Gods and Buddhas
Why Shinbutsu Shugo Brought Confusion
Shinbutsu Shugo advanced over a long stretch of time after the arrival of Buddhism in the sixth century. It was not a simple mixture of faiths. For Shinto to acquire the qualities of a religion, this was an unavoidable trial. The peculiar phenomenon of Shinbutsu Shugo was the very turning point at which “Shinto” was established. Yet to read it is exceedingly difficult. I want to recapture this phenomenon as “the marriage of gods and buddhas in the realm of illusion” and look at its essence. In this article I will describe the confusion of the moment when gods and buddhas began to merge.
The first thing to recognize is that the common belief that Japan possessed an indigenous Shinto before the arrival of Buddhism and Confucianism does not speak the truth. It is more reasonable to see that Shinto acquired its religious quality over a span of more than a thousand years through the influence of Buddhism and Confucianism, both of which had been completed as religions on the Chinese side. In other words, for Shinto to acquire the aspect of standing in opposition to foreign religions like Buddhism and Confucianism, it required strong pressure from Buddhism and Confucianism. Yet no matter how strong the external pressure, faith never disappears entirely. This is the essence of faith and is not limited to Shinto.
Through the On Dogen series I have presented from various angles the transition from the aristocratic government of the Heian period to the warrior government, and an understanding of this era connects directly to Shinbutsu Shugo. From the early period of Buddhism’s arrival, Shinbutsu Shugo had been gradually advancing, but it cannot be said that the “relationship between gods and buddhas” was clearly conscious at that point. It would be more accurate to say that this consciousness emerged gradually over the course of several centuries. The greatest turning point was the appearance of [本地垂迹] (Honji Suijaku).
But this Honji Suijaku doctrine is a difficult problem. Stated simply, it is “the thought of regarding gods as incarnations of buddhas.” Yet through the process of its understanding, propagation, and reception, problems arose one after another, and the situation can rightly be called a period of confusion in faith. Within this confusion of faith, however, lay the seeds of what was to come. These seeds are not limited to Shinto and Buddhism. They are a wellspring that flowed even into cultural-spiritual currents like the way of tea, and they require very careful examination. They are, in a sense, the source of “the heart of Japan.”
The character of the conception of the gods from the Heian into the Kamakura period reveals this confusion vividly. To put it plainly, the incarnation of buddhas as gods was thought to be the ultimate expression of the buddhas’ salvation of sentient beings. Put differently, while holding up the fundamental Buddhist idea of the benefit of sentient beings as the underlying logic, the visible signboard set up not the buddhas but the gods. As you may already sense, the natural question arises of where the superiority of the buddhas lies in such a structure.
In fact this was the most serious problem of the time. The teaching was developed with Buddhist doctrine as its skeleton, and yet what stood at the front was not the buddhas revered by Buddhism but, somehow, the gods of the Shinto side. If one could simply link Buddhist doctrine with the buddhas through faith, that would suffice. But this was not possible. Conversely, this shows how deeply the faith in the gods was rooted in place. For the monks, resolving this problem became the first priority, and from here a complex and convoluted history begins. The Honji Suijaku doctrine within Shinbutsu Shugo was not a goal but the beginning of confusion.
From the Buddhist side of the time, the buddhas and bodhisattvas had already appeared before sentient beings in their own forms and were in fact bestowing various benefits upon them. Yet the monks of the Buddhist side were facing an essential problem that this alone could not solve, and they devised the Honji Suijaku doctrine in an attempt to break through. What were the monks treating as a problem? Honestly, the truth is that they themselves did not know.
What must not be overlooked here is that the Honji Suijaku doctrine, beyond bringing benefit to the Buddhist side, in fact opened a direct opportunity for the Shinto side to take the path of independence. As the name Shinbutsu Shugo suggests, this was actually a complex phenomenon that produced benefit on both sides. It was the greatest occasion through which Shinto in particular acquired doctrine and theology. Without this process, modern Shrine Shinto and State Shinto could never have been born.
Where then is the origin of Shinbutsu Shugo placed? In general, it is placed in the Nara period (710–794). The capital at that time was Nara, which had entered the golden age of Buddhism. Temples were built one after another and Buddhist statues were produced in great quantity. In the midst of this, an interesting phenomenon called [神身離脱] (Shinshin Ridatsu) was occurring.
Shinshin Ridatsu is the thought that the gods themselves had given an oracle declaring that “we suffer in our state of being gods and wish to be saved by the Buddhist Dharma.” It is the doctrine of gods seeking salvation from the buddhas, and it is the key to understanding the later Honji Suijaku doctrine. At this point, however, just as the phrase “gods seek salvation from the buddhas” indicates, the gods were clearly placed as beings inferior to the buddhas. The gods were also placed as one type of sentient being suffering within Buddhist samsara, where they were depicted as beings who heard the Dharma and wished through practice to escape their state of being gods. It is fascinating, but a great many problems are visible. It expresses the early confusion of Shinbutsu Shugo.