Ji-shu
The Ji-shū ( Japanese 時 宗 ; roughly: "Time School") is with around 500 temples and between three and four hundred thousand followers after the Jōdo-Shinshū and the Jōdo-shū the third largest of the amidistic schools of Buddhism in Japan . The name derives from the main doctrine of the school, which is to chant the Nembutsu at all times.
history
Kamakura time
The founding of the Ji-shū goes back to the priest monk Ippen (一遍; 1234-1289) of the Jōdo-shū (there pupil of Shōtatsu (聖達); 1203-1279) from the samurai family Kōno in the province of Iyo . After the death of his father, Ippen went on a pilgrimage and spent three years in a hermitage on a mountain, where he practiced Nembutsu, until he traveled to the province of Kii in 1274/75 to visit the sacred Kumano Mountains. During a spiritual crisis over people without faith, the deity (権 現, gongen ) of Kumano, in the Kami-Buddhist syncretism of that time as a manifestation (垂 迹, suijaku ) Amidas , is said to have appeared to him, who announced to him that the rebirth of the individual in Amida's pure land depends solely on Amida's enlightenment . Belief is irrelevant; The only important thing is to surrender yourself completely to the Nembutsu, to recite it and to convert others to this practice, so that Amida can save people through his other power .
Based on this revelation, Ippen occupied himself with wanderings (遊行, yugyō ) through the rural areas of Japan and the handing out (賦 算, fusan ) of tablets on which the Nembutsu and the Rokujūmannin (六十 万人; a verse in four lines, which contain the essence of Ippen's teaching) was written. In addition, around 1279 he also developed the practice of singing the Nembutsu during an ecstatic dance (踊 念 仏, odori nembutsu ).
During his activities he gathered groups of followers (including women and people from professions in which one had to kill, such as samurai and fishermen) with about 20 members each, of whom he strictly for the sake of complete devotion to Nembutsu the abandonment of all objects of attachment such as family or property required. Violations of the precepts of celibacy and poverty (only 12 standard items were allowed) were punished with exclusion from the register (勧 進帳, kanjinchō ) of the Ji-shū, in which the names of those who were born in the Pure Land of Amida were recorded guaranteed (this could also be done posthumously). The followers of Ippens congregation were individually called sute hijiri (捨 etwa; about "renouncing saints"), the congregations as such were called Ji-shū (時 衆; “time people”) at that time, Ippen had no intention of opening their own school to found), as Ippen divided the day into six sections and had eight members sing the Nembutsu for each section, which resulted in continuous chanting.
In 1282 Ippen and his followers tried to enter Kamakura (seat of the Kamakura shogunate at that time ) in order to proselytize there, but was expelled from the city by the regent and Zen patron Hōjō Tokimune , after which the congregations moved west to the area around Kyoto , where they were able to record spectacular successes even with established temples and shrines.
After Ippen's death in what is now Kobe , the Ji-shū was in a very confused state for a short time, as Ippen had not determined a successor. Seven of his disciples drowned themselves to follow their master to the Pure Land. One of the students, Shinkyō (真 教; 1233? –1316; also Ta-A (他 阿)), gathered a small group of students with whom he went to Mount Tanjō, where they wanted to sing the Nembutsu and fast to death. but were dissuaded by the local feudal lord and moved to continue the tradition of Ippens of fusan and yugyō , whose leadership Shinkyō should take over.
Shinkyō introduced two special innovations: After a stroke in 1303, he withdrew to the Taima-dōjō in the Sagami province and handed over his powers and duties to his student Chitoku (智 得; also Ryō-A (量 阿)). The Taima-dōjō later became known as Muryōkō-ji (無量 光寺), the first temple of the retirement system called dokujū (独 住). He also gave him his religious name, Ta-A (他 阿). Both should become a tradition in school, following from teacher to student.
When Shinkyō died in 1316, Chitoku retired at Muryōkō-ji and handed over the missionary duties to his disciple Eei (恵 永) or Donkai (呑 海; 1265-1327; also UA (有 阿)). When Chitoku died in 1319, Donkai also wanted to retire, but was stopped by monks at Muryōkō-ji, who accused him of having been excommunicated by Chitoku. Donkai was, however, in possession of the membership register of the Ji-shū and was therefore able to build a new headquarters at the nearby Fujisawa-dōjō (later: Shōjōkō-ji or Yugyō-ji ) with other monks . This new branch was later called Yugyō-ha, while the branch around the traditional Muryōkō-ji with the tombs of Chitoku and Shinkyō became known as Taima-ha.
Donkai's successor was in the year of his death (1327) his pupil Ankoku (安 国; 1279-1337), who made the Fujisawa-dōjō the resting temple for retired priest monks, while active people used the Konkō-ji in Kyōto.
Muromachi period
In the Muromachi period , the Ji-shū reached the zenith of its size and power as the strongest school of Amida Buddhism in Japan. The fixed temples enjoyed patronage from the nobility, rituals were held for the good of the country and many people of the cultural life of this time who were followers of the Ji-shū took the suffix Ami (阿 弥; abbreviation for Amida ) in their names , including in particular Renga poets and Nō actors (e.g. Kan'ami , Zeami ) and military chaplains or doctors of the daimyō (陣 僧, jinsō ).
Particularly important for this development were the efforts of the 12th successor of the Yugyō-ha, Sonkan (尊 観; 1349-1400) from the southern imperial house (see Nanboku-chō ), who had close ties between the school and the southern court in Yoshino Nara built, as well as the special protection of Ashikaga - shogunate and some powerful daimyo in the early 15th century.
Due to the rapid social and material advancement, the Ji-shū also split up strongly during this time and the so-called twelve schools of the Ji-shū finally emerged:
- Taima-ha
- Yugyō-ha
- Ikkō-ha, founded by Ikkō Shunjō (一向 俊 聖; 1239? –1287?)
- Okutani-ha, established by Sen-A
- Rokujō-ha, established by Shōkai
- Shijō-ha, established by Jō-A
- Kaii-ha, established by Kai-A
- Ryōzen-ha, founded by Koku-A (国 阿; 1314–1405)
- Koku-A-ha, also established by Koku-A
- Ichiya-ha established by Sa-A
- Tendō-ha (after the temple where Ikkō Shunjō died)
- Goedō-ha, established by Ō-A
The success of the Ji-shū was ultimately one of the reasons for their almost equally rapid decline: the temples were dependent on the local, secular rulers, and more and more of the countless wandering monks who promised rebirth in the Pure Land for donations of money appeared. Even the odori nembutsu became a form of paid entertainment. At the same time, the Ji-shū was unable to react to the increasingly desolate social conditions at the end of the Muromachi period: In the Sengoku period , which was determined by numerous internal conflicts , the yugyō had become a life-threatening activity, and many temples of the Ji-shū became destroyed. The Ji-shū also lost support in the peasant masses, who in turn often rebelled against the noble feudal lords, which subsequently strengthened the much more revolutionary movements of the Hongan-ji ( Jōdo-Shinshū under Rennyo ) and Nichirens . In contrast, many of the samurai converted to the Zen schools.
Edo period
The so-called "system of temple confirmations" ( 寺 請 制度 , terauke seido ) introduced in the 17th century , which severely restricted longer journeys, meant the practical end of the popular yugyō . The activities of the Ji-shū at this time were essentially limited to the development of religious teaching and the editing of religious writings.
The fragmentation of the Ji-shū also came to an end when the Tokugawa shogunate recognized the absolute authority of the Yugyō-ha in the school and thus united them under the head of the Yugyō-ji.
Fonts
The main script of the Ji-shū is Ippens Rokujūmannin (a translation is dispensed with here because of the multiple possibilities of interpretation):
| Kanji | Rōmaji |
|---|---|
| 六字 名号 一遍 法 | Rokuji myōgō Ippen hō |
| 十 界 依 正 一遍 体 | Jikkai eshō Ippen tai |
| 万 行 離 念 一遍 証 | Mangyō rinen Ippen shō |
| 中 上 々 妙 好 華 | Nin chū jōjō myōkōke |
Otherwise, the Amitabha Sutra (阿 弥陀 経, Amida-kyō ) in particular is used to explain the religious teachings. In addition, the Avatamsaka Sutra (華 厳 経, Kegon-kyō ) and the Lotos Sutra (法華經, Hokke-kyō ) are used.
Teaching
The Ji-shū was not only strongly influenced by the Nembutsu amidism of the Jōdo-shū, but also by the Tantrism ( Vajrayana ) of the Shingon-shū . This is noticeable by the fact that Ippen already believed that the attainment of Buddhahood was possible for humans in this life. With complete surrender to Nembutsu, the mind, actions, speech and life of man would become identical with the mind, actions, speech and life of the Buddha Amida.
The Nembutsu, updated representation of Amida through its Other Power , transcends all forms of karma in the teaching of the Ji-shū, finally also the duality of Ego and Amida. In the words of Ippens: "The Nembutsu itself sings the Nembutsu".
literature
- Franziska Ehmcke: The wanderings of the monk Ippen: Images from medieval Japan . DuMont, Cologne 1992.
- James H. Foard: Prefiguration and Narrative in Medieval Hagiography: The Ippen Hijiri-e . In: James H. Sanford (Editor): Flowing Traces Buddhism in the Literary and Visual Arts of Japan . Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ 1992, pp. 76-92.
- James H. Foard: What One Kamakura Story Does: Practice and Text in the Account of Ippen at Kumano . In: Richard K. Payne (Editor): Re-visioning “Kamakura” Buddhism . Edited by Kuroda Institute. Studies in East Asian Buddhism, 11, Honolulu 1998, pp. 101-115.
- James H. Foard: Ippen Shōnin and Popular Buddhism in Kamakura Japan . Dissertation, Department of Religious Studies, Stanford University, 1977.
- Caitilin J. Griffiths: Tracing the Itinerant Path: Jishū Nuns of Medieval Japan . Thesis, University of Toronto, 2011.
- Dennis Hirota: No Abode. The Record of Ippen . University of Hawai'i Press, Honolulu 1997, ISBN 0-8248-1997-7
- Laura S. Kaufman: Nature, Courtly Imagery, and Sacred Meaning in the Ippen Hijiri-e . In: James H. Sanford (Editor): Flowing Traces Buddhism in the Literary and Visual Arts of Japan . Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ 1992, pp. 47-75.
- Christoph Kleine: Buddhism in Japan: history, teaching, practice . Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 2015 [2011]
- Daigan Lee Matsunaga, Alicia Orloff Matsunaga: Foundation of Japanese Buddhism . Vol. II: The mass movement (Kamakura & Muromachi periods) . Buddhist Books International, Los Angeles / Tokyo 1976, ISBN 0-914910-27-2
- SA Thornton: Charisma and Community Formation in Medieval Japan: The Case of the Yugyo-ha (1300-1700) . Cornell East Asia Series no.102 . Cornell University, Ithaca 1999, ISBN 1-885445-62-8
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Moriarty, Elisabeth (1976). Nembutsu Odori ( Memento of March 4, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), Asian Folklore Studies Vol. 35, No. 1, pp. 7-16