Nio (Buddhism)

Manifestations

Symbolic meaning

They are usually portrayed as a pair of figures that stand guarding the main temple entrance gates, usually called shanmen (山門) in China, niōmon in Japan, and (金剛門) in Korea. In Sanskrit, the right statue is known as Guhyapāda. He traditionally has his mouth open, representing the vocalization of the first grapheme of Sanskrit Devanāgarī (अ, "a"). The left statue is Nārāyaṇa. He traditionally has his mouth closed, representing the vocalization of the last grapheme of Devanāgarī (ह, ""), read "" (हूँ). These two characters together (a-hūṃ/a-un) symbolize the birth and death of all things. (Men are supposedly born speaking the "a" sound with mouths open and die speaking an "" and mouths closed.) Similar to Jaya-Vijaya, they signify "everything" or "all creation". The contraction of both is the mantra om (ॐ).

Guhyapāda

Guhyapāda (Traditional Chinese: 密迹金剛; simplified Chinese: 密迹金刚; pinyin: Mìjī jīngāng; Japanese: Misshaku Kongō; Korean: Miljeok geumgang; Vietnamese: Mật tích kim cương ) is a symbol of overt violence: he wields a vajra mallet "" (a diamond club, thunderbolt stick, or sun symbol) and bares his teeth. His mouth is depicted as being in the shape necessary to form the "ha" or "ah" sound. In China, he is also known as General Ha (哈将 Hā Jiāng) in reference to this iconographic detail. Similarly, he is also known as Agyō (阿形, "a"-form, general term open-mouthed statues in aum pair) in Japan due to this detail as well. In Chinese Buddhism, Guhyapāda is regarded as one of the Twenty-Four Protective Deities, who are a grouping of dharmapalas often enshrined in the Daxiong of temples and monasteries. In addition, Guhyapāda is also sometimes paired or identified with the Wisdom King Ucchuṣma, who is commonly known in Chinese as Huiji Jingang (穢跡金剛).

Nārāyaṇa

Nārāyaṇa (Traditional Chinese: 那羅延金剛; simplified Chinese: 那罗延金刚; pinyin: Nàluōyán Jīngāng; Japanese: Naraen Kongō; Korean: Narayeon geumgang; Vietnamese: Na la diên kim cương) is depicted either bare-handed or wielding a sword. He symbolizes latent strength, holding his mouth tightly shut. His mouth is rendered to form the sound "", or "heng" or "un". In China, he is also known as General Heng (哼将 Hēng Jiāng) in reference to this iconographic detail. Similarly, he is also known as Ungyō (吽形, "um"-form, general term closed-mouthed statues in aum pair) in Japan due to this detail as well.

Vajrapāni

Both Guhyapāda and Nārāyaṇa are seen as manifestations of Vajrapāni (Traditional Chinese: 執金剛神; simplified Chinese: 执金刚神; pinyin: Zhíjīngāng shén; Japanese: Shūkongōshin; Korean: Jip geumgang sin; Vietnamese: Chấp kim cang thần), with the name literally meaning "vajra-wielding god".

Nio Zen Buddhism

Nio Zen Buddhism was a practice advocated by the Zen monk Suzuki Shōsan (1579–1655), who advocated Nio Zen Buddhism over Nyorai Zen Buddhism. He recommended that practitioners should meditate on Nio and even adopt their fierce expressions and martial stances in order to cultivate power, strength and courage when dealing with adversity. Suzuki described Nio as follows: "The Niō (Vajrapani) is a menacing God. He wields the kongōsho (vajra) and he can crush your enemies. Depend on him, pray to him that he will protect you as he protects the Buddha. He vibrates with energy and spiritual power which you can absorb from him in times of need."

Influence on Taoism

Main article: Heng and Ha

In Chinese folk religion and Taoism, they are known as the two generals Heng and Ha ({{linktext|哼|哈|二|將}}, ). In the Taoist novel , Zheng Lun and Chen Qi were finally appointed as the two deities.

Gallery

File:Bust of a Buddhist guardian figure, from China, Yuan Dynasty, 14th century CE. The British Museum.jpg|Bust of a Buddhist guardian figure, from China, Yuan Dynasty, 14th century CE. The British Museum

File:Statue of the Two Vajra Warriors (金刚力士 Jinggang Lishi) or Nio (仁王 Renwang) - Guhyapada (密跡金剛 Miji Jinggang) and Narayana (Naluoyan Tian) in Tze Shan Monastery (慈山寺 Císhànsì) in Hong Kong.jpg|Statue of Mìjī jīngāng (Guhyapada) on the right and Nàluōyán Jīngāng (Narayana) on the left of the shanmen in Tsz Shan Monastery in Hong Kong File:Temple Guardian (Miljeok Geumgangyeoksa) at Hwa-Eom Temple-.jpg|Narayeon Geumgang at Hwa-Eom Temple in South Korea File:Two Niō who stand in the left (Ungyō) and right (Agyō) of the sanmon gate at Zentsū-ji in Zentsū-ji City Kagawa pref.jpg|Two Niō who stand in the left (Ungyō) and the right (Agyō) of sanmon (gate) at Zentsū-ji in Japan File:Niō or Temple Guardian. Banna-ji. Ashikaga, Togichi.jpg|Niō or Temple Guardian. Banna-ji. File:Niō - Temple Guardian. Banna-ji. Ashikaga, Togichi.jpg|Niō - Temple Guardian. Banna-ji. File:Vajirapani Shukongōshin Tōdai-ji before 1939.jpg|Shukongōshin in Tōdai-ji at Nara, Japan. Made in the 8th century. National Treasure of Japan.

Notes

References

• Religions of the Silk Road by Richard Foltz, 2nd edition (Palgrave, 2010)
• The Diffusion of Classical Art in Antiquity by John Boardman (Princeton University Press, 1994)
• Old World Encounters. Cross-cultural contacts and exchanges in pre-modern times by Jerry H.Bentley (Oxford University Press, 1993)
• Alexander the Great: East-West Cultural contacts from Greece to Japan (NHK and Tokyo National Museum, 2003)

References

1. Martin, John H.. (2014). "Kyoto: 29 Walks in Japan's Ancient Capital". Tuttle.
2. Soseki, Natsume. "Ten Nights Dreaming and the Cat's Grave". Dover.
3. The illustrated encyclopedia of Zen Buddhism By Helen Josephine Baroni, Page 240
4. Transliterations from [http://www.buddhism-dict.net/ddb/ Digital Dictionary of Buddhism]
5. See "金剛" at [http://www.hm.tyg.jp/~acmuller/soothill/soothill-hodous.html William Edward Soothill and Lewis Hodous. ''A Dictionary of Chinese Buddhist Terms''] {{Webarchive. link. (2006-12-06)
6. Zhaohua., Yang. (2013). "Devouring impurities : myth, ritual and talisman in the cult of Ucchusma in Tang China".
7. Helen Josephine Baroni. (June 2002). "The illustrated encyclopedia of Zen Buddhism". The Rosen Publishing Group.
8. {{translit. zh. [[Fengshen Yanyi]], chapter 99.