【密教英訳テキスト】中院流一座行法私記：性海

The author, Shōkai, was appointed as the 25th Nōke (Head Scholar) of the Buzan school (豊山) in the sixth month of the tenth year of Hōreki (1760). In the Shingon school of the Edo period, it was said that "Buzan is for thought and Daigo is for practice," and it was the custom for monks of the Buzan school to study the Dharma lineages of Daigo-ji Temple. Studying only a single Dharma lineage was considered insufficient; it was an era when one was called an ācārya of Esoteric Buddhism in the true sense only after studying various lineages and mastering their profound secrets. Therefore, Shōkai also studied the Chūin-ryū lineage, and this book is the record of his studies.

While the practical content and the texts of ritual sequences have changed depending on the ācārya transmitting the Dharma and the era, a characteristic of Japanese Esoteric Buddhism was that the core essence itself remained unchanged since the time of the Grand Master, even through the passage of long periods. However, it has faced significant changes since World War II, and now there are not a few monks who have become more indolent than laypeople.

Although this book does not encompass the entirety of Shingon practice, it provides an understanding of how the Esoteric Buddhism transmitted to Japan has evolved and may serve as a reference for how practice should be conducted outside of Japan.

Furthermore, there were actually many Dharma lineages within Chūin-ryū itself, and the modern Chūin-ryū was standardized during the late Shōwa era; thus, its history is by no means long. Therefore, please understand that the rituals of modern Chūin-ryū do not necessarily coincide with the rituals described in this book.

In translating this text into English, we have used slightly simpler expressions for technical terms to make them easier to understand; however, this has resulted in some passages becoming somewhat verbose. If you have any questions, please consult a Esoteric Buddhist monk you know to deepen your understanding.