Yukai: upholding the purity of Shingon teachings

Yukai

The principle of this sect was to consider the way of men and women, yin and yang, to be the secret art of obtaining Buddhahood in this flesh, and the only means of obtaining Buddhahood and gaining the Way, They made outrageous assertions that the Buddha had previously taught their doctrines, a diabolic invention deserving of eternal punishment in hell. Ignorant people, not realizing this, upheld it as the most profound and secret Law. How can one say that they possessed true views and genuine knowledge? The Surangama Suitra declares, “Those who secretly desire to perform acts of greed and lust are fond of saying that the eyes, ears, nose, and tongue are all ‘pure land’ and that the male and female organs are the true places of perfect knowledge and Nirvana. The ignorant people believe these foul words. They are to be called poisoners, hinderers, and demons. When they die they become devils who afflict and unsettle people in this world, causing them to become confused and unwittingly to fall into the hell of eternal punishment.” How can people belonging to that hell be called Shingon believers? … At this time many secret manuals and texts of this heretical school were in circulation, often called “oral transmission of the secrets of esoteric doctrine. ” To this day there are ignorant people who study such works and believe them to possess the loftiest thoughts. In truth they are neither exoteric nor esoteric, but merely so many stones wrapped in jade.

– from The Precious Mirror by Yukai

Yukai (1345-1416) was a Japanese monk and scholar, most notable for his criticism of break-away sects of Esoteric Shingon Buddhism, a system which holds that enlightenment is not a possibility for the select few but accessible to all who work dutifully to discipline mind and body under the tutelage of a teaching master. In The Precious Mirror Yukai concentrates on upholding the purity of Shingon teachings even as he shows the error of several heretical sects, including the Tachikawa School, which believed that by incorporating sexual rites combined with “black magic,” its practitioners could achieve enlightenment.