Shinran

Shinran (1173 – 1263) was a Buddhist monk, known for starting the True Pure Land sect. His posthumous title was Kenshin Daishi.

He was born in Hino (now a part of Fushimi, Kyoto). His parents came from a branch of the Fujiwara clan. Shinran’s birth name was Matsuwakamaro. He was also known by other names, including Hanen, Shakku and Zenshin The name Shinran, itself, is a combination of the names Seshin and Donran (Chinese Buddhist monks of the True Pure Land sect).  Early in Shinran’s life his parents both died. In 1181, he entered the Shoren-in temple near present-day Maruyama Park in Kyoto. With the death of his parents, he was acutely aware of his own impermanence. He later practiced at Mt. Hiei for the next 20 years.

Shinran became frustrated and took a retreat at the temple of Rokkadu-dō. There he experienced a vision in which Avalokitesvara (a bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas) appeared to him as Prince Shōtoku, directing him to another disillusioned Tendai monk, Hōnen. In 1201, Shinran met Hōnen and became his disciple. Under Hōnen’s guidance, Shinran attained enlightenment through Amida’s Vow.

During his time as Hōnen’s disciple, Shinran caused a great stir by publicly marrying Eshinni (with whom he had seven children) in violation of his vow of celibacy and by eating meat. Both practices were forbidden for monks, but Shinran wanted to show that Amida’s salvation is for all people and not just for monks. Shinran rejected the monk’s life. He said all that was required was faith.

In 1207, the Buddhist establishment in Kyoto persuaded the military to impose a nembutsu ban, after an incident where two of Hōnen’s most prominent followers were accused of using nembutsu practice as a cover-up for sexual liaisons. Hōnen and Shinran were exiled. Shinran was defrocked and sent to Echigo Province (contemporary Niigata Prefecture). Hōnen and Shinran never met each other again. 

Having been stripped of his monastic name, Shinran renamed himself Gutoku Shinran (“Foolish, bald-headed one”), as he was neither monk nor layman.

Although Shinran was in exile and Hōnen’s community was disrupted, the exile itself proved to be a critical turning point in Shinran’s career.  He continued Hōnen’s work, spreading the doctrine of salvation through Amida Buddha’s compassion, as expressed through the nembutsu practice. However, in time his teachings diverged from Hōnen enough that later followers would use the term Jōdo Shinshū or “True [Essence of the] Pure Land Sect,” as opposed to Jōdo-shū or “Pure Land Sect.”

In 1211, the nembutsu ban was lifted and Shinran was pardoned.  Shinran went to Inada, a small area in Kantō north of Tokyo. In 1224 Shinran authored his most significant text, Kyogyoshinsho, which is a series of selections and commentaries on Buddhist sutras supporting the new Pure Land Buddhist movement.

Age of Dharma decline

Shinran, like others in Honen’s community, felt that the age of Dharma Decline was inevitable and that people were no longer capable of maintaining Buddhist practice, let alone enlightenment. Thus, one could only rely upon the vow of Amitābha Buddha, the “Primal Vow,” for rebirth in the Pure Land.

Jōdo Shinshū

Jōdo Shinshū (“True Pure Land”) was founded by Shinran in 1224.  It was influenced by Jōdo-shū and Tendai. It doctrine is nembutsu no shinjin (“nianfo of true entrusting” or “Homage to Infinite Light,” that is, saying nianfo, “namu Amida Butsu,” is a declaration of faith in Amida’s salvation plan for the individual rather than a plan for salvation.

While Shinran’s teachings and beliefs were generally consistent with the Pure Land Buddhist movement, he also had idiosyncrasies as well: Shinran acknowledged the religious practices of Japan outside the Buddhist tradition, including Shinto kami, spirits, divination, astrology, etc., but he believed that they were irrelevant in comparison to the power of Amitabha Buddha. 

In 1234 Shinran returned to Kyoto, with his daughter Kakushinni. Shinran died in Kyoto at the age of 90. Kakushinni maintained the mausoleum and passed on his teachings. Her descendants ultimately headed the Hongan-ji Temples near Kyoto station.

There is a statue of Shinran in Upper West Side Manhattan, in New York City in front of the New York Buddhist Church brought there in 1955, depicting Shinran in a peasant hat and sandals, holding a wooden staff, as he peers down on the sidewalk. This statue is notable because it survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, standing a little more than a mile from the center of the blast.