Shingon: Japanese Esoteric Buddhism is the first comprehensive study of the subject to appear in any Western language. This book traces the history of the school from its mysterious origins in India and describes the remarkable men who brought the teachings to China and Japan in the eighth and ninth centuries, who translated the texts, and who carried the initiatic chain of teaching. It discusses the Metaphysical doctrines of Shingon, its founding scriptures, and its views on levels of consciousness and stages of samadhi. And it covers the whole range of Shingon meditations and exercises—such as mudras, incantations, and visualizations of deities and symbolic forms—hitherto virtually unknown in the west.