Influences of the Pure Land Teachings from Wutaishan—Fazhao (Hōshō) on Hōnen and Shinran

Abstract

Lushan 廬山 and Wutaishan 五臺山 have long occupied important positions in East Asian Buddhism as sacred sites. The wuhui nianfo 五会念仏 and Pure Land philosophy initiated by Fazhao 法照 (746–838) on Wutaishan greatly influenced the development of both rituals and the philosophy of Pure Land Buddhism in Japan. In this paper, I examine how Fazhao’s idea of the wuhui nianfo and salvation in Pure Land Buddhism influenced the transformational movement of Japanese Pure Land Buddhism in the 13th century. Hōnen’s 法然 (1133–1212) disciples, Seikaku 聖覚 (1167–1235) and Shinran 親鸞 (1173–1263), among others, wrote works in response to criticisms of Hōnen from Tendai 天台 and Hossō 法相 monks, in which they cited Fazhao’s wuhui nianfo thought to develop arguments in defense of Hōnen’s teachings. I examine how Hōnen, Seikaku, and Shinran were influenced by Fazhao’s Pure Land thought during the Kamakura-era (1185–1333) when the transformational Pure Land movement developed in Japan. Fazhao’s Pure Land thought responded to criticisms against Pure Land Buddhism of his own time. Similarly, Hōnen, Seikaku, and Shinran carried out their role in their own way, guided by Chinese Pure Land masters such as Shandao 善導 (613–681) and Fazhao. Shinran carefully interprets Fazhao’s thought so that it is not misunderstood as insisting on self-indulgence and antinomianism. Shinran intended to make clear that Fazhao’s intention was to reveal the universal working of Amida’s Vow. Furthermore, Shinran developed the ideas of shinjin 信心 and other power 他力 reflecting on it. Fazhao’s passages inspired Shinran’s deep religious awakening about the meaning of Amida’s Vow, shinjin, and other power. Shinran also composed Japanese hymns in the form of Imayō 今様, which were sung with melodies akin to the wuhui nianfo.

1. Introduction

Lushan 廬山 and Wutaishan 五臺山 have long occupied important positions in East Asian Buddhism as sacred sites. Especially in the Pure Land Buddhism traditions, Lushan is considered the birthplace of Pure Land practices. Lushan Huiyuan 廬山慧遠 (334–416) founded Donglinsi 東林寺 at the foot of Lushan in 386 and established the White Lotus Society 白蓮社, a community dedicated to Amitābha or Amida (hereafter Amida) Buddha and the Pure Land in 402. Because of this, Huiyuan was posthumously named the first patriarch of the Pure Land school in Chinese Buddhist texts. Wutaishan was also a sacred place since ancient times, known even as a mystical site, inhabited by divine spirits before the arrival of Buddhism. There were repeated visionary encounters with the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī 文殊師利菩薩 during the fifth century by pilgrims and hermits who fostered the belief that Wutaishan is the earthly abode of Mañjuśrī. Particularly after the mid-Tang (618–907) dynasty, Wutaishan became renowned as a major center for Buddhist practice and study, as high priests of Tiantai, Huayan 華嚴, East Asian Yogācāra (Faxiang 法相), Esoteric Buddhism, chan 禪, and Pure Land Buddhism successively came to Wutaishan to train their disciples.

In 838, Ennin 円仁 (779–864), a Japanese Tendai 天台宗 monk, traveled to China and made a pilgrimage to Wutaishan in 840. He encountered the wuhui nianfo 五会念仏 ritual, which was initiated by Fazhao 法照 (746–838). Fazhao had already passed away in Taiyuan 太原 two years before Ennin’s visit to Wutaishan. Ennin visited Taiyuan and copied Fazhao’s Wuhui fashi zantu wuhui nianfo fashi yizan 浄土五会念仏法事儀讃 (hereinafter referred to as the Wuhui fashi zan 五会法事讃) or the Ritual Manual of the Five-Tempo Intonation of the Name of the Buddha for Recitation of Scripture and Contemplation of Pure Land. The wuhui nianfo is a ritual for reciting the nianfo accompanied by musical scales, which is elucidated in the Larger Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra.1 Fazhao also writes in the beginning of the Wuhui fashi zan where he engaged in the practice of the nianfo samādhi at the Amida Terrace of the Mount Nanyu 南岳弥陀台 in 766, and he mysteriously reached the Pure Land and learned the wuhui nianfo from Amida Buddha.2 Ennin encountered this wuhui nianfo ritual imbued with melodies for the first time. Being moved by its solemn atmosphere, Ennin sought to practice it at Mount Hiei 比叡山upon his return to Japan. According to Ennin’s instructions given at the Jōgyōzanmaidō 常行三昧堂, or the hall of walking meditation, an Amida Buddha statue was placed in the center of this hall built in the Eastern Tower 東塔 area of Mount Hiei, where the wuhui nianfo ritual was performed. After this, the wuhui nianfo and Pure Land philosophy initiated by Fazhao greatly influenced the development of rituals and the philosophy of Pure Land Buddhism in Japan.

Nianfo (Nenbutsu) practice at this time was not treated as an independent practice for attaining Buddhahood on its own within the Tendai sect, but rather as a supplement to complete other practices. Under such circumstances, Hōnen 法然 (1133–1212), who practiced and studied for 40 years on Mount Hiei, came across Shandao’s 善導 (613–681) understanding of nenbutsu practice as elucidated in the Guanwuliangshou jingshu 観無量寿経疏 (Commentary to the Book of the Visualization of Amida). He then decided to abandon Tendai practices and began to teach the exclusive practice of the nenbutsu (senju nenbutsu 専修念仏) to be born in the Pure Land and attain Buddhahood, thus declaring the independence of the Pure Land sect.

In this paper, I first examine the historical and philosophical background of Fazhao’s idea of the wuhui nianfo. Then, I address how Fazhao’s characteristic Pure Land ritual, the wuhui nianfo, was transmitted to Japan and influenced the development of Japanese Pure Land Buddhism, especially within the Tendai tradition. Finally, consider how the Japanese transformational Pure Land movement in thirteenth century was stimulated by Fazhao’s Pure Land thought, focusing on Hōnen and Shinran’s 親鸞 (1173–1263) nenbutsu thought and teachings.

2. Zenryū Tsukamoto’s Understanding of Fazhao’s Pure Land Thought

Zenryū Tsukamoto 塚本善隆 (1898–1980), who left a significant mark on the progress of the study of Chinese Pure Land Buddhism in Japan, pointed out as follows:

After Hōnen, Japanese Pure Land Buddhism flourished under the guidance of Chinese masters such as Tanluan 曇鸞 (476–542), Daochuo 道綽 (562–645), and particularly Shandao; however, in terms of the practice, Fazhao’s influence was significant.

(Tsukamoto 1976, p. 214)

Tsukamoto did an extensive study of Fazhao’s Pure Land thought and published an article titled “Touchuki no Jodokyo Hossho no Kenkyu” 唐中期の浄土教－法照の研究 or “Pure Land Buddhism in the Middle Tang Dynasty: A Study of Fazhao” in 1933, which is included in a book published in 1976. Tsukamoto utilized not only the Buddhist texts available at the time but also historical records, literary collections, and epigraphy —sources not found in the Tripiṭaka—to clarify Fazhao’s deeds and thought. Given the limited number of Fazhao’s extent works, Tsukamoto’s research, which comprehensively examined his writings by comparing them with the contents of other Chinese texts with his vast knowledge, is accepted as the established view till today. Tsukamoto summarized Fazhao’s life as follows:

• Fazhao was probably from Hanzhong 漢中市 (modern Shaanxi province 陝西省), the same area as his master, Nanyue Chengyuan 南岳承遠 (712–802).
• After ordination, Fazhao entered Lushan and practiced the nianfo sanmei 念仏三昧, and later visited master Chengyuan at Nanyue Hengshan 南嶽衡山.
• Fazhao vowed to practice the Bozhousanmei 般舟三昧 (alt. Banzhou) or *Pratyutpanna-buddha-saṃmukhāvasthita-samādhi for 90 days every summer, at which time he began the practice of wuhui nianfo, a musical recitation of the Buddha’s name. The practice is based on the description in the Larger Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra 無量壽經 that says, “waterfowls and trees in paradise emit the sounds of the five tones.” Fazhao claimed that this Dharma was given directly by Amida during his inspiration, and that the merit and virtue for all sentient beings in the present and future is most expansive.
• In 769, Fazhao made a pilgrimage to Wutaishan and stayed at Foguangsi 仏光寺 and Huayansi 華厳寺. At Wutaishan, he was often inspired and became convinced that nianfo was the appropriate teaching for the times.
• Around 774, he moved to Taiyuan 太原, where he spread the practice of wuhui nianfo and wrote the Wuhui fashi zan.
• Around 787, he returned to Wutaishan with his disciples to continue his activities.
• Around 788, he went to Chang’an 長安, the capital of the Tang dynasty. He was supported by the court and resided at the newly built Zhangjingsi 章敬寺 in Chang’an, where he propagated the practice of wuhui nianfo. He also wrote the Jingtu wuhui nianfo lüe fashi yizan 淨土五會念佛略法事儀讚 or Hymn for the Abridged Ritual Manual of the Five-Tempo Intonation of the Name of the Buddha for Pure Land Dharma Ceremony, which is an abridged edition of the Jìngtu wuhui nianfo songjing guanxing yi 淨土五會念佛誦經觀行儀.
• During the Zhenyuan 貞元 (785–805) period, he built Zhulinsi 竹林寺on Wutaishan (ibid., pp. 376–77).

Fazhao’s dates of birth and death, as well as his place of birth and secular surname, are unknown for certain. According to one theory, Fazhao was born in 746 and died in 838. If we trust the record of Ennin of 840, which states, “Two years have passed since his demise,” then Fazhao must have passed away in 838. In the twenty-first fascicle of the Song gaoseng zhuan 宋高僧伝, it is mentioned that Fazhao was from Xingshi 興勢. Some scholars understand Xingshi as the region of Dadang Village 大灙 in Yang County 洋縣, Hanzhong, Shaanxi province. However, Tsukamoto presumed his birthplace to be Lianghan 梁漢, the same region as his master Chengyuan’s birthplace, that is, Mianzhu County 綿竹縣, Hanzhou 漢州 (Sichuan Province). He referred to the fact that Lianghan did not exist within the administrative districts of the Tang and Song dynasties, but it appeared in literary works of the period as a name of Lianghan. Additionally, the melodious recitation of the Buddha’s name yinsheng nianfo 引声念仏 was practiced in Hanzhou, therefore Tsukamoto insists that Xingshi which appears in the Song gaoseng zhuan is an old name for Mianzhu County, and gives it a background because Fazhao wanted to practice the Bozhou sanmei 般若三昧 at Lushan. Then he visited Chengyuan at Mount Nanyue Hengshang and started the practice of the wuhui nianfo. Here, it seems to be noteworthy to consider the philosophical relationship concerning Fazhao’s ideas about the nianfo contrasted with other Buddhist traditions, including the Chan 禪 sects in Hanzhou, such as master Wuxiang’s 無相 (684–762) practice of the nianfo, but I cannot take that up here.3 Rather, I will briefly address some characteristics of Fazhao’s Pure Land Buddhist practices.

Fazhao’s writings that have survived are on the methods and contents of rituals and ceremonies, and not all of them are extant. Therefore, there is a limit to our comprehensive understanding of Fazhao’s Pure Land teachings. However, from his extant works, the following points can be seen as characteristics of Fazhao’s thought.

Fazhao was greatly influenced by previous Pure Land masters such as Daochuo, Shandao, Cimin 慈愍 (680–748), and Chengyuan. To be more precise, Fazhao mentioned the title of Daochuo’s Anleji 安楽集 (Anthology of the Land of Bliss), but we do not find any quoted passages in extant texts. Fazhao’s direct master, Chengyuan, did not write any texts that we know of, and Chengyuan’s direct master, Cimin’s writings, are not extant today. However, when we examine the quotations from Cimin’s writing in texts ascribed to Fazhao such as the Jingtu wuhui nianfo lüe fashi yizan, they overlap or align with Shandao’s thought. As Fazhao quotes many passages from Shandao’s writings, especially in ritual texts, he fundamentally succeeded in transmitting Shandao’s Pure Land teachings. Therefore, people also called him a “Latter-day Shandao” Hou Shandao 後善導. What makes him unique is the fact that he engaged in spreading the practice of the wuhui nianfo, which utilizes musical elements to perform the nianfo ritual and make it a Pure Land teaching familiar among common people.

Shandao’s Pure Land teachings tried to provide appropriate answers to problems raised by other Buddhist scholar-monks of his time, and he used explanations that seem to have been well received by other schools’ teachers. Shandao tried to defend an original idea of Pure Land Buddhism. Shandao advocated the view that Amitabha is perceived as a reward-body Buddha 報身佛 and that Sukhāvatī 極樂 is a reward-land for beings who are reborn there. He also emphasized the significance of the nianfo as recitation of Amida’s name.

We must also consider that the problems Fazhao faced more than a century after Shandao were naturally different from those Shandao encountered. Therefore, the appropriate responses had to be different as well. To assert the legitimacy of Shandao’s nianfo philosophy, Fazhao either had to distinguish it from the other Buddhist schools or to criticize them, or he had to accept the other schools’ teachings and explain his own Pure Land teachings in such a way that they would be understood by the other schools’ teachers. Fazhao took the latter path (Tsukamoto 1976, p. 491). By incorporating musical elements into nianfo practice, Fazhao made the practice more accessible to common people, while simultaneously endowing the sound of the recitation with sacrality through representing it as the adornment 莊嚴 (alaṃkāra) of Amida Buddha’s Pure Land. He also tried to introduce this practice to contemporary mainstream Buddhist teachings.

The period when Fazhao was active was also when Chan/Zen Buddhism was flourishing. To respond to Chan critics, Fazhao insisted that the Way of the Buddha is to attain the unexcelled and deep dhyāna (wushng shenmiao chanmen) 無上深妙禅門, and further asserted that the nianfo samādhi is the same. He then taught that Chan teachings and chanting the nianfo are the same, and the two should be practiced together or simultaneously.4

In other words, although Fazhao followed the teachings of Daochuo and Shandao, which emphasized the purity and singularity of the nianfo practice and insisted that Pure Land Buddhism was a teaching suited to the times for depraved ordinary people in the age of the Latter Dharma (mofa) 末法, he sought a way to reconcile the doctrine of nianfo practice with both Tiantai and Huayan teachings, as well as with other Buddhist sects of his time. When Fazhao composed the Jingtu wuhui nianfo lüe fashi yizan, he quoted the gāthās (jisong) 偈頌 and hymns in sūtras and various masters’ writings to compose the wuhui nianfo ritual.

Tsukamoto thought that this was the inclination of Fazhao’s time, but he also pointed out that this attitude or approach of reconciliation and cooperation, while enhancing the external form of each teaching, downplayed a unique or distinct development in the form of a Pure Land sect, and made the Pure Land tradition subordinate to other sects in China after the Song dynasty (960–1279) (ibid., pp. 498–99). Yet, the unique characteristics of Fazhao’s Pure Land teaching can be seen in his use of melodious chanting in the wuhui nianfo and the experiential sanctity of the nianfo practice, which associates tone or melody with the music of the Pure Land. Fazhao’s wuhui nianfo was introduced to Japan by the Tendai monk Ennin and profoundly influenced not only the development of Japanese Pure Land Buddhist rituals, but also its philosophical evolution.

3. The Historical Development of Japanese Pure Land and Fazhao’s Wuhui Nianfo

The official introduction of Buddhism to Japan is said to have taken place in the thirteenth year of Emperor Kinmei’s 欽明 reign (534 C.E.). After that, many sūtras, including those of Pure Land Buddhism, were brought to Japan from Korean Peninsula and China.

According to the Nihon Shoki 日本書紀 (the Chronicles of Japan), Eon 恵隠 traveled to Sui (581–618) China in 607 and studied there for thirty-one years. After returning, he lectured on the Larger Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra at the imperial court of Empero Jomei in May of 640.5 This is the earliest record in Japanese history of a lecture on Pure Land Buddhism. We also have examples of Buddhist statues suggesting that devotion to Amitābha or Amitāyus Buddha began around this time. For example, statues of Amida Buddha from the Seventh century, such as the Amida Buddha statue at Kannonji temple 観音寺 and the bronze Amida Buddha statue at Saikyoji temple 西教寺, have been preserved. By the middle of the Seventh century, the recitation and copying of the Tripiṭaka 三藏 was popular, and Pure Land scriptures such as the Larger Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra (Daimuryōukyō 大無量寿経), the Contemplation of the Infinite Life Sūtra (Kanmuryōjukyō 観無量寿経), the Amitābha Sūtra, Amidakyō 阿弥陀経, and the Pratyutpanna-buddha-saṃmukhāvasthita-samādhi-sūtra 般舟三昧経 (Hanjuzanmaikyō), were studied. In addition, we have records to show that Nāgārjuna’s Ten Stages of Bodhisattva Practice 十住毘婆舎論 (Jūjubibasharon), Vasubandhu’s Pure Land Treatise 浄土論 (Jodoron), Tanluan’s Commentary on the Pure Land Treatise 往生論註 (Ōjōronchū), Daochuo’s Collection of Peace and Happiness, and Shandao’s Commentary on the Contemplation Sūtra 観経疏 (Kangyosho) had already been transmitted to Japan. It can be said, therefore, that the foundation for the spread of Pure Land Buddhist studies and belief had already been laid in this sense during the Seventh century. It should be noted that Pure Land sūtras and treatises had already been transmitted during the initial stages of the introduction of Buddhism to Japan. However, devotion to Amida Buddha was still undifferentiated from devotion to Maitreya 弥勒 and was primarily intended for memorial services and offerings for the deceased. As the result, we cannot say that these Pure Land scriptures were especially valued.

In the Eighth century of the Nara period (710–794), changes began to appear in terms of Pure Land faith. While temple construction and sūtra copying were still performed for the sake of posthumous merit and offerings for the deceased, rituals such as Amida repentance rituals also began to be performed. Repentance rituals involve confessing one’s sins, because this ritual was like traditional purification rituals in Japan from ancient times known as harai 祓い. This practice was likely assimilated among some Japanese. One Pure Land sūtras recited often at this time was the Amitābha Sūtra. It is presumed to have been chanted following the manual by Shandao in his Wangsheng lizan 往生礼讃 (the Praise Concerning Birth). During such rituals, they sometimes utilized Pure Land maṇḍalas 浄土曼荼羅, such as the Taima Maṇḍala 当麻曼荼羅 and Chikō Maṇḍala 智光曼荼羅 to contemplate Amida Buddha and he Pure Land. Shandao’s works were transmitted to Japan quite early, but they seem to have had little influence on the philosophical developments of Japanese Pure Land thought at this stage.

Pure Land Buddhism in the early Heian period (794–1185) follows what we saw during the Nara period. However, this was a time of great change, with Saichō 最澄 (766–822) and Kūkai 空海 (774–835) transmitting two new teachings and creating two new sects. Pure Land Buddhism in Japan transformed within this new era.

Saichō’s Tendai sect based its scholarship and teachings on the practices of shikan 止観 (śamatha-vipaśyanā, zhiguan) and shana 遮那 (Mahāvairocana Buddha, Zhena). In particular, shikan involves studying Zhiyi’s 智顗 (538–597) Mohezhiguan 摩訶止観, and its core addresses four types of meditation known as the four types of samādhi. Among these, the most important four our purposes was the nianfo samādhi practice based on the Samādhi Sūtra (Banzhou sanmei jing), which was also called changxing or constant samādhi 常行三昧. This involved walking around Amida Buddha for 90 days while chanting his name, and meditating on him. After Saichō’s death, his disciple Ennin built the Jōgyō Samādhi Hall 常行三昧堂, which housed a golden statue of Amida Buddha in the center, surrounded by bodhisattvas, with the nine grades of the Pure Land depicted on its four walls.

As previously mentioned, Ennin traveled to China in 838. He made a pilgrimage to Wutaishan and encountered the wuhui nianfo 五会念仏 ritual, which was initiated by Fazhao 法照. Fazhao had already passed away in Taiyuan 太原 two years before Ennin’s visit. Ennin also visited Taiyuan and copied Fazhao’s Jingtu wuhui nianfo fashi yizan. Ennin encountered the practice of the wuhui nianfo performed on Wutaishan. It was a nenbutsu (nianfo) method consisting of five sessions, in which the words of nenbutsu and praise were chanted in unison to a musical tune. It required seven days for a single set, with constant chanting practiced for several sets in a row.

Upon returning to Japan in 847, Ennin brought back numerous Buddhist texts, maṇḍalas, and ritual implements. In 854, he became the third abbot of the Tendai sect and played a pivotal role in the reconciling esoteric Buddhist teachings with earlier Tendai teachings; thus, he reconciled the Lotus Sutra’s teachings with the practices of Chinese Esoteric Buddhism. Ennin introduced rituals such as the hokke senbō 法華懺法, the Lotus Repentance Ritual, and the goe nenbutsu 五会念仏 (wuhui nianfo) which was also called Nenbutsu sanmai 念仏三昧or Inzei nenbutsu引声念仏, the melodious nenbutsu. Goe nenbutsu was practiced at the Jōgyō Samādhi Hall as a ‘constant’ samādhi. However, the constant samādhi of Saichō and that of Ennin, though they have the same name, are entirely different in content.6 Ennin’s constant samādhi is called Fudan nenbutsu 不断念仏 or the unceasing nenbutsu. The unceasing nenbutsu literally means chanting the Buddha’s name continuously. Taking seven days for one set, it was practiced for several sets in a row. It is, therefore, practiced similar to goe nenbutsu in the Jōgyō Samādhi Hall. This goe nenbutsu was passed down from Ennin to Sōō 相応 (831–918).

After Sōō, in 968, Ryōgen 良源 (912–985) established the Jōgyō Samadhi Hall at Yokokawa 横川常行堂 (in another of the three precincts of Enryaku-ji 延暦寺 atop Mount Hiei), and the constant nembutsu was established there. The constant nembutsu or goe nenbutsu evoked feelings of paradise in the people of that time, thereby contributing to the spread and popularity of nenbutsu practice.7

The significant achievement of Fazhao’s wuhui nianfo was to transform the previously monotonous chanting of Amida Buddha’s name into a musical ritual, one rich in variation of tempo and rhythm. By incorporating it with the constant samādhi, this Tendai ritual must have produced a solemn atmosphere to those who witnessed it.

Genshin 源信 (942–1017), a disciple of Ryōgen, was deeply rooted in Tendai teachings and outlined a comprehensive approach to attaining rebirth in the Pure Land. Genshin integrated the Tendai practice of contemplation with nenbutsu practice as essential means for attaining rebirth in the Pure Land. He wrote his most influential work, the Collection of the Essentials for Birth 往生要集 (Ōjōyōshu), or and emphasized a holistic path that incorporated various practices such as contemplation, taking precepts, and recitation of the nenbutsu based on the Contemplation of the Infinite Life Sūtra 観無量寿経☐ (Kanmuryojukyo), the Ten Stages of Bodhisattva Practice, the Pure Land Treatise, the Commentary on the Pure Land Treatise, the Collection of Peace and Happiness, and the Commentary on the Contemplation Sūtra, among other important books cited in it. As previously mentioned, these scriptures were transmitted to Japan as early as the seventh and eighth centuries, but it was not until Genshin that we can say that a uniform Pure Land teaching was thematically and comprehensively developed. Genshin does not refer to the Wuhui fashi zan or Fazhao’s writings in the Ōjōyōshu. But he must have known or practiced the goe nenbutsu since his master, Ryōgen, popularized this practice of the constant nembutsu on Mount Hiei.

Following Genshin, the nenbutsu came to be practiced not only within Tendai, but also among followers of the Nanto 南都 or Nara and Shingon sects.8

4. Influence of Fazhao’s Pure Land Teaching on Hōnen and Shinran’s Thought

Guided by Genshin’s Ōjōyōshū, or the Essentials of Rebirth, Hōnen was led to the Pure Land teachings of Shandao. Hōnen established the nenbutsu as an independent sect or tradition in Japan. This must be considered a major event in the history of Japanese Pure Land Buddhism.

Hōnen left Mount Hiei where he studied and practiced Tendai Pure Land teachings in 1175 and encountered Shandao’s nenbutsu thought. He moved to Yoshimizu in the eastern hills of Kyōto and began to propagate his teachings. While we know that Hōnen imparted his teaching to ordinary people, including those considered the lowest in society at that time, there were many monks who adopted his teachings.

According to Shandao, recitation of the nenbutsu is called the rightly established practice 正定之業 because it is in accordance with the essential vow of Amida Buddha. Amida Buddha, in his vow to save all sentient beings, especially for ordinary people, sought practice that any person could easily perform. Shandao insists in the Commentary on the Contemplation Sūtra as follows:

[S]ingle-heartedly practicing the saying of the Name of Amida alone—whether

walking, standing, sitting, or reclining—without regard to the length of time, and

without abandoning it from moment to moment: this is called “the act of true settlement,” for it is in accord with the Buddha’s Vow.9

一心専念弥陀名号、往生座臥不問時節久近、念念不捨者、是名正定之業、順彼佛願☐

故

This understanding led Hōnen to develop what he called the senjunenbutsu 専修念仏 or exclusive nenbutsu practice. Previously, the nenbutsu was recited along with other practices, but Hōnen was convinced that recitation of the nenbutsu was the right practice to be born in the Pure Land and attain Buddhahood for all sentient beings, since it was selected by Amida Buddha. Based on this, Hōnen declared the establishment of a separate and independent Pure Land school in his main work, the Senchaku hongan nenbutsu shū 選択本願念仏集, the Passages on the Nenbutsu Selected in the Primal Vow.

Before Hōnen, monks of various sects performed practices focusing on Amida Buddha in addition to nenbutsu recitation, including veneration of statues, sūtra-chanting, and meditative exercises. Such forms of practice were done within different doctrinal frameworks, as parts of larger programs of practice carried out in monastic settings. Hōnen extricated the recitation of the nenbutsu from other practices and was inspired to do this because of Shandao’s writings on nianfo practice.

In Senchaku hongan nenbutsu shū, Hōnen collected many passages from sūtras, śāstras, and East Asian commentators on Buddhist teachings to legitimize his perspective. Among them, Hōnen quoted passages from Fazhao’s Wuhui fashi zan as evidence to address the nature of the Tathāgāta Amitābha’s Original Vow. It reads as follows:

That Buddha, in the causal stage, made the universal Vow:

When beings hear my Name and think of me, I will come to welcome each of them,

Not discriminating at all between the poor and the rich and wellborn,

Not discriminating against the inferior and the highly gifted,

Not choosing the learned and those upholding pure precepts,

Nor rejecting those who break precepts and whose evil karma is profound.

Solely making beings turnabout and abundantly say the nembutsu,

I can make bits of rubble change into gold.10

彼佛因中立弘誓☐聞名念我惣迎来☐不簡貧窮將富貴☐不簡下智與高才

不簡多聞持浄戒☐不簡破戒罪根深☐但使廻心多念仏☐能令瓦礫變成金

These verses appeared in Fazhao’s Wuhui fashi zan, but they are not by him. Instead, we know that Cimin wrote them. Cimin is understood to be the founder of the Cimin lineage of the Chinese Pure Land tradition and the most influential defender of Pure Land teaching against critiques by the Southern School of Chan Buddhism (e.g., following Heze Shenhui 菏澤神會 [670–762]) during the seventh century.11 Fazhao quotes these verses by Cimin in his Lüe zhujing song nianfo famen wangsheng jingtu ji 略諸経論念仏法門往生浄土集, the Collection Outlining Various Scriptures and Treatises Regarding Methods of Contemplating the Buddha and Rebirth in the Pure Land.

Cimin’s passages speak of Amida’s Vow in terms of making no distinction between the poor and the rich or inferior and the highly gifted. Cimin’s verses were quoted by Fazhao, and Hōnen quotes them, just as he also selected many passages from Shandao’s writings as proof that Amida’s Vow is universal and beyond discrimination, selection, and rejection. Hōnen uses these quotations with the same intent to elucidate the universality and impartiality of Amida’s compassion. This verse concludes with the idea that if one only makes beings turnabout and abundantly chants the nembutsu, one can make bits of rubble turn into gold. As is well known, Shandao wrote many ritual texts such as Wangsheng lizan jie 往生禮讚偈 (Ōjōraisange) the Hymns of Praise Concerning Rebirth in the Pure Land, Fashi zan 法事讃 (Hōjisan), the Liturgy for the Rite of Desiring Birth in the Pure Land Through Chanting Sutras and Circumambulation, and other texts preserved in Japan. Fazhao referred to these in his writings and encouraged the recitation of nenbutsu. In the same way, Hōnen overlayed and rationalized in this section three Chinese Pure Land masters’ understanding of Amida Buddha’s universal vow. However, Hōnen declared his position as solely relying on Master Shandao 偏依善導, which indicates that to Hōnen, what Cimin and Fazhao wrote supplements Shandao’s teachings.

We must remember that Ennin introduced Fazhao’s writings and the wuhui nianfo to Japan, but he did not pay much attention to Shandao’s writings. Yet, we know that Shandao’s writings had already been transmitted to Japan. Fazhao’s Pure Land thought was primarily adopted as a ritualistic approach to the Pure Land until Genshin paid special attention to Shandao’s Pure Land thought in his writings. Hōnen, therefore, rediscovered what we can call the essence of Shandao’s Pure Land teaching through Genshin’s Pure Land thought.12

Hōnen presented a new perspective to appreciating Fazhao’s Pure Land thought that did not exist in Ennin’s time in terms of Tendai Pure Land thought and teachings. However, we must remember that Hōnen clarified his position as solely following the teaching of Shandao and did not scrutinize Fazhao’s thought carefully.

Seikaku 聖覚 (1167–1235) was one of Hōnen’s distinguished disciples, but also retained his position as a Tendai monk throughout his life. He resided at Ōhara Chikurinji temple 大原竹林寺, which was named after Zhulinsi on Wutaishan, which had been established by Fazhao. Ōhara Chikurinji temple was one of the centers in Mount Hiei that trained monks to chant, especially the go’e nenbutsu, or the unceasing nenbutsu ritual. As an expert of the practice of the go’e nenbutsu, Seikaku knew the contents of Fazhao’s Wuhui fashi zan quite well. He wrote a book called the Yuishinshō 唯信鈔, or Essential Faith Alone. Here, he refers to the same passages in Fazhao’s text that Hōnen quotes in Senchaku hongan nenbutsu shū. However, he does not provide a detailed explanation of Fazhao’s Pure Land thought when Hōnen does.

Among Hōnen’s other disciples, Ryūkan 隆寛 (1148–1228) and Shinran refer more to passages from Fazhao’s Wuhui fashi zan, and in addition to it, they composed an commentary. Next, based on that work, I address Shinran’s important exegetical understanding of Fazhao’s Pure Land thought.

Shinran became a Tendai monk at the age of nine as a Tendai monk. According to his wife Eshinni’s letter to her daughter, she mentioned that Shinran was a dōso 堂僧13 at the Jōgyō Samādhi Hall,14 where the goe nenbutsu ritual was taught and performed. This indicates that Shinran was familiar with Fazhao’s wuhui nianfo when he was quite young. Shinran stayed on Mount Hiei learning Tendai practices on Mount Hiei for twenty years before he abandoned them and left the mountain. We know that Shinran visited Hōnen at Yoshimizu of Kyōto in 1201. And he spent six years with Hōnen and became convinced that Hōnen’s teaching was the path for him. Shinran must be associated with Seikaku during this period. However, in 1207, Hōnen’s nenbutsu group was persecuted by the government, and Hōnen and Shinran were exiled to Tosa 土佐 (present-day Kōchi prefecture 高知県) and Echigo 越後 (present-day Niigata prefecture 新潟県), respectively. When Shinran received a pardon, he did not return to Kyōto; instead, he moved to Hitachi 常陸 and the Kazusa 上総 area (today’s Kantō 関東 area). He started propagating the nenbutsu teaching learned from Hōnen in this region. He returned to Kyōto around 1232 and dedicated himself to writing scriptures to transmit to the people regarding the true meaning of the singular nenbutsu teaching.

In his later years, Shinran was sent copies of important works by Seikaku and Ryūkan, his trusted fellow disciples of Hōnen.15 He also wrote detailed commentaries to these texts and sent them back along with letters. In Yuishinshō mon’ni 唯信鈔文意 or the Notes on ‘Essential Faith Alone’, the Note on the Essential Faith Alone, Shinran provides detailed interpretations of the passages quoted in Seikaku’s Yuishinshō.

There are some important differences in terms of comparing Shinran’s understanding of Fazhao’s thought with Hōnen and Seikaku. Hōnen and Seikaku use the verses from the Wuhui fashi zan mentioned above as evidence to show that Amida’s vow is universal and does not discriminate between the poor or the rich, the inferior or the highly gifted, and those who uphold the pure precepts or break them. However, Shinran does not limit himself like this.

Shinran provides word-for-word interpretation at the beginning, and then gives his interpretation of the verses in his Yuishinsho mon’ni. Shinran comments on the first two verses as follows:

That Buddha refers to Amida Buddha. Universal means wide, to spread. Bhikṣu Dharmakara established the supreme, unexcelled Vow and spread it widely. “Supreme” means that it goes beyond the vows of other Buddhas. It connotes transcendent, unequalled. Name refers to the Name embodying the Tathagata’s Vow. Think on me instructs us, Hold this Name in mindfulness! This is implied in the compassionate Vow that all the Buddhas pronounce the Name. “Hold in mindfulness” means that people of true shinjin 信心 constantly recall the Primal Vow without interruption. Each of them means all inclusive, everyone. Welcome means to receive, to await, expressing Other Power 他力. Come means to return, to be made to come. This, we are made to come and return to the city of dharma-nature. Since there is coming from the city of dharma-nature into this Saha world.16

Even saintly people who observe these various Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna precepts can attain birth in the true fulfilled land only after they realize the true and real shinjin of Other Power. Know that it is impossible to be born in the true, fulfilled Pure Land by simply observing precepts, or by self-willed conviction, or by self-cultivated good. Know that the true essence of the Pure Land teaching (Jōdo shinshū 浄土真宗) is that when we realize true and real shinjin, we are born in the true fulfilled land.17

Shinran explains that Amida’s vow is superior to the vows of other Buddhas at the beginning. This understanding is the same as that of Hōnen and Seikaku. However, Shinran further gives more interpretation regarding the phrases as well. He says that the Name (of Amida) embodies Amida’s vow, and holding the Name is mindfulness, so holding in mindfulness means that people of true shinjin constantly recall the Primal Vow without interruption in reciting the nenbutsu. Shinran also understands that Fazhao’s verses reveal the working of other power, and he insists that the true essence of the Pure Land teaching (Jōdo shinshū) is that “when we realize true and real shinjin, we are born in the true fulfilled land.”

The terms “shinjin” and “other power” consist of the core idea of Shinran’s Jōdo Shinshū teaching. Shinran intends to make clear that Fazhao’s meaning lies in revealing the universal working of Amida’s Vow. Furthermore, Shinran develops the idea of shinjin and other power reflecting on that. In other words, it can be said that Fazhao’s Wuhui fashi zan had a significant influence on the establishment of Shinran’s true essence of the Pure Land teaching or Jōdo Shinshū.

Shinran also quotes or refers to other phrases from Fazhao’s Wuhui fashi zan in other writings, which demonstrates the influence Fazhao had on him. In his seminal work in the Chapter on Practice of the True Teaching, Practice, and Realization (Kyōgyō shinshō 教行信証), Shinran consecutively quotes several passages from Fazhao’s Wuhui fashi zan.

Shinran’s interest in Fazhao’s thought extends to the fact that he composed two extended hymns in Chinese (Kanbun 漢文) and three Japanese Hymns. The two hymns in Chinese are the Hymn of True Shinjin and Nenbutsu 正信念仏偈, and the Hymns of the Two Gates of Entrance [into the Pure Land] 入出二門偈. The three Japanese Hymns are the Hymns on the Pure Land 浄土和讃 (118 four-line hymns), the Hymns on the Masters 高僧和讃 (119 hymns), and the Hymns on Right, Semblance, and Last Dharma-Ages 正像末和讃 (114 hymns). The Japanese hymns were composed in the form of imayō 今様, which was sung or intoned with a melody like the wuhui nianfo.

These hymns have been helpful, if not inspirational, for people in all walks of life to familiarize themselves with the practice of nenbutsu. We can see another development of Fazhao’s Pure Land teaching in the ritual world ascribed to Shinran.

5. Conclusions

Pure Land Buddhism in East Asia developed by adapting to the times, regions, and the demands of the people within various cultural spheres and societies. Lushan and Wutaishan have long occupied an important position as sacred Buddhist sites, including within the Chinese Pure Land tradition.

Pure Land sūtras were translated into Chinese as early as the second century. Pure Land Buddhism in China flexibly adapted to the times, places, and to the demands of people within varied cultural spheres. Commentaries on Pure Land sūtras were written to comprehend intellectually abstruse doctrines, just as awe-inspiring sculptures and paintings were created to grasp them visually, and rituals were performed to grasp the meaning experientially.

Lushan Huiyuan organized the White Lotus Society, a community dedicated to Amida Buddha’s belief in 402. That group laid the intellectual and visual foundations of Pure Land teachings together with the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras 般若菠蘿蜜多経. Practicing the nianfo at Mount Lu, Fazhao created the ritual of the Wuhui nianfo imbued with melodies. The Wuhui nianfo was introduced to Japan by Ennin and became very popular among Tendai practitioners. Pure Land sūtras and the commentaries to them were brought to Japan early; however, they remained marginalized until Genshin actively introduced the significance of Pure Land teachings. Gradually, the ritual of the Wuhui nianfo spread among not only monks, but also ordinary lay people.

Under such circumstances, Hōnen began to teach the exclusive practice of the nenbutsu, declaring the independence of the Pure Land sect. Fazhao’s Pure Land thought was rediscovered by Hōnen and his disciples, including by Seikaku and Shinran. In particular, Fazhao’s Pure Land thought significantly influenced Shinran’s thought. Not only ritually, but also theoretically, Fazhao’s Pure Land thought inspired the development of the transformational movement in Japanese Pure Land in the thirteenth century.