I was looking at Zen and Material Culture by Pamela D. Winfield, Steven Heine when I came across a curious Kirigami record. It was a diagram of a prayer bead drawn onto a scroll and can be found on Page 112 labeled Juzu kirigami. This pace is accessible via Google Books Preview to see the diagram
Each bead is assigned meaning in the graph, with two of the main beads representing Nikko and Gakko.
According to the kirigrami, the main mother bead represents the bodhisattva Nikko (Skt. Suryaprabha) of the diamond realm.
The text beside that bead reads "This is yin, heaven, fire, and father." The other mother bead represents the bodhisattva Gakko Skt. Candraprabha) of the womb realm. The text beside it indicates "This is *yang, earth, water, and mother."
Moreover, in traditional yin-yang symbolism, yin usually indicates earth, water, and feminine attributes, whereas yang indicates heaven, fire, and masculine attributes. Thus the kirigami conflate these complementary opposites, or perhaps plant the seed of the one within the realm of the other in order to emphasize their ultimate nonduality.
As a result, the two mother beads present opposite yet complimentary entities: the bodhisattvas Nikko and Gakko, the diamond and womb realms, yin and yang, heaven and earth, fire and water, and father and mother. In this way, the rosary represents a cosmology encompassing the whole universe. This explanation cannot be found in sutras, so presumably it was developed in Japan. [...]
Speaking of another graph of a rosary from the twelfth century, the names of Gakko and Nikko are written next to two mother beads.
In this case, the larger mother bead is supposed to represent "Vairocana Buddha or Sakyamuni Buddha," while the smaller mother bead represents "Vairocana Buddha or the Buddha of Infinite Light [i.e., Amida Buddha]. Nevertheless, the names of Gakko and Nikko on both sides remind one of the Soto Kirigami.
In the graph depicted in the book (figure 4.2 on page 112 of Zen and Material Culture) more beads are highlighted, of significance are ones representing the "four heavenly kings who are believed to protect the four directions", and with the other 108 beads of the rosary, some represent the seven Buddhas of the past, the twenty-eight lunar mansions, sixteen protective gods, nine vajra holding warriors, nine luminaries, five wisdom kings, twenty-eight manifestations of Kannon, and seven luminaries. The beads on the string attached to the mother bead also have a description: the first five on each string are the ten raksasis, and the next six are the twelve heavenly generals servince the medicine Buddha. In this way, the rosary describes a highly eclectic pantheon, showing influences of esoteric Buddhism, onmyodo ("Way of Yin and Yang"), and sukuyodo ("Way of Lunar Lodgings and Luminaries").
In the middle of the prayer beads, the kirigami contains the following text that explains the rosary in more detail:
The four tassels:
Kongoken Bodhisattva (Skt. VajraSamadhi), Kongosaku Bodhisattva (Skt. Vajrapasa), Kongoai Bodhisattva (Skt. Vajraraga), Kongogo Bodhisattva (Skt. Vajrabhasa). These are the four Bodhisattvas [of the four directions]. The colors of the tassels further symbolize the two essences of red and white.
Eighteen defilements arise from the defilement of sleepiness.
Eighteen defilements arise from the defilement of greed.
Eighteen defilements arise from the defilement of sexual desire.
Eighteen defilements arise from the defilement of desire.
Eighteen defilements arise from the defilement of anger.
Eighteen defilements arise from the defilement of stupidity.
Together these are the 108 defilements.
Here's a Zen discussion from that same book relevant to the rosary beads. The beads represent a macrocosm of the cosmos.
The master says: "Take up the rosary."
Substitute: "To explain briefly, [it is like] the letting go of Bodhidharma's nostrils [and] the shujo [staff] of Sakyamuni."
The master says: "Say an idea in eight."
Substitute: "Heaven and earth, yin and yang, day and night, left and right eye!"
The master says: "Beyond that, express more."
Substitute: "If I take three, then it is Buddha, dharma, and sangha; heaven, earth, and humans; a-ban-un; furthermore, past, present, and future; father, mother, and I; Shoge-jin (God of Hindrances), Kekatsu-jin (God of Hunger and Thirst), and Tonyoku-jin (God of Desire); sun, moon, and stars; Kenroji-jin (Standfast Earth God), three buddhas, and Kojin of the three treasures."
Does anyone use a mediation aid, or use rosary beads in their daily practice?
Submitted December 22, 2017 at 03:36AM by Dillon123 http://ift.tt/2zccPNq
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