Sokushin jōbutsu gi

Text

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Descriptionངོ་སྤྲོད།

In the Buddhism practiced in Japan prior to the time of Kūkai it had been maintained that it was possible to become a Buddha only after spending an enormously long period of time repeating the cycle of birth and death. This process known as “becoming a Buddha in three kalpas” (Jp. san-kō-jō-butsu) or "becoming a Buddha after passing through countless kalpas" (Jp. ryaku-kō-jō-butsu). In the present work Kūkai expounds the idea that it is possible to become a Buddha in this very body (Jp. soku-shin-jō-butsu). This work is thus an elucidation from the standpoint of the Shingon School of the theory and practice leading to such attainment. (Source Accessed Jan 15, 2025)

Citation

[The Meaning of Becoming a Buddha in This Very Body]. Chinese Canon.

Full translations

Tantric Concept of Bodhicitta (Kiyota 1982)

This work consists of an expository essay on and an anotated translation of three Buddhist Tantric texts: the Mahāvairocana-sūtra composed in India in the 7th century, the Bodhicitta-śāstra composed in China in the 8th century, and the Sokushin-jōbutsu-gi composed in Japan in the 9th century. The purpose is to supplement my previous work, Shingon Buddhism: Theory and Practice (Los Angeles-Tokyo: Buddhist Books International, 1978), the central theme of which was bodhicitta. The present work describes the

doctrinal basis of bodhicitta thought by making reference to the three texts—texts which I consider to indicate the evolution of bodhicitta thought from India and China to Japan. There are, of course, other Buddhist texts dealing with bodhicitta, but the selection was dictated by my desire to examine the doctrinal basis of Shingon's man-Buddha integration theory. Bodhicitta constitutes the agent of this integration.

This work treats bodhicitta thought as a form of an experiential philosophy and describes that philosophy by means of iconographic maṇḍalas. Experiential philosophy in the context in the context of this work means that bodhisattva practice is the norm to cultivate and perfect bodhicitta, the perfection of bodhicitta signaling the realm of man-Buddha integration. Maṇḍalas are employed to describe this type of experiential philosophy and integrating process by visual representation. This work is not a phenomenological study of Buddhist Tantrism or a historical study of the Buddhist Tantric tradition as a whole. It is a doctrinal study based upon an examination of the three texts; it zeros in on bodhicitta; it describes bodhicitta as an experiential philosophy and the agent of man-Buddha integration.

An annotated translation of the three texts is attached to this work as textual reference. (Source: Kiyota, Tantric Concept of Bodhicitta, vii)

Book

Scholarship

Tantric Concept of Bodhicitta (Kiyota 1982)

This work consists of an expository essay on and an anotated translation of three Buddhist Tantric texts: the Mahāvairocana-sūtra composed in India in the 7th century, the Bodhicitta-śāstra composed in China in the 8th century, and the Sokushin-jōbutsu-gi composed in Japan in the 9th century. The purpose is to supplement my previous work, Shingon Buddhism: Theory and Practice (Los Angeles-Tokyo: Buddhist Books International, 1978), the central theme of which was bodhicitta. The present work describes the

doctrinal basis of bodhicitta thought by making reference to the three texts—texts which I consider to indicate the evolution of bodhicitta thought from India and China to Japan. There are, of course, other Buddhist texts dealing with bodhicitta, but the selection was dictated by my desire to examine the doctrinal basis of Shingon's man-Buddha integration theory. Bodhicitta constitutes the agent of this integration.

This work treats bodhicitta thought as a form of an experiential philosophy and describes that philosophy by means of iconographic maṇḍalas. Experiential philosophy in the context in the context of this work means that bodhisattva practice is the norm to cultivate and perfect bodhicitta, the perfection of bodhicitta signaling the realm of man-Buddha integration. Maṇḍalas are employed to describe this type of experiential philosophy and integrating process by visual representation. This work is not a phenomenological study of Buddhist Tantrism or a historical study of the Buddhist Tantric tradition as a whole. It is a doctrinal study based upon an examination of the three texts; it zeros in on bodhicitta; it describes bodhicitta as an experiential philosophy and the agent of man-Buddha integration.

An annotated translation of the three texts is attached to this work as textual reference. (Source: Kiyota, Tantric Concept of Bodhicitta, vii)

Book