Amoghasiddhi
Amoghasiddhi, 'infallible success', is the Buddha of the north in the five-Buddha mandala, green in colour, the right hand raised in the abhaya mudra of fearlessness and the crossed vajra (vishvavajra) as his emblem.
He is a mandala Buddha rather than a figure with a cult: there is no 'worship of Amoghasiddhi' in the sense a Western reader expects, and the entry records the tantric visualisation tradition. The planetary attribution (Mars, Aries, Capricorn), the tarot cards and the Tuesday and midnight hours are a modern Hermetic overlay — no Buddhist source gives him a planet, and the garuda named here is his mount, not a planetary correspondence.
Correspondences
Offerings
- Offerings
- IncenseGreen flowersWaterButter lampsCompleting a hard task
Sacred timing
Symbols and forms
- Alternate Names
- Infallible SuccessDon yod grub paFukujoju NyoraiBu Kong Cheng Jiu RulaiThe Buddha of the North
- Gender Expression
- Masculine
- Titles
- He Whose Success Is Never in VainBuddha of the Northern QuarterLord of the Karma FamilyThe Unfailing Accomplisher
- Symbols
- Double vajraCrossed vajraAbhaya mudraGreen lotusGaruda
Practice
- Invocation Approach
- ToneSteady fearlessAddressAmoghasiddhiBuddha of the NorthThe Unfailing OneRelationshipThe hand raised in fearlessnessWarningHe does not do the work for youResonanceThose who are tired of failing
- Modern Practice
He is visualised in the five-Buddha mandala and invoked before long or difficult undertakings, and in Tibetan practice the green north is used in the mandala offering and in rites for activity. The Western reading of him as a god of success flattens the claim, which is that action taken in accord with the teaching does not come to nothing — not that any project will be blessed.
Nature and meaning
- Domain
- AccomplishmentFearlessnessActionThe northPerseveranceActivity that does not waste
- Mythology Summary
Amoghasiddhi, 'infallible success', is the Buddha of the north in the five-Buddha mandala, green in colour, the right hand raised in the abhaya mudra of fearlessness and the crossed vajra (vishvavajra) as his emblem. His wisdom is the all-accomplishing wisdom (krtyanushthana-jnana): the activity that does what is needed and leaves no residue, and he heads the karma family, seated on a garuda. Like Ratnasambhava he has almost no independent sutra cult and is met chiefly through the tantric mandalas, where his green north completes the set filled by Akshobhya's blue east and Amitabha's red west.
Details
- Secondary Planets
- Saturn
- Correspondences
- ColorsGreenDark greenTealScentsCedarJuniperPineMetalsIronBronzeAnimalsGaruda
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