Tag Archives: Tendai

From this series on the Lotus Sutra it’s not hard to imagine why mystical-movements evolved from its teachings. The Japanese Tendai-School has its roots within the Chinese Tiantai Tradition and was established by a monk named Saichō, whom like his Shingon counterpart, the great Kūkai, had traveled and studied first hand in China. While Saichō emphasized encompassing many forms of Buddhist practice under the canopy of the Lotus Sutra, it was long after his death that Tendai-Buddhism evolved into a highly intricate esoteric-system based on the vehicle of the Lotus Sutra. The Great Mahāvariocana Buddha became center-stage as one entered into cosmic-union with this Great-Buddha of the Mystical Sun through the three mysteries: the forming of mudrās or elaborate hand gestures; the chanting of sacred mantras, or dhāraṇīs; and the daily contemplation and meditation with Buddhist-deities, or symbols bearing the mark of the deities, usually through mandalas that could be outwardly created or inwardly visualized. Tendai-Buddhism also utilizes the “Lotus Repentance Meditation”, its purpose is to bring about satori, or the spark of enlightenment. One such example of the meditation; ceremony runs as follows: read more