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Shingon Buddhism

Shingon (真言宗, Shingon-shū, "True Word / Mantra School") is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asian Buddhism. It is sometimes also called Japanese Esoteric Buddhism, or Eastern Esotericism (Dōngmì, 東密). The word shingon is the Japanese reading of the Chinese word 真言 (zhēnyán),[1] which is the translation of the Sanskrit word mantra.

The Zhēnyán lineage was founded in China (c. 7th–8th centuries) by Indian vajrācāryas (esoteric masters) like Śubhakarasiṃha, Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra. These esoteric teachings would later flourish in Japan under the auspices of a Buddhist monk named Kūkai (空海, 774–835), who traveled to Tang China and received these esoteric transmissions from a Chinese master named Huiguo (746–805). Kūkai established his tradition at Mount Kōya (in Wakayama Prefecture), which remains the central pilgrimage center of Shingon Buddhism.


The practice of the Shingon school stresses that one is able to attain "buddhahood in this very body" (sokushin jōbutsu) through its practices, especially those which make use of the "three mysteries" (Jp: sanmi 三密) of mudra, mantra and mandala.[2][3] Another influential doctrine introduced by Shingon was the idea that all beings are originally enlightened, a doctrine that was known as hongaku.[4]


The Shingon school's teachings and rituals had an influence on other Japanese traditions, especially those of the Tendai school, as well as Shugendo and Shinto.[5] Its teachings also influenced the ritual repertoire of Japanese Zen, including Soto Zen (through the figure of Keizan).[6] Shingon Buddhism also influenced broader Japanese culture, including medieval Japanese aesthetics, art, and craftsmanship.[7]

Doctrines[edit]

Sources[edit]

The teachings of Shingon are based on Mahayana texts, and early Buddhist tantras. The key esoteric sources are the Mahāvairocana Sūtra (大日経, Dainichi-kyō), the Vajraśekhara Sūtra (金剛頂経, Kongōchō-kyō), and the Susiddhikara Sūtra (蘇悉地経, Soshitsuji-kyō).[54] Important Mahayana sutras in Shingon include the Lotus Sutra, the Brahmajāla Sūtra and Heart Sutra. Kūkai wrote commentaries on all three.[55]


Shingon derives form the early period of Indian Vajrayana (then known as Mantrayana, the Vehicle of Mantras).[56] Unlike Tibetan Buddhism, which focuses on the Anuttarayoga Tantras, which are tantras that arose at a later date of Indian Buddhism, Shingon bases itself on earlier works like the Mahavairocana which generally lack the antinomian uses of sexual yoga, taboo substances and charnel ground imagery found in the later tantras.[57] Nevertheless, the concept of "great bliss" (tairaku) and the transformation of desire (and other defilements) into wisdom is found in Shingon.[57]


Another important sutra in Shingon is the Prajñāpāramitānaya-sūtra (Jp. Hannyarishukyō, Taishō vol. 8, no. 243). This is a late "tantric" Prajñaparamita sutra in 150 lines which was translated by Amoghavajra and which contains various verses and seed syllables which encapsulate the Prajñaparamita teaching.[58][59] The Hannyarishukyō is used extensively in Shingon as part of daily recitation and ritual practice.[59] The full Sanskrit title is Mahāsukhavajra-amoghasamaya-sūtra (Ch. Dale jingang bukong zhenshi sanmohe jing, Sutra of the Vow of Fulfilling the Great Perpetual Enjoyment and Benefiting All Sentient Beings Without Exception).[60]


Another important source for the Shingon school is the Awakening of Faith and a commentary on it called the On the Interpretation of Mahāyāna (Shi Moheyan lun 釈摩訶衍論, Japanese: Shakumakaen-ron, Taisho no. 1668), which was traditionally attributed to Nagarjuna (though it is likely an East Asian composition).[61][62]


Finally, the works of Kūkai are key sources in Shingon Buddhism, including his various commentaries on the key esoteric texts of Shingon as well as original works like his magnum opus, the ten volume Jūjū shinron (Treatise on Ten Levels of Mind) and the shorter summary Hizō hōyaku (Precious Key to the Secret Treasury).[63]

Acala (Fudō Myōō 不動明王), Bīja: Hāṃ; Sanskrit mantra: namaḥ samanta vajrāṇāṃ caṇḍa mahāroṣaṇa sphoṭaya hūṃ traṭ hāṃ māṃ (Shingon transliteration: nōmaku samanda bazaratan senda makaroshada sowataya untarata kanman)

Wisdom King

(Shaka-Nyorai 釈迦如来), Bīja: Bhaḥ; Mantra: namaḥ samanta buddhānāṃ bhaḥ (nōmaku sanmanda bodanan baku)

Gautama Buddha

Bodhisattva (Monju-Bosatsu 文殊菩薩), Bīja: Maṃ; Mantra: oṃ a ra pa ca na (on arahashanō)

Mañjuśrī

Bodhisattva (Fugen-Bosatsu 普賢菩薩), Bīja: Aṃ; Mantra: oṃ samayas tvaṃ (on sanmaya satoban)

Samantabhadra

Bodhisattva (Jizō-Bosatsu 地蔵菩薩), Bīja: Ha; Mantra: oṃ ha ha ha vismaye svāhā (on kakaka bisanmaei sowaka)

Kṣitigarbha

Bodhisattva (Miroku-Bosatsu 弥勒菩薩), Bīja: Yu; Mantra: oṃ maitreya svāhā (on maitareiya sowaka)

Maitreya

Buddha (Yakushi-Nyorai 薬師如來), Bīja: Bhai; Mantra: oṃ huru huru caṇḍāli mātangi svāhā (on korokoro sendari matōgi sowaka)

Bhaiṣajyaguru

Bodhisattva (Kannon-Bosatsu 観音菩薩), Bīja: Sa; Mantra: oṃ ārolik svāhā (on arorikya sowaka)

Avalokiteśvara

Bodhisattva (Seishi-Bosatsu 勢至菩薩), Bīja: Saḥ; Mantra: oṃ saṃ jaṃ jaṃ saḥ svāhā (on san zan saku sowaka)

Mahāsthāmaprāpta

Buddha (Amida-Nyorai 阿弥陀如来), Bīja: Trāḥ; Mantra: oṃ amṛta teje hara hūṃ (on amirita teisei kara un)

Amitābha

Buddha (Ashuku-Nyorai 阿閦如来), Bīja: Hūṃ; Mantra: oṃ akṣobhya hūṃ (on akishubiya un)

Akṣobhya

Mahavairocana Buddha (Dainichi-Nyorai 大日如来), Bīja: A; Mantra: oṃ a vi ra hūṃ khaṃ vajradhātu vaṃ (on abiraunken basara datoban)

Bodhisattva (Kokūzō-Bosatsu 虚空蔵菩薩), Bīja: Trāḥ; Mantra: namo ākāśagarbhāya oṃ ārya kāmāri mauli svāhā (nōbō akyasha kyarabaya on ari kyamari bori sowaka)

Ākāśagarbha

(Dainichi-Nyorai 大日如来)

Vairocana

(Kongō-Satta 金剛薩埵)

Vajrasattva

(Ryūju-Bosatsu 龍樹菩薩) – received the Mahavairocana Tantra from Vajrasattva inside an Iron Stupa in Southern India

Nagarjuna

Nagabodhi (Ryūchi-Bosatsu 龍智菩薩)

(Kongōchi-Sanzō 金剛智三蔵)

Vajrabodhi

(Fukūkongō-Sanzō 不空金剛三蔵)

Amoghavajra

(Keika-Ajari 恵果阿闍梨)

Huiguo

(Kōbō-Daishi 弘法大師)

Kūkai

The Shingon lineage is an ancient transmission of esoteric Buddhist doctrine that began in India and then spread to China and Japan. Shingon or Orthodox Esoteric Buddhism maintains that the expounder of the doctrine was originally the Universal Buddha Vairocana, but the first human to receive the doctrine was Nagarjuna in India. Like all major East Asian Buddhist tradition, the Shingon tradition developed a list of "patriarchs" which were considered to be the key figures in the transmission of their lineage. Shingon recognizes two groups of eight great patriarchs – one group of lineage holders and one group of great expounders of the doctrine.

Kōyasan

Shingon-shu

Koyasan Shingon Sect Main Temple Kongobu-ji

Ninna-ji Temple

Daigo-ji Temple

Chishakuin Temple

Negoro-ji Temple

Daikaku-ji Temple

Chogosonshi-ji Temple

Gokoku-ji Temple