Quick Answer: Who Is Vairocana?
Vairocana (毗卢遮那佛, Pílúzhēnà Fó) is a cosmic Buddha associated with the Flower Garland Sutra and several Chinese Buddhist traditions. Vairocana can appear as a monumental figure, as an image whose robe carries scenes of the Buddhist world, or at the center of a mandala.[1][3][4][5]
- Scripture: The Flower Garland Sutra links the Buddha with a vast vision of buddhahood.[1]
- Cliff sculpture: The seated Buddha at the center of the Tang Fengxian group at Longmen is Vairocana.[4]
- Ritual image: A Liao mandala uses a hand gesture to identify the central Buddha.[5]
The surrounding figures, a gesture and the object’s record offer different clues.
Vairocana (毗卢遮那佛, Pílúzhēnà Fó) appears in objects made for different settings. A figure cut into a cliff can give the Buddha monumental scale. A small mandala can establish the Buddha’s importance through position within an ordered assembly.
Vairocana and the Flower Garland Sutra
In the Flower Garland Sutra, Vairocana is associated with the vast world of a Buddha’s awakening. Chinese Huayan Buddhism developed interpretations of the scripture that consider how the Buddha’s world relates to ordinary experience. The name and image also occur outside the Huayan context.[1][6]
What the Stone Images Show
A Northern Qi limestone figure at the Smithsonian is often called the Cosmic Buddha. Small scenes on its robe depict aspects of the Buddhist world and episodes associated with the historical Buddha. The identification has been discussed because the sculpture no longer has its head or arms and the scenes offer several ways to read it. The robe supplies the surviving narrative clues.[1][2][3]
At Fengxian in the Longmen Grottoes, the great seated Vairocana belongs to a Tang group carved into limestone. Scale and the positions of attendants help a viewer read its central role. The arrangement works differently from the narrative detail on the earlier robe.[4]
Vairocana in an Esoteric Assembly
Mahāvairocana (大日如来, Dàrì Rúlái) is a name used in esoteric contexts. A gold mandala from a relic deposit at the Liao North Pagoda in Chaoyang shows a central Vairocana whose wisdom-fist gesture helps identify him. The gesture identifies the figure within the wider assembly. The setting links the image to esoteric Buddhist ritual culture and shows why hand gestures are best read with the rest of the work.[5][6]
FAQs About Vairocana
Is Vairocana the historical Buddha?
Vairocana is often understood as a cosmic Buddha. Chinese images and texts can connect that role with Shakyamuni in different ways.
Is there one gesture that identifies Vairocana?
The wisdom-fist gesture is useful in some contexts. The date, setting and companion figures also matter.
Where can you see a monumental Vairocana in China?
The Tang Fengxian group at Longmen contains a large seated Vairocana carved into the cliff.
Источники
[1] Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art. Keith Wilson, Chinese Buddhist Art at the Freer and Sackler Galleries
[2] Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art. The Cosmic Buddha’s New Dimensions
[3] Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art. Vairochana (Bilushena), The Cosmic Buddha
[4] UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Longmen Grottoes nomination dossier
[5] Korean Journal of Art History. Youn-mi Kim, From Esoteric to Pure Land and Huayan Buddhism
[6] Journal of Korean Art and Archaeology. Vairocana, Image of Dharmakāya in the Late Silla Dynasty