Adi-Buddha (first enlightened one) In Mahayana Buddhism, the primordial Buddha who “was before all,” infinite, omniscient, selfexisting, without beginning and without end. He is not, however, a creator god, nor equivalent to the Western concept of God. One myth tells how all was void when the mystic sound Om became manifest, from which at his own will Adi-Buddha was produced. When the world was created, he revealed himself as a flame issuing from a lotus flower. In Buddhist art of Nepal he is often portrayed in this form. From AdiBuddha came five Dhyani-Buddhas (Buddhas of Mediation) who are Vairocana, Askhobhya, Amitabha, Amoghasiddhi, and Ratnasambhava.

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Encyclopedia of World Mythology and Legend, Third Edition – Written by Anthony S. Mercatante & James R. Dow– Copyright © 2009 by Anthony S. Mercatante