Yōsai and the Transformation of Buddhist Precepts in Pre‐Modern Japan

Mano, Shinya (2014) Yōsai and the transformation of Buddhist precepts in pre‐modern Japan. PhD Thesis. SOAS, University of London http://eprints.soas.ac.uk/18557 Copyright © and Moral Rights for this thesis are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non‐commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder/s. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. When referring to this thesis, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given e.g. AUTHOR (year of submission) "Full thesis title", name of the School or Department, PhD Thesis, pagination. Yōsai and the Transformation of Buddhist Precepts in Pre-modern Japan. Shinya Mano Thesis submitted for the degree of PhD in Study of Religions Year 2014 Department of Study of Religions School of Oriental and African Studies University of London 1 Declaration for PhD thesis I have read and understood regulation 17.9 of the Regulations for students of the School of Oriental and African Studies concerning plagiarism. I undertake that all the material presented for examination is my own work and has not been written for me, in whole or in part, by any other person. I also undertake that any quotation or paraphrase from the published or unpublished work of another person has been duly acknowledged in the work which I present for examination. Signed: ____________________________Date: _________________ 2 Abstract Yōsai has often been considered the founder of Japanese Zen. However, this received image is beset by at least two problems. Firstly, this received image of Yōsai was in fact created approximately a hundred years after his death. And secondly, his early career as an esoteric Buddhist is not being taken into account. The aim of this study is to revisit the received view taking these two problems into account and thus provide a historical repositioning of Yōsai. The dissertation is comprised of two parts; the first examines Yōsai’s life, and the second analyses his role in the context of the development of Japanese Buddhist thought and practice. These analyses succeed in presenting a new image of Yōsai and in identifying the interpretation of the esoteric precepts as Yōsai’s central concern throughout his life. Further, the examination of the esoteric precepts suggests the need to reconsider our understanding of Japanese Buddhist precepts as a whole. 3 Table of Contents Acknowledgement Introduction State of the Field 12 The Received View (Previous Studies) 15 Plan of the Present Study 20 Methodology and A Note about Sources 23 Part One: Biography of Yōsai. Chapter One. Life of Yōsai and Historical Background. Biography of Yōsai and His Activities 30 Yōsai’s Sponsors 36 Myōun, Yōsai and the Taira Clan 40 Yōsai’s Activities in Northern Kyushu 43 1) Seigan Temple 44 2) Other Sites in Northern Kyushu 52 Travel to China 56 Return to Japan 60 His Death 64 Concluding Remarks 66 Chapter Two. Yōsai’s Works and His Lineage. Esoteric Works of Yōsai and Summaries of Major Works 67 1) Shutten takō (General Principle of Enlightenment) Tai kuketsu (Oral Transmission on the Practice of the Womb [Realm]) 71 2) Tai kuketsu (Oral Transmission on the Practice of the Womb [Realm]) 73 3) Kaihen kyōshu ketsu (Revised Resolutions on the Preacher of Esoteric Buddhism) 74 4 4) Imazu seiganji sōken engi (Origins of the Foundation of Imazu Seigan Temple) 75 5) Kyōjigi kanmon A.k.a. Shingon kyōshu ketsu (Reflections on [Annen’s] Meanings of Teachings and Times) 75 6) Mumyō shū (Collected Meanings of Dharma) 77 7) Hokke(kyō) nyū shingonmon ketsu (Resolutions on the Meanings of the Lotus Teachings in Esoteric Discourse) 79 8) Urabon ipponkyō engi (Origins of the Ullambana Ceremony) 84 9) Bodaishin bekki (Separate Records on Bodhicitta) 84 10) Ingo shū (Collection of Esoteric Idioms) 85 11) Kongōchōshū bodaishinron kuketsu (Oral Transmission of the Treatise on the Awaking of Bodhicitta) 88 12) Shukke taikō (An Outline of Becoming a Monk) 89 13) Kōzen gokokuron (Protection of Country by Rise of Zen) 90 14) Kiccha yōjō ki (Care of Health by Drinking Tea) 92 Yōsai and His Masters and Disciples 94 Yōsai’s Disciples 100 Gyōyū 102 Eichō 105 Eicho’s Pupils 108 Part Two: Esoteric Practice: Precepts, Vinaya, Consecration and Visualisation. Chapter Three. Esoteric Practice 1. The Putixin lun. The Putixin lun 111 The Great Ācārya 114 1) Kūkai 115 2) Enchin 117 5 3) Annen 118 Three Types of Practices 122 1) Practice of Vow 122 2) Practice of Realisation of Supreme Emptiness 124 3) Practice of Visualisation 126 Annen’s Interpretation of the Putixin lun 138 Concluding Remarks 145 Chapter Four. Esoteric Practice 2. Annen’s Interpretation of Precepts. Two Definitions of Esoteric Precepts 150 1] Seven Types of Precepts 150 1) Dhāraṇī Precepts or the Fifth Samaya 156 2) Fundamental Fourfold Precept for Esoteric Bodhisattva Esoteric Precepts against the Four Grave Sins Whispering of Fourfold Precept to Enter the World of Equality 162 3) The Precepts for the Three Activities of Identifying with the Buddha 166 4) Tenfold Precept for Esoteric Bodhisattva 170 5) [Esoteric] Five and Ten Good Precepts 171 2] The Fundamental Fourfold Precepts and the Tenfold Precepts for the Esoteric Bodhisattva as Samaya Precepts 172 Coordination of Tendai Perfect Precepts with Samaya Precepts 175 Concluding Remarks 184 Chapter Five. Esoteric Practice 3. Yōsai’s Thought. Esoteric and Zen Precepts-/Vinaya in Yōsai’s Doctrine 189 1) Yōsai’s Interpretation of the Esoteric Precepts 190 2) The Essence of the Precepts in Yōsai’s Thoughts 201 3) Zen Precepts and Vinaya in Yosai’s Thought 206 Concluding Remarks 209 Chapter Six. Esoteric Practice 4. Influence of Yōsai and Precepts Group. Precept Consecration and Yōsai 211 Precept Consecration 211 6 Transformation 213 Important Works 216 Logics in Precepts Consecration 221 Characteristic Concepts and Their Connections with Yōsai 227 1) The Combination of Principle as Cognitive Object with Wisdom 227 2) Yōsai’s Interpretation of the Essence of the Precepts 228 3) Interpretation of the Combination of Principle and Wisdom in the Precepts Group 230 One Mind Precepts 234 Concluding Remarks 240 Conclusion 241 Bibliography 247 7 Acknowledgement I never expected to study Buddhism. I still do not know why I came across Buddhism; neither am I from a religious family, nor did I grow up to be a spiritual sort of person. I arrived in England to study modern Chinese literatures at post- graduate level. Maybe I am bound by the karma of previous lives. My interest in Yōsai, who is the primary concern of this dissertation, was aroused by my mentor, Dr Lucia Dolce when I was a student at SOAS, where I had intended to merely attend the foundation course. Dr. Dolce told me that Yōsai would be a good subject for research as his esoteric Buddhism had not yet been investigated at all. This very absence of previous studies provided significant attraction. I rushed into the SOAS library, and began reading Yōsai’s esoteric works. Needless to say, I had no clue what he was talking about. His works were relatively short pieces, and misled me into believing that Yōsai would be an easy subject to deal with. However, I soon came to realise that esoteric doctrines were among the most tiresome of topics to learn, and I almost gave up to focus on them. Nonetheless, I soon found myself at Waseda University, where my other mentor, Professor Okubo Ryōshun, taught a seminar on one of the most crucial esoteric doctrinal works by Annen. Without his training not only during the seminar, but also on many other occasions, I would have been unable to write this dissertation. I believe that Dr Lucia Dolce and Professor Okubo Ryōshun who guided my first academic steps are truly indispensable mentors to me Their merciful patience to an insolent child is as if they were my parents not only in mind but also blood. Without doubt, special thanks must go to them. 8 Throughout my research I met many people who gave invaluable advice and suggestions. The conversations with Dr Mizukami Fumihiko of Tōhō Gakuin and Mr Iyanaga Nobumi of EFEO were always fruitful. Their words, based on a wide range of interdisciplinary knowledge, became a valuable admonition regarding my research method, which often tended to be too specific. In the final process of writing the dissertation, I had an opportunity to meet Professor Paul Groner of the University of Virginia, whose interests are most closely aligned with my own. Having a conversation with him on the way to an onsen was precious indeed. Although we only met few times, Professor Jacqueline Stone of Princeton University was also kindly interested in the progress of my research. I thank Professor Sueki Fumihiko of Nichibunken and Professor Abe Yasurō of Nagoya University, who invited me to attend a chōsa at Ōsu kannon in Nagoya, where new works of Yōsai’s were discovered. Ms Kobayashi Fujiko of SOAS Library always helped me to buy new books through the Library, which, through her efforts, became the richest library for Japanese esotericism in Europe. I also thank my fellows, Dr Kigensan Licha, Mr Matthew MacMullen and Mr Steven Evans who polished my English. Thanks should go to my friends at Waseda University, too. They always provided a rich and fertile mental environment. There are many who have helped and encouraged this reseach, and not all can be mentioned here.

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