The Formation of Early Esoteric Buddhism in Japan: a Study of Three Japanese Esoteric Apocrypha

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The Formation of Early Esoteric Buddhism in Japan: a Study of Three Japanese Esoteric Apocrypha THE FORMATION OF EARLY ESOTERIC BUDDIDSM IN JAPAN: A STUDY OF THE THREE JAPANESE ESOTERIC APOCRYPHA By Jinhua Chen, B.A., M.A. A Thesis Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy McMaster University Copyright by Jinhua Chen, May 1997 DOCTOR OF PIDLOSOPHY (1997) McMASTER UNIVERSITY (Religious Studies) Hamilton, Ontario TITLE: The Formation of Early Esoteric Buddhism in Japan: A Study of Three Japanese Esoteric Apocrypha AUTHOR: Jinhua Chen, B.A. (Beijing University) M.A. (Beijing University) SUPERVISOR: Dr. Koichi Shinohara NUMBER OF PAGES: VII, 294 THIS DISSERTATION IS DEDICATED TO MY PARENTS I ABSTRACT It is said that the Japanese monk: Saich6 (767-822), during his nine-month stay in China, was initiated by his chief Chinese Esoteric mentor Shunxiao (n.d.) into an illustrious esoteric lineage starting from a prestigious Indian Esoteric master Subhakarasimha (637-735). It is also believed that Shunxiao, based on three Esoteric texts translated by Subhakarasimha, transmitted to Saich6 some particular fonns of Esoteric Buddhist teachings, the core of which is preserved in one of the two "dhanna-transmission documents" ifuhi5mon) supposedly written by Shunxiao to certify the esoteric transmission conducted between himself and Saich6. This is the conventional view regarding the roots of Tendai Esoteric Buddhism in Japan. This dissertation subjects this conventional view to a critical examination. It argues that the two fuhCmons ascribed to Shunxiao were not written by Shunxiao himself, but were prepared in Japan for re-interpreting the meaning, and strengthening the legitimacy, of the initiation Saich6 received from China. The three siddhi texts attributed to Subhakarsimha were also composed in Japan as the scriptural support for Saicho' s esoteric transmission. The Tendai fonn of Esoteric Buddhism in the name of Saicho was for the main part created not by Saicho himself but by his followers. These negative conclusions can be turned into a positive agenda for future research of Japanese Tendai Buddhism. Scholars can turn from a fruitless search for the roots of Tendai Esoteric Buddhism in China to look more closely in Japan. On the other hand, this study might invite more scholarly attention to a host of Buddhist apocrypha which, long regarded as Chinese, might have been actually produced in Japan or Korea. II ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My greatest debt is no doubt to my principal academic supervisor at McMaster University, Professor Koichi Shinohara, without whose guidance I would have never been able to write such a Ph. D dissertation. I am also extremely grateful to the other two members in my Supervisory Committee, Profs. Robert Sharf and Phyllis Granoff, for the patience and wisdom with which they have shepherded my study over the past five years. To Prof. Jan Yunhua, an emeritus professor at McMaster University, lowe many insightful suggestions. A generous fellowship provided by the Bukky6 Dend6 Ky6kai of Japan has enabled me to conduct my dissertation-research in Kyoto. It is my great pleasure to take this opportunity to thank the teachers, colleagues and friends I have met in Japan over the past two years. Their learning and kindness have made my study in Japan rather enjoyable. In particular, I must acknowledge my heartfelt thanks to Profs. Nagao Gadjin, Yanagida Seizan, Aramaki Noritoshi, Antonino Forte, Misaki Ry6shii and Sueki Fumihiko. Prof. Nagao, who kindly took the trouble of acting as my guarantor in Japan, helped me a lot in many ways both upon and after my arrival in Japan. Profs. Yanagida, Aramaki and Forte successively oversaw my study at Hanazono University (Dec., 1994 - Sept., 1995), Kyoto University (Oct., 1995 - May 1996) and the Italian school of East Asian studies (Jun., 1996 - Apr., 1997). Though extremely busy, they often went out of the way to guide my dissertation-writing. Prof. Misaki at Waseda University and Prof. Sueki at Tokyo University read some parts of my dissertation. Their encouragement, comments and criticism are greatly appreciated. In addition, Prof. Victor Mair of the University of Pennsylvania, whom I met at the Italian III School of East Asian Studies in 1995, Prof. Paul Swanson of Nanzan University in Nagoya and Prof. OkubO Ry6jun of Waseda University also read the earlier draft of my dissertation and kindly gave me useful suggestions. I am grateful for their help and friendship. Finally, I cannot end this without expressing my deepest gratitude and love to my parents and my wife Hua. Without their affection and support, it is doubtful that I would have ever been able to do anything successfully. It is to my parents that this dissertation is dedicated. IV TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 PART ONE: THE POLEMICAL CONTEXT SURROUNDING THE COMPOSITION OF THREE JAPANESE ESOTERIC APOCRYPHA CHAYfER ONE The Transmission of Esoteric Buddhism to East Asia 8 CHAPTER TWO Saich6 and Esoteric Buddhism 25 Section (A) Saich6's Contact with Esoteric Buddhism During His Stay in China 26 Section (B) Saich6's Esoteric Activities in Japan before Kiikai's Return from China 29 Section (C) Saich6 and Kiikai: Saich6's Efforts to Create the Tendai Form of Esoteric Buddhism 35 Section (D) The Kenkairon and Saich6's Efforts to Redefine His Esoteric Transmission from China 42 Some Concluding Remarks 45 CHAPTER THREE Saich6's Disciples And the Legitimation of Tendai Esoteric Buddhism 55 Section (A) The Denjutsu Isshinkaimon and the Glorification of Saich6's Chinese Esoteric Mentor Shunxiao 62 (A.!) The Denjutsu Isshinkaimon Presentation of Saich6's Esoteric Dharma-transmission 63 (A.II) The Authenticity and Significance of the "Court Certificate" Included in the Denjutsu Isshinkaimon 64 (A.II.i) The Authenticity of This "Court Certificate" 65 (A.Ii.ii) The Significance of This "Court Certificate" 70 Section (B) The Eizan Daishiden and the Legitimation of Saich6' s Esoteric Tradition 71 (B.I) The Eizan Daishiden Presentation of Saich6's Esoteric Dharma-transmission 71 (B.I1) The Authenticity and Significance of the Fuh6mon1 73 (B.II. i) The Bishamond6 MS 73 (B.I1.ii) The Authenticity of the Fuh6mon1 78 v (B.II.ii) The Significance of the Fuh6mon1 80 Section (C) The Naish a Buppa SOja Kechimyakuju and the Further Legitimation of Saich6's Esoteric Tradition 82 (C.I) The Kechimyakuju Presentation of Saich6's Esoteric Dharma-transmission 88 (C.II) The Significance of the Kechimyakuju Version of Saich6's Esoteric Dharma­ transmission 92 Section (D) The Kenkairon Engi and Saich6's Esoteric Tradition: Appearance of the FUHDMON 93 (D.I) The Kenkairon Engi Presentation of Saich6' s Esoteric Dharma-transmission 96 (D.II) The Authenticity and Significance of the FUHDMON 100 (D.H.i) The Authenticity of the FUHDMON 100 (D.H.ii) The Polemical Agenda Underlying the Fabrication of the Fuh6mon2 105 Some Concluding Remarks 108 THE CONCLUSIONS OF PART ONE 117 PART TWO CHINESE OR JAPANESE: THE PROVENANCE AND DATES OF THREE SIDDHI TEXTS ATTRrnUTED TO SUBHAKARASIMHA (T#905, T#906, T#907) CHAPTER FOUR The Three Siddhi Texts: A General Survey 122 CHAPTER FIVE The Provenance and Date of T907 140 Section (A) Anne and T907 141 Section (B) Enchin and T907 150 (B.I) A Paragraph-by-paragraph Analysis of Enchin's KSSH 152 (B.I1) A Further Analysis of KSSH: Did Enchin Know of T907 When Writing KSSH? 157 (B.IlI) The Dating of KSSH 162 (B.IV) Enchin's Association with Zhihuilun: His Ignorance of T907 Until 882 163 (B. V) Did Enchin ever Read T907? 165 (B. VI) Enchin and the T907 Author: Who Is the Borrower? 166 Section (C) Annen and the "Discovery" of T907 169 (C.I) The Date of Annen's Death, His TaizCkai Daiho Taijuki and A Preface in His Hakke Hiroku Bibliography 169 VI (C.Il) The Identity of the Text Annen Called "Sonsho Hajikoku Ho" or "Sonsho Hajikoku Giki" 177 (C.IlI) Annen and T907: Discoverer or Author? 180 Section (D) The Textual Provenance of T907 181 Some Concluding Remarks 183 CHAPTER SIX The Provenance and Dates of T#906 and T#907 Section (A) A Textual Analysis of T905 194 Section (B) T905 and Enchin 201 (B.I) The Dates of KRHG, DKSM and ZSK 203 (B.Il) Two Pieces of Evidence for Supporting KRHG as the Original Text for the Textual Parallels between T905 and KRHG 206 (B.IlI) The Contextual Inconsistencies of the Five Paragraphs in T905 208 Section (C) The Date of T905 and the Polemical Agenda Underlying the Composition of T905 after T907 213 (C.I) Two Distinctive Features of T905 213 (C.I1) The Date of T905 216 (C.IlI) The Polemical Agenda Underlying the Composition of T907 218 Section (D) The Formation of T906 220 CHAPTER SEVEN The Transmission of the Three Texts in Japan and Their Impact on Tendai And Shingon 235 Section (A) The Transmission of the Three Siddhi Texts in Medieval Japan 236 Section (B) The Impact of the Three Siddhi Texts on the Japanese Esoteric Traditions: Their Incessant Appearances in the Medieval Japanese Exegeses and Treatises 239 (B.I) Tendai Authors and the Three Siddhi Texts 241 (BJI) The Shingon Authors and the Three Siddhi Texts 243 (a) The Twelfth-century Shingon Authors and the Three Siddhi Texts: Choyo (n.d.) and Kakuban (1095-1143) 244 (b) The Thirteenth-century Shingon Authors and the Three Siddhi texts: Jinken (?-1262) and Raiyu (1226-1304) 245 (c) The Fourteenth-century Shingon Authors and the Three Siddhi Texts: Raiho (1279- 1330), Yiiban (1270-1352) and Goho (1306-1362) 247 Some Concluding Remarks 251 VII THE CONCLUSIONS OF PART TWO CONCLUSIONS 262 GLOSSARY 266 ABBREVIATIONS FOR PRIMARY SOURCES 283 WORKS CITED 284 .; - - --~-----~----- 1 INTRODUCTION Saicha (767-822), the founder of the Japanese Tendai school, is remembered not only for having transplanted Chinese Tiantai Buddhism to Japan but also for his alleged role in obtaining an Esoteric Buddhist tradition from China.
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