Marishi-ten

Marishiten

This is a photograph of a statue depicting the warrior goddess Marishi-ten.


Marishi-ten has historically been expressed in many forms:

* As a beautiful woman sitting on an open lotus
* As a ferocious demon perched on the back of a boar
* Riding a fiery chariot pulled by seven savage boars or sows
* As a multi-armed woman with a different weapon in each hand standing on the back of a boar.

She has been depicted with one, three, five or six faces; three eyes; and two, six, eight, ten or twelve arms. In her many-faced manifestations, one of her faces is that of a sow.

Symbols

* Sow
* Lotus

Origins

The origins of Marishiten are obscure, however she appears to be an amalgamation of Hindu, Iranian, and non-Aryan [citation needed] antecedents spanning 1500 years. She is identified as a Buddhist "goddess" of light, Marici.

Bujin Marishi-ten

Marishi-ten, Queen of Heaven, Goddess of the Sun and the Moon was adopted by the Bujin or Samurai in the 8th century CE as a protector and patron.

While devotions to Marishi-ten predate Zen, they appear to be geared towards a similar meditative mode in order to enable the warrior to achieve a more heightened spiritual level. He lost interest in the issues of victory or defeat (or life and death), thus transcending to a level where he became so empowered that he was freed from his own grasp on mortality. The end
result was that he became a better warrior.

The worship of Marishiten was to provide a way to achieve selflessness and compassion through Buddhist training by incorporating a passion for the mastery of the self.

This once-popular female deity, now nearly forgotten, is believed to have been male (India) before being worshipped by Japanese samurai 12 centuries ago.

I invoke the warrior goddess Marishi-ten to help two of my female friends fight cancer. May the goddess Marishi-ten symbolically inspire all who battle with dis-ease. I also send reiki to all who need the healing energy of love.

here is an invocation to this ancient diety that can be spoken as an affirmation

DEDICATION TO MARISHITEN

Great Goddess and Protectress of the Warrior
Grant me the gifts of Beauty – both inside and outside
Strength – to protect myself and my loved ones
Courage – to never let fear keep me from the way of the warrior
Honor - to always do the right thing and keep the right mind
Focus – to never lose track of my path
Health – so that I may always be able to endure whatever may come to pass
Wisdom – so that I may always know what is the correct action to take in any situation

Marishiten, I know that you possess these aspects in your own self and I now ask that you instill them in me as well.

As my dedication to this path, I take on the warrior’s name: ___________________ (choose a name) and will consider myself thus as I walk through life as a warrior of the great protectress of the samurai, Marishiten.

Something interesting to note regarding Mari/Marici/Marishiten was that she was known through the near-east as Mari, which became one of the most common girls’ names in the area. While Mari/Marici/Marishiten is considered the goddess of light, the festival honoring Mary, the mother of Jesus, is also known as the Festival of Lights. (Mari...? Mary...? How far back do the old stories go?)

Let us fight the good fight and win the day, one day at a time.
Love & light - good night! TJ