Introducing Buddhism. Kodo Matsunami

granted by the Emperor in 822. From this time on, the Tendai Sect gained independence from the older schools in Japan, and from the fetter of the Hinayana precepts.

      Kukai (744—835) was a contemporary of Saicho, and he also studied Esoteric Buddhism in China. Upon his return to Japan, he established the Shingon Sect on Mt. Koya, and expounded the mystical teaching of Oneness with Vairochana Buddha based on the text of the Mahavairochana Sutra (Dainichikyo). Unlike Saicho, Kukai did not deny the validity of the Hinayana precepts. He accepted both the Hinayana and the Mahayana precepts and interpreted them according to his own esoteric teaching. He classified Buddhist thought into two parts: esoteric and exoteric, and taught that all sects other than the Shingon Sect were exoteric, because they were known and revealed by the historical Buddha Shakyamuni. On the other hand, in Esoteric Buddhism, truth is hidden and must be revealed. There are in the universe the knower and the known, and they must be identical with Vairochana Buddha through the mystical practices of mantra and mudra in order for the universe to be in harmony. Kukai also classified the then existing concepts into ten parts according to the degree of profundity: 1. No doctrines at all, 2. Confucianism and Taoism, 3. The Sankya and Vaiseshika schools, 4. The Kusha school, 5. The Jojitsu school, 6. The Hosso school, 7. The Sanron school, 8. The Tendai school, 9. The Kengon school, and 10. The Shingon school. According to him, the Shingon sect is the supreme and complete form of religion, while the other schools are lesser and incomplete.

      However, the philosophical speculation of Tendai and the mystical ritualism of Shingon had only attracted the minds of court nobles, monks, and scholars who were weary of studying Buddhism theoretically. The mass of the people had nothing to do with these developments of thought. The monks, belonging to either the Tendai or Shingon sects, became independent from the six schools, and defended themselves from the influence of the government. Once they obtained the privilege of being monks, they lived together at the leading temples, and fought each other and sometimes against the government. The institutions lost sight of the original intention of saving suffering people, and became a third power standing against the Imperial government and its counterpart. The temple life became lax, and there was degeneration and corruption among the monks in Buddhist institutions. Seeing this, the ordinary people were greatly discouraged and deeply impressed by the impermanency and vicissitudes of life.

      5. BUDDHISM IN THE KAMAKURA PERIOD

       (1185-1333 A.D.)

      Buddhism was confined to the priviledged classes of court nobles, monks, scholars, and artisans who had enough time to master the complicated philosophy and rituals of Buddhism. It was in the Kamakura Period that a drastic change took place in the field of religion; Buddhism became for the first time the religion of the masses. As the new military government was established by Yoritomo at Kamakura in 1192, three prominent Buddhist Sects were founded one by one, namely, the Joe, Zen, and Nichiren Sects. They had common standpoints; they were established on the foundation of the Tendai doctrine and yet transcended it in their own respective ways.

      Honen (1133-1212) studied the Tendai doctrine thoroughly on Mt. Hiei, and yet he was dissatisfied with a teaching which only taught the definition of salvation and the superiority of the Tendai doctrine as opposed to other schools of thought. However, what he wanted was a way to relieve others from suffering and to gain salvation himself. One day he came across the Genshin's Ojoyoshu in which he found a passage by the Chinese monk, Shantao, "Only call the name of Amida Buddha with one's whole heart,—whether walking or standing still, whether sitting or lying, this is the practice which brings salvation without fail, for it is in accordance with the original vow of the Buddha." In this passage he at last found what he was seeking. He did not, however, deny the validity of other elaborate teachings and methods found in other schools. But he was convinced that this simple and straightforward calling of Amida Buddha was the only way for him and for everyone who needed relief in that turbulent and degenerate age, because it required no elaborate rituals or complicated philosophy, but only the calling or Namu Amida Butsu which anyone can do wherever and whoever he is.

      In 1175 Honen established the independent Joe Sect which was based on three canonical texts, the Larger Sukhavativyuha Sutra (Muryojukyo), the Smaller Sukhavativyuha Sutra (Kan Muryojukyo), and the Amitayurdhyana Sutra (Amidakyo). He wrote the Senchakushu in order to defend his standpoint against the orthodox schools, and preached the teaching of the Nembutsu (calling of Namu Amida Butsu) to the mass of the people. However, his ever-increasing popularity among them encountered strong opposition from other schools and the government that in 1207 his teachings were prohibited and he was exiled to the Isle of Shikoku with a handful of disciples. Later he was permitted to return and his teachings were officially recognized. One of Honen's disciples, Shinran, further developed his teachings and established the Joe Shin Sect.

      Shinran (1173-1262) deeply perceived the weak nature of human beings, and had become convinced that salvation could only be found in self-surrender and in complete reliance on the saving power of Amida Buddha. He totally abandoned the precepts of both Hinayana and Mahayana which were "musts" for all monks in those days. Instead he got married and called himself the most wicked man in the world. He simply wanted to identify himself with ordinary men in order to save his wretched self and to pave the way of relief for other suffering people.