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Hōnen (法然, May 13 (April 7), 1133 – February 29, 1212) was the religious reformer and founder of the first independent branch of Japanese Pure Land Buddhism called Jōdo-shū (浄土宗, "The Pure Land School"). He is also considered the Seventh Jōdo Shinshū Patriarch.

Hōnen became a Tendai initiate at an early age, but grew disaffected and sought an approach to Buddhism that anyone could follow, even during the perceived Age of Dharma Decline. After discovering the writings of the Chinese Buddhist Shandao, he undertook the teaching of rebirth in the pure land of Amitābha through nianfo or "recitation of the Buddha's name".

Hōnen gathered a wide array of followers and critics. Emperor Tsuchimikado exiled Hōnen and his followers in 1207 after an incident regarding two of his disciples in addition to persuasion by influential Buddhist communities. Hōnen was eventually pardoned and allowed to return to Kyoto, where he stayed for a short time before his death.

Early life

Hōnen was born to a prominent family in the city of Kume in Mimasaka Province. His father was Uruma no Tokikuni, a province official who headed up policing in the area.[1] According to legend, his mother is a descendant of the Hata clan. Hōnen was originally named Seishimaru after the bodhisattva Seishi (Sanskrit Mahāsthāmaprāpta). In 1141 Hōnen's father was assassinated by Sada-akira, an official sent by Emperor Horikawa to govern the province. It is believed that Tokikuni's last words to his son were "Don't hate the enemy but become a monk and pray for me and for your deliverance."

Fulfilling his father's wishes for him, Hōnen was initiated into his uncle's monastery at the age of nine. From then on, Hōnen lived his life as a monk, and eventually studied at the primary Tendai temple at Mount Hiei near Kyoto. Clerics at Mt. Hiei took the bodhisattva vows and then undertook 12 years of training at Mt. Hiei, a system developed by the Tendai founder, Saichō.

While at Mt. Hiei, Hōnen studied under Genkō (源光), Kōen (皇円) and later, with Eikū (叡空). Under Kōen he was officially ordained as a Tendai priest, while under Eikū he received the name Hōnen-bō Genkū (法然房源空). In speaking of himself, Hōnen often referred to himself as Genkū, as did his close disciples.

Departure from Mt. Hiei

While studying on Mt. Hiei, Hōnen devoted his time to finding a way to bring salvation to all beings through Buddhism, but was not satisfied with what he found at Mt. Hiei. At the age of 24, Hōnen then went to study at the city of Saga, then Nara, and stayed at such temples at Kōfuku-ji and Tōdai-ji. Still not satisfied, he returned to the libraries of Mt. Hiei and studied further.

During this period, Hōnen read a Pure Land Buddhist text called the Commentaries on the Amitayurdhyana Sutra (Chinese: 觀經四帖疏; pinyin: Guānjīng Sìtièshū) authored by the Chinese Pure Land master Shandao (613-681), notably the statement, "Only repeat the name of Amitabha with all your heart. Whether walking or standing, sitting or lying, never cease the practice of it even for a moment. This is the very work which unfailingly issues in salvation, for it is in accordance with the Original Vow of that Buddha."[citation needed] This commentary persuaded Hōnen to believe that nianfo, called nembutsu in Japanese, was all one needed to enter Amitābha's pure land. Previously, nianfo was recited along with other practices, but Shandao was the first to propose that only nianfo was necessary. This new appreciation and understanding prompted Hōnen to leave Mt. Hiei and the Tendai tradition in 1175.

Beginnings of a New Sect

Hōnen relocated to the district of Ōtani[4] in Kyoto, where he started addressing crowds of men and women, establishing a considerable following. Hōnen attracted fortune-tellers, ex-robbers, samurai and other elements of society normally excluded from Buddhist practice.[5] Hōnen was a man of recognition in Kyoto, and many priests and nobleman allied with him and visited him for spiritual advice.[6] Among them was an imperial regent named Kujō Kanezane (1149–1207). The increasing popularity of his teachings drew criticism from noted contemporaries as Myōe and Jōkei among others, who argued against Hōnen's sole reliance on nembutsu as a means of rebirth in a pure land. Additionally, some disciples interpreted Hōnen's teachings in unexpected ways, leading to disreputable behavior, criticism of other sects, or other forms of antinomianism.

In 1204, the monks at Mt. Hiei implored the head priest to ban the teachings of exclusive nembutsu and to banish any adherents from their principality. In 1205 the temple of Kōfuku-ji, located in Nara, implored Emperor Toba II to sanction Hōnen and his followers.[7] The temple provided the emperor with nine charges alleging unappeasable differences with the so-called eight schools. Hōnen's detractors cited examples of his followers, such as Gyoku and Kōsai, who committed vandalism against Buddhist temples, intentionally broke the Buddhist precepts, or caused others to intentionally turn away from established Buddhist teachings.

Richard Bowring condenses these charges into two general forms. First is the nature of a single practice. Hōnen's emphasis on the single practice of nembutsu denied the usefulness of all other Buddhist practices. The sole emphasis on Amitābha was also coupled with discouraging the traditional worship of the kami. The second charge was that Hōnen placed the most lowly layperson on equal footing with the wisest monk, rendering the entire monastic establishment as useless.

In response, Hōnen censured Kōsai's single-nembutsu teaching and his followers agreed to sign the Shichikajō-kishōmon (七箇条起請文, "Seven Article Pledge"), which called for restraint in moral conduct and in interactions with other Buddhist sects.

The clamour surrounding Hōnen's teachings dissipated for a time until 1207 when Toba II implemented a ban against exclusive nembutsu, stemming from an incident where two of Hōnen's most prominent followers were accused of using nembutsu practice as a coverup for sexual liaisons. As part of the ban, Hōnen and some of his disciples, including Shinran, were exiled, while the priests responsible for the conversion, Juren and Anrakubo, were executed. Hōnen is said to have responded:

I have labored here in the capital these many years for the spread of the Nembutsu, and so I have long wished to get away into the country to preach to those on field and plain, but the time never came for the fulfillment of my wish. Now, however, by the august favor of His Majesty, circumstances have combined to enable me to do so.

Exile and the Final Years

Hōnen was exiled to Tosa, but the movement in Kyoto had not thoroughly gone away. While in exile, Hōnen spread the teachings to the people he met - fishermen, prostitutes, and the peasantry. In 1211 the nembutsu ban was ultimately lifted, and Hōnen was permitted to return to Kyoto. In 1212, the following year, Hōnen died in Kyoto, but was able to compose the One-Sheet Document (一枚起請文, Ichimai-kishōmon) a few days before he died.

Courtesy---wikipedia
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