Fudo Myo-o

Fudo Myo-o is one of the important deities of Japanese Buddhism.  His statue can be seen in so many places in Japan that it’s not uncommon to find one near a waterfall or simply by a mountain path.

His Sanskrit name is Ācala and in Japanese his name is written 不動明王.  It literally means  "The immovable wisdom king".  He is the guardian of Buddhism and one of the five Wisdom kings along with Gōzanze, Gundari, Daiitoku and Kongōyasha.  As such, he is the central figure and when the Five Wisdom Kings are represented together, he usually is in the middle.

Description

Fudo Myo-o has a scary appearance to be able to frighten people into accepting the salvation brought forth by Dainichi-Nyorai. (I'm not sure if this is a good thing but maybe it means that he looks frightful to remind them of the demons awaiting for them in hell if they don't) He converts anger into compassion and cuts the ties of negative feelings and demons to liberate us from suffering through self-control.
His vow is to bring forth the teachings of Dainichi–Nyorai to the world. 

He also battles evil with his immovable faith and his compassion. Furthermore, Fudo Myo-o is the guide for the deceased souls and in this fashion; he presides over a funeral ceremony held on the seventh day after death.

He was originally a Hindu deity that was adopted in Buddhism and I remember having read that he is related to the Goddess Kali, the destroyer of world. This might be because of the similar appearance and the flames surrounding both. I couldn't find any proof of this though.

Fudo Myo-o is very important is Shingon Buddhism and he is at all the major temples and has some statues scattered around pilgrimage roads.  Many waterfalls are named after him as a certain practice involves standing under the rushing icy water to purify one’s soul of all desires and attachments. 

Another ceremony is called the Goma Shiki and it consists of burning wooden tablets where wishes have been written and consecrate them to Fudô Myo-o.

Shugendo, a religion mixing esoteric Buddhism , Shintoism and Shamanism, relies heavily on the cult of Fudo Myo o and he is considered the main deity.

 

Iconography

Fudo-san (as he is most usually called in Japan) is a fierce looking monster.  For someone who doesn’t know better, he looks exactly like a demon.  This is not the case though. 
Fudô Myo-o is usually surrounded by flames, often painted bright red or orange, even in stone statues.  They represent the burning of anger and passion to purify the mind.
He usually stands or sits on a rock which represents his determination to stay where he stands (his immovability). 
Fudô Myo-o holds a rope in his left hand, used to catch and bind demons and a sword called “Kurikara” or devil-subduing sword to, well, you guessed it, subdue the demons.  It is also used to cut through ignorance.

His face is contorted in anger, his eyebrows elevated and his mouth grimacing menacingly. 

He usually has two fangs protruding from his mouth: one pointing upwards (represents the strength of his desire to progress upward in his service for the Truth) and the other one pointing downward (represents his unlimited compassion for those suffering in body and spirit).

He also often has a third eye, representing his capacity to see all.
His skin is usually a very dark blue, near black.
Finally, his hair is braided on the side of his head in the manner of a servant to represent his service to all sentient beings.

 

Mantra

This is the mantra of Fudo-san:

のうまく　さんまんだ　ばざらだん　せんだ　まかろしゃだ　そわたや　うん　たらた　かんまん
Nômaku sanmanda bazaradan senda makaroshada sowataya un tarata kanman. (In Japanese)

Namah samanta-vajrânâm canda mahârosana sphotaya hûm trat hâm mâm (In Sanskrit.)

Homage to the all-pervading Vajras! O Violent One of great wrath! Destroy! hûm trat hâm mâm  (In English)

My personal experience with Fudo Myo-o

 

I have had a close relationship with Fudô Myo-o for some years now.
My Shingon Buddhist friend introduced him to me many years ago, explaining that he was his patron deity.  He gave me his background and history and we went to a few temples, some waterfalls and we did a few Misogi Harai under waterfalls (he did one in the dead of winter when the temperature of the water must have been very close to the freezing point.)

In 2000, I moved to Fukui city in Fukui prefecture and I was sent to an apartment right next to a Tendai temple dedicated to Fudô Myo-o.  My apartment building was called Fudo Mansion which really means immovable mansion.  It made me feel safe in this country of earthquakes.

I often went to the temple next door and prayed to the numerous statues of Fudo-san.

Once back in Canada, I started doing massage a profession and like many other massage therapists, I started having wrist problems because I used my articulations too much, I was hurt.

That day, I remember clearly, my wrist had been painful for the best part of the week.  During a massage, I was at the feet of the woman and I suddenly felt a huge anger welling from deep within me.  I wasn’t angry at anything in particular but that anger came very quickly and it was gone as quickly.  I remember thinking about Fudô Myo-o at the moment.  Well, after the anger had subsided my pain was gone!  I attribute this healing to Fudo and even though it’s nothing really extra-ordinary like cancer, it really gave me a renewed respect for this deity.

Now, I like to look for temples with statues of this deity as I prefer the energy (esoteric) of these places over the more sterile energy of other temples.

 

recommended ressources:

If you would like to see more pictures and some other characteristics of Fudo Myo-o I recommend visiting Mark Schumacher's excellent site.

If you would like to read more on Fudo, Shugendo or Shingon, you can read this excellent book:

If you feel like offering me a copy, I'll take it too!

Links

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