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Mar 6, 2017 · The Japanese Buddhist school of Shingon is something of an anomaly. It is a Mahayana school, but it is also a form of esoteric or tantric Buddhism and the only living Vajrayana school outside of Tibetan Buddhism. How did that happen?
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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).
- Early Religious Reform
- Buddhism: Establishment & Development
- Shankara & Hindu Revival
- Esoteric Buddhism in India
- Esoteric Buddhism in China & Japan
- Conclusion
During the Vedic Period (c. 1500 - c. 500 BCE) in the region of modern-day India, the belief system known as Sanatan Dharma ("Eternal Order"), better known as Hinduism, developed from earlier beliefs through the written works known as the Vedas which preserved a much older oral tradition. Hinduism was highly ritualized at this time. The Vedas ("kno...
Buddha, according to tradition, was a Hindu prince named Siddhartha Gautama who renounced his position and wealth to seek spiritual enlightenment. He realized that suffering comes from attachment to transitory aspects of life and life itself, which was in a constant state of change and so could not be held, kept, or controlled, but which people ins...
Buddhism was enthusiastically received in these other lands but continued to struggle to gain and hold followers in India. Hinduism offered a greater variety of ritual and pageantry while also advancing the concept that everyone held a spark of the divine, was in fact a divine being and part of the universe, which contrasted sharply with the Buddhi...
Esoteric Buddhism is also known as Mantrayana ("mantra vehicle"), Guhyamantrayana ("secret mantra vehicle"), Tantrayana ("tantra vehicle"), and Vajrayana ("diamond vehicle"). The first three names have to do with the importance of revelation through written works – mantras and tantras – while the last with the value of the experience which leads to...
Esoteric Buddhism arrived in China via the Silk Road in the early 7th century CE and was embraced by the Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE). Buddhism had been introduced centuries earlier following the missionary efforts of Ashokaand so the Chinese were already acquainted with the basic teachings and overall message. Tantric Buddhism, however, claimed to of...
Mainstream Buddhism emphasized adherence to the Eightfold Path after a recognition of the Four Noble Truths which led one to enlightenment and freedom, at death, from the cycle of rebirth. Esoteric Buddhism offers the same basic platform but claims one can attain results more quickly by embracing and then letting go of the attachments of life as on...
- Joshua J. Mark
In Japanese Buddhism, mikkyō (密教, from himitsu bukkyō, literally "secret Buddhism") or Japanese Esoteric Buddhism, is the lineage of Vajrayana transmitted to Japan, primarily in the early Heian by Kūkai, and to a later extent by Saichō and his successors such as Ennin.
Jun 10, 2024 · Esoteric mandalas use deities and Sanskrit characters to chart the cosmic realm visually, map the geography of the Buddhist journey, and encourage an internal pilgrimage to enlightenment. The Sai-in Mandala, or Womb World mandala, in Tō-ji, Kyoto was produced in the late ninth century during the Heian period and is in remarkably good condition.
- Shannon Berry
Shingon, branch of Vajrayana (Tantric, or Esoteric) Buddhism that has had a considerable following in Japan since its introduction from China, where it was called Zhenyan (“True Word”), in the 9th century. Shingon may be considered an attempt to reach the eternal wisdom of the Buddha that was not.
Shingon refers to a major Japanese Buddhist school devoted to esoteric Buddhism. Shingon's doctrine is built around two essential theories developed by KŪkai (774–835), based on his interpretation of the Mahāvairocana-sūtra (Japanese, Dainichikyō) and the Tattvasamgraha or Vajraśekhara-sūtra (or Tantra; Japanese, Kōngōchōkyō ): the ...
