TOPICAL SEMINAR BUDDHIST STUDIES

This is a thematic course, which explores one of the major systems of Buddhist thought and practice developed in East Asia, with specific attention to Japan: the Tantric tradition, often known in East Asia as “esoteric Buddhism" (mijiao/mikkyō). We will assess its historical dynamics, the philosophical tenets that characterise it, its textual and ritual corpus, representative practices and visual culture. Our discussion will be based on two types of source material: the scriptural and hermeneutical literature of the Sino-Japanese canon; Japanese socio-historical evidence and material culture, both pre-modern and contemporary. We will also engage in a critical appraisal of the ways in which this specific tradition has been studied, in East Asia and in the West.

At the end of the course the student will be able to
1) account for the characteristics of Tantric Buddhism in East Asia;
2) examine in depth one aspects of that tradition;
3) critically evaluate the role of Tantric Buddhism in the broader context of the cultures in which it developed;
4) assess how that tradition has been studied and presented, in East Asia and in the West.

Together with these subject-specific learning outcomes, the course will contribute to the achievement of
1) informed examination of a historical religious tradition
2) critical analysis of competing interpretative frameworks
3) general transferable skills, such as the ability to synthesise information from a range of sources, make judgments based on appropriate evidence and communicate ideas.

There are no prerequisites for this course, but a general knowledge of East Asian history and religions will enhance the learning process.

1. Introduction
Course overview and bibliography
Characteristics of East Asian Buddhism

2. What is ‘esoteric Buddhism’?
State of the field
‘Purity’, secrecy and magic: interpretative categories

3. Lineages and sectarian perceptions
A (very) short history of esoteric Buddhism from China to Japan --and back to China
Places and people: locating esoteric Buddhism

4. Lineages and sectarian perceptions (II)
Shared elements between Tantric schools
Is medieval Japanese Buddhism all tantric Buddhism?

5. A Philosophical approach to Tantric Buddhism I
Of buddhas and buddha-bodies
A mandalic reality

6. A Philosophical approach to Tantric Buddhism II
A world made of sounds and signs

7. A Philosophical approach to Tantric Buddhism III:
To "become" a Buddha with this very body
The buddhahood of plants and trees

8. Love, sex and the body
Heterodox Buddhism? The place of desire
A perfected body

9. The sublimation of form
On the use of icons in esoteric Buddhism
Mandalisation

10. The Tantric model: ‘esoterization’ of Buddhism (I)
The esoteric Lotus Sutra

11. The Tantric model: ‘esoterization’ of Buddhism (II)
Esoteric nenbutsu, esoteric zen

12. Ritual Practices (I)
The structure of esoteric rituals The fire ritual

13. Ritual Practices (II)
Rituals of empowerment
Initiations and Consecration

14. Ritual Practices (III)
Fearful deities and exorcistic rituals

15. Concluding discussion: Reconsidering the East Asian Buddhist tradition

Williams, Paul. Mahāyāna Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations (second edition). New York: Routledge, 2009.
Poceski, Mario (ed.). The Wiley Blackwell Companion to East and Inner Asian Buddhism. Wiley Blackwell, 2014.
Lopez, Donald, ed., Critical Terms for Buddhist Studies, University of Chicago Press, 2005
Orzech, Charles, gen ed., Esoteric Buddhism and the Tantras in East Asia, Leiden: Brill, 2010.
Payne, Richard, ed., Tantric Buddhism in East Asia, Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2006
Scheid, Bernhard and Mark Teeuwen, eds. The Culture of Secrecy in Japanese Religion, London & New York: Routledge, 2006.
Keul, Istvan, ed. Transformations and Transfer of Tantra in Asia and Beyond, Berlin/New York: Walter de Gruyter Publishers, 2012.
Yamasaki Taikō, Shingon: Japanese Esoteric Buddhism, Boston: Shambala, 1988.

Giebel, Rolf W., The Vairocanābhisaṃbodhi Sutra, Bukkyō Dendō Kyōkai English Tripitaka Series 30/1, Berkeley, 2005.
Giebel, R.W., Two Esoteric Sutras: The Adamantine Pinnacle Sutra, The Susiddhikara Sutra, Bukkyō Dendō Kyōkai English Tripitaka Series 29/2, 30/2, Berkeley, 2001.
White, David G., ed. Tantra in Practice. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2000. Lopez, Donald, ed. Buddhism in Practice, Princeton: Princeton UP
Hakeda, Yoshito, Kūkai: Major Works, New York: Columbia University Press, 1972.

Orzech, Charles, “The ‘Great Teaching of Yoga,’ the Chinese Appropriation of the Tantras, and the Question of Esoteric Buddhism,” Journal of Chinese Religions 34 (2006): 29-78.
Dolce, Lucia, “Reconsidering the taxonomy of the esoteric: Taimitsu Hermeneutical and ritual practices,” in Scheid and Teeuwen, eds., The Culture of Secrecy in Japanese Religioni, London: Routledge, 2006.
Goble, Geoffrey, Chinese Esoteric Buddhism: Amooghavajra, the ruling elite and the emergence of a tradition, Columbia UP, 2019.
Yael Bentor and Meir Shahar, eds., Esoteric Buddhism: Chinese and Tibetan Forms, Leiden: Brill.
Youn-mi Kim, "The Hidden Link: Tracing Liao Buddhism in Shingon Ritual," Journal of Song-Yuan Studies 43 (2013), pp. 117-70.
Abe Ryuichi, The Weaving of Mantra, New York: Columbia UP, 1999.
Groner, Paul, Saichō: The Establishment of the Japanese Tendai School, Seoul: Po Chin Chai, 1984.
Chen Jinhua, Legend and Legitimation: The Formation of Tendai Esoteric Buddhism in Japan, Louvain: Peeters Press, 2009
Rambelli, Fabio, “True Words, Silence and the Adamantine Dance: On Japanese Mikkyō and the Formation of the Shingon Discourse,” JJRS 21/4 (1994), pp. 373-405.
Strickman, Michel, Chinese Magical Medicine, Stanford, Stanford University Press, 2002.
Dolce, Lucia, “The Embryonic Generation of the Perfect Body: Ritual Embryology from Japanese Tantric Sources,” in Transforming the Void: Embryological Discourse and Reproductive Imagery in East Asian Religions, in Anna Andreeva and Dominic Steavu, eds. Leiden: Brill (Sir Henry Wellcome Asian Series), pp. 253-310, 2015
Goepper, Roger, Aizen-myōō. The Esoteric King of Lust: An Iconological Study, Zürich Museum Rietberg: Artibus Asiae, 1993.
Rambelli, Fabio and Porath, Or. Rituals of Initiation and Consecration in Premodern Japan: Power and Legitimacy in Kingship, Religion, and the Arts, De Gruyter, 2022.
Bogel, Cynthea, With a Single Glance: Buddhist Icons and Early Mikkyo Visions, Seattle: U Washington Press, 2010.
Kaufmann, Paul, "Visuality in Esoteric Buddhism: Awakened with a Single Glance?" Asiatische Studien 74 (2020)
Licha, Stephan, Esiteric Zen, Leiden: Brill, 2025.
Payne, Richard K. and Michael Witzel ed. Homa Variations: The Study of Ritual Change across the Longue Durée, 2016.

In class, throughout the course: 15-min group presentations, worth 30% of the final mark. The timing of class presentations will be determined at the beginning of the year, taking into account the number of students
on the course. A single mark is assigned to each of the students in the team. Students who are not able to attend on the day in which their presentation is scheduled should contact the course convenor to arrange for an alternative assessment.
Final exam: oral exam, worth 70% of the final mark.

oral

The lecturer has a duty to ensure that the rules regarding the authenticity and originality of exam tests and papers are respected. Therefore, if there is suspicion of irregular conduct, an additional assessment may be conducted, which could differ from the original exam description.

A. Scores in the 18-22 range will be awarded in the presence of:
- sufficient knowledge and applied comprehension skills;
- limited ability to analyze and interpret philosophical and religious texts;
- sufficient communication skills, especially concerning the use of specific language.
B. Scores in the 23-26 range will be awarded in the presence of:
- fair knowledge and applied comprehension skills;
- discrete ability to analyze and interpret philosophical and religious texts;
- fair communication skills, especially concerning the use of specific language.
C. Scores in the 27-30 range will be awarded in the presence of:
- good or very good knowledge and applied comprehension skills;
- good or excellent ability to analyze and interpret philosophical and religious texts;
- fully appropriate communication skills, especially concerning the use of specific language.
D. "lode" will be awarded in the presence of excellent knowledge and applied understanding, excellent judgment and excellent communication skills.

Classes consist of 2-hour slots made up of different elements:
1. a lecture session that provides an overview of the topic and the issues that it presents;
2. a seminar, where critical readings are discussed and student-led presentations take place.

Reading materials, podcasts and other sources related to the topic dealt with each week are available online and can be downloaded from the BLE Moodle page. Under the title of each session you will find:
1. one primary discussion paper assigned as critical reading for class discussion –you are required to read these;
2. general readings that are intended to give you a basic overview of the topic;
3. further readings that will extend your familiarity with the topic.
You are not expected to attempt all the readings on moodle, except for those marked as “critical reading,” but the more you read the more you will be able to take part in the conversation and enjoy the course.