The estates required maintenance. The scholarly (and aristocratic) monks in charge of the temples naturally did not want to look after the farms themselves. Therefore, they began to recruit and ordain low-ranking lay priests who performed menial tasks such as cooking, cleaning, farming, and so forth. The estates also needed protecting from bands of warriors. Therefore, priest-soldiers came into being. These were recruited from among the lay priests. By the twelfth century, major temples all had large numbers of priest-soldiers. Mount Hiei was home to so many priest-soldiers that for all practical purposes it was an armed camp.

The existence of the priest-soldiers caused an enormous amount of chaos. They were constantly getting into brawls and battles. There were fights between the scholar-monks and the lay-monks over which group should have primacy. On one occasion a fight erupted over which group should have precedence in the bath house. It grew to such proportions that governmental troops had to be called in and a battle occurred in which over three hundred people died. This occurred in 1203, but was typical of the events of the twelfth century.

There were also frequent battles between competing groups within sects. Arson was extremely frequent. One temple's warriors would torch a competing temple. Then the torched temple would retaliate. Bands of soldier priests would fight each other in temples, on Mount Hiei, or on the streets of the capital. The fighting was almost constant. If the imperial government tried to appoint abbots whom the soldier-priests did not favor, the soldier-priests would come into the capital and attack the warriors of the imperial house. Even when the government was not interfering in the affairs of the temple, there were frequent brawls between the soldiers hired by the aristocracy and the soldier-priests. These armed priests were powerful enough that the government was often cowed into conciliatory action in order to preserve the peace. Shirakawa, the powerful ruler of the imperial government (in power 1072-1129), once said, "There are three things in this world beyond the control of any man: the roll of the dice, the floodwaters of the Kamo river, and the monks of Hiei."1

True understanding of Buddhism was not a high priority in the temples. The lower ranks of the priesthood filled with uneducated and often violent laymen. The higher ranks were comprised primarily of retired aristocracy. It became customary for abdicated emperors to become priests. (Emperors usually reigned for a few years and then retired. Retired emperors had more freedom and consequently more fun than reigning emperors.) Aristocracy followed suit, and also took the tonsure upon retiring from private life. Due to the high rank of these novice priests, little training was required before they were ordained. If high ranking people wanted to be priests, the Buddhist sects let them, regardless of these people's understanding of or commitment to Buddhism.

Some of the aristocracy who officially became monks continued living their lives just as if they were not monks. They kept wives and concubines, engaged in politics, and in every way acted like any other aristocrat. Others took their vows more seriously and got themselves installed as the leaders of temples. Some of these leading aristocratic monks were truly devout Buddhists and had a deep understanding of the teachings. Others did not have such a clear understanding, and these monks muddled the transmission of the teachings.

Monks who wanted to follow a less worldly and more spiritual path often left the corrupt imperially sanctioned temples and wandered alone through the mountains, living in small huts or travelling the countryside, teaching the common people and writing poetry.

In short, the established Buddhist sects were corrupted by violent lay-priests and by aristocratic leaders who did not understand the true meaning of the religion they taught. Worldly things were generally more valued than enlightenment. Although there were always monks who were inspired by a true feeling for the teachings and a sincere desire for the enlightened state, they unfortunately were in the minority and often did not maintain strong ties to the established religion.

The lay aristocracy attended rituals at Buddhist temples regularly. These functions often served the aristocracy as social meeting places. They enjoyed the magnificent sights of the elaborate temples, the elegant silk robes worn by the clergy, the golden decorative objects, the sounds of the chanting. Religious ceremonies also served as chances to meet people and excuses to dress up. Women particularly appreciated the opportunities ceremonial occasions allowed them to get out of the confinements of their homes and talk to other women (or even meet lovers).