Celestial Buddhas. See DHYANI-BUDDHA

(See also: Celestial Buddhas, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Manusha (Manushya) Buddha manusa buddha (Sanskrit) [from manu man + buddha awakened one]

A human buddha, born in a human body for compassionate work among mankind, generally mahatmas of a high degree and great initiates. There are three forms in which, or planes upon which, the Wondrous Being of the planetary chain manifests itself: 1) adi-buddha in the dharmakaya; 2) dhyani-buddha in the sambhogakaya; and 3) manusha-buddha living at will or need as a nirmanakaya. The last is the lowest, yet in one sense the highest aspect -- highest on account of the immense, willing self-sacrifice involved in its incarnation in human flesh.

The manusha-buddhas are the eighth in the descending scale of the Hierarchy of Compassion. Each one of the seven root-races on this globe is ushered in by a manushya-buddha. Furthermore, preceding the racial cataclysm that ensues around the midpoint of each root-race, a manushya-buddha of less degree appears on earth. Hence, such a buddha is also termed a racial buddha. Gautama was such a manushya-buddha.

Every human being in his constitution contains elements and principles derivative from the universe ranging from the divine to the physical; consequently there is in every human being, expressed or as yet unexpressed, a manushya-buddha, who really is the spiritual-intellectual center of all the noblest impulses, intuitions, and energies active in the human constitution.

Evolution signifies the unfolding of already existing and fully active capacities, powers, functions, principles, and elements, latent in most men merely because the vehicle enabling them to manifest their transcendent powers in the ordinary human being has not yet been built up through evolutionary growth. Thus, the manushya-buddha is in every human being, though only in the rare evolutionary flowers of the human race coming at long intervals is a human being born who because of past striving is an imbodiment of the manushya-buddha within him. As the future brings forth what it has in store for the human race, all human beings living at the end of the seventh round will be human buddhas because already they will have become a dhyani-chohanic host.

(See also: Manusha Buddha, Manushya Buddha, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary)

Akshobhya Buddha Aksobhya Buddha (Sanskrit) The ruler of the eastern universe, companion buddha to Amitabha, both having originated contemporaneously. (BCW 9:136)

(See also: Akshobhya Buddha, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Buddha Nature

The following terms refer to the same thing: Self-Nature, True Nature, Original Nature, Dharma Nature, True Mark, True Mind, True Emptiness, True Thusness, Dharma Body, Original Face, Emptiness, Prajna, Nirvana, etc.

According to the Mahayana view, (buddha-nature) is the true, immutable, and eternal nature of all beings. Since all beings possess buddha-nature, it is possible for them to attain enlightenment and become a buddha, regardless of what level of existence they occupy ...

The answer to the question whether buddha-nature is immanent in beings is an essential determining factor for the association of a given school with Theravada or Mahayana, the two great currents within Buddhism.

In Theravada this notion is unknown; here the potential to become a buddha is not ascribed to every being.

By contrast the Mahayana sees the attainment of buddhahood as the highest goal; it can be attained through the inherent buddha-nature of every being through appropriate spiritual practice. (The Shambhala Dictionary of Buddhism and Zen.)

See also "Dharma Nature."

 (See also: Buddha Nature, Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

Adi-Buddha (Sanskrit). The First and Supreme Buddha - not recognised in the Southern Church. The Eternal Light.

(See also: Adi-Buddha, Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary, )

Amita-buddha (Sanskrit) Chinese and Tibetan Buddhist name for universal, primeval wisdom or soul, equivalent to adi-buddha. Also the celestial name of Gautama Buddha. Tsong-kha-pa is considered a direct incarnation of Amita-buddha (BCW 14:425-8; SD 1:108&n).

(See also: Amita-buddha, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Buddha (Sanskrit). Lit., "The Enlightened". The highest degree of knowledge. To become a Buddha one has to break through the bondage of sense and personality; to acquire a complete perception of the REAL SELF and learn not to separate it from all otherselves; to learn by experience the utter unreality of all phenomena of the visible Kosmos foremost of all; to reach a complete detachment from all that is evanescent and finite, and live while yet on Earth in the immortal and the everlasting alone, in a supreme state of holiness.

(See also: Buddha, Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary, )

Living Buddhas. See TULKU

(See also: Living Buddhas, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Buddha-Siddhartha. See GAUTAMA

(See also: Buddha-Siddhartha, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Buddha Gautama. See GAUTAMA

(See also: Buddha Gautama, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Sakyamuni Buddha (Sanskrit). A name of the founder of Buddhism, the great Sage, the Lord Gautama.

(See also: Sakyamuni Buddha, Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary, )

Buddha (Sanskrit) (from the verbal root budh to perceive, awaken, recover consciousness)

Awakened, enlightened; one who is spiritually awakened, who has become one with the supreme self (paramatman).

"To become a Buddha one has to break through the bondage of sense and personality; to acquire a complete perception of the real self and learn not to separate it from all other selves; to learn by experience the utter unreality of all phenomena of the visible Kosmos foremost of all; to reach a complete detachment from all that is evanescent and finite, and live while yet on Earth in the immortal and the everlasting alone, in a supreme state of holiness" (TG 64-5).

"A Buddha in the esoteric teaching is one whose higher principles can learn nothing more in this manvantara; they have reached Nirvana and remain there. This does not mean, however, that the lower centers of consciousness of a Buddha are in Nirvana, for the contrary is true; and it is this fact that enables a Buddha of Compassion to remain in the lower realms of being as mankind's supreme Guide and Instructor, living usually as a Nirmanakaya" (OG 33-4).

See also GAUTAMA

(See also: Buddha, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Adi-buddha (Sanskrit) (from adi first, original + the verbal root budh to awaken, perceive, know)

First or primeval buddha; the supreme being above all other buddhas and bodhisattvas in the later Mahayana Buddhism of Tibet, Nepal, Java, and Japan. In theosophical writings, the highest aspect or subentity of the supreme Wondrous Being of our universe, existing in the most exalted dharmakaya state.

"In the esoteric, and even exoteric Buddhism of the North, Adi-Buddha (Chogi dangpoi sangye), the One unknown, without beginning or end, identical with Parabrahm and Ain-Soph, emits a bright ray from its darkness.

"This is the Logos (the first), or Vajradhara, the Supreme Buddha (also called Dorjechang). As the Lord of all Mysteries he cannot manifest, but sends into the world of manifestation his heart -- the 'diamond heart,' Vajrasattva (Dorjesempa)" (SD 1:571). Adi-buddha is the individualized monadic focus of adi-buddhi, primordial cosmic wisdom or intelligence, synonymous with mahabuddhi or mahat (universal mind). Otherwise expressed, adi-buddha is the supreme being heading the hierarchy of compassion and our solar universe; the fountain of light running through all subordinate hierarchies and thus the supreme lord and initiator of the wisdom side of our universe.

The Great Brotherhood of the mahatmas on earth, through their chief, the Mahachohan, is the representative on our globe of adi-buddha. Because of this, Tibetan Buddhism recognizes the continuous "reincarnations of Buddha" -- not that Gautama Buddha is thus reimbodied but that adi-buddha through its human ray perpetuates itself by reflection in fit and chosen human beings. As adi-buddha is the individualized divine ideation of our universe, all-permeant and omnipresent, those individuals who raise themselves to become self-consciously at one with a ray from adi-buddha are de facto "reincarnations," greater or minor imbodiments of the cosmic buddha. Adi-buddha manifests through the hierarchy of the celestial buddhas or dhyani-buddhas, these again manifest through the manushya-buddhas and in lesser degree through human individuals who, though great, are inferior to the manushya-buddhas.

(See also: Adi-buddha, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Dhyani Buddhas (Sanskrit). They "of the Merciful Heart"; worshipped especially in Nepaul. These have again a secret meaning.

(See also: Dhyani Buddhas, Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary, )

Maitreya-Buddha (Sanskrit) Equivalent to the Kalki (white horse) avatara of Vishnu, to Sosiosh, and other Messiahs. Popular teaching states that Gautama Buddha visited him in a celestial abode and commissioned him to come to earth as his successor 5,000 years after the Buddha's death. Theosophic philosophy teaches that the next buddha will appear during the seventh subrace of this round.

(See also: Maitreya-Buddha, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary)

Manushi or Manushi Buddhas (Sanskrit). Human Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, or incarnated Dhyan Chohans.

(See also: Manushi, Manushi Buddhas, Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary, )

Dhyani-buddha (Sanskrit) (from the verbal root dhyai to meditate, contemplate + buddha awakened one)

Buddhas of contemplation or meditation; the fifth in the descending series in the enumeration of the Hierarchy of Compassion. Two general hierarchies of spiritual beings brought forth our cosmos: the dhyani-buddhas or architects who in their aggregate form the higher and more spiritual side, and actually compose the line of the luminous arc; and the dhyani-chohans or the builders or constructors who form the lower and relatively more material side, the line (from this viewpoint only) of the shadowy arc. Often the term dhyani-chohans is used for both these lines of beings.

There are seven dhyani-buddhas, so that for each round of a septenary planetary chain there is a presiding dhyani-buddha or causal buddha. Our present fourth round is under the care and supervision of the dhyani-buddha belonging to the fourth degree of this celestial hierarchy. The dhyani-bodhisattvas who watch over the globes of the planetary chain in each round are rays from the dhyani-buddha of the round.

"It is this dhyani-buddha of our fourth round, our Father in Heaven, who is the Wondrous Being, the Great Initiator, the Sacrifice, . . . The Ray running through all our individual being, from which we draw our spiritual life and spiritual sustenance, comes direct to us from this hierarchical Wondrous Being in whom we all are rooted. He to us, psychologically and spiritually, holds exactly the same place that the human ego, the man-ego, holds to the innumerable multitudes of elemental entities which compose his body . . ." (Fund 237-8).

These dhyani-buddhas furnished humankind with divine kings and leaders, who taught humanity the arts and sciences, and who "revealed to the incarnated Monads that had just shaken off their vehicles of the lower Kingdoms -- and who had, therefore, lost every recollection of their divine origin -- the great spiritual truths of the transcendental worlds" (SD 1:267).

Further, each human monad has sprung from the essence of a dhyani-buddha.

"The 'triads' born under the same Parent-planet, or rather the radiations of one and the same Planetary Spirit (Dhyani Buddha) are, in all their after lives and rebirths, sister, or 'twin-souls,' on this Earth.

"This was known to every high Initiate in every age and in every country: 'I and my Father are one,' said Jesus (John x. 30). When He is made to say, elsewhere (xx. 17): 'I ascend to my Father and your Father,'. . . It was simply to show that the group of his disciples and followers attracted to Him belonged to the same Dhyani Buddha, 'Star,' or 'Father,' again of the same planetary realm and division as He did" (SD 1:574).

(See also: Dhyani-buddha, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Buddha

Lit., the Awakened One; one who through aeons of spiritual development has attained Anuttara-Samyak-Sambodhi.

This epithet usually refers to Sakyamuni Buddha, who lived and taught in India some 2,600 years ago.

 (See also: Buddha, Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

Maitreya Buddha (Sanskrit). The same as the Kalki Avatar of Vishnu (the "White Horse" Avatar), and of Sosiosh and other Messiahs. The only difference lies in the dates of their appearances. Thus, while Vishnu is expected to appear on his white horse at the end of the present Kali Yuga age "for the final destruction of the wicked, the renovation of creation and the restoration of purity", Maitreya is expected earlier.

Exoteric or popular teaching making slight variations on the esoteric doctrine states that Sakyamuni (Gautama Buddha) visited him in Tushita (a celestial abode) and commissioned him to issue thence on earth as his successor at the expiration of five thousand years after his (Buddha’s) death. This would be in less than 3,000 years hence. Esoteric philosophy teaches that the next Buddha will appear during the seventh (sub) race of this Round. The fact is that Maitreya was a follower of Buddha, a well-known Arhat, though not his direct disciple, and that he was the founder of an esoteric philosophical school. As shown by Eitel (Sanskrit-Chinese Dict.), "statues were erected in his honour as early as B.C. 350".

(See also: Maitreya Buddha, Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary, )

Pratyeka Buddha (S.k). The same as "Pasi-Buddha". The Pratyeka Buddha is a degree which belongs exclusively to the Yogacharya school, yet it is only one of high intellectual development with no true spirituality.

It is the dead-letter of the Yoga laws, in which intellect and comprehension play the greatest part, added to the strict carrying out of the rules of the inner development. It is one of the three paths to Nirvana, and the lowest, in which a Yogi - "without teacher and without saving others" - by the mere force of will and technical observances, attains to a kind of nominal Buddhaship individually; doing no good to anyone, but working selfishly for his own salvation and himself alone.

The Pratyekas are respected outwardly but are despised inwardly by those of keen or spiritual appreciation.

A Pratyeka is generally compared to a "Khadga" or solitary rhinoceros and called Ekashringa Rishi, a selfish solitary Rishi (or saint). "As crossing Sansara (‘the ocean of birth and death’ or the series of incarnations), suppressing errors, and yet not attaining to absolute perfection, the Pratyeka Buddha is compared with a horse which crosses a river swimming, without touching the ground." (Sanskrit-Chinese Dict.) He is far below a true "Buddha of Compassion". He strives only for the reaching of Nirvana.

(See also: Pratyeka Buddha, Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary, )

Pratyeka Buddha (Sanskrit) [from prati towards, for + eka one]

Each one for himself; exalted and in one sense holy beings who crave spiritual enlightenment for themselves alone. They "are those Bodhisattvas who strive after and often reach the Dharmakaya robe after a series of lives. Caring nothing for the woes of mankind or to help it, but only for this own bliss, they enter Nirvana and -- disappear from the sight and the hearts of men. In Northern Buddhism a 'Pratyeka Buddha' is a synonym of spiritual Selfishness"; "He, who becomes Pratyeka-Buddha, makes his obeisance but to his Self" (VS 86, 43).

They achieve nirvana automatically as it were, and leave the world in its misery behind. Though exalted, nevertheless they do not rank with the unutterable sublimity, wisdom, and pity of the Buddhas of Compassion.

"The Pratyeka Buddha is a degree which belongs exclusively to the Yogacharya school, yet it is only one of high intellectual development with no true spirituality. It is the dead-letter of the Yoga laws, in which intellect and comprehension play the greatest part, added to the strict carrying out of the rules of the inner development. It is one of the three paths to Nirvana, and the lowest, in which a Yogi -- 'without teacher and without saving others' -- by the mere force of will and technical observances, attains to a kind of nominal Buddhaship individually; doing no good to anyone, but working selfishly for his own salvation and himself alone.

The Pratyekas are respected outwardly but are despised inwardly by those of keen or spiritual appreciation. A Pratyeka is generally compared to a 'Khadga' or solitary rhinoceros and called Ekashringa Rishi, a selfish solitary Rishi (or saint)" (TG 261).

(See also: Pratyeka Buddha, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)