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Вестник Томского государственного университета. Философия. Социология. Политология. 2023.
№ 76. С. 67-81.
Tomsk State University Journal of Philosophy, Sociology and Political Science. 2023. 76. pp. 67-81.
ИСТОРИЯ ФИЛОСОФИИ
Научная статья УДК 1(091)
doi: 10.17223/1998863Х/76/8
ПРОКЛ И КУКАЙ: ГОТИЧЕСКАЯ КРАСОТА И ЭПОХА ХЭЙАН
В ЯПОНИИ
Эмиль Александров
Университет Нотр-Дам, Фримантл, Австралия, emile.alexandrov1@my.nd.edu.au, emile931@gmail.com
Аннотация. В статье исследуется историческое воздействие философий Прокла и Ку-кая на соответствующие традиции. Показывается, что эти философы предлагают сходное космологическое понимание красоты, которое значительно повлияло на эстетическое развитие Средневековья и периода Хейан в Японии. Через изучение культурного влияния Прокла и Кукая наше исследование показывает, что оба они видели все проявления красоты как космическую проекцию (исходящую из Единого и Дхар-макаи соответственно), которая превосходит индивида и его способности. В итоге наше исследование показывает, что как Прокл, так и Кукай считали свои сочинения транс-субъективным выражением красоты космического порядка.
Ключевые слова: красота, Прокл, Кукай, готика, Хейан, Денис, Сюже, Сингон, Единое, Базилика Сен-Дени, неоплатонизм, буддизм
Для цитирования: Alexandrov E. Proclus and Kökai: Beauty of the Gothic and Heian Japan // Вестник Томского государственного университета. Философия. Социология. Политология. 2023. № 76. С. 67-81. doi: 10.17223/1998863Х/76/8
HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY
Original article
PROCLUS AND KUKAI: BEAUTY OF THE GOTHIC AND HEIAN JAPAN
Emile Alexandrov
University of Notre Dame Australia, Fremantle, Australia, emile.alexandrov1@my.nd.edu.au, emile931@gmail.com
Abstract. This paper explores the historical impact of the philosophies of Proclus and Kukai on their corresponding traditions. I show that both figures present a congenial cosmological account of beauty that significantly influenced the aesthetic developments of the Middle Ages and Heian Japan. Proclus associated Beauty with a penultimate description of the One: Beauty is the highest depiction attributable to the One, although Proclus admits that it remains inadequate. For Proclus, Beauty also serves as the ubiquitous emanating principle of
© E. Alexandrov, 2023
the cosmos. As such, Beauty is omnipresent in all grades of reality, an account later appropriated by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite. The Areopagite rendered this Proclean scheme in a Christian format that ultimately contributed to the emergence and development of the Gothic. As this study shows, the French Abbot Suger, tasked with rebuilding the Basilica of St. Denys, was moved by expressions of beauty found in the Corpus Dionysiacum. Suger thence rendered key features of Dionysius' appropriation of Proclean cosmology into the Gothic architectural design of the Basilica. A similar historical trajectory is observed in Kukai, who saw nature's alluring beauty as the natural expression of the Dharmakaya, inspiring the development of his Shingon school. Hence, in Kukai's account, the Heian establishment's overemphasis on nature's beauty exhibits the Dharmakaya's unravelling of its cosmic text. Kukai thus sought to interpret the Dharmakaya's text in harmony with the society of his time. By introducing his writing and literary craft theory, Kukai saw Dharmakaya's expression expressing itself through him. Like Proclus' progenies reimagining his Neoplatonic emanation of Beauty in the architectural design of the Gothic Basilica, Kukai's Shingon school supplanted an aesthetical imperative into the foundation of Esoteric Buddhism of Heian Japan. Much of Heian society's architecture, poetry, and literature were directly influenced by the teachings of Kukai's Shingon school. As scholars regularly attest, Kukai's Shingon school constructed an elaborate conglomeration of rituals and practices while focusing on beauty. By observing Proclus' and Kukai's cultural impact, I argue that both understood all manifestations of beauty to be of a cosmic projection transcending the individual - grounded in the One and Dharmakaya, respectively. In sum, this study shows that both Proclus and Kukai determined their writings to be a transsubjective and beautiful expression of the cosmic order.
Keywords: Beauty, Proclus, Kukai, Gothic, Heian, Denys, Suger, Shingon, One, Basilica of St. Denys
For citation: Alexandrov, E. (2023) Proclus and Kukai: Beauty of the Gothic and Heian Japan. Vestnik Tomskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Filosofiya. Sotsiologiya. Politologiya - Tomsk State University Journal of Philosophy, Sociology and Political Science. 76. pp. 67-81. (In Russian). doi: 10.17223/1998863X/76/8
Introduction
Despite inhabiting different epochs and cultures that likely had little to no interaction until at least the high Middle Ages, it is striking that Proclus and Kukai held a consonant understanding of the nature of beauty. Proclus' conception of Beauty is indebted to the Greek tradition going back to Plato and the Pythagoreans, while Kukai's account is primarily based on Buddhist scripture imported from Tang China. Both figures were immensely influential in the subsequent development of their respective cultures. In Proclus, I will focus on the adoption of his cosmology by Pseudo-Dionysius, who later influenced the French Abbot Suger's rebuilding of the Basilica of Saint-Denis in Paris. Proclus' cosmology of Beauty was incorporated into the design of the Basilica, ultimately inaugurating what is now known as Gothic architecture. Kukai's impact on Heian Japan was also primarily based on his writings, appreciated for their beautiful composition and rich aesthetic symbolism. While Heian society was renowned for its emphasis on beauty in architecture, poetry and the like, Kukai's aesthetic writings were unprecedented, especially in developing Esoteric Buddhism. After observing Proclus' and Kukai's influence on their cultures, the paper shows that both understood all manifestations of beauty to be of a trans-subjective power, namely, the One and Dharmakaya, respectively. Both understood their contributions to be a part of the natural ordering of the universe, a central cosmological postulate vital to their thinking. Despite conceding that no description in language can encapsulate the One, Proclus nonetheless associated Beauty with the One. Beauty naturally emanates throughout the cosmos whilst naturally drawing all beings back towards
itself. In Kukai's case, the beauty of the world reflects the expression of the Dharmakaya, and so all Buddhist practices must seek resonance with the Dharmakaya, which Kukai saw mirrored in nature. Thus, Kukai designed his Shingon practices with this understanding of beauty. In sum, this paper shows that Proclus and Kukai viewed the human being's appreciation of beauty as demonstrative of the trans-subjective design of the cosmos.
Proclus' Cosmology of Beauty
Of the four thinkers known as Neoplatonists or Late Platonists, Proclus presented the most systematic philosophy of his predecessors, Plotinus, Porphyry, and Iamblichus\ The topic of Beauty is no exception in Proclus' voluminous extant works and commentaries2. Unlike Plotinus' cosmological ambiguity regarding Beauty's role as the drawing power of One/Good (from here on the One), Proclus further refined this cosmology. Additionally, any strict correlation of Beauty with the One as observed in Plotinus, i.e., the Good is "the 'source and principle' of Beauty" and "is the primary Beauty" [3] (Enn. 1 (1) §1.6.9: [40-45])3 -is resounded with more transparency in Proclus4. In his commentary on Alcibiades I (the standard introductory dialogue for the Neoplatonists), Proclus accepts the Platonic idea that Beauty is a force that "withdraws us" from beautiful appearances towards Beauty itself. While in this way Proclus can also claim that the "beautiful is the same as the good" [5] (Alc. I Comm. 16-17), he concludes that the drawing force of Beauty - whether through desire or love - is the goodness of Beauty itself. Therefore, it does not follow that assimilation with the One correlates with assimilation with Beauty, for it is improper to speak of the One at all since it is altogether beyond comprehension: "it secretly and ineffably [Kpu^iro^ Kai app^xra^], prior to all orders, irradiates [eAla^rcei] everything with its own gift, and they partake of the good differently according to their own rank" (Alc. I Comm. 181-182). Effectively, Beauty represents the pinnacled description of the One, beyond which one must remain silent; as Proclus concluded in his Parmenides commentary, Plato's silence "brings to completion the study of the One" [6] (Parm. Comm. 76K)5. From here on, we see that Proclus' One matches Plotinus' own as the source and principle of Beauty, albeit concluding more decisively regarding the latter's placement.
So, speaking of Beauty instead of the One is more appropriate from this basic cosmological outline. We gather that Beauty is the ultimate and the illimitable
1 John Dillon and Lloyd Gerson recognise these four as the major figures of Neoplatonism [1. P. xiii]. In his The Cambridge History of Philosophy in Late Antiquity, Gerson chose to do away with the 'pejorative label' Neoplatonism in preference for Late Platonism [2. P. 3].
2 In keeping with the primary sources, I only capitalise Beauty when discussing Plotinus, Proclus and Pseudo-Dionysius.
3 For all Greek references from Plotinus, Proclus and Pseudo-Dionysius, I will follow the standard academic citation format and leave the citations in the main body of the paper. In Plotinus, I list the Ennead, followed by the treatise number, chapter and paragraph number, and then the line number. For Proclus, except for the Parmenides Commentary where I only name the page number, I quote the page, chapter and then line number where applicable. For Pseudo-Dionysius, I name the work title and paragraph number in that order. All Pseudo-Dionysius' works are from the complete works edition cited.
4 Also see Enn. 6 (43) §6.2.18 and Enn. 6 (38) §6.7.32. Plotinus scholar Rist argued that Plotinus indeed correlates beauty with the One in his Plotinus: The Road to Reality in a chapter entitled "Beauty, The Beautiful, and The Good." See [4. P. 53-65]. So it would not be problematic to argue that Plotinus and Proclus are in agreement, although we can say that Proclus is less ambiguous.
5 Also see [7] Crat. Comm. 67: [5-10].
radiating principle that permeates the cosmos. In Proclus' cosmology, all beings receive a degree of Beauty or, instead, are beautiful according to their rank. Therefore, for Proclus, the cosmos is inherently beautiful. In The Elements of Theology, Proclus underpins his comprehensive cosmology with two hundred and eleven propositions, of which, for our concerns, proposition fifteen is crucial: "All that is capable of reverting upon itself is incorporeal" [8] (El. Th. 15: [30]). Since Beauty is incorporeal and present to varying degrees according to a being's rank -'peaking' in the One, it follows that Beauty is the penultimate reversion principle. In other words, Beauty reverts upon itself from the lowest levels of the cosmos back towards itself; all the "Ideas are beautiful by partaking of Beauty" (Parm. Comm. 757). Proclus illustrates this in another vital passage that is worth citing in full:
Beauty shines out in bodies [evaoxpanxei тоц оюцаог], and the Good is manifest through the perfection [ayaQov ката то TeXeiov] that appears in every product of the forms when it has its natural completion. Hence in this triad the Good comes first, Beauty second, and Justice third (Parm. Comm. 810).
Besides Beauty's role and position in his cosmology, Proclus shows that as long as Beauty is manifest, regardless of its seemingly utter perfection, it remains 'after' the ineffable One. In sum, if anything can be said about the One, it is that the One is ineffable in its perfect Beauty, although Proclus admits that it may not be "lawful to speak of it in this way" (Alc. I Comm. 181).
Proclean Beauty and the Emergence of the Gothic
As Proclus scholar Gersh observed, Proclus' thought more generally proved immensely influential from the sixth to the seventeenth century [9. P. 1-27]. In particular, Proclus' cosmology of Beauty significantly impacted the early Middle Ages. This includes the often-underappreciated influence on thinkers of the Islamic Golden Age. A prominent example of this is in the ninth-century Arabic adoption of thirty-two of the propositions of The Elements of Theology circulated as The Book of the Pure Good j^l « ^ILjkujV [10. P. 58]. The
Arabic manuscript was later translated into Latin as The Book of Causes (Liber de Causis) [11. P. 4-7; 12. P. 77-78]. Perhaps the most prominent Islamic Neoplatonist, Al-Farabi, owed much of his understanding of intellectual union with the primordial causes to this Arabic rendering of Proclus [13. P. 413]. These are brief and important markers for Proclus' ideas as they percolated throughout the Middle Ages. In the case of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite's (from here on Denys) adoption of Proclean ideas, a significant impact on the aesthetics of the Middle Ages is observed. As Josef Stiglmayr and Hugo Koch in 1895 showed, the Corpus Dionysiacum is saturated with Proclean themes [14, 15]. Even earlier in 1842, August Friedrich Gfrorer suggested that Denys may have been a student or perhaps a Christian convert seeking to assimilate the Christian faith with Proclean philosophy [16. P. 569].
Proclus' influence on Christian theology through Denys resulted in the latter serving as an essential precursor to the development of Gothic architecture. Gothic architecture emerged precisely during the rebuilding of the Basilica of Saint-Denis in Paris during the 12th century [17. P. 518]. As one scholar noted, the twelfth-
century French Abbot Suger (1081-1151), who was tasked with the rebuilding of the Basilica, drew upon Denys' writings to develop its Gothic style: "Its pointed arches, clusters of columns, and vaulted ceilings would sculpt light into an allegory of the divine ascent proclaimed by the Areopagite" [18. P. 65]. Jean Leclercq would add that Suger used Denys' ideas to project visually the "symbolism of light in the basilica he had built" [19. P. 27]. Denys' appropriation of Proclus' cosmological ordering, specifically, the varying degrees of Beauty that emanate from the One, is architecturally rendered in the Gothic Cathedral. Denys' description of the divine light that shines upon the corporeality of creation to varying degrees "provided a theological rationale and inspiration for the aesthetic impulses animating such early patrons of gothic architecture" [17. P. 519]. Furthermore, the "Dionysian influence on early gothic architecture is all the more significant because it was likely mediated to Suger by the writings and teachings of Hugh of Saint Victor, who produced one of the first medieval commentaries on the Dionysian text, The Celestial Hierarchy [17. P. 519]. In other words, Suger's outlook was very much shaped by Hugh and Eriugena, who commented on and translated Denys' work [20. P. 34].
While Denys adopted Proclus' emanationist scheme, he blended the latter's ideas with the theology of light per the Gospel of St. John. Thus, Denys' creation is an act of illumination, representing varying gradations of the divine light following Proclean cosmology. Gothic scholar Otto Von Simson claimed in his The Gothic Cathedral, "such influence is eminently likely, even on the mere basis of circumstantial evidence" [21. P. 54-57]. Whereas Simson highlighted Denys' emphasis on the divine light, Denys' writings betray at least an equal emphasis on Beauty. Further still, I am willing to argue that the Corpus Dionysiacum equates the divine light with Beauty. A prominent example is Denys' recital of a quasi-poetic prayer entitled 'What is the divine darkness?' at the start of Mystical Theology:
...beyond unknowing and light, up to the farthest, highest peak of mystic scripture, where the mysteries of God's Word lie simple, absolute and unchangeable in the brilliant darkness of a hidden silence [Kpu^io^uoxou oiyns yvo^ov]. Amid the deepest shadow [oKoxeivoTdxra] they pour overwhelming light [unepXd^novTa] on what is most manifest. Amid the wholly unsensed and unseen they completely fill our sightless minds with treasures beyond all Beauty [unepKdXrav] (Mys. Theo. 997a-997b).
This idea of illuminating darkness is depictive of the Gothic form; as Simson explained, no inner space of the Gothic is to remain dark: "They seem to merge, vertically and horizontally, into a continuous sphere of light, a luminous foil behind all tactile forms of the architectural system" [21. P. 54-57]. Moreover, the gradual illumination of all inner chambers of the Gothic structure is an architectural rendition of Denys' description of illuminating the 'deepest shadow.'1
1 The word skoteinotato can also mean 'deepest dark,' which would be more consistent with Denys' earlier word choice gnophos (from the root word Svô^oç) for 'darkness.' Denys deliberately (and metaphorically for artistic and inspirational effect) refers to a brilliant darkness beyond light and any human comprehension. See [23. P. 288, 1274].
So by reimagining Proclus' relation between the One and Beauty, Denys advanced light concurrently with Beauty qua Good, or as one scholar argues, Denys equated Beauty itself with God [24. P. 128-129]. In the Divine Names, Denys explained that since the light emerges from the Good, "the Good is also praised by the name 'Light,' just as an archetype is revealed in its image." (Div. Na. 697c). With this in mind, Denys saw it fit to pronounce:
The Beautiful is therefore the same as the Good [eon xayaQra to KaXov], for everything looks to the Beautiful and the Good as the cause of being, and there is nothing in the world without a share [^eTexei] of the Beautiful and the Good (Div. Nam. 704b).
Thus, all beautiful things are a manifestation of God. The light that shines through the inner chambers of the Cathedral allows God's divine Beauty to become visually present. The light unifies the whole; the Cathedral's gradual illumination shows that all of God's Beauty reaches all of creation: "light is conceived as the form that all things have in common, the simple that imparts unity to all" [21. P. 55]. The intention is also to rouse the religious sentiment in the perceiver, drawing one towards the Beauty of the light as it shines upon the beautiful inner chambers and crevices of the Cathedral. Even the darkest of corners is inevitably illuminated and beautified.
Therefore, it is not unfounded to claim that the Gothic is, at least in some measure, a 'product' of Denys' writings or, perhaps more strongly, if I may: the Basilica of Saint-Denis in Paris is the architectural rendition of the Corpus Dionysiacum. While Denys is indebted to Proclus in corresponding Beauty with the Good, it is the latter that deployed a detailed cosmology to explain Beauty's emergence in varying forms of art. For Proclus and like Kukai, as we will soon see, the central point is that Beauty emerges in the world through symbols and preparatory stages for union with the divine. Great works of art, statues, architecture or poetry all contain a divine presence that draws us towards the One. To take the Proclean angle, the religious fervour in the Gothic Cathedral's perceiver represents the natural drawing power of the cosmos. The emergence of the Gothic is the cultural and architectural expression of the cosmos' Beauty.
Proclus' Inspiration: Beyond the Subject
It is important to note that Proclus's cosmology was not based on a subjectivistic metaphysics prone to Heidegger's critique of the subjectum or vnoKsi/usvov [25. P. 61-67]. As covered earlier, Proclus' emanationism is a holistic cosmology transcending the subject. Proclus details this throughout his Elements of Theology, although proposition thirty-three explains that all that proceeds (rcpooSo^), reverts (enioTpo^^) and remains (^ov^) does so in a cyclic activity: "all things proceed in a circuit" (El. Th. 33: [11-15]). Therefore, the soul, the intellect and Beauty's procession occur cyclically, aesthetically, historically, topologically and so on, since Proclus' cosmos is a unified whole: "Every effect remains in its cause, proceeds from it, and reverts upon it" (El. Th. 35: [9-10]). For Proclus, the individual soul is but a minute reflection of the overall expression of the cosmic order and can only be understood as such. To determine the continuity of influence solely from Proclus to Denys onwards to Suger as a causal chain of events leading
to the inauguration of the Gothic movement overlooks the holistic nature of Proclus' cosmology. Beauty illuminates the world of matter to infinite complexity, influencing all spheres of the human (and non-human), be it social, cultural or ideological. All historical periods and their characteristics are not just a product of ideas from a particular philosophical lineage or idea akin to Blumenberg's "Darwinism in the realm of Words" [26. P. 159]. The emergence of the Gothic is instead a trans-subjective projection of the cosmos beginning with Beauty (after-the-One). Beauty's inspiring power remains central to Proclus' cosmology and crucial for understanding artworks, architecture, etc.
In inspiration, however, the soul models itself after beings of higher cosmological rank, i.e., gods and daemons, to allow for their reflection in the world of matter:
And as the art of "telestic [teXeotik^]" consecration through certain symbols and ineffable signs fashions [aneiKdZe] the statues which are in this way like the gods and makes these statues [aydX^aTa] suitable for the reception [urcoSoxnv] of divine illumination [Qeirov ¿Ald^yerov], so too by the same power of assimilation [a^o^oironx^v Suva^iv] the art of legislation institutes names as effigies of their objects, when it represents through echoes [^xfflv] of this sort or that the nature of real beings; and having instituted them it handed them on to men for use (Cra. Comm. 19,1: [11-20]).
Divine illumination grants the perceiver a simultaneous reception hypodoche of the divine in beautiful art. In other words, Beauty emanates simultaneously with its drawing power for assimilation. Since all beings proceed in a cyclic activity, the projection of beautiful art fosters reversion in the inspired. In the context of Gothic architecture, the French Abbot Suger contributed to the Gothic by rebuilding the Basilica of Saint-Denis in Paris; the Gothic was cosmologically pre-existent in Proclus' cosmos. Beyond the artistic capacity of Suger, the Cathedral echoes echon the Beauty of a higher order. Suger's soul nonetheless remains inextricably bound to Proclus' more grandeur cosmological order. It is for this reason that Proclus described the artisan as creating at the behest of the gods as "guardians and protectors," albeit to the "forms at their own level and to the formulae which they possess of artificial things" (Cra. Comm. [22,1: 11-23,1: 1]). Thus, Gothic architecture reflects the higher Beauty in one historical period, namely, eleventh-century Paris. Moreover, following Proclus' cyclic activity, the perceivers of the Basilica are drawn back to Beauty.
As Van Den Berg explained, Proclus described two forms of divine presence: the visual arts, such as statues of the gods and literature, i.e., Plato's myths [27. P. 231]. These divine presences are a product of the first manifestation of the One that is Beauty; it is a "perceptible manifestation (if only to the soul's eye) of the One or the Good" that otherwise remains hidden in its perfection [27. P. 235]. Proclus is also explicit that Beauty is a power that produces beautiful things, whether the Beauty in words or phenomena, "and thus every primary cause produces all similars from itself' (Pl. Theo. 99). It is precisely this power of Beauty that gave rise to the construction of temples projected by beautiful architectural design: "Hence temples imitate the heavens, but altars the earth; statues resemble
life" (Pl. Theo. 27). Proclus then compared the temple to the soul of the human being; the illumination of a temple corresponds to the soul's divine inspiration:
And as in the most holy of the mysteries [teXetibv ayiroTdTai^], they say, that the mystics at first meet with the multiform, and many-shaped genera; which are hurled forth before the Gods, but on entering the interior parts of the temple, unmoved, and guarded by the mystic rites, they genuinely receive in their bosom divine illumination [0eiav eUa^yiv], and divested of their garments, as they would say, participate of a divine nature [0eiou ^ETaXa^pdveiv]; - the same mode, as it appears to me, takes place in the speculation of wholes [Qerapta Trav oXrov] (Pl. Theo. 58).
The likening of the soul to a temple is reiterated throughout Proclus' writings, which likely influenced Denys. This analogy is important for Proclus to describe Beauty's manifestation in perceivable objects \ The continued emanation of Beauty is allegorised as the illumination of the inner parts of the temple. In the soul's inspiration, the temple is illuminated, thus allowing for participation metalambanein in that which is divine. As Proclus admits to believing (ton auton oimai), it is through divine inspiration that one can contemplate the whole theoria ton holon.
Kukai and the Heian Period
Kukai (774-835) was likely the most important figure of early Esoteric Buddhism and the founder of the Shingon school during Japan's Heian period. Kukai lived through the end of the Nara period (710-794) and the beginning of the Heian period (794-1185), usually understood to be the transition from Ancient to Early Middle Ages Japan. In Japanese history, several features define the Heian period, such as the emergence of warrior culture, the inviolable code of love, the cherry blossoms' symbolism and the Japanese script's emergence [28. P. 3-66]. More importantly, the Nara period's archaic religiosity remained, although it was subject to amelioration. It is from out of this cultural milieu that prioritised the beauty of art, poetry and literature that Kukai emerged.2 As one scholar of Japanese history explained, the artistic expression characteristic of the Japanese court at the former capital Heiankyo (Kyoto):
The preoccupation with Beauty, one of the most conspicuous aspects of the new culture, influenced attitudes toward nature, standards of judgment in the arts, appraisals of human worth, and norms of social
1 This is not limited to objects. In his Parmenides commentary, Proclus described Plato "as the exact image of philosophy for the benefit of souls here below, in recompense for the statues, the temples, and the whole ritual of worship, and as the chief author of salvation for men who now live and for those to come hereafter" (Par. Comm. 618). Here, we see that Plato is not described as an individual but as an archetype of philosophy who emerged for the benefit of souls as repayment for the statues and altars constructed in the image of the divine.
2 The other figure of the Heian period was Saicho (767-822), the founder of the Tendai school of Buddhism. Kukai and Saicho were two of the most important figures in the early history of Japanese Buddhism and both received training in Tang Dynasty of China (618-907) during the early ninth century [29. P. 46279].
behavior. It also powerfully affected almost every facet of ordinary life, both public and private, as may be seen from a survey of upper-class living accommodations, dress, and dietary customs [30. P. 462-79].
Preoccupation with beauty was the defining feature of the Heian period. Architecture designed in harmony with its setting, estates built with elaborate libraries, natural environments reimagined in the form of gardens, fishing pavilions and flowering plants were all demonstrative of the "happiest expressions of Heian sensitivity to visual beauty" [29. P. 462-479].
Amidst this cultural backdrop, Kükai contributed to the development of Buddhism by introducing a unique theory of writing, literary craft, and text [30. P. 310]. Kükai also merged Nara's archaic religiosity with high Buddhist contemplation to produce Japan's most comprehensive treatment of Buddhist thought before the modern era [31. P. 131-140]. Kükai's input was significant since the Heian court valued poetry's depiction of the Japanese landscape's natural beauty in writing and for heavenly affirmation of the Emperor's rule. Essentially, the Heian court understood writing as a 'political technology' enabling the poet to capture and transform such natural beauty to reinforce the sovereign's will [30. P. 306-307]. While accepting writing as a technology, especially its power to portray the beauty of nature, Kükai saw that it was nature's beauty, not human culture, that inspired the poetic writing1. So, writing was not a tool of the state but "a sacred technology necessary for creating and maintaining cosmic order" [30. P. 309-310]. For Kükai, the beauty of nature and its apprehension reflected the natural process of the Dharmakaya2. In other words, the entire cosmos is 'reality-embodiment's teaching' that tries to tell us something [31. P. 140]. Despite believing in the superiority of Shingon Buddhism, Kükai, like Proclus, understood other traditions as already "written/woven" in the Dharmakaya's cosmic text [30. P. 334]. The cultural movement of the Heian period and aesthetic appropriation of beauty is already 'written' into the natural cosmic order of which, like Suger apropos the Gothic, Kükai is a mere part. As a result, Kükai did not hold an anthropocentric view of culture, art, beauty and literature. On the contrary, Kükai chastised those who advocated any subjectivism: "deranged men wrongly believe in the notion of a permanent ego and are firmly attached to it" [34. P. 158]3.
Kükai's cosmology coincides with Ryüichi Abé's thesis in The Weaving of Mantra: Kükai and the Construction of Esoteric Buddhist Discourse, the most comprehensive study of Kükai in the English language. Abé makes the case that many of the elements of Shingo Buddhism had already been transmitted from China to Japan before Kükai. Kükai's contributions centred on the transformation,
1 Kukai's understanding of nature is strikingly similar to Proclus, although it would be beyond the scope of this paper to investigate in detail. To comment briefly, in Proclus' view, nature does not exist separately from its existents despite reflecting the eternal Intellect. In resemblance of of Kukai's view of nature's mirroring of the Dharmakaya, Proclus' nature is participated and immanent; there is no such thing as a 'primal nature' [32. P. 48-49].
2 While in traditional HInayana Buddhism (small vehicle) Sakyamuni is the Buddha, in Mahayana Buddhism (great vehicle) there are limitless Buddhas that are divided into three types: Dharmakaya as the fundamental principle of the universe, the Buddha that is the manifestation of Sakyamuni, and the Sambhogakaya Buddha as the unity of the two [33. P. 308].
3 Kukai made this point clear in his Attaining Enlightenment In This Very Existence: "Matter is no other than mind; mind, no other than matter. Without any obstruction, they are interrelated. The subject is the object; the object, the subject" [34. P. 229].
innovation and appropriation of an already extant body of knowledge. Therefore, by Kükai's own account, we must understand the establishment of Shingon Buddhism in alliance with the Nara establishment as the self-expression of the Dharmakaya. Since all historical and cultural movements were bound to the Dharmakaya, Kükai sought common ground with the establishment of the time despite advocating the superiority of his school. Kükai could introduce his Esoteric Buddhism without undermining the Nara establishment, thereby eliminating friction with Heian society. Kükai's experience differed from Saicho's, who, in introducing the Tendai School in early Heian society, was met with a hostile reception and inevitably suffered banishment by the Nara establishment [30. P. 1112]. Kükai would eventually command the highest post in the Office of Priestly Affairs and successfully replace Confucianism with Buddhism as the state's ideology. As Abé explained, "Kükai had become one of the most prominent leaders of the early Heian Buddhist community and that he was exercising his influence in shaping the relationship between the state and Buddhism" [30. P. 1112]. In another parallel worthy of note, like Denys' influence on the emergence of the Gothic traceable back to the Proclean emphasis on Beauty, Kükai's aesthetic writings and Buddhist practices were a product of Heian society's focus on beauty traceable back to the Tempyo period (729-749) and especially Emperor Shomu's reign (701-756, r. 724-749). For it was following Shomu's enhancement of relations with China and the state institution of Buddhism, the importation of esoteric texts began [35. P. 662].
The Beauty of Nature in Kükai's Shingon Practice
Kükai understood all human affairs reflecting the Dharmakaya's order and consistently based Shingon practice on this fundamental principle. Like Proclus' determination of beautiful art composed under the guidance of a higher cosmological order, for Kükai, the Dharmakaya inspired the poet, or rather, the Dharmakaya expresses itself through nature, which inspires the poet. In other words, "it is nature's taming of the mind, rather than culture's control over nature, that provides inspiration for his poetic compositions" [30. P. 309]. Nature, as it were, is a closer mirroring of the Dharmakaya than the tumultuous essence of human society. Hence, Kükai constructed his Shingon practice to attune the adherent to Dharmakaya's resonance. Nature's beauty was vital here for Kükai's cosmology. All Shingon rituals emblematised a "synaesthetic enterprise, a fact which contributed to Kükai's success in the refined upper class society of his times" [36. P. 498]. As Huiguo (746-805) taught during Kükai's tutelage in China, nature's beauty, along with all signs and sounds, is the Dharmakaya [30. P. 130]1. This also explains why Kükai regularly recluded into the mountains, often declaring that he had sworn to the Buddhas and bodhisattvas to remain undisturbed irrespective of social functions [30. P. 130]. Kükai sought inspiration from the mountains, and on return from China, Kükai consecrated the monastery at Mount Koya as a commitment to the gods, which later became the centre of Shingon Buddhism [38. P. 121].
1 Kukai travelled to China during the Tang Dynasty in 804 for some thirty months and studied under Huiguo a prominent Buddhist monk of the Ximing Temple, resulting in the latter proclaiming Kukai a Dharma heir and instructing him to transmit the esoteric doctrines to Japan [37. P. 78].
Kükai was nonetheless adamant that despite nature's mirroring of the Dharmakaya, the latter remained hidden in its formlessness, beyond conceptualisation and verbalisation [34. P. 154]. So, to integrate with the Dharmakaya, Kükai distinguished between Esoteric and Exoteric Buddhism. Exoteric Buddhism was practised by various Buddhist schools that were not "intended to advocate the final truth," whereas Esoteric Buddhism was "preached by the Dharmakaya Buddha himself' [34. P. 154-157]. Since the Dharmakaya remains concealed, the esoteric should only be applied to "the secret teaching revealing the innermost experience of the ultimate Dharmakaya Buddha" [34. P. 157]. Kükai elaborated upon the nature of the esoteric teachings in response to Emperor Junna's edict in 830 that all Buddhist schools issue their doctrines in writing. Kükai replied in what one scholar called his "most ambitious work" - The Ten Stages of the Development of the Human Mind and its sister version, The Precious Key to the Secret Treasury [33. P. 334-335]. In these works, Kükai detailed the esoteric by distinguishing between the ten stages of development in the religious mind. The tenth and final stage of the development of the human mind, Kükai called the "Glorious Mind, the Most Secret and Sacred," is where all secret treasures are manifest: "It is the supreme Truth, the most secret and imperishable, like a diamond" [34. P. 217]1. The esoteric teaching culminates in one's realisation of their being a unity of body and mind grounded in the Dharmakaya; "all sentient beings are endowed with the all-pervading Mind" [34. P. 219]. Again, this realisation is closely associated with beauty. Hence, for Kükai, practising aesthetic interpretations of the Dharmakaya through mantra and ritual is imperative; mantra theory must be intrinsically poetic or aesthetic in contrast to regular conceptual language. For Kükai, poetic or aesthetic language can evoke responses that reorient our perspective of the world. Therefore, the mantras and rituals must produce aesthetic experiences [39. P. 532-536].
The Emergence of Shingon Buddhism
In keeping with Kükai's cosmology, we are to understand that Shingon Buddhism was a product of the Dharmakaya's beauty itself, not Kükai the subject. Kükai's own interpretation of the Dharmakaya is fundamentally trans-subjective. Aside from Kükai's position, we can understand the beauty of the Heian period based on several events of the Heian period. Firstly, much of the Buddhist culture and written tradition of the late Nara and early Heian period had set the stage for Kükai's work. Kükai effectively appropriated and refined the resources that had already arrived in Japan before his time, much of which initially failed to capture the clergy's attention. Understandably, Abé argues that it was distinguishing between Esoteric and Exoteric Buddhism that exhibits the weight of Kükai's influence during the Heian period, not his importation of Chinese scripture, rituals and icons [30. P. 6-10]. Secondly, Shingon Buddhism appealed to the
1 The previous nine stages are as follows: The First Stage: The Mind of Lowly Man, Goatish in Its Desires, The Second Stage: The Mind That Is Ignorant and Childlike, Yet Abstemious, The Third Stage: The Mind That Is Infantlike and Fearless, the Fourth Stage: The Mind That Recognizes the Existence of Psychophysical Constituents Only, Not That of a Permanent Ego, The Fifth Stage: The Mind Freed from the Seed of the Cause of Karma, The Sixth Stage: The Mahayana Mind with Sympathetic Concern for Others, The Seventh Stage: The Mind That Realizes that the Mind Is Unborn, The Eighth Stage: The Mind That Is Truly in Harmony with the One Way, The Ninth Stage: The Profoundest Exoteric Buddhist Mind That Is Aware of Its Nonimmutable Nature [34. P. 163-164].
establishment because they were consistent with Kukai's historical conditions, particularly the intense aestheticism of Heian society. Kukai was an astounding poet, and a series of correspondence letters between Kukai and the Emperor Saga between 809 and 816 are but one example of Heian society's appreciation for Kukai's poetry and calligraphy [30. P. 43].
Kukai's aesthetic systematisation of religion, rich in symbolism, appealed to Heian society, showing that Kukai's influence on the arts of Japanese culture should not be understated. Apart from composing poetry and beautiful calligraphy, Kukai was the first Esoteric Buddhist to synthesise and organise the "Womb and Diamond Worlds into a single religio-aesthetic system" [40. P. 738]. The Womb World (Taizokai mandara) and Diamond World (Kongokai mandara) make up the most crucial mandala for the Esoteric Buddhist tradition in Japan, known as the mandala of the Two Worlds (ryokai mandara); the primary mandala for Kukai's Shingon Buddhism [37. P. 33-95]. Consistent with the Esoteric Buddhist tradition, Kukai's synthesis of the two mandalas expressed the unity of potential enlightenment and the nondual wisdom as symbolic of his nondual doctrines [40. P. 738].
The Two Worlds thence fell under the general curriculum of religious art in the Shingon school, showing Kukai's emphasis on the beauty of the arts. Given the rich paintings and symbolism portrayed therein, Kukai's understanding of art motivated his establishment of the Two Mandalas. The school established four different art categories: a) painting and sculpture, b) music and literature, c) gestures and acts, and c) the implements of civilisation and religion [41. P. 138]. For Kukai, competency in the arts resulted in "the creation of flowers of civilisation which are Buddhas in their own right... whatever was beautiful partook of the nature of Buddha. Nature, art and religion were one. It is not difficult, then, to see why so aesthetic a religion found favor at a time when Japanese civilisation was at the height of its flowering" [41. P. 138].
The centrality of art in Shingon school shows that despite the Dharmakaya being beyond the reach of conceptualisation, it is attainable through art, as Kukai elaborated:
In truth, the Esoteric doctrines are so profound as to defy their enunciation in writing. With the help of painting, however, their obscurities can be understood. The various attitudes and mudras of the holy images all have their source in Buddha's love, and one may attain Buddhahood at sight of them. Thus the secrets of the sutras and commentaries can be depicted in art, and the essential truths of the Esoteric teaching are all set forth therein. Neither teachers nor students can dispense with it. Art is what reveals to us the state of perfection [42. P. 137-138].
Visual representations of the "two aspects of potential and dynamic manifestations" served to illustrate the Shingon school's unified teachings of the Two Mandalas, the "indestructible potential of the cosmos" of the Diamond Mandala and the Womb Mandala's dynamic portrayal of the "manifold group of deities and other beings" - following the kinds of powers and intentions they personify [42. P. 156]. Expressions of beauty, whether in poetry, paintings or
various mandalas, were integral to the Shingon school and fundamental to the nature of the universe, consistent with Kukai's teachings. Therefore, to allow for the reception of the Dharmakaya's teachings, beauty must be portrayed by the most potent aesthetic mediums.
Conclusion
Scholars have often speculated on the ostensible Eastern influences on Neoplatonism, especially in the case of its founder, Plotinus. While much scholarly ink has been spilled on this potential connection, no scholarly consensus exists, given the lack of substantial evidence. Kukai's work, alternatively, is heavily indebted to the Eastern tradition, especially the Buddhism inherited from Tang Chinese. The profound point here is that barring the differential use of labels such as Intellect, One, Dharmakaya and mind, significant consistencies between the two remain, as this paper showed. Of course, I am not suggesting a complete overlap in the cosmology of Proclus and Kukai; however, I maintain that certain core principles align. Both figures view the world's beauty as divine, for beauty is inherent to the expression of the Dharmakaya or One. Even more interesting is that both thinkers considered the natural cosmological order as acting through themselves in a manner that transcends the subject. Proclus' role via Denys in the emergence of the Gothic is still visible today. Similarly, Kukai was responsible for the temple at Mount Koya, which was not completed until after Kukai's death but has become somewhat of an icon of Japanese Buddhism. Kukai's synaesthetic application of Shingon rituals is still in use, while Proclus' thought significantly shaped Islamic and European philosophy of the Middle Ages and beyond. The Gothic has undergone numerous changes throughout the centuries, with Gothic literature, film and architecture now a popular theme in contemporary culture. Likewise, Kukai's Esoteric Buddhism has become fundamental to Japanese Buddhism. This study has been but a brief introduction to the origin of thinking of the early Middle Ages, which underpins, to a large part, subsequent history. However, much work remains to enhance further our understanding of the thinking behind contemporary philosophy and Buddhism.
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Information about the author:
Alexandrov E. - PhD in Philosophy, postdoctoral researcher, School of Philosophy and Theology, University of Notre Dame Australia (Fremantle, Australia). E-mail: emile.alexandrov1@my.nd.edu.au, emile931 @gmail.com
The author declares no conflicts of interests.
Сведения об авторе:
Александров Э. - кандидат философских наук, PhD (философия), постдокторант, Школа философии и теологии, Университет Нотр-Дам, Австралия (Фримантл, Австралия). E-mail: emile.alexandrov1@my.nd.edu.au, emile931@gmail.com
Автор заявляет об отсутствии конфликта интересов.
The article was submitted 20.10.2023; approved after reviewing 21.11.2023; accepted for publication 13.12.2023 Статья поступила в редакцию 20.10.2023; одобрена после рецензирования 21.11.2023; принята к публикации 13.12.2023
