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 resources from China, particularly esoteric Buddhist training and Pure Land teachings. He is most well known for integrating esoteric practices ('' Taimitsu'') with the teachings of the ''Lotus Sutra.'' His journey to Tang China (838–847) and his subsequent writings profoundly influenced Japanese Buddhism.

Life

Birth and origin

He was born into the Mibu () family in Shimotsuke Province (present-day Tochigi Prefecture), Japan and entered the Buddhist priesthood at Enryaku-ji on Mt. Hiei (Hieizan) near Kyoto at the age of 15. Studying under Saichō, the founder of Japanese Tendai Buddhism, Ennin excelled in his studies, particularly in the ''Lotus Sutra'' and Tiantai meditation practices. After Saichō’s death, Ennin sought to deepen his understanding of Buddhism by traveling to Tang China.Sakayose Masashi
Ennin and the Lotus Sutra 円仁と『法華経』
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Trip to China

In 838, Ennin was in the party which accompanied Fujiwara no Tsunetsugu's diplomatic mission to the Tang dynasty Imperial court. The trip to China marked the beginning of a set of tribulations and adventures which he documented in his journal. The journal describes an account of the workings of the government of China, which saw strong and able administrative control of the state and its provinces, even at a time of a supposed decline of the Tang dynasty. His writings also expanded on religious matters and commerce. He stayed in Xi'an for five years.

Initially, he studied under two masters and then spent some time at Wutaishan (; Japanese: ''Godaisan''), a mountain range famous for its numerous Buddhist temples in Shanxi Province in China. Here, he learned among other practices. Later he went to Chang'an (Japanese: Chōan), then the capital of China, where he was ordained into both mandala rituals: the Mahāvairocana-sūtra and the Vajraśekhara-sūtra, along with initiation and training in the Susiddhikara Sūtra tantra. He also wrote of his travels by ship while sailing along the Grand Canal of China.

Ennin was in China when the anti-Buddhist Emperor Wuzong of Tang took the throne in 840, and he lived through the Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution of 842–846. As a result of the persecution, he was deported from China, returning to Japan in 847.

Return to Japan

Upon returning to Japan in 847, Ennin brought back numerous Buddhist texts, maṇḍalas, and ritual implements. In 854, he became the third abbot of the Tendai sect at Enryaku-ji, where he built buildings to store the sutras and religious instruments he brought back from China. He played a pivotal role in the esotericization of Tendai Buddhism, reconciling the ''Lotus Sutra''’s teachings with the practices of Chinese Esoteric Buddhism. Ennin introduced rituals such as the ''Lotus Repentance'' (''Hokke Senbō'') and the ''Constant Walking Samādhi'' (''Jōgyō Samādhi''), which became central to Tendai practice. He also established Sōji-in, a center for esoteric rituals, and built the ''Prabhūtaratna Stūpa'' to enshrine the ''Lotus Sutra''.

His dedication to expanding the monastic complex and its courses of study assured the Tendai school a unique prominence in Japan. While his chief contribution was to strengthen the Tendai tantric Buddhist traditio n, the Pure Land recitation practices (''nenbutsu'') that he introduced also helped to lay a foundation for the independent Pure Land movements of the subsequent Kamakura period (1185–1333). Ennin also founded the temple of Ryushakuji at Yamadera.

Ennin's efforts laid the foundation for ''Taimitsu'' (Tendai Esotericism), which was further developed by later monks like Enchin and Annen. In 866, Emperor Seiwa posthumously awarded him the title ''Jikaku Daishi'', recognizing his contributions to Japanese Buddhism. Ennin's synthesis of exoteric and esoteric teachings, along with his emphasis on the ''Lotus Sutra'', solidified Tendai Buddhism's influence in Japan. His writings and rituals continue to be studied and practiced, making him one of the most important figures in Japanese Buddhist history.

Works

Ennin was a prolific writer, producing over one hundred works. Some of his most important works are two commentaries on the '' Vajraśekhara Sūtra'' and '' Susiddhikara Sūtra.''

His diary of travels in China, , was translated into English by Professor Edwin O. Reischauer under the title '' Ennin's Diary: The Record of a Pilgrimage to China in Search of the Law''. Sometimes ranked among the best travelogues in world literature, it is a key source of information on life in Tang China and Silla Korea and offers a rare glimpse of the Silla personality Jang Bogo.

Thought

Ennin played a crucial role in developing the Esoteric Buddhist tradition within Japanese Tendai Buddhism, known as Taimitsu (台密). Drawing from his experiences studying in Tang China, Ennin sought to expand and refine the Esoteric teachings that Saichō had introduced but left incomplete.Asai Endō 浅井円道
"The Lotus Sutra as the Core of Japanese Buddhism Shifts in Representations of its Fundamental Principle."
''Japanese Journal of Religious Studies'' 41/1: 45–64 © 2014 Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture Central to Ennin's Esoteric metaphysics was his theory that the syllable "A", as the foundational vowel in the Sanskrit alphabet, represented the ultimate reality that is unborn and undying. This reality is equated with the inner enlightenment of the cosmic Buddha Mahāvairocana (Jp. Dainichi, 大日), the central figure in East Asian Esoteric Buddhism.Asai Endō 浅井円道
"The Lotus Sutra as the Core of Japanese Buddhism Shifts in Representations of its Fundamental Principle."
''Japanese Journal of Religious Studies'' 41/1: 45–64 © 2014 Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture

Ennin identified the syllable "A" as the scriptural essence of key Esoteric texts such as the '' Vajraśekhara-sūtra'' and the '' Mahāvairocana-sūtra''. In his commentary on the ''Vajraśekhara-sūtra'', he declared that the syllable "A" unified the sutra's diverse meanings. Citing the ''Mahāvairocana'', Ennin maintained that the Esoteric teachings in their entirety are encapsulated by the syllable "A." He asserted that this syllable is the source of all phenomena, and in response to differing conditions, it manifests either as the enlightened realm symbolized by Esoteric mandalas or as the realm of delusion experienced by ordinary beings. This framework echoes Saichō's doctrine of "Suchness according with conditions," in which ultimate reality manifests itself in response to changing circumstances.Asai Endō 浅井円道
"The Lotus Sutra as the Core of Japanese Buddhism Shifts in Representations of its Fundamental Principle."
''Japanese Journal of Religious Studies'' 41/1: 45–64 © 2014 Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture

Ennin further linked the "A" syllable to the differentiated expressions of truth symbolized by the various sounds and characters in Buddhist mantras. He claimed that the single syllable "A" expands into all syllables, reflecting the principle that Suchness manifests in accordance with conditions.Asai Endō 浅井円道
"The Lotus Sutra as the Core of Japanese Buddhism Shifts in Representations of its Fundamental Principle."
''Japanese Journal of Religious Studies'' 41/1: 45–64 © 2014 Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture In the question-and-answer section of his commentary, Ennin affirmed that the Buddha's enlightened realm—depicted in the vajra realm mandala—is established through the conditioned arising of the dharma-realm, which itself embodies dharma-nature. Here, Ennin emphasized that the syllable "A" manifests in accordance with conditions to produce the phenomenal world. He further maintained that this understanding aligned with the Tendai doctrine of the Buddha-nature of insentient beings (cf. Zhanran), reinforcing the idea that all things participate in the ultimate reality of Suchness according with conditions.

See also

* Enchin

References

Sources

* Edwin O. Reischauer, ''Ennin's Diary: The Record of a Pilgrimage to China in Search of the Law'' (New York: Ronald Press, 1955).
* Edwin O. Reischauer, ''Ennin's Travels in T'ang China'' (New York: Ronald Press, 1955).

External links

Retracing the steps of Ennin
, a travelog of a partial retracing of Ennin's journey made in 2006, with photographs.

{{Authority control

790s births
864 deaths
Japanese scholars of Buddhism
Japanese Buddhist clergy
Tendai Buddhist monks
People of the Heian period
People of the Nara period
Japanese ambassadors to the Tang dynasty
Buddhist clergy of the Heian period