Maha^vairocana， the Buddha who is the central teacher and object of veneration in Vajraya^na Buddhism 密宗. "The Great Sun Buddha， is the transcendent and cosmocratic apotheosis of the historical Buddha， Sakyamuni. Under the earlier designation Vairocana （"the luminous one"）， he represents Buddhism's most profound speculation on the emptiness and interpenetration of all elements in the universe （dharmadha^tu）. As Maha^vairocana he is concretely envisaged as the all-encompassing lord of the cosmos and is the object of worship for a form of Tantric Buddhism that spread from India to Sumatra， China， Japan， and Tibet." （Encyclopedia of Religion， Orzech）. Originally the name referred to the light of the sun， but later on took on connotations of the buddha as fundamental principle of the universe. He is one of the five buddhas 五佛 depicted in the man!d!alas of the vajradha^tu and garbhadha^tu. The name is transcribed into Chinese as 摩诃毗卢遮那 and 毗卢遮那佛， and is translated variously as 最高显广眼藏， 遍照王如来， 光明遍照， 大日遍照， 遍一切处， 遍照尊.