Annen 安然 （841–between 889 and 897）, a prominent Tendai scholar, developed his thought in various descriptions in the Kyōji mondō 教時問答 （Dialogue on Teaching and Time） and Bodaishingi shō 菩提心義抄 （On the Meaning of the Mind Aspiring for Enlightenment）, using the main concepts from the Dasheng qi xin lun 大乗起信論 （hereafter Qi xin lun）: xin zhenru men 心真如門 （gate of the heart of suchness） and xin shengmie men 心生滅門 （gate of the heart of vicissitude）. In this article, taking up the five quotations relating to the zhenru suiyuan 真如随縁 （suchness following changing circumstances） from his two works, I discussed the differences between these five quotations concerning the xin zhenru men and xin shengmie men, as well as the cause of these differences.
In the first example, the zhenru suiyuan is described in the xin shengmie men from the Qi xin lun. In the second example, the zhenru suiyuan is described in the xin zhenru men from the Qi xin lun. In the third and the fourth examples, the zhenru suiyuan is simply described only from the Qi xin lun. In the fifth example, the zhenru suiyuan is elaborated in the xin zhenru men as well as in the xin shengmie men. From the five examples, I conclude that Annen’s real intention is comprehensively described in the fifth, and that from his philosophical viewpoint, the other four also stand on the same ground as the fifth. In the end, I refer to the philosophical importance of the five examples with which Annen unifies the idea of zhenru suiyuan with “xin zhenru men [equals] xin shengmie men” （the inseparable conceptual set of the “gate of the heart of suchness” and the “gate of the heart of vicissitude”）.
