Buddhism, Its Schools and Shinran Shonin
by
Rev. Kurt Rye
For those who identify as Buddhist we know our connection to the Dharma (Buddhist Teachings) is a very personal one. The Buddha said there were as many ways to understand the Dharma as there are people in the world. Yet Buddhism is divided into many schools all with different interpretation of the sutras (doctrines), rituals and practices.
What are the differences in the various Buddhist schools? All schools have a common core of Buddhist ideals such as the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. Moreover, the different schools tend to focus on a particular Sutra that then becomes the focal point of doctrinal thought for each school. For example, in the Tendai and Nichren Schools, the Lotus Sutra is the primal doctrine. For Jodo Shinshu the Three Pure Land Sutras are the main Sutras revered and studied.
Jodo Shinshu is one of the schools referred to as the Pure Land School. The Pure Land School is part of the Mahayana Buddhist movement. Mahayana Buddhism unlike Theravada Buddhism redirects the focus from the practices that Sakyamuni performed to reach enlightenment to a spiritual model that focuses on the essence of enlightenment itself and incorporates many different non-monastic practices to reach this end.
Honen Shonin (1133-1212), a Tendai monk had difficulty finding spiritual gratification in
the traditional monastic Tendai School in which he had studied for many years. At this time Honen and other Japanese monks of this era vitalized the concept of one practice. Instead of spending years to master many different spiritual practices, individuals could instead focus on one practice which made it more realistic for the average person to master. Honen solely focused on the Pure Land practice of nembutsu recitation.
Our founder Shinran Shonin (1173-1262) was also a Tendai monk who left the Tendai School and monastery and began his study with Honen. Shinran was one of many disciples of Honen. Shinran agreed with Honen’s concept of one practice, the nembutsu, and dedicated the rest of his life to the study and propagation of the Pure Land teachings.
Shinran did not intend to start a new school of Pure Land Buddhism. Yet others after his death used his collected writings known, as the Kyōgyōshinshō, which contained his in depth analysis of Pure Land Buddhism and formalized what became Jodo Shinshu. After his death in addition to his writings a mausoleum was establishment in Kyoto that further focused attention and helped to establish Jodo Shinshu as a new school of Buddhism. With the institutional support of his family and the work of Tendai monks using the Kyōgyōshinshō as a guide the Jodo Shinshu School slowly became established. It would take several hundred years for the institution we know as the Hongwanji, our head temple in Kyoto, to develop. The Jodo Shinshu teachings came to the U.S. mainland 125 years ago and continues to cultivate the Buddha Dharma as envisioned by Shinran Shonin over 700 years ago.
It is the Shin Buddhist legacy to continue to develop in order for the Shin teachings to remain relevant and a guide for those living in the 21st
century. Let us be grateful for the causes and conditions that allowed the early Japanese immigrants to bring the Shin teachings to the United States for our current Sangha as well as future generations.
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