观自在菩萨，
行深般若波罗蜜多时，
照见五蕴皆空，度一切苦厄。The Bodhisattva Who Contemplates At Ease, when practising the profound Prajñā Pāramitā, contemplated upon and realised the five aggregates to all be of emptiness, and crossed over all suffering and difficulties.
In Noh (能) theatre is a classic play called ‘Aoi no Ue’ (Lady Aoi: 葵上), where the protagonist is possessed by a vengeful spirit, the personification of Lady Rokujō’s (六條) enmity. To physically express and accentuate the horror of this physical-mental attack, the actor would wear the Hannya (般若) mask. Hannya is a yōkai (妖怪) or ‘monster’ of sorts, who can be demonic and/or ghostly in nature.
The Hannya mask is perhaps the most popular mask in Japanese culture. With sharp bull-like horns, bulging and glaring eyes, and a wide mouth snarling with fangs, it portrays the spirits of women who have become demonesses due to seething anger, unrelenting obsession and great jealousy. (In the Buddhist teachings, females are warned as being relatively more susceptible to defilements such as jealousy.)
Any man or woman consumed by jealousy and such are as if transformed to be ‘demons and demonesses’ in the moment too. Just ask those present to describe your facial appearance to you then. With detailed understanding of human nature, there are different masks used to express degrees of rage, attachment and jealousy. Just as the path to Buddhahood has its stages, so does demonisation.
Beyond the dramatic nature of the fictitious story, the very name of Hannya is already intriguing. ‘Hannya’ is the Japanese version of the Sanskrit word ‘Prajñā’ (般若), which is the Buddhist term for ‘Wisdom’, to be completely realised, to thus become Perfect Prajñā, which is Prajñā Pāramitā (般若波罗蜜多). Having this greatest form of Wisdom, Buddhahood is thus attained.
Surely, it seems bizarre, that a demonic entity would be named as Hannya. There are three theories offering reasons for this. The first theory proposes that since the mask was perfectly crafted by a Buddhist monk named Hannya-bō (般若坊), it was named after him. The second theory proposes that the artist who created the mask needed Great Wisdom (大般若). But why is wisdom needed to portray the monstrous?
The Hannya mask is supposed to show, if not exaggerate the demonic and thus dangerous. However, as emotions can be fickle, mixed and nuanced, sometimes alternating swiftly between one another, it also expresses deep sorrow, torment and even regret. Despite the mask being unchanging, when the wearer looks straight, it invokes fear with its anger. When tilted slightly down, it seems to be tearing.
The third theory proposes that the mask was named after the line ‘Ara osoroshi ya, hannya goe ya!’ (あら恐ろしや般若声や!) in the play, which means, ‘Oh, how terrifying, the sound of Prajñā!’ (哦，好可怕，般若的声音！) It is an exclaimation of horror upon hearing a voice reciting the ‘Prajñā Pāramitā Hṛdaya Sūtra’《般若波罗蜜多心经》, which is the ‘Perfect Wisdom’s Heart Discourse’, or the ‘Heart Sūtra’《心经》, as the essence of the ‘Prajñā Pāramitā Sūtra’s《般若波罗蜜多经》600 scrolls.
Lady Rokujō lamented on the sūtra as it was recited to expel her. Since the word ‘Hannya’ (Prajñā) was uttered in this signature line, she and her mask were named so. The scripture’s teachings, which are supposed to bring peace horrified her as her thinking and ways ran counter to their sacred truths. Being a demoness made her invertedly demonise the pure, to actualise the impure instead. To the extent that one feels aversion to Buddhist wisdom, one is ‘Hannya-ish’, even if yet to be a demon(ess)!
This brings us to the next confounding mystery, of why who seems so evil is given the name of what is not only good, but as pure as purity can be. Is this not like calling ‘day’ as ‘night’, or in reverse? How is this even sensible? Lady Rokujō was eventually repentant and appeased. In this sense, the story had a happy ending, with Hannya making peace with Hannya itself.
Perhaps, the linguistic ‘conflating’ of the demonic with the pure in name serves to remind us that ‘afflictions are the “same” as Bodhi’ (烦恼即菩提), which means that ‘when the troubles in our minds (due to greed, hatred and delusion) are seen clearly, they will transform to be (factors for) awakening’. Thus, ‘paradoxically’, the greater the afflictions, the greater the potential realisation. With the right motivation and efforts, what seems to be directly opposite needs not stay so. Afflictions, pun intended, literally mask Bodhi.
Since ‘all sentient beings have Buddha-nature’ (众生皆有佛性), as the potential for Buddhahood, no one is condemned beyond redemption. Buddha-nature is lasting, while demonic nature, haunting as it might be, is still fleeting. As reflected in the Heart Sūtra, other than our forms (色), even our unenlightened ‘feelings, perceptions, mental formations (volitions) and consciousnesses’ (受想行识) are ‘all empty’ (皆空) in nature, void of lasting and substantial nature.
If we can transform to be demonic, we can transform to be pure too. The fully awakened, who are Buddhas however, being completely purified, will never become impure again. The demoness Hannya’s name is thus not just a reminder about wisdom, but a reminder to have compassion too, to not overly demonise others, and to counter the demonic within with wisdom. May all realise Hannya soon!
色不异空；空不异色；
色即是空；空即是色。
受、想、行、识，亦复如是。Form is not different from emptiness; emptiness is not different from form; form is the same as emptiness; emptiness is the same as form. Feeling, perception, volition and consciousness are likewise thus.
