Akshobhya
Akshobhya, 'the Imperturbable', is the Buddha of the eastern quarter, whose pure land is Abhirati, and whose story is told in the Akshobhyatathagatasyavyuha Sutra: as a monk he vowed never to feel or show anger toward any being, and by that vow became the Buddha of the unshakable mind.
The east/blue/mirror-like-wisdom/vajra-family core is stable across the tantras, but the element assigned to him shifts between the mandala schemes: he is given water in the five-element set used with the five families, while the Nyingma kaya systems arrange the elements differently. The planetary attribution (Mercury, Virgo, Capricorn), the tarot cards, the Wednesday day and the dawn hour are a modern Hermetic overlay with no Buddhist warrant — the vajra he holds is Indra's thunderbolt, which is the actual (and textual) link to the Vedic figure named here, not a planetary one.
Correspondences
Offerings
- Offerings
- WaterIncenseBlue flowersButter lampsPatience under provocation
Sacred timing
Symbols and forms
- Alternate Names
- AksobhyaAkshobhya VajraThe Imperturbable OneMi bskyod paMikyoAkushu
- Gender Expression
- Masculine
- Titles
- The ImperturbableBuddha of the Eastern QuarterLord of the Vajra FamilyTathagata of Abhirati
- Symbols
- VajraMirrorEarth touching mudraBlue lotusElephant
Practice
- Invocation Approach
- ToneCool steady refusal to moveAddressAkshobhyaImperturbable OneBuddha of the EastRelationshipThe one who does not flinchWarningThe mirror shows what you would rather not seeResonanceThe quick tempered those who must stay steady
- Modern Practice
Tibetan practitioners visualise him to dissolve anger — the mirror of his wisdom used to watch a flash of rage arrive without acting on it — and he is one of the five Buddhas of the mandala offering and of confession practice. The Western misreading is to take his immovability as coldness; the tradition means a mind that cannot be knocked off its centre rather than one that feels nothing.
Nature and meaning
- Domain
- Mirror like wisdomImmovabilityNon angerSteadfastnessThe eastPurification of anger
- Mythology Summary
Akshobhya, 'the Imperturbable', is the Buddha of the eastern quarter, whose pure land is Abhirati, and whose story is told in the Akshobhyatathagatasyavyuha Sutra: as a monk he vowed never to feel or show anger toward any being, and by that vow became the Buddha of the unshakable mind. In the five-Buddha mandalas he heads the vajra family in the east, and his wisdom is the mirror-like wisdom that reflects without distortion or preference. He is the deep blue figure with the left hand resting open in the lap and the right touching the earth, an image that points to the same gesture as the Buddha's own enlightenment under the bodhi tree.
Details
- Secondary Planets
- Saturn
- Correspondences
- ColorsDeep blueWhitePale blueScentsSandalwoodJuniperCamphorMetalsSilverCopperAnimalsElephantSnow lionTarot
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