Sanskrit Beyond Text: The Use of Bonji (Siddham) in Mandala
The hō mandara within the Four Mandala types
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| The hō mandara within the Four Mandala types
The Dainichi-kyō and texts by Kūkai describe four types of mandala: the dai mandara (大曼荼 羅, Skt.: maha mandala), the hō mandara (法曼荼羅, Skt.: dharma mandala), the sanmaya mandara ( 三昧耶 曼荼羅, sometimes also written in romaji as sammaya, Skt.: samaya mandala), and the katsuma mandara ( 羯磨曼荼羅, Skt.: karma mandala ). The dai mandara illustrates the deities in anthropomorphic form. Deities in the hō mandara are represented in shūji form (Sanskrit seed-syllable form). In the sanmaya mandara, deities are in their symbolic form. 115 The fourth mandala type, the katsuma mandara, is the only type that is not two-dimensional, but rather a three-dimensional (sculptural) mandala. Kūkai wrote in a verse, “The Four Mandalas are inseparably related to one another.” 116 He went on to explain that the Dainichi-kyō outlines three esoteric forms of expression for all Tathagatas, 117 which are aksara (Sanskrit characters), mudras (signs, shown in hand movements), and bimba (images). These are represented by, respectively, the hō mandara, the sanmaya mandara, and the dai mandara. According to Kukai, 115 Deities are represented by symbols rather than anthropomorphic form—these symbolic forms are depicted as ritual implements that are among a deity’s attributes. 116 Kūkai, and Yoshito S. Hakeda. Kūkai: Major Works. New York: Columbia University Press, 1972, p. 227. The Japanese version is in Kūkai, Sokushin jōbutsugi, KZ 1. 117 This is an honorific title of a Buddha. www.manaraa.com 38 each of these mandala (or expressions of the Tathagatas) implies the sort of activities that one could call the katsuma mandara. 118 The question of how these mandalas differ from one another (apart from the obvious) and why one form may be used instead of another then arises. Indeed, the following eleventh-century correspondence between a Shingon priest and his parishioners can provide some insight into why a hō mandara would be favored for lay believers over a dai mandara: Which is more efficacious, a mandala with figures or one with only the Sanskrit “root- letters” symbolizing the deities? His late lordship of Uji sent for Ninkai Sōjō and made him do a Sanskrit-letter mandala, to which he attached great importance. The priest’s answer was: It is out of the Sanskrit root-syllables that all the various figure-mandalas grow. If you get the Sanskrit syllables right, the efficiency of all the various figure-paintings is included. Moreover, nowadays painters often make mistakes about the colors and mudras. Far safer to go to a Shingon priest and get him to write out the root-syllables. 119 This argument is, however, more easily made in reference to works commissioned by laity (specifically aristocratic laity during this period). Although this correspondence sheds light on reasons for creating the hō mandara, it does not contribute to our understanding of why trained monks would make one in a temple setting. Surely, they would be trained to avoid such 118 Katsuma, or karma, literally means action. Here it seems that rather than being sculptural, the 'mandala' is the implied deportment and activities of these Tathagata. 119 Loehr, Max. Buddhist Thought and Imagery (The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller inaugural lecture, Harvard University, February 24, 1961). Cambridge: Harvard University, 1961, pp. 18-20, who cites Arthur Waley’s translation that can be found in “An Eleventh Century Correspondence.” Etudes d’Orientalisme publiées par le tải về 3.51 Mb. Chia sẻ với bạn bè của bạn:
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