Dhyani

The Dhyani Buddhas are part of the Mahayana Buddhist pantheon, used especially is Vajrayana Buddhism. This group of five “self-born” celestial buddhas – Amitabha, Vairochana, Akshobhva, Ratnasambhava, and Amoghasiddhi – have existed from the beginning of time. As a group they represent abstract aspects of Buddhahood and together the totality of enlightenment rather than the actual buddhas they are individually. Most other Buddhist deities are related to one of these five Buddhas. They are portrayed as five identical meditating Buddhas with folded legs, pendulous ear lobes, monastic robes, and similar hair dresses, and are identifiable only by their characteristic colors, symbols, mudras and directions they face. These images are sometimes portrayed in Guanyin’s crown symbolically or in figural form.