Saichō

Saichō (最澄; Japanese pronunciation: [saꜜi.tɕoː], September 15, 767 – June 26, 822) was a Japanese Buddhist monk credited with founding the Japanese Tendai school of Buddhism. He was awarded the posthumous title of Dengyō Daishi (伝教大師).

Recognized for his significant contributions to the development of Japanese Buddhism, Saichō is most famous for introducing the Chinese Tiantai school to Japan, which he adapted into the Tendai tradition. Saichō traveled to Tang China in 804, where he studied the Chinese Tiantai school (along with other traditions). After returning to Japan, he founded the temple and headquarters of Tendai at Enryaku-ji on Mount Hiei (near the capital of Kyoto), which became the center of Tendai practice and a major institution in the history of Japanese Buddhism.

Saichō emphasized the integration of the Tiantai teachings on meditation, study, precepts, and ritual practice, with the mantrayana practices of Chinese Esoteric Buddhism. He also worked to establish a new ordination system which was based on the bodhisattva precepts, rather than the traditional monastic rule (Vinaya) precepts.

Saichō's Tendai school laid the groundwork for the development of later Japanese Buddhist traditions, including Pure Land, and Zen Buddhism.