Shoko (Buddhist)

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Shoko (1162-1238) is considered the second patriarch of the Jodo Shu sect of Japanese Buddhism, after Hōnen. He is often called by another name: Benchō. According to biographies, he first met Hōnen in 1197. Later, after Hōnen and many of his followers were exiled in 1207, Shoko was exiled on the island of Kyūshū and taught the practice of the nembutsu there.

Unlike other disciples of Hōnen, Shoko favored studying the more traditional Buddhist paths along with the and the Pure Land path. He also criticizing the interpretations by other disciples of Hōnen, Kōsai and Shōkū, who emphasized the nembutsu over other practices.

There exists a famous dialogue between Hōnen and Shoko regarding the worthiness of one's nembutsu practice:

One day Hōnen asked Shoko, "Which nembutsu practice is better Awanosuke's or Hōnen's?" Shoko replied, "Of course, Hōnen's nembutsu practice is better than Awanosuke's." Upon hearing this, Hōnen reproved him, saying, "How long have you been studying the meaning of the nembutsu? There is not the slightest difference between the two, because both of us have the same intention of wanting to attain Birth in the Buddha's Pure Land."

[edit] References

• The History of Honen's Disciples
• The Jodo Shu official biography of Honen
• Hattori, Sho-on (2001). A Raft from the Other Shore : Honen and the Way of Pure Land Buddhism. Jodo Shu Press, 10. ISBN 4883633292.