Cundi (Buddhism)
Cundī (Sanskrit, IPA: [t͜ɕʊndiː]; Chinese: 準提; pinyin: Zhǔntí; Japanese: Juntei; Tibetan: ལྷ་མོ་སྐུལ་བྱེད་མ།, Wylie: lha mo skul byed ma, THL: lha-mo kül-jé-ma) or Cundā (IPA: [t͜ɕʊndaː]; Ch: 羅馬化) is a female Indian Buddhist deity which remains popular in East Asian Buddhism. In Chinese Buddhism, she is associated with the practice of the well known Cundī dharani, which is performed along with a specific mudra (hand gesture), as well as the use of a circular mirror. She is considered to be able to purify negative karma, provide protection, support spiritual practice which allows one to quickly attain Buddhahood.
| Cundī | |
|---|---|
Hanging scroll depicting the eighteen-armed form of Cundi, China, Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) | |
| Sanskrit | IAST: Cundī Cuṇḍī Cundā Cundavajrī Saptakoṭibuddhamatṛ |
| Chinese | 準提菩薩 (traditional) 准提菩萨 (simplified) (Pinyin: Zhǔntí Púsà) 準提佛母 (Zhǔntí Fómǔ) 七俱胝佛母 (Qījùzhī Fómǔ) |
| Japanese | 准胝観音 準胝観音 準提観音 (Jundei / Juntei Kannon) 准胝仏母 (Juntei / Jundei Butsumo) 七倶胝仏母 (Shichikutei Butsumo) |
| Korean | 준제보살 (RR: Junje Bosal) |
| Tagalog | Kundi |
| Thai | พระจุนทีโพธิสัตว์ |
| Tibetan | སྐུལ་བྱེད་མ Wylie: skul byed ma |
| Vietnamese | Chuẩn Đề Bồ tát Phật Mẫu Chuẩn Đề |
| Information | |
| Venerated by | Mahayana, Vajrayana |
| Religion portal | |
This deity is also called by various other names and epithets, including Cundavajrī, Saptakoṭi Buddha-bhagavatī ("The Blessed Buddha of the Seventy Million", 七俱胝佛母), "Zhunti Buddha Mother" (準提佛母, Zhǔntí Fómǔ) in Chinese and Saptakoṭibuddhamatṛ ("Mother of Seventy Million Buddhas", though this Sanskrit reconstruction of 佛母 is speculative).
Some depictions of Cundī share many iconographic and symbolic elements with another female Buddhist deity, Prajñāpāramitā Devi. As such, some images of these goddesses are difficult to identify.
In Tibetan Buddhism she is known by the name Lhamo Cunda, Chunde or Cundi ('Lhamo' in Tibetan is 'Devi' in Sanskrit, a term of veneration meaning 'goddess').