Shingon Buddhism (眞言, 真言 "true words") is a major school of Japanese Buddhism, and is the other extant major branch of Vajrayana Buddhism along with Tibetan Buddhism. It is often called "Japanese Esoteric Buddhism". The word shingon is the Japanese reading of the kanji for the Chinese word zhēnyán, literally meaning "true words", which in turn is the Chinese translation of the Sanskrit word mantra.
Shingon Buddhism arose in Japan's Heian period (...
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Shingon Buddhism (眞言, 真言 "true words") is a major school of Japanese Buddhism, and is the other extant major branch of Vajrayana Buddhism along with Tibetan Buddhism. It is often called "Japanese Esoteric Buddhism". The word shingon is the Japanese reading of the kanji for the Chinese word zhēnyán, literally meaning "true words", which in turn is the Chinese translation of the Sanskrit word mantra.
Shingon Buddhism arose in Japan's Heian period (794-1185) when the monk Kūkai went to China in 804 and studied tantric practices in the city of Xian and returned with many texts and art works. In time, he developed his own synthesis of esoteric practice and doctrine, centered on the universal Buddha Vairocana (or, more accurately, Mahavairocana Tathagata). He established a monastery on Mount Koya, which became the head of the Shingon sect of Buddhism.
Shingon enjoyed immense popularity during the Heian Period, particularly among the Heian nobility, and contributed greatly to the art and...
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