74. KŌMYŌ SHINGON^1
Mark UnnoPreface
The kōmyō shingon , or the mantra of light, is a key practice
of the Shingon school. In Japanese, it is On abokya beiroshanō maka-
bodara mani handoma jimbara harabaritaya un
, which is a translitera-
tion of the Sanskrit Oṃ amogha vairocana mahāmudrā maṇi padma
jvāla pravarttaya hūṃ. It means, “Praise be to the flawless, all-perva-
sive illumination of the great mudrā (the seal of the Buddha). Turn
over and set in motion the jewel, lotus, and radiant light.”
The mantra originated in India, was transmitted to China by such
renowned translator-monks as Amoghavajra (705–774) and Bodhiruci
(d. 727), and was then propagated in Korea and Japan. It reached the
height of prominence in Japan, and it is one of the most widely dis-
seminated ritual practices of not only the Shingon school but in
Japanese Buddhism generally, having found its way into the menu of
practices of the Tendai and Sōtō Zen schools as well.Within
the Shingon school, as Shōun Toganoō writes, “Today the most widely
practiced of the ten major Shingon rituals are the ritual of the kōmyō
shingon and the ritual of the Rishukyō ” (1940, 286).
The mantra serves many functions, including healing illnesses, puri-
fying one’s evil karma, expiating the sins of the dying and deceased,
and religious rebirth in the Pure Land of Amida (Amitābha).
The thread that runs through all of these is the purification of evil or
destructive karma. Through this purification rupture—whether physical,
(^1) The basis for this article can be found in Unno 2004, esp. 22–42, 73–127; and
1998, esp. 173–79. However, this essay incorporates substantial updates and refine-
ments, including the following: further incorporation of the scholarship of Shōun
Toganoo on the mantra of light, including developments after the Kamakura period;
methodological reflections concerning ritualization and textualization; and exami-
nation of the mantra within the spectrum of devotional to yogic dimensions of the
mantra. In order to incorporate this research, this article has been recomposed from
the ground up.