Genshin (源信 942– died July 6 1017), also known as
Eshin Sozu, was the most influential of a number of
Tendaiis a Japanese school of Mahayana Buddhism, a descendant of the Chinese Tiantai or Lotus Sutra school.Chappell frames the relevance of Tendai for a universal Buddhism:- History :...
scholars active during the tenth and eleventh centuries in
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. He was not a wandering evangelist as Kūya was, but was an elite cleric who espoused a doctrine of devotion to Amida Buddha which taught that because Japan was thought to have entered
mappōMappo, or The Latter Day of the Law, is one of the Three Ages of Buddhism. Mappō , which is also translated as the Age of Dharma Decline, is the "degenerate" Third Age of Buddhism. Traditionally, this Age is supposed to begin 2,000 years after Sakyamuni Buddha's passing and lasts for "10,000 years"...
, the "degenerate age" of the "latter law," the only hope for
salvationIn religion, salvation is the concept that God or other Higher Power, as part of Divine Providence, "saves" humanity from spiritual death or eternal damnation by providing for them an eternal life...
lay in the reliance on the power of Amitabha.
Genshin (源信 942– died July 6 1017), also known as
Eshin Sozu, was the most influential of a number of
Tendaiis a Japanese school of Mahayana Buddhism, a descendant of the Chinese Tiantai or Lotus Sutra school.Chappell frames the relevance of Tendai for a universal Buddhism:- History :...
scholars active during the tenth and eleventh centuries in
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. He was not a wandering evangelist as Kūya was, but was an elite cleric who espoused a doctrine of devotion to Amida Buddha which taught that because Japan was thought to have entered
mappōMappo, or The Latter Day of the Law, is one of the Three Ages of Buddhism. Mappō , which is also translated as the Age of Dharma Decline, is the "degenerate" Third Age of Buddhism. Traditionally, this Age is supposed to begin 2,000 years after Sakyamuni Buddha's passing and lasts for "10,000 years"...
, the "degenerate age" of the "latter law," the only hope for
salvationIn religion, salvation is the concept that God or other Higher Power, as part of Divine Providence, "saves" humanity from spiritual death or eternal damnation by providing for them an eternal life...
lay in the reliance on the power of Amitabha. Other
doctrine
Doctrine is a codification of beliefs or "a body of teachings" or "instructions", taught principles or positions, as the body of teachings in a branch of knowledge or belief system...
s, he claimed, could not aid an individual because they depended on "self-power" (
jiriki), which cannot prevail during the chaos of the degenerate age, when the power of another (
tariki) is necessary. In his approach to rebirth in the Pure Land, Genshin emphasized visual meditation practices, where later
Pure LandPure land in the Buddhadharma is an English rendering of the celestial realm or pure abode of a buddha or bodhisattva. Various Buddhadharma traditions have arisen that focus on Pure Lands in various capacities, especially what has been given the nomenclature Pure Land Buddhism...
sects favored verbal recitations such as the nembutsu. Genshin's doctrine is documented in his
magnum opusMagnum opus , from the Latin meaning great work, refers to the largest, and perhaps the best, greatest, most popular, or most renowned achievement of an author, artist, or composer.The term Great Work is also used in several...
, the , which in later copies of the text came complete with graphic depictions of the
joyHappiness is a state of mind or feeling characterized by contentment, love, satisfaction, pleasure, or joy. A variety of philosophical, religious, psychological and biological approaches have striven to define happiness and identify its sources....
of the
blessedA blessing, is the infusion of something with holiness, divine will, or one's hope or approval.- Etymology and Germanic paganism :...
and the suffering of those doomed to
chaosChaos typically refers to a state lacking order or predictability. In ancient Greece, it referred to the initial state of the universe, and, by extension, space, darkness, or an abyss...
.
Genshin's influence in contemporary Japanese culture today is primarily due to his treatise,
ŌjōyōshūThe was an influential medieval Buddhist text composed in 985 by the Japanese Buddhist monk Genshin. Three volumes in length and in kanbun prose, the text expounds on Pure Land Buddhist thought, with emphasis on methods to attain rebirth in the Pure Land of Amida Buddha, drawing upon earlier...
, particularly the graphic descriptions of the Buddhist
hellIn many religious traditions, Hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife, often in the underworld. Religions with a linear divine history often depict Hell as endless...
realms (地獄
jigoku), which inspired a genre of horror and morality stories. The 1960 Japanese film
Jigokuis a 1960 Japanese horror film, directed by Nobuo Nakagawa and starring Utako Mitsuya and Shigeru Amachi. Jigoku was re-made in 1970 by Tatsumi Kumashiro, and later re-made again under the title of Japanese Hell by Teruo Ishii in 1999....
was influenced by Genshin's Ōjōyōshū among others. In
Jodo Shinshu, also known as Shin Buddhism, is a school of Pure Land Buddhism. It was founded by the former Tendai Japanese monk Shinran Shonin. Today, Shin Buddhism is considered the most widely practiced branch of Buddhism in Japan.-Shinran :...
Buddhism, he is considered the Sixth
PatriarchThe Seven Patriarchs of Jodo Shinshu were seven Buddhist monks who helped to develop Pure Land Buddhism over time. Shinran, founder of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism, established a lineage for Pure Land Buddhist thought that traced all the way to the time of Shakyamuni Buddha...
.
Genshin is credited as the founder of the
Enshin school of
Tendaiis a Japanese school of Mahayana Buddhism, a descendant of the Chinese Tiantai or Lotus Sutra school.Chappell frames the relevance of Tendai for a universal Buddhism:- History :...
Buddhism, and for espousing the "original enlightenment" teaching, or
hongaku (本覚), where one is originally enlightened, but unaware of it. In all, Genshin left more than 30 works which continue to influence Pure Land thought today.
The image of Amida Nyorai in the main building of Yasaka-ji Temple in Shikoku is said to have been made by Genshin in the
Nara PeriodThe of the history of Japan covers the years from AD 710 to 794. Empress Gemmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō . Except for 5 years , when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capital of Japanese civilization until Emperor Kammu established a new capital, Nagaoka-kyō, in 784...
.
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