Hōnen summary

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Below is the article summary. For the full article, see Hōnen.

Hōnen , orig. Seishimaru, (born May 13, 1133, Inaoka, Mimasaka province, Japan—died Feb. 29, 1212, Kyōto), Japanese Buddhist leader. As a monk at the Mount Hiei monastery of the Tendai (Tiantai) sect, he learned the Pure Land doctrines of Chinese Buddhism (see Pure Land Buddhism), which taught salvation by the mercy of Amitabha Buddha, and he subsequently became the founder of the Pure Land (Jōdo) sect in Japan. Hōnen believed that few people were spiritually capable of following the Buddha’s own path to enlightenment, and in 1175 he proclaimed that the only thing needed for salvation was the nembutsu, or chanting of the name of Amida (Amitabha). Hōnen settled at Kyōto and gathered disciples, including Shinran. Persecuted by other Buddhists, he was driven into exile in 1207 but returned to Kyōto in 1211.

Buddhism Summary

Buddhism, religion and philosophy that developed from the teachings of the Buddha (Sanskrit: “Awakened One”), a teacher who lived in northern India between the mid-6th and mid-4th centuries bce (before the Common Era). Spreading from India to Central and Southeast Asia, China, Korea, and Japan,

priesthood Summary

Priesthood, the office of a priest, a ritual expert learned in a special knowledge of the technique of worship and accepted as a religious and spiritual leader. Throughout the long and varied history of religion, the priesthood has been the official institution that has mediated and maintained a