The Shingon Ajikan: Diagrammatic Analysis of Ritual Syntax

✍ Scribed by Richard K. Payne

• Book ID: 102620550
• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1999
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 261 KB
• Volume: 29
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0048-721X
• DOI: 10.1006/reli.1998.0179

✦ Synopsis

Ajikan is a ritualised meditation in which the practitioner visualizes the syllable A. Popular in the Japanese esoteric Buddhist tradition of Shingon since mediaeval times, this practice is rooted in classic Indian religious culture. The symbolism of the syllable (originary, universal and eternal) is based on its uses in Sanskrit. This essay examines the ritual syntax of the Ajikan practice, comparing two ritual manuals, one premodern, the other modern. This analysis seeks not only to understand the structure of this particular ritual but to develop a diagrammatic technique that will allow meaningful comparisons of rituals from differing religious traditions.