Amoghavajra

Kamakura Period

(14th century)

Amoghavajra (

Sanskrit: अमोघवज्र Amoghavajra; Chinese: 不空; pinyin: Bùkōng; Japanese: Fukū; Korean: 불공; Vietnamese: Bất Không, 705–774) was a prolific translator who became one of the most politically powerful Buddhist monks in Chinese history and is acknowledged as one of the Eight Patriarchs of the Doctrine in Shingon Buddhism

.

Life

Born in

Indochina and India. During this voyage, he apparently met Nagabodhi, Vajrabodhi's master, and studied the Tattvasaṃgraha Tantra

at length. He returned to China in 746 with some five hundred volumes gathered from Sri Lanka.

In 750, he left the court to join the military governorship of General

Outer Tantras

of Vajrayana 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 during the

chakravartin

.

Amoghavajra assisted the Tang dynasty state against the An Lushan rebellion. He carried out Vajrayana rituals which were ostensibly effective in supernaturally attacking and destroying An Lushan's army including the death of one of An Lushan's generals, Zhou Zhiguang.[3]^[4]

In 765, Amoghavajra used his new rendition of the

Uyghurs which was poised to invade Chang'an. Its leader, Pugu Huai'en

, dropped dead in camp and his forces dispersed.

The opulent

Mañjuśrī as the protector of China. Amoghavajra continued to perform rites to avert disaster at the request of Emperor Daizong of Tang

.

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^[2]^{: 145, 147, 274} 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.

References

^ ^a ^b Lehnert, Martin (2010). Esoteric Buddhism and the Tantras in East Asia. Brill. p. 351.
ISBN 9789004204010
.

^ ^a ^b Yang, Zeng (2010). A Biographical Study on Bukong 不空 (aka. Amoghavajra, 705-774) : Networks, Institutions, and Identities. University of British Columbia. p. 23.
doi:10.14288/1.0363332
.

ISBN 978-9814695084
.

^ Sundberg, Jeffrey (2018). "Appreciation of Relics, Stupas, and Relic Stupas in Eighth Century Esoteric Buddhism: Taisho Tripitaka Texts and Archaeological Residues in Guhya Lanka_Part 2". The Indian International Journal of Buddhist Studies. 19: 211, 230.

Further reading

Astley, Ian (1987). The Rishukyo, a translation and commentary in the light of modern Japanese scholarship, PhD thesis, The University of Leeds

External links

Digital Dictionary of Buddhism (log in with userID "guest")

A review of Chinese Esoteric Buddhism: Amoghavajra and the Ruling Elite Archived 2016-04-01 at the Wayback Machine, by Geoffrey C. Goble

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Amoghavajra&oldid=1171918256"

[Lehnert-1] Lehnert, Martin (2010). Esoteric Buddhism and the Tantras in East Asia. Brill. p. 351.
ISBN 9789004204010
.

[Yang-2] Yang, Zeng (2010). A Biographical Study on Bukong 不空 (aka. Amoghavajra, 705-774) : Networks, Institutions, and Identities. University of British Columbia. p. 23.
doi:10.14288/1.0363332
.

[3] ISBN 978-9814695084
.

[4] Sundberg, Jeffrey (2018). "Appreciation of Relics, Stupas, and Relic Stupas in Eighth Century Esoteric Buddhism: Taisho Tripitaka Texts and Archaeological Residues in Guhya Lanka_Part 2". The Indian International Journal of Buddhist Studies. 19: 211, 230.

[4]

[2]