Esoteric Buddhism and the Tantras in East Asia

672 clemente beghi

Even vajras can be found, such as the three-pronged vajra (sanko-

sho ) from Nantaisan, now in the Nara National Museum,

although its points are not placed in a circle but are parallel, so that

it more closely resembles a harpoon. However, there do not seem to

be any five-pronged vajras, which usually symbolize the five buddhas

of the vajra realm. Finally, although we know of them only through

textual references in the Tōdaiji kenmotsu chō and the

Kokka chinpō chō , are some of the robes of the famous

tantric master Vajrabodhi that were used during the first remembrance

ceremony of Emperor Shōmu (Kushida 1964, 2; Kajitani 2008, 28).

Peripheral Groups of Practitioners

One last phenomenon that must be considered is of the issue of het-
erodox practitioners. Although the Nara government actively tried to
keep Buddhism under control by defining strict rules to which monks
must submit, and although it wanted to be in charge of all ordina-
tions, there was a proliferation of non-stipendiary practitioners. These
are generally referred to as followers (ubasoku), either monks who left
their home temples or self-ordained monks (shidosō ). These
practitioners entered the Buddhist path without asking permission
from the authorities, with the primary aim of proselytizing among the
masses. They were more interested in spiritual practice than in doctrine,
and traveled from village to village to help the populace, performing
miracles and exorcisms. Many of these monks were charlatans, as the
government was aware, but authentic examples can be found, such as
Gyōki (668–749), a monk from Gangōji who spent most of his
life among commoners, helping and guiding them. He initially gener-
ated great concern among the authorities but was eventually integrated
into the system to the extent that he was asked to help find people and
resources for the construction of the great Buddha of Nara.
Another important category of unofficial religious^6 were the ascet-
ics, usually referred to as mountain and forest practitioners (sanrin
gyōja ), who were precursors of the shugenja (see
Sekimori, “Shugendō and Its Relationship with the Japanese Esoteric
Sects,” in this volume). These practitioners, sometimes affiliated with

(^6) Although here separate groups are presented, most of the time the distinction
between these groups was not so clear-cut and there are many mixed typologies.