#prajnaparamita

[yoga-onion]

Heart Sutra ~ A sutra that describes “The Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom" (7) 

The Idea of “Prajnaparamita Hridhya Sutra” ~ “Perfection without completion” [So far]

Since everything has no substance, we should not even possess the notion of knowing or acquiring something. You don't even need to have the desire to know or acquire something. Because what you want to know, what you want to get, is not there in the first place.

To practice in this way and keep the mind at ease is called “Prajnaparamita”.

In other words, the “Perfection of Wisdom” does not mean that this is the end of everything. The word “Prajnaparamita” means “Perfection without completion”.

Emptiness also continues to be denied, which is the true meaning of “Prajnaparamita”.

The “Perfection of Wisdom” is the persistence of the practice of all existence being void of substance, as described above.

Those who are at peace with this “Prajnaparamita” do not let their minds to wander. Because their minds are not lost, things do not appear twisted. In other words, there is no illusion. The person will settle down in eternal peace, the Heart Sutra concludes.

[Click here to continue]

般若心経 〜「智慧の完成」の精髄を述べる経典 (7)

『般若波羅蜜多心経 (梵: ﾌﾟﾗｼﾞｭﾅｰﾊﾟｰﾗﾐﾀｰ･ﾌﾘﾀﾞﾔ･ｽｰﾄﾗ) 』の思想 〜 “完成のない完成”（これまで）

すべてのものは実体がないのだから、何かを知りたい、何かを取得しようとかいう観念さえも所有してはならない。知りたい、取得したいという願いさえ起こす必要がないのである。なぜなら、あなたが知りたいこと、得たいものは、最初からそこに存在しないからだ。

このように修行し心を安住し続けることを『般若波羅蜜多』という。

つまり、智慧の完成と言っても、これですべて終わりというのではない。このパーラミターの語は、“完成のない完成”のことを意味する。空もまた否定し続ける意味のパーラミターである。

智慧の完成とは先述の通りの、すべての存在は無実体空という実践を���続することである。

この『般若波羅蜜多』に安住する人はものに心を奪われて迷うことがない���心に迷うことがないから、ものごとを逆さに見ることがない。つまり錯覚がないのである。その人は永遠の安らぎに落ち着くことになるであろう、と般若心経は結んでいる。

（ここをクリックして次へ）

[renegade-hierophant]

The frontispiece to the world’s earliest dated printed book, the Chinese translation of the Buddhist text the Diamond Sutra. This consists of a scroll, over 4.8 meters long, made up of a long series of printed pages. Printed in China in 868 CE, it was found in the Dunhuang Caves in 1907, in the North Western province of Gansu.

[tsultrimpawo]

The Sutra of the Heart of Transcendent Knowledge

Thus have I heard. Once the Blessed One was dwelling in Råjagriha at Vulture Peak mountain, together with a great gathering of the sangha of monks and a great gathering of the sangha of bodhisattvas. At that time the Blessed One entered the samådhi that expresses the dharma called “profound illumination,” and at the same time noble Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva mahåsattva, while practicing the profound prajñåpåramitå, saw in this way:

He saw the five skandhas to be empty of nature. Then, through the power of the Buddha, venerable Shåriputra said to noble Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva mahåsattva, “How should a son or daughter of noble family train, who wishes to practice the profound prajñåpåramitå?” Addressed in this way, noble Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva mahåsattva, said to venerable Shåriputra, “O Shåriputra, a son or daughter of noble family who wishes to practice the profound prajñåpåramitå should see in this way: seeing the five skandhas to be empty of nature. Form is emptiness; emptiness also is form. Emptiness is no other than form; form is no other than emptiness. In the same way, feeling, perception, formation, and consciousness are emptiness. Thus, Shåriputra, all dharmas are emptiness. There are no characteristics. There is no birth and no cessation. There is no impurity and no purity. There is no decrease and no increase. Therefore, Shåriputra, in emptiness, there is no form, no feeling, no perception, no formation, no consciousness; no eye, no ear, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind; no appearance, no sound, no smell, no taste, no touch, no dharmas; no eye dhåtu up to no mind dhåtu, no dhåtu of dharmas, no mind consciousness dhåtu; no ignorance, no end of ignorance up to no old age and death, no end of old age and death; no suffering, no origin of suffering, no cessation of suffering, no path, no wisdom, no attainment, and no nonattainment. Therefore, Shåriputra, since the bodhisattvas have no attainment, they abide by means of prajñåpåramitå. Since there is no obscuration of mind,

there is no fear. They transcend falsity and attain complete nirvåna. All the buddhas of the three times, by means of prajñåpåramitå, fully awaken to unsurpassable, true, complete enlightenment. Therefore, the great mantra of prajñåpåramitå, the mantra of great insight, the unsurpassed mantra, the unequaled mantra, the mantra that calms all suffering, should be known as truth, since there is no deception. The prajñåpåramitå mantra is said in this way:

OM GATE GATE PÅRAGATE PÅRASAMGATE BODHI SVÅHÅ

Thus, Shåriputra, the bodhisattva mahåsattva should train in the profound prajñåpåramitå.”

Then the Blessed One arose from that samådhi and praised noble Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva mahåsattva, saying, “Good, good, O son of noble family; thus it is, O son of noble family, thus it is. One should practice the profound prajñåpåramitå just as you have taught and all the tathågatas will rejoice.”

When the Blessed One had said this, venerable Shåriputra and noble Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva mahåsattva, that whole assembly and the world with its gods, humans, asuras, and gandharvas rejoiced and praised the words of the Blessed One.

---

Lotsåwa bhikúhu Rinchen De translated this text into Tibetan with the Indian païçita Vimalamitra.

It was edited by the great editor—lotsåwas Gelo,

Namkha, and others. This Tibetan text was copied

from the fresco in Gegye Chemaling at the glorious Samye vihåra. It has been translated into English

by the Nålandå Translation Committee, with reference to several Sanskrit editions.

[buddhismnow]

Morning meditation — The word 'self' denotes the same thing.

Morning meditation — The word 'self' denotes the same thing. https://wp.me/pFy3u-8Cd

‘The word ‘self’ denotes the same thing which the word ‘Buddha’ denotes.’ ManjushriPrajnaparamita in 700 Lines. Purple Tulip. On our Twitter account, Buddhism Now @Buddhism_Now, most mornings we post a ‘morning meditation’ like the one above. On the net, of course, it’s morning, afternoon, evening, or nighttime 😀 somewhere. Click here to read more Morning Meditation posts. Click here to read…

[fangednominals]

"The dharma-door of non-duality", chapter 9 of the Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa Sutra

Then, the Licchavi Vimalakirti asked those bodhisattvas, "Good sirs, please explain how the bodhisattvas enter the Dharma-door of nonduality!"

The bodhisattva Dharmavikurvana declared, "Noble sir, production and destruction are two, but what is not produced and does not occur cannot be destroyed. Thus the attainment of the tolerance of the birthlessness of things is the entrance into nonduality."

The bodhisattva Srigandha declared, "'I' and 'mine' are two. If there is no presumption of a self, there will be no possessiveness. Thus, the absence of presumption is the entrance into nonduality."

The bodhisattva Srikuta declared, "'Defilement' and 'purification' are two. When there is thorough knowledge of defilement, there will be no conceit about purification. The path leading to the complete conquest of all conceit is the entrance into nonduality."

The bodhisattva Bhadrajyotis declared, "'Distraction' and 'attention' are two. When there is no distraction, there will be no attention, no mentation, and no mental intensity. Thus, the absence of mental intensity is the entrance into nonduality."

The bodhisattva Subahu declared, "'Bodhisattva-spirit' and 'disciple-spirit' are two. When both are seen to resemble an illusory spirit, there is no bodhisattva-spirit, nor any disciple-spirit. Thus, the sameness of natures of spirits is the entrance into nonduality."

The bodhisattva Animisa declared, "'Grasping' and 'nongrasping' are two. What is not grasped is not perceived, and what is not perceived is neither presumed nor repudiated. Thus, the inaction and noninvolvement of all things is the entrance into nonduality."

The bodhisattva Sunetra declared, "'Uniqueness' and 'characterlessness' are two. Not to presume or construct something is neither to establish its uniqueness nor to establish its characterlessness. To penetrate the equality of these two is to enter nonduality."

The bodhisattva Tisya declared, "'Good' and 'evil' are two. Seeking neither good nor evil, the understanding of the nonduality of the significant and the meaningless is the entrance into nonduality."

The bodhisattva Simha declared, "'Sinfulness' and 'sinlessness' are two. By means of the diamond-like wisdom that pierces to the quick, not to be bound or liberated is the entrance into nonduality."

The bodhisattva Simhamati declared, "To say, 'This is impure' and 'This is immaculate' makes for duality. One who, attaining equanimity, forms no conception of impurity or immaculateness, yet is not utterly without conception, has equanimity without any attainment of equanimity - he enters the absence of conceptual knots. Thus, he enters into nonduality."

The bodhisattva Suddhadhimukti declared, "To say, 'This is happiness' and 'That is misery' is dualism. One who is free of all calculations, through the extreme purity of gnosis - his mind is aloof, like empty space; and thus he enters into nonduality."

The bodhisattva Narayana declared, "To say, 'This is mundane' and 'That is transcendental' is dualism. This world has the nature of voidness, so there is neither transcendence nor involvement, neither progress nor standstill. Thus, neither to transcend nor to be involved, neither to go nor to stop - this is the entrance into nonduality."

The bodhisattva Dantamati declared, "'Life' and 'liberation' are dualistic. Having seen the nature of life, one neither belongs to it nor is one utterly liberated from it. Such understanding is the entrance into nonduality."

The bodhisattva Pratyaksadarsana declared, "'Destructible' and 'indestructible' are dualistic. What is destroyed is ultimately destroyed. What is ultimately destroyed does not become destroyed; hence, it is called 'indestructible.' What is indestructible is instantaneous, and what is instantaneous is indestructible. The experience of such is called 'the entrance into the principle of nonduality.'"

The bodhisattva Parigudha declared, "'Self' and 'selflessness' are dualistic. Since the existence of self cannot be perceived, what is there to be made 'selfless'? Thus, the nondualism of the vision of their nature is the entrance into nonduality."

The bodhisattva Vidyuddeva declared, "'Knowledge' and 'ignorance' are dualistic. The natures of ignorance and knowledge are the same, for ignorance is undefined, incalculable, and beyond the sphere of thought. The realization of this is the entrance into nonduality."

The bodhisattva Priyadarsana declared, "Matter itself is void. Voidness does not result from the destruction of matter, but the nature of matter is itself voidness. Therefore, to speak of voidness on the one hand, and of matter, or of sensation, or of intellect, or of motivation, or of consciousness on the other - is entirely dualistic. Consciousness itself is voidness. Voidness does not result from the destruction of consciousness, but the nature of consciousness is itself voidness. Such understanding of the five compulsive aggregates and the knowledge of them as such by means of gnosis is the entrance into nonduality."

The bodhisattva Prabhaketu declared, "To say that the four main elements are one thing and the etheric space-element another is dualistic. The four main elements are themselves the nature of space. The past itself is also the nature of space. The future itself is also the nature of space. Likewise, the present itself is also the nature of space. The gnosis that penetrates the elements in such a way is the entrance into nonduality."

The bodhisattva Pramati declared, "'Eye' and 'form' are dualistic. To understand the eye correctly, and not to have attachment, aversion, or confusion with regard to form - that is called 'peace.' Similarly, 'ear' and 'sound,' 'nose' and 'smell,' 'tongue' and taste,' 'body' and touch,' and 'mind' and 'phenomena' - all are dualistic. But to know the mind, and to be neither attached, averse, nor confused with regard to phenomena - that is called 'peace.' To live in such peace is to enter into nonduality."

The bodhisattva Aksayamati declared, "The dedication of generosity for the sake of attaining omniscience is dualistic. The nature of generosity is itself omniscience, and the nature of omniscience itself is total dedication. Likewise, it is dualistic to dedicate morality, tolerance, effort, meditation, and wisdom for the sake of omniscience. Omniscience is the nature of wisdom, and total dedication is the nature of omniscience. Thus, the entrance into this principle of uniqueness is the entrance into nonduality."

The bodhisattva Gambhiramati declared, "It is dualistic to say that voidness is one thing, signlessness another, and wishlessness still another. What is void has no sign. What has no sign has no wish. Where there is no wish there is no process of thought, mind, or consciousness. To see the doors of all liberations in the door of one liberation is the entrance into nonduality."

The bodhisattva Santendriya declared, "It is dualistic to say 'Buddha,' 'Dharma,' and 'Sangha.' The Dharma is itself the nature of the Buddha, the Sangha is itself the nature of the Dharma, and all of them are uncompounded. The uncompounded is infinite space, and the processes of all things are equivalent to infinite space. Adjustment to this is the entrance into nonduality."

The bodhisattva Apratihatanetra declared, "It is dualistic to refer to 'aggregates' and to the 'cessation of aggregates.' Aggregates themselves are cessation. Why? The egoistic views of aggregates, being unproduced themselves, do not exist ultimately. Hence such views do not really conceptualize 'These are aggregates' or 'These aggregates cease.' Ultimately, they have no such discriminative constructions and no such conceptualizations. Therefore, such views have themselves the nature of cessation. Nonoccurrence and nondestruction are the entrance into nonduality."

The bodhisattva Suvinita declared, "Physical, verbal, and mental vows do not exist dualistically. Why? These things have the nature of inactivity. The nature of inactivity of the body is the same as the nature of inactivity of speech, whose nature of inactivity is the same as the nature of inactivity of the mind. It is necessary to know and to understand this fact of the ultimate inactivity of all things, for this knowledge is the entrance into nonduality."

The bodhisattva Punyaksetra declared, "It is dualistic to consider actions meritorious, sinful, or neutral. The non-undertaking of meritorious, sinful, and neutral actions is not dualistic. The intrinsic nature of all such actions is voidness, wherein ultimately there is neither merit, nor sin, nor neutrality, nor action itself. The nonaccomplishment of such actions is the entrance into nonduality."

The bodhisattva Padmavyuha declared, "Dualism is produced from obsession with self, but true understanding of self does not result in dualism. Who thus abides in nonduality is without ideation, and that absence of ideation is the entrance into nonduality."

The bodhisattva Srigarbha declared, "Duality is constituted by perceptual manifestation. Nonduality is objectlessness. Therefore, nongrasping and nonrejection is the entrance into nonduality."

The bodhisattva Candrottara declared, "'Darkness' and 'light' are dualistic, but the absence of both darkness and light is nonduality. Why? At the time of absorption in cessation, there is neither darkness nor light, and likewise with the natures of all things. The entrance into this equanimity is the entrance into nonduality."

The bodhisattva Ratnamudrahasta declared, "It is dualistic to detest the world and to rejoice in liberation, and neither detesting the world nor rejoicing in liberation is nonduality. Why? Liberation can be found where there is bondage, but where there is ultimately no bondage where is there need for liberation? The mendicant who is neither bound nor liberated does not experience any like or any dislike and thus he enters nonduality."

The bodhisattva Manikutaraja declared, "It is dualistic to speak of good paths and bad paths. One who is on the path is not concerned with good or bad paths. Living in such unconcern, he entertains no concepts of 'path' or 'nonpath.' Understanding the nature of concepts, his mind does not engage in duality. Such is the entrance into nonduality."

The bodhisattva Satyarata declared, "It is dualistic to speak of 'true' and 'false.' When one sees truly, one does not ever see any truth, so how could one see falsehood? Why? One does not see with the physical eye, one sees with the eye of wisdom. And with the wisdom-eye one sees only insofar as there is neither sight nor nonsight. There, where there is neither sight nor nonsight, is the entrance into nonduality."

When the bodhisattvas had given their explanations, they all addressed the crown prince Manjusri: "Manjusri, what is the bodhisattva's entrance into nonduality?"

Manjusri replied, "Good sirs, you have all spoken well. Nevertheless, all your explanations are themselves dualistic. To know no one teaching, to express nothing, to say nothing, to explain nothing, to announce nothing, to indicate nothing, and to designate nothing - that is the entrance into nonduality."

Then the crown prince Manjusri said to the Licchavi Vimalakirti, "We have all given our own teachings, noble sir. Now, may you elucidate the teaching of the entrance into the principle of nonduality!"

Thereupon, the Licchavi Vimalakirti kept his silence, saying nothing at all.

The crown prince Manjusri applauded the Licchavi Vimalakirti: "Excellent! Excellent, noble sir! This is indeed the entrance into the nonduality of the bodhisattvas. Here there is no use for syllables, sounds, and ideas."

When these teachings had been declared, five thousand bodhisattvas entered the door of the Dharma of nonduality and attained tolerance of the birthlessness of things.

[Translated by Robert A. F. Thurman, Copyright 1976, The Pennsylvania State University] https://www2.kenyon.edu/Depts/Religion/Fac/Adler/Reln260/Vimalakirti.htm

[mayasaura]

do you think tamsyn is intentionally drawing a connection between the Buddhist eightfold path and the eightfold word?

the eightfold path is supposed to lead to liberation from the cycle of rebirth (I’m drawing a parallel to lyctoral immortality) and the last element is right samadhi which is often described as “meditative absorption or union” (a parallel to the consumption of the cavalier and absorption of the soul)

idk just food for thought i’ve been mulling over

I've been pondering this for a while myself. I've never heard the word "eightfold" used in any other context. Like, it could very much be a coincidence because #-fold is a Portentous Word Form, and eight Houses contributed to the theorum, but let's assume for now there is a connection.

I would say it's less of a parallel and more of a reflection. This framing of the Eightfold Word would make it kind of a warped mirror of the Eightfold Path.

Following the Eightfold Path delivers you from samsara, right? The ultimate purpose is to break the cycle of reincarnation that binds a person to the worlds of mundane suffering. That last element, right samadhi, it's about the illusion of existence being transcended in meditation to see the true nature of being. The Path leads to understanding of the self as transient—an illusion created by a much larger whole. Or something like that. I'm not a priest or bodhisattva, or even a scholar dedicated to understanding these things.

Speaking the Eightfold Word is entirely the opposite. The lyctors have subsumed the other into the self, making the self the center of their being. They haven't been freed from the cycle so much as they've jammed the wheel, leaving themselves trapped in the suffering of their existence for, theoretically, eternity.

I don't know if it's an intentional reference or not, but I do enjoy considering the implications of lyctorhood from that perspective. John and the lyctors have become so consumed by their obsession with the self and ensuring its continuance, it's broken all the bonds that would make them part of a larger whole in this life and left them each alone together in their own private hells. Speaking the Eightfold Word means that they'll never reach the other shore.

[kitaston]

The Prajnaparamita Statue from East Java is perhaps the most famous image of the goddess of transcendental wisdom.

[seidayee]

Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra Yellow Gold Ring 10K Rose Gold White Platinum Men Women Full Scripture,Design: The Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra, or simply the Heart Sutra, is a Mahayana text with few words and profound and subtle interpretations. The full text of the Heart Sutra is laser engraved on the outer ring of the ring, which is fine and clear, not easy to wear, and convenient for silent recitation at any time.

https://www.seidayee.com/wap/copy-prajnaparamita-heart-sutra-yellow-gold-ring-10k-rose-gold-white-platinum-men-women-full-scripture-9781.html

[dailybuddhismpractice]

Yeok Yan Yuk Liew Ji, Sam (3) Sai Yat Cai Fatt, Yin Dong Yu Si Kun, Sum (heart) Zhou G Yu Loi.

[yoga-onion]

Heart Sutra ~ A sutra that describes “The Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom" (4) 

The Idea of “Prajnaparamita Hridhya Sutra” ~ “All things are truth itself.”

The Large Prajnaparamita Sutra, including the Heart Sutra, explains the basis for making things as they are by rejecting Buddhist doctrines and nomenclature, which are classified and explained in numbers, such as the Three Realms (Ref), the Four Noble Truths (Ref2), the Five Skandhas, the Six Realms, the Eightfold Path (Ref3), the Twelve Causes (Ref4) and the Hundred Laws, as essentially unsubstantial. This sutra expresses it in one character, ‘empty (Ref5)’, but if you stick to the ‘empty conception’ there, you will now be lost in ‘emptiness’. This is referred to as suffering from ‘Empty sickness’.

So you have to further continue to deny that the emptiness is also empty.

It teaches the Middle Way (Ref6), which excludes all fixed oppositions and does not obsess over substance and at the same time not attached to ‘emptiness’.

This is the ‘Dharma realities’, in other words, everything is truth in itself.

般若心経 〜「智慧の完成」の精髄を述べる経典 (4)

『般若波羅蜜多心経 (梵: ﾌﾟﾗｼﾞｭﾅｰﾊﾟｰﾗﾐﾀｰ･ﾌﾘﾀﾞﾔ･ｽｰﾄﾗ) 』の思想 〜 “すべてのものは真実そのものである。”  

『般若心経』を含む『大般若経』は総じて、三界（参照）、四諦（参照2）、五蘊、六道、八正道（参照3）、十二因縁（参照4）、百法といった数字で分類・説明される仏教の教義や名目などを、本質的に実体のないものとして否定することで、物事をあるがままに生かす根拠を説いている。この経典はそれを「空」（参照5）という一文字で表現するのであるが、そこで「空の観念」に固執すると、今度は「空」というものに迷うことになる。これを「空病」にかかったという。

そこでさらに「空もまた空である」と否定し続けなければならない。

あらゆる固定した対立を排除して、実体に固執することなく、それと同時に「空」に固執することもない中道（参照6）を教えている。これを「諸法実相」、つまりすべてのものは真実そのものであるということである。

[omw2happiness]

ULTIMATE HAPPINESS THROUGH PRAJNAPARAMITA 【 师带我进般若园 】#82 @BW MONASTERY 03.04.2023

《大般若經》第二會478卷 《大般若經》的簡介 　　福智團體創辦人──日常老和尚引導我們修學《菩提道次第廣論》，這是宗大師傳承最清淨圓滿的教法，若欲領納大師最珍貴的內涵，並祈請早日得師長直接攝受，就必須累積廣大的福德資糧。《大般若經》是諸佛之母，是一切經典的根本。為建立教法，完成老和尚的心願，更應發憤勤學及受用正法之因──《大般若經》，為正法住世種正因。 　　般若是梵文的譯音，通譯為「智慧」，代表著殊勝意義和價值，有別於世間的聰明。般若是諸佛之母，是一切經典的根本，也許有人在誦經過程中，對於不了解經義而耿耿於懷。事實上，今生，我們以種因為主，以恭敬心、至誠懇切地誦，就種下般若的法緣。 SOURCE 来源 : 日常老和尙開示《大般若經》的殊勝 Prajnaparamita Sutra Puja Chanting Prajnaparamita sutra gives us…

[fantodsdhrit]

you solar flare, enkindle all

lounging poolside plague the apartments nearby yeah, im on your back you're, easy to second god them assume i need your — i really need your — my theoretical models more shameful than Jane Birkin theses and ripped red camelias these are no times for innocent eyes, bordellos our overeducated elbows — passers-by pre-September matchsticks arrival of late — trains you've seen it all, all it seems you've, waved goodbye, if it's fantasy made of swallowtail sensation drunk on your humid breath, — chisel your truths out: of my Mongol hordes hands that warm-up Prajnaparamita Sutra three am — is never deceased, a mouth of Korean cabbage heatwave artform, and we can superglue like last two pages, silky moist after hurricane rains

[buddhismnow]

Morning meditation — If I had set out for enlightenment, then I would wish to fully know it.

Morning meditation — If I had set out for enlightenment, then I would wish to fully know it. https://wp.me/pFy3u-9ny

‘Manjushri: If I had set out for enlightenment, then I would wish to fully know it. But I do not strive after enlightenment, because enlightenment is just the same thing as this Manjushri, the Crown Prince.’ Prajnaparamita in 700 Lines. Young maple tree showing off in style. On our Twitter account, Buddhism Now @Buddhism_Now, most mornings we post a ‘morning meditation’ like the one above. On…

[fangednominals]

"Those who teach dharma, and those who listen when it is being taught; Those who have won the fruit of an Arhat, a Single Buddha, or a world-saviour; And the Nirvana obtained by the wise and the learned – Mere illusions, mere dreams – so has the Tathagata taught us."

From THE PERFECTION OF WISDOM IN EIGHT THOUSAND LINES & ITS VERSE SUMMARY, transl. Edward Conze,

[asarigg]

Character Design: Part 4

KOUJAKU, FORCE OF DESTRUCTION

Koujaku’s back tattoo is a group of peonies. The peony is considered the King/Queen of Flowers, a flower that brings fortune and represents courage, honor, beauty, virility and masculine sexuality. It suggests an attitude of defiance, daring and rebellion. So all of these attitudes are represented in his “flower garland”, his virtues.

There are also negative associations of death and curse to these flowers because of ghost stories, “Peony lantern”. The story is about a ghost that visits a man (who had recently lost his wife) at night and her servant carries a peony lantern. He’s bewitched by her but uses an amulet after the warnings of a neighbor to prevent her arrival. But his love makes him go to her grave where a peony lantern lies, and so she appears in front of him, inviting him to her home. The neighbors would find him a few days later inside the grave embracing the corpse of the woman. There’s a different version where they were originally lovers, and when the woman dies she lingers on earth due to her strong emotions.

The seed syllable “a” was chosen for Koujaku’s tattoo to remember the Vairochana Buddha, but mostly as a negator, it serves to oppose Ryuuhou’s creative force and turn him into one of destruction. Not only that, but also serves as a negation of the virtues represented in the garland.

Masculine strength and sexuality can easily become forces of destruction. When anger controls him the tattoo cancels out all of his virtues, turns them into their opposite, and makes him an extremely violent, bloodthirsty and sexually hungry monster incapable of rationalization.

HANNYA MASK

Koujaku is depicted wearing a hannya mask and looking like a demon, even more so in beta designs with the added horns. I’ve seen before people calling his berserk form oni, which is not that far away since they are both “demons” (not in the occidental sense) but I think it’s important to specify since it’s really relevant for his character. You can also see this female demon referred to as kijo, although this term seems to be more general.

The origami here are origami of turtles, of which we already talked about, and cranes, animals also related to longevity, good luck and peace. Every time you look for origami cranes, you’ll likely come across the story of Sadako Sasaki, a little girl that developed leukemia due to the radiation of the Hiroshima bomb. These birds are also associated with fidelity and a successful marriage since they mate for life. Considering there will never be someone like Aoba for him, seems pretty accurate to me.

What’s on his hands is sake, used as a ritual offering and as a symbolic “tying a friendship closer together”, also used in weddings, where the bride and the groom would take three sips from three cups of sake to seal their marriage. Not to be that guy but Koujaku and Aoba have canonically taken sake three times together.

Here’s a scan of his design and the final version, with a wild appearance, messy hair, drooling, unable to vocalize, completely opposite to the calculated and careful image that Koujaku built of himself.

Hannya masks are used in Noh theater, and each mask represents a different type of character, mood, or personality, both human and supernatural beings, including demons. The hannya mask, specifically, represents a vengeful and jealous woman. The name comes from a Sanskrit word: Prajnaparamita. It is a term that refers to the purest wisdom that leads us to enlightenment. It is a juxtaposition of a word that represents the purest form of wisdom and the creature that is the exact opposite. It is also said to come from the name of a monk who was the first person to make a hannya mask. It’s related to the Heart Sutra, “The Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom”, Prajñaparamita Hrdaya Sutra. This sutra teached about the concept of the void and the Prajna. All things are impermanent and enlightenment can be reached through wisdom. In some Noh plays the characters wearing these masks reach enlightenment and transform.

Her anger and envy have consumed this once beautiful woman, and transformed her into a demon, but she still has traces of humanity behind her. Her pointed horns, gleaming eyes, sharp fangs, combined with a look full of pure hatred and resentment are accompanied by a look of suffering around her eyes and disheveled hair, indicating an intense passionate emotion that has fallen into chaos, and is most noticeable when we observe the mask from below, as its shapes play with perspective, and therefore represents many complex feelings. It is associated with despair, torment, melancholy, agony and the broken heart of a woman.

Hannya masks can be classified by their color and states of their transformation. For example a red mask represents a woman who comes from a low social status, and women with a high social background are represented with white.

The hair color on his mask specifically is a representation of his berserk form, but if you want to stretch it, considering that his mother was just another mistress and his father the head of a Yakuza family, it could even be the mixture of both social statuses with the white skin of the mask.

We also see that the horns on the mask are quite large, so at the very least it is a chunari mask, a mid transformation state, although the hair is so messy and the features so terrifying it could even be meant to be the last stage. Each state of the mask could be related to each stage of Koujaku’s life, with the weakest being his adolescence. The namanari mask represents a woman who has succumbed but still looks very human, with much smaller horns and it is much easier for her to return to her human form than a chunari.

Chunari is the state that represents his adulthood. With the burden of his intense hatred, jealousy and everything she hides, the chunari still looks human, but it is much harder to get her to return to her human form. As if Koujaku is at the edge of his life, where he’s about to turn and never be human again. As Ryuuhou says, it is not until his adulthood that the tattoo matures and consumes him, he is just pretending, passively waiting for it to happen, but there is still hope.

The last phase, the honnari, is the strongest and most monstrous hannya, completely lost in her feelings of deep hatred, anger and jealousy. She's a demon who can never return to her human form, being Koujaku in his berserk form, irreversible, lost.

When a woman transforms into hannya, she is condemned to remain on earth as a malevolent and vengeful demon, and her soul will not be able to rest in peace. Her actions often cause her own death, and that of her loved one. It is a reminder that we must control our inner demons because otherwise we could condemn ourselves and our loved ones.

There is another detail that is not common in these masks and that is that they have added not only two more eyes under the original ones, but also an eye in the center of the forehead. The third eye, the eye of the mind, the eye associated with wisdom, with enlightenment, the door that leads to the inner realms of higher consciousness. Opening the third eye means that you have reached that enlightenment, represented in Buddha with an urna/bindu in the center of his forehead. The essence of Buddhism is about achieving enlightenment through meditation and training of wisdom.