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Gumonji 求聞寺 Gumon-Ji
Nr. 09 岩木山 Iwakisan - 求聞寺 Gumon-Ji
. 津軽弘法大師霊場 - Tsugaru Kobo Daishi Reijo
Pilgrimage to 23 Kobo Daishi temples in Tsugaru .
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弘前市百沢字寺沢２９ / Terasawa-29 Hyakuzawa, Hirosaki-shi
The main statue is
Kokuzo Bosatsu 虚空蔵菩薩.
Gumonjihō 求聞持法 Gumonji-Ho, Esoteric Rite to Improve One's Memory, 'Kokuzo-Gumonji-no-ho"
Shrine Iwakiyama Jinja 岩木山神社 is close by.
The temple was founded by the second Lord of Tsugaru,
Tsugaru Nobuhira 津軽信枚 (1586 - 1631) to pray for peace of his domaine, which had been in fighting until then.
He had the statue of Kokuzo seated here and practised the rituals for him, even building the special Hall Gumonji-Do 求聞持堂 in 1629, calling it
百沢寺求聞持堂 Hyakutaku-Ji, Gumonji-Do.
Temple
Hyakutaku-Ji had been one of the five important Shingon temples in the region before Nobuhira. It had 10 sub-temples and was quite prosperous. In the beginning of the Meiji period Iwakiyama Shrine and this temple had been separated.
The Gumonji-Do Hall was lost to fire in 1876, but has later been reconstructed.
- Chant of the temple
輪廻して 人のこころは ほろびなし 求め聞かばや 今やこのとき
湯浴みして 身をば清めて 詣でなん 憂世の塵と 行脚の垢と
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- quote
Kokūzō Bosatsu 虚空蔵菩薩
Invoked in the
Gumonjihō 求聞持法, an esoteric rite to improve one’s memory that involves reciting Kokūzō’s morning star mantra.
Kūkai 空海 (774 - 835), the founder of Japan’s Shingon sect, practiced this rite prior to achieving enlightenment.
Gumonjihō 求聞持法
Esoteric Rite to Improve One’s Memory
Morning Star Mantra, Kokūzō as the Morning Star
Kokūzō was introduced to Japan in the late Nara period (circa 790 AD) as part of an esoteric rite to improve one's memory, and even today Kokūzō is venerated as a deity who bestows intelligence on devotees. The esoteric rite, known as Gumonjihō or Gubunjihō 求聞持法 (Chn. = Qiúwén chífǎ), comes from a sutra known in Japan as
Kokūzō Bosatsu nō man shogan saishō shin darani gumonji hō 虛空藏菩薩能滿諸願最勝心陀羅尼求聞持法 (Taishō Canon #1145). It was first translated into Chinese in 716 CE, and may be loosely translated as Kokuzo Bosatsu's power-filled, wish-fulfilling, supreme mind dharāṇi technique for seeking, hearing, and retention.
Kūkai 空海 （774–835), the patriarch of Japan’s Shingon sect, was taught to recite the Gumonji-hō mantra during his training as a teenager. Since the sutra promises devotees who earnestly recite the mantra that Kokūzō will appear to them as the morning star, the chant is also called the Morning Star mantra. Kūkai reportedly attained enlightenment in the early dawn at Cape Muroto (Shikoku island) while reciting the mantra, and as promised, Kokūzō appeared to him in the form of the morning star. Kūkai himself writes in the Sangō Shiiki 三教指帰 (Guide to the Three Teachings, 797 AD): “The valleys echoed, and the morning star made its appearance.”
namo ākāśagarbhaya oṃ ārya kamari mauli svāhā
Morning Star Mantra in Sanskrit.
Kōbō Daishi 弘法大師 (Kūkai’s posthumous title, lit. = Great Teacher Kōbō), said people who chant this mantra one million times will gain the ability to remember and understand any Buddhist text. The Gumonjihō sutra itself says: “If people recite the mantra of Kokūzō one million times, in accord with the teachings [in this sutra], they will achieve the ability to memorize the words and understand the real meaning of all scriptures [they study].”
- source : Mark Schumacher
. Temple Kokuzo-Ji 虚空蔵寺, Hamamatsu .
. Kokuzo 虚空蔵と伝説 Legends about Kokuzo Bosatsu .
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- - - - - Homepage of the temple
- source : kouboudaishi.main
- source and photos : www1.ocn.ne.jp/~uizu
- Member of other pilgrimages in the region
. Tsugaru Shichifukujin 津軽七福神 Seven Gods of Good Luck - Daikoku .
津軽三十三ヶ所観音霊場 第三番札所 - Tsugaru Kannon Nr. 3
津軽八十八ヶ所霊場 第六十六番札所 - Tsugaru Henro Nr. 66
津軽一代様 丑寅年生まれ Tsugaru Ichidai Mamori Honzon
Protector Deity for people born in the year of the ox and tiger (ushitora)
. Ichidai Mamori Honzon 一代守り本尊 Personal Protector Deities .
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- - - - - Yearly Festivals 年中行事
旧暦1月13日 春季大祭 Spring Festival
旧暦6月13日 夏季大祭 Summer Festival
旧暦8月1日 例大祭 Main Festival
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- - - reference - - -
. 津軽弘法大師霊場 - Tsugaru Kobo Daishi Reijo
Pilgrimage to 23 Kobo Daishi temples in Tsugaru .
. Pilgrimages to Fudo Temples 不動明王巡礼
Fudo Myo-O Junrei - Introduction .
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. Kobo Daishi Kukai 弘法大師 空海 . (774 - 835) .
. Narita Fudo 成田不動尊 .
Temple Shinshooji 新勝寺 Shinsho-Ji
. Fudo Myo-O at Mount Koyasan 高野山の明王像 .
. Tsugaru Shichifukujin 津軽七福神 Seven Gods of Good Luck .
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. 東北三十六不動尊霊場 - 36 Fudo Temples in Tohoku .
. O-Mamori お守り Amulets and talismans from Japan .
. Japanese Temples - ABC list - .
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. Japan - after the BIG earthquake .
March 11, 2011, 14:46
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