Author:
Publication: Hinduism Today
Date: October / November / December
2002
Introduction: Ancient Buddhist monks
introduced the Hindu pantheon
The substantial sums of Hinduism
that Buddhism carried along on its historic spread across Asia is not always
appreciated. Indian Mahayanist philosophers, such as Nagarjuna, directed
Buddhism back towards Hinduism, away from the rigid atheism of Theravada
Buddhism. It was Mahayana Buddhism that spread to China, Korea, Japan and
Vietnam. As a result, some of the earlier schools in japan, such as Shingon,
Kegon and Tendai, had largely Hindu pantheons. In addition, the Mahayana
scriptures are in Sanskrit, unlike the earlier Theravadin canon, which
is in Pali, and numerous Sanskrit inscriptions can therefore be seen in
Japanese temples, and sometimes on rocks in the mountains. Japanese folk
religion is a rich mélange, but a number of Hindu Gods play an important
role. For example, of the seven Gods of good fortune whose temples people
visit at New Year, three are Hindu: Daikoku (Mahakali), Bishamon (Vaishravana)
and Benten, Ben zaiten or, most formally, Bensaitensama (Sarasvati). A
popular temple at Futako Tamagawa, Tokyo, displays Ganesha far more prominently
than the Buddha.
Sarasvati is one of the first Deities
recorded in Hinduism, being mentioned numerous times in the Rig Veda, as
the sacred river on the banks of which the Veda was inspired, and as the
Goddess who is "inciter of all pleasant songs, inspirer of all gracious
thought" and "best mother, best of rivers, best of Goddesses." Sarasvati
is now usually seen as the shakti of Brahma, and the patron Goddess of
the arts, learning and music. She is usually shown playing a vina, and
sometimes with four arms.
In Japan, Benten is usually shown,
rather similarly, as a beautiful woman dressed in the robes of a Chinese
aristocrat, playing a biwa (a kind of lute) and wearing a jewelled crown.
As such, She is instantly recognizable from thousands of television and
magazine advertisements, and is perhaps the most well-known Japanese Deity.
More specifically religious pictures often show Her with multiple arms.
She is the Goddess of music, cultured learning and the entertainment-related
arts, and also of rivers and water. Most of Benten's temples and shrines
are on islands, in rivers and streams, ponds and lakes, or near the sea.
From ancient times, Benten has been
identified with the Shinto Goddess of islands, Itsukushima-Hime or Ichikishima-Hime,
a minor figure in the oldest Shinto scriptures. In 1870, Shinto and Buddhism
were legally separated, and the Shinto clergy have thus stressed this identification
so as to continue worshipping Benten at jinja (Shinto temples). Just as
in the Rig Veda Sarasvati is viewed as one of a trinity of Goddesses, together
with Ila and Bharati or Mahi, in the Shinto classics Itsukushima-Hime is
one of a trinity of water Goddesses, together with Tagori-Hime and Tagitsu-Hime,
all of whom were formed from the sword of the Sun Goddess. This trinity
is worshiped at the Munakata jinja near Fukuoka, and also at subsidiary
jinja.
Although Sarasvati is a river Goddess,
Itsukushima-Hime is identified with the offshore island of Miyajima, and
Benten is therefore sometimes considered to be a sea Goddess. However,
all the marine islands dedicated to Her are close to the land, often joined
by bridges or causeways, and the area of tidal flow thus seems to have
replaced the flow of the river. She is sometimes associated with fishing
and sea travel.
Benten has from ancient times been
known as Uka-no-Kami in japan and as the Dragon God in China. She is worshiped
as the water Goddess, who is the womb of all things in the universe, and
of all reproduction and development. She is the Goddess of happiness and
good fortune who blesses business and productivity, controls the fertile
harvests of the five cereals and their manifold increase, and brings all
things to birth. She is also known as Myoonten (fine music Deity), Bionten
(beautiful music deity) and Gigeiten (fine arts Deity), and is widely revered
as the Goddess who enables the striving for excellence in arts, crafts,
technology, music, literature and religion. It all sounds very much like
Saraswati.
Benten is associated with dragons
and snakes, especially white snakes. There are numerous stories of Her
taking the form of a snake, or marrying a giant snake or seadragon, and
She is sometimes shown as a human-headed snake or a coiled snake. In Japanese
myth and folklore the dragon is associated with rivers and the sea, and
in Taoist thought it represents the forces of nature. It is thus possible
to understand Benten as the immanent aspect of divinity in nature. Then,
if one understands Brahma to be the transcendent aspect of divinity, the
perception of Sarasvati as immanent accords well with Her being His shakti.
This makes it possible to see the East Asian nature-oriented religions
of Shinto and Taoism as Goddess-oriented forms of devotional Hinduism.
Japans three most important Benten
jinja are Enoshima, Itsukushima and Chikubushima. The small island of Enoshima,
connected by a bridge to the mainland near Kamakura, is dedicated to the
Munakata trinity. In the jinja there are two statues of Benten, both more
than 600 years old, of which one is unclothed and the other eight-armed.
The unclothed Benten is milk-white, plays a biwa, and is carved in great
detail. She is popular with female entertainers, such as geishas in the
past and actresses and pop singers today. The eight-armed Benten holds
a sword, a dharma wheel and various other items found in Hindu iconography.
The small island shrine of Itsukushima
or Miyajima is a short ferry ride from Hiroshima. The torii-ornate jinja
entranceway with sloping sides and flat top, painted red on the beach is
one of japans most famous sights. Tame deer roam the island. The sacred
island of Chikubushima in Lake Biwa has both jinja and Buddhist temples
to Her. The lake is sacred to Benten because it is shaped like and named
after Her biwa.
There are countless other Buddhist
and Shinto shrines and temples in japan. Among the hills above Kamakura,
Zeniarai Benten is in a cave with a stream flowing through it. "Zeniarai"
means "penny-washing," and people believe that washing coins there will
make them multiply. Deep in the recesses of the cave is a statue of Benten
in the form of a snake with a human head.
Other shrines near Tokyo include
the temple at Shinobazu Pond, Ueno, in central Tokyo and at Inokashira
Pond at Kichijoji (meaning "Lakshmi Temple"), in the western suburbs. It
has a Bentendo on a small island reached by two bridges. At Shakujii, a
couple of miles north of Kichijoji, there is Sanpoji Pond, with Itsukushima
jinja on a small island at one end, surrounded by lotuses. The pond is
one of the sources of Shakujii River and used to be a place of annual pilgrimage
for the rice-farmers living along its banks. For centuries it has been
taboo to hunt or collect timber, plants or fuel in or around the pond,
and it is now an outstanding nature reserve. At a fork in the road near
Shinjuku, Tokyo, there is the tiny Nuke Benten or Ichikishima jinja, a
tiny island surrounded by goldfish-filled ponds. Hakone jinja on Lake Ashi
is a favorite weekend destination for Tokyoites. In the grounds there is
an exquisite pond full of carp, with a small Benten shrine on a mossy rock
in the middle. There is no bridge, but the floor of the pond is covered
with coins thrown in as offerings. At all these shrines, one can sense
the continued presence of this Goddess who came from India to bless this
land of the rising sun.
Author Richard Thornhill, PhD, lives
in Tokyo, where he works as a translator. Email him at r-n-thornhill@aa.bb-east.ne.jp.
