Saichō facts for kids

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Quick facts for kids Saichō (最澄)
Painting of Saichō
Religion	Buddhism
School	Tendai
Personal
Born	September 15, 767
Died	June 26, 822 (age 54)
Senior posting
Title	Founder of Tendai Buddhism
Successor	Gishin (義真)
Religious career
Teacher	Gyōhyō (行表)

Saichō (最澄, September 15, 767 – June 26, 822) was a Japanese Buddhist monk who started the Tendai school of Buddhism. He based it on the Chinese Tiantai school, which he learned about during his trip to Tang China in 804. He built the main temple for Tendai, called Enryaku-ji, on Mount Hiei near Kyoto. Saichō is also famous for bringing tea to Japan. After he died, he was given the special title Dengyō Daishi (伝教大師).

Saichō's Life Story
Saichō's Friendship with Kūkai
Tendai and Esoteric Teachings
See also

Saichō's Life Story

Early Years

Saichō was born in 767 in a place called Ōmi, which is now Shiga Prefecture. His birth name was Hirono. When he was 13, Saichō became a student of a monk named Gyōhyō. At 14, he became a novice monk and was given the name "Saichō". Gyōhyō had learned from Dao-xuan, a famous Chinese monk who brought many Buddhist teachings to Japan.

By age 20, Saichō became a fully ordained monk at the Tōdai-ji temple. But just a few months later, he went to Mount Hiei to study and practice Buddhism by himself. We don't know exactly why he left. Soon after, he wrote his Ganmon (願文, "Saichō's Prayer"), where he made five promises:

He would not go out into the world until he was spiritually pure.
He would not learn special skills like medicine or fortune-telling until he understood the ultimate truth.
He would not join Buddhist meetings for lay people unless he followed all rules perfectly.
He would not get involved in worldly matters unless it was to help others.
He would share any good deeds he did with all living beings, so they could also reach enlightenment.

Over time, other monks joined Saichō on Mount Hiei. This group grew into a large community, which later became the Enryaku-ji temple. Saichō carved a statue of the Buddha of Medicine and lit a special lamp in front of it. He prayed that the lamp would never go out. This lamp, called the Fumetsu no Hōtō (不滅の法灯, "Inextinguishable Dharma Lamp"), has been burning for over 1200 years!

The capital of Japan moved from Nara to Kyoto. Mount Hiei was located to the northeast of Kyoto, which was considered a protective direction. Because of this, Saichō's presence on the mountain was seen as a way to protect the new capital. This brought him to the attention of the Emperor and the court.

Journey to China

Saichō is known for having introduced tea to Japan

Saichō's growing fame led Emperor Kanmu to ask him to travel to China. The Emperor wanted Saichō to learn more about the Tiantai teachings and bring back new Buddhist texts. Saichō was expected to stay in China for only a short time.

Saichō could read Chinese but couldn't speak it. So, he brought a trusted student named Gishin (義眞), who could speak Chinese. Gishin later became a leader of the Tendai school after Saichō.

In 804, Saichō joined a group of four ships on a diplomatic mission to Tang China. After a storm, Saichō's ship landed in Ningbo, China. Soon after, Saichō and his group traveled to Tiantai Mountain. There, he met Daosui, who became his main teacher. Daosui taught Saichō about Tiantai meditation and monastic rules. Saichō studied with him for about four and a half months.

Saichō spent the next few months copying many Buddhist books to take back to Japan. He felt that some books in Japan had mistakes, so he made new copies. After this, Saichō went to Yuezhou (modern-day Shaoxing) to learn about Vajrayana (Esoteric) Buddhism. This type of Buddhism involved special rituals and practices. Saichō and Gishin both received training in these esoteric teachings.

Finally, in 805, Saichō and his group sailed back to Japan. They arrived in Tsushima after eight months in China. Even though his trip was short, the court in Kyoto was eager for his return.

Starting the Tendai School

When Saichō returned, he worked hard to get his new school recognized. In 806, the court officially approved Saichō's Tendai Lotus school (Tendai-hokke-shū). This meant his school could train two new monks each year. These monks would study either the Mikkyō (esoteric) teachings or the Tendai teachings. This shows that from the very beginning, Tendai combined both types of Buddhism.

Before Saichō, all monks in Japan were ordained at Tōdai-ji temple using old rules. But Saichō wanted his Tendai school to be purely Mahayana Buddhism. He wanted to ordain monks using only the Bodhisattva Precepts, which are rules for those seeking enlightenment for all beings. The older Buddhist schools in Nara strongly disagreed. However, Emperor Saga finally approved Saichō's request in 822, just a few days after Saichō died. This was a big victory after many years of effort.

Later Life and Passing

By 822, Saichō asked the court to let monks on Mount Hiei be ordained under the Bodhisattva Precepts. He argued that his community would be purely Mahayana. The older Buddhist groups protested strongly. Saichō wrote a text called Kenkairon (顕戒論, "A Clarification of the Precepts"), explaining the importance of the Bodhisattva Precepts. His request was denied at first, but it was approved seven days after his death at age 56.

Saichō's Friendship with Kūkai

Saichō traveled to China with other young monks, including Kūkai. Saichō and Kūkai became friends during their trip. This friendship was very important for the future of Buddhism in Japan.

While waiting for his ship to return to Japan, Saichō went to Yue-chou to find more Buddhist texts. There, he met a priest and also found many esoteric (tantric) Buddhist texts. Saichō was very interested in these new teachings. On the way back to Japan, he discovered that Kūkai had studied these teachings deeply and had a large collection of Vajrayana books. This friendship would greatly influence the Tendai school.

Saichō and Kūkai are known for starting the Tendai and Shingon schools in Japan. Both schools became very important. The two monks worked together to bring esoteric Buddhism to Japan. Saichō helped Kūkai, who was not yet well-known, to perform special initiation rituals for important priests and members of the imperial court.

Saichō also supported the court's decision to give Kūkai the mountain temple of Takaosan-ji near Kyoto. This became the first center for Kūkai's Shingon Buddhism. In return, Kūkai helped Saichō and his students learn esoteric Buddhist rituals. He also lent Saichō many esoteric texts he had brought from China.

Tendai and Esoteric Teachings

Esoteric Buddhism became a key part of the Tendai school, which mainly focused on the Lotus Sutra. However, Saichō believed that the teachings of the Lotus Sutra and Esoteric Buddhism were the same. He called this "identity of the purport of Perfect and Esoteric teachings" (enmitsu itchi). This meant he saw unity between them.

Saichō wrote to Kūkai, saying that the Vairocana (esoteric) school and Tendai mixed together. He believed they shared the same meaning and that one was not better than the other. He felt there was no difference between the main teachings of Tendai and Shingon.

Saichō thought that Tendai and esoteric practices offered a direct path to enlightenment. He believed that the teachings of the older Nara schools would take a very long time to lead someone to enlightenment.

However, Saichō began to realize that Kūkai and the Shingon school did not fully agree with his idea of "enmitsu itchi." Their friendship started to break down. Kūkai felt Saichō was not following the rules for keeping esoteric teachings private. Saichō, in turn, criticized Kūkai's teaching style.

This disagreement between Saichō and Kūkai had a lasting effect on the Tendai and Shingon schools. Their relationship often switched between cooperation and rivalry throughout the Heian period.

In his later years, Saichō worked to secure Tendai's place in Japanese Buddhism. He wrote most of his important works during this time. He criticized the older Nara schools for not recognizing the influence of Tiantai. He also criticized the new Shingon school and Kūkai for their approach to Buddhism.

Even though Saichō criticized Kūkai, his own students continued to teach both esoteric Buddhism and meditation practices. Saichō's public criticism of Kūkai later influenced Nichiren, the founder of the Nichiren Sect, who used Saichō's arguments in his own debates.

Saichō was also a writer. Some of his main books include:

Shōgon Jikkyō (照権実鏡) (817)
Sange Gakushō Shiki (山家学生式) (818–819)
Shugo Kokkai Shō (守護国界章) (818)
Kenkairon (顕戒論) (820)