(781?-842?) was a scholar-monk of the Hossō sect of

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...

in Japan. He is best known for his debates with other leading Buddhists of the time,

Kūkai Kūkai (; 27 July 774 – 22 April 835Kūkai was born in 774, the 5th year of the Hōki era; his exact date of birth was designated as the fifteenth day of the sixth month of the Japanese lunar calendar, some 400 years later, by the Shingon se ...

and

Saichō was a Japanese Buddhist monk credited with founding the Tendai school of Buddhism based on the Chinese Tiantai school he was exposed to during his trip to Tang China beginning in 804. He founded the temple and headquarters of Tendai at Enryaku-j ...

, and for asserting a more orthodox view of Mahayana Buddhism based on the state-sanctioned schools of

Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It ...

, Japan.

Biography

Little is known about Tokuitsu's early life, but records state that he studied Hossō doctrine at an early age at

Kōfuku-ji is a Buddhist temple that was once one of the powerful Seven Great Temples in the city of Nara, Japan. The temple is the national headquarters of the Hossō school. History Kōfuku-ji has its origin as a temple that was established in 669 b ...

, then later

Tōdai-ji is a Buddhist temple complex that was once one of the powerful Seven Great Temples, located in the city of Nara, Japan. Though it was originally founded in the year 738 CE, Tōdai-ji was not opened until the year 752 CE. The temple has undergo ...

. His teacher is believed to be the eminent scholar Shūen (769-834). Saichō writes that Tokuitsu left the capital at age 20, and resided in the outer provinces in eastern Japan, apparently at the temples of Chūzen-ji in

Tsukuba is a city located in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 244,528 in 108,669 households and a population density of 862 persons per km². The percentage of the population aged over 65 was 20.3%. The total ar ...

and Enichi-ji in Aizu. The bulk of his writings were concerned with challenging the Ekayana,

Tiantai Tiantai or T'ien-t'ai () is an East Asian Buddhist school of Mahāyāna Buddhism that developed in 6th-century China. The school emphasizes the ''Lotus Sutra's'' doctrine of the "One Vehicle" (''Ekayāna'') as well as Mādhyamaka philosophy ...

doctrines espoused by Saichō. Where Saichō advocated the notion of universal

buddhahood In Buddhism, Buddha (; Pali, Sanskrit: 𑀩𑀼𑀤𑁆𑀥, बुद्ध), "awakened one", is a title for those who are awake, and have attained nirvana and Buddhahood through their own efforts and insight, without a teacher to point ...

in all beings, Tokuitsu countered with the orthodox Hossō view that buddhahood is not inherent in all beings, but can be awakened through the Dharma. In time the debate grew heated, and insults were exchanged with Saichō criticizing Tokuitsu as "one who eats only coarse, meager food llusion_to_the_Pratimoksha_monastics_precepts.html" ;"title="Pratimoksha.html" ;"title="llusion to the Pratimoksha">llusion to the Pratimoksha monastics precepts">Pratimoksha.html" ;"title="llusion to the Pratimoksha">llusion to the Pratimoksha monastics precepts while Tokuitsu criticized the patriarch of Tendai Buddhism, Zhiyi of being a "country rustic". By contrast, Tokuitsu's correspondences with Kūkai were more cordial, but letters by Tokuitsu expressed great interest, but persistent confusion and doubt over Kūkai's teachings surrounding the Dharmakaya. Kūkai, respecting Tokuitsu's authority, maintained a more humble, conciliatory tone, and sought to assert the validity of his esoteric-only teachings. Tokuitsu conceded some points to Kūkai's argument, but remained unconvinced otherwise.

References

* * Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Japanese Buddhist clergy Heian period Buddhist clergy {{Buddhism-bio-stub