Mandala of the Two Realms

Garbhadhātu (Womb Realm) maṇḍala with Mahāvairocana at the center.

Vajradhātu (Diamond Realm) Mandala

The Mandala of the Two Realms (Traditional Chinese: 両界曼荼羅; Pinyin: Liǎngjiè màntúluó; Rōmaji: Ryōkai mandara), also known as the Mandala of the Two Divisions (Traditional Chinese: 両部曼荼羅; Pinyin: Liǎngbù màntúluó; Rōmaji: Ryōbu mandara), is a set of two mandalas in East Asian Esoteric Buddhism, particularly prominent within the Shingon and Tendai traditions of Japanese Buddhism. It comprises two complementary mandalas: the Womb Realm Mandala (Skt. Garbhadhātu, Ch. 胎蔵界曼荼羅, Jp. Taizōkai Mandara) and the Diamond Realm Mandala (Skt. Vajradhātu, Ch. 金剛界曼荼羅, Jp. Kongōkai Mandara), each representing distinct but interrelated dimensions of the enlightened cosmos centered on the universal Buddha Mahāvairocana (大日如來, Dainichi Nyorai).

The Mandala of the Two Worlds encapsulates the cosmology, metaphysics, and soteriology of East Asian Esoteric Buddhism. It provides both a visual and ritual method for realizing the practitioner's inherent identity with the Buddha, through the integration of compassion and wisdom. It is thus a symbolic teaching device, a meditative tool, and a ritual instrument. The Dual Mandalas portray two complementary dimensions of Buddhahood. The Womb Realm represents the compassion of the original Buddha Mahāvairocana who is always nurturing all beings toward enlightenment. The Vajra Realm signifies the wisdom of Mahāvairocana as the unchanging truth; the inherent nature of enlightenment as the indestructible wisdom pervading all phenomena. Thus, the Two Worlds Mandala provides a complete map of the cosmos as a unified field of compassion and wisdom which is used by an esoteric practitioner, through ritual and meditative identification with the deities of the mandalas, to progressively actualizes their own original enlightenment.

Both mandalas present highly systematized arrays of buddhas, bodhisattvas, wisdom kings, and celestial beings. The number of deities arranged around the cores varies, but may range as high as 414. Each figure holds specific mudrās (hand gestures) and attributes, and is associated with specific seed syllables (bīja), serving as focal points for visualization and invocation. Both mandalas are oriented according to the cardinal directions, with symbolic meaning attached to each direction. Specific colors are also employed symbolically, representing particular wisdoms, virtues, or elements.

Japanese Shingon and Tendai temples often prominently display the Mandalas of the Two Realms mounted at right angles to the image platform on the central altar. The two mandalas are believed to have evolved separately in India, and were joined for the first time in China, perhaps by Kūkai's teacher Hui-kuo.

Background

The conceptual and textual foundations of the Two Worlds Mandala derive from Indian Esoteric Buddhism (密教, Mantrayāna), specifically from two seminal scriptures: the Mahāvairocana Sūtra and the Vajraśekhara Sūtra. Both texts represent advanced stages of Buddhist tantric development in India, reflecting sophisticated ritual systems, mantra usage, and visualization practices intended to rapidly actualize the practitioner's identity with the cosmic Buddha.

Main stupa at Udayagiri Buddhist Complex with four Buddhas enshrined at four niches facing the four cardinal direcitons

Bronze-cast Vairocana Buddha of Longxing Temple. This unique bronze statue depicts the triple bodied (trikaya) Vairocana facing the four cardinal directions (symbolizing his all pervasive nature) along with Vairocana's numerous manifestation Buddhas (nirmanakayas).

The tradition of laying out Buddhist deities in a sacred circular diagram (i.e. a mandala) corresponding to the main cardinal directions is not unique to esoteric Buddhist texts. These diagrams first appear in Mahayana sutras like the Sutra of Golden Light (c. 5th century) and the Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra. The Golden Light Sutra describes a mandala with Shakyamuni in the center, surrounded by Ratnaketu (south), Amitayus (west), Dundubhisvara (north) and Aksobhya (east) Buddhas. Examples of four Buddhas arranged in the four cardinal directions have also been found in Indian Buddhist stupas like Sanchi stupa, Udayagiri stupa, Jajpur stupa (Pushpagiri) and Dekhinath stupa (Gyaraspur). The Udayagiri stupa for example, houses Vairocana, Amitabha, Aksobhya and Ratnasambhava in the four cardinal directions of the stupa. According to Kimiaki Tanaka, this basic four cardinal directions Buddha model, combined with Vairocana Buddha from the Avatamsaka sutra, developed into later diagrams depicting the Buddha families of the Five Tathagatas (which changed the other two Buddhas' names to Amoghasiddhi and Ratnasambhava).

The Great Compassion Womb Realm Mandala is primarily based on the Mahāvairocana Sūtra (Jp. Dainichi-kyō), while the Vajra-realm Mandala is based on the Vajraśekhara Sūtra (Kongōchō-kyō). The Mahāvairocana Sūtra is said to have been compiled around the mid-7th century in India. It was translated into Chinese (the language of China at that time) by the Indian monk Śubhakarasiṃha (Jp. Zenmui Sanzō, 637–735) together with his Chinese disciple, Yixing (Jp. Ichigyō Zenji, 683–727), around 725 CE. On the other hand, the Vajraśekhara Sūtra was compiled in India from the end of the 7th century to the beginning of the 8th century. It was translated into Chinese around the same period as the Mahāvairocana Sūtra by the Indian monk Vajrabodhi (Jp. Kongōchi Sanzō, 671–741) and his disciple Amoghavajra (Jp. Fukū Sanzō, 705–774).

While the Mahāvairocana Sūtra and the Vajraśekhara Sūtra both take Mahāvairocana as their central theme, they are scriptures of different lineages, composed independently at different times and in different regions of India, and transmitted separately to China.According to the Shingon tradition, the person who integrated the teachings of these two scriptural lineages and composed them into the form of the Two Worlds Mandala was the Tang Dynasty monk Master Huiguo (746–805), who was the teacher of Kūkai.Master Huiguo, believing that the profound mysteries of Esoteric Buddhism could not be conveyed by words, ordered the court painter Li Zhen to create depictions such as the Two Worlds Mandala, and transmitted them to Kūkai. In Tang China, mandalas based on the Mahāvairocana and Vajraśekhara systems were used for esoteric initiations (abhiṣeka) and esoteric yogas. However, due to later suppressions of Buddhism, especially during the Huichang Persecution (c. 845 CE), Esoteric Buddhism in China did not maintain institutional prominence, though some esoteric elements persisted within other schools, including Tiantai, Huayan and Chan.

In Japanese Esoteric Buddhism

When Kūkai (774–835) completed his brief period of study abroad in Tang China, he returned to Japan in 806 CE, bringing the Dual mandalas with him and introducing them to Japan for the first time. The original copy of the colored Two Worlds Mandala (the Root Mandala) that Kūkai brought back, as well as the first copied version created in Kōnin 12 (821 CE), were stored at Tō-ji but have been lost. The Two Worlds Mandala (commonly known as the Takao Mandala) preserved at Jingo-ji Temple in Kyoto, although not colored but rather rendered on purple damask with gold and silver paint, is considered to faithfully reproduce either the original Root Mandala.

Most Japanese depictions of the dual mandalas are in the form of a "Great Mandala", which depicts the individual images of each deity in a two dimensional illustration like a textile or a painting. There are three other styles of depicting the mandalas:

• The Dharma Mandala, in which each Buddha is symbolically represented by a single letter in Siddhaṃ script;
• The Samaya Mandala, which depicts each Buddha with a samaya form, symbolically representing the inner realization of that Buddha;
• The Karma Mandala, modeled after the ancient Indian Esoteric Buddhist tradition of drawing mandalas on the ground, wherein Buddha images are arranged within a monastery hall following such a layout.

These four types collectively are called the Four Mandalas (Jp. Shishu Mandara).

The dual mandala contains the central symbols and deities of the Japanese Buddhist esotericism of the Shingon and Tendai traditions. In the ritual esoteric initiations practiced in these traditions, new initiates are blindfolded and asked to toss a flower upon a mandala. Where the flower lands helps decide which Buddhist figure the student should devote themselves to. In traditional Shingon halls, the Vajra Realm Mandala is hung on the west wall symbolizing the final realization of Mahāvairocana Buddha. In this setting, the Womb Realm Mandala is hung on the east wall, symbolizing the young stage of Mahāvairocana Buddha.

In Shingon esotericism (known as Tōmitsu), the Dual Mandala became the centerpiece of doctrinal exegesis, ritual activity, and yogic practices. Kūkai articulated the principle of the "Identity of the Two Mandalas" (両部不二, Ryōbu Funi), emphasizing that compassion and wisdom are non-dual expressions of the same reality. Key Shingon rituals, such as the Abhiṣeka Initiation Ceremony (灌頂), Goma Fire Ritual (護摩供), and daily meditative practices (觀行) are based on the iconography and symbolic universe of the Dual Mandala.

The Dual Mandala is also central to the Esoteric Buddhism of the Tendai school, known as Taimitsu. Saichō introduced esoteric study and practice into the Tendai school and later Tendai figures like Ennin and Enchin traveled to China and brought back further transmissions, esoteric Buddhist texts and ritual implements, like mandalas.

Womb Realm Mandala

Womb World from Mandala of the Two Worlds (Kongōkai Taizōkai mandara). Hanging scroll, textile. Japan, 15th century.

The Womb Realm (Sanskrit: garbhakoṣadhātu, Traditional Chinese: 胎蔵界; Pinyin: Tāizāngjiè; Rōmaji: taizōkai) represents the principle of the Buddha's Great Compassion (Maha Karuṇā). It embodies the generative and nurturing aspect of Mahāvairocana Buddha as the source of all phenomena and enlightenment. It is also the metaphysical space inhabited by the Five Buddhas and other deities representing the unity of Emptiness and Great Compassion, such as Avalokitesvara (Kannon), Ksitigarbha (Jizo), Acala Vidyaraja (Fudo Myoo), Vaisravana (Bishamonten), Saraswati (Ben Ten), and Mahakala (Daikoku Ten).

The Womb Realm Mandala is based on the Mahavairocana Tantra. The name of the mandala derives from chapter 2 of the sutra, where it is said that the buddha Mahāvairocana revealed the mandala's secret teachings to his disciple Vajrasattva from his "womb of compassion". In other translations, the term Matrix Realm or Matrix Mandala is used. The central symbol of this mandala is the eight petaled lotus, symbolizing the Mahayana principle of Great Compassion (Maha Karuṇā)

Structure

The mandala is organized into twelve courts or assemblies (院), radiating from a central eight petaled lotus. The central figure is Mahāvairocana Tathagata (大日如來 Dainichi Nyorai), the cosmic Buddha whose body is the entire cosmos. He is depicted at the center on a lotus throne, surrounded by Buddhas and bodhisattvas, each representing various aspects like compassion and wisdom. The various assemblies are populated by numerous Buddhist deities who personify particular virtues and Dharma principles. The Womb Realm symbolizes the immanent presence of enlightenment within all beings, and the compassionate activities of the Buddhas that lead beings to awakening.

The following is a basic outline of the main halls or quarters of the Womb Realm Mandala:

Outside Vajra Hall Hall of Mañjuśrī Hall of Kṣitigarbha Hall of Śākyamuni Hall of Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin Lotus Hall of Avalokiteśvara Hall of Universal Knowledge Hall of Vajrapāṇi Central Eight Petal Lotus Hall Wisdom Holders (Vidyādhara) Hall Hall of Ākāśagarbha Susiddhi Hall

Central Eight Petal Hall

The central eight petal hall with Vairocana in center surrounded by (clockwise from top): Ratnasambhava, Samantabhadra, Saṅkusumitarāja, Manjushri, Amitābha, Avalokiteśvara, Amoghasiddhi and Maitreya).

Mahāvairocana is depicted in regal attire wearing a jewelled crown in the center of an eight-petaled lotus. Four Buddhas, representing the four directions, are depicted directly above, below, left, and right of Vairocana.

The Buddha of the East, Ratnaketu/Ratnasambhava, is illustrated on the top, the Buddha of the South, Saṅkusumitarāja to the right, the Buddha of the West, Amitabha, to the bottom, and the Buddha of the North, Divyadundubhimeganirghoṣa (Amoghasiddhi), to the Left.

Four bodhisattvas, Samantabhadra, Manjushri, Guanyin, and Maitreya, are illustrated between the Buddhas, clockwise.

Vajras are illustrated between the petals of nine deities and symbolize the knowledge or wisdom (jñana) that crush illusions.

Four vases containing a lotus and a three-pronged Vajra, are placed at the corners of the Center Hall. The hall is marked off by a five-colored boundary path with each color referring to one of the five buddhas, knowledges, directions, roots, conversions, syllables, elements, and forms.

Other halls

Encircling the Central Platform Eight-Petal Court are various courts or halls. Surrounding all of these, on the outermost perimeter, is placed the Outer Vajra Division Court, also called the Outermost Court (最外院). This arrangement suggests a movement outward from the inner to the outer realms, expressing the process wherein Mahāvairocana's abstract wisdom is applied in practice within the phenomenal world.

Moreover, one can see the Womb Realm Mandala as divided into three blocks: central, right, and left. The central area of the diagram represents the world of Mahāvairocana’s enlightenment. To the viewer’s left (southern direction) is the Lotus Division Court (蓮華部院, also called the Avalokiteśvara Court), centered on the principal deity Avalokiteśvara, and to the viewer’s right (northern direction) is the Vajra Division Court (金剛手院, also called the Vajra Division Court or Sattva Court 薩埵院), centered on Vajrapani. The Lotus Division Court is regarded as representing the "compassion" of the Tathāgata, while the Vajra Division Court represents the "wisdom" of the Tathāgata.

Vajra Realm Mandala

Taizōkai Mandala, Hanging scroll. Japan, 15th century.

An alternative form of the Kongōkai mandala, called the Hachijūisson Mandala 金剛界八十一尊曼荼羅, which is sometimes used in Tendai Esotericism (Taimitsu)

The Vajra Realm Mandala (金剛界曼荼羅, Kongōkai Mandara) represents the principle of Dharma-body Wisdom (法身智德). The Vajra Realm (Skt. vajradhātu, Traditional Chinese: 金剛界; Pinyin: Jīngāngjiè; Romaji: Kongōkai) expresses the indestructible, unchanging omniscient knowledge (jñana) of Mahāvairocana which directly realizes the ultimate truth. The key symbol evoked in this mandala is the Vajra (a mythic weapon made of an indestructible substance comparable to adamant). The Vajradhātu mandala is sometimes also translated as "Diamond Realm" mandala.

The Vajra Realm Mandala is based on an esoteric Buddhist sutra called the Vajrasekhara Sutra (Adamantine Peak). There are various versions of this mandala. The Shingon school uses the Kue Mandala 九会曼荼羅 as the main form. Meanwhile, the Tendai school sometimes uses the Kongōkai Hachijūisson Mandala 金剛界八十一尊曼荼羅 instead which has Kongōsatta (Vajrasattva) as the central deity.

The structure of the Kue version of the Vajra Realm mandala is organized into nine main sections, collectively called the "Nine Assemblies" (九會曼荼羅):

Shiin-e assembly depicting Mahāvairocana surrounded by the four vajra bodhisattvas and eight symbols	This panel depicts only Mahāvairocana, with hands in the Wisdom Fist Mudra	Rishu-e assembly, can contain from 9 to 17 deities centered around Kongōsatta Bodhisattva (Vajrasattva) along with the four Vajra bodhisattvas.
Kuyō-e (Mandala of Offering), depicting up to 73 deities sitting on lotuses holding symbolic objects	Jōjin-e assembly, with Mahāvairocana in the center, surrounded by the other four of the Five Wisdom Buddhas (五智如來)	Gōzanze-e (Vanquisher of Triple World) Mandala with Mahāvairocana in center surrounded by 16 bodhisattvas all forming the Mudra of Subjugation and appearing in wrathful forms. Up to 77 deities may appear on this panel.
Misai-e (Mandala of Imperceptibility) with the main 37 deities of the Vajra-realm.	Samaya-e assembly in which up to 73 deities are depicted by symbolic objects (Sanmayagō 三昧耶形).	Gōzanze Sanmaya-e (Vanquisher of the Triple World Samaya forms) depicts the wrathful deities in samaya form, holding various symbols.

Tibetan version of the Vajradhatu mandala, which shows a very different arrangement than the East Asian form

In Chinese Buddhism, the Vajra Realm Mandala is also associated with the Yoga Flaming Mouth Ritual (瑜伽焰口法會), which is often conducted during the Chinese Ghost Festival in order to feed pretas and reduce their suffering. Part of the ritual involves the performing ritual master wearing a Vairocana crown which is adorned with images of the Five Tathāgatas. The textual tradition for this part of the ritual asserts that the thirty-seven deities which make up the Vajra Realm Mandala are installed in the crown and that these deities confer their blessings and powers on the ritual master during the performance of the ritual.

In Tendai esotericism

Lotus Sutra Mandala used in esoteric Lotus Sutra Rites (Hokkekyō-Hō), c. late Heian period.

The Tendai school also developed its own tradition of esoteric practices, termed Taimitsu (台密), and similarly revered the Two Mandalas. However, Tendai integrated them within a broader doctrinal framework based on the Tiantai thought of Zhiyi and Zhanran, emphasizing their ultimate identity with the Lotus Sūtra's teaching of universal Buddhahood and threefold truth of Tiantai. Tendai esotericism sees the Lotus Sutra itself as an esoteric scripture on the same level as the two esoteric sutras. Furthermore, Tendai esotericism also relies on another key esoteric text, the Susiddhikāra Sūtra (Soshitsujikara).

In Tendai, the Two Mandalas are seen as expressions of the same ultimate reality expounded in the Lotus Sūtra, and they are utilized in various meditative and ritual contexts. Over time, these mandalas were adopted into a unique form of Lotus Esotericism (Hokke Mikkyō), which was based on earlier Chinese sources and on a unique Tendai Lotus Sutra Maṇḍala. A unique element of Tendai esotericism is the concept of unifying the dual-realm maṇḍalas (and the teachings of their respective tantric scriptures) through a third element which was associated with the Susiddhikara sūtra. This interpretation was also understood through the Tendai doctrine of the three truths. The third element of susiddhi (perfect realization) was considered to be like the third truth of the middle, the non-dual unity of the reality of the dual-world mandalas. Since the Susiddhikara sūtra did not teach a specific mandala, the Lotus mandala was often used to represent this third esoteric truth.

The Tendai Lotus Sutra Maṇḍala (Hokkekyo mandara 法華経曼荼羅) features an eight-petaled lotus design adapted from the Womb realm maṇḍala. Likewise, the maṇḍala's structure, which arranges deities hierarchically around a central focus, draws on the dual-realm maṇḍalas. In the Lotus mandala, the stūpa represents the Dharma-body (dharmakāya), Prabhūtaratna corresponds to the Retribution body (sambhogakāya), and Śākyamuni aligns with the Manifestation body (nirmanakāya). The central court is identified with Dainichi of the Vajradhātu Maṇḍala, while the eight bodhisattvas correspond to the Eight Worthies of the Garbhadhātu Maṇḍala's eight-petaled lotus. In this interpretation, Śākyamuni is associated with Dainichi of the Garbhadhātu, Prabhūtaratna with Dainichi of the Vajradhātu, and the stūpa itself symbolizes the principle of susiddhi, representing a synthesis including all elements of both mandalas.

See also

• Dhatu
• Mudra
• Mandala
• Mantra
• Dharmadhatu

Sources

• Grotenhuis, Elizabeth Ten (1999). Japanese mandalas: representations of sacred geography, Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, pp. 33-57

External links

• The Diamond and Womb World Mandalas Dharmapala Thangka Centre
• Mandala of the Womb World Dharmapala Thangka Centre