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Goddess Marici and Mayajalamahatantra

Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 12:32 pm
by Rakshasa
Anyone has any info about Mayajalamahatantra which is about Goddess Marici. I've heard that Goddess Marici is the goddess of military arts. Is this tantra found in Tibetan canon?

Re: Goddess Marici and Mayajalamahatantra

Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 6:00 pm
by kirtu
Rakshasa wrote:Anyone has any info about Mayajalamahatantra which is about Goddess Marici. I've heard that Goddess Marici is the goddess of military arts. Is this tantra found in Tibetan canon?
I have to check my notes (and this notebook is not with me at eh moment) but I'm pretty sure that in Bari Lotsawa's cycle she appears as a bodhisattva guarding primarily against robbery.

Kirt

Re: Goddess Marici and Mayajalamahatantra

Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 7:15 pm
by Meido
If you're interested in Marici in particular vis a vis military arts, you might also Google "David Hall Marishiten". Hall wrote a thesis called "Marishiten: Buddhism and the Warrior Goddess", tracing the origins and development of Marici (Jp. Marishiten) veneration and sadhana in India, China and Japan. The thesis itself may be found online.

A separate article by him entitled "Marishiten: Buddhist Influences on Combative Behavior" appears in a book called Koryu Bujutsu: Classical Warrior Traditions of Japan.

~ Meido

Re: Goddess Marici and Mayajalamahatantra

Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2013 4:51 pm
by David A. Hall
FYI, the dissertation you mention was composed and submitted to UCB over 20 years ago (1990).

This year I am publishing a much revised rendition of that work with some new and very interesting conclusions: The Buddhist Goddess Marishiten: A Study of the Evolution and Impact of her Cult on the Japanese Warrior, Global Oriental publishers with Brill: http://www.brill.com/buddhist-goddess-marishiten

Re: Goddess Marici and Mayajalamahatantra

Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2013 7:24 pm
by Konchog1
kirtu wrote:
Rakshasa wrote:Anyone has any info about Mayajalamahatantra which is about Goddess Marici. I've heard that Goddess Marici is the goddess of military arts. Is this tantra found in Tibetan canon?
I have to check my notes (and this notebook is not with me at eh moment) but I'm pretty sure that in Bari Lotsawa's cycle she appears as a bodhisattva guarding primarily against robbery.

Kirt
Ah, I remember reading (somewhere) that she is a Kriya deity and often prayed to by travelers. The book didn't explain why she was prayed to though.

Re: Goddess Marici and Mayajalamahatantra

Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2013 7:31 pm
by Malcolm
Konchog1 wrote:
kirtu wrote:
Rakshasa wrote:Anyone has any info about Mayajalamahatantra which is about Goddess Marici. I've heard that Goddess Marici is the goddess of military arts. Is this tantra found in Tibetan canon?
I have to check my notes (and this notebook is not with me at eh moment) but I'm pretty sure that in Bari Lotsawa's cycle she appears as a bodhisattva guarding primarily against robbery.

Kirt
Ah, I remember reading (somewhere) that she is a Kriya deity and often prayed to by travelers. The book didn't explain why she was prayed to though.

For protection against bandits.

Re: Goddess Marici and Mayajalamahatantra

Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2013 7:58 pm
by pemachophel
In the Longchen Nyingthig Dug-ngal Rang-drol (Self-Liberation of Suffering, a form of Chenrezig), the secret (level) Guru Yoga (often done as a Yidam practice), Marici (Odzer Chenma) is the activity Goddess of the South in the lay-jor practice. While the south is usually associated as enriching, here She "enriches" with the brilliance taken from subdued obstructors.

:anjali:

Re: Goddess Marici and Mayajalamahatantra

Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2013 9:06 pm
by conebeckham
I may be wrong, but I think Marici is also one of the figures in Dusum Khyenpa's 5-deity Tara practice.....will look it up to make sure.

Re: Goddess Marici and Mayajalamahatantra

Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2013 10:10 pm
by conebeckham
...and yes, indeed, Marici is one of five deities in the Five deity mandala of Khadiravani Tara, or Tara of the Acacia Forest, which is one of five "Heart Practices" of First Karmapa Dusum Khyenpa. Though I don't know if this practice bears any relatio to the Mayajalamahatantra itself.