Saichō

Saichō on the DRL

Classical Japanese Authors • Ordained (Monks and Nuns)

English Phonetics	Saichō
Japanese Script	最澄
Japanese Transliteration	Dengyō Daishi

Dates

Birth:	767
Death:	822
Place of birth:	Ōmi province, east of Hieizan

Tibetan calendar dates

Dates of birth

Day
Month
Gender
Element
Animal
Rab Jyung

Dates of passing

Day
Month
Gender
Element
Animal
Rab Jyung

About

Religious Affiliation

Tendai

Teachers

Gyōhyō · Daosui · Xingman · Shunxiao

Students

Gishin

Other Biographical info:

Links

Wiki Pages

• Saichō on the DRL
• Saichō on the LIB
• Saichō on the BNW

Buddha Nature Project

Person description or short bio

In Japanese, “Most Pure”; the monk traditionally recognized as the founder of the Tendaishū in Japan; also known as Dengyō Daishi (Great Master Transmission of the Teachings). Although the exact dates and place of

Saichö’s birth remain a matter of debate, he is said to have been born to an immigrant Chinese family in Ömi province east of H ieizan in 767. At age eleven, Saichö entered the local Kokubunji and studied under the monk Gyöhyö (722-797), a disciple of the émigré Chinese monk Daoxuan (702—766). In 785, Saichö received the full monastic precepts at the monastery of T ö d aiji in Nara, after which he began a solitary retreat in a hermitage on Mt. Hiei. In 788, he built a permanent temple on the summit of Mt. Hiei. After Emperor Kanmu (r. 781-806) moved the capital to Kyöto in 794, the political significance of the Mt. Hiei community and thus Saichö seem to have attracted the attention of the emperor. In 797, Saichö was appointed a court priest (naigubu), and in 802 he was invited to the monastery of Takaosanji to participate in a lecture retreat, where he discussed the writings of the eminent Chinese monk T ia n ta i Zhiyi on the Sad d h arm ap u n d arik asü tra. Saichö and his disciple G ishin received permission to travel to China in order to acquire Tiantai texts. In 804, they went to the monastery or Guoqingsi on Mt. Tiantai and studied under Daosui (d.u.) and Xingman (d.u.), disciples of the eminent Chinese Tiantai monk Jin g q i Z h an ran . Later, they are also known to have received BO DHiSArrvA precepts (bosatsukai) from Daosui at Longxingsi. He is also said to have received tantric initiation into the KONGŌKAI and TAizöKAi (ryöbu) m aņ dalas from Shunxiao (d.U.). After nine and a half months in China, Saichö returned to Japan the next year with numerous texts, which he catalogued in his Esshüroku. Emperor Kanmu, who had been ill, asked Saichö to perform the esoteric rituals that he had brought back from China as a therapeutic measure. Saichö received permission to establish the Tendai sect and successfully petitioned for two Tendai monks to be ordained each year, one for doctrinal study and one to perform esoteric rituals. After the death of Kanmu in 806, little is known of Saichö’s activities. In 810, he delivered a series of lectures at Mt. Hiei on the Saddharmapundarikasütra, the Su varn ap rab h äsotta m a sü tra , and the R enw ang jin g (“Scripture for Humane Kings”). In 812, Saichö also constructed a meditation hall known as the Hokkezanmaidö. Later, Saichö is also said to have received kongökai initiation from Kükai at the latter’s temple Takaosanji, but their relations soured after a close disciple of Saichö’s left Saichö for Kükai. Their already tenuous relationship was sundered completely when Saichö requested a tantric initiation from Kükai, who replied that Saichö would need to study for three years with Kükai first. Saichö then engaged the eminent Hossöshü (Faxlan g zo n g ) monk Tokuitsu (d.u.) in a prolonged debate concerning the buddha-nature (see b u d d h ad h ätu , fo x in g ) and Tendai doctrines, such as original enlightenment (see h on gak u ). In response to Tokuitsu’s treatises Busshōshō and Chühengikyö, Saichö composed his Shōgonjikkyō, Hokke kowaku, and Shugo kokkaishö. Also at this time, Saichö began a prolonged campaign to have an independent M ah äyän a ordination platform established at Mt. Hiei. He argued that the bodhisattva precepts as set forth in the Fan w an g jin g, traditionally seen as complementary to monastic ordination, should instead replace them. He argued that the Japanese were spiritually mature and therefore could dispense entirely with the hInayäna monastic precepts and only take the Mahäyäna bodhisattva precepts. His petitions were repeatedly denied, but permission to establish the Mahäyäna ordination platform at Mt. Hiei was granted a week after his death. Before his death Saichö also composed the Hokke shüku and appointed Gishin as his successor.

Expand to see this person's philosophical positions on Buddha-nature.

Is Buddha-nature considered definitive or provisional?
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All beings have Buddha-nature
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If "Qualified", explain:
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Which Wheel Turning
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Yogācāra vs Madhyamaka
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Zhentong vs Rangtong
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Promotes how many vehicles?
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Analytic vs Meditative Tradition
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What is Buddha-nature?
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Svātantrika (རང་རྒྱུད་) vs Prāsaṅgika (ཐལ་འགྱུར་པ་)
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Causal nature of the vajrapāda
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The disciples of the Buddha who aspire to attain individual liberation or nirvāṇa. The final goal of the Hearers is to become an arhat, a state in which one has totally eliminated the inner problems of attachment, hatred and ignorance, the main causes for rebirth in this cycle of existence. There are four stages of a śrāvaka path including eight phases.

Refers to something that is taught for a specific reason, rather than because it is entirely true.

Along with Madhyamaka, it was one of the two major philosophical schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Founded by Asaṅga and Vasubandhu around the fourth century CE, many of its central tenets have roots in the Saṃdhinirmocanasūtra and the so-called third turning of the dharma wheel (see tridharmacakrapravartana).

Along with Yogācāra, it is one of the two major philosophical schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Founded by Nāgārjuna around the second century CE, it is rooted in the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras, though its initial exposition was presented in Nāgārjuna's Mūlamadhyamakakārikā.

The state of being devoid of that which is wholly different rather than being void of its own nature. The term is generally used to refer to the ultimate, or buddha-nature, being empty of other phenomena such as adventitious defiling emotions but not empty of its true nature.

The state of being empty of self, which references the lack of inherent existence in relative phenomena.

Tsen Khawoche's "meditative tradition" of exegesis of the Uttaratantra; it is one of two major Tibetan traditions of exegesis, both stemming from students of Sajjana.