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shuji mandara@ŽνŽš™ΦδΆ—…
KEY WORD :@art history / iconography
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Lit. "Seed syllable mandala, *mandara ™ΦδΆ—…". A mandala in which the deities are symbolized by "seed syllables" shuji ŽνŽš (Sk: bijaksara), or Sanskrit syllables which in Japan are written in a script known as shittan Ž»“ά (Sk: siddham). Whereas the daimandara ‘ε™ΦδΆ—… (great mandala), in which the deities are shown in their physical form, represents the Buddha's "mystery of the body", the shuji mandara symbolizes the Buddha's "mystery of speech" and is considered to correspond to the houmandara –@™ΦδΆ—… among the four types of mandara known as *shishu mandara ŽlŽν™ΦδΆ—…. A typical shuji mandara is the tenjirin mandara “]Žš—Φ™ΦδΆ—… described in the DAINICHIKYOU ‘ε“ϊŒo (Sk:Vairocanabhisambodhi Sutra/Mahavairocana Sutra). *Kuukai ‹σŠC (774-835) brought back to Japan a copy of a shuji mandara version of the *Taizoukai mandara ‘Ω‘ ŠE™ΦδΆ—… , and because the shuji mandara was easier to produce than a standard mandala depicting the deities in their physical forms, there are many extant examples. The *shiki mandara •~™ΦδΆ—…@used in initiation rites may also take the form of a shuji mandara; this is because it is easier to produce than a standard mandala and also more convenient for identifing deities during the rite initiation.
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(C)2001 Japanese Architecture and Art Net Users System.@No reproduction or republication without written permission.
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