The Formation of Early Esoteric Buddhism in Japan: A - MacSphere

307 Pages·2013·10.55 MB·English

by  Jinhua Chen

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