Juntei　准胝

KEY WORD :　art history / iconography

Sk: Cundi. Also Juntei Butsumo 准胝仏母, Shichigutei Butsumo 七倶胝仏母, or Butsumo Juntei 仏母准胝. Juntei means pure, and Butsumo means the mother of the myriad buddhas and bodhisattvas. Juntei is a deity propitiated for wisdom, conjugal harmony, obtaining a child, long life, and rain. The single most famous story is that of Shoubou's 聖宝 (the founder of the Daigoji 醍醐寺 in Kyoto; 832-909) successful propitiation of Juntei for the birth of two emperors. The frequent association of the deity with prayers for conjugal harmony and children suggests a feminine nature, as does the name butsumo. Juntei is often said to be female, but Japanese sculptures and paintings do not show a woman. In the Ono 小野 tradition of Shingon 真言 Esoteric Buddhism mikkyou 密教 associated with Daigoji, Juntei is considered a bodhisattva *bosatsu 菩薩, a form of *Kannon 観音, and one of the Six Kannon *Roku Kannon 六観音. In the Hirosawa 広沢 tradition of the Shingon sect and in Tendai 天台 Buddhism, however, Juntei is considered a Buddha. The latter view can be supported by the following facts: Juntei's headdress does not necessarily hold a small figure of *Amida 阿弥陀; Juntei does not appear in the Kannon section of the Matrix mandala *Taizoukai mandara 胎蔵界曼荼羅, but in the Henchi-in 編知院 section connected with wisdom; and Juntei is not listed as a name of Kannon in texts. Four-and six-armed images of Juntei dating from the 7-8c are extant in Ellora caves in India and in Borobudor in central Java, Indonesia (8-9c). No Chinese examples are known, but the iconography is mentioned in the texts, such as SHICHIGUTEI BUTSUMO JUNTEI DAIMYOU DARANIKYOU 七倶胝仏母準提大明陀羅尼経 translated by Vajrabodhi (Ch: Jingangzhi, Jp: Kongouchi 金剛智, 671-741) and SHICHIGUTEI BUTSUMO SHOSETSU JUNTEI DARANIKYOU 七倶胝仏母所説准胝陀羅尼経 translated by Amoghavajra (Ch: Bukong, Jp: Fukuu 不空, 705-74). These texts describe Juntei as yellow in color and with three eyes and eighteen arms, and this is how Juntei appears in the Taizoukai mandara. However, eight-armed forms appear in some of the most important compilations of Buddhist iconography in Japan including *KAKUZENSHOU 覚禅鈔 (13c) and extant examples of Juntei may have between two and 84 arms. Thus Juntei can be difficult to distinguish from *Senju Kannon 千手観音 or *Fukuukenjaku Kannon 不空羂索観音. Attributes of extant examples also vary in spite of the fact that in the original Chinese texts they are almost the same. Juntei may be shown with two dragon kings rising from the sea below the lotus throne. Since Juntei appears in the Henchi-in Section of the Taizoukai mandar along with Butsugen Butsumo 仏眼仏母, and since "butsumo" is an epithet of Prajnaparamita *Hannya bosatsu 般若菩薩, some connection with this deity and with the Prajnaparamita texts seems likely. It is often said that Juntei had a non-Buddhist origin and is related to Hindu deities.

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