The Mandala of the Two Realms (Jp

Japanese language

is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...

. 両界曼荼羅 Ryōkai mandara), also known as the Mandala of the Two Divisions (Jp. 両部曼荼羅 Ryōbu mandara), is a set of two mandala

Mandala

Maṇḍala is a Sanskrit word that means "circle". In the Buddhist and Hindu religious traditions their sacred art often takes a mandala form. The basic form of most Hindu and Buddhist mandalas is a square with four gates containing a circle with a center point...

s depicting both the Five Wisdom Buddhas of the Diamond Realm

Diamond Realm

In Vajrayana Buddhism, the Diamond Realm is a metaphysical space inhabited by the Five Wisdom Buddhas...

 as well as the Five Wisdom Kings of the Womb Realm

Womb Realm

In Vajrayana Buddhism, the Womb Realm is the metaphysical space inhabited by the Five Wisdom Kings. The Womb Realm is based on the Mahāvairocana Sutra...

. The number of deities arranged around the cores varies, but may range as high as 414.

The Diamond Realm represents the unchanging cosmic principle of the Buddha, while the Womb Realm depicts the active, physical manifestation of Buddha in the natural world. The mandalas are thus considered a compact expression of the entirety of the Dharma

Dharma

Dharma means Law or Natural Law and is a concept of central importance in Indian philosophy and religion. In the context of Hinduism, it refers to one's personal obligations, calling and duties, and a Hindu's dharma is affected by the person's age, caste, class, occupation, and gender...

 in Mahayana

Mahayana

Mahāyāna is one of the two main existing branches of Buddhism and a term for classification of Buddhist philosophies and practice...

 Buddhism, and form the root of the Vajrayana

Vajrayana

Vajrayāna Buddhism is also known as Tantric Buddhism, Tantrayāna, Mantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Esoteric Buddhism and the Diamond Vehicle...

 teachings. Japanese Shingon temples, in particular, often prominently display the Mandalas of the Two Realms mounted at right angles to the image platform on the central altar.

The two mandalas are believed to have evolved separately in India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, and were joined together for the first time in China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, perhaps by Kūkai

Kukai

Kūkai , also known posthumously as , 774–835, was a Japanese monk, civil servant, scholar, poet, and artist, founder of the Shingon or "True Word" school of Buddhism. Shingon followers usually refer to him by the honorific titles of and ....

's teacher Hui-kuo

Hui-kuo

Hui-kuo was a Buddhist monk during Tang Dynasty China, particularly in the recently imported Tantric Buddhist tradition from India. Later, he would become the teacher of Kukai, who in turn founded the Shingon school in Japan. Hui-Guo was one of two Buddhist masters at Ximing Temple, the other...

.

External links

• The Diamond and Womb World Mandalas Dharmapala Thangka Centre
• Mandala of the Womb World Dharmapala Thangka Centre