Saicho: The Establishment of the Japanese Tendai School

Knowledgeable and lots of detail. I would prefer Japanese sutra names to sandscrit names, my only quarrell.

This Berkeley Buddhist series volume is the definitive work of the founder of Tendai Buddhism in Japan. This volume of the series steps you through the beginning of Saicho's life into his later years fighting for an ordination platform on Mount Hiei. Included are details concerning the rise of Tendai Buddhism away from the influential Buddhism of Nara. Saicho's views of the bodhisattva precepts and his wish to move away from the Hinayana goals of the Ssu fen lu precepts. This is a treasure of Buddhist history in the Heian period.This work is a must for any serious Buddhist researcher. Critical for any Tendai researcher to read.