932 william m. bodiford“Verse for Breaking the Gates of Hell.”^14 These are followed by a
repentance script (recited three times) with a repentance dhāraṇī,
verses, and a dhāraṇī for taking refuge in the three jewels, a lecture
on the rules of morality for laypeople, and a dhāraṇī for arousing the
mind of awakening (bodhicitta).^15 It concludes with the Heart Sūtra
and the repentance script with a repentance dhāraṇī again.
In 1706 Menzan Zuihō (1683–1769) composed a new
ritual program for the ambrosia gate ritual, and it is this version of
the ritual that is now performed at Sōtō Zen temples. Menzan is a tow-
ering figure in Japanese Zen history. His scholarship came to define
the standard interpretation of Sōtō Zen doctrine and practice (Riggs
2002; 2005; 2008). Although Menzan was a strong advocate of the
superiority of Zen, to reform this ritual he received esoteric initiations
under the direction of Ekō Risshi (n.d.) of Reiunji
in Edo (Tokyo). Ekō taught the Shin’anryū lineage of Shingon
Buddhism (Sugimoto 1982b, 1–2). Menzan studied Sanskrit as well as
the secret gestures and visualizations used during esoteric ceremonies,
and used this knowledge to edit the wording, word-division, and pro-
nunciation of the dhāraṇī chanted in Sōtō temples. He also translated
them into Japanese and wrote commentaries on them.^16 While no
one today would mistake Menzan’s transcriptions of Sanskrit for the
“correct pronunciation of India” (to use Shuzen Kakumu’s phrase),
he brought Zen dhāraṇī into conformity with the best philological
knowledge of his time.
(^14) For Ākāśagarbha’s dhāraṇī, see the Dari rulai jianyin ( T.
864A.18:197a). The “Verse for Breaking the Gates of Hell” appears in the Flower Gar-
land Sūtra (Huayan jing , fascicle 19, chap. 20, “Yemo gongzhong jizan pin”
; T. 279.10:102a–b):
If people wish to know
All buddhas of the past, present, and future
They should view the Dharma realm as:
All is mere mental fabrications.
The Chinese Chan teacher Yongming Yanshou (904–975) linked this verse
to the deceased, when he wrote that chanting this verse breaks open the gates of hell
and allows the beings there to escape to the Pure Land (Zongjing lu ; fascicle
9; T. 2016.48:461b).
(^15) For these dhāraṇī, see the Dari rulai jianyin ( T. 864A.18:197a) for
repentance; the Shou putixin jie yi ( T. 915.18:941a) for taking refuge
in the three jewels; and the Yujia jiyao yankou shishi yi ( T.
1320.21:479b) for arousing bodhicitta.
(^16) See, for example, the Shōsai kichijō darani kyō jikisetsu ,
reprinted in Sōtōshū zensho (Sōtōshū Zensho Kankōkai, ed. 1970–1973, 13: 715–22,
no. 4, “Chūkai” ).