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Keywords = yakṣas

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17 pages, 4104 KiB  
Article
The Chinshō Yasha-hō 鎮將夜叉法 and the Adaptation of Tendai Esoteric Ritual
by Pei-ying Lin
Religions 2023, 14(8), 1060; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14081060 - 18 Aug 2023
Viewed by 1983
Abstract
This study aims to investigate the ritual of a peculiar scripture entitled Chinshō yasha-hō 鎮將夜叉法 (Ch. Zhenjiang yecha fa. “Tantric Ritual of Chinshō Yakṣa”). The Japanese deity Chinshō Yakṣa is a Tendai variation of Vaiśravaṇa (Ch. Pishamen/Jp. Bishamon 毘沙門), a heavenly king who [...] Read more.
This study aims to investigate the ritual of a peculiar scripture entitled Chinshō yasha-hō 鎮將夜叉法 (Ch. Zhenjiang yecha fa. “Tantric Ritual of Chinshō Yakṣa”). The Japanese deity Chinshō Yakṣa is a Tendai variation of Vaiśravaṇa (Ch. Pishamen/Jp. Bishamon 毘沙門), a heavenly king who vowed to protect Buddhism. The ritual of Chinshō Yakṣa is a major ritual in Tendai Esotericism. It has been traditionally accepted that this scripture was transmitted from China. Modern scholarship, however, suspects that this ritual is Saichō’s 最澄 (767–822) invention. This study examines the contents and characters involved in this ritual manual by comparing other ritual manuals of Vaiśravaṇa. In analysing its liturgical aspect, as well as its textual relationship with other ritual manuals, this paper illustrates how the Chinshō yasha-hō deviates from the other ritual manuals and evaluates the possible sources or origins regarding the formation of this ritual. Similar mudrās and mantras that appear in both the Chinshō yasha-hō and other texts were identified, implying that the Chinshō yasha-hō might have drawn from multiple sources. Moreover, judging from its similarity with Chinese Tiantai ritual manuals and other texts that were forged in the Tang dynasty, it is possible that Tang China and Japan saw a period of active ritual invention. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Esoteric Buddhism in East Asia: Texts and Rituals)
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30 pages, 913 KiB  
Article
Ka asi kasya asi, kalyāṇi?’ The Ambiguity of the yakṣas in the Araṇya Parva of the Mahābhārata
by Arjan Sterken
Religions 2023, 14(1), 37; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14010037 - 26 Dec 2022
Viewed by 2239
Abstract
Supernatural entities are often described as ambiguous, but ambiguity is underdetermined and undefined. This article has a twofold goal: first of all, it constructs an ideal-type model for identifying and specifying ambiguity in supernatural beings; secondly, it examines the ambiguity of yakṣas in [...] Read more.
Supernatural entities are often described as ambiguous, but ambiguity is underdetermined and undefined. This article has a twofold goal: first of all, it constructs an ideal-type model for identifying and specifying ambiguity in supernatural beings; secondly, it examines the ambiguity of yakṣas in the Araṇya Parva of the Mahābhārata. This model for determining supernatural ambiguity utilizes five markers, which appear in either a positive or negative aspect: fulfilling or denying needs and desires; protecting or attacking humans; belonging to the same order as humansor rejecting this order; beautiful or hideous appearance; and living close by or far away from human communities. Four narratives are examined: the story of Nala and Damayantī, the First and Second War of the Yakṣas, and the story of the Drillling Woods. In all stories, each of the five markers are utilized to describe the yakṣas’ ambiguity. However, one should distinguish between ambiguity proper (when conflicting markers are present at the same time) verus ambiguity caused by the shifting of markers during a narrative. Full article
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