the Tendai monastic establishment at Mount Hiei near
Kyoto to become a flourishing center for Buddhist
study and practice.
Like Saicho, Ennin traveled to Tang dynasty China
to study the dharma and returned with knowledge and
texts from various traditions. Unlike Saicho, who
stayed only a year, Ennin’s journey lasted nine years
(838–847), and his travel diary records detailed infor-
mation about China at the time. Unable to get per-
mission to visit the center of Tiantai studies at Mount
Tiantai, Ennin instead devoted himself to learning new
forms of tantric and Pure Land Buddhist practice, in
addition to Tiantai studies, at Mount Wutai and in the
capital of Chang’an. His initiation in the susiddhi
tantric doctrine stimulated the development of a rich
new form of practice that consolidated the Tendai
mikkyocurriculum (Taimitsu) on a par with that of the
Shingon school’s (Tomitsu).
Ennin became the third abbot of Enryakuji on
Mount Hiei. His dedication to expanding the monas-
tic complex and its courses of study assured the Tendai
school a unique prominence in Japan. While his chief
contribution was to strengthen the Tendai tantric Bud-
dhist tradition, the Pure Land recitation practices (nen-
butsu) that he introduced also helped to lay a foundation
for the independent Pure Land movements of the sub-
sequent Kamakura period (1185–1333).
See also:Original Enlightenment (Hongaku); Tantra;
Tiantai School
Bibliography
Reischauer, Edwin O. Ennin’s Travels in T’ang China.New York:
Ronald Press, 1955.
Reischauer, Edwin O., trans. Ennin’s Diary: The Record of a Pil-
grimage to China in Search of the Law.New York: Ronald
Press, 1955.
Saito, Enshi, trans. Jikaku Daishi Den: The Biography of Jikaku
Daishi Ennin.Tokyo: SankiboBusshorin, 1992.
DAVIDL. GARDINERENTERTAINMENT AND PERFORMANCE
As an active missionary religion, Buddhism naturally
fostered the attractive presentation of its tenets in the
form of tales and dramas. It may well be argued that
the Buddha himself encouraged the use of storytelling
as a way to capture the attention of an audience and
to convince them of whatever principle or precept
might be conveyed through a given tale. Such an ap-
proach would certainly be sanctioned by the central
Buddhist tenet of UPAYA(skill-in-means or skillful
means), whereby a teacher is expected to present his
message in a manner that is readily accessible to his
auditors, whatever their capacity. Furthermore, the
Buddha’s own sutras (ostensibly, as invariably declared
in their beginning phrases, all spoken by him) are full
of interesting parables and legends. The Buddha also
sanctioned the use of the local vernaculars so that the
people of various countries and regions would be able
to hear his message in their own language. It is clear
that the Buddha is represented by the tradition as be-
ing intensely concerned about the mode of delivery
employed by those who preached his doctrines.A goodly part of the Buddhist penchant for story-
telling and drama may be attributed to the general In-
dian love of fables and apologues. It is well known that
many of the world’s best-known tales—including a
considerable number of those found in the collections
of Aesop and the Grimm brothers—can be traced to
Indian sources, such as the Pañcatantra(Five Frame-
works) and the Kathasaritsagara(The Ocean of StreamsENTERTAINMENT ANDPERFORMANCE
Dge lugs monks dance and play special drums during a cele-
bration of Padmasambhava’s birthday in Hemis, Ladakh, India,- © Paula Bronstein/Getty Images. Reproduced by permis-
sion.