Achala, Fudo Myoo, Ferocious Activity of Maha Vairochana's Compassion, Protective Wrath

Рет қаралды 7,679

8 ай бұрын

Why is Achala, the ferocious form of enlightenment, so popular in most schools of Mahayana Buddhism? Why is Achala the ultimate manifestation of wrathful compassionate activity? Why does he resemble a stern warrior or enforcing police officer with weapons drawn?
We visualize Achala, or Fudo Myoo, in Japan as the wrathful soldier form. He is the same deity as Vairochana Buddha, a wrathful emanation of the Buddha of Light. He is prominent in the Maha Vairochana Sutra and is also described with his symbolism in the Aryachala Sutra:
At that time, there was a great wisdom king in the great assembly of Vairocana.
This great wisdom king possesses unlimitedmajestic power,
Having the virtue of great compassion, he appears in a blue-black form.
Having the virtue of great stillness, he sits on an adamantine rock.
Having great wisdom, he manifests great flames.
He wields the great sword of wisdom to destroy greed, ignorance, and hatred.
He holds the snare of luminous to bind those hard to tame.
Because he is the formless Dharmakaya identical with space, he has no fixed abode;
his only dwelling is within the hearts of sentient beings.
Although the minds and inclinations of sentient beings differ,
by each one's desires, he bestows blessings and provides whatever is being sought.
At that time, the great assembly, having heard this sūtra, rejoiced greatly, faithfully accepted it, and put it into practice.
HIS MANTRA IS CHANTED BY BUDDHA WEEKLY BEAUTIFULLY IN SANSKRIT in A ONE HOUR MEDITATIVE VIDEO, HERE: • Achala Fudu Myoo Sansk...
MUSIC AVAILABLE FROM YOUR FAVORITE MUSIC STREAMER:
Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, Instagram/Facebook, TikTok & other ByteDance stores, KZfaq Music, Amazon, Pandora, Deezer, Tidal, iHeartRadio, Claro Música, Saavn, Boomplay, Anghami, KKBox, NetEase, Tencent, Qobuz, Joox, Kuack Media, Yandex Music (beta), Adaptr, Flo, MediaNet
ON SPOTIFY: open.spotify.com/album/4ouHVO...
ON APPLE MUSIC: / achala-fudo-myoo-mantr...
ON DEEZER: www.deezer.com/us/album/51655...
He is chief among the Vidyarajas or Wisdom Kings. He is so stern and all-powerful that his full Sanskrit name, Arya Acalanatha, means "Noble Immovable Lord, " indicating that nothing can shake his attention or power.
He is especially reassuring in his form with a lotus crown on the top of his head, reminding us that he is fully Enlightened even though he is wrathful compassion.
In Mahayana Buddhism, and especially Vajra yana, we visualize the Buddha in countless forms as part of the meditation on the Enlightened body, speech, and mind. The form we imagine is the Enlightened body. His mantra and sutra represent the Dharma or Enlightened speech. The seed syllable symbolizes the mind or wisdom essence.
They are almost always together in a temple, with Maha Vairochana as the center of attention, guarded by the wrathful Achala. In the cosmic mandala, Maha Vairochana is the mandala's center, surrounded by the four Dhayani Buddhas. At the same time, Achala or Fudo Myoo is the center of the wrathful mandala, surrounded by the four wrathful aspects of the Dhyani Buddhas.
Achala's mantra is the Mantra of Compassionate Help to signify his Buddhist role. He is the activity of wrathful compassion.
The main lineages arise from the Maha Vairochana Sutra, but other emanations appear in lineage practices according to various Sarma traditions in Tibet. He was very popular in India in the 8th and 9th centuries, with 6 Sanskrit texts dedicated solely to his practice, translated by the master Amoghavajra. His practice spans Nepal, Tibet, China, Japan, and worldwide.
His mantra is from the all-important Maha Vairochana Sutra, both in the long and short forms. The mantra of compassionate help is:
namaḥ samanta vajrā nāṃ chaṇḍa-mahā roṣaṇasp hoṭaya hūṃ traṭ hāṃ māṃ
नमः समन्तवज्राणां चण्डमहारोषणस्फोटय हूँ त्रट् हाँ माँ
In English, this translates, more or less, as:
Homage to the all-encompassing Vajra! O violent one of great wrath, destroy all obstacles, negativities, and evil!
#buddhism #fudomyoo #achala #acalanatha #shingon #vajrayana #tibetanbuddhism

Пікірлер: 42

@Jasmine_breeze 8 ай бұрын

Achala literally means the Unmoved One. The beauty is that he is completely focused, meditative, compassionate and dangerous to evil. He is a symbol of mastery in self-control and therefore can protect others. He doesn't exaggerate and doesn't take revenge. He is fair and that's it. He generates anger on demand when needed. All the while remaining calm and focused 😊❤🙏

@BuddhaWeekly 8 ай бұрын

🙏🙏🙏❤

@Mantras-and-Mystics 8 ай бұрын

Thank you. I love what you said! ❤️

@roygomez1573 8 ай бұрын

In the Chandamaharoshana Tantra, it is explained, that although Achala is an emissary of Maha Vairoshans Buddha, he is an emanation of Buddha Akshobya, that is why his body is dark blue like Vajrapani and he belongs to the Vajra family. The text explains that Achala on his head carries Akshobya, in his Crown.

@BuddhaWeekly 8 ай бұрын

Thanks for your patience (mantra video soon, we're recording Achala now, wwe already have Maha Vairochana in production.) Yes, in that Tantra, (and many Sarma lineages) Achala emanated from Buddha Akshobya. In the Japanese form as Fudo Myoo, he specifically is associated (usually as a emanation) of Maha Vairochana, and can be black, red or yellow, but the color aspects in Shingon Buddhism aren't the same symbolism as TIbetan Buddhism. (For example, all four of the wrathful emanations of the four directional Dhyani Buddhas are blue, like Achala (who in the center) -- so color doesn't associate in this case specifically with Akshobyah in the Japanese tantras which arise from Maha Vairochana Sutra.) Generally, though, since Maha Vairochana is the Dharmakaya Adi Buddha, Akshobya Buddha emanates from Maha Vairochana (not be be confused with Vairochana, the central Dhyani Buddha. By the way, in Tibet in some schools we'd call him Vajradhara or Samantabadhra rather than Maha Vairochana -- but those are just names, the essence is the same Dharmakaya Adi Buddha). For these reasons, it is perfectly correct to view Achala as emanating from both, either, or according to your specific lineages. The Maha Vairochana Sutra is actually the source of many of the Tibetan Tantra lineages. It can also be confusing when you look at the Shingon Vajrayana emanations as wrathful ones, where Achala is in the center emanating from Maha Vairochana, Yamantaka is in the west emanating from Amitabha (for example, in Gelug Tibetan lineages, Yamantaka emanates from Manjushri. It gets even more confusing within Tibet because the Dhyani Buddhas usually have Vairochana in the center but some traditions place Akshobya in the center and Vairochana in the east. As always in Buddhism, there is no wrong view, only different paths to the same wisdom, united by Bodhichitta and compassion. In kindness, BW

@roygomez1573 8 ай бұрын

@@BuddhaWeekly Your explanation is really beautiful, that's why I am a loyal follower of your channel. Many blessings 🙏🏼

@pawangiri7185 7 ай бұрын

@@BuddhaWeeklyyeah it's very confusing indeed

@user-hn8vn6pu5e 7 ай бұрын

Om namahshivaya... Om shree Bhairavaya

@roygomez1573 8 ай бұрын

Thank you so much!!!! I have been waiting for a documentary about Achala Candamaharoshana (Fudo Myoo) for a long time! 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

@BuddhaWeekly 8 ай бұрын

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

@roygomez1573 8 ай бұрын

@@BuddhaWeekly Thank you so much!

@avinandac 8 ай бұрын

Very helpful and important ❤

@BuddhaWeekly 8 ай бұрын

🙏🙏🙏❤🙏❤🙏

@arsush-pw3ge 8 ай бұрын

Спасибо вам за ваши видео🙏🙏🙏

@BuddhaWeekly 8 ай бұрын

🙏🙏🙏

@dannychen9685 8 ай бұрын

I have to add quaintly... in Japanese Esoteric Mantranaya Buddhism, primarily Shingon Buddhism (and Tendai to an extent), there's a partial influence and syncretization of Chinese folk-Daoist spiritual modalities and folk-sorcery. 😊🙏🙏

@BuddhaWeekly 8 ай бұрын

No doubt, and thanks for watching. One hopes that every tradition, spiritual path, and lineage is syncretic. Doism and Buddhism shared a lot in both directions in China, and prior to that Buddhism shared with other Dharmic paths. Shinto and Buddhist beliefs likewise were shared in Japan. I hope that continues. Buddhism is an open and embracing spirituality, very rarely dogmatic. Sharing and learning from each other is the foundation of good spiritual practice. In kidness, BW

@dannychen9685 8 ай бұрын

@@BuddhaWeeklyThank you for the reply. Sadhu sadhu. ☸️☸️☸️☸️💖 🙏🙏

@user-bx1sv4ph4n 8 ай бұрын

❤❤❤

@pat_1308 7 ай бұрын

Thank you very much for this video on Acalanatha! 🙏

@andregonzalez1496 8 ай бұрын

❤❤❤❤ Thank you so much 🦚🦚🦚🦚🌹🌹🌹🌹❤❤❤❤

@BuddhaWeekly 8 ай бұрын

🙏🙏🙏❤🙏❤

@pat_1308 7 ай бұрын

Acalanatha is in many ways the "starter" deity in Japanese Esoteric Buddhism (Mikkyō). He is (one of) the main deities venerated by Shingon and Tendai monks during their monastic training (kegyō) in Vajrayana, and the Acala Homa (Fudō Goma-ku) is the standard form of the Homa (Goma) rite performed in both schools. (Homa rituals specific to other buddhas, bodhisattvas and deities exist, but only a few actually practice or transmit them in Japan nowadays. By contrast, Shingon and Tendai monks learn the Fudō Goma during the kegyō period, so it's the one Homa ritual that an acharya (ajari), a monk fully trained in Mikkyō, pretty much knows.) On the lay side, Acala is also the first of the Thirteen Buddhas, a group of various buddhas believed to guide a person after their death. He is thought to guide the deceased's soul for the first seven days after their death

@nerilensmith4240 8 ай бұрын

Thank u well done

@BuddhaWeekly 8 ай бұрын

🙏🙏🙏

@user-cb5kp6kn3s 3 ай бұрын

ขอบคุณคะ

@BuddhaWeekly 3 ай бұрын

🙏🙏🙏❤❤❤🙏🙏🙏

@user-bx1sv4ph4n 7 ай бұрын

⚡⚡⚡🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

@fernandoandaluz2281 8 ай бұрын

Namo Amida Butsu 🙏🏼⭕

@pawangiri7185 7 ай бұрын

🔥Chandamaharoshan 🔥

@Mantras-and-Mystics 8 ай бұрын

I love this chant! Since hearing this I've been trying to find a longer version on KZfaq but no luck. (at least not the same wording). Can anyone recommend one please? Thank you. 🙏

@BuddhaWeekly 8 ай бұрын

We're recording one now in studio, it's going to be amazing.There are a few but almost all are Japanese versions of the Sanskrit.. It's likely the reason the wording in our video is different is that we've used the Sanskrit form the Sutra. The Japanese version (same mantra, but Japanese version) is: Nômaku sanmanda bazaradan senda makaroshada sowataya un tarata kanman. (Jpn.) In Sasnskrit (which is the original teaching) it is: (Skt.).namaḥ samanta vajrā nāṃ chaṇḍa-mahā roṣaṇasp hoṭaya hūṃ traṭ hāṃ māṃ नमः समन्तवज्राणां चण्डमहारोषणस्फोटय हूँ त्रट् हाँ माँ (NOTE: THE SEED SYLLABLE is different too: hāṃ is the seed syllable in Sanskrit, but it's kan in Japanese.) We're in the studio recording Achala's Mantra of Compassionate Help now and will produce a video in the next week or two. In kindness, BW

@Mantras-and-Mystics 8 ай бұрын

@@BuddhaWeekly 🙏 I am thrilled at this news! Thank you so much. I look forward to it. 🙏

@fubgelsen4220 5 ай бұрын

🙇‍♂🙇‍♂🙇‍♂

@pat_1308 7 ай бұрын

Just a minor correction, if I may: there's a typo in the mantra - it should be "caṇḍamahāroṣaṇa sphoṭaya" (JP: 'senda makaroshada sowataya'). Thanks again 🙏

@jokethisisa468 8 ай бұрын

Great Video as Always! But how did the people in the short Sutra: "Put it Into practice" when this Sutra doesnt give a Lot to practice, the Buddha Just says 'there ist this cool guy' or what are the benefits of that short Sutra?

@BuddhaWeekly 8 ай бұрын

Thanks. I'm not sure if you meant sutra or mantra? The benefits of either long or short mantra are the same. The benefits are the same as any wrathful wisdom Enlightened Buddha -- you just choose the aspect you prefer, benefits are much the same. Wrathful deities are especially good for people with "high emotional states" or lots of obstacles. The visualization for both Fudo Myoo and the Tibetan form of Achala were in the video (quoted from the Sutra) so that's how you visualize. Or, did you meant the Sutra. The Maha Vaircochana Sutra is 390 pages (at least my copy), so not very short, but did you mean the Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇa Tantra? I wasn't clear there. This wasn't a Sadhana, or meditational practice, but a teaching sutra (it had the visualization and mantra, of course!), and transmission of the mantra, etc. But, for the most part, Fudo Myoo (in Japan) is always Kriya Tantra. There is a higher yoga Achala in one or two sarma lineages, but those sadhanas only come with teachings in person. But, to practice Fudo Myoo or Achala in any form, as Kriya meditation, is always the same formula, which is: 1. Taking Refuge in the Three Jewels 2. Stating Bodhichitta 3. Blessing and offerings (however you make offerings, outer, inner, or visualized, doesn't matter) 3b. Ideally, the seven limbs of practice - i.e. see the King of Prayers video if you don't have this already. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/oNB4Z7WjtqjImps.html 4. Visualization in front of you (since you don't have empowerment which would come with a visualizing sadhana) 5. Chanting the mantra with the general visualization of the seed syllable at the deities heart (in this case Ham) with light coming from Achala's heart and into your heart. You can make this more elaborate if you want to visualize the Womb Mandala, which we'll probably do in a future video) 6. Since you didn't self generate (unless you have empowerment) you'd usually finish by absorbing the visualization of the deity into your heart. 7. Dedicate the merit The three more important aspects are always: Take refuge, visualize and mantras and dedicate merit. Without those three, it's not a complete practice. Ideally add the Seven Limbs which already includes offerings -- we did the King of Prayers video with refuge at the beginning and dedication of merit at the end, so your complete practice could just be that, plus visualizing Achala and chanting his mantra , etc. Hope that helps. Otherwise, I may not have understood the question, sorry. In kindness, BW.

@jokethisisa468 8 ай бұрын

@@BuddhaWeekly Thank you for this summary of a practice! A good reminder! Regarding my question, Just forget that I ever asked this question. Another question I have is , Who are those Wisdom Kings that Acala ist the Sovereign of? Why are they called Wisdom Kings?

@BuddhaWeekly 8 ай бұрын

This will be a future video, but for now: Myoo literally translates as Wisdom King, so all five have Myoo at the end of their names in Japanese. They are sometimes called the Five Guardian Kings and in Sanskrit we say Vidyarajas. Vidya means WIsdom and Raja means King. You see Vidyarajas in many Sadhanas and praises in Sanskrit. Wisdom Kings are enlightened, and active. Each Direction has associated Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Dakinis and Protectors, and Wisdom Kings. In Chinese and Japanese (Shingon and Tendai) esoteric Buddhism, the Five Great Wisdom Kings (五大明王, Jp. Godai Myōō; Ch. Wǔ Dà Míngwáng), also known as the Five Guardian Kings, are a group of vidyārājas who are considered to be both the fierce emanations of the Five Wisdom Buddhas and the guardians of Buddhist doctrine. Organized according to the five directions (the four cardinal points plus the center), the Five Kings are usually defined as follows: Acala / Acalanātha (不動明王; Jp. Fudō Myōō; Ch. 不動明王, Bùdòng Míngwáng) - Manifestation of Mahāvairocana, associated with the center Trailokyavijaya (降三世明王; Jp. Gōzanze Myōō; Ch. Xiángsānshì Míngwáng) - Manifestation of Akṣobhya, associated with the east Kuṇḍali / Amṛtakuṇḍalin (軍荼利明王, Jp. Gundari Myōō; Ch. Jūntúlì Míngwáng) - Manifestation of Ratnasambhava, associated with the south Yamāntaka (大威徳明王; Jp. Daiitoku Myōō; Ch. Dàwēidé Míngwáng) - Manifestation of Amitābha, associated with the west Vajrayakṣa (金剛夜叉明王, Jp. Kongōyasha Myōō; Ch. Jīngāng Yèchā Míngwáng) - Manifestation of Amoghasiddhi, associated with the north in the Shingon school Ucchuṣma (烏枢沙摩明王; Jp. Ususama Myōō; Ch. Wūshūshāmó Míngwáng) - Associated with the north in the Tendai school Some of these you'll recognize, such as Kundali from Vajrayogini and Heruka practice or Yamantaka from Highest Yoga practices in Gelug traditions, etc, where they can emanate as Yidams or Dharmapalas, but here they are Wisdom Kings, and in Sutra they are normally classed as Wisdom Kings.

@ladyhawk5245 8 ай бұрын

Maha kala?

@BuddhaWeekly 8 ай бұрын

Similar, but different, yet the same. Mahakala is usually (not always, depends on lineage) the wrathful emanation of Avalokiteshvara as a protector. Achala is the same type of emanation (wrathful) but of the Adi Buddha Maha Vairochana, rather than Avaolokiteshva who emanates from Amitabha Buddha. Ultimately, in the Vajrayana philosophy, all Buddha's are of one essence and one nature, at the Dharmakaya (Dharma body) level, which is Maha Vairochana (see our video on MahaVairochana kzfaq.info/get/bejne/ncpgdbWVp8-rf30.html ), so ultimately, Mahakala is an aspect of Vairochana as well (from that point of view) although Mahakala emanates primarily from the Padma family (Avalokiteshvara and Amitabha). This concept is difficult, it's at the level of the perfect understanding of Shunyata, which most of us can't really fully understand (Perfection of Wisdom Prajnaparamita). So, it's correct to say all Buddha's are of One Essence, One Nature, but they emanate in countless forms to help us in Samsara since our various sufferings are so many and vast. Mahakala and Achala are both similar emanations of the One Enlightened Essence, but their "family" and functions are somewhat different (yet the same, ultimately, i.e. to relieve our suffering and subdue our obstacles for the benefit of all sentient beings.) In kindness, BW

@pat_1308 7 ай бұрын

@@BuddhaWeeklyI'd also add: in the Japanese "honji suijaku" system (where the buddhas - the 'honji or "original/fundamental ground" - are thought to manifest themselves as various easier-to-access lesser deities - "leaving traces" (suijaku) so to speak - for the benefit of sentient beings), Mahakala is sometimes also understood to be a 'trace' or manifestation of Acalanatha, because both are wrathful forms of Vairocana Buddha who are associated with taming and converting the dakinis (the demonesses, not the enlightened beings).