Saisen's Interpretation of the Shi moheyan lun

Focusing on the interpretation of funi-mon

Abstract

The Shingon school in Japan attached importance to the Shi moheyan lun (Jap.: Shaku makaen non), a commentary on the Dacheng qixin lun (Awakening of Faith) ascribed to Nagarjuna, because the founder Kukai used it many times in his works. Saisen (1025-1115), a scholarly monk of the Shingon school in the later Heian period, left a commentary on a part of the Shi moheyan lun. One of the characteristics of his commentary is that non-dual Mahayana (funi makaen) is active and has an entrance gate for non-duality (funi-mon) for practitioners, while non-dual Mahayana is static and has no entrance in the Shi moheyan lun.