Mandala Vermont: June 2012

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Shingon's Ten Level's of Mind: Level Five

"Having mastered the Twelve Links of Causation, the mind extirpates the seed of ignorance. Rebirth necessitated by karma comes to an end; even though one does not preach, the fruit is obtained." (Hakeda, p. 70)

"The mind Free of the Seeds of Karmic Causation (batsu goiju-shin). By understanding the process of karmic causation, the person on this level has destroyed the ignorance that is the seed of bad karma. This mind, however, like that of the fourth level, lacks compassion for other beings. (To this level belongs the engaku, the self-enlightened person who achieves liberation by understanding causation.) (Yamasaki, p. 95 - 96)

“The Mind in which the Seeds of Karma are Eradicated (bastugo-inshu-shin). This stage corresponds to the Pratyekabuddha-yana (engaku-jo) of the Hinayana, in which the sadhaka realizes the truth of the doctrine of the twelve-linked chain of dependant co-origination and attains the station of the Arhat (rakan). (Snodgrass, p. 8)

When they practice mediation on the [Twelve] Links of Causation, they gain the knowledge of emptiness and uproot the seeds of karma. [Pratyekabuddha of Hinayana] (Hakeda, p. 159)

"The pratyekabuddhas riding on the Deer-cart are taciturn.

They live alone like the horn of rhinoceros, or in a group.

Meditating deeply on the Twelve Links of Causation,

They gain supernatural power by a hundred aeons' discipline.

Extinguishing their karma, actual and potential defilements,

They aim at complete cessation of their body and mind.

They abide quietly in samadhi, long, as though intoxicated;

But being awakened by the Buddha from their slumber,

They are to be directed to the palace of One Suchness."

(Hakeda, p. 194 - 195)

Monday, June 25, 2012

Shingon's Ten Levels of Mind: Level Four

AN OVERVIEW OF “THE PRECIOUS KEY TO THE SECRET TREASURY”
Kobo Daishi Kukai’s Ten Level’s of Mind and Path of Spiritual Development
(A collection of relevant materials, recommended readings and some sporadic comments)

"The Mind of Aggregates-Only Without Self (yuiun muga-shin). The mind at this level sees the self as impermanent, but still thinks that the five aggregates (form, perception, mental activity, will, and consciousness) have real existence. (The early stage of Buddhism known as the shomon-jo, the "vehicle of one who hears the voice" of Shakyamuni teaching, by which the individual seeks salvation for himself alone, belongs to this level.)" (Yamasaki, p. 95)

When they recognize the Five Psychophysical Constituents only and realize that the notion of a permanent ego is unreal, they gain the results of the Eightfold Emancipation and Six Supernatural Powers. [The Sravaka of Hinayana] (Hakeda, p. 159)

"This mind recognizes the existence of components only and denies a permanent ego. The Tripitika of the Goat-cart of Hinayana is entirely included herein." (Hakeda, p. 70)

"The great Buddha, the World Honored One, therefore preached the Goat Vehicle in order to save people from the extreme suffering of falling into the Three Evil Paths." (Hakeda. p. 176)

“The Mind (that understands) the Non-Existence of the Self and the Sole Existence of the Aggregates (yui-un-muga-shin). The first three stages are called the “mundane” stages” (sekenju) and are the non-Buddhist stages. The fourth stage of mind is the first of the Buddhist stages, corresponding to the Way of the Sages (shodo), the Sravakayana (shomonjo). It is the stage of realizing that the sentient being is a temporary linking together of the five aggregates (go-un), which are in perpetual flux and therefore lack any real existence. It is the stage in which the four noble Truths (shitai) are understood, so that an aspiration to achieve Nirvana arises.” (Snodgrass, p. 7 - 8)

"By practicing the samadhi of the realization of emptiness, they know that the permanent ego is nonexistent, like an illusion or a thread of gossamer. Gaining wisdom by extinguishing their defilements, they become free from further existence in samasara." (Hakeda, p. 177)

According to Kobo Daishi Kukai, at the fourth level of our spiritual journey we encounter the buddhadharma for the first time. At this stage we practice the core disciplines Shakamuni taught. This system of practice is characterized by what Kukai called the Three Masteries - sila, samadhi and prajna. At this stage, we have a chance to completely overcome our personal obstacles to awakening. At this level we connect with what the Japanese call "hongaku", our inherent enlightenment. (jk)

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Shingon's Ten Levels of Mind: Level Three

AN OVERVIEW OF “THE PRECIOUS KEY TO THE SECRET TREASURY”
Kobo Daishi Kukai’s Ten Level’s of Mind and Path of Spiritual Development
(A collection of relevant materials, recommended readings and some sporadic comments)

The Childlike, Fearless Mind (yodo mui-shin). Wearied with human suffering, the person at this level seeks the peace of dwelling in heaven, This is the mind that first awakens to religion. Like a child seeking the comfort of its mother's embrace, unaware that its mother, too, is subject to sickness, old age and death, the person at this level seeks to believe in an eternally unchanging god or spiritual doctrine." (Yamasaki, p. 95)

When they perform the Six Practices and the Four Mental Concentrations, they increase their dislike for the world below and their longing for the world above and make progress towards gaining pleasure in heaven. [Popular Taoism and Hinduism] (Hakeda, p. 159)

Kukai assigns to this level of mind Taoism, the sixteen Hindu schools such as Samkhya and Vaisesika, the various types of Yogic practices, and the Buddhist groups that emphasize rebirth in heaven. (Hakeda, p. 69)

The Mind with the Fearlessness of a Baby (yodo-mui-shin). The "fearlessness of a baby" is the fearlessness of one who has complete faith in the gods. This is the stage of those who follow the path of worship, such as Hinduism and Taoism. (Snograss, p. 7)

At the third level of mind, an amazing spiritual vision is first conceived. The perfections of some type of heaven, some pure-land are envisioned as possible, but only in a life beyond the one we live now, today. At the third level our vision of what is possible expands to the infinite, but our confidence that this vision can happen in the current life or perhaps even on this earth has not yet taken root. Again some of the traditional language here seems critical, or suggest that this level is faulty, but here the first inklings of human, social and environmental perfection dawn. So, again, despite any limitations inferred at this level, the conception that the limitless possibilities are inherent in the human condition have begun to sprout and flourish. That is simply amazing. (jk)

Recommended Readings:
Kukai: Major Works by Yoshito Hakeda, Part Three pages 170 - 175
The Way of Lao Tzu (Tao-te ching), translated by Wing-Tsit Chan, The Library of Liberal Arts, 1963
Chang-tzu Basic Writings, translated by Burton Watson, Columbia University Press, 1964

Bibliography
Shingon:Japanese Esoteric Buddhism, Taiko Yamasaki, Shambhala, 1988
Kukai: Major Works, Y.S.Hakeda, Columbia University Press, 1972
The Matrix and Diamond World Mandalas in Shingon Buddhism, A. Snodgrass, International Academy of Indian Culture and Aditya Prakashan, New Delhi, 1988

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Hard to believe....

"In the Aspiration to Enlightenment, it is explained: "After having observed thus, how can a student of Mantrayana realize unsurpassed enlightenment? He should know by virtue of the Dharma he is to abide in the all-pervading great enlightened Mind. All sentient beings are innate bodhisattvas; but they have been bound by defilements of greed, hatred, and delusion. The Buddhas of great compassion, therefore, with the wisdom of skillful means, taught them this profound Esoteric Buddhist yoga and made each devotee visualize in his inner mind the bright moon. By means of this practice each devotee will perceive his original Mind, which is serene and pure like the full moon whose rays pervade space without any discrimination. This method is also called the yoga 'free from the notion of enlightenment,' or that of 'the pure World of Dharma,' or 'the sea of transcendental insight (prajna-paramita) into Reality.' It is the basis on which the devotee can develop a variety of samadhi of great value. It [his original Mind] is just like the full moon, spotless and bright. Why? Because all sentient beings are endowed with the all-pervading Mind. We are to perceive our own Mind in the form of the moon. The reason the image of the moon is used is that the body of the bright moon is analogous to that of the enlightened Mind."

(From Kobo Daisi Kukai's "Precious Key to the Secret Treasury" [written 830 A.D.], translated by Professor Yoshito S. Hakeda, published by Columbia University Press in 1972, found on p. 218 - 219)

Way back in the mid-1990's Ajari Tanaka taught a very small group of his students a method of meditation he called "Gaccha Rin-Kan. In English we called this method simply "Full-Moon Meditation." He taught it in such a way that none of us present at the time grasped the significance of this practice let alone the place this meditation held amongst Shingon methods in general. Ajari Tanaka told us "don't worry" and encouraged us to just practice.

After years of study and practice, working to connect the dots, we now know how important these moments were. Unable to get beyond our amazement all we can say is "thank you so very much" as we try to absorb how lucky we are. Our only hope is that we can share our good fortune with others...

Monday, June 18, 2012

Shingon's Ten Levels of Mind: Level Two

AN OVERVIEW OF “THE PRECIOUS KEY TO THE SECRET TREASURY”

Shingon's Founder, Kobo Daishi Kukai’s Ten Level’s of Mind and Path of Spiritual Development

(A collection of relevant materials, recommended readings and some sporadic comments)

At this second level of mind, self awareness quickens and we see that there is more to life than simply following the fickleness of the ordinary, untrained mind. At this stage, refraining from over indulgence and harmful actions takes root as we begin to turn away from the first level of mind, seeking something more meaningful. (jk)

"The Foolish, Abstinent Mind (gudo jisai-shin). Here, some karmic cause has stirred the individual's inherent Buddha-nature so that he begins to restrain himself. This is the mind that strives to be ethical and moral." (Yamasaki, p.95)

“Thus, when they practice the Three Human Duties and the Five Cardinal Virtues, the relationships between prince and minister, between father and son will be in proper order and without confusion. [Confucianism]" (Hakeda, p. 159)

“The Mind of the Foolish Child who Abstains (gudo-jisai-shin). The “foolish child” is the person who leads a profane life but has nevertheless awakened to a consciousness of ethical precepts and therefore abstains from actions that are harmful to his fellow men. This stage corresponds to the “way of social action” (manusyamarga-vada), typified by Confucianism.” (Snodgrass, p. 7)

Though the name of this level of mind may seem condescending, it is the critical first step in our development. Prof. Hakeda in his "Kukai: Major Works" equates this level of mind with the practice of Confucianism (Hakeda, p. 69), in which the cultivation of goodness, loyalty and service to others is valued highly. (jk)

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Shingon's Ten Levels of Mind: Level One

AN OVERVIEW OF “THE PRECIOUS KEY TO THE SECRET TREASURY

Kobo Daishi Kukai’s Ten Level’s of Mind and Path of Spiritual Development

(A collection of relevant materials, recommended readings and some sporadic comments)

The first level of mind is perhaps the toughest, as it presents us with the most bleak and crude vision of our our path's starting point, the most challenging vision of who we are. But at the same time there is a profound honesty in this stark starting point. No matter how sophisticated we think we are, the first level of mind with be eerily familiar, strangely true. If we give it a chance it provides us the genuine beginning...jim

"The Unstable, Goatish Mind (isho teiyo-shin). The unenlightened mind that understands neither good nor evil, cause nor effect. Like a goat filled with lust for sex and food, a person of this mind is driven by instincts." (Yamasaki, p. 95)

“The mind of the Sheep-like and Profane (isho-teiyo-shin). The compound isho in the Japanese name of this stage translates the Sanskrit prithagjana, literally “various births’, referring to the endless cycle of rebirths endured by those who lack spiritual awareness. The “sheep” are the stupid and ignorant. This is the stage of beings in the three evil realms (tri-durgati, san-akushu), the worldly-minded who only seek the satisfaction of animal appetites.” (Snodgrass, p. 7)

The opening verses of Kukai’s “Hizo Hoyaku” are as blunt as they are insightful.

From the dim, remote, and immemorial past,

Texts are transmitted in a thousand and ten thousand tomes,

Elucidating Buddhist and non-Buddhist teachings.

Abstruse, obscure, and indistinct

Are a hundred opinions and theories,

Each claiming to be the final way.

Copying and reciting until one’s death,

How can one penetrate into the ultimate Source?

I do not know, however I ponder.

The Buddha, I believe, had no mind for this.

He took pity on diseased minds

And taught them to take medicinal herbs as Shen Nung did.

Out of compassion, he showed the direction to the lost,

As did the Duke of Chou by making the compass-cart.

But deranged men do not perceive their madness;

The blind are unaware of their blindness.

Born, reborn, and still born again,

Whence they have come they do not know.

Dying, dying, and dying again yet again,

Where they go in the end they do not know.

(Hakeda, p. 158)

Recommended Readings:

Kukai: Major Works by Yoshito Hakeda, Part Three pages 164 - 167

Any newspaper on any day in any place...

Bibliography

Shingon: Japanese Esoteric Buddhism, Taiko Yamasaki, Shambhala, 1988

Kukai: Major Works, Y.S.Hakeda, Columbia University Press, 1972

The Matrix and Diamond World Mandalas in Shingon Buddhism, A. Snodgrass, International Academy of Indian Culture and Aditya Prakashan, New Delhi, 1988

The essential, pith instructions....

The following quote, excerpted from Professor Yoshito Hakeda's translation of Kobo Daishi Kukai's treatment of the tenth, and highest level of mind and spiritual development in his "Precious Key to the Secret Treasury" is (in my humble opinion) perhaps the most important bit of Shingon in the English language. Enjoy and see what you think....

"The student of the yoga should devote himself to the mastery of the Three Mysteries and the Five Series of Meditation. The three Mysteries are: the mystery of body - to make mudras and to invoke the presence of the sacred object of meditation; the mystery of speech - to recite the mantras in secret, pronouncing them distinctly without making the slightest error; the mystery of mind - to be absorbed in yoga, keeping one's mind in a wholesome state like that of the bright, pure, and full moon, and to meditate on the enlightened Mind. The Five Series of Meditation are: to have an insight into the Mind; to meditate on the enlightened Mind; to visualize the enlightened Mind in the form of the vajra; to transform one's body into a vajra; and to realize unsurpassed enlightenment and obtain the adamantine body like a vajra. When the student becomes perfected in the Five Series of Meditation, then and only then will he become the Body of the most sacred One. Then his luminous being will be the all-pervading Body and Mind, which are identical with that of the Buddhas of the ten directions."

From "Kukai: Major Works" (Y. Hakeda, Columbia University Press, 1972, p. 220 - 221)

Monday, June 11, 2012

Shingon's Ten Levels of Mind: An Introduction

AN OVERVIEW OF “THE PRECIOUS KEY TO THE SECRET TREASURY

Kobo Daishi Kukai’s Ten Level’s of Mind and Path of Spiritual Development

(A collection of relevant materials, recommended readings and some sporadic comments)

Introduction

The founder of Shingon, Kobo Daishi Kukai (774 - 835 A.D.) taught that there are ten levels of spiritual development that we all need to pass through before our path is complete, before our full potential is realized. Each stage is necessary. Each stage builds upon the previous stage. Each stage is the antidote to the limitations contained and created at the prior stage. Each stage offers new spiritual growth but, with the exception of the tenth stage, comes with intrinsic obstacles and limitations that need to be overcome and, more importantly left behind in order to progress to the next level.

Here are some excerpts and recommended readings to help build some general understanding of Kukai’s Ten Levels.

Enjoy... jim

“The sea of Dharma is of one flavor but has deep and shallow aspects in accordance with the capacity of the believer. Five Vehicles can be distinguished, sudden and gradual according to the vessel. Among the teachings of sudden enlightenment, some are Exoteric and some, Esoteric. In Esoteric Buddhism itself, some aspects represent the source, others, the tributary. The teachers of the Dharma of former times swam in the waters of the tributary and hung on to the leaves, but the teaching transmitted to me now uproots the enclosure which blocks the source and penetrates it through and through.” (Hakeda, p. 64)

“The ten levels have often been misunderstood as sectarian criticism rather than as descriptions of the various teachings that provided the foundation for Mikkyo’s development. All are necessary and valid in their own spheres. Although each stage must be passed through in order to reach the next, the “higher” does not exclude the “lower.” A profounder understanding, in fact shows that the tenth level does not reject but fulfills all the preceding levels, and that each level embodies the potential fulfillment of all others.” (Yamasaki, p. 97)

“The ten levels of mind are not all of the same magnitude, as if a rising staircase of ten equal steps. It may be but a slight step from some levels to the next, as from the sixth to the seventh; but others, like the first and the second, are separated by a vast chasm. Depicted in a graph form, the ten levels would not make a straight line climbing upward, a sawtoothed line or anything, in fact, that can be shown in just two dimensions and one or two directions. A better image may be a solid sphere composed of ten layers in constant motion in all dimensions, changing shape and size but always bound together as a whole.” (Yamasaki, p. 96 - 97)

“What is latent in the core of mind of all sentient beings is a portion of the pure nature, which is perfect in itself, the essence of which is subtle, bright, and changeless even if it goes through the Six Transmigratory Paths of existence.” (Hakeda, p. 219)

Recommended Readings:
Kukai: Major Works by Yoshito Hakeda, Part Three pages 157 - 164

Shingon: Japanese Esoteric Buddhism, by Taiko Yamasaki, Chapter 4, pages 95 - 98
Kukai: Major Works by Yoshito Hakeda, Part Two pages 66 - 76

The Matrix and Diamond World Mandalas in Shingon Buddhism, A. Snodgrass, Chapter 1b, pages 7 - 11