Dengyo Daishi was the man who introduced the Tendai Teachings to Japan. The heart of the Tendai Teachings is the Lotus Sutra and the theory of Three-Thousand Worlds in a Single Thought Moment.
Dengyo Daishi, also known as Saicho, journeyed to China from Japan in 804 returning in 805. During that time he studied the authentic T'ien-t'ai teachings on Mt. T'ien-t'ai. On his way back he chanced to meet the Chinese priest Shun-hsiao in Lung-Ssu (near Yueh-chou). This priest instructed him in Mikkyo Teachings. Had he never met Shun-hsiao, the course of Japanese Buddhism might have gone differently, but he was impressed with Japanese Esoterism and received the esoteric initiation rite along with his discile Gishin (781-833). This rite, known as "abiseka", along with thirty-eight "Mikkyo" texts, he brought back with him to Japan. These Texts were the foundation of what came to be known as "Taimitsu" or "Mikkyo" thought in Tendai Buddhism. He was impressed with the Mikkyo Teachings and saw them as compatible and complementary to the main body of Lotus Sutra teachings he had received from Mt. Hiei. The form he received from Shun-hsiao consisted of "three families" of deities, representing the "Lotus Family", the "Buddha" and the "Vajra" families.
When Dengyo came back to Japan he became convinced that he needed to learn more about the esoteric teachings. He was seeking teachings that would be of benefit to the entire nation, and the "Taimitsu" with their mudras and mantras, spells, and incantations, seemed logical teachings to share with the Japanese and to help him understand Buddhism. He saught instruction from Kobo Daishi, who was in the process of founding the Shingon Sect. Dengyo was touchingly innocent of the notion that he and Kobo might have different notions of what Buddhism was, and so he visited Kobo Daishi's school and became his disciple in instruction of the Womb World and Daimond World Mandalas. Unfortunately they soon fell out
Kobo's esoteric view versus Dengyo's view.
Saicho (Dengyo) learned as much of the Matrix Mandala as he could, but after he was initiated into that, Kobo insisted that he needed to be initiated into the Daimond World Mandala Separately and that this would take three years. Saicho had figured he could learn it in three months. The source of the article says that he misunderstood the difficulty, but Kobo Daishi himself had not taken three years to master this teaching as he had only been in China the same amount of time as Saicho had been, and could not possibly have taken three years. Indeed, his disciples claim he mastered the entire thing in three months. Even had Dengyo Daishi not seen through to the arrogance and presumption of such a statement, Dengyo Daishi felt that this was too much time to take and not worth the effort. His feelings were amplified by Kobo Daishi's response to his efforts to master these teachings on his own through books.
I have moved most of the material on Kobo Daishi to this link: kobo.html.
To Kobo Daishi Dengyo had "transgressed the Samaya" or precepts of the Shingon School. To Dengyo, the realization was dawning that Shingon teachings as Kobo wanted to propagate them were inimical to the message of the Lotus Sutra, which asserts that it is the highest teaching and that all people share the Buddha nature (and thus esoterism should be unnecessary).
Saicho replied to this ultimatum by rewriting a work he had already authored to include the Shingon Sect in it's critiques. As quoted in the Article:
Earlier in 813 Saich� had composed the Ehy� tendaish� (DZ 1, pp. 343�66), which argues that the principal Buddhist masters of China and Korea all relied on T�ien-t�ai doctrine in composing their own works. By identifying numerous references to and quotes from T�ient�ai treatises in the works of Chi-tsang �� of the San-lun X� school, Chih-chou J: of the Fa-hsiang �o school, Fa-tsang �� of the Huayen T� school, I-hsing of Mikky�, and other prominent teachers, Saich� asserted that T�ien-t�ai formed the foundation for all major Buddhist schools in East Asia. In 816, however, Saich� added a new introduction to the work. This introduction chides Sanron, Hoss�, and Kegon�the leading schools of Nara Buddhism�for ignoring the in�uence of T�ien-t�ai on the works of their Chinese patriarchs, but its criticism of Shingon stands out: �The esoteric Shingon Buddhist, the newcomer, went so far as to deny the validity of transmission through writing (hitsuju �4)� (DZ 3, p. 344).
Dengyo had seen the importance of the Lotus Sutra and it's teachings for all mankind. He didn't see the value of teachings that claimed to be superior to the Lotus Sutra, and yet didn't promise salvation to more than a select few privelaged enough to have the time and capacity to spend the time mastering them. He inherently rejected their elitism. Perhaps having come from "foreign" stock he instinctively recoiled at their elitism.
Looking at this subject from a more universal perspective, we see the wisdom of Saicho (Dengyo) rejecting Kobo Daishi's admonishments. How can Buddhism be a teaching "transmitted outside the texts?" How can it be universal if it's teachings are so esoteric that even scholars who have studied other teachings for years have to spend years and years to understand it? How can it save ordinary people or be transmitted broadly if it is so elite a teaching? Worse, how can one guarantee the authenticity of teachings that can't be transmitted using Texts. Saicho, must have seen the dangerous foolishness of this very approach. As Nichiren says later when talking about Zen,
"Even the followers of Zen, who advocate these views, themselves make use of words when instructing others. In addition, when one is trying to convey an understanding of the Buddhist Way, he cannot communicate the meaning if he sets aside words and phrases. Bodhidharma came to China from the west, pointed directly to people's minds, and declared that those minds were Buddha. But this principle is enunciated in various places even in the provisional Mahayana sutras that preceded the Lotus Sutra, such as the Kegon, Daijuku and Daihannya sutras. To treat it as such a rare and wonderful thing is too ridiculous for words. Alas, how can the people of our time be so distorted in their thinking! They should put their faith in the words of truth spoken by the Tathagata of perfect enlightenment and complete reward, who embodies the principle of the Middle Way that is the true aspect of all things." (See this Gosho for the referrence: Conversations between a Sage and an Unenlightened man part II.
By denying the validity of transmission through writings, Esoteric Buddhism slanders the teachings of the Lotus Sutra and of all the written Sutras that predate Tantric Buddhism, in much the same way that Zen Buddhism does by denying all the sutras and teaching a direct transmittal "mind to mind." or the Pure Land Sects do by teaching that people lack the capacity for enlightenment in this world and must pray to a Western Buddha/Savior for rebirth in the pure land. Nichiren, following up on Dengyo's critique here, and also making use of the "Ebyo Shu" which may be apocryphal but also follows up on these critiques, writes in Repaying Debts of Gratitude:
In a work called the Ebyo Shu, however, he clearly states that the Shingon school stole the correct doctrines of the Hokke-Tendai school and incorporated them into its interpretation of the Dainichi Sutra, thereafter declaring that the two schools were equal in terms of principle. Thus the Shingon school had in effect surrendered to the Tendai school.
Dengyo had been fascinated by Shingon teachings and wanted to incorporate some of them into his Tendai Transmissions. It was only later that he realized the dangers of their "esoteric content" and by then, Dengyo's disciples had also been initiated into the Daimond World and Matrix World Mandalas. One of them was so fascinated by these teachings that he quit as Dengyo's disciple and went over to the Shingon-Shu. Dengyo had "refuted the six sects", while Kobo Daishi courted them with syncretic notions. By initiating high ranking officials and monks into the Shingon "Abhisekhas" (transmissions) he hoped to win them over to his views. Even Dengyo's disciples were so transfixed by esotericism that they ignored the break that Dengyo had made with Kobo Daishi and continued to study with him. Esoteric teachings are attractive to monks who get bored with daily routine, it is attractive to those who seek wisdom through a master/disciple path, and it is useful to monks who have the time to spend to seek it's insights.
For lay-folks it's initiation can be a source of self esteeme. It's prayers and use of mandalas involved magical type incantations and were purported to have the power to protect the nation. That Buddhism teaches that Buddhism is not magic, seems to have excaped them. After all, the notion of deep, profound, and life inspiring teachings is often the very reason people become involved in Buddhism. That such teachings could be faulty, convenient, or "ivory towered" didn't occur to them. Nichiren writes of the Shingon teachers in China:
This is even more evident when we consider that, after the death of Shan-wu-wei and Chin-kang-chih, the Shingon patriarch Pu-k'ung went to India, where he met Bodhisattva Nagabodhi. Nagabodhi informed him that there were no treatises or commentaries in India that made clear the Buddha's intent, but that in China there was a commentary by a man named T'ien-t'ai that enabled one to distinguish correct from incorrect teachings and to understand the difference between partial doctrines and those that are complete. He exclaimed this in admiration and repeatedly begged that a copy of the work be brought to India.
This incident was reported to the Great Teacher Miao-lo by Pu-k'ung's disciple Han-kuang, as is recorded at the end of the tenth volume of Miao-lo's Hokke Mongu Ki. It is also recorded in Dengyo's Ebyo Shu. From this it is perfectly evident that the Great Teacher Dengyo believed the Dainichi Sutra to be inferior to the Lotus Sutra.
Nichiren and Dengyo, both saw value in the Mikkyo Teachings, as long as they knew their place and weren't taught as things superior to the great teachings of T'ien-t'ai. Reading Miao-lao's writings, they also realized that the Shingon Sutras were probably just as likely "apocryphal" as genuine. Buddhism has never placed emphasis on literacy, but it does place importance on legitimacy, and legitimate teachings do not borrow from earlier teachings and then deny their validity. For more on this visit his page kobo.html. Nichiren says next:
Thus it becomes apparent that Shakyamuni Buddha, the Great Teacher T'ien-t'ai, the Great Teacher Miao-lo and the Great Teacher Dengyo were of one mind in regarding the Lotus Sutra as the greatest of all the sutras, including the Dainichi Sutra. Moreover, Bodhisattva Nagarjuna, who is regarded as the founder of the Shingon sect, held the same opinion, as becomes obvious if we carefully examine his Daichido Ron. Unfortunately, however, the Bodaishin Ron produced by Pu-k'ung is full of errors and has led everyone astray, bringing about the present condition.
Kobo Daishi had pretended to be a devotee of the Lotus Sutra and to be of "one mind" with Dengyo Daishi, until Dengyo Daishi had demonstrated that he didn't believe in the importance of his "mind to mind" transmissions. At that point the two went to cross-hairs. We have already seen Dengyo's revision of his teachings regarding Shingon.
After Dengyo Passed away
After Dengyo died, his disciples continued to follow him. They created the lineage of "Enryaku-ji" on Mt. Hiei. In the matter of the "ordination platform" and many of their formal practices they were filial disciples. On the matter of doctrines, they had to struggle hard not to come under the hand of Kobo Daishi completely. As a result of this struggle, Jikaku Daishi, the "Third Zasu" of Tendai travelled to China on his own, where he found Chinese Shingon teachers who taught him independently and transfered what came to be known as the "Mikkyo" teachings to him. Even though they did this to compete with Kobo Daishi and not become his direct disciples, by doing this they became his direct disciples. Dengyo's writings in the Ebyo Shu were forgotten by all but a few minor teachers, and were not taken seriously again until the teacher Nichiren came along -- and he had to establish another sect.
- For more about this read these pages:
- Kobo Daishi
- Nichiren
- Tendai Page
Nichiren and Dengyo
Nichiren writes of how Dengyo's disciples were bamboozled by these teachings, and so didn't take up Dengyo's gauntlet at all, and instead they became virtually disciples of Kobo Daishi. Accepting the argument that "In terms of doctrine the Lotus Sutra is supreme, but in terms of Mudras and Mantras, the Shingon is supreme. They actually placed Mikkyo teachings alongside the Lotus Sutra. Jikaku Daishi (Ennin) even had a bad dream about the choice he was making (He dreamed of shooting the sun) and interpreted it as a good omen. These teachings were, and are, attractive to Buddhist Practitioners with lots of time on their hands. The notion of the interdependence and interconnectedness of all causes (Three-Thousand Worlds in a single thought moment) and of the importance of the Lotus Sutra teachings seems secondary. Worse, the modern day disciples of Nichiren and Tendai are the worst enemies of Dengyo's and Nichiren's teachings. They are precisely the ones who insist on "mind to mind transfers" and going outside of the texts of the Sutras to find hidden meanings. Something the two founders would be aghast at. Nichiren writes further:
If only the Great Teacher Dengyo had still been alive, he would surely have had a word to say on the subject. But how could his disciples Gishin, Encho, Jikaku and Chisho have failed to question the matter more closely? That was a great misfortune to the world!
The teachings of the Mahavairochana sutra were not even heard of when T'ien't'ai taught the lotus Sutra. The Lotus Sutra still ranks as the most important of the teachings of Buddhism. Anyone who studies it deeply sees this, and the followers of Nichiren recite it daily. T'ien-t'ai could no more have stolen the "Ghee" of Ichinen Sanzen than Shakyamuni could have stolen the teachings of Buddhism from Devadatta. Kobo Daishi was either mesmerized by the ceremonies of the two mandalas, or a dishonest teacher. Dengyo, on the other hand, was a truly great teacher. Likewise, Nichiren was no more teaching himself as "The true Buddha of the Infinite past" than simply teaching that we all have the Buddha Nature and all can find Buddhahood by embracing, reciting and practicing the Lotus Sutra as the Buddha teaches.
See this link for more information:
- http://www.nanzan-u.ac.jp/SHUBUNKEN/publications/jjrs/pdf/438.pdf
This page is skeletal and I'll add more information later
Links and further information
Note, I eventually will probably move the information about Kobo Daishi to it's own page.