Gohonzon

Gohonzon (??? or ???) refers to the object of devotion in many forms of Japanese Buddhism. In Japanese, go is an honorific prefix indicating respect and honzon means object of fundamental respect, veneration, or devotion. Generically used, gohonzon can refer to any such object of devotion, whether a statue or set of statues, a painted scroll of some sort, or some other object; or the word—then usually capitalized when romanized?may be used specifically to refer to the moji-mandala (????? "script," or "written with characters" mandala) that is the object of veneration in various Nichiren schools.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In private settings, gohonzons are enshrined in an altar called a butsudan (?? or ??, "Buddha platform") that is considered the "home of the Buddha" by Buddhists.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Japanese Buddhism: The history of Buddhism in Japan can be roughly divided into three periods, namely the Nara period (up to 784), the Heian period (794-1185) and the post-Kamakura period (1185 onwards). Each period saw the introduction of new doctrines and upheavals in existing schools....

Japanese: When used as an adjective, Japanese refers to anything that originates from Japan. It may refer to more than one article:...

Mandala: :For the Indonesian airline see Mandala Airlines...