The Buddhist Pantheon

The Japanese Buddhist Pantheon contains over 3000 Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, other dieties like tenbus and guardians and some eminent Buddhist masters considered to have attained Buddhahood.  We will summarize here the different categories of this Pantheon, according to the Japanese tradition, especially the Shingon school.

The structure

The structure is composed of different categories of beings,  organized according to their role in the Buddhist cosmology.
They are:

Category	Japanese reading	Japanese character
Buddhas	Nyorai (bu)	如来
Bodhisattvas	Bosatsu (bu)	菩薩
Wisdom Kings	Myō-ō (bu)	妙法
Dieties of the heavens	Tenbu	天部
Other entities	Kamigami	神々
Religious masters	Kousou	高僧

 

I invite you to visit this site to find some great Buddhist pictures you can use for art or tattoos.

The Buddhas

There is a multitude of Buddhas but there are 5 principal ones that you can see in this picture:  (click for details on that Buddha)




Buddhas were human beings who transcended death, rebirth and suffering through their own enlightement.  Buddhas are considered immortal and have great psychic powers.  They were, though, simple humans before attaining nirvana.  They cannot be compared to Gods in the sense that they did not create the universe and do not rule over it, like other Gods of the different religions. They were born humans, like us.

They are guides to show us the way to enlightement and grant wishes to the worshippers, thanks to their psychic powers.  They also live in many worlds at the same time.

Some Of The Important Buddhas Include:

Yakushi Nyorai  
Amida Nyorai


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Bodhisattvas

A Bodhisattva is a being (human or otherwise) who delays its attainment of Buddhahood in order to help other biengs attain theirs.  The easiest way to describe this is through a story taken from Pollock, Neal (2005). Practices Supporting Dzogchen: The Great Perfection of Tibetan Buddhism :

The nature of the Bodhisattva is apparent from a teaching story in which three people are walking through a desert. Parched and thirsty, they spy a high wall ahead. They approach and circumnavigate it, but it has no entrance or doorway. One climbs upon the shoulders of the others, looks inside, yells "Eureka" and jumps inside. The second then climbs up and repeats the actions of the first. The third laboriously climbs the wall without assistance and sees a lush garden inside the wall. It has cooling water, trees, fruit, etc. But, instead of jumping into the garden, the third person jumps back out into the desert and seeks out desert wanderers to tell them about the garden and how to find it. The third person is the Bodhisattva.

Kanzeon Bosatsu

Some of the most important Bosatsu in Japan

Kannon
Fugen
Jizō
Miroku
Kongō shu
Kokūzō



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Wisdom Kings

Wisdom kings or Myō-ō 明, in Japan,  are scary looking deities, weilding weapons, who represent the power of Buddhism to overcome the passions.  Introduced to Japan in the 9th century by Japan’s Shingon and Tendai sects of Esoteric Buddhism they were originally Hindu deities who were later adopted into the Buddhist pantheon to fight cravings.

The main Myō-ō are

Aizen
Batō
Daigensui
Daiitoku
Fudō
Gōsanze
Gundari
Kongō-Yasha
Kujaku
Usūsama


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Tenbus

Tenbus are a mixed group consisting of celestial Beings, Gods, Deities, Hindu demi-gods (DEVA) adopted into Buddhism.  Their role is to protect Buddhist Law.  This group is very diverse and contains many type of beings like dragons, nymphs, Karura, and monsters. This category is one of the reasons why Buddhism co-exists so well with other religions, they incorporate the Gods of other religions in the Buddhist pantheon.

Some popular Tenbus:

Karura
Shi Tenno
12 generals
Bishamonten
Benzaiten
Daikokuten
Dragon

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Other Gods

This category is marked by the kami integrated from the Shinto religion to Buddhism.  In its long history, Buddhism adopted gods from other religion and accepted them as manifestations of heaven used to guide sentient beings to the Dharma.   Today, it is not uncommon to see temples and Shrines in the same coumpound, existing in harmony and followers worshiping both kami and Buddhas.

Some notable Gods in this category:

Fox
Tanuki
deceased people, clan ancestors
emperors
Nature spririts


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Past Masters

Some past masters of Buddhism, mostly abbots and founders of certain schools are considered to be either bosatsus or Buddhas.
Their life was dedicated to Buddhism and they marked the religion by their contribution.  They are the equivalent of the saints in the Christian faith.

Some notable masters are:

Honen
Kukai
Nichiren
others...

Links

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