Kokūzō Bosatsu and the Akashic records

Many people interested in spirituality have heard of the "Akashic records," a kind of cosmic memory in which all knowledge is said to be stored. Much is speculated about it in esoteric circles, but few people ask where the idea comes from, and whether there's an old ritual that goes with it.

There is a very interesting connection, and it has a name, 虚空蔵菩薩 Kokūzō Bosatsu, the bodhisattva of the treasury of space. In Shingon he stands for inexhaustible wisdom and memory, and his Sanskrit name, Ākāśagarbha, contains the very word ākāśa. He is the keeper of the Akashic records.

Ākāśa and kokū 虚空

The Sanskrit word ākāśa means "space" or "ether." In Indian thought it's the element that gives the other elements room to exist. When Buddhist texts were translated into Chinese, ākāśa was often rendered as 虚空 kokū, "empty space." In Shingon, space (kū 空) is the fifth of the five great elements, the one that contains and pervades all the others.

Kokūzō 虚空蔵 literally means "storehouse of empty space," and garbha in his Sanskrit name means womb or inner chamber. In other words, Kokūzō is the one whose treasure of wisdom is as boundless as space itself. Everything is kept in that storehouse, and he watches over it.

The idea of the Akashic records reached the West a little over a hundred years ago through Theosophy and Helena Blavatsky. What came over was the idea, though, and not the ritual. In the German-speaking world, Rudolf Steiner made it popular with a series of essays titled "From the Akashic Records," starting in 1904. Since only the idea was known, many people went on to invent their own techniques for reading the records, and that became part of modern esotericism and the New Age movement. What I find remarkable is that traditional and very effective methods have existed all along, and one of them is well over a thousand years old. Mikao Usui practiced it, as you'll see below. I write about another side of this in the article on Akasha and martial art.

Kūkai and the Gumonji-hō 求聞持法

As a young man, Kūkai, the founder of Shingon, practiced the 求聞持法 gumonji-hō, literally the "method of seeking to hear and retain." It has long been known for strengthening memory, but strictly speaking it goes further, because what you gain through it are abilities, not just knowledge. Even today, many people in Japan practice it, for example to pass a tough exam at university.

In his early work Sangō shiiki (797), Kūkai himself writes that he practiced in the mountains of Awa and at Cape Muroto in Tosa, and that the morning star (myōjō 明星), that is, Venus, came toward him. Later legend tells that the star flew into his mouth. What exactly happened, we can't know. What's clear is that this experience became a turning point in his life and that his path into esoteric Buddhism began with it. Mikao Usui also practiced the Gumonji-hō in the Kurama mountains, alongside other practices, and it helped him find his way to Reiki.

The keeper of the records 記録

The Akashic records are often described as a kind of cosmic library in which everything is stored. In Shingon, space is a quality that pervades everything, and Kokūzō is the one who holds its treasure. Put simply, everything that's stored there is in his keeping.

That's exactly what the Gumonji-hō is about. It's an ancient ritual that has been working the whole time, long before anyone in the West talked about Akashic records. As I see it, practice with Kokūzō brings knowledge and, along with it, real abilities.

Kokūzō Bosatsu in Shingon 実践

Kokūzō's mantra is still recited today in Shingon temples, especially by people who wish for wisdom and a good memory. In Japan there's also the custom of jūsan mairi 十三参り, in which children visit a Kokūzō temple at the age of thirteen to ask for wisdom. The Hōrin-ji in Kyoto is particularly well known for this.

Shingon Reiki includes an initiation into Kokūzō Bosatsu, and this meditation is actively practiced there, so that everyone can do it on their own. Have you ever had the experience of suddenly understanding something without knowing where the insight came from?