Becoming a Buddha – A Shingon Buddhist 10-step Program

By Gereon Kopf | | Buddhistdoor Global

In the early 9th century, two Japanese Buddhist monks who were dissatisfied with the mainstream forms of Buddhism in Japan at that time (the so-called six schools of Nara Buddhism), Saichō (767–822) and Kūkai (774­–835) traveled to Tang China in search of more rigorous forms of Buddhist practice. While the former stayed in the east and practiced mostly on Mount Tiantai, the latter went to the ancient capital Chang’an, where he encountered Vajrayāna—i.e., esoteric—Buddhism and studied under Master Huiguo (746­–805). Kūkai returned to Japan in 806 to found Shingon Buddhism and to spread his teaching of “becoming a Buddha in one’s current body” (Jpn. sokushinjōbutsu). I wrote about this idea in a previous essay.* Here, I would like to focus on his outline for becoming a Buddha in 10 steps described in his “Ten Mindsets”** (Jpn. Jūjūshinron). In this text he uses his system of “ranking the doctrines” (Chn. panjiao) to map the way from ignorance to wisdom, from suffering to liberation, and from hiding to manifesting Buddhahood. 1) The Ram-like Mind of Common People To Kūkai, hedonism, the belief that following one’s desires leads to happiness, reflects the most naïve attitude possible for human beings. If we give in to and prioritize our desires, we behave like animals driven by their instincts. In this case, we not only relinquish our free will, we also surrender to the delusion of an independent self and the artificial discrimination between self and other. 2) The Abstinent Mind of the Foolish Child Moral teachings, such as Confucianism, teach us to look beyond the needs of our own self and see the other. Kūkai’s name for the moral self, “the abstinent mind of the foolish child,” seems to indicate that the self at this stage acts out of fear and blindly follows the advice and rules of others, our parents, our teachers, or the government, but is not yet free.



The Garan (Great Pagoda) on Mount Kōya. Photo by the author

3) The Fearless Mind of the Young Child Religious systems such as Hinduism and Daoism, to Kūkai, add to the life of the self the transcendent dimension, i.e., a reality that lies outside of us. At this stage, the self realizes that reality is not limited to and restricted by our lives or even our social realities. There is something larger than us. The hope for and promise of an afterlife takes away the fear of annihilation and meaninglessness that we face so often in our lives. We realize that our purpose does not depend on our survival and the survival of our communities. 4) The Mind of Aggregates-only and No-self However, the self on stage three succumbs to the belief in and desire for an eternal life and thus does not understand that our reality is characterized by selflessness and impermanence. The early Buddhist teaching of the three characteristics or marks of existence (Skt. trilakṣaṇa) cures this delusion. We are neither independent nor eternal. As the Buddhist teaching of no-self (Skt. anātman) explicates, we are but the agglomeration of five elements (Skt. skandhas)—body, perceptions, feelings, intentions, and consciousness—that form a functional unity. 5) The Mind that Has Eradicated the Causes and Seeds of Karma Once practitioners realize the true nature of our existence, suffering, impermanence, and selflessness, they eradicate karma, escape the cycle of death and rebirth, and enter nirvāṇa. Mahāyāna thinkers such as Kūkai refer to people who accomplish this feat as pratyekabuddhas, i.e. buddhas who have realized liberation for themselves. 6) The Mind of the Mahāyāna Concerned for Others According to the teachings of Mahāyāna Buddhism, however, wisdom (Skt. prajñā) engenders compassion (Skt. karuṇā). Kūkai associates this teaching with the Yogācāra school of Buddhism. In his assessment of the teachings of this school, Kūkai praises their commitment to the Mahāyāna teaching but criticizes their fixation on the constructions of the mind.