Mikkyo
Encyclopedia
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
. Mikkyō is a little-understood, yet often sensationalised, synergistic “esoteric construct” that lies at the very core of Japanese spirituality and mysticism.
Mikkyō is a "lineage tradition": meaning that, as well as instruction in the teachings and practices of the tradition, it also involves and requires “kanjo enablements” - initiatorial empowerment-transmissions - from a master of the Mikkyō disciplines.
The collection of teachings and practices that eventually came to be known as Mikkyō had its early beginnings in the esoteric traditions of India
and China
. As early as the 6th Century, there had begun a major importation of spiritual and cultural ideas into Japan from China. However, it was in the early 9th Century that the formative concepts which would in time become the core of “mainstream” Mikkyo - Shingon and Tendai - were brought to Japan
- initially by the monks Kūkai
(the founder of Shingon) and Saichō
(the founder of Tendai), both of whom had traveled to China to study.
To these initial doctrines & beliefs were later added teachings concerning the powers of mysticism, magic and healing that had gradually begun to reach Japan with the arrival of itinerant monks, priests, hermits and shamanic practitioners, forced for various reasons to flee from China after the fall of the Tang Dynasty
.
Blending easily with elements of Shinto
practice and the pre-Buddhist folk traditions of sangaku shinko - “spiritual practices connected with sacred mountains”, these imported teachings, combining Chinese Tantric Buddhism, Chinese Yin-Yang magic, Taoism
and, at a later date, Tibetan
Vajrayāna
Buddhism, evolved to become the esoteric Japanese tradition that is Mikkyō.
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
term that refers to the esoteric
Esotericism
Esotericism or Esoterism signifies the holding of esoteric opinions or beliefs, that is, ideas preserved or understood by a small group or those specially initiated, or of rare or unusual interest. The term derives from the Greek , a compound of : "within", thus "pertaining to the more inward",...
Vajrayāna
Vajrayana
Vajrayāna Buddhism is also known as Tantric Buddhism, Tantrayāna, Mantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Esoteric Buddhism and the Diamond Vehicle...
practices of the Shingon
Shingon Buddhism
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...
Buddhist
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
school and the related practices that make up part of 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. There are also various Shingon- and Tendai-influenced practices 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...
. Mikkyō is a little-understood, yet often sensationalised, synergistic “esoteric construct” that lies at the very core of Japanese spirituality and mysticism.
Mikkyō is a "lineage tradition": meaning that, as well as instruction in the teachings and practices of the tradition, it also involves and requires “kanjo enablements” - initiatorial empowerment-transmissions - from a master of the Mikkyō disciplines.
The collection of teachings and practices that eventually came to be known as Mikkyō had its early beginnings in the esoteric traditions of 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...
and 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...
. As early as the 6th Century, there had begun a major importation of spiritual and cultural ideas into Japan from China. However, it was in the early 9th Century that the formative concepts which would in time become the core of “mainstream” Mikkyo - Shingon and Tendai - were brought to 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...
- initially by the monks 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 ....
(the founder of Shingon) and Saichō
Saicho
was a Japanese Buddhist monk credited with founding the Tendai school in Japan, based around the Chinese Tiantai tradition he was exposed to during his trip to China beginning in 804. He founded the temple and headquarters of Tendai at Enryaku-ji on Mt. Hiei near Kyoto. He is also said to have...
(the founder of Tendai), both of whom had traveled to China to study.
To these initial doctrines & beliefs were later added teachings concerning the powers of mysticism, magic and healing that had gradually begun to reach Japan with the arrival of itinerant monks, priests, hermits and shamanic practitioners, forced for various reasons to flee from China after the fall of the 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...
.
Blending easily with elements of 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...
practice and the pre-Buddhist folk traditions of sangaku shinko - “spiritual practices connected with sacred mountains”, these imported teachings, combining Chinese Tantric Buddhism, Chinese Yin-Yang magic, Taoism
Taoism
Taoism refers to a philosophical or religious tradition in which the basic concept is to establish harmony with the Tao , which is the mechanism of everything that exists...
and, at a later date, Tibetan
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
Vajrayāna
Vajrayana
Vajrayāna Buddhism is also known as Tantric Buddhism, Tantrayāna, Mantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Esoteric Buddhism and the Diamond Vehicle...
Buddhism, evolved to become the esoteric Japanese tradition that is Mikkyō.