Maṇḍala of the Two Realms, the Diamond Realm and the Womb Realm. These two maṇḍalas are of great importance in the esoteric Buddhist sects in Japan. They flourished initially in the Heian period. The maṇḍala of the Diamond Realm “ultimately demonstrates that the universe as a whole is coextensive with the body of the Dharmakāya or cosmic buddha, Mahāvairocana,” whereas the central five Buddhas of the Womb Realm represent the five wisdoms. “In one distinctively Shingon usage, the [Womb Realm] maṇḍala was placed in the east and the kongōkai [i.e., Diamond Realm maṇḍala] stood in juxtaposition across from it. The initiate would then invite all buddhas, bodhisattvas, and divinities into the sacred space, invoking all of their power and ultimately unifying with them” (The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, pp. 441 & 891).

For each deity, the scroll lists its name; its “Sanskrit appellation,” given in Siddham characters; its “secret appellation”; “seed syllables” (represented in Siddham characters); its “samaya” (sangyō 三形, short for sanmayagyō 三昧耶形, an object representing the deity, often depicted); a description of its appearance; and textual passages (sometimes including mantras). This is followed by a colored illustration of the deity in question.

The scroll contains the Buddhas of the two maṇḍalas, but the sequence of the scroll does not exactly match up with that seen in reference works available to us. The scroll lists, first, the five Buddhas of Vajradhātu, or the Diamond Realm maṇḍala:

1. Mahāvairocana: “the Buddha who is the center of Esoteric Buddhism, who represents the reality of the universe, or the embodiment of light” (Digital Dictionary of Buddhism);

2. Amitâyus Tathāgata: “in Sanskrit, the buddha or bodhisattva of ‘Limitless Life’ or ‘Infinite Lifespan’” (Princeton Dictionary, p. 35);

3. Amoghasiddhi: “in Sanskrit, ‘He Whose Accomplishments Are Not in Vain’” (ibid., p. 36);

4. Akṣobhya-buddha: “in Sanskrit, ‘Immovable’ or ‘Imperturbable’; the name given to the buddha of the East because he is imperturbable in following his vow to proceed to buddhahood, particularly through mastering the practice of morality” (ibid., p. 27);

5. Ratnasaṃbhava: “in Sanskrit, ‘Born of a Jewel’...He is the buddha of the ratna family and his pure land is located in the south” (ibid., p. 703).

It then continues with the Five Buddhas of the Womb Realm:

1. Mahāvairocana, represented again;

2. Saṃkusumitarāja Tathāgata, or the “Blossoming Flowers King Tathāgata”;

3. Ratnaketu Tathāgata: “His body is the color of sunlight...otherwise described as the reddish white brilliance of the sun when it first appears at dawn” (Digital Dictionary of Buddhism);

4. Amitâbha Tathāgata: “in Sanskrit, ‘Limitless Light’, the buddha of the western Pure Land” (Princeton Dictionary, p. 34);

5. Divyadundubhimeghanirghoṣa Tathāgata: “The color of gold...he is seated on a lotus...His left hand is in the position of the fist mudrā...placed at the navel” (Digital Dictionary of Buddhism).

Very fine copy, some worming, most of it carefully mended. Preserved in a wooden box.