Ōwa Debate ［応和の宗論］ ( Ōwa-no-shūron): A debate on Buddhist doctrine held between priests of the Tendai school and the Dharma Characteristics (Hossō) school at the imperial court in Japan in 963 (the third year of the Ōwa era). A central issue of the doctrinal arguments presented was whether all people possess the Buddha nature, i.e., whether all people have the capacity to attain Buddhahood. The Dharma Characteristics priests, including Anshū, Hōzō, and Chūzan, asserted that persons of the two vehicles (voice-hearers and cause-awakened ones) cannot attain Buddhahood; the Tendai priests, who included Yokei, Kakukei, and Ryōgen, insisted that all people, including persons of the two vehicles, possess the Buddha nature and can become Buddhas.