The Taima Mandala

The Taima Mandala (當麻曼荼羅) is an important Buddhist work of art for followers of Pure Land Buddhism. Mandalas in Buddhism are nothing new, but generally most mandalas belong to esoteric Buddhist sects such as Tibetan Buddhism, or Japanese Shingon and Tendai sects. In the context of esoteric Buddhism, they provide a spiritual “diagram” or a meditation focal point. The Taima Mandala has a broader appeal however.

The Taima Mandala is a graphic representation of the Pure Land of Amitabha Buddha, as seen by a young woman in the 8th century named chūjōhime (中将姫) of the Fujiwara clan. According to the temple website of Taima-dera (當麻寺) in Nara Prefecture, she was a pious young lady, and had a vision at 16 years old of Amitabha Buddha and his two attendant Bodhisattvas, Kannon and Seishi. Kannon Bodhisattva took her hand and led her to the temple of Taima-dera, where she became a nun (bhikkuni in Buddhist tradition) named Hōnyo (法如). Sometime later, she beheld another vision, this time of the Pure Land itself, and using thread made from lotus stems, and dyed in the five colors of Buddhism, wove the mandala. According to Rev. Inagaki’s site, the mandala was woven for her by Amitabha Buddha and Kannon Bodhisattva appearing as fellow nuns. In either case, it is said that Hōnyo then meditated before the mandala for the remainder of her life before attaining rebirth in the Pure Land in 775.

As Rev. Inagaki explains the Mandala was copied and distributed to many temples throughout Japan as a kind of etoki (絵解き) or “picture sermon”, a visual aid to help teach the virtues of Amitabha Buddha, the Pure Land and efforts to be reborn there. The imagery of the Mandala comes from the three Buddhist sutras that form the basis of Pure Land Buddhism:¹

• The Larger Sutra of Immeasurable Life.
• The Contemplation of Amitabha Sutra.
• The Amitabha Sutra.

In the case of the Taima Mandala, it is a representation of the Contemplation Sutra in particular, and helps bring the colorful descriptions to visual form. The Mandala provides a source of inspiration and probably helped peasants who couldn’t read to understand what the Pure Land was like, in addition to its use in meditative practices.

I was lucky to see a copy of this Mandala in my last trip to Japan in 2007. I happened to be at a Shinto shrine in Kamakura, but next door they had an art exhibit with donations by various temples in the area. I saw some artwork related to the Ojoyoshu, including graphic depictions of Buddhist Hell and the Pure Land, as well as wonderful statues of Amida Buddha flanked by the two Bodhisattvas, Kannon and Seishi. I also saw some really life-like statues of the Bodhisattva Jizo as well. It really felt as if they were watching me. Most of these statues, if I recall right, dated from the 12th and 13th centuries.

Finally, at the end of the exhibit, I saw a copy of the Mandala. It was really amazing to see the detail right there in your face, not on a computer screen, and hard to put into words. It’s a great experience and brings the Pure Land to life.

Also, recently we were watching the documentary on Buddhist temples in Japan, hyakuji junrei (百寺巡礼, “100-temple Pilgrimage, which featured the temple of Taima-dera. The temple is pretty small and rustic looking (it is one of the oldest temples in Japan, when Buddhism first arrived), but is really beautiful on the inside. It’s probably not an easy place to get to for travelers, but I do hope to visit Taimadera once in my life.

Funny story, by the way, my daughter (“Baby”) was sitting in my lap watching the above documentary with me, and when she saw the Taima Mandala, she put her tiny little hands in gassho! I don’t know why she did this, but she must have seen us do it at the ol’ Temple and somehow knew. Amazing stuff for a one-year-old, to be sure. It wasn’t just once either. Every time the mandala was shown on TV, she did gassho!

Anyways, I just wanted to talk about the Mandala today for some reason. I was thinking about it lately, and reminiscing on the trip to Japan.

P.S. Big thanks to Rev. Hisao Inagaki for his research on this Mandala. The picture above originally comes from his website, so please refer to that site if you use this image.

¹ – Pure Land Buddhism is also supported by a larger body of Buddhist sutras that cover more general concepts such as the importance of “recalling” a Buddha, the notion of “Buddha-lands” and other related topics. Pure Land Buddhism did not just arise out of someone’s fantasy, it’s definitely part of a much larger context in Mahayana Buddhism.v