Showing posts with label Introduction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Introduction. Show all posts

3/01/2006

Statue

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Fudo Myo-O Statue

Quoted from Maha Kala.com

FUDO-MYOO or O FUDOSAN

Sanskrit Seed: KAN
Sanskrit Seed: UN
Name: Acala-vidyaraja
+ God of Fire +
Acalanatha means "Immovable"



"Some also say Fudo is the Hindu God Shiva. Flames in background said to represent the purification of the mind; in Kamakura, Fudo is enshrined at Joju-in and Myoo-in. Others say flame behind Fudo originated from the vomit of the mythical Karura."

"Personification of Dainichi Nyorai; best known of the five, and one of the main deities of the Shingon sect. Converts anger into salvation; furious, glaring face, as Fudo seeks to frighten people into accepting the teachings of Dainichi; carries "kurikara" or devil-subduing sword in right hand (also represents wisdom cutting through ignorance); holds rope in left hand (to catch and bind up demons); often has third eye in forehead (all-seeing); often seated or standing on rock (because Fudo is "immovable" in his faith).

In sculpture, Fudo is often flanked by two attendants, Kongara Douji and Seitaka Douji. "


This is quoted from a long illustrated list of Buddhist deities and other information on Buddhism.
http://www.maha-kala.com/deities/dharmapalas/dharmapalas101.htm


Bairav

ARCHIVES OF BUDDDHIST TEXT
TIBETAN SCHOOLS OF BUDDHISM
BUDDHIST TEMPLES & MONASTERIES
SCHOOLS OF BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY

BUDDHIST PILGRIMAGE
Lumbini
Bodhgaya
Sarnath
Kushinagara
Asta Mahapratiharya

and a lot more !!!!!

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Singing Bowls of the Himalaya Region



The history of the Singing Bowls is quite mysterious. Some say that they were in use during the time of Shakyamuni Buddha, over 2500 years ago, in the indigenous communities of the Himalaya, while others speculate even earlier origins. The theory and practice revolving around the Bowls involves refination, geomantik perception, chakra healing, invocation, prayer, mantra, and astral projection.

They speak of the unified field of quantum physics, the tantric doctrine of vibration and the harmony of the spheres. The higher quality Bowls seem to have a particularly healing effect on the chakras, massaging in a sense the subtle energy channels of the light body in a way that relaxes both both body and mind, restoring a peaceful balance to the individual in relation to the environment, and heightening awareness. There is a magik about them that is impossible to describe outside of the singularity of the moment in which they are played.


RESOURCE MATERIAL:
History of the Singing Bowls
Playing the Singing Bowls
Healing and Sound
Bowl Tones and the Chakras
Heart Sutra


http://www.tibetan-singing-bowls.com/


***********************
Please send your contributions to Gabi Greve
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Darumasan-Japan/

Alphabetical Index of the Daruma Museum

2/13/2006

Mikamo Fudo Son

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Mikamo Fudo Son みかも不動尊
Tochigi Prefecture, Fujioka Town

Including other Fudo to wash your money



This statue is outside and people pour water over it when making a wish. They also wash their money, a custom usually associated with Benten (Zeni-arai Benten 銭洗い弁天, for example in Kamakura). You wash some money, coins or paper, dry them properly and put them back in the purse. You then have to spend that money within a week, and it will come back to you in double, triple and even more ... if you wash it properly. Below are some more of these money-and-water-friendly Fudo statues.

みかも不動尊には、「銭洗い不動尊」もあります。

よく、弁天様は見かけたりしますが、お不動さまの銭洗いは珍しく思い紹介させていただきました。
お不動さまの霊験あらたかな銭洗いです。みなさんも、御祈願してみてください。ひょっとしたら・・・



名称:三毳山 不動院 Mikamoyama Fudo-In
通称:みかも不動尊 Mikamo Fudo Son

宗派:真言宗御室派
御本尊:不動明王
所在地:栃木県藤岡町

http://www.cnet-ga.ne.jp/kenta/mitsu/mikamo.html

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Money-washing Fudo at Sengaku-Ji, Shinagawa, Tokyo
銭洗不動, 泉岳寺



This temple is also home to the grave of Tatsugoro, a famous fireman during the Edo Period.

消防署の庁舎見学をすませ、そのすぐ前にある黄梅院に立ち寄った。ここは鎌倉にあるのと同じようにお金を浄水で洗う仕組みがあった。かたわらの石碑の説明によると「お金を大切にと祈願すれば、広く世の中の人々を済度し、商売繁昌、お金に不自由なく、一家の福徳円満、苦を抜いて楽となし、悲しみを転じて喜びとなすことができる」とあった。

At this temple there is also a special statue of Jizo.
o-keshoo enmei Jizoo お化粧延命地蔵尊
http://www.ramblersnet.com/osanpo/sanpo4/docu4/sanpo405.html

. Keshoo Jizoo 化粧地蔵 Kesho Jizo Bosatsu with make-up .


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Koobai-In, Mitato Ward Tokyo 銭洗不動(黄梅院)
東京都港区高輪一丁目



黄梅院 宝雲山
高輪1の27の21
標識に禅宗とあるが、臨済宗か曹洞宗か不明。入口から下って行くと正面に墓所、右並びに庫裏。その右に本堂、高床式である。本堂にある提灯に書いてある文字では、高輪銭洗不動とあるので、不動明王も祀ってあるようだ.

高輪銭洗不動 Also called: Takanawa Zeniarai Fudo.
http://aitaii.com/shigei/minatoku/takanawa/takanawa.html

And one more
Asa no Taki, famous waterfall
with a money-washing Fudo close by.
碓井川の近くの「麻苧の滝」の大岩直下にある「弁財天」に行く。
ここは銭洗い不動が祀られている.

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Pouring Water over the Fudo Statue
Mizukake Fudo 「水かけ不動尊」



http://www.owlet.net/blognplus/index.php?e=283


These statues have their own page. There are quite a lot.
CLICK HERE !
!!!!!

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Zeni-Arai Benten at Kamakura :
Zeniarai Benten

... there are a handful of devout worshipers, mostly merchants, who deeply revere the Shrine and wash bundles of 10,000-yen (roughly US$80) bills. (As noted above, zeni means coins, not paper money.) In fact, hundreds of torii gate appearing near the entrance of the Shrine were donated by those merchants who believe their wealth was brought by virtue of the power of Ugajin here.

Those merchants come visit here every month on the Day of Serpent by all means to attend the rituals held by the Shrine. Police warns car-drivers not to drive into the neighborhood on weekends and the Serpent Days in particular. Most crowded is the first Serpent Day of the year, which usually falls on an early February day and Benten Festival takes place.

Zeniarai Benten Shrine , Kamakura


. WASHOKU
Benten, Benzaiten 弁天 / 弁財天 and Food



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A comment from Mark Schumacher on the subject

Curious that Fudo is associated with the money-washing tradition.

Benzaiten, a goddess of fortune, is easy to understand. She is always located near water (river, pond, lake, ocean). She is associated with the NAGA (serpents and dragons), who guard treasure.

But why Fudo? His real symbol is fire. His aureole is almost always the flames of fire. He is also the main honzon for GOMA , a fire ceremony still popular today in which defilements are symbolically burnt away.

So why would people wash money under Fudo's protection? Because he washes away impurities, kanna? Hmmm. Does not sound right. Maybe, perhaps, because drawings of Fudo show him standing on a rock rising from the sea?

For example, the drawing at Daigoji, Kyoto, and the famous 1282 drawing by Shinkai of Fudou standing on a rock rising from the sea. Moreover, Kurikara, a dragon wound around a sword, may appear in paintings of Fudou.
Also, both Kurikara and Fudou are found often near ascetic places of religious practice, such as small waterfalls. Perhaps this is the reason.

For much more on Fudo iconography and history in Japan,
please see the JAANUS page.

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Gabi:

Thanks for this comment. Also, we have
the Namikiri Fudo, the Wave-Cutting variety .


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1/27/2006

Meaka Fudo

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Me-aka Fudo, the Red-eyed Fudo 目赤不動

One of the Fudo with five different eye-colors of Edo. For LINKS, see below.
Temples to these five Fudo were constructed by the third Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu to protect the town of Edo.
Meaka Fudo was called as Akame Fudo before it was moved to Hon-Komagome 駒込. Iemitsu had the Meaka Fudo installed at Do-Zaka 道坂 on the way to his grounds for hawk hunting.

The color red was associated with the element fire.

Recapitulate the basics of the five colored Fudo.

Below is also the Red Fudo, Aka Fudo.

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At Temple Nankoku-Ji 南谷寺



南谷寺

当寺は不動尊をもって廻国していた伊賀赤目山の住職満願が元和年間(1615-24)に下駒込村動坂で庵を結んだことに始まる。寛永14年(1637)鷹狩の折にこれを目にとめた三代将軍徳川家光が、現地に寺地を与えたという。
本尊の不動尊は目赤不動と呼ばれ、江戸の五色不動の一つで、既に十七世紀末から十八世紀前半の案内記で名所として取り上げられている(「江戸名所記」他)。

五色とは青・黄・赤・白・黒で梵語で言う地・水・火・風・空をあらわし、家光がこの五色不動の目として東西南北中央の五方眼で江戸を守るために五色不動を設定したという説がある(夏山雑談)。しかし実際には色と方角が一致せず、目黄不動が3ヶ所もあるなど、この説には疑問も多い。

http://bird.zero.ad.jp/~zam77093/goshikimeaka.htm


............................. More Japanese Links



目赤不動尊は、 もとは赤目不動尊と言われていた。 元和年間(1615~24) 比叡山の南谷(みなみだに)に万行律師がいて、 明王を尊信していた。ある夜、伊勢国(三重県)の赤目山に来たれとの夢見があり、赤目山に登り、 精進を重ねていた時、虚空から御声があって、一寸二部の黄金造りの不動明王像を授けられた。

赤目山を下り、比叡山南谷の庵室に安置した。しばらくして「黄土衆生の志願を起こし」関東に向かい、下駒込(いまの動坂)に庵を結んで、万民化益を祈念した。参詣の諸人は奇瑞を得て群参した。

寛永5年(1628)、 三代将軍家光が鷹狩りの途中、 立ち寄り、「御徳御尋になり由来を言上したところ、府内五不動の因縁を以て赤目を目赤と唱へる様にとの上意が」あり、 現在の地を賜った。

後に、寺院を建立して、智證大師作 不動明王を御前立に安置した。以後、目赤不動尊として、 「年を超え月を重ねて利益日々に著しく参拝の諸人絶えること」がない。 としています。




目赤不動 駒込浅香町にあり。伊州〔伊賀国〕赤目山の住職万行(まんぎょう)和尚(満行、?~一六四一)Priest Mangyo
、回国のとき供奉せし不動の尊像しばしば霊験あるによつて、その威霊を恐れ、別にいまの像を彫刻してかの像を腹籠(はらごも)りとす。
将軍家光と関連し、最初は「赤目不動」であったのが、「目赤不動」になったとします。そのきっかけは、「府内五不動の因縁を以て」(縁起)、「目黒、目白に対して」(江戸名所図会)として、五色不動設定との関連を示します。堂には、上のような平成7年の大きな奉納額があり、いまもって不動信仰のなみなみならぬものを告げています。
Akame Fudo

. Mangyoo 満行 / 万行和尚 Priest Mangyo . .
満行大権現 Mangyo Daigongen / 満行権現 Mangyo Gongen
榛名大明神 Deity Haruna Daimyojin / Gunma



http://www.ne.jp/asahi/suehiro/morgen/gosyokufudo/meakafudo.htm

http://humsum.cool.ne.jp/hakusan.html 白山神社と赤目不動

http://www.tenchi-web.com/fcmemo/seichi/19.html


Close to Nankoku-Ji, there is a temple with an Enbiki-Jizoo for drawing your good luck.
近くのお寺で「縁引地蔵」があります。


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Aka Fudou - The RED FUDO 赤不動



The chief of the Five Great Myoo and the Eight Great Myoo.

He appears in wrath; vanquishes all evil and renders virtue, making trainees decide to attain enlightenment. He has the power to make people attain enlightenment with the wisdom of Buddha. He was called Fudou (immobile) because he never moves in the perfect spiritual state of concentration in fire, vanquishing all kinds of sins. He appears in a child style; hanging down a pigtail of hair over his left shoulder with his left eye shut thin sitting on the rock. He also holds a sword of wisdom in his right hand, a rope in his left subduing earthly desires of ordinary people.

There exists the iconography of Esoteric Buddhism in Giki (the book of secret ritual practice), however, many of them are created freely. He was attended by Kongara Douji and Seitaka Douji. Gurikara Fudou appears not in Myoo, but a dragon (Gurikara Myoo) coiling itself around the sword of wisdom thrusting on the rock and trying to swallow the sword from its top. The color of the skin of Fudou Myoo is generally the one of ditch mud's explaining that he saves ordinary people living in the indecency world, however, yellow, red, or blue Fudo Myoo are sometimes worshipped.
Copyright (C) 2005 KURITA TRADING CO.,LTD
http://www.butuzou.co.jp/english/akafudo.html


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aka Fudoo Myoo Oo 赤不動明王 Red Fudo



about 15 cm high
made by
. Bokuda Shuu-un 牧田秀雲 Bokuda Shu-Un .  

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明王院(赤不動)
Meioo-In, Aka-Fudo, Red Fudo Temple
Adachi Ward, Tokyo
源為義の三男、帯刀先生(たてわきせんじょう)志田三郎義広が 創建したという古刹。
ところ:足立区梅田4-15-30
http://www.geocities.co.jp/Bookend/1036/adachi/meiouin.html

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高野山別格本山 赤不動明王院 Aka-Fudo
Red Fudo at Myo-O-In, Mt. Koya



It was originally opened at the time Kukai founded Koyasan enshrining as a central deity and image of Godai Myoo. The image was lost to a fire in 1631, however, and presently there is enshrined a painting of a red Fudo Myoo said to have been painted by Chisho Daishi Encho. He used red mineral pigments mixed with his own blood.

近畿三十六不動尊霊場三十五番札所・日本三不動一番札所・壇上伽藍鬼門鎮護の五大堂

日本三不動のひとつとして知られる赤不動明王を本尊としてお祭りしています。

本尊の赤不動明王は、いわゆる感得像で、赤い身色の不動明王を二童子と共に描いた画幅です。弘法大師の甥に当たられる方で、後に天台の座主にもなられる智証大師円珍和尚が、修行中に感得した不動明王の姿を、その余りの有り難さに自分の頭を岩に打ち付け、岩絵の具に頭血を混ぜて写しとられたと言われています。

赤不動明王は平安の昔より庶民に尊崇され厚い信仰を集めていたようです。例えば平安・戦国・江戸太平の頃…と高野山への帝・皇族・貴顕紳士の御登山は数多ありますが、明治維新以降、廃仏の嵐の中も不動尊信仰の濤は世に息むこと無く、天皇皇后両陛下をはじめ、各宮家や多くの華族が赤不動明王に礼拝供養されました。海外からも多数ご参拝頂いた様子で、大正時代の「高野山時報」にはスウェーデン皇太子御登山、として以下のような記事が載っています。
http://www.acala.jpn.org/

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Quted from Mark Schumacher:

RED YOUTH 赤童子, AKADOUJI
(text courtesy JAANUS)

Literally "Red Youth." Also often called Kasuga Akadouji 春日赤童子.
A mysterious human figure said to have appeared on a rock immediately in front of the Kasuga 春日 Shrine gate. He often is shown as a youth, douji, colored red, aka, standing on a rock, and leaning on a staff. In certain poses both in paintings and in prints, Akadouji resembles Kongoudouji 金剛童子, one of the attendants of Fudou Myouou 不動明王.

His connection with Kasuga is obscure, but he has been identified with Ame-no-Koyane 天児屋根, the God of the Third Sanctuary there; with Jinushi gami 地主神, the land god; with a healer's helping spirit; and with a thunder god of Mount Mikasa 御蓋, which stands behind the shrine at Kasuga. Extant images date from the Muromachi to Edo periods.

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LINKS

Goshiki Daruma and Color Symbols 五色だるま ―色彩散歩 Gabi Greve

O-Fudo-Sama in Japan: Meguro Fudo Temple Gabi Greve


The Color Red in Japanese Mythology, by Mark Schumacher

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painted in blood -
the Red Fudoo
speaks to my soul


Gabi Greve, 2004, January 28
Hatsu Fudoo

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. 関東三十六不動霊場 - Nr. 13
Pilgrimage to 36 Fudo Temples in Kanto (Bando) .



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2/24/2005

Shugendo / Mountain Ascets

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Shugendoo,
The Mountain Ascets Way of Life


CLICK for more Yamabushi Photos

修験道、山伏の生き方

Curtesy to Shugendo, by Sylvain Guintard
http://www.shugendo.fr/main.html
Check this link for photos.

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Shugendô is knowledge obtained on the path (dô), resulting from ascetic practices (shu) of divine natural powers (gen).

Shugendô is all of the practices and rules which are advisable to follow to reach this result, and the shugenjas are followers of this Japanese ancestral religion. They are more commonly called: Yamabushi, "those which sleep in the mountain", because it is indeed generally in the mountains that they practise, that they withdraw to during the time of retirement, in pilgrimage and that they travel "wandering" through the country like the hermit Indian ascetic Milarepa.

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Throughout his secular or spiritual life, the lay or religious yamabushi receives initiations which are some times comparable with true sacraments of Kings.

Initiation (Kanjo) is a ceremony of first importance in Japanese Tantric Buddhism which crowns the kings of the Law; perhaps less so for shugendô, which comprises a lesser number than Shingon and Tendai schools. The Master Zémui (Cubhakarashimba), Indian Master of the Chinese Master of the monk Kukai, expresses himself thus in his Great Comment: "If initiations are not received, one cannot include/understand the authentic words (mantra), the seals of hands (mudra).
For example, just as for the kings reigning in countries of this world, one gives to the heir the initiation so as to ensure the line... to ensure proper understanding and prevent confusion of the Buddhas teaching, one pours on their head the nectar of the water of the Law of the 5 oceans. It is a means of salvation and it is venerated by the many Saints (Bodhisattva) because those who receive it do not continue in the cycle of samsara.


The Pilgrimages in the Mountain
(Mine-iri or Nyuubu Shugyoo), "Entry in the mountain" or "the Asceticism of the entry into the world of the Buddhas.”

It is for the shugenja, the major exercise that all yamabushi must make, throughout their life. It is through this practice that he receives the teaching of his Masters and instructors. Every year at least, he must renew his energy in the natural mandala. In the Middle Ages, the yamabushi more than today, profited from a pilgrimage per season, with different objectives each time. This differed according to the school : the Tôzan school preferred to carry out the course North towards the South, whereas those of the Honzan school preferred the more difficult course, because of steeper climbs, of the South to North. For all the temples of Shugen from Kyoto and Nara, the mountains sacred for the pilgrimages is the chain of the Omine mounts; but each school could have its own mountains, like the Mt. Aso and Hiko for Shugen Hiko and of Kunisaki in the island of Kyushu; the Mt. Fuji for Sonshan Shugen, and Mts of Dewa Sazan for the school of Haguro.
Each center had its mountain-mandala.

Even a temple affiliated to a ‘mother temple’ could also have a training mountain like Makihata zan for the yamabushi of Nigata or Kojima shugen zan for those of the town of Okayama which also attached all to Shogoin. One of the biggest centers, still in activity, is located in the Natural reserve of Mts of Omine in the peninsula of Kii (Peninsula of the Country of the Trees). With the mount Sanjo, the Mecca of shugendô, where a monastery has risen up, in full mountains, isolated far from all, where the Zao-gongen Buddha appeared to En no Gyooja , the chain of the Omine Mountains offers one initiatory pilgrimages punctuated by powerful tests over several days, during which the shugenja walks in the mountains more than 12 hours per day.

A hierarchy exists between Shugenjas which receives different names according to the number of pilgrimages that they have achieved, because the number generates experiences and knowledge. Those which are with their first pilgrimage, the neophytes are named: Shinkyaku; they cannot still wear Yui-gesa with pompoms of the confirmed yamabushi, and those which have experience already with the pilgrimage in the Omine mounts should not in any case speak of the tests that they have had to undergo. They themselves, on the Rock of Hanging, swear to never speak about it if they do not have permission to do so from the Superiors of the Order. Shinkyaku must remain in the total ignorance of what they will have to undergo in the real test!



CLICK for more photos

The Costume of Yamabushi

"To put on the clothing of Yamabushi, is to put on the personality of the Fudo Buddha" something always practiced by the shugenjas. It is a tradition, very practical in the mountains which has not changed for more than 1000 years. Traditional clothing may be seen as uncomfortable by the majority of the foreign neophytes, at the beginning, the costume appears as a true Master who teaches us important things in mountain.

The clothing of the yamabushi is a true Master-Teacher for the shugenjas.
To incorporate all its symbolism, the yamabushi have a meditation on the symbolism of each part when they get dressed. A yamabushi does these as he dresses in less than 10 minutes in the mountains. We will now list the principal articles which constitute the dress of yamabushi at the time of the pilgrimages in mountain, in group or isolated.

Tokin: Small Hat
Hangai or Ayai-kasa: Large Hat
Suzukake and hakama: Shirt and Pants
Yui-gesa (or Foudo-kesa, Bonten-kesa or Machikon-kesa):
Hirataka-nenju: Rosary

Hôragai: Conch Trumpet (horagai)
Shakujô: Staff or wand (shakujoo)
Oi or enkyu: portable wooden trunk
Kata-bako: Prayer books in a box
Kongo-zue: Walking Stick
Hisshiki: Goatskin protector for the backside and seat
Kyahan and Tekko: Leggins
Hioogi: Fan of wooden plates
Shiba-uchi (Hôken, hooken): Ritual Sword of Fudoo Myoo-Oo
Hachi-nawa or Kainô (kainoo): Ropes for Mountain Climbing
Yatsume-waraji: Straw sandals in straw with 8 eyelets


One of the best ways to introduce Shugendo is to focus on mountains austerities, which are the most important rituals in Shugendo! According to the doctrine of Shugendo, the object of mountain austerities is to become a Buddha in one's human body. In others words, the purpose of mountain austerities is to transform a profane man into a "sacred man" by mystic training at sacred mountain. "Wandering in mountains can be an ascetic practice..." said the ascetic of India, Jishun Milarépa; one of the master of Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism.


The shugendo rituals are made up of 7 elements:
Rituals for the purpose to achieving identification with the object of worship: rituals during mountain pilgrimage, consecration, the demonstration of magical powers, and rites for the angry Buddha Fudo Myo .

Rituals for the purpose of communication with the object of worship: Chanting sutra, festivals for the deities.

Rituals as means of achieving identification with the object of worship: Divination, obtaining oracles through mediums, prayers of possession, "goma" fire ceremonies, rites for deities, benediction and incantations, exorcism.

Rituals to achieve the power to manipulate these deities: Prayers of possession, "goma" fire ceremonies, benediction and incantation, exorcism, charms and spells.

Rituals to receive oracles: Divination, oracles through mediums, and prayers of possession.

Rituals of prayers: Service for the sun, moon, stars and small shrines, "goma" fire ceremonies for averting misfortune, rites for various deities.

Rituals of exorcism or removing evil influences: "kaji-kito", incantations, removing a possessing spirit, "defeating" spirits, charms and spells.



Physical Experience

The intense experiences that the Yamabushi have experienced during the course of the days constitute at the same time the means and the purpose of the practice. Only by putting their lives at risk do they get to purify themselves of all the blemishes that are inherent in the human condition. Through suffering of the body, similar to small deaths, the Yamabushi become conscious of their spiritual dimension.
Grounding themselves with the Deities, the Buddha and the Universe. The Yamabushi claim that
To hear and understand the Buddha’s sermon you have to listen to the whisper of the wind at the top of the mountain”.
http://www.shugendo.fr/main.html



The Very Special Dead

In 1960, the historian Ando Kosei revealed the presence of 18 mummies in the Buddhist temples of the area dating from the 14th to 19th centuries. The press seized the news and these mummies were the subject of medical examinations by professional examiners and professors of various universities. The event generated a lot of attention at the time, because the press proposed the idea that these were ideal actions by buddhist monks: Men, who in principle, spend their life practicing to be free from any attachment, letting grow within them the realization that the world and life are illusory... Their bodies, which are then abandoned after the course of multiple reincarnations, are no longer vessels from which they strive to be released...this is the belief of the Buddhist neophytes.

Read more about it here:
http://www.shugendo.fr/main.html


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Also, read my story about the Living Mummies in Northern Japan
Sokushinbutsu, Sokushin Joobutsu 即身仏
Sokushinbutsu



. San hikoyama 三彦山 three famous HIKO mountains .
all of them ancient centers of the mountain ascetics.



. Legends about Japanese Saints
修験者 shugenja - 山伏 yamabushi .


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........................ H A I K U


kigo for all summer

mineiri, mine-iri 峰入 (みねいり) "entry in the mountain"
jun no mine-iri 順の峰入(じゅんのみねいり)
"entry in the mountain" in prescribed order
gyaku no mine-iri 逆の峰入(ぎゃくのみねいり)
"entry in the mountain" in reverse order
(This is even more difficult and not allowed to many.)

mine is actually the peak or peaks which the ascets have to climb during this practise.



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峰入は宮も草鞋(わらぢ)の旅路かな
mine-iri wa miya mo waraji mo tabiji kana

"entering the mountain"
travelling from a shrine
with staw sandals


Nishiyama Soin 西山宗因 (1605 - 1682)


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- - - - - Matsuo Basho - - - - -

月待や梅かたげ行く小山伏
tsukimachi ya ume katageyuku koyamabushi

moonrise gathering--
carrying a plum branch,
a novice mountain ascetic

Tr. Barnhill

Written in the first lunar month, 1691 元禄4年1月.
At a haikai moon-waiting meeting with Ichibei 卓袋. tsukimachi occured on the 8th lunar month, on days 13, 17 and 23.
Maybe a young yamabushi had been invited to join the eating, drinking and poetry writing.


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山伏を切ってかけたる関の前
yamabushi o kitte kaketaru seki no mae

The mountain pilgrim
so they had his head struck off
and shown at the barrier

Tr. Earl Miner and Hiroko Odagin

from the kazen, "If Fine while Still Green"
(Aokute mo no maki, 1693): (stanza 25)


More
Shugendo Haiku about the Mountain Geta Sandals


. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .


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. Mountain (yama) and kigo for all seasons


. Hiwatari matsuri 高尾山の火渡り祭
fire-walking ritual at Mt. Takao
 


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2/17/2005

Kanto, Five Fudo Temples

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Five most important Fudo Temples in Kanto
.. .. .. .. .. .. .. 関東地方の五大不動そん




大山不動〔真言宗 雨降山 大山寺〕(伊勢原市・神奈川) 
Oyama Fudo, Isehara Town, Kanagawa Pref.


高幡不動〔真言宗 高幡山 明王院 金剛寺〕(日野市・東京) 

Takahata Fudo, Kongo-Ji, Hino Town, Tokyo



成田不動〔真言宗 成田山 新勝寺〕(成田市・千葉) 

http://www.city.narita.chiba.jp/english/welcome/naritasan/itikawa.html
Narita Fudo, Narita Town, Chiba Pref.


高山不動尊(秘蔵 七夕不動)〔真言宗 高貴山 常楽院〕(飯能市・埼玉) 

Takayama Fudo, Tanabata Fudo (secret statue) Hanno Town, Saitama Pref.


目黒不動〔天台宗 泰叡山 瀧泉寺〕(目黒区・東京)

Meguro Fudo, Meguro Ward, Tokyo
http://ginjo.fc2web.com/36gyokei/fudou.jpg


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A little Jizoo for Good Bye.


http://risshi.web.infoseek.co.jp/ani_017.gif


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2/15/2005

Fudo-Ji Temple Kurotakisan

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Fudooji 不動寺 Temple Fudo-Ji, Kurotaki
Kurotaki Fudo 黒滝不動


群馬県甘楽郡南牧村大字大塩沢1266
Oshiozawa, Nanmoku Village, Kanra District, Gumma

with a tea shop serving Fucha Food 黄檗普茶 Obaku Fucha


Kurotaki 黒滝 / 黒瀧 "Black Waterfall"

Near Mt. Kurotakisan 黒滝山 , Gunma Pref.



a temple of the Obaku Zen sect 黄檗宗
Founded by Gyoki Bosatsu 行基 .

. Gyoki Bosatsu (Gyooki Bosatsu) 行基菩薩 .
(668-749 AD) Gyōki

The Fudo of this temple helps with opening good luck and protects from evil influence
kai-un yakuyoke no Fudo 開運厄除けの不動明王

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- source and photos : haisima.at.webry.info

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- source and photos : ren-g.cocolog-nifty.com

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CLICK for more photos !


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- Homepage of the temple
- source : www.nanmoku.ne.jp

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- quote
The Zen temple of Nanmoku: Mt. Kurotaki Fudo Temple

The Mt. Kurotaki Fudo Temple is a sacred place of mountain worship that stands on Mt. Kurotaki at an elevation of 870 meters. It is an ancient temple with a history of over one-thousand years as a scared place of protection, enshrining a Buddhist statue of Acala by Gyoki that is withheld from public view.

You can experience delicious and nutrition-packed Chinese-style vegetarian cuisine (Zen-style cuisine) dubbed Fucha that is slow-cooked using fresh seasonal ingredients, mainly countryside herbs and grasses. This style of cuisine is called jikizen, or the pursuit of Zen through diet. The temple also allows visitors to experience Zen meditation and offers a guesthouse where lodgers can enjoy a quiet night in the mountains.

- source : gunma tourism


. fucha ryori 普茶料理
Chinese-style Buddhist vegetarian cuisine .


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This is a beautiful mountain area. Look at some photos here.
http://www.ne.jp/asahi/walking-in-the/mountains-in-japan/kurotakisan.htm



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. Waterfalles named "Fudo no Taki" 不動の滝 .

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12/04/2004

Mantra of Fudo Myo-O

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Fudou Myou-Ou
Shingon - Mantra of Fudo Myo-O 不動明王の真言

Fudō's "Mantra of Compassionate Help" (Jikushu 慈救呪)


noomaku sanmanda
bazaradan senda
makaroshada
sowataya un tarata kanman


CLICK for more photos

Namah samanta-vajrânâm canda mahârosana
sphotaya hûm trat hâm mâm (Skt.)

nomaku samanda (sammanda) bazaradan senda
maka roshada sowataya un tarata kanman

Homage to the all-pervading Vajras!
O Violent One of great wrath! Destroy! hûm trat hâm mâm
http://www.shingon.org/deities/jusanbutsu/fudo.html


[慈救呪(じくのしゅ)]:
ノウマク サマンダバザラダン センダマカロシャダ ソワタヤウン タラタ カン マン
(遍満する金剛部諸尊に礼したてまつる。暴悪なる大忿怒尊よ。砕破したまえ。忿怒したまえ。
害障を破摧したまえ。ハーン・マーン)




"Recollecting bodhicitta, the matrin Should mentally recite the Acala mantra,
And make his Mudrā,And he will destroy all obstacles.
(MAT III.4. Hodge : 154)
- source : visiblemantra.org -

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Namah samanta vajranam candamaharosana sphotaya hum trat ham mam

Its means:
"Homage to all the Vajras. The Great Wrathful Canda! Destroy! HUM TRAT HAM MAM."
Candamaharosana is one of the uncommon names of Fudo (Acalanatha) in Sanskrit usually used within the post-Shingon developments of Vajrayana in Tibet, Nepal, etc.
There is a whole scripture devoted to him called the Candamaharosana Tantra,

There is no English translation of the tantra except for a couple of chapters.
What I have read is quite different from the Acala that we know of in Japan.
As with most post-Shingon scripture it is very very cryptic and sexual in nature.
- source : Tom Bennett - facebook


The Candamaharosana Tantra - TEXT
By Christopher Starr George
- source : ja.scribd.com/doc

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kaan カーン seed syllable
. Amulets with KAAN 梵字ペンダント(不動のカーン) .   




Woodblock print, diptych. Buddhist temple print,
Fudo Myo-o standing with sword and rope, body formed from the seed characters (Siddham script) of his mantra.
Sumizuri-e on paper.
source : www.britishmuseum.org/research


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Two more mantras of Fudo Myo-0

[火界呪(かかいじゅ)]:
Mantra for the Fire World


noomaku sarabatatagyatebyaku sarababokkeibyaku sarabatatarata
sendamakoroshada ken gyakigyaki sarababykisonasowan tarata kanman

ノウマク サラバタタギャテイビャク サラバボッケイビャク サラバタタラタ
センダマカロシャダ ケン ギャキギャキ サラバビキンナンウン タラタ カンマン
(全方位の一切如来に礼したてまつる。一切時一切処に残害破障したまえ。
悪大忿怒尊よ。カン。一切障難を滅尽に滅尽したまえ。フーン。
残害破障したまえ。  ハーン。マーン。)



[不動一字呪(いちじしゅ)]:
One Word Mantra

Noomaku samanda basaradan kan
ノウマク サマンダ バザラダン カン
(あまねき金剛尊に礼したてまつる。ハーン)



Kanman

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The Marathon Monks of Mount Hiei

..... During the route, Kakudo will sit down only once -- beneath a giant sacred cedar for two minutes -- to pray for the protection of the imperial family. After a first run with a master, Kakudo will be on his own. He may suffer cuts, sprains, stone bruises and punctures to his feet and ankles. He may run a fever, experience back and hip pain, develop hemorrhoids and diarrhea, suffer from frostbite, dehydration and hunger.

But by about the 30th day, according to predecessors' accounts, his discomfort will lessen as his body adapts to the pain and strain. By the 70th day he is run/walking with a smooth gait, head and shoulders erect, back straight, nose and navel aligned.
He will continually chant mantras to the god,
Fudo Myo-o.


His spiritual goal is to become completely absorbed in the mountain and its surroundings, so that the pain and discomfort of the physical ritual will not be noticed, or at least be ignored. Kakudo hopes to achieve a state of Enlightenment-- the pure spiritual joy of feeling one with the universe.

As rugged as it appears, however, this test is merely a warmup in the ultimate spiritual quest of the Marathon Monks -- the complete process entails seven more years and becomes progressively and unfathomably more difficult.

Read the full story here
© By Dave Ganci

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Mantras, Mudras and Mandalas:
........ Symbolism in Himalayan Art




The Buddhist art of the Himalayas is essentially symbolic in nature and is rich with esoteric elements. To unlock its mysteries the viewer must use semiotic codes. Since the Himalayan pieces featured in the exhibition are primarily employed in the service of Buddhism, they are religious in nature. Hence, they were produced in large part either by monks who practiced it, or by the artists [who were knowledgeable in Buddhist iconography].

The practitioners, of course, understood the meaning and symbolism but the laypeople did not. Deepak Shimkhada, assistant professor of art and religion at Claremont, McKenna College is an expert in the subject of Himalayan art and will unveil the mysteries of the mudras and mandalas as seen in the Buddhist art of the Himalayas.

© 2002, the Pacific Asia Museum.
Lecture by Deepak Shimkhada, 2002
http://www.pacificasiamuseum.org/calendar/exhibitions/buddhism.htm

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Fudo Myoo-Oo and Energy Thearpy

Fudo Myo-o - 'the Immovable One' is also patron of the Martial Arts, and patron of all practitioners of mountain-centred ascetic mystic disciplines



There are also
Mantras for the 13 Deities 十三佛の真言
CLICK for more photos
真言十三佛
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


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Mantra, Dharani, Waka and Japanese Poetry

Reading the Miraculous Powers of Japanese Poetry
http://www.nanzan-u.ac.jp/SHUBUNKEN/publications/jjrs/pdf/705.pdf

some quotes

... waka (Japanese poems) achieve their supernatural effects because they are the dharani (magical Buddhist incantations) of Japan —

By the twelfth century,under the in fluence of the Tendai concept of non-duality,many priests, poets and commentators had begun to equate the Way of Poetry with the Way of Buddhism.

... the poet-priest Kamo no Chōmei explains that unlike prose, a poem “possesses the power to move heaven and earth, to calm demons and gods,”because, among other attributes,“it contains many truths in a single word ” (hito kotoba ni ōku no kotowari wo kome)

"The exoteric is to consume many words to denote one meaning. The esoteric is to unleash countless meanings from within each letter of a word. This is the secret function of dharani.”
Kukai

Japanese poetry,with its use of puns,pivot-words,pillow-phrases,and various associative and allusive techniques,is characterized by a similar semantic economy. Kamo no Chōmei seems to have thus equated the origins of waka ’s miraculous powers with those of dharani as formulated by Kūkai in the early ninth century.

waka are effective because, as dharani, they express a “natural truth ”that transcends human language. In that they necessarily express that truth in “thirty-one syllables ”— the standard waka format — their power results from both their content and their form.

"Waka are the dharani of Japan.
Waka are the source of magical powers; they are seeds drawing us to enlightenment."
Sonshun 尊舜 (1452 - 1514)

. . . . .

At the time of his founding of the Temple on Mount Hiei, the Master Saicho sought out timber to construct the [statue of ] Yakushi in the Central Hall. In the north-east, he came upon a camphor tree emitting light from its trunk.Thinking this strange, he approached to have a look. Two demons were standing guard, the monk intoned

anokutara
sanmyaku sanbodai no
hotoketachi
waga tatsu soma ni
myooga arasetamae

You Buddhas
of Most Perfect
Enlightened Wisdom ...
bestow your silent protection
on this forest that I fell!

.....

Indian "Truth Acts" and Japanese Power Poetry
(saccakiriyā /satyakriyā )
The Truth Act, like the dharani,was a potent instrument in the magico-religious technology of Indian Buddhism, and it seems to have been adopted — albeit in somewhat condensed form — for use in a number of the miraculous poems of Japan.

.....

- - - - - Moto'ori Norinaga writes:

Question:
In the composition of poetry,if one should put aside truth (makoto 実) and concentrate solely on the crafting of ornate language,is it not the case that however fine a poem one might produce, that poem will fail to stir emotion in demons and gods?

Answer:

To move heaven and earth and stir emotion in demons and gods requires both deep feeling and good poetry.However deep one ’s feelings might be, if one should write,“How sad,how sad,” demons and gods are not likely to be moved. But if a poem is born of an earnest heart and is but skillfully wrought, supernatural beings are sure to be moved of their owna ccord. Likewise, however elegant the language of a poem, should that poem lack feeling, demons and gods are unlikely to respond.
But when people hear a poem that is both profound in sentiment and gracefully crafted,their hearts are naturally touched. So too heaven and earth are moved and demons and gods are affected.

. Kamo no Choomei 鴨長明 Kamo no Chomei .
( 1153 or 1155–1216) Kamo no Chōmei

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the shuji (Skt. bija) or seed syllable 'kan' or 'ham' in Sanskrit. The next is the sanmaya-gyo of Aizen Myoo - it is called a kongoko (Skt. ankusa) or elephant goad. Above it is the shuji of Aizen 'un un' (Skt. hhum). Finally we have the familiar shuji 'A' used in the Ajikan practice.

hāṃ, ham
hammaṃ hammam
hum

- shared by Tom - facebook

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There are also many samples of KAAN in the pendant and amulet entries.

. The Mantra of Shingon Deities .


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