An absolutely phenomenal thangka: among the highest quality thangkas I've been blessed to acquire. The quality of the painting is truly stunning, and the brocade is also of the highest order. A joy to receive! The seller is also very kind, attentive, and helpful. All around a pleasure to support this shop, and I look forward to purchasing from them again in the future!
DAC
This is newari thangka
Vairocana is a Buddha who is the embodiment of Dharmakaya, and which therefore can be seen as the universal aspect of the historical Gautama Buddha. In Sino-Japanese Buddhism, Vairocana is also seen as the embodiment of the Buddhist concept of shunyata or Emptiness.
In the conception of the Five Wisdom Buddhas of Vajrayana Buddhism, Vairocana is at the center. His consort is White Tara . The Vairocana statue in Nara's Tōdai-ji in Japan is the largest bronze image of Vairocana Buddha in the world. Vairocana Buddha is first introduced in the Brahma Net Sutra:[1]
“
Now, I, Vairocana Buddha am sitting atop a lotus pedestal; On a thousand flowers surrounding me are a thousand Sakyamuni Buddhas. Each flower supports a hundred million worlds; in each world a Sakyamuni Buddha appears. All are seated beneath a Bodhi-tree, all simultaneously attain Buddhahood. All these innumerable Buddhas have Vairocana as their original body.
”
He is also mentioned in the Flower Garland Sutra, however the doctrine of Vairocana Buddha is based largely on the teachings of the Mahavairocana Sutra (also known as the Mahāvairocana-abhisaṃbodhi-tantra) and to a lesser degree the Vajrasekhara Sutra (also known as the Sarvatathāgatatattvasaṃgraha Tantra). Vairocana features prominently in the Chinese school of Hua-Yen Buddhism, and also later schools including Japanese Kegon Buddhism, and Japanese esoteric, or Shingon Buddhism. In the case of Shingon Buddhism, Vairocana is the central figure.
In Sino-Japanese Buddhism, Vairocana was gradually superseded as an object of reverence by Amitabha Buddha, due in large part to the increasing popularity of Pure Land Buddhism, but Vairocana's legacy still remains in the Tōdai-ji temple with its massive bronze statue and in Shingon Buddhism, which holds a sizeable minority among Japanese Buddhists.
Vairocana is not to be confused with Virocana, who appears in the eighth chapter of the Chandogya Upanishad as the king of the Asura.