Engyō - Engyō

Japanese: 円行 - えんぎょう

Year of death: 29 March 852
Year of birth: Enryaku 18 (799)
A Shingon Buddhist monk in the early Heian period. He was one of the eight families who went to China. He was born in Kyoto. At the age of 16, he became a monk at Gangoji Temple and studied the Kegon sect. He later received the Denpo Kanjo (transmission of the teachings of the Buddha) from Kukai and became an esoteric Buddhist. He went to China in 838. He visited Seiryu-ji Temple in Chang'an, where Kukai had studied, and handed over a message from Jie announcing Kukai's death. He received the Denpo Ajari Kanjo (transmission of the teachings of the Buddha) from Gishin, the head priest of the temple, and returned to Japan the following year. He opened Reigan-ji Temple in Yamashiro Province (Kyoto Prefecture) and Daisen-ji Temple in Banshu, and became the first head priest of Tenno-ji Temple. In the minds of people at the time, esoteric Buddhism was not limited to the framework of so-called religion, but rather had aspects comparable to today's cutting-edge science and technology. For this reason, the numerous mandalas and esoteric Buddhist ritual implements and rituals that Engyo brought back to Japan were similar to the import of cutting-edge scientific equipment and manuals, and Engyo himself had a strong character as an esoteric Buddhist engineer. <References> Seishin Moriyama, "The Biography of Kobo Daishi from a Cultural History Perspective"

(Masaki Akira)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

没年：仁寿2.3.6(852.3.29)
生年：延暦18(799)
平安前期の真言宗の僧。入唐八家のひとり。京都出身。16歳のとき元興寺で出家して華厳宗を修め,のち空海から伝法灌頂を受け密教者となる。承和5(838)年入唐。空海が学んだ長安の青竜寺を訪れ,その死を告げる実恵の音信を手渡した。同寺座主の義真から伝法阿闍梨の灌頂を受け,翌年帰国。山城国(京都府)の霊厳寺や播州の大山寺を開き,天王寺最初の別当に就いたという。当時の人々の意識では,密教は,いわゆる宗教の枠組みにとどまるものではなく,むしろ今日の先端的な科学技術に匹敵する面を持っていた。そのため円行が帰国の際,請来した数々の曼荼羅や密教法具・儀軌は先端科学機器やマニュアルの輸入に通じ,円行自身も密教エンジニアの性格が濃い。<参考文献>守山聖真『文化史上より見たる弘法大師伝』

(正木晃)

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