Adi-Buddha

Vajradhara, the main Ādibuddha, depicted in the Sarma schools

In Vajrayana Buddhism, the Ādi-Buddha (Tibetan: དང་པོའི་སངས་རྒྱས།, Wylie: dang po'i sangs rgyas, THL: Dangpö Sanggyé) is the "First Buddha" or the "Primordial Buddha".^[1] Another common term for this figure is Dharmakāya Buddha.^[2]

The term emerges in tantric Buddhist literature, most prominently in the Kalachakra.^[3] "Ādi" means "first", such that the Ādibuddha was the first to attain Buddhahood.^[3] "Ādi" can also mean "primordial", not referring to a person but to an innate wisdom that is present in all sentient beings.^[3]

^ Wayman, Alex (2013). The Buddhist Tantras: Light on Indo-Tibetan Esotericism. Routledge. p. 53. ISBN 978-1-135-02922-7.
^ Gray, David (2007), The Cakrasamvara Tantra (The Discourse of Sri Heruka): Śrīherukābhidhāna: A Study and Annotated Translation (Treasury of the Buddhist Sciences), p. 32.
^ ^a ^b ^c Buswell, Robert E.; Lopez, Jr., Donald S. (2013). The Princeton dictionary of Buddhism. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 9781400848058. Entry on "ādibuddha".

[Waymen-1] Wayman, Alex (2013). The Buddhist Tantras: Light on Indo-Tibetan Esotericism. Routledge. p. 53. ISBN 978-1-135-02922-7.

[2] Gray, David (2007), The Cakrasamvara Tantra (The Discourse of Sri Heruka): Śrīherukābhidhāna: A Study and Annotated Translation (Treasury of the Buddhist Sciences), p. 32.

[PrincetonAdibuddha-3] Buswell, Robert E.; Lopez, Jr., Donald S. (2013). The Princeton dictionary of Buddhism. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 9781400848058. Entry on "ādibuddha".

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