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What is Shingon Buddhism?

Shingon Buddhism (真言宗, Shingon-shū) is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asia, originally spread from India to China through traveling monks such as Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra.

Known in Chinese as the Tangmi (唐密; the Esoteric School in the Tang dynasty of China), these esoteric teachings would later flourish in Japan under the auspices of a Buddhist monk named Kūkai (空海), who traveled to Tang China to acquire and request transmission of the esoteric teachings. For that reason, it is often called Japanese Esoteric Buddhism, or Orthodox Esoteric Buddhism.

The word Shingon is the Japanese reading of the Chinese word 真言 (zhēnyán),[1] which is the translation of the Sanskrit word मन्त्र (“mantra”).

What is Shingon Buddhism?

Shingon Buddhism is a sect of Mahayana Buddhism founded by Kukai (Kobo Daishi) in the early 9th century (Heian period) and is one of Japanese Buddhism. It is also called Shingon Darani sect, Mandara sect, or Secret sect.

At the beginning of the 9th century, Kukai entered Tang and received esoteric Buddhism from both Dainichi and Kongocho from Keika of Seiryuji Totoin in Chang’an (now Xi’an) before returning to Japan. Later, he opened the Shingon sect from his own position. After returning to Japan, Kukai lived in Takaosanji Temple in Kyoto, and later opened Mt. Koya as a training hall rice field.

In Shingon Esoteric Buddhism, the word “Shingon” means the true “word” of the Buddha. reveals the secret meaning of Kobo Daishi says that this hidden deep meaning is the true meaning, and that the teaching that allows us to know it is esoteric Buddhism.