Amoghasiddhi — “the Unfailing Accomplishment” — is one of the Five Wisdom Buddhas of Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism: the Buddha of the North, the lord of fearless action and the accomplishment of all aims, who transmutes the poison of envy and jealousy into the all-accomplishing wisdom that acts spontaneously for the good of all beings. He is the Buddha of enlightened activity.
The Unfailing Buddha
Amoghasiddhi’s name means “he whose accomplishment is not in vain,” the “unfailing success” — the Buddha whose every action unerringly achieves its purpose, the perfection of effective, enlightened activity in the world. His emblem is the vishvavajra, the double or crossed vajra (thunderbolt), symbolizing the accomplishment of all directions and aims, and his gesture is the abhaya mudra, the raised hand of fearlessness and protection, dispelling fear and granting confidence.
The All-Accomplishing Wisdom
Among the Five Wisdom Buddhas, Amoghasiddhi presides over the North and embodies the all-accomplishing wisdom (krtyanusthana-jnana) — the enlightened awareness that acts effortlessly and spontaneously for the benefit of all beings, accomplishing the work of compassion without hesitation or self-interest. He is the transmuter of the poison of envy and jealousy: the restless, comparing, competitive mind, purified, becomes this wisdom of selfless, effective action. He is associated with the colour green, the element of air or wind, the garuda (the great bird) as his vehicle, and the energy of accomplishment and protection.
The Lord of the North
Amoghasiddhi is invoked for the overcoming of envy and fear, for the fearless and effective accomplishment of beneficial action, and for protection. In the great mandalas he sits in the north, completing the circle of the five Buddhas whose together map the full transformation of the deluded mind into the fivefold wisdom of enlightenment. In Amoghasiddhi, Buddhism gave form to fearless, effective action — the unfailing Buddha of the North, the transmuter of envy into the all-accomplishing wisdom that acts spontaneously and tirelessly for the liberation of all beings.