JJRS > Volume 46 Issue 2 Chōgen’s Vision of Tōdaiji’s Great Buddha as Both Mahāvairocana and Amitābha

Ingram, Evan S.

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The Japanese monk Chōgen (1121–1206) is best known for leading a concerted temple solicitation campaign to finance the reconstruction of Tōdaiji in Nara after its destruction during the nationwide unrest known as the Genpei War. The temple was renowned for its statue of the Great Buddha. While the statue was originally understood to depict the Buddha Vairocana, Chōgen promoted the Great Buddha as two distinct, yet congruent deities, Mahāvairocana and Amitābha. He communicated this message using mobile reliquaries of an esoteric design and statues of Amitābha installed at Pure Land halls at estates that facilitated the temple’s reconstruction. Chōgen’s rationale was to leverage the estate laborers’ understanding of the Pure Land as a postmortem paradise, while simultaneously connecting them to the products of their labors, the Great Buddha statue and Tōdaiji.