In Vajrayana Buddhism, the Five Wisdom Buddhas (Jp. 五智如来 gochinyōrai), also known as the Five Dhyani Buddhas (dhyani being Sanskrit for "wisdom"), the Five Great Buddhas (Jp. 五大如来 godainyōrai) and the Five Jinas (Skt. for "conqueror" or "victor"), are representations of the five qualities of the Buddha. The Buddhas inhabit the Diamond Realm and are a common subject of Vajrayana mandalas.
The Five Wisdom Buddhas are a later development of the Trikaya theory, which posits three bodies for the Buddha. The Wisdom Buddhas are all aspects of the dharmakaya or "reality-body", which embodies the principle of enlightenment. Initially two Buddhas appeared which represented wisdom and compassion - they were, respectively, Akshobhya and Amitabha. A further distinction embodied the aspects of power, or activity, and the aspect of beauty or spiritual riches. In the Sutra of Golden Light (an early Mahayana Sutra) the figures are named Dundubishvara, and Ratnaketu, but over time their names changed to become Amoghasiddhi, and Ratnasambhava. The central figure came to be called Vairocana.
When represented in a Vairocana mandala, the Buddhas are arranged like this:
There are a huge number of associations with each figure, so that the mandala becomes a cipher for remembering, and understanding the whole of the Dharma. Some of the associations include:
One of the symbolic meanings is that they represent the five elements: the square base represents earth, the round dome is for water, the cone-shape is fire, the canope is air and the volume of the stupa is space.
As she returned empty-handed, the Buddha showied her that she was not alone in her sorrow and that death is an inescapable part of life.
The wisdom of the Buddha, like the minister, is always present to him who has realised it, allowing him to cut through the bonds of ignorance.
is the embodiment of the compassion of all the buddhas.
Even though the behavior of a crazy wisdom master may appear outrageous and unconventional, the motivation of his or her action is based on unconditional compassion.
The Buddha gave three major series of teachings during his lifetime, the hinayana, the mahayana and the vajrayana that are referred to as the first, second and third turnings of the wheel.
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