Jōdo-shū

Jōdo-shū is a Japanese school of Pure Land Buddhism founded by Hōnen in the twelfth century. It centers on reciting Amitābha Buddha’s name as the path to birth in the Pure Land.

Nembutsu: A Buddhist devotional practice of reciting Amitābha Buddha’s name, especially in Japanese Pure Land traditions. Name-recitation is Jōdo-shū’s defining practice.
Primal Vow: Amitābha’s eighteenth vow, promising birth in his Pure Land to beings who entrust themselves to him and aspire for that birth. Hōnen grounds the efficacy of nembutsu in this vow.
Hōnen: A Japanese Buddhist monk who founded Jōdo-shū and taught nembutsu as the principal practice for birth in Amitābha’s Pure Land. His teaching and community established the school.
Jōdo Shinshū: A Japanese Pure Land school founded by Shinran that emphasizes entrusting oneself to Amitābha and the working of his vow. It shares Hōnen’s lineage but gives faith and the meaning of practice a different emphasis.
Amitābha: A buddha associated with the Pure Land and vows to aid beings who aspire to be born there. Jōdo-shū practice is directed toward Amitābha and his vow.
Three Pure Land Sutras: The Larger Sutra, the Contemplation Sutra, and the Smaller Sutra, foundational scriptures for East Asian Pure Land traditions. Hōnen drew the school’s scriptural basis from this canonical group.
Mount Hiei: A major Buddhist monastic center in Japan, home to the Tendai establishment on Mount Hiei. Hōnen trained there before teaching an independent Pure Land path.
Shingon Buddhism: A Japanese esoteric Buddhist school that uses initiation, mantra, ritual, and visualization in pursuit of buddhahood. Its ritual and contemplative methods contrast with Jōdo-shū’s focus on nembutsu.
Pure Land Buddhism: A Buddhist tradition centered on devotion to Amitābha and aspiration for rebirth in his Pure Land. Jōdo-shū is one Japanese school within this wider tradition.
Senju nembutsu: Hōnen’s teaching that nembutsu should be selected as the principal practice for birth in the Pure Land. This exclusive recitation gives Jōdo-shū its central practical emphasis.

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Buddhism in JapanBroader topic: Its accessible devotional practice marked a major medieval religious shift.