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Godai Nyorai (Japanese)
Also Gochi Nyorai 五智如来
Five Buddha of Wisdom
Five Buddha of Meditation
Five Jina | Five Tathagatas
Especially important to Japan's Shingon 真言 and Tendai 天台 Sects of Esoteric Buddhsim, these Five Tathagata (Jp. = Nyorai, English = Buddha) are eminations of the absolute Buddha. They appear frequently on the Japanese mandala. They embody five fundamental wisdoms -- wisdom against anger, envy, desire, ignorance, and pride -- to help us break free from the cycle of death and rebirth, or the Six States of Existence (i.e., the cycle of suffering, Sanskrit = samsara). Each of the five has a specific Mudra (hand gesture) that corresponds to one of five defining episodes in the life of the Historical Buddha. Each of the five is also associated with a direction (north, south, east, west, center/zenith). The Bosatsu (Bodhisattva) often wear crowns that bear an effigy of their "spiritual progenitor" -- i.e., one of these five deities. The five are:
- Dainichi Nyorai 大日如来 (Skt. = Vairocana/Mahavairocana) | Center
- Fukujoju Nyorai (Fukūjōju) 不空成就 (Skt. = Amoghasiddhi) | North
- Hosho Nyorai (Hōshō) 宝生 (Skt. = Ratnasambhava) | South
- Ashuku Nyorai 阿閦 (Skt. = Akshobhya) | East
- Amida Nyorai 阿弥陀如来 (Skt. = Amitabha) | West
NOTE: In Japan, these Five Buddha (Jp. = Gobutsu 五仏) appear regularly in the Kongōkai Mandala (Diamond World Mandara, 金剛界曼荼, Skt. = Vajradhatu) and Taizōkai Mandala (Womb World or Matrix Mandara, 胎蔵曼荼羅, Skt. = Garbhadhatu). The Kongōkai Mandala represents the Cosmic Buddha (aka Dainichi Nyorai), and is associated with transcendental wisdom (static, crystal clear, and adamantine truth). The Taizōkai Mandala represents the world of physical phenomenon (physical manifestations of truth) and is associated with ultimate principles (Jp. = Ri, 理). Each of the Five Buddhas represents one of the Five Wisdoms (Jp. = Gochi 五智), hence their name (Five Buddha of Wisdom, Jp. = Gochi Nyorai, 五智如来).
 
Closeups, Kongōkai (Kongōkai) Mandala 金剛界曼荼
Image in center is Dainichi Nyorai
Heian Period, 9th Century, Kyōgokuji Temple 京極寺 (Tōji 東寺)
Photos courtesy temple catalog
- Dainichi Nyorai 大日如来
 Sanskrit = Vairocana or Mahavairocana
Central deity in many Japanese mandala. Buddha (Tathagata) Family; converts ignorance and bewilderment into the wisdom of primordial awareness, or the wisdom of universal lawfulness; Dainichi corresponds to the Historical Buddha's first turning of the Wheel of the Law at Deer Park in Sarnath (India), where Shaka Nyorai (the Historical Buddha) gave his first sermon after reaching enlightenment; the turning of the wheel is a metaphor for teaching the way of enlightenment; Dainichi Nyorai is known as the primordial or cosmic Buddha; Center or Zenith; White; also represents body, earth, and eye consciousness. Dainichi is the one from which "all things emanate," the one who embodies all things, the one who represents the unity of all things; thus Dainichi encompasses the qualities of the four surrounding Buddha. Especially important to Japan's Shingon 真言宗 sects; embodies realm of ultimate reality (Hokkai 法界).
 Fukujoju (Fukūjōju) Nyorai 不空成就
Sanskrit = Amoghasiddhi
Karma Family; converts jealousy and envy into all-accomplishing wisdom, or the wisdom required by karma for its completion; family represented by sword; sometimes associated with Tara Bosatsu. North, Green. Fukūjōju teaches people how they can benefit themselves and others, as well as instilling in them the will to work for the benefit of others. (Unconfirmed. Associated with Earth; represents Jōshosachi 成所作智 (Skt.= Krtya-anusthana-jnana); Kongōyasha Myō-ō 金剛夜叉明王 said to be Fukūjōju's wrathful Shingon manifestation; in Tendai, associated with Ususama Myō-ō 烏枢沙摩明王)
 Hosho (Hōshō) Nyorai 宝生
Sanskrit = Ratnasambhava
Also pronounced Hōjō 宝生. Ratna (Jewel) Family; converts pride, greed and envy into the wisdom of equanimity, or the wisdom of essential similarity, or the ultimate equality of all living creatures; South; Yellow. Hōjō is another name for Shaka Nyorai (Historical Buddha). The name Hōjō is translated as "giving birth to treasure." It represents the treasure of Buddhist Law (dharma) that Shaka taught in his first sermon and all subsequent sermons. (Unconfirmed. Associated with Fire)
 Ashuku Nyorai 阿閦 (Sanskrit = Akshobhya)
Vajra (Diamond) Family; converts anger and aggression into mirror-like wisdom; East; Blue. Asuhku represents the universal and unchanging power of Buddhist teachings. (Unconfirmed. Associated with Air, Wind, East, Fudō the Immovable)
 Amida Nyorai 阿弥陀如来 (Sanskrit = Amitabha)
Padma (Lotus) Family; converts desire, lust and passion into the wisdom of discriminating awareness, or the wisdom of distinction; Amida corresponds to the meditation of the historical Buddha under the Bodhi tree; statues typically shown Amida forming the meditation mudra (Skt. = Dhyana, Jp. = Jou-in); West; Red; Padma (Lotus) family also represents speech, fire, and nose consciousness; includes Kannon Bosatsu (Avalokiteshvara), who is one of Amida's main attendants. Central deity of Japan's Pure Land 浄土宗 Sects, and ruler of the Western Paradise of Ultimate Bliss (Jōdo, Gokuraku 極楽).
Closeup from Kongōkai (Diamond) Mandala
Image in center is Dainichi Nyorai
Kyōgoku-ji 京極寺 (Tōji 東寺), Heian Period, 9th C
North (Top) = Fukūjyōju | South (Bottom) = Hōshō
Left (West) = Amida | Right (East) = Ashuku
Dainichi Nyorai (Skt. = Vairocana / Mahavairocana)
Artwork from this site on Shingon Buddhism (KoMyo-in)
SIX ELEMENTS 六界
Jp. = Rokukai ろくかい
In Esoteric Buddhism, the five elements (Jp. = Gogyo, Gogyō 五行) are combined with one additional element, the MIND, for a total of six. Statues or paintings of Dainichi Buddha, the central deity of Esoteric Buddhism in Japan, often portray Dainichi with a characteristic hand gesture called the Mudra of Six Elements (Chiken-in 智拳印), in which the index finger of the left hand is clasped by the five fingers of the right. This mudra symbolizes the unity of the five worldly elements (earth, water, fire, air, and space) with a six element, spiritual consciousness. Others equate the left hand with the male organ and the right hand with the female organ, and maintain that it represents, by means of sexual symbolism, the central deity of the mandala from which all the other deities emanate. According to another interpretation, the left hand represents sentient beings and the right hand the Buddha, and thus symbolizes the two-way response of the Buddha and sentient beings.
In the Mandala artform, which is of special importance to Japan's Esoteric sects (Shingon, Tendai), the five elements are considered inanimate (this equates to the Garbhadhatu or Womb World Mandala). Only by adding the sixth element -- mind, perception, or spiritual consciousness -- do the five become animate. This equates with the Vajradhatu or Diamond World Mandala. Phrased differently, there is "unity" only when the sixth element is added. Without the sixth element, ordinary eyes see only the differentiated forms or appearances.
- Earth
- Water
- Fire
- Air (or Wind)
- Space
- the MIND (spiritual consciousness or perception)
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