Tendai

Tendai. One of the two major schools of Japanese Buddhism that arose during the early Heian period (794–1185). This school was founded by the monk Saichō (767–822), and, because of the circumstances of the founder's life, became a broadly eclectic school encompassing both esoteric rituals (see esoteric Buddhism) and exoteric studies in doctrine and scripture, as well as early forms of Pure Land and zen. Its headquarters were on Mt. Hiei, next to the capital city of Heian (modern Kyoto), and after a shaky start during the founder's lifetime, went on to become a very wealthy and powerful school. The school that Saichō founded was in a state of disarray after his death. Since he had gone to China specifically looking for T'ien-t'ai teachings (Tendai is simply the Japanese pronunciation of T'ien-t'ai), it officially adhered to T'ien-t'ai teachings and practices, in particular its classification of doctrine which held the Lotus Sūtra to be the highest expression of the Buddha's teaching. However, since he had also embraced esoteric rituals, and indeed this became the school's most popular feature, a problem arose, since the T'ien-t'ai classification of teachings had been formulated in China prior to the rise of esoteric practice there, and so did not include it. Annen (d. 889–98) solved this problem by adding esoteric teachings as a new and separate category that transcended all the others and so existed on a different plane than the traditional four classifications of T'ien-t'ai. Mt. Hiei and the Tendai school quickly became favourite objects of patronage on the part of the imperial and aristocratic families, which led inevitably to a concentration of wealth and power on the mountain. This led to a moral decline as high office within the school became politicized, and people sought to rise through the ranks in order to gain power and influence rather than pursue religious goals. There was a revival of the original spirit of the school under the abbot Ryōgen (912–85), but the situation quickly deteriorated once again after his death.

Tendai's broad range of teaching (compared to the very narrow interests of its main rival at the time, the Shingon school), combined with its spiritual decay, made it the breeding grounds for the new reform movements that arose during the Kamakura period (1185–1392): Zen, Pure Land, and Nichiren Buddhism were all founded by former Tendai monks who had learnt of the teachings of the schools they founded within the Tendai school. Their activities were hampered by Tendai's power and intolerance of competition; frequently, those who began new movements found themselves the victims of Mt. Hiei's notorious sōhei, or warrior-monks. These were little more than bands of thugs in priestly robes who would descend with clubs and torches to destroy new temples and try to stamp out rivals. Many Kamakura-era reformers found themselves fleeing before the sōhei at various times. The wealth of Mt. Hiei, as well as the military power it exercised through its sōhei, turned it from an object of patronage by those in power to a direct military and political threat, and it was destroyed in 1571 by the warlord Oda Nobunaga. All of the temple complexes were demolished and over 3,000 priests and laymen died in this assault. Although devastated by this blow, Tendai survived. Mt. Hiei was reconstructed after Oda's assassination, and Tendai branch temples in other places continued to thrive. Nevertheless, as time went on, Tendai was eclipsed by the massive popularity of the newer schools of Zen, Pure Land, and Nichiren, and remains today a minor part of Japanese Buddhism.