TRASCENDENT SPIRITS

———————————————————————————————————————

Tathāgatas • 如来 (nyorai)

Transcendent Spirits are what is termed tathāgata in Buddhist texts, a word that literally
means “one who has come and gone”. In a more concise interpretation this term can be
translated as “one who has transcended”, because this expression, within a spiritual
context, is used to refer to that type of sensitive being that has surpassed or transcended
its natural plane of action and phenomenology, which can be more clearly described
here as an enlightened Person, someone who has experienced the nature of the Spirit,
that is to say, someone whose consciousness and soul have transcended the physical
plane and the Phenomenic Order yet is able to return to them in order to make this
transcendence known to the unilluminated Person in the search for enlightenment. In
the Mahayana sutras the concept of Transcendent Spirits (tathāgata) is conveyed by
analogy to the Created Body (nirmānna kāya) of the Holy Spirit (Buddha): A
Transcendent Spirit is the Spirit manifested in the Body.
In tantra, taking the perspective adopted by Mahayana Buddhism, a
Transcendent Spirit is explicitly used in a symbolic or analogous manner. Transcendent
Spirits adopt their symbolic form through the application of anthropomorphization—in
the form of personal Buddhas—of different concepts used in different spiritual
practices. The Transcendent Spirits with more representation in the Buddhist and
Tantric imagery are those that are used to establish an equivalence with the five
Originations. These Transcendent Spirits or tathagatas are known as the Five Great
Buddhas.

Five Great Buddhas

Pañcha Tathāgata • 五⼤如来 (go ō nyorai)

The Five Great Buddhas, or Five Transcendent Spirits (pañcha tathāgata), are symbolic
representations, in the form of Transcendent Spirits, which mainly allude to the five
Originations (Conscience, Formation, Cognition, Sensation and Appearance), but as in
many aspects of tantra, they can be associated with a multitude of correspondences—in
this case of fivefold—such as the five Great Elements, five cardinal points, five symbols,
five senses, colors, qualities, etc. These series of easily available correspondences make
the Five Great Buddhas a great symbolic resource for the different tantric practices,
especially those related to visualization during meditation. When dealing with a
particular quality or aspect that forms part of a pentad, one can turn to the
corresponding Great Buddha to facilitate concentration on that quality or aspect. The
qualities associated with the Five Great Buddhas refer, as a general rule, to the qualities
that theoretically can be manifested in the Created Body (nirmānna kāya),
understanding this as the state of the physical body after enlightenment.
———————————————————————————————————————
Vairochana
The Radiant One • ⼤日如来 (dainichi nyorai) ॐ
VAIROCHANA is the primordial symbolic
representation of “light”, that is, Energy
filling Space. He is, therefore, the
representation of the first Origination
within the Absolute, and that is why he
is considered as the Primordial Buddha
(ādibuddha), the first emanation of the
divine. As representative of the first
Origination, namely Conscience, which is
at the same time a Spirit that has
transcended the phenomenal order and
has adopted a Created Body, it is also
representative of the transcendence itself
and, in short, the illumination made
Conscience. The Sanskrit etymology
itself indicates this, since Vairochana
means “the one who shines” or the
“radiant one”, interpreted in Japanese
texts as 大日 (dainichi) or “the great sun”.
Apart from the Origination of
Conscience, the main equivalences
associated with Vairochana are the
Aether element, the Determining Factor
of Volition, the Determining Factor of
Fixation, the center and the white color.
Its main symbol is the wheel, because it
represents the plane of the Absolute, that
is to say the constant cycles of reality. In
the pictographic representations he
appears enfundated in jewels that
represent the “shining light” indicated by
his name and the ambivalence spirit-
m a t t e r. H e a l s o w e a r s a c r o w n
representative of his condition of
Primordial Buddha and his halo displays
the Radiant Light of the Spirit
(prabhāshvara). Vairochana usually
appears making the seal of the fist of
enlightenment (bodhyangi mudrā) in a
clear reference to its primordial
transcendent character. His seed is om
and his mantra is om vairochana hūm.
Vairochana is the key to obtaining the
Notion of Factorization and the Result of
Knowledge.


————————————————————————————————————————
Amitābha
The One of Unlimited Light • 阿弥陀如来 (amida nyorai)
"ी ः
AMITĀBHA is the representation of
the Origination of Formation,
associated with the fire element. His
name, Amitabha, etymologically
means “light” or “splendor” (-abha)
“unlimited” (amita), a name given
because he is the characterization of
the original “light” of the expanded
ether, without limit, to generate the
Origination of Formation, through
which the Dimension of the Spirit
emerges. The function of Amitabha
as a symbol is to recall the expansive
and generating properties of the
Spirit. It is mainly through the figure
of Amitabha that Mahayana profane people. The figure of
Buddhism, and more specifically, Amitabha has been used to explain
Pure Land Buddhism, was introduced the possibility of dwelling in a
t o t h e m a s s e s . T h e fi g u r e o f Spiritual Earth (buddha ksetra), that is,
Amitabha comes to the physical the possibility of experiencing the
world to spread the “light” to the subtle plane of the Phenomenic
Order. One of the most important
teachings of Amitabha is, however, to
make the physical world a Spiritual
Land by visualizing it as a paradise.
This power of visualization is directly
related to the association that
Amitabha has with the Origination of
Formation and, therefore, with the
fire element and the sense of sight.
Other correspondences associated
with Amitabha are the Determinant
Factor of Decision, the Universal
Factor of Perception, the soul layer of
Bliss, the plane of the Spirit, the west
———————————————————————————————————————
Aksobhya
The Immovable One • 阿閦如来 (ashuku nyorai)
AKSOBHYA is the representation of the
conceptual and generating mind, because
he is related to the Origination of
and the color red. Its main symbol is
the lotus flower, because it represents
the emanation of the spirit through
Space and Aether. In the pictographic
representations he appears wearing a
red cloak and making with his hands
his own seal called the seal of
Amitabha (amitābha mudrā) in which
he joins his thumbs and index fingers
while interlacing the rest. His seed is
hrīh and his mantra is om amitābha
hrīh . Amitabha is the key to
obtaining the Notion of Discernment
and the result of Courage.

%ं& ॅ
Cognition, that is to say, the reflection of
the mind of the Absolute by means of its
own spiritual emanation in the
P h e n o m e n i c O r d e r. A k s o b h y a i s ,
therefore, the representation of the
“Cognition of the spiritual reflection” or
the capacity to distinguish the automatic
from the conscious, the illusion from
reality. The reflection is the mind itself,
as suggested by the association of the
Origination of Cognition with the mental
plane, but this is a clear mind, it is a
reflection of the Universal Mind
undisturbed by phenomenology, hence
the name Aksobhya, whose Sanskrit
translation means “the imperturbable” or
“the immovable one”, alluding to the act
of meditation through the purified
Universal Mind. The main
correspondences associated with
Aksobhya are the air element, the
Determining Factor of Attention, the
Universal Factor of Cognition, the soul
layer of Vital Energy, the east and the
blue color. Its main symbol is the
thunderbolt (vajra), because it represents
the mental enlightening potential. In the
pictographic representations he appears
wearing blue clothing and making the
seal of protection (abhaya mudrā). His
seed is hūm and his mantra is om
aksobhya hūm. Aksobhya is the key to
obtaining the Notion of Reflection and
the result of Attraction.


———————————————————————————————————————
Amoghasiddhi
The One of Infallible Accomplishments • 不空成就如来 (fukūjōju nyorai)
आः


AMOGASIDDHI is the representation of
accomplishments and attainment, as well
as causation, because he is related to the
Origination of Sensation, which is
equivalent to the subtle or soul plane,
which serves as a bridge between the
spiritual world and the physical world.
The linking subtle plane is the means by
which the spiritual is transformed into
the material, there where the
accomplishments desired by the Mind
undergo their transformation and then
pass on to the physical world. It is by this
association with the subtle plane or
world of transformation that
Amoghasiddhi takes its name, which
means, translated from Sanskrit, “the
one of infallible (amogha-) achievements
(-siddhi)”. The most important
In pictographic representations he
equivalences that Amoghasiddi
appears in green robes and making the
maintains are with the water element,
seal of concession (varada mudrā),
the Determining Factor of Concentration,
because he transforms the spiritual into
the Universal Factor of Sensation, the
earthly things, bestowing air to the earth.
soul layer of Bliss, the north and the
Its seed is āh and its mantra is om
green color. His main symbol is the
amoghasiddhi āh hūm. Amoghasiddhi is
double thunderbolt, because it unites the
the key to the attainment of the Notion
spiritual potential with the physical one.
of Equity and the result of Pacification.

———————————————————————————————————————
Ratnasambhava
The Jewel-Born • 宝⽣如来 (hōshō nyorai)

*ं
RATNASAMBHAVA is the representation, as
a buddha, of everything embodied by the
symbol of the wish-fulfilling gem
(chintāmanni). The wish-fulfilling gem is
the symbol of the Will of the Absolute
manifested in the plane of greatest
energetic concentration, the physical
plane also called the Domain of Desire.
The etymology of the name of this
Buddha is revealing, for Ratnasambhava
means “the jewel (ratna-) born (-
sambhava). The “jewels” suggested by his
name, the “wish-fulfilling gem”, is also
evoked by the named symbol, which
refers to the physical manifestations of
spiritual and mental emanations. This
reference may ultimately also pertain to
material jewels or riches. Ratnasambhava
earthly realm. His seed is tram and his
is therefore the symbol of wealth, but
mantra is om ratnasambhava tram.
also of the ambivalence between the
Ratnasambhava is the key to attaining
physical and the spiritual, because it
the Notion of Attainment and the result
represents the physical world in which
of Wealth.
the Person experiences all kinds of
dualities; wealth therefore also implies
donation in the same way that matter
implies Spirit. The material world
associated with Ratnasambhava is, as a
matter of fact, a clear allusion to the
Origination of Appearance. Other
important correspondences associated
with Ratnasambhava are the earth
element, the Determining Factor of
Concentration, the Universal Factor of
Contact, the soul layer of matter, the
south and the yellow color. His main
symbol is, as stated before, the wish-
f u l fi l l i n g g e m . I n p i c t o g r a p h i c
representations he appears with a yellow
garment and making the seal of contact
with the earth (bhūmi sparsha mudrā),
because he pours the Spirit upon the