. exploring the esoteric in nara buddhism 785
ingly popular nenbutsu recitation promoted by Hōnen and his follow-
ers (Unno 2004, 32–35).
Myōe represented a pivotal turning point, as Unno notes, by empha-
sizing the universal “efficacy of the sand for the living and the dead, lay
and ordained, men and women” (Unno 2004, 40). He thus played a
crucial role in the popularization of the mantra of light, extending the
benefits to everyone through the use of sacralized sand. Even today it
remains one of the most important and widely practiced mantras in
Japan. Moreover, the use of sand, advocated by Myōe in particular,
became integral to its application and was incorporated into the con-
temporary practices of other schools such as Zen and Tendai (Unno
2004, 41).
Myōe also emphasized the complementarity of exoteric and eso-
teric when he wrote that the “profundity of the profound dharma is
constant. The Shingon is profound because it expounds the shallow as
profound” (Unno 2004, 59). As Tanaka Kaiō observes, Myōe strove
“to unify Kegon and Shingon, and out of this arose the Kugishaku
(Commentary on the Syllables of the Mantra of Light)” that advo-
cated the mantra of light (quoted in Unno 2004, 33). In short, Myōe’s
adoption and popular promotion of the mantra of light illustrates the
practical integration of esotericism into the Kegon school as well as
efforts toward doctrinal reconciliation.
Jōkei’s Doctrinal Reforms
Kūkai’s introduction of the exoteric-esoteric distinction raised herme-
neutical challenges within the Nara schools whose identities revolved
primarily around doctrinal and textual studies. Responses varied
because each school faced different challenges in harmonizing eso-
teric principles with sometimes opposing doctrinal stances. The San-
ron school, for example, confronted minimal challenges because it had
already reconciled the Prajñāpāramitā literature, the foundation of the
school, with the Shingon esoteric scriptures. Many of the leading Nara
clerics known for quickly integrating esoteric teachings came from the
Sanron fold. Examples include Enmyō (d. 851), Dōshō (798–875), and
Shōbō (832–909). The Kegon school also possessed traditional sources
that allowed it to embrace esoteric principles without too much trou-
ble. For example, its assertion that the causal relationship between
phenomena and principle is that of mutual inclusion, interpenetra-
tion, and identity—enyū or complete interpenetration—was easily