Cintamani

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For Hindu Chintamani Ganesha shrine in Ashtavinayak temples, see Chintamani Temple, Theur. For City of India, see Chintamani, Karnataka.
Japanese depiction of Lakshmi (Kichijote), bearing the Cintamani

Cintāmaṇi (

Buddhist scripture
.

Within Hinduism, it is connected with the gods

Makara.[citation needed] The Yoga Vasistha, originally written in the 10th century CE, contains a story about the cintamani.[1]
The Hindu Vishnu Purana speaks of the "Syamanta jewel, bestowing prosperity upon its owner, encapsulates the Yadu clan system".[2] The Vishnu Purana is attributed to the mid-first millennium CE.

In Buddhism, it is held by the

Amitabha and assembly upon one's deathbed. In Tibetan Buddhist tradition the Chintamani is sometimes depicted as a luminous pearl and is in the possession of several of different forms of the Buddha.[3]

In Japan, where the

Hindu goddess Lakshmi is known as Kisshōten in Shinto
, she is commonly depicted with a Cintāmaṇi in her hand.

Etymology

Cintāmaṇi (Sanskrit; Devanagari: चिन्तामणि): 'Wish-Fulfilling Gem' (Tibetan: ཡིད་བཞིན་ནོར་བུ, Wylie: yid bzhin norbu)[4] The mani (jewel) is translated in Chinese ruyi or ruyizhu 如意珠 "as-one-wishes jewel" or ruyibaozhu 如意寶珠 "as-one-wishes precious jewel". Ruyibaozhu is pronounced in Japanese nyoi-hōju or nyoi-hōshu 如意宝珠. Ruyizhu is pronounced in Korean yeouiju 여의주.

Hinduism

The Brihad Bhagavatamrita compares this gem with devotion towards Vishnu:

स-प्रेमका भक्तिर् अतीव-दुर्लभा स्वर्गादि-भोगः सुलभोऽभवश् च सः ।

चिन्तामणिः सर्व-जनैर् न लभ्यते लभ्येत काचादि कदापि हातकम् ॥ २३२ ॥

sa-premakā bhaktir atīva-durlabhā svargādi-bhogaḥ sulabho'bhavaś ca saḥ | cintāmaṇiḥ sarva-janair na labhyate labhyeta kācādi kadāpi hātakam || 232 ||

Anyone can obtain a piece of glass and sometimes a piece of gold, but not everyone can obtain a cintāmaṇi because it is most rare. Similarly, the pleasures of heaven and liberation are easily achieved, but prema-bhakti is extremely rare.

— Brihad Bhagavatamrita, Verse 2.4.232

The Bhagavata Purana remarks that the cintamani may give worldly pleasures and affluence in Svarga, but spiritual advancement allows one to attain Vaikuntha, the realm of Vishnu that is difficult to achieve, even for yogins.[5]

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Buddhism

Ksitigarbha
holding a cintamani
Mani stone

In Buddhism the Cintamani is said to be one of four

Om Mani Padme Hum mantra inscribed on it. These few objects were the bringers of the Dharma to Tibet
.

The

Makara, or the relics of a Buddha.[6]

The Kintamani mountainous region in Bali was named after the Cintamani.

Perennialism

René Guénon considered the Cintamani to be the equivalent of the philosopher's stone.[7]

See also

Notes

  1. OCLC 11044869
    .
  2. ^ The Past before us: Historical traditions of early North India, Romila Thapar, Harvard, 2013
  3. ISBN 978-0-87169-224-5
    . p. 170
  4. ^ Scheidegger, Daniel (2009). 'The First Four Themes of Klong chen pa's Tsig don bcu gcig pa.' Achard, Jean-Luke (director) (2009). Revue d'Etudes Tibetaines. April 2009. p.49
  5. ^ www.wisdomlib.org (2022-05-29). "Nārada Meets Bhakti (Devotion in a Human Form) [Chapter 1]". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
  6. ^ "ruyizhu", in Digital Dictionary of Buddhism
  7. ISBN 0-900588-78-0
    . p. 277

Bibliography
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