Portrait of Rigen Daishi, 16th century
Unknown Japaneseexpand_more
Ink and color on silkexpand_more
Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundationexpand_more 2015.79.22
Not on Viewexpand_more
In this portrait, master monk Shōbō (832–909), referred to as “Rigen Daishi” after his death, takes a seated position on a raised chair with shoes placed before him. In his right hand he holds a vajra, a Buddhist ritual weapon used in esoteric Buddhist rituals. Rigen Daishi was the founder of Daigoji, a Shingon Buddhist temple in southeastern Kyoto. Shingon ("True Word”) is a sect of Esoteric Buddhism founded in Japan in the 900s, and stresses the importance of meditation through complex ritual ceremonies and objects. Esoteric Buddhist teachings are transmitted orally in secret which cannot be found in texts.
The inscription at the top is drawn from Hishō mondō (Collected Questions and Answers on Esoteric Matters) by Raiyu (1226–1304), a later Shingon monk.
般若
皆従意宝生
所説之妙法
皆以轉成就
Prajñā
All things are formed by the mind
The path to wisdom that is spoken of
comes entirely from quietude
Details
- Title
- Portrait of Rigen Daishi
- Role
- Artist
- Accession Number
- 2015.79.22
- Catalogue Raisonne
- Murase, Art through a Lifetime, no. 27
- Curator Approved
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