The , also known as the ''Lamentations of Divergences'', is a late 13th century short Buddhist text generally thought to have been written by Yuien, a disciple of

Shinran ''Popular Buddhism in Japan: Shin Buddhist Religion & Culture'' by Esben Andreasen, pp. 13, 14, 15, 17. University of Hawaiʻi Press 1998, . was a Japanese Buddhist monk, who was born in Hino (now a part of Fushimi, Kyoto) at the turbulent clos ...

. In the ''Tannishō'', Yuien is concerned about the rising doctrinal divergences that emerged in

Jōdo Shinshū , also known as Shin Buddhism or True Pure Land Buddhism, is a school of Pure Land Buddhism founded by the former Tendai Japanese monk Shinran. Shin Buddhism is the most widely practiced branch of Buddhism in Japan. History Shinran (founder) S ...

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

after the death of their founder, so he wrote down dialogues between himself and

that he could recall when his master was alive. According to Yuien's own writing in the preface: Many of the conversations found in the ''Tannishō'' are candid when compared to more formal religious texts, and this may explain some of the popularity of the ''Tannishō'' among Jōdo Shinshū Buddhists. The ''Tannishō'' allows Jōdo Shinshū Buddhists to peer into the mind of Shinran and see how he felt about practicing Jōdo Shinshū. The ''Tannishō'' was also a major impetus for the start of the Dobokai MovementPopular Buddhism in Japan: Shin Buddhist Religion & Culture by Esben Andreasen, pp. 72/ University of Hawaii Press 1998, . among the Higashi Hongwan-ji branch of Jōdo Shinshū.

Format

The ''Tannishō''Shojun Bandō, Harold Stewart, Ann T. Rogers, Minor L. Rogers (trans.)
Tannishō: Passages Deploring Deviations of Faith and Rennyo Shōnin Ofumi: The Letters of Rennyo
Berkeley: Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research 1996. . is divided into 18 sections (sometimes called chapters), though many of these sections are very short. Some are no longer than a couple of sentences. However, each section deals with a separate doctrinal issue. Sections 1 through 10 focus on Shinran's thoughts with regard to Jōdo Shinshū, the

nembutsu file:玉里華山寺 (21)南無阿彌陀佛古碑.jpg, 250px, Chinese Nianfo carving The Nianfo ( zh, t=wikt:念佛, 念佛, p=niànfó, alternatively in Japanese language, Japanese ; ; or ) is a Buddhist practice central to East Asian Buddhism. ...

and Amida Buddha, while sections 11 through 18 deal with heretical ideas that Yuien wanted to dispel or correct on the basis of what Shinran had taught him. Further, an appendix discusses the history of the exile of

and other disciples of the Pure Land movement, including his teacher

Hōnen , also known as Genkū, was the founding figure of the , the first independent branch of Japanese Pure Land Buddhism. Hōnen became a Tendai initiate at an early age, but grew disaffected and sought an approach to Buddhism that all people of all ...

, from the capitol during the reign of Emperor Go-oba. Finally, a postscript, composed by

Rennyo Rennyo (, 1415–1499) was the 8th Monshu (Patriarch) of the Hongan-ji Temple of the Jōdo Shinshū sect of Buddhism, and descendant of founder Shinran. Jodo Shinshu Buddhists often referred to him as the restorer of the sect ( in Japanese). He ...

states that:

Notable Quotations

From chapter 3: From chapter 8:

References

External links

The World of the Tannisho, including original Japanese text
provided by the

Higashi Honganji , or, "the Eastern Monastery of the Original Vow", is one of two dominant sub-sects of Shin Buddhism in Japan and abroad, the other being Nishi Honganji (or, 'The Western Temple of the Original Vow'). It is also the name of the head temple of th ...

The ''Tannisho''
- translated by Dr. Taitetsu Unno
''Unlocking Tannisho: Shinran's Words on the Pure Land Path''
by Kentetsu Takamori, translated by Juliet Winters Carpenter, Ichimannendo Publishing, 2011 {{ISBN, 978-0-9790471-5-2

by Rev Josho Adrian Cirlea, Dharma Lion Publication, 2011 Jōdo Shinshū Buddhist belief and doctrine Early Middle Japanese texts Japanese Buddhist texts Kamakura-period books about Buddhism