is a branch of

Jōdo-shū , also known as Jōdo Buddhism, is a branch of Pure Land Buddhism derived from the teachings of the Japanese ex-Tendai monk Hōnen. It was established in 1175 and is the most widely practiced branch of Buddhism in Japan, along with Jōdo Shi ...

Buddhism that was founded by

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 ...

's disciple,

Shōkū , sometimes called , was a disciple of Hōnen, founder of the Jōdo-shū Buddhist sect. Shōkū later succeeded Jōhen, another disciple of Hōnen, as the head of a former Shingon Buddhist temple, Eikan-dō Zenrin-ji, Eikandō, established a separ ...

. Shōkū often went by the name ''Seizan'' as well, however the name derives from the western mountains of

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

where Shōkū often dwelt. The main temple of this branch of Buddhism is at the temple of Eikandō in the city of

. The temple formerly served as a

Shingon file:Koyasan (Mount Koya) monks.jpg, Shingon monks at Mount Koya is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asia, originally spread from India to China through traveling monks suc ...

Buddhist temple, but when Jōhen headed the temple, he took an interest in Jōdo Buddhism (originally in order to criticize it), designated Hōnen as the 11th chief priest. Later, Hōnen's disciple became the head priest of Eikan-dō, and established the Seizan branch, fully converting the temple into a Jōdo one.

Doctrine

As a branch of Jōdo, the central practice is devotion to Amida Buddha, and recitation of 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 ...

. Shōkū coined the term ''shiraki no nembutsu'', which refers to a practice where one devotes themselves to intense study of Buddhist literature, and then recites the

with deep, sincere faith. The idea behind ''shiraki no nembutsu'' is to demonstrate that in the age of

Mappo The Three Ages of Buddhism, also known as the Three Ages of the Dharma (), are three divisions of time following Shakyamuni Buddha's death and passing into Nirvana in East Asian Buddhism. Three Ages The Three Ages of Buddhism are three divis ...

, people cannot achieve Enlightenment on their own, and so they should rely on the compassion of Amida Buddha. Seizan Buddhism also seems to incorporate techniques from the

and

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 ...

sects including the use of

mandala A mandala ( sa, मण्डल, maṇḍala, circle, ) is a geometric configuration of symbols. In various spiritual traditions, mandalas may be employed for focusing attention of practitioners and adepts, as a spiritual guidance tool, for e ...

(such as the famous

Taima Mandala The Taima Mandala (當麻曼荼羅,綴織当麻曼荼羅図) is an 8th century mandala in Japanese Pure Land Buddhism. It depicts Sukhavati, the western Pure Land, with the Buddha Amitābha (Japanese: Amida) in the center. The original copy was ...

), and other ascetic practices. Shōkū, its founder, was said to recite the nembutsu 60,000 times a day and would endure other ascetic practices. Unlike some of Hōnen's disciples, such as

Kōsai was a former monk of the Tendai Buddhist sect and controversial disciple of Hōnen who advocated the that led to his public censure, his later expulsion by Hōnen and eventual exile to Shikoku. Kōsai taught that one recitation of Amitabha Budd ...

, who attempted to eschew other Buddhist practices in favor of the

, the Seizan branch attempted to organize all Buddhist practices into a hierarchy, with the nembutsu being the foremost practice. This is a similar approach to that found in

and

Kegon The Huayan or Flower Garland school of Buddhism (, from sa, अवतंसक, Avataṃsaka) is a tradition of Mahayana Buddhist philosophy that first flourished in China during the Tang dynasty (618-907). The Huayan worldview is based prima ...

sects of Buddhism. In Seizan thought, it is thought that practices other than the nembutsu do contain some merit, but not equal to even one recitation of the

References

External links

Eikandō's official website
Contains history of Jōdo Shū, the Seizan branch and Shōkū * Jodo Shu Research Institute (1996-2006)

Jōdo-shū {{Buddhism-stub