Acala

Article summary

or Achala ( , "The Immovable", ), also known as ( , "Immovable Lord") or ( , "Noble Immovable Lord"), is a wrathful deity and dharmapala (protector of the Dharma) prominent in Vajrayana Buddhism and East Asian Buddhism. Originally a minor deity described as a messenger or acolyte of the buddha Vairocana, Acala later rose to prominence as an object of veneration in his own right as a remover of obstacles and destroyer of evil, eventually becoming seen as the wrathful manifestation of either Vairocana, the Buddha Akṣobhya, or the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī. In later texts, he is also called ( , "Violent Wrathful One", ) or ( , "Violent One of Great Wrath", ), the names by which he is more commonly known in countries like Nepal and Tibet. In East Asian esoteric Buddhism, Acala is classed among the Wisdom Kings ( ) and is preeminent among the five Wisdom Kings of the Womb Realm. Accordingly, he occupies an important hierarchical position in the Mandala of the Two Realms. In China, he is known as ( , "Immovable Wisdom King", the Chinese translation of Sanskrit ), while in Japan, he is called Fudō Myōō, the on'yomi reading of his Chinese name. Acala (as Fudō) is one of the especially important and well-known divinities in Japanese Buddhism, being especially venerated in the Shingon, Tendai, Zen, and Nichiren sects, as well as in Shugendō.…

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