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Acala, chef des Vidyaraja, les 5 rois de la connaissance et des sciences magiques bouddhistes

Acala, leader of the Vidyaraja, the 5 kings of Buddhist magical knowledge and sciences

Acala, Acalanātha, Achala, Fudō-Myōō in Japanese, Búdòng míngwáng in Chinese (不动明王), Tibetan Miyowa.

Acala the immutable or “Acalanātha” the immutable master, is a Buddhist deity of the mikkyo, a Japanese term meaning “esoteric teaching”, refers to Japanese Tantric Buddhism. It is practiced in the Shingon school and in certain branches of the Tendai school.

Also venerated in Tibetan, Mongolian and Chinese tantrism, the late "Tangmi" current for the latter, supplanted by Lamaism from the Mongolian Yuan dynasty.

he is one of the five Vidyaraja, kings of knowledge and knowledge, lords of magical sciences, wrathful gods embodied by buddhas and bodhisattvas

Dharma protectors, fighting demons, and frightening suffering and stubborn beings, having false or nihilistic beliefs.

Protectors of the 5 Dhyani Buddha, or Buddha of wisdom, also called Buddha of meditation.

Acala is the best known and revered of the Vidyaraja, the other 4 are

Trailokyavijaya (降三世明王, Xiángsānshì, Gōzanze Myō-ō in Japanese) conqueror of the three worlds (desire, form and formless) protector of the East.

Kuṇḍali (軍荼利明王, Jūntúlì míngwáng; ja: 軍荼利明王, Gundari Myōō) dispensing amrita (Kundali being the vessel that contains it), the elixir of immortality. Protector of the South.

Yamantaka (གཤིན་རྗེ་གཤེད, gshin-rje-gshed commonly revered in Tibet, Japanese, 大威徳明王 Daïitoku Myoo, Chinese 大威德金剛 Dà wēidé jīngāng or Yanmandejia) protector of the west and connected to the world of the dead.

Vajrayaksa (venerated in Japan as 金剛夜叉明王, Kongoyaksha Myoo), the purifier, protector of the north.

Acala, the leader of the Vidyaraja, is associated with fire and anger. Mainly represented in Japan,

Acala, from its mystical name Jôjû Kongô, "the eternal and immutable diamond", is the destroyer of passions. In esotericism, he is considered as a body of metamorphosis (Nirmânakâya) of Vairocana of which he personifies the firmness of spirit and the will to destroy evil.

Its symbol is a sword held vertically around which is surrounded a dragon surrounded by flames. Its halo of flames supposed to consume the passions. It is described in a number of sutras, notably in the Mahâvairochana-sutra.

He would assume, "against obstacles, the energy of the adept himself", thus showing the power of compassion of Vairocana. His sword is used to fight the "three poisons": avarice, anger and ignorance. In his left hand he holds a rope (pasha) to catch and bind evil forces and prevent them from doing harm. Acala having made a vow to prolong the life of his faithful by six months and to give them an unshakeable resolution to defeat the forces of evil, he is sometimes, as such, invoked as a "prolonger of life".

In Tibet, Acala is called Achala-Vajrapani and is a Dharmapala (Keepers of the Teachings). He is represented with 4 heads, four arms and four legs, trampling the demons. He holds the sword, the rope, a vajra and a skullcap.

His face expresses extreme anger, frowning, left eye squinting or looking askance, lower teeth biting upper lip. He has the physique of a corpulent child (with a round belly).

His canines are protruding, the right pointing upward, symbolizing heaven and spirit, the left downward, earth and matter.

A fiery aura surrounds him completely (peaceful deities have an aura similar to a resting sea). He is seated on a large rock symbolizing his firmness and unwavering determination. It represents immutability.

Acala is said to be a powerful deity who protects devotees by burning away all obstacles ( antaraya ) (障難, Shonan ) and (stains klesa ) (雜染, zozen ), thus helping them to enlightenment.

Originally the Mahayana deity Acalanātha, whose name means "immovable protector", Acala was incorporated into the vajrayana as a servant of the Buddha. In the Tangmi (Tang-era Chinese Vajrayana), his name was translated as Budong "still" (chin: 不動; Budong ).

Then, the deity was imported to Japan as 不動 ( Fudō ) by Kukai (July 31, 774 - April 22, 835) scholar and official at the Japanese imperial court (early Heian period), holy founder of the Shingon esoteric Buddhist school, during his trip to China in 804, in order to initiate the tantric form of Buddhism. There he met the eminent Buddhist scholar Pranja from the region of Gandhara, the cradle of the Mahayana or great vehicle, a region located in the northwest of present-day Pakistan. Kukai studied in China as a member of the Kentoshi mission.

Scholars such as Miyeko Murase affirm that the origins of this Buddhist deity lie in the Hindu deity Shiva, from whom he borrows many traits, in particular his attributes of destruction and reincarnation.

The deity was popular during the Middle Ages and in modern times in Nepal, Tibet and Japan where sculptural and pictorial representations of him are most commonly found. Much of the iconography comes from Japan.

In Tibetan Buddhism and art, Akshobya Buddha, whose name also means "the immutable", presides over the clan of deities to which Ācala belongs. Other sources refer to the Acala and Caṇḍaroṣaṇa as an "emanation" from Akshobhya, suggesting further assimilation.

Acala evolves into a deity invoked in Buddhist rituals to "frighten gods, titans, men and destroy the strength of demons", and he kills all ghosts and evil spirits.

In some Buddhist texts such as the Sādhanamālā, the Hindu gods vishnu, Shiva, Brahma and Kandarpa, are said to be "evil" because they cause endless rebirth, and these gods are terrified of Acala because he wears a rope to tie them up .

In Nepalese and Tibetan Buddhist traditions, Visvajri becomes the companion of Acala.

In Japan, Acala became a focus of worship in its own right, and was installed as the honzon (本尊) or primary deity in outdoor temples and shrines. A famous example is the Narita Fudō-dō, a Shingon sub-sect temple in Narita San.

The mantra recited in honor of Fudō Myō-ō is in Sanskrit

"Namaḥ samantavajrāṇāṃ, caṇḍamahāroṣaṇa sphoṭaya hūṃ traka hāṃ māṃ".

In Japanese "Nōmaku samanda bazaradan sendamakaroshada sohataya hun tarata kan man"

In Shingon Buddhist temples dedicated to Ācala, priests perform the Fudo-ho (不動法), or ritual service to obtain the purifying power of the deity for the benefit of devotees. This rite consistently involves the use of the Homa ritual (護摩, goma ) as a purification tool. Ritual in which any religious offering is transformed into fire.

In mystical Shugendo, a Japanese esoteric Buddhist current, lay people or monks in yamabushi attire undergoing rigorous training in the open air in the mountains often pray to small Acala statues or portable talismans that serve as their honzon.

Ācala is also at the top of the list of 13 Buddhas (十三仏, jūsan butsu ) ). Thus, True Word followers in times of mourning assign Acala to the first seven days of mortuary service.

The first week is an important observation, but perhaps not so much as the observation of "seven times seven days" (i.e. 49 days) signifying the end of the "intermediate state" (bardo).

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