Honzon

Honzon ( Japanese 本尊 ) denotes, especially in Japanese Buddhism , the main object of worship. As a sign of worship, the Japanese honorific prefix go ( 御 ) is placed in front of it, so that it is referred to as Gohonzon .

Honzon in the Japanese religion

Honzon is a general term in Japanese religion for supernatural beings that are ritually venerated in a localizable form, for example in statues, symbols, etc. It can be Kami , Buddhas , Tengus , Myōjin or other supernatural beings, but also writings, objects and the like. a or mandalas . The objects in which the entities manifest are often hidden and only occasionally shown to certain people or not at all. Such objects are usually kept in a temple or house altar called the Butsudan .

Mostly Gohonzon refers to the entity that is mainly worshiped in a temple or shrine. There are breaks between the public's perception and orthodox perception. An example is the Sōtō-shū : Their gohonzon are officially Shakyamuni Buddha , Dōgen and Keizan Jōkin . Depending on the temple, the visiting Japanese consider other beings than Gohonzon, e.g. B. Kannon , Inari (a Kami ), various Tengu etc. The respective Gohonzon are considered to be particularly powerful in conferring genze riyaku , these worldly benefits.

Butsuzo

A Honzon in the form of a statue is also known as Butsuzō ( Japanese 像 ). A Butsuzō is usually made of cypress wood or metal, such as copper or bronze. The Butsuzō is generally the most common form of representation.

literature

Lotus Seeds, The Essence Of Nichiren Shu Buddhism, Nichiren Buddhist Temple of San Jose. ISBN 0-9705920-0-0
A Dictionary of Buddhist Terms and Concepts, Nichiren Shoshu International Center, ISBN 4-88872-014-2
M. MacWilliams, Techno-Ritualization, the Gohonzon Controversy on the Internet, Online - Heidelberg Journal of Religions in the Internet 2.1 (2006), pp. 91-122. PDF

Web links

Gohonzon ( Memento from October 30, 2007 in the Internet Archive )

Individual evidence

↑ Borup, Jørn (2008). Japanese Rinzai Zen Buddhism: Myōshinji, a living religion ([online edition]. Ed.). Leiden: Brill. P. 8. ISBN 978-90-04-16557-1 .
^ Horton, Sarah J. (2007). Living Buddhist statues in early medieval and modern Japan (1st ed.). New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Pp. 1-2. ISBN 978-0-230-60714-9

[1] Borup, Jørn (2008). Japanese Rinzai Zen Buddhism: Myōshinji, a living religion ([online edition]. Ed.). Leiden: Brill. P. 8. ISBN 978-90-04-16557-1 .

[2] Horton, Sarah J. (2007). Living Buddhist statues in early medieval and modern Japan (1st ed.). New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Pp. 1-2. ISBN 978-0-230-60714-9