(814–891) was a Japanese Buddhist monk who founded of the Jimon school of

Tendai , also known as the Tendai Dharma Flower School (天台法華宗, ''Tendai hokke shū,'' sometimes just ''Hokkeshū''), is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition with significant esoteric elements that was officially established in Japan in 806 by t ...

Buddhism and Chief Abbot of

Mii-dera , also known as just Onjo-ji, or , is a Buddhist temple in Japan located at the foot of Mount Hiei, in the city of Ōtsu in Shiga Prefecture. It is a short distance from both Kyoto, and Lake Biwa, Japan's largest lake. The head temple of t ...

at the foot of

Mount Hiei is a mountain to the northeast of Kyoto, lying on the border between the Kyoto and Shiga Prefectures, Japan. The temple of Enryaku-ji, the first outpost of the Japanese Tendai (Chin. Tiantai) sect of Buddhism, was founded atop Mount Hiei by ...

. After succeeding to the post of Tendai , in 873, a strong rivalry developed between his followers and those of

Ennin , better known in Japan by his posthumous name, Jikaku Daishi (), was a priest of the Tendai school of Buddhism in Japan, and its third . Ennin was instrumental in expanding the Tendai Order's influence, and bringing back crucial training and ...

's at

Enryaku-ji is a Tendai monastery located on Mount Hiei in Ōtsu, overlooking Kyoto. It was first founded in 788 during the early Heian period (794–1185) by Saichō (767–822), also known as Dengyō Daishi, who introduced the Tendai sect of Mahayana ...

(note: Ennin had died in 864). The rivalry was largely geographical, and was not based much on sectarian differences over interpretations of practice or doctrine; nevertheless, the friction between the followers of the two ''zasu'' finally broke out into a violent conflict. Rivalres between the followers of different ''zasu'' were not anything new at that time. During his twelve years on Hiei, Enchin himself saw a conflict between direct disciples of Saichō (namely

Enchō was a after '' Engi'' and before ''Jōhei.'' This period spanned the years from April 923 through April 931. The reigning emperors were and . Change of era * January 20, 923 : The new era name was created to mark an event or series of event ...

and

Kōshō was a after ''Kyotoku, Kyōtoku'' and before ''Chōroku.'' This period spanned the years from July 1455 through September 1457. The reigning emperor was .Titsingh, Isaac. (1834) ''Annales des empereurs du japon'', pp. 331349. Change of Era * ...

) and the disciples of his own master, the second Tendai ''zasu'' Gishin. After the death of Gishin, his main follower, Enshu, was elected as the third ''zasu'', but Enchō and Kōshō objected and finally forced Enshu and his followers to leave Mount Hiei. Most significantly, Enchin united the Tendai school's teachings with those of

Chinese Esoteric Buddhism Chinese Esoteric Buddhism refers to traditions of Tantra and Vajrayana, Esoteric Buddhism that have flourished among the Chinese people. The Tantric masters Śubhakarasiṃha, Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra, established the Esoteric Buddhist ''Zhenyan'' ...

, and interpreted the ''

Lotus Sutra The ''Lotus Sūtra'' (Sanskrit: ''Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtram'', ''Sūtra on the White Lotus of the True Dharma'', zh, p=Fǎhuá jīng, l=Dharma Flower Sutra) is one of the most influential and venerated Buddhist Mahāyāna sūtras. ...

'' from the point of view of esoteric teachings as well as used Tendai terminology in order to explain the esoteric ''

Mahavairocana Tantra Vairocana (from Sanskrit: Vi+rocana, "from the sun" or "belonging to the sun", "Solar", or "Shining"), also known as Mahāvairocana (Great Vairocana), is a major Buddha from Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. Vairocana is often interpreted, in texts ...

.'' Enchin is said to have supported the worship of native gods (''

kami are the Deity, deities, Divinity, divinities, Spirit (supernatural entity), spirits, mythological, spiritual, or natural phenomena that are venerated in the traditional Shinto religion of Japan. ''Kami'' can be elements of the landscape, forc ...

'') and certain elements of

Confucianism Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, Religious Confucianism, religion, theory of government, or way of li ...

. In a memorial speech in 887, he noted the respect the court of

Tang China The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

had for Japan because of Japan's encouragement and welcoming of the ideals of ''li'' () and ''yi'' (). He warned that though Enryaku-ji was founded with the native gods in mind, "no such officiating monks are provided for the main deities of the

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

. This is certainly a breach of Li. There ought to be two monks to worship the two gods."

References

{{Authority control Japanese scholars of Buddhism 814 births 891 deaths Tendai Japanese Buddhist clergy 9th-century Japanese calligraphers Shugendō practitioners Founders of Buddhist sects Buddhist clergy of the Heian period Tendai Buddhist monks