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Saint Shinran |
The Founder of Shinshu Pure Land Buddhism1173 - 1262 |
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The life of Shinran
1201 Becomes a follower of Honen, who preached the Tarikinenbutsu (a form of Buddhist prayer). 1207 Is exiled to the capital of Echigo (Joetsu City, in Niigata Prefecture), after the Senjunenbutsu was banned. 1209 Marries Eshinni, a woman from Itakura, in the Joetsu region. 1211 Receives a pardon, but continues to live in Joetsu for another 2 years. 1214 Moves to Hitachi (Ibaraki Prefecture) where he directs the completion of the Kyogyoshinsho, the fundamental canon of Shinshu Pure Land Buddhism, which he had started writing during his period of exile in Echigo. Pleased with the completion of the work, he names his current hermitage Jokoji and uses it as a base for his missionary activities in that area. 1235 Returns to Kyoto. 1252 Eshinni, his wife, returns to her hometown of Itakura. 1262 Dies. |
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The founder of Shinshu Pure Land Buddhism, Shinran, was sent into exile in Joetsu during the Kamakura era (1185 - 1333). Shinran preached the Senjunenbutsu (a form of Buddhist prayer - see below for explanation) in this area. He also began writing the Kyogyoshinsho, the fundamental canon of the Shinshu Pure Land sect, during his time here. When it was completed, he was overjoyed and gave the name Jokoji to the hermitage in which he had lived. Jokoji Temple is in Teramachi, the temple quarter of Joetsu City, and was established 48 years before Honganji Temple in Kyoto. When it was first established, Jokoji was in Hitachi (modern-day Ibaraki Prefecture), but moved to Shinshu (modern-day Nagano Prefecture) and then, after being destroyed during the Battle of Kawanakajima, the temple finally moved to Joetsu City, at the request of Uesugi Kenshin, the local lord. Shinshu Pure Land Buddhism This sect teaches that humankind is impure, that it is steeped in sin and fuelled by evil passions. The only purity comes from Amitabha Buddha. It points out that there are limits to humankind's own strength and places emphasis on devoting oneself to the help that comes from Amitabha Buddha. The sect preaches that if one does this, one does not have to wait for the next world, but that one can achieve equal rank with Buddha in this world and be assured of a peaceful death. During the late Middle Ages, about half of the Japanese population were followers of the Shinshu Pure Land sect. Followers of this sect do not believe in any Buddha other than Amitabha Buddha. In places where there were a large number of followers of Shinshu Pure Land, there were no murders and no cases of infanticide. The Senjunenbutsu The founder of Pure Land Buddhism, Honen, preached that the end of the Heian Era (794 - 1185) was a time of frequent wars, natural disasters, famine and plague. During his training under Honen, Shinran came to believe in the teaching that by believing in Amitabha Buddha's mercy and repeating the prayer "namu amida butsu" (I sincerely believe in Amitabha), one was assured of a peaceful death. As a result of the speed with which the Senjunenbutsu became popular, the temples of Mount Hiei and Nara were swift to list it as an error in Honen's doctrine when they petitioned the Imperial Court to ban it. In 1207, rumours that 2 of the court ladies were in secret communication with Honen's disciples, led to Honen and Shinran being sent into exile. Eshinni
A memorial to Eshinni Eshinni was the daughter of a family from Itakura, Kubiki County, who married Shinran around 1209. She went with Shinran when he moved to Hitachi and Kyoto, but returned to Echigo in her later years. |
