Definitely. And speaking for myself here: one of the reasons I initially found Tendai so appealing was precisely because I wanted to understand the core of Vajrayana: the practices and view held in common between East Asian and Himalayan transmissions of Vajrayana. The embodied practices Kirt names here (walking nembutsu & outdoor hiking practices such as Kaihogyo) are just a lot of fun to do.kirtu wrote:I think it is growing and has been growing since Stevens' book "Marathon Monks of Hiei" circa 1988. There was also a self-styled Tendai group that floated around and had some interaction with Shunryu Suzuki's zendo in the late 60's.plwk wrote:Perhaps there is after all a growing influence/popularity of Tendai in the West, specifically the US?
It seems that not Tendai philosophy per se but practices like walking nembutsu + kaihogyo are perfect as a start for the American mindset because of the athleticism. And Tendai is also an outer tantra school (or has outer tantra) so it seems like an expression of Mahayana that will likely become quite popular.
Kirt
I've found that the Tendai sangha is also a delight: generally harmonious, like a healthy family. It's a lot easier to practice Mahayana in an environment like this.
It's not my intention to turn this thread into a Tendai recruitment & intake center, so I'll acknowledge that there are problems as discussed above (scarcity of resources...) and leave it at that.