"Secrecy´s Power: Covert Shin Buddhists in Japan and Contradictions of Concealment" by Clark Chilson is a very in-house book about a number of secretive religious groups in modern Japan. The groups in question are Shin Buddhists, Shin being a sub-branch of the "Amidist" Pure Land Buddhism tradition. Pure Land Buddhism is an almost "theistic" form of Buddhism, centered on the worship of the cosmic buddha Amida (originally called Amitabha). Devotees of Amida believe that the constant repetition of a mantra known as the nembutsu will make them attain rebirth in a paradise world known as the Pure Land, where further attainment of nirvana or the status of a bodhisattva is said to be extremely easy. To a Westerner used to Christianity, the Pure Land traditions look almost "Protestant", since they emphasize that salvation is easy and granted by the grace of Amida, who comes across as a "personal god". It also seems that the Pure Land is a permanent paradise, not the temporary version of mainline Buddhism. Amidism also seems to have a "populist" streak - hardly surprising for a religion that promises an easy path to liberation - and has historically been associated with the common people (including rebels) rather than with the aristocracy or the temple priesthood. One such populist notion is that there should be no secrets in religion. This marked out Pure Land Buddhism from other traditions, and Japanese society in general, during the medieval period, when most other religious groups concealed part of their teachings and practices (various trade guilds did the same). And yet, there are covert Pure Land Buddhists. Chilson´s book deals with three such groups, all three of which belong to the Shin branch of Pure Land Buddhism. Due to the book´s somewhat exclusive scholarly character, the author never explains the differences between Shin and other forms of Pure Land Buddhism, nor does he explore the history of Pure Land traditions at any great length. It would be interesting to know more about the Amidist "Ikko-Ikki" rebellions during the 14th and 15th centuries, for instance!
Like other forms of Pure Land Buddhism, Shin is generally also an overt religion which rejects all claims to an esoteric message. However, it seems that the Shin tradition has been plagued by secret breakaway groups almost from the start. The most famous description of such a group, at least in the West, comes from D T Suzuki, the famous writer on Zen, who was actually initiated into a covert Shin fraternity as a boy. Otherwise, covert Shin groups have managed to pass more or less under the radar for most of the 20th century. Their secrets were exposed by infiltrators over a century ago, but many of the groups themselves then disappeared from the public limelight. Chilson describes three groups or traditions known as Urahomon, Gonaiho and Kirishimako. All three have their roots in the Early Modern Period. Urahomon and Gonaiho are heterodox in comparison with overt Shin, while Kirishimako originally had the same theology as mainline Shin and adopted secrecy due to persecution. All covert Shin Buddhists suffered persecution under the Edo Period, but the traditions that would give rise to Urahomon and Gonaiho were secret from the start for theological reasons.
Kirishimako pretended to be Shintoists, and were so succesful in concealing themselves that even people in the surrounding rural community where most followers lived were largely unaware of their existence. The group wasn´t exposed until the American occupation, when some villagers refused to accept food from American soldiers due to food taboos. Later, a public school discovered that many village children refused to eat chicken, a staple food in modern Japan. The strong Kirishimako taboo against killing and eating chicken had inadvertently revealed the group´s existence when society changed.
Most of the book deal with Urahomon, a group the author has encountered himself. For frankly unclear reasons, the Urahomon granted Chilson interviews and permission to attend some of their meetings. They even tried to recruit him as a member! Urahomon´s strategy is to "hide in plain sight" or dissimulate. The group is affiliated with Kuyado, a Tendai temple in Kyoto dedicated to the tenth-century holy man Kuya (who was an Amida devotee). Some of their members even take wows and serve in the temple as a kind of deacons. It´s also interesting to note that Kuyado´s association with Tendai seems to be formal, the temple having a history as an independent entity which bestowed imperial patronage on marginalized groups. As members of a Kuya-Amida temple, Urahomon (or rather one of its many lineages) can meet openly at designated times and places, without anyone suspecting that it´s really an event hosted by a secretive sect believed to be extinct by many outsiders!
Urahomon´s secret message strikes me as more extreme than that of overt Shin or Pure Land. Those who pass through a special initiation ritual are said to be buddhas and experience the Pure Land paradise already in this life. This is apparently similar to other esoteric strands of Buddhism, but not to mainline Shin. However, the Urahomon initiation is relatively simple, compared to the elaborate rituals, meditations and visualizations it takes to reach enlightenment in the more Tantric traditions. Urahomon has no paid priesthood - even the exoteric deacons at Kuyado work for free - but each affinity group nevertheless has a leader who has undergone an often rigorous training. Since most of Urahomon´s traditions are oral, prospective leaders have to hone their mnemonic skills, which can take years. Sometimes it is succesful: the author attended sermons that went on for several hours, but which seemed to be recited entirely from memory!
Why are these groups still secret? There is no religious persecution in Japan today. Also, the groups are slowly but steadfastly dying out. The author experienced this in real time: in just ten years, the number of people attending Urahomon meetings dropped by half. Why doesn´t Urahomon go public? It might be their best strategy for survival (compare how the Golden Dawn tradition in Britain survived by leaking its esoteric teachings into the public domain). Chilson believes that secrecy is an integrated part of the group´s ideology, power structure and entire mode of functioning. It cannot easily be dispensed with without changing the very bedrock of the religion. In short, it´s part of the Urahomon identity.
"Secrecy´s Power" also contain more general scholarly-sociological discussions about the role of secrecy in religious groups, but I admit that I mostly skimmed those sections, not being in a very scholarly mood right now!
Probably far too narrow for the general reader, but if you are *extremely* interested in Japanese Buddhism, I suppose this could be worth at least a look.
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