Jodo Shinshu

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Part of a series on Buddhism Image:Lotus-buddha.svg
History of Buddhism Dharmic religions Timeline of Buddhism Buddhist councils
Foundations Four Noble Truths Noble Eightfold Path The Five Precepts Nirvāna · Three Jewels
Key Concepts Three marks of existence Skandha · Cosmology · Dharma Samsara · Rebirth · Shunyata Pratitya-samutpada · Karma
Major Figures Gautama Buddha Buddha's Disciples · Family
Practices and Attainment Buddhahood · Bodhisattva Four Stages of Enlightenment Paramis · Meditation · Laity
Buddhism by Region Southeast Asia · East Asia Tibet · India · Western
Schools of Buddhism Theravāda · Mahāyāna Vajrayāna · Early schools
Texts Pali Canon Pali Suttas · Mahayana Sutras Vinaya · Abhidhamma
Comparative Studies Culture · List of Topics Portal: Buddhism Image:Dharma wheel 1.png This box: view • talk • edit</div>

Jōdo Shinshū (浄土真宗 "True Pure Land School"), also known as Shin Buddhism, was founded by the once Tendai Japanese monk Shinran Shonin. In modern times Jodo Shinshu can be contrasted with Jodo Shu, founded by Shinran's teacher Honen. Today Shin Buddhism is considered the most widely practiced branch of Buddhism in Japan, along with Jōdo Shu.

1 Shinran Shonin (Founder)
2 The Split
3 Doctrine/Beliefs
4 Tannisho
5 Modern Shin Thinkers
6 Shin Patriarchs
7 Sub-sects
8 See also
9 External links
10 References

[edit] Shinran Shonin (Founder)

Shinran Shonin (shonin means eminent priest) (1173-1263) lived during the Kamakura period (1185-1333), a time of turmoil for Japan when the Emperor was stripped powerless by the Shoguns. Shinran's family had a high rank at the imperial court in Kyoto, but given the times many families were sending sons off to be Buddhist monks instead of having them participate in government. When Shinran was nine (1181) he was sent by his father to Mt. Hiei, where he was ordained as a Tendai monk. Over time Shinran became disillusioned with what Buddhism in Japan had become, foreseeing a decline in the potency and practicality of the teachings espoused. At this time Amida Buddhism had a few established movements within the Tendai tradition, but Shinran was disllusioned nonetheless<ref name="Esben">Popular Buddhism In Japan: Shin Buddhist Religion & Culture by Esben Andreasen / University of Hawaii Press 1998, ISBN 0-8248-2028-2</ref>.

Shonin left his role as doso at Mt. Hiei and did a 100 day retreat at Rokkakudo temple in Kyoto, where Shonin had a dream on the 95th day. In this dream Prince Shotoku (in Japan he is synonymous with Kannon Bosatsu) appeared to him, espousing a pathway to enlightenment through verse. So the next day, in 1201, Shonin leaves to train under Honen for the next six years. Honen (1133-1212) was once a Tendai monk as well, whom left the tradition in 1175 to found his own sect, Jodo Shu. During this period Honen and Shonin espoused unto others the concept of nembutsu and amassed a somewhat substantial following. In 1207, sensing a threat, the Buddhist establishments of Kyoto persuaded the Shoguns to implement a nembutsu ban, a ruling which prohibited others from spreading Honen and Shinran's teachings. This forced Honen and Shinran to go into exile, and Shinran wound up in Echigo (today Niigata)<ref name="Esben">Popular Buddhism In Japan: Shin Buddhist Religion & Culture by Esben Andreasen / University of Hawaii Press 1998, ISBN 0-8248-2028-2</ref>.

It was during this exile that Shonin cultivated a deeper understanding of his own beliefs and in 1210 he married his wife Eshinni. Shinran and Eshinni had several children, one of whom he later disowned in 1256 (his oldest son Zenran). In 1211 the nembutsu ban was lifted and Shinran was pardoned. In (1212) Honen died in Kyoto. Shonin never saw Honen following their exile. The year of Honen's death, Shinran set out for the Kanto area of Japan, where he established a substantial following. In 1224 he wrote his most significant piece, Kyogyoshinsho, which contained several excerpts from the Pure Land sutras along with his own commentaries<ref name="Esben">Popular Buddhism In Japan: Shin Buddhist Religion & Culture by Esben Andreasen / University of Hawaii Press 1998, ISBN 0-8248-2028-2</ref>.

In 1234, at the age of sixty, Shonin left Kanto for Kyoto (Eshini stayed in Echigo), where he dedicated the rest of his years to writing. It was during this time he wrote wazan, a collection of hymns summarizing his teachings for his followers to recite. In his last years of life his daughter Kakushinni cared for him, and the shrine built on Shonin's tomb later became Honganji ('The Temple of the Original Vow'). Shinran died at the age of 80 in 1263<ref name="Esben">Popular Buddhism In Japan: Shin Buddhist Religion & Culture by Esben Andreasen / University of Hawaii Press 1998, ISBN 0-8248-2028-2</ref>.

[edit] The Split

Early Shin Buddhism did not truly flourish until the time of Rennyo (1415-1499), who was 8th in line from Shinran. Through his charisma and prostelytizing Shin Buddhism was able to amass a greater following and grow in strength. So strong did the sect become that in 1602, through mandate of the Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, the main temple Honganji in Kyoto was broken off into two sects to curb the organizations power. They are: Nishi Honganji ('The Western Temple of the Original Vow') and Higashi Honganji ('The Eastern Temple of the original Vow'). Higashi Honganji is also referred to as Shinshu Otani-ha, connecting it to the Otani family who are direct descendants to Shinran<ref name="Esben">Popular Buddhism In Japan: Shin Buddhist Religion & Culture by Esben Andreasen / University of Hawaii Press 1998, ISBN 0-8248-2028-2</ref>.

[edit] Doctrine/Beliefs

Shinran's thought was strongly influenced by the doctrine of mappō (末法), or the decline of the Dharma (the Buddhist teachings). Shinran saw the age he was living in as being a degenerate one where beings cannot hope to be able to extricate themselves from the cycle of birth and death through their own power, or jiriki (自力). For Shinran, all conscious efforts towards achieving enlightenment and realizing the Bodhisattva ideal were contrived and rooted in selfish ignorance; for humans of this age are so deeply rooted in karmic evil as to be incapable of developing the truly altruistic compassion that is requisite to becoming a Bodhisattva. It should be noted however that many modern commentators feel that Shinran's understanding of mappō is highly psychological and subjective, rather than eschatological, though this is a point of some controversy.

Due to his consciousness of human limitations, Shinran advocates reliance on tariki (他力) (Other Power) -- the power of Amida Buddha's limitless and infinite compassion made manifest in Amida Buddha's Primal Vow -- in order to attain liberation. Shin Buddhism can therefore be understood as a "practiceless practice," for there are no specific acts to be performed such as there are in the "Path of Sages" (the other Buddhist schools of the time that advocated 'jiriki' ('self-power').

Accordingly within Jōdo Shinshū the [[nembutsu]] (念仏): Namu Amida Butsu (南無阿弥陀仏) ("I take refuge in Amida Buddha") Pure Land chanting practice is seen in a new light. The nembutsu becomes understood as an act that expresses gratitude to Amida Buddha -- furthermore, it is evoked in the practitioner through the power of Amida's unobstructed compassion. Therefore in Shin Buddhism, the nembutsu is not considered a practice, nor does it generate karmic merit.

The goal of the Shin path, or at least the practicer's present life, is the attainment of shinjin (信心 True Entrusting) in the Other Power of Amida. To achieve shinjin is to unite one's mind with Amida through the total renunciation of self effort in attaining enlightenment; to take refuge entirely in Other Power. Shinjin arises from jinen (自然 naturalness, spontaneous working of the Vow) and cannot be achieved solely through conscious effort. Shinjin develops over time through "deep hearing" of Amida's call of the nembutsu. Jinen also describes the way of naturalness whereby Amida's infinite light illumines and transforms the deeply rooted karmic evil of countless rebirths into good karma. It is of note that such evil karma is not destroyed but rather transformed: Shin stays within the Mahayana tradition's understanding of sunyata, or non-duality / emptiness, and understands that samsara and Nirvana are not separate. Once the practicer's mind is united with Amida and Buddha nature gifted to the practicer through shinjin, the practicer attains the state of non-retrogression, whereupon after his death he will achieve instantaneous and effortless enlightenment. He will then return to the world as a Bodhisattva, that he may work towards the salvation of all beings.

[edit] Tannisho

Tannisho is a 13th century book of recorded sayings attributed to Shinran, transcribed with commentary by Yuien (a disciple of Shinran). Tannisho means 'A record of the words of Shinran set down in lamentation over departures from his teaching'. For centuries, the text was almost unknown to the majority of Shin Buddhists. In the 15th century Rennyo wrote of it, "This writing is an important one in our tradition. It should not be indiscriminately shown to anyone who lacks the past karmic good". Kiyozawa Manshi (1863-1903) revitalized interest in Tannisho, which indirectly helped to spawn the Dobokai Movement of 1962<ref name="Esben">Popular Buddhism In Japan: Shin Buddhist Religion & Culture by Esben Andreasen / University of Hawaii Press 1998, ISBN 0-8248-2028-2</ref>.

For more on Tannisho, please follow this link.

[edit] Modern Shin Thinkers

[edit] Shin Patriarchs

Reference:<ref>Jodo Shinshu: Shin Buddhism in Medieval Japan by James C. Dobbins/p. 3/Indiana University Press, 1989/ISBN: 0253331862</ref>

Shinran is considered the pinnacle of the Pure Land tradition.

[edit] Sub-sects

<ref name="Esben">Popular Buddhism In Japan: Shin Buddhist Religion & Culture by Esben Andreasen / University of Hawaii Press 1998, ISBN 0-8248-2028-2</ref>Jōdo Shinshū itself has 10 sub-sects which tend to be either independent, based on Shinran's family lineage, or centered on places he lived. The largest branch is the Honganji sect. This sub-sect was split in two by the Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1602 to diminish it's political powers, creating both the Nishi Honganji (or, 'The Western Temple of the Original Vow') and the Higashi Honganji (or, 'The Eastern Temple of the Original Vow')<ref name="Esben">Popular Buddhism In Japan: Shin Buddhist Religion & Culture by Esben Andreasen / University of Hawaii Press 1998, ISBN 0-8248-2028-2</ref>. Neither of these can be broken down further, and Nishi is the larger of the two. In the United States, Nishi-Hongwanji operates as the Buddhist Churches of America and Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawai'i.

Excepting certain Jōdo Shinshū inspired New Religious Movements the various sub-sects hardly differ on doctrinal matters but have a wide variety of liturgical styles.

[edit] See also

Honganji

[edit] External links

Mahayana Buddhist Sutras in English a good starting place since it has links to several different translations for each of the important texts.
Shinran Works The collected works of Shinran, including the Kyōgōshinshō.
Shin Dharma Net A major resource for Shin Buddhism in English, affiliated with the Nishi-Hongwanji and based from a temple in Hawaii.
Shoshinge, "Hymn of True Faith and the Nembutsu" An excerpt of verse from the Kyogyoshinsho that also serves as a summary of Shin Buddhism and its history. Also present is the original Japanese script and its romanization.
Buddhist Churches of AmericaIncludes basic information, shopping for Shin Buddhist ritual implements, and links to various Shin churches in America.
Honpa Hongwanji Betsuin Main Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawai'i Temple of the Nishi Hongwanji tradition in Honolulu, Hawaii
Wailuku Hongwanji Mission Jodo Shinshu Buddhist Temple of the Nishi Hongwanji tradition on Maui, Hawai'i: part of Honpa Hongwanji
Ekoji Buddhist Temple Jodo Shinshu Buddhism of the Nishi Hongwanji tradition in Northern Virginia, near Washington, D.C.
nembutsu.info: Journal of Shin Buddhism
Institute of Buddhist Studies: Seminary and Graduate School
Notes on the Nembutsu: Essays based on the Sanjo Wasan of Shinran
Shogyoji Temple Japan English website of Shogyoji Temple affiliated with the Higashi Honganji Temple. Has a short description of the Chomon (Introspection Sessions), which is unique to Shogyoji.
Eiken Kobai's Shin Buddhism Study Center: English website of the Professor of Shinshu Studies at Soai University in the city of Osaka.
Jodo Shinshu religion Website English Website containing information on Jodo Shinshu and the complete works of Shinran, the founder of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism.