Abstract

Honen shifted the Buddhist teaching of "I will become a Buddha" since the time of Shakyamuni to "the Buddha will save me." Shinran, while relying on Honen's philosophy of Other-Power, contemplated his own sins and despaired, thinking "only I will not be saved..." From Shinran's numerous works, this book deciphers the essence of his thought and the charm of his personality while grappling with the contradiction of "cohabitation of salvation and despair." Authored by an up-and-coming comparative religion researcher and a Jodo Shinshu monk, it is a guide to understanding Shinran's thoughts for intermediate learners.

Author’s Information

Tesshu Shaku
Born in 1961 in Osaka, Japan. He completed his doctoral studies in Shin Buddhism at the Graduate School of Letters at Ryukoku University and also completed his doctoral studies in Comparative Culture at the Graduate School of Human Culture at Osaka Prefecture University. He earned his Ph.D. in Academic Studies from Osaka Prefecture University. His fields of expertise are religious studies, comparative religious thought, and anthropology. He has held positions as a part-time lecturer at Ryukoku University and a professor at Hyogo University of Lifelong Welfare, and is currently a professor at the Faculty of Humanities at Soai University. He is also the chief priest of the Nyorai Temple of the Jodo Shinshu Honganji School and the representative of the NPO Corporation Relife. His publications include "The Thought Structure of Shinran" (Hozokan), "How Buddhism Thinks" (Gakken Shinsho), and "Fukanze Habian - A Religious Man Who Abandoned Both Gods and Buddhas" (Shinchosha Sensho), among others.