BUDDHISM IN JAPAN 249body and speech into harmony through the use of the mudras and mantras
taught by Mahavairocana. Then, by absorbing one's mind in these physical
manifestations along with visualization of chaste but colorful mal).c)alas, total
harmony can be attained as one realizes that Mahavairocana's Body of Princi-
ple-that is, all that is to be realized-is identical with the Body of Wisdom
that attains the realization.
Kukai's interpretation ofBuddhist cosmology resonated well with native
Japanese beliefs, which helps account for its quick acceptance by the imperial
court. The solar imagery and pantheism in his portrait of Mahavairocana cor-
responded with the ancient imperial sun cult, and his emphasis on form, color,
and sound as means of expressing religious truths-especially in the sumptu-
ous and sonorous rituals he devised for the court-satisfied the traditional
Japanese sense that art and religion are essentially one. During Kukai's life-
time, Shingon eclipsed Tendai in popularity, although its popularity declined
somewhat after his death-partly because Tendai began appropriating Tantric
teachings as well, partly because Shingon produced no new leaders of Kukai's
caliber. Nevertheless, the school remained a major religious and political force
until the civil wars of the fifteenth century and continues to be moderately
popular even to this day.
Although both Tendai and Shingon ministered primarily to the ritual
needs of the court, they also began to participate in the spread of popular Bud-
dhism. The Heian period witnessed the emergence of shugenja, mountain as-
cetics who combined Buddhism and shamanic practices, like the ubasoku of
the Nara period, and who affiliated themselves, albeit loosely, with the two
new sects. Tendai also played an important role in the rise ofJapanese Pure
Land Buddhism. The Nembutsu-(nien-fo), or repetition of the name of the
Buddha Amitabha (in Japanese, Amida), had very early formed a part of the
Tendai synthesis, where it functioned primarily in rituals for the dead and as a
means of gaining merit devoted to the attainment of nirval).a. Tenth-century
Kyoto, however, suffered a string of natural disasters that led to the belief that
the Mappo-the age of Degenerate Dharma, when people would be unable
to practice under their own power-was near at hand. This inspired a number
ofTendai monks to divorce the Nembutsu from its context in the Tendai syn-
thesis and to recommend that it be made the sole focus of practice for the sake
of attaining Arnida's Pure Land (Jodo). One of these monks, Kuya (903-72),
danced in the streets singing simple hymns about Amida and organized self-
help projects among the common people. Another, Genshin (942-1017),
wrote an influential treatise, The Compendium rf Rebirth, advocating the Nem-
butsu, not because he considered other paths wrong but because it was open
to all: saint and sinner, monk and lay person, man and woman, emperor and
peasant. Gcnshin was followed by Ryonin (1072-1132), who, like Kuya,
spread the practice ofNembutsu in song, attracting followers in court and
countryside. Not until the Heian period had ended, however, did Pure Land
become a separate sect.
A major source for understanding the day-to-day religious life of the Heian
period is the popular literature that began developing at this time. Its
early masterpieces-such as The Tale of Genji, by Lady Murasaki Shikibu