The term A-un (阿吽) is…used as "a-un breathing" (阿吽の呼吸 a-un no kokyū), which means that more than two people do something in sync with each other (=being finely timed). However, it’s said that the original meaning of A-un (阿吽) was to represent the beginning and the end of all things. I don’t know the truth though.
I know that the paired Niō statues we see at temples represent it, too. One of them has its mouth open and the other has it closed. Did you know that? Yes, you did…? m(_ _)m. Well, what about the komainu statues which we also see at the entrance of shrines? Did you know that one has its mouth open and the other has it closed? Yes, you do, too?…Oh, m(_ _)m .
Well then, do you know why only one of them has its mouth open…?
I guess you know this, too. Yes, one is to pronounce the sound "a". So then, why does the other have its mouth closed? Yes, it’s to utter the sound "um". So these are always a pair.
For example, imagine that when we eat something we always have our mouth open. But when we chew and gobble we have our mouth closed. Our anus and urethra is usually closed and opened when needed, otherwise we will be in a big trouble. Also breathing is the same. Our mouth and nose needs to be opened when breathing. As we can notice, there must be something important in between “open” and “close”.
Talking about Hiragana (Japanese alphabet), it has every letters in between “a” and “un”, doesn’t it? Those letters are a tool which represents things in the world (whole universe), so I feel something mysterious about the fact that the Japanese alphabet starts from “a” and ends with “un”.
“阿-a” is a first sound of the Siddhaṃ alphabet with which we open our mouth to pronounce, and “吽-un” is the last one with which we close our mouth to pronounce. The Japanese alphabet is based on this, so then it must start with “a” and finishes with “(u)-n”, I suppose.
Whichever it is, the reason why “a” comes first is because it’s to create things (something) new by opening. Also, as for the earthquake which seems to continue for much longer in Japan, it seems as if clacking the ground (opening). Is it creating something new….? But I wonder if the world will end (be closing) just like the last letter of “un”…Don’t you get worried?
