Inori no Mori祈りの杜working title

Bodhisattva (bosatsu)

Muryōrikiku

无量力吼むりょうりきく

An illustration of Muryōrikiku created for this site
An original illustration made for this site.

Introduced as one of the Five Great Strength Bodhisattvas (Godairiki Bosatsu).

This introduction is based on materials from Shōhōin (Tobi Fudō). It is summarized within the scope of the beliefs and traditions those materials convey, and does not present explanations or customs common to all schools, shrines, and temples.

English pages are the site’s own translations of its Japanese pages. The sources cited are in Japanese. 日本語で読む

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The name and role of Muryōrikiku

Introduced as one of the Five Great Strength Bodhisattvas. It is also written 無量力吼; in the new translation its direction is said to be the center, and it is said to correspond to Kongō Haramitta Bosatsu.

Source: 飛不動尊 正宝院・飛不動尊 正宝院・飛不動尊 正宝院

Tracing the form and traditions

It is said to have three eyes and to hold a wheel of five thousand swords in the right hand and a Dharma wheel in the left.

Source: 飛不動尊 正宝院・飛不動尊 正宝院・飛不動尊 正宝院

Five powers prayed to for the protection of the land

The Five Great Strength Bodhisattvas are taught in the Ninnō Hannya Kyō as deities who protect a country that upholds Buddhism, and they became the principal objects of worship at the Ninnō-e, a ceremony praying for the protection of the nation. Though they are bodhisattvas, they are characteristically depicted with wrathful expressions like myōō. They are also called the Godairikison or the Gohō Bosatsu.

Source: 飛不動尊 正宝院

Differences arising from sutra translations and later devotion

Shōhōin explains that the settings of each bodhisattva differ between the old and new translations of the Ninnō Hannya Kyō. They were later linked with the Five Great Myōō, but the names and positions of the Five Great Strength Bodhisattvas and the Five Great Myōō cannot simply be substituted for each other. The description of each deity can be read as an explanation of the lineage that Shōhōin presents.

Source: 飛不動尊 正宝院

Related kami and buddhas

Sources (in Japanese)