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Media Kit
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.
About the Author(s)
Joseph A. Fitzgerald
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:
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Alfred Bloom
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: UL REMOVED
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Clark Strand
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 toHonen The Buddhist Saint: Essential Writings And Official Biography .
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Reviews
- 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
