Buddhism in Japan | Buddhistdoor [article list]

Buddhism in Japan | Buddhistdoor

About Buddhism in Japan

 

Buddhism in Japan introduces the histories, practices, and beliefs of various Buddhist schools, thinkers, and practitioners in Japan. It explores popular as well as little known faces of Buddhism in Japan through the reflections on texts, explorations of religious sites, and encounters with practitioners. 

 

About the author 

 

Gereon Kopf is a Professor in the religion department at Luther College, Iowa, USA, Visiting Researcher at the International Research Center for Philosophy of Tōyō University, and Adjunct Professor at the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Iceland.

 

Buddhism in Japan is published bi-monthly. 

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Shinto: The Way of, to, and with the Gods!
Exploring the Shinto tradition
Uploaded 19 Jun 2015
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Humility, Faith, and Other-Power: Shinran’s "Tannisho"
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Walking with Kukai–Becoming a Buddha: Pilgrimage in Shingon...
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The Variety of Practice in Soto Zen Buddhism
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The Precept-bestowing Assembly at Eihei-ji
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Meaning in the Face of Transience: Reflections of Socially Engaged...
Finding solace in impermanence
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One Face of Liberation: Buddhist Feminism in Japan
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How to Read Japanese Buddhist Texts?
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Drinking Tea—Meeting the Buddha
Gereon Kopf on Buddhism in the tea ceremony
Uploaded 18 Sep 2015
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Japanese Buddhism 101: The Search for the Buddha
Doctrinal Buddhist beliefs and practices in Japan
Uploaded 23 Aug 2019
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Death and Dying in Japanese Buddhism
Engaging with mortality
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The Metaphorical Sword
Expressions of the Buddhadharma in the...
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“Beauty that Floats on Mud”
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The path to wisdom and compassion
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“This Mind is the Buddha”* — Being Religious (in Japan)
Between immanence and transcendence
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Expressions between Dogma and Silence: A Japanese Take on the Two Truths
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Becoming a Buddha – A Shingon Buddhist 10-step Program
Mapping the way from suffering to liberation
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Buddhist Death Rituals: For the Living – Not for the Dead
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What or Who Is a Buddha?
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The Zen Masters of the Rinzai Tradition
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Does Artificial Intelligence have Buddha-nature?
If a bodhisattva can come in all forms, why not as a robot?
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Do I Need a Teacher to Practice Meditation?
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The Zen of Temples
A history of temple buildings in Japan
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Japanese Buddhist Poetry: Bearing the Weight of Being
Insight through skillful means into the depths of the human...
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Words Heal – Words Hurt
Our speech shows our true understanding as much as...
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Walking with Kukai–Becoming a Buddha: Pilgrimage in Shingon Buddhism | Buddhistdoor

Walking with Kukai–Becoming a Buddha: Pilgrimage in Shingon Buddhism | Buddhistdoor



Walking with Kukai–Becoming a Buddha: Pilgrimage in Shingon Buddhism
By Gereon Kopf
Buddhistdoor Global | 2015-01-30 |


Temple 7 of the "13 Buddhas of Osaka" pilgrimage, Senko-ji, which houses a short version of the "88 places of Shikoku." From Gereon Kopf
Since the Meiji restoration in the 19th century, Buddhism in Japan has seen the development of a third category of practitioner in addition to the usual two: monastics and laypeople (or four, if we distinguish by gender). While laypeople in the traditional sense contributed to the life of the sangha—the Buddhist community—through donations, participation in the danka (a group of parishioners tied to a local temple through funeral and commemoration rites), and reception of the precepts, an increasing number of laypeople have begun to participate in practices formerly assigned to monastics. One such practice that has recently become very popular in Japan is that of pilgrimages dedicated to particular deities, founders of schools, or specific geographical regions.

The most famous of the pilgrimages in Japan is the “88 places of Shikoku,” dedicated to Kukai (774–835). Like the “13 Buddhas of Osaka,” the “34 places of Chichibu” (dedicated to the bodhisattva Kannon [Skt. Avalokiteshvara]), and the “36 places of Tohoku” (dedicated to Fudo Myo’o [Skt. Acala-vidyaraja]), the “88 places of Shikoku” are associated with Shingon Buddhism. I use the term “associated” to indicate that the pilgrims are limited neither to the members of any Shingon lineage in particular nor to any Buddhist school in general. While the oft-touted sectarianism of Japanese Buddhism may be important in questions of ideology and possibly identity, it is not so to practice itself.

Kukai, posthumously known as Kobo Daishi, studied Chinese literature at a young age, received an unofficial ordination, and then left the monastic setting to conduct the life of a “hijiri” (traveling mendicant) or “yamabito” (mountain person), the precursors to Shugendo mountain practice that emerged during the second half of the Heian period (794–1195) drawing on esoteric Buddhist and Shinto elements. During his time as a mountain hermit, Kukai had several intense religious experiences, one of which included a vision of the Buddha Mahavairochana. He left for China in 804 ostensibly to study tantric literature, practiced under the monk Huiguo at Qinglong Monastery in Chang’an (today’s Xi’an), returned to Japan in 806, and made Mt. Koya the headquarters of his brand of esoteric Buddhism, literally “mikkyo” (secret teaching). At the core of his teaching was the claim that one could “become a Buddha in this body” (J. sokushinjobutsu), central to which practice are the “Womb World Mandala” (J. Daizokai mandara) and the “Diamond World Mandala” (J. Kongokai mandara).

"Womb World Mandala," attributed to Kukai. From Gereon Kopf
Like in other forms of Vajrayana Buddhism, Shingon mandalas provide a map to the heart/mind (J. shin) of the Buddha and the heart/mind of the practitioner, the former personifying the macrocosm, the latter, a microcosm. The Womb World Mandala illustrates the world view of Shingon thought and the purpose of Shingon practice best. In the center of this mandala is the Buddha Mahavairochana, who is also depicted at top center in the Diamond World Mandala. Mahavairochana is surrounded directly by four other Buddhas and four bodhisattvas, who rest on the eight petals of the lotus on which Mahavairochana resides, and indirectly by numerous other Buddhas, bodhisattvas, vidyaraja, heavenly beings, figures central to the Buddhist traditions, and Buddhist artifacts and symbols. However, every image in the mandala expresses an aspect of Mahavairochana and, by default, the human “bodymind” (J. shinjin) (Shaner 1985). Taken together, the images constitute the Buddha Mahavairochana in totality.

Shingon practice involves visualizing each image in the mandala as well as chanting the mantra and performing the mudra associated with each image. This practice is said to unlock the “three mysteries” (J. sanmitsu) of body, speech, and mind, and to transform the practitioner’s body, speech, and mind into those of Mahavairochana.

Temple 51, Ishite-ji, Shikoku. From Gereon Kopf


At first sight, the pilgrimage of Shikoku may seem like a completely different kind of practice. Pilgrims have been following the trail along the coastline of the island Shikoku to honor and commemorate the life and work of Kukai since the late Heian period. Today, people perform this pilgrimage—which is some 1,400 kilometers long—by either bus, car, motorbike, or bicycle, or on foot. In general, only those using one of the last two methods are considered “practitioners” (J. shugyosha) since only these two methods rely on using their own physical and psychological strength. However, most Japanese Buddhists will concede that to complete the pilgrimage by any means is a merit-bestowing activity. Most pilgrims embark on this long and arduous practice to help them cope with some significant upheaval in their lives: the death of a loved one, divorce, unemployment, retirement, or simply a crisis of meaning. Recently, the pilgrimage has also become a form of religious tourism, many people completing only certain parts due to a lack of time or financial resources. But whatever the reason for undertaking the pilgrimage and whatever form it takes, the pilgrims are united by the saying “two walking together” (J. dogyo futari), indicating the presence of Kukai that many pilgrims say they feel on the road.
Statue of Kukai at Muryokoin, Mt. Koya. From Gereon Kopf
When one looks more closely, however, there are in fact many similarities between the pilgrims and the monastics who engage in meditation on the mandala. Like the monastics, the pilgrims are separated geographically from the workaday world. They wear the white garment symbolic of death along with paraphernalia reminiscent of monastic life and funerals; thus, the pilgrims symbolically die to society. At each of the 88 temples along the route, the pilgrims bow as they enter the main gate, purify their hands, mouth, and forehead at the “purification basin” (J. temizuya), bow to the main image, chant the respective mantra, and perform the gesture of “putting the palms together” (J. gassho). They then chant the Heart Sutra and continue on their way. Ideally, the pilgrims perform this practice 88 times while circumambulating the island, moving from one Buddha image to the next. Thus, not unlike the monastics contemplating all the images in the mandala, the pilgrims purify their body, speech, and mind in order to “become a Buddha in this body.”

References

Shaner, David Edward. 1985. The Bodymind Experience in Japanese Buddhism: A Phenomenological Perspective of Kukai and Dogen. Albany: SUNY.

The Bodymind Experience in Japanese Buddhism: A Phenomenological Perspective of Kukai and Dogen (SUNY Series in Buddhist Studies): 9780887060618: Shaner, David Edward: Books

Amazon.com: The Bodymind Experience in Japanese Buddhism: A Phenomenological Perspective of Kukai and Dogen (SUNY Series in Buddhist Studies): 9780887060618: Shaner, David Edward: Books

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The Bodymind Experience in Japanese Buddhism: A Phenomenological Perspective of Kukai and Dogen (SUNY Series in Buddhist Studies) 1St Edition
by David Edward Shaner (Author)
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Description

In a pioneering study, David Shaner uses the resources of phenomenology to penetrate Buddhist philosophy in terms of Kukai and Dogen. In addition to this original and rigorous methodology, his work offers insights into some fundamental difficulties intrinsic to comparative studies. The problem of the relation between body and mind is a prime example. Shaner's observations shed a brilliant light on these traditional antinomies as they may be resolved or, more accurately, dissolved when seen in their appropriate contexts. In addressing these issues, the study also contributes to the understanding of common features that underlie the various doctrines of Japanese Buddhism.

This work will appeal to both East and West phenomenologists, philosophers interested in the mind-body problem, scholars of comparative philosophy, and students of Japanese philosophy and religion.

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Editorial Reviews

About the Author


David Edward Shaner is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Furman University. He is currently an Andrew W. Mellon Faculty Fellow in the Humanities at Harvard University, Department of East Asian Languages and Civilization. Doctor Shaner is the Editor of the Society for Asian and Comparative Philosophy Forum.


Product details
Publisher ‏ : ‎ SUNY Press; 1St Edition (August 1, 1985)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 250 pages
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David Edward Shaner


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Current news and print book offers from Dr. Shaner can be found on his website: davidshaner.com.

Dr. David Edward Shaner is the Principal of CONNECT Consulting LLC that specializes in facilitating measurable and sustainable performance improvement for businesses the world over. Whether it's consumer products, hotels and resorts, gaming, insurance, computer software, textiles, sporting goods, durable goods, snack foods, or automotive and electronics, over the last twenty-eight years David Shaner has been behind cultural change and performance improvement at Champion Aviation, Nissan/Autecs Automotive, Wonderware Software, Slazenger Sporting Goods, Umbro USA, Pet Foods, Atlanta Dairies, Caesar's Palace, Ryobi Motor Products, Millennium Cell, Mitsubishi Chemical, Torrington/Ingersol-Rand, The Mirage Casino and Resorts Hotels, Milliken, Frito-Lay, Bic Pens, Mita Copiers, The Nationwide Insurance Corporation, Synthetic Industries, Duracell, Gillette, Owens Corning Composites, and JW Aluminum.

Dr. Shaner is focused upon strategy, business development, organizational development, and management training. He is the originator of the Seven Arts change process that draws upon lessons learned from world-class athletics, cross-cultural approaches to performance improvement, as well as cross-disciplinary approaches based upon an understanding of the biological basis of behavior (sociobiology).

Dr. Shaner also serves as Professor emeritus at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina where he taught for thirty years. He is a former world-class skier, an internationally recognized martial artist, an author of four books, and an editor of thirty-seven volumes in his "Philosophy and Biology" book series with SUNY Press.

Dr. Shaner's interest in performance excellence and international business began as a result of international travel and competition as a member of the Olympic Valley U.S.A. Ski Team in the early seventies.

After his skiing career, he attended graduate school for his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees at the University of Hawaii where he specialized in Japanese Philosophy. His doctoral thesis on Japanese Bodymind Development was written at Harvard University under the direction of Thomas Patrick Kasulis.

As a martial artist, Dr. Shaner is a 7th Degree Black Belt and has trained for over 40 years in the Japanese arts of Ki Development and Aikido. Shaner "Sensei" is the Chief Instructor of the Eastern Ki Federation (Eastern United States) and is the Japan Headquarters' Advisor to the Eastern Europe/Russia Ki-Aikido Federation where he has taught each year since 1999.

After completing his doctorate in 1980, Dr. Shaner served as a sworn Deputy Sheriff Law Enforcement Officer in Aspen, Colorado where he developed the first Ki-Aikido based arrest control and quarterly qualification program in Colorado.

In 1981, Dr. Shaner founded The Far East Fact Sheet, a Washington DC based monthly newsletter focused upon Asian business practices. He also served as a management consultant with the Alexander Proudfoot Consulting Company, which specialized in improving manufacturing productivity and overall organizational efficiency.

In the summer of 1982, Dr. Shaner was a Fulbright Scholar in India and then began teaching and writing at Furman University, Greenville, SC.

In 1985 and 1986, Dr. Shaner received a "Harvard-Mellon Faculty Fellowship in the Humanities" where he taught in the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations and the Department of Philosophy at Harvard University. In 1986-87, Dr. Shaner founded his book series with the State University of New York Press with emphasis upon understanding the biological basis of productive learning and behavior. To date, thirty-seven volumes have been released. Contributing authors are from all over the world including Austria, Australia, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Israel, Japan, The Netherlands, Peoples' Republic of China, and New Zealand.

In 1988, Dr. Shaner was honored with a personal audience with His Majesty, Emperor Akihito in Akasaka Palace. In 1979 he was granted the title "Crown Prince Akihito Scholar." In July 2009, Dr. Shaner (along with other Akihito Scholar alumni) participated in a celebration with His Majesty in Honolulu, HI. The celebration commemorated His Majesties' 50th wedding anniversary as well as the 50th anniversary of the Crown Prince Akihito Foundation.

Dr. Shaner is a frequent speaker in the U.S., Japan, Europe, and Russia. He has appeared on National Public Television, CNN, and NBC as a commentator upon U.S./Japan cultural and business relations.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Read for the Comparative PhilosopherReviewed in the United States on June 29, 2005

This book, as the previous review shows, is not for the average student to whom it will appear beyond comprehension. The Bodymind Experience in Japanese Buddhism is, however, a rewarding find for the serious comparativist and Buddhist scholar. David Shaner begins by explaining the phenomenological method of Husserl and proceeds to use the method as a way of explaining the various experiences in the human bodymind (Shaner's term for the integration of mind and body), as conveyed in Buddhism and in particular, Japanese Buddhism. The sections are conveniently divided and concise, always resulting in a comprehensive analysis of the particular (Kukai or Dogen) Buddhist methods of achieving 1st order Bodymind Awareness (aka enlightenment). If you want to methodically understand and gain insight into a new way of interpreting the Japanese Bodymind experience (integration of mind and body), do not overlook this book.

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whoknows746
5.0 out of 5 stars A must readReviewed in the United Kingdom on August 11, 2014
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Fantastic book. Great accompaniment to books such as Attunement Through the Body (Nagatomo), investigating psychophysicality and Eastern philosophy of the bodymind. The structure is accurately described by previous reviewer, but this text is aimed at scholars.
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Buddhism and Violence: Japan in WWII

Buddhism and Violence: Japan in WWII

3,167 viewsJul 25, 2008

James Kenneth Powell

6.47K subscribers

by Zolp through Professor Rev. Dr. James Kenneth Powell II, opensourcebuddhism.org

This very well-made piece offers us a glimpse in the role Buddhism played in Japan during the last world war.  We find, among other things, the soldiers lived more or less like Buddhist monks.  One complained that they were fed like Buddhas, only they weren't awakened yet to be able to deal with it.

Shingon Buddhism - New World Encyclopedia

Shingon Buddhism - New World Encyclopedia



Shingon Buddhism
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A Japanese mandala of the Five Dhyani Buddhas.

Shingon Buddhism (眞言, 真言 "true words") is a major school of Japanese Buddhism, and is the other branch, besides Tibetan Buddhism, of Vajrayana Buddhism which spread in the eighth century from northeastern and northwestern India to Tibet and Java as well as to China and from there to Japan. It is often called "Japanese Esoteric Buddhism." The word shingon is the Japanese reading of the kanji for the Chinese word zhen yan, literally meaning "true words," which in turn is the Chinese translation of the Sanskrit word mantra. The Shingon school was founded by the Japanese monk Kūkai (774–835; posthumously Kōbō-Daishi) who went to China in 804 and studied tantric practices in the city of Xian, then came back to Japan and developed a modified system. In 819, he established a monastery, Kongōbuji' (金剛峰寺) on Mount Koya south of Kyoto, which became the head of the Shingon sect of Buddhism. Shingon enjoyed immense popularity during the Heian Period (794–1185), particularly among the Heian nobility, and contributed significantly to the art and literature of the time. It also provided a theoretical basis for Buddhist acceptance of Ryobu (“Two Aspects”) Shinto, a Shinto-Buddhist amalgamation, and contributed to the modernization of Buddhism in Japan.

Contents

1 History1.1 Schism
2 Teachings
3 Mahavairocana Tathagata
4 Practices and features
5 The ten stages of the development of mind
6 Branches of Shingon
7 Mt. Koya
8 See also
9 Notes
10 References
11 External links
12 Credits



The teachings of Shingon are based on esoteric Vajrayana texts, the Mahavairocana Sutra and the Vajrasekhara Sutra (Diamond Crown Sutra). According to Shingon, enlightenment is not a distant, foreign reality that can take eons to approach but a real possibility within this very life, based on the spiritual potential of every living being, known generally as Buddha-nature. If cultivated, this luminous nature manifests as innate wisdom. With the help of a genuine teacher and through properly training the body, speech, and mind, people can reclaim and liberate this enlightened capacity for the benefit of themselves and others.
History

Kongobuji Temple

Shingon Buddhism arose during Japan's Heian period (794-1185). The monk Kūkai (774–835; posthumously Kōbō-Daishi) went to China in 804 and studied tantric practices in the city of Xian, returning to Japan in 806 with many texts and art works. In time, he developed his own synthesis of esoteric practice and doctrine, centered on the universal Buddha Vairocana (or, more accurately, Mahavairocana Tathagata). In 819, he established a monastery, Kongōbuji' (金剛峰寺) on Mount Koya south of Kyoto, which became the head of the Shingon sect of Buddhism. In 823, Kūkai by order of Emperor Saga, was put in charge of Tō-ji temple in Kyoto and made it the headquarters of his sect. In 824, Kūkai was appointed to the administrative body that oversaw all the Buddhist monasteries in Japan, the Soogoo, or Office of Priestly Affairs. In 828, Kūkai opened his School of Arts and Sciences, Shugei shuchi-in, a private institution which was open to all regardless of social rank.

Shingon enjoyed immense popularity during the Heian Period (794–1185), particularly among the Heian nobility, and contributed significantly to the art and literature of the time, as well as influencing other communities, such as the Tendai sect on Mt. Hiei.[1] Shingon's emphasis on ritual appealed to the Kyoto nobility, and found considerable support, particularly from the Fujiwara clan. Shingon was allotted several politically powerful temples in the capital, where rituals for the imperial family and nation were regularly performed. Many of these temples such as Toji, Ninnaji, and Daigoji to the south of Kyoto became ritual centers establishing their own particular ritual lineages.
Schism

Like the Tendai School that branched into the Jōdo, Zen and Nichiren Schools in the Kamakura period, Shingon divided into two major branches; Kogi Shingon, or "old Shingon," and Shingi Shingon, or "New Shingon." This division primarily arose out of a political dispute between Kakuban (覚鑁) and his faction of priests centered at Denbōe (Daidenpoin, 大伝法院) and the leadership at Kongōbuji, the head temple of Mt. Kōya.

Negoro-ji

Kakuban, or Kogyo-Daishi (興教大師) (1095-1143), or Kakuban (覚鑁), was widely renowned as a reformer of the Shingon sect. of Buddhism in Japan. Kakuban, who was originally ordained at Ninnaji in Kyoto, studied at several temple-centers (including the Tendai temple complex at Onjiyōji) before going to Mt. Kōya to pursue Shingon Buddhism. He perceived the corruption that had undermined the Shingon sect during the 300 years since its founding, and set about to revive its original spirit and teaching. He gathered an increasing throng of followers, and through his connections with high-ranking nobles in Kyoto, he was appointed abbot of Mt. Kōya and became the chief priest of both the Daidenpoin (大伝法院) and Kongobuji (金剛峰寺) temples. The leadership at Kongōbuji, however, opposed the appointment on the premise that Kakuban had not originally been ordained on Mt. Kōya. In 1140, the priests of Kongobuji attacked his residence in Kongobuji. After several conflicts Kakuban and his faction of priests left the mountain for Mt. Negoro to the northwest, where they constructed a new temple complex, now known as Negoroji( 根来寺).

After the death of Kakuban in 1143, the Negoro faction returned to Mt. Kōya. However in 1288, the conflict between Kongōbuji and Denbōe (Daidenpoin, 大伝法院) came to a head once again. Led by Raiyu (頼瑜), the Denbōe priests once again left Mt. Kōya, this time establishing their headquarters on Mt. Negoro. This exodus marked the beginning of the Shingi Shingon School at Mt. Negoro, which was the center of Shingi Shingon until sacked by Hideyoshi Toyotomi in 1585.

During the initial stages of his predication in Japan in 1549, the Catholic missionary Francis Xavier was welcomed by the Shingon monks since he used the word Dainichi for the Christian God. As Xavier learned more about the religious nuances of the word, he changed to Deusu from the Latin and Portuguese Deus. The monks also realized by that point that Xavier was preaching a rival religion.
Teachings

The teachings of Shingon are based on esoteric Vajrayana texts, the Mahavairocana Sutra and the Vajrasekhara Sutra (Diamond Crown Sutra). These two mystical teachings are shown in the main two mandalas of Shingon, namely, the Womb Realm (Taizokai) mandala and the Diamond Realm (Kongo Kai) mandala. Vajrayana Buddhism is concerned with the ritual and meditative practices leading to enlightenment. According to Shingon, enlightenment is not a distant, foreign reality that can take aeons to approach but a real possibility within this very life, based on the spiritual potential of every living being, known generally as Buddha-nature. If cultivated, this luminous nature manifests as innate wisdom. With the help of a genuine teacher and through properly training the body, speech, and mind, people can reclaim and liberate this enlightened capacity for the benefit of themselves and others.

Kūkai systematized and categorized the teachings he inherited into ten stages or levels of spiritual realization. He wrote at length on the difference between exoteric (both mainstream Buddhism and Mahayana) and esoteric (Vajrayana) Buddhism. The differences between exoteric and esoteric can be summarised as:Esoteric teachings are preached by the Dharmakaya Buddha (hosshin seppo) which Kūkai identifies with Mahavairocana. Exoteric teachings are preached by the Nirmanakaya Buddha, also known as Gautama Buddha, or one of the Sambhoghakaya Buddhas.
Exoteric Buddhism holds that the ultimate state of Buddhahood is ineffable, and that nothing can be said of it. Esoteric Buddhism holds that while nothing can be said of it verbally, it is readily communicated via esoteric rituals which involve the use of mantras, mudras, and mandalas.
Kūkai held that exoteric doctrines are merely provisional, a skillful means (upaya) on the part of the Buddhas to help beings according to their capacity to understand the Truth. The esoteric doctrines by comparison are the Truth itself, and are a direct communication of the "inner experience of the Dharmakaya's enlightenment."
Some exoteric schools in late Nara and early Heian Japan believed (or were portrayed by Shingon adherents as believing) that attaining Buddhahood is possible but requires three incalculable eons of time and practice to achieve. Esoteric Buddhism teaches that Buddhahood can be attained in this lifetime by anyone.

Kūkai held, along with the Huayan (Japanese Kegon) school that all phenomena could be expressed as "letters" in a "World-text." Mantra, mudra, and mandala constitute the "language" through which the Dharmakaya (Reality itself) communicates. Although portrayed through the use of anthropomorphic metaphors, Shingon does not regard the Dharmakaya Buddha as a god, or creator. The Dharmakaya Buddha is a symbol for the true nature of things which is impermanent and empty of any essence. The teachings were passed from Mahavairocana.

The truth described in the sutras is expressed in natural phenomena such as mountains and oceans, and even in humans. The universe itself embodies and can not be separated from the teaching.[2]According to the Shingon tradition, all things in this universe including physical matter, mind and mental states, are made up of six primary elements: earth (the principle of solidity), water (moisture), fire (energy), wind (movement), space (the state of being unobstructed), and consciousness (the six ways of knowing objects). Buddha is made up of these same six elements, and in this sense Buddha and human beings are essentially identical. When this truth is realized, actions, words, and thoughts will be correct and the living, physical person will achieve Buddhahood.
Mahavairocana Tathagata

In Shingon, Mahavairocana Tathagata is the universal or primordial Buddha that is the basis of all phenomena, present in each and all of them, and not existing independently or externally to them. The goal of Shingon is the realization that one's nature is identical with Mahavairocana, a goal that is achieved through initiation (for ordained followers), meditation, and esoteric ritual practices. This realization depends on receiving the secret doctrine of Shingon, transmitted orally to initiates by the school's masters. Body, speech, and mind participate simultaneously in the subsequent process of revealing one's nature: The body through devotional gestures (mudra) and the use of ritual instruments, speech through sacred formulas (mantra), and mind through meditation.

Shingon places special emphasis on the Thirteen Buddhas[3], a grouping of various Buddhas and boddhisattvas:Acala Vidyaraja (Fudō-Myōō)
Akasagarbha Bodhisattva
Akshobhya Buddha (Ashuku Nyorai)
Amitabha Buddha (Amida Nyorai)
Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva (Kannon)
Bhaisajyaguru Buddha (Yakushirurikō Nyorai)
Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva (Jizo)
Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva (Seishi)
Manjusri Bodhisattva (Monju)
Maitreya Bodhisattva (Miroku)
Samantabhadra Bodhisattva (Fugen)
Shakyamuni Buddha (Shaka Nyorai)

Mahavairocana is the Universal Principle which underlies all Buddhist teachings, according to Shingon Buddhism, so other Buddhist figures can be thought of as manifestations with certain roles and attributes. Each Buddhist figure is symbolized by its own Sanskrit "seed" letter as well.
Practices and features

A typical Shingon shrine.

A feature that Shingon shares in common with the other surviving school of Esoteric Buddhism (Tendai) is the use of seed-syllables or bija (bīja) along with anthropomorphic and symbolic representations, to express Buddhist deities in their mandalas. There are four types of mandalas: Mahā-maṇḍala (大曼荼羅, anthropomorphic representation); the seed-syllable mandala or dharma-maṇḍala (法曼荼羅); the samaya-maṇḍala (三昧耶曼荼羅, representations of the vows of the deities in the form of articles they hold or their mudras); and the karma-maṇḍala (羯磨曼荼羅 ) representing the activities of the deities in the three-dimensional form of statues. An ancient Indian Sanskrit syllabary script known as siddham (Jap. shittan 悉曇 or bonji 梵字) is used to write mantras. A core meditative practice of Shingon is ajikan (阿字觀), "Meditating on the Letter 'A'," which uses the siddham letter representing the sound “a.” Other Shingon meditations are Gachirinkan (月輪觀, "full moon" visualization), Gojigonjingan (五字嚴身觀, "visualization of the five elements arrayed in the body" from the Mahāvairocanābhisaṃbodhi-sūtra) and Gosōjōjingan (五相成身觀, pañcābhisaṃbodhi "series of five meditations to attain Buddhahood" from the Sarvatathāgatatattvasaṃgraha).

The essence of Shingon Mantrayana practice is to experience Reality by emulating the inner realization of the Dharmakaya through the meditative ritual use of mantra, mudra and visualization of mandala (the three mysteries). These practices are regarded as gateways to understanding the nature of Reality. All Shingon followers gradually develop a teacher-student relationship with a mentor, who learns the disposition of the student and teaches practices accordingly. For lay practitioners, there is no initiation ceremony beyond the Kechien Kanjō (結縁潅頂), which is normally offered only at Mt. Koya, but is not required. In the case of disciples wishing to be ordained as priests, the process is more complex and requires initiations in various mandalas, rituals and esoteric practices.

Esoteric Buddhism is also practiced, in the Japanese Tendai School founded at around the same time as the Shingon School in the early 9th century (Heian period). The term used there is Mikkyo.
The ten stages of the development of mind

Kūkai wrote his greatest work, The Ten Stages of the Development of Mind, in 830, followed by a simplified summary, The Precious Key to the Secret Treasury, soon afterward. In these books, he explained the ten stages of the mind of a Buddhist monk engaged in ascetic practices. The first stage is a mind which acts on instinct like a ram. The second stage is a mind that starts to think others, and to make offerings. The third stage is the mind of child or a calf that follows its mother. The fourth stage is a mind that can recognize physical and spiritual being, but still denies its own spiritual self. The fifth stage is a mind that recognizes the infinity of all things, eliminates ignorance and longs for Nirvana. The sixth stage is a mind that wants to take away peoples’ suffering and give them joy. The seventh stage is a mind that is the negation of all passing, coming and going, that meditates only on vanity and the void. The eighth stage is a mind that recognizes that all things are pure, the object and subject of the recognition were harmonized. The ninth stage is a mind that, like water, has no fixed boundaries, and is only rippled on the surface by a breeze. Similarly, the world of enlightenment has also no clear edge. The tenth stage is the state of realizing the height of the void (sunya, empty) and the Buddhahood; spiritual enlightenment. Kukai used this theory to rank all the major Buddhist schools, Hinduism, Confucianism, and Taoism according to what he considered their degree of insight. The first through the third stages signify the level of people in general. The fourth and fifth stages represent Hinayana (Theravada, lesser Vehicle) Buddhists. The fourth stage is that of enlightenment through learning Buddha’s words, Zraavaka. The fifth stage is that of self-enlightenment, Pratyekabuddha. The sixth stage indicates the Dharma-character school (Chinese: 法相宗) or Consciousness-only school (Chinese 唯識). The seventh stage represents Sanlun (Traditional Chinese: 三論) or, literally, the Three Treatise School, a Chinese school of Buddhism based upon the Indian Madhyamaka tradition, founded by Nagarjuna. The eighth stage represented Tendai (Japanese: 天台宗, a Japanese school of Mahayana Buddhism) descended from the Chinese Tiantai or Lotus Sutra School. The ninth stage represents Kegon (華厳) a name for the Japanese version of the Huayan School of Chinese Buddhism, brought to Japan via the Korean Hwaeom tradition. The tenth stage represents Shingon (真言). The Shingon school provided the theoretical basis for Buddhist acceptance of Ryobu (“Two Aspects”) Shinto, a Shinto-Buddhist amalgamation.
Branches of Shingon

Located in Kyoto, Japan, Daigo-ji is the head temple of the Daigo-ha branch of Shingon Buddhism.Kōyasan (高野山)
Chisan-ha (智山派)
Buzan-ha (豊山派)
Daikakuji-ha (大覚寺派)
Daigo-ha (醍醐派)
Shingi
Zentsuji-ha
Omuro-ha
Yamashina-ha
Sennyūji-ha
Sumadera-ha
Kokubunji-ha
Sanbōshū
Nakayadera-ha
Shigisan
Inunaki-ha
Tōji
Mt. Koya

Konpon Daitō, the central point of Mt. Koya

Mount Kōya (高野山 Kōya-san), in Wakayama prefecture to the south of Osaka, is the headquarters of the Shingon school, which comprises over 4,000 temples in Japan. Located in an 800-meter-high valley amid the eight peaks of the mountain, the original monastery has grown into the town of Koya, featuring a university dedicated to religious studies, three schools for monks and nuns, a monastery high school and 120 temples, many of which offer lodging to pilgrims.

For more than 1,000 years, women were prohibited from entering Koyasan. A monastery for women was established in Kudoyana, at the foot of Mt. Koya. The prohibition was lifted in 1872.

The mountain is home to the following famous sites:Okunoin (奥の院), the mausoleum of Kūkai, surrounded by an immense graveyard (the largest in Japan)
Konpon Daitō (根本大塔), a pagoda that according to Shingon doctrine represents the central point of a mandala covering not only Mt. Koya but all of Japan
Kongōbu-ji (金剛峰寺), the headquarters of the Shingon sect

In 2004, UNESCO designated Mt. Koya, along with two other locations on the Kii Peninsula, as World Heritage Sites.





Kongobuji Temple



Banryutei rock garden, Kongobuji Temple



Shingon Buddhist monks, Mt. Koya, 2004



Lantern hall near Okunoin



Graves in Okunoin Cemetery



A statue in Okunoin Cemetery



Tokugawa Mausoleum
See alsoKukai
Buddhism in Japan
Notes
↑ R. H. P. Mason and J. G. Caiger, A History of Japan (New York: Free Press, 1974), 106-107.
↑ Koyasan.org, Shingon Teaching. Retrieved November 4, 2008.
↑ Shingon, Jusan Butsu—The Thirteen Buddhas of the Shingon School. Retrieved November 19, 2008.
References
ISBN links support NWE through referral feesAbé, Ryuichi. The Weaving of Mantra: Kūkai and the Construction of Esoteric Buddhist Discourse. Columbia University Press. 2000. ISBN 0231112866.
Dleitlein, Eijō. Sacred Treasures of Mount Koya: The Art of Japanese Shingon Buddhism. Honolulu, HI: University of Hawaii Press, 2002. ISBN 9780824828028.
Giebel, Rolf W. 2001. Two Esoteric Sutras. BDK English Tripiṭaka, 29-II, 30-II. Berkeley, CA: Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research. ISBN 188643915X.
Kūkai, and Yoshito S. Hakeda. 1972. Kūkai: Major Works. UNESCO collection of representative works: Japanese series. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0231036272.
Mason, R. H. P. and J. G. Caiger. A History of Japan. New York: Free Press. 1974
Payne, Richard Karl. 1991. The Tantric Ritual of Japan: Feeding the Gods, the Shingon Fire Ritual. Śata-piṭaka series, v. 365. Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture and Aditya Prakashan. ISBN 9788185179766.
Shaner, David Edward. 1985. The Bodymind Experience in Japanese Buddhism: A Phenomenological Perspective of Kūkai and Dōgen. SUNY series in Buddhist studies. Albany: State University of New York Press. ISBN 0887060617.
Skilton, Andrew. 1994. A Concise History of Buddhism. Birmingham: Windhorse Publications. ISBN 0904766667.
Unno, Mark. 2004. Shingon Refractions: Myōe and the Mantra of light. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0861713907.
External links

All links retrieved November 3, 2019.The International Shingon Institute
Mandala Society in Croatia
Mandala Vermont, US
Naritasan Shinshoji Temple, Japan


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Kukai and Japanese Tantra or Shingon

Kukai and Japanese Tantra or Shingon

24,246 viewsAug 26, 2008

James Kenneth Powell

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by Allison Merten through Professor Rev. Dr. James Kenneth Powell II, opensourcebuddhism.org