Hmmm... We did have a Tendai priest as a member here at one time. Maybe he is too busy. In religious mikkyo, there are some rituals that involve repeating the same phrase 20,000 times per day for fifty days straight! So maybe he does not have time to browse the Web often?
I'll do my best to address the inquiry. My path lies in spirituality beyond the constraints of religion. But there is much of value that can be salvaged from religious institutions.
VARIOUS DEFINITIONS OF TANTRA
1) using the powers of the physical world to produce personal enlightenment
2) the most expedient utilization of desire and sense perceptions
3) transformation and expansion of energetic consciousness (My life is aptly captured by the phrase - "pushing out from within".)
4) wisdom of skillful means
5) In the mundane lie the keys to the sacred.
6) "perkiness, outrageousness, inscrutability" (This is a Tibetan phrase)
Mikkyo is Japanese tantra.
Zomitsu is non-religious Mikkyo.
Shugendo started off as primarily Zomitsu plus Dokyo (esoteric Taoism). Then later it evolved and adapted through the centuries and was heavily involved in the process of shinbutsu shugo "merging gods and Buddhas" as a hybrid offspring of Shinto and Buddhism. Perhaps this was mostly for the sake of fitting in. As I was raised as a Unitarian Universalist, this has seemed to be the most appropriate path for me.
MIKKYO GENERAL OVERVIEW
There are three types, according to orthodox views:
1) "Miscellaneous Category" - early Indian tantric kriya (7th-8th Century C.E.), a few scattered wandering Taoists, Japanese "Natural Wisdom" school (8th Century C.E.), Japanese Shugendo, and Japanese Tachikawa (unorthodox mix of Mikkyo, Taoism, popular culture, and ritualized sex; believed to be extinguished by orthodox Mikkyo)
2) "Pure Category" - Chinese (9th Century C.E., then extinct), Japanese Tendai and Shingon (9th Century C.E. to present)
3) "Late Indian Schools" - involve ritualized sex. The most complete lineage in this category escaped from India to Tibet to avoid the Muslim invasions, circa 13th Century C.E. The Dalai Lama practices Vajrayana, a.k.a. Mikkyo. And in India today, Buddhism and Hindu tantra exist as a small minority within the larger system of Hinduism. These are mostly in a state of decay.
"Pure" is defined as the combination of two innovative sutras from 7th-8th Century C.E.: Dainichi-kyo and Kongocho-gyo, with Yoga Sutra and others as supplementary.
The sanshin (triple heart) of Mikkyo is a basic interactive description: knowledge of self, knowledge of others, and knowledge of proper ideals - all three equal to each other.
THE PROCESS
"Deity" does not have the same connotation as a Western deity I think. (One could view the following definition as a useful piece of insight into any religion's true purpose however.) "Deity" is a psychological portrait of a visualized archetype, or an ideal human character quality. In the long term, a "deity" will have a psychosomatic effect on the internal physiological energy state through the process of kaji "mutual empowerment".
Kaji means "mutual empowerment" between self and deity. This is a distinct break from orthodox Mahayana or Pure Land (exoteric Buddhism). The exoteric teachings emphasize the jiga or "ego" (atman in Hindu) as the source of all suffering in one's lifestyle. Their drastic cure was muga or "no self" elimination of the ego. Their ideal was muyoku or "no desire" by extinguishing the proverbial self. Mikkyo, on the other hand, emphasizes the doctrine of daiga or "great self" achieved by dissolving the ego's limitations or conventional boundaries. Something similar is today's transpersonal psychology I suppose. Nothing is destroyed or eliminated, merely elevated in quality and form. The motivations of the small self "ego" are expanded to the motives of the larger self or "daiga", bypassing the ego's limitations with a different strategy behind the practices. The limitations of the self are dissolved through the "energy of enlightenment" a.k.a. the three powers:
Sanriki - "three powers"
1) self-merit - energy generated by the individual with sanmitsu (triple secret) exercises of mudra, mantra, and mandala
2) Buddha-empowerment - protective, responsive, enfolding power of Buddha-mind (Wisdom sutras, sangha community, etc.)
3) Dharma Realm - the six elements that make self and Buddha equal: Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, Void/Space, and Consciousness. In my own words, I would say these are character qualities intrinsic to the inanimate, as well as living, world.
If I were to translate this Sanriki framework into modern mechanics, I would say the "first power" is like the capacity to store a charge, the "second power" is the source, and the third is the knobs and switches and controls.
ACTUAL PRACTICES
Enough with theory! From science, we know that if you rub magnets enough times together, you condition the inanimate matter toward a charge polarity. This can alter the object's ability to conduct energy in the real world. The actual practices of Mikkyo have this in mind. The untrained human body typically has too much Yin energy in the lower body and too much Yang in the upper body. Prominent examples in the public eye are the physiques of Ronald Reagan, David Hasselhoff, and uhh... Foghorn Leghorn. <ahem> These exercises aim to reverse this polarity.
As I learned tantric kriya (a misc. form of Mikkyo), the curriculum has four stages for physical exercise with sequential muscular energy locks:
1) Magnetize the spine so Yin energy can rise to awaken the brow point or pineal gland and energize the brain. (as opposed to Zen which concentrates on hara first - Zen is most popular school of Buddhism in Japan today.)
2) Allow Yang energy to descend by opening the lower three chakras, balancing Yin/Yang completely.
3) Physical exercises to open the heart and throat points so that the "cosmic fire ascends sushumna" or shen type of ki climbs up the spine, putting the entire system in complete internal balance
4) Transition from internal energy to external release through the "moon chakra" in the back of the top of the head.
Esoteric anatomy fascinates me! This is the microcosm.
The macrocosm is the general format of esoteric ritual. This was derived from ancient Indian etiquette for a host to receive a guest. The ritual practitioner is the host, and the central deity is the guest. This format is adapted many different ways to suit the occasion.
STAGE I: Preparation.
goshin-ho, "being-protecting" techniques
shogon gyoja-ho, "practitioner exaltation" techniques
STAGE II: Purify the Area.
kekkai-ho, "realm establishing" techniques of consecration.
- empower the various offerings
- fix the place where the honored guest is to received
STAGE III: Inner Room.
shogon dojo-ho, "meditation hall exaltation" techniques
- practitioner creates a cosmic center of meditation using dojo-kan "visualization"
- the guest is visualized
STAGE IV: Reception.
- a symbolic vehicle is sent to fetch the guest
shinrei "ringing of a bell" as music to welcome the arrival
kechigo-ho "establishing protections" technique akin to closing the doors at a party to prevent any outside disturbance
kuyo-ho "offering and homage" techniques to serve refreshents
STAGE V: Union.
- conversation between guest and host becomes more intimate, until mind-to-mind connection is made
- the deity is invoked
nyuga-ga'nyu "self entering Buddha, Buddha entering self"
- countless specific techniques at the heart of the practice
STAGE VI: Exit.
gokuyo "ending offerings" as parting refreshments
gekai "dissolving the realm" by opening the proverbial doors and removing outer protections
shinrei "ringing of a bell" as parting music
hakken "dispatch" with vehicle to return the deity to its essential realm in the collective unconscious of subliminal culture
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I've left out countless details, but that's about the general picture. I am sure my life will continue to be drastically altered in these types of ways by what I learn tomorrow.
Paul Madory