Editing Ennin (section)

== Life ==

=== Birth and origin ===
{{JapaneseBuddhism}}
He was born into the [[Mibu]] ({{lang|ja|壬生}}) family in Shimotsuke Province (present-day [[Tochigi Prefecture]]), Japan and entered the [[Buddhist]] priesthood at [[Enryaku-ji]] on [[Mt. Hiei]] (Hieizan) near [[Kyoto]] at the age of 15. Studying under Saichō, the founder of Japanese Tendai Buddhism, Ennin excelled in his studies, particularly in the ''Lotus Sutra'' and Tiantai meditation practices. After Saichō’s death, Ennin sought to deepen his understanding of Buddhism by traveling to Tang China.<ref name=":0">Sakayose Masashi, [https://www.kokugakuintochigi.ac.jp/tandai/common/pdf/about/alignment/01/03.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com Ennin and the Lotus Sutra 円仁と『法華経』]</ref> 

=== Trip to China ===
In 838, Ennin was in the party which accompanied [[Fujiwara no Tsunetsugu]]'s [[Japanese_missions_to_Imperial_China|diplomatic mission]] to the [[Tang dynasty]] Imperial court.<ref>Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). [https://books.google.com/books?id=p2QnPijAEmEC&pg=PA211&dq= "Fujiwara no Tsunetsugu"] in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 211.</ref><ref name=Sansom>{{Cite book |last=Sansom |first=George |title=A History of Japan to 1334 |publisher=Stanford University Press |year=1958 |isbn=0804705232 |page=138,221}}</ref>  The trip to [[China]] marked the beginning of a set of tribulations and adventures which he documented in [[Ennin's Diary|his journal]]. The journal describes an account of the workings of the government of China, which saw strong and able administrative control of the state and its provinces, even at a time of a supposed decline of the Tang dynasty. His writings also expanded on religious matters and commerce. He stayed in [[Xi'an]] for five years.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Roberts |first=J. A. G. |url=http://archive.org/details/historyofchina0000robe_l0n0 |title=A history of China |date=1996 |publisher=St. Martin's Press |isbn=978-0-312-16334-1 |location=New York |pages=102 |language=en}}</ref>

Initially, he studied under two masters and then spent some time at [[Wutaishan]] ({{lang|ja|五臺山}}; Japanese: ''Godaisan''), a mountain range famous for its numerous Buddhist temples in [[Shanxi]] Province in China. Here, he learned {{nihongo|''go-e nembutsu''|五会念仏||"Five tone [[nembutsu]]"}} among other practices. Later he went to [[Chang'an]] (Japanese: Chōan), then the capital of China, where he was ordained into both [[mandala]] rituals: the [[Mahavairocana_Tantra|Mahāvairocana-sūtra]] and the [[Vajrasekhara_Sutra|Vajraśekhara-sūtra]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Profile of Jikaku Daishi| language=Japanese| url=https://www.tendai.or.jp/daihoue/profile/jikaku.html| accessdate = 2022-02-12}}</ref> along with initiation and training in the [[Susiddhikara Sūtra]] tantra.<ref name="お寺">{{cite book | title = うちのお寺は天台宗 わが家の宗教を知る (双葉文庫) | publisher = 双葉社 | year = 2016 | asin = B01LWMY8TD | page=114}}</ref>  He also wrote of his travels by ship while sailing along the [[Grand Canal of China]].

Ennin was in China when the anti-Buddhist [[Emperor Wuzong of Tang]] took the throne in 840, and he lived through the [[Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution]] of 842–846.  As a result of the persecution, he was deported from China, returning to Japan in 847.<ref>Reischauer, ''Ennin's Travels in T'ang China''.</ref>

=== Return to Japan ===
Upon returning to Japan in 847, Ennin brought back numerous Buddhist texts, maṇḍalas, and ritual implements. In 854, he became the third abbot of the Tendai sect at [[Enryaku-ji]], where he built buildings to store the [[sutra]]s and religious instruments he brought back from China. He played a pivotal role in the [[Vajrayana|esotericization]] of Tendai Buddhism, reconciling the ''Lotus Sutra''’s teachings with the practices of [[Chinese Esoteric Buddhism]].<ref name=":0" /> Ennin introduced rituals such as the ''Lotus Repentance'' (''Hokke Senbō'') and the ''Constant Walking Samādhi'' (''Jōgyō Samādhi''), which became central to Tendai practice. He also established Sōji-in, a center for esoteric rituals, and built the ''Prabhūtaratna Stūpa'' to enshrine the ''Lotus Sutra''.<ref name=":0" /> 

His dedication to expanding the monastic complex and its courses of study assured the Tendai school a unique prominence in Japan. While his chief contribution was to strengthen the Tendai tantric Buddhist traditio n, the Pure Land recitation practices (''nenbutsu'') that he introduced also helped to lay a foundation for the independent Pure Land movements of the subsequent Kamakura period (1185–1333).<ref>{{Cite book|title = Encyclopedia of Buddhism|last = Buswell|first = Robert E.|publisher = Macmillan Reference USA|year = 2004|isbn = 978-0028657189|location = New York|pages = 249–250}}</ref> Ennin also founded the temple of [[Ryushakuji]] at [[Yamadera]].

Ennin's efforts laid the foundation for ''Taimitsu'' (Tendai Esotericism), which was further developed by later monks like [[Enchin]] and [[Annen]]. In 866, [[Emperor Seiwa]] posthumously awarded him the title ''Jikaku Daishi'', recognizing his contributions to Japanese Buddhism. Ennin's synthesis of exoteric and esoteric teachings, along with his emphasis on the ''Lotus Sutra'', solidified Tendai Buddhism's influence in Japan. His writings and rituals continue to be studied and practiced, making him one of the most important figures in Japanese Buddhist history.<ref name=":0" />