Sk: yaksa. Evil spirits believed to harm human beings and hinder Buddhist teaching. Usually appear in sculptures as small…

Commonly known as Jie Daishi 慈恵大師 or Great Master Jie. The posthumous name of Ryōgen 良源 (912-85), abbot at…

Lit. Picture of the ten realms. In Buddhism the ten realms jikkai 十界 refer to the ten realms of being, which are…

Sk: Dhrtarastra. A guardian deity with fierce expression *funnusō 忿怒相,…

Also read Jinja Daishō. Lit. General Deep-Sand. A divinity said to have appeared in a dream to the renowned Chinese…

Lit. earth repository (Sk: Ksitigarbha). A bodhisattva *bosatsu 菩薩 believed to…

Amida with the jō-in 定印 or *zenjō-in 禅定印 (Sk: dhyanamudra;…

The Five Chinese Patriarchs of the Pure Land Jōdo 浄土 sect. The sect was organized in Japan by *…

Abbreviation of jōdo hensō zu 浄土変相図. Also known as jōdo mandara 浄土曼荼羅. Pictorial representations, often…

Lit. three Pure Land Mandalas. Traditionally refers to the three most famous types of *…

Also read Jōe Monju (Ch: shengyi wenshu). Lit. rope-robed *Monju…

Abbreviation of Shaka jūdai deshi 釈迦十大弟子. The Ten Chief Disciples of the historical Buddha *…

Sk: Ekadasamukha. Eleven-headed Kannon; a form of *Kannon 観音 with eleven miniature faces…

Also jūni yakusha taishō 十二薬叉大将, jūni shinshō 十二神王. The twelve protective deities *…

Twelve Deities. A group of tutelary deities consisting of various Hindu gods, which was incorporated into Esoteric Buddhism…

Sk: Cundi. Also Juntei Butsumo 准胝仏母, Shichigutei Butsumo 七倶胝仏母, or Butsumo Juntei 仏母准胝. …

Ten Kings. The ten kings of hell who preside at the gates of the underworld, assigning souls to heaven or hell. The Buddhist…

Ch: Shou laoren. A Chinese Taoist god known as the immortal of the Northern Song and also considered the personification of…

Sixteen arhats *rakan 羅漢. The saintly ascetics who gathered at the death and…

Also read jūroku zenjin. Abbreviation of Shaka jūroku zenshin 釈迦十六善神 or Shaka sanzon jūroku…

Thirteen Buddhas. A set of thirteen Buddhist deities, including *myōō 明王 (Sk…

Lit. "Amida with welcoming descent mudras." A figure of *Amida 阿弥陀 with hand…

Painted images of Buddhas and bodhisattvas, such as *Shaka 釈迦, *…

Arhat. Ch: luohan, Sk: arhan. Abbreviation of arakan 阿羅漢, a translation of the Sk. term arhan…

Transliteration of Sanskrit raksasa, a term for demons in general, but which may also be divided into three classes…

Also known by the Chinese name: Linji. A Tang dynasty priest who founded a major school of chan (Jp: Zen 禅) Buddhism. Zen…

The Rishukyō jūhachi-e mandara was introduced from China to Japan by Ennin 円仁 (794-864) and Shūei 宗叡 (809-884…

A group of six forms of *Kannon 観音, each of which is responsible for saving…

Also occasionally read rikudō-e. Lit. "six paths."
Paintings of the six paths rokudō 六道 of existence…

Lit. "six character name." The six Chinese characters used to write "Namu Amida Butsu 南無阿弥陀仏." An homage to the…

The sixth Zen 禅 (Ch: Chan) patriarch, Huineng (Jp: Enō 慧能, 638-713), also considered the 33rd patriarch in descent from the…

Also read "Roshanabutsu." The Rushana Buddha. Rushana is an abbreviation of Birushana 昆盧舎那 in turn a…

Lit. "mandala of the two realms," namely, the *Taizōkai mandara 胎蔵界曼荼羅…