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Amida kubon-in@ˆ’–ν‘Ι‹γ•iˆσ
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Also read Amida kuhon-in. Lit. Mudras of the nine grades of Amida. The Pure Land joudo ς“y into which *Amida ˆ’–ν‘Ι (Sk: Amitabha/Amitayus) welcomes his devotees is divided into nine 'grades', kubon/kuhon ‹γ•i. These range from the upper grade: upper birth joubon joushou γ•iγΆ, to the lower grade: lower birth gebon geshou ‰Ί•i‰ΊΆ. Each grade is represented by a different mudra or hand gesture *in ˆσ. The KANMURYOUJUKYOU ŠΟ–³—ΚŽυŒo (Ch: Kuan wuliangshou jing, or Scripture on the Meditation of Amitayus), mentions nine grades of Amida's welcome, but does not mention nine corresponding mudras. Nor do the nine forms of Amida display nine different mudras in the kubon mandara ‹γ•i™ΦδΆ—… which E'un Œb‰^ (798-869) brought back to Japan from China. Many temples enshrining nine corresponding forms of Amida were constructed in the Heian period, based on the theory of nine grades of rebirth. The only extant example is found at Joururiji ς—Ϊ—žŽ› in Kyoto. Instead of the nine figures each displaying a different mudra, the central deity at this temple forms the upper grade: lower birth mudra, while the other eight images form the upper grade: upper birth mudra. By way of contrast, the nine Edo period images of Amida at Kuhonbutsu Joushinji ‹γ•i•§ς^Ž› in Tokyo present faithful representations of the nine different mudras, thus indicating that the theory had won considerable currency by the Edo period. Recent research has shown that dissemination of the Amida kubon-in occurred after the publication of the BUTSUZOU ZUI •§‘œ}œb (Collected Illustrations of Buddhist Images) in the Genroku Œ³˜\ era (1688-1704). The nine grades and their respective mudras are: Upper grade: upper birth joubon joushou γ•iγΆ ; Upper grade: middle birth joubon chuushou γ•i’†Ά; Upper grade: lower birth joubon geshou γ•i‰ΊΆ ; Middle grade: upper birth chuubon joushou ’†•iγΆ ; Middle grade: middle birth chuubon chuushou ’†•i’†Ά ; Middle grade: lower birth chuubon geshou ’†•i‰ΊΆ ; Lower grade: upper birth gebon joushou ‰Ί•iγΆ ; Lower grade: middle birth gebon chuushou ‰Ί•i’†Ά ; Lower grade: lower birth gebon geshou ‰Ί•i‰ΊΆ.
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