Kakuban

Kakuban (Japanese覚 鑁) aka Kōgyō - Daishi (兴 教 大师) (* July 21, 1095 (Japanese calendar: Kaho 2.6.17 ) in Fujitsu -no- shō, province of Hizen, † December 12, 1143 ( jap. Calendar: Koji 2/12/12 ) in the Negoro Temple, Kii ) province was a Buddhist monk of the Japanese Shingon school, whose reform efforts to split between " age Shingon doctrine " ( Kogi Shingon shū ,古 仪 真言 宗) and " New Shingon doctrine " ( Shingi Shingon shū ,新 义 真言 宗) led. He is also known for introducing esoteric invocation formulas ( Shingon nenbutsu ).

Life

Kakuban was about three centuries after the foundation of the Japanese Shingon school by Kūkai in Fujitsu -no- shō ( Hizen Province, now part of the city of Kashima, Saga Prefecture) was born as the third child of four children and was named Yachitose - maro (弥 千 歳 麿). The father, Isa -no- Heiji Kanemoto was responsible for managing a trading estate, which belonged to the Ninna temple in Kyoto. [Note 1 ] He died, however, as Yachitose - maro was ten years old, which is why these three years, then moved to Ninna Temple. His teacher was the renowned Shingon monk Kanjo (寛 助). In his advice to the young novice dealt, inter alia, with the teachings of Kusha and Hosso Shuu- Buddhism in Kōfuku Temple in Nara. At the age of sixteen he received the religious name of Kanjo Shogaku - bō Kakuban (正 覚 坊 覚 鑁) [note 2] and other studies in the Todai temple in Nara, with twenty years full ordination.

He then moved to the temples in Kōya Mountains, the most important after the Tō Temple in Kyoto base of the Shingon school. Thanks to his learning he caused in the course of the following years the attention of influential families in Kyoto and was allowed at the age of 30 years, under the patronage of the Tennō Toba the temple of Denbo - in build (伝 法院, " Hall to the tradition of teaching" ), which he the following year the Dai- Denbo - in (大 伝 法院) [note 3] extended.

Attempts at reform and schism

Five years later Kakuban was introduced by the Abhisheka initiation ritual (Japanese灌顶, KANJO ) in the higher practice areas of Shingon Buddhism. Probably he had long taken exception to the decline of discipline and corrupt way of life of many of the monks Kōya Temple. With 36 years, he felt strong enough to take the initiative. He succeeded, chief priest ( Zasu ,座 主) to be the Kongōbu Temple ( Kongōbu -ji). He stood at the head of the monastic hierarchy of all the temples of the Kōya Mountains. However, the radical nature of his actions provoked fierce resistance. Kakuban therefore had to abandon this position soon and withdrew into the Mitsugon Hall ( Mitsugon - in ,密 厳 院). The conflicts, however, continued.

1139 burned armed adversary the temple Dai- Denbo - in and a number of subordinate temple down. Kakuban and his followers fled to the south of the Kii Peninsula to the Negoro Temple ( Negoro -ji), who was one of those lands which he had handed over to the Tennō Toba in 1132. There, a little later he died at the age of 49 years. The following, almost a century continued attempts to resolve the conflict were unsuccessful. In 1288 the monk Raiyu convicted (頼 瑜, 1226-1304 ), finally the two temples Dai- Denbo -in and Mitsugon - in formally by Negoro and completed the separation of the "New Shingon doctrine."

In 1690 Kakuban received from Higashiyama Tennō the posthumous honorary title Kōgyō - Daishi (兴 教 大师, about as much as " Great Teacher the thrive ends doctrine ").

Teaching

During his time in the temple Mitsugon - in Kakuban wrote under the title " Religious commitment from the Mitsugon Hall" (密 厳 院 発 露 忏悔 文, Mitsugon - in hotsuro pliers no mon ) a violent action on the state of the Shingon school. He wrote numerous works further on the lessons of Kūkai. The referral practice of the competing schools of Pure Land contained in his view, elements that he (阿 弥陀 秘 釈, Amida Hishaku ) examined the Scriptures " Esoteric interpretation of Amida ". The same, he made also with respect to the used in Shingon Buddhism Mantras and led the " Esoteric Avel Ritual" (秘密 念 仏, Himitsu nenbutsu ), later also called Shingon Avel, a.

Also became known the scriptures " Mondliche Meditation" ( Gachirikan ,月 轮 観[ Note 4 ] ) as well as the "Declaration of the Miraculous Secrets of Five Rings and nine signs " written in 1141 ( Gorin kuji myo himitsushaku五 轮 九 字 明 秘密 釈 ), which strongly stimulated the proliferation of the "five -tiered stupa " ( Gorintō ,五 轮 塔).

Works

• Yusho Miyasaka (ed.): Kōgyō Daishi senjutsu shū. ext. and verb. Output. Sankibo Busshorin, Tōkyō, 1989, OCLC 79,598,543th (宫 坂 宥 胜 编 注「兴 教 大师 撰述 集」山 喜 房 仏 书 林)