The subjects included can help us understand religions, spirituality and esoteric beliefs. Proffitt a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of doctor of philosophy asian languages and cultures in the university of michigan 2015 doctoral committee. This paper deals with japanese esoteric buddhism mikkyo, in particular the shingon tradition, as it relates to the emergence of new and peculiar. Jung recorded and edited by aniela jaffe translated from the german by richard and clara winston revised edition. This site is a collection of articles from different sites on the web. Manual of style, and the american psychological association apa. Buddhism, evolved to become the esoteric japanese tradition that is mikkyo. This was a collaborative work of dedicated folk and they have produced a wonderful and practical translation of key japanese writings on mikkyo japanese esoteric buddhism. The history and theories of buddhism are studied, as well as an overview of the theories, rituals, tools and practices of mikkyo. Shugendo japanese mountain ascetism, shamanism, en no gyoja. Aikidd and shingon mikkyo body, sound and mind of the two main symbolic ways in which ueshiba described aikidd, one was in terms of the shinto kami and the other was in the geometric iconography of shingon mikkyd510 also known as esoteric, or japanese tantric, buddhism, a. That is to say that generally each of its stories are different. Sometimes esoteric religion is termed simply spirituality exoteric religion is divergent.
Rather, esoteric buddhism was a scholastic tradition consisting of sundry perspectives. Rare esoteric buddhist teachings buddhist discussion the. A handbook for followers is the first complete handbook for a shingon follower. At their core were esoteric mitsu teachings and practices that gave cohesion to the. These include the shingon school shingon tomitsu, the yamabushiaffiliated schools shugendo mikkyo and the tendai school tendai taimitsu. True words, silence, and the adamantine dance nanzan institute. This is the language of the mantra or in japanese, shingon, literally meaning the word of truth, and from which kukais brand of buddhism derives its name.
Esoteric definition is designed for or understood by the specially initiated alone. There is a comprehensive tracing of the roots of practice that answers many questions, however, the true value of the book is the presentation of specific technique and the. Practiced mainly in tibet, nepal, and mongolia, but in japan has a strong hold with the shingon, tendai, and shugendo sects. It describes the actual services, the major festivals and observances, descriptions of the main thirteen deities in shingon, and the organization of koyasan shingon buddhism. The development of esoteric buddhist scholasticism in early. In japan, esoteric buddhism is known as mikkyo mikkyo. In this groundbreaking collection, leading scholars in this emerging field explore how nature can be understood in a wide range of esoteric religious contexts. Symposia nanzan institute for religion and culture. Esoteric buddhism and christianity nanzan institute for. Kuroda toshio, whose theories have been crucial in reformulating the nature of medieval japanese religion, included nichiren in the. Bushindo university is dedicated to personal empowerment through body rejuvenation, optimal living, spiritual practices and martial arts.
Jahq 2 vdveere koden the title of dainichikyo in hizoki. According to kobo daishi, it is only the shingon tradition which is the esoteric teaching, while all of the rest of the buddhadharma are the exoteric teachings. Sure there are charlatans in all sects of spirituality, major religions are just businesses and it was once said, if you want to get rich start a religion, but one has to be a practitioner of esoteric practices to understand what these things are. A reform movement, encompassing all traditional esoteric orders the world over, was initiated around the time of the lord gautama buddha and was brought to fruition during the life of the tibetan teacher tsongkhapa in the fourteenth century. It can be practiced in the form of either of the two mandaras of esoteric buddhism mikkyo. Capturing the dharma at the margins of tangibility. Esotericism, religion, and nature studies in esotericism. Mikkyo is a japanese term for the vajrayana practices of shingon buddhism and the related practices that make up part of the tendai and kegon schools.
These are the esoteric teachings, which cannot be understood by ordinary people. A variety of japanese esoteric buddhist schools exists in which classical mikkyo teachings are said to be transmitted. Esoteric religion is the inner expereinces that one can achieve through the spiritual practices that are taught by the great religions, and also the less well known ones. Since the transmission of esoteric buddhism mikkyo.
When i was part of nichiren shoshu and the nsa there was a strong element of what i now realize was esoteric type thinking present in the way they. Shingon buddhist doctrine and teachings arose during the heian period 7941185 after a buddhist monk named kukai traveled to china in 804 to study esoteric buddhist practices in the city of xian, then called changan, at azure dragon temple under huiguo, a favorite student of. Ritual and iconography in the japanese esoteric buddhist tradition. Dohans 11791252 himitsu nenbutsu sho and esoteric pure land buddhism by aaron p. Nonetheless, he was writing in the immediate postwar period, when conscientious scholars of buddhism were just begin. Kujikiri kuji kiri nine symbolic cuts is found today in shugendo the religion of japanese mountain priests, shugenjashingon mikkyo an esoteric buddhist sect and many old and traditional schools ryuha of japanese martial arts including but not exclusive to schools that have ties with ninjutsu. When the esoteric attitude enters religious affairs what is on the surface may not be reality, and even the authors of the religion may not be clear on the border between fiction, myth, and reality.
Rather, esoteric buddhism was a scholastic tradition consisting of sundry. The practice of kuji ho as found in japanese esoteric buddhism is a sanmitsu nenju concentrated three mysteries practice, and as such, consists of several dependent, integrated practices. From this perspective, the extradivine is a symbol of the divine. Mormon esotericism john caleb wise the popular dialogue of revisionist history in america has marginalized and ignored western esotericism in the early american religious identity, and scholars of american religions have only just begun to uncover the esoteric influence in americas history. Ienaga is an outstanding scholar, and his work on kamakura buddhism, read critically, is still useful today. The founder of japanese shingon tradition, kobo daishi kukai, divided the whole of the buddhadharma into two types. A consensus of tradition has always told us that esoteric teachings are kept. Lawrence murray, esoteric kekism is a religion of peace. Boa pu zhi, a wise chinese master, was the first to put the nine hand mudras on paper, in his work published around the 3rd century ac. The buddhist movement went to tibet and china, where the tradition was passed on to the hermetic and esoteric groups. We are pleased to announce the publication of our second collection of articles, esotericism, religion, and nature 2010. Shugendo japanese mountain ascetism, shamanism, en no.
This pdf file may be printed and distributed according to the terms of use established on the website. The distinction between esoteric knowledge, available only to initiates, and exoteric knowledge, available to all, has long been part of the religious life of humankind. A positive relationship between nichiren and esoteric buddhism is also denied in an inuential interpretation of japanese buddhist history. Shingon buddhist doctrine and teachings arose during the heian period 7941185 after a buddhist monk named kukai traveled to china in 804 to study esoteric buddhist practices in the city of xian, then called changan, at azure dragon temple under huiguo, a favorite student of the legendary amoghavajra. Kobo daishi to kogyo daishi to no shisoteki tachiba, mikkyo. This paper deals with japanese esoteric buddhism mikkyo, in particular. Esoteric and exoteric part 1 as christianity was making its inroads, heathenry did not cease.
But esoteric buddhism as an organized religion did not begin till the heian period with two famous esoteric priests named kukai and saicho. We denounce her hate and vile remarks, because esoteric kekism is a religion of peace, and the altright is a philosophy of peace and human understanding. Esoteric christianity linked with the hermetic corpus since the renaissance is an ensemble of christian theology which proposes that some spiritual doctrines of christianity can only be understood by those who have undergone certain rites such as baptism within the religion. Esoteric and exoteric knowledge in religious traditions. Jul 27, 2015 an introduction to mikkyo and the online course for beginners.
This secret lore constituted the esoteric teachings mikkyo of. In japan, the kujiin disciplines were adopted by esoteric buddhism. The ninja and some samurai groups were practitioners of buddhism. Jap mikkyo through initiation only medicine, or the spiritual practice behind religion, regards philosophy as the highest form of medicine, because the mindspiritconsciousness leadsdesigns the physiology of the body. East asian religions gnosticism hinduism jainism judaism psychology. An east asian religious paradigm for selfcultivation, morality and conflict resolution a thesis submitted to the faculty of the school of continuing studies and of the graduate school of arts and sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of master of arts in liberal studies by ilan weinberger, b.
Placing nichiren in the big picture princeton university. On eikyujis two dharmatransmission paintings ryuichi abe harvard university among diverse genres of medieval japanese buddhist art, the portraits of esoteric buddhist mikkyo dharma transmission masters distinguish themselves in the way they were totally integral within the ritual performance of abhiseka, and also as indispensable. In an attempt to broaden the base of its dialogues, the fifth nanzan symposium invited representatives from the mikkyo or esoteric buddhist tradition of shingon to discuss with christian scholars the relationships between popular religiosity and organized religion. Department of religion at columbia university for lending me the gravitas of their affiliation during the. Jap mikkyo through initiation only medicine, or the spiritual practice behind religion, regards philosophy as the highest form of medicin e, because the mind spirit consciousness leads designs the physiology of the body.
Japanese esoteric buddhism is characterized as a tradition with extensive use of complex. We reject the label of supremacist as bigoted slander against entire communities, which are diverse in their heritages and faiths. In this medieval context the religion that dominated japan was kenmitsu buddhism. In buddhism, we hear of many so called masters using their position to abuse others. Mar 30, 2017 shugendo, mountain asceticism in which practitioners rid themselves of their human ego by exposing themselves to the elements with waterfall training and hot candle skin burning, was founded in 7thcentury ce japan and survives today as a combination of esoteric buddhism, shinto the national religion, and taoist influences. The distinction is commonly based on the belief that only those initiated in a particular tradition or having achieved a certain level of spiritual development. An introduction to this course forms the foundation for the study of mikkyo, the secret teachings of japanese vajrayana buddhism. The techniques migrated from china and tibet to japan. They advocate that the parts that are not expressed in the scriptures have more depth than the 1 nichiren shoshu buddhism the religion that embraces and recites the true law of namumyohorengekyo as the original. The distinction is commonly based on the belief that only those initiated in a particular tradition.
On japanese mikkyo and the formation of the shingon. Eventually, the techniques migrated to japan, along with esoteric buddhism, where the mantras were translated into japanese phonetics. Esoteric and exoteric the religion of the aryogermanic folk. Taken together, these articles shed new light on the connections between humanity, nature, and religion. There are also shingon and tendai influenced practices of shugendo. Mikkyo is a japanese term for the vajrayana practices of shingon buddhism and the related. Shugendo, mountain asceticism in which practitioners rid themselves of their human ego by exposing themselves to the elements with waterfall training and hot candle skin burning, was founded in 7thcentury ce japan and survives today as a combination of esoteric buddhism, shinto the national religion, and taoist influences.
1352 124 829 647 497 952 964 686 793 580 116 1252 234 1104 843 735 642 593 1550 672 1097 474 1524 536 188 484 365 1129 891 1568 740 1487 915 1379 465 959 482 417 109 481 1081 138