The origin of Japanese two world mandala | SOAS University of London

The origin of Japanese two world mandala was a lecture given by Dr Kimiaki Tanaka (The Nakamura Hajime Eastern Institute) at the Centre of Buddhist Studies, SOAS University of London on 21 February 2019. Find out more at The Ryōkai-mandara 両界曼荼羅 or the Two world maṇḍala were brought back to Japan by Kukai 空海 (774-835), the founder of Japanese Shingon sect. Thenceforth the Ryōkai mandara have been looked upon as the basis of the iconography of Esoteric Buddhism in Japan, and they have exerted considerable influence not only on art, but also on thought and culture. They consist of the Taizōkai mandara 胎蔵界曼荼羅 or the Garbha-maṇḍala, described in the Dainichi-kyō 大日経 (Skt: Vairocanābhisambodhi-sūtra; “The Mahāvairocana Sūtra“; Taisho No. 848) and the Kongōkai mandara 金剛界