Jōyo (monk)

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Jōyo ( Japanese 定 誉 , * 958 in the Katsuragi district, Yamato province ; † 1047 in the Kōya-san temple ) was a Shingon Buddhist monk who did great work for the stabilization of the Kōya temple founded by Kūkai , which was threatened with collapse at the time -san acquired.

Life

Jōyo came from a family called Kawai ( 河 井 ) in Yamato Province . At the age of 13 he entered the temple Kofuku-ji to Nara , in which he initially devoted himself to the teachings of the Hosso school . He was later introduced there by Shingyō ( 真 興 , 935-1004) in the teachings of Shingon Buddhism. He was also called Jikyō-jōnin ( 持 経 上人 , about sutra-holding saint), because he always carried the Lotus Sutra ( 法 華 経 , Hokkekyō ), which he valued , or Kishin-Jōnin ( 祈 親 上人 ) with him , for example Parent Intercessor Saint) because of his devotion to the deceased parents.

According to tradition, when he was sixty he received a revelation from the Bodhisattva Kannon ( Sr. Avalokiteshvara ) during a visit to the Hasedera temple . Following this he went to the Kōya-san in 1016. The facilities were in decline because of smoldering feuds with the Tō-ji temple in Kyōto, which was also part of the Shingon school, and because of many fires caused by lightning strikes. From then on, Jōyo dedicated himself to the restoration and expansion of the Kōya-san. He also developed means to enable survival in the harsh winter of the high plateau (800 m).

Meisan ( 明 算 , 1021–1106) made a name for himself among his students .

literature

  • Yamada Kōji et al .: Kōyasan . Hoikusha 1986 (Nihon no koji bijutsu, Vol. 9), pp. 89f., 210

Remarks

  1. ↑ In the Japanese lunar calendar the 2nd year of the motto Tentoku .
  2. ↑ In the Japanese lunar calendar the 2nd year of the motto Eishō .
  3. ↑ This province extended roughly over the level of today's Nara prefecture .
personal data
SURNAME Jōyo
ALTERNATIVE NAMES 河 井 (maiden name, Japanese); 定 誉 (religious name, Japanese); 持 経 上人 (honorary title, Japanese); 祈 親 上人 (honorary title, Japanese)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION japanese buddhist monk
DATE OF BIRTH 958
PLACE OF BIRTH Katsuragi District (Yamato Province)
DATE OF DEATH 1047
Place of death Koyasan