Hannya shingō hiken, KZ 1. It is interesting to note the Mikkyō link between the deity Prajnaparamita, language,
and reality. This could perhaps be a remnant of earlier Vedic beliefs.
101
Incidentally, the specific form of Sanskrit used in Esoteric Buddhism, Siddham, descends from Brahmi script via
the Gupta script. The origins of the Brahmi script are disputed, but one faction of scholars believes it to have
originated in Vedic script, the written form in which the Vedas were written.
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Dainichi Buddha within every part of the universe. Beyond the physical construction of the
script, the principle of attaching meaning to these letters comes from various sutras, within which
is written that the Tathagatas empower some letters of worldly languages (Sanskrit) and present
them as mantras.
102
As Kūkai expounded, the view that letters are external to the Dharma nature
is an illusion cultivated by the delusory mind (the unenlightened mind); however, in apparent
contrast to this type of perspective the continued meditation on such letters can illuminate the
emptiness of letters—the concept of letter sameness. Kūkai’s Esoteric concept of world-text has
been analyzed closely by religious studies scholar Ryūichi Abe. In this concept “each sign
reflects within itself other signs against whose difference the original sign's identity is
established, thereby forming an infinitely referential network of signs that forms the totality of
the world-text.”
103
In short, the “world-text” is everything that is seen and unseen in reality and
each sign (optical objects, i.e., of color, shape, and movement) is a “letter” within this text. This
concept—physically embodied in the hō mandara—will be more fully explored in the next
chapter, but it is also applicable to the a-ji kan, the use of which is more extensive in the Mikkyō
ritual tradition than the hō mandara. The use of a Sanskrit character as the visual focus of a rite
reveals this world-text concept, where the physical “letter” is both imbued with deeper meaning
while simultaneously aiming to provide enlightenment upon the realization that the sign (the
letter) is a construction. Abe summarizes the complex nature of Kūkai’s semiotic theory:
In short, the goal of mantra may be described as a de-semiotization: by means of
illustrating the material foundation and physical labor inherent in constructing signs,
mantra strips signs of their seeming transparency and exposes as illusory and fictional the
apparent self-presence of signs’ objects.
104
102
A Tathagata is a deity or a Buddha.
103
Abe, Weaving, p. 285. Although this sentence specifies mantra, the concepts relating to constructing signs is also
applicable to other aspects of Kūkai’s Mikkyō praxis, such as the visual use of Sanskrit.
104
Ibid, p. 298.
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This is, as Janet Gyatso puts it, the “very neat feat of semiological acrobatics [that] the
letter-as-empty signifier can perform.”
105
Kūkai’s world-text concept combines with seemingly
conflicting aspects of his texts on the ritual use of Sanskrit to demonstrate a form of skillful
means (Skt.: upaya, Jp.: hōben,
方便
). The goal of hōben is to ease the suffering of human
beings and to bring to them the knowledge of the Dharma (teachings of the Buddha) by using
whichever technique can be understood by said human beings. By presenting Sanskrit visually
within Esoteric rites, the Buddhist practitioner is first educated on a deeper meaning of the
“letter.” Once these complex meanings are understood, the practitioner can begin to understand
the true meaning of sunyata (Jp.: kū,
空
)
106
through the realization of the somaticity inherent in a
sign. It does not exist independently, but rather is a construction. It is simultaneously empty of
meaning and an emanation of Dainichi Buddha. “Its ultimate content transcends such a
formulation, consisting instead of the realization of a Buddhist principle such as emptiness, or
thusness, or birthlessness, which is not limited by any determination, be it temporal, spatial, or
linguistic.”
107
Though signs such as Sanskrit are attached with meaning in order to initiate
worshippers to complex concepts within doctrine, the goal is to eventually understand that such
signs are part of a world-text where every letter/sign (despite the attached meanings) is one with
the Dainichi Buddha. Although this is often described as the realization of the emptiness of the
sign, perhaps a better description of enlightenment (at least in the Mikkyō sphere) is the
realization of a sign’s quality of nonduality.
108
Inherent in every sign is the concept of
105
Gyatso, In the Mirror of Memory, p. 190.
106
This term is often translated into English as “emptiness;” however, a more accurate translation may be
spaciousness, or voidness. To maintain a meaning equal to the Sanskrit term one could use the phrase freedom of
attachment. Such a phrase would align better with the concept of nonduality, a term introduced into the English
language as a translation for the Sanskrit term advaita. A theological term, it can be defined as the quality of being
in unity with the universe while appearing otherwise (appearing distinct, though not separate).
107
Gyatso, In the Mirror of Memory, p. 176.
108
This concept is described in Rambelli, Fabio. “Secrecy in Japanese Esoteric Buddhism.” The Culture of Secrecy
in Japanese Religion. London: Routledge, 2006, p. 112.
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nonduality and thus every sign is imbued with the possibility of achieving enlightenment “with a
single glance.”
109
Sanskrit characters fulfill this directive perhaps more pervasively than other signs as the
characters are a physical (linguistic) reminder of the teachings (both spoken and written) and the
holy language of the Buddha. The images used for the a-ji kan rite illustrate the initial level of
induction into the complexity of Mikkyō doctrine. Imagery related to this rite extends beyond
the material focus of the meditation to other physical forms, such as the twelfth-century Ajigi (阿
字義) handscroll (figure 6).
110
Images such as this scroll were geared toward pious aristocrats.
As such, these types of images were the vehicle for moving Sanskrit out of the sole sphere of the
monk (with their hō mandara) and into the religious culture of the laity.
111
Within the Mikkyō
educational process, Sanskrit is essentially a technique of skillful means and the images used for
the a-ji kan rite can be seen as the introductory level. The culmination of the journey to fully
understand Sanskrit and its complex meanings presumably led to the understanding of essential
Buddhist doctrine (perhaps even enlightenment), making the monk a Sanskrit master.
112
The hō
mandara is part of the mastering of Sanskrit and, armed with the background provided in this
first chapter, this thesis can now move on to a study of this important, though elusive, type of
work.
109
Kūkai. Shōraimokuroku, KZ 1. This concept is explained in Bogel,
With a Single Glance, 2009.
110
Its official name is the Ajigiden (阿字義伝), but it is popularly known as the Ajigi ( emaki).
111
I will refer to the Ajigi and its significance in more depth at the end of chapter two between my studies of the hō
mandara and the miya mandara.
112
The use of the noun “master” and verb “mastering” as seen in Western contexts connotes a fluency in the subject
(here, Sanskrit). The term “master of Sanskrit,” as used in this chapter and the next, is a monk who has become
fluent on the religious use of the language rather than fluent in the language itself. Such a process of mastering
Sanskrit requires extensive knowledge in pronunciation, the process of writing the characters, and the religious and
ritual meanings associated with the text.
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いろは
歌
The Iroha-uta
いろはにほへと
ちりぬるを
わかよたれそ
つねならむ
うゐのおくやま
けふこえて
あさきゆめみし
ゑ
ひもせす
Although its scent still lingers on
the form of a flower has scattered away
For whom will the glory
of this world remain unchanged?
Arriving today at the yonder side
of the deep mountains of evanescent existence
We shall never allow ourselves to drift away
intoxicated, in the world of shallow dreams.
113
113
Translation by Ryūichi Abe. Abe, Weaving, p. 392.
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