Chakravartin, creating the Cosmic Web
Chakravartin (literally "wheel-turning emperor"), refers to the universal monarch within Buddhist cosmology who rules over the universe in accordance with the Dharma, and is at times viewed as the ascended state of the Buddha.
Overview[]
According to tradition, there is only one Chakravartin in existence at a time within a world system, in a similar way that there is only one living Buddha at a time.
According to traditional Buddhist sources, when the Gautama Buddha was born, sages predicted that he was destined to become either a universal monarch (a chakravartin) or a universal spiritual guide (a buddha). In choosing to renounce worldly life, the Buddha chose the latter path.
Description[]
The Chakravartin has been described as "he who conquers the world through the sheer power of his righteousness and charisma", and according to legend, will bear the same thirty-two major marks and the eighty minor marks of a superior being possessed by the Buddha themself.