Annen

Annen (安然, also known as 五大院 安然, 841–889?) was a Japanese Buddhist monk and scholar who systematized the esoteric teachings in the Tendai school, otherwise known as Taimitsu (台密). He thereby became the first to complete the formal esoterization of Japanese Tendai.

Annen also made notable contributions to the discourse on “original enlightenment” (本覚, hongaku) theory, particularly regarding the idea that “even grasses and trees possess Buddhahood” (草木成仏, sōmoku jōbutsu). His extensive writings, including six ritual manuals, played a crucial role in establishing new doctrines and organizing esoteric practices.

Biography Information about Annen’s life is sparse. Annen notes of himself that he originally came from the same clan as Saichō. At the age of nineteen, Annen was ordained as a Tendai monk, studying under the Tendai priest Ennin. He did not travel to China for study despite plans to do so, and never became head abbot (zasu 座主) of Mt. Hiei. There are disputes as to whether he completed the 12-year training at Mt. Hiei. In 884, Annen received the Dharma transmission from Tendai master Henjō (遍照). He was appointed abbot of Gankyōji (元慶寺) in 890, succeeding Henjō. Additionally, there are later stories which give an account of Annen’s retreat into a state of infinite meditation in a cave in the year 915. These stories are similar to the accounts given of the monk Kūkai (空海). Annen was succeeded by Genjo 玄砰, (who was not certified due to Annen’s death),

Doctrine Annen’s goal was to unite the various Taimitsu (Tendai esoteric Buddhism) doctrines of the contemporary Tendai school into one “true” esotericism that would encompass sectarian divisions and even the totality of the Buddhist experience. He presented a theory known as the “four ones” (shiichi kyōhan 四一教判), in which he stated that the Shingon view of the world consisted of one buddha, one time, one place, and one teaching. He thereby affirmed the suchness of all phenomena, and provided an absolute reading which encompassed all relative theories of Buddhist doctrines.

He also reinterpreted the precepts of the Tendai school in light of esoteric teachings. In the Futsu jubosatsukai koshaku (普通授菩薩戒広釈 ), Annen argued for a more lenient attitude towards monks who violated the precepts, arguing for instance that the transgressions should be considered in the context of the person’s whole life, and that the precepts could be violated for certain reasons. Scholarship suggests that Annen’s attitude towards the precepts was due to witnessing his master, Tankei’s violations of laws of sexual conduct, and subsequent defrocking. Additionally, it has been argued that Annen’s treatise contributed considerably to the decline of monastic discipline in the Tendai school.