The Buddhist mantra

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Buddhism, naturally following from Vedic society, also developed its

own system and understanding of mantra, which while similar to that

of Hinduism's, also took on its own particularities, especially

according to region.

 

Buddhist Mantra in Shingon Buddhism Kukai (Kukai was a Japanese monk,

scholar, artist and calligrapher, founder of the Shingon or "True

Word" school of Buddhism) advanced a general theory of language based

on his analysis of two forms of Buddhist ritual language: dharani and

mantra.

 

Mantra is restricted to esoteric Buddhist practice whereas dharani is

found in both esoteric and exoteric ritual. Dharanis for instance are

found in the Pali Canon (buddhist scripture).

 

Kukai coined the word "shingon" (lit true word) as a Japanese

translation of mantra. The word dharani derives from a Sanskrit root

dh.r which means to hold, or maintain.

 

Ryuichi Abe (Professor of Japanese Religions at Harvard University)

suggests that it is generally understood as a mnemonic device which

encapsulates the meaning of a section or chapter of a sutra.

 

This is perhaps related to the use of verse summaries at the end of

texts as in the Udana which is generally acknowledged as being in the

oldest strata of the Pali Canon

Dharanis are also considered to protect the one who chants them from

malign influences and calamities. The term mantra is traditionally

said to be derived from two roots: "man", to think; and the action

oriented (k.rt) suffix "tra".

 

Thus a mantra can be considered to be a linguistic device for

deepening ones thought, or in the Buddhist context for developing the

enlightened mind.

 

However it is also true that mantras have been used as magic spells

for very mundane purposes such as attaining wealth and long life, and

eliminating enemies.

 

The distinction between dharani and mantra is a difficult one to

make. We can say that all mantras are dharanis but that not all

dharanis are mantras. Mantras do tend to be shorter.

 

Both tend to contain a number of unintelligible phonic fragments such

as Om, or Hu.m which is perhaps why some people consider them to be

essentially meaningless.

Kukai made mantra a special class of dharani which showed that every

syllable of a dharani was a manifestation of the true nature of

reality — in Buddhist terms that all sound is a manifestation of

shunyata or emptiness of self-nature.

 

Thus rather than being devoid of meaning, Kukai suggests that

dharanis are in fact saturated with meaning — every syllable is

symbolic on multiple levels.

 

One of Kukai's distinctive contributions was to take this symbolic

association even further by saying that there is no essential

difference between the syllables of mantras and sacred texts, and

those of ordinary language.

 

If one understood the workings of mantra, then any sounds could be a

representative of ultimate reality. This emphasis on sounds was one

of the drivers for Kukai's championing of the phonetic writing

system, the kana, which was adopted in Japan around the time of

Kukai.

 

He is generally credited with the invention of the kana, but there is

apparently some doubt about this story amongst scholars.

This mantra-based theory of language had a powerful effect on

Japanese thought and society which up until Kukai's time had been

dominated by imported Chinese culture of thought, particularly in the

form of the Classical Chinese language which was used in the court

and amongst the literati, and Confucianism which was the dominant

political ideology.

 

In particular Kukai was able to use this new theory of language to

create links between indigenous Japanese culture and Buddhism. For

instance, he made a link between the Buddha Mahavairocana and the

Shinto sun Goddess Amaterasu.

 

Since the emperors were thought to be descended form Amaterasu, Kukai

had found a powerful connection here that linked the emperors with

the Buddha, and also in finding a way to integrate Shinto with

Buddhism, something that had not happened with Confucianism.

 

Buddhism then became essentially an indigenous religion in a way that

Confucianism had not. And it was through language, and mantra that

this connection was made.

 

Kukai helped to elucidate what mantra is in a way that had not been

done before: he addresses the fundamental questions of what a text

is, how signs function, and above all, what language is.

In this he covers some of the same ground as modern day

structuralists and others scholars of language, although he comes to

very different conclusions.

 

In this system of thought all sounds are said to originate from 'a' —

which is the short sound in father. For esoteric Buddhism 'a' has a

special function because it is associated with Shunyata or the idea

that nothing exists in its own right, but is contingent upon causes

and conditions.

 

In Sanskrit 'a' is a prefix which changes the meaning of a word into

its opposite, so 'vidya' is understanding, and 'avidya' is ignorance

(the same arrangement is also found in many Greek words, like

example, 'atheism' vs. 'theism' and 'apathy' vs. 'pathos').

 

The letter 'a' is both visualised in the Siddham script, and

pronounced in rituals and meditation practices. In the Mahavairocana

Sutra which is central to Shingon Buddhism it says:

 

Thanks to the original vows of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, a

miraculous force resides in the mantras, so that by pronouncing them

one acquires merit without limits.

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