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Hōnen

Type Figure Region Japan Time 1133–1212 Also known as Genkū、Hōnen Shōnin、Kurodani Shōnin

Hōnen (1133–1212), founder of Japan's Pure Land sect, born Genkū; he studied Tendai on Mount Hiei, then devoted himself to nembutsu, founding a exclu…

Timeline

  1. 1133–1175Enryaku-ji on Mount Hiei · Mount HieiBorn in Mimasaki, he took monastic vows around 1145, studying esoteric and exoteric teachings at Mount Hiei, Nara and elsewhere, then reading the works of Shandao and Genshin and turning to exclusive nembutsu of Amida.
  2. 1175–1206Yoshimizu, Kyoto · KyotoIn 1175 at Yoshimizu he established the 'exclusive nembutsu' teaching, wrote the Senchakushū, and his disciples included Shinran, Shōkū, and Tankū; the exclusive nembutsu faith spread widely among samurai and commoners. In the 1190s he still preached in the Kyoto area.
  3. 1207–1212Kurodani · KyotoIn 1207, because his disciples were suspected of involvement in preparations for the Jōkyū disturbance, the Ken'ei persecution occurred; nuns and disciples were executed, and Hōnen was tonsured and exiled to Tosa; later pardoned, he passed away at Kurodani in 1212, and the Pure Land sect was thereby established.

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