Ratnadhvaja
Encyclopedia
Ratnadhvaja a minor character featured within the famed ancient Chinese novel
Journey to the West
. Ratnadhvaja is regularly known as the Royal Buddha
of Brightness or the Welcoming Buddha. Ratnadhvaja is a neutrally ranked Buddha that serves under the Lord of Buddhas. Ratnadhvaja is first shown within chapter 98 when he had appeared before Sanzang
and his disciples as to ferry them across a large elevated river near the Vulture Peak. Ratnadhvaja lacked a bottom to his boat, but through surviving centuries of chaos, this celestial boat allowed for Sanzang to cross the river with relative ease. After this renowned Buddha leads Sanzang and the others across the river, he is never truly seen again at any point within the novel. Forever following this point Ratnadhvaja would guide those across this large river in order to meet the supreme Buddha atop Vulture Peak - the Tathagata
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Chinese literature
Chinese literature extends thousands of years, from the earliest recorded dynastic court archives to the mature fictional novels that arose during the Ming Dynasty to entertain the masses of literate Chinese...
Journey to the West
Journey to the West
Journey to the West is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. It was written by Wu Cheng'en in the 16th century. In English-speaking countries, the tale is also often known simply as Monkey. This was one title used for a popular, abridged translation by Arthur Waley...
. Ratnadhvaja is regularly known as the Royal Buddha
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...
of Brightness or the Welcoming Buddha. Ratnadhvaja is a neutrally ranked Buddha that serves under the Lord of Buddhas. Ratnadhvaja is first shown within chapter 98 when he had appeared before Sanzang
Xuanzang (fictional character)
The fictional character Xuanzang is a central character of the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West.For most of the novel he is known as Táng-sānzàng, the title Sānzàng referring to his mission to seek the Sānzàngjīng, the "Three Collections of Scriptures"...
and his disciples as to ferry them across a large elevated river near the Vulture Peak. Ratnadhvaja lacked a bottom to his boat, but through surviving centuries of chaos, this celestial boat allowed for Sanzang to cross the river with relative ease. After this renowned Buddha leads Sanzang and the others across the river, he is never truly seen again at any point within the novel. Forever following this point Ratnadhvaja would guide those across this large river in order to meet the supreme Buddha atop Vulture Peak - the Tathagata
Tathagata
Tathāgata in Pali and Sanskrit) is the name the Buddha of the scriptures uses when referring to himself. The term means, paradoxically, both one who has thus gone and one who has thus come . Hence, the Tathagata is beyond all coming and going – beyond all transitory phenomena...
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