Great Construction

What Is Kannon Power? (Narratives)

     The terms mystic power and Kannon power have long been topics of concern and study. Naturally Kannon power has the same meaning as mystic power. There are no such phrases as Amida power, Shakyamuni power, or Bodhidharma power. The fact that it is only Regarder of the Cries of the World about whom this power is spoken is quite intriguing, but there is no cause why there should be a reason for this. There are no written records or anything such as a legend that has been handed down about Kannon power. I myself used to have questions about this point, but as my faith has continued to deepen, this subject has become clear to me, so I would like to explain it here.
     In this regard there is one question that first must be clarified. I am often queried about this point. It is about the point of whether Regarder of the Cries of the World is male or female, and it is this very question that has a close, inseparable relation to Kannon power. In truth, The Honored One is male and is female, endowed with the characteristics of both sexes.
     Thus, the fact that male is yang and female is yin has also been well known since antiquity, but when understood within the distinction of fire and water, male is fire and female, water. Fire burns vertically and water flows horizontally. The time for the formation of the connection of the vertical and the horizontal has come.
     Light is the fusion of fire and water. The more the amount of the spirit of fire increases, the more intense is the light. Following this principle, the daylight world is one in which the amount of the spirit of fire has increased and the light has become stronger. This is the reason the activity of Regarder of the Cries of the World will manifest as Tathagata of Divine Light.
     Next, the most important point to be made is that true power is generated through the fusion of the vertical and the horizontal. The Chinese ideogram for the word “power” is written by connecting a vertical stroke to a horizontal stroke that ends with a slight upward-pointing serif. The connection of these two dimensions means that clockwise rotating power is generated and activated which certainly suggests the profound significance of written ideograms. The explanations above apply to only the Bodhisattva Regarder of the Cries of the World. The fact that thus the vertical and horizontal, male and female aspects are so embodied means that power from the fusion of vertical and horizontal is generated, hence particularly why we speak of Kannon power.
     At this stage, let me introduce another important aspect. After Regarder of the Cries of the World has become the Tathagata of Divine Light, next will be the activity of Maitreya or Messiah. As I related before, light is fire and water, and when soil is added to this fusion, the fusion becomes the activity of fire-water-soil. Originally, fire and water alone are active on the spiritual level and not on the physical. But with the addition of soil, the power of the trinity of fire-water-soil is manifested for the first time. This power is that of the gem of Chintamani, the jewel of Mani. Fire is five and water, six; soil, seven, so I read the ideograms for five, six, seven as “Mi-ro-ku.” One of Shakyamuni’s prophecies that the world of Mi-ro-ku would begin 56.7 million years later was referring to a world in which five, six, seven, or fire, water, soil would be in the correct order.
     In addition, no matter how great a prophet, there is no need that Shakyamuni should prophesize events that will occur after the astronomical figure of 56.7 million years. That is because such a prophecy does not mean anything. A prophecy has value if it pertains to something coming about within at least several thousands of years. Christ’s prophecy about two thousand years in the future is an appropriate number.
     Miroku which is Regarder of the Cries of the World refers to the Flexible Maitreya, which is a part of the Buddhist tradition, but it is the limitless activity of the Flexible Maitreya itself that should probably be keenly observed and followed from now on.
     Finally, the set of the numbers five, six, seven, as well as the set of the numbers three, six, nine both add up to eighteen. The Chinese ideogram for “ten” forms a balanced cross, meaning “connection” or “completion.” The ideogram written for eight represents a start or beginning. The statue of Regarder of the Cries of the World enshrined in the temple at Asakusa in the vicinity where I was born has been said since antiquity to be made of gold and be 1.8 inches tall. In addition, the temple building itself has eighteen spaces between its pillars with four sides, so the whole phenomena can only suggest profound significance.

 Narratives, Jikan Library, Volume 12, page 17, January 30, 1950
translated by cynndd