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houra@–@—†
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Also read hora. Also written •ó—†. Also sometimes called ra —†. Sk: dharmasankha. A conch shell used as a Buddhist trumpet. In ancient India the conch shell was used as a trumpet on the battlefield to transmit orders to the troops. It symbolized authority. In Hinduism it is an attribute of the god Vishnu who uses it to terrify enemies with its blaring sound. In the Buddhist tradition the conch, with sound emitted in all directions, represents the spread of Buddhist teaching. As a prominent Buddhist ritual object in Tibet, it is used for liturgical music, to call assemblies, to drive away evil spirits, and to symbolize the mantra "Om". In Japan, the houra was introduced along with Esoteric Buddhism mikkyou –§‹³ from Tang dynasty. It is used in mikkyou, along with other objects, for an anointment ceremony called kanjou Ÿó’ø in which a master confers a certain status upon a disciple. There is a Muromachi period example of a houra at Touji “ŒŽ› in Kyoto. Houra are also used as paraphernalia for yamabushi ŽR•š (mountain priests) in the mystic ascetic practice of shugendou CŒ±“¹ (see *En no gyouja –šsŽŅ). The houra is used as a *jimotsu Ž•Ø (hand-held attribute) for *Senju Kannon ēŽčŠĻ‰¹ (Thousand-armed Kannon), as seen in the 8c example from Toushoudaiji “‚µ’ńŽ› in Nara. Although the attributes and number of arms of *Juntei yćń vary, she may be depicted holding a houra. Kouryuuji L—²Ž› in Kyoto owns a 13c painting of an eighteen-armed Juntei holding a houra in one of the right hands. As an attribute of *Kannon ŠĻ‰¹ the houra symbolizes the calling forth of good spirits zenshin ‘P_.
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