Shingon Buddhism - Schism

Schism

Like the Tendai School that branched into the Pureland School (Jōdo shū 浄土宗) and the Nichiren School (Nichiren-kei sho shūha 日蓮系諸宗派) during the Kamakura period, Shingon divided into two major schools – the old school, Kogi Shingon (古義真言宗, lit. Ancient Shingon school), and the new school, Shingi Shingon (新義真言宗, lit. Reformed Shingon school).

This division primarily arose out of a political dispute between Kakuban (覚鑁), known posthumously as Kōgyō-Daishi (興教大師), and his faction of priests centered at the Denbō-in (伝法院) and the leadership at Kongōbuji (金剛峰寺), the head of Mount Kōya and the authority in teaching esoteric practices in general. Kakuban, who was originally ordained at Ninnaji (仁和寺) in Kyōto, studied at several temple-centers including the Tendai temple complex at Onjōji (園城寺) before going to Mount Kōya. Through his connections, he managed to gain the favor of high ranking nobles in Kyoto, which helped him to be appointed abbot of Mount Kōya. The leadership at Kongōbuji however, opposed the appointment on the premise that Kakuban had not originally been ordained on Mount Kōya.

After several conflicts, Kakuban and his faction of priests left the mountain for Mount Negoro (根来山) to the northwest, where they constructed a new temple complex, now known as Negoroji (根来寺). After the death of Kakuban in 1143, the Negoro faction returned to Mount Kōya. However in 1288, the conflict between Kongōbuji and the Denbō-in came to a head once again. Led by Raiyu, the Denbō-in priests once again left Mount Kōya, this time establishing their headquarters on Mount Negoro. This exodus marked the beginning of the Shingi Shingon School at Mount Negoro, which was the center of Shingi Shingon until it was sacked by the daimyo Toyotomi Hideyoshi (豊臣秀吉) in 1585.

Mahavairocana (Jap. Dainichi Nyorai 大日如來) as the central primordial buddha in Esoteric Buddhist doctrine is the true nature of all things and phenomena, the totality of reality in all form and formlessness, arising and non-arising. Though supernatural beings like Devas may be more powerful and live longer than humans, they are nevertheless afflicted by suffering and death.

When the Catholic missionary Francis Xavier first arrived in Japan, he was welcomed by the Shingon monks since he used the word Dainichi for the Christian God. As Xavier learned more about the religious nuances of the word, he changed it to Deusu from the Latin and Portuguese word Deus. At that point, the monks realized that Xavier was preaching a non-buddhist religion.