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The Role of Genshin and Religious Associations in the Mid-Heian Spread of Pure Land Buddhism |
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| Author |
Horton, Sarah Johanna (著)
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| Source |
Dissertation Abstracts International
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| Volume | v.62 n.3 |
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| Date | 2001 |
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| Publisher | ProQuest LLC |
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| Publisher Url |
https://www.proquest.com/
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| Location | Ann Arbor, MI, US [安娜堡, 密西根州, 美國] |
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| Content type | 期刊論文=Journal Article |
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| Language | 英文=English |
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| Degree | doctor |
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| Institution | Yale University |
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| Advisor | Weinstein, Stanley |
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| Publication year | 2001 |
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| Note | 266p |
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| Keyword | Genshin; Religious associations; Pure Land Buddhism; Heian; Japan |
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| Abstract | Most books which offer an introduction to Japanese religion, in both Japanese and English, have a statement to the effect that Genshin's Ōjōyōshū (completed in 985) was largely responsible for the spread of Pure Land Buddhism to all levels of society in the mid- to late-Heian period. This assertion requires further investigation. Because the Ōjōyōshū was written in Chinese, only the highly educated would have been able to read it. Moreover, the greater portion of this work outlines complex meditations which would have been far too difficult for the vast majority of people. This is not to say, however, that Genshin did not have an important role in spreading Pure Land belief.
Often overlooked contributors to the popularization of Pure Land Buddhism are several religious associations at Mt. Hiei's Yokawa. The most famous, the Nijūgo zanmaie, was a nenbutsu society begun by twenty-five monks in 986 and led by Genshin. In Genshin's time, membership was limited to monastics, but they were a diverse group: ages ranged from 69 to 20, and included a monk of one of the highest ranks as well as numerous otherwise totally unknown monks.
The Nijūgo zanmaie came to focus on preparations for the moment of death. The group's charters outline the procedure to be followed when a person becomes fatally ill. Mukaekō, widely performed dramatizations of the scene of Amida and his attendants coming to escort the dying person to the Pure Land, may have stemmed from activities of the Nijūgo zanmaie.
Several other religious associations were begun by Genshin at Yokawa. The one for which there is the most information is the Shakakō, in which members took turns serving a statue of Śākyamuni around the clock, as though it were alive, and attended a monthly lecture on the Lotus Sutra. Participants included lay people, mostly aristocrats. Although the purpose of this society was not performance of the nenbutsu, for Tendai monks Pure Land Buddhism was never separate from other types of Buddhist belief. Through these associations, lay people were exposed to Buddhism at Yokawa, which always included a concern for Amida's Pure Land. |
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| ISBN | 0493167188; 9780493167183 |
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| Hits | 890 |
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| Created date | 2005.09.23 |
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| Modified date | 2022.03.25 |
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