Sanskrit Beyond Text: The Use of Bonji (Siddham) in Mandala
Chapter Two: The Hō Mandara
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| Chapter Two: The Hō Mandara
A-ji kan imagery provides an ideal starting point for the study of the hō mandara. Like the a-ji kan, this mandala form was a ritual tool for education and the attainment of Buddhist goals (“enlightenment”). The use of the dharma or hō mandara was more limited, however, than the a-ji kan; it was utilized mostly by those monks who sought to become masters of Sanskrit, possibly starting as early as the Heian period. 114 Although the earliest use of the hō mandara imported by Kūkai in 806 is unknown, investigation of Kūkai’s writings, the hō mandara within the Four Mandala types, and other early versions of the paired (ryōbu) hō mandara can present clues to the development of the hō mandara from the ninth century to the fourteenth century. Kūkai’s imported hō mandara and their early copies do not survive. Although the earliest extant hō mandara date to the eleventh century, I will use the fourteenth-century ryōbu hō mandara from Entsu-ji (figures 7 and 8) as the main object of this chapter’s study because it is better preserved than many other hō mandara. In color, form and size it is especially comparable to the dai mandara used in Shingon rituals. I will supplement my discussion with other images of hō mandara from earlier and later points in time to discuss its possible functions. I will also investigate the theoretical foundation for this form of mandala, especially the aforementioned world-text concept specifically as it relates to the hō mandara, in which the Sanskrit characters act as signifiers of both religious entities and ideas of cosmology. As one of the earliest known non-textual objects in Japan to utilize Sanskrit, a study of the hō mandara is beneficial in tracing the trajectory of the increase of Sanskrit on other forms of non- 114 Fabio Rambelli, the only English source to discuss this practice, discusses it as a medieval practice, which usually means in the Kamakura, Muromachi, and Momoyama periods spanning from 1185 to 1603 (Rambelli, “Secrecy in Japanese Esoteric Buddhism,” p. 121). His source is almost certainly the Mikkyō Daijiten, which situates the practice as “probably” thought up by chūko shittan gakusha (中古悉曇学者). While the term chūko can indeed be translated as medieval, it can also mean an older time encompassing the Heian and Kamakura periods, as I will discuss later in this chapter. Mikkyō Jiten Hensankai (Japan), Mikkyō Daijiten Saikan Iinkai, and Mikkyō Gakkai. Mikkyō daijiten. Kyōto-shi: Hōzōkan, 1931. Reprint 1969, 3:1002. www.manaraa.com 37 textual objects within both temple and secular contexts, or in so-called syncretic contexts, such as the miya mandara, taken up in the next chapter. The hō mandara with its roots in scripture provides a theoretical basis for the use of Sanskrit as an icon and, as such, exploring this type of ritual image can serve as a starting point in studies of other imagery that incorporate Sanskrit such as the miya mandara and in the more general study of the use of Sanskrit in pre-modern Japanese visual culture. tải về 3.51 Mb. Chia sẻ với bạn bè của bạn:
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