LINK
http://darumamuseum.blogspot.jp/2010/02/jindai-ji-temple.html
Ryōgen 良源 ( 912 – January 31, 985 AD)
was a chief abbot of Enryaku-Temple (Enryaku-ji) in the 10th century, and the founder of the tradition of warrior monks (sōhei).
source : en.wikipedia.org
Ryōgen is known generally by the names of Gansan Daishi or Tsuno Daishi "Horned Great Master".
The Horned Great Master in Engelbert Kaempfer's History of Japan (1727). On his way to Edo in 1691 Engelbert Kaempfer saw these paper glued to doorposts of many houses. His description published in the History of Japan is correct, but he wrongly called it Gozu Tennō (Ox-head-heaven-king), a deity worshiped at the Gion Shrine (Yasaka Jinja) in Kyotō.
Over the course of the 10th century, there had been a number of disputes between Enryaku-ji and the other temples and shrines of the Kyōto area, many of which were resolved by force. In 970, Ryōgen formed a small army to defend Enryaku-Temple and to serve its interests in these disputes. Records are not fully clear on whether this army consisted of hired mercenaries, or, as would be the case later, trained monks. Most likely, this first temple standing army was a mercenary group, separate from the monks, since Ryōgen forbade monks from carrying weapons.
In addition to the prohibition on carrying weapons, Ryōgen's monks were subject to a list of 26 articles released by Ryōgen in 970; they were forbidden from covering their faces, inflicting corporal punishment, violently interrupting prayer services, or leaving Mount Hiei during their 12-year training.
He is also called "Master Warding Off Evil" (mayoke daishi 魔除大師、gooma daishi 降魔大師).
There was a statue of Ganzan Daishi in the temple Jidai-ji, but in the Muromachi period there was a great fire and only this statue was saved, since it flew all by itself into the nearby pond 五大尊池. This episode even strengthened the belief of the people in the supernatural powers of this great master, which is alive until our days. The unification of this Great Master and Daruma san to ward off evil should have a double effect on your good luck, so on the yearly temple festival on Marach 3 and 4 there is a big Daruma market in the temple grounds, where you can buy all kinds of good-luck Daruma dolls.
You can ask a priest to paint in the left eye, in this case not the round pupil but the first syllable of Sanskrit A ｢阿｣ to indicate the beginning of your good-luck period. When the wish is fullfilled, you have the syllable UN ｢吽｣, the last syllable of the Sanskrit alphabet painted in the right eye. A is the first sound pronounced while opening your mouth, it is the origin of all sounds and represents the origin of all life, the woumb. UN is the last sound when closing your mouth. (A-UN is the Japanese pronunciation; usually we know this sound as the holy mantram OM or AUM.) In this way at Jindai-ji you have a reliable means to reinforce Daruma san's already salutary properties.
We find these symbols of open and closed mouth also for example in the pair of lion-dogs (koma-inu 狛犬) sitting on both sides of the entrance to a shrine or temple, warding off any evil spirits. A can also be interpreted as the entrance to life and UN the entrance to death.
In esoteric Buddhism there is also a tradition to meditate on a hanging scroll of this syllable as the symbol for Buddha, called "Visualisation of the Syllable A" (ajikan 阿字観), which we will study a little more further down this story.
The Sanskrit letter A
In the Daruma rendering of Jindai-ji we can feel the history of Daruma coming from India, going through many changes on the way and now through the painting of the eyes being the condensed symobl of the people's wish for long life, happiness, warding off evil and getting benefits in this world.
By the way, there is one more temple in the Kanto area where Ganzan Daishi is revered and an annual Daruma market is held, the Kita-In of Kawagoe 川越の喜多院.
. Kawagoe Daruma 川越だるま神輿
- - -
Temple Jindai-ji - - A Daruma Market and Sanskrit
深大寺の達磨市と梵字
. . . CLICK here for Photos !
Daruma from Temple Jindai-ji in Mitaka, Chofu 調布 a suburb of Tokyo.
On the belly we have the Chinese characters representing the name of
"Ganzan Daishi" , Gansan Daishi 元三大師.
This is another name for the famous 18th head priest Ryogen of the monastic center at Mount Hiei, Jie Daishi 慈恵大師 of the Tendai sect. Because he was born on the third of January in 985, he got this name. He had great spiritual power in warding off evil in daily life and many stories of his deeds are handed down to us.
.
http://darumamuseum.blogspot.jp/2010/02/jindai-ji-temple.html
Ryōgen 良源 ( 912 – January 31, 985 AD)
was a chief abbot of Enryaku-Temple (Enryaku-ji) in the 10th century, and the founder of the tradition of warrior monks (sōhei).
source : en.wikipedia.org
Ryōgen is known generally by the names of Gansan Daishi or Tsuno Daishi "Horned Great Master".
The Horned Great Master in Engelbert Kaempfer's History of Japan (1727). On his way to Edo in 1691 Engelbert Kaempfer saw these paper glued to doorposts of many houses. His description published in the History of Japan is correct, but he wrongly called it Gozu Tennō (Ox-head-heaven-king), a deity worshiped at the Gion Shrine (Yasaka Jinja) in Kyotō.
Over the course of the 10th century, there had been a number of disputes between Enryaku-ji and the other temples and shrines of the Kyōto area, many of which were resolved by force. In 970, Ryōgen formed a small army to defend Enryaku-Temple and to serve its interests in these disputes. Records are not fully clear on whether this army consisted of hired mercenaries, or, as would be the case later, trained monks. Most likely, this first temple standing army was a mercenary group, separate from the monks, since Ryōgen forbade monks from carrying weapons.
In addition to the prohibition on carrying weapons, Ryōgen's monks were subject to a list of 26 articles released by Ryōgen in 970; they were forbidden from covering their faces, inflicting corporal punishment, violently interrupting prayer services, or leaving Mount Hiei during their 12-year training.
He is also called "Master Warding Off Evil" (mayoke daishi 魔除大師、gooma daishi 降魔大師).
There was a statue of Ganzan Daishi in the temple Jidai-ji, but in the Muromachi period there was a great fire and only this statue was saved, since it flew all by itself into the nearby pond 五大尊池. This episode even strengthened the belief of the people in the supernatural powers of this great master, which is alive until our days. The unification of this Great Master and Daruma san to ward off evil should have a double effect on your good luck, so on the yearly temple festival on Marach 3 and 4 there is a big Daruma market in the temple grounds, where you can buy all kinds of good-luck Daruma dolls.
You can ask a priest to paint in the left eye, in this case not the round pupil but the first syllable of Sanskrit A ｢阿｣ to indicate the beginning of your good-luck period. When the wish is fullfilled, you have the syllable UN ｢吽｣, the last syllable of the Sanskrit alphabet painted in the right eye. A is the first sound pronounced while opening your mouth, it is the origin of all sounds and represents the origin of all life, the woumb. UN is the last sound when closing your mouth. (A-UN is the Japanese pronunciation; usually we know this sound as the holy mantram OM or AUM.) In this way at Jindai-ji you have a reliable means to reinforce Daruma san's already salutary properties.
We find these symbols of open and closed mouth also for example in the pair of lion-dogs (koma-inu 狛犬) sitting on both sides of the entrance to a shrine or temple, warding off any evil spirits. A can also be interpreted as the entrance to life and UN the entrance to death.
In esoteric Buddhism there is also a tradition to meditate on a hanging scroll of this syllable as the symbol for Buddha, called "Visualisation of the Syllable A" (ajikan 阿字観), which we will study a little more further down this story.
The Sanskrit letter A
In the Daruma rendering of Jindai-ji we can feel the history of Daruma coming from India, going through many changes on the way and now through the painting of the eyes being the condensed symobl of the people's wish for long life, happiness, warding off evil and getting benefits in this world.
By the way, there is one more temple in the Kanto area where Ganzan Daishi is revered and an annual Daruma market is held, the Kita-In of Kawagoe 川越の喜多院.
. Kawagoe Daruma 川越だるま神輿
- - -
Temple Jindai-ji - - A Daruma Market and Sanskrit
深大寺の達磨市と梵字
. . . CLICK here for Photos !
Daruma from Temple Jindai-ji in Mitaka, Chofu 調布 a suburb of Tokyo.
On the belly we have the Chinese characters representing the name of
"Ganzan Daishi" , Gansan Daishi 元三大師.
This is another name for the famous 18th head priest Ryogen of the monastic center at Mount Hiei, Jie Daishi 慈恵大師 of the Tendai sect. Because he was born on the third of January in 985, he got this name. He had great spiritual power in warding off evil in daily life and many stories of his deeds are handed down to us.
.
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