User:Wound theology/mikkyo

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Wound theology/mikkyo
The Siddham syllable "A" as used in the iconography of Ajikan (阿字觀, "meditating on the letter A")
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese密教
Japanese name
Kanji密教
Kanaみっきょう
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Mikkyō (密教), also himitsu bukkyō (秘密佛教), is the Japanese transmission of Esoteric Buddhism, chiefly introduced by Kūkai and Saichō in the 9th century, during the early Heian Period. It consists of complex systems of icons, meditative rituals, and ritual languages; and stresses experiential over discursive learning. It classifies other schools, which do not focus on ritual practice, as exoteric (kengyō, 顕経).[1][2] Taimitsu and Tōmitsu refer to the esoteric lineages of Tendai and Shingon respectively.[3]

Mikkyō was incredibly influential in medieval Japanese culture.[4]


Etymology[edit]

Mikkyō is an abbreviation of himitsu bukkyō, literally "Esoteric Buddhism." Other cognate or synonymous terms are used throughout East Asian Mahayana literature. Kūkai used a number of other terms for his lineage, such as mantra-piṭaka, secret-piṭaka, 最上乘 (saijōjō), and Vajrayāna.[5] Historically, shingon (from Chinese Zhenyan) was largely interchangeable with mikkyō; sources often refer to Tendai esotericism (taimitsu 台密) as "the shingon of the Tendai lineages."[6]

History[edit]

Richard McBride and Robert H. Sharf argue that in the context of Chinese Buddhism up to the Tang Dynasty, "esoteric teaching" is used rhetorically to "designate what this or that writer feels is superior or best in the tradition" and that the development of a separate esoteric school comparable to Shingon in Japan or Vajrayāna sects in Tibet does not develop until the tenth century.[7] Aaron Proffitt argues that "'Esoteric Buddhism' can be taken as a synonym for Mahayana Buddhism itself" in particular contexts, where it takes a polemical rather than descriptive function.[8] The "esoteric" appellation was applied Mahayana to distinguish it from other vehicles as early as the 5th century.[9] The Dà zhìdù lùn (Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom) distinguishes between esoteric (mimi, 祕密) and exoteric (xianshi, 顯示) Buddhadharma:

In the exoteric [form], the Buddha, pratyekabuddha, and arhat are all fields of merit since their defilements have been exhausted without residue. In the esoteric [form], it is explained that bodhisattvas attain the acquiescence to the nonproduction of the dharmas [...][10]

The Nirvana Sutra describes the bodhisattva path as esoteric in comparison to "teachings that inspire people to leave the world."[11] Elements of esoteric Buddhism were first transmitted to Japan in the Nara period, though in "disparate form."[12] Dōshō, Dōji, Simsang, Kaimei, and others introduced esoteric sutras to Japan before the return of Saichō and Kūkai.[13] Ōya Tokujō used the term nanmitsu (南密) to refer to Nara-period esotericism.[14]

In 804, Saichō and Kūkai left Japan for Tang China on the same four-vessel flotilla, eventually transmitting lineages which integrated Chinese Esoteric doctrine: Tendai (Tiantai) and Shingon (Zhenyan).[15][16]

Shingon and Tendai did not begin to differentiate as separate schools until the eleventh century.[17] During the early Heian period, monks would study under various schools.[18]

Saichō received abhisheka from Shunxiao (順暁) of Longxing Temple, though the nature of this initiation is unclear.[19] Saichō later conferred abhisheka on several Nara priests in 805 under the patronage of emperor Kanmu.[20]

Kūkai received transmission of Esoteric Buddhism from the Chinese tantra master Hui-kuo, a disciple of Amoghavajra,[21] becoming the Eight Patriarch of his school and leaving for Japan in the year 806.[22] Kūkai held to the superiority and independence of the esoteric over the exoteric teachings[23] and published a a tract entitled The Difference between Exoteric and Esoteric Buddhism in 814 or 815.[24] He identified mikkyō with the teachings of the cosmic Mahāvairocana:

The doctrine revealed by the Nirmanakaya Buddha [Shakyamuni Buddha] is called Exoteric; it is apparent, simplified, and adapted to the needs of the time and to the capacity of the listeners. The doctrine expounded by the Dharmakaya Buddha [Mahāvairocana] is called Esoteric; it is secret and profound and contains the final truth.[25]

The assertion that the esoteric doctrines were not the teaching of the historical Buddha was a new innovation, probably introduced first by Huiguo,[26] and "posited an irreconcilable difference between Shingon teaching and the teachings of the Nara schools."[18]

Saichō recieved abhisheka from Kūkai in 812, and Saichō often petitioned Kūkai for esoteric literature to copy. In 813, Kūkai refused to loan a commentary to Saichō on the grounds that master-student transmission was vital to understanding Shingon and that pure textual study was a violation of the precepts.[27]

Saichō held esoteric Buddhism as equal to the teaching of the Lotus Sutra, which along with Tiantai constituted the "two courses" of Tendai education.[28]

Theory and practice[edit]

Scholarly approaches to mikkyō often stress the attainment of Buddhahood "in this very body" (sokushin jōbutsu, 即身成佛), or within one's lifetime. This is achieved through the practice of the "Three Mysteries" (sanmi, 三密) of mudra, mantra, and mandala.[29][30] These correspond to body, speech, and mind respectively.[31] The Three Mysteries "awaken beings to the true nature of reality" which is constituted by the identity of all things with Mahāvairocana.[32] This is a "process of mutual interpenetration" referred to as nyū ga gan yū (入我我入, "entering me, me entering").[33]

Shingon distinguishes between "pure" esotericism (seijun mikkyō or junmitsu, 正純密教) and "miscellaneous" esotericism (zōbu mikkyō or zōmitsu, 雜部密教).[34] Junmitsu is " the specific configuration of esoteric Buddhism in the lineage of Amoghavajra and Huiguo" as transmitted to Kūkai, though he also introduced a number of zōmitsu scriptures.[35]

Dual-mandala system[edit]

Kūkai introduced an integrated practice of the "Womb realm mandala" (Sanskrit: Mahākaruṇā-garbhodbhava-maṇḍala, 胎藏界曼荼羅) and the "Vajra realm mandala" (Sanskrit: Vajradhātu-maṇḍala, 金剛界曼荼羅), which had previously circulated independently. These mandalas correspond, respectively, to the Mahāvairocana and the Vajraśekhara sutras.[21]

Abhisheka[edit]

Abhisheka (kanjō) is a "ritual of passage" which initiates a student into esoteric practice, based on classical and medieval coronation rites.[36]

Influence on Japanese culture[edit]

Mikkyō "functioned as a practical technology that had a direct bearing on medieval politics and economy".[37]

Fabio Rambelli interprets mikkyō "as an ensemble of knowledge [...] implemented through interpretive strategies, repertoires of metaphors, and a general structuring of knowledge."[38]

Buddhism justified writing in the Japanese language, whereas earlier periods favored Classical Chinese.[39] Medieval Mikkyō understood native Japanese waka poetry as sacred literature analogous to mantras, and many prominent waka poets, such as Henjō and Saigyō, were Esoteric Buddhist clergy.[40] Kūkai is traditionally attributed with the invention of the kana syllabary and composing the Iroha.[41]

See also[edit]

Schools and lineages[edit]

Concepts and philosophy[edit]

Pantheon[edit]

Rituals and practices[edit]

Figures[edit]

Bibliography[edit]

  • Abé, Ryûichi (2000). The Weaving of Mantra. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-11287-4.
  • Hakeda, Yoshito (1972). Kūkai: Major Works. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0231059336.
  • Orzech, Charles D. (2006). "The "Great Teaching of Yoga," the Chinese Appropriation of the Tantras, and the Question of Esoteric Buddhism". Journal of Chinese Religions. 34 (1). Informa UK Limited: 29–78. doi:10.1179/073776906803525165. ISSN 0737-769X.
  • Knutsen, Roald (2011-08-15). Tengu. Folkestone: Global Oriental. ISBN 978-90-04-21802-4.
  • Rambelli, Fabio (1994). "True Words, Silence, and the Adamantine Dance: On Japanese Mikkyō and the Formation of the Shingon Discourse". Japanese Journal of Religious Studies. 21 (4). Nanzan University: 373–405. ISSN 0304-1042. JSTOR 30234141. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
  • Proffitt, Aaron P. (2023-04-30). Esoteric Pure Land Buddhism. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-9380-4.
  • Orzech, Charles; Sørensen, Henrik; Payne, Richard (2011). Esoteric Buddhism and the Tantras in East Asia. Leiden: BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-18491-6.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Abé 2000, p. 1.
  2. ^ Kiyota, Minoru (1968). "Shingon Mikkyō Maṇḍala". History of Religions. 8 (1). University of Chicago Press: 31–59. doi:10.1086/462574. ISSN 0018-2710.
  3. ^ Orzech, Sørensen & Payne 2011, p. 769.
  4. ^ Abé 2000, p. 1: "...Mikkyō (literally, secret teaching) enjoyed a wide diffusion throughout all walks of medieval Japanese society."
  5. ^ Proffitt 2023, p. 110.
  6. ^ Orzech, Sørensen & Payne 2011, p. 744.
  7. ^ Orzech 2006, p. 44: To sum up the findings of Sharf and McBride, it would seem that, from the Six Dynasties through the Tang, the term "esoteric teaching" is used to designate what this or that writer feels is superior or best in the tradition, and it only in the tenth century that we see the emergence of an exegetical category that contrasts "esoteric teaching" with "exoteric teaching" to designate a particular lineage, school, or tradition comparable to Shingon in Japan or Vajrayāna sects in Tibet.
  8. ^ Proffitt 2023, p. 26.
  9. ^ Orzech 2006, p. 43: "By the fifth century it was a fairly common to depict the Mahāyāna — whether the skillful means of the bodhisattva or the teaching of the Vaipulya scriptures — as "esoteric."
  10. ^ Orzech 2006, pp. 42–43.
  11. ^ Orzech 2006, p. 43.
  12. ^ Orzech, Sørensen & Payne 2011, p. 692.
  13. ^ Orzech, Sørensen & Payne 2011, pp. 661–663.
  14. ^ Orzech, Sørensen & Payne 2011, p. 776.
  15. ^ Knutsen 2011, p. 84.
  16. ^ Proffitt 2023, p. 108.
  17. ^ Proffitt 2023, p. 30.
  18. ^ a b Orzech, Sørensen & Payne 2011, p. 702.
  19. ^ Orzech, Sørensen & Payne 2011, p. 700.
  20. ^ Orzech, Sørensen & Payne 2011, pp. 700–701.
  21. ^ a b Proffitt 2023, p. 109.
  22. ^ Hakeda 1972, pp. 32–33.
  23. ^ Hakeda 1972, p. 62: "Esoteric Buddhism contains in itself all Exoteric teachings and, without losing its own identity, synthesizes them from a higher and more comprehensive standpoint."
  24. ^ Hakeda 1972, p. 62.
  25. ^ K.Z., I, 474; quoted in Hakeda 1972, p. 63
  26. ^ Hakeda 1972, pp. 81–82.
  27. ^ Orzech, Sørensen & Payne 2011, p. 701.
  28. ^ Orzech, Sørensen & Payne 2011, p. 752.
  29. ^ Proffitt 2023, p. 3.
  30. ^ Hakeda 1972, p. 6.
  31. ^ Orzech, Sørensen & Payne 2011, p. 76.
  32. ^ Proffitt 2023, p. 109: All buddhas, bodhisattvas, gods, and ordinary beings and in fact all forms are seen as embodiments or aspects of Mahāvairocana; all sounds are the speech of Mahāvairocana; all thoughts are the mind of Mahāvairocana. This ultimate reality is all-encompassing and immanent, although beings are unaware that they are corporally constituted by the very Buddhahood they seek. In order to awaken beings to the true nature of reality, to this secret hidden in plain sight, the bodies, speech, and minds of beings must be engaged and awakened through corresponding ritual practices of mudra (body), mantra (speech), and 'mandalic' visualization (mind) under the guidance of a qualified teacher. The union of these three practices is known as the 'three mysteries,' and through practice of the three mysteries one is able to realize Buddhahood in one’s very body."
  33. ^ Orzech, Sørensen & Payne 2011, p. 705.
  34. ^ Orzech 2006, p. 32.
  35. ^ Orzech, Sørensen & Payne 2011, p. 664.
  36. ^ Orzech, Sørensen & Payne 2011, p. 71.
  37. ^ Abé 2000, p. 2.
  38. ^ Rambelli 1994, pp. 374.
  39. ^ Abé 2000, p. 3:"Second, Buddhism justified writing in Japanese, a medium considered more effective in describing and sustaining the medieval social order than the learned yet foreign classical Chinese language and its ideographic letters, which had been relied upon in earlier periods. A case in point is the aforementioned 'waka-mantra' theory, which was the counterpart in the realm of writing of the belief in Shinto gods, the progenitors of the emperor's pedigree, as avatars of Buddhist divinities. That is, just as the emperor ultimately descended from Buddhist divinities, Japanese language also 'descended' from Buddhist ritual language."
  40. ^ Abé 2000, p. 2: "Waka was treated as an analog of mantra, a ritual language in Japanese, and composing it was regarded by both Buddhists and Shintoists as an act as sacred as the ritual manipulation of mantra [...] Not surprisingly, many of the most eminent waka poets were Esoteric Buddhist priests -- among them Henjō (816-890), Saigyō ( 1118-1190 ), Jien (1155-1225), Ton'a (1298-1372), and Sōgi (1422-1502)."
  41. ^ Kūkai was also said to have invented kana, the Japanese phonetic orthography, and the Iroha, the kana syllabary. In the Iroha table, the kana letters are arranged in such a manner as to form a waka that plainly expresses the Buddhist principle of emptiness.

Category:Buddhism in Japan Category:Vajrayana

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