Unden Shintō

I was introduced to an interesting series of books by one of my professors who has devoted his research career to medieval Shintō. The series is called “Shintō Taikei” 神道大系 and currently consists of about 120 volumes each dedicated to a historical source (like “Kojiki” 古事記or “Nihonshoki” 日本書紀) or a particular subject (like “Tendai Shintō” 天台神道 or “Shintō in Okinawa”). Basically the original texts, that are often handwritten, are converted into typed text to facilitate the reading. The kanji are not simplified and the kana-usage remains unaltered for maximum authenticity (in Japanese this is called honkoku 翻刻).

One volume out of this series that I have taken an interest in is titled “Unden Shintō” 雲傳神道.  ‘Un’ refers to the school’s  founder Jiun 慈雲(1718-1804) so ‘Unden’ could be translated as ‘the transmissions of Jiun’ and ‘Unden Shintō’ may be translated as ‘The way of the gods as transmitted by Jiun’. Jiun, who was a Shingon monk, advocated the revival of ‘Ryōbu Shintō’ 両部神道, a set of beliefs that was popular among adherents of esoteric Buddhism in the first centuries after the introductions of Buddhism. In Ryōbu Shintō Buddhist concepts are integrated into the native Japanese Shintō relgion. Besides Buddhism and Shintō, Jiun also deemed Confucianist principles important for Japanese society. 

His writings were influential during the Edo-period and remained popular during the Meiji-period. However, quite a few of his contemporaries adhered to the nativist theories and disregarded Buddhism or least demanded a clear separation between Shintoist and Buddhist practices. Therefore, we can hardly call his vision on Japanese religion the dominant one for his time. 

I analysed a part of this volume of the Shintō Taikei series in which a ceremony called ‘Shingi Kanjō’ 神祇灌頂 is explained. According to the writings the ceremony has its origins in India were it was performed when the crown prince ascended the throne. Water from the Four Great Seas (四大海 shidaikai, the sea surrounding Shumisen 須弥山  [Skt. Sumeru सुमेरु]) was poured over the head of the crown prince out of a golden vase.

At some point during the explanation of this ceremony the author made the following statement:

“神ト云ヒ佛ト云ヒ人ト云フ、是假名ニシテ、其心體ハ同ク不思議ナルガ故ニ、唯タ信十分ナレバ十分ニ圓滿シ、信五分ナレバ五分ニ得益ス。”

My first attempt to translate this: 

“Wheter you call it a Kami, a Buddha or a person, they are all just temporary names, their spirit and their body are equally marvellous. Therefore, if you believe for 100%, you will attain harmony for 100%, if you believe for 50%, you will attain harmony for 50%.”

 Even though the tendency of the time was to try to recreate what was believed to be authentically Japanese by removing foreign influences, Jiun did no such thing. He kept believing that Shintoism and Buddhism were not two different ways to see reality, but that they have always been intertwined and always should be. He seemed to be influenced by the spirit of his time however in the fact that he did

 not consider Buddhism to be superior to Shintō, as most of his predecessors did.

Sources:

• Imai, Jun (今井淳), Yamamoto, Shinkō (山本真功). 『神道大系: 雲傳神道』. Tokyo: Shintō Taikei Hensan-kai (神道大系編纂会), 1990.