Cundi (Buddhism)
Encyclopedia
Cundī is a buddha
or bodhisattva
venerated in the Mahāyāna
Buddhist schools, with emphasis of her practice in the Esoteric Buddhist
schools. She is known as a bhagavati, or "mother of buddhas", and is often equated with the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara
. She may be related to the Hindu goddess
Chandi
.
In late imperial China
, early traditions of Esoteric Buddhism were still thriving in Buddhist communities. Robert Gimello has also observed that in these communities, the esoteric practices of Cundī were extremely popular among both the populace and the elite.
in the late 7th century and early 8th century by the Indian esoteric masters Divākara (685 CE), Vajrabodhi
(723 CE), and Amoghavajra
(8th century).
In the sūtra, after the Buddha speaks extensively about the various effects and benefits of reciting the Cundī Dhāraṇī. Many of the effects are purifying and uplifting in nature. For example, after pronouncing the dhāraṇī, the Buddha then says:
The dhāraṇī is also closely associated with buddhahood
and complete enlightenment
(Skt. ). At the end of the sūtra, the Buddha closes the teaching by saying:
Buddha
In Buddhism, buddhahood is the state of perfect enlightenment attained by a buddha .In Buddhism, the term buddha usually refers to one who has become enlightened...
or bodhisattva
Bodhisattva
In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is either an enlightened existence or an enlightenment-being or, given the variant Sanskrit spelling satva rather than sattva, "heroic-minded one for enlightenment ." The Pali term has sometimes been translated as "wisdom-being," although in modern publications, and...
venerated in the Mahāyāna
Mahayana
Mahāyāna is one of the two main existing branches of Buddhism and a term for classification of Buddhist philosophies and practice...
Buddhist schools, with emphasis of her practice in the Esoteric Buddhist
Vajrayana
Vajrayāna Buddhism is also known as Tantric Buddhism, Tantrayāna, Mantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Esoteric Buddhism and the Diamond Vehicle...
schools. She is known as a bhagavati, or "mother of buddhas", and is often equated with the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara
Avalokitesvara
Avalokiteśvara is a bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. He is one of the more widely revered bodhisattvas in mainstream Mahayana Buddhism....
. She may be related to the Hindu goddess
Devi
Devī is the Sanskrit word for Goddess, used mostly in Hinduism, its related masculine term is deva. Devi is synonymous with Shakti, the female aspect of the divine, as conceptualized by the Shakta tradition of Hinduism. She is the female counterpart without whom the male aspect, which represents...
Chandi
Chandi
Chandi or Chandika is the supreme Goddess of Devi Mahatmya also known as Chandi or Durga Sapthashati. Chandi is described as the Supreme reality who is a combination of Mahakali, Maha Lakshmi and Maha Saraswati...
.
In Buddhist traditions
While Cundī is less well known in the Tibetan Vajrayāna Buddhist community, she is revered in the Chinese and Japanese Buddhist Esoteric sects. In China, she is known as Zhǔntí Púsà (準提菩薩, "Cundī Bodhisattva") or Zhǔntí Fómǔ (準提佛母, "Cundī Buddha-Mother"), while in Japan she is known as Juntei Kannon (准胝観音, "Cundī Avalokitasvara").In late imperial China
Late Imperial China
Late Imperial China refers to the period between the end of Mongol rule in 1368 and the establishment of the Republic of China in 1912 and includes the Ming and Qing Dynasties...
, early traditions of Esoteric Buddhism were still thriving in Buddhist communities. Robert Gimello has also observed that in these communities, the esoteric practices of Cundī were extremely popular among both the populace and the elite.
Source texts
The first textual source of Cundī and the Cundī Dhāraṇī is the , a sūtra centered around Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva, and that also introduces the popular mantra . This text is first dated to around the late 4th century CE to the early 5th century CE. Cundī and the Cundī Dhāraṇī are also featured in the , which was translated three times from Sanskrit to ChineseChinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
in the late 7th century and early 8th century by the Indian esoteric masters Divākara (685 CE), Vajrabodhi
Vajrabodhi
Vajrabodhi was an Indian buddhist monk and Esoteric Buddhist teacher in Tang China. He is one the eight patriarchs in Shingon Buddhism....
(723 CE), and Amoghavajra
Amoghavajra
Amoghavajra 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.-Life:Born in Samarkand of an Indian father and Sogdian mother, he went...
(8th century).
Cundī Dhāraṇī
According to the , the dhāraṇī associated with Cundī is the following:In the sūtra, after the Buddha speaks extensively about the various effects and benefits of reciting the Cundī Dhāraṇī. Many of the effects are purifying and uplifting in nature. For example, after pronouncing the dhāraṇī, the Buddha then says:
The dhāraṇī is also closely associated with buddhahood
Buddhahood
In Buddhism, buddhahood is the state of perfect enlightenment attained by a buddha .In Buddhism, the term buddha usually refers to one who has become enlightened...
and complete enlightenment
Bodhi
Bodhi is both a Pāli and Sanskrit word traditionally translated into English with the word "enlightenment", but which means awakened. In Buddhism it is the knowledge possessed by a Buddha into the nature of things...
(Skt. ). At the end of the sūtra, the Buddha closes the teaching by saying: