Healing by Spiritual Possession in Medieval Japan, with a Translation of the Genja sahō

Abstract

From the mid-10th century onward, in cases of illness, the Japanese aristocracy relied on new Buddhist healing methods based on spiritual possession techniques. This essay examines the features and procedures according to which monks and mediums operated the healing. This method, of Indian origin, was imported in Japan through Esoteric Buddhism, and was adapted in order to fit healing purposes. The author focuses his analysis on the role played by an invisible “spirit” who acted to catch the ill-causing demon within the patient’s body and expelled this malign entity from it. The article ends with a translation of a unique ritual text entitled Genja sahō 驗者作法, which describes these rituals in detail.

1. Introduction

One of the most memorable chapters in the epoch-making book by Michel Strickmann, Chinese Magical Medicine, titled “Genealogy of Spirit Possession”, begins with this paragraph (Strickmann 2002, p. 194):

Readers of the elegant literature of medieval Japan have no doubt been struck by the frequency with which spirit possession is described. It would seem that in tenth- and eleventh-century Kyoto, the court was regularly plagued by hordes of malicious demons who attacked women of distinction. Their raucous voices punctuate the refined novels and diaries written by aristocratic women of the time. Women were, indeed, the demons’ principal victims (though men might also be attacked), and a wide array of maladies was laid at the demons’ door. The most impressive accounts of demonic activity, however, come in connection with the culmination of pregnancy, often that of empresses or imperial consorts. At such times, to counter these spirit-world forces, a group of distinguished senior monks would be called in to chant scriptures throughout the lying-in period. No doubt this precaution was frequently effective. Yet the cases that stand out in the literature owe their prominence to the catastrophic demonic activities that oftentimes ensued. It was when a woman cried out in her labor pains that the demons were made manifest. And we learn of the demons’ presence only through the activities of the monks, who, far from being mere scripture-readers, then became exorcists. […]

Indeed, it is true that the allegedly serene world of the Heian period literature is full of vociferations of demons and exorcists who fight at the bedside of ill aristocrats and imperial family members. Although Strickmann points out “the catastrophic” results of some unsuccessful rituals, a happier case may be recalled from the famous Pillow Book (Makura no sōshi 枕草子) by Sei Shōnagon 清少納言 (late 10th to early 11th century), which has the advantage of describing in full detail the process of such a ritual of healing by spiritual possession. Despite its length, this scene is most interesting. I quote the whole passage (Supplementary Section 23) from the translation by Meredith McKinney, which I have slightly modified by adding original terms and expressions (McKinney 2007, pp. 251–53):1

A grove of tall pines shades the mansion, and all the eastern and southern lattice shutters are raised, providing a wonderful coolness to the unobstructed view through to the Inner Chamber. There we see an enclosure of large standing curtains, and before it on a straw cushion sits a most handsome priest of around forty, beautifully attired in ink-black priestly robe and silk-gauze surplice, clove-tan fan in hand, intently chanting mantras (darani wo yomi itari 陀羅尼を讀みゐたり).

The mistress of the house lies racked with suffering, in the grip of spirit possession (mononoke ni itō nayameba もののけにいたう惱めば). A hefty young girl has been chosen as the medium (utsusu beki hito 移すべき人, literally, the person to whom [the evil pneuma is] to be moved), and she now shuffles out on her knees, wearing a gossamer silk shift and long brightly-coloured skirted trousers, and seats herself alongside the curtained enclosure. The priest twists sideways to hand her the splendid gleaming single-pointed vajra (tokko 獨鈷), and continues his awe-inspiring flow of supplications and mantras.

A large number of gentlewomen are seated nearby as witnesses, watching the proceedings with riveted attention. It isn’t long before the medium begins to tremble (furui izu ふるひ出づ) and falls into a trance (moto no kokoro usete もとの心失せて, literally, she has lost her original mind), and submissively behaves according to the practice. The awesome power of the Buddha thus reveals itself in response to the priest’s invocations.

The brothers and relatives of the possessed lady meanwhile are free to come and go from the room. Were she in her right mind, how appalled and ashamed the medium (tsuki bito 憑き人) would be to realize just what is taking place before the reverent crowd of people gathered there watching her. While well aware that this suffering is [the spirit’s and] not the girl’s own, nevertheless those who know her are filled with pity to witness her fearful lamenting and wailing, and they sit beside her and attempt to keep her clothing straight as she writhes there.

In due course the patient improves, and the priest orders that medicinal tea be given to her. Some of the younger ladies retire to the kitchen area to bring it, and they hurry anxiously back with it to see how she is. They’re attired in beautiful shifts, and their pale violet-grey trains are quite pristine and undishevelled.

The spirit is forced to grovel and beg for forgiveness, then is finally dismissed. Returned suddenly to her senses, the medium is now aghast. How extraordinary, she thinks. Here I am, exposed to public view, and I was sure I was behind the curtains! Whatever can have happened? and ashamed, she hastily shakes her hair forward to shield her face as she moves to slip back in behind the curtain.

‘Wait a moment,’ commands the priest, and he pronounces a short incantation over her. ‘There now,’ he says with a smile when it’s over. ‘How’s that? Are you feeling better now?’ However, this seems only to add to her embarrassed confusion.

‘I would like to linger,’ he says, ‘but I’m afraid it’s time to go off [and conduct the service].’ He takes his leave and, despite encouragement on all sides to stay a little longer, hastily begins to make his way out.

At this moment, a lady who is evidently of the highest rank slides out and addresses him from behind the blinds. ‘We are filled with the deepest gratitude,’ she says, ‘that you have come like this, and overjoyed that, thanks to you, the poor suffering patient has so wonderfully improved. Tomorrow too, when you have time, please come again.’

He replies briefly, ‘The spirit seemed a very tenacious one. I advise continued vigilance. I’m delighted that the patient has improved.’ With this, he makes his departure, leaving everyone deeply impressed by his wonderful powers, and with the awed sense that the Buddha himself has been among them.

Ideally, a priest should have a great reputation and be in constant demand hither and yon, and he should be accompanied by numerous assistants—handsome young boys with beautiful hair, or larger lads with surprisingly lovely hair despite their sprouting beards, or else powerfully built boys whose hair is almost disgustingly thick.

Several researchers have analyzed this record and similar ones. According to Komatsu Kazuhiko 小松和彦 and others, the ritual’s rather complicated sequence principally consists in the following phases:2

1. A person falls ill;

2. A diagnostic is made most often by a divination, which is usually performed by a Yin-Yang master (onmyōji 陰陽師), for establishing if the cause of the illness is determined by a demon or the vengeful spirit of a dead person (called mononoke もののけ),3

3. A type of exorcist, called genja (or genza) 驗者, is invited.4 He comes to the patient’s place with a medium, called monotsuki 物憑. The latter can be a young girl, a lad, or a woman.5

4. The exorcist recites a mantra and forms a mudra: by this rite, he identifies himself with his “principal deity” (honzon 本尊), and probably in quality of this deity, he activates an acolyte, i.e., a supernatural being generically called gohō 護法 (protector of Dharma; Skt. dharmapāla).6

5. The activated gohō works on the patient’s body to “hunt and move” (kariutsusu 駆り移す),7 i.e., to dislodge the demon or the spirit that caused the illness.

6. This ill-causing spirit is forced to enter the medium’s body where it is “confined” and bound (baku 縛).

7. The exorcist questions the ill-causing spirit, who is compelled to reveal its identity and the reason why it wanted to harm the patient.

8. When the spirit reveals its identity, he loses its power, and is pulled out from the medium’s body, to be expelled (hopefully) forever (in fact, it may return to the patient’s body).

This is an ideal scenario. Un fact, there is probably no single document in which all of these steps are clearly mentioned. All of the records are somehow partial. On the other hand, it must be noted that the two main actors of the possession, i.e., the ill-causing entity, known as mononoke, and the supernatural being (gohō) which captures it, are both invisible beings. Therefore, their presence and acts are only presumed from the behavior and sayings of the other human actants. However, one can suppose that this type of scenario is underlying and informing many records and documents describing the healing rituals by empowerment (Faure 2021, pp. 51–106).

2. Possession Ritual of Āveśa and the Genja sahō

The Buddhist character of this ritual is evident, but it was Morimoto Sensuke 森本仙介 who, in 2002, first discovered its true nature by meticulously analyzing a ritual performed at the birth of the future emperor Antoku 安徳天皇 in 1178 (Morimoto 2002, pp. 227–48).8 The key term was the noun genja, which was used to designate the practitioner-monk (the exorcist) who is the main actor. Morimoto found in a commentary on the Sutra of Yoga and Yogi of the Diamond-Pinnacle (Jingangfeng louge yiqie yuqie yuqi jing 金剛峯樓閣一切瑜伽瑜祇經, T. 867) by Dōhan 道範 (1178–1252) the following crucial passage:9

The Sūtra says: “If one empowers a boy or a girl, one can do an āveśa, [so that one can know all the lucky and unlucky things of the Triple World of Three Times (Past, Present and Future); if one pronounces [the mantra of Vajramāla] for one hundred thousand times, one can]10 quickly11 put in āveśa [all the devas of the Triple World, so that [they will answer by yes or no all] the questions about propitious and inauspicious matters].” [According to] a commentary on a sutra, it is said that [the term] “āveśa” means “to bind” (baku 縛). It would have the meaning of “grasping and binding” (shōbaku 攝縛) all the evil spirits. Incidentally, the method of genja is said to be the method of āveśa. This gives the miraculous power of knowing everything of the Three Times. One should further ponder about this.

Thus, according to this text, the ritual performed by genja corresponds to a ritual of āveśa, which was related to the oracular knowledge of all of the propitious and inauspicious matters of the world. This type of oracular insight was specifically aimed toward the future and for binding evil spirits. The Sanskrit word āveśa, which literally means “the fact of entering” (nominal form of the Skt. root ā√viṣ-), designates a well-known ritual of spiritual possession, where a spiritual being enters the body of a medium who, during trance, utters oracles about future happenings. In fact, this practice is not specifically Buddhist; it is a pan-Indian ritual of possession, which developed most likely from ancient times (one of its first mentions can be found in the first sutta of the pāli Dīghanikāya, Brahamajāla-sutta, which may go back to the first century A.D., or even first century B.C.E.) (Iyanaga 2019a, pp. 24–25). The induced possession of a youth is not its only form: any phenomenon related to an invisible being (one’s own soul or a divine or demonic spirit, etc.), which moves from its natural place and “enters” or penetrates into any other being (a person, an object, or even a cadaver, etc.), can be termed as a phenomenon of āveśa.12

Moreover, Morimoto found a Shingon 眞言 ritual text containing both keywords, genja and āveśa: the Genja sahō 驗者作法, which constitutes a part of a collection of rituals and other writings entitled Sahō-shū 作法集 (since there are other versions or texts having the same title, I will identify this version by the conventional title of “classical Genja sahō”). This collection is attributed to Seigen 成賢 (1162–1231), a monk of Daigo-ji 醍醐寺 in Kyōto; it was supplemented by his disciple Kenjin 憲深 (1192–1263). This “classical Genja sahō” has indeed in its title the term genja, and its first sentence declares: “The practice of āveśa means in the language of Tang the practice of “grasping and binding” (Ch. shefu/Jap. shōbaku 攝縛).”13

The bibliography of this text is complicated:14 according to the Mikkyō daijiten 密教大辭典 (Mikkyō daijiten 1983), the Genja sahō is contained in some versions of the Sahō-shū just mentioned; this Sahō-shū itself is contained in some later versions of the Hishō 祕鈔, compiled by Shūkaku 守覺 (1150–1202), a son of Emperor Go-Shirakawa 後白河院 and abbot of Ninna-ji 仁和寺.15 There exist still other versions of the same text. In fact, these kinds of short ritual texts could circulate separately in several versions, or be included in other compilations. Moreover, their authorship is not always certain. All we can be sure of is that a detailed ritual text of healing according to the spiritual possession method was probably composed by some Shingon monk around the end of the 12th century or the beginning of the 13th century. However, some versions of the text clearly state that the oral traditions about this ritual were from the Tendai 天台 school, and inside the Shingon school there were no particular transmissions focused on it (see below, note 23). It is indeed known that during the Heian period and after, most genja were Tendai monks (Ueno 2013, p. 86). There is also a very brief passage in a Tendai compilation of rituals, the Asaba-shō 阿娑縛抄 by Shōchō 承澄 (1205–1281), under the section title “Genja sahō.” Although this is a short text without much information, it states that this ritual must be based on the ritual sequence text (shidai 次第) composed by the ācārya Genkaku 嚴覺 (a Hieizan 比叡山 monk of the early 11th century). This Tendai version of the Genja sahō specifies that at the beginning of the ritual, the practitioner has to [summon] a gohō (Dharma protector) to possess a medium and ask him the state of the ill person (byōja no arisama 病者有様).16 On the other hand, in an early 14th century Shingon ritual compilation, the Byakuhō ku shō 白寶口抄 by Ryōzen 亮禪 (1258–1341), there is a section also entitled “Genja sahō”, which reproduces parts of the “classical Genja sahō”, along with some interesting commentarial materials. In the conclusive part of this article, I will translate the “classical Genja sahō”, including some excerpts in notes from the text contained in the Byakuhō ku shō.17

3. How the Healing Can Occur: The Role of the “Dharma Protector” (Gohō)

In this section, I want to focus on the mysterious and intriguing activities of the invisible being usually called gohō which plays the main role in this type of ritual. In classical Buddhist terminology, gohō appears as an abbreviated form of the compound gohō zenjin 護法善神, “good spirits of Dharma protectors.” They are characterized as “good deities”, but in fact, they may be rather disquieting beings. They are demonic beings who were converted to the Buddhist Law; and when they find anyone who harms the “correct Law”, they are ready to punish him in harsh ways. In Esoteric Buddhism, the champions of these “Dharma protectors” are the wrathful Kings of Wisdom (myōō 明王, Skt. vidyārāja). They are very high-rank beings, equivalent with great bodhisattvas or even buddhas in their capacity as “bodies of wheel of commandments” (kyōryōrinjin 教令輪身), and hardly mobilized on behalf of individual humans. Wisdom Kings usually act in cosmic fights such as the rebellion of Śiva-Maheśvara against the Buddha Mahāvairocana. For subjugating little demonic beings or vengeful spirts of dead who cause diseases to human beings, low-rank “Dharma protectors” are evoked. They often appear as slaves or servants of great Wisdom Kings such as Acala or great devas such as Vaiśravaṇa. Acala, for example, has two attendants named Kiṃkara and Ceṭaka, and Vaiśravaṇa’s son is named Naṭa. Except for Naṭa, the others are not even proper names: Kiṃkara means “What is to be done?” [or “What have I to do?”] (a typical question that a servant asks his master), while Ceṭaka simply means “servant.” Although the Vajrabodhi’s narrative addition to his “translation” of the ritual entitled Budong shizhe tuoluoni mimi fa 不動使者陀羅尼祕密法 characterizes Kiṃkara as a coward and Ceṭaka as a violent figure, this kind of individual characterization is absent in original Indian rituals.18 On the other hand, although there exist many esoteric rituals in the Chinese Canon mentioning healing procedures by spiritual possession, there seems to be no single text where a servant deity plays the kind of role inferred from the Japanese rituals in the schema above. This is also the case in the historical records of healings found in Japanese aristocrats’ diaries and similar documents, which generally present only very simple descriptions of rituals emphasizing the identity of the demonic aggressor (whether the vengeful soul of a known dead person, a demon, or a kami, etc.).19 This is also understandable since the “servant spirits” remained invisible entities and the makers of such historical records were probably not particularly interested in the activities of this type of beings.

However, some literary sources report a few relevant descriptions of the Dharma protectors. For instance, one interesting example is quoted by Komatsu Kazuhiko. The original story can be read in four versions in different collections of tales.20 Since it is rather long, I will translate the short résumé that Komatsu presents in his book (Komatsu 1997, pp. 232–33, 260):

Fujiwara no Mototsune 藤原基經 (836–891), [a great aristocrat] who had founded a temple named Gokuraku-ji 極樂寺, fell into a serious illness. Many famous exorcists (genja) were invited and prayed for him, but this had no effect at all. However, for an unknown reason, no monk from Gokuraku-ji was summoned. A monk of lower rank of Gokuraku-ji, who wanted to repay Mototsune’s favor, came on his own volition up to Mototsune’s house’s central gate, and standing there, recited the Humane King Sutra.

Soon after, Mototsune woke up from his sleep and called this monk to come to his bedside. His attendants were surprised that he knew about the presence of this monk, but they called him anyway. When he came, Mototsune told him: I had a dream. Dreadful demons were around me and attacking me; but from the direction of the central gate, a young boy entered and drove the demons away from me. I asked him who he was. He replied that he was a servant of a monk of Gokuraku-ji, and came there by the order of his master to drive the demons away. That monk was then near the central gate. When Mototsune woke up from his dream, he felt better.

This is a typical story reporting what was happening in the invisible world: a fight between the ill-causing demons and the Dharma protecting youth. This “super-hero” of the invisible world was a servant under the order of an exorcist. The whole healing process is dramatized and revealed in this case by the ruse of a dream; in other cases, the revelation may be done by the words of a medium who is possessed by the “super-hero” spirit when the latter locks the demons up inside her/his body.

Rethinking the schema of Japanese rituals, which I presented above, it is possible to suggest that there existed several layers of spiritual possessions. First, the ill-causing demons possessed the patient who fell ill. Then the practitioner and his principal deity possess each other, or inter-penetrate each other: this phase corresponds to the Esoteric rite of “entering oneself and being entered” by the deity (nyūga ganyū 入我我入).21 By this possession-identification, the practitioner becomes able to use the principal deity’s servant at his will.22 This divine servant possesses the medium, and also the ill-causing demon, who is first moved out (or “taken off”; see note 7 above) from the patient’s body in order to be tied up and confined within the medium’s body. Between the ill-causing demon and the Dharma protecting spirit, there is first a fight, then a possession, which is also a subjugation, and an interrogation. Finally, the demon is expelled and banished forever—if the ritual finishes in success.

While all this process is happening in the invisible world, what can be seen in the visible world is as follows. The practitioner pronounces the mantra and forms the seal of his principal deity with his hands (when he proceeds to the identification with his main deity); then, after having prepared the medium, he pronounces another mantra, and the medium begins to tremble, a sign that the possession “worked.” Then, he pronounces querying words, and the medium, probably in a convulsive state, utters replies (of the ill-causing demon) to the questions put by the practitioner. Then, finally, the medium is released and returns to her/his normal state; the practitioner asks the patient how he or she feels, and the latter normally replies that he/she is better. What is important in this visible process is the manifestly abnormal state of the medium’s mind, and the replies that she or he utters to the interrogation of the practitioner: this is somehow an “objective testimony” of what is happening in the invisible world. Thus, one can infer that the spiritual possession has the function of providing the credibility of an invisible drama, which is revolving around the illness and the healing status of the patient. It is the recognition of this specific psychologic drama by the patient, which would constitute the trigger of the true, physical healing. As Claude Lévi-Strauss has stressed in his study, “The Sorcerer and his Magic”, the crucial condition by which magical operations (in this case, the healing by spiritual possession) “work” in a given society is the social and generalized belief in their efficacy (Lévi-Strauss 1958, pp. 183–203; see also Ellenberger 1979, pp. 3–52). Another condition is the plausibility of the story interpreting the lived events for all of the actors present in the play. Since this healing method was practiced during a long period of time, it is possible to think that the “magic worked” in many cases. Then, we can presume that the performed ritual often completely fulfilled these two conditions.

4. Introduction to the “Classical Genja sahō”

The following is a tentative translation of the text of the “classical Genja sahō.” As I explained above, this is a ritual text probably due to a Daigo-ji monk who composed it in the late 12th century or early 13th century. However, the ritual itself seems to have belonged to the Tendai Esoteric tradition.23

This text contains two distinct rituals for the healing of an ill person, and a short commentarial addition. The first is a rather normal subjugation ritual, which displays only one unusual element and a peculiar emphasis on the compassion that must be addressed to the object of subjugation. The unusual element is the mention of a rite for “inviting the spiritual soul” (or “the spiritual demon)” (shō ryōkon or ryōkon wo maneku 招靈魂 or shō ryōki or ryōki wo maneku 招靈鬼; see below, note 35), which seems to be a procedure for summoning the ill-causing demon (and not a rite for “call back the soul” of a dying person or a dead, which is usually termed “shōkon” 招魂). After evoking the ill-causing soul or demon, the practitioner chants the words of a “vow” (hotsugan 發願) in which he expresses his wish to “subjugate the spiritual demon and put him in the Correct View, and fulfill him with the water of Law.” Then the ritualist utters that “he becomes the messenger of the Buddha, making the āveśa [method] [against the ill-causing being]” and asking for “the help of the Dharma protecting devas (gohō-ten 護法天)”, which would be added to his “majestic power” (iryoku 威力).24 This passage seems to imply that the practitioner wants to become the recipient of an āveśa, to let Dharma protecting deities “entering” his body (so that he identifies himself with them) for strengthening his own power of subjugation.25 In practice, this procedure shows the same rationale of a normal subjugation rite since the subjugation is always made possible only by the intervention of a buddha’s “empowerment” (kaji 加持, Skt. adhiṣṭāna), which grants the practitioner’s will to be accomplished.

By contrast, the second part of the text describes a specific ritual of āveśa or spiritual possession. It begins with a warning: The practitioner must be well versed in the gist of the rite and full of compassion in regard to the “spiritual demon” (ryōki): it is to save this demon, and not to harm him, that he must perform the ritual. The ritual itself consists of choosing a virgin boy or girl; this youth is purified and then the practitioner pronounces a mantra which “invites [the one who would] enter (shōnyū or maneki ire-ru 招入) the body of the youth”—that is the Dharma protecting deity. After that, this Dharma protecting deity binds the ill-causing demon up and drives him to enter the same youth’s body; one recognizes that this took effect when the youth begins to tremble. Then, the practitioner would proceed to determine the identity of this demon. Immediately after this operation he secures the patient’s body so that the demon would not enter (or stick to) it again. Finally, he pronounces a mantra, which eliminates the demon’s karmic obstructions and gives him the joy of the Dharma.

One common feature of these two rituals is that the compassionate mind is strongly recommended to the practitioner. He must not desire to harm the ill-causing demon since the evil being who is dispensing sufferings to the ill person is simply adding bad karma to himself. He must be made aware of the Correct View and satisfied with the bliss of the Dharma. Such a moral justification of violent subjugation is characteristic of the Japanese medieval Buddhist logic and derives from a certain sanctimonious attitude, which can be detected in some Chinese Esoteric commentaries such as the Commentary to the Mahāvairocana Sutra by Yixing 一行 (683–727) regarding the subjugation of Maheśvara (Iyanaga 1985, pp. 732–43). Another aspect that can be noted is that some elements such as mantras and seals (mudras) used in the two rituals are from mixed origins: certain come from the tradition of the garbhadhātu ritual, while others from the vajradhātu ritual. In spite of this, it seems that the present text has a predominant reference to the latter ritual system since there are several references to the “Four Kinds of Glances” which are elements of the vajradhātu ritual tradition (see below, notes 34, 42 and 56). At any rate, although these two ritual procedures were clearly conceptualized and specifically performed in Japan, their textual and ritual sources are drawn from classical texts of Indian origins.

The final section of the “classical Genja sahō” contains textual additions concerning specific divinatory methods, which would be used in order to determine the prognosis of the patient’s illness, with short quotations related to this matter. It is recommended that if the illness is incurable, and the patient is about to die, the practitioner should avoid performing the healing ritual since this would be a wasted effort. This specification shows a somehow inhumane attitude of the Buddhist healers of the period, which is paired with another pungent remark about the difference between aristocratic and common patients.

5. Translation of the “Classical Genja sahō”

Genja sahō 驗者作法26

In the language of Tang the practice of āveśa (abisha-gyō 阿尾捨行) means the practice of “grasping and binding” (Ch. shefu xing / Jap. shōbaku-gyō 攝縛行).

When empowering (kaji 加持, Skt. adhiṣṭāna) a patient, one must first become [i.e identify oneself with] the nature of the principal deity (honzon 本尊).27 That means, one must think of one’s own body as originally being pure and having the nature of the principal deity. Moreover, one must visualize that above one’s own heart, there is the Moon wheel, on which is the seed [letter] (shuji 種子, Skt. bīja) of the principal deity;28 this [letter] emits a light illuminating one’s own body, which becomes the principal deity [itself].29

Moreover, one must visualize the letter RA, which burns on the patient’s Moon-wheel of heart (shin gachirin 心月輪), completely annihilating the obstructions of his bad deeds and sufferings of his illness.30 ([For this visualization too,] one must become the principal deity, [and for that,] use the principal deity’s seal.)31 [Use your hands] to form the seal (Skt. mudrā) [of the principal deity].32 (Apply it to one’s own front, right shoulder, left shoulder, heart and throat, while pronouncing the mantra each time.) Use also the seal of the production of the Dharma sphere (hokkai shō in 法界生印) as the seal of the production of flame (kaen hosshō in 火炎發生印).33

Pronounce the principal deity’s mantra and throw it on the patient’s body. Next, form the principal deity’s seal and apply it to [one’s own] heart. Cast a vajra-glance (kongō gen 金剛眼, Skt. vajra-dṛṣṭi) to the patient.34 (First at his right, then his left, then his upper part, then his lower part.) Having looked at him in this manner, pronounce the principal deity’s mantra; turn the seal three times to the left direction. Then with the seal, call [the ill-causing demon’s] soul (shō ryōkon 招靈魂).35 (Use the same seal and mantra. All this is suitable if the ritual is performed during the day.) If [the ritual takes place] during the night, look at the patient, first at his left, then his right, then his lower part, then his upper part. Having looked at him in this manner, turn the seal as before [three times, to the left direction]. Moreover, there are the mantra and seal, which are to be applied to the eyes; they are the same as before [i.e., probably the vajra-glance].

Next, the practitioner pronounces his vow saying:

From the bottom of my heart, I express my vow: I pray that Mahāvairocana, my saintly principal deity, all the saintly crowd of the Twin Assemblies in Three and Five Clans,36 the Four Great and Eight Great Wheel bodies of commandments,37 that are all the Kings of Wisdom, and the Majestic Deities of the Extra-vajra Section, all the Three Jewels, all will have compassion on me, and that the Miraculous Effect of the Buddhist Law (buppō ryōgen 佛法靈驗) will definitely be present before us, onto this patient; I pray that [all these saintly beings] will remove his sufferings and let him get the calmness. If there is [some being] with spiritual power (useijin 有勢神), which makes trouble on him, I will give the Gift of the Law (hosse 法施, Skt. Dharma-dāna) to it, and let it separate itself from the evil karma; if it is a demon with a spiritual power (ryōki 靈鬼),38 I will subjugate it, and let it enter the Correct View. With the water of the taste of the Law (hōsuimi 法水味)39, I will let it be satisfied, and, becoming a messenger [or a servant] of the Buddha (busshi 佛使), I will make āveśa (abisha wo saku-su 作_二^ス阿尾捨_一^ヲ) on it.40 [I pray that] devas of the Protection of the Law (gohō-ten 護法天) will assist my majestic power, and gathering their hearts, give me their protection. This is in the hope of doing good [deeds], [to plant] the Seed of Buddha. This is not in my abilities, this will be the power of the Law of Buddha.

Next, [recite] the Five Great Vows (godai gan 五大願).41 Next, [chant] the Prajñāpāramitā hṛdaya sūtra. Next, change the seating mode: seat in the position of squat on the heels (onkuta-za 嗢倶吒座, Skt. utkuṭukāsana). Having seated, with the glance of anger, pronounce the mantra of the seat:

• On kuroda jirishudi kei Un Patta 唵句盧吒。涅哩瑟底（丁以反）奚。（形以反）吽發吒42
• OṃKrodha dṛṣṭi HīḥHūṃPhaṭ! [Oṃ Angry glance Hīḥ Hūṃ Phaṭ!]

Then, take the rosary, and take also the vajra, raise the voice and pronounce the charm. (The charm of the principal deity.) First, pronounce the principal deity’s name, and next pronounce his charm, and add the syllables “Hūṃ Phaṭ.”43 (If [the practitioner] applies the sacred power to a man, turn the vajra to right; if it is a woman, turn it to left. When he pronounces the [syllables] “Hūṃ Phaṭ”, make the attitude of destroying [the evil].) Next ask [the patient] how [he or she feels:] good or bad.

After that, let [the saintly crowd] leave [the place] (hakken 撥遣). (Use the principal deity’s seal, and turn it to left.) After that, snap the fingers, [and pronounce the mantra:]

• Gessha Gessha Sowaka 蘖車蘖車莎呵
• Gaccha Gaccha Svāhā! [Go, go, in the felicities!]44

Next, one must protect oneself, and [form the seal in order] to create a ritual area [around oneself, for the protection].

Another [recipe to heal a patient] says: Use the general seal of the Five Great Worthies [Kings of Wisdom] (godaison no sōin 五大尊^ノ總印),45 (That is the seal of the external five prongs vajra [ge goko in 外五股印].46) and pronounce the Mantra of the Compassionate Salvage.47 [This is] the secret magical recipe [with which] the practitioner holding the charm (jiju no gyōja 持咒^ノ行者, Skt. vidyādhara) applies the secret empowering charm of āveśa (abisha kaji himitsu no juhō wo saku-su 作_二^ス阿尾捨加持祕密^ノ咒法_一^ヲ).48

Now, having received the saintly meaning [i.e., from what I understand as the correct meaning of the ritual taught by the saintly Buddha], it must be said (shōi wo kōmurite iwaku 蒙聖意云): If you do not know where the method leads, and recklessly bind the spiritual demons who make obstruction [i.e., who cause the illness], you surely will get damages afterwards. You should not have confidence in your power of charm and, by mistake, destroy the other [i.e., the ill-causing demon]. [If you do thus], at the moment of untying the sacred area (geketsu no toki 解結之時), [the practitioner or the patient] may be taken by the demon. Or at the moment of his [the practitioner’s or the patient’s] agony, he will have an unquiet mind. This is due to the fact that the fundamental [gist] of the Buddhist Law is to have compassion.49 Therefore, if one follows the Exoteric method, one pronounces the Four Universal Vows (shi gu-gan 四弘願);50 or if one follows the Esoteric method, one pronounces the Five Great Vows (see note 41 above), in which it is already said that one vows for the salvation of beings without any limit. If it is so, how would one have compassion for one person, while rejecting others? Producing a mind of dislike, hate and making harm is to not have compassion. Such a person would betray the Buddhist path forever. This is why, when the practitioner receives a request of saving and protecting an ill person, and wants to perform a ritual of āveśa, he should keep this mind:

Thanks to my past meritorious acts (karma), I could become a son of the Buddha; following the Buddha’s saintly mind, what I do is done in order to convert other [beings to the correct path]; all my wish is that my charm power will be fostered by all of the secret saintly crowd. This is to help this patient recovering from his illness and let him be in a calm state, and to eliminate the [bad] karma of the spiritual demon, so that it develops a compassionate [mind].

Thus, the practitioner will reprimand [the demon] and say:

Your clinging mind (shūshin 執心) leads you toward an unfortunate destiny; because of your sufferings, you still stick to making other people suffer; it just increases your own sufferings, and there is nothing good in it. When would you be delivered? If you give serenity to others, then you would be in serenity yourself. The bodhisattvas take the sufferings of others, and their joy increases. You are lost in the understanding of a reasonable [way of life] (ri ni mayou 迷^ヘリ_レ理^ニ), and I could get a little understanding [of this]. The source of [your] great sufferings is just in the making of others’ sufferings. I reprimand you now, but it is not that I have compassion [only] of this one patient, and hate you as spiritual demon. So, now, with the majestic power of the Buddha’s Law, I will impart the serenity (annon 安穩) both to this patient and to you, spiritual demon, and make both of you enter the Correct View, and [by this act of healing, I vow that] everybody similarly [enters the Correct View].

The practitioner would have pronounced this vow and would follow the [correct] manners of the previous virtuous [practitioners], not making any infringement of the rule; if he does not [perform the ritual in this way], the demons will have opportunity [to make more harm]. Therefore, he must be sure to meticulously conform himself to the correct method and [perform] the ritual. He would call some virgin girls and boys (mikai no onna oyobi dōnan 未開女及童男), and choose one [of them]. Then he makes her [or him] wash her [or his] hands and mouth, to make her [or him] clean inside and outside. As before (ue no gotoku 如上),51 he sprinkles her [or his] top of the head with perfumed water. Then he visualizes her [or his] five wheels (ka no gorin 彼五輪) [i.e., all her/his body] as pure. He forms the seal and pronounces the Mahāvairocana’s Five Syllable-mantra (Dainichi no goji shingon 大日^ノ五字眞言) [A VI RA HŪṂ KHAṂ].

He applies the seal on the youth’s (dō or warawa 童) head, to make it hard (kengo ni narasimeyo 令_レ成_二堅固_一) [in order to protect it from any evil power]. Then he invites the Protector [spirit] (shugo sha 守護者) to enter the youth’s body (warawa no mi ni maneki ire 招_二^キ入^レ童^ハノ身_一^ニ). (He uses the Four Syllable-mantra [shiji no myō 四字明], which says: JAḤ HŪṂ BAṂ HOḤ.52) Then he asks [the Protector spirit who is inside the youth’s body—or perhaps the patient himself?] the good or bad, death or life [of the patient] [i.e., the prognosis of the illness]. Afterwards, he pronounces again the principal deity’s vidyā (myō 明, i.e., mantra). He first summons the spiritual demon of the illness (yamai wo saku-su ryō wo ko-shite 呼_二^シテ作_レ^ス病^ヲ靈鬼_一^ヲ), and binds him and makes him enter the youth’s body. If the youth trembles (kodō 擧動), [it is the sign] that [the demon] entered the youth’s body.53 [The practitioner must determine] if this is true or untrue, or if this is a demon (ma 魔) or a spirit (ryō 靈): this is recognizable according to the different expressions [of the face of the youth]. One should refer to the Sūbahu-paripṛcchā [for the details].54 If [the demon of the illness] really moves [in the youth’s body], the patient gets better little by little. At that moment, the practitioner must use the seal to apply the empowerment, and make hard [the protection of] the patient. Then [the practitioner] puts different questions to the youth [that is, to the demon who is confined in her/his body].

The mantra which covers and protects (fukugo 覆護) the person’s [or patient’s?] body [is]:

• On dobi dobi kyaya dobi haramibarinei sowaka 唵。度比度比。迦耶度比。鉢羅弭縛里寧。莎呵55。
• OṂdhūpe dhūpe kāya dhūpe prajvāline SVĀHĀ [OṂ! Incense! Incense! Make sound, oh, Incense! Which is burning! Felicities!]

When one raises questions to the Protector [spirit] and the spiritual demon, one must place on one’s own left and right eyes two letters, MA and Ṭ, which become the Sun and Moon Wheels emitting great beams of light.56 From the letter MA, a beam of fire radiates and burns the karmic-obstructions of the clinging mind; from the letter Ṭ, a beam of pure light radiates, which makes [the beings] get the joy of the Law. The seal’s aspect consists in forming the vajra fist with the two hands, and leaving them on both sides of the waist.

The mantra [is]:

• On bazara diri shuchi ma ta 唵。縛日羅（二／合）地里（二／合）瑟致摩吒57
• OṂvajra-dṛṣṭi MAṬ [OṂ glance of vajra! MA Ṭ!]

There is an oral transmission which is a method to know if the patient will live or die [i.e., his prognosis]. It says that when messengers come [to ask for a healing ritual], if they raise the right hand to the top of their head and cover their face, the patient will live. If they raise the left hand [to the top of their head] and cover [their face with it], then it is a definite sign of the patient’s death. If one does not see these signs but, on the way to go [to the patient’s house] while chanting the charm, encounters terrible beasts, horrible birds, or naked persons, this is negative; this is a definite sign of death. If one encounters good [looking] persons, this is the sign of the [fact that the patient] will not die. If one does not see [any of] these signs, one will go to the patient’s place. If he is lying on his left side, this is a definite sign of his death. If he is lying on his right side, this is a sign of his surviving. [One will] pronounce the charm while looking at these signs (literal quotation).58 The eighth [fascicle] of the Sutra of Collection [of Dhāraṇī] writes [the following]: [If] the messenger from the patient’s house faces the southwestern side, or northwestern side, this illness would not be cured and it is not good for the master of the charm, so do not go there. If this is an aristocrat who calls you and it is impossible to get rid of [the messenger], then protect your own body; and upon arrival at his place, return quickly, do not stay there [for a longtime]. If the messenger raises his left hand and rubs his face several times, the master of charm should not go [there]. If he goes, it is not good. Either the patient is an aristocrat or a commoner, the same is true: do as it is indicated previously.59 This is an abridged quotation (ryakushō 略抄).

6. Concluding Remarks

I began this article by quoting a passage from Michel Strickmann’s 2002 book, the genealogy of which goes back to his dissertation submitted in 1991. As far as I know, that chapter indicates that Strickmann was the first scholar to have identified the Medieval Japanese healing ritual by spiritual possession as a form of āveśa ritual of Indian origin (see above, note 8). Since then, important progresses have been done in the knowledge of spiritual possession practices and related materials in South, South-East, and East Asian religions. For the Indian world, the great monograph by Frederick Smith (2006) brought an abundant fruit of knowledge. For China, Edward Davis’s Society and the Supernatural in Song China (Davis 2001), although not dealing especially with this theme, contains an amount of interesting data which contribute to the advance of studies. There are certainly other noticeable works such as Geoffrey Samuel’s Civilized Shamans: Buddhism in Tibetan Societies (Samuel 1993) on Tibetan context or Bizot’s studies on South-East Asia (Bizot 1980, 1994; see also Crosby 2000, p. 148, p. 168). Japanese scholarship has been extensively focused on Japan’s early Medieval exorcisms and healing rituals,60 but the problem is that these important works remain almost completely unknown outside Japan. With the present article as well as another past publication (Iyanaga 2019a) I aimed to somehow fill this gap. Another understudied field, which has a great potential of bringing new insights, is constituted by the relevant materials that are buried in the Tantric Section of Chinese Buddhist Canon. Oda Etsuyo and I are working to gather data from this immense corpus, and our on-going result already contains one-hundred-fifty examples of texts describing diverse aspects of the practices and thoughts related to the āveśa rituals of mainly Indian origins (see above, note 12).

Nevertheless, this is nothing but the kick-off. If we simply take into account Japanese religious history and the ethnographical field, it is well known that spiritual possession played and continues to play an important role in many instances (Blacker [1975] 1999; there Japanese studies on this topic are so numerous that it is impossible to mention them here). However, until now, other possession phenomena than the healing rituals were nearly always thought of as purely native practices the origin and historical evolution of which remained understudied. However, now that we know that a great deal of healing rituals practiced during the early Medieval period were adapted forms of āveśa rituals of Buddhist, and Indian origin, we should start to clearly distinguish what may have been imported practices from what was probably of native origin and study their complex mingling and historical evolution (a very recent book by Tokunaga Seiko embraces this aspect, Tokunaga 2022).

Another field of research that may be promising is how āveśa ideas were used in the formation of Buddhist (and especially Tantric) doctrines and practices. As I have already mentioned (see above, note 21) the idea of mutual possession could be at the basis of the visualization practice of identification between the Buddha and the practitioner (nyūga ganyū); this is at the core of the Tantric paradigm of “Becoming a Buddha in the present body” (sokushin jōbutsu 即身成佛). I should also note that in the Guan Wuliangshou jing 觀無量壽經 (Sutra of the Contemplation of Amitāyus), there is a sentence saying: “All the Buddhas and Tathāgatas are body of dharmadhātu (Ch. fajie shen 法界身). All this [body] totally enters (bianru 遍入) in all of the sentient beings’ mind”,61 in which the term “totally enters” (bianru) is one of the dedicated translations of the Sanskrit term āveśa.62 With this in the mind, when we look at the famous statue of monk Kūya 空也 (903–972) who is represented as reciting the formula of Namu Amida butsu 南無阿彌陀佛 (Hail Amitābha Buddha!) while the six nenbutsu syllables exit his mouth (and certainly re-enter in it...) in the guise of six little buddhas,63 we understand the profound meaning of this chanting practice. The nenbutsu symbolized the Buddha Amitābha himself in his living form who had entered inside the human body, who is possessing it, and who comes out from it, as our bodily respiration. This case shows that interesting subjects of studies are not confined in Esotericism only, but can be found in other areas of Buddhist history.

Thus, it seems that the possibilities of research are infinite. I would like to emphasize that all of these analytical directions should be pursued in a broad comparative perspective since the Asian Continent from India to Japan constituted one world, all of which was covered by Buddhism.