Afterpants: Dharmundies pt 5 (ENMA!)

Finally! We've reached da' big guy! The Hell King of All Hell Kings, The 5 inch elastic waistband that never quits...The One...The Only...Enma !!!!

Name: Enma-o, King Yama, Yama Raja! 閻魔王

Function: Ruler of Hell, Judge of the damned, Professional Genealogist

Appearance: Often depicted with red skin and kingly and pretty pissed off.

Tools of the trade: Depends on whether he's being a Wisdom King or a Hell King today.

Quote: "I can't stay long, I just had to see you!"

Hobbies: Lamp making, boxing and painting

Underwear: Gender neutral black thong.

What can I say? Enma (Emma) or Yama is basically the star of the show! All our other Dharmundies fall under his umbrella. He's been the subject of literature, movies and even kids shows!

I myself created a "kid Yama" for my comic;

You see him on the 35th day after you die. (We're still on a weekly schedule with these guys)

Wiki says:

"Although based on the god Yama of the Hindu Vedas, the Buddhist Yama has spread and developed different myths and different functions from the Hindu deity. He has also spread far more widely and is known in most countries where Buddhism is practiced, including China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, Bhutan, Mongolia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos."

You might find this interesting; in Tibetan Buddhism they have certain "levels of practice" wherein if you concentrate/contemplate a particular deity (in this case Enma) and your senior monk deems you worthy, you are introduced to various (secret) forms of the deity with which to further your understanding of the ideal.

This thangka is called "original outer form" Yama and if you decided to continue the jhana (devotive practice) you would be introduced to other "inner forms"

Basically, Buddhism is wise in that essentially, you can practice Jhana with almost anything. Practicing a meditation on a thangka (a prescribed image normally having a central figure like a certain form of a Buddha or other types of deity) is said to being spiritual awareness

of that form...or more specifically...you "spiritually become that entity"

Based on what images you choose, you are given certain ritual practices to perform on a daily basis, specific chants (mantras), ritual clothing or objects you're supposed to carry etc...

This is, of course, why we here at Afterpants concentrate daily upon the Afterlife and the Supernatural...we're not really interested in getting a photo of your latest meal or a picture of your dog...we want to see Yokai and Yurei and the Underworld...oh my!

For a more detailed, but not exhaustive list of pop culture references to Enma, you can click here.

Lol...looks like I wasn't the first person to think of Enma as a kid:

Here's a link to Matt Meyers wonderful art and awesome Yokai encyclopedia! (His Enma entry)

Here's a translated piece from Japan.

Here's his write up on Villains Fandom.

And finally, here's a site that I've been using to help me with Dharmundies.

Anyway, there's so much to say about Enma but I have neither the attention span nor the patience to say it. Enma is the ruler of the Underworld and I think that's just great!