The Weaving of Mantra: Kukai and the Construction of Esoteric Buddhist Discourse

by Ryuichi Abe

The Buddhist figure Kukai (774-835) is generally credited with the formal establishment of tantric - or esoteric - Buddhism in Japan and as the founder of the Shingon school of Buddhism. Yet as Ryuichi Abe contends, the importance of Kukai's establishment of esoteric Buddhism in Japan lay not in the foundation of a new sect but in his creation of a new religious discourse.

Genres: Japan, Buddhism, Religion

593 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1999