664 clemente beghi
Vajraśekhara Sūtras, were also known. Missing from this list are the
voluminous commentaries, mainly composed by Amoghavajra. It was
precisely these that Kūkai focused on when he went to China.
Esoteric Aspects of Nara-period Buddhism
The definition of Japanese esoteric Buddhism prior to the Heian
period is problematic; although there is much textual evidence, lit-
tle is known about how these texts were understood and what kind
of ritual practices were performed on the basis of such texts. There
can be no doubt that esoteric scriptures were widely circulated, the
chanting of dhāraṇīs was widespread, and rituals with strong esoteric
undertones were performed for curing illnesses and securing peace.
Esoteric implements such as vajras (kongō, ) and vajra bells were
also used. Temples were full of images of esoteric deities and it was
widely believed that supernatural powers could be achieved through a
combination of spiritual practice and devotion to such deities. What,
then, distinguishes tantric practices during the Nara period from those
of the Heian period?
Relatively few specialized studies have been done in Japan on this
subject, and the existing scholarship is still based on the artificial dis-
tinction between zōmitsu and junmitsu, a strongly sectarian distinc-
tion aimed at enhancing the status of the latter, in which only those
rituals associated with Heian Shingon and/or Tendai are regarded as
“pure.” As a result, zōmitsu is seen as having been preached by the
Buddha Śākyamuni, lacking proper theoretical structure, and limited
to the recitation of dhāraṇīs; its aims are worldly (genze riyaku
). Junmitsu, on the other hand, is seen as having been preached
by the absolute Mahāvairocana Buddha; has a clear structure based on
the nondual relationship between the Adamantine Realm (Vajradhātu,
Kongōkai ) and the Matrix Realm (Garbhadhātu, Taizōkai
); is concerned with a combination of mudrās, mantras, and
mandalas; and has other esoteric aims, namely enlightenment in this
body (i.e., in this lifetime, sokushin jōbutsu ) (Ōmura 1918,
373–75; Abé 1999, 152–53). Junmitsu, in other words, refers to the
specific configuration of esoteric Buddhism in the lineage of Amogha-
vajra and Huiguo, as brought to Japan by Kūkai. This kind of division
does not take into account the complex variety of tantric phenomena
in East Asia and is inherently contradictory, since Kūkai also imported
and valued many so-called zōmitsu scriptures and many of the prac-
tices he introduced also had this-worldly goals.