Ratnasambhava

Ratnasambhava
Hōshō Nyorai/ Ratnasambhava
Sanskrit	Ratnasambhava
Chinese	南方宝生部主宝生佛
Japanese	宝生如来 Hōshō Nyorai
Korean	宝生如来 보생여래
Mongolian	ᠡᠷᠳᠡᠨᠢ ᠭᠠᠷᠬᠣ ᠢᠢᠨ ᠣᠷᠣᠨ Эрдэнэ гарахын орон Erdeni garkhu yin oron
Tibetan	རིན་ཆེན་འབྱུང་གནས Rinchen Jung ne
Vietnamese	Bảo Sanh Như Lai
Information
Venerated by	Vajrayana
Attributes	Equality, Equanimity
Shakti	Mamaki

Ratnasambhava is one of the Five Dhyani Buddhas (or "Five Meditation Buddhas") of Vajrayana or Tantric Buddhism. Ratnasambhava's mandalas and mantras focus on developing equanimity and equality and, in Vajrayana buddhist thought is associated with the attempt to destroy greed and pride. His consort is Mamaki and his mount is a horse or a pair of lions. His wrathful manifestation is Gundari. Often included in his retinue is the worldy dharmapāla Jambhala.

The first documented mention of Ratnasambhava is found in the Ārya Suvarna-prabhā-sottamasutrendrarājamahāyana Sutra (Sutra of Golden Light) and in the Guhyasamāja tantra (4th Century CE), and he subsequently appears in a number of vajrayana texts. The most elaborate account of him is to be found in the Panchakara section of the Advyavajra sangrah.

Ratnasambhava is also mentioned as one of the Buddhas worthy of praise in the Earth Store Bodhisattva Sutra, chapter 9:

Ratnasaṃbhava is associated with the skandha of feeling or sensation and its relationship with consciousness. His activity in promoting Buddhism is enriching and increasing knowledge of Dharma. Ratnasambhava is associated with the jewel symbol, which corresponds with his family, Ratna or jewel. In artwork he is shown in the mudra of giving.

He is usually coloured yellow or gold. He is associated with the element earth, the heavenly quarter of the south and the season of spring. His cardinal direction is the south. His buddha field is known as Śrimat.

In the Bardo Thodol, he is depicted in union with Mamaki and attended by the male bodhisattvas Akasagarbha and Samantabhadra and the female bodhisattvas Mala and Dhupa.