and monastic practitioners. Pure Land practices were later
spread by a variety of men with Tendai affiliations, including
Ko ̄ya (903–972 CE) and Ryo ̄nin (1072–1132), founder of
the Yu ̄zu ̄ nembutsushu ̄. Ho ̄nen, founder of the Jo ̄doshu ̄,
spent most of his life as a Tendai monk, and Shinran (1173–
1263), founder of the Jo ̄do Shinshu ̄ , was trained on Mount
Hiei.
Some Tendai practitioners considered Pure Land prac-
tices easier because the recitation of the Buddha’s name
could be done by anyone and vanquished large amounts of
bad karma. For other practitioners, Pure Land practice was
difficult. Uncertainty about whether one’s rebirth into the
Pure Land was assured led some to focus incessantly on the
purification of their thoughts. Salvation was only ensured at
death when the practitioner died comfortably with a mind
focused on the Buddha. Such fervent practice sometimes led
to vivid dreams and visions of the Pure Land, events that
were often recorded in the biographies of those reborn in the
Pure Land (O ̄jo ̄den).
Pure Land practices in Tendai were not conducted sepa-
rately from other practices. A popular saying, “Recitation of
the Lotus Su ̄tra in the morning and the recitation of the Bud-
dha’s name (nembutsu) at night,” reflects the typical Tendai
attitude. Esoteric Buddhist practices were sometimes mixed
with Pure Land rituals because Amida was found in various
man:d:alas. Moreover when Tendai followers stressed the oral
recitation of the nembutsu, the contemplative aspect was also
present. The emphasis on creating a Pure Land in this world
coexisted with beliefs in rebirth in a Pure Land located far
from this one. In addition, Tendai monks such as Ninku ̄ and
Shinzei (1443–1495) emphasized that the precepts must be
observed while the nembutsu is chanted. Tendai views of
Pure Land thus differed in important ways from Jo ̄do and
Jo ̄do Shin traditions, which argued that the recitation of the
Buddha’s name was the only way to salvation.
SEE ALSO Tiantai.
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PAUL GRONER (2005)TENGRI. The earliest attested occurrence of a word in
an Altaic language is the transcription into Chinese of the
word tengri in the Qian Han shu (juan 94). It has kept this
or a related form (tenggeri, tanara, tängri, tanri, tari, et al.)
down to the present day. Etymologically, the word appears
to be linked with a verb that means “to turn.” It has been
used continuously, not only by the “shamanistic” or “animis-
tic” Turco-Mongols but also by those who have adopted uni-
versal religions. I shall concern myself here only with its
meaning in the former case.
The original use of the word tengri was in designating
the physical sky, as in such statements as “The sun is in the
sky” or “The clouds darken the sky.” This long-held meaning
eventually was lost. With the deification of the sky, the word
took on two other interpretations as well, either that of sky
god or the more vague sense of “god,” “deity,” and, adjecti-
vally, “celestial” and “divine.” It is not always possible to de-
termine whether tengri is being used as an adjective or a
noun.9080 TENGRI