Shingon Buddhism
Encyclopedia
is one of the mainstream major schools of Japanese Buddhism and one of the few surviving Esoteric Buddhist
Vajrayana
Vajrayāna Buddhism is also known as Tantric Buddhism, Tantrayāna, Mantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Esoteric Buddhism and the Diamond Vehicle...

 lineages that started in the 3rd to 4th century CE that originally spread from India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 to China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 through traveling monks such as Vajrabodhi
Vajrabodhi
Vajrabodhi was an Indian buddhist monk and Esoteric Buddhist teacher in Tang China. He is one the eight patriarchs in Shingon Buddhism....

 and Amoghavajra
Amoghavajra
Amoghavajra was a prolific translator who became one of the most politically powerful Buddhist monks in Chinese history, acknowledged as one of the eight patriarchs of the doctrine in Shingon lineages.-Life:Born in Samarkand of an Indian father and Sogdian mother, he went...

. The esoteric teachings would later flourish in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 under the auspices of a Buddhist monk named Kūkai
Kukai
Kūkai , also known posthumously as , 774–835, was a Japanese monk, civil servant, scholar, poet, and artist, founder of the Shingon or "True Word" school of Buddhism. Shingon followers usually refer to him by the honorific titles of and ....

, who traveled to Tang Dynasty
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...

 China to acquire and request transmission of the esoteric teachings. For that reason, it is often called Japanese Esoteric Buddhism, or Orthodox Esoteric Buddhism. The word "Shingon" is the Japanese reading of the Kanji
Kanji
Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...

 for the Chinese word Zhēnyán (真言), literally meaning "True Words", which in turn is the Chinese translation of the Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...

 word mantra
Mantra
A mantra is a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that is considered capable of "creating transformation"...

(मन्त्र).

History

Shingon Buddhist doctrine and teachings arose during the Heian period (794-1185) when a Buddhist monk named Kūkai
Kukai
Kūkai , also known posthumously as , 774–835, was a Japanese monk, civil servant, scholar, poet, and artist, founder of the Shingon or "True Word" school of Buddhism. Shingon followers usually refer to him by the honorific titles of and ....

 traveled to China in 804 to study Esoteric Buddhist practices in the city of Xi'an
Xi'an
Xi'an is the capital of the Shaanxi province, and a sub-provincial city in the People's Republic of China. One of the oldest cities in China, with more than 3,100 years of history, the city was known as Chang'an before the Ming Dynasty...

 (西安) (then called Chang-an), at Qinglong Temple (青龍寺, Blue Dragon Temple) under Master Huiguo, a favorite student of the legendary Amoghavajra
Amoghavajra
Amoghavajra was a prolific translator who became one of the most politically powerful Buddhist monks in Chinese history, acknowledged as one of the eight patriarchs of the doctrine in Shingon lineages.-Life:Born in Samarkand of an Indian father and Sogdian mother, he went...

 and returned to Japan as his lineage and Dharma successor. Shingon followers usually address Kūkai as Kōbō-Daishi (弘法大師; lit. "Great Master of the Propagation of Dharma") or O-Daishi-sama (お大師様; "The Great Master"), the posthumous name given to him years after his death by Emperor Daigo
Emperor Daigo
was the 60th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.Daigo's reign spanned the years from 897 through 930. He is named after his place of burial.-Traditional narrative:...

.

Before he went to China, Kūkai had been an independent Buddhist monk
Bhikkhu
A Bhikkhu or Bhikṣu is an ordained male Buddhist monastic. A female monastic is called a Bhikkhuni Nepali: ). The life of Bhikkhus and Bhikkhunis is governed by a set of rules called the patimokkha within the vinaya's framework of monastic discipline...

 in Japan for over a decade. He was extremely well versed in classical Chinese prose
Chinese literature
Chinese literature extends thousands of years, from the earliest recorded dynastic court archives to the mature fictional novels that arose during the Ming Dynasty to entertain the masses of literate Chinese...

, calligraphy and Buddhist sutras. Esoteric Buddhism was not considered to be a different sect or school yet at that time. Huiguo was the first person to gather the still scattered elements of Indian and Chinese Esoteric Buddhism into a cohesive system. A Japanese monk named Gonsō (勤操) had brought back to Japan from China an esoteric mantra
Mantra
A mantra is a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that is considered capable of "creating transformation"...

 of Akasagarbha
Akasagarbha
Ākāśagarbha Bodhisattva is one of the eight great bodhisattvas. His name can be translated as "boundless space treasury" or "void store" as his wisdom is said to be boundless as space itself...

 known as the Kokūzō-gumonjihō (虚空蔵求聞持法, lit. Akasagarbha Memory Retention Practice) that was translated from Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...

 into Chinese by Śubhakarasiṃha
Subhakarasimha
Śubhakarasiṃha was an eminent Indian Buddhist monk and master of Esoteric Buddhism, who arrived in the Chinese capital Chang'an in 716 CE and translated the , better known as the Mahāvairocana Sūtra...

 (Zenmui-Sanzō 善無畏三蔵). When Kūkai was 22, he learned this from Gonsō and would go into the forests of Shikoku
Shikoku
is the smallest and least populous of the four main islands of Japan, located south of Honshū and east of the island of Kyūshū. Its ancient names include Iyo-no-futana-shima , Iyo-shima , and Futana-shima...

 (四国) regularly to practice this mantra for long periods of time. He persevered in this mantra practice for seven years and mastered it. According to tradition, this practice brought him siddhis of superhuman memory retention and learning ability. Kūkai would later praise the power and efficacy of this Kokuzō-gumonjiho practice, crediting it with enabling him to remember all of Huiguo's teachings in only three months.

His respect for the Bodhisattva Akasagarbha
Akasagarbha
Ākāśagarbha Bodhisattva is one of the eight great bodhisattvas. His name can be translated as "boundless space treasury" or "void store" as his wisdom is said to be boundless as space itself...

 was so great that he would regard Akasagarbha as his Honzon (本尊) or main deity, the single most important divinity to him, for the rest of his life. It was also during this period of intense mantra practice that he dreamt of a man telling him to seek out the Mahavairocana Tantra
Mahavairocana Tantra
The Mahāvairocana Tantra is an important Vajrayana Buddhist text. It is also known as the , or more fully as the . In Tibet it is considered to be a member of the Carya class of tantras...

 for the doctrine that he sought. The Mahavairocana Tantra had only recently been made available in Japan. He was able to obtain a copy in Chinese but large portions were in Siddham Sanskrit, which he did not know, and even the Chinese portions were too arcane for him to understand. He believed that this teaching was a door to the truth he sought, but he was unable to fully comprehend it and no one in Japan could help him. Thus, he made his resolve to travel to China to spend the time necessary to fully understand the Mahavairocana Tantra.

When Kūkai reached China and first met Huiguo on the fifth month of 805, Huiguo was age sixty and on the verge of death from a long spate of illness. Huiguo exclaimed to Kūkai in Chinese (in paraphrase), "At last, you have come! I have been waiting for you! Quickly, prepare yourself for initiation into the mandalas!" Huiguo had foreseen that Esoteric Buddhism would not survive in India and China in the near future and that it was Kukai's destiny to see it continue in Japan. In the short space of three months, Huiguo initiated and taught Kūkai everything he knew on the doctrines and practices of the Mandala of the Two Realms
Mandala of the Two Realms
The Mandala of the Two Realms , also known as the Mandala of the Two Divisions , is a set of two mandalas depicting both the Five Wisdom Buddhas of the Diamond Realm as well as the Five Wisdom Kings of the Womb Realm...

 as well as mastery of Siddham Sanskrit and (presumably to be able to communicate with Master Huiguo) Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...

. Huiguo declared Kūkai to be his final disciple and proclaimed him a Dharma successor, giving the lineage name Henjō-Kongō (遍照金剛, biànzhào jīngāng), meaning "illuminating adamantine vajra".

In the twelfth month of the same year, Huiguo died and was appropriately buried next to his master Amoghavajra
Amoghavajra
Amoghavajra was a prolific translator who became one of the most politically powerful Buddhist monks in Chinese history, acknowledged as one of the eight patriarchs of the doctrine in Shingon lineages.-Life:Born in Samarkand of an Indian father and Sogdian mother, he went...

.

More than one thousand of his disciples gathered for his funeral. The honor of writing his funerary inscription on their behalf was given to Kūkai. Kukai returned to Japan after Huiguo's death. If he had not, Esoteric Buddhism might not have survived because 35 years after Huiguo's death in the year 840, the infamous Emperor Wuzong of Tang
Emperor Wuzong of Tang
Emperor Wuzong of Tang , né Li Chan , later changed to Li Yan just before his death, was an emperor of the Tang Dynasty of China, reigning from 840 to 846. Emperor Wuzong is mainly known in modern times for the religious persecution that occurred during his reign...

 assumed the throne. An avid Taoist, the new emperor despised Buddhism and thought of monks as useless tax-evaders. In 845 he ordered the destruction of 4,600 Buddhist monasteries and 40,000 temples. Around 250,000 Buddhist monks and nuns had to give up their monastic lives. Wuzong cited that Buddhism was an alien religion and promoted indigenous Taoism zealously. Shortly, he was assassinated by his own inner circle but the damage had been done. Ancient Chinese Buddhism never fully recovered from the persecution, and many esoteric elements were infused into other Buddhist sects and traditions.

After returning to Japan, Kūkai collated and systematized all that he had learned from Huiguo into a cohesive doctrine of pure esoteric Buddhism that would become the basis for the Shingon school. Originally, he did not establish his doctrine as a separate school and did not specifically name it "Shingon-Shū", as it is now known. It would be the Emperor Junna
Emperor Junna
was the 53rd emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Junna reigned from 823 to 833.-Traditional narrative:Junna had six Empresses and Imperial consorts and 13 Imperial sons and daughters...

, who favored Kūkai and Esoteric Buddhism who would coin the term "Shingon-Shū" (真言宗; "The True Word School") in his imperial decree which officially declared Tō-ji
To-ji
is a Buddhist temple of the Shingon sect in Kyoto, Japan. Its name means East Temple, and it once had a partner, Sai-ji . They stood alongside the Rashomon, the gate to the Heian capital. It is formally known as which indicates that it previously functioned as a temple providing protection for the...

 (東寺) Temple in Kyoto as a purely Shingon temple that would perform official rites for the state. Kūkai actively took on disciples and offered transmission until his death in 835 at the age of 61.

Kūkai's first established monastery was in Kōya-san
Mount Koya
is the name of mountains in Wakayama Prefecture to the south of Osaka. Also, Kōya-san is a modifying word for Kongōbuji . There is no one mountain officially called Kōya-san in Japan....

 (高野山; "Mount Kōya"), which has since become the base and a place of spiritual retreat for Shingon practitioners.

Shingon enjoyed immense popularity during the Heian Period
Heian period
The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The period is named after the capital city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyōto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism and other Chinese influences were at their height...

 (平安時代), particularly among the Heian nobility, and contributed greatly to the art and literature of the time, as well as influencing other communities, such as the Tendai School
Tendai
is a Japanese school of Mahayana Buddhism, a descendant of the Chinese Tiantai or Lotus Sutra school.Chappell frames the relevance of Tendai for a universal Buddhism:- History :...

 (天台宗) on Mount Hiei
Mount Hiei
is a mountain to the northeast of Kyoto, lying on the border between the Kyoto and Shiga prefectures, Japan.The temple of Enryaku-ji, the first outpost of the Japanese Tiantai sect of Buddhism, was founded atop Mount Hiei by Saichō in 788. Both Nichiren and Honen studied at the temple before...

 (Hiei-zan 比叡山).

Also, Shingon's emphasis on ritual found support in the Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...

 nobility, particularly the Fujiwara clan (藤原氏). This favor allotted Shingon several politically powerful temples in the capital, where rituals for the Imperial Family and nation were regularly performed. Many of these temples such as Tō-ji
To-ji
is a Buddhist temple of the Shingon sect in Kyoto, Japan. Its name means East Temple, and it once had a partner, Sai-ji . They stood alongside the Rashomon, the gate to the Heian capital. It is formally known as which indicates that it previously functioned as a temple providing protection for the...

 (東寺) and Daigo-ji
Daigo-ji
is a Shingon Buddhist temple in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, Japan. Its main devotion is Yakushi. Daigo, literally "ghee," is used figuratively to mean "crème de la crème" and is a metaphor of the most profound part of Buddhist thoughts.- History :...

 (醍醐寺) in the South of Kyōto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...

 (京都) and Jingo-ji
Jingo-ji
is a Buddhist temple in Kyoto. It stands on Mount Takao to the northwest of the center of the city. The temple adheres to Shingon Buddhism. Its honzon is a statue of Yakushi Nyorai, the Buddha of Healing or "Medicine Buddha"....

 (神護寺) and Ninna-ji
Ninna-ji
is the head temple of the Omuro school of the Shingon Sect of Buddhism. Located in western Kyoto, Japan, it was founded in AD 888 by the retired Emperor Uda. It is part of the "Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto", a UNESCO World Heritage Site.-History:...

 (仁和寺) in the Northwest became ritual centers establishing their own particular ritual lineages.

Lineage

The Shingon lineage is an ancient transmission of esoteric Buddhist doctrine that began in India and then spread to China and Japan. Shingon is the name of this lineage in Japan, but there are also esoteric schools in China, Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong that consider themselves part of this lineage (as the originators of the Esoteric teachings) and universally recognize Kūkai as their eighth patriarch. This is why sometimes the term "Orthodox Esoteric Buddhism" is used instead.

Shingon or Orthodox Esoteric Buddhism maintains that the expounder of the doctrine was originally the Universal Buddha Mahavairocana but the first human to receive the doctrine was Nagarjuna
Nagarjuna
Nāgārjuna was an important Buddhist teacher and philosopher. Along with his disciple Āryadeva, he is credited with founding the Mādhyamaka school of Mahāyāna Buddhism...

 in India. The tradition recognizes two groups of eight great patriarchs - one group of lineage holders and one group of great expounders of the doctrine.

The Eight Great Lineage Patriarchs (Fuho-Hasso 付法八祖)

  • Mahavairocana (Dainichi-Nyorai 大日如来)
  • Vajrasattva
    Vajrasattva
    Vajrasattva is a bodhisattva in the Mahayana, Mantrayana and Vajrayana buddhist traditions...

     (Kongō-Satta 金剛薩埵)
  • Nagarjuna
    Nagarjuna
    Nāgārjuna was an important Buddhist teacher and philosopher. Along with his disciple Āryadeva, he is credited with founding the Mādhyamaka school of Mahāyāna Buddhism...

     (Ryūju-Bosatsu 龍樹菩薩) - received the Mahavairocana Tantra
    Mahavairocana Tantra
    The Mahāvairocana Tantra is an important Vajrayana Buddhist text. It is also known as the , or more fully as the . In Tibet it is considered to be a member of the Carya class of tantras...

     from Vajrasattva inside an Iron Stupa in Southern India)
  • Nagabodhi (Ryūchi-Bosatsu 龍智菩薩)
  • Vajrabodhi
    Vajrabodhi
    Vajrabodhi was an Indian buddhist monk and Esoteric Buddhist teacher in Tang China. He is one the eight patriarchs in Shingon Buddhism....

     (Kongōchi-Sanzō 金剛智三蔵)
  • Amoghavajra
    Amoghavajra
    Amoghavajra was a prolific translator who became one of the most politically powerful Buddhist monks in Chinese history, acknowledged as one of the eight patriarchs of the doctrine in Shingon lineages.-Life:Born in Samarkand of an Indian father and Sogdian mother, he went...

     (Fukūkongō-Sanzō 不空金剛三蔵)
  • Huiguo (Keika-Ajari 恵果阿闍梨)
  • Kōbō-Daishi
    Kukai
    Kūkai , also known posthumously as , 774–835, was a Japanese monk, civil servant, scholar, poet, and artist, founder of the Shingon or "True Word" school of Buddhism. Shingon followers usually refer to him by the honorific titles of and ....

     (弘法大師)


The Eight Great Doctrine-Expounding Patriarchs (Denji-Hasso 伝持八祖)
  • Nagarjuna
    Nagarjuna
    Nāgārjuna was an important Buddhist teacher and philosopher. Along with his disciple Āryadeva, he is credited with founding the Mādhyamaka school of Mahāyāna Buddhism...

     (Ryūju-Bosatsu 龍樹菩薩)
  • Nagabodhi (Ryūchi-Bosatsu 龍智菩薩)
  • Vajrabodhi
    Vajrabodhi
    Vajrabodhi was an Indian buddhist monk and Esoteric Buddhist teacher in Tang China. He is one the eight patriarchs in Shingon Buddhism....

     (Kongōchi-Sanzō 金剛智三蔵)
  • Amoghavajra
    Amoghavajra
    Amoghavajra was a prolific translator who became one of the most politically powerful Buddhist monks in Chinese history, acknowledged as one of the eight patriarchs of the doctrine in Shingon lineages.-Life:Born in Samarkand of an Indian father and Sogdian mother, he went...

     (Fukūkongō-Sanzō 不空金剛三蔵)
  • Śubhakarasiṃha
    Subhakarasimha
    Śubhakarasiṃha was an eminent Indian Buddhist monk and master of Esoteric Buddhism, who arrived in the Chinese capital Chang'an in 716 CE and translated the , better known as the Mahāvairocana Sūtra...

     (Zenmui-Sanzō 善無畏三蔵)
  • I-Hsing
    Yi Xing
    Yi Xing , born Zhang Sui , was a Chinese astronomer, mathematician, mechanical engineer,and Buddhist monk of the Tang Dynasty...

     (Ichigyō-Zenji 一行禅師)
  • Huiguo (Keika-Ajari 恵果阿闍梨)
  • Kōbō-Daishi
    Kukai
    Kūkai , also known posthumously as , 774–835, was a Japanese monk, civil servant, scholar, poet, and artist, founder of the Shingon or "True Word" school of Buddhism. Shingon followers usually refer to him by the honorific titles of and ....

     (弘法大師)

Schism

Like the Tendai
Tendai
is a Japanese school of Mahayana Buddhism, a descendant of the Chinese Tiantai or Lotus Sutra school.Chappell frames the relevance of Tendai for a universal Buddhism:- History :...

 School that branched into the Pureland School
Jodo Shu
, also known as Jōdo Buddhism, is a branch of Pure Land Buddhism derived from the teachings of the Japanese ex-Tendai monk Hōnen. It was established in 1175 and is the most widely practiced branch of Buddhism in Japan, along with Jōdo Shinshū....

 (Jōdo shū 浄土宗) and the Nichiren School
Nichiren Buddhism
Nichiren Buddhism is a branch of Mahāyāna Buddhism based on the teachings of the 13th century Japanese monk Nichiren...

 (Nichiren-kei sho shūha 日蓮系諸宗派) during the Kamakura period
Kamakura period
The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura Shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo....

, Shingon divided into two major schools – the old school, Kogi Shingon (古儀真言宗, lit. Ancient Shingon school), and the new school, Shingi Shingon (新義真言宗, lit. Reformed Shingon school).

This division primarily arose out of a political dispute between Kakuban
Kakuban
Kakuban , known posthumously as Kōgyō-Daishi was a priest of the Shingon sect of Buddhism in Japan and credited as a reformer, though his efforts also led to a schism between and...

 (覚鑁), known posthumously as Kōgyō-Daishi (興教大師), and his faction of priests centered at the Denbō-in (伝法院) and the leadership at Kongōbuji (金剛峰寺), the head of Mount Kōya
Mount Koya
is the name of mountains in Wakayama Prefecture to the south of Osaka. Also, Kōya-san is a modifying word for Kongōbuji . There is no one mountain officially called Kōya-san in Japan....

 and the authority in teaching esoteric practices in general. Kakuban, who was originally ordained at Ninnaji (仁和寺) in Kyōto, studied at several temple-centers including the Tendai temple complex at Onjōji
Mii-dera
', formally called ', is a Buddhist temple located at the foot of Mount Hiei, in the city of Ōtsu, in Shiga Prefecture. It is only a short distance from both Kyoto, and Lake Biwa, Japan's largest lake. The head temple of the Tendai Jimon sect, it is something of a sister temple to Enryakuji, at...

 (園城寺) before going to Mount Kōya. Through his connections, he managed to gain the favor of high ranking nobles in Kyoto, which helped him to be appointed abbot of Mount Kōya. The leadership at Kongōbuji however, opposed the appointment on the premise that Kakuban had not originally been ordained on Mount Kōya.

After several conflicts, Kakuban and his faction of priests left the mountain for Mount Negoro (根来山) to the northwest, where they constructed a new temple complex, now known as Negoroji (根来寺). After the death of Kakuban in 1143, the Negoro faction returned to Mount Kōya. However in 1288, the conflict between Kongōbuji and the Denbō-in came to a head once again. Led by Raiyu, the Denbō-in priests once again left Mount Kōya, this time establishing their headquarters on Mount Negoro. This exodus marked the beginning of the Shingi Shingon School at Mount Negoro, which was the center of Shingi Shingon until it was sacked by the daimyo
Daimyo
is a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...

 Toyotomi Hideyoshi
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
was a daimyo warrior, general and politician of the Sengoku period. He unified the political factions of Japan. He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, named after Hideyoshi's castle...

 (豊臣秀吉) in 1585.

Mahavairocana (Jap. Dainichi Nyorai 大日如來) as the central primordial buddha in Esoteric Buddhist doctrine is the true nature of all things and phenomena, the totality of reality in all form and formlessness, arising and non-arising. Though supernatural beings like Deva
Deva (Buddhism)
A deva in Buddhism is one of many different types of non-human beings who share the characteristics of being more powerful, longer-lived, and, in general, living more contentedly than the average human being....

s may be more powerful and live longer than humans, they are nevertheless afflicted by suffering and death.

When the Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

 missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...

 Francis Xavier
Francis Xavier
Francis Xavier, born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta was a pioneering Roman Catholic missionary born in the Kingdom of Navarre and co-founder of the Society of Jesus. He was a student of Saint Ignatius of Loyola and one of the first seven Jesuits, dedicated at Montmartre in 1534...

 first arrived in Japan, he was welcomed by the Shingon monks since he used the word Dainichi for the Christian God. As Xavier learned more about the religious nuances of the word, he changed it to Deusu from the Latin and Portuguese word Deus
Deus
Deus is Latin for "god" or "deity".Latin deus and dīvus "divine", are descended from Proto-Indo-European *deiwos, from the same root as *Dyēus, the reconstructed chief god of the Proto-Indo-European pantheon...

. At that point, the monks realized that Xavier was preaching a non-buddhist religion.

Doctrines

The teachings of Shingon are based on early Buddhist Tantras
Tantras
Tantras refers to numerous and varied scriptures pertaining to any of several esoteric traditions rooted in Hindu and Buddhist philosophy. Although Buddhist and Hindu Tantra have many similarities from the outside, they do have some clear distinctions. The rest of this article deals with Hindu...

, the Mahavairocana Tantra
Mahavairocana Tantra
The Mahāvairocana Tantra is an important Vajrayana Buddhist text. It is also known as the , or more fully as the . In Tibet it is considered to be a member of the Carya class of tantras...

 (Jap. Dainichi-kyō 大日経), the Vajrasekhara Sutra
Vajrasekhara Sutra
The Vajrasekhara Sutra is an important Buddhist tantra used in the Vajrayana schools of Buddhism, particularly the Japanese Shingon school. It is also known as the...

 (Kongōchō-kyō 金剛頂経), the Adhyardhaśatikā Prajñāpāramitā Sutra (Rishu-kyō 理趣経), and the Susiddhikara Sutra (Soshitsuji-kyō 蘇悉地経). These are the four principal texts of Esoteric Buddhism. They are all Tantras
Tantras
Tantras refers to numerous and varied scriptures pertaining to any of several esoteric traditions rooted in Hindu and Buddhist philosophy. Although Buddhist and Hindu Tantra have many similarities from the outside, they do have some clear distinctions. The rest of this article deals with Hindu...

 and not Sutras
Sutra
Sūtra is an aphorism or a collection of such aphorisms in the form of a manual. Literally it means a thread or line that holds things together and is derived from the verbal root siv-, meaning to sew , as does the medical term...

 despite their names. The mystical Mahavairocana and Vajrasekhara teachings are expressed in the two main mandalas of Shingon, The Mandalas of The Two Realms
Mandala of the Two Realms
The Mandala of the Two Realms , also known as the Mandala of the Two Divisions , is a set of two mandalas depicting both the Five Wisdom Buddhas of the Diamond Realm as well as the Five Wisdom Kings of the Womb Realm...

 - The Womb Realm
Womb Realm
In Vajrayana Buddhism, the Womb Realm is the metaphysical space inhabited by the Five Wisdom Kings. The Womb Realm is based on the Mahāvairocana Sutra...

 (Skt. Garbhadhātu, Jap. Taizōkai 胎蔵界曼荼羅) mandala and the Diamond Realm
Diamond Realm
In Vajrayana Buddhism, the Diamond Realm is a metaphysical space inhabited by the Five Wisdom Buddhas...

 (Skt. Vajradhātu, Jap. Kongōkai 金剛界曼荼羅) mandala. These two mandalas are considered to be a compact expression of the entirety of the Dharma, and form the root of Buddhism. In Shingon temples, these two mandalas are always mounted one on each side of the central altar. The Susiddhikara Sutra is largely a compendium of rituals. Buddhism is concerned with the rituals and meditative practices that lead to enlightenment
Bodhi
Bodhi is both a Pāli and Sanskrit word traditionally translated into English with the word "enlightenment", but which means awakened. In Buddhism it is the knowledge possessed by a Buddha into the nature of things...

. According to the Shingon doctrine, enlightenment is not a distant, foreign reality that can take aeon
Aeon
The word aeon, also spelled eon or æon , originally means "life", and/or "being", though it then tended to mean "age", "forever" or "for eternity". It is a Latin transliteration from the koine Greek word , from the archaic . In Homer it typically refers to life or lifespan...

s to approach but a real possibility within this very life, based on the spiritual potential of every living being, known generally as Buddha-nature
Buddha-nature
Buddha-nature, Buddha-dhatu or Buddha Principle , is taught differently in various Mahayana Buddhism traditions. Broadly speaking Buddha-nature is concerned with ascertaining what allows sentient beings to become Buddhas...

. If cultivated, this luminous nature manifests as innate wisdom. With the help of a genuine teacher and through proper training of the body, speech, and mind, i.e. "The Three Mysteries" (Sanmitsu 三密), we can reclaim and liberate this enlightened capacity for the benefit of ourselves and others.

Kūkai
Kukai
Kūkai , also known posthumously as , 774–835, was a Japanese monk, civil servant, scholar, poet, and artist, founder of the Shingon or "True Word" school of Buddhism. Shingon followers usually refer to him by the honorific titles of and ....

 also systematized and categorized the teachings he inherited from Huiguo
Hui-kuo
Hui-kuo was a Buddhist monk during Tang Dynasty China, particularly in the recently imported Tantric Buddhist tradition from India. Later, he would become the teacher of Kukai, who in turn founded the Shingon school in Japan. Hui-Guo was one of two Buddhist masters at Ximing Temple, the other...

 into ten stages or levels
Bhumi (Buddhism)
The bodhisattva's path of awakening in the Mahayana tradition progresses through ten hierarchically arranged stages, referred to as the "bodhisattva bhūmis"...

 of spiritual realisation. He wrote at length on the difference between exoteric
Exoteric
Exoteric refers to knowledge that is outside of and independent from anyone's experience and can be ascertained by anyone. Compare Common sense. It is distinguished from internal esoteric knowledge. Exoteric relates to "external reality" as opposed to one's own thoughts or feelings. It is knowledge...

 mainstream Mahayana
Mahayana
Mahāyāna is one of the two main existing branches of Buddhism and a term for classification of Buddhist philosophies and practice...

 Buddhism and esoteric Tantric Buddhism. The differences between exoteric and esoteric can be summarised as:
  1. Esoteric teachings are preached by the Dharmakaya
    Trikaya
    The Trikāya doctrine is an important Mahayana Buddhist teaching on both the nature of reality and the nature of a Buddha. By the 4th century CE the Trikāya Doctrine had assumed the form that we now know...

     (Hosshin 法身) Buddha which Kūkai identifies as Mahavairocana (Dainichi Nyorai 大日如來). Exoteric teachings are preached by the Nirmanakaya
    Trikaya
    The Trikāya doctrine is an important Mahayana Buddhist teaching on both the nature of reality and the nature of a Buddha. By the 4th century CE the Trikāya Doctrine had assumed the form that we now know...

     (Ōjin 応身) Buddha, which in our world and aeon, is the historical Gautama Buddha
    Gautama Buddha
    Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...

     (Shaka-muni 釈迦牟尼) or one of the Sambhoghakaya
    Trikaya
    The Trikāya doctrine is an important Mahayana Buddhist teaching on both the nature of reality and the nature of a Buddha. By the 4th century CE the Trikāya Doctrine had assumed the form that we now know...

     (Hōjin 報身) Buddhas.
  2. 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 mantra
    Mantra
    A mantra is a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that is considered capable of "creating transformation"...

    s, mudra
    Mudra
    A mudrā is a symbolic or ritual gesture in Hinduism and Buddhism. While some mudrās involve the entire body, most are performed with the hands and fingers...

    s, and mandala
    Mandala
    Maṇḍala is a Sanskrit word that means "circle". In the Buddhist and Hindu religious traditions their sacred art often takes a mandala form. The basic form of most Hindu and Buddhist mandalas is a square with four gates containing a circle with a center point...

    s.
  3. Kūkai held that exoteric doctrines were merely provisional, skillful means (Skt. Upāya
    Upaya
    Upaya is a term in Mahayana Buddhism which is derived from the root upa√i and refers to a means that goes or brings one up to some goal, often the goal of Enlightenment. The term is often used with kaushalya ; upaya-kaushalya means roughly "skill in means"...

    ) on the part of the Buddhas to help beings according to their capacity to understand the Truth
    Truth
    Truth has a variety of meanings, such as the state of being in accord with fact or reality. It can also mean having fidelity to an original or to a standard or ideal. In a common usage, it also means constancy or sincerity in action or character...

    . The esoteric doctrines by comparison are the Truth itself, and are a direct communication of the "inner experience of the Dharmakaya's enlightenment". A simple way to put it would be to say that when Gautama Buddha
    Gautama Buddha
    Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...

     attained enlightenment in his earthly Nirmanakaya body, he realized that the Dharmakaya body is actually reality in its totality and that totality is Mahavairocana.
  4. Some exoteric schools in the late Nara
    Nara period
    The of the history of Japan covers the years from AD 710 to 794. Empress Gemmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō . Except for 5 years , when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capital of Japanese civilization until Emperor Kammu established a new capital, Nagaoka-kyō, in 784...

     and early Heian
    Heian period
    The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The period is named after the capital city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyōto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism and other Chinese influences were at their height...

     Japan held (or were portrayed by Shingon adherents as holding) that attaining Buddhahood is possible but requires a huge amount of time (three incalculable aeons) of practice to achieve, whereas esoteric Buddhism teaches that Buddhahood can be attained in this lifetime by anyone.


Kūkai
Kukai
Kūkai , also known posthumously as , 774–835, was a Japanese monk, civil servant, scholar, poet, and artist, founder of the Shingon or "True Word" school of Buddhism. Shingon followers usually refer to him by the honorific titles of and ....

 held, along with the Chinese Huayan (Kegon
Kegon
Kegon is the name of the Japanese transmission of the Huayan school of Chinese Buddhism.Huayan studies were founded in Japan when, in 736, the scholar-priest Rōben originally a monk of the Hossō tradition invited Shinshō to give lectures on the Avatamsaka Sutra at...

 華嚴) school that all phenomena could be expressed as 'letters' in a 'World
World
World is a common name for the whole of human civilization, specifically human experience, history, or the human condition in general, worldwide, i.e. anywhere on Earth....

-Text
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...

'. Mantra, mudra, and mandala are special because they constitute the 'language' through which the Dharmakaya
Dharmakaya
The Dharmakāya is a central idea in Mahayana Buddhism forming part of the Trikaya doctrine that was possibly first expounded in the Aṣṭasāhasrikā prajñā-pāramitā , composed in the 1st century BCE...

 (i.e. Reality itself) communicates. Although portrayed through the use of anthropomorphic metaphors, Shingon does not see the Dharmakaya
Dharmakaya
The Dharmakāya is a central idea in Mahayana Buddhism forming part of the Trikaya doctrine that was possibly first expounded in the Aṣṭasāhasrikā prajñā-pāramitā , composed in the 1st century BCE...

 Buddha as a god
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....

, 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). Its important to note that,because of the interdependence between emptyness and form,Vairocana is also a representation of collective phenomena,of the universe itself.

Relationship to Vajrayāna

When the teachings of Shingon Buddhism were brought to Japan, Esoteric Buddhism was still in its early stages in India. At this time, the terms Vajrayāna ("Diamond Vehicle") and Mantrayāna ("Mantra Vehicle") were not used for esoteric Buddhist teachings. Instead, esoteric teachings were more typically referred to as Mantranaya, or the "Mantra System." According to Paul Williams, Mantranaya is the more appropriate term to describe the self-perception of early Esoteric Buddhism.

Some tantras used in Tibetan Buddhism, such as the Guhyasamaja Tantra, Yamantaka Tantra, Hevajra Tantra
Hevajra
Hevajra is one of the main yidams in Tantric, or Vajrayana Buddhism. Hevajra's consort is Nairātmyā .-India:...

, Mahamaya Tantra
Mahamaya-tantra
For Mahāmāyā the mother of Buddha see: Maya The Mahamaya-tantra, is a tantra associated with Dream Yoga. It is considered by the Shangpa Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism to be a seminal work and is one of their five principal tantras. Mahāmāyā-tantra is a tantric text concerning Mahāmāyā...

, Cakrasamsarva Tantra, and the Kalachakra Tantra
Kalachakra
Kalachakra is a Sanskrit term used in Tantric Buddhism that literally means "time-wheel" or "time-cycles".The spelling Kalacakra is also correct....

were developed in the later period of Esoteric Buddhism, and are not used in the Shingon school.

Mahavairocana Tathagata

In Shingon, Mahavairocana Tathagata (Dainichi Nyorai 大日如來) is the universal or Primordial Buddha that is the basis of all phenomena, present in each and all of them, and not existing independently or externally to them. The goal of Shingon is the realization that one's nature is identical with Mahavairocana, a goal that is achieved through initiation
Initiation
Initiation is a rite of passage ceremony marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society. It could also be a formal admission to adulthood in a community or one of its formal components...

 (for ordained followers), meditation
Meditation
Meditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....

 and esoteric ritual practices. This realization depends on receiving the secret doctrines of Shingon, transmitted orally to initiates by the school's masters. The "Three Mysteries" of body, speech, and mind participate simultaneously in the subsequent process of revealing one's nature: the body through devotional gestures (mudra
Mudra
A mudrā is a symbolic or ritual gesture in Hinduism and Buddhism. While some mudrās involve the entire body, most are performed with the hands and fingers...

) and the use of ritual instruments, speech through sacred formulas (mantra
Mantra
A mantra is a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that is considered capable of "creating transformation"...

), and mind through meditation
Meditation
Meditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....

.

Shingon places emphasis on the Thirteen Buddhas
Thirteen Buddhas
The Thirteen Buddhas is a purely Japanese grouping of important Buddhist deities, particularly in the Shingon sect of Buddhism. The deities are, in fact, mostly not Buddhas at all, but also include bodhisattvas and Wisdom Kings...

 (十三仏), a grouping of various buddhas and bodhisattvas:
  • Acala
    Acala
    In Vajrayana Buddhism, Ācala is the best known of the Five Wisdom Kings of the Womb Realm. He is also known as Ācalanātha, Āryācalanātha, Ācala-vidyā-rāja and . The Sanskrit term ācala means "immovable"; Ācala is also the name of the eighth of the ten completion stages of the Bodhisattva path...

     Vidyaraja
    Wisdom King
    In Vajrayana Buddhism, a Wisdom King is the third type of deity after Buddhas and bodhisattvas...

     (Fudō Myōō 不動明王)
  • Shakyamuni Buddha (Shaka-Nyorai 釈迦如来)
  • Manjusri
    Manjusri
    Mañjuśrī is a bodhisattva associated with transcendent wisdom in Mahāyāna Buddhism. In Esoteric Buddhism he is also taken as a meditational deity. The Sanskrit name Mañjuśrī can be translated as "Gentle Glory"...

     Bodhisattva (Monju-Bosatsu 文殊菩薩)
  • Samantabhadra
    Samantabhadra
    Samantabhadra , is a bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism associated with Buddhist practice and meditation. Together with Shakyamuni Buddha and fellow bodhisattva Manjusri he forms the Shakyamuni trinity in Buddhism...

     Bodhisattva (Fugen-Bosatsu 普賢菩薩)
  • Kṣitigarbha
    Ksitigarbha
    Ksitigarbha is a bodhisattva primarily revered in East Asian Buddhism, usually depicted as a Buddhist monk in the Orient. The name may be translated as "Earth Treasury", "Earth Store", "Earth Matrix", or "Earth Womb"...

     Bodhisattva (Jizō-Bosatsu 地蔵菩薩)
  • Maitreya
    Maitreya
    Maitreya , Metteyya , or Jampa , is foretold as a future Buddha of this world in Buddhist eschatology. In some Buddhist literature, such as the Amitabha Sutra and the Lotus Sutra, he or she is referred to as Ajita Bodhisattva.Maitreya is a bodhisattva who in the Buddhist tradition is to appear on...

     Bodhisattva (Miroku-Bosatsu 弥勒菩薩)
  • Bhaisajyaguru
    Bhaisajyaguru
    Bhaiṣajyaguru , formally Bhaiṣajyaguruvaidūryaprabharāja , is the buddha of healing and medicine in Mahāyāna Buddhism. Commonly referred to as the "Medicine Buddha", he is described as a doctor who cures suffering using the medicine of his teachings.-Origin:...

     Buddha (Yakushi-Nyorai 薬師如來)
  • Avalokitesvara
    Avalokitesvara
    Avalokiteśvara is a bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. He is one of the more widely revered bodhisattvas in mainstream Mahayana Buddhism....

     Bodhisattva (Kannon-Bosatsu 観音菩薩)
  • Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva (Seishi-Bosatsu 勢至菩薩 )
  • Amitabha
    Amitabha
    Amitābha is a celestial buddha described in the scriptures of the Mahāyāna school of Buddhism...

     Buddha (Amida-Nyorai 阿弥陀如来)
  • Akshobhya
    Akshobhya
    In Vajrayana Buddhism, Akṣobhya is one of the Five Wisdom Buddhas, a product of the Adibuddha, who represents consciousness as an aspect of reality...

     Buddha (Ashuku-Nyorai 阿閦如来)
  • Mahavairocana Buddha (Dainichi-Nyorai 大日如来)
  • Akasagarbha
    Akasagarbha
    Ākāśagarbha Bodhisattva is one of the eight great bodhisattvas. His name can be translated as "boundless space treasury" or "void store" as his wisdom is said to be boundless as space itself...

     Bodhisattva (Kokūzō-Bosatsu 虚空蔵菩薩)


Mahavairocana
Vairocana
Vairocana is a celestial Buddha who is often interpreted as the Bliss Body of the historical Gautama Buddha; he can also be referred to as the dharmakaya Buddha and the great solar Buddha. In Sino-Japanese Buddhism, Vairocana is also seen as the embodiment of the Buddhist concept of shunyata or...

 is the Universal Principle which underlies all Buddhist teachings, according to Shingon Buddhism, so other Buddhist figures can be thought of as manifestations with certain roles and attributes. Each Buddhist figure is symbolized by its own Sanskrit "seed" letter as well.

Practices and features

One feature that Shingon shares in common with Tendai
Tendai
is a Japanese school of Mahayana Buddhism, a descendant of the Chinese Tiantai or Lotus Sutra school.Chappell frames the relevance of Tendai for a universal Buddhism:- History :...

, the only other school with esoteric teachings in Japan is the use of Siddham Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...

 Seed-syllables or Bija
Bija
In Hinduism and Buddhism, the Sanskrit term बीज bīja , literally seed, is used as a metaphor for the origin or cause of things and cognate with bindu....

along with anthropomorphic and symbolic representations, to express Buddhist deities in their Mandalas.

There are four types of mandalas:

  • Mahā-Maṇḍala (大曼荼羅, Anthropomorphic Representation),

  • Seed-Syllable Mandala or Dharma-Maṇḍala (法曼荼羅),

  • Samaya-Maṇḍala (三昧耶曼荼羅, representations of the vows of the deities in the form of articles they hold or their mudras), and

  • Karma-Maṇḍala (羯磨曼荼羅) representing the activities of the deities in the three-dimensional form of statues, etc.

An ancient Indian Sanskrit syllabary script known as Siddham (Jap. Shittan 悉曇 or Bonji 梵字) is used to write mantras. A core meditative practice of Shingon is Ajikan (阿字觀), "Meditating on the Letter 'A'", which uses the Siddham letter representing the sound "Ah." Other Shingon meditations are Gachirinkan (月輪觀, "Full Moon" visualization), Gojigonjingan (五字嚴身觀, "Visualization of the Five Elements arrayed in The Body" from the Mahavairocana Tantra
Mahavairocana Tantra
The Mahāvairocana Tantra is an important Vajrayana Buddhist text. It is also known as the , or more fully as the . In Tibet it is considered to be a member of the Carya class of tantras...

) and Gosōjōjingan (五相成身觀, Pañcābhisaṃbodhi "Series of Five Meditations to attain Buddhahood" from the Vajrasekhara Sutra
Vajrasekhara Sutra
The Vajrasekhara Sutra is an important Buddhist tantra used in the Vajrayana schools of Buddhism, particularly the Japanese Shingon school. It is also known as the...

.

The essence of Shingon Mantrayana practice is to experience Reality by emulating the inner realization of the Dharmakaya through the meditative
Meditation
Meditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....

 ritual
Ritual
A ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value. It may be prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community. The term usually excludes actions which are arbitrarily chosen by the performers....

 use of mantra
Mantra
A mantra is a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that is considered capable of "creating transformation"...

, mudra
Mudra
A mudrā is a symbolic or ritual gesture in Hinduism and Buddhism. While some mudrās involve the entire body, most are performed with the hands and fingers...

 and visualization of mandala
Mandala
Maṇḍala is a Sanskrit word that means "circle". In the Buddhist and Hindu religious traditions their sacred art often takes a mandala form. The basic form of most Hindu and Buddhist mandalas is a square with four gates containing a circle with a center point...

 i.e. "The Three Mysteries" (Jap. Sanmitsu 三密). All Shingon followers gradually develop a teacher-student relationship, whereby a teacher learns the disposition of the student and teaches practices accordingly. For lay practitioners, there is no initiation ceremony beyond the Kechien Kanjō (結縁灌頂), which is normally offered only at Mount Koya
Mount Koya
is the name of mountains in Wakayama Prefecture to the south of Osaka. Also, Kōya-san is a modifying word for Kongōbuji . There is no one mountain officially called Kōya-san in Japan....

 but can also be offered by larger temples under masters permitted to transmit the empowerment. It is not required for all laypersons to take.

Discipline

In the case of disciples wishing to train to become a Shingon acharya (Ajari 阿闍黎), it requires a period of academic and religious study, or formal training in a temple for a longer period of time, after having already taken the full precepts. Later the practitioner is able to undergo steps for training and an examination to be certified as a Shingon acharya. In either case, the stress is on finding a qualified and willing mentor who will guide the practitioner through the practice at a gradual pace. An acharya in Shingon is a committed and experienced teacher who is authorized to guide and teach practitioners. One must be an acharya for ten years at least before one can request to be tested at Mount Koya
Mount Koya
is the name of mountains in Wakayama Prefecture to the south of Osaka. Also, Kōya-san is a modifying word for Kongōbuji . There is no one mountain officially called Kōya-san in Japan....

 for the possibility to qualify as a Maha-acharya (Dai-Ajari 大阿闍黎), the highest rank of a Shingon practitioner and a qualified grand master.

Apart from prayers and reading of sutras, there are Mahayana Buddhist mantras and ritualistic meditative techniques that are available for laypersons to practice on their own. All practices require the devotee to undergo initiation or abhisheka
Abhisheka
Abhisheka is a Sanskrit term comparable to puja, yagya and arati that denotes: a devotional activity; an enacted prayer, rite of passage and/or religious rite or ritual...

in Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...

 (Jap. Kanjō 灌頂) into each of these practices under the guidance of a qualified acharya before they may begin to learn and practice them. As with all schools of Buddhism, great emphasis is placed on the empowerment and oral transmission of teachings from teacher to student. Until the 1920s-40s (around the time of the arrival of Shingon outside Japan), nothing had ever been published on any Shingon or Mikkyo teachings in Japan or anywhere else. Everything was passed down orally for more than 1,100 years. Undergoing any Shingon practice on one's own without empowerment and guidance from a qualified master can be considered a serious offence of breaching samaya vows because it can potentially be harmful to the practitioner if not done in the proper manner.

Shingon/Esoteric Buddhism outside Japan

East Asian Esoteric Buddhism is also practiced in the Japanese Tendai
Tendai
is a Japanese school of Mahayana Buddhism, a descendant of the Chinese Tiantai or Lotus Sutra school.Chappell frames the relevance of Tendai for a universal Buddhism:- History :...

 School (天台宗), founded in the same era as the Shingon School in the early 9th century (Heian period
Heian period
The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The period is named after the capital city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyōto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism and other Chinese influences were at their height...

), although Tendai doctrine contain mostly exoteric teachings. The general term for Esoteric Buddhism in Japan is mikkyō
Mikkyo
Mikkyō is a Japanese term that refers to the esoteric Vajrayāna practices of the Shingon Buddhist school and the related practices that make up part of the Tendai school. There are also various Shingon- and Tendai-influenced practices of Shugendō...

(密教; literally "secret teachings"). In order to differentiate between the esoteric practices from the two schools, Shingon practices are also known as Tōmitsu (東密) while Tendai
Tendai
is a Japanese school of Mahayana Buddhism, a descendant of the Chinese Tiantai or Lotus Sutra school.Chappell frames the relevance of Tendai for a universal Buddhism:- History :...

 esoteric practices are known as Taimitsu (台密).

In China and countries with large Chinese populations such as Taiwan, Malaysia, and Singapore, Esoteric Buddhism is most commonly referred to as the Chinese term Mìzōng (密宗), or "Esoteric School." Traditions of Chinese Esoteric Buddhism are most commonly referred to as referred as Tángmì (唐密), "Tang Dynasty Esoterica," or Hànchuán Mìzōng (漢傳密宗), "Han Transmission Esoteric School" (Hànmì 漢密 for short), or Dōngmì (東密), "Eastern Esoterica," separating itself from Tibetan and Newar traditions. These schools more or less share the same doctrines as Shingon, and in some cases, Chinese monks have traveled to Japan to train and to be given esoteric transmission at Mount Koya.

In the United States, Shingon is practiced at the branch temples of the Koyasan lineage
Kōyasan Shingon-shū
Koyasan Shingon-shu is a Japanese grouping of Shingon Buddhism. Headquartered in Mount Koya in Wakayama Prefecture, it is also the oldest and largest of the eighteen Shingon sects in Japan. The main temple is Kongobu-ji....

, with locations in Los Angeles, Sacramento, Fresno, as well as many others in the state of Hawaii, Michigan and Washington. There are also branch temples of the Buzan lineage in Hong Kong and Vietnam.

Goma Fire Ritual

The Homa
Homa (ritual)
Homa is a Sanskrit word which refers to any ritual in which making offerings into a consecrated fire is the primary action...

 (Jap
Jap
Jap is an English abbreviation of the word "Japanese." Today it is generally regarded as an ethnic slur, although English-speaking countries differ in the degree to which they consider the term offensive. In the United States, Japanese Americans have come to find the term controversial or...

. = Goma 護摩) Ritual of consecrated fire is unique to Esoteric Buddhism and is the most recognizable ritual defining Shingon amongst regular Japanese persons today. It is perhaps also the most mystical and cognitively powerful. It stems from the Vedic Agnihotra
Agnihotra
Agnihotra is a Vedic yajña performed in orthodox Hindu communities. It is mentioned in the Atharvaveda and described in detail in the Yajurveda Samhita and the Shatapatha Brahmana . The Vedic form of the ritual is still performed Nambudiri Brahmins of Kerala and by a small number of Vaidiki...

 Ritual and is performed by qualified priests and acharya
Acharya
In Indian religions and society, an acharya is a guide or instructor in religious matters; founder, or leader of a sect; or a highly learned man or a title affixed to the names of learned men...

s 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
Acala
In Vajrayana Buddhism, Ācala is the best known of the Five Wisdom Kings of the Womb Realm. He is also known as Ācalanātha, Āryācalanātha, Ācala-vidyā-rāja and . The Sanskrit term ācala means "immovable"; Ācala is also the name of the eighth of the ten completion stages of the Bodhisattva path...

 (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.

The ancient Japanese religion of Shugendō
Shugendo
is a highly syncretic Buddhic religion or sect and mystical-spiritual tradition which originated in pre-Feudal Japan, in which enlightenment is equated with attaining oneness with the . This perception of experiential "awakening" is obtained through the understanding of the relationship between...

 (修験道) has also adopted the Goma Ritual except that theirs is usually performed at a much larger scale outdoors.

Secrecy

Today, there are very few books on Shingon in the West and until the 1940s, not a single book on Shingon had ever been published anywhere in the world, not even in Japan. Since this lineage
Lineage (Buddhism)
An authentic lineage in Buddhism is the uninterrupted transmission of the Buddha's Dharma from teacher to disciple.The transmission itself can be for example oral, scriptural, through signs, or directly from one mind to another....

 was brought over to Japan from Tang Dynasty
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...

 China over 1,100 years ago, its doctrines have always been closely guarded secrets, passed down orally through an initiatic chain and never written down. Throughout the centuries, except for the initiated, most of the Japanese common folk knew little about its secretive doctrines and the monks of this "Mantra School" except that besides performing the usual priestly duties of prayers, blessings and funeral rites for the public, they practiced only Mikkyō
Mikkyo
Mikkyō is a Japanese term that refers to the esoteric Vajrayāna practices of the Shingon Buddhist school and the related practices that make up part of the Tendai school. There are also various Shingon- and Tendai-influenced practices of Shugendō...

 (密教), literally "secret ways" in stark contrast to all other Buddhist schools and were called upon to perform mystical rituals that could summon rain, improve harvests, exorcise demons, avert natural disasters, heal the sick and protect the state. The most powerful ones could even render entire armies useless.

Even though the Tendai School
Tendai
is a Japanese school of Mahayana Buddhism, a descendant of the Chinese Tiantai or Lotus Sutra school.Chappell frames the relevance of Tendai for a universal Buddhism:- History :...

 also contains esoteric teachings in its doctrines, it is still essentially an exoteric
Exoteric
Exoteric refers to knowledge that is outside of and independent from anyone's experience and can be ascertained by anyone. Compare Common sense. It is distinguished from internal esoteric knowledge. Exoteric relates to "external reality" as opposed to one's own thoughts or feelings. It is knowledge...

 Mahayana
Mahayana
Mahāyāna is one of the two main existing branches of Buddhism and a term for classification of Buddhist philosophies and practice...

 school at its core. Shingon teachings contain Esoteric teachings (such as the Rishukyo) as well as Exoteric teachings (such as the Diamond Sutra), and are in all likelihood also the most secretive Buddhist teachings in the world. As such, in-depth academic study will continue to prove difficult as it had been in the past and it will probably always be the least understood Buddhist tradition in the West.

The Shingon Pantheon

A large number of deities of Vedic
Vedic
Vedic may refer to:* the Vedas, the oldest preserved Indic texts** Vedic Sanskrit, the language of these texts** Vedic period, during which these texts were produced** Vedic pantheon of gods mentioned in Vedas/vedic period...

, Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

 and Indo-Aryan
Indo-Aryans
Indo-Aryan is an ethno-linguistic term referring to the wide collection of peoples united as native speakers of the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-Iranian family of Indo-European languages...

 origins have been incorporated into Mahayana Buddhism and this synthesis is especially prominent in Esoteric Buddhism. Many of these deities have vital roles as they are regularly invoked by the practitioner for various rituals and homas/pujas
Puja (Buddhism)
In Buddhism, puja are expressions of "honour, worship and devotional attention." Acts of puja include bowing, making offerings and chanting...

. In fact, it is ironic that the worship of Vedic-era deities, especially Indra
Indra
' or is the King of the demi-gods or Devas and Lord of Heaven or Svargaloka in Hindu mythology. He is also the God of War, Storms, and Rainfall.Indra is one of the chief deities in the Rigveda...

 (Taishakuten 帝釈天), the "King of the Heavens," has declined so much in India but is yet so highly revered in Japan that there are probably more temples devoted to him there than there are in India. Chinese Taoist and Japanese Shinto
Shinto
or Shintoism, also kami-no-michi, is the indigenous spirituality of Japan and the Japanese people. It is a set of practices, to be carried out diligently, to establish a connection between present day Japan and its ancient past. Shinto practices were first recorded and codified in the written...

 deities were assimilated into Mahayana Buddhism as "Deva
Deva (Buddhism)
A deva in Buddhism is one of many different types of non-human beings who share the characteristics of being more powerful, longer-lived, and, in general, living more contentedly than the average human being....

" class beings; for example to Chinese Mahayana Buddhists, Indra (synonimous with Śakra
Sakra
Śakra or Sakka is the ruler of the Heaven according to Buddhist cosmology. His full title is |deva]]s". In Buddhist texts, Śakra is the proper name and not an epithet of this deity; conversely, Indra in Sanskrit and Inda in Pali are sometimes used as an epithet for Śakra as "lord".In East...

) is the Jade Emperor
Jade Emperor
The Jade Emperor in Chinese folk culture, is the ruler of Heaven and all realms of existence below including that of Man and Hell, according to a version of Taoist mythology. He is one of the most important gods of the Chinese traditional religion pantheon...

 of Taoism. Agni
Agni
Agni is a Hindu deity, one of the most important of the Vedic gods. He is the god of fire and the acceptor of sacrifices. The sacrifices made to Agni go to the deities because Agni is a messenger from and to the other gods...

 (Katen 火天), another Vedic deity, is invoked at the start of every Shingon Goma Ritual. The average Japanese person may not know the names Saraswati
Saraswati
In Hinduism Saraswati , is the goddess of knowledge, music, arts, science and technology. She is the consort of Brahma, also revered as His Shakti....

 or Indra
Indra
' or is the King of the demi-gods or Devas and Lord of Heaven or Svargaloka in Hindu mythology. He is also the God of War, Storms, and Rainfall.Indra is one of the chief deities in the Rigveda...

 but Benzaiten 弁財天
Benzaiten
Benzaiten is the Japanese name for the Hindu goddess Saraswati. Worship of Benzaiten arrived in Japan during the 6th through 8th centuries, mainly via the Chinese translations of the Sutra of Golden Light, which has a section devoted to her...

 (Saraswati) and Taishakuten 帝釈天 (Indra) are household names that every Japanese person knows.

In Orthodox Esoteric Buddhism, divine beings are grouped into six classes.
  • Buddhas (Butsu 仏)
  • Bodhisattvas (Bosatsu 菩薩)
  • Wisdom Kings or Vidyarajas
    Wisdom King
    In Vajrayana Buddhism, a Wisdom King is the third type of deity after Buddhas and bodhisattvas...

     (Myōō 明王)
  • Deities or Devas
    Deva (Buddhism)
    A deva in Buddhism is one of many different types of non-human beings who share the characteristics of being more powerful, longer-lived, and, in general, living more contentedly than the average human being....

     (Ten 天)
  • Avatar
    Avatar
    In Hinduism, an avatar is a deliberate descent of a deity to earth, or a descent of the Supreme Being and is mostly translated into English as "incarnation," but more accurately as "appearance" or "manifestation"....

    s (Keshin 化身)
  • Patriarchs (Soshi 祖師)


The Five Great Wisdom Kings
The Five Great Wisdom Kings are wrathful manifestations of the Five Dhyani Buddhas
Five Dhyani Buddhas
In Vajrayana Buddhism, the Five Dhyani Buddhas , also known as the Five Wisdom Tathāgatas, the Five Great Buddhas and the Five Jinas , are representations of the five qualities of the Buddha...

.
  • Acala
    Acala
    In Vajrayana Buddhism, Ācala is the best known of the Five Wisdom Kings of the Womb Realm. He is also known as Ācalanātha, Āryācalanātha, Ācala-vidyā-rāja and . The Sanskrit term ācala means "immovable"; Ācala is also the name of the eighth of the ten completion stages of the Bodhisattva path...

     or Acalanatha (Fudō Myōō 不動明王) "The Immovable One" - Manifestation of Buddha Mahavairocana
  • Amrtakundalin
    Kundali
    Kundali is an Indian-produced television soap opera that originally aired on Metro Gold under DD Metro in 2002. After the channel closed, the series was taken over by STAR Plus, and aired from the beginning...

     (Gundari Myōō 軍茶利明王) "The Dispenser of Heavenly Nectar" - Manifestation of Buddha Ratnasambhava
    Ratnasambhava
    Ratnasambhava is one of the Five Dhyani Buddhas of Vajrayana or Tantric Buddhism. Ratnasambhava's mandalas and mantras focus on developing equanimity and equality and, in Vajrayana buddhist thought is associated with the attempt to destroy greed and pride. His consort is Lochana and his mount is a...

  • Trailokyavijaya (Gōzanze Myōō 降三世明王) "The Conqueror of The Three Planes" - Manifestation of Buddha Akshobhya
    Akshobhya
    In Vajrayana Buddhism, Akṣobhya is one of the Five Wisdom Buddhas, a product of the Adibuddha, who represents consciousness as an aspect of reality...

  • Yamāntaka (Daiitoku Myōō 大威徳明王) "The Defeater of Death" - Manifestation of Buddha Amitabha
    Amitabha
    Amitābha is a celestial buddha described in the scriptures of the Mahāyāna school of Buddhism...

  • Vajrayaksa (Kongō Yasha Myōō 金剛夜叉明王) "The Devourer of Demons" - Manifestation of Buddha Amoghasiddi
    Amoghasiddhi
    Amoghasiddhi is one of the Five Wisdom Buddhas of the Vajrayana tradition of Buddhism. he is associated with the accomplishment of the Buddhist path and of the destruction of the poison of envy. His name means He Whose Accomplishment Is Not In Vain. His Shakti/consort is Tara, meaning Noble...



Other well-known Wisdom Kings
  • Ragaraja (Aizen Myōō 愛染明王)
  • Mahamayuri
    Mahamayuri
    Mahamayuri , is one of the Wisdom Kings in the Buddhist Pantheon. Mahamayuri is a peaceful personification, in contrast to the wrathful attitudes of male personifications of the Wisdom Kings...

     (Kujaku Myōō 孔雀明王)
  • Hayagriva
    Hayagriva
    Hayagriva is a horse-headed deity that appears in both Hinduism and Buddhism.-Hinduism:...

     (Batō Kannon 馬頭観音)
  • Ucchusma (Ususama Myōō 烏枢沙摩明王) (Tendai only)
  • Atavaka (Daigensui Myōō 大元帥明王)


The Twelve Guardian Deities (Deva)
  • Brahmā
    Brahma
    Brahma is the Hindu god of creation and one of the Trimurti, the others being Vishnu and Shiva. According to the Brahma Purana, he is the father of Mānu, and from Mānu all human beings are descended. In the Ramayana and the...

     (Bonten 梵天) - Lord of the Heavens ; Guardian of the Heavens (upward direction)
  • Indra
    Indra
    ' or is the King of the demi-gods or Devas and Lord of Heaven or Svargaloka in Hindu mythology. He is also the God of War, Storms, and Rainfall.Indra is one of the chief deities in the Rigveda...

     (Taishakuten 帝釈天) - Lord of the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven and The Thirty Three Devas ; Guardian of the East
  • Varuṇa
    Varuna
    In Vedic religion, Varuna is a god of the sky, of water and of the celestial ocean, as well as a god of law and of the underworld...

     (Suiten 水天) - Lord of Water ; Guardian of the West
  • Vaishravana (Bishamonten 毘沙門天 or Tamonten 多聞天) - Lord of Wealth ; Guardian of the North
  • Yama
    Yama
    Yama , also known as Yamarāja in India and Nepal, Shinje in Tibet, Yanluowang or simply Yan in China, Yeomla Daewang in South Korea and Enma Dai-Ō in Japan, is the lord of death, in Hinduism and then adopted into Buddhism and then further into Chinese mythology and Japanese mythology. First...

     (Emmaten 焔魔天) - Lord of the Underworld ; Guardian of the South
  • Agni
    Agni
    Agni is a Hindu deity, one of the most important of the Vedic gods. He is the god of fire and the acceptor of sacrifices. The sacrifices made to Agni go to the deities because Agni is a messenger from and to the other gods...

     (Katen 火天) - Lord of Fire ; Guardian of the South East
  • Rakshasa
    Rakshasa
    A Rakshasa or alternatively rakshas, is a race of mythological humanoid beings or unrighteous spirit in Hindu and Buddhist religion...

     (Rasetsuten 羅刹天) - Lord of Demons ; Guardian of the South West
  • Shiva
    Shiva
    Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...

     or Maheshvara (Daijizaiten 大自在天 or Ishanaten 伊舎那天) - Lord of The Desire Realms
    Desire realm
    The desire realm is one of three realms or three worlds in traditional Buddhist cosmology into which a being wandering in may be reborn. The other two are the form realm, and the formless realm The desire realm (Sanskrit kāma-dhātu) is one of three realms (Sanskrit: dhātu, Tibetan: khams) or...

    ; Guardian of the North East
  • Vāyu
    Vayu
    Vāyu is a primary Hindu deity, the Lord of the winds, the father of Bhima and the spiritual father of Lord Hanuman...

     (Fūten 風天)- Lord of Wind ; Guardian of the North West
  • Sūrya
    Surya
    Surya Suraya or Phra Athit is the chief solar deity in Hinduism, one of the Adityas, son of Kasyapa and one of his wives, Aditi; of Indra; or of Dyaus Pitar . The term Surya also refers to the Sun, in general. Surya has hair and arms of gold...

     (Nitten 日天) - Lord of the Sun
  • Chandra
    Chandra
    In Hinduism, Chandra is a lunar deity and a Graha. Chandra is also identified with the Vedic Lunar deity Soma . The Soma name refers particularly to the juice of sap in the plants and thus makes the Moon the lord of plants and vegetation. He is described as young, beautiful, fair; two-armed and...

     (Gatten 月天) - Lord of the Moon
  • Prthivi (Jiten 地天) - Lord of the Earth ; Guardian of the Earth (downward direction)


Other Important Deities (Deva)
  • Marici
    Marishi-Ten
    In Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism, Marici is known as the goddess of the heavens, goddess of light, and a solar deity. Also known elsewhere as , Marisha-Ten , and Mólìzhītiān Púsà . She is believed to be one of the Twenty Heaven Celestials...

     (Marishi-Ten
    Marishi-Ten
    In Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism, Marici is known as the goddess of the heavens, goddess of light, and a solar deity. Also known elsewhere as , Marisha-Ten , and Mólìzhītiān Púsà . She is believed to be one of the Twenty Heaven Celestials...

     摩里支天) - Patron deity of Warriors
  • Mahakala
    Mahakala
    Mahākāla is a Dharmapala in Vajrayana Buddhism, and a deity in Chinese and Japanese Buddhism, particularly in the Vajrayana school. He is known as Daheitian in Chinese and Daikokuten in Japanese...

     (Daikokuten
    Daikokuten
    In Japan, Daikokuten , literally, god of great Darkness or Blackness, is one of the Seven Gods of Fortune. Daikokuten evolved from the Hindu deity, Shiva. The name is the Chinese and Japanese equivalent of Mahakala, another name for Shiva....

     大黒天) - Patron deity of Wealth
  • Saraswati
    Saraswati
    In Hinduism Saraswati , is the goddess of knowledge, music, arts, science and technology. She is the consort of Brahma, also revered as His Shakti....

     (Benzaiten
    Benzaiten
    Benzaiten is the Japanese name for the Hindu goddess Saraswati. Worship of Benzaiten arrived in Japan during the 6th through 8th centuries, mainly via the Chinese translations of the Sutra of Golden Light, which has a section devoted to her...

     弁財天) - Patron deity of Knowledge, Art and Music
  • Ganesha
    Ganesha
    Ganesha , also spelled Ganesa or Ganesh, also known as Ganapati , Vinayaka , and Pillaiyar , is one of the deities best-known and most widely worshipped in the Hindu pantheon. His image is found throughout India and Nepal. Hindu sects worship him regardless of affiliations...

     (Kangiten 歓喜天) Patron deity of Bliss and Remover of Obstacles
  • Skanda
    Skanda (Buddhism)
    Skanda is a Mahayana bodhisattva regarded as a devoted guardian of Buddhist monasteries who guards the Buddhist teachings...

     (Idaten 韋駄天 or Kumaraten 鳩摩羅天) Protector of Buddhist Monasteries and Monks

Branches of Shingon

  • The Orthodox (Kogi) Shingon School (古義真言宗)
    • Kōyasan
      Kōyasan Shingon-shū
      Koyasan Shingon-shu is a Japanese grouping of Shingon Buddhism. Headquartered in Mount Koya in Wakayama Prefecture, it is also the oldest and largest of the eighteen Shingon sects in Japan. The main temple is Kongobu-ji....

       (高野山真言宗)
      • Chuin-Ryu Lineage (中院流)
    • Tōji (東寺真言宗)
    • Zentsūji-ha (真言宗善通寺派)
    • Daigo-ha (真言宗醍醐派)
    • Omuro-ha (真言宗御室派)
    • Shingon-Ritsu (真言律宗)
    • Daikakuji-ha (真言宗大覚寺派)
    • Sennyūji-ha (真言宗泉涌寺派)
    • Yamashina-ha (真言宗山階派)
    • Shigisan (信貴山真言宗)
    • Nakayamadera-ha (真言宗中山寺派)
    • Sanbōshū (真言三宝宗)
    • Sumadera-ha (真言宗須磨寺派)
    • Tōji-ha (真言宗東寺派)
  • The Reformed (Shingi) Shingon School (新義真言宗)
    • Chizan-ha (真言宗智山派)
    • Buzan-ha
      Buzan-ha
      is a Japanese Shingon Buddhist sect, founded in the 16th century by the priest . The main Buzan-ha temple is Hase-dera in Sakurai, Nara Prefecture....

       (真言宗豊山派)
    • Kokubunji-ha (真言宗国分寺派)
    • Inunaki-ha (真言宗犬鳴派)

External links


Temples

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