DDB: 大黑天神法 | Ritual of the Deity Mahākāla, The Great Black One

Digital Dictionary of Buddhism

大黑天神法

Pronunciations

Basic Meaning: Ritual of the Deity Mahākāla, The Great Black One

Senses:

The Daikoku tenjin hō ; 1 fasc. T 1287.21.355b-358a; ascribed to a monk named Jingai 神愷. Until the Meiji period, this ritual was usually considered as a Chinese work of the Tang period (the Bussho kaisetsu daijiten, 7.244c says still 'Jingai of the Tang' ), but it is assuredly an apocryphal work written by a Japanese monk, probably of the Shingon school, before 1080, or more precisely between 953 and 1049. There are at least three recensions; the oldest one was written before 1080, the second one before 1134, and the most recent one before 1173.

[Chinese Buddhist Canonical Attributions Database]

[Nobumi Iyanaga]

The entire text, in three recensions, is composed of various citations and reminiscences from different older texts. The most original part, which is already in the oldest recension, reveals deep influence of the work of Yijing 義淨 on Mahākāla 大黑天 in his Record of The Buddhist Religion as Practiced in India 南海寄歸内法傳, where the deity (Daikokuten 大黑天) is described as a protecting deity of Buddhist temples. Therefore, the deity is said to protect temples and nourish monks ("a thousand monks everyday"), and furthermore, he is described as granting the prayer of any laypersons who want to prosper. Then, the ritual gives an iconographical description of the deity, which is in fact a quotation of a ritual text by Shunnyū 淳祐 (890–953), the Yōson-dōjōkan 要尊道場觀 [T.2478.78]. Here, the deity is said to be holding a big bag in his left hand, carrying it on his shoulder. This is the classical form of Daikokuten as god of fortune in Japan. An old statue of this form, which can be traced back to around the middle 10th century or the early 11th century, can be found at the 觀世音寺, in Dazaifu, in Kyūshū. [Nobumi Iyanaga]

After this part, which is common to the three recensions, the text diverges in subsequent recensions, which consist of quotations from various sources mentioning or related to Mahākāla. Medieval compilations of esoteric rituals, such as 覺禪鈔, 白寶抄, 白寶口抄 (these three for the Shingon school) or 阿娑縛抄 (for the Taimitsu 台密), all quote or refer to this Ritual. We can say that even the form of 三面大黒, Daikoku with three faces, specific to the Tendai school, derives partly from this Ritual. Thus, this text is at the origin of the extraordinary popularity of the Daikoku cult in Japan throughout medieval and modern periods. [Bibliography: Hôbôgirin, 7.885–891; Iyanaga, 彌永信美 (Nobumi IYANAGA), 大黒天変相 -- 仏教神話学 I, Kyoto, Hōzōkan 法藏館, 2002; 346–354.] [Nobumi Iyanaga]

〔堅牢地天儀軌 T 1286.21.355b5〕 [Charles Muller]

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[Dictionary References]

Bussho kaisetsu daijiten (Ono) ⑦244c

The rights to textual segments (nodes) of the DDB are owned by the author indicated in the brackets next to each segment. For rights regarding the compilation as a whole, please contact Charles Muller. Please do not reproduce without permission. And please do not copy into Wikipedia without proper citation!

Entry created: 2002-12-06

Updated: 2018-10-13