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BIRUSHANA NYORAI or RUSHANA NYORAI
The Big Buddha at Todai Temple in Nara

Origin: India
Sanskrit Name: Vairocana

 Known as Dainichi Nyorai in Esoteric Buddhism

 Birushana, Nara Era 710 to 794 AD, at Toushoudai-ji

As early as the Heian Period (794 - 1192 AD), devotees of Esoteric Buddhism worshipped the Dainichi Nyorai (Skt. Mahavairocana) as the central Buddha of the universe, the so-called Cosmic Buddha. What is often forgotten, however, is that Dainichi (or Dai Nichi) originated from an earlier Buddhist deity named Vairocana (Skt.), called Birushana in Japan. The world-famous Nara Daibutsu (Big Buddha of Nara), build in 752 AD, is none other than Birushana. Japan's other giant Buddha statue, in Kamakura, is the Amida Nyorai. Both statutes are about 15 meters high.

Along with Amida Nyorai, Birushana was one of the earliest Buddhist deities to arrive in Japan in the 6th and 7th centuries AD. In some sects, Birushana is considered to be the reward-body of Shakyamuni Buddha, the Historical Buddha. In others, Birushana represents the true Buddha entity. Vairocana is the Sanskrit word for "belonging to, or coming from, the sunlight."

Birushana is also the main object of worship in the Kegon-Kyo (the Flower Garland Sutra, also called the Avatamsaka Sutra in Skt.), which is the scriptural authority of the Kegon sect. But among sects of esoteric Buddhism, especially the Shingon sect, Birushana is known as Dainichi Nyorai.

OUTSIDE RESOURCES 

• http://www.manjushri.com/TEACH/jKegon.htm
  Japanese lit. "School of the Flower Garland"; school of Japanese Buddhism. Corresponds to the Chinese Hua-yen school. It was brought to Japan from China around 740 by Shen-hsiang (Jap., Shinsho). The first Japanese representative of the Kegon school was Roben (689-722). Emperor Shomu (724-748) wanted to rule Japan according to the principles of Kegon. He had the Todai-ji (Great Eastern Monastery) built in Nara, in which there is a colossal image of the buddha Vairochana (Jap., Birushana). This monastery is still today the center of the Kegon school.
  
  The Kegon school was of extraordinary importance for the development of Japanese Buddhism. The fundamental sutra for this school, the Buddhavatamsaka Sutra (Japanese: Kegon-kyo) was politically construed and taken as a confirmation of the ideal of the unity of the state and of the national-political coloration of Japanese Buddhism.
   
• The Kegon sect worships Birushana as their sacred object. See:
  www.butsuryushu.org/study/selected-writings-of-nichiren-sh/honzon-mondo-sho/honzon-mondo-sho.htm
   
• Birushana can be viewed at special times at Engakuji in Kamakura

Photo by Yabuuchi Satoshi (Uwamuki Project)
 Big Buddha at Todai-ji (Nara) embodies the image of Birushana

Says the Yomiuri Shimbun. The Nara Daibutsu, whose image embodies the Buddha Birushana, dates back to 752. Over the centuries, the statue has been damaged in various battles, but has always been restored afterward. The body of the statue was reconstructed in 1185, and the 5.3-meter-high head was rebuilt in 1692. At 15 meters, it is the largest gilt bronze statue in the world. From http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/nanjo/nanjo50.htm

Below Text Courtesy of:
http://www1.sphere.ne.jp/naracity/e/buddha/e_buddha01.html
In order to drive away a general feeling of unrest caused by successive revolts, and to secure the protection and welfare of the nation with the help of Buddhism, Emperor Shomu promoted the construction of a provincial temple in each province and made a decision to build a great image of Birushana-butsu, or Buddha Vairocana. As the main object of worship of Todai-ji Temple, its image started to be constructed. This bronze image of Buddha is the largest of its kind in the world. The grand dedication ceremony was held in the 4th year of the Tempyo-Katsuho era (752).

THE BIG BUDDHA of  Todai-ji Temple is famous for the great image of Birushana Buddha, a symbol of Nara. The temple building itself is the largest existing wooden structure in the world. The present temple building was reconstructed in the middle of the Edo Era (1603-1867). It is 57 meters wide, 50 meters deep, and 48 meters tall. It is an imposing structure when you see it close at hand. But it is only two-thirds the original size.

Rushana, Edo Period Statue, in Nara at Todai-ji
Photo courtesy of Handbook on Viewing Buddhist Statues
A totally wonderful book, by Ishii Ayako. The above image
was scanned from this book; Japanese language only
192 pages; 80 or so color photos. Click here to buy book at Amazon

BELOW: From the Encyclopedia of Japan
Todaiji. Major monastery-temple belonging to the Kegon sect of Buddhism. It was erected by order of the emperor Shomu (r 724-749) in Nara, the capital of Japan from 710 to 784, to become the most important religious institution within the network of provincial monasteries and convents (kokubunji) throughout Japan. Immense in scale, Todaiji represented the culmination of Buddhist architecture under imperial sponsorship. The principal image of the temple, a colossal bronze statue popularly called the Nara Daibutsu (Great Buddha of Nara), completed in 752, was installed in its daibutsuden (great Buddha hall). The image embodied the Buddha Birushana (Skt: Vairocana), who was regarded by the Kegon sect as the cosmic, central Buddha. Over the centuries the icon was severely damaged several times and finally restored to its present form in 1692. Most of the extant Todaiji buildings are restorations of earlier structures.

The origin of Todaiji goes back to the Kinshoji, a temple that had existed in the eastern sector of the present Todaiji compound. Here, Roben (689-773), a scholar-monk of the Kegon sect who was to become the first abbot of Todaiji, had been active in 733. Roben is commemorated by a portrait-statue made around 1019 and kept in the kaisando (founder's hall). The kondo (main hall) of Kinshoji probably is the extant inner sanctuary of the hokkedo (lotus hall), popularly known as the Sangatsudo (Third Month Hall), where the Lotus Sutra (Hokekyo) is chanted yearly during the third month (sangatsu). The main icon of the hokkedo is the Fukukensaku Kannon, a splendid, dry-lacquer statue, made around 746. In 741 the Kinshoji became the provincial monastery-temple for Yamato Province (now Nara Prefecture). At that time the temple was renovated and renamed Konkomyoji after the Sutra of the Golden Light (J: Konkomyo kyo).

The temple was first referred to as Todaiji in 747, when construction of its major buildings was begun. An immense area extending over seven city blocks was allocated for the Todaiji compound. The eastern sector stretched into the Kasuga hills. The main entrance was through the nandaimon (great south gate), which was on an axis with the daibutsuden. Between the nandaimon and the chumon (inner gate) that led to the precinct of the daibutsuden were two seven-storied pagodas, one to the east and the other to the west, each 100 meters (328.1 ft) high. On an axis to the north of the daibutsuden, flanked by a belfry and a sutra repository, was the kodo (lecture hall), enclosed on three sides by monks' quarters that were connected to a refectory by a corridor. In 754 a hall for the ordination of monks, the kaidan'in, was established by Ganjin (Ch: Jianzhen or Chien-chen). It burned down three times; the present one dates from 1731. On its altar are placed images of the Shitenno (Four Heavenly Kings), which are outstanding examples of Tempyo-era (729-749) clay modeling. By 798 the vast compound of Todaiji and its buildings were completed. According to Todaiji records, 50,000 carpenters, 370,000 metal workers, and 2.18 million laborers worked on its construction and furnishings. The enormous expenses virtually brought the nation to the brink of bankruptcy.

Little remains of the 8th-century buildings of Todaiji except the Tegai Gate of the western wall and the inner sanctuary of the hokkedo. After the destruction of the daibutsuden, the towering pagodas, and most of the other buildings in 1180, the Todaiji was reconstructed under the direction of the abbot Shunjobo Chogen (1121-1206), in a style Chogen had observed in Southern Song (Sung; 1127-1279) China. This new architectural style, known as the "great Buddha style" (daibutsuyo) or the "Indian style" (tenjikuyo), is well preserved in the nandaimon, for which in 1203 the famed sculptors Unkei and Kaikei made the powerful guardian statues of the Nio (Benevolent Kings). After great damage in 1567, the rebuilding of Todaiji was sponsored by the Tokugawa shogunate in 1692. The daibutsuden visible today dates for the most part from 1709 and lacks the stylistic uniformity and refinement of its 8th-century predecessor. However, it remains to this day the most prominent edifice in Nara and is generally regarded as the largest wooden structure in the world. The Shosoin, a storehouse located on the grounds of Todaiji, houses several thousand precious ornamental and fine-art objects from the 8th century. Todaiji is also famous as the temple where Omizutori, a central rite in the Buddhist religious calendar, is conducted each year in early spring. 

LEARN MORE

• Click here for more photos of Dainichi (aka Birushana)
• www.manjushri.com/BUDDHA/Blist.html 
• www.butsuryushu.org/study/selected-writings-of-nichiren-sh/
  honzon-mondo-sho/honzon-mondo-sho.htm
• www.manjushri.com/TEACH/jKegon.htm
• www.yomiuri.co.jp/nanjo/nanjo50.htm
• www1.sphere.ne.jp/naracity/e/buddha/e_buddha01.html
   

Copyright Mark Schumacher. Email Mark.
All stories and photos, unless specified otherwise, by Mark
www.onmarkproductions.com