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In pursuit of the sorcerer's power: sacred diagrams as technologies of potency

2012; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 13; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/14639947.2012.716706

1476-7953

Thomas Nathan Patton,

Anthropological Studies and Insights

Abstract Drawing upon research for a dissertation on lived religion in Myanmar as it pertains to various religious cults and followers whose devotions are directed towards Buddhist sorcerer saints (weizzā), this article examines the technologies at work in potency practices involving the production and use of in (cabbalistic squares) and sama (diagrams and drawings using specific Burmese syllables). In particular, the paper will examine how such devices are used by the devout traversing the weizzā path and explain how in and sama are employed to transform one's self into a full-fledged weizzā. The paper will conclude with a discussion on how such an examination can help us reshape our understanding of Burmese Buddhism in contemporary Myanmar.Footnote1 Notes 1. All Burmese and Pāli translations are mine unless stated otherwise. In the body of this article, Burmese words and phrases will be transcribed phonetically. Proper names and the titles of works in Pāli and Buddhist technical vocabulary in Pāli will be transliterated according to the Pāli Text Society convention with diacritics. Pāli words that have been domesticated in English to a certain extent, such as 'sangha,' will not receive diacritics except when used as technical vocabulary. 2. The etymology of the two terms, in and sama, is unknown. They appear to be purely Burmese terms with no origin in Pāli or Sanskrit. In the 1893 edition of Judson's and Stevenson's Burmese English Dictionary, we find the term, in, defined as a 'table divided into columns or squares, or other compartments, for the purpose of entering figures, accounts, etc.', while sama is defined as 'a combination of letters used as a charm; a monogram.' 3. For a thorough discussion of bodhipakkhiyā, see Gethin (Citation1992). 4. Although there are some female practitioners, the overwhelming majority are male. 5. The accusative singular case used in 'Buddha[mdot],' 'Dhamma[mdot],' and 'Sangha[mdot]' is not a typographical error. As is often the case with mantra, there is a loose adherence to Pāli grammar. If we were to take the 'me' as an instrumental enclitic, then another possible reading of the mantra could be: 'Let the Buddha, the Teachings and the Monastic Community be protected by me.' While it may be grammatically accurate, this is not how my informants understand the essence of this mantra to be. They use the mantra as an apotropaic device that, when invoking the Triple Gem, functions as something of a spiritual force field to guard against evil influences and misfortune. 6. This is a tentative translation as the meaning of this mantra is unclear to me, especially with regards to invoking the Vedic Sun-god. It is important to remember, however, that the creators of yantra hardly, if ever, understand the meaning of the mantra being used. The semantic meaning matters little compared with the power of the words when chanted in prescribed ways. I offer translations of gāthā and mantra throughout this essay to provide the reader with another layer of information in helping to understand these complex diagrams. 7. The four Buddhas are: Kakusandha, Konāgamana, Kassapa, and Gautama. 8. See Rozenberg (Citation2005, 112) for a useful explanation on the conflation of the iddhi and siddhi in Burmese Buddhist conceptions of supernatural powers. 9. No source I have consulted provides any information for why or how such chess movements have been applied to yantra construction. Thanks to Bizot's research on yantra in other parts of Southeast Asia, however, we know that such chess inspired movements are not only relegated to those yantra originating from Myanmar (Bizot Citation1981; Bizot and Von Hinüber Citation1994). Some of my informants who were skilled in the art of creating in were aware of, and fascinated by, the ancient puzzle game known as 'The Knight's Tour' where a player places a knight on any square of an empty board and moves the knight to every other square, landing on each square only once. See Watkins (Citation2004) for more on this puzzle. Also, see Rudrata and Chaudhari (1990) for evidence of the Knight's Tour in the ninth century Sanskrit poem, Kāvyālam;[mdot]kāra. 10. Most yantra-based texts provide such lists. See CitationU Adhinna's In Pyinnya Akhye-khan-kyan for an example. 11. Such practitioners with whom I spoke with believed that once swallowed whole, the yantra travels through the body; occasionally appearing directly beneath the skin as proof of its efficacy. A yantra can also be worn on the body as an amulet (B. let-pwe). Using the yantra as an amulet is not thought to carry as much power as one that is ingested, however, and is often used to ward off dangers or bring good luck. 12. Such practices of ingesting yantra, laid out in great detail, can be found in popular magazines and books. See Vepulla Sayadaw (Citation2005) for a particularly thorough discussion. 13. Ū·h Ññā·na (1888).This image comes from a nineteenth century parabaik created by members of a weizzā association that was based in Prome. I thank Christian Lammerts for bringing this parabaik to my attention and Tin Maung Gyi for informing me of its provenance. 14. The Pāli word 'dīpam' (lamp) is used here to refer to a candle. 15. The importance of this gāthā (and the number '9' that corresponds to each of the attributes) for the weizzā cannot be underestimated. This gāthā, found in various Pāli textual sources (M I.37; A II.285) and referred to as buddhānussati ('recollection of the Buddha') in Vism VII.2–67, forms the basis for countless yantra and mantra, as well as prayer-bead (B. seik-puti) and meditation techniques. 16. The six attributes of the Teachings (Dhamma) are: 'Svākkhāto, Sanditthiko Akāliko, Ehipassiko Opanayiko Veditabbo.' The nine attributes of the Monastic Community (Sangha) are: 'Supatipanno, Uju-patipanno, Ñāya-patipanno, Sāmīci-patipanno, Āhuneyyo, Pāhuneyyo, Dakkhineyyo, Añjali-karanīyo, Puññakkhettam.' 17. To my knowledge, this is the only one of the 11 paritta (protective verses) from which verses have been taken to create an in diagram. While I have yet to come across any in or sama that use paritta as their sole componenets, I have studied another form of yantra known as 'aing,' which are combinations of figures and mantra. For example, a Mora Aing consists of a drawing of a peacock with words from the Mora Paritta encircling it. 18. Most manuals and practitioners I have consulted state that this mantra is not essential, and that omitting it will not affect the potency of the yantra. 19. This translation does not match a literal reading of the Pali but follows the nissaya translation provided in several of the documents where this mantra is found. Nissaya are often commentarial in nature and provide, as in this case, additional meanings in their interpretations. It should also be noted that with most yantra practices, the origin and meaning of these four syllables is irrelevant to the construction or power of the yantra. There are, however, several folk etymologies surrounding the origin of these syllables. Considered by many practitioners to be primordial syllables that appear throughout the world (a partially eclipsed sun, for example, resembles the Burmese syllable 'CA'), they were even thought to have appeared as kappabindu (marks made on new robes making them lawful in accord with the Vinaya, the book of monastic discipline) on the robes of the four Buddhas of this world cycle. The importance of these four syllables for practitioners on the weizzā path is second only to the 'Nine Noble Attributes [of the Buddha]' (B. gon-daw ko ba) gāthā in terms of efficacy and power. Spiro (Citation1967, 176) briefly examines a simplified version of the Buddha sama and notes similar interpretations of the diagram and its symbolism. 20. For instance, if the practitioner wanted the power of flight, he might employ a bird sama; a hermit (B. yathey) sama for clairvoyancy; or a Sarasvatī sama for wisdom, Sarasvatī (B. Thuyathadi) being a female deity who guards the teachings of the Buddha and inspires wisdom and speech. 21. Especially, as Peter Skilling (Citation2009) points out, what is meant by the term, 'Theravāda,' is far from clear. 22. An important exception is CitationPatrick Pranke's formative essay, 'On Becoming a Buddhist Wizard' (1995), where he provides a translation and analyses of a popular weizzā manual. 23. While some scholars have tended to refer to such practices as 'Tantric Theravāda', I am in agreement with Peter Skilling (Citation2009) who sees such a label as a-historical and ill-fitting.