The Five Dhyani Buddhas (Great Buddhas of Wisdom) The Five Dhyani Buddhas (Great Buddhas of Wisdom) The Five Dhyani Buddhas (Great Buddhas of Wisdom)

The Five Dhyani Buddhas (Great Buddhas of Wisdom)

The Five Dhyani Buddhas, or Great Buddhas of Wisdom, are a central feature of Tibetan Buddhist belief and art. They are often found in Tibetan mandalas and thangkas. Each Buddha is believed to be capable of overcoming a particular evil with a particular good, and each has a complete system of iconographic symbolism.

	Vairocana	Akshobhya	Ratnasambhava	Amitabha	Amogasiddha
Name	Buddha Supreme and Eternal; The Radiant One	Immovable or Unshakable Buddha	Source of Precious Things or Jewel-Born One	Buddha of Infinite Light	Almighty Conquerer or Lord of Karma
Direction	Center	East	South	West	North
Color	white	blue	yellow	red	green
Mudra	dharmachakra (wheel-turning)	bhumisparsa (witness)	varada (charity)	dhyana	abhaya (fearlessness)
Vija (Syllable)	Om	Hum	Trah	Hrih	Ah
Symbol	wheel	thunderbolt	jewel (ratna) or Three Jewels (triratna)	lotus	double thunderbolt
Embodies	sovereignty	steadfastness	compassion	light	dauntlessness
Type of wisdom	integration of the wisdom of all the Buddhas	mirrorlike	wisdom of equality	discriminating	all-accomplishing
Cosmic element (skandha)	rupa (form)	vijnana (consciousness)	vendana (sensation)	sanjna (name or perception)	samsakara (volition)
Earthly element	ether	water	earth	fire	air
Antidote to	ignorance and delusion	anger and hatred	desire and pride	malignity	envy and jealousy
Sense	sight	sound	smell	taste	touch
Vehicle	lion	elephant	horse	peacock (because of eyes on its plumes)	garuda (half-man, half-bird)
Spiritual son	Manjushree	Vajrapani	Ratnapani	Avalokiteshvara	Vajrapani
Consort	White Tara	Locana	Mamaki	Pandara	Green Tara
Paradise		Abhirati, the Land of Exceeding Great Delight		Sukhavati, Western Paradise, or Pure Land
Other info	Integration or origin of other Dhyani Buddhas

The Laughing Buddha

The celestial Buddha named Hotei or Pu-Tai is best known as the jolly Laughing Buddha. In China, he is known as the Loving or Friendly One. He is based on an eccentric Chinese Ch'an (Zen) monk who lived over 1,000 years ago and has become a significant part of Buddhist and Shinto culture. Because of this monk's benevolent nature, he came to be regarded as an incarnation of the bodhisattva who will be Maitreya (the Future Buddha). His large protruding stomach and jolly smile have given him the common designation "Laughing Buddha."

The Laughing Buddha's image graces many temples, restaurants, and amulets, as he has become a deity of contentment and abundance. The image of Hotei is almost always seen carrying a cloth or linen sack (that which never empties) which is filled with many precious items, including rice plants (indicating wealth), candy for children, food, or the woes of the world. He is patron of the weak, poor and children.

Laughing Buddha Wooden Sculpture

Laughing Buddha statues depict a stout, smiling or laughing bald man in robes with a largely exposed pot belly stomach, which symbolizes happiness, good luck, and plenitude. Some sculpture has small children at his feet. Another item that is usually seen with the Laughing Buddha figure is a begging bowl to represent his Buddhist nature.

In some scenes the Laughing Buddha may be found sitting on a cart drawn by boys, or wielding a fan called an oogi(said to be a "wish giving" fan -- in the distant past, this type of fan was used by the aristocracy to indicate to vassals that their requests would be granted). All of these images display Hotei as a wandering monk who goes around and takes the sadness from people of this world.

According to legend, if one rubs the Laughing Buddha's great belly, it brings forth wealth, good luck, and prosperity. Hotei is also referred to as the patron saint of restaurateurs, fortunetellers and bartenders. When one overeats or over drinks, friends jokingly attribute it to the Laughing Buddha's influence.

See our Laughing Buddha Store for lots of examples of statues and figurines of the Laughing Buddha.