Shikoku Pilgirmage 四国遍路 (Part 2)

As I had mentioned in my previous post, I ended my Pilgrimage with a night spent atop Mt. Koya. It is a deeply spiritual place which was designated a UNESCO world heritage site in 2004. It is also fast approaching the 1200th anniversary of the founding of Mt. Koya, which as I mentioned in my previous post, will take placei n 2015.

First settled in 819 by the monk Kūkai, Mt. Kōya is primarily known as the world headquarters of the Kōyasan Shingon sect of Japanese Buddhism. Located in an 800 m high valley amid the eight peaks of the mountain (which was the reason this location was selected, in that the terrain is supposed to resemble a lotus plant), the original monastery has grown into the town of Kōya, featuring a university dedicated to religious studies and 120 temples, many of which offer lodging to pilgrims. (We stayed at one called 無量光院 - roughly translated as endless light.). These places are run with the help of various part timers - we even encountered a guy from Shenyang there who translated into Mandarin for us.

The mountain is also home to the following famous sites: Okunoin (奥の院), the mausoleum of Kūkai, surrounded by an immense graveyard (the largest in Japan and where I managed to see the graves of such legends such as Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and the poet Basho) Danjogaran (壇上伽藍), a heartland of Mt. Kōya. Konpon Daitō (根本大塔), a pagoda that according to Shingon doctrine represents the central point of a mandala covering not only Mt. Kōya but all of Japan Kongōbu-ji (金剛峯寺), the head temple of the Kōyasan Shingon Buddhism.

Shingon Buddhism (真言宗 Shingon-shū) is one of the mainstream major schools of Japanese Buddhism and one of the few surviving Esoteric Buddhist lineages that started in the 3rd to 4th century CE that originally spread from India to China through traveling monks such as Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra. The esoteric teachings would later flourish in Japan under the auspices of a Buddhist monk named Kūkai (空海), who traveled to Tang Dynasty China to acquire and request transmission of the esoteric teachings. The word "Shingon" is the Japanese reading of the Kanji for the Chinese word Zhēnyán (真言), literally meaning "True Words", which in turn is the Chinese translation of the Sanskrit word mantra (मन्त्र).

Exoteric Buddhism holds that the ultimate state of Buddhahood is ineffable, and that nothing can be said of it. Esoteric Buddhism holds that while nothing can be said of it verbally, it is readily communicated via esoteric rituals which involve the use of mantras, mudras, and mandalas. ("The Three Mysteries" (Jap. Sanmitsu 三密)). Kūkai held, along with the Chinese Huayan (Kegon 華嚴) school that all phenomena could be expressed as 'letters' in a 'World-Text'. Mantra, mudra, and mandala are special because they constitute the 'language' through which the Dharmakaya (i.e. Reality itself) communicates. Although portrayed through the use of anthropomorphic metaphors, Shingon does not see the Dharmakaya Buddha as a god, or creator (as a separate entity). The Dharmakaya is in fact a symbol for the true nature of reality and a representation of emptiness (Śūnyatā).  Kūkai held that exoteric doctrines were merely provisional, skillful means (Skt. Upāya) on the part of the Buddhas to help beings according to their capacity to understand the Truth. The esoteric doctrines by comparison are the Truth itself, and are a direct communication of the "inner experience of the Dharmakaya's enlightenment".

There is not really that much that is available in terms of literature on Shingon, as many of the rituals are not divulged to outsiders and monks have to eventually enter into a master - disciple relationship to receive a "true transmission".

From my own personal point of view and this blog, I find Shingon fascinating on many levels, as many of the Koryu have a deep and long relationship with esoteric Buddhism. (For instance the master Iizasa Ienao (飯篠家直) of Katori Shinto Ryu (香取神道流) ended up as a Shingon monk) and Kukai had some trainning in Shugendo (修験道) and it was said that Osensei had some training in Shingon Buddhism before eventually joining the Omoto kyo and these had a great influence on his Kotodama (see my previous post here). Warriors of the past would worship Buddist deities, conduct rituals and hold on to talismans to render themselves invulnerable.

There are also many similarities to yoga (both having orgininated in India), with its emphasis on rituals, mudra and mantra, which I studies for many years but was unable to achieve much progress due to the lack of a true teacher. But many studies have shown that the rhythmic chanting of mantra has the ability to change the make-up of the brain.

During our stay at the 無量光院, we were given the privelge of attending a Shingon ceremony (which we had to get up at 5am, my wife the good Catholic continued to sleep on). The Homa (Jap. = Goma 護摩) Ritual of consecrated fire is unique to Esoteric Buddhism and is the most recognizable ritual defining Shingon today. It is perhaps also the most mystical and cognitively powerful. It stems from the Vedic Agnihotra Ritual and is performed by qualified priests and acharyas for the benefit of individuals, the state or all sentient beings in general. The consecrated fire is believed to have a powerful cleansing effect spiritually and psychologically. The central deity invoked in this ritual is usually Acala (Fudō Myōō 不動明王). The ritual is performed for the purpose of destroying negative energies, detrimental thoughts and desires, and for the making of secular requests and blessings. In most Shingon temples, this ritual is performed daily in the morning or the afternoon. Larger scale ceremonies often include the constant beating of taiko drums and mass chanting of the mantra of Acala by priests and lay practitioners. Flames can sometimes reach a few meters high. The combination of the ritual's visuals and sounds can be trance-inducing and make for a profound experience.

 

However, I don't know if it was because of sleep deprivation or because many of the monks practicing the ceremony were part timers whom we had met the night before, the ceremony didn't seem to move me as much as I expected it to, and I am quite sensitive to energies. Anyhow it seemed more like a show for tourists rather than anything else, but still worth seeing.  

 

Please enjoy the attached photos and thanks for reading!