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Genshin

This article is about the Buddhist monk. For the video game, see Genshin Impact. For other uses, see Genshin (disambiguation).

Genshin
源信
Painting of Genshin at Shoju-raigo-ji Temple
Personal details
Born942
Taima, Yamato Province
DiedJuly 6, 1017(1017-07-06) (aged 74–75)

Genshin (源信; 942 – July 6, 1017), also known as Eshin Sōzu (恵心僧都; Japanese pronunciation: [e.ɕiɰ̃ soꜜː.(d)zɯ],[1]), was a prominent Japanese monk of the Tendai school, recognized for his significant contributions to both Tendai and Pure Land Buddhism. Genshin studied under Ryōgen, a key reformer of the Tendai tradition, and became well known for his intellectual prowess, particularly after his success in a major debate at Mount Hiei in 974.[2][3]

Genshin spent much of his later life at the secluded Eshin-in monastery in Yokawa on Mount Hiei, where he focused on scholarly pursuits and meditation. He is credited with founding the Eshin school of Tendai, which emphasized the idea of inherent awakening (hongaku). Although deeply rooted in Tendai teachings, Genshin became a leading figure in the early development of Pure Land Buddhism. His most influential work, Ōjōyōshū (往生要集, Collection of the Essentials for Birth), outlined a comprehensive approach to attaining rebirth in Amitabha's Pure Land, integrating practices like buddha contemplation and the nembutsu (the chanting of Amida’s name) as essential means for attaining rebirth.[4]

Genshin was the first Japanese figure to write a systematic Pure Land Buddhist treatise, emphasizing a holistic path that incorporated various practices such as meditation and precepts in conjunction with the nembutsu. Genshin's Essentials for Birth is considered as "the formative text of Japanese Pure Land Buddhism" by the buddhologist Robert F. Rhodes and it remained the standard work on Pure Land in Japan for generations.[5] Genshin's work and thought had a profound impact on Buddhist practices during the Heian period, particularly the "deathbed nembutsu" ritual. Genshin's Ōjōyōshū was also instrumental in shaping later Japanese Pure Land figures such as Hōnen and Shinran.[6][7] As such, Genshin's influence continues to resonate within modern Tendai and Japanese Pure Land.

  1. ^ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, ed. (24 May 2016). NHK日本語発音アクセント新辞典 (in Japanese). NHK Publishing.
  2. ^ Stone, Jacqueline Ilyse (1999). Original Enlightenment and the Transformation of Medieval Japanese Buddhism. Honolulu, Hawaii: University of Hawaii Press. p. 118. ISBN 0824820266.
  3. ^ Nichiren (2002). Writings of Nichiren Shonin: Doctrine 2. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 9780824825515.
  4. ^ Kopf, Gereon (2018). Dao Companion to Japanese Buddhist Philosophy. Berlin: Springer. p. 373. ISBN 9789048129232.
  5. ^ Rhodes (2017), pp. 1-6.
  6. ^ Rhodes, Robert F.; Payne, Richard K. (2017). Genshin's Ōjōyōshū and the Construction of Pure Land Discourse in Heian Japan (Pure Land Buddhist Studies). University of Hawaii Press. pp. 213, 277–282. ISBN 978-0824872489.
  7. ^ Rhodes (2017), p. vii.
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