Tachikawa-ryū
hang on
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Tachikawa-ryu is a Japanese school of esoteric Buddhism (mikkyo) of Shingonshu founded in 1114 by the monk Nin-kan (1057-1123ADE); in an attempt to create a Japanese tradition corresponding to Indian Tantra (Skt., vamacara)
History
Tachikawa-ryu is a branch of Shingon mikkyo founded by the monk Ninkan. As such it is a school of esoteric Buddhism founded on the principal of using magic to control supernatural and cosmic forces and through these magical Rites and Rituals attain enlightenment. Tachikawa-ryu is no different in its approach other than it chooses to focus on perhaps the oldest form of magic - sex magic.
The founder: Nin-kan
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Sacred Texts (Sutras)
The primary literature for all schools of Shingonshu are the Mahavairocana Tantra (Jap. Dainichi-kyō 大日経), the Vajrasekhara Sutra (Kongōchō-kyō 金剛頂経), the Adhyardhaśatikā Prajñāpāramitā Sutra (Rishu-kyō 理趣経), and the Susiddhikara Sutra (Soshitsuji-kyō 蘇悉地経). These are the four principle texts of Esoteric Buddhism. They are all Tantras and not Sutras despite their names. Tachikawa-ryu also studied the Surta Proclaiming the Secret Method Enabling a Man and Woman to Experience the Bliss of Buddhahood in this very Body, or simply the Sutra of Great Bliss for short. It is a short sutra, and forms the basis of Tachikawa-ryu practices.
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The sutra is:
Surta Proclaiming the Secret Method Enabling a Man and Woman to Experience the Bliss of Buddhahood in this very Body
Sexual intercourse between a man and a woman is the supreme buddha activity. Sex is the source of intense pleasure, the root of creation, necessary for every living being, and a natural act of reveneration. To be united as a man and woman is to united with Buddha (capital "B" referring to the Historical Buddha, Prince Siddhattha Gotama).
The sound A represents the Womb Realm (Garbhakosa-dhatu; Taizo-kai/胎蔵界), Mother (Yin/in), great compassion, and the red lotus. The sound UN [hūṃ] represents the Diamond (vajra) Realm (Vajradhatu; Kongo-kai/金剛界), father (yang/yo), wisdom, and the white stupa. A/Un (the alpha and omega) represents is female/male (non-duality, paradox), yin/yang, ocean/mountain, mercy/charity, emptiness/form. The red seed from the female and the white seed from the male bring human beings into existence. The unity and integration of A/Un creates and sustains the universe. This is the truth, not falsehood.
Prior to performing these rites, the man and woman take these vows:
1) We trust in the teachings of the Tachikawa-ryu.
2) We vow to cooperate and come together in mutual accord in the body and mind at all times.
3) We vow to perform these rites carefully under stric supervision by a master of Tachikawa-ryu.
4) We vow to try not to argue or fight.
5) We vow to try and avoid competing, making unconstructive criticisms, or blame each other.
6) We vow to try not to over indulge in food or drink.
The buddha couple should bathe together in a curative hot spring without physical contact. The couple must be in perfect accord in body, mind, and speech. The couple must be in bright, positive mood, free of gloom, despair, or unhappiness. The man is venerated as Fudo myo-O (Acala); the woman is venerated and embodies Aizen myo-O/愛染明王 (Rāgarāja). The holy couple faces each other and they make the three prostrations (sanrai). Reciting,
Male: "I aspire to enter the Womb realm."
Female: "I aspire to receive the diamond (vajra) realm."
The room must be spotless and absolutely clean, well secluded, with a small altar. The secret buddha image is kept veiled, not to be uncovered until after the rites are preformed. Kuden (secret oral teaching), the instructions regarding the buddha image are only to transmitted orally and never written down. Fresh flowers are placed on the altar, together with appropriate seasonal offerings from the mountains and the sea. Kindle fragrant incense. Light the room with five candles. (The candles are the five colors of the elements and are placed in the appropriate direction: fire-red, south; water-black, north; wood-green/blue, east; earth-yellow, south; void-white, west)
The buddha image is one's own body. Therefore, the man and woman shed their robes in the corner (southwest) and face each other completely naked and adorned. The Rites are to begin at midnight. The man crosses his legs in the full lotus position and the woman sits on the top of the man and lets his jeweled jade enter her mysterious lotus. (This posture reacts the position of many esoteric deities and their consorts, in particular that of Shiva and Shakti). During the sexual congress of the two roots of existence (A/Un), the breath should be harmonized in an A (inhale) and Un (exhale) rhythm. The man should keep his jeweled jade pressed against the woman's womb as they meditate together, blending the male/female components of the five elements (godai): earth, water, fire, wood, and air/void. If done properly, this blending of the elements will form a five-colored rainbow: yellow, blue, red, green, and white. The mother/father buddha posture is best, but other postures and mantra are allowed. (goku-I kuden ari: secret oral instructions and essential teachings are given but unknown at this time)
However, at the break of dawn when the rooster crows, the buddha couple should be in the mother/father posture. At that time, the buddha couple should come to a mutual instant of universal bliss; that is the moment of universal truth, a state of pure ecstasy, an unobstructed integration of emptiness and form. This is the realm of Dianichi Nyorai, the Cosmic Buddha where myriad elements exist in perfect equilibrium.
Gone, gone, gone beyond, gone utterly beyond! All hail the Surta Proclaiming the Secret Method Enabling a Man and Woman to Experience the Bliss of Buddhahood in this very Body!"
(From John Stevens, Tantra of the Tachikawa-ryu)
Notes on the Sutra of Great Bliss:
- A 'a' is said to be present in each consonant, and to be the mother of all of the letters. If you open your mouth and breath out the sound is 'a'. In Sanskrit if you add 'a' as a prefix it makes a word have the opposite meaning: vidya is knowledge; avidyā is ignorance. So 'a' came to represent the essence of the Prajñāpāramitā, or Perfection of Wisdom, tradition. This idea was explicitly expressed in the Sutra of the Perfection of Wisdom in One Letter, that letter being 'a'. In Buddhism phenomena are said to neither absolutely exist, nor non-exist - they arise in dependence on conditions, and cease when those conditions cease. This is similar to a Hindu aphorism about reality which says: not this, not this. Conceptual categories such as existence and non-existence are not able to encompass the true nature of phenomena.
- Un - The various aspects take in all Truths, all teachings, all practices, and all attainments. It summarises the two basic false views of nihilism and eternalism, and shows them to be false. The Truth of things is that they are neither real nor unreal, these categories do not apply – this is a restatement of the Buddha’s fundamental insight into the nature of phenomena. See also Kukai's (Kobo Diashi)Ungi gi (meaning of the syllable hūṃ).
- The role of the man and Fudo myo-O, and the woman as Aizen myo-O is esotericaly symbolic of the man and woman in unbreakable union and irrevocably stained with love/passion. Fudo myo-o is the general of the Five Wisdom Kings, his name means "Imovable one". Aizen myo-O is also a Wisdom King, his name means, "One who is stained red with love/passion".
- The translation "gone, gone, gone completly beyond" is similar but different to the word "excelsior"
This sums up the central tenet of all Tachikawa-ryu teachings: Buddhahood (infinite compassion, wisdom and liberation) can be obtained through controlled, ritual sexuality between motivated and experienced partners. The Tachikawa adepts are convinced that the loss of self, of ego, which occurs during sexual play can lead toward enlightenment (unbaised understanding)- and that the moment of orgasm (called the Lion's Roar) is a moment of revelation.
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Modern Times
For all pratical purposes Tachikawa-ryu is extinct. It was outlawed in the 13th century by the Japanese authorities, and almost all its wrttings were either burned, or sealed away at Koya-san and realted monistaries. However, there have been claims that the school continued covertly until at least 1689 - and according to John Stevens (Lust for Enlightenment) it is still active today; in disguise.
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Discussion
Many terms used in esoteric Buddhism are just that, esoteric. They are that way for many reason. Prehaps the most importnat is to keep secret the real meaning of the writtings. However, as esoteric as some terms may be, it is impossinble to disguise the meaning and intent of the writtings. Another is the social climate of the time. All though such terms are quite intriguing, many reader of Tibetan texts has most certainly come across similar ones. For exmaple, jeweled Jade, mysterious lotus, great bliss, lion's roar, or the concept that sexual activity can lead to revelation. However, it is important to note that there is no direct, historical link between Tibetan Vajrayana and Japanese Shingon/Tachikawa teachings. What they do have in common is are from the same soruce, Buddhism and Tantra ... and therfore it should not be supprisng that they both arrived at similar conclusions:
- Great Bliss In India and Tibet, the term occurs in the name of female initiates, in the practice known as The Path of Skillful Means, in the Six Tantric Yogas of Sister Niguma and elsewhere.
- Lion's Roar The original story behind this term is found in an Indian sutra. When the Buddha emerged from the royal yoni of his mother, he stood up, pointed the finger of one hand to the sky (male), the finger of the other hand to the earth (female), and then roared like a lion to announce he had arrived in this world. In Tibetan circles, Lion's Roar has become an expression for two different things:
a) the challenge posed to one's self by embracing and practicing Buddhist teachings b) a form of martial arts
- Revelation There is a (living) Tibetan tradition in which certain male adepts (tertons) receive revelations (terma) with the aid of female guides/partners during sexual activity. This is realted to dakini worship.
- Most of the sacred texts of the Tachikawa were either destroyed, or are, like the Sutra of Sacred Bliss, hidden away in monasteries, “securely sealed and marked with the century-old notice "ake-bekarazu”; [van Gulik, 1974; p. 359], a note that reads in plain English as "Do Not Open!".
However, a few Japanese and other researchers have meanwhile unearthed and published various material about the Tachikawa-ryu, especially in the last 20 years, for us to get an idea of their sexual symbolism and practices.
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