This essay will be an introduction to the 12th century Japanese monk MyoÌan Eisai æè´æ 西 and his application of the esoteric term kaji å æ (empowerment), utilized in the unique practice of visceral visualization contained within the Body Mandala outlined in his text, the Kissa YoÌjoÌki å«è¶é¤çè¨. The attempt of this essay is to convey an appreciation of the uniqueness of this type of visceral visualization and to initiate a dialogue as to why Eisai chose to preface his Kissa YoÌjoÌki with this unusual excerpt taken from the no-longer surviving text of the Rituals of the Mandala of the Five Viscera äºèæ¼è¼ç¾ åè». This essay will examine Eisaiâs visualization method and make some tangential associations to its origins in the nourishing life é¤ç tradition of China. Our point of departure from these associations center upon the usage of the term kaji within the practice of visceral visualization in the esoteric Body Mandala. Through a brief discussion of the history of kaji and its function within visceral visualization, an understanding will emerge of how crucial this term is in uniting both esoteric Buddhism and Chinese medicine within the thought of Eisai. The argument offered to answer the above question is that the inclusion of this citation and its novel use of kaji was a deliberate and calculated choice because of its unique nature amalgamating both esoteric Buddhism and classical Chinese medical concepts. It is precisely this union of the spiritual and medicinal, conceivably gathered from his journeys in China, which provided Eisai with an exclusive therapy to which both Japanese Buddhism and medicine were ill equipped to handle during the end times of mappÅ æ«æ³. An analysis of this term and its usage within the Kissa YoÌjoÌki will reveal a more refined application of kaji and exhibit an evolution of technique, thus distinguishing Eisaiâs text from previous uses and associations.
1 Introduction
MyoÌan Eisai æè´æ 西 was a Japanese Buddhist monk of the 12th and 13th centuries. Eisai is customarily most notable for not only the introduction of
Eisai appears to have been heavily influenced by the thought of China and made two separate trips there: one in 1168 and a second longer stay from 1187â1191. It was Eisaiâs second journey which made quite an impression on the esoteric dimensions of his thought because âduring his second stay in China, from 1187 to 1191, [Eisai] wrote the first draft of the Shukke taikoÌ åºå®¶å¤§ç¶±, which was completed in 1200, and re-drafted the Ingo shuÌ, newly titled the Hiso ingo shuÌ ç§å®é èªé (Collection of Hidden Terminology in Esoteric Buddhism).â1 Along with this, the influence of esoteric thought upon Eisai is further evidenced by the fact that upon his return to Japan he subsequently composed his Kissa YoÌjoÌki; this text also reveals the inspiration of Chinese Medicine upon his thinking in that it was written under the rubric of yojo / yangsheng é¤ç.2
James Benn in his excellent study Tea in China: A Religious and Cultural History, has a concise erudite chapter dedicated to MyoÌan Eisai and his Kissa YoÌjoÌki. Benn notes that Eisaiâs considerable time spent in China offers a âfirsthand experience with the consumption of tea and other decoctions there [which] informs his work.â3 Benn continues to highlight the importance of the Kissa YoÌjoÌki and why it merits study:
He offers a unique perspective on religious and cultural aspects of tea in China, including important eyewitness accounts of methods of tea production and consumption in late Southern Zhejiang â a time and
place for which we have little data ⦠Eisaiâs creative display of knowledge, techniques, concepts, and language from the mainland offers an excellent opportunity to reflect on the meanings of tea in China.4
For James Benn, Eisaiâs travels in China and his writings are an indispensable guide for understanding the history of tea in China: â⦠if we understand it in its early thirteenth-century context it has much to tell us about how Eisai and his contemporaries understood the role and function of tea in a Buddhist context.â5 For Benn, he centers upon tea to be the locus of his research as Eisaiâs text not only engages upon its varied history, uses, and consumption, but also in the fact that it titles his writing. However, as Bennâs study notes, Eisaiâs text is also a miscellany of additional information and ideas:
⦠it also deals with such diverse topics as the harmony of the five viscera within the body, the use of esoteric mantras and mudras for healing, the decline of the Buddhadharma, varieties of disease and demonic possession that may be cured by ingesting mulberry in various forms, and the benefits of consuming ginger and various of other aromatic substances.6
It is with these statements here in which we depart from Bennâs emphasis of research, as I am of the opinion that the least significant aspect of this text, happens to be, tea. Furthermore, it is the contention of this chapter that what is vital to Eisaiâs text is not the introductory characters to its title, kissa å«è¶ (drinking tea), but rather the yoÌjoÌ é¤ç (nourishing life).
2 A Collection of Ideas: a Summary of Eisaiâs Thought
A cursory glance at the title of Eisaiâs text the Kissa YoÌjoÌki, lends itself to the readily apparent fact that it is indeed a record of Drinking Tea for Nourishing Life. However, if we take into consideration the conjoined characters of its title in division rather than in unison, the text reveals much about the thought of Eisai. Directing our intention upon the concept nourishing life in isolation rather than in its relationship with drinking tea, the importance of this practice emerges and initiates its significance. Furthermore, if we engage the method of meditation he proffers at the outset of his text, we are privy to a fascinating
Though superficial and obscure at first, a brief but detailed therapeutic prelude to the Kissa YoÌjoÌki introduces the reader to a rather extraordinarily interesting piece of the text. Eisai, in positioning this healing technique to commence his writing, outlines a medical, physiological, and anatomical architectural design for us to follow. Regarding this, Eisai reveals his strategy:
Use the secret mantras to cure.
The liver equates with the Buddha Aká¹£obhya in the East, and with Bhaiá¹£ajyagururÄja Buddha. It is in the Vajra section [of the mandala]. Forming the single-pronged vajra (dugu/dokko) mÅ«dra and intoning the a syllable mantra will empower (jiachi) [kaji] the liver viscera, so it will be eternally free of disease.
The heart equates with the Buddha Ratnasambhava in the South and ÄkÄÅagarbha. It is in the Treasure section. Forming the âPrecious Formâ (baoxing/hÅgyÅ) mÅ«dra and intoning the hrīḥ syllable mantra will empower the heart viscus, so it will be free of disease.
The lungs equate with the Buddha AmitÄbha in the West and with Guanyin/Kannon. They are in the Lotus section. Forming the Eight-petaled [lotus] (baye) mÅ«dra and intoning the trÄḥ syllable mantra will empower the lung viscus, so it will be free of disease.
The kidneys equate with the Buddha ÅÄkyamuni in the North and with Maitreya. They are in the Karma section. Forming the karma mÅ«dra and intoning the aḥ syllable mantra will empower the kidney viscus, so it will be free of disease.
The spleen equates with the Buddha MahÄvairocaá¹a in the Center and with the Bodhisattva PrajñÄ. It is in the Buddha section. Forming the Five- pronged vajra (wugu/goko) mÅ«dra and intoning the vaá¹ syllable mantra will empower the spleen viscera, so it will be free of disease.
When the five sections [of the maṇḍala] are empowered, then this is the means of curing the interior. When the five flavors nourish life, then these are the cure for external diseases. Interior and exterior mutually aid and protect the body and life.7
This is an exceptionally rich and interesting excerpt as it is a vessel of a variety ideas from several disciplines: Daoism; the nourishing life tradition; Chinese
Having introduced the main subject of our essay, the question must be asked: Why did Eisai situate this obscure method of meditation at the beginning of his text about tea? However, before delving into the attempt at explaining the rationale behind the inclusion of this excerpt, a brief explanation of the nourishing life tradition of China is needed to better grasp the title of his text and its relation to visceral visualization.
3 The Nourishing Life Tradition
As we now know it today, the nourishing life tradition is a series of medical techniques within the compendium of Chinese medicine and the healing arts. Known as yangsheng in China and yoÌjoÌ in Japan (é¤ç), nourishing life encompasses but is not limited to acupuncture, herbology, qigong, martials arts, meditation and/or contemplation. Chinese medicine is a unique form of therapy and distinguishes itself from western medicine in that it is preventative rather than reactionary; the western medical model which predominates modern conceptions of health and wellness tend to treat the individual when ill rather than when healthy. This is an important note as the name yangsheng itself defines the tradition:
Yangsheng é¤ç means nurturing or nourishing life. It is about health and health cultivation. The term that has been around for two thousand years or so first appeared in the manner in which we now understand it in the Yangsheng lu é¤çé (âRecords of Cultivating Lifeâ) of Ji Kang 稽康 in the Three Kingdoms Era (220â265 CE). This was the period that followed the disintegration of the Han Empire. Yangsheng represents and encompasses many strands of rich discourse on health, philosophy and âthe art of livingâ that stretch back at least two and a half thousand years in Chinese history to the mid-Warring States era.8
The core philosophy behind Yangsheng is an epicurean sense of balanceânothing in excess, nothing to be denied. Historically its main focus is on exercise, either gently dynamic or relaxational, dietetics and sexology. Along-side this one can find a myriad of prescriptions and prohibitions that will enhance or protect oneâs vitality. This vitality would generally be categorized as qi æ°£ (or Ki) in East Asia. A shared philosophy and vocabulary around the idea of qi intimately links Yangsheng with medicine, martial arts, moral philosophy and religious meditative practices all over East Asia.9
The nourishing life tradition gradually entered Japan via Japanese monks who gathered medical works through their missionary efforts in China. As Sakade Yoshinobu notes, one of the earliest medical works dealing with nourishing life techniques was the SetsuyÅ yÅketsu, emerging between the years 823 and 833. Perhaps one of the most famous work dealing with nourishing life and medicine overall is the IshinpÅ, compiled and completed by the official acupuncturist of Japanâs imperial court, Tamba no Yasuyori, and presented to the court in the year 984.10
The IshinpÅ is composed of thirty chapters dealing with the principles of healing, disease, pharmacology, acupuncture and moxibustion and their accompanying anatomical points and channels. The healing exercises of the nourishing life tradition are mentioned in various chapters dealing with facial treatments, dietetics, and the sexual techniques of immortality.11 It is important to note that longevity plays an essential role in the early nourishing life regiment as all these techniques and practices had as their goal the conservation and the prolonging of oneâs qi, with one aim being that of immortality: âIn China the arts of nourishing life developed from a rather early time as the techniques of the school of divine immortality (shenxianjia ç¥ä»å®¶).â12
4
When reading the Kissa YoÌjoÌki, we witness a man who was passionately concerned with the present situation of the day occurring in Japan: mappÅ æ«æ³.14 At this point in Eisaiâs life, his vocation was simply that of the salvation of his fellow man. As an ideology, mappÅ was running rampant in Japan with little assistance from the medical practitioners of the day; this was a major concern for Eisai. This worry is evidenced by a number of statements made at the outset of the Kissa YoÌjoÌki:
It is now over 2,000 years since JiÌvaka (Ch. Qipo, J. Kiba) passed away in India. In these latter times (moshi), who knows how to take the pulse of the blood correctly?â15
Eisai laments further:
So, lacking anyone whom one can consult on the signs of illness, there is pointless suffering and pointless injury.16
These statements attest to not only Eisaiâs fears of mappÅ, but also his concerns that the practitioners of the day were rare indeed in understanding illness. Furthermore, Eisaiâs troubles are not only directed towards to the physicians themselves, but to the practice and state of medicine in Japan:
But now, humans are gradually declining and getting weaker. It is as if the four great elements (sida) and the five viscera (wuzang) were rotting. This being so, when we employ acupuncture and moxibustion they both cause harm, and when one uses decoctions (tang) as a cure they are also ineffective. So, those who are treated with these cures gradually become weak and die, which is indeed lamentable. If these medical techniques from the past are not modified, but continue to be used in order to cure people of the present, then it will be rare indeed that they are appropriate to circumstances!17
5 The Solution
For Eisai, as we have seen, the current medical practices of the day in which he was familiar with in Japan were insufficient in treating the afflictions of the people in these times of mappÅ. Secondly, the practitioners themselves, who were primarily Buddhists, were ineffectual at dealing with these illnesses.18 For Eisai, one needed a unique healing therapy; these were found in the nourishing life practices of the Chinese tradition. The practices specifically emphasizing the five viscera (wuzang) äºè of Chinese medicine were particularly important:
As for humansâ preserving the whole of their lifespan, guarding life (shouming) should be considered worthy. The source of preserving oneâs whole lifespan is in nourishing life. To manifest this technique of nourishing life one must keep the five viscera at peace.19
Eisaiâs statement here is a proclamation: nourishing life comes only through harmony of the five viscera.
As mentioned earlier, although certain therapeutic practices of the nourishing life tradition entered Japan early on with one principal piece of writing being that of the IshinpÅ in the 10th century, from Eisaiâs statement it appears that he was either unfamiliar with this practice or more than likely unhappy with its results.20 We can deduce this because he is now turning to
It would be better to investigate customary practice in China (daguo), and to make known recent methods of treatment there.21
Eisaiâs statement here is yet an additional proclamation which leaves us little doubt that the methods of treatment he puts forth in his text are of Chinese provenance. This is further evidenced by the fact that this treatise was composed shortly after his return home from a four year stay in China. So, what were these medical practices which impressed upon Eisai so much that he had to write about them to save all of Japan?
I therefore present two general approaches and make known the signs of illnesses prevalent in these latter times. I hope that they will be of use to later generations, and will benefit all beings.22
Eisai outlines two methods of treatment prevalent in China:
The Harmony of the Five Viscera äºèååé
The Exorcism of Demons é£é¤é¬¼é é23
Although two methods of treatment are enumerated by Eisai, this study will narrow its lens upon The Harmony of the Five Viscera as one of the main treatments against the degenerative age of mappÅ. Under this rubric, Eisai provides two medical therapeutics which are citations from two texts:
The Harmony of the Five Viscera
Excerpts from the Rituals of the Mandala of the Five Viscera
Secret Excerpts from the Procedure for Destroying the Hells with the Utmost Excellent DhaÌranÌ£iÌs.24
The Harmony of the Five Viscera is of paramount importance to our inquiry because this is where we witness the practice of visceral visualization cited
Our question begins here as to why Eisai was so adamant on the nourishing life aspects of the five viscera of China? The nourishing life tradition and certain visualization techniques within Body Mandala practices predate Eisai by several hundred years in Japan; why not apply these indigenous practices? As this paper suggests, the Excerpts from the Rituals of the Mandala of the Five Viscera cited in the Kissa YoÌjoÌki was a unique merger of Buddhism with classical Chinese medical concepts all amalgamated by the term kaji. Furthermore, its categorization under the nourishing life rubric suggests a fascination with the esoteric milieu taking place during Eisaiâs excursions abroad. Observing these nourishing life practices, especially that of visceral visualization, perhaps influenced Eisai in crafting his approach to healing. If Eisaiâs text is a first-hand experience of tea practices in China as mentioned by Benn, is his text also a first-hand experience of the visceral visualization techniques taking place in China? To better realize why Eisai cited from such unique esoteric texts to form the foundation of his Kissa YoÌjoÌki and its treatment method, we need to appreciate the esoteric environment during his travels in China.
6 An Esoteric Environment: Visceral Visualization
Although the Kissa YoÌjoÌki has been acclaimed as a book of tea, it is the anatomical architecture of its visceral visualization, often overlooked, which is vital to the thought of MyoÌan Eisai. This visualization technique is among the more unique methods of East Asian meditation in which the practitioner contemplates on the divinities residing within the inner organs. This method of meditation intersects the borders between both esoteric Buddhism and the early Daoist nourishing life medical tradition with each belief system seating their own unique divinities within these organs. In esoteric Buddhism, this practice has been usually associated with the architectural design of a Body Mandala. However, as we are demonstrating, Eisaiâs method in which he cites from the
Visceral visualization has its origins in the Daoist nourishing life tradition. Two of the earliest Daoist examples to demonstrate this type of contemplation are the Taiping jing å¤ªå¹³ç¶ and the Huangting jing é»åºç¶. Both these examples appear relatively early on in the first millennia and stress the act of inward visualization. The Taiping jing appears late in the 2nd century and is one of the âearliest texts containing references to the gods of the five viscera.â27 One such passage in the Taiping jing discussing meditation and visualization on these gods of the viscera is detailed below:
Make it so that in the empty room there is nobody around you. The pictures should be in accordance with the color of the organ [where they reside], and correspond to the qi of the four seasons. Hang up [the images] amid the light from the window(s), and contemplate them. Above is the image of the organ, and beneath are the ten homesteads (?). When lying down, contemplate and go near the suspended image. If you contemplate this way without ceasing, the deities of your five viscera will be able to respond to the breaths of the twenty-four times, and the deities of the five agents will also come to your assistance. The myriad diseases will be cured.28
In this excerpt we see that contemplation upon a diagram of the five viscera of Chinese medicine function as a meditational road map where a spiritual and medicinal transformation takes place. When a practitioner does this the gods of the five viscera having an earthly connection and responding to the cycle of the seasons, reward you with the qi of the 24 solar terms. Upon completion of this contemplation, the gods of the five viscera then free you from disease. What is fascinating about this meditational technique is that although it is written nearly a millennium before the time of Eisai, there is a continuation of this visceral visualization which does not terminate into obscurity, but is a practice continued beyond Eisaiâs travels in China.
At the time of Eisaiâs arrival, the greater Hangzhou region was an area teeming with both Buddhism, Daoism, and the esotericism in which their
One famous Confucian poet and scholar having been acquainted with the Hangzhou region and advocating the use of visceral visualization was Su Shi è軾. Su Shi was a famous Literati and passed the civil service examination to attain his jinshi degree cementing his legacy as a member of the Confucian Literati. The citation below is fascinating because we not only see the pervasiveness of visceral visualization in the Song Dynasty China, but also its extension into the Confucian Literati realm escaping the jurisdiction of âDaoist medicine:â
Inwardly contemplate on the five storehouses: the lung white, the liver blue green, the spleen yellow, the heart red and the kidney black. Seek to have permanently a diagram [i.e. a body map] of the five storehouses suspended on a wall. It lets you perfectly know by heart the forms and appearances of the five storehouses and six hoards.30
This is just one brief step taken from an elaborate nourishing life regiment put forward by Su Shi. The visualization component of this exercise is accompanied a series of hand gestures and ritualistic operations which an individual must engage in:
⦠with crossed legs, knocking the teeth 36 times, grasping tightly {with both thumbs grasp the third fingers, or with the fourth fingers grasp the
thumbs; both hands are supported between hips and belly}, and hold the breath {holding the breath is one of the most profoundly wondrous positions of the Daoist adepts; one must first hold the breath, discard thinking, and sweep away oneâs (deep-)seated [mental] appearances [alternative version: âone must first close the eyes, purify oneâs thinking, and sweep away oneâs reckless thoughtsâ]; cause the heart to clarify, that no cogitation arises; sense by yourself how outgoing and incoming of the breathing is modulated, thereupon close up and fix upon mouth and nose}.31
Another scholar official from the Jinjiang (Fujian) region named Zeng Zao æ¾æ ¥ (?â1155) authored and compiled the Pivot of the Dao éæ¨.32 In this Pivot of the Dao, we again see the esoteric practice of visceral visualization:
Inwardly observe the five storehouses and six hoards, the three origins and the nine palaces, with this white of the lungs, blue green of the liver, yellow of the spleen, red of the heart, and black of the kidneys. Whereby did I know that it looks like that? I made a map of the five storehouses and observed it daily; thereby one knows it in detail.33
Here we have two accounts of this esoteric practice: one in Zhejiang province and one in neighboring Fujian province. These two provinces border each other and clue us into the philosophical thought that was occurring at the time and place when Eisai was in China.34
Moving further along down into the Southern Song Dynasty, we encounter another example of this type of visceral visualization occurring in the writings of Zhoumi å¨å¯ (1232â1298):
To gaze inwardly at the five organs and come to see the lungs [as] white, the liver green, the spleen yellow, the heart red, and the kidneys black, first acquire the Picture of the Five Organs or another chart by Yanluozi. Hang the images on the wall. Scrutinize them daily to become familiar
with the shapes of the five organs and six viscera. Then try to imagine that your heart is a flaming fire and its light penetrates into the Lower Cinnabar Field, which is located three cun below the navel.35
This is yet another example of the proliferation of this visualization technique occurring during the Southern Song Dynasty. Although this text is written after Eisaiâs visits to China, it speaks to the perseverance of these esoteric practices in Song China. When viewing Eisaiâs version of this visceral visualization technique as the Body Mandala, we see a therapeutic practice that reflects these nourishing life practices of China.
7 The Kissa YoÌjoÌki and the Body Mandala: an Analysis
Use the secret mantras to cure.
The liver equates with the Buddha Aká¹£obhya in the East, and with Bhaiá¹£ajyagururÄja Buddha. It is in the Vajra section [of the mandala]. Forming the single-pronged vajra (dugu/dokko) mÅ«dra and intoning the a syllable mantra will empower (jiachi) [kaji] the liver viscera, so it will be eternally free of disease.
The heart equates with the Buddha Ratnasambhava in the South and ÄkÄÅagarbha. It is in the Treasure section. Forming the âPrecious Formâ (baoxing/hÅgyÅ) mÅ«dra and intoning the hrīḥ syllable mantra will empower the heart viscus, so it will be free of disease.
The lungs equate with the Buddha AmitÄbha in the West and with Guanyin/Kannon. They are in the Lotus section. Forming the Eight-petaled [lotus] (baye) mÅ«dra and intoning the trÄḥ syllable mantra will empower the lung viscus, so it will be free of disease.
The kidneys equate with the Buddha ÅÄkyamuni in the North and with Maitreya. They are in the Karma section. Forming the karma mÅ«dra and intoning the aḥ syllable mantra will empower the kidney viscus, so it will be free of disease.
The spleen equates with the Buddha MahÄvairocaá¹a in the Center and with the Bodhisattva PrajñÄ. It is in the Buddha section. Forming the Five- pronged vajra (wugu/goko) mÅ«dra and intoning the vaá¹ syllable mantra will empower the spleen viscera, so it will be free of disease.
When the five sections [of the manÌ£dÌ£ala] are empowered, then this is the means of curing the interior. When the five flavors nourish life, then these are the cure for external diseases. Interior and exterior mutually aid and protect the body and life.â36
In this therapeutic preface to Eisaiâs Kissa YoÌjoÌki, we see a curious amalgamation of esoteric ideas primarily incorporating Buddhist, yangsheng / Daoist, and Chinese medical concepts. It is quite possible that Eisaiâs inspiration and choice for this obscure medical therapeutic was derived from his travels in China and that his Kissa YoÌjoÌki is a reflection of his time spent in there; this statement is not without contention which we will briefly touch upon later. However, the uniqueness of his version of the Body Mandala with contemporaneous models will become apparent by observing the merger of the anatomical architecture of Chinese medicine and Buddhist esotericism all designated under the nourishing life rubric.
Eisai forms his Body Mandala concept and prefaces his Kissa YoÌjoÌki by quoting from the Excerpts from the Rituals of the Mandala of the Five Viscera; as noted by James Benn, this text is no longer extant. This citation and its contents are exceptionally important in understanding the basis of his Body Mandala and the visceral visualization technique within the Kissa YoÌjoÌki. What we have in this meditational therapeutic is an anatomical diagrammatic representation of the five-phase visceral interface system of Chinese medicine.37 When viewing Eisaiâs schematic, it is quite useful to contextualize his representation of the Body Mandala with that of the visceral visualization occurring in the Daoist Huangting jing and the Taiping jing.
In the various versions of visceral visualization listed above, it is suggested that the practitioner hang a picture of these organs on a wall for the purpose of meditation, religious observance, and healing. However, with Eisaiâs therapeutic technique, he uses the esoteric medium of a mandala as an ancillary to the anatomical pictorial representation of the body used in the above examples. Nevertheless, Eisaiâs therapeutic technique partitions the mandala into esoteric sections (vajra, treasure, lotus, karma, Buddha), with each subdivision containing a viscera of Chinese medicine. Each of these sections when taken in toto form a graphic representation (mandala) of the anatomical architecture of Chinese medicine which in fact serve as a reproduction of the anatomical images hanging on a wall; only now it is construed as a mental image.
According to Sakade Yoshinobu, the â⦠Huangting jing is handed down to us in two different titles as the Huangting neijing jing é»åºå §æ¯ç¶ and Huangting waijing jing é»åºå¤æ¯ç¶ ⦠The Neijing jing, in which the genealogical tree of the gods in the body was arranged on the basis of the Waijing jing, has the clearest descriptions.â38 What can be observed from the passage below is that each of the five viscera of Chinese medicine have an associated Daoist divinity employing both their spirit and courtesy name:
å¿ç¥ï¥å åå®ï¦³, èºç¥çè¯åèæ, èç¥ï§ç¦åå«æ
è ç¥çå¥åè²å¬°, è¾ç¥å¸¸å¨åéå39
| âSpirit Name | Courtesy Name | ||
| â Danyuan 丹å | Shouling å®é | â | Heart |
| â Haohua çè¯ | Xucheng èæ | â | Lung |
| â Longyuan é¾ç | Hanming å«æ | â | Liver |
| â Xuanming çå¥ | Yuying è²å¬° | â | Kidney |
| â Changzai å¸¸å¨ | Hunting éå | â | Spleen |
Along with the same method of visceral visualization being used in both the Daoist texts and the Kissa YoÌjoÌki, Eisai employs an equivalent twofold spiritual schematic using Buddhas and Bodhisattva terminology in lieu of the Daoist Gods:
| âBuddha Name | Bodhisattva Name | ||
| â Ratnasambhava 寶çä½ | ÄkÄÅagarbha è空è | â | Heart |
| â AmitÄbha éå£½ä½ | Guanyin è§é³ | â | Lung |
| â Aká¹£obhya ä½é¦ä½ | Bhaiá¹£ajyagururÄja è¥å¸«ä½ | â | Liver |
| â ÅÄkyamuni é迦çå°¼ä½ | Maitreya å½å | â | Kidney |
| â MahÄvairocaá¹a 大æ¥å¦ä¾ | Bodhisattva PrajÃ±Ä è¬è¥è©è© | â | Spleen |
Eisaiâs Body Mandala diverges from Daoist tradition not only with the substitution of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in lieu of Chinese traditional deities, but now also with the inclusion of both mudras and mantras; a practice similar to the aforementioned ritualistic operations recommended by Su Shi.41 While the early Daoist tradition recommends meditating on these divinities, the Buddhist tradition employs these mantras and mudras as a way of healing the organ itself: âForming the karma mÅ«dra and intoning the aḥ syllable mantra will empower the kidney viscus, so it will be free of disease.â Herein lies the uniqueness of Eisaiâs Body Mandala: kaji (empowerment). For Eisai, the mudra and mantra are needed to channel kaji to a particular organ to keep it free from disease. To further an understanding of how Eisaiâs employs this unique application of kaji, a short history of its evolution is crucial to understanding its importance.
8 Kaji å æ
To properly understand the importance kaji within the context of Eisaiâs text of the Kissa YoÌjoÌki and its uniqueness, its Sanskrit etymology and history within esoteric Buddhism must be briefly explained. Adhisthana, å æ kaji in Japanese and jiachi in Chinese, is originally a Sanskrit word which found its way to East Asia with the expansion of Buddhism. There are a number of definitions of the term: âstanding by; being at hand, approach; standing or resting upon; a basis
In a more religious sense of the meaning, adhisthana, derived from adhi (beside, over)âi/stha (to stand) literally means that which stands beside or over. It is a âposition,â specifically an âauthoritative positionâ which stands over, and the âpowerâ associated with such a position. In this sense it comes near the âgraceâ or âblessingâ of Christianity.43 This blessing or grace, is exceptionally important within the esoteric dimension of Buddhism as kaji âindicates a powerful benediction or blessing that energizes its recipient with the enlightening power of the universal Buddhahood.â44
Kaji, is particularly tied to esoteric Buddhism as it uses the three mysteries (sanmitsu ä¸å¯) of mind, body and speech to understand its power. This is particularly important for Kukai and the esoteric sect of Shingon where the combination of mantra and mudra direct the mind towards samadhi. When these three mysteries of mind, body and speech resonate, mystical union and final realization are able to take place.45
Pamela Winfield, in her excellent article âCuring with Kaji: Healing and Esoteric Empowerment in Japan,â provides us with the etymology of kaji and its process:
The first character ka å therefore means to add, as in the Great Sun Buddha adding his powerful sun-lightenment to oneâs own. This expresses typical Mahayana hongaku æ¬è¦º sentiment, since it presupposes the inherent existence of oneâs original Buddha nature. According to Mahayana Buddhist doctrine that predominates in Japan, all sentient beings already are enlightened, they just have not realized it yet. Thus when Dainichi adds his illumination to oneâs own original enlightenment, oneâs spiritual potential is fully augmented and actualized. For this reason, Buddhaâs âgraceâ is another term that is often associated with the definition of kaji. The second character ji æ means to hold, as in the practitionerâs embrace of Dainichiâs universal light. This embrace by extension indicates an oceanic self-expansion and self-identification with universal Buddhahood.
Thus in the ubiquitous field of the Dharma realm, kaji describes the state in which âBuddha enters me, I enter Buddha (nyuga ganyu å ¥ææå ¥).46
Winfield continues to state that âkaji is said to actualize the reciprocal feedback loop between the root source and the practitionerâs trace of Buddhaâs original grace.â47 Understanding these basic definitions will help elucidate how kaji functions within the Kissa YoÌjoÌki. However, there is a further aspect demonstrating the far-reaching aspects of kaji which will foster a broader understanding of its application in Eisaiâs text.
In the above-mentioned aspects of kaji, we see that grace or blessings of the Buddha are channeled through the mediums of mantra, mudra, or mandala in order to activate enlightenment. But the applications of kaji can be extended even further when they are âcombined with an initiated priestâs prayer (kito ç¥ç¥·), [as] the energy of deity yoga accessed in kaji is said to have the ability to extend to almost any physical or mental object.â48 This act of âconsecrationâ is further confirmed by Katja Triplett: âThrough kaji, objects can be turned into medicine or protective objects, such as talismans that are through to have potent healing properties.â49 Furthermore, priests can use prayers and chanting, turning actual sounds into talismans imbued with kaji for healing applications: âthe priests prayers and chants are thus integral to the kaji cure.â50 Having a firm grasp of these definitions and the various functions and application of kaji as base, blessing, and talisman, will broaden our understanding of the application kaji within the Kissa YoÌjoÌki.
9 Excerpts from the Rituals of the Mandala of the Five Viscera: an Evolution of a Technique
Stressing this fusion of esoteric Buddhism with the nourishing life tradition, the Excerpts from the Rituals of the Mandala of the Five Viscera positioned at the outset of the Kissa YoÌjoÌki uses the tantric techniques of mantra, mudra and mandala in concert with the five viscera of Chinese medicine for the purpose of healing. While the techniques of mantra, mudra, mandala with that of
As mentioned previously, the techniques of Kukaiâs kaji were for the purpose of union, the reception of grace, and to empower instruments. Kukaiâs healing hands technique were used in conjunction with rituals and prayers which became the dominant form healing supplementing the Chinese medical techniques of the day.52 Although Eisai and Kukai are divorced by over 300 years, there is a relevance between them both as there had been an uninterrupted practice of kaji from its importation by Kukai, which âcontinued to be performed through the early modern period, and [has continued] to complement Western medicine in contemporary Japan.â53 However, the difference between Eisai and Kukaiâs application of the technique kaji lie in intention; the recipient of its focus is an evolution in the technique.
While Kukaiâs practice of kaji appears to use the priest as the âphysicianâ or intermediary for the diseased, Eisaiâs practice and application of kaji is a self-healing model; it functions as an early self-help Do It Yourself manual for healing. In addition, while Kukaiâs exercise of kaji enables the energy of the deity yoga to extend to almost any physical or mental object to turn it into an instrument of healing, thus making ritualistic prayers and chants fundamental to the practice of kaji, Eisaiâs technique of kaji circumvents the necessity for an intermediary priest allowing the practitioner to perform this on his or herself by consecrating one of the five viscera of Chinese medicine, thus making it the instrument of healing.
Again, the difference of these two approaches lies in the recipient of oneâs focus. Kukaiâs application of kaji theoretically functions in several respects. One method is where a healerâs application of an empowered mantra, mudra or mandala allows a hands-on healing approach in which the physician / priest administers âmedicinalâ chants and prayers. A second aspect of this type of healing is the divine intervention of the Mahavairocana Buddha through an individualâs own application of esoteric techniques: âBy extension, its sacred
Eisai, in the citation he chooses, recognizes it as one of the most important esoteric rituals in bridging this bifurcation between the spiritual and the medicinal; Eisaiâs technique imbues the esoteric power of Buddhism within each individual organ of Chinese medical thought through the consecrated act of kaji. The technique or application of kaji laid out in the Kissa YoÌjoÌki occurs by empowering the organs themselves, thereby performing an act of consecration in which the organs of Chinese medicine become consecrated instruments of healing: âForming the karma mÅ«dra and intoning the aḥ syllable mantra will empower the kidney viscus, so it will be free of disease.â Here, the intermediary priest / physician is no longer needed. Furthermore, the real difference here is the acknowledgement of the anatomical architecture and physiology of the five viscera of Chinese medicine and the five-phase äºè¡ system of correspondence; in other words, this form of kaji operates within the physiology of the five phases visceral interface system.56
In the previous works reviewed above regarding their discussions of kaji, particularly Pamela Winfieldâs article, âCuring with Kaji: Healing and Esoteric Empowerment in Japan,â there is no mention of the five viscera of Chinese medicine being consecrated through the act of kaji. However, this is not to say that kaji was not applied to areas of the body for healing prayers as Winfield reveals: âMany of these prayers often involve swallowing paper talismans with kaji-empowered water. One prayer said to cure eye disease involves two reifu
If a personâs eye has a disease, one knows that the liver viscus is damaged. By using medicine with an acid nature one can cure it. If the ear has a disease, one knows that the kidney viscus is damaged. By using medicine with a salty nature one can cure it. If the nose has a disease, one knows that the lung viscus is damaged. By using medicine with a pungent nature one can cure it. If the tongue has a disease, one knows that the heart viscus is damaged. By using a medicine with a bitter nature, one can cure it. If the mouth has a disease, one knows that the spleen is damaged. By using medicine with a sweet nature, one can cure it.58
The importance of Eisaiâs recognition of the function of Chinese medical principles and the operation of the five-phase visceral-interface of the body cannot be understated. A brief explanation below of how important this system is to Chinese medicine will convey an appreciation of why Eisai chose this passage.
10 Eisai and the Five Phases: a Visceral Interface System
Regarding the body, Chinese medicine and the paradigm of the five-phase äºè¡ visceral-interface system correlate all human functions of both the psyche
Eisai touts this five-phase classification system early on in his book of tea, cited from a separate text titled the Secret Excerpts from the Procedure for Destroying the Hells with the Utmost Excellent DhaÌranÌ£iÌs. Eisai illustrates this system of correspondence in order to inaugurate tea and its power of bitter flavor by associating each of the five flavors with the five viscera of Chinese medicine: the liver prefers acid flavors; the lung prefers pungent flavors; the heart prefers bitter flavors; the spleen prefers sweet flavors; the kidney prefers salty flavors.61 Eisai continues to then exhibit a slightly more elaborate, however still condensed version of the classification system:
èæ±ä¹ãæ¥ä¹ãæ¨ä¹ãéä¹ãéä¹ãç¼ä¹ã
èºè¥¿ä¹ãç§ä¹ãéä¹ãç½ä¹ãéä¹ãé¼»ä¹ã
å¿åä¹ãå¤ä¹ãç«ä¹ã赤ä¹ãç¥ä¹ãèä¹ã
è¾ä¸ä¹ãåå£æ«ä¹ãåä¹ãé»ä¹ãå¿ä¹ãå£ä¹ã
è åä¹ãå¬ä¹ãæ°´ä¹ãé»ä¹ãæ³ä¹ã骨é«ä¹ãè³ä¹.62
The Liver is associated with the East and the Spring, with the element of Wood and with the color of Bluish-green, with the hun (soul) and with the eyes.
The Lungs are associated the West and Autumn, with the element of Metal and the color white, with the po (soul) and with the nose. The Heart is associated with the South and Summer, with the element of Fire and with the color of red, with the shen (spirit) and with the tongue.
The Spleen is associated with the center and the end of the four seasons (late summer), with the element of Earth and the color yellow, with the zhi (intention), and with the mouth.
The Kidneys are associated with the North and the Winter, with the element of Water and the color of black, with the xiang (imagination) and with the marrow and ears.
Eisai is clever in noting the elaborate system of correspondence early on as it plays well into his overall therapeutic strategy for not only tea, but also for his visceral visualization method. What Eisai is attempting to express is that his therapeutic method employs a classical Chinese medical approach which is designed to treat the root cause of all disharmony and disease: the five viscera of Chinese medicine.
The history of these ideas is much to unpack and Paul Unschuld details much about the evolution of these concepts in his Medicine in China: A History of Ideas. This type of therapeutic taxonomy has its origins in early notions of magic and medicine and can be said to have risen from the ideas of cause and effect. Concerning cause and effect, Unschuld details this relationship occurring along a continuous line:
⦠namely that the phenomena of the visible and invisible world stand in mutual dependence through their association with certain lines of correspondence. The paradigm of correspondences concludes that manipulations of one element in a specific line of correspondence can influence other elements of the same line ⦠In the science of systematic correspondences, however, magical concepts have been refined and combined with elements from the yinyang doctrine and the theories of the Five Phases, and all lines of correspondence have been integrated into one detailed system of mutual correspondence.63
These ideas of cause and effect between the body and environment and the early principles of magic were further refined once expressed within the philosophies of yinyang and the five-phases:
It was recognized that not just one, two, or a limited number of elements form a line of correspondence, but that most, if not all, natural occurrences and abstract concepts can be incorporated into a single system of correspondence. The basis for this step was provided but the doctrines of yinyang and the Five Phases, both of which can be considered logical and systematic extensions of homeopathic magic.64
The five-phases are represented by the five primordial elements of nature: water; fire, metal; wood; and soil (earth). Because of this association, the translation often used when discussing this ancient classification system is that of the five-elements. However, although en vogue for present-day alternative medical specialist attempting to tap into ancient medical healing therapies manipulating one element with another in order to initiate some alchemical transformation in the body, it is erroneous to label each of these phases by their constituent element; the Chinese construct of elements is distinct from the Aristotelian concept of elements and it must always be remembered that the elements occur within and under the rubric of the five-phases äºè¡.65 These five-phases are a moving process as Nathan Sivin succinctly explains a phase: âany one aspect of a thing of varying aspects; a state of change or development.â66 With this brief overview, we may now attempt to explain how this process is applied to Chinese medicine.
At one of the most sophisticated levels of Chinese medical theory, this line of correspondence may be said to begin with the five viscera of Chinese medicine.67 In five-phase medical theory, every disorder can be seen to stem from
Water overcomes [controls] fire; fire melts metal; metal â in the form of a knife, for instance â overcomes wood; wood â as in a spade â overcomes soil; soil â as in a dike â subdues water.
Water / watering produces [generates] plants and trees, that is wood; wood brings forth fire; fire produces ash, that is, soil; soil brings forth metal; when heated, metals produce steam, that is water.69
It is quite possible that the generating and control cycles were symbolized by particular elements to convey the interface between organs in order to facilitate a level of comprehension. Just as modern medicine recognizes that heart disease can cause shortness of breath, these ideas would be easier to express with the analogy of fire controlling metal; if fire (heart) is weak, then fire cannot melt and control metal (lung).
In the case of the heart, the physician might realize that the patient was harmed by heat, and if these heat-influences were still confined to the heart, the heart would be diagnosed as being hit by its âregular evil.â If, however, the heart was recognized to be subject to a secondary affection [infection], the physician would have to determine the source of the evil influences within the organism, and label the illness accordingly. In the sequence of mutual generation of the Five Phases, wood [liver] generates fire. The liver, accordingly, is the mother depot [organ] of the heart. Evil influences transmitted from the mother to child are called âdepletion evilâ â¦70
This example put forward by Unschuld illustrates the complexity of Chinese medicine. An efficient diagnosis must determine if the imbalance is isolated to the set of correspondences related to the individual organ itself, e.g., excessive joy (the emotion related the heart) injuring the heart viscera. Or, perhaps, an excessive amount of anger (the emotion of the liver) is overflowing along the line of mutual generation and spilling over into the heart. Although this is a simplistic example, Eisai reiterates this sentiment and exhibits a comprehension of the dynamic movement of disease within the five-phase visceral interface system: âThe five viscera are receptive to different flavors. If one flavor is over flavored and too much of it enters [the body], then that organ grows strong and oppressive and nearby viscera will respond by producing illness.â71 What Eisai
As mentioned above, The Chinese medical five-phase system was structured so that a treatment to an area may be addressed indirectly through treating its origin and correspondence within the five-phase paradigm. In other words, in the Chinese medical perspective, to treat the organ of the eye itself is a relatively inferior application of therapy unless physical trauma is present. To effectively administer a therapeutic treatment, a physician would need to identify the source of disharmony within the movement of the five-phases. At the most fundamental level, the source of discord in Chinese medicine for disorders of sight would be the liver viscera as the eyes are one major primary somatic segment associated to the liver viscera along the âsystem of correspondence.â72 Therefore, one would administer any one of the many nourishing life
Having knowledge of this, Eisai was calculated in his choice of citing the Excerpts from the Rituals of the Mandala of the Five Viscera due to its unique nature and emphasis on directing the empowerment of kaji upon the organs of Chinese medicine, which, as displayed above, was the direct route of getting to the source of any disease. To ingest a paper talisman consecrated with kaji (empowered) water to treat afflictions of the eye, does not align itself with classical Chinese medical principles. Eisai apparently was not satisfied with these types of local indigenous treatments. To reiterate Eisaiâs words: âIt would be better to investigate customary practice in China (daguo), and to make known recent methods of treatment there.â74 It is this paperâs contention that Eisaiâs citation was chosen for its unique and modernized application of kaji regarding classical Chinese medical concepts.
11 Discrepancies of Thought
The problem which brought about this study is that Eisai as a figure in Japanese Buddhism is continually overlooked: âWhile other important figures in Japanese Buddhism of the Kamakura period, such as HoÌnen æ³ç¶, Shinran 親é¸, DoÌgen éå
, Eizon å¡å°, and Nichiren æ¥è®, have been studied and revisited by both sectarian and non-sectarian scholars, [Eisai] has not received much attention. He is still discussed in a single frame-work: as the founder of the Japanese Rinzai Zen school (Rinzai shuÌ è¨æ¸å®).â75 In addition to Eisai being neglected as an important historical figure in the history of Japanese Buddhism, his text of the Kissa YoÌjoÌki, the main text of this inquiry, has also avoided serious scrutiny: âBecause Eisaiâs text does not fit particularly well into narratives about the development of cha-no-yu in Japan, it has often been
In addition to being a neglected figure in the history of Japanese Buddhism, there are several other difficulties which make this study relevant. The subjects of this study, Excerpts from the Rituals of the ManÌ£dÌ£ala of the Five Viscera and the term kaji enclosed within have garnered little attention. These subjects are worth discussing because firstly, the Excerpts from the Rituals of the ManÌ£dÌ£ala of the Five Viscera is an enigma in that it no longer survives. And secondly, its citation and propagation by Eisai in a book concerning tea arouses curiosity. Regarding the healing medical technique of kaji, it was introduced by Kukai in the 9th century and â⦠rarely if ever sees it mentioned in the mainstream scholarly literature focusing on the history of medicine in Japan.â77 Moreover, as this study has revealed, the practice of kaji as seen in Eisaiâs text is remarkably engaged with Chinese medicine distinguishing itself from previous past practices of the application of this type of empowerment.
It is this studyâs hope that an examination of these subjects will further the understanding of the esoteric thought of Eisai which has eluded scholarship as ââ¦the biggest problem for understanding [Eisai] is the fact that his earlier career as an esoteric Buddhist thinker has been so little studied. [Eisaiâs] esoteric thought was highly influenced by Taimitsu, and the scholarly neglect of this tradition, in comparison with KuÌkaiâs Shingon, has also contributed to the gaps in our knowledge of [Eisai].â78
It is my contention that previous studies have overlooked the uniqueness of Eisai and the inclusion of this citation, thus underestimating the presence of the term kaji and the nourishing life practices all misguidedly subordinate to the textâs advocation of tea, thus, being so important in establishing his esoteric thought. Furthermore, it is this unique of application of kaji within the Kissa YoÌjoÌki, in contrast to previous usages of the term, which may possibly contradict earlier associations of the Excerpts from the Rituals of the ManÌ£dÌ£ala of the Five Viscera, with what I believe to be are, erroneous correlations.
One possible reason that Eisai has garnered such little attention is the fact that scholars have attributed his citations to nothing more than a mere miscellaneous collection of quotes taken from the Buddhist texts of either Taisho 905 or Taisho 906. Shinya Mano in YoÌsai and Esoteric Buddhism, attributes some of Eisaiâs citations used in the Kissa YoÌjoÌki to Taisho 906: â[Eisai] connected the heart to one of the five steps in the meditative practice for obtaining a perfect
Although no text by the name Secret Excerpts from the Procedure for Destroying the Hells with the Utmost Excellent DhaÌranÌ£iÌs survives, Chen Jinhua has demonstrated that the quotations within it bear and uncanny resemblance to another text called The Esoteric DhaÌranÌ£iÌs Related to the Three Kinds of Siddhi [attainment] Which Allow One to Destroy Hells, Transform Karma, and Transcend the Three Realms ⦠preserved as number 905 in the Taisho edition of the Buddhist cannon and there credited as
a translation by the Indian esoteric master SÌubhakarasimÌ£ha (Shanwuwei, 637â735).81
Benn then refers to the citation under analysis in this essay, Excerpts from the Rituals of the Mandala of the Five Viscera, by further substantiating Chenâs analysis:
Having determined one of Eisaiâs proof texts to be a Japanese Buddhist apocryphon, we may be prepared for the identity of another source cited by Eisai: Excerpts from the Rituals of the Mandalas of the Five Viscera (Gozo mandara giki sho). This text not only correlates the five viscera with buddhas and bodhisattvas but it also instructs the practitioner how to strengthen the five viscera through forming mudras and intoning Sanskrit syllables ⦠Excerpts from the Rituals of the Mandalas of the Five Viscera, like the other esoteric text quoted by Eisai, appears to be another collection of excerpts taken from The Esoteric DhaÌranÌ£iÌs Related to the Three Kinds of Siddhi [Taisho 905] that I mentioned earlier.82
It is indeed quite possible that Eisaiâs uniqueness is overlooked due to the fact that he formulated his therapeutic method from a collection of previous sources. However, I believe the casualness towards his text as nothing more than a mere collection of citations has deprived us of the novelty of his therapeutic approach. Let us examine Chenâs assessment of Taisho 905 as the scriptural source for Eisaiâs Excerpts from the Rituals of the Mandala of the Five Viscera in order to understand its uniqueness.
Chen in his summation of Eisaiâs citation, suggests it origins in Taisho 905:
Given that almost all of these fivefold categories and Correlations can be found in T905, and that T905 seems to be the only known textual source for such a series of fivefold correlations, we can assume that the SonshoÌ darani hajigoku hoÌ misshoÌ and GozoÌ mandara giki shoÌ [Excerpts from the Rituals of the Mandalas of the Five Viscera] were two collections of excerpts cited from one or two versions of T905. This is confirmed by the fact that an alternate title of T905 is âGozoÌ mandaraâ äºèæ¼éç¾ . The fivefold correlation woven in the three siddhi texts centered on the five syllables, whereas the two fivefold correlations in the two
collections, as they were quoted by Eisai, seem to have the five viscera as their most essential component.83
As we now know, the Excerpts from the Rituals of the Mandala of the Five Viscera implore its practitioner to use the threefold tantric method of mandala, mudra and mantra to empower (kaji) a particular organ. If indeed Eisaiâs source text of the Excerpts from the Rituals of the Mandala of the Five Viscera is a collection of quotes from either Taisho 905 or 906, it would be readily apparent in content and grammatical structure. However, an analysis of the contents within both Taisho 905 and 906 not only reveal a dearth of one of the most important terms, kaji, but leave us with little if any resemblance of this verb âempowermentâ acting upon the viscera of Chinese medicine as seen in the Kissa YoÌjoÌki.
A character analysis Taisho 905 reveals that kaji is used three separate times, while its appearance in Kissa YoÌjoÌki amounts to six. The sum total within T-905 not only reveals discrepancies but also insinuates a lack of influence when compared to Eisaiâs text. However, its mere weight in appearance throughout the text is not enough to come to any conclusions; its syntax and function within the two texts will be more revealing.
Our first appraisal of the term kaji å æ within T-905 appears similar in its function as verb acting upon object. However, the recipient of the empowerment is not one of the five viscera of Chinese medicine:
念誦å æãæ°é¼ä¸æ¸ãè³è»èªéãä¸äººä¸æåéåé¼ã
Recite the five syllables and empower the battle drums with them. Then oneâs enemies will be easily subdued, with no casualties of oneâs own. [This is] called the vajra-drum.84
Here we see the term used in conjunction with the act of recitation, 念誦, (to read aloud) in order to activate the esoteric vajra drums. In addition to this, the second appearance of term kaji å æ again appears to be coupled with the act of recitation, only here we now have this recitation in the form of a mantra:
æ·±å¦çè¨å ææ³
The empowering methods with profound and wonderful mantras.85
In the third final appearance of kaji å æ within Taisho 905, we encounter its power lending itself to another esoteric image:
ä¸å¿ç©ºå ·ä¸åè² ãå³æ¯å æä¸ç æ¼è¼ç¾ æ®éä¹æç¡èä¸æä¹
The space at the [center], full of various colors, indicates the empowering of the mandala in the world and the assemblies of the universal gates which are present everywhere.86
Here, in the last time we see the use of kaji å æ, it appears in conjunction with the esoteric technique of a mandala.
With this, we note three occurrences of kaji in T-905 in which one works with empowering an instrument (drum) and the other two occurrences are in conjunction with empowering the esoteric techniques of mantra and mandala. With that said, these three instances bear little if any resemblance to the application of kaji in the Excerpts from the Rituals of the Mandala of the Five Viscera. Furthermore, an analysis of T-906 reveals only one occurrence of kaji which appears in identical likeness to T-905 as seen above: æ·±å¦çè¨å ææ³: âThe empowering methods with profound and wonderful mantras.â And although it is intriguing that T-905 has the alternate title of âGozo mandaraâ (Five Organ Mandala), the absence of the esoteric term kaji å æ is too noticeable to make the assertation of T-905 as the scriptural source for Eisaiâs Excerpts from the Rituals of the Mandala of the Five Viscera.
Lacking the time, space, or certainty to allocate a thorough argument to an alternative to Chenâs assertation of T-905 as the scriptural source of Excerpts from the Rituals of the Mandala of the Five Viscera, perhaps we can tentatively offer a suggestion. Due to Chenâs meticulous scholarship, he has noted that a number of texts were used for content for the composition T-905:
In addition to T907, a number of sources were used in T905. They include nine Buddhists texts that are briefly quoted (1. Da zhidu lun, 2. Da Pilusheâna jing guanda yigui, 3. Cishi pusa luxiu yu âe niansong fa, 4. Suxidi jieluo jing, 5. Jinâ gangding chaoshengsanjie jing shuo Wenshu wuzi zhenyan shengxiang, 6. Da bore bolumiduo jing, 7. Fahua wenju ji, 8. Da boniepan jing, 9. Chengjiu Miaofa lianhua jing wang yuqie quanzhi yigui), three non-Buddhist texts used at some length (Changduan jing, Nanjing, and Huangdi neijing), and two Chinese exegeses that were extensively employed: Zhiyiâs Mohe zhiguan, Yixingâs commentary on Dari Jing.87
One of these texts, the Dari jingshu 大æ¥ç¶ç possibly contains one of the most important keys for unlocking the mystery of the origins of the Excerpts from the Rituals of the Mandala of the Five Viscera.
In Chenâs book Legend and Legitimation: The Formation of Tendai Esoteric Buddhism in Japan, he isolates the passage of the wuzi yanshen guan äºåå´èº«è§, housed within the Dari jingshu, to illustrate the similar tantric practices occurring in Taisho 905, 906 and 907. The excerpt under scrutiny in this section â⦠is a group of five verses found in the seventh fascicle of Dari jing, which is taken as the locus classicus for the wuzi yanshen guan.â88 The wuzi yanshen guan uses the âfive syllables which the practitioner, through visualization, places on the five specific bodily partsâ¦â89 This technique of visualizing syllables on bodily segments is very similar to the practice occurring in each of Taisho 905, 906, and 907 and the source of this technique is likely the wuzi yanshen guan äºåå´èº«è§. Let us examine the five verses found in the seventh fascicle of Dari jing known as the wuzi yanshen guan äºåå´èº«è§:
| é¿åééè² ç¨ä½éå輪 | Syllable a, entirely in the color gold, is used as the vajra-cakra, |
| å ææ¼ä¸é« 說åçç座 | empowered and held on the genitals, called the yogic throne. |
| éåç´ æå å¨æ¼é§èä¸ | Syllable vam, like white moonlight, spread amidst the heavy mist, |
| å æèªèä¸ æ¯å大æ²æ°´ | empowered and held on the navel, called the water of great compassion. |
| Syllable ram, like the rising sun, red and triangular, | |
| å ææ¬å¿ä½ æ¯åæºç«å | empowered and held on the seat of original heart, called the light of wisdom fire. |
| å åå«ç½ç° é»è²å¨é¢¨è¼ª | Syllable ham, Like the flames [that end] a kalpa, black and on the âwind |
| å æç½æ¯«é 說åèªå¨å | cakra, empowered and held between the white eyebrows, named self -existent power. |
| ä½ååç©ºé» ç¸æä¸åè² | Syllable kham and the âdot of emptiness, manifesting themselves in the |
| å æå¨é ä¸ æ åçºå¤§ç©º | âcolor of all colors,â are empowered and held on the top of the [acaryaâs] head, are thus called âgreat space / emptiness.â90 |
In comparison, lets us analyze a paraphrased example of the Excerpts from the Rituals of the Mandala of the Five Viscera from the Kissa YoÌjoÌki:
| 誦[a]åçè¨å æèèæ°¸ç¡ç | ⦠intoning the a syllable mantra will empower the liver viscera, so it will be eternally free of disease |
| 誦[hrih]åçè¨å æå¿èåç¡ç | ⦠intoning the hrīḥ syllable mantra will empower the heart viscus, so it will be free of disease. |
| 誦[trah]åçè¨å æèºèåç¡ç | ⦠intoning the trÄḥ syllable mantra will empower the lung viscus, so it will be free of disease. |
| 誦[ah]åçè¨å æè³¢èåç¡ç | ⦠intoning the aḥ syllable mantra will empower the lung viscus, so it will be free of disease. |
| 誦[vam]åçè¨å æè¾èåç¡ç 91 | ⦠intoning the vaá¹ syllable mantra will empower the spleen viscera, so it will be free of disease. |
In noting the practice of assigning syllables to particular parts of the body in T-905, 906, and 907 as originating in the Dari jingshu with the wuzi yanshen guan, Chen innocently overlooks the similarities with Eisaiâs citation of Excerpts from the Rituals of the Mandala of the Five Viscera which parallel in almost identical fashion. Simply put, what we have here in both texts of the Kissa YoÌjoÌki and the Dari jingshu is the exact phraseology / syntax with a tantric syllable empowering a section of the body:
Dari jingshu: é¿å ééè² ç¨ä½éå輪 å æ æ¼ ä¸é« 說åçç座92
Kissa YoÌjoki: 誦 (a) å çè¨ å æ èè æ°¸ç¡ç ä¹93
When looking at this, what is immediately apparent is a mantric syllable zi å is being used in conjunction with empowerment kaji å æ on a specific body part xiati ä¸é« (genitals). The difference here lies in that the wuzi yanshen guan is stressing the empowerment of a wholly different system of anatomical architecture: the Indic Chakras. While T905, 906 and 907 may adopt and adapt this system of associating a mantric syllable to one of the organs of the five-phases of Chinese medicine, there is unequivocally no process of âempowermentâ kaji being performed on these organs. There is actually very little difference in this phraseology excluding the intention of an organ being disease free wubing ç¡ç .
Apparently, sometime after the translation of the Mahavairocana sutra and Yixingâs commentary to it, the Dari jingshu, there may have been an offshoot or derivative text in which the composer altered and supplemented material with the intention of being directed towards the practice of esoteric Buddhist methods with Chinese medicine. It is quite possible that the Excerpts from the Rituals of the Mandala of the Five Viscera was this derivative text, or a derivative text of the offshoot. In addition, we cannot exclude the possibility that Eisai altered this citation to suit his own needs of a unique therapy to address the concerns of mappÅ.
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Here are some final comments on the uniqueness of the Excerpts from the Rituals of the Mandala of the Five Viscera within the Kissa YoÌjoÌki. It can be said that spiritual pursuits and medicine are consistent in their motives: the health of the individual. Detractors of this declaration may point to the inherent inconsistencies of both pursuits in that one is soteriological in its intent upon the spirit, while the other takes the soma as its object of care. In other words, spiritual pursuits and religion focus on redeeming the intangible through salvation while medicine may direct its therapy towards the tangible.
What is immediately striking in Eisaiâs text is his concern for illness and the proper therapeutic to thwart its progression. This is quite intriguing considering Buddhismâs historical insistence on overcoming the physical existence of the body. Yet however, at times within Buddhism, techniques are suggested which did âuse the body as its primary vehicle for refinement and cultivation and therefore is fundamentally Chinese, and not Buddhist, in character.â94 Eisai and this citation appear to fall into this category and are a reflection of contemporaneous representations of the anatomical architecture of both Buddhism and Daoism. While some previous esoteric Buddhist attempts at understanding the body focused on empowering the chakras, Eisaiâs intent is to take the latest anatomical medical knowledge from China, in lieu of chakras, to further refine a technique which employs both esoteric Buddhist and Chinese medical techniques.
This essay set out to accomplish one thing: to establish the uniqueness of the application of the term kaji within the citation Excerpts from the Rituals of the Mandala of the Five Viscera in Eisaiâs text of the Kissa Yojoki. We first established a solid background of Eisaiâs concern for mappÅ and the travels which necessitated the cultivation of a more refined application of this technique of kaji. Once this need was established, we loosely examined some previous uses of kaji within Japanese Buddhism which was imported by Kukai in the 9th century. This analysis of previous applications of kaji when compared to its function in the Excerpts from the Rituals of the Mandala of the Five Viscera, demonstrated a uniqueness in function unseen before in regard to empowering the viscera of Chinese medicine. Although further research into Kukaiâs application of this technique and others prior to writing of the Kissa YoÌjoÌki must be undertaken to further this argument, it is quite compelling that the secondary literature reviewed saw little mention of the activation of kaji upon the viscera of the body.
MyoÌan Eisaiâs text of the Kissa YoÌjoÌki is a text which bridges the pursuit of both redemption and recovery; a text intolerant of the bifurcation of body and mind which refuses to see the recovery of the soma as a subsidiary to the salvation of the soul. As an extension of this lineage of Buddhist appropriation of traditional Chinese medical techniques, the Kissa YoÌjoÌki with the inclusion of the Excerpts from the Rituals of the Mandala of the Five Viscera, is a text which not only recognizes the anatomical architecture upon which we are built, but also ensnared within; and that in order to free the spirit we have to operate under the parameters that are set by the body. In other words, we have to operate according to the rules of anatomical physiology; if disease moves along a âsystem of correspondences,â we must cure it at its root within this âvisceral interface system.â Just as higher states of consciousness and samadhi are only accessible through the physiological processes of qi æ°£ and breath xi æ¯, the healing of disease must operate through the five-phase paradigm within the Kissa YoÌjoÌki. Furthermore, as Eisai sees it, it is only this acknowledgment of the physiology of the five-phase visceral interface system coupled with kaji, which will be able to save us in this final age of the Dharma, mappÅ.
Shinya Mano, âYÅsai and Esoteric Buddhism,â in Esoteric Buddhism and the Tantras in East Asia, ed. Charles Orzech, Richard Payne, and Henrik Sørensen (Brill, 2011), 829.
Eisaiâs Kissa YoÌjoÌki is an early Buddhist text which employs the terms (Jp. yojo) (Ch. yangsheng): nourishing life. For the purpose of this paper, I refrain from delving into the history of Daoist breathing exercises and gymnastics and whether or not they preceded the creation of Chinese medicine, thus being separate traditions distinct from one another. This essay takes a holistic view that presently all therapeutics aimed at health fall under the rubric of Chinese medicine.
James A. Benn, Tea in China: A Religious and Cultural History (Honolulu: University of HawaiÊ»i Press, 2015), 145. I must express my gratitude to Albert Welter for introducing me to the works of MyoÌan Eisai and his book of Tea. In addition, acknowledgment must be expressed at the outset of this essay to James Benn and Jinhua Chen. Bennâs translation of the Kissa YoÌjoÌki has been an indispensable aid for the research of this paper and Chenâs book Legend and Legitimation: The Formation of Tendai Esoteric Buddhism in Japan is a wealth of information. My research is simultaneously a continuation, yet departure from the scholarship of both Benn and Chen.
Benn, Tea in China: A Religious and Cultural History, 145.
Benn, Tea in China: A Religious and Cultural History, 146.
Benn, Tea in China: A Religious and Cultural History, 146.
Benn, Tea in China: A Religious and Cultural History, 159â160.
David Dear, âChinese Yangsheng: Self-Help and Self-Image,â Asian Medicine 7, no. 1 (2012): 1â33, 1.
Dear, âChinese Yangsheng: Self-Help and Self-Imageâ, 2.
Yoshinobu Sakade, Taoism, Medicine and Qi in China and Japan (Osaka: Kansai University Press, 2007), 148.
Sakade, Taoism, Medicine and Qi in China and Japan, 150â152.
Sakade, Taoism, Medicine and Qi in China and Japan, 145. Regarding this comment, Michael Stanley-Baker takes issue with Yoshinobuâs loose association of Daoism and yojo / yangsheng practices such as immortality; this is a point in need of further clarification as it is important to note the web of connections here between immortality, Chinese medicine, and Daoism. When discussing nourishing life, the concept of immortality arises, and with that, Daoism and its influences on health and science. The connections here are often not as straightforward as we would like and are passionately discussed and debated, and it would do well to briefly acknowledge these difficulties.
As Nathan Sivin notes in seminal article in 1979, common thought tended to group Daoism into either the two camps of daojia é家 or daojiao éæ; daojia denoting the philosophies and Laozi and Zhuangzi, while daojiao referencing those that had immortality in mind. As Sivin notes, these neat distinctions are the âcreation of modern historians.â Sivin also exposes the tenuous evidence linking certain historical individualsâ interest in magic, medicine, and alchemy to any connection with âlarge scale Daoist organizations.â Venturing further, Sivin demonstrates that the widespread interest in immortality and breath control were commonplace between all strata of Chinese culture and were not exclusively Daoist practices; this essay will also demonstrate this fact. Regarding the copious amounts of esoteric ideas associated with Daoism, Sivin suggests possible connections between a penchant for preservation, opportunistic personalities and their desire for any knowledge of salvation, and the safeguarding of older traditions against the encroachment of Buddhism. See Nathan Sivin, âOn the Wordâ Taoistâ as a Source of Perplexity. With Special Reference to the Relations of Science and Religion in Traditional China,â History of Religions 17, no. 3/4 (1978): 303â30. In a more recent, multifaceted approached article, Michael Stanley-Baker continues to uncover the difficulties in finding a link between practices and the populace. Baker reveals that the ideological concept of âDaoist medicineâ is a is a neologism and again a modern product of historians. In their attempt to compress the historical practice of medicine across time, a grand narrative arose associating Daoism with medicine. Baker states: âThat is, we need to examine, compare and contrast how individuals in different times identified curing practices with the universal Dao or the little daos, or practices from specific lineages, rather than bludgeon our historical material with unsophisticated categories in an attempt to force it into modern, ill-fitting conceptual frames. In so doing we can better understand the history of how the Dao was reproduced in therapeutics through new and varied discursive means over time.â Michael Stanley-Baker, âDaoing Medicine: Practice Theory for Considering Religion and Medicine in Early Imperial China,â East Asian Science, Technology, and Medicine 50, no. 1 (2019): 21â66, 54.
An important note to this statement here has to do with the overall composition of the Kissa YoÌjoÌki in that immortality is antithetical to the Buddhist mind set.
The final and degenerative age of the Buddhist Dharma where individuals are left unto their own means.
Benn, Tea in China: A Religious and Cultural History, 157.
Benn, Tea in China: A Religious and Cultural History, 157.
Benn, Tea in China: A Religious and Cultural History, 157.
This is an interesting point that Japanese Buddhist, who were a class of physicians in Japan, were incompetent in Eisaiâs view of treating illness.
Benn, Tea in China: A Religious and Cultural History, 157.
As mentioned above, the IshinpÅ is a fundamental medical text of Japan dating from the 10th century espousing nourishing life practices and traditional Chinese medical therapies such as acupuncture. Confirming Eisaiâs denial of the influential weight of this text, the IshinpÅ advocates that practice of acupuncture, and Eisai, as mentioned previously, clearly finds the practice of needling to be harmful and ineffectual. It is of wonder why Eisai found acupuncture needling ineffective and of what other practices in the IshinpÅ he thought ineffectual?
Benn, Tea in China: A Religious and Cultural History, 158. The exact phrase Eisai uses here is: ä¸å¦è¨ªå¤§åä¹é¢¨ç¤ºè¿ä»£æ²»æ¹ä¹. The Chinese characters of è¿ä»£ jindai (recent, modern times), very much suggest that Eisai was exposed to something very unique while in China. Taken from the online database CBETA, Taisho Tripitaka. 0175, Kissa YoÌjoÌki å«è¶é¤çè¨è¥¿; paragraph [0419a05] http://tripitaka.cbeta.org/B32n0175_001.
Benn, Tea in China: A Religious and Cultural History, 158.
Translation of titles adopted from James Benn.
Translation of titles adopted from James Benn.
To clarify, although tea is introduced immediately at the outset of the text as a transcendent healing herb, I do not yet consider the ingestion of tea as a healing technique.
This is an important point as we shall later attempt to distinguish Eisaiâs citation from contemporary visceral visualization methods / Body Mandala examples of his time.
Fabrizio Pregadio, ed. The Encyclopedia of Daoism A-Z. (New York: Routledge Press, 2008), 81.
Stephen Eskildsen, Daoism, Meditation, and the Wonders of Serenity (New York: State University of New York Press, 2015), 42.
Henrick Sørensen, The Apocrypha and Esoteric Buddhism in China. In Orzech, Charles D., Henrik H. Sorensen, and Richard K. Payne, (eds.) Esoteric Buddhism and the Tantras in East Asia. Vol. 24 (Brill, 2011), 191.
Rudolf Pfister, âOn the Meditative Use of the Body Maps Found in the Composite Text âSongs of the Bodily Huskâ (Ti ke ge),â Journal of Medical Anthropology 39, no. 1 (2016), 56â75, 64â65. Pfisterâs interesting article provides much of the foundational information here for the usage of the viscera as a meditational map. My aim here is to link Eisaiâs technique with the already established scholarship in this area and to also situate Eisai in an esoteric milieu.
Pfister, âOn the Meditative Use of the Body Maps Found in the Composite Text âSongs of the Bodily Huskâ (Ti ke ge)â, 64.
Pregadio, ed. The Encyclopedia of Daoism, 329.
Pfister, âOn the Meditative Use of the Body Maps Found in the Composite Text âSongs of the Bodily Huskâ (Ti ke ge)â, 67.
Helpful comments to this paper have suggested that the locations of both Su Shi and Zeng Zao are perhaps somewhat too tenuous to suggest a geographical link. Nevertheless, this circumstantial evidence is included but will require further research.
Shih-Shan Susan Huang. Picturing the True Form: Daoist Visual Culture in Traditional China (Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2012), 71.
Benn, Tea in China: A Religious and Cultural History, 159â160.
The five-phase visceral interface system will be explained in more detail below.
Sakade, Taoism, Medicine and Qi in China and Japan, 56.
Taken from the Huangting Neijing jing. Sakade Yoshinobu details these names occurring in the 8th chapter of the Neijing jing.
C. Pierce Salguero, Translating Buddhist Medicine in Medieval China (University of Hawaii Press, 2014), 5.
It is difficult to traverse the many nuances of mudras and mantras from one tradition to another. At their most fundamental level, mudras are hand gestures while mantras are words cited in repetition. These are tools and techniques performed to assist the practitioner in moments of sacredness.
Monier-Williams. A Dictionary, English and Sanskrit. Lucknow: Akhila Bharatiya Sanskrit Parishad; (Sole Distributors: Munshi Ram Manohar Lal, Delhi, 1957), 22.
Shozui Toganoo, The Symbol-System of Shingon Buddhism (1970): ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, 35.
Pamela D. Winfield, âCuring with Kaji: Healing and Esoteric Empowerment in Japan.â Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 32.1 (2005): 107â30, 109.
David Lion Gardiner, Kukai and the Beginning of Shingon Buddhism in Japan (Stanford University: ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 1995), 252â253.
Winfield, âCuring with Kaji: Healing and Esoteric Empowerment in Japanâ, 110.
Winfield, âCuring with Kaji: Healing and Esoteric Empowerment in Japanâ, 110.
Winfield, âCuring with Kaji: Healing and Esoteric Empowerment in Japanâ, 111.
Katja Triplett, âMagical Medicine? - Japanese Buddhist Medical Knowledge and Ritual Instruction for Healing the Physical Body.â Japanese Religions 37, 1&2 (2012): 63â92, 85.
Winfield, âCuring with Kaji: Healing and Esoteric Empowerment in Japanâ, 112.
While comparisons are made to Kukaiâs application of kaji, a more thorough analysis of his works are needed. In the number of secondary works reviewed for this article, I failed to find any techniques used by Kukai in which kaji was used on the five viscera of Chinese medicine.
Winfield, âCuring with Kaji: Healing and Esoteric Empowerment in Japanâ, 108.
Winfield, âCuring with Kaji: Healing and Esoteric Empowerment in Japanâ, 108.
Winfield, âCuring with Kaji: Healing and Esoteric Empowerment in Japanâ, 109.
Winfield, âCuring with Kaji: Healing and Esoteric Empowerment in Japanâ, 111â112.
The Five Phases is an ancient system of science which explains the various functions and mechanisms of the body which all operate under and within the five main visceral-interface system of the body: Heart, Lungs, Liver, Spleen and Kidneys. I will use both the standard translation of five phases as the âsystem of correspondenceâ and the âvisceral interface system.â A brief explanation follows below.
Winfield, âCuring with Kaji: Healing and Esoteric Empowerment in Japanâ, 112.
Benn, Tea in China: A Religious and Cultural History, 160.
The five fundamental organs of Chinese medicine, divided respectively into their yinyang pairings are: Liver / Gallbladder; Lung / Large intestine; Heart / Small intestine; Spleen / Stomach; Kidney / Bladder. Present also are the Triple Burner and Pericardium, but they are beyond the scope of this discussion.
Paul U. Unschuld, Medicine in China: A History of Ideas (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1985), 68.
Benn, Tea in China: A Religious and Cultural History, 158.
See section [0419b11] in the Kissa YoÌjoÌki 0175. James Benn translates this passage in his Tea in China: A Religious and Cultural History and represents it in a graph. I chose to display it in a more literary style to illustrate the chain of connections from one link to another. This was done to demonstrate the âsystem of correspondenceâ and how treatment to one link in the chain will inevitably affect other links along down the chain.
Unschuld, Medicine in China: A History of Ideas, 52.
Unschuld, Medicine in China: A History of Ideas, 54.
In his History of Chinese Medicine, Paul Unschuld notes this often mistranslation but points to the fact that throughout Chinese history sources do refer to the substantial necessities of not only grain, but the elements of water, fire, metal, wood, and earth.
Geoffrey Lloyd and Nathan Sivin, The Way and the Word (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2002), 197. Please refer to Sivinâs discussion in the appendix for a more detailed analysis of the elements within Chinese cosmology and their Greek counterpart.
It is beyond the scope of this paper to explain this in full, this discussion refrains from intricacies of the movements within the five-phases and stresses only the generating and controlling interactions. For an exceptional cerebral explanation of the five-phases, please refer to Joseph Needhamâs Science and Civilization in China, Volume II. One may also refer to a basic textbook of Chinese medicine to grasp a basic understanding of how diagnosis and treatment may be applied via five-phase theory.
Briefly, there are several etiological factors of disease stemming from either environmental or human activities which can cause an imbalance and disharmony of either yinyang, the five phases (organs), qi, blood, fluids, essence, and spirit. The goal of Chinese therapeutics is to restore harmony and balance to either any excess or deficiency within one of these rubrics of health, either along the âsystem of correspondenceâ or through simple application of its harmonious counterpart to restore balance. Simplistically, if one has a disease and is running a fever (yang), administer cooling herbs (yin); if oneâs bodily fluids are dry, add moistening herbs; and if one has difficulties with any set of corresponding bodily phenomena associated with one of the organs of the five-phases, restore balance to the organ through proper treatment. For Eisai, as we shall see, this was his preferred method of treatment.
Each of the five viscera of Chinese medicine have an emotional component to them which can demonstrate nicely the âsystem of correspondenceâ and the delicate balance needed within these correspondences. The Heart is associated with joy; the Spleen with thinking; the Lungs with grief; the Kidneys with fear; and the Liver with anger. Taking the Heart as an example, a healthy amount of joy or laughter is appropriate for a balanced healthy lifestyle. If, however, at any point whether laughter or joy becomes excessive or for that matter deficient, there is an unhealthy balance. This would be one diagnostic indicator a physician would use to determine the root cause of illness. The Heart, being the house for happiness, would be suspected of being diseased. Or a physician may suspect a healthy unbalance within another organ along the movement of the five-phases which is affecting a neighboring organ.
Unschuld, Medicine in China: A History of Ideas, 59. Paul Unschuld references Joseph Needhamâs monumental series of Science and Civilization in China, Volume II, in order to demonstrate the generating and controlling cycles.
Unschuld, Medicine in China: A History of Ideas, 87â88.
Benn, Tea in China: A Religious and Cultural History, 159. The original line in the Kissa YoÌjoÌki reads as such: æ¤äºèåå³ä¸å好å³å¤å ¥åå ¶èå¼·å° åèäºçç . See section [0419b20] in the Kissa YoÌjoÌki 0175. Although Bennâs translation of this passage may be interpreted as a movement of disease along the line of mutual generation, because of Eisaiâs knowledge of the five-phase paradigm, it is possible that Eisai may be referring to the more complicated movement of disease along the controlling cycle within the five-phases visceral interface. Here, Eisai uses the verb ke å° (restrain, control, overcome). The term ke å° is normally used to represent the controlling movement along the âsystem of correspondenceâ within the five-phases. However, a character analysis conducted of the Chinese medical classics on the online digital database Chinese Text Project (ctext.org), revealed a surprising dearth of the term of ke å° in both the Huangdi Neijing Suwen Lingshu (Yellow Emperorâs Classic of Simple Questions and Needle Therapy) and the Nan jing (Classic of Difficulties); the classics seem to prefer the term sheng å (overcome, keep in check). However, a variation of the character ke å° was found to be present in the Shanghan lun å·å¯è« (Treatise of Cold Damage): èºå±¬éï¼éä¾åæ¨ (Lung is classified under metal; metal restrains (controls) wood.) It is not surprising that the classical medical text about the damage of cold would have an elaborate five-phase movement discussed in relation to the possibilities variations of cold damaging the lungs, but it is surprising to see Eisai employ this type of movement, if indeed it is what he suggests. I do not know when authors started using the term ke å° rather than sheng å, but we do see it used by Ming physicians. For a general discussion of generating and control cycles in the Ming dynasty, see Leslie de Vries (2012), The Gate of Life: Before Heaven and Curative Medicine in Zhao Xiankeâs Yiguan, [Unpublished dissertation]. Ghent University. More importantly though, is that Eisai is demonstrating a knowledge of the pathological movements along the âsystem of correspondenceâ in classical Chinese medical theory. More research needs to be conducted regarding this topic.
Unschuld offers an interesting discussion regarding the âsystem of correspondenceâ and the failure of cataract surgery to take traction within China. Introduced by Buddhist missionaries from India in the first millennia, cataract surgery failed to take hold even though having a successful history. Whether it was pre-existing prejudices against alien Buddhism or ideological differences in medical philosophy as a problematic factor, it is interesting that surgery imported from India failed to develop in China. For further discussion see Unschuldâs Medicine in China: A History of Ideas.
The liver channel commences at the tip of the large toe, runs up the inner thigh, and then to the abdomen proximal to the liver itself; here the energetics of the channel submerge into the liver, meet at the lung, and then travels upwards towards the eye. Since the energetics of the channel here are submerged, one theoretically can treat disorders of the eye through stimulation of the acupuncture point anywhere along the channel from the foot to the abdomen, or corresponding liver points on other channels.
Benn, Tea in China: A Religious and Cultural History, 158.
Mano, Yosai and Esoteric Buddhism, 827.
Benn, Tea in China: A Religious and Cultural History, 146.
Winfield, âCuring with Kaji: Healing and Esoteric Empowerment in Japanâ, 108.
Mano, Yosai and Esoteric Buddhism, 828.
Mano, Yosai and Esoteric Buddhism, 831.
Jinhua Chen, Legend and Legitimation: The Formation of Esoteric Buddhism in Japan (Bruxelles: Institut Belge Des Hautes Etudes Chinoises, 2009), 241. An outstanding work of research, a quick overview of Chenâs argument is needed. Although complicated, there were three siddhi (magical) texts thought to have been composed in China by the Indian patriarch SÌubhakarasimÌ£ha (Ch. Shanwuwei, 637â735). These texts are (translated by Chen): The Esoteric DhaÌranÌ£iÌs Related to the Three Kinds of Siddhi [Which Lead to] the Smashing of the [Torments of Hell], the Transformation of Karma and the Transcending of the Three Realms (Taisho 905); The Manual of DhaÌranÌ£iÌs Related to the Three Ranks of Siddhi [Which Belong to] the Supreme Mind of the Buddhosnisa, [and Lead to] the Smashing of [the Torments of] Hells, the Transformation of Karma and the Transcending of the Three Realms (Taisho 906); and The Esoteric DhaÌranÌ£iÌs [Which Belong to] Supreme Mind of the Buddhosnisa, [and Lead to] the Smashing of [the Torments of] Hells, the Transformation of Karma and the Transcending of the Three Realms (Taisho 907).
These texts were thought to have been translated into Chinese by SÌubhakarasimÌ£ha. However, being previously under scrutiny, and now with the arrival Chenâs research, these texts are considered to have not been composed by SÌubhakarasimÌ£ha due to the considerable indigenous Sinitic influence within them such as the five-phase theory, anachronistic ideas which came after SÌubhakarasimÌ£ha such as sophisticated esoteric versions of the five-divisions and variations of the five-Buddhas, and the textsâ influence on the certificates of esoteric transmission. The texts of Taisho 905, 906, and 907 are now thought to have been composed in Japan to legitimize Saicho and Tendai, with T-907 considered being first composed by Tendai monk Annen (841â904?); composed several hundred years before Eisai.
Benn, Tea in China: A Religious and Cultural History, 151.
Benn, Tea in China: A Religious and Cultural History, 152.
Chen, Legend and Legitimation: The Formation of Esoteric Buddhism in Japan, 243.
Chen, Legend and Legitimation: The Formation of Esoteric Buddhism in Japan, 272.
Chen, Legend and Legitimation: The Formation of Esoteric Buddhism in Japan, 273.
Chen, Legend and Legitimation: The Formation of Esoteric Buddhism in Japan, 298â299.
Chen, Legend and Legitimation: The Formation of Esoteric Buddhism in Japan, 166.
Chen, Legend and Legitimation: The Formation of Esoteric Buddhism in Japan, 206.
Chen, Legend and Legitimation: The Formation of Esoteric Buddhism in Japan, 203.
Chen, Legend and Legitimation: The Formation of Esoteric Buddhism in Japan, 206.
See section [0419b20] Kissa Yojoki å«è¶é¤çè¨è¥¿ 0175.
Chen translates as such: âThe syllable a, entirely in the color of gold, is used as the vajra-cakra, empowered and held on the genitals, called the yogic throne.â 206.
âChanting the a syllabic mantra will empower the liver viscera, thus being forever free of disease.â
Sakade, Taoism, Medicine and Qi in China and Japan, 93.
Bibliography
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Chen, Jinhua. Legend and Legitimation: The Formation of Esoteric Buddhism in Japan. Bruxelles: Institut Belge Des Hautes Etudes Chinoises, 2009.
Dear, David. âChinese Yangsheng: Self-Help and Self-Image.â Asian Medicine 7, no. 1 (2012): 1â33.
de Vries, Leslie. (2012), The Gate of Life: Before Heaven and Curative Medicine in Zhao Xiankeâs Yiguan, [Unpublished dissertation]. Ghent University.
Eskildsen, Stephen. Daoism, Meditation, and the Wonders of Serenity. New York: State University of New York Press, 2015.
Gardiner, David Lion. Kukai and the Beginning of Shingon Buddhism in Japan. Stanford University: ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 1995.
Huang, Shih-Shan Susan. Picturing the True Form: Daoist Visual Culture in Traditional China. Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2012.
Lloyd, Geoffrey and Sivin, Nathan. The Way and the Word. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2002.
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Sakade Yoshinobu. Taoism, Medicine and Qi in China and Japan. Osaka: Kansai University Press, 2007.
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Taisho Tripitaka. 0175, Kissa YoÌjoÌki å«è¶é¤çè¨ (The Record of Drinking Tea and Nourishing Life). MyoÌan Eisai æè´æ 西.
Toganoo, Shozui. The Symbol-System of Shingon Buddhism (1970): ProQuest Dissertations and Theses.
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