Shinran in his Kyōgyōshinshō （“Chapter on Practice,” section on Great Practice）, after citing certain of Shandao’s texts and presenting his own interpretation of the six-character Name of Amida Buddha, subsequently cites passages from Fazhao’s Jingtu wuhui nianfo lüe fashiyizan浄土五会念仏略法事儀讃. Since Fazhao was called the “Latter Shandao” （hou Shandao 後善導）, it is possible that Shinran took Fazhao’s words to be in fact Shandao’s.
The fact that the Jingtu wuhui nianfo lüe fashiyizan was important for understanding Shandao’s nianfo thought can already be seen in the writings of Hōnen and his disciple Seikaku聖覚 （1167-1235）. However, the point of difference between Shinran on the one hand and Hōnen and Seikaku on the other lies in their different appraisals of the text of the Jingtu wuhui nianfo lüe fashiyizan as signifying the teaching of Amida’s Seventeenth Vow.
Shandao’s view of nianfo practice is characterized by his strong emphasis on vocal recitation of the Buddha’s Name, but it was Fazhao who popularized this practice of vocal nianfo to a broader audience. Fazhao invented the ritual of five styles of recitation of the Buddha’s Name （wuhui nianfo 五会念仏） and widely promoted Shandao’s vocal nianfo practice to the general public. Therefore, I believe that Shinran cites the Jingtu wuhui nianfo lüe fashiyizan in the Kyōgyōshinshō together with other passages of Shandao in the same flow of citations because he understood that Fazhao’s writings further elucidated Shandao’s view of nianfo practice.
