Amoghavajra
Encyclopedia
Amoghavajra (705–774) was a prolific translator who became one of the most politically powerful Buddhist monks in Chinese history
, acknowledged as one of the eight patriarchs of the doctrine in Shingon lineages.
of an Indian
father and Sogdian
mother, he went to China at age 10 after his father's death. In 719, he was ordained into the by Vajrabodhi
and became his disciple. After all foreign monks were expelled from China in 741, he and some associates went on a pilgrimage to gather texts, visiting Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia and India. During this voyage, he apparently met Nagabodhi, master of Vajrabodhi, and studied the system at length. He returned to China in 746 with some five hundred volumes.
In 750, he left the court to join the military governorship of Geshu Han, for whom he conducted large-scale tantric initiations at field headquarters. In 754, he translated the first portion of the (T. 865), the central yoga tantra
of Esoteric Buddhism, which became one of his most significant accomplishments. He regarded its teachings as the most effective method for attaining enlightenment yet devised, and incorporated its basic schema in a number of writings. Amoghavajra was captured in general An Lushan
's rebellion but in 757 was freed by loyalist forces, whereupon he performed rites to purify the capital and consolidate the security of the Tang state. Two years later, he initiated the emperor Suzong
as a cakravartin. In 765, Amoghavajra used his new rendition of the Scripture for Humane Kings in an elaborate ritual to counter the advance of a 200,000-strong army of Tibetans and Uyghurs
which was poised to invade Changan. Its leader, Pugu Huaien, dropped dead in camp and his forces dispersed.
The opulent Jinge Temple
on Mt. Wutai was completed in 767, a pet project of Amoghavajra's, and one of his many efforts to promote the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī
as the protector of China. Amoghavajra continued to perform rites to avert disaster at the request of the emperor Tang Daizong. On his death in 774, three days of mourning were officially declared, and he posthumously received various exalted titles. The Chinese monks Huilang, Huiguo and Huilin were among his most prominent successors. Seventy-seven texts were translated by Amoghavajra according to his own account, though many more, including original compositions, are ascribed to him in the Chinese canons.
History of China
Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest...
, acknowledged as one of the eight patriarchs of the doctrine in Shingon lineages.
Life
Born in SamarkandSamarkand
Although a Persian-speaking region, it was not united politically with Iran most of the times between the disintegration of the Seleucid Empire and the Arab conquest . In the 6th century it was within the domain of the Turkic kingdom of the Göktürks.At the start of the 8th century Samarkand came...
of an Indian
History of India
The history of India begins with evidence of human activity of Homo sapiens as long as 75,000 years ago, or with earlier hominids including Homo erectus from about 500,000 years ago. The Indus Valley Civilization, which spread and flourished in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent from...
father and Sogdian
Sogdiana
Sogdiana or Sogdia was the ancient civilization of an Iranian people and a province of the Achaemenid Empire, eighteenth in the list on the Behistun Inscription of Darius the Great . Sogdiana is "listed" as the second of the "good lands and countries" that Ahura Mazda created...
mother, he went to China at age 10 after his father's death. In 719, he was ordained into the by Vajrabodhi
Vajrabodhi
Vajrabodhi was an Indian buddhist monk and Esoteric Buddhist teacher in Tang China. He is one the eight patriarchs in Shingon Buddhism....
and became his disciple. After all foreign monks were expelled from China in 741, he and some associates went on a pilgrimage to gather texts, visiting Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia and India. During this voyage, he apparently met Nagabodhi, master of Vajrabodhi, and studied the system at length. He returned to China in 746 with some five hundred volumes.
In 750, he left the court to join the military governorship of Geshu Han, for whom he conducted large-scale tantric initiations at field headquarters. In 754, he translated the first portion of the (T. 865), the central yoga tantra
Tantra
Tantra , anglicised tantricism or tantrism or tantram, is the name scholars give to an inter-religious spiritual movement that arose in medieval India, expressed in scriptures ....
of Esoteric Buddhism, which became one of his most significant accomplishments. He regarded its teachings as the most effective method for attaining enlightenment yet devised, and incorporated its basic schema in a number of writings. Amoghavajra was captured in general An Lushan
An Lushan
An Lushan was a general who rebelled against the Tang Dynasty in China.His name was also transcribed into Chinese as Āluòshān or Gáluòshān ,...
's rebellion but in 757 was freed by loyalist forces, whereupon he performed rites to purify the capital and consolidate the security of the Tang state. Two years later, he initiated the emperor Suzong
Emperor Suzong of Tang
Emperor Suzong of Tang , personal name Li Heng , né Li Sisheng , known as Li Jun from 725 to 736, known as Li Yu from 736 to 738, known briefly as Li Shao in 738, was an emperor of the Tang Dynasty and the son of Emperor Xuanzong...
as a cakravartin. In 765, Amoghavajra used his new rendition of the Scripture for Humane Kings in an elaborate ritual to counter the advance of a 200,000-strong army of Tibetans and Uyghurs
Uyghur people
The Uyghur are a Turkic ethnic group living in Eastern and Central Asia. Today, Uyghurs live primarily in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China...
which was poised to invade Changan. Its leader, Pugu Huaien, dropped dead in camp and his forces dispersed.
The opulent Jinge Temple
Jinge Temple
Jinge Temple , or "Golden Pavilion Temple", is a Buddhist temple in Shanxi province, China.The temple is located on Mount Wutai, north of the South Peak and south of the Central Peak, about 15 kilometres from Taihuai town...
on Mt. Wutai was completed in 767, a pet project of Amoghavajra's, and one of his many efforts to promote the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī
Manjusri
Mañjuśrī is a bodhisattva associated with transcendent wisdom in Mahāyāna Buddhism. In Esoteric Buddhism he is also taken as a meditational deity. The Sanskrit name Mañjuśrī can be translated as "Gentle Glory"...
as the protector of China. Amoghavajra continued to perform rites to avert disaster at the request of the emperor Tang Daizong. On his death in 774, three days of mourning were officially declared, and he posthumously received various exalted titles. The Chinese monks Huilang, Huiguo and Huilin were among his most prominent successors. Seventy-seven texts were translated by Amoghavajra according to his own account, though many more, including original compositions, are ascribed to him in the Chinese canons.
External links
- Digital Dictionary of Buddhism (log in with userID "guest")