Note (return) — Chapter VIII · - NORTHERN BUDDHISM IN ITS DOCTRINAL EVOLUTIONS
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It is probable that the conquest and obliteration of Shintō might have been accomplished by some priest or priests of the Ten-dai sect, had such a genius as Kōbō been found in its household; but this great achievement was reserved for the man who introduced into Japan the Shin-gon Shu, or Sect of the True Word. The term gon is the equivalent of Mantra,20 a Sanskrit term meaning word, but in later use referring to the mystic salutations addressed to the Buddhist gods. "The doctrine of this sect is a great secret law. It teaches us that we can attain to the state of the 'Great Enlightened,' that is the state of 'Buddha,' while in the present physical body, which was born of our parents (and which consists of six elements,21 Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, Ether, and Knowledge), if we follow the three great secret laws, regarding Body, Speech, and Thought."22