Tendai+Buddhism+-+Eric+Hanz

=__ Tendai Buddhism __=

General Information

 * - Tendai is the Japanese school of Mahayana Buddhism **
 * - Tendai is also the name of the main school of Tendai Buddhism in Japan, which is **** considered as the descendant of the Chinese Tiantai or Lutus Sutra school in China **

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 * Brief History of Tendai Buddhism **


 * - The Tendai school goes back all the way to the 8th century. First started by a Chinese monk known as Jianzhen, the Ritsu school failed to become accepted amongst the Japanese because it wasn't really popular back then. However, around 805, m **** any Tiantai texts were brought to Japan through a Japanese Buddhist priest who studied at mount T'ien-t'ai in China called Saicho. He founded the Tendai Lotus Sect and a monastery on Mount Hiei. **


 * Tendai Belief and Practices **
 * Tendai embraces other schools like Vinaya, Shingon, Shinto and Zen, but mainly focuses on the teachings of the Lotus Sutra. **** The Lotus Sutra teaches the way to salvation, which is the same as attaining buddhahood. Mainly, the Lotos Sutra t **** eaches three things: **** Srakakayana, way of the disciples; **** Pratyeka-buddhayana, the way of those who seek to attain salvation for **** themselves alone; **** Bodhisattvayana, the way of the bodhisattvas and of those who postpone **** their own enlightenment to help others achieve it as well. **


 * Tendai Monk Marathon **
 * Tendai has a very unique and special practice. Called the 1000 day marathon which takes seven years to complete, Tendai has a practice that is meant to train not only the spirit but also the physical body. Marathon Monks of Tendai, also known as Kaihigyo, are required to do a practice that takes them about seven years. This exercise exceeds any other type of marathon in terms of labour and spirit; o **** nly 46 men have been known to have completed this 1000 day long practice since __1885__. The few amount of succeeders shows how challenging this practice is. This is the basic schedule of the Kaihigyos: **
 * - 300 days of basic training; run 40km per day for 100 consecutive days **
 * - fourth and fifth years they run 40km per day for 200 consecutive days **
 * - sixth year : 60km per day for 100 consecutive days **
 * - seventh year: 84km per day for 100 consecutive days **




 * What makes this seem even more impossible is that the marathon monks run on Mount Hiei, which is in poor condition due to icy trails and is very unrealistic for having a marathon. Not only that, they must carry books with directions and mantras to chant, food to offer to others and candles for light. This practice clearly shows how dedicated the monks are in training both the spirit and physical body. **

 - Davis, James. "Tendai Marathon Monks - The Run of A Lifetime." Independent Team Beachbody Coach - A Team Beachbody Coach Will Change Your Life by Guiding, Motivating and Encouraging You to Be Successful! Web. 17 Feb. 2011.  - "Tendai (T'ien Tai) Buddhism - ReligionFacts." Religion, World Religions, Comparative Religion - Just the Facts on the World's Religions. Web. 17 Feb. 2011.  - "History Of Tendai Buddhism." Tendai. Web. 17 Feb. 2011. 

 - "Chinese Medicine History." Acupuncture,Tai Chi,Chinese Medicine, Chi Kung Center. Web. 17 Feb. 2011.  - "Heian Aristocracy." Index.html. Web. 17 Feb. 2011.  - "Saichō." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 17 Feb. 2011.  - "SpiritMatter Archives." Immanence. Web. 17 Feb. 2011.  - http://paper.li/andrewallen/security/2010/10/12

 - http://ja3quu.us/religions.aspx - http://www.jsri.jp/English/Honen/LIFE/Tendai/development.html - http://www.future-n-sight.net/Buddhism/buddha_images/ - http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/sb10067450b-001/The-Image-Bank - http://cloud-hands.blogspot.com/2008/10/marathon-monks-of-mount-hiei.html