Buddha Samantabhadra
Buddha Samantabhadra (T. kun tu bzang po ཀུན་ཏུ་བཟང་པོ་). The representational form of the primordial buddha (ādibuddha) according to the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism.
The 14th Dalai Lama states:
- I understand the Primordial Buddha, also known as Buddha Samantabhadra, to be the ultimate reality, the realm of the Dharmakaya-- the space of emptiness--where all phenomena, pure and impure, are dissolved. This is the explanation taught by the Sutras and Tantras.[1]
Karl Brunnhölzl states:
- Longchenpa's Treasure Trove of Scriptures...explains that Samantabhadra — one of the most common Dzogchen names for the state of original buddhahood — is nothing other than the primordial, innate awareness that is naturally free, even before any notions of "buddhas" or "sentient beings" have emerged.[2]
In the Nyingma tradition, Buddha Samantabhadra is considered to be the source of the Dzogchen teachings.[3]
Appearance
Buddha Samantabhadra is depicted naked, sky-colored (light blue), and in sexual union with his consort Samantabhadrī.[4][5] She is light colored and also naked.[6]
Dzogchen Ponlop states:
- The color blue symbolizes the expansive, unchanging quality of space, which is the ground of all arisings, the basis of all appearances, and the source of all phenomena. The absence of robes symbolizes the genuine reality beyond any dualistic, conceptual, or philosophical clothing. That is the dharmakaya buddha: the genuine body of absolute truth.[3]
Metaphor for our true condition
According to Chogyal Namkhai Norbu, Buddha Samantabhadra "should be mainly understood as a metaphor to enable us to discover our real condition." He states:
- If we deem Samantabhadra an individual being, we are far from the true meaning. In reality, he denotes our potentiality that, even though at the present moment we are in samsara, has never been conditioned by dualism. From the beginning, the state of the individual has been pure and always remains pure: this is what Samantabhadra represents. But when we fall into conditioning, it is as if we are no longer Samantabhadra because we are ignorant of our true nature. So what is called the primordial Buddha, or Adibuddha, is only a metaphor for our true condition.[7]
Embodiment of original purity
The Princeton Dictionary states:
- He is embodiment of the original purity of all phenomena of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa. Called the “primordial basis” (ye gzhi), he is regarded as the eternal union of awareness (rig pa) and emptiness (śūnyatā), of emptiness and appearance, and of the nature of the mind and compassion. As such he is the wellspring of the Atiyoga teachings.[5]
The "All-Creating King"
In the Kulayarāja Tantra (T. Kunjed Gyalpo), Samantabhadra is called the "All-Creating King", because all phenomena are said to be manifestations or displays of Samantabhadra. According to Namkhai Norbu, this does not mean there is some being called Samantabhadra that creates the universe. Rather, it means that all things arise from "the state of consciousness Samantabhadra, the state of Dharmakāya."[8]
In this sense, Samantabhadra is seen as being a symbolic personification of the "ground" or "basis" (ghzi) in Dzogchen thought.[9][10]
Five aspects of Samantabhadra
In Dzogchen thought, there are said to be five aspects of Samantabhadra. Longchenpa explains these as follows:
- Samantabhadra as teacher: "Means that all buddhas while residing in the forms of the sambhogakaya and the dharmakaya in Akaniṣṭha, promote the welfare of all sentient beings through sending forth countless emanations to all the distinct realms of those to be guided."[11]
- Samantabhadra as ground: "Is the dharmata of all phenomena — suchness. This is also called "Samantabhadra as nature".[11]
- Samantabhadra as adornment: "The appearance of all phenomena, which are self-arising as the play of the bearers of the nature of phenomena. This consists of all that is completely pure, in that its nature is illusory."[11]
- Samantabhadra as awareness: "self arising wisdom, the sugata heart," i.e. the Buddha-nature described in the Uttaratantra.[11]
- Samantabhadra as realization: "The fundamental basic nature. Through realizing it well, the eyes of freedom are found. This is also called "Samantabhadra as the path."[11]
Bodhisattva Samantabhadra
Despite sharing the same name, Buddha Samantabhadra and Bodhisattva Samantabhadra are unrelated and not the same subject or entity. "The first is a special buddha unique to the Nyingma tantric tradition. The second is a bodhisattva that arises from the Mahayana Sutra literature."[6]
Notes
- ↑ "Dalai Lama Answers Questions on Various Topics". hhdl.dharmakara.net.
- ↑ Brunnhölzl 2018, p. 17.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Dzogchen Ponlop 2003, p. 180.
- ↑ Tulku Thondup 1999, p. 48.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Buswell & Lopez 2014, s.v. Samantabhadra.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1
Samantabhadra Buddha Main Page, Himalayan Art Resources
- ↑ Chogyal Namkhai Norbu & Clemente 1999, p. 233.
- ↑ Chogyal Namkhai Norbu & Clemente 1999, p. 94.
- ↑ The Sovereign All-Creating Mind, tr. E. K. Neumaier-Dargyay, Sri Satguru Publications, Delhi, 1993, pp. 61, 84, 101, 105
- ↑ The Dalai Lama (2020). Dzogchen: Heart Essence of the Great Perfection. p. 188. Shambhala Publications.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Brunnhölzl 2018, p. 18.
Sources
- Brunnhölzl, Karl (2018), A Lullaby to Awaken the Heart: The Aspiration Prayer of Samantabhadra and Its Commentaries, Simon and Schuster
Buswell, Robert E.; Lopez, Donald S. (2014), The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, Princeton University- Chogyal Namkhai Norbu; Clemente, Adriano (1999), The Supreme Source: The Kunjed Gyalpo, The Fundamental Tantra of Dzogchen Semde, Snow Lion Publications
- Dzogchen Ponlop (2003), Wild Awakening: The Heart of Mahamudra and Dzogchen, Shambhala Publications
Tulku Thondup (1999), Masters of Meditation and Miracles, Boston: Shambhala
External links
- Samantabhadra Buddha Main Page, Himalayan Art Resources
kun_tu_bzang_po, Rangjung Yeshe Wiki- Samantabhadra, Rangjung Yeshe Wiki
Adi-Buddha, Wikipedia
Buddha Samantabhadra, Rigpa Shedra Wiki
