James Baquet

    jamesbaquet@gmail.com

    THE Japanese word for “great teacher” (大师) is pronounced “daishi” and one great teacher stands out above the rest, having been designated THE Daishi. His name was Kukai (Konghai to the Chinese) and his full title Kobo Daishi (Hongfa Dashi) — the great teacher who spreads the Dharma (the Buddha’s teachings).

    Born on the island of Shikoku in 774, his life inspired a pilgrimage to 88 temples on that island, which tradition says started not too long after his death in 835. It continues to this day (I had the privilege of completing it in 2001).

    But perhaps of interest to our readers is that Kukai came to Chang’an — modern Xi’an — for study in the early 9th century. He was shipwrecked on the coast of Fujian. After a delay he traveled to the capital, where he lived at Ximing Temple. (The historical temple has been lost, but he is still honored at a reconstruction.)

    But it was at Qinglong Temple where he met the Chinese Master Huiguo, who himself had been a disciple of Amoghavajra, a monk of the Indian tradition and one of the great translators of Sanskrit texts into Chinese.

    So in three generations an esoteric Buddhist tradition sometimes called Vajrayana changed hands from an Indian monk to a Chinese one, and then on to a Japanese one.

    Returning to Japan, Kukai founded Shingon (Chinese Zhenyan, but also called Tangmi or Esoteric [Doctrine] of the Tang [Dynasty]). This teaching has died out in China, but is still fairly popular in Japan.

    Images of Kobo Daishi can be found in temples along the route he followed through China.