Editing Acala (section)

==Origins and development==
Acala first appears in the {{transliteration|sa|IAST|Amoghapāśakalparāja Sūtra}} (不空羂索神変真言經, [[pinyin]]: ''Bùkōng juànsuǒ shénbiàn zhēnyán jīng'', translated by [[Bodhiruci]] circa 707-709 CE<ref>{{Cite web|title=不空羂索神變真言經|url=http://tripitaka.cbeta.org/T20n1092|access-date=2020-11-28|website=CBETA Chinese Electronic Tripiṭaka Collection|publisher=Chinese Buddhist Electronic Texts Association (CBETA)}}</ref>), where he is described as a servant or messenger of the [[buddha]] [[Vairocana]]:<ref name=":02">{{Cite book|last=Faure|first=Bernard|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.21313/hawaii/9780824839338.001.0001|title=The Fluid Pantheon: Gods of Medieval Japan, Volume 1|date=2015|publisher=University of Hawai'i Press|isbn=978-0-8248-3933-8|pages=120|doi=10.21313/hawaii/9780824839338.001.0001}}</ref><blockquote>The first from the west in the northern quadrant is the acolyte Acala (不動使者). In his left hand he grasps a noose and in his right hand he holds a sword. He is seated in the [[Lotus position|half-lotus position]].<ref name=":02" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=不空羂索神變真言經 第9卷|url=http://tripitaka.cbeta.org/T20n1092_009|access-date=2020-11-28|website=CBETA Chinese Electronic Tripiṭaka Collection|publisher=Chinese Buddhist Electronic Text Association (CBETA)}}</ref></blockquote>

More well-known, however, is the following passage from the ''[[Mahavairocana Tantra|Mahāvairocana Tantra]]'' (also known as the ''Mahāvairocanābhisaṃbodhi Tantra'' or the ''Vairocana Sūtra'') which refers to Acala as one of the deities of the [[Womb Realm|Womb Realm Mandala]]:

{{Poemquote
|text=
Below the mantra-lord (i.e., Vairocana), in the direction of [[Nirṛti|Nairṛti]] (i.e., southwest),
Is Acala, the Tathāgata's servant (不動如來使): he holds a wisdom sword and a noose (''pāśa''),
The hair from the top of his head hangs down on his left shoulder, and with one eye he looks fixedly;
Awesomely wrathful, his body [is enveloped in] fierce flames, and he rests on a rock;
His face is marked with [a frown like] waves on water, and he has the figure of a stout young boy.<ref>{{cite book |translator=Rolf W. Giebel |title=The Vairocanābhisaṃbodhi Sūtra |date=2005 |publisher=Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research |page=31 |url=https://www.bdk.or.jp/document/dgtl-dl/dBET_T0848_Vairocana_2005.pdf}}</ref><ref name=":02" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=大毘盧遮那成佛神變加持經 第1卷|url=http://tripitaka.cbeta.org/T18n0848_001|access-date=2020-11-28|website=CBETA Chinese Electronic Tripiṭaka Collection|publisher=Chinese Buddhist Electronic Text Association (CBETA)}}</ref>}}

The deity was apparently popular in India during the 8th-9th centuries as evident by the fact that six of the Sanskrit texts translated by the esoteric master [[Amoghavajra]] into Chinese are devoted entirely to him.<ref name="donaldson2" /> Indeed, Acala's rise to a more prominent position in the Esoteric pantheon in East Asian Buddhism may be credited in part to the writings of Amoghavajra and his teacher [[Vajrabodhi]].<ref>{{cite thesis |last1=Bond |first1=Kevin |title=Ritual and Iconography in the Japanese Esoteric Buddhist Tradition: The Nineteen Visualizations of Fudō Myōō |url=https://kipdf.com/ritual-and-iconography-in-the-japanese-esoteric-buddhist-tradition-the-nineteen-_5ad0f3727f8b9afb7d8b456b.html|date=2001|publisher=McMaster University|pages=6–16}}</ref>

[[File:Arya Achala Tibet 12th century, Kadam Lineage Collection of Shelley & Donald Rubin (cropped).jpg|left|thumb|380x380px|12th century Tibetan ([[Kadam (Tibetan Buddhism)|Kadampa]] school) painting of Acala stepping on [[Ganesha in world religions#Buddhism|Vighnarāja]], the "Lord of Obstacles"]]

While some scholars have put forward the theory that Acala originated from the Hindu god [[Shiva]], particularly his attributes of destruction and reincarnation,<ref>{{cite book|author=Miyeko Murase|url=https://archive.org/details/japaneseartselec00mura|title=Japanese Art|publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art|year=1975|isbn=978-0-87099-136-3|pages=[https://archive.org/details/japaneseartselec00mura/page/31 31]–32|url-access=registration}}</ref><ref>[a] {{cite book|author=Charles Eliot|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KbPgG6ondlUC|title=Hinduism and Buddhism: An Historical Sketch|publisher=Routledge|year=1998|isbn=978-0-7007-0679-2|pages=391–392}};

[b] {{cite book|author=Charles Eliot|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EIzsAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA136|title=Japanese Buddhism|publisher=Routledge|year=2014|isbn=978-1-317-79274-1|page=136}}</ref> [[Bernard Faure]] suggested the wrathful esoteric deity [[Trailokyavijaya]] (whose name is an epithet of Shiva), the [[Historical Vedic religion|Vedic]] fire god [[Agni]], and the guardian deity [[Vajrapani]] to be other, more likely prototypes for Acala. He notes: "one could theoretically locate Acala's origins in a generic {{transliteration|sa|IAST|Śiva|italics=no}}, but only in the sense that all Tantric deities can in one way or another be traced back to {{transliteration|sa|IAST|Śiva|italics=no}}."<ref name=":02" /> Faure compares Acala to Vajrapani in that both were originally minor deities who eventually came to occupy important places in the Buddhist pantheon.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Faure|first=Bernard|title=The Fluid Pantheon: Gods of Medieval Japan, Volume 1|date=2015|publisher=University of Hawai'i Press|pages=120–123}}</ref>

Acala is said to be a powerful deity who protects the faithful by burning away all impediments ({{IAST|antarāya}}) and defilements ([[Kleshas (Buddhism)|{{IAST|kleśa}}]]), thus aiding them towards enlightenment.<ref name="shincho2">{{Harvnb|Shincho Encyclopedia|1985}}, under Fudo Myoo (in Japanese)</ref> In a commentary on the ''Mahāvairocana Tantra'' by [[Yi Xing]], he is said to have manifested in the world following Vairocana's vow to save all beings, and that his primary function is to remove obstacles to enlightenment.<ref name=":02" /> Indeed, the tantra instructs the ritual practitioner to recite Acala's mantras or to visualize himself as Acala in order to remove obstacles.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hodge|first=Stephen|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SY4GUaAUNEYC|title=The Maha-Vairocana-Abhisambodhi Tantra: With Buddhaguhya's Commentary|publisher=Routledge|year=2005|isbn=978-1-135-79654-9|pages=153–156|language=en}}</ref>

From a humble acolyte, Acala evolved into a powerful demon-subduing deity. In later texts such as the ''Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇa Tantra'', Acala - under the name {{transliteration|sa|IAST|Caṇḍaroṣaṇa|italic=no}} ("Violent Wrathful One") or {{transliteration|sa|IAST|Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇa|italic=no}} ("Violent One of Great Wrath") - is portrayed as the "frightener of gods, [[Asura (Buddhism)|titans]], and men, the destroyer of the strength of demons" who slays ghosts and evil spirits with his fierce anger.<ref name="donaldson2" /><ref name=":6">{{Cite web|title=The Tantra of Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇa|url=https://read.84000.co/translation/toh431.html|access-date=2020-11-28|website=84000: Translating The Words of The Buddha|language=en}}</ref> In the ''Sādhanamālā'', the gods [[Vishnu]], Shiva, [[Brahma]] and [[Kamadeva|Kandarpa]] - described as "wicked" beings who subject humanity to endless [[Saṃsāra (Buddhism)|rebirth]] - are said to be terrified of Acala because he carries a rope to bind them.<ref name="donaldson2" />

[[File:The Five Wisdom Kings.jpg|thumb|The five Wisdom Kings (''Vidyarāja'', ''Myōō'') of [[Shingon Buddhism]]: Acala (Fudō, center), [[Trailokyavijaya]] (Gōzanze, lower right), [[Kuṇḍali|Amṛtakuṇḍalin]] (Gundari, lower left), [[Yamāntaka]] (Daiitoku, upper left), and [[Vajrayakṣa]] (Kongōyasha, upper right)|267x267px]]

In [[Tibetan Buddhism]], Acala or Miyowa (མི་གཡོ་བ་, [[Wylie transliteration|Wylie]]: ''mi g.yo ba'') is considered as belonging to the ''{{IAST|vajrakula}}'' ("vajra family", Tibetan: དོ་རྗེའི་རིགས་, ''dorjé rik''; Wylie: ''rdo rje'i rigs''), one of the [[Five Tathāgatas#The Five Families or Divisions and their qualities|Five Buddha Families]] presided over by the buddha [[Akshobhya|Akṣobhya]] and may even be regarded, along with the other deities of the ''kula'', as an aspect or emanation of the latter.<ref name="donaldson2" /><ref>{{cite book|last1=Weldon|first1=David|title=The sculptural heritage of Tibet: Buddhist art in the Nyingjei Lam Collection|last2=Singer|first2=Jane Casey|publisher=Laurence King Pub.|year=1999}}, p.100, "Aksobhya, the Buddha who presides over the family (kula) of deities with which Acala is associated"</ref><ref name=":12">{{Cite book|last=Jha|first=Achyutanand|title=Tathagata Akshobhya and the Vajra Kula: Studies in the Iconography of the Akshobhya Family|publisher=National Centre for Oriental Studies|year=1993|pages=35–36}}</ref><ref name=":22">{{Cite web|title=Sacred Visions: Early Paintings from Central Tibet - Achala|url=https://www.asianart.com/exhibitions/svision/i22.html|access-date=2020-11-28|website=www.asianart.com}}</ref> He is thus sometimes depicted in South Asian art wearing a crown with an effigy of Akṣobhya.<ref name="donaldson2" /><ref name=":12" /><ref name=":22" /> In [[Buddhism in Nepal|Nepal]], Acala may also be identified as a manifestation of the [[bodhisattva]] [[Manjushri|Mañjuśrī]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Pal|first=Pratapaditya|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T88UAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA83|title=The Arts of Nepal - Volume II: Painting|date=1974|publisher=Brill Archive|isbn=978-90-04-05750-0|pages=6|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":32">{{Cite web|title=Acala with Consort Vishvavajri|url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/78189|access-date=2020-11-28|website=Metropolitan Museum of Art}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Acala, The Buddhist Protector|url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/38011|access-date=2020-11-28|website=Metropolitan Museum of Art}}</ref> He has a consort named Viśvavajrī in both the Nepalese and Tibetan traditions, with whom he is at times depicted in [[Yab-Yum|yab-yum]] union.<ref name=":32" /><ref name="kreijger1232" />

By contrast, the ''sanrinjin'' (三輪身, "bodies of the three wheels") theory, based on Amoghavajra's writings and prevalent in [[Buddhism in Japan|Japanese]] [[Vajrayana#Japanese Esotericism|esoteric Buddhism]] (''[[Mikkyō]]''), interprets Acala as an incarnation of Vairocana.<ref>{{cite thesis |last1=Bond |first1=Kevin |title=Ritual and Iconography in the Japanese Esoteric Buddhist Tradition: The Nineteen Visualizations of Fudō Myōō |url=https://kipdf.com/ritual-and-iconography-in-the-japanese-esoteric-buddhist-tradition-the-nineteen-_5ad0f3727f8b9afb7d8b456b.html|date=2001|publisher=McMaster University|pages=10–14}}</ref> In this system, the five chief [[Wisdom King|''vidyārājas'']] or Wisdom Kings (明王, ''Myōō''), of which Acala is one, are interpreted as the wrathful manifestations (教令輪身, ''kyōryōrin-shin'', lit. ""embodiments of the wheel of injunction") of the [[Five Tathagatas|Five Great Buddhas]], who appear both as gentle [[bodhisattvas]] to teach the [[Dharma#Buddhism|Dharma]] and also as fierce wrathful deities to subdue and convert hardened nonbelievers.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Miyasaka|first=Yūshō|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o6ngsSN-ATAC&pg=PA56|title=不動信仰事典 (Fudō-shinkō Jiten)|date=2006|publisher=Ebisu Kōshō Shuppan|isbn=978-4-900901-68-1|pages=56|language=ja}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_H5p-Fqkuz8C&pg=PA120|title=昭和新纂国訳大蔵経 解説部第1巻 (Shōwa shinsan Kokuyaku Daizōkyō: Kaisetsu, vol. 1)|date=1930|publisher=Tōhō Shuppan|pages=120|language=ja}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=三輪身|url=https://kotobank.jp/word/%E4%B8%89%E8%BC%AA%E8%BA%AB-71616|access-date=2020-11-28|website=コトバンク (kotobank)|language=ja}}</ref> Under this conceptualization, ''vidyārājas'' are ranked superior to {{Nihongo|''[[dharmapalas]]''|護法善神|''gohō zenshin''}},<ref>[[:ja:護法善神]], added 2008.4.23  (Wed) 06:02 by Boca samba (Japanese interwiki link to [[Dharmapala]]) makes this distinction.</ref> a different class of guardian deities. However, this interpretation, while common in Japan, is not necessarily universal: in [[Nichiren-shū]], for instance, Acala and [[Rāgarāja]] (Aizen Myōō), the two ''vidyārājas'' who commonly feature in the [[Gohonzon|mandalas]] inscribed by [[Nichiren]], are seen as protective deities (外護神, ''gegoshin'') who respectively embody the two tenets of ''[[hongaku]]'' ("original enlightenment") doctrine: "life and death (''[[saṃsāra]]'') are precisely ''[[nirvana]]''" (生死即涅槃, ''shōji soku nehan'') and "worldly passions (''kleśa'') are precisely enlightenment ([[Enlightenment in Buddhism|''bodhi'']])" (煩悩即菩提, ''bonnō soku bodai'').<ref>{{Cite book|last=Shibata|first=Ichinō|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lHNFVdMiE9YC&pg=PP222|title=日蓮宗教理史 (Nichiren-shū Kyōrishi)|date=1929|publisher=Bukkyō Geijutsusha|pages=206|language=ja}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Kitao|first=Nichidai|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uUgGvZ3Q9YIC&pg=PP328|title=新撰日蓮宗綱要 一名宗乗大意 (Shinsen Nichiren-shū kōyō: ichimyō shūjō taii)|date=1914|publisher=Nisshū Shinpō Shisha|pages=296|language=ja}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|author=The Nichiren Mandala Study Workshop|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=syitBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA42|title=The mandala in Nichiren Buddhism, Part One: Introduction, mandalas of the Bun'ei and Kenji periods|publisher=Lulu.com|year=2013|isbn=978-1-304-28941-4|pages=42|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=McCormick|first=Ryuei Michael|title=Who's Who on the Gohonzon? The Esoteric Deities (Vidyarajas)|url=https://pounceatron.dreamhosters.com/nichirenscoffeehouse.net/ShuteiMandala/myo-o.html|access-date=2021-03-07|website=Ryuei.net}}</ref>