SAHA WORLD. SeeCosmology
SAICHO
Saicho(767–822), posthumously known as DengyoDai-
shi, was the founder of the Japanese Tendai (Chinese,
Tiantai) school. He was a prolific scholar, and is best
known for his efforts to reform monastic regulations
and to create a new system of ordination for monks.
Soon after he was ordained in the capital city of
Nara, Saichobegan studying and meditating at Mount
Hiei, just northeast of Kyoto, in 785. When the capi-
tal moved to Kyoto in 794, Saichowas no longer dis-
tant from the political center. Enryakuji, which he built
atop of Mount Hiei, became the training ground for
Japan’s most illustrious Buddhist monks for the next
four centuries. Although Enryakuji was a Tendai
monastery, Saicho’s original interests, as well as later
developments, incorporated a diverse body of Bud-
dhist practices, including Japanese Zen and Pure Land,
and a strong emphasis on tantric Buddhism. Saicho’s
initial vision for a monastic center was motivated by
his desire to purify and strengthen the spirit of Bud-
dhist practice in Japan. He eventually proposed that
Tendai monks be exempted from the government re-
quirement to be ordained in Nara and, moreover, that
Mount Hiei should house a center where monks could
be ordained under Mahayana precepts that tradition-
ally made no distinction between monastic and lay
practitioners. His criticism of the doctrine and prac-
tice of the Nara Buddhist schools, particularly Hosso,
resulted in strong opposition to his proposals. None-
theless, the new ordination center was built shortly af-
ter his death. As a result, the Tendai school became a
sectarian institution independent from Nara, and its
monks became free from the vinaya.See also:Mahayana Precepts in Japan; Nara Buddhism;
Tiantai SchoolBibliography
Abé, Ryuichi. “Saichoand Kukai: A Conflict of Interpretations.”
Japanese Journal of Religious Studies22, nos. 1–2 (1995):
103–137.
Groner, Paul. Saicho and the Establishment of the Japanese
Tendai School.Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2000.
Weinstein, Stanley. “The Beginnings of Esoteric Buddhism in
Japan: The Neglected Tendai Tradition.” Journal of Asian
Studies34, no. 1 (1974): 177–191.
DAVIDL. GARDINERSAKYA. SeeSa skya (Sakya)S ́AKYAMUNI. SeeBuddha(s); Buddha ImagesSAMADHI. SeeMeditationSAMDHINIRMOCANA-SUTRAProbably originally composed sometime around the
fourth century B.C.E. in India, the Samdhinirmocana-
sutra(Discourse Explaining the Thought or Sutra on737