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Genshin's "Essentials of " and the T~ansmission of Pure Land to . Part I. The Fust and Second Phases of Transmission of to Japan: The Period and the Early by Allan A. Andrews, Department of Religion, University of Vennon~ Burlington

INTRODUcnON he \Jansmission of Pure Land IeaChings, texts Buddha Amitabha' to save his devotees by trans­ T and practices from continental Asia to Japan migratory rebirth into his Pure Land, and to bring was a long and complex process. Simplifying, we about their eventual full enlightenment there. For may divide that process into three phases: the first this populist form, devotional practices in general phase was the introduction of the basic texIS, and nembutsuin panicularwereprimarily means of notions and rituals of Pure Land devotionalism expressing reliance upon and devotion to Amilabha during the Asulca [552-646] and Nara periods [646- Buddha. We call this later fonn 'populist' because 794]; the second phase was the importation to Japan its message was especially directed to the most of T'ien-t'ai forms of nembutsu and T'ien-t'ai Pure populous groups of society - to the laity, espe­ Land texIS by SaichO [767-822] and [794- cially the lower classes, to women, to those who felt 864] during the early Heian period [794-1185]; the themselves to be morally inadequate or intellectu­ third phase began with the extensive introduction ally limited, in other words, to the vast majority of of teachings of the Chinese populist Pure land ordinary humankind. On the other hand, because of masters by [942-1017] in his Essentials of the abstruseness of its doctrines and difficulty of its •. Pure Land Rebirth [OJ

ThePacific World 20 New Senelt No. S, 1989 writings oCthe populist masters were introduced to monic Eon at the court of Emperor Jomei (r.629- Japan, for the most pan, during the fIrst phase of 641] [Inoue, p. 42; Shigematsu, p. 18]. By the end IIansmission, their style of devotional nembutsu of the Pure Land piety had achieved during the second phase, and their teachings and considerable popularity among the aristocracy. radical soteriology during the third phase via Inoue Mitsusada, who has produced the most Genshin's Essentials of Pure Land Rebirth.' comprehensive account of the development of Pure Our study of the IIansmission of Pure Land piety in Japan (1975], relates for example that Land piety to Japan will bedivided into three parts. among just the texts preserved in the ShOsOin Part One will survey the IIansmission of Pure Land Imperial Archives, 320 IIanscriptions of32 differ­ devotionalism to Japan during the Nara and Heian ent Pure Land works were made between the years periods, i.e., during phases one and two. Part Two 731 and 771 [pp. 43-46].' He also points out that will proceed to the third phase of IIansmission of while there are no records at all of installation of Pure Land piety and examine the sources of lIIe Amitabha Buddha images at the teaChings of the Essentials of Pure Land Rebirth Temple KOfuku-ji between 707 and 749, there are by means ofa quantitative survey ofits citations of records of ten such installations between 758 and Chinese and Japanese works. Part Three will 806 [pp. 8-9]. Moreover, SatOTetsueirecountsthat demonstrate lIIat the primary teachings of the on the death of the Empress KOmyO in 761 it was Essentials on the cultivation and efficacy of nem­ decreed that in all official Provincial Temples butsu were heavily influenced by the ideas and (Kokubun-ji] Pure Land images be made, copies of techniques of lIIe continental populist Pure Land the Smaller Pure Land Sutr;/ be IIanscribed, and masters. Part One is presented here. Parts Two and offerings be made forthe repose in the Pure Land of Three will be published in subsequent issues of the deceased Empress [1956, p. 1052]. lIIis journal. Therealsodeveloped three vigorous tradi­ tions of Pure Land scholarship during the Nara THE FIRST TRANSMISSION Period - willlin the Sanron School, the THE NARA PERIOD School and the HossO School. The monk ChikO [709<.775] initiated a scholarly tradition in the Exactly when were teachings on Amitabha Sanron School with several Pure Land works: A Buddha [Amida Butsu] and rebinh into his Pure commentary on the Pure Land Land, Utter Bliss [Gokwaku], brought to Japan? Trcatise[Oj(J ron] influenced by Tan-Iuan, a corn­ Scholars are in general agreement that the earliest mentary on the Ami/Bbha Contemplation Sulra IIansmission probably occurred together with the [Kammury(Jju kyO], and an interpretation of the IIansmission of other fonos of continental Bud­ forty-eight vows of the Sulra of Limitless Light. dhism during the late sixth and early seventh These have survived only as citations in Iaterworks. centuries [Inoue, p. 42; SaW 1956, p. 1051; There have also survived from the Nara period Shigematsu, pp. 17-20]. It was once thought that copies of a Pure Land mllQ(lala (an iconographic ShOtolru Taishi [573-621] sought rebirth in depiction of the Pure Land) influenced by the Com­ Amitabha's Pure Land, but more recent research mentary on the Contemplstion Sulra (Kam­ has shown that to be unlikely [Inoue, pp. 3-4; mury(JjukylJ sho) of Shan-tao which is said to be Shigematsu, pp. 17-18] based on a dream of ChikO and is called the ChikO The fust documented account of Pure MaQc;laIa. This tradition of Pure Land scholarship Land devotionalism in Japan is that in the Nihon and piety in the Sanron School survived into the Shaki which records lectures upon the Sulra of late Heian period [Inoue, pp. 48-58) . Limitless Life [Mury(Jju ky(J]" in 640 C.E. by the

ThcPacifjc World 21 New SericI, No. 5, 1989 The Kegon tradition ofPweLand scholar­ aristocracy and the cle>:gy. The folk had little op­ ship flourished under the leadership of Chikei [d. por1llnity to learn of Amitabha's Pure Land. More­ ea. 7S41, who wrote commentaries on the Su/ra of over, among the aristocracy PweLand devotional­ LimitlessLighl This lradition was strongly influ­ ism was chiefly concerned with assuring the peace­ enced by Korean Hua-yen scholarship [Inoue, pp. fulrepose ofancestors. In other words, it functioned 59-74). The HossO School Pwe Land lradition was primarily as a funerary cull The interest of cle>:gy represented by scholar-monks such as Zenju [723- such as Chilell and Chikei in Pwe Land teachings 797). Uke Chikei of the Kegon lradition, Zenju and texts seems to have been mostly intellectual. authored works on the Su/ra ofLimitless Life and And, in any case, the priesthood was prohibited was influenced by theKorean Hua-yen School. The from propagating Buddhist teachings among the HossO lradition IaIet absorbed the Kegon School peasantry. Scholars concur that while Pwe Land Pwe Land lradition. These Nara Period Pure Land texts, ceremonies, and scholarship were richly rep­ traditions persisted and produced important wodes resented, there was during this phase of IranSmis­ in the late Heian Period, such as the Ten Causes of sion little cultivation of nembu/su and little con­ Rcbrith [OJ/ljiiin)ofYOkan[orEikan,1033-llll) cern forpersonal PweLandsalvation atany level of and the Assembled Passages on the Certainty of society [Inoue, pp. 80-84; Shigematsu, pp. 13-14). Rebirth [KetsujO OjOshii) by Chinkai [l092-1152) Thus, the fITSt lransmission of Pure Land [Inoue, pp. 74-79; SatO 1956, pp. 1053-10S4). devotionalism to Japan familiarized Japanese with An important dimension of this fITSt phase major Pwe Land texts and teachings and made of the IranSmission ofPwe Land piety toJapan was possible the adoption of Pwe Land funerary rileS the importation of Chinese Pwe Land texIS. It is re­ andthedevelopmentofPweLandscholarship. The markable that almost all the major Pwe Land texIS roots of this Buddhism were shallow, howeve>:, and then exlant in China were brought to Japan during it was soon replaced in the lives of the aristocracy this period. By 753 there had been lransmilled not by fOnDS of esoteric Buddhism [mikkyl1) intro­ only the principal PweLand SUIraS and fLsltBS such duced in the early ninth century. as the Ami/abha [Amidakyl1), the Ami/abha Contemplation Sutra, the Seeing All Buddha TIlE SECOND PHASE OF TRANSMISSION Sutra [Hanjusammai kyl1), and the Vasu­ TIlE REINTRODUCTION OF PURE LAND bandhu Pure Land Treatise, but also populist Pwe DEVOTIONALISM BY SAICHO AND ENNIN Land texts such as the wodes ofTao-ch'o, Shan-tao, and Huai-kan. The only then eXlant major populist The second phase of the lransmission of Pwe Land text apparently not lransmitted during Pure Land piety to Japan also occurred as part of a this first phase of lransmission was the Methods more comprehensive introduction of Buddhism. and Merits ofSamadhi of Contemplation and Re­ The early Heian Period saw the importation of flection upon the Ocean-like Features ofAmi/abha fOnDS of continental Buddhism which soon came Buddha [Kannen boml1n) of Shan-tao [Inoue, largely toreplace the Buddhism of the Naraschools pp.41-48).' in the lives of the aristocracy and nation. One of What was the character of the Pwe Land these fonDS, Tien-fai Buddhism, known as devotionalism of this period? Inoue and others in Japan, had for centuries been hospitable to Pwe have shown that the Pwe Land Buddhism of the Land piety. The founder of the T'ien-t'ai School, NaraPeriod was considerably different from that of Chih-i [538-5971, incorporated Pwe Land devo­ T'ang China and also from that which would tionalism into his school's praxis. By the mid­ develop later in Japan. First of all, the Pwe Land eighth century Pure land devotionalism had come piety of the Nara Period was restricted to the to be associated with Tien-t'ai teachings as a path

ThcPocili. World 22 New Series, No.5, 19B9 for laymen and less capableclcrgy supplemental to Tien-Im TenDoub/son thePureLand were among the rigorous path of discipline and the many texts which SaichO brought back to Japan learning laid down by Chih-i for his disciples. with him. We will see below that the Tien-lmTen By the late eighth century two works Doubts became an important component of the urging Pwe Land devotion and rebirth had come to second phase of Pwe Land transmission. be considered canonical for the Tien-t'ai. These SaichO also transmitted important Pure werethe Tien-I'Bi Commentaryon the Conlempla­ Land devotional practices to Japan. Upon his return tion SU/ra [Busset.su kammuryDjubut.sukyD sho] from China, SaichO specified two courses of srudy and the Tien-Im Ten Doubts on the Pure lJind and training for monks of his Tendai School - [JlkIojiigi ron] [ Sail! 1961, p. 643; Pruden 1973, esoteric studies [shana g(Jj, and training and srudy pp. 129-130]. Both works were considered to be in Tien-t'ai concentration and contemplation compositions of Chih-i, but Sail! Tetsuei has [shikan g(Jj [Groner, pp. 70-71; Sail! 1956, p. shown they were much later walks, probably 1058]. The course in concentration and contempla­ composed during the fllSt half of the eighth cen­ tion consisted in the study and implementation of tury, the products of a long period of influence of Chih-i's major text 011 praxis. the Greal Concentra­ the Pwe Land movement upon the Tien-t'ai tion and Conlemplation (Makashikan]. The Greal School [Sail! 1961, pp. 567-601 and pp. 619-643]. Concentration and Contemplation is a monumen­ The latter of these two texts is of particu­ tal treatise in twenty scrolls on meditation in the lar interest to us. The TIen-I'Bi Ten Doubts on the fashion. The core of its praxis is four Pure lJind is an apologetic work which defends types of elaborate and lengthy exercises called sa­ Pwe Land piety against the objections (hypotheti­ madhis (skt samldhl)- constantly sitting sa­ cal objections probably reflecting actual positions) madhi. constantly walking samadhi. half-walking of de!Jactors and rivals such as the Ch'an School half-sitting samadhi. and neither walking nor sit­ and movement While it purported to be ting samadhi. Two of these. constantly sitting a composition of Chih-i, it is acrually influenced samadhi and constantly walking samadhi, involve strongly by the Assembled Passages on the Land Pwe Land devotions. ofPeace and Bliss of Tao-ch'o, one of the leading Constantly sitting samadhi is a ninety-day populist Pwe Land masters.'OIt defends positions regimen based on the Sutra on the Petfection of central to the populist Pure Land movement such Wisdom Spoken by Malljum (Monju se/su han­ as the rebirth of ordinary deluded persons [fan-fu; nya ky/!]o Its goal is meditative apprehension of bombu]lhrough the power of Amitabha's original reality in its absolute fonn. the -realm. vows, and the possibility of rebirth for evil beings However. as an alternative for those not able to by ten invocations of Amitabha's name at death immediately contemplate the absolute. and as a [Pruden 1973, pp. 141-144 and pp. 148-151]. In means to steady the mind, Chih-i advocates invo­ other words, this is a populist Pwe Land text cation of the name of a buddha of one's choice (Ste­ masquerading as a Tien-t'ai work. venson. pp. 54-58; T46.l1b]. By the mid~ighth The Tendai School was established in century, the buddha invoked for constantly silting Japan by the monk SaichO. To confmn the legiti­ samadhi was usually Amitabha Buddha ( Sail! macy of his teachings and lransmission of the 1956. p. 1059]. Tien-t'ai, SaichO made a study tour of China Constantly walking samadhi of the Greal between 804 and 805. This was at a time, as we Concentration and Conlemplation is based on the have seen when the Tien-t'ai was under slrong Seeing All Buddhas Samadhi Sutra and enjoins influence of Pwe Land piety. The Tien-I'ai Com­ ninety days of virtually uninterrupted circumambu­ mentary on the Contemplation Sutra and the lation of an image of Amitabha Buddha while

7lIoPocific World 23 New Serio, No.5. 1989 simultaneously contemplating his physical fea­ All indications are, however, that the prac­ tures and calling upon his name [Stevenson, pp. tice initiated in 851 by Ennin and called constantly 58-61; T46.l2bJ. Thus, both the constantly sitting walking samadhi was not the exercise originally samadhi and the constantly walking samadhi incor­ prescribed in the Great Concentration andContem­ porate invocational nembutsu, the primary prac­ plation, but rather a considerably modified form tice of the populist Pure Land movement How­ influenced by a devotional type of nembutsu then ever, the goal of these Tien-t'ai exercises was not popular in Tang China. Clues to this are, first, the Pure Land rebirth, but insight into the 'realm of fact that during his stay in China, Ennin came into dharmas' and the realization of enlightenment it­ intimate contact with the very popular five chorus self. nembutsu [wu-hui nien-fo; goe nembutsu] of the Half-walking half-sitting samadhi of the populist Pure Land master Fa-chao, and secondly, Great Concentration and Contemplation has sev­ that by Ennin's order there was initiated at the eral forms, one of which is called lotus samadhi. Constantly Walking Samadhi Chapel in 865 (the This is a twenty-seven-day penitential rite consist­ year after Ennin's death) an annual seven-day rite ing of reciting passages of the and called ceaselessnembutsu [fudan nembutsu]. This confessing at six intervals of the day and night the ceaseless nembutsu later developed into a melodi­ transgressions of the six senses [Stevenson, pp. 61- ous nembutsu liturgy or psalmody [inzei nem­ 72; T46.14aJ. While it did not include Pure Land butsu] called 'daily services' [reiji saM] or devotions, this ritual was later linked to Pure Land 'mountain nembutsrl [yama no nembutsu] which ceremonies. was performed by Tendai monks in tandem with an SaicM enjoined that the constantly walk­ abbreviated form of the lotus samadhi exercise ing samadhi was to be cultivated during the spring called 'lotus penance' [hokke sambO]. The lotus and autumn, and the constantly siUing samadhi penance was held each morning and the mountain during the summer and winter. In 812 he erected a nembutsu each evening [Inoue, pp. 87-89; Sato Lotus Samadhi Hall for the practice of the half­ 1956,pp. 1061-1062]. These 'daily services' estab­ walking half-sitting samadhi. Apparently he in­ lished a devotional style of nembutsu within the tended to establish chapels for the cultivation of Tendai School which eventually spread to the constantly sitting samadhi and constantly walking aristocracy and the folk. samadhi as well, but was occupied with more Fa-<:hao, the creator of the five chorus pressing matters and neglected to do so before his nembutsu, is a colorful and important figure in t!\e death in 822 [Inoue, pp. 85-86; SaW 1956, pp. history of the Chinese Pure Land movement H¢ 1058-1059]. first surfaced in 765-766 at Mt Lu, the ancien~ It was SaicM's disciple, Ennin [794-864J sacredsiteofthefoundingofChinesePureLandde­ who, in 851 soon after his return from eleven years votionalism by Hui-yilan [Eon,334-416]. There he of study in China, actually inaugurated the regular built a hermitage and cultivated nembutsu in the practice of constantly walking samadhi within the style of Hui-yilan, a style based on the teachings of Tendai School. He probably also erected at this the Seeing All Buddhas Samadhi Sutra combining time a Constantly Walking Samadhi Chapel visual contemplation and oral invocation and seek­ [IllgyO zammai do]. Other chapels for the cultiva­ ing an ecstatic vision of Amitabha and the myriads tion of constantly walking samadhi were con­ of other buddhas. (We may notice some similarity structed at the Tendai Mt. Hiei monastery in 865 to the constantly walking samadhi of Chih-i, who and 893, and thereafter at many sites elsewhere in was also influenced by Lu-shan Hui-yilan.) While Japan as well [Inoue, p. 87; SaW 1956, p. 1060]. pursuing these devotions Fa-<:hao had a vision of

1JJeP.ci/ic World 24 New Series, No.5, 1989 Amitabha Buddha which inspired him to seek out Amitabhaseeking nembutsu samadhi or a vision of Nan-yo Ch'eng-yoan [Nangaku ShOon, 712-8021, the Buddha. The entire performance was also pro a Tien-t'ai monk who had been a disciple of the bably accompanied or bracketed by offerings, populist Pure Land master Hui-jih [Enichil. hymns, genuflections, sutra chanting and sermons Ch'eng-yoan conducted every summer a ninety­ in an elaborate congregational worship service. day session of 'seeing all buddhas ncmbutsu sa­ The transmission by Ennin of all or part of madill [pan-chounicn-fosan-mei: hanju nembutsu the five chorus nembutsu to Japan as a monastic samm8l] , an exercise based on the conSlantly ritual sowed the seeds ofarich Pure Land devotion­ walking samadhi ofChih-i but probably directed aIism on Ml Hiei. Implicit in Fa-cbao's five chorus to attaining Pure Land rebirlh rather than immedi­ nembutsu was a deep longing for rebirth in Ami­ ate enlightenment. While participating in one of tabba Buddha's Pure Land by means of the power these sessions Fa-chao had another vision of Ami­ of the Buddha's compassionate vows in an age of tabha, and this time the Buddharevealed to him the the later Dharma [mo-fa; map¢] when all other so-called five chorus nembutsu. In 770 Fa-chao means of salvation were lost. This faith, Fa-chao went to Ml Wu-tai, another famous Buddhist site, had inherited from earlier populist Pure Land mas­ where he builta chapel forthecultivation of the five ters [Tsukamoto, pp. 488-4891. The teachings of chorus nembutsu, the Temple of the Bamboo these populist masters would be conveyed to Japan Grove [Chulin-ssu; Chikurin jil. Ennin spent a more explicitly in the third phase of transmission, night at this temple while touring Mt. Wu-tai in but until then, from the mid-ninth cenlllry to the 840 [E. O. Reischauer, pp. 216-2171. Later Fa­ mid-tenth, Fa-chao's devotional style of nembutsu chao was invited to lecture at the imperial court, re­ nurtured Pure Land faith on Mt. Hiei and gradually sided and taught in the capitol Chang-an fora time, disseminated it to the secular world below as well. and was awarded the title National Preceptor [Kuo­ shih; Kokushil by Emperor Tai-lSung (r. 762-7791 MID-HElANPERIOD DEVELOPMENTS (Weinstein 1987, pp. 73-741. Ennin spent several TENDAI PURE LAND WORKS AND years in Chang-an at a time when Fa-chao's five ARISTOCRATIC NEMBUTSU SOCIETIES chorus nembutsu was stiU very popular there (SaW 1956, pp. 1061-1062; Tsukamoto, pp. 332-3621. By the second half of the tenth century, the Fa-chao's five chorus nembutsu was a monastic cult of Pure Land devotionalism on Mt devotional, cerernonialized, musical form of nem­ Hiei had stimulated three parallel developmenlS­ butsu which gained wide popularity in his time and one among the folk, one within the Tendai School, conlributed significantly to the popularization of and another within aristocratic society. Let us the Pure Land movement. 'Five choruses' refers to examine these. the slrUcture of Fa-chao's ncmbutsu services. In The diffusion of Pure Land piety to the the so-called first chorus, the congregation seems common folk in Japan was greatly facilitated by a to have sung slowly and at a moderate volume to type of religious practitioner known as 'holy man' a now lost melody the six syUables, nan-wu O-mi­ [hijin]. These were itinerant preachers and healers t"Fo(na-mu A-mi-da Butsul. Then in each of the in a shamanistic mode who ministered to the needs second, third and fourlh choruses, the pace became of the folic and taught them the many Buddhist faster and the volume louder. FinaUy at the fifth paths to salvation. The earliest types of holy men chorus, just the last four syllables of the invocation were probably pre-Buddhist, and they played a were sung at full volume very rapidly (Tsukamoto, prominent role already in the development ofNara pp. 408-4091. This may have then been foUowed PeriodBuddhism." The first prominent Pure Land by a period of silence or silent meditation on holy man [Amida hijiri,nembutsuhijirij was Kiiya

7hcPacific World 25 New Serier, No.5, 1989 [903-972]. Kiiya was ordained as a Tendai monk by just ten invocations of Amida's name uutered at and probably participaled in 'mountain nembutsli lIIe moment of death. services. Sometime around 938 he descended Mt. Thanks to the researches of Salll Tetsuei, Hiei and began preaching and wonder-working who between 1949 and 1951 publishedanumbetof among the folk of the capitol dismcl. Known as works he discovered in temple archives, we now Holy Man of the Market Place [lchi no hijiri], he have available several additional worlcs on Pure would appear in the villages beating his begging Land lIIemes composed about the same time as bowl to draw a crowd, dancing ecstatically to the RyOgen's Meaning oflheNine Gradcs [SatlIl949, rhythm, and chanting or singing the invocation to n.d., and 1951]. One of these, lIIe TenNewDoubts Amitabha Buddha. While the nembutsu had for­ onAmida'sPureLand [Amidashinjlig/]byTendai merlybeen associated with acultofthedead, KOya Debate Master [Tandai] 'yu [909-990], is taught the villagers to chant the nembutsu as a modeled on lIIe T'ien-I'Bi Ten Doubts on the Pure means of winning salvation into a paradisacalPure Land [SaIll1951]. It explores under ten categories Land. Under the IUtelage of Kiiya and other evan­ docLrinal problems unresolved by the T'ien-t'Bi Ten gelists, Pure Land piety began a slow but momen­ Doubts. And like its namesake, Zen'yu's work also tous growth in popularity among the Japanese affirms lIIe saveability of Ordinary beings by lIIe peasantry." power of Amida's vows. It goes beyond lIIe Tien­ Within the Tendai School the undercur­ l'ai Ten Doubts, moreover, by asserting that Pure rent of Pure Land piety nurtured by the daily Land practices are more effective for salvation than nembutsu services eventually produced a number traditional Tien-t'ai practices becauseofllleadvent of worlcs on Pure Land topics. The author of the of the latter age of the Dharma. most influential of these was Chief [Zasu] As we noted in our discussion of lIIe five and middle restorer of lIIe Tendai School, RyOgen chorus nembutsu of Fa-chao, lIIe idea of lIIe laUer [912-985]. Until about RyOgen's tenure esoteric age of lIIe Dharma was an important fealUre of leachings had prevailed in the Tendai School. populist Pure Land devotionalism. Ideas about the RyOgen attempted to restore emphasis on lIIe Lolus three ages of the Dharma and the arrival of lIIe age leachings and practices and to promote Pure Land of latter Dharma had been transmitted to Japan devotionalism as well [Inoue, pp. 87-88; Satl! already in the Nara Period. Scholars of the Sanron 1956, pp. 1063-1064]. He rebuilt lIIe chapels for school propounded theories that placed the begin­ lotus sS11lJldhi and constantly walking samadhi ning of lIIe latter age in 552 C.E. Saichll and later and wroteoneofllleflJ'St works ofllleHeian Period Tendai lIIinkers, however, calculated that the latter on a Pure Land lIIeme, lIIe Meaning of the Nine age would not begin until 1052, and this view be­ Grades ofRebirth inlo the Pure Land Viller Bliss came generally accepted in Japan from around the [GokurakuJ(Jdo kuhon (jj(j gil. Written in response beginningofllletenlllcentury [Inoue, pp.108-112; to arequest from an aristocratic paLron, the work is Marra, p. 40]." Zen'yu's Ten New Doubts demon­ an exegesis of the fmal section of lIIe Amitabhs strates that serious concern about the demise of Conlempbllion Sulta, lIIe section which describes 'rightDharma' [sMb(J] had become a reality already the deeds, transgressions and manner of rebirth of by lIIe mid-tenth century." nine types of persons, from lIIe most virtuous to lIIe Anolllertextdiscoveredandeditedby Salll most depraved, all of whom win Pure Land rebirth. is lIIe Ten Vow Teslimonisl [Jiiganhosshinki]of It draws heavily on lIIe apocryphal T'icn-t'Bi Court Chaplain Senkan [918-983], a disciple of Commentaryonthe ConlempIslionSu/ra and also Holy Man KOya [SatO n.d.]." Characteristic of cites Chikll of the Nara Period. Significantly, itaf­ mid-tenlll century Tendai thought, lIIe Ten Vow fmns lIIe possibililty of rebirth of ordinary beings Tesilmonisl expresses failll in many sacralities-

ThcPaaJic World 26 New Series, No.5, 1989 Mailreya [MiroIcuJ. [FugenJ. the And they credit such a salvation ultimately to the Lotus Sutra. Sakyamuni. etc. Yet it also shows saving power of Amida Buddha's vows. This is the deep interest in the Pure Land way. Among fundamental populist Pure Land position conveyed Senkan's ten oaIhs are vows to achieve rebirth in in the Tien-l'ai Ten Doubts on lhePureLand. Two the Pure Land (number one). from there return to of these worlc:s - the Meaning oftheNine Grades the world ofsuffering as a bodhisattva to save other and the Ten New Doubts - had recourse also to beings (vow number two), and to emulate Amida NaraPeriod PureLand scholarship or Korean worlc:s Buddha in generating a Pure Land for the salvation influential in the Nara Period. of others (vow number eight). In other words. these Tendai Pure Land Sail! also discovered an interesting Pure worlc:s of the mid-tenth century utilized texts and Land liturgical text of unknown authorship. the ideas of the rust and second phases of transmission Weslern Pure Land Penance [SaihIJ sangeM] in an attempt to satisfy a developing interest in Pure [Sail! 1949J. The full title of this worle:. Rile of Land salvation. Moreover. all of these texts. RepenlJince for a Seven-day Nembutsu Samadhi including the Weslern Pure Land Penance. at­ Session [Shugyl5 nembutsu sammai nanoka dlJjlJ tempted to incorporate their Pure Land interests myl5 sange MMJ, indicates its pwpose and sug­ into the traditiooal frameworle: of Tendai ideology gests its sources. Sail! estimates that this text was and praxis: RyOgen used the Tien-fai Commen­ composed after RyOgen's Meaning of the Nine tary on the Contemplation Sutra to understand the Grades but before Genshin's Essentials. It draws nine grades of rebirth of the AmilBbha Contempla­ heavily on Shan-tao's Methods and Merits of tionSutra; Zen'yu asserted thatPure Land practices Samadhi which describes a seven-day nembutsu have priority over Tien-t'ai practices only because samadhi and emphasizes repentance [T47.24; of the declineoftheDhanna [SatO 1951. pp. 8-10]; Inagaki 1966]. The Weslern Pure Land PcnB1lCe Senkan attempted to utiliu Pure Land piety in the was the first Japanese worle: we know of 10 cite pursuit of the tmditionai Tien-t'ai bodhisallva path Shan-tao's Methods and Merits ofSamadhi, and ofuniversaI salvation through heroic seif-exertion; it anticipates Genshin's attempt to integrate the and the Westem Pure Land Penance was probably populist Pure Land style of nembutsu with Tendai intended to replace the penitential rite evolved from modes of pl3ctice. the lotus ssmadhi. the 'lotus penance: which was at These texts all reflect a growing concern that time being perfonned in tandem with the for the possibility of Pure Land rebirth. especially 'mountain nembutsu' rite. Moreover, all of these for ordinary, 'evil' persons [aku bambuJ. Aside worlc:s value strenuous cultivation of tmditional from the Westem Pure Land Penance, their main meritorious practices very highly. RyOgen and resources for expressing and responding to this Zen'yu cite Huai-kan. but none of these worlc:s, concern was the AmilBbha Contemplation Sutra except the Westem Pure Land Penance. cite the interpreted by the Tien-fai Commentary on the primary populistPureLand rnastersTan-luan. Tao­ Contemplation Sutra and the Tien-l'ai Ten ch'o or Shan-tao. And the scope of the Weslern Doubts on the Pure Land. The Meaning of the Pure Land Penance. which cites Shan-tao exten­ Nine Grades. the Ten New Doubts, and Senkan's sively, was merely that of a liturgical manual, and Ten Vow Testimonial all aCfinn the possibility of it apparently did not circulate very widely. rebirth for even evil. ordinary beings if they have The conclusion we must draw from this accumulated good karma in the past [shaku zen]. examination of mid-tenth centuryTendai PureLand and if they are able. under the ideal circumstances writings is that the transmission of populist prac­ described in the AmilBbha Contemplation Sutra. tices and doctrines to Japan and the integration of 10 calion the Buddha ten times at the hour ofdeath. these with traditional Tendai fonns awaited the

TheP.cilic World 27 New Seriu. No. 5, 1989 composition of the Essentials of Pure Land Re­ the afternoon to compose poems in praise of the biIth at the outset of the third phase of the trans­ Lotus, and then to cultivate nembu/su through the mission of Pure Lind piety to Japan." night (i.e .. W1Ceasing nembu/su as in the daily nem­ We mentioned above that by the second bu/Suservices on ML Hiei). By these activities they half of the tenth century, the monastic cult of Pure sought rebirth in Amida'sPureLind [inoue, pp. 91- Lind devotionalism on Mt. Hiei had stimulated 93; Ishida 1963-1964, I, pp. 349-352]. three paraJlel developments. We have looked at the The Society for the Encouragement of promotion of Pure Lind piety among the folk by Learning dissolved in 985 or a little earlier, about the Tendai priest and holy man Kiiya and at the the time that Yoshishige Yasutane entered the expressions ofPureLind faith in several mid-tenth priesthood. Shonly thereaJter, in 986, Genshin and century Tendai works. Now let us examine the Yasutane, now calledJakushin, formed a new Pure spread of Pure Lind faith to the aristocrats of the Lind devotional society, this one called the Nem­ period. butsu-samadhi Society of Twenty-five [Ni-jii-go Inoue Mitsusada has argued that it was sammai cJ." This new society met monthly rather among the lower ranks of Heian aristocracy that than biannuaUy, and like the Society for the En­ Pure Lind faith flfStlOOk hold [pp. 90-108). He couragement of Learning it also practiced nem­ discusses the declining status and insecurity they butsu through the night. Its members also took suffered in the shadow of the upper aristocracy­ vows to come to the assistance of each other when the house of the Fujiwara regents - and how that seriously ill or dying by gathering at the bed-side situation fostered a critical [hihan /eId) auitude and encouraging the cultivation of the death-bed toward society, belief in the insubstantiality and nembu/su [rinjiJ nembutsu) deemed necessary for impermanenceoflife [mujllkanJ, and a feeling of Pure Lind salvation by such texts as the Amir.abha utter dependency on inscrutable karma [shukusel, Contemplation Sulnl, the TIen-t'ai Ten Doubts on all of which were magnified by a growing convic­ lhePureLand, and RyOgen's Meaningoflhe Nine tion at all levels ofsociety from the early tenth cen­ Grades of Rcbil1h. Originally 25 members, the tury of the advent of the age of the Iauer Dharma. Nembutsu-samadhi Society of Twenty-five later In this frame of mind, these lesser aristocrats found grew to include 163 laymen and clerics, men and appealing the Pure Lind devotionalism conveyed women [inoue,pp. 147-155; Ishida, I,pp. 342-343 in the mountain nembu/Su services and in works and pp. 349-353J." like those of RyOgen and Zen'yu. Thesignificanceofthis devotional society Inoue sees the first signs of this budding is twofold: NO! only do we have here a much more Pure Lind piety in the organization around the intense expression ofPureUnd faith among thear­ middleof the tenth cenlllry by 1esser aristocrats and istocracy than wasrepresented by theSocicty forthe Tendai monks of a nembu/Su society or Pure Lind Encouragement of Learning, but we also have the devotional feUowship called the Society for En­ occasion for the composition of Essentials ofPure couragement of Learning [Kangaku-e] . In 965 the Land RcbiIth (Iljll yllshii), the single most compre­ young aristocrat and scholar Yoshishige Yasutane hensive text on Pure Lind teachings and practices [d. 997] gathered some twenty fellow alumni of the ever produced in Japan. The Essentials of Pure National CoUegeand twenty clerical acquaintances Land RebiIth, written between the eleventh month to form this group. They took vows to assist each of 984 and the fowth month of 985, was probably other in times of spiritual need and met twice composed as a manual of ncmbutsu cultivation for yearly, on the fifteenth day of the third and ninth theNembutsu-samadli Society of Twenty-five" It months. Their agenda at these meetings was to hear became the guide to PureLand faith and practice for a sermon on the Lotus SUlnl in the morning, and in the next 200 years to the close of the Heian Period.

28 New Seri". No.5. 1989 As a manual of nembu/Su cultivation, the a scripture was considered an act generative of good Essentials ofPureLand Rebirth gives instructions karma. on methods of nembu/Su and auempts to verify 8. 'Smaller Pure Land Sutni and 'L8rger with scriptural citations the benefits of this prac­ Pure Land Sulra' will designate any or all items tice. In the process of thus describing and verifying in the entire corpora of texts and translations of nembu/Su cultivation, Genshin introduced to Ja­ these two respectively. pan the populist Pure Land ideas and practices 9. While 1"an-luan's Commentary on the contained in texts which for the most part had been Vasubandhu Pure Land Treatise [OjlJ ronchiij was transmitted centuries earlier, but which,as we have apparently not among the texts found in the noted, './ere not read or comprehended by earlier ShosOin by Ishida Mosaku [Inoue, pp. 43-471, we generations. Thus, while the Essentials of Pure know that it had been brought to Japan by 755 be­ Land Rebirth was itself an outgrowth of the sec­ cause it was consulted by Chik1! [d. c.775] for his ond phase of the transmission of Pure Land piety, work on the Vasubandhu Pure Land Treatise it paradoxically transcended its origins and initi­ [Inoue, p. 501. On the other hand, the Tien-I'aiTen ated a distinctly new phase. We will explore that Doub/Son thePureLand [JlJdojugiron] and Tien­ new phase in parts Two and Three of this study. t'ai Commentary on the Contemplation Sulra [Tien-I'ai Busse/Su kammurylJjukylJ sho) were FOOTNOTES probably not composed before the eighth century; see the discussion below. I. Sec 'References' for bibliographical 10. Seven of the ten sections of the Tien­ details on this and other texts referred to in this l'ai Ten Doub/S were influenced by Ta

ThcPacific World 29 New SeriC$, No.5, 1989 16. It is also significant, as we will see, with Annotated Translations of Seventy­ that Genshin's Essentials of Pure Land Rebirth eight Tales. Unpublished doctoral disser­ cites none of these 1a1e second phase works, except tation, University of Michigan, 1952. Ryllgen's Meanblg ofthe Nine Grades ofRebirth. Commentary on the Amilllbha Contemplation Su­ 17. Though the rules of the society (Ni-jiI­ InI. Kuan Wu-liang-shou-fo-ching shu go sammai shila] were dtawn up by Yasulane in (Kan Muryiljubutsukyll sho), T1753, by 986.5, the group had probably fonned somewhat Shan-tao. earlier [Ishida. r, p. 342 and p. 350). Commentary on the Sutra of Limitless Life. 18. The fonner Emperor, Kazan, was also Murylljukyll ronshaku, by Chikll. a member of this nembutsu society. The number Commentary on the Vasubsndhu Pure Land twenty-five in the society's name apparenlly repre­ Treatise. Wu-liang-shou-chingyu-p'a-t'i­ sents the number of bodhisatlvas thought to ac­ she yuan-sheng-chieh chu (Muryojukyo company Amitabha Buddha in his descent to ubadaisha gansbllge chi!, or Cljo ronchu), welcome believers into his Pure Land. It seems, in T1819, by Tan-luan. fact, that the Nembutsu-samadhi Society of Contemplation SUInI. See Amitabha Contempla­ Twenty-five would actout the descentof Amitabha tion Sulnl. and his twenty-five bodhisatlvasat the bed-sides of Essentials of Pure Land Rebirth. Ojoyoshii, their expiring companions. T2682, by Genshin. 19. It is not clear whether the Essentials Great Concentration and Contemplation. Ma-ho was composed specifically for the use of the chih-kuan (Maka shikan), T1911, by Nembutsu-samadhi Society of Twenty-five, or Chih-i. whether it slimulaled the fonnation of this society. Groner, Paul. SaicM: The Establishment of the Ineithercase, the relation between the composition Tendai School. Berkeley Buddhist Stud­ of the Essentials of Pure Land Rebirth and the ies Series, 7. Berkeley: Center for South fonnalion of the Nembutsu-samadhi Society of and South-eastAsian Studies, University Twenty-fivewas very close [see Ishida 1963-1964: of Cali fomi a and the Institute of Buddhist r, pp. 342-343 and pp. 350-351]. Studies, 1984. Hori, Ichirl!. "On the Concept of Hijiri (Holy­ REFERENCES man)," Numan, 5(2, (1958), 129-160, and 5/3, (1958), 199-232. Amilllbha Contemplation SulnI. Fo-shuo kuan __--::_. Folk . Chicago and Wu-liang-shou-fo ching (Bussetsu kan London: University of Chicago Press, murylljubutsu kyll), T365. 1968. Amitabha SulnI. Fa-shuo O-mi-t'o ching (Bus­ Hymns in Praise of Pure Land Rebirth. Wang­ setsu Amida kyll, Sukh~vatIvyiihanlima sheng li-tsan chich (Ojl! raisan gel, maMy~a satra), T366. T1980, by Shan-tao. Andrews, AI1an A. The Teachings Essential for Inagaki, Hisao, trans. ZcndIJ's Exposition on the Rebirth: A studyofGenshin's OjIJyIJshiI ofthe Samfdhi ofMeditation on the Tokyo: Sophia University Press, 1973. Ocesn-JikeFigure ofAmid a Buddha:Part Assembled Passages on the Land of Peace and 1. Method of Practicing the Samfdhi. Bliss. An-Io chi (Anraku shii), T1958, by : Ryiikoku Translation Center, Tao-ch'o. Ryiikoku University, 1966. Brower, Robert H. The Konzyaku MonogatarisyiJ: Inoue, Mitsusada. Nihon JiJdokylJ seiritsushi no An Historical and Critical Introduction, kcnJeyii [Studies in the history of the es-

7lIeP.cilic World 30 New Serja, No. J, 1989 tablishrnent of Japanese Pure Land Bud­ Pure Land penance - a manuscript dated dhism]. Rev. ed. Tokyo: Yamakawa Sh­ 1051 from the Kurita Shllrenin Templear­ uppansha, 1975. chives]. Kyoto: Ryiilc:oku Daigaku Ichijii Interpretation ofthe Multitude ofPure Land Prob­ BukkyO Keokyiikai [mimeographed], lems. Shih ching-t'u ch'un-i lun (Shaku 1949. J!5do gungi ron), Tl960, by Huai-kan. ____" ed . "Eizan J15dokyO koten SOsho, Dai Ishida, Mizumaro, trans. OjDyDshu: Nihon 2: Senkan Naigu sen Jilgan hosshinki - JlidokyD no yoake [The OjDyDshfI: The hombun narabi ni kaisetsu" [ML Hiei dawn of Japanese Pure Land Buddhism] . Tendai School ancient Pure Land Bud­ 2 vols. Tokyo: Heibonsha, 1963 and dhist texts series, no. 2: The Ten Vows 1964. Testimonial of Imperial Chaplain Senkan Marra, Michele. "The Development of MappO -Text and analysis]. Kyoto: Ryiilc:oku Thought in Japan (I)," JapaneseJoumalof Daigaku IchijO Bu kkyO Kenkyii1c:ai Religjous Studjes, 15/1, (1988) 25-54. [mimeographed], n.d. Meaning of the Njne Grades of Rebirth jnto the ____" ed. "Eizan J15doky15 koten SOsho, Dai Pure Land UtlJJr Bljss. Gokuraku J!5do 5: Zen'yu sen Amida shinjilgi -hombun kubon 15~ gi, Dai nibon BukkyD zcnsho, narabi ni kaisetsu· [Mt. Hiei Tendai vol. 24, hy RyOgen. School ancient Pure Land Methods and Merits ofthe Samadhj ofContempla­ series, no. 5: The Ten New Doubts on tion and Reflection upon the Ocean-like Amjds of Zen'yu -Text and Analysis]. featuresofAmjtabhaBuddhs . Kuan-nien Kyoto: Ryiilc:oku Daigaku Ichij15 Bukkyo O-mi-t'o-fo hsiang-hai san-mei kung-te Kenkyiikai [mimeographed], 1951. fa-men (Kannen Amida Butsu sOkai ____,."Eizan ni okeru J15doky15 no keitai" sammai kudoku hOmon), T1959, by [Pure Land Buddhism on Mt Hiei of the Shan-tao. Tendai School], in BuJckyO no kompon Pruden, Leo, trans. "The Ching-t'u shih-i-lun" shjnri [The fundamental truths of Bud­ [Ten Doubts on the Pure Land], Eastem dhism], ed. by Miyamoto Shoson. Buddhist, N. S., 6/1, (1973) 126-157. Tokyo: Sanseid15, 1956. Reischauer, A. K. "Genshin's Ojo Yoshu: Col­ ____. Tendai Daishi nokenkyu[Researches lected Essays on Birth into Pamdise," on Grand Master Tien-t'ai Chih-i]. Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Kyoto: Hyakkaen, 1961. Japan, second series, 7, (1930) 16-97. Seejng All Buddhas Samadhi Sun Pan

TheP.ciJic World 31 New Series, No.5, 1989 Su/ra of Limidess Life. Fo-shuo wu-liang-shou JAPANESE AND CHINESE ching (Bussetsu muryOju ky5, SukMvau vyiiha siitra), T36O. CHARACl'ERS Su/ra on the Perfection of Wisdom Spoken by MaJljum. Wen-shu-shih-li so-shuo po-jo aku bombu JIIJL;/i;; po-Io-mi ching (Monjushiri shosetsu bombu (fan-fu) JL;/i;; hannya haramitsu kyO), 1'233. fudan nembutsu 'l'1Ili;t:{l. T [abbrev.J See TaishIJ shinshii daiwky(J. goe nembutsu TaishIJ shinshii daiz(JkyiJ. TaishO Period revised (wu-hui nien-fo) edition of the Chinese Buddhist Canon, ed. by Takakusu JunjirOandWatanabeK. 1i~;t:{l. 100 vols. Tokyo: TaisM Shinshii hanju nembutsu sammai DaizOkyO Kank5kai, 1924-1932 (pan-chou nien-fo san-mei) Ten New Doubts on Amida's Pure Land. Amida ~:iir~{l.=1J;fi: shin jiigi, by Zen'yu [909-990]; SatO, hihan teki !!t!f!lJtf(J 1949. hijiri JIll Ten Vows Testimonial. Jiigan hosshin ki, by Senkan [918-983]; Sato, n.d. hokkai (fa-chiai) l1.;W­ Tlen-l'ai Commentary on the Ami/abha Conlem­ hokke sambO l1.;¥tJ l1.; plation Sutra Kuan wu-lian-shou-fo­ inzei nembutsu ijl;a-;t:{l. ching shu (Kan mury5jubutsukyo sho), mapp15 (mo-fal *l1.; T1750, attributed 10 Chih-i. mikky/5 Wfk T'ien-l'ai Ten Doubts on the Pure Land. Ching-t'u muj5 kan ~mlll shih-i lun (JOdojiigi ron), T1961, attrilr uted 10 Chih-i. na-mu A-mi-da Butsu Tsukamoto,Zenryii.ChiigokuJOdokyoshikenkyii (nan-wu O-mi-t'o Fol [HislOry of Chinese Pure Land Bud­ lfj~~%;ve{l. dhism]: Tsukamolo ZenryiichIJsakushii nembutsu (nien-fo) ~{l. [Collected wodes ofTsokamoto Zenryii), reiji saM ~J~f1:l1.; vol. 4. Tokyo: Daiti5 Shuppansha, 1976. rinjii nembutsu a~;t:{l. Vasuhandhu Pure Land Treatise. Wu-liang-shou­ ching yu-p'o-t'i-she yuan-sheng chieh shana g/5 ilJ~~ (Muryojuky5 ubadaisha gansha ge, OJ/5 shikan g/5 .iI: Ill~ ron, JOdo ron; Sukhavatlvyilhopadesa), sMbO lEU; T1524, attributed 10 Yasubandhu. shuku zen tl:i.t!f Weinstein, Stanley. Buddhism Under the rang. shukuse tl:i1!t Cambridge, London, New York: Cam­ yama no nembutsu UJQ)~{l. bridge University Press, 1987. Weslern Pure Land Penance. SaiM sangebO, or Shugyll nembutsu sammai nanoka dojo myo sange MM, author unknown, ca. 960-985; SatO, 1949.

ThcPacific World 32 New SeriC8, No.5, 1989