Jōdo-Shinshu

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Statue of the founder Shinran

Jōdo-Shinshū ( Japanese 浄土 真宗 , German True School of the Pure Land , also Ikkō-shū (一向 宗) or Monto-shū (門徒 宗)), usually also called Shinshū or Shin for short, is one of the four new Buddhist schools of the Kamakura period and today the second largest denomination of Japanese Buddhism after the schools of Nichiren Buddhism . It was donated by Shinran Shōnin (1173-1263), later she was trained by Rennyo Shōnin (1415-1499).

Teaching

The school is based on the Sukhâvatîvyuûhasûtra (Japanese 阿 弥陀 経Amida-kyō ), the sûtra of the land of bliss . It belongs to amidism . At the center of their teaching is the trust in the transcendent Buddha Amitabha (Japanese 阿 弥陀Amida ) and the hope of a rebirth in his " Pure Land " ( jōdo ).

Shinran's thinking was heavily influenced by his understanding of Mappō (末法), which he sees as an age of decline of Dharma (Buddhist teaching). Shinran is convinced that for most people of this time there is no hope of freeing themselves from the painful cycle of birth and death on their own (自力Jiriki ). For Shinran, all efforts to achieve enlightenment or to realize the bodhisattva ideal were merely expressions of the delusion that arises from the ego illusion. In view of the involvement in unwholesome thoughts, words and actions (煩悩Bonno ) the vast majority of people is a liberation from Samsara impossible (painful cycle of existence): Shinran: " The hell is my only purpose. “But trust in the other power (他 力Tariki ), the power of Amida Buddha's boundless compassion, which manifests itself in his original vow to lead all beings to liberation, transforms the hopelessness required into the certainty of complete liberation (“ Even the good are redeemed, how much more the bad ” ). Whoever realizes this trust (信心Shinjin ) in his heart is sure to be safe in the Pure Land. Since nothing can be done by the individual, because everything has already been done, Jōdo-Shinshū does not know any practice that is known from other Buddhist schools. Even the Nembutsu practice (念佛Nembutsu ), the frequent exclamation of Namu Amida Butsu (南 無 阿 弥陀 仏, dt: worship of the Amida Buddha! ), Which is seen as a meritorious act in other pure-land schools, has no influence on the Act of liberation, but is only an expression of thanks for the assurance of liberation by Amida.

Whoever allows himself to be fully grasped by the other power of Amida, realizes Shinjin. Shinjin is rooted in Jinen (自然, natural spontaneous working of the original vow) and can only be realized through devotion. Amida's infinite light transfigures the karmic evils of countless past rebirths and transforms them into good karma. The one thus transformed by Amida's shining example goes irrevocably into the Pure Land and returns to the world as a Bodhisattva in order to liberate all beings. Thus and through his understanding of emptiness and non-duality , Jōdo Shinshū stands within the Mahayana tradition , despite all the differences to the other forms of the "Great Vehicle".

In terms of teaching, the Jōdo Shinshū is very close to its mother school, the Jōdo-shū . The founder of the Jōdo-shū, Hōnen Shōnin is also highly valued as a teacher of Shinran. Together with six other Buddhist patriarchs from India, China and Japan, he is one of the "Seven Masters of Jōdo Shinshū" who are highly revered by Shinran . In Japan it has around 23 million believers.

Jōdo Shinshū in Europe

In Europe, Jōdo-Shinshū was first made known as a religious path by Charles Pfounds (1840-1907; née Pounds), who lived in Nagasaki from 1863-78. From October 1889 he carried out missionary work and lectures from his London apartment, without long-term success. He was ordained during a second visit to Japan in 1893. Jōdo-Shinshū became known on the continent through Harry Pieper (1907–1978) Harry Pieper's pupil and spiritual successor Friedrich Fenzl continued his work and introduced a social-ethical dimension into the interpretation of Jōdo-Shinshū, which was also widely recognized in Japan. In Antwerp, the Jikōji was one of the first temples for Jōdo-Shinshū in Europe. In Düsseldorf , North Rhine-Westphalia, stands the EKO House, the only Jōdo Shinshū temple in Europe built in the traditional Japanese style. You can find it in the Niederkassel district . The Komyoji institution in Vienna , co-founded by Kōshō Ōtani (1911–2002), the 23rd head of the Jōdo-Shinshū temple Nishi Hongan-ji , offers German-language training in Jōdo-Shinshū.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. West's first Buddhist mission was in London (Japan Times, accessed March 18, 2015)
  2. ↑ The Jikōji Temple website
  3. Jôdô Shinshû - The gate in Mahâyâna