Saicho and Kukai PDF

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Saicho and Kukai...

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Saicho and Kukai Monday, November 26, 2018

9:13 PM

*Came late notes from Emkoe and Leo

Emkoe

I. Review a. Japanese Buddhism: set upon icons, not texts, which sets it apart from India and China b. Birth of Imperial Buddhism: civil war breaks out and results in icon, consolidation of power around figure of emperor who is posing as culture giver and sponsor of dharma/sangha i. The ruler sees Buddhism as the base of his/her authority and therefore something that he/she must maintain control over. Monks must live in

II.

temples and be licensed, knowing that they work for the state (they are not to go out and preach). ii. Ruler in China: cosmic equilibrium, sangha equilibrium c. Second kind of imperial Buddhism: Gyoki is a champion of Kō (requires people to come together as groups through a vow for the purpose of performing a meritorious act, such as icons). This structure of lay people united by a vow for Buddhist merit is very important to Japan. Gyoki builds icons for different aristocrats and regions in Japan, and on the way he starts to preach to workers encouraging them to form Kō. He is adherent to 3 stages of Buddhism, so we get social services and self-ordination. We get two structures: sangha and Kō. d. Great Buddha: Emperor Shomu is facing rebellions and plague. Japanese sangha has not done ordination correctly. Ganjin came to re-ordain the entire Japanese clergy. Shomu is persuaded that he must do something immediately and vows to build the world's largest icon. The material resources that are needed to construct such an icon forces him to bring Gyoki back from exile and make him the top monk, he must declare himself to be a leader of a Kō, and they build the largest icon with the help of the kami. New relationship between Buddha and the kami (worshippers that join the Kō to support the Buddha). After Great Buddha- Dōkyō a. Rise and fall i. Emperor Shomu dies within months of creating the icon. His daughter Kōken comes to the throne as a nun. One of the epidemics causes Kōken's mother to fall ill. Dōkyo is a monk who is a real nobody (not an aristocrat or from a major aristocratic lineage, but knows some sanskrit spells) and cures Kōken's mother. Koken falls sick, and Dokyo heals her too. We see a new type of monk: a healer who is claiming powers. ii. A rebellion breaks out because they do not like Dokyo (a nobody who is beating them out). Family of Fujiwara raises this rebellion in the South, and Dokyo says don't worry I've got this. He raises an army, puts the banner of the god Hachiman up (guaranteed that there would be enough gold for the Great Buddha, so he suddenly shoots up as one of the best gods), and defeats Fujiwara. Dokyo gets new honors, he doesn't have to stand in front of the empress. The oracle says that a Buddhist monk must sit on the throne. They send an embassy down and ask about the oracle and it says to make Dokyo emperor. He asks again, and a new oracle comes back that says, "No one but a descendent of the sun god should ever sit on the throne of Japan. No Buddhist monk ever should." Dokyo is then accused of falsifying oracles and is exiled. The Buddhists are now falling.

b. Aftermath i. Shortly after Dokyo is exiled, Koken dies. Koken is a nun, so she doesn't have children. Here we have another flaw of putting nuns/monks on the throne. Fujiwara and other aristocrats unite about a candidate who is a nobody, because he comes from a different sub-lineage, and because he will be very easy to control. This is a real turning point. The 3 things they decide upon immediately: (1) the rules of succession are now changed, this is the beginning of bad news for women in Japan because they now go for a Chinese style primogenitor, eldest son of chief consort becomes prince (2) they move and build a new capital called Heian, today known as Kyoto (3) they do not try and suppress Buddhism in any way, but they start looking to grow new forms of Buddhism to take over the old Nara school. Women are going to be shut out of positions of power since over time, families start to adapt the same succession of rulers.

III. Saichō a. Background: originally his relationships are not good. He studies texts brought over by Ganjin (came to Japan to re-ordain all of Japan, but didn't have to). b. Shotoku and Lotus i. He asks to be sent to China to study the Buddhism of Huisi on Mt. Tiantai because this was the Buddhism of Prince Shotoku, true Japanese Buddhism that the monks of Nara have forgotten. Saicho become the first monk to go to China to study the Lotus Buddhism of Huisi. c. Tendai i. Doctrine (looks a lot like Gradual Chan Buddhism) 1. Two Truths: absolute and provisional/conventional 2. Original enlightenment: everyone is already a Buddha and is at nirvana, but they don't know, they just need to understand it ii. Innovation 1. Mount Hie: He asks for a mountain and gets this. This is where he puts his monastery. It is in the North-east, and he makes sure his monks are not contaminated with the thoughts/politics of the capital. 2. 4 meditations a. for 6 months of the year, his monks do hardcore scriptural studying. They do hardcore meditation to incorporate both the body and the mind. These 4 types are normal seated meditation, chanting to Amida to get to Pure Land, walking (breath and steps are coordinated while circumambulating an icon), chanting the

3.

Lotus Sutra. Precepts (of how to make a monk) controversy: no one wants to stay so they run to Nara and join the Nara temple. In the final years of his life, Saicho goes to the emperor and requests to build his own ordination platform and do his own ordination (he wants to make monks on Mt. Hie because he wants his monks to be true Mahayana/Lotus monks). The schools in Nara ordain as nothing more than Arhat Buddhists. All hell breaks loose, and everyone is denouncing Saicho, for committing one of the biggest sins a monk could do. You can't have 2 types of ordination, he is trying to make his monks "nonplug compatible." If a monk goes to Mt. Hie, he cannot come down for 10 years. Saicho is doing everything he can to get a captive audience. Then Saicho dies, and 3 days after, the emperor give him his ordination. (1) enlightenment (2) In terms of practices, Saicho put together a mix of meditation and training practices. (3) Saicho commits the sin of discording the sangha, but he pulls it off. Beginning of sectarianism (our school is right and you are wrong).

IV. Kukai a. Background: much younger than Saicho and is everything Saicho is not. He is flashy, stylish, super smart, great calligrapher. He teams up with Saicho, and goes to China after Saicho gets back. Kukai does things very differently in China and goes to the capital. He becomes one of the top students of the national school in China and stays there for 8 years. Kukai studies Esoteric Buddhism in China and brings it back to Japan. b. Esoteric Buddhism: about learning how to work with karma and directing it however you want i. Doctrine 1. Two truths 2. Plunging in ii. Pedagogy/techniques V. Hijiri a. Background b. Mandaling landscape c. Buds and Kami i. Honji and suijaku ii. Temple-shrine complexes

Leo...