- Seizan
Seizan (西山) is the name of the branch of
Jōdo shū Buddhism that was founded byHōnen 's disciple,Shōkū . Shōkū often went by the name "Seizan" as well, however the name derives from the western mountains ofKyoto where Shōkū often dwelt. The main temple of this branch of Buddhism is at the temple of Eikandō in the city ofKyoto . The temple formerly served as aShingon Buddhist temple, but whenJōhen headed the temple, he took an interest in Jōdo Buddhism (originally in order to criticize it), designated Hōnen as the 11th chief priest. Later, Hōnen's disciple became the head priest of Eikandō, and established the Seizan branch, fully converting the temple into a Jōdo one.Doctrine
As a branch of Jōdo, the central practice is devotion to
Amida Buddha, and recitation of thenembutsu . Shōkū coined the term "shiraki no nembutsu", which refers to a practice where one devotes themselves to intense study of Buddhist literature, and then recites thenembutsu with deep, sincere faith. The idea behind "shiraki no nembutsu" is to demonstrate that in the age ofMappo , people cannot achieve Enlightenment on their own, and so they should rely on the compassion ofAmida Buddha.Seizan Buddhism also seems to incorporated techniques from the
Shingon andTendai sects including the use ofmandala (such as the famousTaima Mandala ), and other ascetic practices. Shōkū, its founder, was said to recite the nembutsu 60,000 times a day and would endure other ascetic practices. Unlike some of Hōnen's disciples, such asKōsai , who attempted to eschew other Buddhist practices in favor of thenembutsu , the Seizan branch attempted to organize all Buddhist practices into a hierarchy, with the nembutsu being the foremost practice. This is a similar approach to that found inShingon ,Tendai andTien Tai sects of Buddhism.In Seizan thought, it is thought that practices other than the nembutsu do contain some merit, but not equal to even one recitation of the
nembutsu .References
* [http://www.eikando.or.jp/English/honen_e.htm Eikandō's official website] Contains history of Jōdo Shū, the Seizan branch and Shōkū
* [http://www.jsri.jp/English/Jodoshu/disciples/eras/4eras.html History of Honen's Disciples]
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