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Samantabhadra
Samantabhadra (Skt.). ‘The All-good One’.
1. A Mahāyāna mythical or celestial Bodhisattva who is said to protect the Dharma. He is often depicted holding a wish-fulfilling gem and a lotus or book of the Dharma while riding on a white six-tusked elephant. 2. Drawing from earlier antecedents in Indian tantric works such as the Sarva-tathāgata-tattva-saṃgraha, in the Nyingma form of tantric Buddhism, Samantabhadra is the primordial Buddha (ādi-Buddha) who is the embodiment of enlightenment (bodhi) or ultimate reality (dharma-kāya). Iconcographically, he is depicted as a dark-blue nude figure embracing his white consort Samantabhadrī. |
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Cite this article
DAMIEN KEOWN. "Samantabhadra." A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. DAMIEN KEOWN. "Samantabhadra." A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O108-Samantabhadra.html DAMIEN KEOWN. "Samantabhadra." A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2004. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O108-Samantabhadra.html |
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Samantabhadra
Samantabhadra (Skt., ‘he who is all-pervadingly good’; Chin., P'u-hsien; Jap., Fugen; Tib., Ādi Buddha). A bodhisattva of great importance in Mahāyāna Buddhism. He is the protector of all who teach dharma, and he is the embodiment of the realization that sameness and difference are a unity. He rides a six-tusked elephant, the tusks representing the conquest of attachment to the six senses. He rode on the elephant to China, settling on Mount O-mei, where he is venerated as one of the four great bodhisattvas. He is also closely associated with Vairocāna. For the Tibetan development, see ĀDI BUDDHA.
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Cite this article
JOHN BOWKER. "Samantabhadra." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN BOWKER. "Samantabhadra." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Samantabhadra.html JOHN BOWKER. "Samantabhadra." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Samantabhadra.html |
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