. taimitsu 753
gested the need to evaluate Tiantai thought and esoteric Buddhism
equally, he did not devise a strategy to implement this. For example,
his original interpretation of the realization of buddhahood with this
very body (sokushin jōbutsu ) was conceived and presented
solely within the framework of Tiantai doctrine (Groner 1984a). It is
difficult to assess what esoteric expertise Saichō transmitted to his dis-
ciples, considering that he brought back from China very little eso-
teric material. Saichō spent less than nine months in China, studying
mainly in the provinces. He received esoteric initiations at the end of
his stay from a master called Shunxiao , but their content has
been long debated by scholars. Sources attributed to Saichō mention
a “Vairocana mandala with thirty-seven venerables” (Birushana nyo-
rai sanjūshichison mandara ) and a
“mandala for initiation in five-sections” (gobu kanjō mandara
), which point to a Diamond Realm transmission. Later
sources also mention a “tripartite initiation” (sanbu sanmaya
), which has been interpreted as the transmission of the three
levels of siddhi (sanjū shitsuji ) (Groner 1984b, 52–61). The
historical evidence is, however, controversial, and attribution of the
sources that document such initiations has also recently been chal-
lenged (Chen 1998, 2009).
However mythical the beginning of Saichō’s experience of tantrism
might have been, undeniably his role in the history of Taimitsu was
the creation of a Tendai school that was characterized since the begin-
ning by a fundamental concern with esoteric Buddhism. Such concern
continued and expanded through the centuries to such an extent that
it can now be said that in Japan Tendai doctrine only existed within
the combinatory system of Lotus-based thought and tantrism (enmitsu
) (Ōkubo 2008).
The establishment of Taimitsu as a distinct interpretation of esoteric
Buddhism occurred only after Saichō, thanks to new tantric knowl-
edge acquired by Ennin and Enchin in China. The two men spent
long periods in China, were trained at the centers of Chinese eso-
tericism in the capital Chang’an, and received esoteric transmission
from important masters of the time. During his nine-year sojourn
(838–847), Ennin studied with Yuanzheng of Daxingshansi
(Amoghavajra’s temple), Yizheng of Qinglongsi
(Huiguo’s temple), and Faquan of Xuanfasi
. Enchin traveled in China for five years (953–958); he studied eso-
teric Buddhism at Qinglongsi, received Faquan’s transmissions, and