- Vajrasekhara Sutra
The Vajrasekhara Sutra is an important
Buddhist tantra used in theVajrayana schools of Buddhism, particularly the JapaneseShingon school. It is also known as the IAST|"Sarvatathāgatatattvasaṃgraha Tantra". In Tibetan it is considered to be the main representative of the Yoga Tantra class of texts.The sutra begins with Mahavairocana Buddha preaching the Dharma to a great host of
Bodhisattvas , includingVajrasattva , in the Buddhist heaven of Akanishta. As he preaches theDharma , Prince Sarvarthasiddhi, the esoteric name of the Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, is meditating under theBodhi Tree. Enlightenment is imminent, but the Prince has still not attained it because he is still attached in some small way to his forsaken ascetic practices. Despairing over his inability to find Enlightenment, he is visited by Buddhist figures who were just now learning the Dharma from Mahavairocana.These same deities proceed to teach him a more direct path to Enlightenment through esoteric ritual. The sutra then details the rituals used to the Dharma. These rituals help forming the basis of
esoteric ritual inShingon Buddhism , including such practices as meditating upon the full moon and the use of certain mantras.This sutra also introduces the
Diamond Realm Mandala as a focus for meditative practices, and its use in theabhiseka ritual of initiation. As the prince has now experienced Enlightenment, he ascends toMount Sumeru and constructs theDiamond Realm Mandala and initiates and converts thebodhisattvas gathered there, one by one, into esoteric deities who constitute the Mandala.In esoteric ritual, the teacher of the esoteric Buddhism assumes the role of the Prince who constructs the Mandala, while the master and student repeat specific mantras in a form of dialogue. The student, who is blindfolded, then throws a flower upon the Mandala that is constructed, and where it lands (i.e. which deity) helps dictate where the student should focus his devotion on the esoteric path. From there, the student's blindfold is removed and a
vajra is placed in hand.See also
*
Shingon
*Kukai
*Mahavairocana Sutra References
*Ryuichi Abe: "The Weaving of Mantra: Kukai and the Construction of Esoteric Buddhist Discourse". New York, NY: Columbia University Press, 1999 ISBN 0-231-11286-6
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