Jodo Shinshu

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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 Shū.

Contents

[edit] History

[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[1].

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. Honen and Shinran were forced into exile, and Shinran was given a criminal's name and had to live in Echigo province (today Niigata)[1].

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[1].

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 the Wasan, 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[1].

[edit] Revival and Formalization

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 Hongwanji in Kyoto was broken off into two sects to curb the organizations power.

During the time of Shinran Shonin, followers would gather in meeting houses, similar to Christian Quakers and had an informal liturgical structure. Anyone could get up and give a Buddhist talk, or discuss some other matter at hand. However, as time went on, this lack of cohesion and structure caused Jodo Shinshu to gradually lose its identity as a seperate sect, as people began mixing other Buddhist practices into it. One common example was the Mantra of Light popularized by Myoe and Shingon Buddhism. Rennyo helped turn this around by formalizing much of Jodo Shinshu, it's practices and liturgy, and revived the thinning community at the Hongwanji temple while asserting newfound political power.

Rennyo Shonin is generally credited by Shin Buddhists for reversing the gradual decay of the early Jodo Shinshu community.

[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'). In Shinran's own words, Shin Buddhism is considered the "Easy Path" because it one is not compelled to perform many difficult, and often esoteric, practices in order to attain higher and higher mental states.

[edit] The Nembutsu

Like other Pure Land Buddhist schools, Amida is a central focus of the Buddhist practice, and Jodo Shiinshu expresses this devotion through a chanting practice called the nembutsu (念仏), or "Mindfulness of the Buddha [Amida]. The nembutsu is simply reciting the phrase Namu Amida Butsu (南無阿弥陀仏) ("I take refuge in Amida Buddha"). Jodo Shinshu is not the first school of Buddhism to practice the nembutsu but it 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. It is simply an affirmation of one's gratitude.

Note that this is in contrast to the related Jodo Shu school which promoted a combonation of repetition of the nembutsu and devotion to Amida as a means to birth in the Pure Land. It also contrasts with other Buddhist schools in China and Japan, where the nembutsu was part of a more elaborate ritual.

[edit] The Pure Land

In another departure from more traditional Pure Land schools of Buddhism, Shinran advocated that birth in the Pure Land happened here and now rather than after death. When one entrusts themselves to Amida (shinjin), one is awakened to the Pure Land at that very moment, and sees the world around them as the Pure Land itself.

Many Pure Land Buddhist schools in the time of Shinran felt that birth in the Pure Land was a literal rebirth that occured upon death. Elaborate rituals were used to guarenteed rebirth in the Pure Land, including a common practice where one's fingers were tied by strings to a painting of Amida Buddha. From the perspective of Jodo Shinshu such rituals betrayed a lack of trust in Amida Buddha and relied on self-power, rather than Amida Buddha. Such rituals also favored those who could afford the time and energy to practice them.

[edit] True Entrusting

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. One is letting go of conscious effort in a sense, and simply trusting Amida Buddha, and the nembutsu.

For Jodo Shinshu practitioners, 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] The Tannisho

The 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". While not the largest, nor the most scholarly Jodo Shinshu text, it is one of the most popular because practitioners see Shinran in a more informal setting, and can relate to Shinran's teachings more readily.

For centuries, the text was almost unknown to the majority of Shin Buddhists. In the 15th century Rennyo Shonin, Shinran's descendent, 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 the Tannisho, which indirectly helped to spawn the Dobokai Movement of 1962[1].

[edit] Sub-sects

[1]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. The Honganji 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')[1]. 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] In the context of Japanese culture

Earlier schools of Buddhism that came to Japan, including the Tendai and Shingon sects, gained acceptance because of the way they meshed the Buddhist pantheon with the native Japanese Shinto pantheon. For example, a Shinto god could be seen as a manifestation of a bodhisattva. It is common even to this day to have Shinto shrines within the grounds of some traditional Buddhist temples.

Jōdo Shinshū, on the other hand, intentionally separated itself from the Shinto religion, and left out many superstitious practices of the day. Shinran had felt that such practices would make Jōdo Shinshū unnecessarily complicated, and would confuse the self-power found in rituals and superstition with the other-power of Amida.

Jōdo Shinshū traditionally had an uneasy relationship with older Buddhist schools because its doctrine was often seen as a challenge to their own. On the other hand, newer Buddhist schools in Japan, such as Zen, tended to have a more positive relationship and occasionally shared practices. In popular lore, Rennyo Shonin was good friends with a famous Zen master at the time in Kyoto.

Throughout history, Jōdo Shinshū drew much of its support from lower social classes in Japan who could not devote the time or education to other esoteric Buddhist practices. Famous figures such as the myokonin came from the largely illiterate peasant society, yet left their mark on Japanese literature and spirituality.

[edit] Modern Shin Thinkers

[edit] Shin Patriarchs

Reference:[2]

Shinran is considered the pinnacle of the Pure Land tradition.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Popular Buddhism In Japan: Shin Buddhist Religion & Culture by Esben Andreasen / University of Hawaii Press 1998, ISBN 0-8248-2028-2
  2. ^ Jodo Shinshu: Shin Buddhism in Medieval Japan by James C. Dobbins/p. 3/Indiana University Press, 1989/ISBN: 0253331862
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