Cintāmaṇicakra

Cintāmaṇicakra (Sanskrit: चिन्तामणिचक्र; Chinese (Traditional): 如意輪觀音; Simplified: 如意轮观音; pinyin: Rúyìlún Guānyīn; Japanese: 如意輪観音, Nyoirin Kannon) is a bodhisattva and a manifestation of Avalokiteśvara (known in Chinese as Guanyin). He is counted as one of six different forms of the bodhisattva that represent salvation afforded to beings among the six realms of saṃsāra. Among these incarnations, Cintāmaṇicakra is believed to save those in the deva realm.[1]

Cintāmaṇicakra
Statue of Cintamanicakra (Chinese: Ruyilun Guanyin) in the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum in Chinatown in Singapore
Sanskritचिन्तामणिचक्र
(IAST) Cintāmaṇicakra
Chinese(Traditional)
如意輪觀音(菩薩)
(Simplified)
如意轮观音(菩萨)
(Pinyin: Rúyìlún Guānyīn (Púsà))
Japanese如意輪観音(菩薩)（にょいりんかんのんぼさつ）
(romaji: Nyoirin Kannon (Bosatsu))
Korean여의륜관음(보살)
(RR: Yeouiryun Gwaneum (Bosal))
Tibetanཡིད་བཞིན་འཁོར་ལོ་
Wylie: Yid bzhin 'khor lo
THL: Yizhin Khorlo
VietnameseNhư Ý Luân Quán Âm Bồ Tát
Information
Venerated byMahāyāna, Vajrayāna
icon Religion portal

Cintāmaṇicakra is sometimes also referred to as Avalokiteśvara as Mahābrahmā the Profound (大梵深遠觀音; Ch. Dàfàn Shēnyuǎn Guānyīn; Jp. Daibon Jin'on Kannon).

Iconography
Six-armed Cintāmaṇicakra in the Hall of Great Compassion in Jade Buddha Temple, Shanghai, China

Cintāmaṇicakra is depicted as having anywhere from two to sixteen arms, with the two-armed and six-armed forms being the more common in Chinese and Japanese art.

In his six-armed form, Cintāmaṇicakra is commonly shown wearing a crown with an effigy of Amitābha Buddha and sitting in a "royal" position (mahārājalīlāsana, i.e. with his left leg tucked inwards and his right knee raised) atop a lotus on a rock protruding from the ocean - a symbol of Mount Potalaka, Avalokiteśvara's legendary abode.[2][3] His first right hand touches his face in a pensive mudra, his second right hand holds a cintāmaṇi, and his third right hand holds prayer beads. His first left hand meanwhile touches the rock base he is sitting on, his second left hand holds a crimson lotus flower (padma), and the third left hand holds a Dharma wheel (cakra).[4]

In two-armed images, he does not hold a jewel and he may be seated with his right leg crossed at the ankle over his left leg. This imagery is similar to that of the statue of Maitreya at Chūgū-ji in Nara, which has been mistakenly venerated as Cintāmaṇicakra.[5][6] Another two-armed form exists where he holds a cintāmaṇi in his right hand and a water vase in his left hand. An example of this variation is the colossal Guanyin statue located in Tsz Shan Monastery in Hong Kong.

Cintāmaṇicakra may also be abstractly represented via his attributes or symbols (samaya; Ch. 三昧耶形, sānmèiyé xíng; Jp. sa(n)maya-gyō), the cintāmaṇi and the lotus flower.

Bījā and mantra

The bījā or seed syllable used to symbolically represent Cintāmaṇicakra is hrīḥ (Siddhaṃ: ; Devanagari: ह्रीः).

Several mantras are associated with Cintāmaṇicakra. In Chinese Buddhism, the Cintāmaṇicakra Dhāraṇī or Cintāmaṇi Cakravarti Dhāraṇī (如意寶輪王陀羅尼; pinyin: Rúyì Bǎolún Wáng Tuóluóní) is reckoned as one of the Ten Small Mantras (十小咒; pinyin: Shí xiǎo zhòu), a collection of mantras and dhāraṇīs commonly recited in temples during morning liturgical services.[7][8] The dhāraṇī originates from the Cintāmaṇicakra Dhāraṇī Sutra, which was translated into Chinese by the monks Bodhiruci (如意輪陀羅尼經; pinyin: Rúyìlún tuóluóní jīng; Taishō Tripiṭaka 1080[9]) and Yijing (佛說觀自在菩薩如意心陀羅尼咒經; pinyin: Fóshuō Guānzìzài Púsà rúyì xīn tuóluóní zhòu jīng; T. 1081[10]).

Sanskrit (romanized; from Bodhiruci[9]) Chinese (Yijing) Pinyin
Namo ratna-trayāya[lower-alpha 1]
Nama Āryāvalokiteśvarāya bodhisattvāya mahāsattvāya mahākāruṇikāya
tadyathā
Oṃ cakravarti cintāmaṇi mahāpadme ru ru tiṣṭhat jvala ākarṣāya hūṃ phaṭ svāhā
Oṃ padma cintāmaṇi jvala hūm
Oṃ varada padme hūm		 南謨佛馱耶　南謨達摩耶　南謨僧伽耶
南謨觀自在菩薩摩訶薩　具大悲心者
怛姪他
唵斫羯羅伐底　震多末尼謨訶　鉢蹬謎　嚕嚕嚕嚕　底瑟他　篅攞痾羯利沙也　吽發莎訶
菴鉢踏摩　震多末尼　篅攞吽
菴跋剌陀　鉢亶謎吽		 Nāmó fótuóyé nāmó dámóyé nāmó sēngjiāyé
Nāmó Guānzìzài púsà móhēsà jù dàbēixīnzhě
dázhítā
Ān zhuójiéluófádǐ zhènduōmòní móhē bōdēngmí lǔ lǔ lǔ lǔ dǐsètā shuòlà ējiélìshāyě hōng fā suōhē
Ān bōtàmó zhènduōmòní shuòlà hōng
Ān bálátuó bōdǎnmí hōng

The two shorter mantras are more commonly employed in the Japanese tradition:

Sanskrit (romanized) Japanese (romanized)
Oṃ padme cintāmaṇi jvala hūm On handomei shindamani jinbara un[11]
Sanskrit (romanized) Japanese (romanized)
Oṃ varada padme hūm On barada handomei un[12]

See also

Notes
  1. Yijing's text instead has: Namo buddhāya, namo dharmāya, namaḥ saṃghāya.

References
  1. "六観音 七観音 八大観音". Flying Deity Tobifudō (Ryūkō-zan Shōbō-in Official Website). Retrieved 2021-11-21.
  2. "A Late Tang Dynasty Sculpture Bought at a Missouri Garage Sale for Less Than $100 Just Sold for $2.1 Million". artnet. 2019. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
  3. Chutiwongs, Nandana (1994). "An aspect of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara in Ancient Indonesia". In Klokke, Marijke J.; Lunsingh Scheurleer, Pauline (eds.). Ancient Indonesian Sculpture. KITLV Press. pp. 102–103. ISBN 9789067180764.
  4. Epprecht, Katharina (2007). Kannon: Divine Compassion: Early Buddhist Art from Japan. Museum Rietberg. p. 37. ISBN 978-3-9070-7729-0.
  5. "Nyoirin Kannon 如意輪観音". JAANUS. 2001. Retrieved 2019-02-26.
  6. "本尊 国宝 菩薩半跏像（伝如意輪観音）". Shōtoku-shū Chūgū-ji Official Website. Retrieved 2021-11-21.
  7. "Ten Small Mantras". www.buddhamountain.ca. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
  8. "What is Ten Small Mantras". www.buddhismtoronto.com. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
  9. "如意輪陀羅尼經 第1卷". CBETA Chinese Electronic Tripiṭaka Collection (漢文大藏經). Retrieved 2021-11-21.
  10. "佛說觀自在菩薩如意心陀羅尼呪經". CBETA Chinese Electronic Tripiṭaka Collection (漢文大藏經). Retrieved 2021-11-21.
  11. Ōguri, Dōei (2002). 図説般若心経入門 (Zusetsu Hannya Shingyō nyūmon). Suzuki Shuppan. ISBN 978-4-7902-1105-1.
  12. Ōmori, Gijō (2010). 実修真言宗の密教と修行 (Jisshū Shingon-shū no mikkyō to shūgyō). Gakken Publishing. p. 58. ISBN 978-4-0540-4524-8.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.