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Hariti
Jan 8, 2007 17:16:10 GMT -5
Post by Lady Anastasia on Jan 8, 2007 17:16:10 GMT -5
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Hariti
Jan 8, 2007 17:16:30 GMT -5
Post by Lady Anastasia on Jan 8, 2007 17:16:30 GMT -5
Hārītī (Sanskrit), also known as Kishimojin in Japanese:鬼子母神, is a Buddhist goddess for the protection of children, easy delivery, happy child rearing and parenting, harmony between husband and wife, love, and the well-being and safety of the family. Women without children also pray to Kishimojin to help them become pregnant.
Originally, Kishimojin/ Hariti was a cannibalistic demon. She had hundreds of children whom she loved and doted upon, but to feed them, she abducted and killed the children of others. The bereaved mothers of her victims pleaded to Śākyamuni Buddha to save them.
Śākyamuni stole Aiji, youngest of Kishimojin's sons, and hid him under his rice bowl. Kishimojin desperately searched for her missing son throughout the universe. Finally, she pleaded with Shakyamuni for help. The Buddha pointed out that she was suffering because she lost one of hundreds of children, and asked if she could imagine the suffering of parents whose only child had been devoured. She replied contritely that their suffering must be many times greater than hers, and vowed to protect all children.
Kishimojin became the goddess of easy birthing and the protection and parenting of children.
Some stories describe her as an aspect of Kannon. She is also sometimes identified with the Hindu goddess Kali.
Pancika was her consort, and he fathered her children. He was one of the 28 Yakṣa generals in the army of Vaiśravaṇa (Bishamonten).
In Gandhara, depictions of Hārītī take on many attributes of the Greek goddess Tyche; like Tyche, she is often depicted holding a cornucopia and dressed in Greek attire.
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Hariti
Jan 8, 2007 17:16:58 GMT -5
Post by Lady Anastasia on Jan 8, 2007 17:16:58 GMT -5
In Japan, this deity's name was transliterated as Kariteimo æd—œ’é•ê or Karitei æd—˜’é, and translated as Kishimojin ‹SŽq•ê_ or Kangimo Š½Šì•ê. In Japan, Kariteimo is the protector of children and the goddess of easy delivery, child rearing, parenting, harmony between husband and wife, love, and the well-being and safety of the family. Childless women also pray to Kishimojin in hopes of becoming pregnant. Kariteimo appears in the 26th Chapter of the Lotus Sutra, and is especially important to the Nichiren Sect of Buddhism. Her iconography is based mostly on the Dai yakusha nyo kangimo narahini aishi joujuhou ‘å–ò³—Š½Šì•ê›óˆ¤Žq¬A–@. Kariteimo is just one of Japan's many deities of children and motherhood.
HARITI (Indian Name):The Indian deity Hariti was a protector of children and the wife of Panchika.
KARITEIMO (transliteraton): æd—œ’é•ê (‚©‚è‚Ä‚¢‚à); name she is given in the Shingon sect.
KARITEI (transliteration): æd—˜’é (‚©‚è‚Ä‚¢); another name given to her in Shingon sect.
KISHIBOJIN (translated as): ‹SŽq•ê_ (‚«‚µ‚Ú‚¶‚ñ)
KISHIMOJIN (translated as): ‹SŽq•ê_ (‚«‚µ‚à‚¶‚ñ)
KANGIMO (translated as): Š½Šì•ê (‚©‚ñ‚¬‚à)
KOYASU KISHIBOJIN:Giver of Children or Easy Delivery ŽqˆÀ‹SŽq•ê_ (‚±‚â‚·‚«‚µ‚Ú‚¶‚ñ); there is also the Koyasu Kannon Bosatsu, and the Koyasu Jizo Bosatsu. Indeed, it seems the imagery and symbolism of these deities have merged. There is also the Juntei Kannon (Skt. = Cundi, the "mother of the Buddhas"), who facilitates childbirth. Furthermore, perhaps all are associated with the Shinto goddess Koyasu-sama (deity of easy childbirth) and with the Shinto water goddess Suijin (also a deity of easy childbirth). These protectors of motherhood and children are presented here as a group.
Jurasetsu-nyo :Ten Demon Daughters Ten Rasetsu \ã®™‹— (‚¶‚イ‚点‚‚ɂå) RASETSU. Hindu demons, the Rasetsu torture and feed upon the flesh of the dead (those who were evil while living); the Rasetsu became guardian deities once they were introduced to Buddhism. ã®™‹— or —…™‹“V
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Hariti
Jan 8, 2007 17:17:45 GMT -5
Post by Lady Anastasia on Jan 8, 2007 17:17:45 GMT -5
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Hariti
Jan 8, 2007 17:18:08 GMT -5
Post by Lady Anastasia on Jan 8, 2007 17:18:08 GMT -5
HISTORICAL NOTES. Kariteimo was once a female demon (named HARITI in India mythology) who kidnapped and murdered the children of others, feeding their flesh to her many children. During her demonic period, she enlisted the aid of Ten Demon Daughters (the Jurasetsu-nyo; also called Jurasetsu Nyoshin) to steal and murder the children of other families. To break her of her evil ways, Shaka Nyorai (the historical Buddha) hides one of her children. After looking high and low for her lost child, without success, Kariteimo turns to Shaka in despair and agony, and finally awakens to the pain and suffering she has caused countless parents and children. She repents her sins, embraces Buddhist teachings (especially the Lotus Sutra), and transforms herself into the protector of children.
Kariteimo, along with the Jurasetsu-nyo, vow to help protect believers in the Lotus Sutra, to defend its teachings, and to protect all those who practice those teachings. As a group, they are important guardian deities of the Nichiren sect. The ten are Lamba, Vilamba, Crooked Teeth, Flowery Teeth, Black Teeth, Many Tresses, Insatiable, Necklace Holder, Kunti, Spirit Snatcher (or Plunderer-of-Vital-Energy-of-All-Beings).
Starting with the Kamakura Period, the deity Kariteimo is popularized among the Nichiren sect. Indeed, a well-known image of her is installed at Hokekyo-ji Temple, reportedly carved by Nichiren himself. In Tokyo, the most famous temples where she is worshipped are those of Meguro and Zoshigaya.
IMPORTANT CAVEATS. There is much confusion about this deity. Some say she had only 100 children, others 500 or 1, 000, and still others 10, 000. Some accounts say she is the "Mother of Demon Sons, " that the child hidden by Shaka Nyorai was her youngest son (not daughter), and that the Jurasetsu-nyo are not her daughters but rather the Rasetsu of Hindu lore.
Among Hindu demons, the Raksa (J = Rasetsu) torture and feed upon the flesh of the dead (those who were evil while living); like the Hachi Bushu (Eight Legions), Rasetsu become guardian deities once introduced to Buddhism; Raksasis (female) are the demon daughters of Kishimonjin, who apparently have black powerful bodies and eat humans. They are also known as the Ten Cannibal Demon Women, the Jyu-Rasetsu-Nyo (Jurasetsu-nyo). These demon daughters utter dharanis (magical chants, spells, and incantations).
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Hariti
Jan 8, 2007 17:19:04 GMT -5
Post by Lady Anastasia on Jan 8, 2007 17:19:04 GMT -5
Kishimojin's Vow in The Lotus Sutra
Thereupon there were female rakshasas, the first named Lamba, the second named Vilamba, the third named Crooked Teeth, the fourth named Flowery Teeth, the fifth named Black Teeth, the sixth named Many Tresses, the seventh named Insatiable, the eighth named Necklace Holder, the ninth named Kunti, the tenth named Spirit Snatcher. These ten female rakshasas, together with the Mother of Demon Sons [Kishimojin] and her children and followers, all went to the Buddha and with one voice said to the Buddha: "World Honored One! We, too, would protect those who read and recite, receive and keep the Law-Flower Sutra, and rid them of corroding care. If any spy for the shortcomings of these teachers of the Law, we will prevent their obtaining any chance." Whereupon in the presence of the Buddha they delivered the following spell:
"Iti me, iti me, iti me, iti me, iti me; ni me, ni me, ni me, ni me, ni me; ruhe, ruhe, ruhe, ruhe, [ruhe]; stuhe, stuhe, stuhe, stuhe, stuhe [svaha].
"Let troubles come on our heads, rather than on the teachers of the Law; neither yakshas, nor hungry ghosts...; nor fevers, whether for a single day, or quotidian, or tertian, or quartan, or weekly, or unremitting fevers; whether in male form, or female form, or form of youth, or form of a maiden, even in dreams shall ever cause distress.
Whereupon before the Buddha they spoke thus in verse:
"Whoever resists our spell And troubles a preacher, May his head be split in seven Like an arjaka sprout; May his doom be that of a parricide, His retribution that of an oil-expresser Or a deceiver with [false] measures and weights, Or of Devadatta who brought schism into the Samgha; He who offends these teachers of the Law, Such shall be his retribution."
After these female rakshasas had uttered this stanza, they addressed the Buddha, saying: "World-honoured One! We ourselves will also protect those who receive and keep, read and recite, and practice this sutra, and give them ease of mind, freedom from corroding care and from all poisons."
The Buddha addressed the rakshasa women: "Good, good! Even if you are only able to protect those who receive and keep the name of the Law-Flower, your happiness will be beyond calculation; how much more if you protect those who perfectly receive, keep, and pay homage to the sutra! You and your followers should protect such teachers of the Law as these."
~The Lotus Sutra, Dharanis Chapter
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Hariti
Jan 8, 2007 17:19:35 GMT -5
Post by Lady Anastasia on Jan 8, 2007 17:19:35 GMT -5
Historical Evolution of Kishimojin
A feminine form of Avalokitesvara, who facilitates childbirth and protects children, also exists. In Japan, this is a popular aspect of Juntei Kannon Bosatsu. She is Hariti, but a gentle 'Buddhicized' form of this 'mother of 'demons', She is often represented seated on a chair, clothed in the Chinese manner and holding child in her arms. Some popular images show her nursing a baby.
Owing to this aspect, she was venerated as a representation of the Christian Virgin Mary during the persecutions against Japanese converts to Christianity which took place in the Edo period, chiefly in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. In fact, Japanese Christians may have created this form of Avalokitesvara offering the breast, since it is not of buddhist origin.
It is beleived that this form was developed late by popular Buddhism to supplant the Shinto deity (kami) of easy childbirth, Koyasu-sama or Koyasu-gami, just as in China the effigies of Guanyin shown with a child on the knees are probably merely popular Buddhist transpositions of Taoist 'child-giving' deities like Tianxin Songzi or Zhangxian.
In China, Tonkin and Japan, she is venerated in a group of 20 deities, among whom she hold a secondary place. In Japan, the Shinto sanctuaries dedicated to Koyasu-sama are actually dedicated to the mythical princess of Konohana Sakkuya Hime, goddess of Mount Fuji and of cherry trees in bloom, since legend claims that she gave birth to a son while her house was devoured by flames. This may be an allusion to the creation of the lakes during an eruption of Mount Fuji. Koyasu-sama was mainly venerated in the provinces of Kanto (environs of Tokyo) and Chiba, where the women had the habit of asking her for healthy milk after childbirth in exchange for rice offerings.
This Koyasu-sama was subsequently confused either with Avalokitesvara, or with Ksitigarbha. Koyasu-Kannon (or Avalokitesvara 'giver of children') is sometimes herself confused with a 'complementary' form, identical in form and aspect, called Kishimojin, who is the representation (originally terrible but substanstially modified through the centuries) of an ogress, Hariti, converted to Buddhism, who later became a protector of children.
Her image was popularized in the Kamakura period by Nichiren. In the Shingon sect, she is named Karitei-mo. She is represented seated on a chair, holding a pomegranate (Japanese zakuro) in the right hand (in Asia as well as Europe, the pomegranate is the symbol of progeniture, perhaps due to its many seeds) and surrounded with naked or semi-naked children (usually three, five, seven or nine).
When represented standing, she holds a lotus, an attribute of Avalokitesvara, in the right hand. In painting, she is sometimes seated under an octagonal dais capped with a jewel. She holds a fly-wisk and has two little girls as acolytes. The most famous temples where she is worshipped are those of Meguro and Zoshigaya in Tokyo. Her followers believe that she also possesses the power of curing sick children. Her feast day is celebrated in November.
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Hariti
Jan 8, 2007 17:20:11 GMT -5
Post by Lady Anastasia on Jan 8, 2007 17:20:11 GMT -5
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Hariti
Jan 10, 2007 13:55:55 GMT -5
Post by Senbecc on Jan 10, 2007 13:55:55 GMT -5
Very nice...Thank you.
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Hariti
Jan 10, 2007 13:57:28 GMT -5
Post by KittyLane on Jan 10, 2007 13:57:28 GMT -5
i love the artwork. thanks lala for the informative posts! i look forward to more!
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Hariti
Jan 10, 2007 16:10:58 GMT -5
Post by Lady Anastasia on Jan 10, 2007 16:10:58 GMT -5
Kitty... There are already quite a few that I have posted....
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Hariti
Jan 12, 2007 14:20:02 GMT -5
Post by KittyLane on Jan 12, 2007 14:20:02 GMT -5
Kitty... There are already quite a few that I have posted.... yes dear i have seen that! i have been going through all the posts and checking to see if they need the warnings, and i thought i would comment on this thread in particular. very impressive the information and art work you have posted here. thanks again lala. this is something i normally would not seek out, i am glad it is here and easily accessed!
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Hariti
Jan 14, 2007 16:53:27 GMT -5
Post by wren on Jan 14, 2007 16:53:27 GMT -5
Lala, I knew nothing of these legends before you brought them to my attention. I feel as if you've opened an entirely new world to me. As I said before, and will say again, you add to the beauty of these boards with your presence.
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