法然(ほうねん)

ほうねん
noun (proper)
Hōnen (founder of the Jōdo sect)
religionhistoryproper-nounperson-name
1. Hōnen (1133–1212), founder of the Jōdo sect
A Buddhist monk of the late Heian and early Kamakura periods who founded the Jōdo (Pure Land) sect. He taught that anyone, not just monks or the learned, could be reborn in Amida Buddha's Pure Land by sincerely chanting the nenbutsu, the invocation of Amida's name.
法然(ほうねん)は浄土宗(じょうどしゅう)を開(ひら)いた。
Hōnen founded the Jōdo sect.
法然(ほうねん)の弟子(でし)に親鸞(しんらん)がいる。
Shinran was one of Hōnen's disciples.
法然(ほうねん)は、ただ念仏(ねんぶつ)を唱(とな)えれば誰(だれ)でも救(すく)われると説(と)いた。
Hōnen taught that anyone could be saved simply by chanting the nenbutsu.

Cultural note

  • His teaching of 専修念仏(せんじゅねんぶつ), relying on the nenbutsu alone, opened Buddhism to ordinary people and was opposed by the established temples; he was exiled late in life
  • 知恩院(ちおんいん) in Kyoto is the head temple of his sect

Related words

Related Words

Related: 浄土宗(じょうどしゅう) (the Jōdo sect he founded)
Related: 念仏(ねんぶつ) (chanting Amida Buddha's name)
general
Added 2026.10.11 22:45 · Revised 2026.10.11 22:47
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