Description:
Tendai hongaku thought has come under scrutiny and severe criticism recently on two counts, one ontological and the other socio-ethical. The ontological critique maintains that hongaku thought espouses substantialistic notions inconsistent with the teaching of early Buddhism. This article examines passages from hongaku writings and offers a reading that takes into account enlightenment practice in the Tendai tradition as the context within which these texts were written and used. Noting the role of "deconstructive disclaimers" imbedded in the text, it suggests a way of reading that can allow the contents to avoid the pitfall of substantialism.