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Tutelary deities in Mahayana Buddhism From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Ten Rākṣasīs (十羅刹女), sometimes translated as the misnomer ten demon daughters or ten demonesses are a group of rākṣasīs who take on the role of tutelary deities in Mahayana Buddhism.
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Ten Rākṣasīs | |
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Chinese | 十羅刹女 (Pinyin: shíluóchànǚ) |
Japanese | 十羅刹女 (romaji: jūrasetsunyo) |
Korean | 십나찰녀 (RR: simnachalnyeo) |
Vietnamese | Thập la sát nữ |
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Venerated by | Mahāyāna
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Along with the yakshi mother Hārītī, they are said to be votaries of those who uphold the Lotus Sutra. They are particularly popular in the Tendai and Nichiren schools. They are also attendants of the bodhisattva Samantabhadra.
The Ten Rākṣasīs appear in the Dhāraṇī chapter of the Lotus Sutra. Some of these figures are found sporadically in texts throughout the Buddhist canon, most notably the Mahāmayūrī Vidyarājñī Sutra.
They are also recognized as attendants of the bodhisattva Samantabhadra, which has become a popular theme in East Asian Buddhist painting and statuary.
Esoteric tradition recognizes the rākṣasīs as avatars of respective Buddhas and bodhisattvas from whom they are believed to have manifested. Accounts vary among texts and school of thought. In Japan, a common account is derived from the ‘’Esoteric Samaya Sutra of the Samādhi Samaya of the Lotus Sutra’’ (妙法蓮華経三昧三昧耶秘密三摩耶経).
The Chinese names of each rākṣasī differs between Kumarajiva and Xuanzang's translations. The former tends toward transliterated Sanskrit while the latter translated the meanings of the respective goddesses' names.[1]
The names of the rākṣasīs are as follows:
Sanskrit | Chinese | Japanese | Korean | Vietnamese | Tibetan (Wly. | Avatars |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lambā | 藍婆 (pinyin: Lánpó) 有結縛 (pinyin: Yǒujiéfú) | 藍婆 (ranba) 有結縛 (ukechibaku) | 남파 (RR: nampa) 유결박 (RR: yugyeolbak) | Lam bà Hữu kết phược | འཕྱང་མ། ’phyang ma | Viśiṣṭacāritra |
Vilambā | 毘藍婆 (pinyin: Pílánpó) 離結 (pinyin: Líjié) | 毘藍婆 (biranba) 離結 (rikechi) | 비람파 (RR: birampa) 이결 (RR: igyeol) | Tỳ lam bà Li kết | རྣམ་པར་འཕྱང་མ། rnam par ’phyang ma | Anantacāritra |
Kūṭadantī | 曲齒 (pinyin: Qǔchǐ) 施積 (pinyin: Shījī) | 曲歯 (kokushi) 施積 (seshaku) | 곡치 (RR: gokchi) 시적 (RR: sijeok) | Khúc xỉ Thi tích | སོ་བརྩེགས། so brtsegs | Viśuddhacāritra |
Puṣpadantī | 華齒 (pinyin: Huāchǐ) 施華 (pinyin: Shīhuā) | 華歯 (keshi) 施華 (seke) | 화치 (RR: hwachi) 시화 (RR: sihwa) | Hoa xỉ Thi hoa | མེ་ཏོག་སོ། me tog so | Supratiṣṭhitacāritra |
Makuṭadantī | 黑齒 (pinyin: Hēichǐ) 施黑 (pinyin: Shīhēi) | 黒歯 (kokushi) 施黒 (sekoku) | 흑치 (RR: heukchi) 시흑 (RR: siheuk) | Hắc xỉ Thi hắc | ཅོད་པན་སོ། cod pan so | Śākyamuni |
Keśinī | 多髮 (pinyin: Duōfǎ) 被髮 (pinyin: Bèifǎ) | 多髪 (tahatsu) 被髪 (hihotsu) | 다발 (RR: dabal) 피발 (RR: pibal) | Đa phát Bị phát | སྐྲ་ཅན། skra can | Samantabhadra |
Acalā | 無厭足 (pinyin: Wúyànzú) 無著 (pinyin: Wúzhaó) | 無厭足 (muenzoku) 無著 (mujaku) | 무염족 (RR: muyeomjok) 무착 (RR: muchak) | Vô yếm túc Vô trước | མེ། me | Mañjuśrī |
Mālādhāri | 持瓔珞 (pinyin: Chíyīngluò) 持華 (pinyin: Chíhuā) | 持瓔珞 (jiyōraku) 持華 (jike) | 지영락 (RR: jiyeongrak) 지화 (RR: jihwa) | Trì anh lạc Trì hoa | ཕྲེང་བ་འཆང་། phreng ba ’chang | Avalokiteśvara |
Kuntī | 皐帝 (pinyin: Gāodì) 何所 (pinyin: Hésuǒ) | 皇諦 (kōdai) 何所 (kasho) | 고제 (RR: goje) 하소 (RR: haso) | Cao đế Hà sở | མདུང་ཅན། mdung can | Maitreya |
Sarvasattvojohārī | 奪一切眾生精氣 (pinyin: Duóyīqièzhòngshēngjīngqì) 取一切精 (pinyin: Qǔyīqièjīng) | 奪一切衆生精気 (datsuissaishujōshōge) 取一切精 (juissaishō) | 탈일체중생정기 (RR: tarilchejungsaengjeonggi) 취일체정 (RR: chwiilchejeong) | Đoạt nhất thiết chúng sinh tinh khí Thủ nhất thiết tinh | སེམས་ཅན་ཐམས་ཅད་ཀྱི་མདངས་འཕྲོག sems can thams cad kyi mdangs ’phrog | Prabhūtaratna |
The chapter concludes that one who does not accept their dhāraṇī and proceeds to cause trouble for someone who teaches the Lotus Sutra will have their head split into seven pieces.
Iti me iti me iti me iti me iti me, nime nime nime nime nime, ruhe ruhe ruhe ruhe ruhe, stuhe stuhe stuhe stuhe stuhe svāhā.[2]
The Ten Rākṣasīs vary in appearance based on locale and textual tradition. One canonical text, the "Law of the Ten Rākṣasīs of the Lotus" (法華十羅剎法; pinyin: fǎhuá shíluóshā fǎ; Japanese: hokke-jūrasetunyo-hō) stands out with its description of the physical features of the goddesses. Alternative forms tend to stem from Japanese Buddhist art manuals or local traditions throughout Asia.
An Iwami kagura titled "Jūra" (十羅) is named after the goddesses, specifically their manifestation as the daughters of the kami Susanoo. The plot follows a kishin named Hikohane who arrives at the shore of Tsushima Island after an ordeal in a violent storm. The Ten Rākṣasīs entreat Hikohane to return to his homeland, to which he responds by engaging them in battle.[3][4]
Incidentally, there is a legend in Iwami that the local goddess Munasukihime is a manifestation of the Ten Rākṣasīs.
A yōkyoku titled "Ōyashiro" (大社) features a dance performed by the Ten Rākṣasīs.
The Kaichū yōkyoku zenshū, Volume 1, compiled by Nogami Toyoichirō states that although the Ten Rākṣasīs were originally a group of ten fearsome demonnesses, folk tradition has it that they are the daughters born from the union of Susanoo-no-Mikoto and a dragon.[5]
The influence of shinbutsu shūgō in Japan has prompted the worship of these goddesses at some Shinto shrines. These shrines are given the title Jūrasetsunyo-sha (十羅刹女社; lit. "Ten Rākṣasīs shrines").
Sanbō Kōjin (三寶荒神) is a deity who is believed in some Buddhist circles to be an alternate form of the Ten Rākṣasīs. The Gogikuden 御義口傳 of Nichiren Buddhism explains that while he is not a follower of the Lotus Sutra, he remains a protector deity for those who are.
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