Akshobhya Buddha is one of the five Dhyani Buddhas. In Tibetan he is known as Mitrugpa, the one who never becomes disturbed by anger or aggression. According to the story, Mitrugpa was originally a devout practitioner, a gelong, who asked, “What is the most important thing to do in order to attain enlightenment?” and the answer given was, “Don’t get angry! Don’t let your mind be disturbed!, and so he vowed “From this moment on I will never get angry with anybody,” and hence he became known as Mitrugpa – the undisturbed – until, eventually, he became the Buddha Mitrugpa.
According to the Buddhist teachings the present age is one of degeneration when all beings in samsara are suffering because of negative thoughts and actions. The Akshobhya ritual is a very powerful purification practice done for the benefit of all sentient beings. It can liberate not only the practitioners themselves from the fear of an unfortunate rebirth, but other beings as well.
The Buddha Akshobhya promised that the merit generated by reciting one-hundred-thousand of his long dharani mantra and making an image of him could be dedicated to other people, both living and dead, and this would assure their release from lower states of existence and rebirth in spiritually fortunate circumstances.
The 17th Gyalwang Karmapa has commended this practice as very suitable at a time when negative forces are increasing in the world.
