What is the Tendai sect of Japanese Buddhism?

2023年6月6日 2023年6月6日

takashi inoue

Hiei Enryakuji Temple (Head Temple of Tendai Buddhism)
Address: 4220 Sakamoto Honmachi, Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture

In 805, Dengyo Daishi Saicho (767-822) returned from Tang and opened Enryakuji Temple on Mt.
Although it is based on the Lotus Sutra, it was established by combining the four sects of En, Mitsu, Zen, and Kai into one. Centering on the Lotus Sutra, it teaches that “everyone has the cause (Buddha nature) to become a Buddha, and if one is in touch with one’s destinies and makes an effort, one can attain Buddhahood.”

From the end of the Heian period to the Kamakura period, many sects leading to the present day such as the Jodo sect, the Jodo Shin sect, the Yuzu Nenbutsu sect, the Rinzai sect, the Soto sect, and the Nichiren sect were born. The founders of these sects, Honen, Shinran, Ryonin, Eisai, Dogen, and Nichiren, first climbed Mt. Hiei to study the Tendai sect. From there, a new sect was created. Therefore, the Tendai sect is the origin of Japanese Buddhism and can be said to be the hometown.