The Buddha Akṣobhya 阿閦仏 is one of the early Mahāyāna Buddhas who presides over the Eastern Pure Land, known as Abhirati 妙喜. In Vajrayāna Buddhism, he became one of the Five Wisdom Buddhas in the Diamond Realm 金剛界五仏, located in the east, and his image is made in the form of the gesture named bhūmisparśamudrā 触地印, with the right hand pendant toward the earth. This hand gesture also symbolizes the Buddha Śākyamuni’s enlightenment when defeating King Māra. Therefore, we assume a connection between the Buddha Śākyamuni and Akṣobhya, although this has not been clarified so far. The description of bhūmisparśamudrā for Śākyamuni, touching the ground with the right hand, can be found in old Buddhist texts. In the case of Akṣobhya, we find no description of a “hand” but only of a “leg” in the Akṣobhyavyūha. In this paper, I make a comparison between the texts and the iconographies of both Śākyamuni and Akṣobhya and examine the reasons why this difference has arisen.
