[196] Buddhas

Nyoirin. Senju. All six Kannons. Yakushi. Shaka. Miroku. Jizo. Monju. Fudo Myo-O. Fugen.

- Sei Shonagon, The Pillow Book


One of the Buddhist prayers I still remember by heart is the Enmei Jukku Kannon Gyo, or the ten-phrase sutra to the bodhisattva of compassion, which to this day I recite on takeoffs and landings:

kanzeon namu butsu yo butsu u in
yo butsu u en bu po so en jo raku ga
jo cho nen kanzeon bo nen kanzeon
nen nen ju shin ki nen nen fu ri shin

Yakushi Nyorai, or Bhaishajyaguru, the Medicine Buddha, is special to me. The Great Master of Healing, he is aided in his works by two attendants: Nikko, the bodhisattva of sunlight, and Gakko, the bodhisattva of moonlight. When Kim and I took the Buddhist precepts years ago, we were given dharma names that meant "Compassion-Sun" and "Compassion-Moon." At our wedding ceremony, I recited Gary Snyder's "The Blue Sky," a poetic meditation on Yakushi Nyorai.

There are two conflicting stories about the enlightenment of Shaka (Shakyamuni), also known as the Historical Buddha. In one, he was a simple human mendicant who came to a great realization under the branches of a fig tree. In another, he was a metaphysical being who contested with the lord of hell and all his armies, and who was sheltered from the rain by the flared hood of the cobra god. Both of these stories are true.


Miroku, or Maitreya, is sometimes called the "future buddha." In one of his aspects he is known as Hotei, a sort of Santa Claus figure who carries a sack and gives candy to children, and is usually depicted as overweight and jolly. Hotei is well known to anyone who has been a Chinese restaurant or heard the phrase "buddha belly."

Jizo (Ksitigarba) is another friend of children, as well as travelers and the lost. He has taken a vow not to attain buddhahood until all the captive souls in all the hells have done so. He carries a carries a staff with jangling rings to frighten evil spirits and a great jewel that drives away darkness. I think of him whenever I hike in the woods.

A statue of Monju (Manjushri), the bodhisattva of wisdom, should be found in every zendo.