14 Facts About Shingon

1.

Shingon Buddhism is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asia, originally spread from India to China through traveling monks such as Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra.

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2.

Shingon was extremely well versed in Chinese literature, calligraphy and Buddhist texts.

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3.

Shingon persevered in this mantra practice for seven years and mastered it.

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4.

Shingon was able to obtain a copy in Chinese but large portions were in Sanskrit in the Siddham script, which he did not know, and even the Chinese portions were too arcane for him to understand.

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5.

Shingon believed that this teaching was a door to the truth he sought, but he was unable to fully comprehend it and no one in Japan could help him.

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6.

Shingon enjoyed immense popularity during the Heian period, particularly among the nobility, and contributed greatly to the art and literature of the time, influencing other communities such as the Tendai on Mount Hiei .

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7.

Shingon lineage is an ancient transmission of esoteric Buddhist doctrine that began in India and then spread to China and Japan.

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8.

Shingon is the name of this lineage in Japan, but there are esoteric schools in China, Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong that consider themselves part of this lineage and universally recognize Kukai as their eighth patriarch.

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9.

Teachings of Shingon are based on early Buddhist tantras, the Mahavairocana Sutra, the Vajrasekhara Sutra, the Prajnaparamita Naya Sutra, and the Susiddhikara Sutra.

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10.

Shingon has what corresponds to the Kriya, Carya, and Yoga classes of tantras in Tibetan Buddhism.

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11.

Shingon wrote at length on the difference between exoteric, mainstream Mahayana Buddhism and esoteric Tantric Buddhism.

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12.

The goal of Shingon is the realization that one's nature is identical with Mahavairocana, a goal that is achieved through initiation, meditation and esoteric ritual practices.

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13.

Essence of Shingon practice is to experience Reality by emulating the inner realization of the Dharmakaya through the meditative ritual use of mantra, mudra and visualization, i e "The Three Mysteries" .

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14.

An acharya in Shingon is a committed and experienced teacher who is authorized to guide and teach practitioners.

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