Every Buddhist "God" explained in minutes

(Greg Knows All) Every major Buddhist "God" explained in 38 minutes

• These are the "Gods" of faith-based Mahayana, Vajrayana, Jodo Shinshu, Nicheren, Shingon...rather than the much smaller (10%) back-to-basics Theravada Buddhist tradition, which recognizes countless brahmas and devas, particularly Great Brahma and Sakka (Sakra, Indra), King of the Devas, but neither worships them nor regards them as "Gods" in the Western sense.
• Pure Land (Sukhavati) of Amitabha Cosmic Buddha

Genius Buddhist prodigies, past lives?

The strange, brilliant life of a billionaire scientist living between two worlds

(Lei's Looking Glass) From child prodigy to billionaire scientist, Dr. John D. Young lived a life most people can only imagine—college at 13, dual doctorate degrees (PhDs) by 21, Nobel recognition before 30. But behind his extraordinary success was an even stranger story: visions of light, encounters with divine beings, out-of-body experiences, and a search for the truth behind consciousness. In this episode, we explore the brilliant and mysterious life of a man who walked between science and spirit, between wealth and awakening, between this world and another. Was he simply a prodigy—or something more? Discover the story of a genius who may have been chosen for a higher purpose.

Lei's Real Talk: @leisrealtalk. Donation: donorbox.org/support-lei-s-re... Support Lei’s work via her online shop: shop.leisrealtalk.com. Sign up for emails: leisrealtalk.com. Ideas/suggestions:  Leisrealtalk@gmail.com #leislookingglass #tonyyang #billionairescientist #childprodigy

(Lei's Looking Glass) The child prince who remembered a past life - and the Karmapa controversy

• Dr. Ian Stevenson, MD, American academic and scientific rebirth/reincarnation researcher, founder and director of the Division of Perceptual Studies at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, professor and a founder of the Society for Scientific Exploration
• Lei's Looking Glass, Nov. 20, 2025, Nov. 5, 2025; CC Liu, Crystal Q., Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

What's a 'dakini'? Female demon or goddess?

CC Liu, Amber Larson, Crystal Quintero (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly Wiki edit

What is a dakini? Might it be a spirit of ferocity in women? (Tara Mandala)

How does Buddhism view women and female enlightenment? The historical Buddha had enlightened female disciples -- many Scythian/Shakyian women, his wife (Rahula Mata, Yasodhara, Bimba Devi, Bhaddha Kaccana), mother (Maha Pajapati Gotama, who was made the world's first Buddhist nun), sister (Sundari Nanda)...

Tantric temple banner of a dancing goddess flanked by dakinis (Art Institute of Chicago)

Fushimi Inari Shrine, Kyoto City, Japan, Nov. 2013, fox dakini kitsume veneration in Shinto

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I'm a modern dakini (Adele)

A ḍākinī is a type of female spirit, goddess, or demoness in Hinduism and Buddhism [1, 2].

• (Sanskrit डाकिनी, Tibetan མཁའ་འགྲོ་མ་, Wylie mkha' 'gro ma, THL khandroma, Mongolian хандарма, Chinese 空行母, pinyin kōngxíngmǔ, literally, 'sky-going mother', alternatively 荼枳尼, pinyin, túzhǐní; 荼吉尼, pinyin tújíní, or 吒枳尼, pinyin zhāzhǐní, Japanese 荼枳尼 / 吒枳尼 / 荼吉尼, dakini)

The concept of the ḍākinī differs depending on the context and tradition. For instance, in earlier Hindu texts and East Asian esoteric Buddhism, the term denotes a race of demonesses who ate the flesh and/or vital essence of humans.

• Is there any mention of dakinis in Theravada Buddhism? (reddit.com)
• What is a dakini? (Tara Mandala)
• Adele Tomlin – writer, Buddhist scholar-practitioner, translator, poet
• Scholar: Adele Tomlin (Women Also Know History)

In Hindu Tantric literature, Ḍākinī is the name of a goddess often associated with one of the six chakras or the seven fundamental elements (dhātus) of the human body.

Origin of the cave door dance (Amaterasu) (Shunsai Toshimasa 1889/wiki)

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The Buddha Vairocana

In Nepalese and Tibetan Buddhism, meanwhile, ḍākinī (also wisdom ḍākinī) can refer to both what can be best described as fierce-looking female embodiments of enlightened energy and to human women with a certain amount of spiritual development, both of which can help Tantric initiates attaining enlightenment.

In Japan, the ḍākinīs are held in the East Asian Buddhist tradition to have been subjugated and converted to Buddhism by the Mahayana Buddha Vairocana under the guise of the god Mahākāla (Daikokuten in Japanese).

They were eventually coalesced into a single deity called Dakiniten (荼枳尼天, 吒枳尼天, or 荼吉尼天), who, after becoming syncretized with the native agricultural deity Inari (kami), became linked to fox (kitsune) iconography associated with the latter. More

The real-life Tara is a fierce and determined meditator who overcame much (tarabrach.com).

Nepal: What is Newar Buddhism? (video)

Eds., Wisdom Quarterly Wiki edit Newar Buddhism; Zero Degree Nepal, 7/16/20

Vajrayana Buddhism of the Newar, Nepal

(Zero Degree Nepal) Nepal is known as the "Land of the Himalayas." According to Hindu myth, the great Himalayas are believed to be the abode of the gods and goddesses (devis and devas).

Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva transformed into Kwan Yin

Nepal is a multiethnic, multilingual, and multireligious country, where two of the world’s dominant religion, Buddhism and Hinduism coexist in harmony. Buddhism includes a wide variety of beliefs and spiritual practices. 

The two traditions, Mahayana and Theravada, are the main branches of Buddhism. However, everyone follows the basic principles of the teaching of the historical Buddha -- though Mahayana seems to ignore him otherwise in favor of devotion to "Cosmic Buddhas" like Amitabha and Vairocana.

The teaching of universal friendliness (metta) and compassion (karuna) are common, but practices vary among schools and disciplines. The Vajrayana tradition, also known as Newar Buddhism, is classified as part of Mahayana.

It includes practices using tantras, mantras (magical incantations), mudras (hand poses), and mandalas (sacred geometry circles) and the visualization of the Buddha and other deities. Vajrayana is popularly known as Tantric Buddhism that developed over 2,000 years ago in ancient Nepal.

Newari Buddhist chariot at the Temple of Annapurna, Machindranath Jatra (wiki)

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It is strongly influenced by Hinduism and Brahmanism. Newar Buddhists still perform their duties and rituals (dharma), passing along ancient knowledge and scriptures from generation to generation. Most people are only familiar with Tibetan Buddhism, due to its media attraction in the Western world.

For many, the idea of Buddhism only means monks with shaved heads and their saffron, yellow-, and maroon-colored robes. When visitors come in contact with the Newar Buddhist community of Nepal, they are amazed by the sight of the common lay Buddhists practicing this ancient tradition.

Most Nepali Newars follow Hindu traditions. However, the Shakya, Bajracharyas, and many other Newar Buddhist castes follow Buddhism.

The Newar Buddhist community practices Vajrayana Buddhism with unique customs and rituals. Newars are the original inhabitants of Nepal's Kathmandu Valley.

They have a distinct way of life, cultural customs, and spiritual traditions. The rich history, knowledge, rituals, and art of the Newari has turned the Kathmandu Valley into a living museum that attracts thousands of tourists from all over the world.

Religious and cultural festivals play a major part in the lives of the Newari people of Kathmandu.

Video: Suman Track. Art & Music: Mela. Location: Swayambhu. Copyright: Zero Degree Travel & Tours. #nepalnow #spiritual #buddhism #culture #heritage #PromoteNepal #PauseNow #traveltomorrow #artandmusicmela #zerodegreetravels #omsingingbowl

• Buddhism in Nepal

Buddhism of the Newar people

Newar Vajracharya priest (Kamal Ratna Tuladhar)

Newar Buddhism is the form of Vajrayana Buddhism practiced by the Newar people of the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal [1, 2].

It has developed unique socio-religious elements, which include a non-monastic Buddhist society based on the Newar caste system and patrilineality.

The ritual priestly (guruju) caste, vajracharya (who perform rituals for others) and shakya (who perform rituals mostly within their own families) form the non-celibate religious clergy caste, while other Buddhist Newar castes like the Urāy act as patrons.

Uray also patronize Tibetan Vajrayana, Theravada, and even Japanese clerics [3]. It is the oldest known sect of the Vajrayana tradition outdating the Tibetan school of Vajrayana by more than 600 years.

Although there was a vibrant regional tradition of Buddhism in the Kathmandu Valley during the first millennium, the transformation into a distinctive cultural and linguistic form of Buddhism appears to have taken place in the 15th century, at about the same time that similar regional forms of Indic Buddhism such as those of Kashmir and Indonesia were on the wane.

As a result, Newar Buddhism seems to preserve some aspects of Indian Buddhism that were not preserved in Vajrayana schools elsewhere. More

Amitabha "Cosmic Buddha"?

CC Liu, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly Wikipedia edit

Amitābha (Japanese Amida or Amitāyus) is a "cosmic or celestial buddha" like Vairocana according to the apocryphal scriptures of Mahayana Buddhism.

Amitābha is the principal buddha in Pure Land Buddhism (Amidism), a faith-based type of East Asian Buddhism.

In the Himalayan Vajrayana Buddhism of Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, and elsewhere, Amitābha is known for his longevity, magnetizing red fire element, the aggregate of discernment, pure perception, and the deep awareness of emptiness (the impersonal nature) of phenomena.

According to Mahayana scriptures not found in Theravada Buddhism, Amitābha possesses infinite merit resulting from good deeds (karma) performed over countless past lives as a bodhisattva named Dharmakāra.

Amitābha means "Infinite Light," and Amitāyus means "Infinite Life," so Amitābha is also called "The Buddha of Immeasurable Light and Life."

According to an apocryphal Mahayana text known as the "Larger Sūtra of Immeasurable Life," Amitābha was in very ancient times (and possibly in another world-system) a monk named Dharmakāra.

In some versions of the sūtra, Dharmakāra is described as a former king who, having come into contact with Buddhist teachings through the Buddha Lokeśvararāja, renounced his throne.

He then resolved to become a buddha and to create a buddhakṣetra (literally, a "buddha-field," often called a "Pureland" or a "Buddha Land" -- a realm posited to exist in the primordial universe outside of ordinary reality -- produced by a being's merit) possessed of many perfections.

These resolutions were expressed in his 48 vows, which set out the type of Pureland Dharmakāra aspired to create, the conditions under which beings might be born into that world, and what kind of beings they would be when reborn there. More

Great Buddha, Todai-ji Temple, Japan

Photographer Andrés García (flickr.com); CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly

This is a front view of the Great Buddha statue of Todai-ji "Great Eastern") Temple in Nara, Japan. Tōdai-ji is a Buddhist temple complex located in the city of Nara, Japan. Its Great Buddha Hall houses the world's largest bronze statue of the Buddha Vairocana, known in Japanese simply as Daibutsu. The temple also serves as the Japanese headquarters of the Kegon School of Buddhism. 

• Celestial guardian king (Komokuten): Detail of one of the protective celestial guardian devas in Tōdai-ji Temple in Nara, Japan.

Understanding Buddhism with Alan Watts

Pacifica Radio Los Angeles airs talks by the great British Buddhist teacher (philosopher-entertainer) Alan Watts every Sunday morning at 8:00 am. Those talks are then made available through the AUDIO ARCHIVES for 90 days following broadcast. It is "Buddhist Radio" for Los Angeles followed by a full night of Buddhist and other spiritual programming on Tuesday through Friday (but especially Thursday) nights from 3:00-6:00 am (and in the archives the following day) for Roy of Hollywood's show, "Something's Happening."

KOAN: Nanyo's Wash Basin (Vairocana)

Koan Study Group, Roshi Albrizze, Seven, Wisdom Quarterly; Book of Equanimity (BN)

A wash basin is a base thing. Today, it would be as if a master asked one to fetch a roll of toilet paper in answer to a question about the nature of the Great Illuminator.

  

Case 42: Nanyo’s Wash Basin

PREFACE TO THE ASSEMBLY 

Vairocana (users.skynet.be)

Washing bowls and filling the wash basin are both Dharma gates and Buddha's affair.

Carrying firewood and drawing water are nothing but marvelous activity and supernatural power.

Why can't one obtain liberating radiant splendor [releasing effulgence like splitting the atom] in shaking the earth?

MAIN CASE

Attention!

A monk asked Zen Master [Chu of] Nanyo, "What is the original body of the Cosmic Buddha Vairocana?"

Master Nanyo replied, "Go and fetch me the wash basin."

The monk brought the wash basin to him.

Master Nanyo said, "Now, go put it back."

The monk asked again, "What is the original body of the Cosmic Buddha Vairocana?"

Master Nanyo remarked, "The old Buddha is long gone."

APPRECIATORY VERSE

A bird soaring in air.

A fish dwelling in water.

Rivers and lakes both forgotten, one aspires to clouds and heaven.

A thread of doubting mind, and they're facing ten-thousand miles apart.

How many people understand and repay such unselfish kindness?

Who is Vairocana?

Buddha and Bodhisattva Directory (edited by Wisdom Quarterly)

Vii-ro-cha-na means "one who is like the sun" or "the radiating one." In Chinese Vairocana is called Pe-Ru-Gher-Na or Da-Ze-Zu-Lai ("Great Sun Buddha"), in Japanese, Dainichi Nyorai or Roshana, in Tibetan, Rnam-par-snang-mdzad or Rnam-snang ("Maker of Brilliant Light").

  

Maha Vairocana ("Great Illuminator") in Hinduism-influenced Mahayana Buddhism is conceived of as the "Supreme Buddha." This is how this deified figure is regarded by many Mahayana Buddhists in Far East Asia, Tibet, Nepal, and Java. 

  

In the devotional Mi-tsung sect of China and the Shingon sect of Japan, Vairocana is the chief object of reverence and is regarded as the source of the entire universe -- a Maha Brahma ("Great Supremo" or powerful creator) figure made completely Buddhist.

  

Tibetan (manjushri.com)

The characteristic hand gesture displayed throughout these two regions is the mudra of the six elements, with the index finger of the left hand clasped by the five fingers of the right. This pose symbolizes the uniting of the five elements of the material world (earth, water, fire, air, and ether or separating space) with the spiritual (consciousness, prana, ch'i). 

  

The other gesture popular in Vairocana statues is in the Dharma-chakra-mudra ("teaching gesture").

As the supreme Buddha, Vairocana is usually located in the center of mandalas of the five tantric Dhyani Buddhas.

  

(A possible explanation)

In paintings, Vairocana is colored white to symbolize a pure consciousness.

 

Vairocana represents either the integration or origin of the Dhyani Buddhas. His wisdom is the Wisdom of the Dharmadhatu ("realm of phenomena"). The Dharmadhatu is the Realm of Truth, in which all things exist as they really are.

  

Vairocana's wisdom is also referred to as the All-Pervading Wisdom of the Dharmakaya ("Body of the Dharma"), the absolute Buddha nature. Therefore, Vairocana's symbol is the dharmachakra, the "Wheel of the Buddha's Teaching." It denotes the teaching of the Buddha. Its eight spokes represent the Noble Eightfold Path. More

Vairocana in Brief
Wikipedia entry edited by Wisdom Quarterly

Tibetan Vairocana (Dharmaflower.net)

Vairocana is a celestial buddha often interpreted, in Mahayana texts like the Flower Garland Sutra, as the Bliss Body of the historical Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama). In Chinese and Japanese Buddhism, Vairocana is also seen as the embodiment of the Buddhist concept of emptiness. In the conception of the Five Wisdom Buddhas of Vajrayana Buddhism, Vairocana is at the center. His "consort" (a popular Hindu concept about gods) in Tibetan Buddhism is White Tara. (In the Tibetan tradition, there is an affiliated female figure for every one of the Five Wisdom Buddhas.) This glorious figure is not to be confused with Virocana, who appears in the eighth chapter of Hinduism's Chandogya Upanishad as the king of the Titans (asuras). More

• How and why to recite the Vairocana Mantra

PHOTOS: ANGKOR WAT (Cambodia) in its state of preservation is unrivaled. Its mightiness and magnificence bespeak a pomp and luxury surpassing that of a Pharaoh or a Shah Jahan, an impressiveness greater than that of the pyramids, an artistic distinctiveness as fine as that of the Taj Mahal.