Shingon Risshu

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The Shingon-risshū(真言律宗, "The Shingon-Vinaya school") is a comparatively small medieval sect of Buddhism in Japan that arose in the Kamakura period as an offshoot of Shingon Buddhism. Its founder was a monk named Eison (叡尊 1201-1290), a disciple of Jōkei, and carried further by Eison's disciple Ninshō (忍性 1217-1303).

Buddhism in Japan focuses on the historical development of Buddhism in Japan

Buddhism in Japan has been practiced since its official introduction in 552 CE according to the Nihon Shoki from Baekje, Korea, by Buddhist monks. Buddhism has had a major influence on the development of Japanese society and remains an influential aspect of the culture to this day.

Kamakura period period of Japanese history

The Kamakura period is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first shōgun, Minamoto no Yoritomo. The period is known for the emergence of the samurai, the warrior caste, and for the establishment of feudalism in Japan.

Shingon Buddhism school of Buddhism in Japan

Shingon Buddhism is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asia, originally spread from India to China through traveling monks such as Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra.

Shingon Risshū is marked by a greater emphasis on the vinaya than traditional Shingon Buddhism while still adhering to tantric practices. Its home temple is Saidai-ji.

Vinaya regulatory framework for the sangha based on the Vinaya Pitaka

The Vinaya is the regulatory framework for the sangha or monastic community of Buddhism based on the canonical texts called the Vinaya Pitaka. The teachings of the Gautama Buddha can be divided into two broad categories: Dharma "doctrine" and Vinaya "discipline".

Saidai-ji Buddhist temple in Nara Prefecture, Japan

Saidai-ji (西大寺) or the "Great Western Temple" is a Buddhist temple that was once one of the powerful Seven Great Temples, in the city of Nara, Nara Prefecture, Japan. The temple was established in AD 765 as a counterpart to Tōdai-ji and it is the main temple of the Shingon Risshu (真言律宗) sect of Buddhism after the sect's founder, Eison (叡尊), took over administration in 1238.

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Tendai is a Mahayana Buddhist school established in Japan in the year 806 by a monk named Saicho also known as Dengyō Daishi. The Tendai school rose to prominence during the Heian Period of Japan, gradually eclipsing the powerful Hosso school and competing with the upcoming Shingon school to become the most influential at the Imperial court. However, political entanglements during the Genpei War led many disaffected monks to leave and in some cases to establish their own schools of Buddhism such as Jodo Shu, Nichiren Shu and Soto Zen. Destruction of the head temple Mount Hiei by warlord Oda Nobunaga further weakened Tendai's influence as well as the geographic shift of Japan's capital to Edo away from Kyoto.

Kegon Buddhist school in China

Kegon (華厳宗) is the Japanese transmission of the Huayan school of Chinese Buddhism.

East Asian Yogācāra East Asian Yogācāra in Japan

East Asian Yogācāra refers to the traditions in East Asia which represent the Yogacara system of thought.

Schools of Buddhism institutional and doctrinal divisions of Buddhism that have existed from ancient times up to the present

The Schools of Buddhism are the various institutional and doctrinal divisions of Buddhism that have existed from ancient times up to the present. The classification and nature of various doctrinal, philosophical or cultural facets of the schools of Buddhism is vague and has been interpreted in many different ways, often due to the sheer number of different sects, subsects, movements, etc. that have made up or currently make up the whole of Buddhist traditions. The sectarian and conceptual divisions of Buddhist thought are part of the modern framework of Buddhist studies, as well as comparative religion in Asia.

Risshū (Buddhism) school of Nara Buddhism

Risshū (律宗), also Ritsu school, is one of the six schools of Nara Buddhism in Japan, noted for its use of the Vinaya textual framework of the Dharmaguptaka, one of the early schools of Buddhism. The Ritsu school was founded in Japan by the blind Chinese priest Jianzhen, better known by his Japanese name Ganjin. Ganjin traveled to Japan at the request of Japanese priests, and established the Tōshōdai-ji in Nara. During the Kamakura period, the Ritsu sect was divided into schools at Tōshōdai-ji, Kaidan-in, Saidai-ji, and Sennyū-ji. However, during the Meiji period, the Ritsu sect was incorporated within the Shingon sect by decree of the Japanese government. Today only Tōshōdai-ji, which resisted the government measures, retains its identity as a Ritsu temple.

The Mantra of Light, also called the Mantra of the Unfailing Rope Snare, is an important mantra of the Shingon and Kegon sects of Buddhism, but is not emphasized in other Vajrayana sects of Buddhism. It is taken from the Amoghapāśakalparāja-sūtra or Sutra of the Mantra of the Unfailing Rope Snare of the Buddha Vairocana's Great Baptism and is chanted as follows:

Myōō-in Buddhist temple in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan

Myōō-in (明王院) is a Buddhist temple in Fukuyama, Hiroshima, Japan.

Shōkū Japanese Buddhist Monk

Shōkū, sometimes called Seizan (西山), was a disciple of Hōnen, founder of the Jōdo-shū Buddhist sect. Shōkū later succeeded Jōhen, another disciple of Hōnen, as the head of a former Shingon Buddhist temple, Eikandō, established a separate branch of Jōdo-shū called the Seizan branch, and completed the transition of Eikandō from a Shingon temple into a Jōdo shū one.

Seizan (西山) is the name of the branch of Jōdo-shū Buddhism that was founded by Hōnen's disciple, Shōkū. Shōkū often went by the name Seizan as well, however the name derives from the western mountains of Kyoto where Shōkū often dwelt. The main temple of this branch of Buddhism is at the temple of Eikandō in the city of Kyoto. The temple formerly served as a Shingon Buddhist temple, but when Jōhen headed the temple, he took an interest in Jōdo Buddhism, designated Hōnen as the 11th chief priest. Later, Hōnen's disciple became the head priest of Eikan-dō, and established the Seizan branch, fully converting the temple into a Jōdo one.

The Bodhisattva Precepts are a set of moral codes used in Mahayana Buddhism to advance a practitioner along the path to becoming a Bodhisattva. Traditionally, monastics observed the basic moral code in Buddhism, the Prātimokṣa, but in the Mahayana tradition, monks may observe the Bodhisattva Precepts as well.

Jōkei (貞慶) (1155–1213) was an influential Buddhist scholar-monk and reformer of the East Asian Yogācāra sect in Japan, posthumously known as Gedatsu shōnin.

Ninshō was a Japanese Shingon Risshu priest during the Kamakura period. His was instrumental in reviving Ritsu Buddhism during this period, as well as establishing facilities to care for invalids. He was criticized by his contemporary Nichiren.

<i>Nanto Rokushū</i>

The Six Schools of Nara Buddhism, also known as the Rokushū 六宗, were academic Buddhist sects. These schools came to Japan from Korea and China during the late 6th and early 7th centuries. All of these schools were controlled by the newly formed Japanese government of Nara. These schools were installed to mimic and expand upon already existing mainland Asian Buddhist thought.

Renge-in Tanjō-ji

Renge-in Tanjō-ji (蓮華院誕生寺) is a Buddhist temple of the Shingon Risshu, or Shingon-Vinaya Buddhism, in Tamana, Kumamoto Prefecture. It is the head temple of Shingon-Vinaya Buddhism in Kyūshū and a branch temple of Saidai-ji (西大寺) in Nara (奈良). It venerates Maha-Bodhisattva Kōen as its patron deity. The temple stands on the site of Jōkō-ji Renge-in which was founded either at the end of the Heian period or the beginning of the Kamakura period and burnt down during the wars of the Sengoku period. The first abbot Zeshin Kawahara was instructed through a spiritual communication by Kōen to restore Jōkō-ji Renge-in, which he accomplished in 1930 and renamed it Renge-in Tanjō-ji in honor of the fact that it stands on the birthplace of Kōen.

Shinnyo was a Japanese Buddhist nun in the 13th century who was largely responsible for the restoration of the Chūgū-ji temple in Nara Prefecture.

Eison 叡尊 (1201–1290) was a Japanese Buddhist monk who founded the Shingon Risshu sect.

Rishu is a Daoist term originated from China with its influence spread across East Asia. The term has variable significance in different religions and cultures. This term finds its first evident presence dated back to 217 BCE in China.

References

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The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a numeric commercial book identifier which is intended to be unique. Publishers purchase ISBNs from an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency.