A Problem with the View of the Shi moheyan lun in Modern Shingon Esoteric Buddhism: Deficiencies in the Understanding of Esoteric Practice

Abstract

　This article examines how the Shi moheyan lun (Jp. Shakuron) was received by Kūkai and his circle. In the context of Shingon esoteric Buddhism, the Shi moheyan lun is positioned as a key classic, one that has been subjected to vigorous study from the aspect of doctrine. While there are certainly records of its transmission in teachings in the past, these tend to make very little mention of esoteric practice (jisō); in recent years, it would appear that this text has come to be recognized as a classic used exclusively for esoteric teaching (kyōsō). Furthermore, we can also confirm a research trend that is attempting to separate the Shi moheyan lun from Shingon esoteric Buddhism to discuss it in the same doctrinal terms. This study re-examines the understanding of Shi moheyan lun by Kūkai and later scholars. Furthermore, while deciphering the practical aspects such as the kind of “official seal” of the flow of the dharma (hōryū) in the context of esoteric practice, I emphasize that the Shi moheyan lun was intimately linked with both esoteric practice and esoteric teaching and occupied an important position even among the classics of the basis of Shingon esoteric Buddhism.