OK, we got to the main point hereWuMing wrote: That Ajikan is taught to people without training is a relatively new movement, beginning only around 100 - 150 years ago, I was taught. Prior to that time this wasn't the case, at all. Why it was done so, I unfortunately don't know.
Language barrier. You do know 密=secret, right? Esoteric=concealed...which=secret. So you are splitting hairs here with words. Just for clarity, lets tack on "secret to the unitiated..." to make you sleep a little better.WuMing wrote: Anyone who is teaching it responsibly to people without prior training should make them understand and tell them that it is lacking essential oral instructions, which are only taught if one underwent prior training and practices, as I already described above.
I do have an Ajikan manual but I won't make any of its content public, because of reasons which should be clear by now. But again for your clarity, it's not because it is secret, but because it requires prior training and practice, again, as already described above.
Not saying that it does not exist, but to use it as an example of what Shingon initiation entails would be an overstatement. In terms of Chan/Zen, it would not.WuMing wrote:In the Shingon Ono-ryū for example there is an abhiṣeka called ishin-kanjo (transmission from mind to mind), so this term "From Mind to Mind" does exist in Shingon.Acala wrote: ... "Mind to mind" is Chan/Zen by the way.....wrong denomination
AH, so we have come to the end of our little back and forth. What we have discovered is:
Ajikan is used as a preliminary training practice....but Wuming says it is more advanced (without backing it up) although he admits it is used as a training practice but does not know why.
I think this piece is done. Maybe onto something else?
Perhaps
What is the oldest textual reference to the Ajikan? I hear people say the Mahavairocana sutra, but the verse they always quote actually mentions nothing about the actual practice itself. Maybe theres another reference there...but I haven't actually found one.
The oldest reference I know is from Kukai. The only thing before that I have seen are variations of the Mood Disk Visualization...which say nothing about the A-seed.
Thoughts?