국립중앙박물관 NATIONAL MUSEUM OF KOREA

Mahavairocana Buddha

Mahavairocana Buddha, or Dainichi Nyorai, occupies the focal point of the Mandalas of the Two Worlds, the Womb World (Garbhadhātu) and the Diamond World (Vajradhātu). Rather than presenting a more conventional form of a buddha, the deity in both mandalas is depicted as a bodhisattva with his hair tied in a tall topknot and jewelry. However, Mahavairocana in the Womb World Mandala offers a meditation mudra formed by holding the hands in an oval in front of the belly, whereas Mahavairocana in the Diamond World Mandala makes the wisdomfist mudra by grasping the tip of his raised left forefinger with the right hand. Mahavairocana in the Diamond World Mandala makes the same hand gesture as Vairocana Buddha that became popularly worshipped in Korea from the late Unified Silla period. Vairocana Buddha as depicted in Korea differs from the Mahavairocana Buddha version in Japan in that the former takes a form of a typical buddha with spiral-shaped curls of hair and a clerical outfit.