Jōdo-shū
, also known as Jōdo Buddhism, is a branch of Pure Land Buddhism derived from the teachings of the Japanese ex-Tendai monk Hōnen. It was established in 1175 and is the most widely practiced branch of Buddhism in Japan, along with Jōdo Shinshū. In the general classification of Buddhism in Japan, the Jōdo-shū, the Jōdo Shinshu, the Ji-shu and the Yuzu Nembutsu shu are collectively classified into the lineage of Jōdo Buddhism. (Jōdo kei, 浄土系)

History

The Founder: Hōnen 

Hōnen (法然) was born in 1133, the son of Uruma no Tokikuni of a local ruling family in Mimasaka Province. Hōnen was originally named Seishimaru after the mahāsattva Seishi (Sanskrit Mahāsthāmaprāpta). After a rival official assassinated his father in 1141, Hōnen was initiated into his uncle's monastery at the age of 9. From then on, Hōnen lived his life as a monk and eventually studied at the famous monastery of Mount Hiei. Hōnen was well respected for his knowledge and for his adherence to the Five Precepts, but in time, Hōnen became dissatisfied with the Tendai teachings he learned at Mount Hiei. Influenced by the writings of Shandao, Hōnen devoted himself solely to Amitābha as expressed through the practice of nembutsu. In time, Hōnen gathered disciples from all walks of life, and developed a large following, notably women, who had been excluded from serious Buddhist practice up to this point. This included fishermen, prostitutes and fortune tellers. Hōnen also distinguished himself by not discriminating against women who were menstruating, thought at the time to be unclean. Some followers more strictly followed Buddhist conduct, whereas others assumed they were saved by Amida Buddha and behaved recklessly, earning criticism from established monastic communities such as Enryakuji and Kofukuji. To counter these criticisms, Honen insisted his followers sign the Seven Article Pledge, or  in 1204, pledging not to disparage other sects, and to uphold the Buddha-Dharma. One-hundred and sixty-three followers, including Honen's chief disciples, signed the pledge. Protest and Banishment 

The monastic communities were satisfied for a time, until in 1207, when Kofukuji temple made another petition to the Emperor. Meanwhile, two of Honen's disciples, Jūren (住蓮) and Anraku-bō (安楽房), were caught proselytizing to some of the ladies in waiting of Emperor Go-toba, who had then decided to take tonsure and leave the service of the Emperor. In anger, the Emperor decreed that Honen and several followers be defrocked and sent into exile, while Jūren and Anraku-bō were executed. This is recorded in the Tannisho of Shinran's disciple, Yuien-bō, as follows:

Jūren and Anraku-bō were executed along with a few other disciples. Eventually, Hōnen was pardoned and returned to Kyoto in 1211, but died soon after in 1212, just two days after giving his final testament, the One-Sheet Document to disciple Genchi. Early Years After Hōnen 

The remaining disciples in the capitol collected Honen's writings and erected a mausoleum, while doctrinal disagreements between Honen's disciples Ryūkan, Chōsai and Shōkú escalated. When Hōnen's work, the Senchakushu, began to circulate in 1227, this enraged the monastic community on Enryakuji, and a force of sōhei warriors were sent to raid the tomb of Hōnen. This is known as the Karoku Persecution (karoku no hōgan 嘉禄の法難) of 1227. Honen's body and copies of the Senchakushu were relocated thanks to advance warning, but other writings of Honen's were destroyed, and more disciples were exiled. Remote Disciples and Doctrines 

Many, though not all, of the disciples of Honen were exiled to remote provinces in either 1207 by order of Emperor Go-toba, or later in 1227. Each established a local community in their respective provinces and with nuances in the teachings ("gi", 義), but only a two lineages survive today: the Chinzei-ha branch and the Seizan-ha branch (with 3 sub-branches). Other offshoots such as Jodo Shinshu and the Ji-shū sects are considered different enough to be separate from Jodo-shū. The largest branch of Jōdo-shū, the , named after the district of Chinzei in Kita-Kyushu, was originally established in the hometown of disciple, Benchō, who had been exiled in 1207, but grew through subsequent disciples. The rival  and Kuhon-ji branches grew around the capitol of Kyoto, as Shōkū and Chōsai were among the few major disciples who were not exiled. Finally, Shinran, another disciple established communities in Echigo Province, but the sect gradually differed enough from others to be considered a separate sect, Jodo Shinshu. Other disciples of note: 

 Genchi, Honen's disciple and personal attendant who stayed in Kyoto. Later, met Ryōchū in 1248, and agreed to merge with the Chinzei branch after reaching an accord. Was Hōnen's witness when he dictated the One-Sheet Document, his final testament. Shinkū, helped to establish Hōnen's mausoleum, and later protect its relics during the Persecution of 1227. Ryūkan, one of Honen's more elderly disciples, emphasized the efficacy of the nembutsu as practice and encouraged its frequent recitation, leading to his teachings being called the "many callings school" or tanen-gi (多念義). He was exiled to eastern Japan in 1227, where he died en route. Kōsai, a disciple who advocated that a single recitation of the nembutsu was all that was necessary. His doctrine of "once-calling" or ichinen-gi (一念義) provided considerable controversy, and Honen eventually disavowed Kōsai and his teachings. He was later exiled to the island of Shikoku. Chōsai, the last of Hōnen's direct disciples. Where Honen and other Pure Land followers focused on the 18th, or Primal Vow, of Amida Buddha, Chõsai felt that the 20th Vow of the Immeasurable Life Sutra also applied, and thus taught that other practices in Buddhism would lead to birth in the Pure Land. This was the  teaching. Founder of the Kuhonji-gi branch (九品寺義), based around Kuhonji temple in Kyoto. Kujō Kanezane, an influential of the Fujiwara Clan, he helped defend and protect Honen from some political persecution. A number of letters and poetry exchanged Honen and Kanezane have been preserved. Awanosuke (阿波介), the fortune-teller, is credited with the double-stranded Buddhist prayer beads used in Jōdo-shū, though he did not establish a branch of his own. Reintegration 

A generation later, Bencho's disciple, Ryōchū, became his disciple for a year, and then spread Benchō's and Hōnen's teachings throughout Japan before reaching the new capital at Kamakura. Ryōchū helped to legitimize the "Chinzei branch" of Jōdo Shū as the mainstream one, and is credited as the 3rd Patriarch accordingly. He also referred to Benchō, his teacher, as the 2nd Patriarch after Hōnen. Ryōchū also met with Renjaku-bo, whose own teacher Genchi, had been another disciple of Hōnen. Renjaku-bo felt that Genchi and Benchō had been in complete agreement, so he willingly united his lineage with Ryōchū's, helping to further increase its standing. Jōdo Shū through the Chinzei lineage continued to develop until the 8th Patriarch, Shōgei (聖冏, 1341-1420) who formalized the training of priests (rather than training under Tendai or Shingon lineages), thus formally establishing it as an independent sect. Edo Period 

In 1590, during the Azuchi–Momoyama period, Jōdo-shū was officially patronized by Tokugawa Ieyasu, leading to an era of great prosperity for the sect that lasted throughout the Edo period and beyond. Zōjō-ji in Edo, previously a Shingon sect temple converted to a Jōdo-shū temple, became the family temple of the Tokugawa clan during the same year, receiving considerable patronage. The mausoleum for several shogun of the Tokugawa family are still interred at Zōjō-ji, though Ieyasu is interred at Toshogu. Geographic Distribution 

Although Jōdo-shū is mainly found in Japan, a sizable Jōdo-shū community exists in Hawaii as well as a few temples in the continental United States. The first Jōdo-shū temple built in Hawai'i was the Hāmākua Bukkyo Kaido, constructed in 1896 under the supervision of Reverend Gakuo Okabe. The Jodo Shu North America Buddhist Missions was the first Jōdo-shū temple to be built in mainland America in 1936 in Los Angeles, California. Doctrine 

Pure Land Buddhist teachings had been prevalent in Japan for centuries, particularly in the Tendai sect through Ennin, Genshin, and others, but what distinguished Honen's teaching was the notion , whereby the only true means of achieving rebirth in the Pure Land was through reciting the nembutsu. In particular, Honen argued that it was through Amida Buddha's merit and compassion that one achieved rebirth, and since the nembutsu was explicitly called out in the Immeasurable Life Sutra in the 18th Vow (also known as the Primal Vow), it was the only practice that would work, especially in the latter age of Mappō, when people could no longer effectively put the teachings of the Buddha into practice anymore. Other practices would neither add nor detract from Amida Buddha's power. Toward the end of the Immeasurable Life Sutra is the following passage:

Since the Jōdo-shū school was founded near the end of the Heian period, when Buddhism in Japan had become deeply involved in political schemes, and some in Japan saw monks flaunting wealth and power, it was felt that society had already reached the era of latter days of the Dharma, and that, based on the passage above, all other practices had ceased to have any efficacy. Further, Hōnen sought to provide people a simple Buddhist practice that anybody could use toward enlightenment, no matter how degenerate the times because he was concerned that many people were excluded from existing sects:

Since, according to Honen's line of reasoning, salvation was mostly due to Amida Buddha's power, there was no reason why anyone who sincerely recited the nembutsu couldn't be reborn in the Pure Land. Practice 

Recitation of the nembutsu, lit. ,  is the most fundamental practice of Jōdo-shū, which derives from the Primal Vow of Amitābha. In home practice, or in temple liturgy, the nembutsu may be recited in any number of styles including:
  - reciting the nembutsu ten times, with the second to last drawn out. - reciting the nembutsu as many times as possible in a sitting, regardless of number. - a style involving three drawn-out recitations of the nembutsu, followed by a bow. This is repeated twice more for a total of nine recitations. However, in addition to this, practitioners are encouraged to engage in "auxiliary" practices, such as observing the Five Precepts, meditation, the chanting of sutras and other good conduct. There is no strict rule on this however, as Jōdo-shū stresses that the compassion of Amitābha is extended to all beings who recite the nembutsu, so how one observes auxiliary practices is left to the individual to decide. Furthermore,   Jōdo-shū practitioners are allowed to worship kami and visit Shinto shrines as long as they do not worship the kami as a means to enter the pure land. Of the entire Buddhist canon, Sutra of Immeasurable Life is the central Buddhist scripture for Jōdo-shū Buddhism, and the foundation of the belief in the Primal Vow of Amida Buddha. In addition to this, the Amitāyurdhyāna Sūtra and the Amitabha Sutra are important to the Jōdo-shū school. Collectively, these are known as the . Further, the writings of Hōnen, contained mostly in the Senchaku-hongan-nembutsu-shū (often abbreviated to Senchakushū), are another source for Jōdo-shū thought as is his last writing, the . Most of what is known about Honen and his thought is attributed through sayings collected in the following century, the Senchakushū, and letters to his students and disciples. The One-Sheet Document is also read aloud in daily services as part of Jōdo-shū liturgy. Head Temples and Clergy 

Jōdo-shū, like other Buddhist schools, maintains a professional, monastic priesthood, based on the parent Tendai-sect monastic organization, with two "head temples", one at Chion-in in Kyoto, and one at Zojoji in Tokyo. The head of the Jōdo-shū school is called the monshu in Japanese, and lives at the head temple of Chion-in. For the Seizan branch, there are three sub-branches, each with their own head temple. References

Literature
 Blum, Mark L. The Origins and Development of Pure Land Buddhism: a Study and Translation of Gyōnen's Jōdo Hōmon Genrushō. Oxford, New York, Oxford University Press, 2002. Matsunaga, Daigan, and Alicia Matsunaga. Foundation of Japanese buddhism, Vol. 2: The Mass Movement (Kamakura and Muromachi Periods). Los Angeles, Tokyo, Buddhist Books International, 1990. The Three Pure Land Sutras. Rev. 2nd ed. Translated by Hisao Inagaki with Harold Stewart, Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, 2003. PDF

External links 
 English Language Site for Jodo Shu - The official website for Jodo Shu. Also contains information on Pure Land Buddhism in general. The Jodo Shu Research Institute - Responsible for providing research and English-language resources on Jodo Shu, as well as publications. 1175 establishments in Asia
Schools of Buddhism founded in Japan
Pure Land Buddhism
12th-century establishments in Japan