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The Cave and The Womb World Helen HARDACRE THE CAVE AND THE WOMB WORLD This paper attempts to delineate the different significance of a contemporary Japanese rite for women and men. It tries to show how women and men experience the rite uni- quely because the symbolism of the ritual interacts in vastly different ways with their separate and differing psy- chological structures. One of the conclusions reached in this investigation is that the meaning of ritual frequently must be explained in terms of the gender of the partici- pants. The paper is divided into four sections. In the first is given a description of the rite of ascending the cave at the Oku no In peak of the amine-san Shugend6 site. The second section considers the history of this rite and the nexus of religious ideas it invokes. The third section focuses on the central psychological motif of the ritual, a return to the womb, and shows how the psychological signi- ficance of this motif differs for women and men. A fourth section presents the conclusions reached in this attempt to depict the meanings of the ritual. This essay concerns the ritual ascent of bmine-san, a sacred mountain in Nara Prefecture. Omine is an important site for Shugend6, the cult of sacred mountains. Actually, amine is the name not of a single mountain, but of a chain The author gratefully acknowledges funding received for this project from the Social Science Research Council and the Committee on Research in the Social Sciences and Humanities of Princeton University. Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 10/2-3 1983 149

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The Cave and The Womb World

Helen HARDACRE

THE CAVE AND THE WOMB WORLD This paper attempts to delineate the different significance of a contemporary Japanese r i t e for women and men. It tries to show how women and men experience the r i t e uni- quely because the symbolism of the r i tua l interacts in vastly different ways w i th their separate and differing psy- chological structures. One of the conclusions reached i n this investigation is that the meaning of r i tua l frequently must be explained in terms o f the gender o f the partici- pants.

The paper is divided into four sections. I n the f i rst is given a description of the r i t e of ascending the cave at the Oku no I n peak of the amine-san Shugend6 site. The second section considers the history of this r i t e and the nexus of religious ideas it invokes. The third section focuses on the central psychological motif o f the ritual, a return to the womb, and shows how the psychological signi- ficance of this mot i f differs for women and men. A fourth section presents the conclusions reached in this attempt to depict the meanings of the ritual.

This essay concerns the r i tua l ascent o f bmine-san, a sacred mountain i n Nara Prefecture. Omine is an important site for Shugend6, the cult o f sacred mountains. Actually, amine is the name not of a single mountain, but of a chain

The author gratefully acknowledges funding received for this project from the Social Science Research Council and the Committee on Research in the Social Sciences and Humanities of Princeton University.

Japanese Journal o f Religious Studies 10/2-3 1983 149

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of mountains s t r e t c h i n g from Kumano t o Yoshino. In th i s a r e a t h e r e are seventy-f ive nabiki, t r ad i t iona l s i t e s desig- n a t e d f o r t h e p r a c t i c e of ascet ic ism by t h e yamabushf ("mountain ascetics"). T h a t half of t h e Bmine a r e a c e n t e r - ing on Kumano is ident i f ied w i t h t h e Womb World, while t h e Yoshino half is ident i f ied wi th t h e Diamond World. This mapping of t h e mandala of e s o t e r i c Buddhism o n t o a c t u a l geography is a loose set of correspondences; i t is n o t t h a t e a c h of t h e many c o m ~ a r t m e n t s of t h e mandala is l inked t o spec i f i c s p o t s in t h e Omine ter r i tory . In t h e s e mountains t h e r e a r e more than s ix ty caves , and legend h a s i t t h a t t h e founder of Shugend6, E n no Gy6ja , p rac t i ced asce t i c i sm in t h e dank recesses of o n e of them f o r t h r e e years. This cave , which c a n n o t b e posit ively identified w i t h any of t h e s ix ty caves , is believed t o have been a th ree - t i e red c a v e r n in which t h e f i r s t level r ep resen ted t h e P u r e Land, t h e second t h e Womb World, and t h e th i rd t h e Diamond World (Miyake 1978, pp. 80-93).

H. Byron E a r h a r t summarizes t h e yamabushi 's inspira- t ion f o r performing ascet ic ism in t h e mountains as t h e belief t h a t "one can become a Buddha o r e q u a l t o a Buddha by p r a c t i c e of mountain r e t r e a t s combined wi th ri tuals1' ( E a r h a r t 1970, p. 2). C a v e s acqu i red a spec ia l impor tance f o r t h e yamabushi as p laces w h e r e i t is possible t o absorb t h e maximum sp i r i tua l power of t h e mountain a n d t h e de i t i e s w h o dwel l the re . Orikuchi holds t h a t a s c e t i c s chose w i n t e r f o r the i r c a v e r i t e s because of win te r ' s c lose con- nec t ion w i t h mot i fs of purification. Pur i fying themselves of pollution, t h e y e n t e r e d t h e g r o t t o s in a state maximally c a p a b l e of imbiding new powers. Miyake a d d s t h a t s ince t h e kami a r e believed t o pass t h e win te r in t h e mountains in a state of semi-hibernation, if t h e yamabushi performs asce t i c i sm in t h e c a v e s in t h a t season, h e may absorb t h e powers of t h e kami (Miyake 1978, pp. 115-118).

Loosely a f f i l i a t ed wi th Shugend6 o r d e r s a r e a number of informal c o n f r a t e r n i t i e s (kB, knsha), ded ica ted t o t h e annua l a s c e n t of Japan ' s numerous sac red mountains. T h e s e s o c i e t i e s host a pilgrimage f o r a l l members t o t h e mountain

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revered by the particular group once a year, and members ascend i t s peaks i n the established order o f worshiping a t many small shrines along the route. Male members wear yamabushi a t t i re or a white happi coat over white trousers, and women generally adopt the lat ter style. Usually men and women are separated along the route of march as well as i n sleeping and dining faci l i t ies in those kb which have both female and male members. Through arrangements wi th the mountain's principal temple, the confraternity may sponsor group r i tua l within temple precincts or be assisted i n r i tua l by temple personnel, including priests and aco- lytes. I n June of 1982 I participated in the annual ascent o f Omine-san w i t h the Tsuruhashi Yamanashi-k6, a Japa- nese-led confraternity, which is based i n Osaka and includes many members of the Korean minority in Japan.

This assembly o f the Yamanashi-kb lasted two days and included roughly one hundred sixty persons, of whom about f i f ty - f ive (34 percent) were Koreans, forty-five women and ten men. There were ninety-five Japanese men and ten Japanese women. The kc's leadership is entirely Japanese. I t s eldest member is a Korean woman of seventy-one who ascended the mountain for the eighteenth consecutive occasion that year. Most of the female Korean members were making their second or third trip, and a l l reported that they had entered the k6 through the recommendation of a Korean friend, usually an associate from one of many Korean temples in the Osaka area. No one can remember when or in what circumstances Koreans f i rst joined the Yamanashi-kb beyond the recollection that their participa- t ion was notable even before World War 11.

The entire group assembled a t Osaka's Tenn6ji station a t 6:30 a.m. and boarded a specially reserved train. From the beginning seating arrangements were made by the Japa- nese leadership t o separate Koreans from Japanese. The train arrived a t the foot of the mountain around 8:30 a.m., and from there we boarded buses. I n principle the rules of mountain worship prescribe complete separation of men and women from this point on, but this desideratum conflicted

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with that of maintaining a separation between Koreans and Japanese. The solution f inal ly reached was to put a l l the Koreans and myself in one bus, and t o t reat as equivalent for the purpose o f ascending t o the Ryisenj i temple Japa- nese men, Japanese women, and Korean men.

The Korean women discussed this blatant discrimination against them rather heatedly and surmised that the Japa- nese women were a t the bottom o f it, not wanting to come near noisy garlic eaters. The same explanation arose again when it was discovered that Korean women were to be housed in a smaller, less at t ract ive inn than the Japanese women, who were treated as honorary males and housed wi th the men.

A f t e r lunch a t the inn, the men departed t o climb the main peak, while both Korean women and Japanese women set out for a lower peak, the Oku no In. Women are not allowed t o climb the main peak. With the wi fe of the Japa- nese leader of the confraternity a t the head, a l l the women walked t o the trailhead, stopping to o f fer incense and candles a t Shinto shrines along the way. I n these devotional acts as we l l as in a t t i re and decorum, the Korean women followed Japanese practice entirely. I n spite of the energe- t ic use of Shinto to colonize their homeland prior t o 1945, they bowed piously and clapped before the shrines. Sirnilar- ly, they also accepted the Japanese practice of barring women from the main peak, lest the foul pollution of a female body offend the mountain deity.

In the view of the Japanese leadership, the main object of female participation i n the confraternity is to have them climb t o the Oku no In, there to ascend a vert ical shaft cave. Legend has it that this is the cave where the legend- ary founder of Japanese mountain worship, En no GyEija, practiced austerities for three years.

To reach the opening o f the cave, a gaping hole high up in the rock wall, one climbs for about two hours along the steep path, f inal ly entering the mouth by a swinging steel ladder. When a l l f i f ty - f ive women had struggled up to the cave opening, we were led i n recitat ion of the Heart

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Sutra by two acolytes from Ryhen j i ; one o f them led the way into the cave.

Climbing ten fee t or so t o reach the entrance, it is necessary t o c rawl through a narrow, muddy passageway into the f i r s t chamber. Here one is suddenly enveloped i n icy air. This chamber is the opening t o a ver t ica l shaft o f perhaps twenty meters, which is ascended by climbing hori- zontal steel bars pinned t o the rock. The passageway is only large enough fo r one person t o pass a t a time, and a single misstep on the rusty bars would bring a l l crashing down i n a helpless crush. Sensing the danger, the women stuck candles into crevices in the rock and cr ied out the Japanese pi l- g r i m s ' p r o c l a m a t i o n o f repentance, "Rokkon shbj6!" ("Purify the six roots!"), as they inched up the shaft. Fear and claustrophobia held a l l in thei r grip as freezing, putr id drops fal l ing from the recesses above evoked start- led cries. F inal ly we squeez- ed our way out o f the shaft and in to the. second chamber o f the cave (Figure 1). Now twenty meters above the f i rs t

Fig. 1: C u t a w a y view of Oku no I n cave

1. A l t a r For 8 Naga K i n g s 2. A l t a r For A c a l a I. A l t a r For En no GyE j a 4 . S t a l a c t i t e r e p r e s e n t i n g 8

Naga K i n g s 5 . S h a f t ascended by b a r s

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chamber, the second had the shape of a tetrahedron, wi th a small altar a t each wall of the triangular base. These enshrined Acala, En no Gybja, and the Eight Naga Kings.

Above the lat ter altar on the cave wall, a massive stalactite o f fantastic, undulating shape represented the Naga Kings. Pitch-black except for votive candles, the chamber rose to a pinnacle some twenty meters or so above us. A t the very top was a pinhole of light. Inside the air was fr ig id as a l l the women set fistfuls o f incense and candles alight on the altars. Soon the sweet smoke was almost overpowering as a l l f i f ty- f ive women crowded into the triangular cavern no more than ten feet on a side. We recited the Heart sutra before the altar of Acala, then climbed down the tunnel and out into the l ight again.

Much has been wri t ten on Shugendb's r i tes of rebirth, achieved by climbing into mountains defined as a cosmic mandala, the Womb World (Garbhakosa dhgtu) of esoteric Buddhism, there to undertake di f f icul t austerities. (See, for example, Swanson 1981). For the male ascetic, the focus is upon re-emergence from this womb, "reborn" in the sense of being newly endowed wi th esoteric knowledge and pow- ers. The r i t e o f ascending into the cave at Oku no I n par- takes o f this motif of a return to the womb, of clawing one's way into i t s deepest recesses to return to the origi- nal source of a l l life, to acquire knowledge and wisdom. The darkness and the intermittent ablutions by the secre- tions of the rock add a perceptual reali ty that tremendous- l y heightens the visceral dimension of the experience. I n the case of women participants, however, there is a self- referential quality that is alien to males.

The r i tua l ascent of the Oku no I n cave performed by the women of the Tsuruhashi Yamanashi-k6 is a much abbreviated version of a r i t e which in former times would have been performed by male ascetics as part of a longer series of r i tes ranging over the seventy-five nabiki of the smine-san area. I n order to fully understand the signifi- cance of the ascent of the cave, it is necessary t o examine

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the context o f the r i t es and the ideas on which they are based. That consideration is the task o f the next section.

THE NEXUS O F RELIGIOUS IDEAS This section traces the history o f religious ideas associated w i th the r i tes under consideration here. Those ideas have t o do most importantly w i th sacred mountains and the rel i- gious powers and other benefi ts believed t o be available through spir i tual training i n the mountains. Studies o f Japa- nese religions have o f ten remarked on the importance o f sacred mountains fo r a l l branches o f Japanese religions: Buddhism and Shinto as w e l l as Shugendb. It is we l l known that the most important mot i fs are (1) the mountain as the dwelling place bf divinit ies and ancestors; (2) the mountain as the other world; (3) the mountain as the source o f agri- cul tura l fe r t i l i t y ; (4) i n Shugendb, the mountain as the geographical representation o f sacred geography-as the Diamond World and the Womb World. I n outlining these cen- t r a l ideas here, this paper makes no pretense o f novelty, but instead seeks only t o put these well-known facts before the reader as pa r t o f the context o f the rituals examined here. We may review the most important facts concisely.

Mountains are regarded as the abode o f divinit ies and ancestors. That this is so may be seen i n fo lk r i tes i n which a t Bon people ascend a mountain t o greet tm ancestors and escort them back t o thei r homes for the period o f t ime they are believed t o return t o the human world t o be w i t h their descendants. Numerous tales attest t o a meeting w i t h d iv in i t ies i n the mountains, and a l l o f Japan's sacred mountains have on their slopes small shrines dedicated t o numerous kami and Buddhist figures (Hori 1968, pp. 141-179).

That the mountains are regarded as the Other World given visible, geographical form is evidenced by such phenomena as. the Sai no Kawara, on Osorezan i n Aomori Prefecture. This natural ly desolate place, a treeless expanse o f gravel and stones atop a mountain, is believed t o represent the r iverbed where children who have died

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must spend their days uselessly piling up stones, only to have them swept away again. Their only consolation is the merciful Bodhisattva Jiz6 (Ksitigarbha), who ministers to them out o f compassion. There are numerous other examples of r i tes and beliefs which show that the moun- tains are regarded as the other world (Hori 1968, pp.170- 174).

The yama no kami, often understood t o be a female deity, is the best example of the way in which the moun- tains are regarded as the source of agricultural fert i l i ty. The mountain god is transported in some parts o f Japan to the fields i n the plains in the spring, there to become the ta no kami, or the kami of the r ice fields. This coincides wi th spring rains, running down to the fields from the mountains wi th their melting snows, thus bringing l i fe to the world o f plants (Hori 1968, pp.150-151).

Buddhist esotericism has identified specific mountains wi th the Womb World and the Diamond World, congruent wi th the mandala of the same names. Direct experience of the non-difference or unity o f the two is equated wi th a realization of emptiness. Such a realization is the key factor in attaining Buddhahood i n this life: sokushin $3- bum. The esoteric practitioner is t o enter into the world o f the mandala f i rst through initiation, progressing through i ts separate houses. I n so doing he absorbs into himself the qualities o f the separate figures of the mandala in their characteristic forms, various Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Identifying himself perfectly wi th these aspects o f empti- ness, he progresses towards a fu l l realization at an experiential level o f this t ru th beyond reason (Tajima 1959, p. 3).

These four motifs concerning sacred mountains are part of the background of religious ideas informing the perform- ance of r i tua l a t amine-san. It is to the history o f those ideas i n that more specific context that we turn next.

Asian cave rites. Cave r i tes of a generally Buddhist coloration are known throughout Asia. To say that they

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partake o f the mot i f o f reb i r th is t rue i n a general way, but it is necessary t o qual i fy tha t statement considerably i f we wish t o art iculate correct ly a Buddhist in terpretat ion o f these rites.

I n the case o f Buddhist rites, one cannot assume that r i t es in caves have as their goal a simple repet i t ion o f the b i r t h process. This is so because b i r t h is no t unambiguously a "good thing" i n the Buddhist wor ld o f thought. B i r th is ye t another beginning o f the whole round o f karma, attach- ment, suffering, death, and endless repeti t ions o f this series. This being the case, i n Buddhist r i t es we must inquire more closely as t o the precise character and intent o f any given ritual.

Francois Bizot examines Buddhist cave r i t es i n Cam- bodia and shows that r i tes o f reb i r th i n caves e f fec t a symbolic reconsti tut ion o f the in i t ia te as a New Man, who henceforth need not experience death. These r i tes a t "la grot te de l a naissance" (raan prasut) are performed by groups o f lay Buddhists and include also a more esoteric component for monks. Similar r i t es o f reb i r th from caves are reported from several other Cambodian cave sites. They consist i n symbolically making a new body by means o f a re turn t o the womb. The period o f tel lur ian incubation aims a t giving the in i t ia te new powers (Bizot 1980).

The lay pilgrimage t o this Cavern o f Reb i r th a t Phnom Sampau i n Battambang begins w i t h making offerings fo r the monks' rainy season retreat. On this occasion pilgrims experience col lect ive trance. The woman o f the sponsoring household kneels t o receive the tutelary dei ty o f the region, the "Lady o f the Perfumed Hair," a f igure centra l t o the myth o f origin o f the cave which is the pilgrims' destination. The possession occurs, and w i t h tha t the Lady o f the Perfumed Hair is present i n the body o f the medium. Her main responsibility is t o confer a blessing o f safety upon the tax i drivers who w i l l convey the pilgrims to the mouth o f the cave. Arr iv ing there a f te r a co lor fu l proces- sion, the pilgrims are led i n to the cave by an old monk, a "master," (acary), who "opens the road" fo r them by casting

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water t o the four directions (Bizot 1980, pp. 230-236). The cave is a labyrinth of chambers and passageways.

Before a Buddha statue enshrined inside the cavern, the master admonishes the pilgrims to be mindful o f the gravity of their next action: entering the "golden door" of the mother's womb. He reveals to his charges the syllables A RAHAM, which they must chant ceaselessly. Passing through several chambers, they eventually arrive a t one where a lustrous stalactite hangs above a pool of clear water. The master explains that they are now in the center o f the womb, where the embryo sucks water from the mother, clasping the 'lumbilical cord," the stalactite. The calcineous rock i n pastel colors glistening with moisture gives a sense of the body's interior as the master washes the face o f each pilgrim in the pool. They l ight incense and reci te prayers as a prelude t o meditation. Af ter silent meditation i n the cave for about an hour, the pilgrims emerge. The mater proclaims:

We have entered this cave and acquired great merit, because it is the womb of the August Mother (garbh brah mat& The orif ice is the Golden Door. Entering it t o practice ascesis, we have returned t o the maternal womb. Thus we have been born anew. Repent for hav- ing sullied the August Mother! (Bizot 1980, pp.237- 239).

Besides pilgrims' rites, some Cambodian monks enter these caves to soak their faces i n "the amniotic welln1 and t o clasp the 'tumbilical cord1' poised above the pool. They practice visualization meditations i n which they cause an image o f the Buddha seated upon the throne of illumination to appear. The meditator suppresses the breath and forces it down in to his body. These practices are unrelated t o the mot i f o f the return to the womb per se. Instead, the medi- tator hopes t o recapture the conditions of the embryo in utero, but without symbolically repeating the b i r th process. Instead, these practices refer more specifically to the pro- cess of gestation. Gestation is represented in breathing

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exercises, the specific moments of which are correlated wi th steps in the creation of the world (Bizot 1980, pp. 240-242).

Creation texts speak of fashioning a personalized embodiment of Dhamma, on the model o f the Purusa myth. The text begins w i th an invocation of Buddha. As the Body's parts are enumerated, they are correlated t o the creation of water, earth, fire, wind, and ether, the Five Elements. A t the instigation of a deity called Brah Kev, the figure Buddhagun created primal waters, land, and virtues. Concentrating on the leters BUDDHA YA of Dhamma, he created a primal man, wi th powers of speech, sight, and hearing, but lacking a conscience. Further stages in the creation o f the Dhamma-Being parallel the develop- ment o f the fetus. Here the candidate is transformed, f i rst by a symbolic substitution of organs and viscera which are those o f the primal being. Further, he is imbued wi th new qualities (gun) which cause him t o transcend the human condition (Bizot 1980, pp. 224-228).

Thus i n retreating t o caves for meditations upon the gestation o f the human embryo, the meditator creates him- self as Dhamma-Being. This autogenesis is the transforma- t ion he seeks i n the Womb Cave. Far from a simple motif of rebirth, the meditator seeks the extinction of thirst for sensual objects which can only be attained through a r i tual death and reconstitution. Thus the aim is not rebirth as such, but to take possession of a new body, t o pass from a mortal t o an immortal existence, thus breaking the chain of mundane births and deaths (Bizot 1980, pp. 256-257).

The significance of Buddhist cave r i tes seems l ikely to involve something more complicated than the word rebirth alone implies. The Cambodian r i tes just examined il lustrate well the complex interplay of mythic motifs and doctrinal concerns which preclude unambiguous approval o f yet another birth. I n Shugend6, the most immediate point of reference for the ascent of the Oku no I n cave, we find a similar complexity. The main focus of Shugende r i tual is the mountains themselves. To unearth their doctrinal con-

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tent, it is necessary t o refer to the doctrines, rites, and concepts o f esoteric Buddhism, which inspire ShugendE's init iatory rites. Le t us examine three components o f the system: the abhiseka ceremony, the Womb World mandala, and the idea of attaining Buddhahood i n this existence.

We w i l l begin wi th a consideration of the Womb World mandala, more properly speaking, the Mlkarunggarbha- mandala (Japanese: daizbkai mandara). The word mandala has the meaning of a circle, that which is circular, a disk, a halo, a group, and i n the MahavairOcana SDtra, TaishE No. 848 (Japanese: Dainichikyb), the specifically esoteric meaning of that which gives l i f e to a l l Buddhas, something which causes one to be born. The Shingon school recognizes several types of mandala, which Ki3kai understood as complementary representations. The purpose of uti l izing mandala of elements (daimandara), of attributes (sammaya mandara), mandala in rel ief or free-standing sculpture (karma mandala), or le t ter symbols (hija mandara) is the realization of Buddhahood in this life: sokushin j8butsu. It is to be understood that such a realization takes place through grades of init iat ion i n abhiseka (Japanese: &adz) (Tajima 1959, p. 33-41).

The Womb World mandala illustrates the doctrines of the Dainichikyb, and i t s use is paired w i th that o f the Diamond World mandala, which illustrates the doctrines of the Sarva-tathggatatattvasamgraha-ah (Taishfi No. 8651, abbreviated i n Japanese as the Kongbchdgyb, the second great sutra of the Shingon school. Together one speaks of the paired mandala as the rybbu mandara and of the paired scriptures as the ry2Sbu daikyB. The principal doctrine of the Dainichikyb is that a l l the virtues of Dainichi (Mahgvairocana) are inherent in us and in a l l sentient beings. The Womb World mandala represents the perspective of the beings destined t o at tain Buddhahood, whereas the Diamond World mandala represents the perspective of the Buddha (Tajima 1959, p. 47).

The meaning of the Womb World mandala is explained through a double metaphor o f a lotus and the womb. The

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process by which meditation upon t h e Womb World mandala c a u s e s t h e aspira t ion f o r enl ightenment (bodhici t ta ; J a p a - nese: bodaishin) t o a r i se is explained through comparison t o a fecund womb which nur tu res t h e aspiration. T h e develop- ment of th is aspira t ion is likened t o t h e progress of t h e lo tus from s e e d t o full bloom o r t o t h e ges ta t ion a n d even- t u a l b i r th of a human embryo. T h e end resul t is t h e a t t a in - ment of Buddhahood in th is l i f e (Tajima 1959, pp.47, 55).

These ideas a r e appropr ia ted by Shugenda when i t des ignates a s a c r e d mountain a s a r epresen ta t ion of t h e Womb o r Diamond World. In t h e r i tual wi th which we a r e concerned here , t h e Oku no In c a v e is unders tood as a represen ta t ion of t h e Womb World. Thus t o p r a c t i c e asce t i - cism in t h e mountains is t o e n t e r t h e Womb World wi th t h e i n t e n t of s o transforming oneself as t o a t t a i n Buddhahood in this life.

Since t h e aim is t o be t ransformed in to a Buddha, i t is necessary t o t r a v e r s e t h e "Ten Worlds." These a r e explain- e d a s t e n kinds of asceticism (shugyd). Although t h e full set of t e n r i t e s is rare ly performed nowadays, i t is appro- p r i a t e t o specify them in order t o l o c a t e t h e provenance of t h e Oku no In r i t e s more exac t ly (Miyake 1978, p.140).

In Shugendb, each of t h e t e n worlds enumera ted in Buddhism on t h e basis of Chih-1's system is paired with a r i tua l propelling t h e in i t i a t e c loser t o t h e goal of a t t a in ing Buddhahood in th i s 1ife.l The f i r s t world is hell, j igoku. In t h i s s t a g e the in i t i a t e performs t h e r i t e cal led tokozume. He visualizes himself a s Dainichi. C u t t i n g himself in f ive places , h e assigns one syllable of Dainichi's m a n t r a t o e a c h cu t . In t h e second world, t h a t of t h e preta, o r "hungry ghosts," t h e in i t i a t e r epen t s (zange). In ful l p ros t ra t ions be fore t h e l eader , t h e senda t su , h e confesses his sins. T h e thi rd world is t h e world of b e a s t s (chikushB). Here, in a r i t e cal led gobyd, a rope is t ied t o t h e in i t ia te ' s hands, and

1. The order of r i tua l is described differently in d i f fe ren t r i tual manuals, but t h e following description gives a basic outl ine of t h e system.

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h e is hois ted off t h e ground t o weigh his sins. In t h e four th world of t h e asura, t h e ini t ia te p rac t i ces

mizudachi, abs t inence from drinking w a t e r o r washing t h e head. T h e f i f th world is t h e human realm (ningen), and h e r e t h e i n i t i a t e performs a r i t e cal led aka. The ini t ia te draws w a t e r and brings special wood t o t h e sendatsu. The senda t su exchanges t h e ini t ia te ' s headgear fo r t h e yama- bushi's charac te r i s t i c black pill box hat , t h e tokin, and washes t h e hands and f a c e of t h e init iate. The sendatsu also t e a c h e s t h e in i t i a te t h e s e c r e t l e t t e r s of Dainichi. In t h e s ixth , o r heavenly realm, (ten), t h e ini t ia tes engage in sumb and wres t l e with each other.

In t h e seven th world of t h e Sravaka (shzmon), t h e in i t i a tes dance with f a n s in e i the r hand, in a r i t e called ennen. The e igh th world is t h a t of t h e Pra tekya Buddhas (dokkaku). Here t h e in i t i a tes undergo t h e r i t e of kogi, wherein e a c h t a k e s a black and white p iece of wood in hand a n d places them on t h e a l t a r be fore t h e sendatsu. L a t e r t h e s e a r e ceremonially burned in a goma ceremony, and th i s symbolizes t h e funera l of t h e init iate, extinguish- ing t h e passions. The ninth realm is t h a t of t h e Bodhisat- t v a s (bosatsu), and h e r e t h e ini t ia te p rac t i ces abst inence from c e r e a l s f o r seven days in order t o transform t h e body f o r t h e f inal r i t e .

T h e t e n t h world is t h a t of t h e Buddhas (huh), and t h e r i t e is abhiseka, (kaqjB). A f t e r preparatory r i t e s of repen- t ance , t h e ini t ia tes ' heads a r e sprinkled with water , and they a r e t aught mant ra and mudra. Here they a t t a i n ce r ta in proof of the i r a t t a inment of sokushin JBbutsu, Buddhahood in th i s ex i s tence (Miyake 1978, p.140).

Thus Shugend6 appropria tes t o its r i tual framework t h e idea of t h e Womb World mandala, mapping it on to ac tua l geographical s i t e s , t h e r e symbolically t o e n a c t a transvers- ing of t h e t en worlds, ending in t h e a t t a inment of Buddha- hood in this life. Tha t f inal a t t a inment is ri tually enac ted in t h e kanjb ri te. This r i t e has Indian origins and t a k e s p lace t h e r e upon a mandala specially cons t ruc ted f o r t h e purpose over a period of seven days. In t h e Guhyatantra

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(Taishb No. 897) the manner o f constructing that mandala and o f conducting the abhiSeka ceremony is explained.

Both the enthronement o f kings and the consecration o f disciple by master take place before this a l ta r set out upon the earth. On the f i r s t day the master, having asked fo r the protect ion o f the earth gods, works the earth t o the consistency o f powder t o remove stones and debris. The earth is mixed w i t h cow dung and urine which have never before touched the earth. On the second day the site is consecrated by burying i n i t precious objects. On the th i rd day twenty-four vases o f f lowers are arranged, and the placement o f various divinit ies is determined. On the fourth day the s i te is pur i f ied by aspersion, and sandalwood pow- der is poured t o sketch the mandala o f nine great Buddhas. On the f i f t h day the mantra o f Acala is rec i ted t o r i d the s i te o f a l l obstacles and t o bless the earth. On the sixth day the master blesses the disciple t o allow him t o enter the mandala. Finally, on the seventh day, the master invokes a l l the divinit ies o f the earth and carries out the anointing o f the disciple. Fol lowing the ceremony, the mandala is destroyed (Tajima 1959, pp.45-47).

Kfikai 's idea o f at ta in ing Buddhahood i n this very exis- tence is the culmination o f his thought. Apparently KCkai reached the conclusion that such an attainment is possible i n his mid-forties, when he wrote the Sokushin jdbutsu-gi ("Attaining enlightenment i n th is very Existence"; Hakeda 1972, p.87). To explain why this attainment is possible, it is necessary t o review K i k a i ' s understanding o f Mahzvairo- cana. His most innovative proposition equates Mahgvairoca- na w i t h the Dharmakaya. K f i ka i reworked the t radi t ional theory o f the three bodies o f Buddha (trikaya), adding a fourth element. Each o f the four is i n f a c t a form o f the Dharmakaya, and i n addit ion t o absorbing the distinctions o f the tradit ional theory into the Dharmakaya, asserts that the Dharmakaya in Emanation (tom hosshir,) underlies the existence o f sentient beings i n sub-human realms. This being the case, Dharmakaya (MahZvairocana) pervades a l l existence and is not separate from any single existence

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(Hakeda 1972, pp. 82-83). Another way o f considering Mahlvairocana is as the

uni f icat ion o f Wisdom (symbolized by the v@a) and Principle (symbolized by the lotus). The un i ty o f Wisdom and Principle constitutes inherent enlightenment (honnti hongaku). I f Mahgvairocana pervades a l l existences and is also originally enlightened, then it must be tha t a l l beings share this quality. That is why it is possible fo r a l l sentient beings t o a t ta in enlightenment. They have the seed already wi th in them. The problem is one o f germinating the seed. Ki3kai explains how this is possible i n his famous t w o stanzas tha t are the core o f the Sokushin jbbutsu-gi. O f these lines the f i r s t and th i rd are the most important (Hakeda 1972, pp. 85-87).

(1) Rokudai wa muge ni sh i te tsune ni yuga nari. [The six Great Elements are interfused and are i n a state o f eternal samadhil.

(3) Sam m i t s u kqji sureba sokushitsu ni ara waru. [When I sancti fy myself by the three mysteries, the Three Mysteries i n me are revealed].*

The f i rs t l ine consists o f two propositions. First, Mahg- vairocana consists o f the six elements earth, water, fire, wind, space, and consciousness. I n other words, Mahsvairo- cana is the to ta l i ty o f a l l physical and mental elements. These elements are constantly changing and are inextr icab- l y interrelated. Second, Mahgvairocana or the Six Great Elements are i n a constant state o f yuga, or samadhi Thus any being desiring t o uni te w i t h Mahgvairocana should pract ice meditation, thereby reaching harmony w i t h the Dharmakaya through samadhi (Hakeda 1972, pp. 88-90).

The th i rd l ine o f KOkai's stanza explains esoteric practice. The Three Mysteries are the Body, Speech, and Mind o f Mahgvairocana. When the Three Mysteries o f

2. This translation is quite literal. For another interpretation, s e e Hakeda 1972, p.88. Also s e e Tajima 1959, p.248.

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Mahivairocana are aligned wi th the body, speech, and mind of a being through meditation, there w i l l be a mystic fusing of Mahzvairocana and that being through kqji, which Kiikai explains thus:

CKda indicates great compassion on the part of the Tathagata and fa i th (.shhjin) on the part of sentient beings. The compassion of the Buddha pouring forth on the heart o f sentient beings, l ike the rays of the sun on water, is called ka (adding), and the heart of sen- t ient beings which keeps hold of the compassion of the Buddha, as water retains the rays of the sun, is called ji (retaining) (Hakeda 1972, p. 92).

The fu l l permeating by Mahzvairocana of the being causes the Three Mysteries of the Dharmakaya t o be fully mani- fest in the being, a state of enlightenment in this very existence.

While this discussion has adopted the perspective of the being seeking t o attain the enlightened state, other viewpoints are possible. Ki ikai expresses one such in the following poem, which brings us closer again to the perspective of Shugend;:

The Three Mysteries pervade the entire Universe, Adoring glorioukly the mandala of inf in i te space. Being bainted by brushes of mountains, by ink of

oceans, Heaven and earth are the bindings of a sutra revealing

the Truth Reflected i n a dot are a l l things i n the universe; Contained in the data of senses and mind is the sacred

- book. It is open or closed depending on how we look at it. Both His silence and His eloquence make incisive

tongues numb.. . . The sun and the moon shine forth in space and on the

water, Undisturbed by gales i n the atmosphere. Both good and ev i l are relative in His preaching

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The notion o f I and thou w i l l be erased and lost. When the sea o f our mind becomes serene through

samadhi and insight, He reveals himself unconditionally as water overflows.

(Hakeda 1972, p. 91).

MEANINGS OF THE RITUAL The r i t ua l ascent o f the Oku no I n cave is divided in to f i ve parts: (1) climbing the path, (2) entering the mouth, (3) climbing the shaft, (4) offerings and sutra rec i ta t ion inside the second chamber, and (5) the descent.

Climbing the path up the mountain marks a separation from the mundane world. I t also constitutes an entry in to the te r r i to ry presided over by the yama no kami, a moun- tainous terrain invoking a l l the associations o f the sacred mountain described above. The second stage, entering the mouth, can begin only a f te r reci tat ion o f the Heart Sutra as a preliminary puri f icat ion. Enter ing the mouth is return- ing t o the womb as tomb; a t this stage it is the negative aspect of a symbolic death tha t is central. Having l e f t the human sphere, the part icipant enters the mandala. Cl imbing the shaft marks a period o f l iminality, a pilgrimage in to the mountain's deepest recesses. This passage is pur i f icatory and is punctuated by the repentance proclaimed i n chant- ing, "Rokkon shfijfi!" I n esoteric terms, this ascent o f the shaft is the pilgrim's passage through the halls o f the mandala. F inal ly t o arr ive a t the second chamber is t o penetrate t o the core o f the mountain's source o f power, whether tha t potency be viewed as the generative powers o f animal and plant fer t i l i ty , or whether from a Shugendfi perspective the mountain is regarded chief ly as a place t o gain spir i tual powers. Seen as mandala, the cave's second chamber is the center o f the Womb World, occupied by Dainichi (Mahzvairocana). The descent ends i n the reincor- porat ion o f the pi lgr im in to the human world, newly endow- ed w i th the powers whose center she has reached.

The four th stage, the r i tes o f the second chamber, are the heart o f the pilgrimage. I n Buddhist esoteric terms, t o

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enter the second chamber is t o be united w i t h Dainichi, and this constitutes the attainment of Buddhahood i n this very existence. Further, because En no Gybja, Acala, and the eight Nagas are enshrined there, the ascetic incorporates their powers as well. Reci tat ion o f the Heart Sutra captures fo r the pi lgr im the essence o f the prana parami- ta: the perfect ion o f wisdom. From the Shugend6 perspec- tive, entering the second chamber completes the telescoped passage through the ten worlds. This is the rea l destination o f the ent i re pilgrimage, and here most o f a l l the powerful associations o f the mountain are concentrated. The f i r e i n the womb created by pilgrims' incense and candles is not only an of fer ing t o the deities enshr.ined there but a furnace which forges the devotees, steaming, smoking, and baking i n to them the powers they have come t o acquire. Thus the r i tes o f the second chamber seal the pilgrimage, locking i t s symbolic gains i n to the pilgrim.

Frorn this discussion o f the symbolism o f this r i tual, it should be clear that in psychological terms i t s principal mot i f is tha t o f a return to the womb. It is the task o f this section t o show why the significance o f this r i t e d i f fe rs for women and men. It is d i f ferent i n that it invokes di f ferent history o f religions' categories for women and men. This dif ference in turn derives from the di f ferent interact ion o f the symbolism of the r i t e w i t h the psychology o f women and men. I n order t o show why di f ferent histories o f rel i- gions' mot i fs are called i n to play, it is f i rs t necessary t o take up the question o f the r i te 's interact ion w i th psycho- logical structure.

One o f the most important topics in current feminist scholarship concerns the di f fer ing psychic structures o f women and men. The most sophisticated statement o f the claim is tha t by Nancy Chodorow in The Reproduction of Mothering (1978). Chodorow shows that the social organiza- t ion o f gender produces "asymmetrical personality struc- tures i n daughters and sons." To recapitulate her compli- cated theory brief ly, it is that the mother-daughter relationship universally is characterized by cont inui ty and

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complementa r i ty . T h e d a u g h t e r does no t need t o make so f i rm a b r e a k wi th h e r m o t h e r in o rde r t o ach ieve he r own individuat ion and matur i ty . Her ma tu ra t ion will t a k e p lace mostly wi th in t h e world of women, and s h e need no t r e n o u n c e m o t h e r so complete ly a s a primary ob jec t of love as must h e r brothers . Boys, on t h e o the r hand, must make a c l e a r b r e a k f rom t h e mother in o r d e r t o ach ieve a se l f - iden t i f i ca t ion a s males through bonding wi th t h e f a the r . They must s e p a r a t e f rom t h e world of women only l a t e r t o t a k e women as t h e i r primary o b j e c t s of love a f t e r ach iev ing a basic iden t i f i ca t ion a s male.

O n e of t h e primary goals of forming a r e l a t ion of love and a f f e c t i o n is t o r e c a p t u r e t h e complete a c c e p t a n c e t h e i n f a n t en joys from i t s mother . The longing t o exper ience a c c e p t a n c e en t i r e ly f r e e of t h e cr i t ic ism and compet i t ion c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of t h e public world is a bas ic aim of both women a n d men. T h e "urge t o merge" has as i t s p ro to type t h e un i ty of mother a n d f e t u s i n utero. However, th is common dr ive is exper ienced d i f fe ren t ly by women and men, b e c a u s e of t h e d i f f e r e n c e of gender.

F o r t h e male, t h e motif of a re tu rn t o t h e womb is a co inc idence of oppos i t e s (ca incident ia oppositorum), becom- ing whole by unit ing w i t h t h e opposi te sexua l principle. T h e self is comple ted by merging wi th something to ta l ly unlike i t se l f , which is a t t h e same t ime t h e s o u r c e of i t s very ex i s t ence . Thus t ime r e t u r n t o t h e mother resul ts in t h e acquis i t ion of power fundamental ly alien t o t h e male. The m a t t e r is d i f f e r e n t in t h e c a s e of women. The motif of co inc iden t i a oppositorum is n o t operat ive . Instead, t h e motif is o n e of a r e t u r n t o t h e source, unit ing wi th t h e s o u r c e of one ' s own sexua l principle ins tead of merging wi th t h e opposite. T h e power t o be gained from such an e x e r c i s e is no t a l ien t o one ' s own nature , bu t r ep resen t s a r e c a p t u r e of i t s origin a n d fu l l e s t expression. The d e v o t e e is not t h e opposi te of t h a t source , but a microcosm of it.

T h e male ' s e x p e r i e n c e of coincident ia l oppositorum d i f f e r s f u r t h e r b e c a u s e of t h e n a t u r e of t h e process of his own individuat ion in childhood. Chodorow sums up a full

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exposition o f the subject i n this way: Infant i le development o f the self is experienced i n opposition t o the mother, as primary caretaker, who becomes the other. Because boys are o f opposite gender from their mothers, they especially feel a need t o d i f fe rent ia te and yet f ind d i f ferent iat ion problema- tic. The boy comes t o define his self more i n opposition than through a sense o f his wholeness o r continuity. He becomes the self and experiences his mother as the other. The process also extends t o his t ry ing t o domin- a te the mother i n order t o ensure his sense o f self. Such domination begins w i th mother as the object, extends t o women, and is then generalized t o include the experience o f a l l others as objects rather than sub- jects (Lorber e t al. 1981, pp. 502-503).

Although many elements o f this theory o f asymmetric patterns o f psychic structure in women and men are yet t o be clarif ied, the theory as a whole promises t o reveal the origins i n psychic l i f e o f mot i fs we as historians o f re l i - gions have long recognized i n religious phenomena. As always, the female side o f the formulat ion is much less clear. A break w i t h mother must be made, but i n the case o f men this break must be made in order t o achieve self- identi f icat ion as male. I n the female case the primary bond w i th mother already accomplishes the gender ident i f i - cation. Thus the break w i t h mother is not required i n order t o establish gender identif ication. Recently Adrienne Rich has wr i t t en tha t the break w i t h the wor ld o f women is required o f women t o satisfy what she cal ls "compulsory heterosexuality." This is a requirement o f society, not o f psychological development. While this suggestion is a powerful one, it remains highly speculative (Rich 1980).

However, this much seems clear: i f the male's break w i th the mother is crucia l t o his gender identif ication, but the female's is not, then any subsequent, symbolic re turn t o the womb must also hold a d i f ferent sort o f significance for women and men. Both re turn t o thei r primary and

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strongest love. Both aim for an uncri t ical, t o t a l accep- tance. But whereas the adult male makes a re turn t o the mother a f te r a sharp break which has been the focus o f his gender identif ication, the female's return is o f a d i f ferent kind. It may be that explorations o f the symbolism o f such r i tes o f re turn to the womb as the ascent o f the Oku no I n cave can shed l igh t on these psychic phenomena.

When women struggle into this womb-cave, are gripped i n i t s vagina, and squeeze through i t s cerv ix in to the crevices o f a penumbral uterus, they celebrate a principle already inherent in thei r own sexual nature. Whereas men uni te themselves w i th a principle opposite t o the i r own being (coincidentia oppositorum), women re tu rn t o the power o f which they themselves already represent the f u l l f lower, complete i n itself. They immerse themselves i n female power, absorb i t s atmosphere and essences, taking into themselves more o f the power that is already theirs. Instead o f completing their own being through uni f icat ion w i th the opposite sexual principle, women symbolically re turn t o the original source o f a l l female power, from which i n psychological terms they have never been separat- ed. I n this respect, the significance o f the Oku no I n r i t e d i f fers radical ly for women and men.

Viewed psychologically, the principal mo t i f operating fo r the female pi lgr im is reunion o f mother and daughter. The pi lgr im is the daughter and the womb-cave is the mother. Such a reunion finds mythic embodiment i n Derneter and Persephone (Kore). Jung has remarked on the d i f fe r ing significance for women and men o f the Kore figure, and he says further:

Kore...is generally a double...i.e., a mother and a maiden, which is t o say that she appears now as the one, and now as the other (Jung and Kerenyi 1949, pp. 157-1581. The ident i ty of the p i lgr im and the mother is the

secret o f the womb cave. This is the esoteric knowledge gained from the r i t e on the psychological level. As Jung says:

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The Cave and t h e Womb World

We could therefore say tha t every mother contains her daughter in herself and every daughter her mother, and tha t every woman extends backwards into her mother and forward into her daughter. This participation and intermingling give rise t o t h a t peculiar uncertainty a s regards time: a woman lives earlier as a daughter, l a te r a s a mother. The conscious experience of these t ies produces the feeling tha t her l i fe is spread out over generations-the f i rs t s t ep towards t h e immediate experience and conviction of being outside time, which brings with i t a feeling of immortality. The individual's life is elevated into a type, indeed i t becomes the archetype of woman's f a t e (sic) in general. This leads t o a restoration or apocatastads of the lives of her ancestors, who now, through the bridge of the momen- tary individual, pass down into the generations of t he future. An experience of this kind gives the individual a place and a meaning in t he l i fe of t he generations, so t ha t all unnecessary obstacles a r e cleared out of t he way of t he life-stream t h a t is t o flow through her (Jung and Kerenyi 1949, p. 162).

The Oku no In r i te refers t o a reunion of mother a d daughter, and t o the mystical identity of the two. I t is of course gender t ha t unites them, but more specifically i t is the i r ability t o give birth, t he character is t ic t ha t distin- guishes them from men. It is in giving birth t h a t t he daughter becomes the mother, and hence it is highly appro- pr ia te and in keeping with the symbolic logic of t he r i t e t h a t it t ake place in a womb-cave.

Within Japanese mythology, t he most relevant mytholo- gem is Amaterasu's concealment in t he Ama no Iwato, the Heavenly Rock Cave. Her concealment causes light and order t o vanish from t h e world, and i t is her re-emergence tha t causes light and order again t o rule over darkness and chaos. However, more important, Amaterasu en t e r s t he cave a Kore, a maiden, and emerges the unchallenged ruler of the High Fields of Heaven. I t was in the cave tha t her

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H e l e n HARDACRE

transformation occurred. The fact that transfarmation i n the myth and i n the Oku no I n cave r i t e takes place with- out male intervention is true to the motif o f the female's return t o the source. As Jung says of the Elusinean Mysteries, "Demeter-Kore exists on the plane of mother- daugher experience which is alien t o man and shuts him out" (Jung and Kerenyi 1949, p. 177).

CONCLUSION The problem examined in this paper is one of finding language t o articulate differences i n the religious exper- ience of women and men. It is imperative to the history of religions that that language grow out of our discipline and be ful ly integrated t o i ts central aims. A language for describing women's religious experience evolved solely for the purpose of describing something about women while remaining unrelated t o other issues i n the study of religion would be counterproductive. We must not rest content wi th terms and concepts for describing women's religious experiences which simply confirm existing stereotypes about women, thereby perpetuating the sidelined, marked status we have so long "enjoyed."

What is wanted is language which is suitable for describing the particulars of female experience but which is also linked t o a discipline's methodological issues i n a broader way. For example, the distinction between the public and private realms of society f i rst articulated by feminist scholars was primarily developed in order to understand women's issues, but it has proved to hold immense u t i l i t y in the study of society generally (Rodaldo 1974). It describes a dichotomy operative i n the lives of both women and men. To know and be able to apply this conceptual distinction deepens our sensitivity to a vast range of sociological and anthropological questions, whether or not the immediate focus is a "woman's issue." To be unaware of the public-private distinction is to pass over a universally important dichotomy in human society and experience. Thus it cannot be ignored or trivialized.

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The Cave and t h e W ornb World

If our goal is to understand the meaning of religious phenomena, we cannot assume, for example, that a r i t e has a single, unvarying meaning. Meaning is qualified and modu- lated by interaction between the participants and the phenomenon's public symbolism. Without reducing the prob- lem to a purely individual matter, when we recognize that women and men have vastly different psychic structures, we are forced t o take these into account in order to reach an accurate understanding o f the meaning to participants o f the phenomenon in question.

The task of articulating the meaning of a r i t e is not successfully completed by a recapitulation of i t s public symbolism. Often that recapitulation is in fac t a di f f icul t and complex task, requiring the historian o f religions to trace historically the fu l l context of a r i t e presently pre- served only in fragments. Yet no matter how complete is our tracing of the nexus of ideas in which a r i t e or other religious phenomenon is situated, we have not yet uncover- ed i t s meaning unt i l we consider real participants and the way that r i tual achieves i t s transformative power through interacting with the psychic structures they bring t o their participation in ritual. I f in turn that psychological struc- ture is significantly different for women and men, it becomes necessary to take account of that difference in our statements about the meaning of the phenomenon in question. Obviously, it would not be acceptable simply to present the meaning of a r i te for males or females separ- ately as "the" meaning. This being the case, the develop- ment of a language for talking accurately about women's religious experience is a task incumbent upon the discipline as a whole, not only upon those of us who happen to be women.

History of religions has long recognized the importance of the coincidentia oppositorum motif. Since Eliade's exposition of it, the idea has been usefully appropriated by many others, not only in our discipline, but in other branches of study as well. The term has become standard usage for religious phenomena in which one element finds

Japanese Journal o f Rel igious Studies 10/2-3 1 9 8 3 173

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H e l e n HARDACRE

i t s complet ion by unit ing w i t h i t s opposite. T h e p resen t invest igat ion suggests t h a t r i t e s exper ienced by men a s co inc iden t i a oppositorum are n o t a lways exper ienced a s such by women, Thus t h e meaning of such a r i t e f o r f emale pa r t i c ipan t s i s no t co ic iden t i a oppositorum, bu t becomes something else, A t p resen t we have no common, ag reed- upon l anguage wi th which t o name women's r e t u r n t o t h e source. I t is of course t r u e t h a t h is tory of re l ig ions has, again thanks t o Eliade, r ecogn ized t h e impor tance in in i t ia- to ry r i t u a l of a symbolic r e t u r n t o t h e cond i t ions of creat ion. This motif c l ea r ly is opera t ive f o r bo th women and men in t h e r i t e s of ascending t h e Oku no In cave. How- ever , point ing t o t h a t motif is no t a su f f i c i en t exposi t ion of t h e r i t e ' s s ignif icance f o r f emale par t ic ipants . Within t h e common framework of a n "e te rna l return," men exper - i ence co inc iden t i a oppositorum, and women e x p e r i e n c e a r e t u r n t o t h e source as a veh ic le f o r complet ing t h e i r own being.

This e s say has employed t h e phrase r e t u r n t o t h e source t o desc r ibe t h e pa r t i cu la r exper ience of women in a r i t e exper ienced d i f fe ren t ly by men. T h e p h r a s e i s potent ia l ly useful in pointing t o a g e n e r a l t y p e of religious exper ience, a motif pe rhaps as genera l and widespread as coincident ia oppositorum, a n d as impor tan t f o r men a s women. In our v a s t inventory of r i t e s glorifying male power and energy, w e will f ind t h e same motif operat ive . Without a t t e m p t i n g t o l i s t a l l possible cand ida tes , t w o such r i t e s t h a t come immediately t o mind a r e Mi th ra ic r i t e s of s laying t h e bull and male Shaivi te r i tual . Were th is suggest ion t o prove useful, t hen t h e motif of a r e t u r n t o t h e s o u r c e would h a v e proved i t s u t i l i ty in grasping t h e meaning of a t y p e of religious exper ience had by both women a n d men. The f a c t s surrounding t h e genesis of t h e t e r m a r e in a sense i r r e l evan t , just as i t is r e l a t ive ly unimportant f o r u s t o r eca l l El iade 's f i r s t u s e o f t h e t e r m co inc iden t i a oppositorum. The more impor tan t th ing is t h e g e n e r a l appl icabi l i ty and uti l i ty of bo th terms.

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The C a v e and t h e Womb World

Bon P En no G y 6 j a i%?B happi 5% k a j i tie% kami k5 3 kgsha sa Kfikai sl@ nahiki @ U S Oku no In @Og

Glossary

rokkon shEj5 ?@%Sg Ryfisenji gZ,BB Sai n o kawara g a q R sendatw Bj9 Shugendb @,sZ shugyB lgZ5 sokushin jDbutw &IlBljfiU T a n o kami M a # Yamabushi &4% zange lsangel

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