A long-form series exploring the merchant philosophy of the Ohmi Shonin and its roots in Pure Land Buddhism.
Series Vol. 31 | Spreading the Teaching in the East
Why did samurai and fishermen embrace Shinran’s teaching in eastern Japan? Vol. 31 also visits Ibaraki’s Ushiku Daibutsu, one of the world’s tallest statues.
Series Vol. 30 | After the Exile
Pardoned in 1211, Shinran carried his teaching to rural Kanto. Vol. 30 looks at his chosen name, the idea of “neither monk nor layman” and why Jodo Shinshu priests keep their hair.
Series Vol. 29 | Shinran’s Exile
How harsh was Shinran's exile in Echigo? Vol. 29 looks at his life among kin, why the Japanese feel close to him, and why Honen and Shinran escaped heavier punishment.
Series Vol. 28 | Honen and Shinran: Master and Disciple
How did Shinran become Honen's disciple, and why do the sources say so little about their time together? Vol. 28 traces the master–disciple bond up to the 1207 exiles.
Series Vol. 27 | The Precepts in Japanese Buddhism, Seen Through the Shinran Muki
Shinran's dream of Guze Kannon promised salvation even if he broke the precept against sex. What does it reveal about Buddhist precepts, Akunin Shoki and modern excess?
Series Vol. 26 | How the Future Founders of Jodo Shu and Jodo Shinshu Met
How Shinran, a minor noble's son ordained at nine, left Mount Hiei and, after a dream at Rokkakudo, became the disciple of Honen.
Series Vol. 25 | The Thought of Honen
Honen broke from Mount Hiei to found Jodo Shu, arguing that in the age of Mappo, recitative nembutsu — not deathbed rites — was the path to rebirth in the Pure Land.
Series Vol. 24 | A Prehistory of Jodo Buddhism, Part 3
Part 3 of a prehistory of Jodo Buddhism: Ennin's pilgrimage to China, the origins of Other Power, and the roots of the faith later held by the Ohmi Shonin.
Series Vol. 23 | A Prehistory of Jodo Buddhism, Part 2
Saicho brought Tendai doctrine to Japan and Kukai brought esoteric Buddhism. Their study in Tang, their falling-out, and why Mount Hiei became the seedbed of Jodo, Zen and Nichiren Buddhism alike.
Series Vol. 22 | A Prehistory of Jodo Buddhism, Part 1
Vol. 22 of The Jodo Ethic and the Spirit of the Ohmi Shonin traces Buddhism's arrival in Japan, Prince Shotoku's letter to Sui China, and the Nanto Rokushu — the six schools that first took root in Nara.