Showing posts with label Tao. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tao. Show all posts

9/24/2011

Kotoamatsukami zooka

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Fudo Myo-O Gallery

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Kotoamatsukami 別天津神

The three deities of creation.

zooka no sanshin 造化の三神
(sanjin)




The three deities of creation and two more on the far sides:

Umashiashikabihikoji no kami 宇摩志阿斯詞備比古遅神
Amenotokotachi no kami 天之常立神
source : risouen


quote
Kotoamatsukami
"Separate heavenly kami," a name referring to the first five kami appearing in the Kojiki. The five include the "three kami of creation" (zōka sanshin), namely
Amenominakanushi no kami,
Takamimusuhi, and
Kamimusuhi no kami,

together with Umashiashikabihikoji no kami and
Amenotokotachi no kami.
The term "separate heavenly kami" originates in Kojiki itself, which states, "The foregoing five kami are the separate heavenly kami." These five kami are characterized by the fact that they came into existence alone (hitorigami), and after coming into being, "hid" themselves. The term kotoamatsukami is not found in Nihongi.
source : Inoue Nobutaka, Kokugakuin 2005


. . . . .

In Japanese Shinto, Kotoamatsukami (別天津神, literally means "distinguishing heavenly kami") is the collective name for the first powers which came into existence at the time of the creation of the universe. They were born in Takamagahara, the world of Heaven at the time of the creation, as Amenominakanushi 天御中主 (Central master), Takamimusubi (High creation), Kamimusubi (Divine creation), and a bit later Umashiashikabihikoji (Energy) and Amenotokotachi (Heaven).

These forces then became gods and goddesses, the tenzai shoshin (heavenly kami) - Ame no minakanushi no kami; Takami-musubi no ôkami; Kamimusubi no ôkami; Umashiashikabihikoji no kami; Ame no Tokotachi no kami; Kuni no Tokotachi no kami; Toyokumono no kami; Uhijini no mikoto; Suhijini no kami; Tsunokuhi no kami; Ikukuhi no kami; Ôtonoji no kami; Ôtonobe no kami; Omodaru no kami; Kashikone no kami; Izanagi no kami; Izanami no kami; and Amaterasu ômikami.
© More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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Ame no minaka nushi no kami
天之御中主神(あめのみなかぬしのかみ)
- 至高の神


Takamimusuhi no kami 高御産巣日神
(たかみむすひのかみ)
- 征服や統治の神


Kami musuhi no kami 神産巣日神(かみむすひのかみ)
- 生産の神




source : facebook

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Amenominakanushi
the first kami to come into being in the Plain of Heaven as a "solitary kami" (hitorigami). He was acknowledged as one of the zōka sanshin ("three kami of creation") and one of the five kotoamatsukami ("separate heavenly deities").
Amenominakanushi
is found at the very beginning of the Kojiki. Amenominakanushi was chief kami of the seven major stars of the constellation Ursa Major. As a result of this influence, Amenominakanushi was made a central deity at the Daikyōin in the early Meiji period. He was also worshipped within sectarian Shinto (kyōha Shintō ).


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quote
Amenominakanushi
Other names: Ame no minakanushi no mikoto(Nihongi)

According to certain of the myths relating the unfolding of heaven and earth, Amenominakanushi was the first kami to come into being in the Plain of Heaven as a "solitary kami" (hitorigami), and to hide his presence. Also counted as one of the zōka sanshin ("three kami of creation") and one of the five kotoamatsukami ("separate heavenly deities"). Amenominakanushi is found at the very beginning of Kojiki, while only appearing in an alternate version within the fourth "alternate writing" quoted in Nihongi.

No mention is made of this kami's activities, and he was not worshiped at any known ancient shrines, with the result that he is considered by some as a kami of abstract character and produced under the influence of Chinese thought.
Kogo shūi states that Takamimusuhi, Kamimusuhi, and Tsuhayamusuhi no kami were all offspring of Amenominakanushi, while Shoku nihongi claims that he was ancestral kami of the Nakatomi clan, and fragmentary records of the Ise no kuni fudoki state that his twelfth-generation descendant was Amenohiwake no mikoto; Shinsen shōjiroku likewise claims him as one of the ancestral deities of certain naturalized clans.

Until the medieval era, Nihongi was considered preeminent to Kojiki, and reference to Amenominakanushi was solely in terms of his role as one of the primeval kami. As students of National Learning (Kokugaku) began to place greater emphasis on Kojiki, however, Amenominakanushi came to be more widely appreciated, and his significance was reevaluated. Hirata Atsutane, in particular, propounded a theology wherein Amenominakanushi was chief kami of the seven major stars of the constellation Ursa Major. As a result of this influence, Amenominakanushi was made a central deity at the Daikyōin in the early Meiji period, and he was worshiped within sectarian Shinto (kyōha Shintō ) as well. During the process of separation of Shinto and Buddhist objects of worship (see shinbutsu bunri), the deity Myoken (the north star) was changed to Amenominakanushi at many shrines.
source : Mori Mizue, Kokugakuin 2005



尊星王像
source : takahashi_hideharu



. Suitengu 水天宮 Shrine for the Water God .
Deity in residence is
Amenominakanushi no kami 天之御中主神
Ame no minaka nushi no kami / 天御中主神



. at shrine Hoshida Jinja 星田神社 Osaka .
Komatsu Jinja 小松神社


. Aoso Jinja 青麻神社 "Green Hemp Shrine" .
Sendai, Miyagi
- Deities in residence:
Amaterasu Omikami 天照大御神 (the sun goddess),
Ame no Minakanushi no Kami 天之御中主神 (the god of the universe), and
Tsukuyomi no Kami 月読神 (the god of the moon)
. . . . hereby the shrine is famous as the place where the sun, the stars and the moon are enshrined together.



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quote
Takamimusuhi
Other names: Takamimusuhi no mikoto(Nihongi),Takagi no kami (Kojiki)

A central kami included in Kojiki's "three kami of creation" (zōka sanshin), and one of the five "separate heavenly kami" (kotoamatsukami). A solitary kami that comes into being after Amenominakanushi, and then "hides away," Takamimusuhi later reappears, together with Amaterasu, as one of the central kami of the Plain of High Heaven (Takamanohara).

Takamimusuhi assembled the conference of heavenly kami that conferred regarding the Descent of the Heavenly Grandchild (tenson kōrin), and he also selected and dispatched messengers to the Central Land of Reed Plains (Ashihara no Nakatsukuni) for the purpose of negotiating for the "transfer of the land" (kuniyuzuri).

Takamimusuhi's daughter was Yorozuhatahime, who in turn was the mother of Ninigi no mikoto; according to the main text of Nihongi, it was imperial ancestor Takamimusuhi no mikoto who invested Ninigi as ruler of the Central Land of Reed Plains. At the time of the descent of the heavenly grandchild, Omoikane and other descendants of Takamimusuhi were assigned to accompany Ninigi upon his descent. Takamimusuhi also sent a large crow (yatakarasu) as aid during Jinmu's eastern expedition, in this and other ways giving protection to the descendants of the heavenly kami. Nihongi notes that in preparation for his enthronement (sokui), Jinmu himself served in the role of priest-medium and took on the identity of Takamimusuhi, who was also later made one of the eight kami served by the priests of the imperial Department of Kami (Jingikan).

Takamimusuhi was also claimed by numerous clans as founding ancestor. The tradition transmitted by Kogo shūi describes Takamimusuhi as the eldest of Amanominakanushi's three children, calling him Sumemutsukamurogi no mikoto, and identifying him as ancestor of the Tomo and Saeki clans. In later ages, Takamimusuhi was also worshiped as a god of matchmaking, based on the association of the musuhi (or musubi) in his name with the same word meaning "to join."
source : Mori Mizue, 2005


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quote
Kamimusuhi
Other names: Kamimusuhi no kami, Kamimusuhi no mioya no kami, Kamimusuhi no mikoto(Kojiki. Nihongi)

According to Kojiki, one of the three kami of creation (zōka sanshin), and classed as one of the "separate heavenly kami" (kotoamatsukami). Kamimusuhi came into being after Takamimusuhi as the third of the five solitary kami (hitorigami), and her presence was not visible. After Ōgetsuhime was murdered by Susanoo, Kamimusuhi, under the name of the mother deity Mioya no mikoto, transformed the grains produced from Ōgetsuhime's body into seed, thus becoming known as the "ancestral deity" of the five grains (see sojin).

While a heavenly deity (amatsukami), Kamimusuhi has strong links to the earthly deities (kunitsukami) of the Izumo tradition, and when Ōnamuchi was burned to death by his brothers, she granted the wish of Ōnamuchi's mother by restoring him to life; Kamimusuhi's child Sukunahikona later assisted Ōnamuchi with the development of the land.

Finally, when Ōkuninushi was enshrined as a condition for the "transfer of the land" (kuniyuzuri), the invocation of Kushiyatama initiating Ōkuninushi's worship included the name "Kamimusuhi no mioya no mikoto." These are the general details transmitted by Kojiki, which includes detailed episodes of the Izumo myths. Nihongi, on the other hand, describes Kamimusuhi only in an "alternate writing" relating the unfolding of heaven and earth, and elsewhere once as the parent of Takuhatachijihime (see Yorozuhatahime). Kogo shūi describes Kamimusuhi as the third child of Amenominakanushi, and the ancestor of the Ki clan.

Based both on the fact that Shinsen shōjiroku describes Kamimusuhi as ancestor of numerous Izumo-related clans, and on the fact that the Izumo fudoki transmits the legend of Kamosu no mikoto, some people have theorized that Kamimusuhi was actually a kami of the Izumo lineage. On the other hand, the mythos also relates that Sukunahikona and Yorozuhatahime were the offspring of Takamimusuhi, and given that mioya is a title attached primarily to female kami, it is likely that Kamimusuhi was anciently considered the spouse of the heavenly deity Takamimusuhi.

Kamimusuhi has strong links to the heavenly kami in other ways as well, as evidenced by her status as first in rank among the eight kami served by the priests of the Jingikan, and the fact that she is treated as a heavenly kami in the "spirit pacification" ritual of chinkonsai.
source : Mori Mizue, 2005


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zooka, zouka, zōka is also a word used by Matsuo Basho in his haiku theory.
(zooka has a long oo to pronounce properly.)

Basho said

. Oi no Kobumi "Knapsack Notebook" .
Saigyo’s waka, Sogi’s renga, Sesshu’s painting, Rikyu’s tea ceremony – one thread runs through the artistic Ways. And this artistic spirit is to follow zoka, to be a companion to the turning of the four seasons. Nothing one sees is not a flower, nothing one imagines is not the moon. If what is seen is not a flower, one is like a barbarian; if what is imagined is not a flower, one is like a beast. Depart from the barbarian, break away from the beast,
follow zoka, return to zoka.
Tr. Barnhill

造化にしたがひ 造化に帰れ.
"Follow the zooka, return to the zooka."

shizen no chikara, zooka no chikara 自然の力(造化の力)
- the power of the spontaneous, the power of zooka
in
造花随順 zooka zuijun.

shizen  in the times of Basho referred to the "natural, spontaneous state" of things.

- - - - - Basho wrote:
“I saw the masterwork of zôka in the beautiful scenes of mountains, fields and the coast, and following the footprints of devoted travelers who are free of worldly concerns, I came to know the way of a true artist.”
(Kôhon Bashô zenshû, 6:85)
In this passage zôka is not the landscape per se but what has bought it into being; this concept finds its philosophical roots in Daoist thought.
source : Peipei-Qiu - simply-haiku-2011

- - - - - Basho wrote:
"The singular peaks and grotesque mountains vie with each other in their shapes, forming a hair-like dark line and a glimpse of faint green as in a painting. The sounds of the water, the singing of birds, and the green of pines and cedars are extremely exquisite—the beautiful scene demonstrates the perfection of artistry.
How could one not feel joyous for the great accomplishment of zôka!"

- - - - - Peipei-Qiu wrote:
Bashô joyfully sees the beauty of the landscape as the marvelous work of zôka and emphasizes that following zôka—constantly immersing oneself in the embrace of nature, appreciating its beauty, and following its course—is the essential way to maintain aesthetic sensibilities.

By saying that those who follow zôka see nothing but flowers and think of nothing but the moon, Bashô frames the grand premise that following zôka is the precondition of artistic perception: when one follows zôka, one has the artistic sensibility to capture beauty in everything.
His call for “returning to zôka” further suggests that zôka is not only where artistic creativity begins but its ultimate attainment.

It needs to be reiterated that by zôka Bashô does not mean “nature,” as it often has been used in the English translation of Oi no kobumi, but refers instead to a concept derived from the Daoist classics, in which zaohua/zôka, together with ziran (J. shizen 自然 or ji’nen, naturalness and spontaneity), designates the spontaneous operation of the Dao, and sometimes refers to the Dao itself.

source : Basho-and-the-Dao -Peipei-Qiu

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(In English, the misleading spelling zoka is sometimes used.)

zoka, joka 序歌 a waka poem which is read first
zooka, zakka 雑歌 miscellaneous poems

. Chinese background of Japanese Haiku .


quote
Bashō regards kidai as a way to commune with the creative power of nature (zōka). Bashō does not regard kidai as a rule, but rather as a word or keyword establishing a relationship with kokoro (heart, mind).
... Basho also has said, “Even if the word is not traditional kidai, in the case that the word has enough quality to be kidai, do choose it and use it. When you find a new kidai, it will be a great gift for the next generation” (Kyoraishō).
source : Yūki Itō, with Richard Gilbert



reference : zooka




quote
In Yamaoka Genrin's pioneering haibun anthology the Daoism-influenced concept of Japanese zoka (Chinese: Zaohua) already had been given fundamental importance in the creation of haikai:
"If we trust all to the endless power of zoka."

For further info. read Chapter Five,
Following Zoka and Returning to Zoka,
of Basho and the Dao:
the Zhuangzi and the transformation of Haikai

by Peipei Qiu.

source : Chen-ou Liu, Canada


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Michael F. Marra :
The Japanese meaning of a thing, for example, differs greatly from the Western world's understanding of the term.
In the Western educational system, a thing is "something."
Writes Marra,
"Things, the fact that they are (or not), and their articulation in words are definitely central elements in meaning formations."
Marra goes on to say,

"That Japanese languages have two words that are translated as thing:
koto and mono". . .
expertness or absorption in thoughts cannot exist aside from their being (to be an expert or to be absorbed in thoughts) and that such a being is nothing but the koto that makes the movement and the condition of action possible. Whereas mono indicates the content of movement or the content of quietness, koto indicates their being.
The specific being of the content (mono) always presupposes its existence or Being (koto).
The fact (koto) of seeing presupposes that something (mono) must be seen."
source : simplyhaiku.webs.com


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David Landis Barnhill :

In the West we normally think of nature as a collection of things: trees, toads, rocks, etc. Or we may think of it as a place, such as a wilderness area. Zōka, which I translate as “the Creative,” does not refer to either of those. It is the vitality and creativity of nature, its tendency and ability to undergo beautiful and marvelous transformations. It is not a place or collection of things, nor is it something outside nature that is directing it or bringing things into being—thus the translation of “the Creator” is misleading.
Zōka is the ongoing, continuous self-transforming creativity of the natural world.
...
I think Bashō would argue for the inclusion of season words, certainly for the seasonality of haiku poetry in general. A moment in nature is always a moment in a particular season. To really see nature is to see it in a particular season. Of course American haiku is free to evolve according to its own insights, but we should realize how important seasonality is in Japanese poetry and why it is important.
...
But then each religion is itself a mixture.
Zen Buddhism, of course, is highly influenced by Daoism. Neo-Confucianism brings together classical Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism. Shinto and Buddhism co-existed and intermingled for most of the last thousand years.
...
The natural/highly cultured poet knows the tradition and knows the old poems and the rules, because they (supposedly) reflect and direct the way to see reality and nature deeply. But you also have to lose yourself.
...
I see infused in Basho's poetry a conglomerate of belief systems that include, besides Zen Buddhism, other sects of Buddhism (Pure Land, etc.), Daoism, Confucianism, Shinto, and shamanic animism practiced by the Ainu.
...
Americans are familiar with about 200 or so of Bashō’ haiku – mostly those in the Imagist tradition.
source : simplyhaiku 2011

The Creative in Basho's View of Nature and Art


For more translations of hokku :
. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .

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Haruo Shirane :
Following the creative
The notion of pursuing the 'truth of poetic art' was closely related to zōka, zuijun, 'following the Creative,' an ideal found in Chinese painting theory. Zōka (tsao hua), the Creator or the Creative, sometimes misleadingly translated as 'Nature,' was not a transcendent, anthropomorphic deity (as usually suggested by the term 'creator') but a 'creative spirit' or force that constantly shapes and transforms landscape and nature.
... literally, that which makes things ... the creative force that gave birth to and governs the movement of all things in the universe ...
Basho wrote with regard to the zōka, the Creavive.
Those who practice such arts follow the Creative
and make the four seasons their friends.

source : Traces of Dreams

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. Myooken Bosatsu 妙見菩薩 Myoken .
Star Shrines, Hoshi Jinja 星神社


O-Fudo Sama Gallery



. shinbutsu 神仏 kami to hotoke .
shinbutsu shūgō 神仏習合 syncretism - shinbutsu bunri 神仏分離 separation


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Kigo and Zooka, zōka 造化 (zoka), the creative force
The creative force was an important abstract aspect of hokku since Matsuo Basho.
Kigo, on the other hand, are a real-life tool to be used when composing traditional Japanese hokku and haiku.

. Kigo use in worldwide haiku .


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5/28/2007

Hooki Bosatsu

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. sennin 仙人と伝説 Legends about Immortals .

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Fudo Myo-O Gallery

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Hoki Bosatsu, Hooki Bosatsu 法起菩薩
Hoodoo Sennin" 法道仙人 Hodo Sennin

Houki Bosatsu, Hōki Bosatsu

Secret Statue at Temple Bodaiji 菩提寺の秘佛 Bodai-Ji

This Bosatsu is not very familiar, but he is one of the protector deities of mountain ascetics, ranging back to the time of En no Gyoja. Sometimes he is depicted with six arms and five eyes 五眼六臂. He is also seen as an incarnation of "Hoodoo Sennin" 法道仙人 Hodo Sennin, an Indian ascetic who, as legend knows, lived in the 7th century during the time of Emperor Suiko and walked all the way through China and Korea until he reached Japan.
He walked with his companion, the God of the Bulls, Gozu Tenoo 牛頭天王.
Hodo Sennin is very popular in the area around Himeji. He founded the temple Bodai-Ji, Ichijo-Ji and a few others there.



Saint Tokudo 徳道上人 is also considered an incarnation of this Bosatsu.


source : tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink...

Fudo-In Temple: Statue of Hoki-Buddhist Saint (Bosatsu)


役行者(えんのぎょうじゃ)は、大峰山(おおみねさん)においては蔵王権現(ざおうごんげん)を、葛城山(かつらぎさん)においては 法起菩薩 (ほうきぼさつ)を感得され、山岳抖藪(さんがくとそう)の実践行を通じて得られたという神通力によって、人々を済度してこられたといいます。
http://www.ubasoku.jp/organization/about.htm

He is the main deity in the temple Tenporin-Ji (Tenpoorinji) 転法輪寺 on Mt. Katsuragi.
旧金剛山寺本尊
http://21coe.kokugakuin.ac.jp/modules/wfsection/article.php?articleid=244

His holy mantra is
OM daruma urata (uchita) sowaka
オン、ダルマ、ウチタ、ソワカ



GOOGLE with "hodo sennin"


MORE ABOUT

Demukae Fudoo-son at Temple Tenporin-Ji
出迎え不動明王


Cow, Oxen and related Deities



- Look at more photos from Bodai-Ji !
source : blogs.yahoo.co.jp/bwstd...

伏見山菩提院 菩提寺の秘仏


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. sennin 仙人と伝説 Legends about Immortals .

- - - - - 法道仙人 Hodo Sennin - - - - -

Hyogo 兵庫県 加西市 Kasai
He came riding on his horse from 法花山 Mount Hokkesan, where he pulled out a 松の木 pine tree and threw it in the air. The tree is still to be seen at the spot where it fell down. Hodo Sennin came from the West entrance to the mountain, when his 鞭 whip touched a rock where water begun to flow. This well is still there and has never dried out, not even through the worst droughts.
Once a boatsman had loaded barrels of rice when the begging bowl of the Sennin came floating by. The boatsman did not put any rice in it and suddenly all his rice barrels begun to fly off toward Mount Hokkesan. The boatsman shot an arrow and the Sennin brought the rice back to the ship. One barrel fell down on the earth and this place is now called 米田村 Yonedamura ("rice field" village).
His name Karahachi Sennin 空鉢仙人 "Mountain hermit with the empty begging bowl" relates to this story.


source : rockou-wind.seesaa.net/article/...

Once from a large cave below the rock there was the voice of a child in great pain to be heard. When Hodo Sennin heard it he begun to chant the 法華経 Hoke-Kyo sutra. Suddenly a child came from below the rock, went to the top to play there for a while and then took off to the sky.
People say if someone throws a small pebble to the top of the rock, it will stay there if it is a good person, but if it was thrown by a bad person, it will topple down.


Hodo Sennin is the founder of the temple
法華山 一乗寺 Hokkesan Ichijo-Ji.
兵庫県加西市坂本町821-17
The temple was founded in 650 on request of Emperor 孝徳天皇 Kotoku Tenno (596 - 654).
The pagoda at Ichijō-ji completed in 1171 is a National Treasure of Japan.



- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !
西国三十三所第26番 Nr. 26 of the 33 Pilgrim Temples of Saikoku.

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- quote -
Mount Matsuo (松尾山 Matsuo-yama)
is a 687-metre-high (2,254 ft) mountain in Sasayama, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. Another name is Mount Kosen-ji, literally, "Mountain of Kosen-ji."
Mount Matsuo is one of the major objects of worships for the people in this area. On this mountain, a Buddhist temple named Koosenji 光泉寺 "Kosen-ji" was established in 645 by Hodo Sennin.
This temple was re-established by Dengyo Daishi in the 9th century. The temple was burned by Akechi Mitsuhide in the 16th century, but re-established again by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. In the Edo period, it is said that there were 28 monk houses in the mountain. Kosen-ji was also destroyed as a result of the Shinbutsu bunri, literally, Shinto-Buddhism-separation.
- source : wikipedia -



Mayazan Tenjō-ji 摩耶山天上寺
Kobe, Nada Ward, Mayasancho


Temple Butsumo Maya San Tooriten Jooji
仏母麻耶山忉利天上寺
Maya san Tenjooji 摩耶山天上寺 Tenjo-Ji

Tooriten is the name of a Buddhist paradise, where the deity Taishaku-Ten is in residence.

There are two famous statues, one of a Kannon with eleven heads and
one of the Mother of Shakyamuni Buddha 仏母摩耶夫人 (in the middle, below).


source PHOTO : ruri no hoshi

At the time of Tenmu Tenno the priest Hodo Sennin 法道仙人 founded this temple
空鉢(くはつ ) Kuhatsu
Karahachi Sennin 空鉢仙人(からはちせんにん)
"Mountain ascet with the empty begging bowl"
He came all the way from India, via Korea.
Together with him came the deity Gozu Ten-o 牛頭天王 (Ox-head Deity), who is celebrated at Shrine Hiromine Jinja 広峰神社 in Hiroshima and during the Gion Festival in Kyoto.

. Temple Butsumo Maya San Tooiten Jo-Ji .



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Here is a stone statue from a mountain trail in Kamakura Yama.
He looks more like an ascetic from ancient Chinese Taoism.
In his left hand he holds a five-pronged vajra.



法起菩薩
写真の石仏を初めて見て、これが日本の仏様と思う人はいるだろうか?どう見ても中国の道教の道士のような姿をしている。
右手で剣印を結んで、左手に持っているのは密教の法具にある五鈷鈴のようにも見える。
(姿形はまったく違うが持物と印相だけで見ると、修験の仏である蔵王権現に思えなくもない)これを彫った石工はどんな原画を元にしたのか非常に興味のあるところだ。
- photo by yama-aso -


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Hoki Bosatsu Mandala 法起菩薩曼荼羅図



This Hoki Bosatsu has six arms and five eyes. He stands on a rock with a wrathful expression,. This is possibly the only painting of the deity. Possibly painted by Tayuu Hoogen Saiken in the 15th century.
This painting is an important cultural property of Sakai Town, Osaka.

高倉寺の法起菩薩堂に長年まつられてきた本図には、「法起菩薩」(ほうきぼさつ)という大変珍しい仏様が描かれています。六本の腕と五つの眼を持ち、怒りの表情で岩の上に立つ姿は大変恐ろしく、金剛山の修験(しゅげん)の仏として信仰され、絵画ではこの作品が唯一の例だとと考えられています。
- photo from 2006 堺市 Sakai City -

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As said above, Hoki Bosatsu is the main deity in the temple Tenporin-Ji (Tenpoorinji) 転法輪寺 on Mt. Katsuragi.
This holy king of the bulls (Go-Ou 牛王) is thought to be his incarnation in a form where he works for the wellbeing of human beings and gives his life for the salvage of humankind. The statue is in the compound of Tenporin-Ji.
This bull is an incarnation of Hoki Bosatsu.




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Extra temple at the Saikoku Pilgrimage in Western Japan

Temple 法起院 Hoki-In
This is the place where Saint Tokudo at the age of 80 years made his final ablutions before transforming into Hoki Bosatsu.

「本堂」の左側(東側)境内の端に近いところに「上人沓脱ぎの石」がある。



徳道上人は松の木に上がり法起菩薩に化身したと伝えられているが、その時の足跡がこの石に残されているという。沢山の賽銭が供えられているが、どう見ても足跡らしきものを視認することはできないのである。
. morimoto 法起院

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5/24/2007

Daoist Hell

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Daruma Pilgrims Gallery

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Daoist Hell


"The Classic of the Yellow Court"
Huangting Jing
Scroll by Liang Kai (c. 13th century)


from the Weng Collection
a pictorial representation of Daoist salvation from Hell



Detail showing the Holy Ancestor releasing Wang Jie from a jail

Read more here
© Orientations Com, May 2007

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Ancient Taoism had no concept of hell, as morality was seen to be a man-made distinction and there was no concept of an immaterial soul. In its home country China, where Taoism adopted tenets of other religions, popular belief endows Taoist Hell with many deities and spirits who punish sin in a variety of horrible ways. This is also considered Karma for Taoism.

© Wikipedia about HELL CONCEPTS in variuos religions

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The structure of Hell is remarkably complex in many Chinese and Japanese religions. The ruler of Hell has to deal with politics, just as human rulers do. Hell is the subject of many folk stories and manga. In many such stories, people in hell are able to die again, but no one seems to care about the apparent contradiction.
(Note: the strong influence of Buddhism on Chinese and Japanese Hells means that this is not necessarily a contradiction.)

Unlike some opinions on Biblical, Jewish and Islamic Hell, the Chinese depiction of Hell doesn't necessarily mean a long time suffering for those who enter Hell, nor does it mean that person is bad. The Chinese view Hell as similar to a present day passport or immigration control station. In a Chinese funeral, they burn a lot of Hell Bank Notes for the dead. With this Hell money, the dead person can bribe the ruler of Hell, and spend the rest of the money either in Hell or in Heaven。
http://www.crystalinks.com/hell.html


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Visions of Taoist hell at the Dong Yue Temple in Beijing.

© PHOTO By MATT GROSS


Quote
Realms of another world

© PALLAVI AIYAR

The Dong Yue temple in Beijing, with shrines assigned to every possible responsibility, has an uncanny resemblance to modern bureaucracy.
The structures of power in China's present and that in the Taoist hereafter are identical: both worlds are run by middle-level bureaucrats with a penchant for paperwork in triplicate.

The commonalities between the Taoist netherworld and that of the mortal world of contemporary China may not be immediately apparent to most. However, a visit to Dong Yue temple, an unobtrusive building set off a traffic-choked thoroughfare in central Beijing, not only offers insights into this improbable connection but further suggests that the help of a few Taoist Gods may be just what the doctor ordered to help China's current communist leadership confront its most pressing challenges.

The temple is a feast of polytheism, featuring a smorgasbord of Gods, Goddesses, Demons, Immortals and Saints inhabiting multiple realms of heaven and hell. What a quick walk around the shrines that line Dong Yue's main courtyard reveals is that the structures of power in China's mortal present and that in the Taoist hereafter are identical: both worlds are run by middle-level bureaucrats with a penchant for paperwork in triplicate.

Distributed duties

The temple's shrines, of which there are no less than 76, are thus labelled "departments" and each department is displayed with a head-mandarin Under Secretary seated comfortably atop a pedestal with rows of supplicants bearing paperwork and offerings queuing up along the sides.

Demon headed gate-keepers whose main job is to keep petitioners at bay from the badly-lit rooms are only one more feature that the here and hereafter share, or so Dong Yue would lead us to believe.

Pride of place amongst the temple's shrines goes to the Department of Signing Documents, which an accompanying explanatory plaque divulges to be the department in charge of "all writing, authenticating, signing and sealing of documents". But the red tape is only beginning. Next door is the Signature Department which your correspondent learnt is the "headquarter of all signature departments in the nether world. Its function is to sign and approve documents or verdicts passed by different departments prior to their execution".

A stroll down the corridor reveals the Department of Petty Officials (who are ordered by the department chief to be "selfless, kind and benevolent") which itself stands next door to the Evidence Department for Issuing a Warrant, in charge of "investigating and collecting evidence to avoid harming innocent people".

Back in the world of men, as of January of this year, China returned the sole right to hear death penalty appeals to its Supreme People's Court after a gap of more than two decades. The reason: a slew of high-profile cases in which it was revealed that the authorities had executed innocent persons for crimes they never committed. One could almost hear the Evidence Department for Issuing a Warrant's chief clucking his disapproval from above.

But this particular Department Head isn't the only one whose help the Chinese leadership could use today.

For example, two of the more formidable challenges Beijing is grappling with at the moment are corruption and illegal land seizures. For Taoist Gods, on the other hand, these very same problems are easily enough dealt with.

Guilty parties are swiftly dispatched to the Department of Confiscating Unwarranted Property, whose purple-headed guardian monster bears a particularly nasty spiked mace, or in the case of venal bureaucrats to the Department for Official Morality in charge of "the morality of officials" and of ensuring they are "honest, resist corruption and enforce the law strictly."

As your correspondent continued her inspection of the temple she came across the Measurement Department, which she learned is in charge of ensuring that "traders abide by rules of fair treatment and refrain from cheating by undercutting the weight and size of the merchandise". The Taoist netherworld certainly has better anti-dumping measures in place than even post WTO-accession China. It could have market economy status anytime it wanted.

Environment-friendly

And as China's environment continues its rapid deterioration — 16 of the world's 20 most polluted cities are in China according to the World Bank — the State Administration for Environmental Protection could learn much from the Taoist Department for Flying Birds, Department for Preserving Wilderness and the three separate Departments for Mountains, Rivers and Wind, all to be found within Dong Yue's tree-shaded environs.

The Plague Performing Department (in charge of performing plague on miscreants), Department for Implementing 15 Kinds of Violent Death (including clubbing, battle, fierce animals and revengeful murder), Department of Insect Birth (in charge of men who are reborn as cicadas, mosquitoes or flies as punishment for bad karma) and Department of Wandering Ghosts (responsible for ghosts that may have lost their way) are a little harder for Beijing to find practical uses for, but with some imagination (and of course a proposal signed and verified in quintuplicate) one never knows.


Down the ages

DONG YUE is a Taoist temple originally built in the 13th century. It fell into disrepair after China's last emperor was overthrown in 1911 and was ransacked during the Cultural Revolution. But in 1999, after a five-year-long restoration process, it was once again opened to the public, although as a museum of "folk religion" rather than as a functioning place of worship.

Taoism along with Buddhism and Confucianism is one of China's three main traditional religions. It is deeply mystical and the esoteric theology is difficult to grasp for the layperson but over the centuries its practice took on a hybrid form including Buddhist elements, Confucian ethics and animistic rituals.


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There are nine sacred lamps for the nine abysses in the nine hells.

The saviour from suffering in hell is Jiuku Tianzun 十方救苦天尊.
Heavenly Lord of Salvation from Misery in the Ten Directions


http://www.taoism.org.hk/taoist-immortal/the-heavenly-lords/pg3-2-5.htm

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Tai Yi Jiu Ku Tian Cun (Heavenly Worthy Tai Yi
The Savior from Suffering)

Tai Yi is one of Taoism's most important Gods, and is one of the highest rulers in the 10-stage Taoist Hell. Upon death, all human souls must appear before Tai Yi and be sentenced. Tai Yi is frequently depicted riding on a nine-headed lion. He generally carries a vase in his left hand and a sword in his right. The vase is filled with a cleansing holy water, while the sword is used to subdue demons and punish the wicked.
Taoists believe that they can improve their fate if they repeatedly call Tai Yi's name.
Tai Yi's birthday is the 11th day of the11th lunar month.
http://www.taoarts.com/pantheon.html

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Taoist Hell

PHOTO © by samneeman

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Downstream between Chongqing and the Three Gorges, one of the first spots travelers arrive at is Fengdu Ghost City, located on the north bank of the Yangtze. The Mingshan Mountain (home to the Ghost City) here has long been regarded as a significant destination for Chinese Taoists.

Legend has it that the mountain is seen by many to be the area where the deceased soul goes after his death. A series of temples have been built here, each representing different aspects of hell according to Taoist belief. The temples are dominated by statues, frescos and carvings of the ghosts and devils who are believed to govern Taoist hell.Locals gather here to pray for a good afterlife and re-incarnation in their next life.



© Ctrip.com China


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Hell Concepts in Japanese Buddhism
Mark Schumacher



Daruma Museum LINKs

Jigoku Bosatsu 地獄菩薩

Enma, Emma, the King of Hell 閻魔天、閻魔王


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