THE HEIAN EPOCH
may be described as exoteric and esoteric exegeses of the same scripture; and in an era when religious tolerance extended to the blending of Shintô and Buddhism, distinctions so obscure as those between the Tendai and the Shingon sects were not likely to reflect any doubts on the infallibility of the original doctrine. The two great expounders contributed equally to the spread of Buddhism, and not only were they assisted during their life and after their death by zealots of scarcely inferior calibre, but their example of ecstatic devotion exercised an ennobling influence on the conduct of the priests in general. Long fasts, years of asceticism in mountain solitudes, and even self-inflicted tortures contributed, on the one hand, to win respect for the faith, and, on the other, to inculcate the importance of abstinence and self-denial. The chief temple of the Tendai sect (on Hiyei-zan) was erected on the northeast of Kyōtō in order to be a barrier against the evil spirits supposed to issue constantly from the "Demons' Gate," which was situated in that quarter of the firmament, and the priests, apparently without any exception, spared no pains to promote a belief that their services were essential to avert calamity or insure success. All classes of the nation accepted that view. Religious ceremonies on a magnificent scale were constantly held at the Imperial Court, as many as a thousand priests sometimes officiating. However straitened might be the finances of the State,
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