Qualities
There is an expansive number of associations with each element of the mandala, so that the mandala becomes a cipher and mnemonic visual thinking instrument and concept map; a vehicle for understanding and decoding the whole of the Dharma. Some of the associations include:
| Family/Buddha | Colour ← Element → Symbolism | Cardinality → Wisdom → Attachments → Gestures | Means → Maladaptation to Stress | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buddha/Vairocana | white ← space → wheel | center → all accommodating → form → Teaching the Dharma | Turning the Wheel of Dharma → ignorance | n/a |
| Vajra/Akshobhya | blue ← water → scepter, vajra | east → nondualist → consciousness → humility | protect, destroy → anger, hate | spring |
| Padma/Amitābha | red ← fire → lotus | west → inquisitive → perception → meditation | magnetize, subjugate → selfishness | summer |
| Ratna/Ratnasambhava | gold/yellow ← earth → jewel | south → equanimous → feeling → giving | enrich, increase → pride, greed | autumn |
| Karma/Amoghasiddhi | green ← air, wind → double vajras | north → all accomplishing → mental formation, concept → fearlessness | pacify → envy | winter |
The Five Wisdom Buddhas are protected by the Five Wisdom Kings, and in Japan are frequently depicted together in the Mandala of the Two Realms and are in the Shurangama Mantra revealed in the Shurangama Sutra. They each are often depicted with consorts, and preside over their own Pure Lands. In East Asia, the aspiration to be reborn in a pure land is the central point of Pure Land Buddhism. Although all five Buddhas have pure lands, it appears that only Sukhāvatī of Amitabha, and to a much lesser extent Abhirati of Akshobhya (where great masters like Vimalakirti and Milarepa are said to dwell) attracted aspirants.
| Buddha (Skt) | Consort | Dhyani Bodhisattva | Pure Land | seed syllable |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vairocana | White Tara or Dharmadhatvishvari | Samantabhadra | central pure land Akanistha Ghanavyuha | Om |
| Akshobhya | Locanā | Vajrapāni | eastern pure land Abhirati | Hum |
| Amitābha | Pandara | Avalokiteshvara | western pure land Sukhāvatī | Hrih |
| Ratnasaṃbhava | Mamaki | Ratnapani | southern pure land Shrimat | Trah |
| Amoghasiddhi | Green Tara | Viśvapāni | northern pure land Prakuta | Ah |
Read more about this topic: Five Dhyani Buddhas
Famous quotes containing the word qualities:
“The will is one of the chief factors in belief, not that it creates belief, but because things are true or false according to the aspect in which we look at them. The will, which prefers one aspect to another, turns away the mind from considering the qualities of all that it does not like to see; and thus the mind, moving in accord with the will, stops to consider the aspect which it likes and so judges by what it sees.”
—Blaise Pascal (1623–1662)
“The errors of the observer come from the qualities of the human mind.”
—Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe (1749–1832)
“If goodness were only a theory, it were a pity it should be lost to the world. There are a number of things, the idea of which is a clear gain to the mind. Let people, for instance, rail at friendship, genius, freedom, as long as they will—the very names of these despised qualities are better than anything else that could be substituted for them, and embalm even the most envenomed satire against them.”
—William Hazlitt (1778–1830)