Yeah yeah I know before anyone starts. Serious question though. Has anyone here had any significant exposure to the Mikkyo associated with the Takamatsuden?
I've been at a few classes when people have asked Soke about Mikkyo, Kuji-Kiri etc Mostly he only showed rude things...
I'm not a student of the Takamatsu-den, but it seems these practices are linked to the Japanese schools of Vajrayana Buddhism. So perhaps they're more commonly trained amongst serious students of Tendai or Shingon Buddhism? But my guess is that any serious student who learns such mikkyo practices isn't going to openly discuss them with anybody outside of the discipline, and might not even publicly mention learning it. A lot of esoteric practices abide by this attitude. It's similar as to the reasons why Buddhist monks take an oath forbidding any open discussion of their magic powers or attainments. Often the secrecy isn't because the practice is so technically difficult or because it's hiding some magical cosmic "cheat codes", but the formal secrecy reflects a natural gate or barrier in the transmission process, present in order to protect the proper context of the teachings and their ethical usage. This also makes it more likely a person is psychologically balanced before they can learn these things, and less likely to abuse it or misunderstand their value.
Only ordained study Mikkyo in Tendai, laity might get the odd bit of exposure but they aren't practicing Mikkyo as such. I was just curious as I saw something mentioned in another thread and wondered how such things were passed on in the Takamatsuden as usually it requires kanjo.
Well I'm glad you asked because I'm curious too! I have seen lay Tendai groups around in the US, but I'm guessing they're more like you say, and not connected too directly to mikkyo practices. Any ideas why Tendai is more prevalent in the west versus Shingon, or what the differences are between these schools? I was under the impression Tendai had a larger lay component, but I really don't know.
Don't know for certain why one is more prevalent in the west than another, it might be due to the ratio of exoteric and esoteric practices in the two traditions. Shingon being very heavy on the esoteric side and Tendai having a bit of both, albeit perhaps less esoteric than Shingon. That might have an influence on the amount of ordained teachers. I will ask my Tendai teacher and get back to you.
