Japanese Mandalas: Representations of Sacred Geography

Chapter 5 Mandalas of Individual Deities

This passage from an Esoteric text, the Rules on the Place of Worship and the Chanting of the Liturgies of the Sutra on the Protection of Countries by Benevolent Kings (Ninnôgokokukyôd ôjônenjugiki), describes the major rites for which the following mandalas of individual deities were used.It is important to note that in religious practices worldly benefits were sought in addition to the perfecting of altruistic virtues that could lead to an enlightened state. Mandalas of Individual Deities: Overview Hundreds of deities fill the compositions of the Diamond World and Womb World mandalas, all emanations of the cosmic buddha Dainichi, emerging from him, returning to him, and identical in essence to him. Many of these deities personify important aspects of the all-encompassing Dainichi and become the centers of their own mandalas, when, for example, those aspects are emphasized in a ritual or ceremony .These mandalas are called mandara of individual or particular deities (besson mandara).2 Individualdeitymandalasareusedinrituals,forexample, to protect against calamity or to gain success in love. These rituals are called“rituals [involving] individual deities”(besson hô), because specific deities are invoked for specific purposes. Individual deity mandalas can be grouped in five divisions referring to their use in rituals.They may be the main images for a rite; they may be subsidiary or supporting images; they may be images used in memorial services; they may be part of a pair of images; or they may be images used as guardians or defenders of the faith during rituals. Some of these mandalas are based on texts,many are not,and many include elements not found in the texts. Many of these mandalas of«  » C        Mandalas of Individual Deities . If calamities are to be removed [prevented] on behalf of one’s country, one’s family or one’s self, the supplicant ought to sit down with his face towards the North and to concentrate his thoughts upon the principal deity . . . and the offerings. White ought to be the colour of the whole ceremony, and the text ought to be read quietly and in silence. . If one prays for increase of wealth [benefits], he must sit down with his face towards the East and concentrate his thoughts upon the principal deity. . . . Yellow is the colour of the whole ceremony, and the text ought to be read in joyful quietness without uttering a sound. . If demons are to be subjected [subjugated], one must sit down with his face towards the South and concentrate his thoughts upon the principal deity....Blue is the colour of the whole ceremony,and the text ought to be read with a loud voice, with great inner compassion (sorrow) and outwardly with solemn anger. . If reverence and love are prayed for, one must sit down with his face towards the West and concentrate his thoughts upon the principal deity. . . . Red is the colour of the whole ceremony, and the text ought to be read audibly with a heart full of joyful passion.1 individual deities are found in iconographic compendia such as the mid-twelfth-century Zuzôshô, the Bessonzakki associated with Shinkaku (–), the Kakuzenshô associated with Kakuzen (–ca. ), and the Asabashô associated with Shôchô (–).3 Japanese besson mandara represent Japanese Buddhist responses to the pan-Asian Esoteric tradition.These individual deity mandalas may have been based on models brought from China,found perhaps in iconographic compendia,but some seem to have been devised in Japan, based at least in part on the visualizations of certain practitioners (see, for example,the discussion of the star mandala,below).Most of these besson mandara do not have exact parallels on theAsian continent. Some may, like the mandala of the Two Worlds, represent Chinese Esoteric configurations now lost on the continent. Some may be Japanese versions of continental configurations. Scholars have suggested various ways to order the complex , image-filled world of the individual deity mandalas. After introducing some of these categorizing schemes,I will discuss selected paintings and iconographic drawings from the major categories of mandalas. Works that show visual similarities to the paradigmatic DiamondWorld andWomb World mandalas will be highlighted. In this connection it will be useful to remember that the Diamond World mandala is often called the mandala of lunar disks (gachirin mandara ), and the Womb World mandala is often called the mandala of lotus thrones (rengeza mandara).4 Individual deity mandalas of different categories that present these lunar disks and lotus thrones as prominent...