During medieval times, the Zen school was attacked by other traditional Buddhist schools, particularly the Tendai. Little is known of the Zen reaction to such attacks. The Hokke Mondo Shōgishō 法華問答正義抄,written by a Nichiren monk Nichizen 日全 (1294–1344) in the 14th century, contains a chapters on the Zen School, in which Zen and the Tendai or Nichiren sect argue over Zen’s lineage and its philosophy. A Zen representative replies to his opponents more than 64 times. Although he seems to be very familiar with Zen teaching, he calls Saichō ‘the Fundamental Teacher of Japan’ and speaks of ‘my Eizan,’ implying his allegiance with the Tendai school. Moreover, his manner of arguing is different from that of authentic Zen monks, who refrain from argument and insistence on their beliefs. Consequently, I conclude that the Zen representative in the Hokke Mondo Shōgishō is a Tendai monk who is deeply committed to the Zen teaching spreading at that time.
