ure scrolls and literature of the Kamakura period. During the Fujiwara period the common man had been non-existent in documentation. It was in these individual sects of Buddhism (Jodo, Nichiren, and Zen) that the common man found a home of self-expression where salvation was open to all, not just the political elite. During this time all were looked on as equal through the eyes of Buddhist faith. As it may be, all three of these sects, the Jodo, Nichiren, and Zen, have vast differences in their ways, however, they do share a similar bond in their appeal to the common man and their responsibility for the unprecedented heightened state of social awareness and self-expression that took place among the Japanese people. It is also important to note Professor Reischauer comparison of these three sects. He believes that the “popular Buddhism of Kamakura times had come to resemble Christianity in a number of ways through its emphasis on a single saving deity (Amida), the portrayal of heaven, hell, and the narrow path to salvation, the stress on faith, and the display of religious zeal in public preaching and chanting.” These popular sects ultimately reconfigured the standard for religious faith in Japan for many centuries to come.

In the meantime, one of Honen’s followers, Shinran (1173-1262), further simplified and popularized Honen’s ideas by claiming that the call upon the name of Amida was all that was needed in man’s search for salvation. However, Shinran continuously argued against the need for temples and rituals, which were characteristic of Honen’s beliefs, and pioneered a break from that discipline by marrying, eating meat, and living a normal secular life. In support of this Reischauer, Fairbank, and Craig say that “Shinran insisted that a single sincere utterance of the Buddha’s name sufficed for salvation, condemned self-conscious virtue as undermining simple faith, verged toward monotheism in his concentration on the single Buddha Amida, discarded most of the scriptures, repudiated the monastic church, and encouraged the priests to marry and lead normal lives among their congregations.” Shinran believed that if a good man could be saved “how much more so a wicked one.” Shinran’s adverse thinking grew into a separate sect called the True Land Pure sect or more commonly referred to as the True Sect (Shinshu). Shinran spoke of the pure land as “the land of immeasurable light” or the “land of all knowing wisdom” or that “it is infinite, like space, vast and boundless.” Jodo-Shinshu incorporated the 4 H’s of Shinran which were honesty, householder, humility, and here & now. “Honesty” means that he saw himself as he was and told the truth as he saw it. He admitted that he was unfulfilled as a monk and that he was filled with ordinary selfish feelings. He says “I know truly how grievous it is that I, Shinran, am sinking in an immense ocean of desires and attachments and am lost in vast mountains of fame and advantage.” “Householder” means that Shinran’s honesty about himself would lead him to marry and have children, and yet pursue the Dharma as a householder. “Humility” comes across clearly when he says “I do not have a single disciple,” even though there were many followers who looked upon him as a teacher. He felt he could not take credit because their reason for seeking his guidance was not his own doing, b

Some topics in this essay:
Pure Land, Japan Zen, Lotus Sutra, H’s Shinran, Fairbank Craig, Japanese Buddhism, Zen Buddhism, Buddhism Kamakura, , Nichiren Zen, pure land, lotus sutra, land sect, warrior class, pure land sect, popular sects, sect nichiren, schools buddhism, ultimate truth, samurai warrior class, buddha’s name, samurai warrior, jodo nichiren zen, heightened social awareness, reischauer fairbank craig,