Shinran and the True Pure Land Devotion

Shinran, the son of a minor aristocrat in Kyoto, grew up on Mt Hiei after he was orphaned at an early age. During his study he became a dedicated ascetic, devoting himself to the most rigorous practices. Years went by, but Shinran felt empty and grew more and more distant with his peers and the strong politics of the Tendai sect.

At age 29 he went on a retreat to Rokkaku-do temple in the city. During his stay there, Shinran had a vision of Kannon who manifested as a woman for his pleasure and assured him entry to the Pure Land. This vision changed his beliefs and thinking for the rest of his life.

Shinran abandoned asceticism and went to study with Honen, who was forty years older. Shinran became again a devoted disciple.

When Honen was exiled in 1207, when two of his followers were persuading court women to join the Honen's sect to the disgrace of the emperor, Shinran was banished as well. Instead of following Honen to Shikoku, he made his way north to Echigo (now Niigata Prefecture) and then the Hitachi province (now Ibaraki prefecture), where he spent 20 years of his life.

Shinran’s belief after years of asceticism had changed and he started to eat fish and meat, and had wife and children. He didn’t see himself as a traditional monk anymore, but was still looking for truth and salvation in his own way. As he put it: “Neither monk nor laity”. For traditional Buddhism he was highly heretic. Shinran was putting emphasis consciousness instead of countless repetitions of thenembutsuand claimed that anybody can reach salvation. You just need to need to shout the nembutsu only once, with the words really ‘coming from your guts’.

Shinran eventually returned to Kyoto, working on his belief and taught that anybody would be welcomed to the Pure Land. The good as well as the evil. Good people assume to have earned the right to enter the Pure Land. Bad people are driven by their imperfect soul to better themselves and Shinran said:

“.. And from there on, there is no necessity for any other good deed … there is no need to fear to commit an evil action, for no evil can stand in the way of the original vow of Amida.”

This stood against everything the other sects were teaching at the time.

Shinran died aged 89. Before he died, he told his followers to throw his body into the Kamo River which showed his distance from worldly attachments.

His followers however set up a mausoleum for him in Yamashina near Kyoto, which quickly became a pilgrimage place. Eventually, it grew to be the True Pure Land Devotion sect (Jodo-Shin-Shu 浄土真宗).

The two Honganji temples (Higashi & Nishi) stand evidence for the outreach that the True Pure Land Devotion has had and the founders' halls inside show the importance of Shinran as a prophet-like figure, like Honen was to his sect, the Pure Land Devotion (Jodo-Shu 浄土宗).

After Honen needed liberation from the Tendai sect's politics, Shinran went through similar struggles, but to Shinran, Honen's approach to Amida didn't go far enough. He wanted people to know that Amida buddha welcomes anybody, even without years of meditation. This proofed to be especially popular in the rural regions of Japan. To the point that even now, Jodo-Shin-Shu is one of the biggest Buddhist sects in Japan.