Ritual Mirrors

Another ritual form employed in kai kanjō, as in other medieval Tendai kanjō, was mirrors, used to convey the perfect interfusion of the three truths. Kai kanjō specifically required a round mirror, representing the Lotus Sūtra, and an octagonal mirror, representing the Fan-wang Ching, regarded as the primary and secondary textual bases for the bodhisattva precepts. Other significations of the mirrors were also elaborated, for example: “The round mirror is the mirror of the Wonderful Dharma (myōhō). The octagonal mirror is the mirror of the lotus blossom (renge). Their fusion is the word ‘sūtra’ (kyō). The title [of the Lotus Sūtra, Myōhō Renge Kyō] is understood as the threefold contemplation in a single mind. This is also the threefold contemplation of the secret store of the precept lineage.” (Page 136-137)

Original Enlightenment and the Transformation of Medieval Japanese Buddhism