RT Article
T1 Metaphor and Maṇḍala in Shingon Buddhist Theology
JF Sophia
VO 47
IS 1
SP 43
OP 55
A1 Gardiner, David
LA English
YR 2008
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/178558989X
AB Buddhist maṇḍala that are made of colored sand or are painted on cloth have been well represented in Asian art circles in the West. Discussions of the role that they can play in stimulating religious contemplation or even as sacred icons charged with power have also appeared in English scholarship. The metaphorical meaning of the term maṇḍala, however, is less commonly referenced. This paper discusses how the founder of the Japanese school of Shingon Buddhism, the Buddhist monk Kūkai of the ninth century, uses this term in a metaphorical sense to convey the transformed nature of awareness that is the ultimate goal of Buddhist practice. Emphasis is also placed on the importance of metaphorical thinking to the religious path of transformation itself.
K1 Sokushin-jobutsugi
K1 Jujushinron
K1 Metaphor
K1 Maṇḍala
K1 Kūkai
K1 Buddhism
K1 Shingon
DO 10.1007/s11841-008-0052-9