User:Immanuelle/Amoghapasha

Statue of Amoghapasha found in Padang Roco, Dharmasraya Regency, West Sumatra province of Indonesia.

Amoghapasa ( IAST : Amoghapāśa ) is a bodhisattva and one of the manifestations or forms of Avalokiteśvara (also Lokeshvara ), who can take on a feminine or masculine aspect. His name in Sanskrit means “he who has the unshakable cord (amoghapasha)” ; this lace which he generally holds in one hand represents his power to fish out lost beings far from the path. Its Chinese name is Bukongjuansuo Guanyin不空羂索觀音, Japanese Fukūkensaku Kannon . This name literally means Amoghapāśa-avalokiteśvara .

The oldest known text mentioning him is Amoghapasha hridaya sutra translated into Chinese by Jnanagupta in 587, which became the first chapter of a work describing the various rituals concerning him, Amoghapasha kalparaja . Its first known figures date from the VIII century. century . He is most often represented with four, six or eight arms, and sometimes four servants including Tara and Hayagriva .

At the Kasuga-taisha shrine in Nara, he is said to be the same as the Shinto god of martial arts Takemikazuchi-no-mikoto, probably because he wears a deer skin which was the god's mount in Nara.

Equivalents

Kasuga no Kami has five components each of which has a corresponding Buddha.

Shrine facility	Shinto part	Buddhist part
first hall	Takemikazuchi-o	Amoghapasa
second hall	Futsunushi	Bhaisajyaguru
third hall	Ame no Koyane	Kṣitigarbha
fourth hall	Himegami	Ekādaśamukha
Wakamiya Shrine	Ame-no-Oshikumone	Manjushri or Avalokiteśvara.

Notes and references

This page will be placed in the following categories if it is moved to the article namespace.

Categories:

• Bodhisattvas