Five Tathāgatas in the context of "Akshobhya"

Play Trivia Questions online!

or

Skip to study material about Five Tathāgatas in the context of "Akshobhya"

Ad spacer

>>>PUT SHARE BUTTONS HERE<<<

👉 Five Tathāgatas in the context of Akshobhya

Akshobhya (Sanskrit: अक्षोभ्य, Akṣobhya, "Immovable One"; traditional Chinese: 阿閦如来; ; pinyin: Āchùrúlái; Japanese pronunciation: Ashuku Nyorai) is one of the Five Wisdom Buddhas, a product of the Adibuddha, who represents consciousness as an aspect of reality. By convention he is located in the east of the Diamond Realm and is the lord of the Eastern Pure Land Abhirati ('The Joyous'). His consort is Lochanā and he is normally accompanied by two elephants. His color is blue-black and his attributes include a bell, three robes, and staff, as well as a jewel, lotus, prayer wheel, and sword. He has several emanations.

↓ Explore More Topics
In this Dossier

Five Tathāgatas in the context of Tathāgata

Tathāgata (Sanskrit: [tɐˈtʰaːɡɐtɐ]), translated into Chinese as 如來 and English as Thus Come One, is a Pali and Sanskrit word used in ancient India for a person who has attained the highest religious goal. Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, used it when referring to himself or other past Buddhas in the Pāli Canon. Likewise, in the Mahayana corpus, it is an epithet of Shakyamuni Buddha and the other celestial buddhas. The term is often thought to mean either "one who has thus gone" (tathā-gata), "one who has thus come" (tathā-āgata), or sometimes "one who has thus not gone" (tathā-agata). This is interpreted as signifying that the Tathāgata is beyond all coming and going – beyond all transitory phenomena. There are, however, other interpretations and the precise original meaning of the word is not certain.

The Buddha is quoted on numerous occasions in the Pali Canon as referring to himself as the Tathāgata instead of using the pronouns me, I or myself. This may be meant to emphasize by implication that the teaching is uttered by one who has transcended the human condition, one beyond the otherwise endless cycle of rebirth and death, i.e. beyond dukkha.

↑ Return to Menu