Hùmó kǒujué 護摩口決
Oral Transmission on the Homa-Fire Offering by 頼瑜 (撰)
About the work
A single-fascicle ritual handbook by 頼瑜 Raiyu (1226–1304) on the homa 護摩 (goma) — the fire-offering ritual central to Esoteric Buddhist practice. The work is explicitly subtitled Fudō Goma shiki — sokusai 不動護摩私記息災 (“Personal Record of the Acalanātha Homa — for Calamity-Removal”). The colophon notes: “This record was made by Hen-chi-in Sōjō 依覺洞院上網仰 on the order of the Kakudō-in jōmō 覺洞院上網, and composed following the Enmei-in Sequence 延命院次第; for the descendant-lineage of the Daigo Sanbō-in school it constitutes the special transmission-receipt sequence for the dharma-handover.”*
Abstract
Doctrinal opening (Q&A): “Q: What is the meaning of homa? A: According to the Henchi-in Bekki (遍智院別記): ‘Homa’ means ‘burning-offering’ 焚燒. The master’s oral-instruction: ‘Homa’ means ‘burning-offering’ in different languages — Skt homa (= Skt ‘pouring/sacrificing’) and Chin. fenshao (焚燒, ‘burning-up’). Q: Whence the historical-origin of homa? A: The Tathāgata, in order to correct the heretical fire-worship of the tīrthikas, properly preached the true homa-method of the all-knowing-wisdom fire.”*
Structure: the work treats homa under the categories of fire-altar protocol (護摩壇), fire-utensils, offering-materials (ghee, grain, sesame, wood-chips), and the classification of homa-rites by purpose:
- Calamity-removing (息災 sokusai) — round altar
- Wealth-increasing (增益 sōyaku) — square altar
- Submitting-and-conquering (調伏 jōbuku) — triangular altar
- Embracing-attracting (敬愛 keiai) — lotus-shaped altar
with the corresponding deity-color, body-position, mantra-tone, and visualisation-color for each. The present work treats the Acalanātha calamity-removing (不動息災) homa specifically.
Significance: a primary Raiyu witness to the late-Kamakura Daigo Sanbō-in homa tradition, distinct from but complementary to the older Kōya / Tō-ji homa traditions. One of the most extensive kuketsu records of the late-Kamakura Shingon ritual scholasticism.
Translations and research
- No substantial Western-language translation located.
- For the homa-ritual generally see Payne, Richard K., The Tantric Ritual of Japan: Feeding the Gods — the Shingon Fire Ritual, New Delhi: Aditya Prakashan, 1991.
Links
- CBETA: T79n2532