Dainichi-nyorai
Dainichi-nyorai East AsiaThe Buddha Mahavairocana, the ‘great illuminator’, was the special form of the Enlightened One for the Shingon sect. This sect, whose name means ‘true word’, was founded in Japan by Kukai (774–835), better known under his posthumous title of Kobo-Daishi, ‘propagator of the law’. In 804 Kobo-Daishi went to China, where he was initiated into the esoteric doctrine of the Chen Yen, or ‘true word school’. Returning to Japan in 806 he established a monastery on Mount Koya and propagated the mysterious teachings of Shingon. Kobo-Daishi attained national prominence, in 823, by his appointment as abbot of the great temple complex at Miyako. When a decade or so later he considered that his earthly mission was finished, the contemplative monk had himself buried alive, in samadhi, at a secluded spot on Mount Kayo. His body is believed never to have rotted, but awaits resurrection at the advent of Mirokubosatsu, the Buddha...
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