Ki of Kishimojin is composed of a large demon’s head (on top), under the head are legs, an appendage, or vapor.

Demons from the mountains would come into the villages at night and steal the head of a living person and run around wearing it. Demons are also known as hungry ghosts because they still have unresolved “hunger” or issues. When they satisfy their “hunger” they can move on to the next phases of life/death.

Shi of Kishimojin is a child wrapped in swaddling. His/her arms extend outside the swaddling.

Mo is mother. The outline of Mo is that of nu - the radical (root word) for woman. Inside this radical structure are two squares representing a mother’s breasts. The dots inside the squares are nipples.

Jin of Kishimojin is composed of two elemental characters. On the left is the instruction of the cosmos - on top of this character is a horizontal line representing heaven. Under the top line is the light of the sun, moon, and stars shining down. This elemental character represents the wisdom of the cosmos being shared through the illumination of heavenly bodies. On the right are two hands grasping a rope. The rope extends the usefulness and power of the hands. It means “to extend [oneself for others]”. Jin is the extension of heavenly aid or protection. This same jin is found in Shoten zenjin.

Kishimojin is the heavenly protector of children, mothers, and practitioners of the Lotus Sutra.

Ki = Demon
Shi = Child
Mo = Mother
Jin = Heavenly (Cosmic) Protector

Kishimojin is commonly translated as “Mother of Demon Children”, but more accurately she is the Demon that protects mothers and children. In some “Nichiren” sects she is the central object of worship and there are special ceremonies that pay homage to her.

According to legend, Kishimojin drank the blood of children so that she could provide mother’s milk to her favorite child. Mothers in the nearby villages asked the Buddha if he could put an end to this practice. So the Buddha caused Kishimojin’s child to be invisible to her. She searched frantically for him (even though he was near her at all times) and eventually she came to the Buddha for help. The Buddha asked her how she felt about not being able to find her child. When Kishimojin told him of her great aguish, the Buddha explained that that is how she made other mothers feel when she took their children. After that, Kishimojin vowed to protect mothers and children. Later, in the Dharani (Spells) 26th Chapter of the Lotus Sutra, she and her ten daughters vow to protect the practitioners of the Lotus Sutra in the evil age that was to come.

Terry Ruby

Copyright 2002 Imagery of Nichiren's Lotus Sutra website

Kišimođin na kineskom

Ki iz Kišimođin sastoji se od velike demonske glave (na vrhu), ispod glave su noge, jedan dodatak ili para [ispar{ava|e}nje].

Demoni sa planina bi dolazili noću u sela i krali glave živih i muvali se naokolo noseći ih. Demoni su takođe poznati i kao gladni duhovi, jer još uvek osećaju nerazrešenu "glad" ili razna takva pitanja. Kada zadovolje svoju "glad" mogu se kretati prema sledećim fazama života/smrti.

Ši iz Kišimodin je dete umotano u pelene. Njegove ruke se protežu izvan ovih pelena.

Mo je majka. Kontura mo je ona kao kod nu - koren (korena reč) za ženu. U toj korenoj strukturi su dva kvadrata koja predstavljaju majčine grudi. Tačke u kvadratima su bradavice.

Đin iz Kišimođin je sastavljeno od dva elementarna karaktera. S leva je uputa kosmosa - na vrhu ovog karaktera je jedna horizontalna linija koja predstavlja nebo. Ispod ove linije na vrhu je svetlo sunca, meseca i zvezda koje se prostire naniže. Ovaj elementarni karakter predstavlja mudrost kosmosa koja se raspodeljuje putem svetlosti nebeskih tela. S desna su dve ruke koje hvataju konopac. Ovaj konopac je produžetak korisnosti i moći ruku. Ovo znači "produžiti {proširiti} [sebe za druge]". Đin je produžetak nebeske pomoći ili zaštite. Isto jin se nalazi i u šoten zenđin.

Kišimođin je nebeski zaštitnik dece, majki i praktičara Lotos sutre.

Ki = demon
Ši = dete
Mo = majka
Đin = nebeski (kosmički) zaštitnik

Kišimođin se obično prevodi kao "Majka Demonske Dece", ali tačnije ona je demon koji štiti majke i decu. U nekim "Ničirenovim" školama, ona je centralni objekt obožavanja i postoje specijalne ceremonije kojima joj se odaje poštovanje.

Prema legendi, Kišimođin je pila krv dece da bi mogla da obezbedi majčino mleko svom omilijenom detetu. Majke iz obližnjih sela su tražile od Bude ako bi mogao da prekine ovu praksu. Tako je Buda učinio Kišimođinino dete za nju nevidljivim. Tražila ga je mahnito (mada joj je bilo blizu svo vreme) i na kraju je došla kod Bude da joj pomogne. Buda ju je pitao kako se osećala jer nije mogla da nađe svoje dete. Kad mu je Kišimođin ispričala o svojoj jakoj groznici, Buda joj je objasnio da je to upravo ono što je ona učinila da ostale majke osećaju kada je uzela njihovu decu. Posle ovoga, Kišimođin se zavetovala da štiti majke i decu. Kasnije, u Dharani (Čarolije) poglavlju (dvadeset šestom) Lotos sutre, ona i njenih deset kćeri zavetuju se da štite praktičare Lotos sutre, tokom zlog doba koje je imalo da dođe.

Teri Rubi

Copyright 2002 Imagery of Nichiren's Lotus Sutra website