Kempon Hokke-shu
The Kempon Hokke-shū ( Japanese 顕 本法 華 宗 ) is a Buddhist school attributable to Nichiren Buddhism . About a hundred years after Nichiren's death, it was founded in Japan by the priest Genmyō Ajari Nichijū in 1384. The main temple of this school is the Myōman-ji in Kyoto , from which the original name, Myōman-ji-ha ( 妙 満 寺 派 ), of this school is derived. For a long time it was the only temple in this school. It was not until 1898 that today's Kempon Hokke-shū was founded. Other schools of Nichiren Buddhism, such as the Nichiren-shū or Nichiren-Shōshū , often indicate the year of their main temple in relation to their founding. Due to its founding history, this school of Nichiren Buddhism, in contrast to Nichiren-shū or Nichiren-Shōshū, is not a direct successor to Nichiren or one of his students.
Like most Nichiren schools, the lotus sutra , its recitation and the mantra Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō are at the center of religious practice. The so-called gohonzon is a religious object of worship . According to his own reading, Nichijū, as a former priest of Tendai , brought the teachings of Nichiren back into closer relationship with Tendai Buddhism, whose teacher Nichiren had criticized the teachings of which he had never renounced at least publicly.
Although the Kempon Hokke-shū also has followers outside of Japan, according to its own information, it counts around 100,000 followers to the smaller schools of Nichiren Buddhism.
The term Hokke-shū (lotus school) in itself is sometimes used in literature as a generic term for all schools of today's Nichiren Buddhism and must not be equated with Kempon Hokke-shū.
Individual evidence
- ^ Louis Frédéric : Japan Encyclopedia . Harvard University Press, 2002, ISBN 0-674-00770-0 , pp. 507 (English, limited preview in Google Book Search - French: Japon, dictionnaire et civilization . Translated by Käthe Roth).
Web links
- Myōman-ji at Japan Visitor (English)
- Homepage of the Kempon Hokke-shū (Japanese)