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Sailor Moon Trivia, Debunking: Burning Mandala

Burning Mandala is one of Sailor Mars’ attacks and has been one of the most frequently misunderstood attacks of the series. The symbols that surround Mars are often claimed stand for the eight directions of the world. I am not sure where this claim originated from but it is rather questionable.

Since this subject is rather complex and requires quite a thorough knowledge of technical language, I have tried to be as simple as possible and included only information that directly links Burning Mandala to Sailor Mars.

The following refers to Mandala in the Buddhist sense.

Mandala are symbolic illustrations of the Buddhist Universe. Originally from the Sanskrit “mandala” meaning “circle” (hence why this attack forms a circle and then eight smaller circles).

The “Mandala of the Womb Realm” (pictured above) is one of the most recognised Mandala in Japan. A variant of the core is featured in Burning Mandala.

This core is called a “shuji mandala”, here the deities are represented by Sanskrit seed syllables in the Siddham script which hold the essence of the deities represented. The live-action series does not use a seed syllable version.

Acala, the deity that appears in Mars’ Fire Soul Bird and Evil Spirits, Be Gone attacks is one of the Five Wisdom Kings that inhabit the Womb Realm. Acala (x) is a wrathful figure pictured in flames, making this attack of Mars a literal burning Mandala. The attack connects the fire of Mars with Rei’s spirituality. Fire burning away at evil and defilements fits well for Sailor Mars.

/Sidebar: If Rei is Shinto, why does she do Buddhist things?

It’s largely due to a political mindset that hasn’t faded.

Buddhism is by its nature, rather adept to blending with native religions such as Shinto. Overtime the two religions syncretised in Japan, however after the Meiji Restoration, in a bid for nationalism, the Japanese government decided to separate the religions, to elevate Shinto as the “native Japanese religion” and “Buddhism” as the foreign un-Japanese religion. As the two religions had been so intensely connected for so many centuries already, it was really in physical terms alone. The perception that Japanese Buddhism and Shintoism were distinct and independent was created and remains for many, if not most, Japanese people today. There are temples for Buddhism and shrines for Shinto and many Japanese people will use the services of both. However, in religious practice for people like Rei, the line between Buddhism and Shintoism is much less distinct.