Chapter 9 Chapter Eight: Enren——A Japanese Monk Who Visited the Tang Dynasty to Seek Dharma

In the Tang Dynasty, although there were many Japanese officials, monks, and students who went to China for missions, seeking Dharma, and studying abroad, there were not many written records such as travel notes on their visits to China.Among the Chinese travel notes written by the Japanese who went to the Tang Dynasty, the one with the most detailed historical events and the highest historical value is the book "Journey to the Tang Dynasty to Seek Dharma" written by Master Cijue Yuanren. Some scholars even compare it with It is compared with "Marco Polo's Travels" written by Italian Marco Polo who visited China in the Yuan Dynasty.

Enren (794-864 AD), the founder of the Tiantai Zongshan sect in Japan.The common surname is Mibu, and he was born in Tuga County, Shimono (now Mu County).He lost his father at an early age, and his brother taught classics and history at the age of nine. Later, he learned from Guangzhi, the third disciple of Jianzhen monk at Daci Temple in Onodera Village, Duga County. At the age of 15, he climbed Mt. Hiei and became a disciple of the master of preaching.Because of his diligence and eagerness to learn, he was quite appreciated by Mo Cheng, and he often followed the master to practice Tiantai Dafa. At the age of 22, he was ordained at the ordination altar of Todaiji Temple.After Saisumi passed away, Ennin, who was under 30 years old, opened an altar to preach the Dharma at Mount Hiei, and also gave lectures at Horyuji Temple, Tennoji Temple and other places.

In 835, Japan sent the 18th mission to the Tang Dynasty headed by Tsuneji Fujiwara, and Enren was recommended by the monks to join the Tang Dynasty monk.The fleet set off from Namba in July, and was in distress shortly after leaving the sea, and the boat broke and returned to stand by. In 837, he sailed westward for the second time, but was forced to retreat due to headwinds.It was not until the third time in 838 that he crossed the sea, after going through many risks and hardships, that he arrived in Yangzhou, China.After Huainan Jiedu envoy Li Deyu reported to the imperial court, a few people including the quasi-ambassador entered Chang'an, while others stayed where they were.Enren then sought the Dharma at Kaiyuan Temple in Yangzhou and obtained more than 100 Buddhist scriptures.However, his application to visit Tiantai Mountain was not approved, so he had to accompany the Tang envoy on his way home from Yangzhou in 839.When the boat was in Haizhou, Yuan Ren and his disciple Weizheng waited to disembark with an excuse and landed sneakily. They were detected by the Haizhou government and escorted to board the second ship of the Tang Dynasty mission.When the boat arrived in Dengzhou Prefecture, Shandong Province, Yuan Ren disembarked and landed again, and was thrown into the Fahua Court of Wendeng County.

In 840, Enren applied to the Chinese government to visit Wutai Holy Land again.He wrote in the memorial: "I admire Buddhism and practice Buddhism. Obtained the Tao. Yuan Ren and others admired him in the past and traveled across the sea to search, but failed to fulfill their long-cherished wish." "Now I want to go to various places, pay homage to holy sites, seek teachers and learn the law." Zhang Yong, the governor of Pinglu, expressed his sincere and sincere feelings Touched, Enren was finally allowed to tour Wutai. In April 840, Yuanren led his disciples to set off from Dengzhou, through Qingzhou, Zizhou, Qizhou in Shandong, Dezhou, Beizhou, Jizhou in Hebei and other places. They trekked for 44 days, with a journey of more than 2990 miles, and finally arrived at Mount Wutai.They toured the spiritual sites of various famous temples in Wutai Mountain, and paid homage to famous monks such as Monk Zhiyuan in Dahuayan Temple.Zhiyuan is Master Yuanren's dearest old friend, and he feels very cordial when meeting him.Enren asked Zhiyuan to answer 30 questions raised by the monks of Enryaku Temple of the Tendai Sect in Japan, and also copied 34 classics of Tiantai.Yuanren and his entourage stayed in Mount Wutai for more than 50 days before bidding farewell to Venerable Zhiyuan and others.Before leaving, he specially took the soil and stones from Mount Wutai and brought them back to Japan as sacred objects. In August, he arrived in Chang'an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty, and lived in Zixing Temple. He also learned esoteric methods from eminent monks such as Yuanzheng of Daxingshan Temple and Yizhen of Qinglong Temple.

In 843, Emperor Wuzong of the Tang Dynasty implemented the practice of expelling Buddhas, destroying temples and expelling monks. In 845, Yuanren was ordered to return to secular life and left Chang'an.Friends Yang Jingzhi and Li Yuanzuo from the Tang Dynasty gave him a farewell party, presenting them with clothes, Buddha statues and scriptures.Monk Qibai also presented a poem: "Send Enren Sanzang to his home country" to express his farewell. In 847, Enhito returned to Japan on a Silla merchant ship with 585 volumes of biography and 794 volumes and various religious objects.He started his business of propagating Buddhism centered on Mount Hiei, and was awarded the title of Master Chuan Deng the next year. In 854, he served as the owner of the Tiantai. In 861, he started to build the Manjusri Building, and laid the foundation with the earth and stone brought back from Mount Wutai.Enren also wrote nearly a hundred books such as "Xianyang Great Precepts". He passed away in 864 at the age of 71 at Enryaku-ji Temple in Kyoto. In 866, Emperor Qinghe of Japan granted Enren the posthumous title of "Master Cijue".

Enren stayed in the Tang Dynasty for 10 years and visited Chang'an for six years. He wrote four volumes of the diary-style Chinese travel notes "Journey to the Tang Dynasty to Seek Law and Pilgrimage". It has high historical value and is a study of the history, society, religion and Sino-Japanese exchanges of the Tang Dynasty. important information.The book records the transportation and cultural exchanges between China and Japan in the Tang Dynasty, as well as the laws and regulations, customs and etiquette, politics and diplomacy, economy and culture, religion and other aspects of China in the Tang Dynasty.Although there are false rumors and misunderstandings about the things recorded, there are still many things that can be supplemented by historical records.The book also records the round-trip letters and letters at that time, which is a precious document for textual research on the format and formalities of public and private documents (du reading) after the mid-Tang Dynasty.Especially in the late Tang Dynasty, when Yuanren was in the late Tang Dynasty, it happened that Emperor Wuzong of Tang Dynasty was excluding Buddhas in Huichang. The other religions were also implicated and destroyed.This is a major event in the history of Chinese religion, but it is not mentioned much in the writings of Tang people, but it is described in detail in Enren's "Journey to the Tang Dynasty to Seek Law and Pilgrimage".In addition to recording the ins and outs of Tang Wuzong's exclusion of Buddhism during the Huichang period, it also records the social phenomenon that the people did not worship Buddhism and hated monks after the Anshi Rebellion in Tang Dynasty.The book also reflects the Buddhist monks' dissatisfaction with the imperial court, thinking that Tang Wuzong, who exterminated Buddhism, was a fatuous and immoral emperor.The book also has a lot of records about the activities of Korean Silla people in China, which is helpful to understand the relationship between China and North Korea, China and Japan at that time, and the role of Silla in the Sino-Japanese exchanges. Although the literary value of "Pilgrimage to the Tang Dynasty" is not as valuable as historical materials, the description of the scenery of Mount Wutai in the book is also very beautiful, and the narration of the stories of the characters is quite humorous.In a word, Enren's "Journey to the Tang Dynasty to Seek Law and Pilgrimage" can be said to be a very precious document in the history of cultural exchanges between China and Japan in ancient times.