Kukai's background and summary of Shingon Buddhism In the Japanese philosophy and humanitarian history, there has been a series of religious people who have taken part in sharing and teaching about different humanitarian ideas and theories. One of these individuals was the Buddhist tantric monk Kukai. Kukai was born in 774 in a sea-village known as the Gbu-ga-ura a village that is not far from the Tadotsu, in Sanuki. The boy Kukai was born into a family called Saiki and his father, was Yoshimichi who was a nobleman from the ancient emperor descendent. The birth of Kukai is said to be miraculous in nature. The reason is because before conception; his mother saw a vision in her dream of a saintly monk coming to her house and monk using supernatural powers made Kukai's mom pregnant. Again, when the boy Kukai was born, his hands were held together as if he was in prayers (Casal, Ugo Alfonso, 1959) . Kukai was baptized to a name Henshg King which means " worldwide shining diamond ." Locally, during his growing up, he was also given a nickname that people used to call him “ TotGmono ” which means "out treasure." Kukai started his mission when he was young, and he could he have visions like being seated on eight-petalled lotus flower having a dialogue with the Buddha. Kukai joined the University when he was twelve years in preparations for his career in Confucianism. However, being unsatisfied with the career, Kukai privately studied Taoism because it was the job that he felt was in alignment with his reasoning. In great curiosity to learn the truth, Kukai left his city at a tender age and became a member of the Buddhist temple as an acolyte. His great passion in Buddhism made him to mode clay images of Buddha. With the images, he established a shrine from where he could do his Adoration to Buddha. This great step of faith in Buddha subjected Kukai to trials of the devil as he was continually tried. However, it is believed that Buddha protected him from the trials and tribulations and he was granted special power to overcome spiritual battles. His great commitment and adoration led to his ordination as a Buddhism priest by priest Gonso of Iwabuchidera (Casal, Ugo Alfonso, 1959) . As a priest, Kukai worked together with Ambassador Fujiwara, and together they traveled to different countries like China between the years 778-818. Upon his return to Japan, Kukai founded an independent Buddhist institution by the name Heian Buddhism which focused on teaching about the truth. In his works at the Heian Buddhism ministry, Kukai engaged in a lot of teachings which among them was the understanding of human mind where he came up with ten different mindsets development and the different personal characteristics and behaviors associated with the different mindsets. According to Kukai’s teachings through his school of thought, the ten different mindset stages that individuals go through before they can achieve full consciousness of issues as they are natural ...

1. Kukai's background and summary of Shingon Buddhism
In the Japanese philosophy and humanitarian history, there has
been a series of religious people who have taken part in sharing
and teaching about different humanitarian ideas and theories.
One of these individuals was the Buddhist tantric monk Kukai.
Kukai was born in 774 in a sea-village known as the Gbu-ga-ura
a village that is not far from the Tadotsu, in Sanuki. The boy
Kukai was born into a family called Saiki and his father, was
Yoshimichi who was a nobleman from the ancient emperor
descendent. The birth of Kukai is said to be miraculous in
nature. The reason is because before conception; his mother saw
a vision in her dream of a saintly monk coming to her house and
monk using supernatural powers made Kukai's mom pregnant.
Again, when the boy Kukai was born, his hands were held
together as if he was in prayers
(Casal, Ugo Alfonso, 1959)
. Kukai was baptized to a name Henshg King which means "
worldwide shining diamond
." Locally, during his growing up, he was also given a nickname
that people used to call him “
TotGmono
” which means "out treasure."
Kukai started his mission when he was young, and he could he
have visions like being seated on eight-petalled lotus flower
having a dialogue with the Buddha. Kukai joined the University
when he was twelve years in preparations for his career in
Confucianism. However, being unsatisfied with the career,
Kukai privately studied Taoism because it was the job that he
felt was in alignment with his reasoning. In great curiosity to
learn the truth, Kukai left his city at a tender age and became a
member of the Buddhist temple as an acolyte. His great passion
in Buddhism made him to mode clay images of Buddha. With
the images, he established a shrine from where he could do his
Adoration to Buddha. This great step of faith in Buddha

2. subjected Kukai to trials of the devil as he was continually
tried. However, it is believed that Buddha protected him from
the trials and tribulations and he was granted special power to
overcome spiritual battles. His great commitment and adoration
led to his ordination as a Buddhism priest by priest Gonso of
Iwabuchidera
(Casal, Ugo Alfonso, 1959)
.
As a priest, Kukai worked together with Ambassador Fujiwara,
and together they traveled to different countries like China
between the years 778-818. Upon his return to Japan, Kukai
founded an independent Buddhist institution by the name Heian
Buddhism which focused on teaching about the truth. In his
works at the Heian Buddhism ministry, Kukai engaged in a lot
of teachings which among them was the understanding of human
mind where he came up with ten different mindsets development
and the different personal characteristics and behaviors
associated with the different mindsets. According to Kukai’s
teachings through his school of thought, the ten different
mindset stages that individuals go through before they can
achieve full consciousness of issues as they are naturally.
The philosophy claimed that more one moves to another step the
more developed one's brains get, and the more real the world
becomes
(Casal, Ugo Alfonso, 1959)
. Notably, each stage has its specific characteristics and
behaviors that a person tends to show. Kukai's state of mind
teachings came to be taught and known a big number of people,
and they are instructions that are known to have realized
massive respect and value from the Japanese people. However,
opposition towards Kukai’s view of mindset was highly present
from some Ryuichi who was a Buddhist revisionist.
Nevertheless, Kukai’s teachings came to be recognized as the
Japanese Buddhist philosophy.
Apart from the teachings, priest Kukai did a lot of Buddhism

3. services to people like communicating with different gods like
the god of rain, soil, the sun, and harvest among many other
gods and goddesses. Kukai constantly did a lot of supernatural
powers that made the people believe in his powers and consider
him a saint. The reason is that it was hard in Buddhism to
communicate and have a response from the gods without being a
saint. Also, for people to believe in his exorcism Buddhism, he
also had to write a lot of literature and philosophies. However,
this essay shall focus on
Kukai's ten mindsets successfully articulate the state of mind
achieved through his school of thought.
Kukai’s ten mindsets
According to
Dalisay, (2014); Priest Kukai who was born like a saint
established ten different mindsets. The various mindset stages
have a lot to do with humanity and a person’s state of mind.
Each mindset has its specific characteristics and behaviors that
a person shows when he/she belongs to that particular mindset
category. Progressing to different mindset stages comes along
with different features and behaviors. The following table
shows all the different mindsets and their respective
characteristics and behaviors.
Level of mind
Characteristics and behaviors
1.
Unstable goatish mind
Driven by instincts and needs for security, sex, and food
2.
Foolish abstinent mind
Strives to be ethical and moral
3.
Childlike fearless mind
Seeks to believe in an eternally unchanging god or salvation

4. doctrine
4.
Mind of selfless aggregates
Seeks personal liberation
5.
Mind free of karmic seeds
Understands the process of conditioning, slowing destroying
ignorance
6.
Compassionate Mahayana mind
Has great compassion as it sees the consciousness in nature
7.
Mind awake to the unborn
Realizes the void nature of both objects and mind itself
8.
Mind of the single way
Realizes that all things in the world are contained in a single
thought in mind
9.
Mind of ultimate no-self nature
Penetrates all things but still limited by duality
10.
Secret sublime mind
Breaks through duality, fully realizing the true nature
Stage 1: unstable, goatish mind
According to Kukai, the unstable, goatish mind is the first step
of mindset and according to Kukai is the toughest step in the
entire development process. The reason is that it is the stage

5. that presents individuals with the crudest and bleak visions of
life. This is in regards to personal paths to follow and the
starting point. Moreover, it is the stage when a person is
presented the most challenging and complicated life visions that
determine who a person is. Nevertheless, it is the mindset step
that has a profound honesty starting point
(Dalisay, 2014)
. The reason is that, despite a person feeling that he/she is
sophisticated; the first level of mind is always familiar and
strangely real. The danger about this stage is that instincts
normally drive a person. So if the instincts are misleading, it is
likely for one to have an entirely wrong mindset. The reason is
that, in this step, people tend to act like sheep, and hence they
tend to show ignorance and stupidity.
Stage 2: foolish abstinent mind
According to Kukai, a foolish abstinent mind is the second stage
of mind development. In this stage, self-awareness hastens, and
it is at this stage that a person realizes that there is more to life
than just following the fickleness on the untrained and ordinary
mind. Kukai also stated that it is at this stage that a person
starts refraining from over-indulgence as well as harmful
actions hence making a person start turning away from the first
level of mind and instead starts seeking for something more
meaningful in life
(Casal, Ugo Alfonso, 1959)
. This stage was also named as gudo jisai-shin, and a person
starts to restrain oneself from self-instincts. The reason is that
the stage of mind development makes one realise the different
foolish things that one was engaging in and the desire to stop
them is triggered.
Stage 3:
Childlike fearless mind
This is a stage of mind development a person seeks to believe in
an eternally unchanging god or salvation doctrine. During this
third stage of mind development, Kukai stated that a person in
this state is normally wearied with human suffering and it is for

6. this reason that the person starts to seek the peace of dwelling
in heaven with the only thing being salvation
(Casal, Ugo Alfonso, 1959)
. It is this mind that first awakens the need for religion because
one in this mindset development stage makes a person to feel
like a child and hence increased need to seek comfort for the
mother's embrace. Unfortunately, a person in this stage fails to
realize that the mother too is subject to death, old age, and
sickness and hence the only option is to believe in a forever
spiritual doctrine or unchanging god. The need is even more
desperate when the mind is at this stage, and one performs the
four mental concentrations together with the six practices
(
Matsuda, 2003)
. The reason is that these practices increases the disliking of the
world below and instead increases the need to love and gain
more knowledge about heaven (Taoism and Hinduism).
According to Kukai, in this third stage of mind development, a
person starts to have amazing spiritual visions. However, these
visions are only practicable in another world and not the present
world that the individual is in. However; a person's vision of
what can be achieved expands to infinite even though the
confidence involved makes it possible for the vision to happen
in life or fail to occur in this life.
Stage 4:
Mind of selfless aggregates
According to Kukai’s philosophy, the fourth stage of mindset
development makes one see oneself as impermanent, but the
person still thinks that the five aggregates have a real existence.
These five aggregates include; perception, mental activity,
consciousness, form, and will. The realization of the five
aggregates, a person's mind can think more clearly and realize
the notion of a permanent ego is in the real sense unreal. The
realization further makes a person see the need and benefits of
the eightfold anticipation as well as the six supernatural powers

7. (Dalisay, 2014)
. This means that the development of the brain makes the mind
to recognize the existence of components and denies a
permanent ego any form of recognition. According to Kukai, a
person meets Buddhadharma for the first time in the fourth
stage of mindset. It is the stage that people tend to practice all
the core principles and values taught by Shakamuni. More so,
the system of practice is normally characterized by the three
mysteries which are; Samadhi, sila, and prajana. This stage is
also the personal obstacle overcoming stage and awakens a
person’s abilities to handle challenges
(
Matsuda, 2003)
.
Stage 5:
Mind free of karmic seeds
The fifth stage of mind development makes a person destroy all
the arrogance and ignorance which are said to have been planted
by the bad karma. Just like in the fourth stage of brain
development, in this stage also the brain lacks any form of
compassion towards other beings
(Casal, Ugo Alfonso, 1959)
. This means that in as much a lot of arrogance is uprooted;
other mental weaknesses develop hence hindering total
effectiveness on how the brain works.
Stage 6:
Compassionate Mahayana mind
According to Kukai in his Japanese Buddhist Philosophy, the
compassionate Mahayana mind is the level of mind where the
mind becomes compassionate about all living things in the
world. The mind becomes conscious of all things despite the
realization that all objects are void and hence the mind tends to
see all objects as real
(Dalisay, 2014)
. Kukai stated in his philosophy that in the entire brain

8. development process, this is the first time that great compassion
takes place and one takes the action of granting aid to other
people who might be in need of any help.
Stage 7: Mind awake to the unborn
According to Kukai, when the mind gets into this level of
development, it is the time that an individual gets into an actual
realization about the void nature of both the mind and objects.
In this stage, Kukai elaborates that with the unborn, he means
the false predictions that are made clear by the absolute
emptiness that one feels in mind and objects
(
Matsuda, 2003)
. It is the stage of mind awakening to face the truth, and the
mind in this stage becomes unproduced. More so, it is the stage
that the mind comes to the realization that no dramas exist
beyond the mind.
Stage 8: The mind single way
According to the philosophy, the eight step of mind
development leads to a single way of thinking. Kukai defined
mind single was as the way to the truth. The reason is because
he believed that the brain can only perceive issues from one
single way for the truth to be determined. According to Kukai,
this level of mind development can understand and acknowledge
that the world of delusion and enlightenment is the world of
mind and matter, an all possible world, and all thoughts are
contained in one individual mind
(Casal, Ugo Alfonso, 1959)
. In this stage of mind development, the mind can come together
and put more efforts and concentration on the true issues and
minimizes the void felt in the seventh stage of mind
development. The reason is that according to Kukai, the brain
can consolidate and narrow down the wide perception to a
narrow perception hence making things to have meaning and
purpose,
Stage 9:
Mind of ultimate no-self nature

9. According to Kukai’s Japanese philosophy, the mind in the
ninth stage of development has gone through different stages,
and the mind can push through all things around it.
Nevertheless, the brain is still limited by its duality, and this is
something that further hinders the brain from functioning or
perceiving issues from a perfect point of view
(Dalisay, 2014)
. The reason is that when the mindset is limited to duality, it
means that the mind is being affected by two different issues
hence compromising the way of perceiving problems.
Stage 10: secret sublime mind
This is the last stage of mindset, and in this stage, the mind has
already gone through all the process, and the stage brings the
brain to a breakthrough. The reason is that the mind has been
able to follow illusions, comes to realize and overcome them
among many other challenges. It is for this reason that Kukai
stated that this stage of mind development is marked with a
breakthrough of the duality and finally the mind can realize the
true nature
(
Matsuda, 2003)
. With the duality challenge overcome, the much searched for
truth is eventually realized, and the mind can settle after
obtaining the truth.
Treatise on the Ten Stages of the Development of Mind
Just like everything else in the world that develops, the mind
also has different stages of development. It is by going through
all the stages of development that the mind is grown fully and
can distinguish between good and bad or something acceptable
and things that are not acceptable
(Dalisay, 2014)
. When one is young, the mind is not fully developed, and it
means that as one grows up, the mind continues to grow as well
as go through the different stages. First, when the mind is
young, there is a lot of confusion and the confusion is the one
making one to feel the void or the emptiness. The reason is that

10. one from the onset normally has a purpose and before the
purpose is obtained it is hard for one to get the real world.
Thus, one ends up going through different stages and
satisfaction is realized when the brain becomes fully developed.
The reason is that this is the time that from one's thinking;
things in life starts making sense and more clear. It is also the
time one is sure of the feelings and it like the reality dawns
hence making one have a better sense of direction and purpose.
This difference in characteristics and behaviors that come with
each stage of mind development according to Kukai is the
reason that makes people who belong to different mind
development stages to behave differently from each other. The
latter is in the sense that the actions that one engages in
according to how the brain is receiving and interpreting
information are different from the actions that another person
who belongs to another brain development level would show
(Casal, Ugo Alfonso, 1959)
. For example, a person whose mind is in the first stage of
development would innocently act on instincts. On the other
hand, a person who has already passed the first stage of brain
development and now is in the third stage of mind development
would not act by instincts but would apply morals and ethics
earned in stage two and also act in a manner that will please the
heavens. The reason is that this stage makes a person to seek
salvation as the best way out.
Social cycles
From the different stages of mind development and the different
actions associated with the stages, the social cycles are created.
The people from the same level of mind development tends to
behave in the same manner and share similar characteristics
something that makes them belong to the same social cycle
(
Matsuda, 2003)
. The more reason is that they are likely to get along easily
because of the similarities in behavior and characteristics as
compared to dealing with an individual with an entirely

11. different way of perceiving issues and behaving. However, the
different social groups are important because when they come
together, they form the society. This means that according to
Kukai, the community is made of people from different levels of
brain development and social cycles
(Casal, Ugo Alfonso, 1959)
. In as much, each human being that makes up a social cycle or
society has his/her characteristics, so it is the same case with
the society. In most cases, the members of the community come
together and form different laws and traditions that help the
people despite from the fact they belong to different mind
levels; they can interact and live together in harmony. In the
world today, there are high-minded societies which have already
gone through the maturing process like the European Union, and
the low-minded societies that are still in the development
process yet to mature like the warring nations.
The warring nations and countries practicing discrimination and
other malpractices are classified as low-minded societies
because they have not reached the maturity stage where all
malpractices would lose meaning
(
Matsuda, 2003)
. This means that these societies have not been able to break
through the limitedness of duality, and hence they continue
being held back. After the breakthrough, the society is also able
to perceive issues from a positive point of view, and the
malpractices become irrelevant hence making the members of
the society even without being commanded to act responsible
and argue from an ethic, moral, and religious point of view.
The latter is in the sense that going through the development
process helps the society to continue learning new things hence
changing perception and way of thinking.
Work cited

12. https://logisticsofbelonging.com/2016/12/20/kukais-writing-
praxis/
Casal, Ugo Alfonso. "The Saintly Kôbô Daishi in Popular Lore
(AD 774-835)."
Folklore Studies
(1959): 95-144;
https://web.archive.org/web/20070927213255/http://www.nanza
n-u.ac.jp/SHUBUNKEN/publications/afs/pdf/a117.pdf
Dalisay Jr, Juan. "Understanding Humanity: An Analysis of
Human Minds and Societal Patterns." (2014);
http://gurukul.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Understanding-
Humanity-Jan-20141.pdf
Matsuda, William J.
The founder reinterpreted: Kukai and Vraisemblant narrative
. Diss. The University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2003;
https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/10125/7110/2/
uhm_ma_3075_r.pdf