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Nichiren Buddhism (日蓮系諸宗派: Nichiren-kei sho shūha) is a branch of Buddhism based on the teachings of the 13th century Japanese monk Nichiren (1222–1282). Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices The History of Buddhism spans the 6th century BCE to the present starting with the birth of the Buddha Siddhartha Gautama. Foundation to the Common Era Some sources give the date of the Buddha's birth as 563 BCE and others as 624 BCE Theravada Buddhist countries tend to use the latter figure Lists and numbering of Buddhist councils vary between and even within schools Several Buddhist terms and concepts lack direct translations into English that cover the breadth of the original term Background Why the Buddha is said to have taught in this way is illuminated by the social context of the time in which he lived In sramanic philosophy Nirvana (निर्वाण| Nirvāṇa; निब्बान Nibbāna; Prakrit: णिव्वाण The Three Jewels, also called the Three Treasures, the Three Refuges, or the Triple Gem, are the three things that Buddhists take refuge Several Buddhist terms and concepts lack direct translations into English that cover the breadth of the original term According to the Buddhist tradition all phenomena other than Nirvana, ( sankhara) are marked by three characteristics sometimes referred to as the Dharma seals In Buddhist phenomenology and Soteriology, the five skandhas ( Sanskrit) or khandhas ( Pāli) are five "aggregates" Buddhist cosmology is the description of the shape and evolution of the universe according to the canonical Buddhist scriptures and commentaries Rebirth in Buddhism is the doctrine that the consciousness of a person (as conventionally regarded upon the death or dissolution of the aggregates ( Skandhas Dhamma ( Pāli: धम्म or Dharma (धर्म in Buddhism has two primary meanings the teachings of the Buddha which lead to enlightenment The doctrine of pratītyasamutpāda (Sanskrit paticcasamuppāda; rten Karma ( Sanskrit: कर्मन karman, Pāli: कमा Kamma) means "action" or "doing" whatever A number of noted individuals have been Buddhists. Historical Buddhist thinkers and founders of schools Individuals are grouped by nationality except in cases where the Siddhārtha Gautama ( Sanskrit; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual Teacher from Ancient India and the founder A number of noted individuals have been Buddhists. Historical Buddhist thinkers and founders of schools Individuals are grouped by nationality except in cases where the In Buddhism, buddhahood ( Sanskrit: buddhatva. Pali: buddhatta. In the Buddhist context a bodhisattva (बोधिसत्त्व bodhisattva;; Vietnamese Bồ Tát; बोधिसत्त bodhisatta The four stages of Enlightenment in Buddhism are the four degrees of approach to full enlightenment as an Arahant which a person can attain in this life Theravada Buddhism Theravada Buddhism 's teachings on the paramitas can be found in late canonical books and post-canonical commentaries Buddhist meditation encompasses a variety of Meditation techniques that develop Mindfulness, concentration, tranquility and insight In English translations of Buddhist literature, householder denotes a variety of terms Obtaining exact numbers of practicing Buddhists can be difficult and may be reliant on the definition used Buddhist beliefs and practices vary according to region There are distinctions between and within the Buddhism practised in various regions including In South Asia Mahayana Buddhism is the State religion of Bhutan, and Buddhists comprise 98% of its population. History See also History of Buddhism in Cambodia Unconfirmed Singhalese sources assert that missionaries of King Asohka introduced Buddhism into Chinese Buddhism ( Pinyin fójiào refers collectively to the various schools of Buddhism that have flourished in China proper since ancient times Buddhism is a world religion which arose in Bihar, India and is based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, who is known as the Buddha (literally Among the five official religions of Indonesia, according to the state ideology of Pancasila According to Suharto, Buddhism and Hinduism were Indonesia's classical The history of Buddhism in Japan can be roughly divided into three periods namely the Nara period (up to 784 the Heian period (794–1185 and the post-Heian period Korean Buddhism is distinguished from other forms of Buddhism by its attempt to resolve what it sees as inconsistencies in Mahayana Buddhism Buddhism is the primary religion of Laos. The Buddhism practiced in Laos is of the Theravada tradition Buddhism is the second largest religion in Malaysia after Islam, with 19 Buddhism in Mongolia is essentially Tibetan Buddhism of the Gelugpa school History The history of Buddhism in Burmaextends nearly a millennium Buddha was born in Shakya kingdom which lies in Rupandehi district Lumbini zone of Nepal Historically Buddhism was incorporated into Russian lands as early as the late 16th century, when Russian explorers travelled to and settled in As of 2000 425% of the Singaporeans register themselves as Buddhist by religion General Buddhism in Sri Lanka is primarily of the Theravada school and constitutes the religious faith of about 70% of the populationAccording to traditional Buddhism in Thailand is largely of the Theravada school Nearly 95% of Thailand 's population is Buddhist of the Theravada school though Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including Buddhism came to Vietnam in the first century CE By the end of the second century Vietnam developed a major Buddhist centre in the region commonly known as the Luy Lâu Buddhism in the West broadly encompasses the knowledge and practice of Buddhism outside of Asia. The Schools of Buddhism. Buddhism is classified in various ways History Origin of the school The Theravāda school is ultimately derived from the Vibhajjavāda (or 'doctrine of analysis' grouping which was a continuation Mahayana ( Sanskrit: mahāyāna, Devanagari: महायान 'Great Vehicle' is one of the two main existing schools of Buddhism and a term for Vajrayana Buddhism is also known as Tantric Buddhism, Tantrayāna, Mantrayana, Mantranaya, Secret Mantra, Esoteric Buddhism and The Early Buddhist schools are those schools into which according to most scholars the Buddhist monastic Sangha initially split due originally to differences in The term pre-sectarian Buddhism is used by some scholars to refer to the Buddhism that existed before the various subsects of Buddhism came into being Buddhist texts can be categorized in a number of ways The Western terms "scripture" and "canonical" are applied to Buddhism in inconsistent ways by Western scholars Historicity and Background Place in the Canon Various Mahayana Sutras have been included in the Tibetan Canon and the Chinese Canon. The Tibetan Buddhist canon is a loosely defined list of Sacred texts recognized by various sects of Tibetan Buddhism. The cultural elements of Buddhism vary by region and include Buddhist Festivals and Observances Vesak The following is a List of Buddhist topics: A Abhidharma Aggañña Sutta Ahimsa The history of Buddhism in Japan can be roughly divided into three periods namely the Nara period (up to 784 the Heian period (794–1185 and the post-Heian period History The Tiantai teaching was first brought to Japan by the Chinese monk Jianzhen (鑑眞 Jp Ganjin in the middle of the 8th century, but Shingon Buddhism (眞言 真言 " true words " is a major school of Japanese Buddhism, and is the other branch of Vajrayana Buddhism Pure Land Buddhism ( Jìngtǔzōng; 浄土教 Jōdokyō; Korean: ko-Hang 정토종 jeongtojong; Vietnamese: 浄土宗 vi Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism, referred to in Chinese as Chan. (767&ndash822 was a Japanese Buddhist monk credited with founding the Tendai school in Japan based around the Chinese Tiantai tradition he was exposed Kūkai (ja 空海 or also known posthumously as Kōbō-Daishi (ja 弘法大師 774&ndash835 CE was a Japanese monk, Scholar Hōnen (法然 1133-1212 is the founder of the first independent branch of Japanese Pure Land Buddhism known as Jōdo Shū. Shinran 親鸞 ( May 21, 1173 – January 16, 1263) was a Japanese Buddhist monk who was born in Hino (now a part of Fushimi, Myōan Eisai (明菴栄西 ( April 20, 1141 – July 5, 1215) was a Japanese Buddhist priest credited with bringing the Ingen Ryuki ( Chinese 隱元隆琦 Yinyuan Longqi) ( Fuqing, Fujian, 1592 - Uji, 1673 was a Chinese Linji Nichiren (日蓮 ( February 16, 1222 &ndash October 13, 1282) born, later, and finally Nichiren, was a Buddhist The Avataṃsaka Sūtra ( Japanese: Kegon Kyō) is one of the most influential Mahayana Sutras of East Asian Buddhism. The Lotus Sutra or Sutra on the White Lotus of the Sublime Dharma (Sanskrit sa सद्धर्मपुण्डरीकसूत्र Saddharma " Perfection of Wisdom " is a translation of the Sanskrit term prajñā pāramitā ( Devanagari: प्रज्ञा पारमिता The Heart of Perfect Wisdom Sutra or Heart Sutra or Essence of Wisdom Sutra ( Sanskrit: प्रज्ञापारमिताहृदयसूत्र The Infinite Life Sutra, or Larger Pure Land Sutra, a Mahayana Buddhist text is the primary text of Pure Land Buddhism, and Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices MONK is a Monte Carlo software package for simulating nuclear processes particularly for the purpose of determining the neutron multiplication factor or k-effective Nichiren (日蓮 ( February 16, 1222 &ndash October 13, 1282) born, later, and finally Nichiren, was a Buddhist Nichiren Buddhism is a comprehensive term covering several major schools and many sub-schools, as well as several of Japan's new religions. is a term used in Japan to describe New religious movements They are also known as in Japanese and are most often called simply Japanese new religions Various forms of Nichiren Buddhism have had great influence among certain sections of Japanese society at different times in the country's history, such as among the merchants of Kyoto in Japan's Middle Ages and among some ultranationalists during the pre-World War II era. (IPA /kʲoːto / is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Nichiren Buddhism is generally noted for its focus on the Lotus Sutra and an attendant belief that all people have an innate Buddha nature and are therefore inherently capable of attaining enlightenment in their current form and present lifetime. The Lotus Sutra or Sutra on the White Lotus of the Sublime Dharma (Sanskrit sa सद्धर्मपुण्डरीकसूत्र Saddharma Luminous mind in the Nikayas There is a clear reference in the Anguttara Nikaya to a " Luminous mind " present within all people be they corrupt or pure whether In sramanic philosophy Nirvana (निर्वाण| Nirvāṇa; निब्बान Nibbāna; Prakrit: णिव्वाण It is also noted for positioning itself in opposition to other forms of Japanese Buddhism—in particular the Zen, Pure Land, esoteric Shingon, and Ritsu schools, which Nichiren saw as deviating from the orthodoxy of Mahayana Buddhism. Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism, referred to in Chinese as Chan. Pure Land Buddhism ( Jìngtǔzōng; 浄土教 Jōdokyō; Korean: ko-Hang 정토종 jeongtojong; Vietnamese: 浄土宗 vi Vajrayana Buddhism is also known as Tantric Buddhism, Tantrayāna, Mantrayana, Mantranaya, Secret Mantra, Esoteric Buddhism and Shingon Buddhism (眞言 真言 " true words " is a major school of Japanese Buddhism, and is the other branch of Vajrayana Buddhism The history of Buddhism in Japan can be roughly divided into three periods namely the Nara period (up to 784 the Heian period (794–1185 and the post-Heian period An evangelical streak is evinced by some schools' practice of shakubuku, efforts to convert others by refuting their current beliefs and convincing them of the validity of Nichiren's teachings. Proselytism is the practice of attempting to convert people to another opinion and particularly another religion Nichiren Buddhists believe that the spread of Nichiren's teachings and their effect on practitioners' lives will eventually bring about a peaceful, just, and prosperous society.

Contents

The founder, Nichiren

From the age of 16 until 32, Nichiren studied in numerous temples in Japan, especially Mt. Hiei (Enryakuji) and Mt. Kōya, in his day the Japanese centers of Buddhist study, in the Kyoto–Nara area. is a mountain to the northeast of Kyoto city lying on the border between the Kyoto and Shiga prefectures Japan. Not to be confused with Engaku-ji in Kamakura., a Monastery on Mount Hiei overlooking Kyoto, was founded This article is about the mountain in Japan For the historical Haida chief in the Queen Charlotte Islands of British Columbia see Koyah. (IPA /kʲoːto / is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. is the capital city of Nara Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. He eventually concluded that the highest teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha (563?-483?BC) were to be found in the Lotus Sutra. Siddhārtha Gautama ( Sanskrit; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual Teacher from Ancient India and the founder The Lotus Sutra or Sutra on the White Lotus of the Sublime Dharma (Sanskrit sa सद्धर्मपुण्डरीकसूत्र Saddharma The mantra he expounded on 28 April 1253, Nam-Myōhō-Renge-Kyō, expresses his devotion to that body of teachings. A mantra ( Devanāgarī मन्त्र (or mantram is a religious or mystical syllable or poem typically from the Sanskrit language Events 1192 - Assassination of Conrad of Montferrat (Conrad I King of Jerusalem, in Tyre, two days after his title Nam Myōhō Renge Kyō (南無妙法蓮華經 also transliterated Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō; literally translated as Devotion to the Law of the Lotus Flower During his lifetime Nichiren stridently maintained that the contemporary teachings of Buddhism taught by other sects (particularly Nembutsu, Zen, Shingon, and Ritsu[1]) were mistaken in their interpretations of the correct path to enlightenment and therefore refuted them publicly and vociferously. Nianfo ( Chinese: 念[[wikt 佛|佛]] Pinyin: nianfo; Japanese: 念佛 nembutsu; Korean: 염불 yeombul Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism, referred to in Chinese as Chan. Shingon Buddhism (眞言 真言 " true words " is a major school of Japanese Buddhism, and is the other branch of Vajrayana Buddhism The history of Buddhism in Japan can be roughly divided into three periods namely the Nara period (up to 784 the Heian period (794–1185 and the post-Heian period In doing so, he provoked the ire of the country's rulers and of the priests of the sects he criticized; he was subjected to persecution which included an attempted beheading and at least two exiles. Some Nichiren schools see the incident of the attempted beheading as marking a turning point in Nichiren's teaching, since Nichiren began inscribing the Gohonzon and wrote a number of major doctrinal treatises during his subsequent three-year exile on Sado Island in the Japan Sea. Gohonzon ( or) is the object of devotion in many forms of Japanese Buddhism. is a city located on Sado Island (佐渡島 or 佐渡ヶ島 both Sadogashima) in the Chūbu region of Niigata Prefecture, Japan. After a pardon and his return from exile, Nichiren moved to Mt. Minobu in today's Yamanashi Prefecture, where he and his disciples built a temple, Kuonji. is a town located in Minamikoma District, Yamanashi, Japan. As of 2003, the town had an estimated Population of 7672 and a Nichiren spent most of the rest of his life here training disciples and looking after lay believers.

Schools

Today, Nichiren Buddhism is not a single denomination (see following lists). It began to branch into different schools within several years of Nichiren's passing, before which Nichiren had named six senior priests (rokurōsō) whom he wanted to transmit his teachings to future generations: Nisshō (日昭), Nichirō (日朗), Nikō (日向), Nitchō (日頂), Nichiji (日持), and Nikkō (日興). Nikkō (日興 ( 1246 - 1333) also known as Nikkō Shōnin, is the founder of a major branch of Nichiren Buddhism that includes the present-day Each started a lineage of schools, but Nichiji eventually travelled to the Asian continent (ca. 1295) and was never heard from again, and Nitchō later in life (1302) rejoined and became a follower of Nikkō. [2]

The reasons for the splits are numerous, entangled, and subject to different interpretations depending on which school is telling the story; suffice it to say that the senior priests had different understandings of what Nichiren's lifetime of teaching was about. Although the former five remained loosely affiliated to varying degrees, the last—Nikkō—made a clean break by leaving Kuon-ji in 1289. Kuonji (久遠寺 is the major temple in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan He had come to the conclusion that Nikō and the others were embarking on paths to heresy that he could not stem.

Kuon-ji eventually became the central temple of today's Nichiren Shu, one of the two largest branches and the one encompassing the numerous minor schools of the Minobu branch into which most of the schools started by Nisshō, Nichirō, and Nichiji have been subsumed. Nichiren Shu (日蓮宗 "Nichiren School" is the oldest of the Nichiren Buddhist schools The other dominant branch is centered at Taiseki-ji, the head temple of today's Nichiren Shoshu school. Taiseki-ji (大石寺 full name 多宝富士大日蓮華山大石寺 Tahō Fuji Dainichirenge-zan Taiseki-ji is the head temple (総本山 sōhonzan) of the Nichiren Nichiren Shōshū (日蓮正宗 is a branch of Nichiren Buddhism based on the teachings of the 13th century Japanese monk Nichiren ( 1222 – 1282 Taiseki-ji, which Nikkō founded in 1290 after leaving Kuon-ji, was the starting point for the other schools of the Kōmon-ha (興門派, kō from Nikkō) or Fuji-ha (富士派, from the locality) branch.

Other traditional Nichiren schools include several sub-schools that call themselves just Hokke Shū, the Honmon Butsuryū Shū, and the Kempon Hokke Shū. Several of Japan's new religions are also sub-sects of or otherwise based on one or another of the traditional Nichiren schools. is a term used in Japan to describe New religious movements They are also known as in Japanese and are most often called simply Japanese new religions The Reiyūkai, Risshō Kōsei Kai, and Nipponzan Myōhōji Sangha stem from one or another of the Kuon-ji/Minobu branch schools, whereas Soka Gakkai, Shōshinkai, and Kenshōkai trace their origins to the Nichiren Shoshu school.

Major Nichiren Buddhist schools

The following lists are from the Japanese Wikipedia article on Nichiren Buddhism.

Traditional schools and their head temples

Head temple names are given in Roman letters only when the reading could be confirmed. Japanese characters preceded by "ja:" link to articles in the Japanese Wikipedia.

Non-traditional schools

Lay organizations

Doctrine and practices

Much of Nichiren Buddhist doctrine is, at least on the surface, a further development or adaptation of Tendai (Chinese: Tiantai) thought, especially as passed down from Saichō (also known as Dengyō; 767–822). History The Tiantai teaching was first brought to Japan by the Chinese monk Jianzhen (鑑眞 Jp Ganjin in the middle of the 8th century, but Tiantai (天台宗 Wade-Giles: T'ien T'ai) is one of the important sects of Buddhism in China, Korea and Japan, also called (767&ndash822 was a Japanese Buddhist monk credited with founding the Tendai school in Japan based around the Chinese Tiantai tradition he was exposed For example, as in Tendai but in contrast to many other Buddhist schools, most Nichiren Buddhists believe that personal enlightenment can be achieved in this world within the practitioner's current lifetime (即身成仏: sokushin jōbutsu). Markedly different from Tendai and any other Buddhist lineage is the Nichiren Buddhists' practice of chanting daimoku, the repeated recitation of the mantra (phrase) Nam-Myōhō-Renge-Kyō, in some denominations also pronounced Namu-Myōhō-Renge-Kyō. Most Nichiren schools also recite the Lotus Sutra (in Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese text) to varying degrees in their respective versions of the often daily or twice-daily gongyō service. Gongyō (勤行 is a Japanese word that means "assiduous practice" and refers to a formalized service performed by followers of nearly every Chinese Other details of Nichiren Buddhist practice can differ widely depending on the school. Some recite the whole Lotus Sutra, while others recite only certain chapters, parts of chapters, or verses. Some worship Buddhist statues or images and the Gohonzon, a mandala Nichiren provided for his followers during his lifetime; others worship only statues or images of various types; whereas yet others venerate only a particular Gohonzon and transcriptions of it. Gohonzon ( or) is the object of devotion in many forms of Japanese Buddhism. Mandala ( Sanskrit maṇḍala मंड "essence" + ल "having" or "containing" Some schools (chiefly those stemming from Kuon-ji) keep Shinto shrines in their temple compounds and permit or encourage worship of indigenous Japanese deities, while those stemming from Taiseki-ji tend to be very strict about their prohibition against worship of anything other than the Gohonzon or even the mixing of doctrines from other schools. is the native religion of Japan and was once its State religion. Some schools are virulently nationalistic; others are not and are further strictly pacifist. Further, Nichiren Shoshu and other schools stemming from the priest Nikkō consider Nichiren to be the True (or Original) Buddha, whereas Nichiren Shu and the others descendant from the other six senior priests see him as a saint, great teacher, or prophet. Nikkō (日興 ( 1246 - 1333) also known as Nikkō Shōnin, is the founder of a major branch of Nichiren Buddhism that includes the present-day

To understand these differences, readers are urged to look for information on the particular school or schools in which they have an interest.

Nichiren's writings

Nichiren was a prolific writer. His personal communications and writings to his followers as well as numerous treatises detail his view of the correct form of practice for the Latter Day of the Law (Mappō); lay out his views on other Buddhist schools, particularly those of influence during his lifetime; and elucidate his interpretations of Buddhist teachings that preceded his. Several Buddhist terms and concepts lack direct translations into English that cover the breadth of the original term These writings are collectively known as Gosho (go is an honorific prefix designating respect; sho means writings) in some schools and go-ibun ("left-behind writings") in others. Over 700 of them, some complete and some only in fragments, have been passed down through the centuries in compilations, as copies, and even many in the original. Some are also available in English translation, most notably in Letters of Nichiren and Selected Writings of Nichiren in the Translations from the Asian Classics series from Columbia University Press; more-sectarian translations of some of his writings are also available.

See also: Tendai and Tiantai

Sources and references

English

Japanese

Footnotes

  1. ^ cf. "four dictums" (四箇の格言 shika no kakugen) entries in The Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism, p. 215, and Kyōgaku Yōgo Kaisetsu Shū, p. 54
  2. ^ Shimpan Bukkyō Tetsugaku Daijiten, p. 1368

External links

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