Notes from a lecture on Shugendo given by Quentin Durning, May 2009
-Mountains themselves were historically kami. The Yayoi period (300BCE - 300CE) created an agricultural base from which shrines rose gradually.
-Mountain deities were (are) female.
-Water brings energy from the mountain; the water god flows to fed the paddies.
-Kofun burial mounds are themselves mountains. "Going to the mountain" a euphemism on death.
-From 6th century, one got power from the mountains, an exercise with Taoist roots. Japanese Buddhism in contrast is still, grounded.
-With the coming of Buddhism to Japan, Shinto gods were combined with Bodhisattvas.
The Heian period saw the entry of mandalas that Kukai and Saicho introduced from China. Mandalas themselves are mountains.
-In early history, people went alone to caves, rivers, etc.
On the turntable: Mark Knopfler and Chet Atkins, "Neck and Neck"
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