was a former monk of the

Tendai , also known as the Tendai Lotus School (天台法華宗 ''Tendai hokke shū,'' sometimes just "''hokke shū''") is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition (with significant esoteric elements) officially established in Japan in 806 by the Japanese m ...

Buddhist sect and controversial disciple of

Hōnen was the religious reformer and founder of the first independent branch of Japanese Pure Land Buddhism called . He is also considered the Seventh Jōdo Shinshū Patriarch. Hōnen became a Tendai initiate at an early age, but grew disaffected and ...

who advocated the that led to his public censure, his later expulsion by Hōnen and eventual exile to

Shikoku is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is long and between wide. It has a population of 3.8 million (, 3.1%). It is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu. Shikoku's ancient names include ''Iyo-no-futana-shima'' (), '' ...

. Kōsai taught that one recitation of Amitabha Buddha's name, the

nembutsu Nianfo (, Japanese: , , vi, niệm Phật) is a term commonly seen in Pure Land Buddhism. In the context of Pure Land practice, it generally refers to the repetition of the name of Amitābha. It is a translation of Sanskrit '' '' (or, "recolle ...

, would be sufficientJodo Shu Research Institute
Jokaku-bo Kosai (1163-1247) The Single Calling
/ref> for rebirth in the

Pure Land A pure land is the celestial realm of a buddha or bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism. The term "pure land" is particular to East Asian Buddhism () and related traditions; in Sanskrit the equivalent concept is called a buddha-field (Sanskrit ). Th ...

, and that further recitations would indicate a lack of faith on the part of the believer. Thus, he taught a path strictly based on faith without any Buddhist practice, which drew criticism from established Buddhist sects at the time, and even Hōnen's other disciples. After Hōnen's primary patron,

Kujō Kanezane , also known as , is the founder of the Kujō family (at the encouragement of Minamoto no Yoritomo), although some sources cite Fujiwara no Morosuke (908-960) as its founder. Kanezane organised the compilation of the Kitano Tenjin Engi, the histo ...

complained in a letter to Hōnen expressing confusion, Hōnen censured Kōsai, and asked his other disciples to sign a seven-article pledge agreeing to adhere to wholesome Buddhist conduct, as well as not slandering other teachings. Unrepentant, Kōsai, continued to teach his doctrine, and like other disciples, was exiled from Kyoto in 1207 during the Karoku Persecution. Kōsai continued to teach the single-recitation method of Pure Land Buddhism in Shikoku, and gathered other followers before his sect was discredited and died out. Among his harshest and most vocal critics was

Benchō , was a Japanese Buddhist monk and second patriarch of the main Chinzei branch of the Jōdo-shū sect of Japanese Buddhism, after Hōnen. In Jodo Shu Buddhism, he is often called by adherents as or . According to biographies, he first ordained as ...

, another disciple of Hōnen.

References

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External links

* * * Jodo Shu Research Institute
Shichikajo-kishomon (Seven Article Pledge)
Japanese Buddhist clergy Jōdo-shū Buddhist priests Kamakura period Buddhist clergy 1163 births 1247 deaths {{Buddhism-stub