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Mahābrahmā (Tibetan: tshangs pa chen po; Chinese/Japanese: 大梵天 Daibonten; Sinhala: මහා බ්රහ්ම; Thai: มหาพรหฺมฺา), sometimes only called Brahma, is the ruler of the Brahma World (Brahmaloka) in the Buddhist cosmology. He is considered the protector of Buddhist teachings (Pali: Dhammapala; Sanskrit: Dharmapala). Mahabrahma is generally represented in Buddhist culture as a god with four faces and four arms like other Brahmas, and variants of him are found in different Buddhist cultures.[1] The Mahābrahmā, or the Great Brahma, is mentioned in Digha Nikaya as the being who dwells in the upper heaven; a Buddhist student can join him for one kalpa (eon, Brahma-year in Buddhism) after successfully entering the first jhana in the form realm of Buddhist practice.[2]
In many Buddhist Suttas/Sutras, Mahabrahma pays visit to the Buddha. In the 13th-century version of Journey to the West, Sun Wukong's precursor flies Tang Sanzang and his retinue to heaven to meet Mahabrahma, where the monk impresses the devas with his lecture on the Lotus Sutra.[3]
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Mahabrahma with other notable brahmas are revered by Buddhists around the world. One can find statues of Mahabrahma in many Buddhist temples. Various temples like Erawan Shrine in Thailand are dedicated to Mahabrahma.
- ^ Buswell, Robert E. Jr.; Lopez, Donald S. Jr. (2013-11-24). The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-1-4008-4805-8.
- ^ Harvey, Peter (2013). An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-85942-4.
- ^ Wivell, Charles (1994). "The Story of How the Monk Tripitaka of the Great Country of T'ang Brought Back the Sūtras". In Mair, Victor (ed.). The Columbia Anthology of Traditional Chinese Literature. Columbia University Press. pp. 1181–1207. ISBN 0231074298.