[INDOLOGY] mikkyō mantras

[Mark McClish]

Dear friends,

A colleague of mine has asked for my assistance in helping to identify the origin of a set of Mikkyō mantras passed down in his martial arts tradition. I haven’t the foggiest idea where to direct him for more information about such mantras, but I thought that someone on Indology might. 

The only information he has given me about these mantras is that he received them from his own teacher in the Renzai tradition, who claims they come from an 18th century Chinese source (a tiger scroll?). So far, he has used Heinemann to find equivalents for the terms. I give the transcription of the mantras as he gave them to me:

om bakoku shintaku dariya sowaka
om narida heira sowaka
om ramittosha a yoku sowaka
om hihoko matan unhada sowaka
om shatei tada tobaya sowaka
om rokei jinbara sotara sowaka

While an approximate translation of many of the terms is not difficult, I’d be grateful for any suggestions on secondary sources regarding the history of such mantra traditions in Japan. Even if he can’t trace the specific history of these mantras, I think he’d be grateful to know more about them in general.

With thanks,
Mark