772 lucia dolce and shinya mano
above the distinction of esoteric and exoteric called the “great perfect
teaching” (ichidai engyō ) (T. 2396.75:417a).^5
The recourse to these two sources highlights another particular-
ity of Annen’s esoteric system, the emphasis on the distinctiveness
and yet equivalence of the two major scriptural lineages of esoteric
Buddhism, the Darijing and the Jin’gangding jing, and of the man-
dalic realities of which these sūtras were the source. Annen was the
first to name the Womb of Great Compassion (Daiji Taizō) “Womb
World” (Taizōkai), thus creating a pendant with the Diamond World
(Kongōkai). Throughout his works he took great care to demonstrate
that the concepts under discussion were informed by, and valid for,
both realities. His reformulation of the meaning of secret (himitsu) is
an example of this position (Dolce 2006a, 142–45).
Sectarian Taxonomies and the Superiority of the Esoteric:
The Bodaishingishō
The Bodaishingishō is an extended commentary on the Putixin lun
, the Chinese apocryphon regarded by Japanese tantric mas-
ters as the main esoteric treatise (Kūkai’s claim of the superiority of
esoteric practice was based on it). Indeed, a major concern of the
Bodaishingishō is to interpret the mind of realization (Skt. bodhicitta;
Jpn. bodaishin ), central to the realization of buddhahood, and
Annen discusses at length the ritual practice to achieve it: a fivefold
meditation known as gosō joshinkan (T. 2397.75:528a–533a). This clas-
sic Buddhological topic was traditionally contextualized within the
Diamond World system, as the canonical sources in which it is pre-
sented belonged to this scriptural lineage. However, Annen once again
argued for the equality of the two esoteric realities by elaborating on
the meaning of bodhicitta in terms of the Womb tradition as well.
The Bodaishingishō also shows the sectarian dynamics of Buddhist
hermeneutics at play. Annen reassessed the relative significance of
the different Buddhist doctrines in a new taxonomy that drew from
Tiantai models but culminated with esoteric Buddhism. He developed
Enchin’s fivefold classification and added the category of “esoteric
teachings” to another side of the original Tiantai scheme, the four
(^5) Scholars have also noted that the four–one system may be traced back to the Chi-
nese Tiantai tradition, in particular Zhanran’s (711–782) Fahua xuanyi shiqian
(Misaki 1994b, 49; cf. T. 1428.22:824c).