The esoteric Buddhism arose in the seventh century. The most important sutra of esoteric Buddhism, Mahavairochana Sutra (Great Sun Sutra), taught us that: Enlightenment lies in the recognition of one's own mind, because the mind embraces all wisdom.
Esoteric Buddhists tried to unite their body, words and mind with the body, words and mind of the universe. They classified the hierarchy of the spiritual beings in mandalas. There were two mandalas: Womb World Mandala which classifies spiritual beings into twelve groups and Diamond World Mandala which indicates nine levels of semblance of spiritual beings. And they practiced the ritual which derived from Hinduism.
The most important meditation of esoteric Buddhism is that of the Sanskrit letter “A" which is encircled on a white lotus. The circle is the symbol of our pure soul, often covered with clouds, earthly desires. “A" is the symbol of universal origin.
Rudolf Steiner spoke about the eight stages of yoga meditation as the eastern way in “At the Gates of Spiritual Science." These stages are described in Patanjali's Yoga Sutra (31). The first two stages are the moral requirements. Morality is the pre-condition for seeing the past and future lives, to see the true self and to join with God. The next two stages are related to the physical condition of meditation. The fifth stage is the concentration on one sensory impression. In the sixth stage, there follows the concentration on the after-image of a sensory impression. The seventh stage, dhyana, is the meditation on non-sensory image. And samadhi, the eighth stage, is to consciously erase the supersensory image. In the state of samadhi, the consciousness emptied. There is thinking without thought. And spiritual reality flows into this pure thinking.
The ritual of esoteric Buddhism is composed basically of eighteen mantras and mudras (movements of hands). And these eighteen mantras and mudras are classified into six stages: To purify one's body and words and mind, to purify the place of ritual, to imagine the palace in which the spiritual being comes, to invite the spiritual being, to guard the palace, and to entertain the spiritual being. (The original Buddhist community had no ritual. It was a group of meditators. The original Buddhist monks were meditative seachers after truth.)
Kukai (774-835), who was born in Japan and initiated in a Chinese esoteric Buddhist temple, wrote that Vairochana, the Great Sun God, was the Being who had the great Ego. He visited temples of Nestrian Christianity, of Manichaeism and of Zoroastrianism in China (32). He established the first school for common children in Japan in 828. He was a fine artist, and accomplished imposing architectural works.
Esoteric Buddhists tried to unite their body, words and mind with the body, words and mind of the universe. They classified the hierarchy of the spiritual beings in mandalas. There were two mandalas: Womb World Mandala which classifies spiritual beings into twelve groups and Diamond World Mandala which indicates nine levels of semblance of spiritual beings. And they practiced the ritual which derived from Hinduism.
The most important meditation of esoteric Buddhism is that of the Sanskrit letter “A" which is encircled on a white lotus. The circle is the symbol of our pure soul, often covered with clouds, earthly desires. “A" is the symbol of universal origin.
Rudolf Steiner spoke about the eight stages of yoga meditation as the eastern way in “At the Gates of Spiritual Science." These stages are described in Patanjali's Yoga Sutra (31). The first two stages are the moral requirements. Morality is the pre-condition for seeing the past and future lives, to see the true self and to join with God. The next two stages are related to the physical condition of meditation. The fifth stage is the concentration on one sensory impression. In the sixth stage, there follows the concentration on the after-image of a sensory impression. The seventh stage, dhyana, is the meditation on non-sensory image. And samadhi, the eighth stage, is to consciously erase the supersensory image. In the state of samadhi, the consciousness emptied. There is thinking without thought. And spiritual reality flows into this pure thinking.
The ritual of esoteric Buddhism is composed basically of eighteen mantras and mudras (movements of hands). And these eighteen mantras and mudras are classified into six stages: To purify one's body and words and mind, to purify the place of ritual, to imagine the palace in which the spiritual being comes, to invite the spiritual being, to guard the palace, and to entertain the spiritual being. (The original Buddhist community had no ritual. It was a group of meditators. The original Buddhist monks were meditative seachers after truth.)
Kukai (774-835), who was born in Japan and initiated in a Chinese esoteric Buddhist temple, wrote that Vairochana, the Great Sun God, was the Being who had the great Ego. He visited temples of Nestrian Christianity, of Manichaeism and of Zoroastrianism in China (32). He established the first school for common children in Japan in 828. He was a fine artist, and accomplished imposing architectural works.