Shingon

Shingon is a form of Japanese Esoteric Buddhism. It is also called Shingon Mikkyo. This school was founded in 804 CE by Kukai (Kobo Daishi) in Japan. The teachings of Shingon are based on the Mahavairocana Sutra and the Vajrasekhara Sutra, the fundamental sutras of Shingon. Through the cultivation of three secrets, the actions of body, speech and mind, the Shingon practitioner is able to attain enlightenment in this very body. Sustaining this state of mind, the practitioner can become one with the life force of the Universe, known as Mahavairocana Buddha. The symbolic activities are present anywhere in the universe. Natural phenomena such as mountains and oceans and even humans express the truth described in the sutras. The universe itself embodies and cannot be separated from the teaching. In the Shingon tradition, the practitioner uses the same techniques that were used over 1,200 years ago by Kukai, and have been transmitted orally generation after generation to the present. Shingon Buddhists observe three vows: May we realize Buddhahood in this very life. May we dedicate ourselves to the well-being of people May we establish the World of Buddha on this earth.