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scholar-monk Tokuitsu (781?–842?) and the Nara clergy over the
right to establish an independent ordination platform at Mt. Hiei and
to replace the vinaya ( ritsu; si fen lū) with the śīla ( bosatsu
kai; fan wang) precepts. In contrast, Kukai supported the vinaya and
continued to build relations with the Buddhist community, eventually
completely eclipsing Saichō as the authority on esotericism.
The Establishment of a Shingon School
Kukai’s systemization of Esoteric Buddhism: Although Kūkai sought
formal recognition of Shingon, it would be inaccurate to interpret this
as recognizing a distinct sect that was in competition with other sects;
such an organizational framework is inapplicable to the Japanese Bud-
dhism of the period. Monks were affiliated to temples but would study
the teachings of various schools (shū ). Yet although Shingon did
not become officially recognized as a school until it was accepted into
the annual ordinand system in 835, a mere two months before Kūkai’s
death, it was often referred to as such. Kūkai himself seemed to have
been reluctant to define his order in this way, and used such terms
as “vehicle” or “treasury” to define the teachings, perhaps reflecting a
wish to be perceived as fundamentally different from the established
schools (Abé 1999, 193–204).
Nevertheless, Kūkai strove to legitimize the new teachings and
did so in part by setting them forth in written works (summaries of
which are given in Matsunaga 1976). Important among these are the
following:
- Distinguishing the Two Teachings of the Exoteric and Esoteric
(Benkenmitsu nikyōron , 2 vols., 814–815, hereafter
Distinguishing; KZ 3: 73–110; partial translation in Hakeda 1972,
151–57) - Transforming One’s Body into the Realm of Enlightenment
(Sokushin jōbutsugi, 1 vol., hereafter Transforming; KZ 3: 15–32,
Hakeda 1972, 225–234; Inagaki 2005, 99–118) - Voice, Letter, Reality (Shōji jissōgi , 1 vol.; KZ 3: 33–50;
Hakeda 1972, 234–246) - On the Sanskrit Letter Hūṃ (Unjigi , 1 vol.; KZ 3: 51–72;
Hakeda 1972, 246–62)