724 pamela d. winfieldthree secrets of body, speech, and mind (according to Amoghavajra) or
bodhicitta as the cause of awakening (according to Śubhākarasiṃha).
The second layer of the palace is said to be Śākyamuni’s assem-
bly directly above the universal knowledge assembly. According to
Amoghavajra, this symbolizes Buddha’s transformation bodies (nirmā-
ṇakāya; huashen; henshin) that, along with the subordinate deities
in the fourth outermost external vajra section, are able to adapt to
circumstances and function inexhaustibly throughout the cosmos.
Śubhākarasiṃha maintains that these same two sections symbolize
Buddha’s method for awakening (upāya).
The third concentric layer of the mandala palace consists of the Hall
of Susiddhi at the bottom center and four peripheral enclosures for
the retinues of Jizō (left), Monju (top), Jokaishō
(right), and Kokūzō (bottom). According to Amoghavajra,
this layer symbolizes one’s aspiration toward Dainichi in the center;
Śubhākarasiṃha believes that it represents compassion (karuṇā) as the
root of awakening.
Finally, the outermost external vajra enclosure houses wrathful
guardian deities, personified constellations, planetary divinities, cos-
mological forces, and numerous other figures that are not always
mentioned in the Dainichikyō. As mentioned above, Amoghavajra and
Śubhākarasiṃha differ slightly in their interpretations of this outer-
most layer, but the subordinate status of the minimized figures relative
to Dainichi in the center is quite clear.
This vertical ranking of enlightened beings according to mandala
“floors” and the horizontal privileging of the center over the periphery
roughly correspond to Chinese imperial notions of cultural geography.
As Elizabeth ten Grotenhuis (1999, 71–72) has pointed out, these con-
centric layers of the mandala resonate with the “Tribute of Yu” section
of the Book of Documents. In this text, the locus of imperial supremacy
lies in the metropolitan center, and the outermost “Zone of Culture-
less Savagery” lies at the periphery (Needham 1959, 502). According
to ten Grotenhuis’s argument, this visually correlates to Dainichi’s
enlightened seat at the heart of the mandala and the outermost ring
of minor deities who were brought into the Buddhist (i.e., cultured/
enlightened) sphere.
In addition to this observation, however, one may also note that the
mandala’s concentric layout offers distinct visual correlates to Chinese
architectural models. Five gates pierce the Womb World compound:
two entrance gates at the top of the mandala and three other gates to