Paper short abstract:

This paper discusses the characteristics of the ideas of the body-mind complex of Tendai/Zen priest Eisai (1141-1215) as described in Ingoshū (written in 1181, revised in 1190), in their relation to both Tendai and Shingon esoteric Buddhism; it further traces their influence in medieval Japan.

Paper long abstract:

The Tendai priest Eisai (1141-1215) was active between the end of the Insei Period and the early Kamakura period. In his late work entitled Kissa yōjōki (1211-1214), he explains the technique to harmonize the functions of the body through drinking tea, based on the Sonshō darani ha jigoku giki hishō and the Gozō mandara gikishō (in fascicle 1), and rituals to dispel evil spirits and heal diseases by employing mulberry, according to the Taigensui daishō giki hishō (fascicle 2). This text reflects Eisai's ultimate vision of the body-mind complex. This vision, which understands the functions of body and mind as closely interconnected, is succinctly expounded in the Ingoshū (written in 1181, revised in 1190 during Eisai's second visit to Song China). This text presents the unity of Vajra and diamond mandala realms and of principle (ri) and wisdom (chi) through the similitude of the union between man and woman.

This paper discusses the characteristics of Eisai's ideas of the body-mind complex, and places them within the two major lineages of Japanese Esoteric Buddhism (Tendai/Taimitsu and Shingon/Tōmitsu). Our discussion will present a picture of Eisai that is quite different from the received one as a Zen patriarch and one of the founders of tea ceremony. Such a difference is a consequence of historical developments in the understanding of Eisai's thought. In this paper, I will trace the influence of Eisai's thought on medieval Japanese conceptions of the body-mind complex.