近世真宗教学史における智暹の位置：一益法門批判を中心にして=The Position of Chisen in the History of Early Modern Shin Buddhist Doctrine: Focusing on His Critique of ichiyaku hōmon 一益法門
Chisen 智暹 （1702-1768） was a priest of the Honganji school of Shin Buddhism in the early modern period. He initiated a doctrinal controversy referred to as the “Meiwa no hōron” 明和の法論. This was a criticism of ichiyaku hōmon 一益法門 （Dharma Gate of One Benefit）. Ichiyaku hōmon is the doctrine that shōjōju 正定聚 （being in the “company of the truly settled,” thus sure of rebirth in the Pure Land） and metsudo 滅度 （nirvāṇa; immediate attainment of liberation） are one and the same. But Chisen held that the person who has attained faith is illuminated by the Buddha’s light, and this light is not separate from the Pure Land. Later, in the Ōtani school of Shin Buddhism, this understanding of the Pure Land would also be called ichiyaku hōmon. In other words, in the Ōtani school, Chisen was also understood to be a proponent of ichiyaku hōmon.
