View source for Mikkyō

{{Short description|Japanese form of Esoteric Buddhism}}
{{italic title}}
{{Infobox Chinese
| pic               = File:Sanskrit-Seed-Syllable-A-14th-century-Hair-and-silk-thread-embroidery-on-plain-weave.png
| piccap            = The [[Siddham script|Siddham]] syllable "A" as used in the iconography of ''Ajikan'' ({{lang|ja|阿字觀}}, "meditating on the letter [[A]]")
| picsize           = 200
| t                 = 密教
| p                 = mì jiào
| kanji             = 密教
| kana              = みっきょう
| romaji            = mikkyō
}}
{{JapaneseBuddhism}}

In [[Japanese Buddhism]], '''''mikkyō''''' (密教, from ''himitsu bukkyō'', literally "secret Buddhism"), or '''Japanese Esoteric Buddhism''', is the lineage of [[Vajrayana Buddhism|Vajrayana]] transmitted to [[Japan]], primarily in the early [[Heian period|Heian]] by [[Kūkai]], and to a later extent by [[Saichō]] and his successors such as [[Ennin]]. It consists of complex systems of icons, meditative rituals, and ritual languages; distinct from the [[exoteric]] ({{em|kengyō}}, 顕経) schools.{{sfn| Abe | 2000 | p=1}}<ref name="Kiyota 1968 pp. 31–59">{{cite journal | last=Kiyota | first=Minoru | title=Shingon Mikkyō Maṇḍala | journal=History of Religions | publisher=University of Chicago Press | volume=8 | issue=1 | year=1968 | issn=0018-2710 | doi=10.1086/462574 | pages=31–59}}</ref>

Mikkyō is descended most recently from the Chinese [[Tangmi]] tradition, especially the dual mandala system taught by [[Huiguo]], itself derived from [[India|Indo]]-[[China|Chinese]] [[Tantra|tantric]] masters such as [[Amoghavajra]]. [[Shingon]] focuses almost exclusively on esotericism, while [[Tendai]] views [[exoteric]] and esoteric doctrines as complementary. [[Shugendo]] is a syncretic tradition which integrates mikkyō with [[Shintō]] and [[Taoism|Taoist]] practices. Esoteric practices are diffused throughout the Japanese Buddhist tradition in various forms outside of these schools.

Mikkyō has been influential in Japanese culture and history, shifting aristocratic court culture away from the Confucian ''[[ritsuryō]]'' political structure, and contributing to the development of Japanese literature through ''[[waka poetry|waka]]'' and the development of the ''[[kana]]'' syllabary.

== History ==
In older Chinese literature, the term ''esoteric'' is used rhetorically to "designate what this or that writer feels is superior or best in the tradition."<ref>{{harvnb| Orzech | 2006 | p=44}}: To sum up the findings of Sharf and McBride, it would seem that, from the Six Dynasties through the Tang, the term "esoteric teaching" is used to designate what this or that writer feels is superior or best in the tradition, and it only in the tenth century that we see the emergence of an exegetical category that contrasts "esoteric teaching" with "exoteric teaching" to designate a particular lineage, school, or tradition comparable to Shingon in Japan or Vajrayāna sects in Tibet.</ref> Aaron Proffitt argues that "'Esoteric Buddhism' can be taken as a synonym for Mahayana Buddhism itself" in particular contexts, where it takes a polemical rather than descriptive function.{{sfn | Proffitt | 2023 | p=26}} The "esoteric" appellation was applied Mahayana to distinguish it from other vehicles as early as the 5th century.<ref>{{harvnb| Orzech | 2006 | p=43}}: "By the fifth century it was a fairly common to depict the Mahāyāna — whether the skillful means of the bodhisattva or the teaching of the Vaipulya scriptures — as "esoteric."</ref> The ''[[Da zhidu lun|Dà zhìdù lùn]]'' (''Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom'') distinguishes between esoteric (''mimi'', 祕密) and exoteric (''xianshi'', 顯示) [[Buddhadharma]]:

<blockquote>
In the exoteric [form], the Buddha, {{em|[[pratyekabuddha]]}}, and {{em|[[arhat]]}} are all fields of merit since their defilements have been exhausted without residue. In the esoteric [form], it is explained that bodhisattvas attain the acquiescence to the nonproduction of the dharmas...{{sfn | Orzech | 2006 | pp=42-43}}
</blockquote>

In the 9th century Kūkai introduced his own esoteric-exoteric taxonomy, theorizing the esoteric as always-already present in the exoteric teachings, while simultaneously the consummation and highest form of those teachings. He similarly presents Shingon as "vajrayana of secrecy", separate from both the Mahayana and [[Hinayana]] teachings. Kūkai used a number of other terms for his lineage, such as the "mantra treasury" and {{nihongo|kongōjō|金剛乗}}, literally "[[vajra]] vehicle".{{sfn | Proffitt | 2023 | p=110}} Taimitsu (台密) and Tōmitsu refer to the esoteric lineages of [[Tendai]] and [[Shingon]] respectively.{{sfn | Orzech | Sørensen | Payne | 2011 | p=769}} Historically, ''shingon'' was largely interchangeable with mikkyō; sources often refer to Tendai esotericism as "the shingon of the Tendai lineages."{{sfn | Orzech | Sørensen | Payne | 2011 | p=744}} 

Elements such as [[mantra]], [[dharani]], and various esoteric texts were already present in Japan before Kūkai.{{sfn | Orzech | Sørensen | Payne | 2011 | p=692}} [[Dōshō]], Dōji, Simsang, Kaimei, and other clerics introduced esoteric sutras to Japan before the Heian era.{{sfn | Orzech | Sørensen | Payne | 2011 | pp=661-663}} Ōya Tokujō used the term ''nanmitsu'' (南密) to refer to this Nara-period esotericism.{{sfn | Orzech | Sørensen | Payne | 2011 | p=776}}In the 17th century, sectarian scholars began distinguishing between '''''zomitsu''''' and '''''junmitsu''''', or "miscellaneous esotericism" and "pure esotericism" respectively, to describe the disparate, diffused esoteric elements versus the highly-structured approach of the Shingon and Tendai schools. This distinction was introduced by the Tokugawa priest Ekō (1666-1734).{{sfn|Abe|2000|p=153}} [[Ryūichi Abe]] is critical of this taxonomy, noting that Kūkai himself imported various zomitsu scriptures, while the junmistu  [[Vairocanābhisaṃbodhi Sūtra]], understood as the primary source of Kūkai's school, was already circulating in Japan before Kūkai's first travels to China.{{sfn|Abe|2000|p=153}}

== Theory and practice ==
Scholarly approaches to mikkyō often stress the attainment of Buddhahood "in this very body" (''sokushin jōbutsu'', 即身成佛), or within one's lifetime. This is achieved through the practice of the "Three Mysteries" (''sanmi'',  三密) of mudra, mantra, and mandala.{{sfn | Proffitt | 2023 | p=3}}{{sfn | Hakeda | 1972 | p= 6}} These correspond to body, speech, and mind respectively.{{sfn | Orzech | Sørensen | Payne | 2011 | p=76}} The Three Mysteries "awaken beings to the true nature of reality" which is constituted by the identity of all things with Mahāvairocana.<ref>{{harvnb| Proffitt | 2023 | p=109}}: All buddhas, bodhisattvas, gods, and ordinary beings and in fact all forms are seen as embodiments or aspects of Mahāvairocana; all sounds are the speech of Mahāvairocana; all thoughts are the mind of Mahāvairocana. This ultimate reality is all-encompassing and immanent, although beings are unaware that they are corporally constituted by the very Buddhahood they seek. In order to awaken beings to the true nature of reality, to this secret hidden in plain sight, the bodies, speech, and minds of beings must be engaged and awakened through corresponding ritual practices of mudra (body), mantra (speech), and 'mandalic' visualization (mind) under the guidance of a qualified teacher. The union of these three practices is known as the 'three mysteries,' and through practice of the three mysteries one is able to realize Buddhahood in one’s very body."</ref> This is a "process of mutual interpenetration" referred to as  ''nyū ga gan yū'' (入我我入, "entering me, me entering").{{sfn | Orzech | Sørensen | Payne | 2011 | p=705}}

=== Dual-mandala system ===
Kūkai introduced the integrated practice of the "Womb realm mandala" ([[Sanskrit]]: ''Mahākaruṇā-garbhodbhava-maṇḍala'', 胎藏界曼荼羅) and the "Vajra realm mandala" ([[Sanskrit]]: ''Vajradhātu-maṇḍala'', 金剛界曼荼羅) to Japan from Huiguo. These mandalas correspond, respectively, to the ''[[Vairocanābhisaṃbodhi Sūtra|Mahāvairocana]]'' and the ''[[Vajrasekhara Sutra|Vajraśekhara]]'' sutras.{{sfn | Proffitt | 2023 | p=109}}

=== Abhiṣeka ===
[[Abhisheka|Abhiṣeka]] (''kanjō'') is a "ritual of passage" which initiates a student into esoteric practice, based on classical and medieval coronation rites.{{sfn | Orzech | Sørensen | Payne | 2011 | p=71}}

=== Goma ===

=== Ajikan ===
''Ajikan'' ({{lang|ja|阿字觀}}) is a form of ritual meditation on the [[Siddham script|Siddham]] syllable "A", the [[seed syllable]] (Skt. ''bīja mantra'') for [[Vairocana]]. Kukai's ''Precious Key to the Secret Treasury'' gives a brief overview of the practice:

<blockquote>
Visualize: a white lotus flower with eight petals,
[above which is a full moon disc] the size of a forearm in diameter,
[in which is] a radiant silvery letter A.
Unite your dhyāna with prajñā  in an adamantine binding;
Draw the quiescent prajñā of the tathāgata [into your
mind].{{sfn | Payne | 1999 | p=217}}
</blockquote>

== Influence ==
Mikkyō "functioned as a practical technology that had a direct bearing on medieval politics and economy".{{sfn | Abe | 2000 | p=2}} [[Fabio Rambelli]] interprets mikkyō "as an ensemble of knowledge [...] implemented through interpretive strategies, repertoires of metaphors, and a general structuring of knowledge."{{sfn | Rambelli | 1994 | pp=374}}

Buddhism justified writing in the Japanese language, whereas earlier periods favored [[Classical Chinese]].<ref>{{harvnb| Abe | 2000 | p=3}}:"Second, Buddhism justified writing in Japanese, a medium considered more effective in describing and sustaining the medieval social order than the learned yet foreign classical Chinese language and its ideographic letters, which had been relied upon in earlier periods. A case in point is the aforementioned 'waka-mantra' theory, which was the counterpart in the realm of writing of the belief in Shinto gods, the progenitors of the emperor's pedigree, as avatars of Buddhist divinities. That is, just as the emperor ultimately descended from Buddhist divinities, Japanese language also 'descended' from Buddhist ritual language."</ref> Medieval Mikkyō understood native Japanese {{em|[[Waka (poetry)|waka]]}} poetry as sacred literature analogous to mantras, and many prominent waka poets, such as [[Henjō]] and  [[Saigyō]], were Esoteric Buddhist clergy.<ref>{{harvnb| Abe | 2000 | p=2}}: "Waka was treated as an analog of mantra, a ritual language in Japanese, and composing it was regarded by both Buddhists and Shintoists as an act as sacred as the ritual manipulation of mantra [...] Not surprisingly, many of the most eminent waka poets were Esoteric Buddhist priests -- among them [[Henjō]] (816-890), [[Saigyō]] ( 1118-1190 ), Jien (1155-1225), Ton'a (1298-1372), and Sōgi (1422-1502)."</ref> Kūkai is traditionally attributed with the invention of the {{em|[[kana]]}} syllabary and composing the {{em|[[Iroha]]}}.<ref>"Kūkai was also said to have invented kana, the Japanese phonetic orthography, and the Iroha, the kana syllabary. In the Iroha table, the kana letters are arranged in such a manner as to form a waka that plainly expresses the Buddhist principle of emptiness."</ref> [[Ton'a]] relates a legend (among many circulating in medieval Japan) that Kūkai developed the kana to facilitate the work of carpenters who were building the stupa at [[Mount Koya]].{{sfn|Abe|2000|p=113}} While certainly [[apocrypha]]l, "the systematic importation of Sanskrit...encouraged the emergence of the native script of kana characters", the derivation of the [[gojūon]] from [[siddhaṃ]] "point[s] to the reason underlying the belief widespread in the medieval period that Kūkai was the inventor of the kana syllabary."{{sfn | Abe | 2000 | pp=113-114}}

== Bibliography ==
* {{cite book | last=Abe | first=Ryūichi | title=The Weaving of Mantra | publisher=Columbia University Press | date = 2000 |publication-place=New York | isbn=0-231-11287-4}}
* {{cite book | last=Hakeda | first=Yoshito | title=Kūkai: Major Works | publisher=Columbia University Press | date = 1972 |publication-place=New York | isbn=978-0231059336}}
* {{cite book | last=Knutsen | first=Roald | title=Tengu | publisher=Global Oriental | publication-place=Folkestone | date=2011-08-15 | isbn=978-90-04-21802-4}}
* {{cite journal | last=Orzech | first=Charles D. | title=The "Great Teaching of Yoga," the Chinese Appropriation of the Tantras, and the Question of Esoteric Buddhism | journal=Journal of Chinese Religions | publisher=Informa UK Limited | volume=34 | issue=1 | year=2006 | issn=0737-769X | doi=10.1179/073776906803525165 | pages=29–78}}
* {{cite book | last=Payne | first=Richard K. | title=Re-Visioning 'Kamakura' Buddhism | publisher=University of Hawaii Press | publication-place=Honolulu | date=1998-05-01 | isbn=978-0-8248-2078-7}}
* {{cite journal | last=Payne | first=Richard K. | title=The Shingon Ajikan : Diagrammatic Analysis of Ritual Syntax | journal=Religion | volume=29 | issue=3 | date=1999 | issn=0048-721X | doi=10.1006/reli.1998.0179 | pages=215–229}}
* {{cite journal | last=Rambelli | first=Fabio | title=True Words, Silence, and the Adamantine Dance: On Japanese Mikkyō and the Formation of the Shingon Discourse | journal=Japanese Journal of Religious Studies | publisher=Nanzan University | volume=21 | issue=4 | year=1994 | issn=0304-1042 | jstor=30234141 | pages=373–405 | url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/30234141 | access-date=2023-11-28}}
* {{cite book | last=Proffitt | first=Aaron P. | title=Esoteric Pure Land Buddhism | publisher=University of Hawaii Press | date=2023-04-30 | isbn=978-0-8248-9380-4}}
* {{cite book | last=Orzech | first=Charles | last2=Sørensen | first2=Henrik | last3=Payne | first3=Richard | title=Esoteric Buddhism and the Tantras in East Asia | publisher=BRILL | publication-place=Leiden | date=2011 | isbn=978-90-04-18491-6}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Buddhism topics}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mikkyo}}
[[Category:Buddhism in Japan]]
[[Category:Vajrayana]]