November 19, 2005
Kishimojin & the Jurasetsunyo Part One
Buddhist Deities
Kishi-mo-jin is a Buddhist Divinity of likely Indic origin; she is named Hariti in Sanskrit. Kishimo is a Raksha, or Yasha in Japan. She is/was the mother of 500 children; though some accounts give this as 100, 1000, etc. Kishimo’s mate was Pancika, the Chief General in the Army of Kubera, king of the Raksha.
Kishimo appears in the Dharani Chapter of the Lotus Sutra, along with ten {10} of her daughters. Kishimo's daughters are Rakshashi, or, in Japan, Rasetsu-nyo. 'Ju' means ten, and 'nyo' means they are female – hence, they are dubbed the Ju-rasetsu-nyo. Their names are Lamba, Vilamba, Crooked Teeth, Flowery Teeth, Black Teeth, Many Tresses, Insatiable, Necklace Holder, Kunti, and Spirit Snatcher.
In the Lotus Sutra, they vow to bless and protect those who uphold and propagate the Lotus Dharma; and punish or curse those who harrass & deter true Dharma teachers. Kishimojin and/or these ten daughters appear on many of Nichiren's Great Mandalas. Nichiren credited their protection with saving him from both the Matsu-baga-yatsu & Ko-matsu-bara persecutions. They also appear in many other legends, such as "Nichiren at Kashiwazaki; The 7 headed dragon & kisimodaimoku". Their blessing & curse from the Dharani Chapter flank the top row on the Fuji style Great Mandala.
The Raksha of Indic mythology were originally benign or semi-benevolent beings, quite similar to the Dwarves of the Tolkien myth. At some point, a malignant human-eating strain appears in folklore. These 'bad' Raksha {cannibal daemons; ogres, ugly dwarves} resemble Tolkien's Trolls.
Meanwhile, the Rakshasha are generally rather nasty demonic beings. They are vampire-like, shape-shifting, flesh-eating, blood drinking creatures who roam at night feeding on the life force of humans. But there are also relatively good Rakshasha; these resemble the Djinn of Islamic legend, Keltic Good Faeries, or qiasi-Buddhist Shi-ten-nyo.
Both the Raksha and the Rakshasha originally dwell in the realm of rapacious spirits or hungry ghosts; known as Preta {sanskrit} or Gaki {sino-japanese}. So, in one sense they represent the World of Hunger on the Gohonzon. However, in Buddhist mythology, they may also be elevated to the status of protective gods & goddesses.
Kishimo, the mother of demons, as we shall see, becomes Kariteimo, or Koyasu Kishibohin; the goddess of child-giving, and guardian-protector of children. In this form, she is sometimes viewed as a female aspect of either the Great Boddhisattva Kanzeon and/or Jizo.
To be continued ...
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Links:
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Buddhist Images World Kariteimo and ten daughters
Kishimojin and other Child-Giving forms of Avalokitesvara {nichirenscoffeehouse}
MYTHICAL-FOLK Hariti
Onmark: Kariteimo, Karitei, Kishibojin, Kishimojin, Kangimo
Kishimojin From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.