Medieval Tendai hongaku thought and the new Kamakura Buddhism: A reconsideration

Abstract

Medieval Tendai original enlightenment thought (hongaku shiso) had its formative stage during roughly the twelfth through fourteenth centuries, a period that precedes and then coincides with the emergence and early growth of the so-called new Kamakura Buddhism. Scholars have long assumed some connection between Tendai hongaku ideas and the doctrines of the new Buddhist schools, though the nature of that connection has been disputed. This essay outlines the theories on this subject to date and raises questions about how the problem has been formulated. It argues for a more contextualized understanding of hongaku discourse that locates it within both the specifics of the medieval Tendai tradition and the broader historical setting.

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