In simple words, Tendai Buddhism is the Japanese school of Mahayana Buddhism. This form of Buddhism comes from the Lotus Sutra School, also known as the Chinese Tiantai. This form of Buddhism was established by Tiantaichi with a view to universalize Buddhism. It offers a comprehensive religious framework that could suit all cultures.
Tendai school of Buddhism dates back to the 8th century. It was started by a Chinese monk known as Jianzhen. In the initial days, the teachings promoted by Jianzhen were known as the Ritsu school. However, this did not last for long as it did not garner much acceptance. In 805, another Japanese monk, Saicho, brought numerous Tiantai texts from China. He also made a temple on Mt Hiei. The temple served as a centre of study and practice for Japanese Tendai.
The Tendai school of Buddhism as propagated by Saicho was more or less centered on the lines of Tiantai school of Buddhism. However, Tendai Buddhism included elements of Zen, esoteric Mikkyo and Vinaya school. It is this amalgam of different elements that made Tendai more popular.
As Tendai Buddhism progressed over the years, the tendency to include newer elements increased further. In fact, successors of Saicho, namely, Ennin and Enchin took the art of including new elements to another level. However, this finally led to the development of several sub schools within Tendai. There were two distinct groups by this time - Sammon and Jimon. While Sammon was the group who followed Ennin, Jimon referred to the followers of Enchin.
Though Tendai school grew it's own course over the years, it primarily flourished under the imperial family. The nobility in Japan promoted this form of Buddhism in full force. However, it was the Fujiwara clan that promoted Tendai the most. As a result, Tendai became the most dominant form of Buddhism in Japan. Most of the developments in Japanese Buddhism for the following years stemmed from Tendai. In fact, most of the popular non Tendai thinkers in Japan were initially trained as Tendai monks. Some popular examples include Dogen, Honen, Shinran, and Nichiren. With this, the presence and influence of Tendai in Japan can be well understood.
It was the popularity ushered in the by the upper class that made Tendai highly respected. The involvement of the nobility made Tendai, militarily as well as politically powerful. Mt Hiei too became a center of power. No wonder, it overpowered various other schools of Buddhism in no time at all. With the power that the Tendai school held, it was in a position to oppose other rival groups as well.
With all this, it is needless to say that the history of Tendai Buddhism is quite interesting.
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