Nichiren , orig. Zennichi, (born March 30, 1222, Kominato, Japan—died Nov. 14, 1282, Ikegami), Japanese Buddhist prophet, founder of Nichiren Buddhism. The son of a fisherman, he entered a Buddhist monastery at age 11. After an exhaustive study of all the major Buddhist schools in Japan, he concluded in 1253 that the Lotus Sutra was the only doctrine suitable for his age and predicted calamity for Japan if all other sects were not abandoned. This pronouncement caused him to be banished from his monastery. He also claimed that Japan was the chosen country of Buddhism, from which Buddhist salvation would spread to other lands. He was later exiled to an island in the Sea of Japan, where in 1272 he wrote his major work, Liberation from Blindness.
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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,
saint Summary
Saint, holy person, believed to have a special relationship to the sacred as well as moral perfection or exceptional teaching abilities. The phenomenon is widespread in the religions of the world, both ancient and contemporary. Various types of religious personages have been recognized as saints,