Other doctrines of Buddhism represent the first, or exoteric
stage; and those of the Shin-gon or true word, the second, or esoteric.
The primordial principle is identical with that of Maha-Vairokana, one
of the forms[23] of Buddha. The body, the word and the thought are the
three mysteries, which being found in all beings, animate and inanimate,
are to be fully understood only by Buddhas, and not by ordinary men.
To show the actual method of intellectual procedure in order to reach
Buddha-hood, many categories, tables and diagrams are necessary; but the
crowning tenet, most far reaching in its practical influence, is the
teaching that it is possible to reach the state of Buddha-hood in this
present body.
As discipline for the attainment of excellence along the path marked out
in the "Mantra sect," there are three mystic rites: (1) worshipping the
Buddha with the hand in certain positions called signs; (2) repeating
Dharani, or mystic formulas; (3) contemplation.
K[=o]b[=o] himself and all those who imitated him, practised fasting in
order to clear the spiritual eyesight. The thinking-chairs, so
conspicuous in many old monasteries, though warmed at intervals through
the ages by the living bodies of men absorbed in contemplation, are
rarely much worn by the sitters, because almost absolute cessation of
motion characterizes the long and hard thinkers of the Shin-gon
philosophers.
Pages:
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329