The Schools of Buddhism In Japan

 Today we'll be having a look at Japan and the many different schools of Buddhism present in its history. I will be referencing a book called Awakening: An Introduction to the History of Eastern Thought by Patrick S. Bresnan. Early Japanese society was organized by clans and dominated by the nobles. The Japanese, once a barbaric civilization, had to borrow countless elements from the Chinese culture as they had none of their own, such as the Chinese system of writing and the Chinese grid pattern streets. But, amongst the most memorable and significant contributions from China, shines Buddhism. Out of Buddhism sprang the many schools and sects of it, including Kegon, Tendai, Shingon, Nichiren, and Pure Land. They all share their fair amount of similarities, yet still have distinct differences within each other.

Daibutsu (Great Buddha) - A Giant Bronze Statue of the Vairocana Buddha

Let's start with Kegon. The name Kegon is a translation of the Sanskrit avataṃsaka, meaning "garland" or "wreath". The Kegon school of thought is "...essentially Chinese Huayan transplanted to Japan—flourished in eighth-century Nara, but this was an unmodified Chinese school of Buddhism." (Bresnan 487). The Kegon school held as its ideal the recognition of a harmonious whole of all beings, all interrelated and interdependent, with the Buddha Vairocana at the centre, permeating everything. It believed that no element has a separate and independent existence apart from the whole but rather that each reflects all the others. According to it, the universe is self-creating. In contrast to the Shakyamuni Buddha, the Kegon school of thought focuses on the Vairocana Buddha. 

A Painting of Saicho,
the Founder of Tendai Buddhism.

Next up is Tendai Buddhism. Tendai was derived from the Chinese name of "Tiantai". The name of Tiantai was gathered from the great Mount Tiantai, sitting in Zhejiang of the southeastern pocket of China. This was the beginning of true Chinese Buddhism. "It was there in the sixth century ce that a  monk named Zhiyi (Chih-i) founded Gouqing monastery and initiated the  teaching of “Tiantai” Buddhism, the first truly Chinese school of Buddhism" (Bresnan 382). In the ninth century, it would be transplanted over to Japanese soil and be known as Tendai. Tendai focused heavily on the magical and the supernatural, which was a stretch from the origins of Buddhism, but was much needed by the people at the time. The first characteristic of the Japanese Tendai school is its advocacy of a comprehensive Buddhism and the idea that all the teachings of the Buddha are ultimately without contradiction and can be unified in one comprehensive and perfect system. Tendai Buddhism reveres the Lotus Sutra as the highest teaching in Buddhism. 

The center image of the Mandala of the Womb Realm 

Let's get to Shingon Buddhism. Shingon was established as the rival school to the Tendai school of thought. It was founded by the monk, Kukai, a year after Saicho began to work on his monastery. "Shingon is derived from the Chinese Zhenyan, the  name for an esoteric school of Buddhism greatly influenced by Vajrayana. Shingon also spread beyond the Kyoto area, but never enjoyed anything near  the growth experienced by Tendai." (Bresnan 488). Shingon may be considered an attempt to reach the eternal wisdom of the Buddha that was not expressed in words and, thus, not in his public teaching. The sect believes that this wisdom may be developed and realized through special ritual means employing body, speech, and mind, such as the use of symbolic gestures (mudras), mystical syllables (dharani), and mental concentration (Yoga). The whole is intended to arouse a sense of the pervading spiritual presence of the Buddha that lies inherent in all living things.

A Bronze Statue of Nichiren

Now to Nichiren. Nichiren was named after the monk who began the movement in the thirteenth century. It's very close to the traditional Tendai. Nichiren was confident and fierce. He was determined to save Japanese society from what he deemed was complete destruction and corruption. Nichiren Buddhism emphasized a great amount on reciting the sutras, especially the Lotus Sutra just like Tendai Buddhism. "At odds with the usually tolerant attitude of Buddhism,  Nichiren argued that all other Buddhist sects were heretical; he alone held the key to the truth of Buddha’s teaching." (Bresnan 489). Nichiren Buddhism also focused on connection actions with thoughts and morality. It strengthened the importance of individuals taking responsibility for improving themselves. 

Amitābha and his attendant bodhisattvas Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta

And last but definitely not least, Pure Land Buddhism. Pure Land Buddhism is one of the most popular schools of Buddhism in the modern East. The term "Pure Land" refers to both the Pure Land teachings of Mahayana Buddhism and the Pure Land sects that developed in Japan from the works of Honen. It revolves around the idea that we will never have a world that is not corrupt. Thus, we must work and strive for rebirth in another plane, known as the "Pure Land". Hōnen believed that most men were, like himself, incapable of obtaining buddhahood on this earth through their own efforts (such as learning, good deeds, or meditation) but were dependent on Amida’s help. Hōnen stressed the recitation of nembutsu as the one act necessary to gain admittance to the Pure Land. What if life just sucked so much back then that they had to focus to spiritual faith and trying to escape this world. 

Works Cited 

Bresnan, Patrick. Awakening: an Introduction to the History of Eastern Thought. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2018.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Kegon.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/topic/Kegon.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Nichiren Buddhism.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/topic/Nichiren-Buddhism.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Pure Land Buddhism.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/topic/Pure-Land-Buddhism.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Shingon.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/topic/Shingon.

Groner, Paul. Saichō: The Establishment of the Japanese Tendai School. Univ. of Hawai'i Press, 2002.