Marishiten Within Japanese Buddhism

CHAPTER SEVEN REFLECTIONS ON MĀRĪCĪ’S SIGNIFICANCE Marishiten within Japanese Buddhism With the creation of the Marishitembō (Marishiten Ritual) in the twelfth century, the cult of Mārīcī had been fully assimilated into the “modular ritualism” of the Japanese Jūhachidō. There is no indication of further evo- lution of the Buddhist cult within the seats of higher learning of the Tendai and Shingon denominations after that time.1 Since Sino-Japanese Esoteric Buddhism viewed Marishiten as a manifestation of Dainichi Nyorai (Mahāvairocana-tathāgata), the supreme fountainhead of Buddhahood, no further development of the ritual was considered necessary. By uniting with the Goddess Mārīcī—i.e. by performing ritual consubstantiation through the Jūhachidō—the devotee was believed to have experienced the Mahayana Buddhist concept of reality. By the time of the writing of the thirteenth century Asabashō, the devotee was directed to transfer the merit attained through performance of the ritual to all sentient beings. Thus, he fulfilled the vow of a bodhisattva by helping bring all sentient beings toward enlightenment. Aside from seeking this higher purpose, any other use of the powers of the goddess might be requested while performing the initial section of the Jūhachidō-style Marishitembō. Ironically, this complete assimilation of the Buddhist Marishiten into the Jūhachidō system appears to have hastened the descent of the cult of the Buddhist goddess into obscurity. Why would a devotee perform a ritual focusing on Marishiten (one of many manifestations of Dainichi Nyorai) when he could perform one more directly aimed at that worthy or his most popular manifestation, Fudō-myōō? The Marishitembō is rarely performed in Japan today, although goma rituals for the goddess can be found occasionally at temples containing images of this worthy. 1 Of course individual practitioners may have produced texts and devised rituals for their own needs. The Marishi zōyaku gomaku shidai (Procedures for fire ritual offerings in order to obtain boons from Marishiten), according to Shingon Rev. Miyajima Kigyō of Kōyasan University, is one of that type. <UN> <UN> 238 chapter seven Ueno Tokudaiji・Marishiten San Of the Marishiten temples visited in the course of this research, the most active today (as judged by the actual number of patrons and rituals performed) does not belong to the Esoteric Schools of Shingon and Tendai. It is Tokudaiji (Marishiten San), a Nichiren School temple. Tokudaiji is con- veniently located in the area of Ameyokochō in Tokyo which may have something to do with its continuing popularity. Several times a month, a goma is performed in the temple in which parishioners make offerings in the name of Marishiten to receive certain benefits. Although the service is referred to as a goma, it does not include a real fire ritual. The chief priest and his assistants chant from texts central to the Nichiren Deno- mination (including many repetitions of the inevitable spell of homage to the Lotus Sutra: nam’ myōhō rengekyō) and request aid for those who are making offerings. During the chanting, a curtain is raised (automatically) revealing the image of Marishiten (see Fig. 7-1). When the chanting is completed, the curtain is lowered, covering the image. The service ends with an assistant priest striking a piece of flint upon stone making a rain of sparks over the offerings. While this rain of sparks is reminiscent of the fiery expulsion of flame and incendiary iron filings (Skt. cīvara) of an exorcistic Tantric homa, it does not qualify as a goma in the sense of the traditional fire rituals in the Tendai and Shingon denominations. The Chinese characters used for this goma (displayed on a sign at the temple’s entrance) are 祈禱 and should be pronounced kitō, a term that literally means “prayer” or “grace.” The complete title of the ritual performed kaiun shōgan jōju kitō 開運諸願成就祈禱, lit. prayers (kitō 祈禱) for the accomplishment (jōju 成就) of all requests (shōgan 諸願) for “establishing (one’s) fortune” or “enhancing (one’s) fate” (kaiun 開運). Although the temple has been in existence since the early Edo period it was not particularly popular among the warrior class. Nichiren Rev. Ichikawa Chizu notes that the majority of patrons of the Tokudaiji Marishiten San temple were “actors, geisha, commoners, and financial speculators” who sought success in their careers.2 2 Ichikawa, Chizu, “Hadami hanasazu mottareta Marishiten” in Bukkyō to kamigami, edited by staff of Daihōrin (Tōkyō, 1988), 214. <UN> <UN>.

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