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| Honen the Buddhist Saint |
| This site includes Honen the Buddhist Saint’s pictures, online articles, slideshows, excerpts, reviews, table of contents, and more. |
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Click cover for larger image.
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Author(s):
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Subjects(s):
Buddhism
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Price: $19.95
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ISBN: 1-933316-13-6
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Book Size: 6 x 9
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# of Pages: 192
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Language: English
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Description
Priest, saint, and founder of the independent school of Pure Land (Jōdo) Buddhism in 12th century Japan, Hōnen Shōnin’s importance has been largely unrecognized in the West, even though his legacy includes over twenty million living practitioners of in Japan. Honen the Buddhist Saint: His Life and Teachings is the first and only English translation of a biography of this remarkable man. Edited by Joseph A. Fitzgerald, this edition combines illustrations from Japanese religious sites as well as Hōnen’s own words which allow him to speak "from across the ages," to any human being, Buddhist or non-Buddhist, who desires to have faith and gain knowledge.
Features 50 Black and White Illustrations
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Priest, saint, and founder of the independent school of Pure Land (Jōdo) Buddhism in 12th century Japan, Hōnen Shōnin’s importance has been largely unrecognized in the West, even though his legacy includes over twenty million living practitioners of in Japan. Honen the Buddhist Saint: His Life and Teachings is the first and only English translation of a biography of this remarkable man. Edited by Joseph A. Fitzgerald, this edition combines illustrations from Japanese religious sites as well as Hōnen’s own words which allow him to speak "from across the ages," to any human being, Buddhist or non-Buddhist, who desires to have faith and gain knowledge.
Features 50 Black and White Illustrations
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Joseph Fitzgerald has authored or edited several books on diverse world religions and philosophy that have won more than ten awards, including the prestigious Benjamin Franklin Award. The subjects include Buddhism, Hinduism, the American Indians, Christianity, the ecological crisis and the Perennial Philosophy. Fitzgerald studied Comparative Religion at Indiana University, where he also earned a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree. He is an adopted grandson of Thomas Yellowtail, one of the most honored American Indian spiritual leaders of the last century. For more than thirty years, Joseph has traveled extensively throughout the American Indian, Oriental and Islamic worlds. He has edited the following books for World Wisdom:
- Spirit of the Indian Warrior, co-edited with Michael 0. Fitzgerald, 2019.
- Spirit of the Earth: Indian Voices on Nature, co-edited with Michael Fitzgerald, May 2017.
- World of the Teton Sioux Indians: Their Music, Life, and Culture, by Frances Densmore, September 2016.
- The Original Gospel of Ramakrishna:
Based on M.’s English Text, Abridged, by Shri Ramakrishna, co-edited with Swami Abhedananda, 2011.
- The Wisdom of Ananda Coomaraswamy: Selected Reflections on Indian Art, Life, and Religion by Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, co-edited with S. Durai Raja Singam (November 2011).
- An Illustrated Introduction to Taoism
- Of the Land and the Spirit: The Essential Lord Northbourne on Ecology and Religion
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Click here for more information
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Rev. Dr. Alfred Bloom (1926–2017) was one of the world's foremost authorities on the study of Shin Buddhism. He taught World Religions and Buddhism at the University of Oregon and the University of Hawaii and wrote many books and articles on Shin Buddhism and spirituality in general. Prof. Bloom was Dean at the Institute of Buddhist Studies, sponsored by the Buddhist Churches of America. He was an ordained Shin priest. About Dr. Bloom, the well-known Buddhist magazine Tricycle: The Buddhist Review said: “Bloom is widely regarded as one of the most important American figures of the past five decades in the Jodo Shin school of Buddhism.”
Prof. Bloom's contributions to World Wisdom books include:
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Clark Strand is a former Zen Buddhist monk and the author of Seeds From A Birch Tree: Writing Haiku and the Spiritual Journey and The Wooden Bowl: Simple Meditation for Everyday Life. In 1996 he left his position as senior editor of Tricycle: The Buddhist Review to write and teach full time. He now lives in Woodstock, NY, where he leads the Koans of the Bible Study Group. Mr. Strand wrote the foreword to
Honen The Buddhist Saint: Essential Writings And Official Biography .
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"Honen (1133—1212) is revered as the founder of the Jodo (Pure Land) school of Buddhism. Despite the continuing popularity of the many branches of this tradition, there are regrettably few books in English on either the Japanese monk who founded the tradition or his controversial teachings. The most detailed study of Honen available in English, is his official biography, translated in a five-volume study by Rev. Harper Havelock Coates and Rev. Ryugaku Ishizuka in 1925. This somewhat dated and intimidating monument has been given new life in a slim abridged edition by Joseph Fitzgerald, entitled Honen the Buddhist Saint: Essential Writings and Official Biography (World Wisdom, 2006). Alfred Bloom provides a comprehensive introduction to the study of Pure Land Buddhism in the new edition that places Honen's life, and the present volume, in context. It is fitting that the life of the man credited with bringing Buddhism out of the monasteries and to the common people should finally become available to a wider readership."
—Buddhadharma
"The latest volume in the Spiritual Masters: East and West Series, Honen the Buddhist Saint is a condensed, English-translated version of the biography of Honen Shonin (1133-1212), originally published in 1925. Black-and-white photographs of classical Japanese artwork illustrates this respectful chronicle of a Japanese Buddhist saint, who devoted himself to the spiritual path of Pure Land Buddhism. Covering Honen's life, teachings, famous sayings, followers, and final years, Honen the Buddhist Saint offers a crystal-clear picture of his life and teachings especially for lay readers who might struggle with the sheer length and technical details of the original multi-volume edition. Highly recommended for students, scholars and practitioners of Buddhism."
—Bookwatch
“Most fortunately, Joseph Fitzgerald has prepared a shortened version of [the Coates & Ishizuka manuscript], through skillful editing and adaptation, of this somewhat intimidating 955 pages long translation, thereby rendering it less inhibiting and more readily accessible to all readers. By having done so, there is little doubt that this abridgement will serve to open doors ever wider, guiding all who come upon it into the life and thought of that extraordinary Pure Land priest Saint Honen and ultimately into the very heart of the Amida Buddha Himself.”
—Reverend Tetsuo Unno, Shin Buddhist minister
"Concise but uncompromising, Joseph Fitzgerald has revived the spirit of Honen Shonin for the modern reader. This condensing of Hônen’s biography in English translation originally published in 1925 is certainly one of the most significant contributions to academic studies of Japanese Buddhism in recent years. Complemented with beautiful illustrations and pictures, this book will also draw readers into the spiritual life of medieval Japanese people. Honen the Buddhist Saint once again will provide an indispensable guide for both students of Japanese religions and general readers for years to come."
—Eisho Nasu, Hongwanji Professor of Jodo Shinshu Studies at The Institute of Buddhist Studies at The Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, California
“Honen stands as a giant among religious reformers… It really is a remarkable achievement to have edited [Honen the Buddhist Saint] down to a readable form.”
—Clark Strand, author of Seeds From a Birch Tree: Writing Haiku and the Spiritual Journey
“Without an understanding of Honen it is not possible to get to the essence of the Pure Land Way, much less to walk it. World Wisdom has provided a priceless service to contemporary Pure Land Buddhists in making him and his teaching accessible to a wider readership. The Buddhist world will ever be grateful to them.”
—Jim Pym, Pure Land Buddhist Fellowship, U.K.
"A handsome and welcome contribution.... Amply illustrated, and with a new Introduction by Alfred Bloom, this publication of Honen the Buddhist Saint provides for a new generation both a readable abridgement of the classic text first translated by Coates and Ishizuka, and a current update on this important Japanese Buddhist figure."
—Paul Swanson, Director, Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture
"Japanese Pure Land Buddhism owes a huge debt to Honen Shonin. What is especially exciting about this volume is the presentation of Honen’s life and teaching as seen through the eyes of medieval Japanese Pure Land Buddhists, but brought to life in modern English by the original translators. The editors have done a remarkable feat of reducing the original multi-volume and scholarly production of 1925 to a single tome that is a joy to the eye and a pleasure to read. This will undoubtedly raise the level of appreciation of Japanese Pure Land Buddhism in the West as well as fill a major historical gap in the modern understanding of this great spiritual path.”
—Richard St. Clair, founder of the Boston Shinsu Sangha
“From the fifteen hundred years of the intellectual history of Japanese Buddhism, if I were to choose one thinker, it would have to be Honen.”
—Kato Shuichi, Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, and author of Japan: Spirit & Form
"This beautiful new edition of a classic wok is a substantial contribution to the important and unfairly neglected field of Pure Land Buddhism."
—Roger Corless, Professor of Religion, Emeritus, Duke University
Honen The Buddhist Saint: Essential Writings and Official Biography Joseph A. Fitzgerald edits a condensed biography in English translation of a 1925 original publication. Buddhist readers will relish the rare presentation of Honen's life and teachings, as well as the background history and Fitzgerald has done a fine job of synthesizing an original multi-volume scholarly presentation into standard paperback even non-Buddhists will learn from.
—Bookwatch
"Honen the Buddhist Saint: Essential Writings and Official Biography is a remarkably accessible edition of the original volume that was first translated in 1925 by Rev. Harper Havelock Coates and Rev. Ryugaku Ishizuka entitled Honen the Buddhist Saint: His Life and Teaching (Kyoto: Chionin, 1925). This initial work was encyclopedic in scope consisting of five volumes offering the most detailed study of Honen available in English. The drawback of this monumental work was its inaccessibility as it was daunting for Buddhist practitioners and lay readers to approach. However, this new abridged edition makes Honen available to both scholars and lay readers alike, providing what is most noteworthy in regards to the life of this great medieval Japanese monk and his teachings. The Introduction contains a comprehensive overview of Pure Land Buddhism written by Alfred Bloom, a foremost authority on Shin Buddhism, and there is also a Foreword by Clark Strand a Buddhist teacher, practitioner and writer."
—AHP Perspective, from a review written by Samuel Bendeck Sotillos
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PREFACE BY JOSEPH A. FITZGERALD
EXCERPTS FROM INTRODUCTION BY THE TRANSLATORS
I. HŌNEN'S BIOGRAPHY: EARLY YEARS UP TO FOUNDING OF THE JŌDO SECT
1. HŌNEN'S CHILDHOOD
Hōnen's Birth
Mysterious Omens
His Childhood Name
His Family History
Tokikuni's Fate
Tokikuni's Dying Request
2. HŌNEN'S BOYHOOD
Kwangaku "Tokugō"
The Country no Place for such a Boy
His Parting Words to his Mother
The Mother's Grief
The Letter of Introduction
The Boy Meets the Regent Tadamichi
3. HIS STUDIES ON MOUNT HIEI
His Ascent of the Mountain
He Studies the "Shikyōgi" under Genkō
The Boy Becomes a Disciple of Kōen
His Ordination to the Priesthood
His early Desire for the Life of Retirement
The Young Priest's Profound Insight
4. HŌNEN, THE ADMIRATION OF SCHOLARS
His Grasp of the Scriptures
The Admiration of Scholars
Hōnen's Discussion with Eikû on the Essence of the Precepts
An Earnest Seeker of Salvation
His Interview with Zōshun, the Famous Hosō Scholar
Hōnen's Interview with Kwanga the Famous Sanron Scholar
Hōnen on the Doctrinal Classification of the Sects
Hōnen's Criticism of Narrow Sectarianism
5. HŌNEN, THE FOUNDER OF THE JŌDO SECT
Hōnen's Discovery in the Scriptures
This leads to the Founding of the Sect
Meditation Compared with the Nembutsu
Hōnen's Homes
Hōnen's Search for Salvation
Hōnen's Reason for Founding a Sect
Hōnen's Doctrine a Message to his Age
His Practice of the Nembutsu
II. HŌNEN'S TEACHING ON THE WAY OF JŌDOM
6. THINGS HŌNEN WAS ALWAYS SAYING (PART I)
The Need of Oral Teaching
Simple Invocation of the Name
"Save me Amida Buddha!"
The Vilest May be Saved
Faith and Works go Hand in Hand
Heart and Voice Together
Nembutsu the Main Thing
It Means Hating the World
It's Peculiarity is no Peculiarity
At Meal Time too
Nembutsu and the Nature of Things
Amida's Great Vow
Saves Even the Foolish Hōnen
The Danger of Learning
Depend Only on the Nembutsu
Shaka's Charge to Ânanda
The Failure of Meditation
When is Ōjō Karma Complete?
How to Embark on the Ship of the Original Vow
Singleness of Purpose
Intense Earnestness
Believe you have Already Received
Ōjō Depends on How you Think
To Jump Ten Feet, Jump Fifteen
Free from All Care
If Only I Had but Attained
Ōjō Possible for Everyone
Ōjō Has Nothing to Do with Fish-eating
In your Devotion to Amida despise not other Buddhas
Antinomianism
Jiriki, Self-power, and Tariki, Other-power, Defined
Special Nembutsu Practice
How to Get Ready for Death
Keep Repeating the Nembutsu
No Place for Pride
7. THINGS HŌNEN WAS ALWAYS SAYING (PART II)
A Warning to Hypocrites
Other Roads to Ōjō besides the Nembutsu
The Relation of the Karma of Former States of Existence to Ōjō
How Hōzō Biku became Amida Buddha
(a) The Meaning of Tariki Illustrated
Repeat the Nembutsu Audibly
Repeat the Nembutsu even during Conversation
The Escaped Prisoner and Amida's Wonderful Ship
The very Easiest Way to Ōjō
What if my Nature is Bad?
Hōnen's Gracious Instruction to Women
Let not your Faith be Disturbed by Anyone, not even a Buddha
A Religious Adviser at Death-bed
Mental Composure in the Death Agony
The Buddha's Welcome to Paradise
No Form of Death Incompatible with the Nembutsu
8. A CATECHISM
Ōjō attainable by Nembutsu only
Fix the Number of Repetition
Odors and Nembutsu
Repeat at least Ten Thousand Times
The sacred Cord
Fasting
The Merit of Hearing Another's Nembutsu
Can Never Fall from Paradise
Poetry
Sake Drinking
A Religious Adviser at one's Death Bed
Evil Thoughts
Rinsing the Mouth
Leeks and Onions
The Use of the Rosary
Bodily purification
Reserve Merit
A Lawless or Ignorant Priest
9. HŌNEN ON THE THREE MENTAL STATES
The Meaning of the Three Mental States
A Brief Summary of the Three Mental Attitudes
(a) A 'Most Sincere Heart'
(b) A 'Deep Believing Heart'
(c) Zendō on a 'Longing Heart'
Sometimes would Teach, Sometimes Not
The Most Unlettered Are Capable of the "Three Mental States"
The Nembutsu Includes all Duty
10. GREAT LITERARY WORKS (PART I)
Outline of the "Senchakushû"
(a) The Ordinary Mahâyâna and Hînayâna Standpoints
(b) Hōnen's Counsel to Jōdo Scholars
(c) The Central Article in Amida's Original Vow
(d) The Nembutsu the Best and Easiest Way to Salvation
(e) The Conclusion of the Whole Matter
11. GREAT LITERARY WORKS (PART II)
Hōnen's Summary of Nembutsu Doctrine in Relation to Buddhism in General
(a) The Joy of Being Born to Hear the Buddha's Teaching
(b) The Buddhist View of Human Life
(c) Shaka's All Comprehensive Teaching
(d)The Holy Path and Pure Land Ways of Salvation
(e) Jōdo better Suited to our Capacities
(f) Never Revile the Buddhas' Laws, the Nembutsu One
(g) Ōjō Is for All Alike
(h) The Superiority of the Jōdo
(i) Nembutsu and Daily Living
12. HŌNEN'S POEMS
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter
Sacrifice
My Mountain Home
Exclusive Practice
Seek the Land of Bliss in Youth
The Cicada
Amida's Light
The "Most Sincere Heart"
Nembutsu
The Pine of a thousand Years
The Little Pine
The Heart of Man
The Precious Memory of Old Friends
The Glorious Vision of the Pure Land
III. HŌNEN'S FOLLOWERS, LAY, CLERICAL & SAMURAI
13. THE IMPERIAL CONFIDENCE IN HŌNEN
The Emperor Takakur Taking the Vows
The Emperor Go-Shirakawa's Regard for Hōnen
Hōnen Declines Official Appointment
The Emperor Go-Shirakawa's Happy Death
14. HŌNEN'S CLERICAL FOLLOWERS
Prince Jōe's Conversion and Happy Death
Jōgon's Doubts Dispelled
Hōnen's Instruction to the Vicar-General
Hōnen on the Awakening of Faith
Hōnen's Dedication of the Temple Built by Munesada
15. HŌNEN'S FOLLOWERS—LAY AND CLERICAL
Hōnen's Letter to the Dying Nun Shōnyobō
(a) Why he could not visit her
(b) The Hope of Meeting again in the Hereafter
(c) Dependence upon the Buddha's Power the One and Only Condition of Ōjō
(d) His Promise to Pray for her
Awanosuke the Fortune Teller
Kyō Amidabutsu, the Converted Robber
(a) Hōnen on the Meaning of a Sincere Heart
(b) Private Devotion
(c) Undistracted by Outward Things
(d) Two Types of Men
(e) The True and the False
(f) How and When to Practice the Nembutsu
(g) The Robber's Ōjō
16. SAMURAI BELIEVERS
Tarō Tadatsuna
(a) His Ōjō in Battle
Jirō Naozane
(a) Hōnen's Letter to Rensei
Saburō Tamemori
(a) Tamemori's Wish to be a Priest
(b) Another Short Letter from Hōnen
(c) Songwan's Longing for Ōjō Leads to his Harakiri
IV. HŌNEN'S BIOGRAPHY: HIS FINAL YEARS
17. PERSECUTED ON ALL SIDES
The Beginning of Opposition
Hōnen and his Disciples Make a Solemn Pledge
Hōnen's Letter to the Archbishop Shinshō
Hōnen's Warning against the 'Once Calling' Heretics
The Heretical Suffer Punishment
18. HŌNEN SENTENCED TO EXILE
Anraku Beheaded
Hōnen's Banishment to Tosa
Hōnen Comforts his Disciples as he Leaves them
19. THE LONG LONELY JOURNEY
Hōnen Taking Leave of the Capital
Poems of Farewell
Humble Converts at Takasago
The Harlot Converted
20. HŌNEN'S LIFE IN EXILE
Hōnen's Welcome to Sanuki
Hōnen's Labors at Komatsu
Hōnen the Exile's Letter to Tamemori
Hōnen's Visit to Kōbō's Temple
21. THE EMPEROR'S PARDON
The Decree of Release
Hōnen's Stay in Kachiodera
Permission to Return to the Capital
His Welcome Home
22. HŌNEN'S LAST HOURS
The End Approaching
The Vision of the Holy Ones
Happy Omens
He Dies in Peace
The Disciples Commemorate him Contrary to his Dying Wishes
The Spread of the Nembutsu in Face of Imperial Edicts
Hōnen's Parting Message—"The One-Sheet Document."
GLOSSARY
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR FURTHER READING
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES
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“Despite his mild manner as a person and the fact that his teachings are, finally, so simple that they can be grasped in their entirety even by an illiterate person, Honen stands as a giant among religious reformers. Before him no Buddhist teacher in Japan or elsewhere had ever dared to advance the teaching that all are saved by the miraculous power of the Tathagata, regardless of whether they are young or old, rich or poor, male or female, foolish or wise. . . . Honen was the first Buddhist teacher to include such people in his vision of spiritual salvation. For this alone he deserves the title appended to his name by the translators of this volume. He was, indeed, a saint.”
—from the foreword by Alfred Bloom
“Honen’s teaching struck a chord in people’s hearts because the turmoil of the age made them more aware of their own defilements, the brevity of life, and anxiety for their welfare after death. His teaching, based on his own experience, was decidedly otherworldly. He persistently taught the power of Nembutsu—based on Amida’s Vow to overcome all obstacles to Enlightenment—for everyone, whether a highly competent monk, scholar, aristocrat, warrior, a lowly peasant, fisherman, robber, or even a prostitute. In Honen we see a man of great warmth and humane feeling, which he communicated to every individual he met, no matter what status the person held.”
—from the introduction by Clark Strand
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