The Shingon Ajikan
The Shingon Ajikan
The Shingon Ajikan
M*
4. Practice [Sadhana] for the Protection of the Body
5. Five Great Resolutions
6. Five Syllable Womb Realm [Garbhadhatu
17
] Mantra
7. Visualise the Chief Deity: The Syllable A
a) In ones heart
b) In front of ones eyes and in ones heart
c) Expanding to ll the entire cosmos [dharmadhatu], contracting and
returning to ones heart
8. Practice [Sadhana] for the Protection of the Body
9. Return of the Buddha
10. Stand Up and Prostrations
11. Thought of Great Compassion
These steps in the visualisation can be briey described as follows:
The Shingon Ajikan: Diagrammatic Analysis of Ritual Syntax 217
1. Prostrations. The practitioner performs three full prostrations, that is, touching the
ve pointsknees, elbows and foreheadto the oor. With each prostration the
practitioner recites the following Universal Homage mantra:
Skt: om sarva-tathagata-pada-vandanam karomi
Jpn: ON SARABA TATAGYATA HANA MANA NAU KYAROMI
2. Take Ones Seat. The practitioner next sits down in half-lotus posture, and forms
the mudra of contemplating the entire cosmos (Dharmadhatu Samadhi Mudra). The
directions which follow this are virtually identical with those given for Zen-style
meditation
18
: Line up your ears and your shoulders, and your nose with your navel, and
focus both your eyes on the tip of your nose. Your tongue should touch the top of your
mouth, and your breath will thus naturally become calm. Your hips should not be too
far back, nor too far forward. Rather, sit straight up and in this way aid your circulation.
When you have done this, then move the body two or three times to the front and
back, and to the left and right.
19
The practitioner then takes a rosary
20
and rubs it two or three times, reciting the
Universal Homage mantra one more time.
3. Syllable HU
M* , protection of the
body and the ve great resolutions (items 3, 4 and 5, also labelled B in the diagram) are
symmetrically represented only by the repetition of protection of the body (item 8, also
labelled B in the diagram).
The opening actions of prostrations and taking ones seat (items 1 and 2, also labelled
A in the diagram) are mirror images symmetrical with the two actions which end the
ritual practice: standing up and prostrations (items 10a and 10b, also labelled A in the
diagram). Figure 1 is a way of showing these relations visually.
Miyatas Ajikan
Miyatas text demonstrates the same symmetry around identication with the syllable A,
in this case ten of the fteen items. Clearly items 9 and 11 are symmetrical to the
visualisation, being the entry to and exit from the visualisation. Turning to the outer
edge of the ritual, we nd that although leaving the shrine is identied as a single item,
it in fact involves three actions, in mirror-image symmetry with the rst three items:
entering the shrine, triple prostrations and taking ones seat. This abbreviation is in the
writing of the manual and not an abbreviation of the ritual actions per se.
Items 4 and 14 symbolically match each other. Item 4, purifying the three karmic
actions, prepares the practitioner to enter into the practice freed from any negative
karma. Item 14, donning the armour, prepares the practitioner to leave the ritual
practice, protected by the mercy and compassion of the Tathagatas.
32
Furthermore, in
more complex Shingon rituals, the votive re ritual (Skt. homa, Jpn. goma), putting on
the armour, is performed both at the beginning and at the end of the ritual.
33
It would
appear that in the case of this particular version of the Ajikan, the rst donning of the
armor could be deleted because of the symbolic similarity between donning the armour
and purifying the three karmic actions, as conditioned by the entry into and the exit
from the ritual itself.
222 R. K. Payne
Likewise, there is a similarity between items 5, 6 and 7, generating the mind of
enlightenment, vow mantra and the ve great vows, and item 13, personal aspirations,
since both have to do with the expression of the practitioners intent. However, this
order is the same as that found in more complex rituals. Generating the mind of
enlightenment, vow mantra, and the ve great vows are found in the rst part of the
ritual,
34
whereas any aspirations specic to the practitioner will be expressed after ritual
identication.
35
In much the same way, item 8, reciting the ve syllable mantra, and
item 12, reciting the stanza of the three powers, are symbolically symmetrical as relating
the practitioner to higher powers. In the second diagram Mahavairocana Buddha in one
case, the practitioners own merit, the power of the Tathagata and the Dharmadhatu in
the other.
Figure 1. Eleven Steps of Zoeis Ajikan.
The Shingon Ajikan: Diagrammatic Analysis of Ritual Syntax 223
The grouping of these elements can be done in two dierent fashion, as shown in the
following two diagrams. In the rst diagram, items 5, 6 and 7 are grouped together
(labelled C in the rst diagram) while item 8 is separate (labelled