Brahma

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Brahma (Skt. Brahmā; Tib. ཚངས་པ་) is one of the principal gods in the Indian pantheon, who came to prominence in the puranic period. He is considered to epitomize the energy of life, light, and growth, and to actually be all things and all beings. His body is constituted by the fifty sacred seed syllables of the divine language of perfection, Sanskrit. Brahma is not at all destructive, unlike Shiva and Indra, who are capable of great destruction and violence, but is the essence of creativity.

There are said to be four abodes of Brahma, or Brahma realms, of immeasurable love, compassion, joy and equanimity.[1]

Also Brahma was the first to appear after Buddha Shakyamuni attained enlightenment, with an offering of a thousand-spoked golden wheel, requesting him to turn the teaching wheel of the dharma.[2]

Not to be confused with Brahmin – the priestly caste in Hinduism, Brahman – a metaphysical concept in Hinduism, or Brahmanas – a layer of text in the Vedas.

References

  1. The Central Philosophy of Tibet, Robert A. F. Thurman, published by Princeton University Press, ISBN 691 02067 1
  2. The Encyclopaedia of Tibetan Symbols and Motifs, Robert Beer, published by Serindia Publications, ISBN 1 932476 10 5

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