Book suggestions for Tendai??

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James84
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Book suggestions for Tendai??

Post by James84 »

If you had to recommend five books to get a good understanding of Tendai what would you suggest?
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Queequeg
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Re: Book suggestions for Tendai??

Post by Queequeg »

This is an old post but for those who may wander in here looking:

I don't know about 5 books. Here is my suggestion for getting an idea about Tendai.

First, Tendai teachings are not found in books. The teachings have to be received orally and lived. These videos about some of the most intense practices on Mt. Hiei offer a hint:



The English commentary on this one should be taken with a bit of skepticism. And calling these practitioners "Marathon Monks" is misleading. This is not a feat of athleticism. This is basically a pilgrimage practice.



The other major practice on the mountain is the 12 year retreat where a monk, after having a vision of the Buddha, lives in isolation attending to the tomb of Saicho, the founder of the Japanese Tendai sect.

Other practices include practices of varying length. All Tendai monks are required to complete Exoteric and Esoteric training on Mt. Hiei. This takes 60 days. Monks can then undertake other training periods of days, weeks, months, or 1 or 3 years, or longer. During these periods, monks may undertake different trainings, from practical training to run local temples and conduct ceremonies for lay people, to the various practices as explained in Zhiyi's Mohezhikuan (Makashikan) such as the Constantly Sitting, Constantly Walking, Half Sitting-Half Walking practices. These involve 90 day periods of 24/7 zazen, 24/7 circumambulating, or 24/7 alternating zazen and circumambulating. Practitioners do not sleep (restfully - they "sleep" while standing or sitting, propped up) during these periods and only can take breaks to eat and go to the bathroom.

All of these practices, though, are Bodhisattva practices and aimed at training the practitioners to fulfill the Four Great Vows -

Sentient Beings are Innumerable, I vow to Liberate them All.
Afflictions are inexhaustible, I vow to end them All.
Buddhist Teachings are without limit, I vow to master them All.
Bodhi is unexcelled, I vow to Attain It.

Above all, Tendai training intends to turn out monks who serve the people of the world. A modern slogan of the Tendai School is 一隅を照らす - "Illuminate a corner of the world."

As for reading, I suggest starting with this text. This is a translation of some writings by Saicho, the founder of the Tendai School, and serve as a sort of statement of purpose:

https://www.tendai.or.jp/english/image/ ... mphlet.pdf
What is the treasure of a nation? It is our religious nature. Thus those who have this religious nature are the treasures of the nation. Long ago a man said, "Ten large pearls do not constitute the nation's treasure, but he who sheds his light over a corner of the country is the nation's treasure." A philosopher of old said, "He who can speak but not act is a teacher to the nation. He who can act but not speak is an asset to the nation. He who can both act and speak is a treasure to the nation. Aside from these three, he who can neither speak nor act is a traitor to the nation."

Buddhists with religious minds are called bodhisattvas in the West, and gentlemen in the East. They take the bad upon themselves in order to benefit others. This is the height of compassion.
Saicho, Regulations for Tendai-Hokke Annually Alloted Students

Paul Groner's books on Saicho and Ryogen don't make for engaging reading but are good sources of information on the founding of the Tendai school and its development in the Heian period.

As for the teachings, the Lotus Sutra is essential.

Brook Ziporyn's Emptiness and Omnipresence offers an overview of Tiantai teachings (the basis of the Exoteric teachings in Tendai).

Paul Swanson's books are also good - T'ient'ai Philosophy, which includes a partial translation of Zhiyi's Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra, and Clear Serenity, Quiet Insight, a translation of Zhiyi's Mohezhikuan/Makashikan. The latter text has extensive appendices that are great resources.

The Essentials of Buddhist Meditation and the Six Dharma Gates to the Sublime translated by Dharmamitra are excellent meditation manuals.

As for the Vajrayana teachings, these are not openly taught. The student would need to be qualified and the teachings would need to be received from a teacher qualified to transmit them.

Again, though, Tendai is fundamentally an oral, lived lineage. You will not get it from books, or videos, or any other media. It must be received from a teacher.
There is no suffering to be severed. Ignorance and klesas are indivisible from bodhi. There is no cause of suffering to be abandoned. Since extremes and the false are the Middle and genuine, there is no path to be practiced. Samsara is nirvana. No severance achieved. No suffering nor its cause. No path, no end. There is no transcendent realm; there is only the one true aspect. There is nothing separate from the true aspect.
-Guanding, Perfect and Sudden Contemplation,
Meido
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Re: Book suggestions for Tendai??

Post by Meido »

Queequeg wrote: Sat Oct 14, 2023 5:33 pm All Tendai monks are required to complete Exoteric and Esoteric training on Mt. Hiei.
Just to point out that Tendai Jimon-shu, based at Miidera-ji/Onjo-ji, has its own training locations, requirements, and curriculum.

For folks interested in that side of things, the writings of Chisho Daishi (Enchin) could be added to the reading list. But I do not know if any have been translated.
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