Otani University Rennyo and t11e Roots of Modern Japanese Buddhism Edited by Mark L. Blum and Shin'ya Yasntomi OXFORD UNIVERSITY I'RESS 2006 International Institute for Comprehensive Shinshu Studies Otani University Rennyo and the Roots of Moderll Japanese Buddhism Edited by Mark L. Blum and Shin'ya Yasutomi OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS 2006 OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS Oxford Uni\'emtv Pn:ss, Inc., publishes works thai further Oxford Univcrsitr's objecti\'e of eH'pllf'nce in rese,lfch, scholarship, and education. Oxford New York Auckland C8pe Town Dar es Salaam I-long Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Sh,mglwi Taipei Toronto \Villl office" ill Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungar), Ital), Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korca Switl-erhllld Thaihlllci Turkey Ukraine Vielnmn Copyright 2006 b)' Otani University Published by Oxford Universitr Press, Inc. 198 l\ladison Avenue, New York, New York 10016 WWW.ollp.com Oxford is II registered trademark of Oxford Uni\'crsil), All righh rc!\crvcJ. Nu pinl uf this pllbliGJtioll HiLly be reprodllced, slored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by anr means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otberwise, withollt the prior pcrmission of Oxrord Universit), Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Puolication Data Rcnnyo ann the Roots of 1'vlodcrrI liuudhisTrl I ediled b)' Mark L, Blum and Shin'ya Yasulomi. p. em. Includes bibliographical references and inrlex, tSBN-I,9i8-o-19'51"i5'5 ISBN CH9-513'75-{) L Rennyo, 1415-1499, 2, Shin (Seetl-Doclrines, BllI1I1, Laurence. II. Yasutomi, Shin'ya, 1944- 24 68 9753 1 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper Foreword In conjllnction with the commemoration ill 1998 of Ihe 500th anni\'ersary (by Japanese counting) of the dcath of Rennyo, a large number of memorial services and other evenls wcre held, One of these was a series of panels on RCllnyo set up as a spccial section on Junc 22 within Ihc 48th annual meeting of Ihe Japancse Association for the Study of Buddhism and Indian Religion (Nihon Indogaku Bukkyogaku Cakbi) held on the campus of Otani University, A greatmallY scholars read informative articles, divided into two groupings: "Rcnnyo within the History of Religious Thought" and Faith of Renllyo and the Modern World," The Shinsha Research Institute at Otani University collected mally of these and other essays from scholars in Japan and abroad for a volume published in Japanese under the title Renl1)'o 110 sekai (The World of Rennyo). The achievements of Rcnn)'o are nothing less than a "restoration of Shinshu." Not onl), did he pull thc essence of Shin shu out from the mud, where it found itself a century and a half after Ihc death of the founder, Shinran, but Rennyo also spoke to a great Tllany people who had lost their direction in life during the troubled age that was the fifteenth century in Japan, and with plain language he extended to them the opportunity to knoll' ShinshiL In the cncl, Rennyo tllrned th<; Shinshu religious organization into an enormous social entily, As a resull, dnrillg the Muro1Tlachi period Shinshu acntely clcalt wilh OJ host of social issllcs, political, economic, occupational, feminist, family-centered, and so on, giving birlh to a new way of being human, Olani University is an educational and research institution bearing the tradition of the Shinshil organization and is thus founded upon the spirit of this faith, Accordingly it Tllust be said Ihat we are also confronting the issues surrounding a "restoration of Shinshu in today's world," In this climate of the diversification of \'alues within the nood of information that is our society, what messagc can Shinshu bring to people who hare similarly lost their direction in life? \\'hether it be in societies of ad\'ancecl capitalism or in societies where people are focused on fighting off star\'ation, wherever individuals have had their humanity taken away, \\'hat vi Foreword prescription can Shinshu offer them? In facing problems such as these: what we learn from RcnllYo is that the vallie of both advantage and disadvantage IS without limit. I would like to express my gratitude for thc hard work of Professors Mark L. BluIII ancl Yasutomi Shin'ya for putting together this volumc as part of the efforts of the International Buddhist Rcscarch Unit of the Shinshu Research Inslitute at Otani University. It is an honor for us that this volume is being published by the renowned Oxford University Press, realizing our wish to makc rescarch on Rcnnyo available to a wider readership. Kurubc Teruo Prcsidcnt, Otani University Acknowledgments The many events held in Kyoto in conjunction with thc celebration of the 5 00th anniversary of Rennyo's death ranged from special religious senices 10 acaclcmic clebates to animated feature films. For Shinshil believcrs affiliated with one of the two Honganji, this was a time of excitement and religious renedioll. Everyone, it seemed, nocked to the Kyoto National Museum to see the special Rennyo exhibit jointly sponsorcd by both religious institutions. This book should bc scen properly as part of that collection of events. Vie wish to thank all the people who have contributed their time and energy to this project. In particular the scholars, stuclcnts, and staff of the Shinshn Research Institutc at Otani University, where this and many other Rennyo-related projects were conceived allcl supported, deserve special recognition for their efforts. Rcnnvo is one of only a handful of religious figures without whosc story Japanese history simply could not be told, but in the West therc has been scant appreciahon of his role. It is our sincere hope that this collection of essays will serve to open up greater appreciation and dialogue about his impacl. . Contents Foreword by the President of Otani University Abbreviations Contriblltors I. Introductioll: The Stud), of Rellll)'o Mark 1. Blum 1. I-listorical Studies 2. The Life of Rellll)'o: A Stnlggie fOT the Transmission of Dharma Yaslltomi Shin'ya 3 Leaders in all Age of Transition Kuroda Toshio (translated by Thomas Kirchner) 4 COlltinuity and Change in the Thought o(Remz)'o Stanley Weinstein 5 Renn)'o and the Saivati011 of\Vomell Matsumura Naoko (translated by Maya Hara) 6. The lkko-shii as Portrayed ill lesuit Historical Documents Kinryii Shizuka (translated by William Londo) 7 The Karlsh6 Persecution: ATI Examillatioll of Mount J-/iei's Destrllctioll of Otani J-/ollganji Kusano Kenshi (translated by Eisho Nasu) 8. Lale Remzyo mId the Myokonin Akao 110 Doshii Minamoto Ryoen (translated by Mark L. Blum) v XI xiii 49 59 x Contents 9. Renll)'o Shunin, Manipulator of Icons Mark L. Blum II. Shinshu Studies ]0. Shinran and Rell1!),o: Com(JUring Their Views of Birth ill the Pure Lalld Terakawa Shunsh6 (translated by Mark L. Blum) II. Rellnyo's Position in Modem Shin Buddhist Studies: Soga Ryoiin's Reinterpretation Kaku Takeshi (translated by Maya Hara) 12. Rennyo and the Renaissarlce of Contemporary Shin Buddhism: Rellnyo's Place ill the History of Shin Buddhism Alfred Bloom 13. The Characteristic Structure of Renll),o's Letters Ikeda Yutai (translated by Sarah Horton) 1+ The Tale of the Flesh-Adhering Mask Yasulomi Shin'ya (translated by Mark L. Blum) III. Comparative Religion 15. Renn)'o and Lulher: Similarities in Their Faith and COTllmwlily Building Kal6 Chiken (translated by Jan van Bragt) 16. Dancing into Freedom: Renn)'o and Religion William R. LaFleur 17. Primal Vow and Its Contextualizatio/!: RemlYo's Legacy, and Some Tasks for Our Times Ruben L. F. Habito A Chronology of Rennyo's Life Glossary Bibliography Imlex Photo gallery follows page 82 199 211 21 7 227 236 245 28 5 Ab breviations CWS The Collected Works of Slzi1lTall. Cartas que as Padres e lnlnlos Carlas que os Padres e TmlaOS da Com/JClHlzia de Killigaki Letters Rogers RSG RSI SSZ SSS T Tesus escTeueriio dos Reynos de Tapao (5 China aos da mesilla Com(J(Jllhi(J da Tlldia, cr EUl'OfJ(/, des do amw de 1549 ate 0 de 1580. Rellll)'6 ShrJllill go'ichidaiki kikigaki. References are to edition ill SSZ, unless othefwise slated. The collection of RCl1nyo lettcrs known various1v as Ofirmi GOblllls/lO fffJJY:i1t, or Shobulls";i References an; either to compete cdition in RSI Of to traditional five-bundle compilation in SSZ. Minor L. Rogers and Ann T. Rogers, RemlYo: The Second FOl/nder of Shill Buddhism. RClm),o Shonil1 g)'o;ilsu. Inaha MasamaTu, cd. RemlYo Shol1il1 ilnlll. Inaba rvlasamaru, cd. ShinS/Hi shog)'o zensho. Shins/lll shiryo slll/sei. Taisho shins/lll daizokYrJ :icLEifJillt:::i-::JliQr&. xi Contributors Allthors Alfred Bloom: Emeritus Professor, Religious Studies, University of Hawaii Mark L. Blum: Associate Professor, East Asian Studies, State University of New York- Albany Ruben L. F. Habito: Professor, Theology, Southern Methodist University Ikeda Ylitai: Emeritus Professor, Shin Buddhist Studies, 00110 Nagoya Kakll Takeshi: Associate Professor, Shin Buddhist Studies, Otani University, Kyoto Kata Chiken: Professor, Religious Studies, Tokyo Polytechnic Univcrsity, Tokyo Kinryu Shizuka: Abbot, Telllpic (Shinshu Honganji-ha), Shin Tolsugawa, Hokkaid6 Kuroda Toshio (1926-1993): Professor, japanese History, Osaka Univcrsity, Otani Univ'crsity Kusano Kenshi: Professor, japanese History, Otani University William R. LaFleur: E. Dale Saunders Professor in japanese Studies, University of Pennsylvania IVlatsuIllUTa Naoko: Professor, Sociology, Otani University MinBllloto Ryoen: Emcritus Profcssor, Hislory of Japan"", Thought, 'Ibhoku University, Sendai Terakawa Shunsh6: Emcritus Professor, Shin Buddhist Studies, Otani University Stanley Weinstein: Emeritus Professor, Buddhist Studies, Yale University Yasutollli Shin'ya: Professor, Shin Buddhist Studies, Otani Daigaku (Olani University), Kyoto Trallslators Mark L. Blum Maya Hara: Kyoto National Museum xiii xiv Contriblltors Sara Horton: /\ssistant I'rofessDr. Religious Studies. Maealester College Thomas Kirchner: Intcmational Research Institute for Zen Studies. Hanazono University. Kyoto William Londo: Assistant Professor, History. Saint Vincent Collegc Eisho NaslI: Assistant Professor. Rc\,. Yoshitaka Tamai Professor ofJodo Shin Studies, Institute of Buddhist Studics. Berkeley Jan v<ln Bragt: Former Director, N<lnzan Institute For Religion <lml Culture, NagoY<I Rennyo and the Roots of Modern Japanese Buddhism ABO\'I';: Rcnn)'o portrait (scroll). ABOVE: Yoshizaki Inlet map (scroll). 1 MARK L. BLUM Introduction The Study of Rennyo I n the annals of Japanese history, Rennyo (1415-1499) is a figure of enormous influence known primarily for fashioning the Honganji branch of Jodoshinshu into an institution of growing strength ata time when so many others were weakened by profound political, social, and economic disruption, including ten years of civil war. Rennyo created or was at the forefront of new paradigms of religion, economics, and social structure that not only enabled him and his church to survive violent attacks but led to the accruing ~ unprecedented power and influence among all classes of society, from peasants to courtiers. As a result Rennyo is seen by some as a savior figure, by others as an ambitious daimyo. The more sympathetic view regards him as the "Second Founder of Jodoshinshu," who not only saved the sect from destruction by its enemies but also, through his energetic and inspired leadership, united many of its disparate communities under the institutional banner ofHonganji, put it on sound financial footing, rightly established it as the dominant branch of the sectarian legacy of Shinshii founder Shinran (1173-1262), and in the end ensured the survival of Shin Buddhism as a whole. The less sympathetic view sees Rennyo as a skilled politician who distorted many of Shinran's philosophical positions in order to create a massive feudal institution of significant wealth, financially fueled by ignorant populations of believers in whose eyes Rennyo had the power to determine their postmortem fate. Rennyo has thus been of great interest to many Japanese scholars in various fields, most commonly Buddhist studies, religious studies, political science, social and economic history, sociology, art history, and woman's studies, among others. But critical writing on Rennyo outside Japan did not begin until the 19705, when Michael Solomon and Minor Rogers coincidentally completed dissertations on Rennyo in 1972,1 and Stanley Weinstein published his groundbreaking "Rennyo and the Shinshii Revival" in 1977. 2 James Dobbins helpfully situated Rennyo in the context of the medieval history of Jodoshinshii in his Jodo Shinshu: Shin Buddhism in Medieval Japan, but since Rennyo was the subject of just one chapter, the book precluded any detailed presentation of problematic issues. l It was not until the 2 Introdllction publication of Re71ll)'o by Minor and Ann Rogers in 19914 thalwc sal\' a full-length stud\, on this man and his times. That study is an enormousl), useful guide and coniains translations of most of Rennyo's Letters, but the concerns in this volumc are considcrablv different from the areas wherc thal work displaycd its most critical analyses (countering Marxist intcrpretations, defending Rennyo's me of al1ji1l as equivalent to Shinran's term shiniill, for example). In the decade since it was written, there has been a huge outpouring of intcrest in japan attendant upon the celebrations commemorating the 500th anniversary of Renn)'o's death. Particularly between 1997 and 2000 (by Japanese counting, the anniversary year was 1998), throughout the countrj' there were a grc;lt many lectures given, ceremonies held, art exhibited, television programs and films shown, and a amount of new scholarship published. Since both branches of I-Ionganji are locatcd in Kyoto, this old capital city was the centcr of much of this activit)', including an unprecedented Rcnnl'o Exhibition at the Kyoto National MuseuTTT and a special subconference devoted to Renn)'o at the annual meeting of the Association for Indian and Buddhist Studies held at Otani Univcrsity that year. Forty of those papers were publishcd in Japanese in the volume entitled Rerl1l)'o 110 sekai, and seven of thc writings in this volume are translations or modified versions of th05c essays. If tltis number seems large, in faet there is much more: if one includes the modern translations of Rennyo's writings, more than sixty books about Rennyo have been published in japan since 1997. Considering the general paucity of materials cxtant from the Muromachi period, this much activity reflects a much broader and more creative use of materials; in essence we have had a veritable renaissance of RcnllYo studies. In selecting essays for this volume, the editors have tried to reAect many of these ncw approaches to communicate the richness of this field. We cannot presume to know who this man was, but by any reckoning he was remarkable. Only sevcn years into his tenurc as abbot of Honganji, the temple is attacked by warriors again and again until all buildings are burned to the ground. Rennyo barely escapes with his life, and while in exile not only restores Honganji but expands it into a church of national promincnce with political power that rivals the grcatest religious institutions of his day. It is well known that Shinshu priests have always taken wives openly after their training, but Rcnnyo married no less than five times, fathering twenty-seven children. \Vlrile it is na'ive to presume Ihat a pristine form of Shinshu had remaincd unchanged from the time of Shinran until Rennyo assumed the abbotship, there is no qucstion that hc wrought many changes within Honganji that eventually affected all branches of the sect. While critics fault Rennyo for expanding the institution at the expense of its spirituality, the significant number of ncll' con\'crts to the Honganji religious paradigm as redefined by Renn)'o suggcst otherwise. Rennyo did revise and reshape both the religious institution and its rcligious message, but how much was lost in those revisions and how much was gained is subjective. For though we are somewhat able to grasp the form of Shinshu and specifically Honganji culture under its prior leadcrs- indeed many of their IVritings are extant-we can never be certain how much the differences wc perceive today in rhetoric and inferred organizational structure under Rennyo's tenure reflect meaningful differences in belief, practice, and perception, and how much merely The Stud)' of Rellll)'o '3 changes in the way things were expressed in the lIIore than 200 years that separate Shiman and Rennvo. From om pOil{t of view today, more than fi"e centurics aftcr his death, Rennyo thus presents hvo historical faces: one spiritually appcaling, magnetic, and humble; the other politically savvy, powerful, anclwith rcsponsibility for the lives of tens of thousands. Even putting aside an)' trace of the "great man" notion of history, Rennyo nonetheless occupies a unique position in japanese history as having transformed a relatively small religious sect in troubled times into a national organization of wealth and power. Man), of the essays examine Rennyo's utilization of the symbols of his church's authority, but the fact that those symbols grew significantly in stature uncler his leadcrship t'ells llS that Rennyo's presence itself was substantial, suggesting that in Rennyo we find bolh personal charisma and his institutional genius. Given the Weberian dictum that the mark of a truly charismatic leader is administrativc incompetence, Rennyo presents a real cnigma. How could both these extremes be combined in the same individual? Is our understanding of the man so off the mark that we havc the wrong picture entirely? Or docs the example of Renn)'o essentially disprove VVeber's clocb-ine? How much of Rennyo's success was actually due to his efforts, how much ercdit shoTllrl hc given to the attractivcness of Shinran's doctrine, and how much is a rcstTlt of social, political, and economic factors is a problematic underlying a 11 the cssays hcre. The fact is that before thc time of Rennyo, his church, the Honganji, was only one among many branches of Shin Buddhism, itself only one aTlTong TlTany so- called new schools of Pure Land Buddhism that were cstablished in the previolTS two centuries. Moreover, Shinran's institulional legacy itself was rather wcak compared with the other nell' developments in his time; Ihat is, the branchcs of Shinran's lineage do not appear to have becn among the more socially and politically prosperous or prominent among the many that sprang from Honen's disciples in the thirteenth century. The fifteenth-ccntury religious landscape of Japan into which Rennyo was born \Vas dominated by major institutions of an earlier agc, such as Mount Hiei, Miidera, Kofukuji, and the like, as well as the prescncc of thc ncw Gozan orders of thc Rittzai school in the capital with its strong bakufu support. Among the newly established Pure Land schools bascd on Honcn's legacy that had only grown in size and inOucnce through the two ccnturics since I-Ioncn's death, it was the Chinzei and Sci zan branchcs of the j6c1oshu, and thc jishu founded by Ippen, that appear to have been most inAuential when Rennvo first camc on the scene. Evcn aTTlong the various lillcs of Shinshu, most schol:Hs see the Takac\a and Bukkoji branches as overshadowing the Hongattji before Rerlll\'o's impact was felt. When the allegedly amoral and anti-authoritarian values mani'fest in the behavior of Honganji followcrs in Omi Provincc caused such ire among thc leaders of Mount Hiei as to provoke the sending of troops to suppress them (discusscd in chapLer 7), the leaders of thc Takada school were only too quick to write to thc abbot of Enryakuji to clarify how their inLerpretation of Shinran's teaching differecl from that found in Honganji-affiliated communities. Indeed, the vcr)' lI'eakness in the political presence of Honganji during this crisis carll' in Rcnnyo's leadership is illustrated by the fact that I-Ionganji was finally able to negotiate an end to the armed 4 Introduction attack against it by reaffirming its status as a branch temple within the Enryakuji insWlltion of Mount Hiei, essentially making a public denial of its own autonomy. But that was during the Onin War, when most of thc powerful military households were engaged in open conflict, tens of thousands of troops fought on the streets of the capital, and a general lawlessness pervaded the region. 5 It was many ycars before Rennyo decided it was safe to return to the capital for the reconstruction ofHonganji, and the choice of Yam ash ina outside the urban center and the fortrcsslikc structure that was built there is ani), one manifestation of his appreciation of the need for self-protection. That need resulted in various alliances with people and institutions of power, most famousl), with Miidera and thc warlords Togashi Masachika and Hosokawa Masamoto. In 1493, six years before Renn),o's death, Masamoto would overthrow the shogun and run the bakufu through his chosen successor, in essence becoming the most powerful man in the country. And as his power increased, so did his role as protector of Rcnnyo and Honganji. By this time Rennyo had administrative control over thousands of peasant soldiers, and I-Ionganji eventually reached a position of political and religious prominence that rivaled EnrYHkuji and Mount Hiei itself. Under his tenure many Shin communities achieved more economic and political independence than they had evcr known, and some even instituted democratic systems of government at the local level. Rennyo was courted by dailllYo for the size and commitment of his community, and a major part of his legacy was an illstitution in Honganji that seemed comlllcnsurate with that of a feudal domain in many of its functions, prompting some to see Rennyo himself as a daimyo. After Rennyo's death, Honganji only grew stronger, whereupon Nobunaga sought its destruction as he had destroyed Mount Hiei, and yet it was the one domain that he was unable to conquer. As was already noted, these events are not in dispute; how Honganji got to this point is disputed, however, as is the natllfc of its religious role in Rennyo's time. For those who see the growth of a religious organization on this scale to be impossiblc without an attwclive and fulfilling spiritual message that both captures the imagination of its adherents and satisfies their religious needs, Renn)'o's achievement, whatever it meant politically, is primarily in the area of formulating a coherent religious message. For those who see the growth of any social institution as primarily about power relations anel their managcmcnt, the key to understanding Rennyo lies in his strategies of control over his congregations and the infrastructure he created for his church that continued for many gencrations after his death. Indeed one of the most satisfying aspects of this project has becn the discovery that ncarly all the contributors do not regard these as mutually exclusive interpretations, and the readcr will gain an appreciation of the unmistakable fact that Rennyo was a successful religious leader and successful political leader. The sixteen essays that follow this introduction are clivided into three parts: historical studies that examine Rennyo in the context of the history of Japan, Japanese religion, and Japanese Buddhism; ShinshCi studies, which consider Rennyo and his era in terms of issues particular to the sectarian study of ShinshCi; and comparative religion contributions that look at the legacy of Rennyo in terms of religious issues common to Europcan traditions. II brief summary of some of the salient points made in the each of the essays follows. The StlJdy of I\ell11)'o 5 The biographical outline of Rennyo's life written by Yaslltomi Shin'va not onlv presents what is currently known about the circumstances of his to the abbotship of HOllganji, geographical movement, and approach to his community, it also opens with the impact that the political instability of Rcnnvo's timc had upon his outlook, an oft-repcated theme in all thc essays.' I-Icre we 'see how the watershed IlIOlllent in Rennyo's career is probably Enryakuji's formal anl1oyncement, on the ninth day of the first month in 1465, of its intention to dcstrov the Otani Honganji complex in Kyoto where Rennyo resided and the subscque1;t attack that came the next day. While that raid only partially destroyed I-Ionganji, another attack in the third month essentially finished the job. Attacks on other I-Ionganji communities followed, and whcn the bakufu finally persuadcd Enryakuji to cease Its persecutIon of what was then called IkkiJ.shIi, this point did not come until the fifth llIonth of that year. These cvcnts illustrate the frcedom of the f\ilount Hici power brokers to move at will at that time, btlt they also highlight the fact that when Rennyo begall his campaign to reconfigurc the I-Ionganji community he did so under the stress of exile. Renn),o's thought then, must bc seen against this background: he lived his entire life during a period of enormous social illStabilitv, even after I-Ionganji was rebuilt in Yamashina on the outskirts of Kvoto, whe'n traditional centers of power like the court and the bakufu enjoyed o'nly limited inAuence over the nation. Kuroda Toshio is famous for catcgorizing the "establishment" Buddhism of the Kamakura period as kemnitsll taisei, a teml that combines the words for cxoteric and csoteric forms of Budd his III to indicate a religious, social, anel political worldview cOlllmon to all major forms of institutionalized BuddhisllI in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. While Kuroda has argued that by and largc the socallcd IICIV schools of Buddhism werc generally viewed merely as heretical forms of that paradiglll, ane! thereby did not seriously challenge it, ill chapter 3 he recognizes the writings of Shinran as having "aimed at sllfllIounting the shortcolllings of kenmitsll thought." In looking at Rennyo, Kuroda reminds us that political unrcst was not the only socially meaningful characteristic of society in the fifteenth century. Rennyo lived also at a time whcn the sociopolitical structure of thc siliJell system in which three centers of power-court, shognn, and religious Illshtuhons-were belllg replaced by individllal daimyo ruling thcir clomaillS ,IS autonomous units of power. The breakdown in the ke1l11lifslI power structure naturally led to a loss of authority of the old, established institutions stich as MOllllt Hiei and the subsequent rise of intercst in local cults and llewer forms of Budd his Ill. stress:s the importance of the fact that Rennyo was speaking to a populace III w.hlch an ll1tellcclual approach to religion was much more widespread thall in prevIous centUrIes when a small elite of highly educated charismatic scholar- monks determined the direction of religion. Rellnyo's message should therefore be seen in the context of this society whcn many peoplc were seeking morc c1nect control over then envIronment; the peasant ikki leagucs and their uprisings are but one example. Similarly, Rennyo reinforces Shinran's assertion that true religion nol only deserves a place separate from secular pOlVer structures but also fundamentally nccd not define itself hy its relationship with those sccular structures. r __ 6 Introduction Next, Stanley Weinstein in chapter 4 providcs a useful comparison between Shinran and Rcnnyo as leaders of Shinshu culture. Wcinstcill views Shinran as rather pure and unbending in his refusal to sacrifice his religious intcgrity to thc demands of society. By comparison, Rennyo was "the builder" who did what was necessary to creatc the cdifice of I-1onganji. Weinstein frames our understanding of Rennyo within the evolution ofjapanese scholarsh ip in the postwar period, pointing out how Rennyo had garnished an enormolls amount of interest among historians, both Marxist and otherwise, becallse of his apparent promotion of self-empowermcnt movements among the populace. Vv'hen \"Ieinstein sho\\'s how, unlike Shinran, Rcnnyo exhibits strong sectarian consciollsness and professes a doctrinc in which resolute faith leads not only to the Pure Land in the next world but material benefits in this one,. it calls to mind similar rhetoric from the Protestant Rcformation. It raises the specter of a doctrinc of "predestincd salvation of the elect" in Rennyo, an association that also emerges from the contributions of Kato Chiken (chapter 15) and William LaFlclIf (chapter 16). Matsumura Naoko in chaptcr 5 thcn examines Rennyo's take 011 what Kasahara Kazuo has labclcdthe Shinshu tradition of 11)'011 in shoki, a twist on the phrase akullin s/zoki. Akwzin s/Zoki, itself a paraphrase of chaptcr 3 of the Ta111zisi1o, is Shinshu jargon for a position attributed to Shinran that if good people are accepted into AlIlida's Pure Land, how much more so does the Buddha welcome the bad (or the evil). Kasahara thus understood Rennyo's ovcrt religious acceptance of women to have followed the precedcnt ofZonkaku,6 who inferred that because women are seen as inherentlv limited as a karmic given, one should infer that it is to womcn that the Buddha's is directed most intCllsely. Matsumura recognizes the importance of this issue for Rennyo, yet finds his view of wOlllcn dccidedly ambivalent. On the one hand Rennyo is clear that his sectarian tradition does not accept any differences between the spiritual potential of mcn and of women. On thc other he repeats the traditional view that 1V0mcn are hindered by the infamous formula known as the "five obstaclcs and three submissions," and he sent one of his daughters into thc house of the shogun as a concubine, presumably to cement political ties with his church. Citing Kyogen scripts and other contemporary sources, Matsumura shows how women were becoming increasingly recognized for their contributions in thc Muromachi period, yet in areas such as divorce, society's presumption of male supcriority for the most part remained unshaken. \"Ihat. is perhaps most fascinating herc is the fact that while traveling from commumty to eommuIlIty Rcnnyo encouraged women to form gender-specific study groups, or ko, for lay and monastic alike; these strike Matsumura as strikingly similar to the self-empowering soliuarity groups that began forming in the last quarter of the twentieth century. The essay by Kinryu ShiZllka (chapter 6) utilizes documents written by European Catholic missionaries dating from the latter half of the sixteenth century 10 bring in new information on Shinshu in the century after Rennyo. Although unavoidably distort cd to some degree, this material contains many things we can learn about the immediate post-Rennyo era, not the least being the forms that Shinshu took at the folk level, where IIlany of thcse dcscriptions are based. Hcre we see a considerable amount of horr;i-suijaku and esoteric religious expression in which thcre is a rich symbolic interplay behveen Amida and Kannon as wish- The Stud)' of Reml)'o 7 granting savior figurcs anci the forms in which they manifest. The phrase /lamu- amida-butsu itsclf was analyzed for its symbolic content, and Kinryu also shows how many of these ideas are echoed in Edo period dallgiboll, thought to rcprcsent popular sermons. Ever aware of the danger of losing souls to incorrect religious teachings, the priest Valign3no, for example, declares, "No matter what sins one has committed, [the priests] ... chant the namc of Amida or Shaka, and so long as one truly believes in the virtue of this act, those sins will be completely cleansed. Therefore, other atonements are complctely unnecessary ... this is thc same as the teaching of Luther." For the missionaries, this lkko-shii was a religion of pcasants. But it was also a religion that inspired great piety ami loyalty; their records tell of rural doio where the members asscmble thrice daily for serviccs, and of the decapitation of a dojo leadcr for "hercsy" by a Christian daim),o in Kumamoto. Kenshi's contribution in chapter 7 looks at the i;litial military attack on the Otani I-Ionganji that first drove Rennyo from the capital. By examining documcnts produced by Mount Hiei to justify thc raid, Kusano illustrates how the accusations Icveled against Shinshu by Enryakuji are clcarly linked to I\enn)'o's activities, accusing the /-Ionganji of practices that slandcr both bllddlws and kami. An interesting of criticism over name of mugeko-shti adopted by man)' of the I-Iongan)1-affihated groups III the ami arca, which is associatcd with a doctrine whcrcill an "unhindered" Amida Buddha empowereclllis believcrs to feel similarly unrcstricted in their activities. Kllsano points to Rcnn),o's destruction of Buddhist icons (also discussed in chapter 9) as one of thc most serious of the accusations. He gives examples that show how the frequent admonition in Renn),o's Letters against the open disdain displayeclto local kami is testimony that that kind of thing \Vas quite prevalent among Honganji followers, for they are criticized for ignoring pollution customs that result in desecrating shrine precincts. As Kusano suggests, this is not only about the ancient religion we now call Shinto but also about disrupting the political hierarchy embedded in village organizatirllls centercd around shrines. In chapter 8 Minamoto Ryoen offcrs an analysis of how Rcnn),0'5 thought paved the way for the phenomenon knolVn as l11)'okollill, the name given to a Ilumber of lay saints in this tradition. Although most pcople associatc myokonin with the Edo and Meiji periods, in fact such individllals bcgin to emcrgc during RCllnvo's leadership, and Minallloto on the example of Akao-no-Doshu (d. Ml1lam?to belIeves Rennyo s nenbutsu hermencutic, coupler! with his promotion of tlIe doetTlne known as kiho itta!, "llnificd bodv of individllal and Dharma," changed the culture surrounding Shinshu such that it Icd to thcsc remarkably inspired individuals. In particular, Rennyo's shift from Shandao's vicw of ncnbutsu as a call to personal commitment and practicc to one ill which both virtues are secn to be emanating from the Buddha himself through thc bclicvcr clarified a point on which Shinran was nol consistcnt. Echoing the mysticism in the An;il1ketsu;osho (and K6sai), Rennyo writes of the attained inclivi(hwl who the Buddha: who has a "dialogue" with the Buddha, and in his later ycars tillS IS holV he descnbed one who has attained the goal of or alljin. This dialogic attitude is typical of the mature Rellnyo and suggests that hc himself could well have served as a prototype for the myokonin. M inamoto's essay is thus an 8 Introduction important reminder of the fact that Rennyo not only inspired the community-based form of Shin shu that dominated I-longanji from the sixteenth through thc twenticth centurr but also created a new path for the intensely spiritual individual who derives inspiration from discipline and personal rcligious experience rather than from a communal setting. In chapter 9 Mark Blum looks at Rennyo's use of religious icons as a mcans of commlmication. He asks us to considcr the production ancl distribution of hanging scrolls under Rennyo's tenure as commensurate with the composition and distribution of his Letters for the purpose of establishing and confirming relationships, dictating norms of belief, and thus delineating Honganji culture as a whole. Although Honganji had a prior tradition of bestowing sacred scrolls to its outlying affiliated communities, dating back to the time of Shinran, Rcnnyo plunges into this activity in a way unprecedented in its sheer volume and expcnse. But Rennro's rclationship with visual forms of the sacrcd was a complex one, and this chapter echoes Professor Kusano's focus on the significance of RCIll1i'0's period of burning Buddhist icons and ils direct impact on the justification for the persecution of Honganji during his leadership. The essay uses the example of Shinshu icons in RcnIl)'o's day to draw our attcntion to thc societal impact of religious icons in Japanese history as a whole, for we know that a wide freedom in iconic cxprcssion in Shinsllll was significantly curbed under Rennyo when ritual use of the tcn- character my6go scroll initially favored by Rennyo himself and many Shin leaders before him, including Shinran, had to be proscribed after it was demonstrated to provoke intense, at times violently repugnant reactions by some of the leadcrs on Mount Hiei. Chapter 10, the first essar in the Shinshu studies part, is lerakawa Shunsh6's look at the Shinshu view of 6;6 or Birth in the Pure Land, usually abbrcviated here as Birth. This key concept is of crucial importance because there has been considerable misunderstanding of the implications of it in Japanese Pure Land thought; it is too often reified to nothing more than postmortem rebirth ill a paradise. Terakawa first looks at Shinran's final statements on it, in his seldom-reacl ,odo sa1lgy6 0;6 mOIlTUi and better-known Ichinen tanen mOIl'i and YuisiJillsiJo mOIl'i. Ke)' here is the fact that Shinran directly ties the Pure Land goal of 6;6 to broader religious issues such as the attaining of nirviil.w, the epiphanic experience of shinjin (the "belie\'ing mind"), and the Tanluan's twofold notion of the believer's merit transfer (huixiallg, Japanese eko). Tcrakawa stresses that our understanding of Rennyo's statements on practice, faith, ancl rcalization must be seen within the context of Shinran's understanding of 0;6 as being something realized in this lifetime, not after death. The problem lics in the fact that Rennyo frequently uses language that beseeches the Buddha to "help me in the next life." Through his masterful understanding of Shin doctrine, Terakawa weaves an interprctivc tOllT de force that maintains Shinran's morc radical position within Rennyo whilc finding room for his shift in cmphasis. Kakll Takeshi in chapter 11 provides a window into how Rennyo was resurrected by some as an authoritative religious thinker in the Meiji period, when Buddhism faced government persecution and criticism from many quarters as an anachronistic institution anathema to modernization. He notes thatno less a figure than Fukuzawu The Stud), of Rerm)'o 9 Yukichi praised Rennyo for his take on the concept of obo-bupp6, or "imperial law and thc Buddhist law," which he read as advocating the modern legal principle scparating church and state, an interpretation that led to Rcnnyo's Letters becoming bctter studied than Shinran's own writings during the Meiji period, When Kiyozall'a Manshi cmcrgcd as a leading Shinshu intellectual in the 189os, his insistence on modern, critical sectarian studies caused a rift between conservativc and reform movements within the church, Examining the contribution of Soga Ryojill, a disciple of Kiyozawa, Kaku argues that Soga sought to resoh'e this conflict hi' redefining Rennyo and his doctrines. Over the rears we see how Soga writes of Rennyo as social reformer on the one hand and religious mystic on the other, and it is fascinating to see how much Saga and Kiyozawa were taken with Rennyo's embrace of both the Tannisho and the kih6 itteli doctrine, the latter also discussed ill Professor Minamoto's essay (chapter 8). Kakl1 cbrifies for liS how the Otani branch (Higashi Honganii) of Shinsl111 created the underpinnings of its modern doctrinal position on the basis of a Tanllis/](}-centered philosophy running from Shinran to Renn)'o to Kiyozall'a to Soga. In Soga's words, this attitudc is characterized by an approach common to these thinkers such that Buddhism is not regarded as a perfected form to be acceded to, bul something to he "understood ... through their own experiences." In chapter 12 Alfred Bloolll considers Rennyo's legacy in the context of the postwar period and his potential for inspiring progressive dcvelopments within thc Honganji institution. lIe reminds lIS that Rennyo regarded the Honganji church itself as thc historical manifestation of the working of the Buddha's wisdom and compassion, yet he warns against tendcncies toward rigidity and inflexihility that may emergc from an acceptance of this view today. Bloom notes that Rennyo himself transformed the institution significantly, even reformulating church rhetoric to emphasize the afterlife, turning away from Shinran's foclls on the experience of awakening. Bl.oom affirms this movie as a natural and healthy to adapt to one's surroundmgs III ways that are inIlovative if they succced in communicating your message. As an IllustratIon of how Rcnnyo's considcrable communication skills were employed to this end, Bloom notes the important liturgical role in I-Ionganji ?f and Sh6shillge, a legacy of Rcnnyo's efforts, begun in Yoshlzakl, to pnnt and dlstnhnte these texts so that Shin communities could each have for their own services. V,Ie also knolV that Rennyo promotcd the orgal1lzahon of small voluntary associations usually callcd ka, also discussed in chapter 5, whose leaders he kcpt in his confidence, giviIlg thcm his imprimatur for self-government in thc service of providing a space for religious activities. It was local groups. that he wa.s able to tie togcther despite geographical separation mto the broad, natIOnal orgamzahon that I-Ionganji became. Renn)'o thus promoted a model of local democratic groups that wcre tied to a mother church that othcrwise remained essentially feuclal in structure. Ikeda YGtai has spent a number of years studying RCllnyo's Letters, and ill chapter 13 he examines the observation that these are dircctly inspired by ami therefore anothcr expression of the philosophy of the Tarlllis/zrJ. Such was the conclusion of a commentary Oil by Ryosho in the eightecnth century and was asserted agam by Soga RyoJln, as IS dIscussed in ehaptcr I\. Ikeda considers 10 Introduction the implications of the text-critical findings of Miyazaki Enjun, who discovcrcd that some twenty-five years had elapsed betwcen the writing of inclividllal scntences in the extant text copied by Rcnnyo, meaning that Rennyo kept this book with him over a long period of time. After discussing Rennyo's famous colophon to the Tallllishi5: "This should not be shown indiscriminately to those who lack karmic good roots," Ikeda provides a valuable analysis of the interprclivc "differences" so bcmoaned by that work as understood by Rennyo, according to statements in his Lellers. Ikeda divides Rennyo's notion of heresy into four categories: (I) misunderstanding of nenbutsu practice, (2) secret practices and doctrines within certain local communitics (called hiii bi5moll), (3) public pronouncemcnts of Shinshii doctrine before nonbelievers, and (4) teaching non-Shinsllll doctrines, I' false cloctrines, or for money. In chapter 14, the final chapter in the Shinshii studies part, Yasulomi Shin'ya presents all example of the rich folklore tradition that has grown up around Rennyo and is little known outside japan, offering a multifaceted interpretation of a folktale associated with Rennyo's four-year residence in Yoshizaki. A kind of setstlwa tale, this story has a clear religious message and found ils way into the normative pictorial biographies of Rennyo but also enjoyed retelling in nonrcligiollS contexts. A story in which women are the central characters, it concerns the tragedy of death within a family and thc resultant acute spiritual needs of the remaining family members, expressed in tension between a mother-in-law and her son's widow. Yasutomi offers three interpretations of the story: as a blueprint for a Na drama, as a statement about the traditional prejudice against women in Japanese Buddhism, and as a symbolic representation of the regional conflict between the religio-political paradigm of Honganji alJ(lthat of the indigenous mountain cults in the Hokuriku area such as the one surrounding Mount Haku, or Hakusan, a mountain where ascetic, shugendo practices continue to the present day. The story communicates a number of important aspects for understanding Rennyo: that he was explicit in his doctrine of equality of men and women before the Buddha, and at times even reflected Zonkaku's earlier view, discussed in chapter 5, that Shinran's doetrine implied that women were the precise object of thc Buddha's compassion; that he was enamored of No drama and incorporated No elements into his own preaching style; and that there was always some degree of social and political upheaval brought on by the expansion of Honganji's inOuence over an cver-widening geographical area under Rennyo's leadership, of which the ikko ikki peasant uprisings are only the most salient example. The last point illustrates the complcx relationship between I-Ionganji under Rennyo and the local cults today we put under the rubric Shinto. Chapter 15 offers a sample of Kata Chiken's extensive work comparing the lives and religions ideas of Rennyo and Martin Luther. Kata is stmck not only by the similarities in their religious outlook but by their personalities as well. He noles that both were happy in domestic settings, a fact he sees as indicative of their devotion to deepening the religious consciousness of the common people. Intrigued with Luther's concept of an "invisible church," Kato implies that Honganji lmelcr Rennyo probably progressed under a similar principle. At the very least, the examples shown ... The Stllciy of Rellll)'o II here of the parallel problems faced when leaders like Rcnnyo and Luther attempl to realize all idcalized religions community snggest the need for furthcr inquiry into arcas of consonance and dissonance betwccll religious visions and social rcalities, especially for the history ofBuddhislll, where, outside of SrI Lanka, Tihet, and some Chan studies, snch inquiry is particularly lacking. In any case, Kat6 concludes that the many similarities between Luther and Rennyo naturally arise because both expollnd ideologies that stand on a doctrine of "faith alone," or in modern Shin language, "absolute Other-Power." This notion begs other questions: (1) Since Rennyo never used eithcr expression, how woulc1we understand his response to Klt6's analysis? (2) Is there a similar deni<II of free will in Rennyo's writings to that seen in Luther's anti-Erasmus 1525 polemic De servo ariJitrio, for there is a glaring tension between Rennyo's affirmation of universal access to the Purc Land and his belicfthat Birth Ihere is Ilotopen to people born lI'ithollt the right karmic endowmcnt from Ihcir previous lives? The tension between Luther's o\\'n commitment to universalism and his sense of predestination thus suggcsts there may be a similar presumption of a COllll1l1l11ity of "the elcct" lurking in Rennyo. William LaFleur in chaptcr 16 considers an often overlooked aspect of Rcnl1Yo: his expression of joy. In fact Rennyo frequenlly uses expressions of clation to expr'css the experience offaith, and we err ill omitting this as an esscntial part of his message of hope. LaFleur sees this as part of a lineage of openness that clcfincd a new religious outlook, beginning with Honen and moving through Shinrall to Rcnnyo. It is lIot only that these forms of Pure Land Buddhism consciously distanced themselves from the secret, "hiddenncss" of the older Tendai forms of Japanese Buddhism, but that they also brought a nell' message of confidence regarding karma to the general population, lIIallY of whom feared that their occupations precludcd them from salvation. An important aspect of this openncss is Rennyo's attitucle of treating his followers as "fellow practitioners" rather than as disciples. This combination of humble authority and openness in Rcnnyo suggests a clecp-scated faith in the value of freedom for bringing people to liberation though faith. LaFleur contrasts this attitude with that displaycd by thc Grand Inquisitor questioning jeslls in Fyodor Dostoyevsky's novel The Brothers Karamazov. Set in sixteentil-centurl' Europe, a time close to that of Rennyo, this priest justifies burning hcretics at h ~ stake because, as he explains to jesus, freedom of thought in rcligious mailers is 100 oppressive for tlw people who actually ye.am for "miracle, mystery, and allthority" whdl the Cathohc Church IS able to proVide. Professor LaFleur argiles that Rermvo consciollsl}, moves alVay from all threc of these elements of religion because of I;is focus on experience amI openness. In the final chapter Ruben [-Iabito brillgs us back to the twenty-first ccnturj' by conSIderIng the Illlpact of Rennyo upon holl' the Shin sect has conccived its international role today. Given that Shill Buddhism under I-Ionganji has become both large and i.nAuential ~ o t h inside and outside of Japan, he asks its leadership Important queslIons about Its future direction. Comparing I-Ionganji thought and structure to that of the Roman Catholic Cllllrch, I-Iabito seeks to make Shin lcadcrs more aware of the iSSllcs involved in the "trallSlation" and "contextualization" of the religion for an international alIdience. This point is particularly important for 12 Introduction our evaluation of the legacy of Rcnnyo because, for Habito, Rcnnyo appears to have changed many of Shinran's core positions regarding the religious world outsidc of ShinshQ. Focusing on the problem of altcrity, l-labito recognizes the central role that Rcnnyo had in shaping the Shin attitude toward the non-ShinshQ world over the last 500 rears, and this thoughtful essay fUllctions as an open call for Shin to move beyond that history ill order to clarify once again how Honganji as an institution can provide lcadership for its believers to see other institutions of power in society today, such as the emperor and state power in gcncml, especially in light of the complicity of both Higashi and Nishi Honganji during World War II. As an examplc of how a political statement from a church Icadcr must be understood in its original context so as to limit the scope of its normative value to latcr generations, l-labito points to Paul's letter to Titus, which, though advocating willful submission to political authority, was subject to varying interpretations over timc. Although there is little to suggest that the world in which Rcnnyo Jivcd, the fifteenth ccntury, should be considered even a premodern stage of japanese history, the legacy of Rennyo nonetheless deserves rccognition for its contribution to lIlany of the institutional and cultural developments that we take for granted today as emblematic of Japanese Buddhist institutions in the modcrn period. \\le might consider these changes undcr the rubric of innovative sectarian integration, defined as a successful reworking of sectarian precedclIt ill ways that redefined the relationship behveen religious idealism and institutional need. Successful in this contcxt means growth in size and social stature of the organization, an undeniable fact in the case of Honganji, but one not without attendant controversy as well. But while the changes wrought by Rennyo have not pleased everyone, modern schools of Buddhism in Japan have all been inAuenced to some degree by his creative strategies of communication. I specfically refer to those that successfully infuscd lay populations throughout the country with a sense of identity to their scct as a national entity. By devoting considerable attention to the standardization of snch things as retreats for study and practice, pilgrimage, funerary rituals, fund-raising, norms of behavior, support for women, and the assimilation of local dcjo into the greater church, Rennyo's integration of local, regional, and national forces reRects an institutiollal vision that formed a prototype for what later becamc normative in Japanese religion in the premodern and modern periods. Having left such a deep imprint on ShillShQ culture and japanese history as a whole, Rennyo continues to be the object of historical scrutiny today. His repeated encounters with tragedy-the Gnin war,6 persecution and destTuction of his church, cxile, sectarian infighting-without giving in to despair suggest the strength of his courage and vision but also make him a compelling figure of considcrablc intcrcst. However one imagines the experience of living at a time of such great insecurity, Rennyo emerges as a charismatic leader who deeply understood the anxieties of his age and fashioned a response that met with overwhelming acceptance. With the tens of books and hundreds of articles on Rennyo published in Japan in the past decade, the editors of this study make no claim of comprehensiveness. We only bope that this collection makes a small contribution to the IInderstanding of this figure and his times, and serves Lo stimulate further research. ... The Study of Reml)'O 13 Notes I Minor L. Rogers, "Rennyo Shonin 1415-1499: t\ Transformation in Shin Buddhist ;'icty," Ph.D. dissertation, Harvardynivcrsity, Cambridge, Mass., 1972. tra Michael Sololllon, RCI1l1)'O and thc Rlsc of HonganplII Muromachi Japan," PhD. diss., Columbia University Nell' York, 1972. ' 2 Stanley Weinstein, "Rcnnyo and the ShinshG Revival." in Talum ill the Mllrn1l1flchi Age, eel. john W. Hall and Toyoda Takeshi (Berkeley: of Califolllia Press, 1977), 331-358. 3 James Dobbins, TodD Shimhr1: Shill Buddhism ill [Vledieva! Tapal1 (Bloomington: University of Indiana Press, 1989). 4 Minor L. Rogers anel Ann T. Rogers, Renn)'o: The Second Founder of Shin Buddhism (Berkeley, Cal.: Asian Humanities Press, 1991). 5 See Mary Elizabeth Berry, Tile Culture of Civil \''flr in Kyoto (Berkelcy: University of California Press. 1994). . 6 Lasting a decade, the Onin lVar was a tragic saga that destroyed much of the capllal and yet ultllllatcly deCIded nothing of consequcnce politically. 10 TERAKAWA SHUNSHO TRANSLATED BY MARK L. BLUM Shinran and Rennyo Comparing Their Views of Birth in the Pure Land I f you ask people to suggest an example of the formation of a powerful trilclition over generations in Japanese Pure Land Buddhism l\Iany might point to the lineage formed by the Honen-Shiman link ami then add Rennyo. If onc then added what sacred writings would represent this line, we lVould perceive a continuity of thought in the traditional line that runs through thc Se7lchakushii of HOlien (1133-1212),' the Yuishillsho ofSeikaku (n67-1235),2 the Tmznisho ofYuien (d. 1289)/ and the Letters of Rcnn)'o (1415-1499). This tradition is based on an understanding of the Buddhist path as a "path to Birth via ncnbutsu," an understanding that is certainl), recognized by anyone today. Of coursc, if ),ou ask how we should undcrstand the concept of 0;0 itself, translated here as "Birth," then you are standing squarely within the concerns of this tradition. As someone connected with the tradition of Shinran, I lVould first like to inquire as to how Shinran comprehended 0;0. At the present time, understanding of 0;0 can go in a varicty of directions and olle cannot avoid some SCIISC of confllsion. But during Shinran's time ullderstanding was also quite varied, and it is a mistake to assume that there was llnanilllity ofbclief on this matter. It was within just sllch a context that Shinran examined his own view of 0;0 at the end of his life and left an essay expressing his personal understanding of it. That composition is called !ado sang)'o 0;0 monrui.' In the terse sentences of this monograph Shinran explores a wide variety of views regarding the meanillg of 0;0, ultimatel)' labeling his own view the "Birth based in the Larger Sfilra." Sincc the opinion expressed here is consistent with the views described in his main work, the K),agyoshinsho, I believe wc can rely on this work to ascertaill Shinran's understanding of Birth in the Pure Lam\. 111 his Jado sangyo 0;0 mOl1T1Ji, Shinran OIganizcd the variolls views of 0;0 into three categories, the names of which he takes from the three core slltras of the Pure Land school: 1. 0;0 as described in the Larger [Su/du/vatfvyahaj SfilTCl: Birth that is hard to conceive of. 137 138 ShinshI' Stlldies 2. D;D as describcd in the COrllemllialion Satra: Birth beneath two trees in the forest. 3. Diu as described in the Smaller [Sukhal'atIvyuhaj Siilra: Birth lhat is hard to imagine. Of these three, Shinran is most positive aboul D;D as defined by the Larger Satra compared with Diu ill the Contemplation Satra or KangyD and DiD in the Smaller Sfilra or Amidak),D. His label, the "Birlh that is hard to conceive of," is reminiscent of the language he uses to describe the hongan, or Original VOl\' itself, a "covenant inconceivable." 111 othcr words, we can make the assumption that Shinran's description of this issue as being something hard to conceive of is prccisely so because it is based on the "covenant incOIlceivable." Furthermore, since Shinran also describes this as "the core teaching of the Larger Satra," we can also take this to represent the fact thaI his understanding of Birth is based on what is preached in the Larger Sulra. As a result, we should take this phrase 10 represent Shinran's personal understanding of 0;0. The Two Forms of Merit Tbll1sfer Shinran writes: From the two forms of merit-transfer in relation to the Tathagata, the person who has attained "faith" [shing)'a] withoul fail resides in the stage of being among the group of assured. 5 For that reason, we llse thc term lariki ... . This is the core teaching of the Larger SuklzaV<l/Tv),ulza Siitra. This is also called Birth that is hard to conceive Of6 These words come from his concluding remarks on the Larger Siitra. Here without doubt we see two aspects of Shinran unique ullderstandiIlg of ojo according to the Larger Salra. First is his understanding that aiD according to the Larger Sulra or "Birth that is hard 10 conceive of" means Birth that is realized through the two kinds of merit transfer of the Tathagata. Second is that the concretc expression of o;u according to the Larger Salra lies in the fact that one resides in the position of being among "the assured." On the first point, Shinran is saying that Birth in the PlITe Land is realized by means of the two forms of merit transfer toward the Tathagata, especially that of the gratitude expressed in transferring merit in the aspect of going to the Pure Land (050 eko). On the meaning of lIlerit transference in this aspect of going, Jinrei (1749-1817), a Shinshii scholar froIll the early modern period, explained it this \va}': It refers to the time from when one attains the understanding of "faith" (shin;ill) in this Sahli world, are then born in the Pure Land, and continues up to realizing the enightcnment of nirviil)a. Transferring mcrit on our return from the Pure Land means to return to this defiled world. Returning to this defiled world from the Pure Land, one works for the salvation of all sentienl being'.? The modern scholar Hoshino Genp6 wrote in his Kokai K),ogyoshillshO: Shi'lTClIl clnd Renn)'o '39 The aspcct of going denotes the form of one's going \0 the Pure Land. Since alIT going to the Pure Land is something that is given completely by the Buddha, it is referred to as the merit transfercnce in the aspeel of going. The aspcct of returning denotes the form of one who has returned to this world to save sentient beings afler having achieved Birth in the PlITC Land. This activity, the returning aspect, is also bestowed to us from the Buddha, and so it is called the merit transference in the aspect of returning. 8 These two opinions reflect the COllllllon understanding of the two aspects of merit transference, and in particular the aspect of going 10 the Pure Land. But although it is clear frolll these explanations what these two kinds of merit transfer are, especially the aspect directed at going to the Pure Land, slleh understanding is all too often missing from modern treatments. VVitness, for example, the following explanations in two highly respected modern dictionaries: Bukk)'o iiten This refers to the evcnt of being horn in another 1I'0rld when one's life in this worlel is over, and in Pure Land thought came to refer to leaving behind this defiled land and going off to a so-called "pure land." ... But even if lI'e say that the idea of Birth has its origins in the notion of being reborn in heaven, there is a major difference hetll'een the two notions. The concept of being rehorn in heaven does not transcend the limits of transmigwtion, whereas achieving Birth in Ihe Pme Land means lem'ing behind the wheel of rebirlh and reaching the realm of buddhas .... In JocloshinshG, two forms of Birth are discussed: Spolltaneolls birth in a land of [the Buddha in] a true reward [body], and womb birth in a land of [the Buddha in] an cxpedient [body]. Also, when Birth in the Purc Land is detcrmincd in this 1I"OTld, it is called "immediate Birth" [SOklltoku aia when one is bom in the Pure Land, this is called "Birth that is hard to conceive of" [,wI1shigi aia]." Bllkk)'agakll iiten Leaving this world atlhe end of one's life to be born in the other world .... 111 Judo ShinshG, there are two types of Birth exptained, immediate Birth [SOkll aiu] and expedient Birth [ben 0;0]. Or, there may be three forms of Birth posited, where "imlllcdiate birth" is called Birth that is difficuli to conceive of [tariki nenbntsu, Birth of the eighteenth Vow]. "expedient Birth" is called Birth that is difficult to imagine liiriki ncnbutsll, Birth of the twentieth Vow], and "Birth heneath two Irees in the forest" [Birth by a variety of practices of thc nineteenth Vow]. In Shinshii, it may also be stated that when it is confirmed through the attainmeut of slziniin that Birth is possible, tlli, is called "immeclialc allainmcnt of Birth" fsoklliolm iiiii]. This is also Birth without losing the body [confirmation of Birth e1uring onc's lifetimc, i.e., with a defiled body] and is contrasted with Birth witb losing the body [Birth that occurs wizen the physical body dies]lo Leaving aside the issue of how appropriate these explanations are, despite all the detail about Birth in Shinshii with or without losing the body, or Birth in a womb or spontaneously, the three types of Birth, and so on, it is notelVorthy Ihal Ihere is no mention of the relationship between Birth and the transfer of merit loward this goal. The second point I would like to make eonceflls the issue of joining the "group of the assured" while in this life, and on this point Ihe dictionary explanations clo 140 Shil1shii Studies seem to reRect the generally held views. However, the understanding of Birth expressed when Shinran spoke of Birlh according to the Larger Satra was of a concept of joining the assured not seen in these discussions; namely, thc confirmation of bcing on the path to nirviil)a. Moreover, Shinran called this the "core tcaching of the Larger Siitra, the Birth that is difficult to conceive of." Therefore, in order to understand what Shinran really had to say about Birth, we TIlust approach this not with our preconccptions but with an open mind to apprcciate the discourse that he actually used to express himself. Shinran's View of Birth and Merit Transfer The special characteristics of Birth that Shinran expressed when he used the phrase "Birth according to the Larger Salra" concerns the realization of this by means of the two forms of merit transfer. Shinran's basic position can be seen in his \'iew of the other two forms of Birth that he does not see as having presumed the two forms of merit transfer. That is, Birth according to the Contemplation Siitra rcfers to yearning for the Pure Land after transferring the merit one personally has accuTllulated in all one's good karmic action; and Birth according to Ihe Amida Sfitra is Birth that one asks for ollly by means of the power inherenl in transferring merit accrued from personally [evoking] the Buddha's holy name, bccause one cannot accept the inconceil'able wisdom of the Buddha. These other forms of Birth are the means by which one embraces the hope of reaching that 1I'0rld when facing one's final moments; they are notions of Birth that spring from the expectation of confirmation that one hopes lI'ill come from thc encouragement of nenbutsll practice. By contrast, what Shinran called Birth according to the Larger S!llra is the Birth that is naturally realized by means of the two types ofTathiigata merittramfer. This interpretation implies, to put it more concretely, something more along the lines of a doctrine whereby someone who engages in ncnbutsu by believing in the Origillal Vow resides naturally and spontaneously in the "group of the assured" in this world and then, upon his next birth, treads the path to the final goal of unsurpassed nirl'al)a. But what precisely is this twofold Tathagata merit transference that realizes Birth according to the Larger Sf/Ira? To undersland Slrinran's fundamental understanding of this, we should first note this \Vasall: Abandoning the dubkha of the beginnillgless spin of sa1/1siira In expectation of the ul1Sllrpassed nirv3I,lu, Thc debt [olldoku 110IVard the Iwo forms of Tathagata IIlcrit transference Is truly difficlllt to repayll A ~ this verse shows, for Shinran the merit transfer directed at the objective of going to the Pure Land and the merit transfer directed at the objective of returning from the Pure Land are both expressions of onc/oku O @ , ~ , the feeling of indebtedness from having received the blessing of the merit transferred from the Buddha. This is the firsl point to keep in mind regarding Shinran's understanding of these t\\'o forms of merit transference. The second is that the person who is able to rcalize Slzimal1 al1d Rfilll1)'O 141 this indebtcdness arising from these two forms of merit transference will have his life Iransformcd from being locked into transmigration to being definitively at the stage of the group of the assurcd. Enacting the transfcr of meril directed at reaching the Pure Land does not simply reRect a notion of Birth in the Pme Land, it also implies residing among the group of assured that is standing on the great path to final, complete nirvaI,la. Let us look at how Shinran expressed this. Shinran exprcsses a most positivc altitude toward merit transference for the goal of Birth in his Kyagyoshi1Jsha, but the most condensed presentation can he found in the section on "Birth according to the Larger Satra" in his lodo sang)'o aja monTui. This is the backbone of Shiman's thought on this matter. Here are the main points of his argument: I. There is lnle practice (shil1jitstl g)'oga) in the merit transference of the 'Illthagaia for the goal of Birth. 111 other words, it is a manifestatioll of the compassionate vows inhercIlt in the invocation of the names of all the buddhas. The compassionate vow [at the base of] invoking the name is as stated in the Larger Satra (text of the Vow is then quoted here.) The text of the accomplishment of Ihe compassionatc \'OIVS [of the Buddha] regarding entrusting in invoking the name is as the sUlra says (text of the confirmation of the Vow is quoted here). 2. In arlditiollthere is a tme faith (shinjilstl shinjin). This is what is m,lIl i fest in the compassionate VOIVS [guaranteeing] Birth \'ia lIenblltsu. These vows of compassion that one entrusts oneself to are stated titus ill the LargeT Siifra (the eighteenth Vow is quoted here). 3 In addition there is a true realization (shinjitstl shaka). That is what is manifest in the compassionate vows of illevitably reaching the final annihilation (17letstldo ) [of defilements that is nirviil.w]. The Larger Satra states the following compassionate vow [as an expression] of [the Buddha's] realization. (Quote from the sutra of a vow that promises everyone in his realm is assured of reaching melstldo.) The sutra [confirms] this attainment of final annihilation, the realization of nirvJl)a, in the texl that narrates Ihe accomplishment of this vow (another quote from the second fascicle). 4 The persoll who has attained this true invocation and this lruc cntmsting has been promised to be enabled to reside al the rank of the gronp of the rightly assurcd. Residing among the grollp of rightl), assurcd has also been described as reaching the [stage of] equivalent [to a buddha's] enlightenment. It is also preached that this cCJuivalent enlightelllnellt stage is the same as Ihat of Maitreya Bodhisattva, who has only one lifetime remaining before buddhahood. That is why the Larger Siilra says "the next one is like Maitreya."ll From these passages we sec how individual is Shiman's unclerstanding of merit transference directed toward Birth. Shinran states that "regarding the merit transference of the h1thagata clirected towarcl Birth, thcre is true practice, true faith, and true realization. What he means is that the activity of this mcritorious debt or merit transferencc toward Birth is manifest in Ihe li;'es of senlicnt beings. The 142 Shinshu Studies concrete form of this true practice is the action of "recitation of the name of the Tathagata of Unhindered Light," characterized in the fascicle 011 practice (in the Kyog)'osilinsiJo) as "the great practice." On his notion of the true siliniin, Shinran likewise in the fascicle on faith (in the Kyogyoshinsilo) identifies this as the self- realization of faith as confessed by Vasubandhu in the beginning of the section entitled Gathas seeking Birth (in the lingtu lUll) in the phrase, "With a singularity of nliml I take refuge in the Tathagata of Unhindered Light in the Ten Directions:' This is none other than the so-called practice and faith of the selected Original Vow, which is precisely the ground where Jodoshinshii makes its presence known. In addition, Shinran enthusiastically speaks of the central issue of the attainment of true realization. We can find this discussion in tlte fascicle on attainment (in the Kyog),oshinsho): Ordinary beings replete with spiritual defilements [reside in a] a mass of budding [anxieties which spring from] the sinful defilements of S<ll]ISara. But if they obtain the mind and practice of the merit transference directed at Birth, immediately they become countcd among the Maha)'ilna gronp of those assured. And bccause they reside among the grollp of assured, they will reach nirviil)H without fail." As an excellent scholar-monk of the Buddhist tradition, Shinran was well aware that true realization meant "the ultimate attainment of unsurpassed nirviil)a." But at the same time he also accepted positively the fact that for the individual residing in the community of assured whose steps arc taken toward the inevitable attainment of nirvana, this true attainment occurs in one's present condition. This is a point that needs to be strcsscd. Merit Transference and Religious Attainment in This Life Thus Shinran takes the activity of "leaving behind sentient beings and crossing this ocean of tWllSllligration,,14 (going to the Pme Land) as an indebted blessing in the form of merit transfer for the goal of Birth that is realized within the lives of sentient beings by means of true practice, true shil1;il1, and true attainment. These three doctrines are each seen as having their roots in vows, that is, the VOIV of all the budd has invoking the namc, the vow of Birth by lIenbutsu, and the vow of attaining nirvaua without fail. From this point of view, Shinran's sense of merit transfer for the goal of Birth is, by means of these three Original Vows which he refers to alternately as "the selected Original Vows of Amida Buddha of merit transfer for the goal of Birth," or as "the Tathagata's benevolence manifesting within sentient beings to which we are indebted." Shinran's understanding of the third Vow, Expressing confirmation of the attainment of nirviilJa without fail, is especially important. On this he says: The person who has attained this tflle invocation and this true entrusting have been promised to bc cnabled to reside at the rank of the group of the rightly assured. Residing among the group of rightly assured has also been described as reaching the [stage] equivalent [to a buddha's] enlightenment." Shim(//l and Hennyo 143 He thus understands the vow's intention to have been accomplished as the individual's inevitability of reaching nirval)a, and he describes this as the state of someone in his present situation billowing with trllc attainment. Shinran's own comprehension of Birth in cvery instance stands lIpon this understanding of thc merit transfer directed toward the goal of Birth. To clarify this further, let us look at a more advanced statemcnt on this point in his /chinell ianen man';: The 1'0\\' of attaining nirviil)a withollt fail expounded in the Larger Siitra pledges "If in becoming a buddha, the people and devas in Ill)' world do not reside in the cOllnnunity of the rightly assured who reach nirviil)2 without fail, may I not attain bllddhahood." The accomplishment of this vow is explained by Siikyamllni as "The sentient beings born in that world all reside in the commllnity of the rightly assured. Why? Becallse in that world all forms of the [other two] groups of the communities of the misguided and indeterlllinate are not present." ... In this IVaI' what Dharmukara Bodhisattva vowed was explained by Sakyamuni for LIS living ';'ith the five stains to be "Thc sentient beings born in tlwt world will all reside in thc community of the rightly assured. Why? Because in that 1V0rid ,Ill forms of the [other two] groups of the communities nfthe misguided and indeterminate are not present." In the statements by these two hOllored ones, the description of Birth as confirming the stage of the communit), of the assured is itself a statemcnt on residing in a stagc of nonbaeksliding. Because this stage being confirmed mcans onc is in a body that will reach nirvHI.m withont fail, this is described as reaching the level of equivalcnce, or reaching avaivartika [thc state of nOllbacksliding]. It is also known as immediately entering [the status of the] inevitably determinate. 16 He calls this the "practice and faith of the selected Original Vow" and also "the mind and practice of merit transfer for the goal of Birth," (080 ekc) no shing)'o). These terms express the realization of his faith as someone who has joined the community of the assured in this body, in this life. Shinran identifics this state with the state of one who stands in the inevitability of reaching as implied in the accomplishment of the vow. I havc already cited this passage from the chapter on Realization (in the Kyogyoshinsho), which narrates this in a way that suggests activity rather than passivity for the indivic\t",llife, but I want to match it with an imJlortant passage in his YuishillSho mon'i: It is the same for ordinary people bound by restrictiom, people like l!Ieat sellers on the bottom of society [and so forth]. If they can entrust themselves to the inconceivable Original Vow of thc Buddha of Unhindcred Light, the holy n'"lIe of enormous wisdom, then they will reach the highest nirv,,!)a evcl1l1'hilc thcY:Ire filled with karmie afflictions. 17 If we follow Shinran's argument, then the 011doklt of the merit transfer for thc goal of Birt'h which expresses Tanluan's "leaving behind senticnt beings and crossing this ocean of transmigration" lies most fundamentally wilh "the selectcd Original Vow of the mcrit transfer of the Tathiigata Amida directed toward [those aiming at] Birth." Shinran understood the tTIIC reality of this achievement by means ofknowing the vow of all the budd has reciting the Name, thc vow of Birth by nenbutslI, and the vow of the incvitability of nirval)a. All this is realized within thc lifctillle of the individual in a very concrete way by means of him or her personally knowing thc reality of this achievement, by meallS of experiencing shin;in and the realizing this 144 Shinshli Studies truth within in their own lives. Thus does the reality of this achievement of the Buddha manifest to sentient beings via their sense of gratitude and indebtedness toward the merit transference that makes their going to the Pure Lalld a reality. When we think of how we know this, that is, through the process to the realization that I myself reside among the assured who is on the path to the ultimate aim of unsurpassed nirval)a, we see how this is w111ethillg active (rather than passive). Thus we see how much effort Shinran put into narrating his view of realizing the merit transfer for the goal of Birth. At the risk of sounding redundant, if we follow Shinran's view on this, it is not as simple a matter as it seems. It is all the more obvious thai Ihis notion of oio is not something that is realized after physical death in the sense of a "future Birth in the Pure Land." Every time Shinran writes of merit transfer directed to the goal of Birth, he always expresses himself in this way. Nevertheless, it seems that we have beell saddled with a fixed understanding of Shinran that views his notion of the two forms of merit transfer regarding Birth (oso eko and gellso eko) as simply a round trip to the Pure Land. i cannot help but look upon this idea in the salTle way that the Tallllisha laments the way that people become "enlightened to their own opinions," missing the uniqueness of what Shinran had to say by a thousand miles. Pure Land Birth Pointillg to Nirvaoa As has been mentioned, Shinran refers to this path to self-awareness realized by means of the Olldoku of the merit transfer for the goal of Birth as "the core issue of the Larger St7tra, the Birth that is difficult to conceivc of." What he also calls "Birth according to the Larger Siifra" rellects his understanding of holV someone is able to live on this path of self-awareness as a human resicling ill the community of the assured in his present life, a concrete expression of the real attainment that comes from thc gratitude and indcbtedness (ondoku) arising from experiencing both forms of merit transfer from the Tbthagata. For another expression of Shinran's umlerstamling of Birth, i retum to his Ichinen tanen 11l01l'j: Because one atlains the true shilljin, one is therefore embraced by the mind of the Buddha of Unhindered Light and never abandoned .. , .In other words, regardless of the passage of time, when it is determined that the individual is al the stage of the community of the assured, it can be said that he or she allains i5iii.1S This passage appears to make Shinran's position quite clear, bnt let me pursue the matter further in the interests of arguing that my own understanding is the correct one. Shinran has said in these passages that his understanding of what the Larger Snlra means by "immediate Birth" (sokutoku aia) is the determination that by lTleans of attaining slziniil1 one naturally and immediately attaiIlS the stage of the communit)' of the assured. As was seen in the quotation from the Bukk)'o ii/en, that dictionary's characterization of the Shinshii position as "when Birth is determincd in this world, it is called 'immcdiate Birth'" seems subjective, even inaccurate. Shinran's own realization ofimmedialc Birth is based on the Larger Siilra's statement Shinwll and Renn)'o Lf5 that this refers to the individual "residing in the community of the assurcd, destined to reach nirvana." To break through the standard understanding ;lIld truly see Shiman's unique understanding of the meaning of Birth, one should begin with the suggestion in his statement in the lchinell tanen Tllon'j that one should "carefully, careflilly consider" the statement in the Larger St7tra that confirms the accomplishment of Amida's vows. Moreover, the unclerstanding of Birth he displays whcn he labels "Birth according to the Larger Siitra" as a "Birth difficult to conceive of" in his lodo sallg)'o oiB monrui is one viewed from his perspective on the two forms of merit transference. That is, the manifestation of merit transfer for the goal of reaching Birth is felt as a blessing bestowed from the Buddha's true virtue to one self-awakened fro III obtaining true practice and faith. At that point, one's life is tllrned away from sall1sara toward a life that relics on this true merit, that is, a life that manifests thc individual's position within the community of the assured. Such a life is naturally characterized by deep feelings of gratitude. In his ,ado sangyB aia 11l01lrui Shinran makes the following Slllllmar)': Birth according to the Larger Salra [is possibte through} the Original Vow selected by the 11lthagata, an inconceivable oceun of a Vow, and this is called tariki [Othcr- Power}. This means that by means of the Vow which is the cause of Birth throngh nenbutsu [nellblitsli iiiii]. the individual wilt inevitably reach the goal of the Vow which is [enabling that person to realize} nin'nl)a. Residing among the group of assured in this life, he or she knows he or she will reach the true Pure Land of the Buddha in a reward-body. This means that because of the true cause which is the merit transfer from Tathagata Amida for the goal of Birth, one is enlightened to the highest nin!iil:/Q. This is precisely the core teaching of the Larger SOlra. For this reason, this is called Birth according to the Larger Satra. [italics added} SIdman is calling this Birth according to the Larger Stlira because it is a doctrine that is apropos of the core teaching of that sutfa. As a final statement of Shiuran's own position on all this, here is another quote from the chapter on Realization in the K),agyoshillsha: Thus do we deeply understanclthe true words of the great sages. The realizatioll of the Great Nirval)a is by means of merit transfer from the power of the Vo\\'s [of the Buddha}. The benefits that come from the merit tmnsfcr used for returning from the Pure Land [gensi5 eki5] is the manifestation of true thonghts for the sake of others 19 Rcnnyo and Shinran In the history of Japanese PlITe Land thought, Shinran's understanding and conception of aiB (Birth) can be considered the highest point in thc various formulations of this doctrine. Just how difficult it has bccn to maintain this undcrstancling over time is a crucial topic for the history of Buddhism, and seeing how the Bukkyo ii/ell from iwanami Shoten came up with somcthing different is just one of many such examples. 146 Shillshii Studies Rennyo appears approximately 200 years after the death of Shinran, making the reconstruction of Shinshu as founded by Shinran his mission in life. Rennyo is quoted to have said, "In this generation I am definitely going to resurrect the Buddha's Dharma." As the leader of this tradition of the Pnre Land teilchings, Rennyo naturally inherited the Shinshu understanding of Birth and proceeded to add his own characteristics to this position. One phrase that Rennyo often added to his narration of Bi1th is "help me in the next life." This takes different forms in different contcxts, but whether it be his Letters, or in the Kikigaki, there is a definite repetition of the idea of aia as a "future Birth in the Pure Land." In his own, idiosyncratic way, Rcnn)'o nevertheless does display a faithful response to the calling of Shinran's legac), of Birth in the positive sensc of joining in the present life the community of thc assured, or being on thc pnth to nirviilJa. We can see this concept in his use of the term heizei gCliu nX;), "the attainment of practice under normal conditions."20 Hcre are two examples of how he uses it: 1. The position of someone who has attained shinjin is described in thc [Larger] Sillra as "immediately attaining Birth; dwclling in a nonbacksliding [state]." In [Tanluan's] Commentary this is also called "with the arising of a single-thought nenbutsu [iciJillen], one enters the COlllIllllllity of the rightly assmerl." This reflects the discourse of [Birth J without the experience of being grccted at one's death by the Buddha and his attendants [raigiil and signifies the attainment of practice under normal conditions [heizei gaiii]21 2. In general, in our school we speak of this as "with the arising of a single- thought nenbutsll, one enters the commllnity of the rightly assured." After one realizes that it is because of the manifestatiOlI of previously sewn good karmic activity that one is afforded the opportunity in thc course of ordinary lifc to hear about the principle in thc Original Vow of Amida Buddha that saves us, one then understands the origins of the Original Vow, meaning it is not one's own power [waga chikara] but by means of the lariki of the Buddha wisdom that has been bestowed upon us that we comc to understand. In other words, this is the meaning of the attainment of practice undcr normal conditions. Thus "the attainment of practice undcr normal conditions" refers to the condition whereby the individual has truly heard this principle and is in a stage where he or she feels that Birth is determined, fixed, which is also called "with the arising of a single-thought nenbutsu, one enters the community oftbe rightly assured," or "the attainment of practicc under normal conditiollS," or "immediately attaining Birth; dwelling in a nonbacksliding [state ].,,22 This phrase, ."the attainment of practice under normal conditions," is something that Rennyo IS thought to have taken from Kakllnyo's writings and is probably an cxpression of the standpoint wherc the matter of iiiB is completed or accomplished. Shinran would term this the identity of onc residing in his current state in the communit)' of the assured as a result of attaining shiniill. As such this is definitely ShillTall and Relll1)'o 147 a statement of understanding that the path to Birth has been attained, and thus from these two letters we know that Renn)'o sought to express a position that was in line with this tradition. We can see the same scntiment in the following well- known letter by Rennyo: The gist ofwhatll'c teach in this tradition of [Shinran] Sh6nin is based in sl7illjill. For that reason, we aballdoll the other miscellaneous forms of practice, and since we single-mindedl)' take refuge in Amidn Buddha, our Birth is confirmed by dint of the power in the inconceivable VOIVS [of that buddha]. This position is interpreted as meaning "with the arising of a single-thought nenbutsu, one enters lhe comlIllmity of the rightly assured," and the recitation nenbutsu that follo\l's must reflect an attitude of performing nenbutsu to exhaust the debt owed to the tathagata who has determined my Birth for me. 2l Renn)'o endeavored to resurrect the self-realization implicit in Shinran's faith, and yet Rennyo could never meet Shinran face to facc. Instead he had to studv Shinran through understanding displayed in the works of Kakunyo and Zonkaku' and then succeed to a Shinshu thus conccivcd. In addition to his assuming thc leadership of Honganji, Rennyo's position was complicatcd hy tbe fact that Japan was im!1lersed in terrible military conAict during most of his life, which corresponds [0 the latter Muromachi period. And those who tried to stand with him ill thc awareness he inherited [rom Shinran as "fellow practieioners" were people living ill a chaotic world. Such severe conditions, it seems to me, brought forth to him the question of the sah'ation of ordinary people in a defiled world in the Latter Age and moved him toward a role of leading the pcople closer to the salvation embodied in the enlightenment attained by Honen. "To attain siliniin is to comprehend thc eighteenth Vow. '10 comprehend the eighteenth Vow is to comprehend the form of na111U amida Intlsu." In this understanding of the Sacred Name (myiigii), Rennyo for some reason hypasses Shinran to rely on the traditional interpretation of Shandao and Honen regarding the six charactcrs that make lip the nenbutsll. Sha1lCbo clarified the meaning of thc Sacred Name within this phrase by saying that "with this meaning one allains Birth without fail." Shinran glosscs this statement to the cffect that" 'to altain Birth without fail' is all expression dcnoting the fact that one obtains a position of non backsliding," which unmistakably rcfcrs to his understanding of rcsiding in the community of the assurcd in one's present life (gensho shiiiaiu). By contrast, Rcnnyo's hermcncutic looks somewhat differe1lt, exprcssed in phrases such as "please save me in the next life" (goslrii lasuke tamae) anel "the next life is the single most important issue [in this one]" (goslro 1/0 iclzi-dai;i). These are expressions of Rcnnl'o's own thoughts on the subjcct of Birth, but should we not also considcr them as the resignation of a Rennyo accepting thc urgent supplications of the people in an age of uphcaval? And in response to thosc nceds, Rcnn}'o asserted the following: For those whose ,llril1jil1 of one thollght-moment is confirmed [ichil1e1! 110 5/lil1jil1 5adamaran t011logara], each one will attain Birth in the Pure out of \eu, one hundred out of one hundred. There is nothing further to worry abol1l. 24 148 Shinshii Stlldies When Rennyo asserts that "each and every person will be born in the Purc Land of a [buddha in] reward body [sa111bhogclkaycl]; there is absolutely nothing to doubt about this," he shows us how inspired he was by Shandao's conviction in the latter's reading of the "incvitability of attaining Birth." But one more point I would like to elmw attention to is the fact that the attainment of this conviction is an event that unmistakenly occurs in this life. It cannot be denied that Rennyo's statement that "one will attain Birth" exprcsses a certain softening of the tension expressed ill the understanding found in Shinran's similar statements. Not only that, but when "one will attain Birth" is asserted, the lime when the realizalion of the Birlh occurs is implied to be during one's final moments or at the moment of death itself. When this is finally realized, Rennyo maintains Shinran's position by saying the accomplishment of the matter of Birth happens during one's normal lifetime, and that attainment of conviction in the confirmation of Birth occurs during the present life, when one produces the single-thought [of shiniin]. Thus does the basic understanding of Rennyo on the issue of Birth attempt to cxpress agreemcnt with what he inherited from Shinran. Notes This chapter originally appeared as "Shinran to Rennyo: aja rikai wo megutle" t (' -:J L, in Indogakll BlIkky5gakll Kenkyii 91 (46-1), 1997, HI. 1 T No. 2608, 83.1; SSZ 1.929. Usually pronounced Sen;akllshii in the Shinshu tradition. 2 T No. 2675, 83.910. Seibku was another diseiplc of [-[onen, elder to Shinran, who also exerted a deep influence on Shinran's thinking. Shilllan wrote a commentary to Seikaku's YlIishins/zB lhal is called Yllishinshf) 11l011'i, with lwo exlant recensions at SSZ 2.621 and 639 3 T No. 2661, 83-728; SSZ 2.773. 4 ]odo sangyii 5iii mOIln/i. There are two recensions of this text, at SSZ.2.543 and 551. 5 Tralls/aior's Ilote: This is a statement of inevitability regarding one's future religions attainment, translating the Sanskrit Tliyata-samyaktva. In a Pure Land context, il can either refer to reaching the Pure Land or have the more general meaning of attainingenlightenmeilt. Terakawa's argument hinges on reading a final enlightenmcnt meaning in Shinran's usage, based on statements such the one quoted from the fascicle on attainment in the Kyogyoshinsho where Shinran states that "they reside among the group of assured they will reach nirvana without fail." 6 SSZ2.554- 7 limei, Kyug)'osiJinsh6 kogi shiisei, 9 \'Ols., orig. ed. in Bl1kkyo taikei (Tokyo: Bukkyo Taikci Kanseikai, 1918; rep. Kyoto: Hi5z5kan, 1975), 1.244. 8 Hoshino Cenp6, Kokai Ky5gyoshillshu, rev. cd., 6 1'015. (Kyoto: Hazakan, 1994), 9 Nakam1lf3 Hajime et ai, eds., BlIHJ'5 iilen (Tokyo: [wanami Shoten, 1989), 86. 10 Taya Raishnn, Oeho Enichi, and Funahashi Issai, cds., Bukky5gakll iiten: shinpan (Kyoto: H5z6kun, 1995), 44. 11 Sh5z5nwtsll wasem 49 (48), SSZ 2.521. 12 ]odo sClIlgyo 5i5 monnli, expanded version, SSZ 2.551. Shinran and RellllYo 149 13 SSZ 2.103- 14 A quote from Tanluan's ]ing!ll /UTlZhll (Juclo TDnchii), his cOlTlmentary on the Jingtll itm, at T No. 1819,40.8361>. 15 Todo sangyo Dio /Ilonnti, SSZ2552. 16 lchine!1 lanen /IlOlI'i, at T No. 2657, R3.h9'lC; SSZ 2.606. 17 )11isiJinshi5 mOIl'i, at T No. 2658, 83.701c-70za; SSZ 2.628. 18 SSZ 2.605. 19 Trans/ator's note: Ky6gy6s/linsiJa, at T No. 2646, 83.620C; SSZ 2.ll8. Tcrakawa stops short here of explaining Shiman's "iew of this second type of merit transfer hut directs the reader to his treatment of this issue in his book ShiT/TelT/ 110 shill IW dainamikkusll (Chiba: S6k6sha, 1993)' 20 Heizei goiB is a Shinshu term which denotes the attainment of the path before death, created to differentiate the Shinshu position from that of JBdoshu sects. The latter takes a contrasting position called rinifi g5ia, whose goal is said to be attained at the moment of death. 21 Letters 1:2; SSZ 344; RSI, 69. 22 Leiters "4; SSZ 3406; RSI, 88. 23 Leiters 5:\0; SSZ 3.507; RSI, 60. 24 Leiters 5:4; SSZ 3.502; RSI, 439. 11 KAKU TAKESHI TRANSLATED BY MAYA HARA Rennyo's Position in Modern Shin Buddhist Studies Soga Ryoiin's Reinterprelation R ennyo's impact on the religious ideas and institutional organization of Shin Buddhism was not limited to the tllThlllent medieval period in which hc lived, but continued on through the modern period. This clwpter will focus 011 how Rellnyo was viewed within the Higashi I-Ionganji Otani denomination ofJodoshinshfi in the moclcrn period through onc of its most eminent twentieth-century thinkers, Soga Ryojin (l875-1971).1 Formcrly, the religious organization of Higashi Honganji controlled a feudal, conservativc image of Rennyo as reflected in shl1gaku (*"J:) , or traditional sectari;1Il studies/ of the Otani denomination, which Soga and other Shin reformers such as Kiyozawa Manshi (1863-1903)3 challenged. Therefore Ihcy were, for a time, defrocked. S o g ~ who came from a fa mil)' belonging to the Otani branch, struggled against the opposition and oppression from his religious organization, which regarded Rennyo as its absolute ecclesiastical authority. By challenging and redefining Renn),o's position :md significance in the modern period, Soga camc to define and shape the course of Modern Shin Buddhist Studies in Ihe Otani branch. Rennyo's Positioll in Modern Shinshu Studies In the btter part of the Edo period (1604-1867) hoth Higashi and Nishi Honganji established ecclesiastical hierarchies thaI placed the descendants of Shinran at the pinnacle of Iheir rcligious institutions, which by then weTe based on the Tokugawa governmenl's religious policies that Tequircd systematic delineation of head and branch temples. 4 Each sect also created an official and authoritative sllligaku in accordance with the government's educational advancemenl programs. These programs represented thc religious organization and scrved as a vehicle to carry out the social ancl educational reforms of thc chief abbots of the respective denominations. 5 ShJn slzl1gaktl originally referred to the general stndy of religious doctrine. For the Otani denomination," traditional sectarian studies, thai is, the Rell11)'O'S Positio11 ill Modem Shill Buddhi.,t Studies l51 apologetic and doctrinal study of Shin Buddhism, was the means to secure and strengthen the organizational hicrarchy of the sect. The Letters of the Restorer Saillt, Rennyo, as a canonical sourcc of authority, were made absolute and scrvcd as the standard measure of orthodoxy or hcrcsy in the sect. Both the religious organization and the shl1gaku it sponsored emphasized the importance of adherence 10 the Letters and ensured the position of the lemlers of I-Ionganji as "the good leachers [zenchishiki], [the only true] successors in Ihe transmission [of teaching]."i However, with the Meiji Restoration, Japan's feudal age came to an end, opening the way for the modern period. For I-longanji, which had cOllie under the aegis of the religious policies of the Tokllgawa government, this was a time of crisis. The Otani organization was confronted in the early Meiji period by the government's promotion of Shinto as the state religion and by official anti-Buddhist activilies (haihutsu kishakll), as well as by the spread of Christianity clne to new national policies that allowed its proselytization throughout the country. The sect attempted to redefine its sociopolitical role by showing complete support to the emperor system and by establishing educational associations, such as the Dharma Preservation Society to counter advances being made by Christianity in Japan. R In an effort to show loyalty to t-he emperor system, RenlIYo's words weTe utilizecl to reprcscnt a doctrine as Ihe basis for contemporary Shin discourse within Higashi Honganji 011 the relationship between state law ancl Buddhist law (ubu blJPpu) through the concept of the 111'0 tTulhs of "worldly truth ancl absolute truth" (shillzokll Ilitai). ror example, in 1875 the twcntieth head pTiest oflhe Otani branch, Gonnyo, and ill 1904 the twenty-third head priest Shonyo, each wrote declarations to their adherents expressing the need to respond to the de1llands of thc lIat ional empeTor system by submitting to secular order. They expounded a doctrine promising Birlh in the Pure Limd in the afterlife if one expressed gratitude, loyally, and filial piety to the emperor in this present life and took a position of eommitmcnt regarding the proper tcaching of II'\lth. 9 The inOuenlial Meiji-period educator Fukuzawa Yukichi (1835-1901), who advocated Ihe separation of state and religion, also assertedthc value of the concept of the tlVO truths because illimiled the illller problems offaith and gave importance to secular authority. Fukllzawa thlls praised Rennyo's Letters as being the most appropriatc "religion" for the modern impeTial nation-state.IO In his Letlers, Rennyo wrote: [Tlakc the laws of the statc as your outer aspect, store OtheT-Powcr faith deep in yom hearts, and take [the pTinciples o ~ hnlllanity and justice (iillgi) as essential. Bear in mind that these are the mles of conduct that have I>ccn csl:1blished within OUT tmdition. 11 Such statemcnts bl' Rennyo, which encoumged unqucstioning obcdience to thc laws of the secular state, were attractive as :1n apologetic for l-Ionganji's political situation, with Rennyo's words being utilized 10 justify the rcligiolls insitulion's slanc_e toward the polity of the modern Japanese natioll-state. Sectarian studies of the Otani denomination thus camc 10 support the inslitution's official position of accolTllTlodation with government policy ancl, as a resull, any tendency to neglect 152 Shim/nl Studies or criticize Rennyo was suppressed. Sectarian scholars placed such grcat importance on the research of Rennyo's Leiters in the early Meiji period that, for somc, shiigaku came to mean the studv of the Letters. 11 However, in the mtdst of the political and social changes taking place in Japan, structural reform within the Otani denomination also came to the foreground. Soga reminisced in his later years: The traditional way the teachings have been transmitted [in our lime] within the religiolls organization and its schools has ignored dealing directly with Shiman. Instead, [everyone] followed the Tokugawa-period style of examining Shiman through Rennyo.1l By the mid-Meiji period, young aspiring intellectuals within the sect began challenging the conservative advocates of slziigaku and urged progressivc religious teaching. In 1895, three years before the 400th Memorial Service of Rennyo, a group surrounding Kiyozawa Manshi, a charismatic teacher who inspired Soga and whose ideas later became ccntral to the dcvelopment of Modem Shin Studies, submitted a proposal to reform the temple administration in charge of doctrinal studies. In 1896 Kiyozmva's group began publishing the journal Kyakai ligen (Timely Words for a Religious World), in which they again urged institutional change_ Fearing conflict from within, the conservative authorities of the sect attempted to crush outright the reform movement centered around KiyozawJ, and in 1897, they condemned KiyozawJ and his supporters to expulsion according to sectarian ordinances. In the same year, advocates of traditional shiigaku formed an association called the Kanrenkai, which proclaimed an old slogan, "cherish the head temple and protect the Buddha Dharma" (aizaTl goha). Ii also worked to oppose all ideas on Modern Shin Studies that began with Kiyozawa. In Kyokai ligen, Kiyozawa criticized the formation of the association saying: The Kanrenkai attempts to determine doctrinal orthodox), and heresy on the basis of the misconception that confuses Shiman's teachings with that of sectarian studies, which is based on the research of later scholars. Ultimately, it is no more than a form of partisanship whose assertions, if realized, will leave the sect in a lamentable state.14 In the midst of this heated dispute between reformers and conservatives, Rennyo's 400th Memorial was welcollled in 1898. Saga Ryojin's Position in Modern Shin Studies While Soga was a student at Shinshu University, founded by Higashi Honganji, he witnessed the oppression of the reform lllovement by the faction that advocated sectarian studies. In 1896 he signed a written declaration by some Shinshii University students agaiIlSI slziigaku, showing that he sympathized with Kiyozawa's movement from an early age. Moreover, in a special issllc oHlle jOllrnal Mujinto (Inexhaustiblc Light) commemorating Rennyo's memorial, Soga contributed a shorl article entitled "The Highest Truth of RellllYo's Teachings," in which he criticized shllgakll as Rel111)'O'S Position in Modem Shin Bllddhist Studies 153 being too erudite and obscure and not being true to Rennyo's original intentions." He remarked that shiigakll distanced itselffrom Rennyo's teachings, whose purpose was simplicity and immcdiacy. Soga first praised Rennyo by saying: As a revivalist of Buddhism, a propagator of lo),alty to the elllperor and reformer of social morality, [Rennyo J defined the historical basis of a national religion, and always preached morality to reform social principles. These are what make him great. 16 This was the general view that many inside and ontside of the sect hcld of Renn)'o in that period. However, Soga went on to elucidate thai' beyond this common view of Rennyo, there was a higher truth (shilltai) which Rennyo sought. Regarding Ihe variolls opinions on secular truth (zolwtai), Soga explained his Oll'n view of this highest truth, referring to it as the "Master's religious doctrine" (shan in 110 shz/gi), a concept set against secular and sectarian ideas. Saga argued that the impact of Rennyo's teaching lay in his clear and simple language: All the fundament'll teachings of the Mastcr [Rcnnyo] can he found ill his approximately eighty leiters. The plain and lucid letters were the sale enterprise of our "Restorer Saint." \Vhen someone asked peasants ancl rustics ahout the pacified mind (alliill) in Shinsho, the)' a11l'3)'s answerecl in one scntence: "We silllpl\' entrust ourselves to Amida to S3\'e us in thc aftcrlifc."" . Further, Soga asserted that "Rennyo was a great social reformcr, who was thought to be subvcrsive and disruptive in his day and age, not a consen'ative authoritarian leader."18 In view of the circuillstances Soga faced, the so-called "conservative authorities" that he referred to were the advocates of s/117galw, andlhc "great social reformer" meant Ihc modern-day reformers of the tcachings of the Otani denomination as represented by Kiyoza\\'a. Soga also assertedlhat Rcnnyo based true religious understanding on whether or not one had faith. He showcd how decidedly different this concept was from the approach taken by the proponents of shiigaku, who reacted to the reform movement led by Kiyozawa by attempting to defrock its membcrs. By presenting his views on Rennyo's teaching in this way, Soga tacitly unfolded his critique against the views held by those running the organization's sectarian studies. Howevcr, at this point his most radical criticism was not ycl fully developed. Although he sympathized with the religious studies movement ccntered around Kiyozawa, Soga did not yct touch npon the definitive core of Kiyozawa's idea of Buddhist learning, which was a qnest fnr the understanding oflhe rclal"ionsiJip between the Tatagatha and the self. Realizing this leaching was to bccome the fundamental turning point in Soga's radical interpretation of Rennyo's doctrine. For Soga, Rennyo's teaching was embodied in thc concept o( what is known in Shin Bndclhism as kiha ittai, or "the unity of the individual's faith <lndthc Buddha Dharma," and in Kij'ozawa's idea of the "correspondence bclwecn the finite and infinitc" ()'z/gen to nwgen 110 taia). This critical "iew carne to life only when Soga fully stood on Kiyozawa's doclrinal understanding, eventually leading to his full confrontation with sectarian studies. 154 ShillS/lil Stlldies The Transformation of Saga's Interpretation of Rcnnyo After Kiyozawa's death, Shinshu University, founded by Kiyozawa in Sugamo, Tukyu, was llJoved to Kyoto by Lhe authorities in charge of sectarian studies. Soga began challenging the views ofRennyo espoused in shllgakll by focusing on Rennyo's intcrpretation of kiho ittai, the unity of faith and the Dharma, Soga reminisced that in his youth he was deeply moved by Rcnnyo's teaching of the uIlity of thc faith of sentient beings and the Dharma: "In my youth, I was drawn to the Anjinketsujosho,19 in which the concept of the unity of faith and the Dharma appears, in the same way [as I was drawn to) Tannishi5."20 In Rennyo's letter entitled "The Oneness of the Person [to Be Saved) and the Dharma [that Saves)," there is a passage, "\Vhat is the meaning of Namllamida-blltsu? Furthermore, how are we to entrust ourselves to Amida and attain Birth in the fulfillcd land?"zl Underlying the six characters of the Buddha's name (rokuji myogo), which is believed to contain the workings that allow all sentient beings to be born into Amida's Pure Land, is the unity of faith and the Dharma. Rennyo laid out the immediate relationship between scntient beings and Amida and taught that one shollld "cast away the sundry practices,,,22 thus clarif)'ing the true meaning of the pacified mind (anjin) in Shinsho. Althollgh RcnIlYo highly vallled the concept of the unity of faith and the Dharma, this idea was not unique Lo him. IL was introduced early on ill the Sci zan branch of the Pure Land scct (such as in AnjiTlsho by Shi5ku (1l77-1247) and was also incorporated by Kakllnyo (1270-1351) and Zonkakll (1290-1373) in the laying of the fOllndations of Shin shu teaching B Rather than simply uncritically accepting Rennyo's IInderstanding of the Anjillketsujosho and other interpretations, Soga sought the practical meaning of "responsivencss" (kan'o as expressed by the idea of unity. "Rcsponsiveness" was originally a Tendai conccpt, in which kall (feeling) represents the awareness of the lathiigata by sentient beings ando (response) is the Tathagata's response itself. For Soga, "responsiveness" was a spiritual awakening that surpassed intcllcctual comprehension. He explains that through the central theme of sh01l1)'0 nel1butsu (reciting the Buddha's Name) in Tmlllisi1o, Rennyo clarified the actual practice of the unity of faith and the Dharma, and through the "two aspects of deep belief' (Ilishu jillshin),24 especially the undcrst,mding of the deep belief of faith, he clarificdthe distinction between the role of the faithful individual and the Dhanna. 21 Soga asserted in a lecture for Rennyo's Memorial: To clarify the rote of the faithful individual and the Dharma was one of the greatest achievements of Master Renn),o. In other secls, the unity of faith and the Dhanna was considered a nonollality between sentient beings and thc Buddha (s!tabutsll /imi), but [this position] confuses it with the thought of the Tendai school at that time. Regarding tbis and the directing virtue of the Other-Powcr (tariki eko), RcnllYo thoroughly clarified the issue through his division of the capacity of sentient beings to accept the Buddha's teaching from the capacity of the Buddha to save us. For this reaSOIl, for the 450th Anniversary, our IIIOst important task is to creale a study that elucidates these capacities 26 In this way, Soga saw that Renn),o's life work was expressed in the self-realization of faith in the directing virtue of Other-Power through the capacities of sentient RemlYo's Position in Modem Shin B1lddhist St1ldies 155 beings and the Buddha. Until then, Rennyo had been misinterpreted because this point had not been f\\lIy understood. The major difference between the conservativc advocates of shugaktl and the reformers in understanding Rennyo could be seen through Lhis single point, and by illuminating this, Soga reshaped the understanding of Rennyo in the modern pcriod. The deepening of Soga's understanding of the unity of faith and the Dharma can be seen in two phases. The first phase is through an existential appreciation inspired by Kiyozawa; the second, through the religious quest of the bodhisattva Dharmakara, II'ho became Amida Buddha. The definitive means by which Soga received KiyozalVa's understanding is through the idea that the Tathagata's salvation does not exist apart from our belief and that our salvation lies in the awakening to our finilucle. z ; Soga explains: This faith (of Ki)'oza\\'a) in regards to the Tathiigata's sall'ific pOlVer is called the unity of suhjective faith and objcctive Tathilgata. This faith is also called the L1nit)' of the Buddha mind (which arises in oursclves as 1ith, the acti"e faith that provides grace) amI thc ordinary mind (the evil, sinful self that is saved by this faith, a passive faith that is accepted and received), in terms of the self existing in eternal darkness.'s In other words, Kiyoza\\'a's idea of the correspolldencc between the finite and infinite is a subjective, modern expressioll of Rennyo's theory of the unity of faith and the Dharma. Thus Soga's task was thcn to clarify this one point in Rennyo's teaching of the unity of faith ami the Dharma as a doctrillal thcme. Soga began to develop this idea of the "unity of faith and the Dharma" through his intcrpretation of what he callcd "the Tathagata ancl m)'self":29 I am not limited to calling the Tathagala "Thou"; ) directly call the cl11thagata "myself." Those who believe in "self power" (iiriki) proudly boast, ") am Thlhagata!" Those of other Pure Land sects vainly lament this life, saying, "Tile 111thagata is the We are surpriscd by the wonderous meaning of "tile cl1lthiigata is me." At the same time, we are aware thai "ultimately, I am me and nol Ihe Tathagata."lO Saga argued that the relationship between "the Tathagata and myself" is oftcn confusecl. Some are immersed in concepts of "owll-natlife (sl'abhova) and lviind Only (vijiiapti-1I1otrala)" (as in self powcr-based teachings) and some arc lost in thc self power of meditative andnonmeclitative practices (as ill other Pure Land sects). Thus the relationship between the Tathiigata and oneself hegins with thc quest for Dharmakara through the intuition that "the Tathagata in becoming mc lIlcallS the birth of Dharmakara."ll Hcre, the meaning of"thc unit)' of faith and thc Dharma" is "the six characters of the Buddha's name ill this unity, which is already manifested without exception in the single fact of Dharmiikara's birth."12 With thc' discovcn' of Dharmiikara, Soga is able to present the existential theme of "the Talhagat,; ill becoming me, saves me." In this way, through Kiyozawa's rcalizatioll of the limitation of thc capacity of sentient beings in his idea of "the correspondence betwcen the infinite and the finite," Soga is able to find meaning in RcnllYo's leaching of "the unity of faith and the Dharma" and further develops this ill the relationship betwccn the Tathagata and himself through the existence of Bodhisattva Dharmiikara. 156 Shinsl111 Studies For Soga, if lhe question of Dharmiikara was not clarified, the message of Shin Buddhism would be reduced to prayers to Amida for salvation, which was the orthodoxy of the Edo pcriocl. Soga worked against this interpretation of Amida as an anthropomorphic savior and Dharmakara as his ancicnt prcclecessor. 33 VVhat then was the essence of the self-realization oflhe relationship between the Tathagata and myself, which is the unity oflith and the Dharma? Soga's unique understanding is none other than deep entrusting. Deep entrusting is the "deep mind" concretely explained by the Chinese Pure Land master Shandao (613-681), who indicated that the tll'O aspccts of the dcepcn trusting and the Dharma are actually one, and that self-realization via faith means realizing that one is saved by Amida. 34 Shandao wrole in his Guonji71g shu (Commentary Drlthe C011templation Sutra): "Deep mind refers to the deeply entrusting mind. There are two aspects, One is to believe deeply and decidedly that you are a foolish being of karmic evil caught in birth-ancl-death [som sara], ever sinking and ever wandering in transmigration from illIlumerablc kalpas in the past, with never a condition that would lead to emancipation. The second is to believe deeply and decidely that Amida Buddha's forty-eight Vows embrace senticnt beings a]](l that allowing yourself to be carried by the power of the Vow without any doubt or apprehension, YOIl will attain hirth.,,35 In other words, Soga confirmed the reality of "the unity of faith and the Dharma" by means of the realization of one's finitude, expressed in the doctrine of the deep entrusting of the self (ki 110 ii11Shil1). Whcn the sadness of the human condition based upon this realization of thc deep suffering that accolllpanies being born into human life is lost, the vitality of deep entrusting is lost. Soga explained this to be the case because this realization is itself the fundamental opportunity of a religion symbolized in thc Name of Amida. Brought to Life by the Tannisho Soga asserted that "Mastcr Rcnnyo was inspircd by Ta1l1zisho and through it he was able to find his inner motive to achieve the revival of Shinshu.,,36 The oldest extant copy of Tan71ishi5 was transcribed by Rennyo, and regardless of his seemingly contradictory attitude towarcl it, ifhis personal copy had not survived, this text might not have been transmilteclto later generations. 3i Although some credil Rennyo for thc discovery of T01llzisho, for Soga it was through Ta71llis/zo that RenllYo as the revivalist ofShinshii was born. Soga understood Rcnnyo's Shinshu renewal through the spirit of TamzisizB, and ill modcrn Japan it was KiyozalVa who rediscovered and reintroduced Ta1l1lishi5 to Soga and the wider Shin community. In 1930 Soga, then a professor at Otani University in Kyoto, a reestablishment of the former Shinshii Ulliversity, was again accused by the highest shiigaku authorities of scrious differences with the doctrilles of the sect. In response to accllsations of heresy (ionjil1) levied against him, Soga submitted his resignation andlefl the university. Although this act meant he was driven out of the sect, elel'en years later while in the midst of World War II, and five years before the 450th Mcmorial of Rennyo in 1946, Soga was askcdto return to Otani. At the agc of sixty- seven, he returned, this time as a kr)shi lecturer, the highest academic position in Renn)'o's Position in Modem Sbill Buddhist Studies '57 the Otani denomination. In the following year he lectured for a monlh on T011llisho for the scholars of the sect in the Otani denominalion's allgo lecture series. 38 Ironically, the ango was organized by t'he Takakura Gakuryo, a sanctuary of the same shugaku tradition that had banned Kiyozawa, closed down ShinslllJ University, deprived Kallcko Daiei (1881-1976) of his clerical title, and labeled Soga a heretic. The year before Soga returned to the university, he made a scathing remark against the shugaku and its interpretation of "the unily of person and the Dharma" as "that complicated dogmatic, metaphysical shiigaku of long ago,,,l9 In these words wc can see that Soga's choice ofTm11lisho as the main allgo text lVas no mere coincidence. Although there was no direct reference to Kiyozawa, Soga had in mind Kiyoz3w;j'S efforts in bringing to light the importance of this document. 4o This thinking is revealed in Soga's writings, which explain that in his youth Soga tried to spread the teaching of Tal111ishi5 among his collcagues hecause his teacher Kiyozawa "sought the spirit of Master Rennyo's revival of Shinshii, and at the same time began to prepare for the qllickly approaching 650th anniversary of the founding of the sect.'''l In the modern period the Tmmishi5 became the prime textualvchicle for bringing Shinran's thoughts beyond the sectarian context (shumon) and played an important role in introducing these thoughts to the general public (the understandillg of Shinran by most pcople toclay is based on TanrzisiJo). fi'ollowing Kiyozawa's lead, then, Soga tried to discern the meaning of the Shinshii revival under Rennvo through the Talll1ishi5. Here Soga realized the "profound historical mcaning [of Tomzisho]" through his lectures and found rcason to affirm that "the spirit of Rennyo's Shinshu revival lies in the spirit of lament in Tallllishi5.',H The revolutionary idea behind IIlalIY of Soga's lectures can thus be fOllnd in the idea that the spirit oflamcnt iTl Tamzishi5 is based essentially on the "receptivcncss alld responsiveness" between sentient beings and the 'Dlthagata. In other words, the circumstances descrihed in Tallllishi5 "are no different from the faith (slzil1;in {*IL,') transmitted hy our first teacher [Shinran]." Prior to Soga, this deep entrusting was ullClcrstood to mean the fecling of powerlessness and despair among sentient bcings, premiscd in the profound tfllst in the teachings. For Soga, shinjin was the essence of Tarmishi5. Thus he asserted that it was through Ta1l1zishrJ that Rcnnyo, thc revivalist of Shinshii, came to life. The Second Revival of Shinshu in 1949 Coinciding wilh Rennyo's 450th Memorial The defcat of Japan in World War II in 1945 meant thc colh1pse of the modcrn Japanese empcror systcm, which controllcd its populace through its Statc Shinto ideology. This collapsc became a major turnillg point for the administratil'e operations of many religious organizations in Japan. In the midst of the confusion of defeat, both Higashi and Nishi I-Ionganji began planning celcbrations ofRennyo's 450th I'vlemorial of 1949,43 for which many pnblications wcre produced. Especially significant were the publications of Rel/IlYo by Hattori Shiso,44 who took a Marxist materialistic interpretation of history, and Ren1ZYo Sh01Zin kenkyii, edited by Rvukoku Universily,45 which held a positivistic historical view. Both proposcdllcw anc(critical 158 Shinshfi Studies interpretations of Rennyo, which countered the views of the established shfigaku approach. For his part, Soga did not adopt these new views and remaincd silent. In preparation for the celebration of RCTlnyo's 450th Memorial, Soga gave a public talk in 1948 based on the thcmc "The Nature of Receptiveness and Responsiveness.,,46 Especially noteworthy in this lecture was that Soga openly discussed Kiyozawa's ShinshLi revival, something he was unable to do during the ango lecture series, which was controlled by conservative sectarian scholars. Later, in Daini nO ShillSha saik8 ("The Second Revival of Shinshu") Soga wrote: In rcality, wc think of Master Rennyo's endeavors to revive ShinshLi generally as having ended with the establishment of the Meiji Restoration, which brought about the downfall of the Tokugawa governmcnt. 47 Soga explained that in associating KiyozalVa with the modern revival of Shinshu, however: This second revival was different from Rennyo's revival. For Rennyo, it was limited only to Japan, and generally within the Shinshu following. However, the extent of this second revival is global. Instead of consolidating Shinshu, the objective is to unify Buddhism .... Latcly I have come to realize that the culmination of this great undertaking of the second re\'ival is Waga shinnen (My Faith) by Kiyozawa-sensei 48 I have felt this with the opportunity I had recently to visit the Unitcd States. 49 I-lis reason for indicating Kiyozawa's vVaga Shinllen as signifying the second Shinshu revival was that "[KiyozawaJ did not start with the Tathagata; illStead, he began with faith (shillllen), and taught that the Tathagata and faith are one." The distinction in Kiyozawa's leaching was that he did not tTy to analyze a religious doctrine upon the premise that it was complete; rather he lInderstood religiolls experience as the meaning of truth. In contrast to the traditional stance of shiigaku, Soga saw Kiyozawa's ideas as crucial to the foundation of a "Modern Shin Studies" and came to emphasize the traditions of Shinran, Rennyo, and Kiyoz3w3, who "understood Buddhism through their own experiences."so Saga showed that Renn)'o was significant in clarifying the relation between the Tathagata and oneself in a certain time, thus subjectively situating Rellnyo within this notion of the tradition of ShinshLi rather than Ihrough a continued transmission and explanation of his teaching. Conclusion ror Soga, Rennyo symbolized Shinshu itself. Although Soga opposed the doctrine of the religious organization that viewed Rennyo as the absolute authority, he deeply sympathized with the members of the organization who respected Rennyo. Soga neither ignored nor denied Rennyo and his importance. Although he openly confronted the image of Renn)'o that was created and maintained b)1 the legacy of shiigakll, which defined him as reviver of the institution on the basis of the Letters, he continued to revere the Rennyo who sought to revive faith (shin;ill) through Tarmisl78. For this reason, he could not be protective of an image of Rennyo upheld Renl1)'o'g 1'0sitiol1 ill !'v/odern Shin Buddhist Studies '59 by the apologetic sectarian scholars whose doctrine was uncritically premised on Rennyo's faith, nor could he be a mere observer like the nonsectarian scholars \\'ho systematically ignored the importance of Rennyo's faith. Soga's radical stance against the Otani sectarian scholars was not onlv based on religious grounds but also had a historical epistemological hasis tllat lVas developed over time in response to thc organizational suppression of and his followers (including Soga himself). Through confrontration with tile religious institution, Soga able to reevaluate Rennyo's importance both doctrinallv amI historically. By interpreting Rennyo's teaching as the expression of faith wtbe; than as a systcmatic presentation of doctrine, Saga criticized the absolutist image of Rennyo that was upheld by the authoritarian aspect of his sect ancl clarified thc practical mcalling of Rcnnyo's personal faith, Notes I Soga Ryojin was born the third son of Ryodo and Tatsu Tomioka in 1875, in Entokuji Temple in Ajikata Village, Nishikanbara District, Niigata Prefecture. In 1890 Saga entered Shinshil Daiichi Chilgakllf)'o (a Higashi Honganji Shinsho middle school); five rears later he attended the Shinsho seminary, Shinshu Daigakuryo. The following )'em Soga entered jo'onji Temple in NiigaLa Village, Minami-kanbam District, Niigata Prefectme. He married Kei, the eldest daughter of En an Saga, and look her family's name. In 1902 he began teaching Buddhisllogic at the newly opened Shinshu Uni\'crsity in Tokyo. During his Icaehing years he published !i\'e articles, snch as "Meiji 34 ni kansha sun (In Cratitude to 190')' in which he was largcl)' critical of Kiyozawa Manshi's spiritual movcmcnt, However, Soga laler carne to agree with Kiyozawa's ideas, and in 1903 he joined Kiyozawa's group, and movd to the dormitory K6k6d6 several of Kiyoza\\'a's students, though by Ihis til11e Kiyoza\\'a returned to his temple in Ohara and did not reside with them. due to his illness. In 1904 Soga became a professor at Shinshu University and lectured on Yogacflra thought. When ShinshLi University moved from Tokyo to Kyoto in 1911, Soga resigned and returned to Niigata. For the next six years he absorbed himself in Shin Buddhist Studies and began building his own doctrinal understanding. In 1916 he became a profcssor at '10)'0 University and the editor of Seishinkai (The Spiritual World), a publication of Kiyozawa's group. He resigned from Ioyo University in _1924 and the following year his wife passed away. In the same year, he became a professor at Otani University and, with Kaneko Daiei, worked to establish the f011ndation for a new phase in Shin doctrinal studies. In 1930 Soga authored N),orai h)'iigell no hanellll 10 ghile no s(Ulshinkall (The View of Minds as the Category of the Tathngata's Manifestation ), for which he was puhlicly cnt1clzc:l by the academic committee (jiWr)'o) of Higashi I-Ionganji for going against convenllOnal scholars. For tillS eqnlvalent of a public declaration of heres\' he resigned from Otani University. In 1941, during War II, he was promoted Lo the higllCst academic position of Shin studies in the Otani Denomination (Otaniha koshi) and again became a professor at Otani University, where he became professor emeritns in '951. In '959 he became the head of the academic committee of Higashi I-ionganji, and in 19 61 , at the age of eighty-six, he became thc president of Otani Ulli\'ersity, dming which time he worked as lec_turer and administrator for the modern education of the student hody. Soga rel1red from Otani Ullll'CfSlty III 1967, and he passed away in 1971. 160 Shinshzl Studies 2 Hirose Nan'yu definen shugakll as understood in Higashi Hongnnji as "doctrinal studies in which the object of study is thc infallible undcrstanding of a doctrine as established bl' its founder, who is endowed with the spiritual authority of a particular religious g;oup," ill ShinshugaklJshi ko (Kyoto: H6z6kan, 1980), 9 Nishi Honganji similarly has had a formal doctrinal studies which is called ShillShiigaku or Shinsl]]! Studies. See Rogers, 10. 3 Kiyozal\'a Manshi was born as Tokugawa Munnosukc, thc eldcst son of Tokuga\\'a Naganori, a low-ranking of Owari Province (present-day Aichi Prefecture). He was ordaincd as a priest of the Otani denomination at the age of fifteen and had a dccp impact on Shin Buddhism's response to the modern world. 4 Various regulations were implemented in the "premodern" Tokugawa period to protect Buddhism, such as the organized systems of head and branch temple hierarchies (honmatstlsei) and affiliation registration at temples (shamoll aratame). See Notto R. Thelle, Bllddhism and Christianity in Japan: From Conflict to Dia/ogtle, 1854-1899 (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1987); James Edward Ketelaar, Of Heretics and Martyrs ill Japan: Bllddhism and Its Perseclltiun (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1990 ). 5 Akamatsll Toshihide and Kasaham Kazuo, Shinshushi gaisetslJ (Kyoto: Heirakuji Shoten, 1963), 390--399 6 The Nishi Honganji sect faced similar issues in the modern period. For the purposes of this essay, however, I focns only on the problems that existed within the Higashi Honganji seel. 7 Gaikemon, printed under the title Ryogemon at SSZ 3:529; see also Rogers._ 280. According to Kogatsn-in Jinrei (t749-1817), who was the most prominent scholar of the Otani denomination during the Edo period. from the time of Jitsunyo (1458-1525), Rennyo's fifth son, suecessivc chief abbots of Honganji taught Rcnnyo's Letters to their followers (ShinS/HI taikei, 32.218). Regarding the concepts of orthodoxy and heresy in Jodo Shinshu and in the Letters, see James C. Dobbins, !odo Shins/Ill: Shin Buddhism in Medieval Japan (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1989),7-10 and chap. 9. See also Rogers regarding the authoritarian nature of the Letters. 8 Higashi Honganji created the Dharma Preservation Association, GohBjo, in 1868 as an adjunct school of the Takakura GakuryB, its main school. TJ1C association was intended to foster commitment to the anti-Christian campaign of the Otani denomination. said to "defend Buddhism and refute the false doctrine (bohii bo;a)." Classes such as classical Japanese, Confucianism, astronomy, and Christianity were taught. ,!-Iowever, in time the society helped to cducate students who became reformers within the Otani branch and who, through their ncw education. strongly criticized the policics of their own religious organization and school for being outdated and controlling. Nishi Honganji similarly responded to outside pressures at this time by creating the Gakurin, which offered a parallel curriculum. 9 Regarding this idea, Honganji leader Shiinyo (1516-1554) espoused, "In this life, bc good citizens of the emperor; in the after world, become a pure person in the Pure Land" (SSS 6.718). 10 Fukuzmva is fa mOils for saying that religion is like tea. See Fllkllzawa Yllkichi zens/nl (Tokyo: Iwanami Slmten, 1969-1971) 16,91-93, where he implies that the difference behl'een religions is so insignificant as to bc like the choicc betwcen types of tea. But in fact Fukuza\\'a frequently wrote positively about religion and specifically about Rennyo on morc than one occasion, having been raised himself in a family affiliated with Honganji. For his views on the importance of religion in gcneral, see Fukuzawa Yukichi, "ShukyB no hitsuj'ii naTII 0 ronzu" (The Necessity of Religion) in Fllkllzawa Yllkichi zenshzl. 19.585-587, written in 1876; for Fukllzuwa's dcws OIl Rennyo, see "Shushi senpu no hBben" 10.52-58, where he criticizes Christiallity's intolerance of other religions and praises Rennyo's ability to separate intend Rellll)'o's Position ill Modem Shill flllddhisl Studies 161 faith from social obligations. See also Shigematsu Akihisa, "FukuzUlva Yukichi to BlIkkyii" in Shigcmatsu Akihisa, e(l.. Shil1Ton. Shinshii shisoshi kenk)'ll (Kyoto: 1'16z6kan, 1990). Sce also Fujiwara lvlasanobu. "Kinclai Shinshii to Fukuzawa Yukichi" ill Kabbi, ed. K6kakai shtlkyo kellk)'ii ronshtl; ShinTan to Ningen, vol. 2 (Kyoto: Nagata Bunsh6d6, 1983). H Rogcrs, 180. 12 Yasui K6do, "Otaniha gaklljishi," in 20/m Shinshii ta;kei, 1976 ed., 2o.t38. 13 Saga Ryojin, "Shinshu SaikB no Shihyo," in Saga R)'o;in kogishzl (Tokyo: Yayoi ShobB, 1977-199), 10.130. 14 "Kanrenkai IVa ronzlI," in Kiyozawa Manshi zellshfi (Kyoto: HozBkan, 1953), 4-316-- 15 Soga, "Rennyo Shonin no shintai:' Saga Ryiiiin sensho (Tokyo: Yayoi Shobo, 1970-- 1972), 1.240 . 16 Ibid. 17 Ibid., p. 241. 18 Ibid . p. 242. 19 An;inketsu;o,h6 2 vols., T 89.921, is a Japanese Pure Land treatise of unknown authorship. Some attribute this work to a priest of the Seizan branch, while others have suggested Kakunyo. Nishi Honganji considers this work part of Shin shu canon, whereas Higashi Honganji cloes not recognize it as such. This treatise explains the nonduality of Birth into the Pnre Land by sentient beings and thc cnlightenmcnt of the Bllddha, and it asserts thai the "unit)' of faith and the Dharma" (kihii ittai) and the nenbutsu itself are one and thc same. 20 Saga R)'o;in kogishii, 1.179. The Tamtisl!ii lX!ftt1> was compiled bv a direct follower of Shinran (probably Yuien) after Shinran's death. It bccame the most important text for Shin Buddhism in modern-Japan through Kiyozawa's inAuence. (See CWS. \'01. 1.661- 682.) 21 Rennyo was eighty-three ycars old when he wrote this letter in 1497. See Rogers. 22 Ibid., p. 294. 23 For differences in the doctrinal understanding of the "unity of faith and the Dharma," see section 2 in Inaki Sen'e, Renll)'o k),6gakll no kenk)'lJ I: g),iishillran (Kyoto: Hii7.iikan, 1993). In the Leiters, Renn)'o mentions the concept of "the unity of faith and the Dharma" in a total of seven letters, all of which were writtcn in his later years (one at the age of sixty-one and six at the age of seventy-six). The basis for his interest in this concept perhaps lies in his response to the popularity of the teachings of the Chinzei branch of the PLlTe Land, which espoLlsed that good karllIa was secured through repeated reciling of the ncnhlltsl!, where!!s Renl1Yo emphasized the absoluteness of faith in the I1cnblltsu. 24 Shanduo interpreted the term "deep mind," jinsl!ill (iJRJl,'), the second of the "three minds" described in the ConlemlJiatiol1 Siltra (GlIcHl;illg), as the lIlind of deep entrusting. He explained that this deep faith has two aspects (ni,lzll ;i",hirz). The first is the awareness of faith (ki). whereby the finite and limited self steeped in mental aftliction is the object of Amida's vow; the second is the awareness of the Dharma (hii). which is the working of Amida's forty-eight vows (which function solely for the sake of such heings). See T No. '743, 37.27Ja27. CWS, 1.85. 25 Soga Ryo;irl senshIl, 6.21. 26 Ibid., 11.102. 27 In his memoir. Soga wrote: "What is the main point of Kiyozall'a's tcaehing? He never gave us an answcr. he only provided us with thc first step in that clirection. First of all. his studies were essential. His qnest was for the Creat Path [daido] never becoming apologclic or assllming .... Second, his studies \\'ere practical. Third, his stndies wcrc libcrating and gm'c 162 Shinsha Studies iltlportallce to each person's individuality." "Meiji Yonjuyonen Nota" (Notes from Meiji 44 [19UD, reproduced in Saga Ry6jin, S/l1fkyo no s/Iikatsu mandai (Tokyo: Yayoi Shabo, 1973), 120. 28 Saga Ryoiin sells/Ilf, volume 4, 1'334 29 In 1911, the year of Shinran's 6,oth Memorial, Shinshu University, which was established in Tokyo hy Ki),ozawa in 1901, was moved to Kyoto. This 1110\'0 was due to the strife behveen 1110dern religious studies based in Tokyo and the Takakura Gakuryo, the authority of shugaku based in Kyoto. Saga, who was serving as professor at the university, called the closing of the school "the death of our 1I10ther school" and left the university to return to his horne in Niigata to lead a life of solitude and contemplation. At this point Soga actively confronted the doctrinal suhject of "the unity of faith and the Dharma." However, this theme 110t only was connected wtih Kiyozawa's religious theme of the "correspondence behveen the finite and the infinite," a theme that Soga inherited, but it was also one that shagaku took up to bring about the downfall of the "mother schoo1." 30 Saga RyBiil1 sells/Hf, 4.340. 31 Ibid., 2=408. 32 Ibid., 2.373. 33 Ibid., 2:370-375, 2'408-421. 34 Shandaa's hvofold explication of religions faith had a major impact on Japanese Pure Land Buddhism after it \\'as featured in Honen's writings, and his terminology quickly becamc doctrinal jargon in the Kamakura period and thereafter. See n. 24- 35 CWS 1. 85. 36 Saga Ryo;in Se/lShlf, 6.20. 37 Rcnnyo's notc affixed to Tannish6 states, "This sacred writing is an important scripture in our tradition. It should not be indiscriminately sho\\'n to all)' who lack past karmic good" (CWS, 682). 38 The term ango (:!em) comes from the Indian word varsa, referring to traditional Buddhist rainy-season rc:treat, which consisted of arduous practice in a set place over a certain period of time. In the Otani denomination, ango refers to a special lecture series held over a period of several weeks. The record of Saga's ango was compiled in a book entitled Tannisho choki, published by Higashi Honganji in 1970, and in vol. 6 of the Saga RyBii/l senshu. 39 Soga RyBiill senshri, 11.84- Soga's remark was made in a lecture in honor of Kaneko Daiei's sixteenth birthday in 1941. 40 See Kan'o no dBri: Relll1)'o kyBgaku no chlishin mandai (Kyoto: Chojiya, 1952); also contained in Soga R)'B;ill sensirii, 11.130-140. 41 In "Rennyo kyogakuno konpon mandai," in Soga Ryo;in kiigishu, 1.194-195, he wrote that "[Rennyo 1 disseminated the Tal1nish6 and clearly and concisely taught Mastcr Shinran's spirit." 42 Ihie!. 43 Nishi Honganji held their services April 10-17, 1948, whereas Higashi Honganji conducted them a year latcr on April 18-25, 1949. 44 Hattori Shisii, Renl1yn ('Iokyo: Shinehi Shohii, 1948). 45 Ryukoku Daigaku, ed.,Reml)'aShonin kenk)'fj (Kyoto: Chusho DaishiYonhyakllgojukai Onkih6yo Jilllush6, 1948). Other important warks appearing in conjunction with the memorial included Miyazaki Enjun and Mikogallli Eryu, Renn)'o Shonin 110 shogai to shisii (Kyoto: Nagata Bunsh6do, 1948); Iwami Mumoru, RennYD Shollin (Kyoto: Shosei'en, 1949); anel Inaba Shaken, Renn)'o S/1Onin no k),ogakll (Kyoto: Otani Shuppansha, 1949) 46 "Kan'B no dari." Llter published as Kan'o no daTi: Rennyo k)'iigakll no chlishin mondai. Rel1n)'o's Position in Modem Shin Buddhist Studies 103 47 "Daini no Shinshu saiko" was given in 1956. See Soga R)'o;in k6gis/llf, 10.44 and 130-131. 48 The Nature of My Faith, translated by Mark L. Blum, in lv/adem Shin Anthology (Kyoto: Otani Uni\'crsity, 1999). 49 "Daini no Shinshu saik6," Saga H)'oiill kogishii, 10-46. 5" Ihiel., p. 138. 12 ALFRED BLOOM Renn yo and the Renaissance of Contemporary Shin Buddhism Rennyo's Place in the History of Shin Buddhism E lsewhere I have summarized important aspects of Renn),o's life which were the basis for his successful effort to revitalize tire Honganji and create a major, powerful religious movement in medieval Japan. ] have suggested that he offcrs clues for the renaissance of contemporary Shin Buddhism. I-]onganji in Japan has ealled his commemoration a time for innovation, which expresses the spirit of Renn),o. The slogan for thc Hawaii Honganji mission, for example, is "Live together, work together, in thc spirit of Rcnnyo." This chaptcr will look more dircctly into what we can learn from the spirit of Renn)'o and his innovative propagational activities. Both Shinran and Renn)'o responded to issues of their o\\'n time and circumstance. Differences in their personalities amI historical situation sho\\' thal, while there is a basic unity inlhcir thought, Rennyo adjusted Shiman's fundamental insights to make them more accessible and understandable to the ordinary person of his da),. Shinran unintentionall), created a more individually oriented movement. His teaching reflects his inward, introspective and subjective, as well as more scholarly or philosophical character. Shinran spoke pointedly of his religious experience and his personal weakncsses or limitations. He c1earl)' rejected the idca that he was a teacher or had disciples, though they honored him. Renn),o, on the other hand, inherited the movement that Shinran illSpired. It had already become institutionalized through the efforts of previous abbots of I-Ionganji and other branches of Shinran's lincage. Rennyo was concerned with the fortunes of the community in his time and for the future. His personality was more outgoing. He told little about his own rcligious change or development. I-Ie consciously acccpted the role of teacher or leader of an emerging movement. He had to deal with the problems of religious power and authority that accompanied his status. Furlher, his position as a teacher must be considered in the light of his enormous influence, for whieh there is littlc comparison among other Illedievalteachers. Renn)'o and the Renai8.8r1l1ce of Coniem/JoTaT)' Shin Buddhism 165 Perspective on Shinran's Teaching The foundation of Relmyo's work is Shinran's teaching. Suffice it to sa)' Ilrat Slrinran emphasized absolule Other-Powcr in all aspects of religious failh and activity. No matter how evil a person ma), be, he or she is nevcr beyond the embrace of Amida. Shinran had a vision of Amida Buddha's all-encompassing compassion and wisdom in which every feature of religious life is grounded in Amida Buddha's Vows. Also the assurance we have of final enlightenment liberatcs us from the many religious fears and superstition common to Japanese society. Shinran's teaching involves a transformation of the self-striving mind to the mind of rcliancc on and trust in the Vow. Shinran calls it the "turning of the mind" (eshin) or the one moment of entrusting (slzinjin-iclzinen). All efforts subsequent to that moment arc responses of gratitude and commitment, supremel)' expressed in rcciting /wl1l!l-amida-btlis!l. The sense of onencss with Amida Buddha, experienced through trust in Shinran's thought, never overwhelms the awareness of our evils. Rather, it prevents presump- tion or taking Amida's embrace for granted. While conducive to a deep humility, Shiman's failh gives rise to a strong religious commitment and self-concept as a person wlro Iras been embraced b)' Amida Buddha, never 10 be alxlIlclonccl. Thc Fundamental Character of Rennyo's Teaching Renn)'o shared Shinran's vision of Amida's all-encompassing compassion and wisdom, but he believed that it manifested itself in the world through thc Honganji tradition. Being born within an already existing institutional system, Rennyo assumcd that it faithfully transmitted the truth of Amida's Vow as interpreled by SIdman. Also he tried to simplify the morc eomplex teaching of Shinran, holding to the principle that in teaching, you select a hundred from a thousand things thai might be given, and from a hundred )'ou choosc ten. Finall), from the ten YOII select one. As a consequence of his approach to teaching amI propagation, there lI'ere differences from Shinran in cmphases. Rennyo's experienccs of the deaths of his wives and several children, as lI'ell as the violence of the age, madc him keenly aware of the impermanence, unpredictability, and violence in life. In view of t ~ brevity of life ,md the depth of our evil, the aftcrlife was of the greatesl importance for Rennyo (gos/lO-llO-ichidaiii), in contrast to Shinran's slress on Ihe rcception of faith and assurance of rcbirth in this life. Renn)'o drew a clear dislinclion hctwccn this world and the next. The human realm is a place of uncertainty. The land of utmost bliss is one of etemity and should he the object of our aspiratioll and Ihe decisive setlling of milld. Thc principle of karma is also strongly upheld and emphasized b)' Renn)'o as the basis for encountering the teaching. Thc teaching is not to be discllssed with an),one whose past good karlllic conditions have not maturcd. RenllVo uscd the idea to restrain disciples inclined to boast about their faith and ridic;lle others. Thc process of deliverance is outlined by Renn),o in five conditions which musl be present in order for a person to attain truly 'settled faith. First is the unfolding of 166 Shins/lll Studies good karma from the past. Second is the meeling with a good teacher. Third is receiving Amida's light; fomth is attaining faith, andfiflh is saying the name of the Buddha, vVe can view these five clements as a simultaneous moment in which we have the good fortune to encounter a teacher who opens for us the truth concerning our spiritual condition and the truth of the teaching. In that moment we attain tfllSt in the Vow, reject sundry practices, and recite na11lu-a11lida-hutsu in gratitude. It is altogether the one moment of entrusting and attainment of truly settled faith. According to Rennyo, faith is fundamental and is the source of nenbutsu. Faith "is granted by Amida Tathagata ... this is not faith generated by the practicer, ... it is Amida Tathagata's Other-Power f;lith. The term siJinjin is taken by Rennyo to be Amida's Other-Power true mind which displaces the believer's mind of self-striving. An alternative term for faith is aniin or )'asllki kokoro, which for Rennyo has essentially the same meaning as shin;in, but with emphasis on the aspect of the peace or tranquility that attends reception of faith. As a result, the recitation of the name is for gratitude only, because it flows out from the trusting mind. It is important to note that external appearancc or people's outward condition, status, or role in life have no relevance ill attaining trust. Further, 011 attaining thc settled mind, one carries on a normal life, whether it is as a huntcr, fisherman, or tradesman. Aftcr faith or settled mind is established, nothing is taboo, though keeping "firmly to ourselves the teaching transmitted in our tradition and not giving any outward sign of it; those who do this are said to be peoplc of discretion." Settled faith means also to honor the laws of the state and fulfill public obligations. The relatioll of Buddhism and the state or society is a key issuc in Rennyo's thought, but it must bc viewed in the light of his historical situation. Essentially he promoted the western idea of "rendering Ullto Caesar what is Caesar's and unto Cod [Buddha] what is Cod's [Buddha's].,,1 Rennyo interprets the tcrms /W11l11 and amida butSli in the nenbutsu to emphasize the oneness of the mind of the person of settled faith and the Buddha. II is the action of the Tathagata that creates the oneness of the Buddha mind and ordinary mind, guaranteeillg the ultimate enlightenment of the person offaith. The namll-amida-hutsli is the verbal, symbolic expression of the reality of that oneness when it is recited in trust and gratitude. With respect to religious life, the hallmark of RcnllYo's teaching is his emphasis that the nenbntsu is only for gratitude, arising spontancously from the settled mind of faith. He rails against the perfunctory, mechanical, conformist recitation of the name without understanding its essential meaning. In order to cncourage his followers to be respectful of other religions, Rennyo exalts A111ida Buddha as the Original teacher and Original Buddha of all buddhas and gods. That is, he is the superior and supreme expression of Buddhahood, which includes all other gods and Buddhas within himself. They appear as lIpaya or compassionate means to lead people to the Buddha-Dharma. Shinran's and Rennyo's approach to faith are similar in being subjective and requiring a definitc turn of the mind in trust in Amida's VOlI's. It is exprcsscd in grateful recitation of the nenbutsu. There is a common emphasis in both teachers on the absolute Othcr-Power foundation of deliverance, They understand that Amida is a power within the heart and mind of the person, bringing about a spiritual transformation, as well as being enshrined as the essence oflhe nenbutsll itself. Rennyo's term alliill or)'asllki kokoro or settled mind, however, RellllYO and the Rel1ai"saI1Ce of COl1lem/JOrar), Shill Buddhism 167 appears within an institutional setting of community and obligatory observanccs, as wcll as a variety of rules or guidelines which he instituted to deal with problems in his movement. An important feature of cxprcssing one's settled faith is grateful recitation of nenhntsu while keeping one's eye on the goal of rcbirth in thc Pure Land. The communal character of faith is expressed through obeying thc rcgulations which Rennyo set down as a means of avoiding conAicts and obstacles to the teaching in the general community. Rennyo's Mission of Propagation and Education What ultimately gives Rennyo's life significance is his work of propagation and education which enabled Honganji to become the principal leader of Shin Buddhism. Through his expositions of the teaching he made Shinran's tcaching comprehensible to the masses. vVithout his consistent efforts, it is clear that Shinran's highly personal and subtle tcaching would have remained obscure to thc ordinary person, though Shinran himselfbec3me the object of veneralioll. Thc abbots prior to Rennyo engaged in propagation activities, yet I-longanji remained <1 small segmcnt of the Shin movement. Traditionally there have been tcn branches, of which the I-Ionganji was one. In the controversy centering on Rennyo's acccptance as abbot, his uncle, Nyoja, argued 011 his behalf that Rcnnyo had lifelong dedication, andllc participated intimately in Zonnyo's work of copying texts for followers, as well as occasionally representing his fathcr in relations with disciples. When Rennyo became abbot, it was clearly the combination of his personality, his abilities and activities, the times, and the character of his tcaching that brought about the momentous change in the fortunes of the Honganji. I-Ie was the right man in the right place at the right time. Rennyo's activitics included copying texts, undertaking teaching tours, writillg objects of worship in the form of namc scrolls, granting Dharma names, establishing temples, and writing letters, as well as frequent interviews and meetings with individual disciples. These endeavors werc all aimed at securing the rclationship of Rennyo anel the i-lollganji with the followcrs on a dceply pcrsonallevel. While not all these undertakings were original with him, hc made the most skillful and greatest usc of the varioLls methods. I-Ie also was perceptivc in seeing how social dynamics worked in Japancse society when he devcloped the system of kB or small, voluntary associations and described how propagation should procccd. 2 VVe might say that RCllnyo's propagation and education depcnded on personal relations, communication-publicaHon through copying texts or writing lelters, and the likc, and social insight. Copying Texts In order to instruct followers in an agc before printing, it was nccessary to copy tcxts meticulously. Copying was a form of publication in a prcteclll1ological age. T'he various texts that were copied demonstrate how serious Shinran and his succcssors were ill responding to their followers' desire for uudcrstanding the Dharma. In Shin Buddhism the work of copying texts began as early as Shinran, who reproduced 168 Shins/lll Studies various Pure Land works requested by his disciples. 'Ibgether with composing his own originalwriLings, Shiman copied a variety ofrure Land texts which he thought were useful [or understanding his teaching. Zennyo, the fourth abbot of Honganji, is nuted fur annotating a pictorial biography of Shinran and making a seventeen- volume copy of the Kyogyoshinsho in Japanese translation. He also copied the words of Zonkaku (Zonkaku hiigo).l There is a record of some fourteen texts copied by Gyonyo, the sixth abbot; 20nnyo, the seventh abbot; and Kukaku, a brother of 20nnyo. Zonnyo also initiated thc copying of Shiman's hymns (wasan), and separated out the Shoshinge from the Kyogyoshinsho. He focused attention on that passage because it presented the basic principles of Shin Buddhism in a condensed form. Rennyo later wrote a synopsis of that tcxt known as Shoshinge taiL' He also published the Shoshinge and the Wasan collections in block print at Yoshizaki in 1473. The block printillg of texts made for wider distribution of texts and broadened the use of the Shoshinge and Wasan 5 in services in temples or at home. Even before he became abbot, Rcnnyo made copies of texts for disciples, who often received them when they came to study in Kyoto. At times he substituted for his father in making and signing these texts. We are tolcl that there now exist some forty texts copied by Renn),o. The meticulous work of copying texts undoubtedly contributed to Rennyo's sludy and absorption of the teaching which underlay his thollght in his letters, his major mode uf communication. Teaching TOllrs From the time of Kakunyo, abbots made tours around regions where Shinshu congregations wcre locatcd. Rennyo toured to spread and strengthen the teaching. Beforc he became abbot, he went to the Kanlo region, following the example of other abbots who visitcd the sacred sites of Shinran's lifc at least once in their lifetime. Rennyo, however, three times to Kanto. Immediately after becoming abbot, he focused on ami, an area roughly corresponding to Shiga prefecture located easl of the capital, where there were many Shin followers. He also went to Mikawa and Settsu, as well as the north em provinces known as Hokuriku. Rennyo's success in clrawing adherents through these activities C\'en- tually caught the attention of the forces of Mount l-liei, who attacked Honganji in 1466. It was probably no accident that Rennyo selccted Yoshizaki in the Hokuriku area for his base, since the l-Ionganji had had a long association with the region bccausc of thc travcls of the various former abbots. By 147', when Rennyo moved to Yoshizaki, there were as man)' as 119 temples known in the Echizen, Kaga, and Etchu regions. With his arrival in Yoshizaki, the Illlmber of temples expanded significantly as members and tcmples of othcr sects turned to Rennyo. James Dobbins indicatcs: "Rcnnyo's presence in Yoshizaki created a mysterioLls and powerful chemistry that sparked an unprecedented religious awakening in the region.,,6 There were forly-nine additional templcs in Inami county in Echizen alone, five timcs thc number that had been there over the previous two centuries. Twenty of these forty-nine temples had previously bcen affiliated with the Tendai order. Similar dcvelopmcnts took place in other regions near Kyoto, in Omi, lobi, Chugoku, and Kansai. Rellll)'o alld the Renaissance of COil temporary' S/,in BlIddhism 169 Objects of \Morship Shinran's original object of worship was the namc Jin-jil)-Po 1l1u-ge-ko nyorai, which means the Tathagata of Universal Unhindered Light. He granted Name (1l1)'ogo) scrolls to leading disciples for their d6j6. In addition to the Name, pictorial representations of Amida were also made. This practice was latcr followed by KakullYo, Zonkaku, and sLlcceeding abbots. Zonnyo's diary indicates that he made various types of scrolls at the request of his disciples. Rennyo gave out so many Name scrolls that he was said to have written the Name more times than any other person in history. Some extant scrolls were written with gold paint, a sign of the growing prosperity and influence ofI-longanji. Ten are listed from 1460 to 1465. The 6saka-gobo or Ishiyam3 temple, where Rennyo finally retired, was financed almost entirely through writing of Name scrolls. Dharma Names and Temple Names Another way in which relations with disciples was strengthened was the bestowal of Dharma names. Thesc names bcgan to bc conferred when followers came to the Hunganji tu study. Renll)'o followed the precedent set by 20nn)'0, and thcre arc numcrous extant examples of Dharma names written in his own hand. Tcmple names indicated the status of a community as a temple based on its affiliation with the Honganji. They marked the transformation of a d6j6 to a tcmple and permitted the members to enshrine an image of Amida rather than a name scroll. Letter Writing Perhaps the most striking aspect ofRennyo's activities in education and propagation was his letter writing. However, there were also precedents in Shin Buddhism for this mocle of communication. Shinran himsclf wrote numerous letters dealing with doctrinal questions, disputes among his followers, and persecution. Although it is recorded that Shimall wrote nillety leiters, there are presenlly forty-three cxisting. RCllllYO'S letters number over 200, eighty-five of which were sclected out by Rcnnyo's grandson Ennyo (1491-1521) at the direction of Ellnyo's fathcr, )itsunyo, thc ninth abbot. These have become virtnally sacred tcxt for Shin Buddhists. Most famolls among them is the l-lakko/su 110 or Leiter on White Ashes,' which is uscd extensively in funeral services. Among these only elevcn are originals; thc remainder are copies made by others. Renn)'o did not write complcx ductrinal analvscs such as we find in thc K),og),oshirzsho, and so modern scholars him as a scholar or thinker. Nevertheless, the letters wcre his ehosen mcthod for communicating the insights of Shin Buddhism in comprehensible, clcin language that the members of the temples eould appreciate. Undoubtedly they contributcd to his popularity, because such Ictters as the White Ashcs touched'thc hcarts of people with the reality of impermanence and the importance of faith amI gratitude in spiritual1ife. Rennyo made gratitude a central feature of Shin Buddhism. A gcncral accounting of his letters indicates that in the collection of eighty-fivc letlers, forty- 170 Shinshii Stlldies nine conclude with specific exhortations to gratitude, while in others it is implied. He concluded his letters by urging his followers to recite the nenbutsll with gratitude. This became the distinctive approach of Shin Buddhism toward practice and religious reAection. Rennyo demonstrated his sensitivity to women, who played a great role in his life, by referring to women in fifty-eight letters of the 212 considered authentic. Contrasting Shin Buddhism with other Buddhist traditions, Rennyo stressed that the salvation of women was a primary concern for Amida Buddha. This belief is significant because the religious status of women in traditional Buddhism was lower than that of men. Though RCIlI1YO declared the spiritual equality of women, he did not make clear their soci,]1 equality. This subject remains a task for our contemporary sGligha. In almost all his letters Rennyo eIllphasized the human condition, Other- Power faith, recitation of the nenblltslI, ,md the importance of the afterlife. He set forth rules for social behavior in response to the anti-social attitudes of some followers who usedlhe Shin experience of spirilualliberation to ridicule and denouncc other religions and even oppose secular authority. Addressing contemporary Issues confronting the cOlTllllunity, Rennyo's letters defined the content of faith. Method of Propagation The great expansion of Shin Buddhism uncleI' the leadership of Rennyo resulted not only from the resonance of his ideas and personality with the people of the lime, but also from his understanding how society worked. As Dobbins points out, in the spread of Shin Buddhism, Rennyo benefited from the formation of independent, self-governing villages that attended the end of the manorial economic systcm. Rcnnyo's method of propagation consisted of approaching the thrce most prominent people in any village; the priest, the elder, and the village headman. He maintained that "If these three will lay the basis for Buddhism in their respective places, then all the people below thcm will conform to the teachings and Buddhism will flourish."" This strategy is known as the top-down principle, accepting the hierarchical structure of a village, and has bccn followed by all religions since ancient times. It presupposes a highly communal and kinship society in which leaders are recognized by all members as having status by virtue of their wisdom and qualities of leadership. Many of these leaders were formerly heads of large farm families in the earlier, declining myoslw-estate systel1l_ It was a natural extension of the family structure. In our more individualistic age, this strategy would have little effect, but what is important here is Rennyo's sensitivity to the changing nature of the society in which hc lived and his shrewdness in recognizing its usefulness. Concurrent with Rennyo's strategy of reaching the leadership of the society, he also developed the ko CiiIII), a voluntary religious association for the nmture and development of personal faith. Ko isan ancient Buddhisl concept meaning discourse, preaching, or lecture. In time it took on the meaning of a meet-ing for some religious purpose such as studying a text or undertaking a particular practice. Shin Buddhism today has such things as Nenbutsuk6 and Hoonk6 services. In our modern thinking, a ko would be like a cell, a subgrouping of a larger body; We might call it a discussion group or informal fellowship.9 Though the ko might coincide with the Rennyo and the Re,wissQnce o( Contemporary, Shin Bllddhism 171 village, it was really the social-religious foundation of Shin Buddhism. In time religious and political aspects overlapped, as is evident in the peasant ikko-ikki uprisings. One important characteristic is that the ko could transcend its local character through its connection with the broad movement of Shin Buddhism. This connectedness was the basis for the enormous power that Shin Buddhism calTle to hold in medieval society, leading to its struggle with ada Nobunaga and its division under the Tokugawa. Members would open their homes for mcctings, and as these grew into a regular occurrcncc the home wonld be called doio. The size of the kB varied from as fell' as six people to perhaps thousands. They were supported by members' donations. The local ko lVere afliliatec1with the Honganji through the variolls lcvcls of SIlbtemple relations. In Lerms of governance, Rennyo had Lo combine his democratic spirit with the need for more centralized control necessitated by the social and religious problems that arose within thc ko. Thcsc were the major reasons for locating his sons and daughters in major temples in order to maintain the loyalty of the members uncler their control. We can gain some idea of the activilies in the ko from Rcnnyo's leiters indicating that the members meet monthly (the twentieth-eighth of the month, which was Shinran's death day) in order to discuss their faith. Annual Hoonko sen'ices to express gratitude for the teaching and to COlTllnemorate Shinran's dcath IHI\'e been typically hcld for scvcn days and were greatly stressed hy Rennyo. However in his letters he noted that the faith was not always disclISsed at the meetings as it should be. He criticized the members for turning the meetings into social occasions, forgetting their true purpose. He urged deep discussion and questioning in order 10 arrive at settled faith. Rennyo was very critical of the clergy who oversaw the fellowships. We can see thai the meetings of the "'j in cl6j6 and temples provided an opportunity for members to interact and discuss their faith in a marc personal way. The dissemination of the SllOshinge and Wasem suggests that part orlhe meeling was devoted to the devotional chanting of these lexts, and members amI clergy then discussed the teaching. Rennyo :llso wrote numcrous letters marking the anniversmy of Shinran's death in which he cOlllmented on the meaning of the teaching, ancl he instructed that these letters were to be read at the appropriate services, in this case H60nk6. The meetings were clearly also social occasions, though Rellllyo desired that" the religiollS purposc be constantly maintained. For him the spiritmlity of the movement was uppermost. In his overall perspective he recognized that the prosperity of the movement lies not in the prestige of great numbers, bllt ill whether peoplc have faith, and the flourishing of the right sale practice comes abont through the will of the disciples who follow. Rellll),O's Personal Style Renn),o's personal style can be sumlllarized as more opcn amI democratic than what was often seen at lhis time. The lirst leiter in the authorizcd collection emphasizes the camaraderie of Shin Buddhism, noting SIIiman's declaration that he had not one disciple. Rennyo wore plain gray robcs, insisted that even highly ranked clergy within his organization do the same, and removed lhe preaching 172 Shins/HI Stlldies platform. Hc sat on the same level as his followers. It is said hc sat knee to knee. He admonished his associates not to keep followers waiting and to serve them food and sake. He did not put on airs, so when he visited followers who had little to offer him, he warmly ate the millet gruel which they ate and spent the night discussing religion with thclll. He advocated that No plays be performed to put people at ease and to teach the Buddha-Dharma anew when followers have lost interest. But though Rennyo could be solicitous for the welfare of his followers, hc was also critical. He castigated the priests who sought more spiritual ancl financial power over rank-and-file membcrs. He also censured the membcrs for lacking proper religious motivation for their participation or for their lack of engagement with, discussion of, and \lnderstanding of the doctrine. Conclusion We can see there are many dimensions to Rennyo's activities and style that successfully brought Shin Buddhism to a peak level of support in the medieval period. The determination with which all Honganji abbots have labored offers suggestions for how we might strengthen Shin BuddhisIll ill today's age of turbu- lence and transition, but it is with Rennyo that we particularly notice commdeship, communication, critique, commitment or cleep religious motivation, and understanding as keys to the future strength of Jocloshinshu. Notes 1 For example, in a letter written from Yoshizaki dated the thirteenth day of the fifth month, 1474, Rennyo asserts, "You 1I1ust be careful never to carelessly say 'I am who reveres the Dharma and has attained shin;in' before the authorities in your province such as the military governors [s/rugo] or warrior land stewards [iito]. Do not'fail to your public duties." RSI, 192; SSZ 3.441. 2 See pp. 170-171. 3 The Zonkaku hogo is at SSZ 3353 4 The Shoshil1ge laii was written in 1460 in response to a request from Kanamori Dosai; it is at SSZ 3.385. 5 Wasem are liturgical hymns written by Shinran in Japanesc, in contrast with his doctrinal tlreses, which are all written in Chinese. 6 James C. Dobbins, Jade Shinshii: Shin Buddhism in MedieV<11 Japan (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1989), p. 137. 7 RS1, 182; SSZ 3513 8 Dobbins. Jude Shinshii, p. 139. 9 Ko were thc smallest social unit that supported-emotionally, politically, and financially- both tocal dojo and the national/lOl1zan of Honganji. IKEDA nlTAI TRANSLATED BY SARAH HORTON The Characteristic Structure of Rennyo's Letters The Spirit of "Lamenting Deviations" RCllIl)'O'S composition of numerous leiters is said to have greatly Cascilitatccl the rcstoratioll of Shinshu which occurred under him. l This chapter reconsiders thc nature of these letters through an cxamination of their structure. The words of Rennyo's mother, as related in the RWll)'O Sizo/lill ilolwki,2 suggest all early influence which contributed 10 his desire to restore Shinshfi: Oei 27 [14.20]. The master [Rennj'o] ""IS six years old. On the t\\'enty-eighth day of the twelfth month, the 1I10ther spoke to her six-year-old child, revealing what was in her heart: "It is lily wish that during this child's lifetime, he will restore the tradition of the master [Shinran]." With that, sire departed for an unknown destination. l The Itokuki also declares: From the age of fifteen, the masler [ReI1llYo] first began to earnestly aspire to restore ShinshO. II grieved him to think how the school had languished in pre"iolls generations. He conslantly prayed thai someholl' he 1V0uld be able to reveal the teachings of the master [Shinnlll] in all places, far and near. In the end, he did restore [Shinran's teachings].' Thus Rennyo made his mothcr's wish his own goal. The origin of his dcsire to restore Shinshu mLlst be sought, as previous scholars have pointed out, in his relationship to the TaTlllisho. The first to note tire relationship between Rennyo's Leiters and the Iil1l1lisho, and Lo suggest the doctrinal lineage they share, was Ryosho of M)'oon'ill (1788-1842) ill his work Tmmisho 11lollki.1 Soga Ryojin (1875-1971) went a slep fmther by declaring in the Tmmislzo choki that the spirit of restoration is Ilone other than the spirit of "lamenting c1eviations."r, Although the following paragraph has been widely read, I will guok it again here: 174 Shins/nl Studies It goes without saying that the Tarrnisho "luments that which deviates from the true faith transmitted by the Master [Shinran]." The true faith thus transmitted is the two types of deep belief (nis/w jinshin), found throughout the Tannishii, which have been handed down from the tillle of Master Zenda (Shandao). It is these two types of deep faith that overturn the two states of mind, meditative and nonmcditative (i6san nishin), elucidating the metaphor of the two rivers [of greed and anger] and shedding light on the faith of the Boundless Vow [Amida's Eighteenth Vow]. This was, I believe, the way of Master Zenda's own enlightenment. The spirit and feeling of "lamenting thaI which deviates from the true faith transmitted" is, I strongly believe, the spirit behind the restoration of}ado Shinshii. Perhaps because of this, Renn)'o indicated that 'This is an important scripture in our lineage. It should not be shown indiscriminately to those who lack [sufficient] karmic good [roots]" (mu shukuzen kilo I firmly believe that the spirit behind Rennyo's restowtioll of Shinshii was none other than the spirit of "lamenting deviations.'" Our oldest extant manuscript of the Tmmisizo, copied by Rennyo himself, provides clues to the relationship between Rennyo and this text. In November 1969 H6z6kan published a photographic reproduction of the manuscript, with a commentary by Miyazaki Enjun. 8 Although he did not record the date of his copying of the text, on the basis of past handwriting it had been thought that Rennyo copied it when he was about sixty-five or sixty-six. Miyazaki explains, however, that reexamination of the manuscript using microphotographs and other technology indicates that Rennyo was around fort>' years old when he copied the sentence, "The exiled persons were the above eight," which is founel in the appendix. He was sixty-fi\'e or sixty-six, however, when he copied the next sentence, "The persons executed were as follows," and also whcn he added the colophon. III addition, thc covcr of this manuscript bears the title "Tarmisho, one copy" and to the lower right of this is the note "belonging to Rennyo." The fact that Rennyo copied the text over a period of many years as well as the existence of this note on the cover suggest that this was his personal copy, something he used throughout his life. Rennyo copied a wide range of ShillSho scripturcs, beginning even before he took over the leadership of Honganji from his father. Although their contents vary, here is a list of seven extant Rennyo manuscripts that have Tarl1lisho-like colophons and where they are held: 1. The KudeTlsh6, two fascieles. 9 The first fascicle is in the archives of Fukudadera, Shiga City. The second fascicle is in the archives of Nishi I-Ionganji, Kyoto. The text is dated Eiky6 10 (1439), copied when Rennyo was twenty-three years old. 2. Thc RokllYOS/z6,1O ten fascicles. In the archives ofK6shoji, Kyoto. Dated Choroku 2 (1458), copied when Rennyo was forty-four years old. 3. The Kyogyoshinsho (in rlObegaki), seventeen fascicles H In the archives of Nishi Honganji. Dated Kansho 2 (1461), copied when Rennyo was forty-seven ycars old. 4 The Kudellsho, three fascicles. In the archives ofJoshobo, Osaka. Dated Bunsh6 2 (1467), copied when Rennyo was fifty-three years old. The Characteristic SlmctllTe of Rerl11)'o's Letters 175 5. The K)'og)'oshinsho taii,12 one fascicle. In the archives of ShinshOji, Sakai City. Dated F.ntoku 1 (1489), copied when Rennyo was seventy- five years old. 6. Thcfliinen Shonin okotoba, one fascicleY In the archives of K6tokuji, KashilVabara City. Dated Mei6 5 (1496), when RC1111YO \\';1S eighty-two years old. 7. The Tannisho, two fascicles. In the archives of Nishi i-Ionganji, probably copied when Rennyo was forty years 01d. 14 Despite their similarity, however, none of colophons to these other works contains a harsh statement similar to this one in the colophon of the Talll1isho: "This should not be shown indiscriminately to those who lack karmic good roots." It is possible thai Rennyo intended not to ban or proscribe this work, but rather simply to record that it should be treated with great care, as an "important sacred text of our lineage." These points all indicate that Rennyo had the Tmmishij at his side from the time of his difficult youth, that is before he became leader ofl-Ionganji, to his maturity when he fulfilled his desire to restore ShillShLi. These connectiollS between Rennyo and the Tmmisho should be explored in light of Rennyo's Letters. Elsewhere I "have discLlssed this issue with referencc to the first leiter, which contains the fundamental positions found in all the letters. I would now like to go a step further, however, ancl examine the languagc and ideas contained in Rennyo's Letters. RectifYing Heresy (gaija Starting from his view of "lamenting deviations" as seen ill his csteem of the Tannisho, ho\\' did the restoration of Shinshn advance under Rcnnyo? In the past, when analyzing Rennyo's Letters, Shinshn scholars always established the catcgory "Purpose of the Letters," saying, for example, "They are to help foolish peoplc achieve true faith" and "They do away with various kinds of aberrant doctrine, taking refuge in that which is true.,,11 Such evaluations stop at simply noting that the Letters were written to corred mistaken views. Indeed, the Leiters spcak eloquently to this point. I wOllld likc to focus, however, on the implications of this point. Is it possible to say Ihat Rennyo took over from Kakunyo, advancing the restoration ofShinshii by rect ifying heresies? This is the question that I lVant to explore. First, let us look at the aberrant doctrines discussed in the Lellers. Professor Sumida Chiken summarizes the situation as follows: A, has been said in the past, we can count four or six different t)'pes [of aberrant doctrine), but I find three: the teaching in the Seizan seel that Birth in the Pure L1nd has been assured from the time Amida achieved Buddlmhood ten kalp:ls ago (jikko an;in); the teaching in the Chinzei seel thai Pure Land Birth cannot he achieved without practicing the spoken nenblltsll (kllsl16 zlUlOri), and sccrcl teachings which misrepresent such things as the wisdom of the path of the sages. 'Ieachings such as revering one's teacher as the Buddha (chishiki c/clflomi), the 176 Shinshii Studies practice of giving gifts to Buddhist monaslics as a meritorious act for the achieve- ment of Buddhahood (semotsll danomi), and the teaching thal those who have achieved faith are, in this life, already one with Amida (ichi)'akll human), fall under these three categories; I find nOlle outside these thrce,16 The letters themselves provide examples of heresy which can be classified into the following four groups: L "Marked differences from our tradition's basic view of alljill" (Letter r8): There are two: belief that the "pacified mind" (alljin) was deter- minecl for us when Dharmiikara attained bllddhahood as Amitabha ten kalpas ago (jikko anjin, as in Lellers 1:13, 2:11, 3:8) and belief that recitation of the sacred Name without any understanding of faith is sufficient (71lushin sho71lJ'o, as in Letters 1:1, 1:15, r 2, 3:3, 3:+ r5, 5: 11 ). 2. Anything based in Ihe "secret teachings which are widespread in Echizen Province ... that arc deplorable, and not to be considercd Buddhist" (Lellers 2:14). This would include slIch things as doctrinc of "the one benefit" wherein the attainment of shinjiTl is takcn to mean one has attained buddhahood (ichiyaku hamon, as in Letter 1:4), the practice of worshipping a spiritual guide as an incarnation of the Buddha (chishiki dallomi as in Letter 2:11), a variety of nonstandard Shinshu interpretations known as "secret doctrines" ("iii biJmon, as in Letters 2:14), or Ihe secret tcaehing that ritual worship is unneccssary (fuhai hiji, as in Letter B). 3. The practice of "proclaiming our doctrine before [members on other schools and sects" (as in Letter 1:9). This [problem] can be seen in such statements as "some see our school as polluted and loathsome" or "something taboo" (mono imi, as in Letter 1.9), or in [admonitions against] "acting so that one appears to later generations as a good person or followcr of the Buddhist teachings" (as in Letter 2:2) and "going out of one's way 10 bring attention to the fael that one is a follower of our tradition" (as in Leller 2:13). 4- The practice of "speaking of teachings that have not been transmitted [within our lineage] and misleading others" (as in Letter po). This includes such unacceptable activities as asking for donations (semoisll dallomi, as in Letter 1:11), "relying on their own abilities, some people are interpreting texts that have not been properly transmitted and [expound] unknown, heretical doctrines" (as in Letter}:ll), "[spreading] unknown teachings that are not part of our lineage" (as in Letter 3:13), "turning one's ears to hear twisted [notions] and then opening one's mouth to spread it as slander" (as in Letter 4:1), spreading our teachings among those "about whom it is not known if the person possesses good karmic roots" (as in Letter 4:5), and participating in services "for one's reputation or 10 be in stcp with everyone else" (as in Letter 4:8). Thc discussion of heresies in the Letters sharcs much with Kakunyo's ideas ahout destroying aberrant doctrine. Although approximately one hundrcd years The Characteristic Structure of Ren 11)'0 's Leiters 177 passed between the time ofKakunyo (1270-1351) ancl Rennyo (1415-1499), statements from Kakunyo's Gai;asiJo can be placed in the above four categories. There are statements in the Gaijasho, for example, that pertain to the first category. Article one of the Gaijash6 declares: [Extolling] the creation of name registers is based on one's personal vicw of things and corrupts the lineage of our founder. J) And in article two: It is likewise wrong to assert a personal interpretation in the usc of what are called portmit lineages. IS The precursor to the problem raiscd in the third catcgory is found in Article three of the Gaijasho: You should not promote yourself in the form of a renunciant or delight in appenring different. Do not wear the skirtless robe (mo11ashi garomo) or use a black clerical surplice (kesa).19 And precedents for the second category abovc can be seen in the declaration ill Article eighteen of the Gaijasho: Among those who arc known as adherents of the Venerable of Honganji (Shinran), there are some who so revere their spiritual guide (chishiki) that they likcn [this person] to the Tathagata Amida and regard his or her physical dwelling as a Imc Pure Land of Ihe Buddha's body of glory [generated] by his unique 1'01l'S. This is [so a bSllrd as to be] beyond all com men t 20 Finally, the following statement from the twenty-first article of Ihe Kudemizo, also by Kakunyo, can be placed in the first category: "Asserling thai one nenh!ltsll (ichillell) does not suffice, we Tllllst strive to practice many IlCnblltsll (/(111cn).,,1 Although there were of course differences between the eirclllllstanees surrounding Kakunyo and Rennyo, their attitudcs regarding aberrant doctrine were fundamenlallv the same. The situation in which Kakunyo found himselfis addressed in Zonkaku's' (1290-1373) Haja kensizo shoo According to Ihis work, there ;Ire no words to describe the degree of slander and violencc prcl'alent at that time among the Tendai monks of the path 10 self-perfection based 011 MOllnt l-liei, yamabushi, female shamans, and yin-yang masters: These monks seem in forlll to emhody the Buddhist teachings and practices, but at heart they are no different from people who renOllnce the Bllddhist doctrille of callsation. Hence, they devaslale the chapels of nenbulsu followers in place after place, and in each case wilh every occasion they deceive Ihc adherenls of Ihe Pure Land path. They call the paintings and sculptures of Amida heretical im:1gcs, and they trample them uncler foot. They declare the sacred writings of ShinshG doctrine to he heretical teachings, and they spit on them and destroy them. In addition they seize and deprive us of dozens of texts, including the three major Pure Land sutras as well as the expositions of the five patriarchs .... Overall their power resounds throughoul a thousand world systems, nearly outstripping the aSllra's legions. 21 178 Shinsha Studies This passage sholVs that in the time of KakuIlYo, there IVas a crisis situation wherein teaching of the exclusive nenbutsu lVas in of being destroyed nol only at the individual level but throughout all of society. When critically reexamiIling correspondcnces between the heresies at the time of Kankunyo and of Rennyo, it becomcs necessary to establish not only thc relationship between Rennyo and the Tannisha but also the relationship between Rennyo and Kakunyo, especially with regard to thc Gai;asho. Although bolh Ihe Tannisha and the Gaijasha address problems with religious institutions, the Tmmisha remains wilhiIl the simple framework of a group offellow believers andlllonks. The author states that he wrote it so that "there Illay be no differences in faith among thc practitioners in a single room.,,13 In contrast, the Gai;asha is wrillen from the perspective of an established orthodox institution which, by Kakunj'o's time, was based on a clear hereditary line spanning three generations, as the follo\\'ing colophon shows: The above text is essenlial for [the understanding on the import of the oral handed down from the founder of Honganji, Masler Shinran, and l'vlasler Oami Nyoshin, which contains thc kcy to the attainment of Ilirlh in the Land of Recompense (hodo). In past days and years, by humbly receiving the hereditary spanning Ihe Ihree generations of Kurodani (i-ioncn), Honganji (Shinran), and Oami (Nyoshin), the carefully maintained doctrines of the t\\'o Buddhas (AlIlid" and SakyulIluni) have servcd 'as our eyes and our feel," Inevitably, then, there are differences between the tlVO texts in their criticisms of aberrant doctrine. The Tannish!) focuses on examining and rectifying one's own faith, a faith achieved primarily through direct contact with Shinran and his teachings. This emphasis is apparent in thc passage "[let there 1 be IlO differences iII faith amollg fellow practitioners in a single room," which shows a critical attitude toward one's own faith. The Gai;ashii, on the other hand, assumes thai an orthodox institution has already been established and attempts to destroy any heresy that is opposed to this orthodoxy. In the same colophon, Kakunyo adds, "I record this in order to destroy heresy and light the lantern of truth." Kakunyo, through his emphasis on the hcreditary line spanning three generations, sought to hold together the institution after Shinran's death. Sensing the danger facing /-Ionganji, he felt he had a historical mission to fulfill. It was inescapable that the inslilution thus established was unified under the authority of orthodoxy. . It was Rennyo who found himself in the middle of this /-Ionganji institution which had been established by Kakunyo. In the face of this reality, how was he to grapple with his decision to "reveal tl;e teachings of the Master' (Shinran) in all places, far and near, during my lifetime"? This problem must have preoccupied Rennyo during the long years before he assumed the leadership of Honganji. Therefore, he read through KakuIl),o's KlIdensha and Gai;aslza, and then he turned to the Tml1lisha, all of which had in common "the true faith transmitted from the Mastcr (SIIiman)." Rennyo took as his own the spirit of "lamenting deviations" which was the foundation of this true faith. His actions thus conformed to the The Characteristic StnJcture of I.etters 179 rectification of heresy which he had inherited from Kakunyo, as can be seen in the corredion of abbewnt doctrine discussed in the Letters. It was Ihis that propelled the restoration of Shinsha. It is Ilndeniable that Rennyo addressed the correction of these aberrant doctrines in his Leiters frolll the standpoint of a powerful institution. The Eigellki asserts: When Rennyo was at his temple in Yamashina, it is not thai he Ihoughl ill of people .... He said, "There are, however, 1\\'0 of whom I think ill: one who causes unhappiness to his parents, and one who speaks aberrant doctrine. Of these \\\'0, I think ill." The news thai was received in Kyoto [lVas that] samurai who spoke ill of Honganji anclwho confused [other teachings] with the teachings of the founder lVere extreme enemies of the Dharma 25 In addition, article 243 of the Kikigaki relates: Rennyo heard that in Ihe northern provinces. a certain person \l'as spreading mistaken teachings, saying that they were the teachings of our tradition. Rennyo called Joya of the northcTII provinces 10 him and said, ",ilh grcat angcr, "II is abominable and despicable to attribllte [olher teachings] to the fOllncler [Shinran ]." He gnashed his leelh, saying. "Even I mangle them, I stilllVill nol bc satisficd."26 Such harsh attitudes must be viewed as building on the steps Kakunyo took to rectify heresy, to "destroy heresy and light the lantern of truth." Conclusion "Lamenting deviations" and rectifying heresies are, in many ways, contradictory. In the past, this point has impeded stuclies ofRennyo. In fact, Rennyo workecl to ereate a spirit of unily among fellow believers on the one hanel, but 011 the otilcr, he also formed a power structure with the centralization of power in the Honganji instilution, placing his o\\'n male dcscendants (ikke shu) at major temples: In every generation, good spiritual tcachers (;::e'lchishiki) have succeeded Ihe founder [Shinran]. Master Rennyo secluded himself in the hall al Osaka, andwhcn Master jitsllnyo wenllo visit him there, Rennyo said, "[Our] relalionship as parent and child is, for both of lIS, [like] a visit from Ihe founder [Shinrnn]." His goblet remained on ils stand for some time. 17 These two emphases appear 10 be opposites. Although this situation essentially places the two sicles at variance wilh eaeh other, Rel1n)'o maintainecllhe contradiction in his own character, which was based on Ihe principle of the ccnlnllity of faith, cnabling him to lead Honganji through the power of his personality. In this way, Rennyo, more than anyone else, placed himself in Ihe middle of thc contradiction while seeking to transmit the patriarchs' tradition of tTlle failh. Thc contradiction is all the more apparent in the correction of abbcrant doclrine addressed ill thc Letters, but for precisely this reason Rennyo always returned to his choscn focus on the spirit of "lamenting deviation'" and of fellowship (daba). This was Rcnnyo's fundamental position. 'fhc composition of the Gai;asho shows that the steps taken by Kakunj'o to rectify heresy did not stop at simply an eillphasis on the orthodoxy of his own 180 Shinshii Studies position, From among his many writings, Kakunyo's CaijaslzB, ShiijisizB, and Kudel1shB are traditionally referred to as "The Three "Vorks of Kakunyo," Among these three, the Caijasho and the Kudensho may be classified in the same category, because they were composed only six years apart (the Kudens/Jo was written in 13 21 , the Caijas/JB in 1327) and both were written at the request of disciples, including Jasen (1295-1377). The Haja kellsho sho, written in 1324 by Kakunyo's son Zonkaku, tells of societal problems at that time that placcd the Honganji institution in danger. Such situations no doubt helpcd to prompt the writing of the Caijasilo, The reasons the CaijashB was written provide further evidence that KakuI1Yo's activities were driven by his cOllviction thai he had a great hisloriealmissioI1 regarding Honganji. Rennyo also fell he had this mission, but in his case the basis of this conviction was the spirit of "lamenting deviations." Tb the extent that the correction of aberrant doctrine developed in this way, Rennyo surpassed a simple schematic understanding of orthodoxy and heresy. [n grasping this concept, we see Rennyo's real intention. [ therefore propose the following metaphor: in Rennyo's Letters, which unify the contradiction betwecn "lamenting deviations" and rectifying heresies, thc spirit of "lamenting deviations" forms the warp, the spirit of rectifying hercsy the woof, of the fahric of the Letters. In recent years the act of rectifyillg heresy has been criticized as merely emphasizing the orthodoxy of one's own position. Actnally, however, [ believe this is so because the nature of actions taken to rectifv aberrant doctrine which occurred when the HOllganji became a fixed institution, after Rennyo's death and particularly in modern times, ultimately came to conceal the true mission of tlte rectification of hcresy. That the Leiters unify the contradiction between "lamenting deviations" and rectifying heresies tells us that by constantly returning ill his practice to his understanding of "fellow practitioners," Rennyo became an outstanding leader of Shinshii. At the same time, it signifies that the restoratioll of Shin shu which occurred by means of this epistolary communication was nothing other than the revitalization of the original meaning of Shinshii: true faith (shilljiTl). Noles This chapter originally appeared as "Ofumi no scikaku kozo" 1J1p)(0)'!1JIH1<jt_illt in Ikeda YGtai ?mlIliti"fflli, afumi kangeroku Kyoto: Shinshil Otaniha Shulllusho, 1998, 29-43 I The phrase "lamenting deviations" or lallni is an allusion to the Tdllnish6, compiled b)' Yuien (d. 1288). The first half of the Tannisha records statements of Shinran and the second half is largely focused on pointing out improper patterns of belief and practice. RenIl)'o was the first Shinshu leader to hold up the Tal1Tlisho as a legitimate transmission of Shinran's ideas on a number of important topics, and his handwritten copy is currently the oldest extant text. 2 Rel111),o Shall in itokllki, SSZ 3.89. 3 SSZ ;:870 4 SSZ ;:871. .. '--------- The Characteristic Stnlcture of Rellll)'o's Letters 181 5 Tannisho monki is in ZOkll Silinshfi iaikei (Tokyo: ShinshQ tenseki kank6kai, 1940), bekkal1; repr. as ZOkll Shillshl1 !"ikei (Tokyo: Yoshikawa K6hunkan, 1976), vol. 21. This volume was also published separately by I-16z6bn, 1972. 6 Soga Ry6jin, Tamzislzo clzoki (Kyoto: Ch6jiya, 1947). Rev. ed. appears ill Soga Ry6jin and Saga Ry6jin Scnsha Kankokai. ed., Saga R)'ojin senshu (Tokyo: Yayoi Shobo, 1970), vol. 6. 7 Saga Ryajin sells/lll, 6.19 8 Miyazaki Enjun, ed., 1clHllishi5 (Renl1)'D Shan in shosha), (Kyoto: l-Ioz6kan, 19(9). 9 A hiography of Shinran by Kakunyo, dated 133/ and originally in thrce fascicles. IO Completed by Zonkaku in 1360, the Rokll),osho in ten fascicles is the first exegetical commentary 011 Shinran's K)'ogyoshinsho; at SSZ 2. 205. This work was oftcn printed together with the K)'og)'os/rins/r5 in the Edo period so the two works could be read simultaneously. II The Kyogyoshins/Jo is the magnum opus of Shinran, containing the most detailed exposition of his thought. Originally ill kanbll11 in six fascicles, this l10begaki version is extended in length by essentially heing rewritten into wablHl, or Jap:lIlese syntax. 12 An essay Oil the main points in Shinran's K)'og)'oshinsha by Zonkaku, dated 1328. It is a work in one fascicle; compare it with Zonkaku's Roktl)'osha, writtcn over thirt}' years later and in far greater detail. 13 It's unclear what is contained in this work because it has a nonstandard title, but probably this is another name for a group of documents known today by the rubrie /-lonen S/1011;11 golt5go. These were collections of various ullerances of Honen froIll different contexts compiled at the end of his life and shortly thereafter. There are two in the ShOWd shim/nl HOllell Slt6nin zells/lIl, one elated 1201 at p. 1117, another elated 1211 at p. II'll, both also in one fascicle. 14 See RSC 183-19. 15 Quote from Sumida Chiken .in D6h6 Daigaku Bukky6 Cakkni, eel., Rennyo Shonin 110 kenk)'tJ (Nagoya: BunkBdo Sholen, 1971), 83. 16 Sumida Chiken, 19ishi 110 kenk)'ll (Kyoto: Ch6jiya, repr. Jl)60), 381. 17 SSZ 3.66. The term "name register" or lIl),ocho refers to a variety of documents that recorded the names of individuals who professed their faith in Shin ran's doctrine, a practice started by Ryogen of the Bukkoji branch of Shinshu. Kakunl'o's statemcnt here is a strong polemic against its implied promise of thereby guaranteeing Birth in the Pure Land to the individual. In fact we know that Shinran similarly recorded the names of his disciples. 18 SSZ 3.66. Portrait lineagcs, or ekeizlI, were another common wa)' of documcnting lineage in the Bukk6ji branch. These recorded the abbots of temples and typically inclueled portraits of each person in the lineage. 19 SSZ 3.6+ 20 SSZ 3.8+ 21 SSZ 3-33. 22 SSZ 3.158-159. TrallSlation based on James Dobbins, /lido ShilH:ill/: S/,ill Hlldelltism ill Medieva//apan, (Bloomington, Indiana: Incliana University Press, 1989),92. 23 SSZ 2.793- 24 SSZ 3.89. 25 RSC 262. This text is also knoll'n as the Eigell kikigaki, which is how the title is givcn at SSS 2.588. 26 This is enlry 241 in the recension at SSZ 3.593, but it is entry 24, in the Shi,1shti kana shag),o edition. 27 From the Eigenki at RSC 264. 226 Comparative Religion 12 Kon)'o Shonin goiklln goshoshoku, at SSZ 5.771-777. See Rogers, 316-339, for an account of the problems and issues relating to Nishi Honganji's role in the political arena. 13 This position was officially promulgated in the Council of Florence, 1442. See Don Pittman ct aI., Ministr), and Theology in Global Perspective (Gmnel Rapids, rvlich.: Wm. Eerdmans, 1996), 44. 14 See Pittman et aI., Ministry and Theolog)', 42-63, for developments in Christian perspectives on the 4uestion of nonbelievers. 15 Sec cspecially the Second Vatican Council's documenl Nvstra Actate, or "Declaration on the Relationship of the Chureh to Non-Christian Religions;' Walter tvl. Abbott, S.J., general editor, The Documents of Vatican II (New York: Guild Press, 1966), 656-674. 16 Sec Paul Knitter, No Olher Name? A Critical Survey of Christian AttitIldes Toward the World Religions (New York: Orbis, 1985). 17 See Knitter, No Other Name? amI Pittman, et a1., Ministry and Theology, 55-61, for descriptions of the spectrum of Christian positions. 18 Jacob Neusner, "Shalom: Complementarity," in Pitlimm et a!., Minislr)' and Theology, 465-466. 19 The prohlem noted with Karl RaImer's proposed theological viewpoint, that is, of regarding mcmbers of other traclitions who live according to their conscience as "anonymous Christians," it is precisely this subsumption of "outsiders" in a way that obliterates their own identity as Other. See Rahncr's excerpted article in Pittman ct aI., Minislry and Theolog)', 87-<)3 20 For an account of the possihilities of mutual transformalion of members and religinns tradilions in and through the dialogical process, see John J. Cobb, Jr., Beyond Dia/oglle: Toward a Mutual Transfomwtivn ofChrislianity and Buddhism (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1982). 21 for a detailed analysis of the religiopolitical establishment of State Shinto in Japanese history, see Kuroda Toshio, Chiisei Niholl /10 kokka to SllllkYD (Tokyo: Iwanami Shale]], 1975), and Kuroda, Chilsei Niholl no siIakai to slnlkyo (1bkyo: iwanami Sholen, 1990). 22 Ofll171i ]]]-10, :It SSZ 3.439; Rogers, 209, 211. Date 14 1 5 1420 1422 1429 1431 1433 1434 1436 1438 1439 1440 1441 1442 A Chronology of Rennyo's Life Era Year Age Event Oei 22. 2.25. Born in Higashiyama, Kyoto, the eldesl child of Zonnyo (age 20).1 Oei 27 6 3. l'vlother asks for his portrait to be painted (Kalloko 110 goei). 12.28. Mother Icaves Honganji. Oei 29 8 Stepmolher, Nyoen, givcs hirth to stepsister, Nyojt1. Eikyo I 15 Announces his determination to restore Honganji. EikyB 3 17 Ordained at ShBre'in during Sllllllller, rcceiving Dharma name of Rennyo. Eikyo 5 19 Stepbrother, Ogen born, latcr given Dharma name RcnshB. Eikyo 6 20 5.12. Copies 'Bdomonmi illSiJO, written by Shinran. EikyB 8 22 3.28. Zonn)"o (age 41) sllcceeds GyBnyo (age 61) and becolllcs seventh abhot of Honganji. Mid 8. Copies SaniB wasan, written by Shinran. EikyB 10 24 8.15. Copies TodD s"in')'os"6, compiled by ZOllkakll, postscript added hI' Zonnyo. 12.13- Copies Klldens!lo, wrillen by Kakunyo, and gives to SBshun, a priest in Omi. Eiky6 11 25 7.29. Copies Gose monogatari, attributed to RyOkan. Last days of 7. Copies Tariki shilliill kikigaki, probably written by Ryokai T l ~ ) of BukkBji. EikyB 12 26 10.14- Death of GyBn)"o (age 65). Kakitsu I 27 9.7. Copies ,odo shill'yoS!JO. Kakitsu 2 28 Birth of first child and son, Junn)"a, In Rcnnyo's first wife, Nyoryo. Rennyo's uncle, NyojB, builds I-ionscnji at futalllata ill Kaga province. 227 228 A Chronology of nenl1)'o's Life A Chronology of Renn)'o's Life 229 1446 Bunnan 3 32 Mid I. Copies GlJtokllsho, compiled by Shinran. 1460 Kansha 1 4 6 1.26. Death of uncle, Nyoja (age 49)' Birth of eldest daughter, Nyokei, and second son, RenjB. 2.24- Prcscnts hanging scroll of Ihe ten-clwmeler Sacred 1447 Burman 4 33 End of 1. Copies An;illkelsll;osho (unknown authorship) for Name (iii;i In)'iigo) 10 Haju al Katada, Omi Province. Sashull. 3-23. Visits Kyagaku in Nara. 2. Copies Rokll),osho and Zonkaku and Maltosho, " collection 6. Composes taii at the request of Dosai of of Shinran's letters to his disciples. Kanegamori, Omi Province. 5. Travels to the eastern provinces with Zonnyo. 10+ Death of stepmother, Nyoen. 1448 Bunnun 5 34 10.19. Copies GellSo eko kikigaki, probably written by RyBkai. Birth of fifth daughter, Myoi. Birth of second daughter, Kengyoku. 14 61 KallSho 2 47 1.6. Grants another ten-character Sacrcd Namc scroll to !-Iojii 1449 J-lBtoku I 35 5.6. Copics fourth chapter of Kyog),osiIinshii. and the followers in Katada. 5.28. Copies Sall;o wasan and gives to ShBjB, a priest in Kaga. 3. Writes the first of his Letters (rude lwjime 110 O{tlllli). 6.3. Copies An;in ketsujiisiIo. 7. Copy made of K),iig)'D!hinsho in 110begaki (Japanese) style Mid 7. Copies Nyo"i" O;D kikigaki, writtcn by Zonbku. and given to j 6hshB in Omi ProviIlcc. 10.1+ Copies Godensho, biograph)' of Shinran written b)' 10. Has AnjB portrait of Shinran's (A"jo god or A"io miei) Kakunyo, and given to Shinko, a priest in Kaga. restored. Travels to Hokuriku with Zonnyo. 12.23. Has a clual portrait of Shinran and himself (Nison 1450 HBtoku2 3 6 8.11. Copies Kyog)'oshinsho at the request of Shoj6. renzazo) painted for !-IBjO and the followers in Katacla. Givcs a ten-character Sacred Name scroll 10 N)'oko of jugiiji, Birth of third son, Renko. lVIikaw3 Province. 145 1 Hotoku 3 37 8.16. Copy of Kyogyoshinsho completcd with Zonn)'o's 1462 KanshB 3 4 8 1.6. Receives gift of mirror from KyBkakn. postscript, given to ShajB. +3 Visits Kl'ogaku and brimgs him medicine as a prcsent. 1453 Kyotoku 2 39 11.22. Copies Sanio wasan and gives to the followers in Omi. Birth of sixth daughter, Nyoku. 1454 Kyotokl! 3 4 0 4-17. 0;0),08/'ii, by Genshin, and given to J6sh6, a 14 6 3 Kansh64 49 2.11. Sees a firelight performance of a NB drama (/akigi "0) in priest in Omi. Nara. 7.8. Copies Kyog),oshinsiro, copied and given to Myochin in 6.7. jinson son ofChanccllor lchijB Kaneyoshi of the Eehizcn. Daijoin in KBfukuji, visits Honganji and presents 300 sheets 1455 KBshBI 41 7. 19. Copies Boki kotoba (pictorial biography of Kakun),o), of paper to Renn),o. written by jakaku. 6.8 Rennyo visits Jinson and presents a horse ancl slI'ord in Birth of fourth son, Rensei. return. 11.23. Death of first wife, NyoryB. Birth of seventh daughter, Yiishin. 145 6 KBshB 2 42 2.2. Receives gift of a fan from Kyogaku SOIl of 14 6 4 KamhB 5 50 Continues good relationship with KyBgakn. Chancellor KujB Tsunenori und former mOllzeki of DaijBin at Birth of sixth son, Rcnjun. Kufukuji. Leads the twenty-fifth memorial service of his grandfather, 1457 Churoku I 43 2.20. Copies Sai),ohi5, written by Kakunyo. GyBnyo. 3+ Copies Ji",yobii hy Zonbkll. 1465 KanshB 6 51 1.9. Anti-Honganji monks at Enryakuji formally slale their 5.12. Receives gift of cirimaki rice-dumpling from Kyogakll. intention to destroy it. 6.18. Death of father, Zonnyo (age 62). 1.10. partially destroyed by Ellfl'akuji. Renn)'o 12.,. Kyogakll visits l-longanji to cxprcss his condolences. cscapes to Omi Province wilh Shiman's image. 12+ Renn)'o reillms favor and visits Kyogaku. ,.21. IIonganji demolished again hy Enryakuji Rennyo bccomes eighth abbot of Honganji. warrior-monks. 145 8 Clr6roku 2 44 2+ Copies K),ogyoshinsho and gives to KyBshun in Kyoto. 424 l<:nrpkuji warrior-monks attack j6doshinshu followers in 7. Monks of Kofukuji calise trouble for the followcrs of Akanoi, Omi Province. Shinshil. 5.10. Bakufu orders Enryakuji to stop their attacks 011 8.10. Birth of fifth son, jitsunyo, 10 second wife, Ren'yii. JBdoshinsho (Ikkosln7) followers. 1459 Chiiroku 3 45 1.13. Rcceives gifl from Kyogaku. 9.14- Rennyo visits jinson. 1.14. Presents a fan to KyBgaku in return. 129. Rennyo visits K)'Bgaku. Birth of fourth dallghter, MyBsho. 1466 BunshB I 52 Birth of eighth daughter, nyonin. 7.8. Copies K)'og)'oshiIlSllo in rlObegaki slyle. 230 A Chronology of Reml)'o's Life A Chronology of Rellll)'o's Life 231 8.5. Sends letter to K)'ogakll. 8. Kyokakll passes away at age 79. 11.21. Annual Haonko services held in Kanegumori, Omi 8.12. Letter 1:7. Province. 9. Prohibils movements of followers entering andlcm'ing the 14 6 7 Oninl 53 2. Shinra.!1's image moved from Ann)'oji to I-Ionpllkuji in dwellings of priests in Yoshizaki andlakr moves to Fujishillla. Katada, Omi Provincc. 9. Letten 1:8-9 2.16 Copies Kudellsho for Hoen of K)'Ohaji in Kawachi 9.11. Leller 1:10. Province. Mid 9. Letter 1:11. 3. Enryakuji leadership issues decrec stopping the attacks End of 9. Leiters 1:12-14. against I-Ionganji, and Honganji agrees 10 becomc subtcmple 9.22. Letter 1:15. of Tendai temple Sharen'in. 10.3. Rclurns to Yoshizaki. 5. Onin War breaks out. II. Issues elel'en-article Rule (okile) for ShinshG monlo with Birth of ninth daughter, Ryonyo. admonishments for unacceptable belwvior. 11.21. Annual Hoonko services held at Honpukuji in Katada. 12.8. Leiter 2: 1. 1468 Onin2 54 1.9 Enryakuji plots to attack the Shinsho followers in Katada. 12.12. Leller 2:2. 3.12. Orders moving of image from Ilonpukuji to 1474 Bunmei 6 60 1.11. Leiter 2:3. Dokakll's congregation in Otsu, Omi Province. 2.15. Letter 2=4- 3028. Signs decree authorizing Jitsunyo as his successor. 2.16. Letter 2:5. 3.29. Enryakuji warrior-monks attack Shinsho congregation in 2.17. Letter 0:6. Kalada and many escape to Okinoshima, a small island in 3.3. Leller 2:7 Lake Biwa. Mid 3. Letter 2:8. From flfth to tenth month, Rennyo travels 10 the eastern 3.17. Letler 2:9. provinces, following Slrinran's footsteps. :p8. Fire destroys Yoshizaki. Mid 10. Copies HOOIl-koshiki, written by Kakun),o. 5.13. Letter 2:10. Mid 10. Travels south to Mount Kaya and Yoshino on the Kii 5.20. Leiter 2:11. Peninsula. 6.12. Letter 2:12. Gives scroll depicting six-character Sacred Name (rokllii 7,. Letter 2:13 myogo) to congregations in Mikawa Province. 7.5. Letter 2:1+ Birth of seventh son, Rengo. 7.9. Leller 2:15 1469 Bunmci 1 55 Spring. Builds dwellings (bo) in the southern detached 7.14. Letter 3:1. quarters of rVliidera, Otsu, and names it Kenshoji. Shinran's 7.26. Honganji followers in Kaga Province enter into alliance image enshrined there. with Govemor Togashi Masaehika to fighl against his brother, Birth of tenth daughter, Yiishin. Yllkichiyo, who has allied with Senjuji, a rival Shinsho branch. 1470 Bunll1ci 2 56 11.9. Shinshii folloll'ers of Katada return home from forced 85 Letter p. retreat to Okinoshima. 8.6. Leller n. 12. ,. Sccond wife, RenyO, dies. 8.18. Letter '>=4. 1471 Bunmci 3 57 Early + Leaves Otsu and rcturns to Kyoto. 9. 6. Leller 3=5. Mid 5. Moves from Kyoto to Yoshizaki, Echizen Province. 10.20. Leifer 3:6. 7.15. Writes Letter (Ofill1li) 1:1. ILl. Masaehika-Honganji alliance defeats Yukishiyo; tkkii 7.18. Letter 1:2. uprising in Kaga Province involved. 7.27. Builds priests' dwellings in Yoshizaki. 11.13. Jinson writes letter to Rennyo. 12.18. Leiter 1:3. 11.25. Letter 5:2. 1472 Bl1n11lci 4 58 1. Prohibits public gathcrings at Yoshizaki in order 10 Ordination of fifth son, JitSl1llYO, this year. avoid conRicts with other temples in I-Iokuriku area. '475 Bunmei 7 61 :!:23 Letter 37. Death of second daughter, Kengyoku. 2:25 Leller 3=8. 9.10. Writes letter to Kyogaku. End of 3. Followers in Kaga province in conOict with Togasiri 1473 BUlllllci 5 59 2.8. Letter 1:5. Masachika. 3. Firsl printing of Shoshinge and Sall;o wasan. 5.7. Issllcs ten-article Rule ill order to restrain followers' 4.25. Letter 1:6. actions. 232 A Chrollology of Relll!)'o's Life A Chronology of Renn)'o's Life 233 5.28. Leiter 3:9. anniversary of the death of his father, Zonn)"o. 6.11. Jinson wriles letter to Rennyo concerning an estate in 6. Kyog5, fourteenth head priest of Bukkoji, changes Kaga Province. allegiances to Honganji. 7.15. Letter 3:10. 12+ The shogunate returns Boki ekotaba to Honganji. 7.16. Visits Futamata in Kaga Province and Zuisenji in Eccho 1482 BUIIITlci 14 68 Construction of Hanganji continucs in Yamashina. Province. 6.15. The altar of Amida Hall completed and main image 8.21. Leaves Yoshizaki, passes through Wabsa, Tanba, and installed there. Settsu Provinces and arrives in Deguehi, Kawaehi Province. 11.21. Leiter 4:5. 11.21. Letter 3:11. A hanging scroll of Amid" Buddha, designated on hack as 1476 Blinmei S 62 1.27 Leiter 3:12. hoben-hosshin 5011Z6 (relerent icon of 1I1J<lyadhannakaya 7. 18. Letter 3'l3. [Buddha 1), is presented to Keishii, a priest in Mikawa 1477 Bunmei 9 63 1.8. Letter p. Province. 9.17. Letter 4:2, signed with ingo name "Shinshoin" Birth of twelfth daughter, Rensho, to fourth wife, Shl1n),o. instead of Rennyo for the first time. 1483 Bllnmei 15 69 5.29. Death of first son, JUl1nyo. 927 Letter 4:3 8. Construction of Honganji completed in Yarnashina. 10. 27. Copies Kyogyoshinsho. II. Letter 4:6. Early II. Writes Gozoktlshii. 14 S 4 Bunmei 16 7 0 11.21. Leiter 4:7 (includes a Six-article Rule). 12.2. Letter ++ Birth of eighth son, Rengei. Mid 12. Copies lodo kemllonsha, written by Zonkaku. 1485 BUl1mei 17 7 1 4+ Restores a ten-character Sacred Name scroll handll'ritten Birth of eleventh daughter, Myosh6, 10 third wife, Nyosho. by Kakun)'o. 1478 Bunlllci 10 64 1.29. Leaves Kawaehi Province for Yarnashina, Yamashiro 7.28. Restores the Ky6s/wkll)'OIllOIl, handwrilien by Kakuoyo. Province, after deciding it will be the site of a rebuilt 11.23. Letter +8 (includes Eight-article Rule). Honganji. Granls a hanging scroll of Amida Buddha to tvluryojuji in Begins construction of priests' dwellings in Yalllashilla. Mikawa Province. 8.IS. Death of third wife, Nyosho. Gives scroll of his own portrait to Sh6rcnji in Mikawa 1479 Bllnmei 11 65 Construction of Honganji continues in Yamashina. Province. 12.30. Ordination of sixth son, Renjlln. 1486 Bunlllei 18 7 2 I. Admonishes followcrs against appropriating estates oll'ned 1480 Bunlllei 12 66 I. Builds a sm;Ill hall at Yumashina i-longanji. by shrines and temples. 23. Begins construction of Founcler's Hall at Yamashina. eves hanging scroll of Amida Buddha to Shogen, a priest in 2.17. Exchanges letters with Jinson cOllcerning an estale in Mikawa Province. Kaga Province. Has a copy made of Shimall shanin edell, pictorial hiography pS. The ridge-beam of Founder's Hall raised. of Shinran originally commissioned hy Kakun)'o and given to 3.29. Receives a gift (incense burner) from the imperial cOllrt Nyokei, a nun of JogOji in Mikawa Province. for the construction of Yam ash ina Honganji. Grants his OIVn portrait to Jokaku, a priest in 1\likawa 8.28. Shinran's painted portrait installed in what is Founder's. Province. Hall and temporary Amida Hall. Fourth wife, SI1\1n),0, dies. 10.14- HinD clbmiko, wife of Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa, visits 1487 Chokyo I 73 Ikko uprising in Kaga Province intensifies. Yamashina I-Ionganji. Birth of thirteenth daughler, My5yii, to fifth wife, Ren'no. 10.15. Repairs Anjo portrait of Shiman's again, and has two 1488 Chiikyo 2 74 )-26. Ikk6 uprising ill Kaga prOlincc lays siege to -Ibgashi copies madc. ivfasachika. 11.18. Moves statue of Shiman, saved from destruction of 6.9. T'lkao Castle falls and Togashi l'vlasachika connllils Olain Iionganji, from Chikamatsu, Olsu, to Yamashina suicide. Honganji. A dual portrait is painted of Sl0man and 2:olln)'o for Ihe 1481 Bunll1ei 13 67 2+ Begins construction of Amida Hall at Yamashina congregation in Kanegamori, Omi Pf()vincc. Honganji. 1489 Entoku I 75 42S. Donatioll to Honganji from the imperial court. 2.28. The ridge beam of Amida Hall raised. 6.8. Main image (!Jonzon) of Amida Hall installed in a 8.28. Enacts actual trausfer of Honganji 'lbhotship to JitSIIUYO, temporary altar. fifth son, and retires to southern hall ofYanwshina Honganji. 6.11. Presides over memorial service for twenty-fifth 10.28. Copies K)'ogyiishinsflii in 7wbegaki style. 234 A Chronology of Rel171)'o's Life ll. 25- Recites I-loon ki5shiki. Grants Iwnging scroll of Amida Buddha to Ekun and jakin, bolh priests in Mikawa Province. Copies Kyogyoshil1sho in l10begaki style and gives it to jagGji in Mikawa Province. 1490 Enlokll 2 7 6 10.28. \\'ritcs a second letter of transfer of institutional authority (yIJZlJrijo) for jitsunyo. Death of seventh daughter, YOshino Birth of ninth son, Jikken, to fifth wife, Ren'no. 149 1 Entoku 3 77 Gil'es his own portrait to Ekun in Mikall'a Province. Gives his own portrait to Keijun of Jomyoji in Mikawa Province. 1492 Meiol 7 8 6. Letter 4:9. 7.13. Restores portrait of Zonn)'o. Birth of tenth son, Jitsugo, to fifth wife, Ren'no. Death of sixth daughter Nyoku. 1493 Mcio 2 79 SIIae, chief priest of Kinshokuji, changes allegiance to Honganji. 1494 Meia 3 80 Birth of eleventh son, jilsujun, to fifth wife, Ren'no. 1495 Meio4 81 Spring. Builds Gangyaji in Yamato Province. 3. Shinsei dies, founder of Shinsei branch ofTendai that centered on monastic form of Pure Land faith and competed with Rennyo in many areas where Honganji harl expanded. 6.2. Copies Kudenslzo, biography of Shiman written by Kakunyo. Fall. Reslores Honzenji (Hakaji) in Yamalo Province. 1496 Meia 5 82 1.11. Copies Honen ShoHin onkotoba, compilation of Honen's writings. 9.24. Designates site in Ishiyama, Settsu Province (Osaka) for construction of new temple for himself. 9.2'). Breaks ground for priests' dwellings, in lshiyama. 10.18. Begins construction of Ishiyamu temple, later called Ishiyama Honganji after Yamashina HOllganji is destroyed in 1532 11. Recites Godcnsho during Haonko services at YaIllHshinu Honganji. Birth of twelfth son, jikko, to fifth wife, Ren'no. 14')7 Meia 6 83 2.16. Leiter 5:8. Early 4- Becomes seriously infirm and is under care of a doctor. 5.25. Leller 4:]]. End of 11. Construction of living qllarters at Ishiyallla completed; conducts annual Haonko services there. \\'rites Lel/ers 4:10, 5:5, and 5:6. Birth of fourteenth daughter, My5shu, to fifth wife, Ren'na. 1498 Meio 7 84 2.25. Leller 4:12. 1499 Mei58 Note A Chronolog), of ReIl11)'O 's Life 235 3 Letter 5:14- Earll' 4 Taken ill and is examined by doctors. 4-11. Letter 4:13. 4 Letter 4: 14- ,7 Visits Yamashinu I-Ionganji to pay final respects to Shinran's image enshrined in FOllnder's Hall. 5.25. Makes another trip to Founder's Hall in Yamashina despite illness. Summer. Writes Summer Letters (Ge 110 Ofll 111 i). 11.19 Letter 5:'). 11.21. Leller 4:15. Birth of thirtecnth son, jitsuju, to fifth wife, Ren'na. 85 2.16. Sends Kiizen to Yamashina Honganji to prepare for his funeral. 2.18. Leavcs Osaka once again for Yamashina Honganji. 2.20. Arrives in Yamashina. 2.21. Visits Founder's Hall. 2.25. Takes a walk along the embankment surrounding Founder's I-Iall. 2.27 Visits Founder's Hall again and bids farewell to followers. 31. 'fulks with Jitsunyo and his other sons. 39 Gil'es parting instructions to sons jitsunyo, Renko, Rensei, Renjun, and Rengo. 3.20. Pardons Shimotsuma Renso. 3025, Dies at noon. 1 Subject in Event is always Rennyo, unless othcrwise named. initiating lines in El'ent column indicate month and day. Information based on Otani University, ed., Shinsha nen/J)'o (Kyoto: Hoz6kan, 1')73), and Minor L. Rogers and Ann T. Rogcrs, Rrnn)'o: The Second Founder of Shill Buddhism (Berkeley, Cal.: Asian HUlllanities Press, 199 2 ), 373-379 Glossary aizan goho ifLliiiiit Akamatsu Mitsllsuke tiFf'cmffi Akanoi FlIkllshoji $!l!J:!t Akao-no-Ooshii akunin shoki akuto amako ama-nyoho JI:;:];( ff} ama-nyudo JE.AJ1l: Amida anagachi astJ:iJ1i;, andojo ango