Культ Ганеши и его почитание в японском буддизме

Abstract

This research focuses on the cult of the deity Ganeša in Japanese Buddhism. Ganeša is one of the Hindu gods, also known as Vinayaka, Ganapati and Vighnesa. Like many other Hindu deities, he was included in the pantheon of Vajrayana Buddhism. Due to this fact, various hypostases of Ganeša spread in Tibet, China and Japan, where his worship turned into an esoteric cult. In the Far East were known both single and paired images of Ganeša in the form of two hugging creatures with elephant heads. In Japan, such images were called Sosin Kangiten. In local esoteric Buddhism (mikkyō) they were interpreted as the opposites, male and female, phenomenal and absolute in the form of two sacred mandalas: the “Diamond mandala” and the “Womb Mandala”. For this reason, Ganeša is sometimes considered the epitome of the main deity of mikkyō tradition — Mahavairocana Buddha (Jp.: Dainiti Nerai) and was known as a composite element of another esoteric deity, Matarajin, or Santen, a triad of deities Saraswati, Dakini, and Ganeša. The history of Ganeša’s cult in these countries has not been sufficiently studied yet, however it shows the way in which elements of Hindu religion were preserved in the traditions of tantric Buddhism. While this religious and philosophical doctrine spread in the countries of Central Asia and the Far East, they gradually became part of local religious and cultural traditions. The author stresses that in the future they influenced not only the development of philosophical doctrines in local Buddhist schools, but also the formation of popular religious beliefs.