The is a Japanese grouping of

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

deities, particularly in the Shingon sect of Buddhism. The deities are, in fact, not only

Buddhas In Buddhism, Buddha (; Pali, Sanskrit: 𑀩𑀼𑀤𑁆𑀥, बुद्ध), "awakened one", is a title for those who are awake, and have attained nirvana and Buddhahood through their own efforts and insight, without a teacher to point out ...

, but include

bodhisattvas In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood. In the Early Buddhist schools ...

and

Wisdom King A Wisdom King (Sanskrit: विद्याराज; IAST: ''Vidyārāja'', ) is a type of wrathful deity in East Asian Buddhism. Whereas the Sanskrit name is translated literally as "wisdom / knowledge king(s)," the term '' vidyā'' in Vajraya ...

s. In Shingon services, lay followers recite a devotional mantra to each figure, though in Shingon practice, disciples will typically devote themselves to only one, depending on what the teacher assigns. Thus the chanting of the mantras of the Thirteen Buddhas are merely the basic practice of laypeople.

Funeral rituals

The Thirteen Buddhas are also an important part of a traditional Japanese Buddhist

funeral A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect ...

service, with each deity having a corresponding memorial service for the deceased. The thirteen in Japanese and

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...

and the corresponding date of their service after the death are: # Fudō (Acala), 7th day #

Shaka Shaka kaSenzangakhona ( – 22 September 1828), also known as Shaka Zulu () and Sigidi kaSenzangakhona, was the king of the Zulu Kingdom from 1816 to 1828. One of the most influential monarchs of the Zulu, he ordered wide-reaching reforms that ...

(Sakyamuni), 14th day # Monju (Manjushri), 21st day # Fugen (Samantabhadra), 28th day # Jizō (Ksitigarbha), 35th day # Miroku (Maitreya), 42nd day # Yakushi (

Bhaisajyaguru Bhaiṣajyaguru ( sa, भैषज्यगुरु, zh, t= , ja, 薬師仏, ko, 약사불, bo, སངས་རྒྱས་སྨན་བླ), or ''Bhaishajyaguru'', formally Bhaiṣajya-guru-vaiḍūrya-prabhā-rāja ("Medicine Master ...

), 49th day #

Kannon Guanyin () is a Bodhisattva associated with compassion. She is the East Asian representation of Avalokiteśvara ( sa, अवलोकितेश्वर) and has been adopted by other Eastern religions, including Chinese folk religion. She w ...

(Avalokitesvara), 100th day #

Seishi Seishi (written: 聖史, 正士, 正史 or 誠志) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: * (born 1945), Japanese jurist * (1902–1974), Japanese physicist * (born 1974), Japanese manga artist * (1902–1981), J ...

(Mahasthamaprapta), 1st anniversary # Amida (Amitabha), 2nd anniversary # Ashuku (Akshobhya), 6th anniversary # Dainichi (Vairocana), 12th anniversary # Kokūzō (Akasagarbha), 32nd anniversary

Mantras

While the thirteen figures have several mantras associated to each respectively, those listed below pertain to the standard formula used in Japanese ritual. The Shingon and

Tendai , also known as the Tendai Lotus School (天台法華宗 ''Tendai hokke shū,'' sometimes just "''hokke shū''") is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition (with significant esoteric elements) officially established in Japan in 806 by the Japanese m ...

schools each use a different method of transliteration of the original Sanskrit.

is the only figure whose mantra fundamentally differs between traditions. # Fudōmyōō (,

Acala or Achala ( sa, अचल, "The Immovable", ), also known as (, "Immovable Lord") or (, "Noble Immovable Lord"), is a wrathful deity and ''dharmapala'' (protector of the Dharma) prominent in Vajrayana Buddhism and East Asian Buddhism., Jp. r ...

): #: (''Sanskrit'') namaḥ samanta vajrāṇāṃ caṇḍa mahāroṣaṇa sphoṭaya hūṃ traṭ hāṃ māṃ #: (''Shingon'') nōmaku sanmanda bazara dan senda makaroshada sowataya untarata kanman #: () #: (''Tendai'') namaku samanda bazaranan senda makaroshana sowataya untarata kanman #: () # Shaka nyorai (,

Sakyamuni Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...

): #: (''Sanskrit'') namaḥ samanta buddhānāṃ bhaḥ #: (''Shingon'') nōmaku sanmanda bodanan baku () #: (''Tendai'') namaku samanda bodanan ba () # Monju bosatsu (,

Manjushri Mañjuśrī (Sanskrit: मञ्जुश्री) is a ''bodhisattva'' associated with '' prajñā'' (wisdom) in Mahāyāna Buddhism. His name means "Gentle Glory" in Sanskrit. Mañjuśrī is also known by the fuller name of Mañjuśrīkumāra ...

): #: (''Sanskrit'') oṃ a ra pa ca na #: (''Shingon'') on arahashanō () #: (''Tendai'') on a ra ha sha na () # Fugen bosatsu (, Samantabhadra): #: (''Sanskrit'') oṃ samayas tvaṃ #: (''Shingon'') on sanmaya satoban () #: (''Tendai'') on samaya sataban () # Jizō bosatsu (, Ksitigarbha): #: (''Sanskrit'') oṃ ha ha ha vismaye svāhā #: (''Shingon'') on kakaka bisanmaei sowaka () #: (''Tendai'') on kakakabi samaei sowaka () # Miroku bosatsu (,

Maitreya Maitreya (Sanskrit: ) or Metteyya (Pali: ), also Maitreya Buddha or Metteyya Buddha, is regarded as the future Buddha of this world in Buddhist eschatology. As the 5th and final Buddha of the current kalpa, Maitreya's teachings will be aimed a ...

): #: (''Sanskrit'') oṃ maitreya svāhā #: (''Shingon'') on maitareiya sowaka () #: (''Tendai'') on maitariya sowaka () # Yakushi nyorai (,

): #: (''Sanskrit'') oṃ huru huru caṇḍāli mātangi svāhā #: (''Shingon'') on korokoro sendari matōgi sowaka () #: (''Sanskrit'') oṃ bhaiṣajye bhaiṣajye bhaiṣajya samudgate svāhā #: (Tendai) on baiseizeibaiseizei baiseijasanborgyatei sowaka ( # Kanzeon bosatsu (, Avalokitesvara): #: (''Sanskrit'') oṃ ārolik svāhā #: (''Shingon'') on arorikya sowaka () #: (''Tendai'') on arorikya sowaka () # Seishi bosatsu (,

Mahasthamaprapta Mahāsthāmaprāpta is a bodhisattva mahāsattva who represents the power of wisdom. His name literally means "arrival of the great strength". Mahāsthāmaprāpta is one of the Eight Great Bodhisattvas in Mahayana Buddhism, along with Mañjuś ...

): #: (''Sanskrit'') oṃ saṃ jaṃ jaṃ saḥ svāhā #: (''Shingon'') on san zan saku sowaka () #: (''Tendai'') on sanzen zensaku sowaka () # Amida nyorai (, Amitabha): #: (''Sanskrit'') oṃ amṛta teje hara hūṃ #: (''Shingon'') on amirita teisei kara un () #: (''Tendai'') on amirita teisei kara un () # Ashuku nyorai (, Akshobhya): #: (''Sanskrit'') oṃ akṣobhya hūṃ #: (''Shingon'') on akishubiya un () #: (''Tendai'') on akishubiya un () # Dainichi nyorai (,

Vairocana Vairocana (also Mahāvairocana, sa, वैरोचन) is a cosmic buddha from Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. Vairocana is often interpreted, in texts like the ''Avatamsaka Sutra'', as the dharmakāya of the historical Gautama Buddha. In East ...

): #: (''Sanskrit'') oṃ a vi ra hūṃ khaṃ vajradhātu vaṃ #: (''Shingon'') on abiraunken basara datoban () #: (''Tendai'') on abiraunken basara datoban () # Kokūzō bosatsu (, Akashagarbha): #: (''Sanskrit'') namo ākāśagarbhāya oṃ ārya kāmāri mauli svāhā #: (''Shingon'') nōbō akyashakyarabaya on arikya mari bori sowaka () #: (''Tendai'') namo akyashagerubaya onarikya maribori sowaka ()

Zodiac

Eight of the thirteen figures are traditionally assigned as guardians of the twelve

Earthly Branches The twelve Earthly Branches or Terrestrial Branches are a Chinese ordering system used throughout East Asia in various contexts, including its ancient dating system, astrological traditions, zodiac and ordinals. Origin This system was built ...

of the

Chinese zodiac The Chinese zodiac is a traditional classification scheme based on the lunar calendar that assigns an animal and its reputed attributes to each year in a repeating twelve-year cycle. Originating from China, the zodiac and its variations remain ...

References

{{Buddhist Pantheon Bodhisattvas Japan religion-related lists Japanese mythology Buddhas Buddhism in the Edo period Shingon Buddhism 13 (number)

Funeral rituals

Mantras

Zodiac

See also

References